Baha'i Faith in Egypt and Iran: Persecution of the Baha'is in the Middle East

Is the World Ready for Religious Unity?

2008-11-17T17:59:00.014-06:00

The world continues to express its hunger for a solution to its widening disunity. An example of such movements--intended to break through the divisive nature of religious intolerance and widespread dislike of what others believe in--is a newly formed alliance between the technology industry and Hollywood elite. A project, named Charter for Compassion, was launched 3 days ago during a Technology, Entertainment and Design (TED) conference in California. Along with the religious scholar Karen...

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Defenders of Baha'is in the Middle East Prominently Featured

2008-11-15T12:21:00.015-06:00

The Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights (MNBR), an independent website organized by youth from the Middle East and dedicated to the defense of the Baha'is in the region, was just featured in The Media Line (TML) website. As pointed out in its information page: The Media Line™ (TML) is a unique non-profit news organization established to enhance and balance media coverage in the Middle East, promote independent reporting in the region, and break down barriers to understanding in the Arab and...

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Another Favorable Court Ruling for the Baha'is of Egypt

2008-11-12T11:36:00.016-06:00

Yesterday, 11 November 2008, witnessed another favorable milestone for the Baha'is of Egypt. Cairo's Administrative Court ruled in favor of a Baha'i university student, Hady Hosni Al-Qousheiry, and allowed him to obtain an ID card with dashes "--" in place of religious identification. Mr. Hady Hosni, who was suspended from the Faculty of Agriculture at Alexandria University because he was unable to obtain an ID card to remain enrolled in the university, was forced to sue for his right to...

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Prayer for America

2008-11-06T19:21:00.008-06:00

In 1912, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spent from April to December touring North America. He is shown here (at center) with Bahá’ís at Lincoln Park, Chicago, Illinois, USA, in 1912. Nearly a century ago, Abdu'l-Baha, the son of the founder of the Baha'i religion and the leader of the Baha'i community during that time period, revealed the following prayer on the occasion of his visit to the United States of America. As witnessed recently in the news, his words were indeed prophetic and his promises are...

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Egypt's Supreme Court Intimidated into Another Postponement!

2008-11-03T09:41:00.010-06:00

Even though the Supreme Court's State Judicial Council had paved the way for the Supreme Administrative Court to reject the appeal of a "non-party" to the lawsuit, in which Cairo's Administrative Court has permitted the Baha'is to obtain ID cards with "dashes" instead of religious identification, the Supreme Administrative Court appears to be hesitant to render a final decision in the case. Today, in its scheduled session to rule on the appeal, Egypt's Supreme Administrative Court decided to...

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Eloquent Review of the Case of the Baha'is of Egypt

2008-10-31T18:57:00.015-05:00

The prominent Lebanese website Menassat [Platforms] has just published an article, written by the journalist Alexandra Sandels, and based on an interview with an Egyptian Baha'i blogger. The most striking aspect of this article is that it, very nicely and very clearly, presents and defines the case of the Baha'is of Egypt. It is also very timely, particularly when considering the imminent supreme court final decision awaited by many on the 3rd of November. Regarding the website, it is...

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Egypt Drops Allegations of Baha'i Links to Zionism

2008-10-28T15:58:00.017-05:00

In a surprise move, Egypt's Ministry of Religious Endowment (Awqaf) has just made public statements that vindicate the Baha'is of Egypt of any links to Zionism--accusations that were previously alleged, without any proof, by the same Ministry. This new development was published in Copts United website two days ago. The independent site of "the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights" provided a translated summary of the article in one of its recent posts. The following is some of what the Network has...

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An Update: Personal, Egypt & Iran

2008-10-25T13:58:00.017-05:00

This past week has been full of events on many fronts, both personal and public. On a personal level, I would like to share the arrival of our first grandchild in San Francisco, a peaceful and happy baby girl who looks up to a future full of peace and harmony. More specifically to a future when people are not segregated based on their color, race, religion, ethnicity, class, political orientation, nationalism, or culture. A future when all people share the same opportunity regardless of where...

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Bringing About Social Awareness Through Art

2008-10-16T20:22:00.004-05:00

The following video illustrates clearly how art can contribute to the cause of human rights and its role in bringing about social awareness. It is indeed an inspiration to the youth everywhere, providing an example on how to engage oneself and be useful to society through creativity.

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Iran's Baha'is Caught Between Apostasy Law and Barriers to Education

2008-10-12T17:19:00.012-05:00

Iran continues to deprive Baha'i students of their right to education. A recent article in the Baha'i World News Service states: Baha'i students attempting to gain admittance to universities and other institutions this fall found that their entrance examination results were frozen and their files listed as “incomplete” on the Web site of the national testing organization. Baha’is who had successfully enrolled in universities in previous years continue to be expelled. And those who have sought...

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Interesting Proposal by an Egyptian Justice

2008-10-10T17:51:00.009-05:00

Addressing the crisis of religious identity on official documents in Egypt, Justice Ra'afat Abdel-Rasheed wrote an interesting proposal that was published on 6 October 2008 in Egypt's leading independent Al-Masry Al-Youm newspaper. He indicated that, according to Egypt's constitutional guarantees, the crisis of religious identity involving the Baha'is deserves a just solution and that citizens must be treated equally regardless of their religion or belief. He stated, however, that since Egypt...

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Breaking News for the Baha'is of Egypt

2008-10-04T16:30:00.009-05:00

The case of the Baha'is of Egypt has just undergone an important new development that appears to finally permit the tentative resolution of their struggle in their quest for their civil rights. As can be recalled, on 29 January 2008, Cairo's Administrative Court had ruled that Baha'is can obtain identification documents with dashes "--" inserted in place of religious identification in the required section of these documents. This ruling was not appealed by Egypt's Ministry of Interior or any...

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Canada's National Post on Religious Persecution in Iran

2008-10-03T16:06:00.007-05:00

Some writers have the gift of engaging one's attention with great ease even when they write about subjects that may not be as popular or familiar as some other headlines that fill the media these days. A very good example of this is the following article recently written by Barbara kay who is a regular columnist for Canada's National Post newspaper. She approaches the subject of Iran's persecution of Baha'is from a human side that is truly informative, touching and convincing. For ease of...

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US State Department Slams Iran & Egypt for Violating Religious Freedom

2008-09-26T18:04:00.004-05:00

In its 2008 annual report on international religious freedom, released a few days ago, the United States Department of State was very critical of Iran and Egypt for their violations of religious freedom of minorities in their respective countries. Iran carried the full brunt of this forceful report, mostly because of the extreme nature of its violations, particularly since the minorities involved represent a significant percentage of the country's population, as stated in the following...

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Egyptian Media Reacts to USCIRF Report

2008-09-23T17:01:00.011-05:00

In response to the annual report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) that condemned Egypt, along with few other countries such as Iran, for its violations of human rights (linked here), Egypt's leading newspapers--not unexpectedly--varied widely in their reaction from condemnation and rejection of the report, to denial of the accusations brought by the USCIRF, to simply stating the key points brought to light by this report. For example, Rose Al-Youssef...

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USCIRF Harshly Critical of Iran & Egypt

2008-09-19T13:34:00.009-05:00

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) has just published a statement for immediate press release concerning the escalation of extreme measures taken by Iran's government against its religious minorities. Additionally the Commission has released its 2008 Annual Report with Iran being listed under "Countries of Particular Concern," and Egypt listed under "Watch List Countries." The full text of the Press Release is posted below: Sept. 17, 2008: Iran: USCIRF...

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It Takes More Than Words to Change Any Society

2008-09-14T17:09:00.013-05:00

The editor-in-chief of Cairo's newspaper Nahdet Masr, Mr. Muhammad El-Sheb'h, has written an editorial, yesterday, about the question of freedom and equality in the Egyptian society. As an introduction to the subject, he indicated that it is easy for the American society to be critical of the lack of freedom in Egypt. He then explains that the same standards cannot be transferred from one society to the other, simply because the Egyptian society functions under a different set of traditions...

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An Independent Scholarly Essay on Iran's Persecuted Baha'is

2008-09-10T15:48:00.014-05:00

An essay by a well-known dissident, Ahmad Batebi, on the persecution of the Baha'is in Iran and the deprivation of their youth of higher education, was just published by Iranian.Com on the fourth of September. The essay was originally authored in Farsi and translated to English. The essay generated several comments that can be viewed at this link to the publishing website. The entire essay is re-posted below: Freedom for allThe Bahais and higher education in Iran by Ahmad...

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Iran Update: Most Recent News on Detained Baha'is

2008-09-04T20:07:00.007-05:00

The Baha'i World News Service has just updated its page entitled "Iran Update." The new release states the following: Last updated: 4 September 2008 Baha’i leaders still in prison; Nobel Prize winner continues in their defense: The seven members of a Baha’i coordinating committee remain in Evin Prison in Tehran, and there are fears for their safety. Their families have no information about formal charges against them, although it has been more than a month since a government prosecutor was...

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Egyptian Media Questions the Treatment of Baha'i Children

2008-08-31T20:51:00.011-05:00

The question of child education is hitting the headlines again in Egypt. As was previously reported, two young girls from a Baha'i family were finally admitted to a private school in Egypt. Conditions regarding their continued enrollment in school were stipulated however. Cairo's prominent newspaper, Al- Masry Al-Youm, took keen interest in their case and has been providing extensive coverage of the progress of their drama. The last of which was in yesterday's edition, both in Arabic and...

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Voices of Reason Continue to Emerge in Egypt

2008-08-27T05:50:00.003-05:00

An article in Egypt's popular newspaper, Al-Masry Al-Youm, reported in its 15 August 2008 edition on a human rights training course for the youth that was recently held at the famous Library of Alexandria. Of great interest are the words of one of the speakers, Dr. Ali Eddin Hilal, who is a member of the policies committee of Egypt's ruling party. The article, in its original language, is attached here and a full English translation is posted below. [TRANSLATION FROM ARABIC] [Translator’s...

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Baha'is of Egypt: Some Progress & Many Obstacles Remain

2008-08-20T16:36:00.000-05:00

Even though there might be some progress regarding the condition of the Baha'is of Egypt, there continues to be challenges, particularly in regards to the education of children and youth. A blog named Egyptian Baha'i confirmed, through direct personal contact, that the two sisters that were denied admission to preschool and first grade in a Cairo private school have been finally enrolled. The committee charged with the case decided to allow their admission to school using the old paper birth...

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Another Powerful Video on the Persecution of Baha'is

2008-08-15T22:44:00.006-05:00

MidEast Youth and the Muslim Network for Baha'i Rights have just released another powerful video about the distressful escalation of the persecution of Baha'is in Iran and Egypt. The following is a press release announcing the publication of this video: Safeguard The Innocent: Video in Defense of the Baha'i Minority "I will not stand by while my neighbors are denied basic human rights just because they are Baha'is" MideastYouth.com's Censeo Productions and BahaiRights.org announce the...

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More Fraudulent Claims & Threats Against Nobel Peace Prize Winner

2008-08-14T22:42:00.010-05:00

An article in the Baha'i World News Service exposes the recent propaganda and "fraudulent claims" in the Iranian news media intended to stir up "irrational fears and prejudices" among the masses towards anyone who attempts to defend the rights of the Baha'is. Furthermore, in today's AsiaNews.it there was a report on additional accusations and threats in the Iranian media directed at Mrs. Ebadi. The full text of the BWNS article is posted below: Iranian media attacks on Baha'is and Nobel Prize...

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"Mona's Dream" is Becoming Reality

2008-08-11T20:47:00.010-05:00

Payvand's Iran News has recently published an extensive article on the progress of the feature film, Mona's Dream. As to the genesis of the film project, the article states the following: Canadian musician and composer, Jack Lenz, was asked to collaborate with Mel Gibson a few years ago on the musical score of the movie "The Passion of the Christ". Lenz spent more than a year traveling around the world and researching ancient instruments, cultures and their music to come up with an idea of...

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