Great North Little Rock Clean-up 2013

Bahai Faith 9 Pointed Star

nlrclean2Over the weekend the North Little Rock Baha’i community participated in the annual “Great North Little Rock Clean-up,” part of the City of North Little Rock’s beautification initiative. The Baha’i group cleaned the nature trail behind the old YMCA facility by picking up trash and debris.

The Great North Little Rock Clean-Up is a special one-day community event designed to encourage residents to join in a litter clean-up of neighborhoods and city streets, parks, trails, and river banks. The event draws families, youth groups, businesses, churches, community groups, and civic clubs, and it is designed to clean up the city, to educate young and old about the environment, to promote recycling, city beautification, concern for the environment, energy efficiency, and a multitude of other reasons to Keep North Little Rock Beautiful.

nlrclean1At the very heart of the Bahá’í view of the relationship between humanity and the natural universe is the belief that all of creation is an expression of the many names and attributes of an all-powerful God. Baha’u’llah identifies “the very earth which is trodden beneath the feet of all men” as “the thing which is the source of his prosperity, his wealth, his might, his exaltation, his advancement and power,” and encourages His followers to be good stewards of the planet and its resources.

Yaran: Persecution of Baha’is in Iran

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For five years, seven Baha’i leaders (known as the Yaran) have been wrongly imprisoned in Iran.

Their 20-year sentences are the longest given to any current prisoners of conscience in Iran. Their harshness reflects the Government’s resolve to oppress completely the Iranian Baha’i community, which faces a systematic, “cradle-to-grave” persecution that is among the most serious examples of state-sponsored religious persecution in the world today.

Their story is similar to what is happening to the roughly 100 other Baha’is now in prison in Iran that have been incarcerated for simply exercising their internationally recognized human rights.

Yaran

The Central Arkansas Baha’i community is participating in an international campaign to seek the immediate release of the seven imprisoned Baha’i leaders by holding a gathering at the Little Rock Baha’i Center on May 14th, 2013 at 7:00 PM, coinciding with the fifth anniversary of the imprisonment of the leaders. We invite you to join us to learn about these courageous individuals and ways that you can urge the Iranian Government to live up to its international human rights obligations.
To learn more about the Yaran and the persecution of Baha’is in Iran, visit http://www.bic.org/fiveyears/.

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