The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, April 18, 1997 Page: 9 of 16
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Emily Nghiem (Baker '88) observes the Baha'i discussion.
M*liMa Salik
Staff Writer
Baha'u'llah, the founder of the
Baha'i Faith, once said that "the earth
is but one country and mankind its
citizens."
The Rice Baha'i Association
strives to increase awareness of glo-
bal issues and to reawaken a sense
of compassion and responsibility
within the Rice community The
Baha'is dedicate themselves "to
teaching the principles of the Baha'i
faith, and their events are designed
to promote unity, equality and cul-
tural and religious understanding.
The central principles of the
Baha'i faith are the oneness of hu-
manity, which signifies that all
people have come from the same
god and are essentially members of
one family; the oneness of god; and
the oneness of religion, which means
that, all religions worship this same
god.
The Baha'i Association holds an
informal discussion, or "fireside,"
every Thursday evening in Blair
Lounge in the Student Center. The
meetings, which usually include din-
ner, have covered topics such as
" education, happiness, the environ-
ment, love and marriage, tests and
afflictions and a variety of spiritual
and global issues.
Lovett College senior David
Wells has attended a few meetings
even though he is not a member of
the Baha'i faith. "I started going to
the meetings because 1 was intrigued
by the ideas of the faith," he said.
"Baha'i was closer to what I believe
in than any other religion I've en-
countered." Wells said he has en-
joyed the meetings he has attended.
Baha'i Association chair and Will
Rice College junior Naisohn Arfai
believes that the association has
helped the faith to grow.
"When 1 first got here, Aimee
1 Vafaiel and I were the only Baha'is
at Rice. The university is a center of
thought, full of fresh minds—people
are thinking, evaluating life. We
formed the club because we wanted
to share the idealism and hope we
have for the world," Arfai said,
"The firesides are a medium of
discussion, but with the faith as a
focus. They are a way to introduce
people to the Baha'i faith. They fa-
cilitate every individual's investiga-
tion for truth, and they also provide
a social setting for people to come
together and enjoy each other's com-
pany," he said.
'The * university is a
center of thought, full
of fresh minds. ... We
formed the club because
we wanted to share the
idealism and hope we
have for the world.'
— Naisohn Arfai
Baha'i Association chair
* The Baha'i teachings on world
peace always fascinated Jones Col-
lege sophomore Jessica Zenker, who
became a Baha'i \\hen she was 15.
"Baha'is are working for worldpeace
based on unity of all races and reli-
gions. This world peace is not just
for Baha'is but for the whole world,"
she said.
Brown College sophomore
Stephanie Taylor became a Baha'i in
Steve Schuessfer, Lovett College senior David Wells and Will Rice College junior Naisohn Arfai discuss the Baha'i faith at
their weekly Thursday meeting. ___
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January shortly after she began at-
tending the firesides. "Everything
was so different from the religion I
had known. I was used to not being
allowed to question anything, and
here they examined and discussed
everything. I was amazed at how
sincere everyone was."
This year, the Baha'i Association
has sponsored many activities on
and off campus. University of Mary-
land Professor Suheil Bushrui, an
expert on the life and works of the
poet Kahlil Gibran, gave a lecture
last September. Also in September,
the association accompanied a few
Rice students to the Ninth Annual
Baha'i Peace Dinner hosted by the
local Baha'i community which was
open to the public and featured a
talk on global peace issues. In Janu-
ary, the Rice Baha'is sponsored the
play The Kingfisher's Wing, about a
Baha'i martyr. The Baha'is set up a
display and information booth out-
side of Fondren Library on Nov, 20
for Universal Children's Day.
On March 21, the International
Day for Elimination of Racial Preju-
dice, the Baha'i Youth Workshop,
which involved junior high and high
school students from around Hous-
ton, performed dances outside of
Fondren. The dances represented
unity, love and the harm caused by
ignorance and prejudice.
According to literature provided
by the Baha'i International Commu-
nity, Baha'u'Hah taught that there is
one God who progressively reveals
his will to humanity. Each of the
great religions brought by the mes-
sengers of God —- Moses, Buddha,
Krishna, Jesus, Mohammed,
Zoroaster — represent a successive
stage in the spiritual development of
civilization. Baha'u'llah, who lived
in the 19th century, is the most re-
cent messenger in this line. He
brought teachings that address the
moral and spiritual challenges of the
modern world.
Other principles emphasized by
Baha'u'llah include elimination of
prejudice, independent investigation
of truth, universal education, equal-
ity of women and men, protection of
cultural diversity and harmony of
science and religion.
The Rice Baha'i Association also
distributed the documents 'The
Prosperity of Humankind" and
"Turning Point For AH Nations" to
about 70 professors on campus.
According to an accompanying
letter written by Arfai, "These two
documents, produced by the Inter
national Baha'i Community, express
a uniquely holistic perspective on
the problems which plague human-
ity. .. They offer concrete, practi-
cable solutions that challenge com-
mon conceptions of human nature
and redefine the purposes and'func-
tions of social and political institu-
tions."
Anyone interested in the associa-
tion can view its Web page at http:/
/www.owlnet. rice, edu/ -turtles/
ricebahais.html or attend any Baha'i
Association meeting. "It's very open
and friendly," Zenker said. "Every-
one is welcome, and non-Baha'is are
encouraged to attend,"
1
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Hardi, Joel & Siy, Angelique. The Rice Thresher (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 84, No. 25, Ed. 1 Friday, April 18, 1997, newspaper, April 18, 1997; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth246567/m1/9/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.