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Baha'i Faith Is A Unifying Force

Tribune photo by JASON BEHNKEN

Jackson Roberts, 8 , reads a prayer with his family reads a prayer prior to the family breaking fast Monday night after the first of 19 days of fasting. At right is Roberts' father, Hardy Roberts. Bahai's around the world are fasting for 19 days.

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By MICHELLE BEARDEN

mbearden@tampatrib.com

Published: March 6, 2009

TAMPA - When Hardy Roberts met the woman who would become his wife, he got a bonus:

A new religion; something completely unexpected.

"When I met Leah, that was the first time I had even heard about the Baha'i faith," says Hardy.

Raised an Episcopalian, he was naturally somewhat wary. Founded in Iran in 1844, Baha'i is the youngest of the world's independent monotheistic religions.

Hardy asked Leah questions, a lot of them. What were its views on Jesus Christ? Did Baha'is reject the Bible? As a young lawyer, he liked to investigate.

Leah encouraged it. That's part of being a Baha'i, she explained. It's a faith that invites examination and queries, and encourages followers to make their own choices.

There's also no set path to conversion. When a person comes to the decision to be a Baha'i, it is generally after a long period of study and reflection. Hardy married Leah 10 years ago and shortly after, on his own accord, adopted her lifelong faith.

The Carrollwood couple now have two children - 8-year-old Jackson and 4-year-old Mercy - who are being raised as Baha'is. But as they get older, they will be encouraged to do their own investigating into the faith, and make the decision that's right for them.

For Hardy, 39, it's been a perfect fit.

"It's a very tolerant, very world-embracing religion that believes there is only one God, and that we're all children of God," he says.

The construction lawyer feels at home with its message that humanity is a single race and that the day has come for humanity's unification into one global society. He concurs with its principles of world peace, equality between men and women, the elimination of racism and that all major religions were founded by God.

And yes, he learned that Baha'is embrace both Jesus and the Bible.

That made his mother, the Episcopalian, happy. And as his father learned more about the religion, he told Hardy: "If I was a religious person, this is the faith I'd choose."

Some 5 million people in 236 countries and territories - and about 500 in the Tampa Bay area - are adherents of the faith, founded by Baha'u'llah (1817-1892). He is recognized by his followers as the most recent in a line of divine messengers that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Zoroaster, Christ and Muhammad.

Except for an original photo on display at the Baha'i shrine, pictures of Baha'u'llah are not published or reproduced out of respect for the founder. Instead, many Baha'is hang pictures of Baha'u'llah's son, Abdu'l-Baha, in their homes.

"Because we live in a Judeo-Christian society, so typically anything outside of that is just unusual for some people. I've spent a lot of time explaining my faith to others," says Leah, 34, a stay-at-home mom who previously worked in public relations and television production. "It's all I've ever known because I came from a three-generation Baha'i family."

On Monday, the Roberts began their faith's annual ritual based on the solar calendar: a 19-day fast in which followers 15 and older refrain from eating and drinking from sunrise to sunset. Like Lent for Catholics and some Christians, and Ramadan for Muslims, it's a period of spiritual reflection, renewal and cleansing.

Those who partake in the fast generally eat a big meal before dawn, and break fast every evening, starting with prayers. The worldwide community is now offering special prayers for seven Baha'i leaders in Iran, imprisoned for nearly a year and denied access to their attorney. They were charged last month with "spying for Israel, insulting religious sanctities and propaganda against the Islamic Republic" - charges that supporters say are completely unfounded.

The news has caught the attention of the U.S. State Department, which has condemned the Iranian government for its actions, and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, which has publicly expressed concern for the prisoners.

Persecution is not new to Baha'is. As a young world religion intent on global unity, followers have been targeted in countries with little religious freedom.

For Hardy, who came to this faith by study and by choice, that persecution demonstrates just how much work needs to be done in this world.

The most important lesson he's learned in his spiritual journey of the past decade?

"Being tolerant of people from all religions and all beliefs, and realizing we're all in this together," he says. "I'm frankly less concerned about saving my own soul, but participating in the salvation of everybody on earth."

COMING UP

WHAT: Naw Ruz (New Year) celebration

WHEN: 7 p.m. March 20 at Ruth Eckerd Hall in Clearwater, featuring Persian dinner and dancing; 5 to 10 p.m. March 21 at 2010 E. Busch Blvd. (above the mattress store), a tribute to jazz great Dizzy Gillespie, a Baha'i. Also planned are activities for children, storytelling, African dancing, games for teens, and more.

COST: Both events are free

INFORMATION: (813) 493-1805 or go to www.tampabahai.org.

Tampa area Baha'is meet at 10 a.m. Sundays for prayers, music, devotions, adult discussions and children's classes at the Tampa Baha'i Center, 3112 Nundy Road, Tampa. The gatherings are open to the public.

The Roberts share their thoughts on the faith in Michelle Bearden's "Keeping the Faith" segment at 9 a.m. Sunday on WFLA-TV. She can be reached at (813) 259-7613.

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