Barred from attending post-secondary, a much younger Sohail Mahbobi needed a hobby. And when a friend offered to teach Persian rug-making, Mahbobi found one that would stay with him for three decades.

Iran, 1981: Members of the BahaB次元官网网址檌 faith are disallowed from high school and post-secondary studies. Adult BahaB次元官网网址檌s were laid off from their jobs.

So when the friend returned from the city to the rural area where Mahbobi lived and offered to teach a group of young people to weave rugs, Mahbobi began studying.

B次元官网网址淗e learned in a shop, then taught young people who werenB次元官网网址檛 doing much at the time,B次元官网网址� Mahbobi, 48, said from his Burnside-area house.

In about two years, he had completed his first rug using cream, light blue and navy yarn.

B次元官网网址淎t that time, life was getting tougher by the day for BahaB次元官网网址檌s and my parents didnB次元官网网址檛 want me to stay (in Iran),B次元官网网址� he said.

In 1984, Mahbobi immigrated to Canada. HeB次元官网网址檚 lived in Victoria since 1989.

Now, half a world a way from home and 20 years later, his second rug is complete.

Using yarn made of sheepB次元官网网址檚 and camelB次元官网网址檚 wool, imported from Iran where his parents still live and coloured with natural dies found in leaves and roots, Mahbobi worked off a loom set up in his dining room. The product is the same size as the first rug, at one metre by 1.5 metres, but the new rug is a vibrant red with blue and yellow accents.

B次元官网网址淭here were years that I didnB次元官网网址檛 touch it,B次元官网网址� he admits. But now that itB次元官网网址檚 complete, B次元官网网址渋tB次元官网网址檚 really something that pleases the eye. ItB次元官网网址檚 really something to look at.B次元官网网址�

For Mahbobi, the rug B次元官网网址� which now lies next to the one he made in Iran B次元官网网址� is a reminder of the times when BahaB次元官网网址檌sB次元官网网址� rights were stripped away, he said, and that the situation continues in his native Iran.

B次元官网网址淚n a nutshell, thatB次元官网网址檚 what got me going with making this rug and itB次元官网网址檚 really beautiful. Now that itB次元官网网址檚 finished, it makes me think back to how things are back in Iran when I got started.

B次元官网网址淗opefully something changes. ItB次元官网网址檚 been a really long time, like 30 yearsB次元官网网址� since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, which ramped up the persecution of BahaB次元官网网址檌s in Iran.

Hundreds of dollars and  20 years went into the rug, which will hang in the Mahbobi family dining room. Eventually, he said, heB次元官网网址檒l give the rugs to each of his two daughters.

The latest rug B次元官网网址渋s a picture that knows a lot about our lives. After 20 years, itB次元官网网址檚 something our family is very attached to.B次元官网网址�

Did you know?

B次元官网网址� There are about 120 BahaB次元官网网址檌s in Victoria, plus 15 in Esquimalt.

B次元官网网址� There is a BahaB次元官网网址檌 community for each of the Capital RegionB次元官网网址檚 13 municipalities.

B次元官网网址� The BahaB次元官网网址檌 calendar has 19 months of 19 days each. The extra four or five days of the year are called Ayyami-Ha (end of February) begin a 19 day fast before the BahaB次元官网网址檌 New B次元官网网址� Year (Naw Ruz in Farsi) on March 21.