Archive

Incomplete File

Published
by
Baquia
on September 7, 2008
in Iran
. 1 Comment

ahmad-batebiTo my readership, the following may be “preaching to the choir” but since the author is a unique individual, it merits wider circulation.

Below is an excerpt from an article written by Ahmad Batebi. The translation is by our very own Ahang Rabbani.

“From the first hours of 27 July 2008, the results of the nationwide university entrance examination were available on the official website of the National Organization for Educational Assessment.

However, after entering their personal data on the registration website, most of the Bahai applicants were confronted with the strange system response, “incomplete file”. At present there are no exact statistics on how many Baha’i applicants have been rejected on the base of “incomplete file”; in light of the imprisonment of the leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran, perhaps such statistics will never become available through official means.

However, “incomplete file” is the most perplexing response to student applicants in place of an actual diploma. This is because if the file of a student is indeed missing some important piece of information such that that he is disqualified from receiving a diploma, then according to the regulations of the Organization for Assessment that student is disbarred from participation in the national examination, and under no circumstances would a permit card be issued for him to attend such an entrance exam.

Article 30 of the Islamic Republic’s constitution requires the government to provide all citizens with free education up to secondary school, and to expand free higher education to the extent required by the country for attaining self-sufficiency.

However, after the Islamic Revolution we have persistently witnessed that nearly all Bahai students have been expelled from Iran’s institutions of higher learning because of their religion, and none were permitted to attend universities.”

Read the complete article here…

“I wish each and every Iranian could travel abroad, come to the U.S. or go to Europe, for just one week, and feel, smell, and breathe freedom, human dignity, and realize the value of their lives.”

I echo Batebi’s wishes, especially for my fellow Baha’is. Leave the despotic, decaying ruin that is present day Iran. A whole world awaits you.

Here is Batebi talking with the BBC about his time in jail and his escape:

Ali Nakhjavani Speaks on the Covenant (part I)

Published
by
Baquia
on August 30, 2008
in Theology
. 12 Comments

Dr. Ali Nakhjavani, a former member of the Universal House of Justice, talks on the Covenant:

Biography
After he received his Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from the American University of Beirut in 1939, in the early 1940s Mr. Nakhjavani returned to Iran. He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Iran from 1950 to 1951.

In 1951, Mr. Nakhjavani and his family moved to Uganda, where he worked as a teacher and lecturer. He was a member of the Auxiliary Board for the Propagation in Africa from 1954 to 1961 and chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Central and East Africa from 1956 to 1961.

In 1961, Mr. Nakhjavani was elected to the International Bahá’í Council and served as its president. He was elected to the Universal House of Justice in 1963 and served continuously as a member of the institution until his retirement in 2003.

Mr. Nakhjavani is tied with Mr. H. Fatheazam for the second longest term as a member of the Universal House of Justice. The record holder for the longest continuous membership belongs to Mr. Ian Semple (1963-2004).

The Covenant
I’ve already touched on the subject of the Covenant and for now I’ll simply present this video. Perhaps a commentary will be upcoming shortly.

Iranians Curious About “Bahai”, Americans Not

Published
by
Baquia
on August 8, 2008
in Chile, Internet and Iran
. 84 Comments

Google, being the most widely used search engine, collects an unbelievably large amount of data about how we use the internet and what we search for. Since their motto is “Don’t be evil” they are rather transparent and open up a lot of this data, offering an intriguing view into what people around the world are curious about.

According to Google, a lot of folks are interested to learn more about the Baha’i Faith on the internet. The keyword “bahai” ranks at around 80, which is relatively high (out of 100). The trend over the past 4 years is moderately decreasing however.

Google also breaks down the search volume for keywords by geography. Perhaps you would be surprised to learn that, by far, the most curious, are Iranians:

bahai-internet-interest

According to Google, Iran’s search volume for the keyword Baha’ is 100 (the highest). I’m amazed to see such unbridled curiosity from the cradle of the Faith. Not just because I tend to read from most parts that people there are generally apathetic but also because of the technological limitations imposed by a nationwide firewall which rivals China’s.

If you drill down into the Iranian data, you discover that there has been a dramatic drop off in search volume for Baha’i in the past 4 years. It has gone from 100 to low double digits. Maybe that’s when the firewall went into effect. Or perhaps it was ratcheted up.

Understandably, the second spot goes to Israel, at a respectable 67. I don’t know about you, but I would be a tiny bit interested to learn more about this “Baha’i” thing if I had scores of Baha’is in my backyard every year.

Unfortunately for the proclamation efforts of the NSA of the United States, Americans are apathetic at an index reading of just 39. However, the people in the state of Illinois, for some strange reason, show the highest interest. Followed very closely by Alaska.

Another country scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of interest is Chile. Hopefully once the Santiago Temple is finished, that will change things.

If you want to tinker with the data, here is the link for the Google Insight worldwide, and Iran specific search data.

The Challenge of Homosexuality

Published
by
Baquia
on July 2, 2008
in Theology
. 102 Comments

A recent research report out of Stockholm shows that the structure and function of homosexual brains is similar to that of the opposite sex. That is, a homosexual man’s brain is similar to that of a heterosexual woman’s brain. The study’s sample size was only 90 persons: 25 heterosexual women (HeW), 25 heterosexual men (HeM), 20 homosexual men (HoM), and 20 homosexual women (HoW).

Previous research had shown that men and women’s brains were “wired” differently. This research showed that there was a similar difference between sexual orientation. So finally we have scientific proof that women love to go shopping with their gay male friends.

Using PET and MRI scans which measured blood flow the study showed:

  • The brains of heterosexual men (HeM) and homosexual women (HoW) were similar in that the volumes of their two brain hemispheres were not symmetrical (rightward cerebral asymmetry).
  • The brains of homosexual men (HoM) and heterosexual women (HeW) were similar in that the volumes of their two brain hemispheres were symmetrical.
  • There were also opposite sex similarities between the gay and heterosexual participants in the way their amygdalae connected.

The authors of the study conclude: “The results cannot be primarily ascribed to learned effects, and they suggest a linkage to neurobiological entities”. You can read the report here. The next step is to find what exactly accounts for the difference and by what mechanism it is activated.

homosexuality-brain-scan-image

More and more science is taking baby steps towards an explanation of homosexuality that is anchored in biological rather than behavioral basis. That is, it may eventually offer conclusive proof that homosexuality arises from human genetic makeup. Some scientists are persuaded already by the present findings of this and other research but not all.

We are certainly not there yet but the trend from recent research reports points that way. If this is indeed realized at some time in the future, then I believe it will present the Baha’is with a severe challenge because most believe that homosexuality is an aberration from the “natural” and that, more importantly, it is a “spiritual affliction” which can be overcome by expressing a moral choice and through conscious effort (such as prayer).

Such views would become anachronistic if homosexuality is shown to be a genetic substrate wholly outside a person’s volition and choice.

Here is a thought provoking essay on “Sex and Values” from the late R. Jackson Armstrong-Ingram.