To illustrate:
-Sexist and misogynistic terms saw an 11 per cent increase compared to the previous month, reaching 410,000 instances across social media platforms.
-Monarchist-affiliated hashtags also featured prominently in this content.
-Nearly 3,000 anti-Christian posts were published in Persian cyberspace in December, reflecting a 50 percent increase from the prior month. The most notable spike occurred during Christmas celebrations.
-Anti-Semitic rhetoric persisted as well, with over 23,000 posts targeting Jews in December. These narratives often echoed broader government-backed themes of international conspiracy.
-Zoroastrians were also targeted, with 2,300 posts monitored,
-The Sunni Muslim community was targeted with some 3,200 posts.
-Hate speech against Bahá'ís remained ingrained in Iranian state media and social media, with at least 2,500 posts monitored in December. Reports from Mehr News and Mashregh were two examples of anti-Bahá'í propaganda. One Mehr report celebrated the actions of a cleric, Mahdi Shahverdi, who reportedly travels across the country to counter “covert activities” by Bahá'ís. Another story in Mashregh attempted to link the Bahá'ís in Iran with a recent YouTube concert given by Pasatoo Ahmadi, in which the female singer appeared unveiled. [IranWire 10Jan25]

In April 2021, a Qatari court framed Mr. Rowhani in a prejudicial case judged in absentia. The ruling was confirmed in May 2022 by an appeals court. In response to international concern, Qatari officials had given assurances that Mr. Rowhani’s one-month prison sentence and $13,700 fine would not be enforced, and he had been assured just week prior that he was free to travel. These actions marked an arbitrary escalation after decades of discrimination against the Bahá'ís in Qatar merely on account of their religion.

For over eight years, Mr. Rowhani has served as chairperson of the National Assembly of the Baha’is of Qatar, a pastoral voluntary role addressing the spiritual and administrative needs of the Baha’i religious community—which has existed in Qatar for over 80 years. His detention is emblematic of the broader pattern of discrimination faced by Baha’i community members in Qatar. [BIC Post on X; BIC News 30 December 2024]

See the interview with his daughter, Nora Rowhani, on YouTube..

In 2018, a few months after Nasrin was imprisoned for her legal work representing women who protested Iran’s compulsory hijab laws, Reza and fellow activist Farhad Meysami were arrested for making thousands of buttons that said in Farsi, “I Oppose the Mandatory Hijab.” Reza was charged with “spreading propaganda against the system” and “colluding to commit crimes against national security,” for speaking out about Nasrin’s arrest, and for challenging the country’s compulsory hijab law. He was released on bail after 111 days while Nasrin remained in prison until she received a medical furlough in July 2021. Farhad was released in February 2023. [Iran Wire 13 Dec 2024]

Ala’i was eminently qualified for the task. She is a human rights expert with more than 35 years of experience across the UN system and human rights mechanisms. She served as representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the UN in Geneva for 30 years, retiring in 2022, and was nominated as chair by the non-governmental Minority Rights Group. Her candidacy was also supported by several governments, including Austria, France, Switzerland, and at later stages of the selection process by Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. [IranWire 29Jan2024]

Roya Boroumand, a prominent Iranian human rights activist and the Executive Director of Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran commented saying, “It is simply unacceptable that one of the worst human rights abusers in the world is allowed to decide who the UN Human Rights Council, a body mandated to fight against discrimination and intolerance, can nominate.” Boroumand added that Iran’s government chose to persecute minorities such as Bahá'ís “rather than addressing the root causes of Iranians turning away from Islam.” [Post on X; Post on X]

The expansion of the plaza was inspired by drawings prepared by William Sutherland Maxwell—Hand of the Cause and distinguished Canadian architect—who designed the Shrine’s superstructure in the early 1940s. The building’s harmonious blend of Eastern and Western architectural styles has made it a familiar and well-loved landmark. [BWNS1764]

See some "before" images.

In its letter of 26 July 2024 it was stated that "the opportunity will be taken to carry out some preparatory work inside the Shrine so that, in due course, all rooms can be dedicated to prayer and worship as part of the single Shrine of the Báb."

1. Allocate land for Bahá'í burial in various regions of Egypt.
2. Appoint a government liaison for Egypt’s Baha'i community to address their concerns.
3. Establish an official entity to oversee marriage, divorce, and inheritance matters for individuals whose national ID cards show generic religious identifiers.
4. Uphold the right of Bahá'ís to freely practice their faith.
5. Remove the names of Bahá'í individuals from airport arrivals watch lists, whether Egyptian or foreign nationals. [BIC-News 19Nov24]

The new report was prepared by the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, in partnership with Eleos Justice at Monash University, a think tank created and directed by Mai Sato, the new UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. The report focuses on violence perpetrated against the Bahá'í community since the Baha’i Faith emerged in 1844, by documenting three forms of violence as described by sociologist Johan Galtung; direct, structural and cultural, showing them to be part of the Iranian government’s systematic effort to eliminate the Bahá'í religious minority from society.

One major finding of the report, however, is that the Iranian population has increasingly “resisted” the policy of discrimination against the Bahá'í community. There appears to have been a shift in public attitudes toward Bahá'ís from contempt and avoidance around the time of the Revolution to increasing indifference, acceptance and even support of the Bahá'í community. [BIC News 11NOV24]

In September 2021, the Secretary-General responded with his report, Our Common Agenda, a wake-up call to speed up the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and propel the commitments contained in the UN75 Declaration. In some cases, the proposals addressed gaps that had emerged since 2015, requiring new intergovernmental agreements. The report, therefore, called for a Summit of the Future to forge a new global consensus on readying for a future that is rife with risks but also opportunities. The General Assembly welcomed the submission of the "rich and substantive" report and agreed to hold the Summit on 22-23 September 2024, preceded by a ministerial meeting in 2023. An action-oriented Pact for the Future is expected to be agreed by Member States through intergovernmental negotiations on issues they decide to take forward. [Road to the Summit of the Future]

Jimmy Seals and Dash Crofts were pop-rock troubadours in the ‘70s famous for songs such as “Summer Breeze,” “Diamond Girl,” “We May Never Pass This Way (Again),” and “Get Closer.” Their deep connection to the Baha’i Faith made them the only American musicians who caused thousands to join an organized religion, and their lyrics frequently explored mystical concepts. Their exquisite vocal blend and their guitar and mandolin counterpoint generated a huge following and the respect of peer musicians, as they went from small town roots in Texas to filling stadiums in their heyday. Seals & Crofts had an extended family of musicians who contributed road stories, songwriting insight and personal reflections over decades of struggles, setbacks and ultimately the breakthrough success of “Summer Breeze.” Jimmy and Dash were polar opposites but their shared values and unlikely mesh of talents forged a unique sound, aided by their legendary Wrecking Crew producer, Louie Shelton. Seals & Crofts: Chronicles of a Summer Breeze is not a typical expose’ of sex, drugs, or even hard core rock and roll. It is a story of two musicians who shared a lifetime of another sort of adventures. The book details their incredible happenstance to join a Top 40 instrumental band as teenagers, years of paying dues, finding their calling, surviving the controversy of a politically charged hit single, trying their hand at disco, and fading into the background of an 80’s music scene, only to re-emerge as vanguards of the Baha’i Faith. This is their story.

The Bahá'í International Community release a statement titled Embracing Interdependence: Foundations for a World in Transition, which highlighte the imperative for the international community to place humanity’s interdependence at the heart of the systems of global governance.

The BIC statement can be viewed here.

The raid last year prompted repeated calls by the international community for the release of the detained Bahá'ís. In August 2023 six members of the United Nations Security Council “deplored” the detentions and more recently, in May, a powerful coalition of United Nations Special Rapporteurs, European parliamentarians, ambassadors, international human rights organizations, and a Nobel laureate addressed the matter alongside the #FreeYemeniBahá'ís campaign online. Several Yemeni tribal leaders and religious figures also played a major role in the release of the Bahá'í detainees. [BIC News 20 August 2024; BSNS1746]

The presentations were:

The message contained details of the treatment of 47 women. They pointed out that over the last year that two-thirds of all Bahá'í prisoners in Iran have been women and that a significant number were being held without due process and their whereabouts were unknown. Many of the victims have been mothers of young children and that they have had to endure the harsh conditions of solitary confinement, frequent interrogations, inadequate medical attention, and restricted family contact.

They called on the government of Iran to provide additional information of the 47 cases mentioned, as well as legal grounds for the steps taken against them and updates on their individual health. They also called for an end to the discrimination against Bahá'í citizens in Iran.

On 25 May 2023, armed Huthi forces stormed a peaceful gathering of Baha’is in a private residence in Sana’a and arbitrarily detained 17 people, including five women. They forcibly disappearedthem for around four months until their families learned they were being held at Huthi-run security and intelligence detention centres in Sana’a. Between June 2023 and June 2024, 13 individuals including Abdullah al-Olofi and all five women were released following international pressure. The four remaining Bahá'ís continued to be held without charge and were denied their right to legal counsel.

Since 2015, Amnesty International has documented the cases of at least 100 members of the Bahá'í faith in Yemen, who have been detained by the Huthi de facto authorities and subjected to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, torture and ill-treatment and denied fair trial rights. [Amnesty International 27 May 2021; Posted on X by @BahaiBIV 22 June 2024]

Other related stories: BWNS1733; BWNS1732; BWNS1713; BWNS1524; BWNS1688

See as well In Conversation: Stories from temple dedication in Papua New Guinea.

A summary of the report is available in English and in Farsi.

A website has been established and they have a YouTube and a Facebook presence as well.

This book follows the story of the ‘Adasíyyih community, a farming village established by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in what is now Jordan. Bahá'ís from Iran settled there and transformed a degraded parcel of land into the site of a thriving farm and prosperous community whose residents embodied the Bahá'í teachings. It was this farming village— along with several others in the region of the Galilee— that produced a surplus of crops, which enabled ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to keep famine at bay for so many people during World War I, a feat that would earn Him a knighthood from the British Empire. In time, ‘Adasíyyih would become a model village for Jordanians, and Jordan’s royalty would become frequent guests. Author Paul Hanley’ s extensive research, along with his deep interest in agricultural systems, provides a fascinating glimpse at this remarkable history and the lessons that can be applied to current agroecological efforts.

See also interview on Bahá'í Blog.