The National Governing Council of the Baha’is of the United States asserts its leadership in support of the human rights of the beleaguered Baha’is of Iran with a victorious, audacious, positive and instructive statement.
Kidsidebyside applauds the victory of this civil approach to the violent violations of the human rights of the Baha’is of Iran. We call it, successful treatment with no bad side-effects. We applaud the Bahaí community and its leadership for its foresight in combating inhumanity and injustice by using the legal and constructive methods and channels that is supportive of the civil societies collective ordinances and norms. We appreciate how the respect for the legal avenues of defending human rights of their meek brothers and sisters in Iran, utilizing only civilized process of fighting injustice, educates and empowers the Bahaí community and inspire the rest of us. Kidsidebyside is encouraged and grateful for this example of civility, unity, gentleness, patience, firmness, perseverance, serenity and education that is shown by the Bahaí leadership.
In a world that is turning and twisting with pain because of injustice, ignorance, and selfishness, etc. it is a sign of nobility when a community’s leadership makes every effort to educate and empower the individual members of the society to fight injustice without becoming a source of harm to others and subsequently the victim of committing injustice themselves.
We say to parents who are faced with parenting challenges; an angry and out of control parent is a weak parent! The principle of the oneness of humanity and educating ourselves about it must remain the guiding light in making any wrong, right. The choice of any solution for our disease inflicted human family must be tempered by looking for win/win solutions. The belief of we are all cells of one body, does not leave any room for harming another to help what we consider ourselves!
Kidsidebyside considers this victory of the Bahaí leadesrship, a victory for “good”. This is victory for our ability to defend human rights while protecting all human rights. This is treating the disease with the good medicine that has no bad side effects.
To learn more, we invite you yourself to read the following communication of the National Spiritual assembly of the Baha’is of United States dated October 22, 2009, followed by their statement to the Bahaí community with further instruction. kidsidebyside will be happy to be in support of this humanitarian human rights endeavor. We do invite our readers in United States to call on their senators for further support of the Bahaís of Iran in US Senate.
We call your attention to the attached letter from the National Spiritual Assembly conveying news of the overwhelming vote today, October 22, in the U.S. House of Representatives in favor of H. Res. 175 – thus condemning for the eleventh time the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran.
For your further convenience, the full text of the letter is included below in plain ASCII characters.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Office of the Secretary
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF
THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES
October 22, 2009
To the American Bahá’í community
Dearest Bahá’í Friends,
We hasten to share with you the gratifying news that today, by a vote of 407 to 2, the United States House of Representatives has passed H. Res. 175- thus condemning, for the eleventh time, the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran. This strong statement of concern for the well-being of our sore-tried sisters and brothers in the Cradle of the Faith and of contempt for the manifestly unjust treatment being meted out to them by the Iranian government is certain to be a great solace to them in this hour of uncertainty and anxiety.
The members of Congress who came forward to cosponsor this resolution deserve our warm thanks. We recommend that you ascertain (by accessing the national website http://www.bahai.us/house-resolution) whether your district’s representative spoke to the resolution or was a cosponsor of it and contact him or her by phone or email to express your gratitude. We also suggest that local Assemblies and their Public Information Officers seek to publicize this development as widely as possible in local news media.
Greater support is needed for the concurrent resolution in the Senate if we are to achieve a similar result. We therefore strongly encourage you to contact your two senators, urging them to cosponsor S. Res 71 if they have not already done so. (You can ascertain whether either or both of your senators are cosponsors of the resolution by accessing the website http://iran.bahai.us/s-res-71-on-the-bahais-in-iran/.) In some states, representative statewide delegations of Bahá’ís-organized through the collaboration of a number of local Assemblies-have together visited the offices of their senators urging their support. Should your Assembly wish to organize a similar effort, please contact the National Assembly’s Office of External Affairs (usnsa-oea@usbnc.org) to assist in its coordination.
News-coming to us from communities throughout the country-of events held to raise public awareness of the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran has brought us great satisfaction. These events have included several large gatherings in metropolitan areas that have attracted significant audiences. (Video of some of these gatherings can be viewed at http://iran.bahai.us/events/.) Especially pleasing are the growing numbers of instances in which interfaith groups and other non-Bahá’í organizations have arisen to show their support. We hope this outreach to and collaboration with others in defense of the Bahá’ís in Iran will not only continue but intensify.
As 300,000 of our beleaguered coworkers in the Cause continue to bear the weight of unrelenting oppression in the nation of its birth, our prayers for their succor and protection join yours. We implore the Almighty to speed the hour of their emancipation and a new birth of freedom in that land forever blessed by the footsteps of “the most precious Being ever to have drawn breath on this planet.”
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Kenneth E. Bowers
Secretary-General
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF
THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES
