Wendi’s Wanders

. . . the human spirit is a Divine Trust, and it must traverse all conditions; for its passage and movement through the conditions of existence will be the means of its acquiring perfections. Bahai writings

This week two very well known entertainers passed away:  Michael Jackson, a unique musician, and Farah Fawcett, a popular TV actress.

Two less widely known people also passed away and it is to them that I wish to pay tribute.

The first was Archie Webster, a fellow magistrate who lived in the same village I live in. When I first met him in 1982, I was taken with his broad smile and warm welcome, wise words and excellent example. He had a generous spirit, was kind and helpful, courteous and dignified - spiritual qualities that just oozed out of him as he served the local church and community. I am going to miss him a lot.

The second was David Lewis, a British Baha’i, father of my friend and colleague at George Ronald, Publisher, Erica Leith. David too had a generous spirit, was the very essence of kindness, wisdom and service, was perhaps the most courteous man I have ever met and was dignity personified. His service to the Baha’i community was unstinting. These spiritual qualities shone from his ever-smiling face. I’m already missing him.

These two men - one a Christian, one a Baha’i - shared so many qualities and characteristics, both physical and spiritual. It is a shame that they never met in this life. However, having shared their passage into the next world, I suspect they will recognise the spiritual beauty of each other now that they are there and become friends.

Technorati Tags: Bahai, Baha’i, Michael Jackson, Farah Fawcett, Archie Webster, David Lewis, life after death

Consider what a vast difference exists between modern democracy and the old forms of despotism. Under an autocratic government the opinions of men are not free, and development is stifled, whereas in democracy, because thought and speech are not restricted, the greatest progress is witnessed. Bahai writings

I have not actually left the planet but I have been away from home rather a lot. My niece Courtney Gundry married Andy Primus at the end of May in Tennessee and the wedding was a real family reunion. The EBBF conference `Living Values’ in Acuto, Italy, was sold out. I’ve had tea with the Duchess of Bedford at Woburn Abbey (lovely woman, very big house!), sped up the M1 to the Multi-Faith Centre at the University of Derby, watched my grandson Dreyfus run the relay and tackle the obstacle course (came in 1st!) at te sports day at St Christopher’s school in Letchworth, served the food at the Community Foundation’s `foal parade’  and talked about UNIFEM to the Women’s Institute in Sunningdale. We have watched our vegetable garden grow - and have eaten some of the lettuce and radishes and strawberries (giving up some to the slugs). All in all a very pleasant summer so far!

But behind all this are other trends: the deepening economic situation, the near melt-down of the British parliament over members’ expenses, international threats in North Korea and Afghanistan, the apparent end of the Tamil Tigers after a horrifying two decades and the depressing problems that continue in the Middle East. The beautiful wedding I attended was in stark contrast to the wedding of two Baha’is in Iran, whose celebrations were interrupted by agents of the Ministry of Intelligence.

The elections in Iran caught my attention - I am always fascinated by elections - and I was particularly interested in this one because of the situation of the Baha’is there. It was amazing to see crowds of people in the streets, some shouting that the Baha’is in Iran should have their rights, others wanting the liberation of women, still others wanting a change from despotic rule. It seemed a change of heart might occur and the country offer its people, including the Baha’is, a wider range of human rights, although I did not hold out much hope of this. A very high proportion of people came out to vote - much higher than we have seen in recent western elections.

Yet voting alone does not create democracy. In common with other commentators on political processes, the Baha’i International Community has identified `three factors that largely determine the state of governance’: `the quality of leadership, the quality of the governed and the quality of the structures and processes in place’. They point out that `there is an emerging international consensus on the core characteristics of good governance’: `democracy, the rule of law, accountability, transparency and participation by civil society’. Further, the Baha’i International Community recognises that `Governance must be guided by universal values, including an ethic of service to the common good.’ See the whole of the BIC statement on Valuing Spirituality in Development here.

By this definition, most countries have some way to go before they will attain the state of `good governance’ and democracy. Are we making progress?

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Iran, elections, British MPs, British Parliament, democracy, accountability, rule of law, transparency, Middle East, Tamil Tigers, Baha’i International Community, human rights

. . . be so faithful and sincere in all your actions that every member may be known as embodying the qualities of honesty, love, faith, kindness, generosity, and courage . . . be detached from all that is not God, attracted by the Heavenly Breath . . . Bahai writings

Free the Evin Seven!

You may have heard of the phrase `Driving While Black’, a word play on the offence of driving while intoxicated. Coined in the United States, it refers to the racial profiling allegedly used by the police who, it is said, will stop, question, search and charge a driver just because he or she is black. Such is the legacy of racism in America.

Free the Evin Seven!

Baha’is in Iran know exactly what this is like. Arbitrary arrests, houses looted, books destroyed, children taunted at school by their own teachers, older students denied access to training and higher education - such have the Baha’is endured since the resurgence of persecution against the community in recent years.

Free the Evin Seven!

If you are breathing and Baha’i in Iran, then you are likely to find yourself charged with what I will call `breathing while Baha’i’. By definition, your very being makes you illegal, a `danger to national security’. Iran’s Prosecutor General, Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi, has stated that the very expression of affiliation to the Baha’i Faith is illegal. A Baha’i is, by definition, dangerous. A Baha’i who expresses anything about his or her beliefs - even practising them - is a criminal. Such is the legacy of `racism’ in Iran.

Free the Evin Seven!

It is not hard to see, then, that a Baha’i who puts into practice the teachings of Baha’u'llah on serving humanity, treating women and men equally, honesty, trustworthiness and so on is likely to find himself or herself in prison. Such a dangerous person cannot be trusted to have legal counsel (Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dr Shirin Ebadi) - in fact, good idea to lock up the legal adviser too! - and there is no need to charge a Baha’i with anything as just being a Baha’i already condemns him.

Free the Evin Seven!

So it is no wonder that seven prominent Iranian Baha’is are today commemorating their first year in prison. There really is no way to avoid such a fate if you insist on breathing while Baha’i. Charges have yet to be laid upon the seven but they are accused by Dorri-Najafabadi of  `espionage for Israel’ and `insulting religious sanctities’. And now the Baha’i International Community is reporting that they will be charged with `spreading corruption on earth’. (Read more about this here.)

Free the Evin Seven!

Now, you might think that such a concept is a little odd. If you look at the teachings of Baha’u'llah and look at Baha’is and then compare them with the people who traffic in drugs, people, weapons and pornography — or even with some politicians –  it is very difficult to see how Baha’is could ever be considered people who spread corruption. But then you discover that this catch-all phrase is used for a whole host of  `criminals’ and particularly those with whom the Iranian leadership has a fundamental theological disagreement. Ah, there you have it! They fundamentally disagree with the Baha’is.

Free the Evin Seven!

Unfortunately, being convicted of the crime of  `spreading corruption on earth’ can lead to execution. We pray this is not the fate of the seven leaders wasting away in Evin Prison in Tehran.

Free the Evin Seven!

You can see that breathing while Baha’i can be very dangerous - but then, I like to live dangerously, what about you?

Free the Evin Seven!

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, Baha’u'llah, Evin prison, Tehran, human rights, Dr Shirin Ebadi, criminal justice, spreading corruption on earth, racism

At that hour . . . your religion shall remain an empty word on your tongues. And when these signs appear amongst you, anticipate the day when the red-hot wind will have swept over you . . . or when stones will have rained upon you. Islamic tradition, quoted in the Bahai writings

A fascinating piece of research came my way today, a document based on a survey of over four thousand Iranians both in and out of Iran. Over half the respondents were 20 to 29 years old, demographically the largest age group in the country. While 62 per cent of the men and 77 per cent of the women said their religion was Islam, only 15.6 per cent of men and 22.5 of women said they practised their religion, while overall 38 per cent of all respondents identified themselves as secular.

It was interesting, therefore, to read in our parish magazine today the response of our local vicar to the news that two eminent Christian clerics have suggested there be a general boycott of television because there has not been enough religious broadcasting during the Easter season. The vicar said he was amazed that there was any religious broadcasting at all, given the degree of secularisation that has taken place in the UK. He doubted the ability of religious programmes on TV to turn this around. Getting people to come to church, he said, is not so difficult - it is teaching Christianity in such a way that it transforms the lives of those who hear it.

It is exactly at the point when the world is spiritually running on empty that God provides a top-up of information and education. The universal, eternal principles by which all people are to live are reiterated and refreshed, and the application of those principles made appropriate for that epoch. He does this by providing a great teacher, a Manifestation, who brings God;s current plan for humanity.

That God has, over the whole history of humanity, gradually provided guidance that is fine-tuned to the increasing and nuanced needs of His people seems to have eluded most of us. But it should not be so strange. All education is provided progressively, with more sophisticated concepts being introduced after less complicated ones are learned. Schools are based on this very principle. Yet some people still seem to think the world can run effectively on information that has not been updated in millennia.

Baha’is are currently celebrating the twelve-day festival of Ridvan, the period when Bahá’u'lláh, the begetter of the Baha’i Faith, made public in 1863 something He had known for a decade - that God had chosen Him to be the vehicle for God’s Word for this age, a Manifestation of God. Not perhaps so surprising. given this is an age of secularisation and cynicism and scepticism. Bahá’u'lláh Himself wrote of this very phenomenon:

The vitality of men’s belief in God is dying out in every land; nothing short of His wholesome medicine can ever restore it. The corrosion of ungodliness is eating into the vitals of human society; what else but the Elixir of His potent Revelation can cleanse and revive it? Is it within human power . . . to effect in the constituent elements of any of the minute and indivisible particles of matter so complete a transformation as to transmute it into purest gold? Perplexing and difficult as this may appear, the still greater task of converting satanic strength into heavenly power is one that We have been empowered to accomplish. The Force capable of such a transformation transcendeth the potency of the Elixir itself. The Word of God, alone, can claim the distinction of being endowed with the capacity required for so great and far-reaching a change.

To commemorate Ridvan, on Wednesday evening Moojan and I attended the celebration at the Houses of Parliament - you can read the details of this annual event here.  A happy occasion, though overshadowed by the ongoing persecution of the Baha’is in Iran and the imprisonment of the seven Baha’is leaders there. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, in a letter addressed to the reception hosted by the All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha’is, expressed his `respect and admiration’ for the British Baha’i community which, he said, `makes a contribution to British life out of all proportion to its size’. Too sad, then, that the Baha’is in Iran are unable to contribute to their own country’s progress. But this is what happens when a whole world is running on empty.

Technorati Tags: Bahai, Baha’i, Baha’u'llah, Ridvan, persecution of the Baha’is In Iran, Archbishop of York, Gordon Brown, Iran, Houses of Parliament, All-Party Parliamentary Friends of the Baha’is, human rights

There is a power in this Cause, a mysterious power, far, far, far away from the ken of men and angels . . . It moves the hearts. It rends the mountains . . . It inspires the friends. It dashes into a thousand pieces all the forces of opposition. It creates new spiritual worlds. This is a mystery of the Kingdom of Abha.  Bahai writings

For some, it might be the height of insult to have their entire religious belief system represented by nothing more than a straight line — but for the Baha’is in Egypt it is a cause of great rejoicing. The Baha’i World News Service is reporting today that, after a long struggle, minority religious communities in Egypt, including the Baha’is, will be able to get government documents. No longer will they have to fill in the space on such documents that denotes their religion with one of the three recognized ones — Islam, Christianity, Judaism — they can use a dash — instead.

It means Baha’is, Hindus, Buddhists and others can get the all-important ID card that enables them to undertake basic activities such as enrolling their children in school and university, receiving medical treatment and buying a car.

While this might seem a small victory, or perhaps even a non-victory, it allows them to realise their rights of citizenship. As my English grandfather would have said, it’s a dashed good idea!

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, persecution of the Baha’is, Egypt, ID cards, minority religious communities

Baha’u'llah emphasized and established the equality of man and woman … The happiness of mankind will be realized when women and men coordinate and advance equally, for each is the complement and helpmeet of the other. Bahai writings

Moojan and I spent the long bank holiday weekend at the Baha’i spring school, held again this year at Mount St Mary’s College, Spinkhill in Derbyshire. A beautiful location and lovely grounds. We took our five year old grandson Dreyfus with us and he loved it. The children’s classes are always excellent at this school.

When I returned home, among the emails was one thanking me for participating in the commemoration of International Women’s Day in Bedfordshire at the end of March - a week or so late but useful for me because I had been in New York at the Commission on the Status of Women on the actual day itself, representing the Baha’i International Community and the European Baha’i Business Forum (EBBF). International Women’s Day (IWD) celebrates the accomplishments of women and draws attention to the continuing efforts to secure full gender equality. The local IWD was sponsored by Bedfordshire Business Women, whose president this year is my friend Pauline Stewart (who, by the way, does an amazing leadership programme called `Walking with Wolves’ ).

The IWD was held at the Sculpture Gallery at Woburn Abbey and women - and a few men - from all over the county attended. The lovely lunch was not eaten by me, as it was held during the Baha’i Fast, but it was a good chance to network and to talk about some of the issues arising out of the CSW. I represented the UK National Committee for UNIFEM, with an exhibition.

Another friend, Judy Oliver, who I have known for years (believe it or not, back in the 80s we used to run a market stall together with a couple of other friends, selling used clothes! - now we sit on the Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation - well, Bedfordshire  is a very small county!), came along to the IWD and filmed bits for her latest venture, Local News TV. I was very pleased to see that she used bits of my interview about UNIFEM in the footage.

But while all this is going on here, always in my mind is what is happening to our Baha’i friends in Iran. They are suffering yet another wave of persecution and arbitrary arrests. Do keep up to date with developments on Iran Press Watch.

Technorati Tags: Bahai, Baha’i, International Women’s Day, Baha’i International Community, European Baha’i Business Forum, EBBF, Bedfordshire Business Women, Pauline Steward, Walking with Wolves, Woburn Abbey Sculpture Gallery, UNIFEM UK, Judy Oliver, Bedfordshire and Luton Community Foundation, Local News TV, Iran Press Watch, Iran, persecution of Baha’is

In other words, man must throughout all the degrees of life evolve and progress day unto day, for life is continuous. Bahai writings

My blog is evolving, just like everything else.

My good friend and mentor in all things blog, Barney Leith, has been helping me upgrade my blog and move it along. I want to thank him here for all his work! If you are not yet subscribed to Barney’s blog, you really should be. Take a look here.

The picture was taken by Sonja Hartmann, a Baha’i delegate from Germany, at the recent United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. I thought the little ladybird suitcase I used there to carry my computer and papers around was just perfect for the `travelling light’ theme of this blog. So thanks to Sonja for thinking of it!

Another blog you might like to read is my brother Steve’s, African Wayfarer. Steve has been in southern Africa for 30 years. He is a great guy and you will love his blog and the pictures of African life . Read it here - give him some encouragement to continue!
There is a little more work to on my blog, so please bear with me as I learn the new arrangements.

Technorati Tags: Bahai, Baha’i, Barney Leith, Sonja Hartmann, Steve Worth, Commission on the Status of Women, travelling

There is no retreat nor way of flight for anyone save unto God, and no refuge nor asylum but in Him. `Abdu’l-Baha, Bahai writings

One of the challenges of travelling is that it is so hard to find time to write this blog! At the end of February I went to see my father and step-mother and my twin sisters Tina and Gina and their families in California. Too short a visit! From there, I went to New York where I attended the Commission on the Status of Women
at the United Nations in New York for two weeks, representing the Baha’i International Community, EBBF and the UK National Committee for UNIFEM. Hard to condense into a few words a UN event with 45 country delegations and over 2500 NGOs in attendance!
Here are some pictures (thanks to the photographers - you know who you are!):

The Baha’i delegation to CSW

Briefing at the CSW

Simon Batchelor, Wendi Momen, Carl Murrall, Fulya Vekiloglu

Survivors of the second week of CSW

No sooner had I returned to the UK than on 21 March, the first day of the Baha’i year, Moojan and I travelled to Delft to attend the wedding of Sylvia Karlsson and Onno Vinkhuyzen - a beautiful ceremony in a beautiful old city.

And today Moojan and I were the Baha’i representatives at the final Thanksgiving Service for Bedfordshire County Council. The Council, which came into existence in 1889, will go out of existence on 31 March this year, to be replaced by two unitary authorities. If you do not live in the UK, this will be completely meaningless to you - actually, it may be completely incomprehensible no matter where you live! - but, basically, the existing form of local governance is being abolished and a new form is coming into being. If you are fascinated by such things, you can read about it here. Have a look at this blog for the details of the service.

Bedfordshire Coat of Arms

The British do this sort of thing really well - a long peal of bells before and after; a packed church with the bishop and several other clergymen in full clerical robes; local country councillors and partners; mayors and partners from all the towns in the area - many, many heavy gold chains on show - plenty of rousing hymns including Bedford’s `own’ hymn, `To Be a Pilgrim’, with words by local son John Bunyan, he of `Pilgrim’s Progress’ fame; a sermon about beginnings and endings; the Salvation Army band playing fast-paced music including, incongruously, show tunes; and the Minden band of the Queen’s Division providing a Sunset and Beating Retreat ceremony at the end, marching up and down the road in front of the erstwhile County Council building as the County Council flag was lowered and handed over to the retiring chairman of the Council in a tearful moment - all in the sunshine of a beautiful spring day with daffodils in the grass around us and swans on the river. And as the sun began to set, the handing over of governance to a new team - the peaceful transfer of power in the presence of local people - women, men, children - representing all political flavours, all nations, all races and all religions.

While all this was going on, I was thinking of our Baha’i friends and their supporters in Iran, whose fate is in the hands of people who, apparently, are not interested in diversity or truth or peace or justice. Perhaps such people will themselves soon beat a retreat.

Technorati Tags: Bahai, Baha’i, Bedfordshire County Council, persecution of Iranian Baha’is, John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress, To Be a Pilgrim, Minden band, Commission on the Status of Women, Baha’i International Community, EBBF, UK National Committee for UNIFEM, Delft, UNIFEM UK, Salvation Army

Big Apple, Small World

I am greatly pleased with the city of New York. Its harbour entrance, its piers, buildings and broad avenues are magnificent and beautiful. Truly, it is a wonderful city. As New York has made such progress in material civilization, I hope that it may also advance spiritually in the Kingdom . . . `Abdu’l-Baha, Bahai writings

I have arrived in New York to attend the 53rd session of the Commission on the Status of Women, which meets every year to `evaluate progress on gender equality, identify challenges, set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide’. I am here with the Baha’i International Community and the European Baha’i Business Forum, trying to share with governments, UN agencies and other non-governmental organisations, our perspective on gender equality: that it is a matter of justice that responsibilities — at home and at work — are shared between women and men; that it is necessary to change behaviours and practices that keep women unequal and therefore societies unable to reach their potential; that to change behaviours requires not only legislation and social restructuring but also a basic change in attitudes and understanding on the part of all people and their institutions. OK, not a small task but many, many individuals and organisations are in fact promoting these same ideas and the Baha’is work collaboratively with them to make these points to governments and officials.

Tonight there was an Ayyam-i-Ha party in the Bronx. This is the four-day (five in a leap year) of Baha’i holiday that sits within the Baha’i calendar of 19 months of 19 days (=361 +4 = 365) and is set aside for celebrations, charity, gift-giving and sharing that precedes the Baha’i month of fasting. The party was one of those events where, before you go, you think you won’t know anyone but it turns out that if you just talk long enough to enough people you will discover many connections. For example, the hostess was a good friend of my sister. One of her guests was a Chinese from Malaysia, now working the New York, who is an admirer of my husband’s work and also a good friend of a man in Canada whose book we at George Ronald are just publishing. His wife is a Lebanese who is the daughter of the man who translated my book `Understanding the Baha’i Faith’ into Arabic.

We had a great time at the party - where we ate both Italian and Korean `spaghetti’ - and continued to seek connections between us, connections that form the unity that is so important if we are to build a community that is peaceful, just and prosperous and where equality between women and men is a `given’.

Technorati Tags: Bahai, Baha’i, Commission on the Status of Women, Ayyam-i-Ha, Baha’i International Community, Understanding the Baha’i Faith