A break from our regularly scheduled programming: a matter close to my heart

Terri at StegArt asked me about the Baha'i Faith, and I realized some people reading may not be familiar with the Faith. The short answer is that the Baha'i Faith is a world-wide religion that began in 1844. Baha'is follow the teachings of Baha'u'llah, the prophet and founder of the Baha'i Faith. Baha'u'llah's teachings are vast and touch upon many aspects of human life, both spiritual and practical (though that does not seem to be the right word since spiritual things are also practical).

What seems to me to be a key element of the Baha'i Faith, however, is Baha'u'llah's explanation that throughout history, humanity has developed through various stages. Different Prophets or Teachers (such as Christ, Mohammad, Buddha and Baha'u'llah himself) have guided and stimulated the advancement of human civilization, and all the religions of the world are fundamentally part of one civilizing process. Humanity is now on the threshold of a new stage in its development, the stage of maturation. The new stage of human development brings both new powers and new responsibilities. But, like the stage of adolescence for individuals, it is a stage with many upheavals. If we are to reach maturity, we need to change patterns of behavior developed in childhood but no longer appropriate to either our capacity or our goals, and to understand new principles that were previously beyond our capacity to recognize. And, we will have to learn to apply those new and renewed teachings both in our personal lives and in the organization of society. Baha'u'llah explains that at this stage in human history, the most fundamental challenge is our recognition of the unity of humankind. Only when the oneness of humankind is fully recognized can humanity hope to establish a harmonious and peaceful world civilization.

There is a link on my sidebar to The Baha'is Website for those who want a more extensive (and more elegant!) introduction, but I also want to share some recent events in Egypt affecting Baha'is that have been on my mind in recent weeks since mid December. There are no quilts or quilting in this, but I hope you will indulge me a bit and allow me to share something that troubles my deeply. To understand the situation and my feelings, though, you may need a bit more background.

Since its beginnings, the Baha'is have been persecuted in many Islamic countries including Egypt. One reason is that Baha'is are considered heretics because they follow the teachings of Baha'u'llah, while Muslims believe that Mohammed was the final prophet and that God will send no more Teachers for mankind. But further reasons are that there are no clergy in the Baha'i Faith, and those religious leaders who are attached to their name and position see the Faith as a threat to their own power. Further, Baha'i teachings such as the equality of men and women are not easily accepted and are sometimes seen as a threat to the social order.

In Egypt, the Baha'i Faith is not one of the recognized religions. However, identifying your religion is required for all government documents such as national IDs, passports, marriage and birth certificates. Last year, an Egyptian Baha'i went to the court to ask, not for recognition of the Baha'i Faith in Egypt, but just for the right to put "other" or leave the religion space blank on documents asking for religion. In a recent high-court ruling, that request has been denied.

What does this ruling mean? It hits me particularly close to home as I have recently visited with an Egyptian Baha'i friend living abroad. Her passport will soon expire, but despite official policy being that passports can be renewed within 6 months of expiration, each time she goes to the embassy, she is told, "Come back in a month or two." They will not renew her passport without her putting either Muslim, Jew or Christian (the three recognized religions) in the place for religion on the application. Since they already know she is a Baha'i, they will not refuse to help her outright for fear of criticism for violation of human rights, but will delay and obstruct until she is forced to return to Egypt to try to get a new passport there. When in Egypt, she will face the same runaround, with barrier after barrier being presented unless she is willing to lie about her religion. But the Baha'i Writings explain that "Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues. Without truthfulness, progress and success, in all the worlds of God, is impossible for any soul." How can she be asked to deny her religion, something so significant to her own identity and purpose?

From one perspective, return to Egypt shouldn't be a big problem for my friend -- at least she has family and friends there. But she will have to break up her family, and she has a small son, only about 3 years old. My friend was married in Hong Kong and has a valid marriage license, but the Egyptian government will not recognize it as is. Instead she must have the marriage certificate re-issued from Egypt -- again, something that cannot be done without lying about her religion. By law, her son should have the right to an Egyptian passport since his mother is Egyptian, but again, he cannot get a passport without his mother declaring him to be a Muslim, Christian or Jew. This means that her son may very well be denied a visa to Egypt when she must return home to renew her passport.

One solution would be for her to change citizenship, but her husband is Iraqi, and getting Iraqi citizenship is not an easy matter at this time. Because of the overall disorder in the country, no simple administrative procedures work as intended, and she would have to be in Iraq in person to follow the entire process. The dangers in Iraq make that too great a risk. And anyway, why should she have to change her citizenship in the first place?

Baha'u'llah has explained that the most pressing issue facing humankind at this time is unity. The unity of humankind seems such a simple statement, but its implications are profound and in many cases beyond our current vision. One thing is clear, though. Justice is indispensable to the establishment and maintenance of unity. "The purpose of justice is the establishment of unity amongst men" In perpetuating a system of such gross injustice to the followers of the Baha'i Faith and other unrecognized religions in Egypt, the Egyptian government both goes against the Human Rights conventions it has itself signed, and turns its back on the teachings of Islam, which call for justice and fairmindedness. Further, in this ruling Egypt aligns itself with the destructive forces in the world that are placing themselves as barriers to world unity rather than supporters of it. My heart goes out to my friend who must suffer through this period of uncertainty and face the possibility of being separated from her son and husband, and it is filled with admiration for all those Egyptian Baha'is who, through their quiet, steadfast adherence to their beliefs and to the principle of truthfulness, strive to advance the forces for unity and peace in this world.