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nTodaynis…
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nDaynof the Covenant in thenBaha’i Faith
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| Baha’i temples and the Shrine of the Bab |
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nOnnthis day, Baha’i celebrate the appointment of Abdu’l-Baha as thensecond leader of the Baha’i Faith, after the death of foundernBaha’u’llah. The Baha’i Faith was founded in the 1800s in Persia—thenland that is now Iran. It teaches that there is only one god and thatnthe founders of many different faiths—such as Abraham, the Buddha,nJesus, and Mohammed—all speak about the same god and have truths tonoffer. The most recent special messengers from god, according to thenBaha’i faith, are the Bab and Baha’u’llah.
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nTodaynis also…
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nIslamicnNew Year (Al Hijra)
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| A Muslim mosque |
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nFromnsunset yesterday to sunset today, it is the first day of the firstnmonth – Muharram –non the Islamic calendar. On this day in 622 C.E. (Islamic Year 1),nMohammed moved fromnMecca to Medina. This is a low-key holiday, but many Muslims maken“New Year Resolutions.”
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nAlso,nit is…
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nInnthe United States, the First Amendment of the Constitution states,n“Congressnshall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, ornprohibiting the free exercise thereof…”nWhat that means is that there cannot be one religion picked out bynthe government as the “right” religion, and given specialnprivileges. The government can’t make us all join a particularnreligion, of course, nor can it make us attend church services orncelebrate religious holidays. People of all religions and people ofnno religion have equal status under the law. n
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nThisnis one of the really good ideas the American “founding fathers”ncame up with. It protects religious people and non-religious people,npeople in a majority religion as well as people in a minoritynreligion, religion and government. Nations such as Australia and Brazil have institutednsimilar language in their constitutions.
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