Statement, made by 'Abdu'l-Baha to a Baha'i of Jewish Background - Jinab-i-Azizi in Paris:

"Inscribe in the margin of your book: All the forces of the world are being defeated. Have patience for a few years. The light of the Revelation of Baha'u'llah will envelop the whole world."

From Memoirs of Jinab-i-Aziz'u'llah Azizi

The Three False Gods - Nationalism, Racialism and Communism

Shoghi Effendi said :

God Himself has indeed been dethroned from the hearts of men, and an idolatrous world passionately and clamorously hails and worships the false gods which its own idle fancies have fatuously created, and its misguided hands so impiously exalted. The chief idols in the desecrated temple of mankind are none other than the triple gods of Nationalism, Racialism and Communism, at whose altars governments and peoples, whether democratic or totalitarian, at peace or at war, of the East or of the West, Christian or Islamic, are, in various forms and in different degrees, now worshiping. Their high priests are the politicians and the worldly-wise, the so-called sages of the age; their sacrifice, the flesh and blood of the slaughtered multitudes; their incantations outworn shibboleths and insidious and irreverent formulas; their incense, the smoke of anguish that ascends from the lacerated hearts of the bereaved, the maimed, and the homeless. 

The theories and policies, so unsound, so pernicious, which deify the state and exalt the nation above mankind, which seek to subordinate the sister races of the world to one single race, which discriminate between the black and the white, and which tolerate the dominance of one privileged class over all others—these are the dark, the false, and crooked doctrines for which any man or people who believes in them, or acts upon them, must, sooner or later, incur the wrath and chastisement of God.

How Baha'u'llah presented Himself to the people of Israel?

Baha'u'llah presented Himself to the local people in the Haifa-Akka region - there is at least one tablet revealed to the local population - the Tablet to Hardegg, the leader of the German Christians in Haifa. A friend offered this partial translation and it shows that Baha'u'llah squarely stated Who He was.

Be-Naam-e-Daanay-e tavaana
In the Name of the Omniscient the Omnipotent...

Ey Mala'-e Yahood
O concourse of Israel

Shomaa az man boodeed
You were of Me

cheh shod haala maraa na-meeshenaaseed
Why is that ye recognize Me not? ...

dar in Kalima-ye Yuhanna tafakkor koneed
Ponder in this Word of John for John hath announced unto you the descent of

madeena muqaddasa-ye 'azeema
A Holy A Great City

wa qaala
and He said

wa lam ara feeha haykalan
And I did not see a Haykal a Temple therein

wal madeenatu laa tahtaaju ...
and the City does not need lil-shamsi the sun

leanna Baha'u'llah azaa'a feeha
for the Glory of God is the Light of it.

Baha'i Shrine a Symbol of Tolerance and Peace in Israel

Unveiling of a road sign in Arabic, English, and Hebrew for the UNESCO Square for Tolerance and Peace in Haifa, Israel, on 29 May 2011, in the presence of prominent guests including the Archbishop of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church for the North of Israel, the Director-General of UNESCO, and the Mayor of Haifa.

In recent years, Haifa has more firmly established its reputation as one of the region’s most ethnically and religiously diverse cities, including among its residents Jews, Christians, Muslims, Druze, and Bahá’ís. In this spirit, on 29 May 2011, a special ceremony was held in the Bahá’í gardens to inaugurate the UNESCO Square for Tolerance and Peace, situated at the point where Haifa’s historic German Templer Colony meets the terraced gardens of the Shrine of the Báb. This followed the inscription, in July 2008, of the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, together with the surrounding buildings and gardens, on the UNESCO World Heritage List as sites of “outstanding universal value”. At the ceremony, Ms. Irina Bokova, the Director-General of UNESCO, said, “I am more than convinced that the only ways to build a more peaceful and equitable world are through education and dialogue—to deepen understanding, to strengthen mutual respect, and to prepare the ground for reconciliation.”

Over the next year, the Square was developed through the addition of upgraded stonework and decorative f loral plantings in the centre of its traffic circle. In 2012, at an event to mark the completion of this work, hosted by the Bahá’í World Centre in collaboration with the Haifa Municipality and the Beit Hagefen Arab-Jewish Cultural Center, some 250 students from various high schools around Haifa came together at Beit Hagefen to explore the concept of co-existence and the theme of Haifa as a shared city. The young people then participated in a march towards the UNESCO Square for Tolerance and Peace, led by the Mayor of Haifa, a representative from Beit Hagefen, and a representative from the Bahá’í World Centre. The march ended with the symbolic release of doves representing Haifa’s international stature as the City of Peace.

Israeli Prime Minister visits the shrine of 'Bab', the forerunner of Baha'i Faith.

Photos: Haim Tzah, Government Press Office

The Bahá'í Gardens in Haifa, which can be called the Hanging Gardens of Haifa, are gardens located around the Tomb of the Bab on Mount Carmel. These gardens are a symbol of Haifa and one of the most important tourist attractions.

Azerbaijan: The land of religious tolerance

By SPONSORED - Monday, October 2, 2017

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

What Muslim country allows Jews, Christians, Muslims and Baha`is to live side by side in peace and harmony?

Father Constantin, Press Secretary of Baku-Azerbaijan Eparchy of Russian Orthodox Church

In Azerbaijan’s long history, many nationalities and different ethnic groups have lived together, and the Azeri people have developed a mentality of love and kindness to other people. And history didn’t record any conflict between Christians, Jews and Muslims, the three main denominations in Azerbaijan. Even when idol worshippers lived here, such conflicts didn’t happen.

Today, our government’s support for the multiculturalism and tolerance built by our national leader Heydar Aliyev is being continued by President Ilham Aliyev. Different religious communities not only peacefully coexist, but also are joining action on charitable and social projects.

Although Azerbaijan’s main population is Muslim, the country`s constitution is of a secular state. It is our constitution, as citizens of Azerbaijan and also patriots of our country. We wish all goods and blessings to this country, to our country. We wish Azerbaijan to develop spiritually and materially.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 18, United Nations - 1948.

Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

Mr. Milikh Yevdayev, Head of the Mountain Jews Community in Azerbaijan

I always repeat these words to Jewish people everywhere that if they don’t have any place to live, let them come to Azerbaijan. We are here for 2,000 years and will be for another 2,000. We live here in peace and harmony with all other citizens of Azerbaijan of different ethnicities and religions.

In Azerbaijan, the government has created all conditions for preserving our religion and our language. We enjoy all the rights and privileges fixed in the Constitution of Azerbaijan. President Ilham Aliyev says he is the president of each and every citizen. We are witness of this statement in deeds. We are living here in peace and safety.

Ramazan Asgarli, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha`is of Azerbaijan

Geographically located between east and west, Azerbaijan has developed its own culture that is not totally eastern or western. And the Azerbaijani people are characterized by their tolerance and kindness towards other cultures and nations.

Building on this, the government of Azerbaijan has created all conditions for developing this culture and even has adopted multiculturalism as a state policy.

In Baha`i writings, Azerbaijanis are mentioned as peaceful peace lovers with a rich and ancient culture. Today, Baha`is of Azerbaijan enjoy these favorable conditions in our country and contribute to the welfare and development of our society. We are grateful to the government of Azerbaijan for creating favorable conditions for practicing our beliefs. 

 

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/oct/2/azerbaijan-land-religious-tolerance/

Abdul Baha speaks in a Jewish synagogue

 

When in San Francisco(26) I was invited to speak in a Jewish synagogue. I said,

 

"For about two thousand years, between you and the Christians, there have been friction and opposition, owing to the misunderstandings which today have blinded the eyes. You conceive that His Holiness the Christ was the enemy of Moses, the destroyer of the laws of the Pentateuch, the abrogator of the commandments of the Bible. When we investigate the reality we observe that Christ appeared at a time when according to your own historians, the laws of the Torah were forgotten; the foundation of religion and faith was shaken. Nebuchadnezzar had come, burning the context [contents] of the whole Bible,(27) and taking into captivity many Jewish tribes. Alexander the Great came for the second time, and Titus, the Roman general, devastated the land for the third time, killed the Jews, pillaged their property and imprisoned their children.

At such a time, under such gloomy conditions, His Holiness the Christ appeared. The first thing he said was: 'The Torah is the divine book; Moses is the man of God; Aaron, Solomon, Isaiah, Zechariah and all the Israelitish prophets [prophets of Israel] are valid and true.' Through all regions he spread the Old Testament, which for fifteen hundred years had not been sent out of Palestine, but Christ promulgated it in all countries. Were it not for Christ the name of Moses and his book would not have reached America; for during fifteen hundred years the Torah had been translated but once. It was Christ's seal of approval which caused it to be translated into six hundred languages. Now be just, was Christ the friend or the enemy of Moses?

You say he abrogated the Torah, but I say he promulgated the Torah, the ten commandments and all the questions which belong to its moral world. But he changed the following: That for a small theft one must cut of the hand.(28) If a person blind another, he must be blinded, or if he breaks another's teeth, his teeth must be broken. Is it possible nowadays to establish the archaic laws of an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth? Christ changed only that part of the Mosaic religion which did not accord with the spirit of his time. He had no desire to abolish the Torah. Is it not true that the Christians believe that Moses was the [High] prophet of God, and all the Israelitish seers were the messengers of God, and the Bible [Torah] the book of God?(29) Has this belief of theirs harmed their religion? If you say from your heart that Christ is the word of God, then all these differences will cease. The persecutions of the last two thousand years have been on account of this fact, that you were not willing to proclaim these two words. But I hope that it is proven to you that Moses had no better friend than His Holiness the Christ."

 

http://fananapazir.co.nr/christ.html

For over a century they had rejected Christianity

Our Beloved Faith is advancing and making significant progress throughout the world, specially during this auspicious period of the Holy Year, the Bicentenary of the Birth of Baha'u'llah, The Law of Huququ'llah (Right of God) is also reaching various corners of the world including the Baha'i community of Tanna which is an island in Tafea Province of Vanuatu, Pacific Ocean. See details below also attached:

Extract from Huqúqu’lláh Newsletter No. 83 

Tanna: The people of the village of Yapkisip were very strong in their customs and culture. For over a century they had rejected Christianity and followed their traditional beliefs. Due to a vision by one of their elders this past year, they are now all Bahá’ís. The Representative and the Deputy Trustee consulted that though they are new Bahá’ís, the laws are for everyone; and their approach with the education on Ḥuqúqu’lláh should be gradual. The Representative mentioned that the chief of the village attended the National Convention and was very touched by the presentation on Ḥuqúqu’lláh and now wanted to make his payment. They made plans to visit the village. They were welcomed with cultural dances and speeches. The Secretary of the new Local Spiritual Assembly said: “Welcome to the new Home of Bahá’u’lláh.” “In this village there is no Right or Left, there are no prejudices, all are welcome.”

Paylocity founder Steve Sarowitz: Baha’i ‘made sense to me right away’

Paylocity founder Steve Sarowitz, a member of the Baha'i faith, outside the Baha'i Temple in Wilmette. Turned to Baha'i after a trip to Akko, Israel — the “spiritual center” of the religion. | Michelle Kanaar / Sun-Times

Steve Sarowitz, 51, Chicago tech entrepreneur, Paylocity founder, philanthropist, raised Jewish, now Baha’i, which teaches there’s “essentially one faith being revealed over the history of humanity.”

Raised in Homewood as a Reform Jew.

“I had a pleasant upbringing in the Jewish faith . . . We were the three-day-a-year Jews.”

“Wasn’t passionate” about his religion, but “I was always a believer in God.”

When he was a baby, his mother had a “life-after-death experience” in which she said she “went through a tunnel,” saw flashbacks and was asked by God whether she wanted to stay there or resume her life.

“I always believed in God ’cause my mom told me she talked to Him.”

Still, growing up, he didn’t “think about religion that much . . . I was thinking about everything else . . . sports . . . girls.”

To the extent he contemplated faith, wondered: “Are the Jews right and the Christians wrong, or are the Christians right and the Jews wrong, or maybe the Muslims are right?”

                                                              ***

First encountered the Baha’i religion — which today, according to estimates, has at least five million adherents, many in the Middle East — while a student at the University of Illinois.

He went to the Jewish student center during a presentation on “progressive revelation,” learned about “the Baha’i vision that . . . one God sent all the messengers, all the founders of all the great faiths with the same essential message, which is to love God and love thy neighbor and that the differences” among the major religions “were rather minor and that it was, in fact, one faith being revealed over the entire history of humanity.

“The idea of unity and continuity . . . a single reality . . . made sense to me right away,” though he didn’t become Baha’i yet.

                                                              ***

He and his wife raised their kids Jewish, but he revisited the Baha’i faith years later when a running buddy asked him to join a Baha’i “study group.”

Wealthier after Paylocity, the human resources and payroll provider, went public in 2014, decided to do “a lot more” philanthropy and heard about a plan to put a community center for Arab and Jewish kids in Akko, Israel — the “spiritual center” of the Baha’i religion, to which the faithful worldwide face during daily prayers.

Sarowitz considered it a sign and helped, visiting Akko and the shrine of Baha’u’llah, who died in 1892 and is viewed by the faithful as the “latest” of God’s “divine educators” — among them Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad.

“I had a profound spiritual transformation . . . I was already a Baha’i in my heart, but I walked out teaching the Baha’i faith.”

                                                              ***

“The main tenet, the most overriding value in the Baha’i faith, is unity, unity of religion, unity of mankind. It’s trying to take away all the things that divide us . . . getting rid of all prejudices . . . sexism, racism, nationalism. Baha’u’llah had a beautiful quote, he said the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.”

                                                              ***

How often do members go to services?

“Very rarely.”

But there’s a minimum of one “obligatory” prayer to be said daily.

Baha’i members in individual towns in the Chicago area get together for a “feast” — to pray together, eat together, handle “community business” — every 19 days, the length of a month in the Baha’i calendar.

There are just a handful of Baha’i temples around the world, including one in the United States — in Wilmette, along Sheridan Road.

                                                             ***

The Baha’i faith has long faced persecution in the Middle East, including Iran, was an early voice in the 19th and 20th centuries for women’s rights and against racism.

“Service is part and parcel” to the faith.

                                                             ***

Sarowitz has helped fund community centers in minority neighborhoods in Chicago and is bankrolling a documentary about the Bab, who is considered a prophet and “heralded” Baha’u’llah.

                                                             ***

Sarowitz’s great-uncle fought for Israel’s independence with Menachem Begin, who later was Israel’s prime minister.

More than 20 family members were killed in the Holocaust.

                                                             ***

“Honesty is the foundation of all virtues.”

“God doesn’t look like anything to me . . . We can only know God as his attributes, so God is kindness, God is love . . . charity, philanthropy . . . truth, wisdom.”

                                                             ***

Baha’i followers are “are peace lovers” but not necessarily “pacifists” — so while they work for peace, there can be a “use of war, but it should be very limited.”

                                                             ***

“I find our message resonates particularly with millennials, who are really into the oneness of humankind.”

In the Baha’i faith, “there is no hierarchy, so I’m not above or below anybody.”

Paylocity founder Steve Sarowitz, a member of the Baha’i faith,
outside the Baha’i Temple in Wilmette. | Michelle Kanaar / Sun-Times

http://chicago.suntimes.com/news/paylocity-founder-steve-sarowitz-got-rich-turned-to-bahai-religion-face-to-faith/

The "New Jerusalem" of Baha'u'llah

THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
Bahá’í World Centre • P.O. Box 155 • 31001 Haifa, Israel
Tel: 972 (4) 835 8358 • Fax: 972 (4) 835 8280 • Email: secretariat@bwc.org

12 May 2008

To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

As the worldwide Bahá’í community proceeds with a unified and coordinated endeavour to advance the process of entry by troops, developments of far-reaching significance at the Bahá’í World Centre, foreshadowed in our message of Ridván 2006 to the Bahá’ís of the world, are now occurring.

The way has been opened to further beautification of the environs of the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, the Qiblih of the people of Bahá, described by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the “luminous Shrine” and “the place around which circumambulate the Concourse on high”. After negotiations over several years, agreement has been reached with the Israeli government for the acquisition of a rectangular plot of land 90,000 square metres in area, located between Bahjí and the main road, which is currently being used by the government.

The property in the possession of the Faith has been further augmented by the conclusion, after negotiations which extended over some twenty years, of a land exchange with the Israel Land Administration, by which a portion of the land bequeathed to the Faith in the Ein Sara neighbourhood of Nahariya, north of ‘Akká, is being exchanged for an additional 100,000 square metres to the east of the Mansion of Bahjí, an area of about 32,000 square metres adjoining the island at the Ridván Garden, and the caravanserai adjacent to the Mansion of Mazra‘ih. Discussions are continuing with the authorities for a further exchange, using more of the Ein Sara land to acquire additional property in close proximity to the Bahá’í Holy Places in the ‘Akká area required to protect the sanctity and tranquillity of these places in the face of the rapid urbanization of the region.

Measures are now being taken to formulate a comprehensive plan for the development of these Holy Places in the years immediately ahead, in a manner which will preserve the distinctive characteristics evident when Bahá’u’lláh blessed them with His presence, while providing facilities for the growing number of pilgrims and visitors. Work has also been completed on the restoration of the Junayn Gardens, a small farmhouse and orchard north of Bahjí visited occasionally by Bahá’u’lláh, which was subsequently donated to the Faith.

An extensive project is now under way for the restoration of the Ridván Garden to its condition when visited by Bahá’u’lláh at the termination of His nine-year confinement within the walls of the prison-city of ‘Akká. Described by Him as “Our Verdant Isle” and as the “New Jerusalem”, Bahá’u’lláh rejoiced in the tranquillity of the setting, “its streams flowing, and its trees luxuriant, and the sunlight playing in their midst.” Included in the work being carried out here is the construction of a circulating water system, which will recreate the island frequented by Bahá’u’lláh, and the restoration of an antique flour mill, which was in use during His time.

No less significant is the work being carried out on Mount Carmel. The International Archives Building, constructed over fifty years ago at a time of limited resources in the Holy Land, is being extensively renovated and its facilities developed. This edifice, described by the Guardian as “the permanent and befitting repository for the priceless and numerous relics associated with the Twin Founders of the Faith, with the Perfect Exemplar of its teachings and with its heroes, saints and martyrs”, is being strengthened structurally; provisions are being made to render it accessible to the disabled; the method of display of its relics is being improved; a comprehensive security system is being provided; the exterior stonework is being restored; and its interior is being enhanced through installation of a granite floor.

Detailed plans have been prepared for the renovation of the Shrine of the Báb, the “majestic mausoleum” extolled by Shoghi Effendi as “the Queen of Carmel enthroned on God’s Mountain, crowned in glowing gold, robed in shimmering white, girdled in emerald green, enchanting every eye from air, sea, plain and hill.” This work will include installation of earthquake-resistant reinforcement not visible to pilgrims or visitors; preparation of the three chambers not previously available for meditation or worship; repair of the dome; and replacement of its tiles, which have become worn and discoloured, to return them to their pristine lustre.

The work being carried out at the World Centre of the Faith represents far more than repair, renovation, and beautification of buildings and gardens of historic significance. It can best be assessed by reference to Bahá’u’lláh’s designation of Mount Carmel as “the seat of God’s throne” and by recognition of His followers that the Qiblih is the holiest spot on the surface of the planet, while the places in which He found respite are forever sanctified by His presence. From that perspective those who participate in this endeavour, either through their dedicated labours or through their sacrificial contributions of funds, are privileged to an extent far beyond their capacity to comprehend.

The Universal House of Justice