Desmond Tutu and Jose Ramos-Horta join calls for release of Baha'i educators

Two Nobel Peace Prize laureates – Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, and Jose Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor – who have joined the global outcry at the persecution faced by Baha'i educators in Iran. (Photo credits: left, UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferre; right, UN Photo/Ky Chung)New York, 26 September 2011 (BWNS) — As a number of Baha'i educators appear in court in Iran, two Nobel Peace Prize winners have sharply criticized the Iranian government, comparing its actions to "the Dark Ages of Europe" or the "Spanish Inquisition."

The remarks by Desmond Tutu, the Anglican Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, and Jose Ramos-Horta, President of East Timor, appear in an open letter to the academic community published today in the Huffington Post, under the title "Iran's war against knowledge."

In the letter, the Nobel laureates call upon the Iranian government to release unconditionally and drop charges against the seven Baha'is currently on trial in Iran for their educational activities.

"The forward progress of humankind in the last centuries has been fueled, more than any other factor, by increasing access to information, more rapid exchange of ideas, and in most parts of the world, universal education," they write.

"So it is particularly shocking when despots and dictators in the twenty first century attempt to subjugate their own populations by attempting to deny education or information to their people.

"Not only is it futile in the long term, it makes them appear fearful of the very age they live in, and haunted by the new thinkers in their midst."

"Perhaps the most glaring example of this fear today is the denial of higher education to the members of the Baha'i Faith in Iran – a peaceful religion with no political agenda, which recognizes the unity of all religions," says the letter.

Conference examines habits of thought

Dr. Nader Saiedi
San Francisco, California, 18 August 2011 (CBNS) — The history of humanity has primarily been one of dehumanization, said Dr. Nader Saiedi, speaking at the annual Conference of the Association of Bahá’í Studies in San Francisco, 11-14 August 2011. His talk, the 29th Hasan M. Balyuzi Memorial Lecture, was a highlight of the conference attended by more than 1,500 adults, youth and children.

Canadian senate inquiry into the persecution of the Baha’is of Iran

Senator Mobina Jaffer of British Columbia with Susie Tamas and Geoffrey Cameron of the Baha'i Community's Office of Governmental Relations.Ottawa, Ontario, 24 June 2011 (CBNS) — Senator Mobina Jaffer of British Columbia delivered a 20-minute speech on the situation of the Baha’is in Iran to the Canadian Senate in Ottawa on June 21. This followed a shorter intervention a week earlier on June 14. Senator Jaffer called attention to the continued imprisonment of the seven Baha’i leaders in Iran as well as the recent attacks on the Baha’i Institute of Higher Education.

Land and sea mural builds unity in Victoria

The Land and Sea Mural in Ogden Point Breakwater. Photo by Dean Kalayn.

Baha’i prayer to grace 800-metre long mural

Victoria, British Columbia, 14 June 2011 (CBNS) — A five-year-long project to create a colossal mural in Victoria‘s harbour has become more than a groundbreaking artistic endeavour. Just as important, says Darlene Gait, one of two artists that designed the Land and Sea Mural taking shape on the Ogden Point Breakwater, is its role in uniting local First Nations people and bridging the gap between First Nations’ and other cultures.

Next steps on Canada’s religious freedom office

The following article, by Geoffrey Cameron is reprinted from the Opinion section of “Embassy – Canada’s Foreign Policy Newsweekly”, June 1, 2011 edition.

Toronto, Ontario, 7 June 2011 (CBNS) — Now that we have a new minister of foreign affairs, one of the tasks ahead is the elaboration on how religious freedom will feature in Canadian foreign policy.