The Baha'is of Alexandria, Virginia
"The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
-- Baha'u'llah
Welcome
The Baha'is of Alexandria welcome you to this site. We encourage you to investigate the Baha'i Faith. You will find books at your local public library. There is much information on the Web, and the best place to begin is by visiting www.bahai.org. The Baha'is are a worldwide spiritual family of people from all racial, religious, national, economic and educational backgrounds. Baha'is in Alexandria city, in the Washington DC metropolitan area, and around the world, look forward to offering hospitality and friendship at Baha'i meetings, schools, devotional services, and in daily life.
Baha'i Shrine, Haifa, Israel
Baha'is in the United States and Alexandria
At the 1893 World's Parliament of Religions in Chicago, a Protestant missionary to the Middle East made the first mention of the Baha'i Faith from a public podium in America, . The first Americans to become adherents of the Baha'i Faith learned of it in 1894 through a series of lessons offered in several metropolitan centers. The Baha'i presence in the United States is therefore over a century long. The community gradually spread across the country. There have been Baha'is in Alexandria, Virginia for over half a century. Baha'is have had an organized community in the Alexandria area since 1944. The Baha'i Community of Alexandria is a member of Alexandria Interfaith Association and Alexandrians Involved Ecumenically. Along with all other Baha'is in the world, the Alexandria Baha'is work for racial harmony, peaceful resolution of conflicts, appreciation of the oneness and wholeness of the human race, and the social and spiritual betterment of the residents of Alexandria.
The Baha'is of Alexandria, Virginia are an organic part of the six-million-member Baha'i religion. The Baha'i Faith began in Iran in 1844, and is the most recent of Asia's great religious traditions. Baha'is are followers of Baha'u'llah - "the Glory of God" - the universal Messenger of God for this cycle of humanity's spiritual history.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Book of the Year, the Baha'i Faith is considered the second most geographically widespread religion in the world after Christianity. It counts among its members people from over 2100 tribal, national and ethnic groups. Its largest communities are in Asia, Africa and Latin America. The Baha'i community in the United States, while statistically small has been one of the most important. American Baha'is have carried the Baha'i Faith to innumerable countries where it was previously unknown, and seek to make the United States the country that "will lead all nations spiritually."
Baha'i House of Worship, Wilmette, IL
Teachings of Baha'u'llah
Baha'u'llah, the Messenger of God for this era in human history, was imprisoned and exiled for forty years, from Tehran to Baghdad, to Constantinople and Edirne in Turkey, and finally to Akka in Ottoman Palestine (present-day Israel). He taught that:
God, the Creator, reveals His attributes through a series of Divine Messengers or "Manifestations" such as Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Muhammad, and Baha'u'llah.
These Manifestations of God guide humanity toward spiritual and social advancement somewhat as a child is guided through school by different teachers.
The fundamental aims and purposes of the religions of the world are one; their differences are due to the requirements of the times and places in which they appear.
The soul of man is immortal. The goal of individuals is to develop spiritual attributes that will permit the soul to progress on its spiritual journey.
The social goal of humanity in this age is world unification, international federation, and the establishment of permanent and lasting peace. The Baha'i scriptures outline the institutions and operating principles of a world commonwealth.
The social principles on which this unification depend include:
Necessity of living lives of moral rectitude;
Elimination of all forms of prejudice;
Equal rights, opportunities, and privileges for both sexes;
Compulsory education;
Elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty;
Balance and harmony of religion and science;
Development of an international language and script, universal currency, weights and measures, etc.;
Sustainable development, balancing technology and environment;
Safeguarding of the freedom and initiative of the individual.
Shrine of Baha'u'llah, Acre, Israel
Who is Baha'u'llah?
Baha'u'llah was born in Iran in 1817, and revealed His mission in the middle of the nineteenth century. Baha'u'llah fulfills the promise in all religions that a great world Savior would appear at the end of the prophetic cycle:
"He... was none other than the One Whom posterity will acclaim, and Whom innumerable followers already recognize, as the Judge, the Lawgiver and Redeemer of all mankind, as the Organizer of the entire planet, as the Unifier of the children of men, as the Inaugurator of the long-awaited millennium, as the Originator of a new 'Universal Cycle,' as the Establisher of the Most Great Peace, as the Fountain of the Most Great Justice, as the Proclaimer of the coming of age of the entire human race, as the Creator of a new World Order, and as the Inspirer and Founder of a world civilization.
"To Israel He was neither more nor less than the incarnation of the 'Everlasting Father,' the 'Lord of Hosts' come down 'with ten thousands of saints'; to Christendom Christ returned 'in the glory of the Father,' to Shi'ah Islam the return of the Imam Husayn; to Sunni Islam the descent of the 'Spirit of God' (Jesus Christ); to the Zoroastrians the promised Shah-Bahram; to the Hindus the reincarnation of Krishna; to the Buddhists the fifth Buddha.
"...He was formally designated Baha'u'llah,... signifying at once the glory, the light and the splendor of God, and was styled the 'Lord of Lords,' the 'Most Great Name,' the 'Ancient Beauty,' the 'Pen of the Most High,' the 'Hidden Name,' the 'Preserved Treasure,' 'He Whom God will make manifest,' the 'Most Great Light,' the 'All-Highest Horizon,' the 'Most Great Ocean,' the 'Supreme Heaven,' the 'Pre-Existent Root,' the 'Self-Subsistent,' the 'Day-Star of the Universe,' the 'Great Announcement,' the 'Speaker on Sinai,' the 'Sifter of Men,' the 'Wronged One of the World,' the 'Desire of the Nations,' the 'Lord of the Covenant,' the 'Tree beyond which there is no passing'....
-- (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By (Wilmette, Ill.: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1974), pages 93-94)
Governance of the Baha'i Community
The worldwide Baha'i community has no clergy. It is governed by a series of elected consultative bodies. At the local level is the local Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member body elected every year by each local Baha'i jurisdiction. Elections are carried out in a prayerful atmosphere, with neither nominations nor campaigning. All adult Baha'is are electors, and all adult Baha'is are candidates. The nine who receive the highest number of votes are elected to the Spiritual Assembly. There is a national institution known as the National Spiritual Assembly, of which there are currently 175, elected each year by freely-elected delegates. All adult Baha'is in the country are candidates for election to the National Spiritual Assembly. At the international level is the nine-member council called the Universal House of Justice. It is elected every five years by the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies, and has its seat in Haifa, Israel, the permanent spiritual and administrative center of the Baha'i religion.
Seat of the Universal House of Justice, Haifa, Israel
Further information
Websites
There are a large number of Baha'i sites on the World Wide Web. Following are a few of that may be of interest:
"The Baha'i World" - an official site being prepared by the Baha'i Office of Public Information.
"U.S. Baha'is" - the official U.S. public Baha'i website.
"Baha'i Faith" - index which provides many links to Baha'i information on the internet.
"The Baha'i Reference Library" - a large collection of browsable texts of Baha'i sacred scriptures.
"Prophecy Fulfilled" - how Baha'u'llah's revelation fulfills prophecies of Judaism, Christianity, Islam and other religions.
Radio:
"Baha'i International Radio Service"www.bahairadio.org
Books, Videos, CD's, Software:
Baha'i Distribution Service
4703 Fulton Industrial Boulevard
Atlanta, GA 30336-2017
Tel.: 1-800-999-9019
Email: bds@usbnc.org
Contact Information:
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Alexandria
P.O. Box 22236
Alexandria, VA 22304
Tel.: (703) 548-0929
Email:
Alexandria Baha'i Center Location:
Alexandria Baha'i Center
5400-B Eisenhower Ave.
(703-548-0929)
O Son of Man! Neglect not My commandments if thou lovest My beauty, and forget not My counsels if thou wouldst attain My good pleasure.
Baha'i House of Worship, New Delhi, India
Page maintained by the Baha'is of Alexandria, Virginia