Results 1 to 10 of 483

Iran’s new school year again excludes Baha’is

NEW YORK, 3 October 2008

As the new academic year got under way, young Baha'is in Iran again found the door to higher education closed. Although in its public stance the Iranian government maintains that Baha'is are free to attend university, reports over the past few weeks indicate that the policy of preventing Baha'is from obtaining higher education remains in effect

Praying for the sick – can science prove it helps?

SAN DIEGO, United States, 1 October 2008

Proving scientifically that it helps to pray for a sick person is an elusive proposition, says Dr. Taeed Quddusi, one of the speakers at the 32nd annual conference of the North American Association for Baha’i Studies. The first problem, he said, is designing an experiment, given that we are not sure of the desired result of a prayer. “Is the point of prayer to prolong life?” he said during an interview after the conference.

Baha’i Studies conference attracts 1,400 people from 23 countries

SAN DIEGO, United States, 1 October 2008

The 32nd annual conference of the North American Association for Baha’i Studies drew some 1,400 people from 23 countries - the largest-ever representation from outside the United States and Canada. The gathering, held this year in San Diego, had as its theme “Religion and Social Cohesion.” The four-day conference concluded on 1 September. The presenter of the 26th Hasan M.

Melburnians turn to ‘Soul Food’ for nourishment

MELBOURNE, Australia, 28 September 2008

Melbourne stands out as a multicultural metropolis – Malaysian restaurants, Japanese paper shops, music venues with bands from Senegal to Indonesia, all within strolling distance of one another. Not surprising, then, that Melburnians have adopted a Baha’i devotional meeting with a difference.

Youth program in tough town offers key ingredient – hope

PORTICI, Italy, 15 September 2008

Alberto Liccardi, 12, lives in the southern Italian city of Portici and says he has some advice for friends that hang out in the streets. “Instead of doing nothing in the middle of the road, come to the Baha’i Center. It is better for you,” he offers. Alberto is one of a handful of youth in Portici, a city of 60,000 just southeast of Naples, who have signed up for a Baha’i program for young teens that operates around Italy and elsewhere.

A musical life that goes on and on

RIED, Austria, 29 August 2008

Composer Russell Garcia is 92 years old and still making music. Not only that, he’s touring internationally. This week, in the town of Ried in northern Austria, in front of an audience of 200 people, he conducted a local orchestra and choir in a work that he and his wife created. Titled “A Path to Peace,” the piece was inspired by the Baha’i writings and includes original music by Mr. Garcia and lyrics by his 77-year-old wife, Gina Mauriello Garcia.

Baha'is imprisoned in Yemen may face imminent deportation to Iran

NEW YORK, 27 August 2008

Three Baha’is currently imprisoned in Yemen are facing the possibility of imminent deportation to Iran, where Baha’is are intensely persecuted and they would likely face imprisonment or torture. “We are gravely concerned about the fate of these three Baha'is, who are being held without charges in a case that is clearly based on religious persecution,” said Bani Dugal, the principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations

Iranian media attacks on Baha'is and Nobel Prize Winner Shirin Ebadi seek to stir “irrational fears and prejudices”

NEW YORK, 12 August 2008

Fraudulent claims in the Iranian news media about seven imprisoned Baha'i leaders and the efforts of Nobel Peace Prize winner Shirin Ebadi and others to defend them represent an effort by the government to prevent Baha'is from having adequate legal representation – and also to stir up “irrational fears and prejudices,” the Baha'i International Community said in a statement today

American jazz musicians compose winning song for Olympics

BRUNSWICK, Georgia, United States, 5 August 2008

Two U.S. jazz musicians combined their knowledge of Chinese music, Brazilian samba, and American jazz to write one of the songs being featured at the Beijing Olympic Games. “Beijing Olympics Hao Yuing (Good Luck),” composed by Phil Morrison and Keith Williams, was one of only about 30 works selected in the final phase of a competition sponsored by the Beijing Olympic Committee.

Baha’is reject allegations of subversive activity in Iran

NEW YORK, 3 August 2008

The Baha’i International Community categorically rejects statements by an Iranian prosecutor that seven Baha’is detained in Tehran have “confessed” to operating an “illegal” organization with ties to Israel and other countries. “We deny in the strongest possible terms the suggestion that Baha’is in Iran have engaged in any subversive activity,” said Bani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha’i International Community to the United Nations