Aboriginal Reconciliation: A Baha’i Perspective

Over recent decades in Australia, there has been a debate concerning reconciliation between descendants of the original Aboriginal inhabitants of Australia and the non-Aboriginal population. But: “Despite notable achievements, progress towards national reconciliation has been slow and marked with setbacks. The resurgence of divisive racial attitudes in Australia, the increased number of racial incidents, and the unrelieved deprivation faced by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians make the need for solutions ever more pressing” (Extract, Senate Submission in the Book). Three documents set out the Baha’i response to this issue. In essence it is that all proposals for reconciliation will not be effective and lasting unless supported by both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples in the application by both of universal spiritual principles. Both peoples have a responsibility in this respect. This is because in the Baha’i view, humanity is fundamentally spiritual in nature, and it is in the spirit that permanent solutions are to be found. This includes overcoming racism, applying the Baha’i spiritual principles of the oneness of humanity and that of unity in diversity.