Fasting a tradition for multiple faiths

On Wednesday, Catholics and several other Christian denominations began observing Lent, the 40-day period of prayer, fasting and discipline that lead up to Easter.

But they're not the only ones in the midst of a spiritual recharge.

Trisha Irons of Tampa, a human resources manager, isn't eating or drinking from sunrise to sundown. As a convert to the Baha'i faith, she's taking part in its 19-day fast that began March 2.

"The first year I did it, I ate everything in sight for breakfast, stuffing myself silly," she recalls. "It didn't matter. I was still hungry by noon. I've learned to eat smarter in the morning so I can keep up my energy and not have those hunger pains all day."

Members of the Baha'i community - the world's youngest religion with about 5 million adherents -- typically gather in the evening for prayers and to break the fast with family and friends. On March 21 at sundown, they'll celebrate Naw-Ruz, the start of Baha'i New Year.

The fast's purpose is the same as Lent and Ramadan, the monthlong holy month observed by Muslims: to reflect on one's spiritual progress by detaching from material desires.

"Some years are harder than others," Irons acknowledges. "But ultimately, it's such a wonderful thing. It's a time to rejuvenate, to recuperate and to rebuild your inner life. I always come away feeling so much better because of it."

With numbers so small, you may not personally know any Baha'is. Some of the more famous ones include poet Ogden Nash, soft rock duo James Seals and Dash Crofts, and actor Rainn Wilson, the guy who plays Dwight on "The Office." The religion claims about 170,000 members in the United States, with about 1,000 followers in the Tampa Bay area.

They are a low-keyed group, usually meeting in homes for prayer, song and conversation (the Bay area is home to official Baha'i centers in Tampa, Clearwater, St. Petersburg and West Pasco). There's no clergy, and there's a strong emphasis on independent investigation, so people can come to their own conclusions on the faith's beliefs. Baha'is are also are encouraged to study all the major religions, since they believe we are all connected.

The religion was founded by Baha'u'llah (1817-1892), a Persian nobleman from Tehran. In the mid-19th century, he gave up a princely existence of comfort and security for beliefs that led to persecution and deprivation.

Among his claims was that he was a new and independent messenger from God, in the same tradition as Abraham, Krishna, Moses, Buddha, Christ and Muhammad. He taught that there is only one God, one human race, and that all of the world's religions have been stages in the revelation of God's will.

"The Earth is but one country and mankind its citizens," he wrote.

Work performed in the "spirit of service" is a form of worship, he wrote, and the soul, created at the moment of conception, is destined to reach the afterlife where it will continue to progress until it attains the presence of God.

Baha'u'llah also wrote that God has set in motion the historical forces that are breaking down the traditional barriers of race, class, creed and gender that will, in time, give birth to a universal civilization.

Such pronouncements are not met with favor in many parts of the world, particularly in Muslim-dominated countries. Though they constitute Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority, the 300,000 Baha'is who make their home there are often persecuted for their beliefs. They're forbidden to attend universities or teach in any capacity.

Kamran Rouhani, a Clearwater engineer, came to the United States for his college studies. He never returned.

"We're not welcomed back home," he says. "That's OK. My home is here now. I'm quite comfortable here. We conduct ourselves, we work hard and we pray for those who are still there."

When he calls Iran monthly to speak with his cousins, Rouhani can hear the familiar click-click of someone listening in to his conversation. He knows he's being recorded. And while Baha'is did not fare that well during the Shah of Iran's rule, it has gotten more worse in the past 30 years.

"Unfortunately, the fanaticism and hatred toward other religions, particularly Baha'is, has climaxed quite badly under this regime," he says. "They have no idea that the whole world would cheer for them if they would just embrace and recognize equality of men and women, if they would recognize that mankind is one, if they would recognize that education is for everyone."

Sadly, there are no indications that that will happen anytime soon in Iran.

So he will use this fasting period, as always, to pray for a change of policy and a change of heart in accepting the religion that has guided his life for 57 years.

"We only want improvement and betterment in this world and that means a unified world, where there is no racism, no sexism, no creeds to set us apart," Rouhani says. "We are all brothers and sisters of God."

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