Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Saturday, March 27, 2010
les devoirs d'un bahá'i,
si quelqu'un nous demandait quels sont les devoirs d'un bahá'i, nous pourrions répondre:
1. étudier la cause.
2. pratiquer ses enseignements.
3. répandre le message.
Bahá'u'lláh dit: "Dieu a fait un devoir à toute âme, selon ses capacités, de faire connaître la cause."
Pourquoi devons-nous faire connaître la cause de Dieu?
Lorsque quelqu'un souffre d'une grave maladie puis trouve un remède qui le guérit, le délivrant aussitôt de tous ses maux et souffrances, il ne manquera pas de chanter les louanges de ce remède miraculeux. Et s'il rencontre une personne qui souffre de la même maladie, que fera-t-il de son remède? Le gardera-t-il égoïstement pour lui-même et laissera-t-il le malade en proie à ses souffrances? Evidemment non. Il s'empressera de lui donner le remède et lui dira qu'en le prenant, il guérira de tous ses maux, parce que lui-même l'a déjà éprouvé.
Bahá'u'lláh est le médecin omniscient et il nous a apporté un remède merveilleux qui peut guérir tous nos maux. Les maladies dues à la haine, à la superstition, au désespoir et à la désunion sont en train de détruire les peuples du monde. Comment un bahá'i véritable, qui a été guéri de ces maux grâce à ce remède qu'il connaît, pourrait-il rester indifférent aux souffrances des autres? Il s'empressera de partager avec tous ceux qui souffrent ce qu'il a reçu par les enseignements divins. Dans la foi bahá'ie, il n'y a personne dont la fonction particulière soit de prêcher et de faire connaître le message divin.
La responsabilité de guider les autres vers la cause incombe, par conséquent, à chaque croyant. Quel est notre gain en donnant le message divin aux autres? Nous n'essayons pas de former une armée. Nous n'espérons pas recevoir des biens matériels en donnant le message. Nous enseignons la cause de Dieu uniquement parce que nous éprouvons de l'amour envers les autres, et nous ne voulons pas les priver de la grâce que Dieu nous a octroyée en ce jour. Nous n'essayons jamais d'imposer nos idées aux autres. Nous n'argumentons pas, et si nos interlocuteurs refusent ce que nous leur offrons, nous continuons à les aimer. Nous ne disons jamais aux autres qu'ils ont tort et que nous avons raison. Nous ne faisons que présenter le message que Dieu a envoyé par l'intermédiaire de Bahá'u'lláh et il leur appartient de l'accepter. Notre amour pour notre prochain ne dépend pas de son acceptation. Voici ce que Bahá'u'lláh nous ordonne de faire:
"Ô peuple de Bahá. Vous fûtes et vous êtes les orients de l'amour et les aurores de la providence de Dieu! Ne corrompez pas votre langue en injuriant ou en maudissant qui que ce soit, et gardez vos yeux de ce qui n'est pas digne de vous. Montrez ce que vous possédez (la vérité): si elle est acceptée, le but est atteint: sinon, la discussion est inutile: laissez (celui qui vous contredit) à lui-même, et tournez-vous vers Dieu, le Tout-Puissant, l'Éternel! Ne soyez pas cause de tristesse, à plus forte raison, d'agitation et de dispute. J'espère que vous serez instruits à l'ombre de la providence divine et que vous agirez suivant la volonté de Dieu. Vous êtes tous les feuilles d'un seul arbre et les gouttes d'une seule mer."
Bahá'u'lláh attend que nous nous instruisions nous-mêmes avant d'enseigner les autres. Cela signifie que nous devrions nous efforcer de connaître ses enseignements et de les pratiquer dans notre propre vie, avant d'attendre des autres qu'ils les suivent. Bahá'u'lláh dit à ce sujet:
"Le peuple de Bahá doit servir le Seigneur avec sagesse, enseigner par l'exemple de sa vie et manifester par ses actes la lumière du Seigneur. L'effet de ses actes est, en vérité. plus puissant que celui des paroles... L'effet des paroles d'un instructeur dépend de la pureté de son but et de son détachement. Quelques-uns se contentent de paroles: mais les actes seuls et la manière de vivre témoignent de la vérité ! Ces actes révèlent le degré d'évolution de l'homme. Les paroles doivent être en accord avec ce que la volonté de Dieu a exprimé et avec les tablettes écrites."
Être la source du progrès spirituel et de bénédictions pour d'autres constitue un grand privilège. Dans le monde spirituel, il n'y a peut-être rien de plus précieux que d'aider son prochain à comprendre le but de sa vie et à s'unir aux autres dans une cause universelle. 'Abdu'l-Bahá a dit que chaque bahá'i devrait s'efforcer de guider au moins une personne vers la cause de Bahá'u'lláh chaque année. Enseigner la cause ne dépend pas de l'éducation que nous avons reçue. 'Abdu'l-Bahá nous a dit que, même si nous ne savons ni lire ni écrire, nous pourrons quand même être un véritable serviteur de l'humanité par nos actes et nos oeuvres. Si nous vivons la vie d'un vrai bahá'i, les gens se rendront compte par eux-mêmes que nous sommes différents, parce que nous mettons en pratique les enseignements divins pour ce jour. L'importance d'enseigner la cause et les bénédictions qui en découlent pour nous ressortent clairement de la tablette suivante d'Abdu'l-Bahá:
"On sait clairement qu'aujourd'hui l'invisible assistance divine entoure ceux qui transmettent le message. Si le travail de donner le message est négligé, cette assistance sera alors entièrement retirée, car il est impossible que les amis de Dieu puissent recevoir cette aide à moins qu'ils ne soient engagés à donner le message. Quelles que soient les conditions, le message doit être transmis, mais avec sagesse... Les amis devraient être engagés à éduquer les âmes et devraient devenir des instruments pour aider le monde de l'humanité à acquérir la joie et les parfums spirituels. Par exemple, si chacun des amis (croyants) devait établir des relations d'amitié et des rapports justes avec l'une des âmes négligentes, s'associer et vivre avec elle en parfaite bienveillance et, entre temps, par sa bonne conduite et son comportement moral, la conduire à l'instruction divine et aux enseignements, il ne fait aucun doute qu'elle éveillerait graduellement cette personne négligente et changerait son ignorance en connaissance."
Le Nouveau jardin : nouveau-jardin
1. étudier la cause.
2. pratiquer ses enseignements.
3. répandre le message.
Bahá'u'lláh dit: "Dieu a fait un devoir à toute âme, selon ses capacités, de faire connaître la cause."
Pourquoi devons-nous faire connaître la cause de Dieu?
Lorsque quelqu'un souffre d'une grave maladie puis trouve un remède qui le guérit, le délivrant aussitôt de tous ses maux et souffrances, il ne manquera pas de chanter les louanges de ce remède miraculeux. Et s'il rencontre une personne qui souffre de la même maladie, que fera-t-il de son remède? Le gardera-t-il égoïstement pour lui-même et laissera-t-il le malade en proie à ses souffrances? Evidemment non. Il s'empressera de lui donner le remède et lui dira qu'en le prenant, il guérira de tous ses maux, parce que lui-même l'a déjà éprouvé.
Bahá'u'lláh est le médecin omniscient et il nous a apporté un remède merveilleux qui peut guérir tous nos maux. Les maladies dues à la haine, à la superstition, au désespoir et à la désunion sont en train de détruire les peuples du monde. Comment un bahá'i véritable, qui a été guéri de ces maux grâce à ce remède qu'il connaît, pourrait-il rester indifférent aux souffrances des autres? Il s'empressera de partager avec tous ceux qui souffrent ce qu'il a reçu par les enseignements divins. Dans la foi bahá'ie, il n'y a personne dont la fonction particulière soit de prêcher et de faire connaître le message divin.
La responsabilité de guider les autres vers la cause incombe, par conséquent, à chaque croyant. Quel est notre gain en donnant le message divin aux autres? Nous n'essayons pas de former une armée. Nous n'espérons pas recevoir des biens matériels en donnant le message. Nous enseignons la cause de Dieu uniquement parce que nous éprouvons de l'amour envers les autres, et nous ne voulons pas les priver de la grâce que Dieu nous a octroyée en ce jour. Nous n'essayons jamais d'imposer nos idées aux autres. Nous n'argumentons pas, et si nos interlocuteurs refusent ce que nous leur offrons, nous continuons à les aimer. Nous ne disons jamais aux autres qu'ils ont tort et que nous avons raison. Nous ne faisons que présenter le message que Dieu a envoyé par l'intermédiaire de Bahá'u'lláh et il leur appartient de l'accepter. Notre amour pour notre prochain ne dépend pas de son acceptation. Voici ce que Bahá'u'lláh nous ordonne de faire:
"Ô peuple de Bahá. Vous fûtes et vous êtes les orients de l'amour et les aurores de la providence de Dieu! Ne corrompez pas votre langue en injuriant ou en maudissant qui que ce soit, et gardez vos yeux de ce qui n'est pas digne de vous. Montrez ce que vous possédez (la vérité): si elle est acceptée, le but est atteint: sinon, la discussion est inutile: laissez (celui qui vous contredit) à lui-même, et tournez-vous vers Dieu, le Tout-Puissant, l'Éternel! Ne soyez pas cause de tristesse, à plus forte raison, d'agitation et de dispute. J'espère que vous serez instruits à l'ombre de la providence divine et que vous agirez suivant la volonté de Dieu. Vous êtes tous les feuilles d'un seul arbre et les gouttes d'une seule mer."
Bahá'u'lláh attend que nous nous instruisions nous-mêmes avant d'enseigner les autres. Cela signifie que nous devrions nous efforcer de connaître ses enseignements et de les pratiquer dans notre propre vie, avant d'attendre des autres qu'ils les suivent. Bahá'u'lláh dit à ce sujet:
"Le peuple de Bahá doit servir le Seigneur avec sagesse, enseigner par l'exemple de sa vie et manifester par ses actes la lumière du Seigneur. L'effet de ses actes est, en vérité. plus puissant que celui des paroles... L'effet des paroles d'un instructeur dépend de la pureté de son but et de son détachement. Quelques-uns se contentent de paroles: mais les actes seuls et la manière de vivre témoignent de la vérité ! Ces actes révèlent le degré d'évolution de l'homme. Les paroles doivent être en accord avec ce que la volonté de Dieu a exprimé et avec les tablettes écrites."
Être la source du progrès spirituel et de bénédictions pour d'autres constitue un grand privilège. Dans le monde spirituel, il n'y a peut-être rien de plus précieux que d'aider son prochain à comprendre le but de sa vie et à s'unir aux autres dans une cause universelle. 'Abdu'l-Bahá a dit que chaque bahá'i devrait s'efforcer de guider au moins une personne vers la cause de Bahá'u'lláh chaque année. Enseigner la cause ne dépend pas de l'éducation que nous avons reçue. 'Abdu'l-Bahá nous a dit que, même si nous ne savons ni lire ni écrire, nous pourrons quand même être un véritable serviteur de l'humanité par nos actes et nos oeuvres. Si nous vivons la vie d'un vrai bahá'i, les gens se rendront compte par eux-mêmes que nous sommes différents, parce que nous mettons en pratique les enseignements divins pour ce jour. L'importance d'enseigner la cause et les bénédictions qui en découlent pour nous ressortent clairement de la tablette suivante d'Abdu'l-Bahá:
"On sait clairement qu'aujourd'hui l'invisible assistance divine entoure ceux qui transmettent le message. Si le travail de donner le message est négligé, cette assistance sera alors entièrement retirée, car il est impossible que les amis de Dieu puissent recevoir cette aide à moins qu'ils ne soient engagés à donner le message. Quelles que soient les conditions, le message doit être transmis, mais avec sagesse... Les amis devraient être engagés à éduquer les âmes et devraient devenir des instruments pour aider le monde de l'humanité à acquérir la joie et les parfums spirituels. Par exemple, si chacun des amis (croyants) devait établir des relations d'amitié et des rapports justes avec l'une des âmes négligentes, s'associer et vivre avec elle en parfaite bienveillance et, entre temps, par sa bonne conduite et son comportement moral, la conduire à l'instruction divine et aux enseignements, il ne fait aucun doute qu'elle éveillerait graduellement cette personne négligente et changerait son ignorance en connaissance."
Le Nouveau jardin : nouveau-jardin
Sunday, March 21, 2010
amnesty international
The Persian holiday Nowruz (“new day”) is an ancient holiday celebrated on the first day of spring to welcome in the new year. On this Nowruz we want to remember several courageous prisoners of conscience in Iran with Nowruz greetings. We ask you to send cards with simple Nowruz greetings such as “Nowruz mobarak”
You can say “thinking of you at Nowruz time” or “hoping you are well.” You may send a greeting in either English or Farsi (Persian) but please do not mention Amnesty International or specifics of the recipient’s case. Please also refrain from mentioning the political situation, human rights or U.S.-Iran relations. We suggest sending cards with pictures of landscapes, spring flowers or the like, in keeping with the spirit of the holiday and the message of hope and renewal. Please do not choose cards that have pictures of people, and please do not use cards that depict bottles of wine or other alcoholic beverages.
Traditional Nowruz celebrations include the preparation of a Haft Sin table which literally means the seven s’s. Seven items beginning with the Persian letter sin (equivalent to the English s) and which represent spring time are set out. To honor this tradition, this year Amnesty International has selected seven cases, all of them prisoners of conscience who have been identified by Amnesty International as “individuals at risk” and are therefore targeted for intensified campaigning. Several of them have been sentenced to long prison terms for their peaceful activism and several are in poor health.
Mansour Ossanlu
Mansour Ossanlu is the leader of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Syndica-ye Sherkat-e Vahed). He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for “acts against national security.” The charges stem from his peaceful work to obtain better conditions for workers in Iran and to end discriminatory laws and practices that curtail workers’ rights in Iran. He had been arrested and detained several times and severely beaten in custody.He had originally been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison but in August 2008 he was transferred to Raja’i-Shahr prison in the city of Karaj which houses criminals convicted of violent crimes. Raja’i-Shahr prison is far from his wife and family who have not been able to visit him very often.
He has suffered from serious medical problems, including retinal damage resulting from beatings he received during a previous detention. Although he was permitted to undergo emergency eye surgery in October 2007, his health condition is still a concern. He has not been allowed to receive the medical care he needs. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience who is being detained on vaguely worded charges in order to halt his efforts to build strong trade unions capable of defending the human rights of workers.
You can send a greeting for Mansour Ossanlu to his wife Parvaneh at:
Golbarg-e Gharbi
(Janbazan-e Gharbi)
Taqate’ Maseyl-e Bakhtar
Sar-e Koucheh Shahid Ali Akbar Amiri
Plak 343, Tabaqe avval
Khaneye Ossanlu
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Or:
Mansour Ossanlu
First floor, Number 343
Shahid Ali Akbar Amiri Alley
Western Water Barrier Crossroads (or: Maseyl-e Bakhtar Crossroads)
(Janbazan West)
Golbarg West, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Mansour Ossanlu
First floor, Number 343
Shahid Ali Akbar Amiri Alley
Western Water Barrier Crossroads (or: Maseyl-e Bakhtar Crossroads)
(Janbazan West)
Golbarg West, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Ronak Safarzadeh
Ronak Safarzadeh, an Iranian Kurdish graphic artist and women’s rights activist, is serving a prison sentence of six years and seven months in Sanandaj Prison. She is an active member of the Campaign for Equality, which is seeking to end legalized discrimination against women in Iran, and of an affiliated NGO, Azar Mehr Women’s Organization of Sanandaj.On 8 Oct 2007, Ronak Safarzadeh attended a meeting in Sanandaj to mark the International Day of the Child and collected signatures in support of the Campaign for Equality. The following morning, Ministry of Intelligence officials reportedly came to her house, confiscated her computer, copies of the Campaign’s petition and a booklet it produced, and arrested her. Her trial began in March 2008 in the presence of her lawyer, where the charges against her were set out. She was accused of being mohareb (at enmity with God), which can carry the death penalty. The charges may stem from accusations of membership of or activities for PJAK, a Kurdish opposition group, and taking part in attacks in Sanandaj, which Ronak Safarzadeh, her family and friends, strenuously deny. Her lawyer is reported to have said that Sarafzadeh’s “confessions” were taken under duress and are not admissible in court.
In January 2009, Ronak Safarzadeh was charged with participating in a hunger strike along with other prisoners in October 2008. On 5 August 2009, the Appeal Court of Kordestan Province confirmed the sentence issued against her. She was sentenced to five years for acting against national security (for membership of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan, PJAK, an armed Kurdish opposition group), another year for propaganda against the government and seven months for illegally crossing a border. Ronak was acquitted of the charge of "being at enmity with God."
You can send Nowruz greetings to Ronak Safarzadeh to:
Safazadeh (for Ronak Safazadeh)
7 Alley/Nimayushij Street
1/17 Faz.Baharan.
Sanandaj
Kordestan Province, Post Code: 66177/48/898
Islamic Republic of Iran
7 Alley/Nimayushij Street
1/17 Faz.Baharan.
Sanandaj
Kordestan Province, Post Code: 66177/48/898
Islamic Republic of Iran
Emadeddin Baghi
Prominent Iranian Journalist and human rights defender Emadeddin Baghi was arrested on 28 December 2009, the day after massive protests were held in Tehran and other cities to mark the Shi'a religious observance of 'Ashura. He is not known to have been charged with a crime. He is in poor health stemming from his previous imprisonment, and Amnesty International is concerned that he could be subjected to ill-treatment and medical neglect while in detention.Emadeddin Baghi was the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for human rights defenders, although Iranian authorities prevented him from going to Geneva to attend the award ceremony on 9 November 2009. It was the first time in the award's eighteen-year history that the recipient was denied the opportunity to receive the award in person.
Emadeddin Baghi is the founder of the Association for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights, which had been compiling information on torture and other abuses of detainees. He has focused attention on Iran’s appalling record of executing juvenile offenders, as well as the execution, following grossly flawed legal proceedings, of a number of Iranian Arabs accused of politically motivated crimes. In the late 1990s he exposed the mysterious serial murders of Iranian intellectuals. His books Right to Life and Right to Life II argue for the abolition of the death penalty using Islamic texts and jurisprudence. They have been banned by Iranian authorities--who had previously shut down his newspaper Jomhouriat in 2003-- and Mr. Baghi has served years in prison on charges of “endangering national security” and “printing lies.” In December 2007, during his most recent imprisonment, he suffered three seizures and a heart attack and remained in poor health without adequate medical care until his release in October 2008. Officials closed down the office of the Association for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights in September 2009.
You can send Nowruz greetings to Emadeddin Baghi to his wife Fatemeh Kamali Ahmad Sarahi at:
Flat #1, 4th floor,
1 Ghaffari Alley
Ekhtiarieh Square – Pasdaran Street
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
1 Ghaffari Alley
Ekhtiarieh Square – Pasdaran Street
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Seven Baha'is
Seven leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community are currently on trial on serious, but baseless, charges that could lead to the imposition of the death penalty. Although they have done nothing more than peacefully practice their religion, they have been charged with spying for Israel, for “insulting religious sanctities,” with “propaganda against the system” and with being “mofsed fil arz” or “corruption on earth.” They have denied all charges.The seven include two women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, and five men: Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaei, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm. All are leading members of a group responsible for the Baha’i community’s religious and administrative affairs. Mahvash Sabet who acted as the group’s secretary, was arrested on 5 March 2008. The others were arrested on 14 May 2008. All seven are held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence. They have only been allowed very limited access to their lawyers while they have been in custody.
The first session of their trial—which had been repeatedly postponed—finally began before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran on 12 January 2010. Their next court date is scheduled for 10 April. Amnesty International has repeatedly criticized proceedings held in Iran’s Revolutionary Courts for their failure to adhere to international standards for fair trials. In fact, the authorities attempted to bar the Baha’is’ lawyers from the courtroom on 12 January and only allowed them access after they insisted upon entering.
You can send Nowruz greetings to the seven Baha’is to:
Baha’i International Community
15 route des Morillons
15 route des Morillons
1218 Grand Saconnex Switzerland
Shiva Nazar Ahari
Shiva Nazar Ahari, a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), was arrested with two other CHRR members, Kouhyar Goudarzi and Saeed Haeri, on 20 December 2009. Police officers and officials from the Ministry of Intelligence removed them from a bus halted in central Tehran, which was to travel to Qom where those aboard planned attend the 21 December 2009 funeral of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, a senior cleric who criticized the Iranian government’s crackdown on demonstrators in the aftermath of the June contested presidential elections. Shiva Nazar Ahari has been kept in solitary confinement without charge or access to her lawyers. On 11 February, she told her family by phone that she had been transferred to a “cage-like” solitary confinement cell where she cannot move her arms or legs. She added that she remains under pressure to accept “accusations” made against her, although the nature of these accusations is not clear. Shiva Nazar Ahari, had previously spent three months in detention after her arrest in the wake of the June post-election unrest.The CHRR has come under particular attack since the disputed June 2009 presidential election. Members of the CHRR have been systematically and arbitrarily arrested and some possibly ill- treated while in custody. Others are currently in hiding. Amnesty International fears that the Iranian authorities have decided to 'make an example' of the CHRR not only by banning it and arresting its members but also by threatening to execute them. At least five members are currently detained. All are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. They have all been denied access to a lawyer since their arrests. The authorities have accused the group of having links to the banned political opposition group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq or People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), which the CHRR vehemently denies.
The CHRR was founded in 2006 and campaigns against all kinds of human rights violations, including against women, children, prisoners, workers and others. On or around 21 January 2010, Abbas Ja'fari Dowlatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor told Shiva Nazar Ahari's family in a meeting that: "Experts of the case have reported that the website for the Committee is linked to "hypocrites" (the Iranian authorities' name for the PMOI), and any collaboration with the Committee is considered a crime."
You can send Nowruz greetings to Shiva Nazar Ahari to:
Shahid Madani street ( Nezam Abaad) - Mehran Tayebi Alley,
First floor from right - No 54 , Postal Code 1617785511
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
First floor from right - No 54 , Postal Code 1617785511
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Arash and Kamiar Alaei
Brothers Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei, doctors specializing in the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS, were tried on 31 December 2008 for plotting to overthrow the Iranian government and other charges in proceedings that did not meet international standards for fair trial. On 20 January 2009, the brothers were informed that Kamiar Alaei had been sentenced to six years in prison while Arash Alaei had been sentenced to three years.Arash and Kamiar Alaei had been arrested in June 2008 and held without charge for six months. The brothers were given a one-day trial before Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, along with two other individuals. They were accused of involvement in an attempt to overthrow the government. The prosecutor withheld some of the charges they faced, giving the brothers no opportunity to refute the charges. The prosecutor also submitted secret evidence the brothers’ lawyer did not have the opportunity to examine or refute. The two doctors are known to have been charged under article 508 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code with “cooperating” with an “enemy government,” which carries a penalty of between one and ten years’ imprisonment.
Amnesty International is concerned the charges against Arash and Kamiar Alaei, and the allegations of their involvement in a plot to overthrow the government, are based solely on vaguely-worded national security laws. Amnesty International believes that the brothers are prisoners of conscience, targeted solely for their internationally recognized medical research and advocacy efforts and for their peaceful collaboration with non-governmental organizations in other countries.
You can send Nowruz greetings to Kamiar and Arash Alaei to:
Velenjak St., 16Yasaman 2 BlvdFloor 5, Apartment 3AlaeiTehranIslamic Republic of Iran Kian Tajbakhsh
Academic and dual Iran-U.S. national Kian Tajbakhsh, a 47-year-old social scientist who taught urban policy at the New School University in New York, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison by a Revolutionary Court in October 2009. In February 2010 his sentence was reduced to five years on appeal. He was arrested at his home on the night of 9 July 2009 by agents of the Security Police. He has spent most of the time since held in solitary confinement and had been subjected to prolonged interrogations. Charges against him included espionage, co-operation with an enemy government, and acting against national security.On Saturday 1 August 2009 Kian Tajbakhsh was among the more than 100 people who were brought to trial before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran, accused of organizing the post-June 12 election protests, of having links with armed opposition groups, and of “conspiring against the ruling system.” Among those being tried were political opposition figures—including senior officials from former President Mohammad Khatami’s government—journalists and academics. Kian Tajbakhsh and Maziar Bahari, a Canadian-American journalist who worked for Newsweek magazine, were the only two dual nationals on trial. Kian Tajbakhsh spoke at the 25 August session of the trial, saying that the U.S. and European countries had a goal of trying to bring change inside Iran.
This is not the first time that Kian Tajbakhsh’s scholarly activities have led to persecution by the government. He was one of four Iranian-Americans detained for several months in 2007 for attempting to foment a “velvet revolution” in Iran. He was then accused of “acting against national security by engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic by spying on behalf of foreigners.”
You can send Nowruz greetings to Kian Tajbakhsh to:
Farideh Gueramy 555 Lenox Avenue Manhattan, New York, NY 10037
The Persian holiday Nowruz (“new day”) is an ancient holiday celebrated on the first day of spring to welcome in the new year. On this Nowruz we want to remember several courageous prisoners of conscience in Iran with Nowruz greetings. We ask you to send cards with simple Nowruz greetings such as “Nowruz mobarak”
You can say “thinking of you at Nowruz time” or “hoping you are well.” You may send a greeting in either English or Farsi (Persian) but please do not mention Amnesty International or specifics of the recipient’s case. Please also refrain from mentioning the political situation, human rights or U.S.-Iran relations. We suggest sending cards with pictures of landscapes, spring flowers or the like, in keeping with the spirit of the holiday and the message of hope and renewal. Please do not choose cards that have pictures of people, and please do not use cards that depict bottles of wine or other alcoholic beverages.
Traditional Nowruz celebrations include the preparation of a Haft Sin table which literally means the seven s’s. Seven items beginning with the Persian letter sin (equivalent to the English s) and which represent spring time are set out. To honor this tradition, this year Amnesty International has selected seven cases, all of them prisoners of conscience who have been identified by Amnesty International as “individuals at risk” and are therefore targeted for intensified campaigning. Several of them have been sentenced to long prison terms for their peaceful activism and several are in poor health.
Mansour Ossanlu
Mansour Ossanlu is the leader of the Union of Workers of the Tehran and Suburbs Bus Company (Syndica-ye Sherkat-e Vahed). He is currently serving a five-year prison sentence for “acts against national security.” The charges stem from his peaceful work to obtain better conditions for workers in Iran and to end discriminatory laws and practices that curtail workers’ rights in Iran. He had been arrested and detained several times and severely beaten in custody.He had originally been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison but in August 2008 he was transferred to Raja’i-Shahr prison in the city of Karaj which houses criminals convicted of violent crimes. Raja’i-Shahr prison is far from his wife and family who have not been able to visit him very often.
He has suffered from serious medical problems, including retinal damage resulting from beatings he received during a previous detention. Although he was permitted to undergo emergency eye surgery in October 2007, his health condition is still a concern. He has not been allowed to receive the medical care he needs. Amnesty International considers him a prisoner of conscience who is being detained on vaguely worded charges in order to halt his efforts to build strong trade unions capable of defending the human rights of workers.
You can send a greeting for Mansour Ossanlu to his wife Parvaneh at:
Golbarg-e Gharbi
(Janbazan-e Gharbi)
Taqate’ Maseyl-e Bakhtar
Sar-e Koucheh Shahid Ali Akbar Amiri
Plak 343, Tabaqe avval
Khaneye Ossanlu
Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Or:
Mansour Ossanlu
First floor, Number 343
Shahid Ali Akbar Amiri Alley
Western Water Barrier Crossroads (or: Maseyl-e Bakhtar Crossroads)
(Janbazan West)
Golbarg West, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Mansour Ossanlu
First floor, Number 343
Shahid Ali Akbar Amiri Alley
Western Water Barrier Crossroads (or: Maseyl-e Bakhtar Crossroads)
(Janbazan West)
Golbarg West, Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran
Ronak Safarzadeh
Ronak Safarzadeh, an Iranian Kurdish graphic artist and women’s rights activist, is serving a prison sentence of six years and seven months in Sanandaj Prison. She is an active member of the Campaign for Equality, which is seeking to end legalized discrimination against women in Iran, and of an affiliated NGO, Azar Mehr Women’s Organization of Sanandaj.On 8 Oct 2007, Ronak Safarzadeh attended a meeting in Sanandaj to mark the International Day of the Child and collected signatures in support of the Campaign for Equality. The following morning, Ministry of Intelligence officials reportedly came to her house, confiscated her computer, copies of the Campaign’s petition and a booklet it produced, and arrested her. Her trial began in March 2008 in the presence of her lawyer, where the charges against her were set out. She was accused of being mohareb (at enmity with God), which can carry the death penalty. The charges may stem from accusations of membership of or activities for PJAK, a Kurdish opposition group, and taking part in attacks in Sanandaj, which Ronak Safarzadeh, her family and friends, strenuously deny. Her lawyer is reported to have said that Sarafzadeh’s “confessions” were taken under duress and are not admissible in court.
In January 2009, Ronak Safarzadeh was charged with participating in a hunger strike along with other prisoners in October 2008. On 5 August 2009, the Appeal Court of Kordestan Province confirmed the sentence issued against her. She was sentenced to five years for acting against national security (for membership of the Free Life Party of Kurdistan, PJAK, an armed Kurdish opposition group), another year for propaganda against the government and seven months for illegally crossing a border. Ronak was acquitted of the charge of "being at enmity with God."
You can send Nowruz greetings to Ronak Safarzadeh to:
Safazadeh (for Ronak Safazadeh)
7 Alley/Nimayushij Street
1/17 Faz.Baharan.
Sanandaj
Kordestan Province, Post Code: 66177/48/898
Islamic Republic of Iran
7 Alley/Nimayushij Street
1/17 Faz.Baharan.
Sanandaj
Kordestan Province, Post Code: 66177/48/898
Islamic Republic of Iran
Emadeddin Baghi
Prominent Iranian Journalist and human rights defender Emadeddin Baghi was arrested on 28 December 2009, the day after massive protests were held in Tehran and other cities to mark the Shi'a religious observance of 'Ashura. He is not known to have been charged with a crime. He is in poor health stemming from his previous imprisonment, and Amnesty International is concerned that he could be subjected to ill-treatment and medical neglect while in detention.Emadeddin Baghi was the 2009 recipient of the prestigious Martin Ennals Award for human rights defenders, although Iranian authorities prevented him from going to Geneva to attend the award ceremony on 9 November 2009. It was the first time in the award's eighteen-year history that the recipient was denied the opportunity to receive the award in person.
Emadeddin Baghi is the founder of the Association for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights, which had been compiling information on torture and other abuses of detainees. He has focused attention on Iran’s appalling record of executing juvenile offenders, as well as the execution, following grossly flawed legal proceedings, of a number of Iranian Arabs accused of politically motivated crimes. In the late 1990s he exposed the mysterious serial murders of Iranian intellectuals. His books Right to Life and Right to Life II argue for the abolition of the death penalty using Islamic texts and jurisprudence. They have been banned by Iranian authorities--who had previously shut down his newspaper Jomhouriat in 2003-- and Mr. Baghi has served years in prison on charges of “endangering national security” and “printing lies.” In December 2007, during his most recent imprisonment, he suffered three seizures and a heart attack and remained in poor health without adequate medical care until his release in October 2008. Officials closed down the office of the Association for the Defense of Prisoners’ Rights in September 2009.
You can send Nowruz greetings to Emadeddin Baghi to his wife Fatemeh Kamali Ahmad Sarahi at:
Flat #1, 4th floor,
1 Ghaffari Alley
Ekhtiarieh Square – Pasdaran Street
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
1 Ghaffari Alley
Ekhtiarieh Square – Pasdaran Street
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Seven Baha'is
Seven leaders of Iran’s Baha’i community are currently on trial on serious, but baseless, charges that could lead to the imposition of the death penalty. Although they have done nothing more than peacefully practice their religion, they have been charged with spying for Israel, for “insulting religious sanctities,” with “propaganda against the system” and with being “mofsed fil arz” or “corruption on earth.” They have denied all charges.The seven include two women, Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet, and five men: Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaei, Behrouz Tavakkoli and Vahid Tizfahm. All are leading members of a group responsible for the Baha’i community’s religious and administrative affairs. Mahvash Sabet who acted as the group’s secretary, was arrested on 5 March 2008. The others were arrested on 14 May 2008. All seven are held in Section 209 of Evin Prison in Tehran, which is run by the Ministry of Intelligence. They have only been allowed very limited access to their lawyers while they have been in custody.
The first session of their trial—which had been repeatedly postponed—finally began before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran on 12 January 2010. Their next court date is scheduled for 10 April. Amnesty International has repeatedly criticized proceedings held in Iran’s Revolutionary Courts for their failure to adhere to international standards for fair trials. In fact, the authorities attempted to bar the Baha’is’ lawyers from the courtroom on 12 January and only allowed them access after they insisted upon entering.
You can send Nowruz greetings to the seven Baha’is to:
Baha’i International Community
15 route des Morillons
15 route des Morillons
1218 Grand Saconnex Switzerland
Shiva Nazar Ahari
Shiva Nazar Ahari, a member of the Committee of Human Rights Reporters (CHRR), was arrested with two other CHRR members, Kouhyar Goudarzi and Saeed Haeri, on 20 December 2009. Police officers and officials from the Ministry of Intelligence removed them from a bus halted in central Tehran, which was to travel to Qom where those aboard planned attend the 21 December 2009 funeral of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri, a senior cleric who criticized the Iranian government’s crackdown on demonstrators in the aftermath of the June contested presidential elections. Shiva Nazar Ahari has been kept in solitary confinement without charge or access to her lawyers. On 11 February, she told her family by phone that she had been transferred to a “cage-like” solitary confinement cell where she cannot move her arms or legs. She added that she remains under pressure to accept “accusations” made against her, although the nature of these accusations is not clear. Shiva Nazar Ahari, had previously spent three months in detention after her arrest in the wake of the June post-election unrest.The CHRR has come under particular attack since the disputed June 2009 presidential election. Members of the CHRR have been systematically and arbitrarily arrested and some possibly ill- treated while in custody. Others are currently in hiding. Amnesty International fears that the Iranian authorities have decided to 'make an example' of the CHRR not only by banning it and arresting its members but also by threatening to execute them. At least five members are currently detained. All are at risk of torture or other ill-treatment. They have all been denied access to a lawyer since their arrests. The authorities have accused the group of having links to the banned political opposition group, the Mojahedin-e Khalq or People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), which the CHRR vehemently denies.
The CHRR was founded in 2006 and campaigns against all kinds of human rights violations, including against women, children, prisoners, workers and others. On or around 21 January 2010, Abbas Ja'fari Dowlatabadi, the Tehran prosecutor told Shiva Nazar Ahari's family in a meeting that: "Experts of the case have reported that the website for the Committee is linked to "hypocrites" (the Iranian authorities' name for the PMOI), and any collaboration with the Committee is considered a crime."
You can send Nowruz greetings to Shiva Nazar Ahari to:
Shahid Madani street ( Nezam Abaad) - Mehran Tayebi Alley,
First floor from right - No 54 , Postal Code 1617785511
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
First floor from right - No 54 , Postal Code 1617785511
Tehran
Islamic Republic of Iran
Arash and Kamiar Alaei
Brothers Arash Alaei and Kamiar Alaei, doctors specializing in the prevention and treatment of HIV and AIDS, were tried on 31 December 2008 for plotting to overthrow the Iranian government and other charges in proceedings that did not meet international standards for fair trial. On 20 January 2009, the brothers were informed that Kamiar Alaei had been sentenced to six years in prison while Arash Alaei had been sentenced to three years.Arash and Kamiar Alaei had been arrested in June 2008 and held without charge for six months. The brothers were given a one-day trial before Tehran’s Revolutionary Court, along with two other individuals. They were accused of involvement in an attempt to overthrow the government. The prosecutor withheld some of the charges they faced, giving the brothers no opportunity to refute the charges. The prosecutor also submitted secret evidence the brothers’ lawyer did not have the opportunity to examine or refute. The two doctors are known to have been charged under article 508 of Iran’s Islamic Penal Code with “cooperating” with an “enemy government,” which carries a penalty of between one and ten years’ imprisonment.
Amnesty International is concerned the charges against Arash and Kamiar Alaei, and the allegations of their involvement in a plot to overthrow the government, are based solely on vaguely-worded national security laws. Amnesty International believes that the brothers are prisoners of conscience, targeted solely for their internationally recognized medical research and advocacy efforts and for their peaceful collaboration with non-governmental organizations in other countries.
You can send Nowruz greetings to Kamiar and Arash Alaei to:
Velenjak St., 16Yasaman 2 BlvdFloor 5, Apartment 3AlaeiTehranIslamic Republic of Iran Kian Tajbakhsh
Academic and dual Iran-U.S. national Kian Tajbakhsh, a 47-year-old social scientist who taught urban policy at the New School University in New York, was sentenced to fifteen years in prison by a Revolutionary Court in October 2009. In February 2010 his sentence was reduced to five years on appeal. He was arrested at his home on the night of 9 July 2009 by agents of the Security Police. He has spent most of the time since held in solitary confinement and had been subjected to prolonged interrogations. Charges against him included espionage, co-operation with an enemy government, and acting against national security.On Saturday 1 August 2009 Kian Tajbakhsh was among the more than 100 people who were brought to trial before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran, accused of organizing the post-June 12 election protests, of having links with armed opposition groups, and of “conspiring against the ruling system.” Among those being tried were political opposition figures—including senior officials from former President Mohammad Khatami’s government—journalists and academics. Kian Tajbakhsh and Maziar Bahari, a Canadian-American journalist who worked for Newsweek magazine, were the only two dual nationals on trial. Kian Tajbakhsh spoke at the 25 August session of the trial, saying that the U.S. and European countries had a goal of trying to bring change inside Iran.
This is not the first time that Kian Tajbakhsh’s scholarly activities have led to persecution by the government. He was one of four Iranian-Americans detained for several months in 2007 for attempting to foment a “velvet revolution” in Iran. He was then accused of “acting against national security by engaging in propaganda against the Islamic Republic by spying on behalf of foreigners.”
You can send Nowruz greetings to Kian Tajbakhsh to:
Farideh Gueramy 555 Lenox Avenue Manhattan, New York, NY 10037
Friday, March 19, 2010
happy Naw-Ruz-20-03-2010
Naw-Ruz, a holy day for Baha'is, is a holiday celebrated by millions of others, having as its basis Zoroastrian tradition. -gw
On We've Got the Cluster Covered: Four Parties for Naw Ruz
Naw Ruz is almost here and the party invitations are out. There are four parties -- count them -- in Gig Harbor, in Tacoma, in Lakewood and in South Pierce County. We got Cluster 19 covered. -gw
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Sadi's Scroll of Wisdom, by Arthur N. Wollaston, [1906], at sacred-texts.com
SADI'S SCROLL OF WISDOM
In the Name of God, the Merciful and Compassionate!
O merciful Being! take pity on our condition;For we are captives in the snare of lust!
We have no protector save Thee!
Thou art the all-sufficient Forgiver of sins to us sinners!
Keep us from the path of error;
Forgive us our trespasses, and show us righteousness.
IN PRAISE OF MUHAMMAD
The Peace of God be upon him and his Posterity!So long as the tongue is fixed in the mouth,
May the praise of Muhammad be a source of delight.
The beloved of God, the most exalted of Prophets,
Whose pillow is the glorious firmament.
The earth-conquering horseman with his chestnut Buraq, 1
Which passed beyond the palace of the cerulean portico!
Footnotes
30:1 The steed on which Muhammad is supposed to have visited Heaven.ADDRESS TO THE SOUL
Forty years of thy precious existence have expired; p. 31Yet thy life hath not passed beyond childhood.
Thou hast spent all in lust and licence;
Not a moment hast thou acted according to righteousness.
Rely not upon unstable life;
Be not confident that thou art safe from the sport of fortune.
Monday, March 15, 2010
fast day 15-- Baha'u'llah standing before us
"Lament not in your hours of trial, neither rejoice therein; seek ye the Middle Way which is remembrance of Me in your afflictions and reflection over that which may befall you in future. Thus informeth you He Who is the Omniscient, He Who is aware."
In the last analysis we can say YES and NO,
Feast who after 19 days of fasting WE cant deny it with what joy we break the fast and welcoming the festivity ,IT IS a recompense a gift of Baha'u'llah after the 19 days of restraint
and NO because
Whether an individual Baha'i is fasting fully, partially or not at all, some are not untitle to do so and not permisible to fast , but the month of Loftiness is a reminder TO ALL and remembrance. We remember who we are, with Whom we must converse, to Whom we owe our allegiance, and toward Whom we must journey. Thus reminded, we see Baha'u'llah standing before us, always beckoning us forward into the light.
OH BAHA'U'LLAH BRING US TOGETHER AS ONE FAMILY
love
reflections
O Baha, Knower of our inmost thoughts,
Thou seest the fire in our souls.
Yet, Thou inquirest not, Thou Self-Subsisting,
After the nightingales so lovingly nurtured by Thee.
My home is in ruins, its foundations destroyed;
I am caught in the talons of the eagle of sorrow.
Call me to that other land, by Thy leave,
To build my home in another nest, another tree.
This wide world, this limitless space
without Thee, Beloved One, encages me.
Turn our night into day, O Generous One;
Grant us wings to soar towards Thee.
Bestow upon Haifa a new creation,
Whose eyes will never gaze upon the likes of Thee,
Or behold Thy exalted stature,
Or those life-giving smiles of Thine.
Lord, Lord, Thou seest and knowest that these grieving hearts have lost all patience and strength.
The thin thread of endurance is breaking.
. Resolution and tenacity have come to an end. The absence of the Most Excellent Branch [Shoghi Effendi],[1]
and the lack of any news from Him have completely sapped the strength of the Greatest Holy Lea
[Bahiyyih Khanum], and of Ruha, the Holy Leaf ['Abdu'l-Bahá'í daughter].
No longer is there vigor or strength or forebearance.
Baha'i : Munirih - Memoirs and Letters
Thou seest the fire in our souls.
Yet, Thou inquirest not, Thou Self-Subsisting,
After the nightingales so lovingly nurtured by Thee.
My home is in ruins, its foundations destroyed;
I am caught in the talons of the eagle of sorrow.
Call me to that other land, by Thy leave,
To build my home in another nest, another tree.
This wide world, this limitless space
without Thee, Beloved One, encages me.
Turn our night into day, O Generous One;
Grant us wings to soar towards Thee.
Bestow upon Haifa a new creation,
Whose eyes will never gaze upon the likes of Thee,
Or behold Thy exalted stature,
Or those life-giving smiles of Thine.
Lord, Lord, Thou seest and knowest that these grieving hearts have lost all patience and strength.
The thin thread of endurance is breaking.
. Resolution and tenacity have come to an end. The absence of the Most Excellent Branch [Shoghi Effendi],[1]
and the lack of any news from Him have completely sapped the strength of the Greatest Holy Lea
[Bahiyyih Khanum], and of Ruha, the Holy Leaf ['Abdu'l-Bahá'í daughter].
No longer is there vigor or strength or forebearance.
Baha'i : Munirih - Memoirs and Letters
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Pic of North Pole sunset
This is the sunset at the North Pole with the moon at its closest point last week..And, you also see the sun below the moon.An amazing photo and not one easily duplicated.You may want To pass it on to others so they can enjoy it.The Chinese have a saying that goes something like this:'When someone shares with you something of value,you have an obligation to share it with others!'I just did.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
fast
“Arise, then, and make steadfast your feet, and make ye amends for that which hath escaped you, and set then yourselves towards His holy Court, on the shore of His mighty Ocean, so that the pearls of knowledge and wisdom, which God hath stored up within the shell of His radiant heart, may be revealed unto you.”
Bahá’u'lláh
As i reflect on Fasting, these words from Shoghi Effendi popped into my mind.
the individual alone must assess its character, consult his conscience, prayerfully consider all its aspects, manfully struggle against the natural inertia that weighs him down in his effort to arise, shed, heroically and irrevocably, the trivial and superfluous attachments which hold him back, empty himself of every thought that may tend to obstruct his path..."
Look thou with seeing eyes at the world about thee and at the inhabitants thereof. Upon the stage of this immense theatre, most spectacular plays are being enacted.
On one side thereof thou wilt see the victorious and the vanquished legions of profit and loss. On the other side thou wilt observe the waves of the sea of folly rising and falling. Cries are being raised on every side and the agonies of revolution, revolt and unrest reach unto the ears of progressive men. There is a tremendous strike and clash between capital and labor, and the war between the aristocrats and democrats is carried on relentlessly with bow and arrow, sword and javelin. The phalanxes of a great army are drawn in battle array, each division taking its position. Armed troops and artillery are to be found in every part of the field. The flash of the swords of enmity blind the eyes from even the most remote distance, the lightning effect of breast-plate and lance and the sparkle of the bucklers of hatred light up the night and bewilder the sight. In short: strife, battle, slaughter, and war are prepared in organized perfection.
On the other hand thou wilt hear that from every house strains of music are raised, and confusing melodies of harp, lyre, cymbal and flute are heard, and mad revellers are dancing to the tunes, while they are inebriated with the wine of vanishing pleasures. In one place thou wilt behold the wanton and soiled decorations, and in another the flimsy shows of the gilded class of creatures. On the one hand is to be seen the embellishment and luxury made possible through illicit wealth, and on the other hand, the ravishing of this mortal world of its beautiful appearance.
From different parts are to be heard of sighs of anguish, lamentations of poverty, cries of agony and misery,–and the calls for succor have reached to the gate of heaven. One hears the weeping of the hopeless, the appeals of the oppressed, the trembling murmurs of the helpless and the harrowing wails of the ship-wrecked in the sea of persecution. The heat of the conflagration of separation spreads on all sides, the fire of longing is raging with great intensity, and the tongues of the flames of calamity leap forth in every direction. Here one sees the oppression of kings and the thoughlessness of cabinet ministers; there one sees conflict on the battle field of thoughts and ideals by ambitious generals, statesmen, and administrators of the nations and countries.
They consult, scheme, plot and exchange views; they organize falacious and superfluous companies and make false the established values; and thus do they lay and destroy the foundation of their political careers.
In short: when thou observest these things with the eye of reality, thou wilt see that the outcome, result, and fruit of all these theatrical performances are mirages and their sweetness is bitter poison. A few days the earth shall roll on its axis, and these fleeting visions will be completely forgotten.
When thou shuttest thine eyes to this dark world and lookest upward and heavenward, thou wilt see light upon light stretching from eternity to eternity. The reality of the mysteries will be revealed. Happy is the pure soul who does not attach himself to the transient conditions and comforts, but rather seeks to attach himself to the purity, nobility and splendor of the world which endures.
– From a tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Baha revealed at Ramleh, Egypt, September 1913 and printed in “Star of the West”, No. 16, p. 273.
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Thursday, March 11, 2010
Happy Birthday Mona my PRECIOUS Little Angel...Love you so much
draft blogging 11th march 2010
Four years ago16 th march, my baby girl was born. I can't believe how quickly time has passed.yes its a special in many ways She is getting so cute and lovely i cant wait to hold her again in the grandfather arm as i say
it's a special birthday to my sweet granddaughter even the benchmark of my own 59 years on the planet and our last pilgrimage make it so special , this past days i renewed with my passionate hobby teaching-whoa what a week , its fasting and everything is been blessed, .....I cant wait to welcome for my little lovely one she is coming in april you know who?
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