Baha'i culture...art, film, literature

[arthra]

MSNBC news had a news report on religion in America that was brought to my attention yesterday..

MSNBC Video

There's a good section on a Baha'i in Chicago.

- Art

[arthra]

He was especially impressed with William Sears’ book Thief in the Night. When he decided to become a believer in Baha’u’llah, Mr. Gillespie flew to Los Angeles from San Francisco to meet with Mr. Sears.

In 1978, Mr. Gillespie gave President Jimmy Carter a book of sacred Baha’i writings. And each time the musician received an award, of which there were many, he mentioned the Baha'i Faith in his thank-you speeches.

Mr. Gillespie’s greatest melding of his religious beliefs with the ideals of jazz was his United Nations Orchestra, which revived his career in the 1980s. He formed the orchestra along the lines of the Baha'i principle of unity in diversity, perhaps his key inspiration.

“The Baha’is believe in unity, but unity with diversity, to make it prettier,” he is quoted as saying in To Be Or Not to Bop: Memoirs of Dizzy Gillespie. “You always think about what you can do to make it prettier.”

Source:

Dizzy Gillespie, bebop Baha'i, continues to inspire | Bahai Faith | Baha'i Faith

[arthra]

Baha'i testifies at U.N. about understanding among religions

UNITED NATIONS
5 October 2007 (BWNS)

A Baha'i from Tanzania - where different religious communities live peacefully together - testified yesterday before the United Nations General Assembly on how to promote religious understanding.

Addressing an informal hearing on "Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace," Mitra Deliri said that in her country, "large Christian and Muslim populations live side by side, intermarry and celebrate each other's religious festivals."

"It is a living example of religious pluralism," she said. "This coexistence did not come about by accident but rather as a result of the vision and deliberate action of Tanzanian leaders, dating back to the country's first president...," she said.

Ms. Deliri, who represented the Baha'i International Community at the two-day hearing, also said it was important for governments to create a climate where freedom of religion or belief is clearly upheld in law and in practice.
"Such a climate must be free from incitements to violence or hostility in the name of religion," she said. "Where contentious opinions about religions are expressed, it is the responsibility of the state to provide for right of reply.
"As a minimum standard, both sides must be afforded the right to respond in a peaceful and legal manner so as to allow the public to arrive at their own conclusion. It is in this climate that understanding and cooperation can take root," she said.

She recommended a number of strategies for promoting interreligious and intercultural understanding. They included establishing a universal, mandatory educational policy and curriculum on religion and education and using the news media to promote respect, prevent conflict and achieve increased social cohesion.

Ms. Deliri was among approximately two dozen representatives of nongovernmental and religious organizations from around the world who addressed the General Assembly yesterday.

Other speakers, for example, included Paul Knitter of the Union Theological Seminary in the USA, Gamal I. Serour of the International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research at the Al Azhar Centre in Egypt, Sohan Lal Gandhi of the Anuvrat Global Organization in India, Fatima Ahmed of Zenab for Women in Development in Sudan, and Steven Rockefeller of Earth Charter International in the United States.

The hearing on interreligious and intercultural understanding was scheduled to continue today with a high-level dialogue among governments.
The Baha'i Faith, with its belief in the oneness of humanity and the oneness of religion, has long promoted religious harmony and supported interfaith dialogue and activity.

Source:

Bahá'í World News Service - Bahá'í International Community - Baha'i testifies at U.N. about understanding among religions

[arthra]

Listen to the cool tracks of this album:

CD Baby: WORLD UNITY JAZZ ENSEMBLE/PHIL MORRISON TRIO: Hollow Reed

Some tracks include Persian Prophet, Hollow Reed and otehrs..

- Art

[arthra]

Probably one of the best youtubes combining Baha'i musicians Seals and Croft and their great hummingbird with great video!


YouTube - Seals & Croft "Hummingbird"

[arthra]

Finnish TV talk show host finds success in unconventional approach

HELSINKI, Finland
9 December 2007 (BWNS)

Television talk shows often use conflict as their formula to win viewers, but a young producer in Finland is making a go of it with a different model.
On his Monday night program, Aram Aflatuni presents a problem, then has a panel of experts try to solve it using consultation and cooperation.
"I don't believe in confrontational journalism," he says. "I do not think that it is an effective way of finding solutions."
His hour-long show - "Härkää Sarvista," or "Grab the Bull by the Horns" - this week wraps up its first season of 15 episodes and has attracted as many as 345,000 viewers. Average viewership was 220,000 - 20 percent of the TV audience for its time period.

In Finland, TV shows often look for confrontation and "sometimes quite aggressive debate," said Juho-Pekka Rantala, a television executive who works on this show and others. "'Härkää Sarvista' is different. It is looking for solutions."

Viewers are invited to submit an issue for consultation. If chosen, the person goes on the air and presents the problem to the panel.

Mr. Aflatuni, 31, is a member of the Baha'i Faith and said he tries to use part of a consultation model used by Baha'is as the starting point for his show.
It is a model that asks participants to remain personally detached from the ideas presented as everyone seeks a single truth or best outcome. No one "owns" or takes credit or blame for any idea offered during the consultation.

Source:

Bahá'í World News Service - Bahá'í International Community - Finnish TV talk show host finds success in unconventional approach

[arthra]

Some of the artists you may have hard of..others you may not know..anyway it's a beautiful tribute!

YouTube - A tribute to Bahai artists around the world

[arthra]

PR.com: And you’re a part of the Bahai faith. Is that your religion?

Eva La Rue

Eva La Rue: Yeah. We believe that everybody’s prophets came to teach basically the same word of God. We believe that there is one God, one people, one world and that everybody’s prophet is right and it’s the people that have sort of dogmatized [it] and religion has taken on a totally different meaning. They’re all at war with each other, but it’s the same truthful message. We basically believe that the reason there were different prophets in different parts of the world is because there were no telephones or newspapers. The only way to get your word out would be through human contact, so God put different prophets in different parts of the world so that everybody could have the word of God and that it’s the same spiritual truth.


Source:

Eva La Rue, Star of CSI: Miami, Speaks with PR.com - PR.com

[arthra]

PEOPLE'S THEATER FROM GERMANY GOES INTERNATIONAL

OFFENBACH, Germany, 20 January 2008 (BWNS) -- After six years of
perfecting a technique that combines drama and discussion as a means to
communicate with youth, a German theater group has gone international.

Individuals or agencies in four countries have commissioned People's
Theater to give performances or offer training in the technique, said
Erfan Diebel, one of the administrators of the drama group. In the coming
months, the troupe also expects to perform in at least three
additional nations, he said.

The technique involves a cast of young, amateur actors presenting a
skit that highlights a common problem among youth, such as negative peer
pressure, lack of patience with others, or backbiting. At a critical
moment in the drama, the action is frozen and the audience discusses how
one might respond to the situation.

In Luxembourg, officials at the Ministry of Education think the method
shows enough promise that they commissioned People's Theater to train
17 staff members from various schools around the country, then take a
tour of some of the schools to show the program in action.

"During role play, actual life situations are simulated and
experienced," Patrick Wesquet, a social educator from the ministry, said of the
program. "The player tries to act according to his role. He ...
experiences the feelings and thoughts of the others, learns to accept them in
their roles, and develops empathy."

After the pause in action in the skit and the audience discussion, the
actors, with help from the students, try to act out some of the
suggestions.

"The young people ... recognize themselves in the role and whether or
why their suggestion has contributed to the resolution of the conflict,"
Mr. Wesquet said.

Besides Germany and Luxembourg, countries where People's Theater is
giving performances or providing training include Austria, Liechtenstein,
and Israel. Additional shows are set for the United Kingdom, Serbia,
and Switzerland, Mr. Diebel said.

Mr. Diebel and some of the others involved in the project are members
of the Baha'i Faith and say part of their motivation is to put into
practice the teachings of their religion about social justice and moral
leadership.

MORE DETAILS

Mr. Wesquet of the Education Ministry in Luxembourg noted that the role
of schools in the life of young people seems to be growing.

"More and more frequently, schools are no longer seen as being merely a
place for learning, but also a place for living," he said. "The
teachers and the staff of the school psychological services are able to
assume an increasingly important role alongside the parents."

"The aim of this project is to promote the personal and social skills
of young people," he said.

"During adolescence young people have to cope with a variety of
challenges, such as establishing more mature relationships with their peers,
developing an ethical system of values, practicing socially responsible
behavior, adopting male/female gender roles, emotional independence
from parents and other adults, preparation for marriage, family and a
profession, and acceptance of their own phuysical appearance," he
continued.

"The theater offers a great opportunity to try out these demands in a
'playful' way," he said.

Peter Schumacher, who was involved in bringing People's Theater to
Austria, explains it this way: "Especially during puberty, teenagers tend
to hide their insecurities behind a mask of coolness and arrogance. In a
game situation, however, a young person is totally confronted by
himself and his personality."

"Such an experience is very moving," added Dr. Schumacher, who is the
head of the youth department the Tyrolean Chamber of Labor. The chamber
sponsored a function where Tyrolean school directors were invited to
see People's Theater perform.

Afterwards the school directors asked the chamber to have the drama
group return to Austria for presentations at eight vocational schools, Mr.
Diebel said.

Reaction

Mr. Diebel says there is strong anecdotal evidence that the program is
effective. For example, the group heard from a teacher in Germany a
week after People's Theater had done a drama presentation called "Apple
Pie" that addressed the human quality of patience - the teacher said that
afterwards, whenever the students behaved impatiently, she merely said
the words "Apple Pie" and immediately they corrected their behavior.

"I will keep everything in my head," wrote a youngster from another
school who watched a performance. "It's something that is easy to
imitate."

Another youth described a personal response during the program: "I was
contemplating a lot, and I also raised my hand a lot."

Still another student said, "I like that you stop the skit when there
is a problem, so that we can solve it."

Mr. Diebel said one key to the success of the program is that the
actors are very young - usually between 18 and 25 years old - making it
easier for children and youth to relate to them.

"All of you are very cool," wrote one young fan to the troupe.

Background

People's Theater was started by in 2001 by Erfan Enayati of Offenbach.
He got the concept of stopping the action to allow for audience
discussion from a Russian television program, "The Happy Hippo Show,"
developed by Shamil Fattakhov, a member of the Baha'i Faith who lives in Kazan,
Russia.

Support for People's Theater comes from foundations, schools and the
City and District of Offenbach, along with a host of other organizations,
companies and individuals, Mr. Diebel said.

The performers are young people who volunteer to be a part of the
program for a year, he said.

END



To view the photos and additional features click here:
http://news.bahai.org

[arthra]

Click to EnlargePhoto courtesy One Moon Gallery/Tony Bounsel - In Esquimalt artist Darlene Gait's paintings and screenprints, prominent animals of the Northwest Coast -bear, eagle, raven, salmon - are depicted from encounters she has had with them in their environment. She incorporates Coast Salish elements to illustrate the interdependence of her culture and the environment.ESQUIMALT, British Columbia - Connection. That's the golden thread woven through all of Esquimalt artist Darlene Gait's paintings and screenprints.

Her art is varied in style as well as subject. ''Spawning,'' an ink and colored-pencil depiction of salmon spawning, brings to mind the work of Musqueam artist Susan Point. Several of Gait's mixed media and acrylics - like ''Alert Bay,'' ''Connections,'' ''Legends'' and ''Wisdom from Above'' - are reminiscent of Tsimshian/Haida/Heiltsuk artist Roy Henry Vickers.

But her work is uniquely personal, inspired by her connection to the environment and wildlife as well as her belief in the oneness of humanity and the beauty of its diversity.

Gait, 39, is as inspired as she is inspirational. One night, in her husband's native Spain, she had a dream about the connectedness of people and other living things. The next morning, she was praying on the balcony of her room and a hawk landed on her head. She and her husband studied the bird, which mimicked their head movements. That encounter led to ''Balance,'' an acrylic on canvas.

''It has always been a difficult challenge to find a balance mentally, physically and spiritually, and it has been a lifelong goal of mine to have that, and I remember this dream I had with the feeling of finding that balance and it was so incredible,'' she wrote about the piece. ''I tried to illustrate that in this painting.''

In her wildlife art, prominent animals of the Northwest Coast - bear, eagle, raven, salmon - are depicted from encounters she has had with them in their environment. She incorporates Coast Salish elements to illustrate the interdependence of her culture and the environment.

In ''Blue Moon,'' Gait honors her maternal grandfather, who died before she had the opportunity to know him.

''I spent a lifetime not knowing who he was,'' she said. ''I felt a huge loss. All I had was an old photograph of his beautiful face when he was a young man. ... I heard he had a really tough life and died a broken man on the streets of Vancouver. I did not know which band he came from or where he was born, and went on a journey to find some knowledge about his life.''

During her journey, she found herself looking out toward his birthplace, one of the islands off the west coast of Vancouver Island, and she could feel his presence. This experience led to ''Blue Moon.''

The piece shows her grandfather's eyes, in which can be seen a blue moon, representing his journey. Behind him are the islands where he was born and the sea where his ashes were spread. In the sky are eagles, representing the ancestors who are with him now.

To Gait, art is a powerful tool for forgiveness and healing. Another painting, ''Letting Go,'' illustrates that perception.

''I let go all my hatred, sadness and pride, and went on a journey,'' she wrote of the introspective scenic piece. ''On this path I saw many colors and it was marvelous. The mountains, ocean, wind and sky cleansed my soul and I remembered my purpose once again. When I returned home, my people of the earth seemed closer to one another. But they had not changed: just my perceptions.''

Gait has been shaped by her own rich experiences.

Gait started painting at age 10 and sold her first piece when she was 16. She was married at 18 but divorced at 20.

Undeterred by the obstacles that can accompany being a young single parent, she attended college and landed a job as a children's book illustrator in Toronto. She was a book illustrator and graphic designer before opening One Moon Gallery on the Esquimalt Reserve in April 2007.

''When I was in college in Calgary, I had a lot of trouble with men in the art business,'' she said. ''They felt women should not be in the business and they would always make deals with me that were unfair. That changed when I became not afraid to speak out anymore. I have a voice and a mind of my own.''

Her advice to young women: ''If you feel confident about who you are and you ask the Creator for a voice, you're going to get one.''

Through her art she met her husband, Mark Granfar, a collector of her work. They met, dated and married three years later. Like her husband, she is Baha'i, the influence of which is evident in her work. The Baha'i value, among other social tenets, the equality of women and men, recognition of a common origin and unity of purpose of all religions, and spiritual solutions to economic problems.

The Baha'i also emphasize service to others, a practice Gait believes would make a difference in younger people's lives. It's not enough to be Native, she said; young people need to know they have a purpose.

''There has to be spiritual fulfillment,'' she said. ''If we had that, we wouldn't have the problems we have with suicide and abuse.'' She advises young people: ''Be grateful to be alive. Look at the gifts you have. You have so much going for you. Grab it.''

Gait is prolific. Ideas come to her at night; she'll get up and write ideas down and do a rough sketch. She always travels with a camera, and some of her wildlife art is based on photos she took in the field. She is currently working on seven different pieces in her studio, which faces an oceanfront park and is adjacent to a longhouse.

''I think it's important to listen to that inner voice that guides you to the right path in life,'' she wrote on her Web site. ''I see it as my ancestors guiding me and, without it, I would not be where I am today.''

For more information, visit The Art of Darlene Gait.

Richard Walker is a correspondent reporting from San Juan Island, Wash. Contact him at rmwalker@rockisland.com.

[Dah-veeth]

Originally Posted by arthra

"Of all the projects on his plate, Lenz is probably most excited about his feature film, Mona's Dream. His script tells the story of Iran's persecution and execution in 1983 of teenager Mona Mahmudnizhad and nine other members of her Baha'i faith. The film, which will star Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), has a projected budget of $7-million to $10-million. He's still seeking a co-production arrangement and some foreign financing."

Read more at

globeandmail.com: Go big or go home

I heard a rumor that Jack Lenz did the music for Passion of the Christ and that Mel Gibson asked Jack Lenz what movie he'd like to make... and he said a movie about Mona.... and the rumor continues that Mel Gibson was going to help make that movie... is that true?

[smkolins]

Originally Posted by Dah-veeth

I heard a rumor that Jack Lenz did the music for Passion of the Christ and that Mel Gibson asked Jack Lenz what movie he'd like to make... and he said a movie about Mona.... and the rumor continues that Mel Gibson was going to help make that movie... is that true?

Can't speak to all of it but yes Jack worked on Passion.... in wikipedia

[Dah-veeth]

Originally Posted by smkolins

Can't speak to all of it but yes Jack worked on Passion.... in wikipedia

I wonder if Mel Gibson's going to help with Jack's movie?

Whether he does or not, I hope the movie gets done and in theatres!

[arthra]

Baha'is celebrate Ayyam-i-Ha and prepare for annual fast

SOLANO, Philippines
25 February 2008 (BWNS)

Baha'i children love Ayyam-i-Ha because it's a special period of the year devoted to charity, hospitality, social events, and the giving of gifts.
Because of the leap year, they have an extra day this year. Ayyam-i-Ha extends from Feb. 26 to March 1, so the added day of Feb. 29 comes during this time.
In Solano, a town of 50,000 people north of Manila, the children are used to filling the period with family and community activities. A visit to a home for the elderly, an evening for public prayers, a day of fun in the park, singing for the inmates at a prison - these are typical activities, said Holly Celeste, a local Baha'i.
"Basically during this period we focus on our children," she said. "This is usually done by friends and family coming together to do service-oriented activity with the children. The idea is for the children to come together and learn what fun being of service can be."
Similarly, Baha'is around the world celebrate Ayyam-i-Ha with prayers and special activities, which are a prelude and preparation for the annual fasting period, March 2 to 20.
"Ayyam-i-Ha" means literally the "Days of Ha" ("ha" is an Arabic letter), and in the Baha'i calendar they form the intercalary days that fill out the 365 or 366 days of the solar year. The Baha'i calendar consists of 19 months of 19 days each, giving 361 days, requiring the addition of four or five more days.
Children in Solano, in the Philippines, enjoy music during last year's Ayyam-i-Ha festivities at the local Baha'i center.


The calendar was established by the Bab, the prophet who was the forerunner of the Founder of the Baha'i Faith, Baha'u'llah. But it was Baha'u'llah who specified that the Days of Ha should be inserted in the calendar just before the month of fasting.
Baha'u'llah said of Ayyam-i-Ha: "It behoveth the people of Baha, throughout these days, to provide good cheer for themselves, their kindred and, beyond them, the poor and needy, and with joy and exultation to hail and glorify their Lord, to sing His praise and magnify His Name."

[arthra]

The thing about Baha'i music and chanting is that is a dynamic process..It is open to all styles and forms of chanting and there is no one style that is restricted or confined to the Baha'i Faith..
Some are comfortable with Gospel style hymns because they come form that tradition... Baha'is from Islamic tradition use chanting...so we have a rich mix of different styles... Seals and Crofts had folk ballads.. and so on.

Here are some samples:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JnLZ1ufk1UQ&feature=related
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YIjFAtLzKv8&feature=related
<A href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=CX_aqAZn-9Q&feature=related" target=_blank>http://youtube.com/watch?v=CX_aqAZn-9Q&feature=related