‘Super creative’ in UK's Hackney Baha’i community put on exhibition

HACKNEY CITIZEN

Unified forms: an image taken from Light of Unity. Photo credit: Anita Beikpour

Silk doorways, symmetrical patterns and a giant portrait of St Francis of Assisi have all found a home at A-side B-side Gallery in Hackney as part of a week long exhibition that celebrates unity. Artists contributing to the Light of Unity exhibition hail from all over the world – from Hackney to Hong Kong – and though diverse in form, the works have all been created in response to one line: “So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth”. This line is from the writings of Baha’u’llah, the prophet founder of the Baha’i Faith, and this exhibition has been organised by local Baha’is to mark the 200th anniversary of his birth. In August, the Hackney Baha’i community put a call out to artists to participate in the exhibition. [More]

Movie Review: 'The Prophet': Animated version of beloved book hits fests

THE DETROIT FREE PRESS
By Martin Bandyke

A team of animators visually interpret the poems in “Kahlil Gibran’s the Prophet.” (Photo: Gkids)

MICHIGAN---Bringing a book of serious-minded prose poetry to the screen isn't the easiest thing to pull off in this age of escapist superhero movies, but "The Prophet" isn't just any book. Continually in print since 1923, translated into more than 20 languages, Kahlil Gibran's masterpiece continues to resonate with new generations of readers with its eternal themes of love, marriage, children, work, pain, friendship, pleasure, joy, sorrow and death. The new animated film "Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet" was created by a team led by actress-producer Salma Hayek-Pinault and Disney veteran Roger Allers (best-known as the screenwriter of animated classics "Aladdin" and "Beauty and the Beast," and director of "The Lion King"). [link]

Kahlil Gibran's poetry is animated to life in The Prophet's exclusive online trailer

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
By Nina Terrero

An animated film inspired by a Lebanese poet may not be considered everyone’s usual summer fare. But that’s precisely why Kahlil Gibran’s "The Prophet"—based on his 1923 book of philosophical essays—lends itself to audiences eager for a colorful antidote to CG and special effects-heavy offerings, according to producer Salma Hayek. “I think it’s an experience for families that’s entertaining, uplifting, and inspirational all at once,” she says. “We parents need content to take our children to that is actually going to push them to go somewhere new, where they are actually using their minds.” [link]

Official Trailer: "Kahlil Gibran’s The Prophet" (August 21)

The Runner-Up Religions Of America

NPR | PROTOJOURNALIST
By Linton Weeks

Glance at the map above, Second Largest Religious Tradition in Each State 2010, and you will see that Buddhism (orange), Judaism (pink) and Islam (blue) are the runner-up religions across the country. No surprises there. But can you believe that Hindu (dark orange) is the No. 2 tradition in Arizona and Delaware, and that Baha'i (green) ranks second in South Carolina? The map — created by the Association of Statisticians of American Religious Bodies and published recently in The Washington Post — "looks very odd to me," says Hillary Kaell. [link]

At 160, Baha'i Faith in Formative Stages

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS

Baha'i calendar desinged by Mart Gomez

Today, members of the Baha'i faith celebrate "Naw Ruz" Day in Iran and around the world. The Baha'i faith was founded in 1844 in Persia (Iran). They are one of the youngest of the monotheistic religions, and its central purpose is the unification of humanity. Baha'is believe in progressive revelation, that God sends to humankind a teacher — manifestations of God — through the years. Those have included Moses, Abraham, Jesus, Muhammad, even Zoroaster. For today, it was Bahaullah, which means "the glory of God" and being a Baha'i means "of the glory." The faith is very much contrary to the idea of personal station. They serve the glory of God, not Bahaullah. Naw-Rúz means ‘new day, ’a spiritual springtime, and the Naw-Rúz holyday is used to commemorate it.