Staff Report
World peace must start with individual people and work its way up, the president of the Bahai Student Association said.
"Any goal is achievable by individual transformation first," Aniseh Bro said. "You start at the grassroots and then you build up."
The Bahai Student Association has a booth every other Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the SUB.
The Bahai Faith was started by Baha'u'llah in the 1860s. Bro said unification of mankind is the most important principal of the religion.
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The Bahai Faith advocates for gender equality, elimination of prejudice, universal education and closing the gap between rich and poor, she said.
The student group is educating people on campus about the treatment of Bahai students in Iran, Bro said.
Since March 2006, almost 200 students in Iran have been expelled from higher-education institutions for being Bahai, she said.
"Bahais are the largest minority in the country," she said. "Since the start of the religion, they've been persecuted."
Bro said students can help the situation by asking their teachers and college deans to write letters to the United Nations.
"We're trying to put more pressure so a resolution can come quickly," she said.
Students who are Bahai are no longer admitted to colleges and universities in Iran, she said. On their applications, they are assumed Muslim if they do not identify themselves as either Christian, Jew or Zoroastrian, Bro said.
"They're either renouncing their faith or being denied admission," she said. "Bahais aren't going to deny their faith to get in."
Mona Talebreza, treasurer of the student group, said the situation has affected her greatly because her mother grew up in Iran and was mistreated for being Bahai.
"Both my parents were persecuted, and I know their hardships," she said. "It's still going on right now. Bahai students are not treated fairly."
Talebreza said she's blessed to be a student and still be able to practice Bahai.
"In our religion, we have such a high value of education," she said.
Bro said the student group has prayer meetings at 11 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays where people of all religious backgrounds are welcome.
"We want everyone to come with us and share their prayers," she said.
For more information on the organization, e-mail Bahais@unm.edu
