Minister of Foreign Affairs and House of Commons mark anniversaries of Baha’i arrests

Minister Baird meets with (L to R) Corinne Box, Susanne Tamás and Gerald Filson of the Canadian Baha'i Community. © Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Canada Ottawa, Ontario, 15 May 2012 (CBNS) — As seven Baha’i leaders begin their fifth year of incarceration, arrested and sentenced solely because of their religious faith, Canada’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, John Baird, and the Canadian House of Commons marked the anniversary with strong condemnation of the Iranian regime. The seven leaders face another 16 years of imprisonment.

Minister John Baird issued his statement on 14 May, saying that “Canada remains deeply concerned by Iran’s ongoing, persistent and pervasive persecution of religious minorities.”
“Today, on the fourth anniversary of the arbitrary arrest and detention of seven Iranian Baha’i community leaders, we are again reminded of the troubling state of human rights in Iran.”

New book on Canada’s religions includes chapter on the Baha’i experience

The cover image of The Religions of Canadians.
© University of Toronto Press. Reprinted with permission of the publisher Toronto, Ontario, 11 May 2012 (CBNS) — Many religions trying to establish themselves in Canada have concentrated in major cities or built identities by setting themselves apart from others. Canada’s small Baha’i community has taken a different tack, according to sociologist Will van den Hoonaard, whose chapter on the Baha’is is part of a new book on Canadian religions published by University of Toronto Press.

Baha’i Convention focuses on the education of children and youth

The newly elected members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada. © Lorraine Goh Montreal, Québec, 1 May 2012 (CBNS) — Some 160 Delegates, representing regions in all ten provinces and three territories of Canada, attended the annual Baha’i National Convention in Montreal April 26-29. More than four hundred Baha’i guests also attended this year’s convention. Participants reviewed the past year’s accomplishments and discussed future plans with the community’s national governing council, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada.

Dr. Vahid Rafati to speak at Toronto Persian Conference

Dr. Vahid Rafati. © Jeffrey Safajou Toronto, Ontario, 25 April 2012 (CBNS) — Dr. Vahid Rafati, of the Research Centre at the Baha’i World Centre, will speak at the First Annual Conference of the Society for Studies in Persian Culture and History, to be held in Richmond Hill on 18-21 May 2012.

Ridván Festival for Baha’is includes centenary celebration of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to Canada

Paths and gardens around the Shrine of Baha’u’llah and the Bahji Pilgrim House. © 2006, Baha'i International Community Toronto, Ontario, 19 April 2012 (CBNS) — Commencing April 21, Canadian Baha’is will celebrate their faith’s “Most Great Festival”, the Festival of Ridván. The festival covers a twelve-day period three days of which are considered holy days: the first (April 21), ninth (April 29), and twelfth day (May 2). On these three days Baha’is hold gatherings that include prayers, music, and other celebratory activities that tend to reflect the cultures and countries where they take place.