The Art of Human Rights Struggle

Just a few of the art works inspired by
the struggle for human rights in Iran
on Tehran Bureau

Spiritual Quote:

“The source of human rights is the endowment of qualities, virtues and powers which God has bestowed upon mankind without discrimination of sex, race, creed or nation. To fulfill the possibilities of this divine endowment is the purpose of human existence.

“Human rights can be established in terms of social status when members of the community realize that the gift of life and conscious being obligates them to meet responsibilities owed to God, to society and to self. Mutual recognition by members of the community of the truth that their lives emanate from one and the same universal Source enables them to maintain ordered relationships in a common social body.

“The social body does not create essential human rights. Its office is that of trustee under appointment to act for the community in the preservation of the relationships which represent the moral achievement of the members, and to cherish and protect that unity of spirit which is their highest mutual obligation.

“No social body, whatever its form, has power to maintain essential human rights for persons who have repudiated their moral obligation and abandoned the divine endowment distinguishing man from beast. Civil definitions of political and economic status, if devoid of moral value and influence, are not equivalent to essential human rights but express the expedients of partisan policy. An ordered society can only be maintained by moral beings.”
Bahá’í International Community, 1947 Feb,
A Bahá’í Declaration of Human Obligations and Rights

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Global Day of Action

Our last post alerted folks to the Global Day of Action on July 25th—United for Iran—when people in over 100 cities around the world stood with the people of Iran in their hour of need—their struggle to have their voices heard, their votes counted, their rights protected…

Here are just a few of the videos of this Global Day of Action
from the United for Iran  site:

CNN covers Berlin and London:

Shirin Ebadi, first Iranian to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, human rights activist and lawyer
(after the introduction there is an English translator…):

U2 sings for the Iranians:

Spiritual Quote:

“Bahá’u’lláh…has said, and has guarded His statement by rational proofs from the Holy Books, that the world of humanity is one race, the surface of the earth one place of residence and that these imaginary racial barriers and political boundaries are without right or foundation. Man is degraded in becoming the captive of his own illusions and suppositions. The earth is one earth, and the same atmosphere surrounds it. No difference or preference has been made by God for its human inhabitants; but man has laid the foundation of prejudice, hatred and discord with his fellowman by considering nationalities separate in importance and races different in rights and privileges.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 232

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The World Is Watching…

Things have been stirring in Iran…

As the ancient Persia, this country gave the world its first declaration of human rights…

Its recent track record on that account is shameful…

Go to United for Iran and see what a Global Day of Action for Human Rights can mean…

For now, watch this video:

And, here’s a list of links to our other posts about Iran:

Prayers Make History

Who Are The Iranians?

18 Tir = 9 July

An Anthem for Iran

Jon Bon Jovi Sings for Iran

Neda, Stay With Us !

Why Is This Woman In Jail?

Morality’s Downfall

Women, Stereotypes, and Truth

Why Should You Care?

Religious Persecution

Repression

East and West Embrace, tentatively…

Religious Minority In Iran

Prisoners of Conscience

Woman – Man – Art

Human Rights Abuse That’s Closest To My Heart…

Spiritual Quote:

“We are commanded to quicken the souls, to train the characters, to illumine the realm of man, to guide all the inhabitants of the earth, to create concord and unity among all men and to lead the world of humanity to the Fountain of the Everlasting Glory. The reformation of one empire is not our aim; nay, rather we invoke from God that all the regions of the world be reformed and cultivated; the republic of men become the manifestors of the bounty of the most glorious Lord; the East and the West be brought nearer together; and that the Turk and Tajik, Iran and America, India and Arabia, Japan and Persia, China and Germany; in brief, all the nations and peoples of the world become as one soul and one spirit, in order that strife and warfare be entirely removed and the rancor and hostility disappear so that all become as the waves of one ocean, the drops of one sea, the flowers of one rose-garden, the trees of one orchard, the grains of one harvest and the plants of one meadow.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá v3, p. 490

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Who Are The Iranians ?

Much going on in Iran now…

Much in America, too…

Our previous post, For America’s Spiritual Growth…, explored some deep connections between the two countries…

But who Are  the Iranians…?

Spiritual Quote:

“Aside from that which is a matter of record in Persian histories, it is stated in the Old Testament—established today, among all European peoples, as a sacred and canonical Text—that in the time of Cyrus, called in Iranian works Bahman son of Isfandiyar, the three hundred and sixty divisions of the Persian Empire extended from the inner confines of India and China to the farthermost reaches of Yemen and Ethiopia.[1] The Greek accounts, as well, relate how this proud sovereign came against them with an innumerable host, and left their own till then victorious dominion level with the dust. He made the pillars of all the governments to quake; according to that authoritative Arab work, the history of Abu’l-Fida, he took over the entire known world. It is likewise recorded in this same text and elsewhere, that Firaydun, a king of the Pishdadiyan Dynasty—who was indeed, for his inherent perfections, his powers of judgment, the scope of his knowledge, and his long series of continual victories, unique among all the rulers who preceded and followed him—divided the whole known world among his three sons.
[1] 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:2; Esther 1:1; 8:9; Isaiah 45:1, 14; 49:12.

“As attested by the annals of the world’s most illustrious peoples, the first government to be established on earth, the foremost empire to be organized among the nations, was Persia’s throne and diadem….

“It should not be imagined that the people of Persia are inherently deficient in intelligence, or that for essential perceptiveness and understanding, inborn sagacity, intuition and wisdom, or innate capacity, they are inferior to others. God forbid! On the contrary, they have always excelled all other peoples in endowments conferred by birth. Persia herself, moreover, from the standpoint of her temperate climate and natural beauties, her geographical advantages and her rich soil, is blessed to a supreme degree. What she urgently requires, however, is deep reflection, resolute action, training, inspiration and encouragement. Her people must make a massive effort, and their pride must be aroused.”
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, The Secret of Divine Civilization, p. 7

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