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"lighten and uplift
them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses"
-Baha'u'llah
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Two new
members join Universal House of Justice
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HAIFA,
Israel, 21 March 2005 (BWNS) --
The Universal House of Justice has announced the
election of two new members, Dr. Payman Mohajer
and Mr. Paul Lample.
The
Universal House of Justice, the international
governing council of the Baha'i Faith, conveyed
to National Spiritual Assemblies the results of
a by-election to fill two vacancies on Naw-Ruz,
the Baha'i new year. The holy day is celebrated
from sunset on March 20 to sunset on the 21st.
Dr.
Mohajer and Mr. Lample fill the vacancies
created by the departure at Naw-Ruz of Mr. Ian
Semple and Mr. Douglas Martin, owing to age and
the related needs of the Faith.
Dr.
Mohajer was born in Tehran, Iran, where he
received his elementary school education. He
then went with his family to India where he
received a degree in homoeopathic medicine in
1984. After several years' work in his medical
clinic, Dr. Mohajer completed a master's degree
in psychology.
In
1996, his interest in the field of education led
him to establish a Baha'i-inspired institution,
the Foundation for the Advancement of Science. |
The entrance to the Seat of the Universal
House of Justice, the home of the Baha'i Faith's
international governing body.
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He was
appointed as an Auxiliary Board member in 1986, serving
until he was appointed to the Continental Board of
Counsellors in Asia in 1991. He was called to serve as a
member of the International Teaching Centre in 1998 and
was reappointed in 2003. He and his wife, Svetlana, have
three children.
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Mr.
Lample, an author and educator, was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of
America. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree in
biology from Northwestern University in Evanston,
Illinois, and a Master of Science from the
National University in San Diego, California. In
the early 1990s he served on the National Teaching
Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of
the Baha'is of the United States.
In
1994 he moved to the Baha'i World Centre to serve
as coordinator of the Office of Social and
Economic Development. He was appointed to the
International Teaching Centre in 2003. Mr. Lample
and his wife, Marcia, have three children. |
Dr. Payman Mohajer (left) and Mr. Paul Lample. |
The other
members of the Universal House of Justice are Dr. Farzam
Arbab, Mr. Kiser Barnes, Mr. Hooper Dunbar, Mr. Hartmut
Grossmann, Dr. Firaydoun Javaheri, Dr. Peter Khan, and
Mr. Glenford Mitchell.
The Faith,
which has no clergy, administers its affairs through
democratically elected councils at the international,
national, and local levels.
Baha'i
elections take place without campaigning or nominations,
the results being determined by plurality vote. Members
of the Universal House of Justice are elected by members
of all National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the
world.
Electors
are guided by the Faith's teachings, which advise each
person to vote, independently and in the privacy of his
or her own conscience, for "the names of those who
can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned
loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind,
of recognized ability, and mature experience."
There are
about five million Baha'is worldwide. Prominent among
the Faith's teachings are the oneness of humanity, the
equality of men and women, and the unity and harmony of
the world's religions.
The Baha'i
World Centre in the Acre/Haifa area of modern day Israel
has been both the spiritual and administrative center of
the Faith since its Founder, Baha'u'llah, was exiled
there by the Ottoman Empire in 1868.
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| Published in
www.Bahaiworldnews.org |
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