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Baha'i center in Sterling opens
Eighteen years after purchasing the property, the local Baha'i community has finally unveiled its largest center of prayer in the Washington, D.C., region.On Sept. 22, about 1,000 people turned out for the opening of the new Northern Virginia Baha'i Center situated along busy Route 7 near the highway's intersection with Sterling Boulevard.
"This project has been a long time coming," said Ashburn's Peyman Akhavan, a member of the Baha'is of Loudoun County's nine-member spiritual assembly, who said the Baha'i community bought the land for the center in 1989. After years of planning and fundraising, construction began in early 2006 and wrapped up this summer.
Founded in the mid-1800s by Persian nobleman Baha'u'llah in what is now Iran, Baha'i followers number 5 million worldwide and believe that world peace can be achieved when all races are united in their worship of a single God.
There are about 3,000 Baha'is in the region, with more than 300 residing in Loudoun County and another 800 in Fairfax County, according to those in the local Baha'i community.
In Sterling, the 18,000-square-foot center, with a distinctive circular design, juts up from a tract of homes and is adorned in brown, cream and gray. Inside are 14 classrooms, a bookstore, cafe, study areas and a main auditorium that can seat 400.
Besides a place of prayer and study, the three-level center will also host weddings and memorial services, theater productions, English and computer classes and act as a community hall for members of the surrounding neighborhoods and local civic groups.
"It is put here for social good," said Lansdowne's Michael Izadi, who was the project manager during the building's construction and, like Akhavan, is a member of the local Baha'i spiritual assembly. "If it is not doing this, then it is not achieving its purpose."
A formal grand opening will take place in early 2008.
Also this summer, Loudoun's first reform Jewish synagogue opened in Ashburn.
Contact the reporter at jjacks@timespapers.com
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