Events
THE SUNDAY MORNING DEVOTIONS –
Sunday, February 5, 2012
9:30am Devotions-
Hosts-
10:00am-Information Meeting
Host-Mark Kuhns
Topic: “Hands of the Cause of God pt.2″
San Diego Baha’i Center
6545 Alcala Knolls Drive, Linda Vista, CA 92111
Call Martha Hiett for more information – 619-697-2636
Come- bring your friends and share in an inspirational morning!
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SECOND SATURDAY NIGHT DINNER
San Diego Baha’i Center
6545 Alcala Knolls SD 92111
February 11– 6:30 – dinner
7:30 – Program
Baha’is are given the opportunity to contribute to the fund but the important aspect of this evening will be visiting with friends. Consider inviting your neighbors.
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AYYAM-I-HA PARTY Bring your non-Baha’I Friends |
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“We have ordained that these, amid all nights and days, shall be the manifestations –Baha’u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 25 |
| Ayyam-i-ha is the time of giving and doing service for others. We will have a service project that day at the event. Please bring any toiletries or any sort of necessities for needy families. |
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When: Sunday, February 26, 2012 Where: Francis Parker 6501 Linda Vista Road San Diego, CA 92111 Time: 12pm-3pm |
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- The seven leaders of the Bahá’í religious community of Iran – two women and five men – were sentenced to extremely harsh prison terms of twenty years each on August 8, 2010, following a closed trial in June and numerous violations of their rights to due process after over two years of “temporary” detention. Full report That sentence was later verbally reduced to 10 years.
- A new resolution was introduced in the House of Representatives on March 1, 2011 by Illinois Congressmen Robert Dold and Daniel Lipinski, condemning the Government of Iran for its state-sponsored persecution of its Bahá’í minority and its continued violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights. An identical resolution was introduced in the Senate on the same day by Senator Mark Kirk and Senator Richard Durbin.
- On February 12, 2011, the seven Bahá’í leaders were transferred to more brutal sections of the notorious Gohardasht Prison complex, raising concerns, in the case of the two Bahá’í women, that it may have been orchestrated as a means of creating an insecure environment to threaten their lives.
- On December 22, 2010, the United Nations strongly condemned Iran for failing to live up to international human rights standards, and confirmed a resolution that expressed “deep concern at serious ongoing and recurring human rights violations.” The resolution specifically expressed concern over Iran’s discrimination against minorities, including members of the Bahá’í Faith.
- The Bahá’í International Community published an open letter on December 7, 2010 to the head of Iran’s Judiciary, Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq Larijani, contrasting Iran’s persecution of Bahá’ís with Iran’s own call for Muslim minorities to be treated fairly in other countries. It requested that Baha’is in that country be granted full rights of citizenship, chastises Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence for its reprehensible activities and calls for the immediate release of the seven Bahá’í leaders.
- The seven Bahá’ís are completely innocent of the baseless charges against them, which include espionage on behalf of Israel and propaganda activities against Islam. They were sentenced for no other reason than their religious belief. These sentences are a blatant violation of Iran’s obligations to protect religious freedom for all and to observe guarantees of due process as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
- Nobel Prize winner Shirin Ebadi has helped to provide legal representation for the Bahá’ís, to whom she was barely allowed any access. She said she was “stunned” at the sentences and that they are effectively life sentences because the prisoners are middle-aged or older. She said she has examined their case files and there is no evidence to support any of the charges against them.
- The unjust sentencing of the Bahá’í leaders has triggered an international outcry on the part of governments, international organizations, human rights organizations, prominent individuals, and major newspapers.
- U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton condemned the sentencing of the Bahá’ís. She said in her statement issued on August 12, 2010 that the “United States is committed to defending religious freedom around the world, and we have not forgotten the Baha’i community in Iran.” Secretary Clinton later mentioned the Baha’is as an example of Iran’s deteriorating human rights situation in another statement issued on February 23, 2011.
- Editorials protesting Iran’s actions have been published in The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post. The editorial in The Washington Post was written by American-Iranian journalist Roxana Saberi, who shared a cell with the two Bahá’í women prisoners and praised their courage.
- The Bahá’í community in Iran is the largest non-Muslim religious community in the country and has been persecuted since the founding of the Bahá’í Faith in 1844. However, persecution of Bahá’ís has intensified in the last several years. Bahá’ís have been arbitrarily arrested and imprisoned, denied employment, and refused education. Bahá’ís houses have been burned to the ground, Bahá’í holy places have been destroyed, and Bahá’í cemeteries have been desecrated. Bahá’ís have been systematically expelled from universities.
- The Bahá’í Faith is an independent world religion founded in Iran in 1844 with more than five million adherents worldwide. It teaches the divine origin and unity of all the great religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Bahá’ís come from all religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds.
- The U.S. House of Representatives has adopted a number of resolutions calling on Iran to respect the human rights of Bahá’ís, most recently H.Res.175 (October 2009). The Bahá’í community believes that these resolutions have moderated the Iranian government’s treatment of the Bahá’ís. It changes its behavior when it knows it cannot engage in gross human rights violations with impunity.
- For more information about the situation in Iran, please visit http://iran.bahai.us and http://news.bahai.org.
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Core Activities:
The Baha’i community would like to engage with you in a process of community building set in motion by a few activities which raise the capacity of a population to take charge of its own spiritual, social, and intellectual development. We are learning about community building, and are seeking collaborators to work with us in implementing paths of service which lay the foundation of a spiritual community and contribute to the betterment of society. The Baha’i teachings say: “The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds, through commendable and seemly conduct….” ~ Bahá’u’lláh
Study Circles-Participative environment open to all where people of varied background advance on equal footing and explore the application of the Creative Word to their individual and collective lives. Attendees gain spiritual insights and acquire skills of service through a process of action, reflection, consultation, and accompaniment.
Contact: Mehran Manshadi-cicsandiego@gmail.com or 858-537-7374
Children’s Classes- Concerned with the spiritual education of the neighborhood, we help you implement joyous classes that nurture the tender hearts and minds of children, that help draw out those spiritual gems, such as truthfulness, kindness, and generosity, which lie deep within each child, and lay the foundations of a noble and upright character. Spiritual qualities such as Truthfulness, Justice, and Unity are developed through songs, prayers, quotations, stories, cooperative games, and age appropriate arts such as coloring for younger children.
Contact: Tara Raam- raam.tara@gmail.com or 408-499-1937
Junior Youth Spiritual Empowerment Program- A program that assists junior youth to navigate through a crucial stage of their lives and to become empowered to direct their energies toward the advancement of civilization. The youth meet regularly with a trained “animator,” study and discuss lessons of the program, and engage in artistic, extracurricular, and small service initiatives. The program helps them to analyze the constructive and destructive forces operating in society and to recognize the influence these forces exert on their thoughts and actions, sharpening their spiritual perception, enhancing their powers of expression and reinforcing moral structures that will serve them throughout their lives.
Contact: Tina Badiyan-tinabadiyan@gmail.com or 310-980-1672
Devotionals- Uniting with others in prayers in diverse setting can help satisfy the inmost longing of every heart to commune with its Maker. These devotional gatherings can awaken spiritual susceptibilities, bind hearts together in the love of God, and shape a pattern of community life distinguished for its devotional character.
Contact: Mouzhgan Aboonour- maboonour@gmail.com or 858-433-0346