Source: Baha'i World News Service

http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=429

On February 6, 2006 the Baha'i World News Service reported, "Representatives of the Baha'i Faith were invited recently to address Scotland's Parliament as part of the body's weekly proceeding that allows people from different faiths to share their perspectives on the challenges facing the country. It was the first time an invitation had come from a Member of Parliament. Carrie Varjavandi, a Baha'i from Dundee, addressed the body on 18 January 2006 during its 'Time for Reflection.' Ms. Varjavandi invited Parliament members to consider the current world situation. 'The world today faces apparently intractable problems, which governments and peoples are striving courageously to solve: climate change, poverty and religious fanaticism to name but a few,' she said. She then suggested that the spiritual teachings of Baha'u'llah not only identified disunity as the underlying cause of these problems, but also offered a solution. '"The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established,"' she said, quoting Baha'u'llah, the Founder of the Baha'i Faith."