Office Address:Brisbane Bahá’í Centre of Learning, 26 Mayneview St Milton 4030
Council office: 07) 3368 4001 Fax: (07) 3368 1148
Mailing address: Bahá’í Council for Queensland, 26 Mayneview St, Milton QLD 4030
Contact: Mrs Shirley Perkins, Current Secretary
Email: Secretariat@qld.bahai.org.au
Website: www.bahai.org.au for information about the Bahá’í Faith in Australia
www.bahai.org for information about the Bahá’í Faith and its global community
Brief Description/History
The Bahá’í Council for Queensland is a body of nine members elected annually by the Bahá’ís of Queensland. Its officers are then elected by the members of the Council.
Baha’u’llah, the prophet-founder of the Bahá’í Faith said, “Consort with the followers of all religions in the spirit of friendliness and fellowship.” The Bahá’í community has been a vigorous promoter of interfaith activities from the time of their inception. Bahá’ís see in the struggle of diverse religions to draw closer together a response to the Divine Will for a human race that is entering on its collective maturity. The members of our community will continue to assist in every way we can.
Baha’u’llah taught: “There can be no doubt whatever that the peoples of the world, of whatever race or religion, derive their inspiration from one heavenly source and are the subjects of one God. The difference between the ordinances under which they abide should be attributed to the varying requirements and exigencies of the age in which they were revealed. All of them, except a few which are the outcomes of human perversity, were ordained of God, and are a reflection of His Will and Purpose. Arise and, armed with the power of faith, shatter to pieces the gods of your vain imaginings, the sowers of dissension amongst you. Cleave unto that which draweth you together and uniteth you.”
The Bahá’í Faith teaches that humanity has now come to an age of maturity where it must learn to live as one race on one planet. Religion is “the source of illumination, the cause of development and the animating impulse of all human advancement” and “has been the basis of all civilization and progress in the history of mankind”. It is the source of meaning and hope for the vast majority of the planet’s inhabitants, and it has a limitless power to inspire sacrifice, change and long-term commitment in its followers. It is, therefore, inconceivable that a peaceful and prosperous global society – a society which nourishes a spectacular diversity of cultures and nations – can be established and sustained without directly and substantively involving the world’s great religions in its design and support.
At the same time, it cannot be denied that the power of religion has also been perverted to turn neighbour against neighbour. The Bahá’í Scriptures state that “religion must be the source of fellowship, the cause of unity and the nearness of God to man. If it rouses hatred and strife, it is evident that absence of religion is preferable and an irreligious man is better than one who professes it.” So long as religious animosities are allowed to destabilize the world, it will be impossible to foster a global pattern of sustainable development.
Religious followers and, more important, religious leaders must show that they are worthy partners in the great mission of building a sustainable world civilisation. To do so will require that religious leaders work conscientiously and untiringly to exorcise religious bigotry and superstition from within their faith traditions. It will necessitate that they embrace freedom of conscience for all people, including their own followers, and renounce claims to religious exclusivity and finality.
The responsibility for the plight of humanity rests, in large part, with the world’s religious leaders. It is they who must raise their voices to end the hatred, exclusivity, oppression of conscience, materialism, violence and terrorism, which are perpetrated in the name of religious truth. Moreover, it is the followers of all religions who must transform their own lives and take up the mantle of sacrifice for and service to the well-being of others, and thus contribute to the realisation of the long-promised reign of peace and justice on earth.
Following an idea started by the national Bahá’í institution in the U.S.A., in 1950 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia organised events to commemorate “World Religion Day” on the third Sunday of January. Since that time various Bahá’í communities in Australia and around the world have been celebrating World Religion Day with interfaith discussions, conferences and other events that foster understanding among the followers of all religions. The way to overcome prejudice is through education and encouraging all individuals to look into matters with their own eyes and make their own judgments based on moral principles such as justice, honesty and forgiveness.
Difficulties encountered during our interfaith dialogue initiatives/activities.
One of the difficulties encountered during their interfaith dialogue initiatives is that, in general, those who lay a claim to the finality of their religious belief may feel it is unnecessary and unproductive to engage in dialogue with those who hold other religious beliefs. To overcome these difficulties, it is important to respect other people’s beliefs. The Bahá’ís share their perspective for the consideration of others and leave it to them to decide whether or not to accept the ideas presented.
Helping factors in facilitating the success of these interfaith dialogue activities.
A key helping factor in facilitating the success of interfaith dialogue activities is to actively promote respect for the views of others and to encourage shared learning on problems commonly faced by all.
Future plans or proposals for promoting interfaith dialogue.
The Bahá’í community considers that promoting interfaith dialogue and cooperation is one of the fundamental teachings of its Faith. It will continue to uphold this principle in the various avenues and opportunities that present themselves. Interfaith dialogue has an important role to play and the Bahá’í community will continue to support it wholeheartedly.
What needs to be done by diverse faith communities, institutions and organizations to enhance the progress of interfaith dialogue in Queensland, in Australia, and/or internationally.
In a submission to the inquiry into freedom of religion and belief in the 21st century, conducted under the auspices of the Australian Huma Rights Commission, the Australian Bahá’í Community stated:
The Bahá’í community has been a vigorous promoter of interfaith activities in Australia. We acknowledge the many religious leaders and lay people from all faiths who have stepped forward to participate in interfaith initiatives and the building of interfaith understanding in Australia.
The interfaith circle must, however, be broadened and deepened.
To broaden the circle, we would encourage those who have, for whatever reason, been reticent to engage in this area to date, to give their wholehearted support to their counterparts who are coming together in the effort to help build a peaceful world.
We believe that interfaith discourse, if it is to continue to deepen and contribute meaningfully to healing the ills of humanity, must begin to address the implications of the over-arching truth that called the movement into being: that God is one and that, beyond all diversity of expression and human interpretation, religion is likewise one. We believe that a growing number of people are coming to realize this truth and that religious leadership must support their efforts if it is to continue to have meaning in the twenty-first century and beyond. Acceptance of the principle that all religions are, in their very essence, different aspects of one underlying truth would significantly weaken efforts to foster hatred between different religious communities.
In Queensland, Bahá’ís host children and junior youth classes to promote values education in various localities. This past year they also hosted an Eco-Camp where junior youth learned about caring for the environment. [see photos]
A group of students from a Catholic School visited the Bahá’í Centre of Learning as part of their coursework in a religious studies class [see photos].
When large numbers of Iranians began immigrating to Australia, many because of religious persecution, the Bahá’ís worked with the Migrant Resource Centre to assist Farsi-speaking migrants with their transition into Australian culture. This assistance was provided equally to Iranians of all religious backgrounds.
The Bahá’í community has been very supportive of the development of the Multi-faith Centre at Griffith University from the start and believes that it has a very important role to play in promoting understanding and fellowship amongst leaders and followers of different faith traditions.
One of the most comprehensive interfaith activities recently organised by the Griffith Multi Faith Centre and co-sponsored by the Bahá’í Council for Queensland was the year-long Interfaith Training Program, in which individuals from various faiths, including Bahá’ís, attended presentations and seminars, visited sacred places and Holy Days of various Faith groups (including the Bahá’í Faith) in the Brisbane area to promote better understanding and cooperation.
In February 2009 Bahá’ís, along with those of other Faiths committed to promoting peace and understanding, supported the Interfaith Summit held at the Brisbane City Hall. Bahá’ís were among those who made presentations and participated in seminars at the summit and also set up an information table alongside those of other religions.
The previous year the Bahá’í community was one of the co-sponsors of the Asia-Pacific Symposium on Women, Faith and Peace.
The Bahá’í Council has also supported a number of specific events organised through the Griffith Multi-Faith Centre, with Bahá’í’s presenting prayers and/or talks on various topics. These include events commemorating Earth Hour, the International Day of Peace, Refugee Week, World Environment Day, National Harmony Day, Reconciliation Week, Forum on civil and religious law, interfaith discussion on raising children and the multi faith prayer program at Griffith commencement.
For a number of years Bahá’ís have participated in interfaith panels on various topics hosted by the Buddhist community at the celebrations held in honour of Buddha’s Birthday at South Bank.
Bahá’ís have participated in multi-faith prayer events organised by the Office of the Premier in honour of Australia Day. They were invited to the inaugural Metropolitan South Region multi-faith Community Dinner hosted by the Queensland Police. A Bahá’í was one of six faith leaders asked to make a presentation at St Stephen’s Cathedral in honour of Commonwealth Day, hosted by the Governor of Queensland. [see photo]
At the international level, the Bahá’í International Community is a well-respected non-governmental organisation at the United Nations that has presented discussion papers at a number of international forums, promoting the important role of the world’s religions leaders in contributing to sustainable development and peace.
In 2002, the international governing body of the Bahá’í Faith issued an open letter “To the World’s Religious Leaders” which was shared by Bahá’í communities around the globe with religious leaders in their localities. It calls upon religious leaders to consider the dangers posed by the phenomenon of religious prejudice and fanaticism and urges earnest consideration of the challenges they pose for religious leadership in the service of brotherhood and peace.
Photos
Letter of the Universal House of Justice to the world's reiigious leaders