Call for special prayers for the friends in Iran

23 August 2022 / 4 Names 179

All Local Spiritual Assemblies
All Regional Bahá’í Councils
All Registered Groups

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

As you know, in recent weeks the news of intensified persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran has grieved the hearts not only of Bahá’ís but has “offended the minds of the people of the world and made a profound impression upon public opinion the world over”[i]. The Office of Public Affairs has been actively pursuing several lines of action to obtain media coverage and garner support for our coreligionists from government and civil society. We have been heartened by the Canadian response to date, described in part in the article at this hyperlink. Of note, the Government of Canada reacted to the news of this fresh wave of persecution by commenting on Twitter on July 23rd and August 3rd. We invite you to follow @CanadaBahai and the Bahá’í International Community’s account @BahaiBIC to stay abreast of media coverage and statements from government officials and civil society. For publicly available and verified information, please refer to press releases issued by the Bahá’í International Community available here.

In its soul-stirring message addressed today to “the sore-tried and faithful followers of the Beloved of the world in the Cradle of the Faith”, which can be found at the URL in the footnote below, the Universal House of Justice assures them:

“Throughout the world your sisters and brothers, who pride themselves in their spiritual bonds of kinship with such heroic souls, constantly call you to mind in their daily and special prayers and beseech the divine Throne that the countless instances of prejudice, persecution, and discrimination that you face may cease. Bahá’í communities the world over are exerting great effort to inform their governments and to awaken their peoples to what you have suffered and are still enduring. We, too, remember you at every turn and pray ardently on your behalf at His Threshold.”

We call on all the friends to honour this promise, matching the mounting afflictions by intensifying their daily prayers, and through a wave of special devotional gatherings that draw in the well-wishers of humanity, many of whom have been at their sides in the global conferences.

Kindly share this call with all the friends in your communities, that every household where the Greatest Name is invoked may play its part in awakening the world to this grievous injustice, and to our fellow-believers’ noble response.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Karen McKye, Secretary

[i] Universal House of Justice to the sore-tried and faithful followers of the Beloved of the world in the Cradle of the Faith, 23 August 2022, https://www.payamha-iran.org/node/366?language=en