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Bah‡'’s believe that Baha'u'llah, their founder and prophet, is the culmination of a long line of prophets that includes Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Christ and Mohammed. They view their religion as the most recent revelation of God's will, a belief that contradicts the Islamic view that there are no prophets after Mohammed. Hedayat grew up in Tehran and came to the United States in the 1950s to attend school. He now runs an insurance agency in Oakland, where he has lived for the past 10 years. He and his wife are part of a community of about 100 Bah‡'’s here. The group doesn't have a building of their own, but they gather for worship and children's Sunday school in the Alice Arts Center in downtown Oakland. The high point of Bah‡'’ worship is the Nineteen Day Feast, centered around the 19-day Bah‡'’ month. The gatherings are adapted by each local group of Bah‡'’s, but always include a spiritual component, an administrative meeting and time for food and conversation. The Oakland Bah‡'’s also hold frequent gatherings in members' homes. On March 22 Hedayat held a feast in his home to celebrate the Bah‡'’ New Year, which falls on March 21. Because of the religious climate in Iran, Hedayat said that he doesn't take for granted the simple freedom to be able to gather openly with other members of his religion. He said the persecution of Bah‡'’s in Iran has lessened in the past few years, partly due to international pressure from groups like the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. But he said there is still much more that needs to be done. “They are not leaving the Bah‡'’s alone,” Hedayat said. “Their feeling is that we should be wiped out.”
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