17 Sep

Posted at 15:01h in Belgium

BRUSSELS – 17 September 2023 – On 16 September, to mark World Cleanup Day 2023, around thirty young people from our children’s classes and junior youth groups in Brussels and Ixelles took to the streets in a major clean-up operation.

 

“The betterment of the world can be accomplished through pure and goodly deeds”. This quote from Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Baha’i faith, inscribed on their jackets, reminded the children that through acts of service, however small, they can make a tangible contribution to the physical well-being of their communities, that they are agents of change.

 

This clean-up operation, initiated by the local authorities, was very positively received by the residents, who were sometimes surprised by the enthusiasm shown by our young people. This type of action helps to raise awareness among local residents of their responsibilities as members of a community by following the example of young people.

 

The junior youth programme is an educational programme aimed at helping children aged 11 to 15 to develop their own abilities and talents, their spiritual qualities and their social conscience. Service is a central element of the programme, and junior youth are encouraged to get involved in activities for the good of their community or neighbourhood.

Together, the junior youth reflect on the specific needs of their neighbourhood and carry out a variety of activities, such as
– Helping the elderly or disabled
– Taking part in clean-up or recycling projects
– Supporting humanitarian causes
– Engaging in awareness-raising activities
– etc.

Service is an opportunity for young people to learn to care about others and contribute to a better world. Find out more about the programme here (http://bahai.be/fr/what-we-do/#junior)

04 Sep

Posted at 14:19h in Belgium

LIÈGE – On September 2 and 3, the city of Liège organized a socio-cultural event “Retrouvailles” at the Parc de la Boverie. The event welcomes around a hundred exhibitors from the associative sector and nearly 30,000 visitors on the first weekend of September each year.

For 30 years, the Bahá’ís of Liège have participated in this activity which offers the public the opportunity to discover the faith and the concrete actions carried out by the Bahá’ís in favor of unity, justice, and peace in the world. This year again, the stand run by our friends from Liège allowed for great meetings and discussions on questions as varied as they were relevant.

 

 

Following this event, a talk was held on 8 September, attended by around twenty participants, on the theme of “On the path to a new world order – a Bahá’í perspective”, addressing a series of societal issues such as rising inequality, global warming, conflict, racism, religious fundamentalism, etc., and society’s awareness of their global dimension.

This was followed by a reflection on how each of us could respond to these issues, thereby contributing to the achievement of lasting universal peace.

16 Sep

Posted at 13:07h in Belgium, International

BRUSSELS – 16 September 2022 – The Baha’i Community of Belgium yesterday morning delivered a letter addressed to His Highness Sheikh Tamim Bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of the State of Qatar, expressing the concerns of the Baha’is of Belgium regarding the discrimination, restrictions, and human rights violations which have been suffered by their co-religionists in Qatar for decades, and asking him to intervene on behalf of the Baha’is in his country.

 

The letter was hand-delivered to the Qatari embassy in Brussels by a representative of the Baha’is of Belgium.

 

The action was taken after noting the increasing discrimination and restrictions against the Baha’i community in Qatar. Millions of Baha’is live in almost every country in the world and work for the unity of humanity and the unity of religions.

 

“For several years we have observed an alarming pattern of discrimination and human rights violations against Bahá’ís in Qatar,” says Annemie Vanormelingen, representative of the Bahá’ís of Belgium. “Transmitting these concerns to the Emir of the State of Qatar, in writing, shows the seriousness of this moment. We risk seeing the elimination of another religious minority in a Middle Eastern country. This is why all the Bahá’ís of Belgium hope that His Highness, the Emir, will be able to intervene on behalf of their co-religionists before they are expelled from his land.”

 

Bahá’ís have been resident in Qatar for more than 70 years, even before the State of Qatar became independent, but despite this long presence they have experienced decades of discrimination.

 

For many years, the Qatari authorities have systematically attempted to expel Bahá’ís from Qatar, including blacklisting them and issuing expulsion orders, and denying them business licences or work permits even when they have already received job offers from Qatari companies. A number of Bahá’ís have also been denied “certificates of good conduct” – even though they have done nothing wrong – which then disqualifies them from access to employment or other aspects of life.

 

Some Bahá’ís in Qatar have even faced unspecified and false criminal and national security charges. Blacklists and expulsions have separated married couples and families and forced some Qatari citizens to leave their home countries to avoid being separated from their non-Qatari spouses.

 

Qatar’s Baha’is have also been barred from working in so-called “sensitive” sectors, particularly education, despite having worked and contributed for decades in the medical sector, banking, engineering, sports, media, entrepreneurship, public policy, oil and gas, crafts and trades, justice, health and security, and the arts.

 

The discrimination bears a striking resemblance to the treatment faced by Bahá’ís in Iran and Yemen. Most of the Baha’is in Qatar who have been blacklisted and expelled were born and raised in the country, in families that have lived there for generations and have known no other home.

 

A 2019 report by the UN special rapporteurs on minority issues and freedom of religion or belief said Qatar was “undermining human rights in the areas of religion and culture”, referring to the situation of Baha’is, in “what appears to be a disturbing pattern of discrimination against individuals on the basis of their religion or belief”.

 

The Special Rapporteurs added that they were “particularly concerned about the deportation and blacklisting of individuals on the basis of their membership of a minority religion”.

30 Oct

Posted at 11:25h in Belgium, International

On 29th and 30th October 2019, in countless settings and places throughout the world, people celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of the Báb, whose revitalizing message prepared the way for the coming of Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith.

The world centre in the Holy Land released a film to mark the occasion, which can be viewed here. A web page has also been dedicated to this historic event.