Religious community of the Baha'is mourns loss of sacred site in Baghdad

Baha'i Temple in the United States

The Baha'i Faith is one of the world's religions, with headquarters in Haifa and sacred sites in other areas of the world, including in Iraq, where an important shrine, referred to as The Most Great House, was destroyed.

Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations said: "This deplorable act has robbed people throughout the world of a priceless piece of their spiritual heritage."  As she referred to the heartbreak of Baha'is around the world, she told UN representatives and others: "The Baha'is of the world are, of course, heartbroken by the news. Yet, as always, they remain positive and focused on their efforts to promote peace and contribute to the betterment of their communities", she added.

The founder of the Baha'i Faith lived in the The Most Great House  during most of the time he was exiled from Iran for having announced a new religion that proclaimed the unity of all mankind, economic justice and equality for both women and men, in a country where laws required women to wear the veil and where equality in practice did not exist.   Baha'u'llah was imprisoned, tortured, and exiled to the banks of the River Tigris, to the home that destroyed at the end of June.  The precise circumstances of the destruction are not yet known to the international community of Baha'is.

This week Baha'is commemorate the martyrdom of the Bab, which means Gate, who is considered to be a Prophet in His own right and importantly the herald of Baha'u'llah, the founder of the Baha'i Faith, with adherents now in every country of the world.  The  song at this site represents elements of the writings of Baha'u'llah, whose ideas became the foundation of some of the songs of Seals and Crofts, a major folk music duo who first became prominent in the 1960's.