Programme of Events
Friday 13 June 2008 - 5.45pm
5.45pm – 6.15pm – Four for Faith Brass band welcoming public
6.00pm Arrival of Mayor and Mayoress
6.15pm – 6.25pm – Opening ceremony by Adrian Johnson, Chairman,
AFP
6.25pm – 6.35pm – Katy Ritson and Free Spirit, Gaelic Blessing.
6.35pm – 6.45pm – Hollins School Choir
6.45pm – 7.10pm – Introduction of Judges - Chaired by Canon
Chris Chivers
1st Debate
Mount Carmel debating FOR FAITH SCHOOLS versus
Hollins Tech College debating AGAINST FAITH SCHOOLS
7.10pm – 7.25pm – FOOD
7.25pm – 7.35pm – St Christopher’s School puppet show
7.35pm – 8.00pm –
2nd Debate
SHOULD RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS BE BANNED IN SCHOOLS?
St Christopher’s v Moorhead
8.00pm – 8.10pm – Bethany Family Singers
8.10pm – 8.25pm – Dawate Islami singers and Shah Shahzad al
Hussain
8.25pm – 8.35pm – Sikh Bhangra Singers
8.35pm - 8.40pm – Anisha Kara – Hindu Goddess Laxmi and Sari
Demonstration presented by Tanuja
8.40pm – 8.45pm - Judges summary of debates and announcement of
finalists.
8.45pm – 9.10pm
Final debate – SCIENCE v RELIGION
Winner of debate 1 v winner of debate 2
9.10pm - 9.20pm – presentations and closing remarks by the Mayor
and Mayoress.
____________________________________________________________________________
UK
BAHA'I NEWS EMAIL SERVICE
National Spiritual Assembly
nsa@bahai.org.uk
14 May 2008
Dearly loved Friends
The National Spiritual Assembly wishes to to convey to you the gravely
distressing news that the members of the "Friends in Iran" - the group that
coordinates the activities of the Baha'i community in the absence of a National
Spiritual Assembly - were summarily and unjustly arrested by the Iranian
authorities in raids conducted in the early hours of yesterday morning, 14 May
2008.
Officers of the Intelligence Ministry in Tehran entered the homes of six of the
seven members of the Friends in Iran, whereupon they conducted extensive
searches, following which all six were arrested and taken to Evin Prison in
Tehran.
The individuals arrested were: Mrs Fariba Kamalabadi, Mr Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr
Afif Naeimi, Mr Saeid Rezaie, Mr Behrouz Tavakkoli and Mr Vahid Tizfahm. The
seventh member of the Friends and its Secretary, Mrs Mahvash Sabet, has been
held in custody since 5 March 2008 when she was summoned to Mashhad by the
Ministry of Intelligence, ostensibly on the grounds that she was required to
answer questions related to the burial of an individual in the Bahá'í cemetery
in that city. Contrary to recent indications that she would be released some
time soon, the events that have now transpired are yet another indication of the
government's determination to extinguish the Baha'i community in the land of its
birth.
As you are aware, such dire action on the part of the government has not been
witnessed since the heart-rending events in 1980 and 1981, when all nine members
of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran were abducted on 21 August 1980 and
disappeared without a trace, following which the reconstituted National Assembly
was again ravaged by the execution of eight of its members on
27 December 1981.
Dear friends, be assured that our external affairs representatives are taking
immediate steps to raise our profound concerns with our contacts in government,
non-governmental organizations, individuals of prominence and influence, and the
media.
We call upon all the friends to join the National Assembly in prayer to beseech
Baha'u'llah to surround the Friends in Iran, and all of our beleaguered brethren
in that precious land, with His protection.
With loving Baha'i greetings,
National Spiritual Assembly
Kishan Manocha
Secretary
BAHA'I
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY REJECTS IRANIAN ALLEGATIONS ON RECENT ARRESTS
NEW YORK, 21 May 2008 (BWNS) -- Allegations by Iran that six Baha'is were
arrested last week for security reasons and not for their faith" are utterly
baseless and without documentation, said the Baha'i International Community
today.
All of the allegations issued in a statement on Tuesday by the Iranian
government are utterly baseless," said Bani Dugal, the principal representative
of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, referring to
statements made in a press conference given yesterday in Tehran by Iranian
government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham, at which he acknowledged the arrest
and imprisonment of six Baha'i leaders last week.
The allegations are not new, and the Iranian government knows well that they are
untrue," Ms. Dugal said. The documented plan of the Iranian government has
always been to destroy the Baha'i community, and these latest arrests represent
an intensification of this plan.
The group of Baha'is arrested last week, like the thousands of Baha'is who since
1979 have been killed, imprisoned, or otherwise oppressed, are being persecuted
solely because of their religious beliefs. The best proof of this is the fact
that, time and again, Baha'is have been offered their freedom if they recant
their Baha'i beliefs and convert to Islam, an option few have taken.
Far from being a threat to state security, the Baha'i community of Iran has
great love for their country and they are deeply committed to its development.
This is evidenced, for example, by the fact that the vast majority of Baha'is
have remained in Iran despite intense persecution, the fact that students denied
access to education in Iran and forced to study abroad have returned to assist
in the development of their country, and the recent effort by Baha'is in Shiraz
to provide schooling for underprivileged children - an effort the government
responded to by arresting some 54 Baha'i participants in May 2006," said Ms.
Dugal.
In its coverage of Mr. Elham's press conference, the Islamic Republic News
Agency (IRNA) reported that the six Baha'is were arrested for security reasons
not for their faith." The IRNA report also quoted Mr. Elham as saying that the
six Baha'is were somehow linked to foreigners, the Zionists in particular."
Ms. Dugal addressed that issue also, saying:
The charges linking the Baha'is to Zionism are a distortion of history: The
Baha'i Faith has its world headquarters in Israel because Baha'u'llah was, in
the mid-1800s, sent as a prisoner to the Holy Land by two Islamic countries:
Ottoman Turkey and Iran.
The charge that Baha'is are Zionists, which has in fact been made against
Baha'is for the last 30 years by Iran, is nothing more than an effort by the
government to stir animosity against Baha'is among the Iranian population at
large. This is but the most recent iteration in a long history of attempts to
foment hatred by casting the Baha'is as agents of foreign powers, whether of
Russia, the United Kingdom, or the United Statesand now Israelall of which are
completely baseless.
The real issue, as it relates to Baha'is, who are committed to nonpartisanship
and nonviolence, is the ideology of the government, which has undertaken a
well-documented effort to utterly block the development of the Baha'i community
not only through arrests, harassment and imprisonment but also by depriving
their youth of education and preventing adults from obtaining a livelihood.
We would ask whether issues of state security rather than ideology were involved
in recent incidents such as the destruction of a Baha'i cemetery and the use of
a bulldozer to crush the bones of a Baha'i who was interred there; the
harassment of hundreds of Baha'i schoolchildren throughout Iran by teachers and
school officials in an effort to make them reject their own religion; or the
publication of dozens of defamatory anti-Baha'i articles in Kayhan and other
government-sponsored news media in recent months," said Ms. Dugal.
She also noted that over the years, a number of government officials, clerics,
and members of the judiciary have in fact made statements in private noting the
nonpartisan conduct of the Baha'i community and the unjustified nature of
government charges against Baha'is.
She added that the present governments ideology is based in large part on a
belief that there could be no Prophet following Muhammad. The Baha'i Faith poses
a theological challenge to this belief.
Freedom of religion is the issue and Iran itself is a signatory to international
covenants that acknowledge the right of individuals to freedom of religion or
belief, including the right to change ones religion," Ms. Dugal said.
What the Iranian government cannot tolerate is that the Iranian people are less
responsive to the governments propaganda, because they see the reality that
Iranian Baha'is love their country, are sincere in their desire to contribute to
its well-being, are peace-loving, and are law-abiding and that these qualities
stem from their beliefs. Consequently, there is growing sympathy for the Baha'is.
Increasingly, people at all levels of the society are coming to their defense
both privately and publicly, and there is growing interest in and attraction to
the Baha'i Faith amongst the population," Ms. Dugal said.
To view the photos and additional features click here:
http://news.bahai.org
Thursday 28 August – Friday 29 August, 2008
A teacher training seminar by:-
The Centre for Jewish Studies and the Department of Religions
and Theology, University of Manchester and Imperial War Museum North
With the support of the Shoah Centre (Manchester), the Shoah
Memorial, (Paris) and the Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies
(Amsterdam)
Location: Imperial War Museum North
Times: Thursday 28 August 10.00 am – 5.30
pm
Friday 29 August 10.00 am – 3.00 pm
This seminar is appropriate for secondary school teachers and will aim to
present some of the newest research on the Holocaust. It will provide accurate
tools to educators to deal with teaching the Holocaust in the classroom and to
local government authorities who organise annual Holocaust Memorial Day events.
The seminar will be divided into 3 specific sessions:-
1. Jewish life before the Holocaust
This first session will provide information on Jewish
life before the Holocaust to enable an understanding of Jewish responses to the
persecution. New research on the Holocaust
2. The second session will give some of the newest aspects of Holocaust
research, stating how the social demands in different west-European countries
shapes the questioning of researchers.
Teaching the Holocaust in the 21st Century.
3. The third session will deal with different approaches and experiences in
Holocaust education.
The speakers will be leading academics from the University of Manchester
and the Imperial War Museum, together with international speakers from France
and the Netherlands.
It is expected that participant and speaker discussion will tackle the
difficulties of Holocaust learning, education and commemoration, at a time when
the demand for knowledge and interpretation has never been so high.
Free Admission – but places are limited and therefore registration in
advance is required.
Free tea, coffee, biscuits will be provided.
Participants will need to cover their own travelling, food and accommodation
costs.
To book a place, please fill in the booking form and return to:-
Jean-Marc Dreyfus at the following e-mail address:
Programme
Teaching and Commemorating the Holocaust
in 21st Century Britain
Thursday 28 August – Friday 29 August, 2008
A teacher training seminar by:-
The Centre for Jewish Studies and the Department of Religions and Theology,
University of Manchester and Imperial War Museum North
With the support of the Shoah Centre (Manchester), the Shoah Memorial,
(Paris and the Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (Amsterdam)
Itinerary
Thursday 28 August
Morning Sessions
Jewish life before the Holocaust
10.00
Welcome to Imperial War Museum North
10.30
“From Berlin to Manchester, through France and Switzerland: a Jewish
childhood in Occupied Europe”
Norbert Herz, Holocaust survivor, Manchester
11.30
Tea and Coffee
11.45
“German Jewish Refugees in Greater Manchester”
Bill Williams, Centre for Jewish Studies, University of Manchester
12.45
Lunch
Visit of the Museum
Afternoon Sessions
New Research on the Holocaust
2.30
“Looted Holocaust assets, a European history writing”
Jean-Marc Dreyfus, University of Manchester
3.30
“The Holocaust in the Netherlands”
Johannes Houwink ten Cate, Centre for Holocaust and Genocide Studies,
Amsterdam
4.30
“Jewish life in France before the Holocaust”
Philippe Boukara, Shoah Memorial, Paris
5.30
End of Session
Itinerary
Friday 29 August
Morning Sessions
Teaching the Holocaust: why is it relevant in Britain today?
10.00
Paul Salmons, Imperial War Museum London
11.00
“Teaching the Holocaust using French literature and films” Ursula Tidd,
University of Manchester
11.45
Tea and Coffee
12.00
“Teaching the Holocaust: the French experience”
Fabrice Teicher, Shoah Memorial, Paris
1.00
Lunch
2.00
Conclusive session: general discussion
3.00
End of conference
To book a place, please fill in the booking form and return
to:-
Jean-Marc Dreyfus at the following e-mail address: