Thanks to University of Arkansas 鈥� Fort Smith students and community members, Fort Smith will celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of Baha鈥檜鈥檒lah, the founder of the Baha鈥檌 Faith.
Students in the university鈥檚 Baha鈥檌 Club have planned bicentennial celebrations in recognition of the birth of Baha鈥檜鈥檒lah, a spiritual teacher who preached a vision of oneness of humanity and the perils of racial prejudice and materialism.
The celebration will take place at 2 p.m. Oct. 21 in room 129 of the Smith-Pendergraft Campus Center. The event, which is free and open to the public, will include prayers in different languages, a 50-minute documentary on the life of Baha鈥檜鈥檒lah, and refreshments and crafts.
鈥淣ow more than ever, we need positive models of social change that bring people together rather than divide them,鈥� said Dr. Mary A. Sobhani, Baha鈥檌 Club adviser. 鈥淭his is what we will be celebrating in the days leading up to Baha鈥檜鈥檒lah鈥檚 birth in October.鈥�
The celebration is an attempt by the club to bring awareness to the positive message of this religion, the second most-widespread religion in the world, behind Christianity. The Baha鈥櫭� Faith posits that all world religions are the message of one God who has sent messengers to different areas of the world at different times, charged with providing the moral and spiritual stimulus that human beings need to cooperate and advance. Each of these spiritual and social visionaries set out teachings and truths that answered the urgent needs of the age.
鈥淭he core belief of the Baha鈥檌 faith is unity, that all of the religions in existence today are facets of one religion of God,鈥� Sobhani said. 鈥淎s the world now faces its most pressing challenges yet, the Baha鈥櫭� Club celebrates the Birth of Bah谩鈥檜鈥檒l谩h, born two hundred years ago, as one of these great Lights to humankind, as the One Whose teachings will usher in that long-promised time when all humanity will live side by side in peace and unity.鈥�
鈥淭he spiritual teachings of the major religions never change. That鈥檚 why, for instance, all religions preach that you don鈥檛 murder people and you tell the truth,鈥� Sobhani continued. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the social teachings that do change over time as society advances. For instance, gender equality is one of the teachings of Baha鈥檜鈥檒lah. Jesus didn鈥檛 teach explicitly about the equality of men and women because society two thousand years ago wasn鈥檛 ready to apply this spiritual tenet.鈥�
As part of this effort, the club also approached Fort Smith Mayor Sandy Sanders, who prepared and signed a proclamation in recognition of the bicentenary celebration and presented it to the Baha鈥櫭� Club Oct. 12, naming the month of October in honor of the global bicentenary celebration.
The Baha鈥檌 Club was founded in spring 2016 by student Icssa Rubio, who follows the Baha鈥檌 Faith. Since its inception, the club has grown to over a dozen members. Ironically, none of the current members are adherents of the Baha鈥檌 Faith, but they are part of the club to endorse its message of diversity and inclusion.
鈥淲e wanted to look at ways that we can bring students together and talk about making the world a better place without isolating one group from another group. The club is all about promoting unity, collaboration, spirituality, and learning,鈥� Sobhani said.
Last year, the club went to the Baha鈥檌 House of Worship for North America located in Chicago, and members of the club are also volunteering locally to help improve the community.
Members of the Baha鈥檌 Club are:
Bryan, Texas: Abigail Phillips, member.
Fayetteville: Sydney Brannan, vice president.
Fort Smith: Iban Cano, treasurer; Diem Nguyen, president; Megan Orman, member; Jackson Pham, secretary; Perla Rodriguez, member; Michelle Weyrick, member; Karen Villeda, member; David Cooksey, member; Tessa Cooksey, member.
Greenwood: Mercedes Bess, member.
Hackett: Elijah Pitcock, member.
Rogers: Kari Carbajal, member.
For more information about the event or the Baha鈥檌 Club, contact Sobhani at 479-788-7979 or mary.sobhani@uafs.edu.
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