The Shrine of Baha’u’llah near Acre, north of Haifa – the holiest spot on earth for members of the Baha’i Faith – also is part of the World Heritage designation.

QUEBEC CITY — A United Nations committee meeting here has determined that two Bahá’í shrines in Israel possess “outstanding universal value” and should be considered as part of the cultural heritage of humanity.

The decision today by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee means that the two most sacred sites for Bahá'ís – the resting places of the founders of their religion – join a list of internationally recognized sites like the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids, the Taj Mahal, and Stonehenge.

The Shrine of the Bab illuminated at night

HAIFA, Israel — This week Baha’is mark the 158th anniversary of the martyrdom of the Bab, one of the two central figures in the founding of their religion.

On 9 July 1850, at noon, the Bab was put to death by firing squad in the public square of Tabriz, Iran.

Six years earlier, He had declared that He was a messenger of God whose mission was to prepare the way for the imminent arrival of the Promised One of all religions who would come to establish a new age of peace and prosperity in the world. In 1863, Baha’u’llah announced publicly that He was that Promised One.

Front of Maxwell campus.

Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, 5 July 2008 (CBNS) — Maxwell International School’s emphasis on holistic education and the transformative power of the arts have been a presence in Cowichan Valley for 20 years. With the school’s closing at the end of June, many in the Valley expressed praise for its long record of achievement and contribution to the area.

A local newspaper, the Cowichan Pictorial, wrote in a 29 June article, “Cowichan Valley as a whole, is really going to miss it.”

NEW YORK — Six Nobel Peace Prize laureates have issued a statement calling on the Iranian government to free immediately seven prominent Iranian Baha’is imprisoned in Tehran.

The six Nobel winners, under the banner of the Nobel Women’s Initiative, called on the Iranian government to guarantee the safety of the Baha’is –- being held in Evin Prison with no formal charges and no access to lawyers -- and to grant them an unconditional release.

The Ontario Legislature building, where new prayers will now be said. [Photo by wyliepoon]

Toronto, Ontario, 19 June 2008 (CBNS) — In a move towards greater religious inclusivity, Ontario legislators voted late last week to supplement the daily recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in the Ontario Legislature with prayers from several other major religious traditions, including a Baha’i prayer.

NEW YORK — Seven prominent Baha’is imprisoned in Iran have each been allowed a brief phone call to their families, the Baha’i International Community has learned.

The calls were the first contact with the jailed Baha’is since six of them were arrested on 14 May in pre-dawn raids at their homes in Tehran. The seventh was arrested in March in the city of Mashhad.

June 16, 2008 - 11:35am

U.S. Bahá’í UN representative Jeffery Huffines received a Friendship Award for his work “promoting cultural understanding throughout the world and at the UN Headquarters” and for serving as a “positive, guiding force” to all.

The award was given at the United Cultures Peace Festival & Concert on June 12 and presented by His Excellence Gabor Brodi, the Hungarian Ambassador to the UN. Mr. Huffines has served as the U.S. Bahá'í UN representative since 1996.

Five Toronto-based Iranian leaders of thought have asked the UN Secretary General to press the Iranian authorities to release the Baha'is arrested three weeks ago. Though not themselves members of the Baha'i community, in a strongly worded letter (below), they have expressed their concern at the arrests along with other human rights violations in Iran.

The Shrine of Baha’u’llah in the foreground, and the Mansion of Bahji behind it, are the site of a special program at 3 a.m. on 29 May to mark the 116th anniversary of His passing. His final hours were in a room on the second floor of the mansion.

ACRE, Israel — Four hundred Baha’i pilgrims will be among the thousand followers of Baha’u’llah from around the world who gather at His burial site on 29 May at 3 a.m. to commemorate the 116th anniversary of His passing.

Around the globe, tens of thousands more will turn their faces in the direction of the same shrine – for Baha’is, the holiest spot on earth – in remembrance of the night in 1892 that Baha’u’llah passed away at His home near Acre in the Holy Land.

Ten days after leaders of the Baha’i community in Iran were arrested because of their religious beliefs, Baha'i delegates from across Canada gathered in Toronto for the Canadian Baha'i Convention, May 23 to 25, and elected the governing council of their community, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada.

Those elected were Karen McKye, Judy Filson, Borna Noureddin, Fariborz Sahba, Mark Wedge, Gordon Naylor, Enayat Rawhani, Susie Tamas, and Todd Smith.