Over 300 people will come together to pray during the annual, week-long prayer session for the Bahá'í community that started last Thursday
Last week saw the commencement of the once-in-a-year prayer session of the persecuted members of Bahá'í faith of Iran. With a strength of over 300 people, the Bahá'í's of Mumbai are conducting prayers and readings for the seven Yarans or friends of Iran who were arrested on May 14, seven years ago. The people behind this gesture are Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naem, Saeid Rezaie, Mahvash Sabet, Behrouz Tavakkoli, Vahid Tizfahm - all of Bahá'í faith. They are also the members of the assembly that governs Bahá'í faith in Iran.
Nargis Gaur, secretary of the local spiritual assembly of the Bahá'í's of Mumbai said that they are trying to connect with their creator spiritually and are praying for their freedom. "Each of the seven days is dedicated to one of their friends. People will have individual prayers at their homes at specific hours of the day and there will be a continuous stream of prayers throughout," said Gaur.
The Bahá'í religion was introduced in the 1800s in Iran and most followers are not born into the religion, but choose to follow it. The Bahá'ís are monotheistic and believe in the unity of humanity all over the world.
Marzia Dalal, a member from the Pune assembly who was in the city for the administrative council meeting said that the Bahá'í are the largest minority in a Shia majority Iran. She also added, "They are heavily persecuted and anybody supportive of them is also arrested.
Lawyers, journalists, human rights activists are also put behind bars with false charges. The seven friends are teachers, parents and civil members of the society. One of them is in their 80s and for him it's a death sentence. They were labeled as spies and enemies of the guard without any fair trial and are facing 20 years in prison. In the meeting we have a presentation on all the seven people and will discuss what they did for the faith and society," she said.
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