BWNS: Focus on key issues

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      Focus on key issues

             
             The cover of "The Baha'i World 2002-2003" features Baha'is in 
            Ntambo, Zambia, singing at a devotional gathering.
            > Larger Photo
      HAIFA, Israel, 29 March 2004 (BWNS) -- The need for religious tolerance, 
      the role of the individual in building society, and HIV/AIDS are among the 
      topics addressed in the newly released volume of "The Baha'i World". 
      "The Baha'i World 2002-2003" is the 11th volume in an annual series aimed 
      both at Baha'i readers and the general public. Its pages describe the aims 
      and activities of local and national Baha'i communities around the world. 
      "If people want to understand the forces that cause the Baha'i community 
      to act and the results of those actions, then this volume is the place to 
      look," said Ann Boyles, the book's senior editor. 
      "The articles in the book provide striking evidence of the Baha'i 
      community's involvement in issues of serious and global importance," said 
      Dr. Boyles. 
      For example, said Dr. Boyles, the volume reprints the full text of the 
      recent message of the Universal House of Justice to the world's religious 
      leaders. That message called for decisive action to eradicate religious 
      intolerance and fanaticism, warning that with "every day that passes, 
      danger grows that the rising fires of religious prejudice will ignite a 
      worldwide conflagration the consequences of which are unthinkable." 
      The full text of the message of the Universal House of Justice is 
      published in the volume, as is a report of the distribution of the message 
      to religious leaders by Baha'i communities around the world. 
      Other major articles include "Facing the Growing HIV/AIDS Epidemic: A 
      Baha'i Perspective," by Dawn Smith, "Obligation and Responsibility in 
      Constructing a World Civilization," by Hoda Mahmoudi, and a "World Watch" 
      essay by Dr. Boyles on the role of the individual in building society. 
      Dr. Smith's article says Baha'is have taken a different tack in responding 
      to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Not only have Baha'is begun to apply the 
      distinctive spiritual principles of their Faith on an individual level, 
      they have also launched a number of small scale educational projects to 
      address the epidemic's root causes, she writes. 
      The overarching approach is one of unity, she says. "Too often members and 
      representatives of the world's religions have used the HIV/AIDS epidemic 
      to promote discord, insisting that it is solely a problem of the 
      irreligious or that this illness is a punishment from God, meted out to 
      'sinners' or the 'unfaithful,'" she says. 
      "'Abdu'l-Baha emphasized the role of religion in promoting unity and in 
      working in harmony with science," she says. 
      "HIV-related stigma and discrimination are not only unjust and unkind at 
      the individual level, they are themselves a contributor to new 
      infections." 
      Dr. Mahmoudi's article examines the nature of a spiritualized society 
      founded on altruism and reciprocity, based on the principles in the Baha'i 
      sacred writings. 
      "The Baha'i teachings recognize that the transformation of individuals 
      into altruistic persons cannot take place outside the social context, 
      which must provide a matrix for that transformation," she says. 
      Other reports featured in the book include an account of the Baha'i 
      participation at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the annual 
      "Year in Review" survey, and an update on the situation of the Baha'i 
      communities in Iran and Egypt. 
      Also printed in the book are a selection of major statements by the Baha'i 
      International Community and a statement on social cohesion by the National 
      Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom. 
      This 320-page book is prepared by the Baha'i International Community's 
      Office of Public Information. It contains numerous color photographs, and 
      is available for US$18.00. It can be ordered from World Centre 
      Publications through the United States Baha'i Distribution Service, 4703 
      Fulton Industrial Boulevard Atlanta, GA 30336-2017, USA (telephone: (800) 
      999-9019; e-mail: bds@usbnc.org). 
      AM-BWC-040329-1-VOLUME-287-N 



             

       
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