Bahá'í community hosts presentation at IFC
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The program included a presentation on the Bahá'í faith and its current status in Iran, where government persecution of the community continues despite international condemnation. On March 21, the Bahá'í community plans to celebrate the New Year.
Founded over 150 years ago, the Bahá'í faith is based on a simple tenet: a belief in the oneness of mankind, religion and God.
"The Bahá'í faith is to love all the world," freshman Andre Rouhani said.
Bahá'ís believe that God has repeatedly sent messengers to mankind in order to raise them to a higher plane of being and a greater truth.
The most recent Bahá'í messenger was Bahá'u'lláh. As followers of Bahá'u'lláh, Bahá'ís also embrace and revere Jesus, Muhammed, Moses, Buddha, Krishna and others as messengers of God.
According to the Bahá'í faith, the purpose of life is to know and worship God, developing and preparing for a life beyond the one that one currently lead.
"We are like an embryo in the womb, preparing for the next life," Rouhani said.
"We can't comprehend what we learn in this world will be used for in the next. We have no concrete notion of heaven or hell. The best specifics I can give of the [afterlife] is that [it will bring us] near to God."
While Bahá'í followers are expected to pray daily, prayers are not the focus of the faith, according to Allen Eghrari, a Hopkins medical student and follower of Bahá'í.
"Rituals are [kept to] a minimum in the Bahá'í religion," Eghrari said.
Work performed in the spirit of service is a form of worship. There is a recognition that true religion is in harmony with reason and the pursuit of scientific knowledge.
During the IFC presentation, Sepehr Fanaeian, a UMBC student, shared his experiences growing up in Iran.
"I remember when I was 10 my school teachers would try to convince me to change and convert to Islam because my religion was fake. When I would touch a glass, no one else would touch it because it was touched by a Bahá'í," he said.
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