The exhibition, at the St.Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art, entitled Sacred Journeys: Expressions of Faith, explored the journeys of nine different religious adherents from Glasgow, two of whom - Menai Shahim and Carrie Varjavandi - are Bahá’ís who have recently returned from their pilgrimages to the Bahá’í holy places in the Haifa-Acre area of northern Israel.

Cabinets and panels explored aspects of pilgrimage in the different religions, showing objects associated with the journey and displaying quotations from the pilgrims themselves who were also featured in moving video testimonials about the  spiritual journeys they experienced. 

The St.Mungo Museum of Religious Life and Art showcases the importance of religion in people’s lives across the world. “The museum plays a vital role in promoting understanding and respect about faiths in the city and in Scotland as a whole,” said Allan Forsyth, spokesperson for the Scottish Bahá’í community.

Special features in the latest edition includes news of the UNESCO recognition of Baha’i holy places in Israel as World Heritage sites, a report of the 10th international Bahá’í convention, the latest developments concerning the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran and news of awards and honours received by British Bahá’ís for their services to society in the last year.

Copies of the UK Bahá’í Review can be requested from opi@bahai.org.uk, or by post from the Office of Public Information, 27 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PD. Copies cost £1.50 each (including postage). Cheques should be made payable to the “NSA of the Baha’is”, indicating that the payment is for the UK Bahá’í Review.

The Wayfarer is an informative documentary written and directed by filmmaker Jess Firth. Mr Firth first encountered the Bahá’í faith while visiting an old school-friend from New Zealand who was working at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. Intrigued by what he saw of this new religion, Mr Firth set out on a year-long journey through five different countries, meeting Bahá’ís, experiencing their holy places, questioning their beliefs and visiting their development projects.

The Wayfarer DVD is available directly from Quest Media Productions.

The Wayfarer received its first screening on 10 November at the Curzon Soho cinema in London’s Shaftesbury Avenue. Some 120 invited guests were present at the premiere which was introduced by Mr Firth.

“The Wayfarer must be among the first independent documentaries to investigate the Bahá’í faith,” said Robert Weinberg, a spokesman for the UK Bahá’í community. “It has been shot entirely in state-of-the-art High Definition digital video and uniquely combines thought-provoking content with stunning images of the various locations where Bahá’ís are active in the world.”

Two Bahá’ís from Scotland joined some thirty pilgrims from seven different faith communities for a unique inter-faith pilgrimage to the Holy Land.

Dr Maureen Sier, the Development Officer of the Scottish Inter-Faith Council, and Mr Justin Alae-Carew, an Edinburgh University student, were part of an initiative designed to increase understanding and friendship between communities in Scotland.

The ten-day journey, which received funding from the Scottish government, included sites of importance to the different faiths. On the fifth day of the pilgrimage, the group made a visit to the spectacular Bahá’í gardens on Mount Carmel in Haifa, surrounding the tomb of one of the Bahá’í Faith’s founders, known as The Báb.

“The beautiful and peaceful terraced gardens and the Shrine itself are open to all,” said Magdalen Lambkin, a Roman Catholic participant, “and as our guide shared with us the vision of Bahá’u'lláh, I felt that he had a poignant message for us today who are so often told, both explicitly and in ways more subtle, that we are in an era of a ‘clash of civilisations’. Bahá’u'lláh wrote of humankind, ‘Ye are the fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch. Deal ye with another with utmost love and harmony with friendliness and friendship.’”

The idea for the pilgrimage grew out of a conversation between Scottish Council of Jewish Communities’ Director Ephraim Borowski, and Rami Ousta, Chief Executive Officer of BEMIS, the umbrella organisation for minority community organisations in Scotland, who were concerned that tensions in the Middle East may sometimes be an obstacle to the development of good relations locally.

The Very Reverend Dr Finlay Macdonald, principal clerk, and former Moderator of the Church of Scotland, and Na’eem Raza, Director of Meem, a diversity training organisation, both joined the steering group.
“It is deeply ironic that a land called “holy” should be at the heart of so much conflict” said Dr Macdonald. “I hope that our pilgrimage will be a journey into closer understanding, deepening respect and enduring friendship, and that it will contribute in its own small way to the peace for which we all pray.”

Dr Maureen Sier said, “In my day-to-day work in inter-faith I have often witnessed how profoundly deep dialogue can influence human relationships for the good and there were many opportunities for such dialogue to take place between all of us on the pilgrimage. The friendships that evolved, the learning that took place and the heartfelt longing to contribute to both Scotland and the world at large can only augur well for future inter-faith development.”

Having returned, participants have pledged to visit a wide range of organisations to talk about their journey, and, using knowledge and understanding gained during the trip, they hope to make a positive contribution to the development of good relations between Scotland’s many faith communities.

“I am not sure what, if anything, our visit will have done for the peace process in the Holy Land,” said Dr Sier, “but I do know that many people were deeply moved by seeing adherents of seven faiths, of all ages and background working together to promote greater understanding. We were a colourful and collaborative – and I believe controversial – collage of hope.”

Watch a BBC report on the pilgrimage

Technorati Tags: Scotland, interfaith, pilgrimage, Israel, Palestine

The decision by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee means that the resting places of the founders of the Bahá’í Faith possess “outstanding universal value” and should be considered as part of the cultural heritage of humanity. 

The two shrines, one near the recognized heritage site of Old Acre on Israel’s northern coast and the other on Mount Carmel in Haifa, are the resting places of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, the founders of the Bahá’í Faith.

Bahá’ís believe that both Bahá’u'lláh and the Báb were messengers of God; their resting places are sites of pilgrimage for a religious community of some five million believers. The shrine of Bahá’u’lláh is the focal point of prayer for Bahá’ís all over the world, giving it an importance comparable to the Western Wall in Jerusalem for Jews and the Kaaba in Mecca for Muslims.

Born in Iran, Bahá’u’lláh was banished to Acre in what was then the Ottoman Empire, where he died in 1892. The Báb was executed in Iran in 1850, and His remains were later moved to Haifa for burial. The two shrines are noteworthy for the formal gardens that surround them, blending design elements from many cultures. In addition to Bahá’í pilgrims, they attract hundreds of thousands of visitors and tourists every year.

The Bahá’í shrines are the first sites connected with a religious tradition born in modern times to be added to the list, which is maintained by UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.

“We welcome the UNESCO recognition, which highlights the importance of the holy places of a religion that in 150 years has gone from a small group found only in the Middle East to a worldwide community with followers in virtually every country,” said Albert Lincoln, secretary-general of the Bahá’í International Community.

“The Bahá’í community is particularly grateful to the government of Israel for putting forward this nomination,” he said.

The World Heritage List was established by UNESCO in 1972 to identify, protect, and preserve places of “cultural and natural heritage of outstanding universal value.” So far, 184 nations have signed the World Heritage Convention, which defines the general standards of selection for the list, and more than 850 sites have been recognized, including natural areas, such as East Africa’s Serengeti and Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.

The World Heritage Committee is composed of 21 states that are signatories of the World Heritage Convention. It meets annually in the home country of its chairperson. This year’s chair is Dr. Christina Cameron of Canada, and the gathering in Quebec, which is itself a world heritage site, corresponds with that city’s 400th anniversary celebrations.

Read more about the World Heritage recognition of the Bahá’í Holy Shrines, here.

Technorati Tags: Baha’i, Bahai, World Heritage sites, UNESCO, Israel