Apr 18th, 2009
– Dashing Around –
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!
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