Bahai Center Construction Becomes A Reality

Regional Meeting Space To Serve 18 Communities

Work has begun on Northern Virginia's first regional center for followers of the Bahai faith.

The three-story cylindrical structure will be located along Route 7 in Sterling and was designed by a Canadian architect who has drawn plans for religious structures around the world. The 18,000-square-foot building will have a 500-seat auditorium, classrooms, a library and an information center.

It is intended to serve 18 Bahai communities in Northern Virginia and about 2,500 members of the religion who have been meeting in rented space, private homes and a smaller center in Alexandria.

The Sterling center is one of numerous houses of worship on the outer edges of the Washington region that are being constructed or expanded as thousands of residents with a new diversity of religions have moved to the area.

The project is a testament to the growth and increasing stability of the group in the region, said Simon Zebarjadi, a spokesman for the Baha'is of Loudoun.

"So far, we have not had a place to call our own," he said. "This gives us a sense of belonging. We can serve our friends and guests with more dignity."

Bahaism, founded in the mid-1800s by a Persian man, Baha'u'llah, holds that God's will has been revealed successively by messengers of each of the world's major religions, most recently Baha'u'llah. Its members believe that world peace will be achieved when people recognize that humanity is one race that worships a single God.

The group, which has no clergy, does not hold weekly religious services. Instead, it holds a service and feast every 19 days. Zebarjadi said the function will be the primary regular celebration at the center. Bahais also observe a period of daylong fasting in March and a period that is concluded with a New Year's celebration.

Bahais do not believe in taking donations from nonmembers, so the Loudoun group is raising funds in the community and beyond to acquire the $5 million that the center will cost.

The Baha'i Spiritual Assembly of Loudoun, a nine-person body elected by the county group and responsible for administering the faith's affairs locally, will own and operate the center, but it will hold events and services for members of the faith across the region.

The group has owned the 2 1/2 acres of land since 1989, when it bought the parcel for $128,000 from a local Unitarian group.

Only recently, however, has the community grown large enough to merit building on the land, said Michael Izadi, secretary for the center.