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File merge of Bahá'í World Volume XVII. 1040 total files joined.
****************Upper chamber of the House of the Báb, Shirdz, where He declared His Mission to Mulid Ijusayn in 1844 (photo courtesy of Mr. K. Mumtdzi).
Page 3NOTE: The spelling of the Oriental words and proper names used in this volume of The Bahá'í World is according to the system of transliteration established at one of the International
Oriental Congresses.at the University Press, Oxford, by David Stanford Printer to the University
Page 6THE successive volumes of The Bahá'í World have come to be anticipated by Bahá'ís as the record of their own collective endeavours on behalf of their Faith, of the establishment and development of its administrative order throughout the world and as the source of data, both historical and statistical, relating to the rise of that Faith during its formative age.
By librarians and students The Bahá'í World is becoming ever more widely known as a source of authentic information about the aims, tenets, history, activities, organization and growth of the Bahá'í Faith. The editors therefore have always in mind the preservation of an even balance between the presentation of material of supreme interest to believers and of a fair and objective picture to enquirers. In this they are guided by the policy of Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Baha Faith, who directed the compilation of the successive volumes from I to XII covering the years 1925 to 1954. The first volume, known as Bahá'í Year Book; was in fact a one-year survey; the next seven volumes were biennial, terminating in 1940; volume IX recorded the four years from 1940 to 1944; volume X was again biennial and volumes XI and XII presented the periods 1946 to 1950 and 1950 to 1954 respectively. All these volumes were published in the United States under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly and the supervision of the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. Volume XIII, which recorded the passing of the Guardian and the course and completion of his Ten Year Crusade, covered the entire period from 1954 to 1963 and was produced under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, which thenceforth assumed responsibility for publication. Volumes XIV, XV, XVI and XVII covered the years 1963 to 1968, 1968 to 1973, 1973 to 1976 and 1976 to 1979 respectively.
This volume, relating to the years 1979 to 1983, records the observance in the Hoiy Land in July 1982 of the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of The Greatest Holy Leaf, eldest daughter of Bahá'u'lláh and 'the outstanding heroine of the Baha Dispensation'; ; the successful completion of the first stage of the restoration of the House of 'Abdu'lHh Phsh6 and its opening to pilgrims; the completion of construction of the permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice and its occupation by that Institution in January 1983; the holding in the Holy Land in May 1983 of the fifth International Convention; the progress made towards construction of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Indian Subcontinent in New Delhi and of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Pacific Islands in Samoa; the holding in 1982 of five International Conferences dedicated to the Greatest Holy Leaf and marking the fiftieth anniversary of her passing; the progress made in the Seven Year global teaching plan inaugurated at Ridvan 1979 and constituting yet another stage in the unfoldment of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Divine Plan; and the resumption in lr~n on a scale unprecedented in recent history of a campaign designed to extirpate the Bahá'í Faith from the land of its birth through the systematic imprisonment and execution of its leaders, the expropriation, desecration and destruction of its holy places, and the persecution and harassment of its rank and file, a process which, to an extent never before witnessed, drew the sympathetic attention of governments, world leaders and the mass media to the true nature of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh and publicized its teachings.
Page 7IntroductiAIMS AND PURPOSES OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH, by David Hofman 1
PART ONEII. EXCERPTS FROM THE WRITINGS OF SHOGHI EFFENDI 32
PART TWOI. THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASSING OF BAHA'I
KHANUM, THE GREATEST HOLY LEAF1. Passages from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh About the Greatest Holy Leaf 41 2. Passages from the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá About the Greatest Holy Leaf and a Selection of His Letters to Her 42 3. Passages from the Writings of Shoghi Effendi About the Greatest Holy
Leaf and Excerpts from His Letters About Her444. A Selection of Letters of the Greatest Holy Leaf 47 5. A Tribute to the Greatest Holy Leaf, by Amatu'I-BahA R6hfyyih Kh~inum 50 6. The Commemoration at the World Centre of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the
Passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf 537. Some References to the Greatest Holy Leaf Found in Works Published in
English 558. Some Works Published to Commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of the
Passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf 579. The Greatest Holy Leaf: A Reminiscence, by Ali Nakhjav~inf 59 10. The Life and Service of the Greatest Holy Leaf. by Bahá'í Nakhjav'~ini 68
Page 8I. THE HOUSE OF 'ABDU'LLAH pAswA 77
II. THE SEVEN YEAR INTERNATIONAL TEACHING PLAN 19791986
1. The Launching of the Seven Year Plan 81
2. The Seven Year International Teaching Plan 1979 � 1986: Progress to Ridvan
1983 86
A. The World Centre 863. Expansion and Consolidation of the Bahá'í Faith � Information
Statistical and Comparative 134
A. Africa 134
B. The Americas 135
c. Asia 135 D. Australasia and the Pacific Islands 136
E. Europe 136
III. FIVE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCES1. FiveInternational Conferences: A Pictorial Report 138
2. Messages of the Universal House of Justice to the Five International
Conferences:A. Dublin, IreLand 25 � 27 June 1982 156 B. Quito, Ecuador 6 � 8 August1982 157 c. Lagos, Nigeria 19 � 22 August1982 158 D. Canberra, Australia 2 � 5 September 1982 159 E. Montreal, Canada 2 � 5 September /982 161
IV. INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA ACTIVITIES
1979 � 1983A. Africa 163
B. The Americas 171
C. Asia 178
D. Australasia and the Pacific Islands 183
E. Europe 187
2. The Association for Bahá'í Studies: 1979 � 1983, by Gerald Filson 194
3. The Establishment of the Bahá'í International Health Agency 201
4. Baha Scholarship in Australia: 1979 � 1983 202
5. Bahá'í Studies Seminars at ~he University of Lancaster: 1977 � 1980, by Peter
Smith 204
6. The Development of Bahá'í Schools during the Seven Year Plan, by Barbara
Barrett 207
7. Bahá'í Youth Academy of India 230
8. The Rabbani School at Gwalior, India, by Stephen H. Waite 233 9. Trail of Light, by Barbara Barrett 239 10. TheCentenary of the Founding of the Bahá'í Faith in India: 1880 � 1980 246
Page 9CONTENTS ix 11. ThePersecution of the Bahá'í Community of fr6n: 1979 � 1983, by
Geoffrey Nash 249
A. Survey of Events 251
B.Identity of the Persecutors, and Charges Levelled against the Bahá'ís 267 c. Pattern of Persecution 271 D. Last Letters, Wills and Testaments 284
Bahá'ís Killed in Iffin, Ridvan 1978 � Ridvan 1983 290
F.A Representative Selection of Documents Illustrating the Persecution of the Bahá'í Community of Ir6n: 1979 � 1983 306 o. Baha Children in Time of Persecution 331 H.Detailed Summary of Actions taken by the Bahá'í International Community, ty, National and Local Bahá'í Institutions, Governments, Non-Bahá'í 6'i Organizations and Prominent People in Connection with the Persecution of the Bahá'ís of Jr6n 337
12. Letter from the Universal House of Justice to Iranian Bahá'ís Living Outside
Ir4n13. TheEmergence of a Universal Moral Order and the Persecution of the Iranian Bahá'í Community, by Will. C. van den Hoonaard 363 14. Persecution of the Bahá'í Faith in fr6n: A Partial Bibliography of References from Books and Pamphlets, Journals, Newspaper Articles, and Official Documents in some European Languages, compiled by William P. Collins with the assistance of Janet H. Beavers 369 15. A Chronology of some of the Persecutions of the Báb's and Baha in Jrdn: 1844 � 1978, compiled by Dr. Moojan Momen 380
V. THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH AND THE UNITED NATIONS1. Summary of the Years 1947 � 1979 393 2. The Bahá'í International Community and the United Nations 1979 � 1983, by
Victor de Araujo 3963. Activities of the Bahá'í International Community Relating to the Persecution of the Bahá'í Faith in kin 1979 � 1983 414
VI. RECOGNITION 017 THE BAHÁ'Í FAITH1. Incorporation of National Spiritual Assemblies 426
2. Incorporation of Local Spiritual Assemblies4293. A Selection of other Documents Recording Official Recognition of the
Baha Faith1. The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice 453 2. The Fifth International Convention for th~ Election of the Universal House of Justice 461
Page 10x CONTENTS 3. The Completion of Construction of the Building for the Seat of the Universal
House of Justice: A Pictorial Report 4651. The Hands of the Cause of God and the Extension of their Functions into the
Future:A. The Rulers and the Learned 473 B. The Hands of the Cause of God 474 c. The Continental Boards of Counsellors 475
D. The International Teaching Centre 477
2. The Work and Travels of the Hands of the Cause 1979 � 1983 481 3. Hands of the Cause who Represented the Universal House of Justice at Conventions ns for the election of New National Spiritual Assemblies 1979 � 1983 515 4. A Tribute to the Hands of the Cause, by Lilian 'A1~'i 516 5. The Hands of the Cause of God: An Appreciation, by Ray Hudson 521 6. The Development of the Institution of the Continental Boards of Counsellors (adapted from the Hawaiian History Calendar) 528
JIT. THE NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY2. A Model Declaration of Trust and ByLaws for a National Spiritual
Assembly 5383. A Procedure for the Conduct of the Annual Bahá'í Convention 546
4. New National Spiritual Assemblies 5481. The Institution and its Significance 554
2. ByLaws of a Local Spiritual Assembly 564
V. THE INSTITUTION OF THE MASHRIQU'L-ADHKAR1. Foreword, by Horace Holley 568
2.The Spiritual Significance of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar 569
3.The Mother Temple of the Indian SubContinent, by F. SahM 571 4. The Lotus of Bahapur, by Sheriar Nooreyezdan 574
5.The First Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Pacific Islands 585
VI.THE NONPOLITICAL CHARACTER OF THE BAHÁ'Í FAITHVII. RELATIONSHIP TO GOVERNMENT
1. Loyalty to Government 595
2. The Bahá'í View of Pacifism 596
3.Summary of the Guardian's Instructions on the Obligations of Baha in
Connection with Military Service 596VIII. BAHÁ'Í CALENDAR. FESTIVALS AND DATES OF HISTORICAL
SIGNIFICANCE1. Foreword 598
2.Bahá'í Feasts, Anniversaries and Days of Fasting 598 Bahá'í Holy Days on which Work should be Suspended 599
Page 11776 686 821 681 795 741 817 820 774 748 677 687 793 751 669 817 771 781 791 811 811 779 773 731 762 651 611 768 797 819 719 677 618 CONTENTS xI 4. Additional Material gleaned from Nabil's Narrative regarding the Bahá'í
Calendar5. Historical Data gleaned from Nabil's Narrative regarding Bahá'u'lláh 6. Dates of Historical Significance in the Rise of the Bahá'í Faith 599 602 606
PART FIVE722 775 682 811 725 788 754 733 635 784 802 756 723 809 805 711 814 730 728 683 778 674 746 659 710 766 727 690 709 717 665 808 745 707 613 715 794
1-lezari, Ardeshir800 806 740 705 689 763 729 752 743 758 743 698 692 707 824
PART SIX4. Some Compilations from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb and 'Abdu'l-Bahá
5. Shoghi Effendi's BestKnown Works6. Language and Literature Achievements, Ridvan 1979 � Ridvan 1983:
A. Languages in International Use7. Translations of the Short Obligatory Prayer:
A. Africa829 829 829 830 830 830 830 833 834 835 836 836 838 839 839 841 843 843 844 845 847 851 857
Page 13u. Australasia and the Pacific Islands 861
E. Europe 863
F. Invented Languages 865
G. Miscellaneous 865
8. A Bibliography of English Language Works on the Bahá'í Faith: Selections, compiled by William P. Collins 866
A. The Writings of Bahá'u'lláh 867
B. The Writings of the BTh 869 c. The Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá 869 D.Works Compiled from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, The Báb and 'Abdu'l-Bahá 873
E. The Writings of Shoghi Effendi 878
r.Works and Messages of the Universal House of Justice 881 o. Writings on the Báb and Bahá'í Faiths 881 9. A Partial Bibliography of some Major Original Works on the Bahá'í Faith in Languages other than English, compiled by William P. Collins 887 10. A Bibliography of Theses Relating to the Bahá'í Faith, compiled by William 890
P. Collins11. Partial Listing of some Current General Bahá'í Periodicals, compiled by
William P. Collins 8921. Transliteration of Oriental Words Frequently used in Bahá'í Literature 893
2. Guide to Transliteration and Pronunciation of the Persian Alphabet 895 3. Notes on the Pronunciation of Persian Words895 4. Definitions of some of the Oriental Terms used in Bahá'í Literature 897
PART SEVEN1. Memories of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, by ~AIi M. Yazdf 907 2. Life as Metaphor, by John S. Hatcher 912 3. Remembering Bernard Leach, by Trudi Scott 929 4. The Concept of Spirituality, by William S. Hatcher 932 5. One Kind Deed, by Dipchand Khianra 966 6. Kaushal Kishore Bhargava: An Appreciation, based on a Memoir by
Dipchand Khianra 9697. August Forel Defends the Persecuted Persian Baha'is: 19254927, by John
Paul Vader 9708. Bahá'u'lláh and the Fourth Estate, by Roger White 975
9. August Rudd: The First Bahá'í Pioneer to Sweden 980
II. VERSE 983
III. MUSIC 993
Page 14Frontispiece One: Upper Chamber of the House of the Mb, Shir~z, where He declared His Mission to MuIh Husayn in 1844 (photo courtesy of Mr. K. Mumt6zi)
Frontispiece Two: The Seat of the Universal House of Justice
Part One: The Bahá'í RevelationFart Two: The Commemoration of Historic Anniversaries
Bahá'í KhThum circa 1890 43 Bahá'í Kh4num an early photograph 49 Some relics of the Greatest Holy Leaf preserved in the International Bahá'í Archives 52 An early photograph of the marble monument erected by Shoghi Effendi over the resting-place of Bahá'í Kh6num 54 Bahá'í KMnum' circa 1895 56
Bahá'í KhAnurn October 1919 58
Curtis Kelsey astride a donkey. Pilgrim House, Baha; 1921 61 Saichiro Fujita in Persian garb; 1921 61 Bahá'í KhThum circa 1919 66 View of the Greatest Holy Leafs monument as it appears today 67 Facsimile of Bahá'í Kh6num's handwriting 72 The room occupied by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the House of 'Abdu'IlAh P6sh6 74 The room occupied by the Greatest Holy Leaf in the House of 'Abdu'llih PAsITh 74
Part Three: international Survey of CurrentExterior view of the House of ~Abdu'1I6h P6shA in its restored condition; 1983 78 Main hail of the quarters of the Holy Family in the House of 'Abdu'IHh PAshA 1983 79 The room in the House of 'Abdu'llAh PAsh6 in which Shoghi Effendi was born in March 1897 79 The room in the House of 'Abdu'116h PhshA in which 'Abdu'l-Bahá would receive His guests 80 Graph illustrating growth of the Bahá'í Faith 1953 � 1983 82 The Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel 85 Hands of the Cause and Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre;
November 1979 87
A representative sampling from the international press of reports and editorials in defense of the Bahá'ís 91 Facsimile of House Resolution No, 110, House of Representatives, Eighty-First General Assembly, State of Illinois, adopted 15 March 1979 93 Eacsimiles of documents protesting against the persecution of the Bahá'ís of I nin 95
Publications of the Bahá'í World Centre, 1979 � 198397
Aerial view of the southwest quadrant gardens, Baha; April 1983 99 Youthful participants in the satellite conference, Nairobi, Kenya, with the Hand of the
Cause William Sears; October 1982 101
Participants in the satellite conference, Yaound6, Cameroon Republic; October 1982 101
Page 15LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xv The Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery viewing the construction of the House of
Worship, Western Samoa; September 1982 105
His Excellency Lee Teng-Hui, Governor of Taiwan, honouring Mr. Suleiman A.
Suleimani 105
A selection of newsletters in various languages published specifically for children 113 Some published versions of Words of God 114 Bahá'í mobile medical camp, India, with members of the Dang tribe 120
Participants in the Scottish Summer School; 1982120
A selection of newsletters published in response to the goals of the Seven Year Plan 122
Participants in the New Zealand Children's Camp; 1981 122
First local all-girl teaching team of Papua New Guinea 124 Tthirih � Iranian Bahá'í choir, Southern Ontario, Canada 124 A selection of newsletters for youth 126
Participants in the National Youth Conference, Hong Kong; December 1982 126
Participants in the Bahá'í Winter School, Saenz Pefia, Chaco, Argentina 128 The Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone with participants in the Finnish Baha
Summer School; 1982 128
Some Bahá'ís of the Tapi tribe, Mindoro, Philippines 130
Chinese Bahá'ís of Calcutta, India 130Bahá'ís at Local Bahá'í Centre for Nineteen-Day Feast, Nagumeya, Ciskei; 1982 133 Participants in the Pioneer Training Institute, Alberta, Canada; 1981 133 French Minister of State for the Interior, Gaston Defferre and Mine. Defferre, on their Visit to the Seat of the House of Justice; February 1983 137
Five International Conferences � a Pictorial Report138
Participants in the satellite conference, Nairobi, Kenya; October 1982 154 A representative sampling from Canadian newspapers of references to the International
Bahá'í Conference held in Montreal; September 1982 155
Bushman and other participants who attended a deepening institute held in
Khudurnelapye, Botswana; July 1981 164
First Bahá'í Summer School, Victoria, Cameroon Republic; March 1980 166
First Local Spiritual Assembly of Mariental, South West Africa/Namibia 169
Bus poster, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A 173 Antonio Cruz, first Bahá'í of the Totonaco tribe in \Jeracruz, Mexico 174 Second continental indigenous council, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A 175 Poster advertising a dance created by Ballet Shayda to honour the martyrs of fr~tn 176 Local Bahá'í community poster commemorating the seven Bahá'ís of Yazd who were martyred in September 1930 176 The Local Spiritual Assembly of Chucuito, Puno, Peru; 1981 178 The ~ChiIdren of Bahá'í choir performing in observance of U.N. Human Rights Day, 1979 179 ~The Chosen Highway' youth choir, Panchgani, Maharashtra, India; 1982 179 Some Bahá'ís of the Dang tribe, Gujarat, India; 1982 181 Some Bahá'í women of Burma 183 Regional Teaching Conference, Auckland, New Zealand; June 1981 184 The Local Spiritual Assembly of Albury, New South Wales, Australia; 1979 184 U.N. Day observance, Baha House of Worship, Sydney, Australia; 1980 187 Teaching Institute, Sisimiut, Greenland; 25 July 1982 188 National Haziratu'1-Quds of the Republic of Ireland; September 1982 188 A selection of major original publications about the Baha Faith in European languages 191 National Youth Symposium, Sejano, Italy; June 1980191
Annual convention, Iceland; 1981 193
Exterior view of the Association for Bahá'í Studies centre, Ottawa, Canada 195 View of the reception area, Bahá'í Studies centre, Ottawa, Canada 195
Page 16xvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS The Hand of the Cause Abdu'l-Bahá R6hiyyih KWinum addressing the international conference on marriage and family life, Ottawa, Canada; 1981 197 The Hand of the Cause John Robarts with recipients of awards 197 Issues of Bahá'í Studies and Bah di Studies Notebook published in the period RidvTh 1979 � 1983 199 The Hand of the Cause John Robarts with participants in the inaugural meeting of the
Bahá'í International Health Agency 201Mrs. Gayle Morrison delivering the Hasan M. Bahá'í lecture during the seventh annual conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies205 A representative sampling of Bahá'í scholarly journals, 1979 � 1983 206 Students of the New Era School, Panchgani, India207 Anis Zuni'izf School, Lilavoix, Haiti 208 Odusai School, Tororo District, Uganda; August 1981 209 A woodworking class, New Era High School, Panchgani, Jndia 210 Laying the cornerstone at the site of the Bahá'í Youth Academy, Panchgani, India 210 Glory School, Santiniketan, West Bengal State, India 212 Glory School classroom; 1982 212 Shoghi Children's School, Nunna, India 212 A Bahá'í tutorial school, Charolipada, India 213 Children in prayer, Bahá'í tutorial school, Bairagra, India 214 A Bahá'í tutorial school, Jhabua, India; 1983 214 A Bahá'í tutorial school, Markara, India 214 Hostel for Bahá'í children from Mentawai Islands, Padang, Indonesia 216 A classroom, Tadong Bahá'í Primary School, Gangtok, Sikkim; 1980 217 Students of Pachey Phirphiray tutorial school, Sikkirn; 1983 217 Students of Cole gio Ni~r, La Cisterna, Santiago, Chile; 1983 218 Colegio Nar, La Cisterna, Santiago, Chile 220 Nursery class, Santitham School, Yasothon, Thailand 222 The Santitham School, Yasothon, Thaikind; August 1982 222 Inauguration of Anfs Zuniizi School, Lilavoix, Haiti; 20 October 1982 222 The Faizi School, Loncopulle, Chile 222 Tutorial school, Quebrada Nigua, Panama 225 Tutorial school, Piggs Peak, Swaziland 225 Gingalili PreSchool, Nakuru District, Kenya 225 Village tutorial school, Iriga City area, Philippines 225
Baha Centre of Khuan Khreo, South Thailand 227
Louhelen School, Davison, Michigan, U.S.A 227 Louis G. Gregory Institute, Hemingway, South Carolina, U.S.A.; 1983 227 Tutorial school, Bangwade, Upper Zaire; March 1983227 Tutorial preschool, Bulernbu, Swaziland; 1982 228 Participants in second course of the Bahá'í Youth Academy of India; 1982 231 Faculty and students of Rabbani School; 1983 234 Ploughing with Rabbani School's team of water-buffalo 237 Mrs. Sherman Waite conducting a class at Rabbani School 238 Four members of the Trail of Light group 240 The Trail of Light group with members of the Aguaruna tribe, Peru 240 The Trail of Light group in Porras, Bolivia 240 The Trail of Light group, Southwest Bahá'í Institute, Arizona, U.S.A.; June 1982 241 An outdoor performance of the Trail of Light group, Pucyura, Peru 243 The Trail of Light group in Honduras 244 Press clippings reporting on the centenary of the founding of the Bahá'í Faith in India;
April 1980 248
The national Haziratu'I-Quds of the Bahá'ís of fr~in, Tihr~n, seized 15 February 1979 250
Page 17Home of a Bahá'í family in Shfniz after being looted and destroyed; 1979 250 Translation into English of a circular letter addressed to a Bahá'í who was suspended from employment in government service 251 Site of the House of the Báb in process of being demolished 253 Towns and cities in Inin in which Bahá'í holy places, cemeteries and other properties have been seized or destroyed 254 Some members of the National Spiritual Assembly of IrAn and other prominent Bahá'ís who were kidnapped or executed 258 A desecrated Bahá'í cemetery 263 Mourners gathered for the funeral of Dr. Man6chihr Hakim 263 Tent settlement of Baha refugees, Kaffi 272 A Bahá'í family harassed and made homeless 272 Mourners gathered for the funeral of Mihdi Anvari and Hid~iyatu'1hih Dihq~nf 282 Relatives visiting graves of Bahá'í martyrs in graveyard reserved for 'infidels' 282 The House of Bahá'u'lláh in T~ikur, district of Niir, MaizindarTh, Ir6n 289 Individual photographs of some of the martyrs 295 Documentation of the persecutions Procession honouring the martyrs, The Hague; August 1982 356 Three books describing the persecutions of the Baha of LrTh 362 Representative press clippings reporting on the persecution of Baha in IrAn 370 Newsstand posters printed by Tribune de Gen~ve and Journal de Gen~ve for display in public newspaper dispensers; 1980 379 Towns and cities in fain in which Bahá'ís were� arrested or killed between 1979 and 1983 392 Illustration depicting the death of a Bahá'í from the magazine lma'rna, circa 1911 392 Bahá'í International Community representatives, U.N. Commission on Human Rights,
Geneva; 31 January 1983 395
U.N. Day observance, Bahá'í Centre, Mauritius; 23 October 1930 395 Baha representatives, Second World Conference on the U.N. Decade for Women,
Copenhagen; July 1980 407
Baha literature display, Second World Conference on Women 407 Bahá'í International Community representatives to the United Nations Commission on
Human Rights held in Geneva; 15 February 1982 409
A selection of major publications of the Bahá'í International Community 413 U.N. Day observance, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; 24 October 1980 413 Bahá'í delegation to the meetings of the European Parliament; September 1980 416 Bahá'í delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg,
Prance; 29 January 1981 416
Senior Iranian military officers are seen attacking the Bahá'í National Centre, TihrTh; 1955 425
Part Four: The World Order of Bahá'u'lláhThe members of the Universal House of Justice elected at Ridvan 1983 460 Delegates to the International Convention 462 Friends gathered at Pilgrim House, Haifa, for the observance during the International Convention, 1983, of the Ninth Day of Ridvan 464 The Hand of the Cause 'AH-Akbar Furhtan with delegates to the Fifth International
Convention from Taiwan 480
The Hands of the Cause William Sears, Dr. 'AU-Muhammad VarqA, John Robarts and
Abdu'l-Bahá Riihiyyih Kh6num August 1980 483
The Hand of the Cause Dr. Ugo Giachery with two young friends in Norway 483
Page 18The Hand of the Cause Dr. Rahmatu'llAh MuhAjir, Mendoza, Argentina; December 1979 493 The Hand of the Cause Paul E. Haney with members of the Continental Board of
Counsellors in Asia; 6 January 1981 493
The Hands of the Cause Enoch Olinga, Abu'1-QAsim Faizi and Dr. Adelbert Mflhlschleg&1, Pldn, Germany; 1972 504 The Hand of the Cause Dhikru'llAh Khadem, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A.; August 1982 504 The Hand of the Cause 'Alf-Akbar Furhtan with some delegates to the International
Convention; April 1983 513
The Hand of the Cause H. Collis Featherstone, Savonlinna, Finland; July 1982 513 The Hand of the Cause John Robarts with four Bahá'ís from Zimbabwe 514 Inaugural meeting of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa with the Hand of the Cause William Sears; 1981 529 Inaugural meeting of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas with the
Hand of the Cause Abdu'l-Bahá Rfihiyyih KhThum 1981 529
Inaugural meeting of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Asia with the Hand of the
Cause Paul B. Haney; 1981 531
Inaugural meeting of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Australasia with the
Hand of the Cause H. Collis Featherstone; 1981 531
Inaugural meeting of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Europe with the Hand of the Cause Dhikru'11Th KhAdem; 1981 533 The members of the Universal House of Justice, the Hands of the Cause, Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre and members of the Continental
BoaTds of Counsellors, Mazra'ih; 1983 533
The Hand of the Cause Amatti'1-Bah~i R6hfyyih Kh6nuni with His Excellency Sir
Gerald Christopher Cash, Governor General of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas;
29 April1981 535
New National Spiritual AssembliesTranskei (1980) 548 Windward Islands (1981) 551
Bermuda (1981) 548 Dominica (1983) 551
Bophuthatswana (1981) 549 St. Lucia (1983) 552
Leeward Islands (1981) 549Uganda (re-established 1981) 553 South West Africa/Nambia (1981) 550 Nepal (re-established 1982) 553
Tuvalu (1981) 550The Mother Temple of the West, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A 570
Architectural drawings of the Indian Temple � Podium Level Key Plan and Main
Building Section 573
Construction worker at Indian Temple site 581 The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Indian subcontinent under construction; 1 December 1981 583 Construction work in progress; 19 April 1983 583 Architect's model of completed Temple 584
His Highness Malietoa Tanumaffli II visiting the Samoan Temple site at Apia, Western
Samoa; 18 December 1981 587
Aerial view of the Samoan Temple under construction; 15 January 1983 587 Two views of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Pacific Islands under construdlion 588 Stairs leading to the main rooms of the House of 'Abdu'llah PAshA 1983 608
Page 19732 733 739 739 740 742 743 744 745 747 749 751 753 754 756 758 759 761 762 763 766 767 769 772 773 775 776 777
Mtihlschlegel, Adelbert810 Kama1f-Sarvist~in(, Mirza Aq~i. Kh~n Lith, Jacob Eduard (Bab) van
813 Njang, Elizabeth IdangPart Six: Directory, Bibliography, Glossary The Mayor of La Paz, Bolivia, at the La Paz book fair; July 1981 Bahá'í exhibit, International Book Fair, Frankfurt, Germany; October 1982 An example of Mishkin-Qalam's calligraphy
PageThe Times of London, 30 August 1980, reported the seizure of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of fran
Anna and August RuddSome participants in the first Winter School of Sweden; December 1979 931 969 974 979 981 982
Page 1RELIGION has two objectives, the regeneration of men and the advancement of mankind. All men have been created to carry forward an ever advancing civilization proclaims Bahá'u'lláh, and The purpose of the one true God, exalted be His glory, in revealing Himself unto men is to lay bare those gems that lie hidden within the mine of their true and inmost selves.
These aims of religion, universal and eternal, nevertheless have been conditioned to the capacities of each age or dispensation and the great religions of the past have developed their social orders within generally definable times and areas. Judaism, for instance, attained its peak under Solomon and was confined, before the dispersion, to the Near East; Zoroastrianism remained Persian until the Arab conquest and the settlement of a remnant in Western India; Christianity became the religion of European civilization; the building of the nation state undertaken by Isldm remained a Muslim experiment until feudal Europe learned the lesson and its city states gave way to and adopted the more advanced order.
It has remained for the Bahá'í religion to declare and promote the cause of world oider � the sine qua non of its existence � and to disclose the concomitant unities of religion, of mankind and of historical purpose. 'Unity of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and fully established. World unity is the goal towards which a harassed humanity is striving. Nation-buiLding has come to an end. The anarchy inherent in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax.
A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life."
Religion sees the course of history as an organic process, moving towards the full realization of all the potentialities implanted in man. The vicissitudes, the great advances, the hiatuses it regards as the natural unfoldment of that process just as the succession of bud, leaf, flower and fruit is the natural unfoldment in the life of a tree; or infancy, childhood, youth and maturity in that of a man. Indeed, Bahá'í scripture explains, the process is the same.
The sun is the effective agent in the organic life of the earth; r~Iigion in that of humanity.
The Sun of Truth is the Word of God upon which depends the education of those who are endowed with the power of understanding and of utterance.2 The creative Word, revealed in each stage of human progress by a Manifestation of God, and conditioned to the requirements of the time, is the effective agent in the long, single process of humanity's development from infancy to World Order. This truth is enshrined in all revealed religion although it needs the illumination of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation to enable men to perceive it. 'The first picture presented in the Bible is that of human unity in its simplest form; that of a single fami1y~ The last picture is that of a unity manifold and universal in which all kindreds and tongues and peoples and nations are gathered into one and unified in the enjoyment of-a common worship, a common happiness, a common glory.
'The great problem which, according to theBible, confronts the human race in its progress is that of advancing from the barest, baldest unity through a long experience of multiplying diversities till ultimately a balance between the two principles is struck, poise is gained and the two forces of variety and unity are blended in a multiple, highly developed world fellowship, the perfection of whose union was hardly suggested in the primitive simplicity of early man.'1 This spiritual view of evolution is the constant theme of religion. Each revelation refers to the past, looks forward to the future and concentrates upon the immediate need for spiritual regeneration and enlightenment. The Prophet evokes in human hearts a sacrificial love which transcends self-interest and causes the early believers to dedicate themselves entirely to the practice and diffusion of the new message. As it spreads it works like leaven in society, reforming its morals, uplifting its vision and promoting a greater diffusion of love in social action.
'World history at its core and in its essence is the story of the spiritual evolution of mankind. From this all other activities of man proceed and round it all other activities revolve.'2 Unlike the revelations of the past, the Bahá'í revelation releases not only the creative Word necessary to the renewal of spiritual vitality in the human spirit, but embodies that divine energy in an administrative order capable of bringing within its shade all the diversified ethnic groups and myriad types of the human race, who may find within its wide embrace a full, happy and purposeful life.
Bahá'í activity therefore is directed not oniy, as in the past, to the spreading of the Word, but to the establishment of the fabric of that Order which, enshrined within the creative Word itself, becomes the chief instrument for the further diffusion and social application of the Divine Message.
This World Order, which the Bahá'í Faith'exists to establish, is none other than that long-promised Kingdom in which peace, justice and brotherhood shall prevail universally and 'the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.'3 The establishment of this World Order is dependent upon the regenera-'George
Townshend, The Hearttion of mankind which must turn again to God and recognize His purpose.
The two aims of religion are, therefore, interacting and interdependent.
Such a world-shaking transformation cannot be brought about by any movement of reform, however disinterested, nor by any unaided human effort.
Modern man has turned away from God, and bereft of his traditional sanctions, has inevitably wrecked his old order which, in truth, is lamentably inadequate to modern conditions and is not susceptible of repair. Soon, is Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic view of our day, will the presentday order be rolled up, and a new one spread out in its stead. Likewise, The signs of impending convulsions and chaos can now be discerned, inasmuch as the prevailing order appears to be lamentably defective.
The current aim of religion, embodied in the aims and purposes of the Bahá'í Faith, is the promotion of the next stage in the organic process of human evolution � the coming of age of the human race.
The achievement of this maturity will be attested by the unification of mankind and the federation of the world in a single, all-embracing world society of human brotherhood.
But great objectives are reached by dedicated pursuit of the preliminary and intermediate stages of the task, without ever losing sight of the ultimate goal, and this has been and is now the occupation of the Bahá'í world community � the completion within specified times of specified goals. These teaching plans to which the Bahá'ís eagerly devote their lives do far more than simply increase the size and consolidation of that world community.
They are devised and launched by the head of the Faith � the Guardian and now the Universal House of Justice � and are therefore conceived from a global view, directed to the immediate needs of the great objective, conservative of the community's resources, worldwide in scale permitting the organic development of each part according to its stage of growth but with due regard for the needs of the whole, fostering intensively the unity, the international cooperation, the diversification of the ethnic, religious and social backgrounds of its increasing membership and developing new resources for the next step forward.
It should be noted that none of these plans is isolated in aim or conception but all are directed towards the implementation of three
Page 3great charters, enshrined in Bahá'í sacred Writings, which authorize and guide the expansion of the Faith and the development of its institutions. In past Dispensations the command to 'spread the Gospel' has been general and unspecified. It was the inspired guidance of the beloved Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith which disclosed to a spiritually delighted and grateful community yet another of the unique features of this Dispensation in the specific guidance given in these three charters for the implementation of this eternal command.
Bahá'u'lláh's Tablet of Carmel is the charter for the development of the Bahá'í World Centre in the twin cities of 'Akka and Haifa, the site of its most sacred Shrines � the tombs of the twin Prophets and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Centre of the Covenant � its monuments and gardens, and of its 'world-shaking, world-embracing, world-directing administrative institutions'.1
The Will and Testamentof 'Abdu'l-Bahá is the charter for the development of the administrative order of the Faith. In this majestic document, the child of 'that mystic intercourse between Him Who communicated the generating influence of His divine Purpose and the One Who was its vehicle and chosen recipient,'2 are delineated the structure of the administrative order, its modus operandi, its main institutions, the chain of authority, the source of guidance and the position of every believer vis-&-vis the Covenant.
It has been well called the 'Charter of the NewThe Tablets of the Divine Plan, a series of fourteen letters written by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the believers of the United States and Canada, some addressed to the entire company of believers in the North American continent and others to those in named geographical areas of that continent, constitute the charter for teaching the Faith throughout the world. 'Abdu'l-Bahá names the places, the people to whom teachers must go, the conditions under which they must travel and settle and He reveals several prayers for those who undertake this all-important task.
All the international plans of the Faith launched so far have set specitic goals aimed at
'Shoghi Effendi, The Spiritualimplementing these three charters and it is incontrovertibly apparent that never in any preceding Dispensation has the command to spread the Word of God been given, in the sacred text, such explicit guidance and detailed objectives.
As the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh increases in size and influence other aims and objectives become apparent and ~ossibIe of pursuit. The relationship with agencies, institutions and authorities of the nonBahá'í world becomes an important consideration once the community emerges from obscurity, and has led to public relations programmes and the development of closer association with the United Nations.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity is accredited as a nongovernmental agency with consultative status to the United
Nations Economic and SocialCouncil (ECOSOC) and in various ways to other agencies of the United Nations.
The fostering of this relationship has been the goal of all international plans so far, and is visualized as a continuing process.
There are other objectives related to the special characteristics of Bahá'í life which become more and more important as the Faith grows and engages greater and greater public attention. They affect Bahá'í individuals, communities and institutions alike. These objectives fall into two groups � those concerned specifically with standards of conduct and those which relate to special Bahá'í practices.
The standards of conduct enjoined by the Prophet are invariably different from and sometimes diametrically opposed to the generally accepted ones of His day. High standards of conduct are, throughout Bahá'í scripture, constantly upheld and urged upon the believers, but the Guardian of the Faith in an essay written in 1938 addressed to the believers in the United States and Canada laid great stress upon the 'spiritual prerequisites.
which constitute the bedrock on which all teaching plans... must ultimately rest. .'~ He writes of .... a high sense of moral rectitude in their social and administrative activities, absolute chastity in their individual lives, and complete freedom from prejudice in their dealings with peoples of a different race, class, creed or colour.'4 In his expansion of this theme he declared that 'This rectitude of conduct, with
Shoghi Effendi, The Adventits implications of justice, equity, truthfulness, honesty, fairmindedness, reliability, and trustworthiness, must distinguish every phase of the life of the Bahá'í community." 'A chaste and holy life must be made the controlling principle in the behaviour and conduct of all Baha'is, both in their social relationships with the members of their own community, and in their contacts with the world at large.'2 'It requires total abstinence from all alcoholic drinks, from opium, and from similar habit-forming drugs. It condemns the prostitution of art and of literature, the practices of nudism and of corn-panionate marriage, infidelity in marital relationships, and all manner of promiscuity, of easy familiarity, and of sexual vices.'3 'As to racial prejudice, the corrosion of which, for well nigh a century, has bitten into the fibre, and attacked the whole social structure of American society, it should be regarded as constituting the most vital and challenging issue confronting the Bahá'í community [of that country]
at the present stage of its evolu-'4 tion.The regeneration of men � the first objective of religion mentioned in this essay � is therefore ~een as the prime objective of the
Bahá'í Faith. Membershipin the Faith is drawn from that society which permits and indulges itself in all those corrupt, immoral and prejudiced activities which Bahá'ís are required to renounce, and since the Faith is steadily but persistently growing in numbers there is reason to hope that slowly but surely a regeneration will take place.
Further, these Bahá'ístandards of conduct are not for individuals alone.
They must be the hallmark of Bahá'í institutions and communities. ~Such a rectitude of conduct,' wrote the Guardian, 'must manifest itself, with ever-increasing potency, in every verdict which the elected representatives of the Bahá'í community, in whatever capacity they may find themselves, may be called upon to pronounce. It must be constantly reflected in the business dealings of all its members, in their domestic lives, in all manner of employment, and in any service they may, in the future, render their government or people.'5 'It must be made the hallmark of that numerically small, yet
'Shoghi Effendi, The Adventibid. intensely dynamic and highly responsible body of the elected national representatives of every Bahá'í community, which constitutes the sustaining pillar, and the sole instrument for the election in every community, of that Universal House whose very name and title, as ordained by Bahá'u'lláh, symbolizes that rectitude of conduct which is its highest mission to safeguard and enforce.'6 The attitudes deriving from such standards, and from all' the varied teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, must pervade all Bahá'í commu~1ities and imbue them with distinctive characteristics which can be recognized, amid the welter of opposing or mutually uninterested groups and factions into which modern society is disintegrating, as easily as the features of an individual in a crowd.
Those special Bahá'í practices which will inevitably characterize the Bahá'í community, are the regular observances of its Holy Days and Festivals, the abstention from work on nine such days during the year, the observances by all members of the community of the annual fast, of the laws governing marriage and divorce, of daily prayer, of the invariable practice of consultation in all affairs of life, and particularly by the regular observance of the Nineteen Day Feast.
The habitual practice of such laws and ordinances is an objective pursued by all Bahá'ís and Bahá'í families.
It is seen that the aims and purposes of the Bahá'í Faith may be stated as the raising up of a worldwide community recruited from every race, nation, colour, religious and social background known on the planet, inspired, united and regenerated by the spiritual teachings and love of Bahá'u'lláh, dedicated to the building of that New World Order which 'may well be regarded as the brightest emanation'7 of His mind and is none other than the long hoped for, Christ-promised Kingdom of God on earth. To prepare men for the gifts of that Kingdom � peace, brotherhood, spirituality � and to raise its very fabric in the world, are the immediate and longtime objectives of the Bahá'í Faith.
The energies of the Bahá'ís therefore, in pursuance of these aims, flow in three major channels: individual spiritual development, 6 ibid.
'Shoghi Effendi, God Passesconveying the message of Bahá'u'lláh to others, and developing the pattern of world society embodied in the Bahá'í administrative order. All these activities derive from the sacred text and it is the unique feature of the Bahá'í revelation that whereas the first two are common to all revealed religions it is only Bahá'u'lláh Who creates the jnstitutions and reveals the Jaws, delineates the social order and establishes the principles of the civilization to which His revelation will give rise. Neither Moses nor Christ, Muhammad, Buddha, Zoroaster or Krishna did this, although They all foretold that it would be done by Him Who would take the government upon His shoulders and establish the Kingdom in peace and righteousness.
None of the traditional motives operates to create the Bahá'í community, neither former associations, political or economic identity of interest, racial or patriotic grouping.
Only the recognition and love of Bahá'u'lláh brings into close relatedness and cooperative action peo-pie from every human background, of all types of character and personality, divergent and diversified interest. Through their brotherhood in Bahá'u'lláh the old crystallized forms of human divisiveness to which they formerly belonged, whether of class, race, religion, occupation, temperament or degree of civilization lose their rigidity and eventually disintegrate. The growing Bahá'í community on the other hand is essentially based on love, is a brotherhood, a family, each member delighting in the diversity of its membership, welcoming the former pariah or outcast as a new flower in the garden, each as proud of his humanity as was ever the former chauvinist of his country.
Within such a community the sun of Bahá'u'lláh's revelation can evoke new morals, new attitudes, new conventions, new hopes and visions, all enshrined within the text of the revelation itself and which provide the spiritual atmosphere and distinctive culture of the new day. Such a community, as it grows, becomes more and more a true social order, providing a soil to human life, a climate for its best development, an arena for the practice of its highest aspirations, and a beacon light to attract and guide the disillusioned, spiritually impoverished, frenetic and frustrated peoples of the earth.
The energies of this new culture, guided and conserved to the service of human welfare by the agencies of Bahá'u'lláh's World Order will result in the proliferation of new arts and sciences, new social and economic relationships, new educational methods and a general accession of wellbeing and felicity. The vision of the Bahá'í Faith, though glorious, is a practical one, and the number of its dedicated promoters grows with increasing speed.
It is summarized in the following words by the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith in his essay The
Unfoldment of World Civilization:'The unity of the human race, as envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh, implies the establishment of a world commonwealth in which all nations, races, creeds and classes are closely and permanently united, and in which the autonomy of its state members and the personal freedom and initiative of the individuals that compose them are definitely and completely safeguarded. This commonwealth must, as far as we can visualize it, consist of a world legislature, whose members will, as the trustees of the whole of mankind, ultimately control the entire resources of all the component nations, and will enact such laws as shall be required to regulate the life, satisfy the needs and adjust the relationships of all races and peoples.
A world executive, backed by an international Force, will carry out the decisions arrived at, and apply the laws enacted by, this world legislature, and will safeguard the organic unity of the whole commonwealth. A wor!d
tribunal will adjudicate and deliver its compulsory and final verdict in all and any disputes that may arise between the various elements constituting this universal system.
A mechanism of world intercommunication will be devised, embracing the whole planet, freed from national hindrances and restrictions, and functioning with marvellous swiftness and perfect regularity.
A world metropolis will act as the nerve centre of a world civilization, the focus toward& which the unifying forces of life will converge and from which its energizing influences will radiate. A world language will either be invented or chosen from among the existing languages and will be taught in the schools of all the federated nations as an auxiliary to their mother tongue. A world script, a world literature, a uniform and universal system of currency, of weights and measures,.will simplify and facilitate intercourse and under
Page 6In such a world society, science and religion, the two most potent forces in human life, will be reconciled, will cooperate, and will harmoniously develop. The press will, under such a system, while giving full scope to the expression of the diversified views and convictions of mankind, cease to be mischievously manipulated by vested interests, whether private or public, and will be liberated from the influence of contending governments and peo-pies. The economic resources of the world will be organized, its sources of raw materials will be tapped and fully utilized, its markets will be coordinated and developed, and the distribution of its products will be equitably regulated.
'National rivalries, hatred, and intrigues will cease, and racial animosity and prejudice will be replaced by racial amity, understanding and cooperation.
The causes of religious strife will be permanently removed, economic barriers and restrictions will be completely abolished, and the inordinate distinction between classes will be obliterated. Destitution on the one hand, and gross accumulation of ownership on the other, will disappear.
The enormous energy dissipated and wasted on war, whether economic or political, will be consecrated to such ends as will extend the range of human inventions and technical development, to the increase of the productivity of mankind, to the extermination of disease, to the extension of scientific research, to the raising of the standard of physical health, to the sharpening and refinement of the human brain, to the exploitation of the unused and unsuspected resources of the planet, to the prolongation of human Life, and to the furtherance of any other agency that can stimulate the intellectual, the moral, and spiritual life of the entire human race.
'A world federal system, ruling the whole earth and exercising unchallengeable authority over its unimaginably vast resources, blending and embodying the ideals of both the East and the West, liberated from the curse of war and its miseries, and bent on the exploitation of all the available sources of energy on the surface of the planet, a system in which Force is made the servant of Justice, whose life is sustained by its universal recognition of one God and by its allegiance to one common Revelation � such is the goal towards which humanity, impelled by the unifying forces of life, is moving.'
Page 7Excerpts from Fire and Light1 ALL praise be to God Who, from every drop of blood shed by His chosen ones, hath brought forth a vast creation whose number none but Himself can reckon.
He hath raised them to be the embodiments of His love and the manifestations of His tender affection.
It is they who are the hands of His Cause amongst men. It is they who have rendered aid unto God in every age and have arisen to promote that which He bath purposed in such wise that the majesty of the kings and their dreadful might have failed to affright them, nor have they been hindered from following the path of truth by the clash of arms and the furious clamour of battalions.
They have raised their triumphal cry amidst all that dwell in the heavens and on the earth, summoning everyone unto the Lord of all mankind, He Who is the Ruler of this world and of the next, the God of the throne on high and of the earth below.
He is God � Blessed and Exaltedis He ALL praise unto the Almighty the Sanctified � glorified be His power � Who hath ordained that the tyranny of the unjust and the violence of the oppressors should become the means whereby the true lovers draw nigh unto the glorious habitation of the Best All but No. XI are excerpts translated by Mr. Habib Taherzadeh, with the assistance of a Committee at the Baha World Centre, from Fire and Light [Ndr va
NanVerlag, 1982), a compilation from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and
Shoghi Effendi.Beloved and the sincere among His servants attain the Paradise of communion with Him Who is the Desire of all men, and that sufferings and tribulations should serve as the instrument whereby His Word of command is spread abroad and the standards of His praise are unfurled in all regions.
How great is His transcendent power, how immensely exalted His all-embracing Will, inasmuch as He produceth light from fire and joy from sorrow.
They that are sunk in heedlessness fondly imagine that massacre and crucifixion cause the fire of the Word of God to be extinguished, and regard martyrdom as a devastating injury. They are utterly oblivious of the truth that through such afflictions the Cause of God is exalted, its fame is blazoned far and wide, and the martyrs themselves are enabled to attain the boundless retreats of nearness unto God. Immeasurably exalted is the Lord of Wisdom who doeth that which He willeth and ordaineth whatsoever He pleaseth.
III0 MOTHER! Grieve not over the loss of thy son; rather pride thyself therein.
Indeed this is an occasion for gladness and rejoicing, not for despondency and sorrow.
I swear by the DayStar of the morn of Truth that thy son hath attained a station such as no pen can depict, nor words adequately describe. His habitation is the realm on high, his associates and companions are sanctified and detached souls, and his sustenance the 9
Page 10In truth were that lofty and glorious station to be revealed to an extent smaller than a needle's eye before the eyes of them that dwell on earth, they would, one and all, be so filled with joy and ecstasy as to be consumed thereby. Therefore think not that he hath perished.
Indeed he will endure in the heavenly kingdom as long as God Himself endureth.
And this calleth for gratitude, not grieving.When he findeth that thou art happy he becometh more cheerful, but when he perceiveth that thou art disconsolate, this provoketh anguish in his heart.
Busy thyself in the remembrance of God and unloose thy tongue in celebrating His praise with utmost joy and radiance. God, the Exalted, the True is with thee. He is kinder than a father and more compassionate than a son.
Call thou to mind the episode of the land of Taf (Karbil6), when a mother sent forth her son who laid down his life in the path of the Beloved.
This Day is the king of days. It behoveth thee to show forth such deeds as will distinguish thee from the women of a bygone age.
Such beseemeth the servants and maidservants of God. Be thou resigned to His good-pleasure and seek communion with Him.
At this moment the entire company of the Concourse on high are engaged in extolling the virtues of thy son and in acclaiming his attributes. If thou couldst hear, thou wouldst, in thy longing, wing thy flight unto God, the Incomparable, the All-Informed. The day is not far distant when all the dwellers of the earth will magnify his praise and seek blessings from his dust. Verily incalculable is the bounty of thy Lord. Seize thy chance and be of them that endure with patience.
NOTHING hath ever happened nor will happen without a cause or effect. Reflect a while and consider how vast the number of the people that have perished, how numerous the cities and towns that have been reduced to dust and now appear as a level plain.
Such is their plight now and only God knoweth the future and that which will come to pass.
Think not that in this turmoil the friends of God have perished by the sword of the oppressors.
I swear by the DayStar of the Kingdom of truth that any of the Loved ones of God that hath quaffed the cup of martyrdom during that episode hath ascended unto the realms above and doth abide securely beneath the canopy of the tender mercy of God. Indeed if those sublime stations were unveiled before the gaze of men, even to the extent of a needle's eye, everyone would raise his voice and exclaim: 'Would that I had been with him!' And if any of the friends halt suffered a material loss, such a loss is and will always be a perfect gain. The people of Baha enjoy utmost benefits, at all times.
If at some time or other, according to the dictates of God's inscrutable wisdom, one should incur a certain loss, let not this cause distress.
Surely God will glorify it into a gift of inestimable gain. Verily, He is the Lord of Truth, the Powerful, the Knowing, the Wise.
'You should exhort all the friends to patience, to acquiescence, and to tranquillity, saying: 0 ye loved ones of God in that land! Ye are glorified in all the worlds of God because of your relationship to Him Who is the Eternal Truth, but in your lives on this earthly plane, which pass away as a fleeting moment, ye are inflicted with abasement.
For the sake of the One True God, ye have been reviled and persecuted, ye have been imprisoned, and surrendered your lives in His path. Ye should not, however, by reason of the tyrannical acts of some heedless souls, transgress the limits of God's commandments by contending with anyone.
Whatever hath befallen you, hath been for the sake of God. This is the truth, and in this there is no doubt. You should, therefore, leave all your affairs in His Hands, place your trust in Him, and rely upon Him. He will assuredly not forsake you. In this, likewise, there is no doubt. No father will surrender his Sons to devouring beasts; no shepherd will leave his flock to ravening wolves. He will most certainly do his utmost to protect his own.
If, however, for a few days, in compliance with God's all-encompassing wisdom, outward affairs should run their course contrary to one's cherished desire, this is of no consequence and should not matter. Our intent is that all the friends should fix their gaze on the
Page 11Supreme Horizon, and cling to that which hath been revealed in the Tablets.
They should strictly avoid sedition, and refrain from treading the path of dissension and strife. They should champion their One True God, exalted be He, through the hosts of forbearance, of submission, of an upright character, of goodly deeds, and of the choicest and most refined words.
THEY that yearn for the abode of the Beloved, they that circle round the sanctuary of the Desired One, are not apprehensive of trials and adversities, nor do they flee away from that which is ordained by God. They receive their portion from the ocean of resignation and drink their fill from the soft-flowing stream of His mercy. They would not surrender the good-pleasure of the Friend in exchange for the kingdom of both worlds, nor would they barter that which the Well-Beloved hath decreed in return for dominion over the realms of the infinite. They would eagerly drink the venom of wbe as if it were the water of life and would drain deadly poison to its bitter dregs just as a sweet and life-giving draught. In the arid wastes of desolation they are stirred with enthusiasm through the remembrance of the Friend, and in the dreary wilds of adversity they are eager and impatient to offer themselves as a sacri-flee. Unhesitatingly have they renounced their lives and directed their steps towards the abode of the Best Beloved. They have closed their eyes to the world and fixed their gaze upon the beauteous countenance of the Friend, cherishing no desire but the presence of the loved One and seeking no attainment save reunion with Him. They fly with the feathers of trust in God, and soar with the wings of adherence unto His Will. In their estimation a bloodshedding blade is more desirable than finest silk and a piercing dart more acceptable than mother's milk.
'High-spirited souls by the myriad are deemed necessary in this path, To lay down a hundred lives with every fleeting breath.'
It behoveth us to kiss the hand of the wouldbe assassin and to set out, dancing, on our way to the habitation of the
Friend. Howindescribably pleasant is that hour, how immeasurably sweet that moment when the inmost spirit is intent upon sacrificing itself, when the tabernacle of fidelity is hastening to attain the heights of self-surrender!
With necks laid bare, we yearn for the stroke of the ruthless sword wielded by the hand of the Beloved.
With breasts aglow with light, we eagerly await the dart of His decree.
Contemptuous of name, we have detached ourselves from all else but Him, we shall not run away, we shall not endeavour to repel the stranger, we pray for calamity, that thereby we may soar 'into the sublime heights of the spirit, seek shelter beneath the shade of the tree of reunion, attain the highest stations of love, and drink our fill from the wondrous wine of everlasting communion with Him. Surely we will not forfeit this imperishable dominion, nor will we forgo this incomparable blessing.
If hidden beneath the dust, we shall rear our heads from the bosom of the tender mercy of the Lord of mankind. No trial can suppress these companions, no mortal feet can traverse this journey, nor can any veil obscure this countenance.
Yea, it is clear and evident that in view of the multitudes of internal and external opponents who have raised the standards of opposition, who have girded the loins of endeavour to eliminate these poor creatures, it standeth to reason that one should turn away from them and flee from this land, nay, from the face of the earth. However, through the lovingkindness of God and by the aid of His invisible confirmations, we are as radiant as the sun and as shining as the moon. We are established upon the throne of tranquillity and seated upon the couch of fortitude. Of what importance is the shipwreck to the fish of the spirit? What doth a soul celestial care if the physical frame is destroyed? Indeed this body is for it a prison; and the ship but a place of confinement to the fish.
What else but a nightingale can understand a Nightingale's melody and who else but the intimate friend can recognize the familiar voice of the
Friend?THE majesty and glory of the Cause are as great as its trials and afflictions are intense. However, trials and afflictions are scarce noticed in this day, inasmuch as the heaven of
Page 12divine bounty is uplifted and the ocean of His loving kindness is manifest.
If on the one hand cups of bitter woe and suffering are seen, on the other
He Who is the AbhA Beautyis proferring, with His Own hand that hath turned white, the chalice of everlasting life. Though the croaking of the Raven is loud, the river of His choice wine is streaming forth.
In one of the Tablets the following utterances were sent down by the Revealer of Verses � glorified and exalted be His Words: Say, 0 ye chosen of the one true God! Let not the censure of the froward, nor the denunciations uttered by them that have repudiated His Cause, grieve you; inasmuch as such acts of opposition have, from time immemorial, served as clear proofs of the truth of Him Who is the True One � magnified be His glory. Therefore should ye hear an unseemly word from an ignorant, foolish or negligent soul, be sure that it can never do harm, for the day is not far distant when such persons and whatsoever pertain-eth unto them will have passed away, whereas ye yourselves have been honoured in this day to drink your fill from the living waters of the holy utterances revealed by the All-Merciful and to hearken unto the words: 'Ye are of My company.'
Thereupon one of the favoured angels that are nigh unto God and circle round His throne uttered this supplication: '0 my Lord and my Master! 0 my Desired One and my Best Beloved! 0 Thou who art the Beloved of all that are in the heavens and on the earth! I beseech Thee to grant, from the ocean of Thy bounty and the daystar of Thy heavenly grace, that I may be cursed, reviled and denounced a myriad times for the sake of Thy love, that these ears of mine may but once be blessed by hearing Thy sweet words: "Verily thou art of the people of Most of the people of the earth have turned away from the one true God and failed to take their portion from the ocean of divine knowledge.
They have ascribed and will continue to ascribe unto Him that which hath caused the inmates of the all-highest Paradise as well as the Prophets and Messengers of God to weep sore and wail.
This is not the first divine Revelation that hath been manifested in the world. They that are the chosen ones of God should at all times and under all conditions dedicate themselves assiduously to the service of His Cause. Rumi' � upon him be the mercy of God � saith: 'the moon sheddeth light while the dog howleth.'
It behoveth everyone to have the utmost regard for the reformation of the world and for that which beseemeth man's sublime station. However, should the continued existence of anyone be detrimental to the interests of the Cause of God, the Almighty will undoubtedly lay hold on him as He hath in the past. No one hath fathomed nor can fathom His transcendent wisdom.
VIIIA. PRAISE, exalted above every conception that pen and ink can portray, beseemeth the sublime, the ever-blessed court of the Well-Beloved Who hath initiated the people of Baha into the school of adversity and directed their steps towards the realm of immortality.
Glorified, immensely glorified is the omnipotent Lord Who hath made blood as a means to cause the trees of the exalted Paradise to grow and burst forth, and Who hath ordained that trials and afflictions, though bitter and agonizing, should prove sweeter than sugar to the taste of His loved ones. So strong are the bonds of love for this Well-Beloved that adversities and tribulations have been and will ever be powerless to deflect His ardent lovers from treading
His Path.I swear by Him Who is Our Beloved and your Beloved, that if one's life be not offered up in His path, it would not be worth even as much as a mustard seed, and if one's inmost being were not Laid down at His feet, it would appear more abject and insignificant than a pebble. However, none but the divine Assayers are able to recognize this gem. In truth, when bereft of vision, what advantage would one gain by entering into the all-highest Paradise?
If destitute of hearing, what can one perceive by drawing close unto the celestial Tree of
Blessedness? The Assayersof these priceless gems are such souls unto whom the following tribute is paid: 'They that speak not till He hath spoken and act according to
His commandment.'2 Likewisewhom neither merchandise nor traffic beguile from the remembrance of the
Almighty.'1Is it fondly imagined that death shall not overtake everyone? Nay, by God!
'Every soul shall taste of death.'2 Such being the case, it would certainly be far better and more fitting if this mortal life were offered up in the path of the Beloved, and sacrificed for the sake of Him Who is the ultimate Desire of all men.
Nay, I beg forgiveness of God for this assertion, inasmuch as this sacrifice would be a myriad times more preferable and fitting. Even for this assertion, I once again implore pardon of God.
I earnestly hope and pray that the one true God � magnified be His glory � may graciously brighten the eyes of all men with the collyrium of His knowledge, that they may be enabled to discern with both their inner and outer eyes that which the victims of evil passions and corrupt desires are debarred from seeing and recognizing.
Salutation and praise rest upon them that have not been kept back by any transitory thing whatever, nor have been alarmed by the violent commotions provoked by the people of the earth � such people as are immersed in the pursuit of earthly vanities and have been deluded by the gay livery of the world, in such wise that they have cast the Cause of God behind their backs. The day is fast approaching when He will have rolled up their domain and spread out a new one in its stead.
Verily, He is the One, the Peerless, the Powerful, the Invincible, the Almighty.
IF occasionally, in accordance with the exigencies of God's consummate wisdom, an untoward incident should befall the friends, it would undoubtedly serve as a means whereby divine gifts and heaven-sent bounties will be vouchsafed unto them. Ponder thou upon the tragic episode that hath transpired in the land of YA (Yazd).
I swear by My life, every single event associated therewith hath led to the exaltation of the Word of God and the advancement of His Cause. Indeed whatsoever doth happen during the days of the Manifestation of God, though to outward seeming it is but grievous abasement, there lieth concealed ibid. 24:37 2 ibid. 3:184 within it incalculable glory and honour; and though it appeareth as dire torment, in reality a myriad blessings are enshrined therein.
If those that have erred grievously were aware of the hidden mysteries of martyrdom, they would in no wise commit such deeds. However, God hath caused them to be tongue-tied and bereft of sight, with their minds and power of perception reduced to naught, in such wise that they deem a priceless benefit a grievous loss. With their own hands they help the Cause of God, though they themselves are wholly unconscious of it. Verily God would at one time render His Cause victorious through the aid of His enemies and at another by virtue of the assistance of His chosen ones. Concerning those pure and blessed souls, Our Pen of Glory hath revealed that which excelleth the whole world, its treasures and whatsoever existeth therein. Ere long shall the heedless and the doers of wickedness be repaid for that which their hands have wrought.
THE people of the world have grievously erred, for they fondly imagine that they can exterminate the Cause of God, that they would be able to extinguish His effulgent light, and to put out His heavenly lamps. Vain indeed are their imaginings. I swear by the righteousness of God that the more they endeavour to quench His Light, the brighter will it shine, and the more they strive to smother its flame, the fiercer will it burn. God's invincible Will far transcendeth their devices, and His Purpose is supreme above all human desires, inasmuch as all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth have been called into being through a single holy breeze � the Word of His command � wafted from His presence, and all shall be brought to naught through but one letter of His. From time immemorial He hath been established upon the seat of His sovereignty and through eternity will He continue to occupy the inaccessible heights of His glory. Every created thing is impotent before the evidences of His invincible might, and all beings fade into utter nothingness when confronted with the revelation of His awesome majesty.
The eyes of His loved ones have always wept sore, while His enemies have rejoiced
Page 14However, that weeping was followed by a myriad blessings and this jubilation by grievous retribution.
Ere long the fruits of these two shall appear from the tree of His irrevocable Decree. Therefore how justifiably proud must be the eye which is worthy of shedding tears and how great the felicity of the neck that is fit to be ensnared in the noose of the Friend.
o GOD, my God! Thou seest Thy loved ones turning their hearts to Thee, and holding fast unto the cord of Thy ordinances and laws.
I beseech Thee by the waves of the sea of Thine utterance, and by Him through whom Thou didst adorn the heavens of Thy might, to graciously protect them, by the aid of Thy hosts.
0 God! Thou beholdest Thylovers in fran in the clutches of hate and enmity. I beg of Thee, by Thy mercy which hath preceded the contingent world, to raise up from the earth those who will be moved to aid and protect them, and to preserve their xights and the restitution due to them by those who broke Thy Covenant and Testament, and perpetrated such acts as made the inmates of the cities of Thy justice and equity to lament.
Thou art, verily, the All-Powerful, the All-Knowing, the
All-Wise.Excerpts from Selections from the Writings of the BTh1 THE substance wherewith God hath created Me is not the clay out of which others have been formed.
He hath conferred upon Me that which the worldly-wise can never comprehend, nor the faithful discover I am one of the sustaining pillars of the Primal Word of God. Whosoever hath recognized Me, bath known all that is true and right, and hat attained all that is good and seemly; and whosoever hath failed to recognize Me, hath turned away from all that is true and right and hath succumbed to everything evil and unseemly.
I swear by the righteousness of Thy Lord, the Lord of all created things, the Lord of all the worlds!
Were a man to rear in this world as many edifices as possible and worship God through every virtuous deed which God's knowledge embraceth, and attain the presence of the Lord, and were he, even to a measure less than that which is accountable before God, to bear in his heart a trace of malice towards Me, all his deeds would be reduced to naught and he would be deprived of the glances of God's favour, become the object of His wrath and assuredly perish.
For God hath ordained that all the good things which lie in the treasury of His knowledge shall be attained through obedience unto Me, and every fire recorded in His Book, through disobedience unto Me. Methinks in this day and from this station I behold all those who cherish My love and follow My behest abiding within the mansions of Paradise, and the entire company of Mine adversaries consigned to the lowest depths of hellfire I SWEAR by the Most Great
Lord! Wertthou2 to be told in what place I dwell, the first person to have mercy on Me would be thyself.
In the heart of a mountain is a fortress [MAka]� the inmates of which are confined to two Bahá'í World Centre, Haifa, 1976.
2 Muhammad ShAh, to whom this Tablet was addressed.
guards and four dogs. Picture, then, My plight �I swear by the truth of God! Were he who hath been willing to treat Me in such a manner to know Who it is Whom he hath so treated, he, verily, would never in his life be happy. Nay � I, verily, acquaint thee with the truth of the matter � it is as if he hath imprisoned all the Prophets, and all the men of truth and all the chosen ones When this decree was made known unto Me, I wrote to him who administereth the affairs of the kingdom, saying: 'Put Me to death, I adjure thee by God, and send My head wherever thou pleasest. For surely an innocent person such as I, cannot reconcile himself to being consigned to a place reserved for criminals and let his life continue.'
My plea remained unanswered.the H6ji, is not fully aware of the truth of our Cause. It would be far more heinous a deed to sadden the hearts of the faithful, whether men or women, than to lay waste the sacred House of God.
Verily, the One True Godbeareth Me witness that in this Day I am the true mystic Fane of God, and the Essence of all good.
He who doeth good unto Me, it is as if he doeth good unto God, His angels and the entire company of His loved ones. He~ who doeth evil unto Me, it is as if he doeth evil unto God and His chosen ones. Nay, too exalted is the station of God and of His loved ones for any person's good or evil deed to reach their holy threshold. Whatever reacheth Me is ordained to reach Me; and that which hath come unto Me, to him who giveth will it revert.
By the One in Whose hand is My soul, he hath cast no one but himself into prison.
For assuredly whatsoever God hath decreed for Me shall come to pass and naught else save that which God hath.ordained for us shall ever touch us. Woe betide him from whose hands floweth evil, and blessed the man from whose hands floweth good.
Unto no one do I take My plaint save to God; for He is the best of judges.
Every state of adversity or bliss is from Him alone, and He is the All-Powerful, the
AlmightyVerily the resplendent Light of God hath appeared in your midst, invested with this unerring Book, that ye may be guided aright to the ways of peace and, by the leave of God, step out of the darkness into the light and onto this far-extended Path of Truth.
Chapter LXII, Qayydmu'l-Asmd.CONSIDER the manifold favours vouchsafed by the Promised One, and the effusions of His bounty which have pervaded the concourse of the followers of IslAm to enable them to attain unto salvation. Indeed observe how He Who representeth the origin of creation, He Who is the Exponent of the verse, 'I, in very truth, am God', identified Himself as the Gate [B~b] for the advent of the promised Q6'im, a descendant of Muhammad, and in His first Book enjoined the observance of the laws of the Qur'an, so that the people might not be seized with perturbation by reason of a new Book and a new Revelation and might regard His Faith as similar to their own, perchance they would not turn away from the Truth and ignore the thing for which they had been called into being.
THOU seest, 0 my Lord, my dwelling-place in the heart of this mountain and Thou dost witness my forbearance. Verily I have desired naught else but Thy love and the love of those who love Thee. How can I extol the effulgent beauty of Thy Lordship, conscious as I am of my nothingness before the habitation of Thy glory? Yet the sorrow of solitude and loneliness prompteth me to invoke Thee through this prayer, perchance Thy trusted servants may become aware of my lamentations, may supplicate unto Thee on my behalf, and Thou wouldst graciously answer their prayers as a token of Thy grace and Thy favour.
I bear witness that there is no God but Thee, inasmuch as Thou art invested with sovereignty, grandeur, glory and power which no one among Thy servants can visualize or comprehend. Indeed Thou shalt, by virtue of that which is inherent in Thine Essence, ever remain inscrutable unto all except Thyself.
Is there any Remover of difficulties saveHe is God! All are His servants and all abide by His bidding!
VIISAY: Praise be to God Who graciously enableth whomsoever He willeth to adore Him. Verily no God is there but Him.
His are the most excellent titles; it is He Who causeth His Word to be fulfilled as He pleaseth and it is He Who leadeth those who have received illumination and seek the way of righteousness.
Fear thou God, thy Lord, and ffiake mention of His Name in the daytime and at eventide. Follow not the promptings of the faithless, lest thou be reckoned among the exponents of idle fancies.
Faithfully obey the Primal Point Who is the Lord Himself, and be of the righteous. Let nothing cause thee to be sore shaken, neither let the things which have been destined to take place in this Cause disturb thee. Strive earnestly for the sake of God and walk in the path of righteousness.
Shouldst thou encounter the unbelievers, place thy whole trust in God, thy Lord, saying, Sufficient is God unto me in the kingdoms of both this world and the next.
The Day is approaching when God shall bring the faithful together. In truth no God is there other than Him.
May the peace of God be with those who have been guided aright through the power of divine guidance.
VIII0 LORD! Render victorious Thy forbearing servants in Thy days by granting them a befitting victory, inasmuch as they have sought martyrdom in Thy path. Send down upon them that which will bring comfort to their minds, will rejoice their inner beings, will impart assurance to their hearts and tranquillity to their bodies and will enable their souls to ascend to the presence of God, the Most Exalted, and to attain the supreme
Paradiseand such retreats of glory as Thou hast destined for men of true knowledge and virtue. Verily Thou knowest all things, while we are but Thy servants, Thy thralls, Thy bondsmen and Thy poor ones. No Lord but Thee do we invoke, 0 God our Lord, nor do we implore blessings or grace from anyone but Thee, 0 Thou Who art the God of mercy unto this world and the next. We are but the embodiments of poverty, of nothingness, of helplessness and of perdition, while Thy whole Being betokeneth wealth, independence, glory, majesty and boundless grace.
Turn our recompense, 0 Lord, into that which well beseemeth Thee of the good of this world and of the next, and of the manifold bounties which extend from on high down to the earth below.
Verily Thou art our Lord and the Lord of all things.
Into Thy hands do we surrender ourselves, yearning for the things that pertain unto
Thee.GLORY be unto Thee, 0 Lord! Although Thou mayest cause a person to be destitute of all earthly possessions, and from the begin-fling of his life until his ascension unto Thee he may be reduced to poverty through the operation of Thy decree, yet wert Thou to have brought him forth from the Tree of Thy love, such a bounty would indeed be far better for him than all the things Thou hast created in heaven and earth and whatsoever lieth between them; inasmuch as he will inherit the heavenly home, through the revelation of Thy favours, and will partake of the goodly gifts Thou hast provided therein; for the things which are with Thee are inexhaustible.
This indeed is Thy blessing which according to the good-pleasure of Thy Will Thou dost bestow on those who tread the path of Thy love.
How numerous the souls who in former times were put to death for Thy sake, and in whose names all men now pride themselves; and how vast the number of those whom Thou didst enable to acquire earthly fortunes, and who amassed them while they were deprived of Thy Truth, and who in this day have passed into oblivion.
Theirs is a grievous chastisement and a dire punishment.
0 Lord! Provide for the speedy growth of the Tree of Thy divine Unity; water it then, 0 Lord, with the flowing waters of Thy good-pleasure, and cause it, before the revelations of Thy divine assurance, to yield such fruits as Thou desirest for Thy glorification and exaltation, Thy praise and thanksgiving, and to magnify Thy Name, to laud the oneness of Thine Essence and to offer adoration unto Thee, inasmuch as all this lieth within Thy grasp and in that of none other.
Great is the blessedness of those whose blood Thou hast chosen wherewith to water the Tree of Thine affirmation, and thus to exalt Thy holy and immutable Word.
Ordain for me, 0 my Lord, and for those who believe in Thee that which is deemed best for us in Thine estimation, as set forth in the Mother Book, for within the grasp of Thy hand Thou boldest the determined measures of all things TRUE death is realized when a person clieth to himself at the time of His Revelation in such wise that he seeketh naught except Him.
� God sent forth His Prophet Muhammad, on that day the termination of the prophetic cycle was foreordained in the knowledge of God.
Yea, that promise hath indeed come true and the decree of God hath been accomplished as He bath ordained. Assuredly we are today living in the Days of God. These are the glorious days on the like of which the sun hath never risen in the past. These are the days which the people in bygone times eagerly expected. What hath then befallen you that ye are fast asleep? These are the days wherein God hath caused the DayStar of Truth to shine resplendent.
What hath then caused you to keep your silence?These are the appointed days which ye have been yearningly awaiting in the past � the days of the advent of divine justice. Render ye thanks unto God, 0 ye concourse of believers.
Let not the deeds of those who reject the Truth shut you out as by a veil.
Such people have warrant over your bodies only, and God hath not reposed in them power over your spirits, your souls and your hearts.
Fear yeGod that haply it may be well with you. All things have been created for your sakes, and for the sake of naught else hath your creation been ordained.
Fear ye God and take heed lest forms and apparels debar you from recognizing Him. Render ye thanksgiving unto God that perchance He may deal mercifully with you.
This mortal life is sure to perish; its pleasures are bound to fade away and ere long ye shall return unto God, distressed with pangs of remorse, for presently ye shall be roused from your slumber, and ye shall soon find yourselves in the presence of God and will be asked of your doings These verses, clear and conclusive, are a token of the mercy of thy Lord and a source of guidance for all mankind. They are a light unto those who believe in them and a fire of afflictive torment for those who turn away and reject them.
XIILAUDED be Thy Name, 0 Lord our God! Thou art in truth the Knower of things unseen. Ordain for us such good as Thine all-embracing knowledge can measure. Thou art the sovereign Lord, the Almighty, the Best Beloved.
All praise be unto Thee, 0 Lord! We shall seek Thy grace on the appointed Day and shall put our whole reliance in Thee, Who art our Lord. Glorified art Thou, 0 God! Grant us that which is good and seemly that we may be able to dispense with everything but Thee. Verily Thou art the Lord of all worlds.
0 God! Recompense those who endure patiently in Thy days and, strengthen their hearts to walk undeviatingly in the path of Truth.
Grant then, 0 Lord, such goodly gifts as would enable them to gain admittance into Thy blissful Paradise.
Exalted art Thou, 0 LordGod. Let Thy heavenly blessings descend upon homes whose inmates have believed in Thee. Verily, unsurpassed art Thou in sending down divine blessings. Send forth, 0 God, such hosts as would render Thy faithful servants victorious. Thou dost fashion the created things through the power of Thy decree as Thou pleasest.
Thou art in truth the Sovereign, the Creator, the All-Wise.
Say: God is indeed the Maker of all things. He giveth sustenance in plenty to whomsoever He willeth. He is the Creator, the Source of alP beings, the Fashioner, the Almighty, the Maker, the All-Wise. He is the Bearer of the most excellent titles throughout the heavens and the earth and whatever lieth between them.
All do His bidding, and all the dwellers of earth and heaven celebrate His praise, and unto Him shall all return.
XIIIHow numerous the souls raised to life who were exposed to dire humiliation in Thy Path for exalting Thy Word and for glorifying
Thy divine Unity! Howprofuse the blood that bath been shed for the sake of Thy Faith to vindicate the authenticity of Thy divine Mission and to celebrate Thy praise!
How vast the possessions that were wrongfully seized in the Path of Thy love in order to affirm the loftiness of Thy sanctity and to extol Thy glorious Name!
How many the feet that have trodden upon the dust in order to magnify Thy holy Word and to extol Thy glory! How innumerable the voices that were raised in lamentation, the hearts that were struck with terror, the grievous woes that none other than Thee can reckon, and the adversities and afflictions that remain inscrutable to anyone except Thyself; all this to establish, 0 my God, the loftiness of Thy sanctity and to demonstrate the transcendent character of Thy glory.
These decrees were ordained by Thee so that all created things might bear witness that they have been brought into being for the sake of naught else but Thee.
Thou hast withheld from them the things that bring tranquillity to their hearts, that they might know of a certainty that whatever is associated with Thy holy Being is far superior to and exalted above aught else that would satisfy them; inasmuch as Thine indomitabk power pervadeth all things, and nothing can ever frustrate it. Indeed Thou hast caused these momentous happenings to come to pass that those who are endued with perception may readily recognize that they were ordained by Thee to demonstrate the loftiness of Thy divine Unity and to affirm the exaltation of Thy sanctity.
XIVGLORY be unto Thee, 0 Lord, Thou Who has brought into being all created things, through the power of Thy behest.
Page 19O Lord! Assist those who have renounced all else but Thee, and grant them a mighty victory.
Send down upon them, 0 Lord, the concourse of the angels in heaven and earth and all that is between, to aid Thy servants, to succour and strengthen them, to enable them to achieve success, to sustain them, to invest them with glory, to confer upon them honour and exaltation, to enrich them and to make them triumphant with a wondrous triumph.
Thou art their Lord, the Lord of the heavens and the earth, the Lord of all the worlds. Strengthen this Faith, 0 Lord, through the power of these servants and cause them to prevail over all the peoples of the world; for they, of a truth, are Thy servants who have detached themselves from aught else but Thee, and Thou verily art the protector of true believers.
Grant Thou, 0 Lord, that their hearts may, through allegiance to this, Thine inviolable Faith, grow stronger than anything else in the heavens and on earth and in whatsoever is between them; and strengthen, 0 Lord, their hands with the tokens of Thy wondrous power that they may manifest Thy power before the gaze of all mankind.
xv 0 LORD! Unto Thee I repair for refuge and toward all Thy signs I set my heart.
0 Lord! Whether travelling or at home, and in my occupation or in my work, I place my whole trust in Thee.
Grant me then Thy sufficing help so as to make me independent of all things, 0 Thou Who art unsurpassed in Thy mercy!
Bestow upon me my portion, 0 Lord, as Thou pleasest, and cause me to be satisfied with whatsoever Thou hast ordained for me.
Thine is the absolute authority to command.xv' 0 LORD! Thou art the Remover of every anguish and the Dispeller of every affliction. Thou art He Who banisheth every sorrow and setteth free every slave, the Redeemer of every soul. 0 Lord!
Grant deliverance through Thy mercy and reckon me among such servants of Thine as have gained salvation.
Page 203. 'ABDU'L-BAIIA Excerpts from Fire and Light1 0 LORD! These pure souls have ascended unto the realms on high. They have proved themselves nimble and sprightly in Thy service. They rid themselves of all, drew nigh unto Thee, and reached the Fountainhead of eternal life. They have now taken their flight from this world on the wings of Longing and have attained Thy kingdom of glory. Gladden Thou their hearts in the world of the unseen and let them abide beneath the shadow of the tree of hope. Bestow upon them Thine infinite mercy and grant them Thy boundless pardon. Make them the signs of Thy forgiveness and the manifestations of Thy forbearance and bounty.
Verily Thou art the Bestower, the Loving, the One Who forgiveth the sins of men.
0 LORD! These stainless souls grew contemptuous of the world of dust and have ascended unto Thy kingdom. From this dreary world they have winged their flight unto the realm of resplendent glory. Weary and dejected they languished in this puny nest, eagerly waiting to set out for their celestial habitation.
They moved swiftly and sped forth on their flight until they attained unto
Thee. 0 Forgiving One!Give them Thy bounty and be their comforter and companion.
Thou art the Pardoner, the Resplendent, the Bestower, the Lord of
Strength.o FORGIVING Lord! These birds that sang Thy praise left their mortal remains buried in desolate tombs, and ascended with the wings of their spirits unto the Frequented Fane. They freed themselves from-the the pitfalls of this world of dust, so that they might
Translated by Mr. HabibTaherzadeh, with the assistance of a Committee at the Bahá'í World Centre, from Fire and Light [Ndr viz AJar] (Hofheim-Langenbain: Bahá'í Verlag, 1982), a compilation from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi
Effendi.partake of immortal life in the realms above might seek shelter beneath the shadow of the tree of hope and abide in a nest upon the twigs of eternity in the Abh~i Paradise, the Kingdom on High, singing hymns of glory and praise in wondrous accents and sweet melodies.
0 Thou kind Lord! Thesesouls are the birds of Thy meadows, the nightingales of Thy rosegarden. Let them dwell within the orchard of Thy forgiveness and grant them access to the concourse wherein Thine eternal glory shineth resplendent, wherein Thy divine beauty is unveiled and perpetual communion with Thee is assured. Enable them to live eternally and to endure forevermore.
Thou art the Forgiving, the Bountiful, the All-Loving.
o THOU kind Lord! From the horizon of detachment Thou hast manifested souls that, even as the shining moon, shed radiance upon the Tealm of heart and soul, rid themselves from the attributes of the world of existence and hastened forth unto the kingdom of immortality.
With a drop from the ocean of Thy loving kindness Thou didst ofttimes moisten the gardens of their hearts until they gained incomparable freshness and beauty. The holy fragrance of Thy divine unity was diffused far and wide, shedding its sweet savours ovdr the entire world, causing the regions of the earth to be redolent with perfume.
Raise up then, 0 Spirit of Purity, souls who, like those sanctified beings, will become free and pure, will adorn the world of being with a new raiment and a wondrous robe, will seek no one else but Thee, tread no path except the path of Thy good-pleasure and will speak of naught but the mysteries of
Thy Cause.that this youth may attain unto that which is the highest aspiration of the holy ones. Endow him with the wings of Thy strengthening grace � wings of detachment and divine aid � that he may soar thereby into the atmosphere of Thy tender mercy, be able to partake of Thy
Page 21celestial bestowals, may become a sign of divine guidance and a standard of the Concourse on high.
Thou art the Potent, the Powerful, the Seeing, the Hearing.
He is GodYour letters have been received and despite the lack of a moment's spare time they were perused with the utmost attention.
Since it is impossible to answer each letter separately, I am writing you collectively, and this you will surely excuse.
Indeed as a result of the outrages perpetrated by the wicked, the attacks of the rapacious beasts and the onslaught of the ravening wolves, those blessed souls have endured woeful tribulations and have borne dire sufferings and distressing calamities, each of which calleth for weeping and wailing, for sighing and lamentation.
Were eyes to shed tears of blood, they would afford no consolation.
By reason of these tragic events 'Abdu'l-Bahá is assailed by despondency and anguish and is beset by bitter sadness and grief.
However, when we ponder carefully it will be observed that these unceasing trials and afflictions, these successive ordeals, though they break one's back, crush one's strength, and exhaust one's endurance, are among the greatest gifts of God, the Ever-Living, the All-Powerful, for He thereby accepteth the self-sacrifice which certain souls are prompted to make in His path, enabling them to attire their heads with the glorious crown of martyrdom and to establish themselves upon the throne of everlasting sovereignty.
Such hath ever been the qualification of them that enjoy near access unto God, such are the attributes of the pure in heart.
This life will surely pass away like unto a fleeting shadow and the gay trappings of this earthly existence will soon be rolled up.
The cup of bitter death will be borne round and the fire of anguish and despair will be set ablaze. The foundation of human life will crumble and this clamorous outcry and tumult will be hushed to silence and stillness.
Rejoicings will cease and pleasures will come to an end. The souls will set out empty-handed on their journey to the next world, compassed by intense grief and anguish.
Of the contemplations of bygone days, of the former life of comfort, joy and power not a single vestige will be left.
Utter perdition will prevail and everyone's grievous loss and deprivation will be laid bare.
However, such faithful friends as have laid down their lives as martyrs will be stirred by the waves of the ocean of ecstasy. They will be filled with joy and radiance through the revelation of heavenly glad-tidings, will receive divine confirmations of lovingkindness and will be sustained by the wondrous blessings of the peerless Lord in such wise that they will be moved to say: 'Praise be unto God that during our lifetime in this mortal world we became the target of darts in the path of God and were exposed to the dire peril of arrows and spears.
Every day a shaft of cruelty was hurled at us, and every moment we drank our fill from the draught of affliction, till eventually we hastened forth to the field of martyrdom for the sake of His love, and offered up our hearts and souls in the path of the All-Merciful'.
Indeed at that moment such souls will rejoice with exceeding gladness and will be so carried away by the joyful tidings of God that they will wing their flight to the heaven of eternal glory with the utmost ecstasy, exultation and spiritual blissfulness.
It is Our ardent hope now that We too may partake of a drop from this celestial cup and may receive a portion from this life-giving draught. Verily my Lord will vouchsafe His special favours unto whomsoever He pleaseth. No God is there but Him, the All-Bountiful, the Most Generous.
Now praise be to God that the remnants of the families of the martyrs stand like a mighty structure, firm, steadfast and immovable. Before the eyes of the peoples of east and west they have proved themselves to be wholly self-sacrificing, eager to rush forth to the field of martyrdom, denizens of the kingdom of His love, seated upon the throne of eternal glory, knights of the arena of sacrifice, and rulers of the realm of renunciation and constancy.
Therefore ye should not be sad or sorrowful, nor be oppressed with grief and despondency.
Page 22Rather it behoveth you to render Him thanksgiving for being the survivors of those illustrious souls, the remnants of them that are favoured at the Threshold of the Almighty. In truth these calamities and sufferings are a glorious diadem whose glittering gems will shed lustre upon ages and centuries to come.
He is the All-Glorious 0 YE friends of God! 0 ye favoured ones at the Threshold of the One Who transcen-deth all limitations!
That distinguished martyr, like unto a lucky star, shineth from the dawning-place of divine unity, luminous, resplendent and unmistakable, though mortal eyes are debarred from beholding him.
With his face beaming with light, with a luminous brow and enthralling beauty, he is calling aloud from the summit of the heaven of glory, saying: '0 my friends! 0 honoured ones! I quaffed the cup that brimmeth over with the consummate bounty of God and tasted the sweetness of the Abhd Kingdom even from the edge of the sword. I have divested myself of my wornout garments and raised up my banner in the realm of glory. From the world of dust till the heights of the heavens I spurred on the charger of martyrdom and from this luminous horizon I call out and say: "'0 my loved ones! The portals of His most great favour are flung open and the hearts of the people of BaiTh are dilated with joy. The chalice of His bounty is being borne round and the sweet melodies of the birds of the all-highest Paradise reach every receptive ear. The reviving breeze wafting from the garden of the Abh6 Kingdom is laden with perfume and everyone who hath suffered long is granted intimate communion within the retreats of the Lord of Truth. From the Threshold of the Almighty, the All-Wise, His summons hath gone forth unto all men, and from the realm of the Concourse on high the voice of glad-tidings: Happy are ye! is continually raised."' Know ye the excellence of this gracious favour, and esteem the value of this precious gift.
The outpourings of the mercy of God are copious like unto a boundless ocean and the manifold blessings of the Abh% Beauty are shed abroad even as the radiance of the shining moon. Were ye to know how great is the revelation of this bounty, how plenteous the gifts that have been vouchsafed, I swear by the ravishing beauty of the Abh6 Beloved and by the soul-stirring smile of that peerless Charmer of hearts, that ye would dance with delight in your eagerness to lay down your lives and would leap with joy as ye hasten to the field of sacrifice.
Ye would raise, with one band the brimful cup of self sacrifice, and with the other the laurel of the supreme bounty successfully won. Thus in the arena of renunciation while uttering the triumphal cry: Great is our blessedness!
Great is our blessedness! Happy are we! Happy are we!
ye will attain the desire of your hearts, the most glorious martyrdom.
0 ye friends of my heart and soul! Slumber not for a moment; relax not nor linger for an instant.
In a spirit of exceeding joy and gladness, with unswerving constancy in the Covenant and the Testament of the ever-forgiving Lord and in anticipation of attaining His luminous horizon, make the greatest effort to diffuse His sweet savours and bend your energies to promote His Cause. Be ye heralds of the Covenant, and bearers of the glad-tidings of
His Testament. Receiveyour portion from the breast of His grace, and with high resolve exert your utmost endeavour.
Be set aglow with the fire of the love of God, and raise the anthem of jubilation with the full enthusiasm of your heart and soul, so that ye may become intimately familiar with His Call and be initiated into divine knowledge and wisdom.
This world is the empire of the spiritual sovereignty of the Abh~ Beauty, and this realm is the seat where the mighty throne of the Kingdom of the
Exalted One [the Bábis established. Its effulgent sun, its shining moon never set, its brilliant stars never fade, its bright horizon is never overcast.
Its oceans surge and its birds soar in the heights.
Its streams are living waters, soft-flowing rivers of immortality.
Its trees are saplings planted in the orchard of the Lord of Glory.
Its dominion is the immensity of the realm of the placeless, and its territory the domain of the heart. Its abiding joy is attainment unto the presepec of the ever-forgiving Lord. Its sustenance
Page 23is the liberal bounty that His adored Beauty hath bestowed. Its chalice is the cup tempered at the Camphor Fountain, its designation, the Expanse of Eternal Life, a life that transcen-deth the limitations of countless ages.
0 my friends! This is the Call of the Covenant.
This is the Dispensation of the Well-Beloved of all mankind. This is the gift that the DayStar of the world bath graciously given.
This is the revelation of Ills incorruptible grace, the manifestation of His perpetual assistance, the evidence of the power that is born of God and the potency of the bestowals proffered by the All-Merciful.
What else do ye want?o REMNANTS of those effulgent lights! O children of those tabernacles of holiness! 0 remembrances of those resplendent spirits! Although your distinguished fathers surrendered their souls in the field of glorious martyrdom, hastened away from the abyss of this sordid world of dust unto the lofty heights of the Ablia Kingdom, and raised the banner of the most great bounty among the Concourse on high, ye have not been left behind, forsaken and lonely. Although your fathers have ascended unto the realms above, Almighty 'God, more affectionate than a father, is ever present.
Indeed could ye but know how dear ye are in the presence of your true and heavenly Father, ye would stretch forth your wings and take your flight.
And upon ye, 0 loved ones of God, be His glory!He is the All-Glorious o OFFSHOOT of him who in a transport of delight drank of the chalice of martyrdom in the path of God! That essence of being is so graciously confirmed in this day with boundless grace and favour at the court of the sovereign Lord of the seen and the unseen that the embodiments of spiritual majesty and the exponents of true glory are eagerly yearning to render service unto him. Although to outward seeming he was put to a shameful death, in reality he is established upon the throne of unfading exaltation.
The day is approaching when kings will seek blessing from his dust and all heads will bow down in his honour, the day when all men will express humility at the revelation of the majesty and grandeur with which the martyrs are invested and all faces will be downcast before the indomitable power of their testimony.
If such is what will take place in this visible world, then imagine what it will be in the spiritual realms of God, so exalted above the comprehension of all beings.
0 THOU who art seeking the good-pleasure of the Lord of Glory! I have no time to spare.
I am completely absorbed in thinking of, in meditating upon and in lamenting for those distinguished martyrs � may My life be offered up as a sacrifice for them.
On the one hand this grievous calamity hath, like unto a dagger, inflicted upon me so' profound an injury that no salve can soothe, nor can any balm assuage; while on the other the scene of sacrifice is seen bedecked with such splendid pageantry, such marvellous festivity that the holy ecstasy of its wine seizeth forevermore the minds of those that are godly and spiritual.
Moreover, the Concourseon high and the dwellers in the Abh6 Kingdom are now expoundIng the mystery of sacrifice, the main purport of all heavenly Scriptures.
Therefore this hath to some degree relieved my grief. In short, the day is approaching when the meads of the Cause of God, having been watered with blood, will have put forth roses and lilies in such profusion that East and West will become fragrant and North and
South perfumed. PeaceQ YE who have been wronged in the path of God! The loved ones of the Almighty have always been exposed to the dire oppression and tyranny of the people of iniquity, and His chosen ones have continually suffered woeful cruelties at the hand of the perfidious.
The friends of God have always quaffed the cup of adversity proffered by the hand of the immortal CupBearer. They have been made targets for the darts and spears of the curses,
Page 24accusations and reviling that the rebellious and the wicked hurled at them, and have been persecuted and ill-treated by their opponents among the people of the world. Indeed these tribulations are the very draught with which the Well � Beloved of the world was inebriated and these calamities are but the effulgent light whereby the luminous brow of the DayStar of the world was illumined.
Therefore think not that this fierce opposition and cruelty hath brought humiliation and abasement upon you. Nay, I swear by God, besides Whom there is none other God, they redound to imperishable glory and unfading bounty.
Indeed this persecution is a cooling draught and these trials a source of delight. This poison is but sugar and this venom the essence of sweetness.
This stab in the breast is a soothing balm to heart and soul, and this bitter medicine a healing remedy. One's sense of taste must be unimpaired to perceive its sweetness and to savour its relish. Otherwise to a bilious patient sugar and honey taste more bitter than venom, and to the diabetic a sweet drink is more harmful than deadly poison.
Meanwhile, 0 ye loved ones of God, let not these sufferings grieve you, nor let your hearts be sore with sorrow. Ere long will all take a pride in them and will seek distinction and glory in both worlds. One will say: In one period I endured hardships by reason of my faith and certitude in the one true God and was recompensed with certain bounties. Another will state: Because of the love I cherished for the Best Beloved of the world, I once quaffed a deadly poison like unto a cup of eternal life and since then I have received His perpetual grace. Yet another will exclaim: In the path of servitude at the Threshold of the Almighty I was cast into prison and gained boundless favours in return. Another will declare: As a result of the illumination I received from the DayStar of ethereal glory I was made captive and held fast in chains and stocks, for which exceptional rewards were lavished on me. Another will say: My heart was set ablaze with the fire of His love in such wise that I hastened to the field of sacrifice, and kissed the edge of the sword.
Another will state: The blessed body of my illustrious father was hacked to pieces in the arena of sacrifice for the sake of my glorious
Lord.Another will say: My honoured grandfatheT was inebriated with the cup of martyrdom which the CupBearer of God's eternal Covenant proffered unto him and he became the recipient of manifold favours and bestowals. Still another will exclaim: Our blessed household was ruined in the path of the Adored One. And still another will exclaim: Our innocent ancestors were made homeless for having promoted the Word of God. In short everyone, well-pleased, jubilant and leaping with joy will recount these events at length and will glory in them before the other peoples and kindreds of the earth.
Then it will become unmistakably clear and manifest, even to outward seeming, what a great bounty, what a supreme blessing these afflictions and trials in the path of the Blessed Perfection had truly been.
Therefore it behoveth you, 0 loved ones of God, to raise up your hands in thanksgiving unto the Threshold of the pcerless One and say: 0 one and oniy God, 0 matchless Creator. Praised and glorified art Thou for having placed this splendid crown upon the brow of these helpless ones, and this mantle of eternal glory on the shoulders of these indigent ones. The rays of Thy sanctity fell upon bodies of clay and the lights of the world of eternity shone forth. A flame of Thy bestowal from the enkindled fire appeared and gave the hearts eternal life.
Thanks be to Thee for this blessing and this bestowal and this bounty with which Thou hast distinguished these helpless ones. Thou art the Generous, the Merciful and the All-Loving.
0 THOU who art resigned to His irrevocable Decree!
Render thanks unto God for having attained so sublime a station. Thou art treading the path of His good-pleasure; thou hast surrendered thyself unreservedly to that which is ordained and destined by Him; thou hast placed thy whole trust in Him and manifested unswerving constancy and fortitude in the face of this grievous calamity. Thus indeed doth it beseem the loved ones of God to conduct themselves, so that when they are beset by hardships or hemmed in by dire affliction they
Page 25may be able to comfort others and impart consolation unto them, their faces may glow with the light of radiant acquiescence and they may deliver to the flames the veil of moaning, sighing and lamentation, inasmuch as resort to sadness and grief in the midst of tribulation is but an indication of lack of assurance and certitude.
In truth were man to attain the stage of certitude in his spiritual development, no affliction could ever depress his spirits, though he would undoubtedly be influenced by reason of his human susceptibilities.
Nevertheless, man's inner being will be so revived by the breeze of divinely-ordained woes and trials that the dust of wailing and lamentation will entirely subside and the light of submissive resignation unto Ills Will shall shine forth like unto a radiant morn.
And upon thee be greetings and praise.He is the All-Glorious o YE who are inebriated with the draught of His
Covenant!It is time to pass beyond the desolate wilds of remoteness, so that ye may reach the retreats of the Beloved, drink your fill from the wine of the bestowals of the All-Merciful, hold a heavenly festival, deck forth the stage for a spiritual celebration and, to the strains of harp and lute and the melodies of the Concourse on high and of the songsters in the meads of holiness, break into sweet lays and wondrous tunes in praise and glorification of the AbhA Beauty.
0 ye friends of God! Let not the cavils of the foolish grieve you nor the tribulation of this world dismay you. Indeed, the motivating impulse whereby the sweet savours of God are diffused throughout the world is none but the suffering that befalleth His loved ones and the dire troubles that constantly touch His chosen ones.
Consider a while, the greater the affliction they suffered, the higher was raised the banner of devotion and faithfulness, and the more grievous the trials they endured, the more abundant were the outpourings of grace from the Abha Beauty. For it is during the darksome night that the radiance of light is conspicuous and the illumination of the lamp most perceptible. Therefore enlightened faces when exposed to dire hardships shine forth with the utmost radiance and brightness, and the hearts of His chosen ones when held in chains and fetters are filled with exceeding joy, gladness and ecstasy.
In the Qayyumu'1-AsmAthe Exalted One [the Báb addresseth the Abha Beauty in these words: '0 Thou our great and omnipotent Master! I have sacrificed myself wholly for Thee and have yearned for naught but martyrdom in Thy path.' Ponder ye carefully. The highest aspiration cherished by Him Who is the Leader of the righteous and the DayStar of divine splendour was to lay down His life for the sake of the One Who doeth whatsoever He willeth. Thus it is clear and manifest what should be the supreme aspiration and longing of the loved ones of
God.0 SERVANTS of the one true God! 0 handmaids of the
Merciful!'From the outset love was rebellious and bloodthirsty, So as to put every stranger to flight.'
One of the requisites of true love is willingness to bear every suffering and tribulation that hath occurred in the past or may occur in the future.
Hence a passionate lover is always stained with blood, and he that yearneth to meet the Beloved a constant wanderer. How well is it said: 'The worldly wise who garner the ears of grain are unaware of LayI6's secret, For unto none was accorded the great glory but Majn6n � he who set the whole harvest afire.'
Thus throughout all ages and centuries the righteous have been made a target to the darts of adversity and have fallen victim to the swords of oppression.
At one time they quaffed the cup of dire ordeal, at another they tasted the venoffi of bitter woe. Not for a moment did they enjoy rest and comfort, nor did they repose for a fleeting breath upon the couch of tranquillity. Rather did they endure agonizing torment and patiently carry the
Page 26burden of hardship that every oppressor was wont to impose upon them.
Having been consigned to dungeons and prisons, they severed themselves from the world and all its peoples.
In this way most of the favoured ones of God offered up their lives as martyrs in the field of sacrifice.
He Who is the resplendent Morn of divine guidance, the
Exalted One [the Bábsank below the horizon of sacrifice. Quddils sought companionship with the Beloved through glorious martyrdom. Mull4 Husayn opened a new gate to the field of martyrdom.
Vahid distinguished himself as a peerless figure in the arena of sacrifice.
Zan-jdni [Hnjjatj offered up his life as a martyr upon the plain of tribulation.
The King of Martyrs hastened forth to the place of sacrifice. The Beloved of Martyrs was enraptured with ineffable gladness when he offered up his life for the sake of God.
Ashraf attained the heights of honour as he unflinchingly set his face towards the arena of sacrifice. BadP, as he breathed his last, exclaimed: 'Magnified be my Lord, the Most Glorious!'
The martyrs of the land of Y~ [Yazd] drank their fill with relish from the draught of glorious martyrdom, and the martyrs of Shfr6z laid down their lives in the arena of ardent love to the tune of sweet and wondrous melodies.
Those massacred in the hind of Nayrfz were inebriated with the brimful cup of sacrifice, and the martyrs of Tabriz were seized with ecstatic joy and unleashed new energies in the field of sacrifice. Those who renounced their lives in M~zandarAn exclaimed: ~O Lord! Destine for us this cup that brimmeth over with the choice wine'; while the martyrs of I~fah6n laid down their lives with utmost joy and radiance.
In brief, there is not a spike whose tip is not tinged with the blood of the martyrs, nor is there a place not dyed crimson with the blood of His ardent lovers. The purpose is to enable you to know that one of the tenets of those that thirst after Him and the highest aspiration of such as long to behold His face is to endure hardship, to submit to trials and martyrdom in the path of the Lord of grace.
Therefore it behoveth you to render thanks unto God for the bounty of having drunk your fill from this draught and for having tasted deadly poison in the path of the Best-Beloved.
Indeed far from being a poison this is pure honey and sugar, and far from being bitter in taste, this is the essence of sweetness.
0, how eager am I to bear affliction in the path of God! 0, what a great joy to suffer hardship for His love! 0, how blessed the man who tasteth the bitterness of woe, and how well is it with him who is swept into the ocean of tribulation in his eagerness to attain the presence of God! It behoveth you to offer thanksgiving at every moment, inasmuch as ye became the target of atrocities in the path of divine guidance and were exposed to grievous oppressions for the sake of the love ye cherish for the Almighty.
In truth those that are guided solely by their reason would be unable to perceive the sweetness of this cup, but the ardent lOvers will be overjoyed and enraptured by the holy ecstasy which this wondrous draught doth produce. Every discerning observer who hath gazed upon the countenance of that graceful Beloved was prompted to lay down his life as a martyr, and every receptive ear which had hearkened unto that celestial melody suffered its listener to become so enravished with joy as to offer up himself without hesitation as a sacrifice. The moth which is animated by love will burn its wings as it flitteth round the lamp of God and the phoenix of tender affection will be set ablaze by the fire of ardent desire. No unfamiliar bird can partake of the beat of this Fire, nor can the fowls that dwell upon the dust plunge forth into this heavenly Ocean. However, praise be unto God, ye are the leviathans of this ocean, the birds of this pasture, the moths of this lamp, the ni~htin-gales of this meadow.
And upon ye rest the glory of the Most Glorious!0 FAITHFUL friends in the AbbA Beauty! By reason of the oppression and atrocities that have befallen those two souls whom the people of the world have wronged ye have raised the cry of lamentation and grieving and have wept and sighed bitterly. This is meet and right for those two gazelles of the meadow of oneness were held fast in the talons of ferocious beasts, and those two nightingales of the rosegarden of divine unity
Page 27were gripped in the claws of depraved ravens. There is no doubt that as a result of those dire woes and sufferings the hearts of the friends of God have been set aflame like unto a candle and they bemoan their grief with tearful eyes.
I swear by God besides Whom there is none other God, were ye to scrutinize carefully, ye would observe that every tree, every rock or clod of earth hat wept sore over this grievous injustice and hostility, and is wasted away by reason of this world-consuming fire.
Indeed those wronged ones had never hurt the feelings of even a moth, nor had they ever put forth the hand of molestation toward a helpless ant. They were innocent of any crime and sought no refuge except the threshold of the Ever-Living,
Self-Subsisting Lord.They had committed no error save that of having shaken off their slumber, and had incurred no guilt but that of becoming captive to His musk-laden tresses. Their grave offence was to display a glimpse of the beauty of the heavenly Peacock.
To do this they spread out the plumage of sanctity and intoned sweet melodies even as the warbling of a nightingale. This was the only guilt they had committed; their faithfulness was regarded as a crime, and their sincerity as deceit.
Yet notwithstanding their manifold expressions of love and fellowship, the ravening wolves attacked those two radiant, Joseph-like beings and ripped open not oniy their shirts but their breasts. Indeed so vehement was their hatred and rancour that they unhesitatingly shed their sacred blood. Ere long will God punish those wicked-doers, both in this world and hereafter for that which they have wrought and will bring dire humiliation upon them in this life and in the next. Verily God is the Avenger, the Almighty.
As to those blessed souls: they will, even as the doves of holiness, wing their flight unto the Concourse on high and in the meads of the Abh~ Kingdom will burst into melodious songs, whose strains of sanctity will exhilarate every attentive ear, and whose wondrous accents will be heard at all times by the people of abiding faithfulness.
What gift is there greater than this? What blessing is mightier than shedding these few drops of blood in the path of the peerless Lord? What felicity is more meritorious than the bounty of being aided by the mystery of sacrifice to consecrate themselves to the love of the Abh6 Beauty? May my life be offered up for those two martyrs; may my whole being be sacrificed for their sake; may my heart be laid down as a ransom for them. Verily, this is a supreme favour, this is a most glorious felicity.
And upon you be salutation and praise.IN these days when the wicked have created violent disturbances and the opponents have bestirred themselves, they have, in every region stretched forth the hand of aggression and raised the banner of injustice and animosity.
In every locality they have launched attacks against the oppressed.
As is currently known this grievous assault hath assumed nationwide proportions.
In IsfaMn they aroused a great commotion; in Rasht the foundations of the city were shaken, and in Qazvin they committed manifest atrocities.
Indeed throughout the country agitation is aroused through vehement hostility and dust is stirred up by a raging tempest of hate.
And all this notwithstanding that everyone is fully aware that the friends of God are those whom the people of the world have oppressed, and they who are the well-wishers of all kindreds and nations.
They tread the path of righteousness and seek to foster amity and fellowship with all mankind. They are contemptuous of their own selves, and inebriated with the wine of the love of the Almighty. They are sincere and steadfast, shining and radiant. They speak forth, they are competent. They defend the helpless, and are a refuge to the fugitive, an asylum to the poor, a haven for the distressed, a remedy for the afflicted and a balm to the wounds of the needy. They eagerly seek to live in perfect peace with the warlike and quarrelsome tribes, and to those who oppose them, they show forth composure, serenity and kindness.
Be not saddened and grieved by reason of the atrocities the enemies have perpetrated. The day is fast approaching when the light of love will have dispelled the darkness of animosity and the splendours of the sun of truth will have driven away the gloomy night. This spirit of heavenly fellowship, this uprightness of the friends of God will promote
Page 28the wellbeing and tranquillity of all mankind. Warring factions will become peaceful, opposing kindreds friendly, hostile peoples reconciled and aggressive nations united. This is the imperishable glory of the human world. This is the supreme illumination in the kingdom of the
Lord of Mercy.The divines in that land have put forth the hand of aggression and have surpassed in cruelty the Pharaohs who executed their victims upon the stakes, and the people of Nimrod Thamad and 'Ad. They have closed the eye of justice and with the darts of tyranny have pierced the hearts of the oppressed. They have set on fire the harvest of the wronged ones, and deemed it expedient to inflict upon them every cruelty, molestation and torture, that perchance by so doing the divinely kindled fire might be extinguished, the seething and roaring of the ocean of God's bounty might subside, the outpourings of the clouds of His lovingkindness be stopped, the meteor of heavenly guidance be hindered from shedding its radiance upon those regions, the reviving breezes of divine blessing which blow from the direction of His tender mercy be withheld, the fragrance of the rose of His gracious providence may no longer be diffused from the garden of divine unity, the light of its brilliant orb be obscured, and the secrets of the manifestation of heavenly bestowals be forgotten.
Alas! Alas! Those divines are unaware that the waves of the ocean of glory will surge high and the pervasive power of the Cause of God will acquire unprecedented glory.
Its orb will shine resplendent and the effulgent light of its meteor will perm~ate the world. Its spark will develop into a flame, its luminous star into a sun, and its drop into a downpour and a flood. Its grain will grow into a harvest, its glittering gem will sparkle in every gathering, its fame will be noised abroad, and the anthem of its glorification will reach the highest heavens.
As to these servants and homeless ones: We were so inebriated with our fill from the draught of the love of God that we yearned to drink, deep of that wine of God's
Covenant.Thus chalice in hand, dancing and leaping with joy, we hastened into the arena of sacrifice.
We offered supplications begging for adversity.We exposed our breasts as a target for the shafts of oppression and with the whole affection of our hearts and souls we welcomed the sword of injustice.
This body is the abode of ills and this darkened self a cage to every warbling bird. One's corporeal frame shall become dust and a target to dreadful darts. Therefore if it were offered up in the field of sacrifice for the sake of God, no favour or blessing could be greater than this. Earthly possessions will certainly be lost, and what hath been accumulated will be dispersed; excessive riches will be cast adrift, and the flush of fortune will wither away and fade into nothingness; immense treasures will be squandered and the wealth gathered up by the wind will eventually be blown away by the wind.
Hence, better is it for one's riches to be pillaged and plundered in the path of God, than be a booty of the changes and chances of the world.
As to lofty buildings, imposing mansions, and magnificent palaces: every inhabited and flourishing place will become desolate and every mighty edifice reduced to ruin. Therefore, how much better it is for these habitations which are more fragile than a spider's web to be wrecked and ruined for the Love of the sovereign Lord of the Kingdom. For if a house of clay be destroyed, there will be reared in its stead a glorious mansion within the soul-uplifting immensity of the realms above. If one's home and dwelling-place be laid waste in this transitory dust-heap, one will be provided with a matchless and incomparable nest within the rosegarden of eternity.
Thus all that is related to the loved ones of God, their former glory, their present services, the grievous sufferings they have borne � all will, even as carving on slabs of emerald, be recorded on the scrolls of the Abhh Kingdom, and therefrom will they shed their radiance upon all the worlds of God. Then when that light sheddeth its rays upon the tongues of the world of existence, it giveth rise to expressions of praise and glorification; when directed towards human hearts, it evoketh the memory of noble traits, deeds and virtues; when reflected upon the pages of the world, it becometh the object of the verse: 'and give
Page 29me renown among posterity;'1 it illumineth the surface of the earth, it is made manifest in the form of consecrated spots and sacred Shrines.
XVIIo SERVANT of Bah& It behoveth thee to render thanks unto the Threshold of the Lord of Oneness for the afflictions that have befallen thee, inasmuch as the adversities that are borne in the path of the one true God are but the revelations of His tender mercy, and any such tribulation is the essence of His bounty.
This life is like unto vapour in a desert and the existence of every thing is as a mere illusion, evanescent and bound to extinction. That which endureth is the spiritual reality, it is the shining essence; it is life eternal, it is undisturbed felicity, unfading and perpetual, flourishing and plenteous. The revolution of cycles is powerless to ravage it, nor can the succession of ages and centuries molest it. Therefore, this divinely-ordained reality, this heavenly sign, must needs be preserved.
And the amazing thing is this that the most effective means whereby this Light of truth is safeguarded and protected is the onslaught of the enemies, grievous ordeals and manifold hardships. The globe of this lamp is the tempestuous winds and the safety of this ship lieth in the violence of tumultuous waves.
Therefore one must show forth gratitude in the face of Job-like afflictions and must evince joy and pleasure at the unyielding cruelty of evildoers, inasmuch as such tribulations lead to immortality, and serve as the supreme factor to attract His consummate blessings and infinite bestowals.
And upon thee be the glory of the Most Glorious.0 SPIRITUAL friends and loved ones of the All-Merciful!
In every Age believers are many but the tested are few. Render ye praise unto God that ye are tested believers, that ye have been subjected to every kind of trial and ordeal in the path of the supreme Lord. In the fire of ordeals your faces have flushed aglow like unto pure gold, and amidst the flames of cruelty and oppression which the wicked had kindled, ye suffered yourselves to be consumed while remaining all the time patient. Thus ye have initiated every believer into the ways of steadfastness and fortitude. You showed them the meaning of forbearance, of constancy, and of sacrifice, and what leadeth to dismay and distress. This indeed is a token of the gracious providence of God and a sign of the infinite favours vouchsafed by the Abh6 Beauty Who bath singled out the friends of that region to bear grievous sufferings in the path of His love.
Outwardly they are fire, but inwardly light and an evidence of His glory. Ye have been examples of the verse: 'Let them that are men of action follow in their footsteps.' 'And to this let those aspire who aspire unto bliss.'2 In short, the day is approaching when the gay trappings of this earthly Life will have been rolled up and the sorry plight and adversity of the people of iniquity will have waxed more grievous than those experienced by the oppressed. The inmates of palaces will have been subjected to the confinement of graves, and such as occupy the seats of honour will have fallen upon the dust of misery and abasement.
However, those who have offered up their lives as martyrs will shine resplendent even as a candle, and the effulgent glory of the friends of God will shed its radiance from the horizon of eternity like unto a brilliant star. Behold how wondrous is the bounty whereufito ye have attained. Ye have followed the example set by Him Whom the world hath wronged. Like unto the DayStar of the world ye have outwardly suffered an eclipse by reason of the injustice the people of malice have wrought. However, far from an eclipse, this is naught but splendour; far from concealment, this is naught but the defeat of the legions.
Ere long ye shall behold the shining light of the one true God shedding its radiance upon the whole world, while the heedless ones find themselves in the darkness of extinction.
In the estimation of the loved ones of God abasement is exaltation itself, and affliction
1 Qur'an 26:84 2 Qur'anEarthly glory and comfort are but a mirage of illusion, while in the realm of the spirit heavenly gifts are everlasting and imperishable.
The lights in the nether world may be bright, but they are put out at the break of dawn, whereas the stars that shine in the heaven of the love of God will sparkle continually throughout ages and centuries.
Such is everlasting glory; such is infinite bounty; such is life eternal; and such is boundless grace.
And upon you rest salutation and praise.THE legions of the world cannot withstand this mighty Army. Its weapons are divine knowledge and assurance, and its sword is its world-encircling light. Physical powers are capable of resisting earthly armies, but are impotent before the onslaught of the hosts of heaven.
Thousands of times this hath been tried and proven.
The wicked people of Thamfid who manifested fierce hostility towards Sdlih were unable to withstand His indomitable power. Likewise, the tribes of 'Ad perpetrated revolting outrages, but the spiritual sword of H6d remained unsheathed and the divinely-kindled light proved unquenchable.
Although the clash of the arms of the wretched Nimrod reached the ears of all peoples, he failed to suppress the glory of Abraham. The misguided Copts marshalled their troops against Moses, yet could not engage Him in battle. The Jews who gainsaid God's Cause aroused violent commotion, regarded the Beauty of the
Promised One [Jesus]as a fire no longer bright, stined up fierce opposition and launched a campaign of attacks and aggression against Him, but in the end their opposition proved of no avail. The leaders of 1-JijAz inflicted griev-OHS ordeals and atrocities upon the Prince of Mecca [Muhammad], tormented and injured Him as much as it lay in their power, until their assaults grew so vehement that the Lord of the righteous migrated unto Medina where He proclaimed the Word of God. Later various kindreds and peoples leagued themselves together, waged tribal war and encircled that focal Centre of Light from every direction, but failed to subdue Him.
This is but a brief account of past experiences.Nevertheless it is highly deplorable that subsequent generations, wholly unaware of this outstanding truth, still seek to oppose the Beauty of the Promised One with utter heedlessness.
They have armed themselves with a myriad darts of iniquity and swords of transgression and are engaged in unrelenting attacks. Ere long will they realize the grievous mistake they have committed.
They seek to compress the unlimited ocean; they try to stop forthwith the wondrous outpourings of the vernal showers.
But alas for them! The reviving breeze that bloweth from the direction of the Abh6 Kingdom cannot be halted and the musk-laden fragrance of faithfulness that wafteth from the rosegarden of the All-Glorious can never be arrested.
During the ministry of Christ the Cause of God did not pass beyond the regions of Jerusalem.
Whatever else was achieved came afterwards. Likewise in the days of the Prince of Mecca � may the souls of the favoured ones of God be offered up for His sake � the reputation of His sublime Faith was confined to the boundaries of Hij~iz. However, the fame of this glorious Cause reached the east and the west during the lifetime of the Blessed Beauty, and Tablets were revealed for the crowned heads of the world.
This blameworthy people have already heard and Learned how the wicked grievously failed in their opposition towards the Prince of the righteous, yet they are still heedless.
This blessed, this mighty Cause which hath stirred the whole earth to its foundation, cannot be restrained by the hostility that these bands of weaklings have unleashed. Ere long will they find themselves in manifest loss.
IN/JAY my life be offered up for the dust of these martyrs; may my entire being be a sacrifice for the blood of the chosen ones of God, they who enjoy near access to His exalted Threshold, who are attracted to the summit of transcendent glory, and established upon the seat of truth in the all-glorious Kingdom.
0 ye who have suffered martyrdom! 0 trustees of His Revelation! 0 distinguished men of virtue!
0 illustrious and noble ones! May my inmost reality, my spirit, my entire
Page 31being and whatsoever God hath bestowed upon n-ic through His bounty and grace be laid down as a sacrifice for you.
I bear witness that ye are the radiant stars, the gleaming meteors, the resplendent full moons, the brilliant orbs in this wondrous Revelation.
Well is it with you, 0 birds that warble in the gardens of divine unity; blessed are ye, 0 lions that roar in the forests of detachment; happy are ye, 0 Leviathans that swim in the waters of His oneness. Verily ye are the signs of divine guidance, ye are the banners that flutter in the field of sacrifice.
I beseech God to bless me, through the breezes of holiness wafted from that glorious centre of sacrifice, and to quicken me with the reviving breath of heavenly communion blowing from that blessed region.
I beg you to intercede on my behalf in the presence of the ever-living, sovereign Lord that He may graciously suffer me to quaff my fill from the choice sealed wine, may grant me a portion from the unbounded felicity that ye enjoy and may exhilarate my heart by giving me to drink from your chalice which is ternpered at the Camphor Fountain.
Verily my Lord is merciful and forgiving. By bestowing the bounty of sacrifice in this realm of ens-tence, He aideth whomsoever He willeth with whatsoever He pleaseth.
And upon you rest the glory of the Most Glorious!Excerpts from Fire and Light1 I Fin the days to come should adversities of various kinds encircle that land and national upheavals aggravate its present calamities intensliy the repeated afflictions, and darken still more the horizons of that great country, you should not feel sorrowful and grieved, nor be deflected even to the extent of a hair's breadth from your straight path and chosen highway, which is to vigilantly and persistently exert your utmost efforts to increase the number of your institutions, to consolidate their foundations, to proclaim their existence and to add to their fair name and glory.
The liberation of this meek and innocent band of His followers from the fetters of bondage and the talons of the people of tyranny and enmity must needs be preceded by the clamour and agitation of the masses. The realization of glory, of tranquillity, and of true security for the people of Bah6 will necessitate opposition, aggression and commotion on the part of the people of malevolence and iniquity.
Therefore, should the buffeting waves of the sea of tribulation intensify and the storms of trials and tribulations assail that meek congregation from all six sides, know of a certainty and without a moment's hesitation that the time for its deliverance has drawn nigh, that the age-old promise of its assured glory will soon be fulfilled, and that at Long last the means are provided for the persecuted people of BaM in that land to attain salvation and supreme triumph. A firm step and an unshakeable resolve are essential so that the remaining All but No. I are excerpts translated by Mr. Habib Taherzadeh, with the assistance of a Committee at the Baha World Centre, from Fire and Light [A/dr va
Nar] (Hofheim-Langenhain:Bab~'f Verlag, 1982), a compilation from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá
BaM and Shoghi Effendi.stages may come to pass and the cherished ideals of the people of Bah6 may be realized on the loftiest summits, and be made manifest in astounding brilliance. 'Such is God's method, and no change shalt thou find in His method.
'2 IN this stern battle of life the members of this oppressed community, aided by the power of the Kingdom, and fortified by heavenly determination, by divinely-imparted hopes and by glad-tidings from on high, are standing ready and alert to face any commotion or calamity.
Unrelenting tribulations and increasing obstacles shall not make them flinch, nor cause them dismay or grief. They know with full certitude that as the horizons of the world grow darker, as its agitation becomes more severe and the prevailing chaos and confusion more widespread, the dawn of the Promised Day will correspondingly draw nearer, and the means for the splendours of His light to be shed abroad will be more readily provided.
However, the fulfilment of glad-tidings, so glorious and heart-uplifting, must needs be heralded by awesome and distressing events, inasmuch as the realization of these irrevocable and divinely-ordained promises depends on the awakening and the stirring of the conscience of the entire human race, while this cannot be achieved save through the occurrence of unnumbered afflictions, manifold convulsions and growing adversities.
And it is precisely for this reason that the people of Baha are nourished from the draught of certitude and are alive and active through the spirit of hope. They strive diligently, are alert and watchful, steadfast and vigilant.
Withheart and soul they exert their effortst They will not allow the pressure of calamities gradually to impair the foundation of the Cause of God, or vitiate the essence of its divinely-revealed principles; nor will they permit the wickedness and the prevalence of crime to nullify or eclipse the radiance of the cardinal laws of their Faith; or the aggressive hands of the opponents and the machinations of the ungodly to inflict harm upon this holy Revelation, or the confused theories and ideologies that prevail in these days to create the least deviation from the straight path of God...
IIIhas ordained that those innocent victims of tyranny should once again be oppressed in the clutches of the wrongdoers, and the Will of God, the Ever-Living, the Almighty, has purposed that manifold tribulations and adversities should, like a torrential flood, descend successively upon that wronged community. In these years of dire stress our Lord, the All-Wise, has, as a preliminary measure for the fulfilment of His gracious pledge and in conformity with His undeviating principle, kindled a raging fire of trials in that country.
Be not sorely grieved or dismayed. This is an effective means, preordained and irrevocable, which has been provided by the Causer of causes, through the operation of His immutable Will, and the exercise of His unquestionable power, and in the face of the machinations of every malicious opponent, so that the glory of His Cause may presently be unveiled before the assemblage of man and, in the days to come, His Faith may be rendered victorious and become securely established in that blessed land.
Let nothing frustrate or discourage you. Immerse yourselves in the study of the Holy Tablets. I testify befqre God, Bahá'u'lláh asserts, to the greatness, the inconceivable greatness of this Revelation. Again~and again have We, in most of Our Tablets, borne witness to this truth, that mankind may be roused from its heedlessness. In another connection this utterance has been revealed: How great, how very great is this Cause. The day is fast approaching when its stupendous glory will have been made manifest and evident.
This heavenly Faith cannot be compared to the transitory things of the world of existence, nor can it be identified with or likened to physical and earthly forces. Its tabernacle has been raised through dire oppression, its advancement and promulgation depend upon spiritual and mysterious agencies, and factors that are awesome, alarming and totally unexpected. The Tongue of the Ancient of Days, the Comforter of the people of the world says: Naught hath been ordained by the finger of His decree for His loved ones except that which is profitable unto them. We beseech Him to graciously enable them to show forth patience and fortitude that haply trials and ordeals might not deflect them from the path of God, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
Through the insults and indignities suffered by the well-assured and faithful maidservants of God, portals of everlasting honour will be flung open before the face of the women in Persia, nay everywhere in the world, and as a result of the beatings, torture and cruelties inflicted upon the newly converted Bahá'í youth, a new spirit of liveliness and freshness will stream forth through the veins and arteries of the temple of the
Cause of God. The Lamentationof the disconsolate who have been made homeless as a result of this grievous event will reach the ears of the spiritually-minded in the west and its powerful repercussions will release a fresh energy in the world of existence, will forge new spiritual ties, and lay bare the essence of this heavenly Revelation before the eyes of all men, be they friends or strangers.
Although the sufferings that have befallen the friends during the past few years were not as frequent, as grievous and widespread as the successive waves of afflictions that have been let loose in recent months, yet notwithstanding this and as a direct consequence of the pangs of anguish and devastating sorrow that have crushed the souls of the friends in Persia, the cherished Cause of God has blossomed forth astonishingly and is advancing with a fresh momentum throughout the five continents of the globe.
While Persia remains heedless and unaware and its sorely-tried friends are beset by grievous repressions and cruelties, the hosts of
Page 34life, the bearers of the divine Message of salvation are moving far and wide over the extensive territories of the free world, and bending their energies to capture the citadels of men's hearts. The motivating impulse, the driving power which is responsible for the successful achievements of these sanctified beings is derived from the heat and flame and the influence released through the relentless persecutions and ordeals which the pure-hearted friends in Persia are enduring. Wherefore has the Master said: When the light of God is ignited in the East it will shed illumination upon the West and its evidences will become visible both in the North and in the South.
0 spiritual brethren!Although the horizons of that country are dark, and manifold hardships and tribulations are continuous and unremitting; although the foundations of that realm are sorely shaken, and the minds of its people in a state of confusion; although there is no peace or protection for the righteous, and the unbelievers are relentless in their hatred and animosity, this anguish and distress, this abasement and ignorance will not endure, nor will this cruelty, captivity, agitation and disturbance persist. The day is fast approaching when God will have manifested from this horizon such light and power as will cause the sun to be darkened, will obliterate every trace of them that have turned away disdainfully from God, and will illumine the faces of the sincere.
It well beseems you to direct your eager gaze to the glad-tidings that have been revealed by the Pen of the Most High and to let the shining prophecies that are contained in His Most Holy Book and in other Tablets illumine your expectant eyes. Can one imagine a pronouncement sweeter, an utterance and promise more perfect, more appropriate, and more glorious than these conclusive verses that have streamed forth from the repository of the Abh6 Pen? Exalted is His Word: Let nothing grieve thee, 0 land of Td [Tihr6n],for God hath chosen thee to be the source of the ]oy of all mankind. He shall, if it be His Will � gather together the flock of God which the wolves have scattered The eye of His lovingkindness shall everlastingly be directed towards thee.
The day is approaching when thy agitation will have been transmuted into peace and quiet calm. Moreover, the following significant and soul-stirring words have been set down by the Pen of the Centre of the Covenant: Ere long will it be witnessed that the government of the native land of the Blessed Perfection will become the most honoured government of this world, and Irdn will become the most prosperous of all lands, this indeed is a token of God's bountiful favour, and verily in this is there a lesson unto every beholder.
Such God-given promises and sublime glad-tidings that the Pen of the Most High and the divinely-aided and inspired fingers of the Centre of the Covenant have inscribed will, according to the following blessed verse, be unquestionably fulfilled. How enthralling is His Word: Whatsoever hath streamed forth from the Pen of the Most High hath either already occurred or shall assuredly come to pass. Not a single letter thereof will remain unrealized, for verily the fair-minded shall behold it established upon the throne of fulfilment.
However, the essential thing is patience, fortitude, courage and audacity.
The day is approaching when that country will have turned into a blissful paradise, when the wronged ones of Persia will have become the pride of the world and the leaders of mankind. And this is a promise that will not be belied.
0 FOLLOWERS of the belovedRegard not the smallness of your numbers, nor be depressed and discontented by reason of the harm and injury that you sustain at the hands of friend or foe. Let not the vilifications, the whisperings and idle remarks of the foolish and the shortsighted grieve you, nor the vast array of the multitude of assailants frighten or alarm you.
These tribulations have time and again been foretold by our peerless Master.
The prophetic warnings that our supreme Lord has uttered clearly foreshadow the onslaught of the hosts of afffiction. Have you not heard what has flowed from the tongue of the Comforter of mankind in this connection? He says:
Say:Tribulation is as water for that which We have planted in human hearts. The day is approaching when out of it will have grown such fruit that every seed thereof will proclaim: Verily,
Page 35no God is there but Him, the Almighty, the All-Knowing.
And likewise He has said: Through adversity have We fostered the growth of the Faith of God in bygone ages. Ere long wilt thou witness this Cause shining resplendent above the horizon of glory, invested with ma]esty and power.
And also He affirms: God hath made tribulation as the crown wherewith the head of Baha is attired.
The time is at hand when its radiance will have enveloped the whole world.
By My life! Such tribulations as are sustained in the path of God, the Fashioner of all created things, are as cherished by Me as eyes are cherished by men, nay even more! Unto this thy Lord, the Mighty, the Unconstrained, beareth witness.
0 apostles of Bahá'u'lláh!How pitiful if we, who are recognized as the bearers of His glorious Name, and related to such an omnipotent Lord, should, in moments of adversity, fail to scrupulously follow the noble example set by Him Who stands peerless in His longsuffering.
Happy the one who until his last breath has tasted the venom of woe at the hand of the faithless, and blessed the heart that for the sake of promoting and proclaiming His Cause does not allow himself a moment's rest. Such is the disposition of the pure in heart, such is the method of them that enjoy near access to God, such is the way of the true strivers after God, such befits the hosts that are under the guidance of God, such is the means whereby undoubted triumph and victory will be achieved for the Cause of God.
O people of Baha! Lift up your voices, and hail men of wisdom with glad-tidings.
Call aloud between earth and heaven, exclaiming: 0 people of the world and workers of injustice and iniquity! Rest assured that we, the followers of the Abh2i Beauty, have paid for our Faith with our lifeblood, and have tasted the sweetness of sacrifice in the path of His love. Our trust in Him sustains our lives, enabling us to be detached from aught else but Him. We shall promote His Cause to the last breath and offer praise and gratitude at all times for the tribulations He ordains.
O people of the earth!Know you with absolute certainty, and let every wavering and hesitant soul be apprised and take warning, that whatsoever has explicitly been revealed by the All-Glorious Pen will eventually become clear and evident, even as the sun in its noontide glory. In this snow-white Spot, and in other lands, the immutable Will of Him Who has stretched out the earth and raised up the heavens, shall be fulfilled, the cherished desire of longing hearts will emerge from behind a myriad veils into the realm of existence, and the highest aspiration of the people of Baha will be fully, perfectly and conclusively realized. This is that which our Lord has promised us both openly and privily, and indeed this is a promise that will not prove untrue.
Therefore it beseems you to arise and exclaim: 0 concourse of the earth!
Die in your wrath. Ere long will the standard of His Faith be hoisted in every city, shedding radiance upon all regions.
He is God0 MIGHTY Lord! Thou seest what hath befallen Thy helpless lovers in this darkest of long nights; Thou knowest how, in all these years of separation from Thy Beauty, the confidants of Thy mysteries have ever been acquainted with burning grief.
0 Powerful Master! Suffernot Thy wayfarers to be abased and brought low; succour this handful of feeble creatures with the potency of Thy might.
Exalt Thy loved ones before the assemblage of man, and grant them strength.
Allow those broken-winged beings to raise their heads and glory in the fulfilment of their hopes, that we in these brief days of life may gaze with our physical eyes on the elevation and exaltation of Thy Faith, and soar up to Thee with gladdened souls and blissful hearts.
Thou knowest that, since Thy ascension, we seek no name or fame, that in this swiftly passing world we wish henceforth no joy, no delight and no good fortune.
Then keep Thy word, and exhilarate once more the lives of these, Thy sick at heart. Bring light to our expectant eyes, balm to our stricken breasts.
Lead Thou the caravans of the city of Thy love swiftly to their intended goal.
Draw those who sorrow after Thee into the high court of reunion with Thee. For in this world below we ask for nothing but the triumph of Thy Cause. And within the precincts of Thy boundless mercy we hope for nothing but Thy presence.
Page 36Thou art the Witness, the Haven, the Refuge; Thou art He who rendereth victorious this band of the innocent.
THE assaults, onslaughts and attacks perpetrated by the people of arrogance and malice do not and will not endure. They shall, one and all, be dispelled at the appointed time, and no trace of them will be left behind. What will remain, and the influence thereof endure, are the wrongs suffered by the loved ones of God, the audacity they have evinced, the undaunted spirit manifested by the defenders of the Faith of the All-Merciful, their bonds of unity and harmony, and their tenacious adherence and undeviating allegiance to the institutions of the Cause of God in that land.
At present the state of affairs is in turmoil tribulations are manifold and the authorities have launched attacks from every direction. However, the invisible Hand of God is at work and the wratliful Avenger is watching over the oppressed community of the righteous and the pious. Things that were hidden will be revealed and realities that were unknown will become clear and evident. The innocence of those longsuffering and sanctified beings will definitely be proved and established, and every act of injustice, of iniquity and malice wrought by the evildoers will be laid bare. The daystar of glory, as is prophesied, will shine forth from that land with such radiance that all men, high or low, of the rulers or the ruled, friend or foe, whether far or near, will be astonished and bewildered.
Now is the time for steadfastness.Now is the ripe moment for the stalwart warriors and champions to show forth courage and to demonstrate their heroism in the arena of service, until such time as God will exalt His Cause, will remove the distress and anxiety of His friends and trusted servants, and glorify those who were brought Low among His creatures, to make them spiritual leaders among men, and to make them God's heirs.
VIITHE shedding of innocent blood in that blessed land will produce marvellous results and from it far-reaching consequences will ensue in the course of time. The fierce storm of woes and calamities and the incessant waves of unnumbered trials and incalculable hardships which in recent days have encompassed that small group from all sides are but the first glimmer, the dawning twilight heralding the advent of the new age that has been foretold in the past.
This gloomy night which has lasted for a number of years has plunged every part and region of that country into darkness. The darker the night will turn, and the more intense and dreadful its convulsions and commotions become, the nearer will b~ the appointed time when the bright morn of deliverance will dawn, when the daystar of felicity and emancipation will shine, when the light of the glory, power and independence of the Faith of God will radiate with extraordinary brilliance, when phe fall and collapse, the destruction and ruin of the people of malice and iniquity in that land will become apparent and conspicuous.
The hosts of Bah6, the concourse of the sore-oppressed ones in that afflicted country, should all know with absolute certainty that the Cause of God is great, and its strengthening grace quickens every mouldering bone; its heavenly confirmations are ever present, and its adversaries on the offensive, Launching their attacks from all sides.
On the one hand they are seized with perturbation and alarm at th~ sight of the quaking of the foundations of their own structure, and its breakdown and collapse, while on the other hand they are amazed and bewildered at the people of Baha, and their high degree of tranquillity and firmness, and their longsuffering and unshakeable patience.
This is the day for steadfastness.Now is the time for defence and bravery, so that the evil ones who are lying in wait may be disconcerted, defeated and put to flight, and the prophecies irrevocably decreed by God may be fulfilled without delay.
VIIIAIIITATIONS, trials, woes, afflictions, and torture, arson, expulsion, plunder, beating, vilification, captivity, banishment, imprisonment, destruction of life � none of these could hinder the advancement of this beloved
Page 37Cause, none could weaken the high resolve of its followers and champions in any part of the world, none could damage or disrupt the structure of its New Order, none could create a cleavage, a division, a schism or any form of sectarianism in the ranks of its embattled hosts.
Nay rather, were one to observe with a discerning eye, it would become clear and evident that commotion in itself, the very succession of calamities, upheavals and hardships, and the recurrence of trials, adversities and sufferings have lent an impetus to the power latent in the Cause and reinforced its compelling force and pervasive influence.
Indeed as a result of the onrushing tempests of tribulation and the raging hurricanes of tests and trials, the Faith's scope of operation has been enlarged, its pillars have been raised to loftier heights, its foundation has become more secure, its glory more resplendent, the spread of its influence more rapid, its ascendancy and dominion more conspicuous and evident.
Every blow that the hands of the wrongdoer have inflicted upon the community of the followers of the Cause of God from without, has proved to be the means of a fresh victory and triumph for the Faith, and every agitation provoked from within through the intrigues and plottings of perfidious traitors has led to a remarkable success for the Cause and to the revelation of its wondrous glory These momentous events, these startling and awesome happenings that have transpired during the past hundred years confirm the truth of this most perfect, this consummate and enthralling utterance that has proceeded from the repository of the All-glorious Pen � exalted is His saying and blessed
His Word:From time immemorial have We reared the celestial Trees of divine Revelation with the waters of opposition and the shedding of blood, could ye but perceive it. Likewise He says: By the righteousness of God! This divine Tree will develop by means of the waters of your opposition; yet ye understand not and remain heedless.
Moreover He affirms: Through affliction hath His Cause been promoted and His praise glorified.
In another connection this blessed verse has been revealed: Should they attempt to conceal its light on the continent it will assuredly rear its head in the midmost heart of the ocean and, raising its voice, proclaim: '1 am the life-giver of the world!'
The amazing history of this glorious century will conclusively demonstrate to every opponent of the Cause throughout the world that violent upheavals have strengthened the root of this heavenly Tree, severe trials and hardships have reinforced the foundation of the divine Edifice.
Dire abasement became a vesture of glory, while adversity and tribulation were oil which fed the flame of the lamp of God's Revelation. Fierce attacks and violence produced steadfastness and constancy, and persecution and privation created interest, and led to conversion and proclamation. Torment, repression and subjugation were means whereby the light of the ascendancy and triumph of this beloved Cause were eventually diffused far and wide.
Convulsions and commotions served in the long run to purify and strengthen the body of the Cause of God, while the clamour of the prattler, the uproar of the deceitful, the tumult of the froward were instrumental in raising high the melody of the Kingdom. The rending and tearing of veils caused such realities and mysteries as were latent in the inmost essence of God's Revelation to be uncovered and brought to light.
Wherefore has the All-glorioustheir injustice we praised the Cause of God, and the anthem of praise, glorifying the Name of thy Lord, was broadcast in all countries. Through their rejection the truth was recognized, and as a result of their cruelties the luminary of justice hath shone forth. Ponder a while, 0 men of understanding, that ye might perceive.
Likewise He states: Atone time He exalted His Cause by the hand of the people of tyranny, and at another by the hand of His chosen servants � they unto whom the heedless ones appear as but a handful of dust, they who declare that which the Pen of the Most High hat/i proclaimed from the horizon of glory.
CONSIDER what momentous glad-tidings the all-glorious Pen has announced in the holy Tablets, what explicit promises His exalted and irrevocable Pen has revealed. In the St2ratu'1-Haykal these gemlike words are recorded: He will, ere long, out of the Bosom
Page 38of Power, draw forth the Hands of Ascendancy and Might � Hands who will arise to win victory for this Youth and who will purge mankind from the defilement of the outcast and the ungodly.
These Hands will gird up their loins to champion the Faith of God, and will, in My Name the Self-subsistent, the Mighty, subdue the peoples and kindreds of the earth. They will enter the cities and will inspire with fear the hearts of all their inhabitants. Such are the evidences of the might of God; how fearful, how vehement is His might!
And likewise these luminous verses are inscribed in this holy Siirih: The day is approaching when God will have raised up, through Thee, such invincible Hands, such indomitable Helpers, who will emerge from behind the veils, will render victorious the All-merciful One amidst all the peoples of the world and will burst forth into such a cry as will leave its mark in all hearts. Thus hath it been decreed in the inscribed Tablet.
And they will appear with such power that all the dwellers of the earth will be seized with fear and every one will be sorely shaken.
Moreover He has written: Ere long will the Call be raised in every city and thou shalt find the people fearful and dismayed by virtue of the awful ascendancy of God's Revelation. Thus hath it been irrevocably ordained in His Holy Scriptures.
And also He declares: Soon will the cry 'yea, yea, here am I, here am I' be heard from every land. For there hath never been, nor can there ever be any other refuge to fly o for anyone. And again He says: The day is fast approaching when God will have manifested from this horizon such light and power as will cause the sun to be darkened, will obliterate every trace of them that have turned away disdainfully from God, and will illumine the faces of the sincere.
And likewise He has revealed: Ere long ye shall witness all men believing in His Cause and weeping sore over the good things that have escaped them during His days. Verily He is the Expounder, the All-Knowing.
And He also states: Soon will the unbelievers behold the banners of victory and will hear the name of God proclaimed from every direction, On that day will they say: 'Truly we do believe in God' Say! God well knoweth what is hidden in the breasts of all men. And again Tie has written: Ere long will the faithful behold the standards of divine manifestation unfurled in all regions. And likewise He declares: I swear by the Most Great Book that God's Revelation shall gain ascendancy and encompass the whole world.
Moreover, the following resplendent words which have flowed from the Pen of the Centre of the Covenant amply confirm that which the All-Glorious
Pen of Bahá'u'lláhhas revealed: Despair not of the manifestations of the divine Spirit.
Ere long, by the leave of God, the veil will be removed from the face of His Cause, this effulgent light will shed its radiance upon all countries, the signs of His oneness will be spread abroad, and the banners bearing the emblems of your glorious Lord will float above die lofly mansion. And again He affirms: The day will soon come when the light of Divine unity will have so permeated the East and the West that no man dare any longer ignore it.
Page 39LET these exalted words be thy love-song on the tree of Baha, 0 thou most holy and resplendent
Leaf: 'God, besides Whomis none other God, the Lord of this world and the next!' Verily, We have elevated thee to the rank of one of the most distinguished among thy sex, and granted thee, in My court, a station such as none other woman hath surpassed. Thus have We preferred thee and raised thee above the rest, as a sign of grace from Him Who is the Lord of the throne on high and earth below.
We have created thine eyes to behold the light of My countenance, thine ears to hearken unto the melody of My words, thy body to pay homage before My throne. Do thou render thanks unto God, thy Lord, the Lord of all the world.
How high is the testimony of the Sadratu'1-Muntah~ for its leaf; how exalted the witness of the Tree of Life unto its fruit!
Through My remembrance of her a fragrance laden with the perfume of musk liath been diffused; well
Selections from Bahá'íHoly Leaf, a compilation from Bahá'í sacred texts, writings of the Guardian and Bahá'í Kh~num's own letters, made by the Research Department at the Baha World Centre, 1982.
41 is it with him that hath inhaled it and exclaimed: 'All praise be to Thee, 0 God, my Lord the most glorious!' How sweet thy presence before Me; how sweet to gaze upon thy face, to bestow upon thee My lovingkindness, to favour thee with My tender care, to make mention of thee in this, My Tablet � a Tablet which I have ordained as a token of My hidden and manifest grace unto thee.
0 MY Leaf! Hearken thou unto My Voice: Verily there is none other God but Me, the Almighty, the All-Wise. I can well inhale from thee the fragrance of My love and the sweet-smelling savour wafting from the ral-ment of My Name, the Most Holy, the Most Luminous.
Be astir upon God's Tree in conformity with thy pleasure and unloose thy tongue in praise of thy Lord amidst all mankind.
Let not the things of the world grieve thee.Cling fast unto this divine Lote-Tree from which God hath graciously caused thee to spring forth. I swear by My life! It behoveth the lover to be closely joined to the loved one, and here indeed is the Best-Beloved of the world.
Page 42To MY honoured and distinguished sister do thou convey the expression of my heartfelt, my intense longing. Day and night she liveth in my remembrance.
I dare make no mention of the feelings which separation from her hath aroused in mine heart; for whatever I should attempt to express in writing will assuredly be effaced by the tears which such sentiments must bring to mine eyes 0 DfYA!1 It is incumbent upon thee, throughout the journey, to be a close, a constant and cheerful companion to my honoured and distinguished sister. Unceasingly, with the utmost vigour and devotion, exert thyself, by day and night, to gladden her blessed heart; for all her days she was denied a moment of tranquillity.
She was astir and restless every hour of her life.
Moth-like she circled in adoration round the undying flame of the Divine Candle, her spirit ablaze and her heart consumed by the fire of His Jove
LII0 MY well-beloved, deeply spiritual sister! Day and night thou livest in my memory. Whenever I remember thee my heart swelleth with sadness and my regret groweth more intense. Grieve not, for I am thy true, thy unfailing comforter. Let neither despondency nor despair becloud the serenity of thy life or restrain thy freedom. These days shall pass away. We will, please God, in the Abh6 Kingdom and beneath the sheltering shadow of the Blessed Beauty, forget all these our earthly cares and will find each one of these base calumnies amply compensated by His expressions of praise and favour.
From the beginning of time sorrow and anxiety, regret and tribulation, have always been the lot of every loyal servant of God. Ponder this in thine heart and consider how very true Daughter of 'Abdu'l-Bahá it is. Wherefore, set thine heart on the tender mercies of the Ancient Beauty and be thou filled with abiding joy and intense gladness 0 MY dear sister!
Praise be to God, within the sheltering grace of the Blessed Beauty, here in the lands of the West a breeze hath blown from over the rosegardens of His bestowals, and the hearts of many people have been drawn as by a magnet to the AbM Realm.
Whatever hath come to pass is from the confirmations of the Beloved; for otherwise, what merit had we, or what capacity? We are as a helpless babe, but fed at the breast of heavenly grace. We are no more than weak plants, but we flourish in the spring rain of His bestowals.
Wherefore, as a thank-offering for these bounties, on a certain day don thy garb to visit the Shrine, the ka'bjh of our heart's desire, turn thyself toward Him on my behalf, lay down thy head on that sacred Threshold, and say: 0 divine Providence! 0
Thou forgiving Lord! Sinnerthough I be, I have no refuge save Thyself. All praise be Thine, that in my wanderings over mountains and plains, my toils and troubles on-the seas, Thou hast answered still my cries for help, and confirmed me, and favoured me, and honoured me with service at Thy Threshold.
To a feeble ant, Thou hast given Solomon's might.Thou hast made of a gnat a lion in the thicket of Thy Mercy. Thou hast bestowed on a drop the swelling waves of the sea, Thou hast carried up a mote to the pinnacles of grace.
Whatever was achieved, was made possible through Thee. Otherwise, what strength did the fragile dust possess, what power did this feeble being have?
o divine Providence! Do not seize us in our sins, but give us refuge. Do not look upon our evil ways, but grant forgiveness.
Consider notTHE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 43
Bahá'í Khdnum circa 1890.our just deserts, but open wide Thy door of grace.
Thou art the Mighty, the Powerful! Thou art theThou didst go away to Haifa, supposedly for oniy three or four days.
Now it becometh apparent that the spiritual power of the Shrine hath brought thee joy and radiance, and even as a magnet is holding thee fast. Thou surely wouldst remember us as well.
Truly the spiritual quality of the holy place, its fresh skies and delicate air, its crystal waters and sweet plains and charming seascape, and the holy breathings from the Kingdom all do mingle in that Sacred Fold. Thou art right to linger there Kiss the light of the eyes of the company of spiritual souls, Shoghi Effendi
Page 440 YE who burn in the flames of bereavement! By the Daystar of the World, my bereaved and longing heart is afire with a grief that is beyond my description. The sudden, the grievous and calamitous news that the Most Exalted, the pure, the holy, the immaculate, the brightly shining Leaf, the Remnant of Baha, and His trust, the eternal fruit and the one last remembrance of the Hoiy Tree � may my life be offered for the wrongs she suffered � has ascended, reached me like live coals cast into a frail and afflicted heart. The foundations of my serenity were shattered, and tears of desolation came like a flood that carries all away 0 brothers and sisters in the spirit! In this solemn hour, from one direction we can hear the sounds of loud weeping, and cries of mourning and woe, rising out of the throats of the people of Bah6 throughout this nether world, because of their separation from that rich mine of faithfulness, that Orb of the heaven of eternal glory � because of her set~ ting below the horizon of this holy Spot. But from another direction can be heard the songs of praise and holy exultation from the Company on High and the undying dwellers in Paradise, and from beyond them all God's Prophets, coming forth to welcome that fair being, and to place her in the retreats of glory, and to seat her at the right hand of Him Who is the Centre of God's Mighty Covenant.
The community of Baha, whether in the East of the world or the West, are lamenting like orphans left destitute; fevered, tormented, unquiet, they are voicing their grief.
Out of the depths of their sorrowing hearts, there rises to the Abhai Horizon this continual piercing cry: 'Where art thou gone, 0 torch of tender love? Where art thou gone, 0 source of grace and mercy? Where art thou gone, 0 symbol of bounty and generosity?
Where art thou gone, 0 dayspring of detachment in this world of being?
Where art thou gone, 0 trust left by Bail among His people, 0 remnant left by Him among His servants, 0 sweet scent of His garment, shed across all created things!'
0 ye who loved that luminous face! The oil within that shining lamp was used up in this world and its light was extinguished; and yet, in the lamp-niche of the Kingdom, the fingers of the Lord of the heavenly throne have kindled it so bright, and it has cast such a splendour on the maids of Heaven � dwelling in chambers of red rubies and circling about her � that they all called from out their souls and hearts, '0 joy upon joy!' and with shouts of, 'Well done! Well done! Upon thee be God's blessings,
0 Most Exalted Leaf!'did they welcome that quintessence of love and purity within the towering pavilions of eternity.
At that time, as bidden by the Lord, the Protector, the Self-Subsisting, did the heavenly Crier raise up his voice and cry out: '0 Most Exalted Leaf! Thou art she who did endure with patience in God's way from thine earliest childhood and throughout all thy life, and did bear in His pathway what none other hath borne, save only God in His own Self, the Supreme Ruler over all created things, and before Him, His noble Herald, and after Him, His holy Branch, the One, the Inaccessible, the Most High. The people of the Concourse on High seek the fragrance of thy presence, and the dwellers in the retreats of eternity circle about thee. To this bear witness the souls of the cherubim within the tabernacles of majesty and might, and beyond them the tongue of God the One True Lord, the Pure, the Most Wondrous.
Blessedness be thine and a goodly abode; glad tidings to thee and a happy ending!'
... DEARLY-BELOVED Greatest Holy Leaf! Through the mist of tears that fill my eyes I can clearly see, as I pen these lines, thy
Page 45THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 45
noble figure before me, and can recognize the serenity of thy kindly face. I can still gaze, though the shadows of the grave separate us, into thy blue, love-deep eyes, and can feel in its calm intensity, the immense love thou didst bear for the Cause of thine Almighty Father, the attachment that bound thee to the most lowly and insignificant among its followers, the warm affection thou didst cherish for me in thine heart. The memory of the ineffable beauty of thy smile shall ever continue to cheer and hearten me in the thorny path I am destined to pursue. The remembrance of the touch of thine hand shall spur me on to follow steadfastly in thy way. The sweet magic of thy voice shall remind me, when the hour of adversity is at its darkest, to hold fast to the rope thou didst seize so firmly all the days of thy life.
Bear thou this my message to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, thine exalted and divinely-appointed Brother: If the Cause for which Bahá'u'lláh toiled and laboured, for which Thou didst suffer years of agonizing sorrow, for the sake of which streams of sacred blood have flowed, should, in the days to come, encounter storms more severe than those it has already weathered, do Thou continue to overshadow, with Thine all-encompassing care and wisdom, Thy frail, Thy unworthy appointed child.
Intercede, 0 noble and well-favoured scion of a heavenly Father, for me no less than for the toiling masses of thy ardent lovers, who have sworn undying allegiance to thy memory, whose souls have been nourished by the energies of thy love, whose conduct has been moulded by the inspiring example of thy life, and whose imaginations are fired by the imperishable evidences of thy lively faith, thy unshakeable constancy, thy invincible heroism, thy great renunciation.
Whatever betide us, however distressing the vicissitudes which the nascent Faith of God may yet experience, we pledge ourselves, before the mercy-seat of thy glorious Father, to hand on, unimpaired and undivided, to generations yet unborn, the glory of that tradition of which thou hast been its most brilliant exemplar.
In the innermost recesses of our hearts, 0 thou exalted Leaf of the AbhA Paradise, we have reared for thee a shining mansion that the hand of time can never undermine a shrine which shall frame eternally the matchless beauty of thy countenance, an altar whereon the fire of thy consuming love shall burn for ever.
IIIweep over thee in the night season, as do the bereaved; and at break of day I cry out unto thee with the tongue of my heart, my limbs and members, and again and again I repeat thy well-loved name, and I groan over the loss of thee, over thy meekness and ordeals, and how thou didst love me, over the sufferings thou didst bear, and the terrible calamities, and the wretchedness and the griefs, and the abasement, and the rejection � and all this only and solely for the sake of thy Lord and because of thy burning love for those, out of all of creation, who shared in thine ardour.
Whensoever, in sleep, I call to mind and see thy smiling face, whenso~ver, by day or night, I circumambulate thine honoured tomb, then in the innermost depths of my being are rekindled the fires of yearning, and the cord of my patience is severed, and again the tears come and all the world grows dark before my eyes. And whensoever I remember what blows were rained upon thee at the close of thy days, the discomforts, trials and illnesses � and I picture thy surroundings now, in the Sanctuary on High, in the midmost heart of Heaven, beside the pavilions of grandeur and might; and I behold thy present glory, thy deliverance, the delights, the bounties, the bestowals, the majesty and dominion and power, the joy, thine exultation, and thy triumph � then the burden of my grieving is Lightened, the cloud of sorrow is dispelled, the heat of my torment abates. Then is my tongue loosed to praise and thank thee, and thy Lord, Him Who did fashion thee and did prefer thee to all other handmaidens, and did give thee to drink from His sweet-scented lips. Who withdrew the veil of concealment from thy true being and made thee to be a true example for all thy kin to follow, and caused thee to be the fragrance of His garment for all of creation.
And at such times I strengthen my resolve to follow in thy footsteps, and to continue onward in the pathway of thy love; to take thee as my model, and to acquire the quali
Page 46ties, and to make manifest that which thou didst desire for the triumph of this exalted and exacting, this most resplendent, sacred, and wondrous Cause.
Then intercede thou for me before the throne of the Almighty, 0 thou who, within the Company on High, dost intercede for all of humankind.
Deliver me from the throes of my mourning, and confer upon me and those who love thee in this nether world what will remove our afflictions, and bring assurance to our hearts, and quiet the winds of our sorrows, and console our eyes, and fulfil our hopes both in this world and the world to come � O thou whom God hast singled out from amongst all the countenances of the AbM Paradise, and hast honoured in both His earth and His Kingdom on high, and of whom He has made mention in the Crimson Book, in words which wafted the scent of musk and scattered its fragrance over all the dwellers on earth!
0 thou Greatest Holy Leaf!If I cry at every moment out of a hundred mouths, and from each of these mouths I speak with a hundred thousand tongues, yet I could never describe nor celebrate thy heavenly qualities, which are known to none save only the Lord God; nor could I befittingly tell of even the transient foam from out the ocean of tine endless favour and grace.
Except for a very few, whose habitation is in the highest retreats of holiness, and who circle, in the furthermost Sanctuary, by day and by night about the throne of God, and are fed at the hand of the AbliA Beauty on purest milk � except for these, no soul of this nether world has known or recognized thine immaculate, thy most sacred essence, nor has any befittingly perceived that ambergris fragrance of thy noble qualities, which richly anoints thy brow, and which issues from the divine wellspring of mystic musk; nor has any caught its sweetness.
To this bear witness the Company on High, and beyond them God Himself, the
SupremeLord of all the heavens and the earths: that during all thy days, from thine earliest years until the close of thy life, thou didst personify the attributes of thy Father, the MateMess, the Mighty. Thou wert the fruit of His Tree, thou wert the lamp of His love, thou wert the symbol of His serenity, and of His meekness, the pathway of His guidance, the chann&1 of His blessings, the sweet scent of His robe, the refuge of His loved ones and His handmaidens, the mantle of His generosity and grace.
0 thou Remnant of the divine light, 0 thou fruit of the Cause of our All-Compelling Lord!
From the hour when thy days did set, on the horizon of this Snow-White, this unique and Sacred Spot, our days have turned to night, our joys to great consternation; our eyes have grown blind with sorrow at thy passing, for it has brought back that supreme affliction yet again, that direst convulsion, the departing of thy compassionate
Brother, our MercifulMaster. And there is no refuge for us anywhere except for the breathings of thy spirit, the spotless, the excellently bright; no shelter for us anywhere, but through thine intercession, that God may inspire us with His own patience, and ordain for us in the other life the reward of meeting thee again, of attaining thy presence, of gazing on thy countenance, and partaking of thy light.
O thou Maid of Baha! The best and choicest of praises, and the most excellent and most glorious of salutations, rest upon thee, 0 thou solace of mine eyes, and beloved of my soul! Thy grace to me was plenteous, it can never be concealed; thy love for me was great, it can never be forgotten.
Blessed, a thousand times blessed, is he who loves thee, and partakes of thy splendours, and sings the praises of thy qualities, and extols thy worth, and follows in thy footsteps; who testifies to the wrong~ thou didst suffer, and visits thy resting-place, and circles around thine exalted tomb, by day and by night
Page 47THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 47
4. A SELECTION OF LETTERS OF THEFROM this hallowed and snow-white Spot, this blessed, heavenly Garden, wherefrom the fragrance of God is diffused to all regions, I hail you with salutations, most tender, most wondrous, and most glorious, and impart to you the most joyful tiding. This tiding serves as the sweet-smelling savour of His raiment to them that long to behold His face, it represents the highest aspiration of His steadfast leaves, it is the animating impulse for the happiness of the world, it is the source of ineffable gladness to the people of Bah6, a remedy to the afflicted, and a refreshing draught for the thirsty. By the righteousness of God, 0 beloved friend, through this glad-tiding the ailing are cured and every mouldering bone is quickened. This most joyful tiding is the news of the good health and wellbeing of the blessed, the exalted, the holy person of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, 'He Whom God hath purposed' � may the life of all created things be offered up for His oneness.
THE Festival of Ridvanis come and the splendour of the light of God is shining from the invisible horizon of His mercy.
The overflowing grace of the Lord of oneness is pouring down copiously from the unseen world and the glad-tidings of the Kingdom are coming in from all countries.
The resplendent morn that betokens the advancement of the Cause of God and heralds the exaltation of His Word is dawning in every region.
Praise be to God that the fame of the Ancient Beauty � may my life be offered up for His loved ones � has been noised abroad in the world and the glory of His Cause is spread far and wide throughout the East and the West. These joyous developments will indeed gladden the hearts of His loved ones.
IIITHE passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, may our lives be a sacrifice for His meekness, was the ultimate calamity, the most great disaster.
The light has fled our hearts, and our souls are wedded to sorrow, and no power in all the world can furnish any consolation, save� only the power that comes from the steadfastness of the believers and their deep-rooted faith, and their unity, and their love for one another.
Oniy these can lessen the pain and quiet the anguish Although to outward seeming the Sun of the Covenant has hidden Himself behind the clouds, and the Orb of the Testament is concealed, and on the holy horizon of glory, He has now set, and is lost to view � still His rays are shining from out His hidden place, and forever will His light shed down its splendours.
For ever and ever will He, with all that invisible grace, and those bestowals of the spirit, lead the seeker onward, and guide the yearning, and ravish the hearts of the lovers.
A. PHYSICIAN treats every illness with a certain remedy and to every painful sore he applies a specially prepared compound. The more severe the illness, the more potent must be the remedy, so that the treatment may prove effective and the illness cured. Now consider, when the divine Physician1 determined to conceal His countenance from the gaze of men and take His flight to the AbhA Kingdom, He knew in advance what a violent shock, what a tremendous impact, the effect of this devastating blow would have upon His beloved friends and devoted lovers. Therefore He prepared a highly potent remedy and compounded a unique and incomparable cure � a cure most exquisite, most glorious, most excellent, most powerful, most perfect, and most consummate. And through the movement of His Pen of eternal bounty He recorded in His weighty and involable Testament the name of Shoghi Effendi � the bough that has grown from the two offshoots of the celestial glory, the branch that has branched from the two hallowed and sacred Lote-Trees.
Abdu'l-Bahá.Then He winged His flight to the Concourse on High and to the luminous horizon.
Now it devolves upon every well-assured and devoted friend, every firm and enkindled believer enraptured by His love, to drink this healing remedy at one draught, so that the agony of bereavement may be somewhat alleviated and the bitter anguish of separation dissipated. This calls for efforts to serve the Cause, to diffuse the sweet savours of God, to manifest selflessness, consecration and self-sacrifice in our labours in His
Path.THE Ancient Beauty, the Most Great Name, has, through the splendours of His grace in this most glorious of all ages, made this world of dust to radiate light. The loving counsels of 'Abdu'l-Bahá have turned the beloved of the Lord into signs and tokens of humility and lowliness. He has taught them selflessness, and freedom from material things, and detachment from the world, and has enabled them to understand the verities of Heaven.
In that supernal realm we are all but motes; in the court of the Lord God's majesty we are but helpless shadows. He is the Shelter for all; He is the Protector of all; He is the Helper of all; He is the Preserver of all. Whensoever we look upon ourselves, we, one and all, despair; but He, with all His grace, His bestowals, His bounties, is the close Companion of each one.
It is certain that tests and trials are inseparable from this life and a vital requirement thereof, especially for the human race and above all for those who claim to have faith and love. Only through trials can the genuine be known from the worthless, and purity from pollution, and the real from the false. The meaning of the sacred verse: 'Do men think when they say "We believe" they shall be let alone and not be put to proof?'1 prevails at all times and is applicable at every breath, and fire will only bring out the brightness of the gold.
So it is my hope that with lowliness and a contrite heart, with supplications and prayers, with good intentions and faithfulness, with purity of heart and adherence to the truth,
Q~If~J1 29:2.with rising up to serve and with the blessings and confirmations of the Lord, we may come into a realm, and arrive at a condition, where we shall live under His overshadowing mercy, and His helping hand shall come to our aid and succour.
THE Pen of the divine Ordainer has so decreed that this house of sorrows should be encompassed by unending calamity and pain. Even before the dark clouds of one disaster are scattered, the lowering storm of yet a new grief takes over, casting its darkness across the inner skies of the heart. Such has been the lot of this brokenhearted one and the other leaves of the Holy Tree, from earliest child-hocid until this hour; such has been the fruit we have plucked from the tree of our lives.
We can see before us the Holy Shrine where lies the blessed, riddled body of the Primal Point, and memory of the delicate and tender remains of other martyrs passes before our eyes. The remembrance of the Ancient Beauty's dungeon in Tihr~n, and that most noble Being's exile from city to city, culminating in the murk of the 'AkM prison, is engraved upon our minds. The calamities, the massive afflictions, endured by 'Abdu'l-Bahá throughout His entire life, and Hi wailing at the break of dawn are recorded for all time upon the tablets of the soul, and those cries that rose out of His luminous heart will linger on in the mind's ear.
It is clear, too, how the most dire of all ordeals, the ascension of the divine Beauty, made the structure of our existence to topple down; how being deprived of Him consfimed the very limbs of our bodies.
And when our fiery tears brought on by this were not yet dried, and the heart's wound had not healed over, then the bearer of God's decree called us to yet another anguish, that dire calamity, that terrible disaster, the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Then were we, the sorrow-stricken, thrust again into the fires of separation, and the pitch darkness of deep mourning enshrouded this family.
Beloved friends of thewhat could have been the purpose of those holy Beings in enduring such agonies? Why did those precious and luminous souls accept
Page 49THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 49
Bahá'í Khdnum; an early photograph.all that hardship and pain? Any just observer will acknowledge that They had no other end in view but to better the human race and cleanse it from the imperfections of this contingent world, and see to its advancement, and endow all peoples with the wondrous virtues of humankind. Thanks be to God's bounties, the signs of such perfections, the lights of such bestowals, have become clearly manifest throughout the world.
The tree of His Cause grows ever more massive, day by day, and heavier with fruit, and from moment to moment taller, and it shall cast its wondrous shade over all who seek its shelter
VIISend down Thy mercy upon us, and Thy grace, bestow upon us patience, give us the strength to endure. With Thy generous hand, lay Thou a balm upon our sores, grant us a medicine for this never-healing woe. Console Thou Thy loved ones, comfort Thy friends and handmaids, heal Thou our wounded breasts, and with Thy bounty's remedy, restore our festering hearts.
With the gentle breeze of Thy compassion, make fresh and green again these boughs, withered by autumn blasts; restore Thou to flourishing life these flowers, shrivelled by the blight of bereavement.
With tidings of the AbhA Paradise, wed Thou our souls to joy, and rejoice Thou our spirits with heartening voices from the dwellers in the realm of glory.
Thou art the Bounteous, Thou art the Clement; Thou art the Bestower, the Loving
Page 50'THE outstanding heroine of the Bahá'í Dispensation.'
Thus does the Guardian characterize his illustrious great-aunt, the peerless daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, the faithful and beloved sister of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
The Greatest Holy Leafwas the eldest daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith. Born in Persia in 1846 she, in her long life which ended in 1932, spanned, with the exception of two years, the entire Heroic Age of this new world religion. At the age of six when her Father was cast into the subterranean dungeon in TihrTh known as the 'Black Hole', her home was immediately looted and despoiled. In a day the wealthy and noble family was beggared and hid in fear of their lives as Bahá'u'lláh lay in heavy chains � the most prominent, the most blameless victim of the turmoil which His Forerunner's liberal teachings had provoked in a land of bitter Muslim Shf'ah fanaticism. Nay-vTh, the refined, frail, saintly mother of the little girl, fled to a humble dwelling near the dungeon where she could be near her illustrious and much-loved Spouse; 'Abdu'l-Bahá, her eight-year-old Brother, accompanied His mother when daily she went to the home of friends to ascertain whether Bahá'u'lláh was still alive or had been executed that day � for every day some of His coreligionists were martyred, often being handed over to va�ious guilds, the butchers, the bakers, the shoemakers, the blacksmiths, who exercised their ingenuity on new ways of torturing them to death. Through long days of constant terror the little girl stayed at home with her four-year-old brother Mihdf; often, she recalled, she could hear the shrieks of the mob as they carried off their victims. After four months Bahá'u'lláh was released through the intervention of various prominent people, and He and His family were exiled to 'IrAq. In a very severe winter, through the snowbound mountains of western Persia, the ill-clad, destitute party for three months suffered the ordeal of what He described as that terrible journey. Navv6b sold the gold buttons of her clothes to help buy food and washed their garments till her delicate hands bled.
Such were the earliest recollections of Bahá'í Kh6num; the happy, secure days of her first six years must have become a dreamlike experience, for no real peace ever entered her life again. Her Brother 'Abdu'l-Bahá testified to this: For all her days she was denied a moment of tranquillity.
The family had barely settled in Baghd6d when the infant Faith of Bahá'u'lláh was seized by a new convulsion; a year after His arrival, when the Greatest Holy Leaf was eight, He withdrew for two years to the mountains of Su1aym~niyyih, living as a dervish, His whereabouts unknown to His family and admirers alike. This sacrifice, however, did not avert calamity; the internal and external enemies of His Faith had relentlessly pursued their ends, and in May 1863, just after Bahá'u'lláh had revealed His own station to some of His followers, for the second time Bahá'í KhAnum became an exile and travelled with her mother and other women in covered carts for almost four months from Baghdad to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, in the caravan of her Father, which comprised about seventy of His followers.
By now the young girl had turned her back on the world � a decision which is ever an inward orientation � and was wholly dedicated, every moment of her life, to serving her Divine
Father, her Brother 'Abdu'l-BaháWhom she adored, her frail, heroic and beloved mother, her younger brother Mihdf who had rejoined them, and all the followers of Bahá'u'lláh � indeed, all and sundry who ever crossed her path!
Yet a third banishment lay ahead of the Greatest Holy Leaf; with no warning or justification, four months after their arrival, in the depths of a very bitter winter, the SultAn once again exiled Bahá'u'lláh, His family and companions, this time to the city of his displeasure, Adrianople.
At the beginning of December, for twelve days, over the windswept plains of western Turkey, in storms of snow and rain, in carts and on pack animals, the party struggled, Bahá'u'lláh Himself testifying that: Neither My family, nor those who
Page 51THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 51
accompanied Me, had the necessary raiment to protect them from the cold in that freezing weather.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Who rode beside His Father's conveyance, was again badly frostbitten, as He had already been on the long journey from Tihr~n to Baghd6d, and suffered its effects till the end of His life. On their arrival, ill, destitute, prisoners, they were assigned to crowded, cold, vermin-infested houses � for Bahá'í Kh6num the most repugnant of all her sufferings. So terrible was their plight during this period that Bahá'u'lláh asserts: The eyes of Our enemies wept over Us, and beyond them those of every discerning person.
During the four years and eight months they sojourned in Adrianople fresh horrors attended the exiled family. In spite of Bahá'u'lláh's every effort to redeem
His half-brother, MirzaYahy~, his intense jealousy reached its apex and he poisoned Bahá'u'lláh, Whose life hung in the balance for a month, and Who carried the mark of this treachery in a trembling hand until the end of His life.
The Greatest Holy Leafoften stated that all the years of her life, from childhood to maturity, were overshadowed by the constant threat that she might be separated from her beloved Father; it was a very real threat for on a number of occasions there was a plan to divide the exiles, Bahá'u'lláh to be sent to some unknown destination and His family to another. Once again the machinations of His enemies, within and without, ripened into a plan of this nature.
The same Su1t~n who had exiled Him from Baghd6d to Constantinople, and from Constantinople to Adrianople, now issued another edict of exile which was to carry Him to the prison-city of 'Akka in Syria for the last twenty-four years of His life � but His frantic family did not know this, they only knew another exile, and probably permanent separation, now lay ahead.
After a miserable, crowded voyage of ten days, with little food, through rough seas, in August heat, the band of exiles � still all together due to the masterful intervention of 'Abdu'l-Bahá � were finally locked into the barracks of the prison-city of 'Akka Illness, death, privation were their lot for two years, the worst blow of all being the death of the gentle, universally loved Mihdf who, while walking on the prison roof and meditating, fell through an opening and died of his injuries. His body was washed in the presence of his Father Whose poignant grief has been recorded by Him; what went on in the hearts of the tender mother, the loving sister, we can only imagine.
Slowly the wheels of destiny revolved. Through the unceasing efforts of
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláhwas able, although still a prisoner, to live the last years of His life in relative peace in a beautiful mansion in the countryside outside 'Akka. Bahá'í KM-num, however, continued to live in 'Akka with 'Abdu'l-Bahá and His family, whose imprisonment was not permanently lifted until the fall of the SultAnate in 1908 freed all political prisoners.
The sun of the glory of her Father set in 1892, an event which again led to violent upheavals caused by internal and external enemies of the Faith; but the selfless devotion, the consecration to service in whatever form was needed, which had been manifested in Bahá'í KMnum's life since she was six years old, continued unchanged; her whole being now revolved about the Brother she adored, the
Centre of His Father'sCovenant, the Head of His Faith. During the years of ever-increasing freedom and victory 'Abdu'l-Bahá embarked upon His history-making visits to Egypt, Europe and North America. Some of His letters to the Greatest Holy Leaf reflect not only His constant love and thoughts of her but His joy over the triumphant nature of His tour. But once again, inevitably it seems in her sorrow-filled life, great afflictions came upon her. In November 1921 this Brother � so adored, so close a companion since their earliest childhood � closed His eyes and passed away from a world that had so honoured Him, so afflicted Him for almost four score years.
The death of the partner in her trials, her exiles, her family's upheavals and crises, would have been sufficient for any woman of her age; added to it now came the condition of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í successor, His eldest grandson, appointed Guardian of His Faith, a young man of twenty-four, devastated with grief because 'Abdu'l-Bahá had died during his absence at Oxford University, and completely overwhelmed and prostrated by the news of the station and responsibilities conferred upon him in his Grandfather's Will and
Page 52Kh6num rose to the occasion, comforted, supported, nursed and encouraged the heartbroken youth, the youth of whom, when he was a child, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had written to her: Kiss the fresh flower of the garden of sweetness, Shoghi Effendi. More than this, she accepted the headship of the Faith which Shoghi Effendi, in his great distress, conferred upon her when he withdrew, as he wrote, until such time as having gained health, strength, self-confidence and spiritual energy' he would be able to take into his hands 'entirely and regularly the work of service .' Upon Bahá'í KlAnum's frail shoulders yet again God placed a heavy load. Though she was now seventy-five, she bore, with her usual nobility, dignity, self-effacement and great inner assurance and strength, all the terrible events related to and produced by the ascension of her Brother.
At last came the great freeing, her turn to shake the dust of this earth from her feet and wing away to realms on high. But the release and reward for her was far different for him whom she left behind; 'to one who was reared by the hands of her loving kindness', Shoghi Effendi wrote, 'the burden of this direst of calamities is well-nigh unbearable'.
Torrents of passionate feeling poured from his pen, in English to the Bahá'ís of the West, in Persian and Arabic to the Baha of the East. All his love and, above all, her glory, became embodied in immortal words. During the thirty-six years of the Guardian's ministry he never ceased to remember her, to associate her with the unfoldment of the Faith throughout the world, the rise of its institutions at the World Centre; the largest or smallest of his own undertakings; whether publicly or quietly in his personal life, her memory and influence were always there. He summed up what she represented historically, and to him personally in his dedication to her of The Dawn Breakers � the masterpiece he created out of Nabfl's Narrative through his unique translation:
Toand Love Some relics of the Greatest Holy Leaf preserved in the International Bahá'í Archives.
Page 53As midnight of 14 July 1982 approached, the Bahá'ís of the World Centre were gathered in the forecourt of the pilgrim house.
With the arrival of Abdu'l-Bahá R4ifyyih KlThnum, the assembled friends silently followed her into the brightly illuminated Shrine of the Báb which cast a swathe of golden light against the dark mountain. It was the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf and, in union with Bahá'ís around the globe, the World Centre paid its tribute to the most remarkable woman of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
Ai the Shrine the friends heard the recitation of the Tablet of Visitation at the tomb of the BTh, followed by the chanting of the Tablet of Visitation in the Shrine of 'Abdu'l-Bahá They then quietly, reverently filed out of the Shrine, and proceeded up to the main gate where police were temporarily holding traffic, silently crossed the road and wound their way through the Monument Gardens to the light-drenched tomb of the Greatest Holy Leaf whose graceful, nine-columned monument had been decorated beautifully with flowers.
The night air rang with the Arabic words of Bahá'u'lláh's tribute to His daughter: This is My testimony for her who hath heard My voice and drawn nigh unto Me.
Verily, she is a leaf that hath sprung from this preexistent Root The passage was read in English. Deep emotion stirred the hearts of the friends who were keenly aware of the privilege that was theirs in being in such a spot, at such a time, and hearing in surroundings of ineffable beauty and peace, these words: Let these exalted words be thy love-song on the tree of Baha, 0 thou most holy and resplendent leaf The hushed crowd stood for a long moment of reflection, loath to leave the peaceful spot.
The first gathering ever held in the Permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel was a seminar on the life of the Greatest Holy Leaf, held on 17
July 1982.Though not entirely ready for occupancy, the Seat was the venue for a memorable programme which, together with the midnight commemoration at the tomb, constituted the World Centre's observance of the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of Bahá'í
Khdnum.At nine am. the Hands of the Cause, members of the Universal House of Justice and Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre, together with their families and the World Centre staff, gathered in the reception concourse whose beauty surprised even those who had seen it emerging over several years.
The aesthetic perfection of the surroundings brought peace and assurance to the participants' spirits, belying the troubled world outside. The chairman paid tribute to the dedicated work of the many friends whose efforts had led to that thrilling moment.
He spoke of the international crew of volunteer workers from Canada, Ecuador, England, Germany, frTh, Mauritius, New Zealand, South Africa and the United States who had put in extra-long hours to ensure the readiness of those portions of the building which were used for the anniversary observance.
The broad stairway, seven metres wide, leading down into the concourse from the second floor, served as dais. The friends were seated to the left of the main entrance, while behind them lay an area of comparable size which will permit the seating of more than twice the two hundred and fifty people who were in attendance.
Numerous arrangements of roses and other flowers accented the structural beauty of the reception concourse whose design reflects classic perfection of proportion.
The warm July air of Haifa drifted gently in through the, large windows which stood open to receive the breeze. A Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed to the Greatest Holy Leaf was first chanted then repeated in English.
The first to deliver her talk that day was one who had close personal association with Bahá'í Khlium, the Hand of the Cause
Abdu'l-Bahá RhhfyyihAn early photograph of the marble monument erected by Shoghi Effendi over the resting-place of Bahá'í Khdnum.
marks, however, by calling to mind 'one whose chair is empty today'. The friends' thoughts turned to Mr. Amoz Gibson, the well-loved member of the Universal House of Justice, whose death they had so recently mourned.
She then spoke for more than an hour sharing her memories of 'Kh4num' as the Greatest Holy Leaf was known. She told of the privilege she was given as a young girl of sharing intimate moments with Khdnum in the Master's House during her stay in Haifa with her mother, May Maxwell, in 1923.
Counsellor Anneliese Bopppresented a summary of the life of 'the outstanding heroine of the Bahá'í Dispensation'.
She enumerated some of the titles by which Bahá'u'lláh Kh4num is called in the literature of. the Faith, among which are: 'well-beloved sister of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í the Holy Family's 'most precious, most great adorning'; 'the brightly shining Leaf, the Remnant of Bah6, and His trust, the eternal fruit and the one last remembrance of the Holy Tree'.
In the afternoon, Mr. 'Ali Na~j~jav~nf shared precious memories from the life of the Greatest
Holy Leaf. He noted Thatthe dome of the Seat is reminiscent of the dome of the monument of the Greatest Holy Leaf, saying that the architect intended this visible link between the two structures. The emotions that stirred in each privileged participant through the recitals of treasured memories can only be guessed at, but showed clearly on the participants' faces.
Mrs. Bahá'u'lláh Ma'Anf gave an original presentation on the Greatest Holy Leafs place in religious history, outlining first the role of each of the outstanding women of previous Dispensations, and reinforcing the friends' respect for the capacities and services of the Greatest Holy Leaf and for the effective contributions she made at several times in the history of the
Cause.During a break for refreshments the friends went out by the back door of the Concourse and enjoyed the shade bf the colonnade while admiring the dramatic display of colour that had in recent months appeared in the terraced gardens.
The five-tiered garden rises steeply for twenty-five metres and is profusely planted with a variety of flowers, blossoming shrubs and small trees.
Portraits of Bahá'íKhdnum and scenes associated with her life were shown in a slide presentation prepared by Mr. and Mrs. A. L. Thompson. This was followed by recitation in Persian and English of a prayer from the pen of the Greatest Holy Leaf which provided a fitting conclusion to a day spent commemorating her saintly life.
Page 55THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 55
7. SOME REFERENCES TO THE GREATEST HOLY LEAFAssembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada, 1933).
Shoghi Effendi:Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1980), pp. 25, 57, 70, 93, 187 � 196.
The Dawn-Breakers (Wilmette:Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1974), pp. 108, 347, 350, 392.
Guidance for Today andAddressed to the Bahá'ís of North America 1 932 � 1946
(Wilmette:Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1947), pp. 1, 31, 37.
Messages to the Bahá'íBaha Publishing Trust, 1980), pp. 67 � 68, 81 � 82, 93 � 94, 98.
Others:Baha'i, H. M. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh
(London:George Ronald, 1971), pp. 12, 54 � 55, 74, 332, 401, 416, 454 � 455, 463 � 464, 482.
Baha'i, H. M. Edward Granville Browne and the Bahá'í Faith (London: George Ronald, 1970), pp. 119 � 120.
Blomfield, Lady Sarah The1 Compiled by the Research Department of the Baha World Centre and distributed by the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies on
25 February1982. Many of these references are accounts of early pilgrimages and make only brief mention of the Greatest
Holy Leaf.Muh6jir, lrdn Furhtan, comp. The Mystery of God (London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1979), pp. 278 � 304.
Rabanni, Riihiyyih TheTrust, 1969), pp. 6 � 7, 10 � 11, 13 � 15, 21 � 22, 39, 44, 46 � 51, 57 � 58, 63, 90, 102 � 103, 112, 115, 129 � 130, 139 � 140, 144 � 148, 151 � 152, 168, 199, 218, 236, 259, 261 � 262, 266 � 267, 273, 279 � 280, 430, 438.
Universal House of JusticeBahá'í World Centre, 1968), pp. 62 � 70. The Bahá'í World, an International Record.
vol. II, 1926 � 1928, pp. 83, 132.vol. V, 1932 � 1934, pp. 22 � 23, 114 � 115, 169 � 188.
vol. VIII, 1938 � 1940, pp. 5, 8, 206, 255 � 256, 262, 266.
vol. IX, 1940 � 1944, p. 329.Bahá'í News, published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States.
no. 18, June 1927, p. 5.vol. 12, no. 10, pp. 163 � 167; no. 11, pp. 186 � 188; no. 13, pp. 211 � 214; no. 15, p. 245; no. 19, pp. 302 � 303.
vol. 13, no. 4, pp. 68 � 69, 82 � 83, 88; no. 8, pp. 207 � 210, 219 � 220; no. 11, p. 314.
vol. 17, no. 8, pp. 256 � 260.vol. 18, no. 9, pp. 278 � 282. vol. 20, no. 1, p. 18; no. 4, p. 104. vol. 23, no. 5, p. 134; no. 7, pp. 202 � 204; no. 12, pp. 374 � 377.
vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 18 � 20; no. 3, pp. 90 � 93. vol. 25, no. 4, pp. 118 � 122.
Bahá'í Khdnum; circa 1895.THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 57
8. SOME WORKS PUBLISHED TO COMMEMORATE THE FIFTIETH
ANNIVERSARY OF TI-TB PASSING OF THE GREATESTIN its message to 'the Bahá'ís of the world', Nawruz
1981, the Universal Houseof Justice announced its intention to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf by issuing 'a compilation of letters to her and of statements about her by Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and the beloved Guardian, and of her own letters'. The successful achievement of this objective was announced to all National
Spiritual Assemblies'The fiftieth anniversary of the ascension of Bahá'í Kitnum, eldest daughter of Bahá'u'lláh and designated by Him the Greatest Holy Leaf, will occur on July 15th of this year,' the House of Justice advised all
National Spiritual Assemblieson 24 January 1982. 'We summon the entire Bahá'í world to a befitting commemoration of the life of the greatest woman in the Bahá'í Dispensation.
'National Spiritual Assembliesare requested to arrange national commemorative services, and to ensure that all local communities hold befitting meetings. These services should be held on the date of the anniversary or on the weekend immediately following it, and in those countries where Mashriqu'l-Adhkar's are in existence, they should be held in the Temple.'
Enclosed with the letter was a bibliography of references to the Greatest Holy Leaf in Bahá'í literature in English to assist national communities in arrangements for the services.1
Many and varied were the programmes held throughout the Bahá'í world, each characterized by dignity and devotion. In addition, numerous teaching proj ects were inaugurated in her memory and conferences and deepening classes were held at which her heroic life was studied.
Set out below is a bibliography compiled by William P. Collins of publications produced in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the
Greatest Holy Leaf:compilation from Bahá'í Sacred Texts and writings of the Guardian of the
Faith and Bahá'í KhThum'sown letters made by the Research Department at the Bahá'í World Centre.
Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1982. xix, 252 pp. 2. Faizi, Abu'1-Q6sim.
A Gift of Love Offeredto the Greatest Holy Leaf! compiled and edited by Gloria Faizi. n.p.: Gloria A. Faizi, 1982, 39 pp. 3. Gail, Marzieh Kh4num the Greatest Holy Leaf I as remembered by Marzieh Gail. Oxford: George Ronald, 1981. 40 pp. 4. Savi, Julio. Bahá'í Khdnum, Ancella di Baha.
Roma: Casa Editrice Baha'i, 1983. xiii, 112 pp.der Schweiz, 1982. 5 pp. 7. Bahá'í Khdnum, tias Griisste Heilige Bleat, 1846 � 1932 / herausgegeben vom Nationalen Geistigen Rat der Baha in Deutschland zum ftinfzigsten Jahrestag des
Hindscheidens das Grdssten32 pp. 8. Bahá'í Khdnum, la Plus Sainte Feujile, 1846 � 1932. [Berne, Switzerland: National Deepening Committee, 1982] 3 pp. 9. Bahá'í Khdnum, the
Greatest Holy LeafrLondon: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom, 1982] [2]pp. 10. idem. [4] pp.
11. Commemoraci6n del QuincuagdsimoAni-versario tie la Ascensi6n de Bahá'í Khdnum 'liz
Hoja Mds Sagrada.' [S1 p. 12. Commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the Passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf, Bahá'í Khdnum, 15th July 1982/139. [St.
Michael: National SpiritualJuly 1982 at 8.00 p.m. [Mona Vale, N.S.W.I: Bahá'í House of Worship, 1982.
t4] pp.Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Trinidad and Tobago], 1982.
[12] pp. 15. 50th Anniversary of the Passing of the
Greatest Holy Leaf. [Guami:Spiritual Assembly [of the Bahá'ís of the Mariana Islands], 1982.
[4] pp.about Her Life and Qualities to Commemorate the Fiftieth Anniversary of Her Passing on July 15, 1982. [Acera: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Ghana, 1982] 4 pp. 17. Hadrat al-Waraqat al-Mubdrakat al-'Ulyd ft Dhikr~ Su'i~dihd al-Khamsin. [Rabat:
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of Morocco, 1982] [14] pp. 18. Rabbani, RiThiyyih.
Bahá'í Khdnum, the GreatestSchool, Malawi, 1982 (Lilongwe: Extension Aids Branch,
Ministry of Agriculture).19. Seminar on the Greatest Holy Leaf: Seat of the Universal House of Justice, Reception Concourse,
17 July 1982. [Haifa:THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 59
9. THE GREATEST HOLY LEAF: A REMINISCENCE1As we sit together in this gathering lam reminded of the fact that our beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, speaks about the mystic bond that exists between the Greatest
Holy Leaf and Bahá'u'lláh.Obviously this is so, for she was not only His daughter but was referred to by Him as the woman who has the highest rank among all women believers in the Baha dispensation, a station that none surpasses.
Shoghi Effendi, basing himself on this statement, has named her the outstanding heroine of the Baha dispensation.
The Greatest Holy Leafalso had a mystic bond, as Shoghi Effendi describes the relationship, with her brother, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Centre of the Covenant � One Who not only knew her station and appointed her to be in total charge of His household, but Who entrusted her with the sacred remain~ of the Báb which were housed in her room for some ten years in the house of 'Abdu'llAh P~sh6 Who entrusted her with His last will and testament and Who realized that after His passing she would play a central role in the community, as He knew that Shoghi Effendi was not present at the time of His passing.
We can be sure that 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away with His mind at rest, because He knew that Shoghi Effendi would soon be there, and that the Greatest Holy Leaf was there.
After the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá the mystic bond between Shoghi Effendi and the Greatest Holy Leaf assumed far-reaching proportions.
I am sure that future historians and other writers will write about the eleven years that passed from the night of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the night of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf.
The thought was borne in today, as I gazed at the friends assembled in this meeting in this majestic setting, that the House of Justice is beginning to forge its links and bonds with the 1 Excerpts from an address presented during the World Centre seminar commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf, held in the reception concourse, permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice, 17 July 1982.
Greatest Holy Leaf. Why?Following so close upon the fiftieth anniversary of her passing the very first meeting in the permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice is held in her name. The architect of this building, Mr. Husayn Am~nat, today confirmed my recollection that he had deliberately designed the dome of this building to be reminiscent of the dome on the monument erected at the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf. If we compare these two domes we will see the resemblance in broad outline. He did so, he said, because of the wellknown statement of Shoghi Effendi in which he likened the administrative order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh to the monument of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the dome representing the Universal House of
Justice.This building, itself, standing so close to her resting-place, caused me to reflect, as I stood outside, upon yet another symbolism.
It is as though someone were standing with his arms outstretched in a semicircle, this arc, the world administrative seat of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, encircling the consecrated spot where these three precious souls are buried, the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Purest Branch and Navv6b � chief among them the Greatest Holy Leaf. Thus we are now witnessing the forging of bonds at the World Centre of the Faith between the Universal House of Justice and the Greatest
Holy Leaf.It is somewhat embarrassing to find myself speaking of my own recollections of the Greatest Holy Leaf.
I came to the Holy Land in 1922 when I was two-and-a-half years old. The Greatest Holy Leaf passed away in 1932. Of course, I have no memories left of the first two or three years because I was too young, but a few memories have remained of the later years of that decade.
I will, then, speak about this young child who has memories of being in the presence of the Greatest Holy Leaf. This child had a brother who was very close to him � my brother Jal6l who passed away in May of this year � and the experiences which I relate were joint experiences.
I am grateful toBahá'u'lláh for having occasion to mention my brother's name here today.
The young child of whom I speak was born of a mother, I'kitimib KhAnum, who had spent her youthful life in service to the Greatest Holy Leaf, serving for some fifteen years, dating back to the time when the Master was in the house of 'Abdu'11Th P6sh6 in 'Akka Some of you may have met her sister, my aunt, Zeenat Baghdadi, who came to the Holy Land not long ago to give information relating to the restoration of the house of 'Abdu'116h P6shi These two sisters, when they were young girls in 'Akka, nine and eleven years old, were accepted into the household of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
My mother was chosen to serve the Greatest Holy Leaf for all those years. So in our family home we had many stories and feelings � the feelings more important than the stories � about the Greatest Holy Leaf, and the way my mother felt about her. These things are in my background and are for you to visualize as I speak to you.
Speaking about this bond between Shoghi Effendi and the Greatest I-Ioiy Leaf, Zeenat, my aunt, used to say that in the house of 'Abdu'llah PAshA there used to be a parrot. The Greatest Holy Leaf used to take a mirror hold it before the bird and bid it to say 'Ya lidhi va Mahba bE!' (0 my God and my Beloved!) and to say 'Shoghi ]dn!' (Shoghi dear!)
Early in the morning, at dawn, my aunt recalled, the household could hear the parrot crying 'Ya lidhi va Mahbabi!. Shoghiffin!' We have my aunt's voice on tape and I have tried to imitate that 'Shoghi jdn!' with its high pitch.
During the period of the commission of investigation in the time of 'Abdu'1-Hamid, when grave problems confronted 'Abdu'l-Bahá, it was necessary for the Master to conceal His Will and Testament. Although I have no evidence to support my belief, I am convinced that the only soul apart from 'Abdu'l-Bahá who knew at that time who would be the Master's successor was the Greatest Holy Leaf. She was the depository of His secrets, so to speak.
When you visit the house of 'Abdu'llAh PAsh~ you will be shown the room of the
Greatest Holy Leaf. Myaunt said that she had often wondered why it was that the Greatest Holy Leaf would sit on the mandar in that room, in utter silence, for hours on end. My aunt described my mother sitting at the feet of the Greatest Holy Leaf, also remaining silent and motionless, hour after hour. She said it was only later that she understood that it was because the remains of the Báb were in that room.
If we wish to visualize it � forgive my saying this but I am trying to make it understood � it is as though we were asked to live and sleep in the Shrine of the BTh. Obviously, we can well imagine that the Greatest Holy Leaf lived in reverence, turning her heart to the Mb, realizing the sacred trust she had to protect for ten years in that room.
Zeenat used to explain to us that there were several things clearly visible in the life of the Greatest Holy Leaf in the house of 'Abdu'116h PashA and, of course, later on these patterns were transferred to her life at the house of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Haifa.
One was the undisputed authority of the Greatest Holy Leaf after 'Abdu'l-Bahá; that was definitely clear. It was not Munirili Kh6num indeed, far from it. It was the Greatest Holy
Leaf.A second was her leadership in coordinating the meetings related to the Bahá'í women. Whether in 'Akka or Haifa, she presided over their meetings and controlled everything.
The friends would come to her for names for their children, for consultation about a forthcoming marriage and requesting her blessing on the union. She would generally inform the friends about the development of the Cause and whatever 'Abdu'l-Bahá had said.
She was the central point for the Bahá'í women in the community in the
Holy Land.A third was her contact with women of the higher social class in 'Akka and later in Haifa. Zeenat said that whenever prominent persons such as the Mufti of 'Akka, the Governor, or other high officials of the government called upon Abdu'l-Bahá, He would ask the Greatest Holy Leaf, rather than His daughters or His wife, to visit the women in their homes while He entertained the men in His home.
In addition to Persian, the Greatest Holy Leaf spoke fluent Turkish and Arabic.
A fourth aspect became increasingly clear as the Research Department made a study and review of the documents at the World Centre: the extensive correspondence conducted by the Greatest Holy Leaf from the days of Bahá'u'lláh until the end of her life. During
Page 61THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 61
the last six years ofshe was the Most Exalted Leaf after her mother, and there are letters written by her at that time. During the Ministry of 'Abdu'l-Bahá likewise there are letters from her, and after the passing of the Master, of course, during the difficult period when she was head of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í household and head of the committee which was operating here in charge of the affairs of the Faith in the absence of Shoghi Effendi, until the period when he was able to take the reins of authority in his capable hands.
A fifth aspect was her domestic duties. Ella Goodall Cooper wrote a few lines which I think describe very well the busy life of the Greatest Holy Leaf in the household of the
Master.'One day', she writes, 'we caught a glimpse of her in the kitchen, seated on a low stool, her firm, capable hands busy with a large lamb that had just been brought in from the market. Quickly dividing it, she directed which part was to be made into broth, which part served for the evening meal, which part kept possibly for the morrow, and which was to be sent to those poor or incapacitated friends who were daily supplied from 'Abdu'1-Curtis Curtis KeLsey astride a donkey,
Pilgrim House, Baha;Bahá'ís table.' The relationship of the Greatest Holy Leaf to the poor is an element of her life which is sometimes forgotten. During the First World War she was the person responsible for feeding the poor from the Master's house: she cooked for them, sent them rations or supplied rations when the poor came asking. All this was under her control.
An American believer, Curtis Kelsey, was present in the Holy Land at the time of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. In the memoir of Mr. Kelsey written by Nathan Rutstein we find a description of the event: 'The Greatest Holy Leaf calmly went about comforting the grief-stricken, absorbing their pain.
As Curtis watched her move from person to person, stroking a shoulder, clasping a stretched-out hand, he noticed that she exhibited the kind of strength that 'Abdu'l-Bahá radiated.
Some sensed that and clung to her. Her control, her poise, her unrestrained flow of compassion assured him that the Faith would not falter. She was, at that moment, the head of the Faith that her dear brother had led so successfully for twenty-nine years, giving His all.
She was a tower of strength that all would rally around for support.
'As he watched the Greatest Holy Leaf, hereyes caught his and she walked over to him. Since he was not crying, he wondered why she was coming toward him.
"Kelsey," she said, "will you take Fujita and Khusraw to 'Akka to tell the friends there of the Master's passing and then come right back?"
Here she was in the midst of this storm of sorrow, yet she was in full control, giving instructions, comforting everyone around her although she was the one who was in need of the greatest comfort. When the beloved Guardian passed away and a torrent of grief afflicted the Bahá'ís of the world, our beloved Arnatu'1-BalA Riihfyyih KlAnum acted in exactly the same way.
In response to a request of the Universal House of Justice the Hand of the Cause Abu'1-Q~sim Faizi has written a brief account of his visits to Haifa during the time when he was a student at the American University in Beirut. He relates a little story that is touching, one we have heard from him many times. One day Shoghi Effendi asked Mr. Faizi to chant a prayer; he had a most melodious and heartwarming voice.
The next day Shoghi Effendi said that the Greatest Holy Leaf had heard his voice and she would like him to sing and chant for her. With a few other students, Mr. Faizi went to the Greatest Holy Leaf and chanted. The next day Shoghi Effendi inquired whether Mr. Faizi had visited the Greatest Holy Leaf. 'Yes,' Mr. Faizi replied. 'And did you chant for her?' 'Yes,' said Mr. Faizi. Then Shoghi Effendi said that he had left his door open in order to enjoy the chanting and explained that the Greatest Holy Leaf first heard Mr. Faizi chant because she had left her door ajar on the earlier occasion.
Mr. Faizi in his reminiscences describes another occasion on which the Greatest Holy Leaf was very happy.
He writes, 'When our small group of students from Beirut was ushered into the presence of the Greatest Holy Leaf she was seated at the upper end of a large room facing the door.'
I think this must be the same room which served as the women's tearoom.
'The wife of the Master Munirili Kh6num sat next to her and other ladies of the household sat on either side in a semicircle.
The mother of the Guardian, Dfy6'iyyih Khfinum, stood behind the Greatest Holy Leaf with her hands resting on the shoulders of her beloved aunt. We students were given seats facing this beautiful audience. Khdnum sat still, her lily-white hands resting gently on her lap. She was a queen who inspired love and reverence and at her throne of grandeur we offered our grateful hearts. Her glance was full of love but she did not speak to us. The Master's wife, Munfrih KhAnum, spoke on her behalf.
She greeted us whQn we arrived and thanked us warmly in KhAnum's name at the end of our programme of prayers, songs and Bahá'í poems.
On yet another occasion the students were invited.
'This time she said she would like to hear one of the songs that labourers sing in IrAn as they go home in the evening on their way back from work.
She asked if there was anyone among us who knew these songs. We were surprised that Kitnum should still remember such songs which she must have heard on the streets in TihrTh during her early childhood.
Perhaps the sight of a group of young Persians or the music of the t6r (one of the students had a tAr, a Persian stringed instrument) had taken her memories back to those days.'
Marjory Morten in her tribute to the Greatest Holy Leaf makes a touching observation which is accurase as far as my own experiences go: 'She delighted in making presents � sweetmeats and goodies and coins for the children, and for others flowers, keepsakes � a vial of attar of roses, a rosary, or some delicate thing that she had used and cared for. Anything that was given her she one day gave to someone else, someone in whom she felt a special need of a special favour. She was channel rather than cup; open treasury, not locked casket.'
I have selected just four brief passages from the memoir written by the Hand of the Cause Keith
Ransom-Kehier. Thesepassages ring true: 'On two occasions she removed my Bahá'í ring and after holding it for some time replaced it reversed. Twice she blew on the palm of my hand, a sweet, cool, delicious breath and then exultantly exclaimed: "It is all right now."
'She would reach out her delicate hand and, pressing my cheek close against her own, would make some lover-like exclamation.
I was dissolved by her sweetness.THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 63
delicious voice some glorious Tablet or poem, soothing my hand or holding me under the chin as she sang.
'Every Sunday she insisted in going to the meeting on Mt. Carmel: she had to be lifted in and out of the car.'
Keith Ransom-Kehier refers here to the last time she met Bahá'í KMnum toward the close of her life; she was here in March 1932, not long before the passing of the Greatest Holy
Leaf.As to my own memories, perhaps I could present one or two vignettes.
The first I call 'a mouthful from Kh6num but not Kh6num's mouthful'.
I say this because inRhhfyyih KhAnum refers to KhAnum's mouthful, and she did so again in her remarks this morning.
About 1926 or 1927, when I was about five or six years old, I came to the Master's house with my mother one hot afternoon � it was probably during the summer months � and the door of the house was open.
The Greatest Holy Leafwas seated next to the big round table which is still there in the hail of the Master's house.
The samovar was next to her and around this table were seated Munfrih Kh6num and the daughters of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. We reached the hail and stood there and bowed, I following my mother's example. Khdnum looked at us and told us to come in. She was having tea. As I came closer I saw that she was having fresh Arabic bread, white cheese and fresh mint. These were placed on the table. She had made one mouthful of bread, cheese and mint, apparently intending to have it herself. It was ready to be eaten and she was still holding it in her hand. As we approached she asked me to come forward and I moved closer to her. She then asked me to close my eyes and I dutifully closed them. Then she said, 'Open your mouth!' and she put the tidbit in my mouth. So vivid is this experience that every time I recall it I feel that I can taste that fresh mint, bread and cheese from the hand of the Greatest Holy Leaf. I feel and taste it every time I bring the incident to memory.
My brother, JaTM, was two years older than I was. The second story is about him. I was not present on one occasion when he was leaving the presence of the Greatest Holy Leaf. It was at the time of the mandate when we had British currency.
She placed one shilling in his hand and said, 'Jahi, here is a shilling, half for you and half for your brother.' JaN said 'But Kmnum, bow can I break this coin?'
She laughed and beckoned him to her and gave him another shilling. 'This one is for your brother.'
Many were the times my brother and I had sweetmeats, nuts, cookies and other goodies in her room. Often she was tired and would be seated or in bed. She would say, 'Bring that box from under the mandar.
Bring it out � that's right, bring it out. Now open it. Take one for yourself and give one to your brother.' How many times I have gone into that room in great reverence and knelt down, as we used to before the portraits of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb, and watched while the Greatest Holy Leaf sat there reverently unveiling the portraits and then closing them up again after the viewing was over.
We have heard of the delight the Greatest Holy Leaf took in giving presents.
Mr. Abu'1-Q6sim Faizidescribes an event he witnessed when some Arab women came to pay a visit. Bahá'í KlAnum wanted to give them something, but finding nothing in her room she requested that some sugar cubes be brought from the kitchen and she presented them to her guests. She always wanted to give gifts to others.
The story I will now relate, although not all of it refers to the Greatest Holy Leaf, illustrates what I witnessed of the tender relationship between the Greatest Holy Leaf and
Shoghi Effendi. Onceour mother asked my brother and I to go to the Master's house after prayers at the Shrine of the BTh.
In those days the Guardian was younger and, following prayers, he would walk down to Abbas Street and, the terraces beyond Abbas Street not yet having been built, he would turn to the right on Abbas Street, and then proceed to Hapar-sim Street and straight down to the Master's house. The pilgrims would usually walk with him.
On that particular day my brother and I, too, followed Shoghi Effendi because we thought how much better it was to go to the Master's house with him. When Shoghi Effendi reached the gate he turned and said, 'H Amdni'lldh' (May you be under God's protection) and went in. Being younger than Jal6.1, I was glad to follow him when he set out after
Page 64went up the stairs and we did, too, and then entered the house. It was the custom of the Guardian to have his one major meal each day with the Greatest Holy Leaf.
It was also his practice to go to her after meeting with the pilgrims and sit and talk to her. Shoghi Effendi turned right to go through the corridor next to the room in which the Master passed away and proceeded to the next room which was the Greatest
Holy Leafs bedroom. Hewent along that corridor and we followed, and when he opened the door I was so close to Shoghi Effendi at that point that I saw that the Greatest Holy Leaf was in bed. As soon as she heard the footsteps of Shoghi Effendi and the opening of the door she was at the point of rising from bed to sit in the presence of the Guardian.
Although the distance is not far from the door to the bed, Shoghi Effendi literally ran from the door to the bed and gently restrained her, saying 'Jd'iz fist' (it is not permissible). He did not want her to be disturbed.
There is a little sequel to this incident and although it does not directly relate to the Greatest Holy Leaf, since we have begun the story, let me finish it. In the room of KhAnum, Shoghi Effendi seated himself. My brother and I, with childish aplomb, sat down too. Then my mother found out what had happened and sent the maid immediately to tell us to come out.
The door was opened again and with a motion of her eyes the maid signalled us to leave. Jaldi very reverently stood and bowed and withdrew from the room. But I thought this wasn't right; I thought, 'This is not the way to do things!' I felt there should be a handshake.
This, of course, was totally inappropriate but to my childish mind it seemed the proper thing to do. I went straight over to Shoghi Effendi who was seated in a deep comfortable armchair and offered him my little hand. Shoghi Effendi looked at me and pulled himself closer, accepted my hand and shook it. This all took time.
When I went outside my mother asked me what had delayed me and I explained that my brother didn't shake hands and I thought I should. She was horrified and struck my hand, saying, 'Out of reverence for the Guardian you should have done exactly what your brother did.'
Of course, I felt very bad about this. As we were going home my mother asked again, incredulously, 'You shook hands?'
I said, 'Yes.'Leaf passed away in her eighty-sixth year, on 15 JuLy 1932, an announcement was printed in Haifa and distributed to everyone concerned, Bahá'ís and others, in Haifa, 'Akka and Jerusalem. At the top is set out stanza 33 of the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh, from the Arabic: 0 Son of Spirit!
With the joyful tidings of light I hail thee: rejoice! To the court of holiness I summon thee; abide therein that thou mayest live in peace for evermore. Bahá'u'lláh.
Then it states: 'The family of the late Sir 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbas announces with profound sorrow the death of Bahá'í KMnum, sister of the late Sir 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abbas, who passed away peacefully at 1 am. on the morning of July 15.
The funeral procession from her home in the Persian Colony is at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, July 15th.'
The passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf was the most significant event in Haifa since the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Many people gathered for the funeral; indeed, there were a hundred cars following the procession. Shoghi Effendi obviously was not in Haifa. Apart from many dignitaries, the Mayor of Haifa was present and the representative of the northern district.
There were people present not only from Haifa, but 'AkM, Abii-SinAn, Nablus, Jaffa and Jerusalem, and of course the Baha were present. The prayer for the dead was read in the Master's house in the main hail. Some of the friends served as pallbearers. The coffin was raised shoulder high on the shoulders of the friends and carried from the Master's house up to the Shrine. The coffin was brought in not through the main gate but through the small gate next to the school, almost immediately above the cluster of cypress trees where Bahá'u'lláh sat, and then down the path to the Shrine. As I recall, it was not taken inside but was placed outside and prayers were read there as well. Then her coffin was raised again and carried along the same route to her resting-place. The site was chosen by Shoghi Effendi and he himself had
Page 65THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 65
instructed his father in Haifa exactly where the site should be and how the burial should take place. Shoghi Effendi also instructed the Baha to visit her resting-place every day for nine days.
Every afternoon for nine days we gathered at her resting-place for prayers.
There were among the local Arabs those who had written eulogies (Marthiyyih) about the Greatest Holy Leaf and they wanted to read them. There was no time on the day of the funeral so this was set aside because evening came on and everybody had to go home. Very soon requests were made for a meeting in the Master's house for these poets and various officials to come and, as is the custom, offer condolences to the family, recite poems written in honour of the Greatest Holy Leaf and speak words of praise in her memory. This was immediately reported to Shoghi Effendi who said no. Instead, he said that on the fortieth day after her passing a luncheon should be held for the poor and all else who might come. On the 25th of August all the friends gathered.
Some of us were cooking, others were cleaning, others were laying tables and others were serving.
Your humble servant was among those who were serving. A long table was laid seating 100 people. We had ten or eleven turnovers; over 1,000 people came. This is how it went on until 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon. A tent had been erected in the garden where those waiting to be seated could shelter from the hot summer sun. Shoghi Effendi also gave the sum of �100 � a considerable amount in those days � to the municipality of Haifa asking that it be distributed to the needy in the name of the Greatest Holy Leaf.
An announcement was made in the papers and the municipality set up a special committee to screen applications for assistance and distribute the money to those genuinely in need.
Before I conclude let me mention the hands of the Greatest Holy Leaf.
The veins stood out visibly, very much in relief.There was a wonderful softness and a supple tenderness in her hands.
She truly spoke with her hands. I have had the privilege of having her hand over my head; she stroked my head many times as a child. And I want to tell you I have kissed those hands many times; I have broken the law of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas!
I can conclude with no more fitting tribute than that of Shoghi Effendi.
This is such a beautiful description of Khdnum: It would take me too long to make even a brief allusion to those incidents of her life, each of which eloquently proclaims her as a daughter, worthy to inherit that priceless heritage bequeathed to her by Bahá'u'lláh. A purity of life that reflected itself in even the minutest details of her daily occupations and activities; a tenderness of heart that obliterated every distinction of creed, class and colour; a resignation and serenity that evoked to the mind the calm and heroic fortitude of the Bib; a natural fondness of flowers and children that was so characteristic of Bahá'u'lláh; an unaffected simplicity of manners; an extreme sociability which made her accessible to all; a generosity, a love, at once disinterested and undiscriminating, that reflected so clearly the attributes of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í character; a sweetness of temper; a cheerfulness that no amount of sorrow could becloud; a quiet and unassuming disposition that served to enhance a thousandfold the prestige of her exalted rank; a forgiving nature that instantly disarmed the most unyielding enemy � these rank among the outstanding attributes of a saintly life which history will acknowledge as having been endowed with a celestial potency that few of the heroes of the past possessed.
And then these beautiful words:Holy Leaf! Through the mist of tears that fill my eyes I can clearly see, as I pen these lines, thy noble figure before me, and can recognize the serenity of thy kindly face. I can still gaze, though the shadows of the grave separate us, into thy blue, love-deep eyes, and can feel in its calm intensity, the immense love thou did'st bear for the Cause of thine Almighty Father, the attachment that bound thee to the most lowly and insignificant among its followers, the warm affection thou didst cherish for me in thine heart. The memory of the ineffable beauty of thy smile shall ever continue to cheer and hearten me in the thorny path I am destined to pursue. The remembrance of the touch of thine hand shall ~pur me on
Page 66to follow steadfastly in thy way, the sweet magic of thy voice shall remind me, when the hour of adversity is at its darkest, to hold fast to the rope thou did'st seize so firmly all the days of thy life.
Abdu'l-Bahá RiihiyyihKhAnurn spoke of praying to the Greatest Holy Leaf. I want to make a confession. For the past fifty years since her passing, every time I have had a very difficult, difficult problem that I found myself unable to resolve, I have turned to the Greatest 1-joly
Leaf.THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 67
View of the Greatest Holy Leaf's monument as it appears today.
Page 6810. THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF THE GREATEST HOLY LEAF'
Bahá'í Nakhj av~ni A. CROSS the world, from East to West, thousands of Bahá'ís have turned their hearts this year towards one single woman called the 'Maid of Bah&.
In conferences they have stood before multitudes to speak of the 'Scion of Bah&, the 'Remnant of Bahá'í In solitude they have all found themselves speechless to describe adequately this 'archetype of the people of Bah&.
'Abdu'l-Bahá Himselfrefers to her in a way that recalls all that cannot be said: 'I dare make no mention', He wrote, 'of the feelings which separation from her have aroused in my heart I do not know', He continues, 'in what words I could describe my longing for my honoured sister.'
Shoghi Effendi, writing about his great-aunt after her passing in July 1932 also acknowledged that words could not adequately convey all that she was: 'Not even a droplet of all thine endless love can I aspire to fathom, nor can I adequately praise and tell of even the most trifling out of all the events of thy precious life.'
How can we hope to encompass anything of her nature, therefore, when those who give us the words remind us that they will not suffice? How can we contain her when all our lives put together cannot comprehend the least trifling of the events she witnessed, the suffering she endured?
It must be with feelings of awe that we approach this subject and with a sense of wonder that we ask who was this 'Maid' this 'Scion', this 'Remnant of Bahá'í who must remain for all of time our archetype'.
She was named Bahá'íShe was given the titles of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Most Exalted Leaf, but in her letters she referred to herself as 'this yearning prisoner', 'this lowly and grief-stricken maidservant', 'this wronged one'. In the writings of Shoghi Effendi we find expressions which have captured something of her nature and his wonderful imagery speaks where we fall silent. She has been called a Adapted from the address of Dr. Bahá'í Nakhjav~nf to the Baha International Conference, Montreal, Qu6bec, 3 September 1982.
'leaf sprung' from thefruit of His Tree, the lamp of His love, the symbol of His serenity .' He calls her a 'love-loin moth', a soaring pillar', a 'rich mine of faithfulness', an 'orb in the heaven of eternal glory'. She holds a rank in this dispensation that is higher than any other woman can hold.
Her station is one among those that revolve arodnd the greater Manifestations of the past, those women who, like moths, revolved around the great suns of the previous Manifestations. Bahá'u'lláh wrote of her in these words: 'Verily, We have elevated thee to the rank of one of the most distinguished among thy sex, and granted thee, in My court, a station such as none other woman hath surpassed.'
During the ministry of 'Abdu'l-Bahá her station was similarly exalted.
Shoghi Effendi described her as a 'staunch and trusted supporter of the peerless Branch of Bah&, 'a companion to Him beyond compare', 'His competent deputy', 'His representative and vicegerent with none to equal her'. Shoghi Effendi also describes how much she meant to him during the first years of his own ministry, until her passing.
He says she was 'my sole earthly sustainer', 'my most affectionate comforter', 'the joy and inspiration of my life'.
The Greatest Hoiy Leafand Shoghi Effendi, a kinship that was infinitely tender and powerful. To Bahá'u'lláh she was far more than a daughter for she was like a mirror in which His good pleasure was exquisitely reflected.
He says to her, 'How sweet to see thy presence before Me, how sweet to gaze upon thy face.'
To 'Abdu'l-Bahá she was far more than a sister, for in letters of consuming tenderness He writes to her as '0 My sister in the spirit and the companion of My heart, the beloved of My soul'. After her passing the secretary of Shoghi Effendi wrote of what she meant to the Guardian saying that the spiritual attachment he felt for her was 'a bond so strong as to defy description, nor can the mind encompass that exalted state'. Per
Page 69THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 69
haps it is not presumptuous, therefore, if we should say that this subtle and mystic bond is still present with us today working through the Covenant of God, through the divinely ordained administrative order of God, and that her loving care and protection are with us still. Indeed, it can be no coincidence that the Universal House of Justice should have summoned the Bahá'í world to remember her, fifty years after her passing, at a time which coincides with the year in which the House of Justice is itself advancing toward the plenitude of its powers, entering its Seat on the slopes of Mount Carmel, occupying a building set like a jewel on that arc at whose hub and centre lies enshrined the monument of the Greatest 1-Ioiy Leaf. That subtle bond was a legacy given to us fifty years ago when she passed away. Today we receive that legacy again and none of us needs feel portionless or orphaned.
The following cannot pretend to be an historical account and is not intended as a source of biographical detail. Instead it will attempt to consider the degree of suffering experienced by the Greatest Holy Leaf, her service that gradually widened its sphere of influence as a result of that suffering, and finally the nature of the symbol that she is for us, not only as individuals but as members of institutions. The greatness of her station can only be measured by her obedience and her love for the Covenant of God. Her obedience and love for the Covenant is what ensured her proximity to the Centre of the Covenant throughout her life, and that proximity surely cannot be measured except by some reflection on the degree to which she suffered.
The Greatest Holy Leafwas an initiate of suffering, schooled in sacrifice, and she learned everything there was to know about loss.
From the earliest years of her life she was deprived not only of home and security, but also of her dearest Father, when He was thrown into the SfyTh-Chdi and later when He removed Himself for two years from the community in BaghdAd.
Separation from Bahá'u'lláhand exile from her home: such were the experiences that marked the begin-fling of her life. In His letters to her later we read how 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í was one of the educating voices that trained her in the school of sacrifice and instilled in her the capacity to endure. He wrote, 'If thou dost not bear these hardships, who would ever bear them?' And this is what makes of her such a poignant symbol for us today. He counsels her at times of loneliness with words such as, 'However great the distance that separates us, we still feel as though we were seated under the same roof, in one and the same gathering, for are we not all under the shadow of the Tabernacle of God and beneath the canopy of His infinite grace and mercy?' Through her, therefore, we learn from
Him.During these early years of separation and sacrifice during which she lost one brother, and later in 'Akka lost yet another, Mirza Mihdi, she played the role of auxiliary in the household, assisting her mother. Most of her services were internal, within the household.
She served tea. We can imagine how much she must have learned from the mother who was so dear to her, with what joy she must have prepared for the return of Bahá'u'lláh from Su1aym~nfyyih. She was herself never married, but that training she received as assistant to her own mother made of her a symbol of such maternal love as we cannot conceive, for she was entirely unpossessive in her mothering. When she died Shoghi Effendi wrote that we were orphaned, left destitute, for the whole Bahá'í world at that time seemed under her protective care.
If we think of this quality in relation to individuals we see how often we may be called upon to be mothers to each other, no matter who we are. When we think of this quality in relation to the institutions of the Faith we realize that we surely have in our Assemblies a parent whom we can turn to with absolute trust if those institutions could also evince the characteristics of such gentle mothering. However the institutions need to be cared for also, and mothered, for this is the infant Faith of God. And modelling ourselves upon the Greatest Holy Leaf we, too, can try to extend that mothering, that generosity, that nurture, that nourishment to the infant institutions that are growing up all over the world.
It was around 1886 when the Greatest Holy Leaf had to endure the loss of her own mother. At that point in time Bahá'í Kh6num received the title of
'The Greatest Holy Leaf'.She took over the role of her mother, was at the helm of the household of
Page 70Bahá'u'lláh, conducted the management of the affairs of the house, saw to the food that had to be bought and prepared, met the wives of the pilgrims and extended her love and generosity to the community of women who entered that house. Her loss was therefore paralleled by increased responsibility and this pattern was repeated throughout her life.
In 1892 she had to face the 'supreme affliction', the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, and the degree of that suffering was what nerved her to enter an even wider arena of service to the Cause.
Her condition at that time was such that 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote, 'My sister for a considerable period, that is, from the day of Bahá'u'lláh's ascension, had grown so thin and feeble and was in such a weakened condition from the anguish of her mourning that she was close to breakdown.'
But it is such a lady who was nevertheless able to stand as the supporter and companion of 'Abdu'l-Bahá at a time of severe crisis.
Her role in the Baha community at this point was much more significant, for she had to receive on His behalf the wives of the dignitaries who came to visit the World Centre. Still she conducted the household affairs but the scope was now wider.
Shoghi Effendi writes of how far-reaching was her generosity and compassion for the people of 'Akka at that time and how, in spite of this, she was met with rejection and denial and was given no relief at the time of her own great grief. During the last years in 'Akka, before the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, when circumstances were so difficult and the life of 'Abdu'l-Bahá alP was under threat, it was the Greatest Holy Leaf who was trusted by Him, who was the custodian of His will, who was responsible for the safe keeping of His testament. She it was in whose room the casket of the Blessed Mb was kept for ten years because she was so trusted by 'Abdu'l-Bahá In this way, surely, she is also a model for us not oniy within our individual lives but through our institutions, for where else could we turn in a world so sadly shaken?
Where else but toward the solace of those divinely appointed institutions? To which other haven could we turn and put our trust and confidence?
The Greatest Holy Leafwas an extremely practical person. Indeed, due to the extraordinary multiplicity of her capacities we owe her a faithfulness in this attempt to convey the diversity of her nature.
It is too easy for us to create a myth about her, to impose upon her the weight and strain of our twentieth-century interpretations which are inadequate for the duration of this mighty dispensation.
She was truly sensitive and finely tuned but she was also immensely practical. There is a description drawn by an early pilgrim which shows her as the housekeeper of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, a role which she also performed during the early years of Shoghi Effendi's ministry: 'One day we caught a glimpse of her in the kitchen seated on a low stool, her firm capable hands busy with a large lamb that had just been brought in from the market. Quickly dividing it, she directed which part was to be made into broth, which part served for the evening meal, which part kept for the morrow, and which sent to those poor or incapacitated friends who were daily supplied from 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í table.'
It is fitting that we should consider the Greatest Holy Leaf as a model not only for our individual lives but for the qualities of service and the kind of obedience to the Covenant which can stream through our institutions, when we think of her in this capacity of practical housekeeper.
Our institutions are dealing with our lives.It is human beings that are passing through the hands of our assemblies.
We must have not only tender compassion for them but be immensely practical in our manner of dealing with community affairs so as not to cause harm or hardship or waste.
During the trials that affected 'Abdu'l-Bahá, during the threat on His life, the capacities of the Greatest Holy Leaf as housewife and mother enabled her to support 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
In a much deeper sense than mere external practicality, she evihced a stability that was rooted in steadfastness to the Covenant. Shoghi Effendi says of that period, 'Suffice it to say that but for her sleepless vigilance, her tact, her courtesy, her extreme patience and heroic fortitude, grave complications might have ensued and the load of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í anxious care would have been considerably increased.'
It was an element of her very practical nature that she did not wish to burden 'Abdu'l-Bahá any more than was necessary, and protected. Him with her discretion.
Page 71THE COMMEMORATION OF HISTORIC ANNIVERSARIES 71
What joy it must have given her when the imprisonment was lifted and her beloved brother was permitted to be free and travel to the West!
This was one separation the cost of which she surely did not mind paying, for the letters that streamed back to her from Europe and America must have filled her heart with happiness.
The victories of the Faith were great recompense for all her previous suffering. And when He left her in Haifa, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave her a much wider role. In His absence she had to deal with many of the affairs in Haifa which had been His responsibility.
Everything which did not require interaction with the male world was left to her, because we must remember that this was the Middle East and it would not have been fitting for a lady such as the Greatest Holy Leaf to deal with business affairs; such matters were taken care of by the male members of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í household. But nevertheless her sphere of influence was wider and she received both men and women dignitaries and officials, spoke to the pilgrims on behalf of 'Abdu'l-Bahá inspired them, gave her assistance to the poor and offered her medical services to the sick.
Shortly after 'Abdu'l-Bahá returned to the Holy Land after His travels in the West, World War I broke out. The Greatest Holy Leaf was in a position to offer some needed help to the local community.
Shoghi Effendi writes that 'her words of cheer and comfort, the food, the money, the clothing she freely dispensed, the remedies which by a process of her own she herself prepared and diligently applied, all these had their share in comforting the disconsolate.'
Here again we might consider how much she is a model for us not only as individuals but as institutions. She was a natural healer. She not only had compassion for the sick but insight into the nature of their sickness and she offered remedies which she prepared, as Shoghi Effendi said, by 'a process of her own'. We might bear this in mind when we think of how often our Assemblies need to be a source of healing for the community, how they are required to consider each individual case, diagnose the condition, prescribe the remedies in the same way she did, so that by means of prevention, the health of the community might be ensured. We are told that she turned to professionals when necessary; so, too, do the institutions.
Through her own suffering she became attuned to the needs of the community and the importance of her role increased. The next great blow in her life came in 1921 with the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
The One Who had always been there to comfort her was now gone, and now she became the comforter.
It is at this point in her life that we begin to bear her own voice speaking in the beautiful tablets which have been translated by the Universal House of Justice for us this year. Among them there is one prayer that rises from the depths of her anguish and in it she becomes a spokesman for the suffering masses of the world. She speaks in the language of the heart on behalf of all who have been downtrodden, who have been suppressed, who have experienced a separation and Loss of such magnitude that she alone could understand their plight:
'0 God, my God!'Thou seest me immersed in the depths of grief, drowned in my sorrow, my heart on fire with the agony of parting, my inmost self aflame with longing. Thou seest my tears streaming down, hearest my sighs rising up like smoke, my never-ceasing groans, my cries, my shouts that will not be stilled, the useless wailing of my heart.
'For the sun of joy has set, has sunk below the horizon of this world, and in the hearts of the righteous the lights of courage and consolation have gone out. So grave this catastrophe, so dire this disaster, that the inner being crumbles away to dust.
Where else could we find a spokesman who could so speak on our behalf about our deepest anguish?
We know now why she has been offered to us as an intercessor, as one to whom we might turn at times of great despair. It seems most fitting that we reach toward her first, beg her assistance, ask for her compassion, because she has so keenly felt the pain of being human.
She was no mediator between man and God, nor a mystery given by God to man, but simply a woman whose voice calling upon God seems universal in its truth and its sincerity. So, too, our institutions might echo that voice of compassion for us, might speak on our behalf when we feel
Page 72turn i � I Australian Aboriginal believers pose in front of the Lakeside Hotel where the Canberra Conference was held from 2 to 5 September 1982.
Believers from 45 countries � 2, 400 in all � registered for the Conference, twice as many as originally expected. On opening morning the believers sent flowers to the resting-places of the Greatest Holy Leaf and the Hands of the
Cause John and Clara Dunn and AgnesThe Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery represented d the Universal House of Justice and read its message to the Conference. Afterwards, Dr. Giachery cabled the House of Justice that this was the finest Conference he had ever attended, one that could result in durable achievements all regions between poles within brief time
Page 148It was a happy Conference that was made even more joyful by the attendance of a large delegation of believers from Japan who came to participate in the discussion of the 'Spiritual Axis' mentioned in the Guardian's last message to Australia.
Since the Conference could not be held in Manila, the Philippine Bahá'ís sent a scroll containing the signatures of over 4,000 Philippine pine believers.
Unprecedented publicity was given the Conference by the media. One portion of the Conference that was televised and screened nationwide three times was the roll call of th~ nations.
� illustrating the great diversity of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh.
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Music was supplied by the choir conducted byHancock. A total of fifteen Counsellors were in attendance including Anneliese Bopp of the International Teaching Centre who spoke on the life and service of the Greatest Holy Leaf.
A large delegation from New Zealand was present.and Ugo Giachery, along with Counsellors Owen Battrick and Anneliese Bopp, enjoy one of the sessions.
A telephone link was established between the Canberra Conference and the one which was held concurrently in Montreal. Mr. Feather-stone e is seen speaking on the Canberra end of the line.
The official Conference photograph.After the close of the Conference in Canberra the friends went to Sydney to attend a programme e of worship in the Mother Temple of the Antipodes which was filmed by two television stations with dignity and respect.
Summing up the Canberra Conference, a participant cabled that the friends were inspired by the vision of the Faith 'radiating outwards spiritual axis' and felt challenged as never.
before to carry out this task.INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 151
BAHA'IThe Montreal Conference was also held from 2 to 5 September 1982. Believers from 101 countries and alifive continents were in attendance.
. Abdu'l-Bahá Rahiyyih Khdnum the official representative of the Univetsal House of Justice, was piped into the auditorium by a bagpiper clad in the Sutherland tartan. She read the message of the House of Justice to ... over 9,000 Bahá'ís who gathered in Montreal's Velodrome. Acoustics in the huge hail presented a pro bi em, but cassette recordings of the talks were made available.
Simultaneous translation was provided in English, French, Persian and Spanish.
The distinguished guests included four other Hands of the Cause: Gen. Shu'd'u'1li~h 'Ald'i, Mr. Dhikru'lldh Kh~dem, Mr. John Robarts and Dr. 'All-Muhammad Varqd. A sky-banner r reading 'Bienvenue aux Bahá'ís du monde', flown by Daoud Tedjarati, welcomed the believers to the Conference site.
Page 152A poignant part of the programme was the recital of names of those Bahá'ís in Irdn who have been martyred. Members ofthefamilies of the martyrs were asked to stand.
Dr. Bahá'í Nakhjavdni spoke on the significance e of the life and services of Bahá'í Kh~n urn, the Greatest Holy Leaf, to whose memory the series of Conferences was dedicated.
An unforgettable moment occurred on the afternoon of Sunday, 5 September,when 1,200 children came from their own Conference across the Plaza to the Velodrome where they performed their Conference theme song, 'We are Baha 'is~.
The children's chorus was under the direction of Jack Lenz, a Canadian composer and musician. Mr. Lenz trained and directed a Bahá'í choir and rehearsed and conducted a 25-piece orchestra for the Saturday evening concert.
Page 153INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 153
Amatu'I-Bahd Rt~hiyyih Kluinum gave a special talk to the children.
A huge area was set aside for the display and sale of Bahá'í literature, teaching aids and other special materials. This was the largest display ever mounted with 40 suppliers participating and close to 200,000 items on view.
The evening sessions were enriched by contributions butions from Bahá'ís in the performing arts, including singer Nancy Ward Johnson, pictured here. Other artists included Nancy Ackerman, Gordie Munro, Suzanne Hebert, the Do'a Group, Kiu Haghighi, Lucie Dub~ and Jacques Prouls, Doug Cameron and Bruce Gibson, Jeff White, Marg Atkinson Raynor, Steve
Porter and Susan Aidridge.The ballet group 'Shayda'performed a ballet inspired by the recent martyrdoms in Ir6n and a dramatic presentation was made by a team of actors, under the direction of Betty Martin, of excerpts from the work of the Canadian poet,
Roger White.The members of the 'Trail of Light' team who had completed a highly successful tour of various Latin countries before attending the Quito Conference appeared in Montreal and were greeted by Amatu'I-Bahd Riihiyyih
Khdnum.The Hand of the Cause John Robarts raised the califor pioneers. More than 300 responded and subsequently met with representatives of pioneering committees. The total attendance at alifive Conferences was 16,000. The spirit generated by these vast gatherings stimulated and galvanized to greater action thousands more in a number of satellite Conferences held throughout the world.
Some participants in the satellite conference held in Nairobi. Kenya: 15 � 17 October 1982.
Numerous conferences of a similar nature, dedicated to the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf were held throughout the world.
Page 155Bahá'í died for his faith, br~ X~:7 journal ~ montreal
Ia PU'~~e0 ~ I, p~M~ .d ~t &, � , A representative sampling from Canadian newspapers of references to the International Bahá'í Conference held in Montreal from 1 to 5 September 1982. Four ma]or Montreal newspapers alone printed sixteen articles. In addition, two national television networks carried reports and there were many references on radio. ~J1
Page 156To the Friends gathered at the International Conference in Dublin Dearly-loved Friends, The world is in travail and its agitation waxeth day by day. Such shall be its plight that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly.
The shattering blows dealt to the old, divisive system of the planet and the constantly accelerating decline in civilized life since that dire warning was uttered by Bahá'u'lláh a hundred years ago, have brought mankind to its present appalling condition. Consideration of how the Baha of Europe, confronted by this situation, can meet their responsibilities, spiritually and actively, is the main purpose of this Conference.
The holding of this Conference in Dublin calls to mind the historic and heroic services of Ireland in spreading the divine religion throughout pagan Europe. Europe's response was to develop, through many vicissitudes, the most widespread and effective civilization known. That civilization, together with all other systems in the world, is now being rolled up, and Europe's plight in proportion to her former preeminence, is desperate indeed.
By the same token her opportunity is correspondingly great. The challenges to her resilience, to her deep~seated spiritual vitality, nourished over the centuries by the
Teachings of Christ� now, alas, neglected and even contemned � can and must call forth a more magnificent response than was ever made by the divided and contending peoples of olden times.
Yours is the task to arouse that response. The power of Bahá'u'lláh is with you and this Day, as attested by the BTh, is immensely exalted.
above the days of the Apostles of old.In this great Day Europe is blessed as never before in its history, for the Manifestation of God, the Lord of Hosts, spent five years of His exiles within its borders, sending forth from His remote prison the first of those challenging, world-shaking addresses to the kings and rulers, six of whom were European potentates.
There is no authenticated record of a Manifestation of God ever before setting foot in Europe.
You are engaged on a Seven Year Plan and have made devoted and sacrificial efforts to attain its objectives. But its ultimate purpose, as that of all other plans, namely the attracting of the masses of mankind to the all-embracing shelter of the Cause of God, still evades us. Particularly in Europe. We have not, as yet, found the secret of setting aglow the hearts of great numbers of Europeans with the divine fire. This must now be your constant preoccupation, the subject of your deliberations at this Conference, the purpose of your lives, to which you will attain only if you arise to trample beneath your feet every earthly desire �We call upon every Bahá'í in Europe to ponder this vital matter in his inmost soul, to consider what each may do to attract greater power to his efforts, to radiate more brilliantly and irresistibly the joyous, regenerating power of the Cause, so that the Baha community in every country of Europe may stand out as a beacon light repelling the dark shadows of godlessness and moral degradation now threatening to obliterate the last remnants of a dying order. We call upon the Continental Board of Consellors to con-suit following this Conference with every National Spiritual Assembly in Europe, and together, launch such a campaign of spiritualization of the Baha community, allied with intensified personal teaching, as has never been witnessed in your continent. The 156
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goals of the Seven Year Plan can all be accomplished as the result of such a programme and the European Bahá'í community may achieve through it the spiritual force and character to demonstrate to a stricken and declining civilization the peace and joy and order of the long-awaited,
Christ-promised KingdomMay the loving spirit and saintly life of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the fiftieth anniversary of whose ascension is commemorated in this Conference, imbue your thoughts and aspirations and resolves with that dedicated, self sacrificing, utter devotion to Bahá'u'lláh and His Cause which she so greatly exemplified.
B. TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCETo the followers of Bahá'u'lláh gathered at the International
Conference in Quito, EcuadorBeloved Friends, We hail with joyous hearts and eager anticipation the soldiers of Bahá'u'lláh's Army of Light gathered together in Quito, the capital city of the Republic of Ecuador, to do honour and homage to the blessed memory of Bahá'u'lláh KMnum the Greatest Holy Leaf, the most outstanding heroine of the Bahá'í Dispensation, the fiftieth anniversary of whose ascension was so recently commemorated throughout the world.
Conscious of the beloved Master's plea to promulgate the oneness of mankind to a spiritually impoverished humanity, inspired by the memory of the Hand of the Cause Dr. Rahmatu'116h Mirza whose mortal remains are interred in the soil of Quito, and deriving spiritual stimulus from the Mother Temple for Latin America, the friends are reminded of the galvanizing words of our beloved Guardian addressed to the eager, the warmhearted, the spiritually minded and staunch members of these Latin American Baha communities 'Let them ponder the honor which the Author of the Revelation Himself has chosen to confer upon their countries, the obligations which that honor automatically brings in its wake, the opportunities if offers, the power it releases for the removal of all obstacles, however formidable, which may be encountered in their path, and the promise of guidance it implies Praiseworthy indeed are the achievements thus far made by the communities of South and Central America and the islands of the Caribbean in the first half of the Seven Year Plan. Full advantage should be taken of the current high tide of proclamation engendered by the crisis in frdn to attract to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh earnest and seeking souls from every stratum of society, thereby enriching the spiritual and material diversity of our communities. Great effort should be made to utilize more fully the valuable possibilities of radio and television as a means of reaching the vast multitudes whose hearts and minds offer fertile soil for the planting of the seeds of the Faith.
All elements of the Bahá'í community, particularly the women and youth, should arise as one soul to shoulder the responsibilities laid upon them. All outstanding goals of the Seven Year Plan should be pursued with enthusiasm and assurance of their accomplishment.
All National SpiritualAssemblies during the remaining fast-fleeting years of this radiant century, in collaboration with the Institutions of the Faith standing ready and eager to assist them, must greatly reinforce the foundations of maturing
National and Local Spiritual Assembliesto enable them to cope successfully with the multifarious and challenging problems that will confront them.
At a moment in Bahá'í history when the persecuted, beleaguered friends in the Cradle.
Page 158of the Faith heroically continue to face the trials ordained for them in the Major Plan of God, meeting martyrdom, as need be, with joyous acceptance, it behooves the friends throughout the Bahá'í world to endeavour by their own greatly increased acts of self-abnegation to make fruitful the spiritual energies released by the sacrifices of their stricken brethren.
May you all immerse yourselves in the spirit of the saintly life of the Greatest Holy L&af whose self-sacrificing devotion to her beloved Father's Cause is a worthy example for every believer to emulate.
c. TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCETo the Friends gathered at the Bahá'í International
Conference at LagosDearly-loved Friends, With hearts overflowing with love for the~ people of Africa, so richly endowed with the gifts of the spirit, so abundantly and repeatedly blessed since the dawn of this Revelation, and so gloriously promising in the unfoldment of their hidden potentialities, we welcome the friends gathered at this Conference held in one of the most important capitals of their emergent continent.
As we review the annals of our Faith we see that since the days of the Blessed Beauty and up to the early 1950s, the activities of the friends in Africa had produced the formation of one National Spiritual Assembly with its seat in Cairo, Egypt, the opening of twelve countries to the light of the Faith, and some fifty localities established throughout its vast lands. It was at such a time that the beloved Guardian ushered in the first African Teaching Plan, to be followed during the remaining years of his ministry and in subsequent years after his passing, by a series of challenging and bravely executed plans designed to implant the banner of the Faith throughout the length and breadth of that continent and its neighbouring islands..
Today, after the lapse of a little over three decades, we stand in awe as we view with admiration one of the most valiant contingents of the Army of Light, guided by its own Board of Counsellors, led and administered by thirty-seven National Spiritual Assemblies and 4,990
Local SpiritualAssemblies, privileged to serve an eager and radiant community of believers drawn from 1,152 African tribes residing in 29,000 localities.
How wonderful that it has been possible to convene this Conference on African soil with such a large number of African friends in attendance, in loving memory of the most distinguished heroine of the Bahá'í Dispensation, the eldest daughter of the King of Glory, who lived a long life of sacrificial service to the Cause of her Beloved Father. Her meekness, her unassuming nature, the purity of her soul, the sensitivity of her heart, the calmness of her demeanour, her patience and longsuffering in trials, and above all, her unshakeable faith, her tenderness and love, and the spirit of self-renunciation which she evinced throughout her blessed life, are outstanding characteristics that we can well emulate, particularly in Africa, where these heavenly qualities play such an important part in attracting the souls, and winning th~ hearts to the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.
We rejoice in the knowledge that some communities have already initiated in her name teaching and consolidation campaigns of far-reaching magnitude, that many Bahá'í women inspired by her example are accepting an ever-greater share of responsibility in running the affairs of the community, and that numerous newsletters are reflecting eulogies of the station she occupied, the sufferings she endured and the heroism she demonstrated in her love for the glorious Cause of her Lord.
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The fortunes of the Seven Year Plan in Africa are in the balance. As we draw near to the midway point in the unfoldment of the processes it has set in motion, we call upon its valiant promoters on the African mainland and its surrounding islands, to take stock of their position, to reappraise their progress, and to concentrate their resources on whatever portions of the goals are as yet unachieved.
Chief among its objectives are a widespread recruitment of many more supporters of the Most Great Name, the deepening of the individual believers, for the fulfilment of all goals ultimately depends upon them, and a notable increase in the number of newly-formed as well as firmly-rooted Local Spiritual Assemblies, to serve as bases for the manifold activities of the community, including the Bahá'í education of children, a greater participation of women and youth in Bahá'í activities, and the formulation of ways and means to enrich the spiritual lives of the 'noble' and 'pure-hearted' believers of a 'fast awakening continent'.
May the participants in this Conference carry to the mass of their devoted fellow believers, whose personal circumstances have made it impossible for them to attend, the spirit of joy and optimism which we hope will be generated at this gathering and the flames of enthusiasm which we pray will be enkindled in their hearts.
May the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf, who through her life of heroic self sacrifice has left to us 'a legacy that time can never dim', inspire the friends in every country of the continen~t to rededicate themselves to the Cause of God, not to allow any opportunity for mentioning the Faith to slip by unutilized, and not to permit one day of their Lives to pass without a noble effort to draw nearer to the good-pleasure of the Blessed Beauty.
Our fervent prayers surround you as you proceed with your deliberations.
D. TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCETo the Friends gathered in the Asian � Australasian Bahá'í Conference in
CanberraThe institutions of the old world order are crumbling and in disarray. Materialism, greed, corruption and conflict are infecting the social order with a grave malaise from which it is helpless to extricate itself. With every passing day it becomes more and more ,evident that no time must be lost in applying the remedy prescribed by Bahá'u'lláh, and it is to this task that Baha everywhere must bend their energies and commit their resources.
New conditions now present themselves making it easier to accomplish our purpose. Galvanized by the fires of fierce opposition and nurtured by the blood of the martyrs, the forces of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh are, at long last, emerging from obscurity.
Never before in history has the Faith been the subject of such universal attention and comment.
Eminent statesmen, parliamentarians, journalists, writers, educators, commentators, clergymen and other kaders of thought have raised their voices and set their pens to expressions of honor and revulsion at the persecutions of our brethren in km on the one hand, and to paeans of praise and admiration of the noble principles which motivate the followers of the Most Great Name on the other.
The five InternationalConferences of the Seven Year Plan were called to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf, to discuss anew the present condition of the Faith in a turbulent world society, to examine the great opportunities for its future growth and development
Page 160and to focus attention on the unfulfilled goals of the Plan. We are certain that the contein-plation of the gathered friends on the sterling qualities which distinguished the heroic life of the Greatest Holy Leaf will help them to persevere in their noble endeavours.
This particular ConferenceThe geographical area of concern spans over half the globe, including within its purview all the vast continent of Asia as well as the water hemisphere which comprises all of Austrajasia. Within the continent of Asia is the 'cradle of the principal religions of mankind.
above whose horizons in modern times, the suns of two independent revelations � have shecessively arisen on whose western extremity the Qiblih of the Baha world has been definitely established
The first Mashriqu'l-Adhkarof the Bahá'í World was erected on this continent under the direction of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and now another is arising on the Indian subcontinent in the midst of the world's largest Bahá'í community.
In Australasia the MotherTemple of the Antipodes, dedicated to the Glory of God just two decades ago, looks out across the vast Pacific Ocean in whose midmost heart still another Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is being built on the mountain slope above Apia in the country of the first reigning monarch to embrace the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh.The population of Asia and Australasia is well over half the world population.
The area includes Asiatic U.S.S.R. and mainland China, accounting for more than one thousand million souls who are, for the most part, untouched by the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. Obviously present conditions in these areas call for the exercise of the utmost wisdom and circumspection.
Yet this vast segment of humanity cannot be ignored.
Canberra, where you are now meeting, is at the southern pole of the spiritual axis referred to in the beloved Guardian's last message to the Bahá'ís of Australia as 'extending.
from the Antipodes to the northern islands of the Pacific ocean .'. Referring to the National Spiritual Assemblies at the northern and southern poles of that axis, Shoghi Effendi went on to say: 'A responsibility, at once weighty and inescapable, must rest on the communities which occupy so privileged a position in so vast and turbulent an area of the globe. However great the distance that separates them; however much they differ in race, language, custom, and religion; however active the political forces which tend to keep them apart and foster racial and political antagonisms, the close and continued association of these communities in their common, their peculiar and paramount task of raising up and consolidating the embryonic World Order of Bahá'u'lláh in those regions of the globe is a matter of vital and urgent importance which should receive on the part of the elected representatives of their communities a most earnest and prayerful consideration.'
These guidelines, penned a quarter of a century ago, are as valid today as when they were written, and can be taken to heart by all Baha communities on either side of the axis.
We are approaching the midway point of the Seven Year Plan. As we review our accomplishments with respect to the goals of that Plan, it is essential that we fortify ourselves for the tasks ahead, and that we rededicate ourselves to that Cause for which our beloved martyrs rendered their last full measure of devotion.
We can do no less!We shall be with you in spirit during your important deliberations. Our prayers ascend at the Holy Threshold for the success of your Conference and the Jfrternational Conference being held concurrently in Montreal.
We shall ardently supplicate that the blessings and confirmations of Bahá'u'lláh will descend upon you and surround you wherever you go in service to His Faith.
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E. TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCETo the Friends gathered at the Bahá'í International
Conference in MontrealDearly-loved Friends, Seventy years ago 'Abdu'l-Bahá visited Montreal, hallowing it forever. The visit of the beloved Master to America, the laying by Him of the cornerstone of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the West and the revelation by Him five years later of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, which invest its chief executors and their allies with spiritual primacy, constitute successive stages in the gradual disclosure of a mission whose seeds can be found in the Báb's address to the peoples of the West, urging them to aid God's Holy Calise. This mission was given specific direction through Bahá'u'lláh's summons to the rulers of America, calling on them to heal the injuries of the oppressed and, with the rod of the commandments of their Lord, to bring their corrective influence to bear upon the injustices perpetrated by the tyrannical and the ungodly. 'Abdu'l-Bahá revealed in clearer details than those given by either the Báb or Bahá'u'lláh the nature and scope of that glorious mission. In His eternal Tablets unveiling America's spiritual destiny the Master wrote, the continent of America is, in the eyes of the one true God, the land wherein the splendours of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide and the free assemble. Therefore, every section thereof is blessed.
and, referring to Canada, He asserted that its future is very great, and the events connected with it infinitely glorious.
Even more specifically, He expressed the hope that in the future Montreal may become so stirred, that the melody of the Kingdom may travel to all parts of the world from that Dominion and the breaths of the Holy Spirit may spread from that centre to the East and the West of America.
After the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and under the guidance of the Guardian the Baha of the world witnessed with awe and admiration the North American community arising as one man to champion the Adminis trative Order taking shape on their own soil, to embark upon the first collective teaching plan in the annals of the Faith, to Lead the entire Baha world in intercontinental teaching campaigns, to demonstrate with devotion their exemplary firmness in the Covenant, to extend their support and protection and relief to the oppressed followers of Bahá'u'lláh throughout the East and particularly in His native land, and to send forth valiant pioneers and travelling teachers to every continent of the globe. These marvellous and noble exertions, calling for the expenditure of resources almost beyond their means, paved the way for the achievement of glorious victories which synchronized with a series of world convulsions, signs of universal commotion and travail, and with repeated crises within the Faith.
And in this day, while the blood of the martyrs of Persia is once again watering the roots of the Cause of God and when the international outlook is impenetrably and ominously dark, the
Bahá'ís of North AmericaLess than a score of years remain until the end of this century which the Master called the century of light, and He clearly foresaw that ere its termination an advanced stage would have been reached in the striving towards the political, racial and religious unity of the peoples of the world, unfolding new horizons in scientific accomplishments, universal undertakings and world solidarity.
The calls of the Master and the Guardian plainly summon the Bahá'ís of the Americas to prodigies of proclamation, of teaching and of service. The American melting-pot of peoples needs the unifying power of the new Faith of God to achieve its fusion.
The representative character of the Baha community should therefore be reinforced through the attraction, conversion and support of an ever-growing number of new believers from the diverse elements constituting the population of that vast mainland and particularly from among Indians and Eskimos about
Page 162whose future the Master wrote in such glowing terms. In the glorious freedom which enables you to proclaim, to teach and confirm, to educate and deepen yourselves and others in the verities of the Faith, you have precious opportunities of service denied to many of your fellow believers elsewhere.
If your blessed communities are to lead the world spiritually, as the Master envisaged, then the Faith must strike deeper roots in your hearts, the spirit of its teachings must be exemplified in ever greater measure in your lives, and God's Holy Cause must be taught and proclaimed with ever greater intensity.
In His immortal Tabletsassures each one of you that whosoever arises in this day to diffuse the divine fragrances, the cohorts of the Kingdom of God shall confirm him You are met in this Conference to review the progress of the Seven Year Plan, to be confirmed, galvanized and sent into action.
It is not enough for the North American believers to stand at the forefront of the Bahá'í world; the scope of their exertions must be steadily widened.
In the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The range of your future achievements still remains undisclosed. I fervently hope that in the near future the whole earth may be stirred and shaken by the results of your achievements Exert yourselves; your mission is unspeakably glorious. Should success crown your enterprise, America will assuredly evolve into a centre from which waves of spiritual power will emanate The valiant countries of North America should in the second half of the Seven Year Plan ensure that an ever-swelling number of pioneers and travelling teachers will arise and travel to and settle in countries which need their support, however inhospitable the local conditions may be, ceaselessly endeavouring to contribute to the expansion of the teaching work and the strengthening of the foundations of the corn-munities munities they are called upon to assist. They should, moreover, continue their defence of the downtrodden, open their doors to their Bahá'í brethren who are seeking refuge in their lands, provide technological expertise to communities which need it, and supply an uninterrupted flow of resources to support the ever-increasing international projects of the Faith.
In their respective homefronts the Bahá'ís of North America should intensify the drive to attract the masses to God's Holy Cause, to provide the means for their integration into the work of the Faith, and should become standard-bearers of an embryonic Bahá'í society which is destined to gradually emerge under the influence of the integrating and civilizing forces emanating from the Source of God's Revelation.
Such noble objectives cannot be fully achieved unless and until local communities become those collective centres of unity ordained in our Writings, and every individual earnestly strives to support the structure and ensure the stability of the Administrative Edifice of the Faith.
How fitting that this Conf&rence, and the one held for Bahá'í children on a scale unprecedented in North America, should commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of Bahá'í
KMnum, the Greatest HolyLeaf, whose love for the North American believers and whose admiration for their heroism were so deep and so sustained and whose natural fondness for children was so characteristic of Bahá'u'lláh. May each of you emulate her unswerving devotion and loyalty to the Covenant of God and her perseverance in the path of His love. We shall mark this first day of your Conference, together with the one being held concurrently in Canberra, with prayers at the Holy Shrines that all may become assisted in service and like unto brilliant stars shine in these regions with the light of guidance.
Page 163THE BAHÁ'Í community of Africa embraces fifty mainland countries, plus nine major islands or island groups. At the close of the period under review there were thirty-seven National Spiritual Assemblies, plus five countries where the Faith had been banned for the time being and the National Assemblies dissolved in accord with government decrees. In Zaire, the
Universal House of Justicehad temporarily replaced the National Spiritual Assembly with three Administrative Committees. There were, by Ridvan 1983, a total of over 5,000 Local Spiritual Assemblies, and the Faith was established in approximately 28,000 localities.
During this period three new National Spiritual Assemblies were formed in Africa. In 1980 the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of Transkei had been elected with its seat in Umtata and in 1981 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Bophu-thatswana with its seat in Mmbatho and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South West Africa/Namibia with its seat in Windhoek.
It is noteworthy that the National Assemblies of Transkei and Bophuthatswana were the first National Spiritual Assemblies to be formed in the former tribal homelands of South Africa which have been declared independent nations by the government of the Republic. Two other countries had been prepared in this period for National Spiritual Assembly status:
Cape Verde Islands and Gabon.Assembly of Uganda was reformed in 1981 after the Faith had been banned there for a period of nineteen months during the Amin regime.
Proclamation, PublicRelations and the Media Unquestionably, the most notable accomplishment of this historic four-year period in the history of the Faith in Africa stemmed directly from the resurgence and severity of the persecutions in IrAn. In the mid-1950s the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, had linked the sufferings of the believers in Persia to the establishment of the Faith in Africa when he announced that the Mother Temple of Africa would be built in Kampala, Uganda, as a worthy answer to the challenge' of the repressions in fr6n which had prevented the building of the Persian Mashriqu'l-Adhkar. Now, twenty-five years later, the heroic struggle of the Persian believers once again resulted in a major new development in the Faith in Africa through the continent-wide efforts of national communities to publicize the persecutions through press, radio and television, and through public relations programmes designed to reach Heads of State, government officials and prominent people in all walks of life, to explain the plight of the Iranian Baha Community and attract support for its relief. Thus the achievement of two important goals of the Seven Year Plan was advanced to a marked degree: that of contacting people in the upper strata of society and of increasing the use of the media for proclaiming the Faith.
In Nigeria, such efforts reached officials and notables in all nineteen states of this vast, 163
Page 164Bushman and other participants who attended an Auxiliary Board member deepening institute held in Khudumelapye, Botswana; July 198].
L populous country. In the Ivory Coast, twenty government ministers were contacted, and the authorities then officially condemned the persecutions. In Kenya, a special and extensive information folder on the situation in IrAn was presented to the Head of State, to all Ministers and to prominent citizens, as well as to the media.
In Gambia, public officials of all ranks, from the Head of State and his Ministers to thirty District Chiefs, were contacted and significant amounts of literature were distributed.
In Senegal, a wider public recognition of the Faith was achieved through the extensive press coverage.
In Togo, 90 per cent of the government officials down to regional level were reached, and the government recorded a favourable vote for the Faith in the United Nations
Human Rights Commission. TheSwaziland Bahá'í community had developed good, friendly relations with the Swazi King, Sobuza, and with his family, as well as with the authorities generally, and were also able to proclaim the Faith widely throughout the country.
The believers in Malawi,undertook special programmes of proclamation to public officials and through the media. Togo successfully initiated the use of book exhibitions, as did Madagascar, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.
In Reunion Island, all branches of the media were very usefully contacted regarding the Iranian situation. In Sierra Leone, books were placed for sale at a bookstore, and in several countries gifts of books were made to public and academic libraries.
In the Seychelles Islands, radio was very well utilized. In Uganda, Burundi, Zambia and Benin there was very fruitful contact with public officials. In Zambia, the traditional rulers were also approached and introduced to the Faith.
In Zambia,.Kenya and Tanzania the Bahá'í communities participated as exhibitors at national and regional agriculture and trade shows.
Several Bahá'í communities had succeeded in obtaining regular weekly programmes on radio. The believers in Central Africin Republic, remarkably, celebrated their first complete decade of weekly Baha radio broadcasts,
Page 165INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 165
alternately in French and in the Sango language, and their admirable record of good public relations continued. Liberia obtained a 15-minute weekly radio programme, plus the broadcasting of Bahá'í prayers and readings morning and evening.
Chad also had a weekly radio broadcast.In the broader field of international relations, the Togo Community admirably supported United Nations events, including the special Years of the Handicapped and of Disarmament, and made use of distinguished guest speakers on these occasions. Botswana also did a fine job of supporting United Nations activities and programmes. In Kenya, where a number of United Nations agencies have their world or regional offices, there was frequent representation of the Faith at international conferences as well as very cordial exchange of speakers for United Nations Day programmes.
TeachingThe peoples of Africa have long been spiritually receptive to the Faith, and attracting individuals to the Cause has never been difficult. During the period of this report there continued to be a good, steady increase in the numbers of people entering the Faith, though the general pace of teaching slowed in some countries in contrast to the dramatic increase of earlier years.
This was largely due to the requirements of consolidation and to the generally difficult social and political conditions prevailing in some areas. The number of newly-opened localities likewise increased steadily, though a pattern of lapsing
Local Spiritual Assembliesemerged in areas where sizeable numbers of Assemblies had been formed in quick order.
The work of the Continental Board of Counsellors and the Auxiliary Board members in assisting the National Spiritual Assemblies and the National Teaching Committees to develop special teaching projects, particularly in fulfilment of the goal of encouraging entry of new believers into the Faith 'by troops', is noteworthy. Many such projects were both creative and fruitful. Teaching across the borders between countries was found to be very useful in West Africa and was successfully carried on by the believers in Liberia, Ivory Coast and
Guinea, between Upperin southern Africa, there were projects which brought about cooperation amongst the friends in Zambia, Zaire and Angola.
Several countries had outstanding or unusual results in the teaching field.
In Benin, there was an exhilarating surge of success in the months following the Lagos International Conference when a number of satellite conferences and international travelling teachers brought new stimulation. In Botswana, there was intensified teaching amongst the Bushmen of the Kalahari Desert. In Kenya, several projects, particularly attractive to the youth, were organized and successfully carried out for entry by troops, while in Tanzania, a similar very successful project took place on the Ukererwe
Islands of Lake Victoria.In Togo, the members of the Gourma tribe, which had formerly rejected both Christianity and Jshm, embraced the Faith with particular responsiveness.
Through several intensive teaching projects in which the youth played a vital role, the size of the Togolese community was doubled in this four-year period.
Nigeria also successfully persevered in developing entry by troops' activities, as did Ivory Coast where 700 new believers were recorded in one such project in the Bangolo area.
Upper Volta managed to double its number ofand localities and to send African travelling teachers to Mali and Ghana, while Mali, a small community, quadrupled its Local Spiritual Assemblies and localities. In Cape Verde, where the islanders are very receptive, all the islands were opened to the Faith, and the number of believers was increased several times over. Malawi had steady success in its teaching activities which were carried on by well-deepened Malawian believers.
In Transkei, the pioneers and indigenous believers worked happily and successfully together in teaching teams. In both Chad and Zimbabwe, despite severe civil disturbances and necessary changes in teaching areas and patterns, good results were recorded. In both Zimbabwe and Cameroon, teaching in the cities received special emphasis.
Both Zambia and Bophuthatswanaconcentrated heavily and with marked success on both individual and Local Spiritual Assembly extension teaching.
Many outstanding teaching conferences tookplace during this period which greatly encouraged and stimulated the believers throughout the continent.
The colourful and vibrant Lagosin August of 1982, attended by the Hand of the Cause John Robarts and 1,150 believers from 46 countries and 90 ethnic groups, followed by many fine satellite conferences throughout West Africa, as well as by three in Southern Africa and one in East Africa attended by the Hand of the Cause William Sears, all brought rich results in increased teaching and were a significant turning point in the affairs of the Faith in West Africa particularly. A number of regional teaching conferences brought together believers from sizeable groups of countries. One of the most successful was held at Ouagadougou in Upper Volta, attended by 100 believers from eight countries.
The need to reach all strata and components of society brought about a greater diversification of teaching methods and projects than had ever formerly been the case.
In many areas special efforts were made to reach all sectors of the community in imaginative ways: for example, the effort in Tanzania to address the members of the various professions through teaching activities specifically related to their mode of work.
ConsolidationThe major challenge faced by the majority of the National Bahá'í communities in Africa during this period was that of successfully consolidating the many teaching victories won during both the Nine and Five Year Plans: the thousands of new believers and localities and the hundreds of Local Spiritual Assemblies to be preserved and deepened. At the commencement of the period under review, there occurred a sudden outflow from the continent of pioneers who had tenaciously held to their posts until the end of the Five Year Plan but were unable to stay longer. This loss, combined with the seemingly inevitable drop in numbers of
Local Spiritual Assembliesas the communities paused for breath, plus the inexperience of many
Local Spiritual Assembliesand Regional Teaching Committees, brought the consolidation needs into sharp focus.
In the larger communities this was particularly the case: Cameroon, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Zafre.
The goals of the Seven Year Plan reflected a strong emphasis on this vital Some of the forty-three participants who attended the first Bahd'z'Summer School held in Victoria,
Cameroon Republic; March 1980.INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA'I' ACTIVITIES 167
requirement. A truly heroic struggle commenced in which all the institutions of the Faith combined efforts in coming to grips with the urgency and scope of this problem, bringing about a significant broadening and diversification of activities including an increased focus on the use of the Creative Word of God as a deepening instrument.
During the first two phases of the Seven Year Plan there was strong emphasis in the activities of most national communities on the holding of deepening institutes and conferences as well as Summer or Winter Schools, all of which gradually became regular and successful aspects of Bahá'í community life.
In the southern part of the continent an annual international Summer School which, by mutual agreement, was held in a different country each year, became an especially attractive event on the Bahá'í calendar.
In Chad, deepening institutes and conferences were successfully combined with village teaching projects carried out by the Chadian believers as they travelled long distances by foot through the remote rural areas.
In Upper Volta the emphasis was placed on helpingto take responsibility for their own annual reelection.
In Central African Republic, deepening of the individual believers and their participation in both the teaching and administration of the Faith were the objectives of special nine-day institutes; also, a twelve-lesson correspondence course was started for the assistants to the Auxiliary Board members. In Malawi as well, the emphasis was on strengthening the individual believers, including the women and youth, and conveying to them the Bahá'í way of life and service. In Zambia, special efforts were made to train the officers of the Local Spiritual Assemblies and success was achieved in raising up some very capable, devoted believers. In Swaziland, local deepening/teaching conferences for small areas accessible by foot proved useful. In Kenya, correspondence courses were started for the Local Spiritual Assemblies, and the 'mother' Assembly principle was applied in an effort to help the weaker Assemblies.
The registration of Bahá'í births and deaths progressed quite methodically in some countries and was a project very well received by the believers in general.
The establishment in Nigeria in 1982 of the WestStudies was another step in the consolidation process.
In a number of countries the problem of consolidation was compounded by the disturbed civil state of the country or its economic problems; but the believers struggled perseveringly to continue the teaching activities, preserve the local communities and fulfil their goals.
Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ghana,In other areas the activities of the Faith were temporarily suspended by government order, e.g. in Niger and Congo.
Reference should be made here to the very effective efforts made by Dr. 'Azfz Navidi to assist the many
French-speaking National SpiritualAssemblies to cope with problems related to the banning of the Faith and to difficulties in obtaining official recognition of the Cause, as well as in a variety of other legal problems, not to mention his attendance on behalf of the Faith at international conferences and his successful public relations activities with numerous government leaders and people prominent in public or private life.
The Hands of the Cause The visits of the Hands of the Cause of God William
Sears and John Robartsplayed an important part during these years in the consolidation and progress of the Faith on the African Continent.
The Loss, however, of the Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga, murdered in most brutal circumstances in his own home in Kampala, Uganda, with his wife and three youngest children, dealt a terrible blow to the rank and file of the believers whose love and respect he bad attracted through his radiant spirit, his devotion to the Uganda Baha community during its long travail, his warm sense of humour and his loving manner. Likewise, the passing of the Hand of the Cause Rahmatu'llAh MuhAjir was sorely felt in Africa where he had laboured so assiduously and conscientiously in the promotion of the mass teaching work.
When he heard the shocking news of Mr. Olinga's death, the Hand of the Cause William Sears, former pioneer in Southern Africa, promptly offered to reside and serve again in Africa, at least for a period, after having been absent from its shores for a number of years. Mr. Sears's presence subsequently lent signifi
Page 168in Africa at the time of its formation in November, 1980, and his travels in the south served greatly to encourage and stimulate the believers in those parts of the continent.
The Hand of the Cause John Robarts also travelled to visit the friends in Africa where he had formerly pioneered for many years, and was most warmly welcomed by many whom he had not seen in the long years since his return to Canada.
The Continental Boardof Counsellors for Africa, the members of the two Auxiliary Boards and their large number of assistants throughout the continent were very active partners with the
National Spiritual Assembliesin virtually all aspects of the development of the Faith and the pursuit of the goals in Africa during this period. The campaign for improved standards in the teaching work which was launched by the Counsellors at the Lagos International Conference was very well received, and its prompt implementation now augurs well for the future in the sound spread of the Faith to new areas.
The travels of the Counsellors and the Auxiliary Board members to many parts of the continent and their varied activities there seemed to encourage and guide the communities and to provide for both the
Universal House of Justiceand the International Teaching Centre a clear picture of what was transpiring everywhere. There was a heartening continuation of the close, warm collaboration between the Counsellors and thg National Spiritual Assemblies which had long characterized their work together.
The YouthThe youth of the Bahá'í communities of Africa were a joy to behold in this period, especially the second generation of youngsters whose parents had been the stalwart pillars of the Cause in countries such as Uganda, Kenya and Cameroon since its inception in those areas.
Many of these young people arose during the years of this review to study the teachings deeply, to spearhead the 'entry by troops' projects, to reach out with the Message of Bahá'u'lláh to their own educated generation in schools and colleges and to organize themselves for the service of the
Faith.became more prevalent and effective in their work; the scope of the youth activities was broadened to include conferences, school and university study classes, clubs, singing groups, social and sports activities. Likewise, the youth became an essential and vital element in the Bahá'í community as a whole.
The Women and ChildrenOne of the most important and significant developments in the Faith in Africa during the period of this report was the greatly increased consciousness of the needs and, in some places, the solid work done in the field of Baha child education.
The improved production of syllabuses and lessons, the training of teachers, the running of tutorial schools and the holding of local children's classes, though still totally inadequate to meet the needs of the large number of Baha children in Africa, offers firm ground for future progress.
The initiation in Nigeria of a Bahá'í children's quarterly magazine, The Shining Stars; the holding of a children's conference in Gambia and the efforts made for the introduction of Bahá'í religious knowledge classes in the schools there; the many children's classes held in Chad and the opening of a nursery school there; the running of a Baha kindergarten in the precincts of the
Mother Temple of Africain Kampala; the opening of a number of 'education centres' in ZaYre; the production of lessons for children in Rwanda; the numerous children's activities on Reunion Island, are all examples of the types of child education programmes that had been initiated in various parts of the continent.
Parallel with the work amongst the children was the development of women's activities, some of which related to the role of Women as mothers. The fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf stimulated the holding of women's conferences dedicated to her memory, some attended by prominent non-Bahá'í women. In Gambia, an essay competition on the role of women was conducted in her honour and a public award ceremony held. In Liberia, a special cassette tape was prepared about her life and services. In Togo, special conferences were held on family life.
In Senegal, a special deepening course for women was sponsored.
WithINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OP CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 169
The first Local Spiritual Assembly of Mariental, South West Africa/Namibia, whose members are of five different tribes and speak as many languages; 14 September 1980.
the emphasis on women in the Faith, there was also a notable increase in the number of properly-conducted Bahá'í marriages in some countries. National women's and chiLdren's committees were appointed in many countries and have served to increase effectively the Bahá'í activity in both groups.
In most countries, the number of women active in the Faith and serving on its institutions substantially increased.
LiteratureAmongst the most encouraging signs of progress in Africa during this period was the more widespread and intensive translation publication and dissemination of the Hoiy Writings and other literature about the Faith in the numerous vernacular languages of Africa. This literature programme was assisted through the formation of two new Bahá'í Publishing Trusts, in the Ivory Coast and Nigeria. Likewise, the legal registration of the Publishing Trust of Kenya and the reactivation of the Uganda Publishing Trust served to advance still further these objectives.
Thevalue of cassette tapes of the Holy Writings was gradually realized, and the work of producing such material took hold as the goal was pursued.
The establishment of an International AudioVisual
Distribution Centre in IvoryCoast laid a foundation for the future in that field.
Especially notable victories in the field of literature were the translation and publication of The
New Garden, by HushmandFatheazam, in four of the seven vernacular languages of Zambia and the publication and dissemination of
Paris Talks and Nabil'sNarrative in Swahili by the Publishing Trust of Kenya. Central African Republic, Cameroon, South Africa, Swaziland and Togo carried out particularly active programmes of translation and publication during this period.
The more regular production of national, regional, local and youth news bulletins, a number of them bilingual, served greatly to stimulate the believers, deepen them and inform them of what was planned and carried out in their own communities and abroad. This was a much needed and very beneficial development in Africa.
Page 170The acquisition of Bahá'í properties continued to add substance and grace to the Bahá'í community.
In the Ivory Coast, a new National Haziratu'1-Quds was built, and in Gabon and Mauritania the first National f{azfratu'1-Quds were acquired. In Benin, two regional centres were obtained and in Nigeria and Mali one each. In several countries, national and district centres were renovated or enlarged, and in numerous areas local centres were erected.
In Bomi Hills, Liberia, cemetery land was acquired; and in Malebo, Equatorial
Guinea, a National Hazfratu'1-Qudsand institute buildings nearby. In Chad, the Saman-dan Institute was completed and put to use. In Zambia, the temple site was developed through digging of a borehole, erection of a caretaker's dwelling, and through levelling, clearing and planting of many trees on the land. Likewise, in Zambia, a regional centre in Mumbwa was upgraded to an institute through addition of a dormitory and kitchen.
Three subjects remain to be mentioned in this report each one of which is essential and carries with it its own special perfume.
Pioneers and TravellingThe first is the pioneers, both international and home-front, without whose dedicated, sacrificing services the progress of the Cause in Africa would be severely handicapped. There are large populous countries and Baha communities in Africa, such as Zaire, Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, Central Africa Republic, Nigeria and Uganda, where the presence of the pioneers has long been and still is almost indispensable to the general perpetuation and welfare of the community.
There are other areas as yet little open to the Faith where the pioneers have been working in almost virgin situations, such as Cape Verde Islands, the Guineas, Gabon, Somalia,
Dji-bouti and St. HelenaIsland. But wherever they are and in whatever circumstances they labour their services have been vital and deeply appreciated.
Similarly, the many devoted, able, experienced international and national travelling teachers who have visited the coun tries of Africa have contributed another very valuable element to the activities on that vast, needy continent.
Financial Self-supportThe second is the subject of the efforts made for self-support by the national communities. There was a very considerable and sacrificial struggle in many countries to win this goal. Considerable solid success has attended this effort, which has been generously and substantially supported by the international pioneers everywhere but which has also been lovingly and touchingly the object of the concern and pride of the African believers too: as example, the simp1~ village woman in Kenya who insisted on paying for the cablegram to President Khomeini appealing against the martyrdom of the Iranian believers.
Numerous countries were able to achieve self-sufficiency in regard to their administrative expenses, while a number of other countries achieved virtually total financial independence in all of their activities.
The Nigeria community not only became self-supporting but, astoundingly, paid all of the heavy expense of holding the Lagos International Conference as well. Many other countries greatly reduced their dependence on the international funds of the Faith. And all without exception became more deeply conscious of the need to strive in that direction.
The Holy LandAnd finally, mention must be made here of the developing role of the Hoiy Land in the spiritual life of the Bahá'í community of Africa. A gradual stream of African believers had begun to arrive as pilgrims at the World Centre of the Faith in 'Akka and Haifa, and a number of communities rejoiced and tknefited in this period to receive their radiant returning pilgrims.
Likewise, the InternationalConvention of 1983 witnessed a far larger contingent of African delegates than ever before, with some of the communities sending all nine members of their
National Spiritual Assemblies.Some of the first African women pilgrims and delegates arrived in the Holy Land in this period and returned to Africa to convey in their quiet way a new sense of the sacredness of the Faith and its Holy Places, a deep consciousness of the urgency of its affairs and
Page 171INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 171
its teaching work, and a feeling of love of and devotion to the Universal House of Justice which will long serve to strengthen the ties which bind the Báb6'i world together and link it to its spiritual heart.
B. THE AMERICASThe area comprising the Americas includes North, Central and South America, Bermuda, the Bahamas and the islands of the Caribbean.
At the close of the period under review there were thirty-eight National Spiritual Assemblies, more than 6,000 Local Spiritual Assemblies, and the Faith was established in more than 25,000 localities.
Fortunately, this part of the Baha world community still enjoys relative freedom to propagate the Faith.
Nevertheless, political unrest in Central and parts of South America hindered the progress of the Faith somewhat. In Nicaragua, some Bahá'ís left the country, many more were timid about attending meetings of any kind, and some of the pioneers had to leave.
Baha communities in the extensive Department of Zelaya were lost because the believers, most of them Indians, had been driven out. In spite of these difficulties, the morale of the Baha, and in particular, the National Spiritual Assembly and National Teaching Committee, has remained high; and starting in 1983, new expansion proj ects were initiated which are attracting new believers, especially youth, and resulting in new Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Travelling teachers were not often allowed to visit the believers in Argentina.
Frequent disruptions in communications also affected the transmission of news and information within the Bahá'í community.
The believers in Bolivia had to withstand such strong opposition from local fanatical elements, both political and religious, that appeals had to be made to the civil courts.
Disregarding the tests and difficulties, most of the believers have remained firm in the Faith and stand ready to respond to the great receptivity that obtains amidst the confusion and clamour.
During the period under review, five new NationalAt Ridvan 1981, three new National Assemblies came into being: Bermuda with its seat in Hamilton, the Leeward Islands with its seat in St. John's Antigua and the Windward Islands with its seat in Kingstown, St. Vincent.
Ridvan 1983 saw the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly of Dominica with its seat in Roseau and of St. Lucia with its seat in Castries.
ProclamationAs the year 1979 reached its midway point, the outbreak of persecutions in I r6n powerfully galvanized the believers throughout the hemisphere as never before. The wide publicity accruing to the Faith in the wake of these tragic events raised proclamation to a height never before attained in the history of the Cause. Unprecedented results were obtained by many national communities when they appealed to their governments. For example, the Canadian Parliament passed a unanimous resolution condemning the increasing persecution of the Bahá'í community of fr6n. Following this action, the National Spiritual Assembly successfully negotiated, with a very sympathetic Department of Immigration, the granting of refugee status to hundreds of bona fide Bahá'ís stranded outside IrAn, and the process continues.
The intensification of the cruel hardships imposed upon the Bahá'ís in the cradle of the Faith and the sharp increase in the number of those martyred, drove the believers in the West to the depths of agony and, at the same time, made them more determined than ever to proclaim the Faith through all forms of mass communication media. The press in many places was extremely sympathetic and generous, often commenting on the noninflammatory character of our releases, their accuracy and human appeal. Memorial programmes for those martyred brought national and local press and television coverage. One such programme for the seven martyrs of Yazd held in the United States at the Temple in Wilmette, supported by hundreds of simul
Page 172taneous programmes throughout the country, was covered by national and local television and generated a flood of publicity.
In the United States onon Human Rights and International Organizations of the
Foreign Affairs Committeeof the U.S. House of Representatives heard the testimony of six witnesses concerning the persecution of the Bahá'ís in IrAn. A two-hour videotape of this Congressional hearing was shown widely throughout the country generating further publicity.
A rabbi in Norfolk, Virginia, was moved by the persecutions to host a memorial programme in the synagogue and he made the book A Cry from the Heart, written by the Hand of the Cause William Sears, the centrepiece of a large mailing to his colleagues throughout the country. Bahá'í youth clubs distributed 3,500 copies of Mr. Sears's book on more than 280 college campuses.
In addition to numerous resolutions being passed in both Houses of the United States Congress, a record number of speeches recorded in the Congressional Record, and forceful editorials in almost all of the major newspapers in the country, public recognition reached new heights when President Reagan issued a statement strongly protesting the killing of Baha'is, calling upon the Iranian authorities to spare the lives of those who had been condemned to death, and inviting other world leaders to join him in appealing, on behalf of the Baha'is, to the government of IrAn.
In Panama, wide publicity about the persecutions of Bahá'ís in IrAn caused people in remote rural communities to enquire about the Faith.
Hundreds of copies of the book, A Call to the Nations, were presented to the higher levels of society in the French Antilles and the 'White Paper on Iffin' was sent to mayors, government officials, the Prefect and Deputy-Prefect.
Numerous government officials throughout the Americas experienced indignation upon hearing of the cruelties meted out to the Baha and gave sympathetic attention to the appeals on their behalf. Some sent cables to the government of Ir6n, others paved the way for widespread media coverage of local
Bahá'í activities. ThisThere can be no doubt that the attacks on the Bahá'ís in Ir6n, unparalleled in viciousness and intensity since the early days of the Cause, opened the door to an unprecedented public recognition of the Faith and contributed to its gradual emergence from obscurity.
Another kind of proclamation activity aroused indigenous believers to a new level of participation. In 1981 the project called Camino Del Sd or 'Trail of Light' was launched through collaborative efforts of the Continental
Board of Counsellorsand several National Spiritual Assemblies in the Americas. Indigenous believers from North America travelled through Central and South America in a programme of cultural exchange which included participation in the
Intercontinental Conferencein Quito, Ecuador, and in the Continental Indigenous Council on the Blood Reserve in Canada, and which culminated in a presentation of traditional songs and dances by the indigenous people attending the
Intercontinental ConferenceIt is estimated that close to 10,000 people became aware of the Faith through this project. In Guatemala, those showing intense interest and support around San Juan Chameloo, Alta Verapaz, included government officials, educators and students.
The diversity of the visiting group clearly demonstrated the principle of the oneness of mankind and that, in itself, appealed to the population wherever they travelled. In Honduras, the team visited the Paya and Jicaque tribes and rekindled their eagerness to let the Faith illumine their lives.
Nor was that all. Other aspects of the teaching work quickened as well.
Many projects were dedicated to the martyrs and to deceased Hands of the Cause.
Efforts have been made to align proclamation activities more closely with expansion and consolidation.
In NicaThgua, several well planned and executed public meetings were held at the Intercontinental Hotel and were attended by leading citizens.
Unsolicited press notices arising from such meetings have opened new doors.
Another kind of public recognition came to the Faith in Panama when the National Spiritual Assembly successfully petitioned the government to issue a stamp to commemorate
Page 173INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 173
Bus posters, such as this one used in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., invited the public to investigate the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith.
the tenth anniversary, in April 1982, of the formal dedication of the Mother
Temple of Latin America.Perhaps one of the best signs of the gYowing maturity of the Bahá'í community is that expansion and consolidation activities are being integrated.
The Colombian Bahá'ícommunity achieved a high degree of success in this respect. For sixteen months, some twenty-two teams engaged in regular visits to communities to help in organizing Nineteen Day Feasts, children's classes, youth meetings, and discussions of family life as well as aiding in the enrolment of new believers. This organic approach brought 12,000 new believers into communities ready to absorb them into Bahá'í activities.
Based on this experience, another programme evolved which holds promise for even more effective integration of the expansion-consolidation process. Under this programme a group of five to ten teachers visit a community for five to ten days.
In the mornings, the teachers engage in deepening and spiritual enrichment for themselves. In the afternoon, they visit families and attempt to converse with each member. Each one is invited to join the Faith. In the evenings, meetings are held with the entire community. By Ridvan 1983, seven to eight communities had been touched by the expansion-consolidation campaign. The results were exhilarating indeed.
The number of Bahá'ís in each community, including children, had more or less tripled.
A number of youth had arisen to participate in deepening classes, and the Local Spiritual
Assemblieshad developed a new vision of their function. The campaigns were also serving the purpose of raising new teachers and confirming them in the service of the Cause. Parallel to these activities, the Ruhi Institute was strengthened during this period and its field of service expanded. The nine courses pertaining to the first level of studies at the Institute programme were gradually taken to other parts of the country through extension courses, each lasting about two weeks. Finally, the courses were established as a tutorial programme serving not only Colombia but other Latin American countries.
An increasing number of teachers from the Ruhi Institute began courses in villages and neiglibourhoods of the cities on a weekly or biweekly basis, thus bringing the benefits of a very effective deepening course to a larger and larger number of youth.
Further development of the Ruhi Institute courses took place when in 1982 a pilot programme for the training of teachers for Bahá'í preschool centres was established. This proved very successful and by Ridvan of 1983 Bahá'í kindergartens were functioning in seven villages in the region near Cali. These preschool centres have proved to be important factors in the functioning of the Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Honduras has also benefited from teaching campaigns that carry out expansion-consoli-dation activities simultaneously.
Through a series of annual projects, entitled 'Operations and carrying such names as 'Daybreak' and 'Badf", the Bahá'í population was more than tripled and the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies substantially increased. These projects utilized a permanent nucleus of some
Page 174five experienced and capable Bahá'ís with the help, in different sections of the country, of local pioneers and teachers.
The core team stayed in each area approximately a week, publicly proclaiming the Faith and teaching all sectors of the population.
The area most receptive was that of the socalled 'Caribs', or 'Garifunas' � a mixture of the original Indian population of the Caribbean and black Africans, who live along the north coast of Honduras. Some of their villages now are from fifty to ninety per cent Baha'i.
Another important indicator of increasing Bahá'í maturity is that indigenous peoples are taking more initiative in shouldering the responsibility for propagating and administering the affairs of the Faith.
This trend is noted particulaitly in Alaska, Bolivia, Argentina, Canada, the United States and in some of the Caribbean
Islands.Councils are favourite structures for indigenous activity.
In July 1980, the NativeAmerican Council held in Wilmette brought together fifty tribes under the dome of the holiest Mashriqu'l-Adhkar. This activity, the fruit of collaboration of the Bahá'í communities of Alaska, Canada and the United States, was visually spectacular, spiritually dynamic, procedurally unique and a source of inspiration to all whd experienced it. The movement of these believers through these countries released a spiritual impulse whose ramifications are incalculable.
In Canada, Native Councilshave become an important element in the encouragement of believers of Indian and Inuit heritage to freely consult about the expansion and consolidation of the Faith among their own groups and provided the milieu within which they could, themselves, assume responsibilities for the progress of the Cause of God. Similarly, tCoundll' consultations have also been an effective arena in which the French-speaking believers could air their views and become inspired to further promote the work of the Faith.
Alaska's institute structure accommodates weekend activities.
Five-day youth institutes were held yearly in June and December. Teaching in the load area was an integral part of this experience.
The Guaymis of Panamahave arisen to become the executors of a plan to develop a cultural centre which will involve a Bahá'í Antonio Cruz of Veracruz, Mexico, first Bahá'í of the Totonaco tribe in that city (wearing traditional dress).
Page 175INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 175
Participants in the second continental indigenous council photographed on the steps of the House of Worship, Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A. The gathering, held in July 1980, was attended by the Hand of the Cause Dhikru'lldh Khddem several Counsellors; members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada and the United States; and by representatives of more than fifty tribes indigenous to the Americas. Mr. Amoz Gibson is seen seated in the centre of the front row with Mrs. Mary Gibson.
educational programme directed towards moving the entire population under the shadow and protection of the Faith.
The convocation of the first Native Council in Panama which provided an unfettered sounding board for the Guaymis at the time of the visit of the first 'Trail of Light' contingent represented a tremendous step forward in the development of the consultative process in the Indian way. The impact was tremendous and helped instil in these believers new pride in their indigenous origins and the desire to recapture and preserve their heritage as they move forward and become effective contributors to the establishment of a future worldwide civilization, the crowning point of this Revelation.
Bush Negro believers in Surinam are likewise assuming responsibility for the spread of the
Faith. A Regional TeachingCommittee composed entirely of Bush Negro believers is now functioning actively.
Frequent teaching trips to villages along the river, are organized. For transportation, the teaching teams use a small river boat which was built by the Bush Negro friends and which is powered by an outboani motor purchased with money from the national Baha Fund. One district t{azfratu'I-Quds is in use along this river, and more local Flaziratu'L-Quds are in the plan-fling stage.
The spiritual receptivity of the Bush Negroes is evidenced by comments heard in some villages where travelling teachers have taken the Faith more recently. These dear people gently asked why the Faith had been taken first to villages further up the river. They had heard the wonderful news, were anxious to receive the Faith, and did not wish to be 'bypassed' by the Bahá'í teachers.
Yet another sign of the growing maturity of Baha communities is that the number attaining financial self-sufficiency has increased during this period and others are earnestly striving to achieve this goal. A closely related and district goal is that local Hazfratu'1-Quds be acquired and carefully maintained. That number, too, is growing.
Efforts to serve mankind may be seen in the development of tutorial schools and educational
Page 176centres. Bolivia has made notable progress in this direction. These centres will offer the Bahá'í Teachings, literacy classes for children and adults, and practical courses such as sanitation, agriculture and the like.
The ability of Local Spiritual Assemblies to hold their own elections, without outside assistance, attests to their growing maturity. In order to prepare remote villages to hold their own elections each Ridvan, an 'election' tape was made by the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska and certain villages were chosen to receive it. Some were able to elect their own Assemblies at Ridvan 1983.
In this maturing process, a most welcome trend is the steady increase in the number of Bahá'í Summer and Winter Schools and the gradual improvement in the quality of the courses being offered.
YouthGalvanized by the martyrdom of some of their peers in fnil, thousands of youth have come forward, offering their services in all aspects of the teaching work including proclamation, expansion and consolidation.
There has been an upsurge of international collaboration at the border area between Surinam and Guyana. This led to a highly successful first International Youth Camp held in Nw. Nickerie, Surinam, in March 1983, which was attended by 130 believers from Guyana,
Surinam and French Guiana. PlansIn Trinidad and Tobago, two active regional youth committees have gradually involved the Bahá'í youth of the country in village teaching, deepening meetings, pro-claination activities, and the teaching of chil-drens' classes, leading up to a successful National
Bahá'í Youth Conference.At the University of the West Indies, interest in the Faith has increased, and several staff members and students have enrolled.
The number of regionalcalled for in the Seven Year Plan has been surpassed many times throughout the region.
A poster advertising SEVEN BAHA a dance created and EXECUTED FOR THEIR performed by Ballet RELI ~OU BELiEFS
Shayda of Canadain memory of the martyred Bahá'ís of Irdn. The martyrdoms of seven Bahá'ís of Yazd in September 1980 inspired a local Bahá'í community in the United States to produce this poster.
Page 177INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 177
A Continental Youth Conferenceheld in Kansas City in July 1982 was graced by the participation of
Abdu'l-Bahá Rtihiyyih KIAnum.Youth have done an outstanding job proclaiming the Faith on their college campuses. They have organized youth and high school clubs, participated in service projects, and developed 'buddy' systems for pre-youth.
The Hands of the Cause The irretrievable loss of five Hands of the Cause during the first phase of the Plan made us all more keenly aware of the inestimable value of the services of the Chief Stewards of our Faith. The remaining Hands of the Cause solaced us in our grief and continued to extend their loving services, nurturing and inspiring Bahá'í communities in all parts of the world.
One of the most significant events to occur in Canada during 1982 was the extended visit of Hand of the Cause
Abdu'l-Bahá Rahfyyih Khdnum.In addition to the major role that this beloved Hand carried out as representative of the Universal House of Justice at the International Conference in Montreal, intensive visits within Canada were undertaken to such widely scattered communities as: Halifax, Sydney, and Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; Saint John,
New Brunswick; Summerside, Princeand the Magdalen Islands, Quebec; Toronto and Port Hope,
Ontario; and WhitehorseTrier deep love for the native people of North America was reflected in visits to many Indian reserves including: Blood Reserve, Alberta (where a major Native Council took place); Carcross Band
Reserve, Yukon; FountainBelievers in some of Canada's geographically remote communities, which all too seldom receive travelling teachers, will be forever grateful for her loving consideration in visiting: St. John's and Grand Falls, Newfoundland; Happy Valley,
Labrador, and FrobisherBay, Baffin Island. Even Canada's overseas north-em em goals were included with especially significant visits to Nuuk, Greenland, and Reykjavik, Iceland.
Bahá'í communities throughoutas well as the Island communities in the Caribbean have also enjoyed the bounty of visits from the Hands of the Cause Abdu'l-Bahá
Rtihfyyih Khanum, Johnand Paul Haney. Mr. Haney represented the Universal House of Justice at the
Intercontinental ConferenceTouching, indeed, was the constant assistance of the Hand of the Cause William Sears to the U.S. Baha Community in rallying the friends to provide the resources to Launch the first North American Bahá'í radio station, WLGJ, located at the Louis
G. Gregory Bahá'í InstituteThe inaugural broadcast is expected to be made in 1984.
Continental Board of Counsellorsof Lauretta King, a Tlingit and first Native Counsellor in
North America.The Baha community of Panama was honoured in January 1981 by receiving all sixteen members of the Continental Board of Counsellors for its historic first plenary meeting following the consolidation of three Boards into one. The meeting was further enhanced by the presence of the Hand of the Cause Abdu'l-Bahá R6hiyyih Kh6nurn and Mr. Hooper Dunbar of the
International Teaching Centre.Since that time there has been a steady stream of Counsellors through the Americas nurturing, encouraging and stimulating the friends.
The changes in the institution of the Continental Boards of Counsellors which placed the United States community within the sphere of influence of the Board for all the Americas were to register their immediate positive effects when, in August 1981, ten members of the newly constituted sixteen-member Board of Counsellors came together with members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States for the inaugural consultations of these two institutions. They were joined, for part of the time, by several members of the
Page 178The Local Spiritual Assembly of Chucuito, Puno, Peru; 1981.
National Spiritual Assemblyof Canada. The Counsellors, through their own travels, do all they can to keep the vision of the Faith before the friends.
The effective work of Auxiliary Board members and their assistants with the committees and agencies of National
Spiritual Assemblieshas been responsible in large measure for the achievement of local community goals. For example, in Falc6n State, Venezuela, such close collaboration of the Regional Teaching
Committee with AuxiliaryBoard members, native Bahá'í teachers and pioneers yielded excellent results. The number of Local Spiritual Assemblies grew from five to eight, then nine and twelve. A number of teaching campaigns were held in the State.
In Mene de Mauroa, a six-consecutive-weekend campaign was held and the Bahá'í population reached 228 believers in that town. Previously, a weekend proclamation activity was held in the local theatre with good attendance. Afterwards, a children's conference was successfully carried out, and well-organized consolidation activities have begun with the new believers of Mene de Mauroa.
The Counsellors have effectively championed spiritual enrichment for Bahá'í communities. Moreover, through their Auxiliary Boards more consistent emphasis has been placed on individuals using the Creative Word to transform their characters.
This matter has also been placed in the forefront of courses at Bahá'í schools, conferences and institutes.
c. ASIA In his message to the Bahá'í world; dated October 1953, the beloved Guardian referred to the continent of Asia as K the cradle of the principal religions of mankind; the home of so many of the oldest and mightiest civilizations which have flourished on this planet; the crossways of so many kindreds and races; the battleground of so many peoples and nations; above whose horizons, in modem times, the suns of two independent revelations � the pTomise and consummation of a six-thousand-year-old religious cycle � have successively arisen; where the Authors of both of these revelations suffered banishment and died; within whose confines the Centre of a divinely-appointed Covenant was born, endured a forty-year incarceration and passed away; on whose western extremity the
QiblihINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 179
'Children of Bahá'í a Bahá'í children's ch6ir, performing during a meeting in observance of the United Nations Human Rights Day, Utmversity of Sauthern California, 9 December 1979.
The singers wear shirts bearing the legendiOne planet, one people � please.
'The Chosen Highway', a Bahá'í youth choir of New Era High School, Panchgani, Maharashtra, India. In June the members visited ten cities giving fifty-two performances before audiences totalling more than 16,000 listeners.
Page 180of the Bahá'í world has been definitely established; in whose heart the city proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh as the "Mother of the World" is enshrined; within whose borders another city regarded as "the cynosure of an adoring world" and the scene of the greatest and most glorious revelation the world has witnessed is embosomed; on whose soil so many saints, heroes and martyrs, associated with both of these revelations, have Lived, struggled and died.
This vast continent is now the scene of unparalleled expansion of the Faith and prodigious receptivity to the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
Asia, the worM's largest continent, with more than half of the world's population, is also proud of having more than half of the Bahá'í population of the worM.
Of the 25,121 Local SpiritualAssemblies in the world, 13,174 are in Asia; and, of a total of 113,111 localities where Bahá'ís reside, Asia alone has 55,273.
Among the innumerable important achievements which have been recorded during the period under review, the following may be cited as particularly outstanding: the development of innovative measures for the Bahá'í education of children and of specialized educational curricula for tribes; increased participation of women in all Bahá'í activities; exemplary dedication of Bahá'í youth to teaching the Faith and to active participation in projects relating to economic and social development; and the largest incr&ase in the number of Chinese embracing the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in any period.
The friends in the Arabian countries of Western Asia and in Afghanistan are restricted in their activities.
They are, however, a shining example of fortitude and of adherence to the Bahá'í way of life. On many occasions they have generously contributed towards the achievement of goals in international fields.
The events in Ir6n, the sacrifices of the friends in that cradle of the Faith, the martyrdom of so many holy and steadfast souls have been and continue to be a source of inspiration, a vitalizing force and an assurance of confirmation to all those who arise to teach and serve the Cause. A detailed report on the persecutions appears elsewhere in this volume of the international record.
Indonesia is another country where organized ized Bahá'í activities are banned and some of the friends who taught the Faith on an individual basis are now in prison.
In India, the Faith has spread among people of all shades and castes, women and children, the young and the old, the privileged and disadvantaged.
The first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar for the whole of the Asian continent is being built in India. The phrase 'Unto our Lord, are we building the Temple' is heard on all lips.
Almost every day a conference, deepening class or a Summer or Winter school is held in some part of India.
Here are found the largest Baha tribal communities.
The Bahá'í Academy of India, established and developed through close cooperation between the
National Spiritual Assemblyand the Continental Board of Counsellors, promises to be an outstanding institution for the higher study of the Teachings.
Among the most exciting developments that are taking place in India is the establishment of educational institutions all over the country, including tutorial schools, primary schools and colleges.
Notable among these are thethese institutions are invested with potentiality for becoming powerful instruments for the expansion and consolidation of the Faith in India.
Realizing that the status of women in India is very low, partly because of their lack of education and skills to become gainfu1~y self-employed, a rural Women's Vocational Training Institute was established in Indore where Bahá'í women from nearby villages are trained in simple skills such as soap-making, candlemaking and chalk-making to name but three.
Bangladesh has successfully achieved aH its goals.
Women's activities there are of high quality and play a significant role in Bahá'í community life.
Coordinated by the National Bahá'í Women's Committee, deepening dasses and conferences are organized for both Bahá'í and non-Bahá'í women. The youth also are very active and have their own newsletter.
The historic achievement of obtaining official recognition of the Faith by the authorities is among the outstanding accomplishments of the
Bahá'ís of Pakistan.Some of the other noteworthy achievements of this community
Page 181are the sustained and collective efforts to mobilize Bahá'í youth in the service of their Faith, the holding of successful Summer and Winter Schools, and the unprecedented increase in the number of teaching conferences.
Activities in Burma, a country which has one of the oldest Bahá'í communities in the world, have been for a long time and still continue to be subject to strict control by the authorities.
These restrictions are general and not specifically directed against the activities of Baha'is.
However, the efforts of the friends to promote cordial relations with people in authority, and their attempt to explain to them the principles of the Faith and the loyalty of the friends to their government, paved the way for the implementation of some teaching and consolidation projects leading to a remarkable increase in such activities and the revitalization of the community in general.
The prestige of the Tadong Bahá'í School is largely responsible for the continued growth of the Faith not only in Sikkim but in other Himalayan States including Darjeeling and Kalimpong. The government officials in these areas are friends of the Faith and attend Bahá'í annual functions by hundreds.
The authorities are cooperative in all respects.have populations of various religious backgrounds and the Tadong School has Tibetan, Lepcha, Bliutia and Indian students.
A number of Bahá'í tutorial schools have been established.
The women in these Himalayan States often take a leading part in general Bahá'í activities and in projects relating to social development.
The Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of Nepal was reestablished in 1982. Cordial relations exist with officials and dignitaries. The Cause of God is progressing smoothly and satisfactorily.
The Bahá'í community of Sri Lanka has come through many difficult times and has survived tests and trials as well as hardship resulting from the political disturbances that have afflicted this beautiful island.
In terms of systematic expansion and consolidation, the period 1979 � 1983 may be considered one of the most productive in the history of the Faith in Thailand. The continued development and maturity of the National Spiritual Assembly has been a notable feature of the progress of the Faith in this country. An outstanding accomplishment has been the acceptance of the Faith by hundreds of Indochinese in the refugee camps and the Some Bahá'ís of the Dang tribe, Gu]arat, India; 1982.
Page 182in Phanat Nikhom Refugee Camp in northeast Thailand.
Another significant development was the handing over to the National Spiritual
Assembly of Thailandof a multipurpose educational complex, called the Santitham Vithayakam School, established by Mrs. Shirin Fozdar.
Situated in the Province of Yasothon with approximately sixty Local Spiritual Assemblies in dose proximity, this complex has the potential to serve as the centre of soclo-economic development projects.
During the period under review the most significant development in Laos was the programme of recovering
Local Spiritual AssembliesThrough the concerted efforts of the National Teaching Committee and dedicated individuals, the National Assembly was able to recover twenty Local Assemblies during the second phase of the Seven Year Plan. In spite of restrictions on travelling within the country the community of the Most Great Name organized well-attended, livein teaching conferences in Vientiane. The good relations, mutual trust and respect maintained by the National Assembly with the authorities in Laos is one of the most meritorious achievements of the Bahá'ís in that country.
The Bahá'í community of Malaysia has continued to progress. There are two disparate communities in East and West Malaysia and each has different aspects of development.
East Malaysia has a large rural community with hundreds of localities. Many of the villages have good Bahá'í communities which hold
Assembly meetings, NineteenDay Feasts, children's classes and women's abtivities. Women are the mainstay of community activities. They organized several women's conferences and, together with the youth, are doing communal farming. East Malaysia is exemplary in the holding of large numbers of regional teaching conferences, youth conferences, women's conferences, children's classes and teachers' conferences.
In West Malaysia, as a result of government rezoning, the number of Local Assemblies has been altered. The believers in the cities, towns and estates have all-B ahA'i activities for community and individual development.
Conferences and courses for youth, as well as classes for women and children, are held all over the Peninsula. The Faith gained better recognition when the community was invited to send representatives to participate in a prayer session for peace and unity held on Armed Forces' Day. Bahá'í marriages have legal recognition and numerous Bahá'í Assistant Registrars have been appointed by the government to conduct marriages.
In East Malaysia, also, native believers who are not covered by this marriage law seek to marry according to Bahá'í procedure.
Malaysian Baha'is, acting on the instructions of the National Spiritual Assembly, have undertaken a new project to donate blood during the Muslim month of Fasting during which Muslims are not available as blood donors. Bahá'í communities all over Malaysia have been quite successful and their activities have been accorded good publicity.
Bahá'í correspondence courses are issued in four languages with lessons geared to meet the needs of beginners, advanced students, Local Assembly members and children.
Summer and Winter Schoolsare held in different parts of the country, and recently Summer Schools conducted in Tamil and Chinese have been held regularly.
The continued mobilization of Bahá'í youth for participation in expansion and consolidation; the successful conferences and Summer and Winter Schools which have been held; the increasing participation of women in Bahá'í acfivities; the satisfactory increase in the use of the press, radio and television for the proclamation of the Faith; and the translation and publication of literature in local languages are among the noteworthy achievements of the Bahá'ís of Korea.
The small dynamic community of Singapore has recently bought its own new National Centre.
Singapore has sent travelling teachers to the Philippines, Thailand, Burma and India.
Its contributions to the Bahá'í Funds, international and national, are very liberal.
In spite of the fact that some of the pioneers had to leave the Philippines, this community resolved to carry on resolutely to win the goals of the Plan and increase the members' knowledge of the Teachings. They have established successful tutorial schools under most difficult conditions and have established for themselves an excellent reputation with the authorities. This latter point is illustrated by the fact that
Page 183INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT J3AHA'i ACfIVITIES 183
Some Baha 7 women who particz~ated in a meeting celebrating the establishment of tIP Faith in Burma; Spring 1983.
the Bahá'ís of Baguio City were invited by the city government to participate in its campaign against drug addiction because it recognized that Bahá'ís are positive in their approach to their fellow men and can thus effectively promote unity. As part of this campaign the Bahá'ís will visit more than one hundred villages or baum gays where they will work mostly with youth.
The valiant community of Japan has done excellent work in the teaching and administrative fields, has been successful in increasing the number of believers and has prepared for the formation of several new Local
Spiritual Assemblies.The friends there have, in an organized manner, brought to the attention of members of parliament and government officials the situation of the
Baha in Ir6n.is a great deal of Bahá'í activity, increases in the numbers of believers are anticipated, and plans have been laid for a countrywide teaching project. Further, the Publishing Trust is gaining in strength and has produced two beautiful new prayer books in Chinese, one a regular prayer book attractively printed and bound, and a second, designed for children, with Chinese and English texts. Relations between the Bahá'í community and the authorities are very cordial.
Two members of the Taipei community are employed by the English-language radio station, one as manager and the other as newscaster.
The Báb's of the world gaze expectantly at Asia whose peoples have shown such marked receptivity to the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and where, when the true nature of the Bahá'í Revelation is understood and its followers Are free to promulgate its life-giving, spiritual principles, great benefits will result.
D. AUSTRALASIA AND THE PACIFIC ISLANDSThe period from Ridvan Local Spiritual Assemblies
1979 to Ridvan 1983 has have grown in maturity.been one of consolidation Difficult tests have with some expansion been experienced in most in the very widespread areas as the communities and difficult-of-access evolved and gained new Australasian area. The strength. Increasingly community in most island women are taking their countries has settled place in the affairs back on a more solid of the Faith and youth foundation whilst at are preparing for their the grass roots level new responsibilities.
there is greater strength There prevails an increased and many of the recog
Page 184Some participants who attended the regional teaching conference held in Auckland, New
Zealand; June 1981.The Local Spiritual Assembly of Albury, New South Wales, Australia; 1979. The establishment of this, the one hundredth Spiritual Assembly of Australia, represented completion of the goals of the Five Year Plan for that country.
Page 185INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACT? VITIES 185
nition that by living the life and working in accord with Bahá'í principles we shall better prepare ourselves for the next stage in the development of the Faith. With a new spirit pervading the community � a spirit released through the sufferings of our brothers and sisters in frAn � we witness results in teaching amongst Aboriginal peoples, joint projects between National Assemblies, circulation of travelling teachers and pioneers, and a greater use of radio and television. As the Faith has emerged from relative obscurity, the National Assemblies, especially in countries where the Faith has been long established, have acquired a new confidence in their approach to the authorities which has resulted in strengthening the prestige of the Faith.
In the continental perspective, the collaboration between the Board of Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies has developed progressively, whilst the Bahá'í International Community has continued to cement relations With the South Pacific Commission.
The Australasian continental zone was increased in November 1980 by the addition of four Central Pacific island countries � the Caroline Islands, Hawaiian Islands, Marshall Islands and the Mariana Islands � all with existing
National Spiritual Assemblies.The new total of fourteen National Assemblies was increased by one with the formation during Ridvan 1981 of the National Spiritual Assembly of TuvaLu, a small, newly-emerged independent State of on!y 7,357 people living within the island group and an estimated 1,700 living elsewhere.
The community has grown impressively.The expansion in Tuvalu has been matched by that in only three other Pacific island areas: Vanuatu saw mass entry on the island of Tanna, and Tonga and the Mariana Islands have enjoyed steady expansion.
Most other island communities were unable to maintain and consolidate the unusual successes of the Five Year Plan. Efforts at consolidation were either insufficient or hampered by the difficulties of travel. Sometimes circumstances beyond the control of pioneers made it impossible for them to remain at their posts. Thus the indigenous Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian believers have had to shoulder increasingly responsibilities that previously were carried out by the pioneers.
There has been a heartening effort by these fine believers to improve the quality of their Bahá'í lives and to assume initiative in teaching and administrative activities.
The French areas of NewIslands, as well as French Polynesia, suffered many setbacks as did the Caroline Islands and Fiji. Even Kiribati, which during the Five Year Plan achieved resounding successes, fell back considerably. But in all these areas determined efforts are being made to improve the situation.
During the entire period the sufferings of the dear, courageous friends in IrAn have been constantly in the thoughts and prayers of the believers. Through the efforts of the National Spiritual Assemblies these persecutions have been brought to the attention of the authorities. In Australia and Fiji this led to resolutions being passed in their parliaments.
Media coverage has increased in all places. Proclamation and the establishment of cordial relations with officials and leaders of thought has continued throughout the zone.
As usual, Hawaii has met with particular success in activities of this kind and has initiated imaginative measures.
In almost all areas the determination to vindicate the sufferings of the believers in the Cradle of the Faith has shown itself in the increased confidence with which the friends are arising to commit themselves anew to service. Australia and New Zealand have witnessed a steady growth in numbers and an unprecedented degree of community development.
Their Local Assembliesare maturing, evidenced by their increased ability to more effectively handle extension teaching proj ects and the administrative affairs of the Faith. Development of Bahá'í scholarship was fostered in this period to an unprecedented degree.
There has been an increase in the number of Bahá'í Summer Schools that were held and greater attention was devoted to the translation of the Revealed Word.
There have been new and outstanding strides taken amongst
Aboriginals in AustraliaGuinea, a country of some three million inhabitants, the community has recently rallied itself to gain 114 of the 140 Local Assemblies required in the Plan. It is interesting to note that more declarations resulted from the correspondence course than from any other form of
Page 186teaching. A dramatic effort in consolidation of this large stream of new believers featured a visit of a team by helicopter to the Mountain Brown area.
Fiji has seen revived success amongst its large Indian population. Recent teaching efforts in the Marianas resulted in attracting many Filipinos and some indigenous Chamorro believers.
There has been spontaneous teaching on distant islands: a Local Spiritual Assembly has been established on Tikopia, a small ~dot' of an island in the Eastern Solomons some 500 miles across the sea from the capital of Honiara, and in the Carolines the distant atoll of Satawal now has a group which includes a Chief.
A highlight of this period was the Bahá'í International Conference held in Canberra, the capital of Australia, attended by 2,400 believers from forty-five countries of both Asia and Australasia.
The Australian National SpiritualAssembly skilfully planned and implemented this outstanding conference commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest HcAy Leaf. The Hand of the Cause Dr. Ugo Giachery, representing the Universal House of Justice, by his very presence provided a spiritual force recognized by all. Our own beloved Hand of the Cause, Collis Featherstone, Led a spirited twoway telephone linkup with the more than 9,000 Bahá'ís assembled at the Montreal Conference. Dr. Giachery, in a telex sent to the World Centre, described this as UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS
OF ANY CONFERENCE EVERThe conference placed in focus the spiritual axis linking Australia and Japan, an axis which the beloved Guardian described as 'extending from the Antipodes to the northern islands of the Pacific, an axis whose northern and southern poles will act as powerful magnets, endowed with exceptional spiritual potency'.
The Continental Boardof Counsellors was reconstituted on 3 November 1980 with the Hawaiian Islands and Micronesia added to its previous zone. Our gratitude and appreciation go to the three retiring Counsellors who gave years of outstanding and devoted service during which they travelled, often in difficult circumstances, all over this vast expanse of ocean.
Two of these � Howard Harwood and Thelma Perks � had served from the inception of the Board in 1968; and the third, Violet Hoebnke, since May 1973. The remaining three members � Mr. Suhayl 'A1&f, Mr. Owen Battrick and Dr. Peter Khan � welcomed the appointment of three new members: Mr. Ben Ayala of the Hawaiian Islands, Mrs. Tinai Hancock of
New Zealand and Mr. Lisiate Makaof Tonga. Counsellor Richard Benson was transferred from the former Northeast Asian Board to this zone, making the seventh member. The number of Auxiliary Board members was increased from forty-five to sixty-three to serve the enlarged zone. This period has been one in which the devoted efforts of 'these precious souls � the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants � ' have contributed markedly to the strengthening of the fabric of the Cause.
There has been continuing improvement in the collaboration between the institutions of the Board of Counsellors and the National Spiritual Assemblies as well as between the Auxiliary Board members and the
Local Assemblies. Thiscollaboration and the resulting effort has enhanced the deepening of the believers in their understanding of the principles and teachings of the Faith. Nineteen Day Feasts are better attended and are of higher calibre, and children's classes have grown and improved as have all Local community activities. Pioneer effort and the movement of travelling teachers have increased within the continental zone and several National Assemblies have participated in joint projects. For example, there has been an exchange of travelling teachers between the Solomons and Vanuatu, between Australia and Papua New Guinea, and a teaching project by Australia and Japan in
Micronesia. Australiaand New Zealand have taken measures to revive the magazine Herald of the
South.Noticeable throughout the period has been the greater degree of participation of women, and more recently of youth. Women are making their presence and their value felt at the very foundation of the community, in child training and family life. The youth are coming to the forefront in teaching activities and are often the initiators of development projects in the area.
Page 187INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 187
Some participants in the service held at the Bahá'í House of Worship, Sydney, Australia, in observance of United Nations Day; October 1980.
The eyes of the friends have been turning expectantly to Western Samoa where the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is now rising upon a beautiful hillside in Apia. Despite difficulties and delays the work has progressed steadily throughout the period and the dedication is anticipated some time in 1984.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity has continued to be represented each year at the South Pacific
Commission ConferenceShe is accompanied on each occasion by an alternate representative chosen from among the local believers in each venue of the conference.
In January 1923 the beloved Guardian referred to the Pacific Islands in delightful terms: their very names evoke within us so high a sense of hope and admiration that the passing of time and the vicissitudes of life can never weaken or remove.' As this brief survey goes to press, we who serve in that area, already blessed by the presence of the first reigning monarch to espouse the Faith, soon to be further blessed with a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar on a Pacific Island, and finding ourselves linked by this 'spiritual axis' with another area of great potential, can but have a feeling of wonder as we sense the forces of the Army of Light being challenged, tempered and strengthened for tasks that will test us further.
E. EUROPEAn outstanding feature grew in stature within of the Five Year Plan (1974 � 1979)their local Bahá'í communities was the establishment and they served to broaden in Europe of Local Spiritualthe base from which the Assemblies across an Bahá'ís of Europe could arise area extending from the as one and defend their snows of the Arctic to persecuted brethren in the islands in the MediterraneanIrAn.
Sea. The value of these The trumpet-blast that local institutions became sounded again and again clear in the four years as the persecutions under review in this in fr6n continued survey. They
Page 188Some participants in the first teaching institute to be held in Sisimiut (formerly Holsteinsborg), Greenland; 25 July 1982. The thirteen Bahá'ís seen here are from six different countries.
National Haziratu'l-Quds of the Republic of Ireland, Dublin; acquired September 1982.
Page 189INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT I3AIIA'I ACTIVITIES 189
reverberated throughout this continent. The National
Spiritual Assembliesled their communities in protest against this blatant religious discrimination and cruel violation of human rights. Their actions were coordinated by the European Office of the
Bahá'í InternationalSupportive response came from international, national and local levels, as well as from governments, cabinet ministers and from ecclesiastical circles.
Most outstanding have been the resolutions of the Parliament and of the Council of Europe; the resolutions passed on two occasions by the Parliament of the European Economic Community; the debates in the British House of Lords; the resolutions of the German Bundestag and the Parliament of the Netherlands; and the wholehearted support of representatives of European governments of d~marches and of the resolutions put forward in sessions of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, meeting in Geneva. In
Switzerland, the Federationof Protestant Churches issued a report on the plight of the Persian Baha'is.
In England, the Dean of Canterbury participated in the ceremony when a tree was planted within the precincts of Canterbury Cathedral as a living memorial to the martyrs, the site marked by a plaque reading 'In memory of the Persian Bahá'ís who gave their lives foi God'. The heads of Oxford Colleges registered their feelings on two occasions by signing statements protesting against the continuing persecutions.
It is impossible in this brief summary to mention all the national and local publicity accorded the Faith through the mass media in Europe as a result of its persecution in IrAn. O.utstanding have been articles in Le Monde, The Times, The
Guardian, FrankfurterAll-gemeine Zeitung and Neue Zz2rcher Zeitung, national radio and press publicity in Northern Ireland, and the response in the French-speaking countries of Europe lo the book Le& Baha'is, ou Victoire sur Ia Violence by Mrs. Christine Samandari (n&) Hakim and in the United
Kingdom to Iran's SecretNash. A typical example of the quantity of press coverage devoted on the local level to the persecution of the Iranian Bahá'ís is the 1,110 column centimetres which appeared in the year 1982 � 1983 in the press of East Lothian,
Scotland.The sacrifices of the Bahá'ís of lr~n have proclaimed the Faith continuously throughout this continent.
Much of the energy of the Baha communities, nationally and locally, has been channelled into these activities. This of itself has brought new experience and has had a unifying and consolidating effect on the communities.
At the same time, many Bahá'ís have come to Europe from frdn as part of the worldwide dispersal which resulted from the persecutions in their native land.
This has presented both a challenge and an opportunity to Baha communities, already diversified, to achieve integration of east and west on an unprecedented scale. A not unusual example of 'unity in diversity' is found in one of Norway's Local Spiritual Assemblies, whose nine members are of five different nationalities.
One of the most far-reaching developments occurred in November 1980 when the Universal House of Justice increased from five to nine the membership of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Europe.
The greater personal contact thus made possible served to strengthen the relationship between the Counsellors and the National Spiritual Assemblies and, through the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants, also strengthened re1atio~ships with the Local Spiritual Assemblies and local communities. The cooperation achieved between these two major pillars of the Bahá'í Faith has had a profound effect upon every aspect of Baha activity.
The composition of Bahá'í communities themselves has gradually changed.
Bahá'í children have grown into youth and an increase in the number of young married couples has given a new meaning to Baha family life. This in turn has brought a new awareness of the role of the Local
Spiritual Assembliesin their relationships to children, youth and families, as well as to the older believers. In every country there has been a sustained interest in studying the Baha Writings for 'guidance concerning the family and the spiritual education of children and youth.
There is constant effort to develop joyous, dynamic and well-oriented Baha communities that can triumph over the debilitating influences of a sceptical and materialistic environment.
Each national community has held Summer and Winter Schools regularly; Germany,
Italyand the United Kingdom have held several each year in different parts of their respective countries.
With programmes of ever-increasing value and interest, the wonderful spirit of each of these Schools has attracted a growing number of participants from other countries. Norway, Sweden and Denmark, which previously joined together for these activities, held independent Summer Schools for the first time in 1979, and each has gone from strength to strength in the development of their
Summer and Winter Schools.A need became apparent for special provision for the growing number of children attending national and regional gatherings. The Bahá'ís of the Netherlands took the lead in conducting children's classes of particular excellence at such functions in their country. Children's
Summer Schools and Summer Campsare held in several countries, notably Germany and France, where they are firmly established.
Teaching conferences, seminars, institutes, weekend and one-day schools have been held in every country and have called for a greater number of Baha teachers. In Denmark and Iceland, in particular, successful weekend teacher-training programmes have been conducted for the past several years.
In four countries the national communities joyously reported that their growth has been such as to require their obtaining larger national
Ilaziratn'1-Quds. Newadministrative headquarters of increased capacities have been acquiTed in
Norway, the Republicadministers the excellent 'Landegg Conference Centre' for Bahá'í purposes. It is situated in the northeast of the country and promises to develop into a study centre serving all Europe.
Scotland (which has its own legal system) and Denmark have joined those countries where Baha marriages, conducted by Baha'is, are legally recognized.
Links with the United Nations have been strengthened through the celebration of Human Rights Day and United Nations Day, as well as through the hoMing of special events in support of UNICEF and UNESCO. The Baha community of Denmark actively participated in the United Nations
International Women'sConference heM in Copenhagen in 1980, and in 1982 itself organized a special Women's
Seminar.Conference, held from 6 to 10 September 1980 at Fiesch, Switzerland, was attended by three Counsellors and more than 900 young Bahá'ís from every country in Western Europe and many other parts of the world. Strengthened by the experience of shared learning and social interaction in the spiritual and joyous atmosphere of the conference, the youth dispersed to serve with energy and enthusiasm in the Seven Year Plan.
Their eagerness to undertake 'border teaching' � one of the international goals of the Plan in Europe � continues to bear fruit.
Among other cooperative activities, two 'Northwere held, with friends from Belgium, the Netherlands and the east coast of England participating. Switzerland, Austria and Germany joined in a successful 'B odensee Proclamation Project'. Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands support activity in the newly-opened German-speaking area of Belgium. Fiffland and Sweden continue to work together in the Aland Islands. And the Bahá'ís in the far north of Norway, Sweden and Finland cooperate 'horizontally' across those three areas in Lapland. There are strong links between Northern Ireland and the Irish
Republic. France and Switzerlandand Cyprus works with both Greece and Turkey, especially in the field of publishing. In the
Basque region, FranceNine travelling teachers from Iceland have visited Greenland where the teaching work is steadily developing through the aid of the Danish Bahá'í community which has offered additional support by sending pioneers, travelling teachers and visitors.
The first Local Spiritualwas established in the capital city, Nuuk, at Ridvan 1979. Eleven young Greenlanders have accepted the Faith since the much-appreciated visit there of Abdu'l-Bahá
R6hiyyih KlPnum in September1982. Greenland is an example of intercontinentM cooperation: the Bahá'í community of Canada has the goal of assisting in its development, and geographically it is part of the area of the Counsellors of the Americas who themselves � and through their
Page 191INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 191
A selection of ma]or original publications in European languages: from top (clockwise): Bahá'u'lláh, Lff Hans og Opinberun (1982) by E5var~ T. J6nsson (Icelandic); Der Bahá'í in der modernen Welt (1981) by Udo Schaefer (German); Perspectivas de un Nuevo Orden Mundial (1982) by J. L. Marqu~s y Utrillas (Spanish); Le Prisonnier de Saint-Jean-D'Acre
(1982) by Andr~ Brugiroux (French); Gli Otto Veli (1981) by Augusto Robiati (Italian).
National Youth Symposium, Sejano, Italy; June 1980.
Page 192Auxiliary Board members and assistants � are constantly in touch with the friends there. Both the American and the European Counsellors work with and give practical support to the National Spiritual Assembly of Denmark in its work in
Greenland.Assemblies were formed in earlier Plans in the islands around Europe's coastline. In the summer of 1981 Amatu'I-BahA R6ljiyyih KMnum brought joy to the friends in some of the northern islands when she visited Mull, the Outer Hebrides, Orkneys and Shetlands. She made a number of visits to Cyprus. In 1982, while visiting Europe, the Hand of the Cause Collis Feather-stone visited the Baltic island of Bornholm which is one of those in which a Local Assembly is to be formed during the Seven Year Plan. An outstanding 'island victory' is the development of the Canary Islands, part of the Bahá'í community of Spain, whose progress by Ridvan 1982 had led them to the threshold of the establishment of their own National
Spiritual Assembly.was transferred from the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom to that of Italy at Ridvan 1980.
European Counsellorshave made a point of visiting and maintaining close contact with the island Bahá'í communities from the North Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea and they have also supported the work of National Spiritual Assemblies and their committees by making a special effort to keep in touch with the more isolated communities in each country, both through their personal travels and through the work of the Auxiliary Board members and their assistants.
The teaching work and the ensuing deepening and consolidation is conducted in sixteen different
European Languages.This gives rise to a constant need for translation and publication of the Holy Writings, as well as all manner of other books and deepening material. Some notable recent publications are the first book in
Luxembourgian, a Bahá'íand Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and Some Answered Questions in Dutch; a compilation of Bahá'í prayers, The
Hidden Words and SomeAnswered Questions in Greek; Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh in Swedish; a compilation of Writings of the Central Figures in Icelandic; and a book about the life of� Bahá'u'lláh E6varb T. J6nsson, the first Bahá'í book to be written in Icelandic; and the first introductory book translated into Faroese,
The Bahá'í Faith by GloriaIn 1981 Switzerland commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of its famous scientist and humanitarian, Professor August Forel, one of the earliest
Swiss Baha'is. The SwissBahá'í community recalled his association with the Bahá'í Faith by producing and dedicating to him a special issue of its magazine La Pensk Baha'i. A doctoral dissertation by John Paul Vader entitled For the Good of Mankind: August Forel and the Bahá'í Faith written on that occasion received an award from the University of Lausanne in Professor
Ford's native CantonEurope has many personal links with 'Abdu'l-Bahá Who visited the continent in 1911 and again in
1913. In 1983 the Bahaof Austria celebrated the seventieth anniversary of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í visit to Vienna by republishing
Maria von Meymayer'sdrama Qurratu'1-'Ayn and distributing it to prominent persons and institutions throughout the country. In the United Kingdom, Bahá'í youth journeyed by train, as
'Abdu'l-Bahá Himselfhad done, from London to Edinburgh, to join the Scots Bahá'ís in their observance of the seventieth anniversary of the Master's visit to the Scottish capital.
The celebration began with the welcoming skirT of bagpipes as the train drew into Waverley Station and it continued on a joyous note for the whole weekend.
Portugal is one of the Bahá'í communities which has enjoyed outstanding success with general proclamation activities in the form of newspaper articles, exhibitions and television programmes.
The Bahá'í community of the Republic of Ireland, already outstanding for its devotion to the Cause, the services of its pioneers on the homefront and abroad, and for the loving enthusiasm of its travelling teachers, befittingly organized and welcomed the International
Conference in Dublinin June 1982. It was attended by 1,900 Bahá'ís from sixty countries.
This conference was one of a total of five convened by the Universal House of Justice and dedicated to the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the fiftieth anniversary of
Page 193INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 193
Some participants in the annual convention of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iceland; 1981.
Counsellor Betty Reed is seen in the centre of the second row.
whose passing it commemorated.It was the high point of the four years under review.
The message from the House of Justice to the conference gave a new direction to the European Bahá'í community. It called upon the Continental Board of Counsellors to consult with every National Spiritual Assembly in Europe and 'together, launch such a campaign of spiritualization and personal teaching, as has never been witnessed in your continent'. It urged that 'the Baha community in every country in Europe stand out as a beacon light'. After describing Europe's response to Christianity as the development 'through many vicissitudes' of 'the most widespread and effective civilization known', the message outlined the task of the Baha as that of arousing in the people of Europe a more magnificent response to the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh 'than was ever made by the divided and contending peoples of olden times'. In a continent where there has developed among the populace a revulsion against religion and where there has been a powerful growth of materialism, this task is not an easy one, but it now animates and activates the European Baha communities and will undoubtedly inspire them to unprecedented efforts.
Page 194I N 1974 the Universal House of Justice called upon the Canadian Bahá'í community to 'cultivate opportunities for formal presentations, courses and lectureships on the
Bahá'í Faith in Canadianuniversities and other institutions of higher learning'.
Following a policy conference, the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada established the Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá'í Faith. It was felt that the Association would provide a suitable means of approach to intellectuals and universities and bring to these circles an awareness of the Faith and an acquaintance with the academic resources which are available to facilitate formal study of it. From 1974 to 1979 four annual meetings were held. The Association grew in membership, published a series of high quality monographs, initiated work on a textbook on th& Faith of university calibre and stimulated formal presentations at universities and colleges throughout
Canada.In the period Ridvan 1979 to Ridvan 1982 the Association for Bahá'í Studies has played an increasingly important role in the affairs of the international Baha community and through its conferences and publications has provided an exciting forum for intellectual and spiritual development.
The change of name which was recommended by theand approved by the Universal House of Justice in April 1981 reflected the emerging nature of the Association's membership and activities with national affiliates established in a number of countries. Its executive committee included, for the first time, members from the United States as well as Canada. Serving on the current Executive
Committee are HossainDanesh, Glen: Eyford, Richard Gagnon, Jane Goldstone,
William Hatcher, DouglasThe Association has constantly received invaluable and reassuring support, guidance and assistance from the Universal House of Justice and has enjoyed the participation and encouragement of the Hands of the Cause and members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors. It has also derived benefit from the spiritual and intellectual contributions of members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the United States and
Canada.Highlights during the period under review � a period of transition from a Canadian to an international association � have included the opening of a modest but beautiful Centre for Baha Studies, the first such centre in the Baha world, at the heart of the University of Ottawa's campus in Canada's national capital; the holding of three annual conferences, two special theme conferences and several regional conferences; continued excellence in the standard of publications produced by the Association; and the launching of an affiliated organization, the Bahá'í International Health Agency, which began operations in July 1982 with Dr. Ethel Martens (researcher, social and preventive medicine) serving as executive secretary.
In 1979 the UniversalHouse of Justice gave a further goal to the Canadian community for the Seven Year Plan: 'Expand the opportunities for teaching in Canadian institutions of higher learning and further develop the Canadian
Association for StudiesAnd in 1981, when the second phase of the Seven Year Plan was launched, the
Universal House of Justicerestated this goal and divided it into two parts: 'Foster the development of the Canadian Association for Studies on the Bahá'í Faith' and 'Expand and intensify the teaching of the Faith in Canadian institutions of higher learning.'
The goal of cultivating opportunities for formal presentations and courses remained a primary objective of the Association, but the Universal House of Justice also encouraged specific attention to the development of the Association itself.
The Association had become a significant feature of the intellectual, social and spiritual life of the Canadian community, and for increasing numbers of Baha worldwide.
Page 195INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTPVITIES 195
Exterior view of the centre of the Association for Bahá'í Studies, Ottawa, Canada. Acquisition was announced in March 1981.
View op the reception area in the centre for Bahá'í Studies. The centre is located at the heart of the campus of the University of Ottawa.
Page 196The fifth, sixth and seventh annual conferences held in 1980, 1981 and 1982 were creative and stimulating events. All three were held in Ottawa � at the University of Ottawa in 1980 and 1981 and at the Chateau Laurier in 1982. Approximately three hundred Baha and guests attended in 1980 and 1981 while more than six hundred and fifty enjoyed the presentatibns and discussions at the 1982 gathering held a week prior to the International Bahá'í
Conference in Montreal.The fifth annual conference inaugurated an annual memorial lecture in honour of the Hand of the Cause Hasan M. Bahá'í who died in February 1980. The Hand of the Cause of God John A. Robarts, Dr. 'Abbas AfnAn, Dr. Muhammad
Afn4n and Mr. DouglasMartin spoke at that conference on the life and work of Mr. Baha'i.
Mr. Douglas Martin and Mr. Glenford Mitchell, secretaries of the National
Spiritual Assembliesof Canada and the United States, respectively, made a joint presentation for the memorial lecture in 1981. Mrs. Gayle Morrison, whose To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America appeared in 1982 to critical acclaim, speaking on the life of the Hand of the Cause Louis Gregory, gave the Hasan M. Bahá'í lecture at the 1982 conference.
Another new feature, begun at the fifth conference and continued at subsequent conferences, was the presentation of Association contest awards for best essay by a highschool student, best essay.
by a university student and best individual research paper.
The first Baha InternationalConference on Health and Healing, organized by the Association, was held immediately following the fifth annual conference.
It brought together Bahá'í health professionals and their fellow Bahá'ís to discuss health in the light of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh and contemporary scientific thinking.
The Hand of the Cause JohnA. Robarts inspired and encouraged conference participants and closed the historic gathering by delivering an address on the unity of science and religion.
The sixth annual conference was also graced with the presence of a Hand of the Cause of God. Abdu'l-Bahá Rhhfyyih KLThnum gave the opening and closing addresses at the International Conference on Marriage and Family Life which immediately followed the annual conference of 1981.
The seventh annual conference, held from 30 August to 2 September 1982, served to emphasize the growing international dimension of the Association.
Many of the unprecedented number of participants who crowded into the beautiful ChAteau Laurier ballroom came from a number of countries outside Canada. 'The Bahá'í Option', theme of the conference, examined solutions offered by Bahá'u'lláh to many contemporary problems confronting mankind. Human rights, personal and social values, justice, economics, telecommunications, workshops and symposia on scholarship, Bahá'í curricula and health were all included on the conference programme.
A full day was devoted to a discussion of international development.
Two other features are now characteristic of the Association's conferences.
First is the degree to which they reflect the importance in Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation of music and the arts. Presentations of the arts were not auxiliary to the main programme but are viewed as being as essential to the conferences as the lectures and discussions.
The second feature, which relates closely to the original aim of the Association, is the inclusion on the programmes of wellknown figures from outside the Baha community, a concrete demonstration of the success the Association is enjoying in bringing to leaders of thought an awareness of the Faith and helping raise the prestige of the Faith through fostering cordial re1ationshi~s with leading intellectuals and scholars. Dr. Jean-Ren6 Milot, Professor at the University of Montreal, spoke at the 1980 conference; Mrs. Yoshiko Nomura, Executive Director of the Lifelong Integrated Education Centre in Japan, made a presentation at the gathering in 1981; and Mr. Lewis Perinbam, Vice-President Special Programmes Branch of the Canadian International Development Agency, addressed the conference participants in 1982. These guest speakers were favourably impressed by the quality of the conferences. Indications are that future invitations to speak at conferences of the Association will be well received, a sign of the emerging importance of the kind of forum for scholarship and study which the Association provides.
Page 197INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 197
The Hand of the Cause Abdu'l-Bahá Rt~h(yyih Khdnum addressing the international conference on marriage and family life, Ottawa, Canada, 1981.
The Hand of the Cause John Robarts with youth who received awards during the seventh annual conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies for scholarship and research on aspects of the Bahá'í Faith.
Page 198In addition to the emerging international activities of the Association, regional conference committees were established which held nine regional conferences in the period from 1979 to 1981. The conference held in Quebec was noteworthy in that it was the first Association conference to be conducted entirely in French. A further development was the sponsorship by the Association of sessions at Bahá'í schools in the United States. One hundred and fifty participants attended the threeday
Green Acre Baha Schooland the Bosch Bahá'í School sessions of the Association in 1981. There were similar sessions at these two Baha schools in 1982 and 1983, and additional sessions at the Louhelen
Bahá'í School.By 1983 three regional conference committees were functioning in Canada and three in the United States: Pacific Northwest, Saskatoon and Quebec, in Canada; and California, Midwestern
United States and NewEngland in the U.S.A. The publishing work of the Association expanded in the period under review with volumes 6 to 11 of Bahá'í Studies being produced.
Volume 6, The Violence-FreeSociety: A Gift for our Children, by Dr. Iziossain B. Danesh, was reprinted (30,000 copies) and provided a focus for a number of regional and local proclamation programmes and conferences in Canada.
A translation into French of volume 6 appeared as volume 8. Volumes 7 and 9, Response to the Revelation: Poetry by Baha'is, by Dr. Geoffrey Nash, et aL, and The Concept of Manifestation in the Bahá'í Writings, by Mr. Juan Ricardo Cole, were followed in 1982 by volume 10, a collection of articles on creativity by Dr. Bahá'í Naj4jjav6ni, Dr. Geoffrey Nash and Mr. Otto Donald Rogers, and a selection of poems by Mr. Roger White in homage to Emily Dickinson taken from his full-length work One Bird, One Cage, One Flight. Volume 2, The Science of Religion, by Dr. William S. Hatcher, was also reprinted. Finally, volume 11, The Concept of Spirituality, by Dr. William S. Hatcher, was published in 1982.
A new venture for the Association was the publication of Bahá'í Studies Notebook.
This publication presented in an attractive format the presentations made at some of the conferences: the April 1981 issue focused on health and the March 1983 issue on marriage and ~ family.
The first Bahá'í StudiesNotebook brought together poetry and essays on the Faith, and an issue on international development was in the final stages of publication in 1983.
These two publications,Studies Notebook, have gerved to demonstrate the power of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh to illuminate contemporary problems and issues. They provide valuable resources for the important work of expanding and intensifying the teaching of the Faith in institutions of higher learning.
Another important effort of the Association has been the sponsoring of formal presentations at universities and colleges in both Canada and the United States. The universities of Ottawa, Western Ontario, McMaster, McGill, Simon Fraser, Ohio State, Concorcija and
Quebec (at Montreal)are some of the universities which have had formal ~presen-tations by Bahá'í speakers on behalf of the Association. Members of the Association spoke at university teaching hospitals and at a variety of conferences and seminars including the World Congress of Mental Health in Salzburg,
Austria, in July 1979and the Governor's Conference on Child Abuse in Nevada, in 1980. In May 1983 Association members will participate in the Third
Annual Symposium on Religionin the Modern World and will represent the Bahá'í Faith at the 'Woridview 1984' Conference of the
World Future Society.These formal presentations represent important first steps towards the day when Bahá'í courses will be available at institutions of higher learning. Two initiatives in this specific area are worth noting: in 1980 the University of Toronto sponsored a non-credit course on the Bahá'í Faith and, in that same year, the
University of BritishStudies promise to accelerate in intensity with increasing significance for the intellectual and learned circles of society still unaware of or barely acquainted with the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. With the Centre for Bahá'í Studies well established and providing accommodation for the secretariat, a reference library and the affiliated Baha'i
Page 199Issues of Bahá'í Studies and Bahá'í Studies Notebook published by the Association for Bahá'í Studies in the period
Ridvan 1979 � 1 983.International Health Agency, with computerization of much of the Association's administrative and publishing work and, finally, with its international aspects expanding, the Association for Bahá'í Studies looks forward to rapid and exciting developments. Indeed, the Universal House of Justice confirmed the hopes and expectations of the Association's members and supporters in letters written on its behalf to the Association from which the following excerpts are taken: 'The efflorescence of the Association for Bahá'í Studies has been, in the eyes of the House of Justice, one of the very favourable outcomes of the Five Year Plan and bodes well for the maturation and eminence of the Canadian community.' (19 March 1979) 'We are asked to convey its [the Univers~1 House of Justice'sI commendation to the Association for the steadily increasing scope of its interests, for its expanding membership and for the valuable stimulus it is providing particularly to the North American Baha community.' (24
November 1982)is very pleased with the way in which the Association has been developing, and will pray at the Sacred Threshold for divine confirmations to surround its work.'
(9 January 1983)BAHÁ'Í INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON HEALTH AND HEALING
1 � 4 JUNE 1980de Araujo, Ph.D., Representative of the Baha International Community to the United Nations, New York.
Spiritual Dimensions ofDanesh, M.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, University of
Ottawa; Director Familyand Lifestyle Alteration � David Smith, M.D., Ophthalmologist in private practice and Assistant Professor of
Ophthalmology, UniversityM. Ghadirian, M.D., Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal.
Positive Psychotherapy � N.Peseschkian, M.D., Psychiatrist in private practice, Wiesbaden, West Germany.
Smoking and Exercise � PeterP. Morgan, M.D., and Arthur Irwin, Ph.D., Kanata, Ontario,
Alcoholism, Drug Abuseand Youth � A. M. Ghadirian, M.D., and Ruth Lyford, M.S.W., St. Albert, Alberta.
Psychology Without Religion? � N.Recovering from Ma/nu-trition � Linda Gershuny, BA., Dipi.
Montessori H6pi-tal Albertin High-level Wellness � S. Raman, Ph.D., Ed.D., Associate Professor of Nutrition,
University of HawaiiMusic Therapy � Jocelyn Boor, R.M.T., Shorewood, Wisconsin.
Healing Relationshipsin Marriage � Ruth Eyford, M.S.W. The Importance for a Physician to Turn to God � Agnes Ghaznavi, M.D., Psychiatrist in private practice, Bienne, Switzerland.
The Bahá'í Approach toGhaznavi, Mill, and Hossain Danesh, M.D. What are the most urgent issues concerning health and wellbeing that require research and what are the recommendations in this respecC � Roundtable
Discussion.Ideas on the Natural Approach w Healing � Florence Altass, RN., Sussex, England.
(Miss Altass, age 96 and unable to travel, submitted a tape-recorded presentation.)
Page 201INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 201
3. THE ESTABLISHMENT OF TIlE BAHA'IMIORE than fifty Bahá'ís who are health professionals in Canada, the United States and Chile were present in Ottawa, Canada, on 10 � 11 April 1982 when the
Bahá'í InternationalHealth Agency was formally established. The creation of such an agency was recommended at the first Bahá'í International Conference on Health and Healing held in Ottawa in June 1980 under the sponsorship of the Association for Bahá'í Studies. The Hand of the Cause of God John A. Robarts was among those present at the April 1982 meeting which also was sponsored by the
Association for Bahá'íincluded medical doctors, nurses, counsellors, therapists, psychologists, social workers and medical students.
The proposal to create the agency was accepted by the executive committee of the Association for Bahá'í Studies, approved in principle by the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada and referred to the Universal House of Justice for its guidance.
In approving the creation of a Bahá'í International Health Agency, the House of Justice stated: 'The idea of a special group of I3ah&i health professionals is a useful one, and for the time being it is quite sufficient to develop it as a section within the Association The agency was established with a view to coordinating and encouraging research and education among Baha who are health professionals and others who are interested or who have knowledge in this area. The agency could well prove to be of assistance in helping to place Bahá'í health professionals in pioneering posts around the world.
Goals of the agency, as proposed in 1980 and confirmed at the April 1982 policy conference, include compiling a world directory of Baha who work in health-related professions, scientists and resources; organizing an international Baha conference on health to be held every three years; publishing the proceedings of these conferences; and developing and distributing educational health programmes for children and adults in various countries and cultures. These programmes will be made available in written and audiovisual form for use by Bahá'í radio stations, Bahá'í schools, Spiritual Assemblies and non-Bah~t'f entities.
The Hand of the Cause John Robarts (standing third from right) with participants in the inaugural meeting of the Baha'i' international Health Agency, Ottawa, Canada; 10 April1982.
Page 2021979 � 1983 'BAHÁ'Í scholarship is of great importance in the development and consolidation of the Bahá'í community,' the Universal House of Justice stated in its message entitled 'The Challenge and Promise of Bahá'í Scholarship', published in The Bahá'í World, volume XVII, p. 195. Among the goals given to the Austrahan Bahá'í community in the Seven Year Plan were: to foster a deeper understanding of the Baha Writings; to make efforts to have the Faith presented in courses at schools, colleges and universities; and to encourage Bahá'ís to devise means of proclaiming the Faith to professional people.
With the approval of theof Australia, a conference on Babfl scholarship � the first of its kind to be held in this country � was organized by the Bahá'í Society of the University of Tasmania.
More than one hundred believers from many parts of Australia gathered at YeTrinbool
Baha School in New SouthWales from 9 to 12 April 1982 to discuss the emerging role of Bahá'í scholarship, its service to the individual and the Faith and its relation to scholarship in the non-Bah&i world.
Counsellor Peter Khan presented a keynote address in which he surveyed the Writings of the Faith on Bahá'í scholarship. This was followed by the presentation of papers on a wide variety of topics which correlated aspects of the Bahá'í teachings with recent developments in physics, biology, medicine, psychology and educational theory. Papers discussing recent developments in music and art, from the perspective of the Bahá'í teachings, were supplemented by historical papers dealing with the lives of Mark Tobey and Juliet Thompson. An outstanding presentation by Dr. Baha Forghani, on the Life of Mirza Abu'1-Fadi, the illustrious Persian Bahá'í scholar who taught in the United States at the turn of the century, provided new insights into an exemplary life of devotion and true scholarship. Described by Shoghi Effendi in God Passes By as a 'learned apologist', Mirza Abu'I-Fadl was the author of The Bahá'í Proofs, The Brilliant Proof, the Fard'id and other imponant works.
Pr should be noted that in addition to speakers academically trained in their fields, participants in the programme included non-academics who were also intrigued by their subject matter and who evinced a healthy zeal in researching their topics for presentation.
There were three dominant features of this conference.
All speakers used the authoritative Writings of the Faith as a standard and a framework for their scholarship and creativity; there was an admirable spirit of tolerance and respect for differing understandings and approaches within that framework; and, overall, the entire atmosphere was one of encouragement and support, with cooperation and modesty replacing the competitiveness, arrogance and pride which often characterize contemporary scholarly meetings.
A second conference on Bahá'í Studies was held from 1 to 4 April 1983, again at Yerrin-bool, and again there were more than one hundred in attendance.
The presentations touched on many aspects of human affairs. Three main categories of scholarly papers were offered:
(1) Studies of Scripturewhich brought understanding of some of the deeper aspects of the revealed
Word.(2) Studies of the relationship between the Baha Faith and contemporary society and the way in which the principles and teachings of the Faith may be applied to resolve presentday social problems.
(3) Historical papers which provided a deeper insight into the lives and characters of the early Bahá'ís from whose example presentday believers may derive inspiration.
There were three invited addresses: Dr.Scholarship'; and Mr. James Heggie, 'The Early Days of the
Baha Faith in Australia'.A feature of this conference was the holding of the first Australian Festival of Baha'i
Page 203INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 203
Artists. Mr. Phillip Hinton delighted the audience with his masterful renditions of poems and Mr. Cliff Stevens performed guitar selections.
Scholarship has a high station in the Bahá'í teachings, as the Universal House of Justice has reminded us. Bahá'í scholars who are well-versed in the Teachings, who uphold the Covenant, and who are guided by tact and wisdom and humbled by knowledge of their responsibilities will contribute greatly to upholding the dignity and honour of scholarship.
APPENDIX IThe meaning of Baha scholarship Mirza Abu'1-Fadl � Dr. Baha Forghani Science,
Independent InvestigationDiscussion: The establishment of the Association for Bahá'í
Studies in AustraliaDreams and their Interpretation in the Bahá'í Faith � Dr.
John DavidsonIntroductory Notes on the Disconnected Lellers of the Qur'an � Dr. Baha
Forghaniof Physical Reality': Why are we born to Suffer and Die? � Dr. Alex Kavetsky
An Analysis 01; the PersecutionBahá'í Insights irno the Relationship between Man and the Environment:
The First Valley � PaulThe Spiritual Axis and its Analogy in Cell Division (Mitosis) � Paul
StevensonStudies and of Sociology at the University of Lancaster lent their support to a succession of four annual
Bahá'í Studies Seminars11 � 13 April 1980) held under the convenership of Peter Smith, then a postgraduate student in the Department of Sociology. Designed to further academic research into the B~bf and Bahá'í religions, these seminars afforded opportunity for a number of postgraduates from Europe and America to present and discuss papers on various aspects of 'Bahá'í Studies'. Most of the substantive papers presented at the seminars have since found their way into print or have been incorporated into the participants' doctoral theses.
The papers presented were as follows:to 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Will and Testament and the Establishment of the Guardiansht~ � See Bramson's Ph.D. thesis,
The Bahá'í Faith and ItsEvolution in the United States and Canada from 1922 to 1936 (Universit~ Catholique de Louvain, 1980) Cole, Juan Ricardo (U.C.L.A.) (1980) Rashid Ridd on the Baha'i' Faith in Egypt, 1897 � i 921
Lambden, Stephen (Newcastle)'Kdb6d' in the Old Testament, 'Doxa' in the New Testament and Aspects of the 'Theology of "Baha"' and the Sinai Epiphany Motif in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh Lee, Anthony (U.C.L.A.) (1978) The Bahá'í community of 'Ishqabad from the beginnings to the Russian Revolution � Published in slightly revised form as 'The Rise of the Bahá'í Community of 'Ishqabad',
Bahá'í Studies 5 (1979):to the BTh', Studies in Báb and Bahá'í History, ed. M. Momen (Los Angeles: Ka1im~t Press, 1983), pp. 1 � 47 � For both the 1977 and 1978 papers see MacEoin's Ph.D. thesis, From Shaykhism to Báb's: A Study of Charismatic
Renewal in Shi'ih Isldm (Universityof Cambridge, 1979) (1979) The Concept of 'Jihdd' in the B~Th[ and
Bahá'í Movements.with the Yazd Episode of 1850 � See Momen, The Báb and
Bahá'í Religions, 1844 � 1944;and the B~bi and Baha Communities', Studies in B~bi and Bahá'í History, ed. M. Momen (Los Angeles: Ka1im~it Press, 1983), pp. 44 � 82
(1979) The Social BasisINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í f ACTIVITIES 205
A Preliminary Analysisof Charisma? Some Comments on Peter L. Berger's 'Motif Messianique et Process us Social dans le Bahaisme' � Published in shortened and amended form as 'Motif research: Peter Berger and the Baha Faith',
Religioncommunity, 1894 � 1917 � Published in expanded form in Studies in J3abi and Bahá'í History, ed.
M. Momen (Los Angeles:� See also Smith's Ph.D. thesis, A Sociological Study of the Báb and Bahá'í
Religions (Universityof Lancaster, 1982) (1979) Millenarianism in the Báb and Bahá'í Religions � Published in amended form as Millennialism in the Báb and Bahá'í Religions', Millennialism and Charisma, ed.
R. Wallis (Belfast: TheQueen's University, 1982), pp. 231 � 283 Note: For short accounts of the Seminars see the following: For the 1977 and 1978 Seminars, the
United Kingdom Bahá'í16 � 17 [see also the erratum in issue no. 248 (January 1979): 11]; for the 1979
Seminar, the Bulletinof the British Society for Middle Eastern Studies 6 (1979): 119 � 123.
Mrs. Gayle Morrison delivering the Hasan M. Ba1yt~zi lecture during the seventh annual conference of the Association for Bah6'iStudies; 1982.
Page 2061I#141(4 ~ 2 2 t , A representative sampling of Bahd'ischolarly journals for general circulation issued in the period Ridvan 19 79 � 1983 and published in the following languages (clockwise from top): Persian, English, French, Spanish, Dutch and Italian.
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6. THE DEVELOPMENT OF BAHÁ'Í SCHOOLSBahá'u'lláh hath become manifest to educate all of the peoples of the world. He is the Universal Educator whether of the rich or the poor, whether of black or white, or of peoples from east or west, or north or south. 'Abdu'l-Bahá There are certain pillars which have been established as the unshakable supports of the Faith of God. The mightiest of these is learning and the use of the mind, the expansion of consciousness, and the insight into the realities of the universe and the hidden mysteries of Almighty God. 'Abdu'l-Bahá A SMARTLY-DRESSED, white-gloved squad of boys and girls carrying the banner of 'Colegio Nur', marches in a municipal parade before government authorities in Santiago, Chile; A smalL group of three to five year-old tots in Lomaivuna, Fiji, gather for prayers, manners and moral training at the town's Bahá'í Center; Boys and girls of a primary school in rural India, in a village of Uttar Pradesh, meet on the steps of a Hindu temple or under the welcome shade of a spreading banyan tree; A Swazi kindergarten child arrives at Hiati-kula preschool for a pleasant day in a structured environment with thirty other youngsters; While in Chuquisaca in the Bolivian Andes, campesinos wrapped snugly in their handwoven woven woolens against the biting mountain air, throng to a newly-opened Tutorial Center seeking basic education (for children) and literacy classes (for adults).
Continents apart, separated by culture, language and experience, they all share a common value and are moved by one impulse � the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh.
All attend Bahá'í schools.The 'Bahá'í school' eludes a single definition. Though the schools have much in common, they are as different as the circumstances that gave them birth.
They are as varied as the nations that hold them, the cultures that infuse them, the servants that create them and the wondrous range of children and adults who attend them. They represent the response to the mandate of Bahá'u'lláh to bend your minds and wills to Students of the New Era Schoo4 Panchgani, Maharashtra State, India.
Page 208Ants Zuntizi School, Lilavo ix, Haiti, dedicated in October 1982 in a ceremony presided over by Amatu'1-Rahd R4hz'yyih Khdnum.
the education of the peoples and kindreds of the earth and the injunction of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to exert every effort to educate the children. They are the answer to the instruction of the Universal House of Justice in its messages of RiQv~n 136 (and even earlier) to 'encourage Local
Spiritual Assembliesto establish Baha tutorial schools where needed and feasible' or to 'continue to develop your Bahá'í schools and establish Bahá'í tutorial classes where needed.'
By Ridvan of 1983, functioning tutorial schools, founded in response to that call, totalled one hundred and forty-three; thirty-eight were in Africa, thirtyfive in the Americas, sixty-nine in Asia and one in Australasia.
The numbers change almost daily as Assemblies in scores of villages and towns, and a few cities, act vigorously to carry out the mandate of universal education embodied in the Teachings of their
Faith.It is a nonformal village school, perhaps with a physical structure � a simple shelter or adobe-brick building � and perhaps not; perhaps with a single teacher, certified or not, paid or unpaid, or partially reimbursed in kind (which may be foods and provisions or labor on his land); or perhaps staffed by a volunteer youth who has been schooled in a city, or by a parent or other literate villager.
Its aim is to give rural children basic education to the degree possible with the resources at hand. This may sometimes mean supplementing public education, where this exists, with special tutoring in additional subjects such as English; or it may mean adding Bahá'í content to the educational experience with classes based on the Teachings.
It will usually mean both � basic education with some classes that are specifically related to the Teachings of the Faith. It is not everywhere possible to make rigid distinctions as to service of children or adults, as to day or night operation, as to basic education or literacy as primary goal, since some facilities and staffs are operated in more than one way, and are used to accomplish more than one objective. And it is not always possible to make a sharp distinction between the tutorial school and the academic institution, as the former has sometimes evolved into the latter, acquiring permanency, a physi
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cal plant and professional teachers. In some cases, a next step has been certification by the government, and in a few, adoption into the public system of education.
The academic institutions are older in Bahá'í history, and fewer in number than the mushrooming tutorial schools springing up during the current Plan. Some outstanding examples of Baha educational efforts predate the Seven Year Plan Message of 1979, and are embodied in formal academic institutions and housed in their own permanent and expanding facilities, indicating, perhaps, the direction that some of the recently founded tutorial schools will take in the course of their development.
The following section discusses some countries' early experiences in founding Bahá'í schools and their subsequent development of tutorial schools.
VI The first schools founded by Bahá'ís came in the lifetime of 'Abdu'l-Bahá when He urged the believers of tr~n and 'JshqTh6xI, Turkistan, to found academic schools for both boys and girls.
The famed Tarbfyat Schools were the result. Their success over decades is well known in Iran and to Bahá'ís around the world. They continued until fanaticism and repression closed them down.
UgandaTwo Baha primary schools named for the Hand of the Cause Louis Gregory were established in 1961 at Odusai and Tilling in Tororo and Kumi Districts, due to generous contributions for the purpose by Mr. and Mrs. Rafi Mottahedeh.
These schools, too, were affected by changing governmental policies. The Ministry of Education took over all curricula and teaching in formerly private institutions and religious schools.
The ownership and physical maintenance of the two Bahá'í schools remain, however, in the hands of the institutions of the Faith, as does the teaching of the Baha religion classes. The institutions of the Faith and the Bahá'í parents continue to take a keen and sustained interest in the progress and development of the schools.
In 1957, a German-bornpioneer from the British Isles, Miss Claire Gung, termed by the Guardian 'The Mother of Africa', opened the first interracial kindergarten in Uganda near the historic palace of the Kabakas of Buganda at Mengo, Kampala.
The school rapidly came to be one of the most respected pie-primary institutions in Uganda, eventually reaching an enrollment of some one hundred and ninety children of all races and backgrounds, including the children of many distinguished Ugandan families.
During the early years of the second decade of its existence, Auntie Claire's Kindergarten was transferred from its original somewhat humble quarters into a large new building entirely planned and constructed through the personal efforts and sacrifices of 'Auntie' Claire herself. Ownership and administration was transferred, in part, to the National Spiritual
Assembly of Uganda. Throughthe long, perilous years of political and social upheaval in Uganda, from 1971 to the present, Claire Gung stayed and persevered at her pioneer post, running her school though advancing age and ill health weighed heavily upon her. Though the trying restrictions of life in Uganda at present have reduced the numbers of parents able to provide kindergarten education for their children, the school remains open and Auntie Claire continues to win the love and respect of the Bahá'ís and the people of Kampala in general for her selfless
Page 210A woodworking class at New Era High School, Panchgani, India.
Laying the cornerstone at the site of the Bahá'í Youth Academy, Kanga Hills, Panchgani, Maharashtra State, India.
Page 211service to their children under all conditions. Miss Gung was also responsible for initiating and equipping the Kikaaya Bahá'í Kindergarten situated in the precincts of the Mother Temple of Africa as one of the Temple's dependencies.
It stands on property contributed and developed by Auntie Claire herself.
IndiaState, dates from 1945 when it was opened as a small children's hostel.
It has become an international school of stature with a student population of more than four hundred coming from twenty nations.
Half are from Bahá'í families and the remainder are from Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Muslim or other backgrounds. 'New Era' now consists of a preschool, primary and secondary schools, and a small Junior College. Computer programming has recently been added to the curriculum. Public service projects have become a feature of the secondary school program.
Other educational and development institutions have emerged from New Era, and its destiny is to include a fullyfledged University, as envisaged by Shoghi Effendi.1 In
1982 the Bahá'í YouthAcademy was created on the New Era campus to hold short courses of intensive study on a high academic level throughout the year for special groups of youth selected on the basis of common interests.
One of the first sessions was for children of Persian pioneers living in India, another was for women, another for young men graduating from the Rabbani
School. By May 1983 the Academyhad held four separate sessions of several weeks each, from its opening in July 1982. A separate physical plant for the Youth Academy will soon be erected on a site in Kanga Hills which will include a complex of classrooms, a conference hail, library, offices, dormitories and dining room for sixty students.
The same site will also hold the New Era JuniorMention should be made here of the Rab-bani School, a higher secondary school for village boys in Gwalior, in the state of Madhya
Pradesh. The RabbaniSchool', The Bahá'í World, vol. XVII, pp. 225 � 226; and 'Rural Development in India', ibid., pp. 227 � 228.
2 See 'Rabbani School', p. 233 this volume.An English-medium school, the Glory School, has been established since February 1981 in Shantiniketan, West Bengal, a place made famous by Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel Prize laureate and most renowned of India's men of letters.
To Shantiniketan, where Tagore'shome is maintained as a museum, and where his original school has expanded into a great university, students are attracted from all parts of the world. For these reasons, and for the strong Bahá'í associations with Shantiniketan? the first Local Spiritual Assembly elected there in 1979 determined to open a Bahá'í school. When the Glory School opened its doors in February 1981 the organizers received a message of encouragement from the Universal House of Justice. In 1983 a hostel was inaugurated to attract children from other places, some of them Bahá'ís whose parents wished their children to have this experience. Glory operates a nursery, kindergarten and Classes I and II; its goal is to reach Class XII. The school has been self-supporting from the beginning but now seeks funding to acquire land for a permanent site, and for subsidizing more children in the boarding school.
A number of smaller schools in India include two in Andhra Pradesh in southeast India � another
Glory English Schooland the Shoghi Children's Convent. Both are privately owned and run by Baha. The
Glory School of AndhraPradesh offers courses from lower kindergarten to fifth standard. The kindergarten through first standard are in the English medium, the fifth standard in Telugu only. Students are from very poor areas and unable to pay regular fees, thus the school has to have outside support. The Shoghi School has an enrollment of one hundred and ninety-four children in ten classes, Standards One through Five in the Telugu medium, and Kindergarten to
Standard Three in English.The principal, Mr. G. Samba Siva Rao, and five teachers are Baha'is.
In 1983 the school is earning eighty-In In Tagore's lifetime the Hand of the Cause of God Martha Root visited there. She stayed three days, left many books in the University library and in conversation with Tagore expressed the hope that a chair for study of the Bahá'í Faith would be established at Visva-Bharati University.
The Hand of the Cause of God Dorothy Baker also visited Shantiniketan for a week. During the Ten
Year Crusade Mr. HushnnndEatheazam, currently a member of the Universal House of Justice, pioneered to Shantiniketan with his wife and family.
Page 212Glory School, Santiniketan, West Bengal State, India.
i~ A I 'libShoghi Children's School, Nunna, Andhra Pradesh, India.
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five percent of its costs from tuition fees. Also in
Andhra Pradesh, the CarmelBahá'í school at Ravikampadu is run by Mr. Rambabu, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board, who teaches forty students in Standards I and LI. His previous tutorial class in this village has grown into a Bahá'í school. The Anis School, opened in mid1983, has an enrollment of sixty-seven and is increasing steadily.
The Ideal Primary Schoolin Dharmanagar was founded in 1979 by homefront pioneer Mr. B. R. Singh.
Though not recognized by the state government of Tripura, the school has attained permanency and has been encouraged by the National Spiritual Assembly to acquire a site of its own.
The Varq~ Nursery Schoolin Maharashtra State is run by pioneers to Ahmednagar. The New Garden is another nursery-primary school with twenty-six students in two sections. The Ooty
Primary School and Hostelat Ootacamund in Tamil Nadu accommodates twenty-nine Iranian students living in India. And in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands the Glory
Educational Institutewill open in July 1983 with a kindergarten for thirty pupils.
TutorialsIndia will have two hundred and twenty functioning tutorial schools by 1984.
At mid1983 there were fifty-two in being and many more in process.
In the state of Uttar Pradesh alone, there were thirteen schools in existence and funding provided for forty more. They are supervised by the State Bahá'í School
Corn-mitteemittee of Uttar Pradesh, and they are expected to become self-sufficient in the next three years.
The National SpiritualAssembly gives the strongest possible support to the fostering of tutorial schools by all State Committees. While education is compulsory in India by the law of the land, not every village school is scrupulously kept open, and not every teacher is as dedicated as the law might prescribe. In some villages, the Bahá'í schools provide the only source of education for all children, accommodating between eighty and a hundred children. The Bahá'í teacher is dedicated and sincere, receives training on what and how to teach in the usual school curriculum, and what Bahá'í moral and ethical teachings to impart.
Women are being appointed to the school committees of the villages and are happy about their improved status. School attendance by girls is strongly promoted by the Baha'is.
In the tutorial schools the school day usually begins with a prayer.
The tutorials in general take the children through sixth standard, after which they are sent to the nearest town to a district school.
A Counsellor of the Continental Board in Asia has pointed out that the village children have been quick to memorize Baha prayers and songs, and quick to learn Bahá'í history and principles.
She has expressed the optimistic conviction that 'Through their Bahá'í education, it should be possible to eliminate caste and religious prejudice which has permeated the very core of Indian society.'
The Jaigaon School, on the border of A Bahá'í tuto rial school, Charolipada, Jhabua District, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Page 214Children in prayer at the Bahá'í tutorial school, Bairagra, Uttar Pradesh,
India.A Bahá'í tutorial school which meets in the Bahá'í
Center of Jhabua, MadhyaA Bahá'í tutorial school, Markara, Eta wah District, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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Bliutan and India, is flushed with success.A new school building will begin this year to house more than two hundred students who have been meeting since 1975 in the Bahá'í Center of Jaigaon. The school is one of those which began as tutorial efforts in the early 70s. It now has eight teachers and adds a new class every year. It was founded by pioneer from India, R. C. Gupta.
IndonesiaSince 1970 pioneers to Indonesia have. operated a 'Dar6t-Tarbiyyih' or 'House of Education' for Indonesian children, with the encouragement of the Universal House of Justice. It started modestly, as a kind of youth hostel or ashram for Bahá'í children from the Mentawai Islands.
A Persian pioneer, Mine. 'Ismat (Esmat) Vahdatj was the first to undertake the care of the young Indonesian children in her home, moving from her post in Java to Padang to do so. She supervised the care of the twelve-year-old sister of a Javanese pioneer to Mentawai, enabling the girl to attend school in Padang. The same year, a young Persian medical student from Djakarta, Manoochehr Tahmasebian, came to join Mime. Vahdat in developing the hostel. Four young boys from Siberut were brought to Padang to live, and the ashram began to expand.
A third staff member joined the hostel in 1972 when Miss Navanita Sundram, a sociology graduate of Singapore University, mated Tabmasebian. They undertook to provide a homelike setting where children from one of the poorest and most primitive areas of the world could benefit from education in Padang schools and receive a Bahá'í education 'at home'. A loving but structured environment was created within the pioneers' own home. Social and personal needs of the Mentawai children were met, skills were taught, self-reliance was encouraged. They were enabled to earn pocket money by the practice of a variety of skills and crafts taught in the hostel. Their academic education in Padang schools has proved successful, with some going onjo higher education or technical schools. Three of the first four children who arrived in 1970 now attend high school and university, but still live in and participate in the hostel. Another is in his I See 'In Memoriam', p. 743.
second year of medical studies, the first student from Mentawai ever to be admitted to a Medical Faculty. He has married a girl who is a 'graduate' of the Asrama (as the hostel is called in Padang), and together they manage another unit of the hostel.
The purpose of the Asrama was, and still is, the 'spiritual growth of the whole of Indonesia', as stated by the Universal House of Justice in its original approval of the project. The immediate objective was to consolidate the rapid growth of the Faith that had taken place in the Mentawai Islands during the 195 Os when the late Hand of the
Cause Dr. Rahrnatu'11Thin these islands. Mass teaching began there in 1953 when Dr. MuhAjir arrived, a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for Mentawai, and by 1956, 6,000 of the 12,000 people of Siberut Island had become Baha.
Twenty schools were established, one in each village. Javanese teachers, supported by the Regional Spiritual Assembly and, later, the National Spiritual Assembly, effectively gave general and Baha education.
When the Faith was banned in Indonesia in 1962, there were twenty-five
Local Assemblies in Mentawai.As the precious gains made at such cost during the previous decade began to recede the Bahá'ís felt impelled to offer education to Mentawai children.
They began to think in terms of 'adopting' Bahá'í children of Siberut, one of the most backward areas of Indonesia, sponsoring their education in nearby Padang and raising them in their homes as Baha'is.
In 1968 � 1969, plans were formulated, approved by the Universal House of Justice, and the hostel was born.
By 1980 there were twenty-four Mentawai children and two small children of the pioneers making up the Asrama community and it was necessary to expand beyond the physical limits of the Tahmasebians' household. At that time a small house was acquired in Nan-gab, a suburb of Padang, and five children ranging in age from six to twelve were brought from the islands. In 1982 land was purchased in another suburb and a third Asrama was built by the Baha'is.
The 'architect' who drex'Q the plans was an Asrama boy who was a graduate of
Technical High School.Even the small children of the pioneers helped in digging and preparing the foundation. The
Page 216The ashram or hostel in Padang, Indonesia, for Bahá'í children from the Mentawai Islands; founding ~parents' and twenty-five children of the original hostel; 1980. Mine. 'Ismar (Esmat) Vahd at, a Persian pioneer who was the first to undertake the care of young Indonesian children in her home, and who passed away in 1980, is seated, center. To her left Man oocher Tahmasebian and his wife Nita (nc~e Sundram), developers of the first hostel in 1970 and its several offshoots in existence at the present time.
third in the series of hostels opened its doors without fanfare in July 1982, with another young woman 'graduate' of the original As-rama in charge of a group of small boys from eight to ten years. It was tangible evidence of success of the hostel concept and of the vision of those who had given years of love and sacrifice to its development. By the end of 1982 the children and youth in the three hostels numbered forty-six (three of them the children born to the founding pioneer couple and raised as full participants in the daily life of the hostel).
Though the ashrams were never regarded as schools, the education given the children during the past fourteen years � academic social and spiritual � could never have been realized in any other way. The Asramas of Padang qualify, therefore, as one of the most innovative and valid experiences of the Bahá'í educational spectrum.
SikkimThe Bahá'í School at Tadong, Gangtok, enjoys great prestige and is an important factor in the spread of the Faith, not only in Sikkim, but in the other Himalayan states. The school's students are from a variety of religious backgrounds, reflecting the population of the Himalayan region.
They are Tibetan and Indian,was founded by pioneers from India, in 1975. Its original enrollment was twenty-five students.
Today five hundred and sixty-two students are enrolled in classes, and a number of them are also boarding in a hostel. A new five-story building for the school is under construction, providing space as well for the offices of the National
Spiritual Assembly. Thewill be increased by adding one level each year, through Secondary.
Three more tutorial schools began to function in Sikkim during the Plan.
Established by their respective Local Spiritual Assemblies they meet in the local Haziratu'1-Quds of
Pachey Khani, PacheyINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 217
Pakyong. With the tremendously successful Tadong School as model, and the devoted assistance of pioneers from India, the schools seem to promise a similarly successful growth. At Pachey Khani, thirty-eight children are enrolled in the morning session, and thirty adults in the evening session.
Bahá'í education and academic training are given. Counsellor Shirin Boman has travelled often to these Sikkim communities during the course of the Seven Year Plan, giving encouragement and stimulating the commitment to education of the Sikkimese Bahá'í communities.
A classroom in the Tadong Bahá'í Primary School, Gangtok, Sikkim; 1980.
Students of the Pachey Phi rphiray tutorial school, Sikkim; 1983. Seated center back is Mrs. Shirin Roman, member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Asia.
Page 218Colegio MTh in La Cisterna, Chile, a suburb of Santiago, is a Bah&i-owned, Balil'i-administered, state-supported school begun in March 1978. But it has its roots in the 1960s, with the initiative of Mrs. Silvia San Crist6bal, an educator, who gradually rallied the support of other Bahá'í teachers and the Santiago community.
By May of 1975, after months of careful study, the Local Assembly had approved a project to operate an already existing colegio (school) and presented the idea to the National Assembly.
The National Assembly, in tan, consulted theand, after their careful study, sent the proposal for consideration to the Universal
House of Justice. Thisproposal was the first of its kind in the occident, according to its Director, Carlos Rivera San Crist6bal, who calls it the 'Mother of Educational Work in
Chile'.The first stage in this project of the Local Spiritual
Assembly of La Cisternawas to operate a school already in being and recognized, Colegio Integral, which offered primary school and the first year of secondary. On 21 January
1976 the National SpiritualAssembly received a telex from the Universal House of Justice, appToving their officially administering a c6legio and offering a monthly sum toward rent, fees and expenses. On
1 March the Liceo Integralbegan activities which would Later give rise to Colegio N6r. With an enrollment of seventy-one pupils and Mrs. San Crist~5ba1 as Director, and with nine other Bahá'ís on the teaching staff, the Liceo began slowly to develop as a model for
Bahá'í education. Allthe teachers were employed in state schools and gave a half-day to the Liceo without salary or any remuneration for their work. They continued in this way for five years.
During its first year of operation the Baha Colegio received visits from Counsellors, National Assembly members, and traveling teachers. In July of 1976 a letter from the Universal House of Justice expressed warm approval of the venture and offered prayers for its success. In 1978 the Supreme Body encouraged the National Assembly to continue with the Bahá'í school and approved the purchase of a property of its own, contributing an initial sum toward that end.
After an intensive search of the entire Commune for an appropriate facility, Colegio N~T began classes on 15 March 1978 at its present location, in La Cisterna, with a student body of sixty-six.
Application was made to the Ministry of Education for accreditation. Many of the Bahá'í friends rallied round the new effort, and during 1979 the student population grew to ninety-two and the curriculum increased by the addition of the Students of Cole gio Nit, La Cisterna, Santiago, Chile, in parade formation; 1983.
second year of high school.Efforts were continued to obtain official recognition from the state. In December of 1979 the School became fully accredited by official decree of the Ministry of Education. The years 1980 � 1981 were years of great progress, with the constant support of all the Bahá'í institutions and the dedicated efforts of a group of Bahá'ís who were determined the work would succeed. Two new classrooms were constructed; the third year of secondary was added; and the decree of Cooperador de Ia Funci6n Docente was obtained from the government. An administrative council was named by the National Spiritual Assembly to take responsibility for the school's Bahá'í content, religion classes and some administrative aspects. In 1981 the Colegic applied for state funding which was granted. From June of that year, for the first time, with state subvention, the Baha teachers began to receive some pay for their work.
The faculty consisted then of thirty-nine teachers, fourteen of them Baha'is.
The final year of secondary was added, completing the school's academic structure.
Another significant achievement of 1981 was a decree of the Ministry of Educa
Page 219tion permitting the suspension of classes on Bahá'í Holy
Days.Three hundred and fifty students are distributed among fifteen courses.
About twenty percent of them are Baha. The majority come from large and low-income families. About eighty percent continue their education at the school year after year in spite of their families sometimes moving to other neighborhoods.
The teachers have said they feel that the reason for their pupils' great attachment to the school is the atmosphere of love that pervades it. It seems also to be transmitted to the families of the students. A remarkable percentage of parents participate regularly in parents' meetings, not to criticize, as is all too common, but to cooperate and offer help.
Religious instruction, in accordance with the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, is one of the items of the curriculum of Niir school. One hour weekly is devoted to classes on progressive revelation, the history of religion and the principles of the Faith, adapted to various levels of learning. The school council has indicated that the religion classes should be related to the Social Science classes, drawing historical parallels, pointing out relationships, etc. The teachers' purpose must also be to infuse spiritual values into the course work, to strive for character formation and development of good habits. The teachings of the Faith imparted should be focused on the realities of the students' daily lives.
Many improvements in the physical plant and equipment continue to be made, and the community supports the development of the school.
New gardens, new baths and facilities for physical education are some recent gains, and future plans call for many more basic renovation and expansion items, as permitted. The school is eighty percent financially self-sufficient.
In addition to its early achievement of an urban school, the Chilean Bahá'í community was among the first in the hemisphere to enter decisively into providing formal education for its rural Bahá'í population.
The origin of the rural schools was the attempt to fulfill the goal of tutorial schools given to many countries in the Five Year Plan. As the Bahá'ís tried to establish such nonformal schools, consulting with the institutions of the Faith, the idea slowly arose, 'Why not formal schools in villages as well?' With the background of experience of Colegio Niir, the possibility of government subsidy, and other proffered financial help the National Assembly resolved to open the first rural educational institution, the A. 0. Faizi School.'
It is in its fourth year of operation at Loncopulle, a small Mapuche Indian village in the province of Cautin. The majority of the villagers are Baha'is, as are the majority of the seventy to eighty children who attend the school. It offers basic education, grades one through eight and held its first eighth grade graduation in 1983.
Its Director, Miss ConsueloMufioz, is a homefront pioneer, and member of the National Spiritual Assembly, who went to live among the Baha of Loncopulle, with her husband, Jorge Mufioz. They are assisted by two other teachers in the unselfish effort to bring basic education to the area of greatest concentration of Bahá'í population.
The location was chosen because of the receptivity to the Faith on the part of the Mapuches of Cautin
Province. The MuhAjirSchool2 at Bollilco, also in the Mapuche area of Region IX, was inaugurated in November of 1981. It serves a similar population and is similarly staffed by homefront pioneers. Miss Loreto Jara was its first director and teacher; she is now assisted by other Bahá'í volunteers.
By 1983, in its third year of operation, Mirza School was serving about fifty children, grades one through five. In addition, there was literacy training for adults and some horticultural programs were undertaken.
A private charitable foundation has chosen the MuhAjir School as a center for some cooperative activities with surrounding farmers.
Both rural schools have been officially recognized by the government and benefit from state subsidy for operating expenses.
For their buildings, for improvements, equipment and materials they depend on the Bahá'í Fund, on gifts from individuals, and even from Local Assemblies in the United States. Here, as in Santiago, staff members say, the distinguishing feature of these village schools is an atmosphere of love. For example, none of the teachers in other schools of the region have ever been successful in getting the Named after the Hand of the Cause Abu'1-Q6sim Faizi. 2 Named after the
Hand of the Cause Rahmatu'116h Mirza.children to read and sing in Mapuche, the language they speak in their homes.
In both Bahá'í schools this has been achieved with ease. School � community relationships are extremely warm.
Current goals toward which Chile's schools, both rural and urban, are working might be stated as 'learning to function' as Bahá'í schools. As explained by a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas, this means putting the official curriculum in practice with an acceptable level of administrative organization, establishing the daily routine of regular classes and educational activities and infusing it all with the presence of the Faith, mainly by creating an atmosphere of love and spirituality.
To date the Faith is taught oniy at a very basic level in the religion class of the official curriculum. The Counsellor observes, however, the impressive results of the presence of the Faith in education even at this minimal level, and anticipates eagerly the fruits of a totally Bahá'í educational system as it gradually unfolds in Chile and elsewhere.
He posits a long-range goal of 'development of content and methods for Baha moral education leading to a true change of behavior in students activities that include the school and its classrooms, the home, and the continuous education of the teachers.'
ThailandSchool was established in Yasothon for children of farms and villages in the northeast. Mrs. Shirin Fozdar who was associated with the school from its inception, began to solicit support for its expansion in 1981.
Construction of a commodious new building began in March 1982. Much outside support, government and private, has been enlisted.
The Santitham Schoolis now the property of the National Spiritual Assembly.
It operates kindergarten and pre-primary classes, and is beginning to offer courses in business and commercial subjects. Secondary school has been suspended during construction work.
In Phattalung Provinceof south Thailand a community reading center and library was opened in October 1982, in a pleasant building constructed in the open and airy local style.
It serves for meetings of the Thung Muang Kwangin the same province a child education center was opened in 1983 in the Khuan Khreo Center, a building erected by an all-out community effort.
Colegio Nzir, a Bahd'ischool in La Cisterna, Santiago, Chile.
Page 221INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA I ACTIVITIES 221
Haitiin Lilavoix, near Port-au-Prince is a primary school for rural children which began its first classes in 1980, after a two-year period of preparation and construction. The cost of the facility, named after the young martyred companion of the Rib, was provided by a Bahá'í family of Belgium.
The School was formally dedicated in October 1982 in a ceremony presided over by Abdu'l-Bahá Riihiyyih Kh6num and attended by many high notabilities of the Haitian Government, including a special representative of the President. Six hundred people witnessed the historic event, among them three members of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas and all the members of the National Spiritual
Assembly of Haiti. Othereminent visitors were: the Ambassador of Canada, the Directors General of the Ministries of Education and Vocational Training, members of Parliament, the mayor and other officials of nearby Lilavoix.
Classes are from kindergarten through elementary levels, with plans for later expansion. The next phase will add a variety of trade and vocational courses for older students and adults.
A village leadership program brings local youth to be trained as tutors and to return to their villages to set up classes in basic reading, writing and trade skills. The program is designed to obviate the all-too-common pattern of trained youth leaving their needy villages, rather than putting their new skills into use there.
A conscious effort is made to counter this tendency.
As a part of the school's curriculum, regular classes in religion are held weekly.
They include lessons on all the major religions of the world, taught from a Bahá'í perspective.
In addition, there is a Bahá'í children's class each Sunday afternoon and an adult deepening class once each week. These are taught by Mrs. Mattie Thimm, the wife of the Headmaster, who also teaches three Bahá'í children's classes a week in villages near the school.
An extension program is a cooperative effort of the National Assemblies of Haiti and Canada. Their aim is to enlist ten to fifteen trainees who will teach in three-to-five preschool and family education centers in selected villages. This is made possible by a grant from the Canadian International Development Agency through the Canadian Embassy in Haiti. It is expected that the school will become a resource center to improve the educational lot of the people of the whole area, its programs and activities benefiting many.
Zurnizi School affords an interesting example of international cooperation in a project which will have a strong impact on Haitian education well into the future. A Persian Bahá'í architect designed the modern complex; a Texas-based artist designed a glazed tile mural for the central courtyard; a Haitian stone mason trained the laborers and built some of the walls; a mechanical engineer from Canada was job supervisor; an Englishman was in charge of cost control and supervision. The school's principal is German-born; his wife, who teaches English and kindergarten, is an American. (They are Mr. Hans-Jtirgen Thimm and Mrs. Mattie Thimm.)
A French-Canadian woman teaches first-year courses, and the staff is comprised principally of Haitians. A six-member international Board of Directors includes members from Germany, fr6n, the United States, Ecuador and Haiti.
The modern structure is a complex of buildings around a central courtyard, designed by a Baha architect who, in return for donating his services, was given the freedom to innovate, using construction methods and materials he deemed suitable. He used this opportunity to develop the ideas he had been advocating that would lower construction costs in developing countries, while upgrading quality.
His design maximizes the positive aspects of the Haitian climate, and embodies features such as massive overhangs around buildings, high ceilings with pitched roof oriented to attract prevailing winds and the use of screenbiocks instead of windows, which result in a comfortable environment during Haiti's hottest temperatures. The landscaping further improves the design, with trees and planting that will contribute to comfort.
While operating costs are substantially provided by the same family who gave the physical plant, there is also room for contributions. Sponsorship of individual students is invited by Bahá'ís from abroad. Tuition is set at three dollars per month, but matriculation
Page 222Inauguration of Anis Zurn~zi School, Lilavoix, Haiti; 20 October 1982.
The FaiziSchool (named after the Hand of the Cause A, Q. Faizi), Loncopulle, Department of Nueva Imperial, Chile, the zone of the Map uche people.
Page 223INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 223
is open to all, while actual costs run about fifteen dollars per student per month. The attempt is to fulfill the wish of the Guardian with respect to Bahá'í educational institutions: 'Let them, freely and without charge, open the doors of their schools and their higher institutions for the study of sciences and the liberal arts, to non-Bah6.'i children and youth who are poor and in need.'
PakistanSchool in Karachi opened in March 1978 with only the first level and three students. By June of 1982 it had an enrollment of one hundred and seventy-five and offered a four-year course.
Supervised by the National Spiritual Assembly, and staffed by several Montessori-trained Bahá'í teachers, the school is expected to continue growing through Fifth Standard and eventually to include a secondary level.
BrazilTwo academic institutions mark Brazil's entrance into the formal school experience. Escola das Na~6es, a school in Brazilia, the nation's capital, accommodates one hundred and fifty students from thirty-eight countries. Most are the children of diplomats.
Almost all the teachers are Baha'is. The school is expanding, seeking land and financial support.
The Nova Era School is for preschool and kindergarten children, ages two to six. It opened in 1980 with forty pupils and by December 1982, had ninety-five. Though not announcing their sources, because of religious intolerance, the teachers give the children prayers and selections from the Writings. Brazilian Bahá'ís also operate three tutorial schools in other areas.
Including those already mentioned above, forty-one national communities have been assigned the development of tutorial schools as a goal of the Seven Year Plan. The following are some others who have had notable results.
The Philippinescommunity, by the spring of 1983, had eight tutorial schools in operation among the tribal peoples of the islands of Mindoro, Mindanao and Palawan. Most were begun during the Five Year Plan. Of special interest are the schools on eastern Mindoro among a tribal group known collectively as Mangyan, whose language is a subject of many academic studies.
They read and write in a 48-character syllabary of Indic derivation. Despite westernization of much of the Philippines and a resultant loss of culture, beliefs, originality and language, the Mang-yans have kept their distinctive script and may be the only such tribe using these characters. The area was opened to the Faith in the 1960s and '70s by traveling teachers.
In 1977 the first Assembly was established among the Hanu-1100 people, a subgroup of the hinterland whose culture has been the topic of scholarly dissertations.
The tutorial school is located at Tapi-Nabiran about thirtyfive kilometers from the town of Mansalay.
The students number about twenty boys and girls who att6nd regular classes six days a week, for six hours a day. They also celebrate the Nineteen Day
Feast and Bahá'í HolyAssembly provides the teachers' needs for shelter and food from their own crops.
The Hanunoo children proved to be very quick learners. Their curriculum has three aspects: academic, vocational and spiritual.
In 1980 a school was opened in Perpetual Help. Iriga City, on the island of Luzon for sixty-eight children of the Agta tribes, as the National Assembly increased its commitment to tutorial schools under the Seven Year Plan. A three-room schoolhouse and a cottage for the teachers were built with the help of several Local Assemblies in the area which also give support to the school and its dedicated Baha teachers.
From time to time, when there is a harvest, they bring gifts of food to the school. In addition to the daily elementary school curriculum there are adult education classes and deepening sessions for youth and older believers.
The National SpiritualAssembly has reported that children from the school have no difficulty in being accepted at public school when old enough to travel greater distances, and in fact, that they are usually placed in a more advanced grade level than anyone would have anticipated.
Fijigroup grew out of the community development efforts of the Lomaivuna
Local Spiritual Assemblywhich were considerable and varied. The school was undertaken by the Bahá'í women (who had little previous experience) at the request of an official of the local government.
The venture began with seven preschool children aged three to five and quickly became a group of twenty-one children with two teachers. The little school, which meets at the Bahá'í Center, is running successfully and is seeking official recognition by the Department of Education.
Their kindergarten methods are based on the ANISA model developed by Bahá'ís in North America.
Papua New GuineaA Community School in Rabaul for fifteen children is operated by a pioneer in her home. The National Spiritual Assembly supports the school and it is approved by the Department of Education.
Instruction is in English.A preschool in Madina will be expanded into a tutorial school to include non-Bah&f children.
Sierra LeoneThe village of Vaama has begun tutorial education which seems to hold potential for developing into a permanent school, given the responsiveness of the community and its readiness to undertake the education of its children. The National Assembly calls it 'an example of what can happen when a village embraces wholeheartedly the lifegiving Message of Bahá'u'lláh.' Vaama is located in the Pujehun District. In 1983, only three months after having been constituted an Assembly, they had already built a Bahá'í Center, hosted a very successful Women's Conference and organized a tutorial school for their children. Inspired by Bahá'u'lláh's emphasis on education, they set aside land for raising cash crops to earn money for support of a school. The land for the Bahá'í Center where the school is conducted was donated by a member of the community and is built at the back of his home. The local Bahá'ís did all the work and supplied all the materials except for two bags of cement which were provided by the
National Spiritual Assembly.To support the school, some Baha men went hunting monkeys to sell in Liberia. They raised money for a blackboard, a teacher's desk and chairs and tables for the children.
The village works the teacher's farm so that he is free to teach during the day. The Local Assembly consults the National Spiritual Assembly about subjects to be taught.
The United StatesIn the U.S.A. the Louis Gregory Institute at Hemingway, South Carolina, offers educational and tutorial enrichment for children and youth who are the products of a deficient rural educational system. A plan is in being which will reach out to the general population of the area in substantial and creative ways. It will meet needs for basic skills and at the same time increase the motivation and self-confidence of the student (child through adult).
Future courses are being designed in computer use, language arts, mathematics and arts and crafts. The Institute, named for the American Hand of the Cause of God, was dedicated and opened in 1972. It came in response to the need for Bahá'í education in an area of dense Bahá'í population. It is the same area which will witness the birth of the first Bahá'í radio station of North America in 1984.
The educational impact of such a BahA'f-owned and operated station will also be very great.
The Director of the Institute has said: 'Our aim is universal education.'
PanamaTen tutorial schools are functioning among the Guaymis, the indigenous peoples along the Costa Rican border, distinguished for their ready acceptance of the Faith and their ability to develop Bahá'í community life. A massive effort will be made among the Guaymi people as the projected cultural center in their area gets under way.
Four schools are reported in the area of thq Choco and
Cuna peoples. Futureplans include four more tutorial schools in Darien, to be funded by the National Assembly, and two Choco youth have volunteered to reestablish tutorial schools far up river where no government schools exist. Officials of the Panamanian government have shown interest in the Baha tutorial school projects and the Guaymi
Cultural Center.JNTERNATJONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í f ACTIVITIES 225
Tutorial school, Quebrada Nigua, Panama.Tutorial school, Piggs Peak, Swaziland, opened 12 November1982.
Gingalili preschool, ~4 Nakuru District, Kenya; opened 1983. Village tutortal school Iriga City area Philippines
Page 226after one was closed for lack of a teacher. The National Assembly plans and prepares teaching material for all schools and trains teachers. Some operating costs are met by the Local Assemblies and some by 'kind friends.'
BoliviaSpiritual Assembly plunged into the tutorial school program in 1983, setting up a 'Yachay Wasi' Bahá'í Tutorial Center in the Sultani Institute in Chuquisaca, the heart of the indigenous area of Bolivia and central to the area of great
Bahá'í population. Itsmain purpose is to train the teachers for one hundred tutorial schools to be established in the country, many of them in the Departments of Chuquisaca and Cochabamba.
In 1984 the Yachay Wasiwill be housed in its own splendid facility at Alto Delicias, Sucre.
The center will provide teacher training and other educational services principally for the Quechna and Aymara-speaking Baha of Bolivia. Ten tutorial centers will be opened in early 1984.
EcuadorKhAnum Institute in Otavalo, which first housed the famed Radio Baha, is now a focus of deepening and teaching as well as tutorial activity. Its nearby 'choza' built to hold Baha gatherings and Sunday morning radio broadcasts with public attendance, accommodates after-school, re-medial-type activities.
Mass conversion in the earliest days, between 1959 and 1960, gave rise to five tutorial schools, one of them in Angla-Vagabundo.
From this village have come the most outstanding Quechua teachers of Ecuador.
An inspired proposal advanced by Counsellor Raill Pav6n in 1983 advances the concept of a Permanent
Center for Educationof Indigenous Baha'is, similar to the Guaymi Cultural Center plan.
The far-reaching concept would include every aspect of community development through education. How this concept develops in Ecuador remains to be seen. (For early efforts in Bahá'í education in Ecuador see 'In Memoriam', Pav6ns, this volume, p. 000.)
Chad, Senegal and MalawiSenegal has a school in Casamance, and another opens shortly in the same area. Chad's Anfs School arose out of that country's dynamic Victory Campaign of 1982.
It now has three grades and a kindergarten. Chinkhole village tutorial school in Malawi holds its classes in the Bahá'í Center.
Adults, Bahá'ís and non-BaITh'is, are taught to read and write. The motivation of the Bahá'í students is said to be their wish to read the words of Bahá'u'lláh.
Rwanda has six functioning tutorial schools and plans for many more.
Burundi. The KagunuziSchool has recently begun to function, financed initially by the National Assembly, but expected to attract the support of the local community.
Cameroon Republic has opened a tutorial school in a Pygmy zone.
Central African Republic.A pioneer is teaching 'alphabetization' for women and children at
'Unity Farm TutorialGhana's tutorial school begun at Timonde in 1981 has experienced a unique form of success. It has been absorbed into the public school system of the country, though it is still operated by the
Local Spiritual Assembly.In Kenya a nursery school is opening at the Bahá'í Center of Gingalili under the direction of a Kenyan teacher who is trained in nursery management.
By next year it is expected that the National Spiritual Assembly will promote the establishment of five similar pie-primary schools based on the experience of Gingalili.
Swaziland has two pie-schools in operation, one at Hiatikula, on a fee-paying basis.
The National AssemiMyplans to reinvest any surplus after expenses are met, to provide scholarships and to open another such school in a poorer area.
Piggs Peak community also has a preschool.Togo has four tutorial schools, two of which hold evening literacy classes for adults in addition to daytime teaching of children from seven to fourteen years.
Page 227Bahá'í Center of Khuan Khreo, Phatthalung
Province, South Thailand, used for child education; September1983.
Louis G. Gregory Institute, Hemingway, South Carolina, U.S.A.; 1983.
Louhelen School, Davison, Michigan, U.S.A.; built 1982.
Tutorial school, Ban gwade, Upper Zaire;Northeast Zaire's early entry into the tutorial school effort at the beginning of the Plan proved to be overly ambitious.
Since 1982 they have retrenched and are now operating forty-four
Bahá'í Educational Centers.Students pay a modest fee and the local community provides most of the expenses. A pilot project is under way for a literacy center for Pygmies.
Zambia can boast five functioning village tutorial schools, and an institute at Mwini-lunga.
Trinidad reports sponsorship of a kindergarten in
South Trinidad.On the island of Tanna, where rapid growth of the Faith has taken place since 1981, a peripatetic teaching project has operated intermittently.
Since the late 1970s pioneers have served as itinerant teachers, going from village to village for short stays, offering classes in basic education for both children and adults.
III. RELATED GOALS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTSBahá'í efforts in education were given a boost by the natural working out of the Seven Year Plan goals to 'ensure Baha education of children' through teacher training and curriculum development.
In the Americas the most significant contribution to a new educational Tutorial preschool, Bulembu,
Swaziland;model may well stem from efforts to see to the Bahá'í education of children.
Teacher-training events have been held in twenty countries of the Americas, with one hundred and ninety-two such gatherings already carried out by Ridvan of 1983.
One outcome of teacher-training efforts for Baha education of children has been the development of teaching abilities among members of Baha communities, the emergence of adults and youth newly-qualified to 'educate' their own and their community's children. Their work in developing curricula, their obedience in carrying out their spiritual obligation to share the Revelation with the children of the community has a 'multiplier effect' on education.
The children's horizons are broadened, their cultural life enriched.
The use of the mind, the expansion of consciousness referred to by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, feeds the insight into the realities of the universe and the hidden mysteries of Almighty God, and vice versa. And in several places, the testimony of secular teachers has shown that the learning capacity of children has increased as a direct result of their Bahá'í education.
Colombia's Ruhi InstituteIt has provided a model to several countries of the region. It is uniquely Baha'i, developed to meet the needs of rural Colombia, but with application to similar societies in many parts of the hemisphere.
Housed in a rural setting near Cali, Colombia, the Ruhi Institute is more a philosophy than a place. Ruhi-trained youth have visited neighboring countries of the Americas and the Caribbean, sharing their techniques by holding sessions of the Ruhi Institute.
The Ruhi Institute, developed by the National Spiritual Assembly under the guidance of Counsellor Farz6m ArlAb, consists of programs of deepening and consolidation. The Tutorial deepening program consists of four levels of nine courses, a total of thirty-six, covering many spiritual themes designed to help the student along a personal path of service to the Cause.
The deeds of service begin with simple actions and gradually grow in complexity.
An individual familiar with the Ruhi courses who wishes to study more deeply may choose individual tutoring, regular classes with a group in a village or neighborhood once or twice a week, weekend institutes, or
Page 229intensive institutes of one to four weeks' duration.
The success of the Ruhi Institute is probably due to the basic concept, as stated in its information booklet: 'The basis of any true process of learning is the understanding of the Revelation of
God through His Manifestation.'Another key to success has been the choice of 'Service to the Cause' as the axis around which courses are developed. The basic idea is that 'each Bahá'í may walk a joyous path of service to the Cause which, at the same time, increases his own capacity to understand and to perform ever greater deeds of service.' The Ruhi model seems to embody the idea contained in the statement of 'Abdu'l-Bahá above.
Opportunities to introduce Baha educational content into school settings have multiplied. In such widely separated locations of the planet as Malaysia, Trinidad, Norway and some states of India, Bahá'ís have diligently filled slots opened for them in the public school systems or created, through their timely intervention, the opportunity to provide religious training tb Bahá'í children. Programs reaching into school systems, offering a general Baha orientation to all children or a onetime visit from a traveling teacher, have been welcomed in some locations, notably Zimbabwe, Guyana, Portugal, to name but a few. A full survey of these activities has not been made, but they are known to exist in every continent.
The range of Bahá'í interest in education is endless.
Bahá'ís of Bolivia look forward to establishing a University at Santa Cruz with educational extension programs for rural areas; the National Assembly of Belgium participates since 1980 in a Faculty of Comparative Religion at Antwerp, an institution of higher education, founded by the Ministry of Education and approved by Royal
Decree; the Guaymi CulturalCenter in Panama will become a center for many aspects of personal, vocational and community education and training in addition to its basic cultural and administrative thrust; a literacy program introduced by Ethiopian Bahá'ís and based on their own original publications, was supported by the government; the magnificent Louhelen School facility, erected at Davison, Michigan; in 1982, will develop into a year-round residential school; Peru's 'New Era Cultural Association', acting on behalf of that National Spiritual Assembly, will collaborate with the Peruvian Ministry of Education in literacy and post-literacy activities centering in Radio Baha of Lake Titicaca; Bahá'ís of Imbabura Province, Ecuador, introduced the concept of 'mural newspapers' as a tool of community education among the nonliterate population. Numerous plans for future projects and interim reports on ideas only recently conceived, indicate a swelling interest among Bahá'ís in every aspect of education.
CONCLUSIONThe various educational efforts that have sprung up' or have been painstakingly raised, burgeoning or struggling for existence, have in common the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. Whatever the experimental forms through which Bahá'í education must pass, whatever adaptations emerge from earlier academic theories or practices, the Bahá'í school will always be, it is hoped, grounded in the Revelation, and be the fruit of the didactic principles of the Divine Educator. The 'true education' spoken of by Bahá'u'lláh may be the heritage from this era of development. A new model may arise from the merger of what has heretofore been thought of as academic or secular education with the spiritual content of the Revelation itself � the enabling factor in producing the True Education of this and future epochs.
Page 230was established on 27 June 1982 in Pancligani, India. Its aim is to become a permanent institution for Bahá'í scholarship as well as to provide a national centre for the deepening and training of Bahá'ís from all parts of India who, armed with newfound knowledge and skills, may then return to their home States and set up similar programmes and training institutes for the local believers in their own languages.
Although the Academy plans eventually to hold study courses of from six months' to two years' duration, at its present stage of development and with its limited facilities it conducts courses of from one to seven weeks. Each course is tailored to the need of a specific group of believers such as State Teaching Committee members, State and Local Youth Committee members, assistants to Auxiliary Board members, pioneers, Bahá'í women, editors of State newsletters and graduates of the
New Era and Rabbani Schools. Thefirst year of the Academy's experience indicated that this system of holding courses for specific groups instead of holding general deepening programmes open to all is more effective as it enables the instructors to concentrate on the specific needs of the particular group and to adjust the lessons to the level of understanding of the students.
Since its inception the Academy has held three successful courses, each with a different emphasis.
The first course, of six weeks' duration, was a general one for youth and drew thirty-six participants.
It was held simultaneously with a similar course in Persian for ninety-nine Persian pioneers from India and abroad.
The second course was lengthened to seven weeks to include a weeklong 'spiritualization' element, and was designed specifically for the members of State
Teaching Committees.The course focused on the functions and administration of these valuable teaching arms of the National Spiritual
Assembly.The third course, three weeks long, was for Bahá'í women and included special classes on the role and station of Bahá'í women in the community and the family as well as a class on famous women in Baha history.
By March 1983, one hundred and sixty-two students from sixteen States in India, the An-daman Islands, and the neighbouring countries of Pakistan,
Bangladesh and Sri Lankahad completed courses at the Academy. Each of the courses, though having its own unique character and emphasis, follows the same basic outline: six classes per day, each class one hour in length, for six days each week. Each class has its own daily assignments and most of them require the students to sit for a final examination at the end of the course.
The core subjects covered in every Academy course are: Bahá'í administration; laws and ordinances; Bahá'í history; the Covenant; protection of the Faith and meeting opposition; Bahá'í education and
Baha principles. Additionalclasses to date have included: teaching the Faith; a study of selected chapters from 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Some Answered Questions; progressive revelation and the history of religions; the station of women in the Bahá'í dispensation and a study of some famous Bahá'í women; the role of women in Bahá'í administration; organizing Baha activities; family life and a study of the spiritual implications of Bahá'u'lláh's
The Seven Valleys. Inaddition, an extracurricular course in black-and-white photography and darkroom techniques has been a regular and popular feature of each course.
Students find that the courses are both rigorous and thrilling. Most teachers use the methods of discussion and question-and-answer, thus involving the students actively in the learning process rather than requiring them to listen passively to a lecture.
Secondary to their studies, but also an essential part of each student's experience at the Academy, is the fellowship and contact he enjoys with his fellow believers, not only those who come from different parts of India and neighbouring countries but with the Baha friends of Pancligani who are themselves from all parts of the world.
In Panch-gani the students may enjoy Baha films and slide programmes and learn Baha songs in both
English and Hindi. Theymay visit the New Era School and the Institute of Rural Technology. No less valuable for the students
Page 231INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 231
Members of the faculty, staff and students who participated in the second course of the Bahá'í
Youth Academy of India; 17 October � S December1982.
and ultimately for the entire Bahá'í community is the interaction with their Bahá'í brothers and sisters from different States, who are of different races and religious backgrounds and who speak different languages. In a country as varied and diverse as India, the experience of Bahá'í community life at the Academy is in itself the most powerful demonstration, to those within the Bahá'í community and those without, of the unifying power of
Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation.A third component of the Academy programme is vocational training designed to equip students with a practical skill that will be useful and will enable them to be self supporting either at home or in pioneering posts abroad.
Although necessarily limited in scope at present, it is visualized that this element will expand to include training in auto mechanics, electrical wiring, tailoring, cycle repair, radio and television repair and other skills.
Immerse yourselves in the ocean of My words, is Bahá'u'lláh's exhortation, that ye may unravel its secrets, and discover all the pearls of wisdom that lie hid in its depths. Within the first day or two of a course students at the Academy find themselves fully immersed in a study of the vast ocean of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. Within the first week they catch glimmerings of the immensity, majesty and transforming power of the Holy Writings, while their teachers observe in them a more fully awakened sense of belonging to a Cause that is mightier than they had realized previously.
Usually, about half way through a course, the students begin to feel 'drowned' in a sea of assignments, wondering whether it is really necessary to cover so much material in so short a time; but by the last week most of them request that the Academy extend the course for at least another week, having come to realize that despite their arduous labours they have merely skimmed the surface of the vast and limitless ocean of Bahá'u'lláh's Words. And when their examinations are over the students' normal sense of relief is tempered by a desire to know more, to delve even more deeply. It will be apparent that such an intensive study experience has the potential to transform the Baha communities of India and surrounding countries where there are many Bahá'ís with the desire and capacity to study deeply the
Page 232Holy Writings but who are hindered in their efforts through lack of opportunity, lack of access to Baha books or the need of assistance to study in English, there being only a limited number of works as yet translated into languages indigenous to India and these being of varying quality.
Teachers at the Academy are drawn from the highly qualified cadre of professional educators in the Pancligani Bahá'í community, including the Principal and counsellor and staff members of the
New Era School. Assistanceis also given by Baha from other parts of India who are distinguished for their knowledge of the Faith and their ability to teach. This group of visiting teachers has included members of the Continental Board of
Counsellors AuxiliaryBoard members and members of national committees in India, and will in future include outstanding Bahá'í teachers from abroad.
In the Spring of 1982 the National Bahá'í Youth Committee of India, in consultation with Counsellor
Burh6ni'd-Din Afshfnconceived the idea of establishing the Academy. Its rapid growth and progress during its first year inspired the National Spiritual Assembly to designate it an independent institution to function directly under the aegis of the National Assembly.
From the beginning the Continentalgave the nascent institution its wholehearted support, contributing both guidance and funds.
When planning was begun for the first course, the Academy had only one full-time staff member, the Director. An Assistant-Director was needed and was promptly engaged. After completion of the second course the staff grew to five.
In addition to the general organizing of the different courses and the correspondence and report-writing that is involved, the Academy has four separate departments with their own duties.
The Department of Libraryand Correspondence Courses organizes the Academy Library (which is already, perhaps, the largest Baha library in India), prepares and distri butes to Academy students and pioneers deepening materials in both Persian and English, supervises the English correspondence course, stores and files all materials used in Academy courses and operates a book-selling service in Panchgani. The AudioVisual Department is in charge of showing films and slide programmes during Academy courses, makes cassette tapes of deepening material and music with Bahá'í themes, prepares photographs and other materials for sale and has in hand plans for preparing films and video tapes on different Bahá'í subjects for use both in the villages and in the Academy classroom.
In addition there is aEach department is managed by one person with various assistants as necessary.
Before the completion of its first year the Academy will hold three more courses: a five-week course for students at the New Era School to help prepare them for their pioneering services to all parts of the world; a course for graduating students at the Rabbani Bahá'í School; and a course for youth, especially those who are members of State and Local Youth Committees.
There has long been a crying need for such an institution in India, a vast country whose population has demonstrated great receptivity to the Bahá'í teachings. Through the ever-present and keenly felt confirmations of the Ancient Beauty, Bahá'u'lláh; through the encouragement and prayers of the Universal House of Justice and the International Teaching Centre; through the vision of the National Youth Committee and the support and cooperation of the Continental Board of Counsellors and the National Spiritual Assembly, the Academy has triumphed over the difficulties of birth to emerge as a viable institution which promises to be an increasingly effective instrument for service to the Cause of God in India and beyond its borders.
(Based on an article in Bahá'í News, India, March 1983.).
Page 233INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 233
8. THE RABBANI SCHOOL AT GWALIOR, INDIATHE Rabbani School at Gwalior stands today as one of a growing number of Bahá'í schools in India and throughout the world.
In India, the New EraSchool at Panchgani was established in 1945, followed by Rabbani in 1977; and now in the first part of this decade, many new schools throughout India and Sikkim are beginning.
They all follow in the footsteps of the famousin IrAn. Interestingly, many of the present Bahá'í schools. Rabbani prominently among them, are more than simple academic institutions; they are a new type of model through which the transforming influence of Bahá'u'lláh's World Order flows; they are not only schools but centres of community development, social service projects and adult literacy and training programmes.
All reach out to the surrounding communities. They are among the 'agencies of this Administrative Order that have combined to bring into focus new possibilities in the evolution of the Baha world' .~
THE MANDATE OF THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICEThe Rabbani School is being de~e1oped under the loving and careful guidance of the Universal House of Justice and the National Spiritual
Assembly of India. Itspurpose is unique. The House of Justice, in its letter of 28 July 1974, stated that the primary purpose for establishing the Rabbani School, beyond offering needed services to many Bahá'í families, is to assist the teaching and consolidation work in India through training potential village teachers'. The school's fundamental aim is thus to train a substantial number of staunch and deepened
Bahá'í teachers. Towardsthis end, the curriculum has three major aspects: academic, vocational and Baha. In the words of the Universal House of Justice, the students, after their years at the school, will have had the opportunity to achieve competence in the required academic subjects and will also have participated in a supervised work plan which will have provided real experience in valuable skills.
In addition, during this period they will have become imbued with the Bahá'í life of worship and service as observed in the school, and will have become involved in direct Bahá'í teaching.'
The development of the Rabbani School was included as one of India's goals during the Five Year Plan (1974 � 1979), and its further development is a goal of the present
Seven Year Plan.THREE ASPECTS OF THE CURRICULUM: MORAL, VOCATIONAL, ACADEMIC The most distinctive feature of education at the Rabbani School is that boys live for six years in a Bahá'í environment that helps them to become members of 'a new race of men', of high moral fibre, strength of character and resourcefulness.
They rise each morning with Bahá'í prayers, and live according to the Bahá'í calendar of Holy Days, Feasts, the Fast and other festivals and observances.
They learn how to conduct Baha meetings and to consult properly; study Bahá'í administration extensively, and experience firsthand its func tions in mock assembly meetings, on school committees, and in actual Ridvan elections. Through memorization of Bahá'í texts and prayers, as well as important excerpts from other Holy Scriptures, they develop a wide range of knowledge and acquire a store of songs, literature and teaching albums to take to their villages.
The entire student body has been divided into teams of ten students.
The teams travel The Universal House of Justice, 20 October 1983.
Page 234on selected Sundays to nearby villages to conduct children's schools and deepening classes. Members of the faculty accompany them on these trips. As the school expands into village development activities, students will become more directly involved in the dissemination of technical skills which will be of direct economic, social and health benefit to the surrounding villages.
This training should equip the students to function as deepened, experienced Bahá'í teachers of good character with sufficient skills at their disposal to help both technically and spiritually in the advancement of their villages.
The development of a fullfledged six-year Baha academic curriculum where boys study daily the Bahá'í Faith, their mother religion � Hinduism � and other great religions, as well as moral principles, has proven to be a very great challenge. Faculty members and various committees at the school have attempted to develop materials in Hindi. Much work remains to be done.
The vocational emphasis at the school derives from the mandate letter of 28 July 1974 from the
Universal House of Justicein which it is specified that the school '. will ultimately be strongly vocational in its atmosphere and curriculum'. This is essential since the school aims primarily to train boys to return to their villages. The vocational curriculum now includes agriculture, animal husbandry and poultry; and will include fish farming, sanitation, village technologies and basic building trades.
Interested students may also be trained in smallscale industrial skills. Presently, vocational skills are taught in several hours of practical work per week to complement the theory taught in class.
For example, boys take responsibility for a small plot of land where they grow and harvest crops, or for a small poultry unit where all aspects of work are under their supervision.
Development of a vocational programme has proven to be difficult mainly because of the high capital investments required at the beginning, although substantial amounts of the school's acreage have been brought under cultivation, a large poultry farm is in operation, a dairy has been started, and carpentry training will soon be introduced.
The most highly developed aspect of the programme is the academic school.
In 1983 Rabbani became a fully recognized Higher Secondary School, with classes six through eleven. Approximately twenty per cent of all Rabbani boys taking the State middle board examination have attained merit positions, Faculty and students of Rabbani School; 1983.
Page 235INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 235
while most of the others have done very well. The first graduating class stood successfully for the eleventh standard
Higher Secondary ExaminationIncorporating the vocations within the academic and theoretical programme is emphasized in such a way as to make Rabbani a self-help school; that is, it will'. embody a self-help component whereby the village students will undertake a measure of the work of farm and school', as envisioned by the Universal House of Justice. Taking such responsibility for the physical work and contributing towards the cost of their education helps foster self-reliance in these youths. In 1983 a graduated system of fees based on the parents' ability to pay was introduced.
The fees vary from family to family. Bahá'í funds and direct donations to the school provide scholarships.
The school's scholarship fund has developed steadily as Bahá'ís around the world have offered increasing support. Annually, twenty-five to forty per cent of the school's operating budget has been received through the scholarship fund.
In addition to fees and farm income, the remaining amount needed to operate the school has come from the national and international funds of the Faith. Approximately $225 (U.S.) per year covers full fees for each boy. In 1977 parents paid only eight per cent of this. In the 1983 � 1984 school year they paid nearly thirty-eight per cent, and the boys' labour amounted to twenty-two per cent.
Self-help is part of a larger effort to render the school self-sufficient.
Economic activities at the school are presently aimed at offsetting operating costs with profit from the sales of eggs and hens and some produce from agriculture. Plans are being considered for other activities which will not oniy support the school's operating costs but will make substantial contributions to the capitalization costs.
Until the 1983 � 1984 school year, however, capitalization was made possible by the national and international funds and by contributions from individuals.
HISTORY AND STAGES OF GROWTHThe Rabbani School is located on the plains of north-central India just outside the city of Owalior.
Its seventy-two acres of farmland, a large main building and several auxiliary buildings were purchased on 20 February 1964 by the National Spiritual
Assembly of India. Theproperty is beautiful, with large trees and many date palms that make it a virtual oasis amidst the surrounding scrub forest. The previous owner, the Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior, had used it as a lodge when hunting wild boar. The school was established near Gwalior because continuous teaching efforts, begun in that area in 1962, resulted in a large Baha population.
Nearly 3,100 Local SpiritualAssemblies exist in this region of Northern Madhya Pradesh. The potential of this property to serve the development of the Faith in the heart of this area was clearly seen by the Hand of the Cause
Dr. Rahmatu'llah Mirzawho encouraged its purchase and is credited with giving it the name 'Rabbani'. Presently, many of the students come from this region as well as from five other States � Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Kamataka, Manipur and Sikkim � and from the neighbouring country of
Nepal.During the early years, a number of institutes were held at Rabbani, as well as large conferences called in honour of visits by five Hands of the Cause.
Two very large conferences were held in 1964 and 1968 when the Hand of the Cause Abdu'l-Bahá R6hfyyih Kh6num visited.
The Hand of the Cause EnochOlinga, and his wife, visited in 1967. In 1969 Rabbani was host to the Hands of the Cause Tar6zu'116h
Samandari and Dr. Adel-bertMtihlschlegel who were accompanied by Mr. ilushmand Fatheazam. The Hand of the Cause Dr. Rahmatu'116h Muh6jir visited several times; his last visit was in 1978.
The operation of a school on the Rabbaniproperty has not been continuous since it first started in 1967. A boarding school was in operation from 1967 to 1970, the students numbering nearly seventy, sixteen of Whom were from Tibetan refugee families. Regular academic activities were held in standards five through nine. From 1970 to 1977, however, the school ceased to function, and boys were taken to a boarding hostel in Gwalior. They received academic training at other schools and moral training at the hostel.
In 1974 the hostel, with the twelve remaining students, was shifted to Indore for one year.
During the period from 1970 to 1974 the National Spiritual Assembly supervised a subcommittee that studied the requirements for reestablishing the Rabbani School and clarifying its objectives.
Also during this time, because of the urgent need to find a qualified Bahá'í to serve as the school's Director, contact was made with two American believers, Dr. Stephen Waite and Mrs. Sherman Waite.
Dr. Waite visited the school in April 1974 and decided to accept the challenge of its restoration.
Shortly after completing his doctoral thesis in education at the University of Massachusetts Dr. Waite, together with his wife, arrived to stay in December 1975. The Waites were joined at that time by Mr. Ray Betts, a seventy-one-year-old pioneer from the United States and Belize who had had several years of experience in tropical agriculture. Mr. Betts spent nearly a year at the Rabbani School improving the soil and fruit trees, introducing composting and the use of natural fertilizers and mulching.
With great humour he persevered through the trials of inspection by curious villagers and of being hard of hearing, which made learning a new language quite difficult.
Mr. Betts recently passed on to the AbhA Kingdom.Before the school could reopen there were the problems of obtaining electricity, plumbing ing and adequate living space. By organizing the villagers to make agricultural proposals for electricity, and helping them to arrange for. bank loans, it was possible to obtain an electrical connection that had been sought unsuccessfully in that area for five years. In addition, a work crew came from Pancligani, site of the New Era Bahá'í School, to help build a shower and toilet facility, dining hail, gobar gas plant to produce methane, and to install all the plumbing.
The Rabbani School was reopened in July 1977 with forty-seven boys in the sixth grade and a faculty of four. All students were housed in the main building which contained classrooms, offices and staff rooms.
Each year after that a new group of students was admitted in the sixth standard until, in the 1982 � 1983 academic year, one hundred and eighty-seven studentswere in attendance.
In 1977 a second pioneering family joined the newly-reopened school, Mr. and Mrs. Feroze and Elizabeth Dallas from the United Kingdom, and their two children.
Mr. Dallas served as Director of Agriculture and Mrs. Dallas served as School Nurse.
Mr. Dallas's knowledge of Hindi revived from his childhood days in Bombay, coupled with his extensive training abroad, made him well qualified for the position he filled.
The farm was gradually established and a fishery begun. An agriculture curriculum was developed combining theoretical study with practical activities.
During these years faculty members joined the staff, both as teachers, and in agriculture and other capacities. In 1982 � 1983 a teaching staff of fourteen, and a support staff of over thirty, served at the school. Rabbani's teachers come from several different
Hindi-speaking Statesin India. Also from 1982 to 1984 a number of Iranian friends served on the staff in various positions.
GROWTH OF THE PHYSICAL PLANT: PROJECTING RABBANI INTO THE FUTURE
During the initial years adoption of an architectural of the school's operation master plan which was made existing buildings were possible by the voluntary efforts modified to meet all schoolof two dedicated Bahá'í needs. Only a few major structuresarchitects, Mr. Thomas such as kitchen-dining Kubala and Mr. Allen Washatko, and bathroom facilities of Cedarberg, Wisconsin, were added during those U.S.A. They designed all years. Further expansion the required facilities was planned with the for a school of five
Page 237INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 237
tt' ~ L Ploughing with the Rabbani School's team of water-buffalo (used in addition to a tractor).
hundred students, taking advantage where possible of modern innovations in solar and wind technology.
The first dormitory for sixty-four boys, the cornerstone of which was laid on 4 November 1981 by Mr. and Mrs. Hushmand Fatheazam, was completed in July of 1983. An additional dormitory will be completed in 1984. The master plan includes dormitories, classrooms, staff apartments, a Bahá'í deepening institute, vocational facilities, additional animal husbandry areas, sports grounds, public service buildings (such as the community development project building currently under construction) and at the centre will be a prayer hail located on an island in the heart of the campus.
Recently, with the assistance of Bahá'í funds and grants from the Canadian International Development Agency. (CIDA), several community development projects have been initiated at Rabbani. They will be merged within several years. The first is the Rabbani
Rural Health Projectfunctioning in three communities to train villagers as voluntary health care workers. Their job is to promote immunization, sanitation, prenatal, intranatal and postnatal care, improved maternal and child nutrition and to provide knowledge and treatment of selected illnesses, with referral of more serious cases.
In mid1983 a second grant was given to Rabbani by the Canadian International Development Agency, with one-third of the funds provided by the Bahá'í community and two-thirds by CIDA. Work began in December 1983 with plans for the development of twenty villages. Initially, assessments are being made in the villages to ascertain what is needed and what the people can contribute themselves.
In many of the adopted villages no schools exist, yet considerable interest in education has been expressed. Part of the plan, therefore, is to assist in the establishment of Bahá'í primary day schools. In many cases inactive and untrained
Local Spiritual Assembliesare being assisted to learn to manage these schools in cooperation with the project personnel.
Great emphasis is being placed on training each Local Spiritual Assembly and community, as this will be the means for ensuring a balanced development of the village. It has been noted that villagers often find it easier to organize around practical, daily issues, so such an undertaking will provide the substance for the Local Assembly's consultation and deepening.
The schoolwill provide a primary school education for the young children of the village, and adult literacy programmes. Bahá'í deepening programmes will be channelled through each school as a centre for community activities. The Rabbani School premises are being developed for vocational training for both Rab-bani students and for people from these villages. Many government programmes recognize the value of such training and provide loans to the villagers for the development of a poultry unit or a smallscale industrial unit. Within a few years the training of community health workers will also be integrated into this larger project.
The ultimate aim of this community development project is to assist the adopted communities to develop spiritually, economically, socially, educationally and in health so that they become distinctive Baha villages. These villages in turn will provide an example for other villages nearby.
Also, as development ment efforts are undertaken all over India, the experience gained at Rabbani will be of use to others.
The community development programmes will gradually be integrated into the school programme, allowing a total shift in the emphasis of the school away from the academic to the practical. Boys will receive on-the-job training in these villages as they are called upon to teach or to help establish a programme or industry in a village.
Rabbani boys will also play a more involved role in the Bahá'í deepening work conducted in each village.
Rabbani is gradually becoming much more than a school as it integrates itself into the surrounding
Baha communities. Itwill retain its academic programme for both students and adults, the Bahá'í deepening programme for individuals, Assemblies, children and youth, and the community development programmes, including public services such as health care and adult literacy training.
9 A class on the Writings of the Báb conducted for eighth grade boys of Rabbani School by Mrs. Sherman Waite.
Page 239INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 239
9. TRAIL OF LIGHTTHE 'Trail of Light' blazed through Latin America by indigenous Bahá'ís from North America in the summer of 1982 gave thrilling evidence of the bond of Faith that unites the hemisphere's indigenous Baha'is. Nine Baha'is, members of seven native tribes of North America � Cree,
Blackfoot, Metis and Ilingitof Canada; Upik Eskimo and Tlingit of Alaska; Navajo and Makah of the United States � traveled and taught in ten countries during June, July and August.
They visited Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, Panama, Chile, Peru, Bolivia and finally Ecuador, where their visit was planned to coincide with the opening of the International
Baha Conference at Quitoon 6 � 8 August. They spoke, danced and sang before varied groups, forging Links of friendship with their Latin American brothers in the Faith, and especially with their brother-indigenous, the native tribal peoples of the south. The public acceptance of the visitors from North America surprised even the planners. Everywhere they were received with admiration, enthusiasm and fraternal spirit.
Many Bahá'ís were moved to observe that this was an important step toward realizing 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í vision of the destiny of the Western hemisphere's native peoples. In the Tablets of the Divine Plan He wrote: You must attach great importance to the Indians, the original inhabitants of America should these Indians be educated and properly guided, there can be no doubt that through the Divine teachings they will become so enlightened that the whole earth will be illumined.
The Trail of Light began in Arizona on the Navajo Reservation where an
International TeachingConference on the property of the future Southwest Bahá'í Institute brought the team members together for the first time on 19 � 20 June. Reports mention 'a sense of history in the making' as three members of the Continental
Board of Counsellorsin the Americas helped to launch the first trip of its kind. They were Mrs. Lauretta King of Alaska,
Mr. Raill Pav6n of Colombiaof Mexico. Mrs. de Burafato described the original migrations of native peoples of the hemisphere, saying that the travels of the Bahá'ís along a 'trail of light' was a dream come true. Mrs. King, who is a Tlingit from Eagle River, Alaska, was able to share her sensitive perception of Indian teaching needs.
A memorable session with Mr. Pav6n on the spirit and principles of teaching was translated from Spanish into English and then into Navajo. A memorial service for Mr. Amoz Gibson, recently deceased member of the Universal House of Justice, flooded the hearts of those gathered there with memories of his early Navajo pioneering days and remindc~d them of his love for the Navajos.
The 'Trail of Light'Two teams set out from Arizona. One went to five coufitries of Central America and the other to Chile, Bolivia and Peru, meeting up in Quito, Ecuador, at the International Conference.
The southern contingent was made up of: Rita Blumenstein of Palmer,
Alaska, a Yupik Eskimowho speaks Yupik, performs native dances, makes traditional baskets and is adept at the Eskimo art of skin-sewing; Chester Kahn of Houck, Arizona, Navajo, a knowledgeable Baha teacher of rich experience in the Faith, who performs Navajo songs and dances; (Later that summer Mr. Kahn was elected a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of the United States) Rebecca McKerinet, of
Juneau Alaska, of TlingitIndian and Japanese ancestry, who sings Tijugit cultural songs and is one of few remaining members of a TLingit royal family. She wears a beautiful native costume; Louise Profeit, of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada, a Tlingit who recites prayers in her native tongue. She is a registered nurse working in health education whose Bahá'í experience includes Local Spiritual
Assembly and NationalMrs. Profeit is from a respected Yukon family and is the mother of three children.
Page 240This picture of the four members of the southern contingent of Trail of Light appeared in newspapers s of Chile. They are, left to right: Chester Kahn, Rebecca McKennett, Rita Blumenstein,
Louise Profeit.The southern team visits the Aguaruna tribe in the jungle area of northern Peru. Hundreds of Aguarunas came with their chiefs to see the Trail of Light, and the two groups performed for each other.
The North Americanvisitors with four members of the indigenous community of Porras, Bolivia.
Page 241INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 241
Their schedule took them first to Chile for nine days � 22 � 30 June.
CHILEwrote: 'Praised be God for the "Trail of Light" Their impact on the Bahá'í community and the mass media will be felt strongly for a long time to come .' They performed in a park in Santiago, recorded music and interviews for Bahá'í radio and gave a public performance in
Concepcion. 'Publicityfor the group', reported Chile's Feast Newsletter, 'put the Faith in the first rank, since not only were there numer6us articles in the press in Concepcion, Temuco and Santiago, but also photos and articles on the covers of dailies of Temuco and Concepcion and of the Chronicle of Santiago, an English newspaper.
In Temu-co the Sundaysupplement of 4 July devoted the entire first page to the subject.
Radio interviews were outstanding in all the cities.'
In Region IX (where eighty-nine of Chile's Local Assemblies are and 14,000 Bahá'ís live) there were public performances at two Bahá'í schools, a presentation at the Bahá'í Institute and at the Cultural Center of the City of Temuco with two hundred and fifty present, and an appearance at a municipal school in Temuco for an audience of six hundred children and faculty.
'Among all the activities, the most moving was the heart-to-heart contact with our brothers the Mapuche Baha'is', stated the National Spiritual Assembly. 'The high point came at the end of the performance in Temuco when they danced the 'Eagle Dance' with a Chilean Mapuche group,
Kalle-Kalle Mapu. Theymade the amazing discovery that Tlingit and Mapuche have almost exactly the same Eagle Dance. The audience was ecstatic, responding to the dance with a standing ovation.
Mr. Athos Costas, Counsellor of the Continental Board in the Americas, who The nine members who made up the Trail of Light teams in June1982, together for the first time at the Southwest Bahá'í Institute in Arizona, U.S.A., before beginning their southward journey to Central and South America. Left to right: Walter Austin, Tlingit, of Kake, Alaska; Rick Belcourt, Metis, from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada; Rita Blumenstein, Yupik Eskimo, of Palmer, Alaska; Audrey McCarty, Makah, of Washington, U.S~A~; Chester Kahn, Navajo, of Houck, Arizona, U.S.A.; Rita Markish turn, Makah, of Washington, U.S.A.; Pat Twigge, Blackfoot, from Blood Reserve in Alberta, Canada; Rebecca McKennett, of Tlingit and Japanese ancestry, from Juneau, Alaska; Louise Profeit, Tlingit, of Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada.
Page 242accompanied the team said, 'The full effect of this visit still has not been manifested.'
BOLIVIALeaving Chile on 1 July, the same group visited the cities of La Paz, Cochabamba, Sucre, Potosf and Oruro during eighteen days in Bolivia, giving public meetings in cultural centers, schools and universities.
Between city visits they met rural indigenous Bahá'ís and their neighbors. One memorable visit to the countryside is described by the group's photographer and sometime translator, Gregg Suhm (a pioneer to Ecuador and staff member of
Radio Bahá'í of Otavlo).lie traveled with the team to the town of Cajas Kasa high in the Andes. He writes, 'After a seven-hour jeep ride through rough terrain the team came upon an arch of stones perched on a boulder � An explosion of dynamite (a sign of respect paid to honored guests) startled the team, but let neighbors know that a special event was to take place.' As the team approached, the wood flute and drum bands of three Local Spiritual Assemblies struck up lively
Bolivian tunes. Heartfeltgreetings of 'A11~h-u-AbM' were exchanged as Trail members choked back tears of joy at the warmth of their reception. After a lunch served inside the modest local Haziratu'1-Quds built of adobe brick, they made their presentation outside against a backdrop of barren hills and a deep Mue sky. Afterwards, the Quechua believers, wearing multicolored woven caps, played, their long flutes called samponas. All joined in dancing around the circle of musicians. Sturdy children sang lustily their songs of love for Bahá'u'lláh and the joy of being Baha'is.
It ended too soon. Hands reached out in farewell. Another stick of dynamite was set off as a 'goodbye', and the jeep moved away while the team sang 'All6h-u-Abhd' with the encounter etched in their memories.
A typical 'city' day for the busy team would include a television interview, a proclamation in ceremonial costume at a Cultural Center, a fireside and a radio interview, as in Potosi on 9 July (preceded by early rising for dawn prayers and a seven-hour jeep ride). In La Paz, on 14 July, the President of Bolivia welcomed the team.
Also present were twelve Ministers of Departments from around the country, some of whom were themselves indigenous.
The Governor of the Department of La Paz also greeted the Trail members in his office, stating that he identified with many of the Bahá'í principles. Other major events in the capital included two twenty-minute cultural programs for the state-owned television which were later aired nationwide.
PERUOn 18 July the team was received at the border between Bolivia and Peru by members of the staff of Radio Bahá'í of Puno.
They rested that night and on the next day went as guests of honor to a gigantic indigenous music festival hosted by the Local Spiritual
Assembly of Caspa. Threethousand Aymara Indians from surrounding villages attended. From morning to afternoon there were performances by the visitors in their native dress and by local groups. In Caspa the team was joined by
Counsellor Mas'tid Khamsiwho spoke over the microphone to the vast crowd, emphasizing the importance of the visit by the northerners and of the fulfillment of Indian prophecy through the coming of the Trail of
Light. Auxiliary Boardmember Andr6s Jachacollo spoke in Aymara with strength and fervor. The crowd listened intently as each North American shared his thoughts and some aspects of his culture.
In the late afternoon of the same day the team performed in the stadium of the town of Juli for more than a thousand persons. The following day they were guests at the official inauguration of the Bahá'í Teaching Institute building at Chucuito, adjacent to the Baha radio station. Thousands of villagers attended and many more heard the program on the air. In Puno on the 21st, the Trail group visited the College of Fine Arts and the radio and television stations.
In Cuzco on the 22nd, they met hundreds of campesinos and toured the magnificent ruins of Machu Pichu, capital of the ancient Inca empire. Some described the visit as a kind of 'pilgrimage' to pay homage to the once-great civilization with which they felt a kinship. The vestiges of that civilization inspired a feeling of awe for the majestic beauty and the evidences of high technology. The visitors were accompanied by Exaltaci6n Quispe and his wife. (Quisp6 is the first indigenous Bahá'í of Cuzco.)
Page 243INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 243
In Lima they visited newspapers and were interviewed on a television news show wearing their colorful costumes. From there they were flown to northern Peru to visit the jungle area of the Aguaruna Indians.
At an all-day Council given by the Naranjilla Bajo Bahá'í community they met hundreds of Aguarunas and their chiefs, performing for them, feasting with them and expressing common concerns and values. From Lima the southern group left for Ecuador to join the other team at Quito where their participation was one of the highlights of the
International Conference.The team that went to five Central American countries included:
Walter Austin, Ilingitof Kake, Alaska, who speaks and writes the Ilingit language and is an effective public orator;
Rick Belcourt, Metis (amixture of Plains Indian and French ancestry), from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, who has a profound grasp of native culture and history, plays guitar and performs the traditional pipe ceremony; Rita Markishtum, Makah, of Washington, U.S.A., who has served the Bahá'í community in many capacities, and who performs traditional dances; Audrey McCarty, Makah, also of Washington, also a dancer and narrator of native legends;
Pat Twigge, Blackfootfrom Blood Reserve in Alberta, Canada. (He was, unfortunately, with the group only through Mexico as a chronic back ailment became aggravated by dancing, forcing him to return home.)
MEXICO'Five beautiful souls have won the hearts of the people, both Bahá'í and public,' wrote Counsellor
Artemus Lamb. The five-member Trailgroup arrived in Mexico City on 21 June accompanied by Counsellor Lauretta King and Fletcher Bennett, Auxiliary Board member from Canada who filmed the activities. In Tampico, State of Veracruz, interviews were held with the leading newspaper, the University newspaper and television and radio stations. In Pablanta there were many meetings with Totonaco Indians of that region and a proclamation for more than one hundred.
In Oaxaca City about three hundred people were drawn to a public meeting where the team demonstrated their tribal dances and songs and shared Bahá'í Teachings. In the indigenous village of Lachigoloo one hundred and seventy-five persons attended a public meeting. Both meetings were the largest of their kind ever held by Bahá'ís in the State of Oaxaca.
Media publicity was extensive.At the Baha Center in Merida, Yucatan, an interview was filmed for television news, and an article and photograph were published in a Merida paper. In other parts of the Yucatan peninsula more than one hundred Bahá'ís and their friends attended each event. In Quintana Roo a proclamation in an open-air theatre belonging to the government attracted an audience of over six hundred. The performers shared samples of their tribal songs, dances and traditions as well as the basic teachings of the Faith. The next morning brought an interview with the President of the city.
Counsellor Lamb wrote: 'It is impossible to estimate the spiritual impact of this historic project, but it is certainly very great, both on local Bahá'ís and on friends of the Faith and the public.
Everywhere people were amazed to learn that the Faith had penetrated the indigenous areas of North America; furthermore, they were deeply impressed by the spirituality, capacity and love of the team. Already in Mexico, new concepts, ideas and plans are being discussed on how to carry this process forward, both on a national and an international level.'
Page 244On 9 July the team left for Belize, reduced to four members. They talked and performed for public meetings in Corozal,
Orange Walk and BelizeCity, attracting large crowds in the Last two places. Their dances and songs and some talks on the Faith were videotaped for Belize television.
They recorded two radio shows for the regular Bahá'í program of Belize. A newspaper story on 9 July was headlined,
'First Time in Belize!It called the 'Trail of Light' an exciting, energetic, colorful group of Bahá'í Indians and named their tribes, inviting the public to hear them talk about their religion at the Town Hall.
HONDURASTorrential rains made travel almost impossible during the threeday stay of the team in Honduras, 13 � 15 April. Nevertheless, a visit was made to Yoro where the Indian chiefs were begging for them to come.
Four hundred native people, including several tribal chiefs, heard the Message.
On a washed-out road betweenthe river was so swollen that the team had to cross on logs. At the top of a hill, after a long walk in the intense heat, the team met with one hundred people in a log cabin. The chief of the village told a traditional tale of their ancestors who had said that one day friends from the north would come looking for them. 'Now you are here,' he said, 'now you have found us and our hearts are bound together.' In spite of widespread hunger in the village of Viaseto, the people shared their food with great love and generosity. It was here that Rita Markishtum of the Makah tribe of Neah Bay, Washington, speaking on the oral traditions of her people, said: 'There is a prophecy that a man in Canada saw the beginning of the spiritual rebirth of the Makalis.
He said that he saw a council fire gather, n6t only at Neah Bay, but he saw that same fire move to Alaska, down through the United States, and even into Central and South America. So, when the invitation was extended to us to go on this trip, it was more than just a teaching endeavor, rather, it was to be part of a tremendous undertaking The Paya Indians of Olancho, a smaller The Trail of Light in
Honduras.group, were so inspired that they did not want to let the visitors go. Forty enrolled in the Faith.
The team members called this the most receptive of any group visited.
GUATEMALAIn Guatemala, two sparkling performances of dance, song and inspired talks on the Faith drew crowds which filled the National Hazi-ratu'1-Quds to overflowing both morning and afternoon.
Violence in other Indian areas of the country caused the four days in mid-July to be spent in Quezaltenango and surrounding villages.
In Cantel a small theatre that had been rented quickly filled up. The Mayor sent word that the entire village wanted to see the program and asked that it be moved to the main square. It was, and an estimated five hundred attended. In San Juan Ostuncalco the team visited the Mayor, had supper with Bahá'ís in a home, then went to a large theatre which promptly filled with an enthusiastic audience of twelve hundred � a record attendance for a Bahá'í event. The final number that evening was performed by a local group whose director is the husband of a Baha'i. They were nine young ladies (not Baha'is) who sang three Bahá'í songs. In Quezaltenango there were two radio interviews, a visit to the Mayor and lunch with Bahá'ís at the Center, followed by a meeting for three hundred at a central hail. The keen interest of the public, the authorities and the media in the Trail of Light and its performances was due, in the opinion of Counsellor
Page 245Lamb, to the members' 'warm and loving attitude and their deep spirituality and devotion.'
PANAMAThe travelers arrived in Panama on 21 July to start a schedule that included radio and television appearances and public programs which were given wide newspaper coverage. Visits were made to Puerto Armuelles and David and a meeting at the Magisterio Pana-meflo Unido brought a capacity audience. A Teaching Conference with 'Camino del Sol', as the Trail of Light was called in Spanish, was held in the gardens of the
Bahá'í House of Worshipon the first of August, just before the team left for Ecuador. Probably the most significant event of the Central American tour was the first Native Bahá'í Council of the region.
From the MuhAjir Instituteat Boca de Soloy, scene of the mass meeting of indigenous, a cable was sent to the
Universal House of JusticeIn answer, the Universal House of Justice sent the following message:
HIGHLY PLEASED SIGNALthe Trail of Light teams converged in Ecuador to the delight of their more than fourteen hundred Bahá'í brothers and sisters from forty-three countries, including representatives of twenty-four National
Spiritual Assembliesand of more than twenty Indian tribes. When the two teams joined on 4 August in Quito for their first reunion since the Arizona Conference, high excitement and a sense of jubilation prevailed as they shared joys and difficulties experienced along the 'Trail of Light'.
The Hand of the Cause Paul Haney paid them tribute, as did the Counsellors of the Americas who had been instrumental in the creation, organization and carrying out of the entire project.
Highlights of the teams' contributions in Ecuador outside the Conference setting were: an appearance at a university in the coastal city of Guayaquil; a newspaper interview and a television performance in the same city; a visit to Otavalo, home of Radio Baha'i; and a television appearance in the capital, publicizing the International Conference.
The moving performances they had given in scores of places during June, July and August were repeated for an audience of two thousand at 'Noche Folkl6rico', a nighttime event to which the public were invited.
The climax of the Quito Conference came as the Trail of Light, accompanied by Counsellors Lauretta King and Ra6l Pav6n, made a moving presentation in which they called onto the stage Bahá'ís of twenty-seven Indian tribes.
A final leg of the trip took team members to Canada to attend the third North
American Bahá'í NativeCouncil held on the Blood Reserve in southwestern Alberta on 12 � 15 August. There they shared moving accounts of the Latin American tour with four hundred and sixty Baha and friends � members of sixty Indian tribes.
And on 3 � 5 September, in their last appearance, the Trail of Light was introduced to approximately ten thousand Bahá'ís attending the International Bahá'í Conference in Montreal. They were warmly praised for their historic trek which had done so much to justify the Master's confidence in the high destiny of the native Americans.
Page 2461880 � 1980 INDIA holds a unique place of honour in Bahá'í history in that from the earliest days of the era inaugurated by the BTh there were Indians who searched out and accepted the teachings of the New Day. Shaykh Sa'id-i-Hindi, an Indian, was among the Letters of the Living. An Indian dervish travelled to Chihrfq in response to a dream in which the BTh appeared to him, accepted his Lord and was given the name by Him 'Qahru'116h' (the Wrath of God). Others from India attained the presence of Bahá'u'lláh and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
It was Bahá'u'lláh Himselfwho instructed Jamal Effendi, a Persian scholar of noble birth and high rank, to proceed to India and acquaint its people with the Bahá'í teachings. Jamal Effendi arrived in Bombay in 1872 and proceeded to travel throughout the country. Despite the language difficulty he managed to convey the Bahá'í teachings to many distinguished people. Jamal Effendi's vast knowledge, eloquent tongue and unfailing courtesy attracted many persons to him, and he was the guest of a number of prominent Indians of high standing. At innumerable meetings and discussions Jamal
Effendi outlined Bahá'u'lláh'steachings for the upliftment of mankind and many recognized the truth of his words and embraced the Bahá'í Cause.
It was not until 1880 that Jamal Effendi's strenuous efforts produced permanent results. In that year the first Bahá'í group was formed at Bombay and from there the Faith spread rapidly to Poona, Calcutta, Karachi and
Delhi where Local SpiritualAssembly of India and Burma was formed. With the formation of a national administrative body, several teaching plans were instituted with the result that the number of adherents, local centres and Local
Spiritual AssembliesPakistan, Burma and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), once part of the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly, formed their own National Assemblies in 1957, 1959 and 1962 respectively.
The celebrations of the hundredth anniversary of the founding of the Bahá'í Faith in the subcontinent were inaugurated on 2
May 1980 at Bahá'í Housein New Delhi with a reception attepded by approximately four hundred guests. Many dignitaries were present including the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
An attractive exhibition of Bahá'í publications was mounted for the occasion.
The event was fully reported on radio, television and in the newspapers.
Contour, a popular publication of the Hindustan Times carried in its issue of 24 May 1980 not oniy a two-page article on the origins, aims and purposes of the Baha Faith but full-page photographs of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and of the model of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar.
The National SpiritualAssembly received numerous messages of congratulation in relation to the centenary observance. In her message the Prime Minister stated: 'The Bahá'í Faith seeks to bring people together to enable them to realize their unity and their own inner potentialities for growth. It commands wide respect in our own land which believes in rendering equal homage to all religions and creeds.'
The President wrote: 'India has always stood for universal brotherhood and the message of Bahá'ís is in keeping with the past spiritual tradition of India. The need of the hour is to bring about this universal outlook and thereby to create a new world order based on peace, progress and prosperity.'
Shri P. V. Narasimha Rao, the Minister for External Affairs, in his opening address at the centenary gathering said that Bahá'u'lláh inaugurated the age of planetary society, the coming of age of the entire human race when there began to dawn in human consciousness the need to build a global society based on interdependence and justice. At this centenary celebration, he added, we might well pause and consider how much more immediate and pressing Bahá'u'lláh's teachings have become since they were first promul
Page 247gated. He concluded his address by wishing the Baha of India the fulfilment of their highest hopes in serving the noble Bahá'í ideals.
The former Chief Justiceof India, M. H. Beg, acted as chairman of the function.
He concluded his learned and inspiring address by saying that he rejoiced at the bold challenge of the call of Bahá'u'lláh for people of all religions to disregard labels and unite in the service of mankind.
Dr. H. M. Munje and Dr. S. Vasudevan, the Bahá'í speakers, delivered their addresses in Hindi and English respectively.
Minutes after the conclusion of the festivities Delhi television included an item about the celebration in their telecast, and national networks carried the news throughout the country. Thus the opening notes of the centenary celebration were sounded in the capital and were later echoed in similar gatherings throughout all States of India. The National Spiritual Assembly reported that between May and October 1980 forty-four Local
Spiritual Assemblieshad held centenary observances which had achieved wide publicity through the press and radio. Important dignitaries of each community participated in the programmes. 'One of the important aspects of these functions', the National Assembly stated, 'is that they were arranged through local resources.' The
Local Spiritual Assemblyof Bombay produced a special commemorative brochure to mark its centenary celebration.
the first National Convention of the Baha of India more than a half-century ago were the extending of an invitation to the beloved Master to visit India and the desire to have a Mashriqu'1-A~!j~k~r built in that country.
The Bahá'ís attending the National Convention of 1980 not only celebrated the centenary of the founding of the Faith in India but thrilled to the announcement that a contract had been awarded for the construction at Bahapur of a House of Worship for the Indian subcontinent. Those attending the National Convention cabled the Universal House of Justice saying, in part: OVERJOYED NEWS
CONTRACT MAIN CONSTRUCTIONAmong the four main resolutions passed at lION ENTIRE
BAHAI WORLD.that tirnc ~k~ct DUSC ol ]ustta. 3~ t~ libcl5te ft fr~r~ th~ Lvr~rnflY o~ Lhc g~eaL Idc� of t1p~ ~ the u~d~r~i~irnd feels it incumb Tit to n~tif~ you ~i th~ �~1~ux~ii ~, Xu~ av~ ~2r 2dy b~Qn Avt~ed ~vI gu1d~d h~ this Co~ervior ~ t ~ ~r~d sev&r your r~Thtions ~iI~h th~ rni~guhed grotv (3~h~ii), md th~reby t~etur ~ t1i~ 1ire � ~vin~ b~~in o~ 1~iat~ to enjoy tb~ fra~r~uwe ~f th~ Words ~ (~c~d (Qur'i ~ On behalf ~ tlw Covn~o~aL~ 0 V
(~irn~cd) ~i ~a~u I IAh TuqiiTranslation into English of a circular letter dated March 1982 which was addressed to a Bahá'í who was suspended from employment in government service. The letter threatens dismissal, and deprivation of salary and other rights, unless the recipient severs association with the Bahá'í Faith.
A. SURVEY OF EVENTSFrom the outset of the revolutionary upheaval that removed Shah Mohammed
Reza Pahiavi, Bahá'ísIn the summer of the previous year (1978), and again in December, the agents of the government had harassed the Bahá'ís in several localities in order to transfer onto them the wrath of the antigovernment crowds.
Bahá'ís were dismissed from government ment posts in an effort to bolster the government's fast-waning popularity.
Bahá'í homes were burned by SAVAK (secret police) agents, and in the Shir~tz area a high-ranking lodal cleric turned back anti-BaM'i mobs incited by SAVAK.
However, once the change in regime had been effected, the non-participa-tion in the process of revolution of the Bahá'í community, which is forbidden by its Faith to involve itself in politics, enabled traditionally hostile elements to conduct a campaign against it. Faced with a chaotic proliferation of bodies
Page 252claiming revolutionary authority, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of fr6n, in the months immediately following the revolution, made representations to many leaders, as well as to the press, concerning the true nature of Bahá'í activity and institutions in I din. This was an attempt to combat the increasingly widespread accusation that the Bahá'ís of fr6n had actively supported the r6gime of the Shah, and had been members of SAVAK. In particular, Bahá'í representatives met with high-ranking clergy in Shfrhz Qum and Mashhad in February 1979. However, such representations, which continued in van-OHS forms preceding the arrest and disappearance of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of fran in August 1980, proved unavailing. Persecutions grew in volume and while the source of these has undoubtedly been the fundamentalist clerics, their allies and supporters among the Revolutionary Guards and 'Komitehs', secular parties within frAn made little effort to stay their hands, and indeed in some cases have gone on record as attacking the Baha'is.
The same is true of the moderate clerics who have remained outside the
Islamic r6-gime. Bahá'írepresentatives in the early days more often than not reported a sympathetic hearing, yet events belied their initial optimism.
'While it appears that the weakness of the provisional government, set up soon after the return of Ayatollah Khomeini to fran in February, suggests that the opening stage of applied pressure on the Bahá'ís was not government sponsored, the extent to which Baha were harassed during this period, and, more significantly, the speed with which Bahá'í properties were confiscated, points to the existence of not only anti-Bahá'í cliques, but a more widespread sympathy for the measures being taken against the Bahá'í community.
The takeover of the two Bahá'í companies, Nawnahtn (investment company) and Uman& (foundation for the maintenance and purchase of Ba1P'f community properties and holy places), proceeded in two stages: first, they were raided by Revolutionary Guards (February), their offices searched and keys impounded; then they were progressively occupied, their staffs dismissed and, by the summer, their premises taken over by
Revolutionary Guards; and, finally, by the end of the year, they had been officially stripped of their assets, and non-Bahá'í directors, inimical to the aims of the companies themselves, had been appointed over them. However, this was not the close of the matter � Bahá'ís formerly associated with the administration of these companies were, in several instances, later on subjected by the new directors to crude demands for 'compensation'.
Although there was strong suspicion that this prompt action taken against the Baha'is, involving~ the occupation of all their holy properties, including the Houses of the Báb in Shir~z and of Bahá'u'lláh in Tihr~n and TAkur, was in many areas the work of forces spearheaded by Tablighat-i-Lslami,1 the crude violence directed by mobs against the properties and businesses of Bahá'ís enabled the authorities to represent the overall situation as the fruit of revolutionary chaos.
Indeed, the confusion of this period, in which Bahá'ís were by no means the only ones to suffer (the other religious minorities were also subject to harassment), gives credence to the view that local 'Komitehs' were simply going ahead and settling scores of their own. Thus before, during and after the transfer of power Bahá'ís all across the country were the objects of campaigns of violence in which homes were attacked, businesses and shops burned, livestock destroyed, and individuals harassed and assaulted.
Bahá'í cemeteries, in particular, were attacked, desecrated and in some cases set on fire. In February, forcible recantations were staged, often at the local mosque, notably in Sarvistgn and in the area of Shfr4z.
However, as the year wore on, and the Bahá'í properties, occupied initially, it was said, for their own 'protection', remained in the hands of the Revolutionary Guards, this stance of the government, and patticularly that of the clergy-controlled
Revolutionary Councilheaded by Ayatollah Behesliti � the effective source of policy in the first year of the Islamic Republic � became increasingly unbelievable.
To begin with, all efforts by Bahá'ís and their sympathizers to gain for the community a declared status as a protected minority under the new Islamic constitution,
1 See Section B, 'Identityof the Persecutors, and Charges Levelled against the Baha'is', p. 267.
Page 253went by the hoard. Under these circumstances the publicly announced abstention of the Bahá'í community from the April referendum for the Islamic Republic was a courageous stand that could be expected to win the Bahá'ís few friends. Also courageous was the visit to Qum of a delegation of Sangsar Bahá'ís who requested and obtained an audience with Ayatollah Khomeini on the question of compensation for their Bahá'í Centre (Hazfratu'1-Quds), destroyed by local mobs. The Ayatollah ordered local Komitelis to desist from harassing Baha'is, but this did not prevent the occupation of the House of the B~b at the end of the month. In fact, there was an evident deterioration in the situation for the Baha, virtually month by month. In March, Mr.
Yiisif SubMni, a prominent Baki'iof Tihr6n, was arrested, as was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, albeit temporarily. The director of the Naw-naha1~n Company was in hiding. The Bahá'í Centre of Mashhad was occupied on the orders of senior Ayatollahs Shirazi and Qumi, later to be critics of the human fights record of the Islamic Government.
In the Hamad~n, Shfr6zand Tabriz areas Baha were called upon to recant their faith. By the summer the situation was worsening.
The Buyr-Ahmad tribe, driven from their villages by threatening mobs in the earlier part of the year, was living in refugee camps in the vicinity of Kat6, IsfaMn. After further harassment there, some six hundred of them set out for IsfaMn itself, where they arrived in early May. These Baha'is, for the most part of peasant stock, belied the propaganda of the authorities that the Bahá'í Faith was made up of SAVAK employees and Zionist agents. Under considerable intimidation to renounce their religion they remained firm, and were rendered assistan&e by their more affluent co-believers of I~fah6n before they were finally enabled to return to their homes. Meanwhile, Baha homes in Adhirb6yjan were attacked, and the Local Spiritual Assembly members in Fhrs and Hamad4n provinces were required to conceal themselves.
Two Bahá'í girls, along with a Zoroastrian, were forced to recant and were married to Muslims. The act was announced over the radio in Yazd. Forcible conversions were being announced regularly in the press, thus giving the lie to official statements that no one was persecuted for his or her religion in Pm.
In the face of this mounting pressure, the Silt of the House of the 13db. In September 1979 the building was seized and demolished by the Islamic authorities; in 1981 the site was made into a road and public square.
Page 254Towns and cities in Irdn in which Bahá'í holy places, cemeteries and other properties have been seized or destroyed.
National Spiritual Assemblyof the Bahá'ís of fr6n conducted a campaign designed to inform as many people as possible of the real nature of Bahá'í practice and belief.
Articles were prepared and sent to newspapers, and pamphlets were distributed, sometimes on the streets by
Bahá'í youth. Representationsto the authorities at the highest level continued. Bahá'ís abroad made discreet approaches to Iranian consulates and embassies but did not criticize or slander the Iranian government nor even create the impression that they were conducting a campaign of opposition outside frgn.
Yet the outcome of all this was renewed pressure, and in an atmosphere of increasingly orchestrated anti-Zionist feeling, Ayatollah Khomeini himself gave the go-ahead for the uprooting of Zionist sympathizers � a code name for the Bahá'ís who, due at least in part to the activities of the anti-Bahá'í organizations, were identified falsely as Zionist spies simply because the Bahá'í World Centre is located in Israel.
The anti-Bahá'í groups were almost certainly responsible for the kidnapping of wellknown Baha'is, including
Mr. Shaykh MuI?ammad Muvahhidin TihrAn on 24 May, and Dr. 'Alfmur6d Ddviidi, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, ~ 11 November, also in Tihrdn. They must also have provided leadership for the take-pver of the Mith6qfyyih Bahá'í Hospital in Tihr~n, and later on the attached Home for the Aged, when Baha old people were made homeless. Although not at this point willing to approach the international media to publicize their position, the Bahá'ís learned that the Reuters' correspondent in the capital had already been under pressure not to report the Baha'is' predicament.
However, the focal point of the overall persecution � the attack upon and desecration of the House of the Báb � finally broke the news embargo.
This event occurred in September (1979) and sources suggest it was at first planned and carried out by a group acting with a considerable amount of local independence in ShfiAz. Yet, as had proved to be the case before, the central authorities in the capital stepped in oniy briefly as a token of order, but eventually concurred completely in a nefarious scheme to obliterate all traces of the holiest Baha structure in IrAn. For the
Page 255INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT I3AHA'I' ACTIVITIES 255
House of the Báb, assaulted and substantially demolished between the 8th and 10th of September, received a guard appointed by the authorities in Qum, who also promised a committee of enquiry. Nevertheless, two months later the work of destruction was resumed, and the building almost razed to the ground. It was discovered that plans existed for the construction of a square in the vicinity of the mosque adjoining the House of the BTh that would require building on the site of the House.
There was no question but that the plans, which were iterated several times later, were intended to accomplish the removal without trace of this holy Bahá'í Shrine. The international publicity given this event by the media certainly embarrassed the authorities in Tihdrn when the story first broke in September.
But neither this nor the cables dispatched to Ayatollah Khomeini in
Qum and Ayatollah Beheshtiin Tihr~n, from Bahá'ís all over the world, resulted in any action being taken to restore the holy place to its rightful owners.
There could be no doubt that the symbolism of this sanctified place for Shfih antagonism towards the Bahá'í religion in fran, guaranteed that its desecration must further intensify an already precariously balanced struggle between, on the one hand, an increasingly ascendant fundamentalist Shfih r6gime, sworn to exalt Jsltim and to put down those it considered its enemies, and a peaceful, nonpolitical, religious community which, whilst possessing neither the intention nor the sanction to combat violence with violence, would never acquiesce in its own spiritual extinction.
Contemporaneous with this, the order for arrest of Bahá'ís went out from revolutionary committees in Shahsav6r, 'Ab6dAn and Tabriz Those detained included Local Spiritual
Assembly members. Inaddition, homes in Tabriz were raided and literature seized. In late October Bahá'ís in the ministries of education, health and social administration were dismissed from their jobs. In Shahsav4r, in November, the chief of police admitted to the existence of a circular prohibiting Bahá'í meetings, and that same month arrests were stepped up in Tabrfz, KirmAn and KAsIPn. In B6shihr Bahá'ís were dismissed from their jobs, and in Ab&d&n a father was denied a birth certificate for his infant son on the grounds that he was a Baha'i.
In SeptemberMr. Baha VujdAni was executed in Mah6bAd, and in December Mr. 'Azamatu'lffih
Fahan-dizh in TihrAn;moreover, early in the year, at least three other Baha had been killed.
For all of these people, the fact that they were Bahá'ís had been the significant factor which brought about their deaths.
With the fundamentalist clerics and their allies tightening their hold on the country, reliable information was received which indicated that persecution of the Iranian Bahá'í community was intensifying 'gradually, quietly, but surely'. In the first month of 1980 another prominent Baha'i, Mr. Riihf Rawshan( was taken away to unknown whereabouts, whilst the Bahá'í headquarters in Tihr~n, already seized, was made the headquarters of the 'Reconstruction Foundation' set up by order of Ayatollah Khomeini, who conveyed from Qum to the Bahá'ís the need to be 'patient' and wait for the election of the first President of the
Islamic Republic. NationalSpiritual Assembly members met Ayatollah Behesliti and Dr. ilabibi, spokesman for the Revolutionary Council. No indication was received from these prominent officials which could have prepared the Baha community of Iran for what was to come yet: the full brunt of a cruel persecution, a campaign of exter-Inflation.
The Storm Unloosed: the period February 1980 toAgainst the foreground of a bitter debate, both internationally and within Ir6n, over the detention of hostages from the personnel of the American Embassy in TihrAn, the persecution of the Iranian Bahá'í community in IrAn entered a second, more dangerous stage in February 1980. Perhaps the thinking behind this development took into consideration the outside world's and the internal Iranian preoccupation with the American hostages. It seems more than likely, however, that the anti-Bahá'í groups and their sympathizers within the Iranian government believed their attack on the Bahá'í community could be conducted smoothly, and with little opposition. The attitude of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of fran, up to now, and indeed until January 1981, continued to be one of restraint when it came to apprising the world of what was happening to their Bahá'í breth
Page 256ren. It feared, no doubt with justification, that a campaign charging the leaders of fran with maltreatment of the Baha would have serious repercussions upon the believers themselves.
At the same time, thecontinued fearlessly and, as it transpired, poignantly, without regard for the safety of its members, to represent the injustice of the treatment of the Bahá'í community to the Islamic authorities.
The new stage of repression was launched with abductions and also raids on the homes of several National Spiritual Assembly members and a Counsellor, resulting in the imprisonment of Mr. Bahá'u'lláh Farid, a member of the Local Spiritual
Assembly of TihrAn; Mr. Yadu'llAhPflstchi head of the Baha secretariat in Tihrdn; and later, after a National Spiritual Assembly meeting at which he had been present, the arrest of Counsellor Masfh Farhangf.
The two National SpiritualNajf, escaped arrest because they were not at home when the guards called for them.
Mrs. Naji was taken, however, and held with the intention of forcing Dr. Naji to give himself up. The abduction of these Bahá'ís raised the issue of who exactly was conducting such arrests.
In the case of Dr. Naji it was ascertained that no official warrant for his arrest had been issued.
The matter acquired a nightmare significance later in the year when all nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly were abducted and their kidnapping never thereafter officially admitted nor their fate revealed.
During this period the anxiety of the National Assembly for the deteriorating plight of the Bahá'í community was compounded by the refusal of any of the authorities to recognize that a threat of persecution actually existed.
This front continued even while the arrest of wellknown Baha and members of the administrative bodies was gathering momentum.
In April eight Bahá'íswere arrested in Tabriz; all but three were later released because they signed a pledge promising not to take part in the future in Bahá'í administrative activities.
The three who refused were members of the Local Spiritual Assembly; two were subsequently put on trial and executed (14 July).
These were Mr. Yadu'11ThSamandari. In May four Bahá'ís of Tihrdn went on trial charged with sundry offences, but great play was made of their having had contact with Israel either as visitors or financial contributors to the Baha endowments there. Their execution undoubtedly rested on the fact that they were Baha'is, although the 'Zionist' complexion of their activities was the reason adduced for their deaths. In the areas outside the towns and cities, persecution was even more rough and ready: an old Bahá'í shepherd in Andnin, near Birj and, was found clubbed and stoned to death.
In June, at a time of deepening political crisis in the country, violence, both random and officially promoted, was directed against the
Baha of Yazd. Knownhistorically for its fanatical treatment of the Baha'is, notably in 1903 when over one hundred were murdered in its vicinity by mobs raised by elements among the local clergy, Yazd was the scene of arrests, harassment, burning of property, and exclusion from their workplaces of the Baha. To begin with, four members of the
Local Spiritual Assemblywere arrested. Then, in his Friday sermon, Ayatollah Sad-duqi demanded that the Bahá'ís be driven from their posts in government offices and brought before the authorities. His incendiary remarks were sufficient to send the mob on the rampage against Bahá'í homes and properties, and resulted in one hundred being prevented from working. Moreover, the cleric's remarks were printed in a TihrAn newspaper, thus giving them a national airing. As fears for the safety of the Bahá'ís grew, the incident was publicized abroad in an article in the Paris newspaper, Le Monde. Low-key lobbying of human rights groups and journalists in the international forums, which had been progressing since the spring, was stepped up.
But even now the Bahá'ís remained exceptionally wary of being directly associated with any campaign against the Iranian authorities.
Finally, at the end of the month, there came the news of the execution in TihrAn of Mr. Yasif Subluini.
Now fears arose for the fate of Bahá'í prisoners in Tabriz Yazd Shir&z and Tihrhn. Although the National Assembly used all the means at its disposal, including direct appeals to the government and approaches to the International Red Cross, the two Bahá'ís tried
Page 257INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 257
in Tabriz � Mr. Ast~nf and Dr. Samandari � were summarily executed, and preparations went ahead for the trial of those in Yazd, against a background of further anti-Bah&i incitement by Ayatollah Sadduqi, this time broadcast over television and radio.
Also, in Tihr~n, Ayatollah Au Khomeini issued dark threats against the Baha'is, albeit without expressly naming them.
At such a time of mounting tension � during which more Baha were arrested in Yazd and in the area of Shahab4d, and assets belonging to some of the Bahá'ís in Hamad~n were frozen � the National Assembly confirmed its plans for a new membership of the National Spiritual Assembly to step into the breach 'if and when the present members are arrested'. Neither the growing notice being taken in the world press of the plight of IrAn's Baha'is, nor the passing of a resolution on their behalf in the Canadian Parliament, had any effect on the deteriorating situation in tr~n. In August, there appeared false and provocative accusations in the Iranian media concerning the partidipation of Bahá'ís in the July coup attempt by officers in the armed forces. A commander of a corps of Revolutionary Guards in Tihr~in launched the story first, on television, and it was repeated during the month several times in the press.
Worse fears were raised by the confirmation asAu Raja'i, a longstanding enemy of the Bahá'í Faith, who had been instrumental, as Minister of Education in 1979, in instigating the dismissal of Bahá'ís from their posts as teachers and educational administrators.
Moreover, August had also witnessed the arrest of two British Anglican missionaries, and mounting pressure against the Christian community in general. It should be remembered that Ayatollah Khomeini himself, in his lectures on Islamic Government (1973),1 had linked the Christian missions in fran with the Bahá'ís as corrupters of Muslim youth. One version of the coup charge against the Bahá'ís � given by the
Pars1 'In our own city of Tebran now there are centers of evil propaganda run by the churches, the Zionists, and the Bahais in order to lead our people astray and make them abandon the ordinances and teachings of Islam.'
Ayatol-Iah Khomeini, 'Islamicand Revolution, writings and declarations of Imam Khomeini, translated and annotated by Hamid Algar, Berkeley, California, 1981, p. 128.
News Agency � associated the Bahá'ís with a recently departed missionary who, it was said, was collaborating with the American government in a plot to overthrow the Iranian government.
No conclusion was possible but that unified action was being planned against the Bahá'ís by the highest circles in fr6n when, on 21 August, the National Spiritual Assembly was interrupted in session and its members taken away to an unknown destination. Two Auxiliary Board members who were present at the meeting were also taken away.
In the first months that followed this grave setback for the Bahá'ís of fr6n, strong circumstantial evidence suggested that the eleven prisoners had been taken to the Evin prison in
TihrAn. The Attorney Generalof I ifin initially confirmed orally that he had signed an order for their arrest, but soon afterwards he, along with other top figures in the regime, denied all knowledge of the affair.
Another theory is that the Bahá'ís had been arrested by a terrorist or guerrilla group outside the government that wished to embarrass it. Unless firm evidence arises, any judgement as to the fate of these brave people would only be conjecture.
Suffice it to say that after the discovery in late December 1981 of the bodies of five who took their place on the National Spiritual Assembly, the Universal House of Justice wrote in a cable to National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í world: THIS HEINOUS
ACT CAUSES US FEAR THATThus, we have to conclude, passed from this world the first National Spiritual Assembly of Bahá'ís in the history of the Bahá'í Faith to suffer the ultimate penalty of death for belief. The members' names are:
Mr. 'Abdu'1-Husayn Taslfmi~-Jt The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Irdn (disappeared August 1980 and presumed secretly executed) with four members of the National Assembly that replaced them (eight of whose members were executed in December 1981) and other prominent members of the
IranianBahá'í community who were martyred. Seated (left to right): Man tihir Qd'im-Maqdmi, Husayn Na][, 'Abdu'l-Husayn Taslimi Hashang Mahmadi Zhint~s Mahm i~di, Giti Vahid (absent through illness from the National Assembly meeting in December1981 thus escaping execution), Bahá'í N~diri. Standing (left to right): 'Ata'u'lli~h Muqarribi, Kdmbiz Sddiqzddih, Ibrdhim Rahmdni, Yus(f Qadimi, Buzurg 'Alaviydn, Karush TaM'i, Qudratu'lldh Rawhdni, Jaldi 'Azizi Hishmaru'116h Rawh~ni Khusraw Muhandisi; Mahmad Ma]dhab, Kdmrdn Sarnimi.
Page 259INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 259
Together with these were the first two Auxiliary Board members to suffer the same fate:
Dr. Yiisif 'Abb6siy~nAs if the disappearance of their generals were not enough to dismay the Bahá'ís of fran, seven members of the community in Yazd were executed on 8 September, after a trial that was partly televised. Among the condemned was an old man in his eighties. The names of the Bahá'ís and their photographs were prominently displayed in the press, as was the announcement of the Revolutionary Court that the Bahá'ís had been executed to compensate for the lives of Muslims who had yielded theirs in the revolutionary struggle. The first large-scale, judicial elimination of Baha'is, the execution of seven in Yazd, was accompanied by a fanfare of publicity. But nevertheless, when the Bahá'í answer to the charges laid against them was faded out of the television broadcast, this caused some unrest in the town. Later on, when world public opinion, and a sizeable section of Iranian society, had become aroused by these despicable, insidious liquidations of innocent people, the authorities gave up announcing them.
They even dispensed with the routine of informing relatives of the executions and giving them the opportunity to redeem and bury the bodies of their loved ones.
Later, the bodies of martyred Bahá'ís would be consigned to cemeteries marked for 'infidels'.
In mid-September more resolutions were passed on behalf of the Baha'is, in the European Parliament at Strasbourg, and at the United Nations at Geneva, where the Subcommission on the Protection of Minorities carried a motion unopposed. As before, no material change resulted from this activity on the diplomatic front, although it seems the Iranian government, now locked in a battle between its radical clergy and secular 'moderates', was embarrassed by it. Trials of Bahá'ís in Tihr4n and llamad~n were prepared.
Mr. HAshim Farniish an Auxiliary Board member and member of the emergency committee, was arrested in Karaj. Mr. Buzurg 'Alaviydn, a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihrgn and businessman, was subjected to a lengthy interrogation concerning the Baha World
Centre in Israel. Atthis time, and throughout the present persecution, the nature of the Bahá'í institutions in the Holy Land has been wantonly distorted by the enemies of the Baha Faith to fit into their picture of the Baha as imperialist agents and Zionist spies. Yet the pressure placed upon Bahá'ís before and after their 'trials' invariably turned on their being given their freedom in return for a signed statement disclaiming their belief, or, alternatively, their suffering the confiscation of all their goods and, frequently, forfeit of their lives, in the case of refusal. Demands for ransoms were definitely illegal (though too often officially sanctioned) but they were usually only a temporary means of securing freedom from persecution. Only open and public recantation could achieve this, and the handful who did so were rewarded, feted by mull6s, and had their names printed in the newspapers.
Such activity was doubtless designed to undermine the will of the Bahá'ís overall.
Throughout the winter, 1980 � 1981, dismissal of Bahá'ís from their employment continued. Thousands of Bahá'ís from all over I din were now in need, and the National Assembly was busy with their succour.
Outside Iran an international Persian Relief Fund was established by the Universal
House of Justice. Furtherefforts were being extended to get a commission of international lawyers into Iran to examine the position of the Bahá'í community. However, as the year came to an end, pressure against the Bahá'ís was increased, as Ayatollah Rahnema accused the leadership of the Bahá'ís of corruption, and called for their trial.
In his newspaper article, he said the mass of Bahá'ís had been misled and should be shown kindness and the way back to IslAm. Though Bahá'í prisoners in Yazd were released, scores more remained in prison in other cities and towns, and in January the news of the assassination of Professor Man6-chihr Hakim in his Tihr~n clinic cast a shadow over the entire Bahá'í community. This murder was most likely accomplished by the Fedayeen-i-Islami, but the confiscation of Professor I-Iakfm's property, and the deaf ear turned to all demands by his wife for restitution from the Komiteh responsible,
Page 260implied the tacit approval of the authorities. Raids and arrests were conducted against the Bahá'ís of KirmThslPh in February, and as diplomatic activity on behalf of the Bahá'ís continued outside fran, the National Assembly concluded in a memorandum that 'all doors in kin are being closed', and gave its agreement to 'large-scale international activities and publicity'. There was no guarantee that such procedure might not heap fresh hardship on the Baha'is, but the
National Spiritual Assemblythe peribd March 1981 to January 1982 A senior figure in the Iranian government, who later lost his post as the clerical party established itself as the one governing party, is known to have given a foreign diplomat his view concerning the r6gime's persecution of the Baha'is, and the effect international diplomatic pressure on their behalf might have. He is reported as having said: 'World public opinion and moral pressure have no impact on the mullas, in fact, such pressures often cause them to become more adamant and obstinate.'
To this obduracy should be added, in any attempt to understand the motivation of the persecutors, their fanatical zeal in eliminating any and all whom they consider as their political opponents. Moreover, the persecution of the Baha, in spite of its essentially religious basis, was not without political overtones, as was evidenced by the fact that many of the executions of Bahá'ís were carried out at times of acute political struggle in the country. It could be said that at the beginning one of the reasons for executing Baha was the thinking that such actions would win popularity. Later, when this no longer seemed to be the ca~se, the Bahá'ís were eliminated under the cover of periods of emergency. Nor should it be forgotten that the 'political cumes' said to have been committed by the Bahá'ís could always be linked with greater political issues of the time, such as the 'Zionist conspiracy' which was particularly important in the first year after the Revolution, and the actual coup attempt of July 1980, which could be discredited by linking it with the Christian missionaries and the Baha. In both instan ces there can be seen the akeady established Iranian practice of using the Baha as scapegoats.
(This is also applicable to the case of Amir Abbas Hoveyda, and other important political figures in the ShAh's r6girne, wrongly but continually accused of being Baha.) And, as noted earlier, though the persecutors of the Bahá'ís are now clearly identified as the historical enemies of the Bahá'í Faith, the fundamentalist clerics and their allies, other political groups in frhn made hardly any attempt to protect them, thus demonstrating the almost universal political as well as religious prejudice that Was extant concerning the Baha.' Undoubtedly, a major reason for this is a general ignorance in Iran of the true character of the Bahá'í Faith.
If, in 1980, Yazd had acquired the dubious reputation of being the worst location for persecution of Baha'is, the city of Shfr6z, in the spring of 1981, achieved eminence as inaugurating a new stage in the pogrom.
The measure of endorsement given from the highest quarters in Tihrdn to the execution of five Bahá'ís in two separate batches in the spring of 1981 unmasked the fact, so long concealed, that an official campaign against the Baha community of fain was in operation.
The executions of Mr.Dihq~ni on 17 March, and of Mr. Yadu'114h Vahdat, Mr. SattAr Khushkhti and
Mr. Ihsdnu'lhih Mihdfz~dihon 30 April, established, according to contemporary observers, that membership in Bahá'í Assemblies was of itself a criminal offence. Mr. Anvari and Mr. Dihqani were accused at their trial of being members of Bahá'í Assemblies and having contact with the
Universal House of Justice.They were also charged with having collaborated with 'Colonel Vahdat' � Yadu'-11Th Vahdat, who at the time of their trial Was awaiting sentence for his 'spying' activities. Mr. Vahdat had, in fact, been the chaiTman of a relief committee for the Baha suffering privation within the Sbir~z area.
His wife, who had grown ill, was imprisoned as well. The execution of Mr. Valiciat, and two more of his Bahá'í 'collaborators', at the end of See H. M. Baha'i, Edward Granville Browne and the Bahá'í Faith, London, 1970, ch. VII, 'Edward Browne, Orientalist', for an account of persecutions of the Bahá'í community in Iran in the first decade of the twentieth century, and the political considerations that accompanied them.
Page 261INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 261
April, represented nothing less than a cynical move by the authorities against the Bahá'í administration.
Hitherto, imprisonments and executions could be dismissed by the government as just retribution for crimes committed, having nothing to do with the victims' religion. Now such a defence was laid bare, though it did not prevent its employment on subsequent occasions.
Besides these executions, other Bahá'ís were sentenced to long terms in prison by the ShirAz courts. There was now no doubt that moves against the Bahá'ís were being sanctioned by the central authorities in Tih-r&n. (Attendance at the burials of the latter three was officially restricted after the funerals of Mr. Anvari and Mr. Dihq~ni had drawn thousands.)
As the summer of 1981 progressed IrAn~ entered a period of intense political and social turmoil, and the reverberations could not but affect the Bahá'í community, vulnerable as it always has been in the land of its birth at times of national upheaval.
Growing political demonstrations and an effective, if limited, state of civil war between the clerics and supporters of the Islamic Republican Party, now effectively the party of the government, on the one hand, and on the other the Mojahedin supporters of the ousted President, Bani-Sadr, created an atmosphere of near anarchy.
In May there were Shi'ih � Sunnfclashes to complicate matters, and for the first time, an attack by fanatics upon the Armenian Christian district in JsfaMn (Julf6). Also during this month the plan to construct a square � or, as some reports now suggested, a road � over the site of the House of the Mb, moved a step nearer fruition when pressure to quit their homes was exerted upon the Baha householders in the vicinity. Elsewhere in Fdrs province some seventy Bahá'í families were under duress to recant or lose all their property.
And as the governmental split caine to a crisis in mid-June, there occurred the worst spate of executions of Baha to date. On 14 June seven died before a firing squad in Hamad~n.
Between nine and ten days later two rounds of executions left seven more dead in Tihran. These Bahá'ís of both cities had been in prison for relatively long periods: in the cases of Dr. Masih Farhangi, Mr. Bahá'u'lláh
Farid and Mr. Yadu'116hPiistchf the period of imprisonment had been sixteen months before they died in Tihr~n.
There was a strong possibility that in the end their executions were hastily carried out and were related in some way to the agitated conditions of the time. Over two thousand mourners attended the funerals of the dead Baha in the capital city � they now became known as the second 'seven martyrs of TihiTh', standing alongside the seven celebrated Báb martyrs who had died in that place so many years before. As for the 'seven martyrs of I-Iamad6n', it had been discovered from examination of their corpses that six of these brave men had been physically tortured before their deaths. The body of the seventh had been riddled with bullets. It is even possible that during this period the missing eleven Baha'is, including the members of the first National Spiritual Assembly, met a similar fate.
On 28 June a bomb exploded at the headquartes of the governing Islamic Republican Party, killing over seventy leading members, including the Chief Justice, Ayatollah Behesliti.
Next month, a government source informed a correspondent of the Christian Science Monitor that the bomb blast was the work of Israel acting through the Bahá'ís in Tihr6n.
In such a climate arrests of Baha grew, including ten in Mashliad two of whom,
Mr. Kam6lu'd-Din Bakht4varand Mr. Ni'matull4h K6tibpiir-Shahidi, were executed in Mslimar on 26 July. In KalmTh, three members of the Local Spiritual Assembly were arrested and taken to D6ry6n, Isfah6n. Other Bahá'ís in the area were taken to DAryfin, including five who, in early September, were executed there.
Thirty-one villagers near I~fah4n recanted under pressure from mobs led by Hujjat Sa'6dati, an instigator of activities against the Bahá'ís in that area. A Bahá'í medical student in Isfahdn, in the sixth and final year of her studies, was prevented from completing her course because of her religion; and also in IsfaMn seven Bahá'ís were arrested, and homes were raided and literature seized.
Finally, on 29 July, nine Bahá'ís were executed in Tabriz, bringing to twenty-five the number of Baha so dealt with in the two months of June and July.
The situation for the Bahá'ís had escalated in an alarming fashion � it had truly reached a point of no return. In September the National
Page 262Assembly learned through an unofficial channel of the government that after the political opposition had been eliminated, the turn of the Bahá'ís would come in earnest.
As if to underline this, in August and September Yazd was once more the scene of intense pressure.
This time matters centred on a list of one hundred and seventeen Bahá'ís � later increased to one hundred and fifty � who were summoned to appear before the Revolutionary Court after their bank accounts had been frozen. The deadline was extended to the end of September, and for a six-week period the fate of these Baha � or those of them still alive, for the list included names of those now dead � hung in the balance. In the interim a motion specifically referring to the sufferings of the Bahá'í community of fran was raised at the United Nations in Geneva, where the SubCommission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities adopted its second resolution on behalf of the Baha � this time more directly censorious of the Iranian government than its first resolution a year before. Perhaps this diplomatic activity bore fruit, for the ultimatum against the Bahá'ís of Yazd was allowed to drop soon afterwards.
Nevertheless, five BaWi'fswere executed in DAryiin, near Isfa-Mn, on 11 September, and in Tihr4n, on 29 August,
Mr. Habfbu'llAh 'AziziAlso in August sixty fundamentalists arrived in the Bahá'í village of M6zg~n, near K~s1Pn � they had been sent from Qum for the purpose of exerting pressure on the Bahá'ís to recant, but they were later called back in disgrace.
The Bahá'ís who died in DAry6n met their fate without any announcement being made of their deaths; indeed, the bodies of three of them were buried in a Muslim cemetery.
This set the precedent for the events surrounding the execution, in December, of the members of the second National Spiritual Assembly. Meanwhile, Mr. 'Azizi's relatives suffered harassment; five were imprisoned, including his mother, then in her eighties.
With the National SpiritualAssembly of frAn helpless to influence, events, and international action on behalf of the Bahá'ís under way, persecution within I r~n grew more pervasive. Bahá'í college students and school children began to face dismissal from schools, starting, as so often before, in Yazd. In addition, the business licences of Bahá'ís in one area of MdzindarAn were invalidated, and in Urhmfyyih arrests of Baha'is, including old women and children, rose to thirty-eight within a short time. Harassment and attacks continued around Bfrjand. A circular letter was issued instructing Iranian embassies and consulates not to renew the passports of Bahá'ís and political dissidents living abroad. Even the Iranian &nigk press began to realize that the Bahá'ís � unique1y out of all those suffering in ir6n � were being persecuted on religious grounds alone.
Then in November, amidst continuing confiscation of the property of Bahá'ís and a fresh raid on the Bahá'í national office, there were arrested six members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihr6n, an institution of strategic importance to the beleaguered Baha administration. At their interrogation they were beaten. Their plight foreshadowed the third major coup against the Iranian Bahá'í community.
After the sack of the House of the Rib, and the kidnapping of the first National Spiritual Assembly the third major blow was the arrest and secret execution of eight of the nine members of the second National Spiritual Assembly.1
This time there could be no doubt of the government's complicity in the event. Every single member of thi protecting, governing body of the Bahá'ís of I r~n was known by name to the authorities. Some had courager ously had contact, directly and indirectly, with representatives of the government. They had, like their predecessors on the first National Spiritual Assembly, fearlessly championed the cause of their fellow-believers before the authorities, and they had done so in the knowledge that one day their lives must be forfeit.
Their deaths, contrived and accomplished by their persecutors in an ignominious fashion � the bodies of five were by chance discovered in a graveyard marked for 'infidels' � struck at the very core of the Bahá'í Faith in Ir6n.
And when on 4 January 1982 seven more Bahá'ís met their deaths, including six members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihr~n and the lady in whose house they had been meeting, it was apparent that the leadership of 1 The ninth member, a woman, was indisposed and could not attend the meeting. She later succeeded in escaping from Iran.
Page 263INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 263
A desecrated Bahá'í cemetery. Gravestones were demolished, defaced or befouled.
Mourners gathered for the funeral of Dr. Manachihr Hakim, assassinated in Tihrdn on 12 January 1981.
Page 264the Bahá'í community at its highest level had been wiped out. Their names are:
The National SpiritualBaqA, the hostess in whose home the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihr~n were gathered, died with them.
It should be noted that steps were taken immediately to elect nine new members to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly although it was known that they could well meet the same fate as their predecessors.
Existing on a Precipice:the period February 1980 to April 1983 The pressure on the Bahá'í community operated at all levels. At the end of 1981 Tihrgn's Bahá'í cemetery was confiscated and a municipal garden planned for its site. Bahá'ís were told they must be buried alongside 'anti-revolutionaries', and, indeed, executed members of an opposition guerrilla movement had already been buried by the authorities in the Bahá'í cemetery in Shfrhz. Several months after the Bahá'í cemetery in TihrAn was closed two of its staff were arrested. The dismissal of Bahá'ís from a wide range of government and semiofficial employment received confirmation when a circular letter from the Ministry of Labour was published in Kayhan, 8 December 1981.
This set out that 'the punishment for anyone who is a member of the misguided Bahá'í group, which Muslims unanimously consider to be outside of Islam and whose bylaws are based on the denial of God's religion, is dismissal for life from government service'.
In February 1982 the NationalSpiritual Assembly reported that the Bahá'í community was under increasing stress in respect of its members' financial needs. At a time when unemployment in fran as a whole was rising to critical proportions and swelling the unrest, the Baha community was under an added handicap. Formerly able to serve the country through the skilled and educated personnel in its ranks, the Bahá'í community now laboufed under official opprobrium. Many of its professional people had either left the country, or been imprisoned or executed, and almost all had lost their employment.
Newspapers recorded daily the names of people who it was claimed were 13ah4'fs but who it was said now denied their faith in order to retain right to their pensions.1 In Fdrs province the Health Department addressed a document to the Department of Economics and Finance cancelling the pensions and salaries of retired and regular employees because of their membership in the 'misguided sect' � thirty-six names of Bahá'ís were listed.
Not only in Mrs province was such activity occurring.
When it is remembered how, earlier, Bahá'í army officers were denied their pensions, and letters of dismissal were sent to individual Bahá'ís on account of their religion from other national institutions, such as the National Oil Company and the Ministry of Education, and when it is recalled that Baha doctors had been discharged and applications from Bahá'í students rejected, in both cases on grounds of their religion, it becomes clear that a policy against the Bahá'ís had been adopted by all the official authorities. So thorough and heartless was this policy that in one instance a widow, who was dismissed from her work for being a I3ahd'f, was forbidden a share of her dead husband's salary, as decreed in regulations, in spite of the fact sh~ had two young dependent children; worse, she was even denied custody of her children.
Further confirmation that a campaign against the Bahá'ís was being waged by the highest authorities was avaflabk in the pronounce1 1 For the most part, such names could not be identified by the Bahá'ís as members of the community.
Page 265INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 265
ments of government figures in the media. In January 1982 Ayatollah Musavi-Ardibili, the Chief Justice of the Islamic Republic, referred to the Bahá'ís as 'infidels' in an article appearing in Kayhan. In the same piece, the Prosecutor of the Revolutionary
Courts, Ayatollah MuhammadiGilani, made the point that according to the Qur'an the punishment for infidels was death. However, outside lr~n the case of the authorities was faring badly. In March the United Nations Commission on Human Rights passed a resolution criticizing the Iranian government's persecution of the Baha within its borders. Finally, at the Third Committee of the General Assembly at the United Nations headquarters in November, fr6n tdok the offensive by circulating to representatives a document entitled: 'Human Rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran � A Reviewof the Facts.' The report did no more, however, than repeat the accusations levelled against the Bahá'ís from the outset of the Islamic Republic. The stance of the government remained, incredibly, that in spite of all that had been said and done within fran since 1979, no one had suffered in that country on account of his religion.
Yet it had been no uncommon thing to read in the newspapers in fr6n � as for example in Kayhan, 1
December 1981 � that Mr.soandso had recanted his faith as a Bahá'í in the presence of the Revolutionary Prosecutor (in the above reported case, Ayatollah
Muhammadi Gilani). Onoccasion, the newspaper might even report that an executed prisoner refused to recant his religion.
Thus the ordeal of thethe war between fr6n and 'Iraq proceeded alongside the Iranian government's war with its internal political enemies, and tens of thousands were dying in both contests, it remained true that the Bahá'ís were 'the only Iranians victimized exclusively for religious reasons' �~ By March 1982 over one hundred Bahá'ís had been killed or executed, and as many were in prison.
Students would have had to produce certificates of conversion in order to gain admittance into state schools, and there had been talk of ration coupons being denied to those who were not members of one of the four officially recognized re1 Sepehr Zabih, Iran Since the Revolution, London, 1982, p. 229.
ligions. That this threat did not materialize has been attributed by some unbiased observers to the international voice raised against the r6gime's treatment of the Baha.
'The outcry by the international media as well as by human rights organizations, including the New York-based
Freedom House, Amn6sty Internationaland the prestigious Committee for the Free World, however, appeared to have persuaded the Iranian r6gime to move back from the brink of a "final solution" to the Bahá'í problem.2
During the late winter and early spring of 1982 the detached observer could be forgiven for seeing a religious community cowed into silence and displaying signs of confusion. Hundreds were fleeing over the borders, whilst many others, within the country, were effectively on the run or in hiding.
The authorities were now arresting the entire membership of Local Spiritual Assemblies � as in April, when they detained eight members of the
Qazvfn Bahá'í Assembly.(In July four of these were executed, and another three, under pressure, recanted.)
In Shfr6z, Tihr~n, Yazd and elsewhere the number of Bahá'ís being arrested grew almost daily. Some were released � e.g. four in Tihran � as part of the amnesty announced by Ayatollah Khomeini in late February. Then, just as quickly, others would take their places.
ShirAz now became the chief area of danger.homes in the city were confiscated and thirtyfive bank accounts of Bahá'ís were frozen. Meanwhile, executions proceeded apace: two in February, one in Tihriin and another in Bgbulsar. In these cases the families were not notified, and the victims were buried in non-Bahá'í cemeteries. In. April two Bahá'ís were executed, one in Uriimfyyih, the other in Maslihad. Mr. 'Azfzu'lhh Guishani, victim of the hangman in Mashliad was reported later in Kayhan as having been executed owing to his being murtad � that is, an apostate from IslAm. Mr. Guishani had written a small booklet entitled Why I am a Baha'i, and this was taken as evidence that he had endeavoured to seduce Muslims from their faith. The ominous phenomenon of the mass-intimidation of Bahá'ís was not a new thing � it had occurred with the 2 ibid.
Page 266Buyr-Ahmad tribe in a mountain area, v'ith several Bahá'í villages, and with those in Yazd who were summoned before the Revolutionary Court.
In April it was the turn of the Baha of Says6n, who were intimidated by the Im6m-Jum'ih of Bustan-Abad to become Muslims within one month or face grave consequences. While this pressure was averted, in September fifty Bahá'ís from Says6n were forced to append their thumbprints to documents they later learned purported to be proof of their having recanted. The episode was publicized in the newspapers, though not the letters of vehement denial written by these Bahá'ís to the same newspapers, avowing their continuing Bahá'í belief.
In early May the government initiated renewed repression against a number of different communities and organizations, induding the Shaykhis of Kirmdn. That month six Bahá'í Assembly members were arrested in Zanj~n, and two were executed in Unimiyyih. Five more executions followed: three in Karaj (8 May), and two in Tihr~n (16
May).The early summer passed with what the National Spiritual AssemNy of fran called an 'uneasy lull' for the Baha'is.
In late June, however, over thirty Bahá'ís who were employees of the Bank Saderat were detained in Shir6z. These Bahá'ís spent over a month in prison before being released in August.
In mid-Jffly another Bahá'í was executed in Shfrdz.
In August a further execution took place in Uriimiyyih.
(West AdhirbdyjAn, where this town is located, had been the scene of bitter fighting between the government forces and local insurgents, including Kurdish guerrillas.)
The Bahá'ís of Unimiyyihhad been under pressure all year and four had been executed. It is worth noting that in these violent times, a new charge against the Baha'is, that of attempting to subvert the government, had been added to the charges customarily brought against them. In September, Marnichihr Vaf~t'i was murdered in Tih-ran, and a note left on his body saying he had been killed because he was a Baha.
The summer � in the two years previous a partidil-larly grave period for execution of Bahá'ís � passed with six executions between
June and Late August.In the six-month period between mid-October 1982 and mid-April 1983 the persecu tion of the Iranian Baha community teetered towards a crevasse. As war flared again between Kurdish forces and the government, and pressure Was placed upon the recognized religious minorities to conform to the government's code of Islamic behaviour, and shortages became an ever more oppressive feature of daily life in Iran, a realignment in the balance of political forces brought steadily to the fore a conservative clerical faction called the Hujjatiyyih. The signal triumph of this group was to be the purge of the Tudeb (Communist) Party in May 1983, which it inspired and saw implemented through its sympathizers in the government. The Hujja-tfyyih had grown to eminence specifically as the anti-Bah&i society.
As its influence in government grew, the case of the Bahá'ís looked still more precarious with each passing month. In one city in particular, this faction had achieved a powerful hegemony. Following the arrest of most of the members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of KirmanshAh in October, and the scattering of those members still at large, the focus of arrests turned to Shfrdz. By early November some forty Bahá'ís were imprisoned in the latter city. That same month
Mr. Habfbu'llah Awjiwas executed in Shir6z, as was, subsequently, Dr. Dfy&u'lhh Ahr~iri, whose crime, according to Kayhan which reported his death, had been 'spying for Zionism'. Two more Bahá'ís were condemned to death in December � this time in Zanj An � and more were arrested in Tihrhn,
MfyAn-DuAb and Urtimfyyih.But Shfr6z became the centre of a deepening crisis for the Bahá'í community of frdn. There were reports that the still numerous Bahá'í prisoners were being tortured. A d6marche made by fifteen European countries and expressing the fears of the signatories for the fate of the Iranian Bahá'ís was delivered to
Tihrdn in January.announced measures to curb the arbitrary power of the Revolutionary Courts.
But this 'liberalization~ policy left the Bahá'ís behind.
Another Baha'i, Mr. Hidtiyatu'llAh SfyAvushi, was executed in ShfrAz, and it was learned in February through a newspaper report that twenty-two of the prisoners in Shfr~z were under sentence of death. Presumably all that was between them and their executions was the harsh pressure applied in such cases by the prison authorities
Page 267INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 267
to get them to recant.In another newspaper piece in February the President of the Revolutionary Court in Shir4z gave a chilling warning to the Baha'is: '. before it is too late recant Bah6'fsm'. It was 'absolutely certain that in the Islamic Republic of Iran there [was] no place whatsoever for Bahá'ís and Bah6'ism they [had] created a state within a state and a government and administration different from Islam'. In March three more Bahá'ís were executed secretly in Shfr~z. It was not known whether these � and the one who had die.d in January � were among the original twenty-two sentenced to death. Meanwhile, as the political campaign waged at the behest of the Hujjatiyyih gained momentum through April, the position of the anti-Bahá'í society within the Iranian administration was going from strength to strength. The scene in Shfrhz was being set for the worst sequence of judicial killing of members of the Baha Faith since the start of the campaign against them in 1979.
B. IDENTITY OF THE PERSECUTORS, ANDTwo prominent groups have, been particularly responsible for the harassment of the Bahá'í community of IrAn. Both have their roots deep in the Pahiavi period, when their activities were either countenanced by the authorities, or ignored. Both achieved influence and even representation in the highest circles of the government of the Islamic Republic of fran.
The Tablighat-i-Islamigroup was founded during the early years of the reign of Shah Mohammed Reza, and adopted a nonpolitical stance which enabled it to function without let during the later years of the Shah's reign.
The founder of Tablighat-i-Islami was Shaykh Mabmud Halabi, a cleric who made a special study of the Bahá'í Faith, including its organization and its tenets. Shaykh Halabi wrote books and pamphlets rejecting the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, including a hostile commentary on Bahá'u'lláh's Kitd b-i-Iqdn.
Hard-core members of Tablighat-i-Islami took courses of an intensive nature preparing them for detailed refutation and assailing of the Bahá'í teachings. Members of this organization used to frequent Bahá'í meetings during the Pahiavi period, with the aim of causing disruption. They were also active at some periods disseminating anti-Bahá'í propaganda in the towns and villages of IrAn.
Their intent was to poison the minds of ordinary people against the Baha.
The Mujahedin organization, which was opposed to Tablighat-i-Lslami, published a document in their paper, Mujahid, on 9 June 1980. This came from the office of SAVAK, and allowed Tablighat-i-Islami to function as long as its activities were not the cause of provocation and disturbance'. The document was in fact a response to an invitation by Tablighat-i-Islami for SAVAK to join their organization in attacking the Bahá'ís in a 'systematic way'.
It should be noted that although the document was a proof of some complicity between SAVAK and Tablighat-i-Islami, it does not necessarily support the view that SAVAK actively cooperated with the anti-Bahá'í group.
There is some evidence to show that in the early months after the Islamic revolution Tablighat-i-Jslami spearheaded the seizure of Bahá'í properties and holy places. Shaykh Halabi, who remained the group's ideologue, was reputed to have the ear of Ayatollah Taleqani, Ayatollah Gulpaygani � an old adversary of the
Bahá'í Faith � and Ayatollah Khomeinihimself. He is considered to have been largely responsible for the charge widely levelled against the Bahá'ís that they were agents of Zionism.
Another sometime member of the group was Muhammad-Au
Raja'i, first Ministerof Education, then Prime Minister, and finally President of the Islamic Republic.
As Minister of EducationRaja'i had been responsible for a circular letter dismissing Bahá'ís from their jobs as teachers.
During the period 1982 � 1983 this group, now known as the Hujjatfyyih Society, began to acquire a greater political influence on the affairs of the country.
It was now in an even better position for carrying out its avowed programme of eliminating the Baha Faith.1 Observers saw this faction as instrumental in In 1982 a series of articles in the Tihran newspaper, Subbib Azadegan, identified the icailership, aims and methods of the Hujjatfyyih
Society.the fierce persecution of the Bahá'í believers in Shir6z in 1982 � 1983.
The Fedayeen-i-JsLamiIn the early period of ShTh Mohammed Reza's reign � particularly when the Shdh's own position was weak and that of the clergy momentarily strong (1951 � 1955) � the Fedayeen-i-Islami was influential and active in assassinating government officials. It has been said that this group encouraged the popular preacher Abu'1-Qasim Falsafi in his sermons against the Bahá'í Faith in 1955.
They were also responsible for the occasional assassination of Baha'is, for example,
Dr. Sulaym6n Berjis (Binis) who was killed in this period.1 As an active faction within the revolutionary forces, they were probably behind the kidnapping and assassination of at least a few Baha'is, including, it has been suggested,
Professor Man6chihr Hakim(12 January 1981). The Fedayeen-i-Islami, like the Hujjatiyyih Society, had strong sympathizers in the government, including some notorious religious judges and a former member who had become an extremely influential minister.
In addition to these two main groups, other factions within the revolution are known to have been anti-Bahá'í and active against the Bahá'í Faith.
One of these, called(Mubarizih Ni Munkarat), is said to have had its own prison, whose inmates included Baha'is, and was responsible for looting and sealing off Baha homes in TihrAn.
Accusations laid against the Bahá'ís The anti-Bahá'í groups were not alone in IrAn in condemning the Baha'is.
Prominent Shf'ih clerics of the last three decades were not reluctant to voice their anti-Bah&i sentiments.
One such figure was the supreme ShPih Mujtahid of the 1950s, Ayatollah Burujirdi, who sympathized with Tablighat-i-Islami, and who wrote to Shaykh Falsafi complaining of the influence of the Baha'is, and expressing 'the hope that a general purge of Bahá'ís from all government positions would be implemented'.2
Ayatollah Khomeini himself � as weRelations in the Pahiavi Period, New York, 1980, p. 78.
have seen � referred to the Baha Faith as a corrupt influence, and even the moderate and relatively liberal-minded Ayatollah Shariat-madari issued a fatvd with an implicit anti-Bahá'í bias.3 Whatever might have been the theological and political divisions with the Shf'ih clergy, execration of the Baha Faith was an issue upon which they could all join.
This universal scorn of the Bahá'í Faith amongst the Shf'ih clergy amounted in effect to a deep-seated fear of the theological premises and aims of the new religion.
It was this fear which animated their assaults on the Bahá'í community, from the middle of the previous century up to the present.
The Bahá'í teachings on issues like the return of the twelfth ImAm and the fulfilment of the prophecies of Shfih Jshm in the coming of the Mb, the completion of the dispensation of the Qur'Th and the consequent annulment of the authority of the clerics and learned who claimed to be its sole exponents, cut across the entire raison d'~tre of these religious leaders, and they had arisen with each generation to attempt to extirpate the power of the Bahá'í Faith. These Shtih clerics used as their excuse � for they knew that open debate on the fundamental theological issues would not be advantageous to their cause � such opportunist charges as might besmear the Bahá'ís and bring down on them the rancour of the people. Hence they chose, in the last century, to clothe the Bahá'ís with the unpopular mantle of British and Russian Imperialism, and in the later twentieth, they painted the Bahá'ís with the fashionable opprobrium of being agents of the United States and servers of Zionism.
And when the occasion arose � with the fall of the upopular r6gime of the Shah � they sought to discredit the Bahá'ís by associating them with the deposed monarch.
The crucial debate immediately after the Revolution of 1978 � 1979 centred on the part the Bahá'ís had played, or not played, in it. The other religious minorities could claim that they had been represented in the revolutionary coalition that overthrew the Shah. The Baha � for the obvious reason that they were forbidden by their religious teaching to involve themselves in politics � could not. However, the Bahá'ís noninvolvement in See M. M. J. Fischer,
Iran from Religious Disputeto Revolution, Cambridge, Mass., 1980, p. 174, n. 7.
Page 269INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í I ACTIVITIES 269
politics had never been recognized or accepted in kin, and the popular prejudice that the Shah had surrounded himself with Bahá'ís who had effectively run his government as well as the secret police, SAVAK, would be hard to dispel. Within a few weeks of the establishment of Premier Bazargan's provisional government in February 1979, a supporter of the new r6gime in America, Mansur Farhang, gave voice to these very accusations in a panel programme on American television.
It was upon this base � the one which maintained that the Bahá'ís had collaborated politically with the Shah and his secret police � that the attack against the Bahá'í community in fran was initially launched. Added to these charges were the further accusations that the Bahá'ís had intimate links with the government of Israel, contributed to its funds and promoted its interests.
The Baha'is, in short, were Zionist spies.Finally, two more charges were raised. As well as being spies for Israel, the Bahá'ís were agents of the Western powers and, in particular, of the United States and Great Britain. All such trumped up charges were covers for decrying them as 'enemies of IslAm', the real basis of Shi'ih Isl6m's fanatical hatred of the Bahá'í Faith being its claim to embody a further revelation of divine truth after that of IslAm.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity, which was active in countering such arguments and generally defending the Baha as well as bringing their plight to the attention of the world diplomatic community through the United Nations in New York and Geneva, through the media and by approaches to governments, included in its publication 'Bahá'ís in fran: A Report on the Persecution of a Religious Minority' answers to accusations most commonly levelled against the Baha of fr6n. These were supplemented by the statement it prepared in response to the Iranian government's document entitled Human Rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran � A ReviewBelow are some extracts from the Bahá'í publications: '1. Bahá'ís are accused of being supporters of the late Shah, of having cooperated with and benefited from the former regime, and of being a political organization opposed to the present Iranian government.
'The allegation that the Bahá'ís supported and benefited from the former r6gime is founded upon the fact that the Bahá'í community did not denounce the Pahiavi r6gime or affiliate itself with political or other organizations opposed to the r6gime, and that a small number of Bahá'ís were appointed to prominent positions in the civil service of that r6gime.
'In accordance with the teachings of their Faith, Bahá'ís must show loyalty and obedience to the government of the country in which they live, whatever its form or policies. Accordingly, they do not engage in subversive activities.
In addition, Bahá'ísare forbidden by the laws of their Faith from becoming involved in partisan politics or from holding any political post. These principles are fundamental and do not change with changing governments.
So fundamental is the principle of not accepting any political post that, in one case under the Pahiavi regime, when a Bahá'í accepted appointment as a Cabinet Minister, he was expelled from the Bahá'í community.
'2. Bahá'ís are accused of collaboration with'Denunciation of any organ of government is contrary to the Bahá'í principle of loyalty and obedience to government and therefore no condemnation of SAVAK and its activities was ever made by the Iranian Baha'is, either individually or co11ective~y. Once again, the silence of the Bahá'ís has been used as evidence of support and approbation.
'It can categorically be stated that the Bahá'í community of IrAn was never associated with the operations of SAVAK.
Such activities and organizations are contrary to the most fundamental principles of the Bahá'í Faith, whose teachings explicitly cbnclemn the methods of unscrupulous politicians, forbid any form of violence, and lay upon every adherent the responsibility for respecting the dignity of his fellowmen and for upholding individual human rights.
'No evidence exists of any collaboration between SAVAK and the flab A'i community or between SAVAK and any individual Baha. SAVAK officials such as Parviz Sabeti, who have been described as Baha'is, were not
Page 270Baha'is. The alleged membership of such individuals in the Bahá'í Faith stems from the fact that their fathers or families had once been Baha'is. It is, however, a basic principle of the Baha religion that the gift of faith springs from the free choice of the individual and cannot be automatically and blindly inherited from an earlier generation.
'31 Bahá'ís are accused of being agents of Zionism.
'The Bahá'í World Centrewas, in fact, established in the last century, long before the State of Israel came into existence, and has nothing to do with Zionism. The Founder of the Baha Faith, Bahá'u'lláh, was exiled to the Holy Land in compliance with the orders of two Islamic governments (Ir6n and Turkey). He remained in the Holy Land until His death in 1892. His Shrine was raised there, and the Holy Land thus became the world spiritual centre of the Bahá'í Faith.
'Bahá'í pilgrims from all parts of the world regularly travel to Israel to visit the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and other sites closely associated with their Faith.
Thousands of Iranian Bahá'ís made this pilgrimage during the time when they were pennitted by law to visit
Israel.'In accordance with the clear requirements of the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, its world spiritual and administrative centres must always be united in one locality. Accordingly, the world administrative centre of the Bahá'í Faith has always been and must continue to be in the Holy Land.
It cannot be relocated for the sake of a tQmporary political expediency.
'Contributions sent by Baha to the Bahá'í World Centre in Israel are solely and exclusively for the upkeep of their Holy Shrines and historic sites, and for the administration of their Faith. Almost all Baha in kin have made such contributions, and this fact is often used to support charges against them of collusion with
Israel.'42 It is alleged that the Bahá'í Faith was used by the colonial powers as a tool for colonial expansion into Muslim countries.
�~ The first three heads are quoted from The Bahá'ís in Irdn; no. 3 above is no. 4 in the original.
2 This extract is from the answer to Human Rights in the
Islamic Republic of Iranand refers specifically to the invitation extended to Bahá'u'lláh by the British consul-general in Bag~d6d mentioned in Cod Passes By and cited by the Iranian report as proof of Britain's support of movements which, it says, weakened the opposition to colonialism in Muslim societies.
'At the time of the invitation [see belowi, news of the martyrdom of the Mb and the massacre of 20,000 of His followers, had spread to the West and bad aroused much sympathy and interest among Europeans. Bahá'u'lláh was exiled by the Iranian government and imprisoned in Bag~ddd, 'Iraq. His plight attracted the sympathetic attention of the British consul-general in Bagj~d~d, who offered Him the protection of British citizenship and also offered to arrange residence for Him in India or in any other place agreeable to Him. Bahá'u'lláh declined these offers and chose instead to remain a prisoner in Bag!~-dad.
'It was not unusual at that time, nor is it unusual today, for government officials to offer aid and sanctuary to those they perceive as being the victims of oppression in other countries. This kind of intervention is commonly recognized as being humanitarian and nonpolitical in nature. The attempt to portray the humanitarian assistance offered to Bahá'u'lláh as being part of a sinister project of colonial expansion is clearly ridiculous.'
In the same document, other instances raised by the Iranian report � such as the services rendered by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the people of Palestine during the
First World War, and Hisreceiving of a British Knighthood (which are cited as further proof of the 'colonial' argument) � are given answers. Indeed, these arguments are best summed up by the Bahá'í
International Community'srebuttal of the Iranian case in the following sentence, 'All of the allegations made against the Bahá'ís in kin are based on deliberate misinterpretations of the aims and purposes of the Baha Faith and its teachings.' To this could be added the rider: such allegations were also made through deliberate misinterpretation of the facts.
One further charge, not mentioned above, is perhaps even more insidious. This is the accusation that certain Bahá'ís were responsible for 'promoting prostitution'; in reality, this meant the witnesses to Bahá'í marriages who signed their names on the marriage certificates.
Under the Pahiavis Bahá'ímarriages were not officially recognized, but were not discredited either. Under the Islamic Republic the fact that the Bahá'í Faith was not recognized in the constitution meant that the
Page 271INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 271
laws and ordinances of the Bahá'í Faith were neither respected nor recognized.
Thus Baha marriages of many years' standing were held to be invalid, and the children of such unions were considered illegitimate. Those Baha who appended their names to Bahá'í marriage certificates were in danger of arrest and trial on the charge noted above.
The charges laid against the Baha community in fr6n have been refuted in the international forums and turned back upon the accusers who in turn have been indicted for their denial of basic human rights to the Baliai'is.
The Bahá'í Faith has been recognized in the eyes of the world as a bona fide, independent religion, with laws and ordinances of its own, and as such the plight of its followers in the land of its birth, where they have been without rights and recognition since the inception of their Faith, has been roundly condemned by a substantial section of the world community. It can truly be said that the trials and indignities heaped upon the Bahá'ís of IrAn by their traditional persecutors have achieved the opposite ends to those for which they were intended: instead of eradicating the Baha Faith once and for all, its enemies have oniy succeeded in giving it greater prominence before the eyes of mankind.
C. PATITERN OF PERSECUTIONThis section is made up of reports of the persecution of the Iranian Baha'is, coming mostly from eyewitnesses, participants or knowledgeable friends and acquaintances of the victims.
Pressure in the villages and in the countryside The Buyr-Ahmad tribe lives in the mountainous region of central IrAn between Isfah6n and Mrs provinces.
The tribe consists of eleven clans, one of which, the S6ddt-Mah-nnidi, is more prosperous than the others. Most of the Bahá'ís in this area belong to this clan.
'On 12 January 1979, a few hundred non-Bahá'í people of the Sadat-Mahmiidf clan surrounded the little town of Gurhzih. This hamlet consisted of eight families, six of which were Baha'is.
They fired shots and threw stones at them and burned the fences around their houses. The Baha families, in the confusion of this sudden attack, escaped to the mountains. They later noticed, however, that three of their babies were left in the houses.
When the attackers left the next day, the Bahá'ís returned to their damaged property and calmed their frightened and hungry babies.
The next night the same incidents took place.The attackers first set fire to the motor of the mill and then started shooting. One Bahá'í was injured by gunfire.
'On the sixth night, the attacks became more severe, the mill was completely burned down, household furnishings were looted, all houses were destroyed, cattle were stolen, and the fields were damaged and orchards uprooted.
Because of this the Bahá'ís had to take refuge in the village of Darih-shiir (which has forty Bahá'í families out of forty-eight households).
However, in this village, the friends faced the same attacks, and the intensity of the recent events brought upon them the same fate as had befallen the Bahá'ís of Gur6zih.
After two months of resisting attacks and skirmishes by armed men, they, too, were sadly forced to leave their homes and seek refuge in the central town of Kat6. The attacks on this village were so severe that the few Muslim inhabitants also had to flee; however, their property and belongings were later returned to them, whereas the Bahá'ís were forced to leave the ruins of their homes, their cattle, and their fields to the looters. The neighbouring villages of Katuk, Murgh-Chin~r, Guhdan, Abgarmak, Bar~ft6b, Darili-gazi, Minj and Hast received the same treatment. A number of Bahá'ís received gunshot injuries.
'In the beginning, many of the fleeing Baha sought refuge in KatA, which consisted of seventy-eight households where all but ten were Baha. Each Bahá'í family of this village ~had the bounty of receiving and caring for a number of the refugees from other villages. As more refugees arrived in Kat~, the circle around them became increasingly constricting.
On five occasions, a number of Mullas came to Kat~ to ask the Bahá'ís to recant their faith if they wanted to save their lives and property.
One of the tribal leaders, Habib BaMdur, extracted a considerable sum of money from the Bahá'ís and promised to protect them from the attacks.
This, however, turned out to be a trick, and his gunmen attacked them more severely. From the 6th of
Page 272Tent settlement of Bahá'í refugees from Kat~, Buyir-Ahmad tribal district, near I4aht~n;
May � July 1979.A Bahd'ifamily in the aftermath of harassment by a hostile mob which drove them from their home.
Page 273May, Habib Bah4dur's forces, as well as others, surrounded the village. Two armed men and two regular policemen, under the supervision of a Mu11~, came to KaIA and announced that they had given the Bahá'ís their final warning. They said that the Bahá'ís now had no escape, and they therefore had to go to the Mujtahid and recant their faith if they wanted to stay alive. One of the Mulhs was heard saying to Habib Bah6dur that, in the past four months, he and a number of clergymen had made every endeavour to make the Bahá'ís recant their faith and become Muslims; however, they had failed. Now this privilege was turned over to him to force the Bahá'ís to accept IslAm. Fierce shooting broke out and continued all day from all directions.
The Baha'is, men and women, young and old, gathered together in one place, praying and chanting Tablets. They decided to send a delegation to the attackers to tell them that since a number of their wives and daughters were in the fields, they needed some time to bring them back to the village, and then they could decide collectively what to do.
Fortunately, they were given five days of grace and this period of time gave them the opportunity to consult with the Local Spiritual Assembly of IsfaMn, which advised them to come to that city as soon as possible.
They started on their way, a journey which was hazardous in itself, but it became even more perilous because of the heavy rains, lack of transportation, and because they had to carry with them as many of their belongings as they could manage.
'The first convoy of refugees from the tribal region of Buyr-A1~mad started arriving in I~fahan at 5:00 p.m. on 7 May 1979.
They were placed in the Haziratu'1-Quds of that city, and a special committee was assigned to care for them. In less than forty-eight hours, blankets, food, carpets, etc., were provided for them. The first three days after their arrival were the most difficult for the refugees. They had come from a very difficult and dangerous journey and had lost one of their fellow Bahá'ís on the way, who died after having been severely beaten. Three of the women gave birth prematurely, soon after their arrival.
All these unfortunate Bahá'ís were transferred to the campsite except for a group of women and children, as well as the old and the infirm. This group was in the Irlazfratu'1-Quds when armed men from the
Islamic RevolutionaryCourt suddenly arrived, and, taking with them the members of the special committee for the Baha refugees, commanded the oppressed souls to vacate the premises in twenty-four hours and to leave the city within seventy-two hours.
However, the members of the "Komiteh" did not even wait for the twenty-four hours. After two hours another group of gunmen came to the UaP-ratu'1-Quds and very roughly threw out these ifinocent people, among them an old lady who was paralysed. Although the government authorities gave instructions that the refugees should not be harassed, and the Hazfratu'1-Quds should not be occupied, the
Revolutionary Guards'One afternoon, two weeks after the camp was established in the desert campsite of Mihy6r, a number of gunmen, uninvited, entered the grounds with a loudspeaker and said they were sent by the Revolutionary Committee.
They first gave a sermon and issued repeated insults about the Faith and its Central Figures and slandered the Bahá'í administration.
The Bahá'ís very bravely countered their accusations. One of the armed men asked publicly, "Who is the Bahá'í teacher in this camp?" A man grasped the hand of a Bahá'í child of tender years, took him to the loudspeaker and said, "This is one of our Bahá'í teachers."
The child very bravely and reverently chanted a beautiful prayer. The courage which was demonstrated by this young child when intoning the Words of God had a tremendous impact on the Revolutionary Guards. Their attitude changed immediately and one of them apologetically said they came to the camp merely to see if the Bahá'ís needed anything. As soon as the camp was established and shelter, food and other necessities provided, some Bahá'ís from Isfa-Mn started a school programme at the campsite so that the young Baha'is, who had to leave their schools, could continue their studies.
Early morning prayer meetings were set up and were attended by almost all of the more than 1,200 inhabitants of the camp. Some learned Bahá'ís began deepening classes for children and adults, and a tent was immediately set up as a dispensary by the Bahá'í doctors.
The Bahá'ís of Buyr-Ahmadfor almost three months, beginning from early May until the middle of July.
They were able to return to their villages only when the Mull6 who instigated the wave of persecutions against the Bahá'ís in this area was disgraced by the Revolutionary authorities for his misbehaviour on some other counts and was banished from the region.'
KalMih is a small town in the midst of the Turkoman desert thirty miles east of Gunbad-i-K6v6s. It has a sizeable Sunni population and had until recently about twenty-one Bahá'í families. In September 1981 a new Imhm-Jum'ih arrived and in a Friday sermon issued orders to the Shfih population to entirely boycott the Baha'is, and two days later the municipal authorities abrogated the licences to trade of all the Bahá'í shopkeepers. The local Baha appealtd with no avail to the Mayor and the District Governor.
Several hostile incidents occurred against individual Bahá'ís before the coming of Mutiarram (the first ten days of the first month of the Muslim year observed by Shfihs as part of their mourning period for the Im6ms).
'The Bahá'ís are used to and expect outrageous incidents during the ten days' mourning period in the month of Muijarram.
'On the third day (8 November 1981), suddenly a group of armed militiamen invaded the Bahá'í shops, driving out the customers and snatching the articles they had bought. "These are Baha'is!" they shouted.
"Don't you know that it is forbidden to deal with these infidels?"
They had hoped to gather people around and cause a riot, but those who passed by merely whispered, "Why bother these innocent people?" Instead, the militiamen sought the aid of the ruffians of the town. About fourteen of these assembled in the central square shouting anti-Bah&i s1~gans and endeavouring to attract a crowd.
'Finally, a number of Muslim citizens, though they knew the consequence if they interfered, came to the aid of the Bahá'í shopkeepers and chased the ruffians off. Later, officers of the Gendarmerie came and closed the Baha'is' shops so as to avoid further disturbance. In obedience to the authorities the Bahá'ís complied.
'9 November. Twelve Bahastudents were expelled from four high schools in town. Though the majority of students and teachers deplore this unjust treatment of their fellow students and friends, they are too scared to speak out.
On the same day the Im6m-Jum'ih issued an order forbidding the sale of necessities of life such as bread, meat, and kerosene to the Baha'is.
Anyone doing business with Baha would receive one hundred lashes. The news created fear and panic in the town. It was rumoured that the Imdm-Jum'ih had ordered the Bahá'ís to be brought to the mosque on Friday in order to have them recant.
The Local Spiritual Assemblyconsidered the option of all the Bahá'ís leaving the town. However, that same night the Im~m-Jum'ih of Gunbad-i-K6viis, having received representatives from Qum who presumably brought him new instructions, came to KalAlih and prevailed upon the new Im~m-Jum'ih there to postpone his plan.
Nevertheless, no one now dared to speak in favour of the Baha'is. Four days later, in a typical incident, a Bahá'í woman went to the bakery with her child.
All the bakers and butchers had been forbidden to serve Baha'is. A fanatic in the queue told the baker the woman was a Bahá'í and he must not sell her bread. However, the man whispered to the lady to give her basket to the child and leave the shop. But again, when the baker moved to put a loaf in the child's basket, the fanatic shouted in protest. Whereupon the shopkeeper cried, "How can I refuse bread to ibis innocent child?
What am I to say in answer to God's reprimand in the next world!" He gave the child the bread and let him go. The adversary remained silent. In fact, the people of Kahlih determined that the Bahá'ís should have what they needed, even if this required taking provisions to their homes.'
Eventually, in early December, the situation changed for the Baha, and they were allowed to reopen their shops, the ban on the sale of food to them was gradually lifted, and the Bahá'í children were enabled to go back to schooL In this instance, the local people had refused to side with the powerful local cleric and his efforts against the Baha were, in the end, frustrated.
The village of Baha is situated in West Adhirb6yj6n; the nearest town is Urdmfyyih.
'On Monday, 30 May 1981, in the village of Baha, Miss Mitrd Aqdasf [age fifteen], daughter of
Mr. 'Atta'ullAh AqdasiINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 275
student of the secondary school, did not return home after her final examination. Her father went to the school and enquired about his daughter, but the headmistress was away, and he learned from the students that Mftrtt had been taken to town by the teacher,
Ms. Safiyyih Asaduqli[Asadug~hi]. The next day Mr. Aqdasi again returned to the school to enquire after his daughter. The headmistress expressed her sorrow, but did not give him the address of the teacher who had custody of Mitre. Mr. Aqdasf then filed complaints with the Education Office of Ur6miyyih, and asked that his daughter be found and returned to her family. After an investigation, the Central
Komiteh informed Mr.Aqdasi that his daughter was in the custody of the Religious Judge. Mr. Aqdasf then referred his case to the Revolutionary Court, but the Religious Judge explained that Mitr& had become a Muslim and that Mr. Aqdasi now had no rights as a father and could not see her.
In reply, Mr. Aqdasf said that his daughter was still oniy fifteen and had not yet chosen a religion, and she was free to choose for herself. However, he desired to see her and hear the story from her own mouth. But though he pursued the matter through the office of the Attorney-General of Urflmiyyih, Mr. Aqdasi did not succeed in seeing his daughter. The Attorney-General did request by letter that the Court allow Mr. Aqdasi to have access to her, but the Court gave a negative written reply. Some days after, in fact, the Court forcibly demanded that Mr. Aqdasi hand over Mitr~'s identity card. When under duress he reluctantly complied, he was sent an official receipt.'
Subsequently, after some months, Mftr~ Aqdasf was returned to her family.
Murder and AssassinationJbrThim Ma'navf lived in His6r, a village in KhurdsAn, where he owned his house and some land. A bachelor of about seventy years of age, he had some knowledge of medicines and treated people of the area as there was no doctor.
'The Bahá'ís of His6rhad suffered greatly in the past. Towards the end of 1978 loudspeakers from the local mosque began to arouse the population against them. Finally, at the beginning of February 1979, a mob of some five thousand from His~r and its environs, armed with hatchets, spades and pickaxes, and provided with petrol and paraffin, converged upon the village intent on doing mischief to the Baha'is. One Shaykh Sahmi, who had befriended the Bahá'ís in the past, prevented the rabble from carrying out their aim but advised the members of the Local Assembly either to accept Is1~m or to quit the village, or pay an expiatory fine.
Some Baha� the friends having been given ten days to decide � consulted with their fellow believers on the Assembly of Mashliad.
Tension in the village increased. A group went to the home of Mr. Ma'navi, looted his property, and carried him off. A later search revealed no trace of his body except clots of blood and a broken set of artificial teeth.
It was apparent that he had been beaten to death.'Mr. Ma'navf had served on the Local Spiritual Assembly, and as a boy of fifteen, he had been so badly beaten on account of his religion that he had been near to death.
His injuries had rendered him impotent, so he never married. It was six months before the oppressive atmosphere lifted for the Baha of Hi~~r, and they were free to purchase necessities of life and move as they wished.'
Mfr-Asadu'llAh Mukht~riwas seventy years of age at the time of his death.
He had moved to the village of Andnin near Bfrjand, Khur~i-sAn, some thirtyfive years before where, as a Baha'i, he had repeatedly and patiently suffered persecution at the hands of local fanatics.
'At the end of the month of Adhar 1357 (between1978), towards the fall of the Pahiavi regime, about one hundred men from ihe village of Shirk went to Andariin and besieged the homes of the Baha'is.
They collected all their Bahá'í books and documents and started torturing Asadu'116h, asking him to recant his faith. His steadfastness made the crowd even angrier. They wanted to cut his throat.
Someone else suggested they burn him alive.Asadu'llAh said, "I have some beautiful logs in my storage bin and a container of kerosene." He then took from his pocket a box of matches, gave it to the leader of the mob and said, "Even if you burn me alive, I am still a Bahá'í and will never give up my faith!"
'That same night they beat him severely andstarted pillaging his belongings. His wife aided them by holding a lantern close by so they could attend to their looting more easily.
The family was left without a single blanket or carpet that night. Asadu'llTh, accompanied by his wife and children, left for
Birjand.'They returned to Andr6n two and a half months later, and in the month of Isfand, 1358 (between February and March 1979), Asadu'-Ilali bought a few sheep. He could not afford to employ anyone to help him and had no other means of support except to tend his flock of sheep, which at least provided food for his family.
On many occasions he told his wife that one of these days it was possible he would not return home because he might be killed.
'On 18 May 1980, Asadu'lhhtook his knapsack, canteen, a few loaves of bread and other supplies, and went out to the pasture with his sheep. At dusk, the sheep returned to their fold alone. Asadu'11Th's children tried all night to find their father.
At dawn, five kilometres from Andar6n village and about one kilometre off the main road, his body was found soaked in blood. He had been stoned and clubbed and, according to the attending physician, he had also been choked.
He was found lying face down on the ground with his knapsack still on his back.
'At the office of the security guards, and in the presence of officers as well as the physician, a number of people, including the murderers, had come to attend the inquest. They shouted violently that they did not want Asadu'114h's body buried in Andartin.
They boasted that they had killed him with their own hands, and added that the Bahá'ís in Andardn were condemned to death and soon all would be killed. The policemen tried to quiet them, but these ruffians did not care and in front of the police and guards they started throwing stones at the Baha'is. The confessed murderers were finally subdued and taken by the police to Bfrj and, where they were charged with the murder of Asadu'lldh.
In their appeal to Mashhad however, they were exonerated, and in the middle of November 1980 they returned to Shirk to a hero's welcome.'
Mr. Mul2ammad-Husayn Ma's6mfand his wife, Shikkar-Nis&, had a farm in the village of Nuk, near Birjand.
'On 22 November 1980, at around 10:00 p.m. on a bright moonlit evening, the man told his wife that he had to go out to fill the feeding trough for the sheep.
His wife urged him to hurry as the tea would become cold. She was drinking hers and had not even finished half of it when she heard the door open. Since there was a curtain in front of the door, she could not see anyone. She called out her husband's name, but there was no reply.
'Suddenly several masked men entered the room and Shikkar-NiA' knew they bad evil intentions since the door of the courtyard had been locked and they would have had to climb the wall to enter the premises.
The kerosene lamp in the room provided oniy dim light, and even if the men had not been masked, she would not have been able to recognize them.
'Out of fear, she dropped her half-filled glass of tea. The men, without speaking, grabbed her by the arms and hands and dragged her inside the room. She cried out her husband's name, shouting for help, and one of the men tried to choke her to keep her from screaming.
She begged them in a gentle, low voice not to harm her husband.
One man held her tightly so she could not move, and another went out and brought in some rope.
While she continued pleading with them not to harm her husband, they tied her securely from head to toe and paid no attention to her request. Then they took her into the corridor, placed her near the wall, and brought a heavy wooden door from the corner of the house and put it on top of her. She still did not know what their intentions were. Soon, however, when they put some dry wood on top of the door and brought a kerosene lamp and poured its contents all over the wood and onto her clothes, she was horrified to realize they planned to burn her alive!'
Later she related that her assailants then abandoned her. The flames reached the ropes which were made of nylon and the intense heat melted them, enabling her to free herself, even though half of her body was burnt. She found her husband's overcoat, wrapped herself in it, and ran to her neighbours for assistance.
'When her neighbours opened the door, they were horrified to see her with her charred hands burned to the bone, and their children started to cry. She told them everything that had happened, and asked them to go to help
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her husband. The man in the household did not have the courage to leave the house, and was thinking of what he could do.
After much pleading from her he went on the roof to see if he could see what was happening in the vicinity of the stable where she said her husband had gone. Although the moon was full, he said he could not detect anything untoward occurring.
'She could wait no longer, so she borrowed a hurricane lantern from them, carried it in her burned hands, and rushed out to look for her husband. After searching for a while, she saw a form in a ditch, ran to it, and found to her horror it was her husband. He had been burned to death.
'One of the eyewitnesses that night told a member of the family that when everyone was looking at the crime from a distance, one of the bystanders, who was thought to be the leader of the murderous gang, was fearfully surprised when he saw Shikkar-Nis&, who was supposed to be ashes by then, standing alive near the ditch.
He was afraid she might recognize him and the others and said he would go and find out what had happened.
He was the only one who rushed to the burning ditch, and it is thought that he hit the skull of that helpless woman, because after he went to her she lost her power of speech.
'The man returned to where the bystanders stood � men, women and children � and all of them returned to their homes. None came forward to help this half-burned woman and offer her refuge.
None went to inform her son-in-law who lived in the neighbouring village of Zfrk, only one half-mile away. In the middle of the night this wronged soul, with her burning heart and body, left the charred remains of her husband in a ditch in the bitter cold of the desert, and returned home and locked herself alone in the house.'
Tragically, Mrs. Ma's6mi had to wait many hours, unattended, before her son-in-law was informed of her ordeal. When he discovered her she was speechless. By the time she reached hospital she was in a coma, and she finally died six days afterwards.
Her assailants were not detained.Mr. 'Askar Muhammadi lived in Rahim-khcini a Kurdish village in Kirm6n province. He had moved there from Tabriz, some years ago, with his two brothers.
'On 2 April 1982, Mr. Muhammadi returned from his brother's house to find a number of armed guards at his door. Having searched his home and found nothing, they enquired whether he had any armaments in the house. He answered that he was a Baha'i, and therefore forbidden on account of his religion to carry arms. When they learned he was a Baha, the guards ordered Mr. Muham-madf downstairs and, as he turned to go, shot him in the back.
After throwing his body in the yard they helped themselves to spoils from his house. As they were leaving they met 'Abbas Muhammadi, and asked for his brother's identity card which they knew he possessed. Seeing 'Askar Muhammadf's picture they were able to identify him as the man they had just shot. 'Abbas asked them what crime his brother had committed that warranted his death, and was told: "He was a Baha'i, and to kill a Bahá'í is a good deed for devout Muslims."
Mr. Muhammadi left three Sons of whom the eldest was thirteen.'
Professor MarnichilirHakim the renowned gastro-enterologist and Professor of Anatomy at
TihrAn University, FAcultyof Medicine, had a clinic in Tihr~n, and had served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baki'is of fr6n. Several days before his death he received phone calls threatening his life, as well as a visit from revolutionaries demanding a list of names of Bahá'í doctors, which he refused to give.
'On 12 January 1981, ProfessorIclakim was working in his surgery in a wing of his residence. It was evening and he was alone, waiting for a patient who had made the last appointment of the day, but had not yet appeared. He told his receptionist she could leave, he would wait a while longer for his patient. The housekeeper was away doing the shopping.
The door of the surgery was unbolted.'When the housekeeper returned, she at once sensed that something was amiss: contrary to the usual practice, the door of the receptionist's room was open but the room was unoccupied. Proceeding to the surgery she found the Professor in a half sitting posture in a corner.
There was a bullet wound in his head. On the floor were some banknotes and his gold watch; a streak of blood to the door indicated that Professor Hakim had not
Page 278even in his last moments departed from his customary act of courtesy of seeing his patient out.
'Following a police investigation, their report concluded that the motive of the murder was not robbery or political vengeance; the only other possible motive was that of religion; it appeared that the murderers must have had a violent antipathy to the religious persuasion of the deceased.
'The newspapers, aware for the most part that Professor Hakim had been murdered because he was a Baha'i, were with one exception � Miz~n of Tihr~n, No. 104, which carried a brief notice � afraid to report his death. However, a magazine � fib va No. 62, 4 February 1981 � subsequently published an article by Dr. Shukru'11Th Asadi-zAdih, noting the Professor's achievements.
'Shortly after this tragedy, the residence of Professor Hakim and its entire contents were confiscated by order of a Komiteh of Tihrttn. Professor Hakfm had married a Frenchwoman, and had two grownup children.' (See Les Bahá'ís ou victoire sur la violence, by Christine Samandari-Hakim,
Lausanne:The following accounts of the arrests, imprisonments, trials and executions of individuals and groups of Baha'is, for the most part, come from firsthand witnesses or those closely associated with them.
Mr. Y6sif SubhAni was one of the first Bahá'ís to be judicially executed for his beliefs. A wellknown businessman, he was imprisoned in March 1979, and~ died on 27 June 1980, in Tihr6n.
The following account is from a Bahá'í who had visited Mr. Subh6ni before his death.
'I was sitting in such a way that I could see the courtyard of the prison through the shutters.
I saw Mr. Subliani, as had always been his habit, walking very erect and taking long and quick strides, and the few guardsmen who were with him had difficulty keeping pace with him. He arrived in the hail with eighteen guards and prison staff members.
The atmosphere was charged with spirituality, heroism and courage. Pie embraced everyone in our group with warmth and happiness. Raising his right hand, the first thing he said, addressing both his relatives and the prison staff in a strong and unshaking voice, was "Let it be known to you and to all the friends who are not here that I am being killed because of my belief in Bahá'u'lláh.
This is the source of my honour, my ultimate wish. I also said this at my trial in the Revolutionary Court. During the court proceedings two people gave false testimony in my case and God will soon punish them for what they have done."
'One of the guards who had led the group told Mr. Subh~ni, "We have not yet heard anything and have not received any order [for execution]."
Mr. Subh6nf replied, "I am quite sure of my fate. For the past four days my heart has told me what is in store for me. I am willingly waiting for that moment. When they told me in prison that my cell had been changed, I knew what it meant, and I happily announced to my fellow prisoners that I was going to be killed; so I bade them all farewell."
'All of us had chairs to sit on in that big hail. Mr. Subhhnf was radiating happiness and when we saw him in this elated state we were ashamed of ourselves because before coming to see him we had been preparing ourselves to console and encourage him! In fact, his courage gave us strength and removed our fears.
He was constantly smiling and joking with the members of his family, and told his wife: "Never weep for me or show your grief because that will disturb my soul." He advised that after his death no family members should wear black, and since his wife had on a colourful dress, he told her to wear it to his funeral. He added, "If you knew how happy I am, you would rejoice.
During the past few days, it is as if I have had a direct connection with Bahá'u'lláh, and I am counting every second for the end of my life to come. Had it not been against the wish of God, I would have made a will calling on you to observe the occasion of my death with a big feast instead of a memorial service. If these gentlemen [pointing at the guards] would allow me, I would dance to the gallows and distribute sweets to them." The guards and staff members were highly moved and all except one left the hail with bowed heads. Some of them were heard murmuring to each other, "It is a
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pity that such a man, has to be killed", and others said, "Praised be this man."
'Among the relatives present was the son of Mr. Gh6l6m Husayn A'zami, who had been killed thirtyfive days before. Mr. Sub@nf told him, "You should be proud of your father because he had the same spirit as I have today." The boy, who had been very sad, was transformed, and the next day removed his black suit and said that Mr. Sublyini had given him assurance. He has since become even more firm in the Faith.
'Mr. Subh6ni asked the brother of Mr. A'zami if he still exercised and continued his track activities because "those who wish to give body and soul to Bahá'u'lláh should be healthy and strong like me." Then he said some kind words to one of the guards who was in command of the firing squad, and asked him to convey his greetings to Mr. Kachii'i, the chief of his prison ward. Then he jokingly told the man, "Do you see how strong my chest and muscles are?
Tell your men to shoot very hard because I don't think the regular bullets will cause any pain to this strong body of mine; and tell them that this chest is full of the love of Bahá'u'lláh, and ask if they would allow me, myself, to give the command to fire."
The man answered, "Whatever you say." This man, called H6j-Aq~ by Mr. Sub-Mni, was greatly ashamed and very moved for a few moments, and he left the hail, saying to one of the Baha'is, "What a man!"
'Our meeting with Mr. Subh~inf lasted for forty-five minutes, and in an atmosphere of enthusiasm, joy and heroism. Mr. SubhAni said that if such things did not happen, the Cause of God would not progress.
Then, addressing his family, he admonished them to avoid having any sense of revenge against those who had given false testimony at his trial, as he had left them to God, who would surely punish the wrongdoers.
'During the last minutes of our meeting with him he asked us to inform the Universal House of Justice how j oyfui he was at the time of his martyrdom, so that the Supreme Body would be happy.
'With great respect one of the guardsmen said that the time of the visit was over. Mr. Subh6.ni embraced his family and relatives and later embraced all of the guardsmen who were waiting, kissed them, and told them how grateful he was to them.
At the end he embraced and kissed I-L6j-Aq~ SMihi [com-mander of the firing squad].
'When he shook hands and embraced me at the last moment, he jokingly said, "They are going to kill me! Why are your hands so cold? See how warm mine are?"
'On his way out of the room and from a distance he shouted to the son and brother of A'zami, "Don't you have a message for your father and brother?
I'm going to see him in a few hours."'He returned to his cell with the same firm steps and erect posture. All of the guards accompanying him, as well as those stationed in the area who were having their dinner, were astonished at him.' Dr. Faramarz Sa-mandari and Mr. Yadu'11Th Ast6ni both died after three months imprisonment in Tabriz. They were accused of the standard Baha 'crimes', and their executions were conducted hastily on 14 July 1980.
'At 10:00 p.m. on Sunday, 13 July 1980, the five Baha prisoners in Tabriz were having their dinner when two guardsmen came in and announced that Dr.
Samandari and Mr. As-t6nishould collect their belongings and follow them. Dr. Samandari asked, "What for?", and one of the guards simply replied, "You are to be executed." Dr. Samandari protested, saying, "I have not even been tried yet." However, the guard responded, "It's none of my business.
'All the prisoners in the cell protested loudly, and the other three Bahá'ís went forward and said they should also be executed as they all had one and the same crime they were Baha'is. The guards said, "Your turn has not yet come.
'The two condemned men were taken out of the cell and then hurriedly wrote their wills. At 11:00 p.m. the other prisoners heard gunshots and knew their two friends had been executed.'
Yazd � September 1980On 2 September 1980 fifteen Bahá'ís were put on trial in Yazd, charged with misleading Muslims, belonging to the party of Zionism, and spying for the United
States and Israel. TheThe accused prepared a statement in their defence.
During the trial one of the Bahá'ís asked if theFaith were being put on trial, and he received the answer: 'We are trying the leaders of the Baha.'
The prisoners were not informed of the verdict, but on 8 September seven of them were taken away and shot. Each one was tied to a post, given the option of recanting and receiving a pardon, and then shot in a hail of bullets, One of the Bahá'ís refused to be blindfolded. Another, an elderly farmer in his eighties, bent with age, was unable to stand erect; an examination of his body revealed that three bullets went through his abdomen rather than his chest.
The following is a brief account by the wife of one of the martyrs: 'On the first day of July 1980, we were awakened at about 1:15 am. by the ringing of the doorbell, My husband immediately said they had come to take him away. Twenty Revolutionary Guards under the command of a man called Kashmiri actually invaded our home without presenting a written summons [search warrant]
from the Attorney-General. They used our telephone several times, and took all of our Bahá'í books and typewriters [English and Persian], on which letters of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yazd had been typed.
However, that night they did not touch the picture of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Later, the typewriters were presented at the trial as evidence of espionage. The same night they arrested six other
Baha'is.'We did not have any information about the prisoners for twenty-five days and they would not issue a permit for us to see them. We complained and petitioned all appropriate government and religious institutions, including Ayatollah Sadduqi, but to no avail. We even sent cables to Ayatollah Khomeini, the President, and others, all of which also had no effect. After the twenty-five days passed, they allowed us to meet with the prisoners for just ten minutes.
'Two months went by and they moved the prisoners to another prison, this time keeping them in a dark underground room without any outside windows, They took the prisoners out of this dark cell once every fifteen days for ten minutes oniy, We did not have any more visits with them during this time.
'On 7 September 1980, they phoned us to come and meet with the prisoners, and all of the families went to see their loved ones.
I noticed that my husband was very pale because of the lack of sunshine, and he had difficulty opening his eyes in the light, He said they were told of being transferred to another city and a decision about them would be made that night.With this understanding, we left the prison.
'At 7:00 a.m, the next day, somebody phoned on behalf of the Revolutionary Komi-teh and told us that seven Bahá'ís had been executed for espionage.
Another account concludes: 'One of the guards who took the seven Bahá'ís away was located and confided to a Baha friend that the prisoners had been taken to Bagh-i-Khdn which is a few kilometres outside Yazd. The Bahá'ís were told they were going to be executed in a few minutes and were given a brief period to write their wills, Then each was tied to a tree. The firing was erratic and more excessive than was necessary. The guard who was telling the story said that he had been one of the security guards, and the executioners were masked so as not to be identified.'
The names of the seven are:Mr. Rid6 Ffr6zi, born into the Muslim Faith in 1904, became a Bahá'í in 1927, and for years lived on in the place of his birth, the small town of Ahar AdhirMyj6n. At age seventy-six he was detained in Tabriz where his son had already been imprisoned, and to where he journeyed at the wish of the National Spiritual Assembly, knowing he would likewise be put in jail, He was arrested in the village of Ahar before being sent on to Tabrfz, There he had three trial sessions, was condemned to death without the knowledge of his family, told he was going to be transported to a prison in another town, and was eventually executed on 9 November 1980.
'At about 6:00 p.m. his son was called and told to bid farewell as he was being sent to
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Ardibil. His son reported that when he saw his father he was puzzled by the confidence and elation that had seized him.
He knew it would be the Last meeting with his father. Later, when the family went to the prison to visit Mr. Ffrdzi, they were told he had been executed and they could collect his body from "VAdf Rahmat". All of Mr. FirOzi's assets were confiscated.'
Shirdz � March--April 1981The circumstances surrounding the death of five Bahá'ís of Shir6z at this period have been described earlier.
The two extracts that follow accurately convey the ambience surrounding their deaths.
'The martyrdom of the two Baha from Ab6dih in Shirhz, Mr. Hid6yatu'llhh
Dihq6ni and Mr. MihdiAnvari (17 March 1981), has generally created quite a stir. Until the last moment of their lives, the Revolutionary Guards tried to make them recant their faith ii~ order to stay the execution.
They even staged a mock execution, firing into the air, again demanding that the prisoners recant their faith. These tactics bore no results. Mr. Anvari had expressed in his last will and testament the request that his family should distribute sweets among those who had executed him. The family took some money to the authorities and stated that in accordance with the will of Mr. Anvari, they should take the money and buy and distribute sweets to those who had executed him. They specifically stated that they did not wish to know who the executioners were; this is why they brought money instead of the sweets.'
Mr. Yadu'llAh Validat, Mr. Satt6r Khush-kM andwere executed more than a month later (30 April 1981): 'An eyewitness was present on that fateful day. He reported that when I12s~n [Mihdi-z6dihj was brought to the scene with his two companions, he fell on his knees before the guards, saying: "I am at your disposal. As you see, I have no means of defending myself, nor do I have the intention of doing so. It is my last wish, however, to know which one of you is to fire the bullet which would cause my death." None of the guards responded to his plea. He repeated his entreaty, and then sorely wept as he redirected his plea to them.
Finally one of them said: "I." At this point Ihs~n knelt before the man who spoke, and kissed his feet, and cried out: "Praise be to God that in the last moments of my Life I succeeded in carrying out an injunction of the Blessed Beauty.
I am now ready and at your disposal. I do have, however, another request.
Could you not blindfold me? Could you leave me free so that with my open eyes, as you fire, I may see my end?" Mr. Vahdat immediately made a similar request, saying: "It is my wish to welcome the bullets with open eyes." These events took place on Thursday, 30 April 1981, at 7:00 p.m. in Shfrdz.'
Hamaddn � June 1981The summer of 1981 witnessed a cruel spate of executions of prominent figures in the Bahá'í community of IrAn. Among these stands out the torture and execution of seven members of the
Bahá'í Local Assemblyof Hamad6n, amongst whom were counted two medical doctors. Several of these Bahá'ís were detained and questioned in 1979.
Drs. Vaf6'f and Na'fmfwere arrested and imprisoned before the others in February 1980. The friends were summoned to the Revolutionary Court on 9 August, were released and then summoned again on 12 August, when they were taken to the police prison.
After three and a half months, during which time they saw nothing of their families, the six were moved to the political prison where they joined Dr. Vafa'f.
Whilst they were in prison the homes of these Bahá'ís were confiscated, and their bank accounts frozen.
After their deaths their families were not allowed to return to their homes. The following extracts are from accounts written by their families and friends.
'On 15 July 1979, a number of armed Revolutionary Guards entered the home of Husayn Mu~Laq, searched it for several hours, then took Uusayn to the Army Headquarters. He was detained for nine days during which time he was asked many questions concerning his work as secretary of the local Bahá'í Assembly.
Finafly, the Baha managed to secure his release on bail. In December of the same year, Husayn journeyed to Spain where his children were living.
During the peribd of forty-five days he was in Spain, Husayn Mu~1aq could not be prevailed upon to re
Page 282~ I Mourners gathered for the funeral of the martyrs Mihd( Anvari and Hid~yatu'1h~h Dihepini, executed on 17 March 1981 in Sh[r~z.
I Relatives visiting the graves of Bahá'í martyrs whose bodies were unceremoniously interred in ground set aside for the burial of 'infidels'; 1979.
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main. He had a very strong feeling that his place was in IrAn. During the period in prison, Husayn occupied himself with art work � the calligraphy of the Greatest Name and several books of prayers.
His memoir, which he wrote during the last days, comprised over three hundred pages. He also started to compose poetry, though he had never done so before.'
'During Dr. Vaf6'i's trial, a witness testified against him in the following terms: "I know him. He was a doctor for SAVAK.
I was taken to him and he ordered hot water to be poured over my chest."
Dr. VafA'i asked the man if he would take his shirt off so that the spot that had been burned could be seen. The man explained: "It wasn't so bad as to leave a mark."
Thereupon Dr. Vaf6.'i laughed: "Gentlemen, he was probably given a bath and he thinks boiling water was poured over him!"' 'Dr. Na'imf was employed by the Department of Malaria Eradication of Hamad6n, first as assistant superintendent, later as superintendent He acted as chairman of the H~ma-d~n Local Spiritual Assembly. He bought an apartment, one room of which he used for an office and the others for a Baha friend and his family who had been driven out of a neighbouring town.
After the doctor's death, when his property had been confiscated, this family was evicted from the flat.'
'Mr. Thr6zu'LlAh Khuzayn[1917 � 1981] was the oldest member of the Bahá'í group. He was a humorist; at one time, when the friends objected to his snoring, he said: "Well, if you don't like it, leave the prison!"
'Husayn Kh6ndil [1943 � 1981]was particularly worried for his three little children during the time he was in prison. When the prisoners were taken to the general prison his children came to visit their father twice a week.
He told his father (Yadu'llAh) not to make efforts for his release, since in any eventuality the end was death, and he believed he was destined to be martyred for his faith.
During the last days he made a poster of the Greatest Name for his sister-in-law.'
'The saddest part of the story was, unfortunately, its ending. When the bodies of the executed Bahá'ís were washed for burial, the marks of torture were discovered. The ribs of Tar6zu'116h Khuzayn were crushed, and his hands were slashed. His legs and thighs had been pierced with a bayonet, and the injuries had turned his skin black and the tissues were swollen.
[He was sixty-four when he died.] Suhrdb Ilabfbf's back had been branded with a hot ring � his own � and he had severe burns. The fingers of Husayn KMndil were slashed and his abdomen had been cut open. Dr. Na'imi's back had been broken and Dr. Vaf&i's thighs had been cut open; Suhayl Habfbf's shoulders had been broken and smashed.
Husayn Mutlaq had not been tortured but his body showed the greatest number of bullet wounds.'
(They were executed onOn 23 June 1981 the following Bahá'ís were executed in Tihifin: Mr. Buzurg 'AlaviyTh, Mr. ffishim
Farnhsh and Mr. Farhangwas a businessman in his mid-sixties who had served on the Local Spiritual
Assembly of Tihr4n. Hemanaged to leave an extensive account of his imprisonment and interrogation which is, however, too long to extract. H6shim Farndsh was a distinguished teacher of the Bahá'í Faith, and had served on the
Local Spiritual Assemblyof Karaj. Farhang Mavaddat was fifty-six years old, and the father of three adult children. He was described as a 'quiet man, the very image of a Baha'i'. Like Mr. Farniish he served on the Local
Assembly in Karaj.On 24 June four prominent Bahá'ís died in front of firing squads in Tihr6n.
They were: Dr. Mast Farhangi, a physician and member of the Continental Board of Counsellors, who had a distinguished career in the service of the Bahá'í Faith for which he had spent periods in 'IrAq and Turkey, and who had served on the National
Spiritual Assembliesof both fr6n and 'Irtiq; Mr. Bahá'u'lláh Farid, whose services in the field of Bahá'í literature were particularly noteworthy; Mr. Yadu'11Th Pfistchi and Mr. Varq6 Tiby6niy~n.
Mashhad � July 1981Mr. KamMu'd-Dfn Bakht~ivar, a writer, scholar and teacher of the Bahá'í Faith, was executed in Mashhad on 26 July; alongside him was Mr. Ni'matuLl4h Mtibp6r-Shahidi, sixty-seven years old, and a representative of the Uman6' company in Mashhad. A public address system was arranged outside the
Page 284courtroom during their trial, and the two prisoners made statements concerning their Faith which were thus relayed to the crowd.
Tabriz � July 1981Seven members of the Local Spiritual Assembly, together with an Auxiliary Board member and another Baha, died in Tabriz on 30 July. They were: Mr. Maniichihr Kh6di'f, a fifty-five-year-old engineer, survived by a wife and two sons; Dr. Ismd'fl Ziht~b, a dentist in his mid-fifties, survived by a wife, two sons and two daughters; Dr. Masr6r Dakhfli around fifty, with a wife, two daughters and one son; Mr. Husayn Asadu'lhhz6dih, a draughtsman, married, aged over seventy; Mr. Mihdi B~hirf, a family man in his forties; Dr. Parvfz Firiizf, a pharmacist of thirty-eight; Mr. All6hvirdf MithAqi and Mr. 'Abdu'1-'Alf Asady4ri, both teachers, married, in their fifties; and Mr. Julabibu'lhh Ta1~qfqi, an engineer, married, also in his fifties.
DdryPn, Isfahdn � September'As a result ~f the machinations of some leading clerics, a number of Bahá'ís were imprisoned in the province of Isfah6n in the summer of 1981.
Others became fugitives, and five were executed.The five were inoffensive people, farmers and trappers by occupation. They had often been the subject of persecution, but had borne it with patience and forbearance.'
(Over thirty Baha villagers were at this time pressed to recant their faith by an inquisition under the direction of Shaykh Ridau'116h
Sa'~dati.'Mr. 'Izzatu'116h 'Atiff was a farmer and resident of Afiis; Bahman 'Atiff was his younger brother.
Gusht6sb Th4bit R6sikhwas from Chigan, and he was a young married man with children. Mr. 'AtAu'11Th RawliAni was from Faridan, and was married with seven children.
Mr. Ahmad Rdv~nf was also from Faridan, and had a large family.
'They were subject to threats and inducements in turn.
They were permitted to return home [from prison]with the intention of weakening their resolve by exposing them to the pleading of their families. Instead, these encouraged them to remain firm. After this they were not allowed to see their families again. On 11 September, after physical and psychological torture, the five Bahá'ís were taken from their cells at midnight, blindfolded, and told to run in the prison yard while shots were fired at their feet. Finally they were riddled with machine-gun bullets. When the son of 'Miff was told he could collect their bodies, he was informed they had been shot while trying to escape. Their relatives were ordered to dig holes and bury the bodies without display. No burial service was allowed, and the corpses were consigned to their graves enclosed in plastic bags. The families were not even allowed to look upon the faces of their dead.'
D. LAST LE'rI'ERS, WILLSExcerpts from the will and testament, and last letters, of Mr. Mihdi Anvari, of Shirdz, while he fasted in prison, prior to his execution on 17 March 1981: ... The value and personality of an individual are related to his patience and steadfastness in times of adversities.
Two men were looking out through the bars of their prison. One looked heavenward and exclaimed, 'What a bright sky! What glittering stars!'
The other, gazing down to the earth, remarked, 'V/hat a dusty mess.'
If one attains to the recognition of truth, he will never be tormented with worries During our imprisonment, except for brief periods when we were obliged to rest, we have filled our hours with prayers. No moment is passed without our being occupied in the remembrance of God.
Outwardly, people may conclude that we are indifferent or stoical, but our hearts are out of our control. Through our devotions we have endeavoured to prepare our hearts to serve as a seat of the divine � I do not know if we are worthy to have our hearts become the recipients of His mercy; however, we desire His bounties and favours The means which change this fire [of tribulation]
into a rosegarden are the rains of reliance on God and the sweet breezes of devotion. 'He doeth what He willeth The fire of love cannot be quenched by water nor extinguished by a breeze Our hands are empty but our aspirations and resolve are high. When the test comes the
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resolve of people will be proven and their reliance will be manifested I ardently pray that my deeds be accepted at the Threshold of God. I have nothing to offer but sins, however. Mine was a humble life and I surrender it for the good of humanity.
May God grant us the favour of attaining His good pleasure!
Last letter of Mr. Hiddyatu'lldh Dihqdni of Sh(rdz, while he fasted in prison, before his execution on 17 March 1981: I thank God that I am able to sacrifice my life for my religion and have committed no crime. I counsel all my children add relatives to be patient and forbearing before the will of God as I, myself, bow my head before His wish and good pleasure.
I again yield thanks that I am not being killed because of any crime or transgression that would bring shame to my family. I have, in fact, attained an honour that I never imagined I would deserve to attain. It is a great bounty to be numbered among the twenty-five thousand who have, drunk from the cup of martyrdom.
I beg God, the Almighty, to forgive any sins I may have committed in this world and to grant me His mercy.
At this moment I sit beside Mr. Mihdi Anvari. I do not know how many hours remain for us. May God assist you and the dear friends all over the world. Be proud; be happy!
I leave you under the protection of God Believe me, I am not disturbed or sad but overwhelmed with inexpressible emotions Excerpt from letter of Auxiliary Board member Yadu'lldh Vahdat, of Shirdz, written from prison before his execution on 30 April 1981: 0 God, Thou art aware that I have no other wish than to attain a good end.
0 God, grant that we may win Thy good pl�asure.With a sincere heart I seek the good pleasure of God and am prepared for martyrdom. I am free of worry and I consider martyrdom a source of honour for myself and my children.
I beseech Thee, 0 God, by the sacred blood of the Mb, the Exalted One, to cause us to attain a good ending. I supplicate God to grant me such a degree of faith and power as not to cause my footsteps to falter in the face of tribulations, even of martyrdom, and make me fail to attain the glorious end, that greatest honour.
I call to mind the poem: the fire of love is alive even when Death arrives; It is a lamp carried from this house to the other!
I have prayed tens of times that God may grant me to drink of the wine of martyrdom and that my sacrifice may result in other friends' release and return to the warmth and comfort of theirhomes and families.
Yesterday I wrote to my children urging them to pray for me that I might be enabled to partake of the grace of God and offer my blood in His path.
With great patience and forbearance, with utmost faith, I express my allegiance to Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith; to the Mb. His unique Forerunner; to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Mystery of God, Exemplar and Interpreter of His Teachings; to Shoghi
El'-fendi, the Guardianof God's Cause; and to the Universal House of Justice, the infallible institution which today guides the destiny of the Faith; and to all Bahá'í institutions.
I ask my children to hold, with great love and firmness, memorial meetings for me, and to show to all, but especially the families of my fellow-prisoners, a spirit of steadfastness and forbearance.
Last letter of Mr. Sattdr Khushkha, of Shirdz, written from prison before his execution on 30
April 1981:Have no doubt about my courage and spiritual fortitude.
I have passed the days of my life with honour, engaged in worthy efforts.
I have tried always to be of help to the weak.Now I do not wish people to have pity for me. I only beg piayers from my relatives and friends � as I repeatedly begged when they visited me in prison � that I shall have a good end.
Even in the presence of the religious judge I never uttered a word indicating my weakness. Although I faced the cruellest insults and gravest charges our imprisonment has not been for our personal deeds.
Perhaps it is for the good of the Cause of God that at this point in time a few should be imprisoned and some
Page 286even attain to the high rank of martyrs, for the liberation of the Bahá'í community from the claws of the enemies requires sacrifice on the part of a few of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh. Therefore, should it be decreed that this humble creature be as a mere point in the great circle of the Cause it would be the greatest honour for him and his family.
I am not sad, therefore, but happy and proud. Even if it should be decreed that I be released from this prison I rejoice that in my captivity I have become a new creation.
It would then be my hope to serve the Cause with greater devotion and find another outlet through which I might sacrifice. I believe in the decrees of God and know that no leaf stirs but through His will.
In this 'pifiace' that my fellow Bahá'ís and I now occupy, I am not sad; rather, I am happier than ever before in all the years of my life. My family should know that we have been granted an honour; the world and all its wealth cannot bestow an equivalent joy. It is but the grace of God that one as weak and unworthy as I should have been granted such unending honour, the gift of spirituM and eternal life.
I ask that you remember me during your devotions so that I may be enabled to remain steadfast to my last breath and fulfil the vows I have made to my Beloved. In this way I can be a source of pride to my family.
Last letter of Mr. Suhrdbof Hamaddn, written from prison before his execution on 14 June 1981.
My dear and affectionate Parvin, my dear children, apples of my eye, ft is five minutes to 11 p.m. 01123/3/1360 113 June 19811. We have been summoned by the revolutionary court and called to the field' of martyrdom. My wish is that you may share the tranquillity of conscience and confidence of heart that I feel in these last moments before my physical separation from you. It is stated in our Sacred Writings that we Bahá'ís should always observe calmness, dignity and moderation.
At this hour I express my recognition of the station of the Exalted Lord [the Báb and of the Ancient
Beauty as Manifestationsof God; of 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the Centre of God's Covenant; of the Guardian of the Cause of God as the interpreter of the Teachings; and of the station of the Universal
House of Justice.Farewell, farewell to all of you. I wish you all success.
You, dear 11Mm, and Ru'y6, are very fortunate girls to have a mother like mama who is not only your mother but your friend and confidant. I have not much to tell you now. All that I might wish to tell you is already recorded in the Sacred Words of God. Remember me in your devotions; I shall feel close to you in spirit. Always try to erve under the Bahá'í administration.
As for worldly belongings, I have only an uncompleted house and some unpaid debts. You are welcome to dispose of the house or use it in any way you deem fit.
My dear Parvin, take good care of the children. My children, take good care of mama. May your father be sacrificed for you. I hope that you will not cry and mourn for this is against the wish of God.
Before I finish, I remind you again that whenever you feel moved to converse with me, read the Words of God. Whatever is in the true essence of my heart is recorded in the Books and Tablets.
I have [madej two bracelets which are in the pocket of my short-sleeved shirt in prison. There is a ring in the pocket of the jacket which I am wearing.
My dear wife Parvin, I wish you happiness and success during your life.
The will of God is that we should be physically separated, but spiritually we are always together.
Do not grieve and have no sorrow because of what has happened to me. Be steadfast like a high mountain. My dearest children, 111Pm and Ru'yA, wifl be under your care.
Ask forgiveness from all my friends and family.Last letter of Mr. Tardzu'lldh Khuzayn, of Hamaddn, written from prison before his execution on 14 June 1981.
9th N6r 138 B.E. 23.3. 1360 My dear Shamsf my loving Mother and Brother, It is now 11 p.m. We have been transferred
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from the prison to the court premises. They are about to execute all seven of us. Praised be God, we are all in the utmost submission to His will and are most content!
God willing, we shall have a good ending. I hereby bid farewell to you dear ones and to other members of the family.
I have finished the two tapestries.1 On these I have woven my name, the prison of Hama-dAn and the date, 138 Bahá'í Era. They are among my perso~a1 effects. Please take them from the prison.
I have 430 tumThs in cash, a watch, my clothing, and a copy of the charge sheet and of my defence.
The rest of my belongings are in the sack. My shaving equipment is by the sack and the blanket is near the bedding. Collect all of them.
I have previously written my will and testament.Please follow what is written in it. I am grateful to the believers forthe trouble they have taken on my behalf and beg forgiveness from them all. Kindly express my thanks to all who have come to visit us in prison.
I beseech your prayers.I hope that our insignificant blood will water the blessed tree of the Cause of God, that the Faith will soon gain its independence and the Bahá'ís of Iran their freedom, and that future generations will be able to serve the Cause with the greatest comfort.
I had started this evening to make a bracelet for my dear Farfbd and intended to weave her initials, F.M., into the design.
Unfortunately I had no time to finish it; it was left behind when we Were transferred here.
I wish I had time to weave bracelets for Faribh and AnitA, but this was not to be. Tell T6r6n KhAnum to kiss my brother, Qudrat, for me. The money entrusted to T6rAn Khdnum by Mr. Nu~rat'u'-11Th may be spent in my memorial meetings in TibrAn and
HamadAn.of Hamaddn, written from prison before his execution on 14 June 1981. He opens with Bahá'í prayers.
It should be noted that during their yearlong imprisonment the Baha prisoners in HamadAn occupied themselves by weaving tapestries.
He is God!o my God! May my life be sacrificed for Thy lovers! Make the blood of this despondent one to be shed in the way of those who are Thy friends and cause this withered body to become dust on the path trodden by Thy loved ones, 0 Thou Who art my God!
('Abdu'l-Bahá) o God, my God! I testify to Thy oneness and Thy singleness. I beg of
Thee, 0 Thou Possessorof Names and Fashioner of the Heavens, by the influence of Thine exalted Word and the potency of Thy Supreme Pen, to aid me with the standards of Thy power and might, and to protect me from the mischief of Thine enemies who have broken Thy Covenant and Testament.
(Bahá'u'lláh)I bear witness, 0 my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth.
There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting.
(Bahá'u'lláh)o my relatives! Place your trust in God. Fix your gaze at all times on His bestowals. This is my last exhortation to you.
I have reached the fulfilment of my wish.Last letter of Mr. 1-jusayn Mutlaq Ardn4 of Hamaddn, written from prison before his execution on 14 June 1981:
My dear BThirih, Pay~mand ParfsA, and my beautiful N~zf, There is an end to every life. How wonderful it is when the end is accompanied by honour, truth and faith!
In my last moments of life I beseech the Blessed Beauty to grant you hearts full of faith, Love and kindness toward all people.
I rejoice that my life has bad a happy ending.Convey my sincere love, with great humility, to all, especially my Aunt and her family, and to the Grandfather.
Baha'i, my dear wife, my only regret isthat you alone, after my departure, will carry the heavy burden in life.
I pray even for those who have judged and wronged me. I hope that the truth of my case will be clarified to all people.
My dear Paris6, it is your birthday and I have prayed for you. In fact, I pray for all. Tonight I have had the most glorious prayers of my life.
I bid farewell to my brothers and sisters, and to my mother from whom I seek forgiveness. With my kisses.
Thank you for your love and kindness. Husayn Mutlaq
Ar~nf10:45 p.m. 23.3.60 Last will and testament of Mr. Farhang Mavad-dat of Tihrdn, written in Evin prison, before his execution on 23 June 1981:
1st Tir 1360This is the will and testament of me Farhang Mavaddat, written in Evin prison.
I offer my thanks and praise to God the Almighty and tender my complete recognition of the truth of all the Manifestations of God.
I exhort my dear children to rely upon the will of God and to be steadfast in their study of the
Bahá'í Writings. Theyshould also pray for their father. I earnestly request my dear Mihri, who has always been a peerless wife to me to continue to care for my children and to be content with the will of God.
Should any property remain in my ownership it must be divided equally among my children. My body must be buried in the Eternal Rosegarden Bahá'í cemetery]
in accordance with the Bahá'í burial laws.I request my friends to pray for me. If I have committed any wrong or have been disrespectful to any one, I hereby beg forgiveness.
My dear family should remember verse from a poem is quoted in one writings of the beloved Guardian, offers comfort: Glad tidings, glad tidings to the lovers That the time of separation shall pass, The time of Oneness shall come And the Lord Himself shall rule.
Greetings to my dear father.that a of the which Farfdih, my dear sister, and her loving children, are always remembered by me.
Kisses to my dear ones � niy children Pa-ydm, NAzi and Nag~mih � and to my dear wife, Mihri. Preserve your bonds of unity and love.
At this moment my whole being is infused with a sense of honour; God grant that you also feel proud of your father.
I am sorry if my handwriting is not good; it is because I do not have my glasses with me.
It is my wish that my children will not wear mourning; rather, they should chant the Tablet of Visitation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá on my behalf.
In this glorious journey I am in the company ofLast letter of Dr. Masih Farhangi, of Jjihrdn, a member of the Continental
Board of Counsellorsfor Asia, written from prison before his execution on 24 June 1981: date: 60/4/3 My dear Wife, At this last moment of my transitory life, when I am on my way to the realm of eternity, I bid you farewell. I beg you to accept, with great patience and forbearance, what God has willed. Be thankful; be patient!
During our forty-four years together I have felt nothing but tranquillity and comfort. I had no wish except companionship with you. I hope you are pleased with me and will not deny me your loving prayers. 'I have come from God and to God do I return.'
The beginning and the end of all is in the Hand of Providence; faith in God is a balm to the hearts and a cause of tranquillity of the souls and of our beings.
I am greatly relieved at this moment, content and pleased. I yield my thanks to God that He has vouchsafed to me this final overwhelming blessing. Praised be God, the Lord of all the worlds! If my hands are empty of the treasures of the world, they have always been raised in prayers and thanksgiving to
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Him. And so, at this moment, my hands are raised in gratitude to my Lord.
I sent my watch through one of the guards to Ward No. 2. They are supposed to give it to you with other of my belongings.
I have less than 400 tum~ins in cash in my pocket.
Our wedding ring and the Greatest Name were also given to the guards in order to be kept in the family.
Give my earnest greetings to all my dear ones. I am pleased with all of them. In the realm above I shall beg for all of you welfare and happiness. Friends and relatives are in my prayers at this moment. I think of them, one and all, and see them in my mind's eye. Console Tahirih Kh6num and my other sisters.
If possible, have prayers said at the graveside of my parents. God be with you.
Yours affectionately,The House of Bahá'u'lláh in T6kur, district of Nar, Mdzindardn, Ir6n, confiscated by the Revolutionary Government in the spring of 1979, for the purported purpose of 'protecting' the property, On io December 1981 the Universal House of Justice announced to the Bahá'í World that this Bahá'í Holy Place had been totally demolished and the site, with its land and gardens, offered for sale to the public by the authorities.
Page 2900 LORD my God! 0 Thou Helper of the feeble, Succourer of the poor and Deliverer r of the helpkss who turn unto Thee.
With utmost lowliness I raise my suppliant hands to Thy kingdom of beauty and fervently call upon Thee with my inner tongue, saying: 0 God, my God! Aid me to adore Thee; strengthen my loins to serve Thee; assist me by Thy grace in my servitude to Thee; suffer me to remain steadfast in my obedience to Thee; pour forth upon me the liberal effusions of Thy bounty, let the glances of the eye of Thy Thving-kindness be directed towards me, and immerse me in the ocean of Thy forgiveness. Grant that I may be confirmed in my allegiance to Thy Faith, and bestow upon me a fuller measure of certitude and assurance, that I may wholly dispense with the world, may turn my face with entire devotion towards Thy face, be reinforced by the compelling power of proofs and testimonies, and, invested with majesty and power, may pass beyond every region of heaven and earth. Verily Thou art the Merciful, the All-Glorious, the Kind, the Compassionate.
0 Lord! These are the survivors of the martyrs, that company of blessed souls.
They have sustained every tribulation and displayed patience in the face of grievous injustice. They have forsaken all comfort and prosperity, have willingly submitted to dire suffering and adversity in the path of Thy love, and are still held captive in the clutches of their enemies who continually torment them with sore torment, and oppress them because they walk steadfastly in Thy straight path. There is no one to help them, no one to befriend them. Apart from the ignoble and the wicked, there is no one to associate and consort with them.
0 Lord! These souls have tasted bitter agony in this earthly life and have, as a sign of their love for the shining beauty of Thy countenance and in their eagerness to attain Thy celestial kingdom, tolerated every gross indignity that the people of tyranny have inflicted upon them.
o Lord! Fill their ears with the verses of divine assistance and of a speedy victory, and deliver them from the oppression of such as wield terrible might. Withhold the hands of the wicked, and leave not these souls to be torn by the claws and teeth of fierce beasts, for they are captivated by their bye for Thee, entrusted with the mysteries of Thy holiness, stand humbly at Thy door and have attained to Thine exalted precinct.
O Lord! Graciously reinforce them with a new spirit; illumine their eyes by enabling them to behold Thy wondrous evidences in the gloom of night; destine for them all good that aboundeth in Thy Kingdom of eternal mysteries; make them as brilliant stars shining over all regions, luxuriant trees laden with fruit and branches moving in the breezes of dawn.
Verily, Thou art the Bountiful, the Mighty, the Omnipotent, the Unconstrained.
There is none other God but Thee, the God of love and tender mercy, the All-Glorious, , the Ever-Forgiving.
'Abdu'l-Bahá 290Blessed is he who hat/i laid down his life in My path and hat/i borne manifold hardships for the sake of My Name.
Bahá'u'lláh1978 1. Mr. Abmad Ism~'iIi unknown Ahram Killed
2 Mr Dfy6'u'H6h Haqiqat 27 Aug.Jahrum Killed
3 Mr Haji-MuI)ammad 'Azizi 10 Oct.Khurmfij Beaten
4 Mr. H6tam Riizbihf Dec. Buyr-Ahrnad Mobbed 5. Mr. Mn-AU Razbihf Dec. Buyr-Ahrnad Mobbed 6. Mr. Shir-Muhaminad Dastpfsh Dec. Bnyr-Ahrnad Mobbed 7. Mr. Sif~tu'I16h Fahandizh 14 Dcc. Shfr~z Mobbed 8. Mrs. Muqaddas Fahandizh 14 Dec. Shfr~z Mobbed 9. Mr. Parvfz Afn6nf 22 Dec. Miy~n-DuTh Mobbed 10. Mr. Khusraw Afn~ini 22 Dec. Mfy~n-DuTh Mobbed 1979 11. Mr. IbrThfm Ma'navi early 1979 Ui~r Killed 12. Mr. Husayn Shakilti 2 Apr. Ushnavfyyih Killed 13. Mr. Baha Vujd6ni 27 Sept. Mah6b6d Executed 14. Mr. 'AH SattArz6dih 28 Oct. Biik~in Killed 15. Mr. 'Azmatu'116h Fahandizh 14 Dec. Shfrtiz Executed 1980 16. Mr. Habfbu'lhh PanThi 4 Feb. Uriimiyyih Assassinated 17. Mr. Ghul6m-Husayn A'zami 6 May Tihr6n Executed 18. Mr. Bahá'u'lláh YazdAnf 6 May Tihr~n Executed 19. Mr. 'Alf-Akbar Mu'fnf 6 May Tihr~n Executed 20. Mr. 'Ali-Akbar Khursandi 9 May Tihr~n Hanged 21. Mr. Parvfz Bayanf 11 May Pfr~nshahr Executed
22 Mr Mfr-Asadu'llTh Mukht6rf 18 May Andanin Stoned
23 Mr Hasan IsmWflzAdih Jun. SanandajKilled24. Mr. Y~suf Subh6ni 27 Jun. TihrTh Executed 25. Dr. Far~marz Samandari 14 Jul. Tabriz Execrned 26. Mr. Yadu'llAh Ast6ni 14 Jul. Tabriz Executed 27. Mr. 'Au D6ul6sh-Akbarf 16 J111. Rasht Executed 28. Mr. Yadu'llAh Mal~babfyan30 J111. Tihr6n Executed 29. Mr. Dhabfhu'Ihh Mu'minf 15 Aug. Tihr6n Executed 30. Mr. Ntiru'116h Akhtar-KMvarf8 Sept. Yazd Executed 31. Mr. Mahmgd Hasanzgdih 8 Sept. Yazd Executed 32. Mr. 'Azfzu'116h Dhabfhfy6n 8 Sept. Yazd Executed 291
Page 292Blessed is he who hath laid down his life in My path and hah borne manifold hardships for the sake of My Name.
Bahá'u'lláhNo. Name Date Place Method
33. Mr. Firaydan Fariddnf 8 Sept. Yazd Executed 34. Mr. 'Abdu'I-Vahhab Kgzimf-MansMdi 8 Sept. Yazd Executed 35. Mr. Jalal Mustaqim 8 Sept. Yazd Executed 36. Mr. 'AU Mu~ahharf S Sept. Yazd Executed 37. Mr. Rid6 Ffriiizi 9 Nov. Tabrfz Executed 38. Mr. Muhammad-Husayn Masilmf23 Nov. Ntik, Bfrjand Burned 39. Mrs. Shikkar-Nis6' Mxs'~imi23 Nov. Nak, Bfrjand Burned 40. Mr. Bihriiz San~'f 17 Dec. Tihr~n Executed 1981 41. Dr. Manticffihr Hakim 12 Jan. Tiliran Assassinated 42. Mr. Mihdf Anvari 17 Mar. Shir6z Executed 43. Dr. Hid~yatu'1IAh Dihq~ni 17 Mar. Shirgz Executed 44. Mrs. Nfir4nfyyih Y~irsh~i~ir Apr. TihrAn Assassinated 45. Mr. Yadu'116h ValAat SO Apr. Shfr6z Executed 46. Mr. Satt& Khushkhii 30 Apr. Shfr~z Executed 47. Mr. JUsThu'lhh Mihdf-Z~dih 30 Apr. Shir& Executed 48. Mr. SuhrAb (Muhammad) Uabfbf14 Jun. Shfrgz Executed 49. Mr. klusayn Kkindil 14 Jun. Hamad~n Executed 50. Mr. Targzu'116.h Khuzayn 14 Jun. Hamadan Executed 51. Dr. Ffriiz Na'fmf 14 Jim. Hama&in Executed 52. Dr. N~isir VafA'f 14 Jun. Hamad6n Executed 53. Mr. Suhayl (Muhammad-Mqir) Uab~bf 14 Jun. Hamad~n Executed 54. Mr. Husayn Mutlaq 14 Jun. Hamad~n Executed 55. Mr. Buzurg 'AlaviyAn 23 Jun. Tihr6n Executed 56. Mr. HAshim Farniish 23 Jun. Tihr6h Executed 57. Mr. Farhang Mavaddat 23 Jun. Tihr~n Executed 58. Dr. Masfh Farhangi 24 J1111. Tihr4n Executed 59. Mr. Bahá'u'lláh Farfd 24 Jun. Tihr~n Executed 60. Mr. Yadu'116h Piistchf 24 Jun. Tihr~n Executed 61. Mr. Varq~ Tiby6nfy6n (Tiby~ni)24 Jun. Tihr6n Executed 62. Mr. Kamdlu'd-Dfn BakhtAvar26 J111. Mashhad Executed 63. Mr. Ni'matu'llTh Katibpiir-Shahfdf 26 Jul. Mashhad Executed 64. Mr. Alhh-Virdf MftIa~qf 29 Jul. Tabrfz Executed 65. Mr. Maniichihr KhadPf 29 Jul. Tabrfz Executed 66. Mr. 'Abdu'I-'A1I Asady~ri29 J111. Tabrfz Executed 67. Mr. Husayn Asadu'1hh-Z~dih29 J111. Tabrfz Executed 68. Mr. Jsm6'fl ZihtTh 29 Jul. Tabrfz Executed 292
Page 293Blessed is he who hat/i laid down his life in My path and hath borne manifold hardships for the
No. Name Date69. Dr. Parvfz Firtizi 29 Jul. 70. Mr. Mihdi B~hiri 29 Jul. 71. Mr. Habfbu'116h 29 Jul.
Taljqiqf73. Mr. Husayn Rastig6r-Namd~r29 Aug. 74. Mr. Habfbu'lhh 11 Sept. 'Azizi
11 Sept.76. Mr. Ahmad Ridvgnf 11 Sept. 77. Mr. Gusht~sb 11 Sept.
Th~bit-Rgsikh81. Mr. KAmr6n Samimi 27 Dec. 82. Mrs. Zhfnfis 27 Dec.
Mahmtidi84. Mr. JaM 'Azizi 27 Dec. 85. Mr. Mihdf Amin
Amin 198286. Dr. Siras Rawshani 4 Jan. 87. Dr. 'Izzatu'llTh 4 Jan.
Fur6hi94. Mrs. Shfvg Asadu'lhh-Z6dih8 May 95. Mrs. Shfdrukh 8 May
Amir-Kiy~ Baq~Blessed is he who hat/i laid down his life in My path and hat/i borne manifold hardships for the sake of My Name.
Bahá'u'lláhNo. Name Date Place Method
105. Miss Jalalfyyih Mu~ta'iI-UskP'f10 May Uramfyyih Executed
106. Mrs. Jr~n Rahfmpar (Khurm6'f)12 May Dizfjil Executed 107. Mr. Sa'du'11Th BgMzddih 16 May Khftnf~b6d Executed 108. Mr. Nasru'116h Amfnf 16 May KMnf~b~d Executed 109. Mr. Muhammad Mansfiri 9 J111. Qazvfn Executed 110. Mr. Jadfdu'llgh Ashraf 9 Jul. Oazvfn Executed 111. Mr. Muhammad 'Abbdsf 9 Jul. Qazvfn Executed 112. Mr. Marnichihr Farz6nih-Mu'ayyad 9 Jul. Qazvfn Executed 113. Mr. Man'achihr VafA'f 9 Jul. TibrAn Assassinated 114. Mr. 'Abb6s-'Ali S~diqiptir 15 Jul. Shfrgz Executed 115. Mr. 'All Na'imiy6n 1 Aug. Uriimiyyih Executed 116. Mr. Habfbu'lhh Awjf16 Nov. Shfr~z Executed 117. Dr. Diy&u'llTh A~r6ri 21 Nov. ShfrAz Executed 118. Husayn Nayyirf-I~fah6ni 29 Nov. J~fah~in Died in prison 119. Mrs. Gu1d~nih Yiisifi 'Alfpt2ir 24 Dec. S6rf Mobbed 1983 120. Mr. Hid~yat Sfy~vuThf 1 Jan. Shfr6z Executed 121. Mr. Yadu'1LTh MahmtidnizMd 12 Mar. Shfr~z Executed 122. Mr. Rahmatu'lhh Vaf&f 12 Mar. Shfr& Executed 123. Mrs. TIIM Z&irptr 12 Mar. Shir~z Executed 124. Mr. JaM Hakfm~n 1 May TihrAn Executed 125. Mr. Suhayl Safa'i 1 May I~fahhn Executed The following Bahá'ís were kidnapped and are presumed dead:
Muhammad Muvahhid (24 May 1979); Dr. 'AIfmurAd D~viidi (11 November 1979); Riihf
RawThant (1 March 1980); and on 21 August 1980 the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly, 'Abdn'1-Ijusayn Taslfmf Htishang Mahmfidi, Ibrahfm Rahm~nf, Dr. klusayn Naji, Mantihir Q&im-Maq~mf, 'At6'u'IITh Muqarribi, Yiisif Qadimi, Bahá'í Mirza and Dr. K~mbfz $~diqz~dih, together with two members of the Auxiliary Board, Dr. Y6sif 'Abb6sfy6n and Dr.
Hishmatu'lffih RawMni.Note: Photographs of all the martyrs did not reach the World Centre before This volume of The Bahá'í World went to press, but those which did appear on the following pages.
294Sif~tu'lhTh Fahandizh Muhammad Muvahhid
Avad-Gul FahandizhBahá'u'lláh Yazd~ni Yt~sif Subhdzni
Page 296Far~marz Samandari Yadu 'lkTh MahbiWiy~n
Yadu'll~~h AstdnfYt~sif Qadimi Kc~mbiz ~ddiqzt~dih
Bahá'í N~dirfMahmad Hasanzddih Jahil Mustaqim
Page 298Azizu'lldh Dhabfhiydn Firaydi~n Farfddni
Alt MurahhariBihn~z San~'[ Mjhdf Anvc~ri
Page 299Hiddyatu 'IliTh Dihqdni Sattdr Khushkh,i
Yadu'Ildh VahdwTardzu'1k~h Khuzavn Nd~ir VaJd'i
Page 300Suhayl (Muhammad-Bdqir) jiabibi Buzurg AIavfy~n
flusayn MutlaqBahá'u'lláh Farid Varqd Tibydniy~n (Tiby~ni)
Page 301Mirza Dakhili Atd'u'lldh Rawh~ni
Page 302Mahmad Ma]dhab Mihdf Am/n Amin
Page 303Sins Rawshani Qudratu'lldh Rawh~~ni
Izzatu'lldh FurahiShfvd Asadu'11dh-Z~idih Sh[drukh Am[r-Kiy~i Baq~
Page 304Sa'du '1h~h B~bdzddjh Nasru'lh~h Amin!
Page 305~T~VA ~;/~ ~L~j ~ ~ k-~ ~ ~ 4 ~ ~~L~L ~A-%~Y%~c2~ ~r~'~�~ ~ Letter from the General Court of the District of Abddih conveying the court's verdict, dated 16.8.1362 (17 November 1983), that Mr. Baha Jannati cannot operate his business as a barber in the bazaar alongside Muslims because, as a Baha'i, he is an apostate and defiled, and is not allowed to operate such a business; therefore his shop should be closed and his business permit revoked.
Page 307Order dated 25.8.1362 (16 November 1983) from the Attorney-General to the local branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Gurgdn permitting confiscation of properties of the members of the Bahá'í Spiritual Assembly in accordance with the decree of the religious ]udge of the Revolutionary Court.
Page 308~ I Letter dated 13 5 1358 (4 August 1079) to Mr Nusratu llah Allah virdi from his employer, the Mustad'afin Foundation (a benevolent organization for the care of needy families), informing him that he is accused of being a Bahá'í and stating that, if proved, his employment will contravene Article 1, Item 14, of the employment law: 'You should deny your allegiance to this faith within ten days from the date of the receipt of this letter by appearing before the religious court and pledging your allegiance to one of the recognized religions of the country and announcing your action in one of the large and widely-circulated ted newspapers. If you fail to do so, you will be dismissed from your job.'
Page 309'I , 9 � 2 4 U A, � ~ � 1 � ~ ~ I Letter dated 30.9.1360 (21 December 1981) from the Government-operated Zam-Zam Company of Shirdz, addressed to the head office in Khuzistdn, naming twelve Baha is 'who insist that they want to continue to be members of the aberrant Bahaism; therefore they are dismissed'.
Page 310I Li � L.. ~ &L~iyJ~�W~ L~ x3j~ LA ~ ~
~ L~y~ Ay. L~t~ LI) ~L~JL~1 ~ ~ ~~~i ''~ ,, ) )~I � I C ~ /, I ~ V y AA) A , U, (3 Letter dated 93.1361 (30 May 1982) to its employees from Irasco Company naming five Bahá'ís and stating 'after repeated persuasion during the four years since the establishment of the revolution in Iran those five labourers insist that they wish t~ remain Baha'is: therefore, because they have not cut themselves off from Bahaism, they have no right to enter the factory.'
Page 3159 ) ~. ~ A k t. 'L~i~L' ~i ~' 6//i / ~ it' � ~ r __ V An undated petition signed by a Bahd'iparent, Mrs. Mini~, addressed to Branch Six of the Ministry of Education, Tihr6n, stating that her son has been dismissed from elementary school 'because of our being Baha'is', and requesting advice from the Ministry as to where she should send the child to ensure the continuation of his education. The reply recorded on the petition, under the seal of the Department of Education of Tihrdn Province, states 'We cannot register Bahd'[pupils.'
Page 323:~ of the University, dismissing Mr. lnlamid Malikdn-Na]afdbdd4 a student of the medical school of the university, who has completed his third year of studies, because he belongs 'to the aberrant Bahá'í group.
Page 326~r ~ (9 I l~ ~ ii:' Grade card dated 11.5.1361 (2 August 1982) of Jamdl Th4bit-Sarvistdn(, a student of the secondary school in the Tawhid Educational Complex in Shirdz, who passed the examination with high grades. In his own hand, and under the seal of the school, the Principal has written of this student, 'Although his character is satisfactory, because he is a member of the Bahá'í group and confesses being a Bahá'í he has been dismissed from the school.'
Page 327Circular letter dated 4.5.1360 (26 July 1981) from the manager of the Government-operated Sipah Bank requiring all heads of departments, deputies and 'members of the Party of God' to inform the authorities of the names of any members of the staff who are Bahá'ís because they are 'considered to be apostate and should be reported to the authorities.' The letter threatens those who are negligent in discharging this 'religious duty'.
Page 328~ ~ ~, 4 4 j � ~J ~ L ~ ~4 y~ /K~~ J x ,A ~~ ~ , 7 9/ ~ ~ Letter dated 26.8.1362 (14 November 1982) from the Mustad'afin Foundation (a benevolent society for the care of needy families), Mdzindardn, to the head of the Foundation in Amul, stating that since the Bahá'í cemetery of the city, like all other properties of Umand' Company, has been confiscated, the caretaker of the cemetery should be dismissed and no Bahá'í burials should be permitted hereafter, as the Foundation wishes to initiate construction pro]ects on that land.
Page 331INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 331
G. BAHA'11 CHILDREN IN TIME OF PERSECUTIONExcerpts from letters written by Mrs. Zhinj~s Mahmadi1 10 June 1981 Dear Friends, We are extremely busy these days and it pains me to think of not being able to write to you.
We have so many overwhelming stories to relate, which are so glorious that one feels guilty about not being able to write them.
One of the greatest and most important features of the present persecutions is the tests which are facing the Bahá'í children.
So much is written and told about the outstanding perseverance and degree of devotion of the adult believers, but little is said about our dear children � their encounters with difficulties, their courage, and their heroic deeds.
It is unbelievable that human beings could ever think of pressuring innocent children of such tender age in the way the people in the schools of Ir6n are doing at this time.
Thousands of Bahá'í pupils are facing such inhuman afflictions. Most of them are very studious, are more knowledgeable than other children of their age, and have special insight. Many people, including their teachers, look at them with awe.
The enemies of the Cause do not deny that the Bahá'í children are generally much more advanced than their fellow classmates, but they are not pleased with this fact. Sometimes it even happens that when government authorities complain about the activities of the Baha'is, they cite as examples the actions of our little ones and how they confront their Muslim teachers and fellow pupils.
What do these children do that makes them deserve these pressures? Most Baha children know their Islamic religious lessons better than all their fellow students. They can read the Qur'an and interpret it better than their Muslim counterparts, sometimes even better than their teachers! The highest marks in Islamic religious study are given to the
Bahá'í children. Theirteachers are often very surprised to note that they excel in competitions in the reading of the Qur'an and in religious instruction examinations. Yes, they are frequently surprised, but at the same time they are extremely resentful.
Mrs. Zhini~s Mahrn~dfWhen the teachers become angry, they challenge the Bahá'í students unfairly.
The parents of these children ask their instructors how they have the audacity to confront children of ten or eleven years, and their reply is that the Bahá'í children sometimes know more than they do.
They complain that in their classes the Bahá'í children are occasionally made prayer leaders and are nicknamed by their fellow students as 'Ayatollahs' because their understanding of the Qur'Th is deep and their beautiful explanations of its verses overshadow those of the teachers.
This is exactly the problem!Baha children with such intelligence, understanding and knowledge are not favoured by the ideologists of the Ministry of Education.
According to them, such children should be 'guided to the right path'. It is certain that this Ministry has adopted a detailed and menacing plan to brainwash the Bahá'í children. We have so much evidence of such a plan! It is surprising to note that the authorities of the present r6gime are spending so much time, energy and money to prepare themselves on ways to confront our young children. It is not uncommon for two or three instructors of religious classes or trained ideologists of the Ministry of Education, as well as a number of students, to join forces and suddenly attack a Bahá'í child of ten or eleven years. With all their power they try to shatter the very foundation of his beliefs. They will argue with him for hours, and even use unfair methods to 'guide' him. They are bewildered when they realize, however, that all their efforts are in vain, and they are wonderstruck at the replies they receive from these young ones, which include a number of verses from the Qur'an and quotations from the Bahá'í Writings.
Sometimes such discussions, between say a teacher in his thirties and his Bahá'í pupil of ten or eleven years of age, take place in the classroom.
The teacher begins with a barrage of insults and calumnies against the Faith. The child, of course, does not passively accept these insults � he reacts! And, his protests are the beginning of a public discussion about the Faith between him and his teacher.
Impressive responses are given by the Baha'iThis delights the other children, who applaud and sometimes cry 'Hurrah!'
for the student who has overcome the mighty instructor.
The teacher then becomes angrier and he leaves the classroom and consults with other teachers, who come to his rescue. They call for the Bahá'í child at an hour when he has other classes, such as gymnastics or mathematics, to discuss the Faith. Here are three of them attacking one young child! They argue and argue. What a fair encounter!
The Baha children in fr6n have a full share of the persecutions befalling the Bahá'ís in that country.
Even the performances of tots in the kindergarten � their courage, their chanting of prayers by heart, their singing of Bahá'í songs, and their good behaviour � make some of the teachers angry, and others, while irate, are filled with awe and admiration.
We pray that these children will always be able to withstand this unjust pressure. We have hundreds of examples to relate, but here are just a few.
1. Shmf is five years old.He is preparing himself in the kindergarten to be admitted into Grade 1 next year. He knows by heart six prayers, the short Obligatory Prayer, and a number of extracts from the Bahá'í Writings.
He is intelligent, wellbehaved, and quick to learn, and he recites what he has learned very eloquently.
An inspector was sent to his school by the Ministry of Education, and the teacher in order to boast how successful he had been in teaching the children in his class, called S4mf to recite the verses he had learned. SAmf's performance astonished the inspector. At the end, the teacher instructed S6mi to recite a poem which began with the sentence, 'I am a Muslim child.'
S6mf gazed silently at his teacher without uttering a word. The teacher repeated his instruction, but Sdmi remained silent. The teacher was very surprised and became uneasy in front of the inspector. He could not understand why Shmi, who had always excelled in learning and reciting poetry, now remained silent, and so he asked the reason.
Srtmf replied, 'Because I am not a Muslim, I am a Baha!'
The inspector left the room in anger and complained to the headmaster, who called S6mi's mother to the school. She was warned that S6mi should be instructed not to teach the Faith at the school. The mother did not know what had happened, but when she found out she naturally told SAmi that he should be more careful and not behave the way he did.
But little S~mi, who had learned in the Bahá'í community what it meant to be steadfast, could not accept this and replied, 'I am a Bahá'í and I will always tell people that I am, and if they bother me I will go to the nearest police station and complain!'
2. Ihhi is eight years old. Her father was one of the three recent martyrs in Shir6z. She is the only one of his children who was allowed to meet with her father on the day before his execution.
The day after the funeral of her beloved father, Ihhi took to her school flowers and sweets to distribute to the teacher and her classmates. The teacher was surprised and asked if it is a Baha custom to do such a thing when one's father is killed? The little girl replied, 'My father was not killed, he was martyred!'
3. Akram, the eleven-year-old daughter of one of the seven martyrs of Yazd, is another example of such heroism. After her father and the six others were martyred, she went to school and the teacher asked the students in her class to write an essay about their experiences during the summer vacation.
Akram wrote a sweet and factual essay about what had happened to her family during the summer � how the Revolutionary Guards and others came to their house and took her beloved father away, how they kept him in prison for some time, how she met him~ in prison, and finally about his martyrdom. Her essay was so moving that it brought tears to the eyes of the teacher and the children in her class. However, since the word 'Baha'i' was written in the essay, the teacher, even though moved, was angry. She took the essay to the headmistress, and a few days later the headmistress called Akram to her
Page 333room. She said, 'Your essay deserves to receive the highest mark, but since you mentioned the word "Baha" a few times, you should withdraw it.' Akram replied, 'I was supposed to write about my experiences during the summer. Whatever I have written is the exact truth. My father was killed because he was a Baha'i!'
The headmistress threatened Akram with dismissal because of what she had said, but told her that because her mother had lost a husband, she would be permitted to remain in school. Eventually, the headmistress demanded that Akram write an essay on some other subject, which she did, and she was given an excellent grade.
4. ArmAn, eleven years old, is another hero of the Faith. Three prejudiced and cruel teachers, one of whom was violent, argued with him and threatened and abused him because of his being a Baha. When they felt they had punished him.
adequately in this fashion, they took him to a room, gave him a booklet which was written against the Faith, and compelled him to write repeatedly from this booklet certain sentences which attacked the Faith in offensive language.
This punishment became so great that ArmAn developed severe headaches, which the doctors said were caused by nervous pressure.
5. Ru'yi has just become fifteen years old and is in the first year of secondary school. Her school is not in a remote village where prejudiced and uneducated people might be expected to live.
It is in one of the prosperous localities north of Tihrin and is supposedly more civilized. When this school had been opened for a few years, an instructor of religion entered a classroom of new students, and first asked, 'Is there anyone in this class who does not belong to the true religion?' Nobody replied.
The instructor then said, 'What I meant was, is there a Bahá'í in the class?'
Ru'y~ stood up and announced that she was a Baha'i.
The teacher then said in abusing and insulting language, 'Let it be known to all of you that Ru'y6 is defiled and untouchable and none of you are to have any contact with her.' She demanded that Ru'y~. sit in the back of the room at a desk by herself, and those who were sitting at that particular desk were given another place.
The instructor stated that this arrangement was to be observed until the end of the year and that nobody was allowed to sit next to her.
I have asked some of these children to write about their experiences and the types of discussions they have had with their teachers and fellow students.
A beautiful compilation has been made, and although it has been composed by these children in simple language, it demonstrates the depth of their understanding of the Faith and their profound love for Bahá'u'lláh.
3 November 1981My dear Brother, I do not know where to begin, there is too much to be written about. In these days of constant struggle our children are in the vanguard. They always produce wonders. What is transpiring here is exceptional. Where were these heroes before? They must have existed but it is only now that they are able to manifest their spiritual potentialities, to reveal their precious essence, to prove the validity of the spiritual training they received from their families.
Most of our children, in different degrees, have now been given opportunities in their schools to demonstrate their heroism. In the Land of Ya [Yazd], the home of the brave, opportunities abound. So far over one hundred of our children have been expelled from their schools because they are Baha'is. Their dismissal, which ordinarily one would expect would be the cause of sadness, has produced in them a joy and vitality which I cannot describe.
Because of their response to their dismissal, all Yazd is shaken. Our precious children have shown such courage as to have caused all Yazd to wonder. It should be said that all these children are among the very best students in the cityThey attained the highest marks, were known for their exemplary conduct and were recognized as being exceptionally talented and intelligent.
This has given rise to the first question among the people of Yazd: Why should the best be expelled?
The second question in the minds of thosewho have expelled them arises from the courage and perseverance of these young ones. Although they were dismissed from school in an atmosphere charged with hatred and prejudice, our children have, with a sense of pride and a consciousness of being related to the followers of Bahá'u'lláh, collected their books and school bags with placid joy and left the school, smiling and walking with a light step, while their non-Bahá'í school friends wept for them.
I have to interrupt this letter as the telephone is ringing.
(Later)I have been informed that six members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihr~n have been arrested.
Never a moment of peace! What strength is required to be able to concentrate our thoughts and compose our feelings!
I was writing about our children. The believers of Yazd have told us that there are very few Bahá'í children in the city who are unhappy and cry � they are those who as yet have not been expelled from the schools.
The teachers, and even headmasters, are extremely upset by the instruction from the Ministry to dismiss Bahá'í children. One headmaster decided to resign after receiving the order to dismiss his Bahá'í students but he was firmly warned against tendering his resignation. However, on the day of the dismissal of the Bahá'í students he absented himself from school, having clearly stated that he had no wish to witness such an unjust action.
(Later)A husband and wife in Karaj have been executed by firing squad for their 'Zionist' activities.
My thoughts immediately go out to Mr. and Mrs. who are imprisoned in Karaj.
Is this news true? Is it about them? Until we can verify this report, what anxiety we have to endure! The air is thick with rumours these days, none of them good. God knows what consternation fills our minds until we are able to verify the truth or falsehood of these rumours.
I'm sorry � I was diverted again. This is what is happening to our children: On the appointed day the teacher asks the class whether there are any Baha among the students.
Our children � our patient, wellbehaved, faithful and steadfast children � stand up and with great pride and courage introduce themselves as Baha'is.
They are then sent to the office of the headmaster.
The teachers, and sometimes the headmasters, are embarrassed and sad. In the office of the headmaster the children are first asked to deny their faith and continue their studies.
These requests are in many instances expressed with love and concern because the staff in the school really like these distinguished and outstanding students and do not want to lose them. But what they hear from these children surprises them.
The children announce that they are Baha'is, that they personally decided to be Baha'is, that they cannot lie and deny their faith, and that they are proud of what they believe!
At this point the headmaster and teachers have no alternative but to sign the order expelling them.
These children range in age from seven to seventeen or eighteen. It is a sight to see how cheerfully the Bahá'í children leave the school with no sense of shame, while their non-Bahá'í fellow students look on thoughtfully, some even weeping. Disturbances occur in the classroom after the Bahá'í children leave, and challenging discussions take place between the remaining pupils and their teachers.
The children put questions until the end of the school day and the discussion is carried out to the streets. The non-Bah&i students invariably ask: 'Isn't it true that we are supposed to have freedom of belief? What's wrong with the Bahá'í children � don't they worship God and pray?
Why are they being dismissed?'The children carry their questions home. Their queries spread to all parts of the city and are taken up in the streets and the bazaars.
The parents of the dismissed Baha children � themselves the essence of patience and steadfastness � exclaim with pride: 'What we have failed to achieve, our children are now achieving!'
They praise the children with candour and love.I doubt whether in the history of any society such honour has been heaped upon children of so tender an age.
The parents remark: 'It is true that in the 138 years since the beginning of our Faith we have endured many hardships, but we have never
Page 335INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 335
been so successful as our children in proclaiming to the masses of the people of Yazd the exalted character of the Bahá'í Revelation, nor have our actions resulted, as have our children's, in creating an atmosphere in which the Faith is being discussed so openly among the people in the streets and bazaars.
Our persecuted children have succeeded in breaking through the barrier of prejudice of the hardhearted people of this city.'
The parents go on to exclaim: 'The events of the past have made us conservative and cautious; it is our children who have changed the atmosphere.' This change had its early beginnings last year when the martyrs shed their blood on the soil of Yazd. This change cannot be measured by existing standards.
A programme of study has been arranged for our children at home; they are learning with great speed and progressing in all fields of knowledge.
They will surely surpass their fellow students who are still in school.
More important than this, we have promised ourselves to help these children become so well versed in the Holy Writings that each will become the envy of scholars.
There is no doubt that this will come to pass.Let me tell you something about the adults. The Bahá'í men and women � particularly the women � are facing tribulations with such equanimity that no comparable example can be found even among the legendary heroines of the past. These women are in fact creating new legends through their patience, steadfastness, love and detachment.
They have conquered the hearts of everyone and won the praises of all.
The forces of hatred have been vanquished by the power of their faith.
When they are looted of their property, furniture and belongings they part with them as they would with outworn dolls and playthings, looking on as though they were mere spectators. They shower love upon those who come to take away their belongings as might an affectionate and indulgent parent who with a smile will give a worthless toy or plaything to a naughty child. It appears that they even enjoy Xhe naughtiness of these children.
Such behaviour has greatly influenced the hearts of the looters who are not great in number. Mr. K. � that heartless man who is the leader of those who are executing the Bahá'ís and confiscating their properties, and whose main task is to uproot the Faith in Yazd � is often seen entering the homes of the Baha'is, knocking upon their doors at any hour of the day or night. He h~is become such a familiar figure that the Bahá'ís jest with him, saying, 'You have become one of us!'
He even knows the nicknames of the Bahá'í children. If he does not make an appearance for some time the Bahá'ís tell him they miss him. Although Mr. K. comes to take away their property or to send their loved ones to prison, they are pleasant to him, joke with him, enquire about his health. They even tell him that one day he should become a Bahá'í in order to understand the significance of what he is now doing.
the Baha of Yazd say that this unfeeling man, Mr. K., is treated by them as a member of the family. When he comes to seize their furniture the young men of the family help him carry out the heavier pieces; when he arrives they invite him to join them at the table and give him sweets, fruits, even meals. After he has eaten he goes around the house and selects the furniture he wants to take away. If he does not have a vehicle available he gestures toward the selected articles of furniture and tells the owner, 'These are my trust with you; keep them safely until I return.' He sometimes even proposes that the family might buy back the furniture from him.The behaviour of the longsuffering Bahá'ís in these appalling circumstances is unprecedented.
They recognize that they are indeed giving away worthless trinkets, as to an ignorant child.
The Bahá'ís whose homes have been confiscated do not leave the city but move to a small dwelling place, wherever they can find refuge Almost all the Bahá'í men have been required to leave the city and this has provided the children, youth and women an opportunity to prove their courage and valour.
How proud we are of them!What a creation has Bahá'u'lláh raised up! Such conduct has been unheard of, even in legends. When the Bahá'ís of Yazd themselves relate these events they express amazement at the change in themselves.
The people of Yazd have the reputation of being economical and thrifty; it is said that two families of Yazd could fight between themselves over posses
Page 336sion of a valueless stick of wood. But look at them now! They have given up everything to show their love for Bahá'u'lláh.
When one extends sympathy to them they express surprise, remarking that what they have parted with is worthless. They do not even denounce the thieves and looters when referring to them.
I cannot overlook mentioning a mother and daughter who are in prison � they are examples. The daughter is sixty years old and the mother is over eighty.
The fact of imprisoning such elderly innocent women is in itself very strange, but it has been done. These women are Bahá'ís of Zoroastrian backgro9nd.
All their possessions were confiscated and they are now in the women's prison with over one hundred prisoners of all kinds.
A few months ago a release order was issued for the mother, but she refused to leave unless her daughter was also released, so they remained in prison.
Only ten days ago the authorities at last gave permission for them to receive occasional visitors.
Bahá'í visitors have witnessed the old woman embracing and demonstrating affection to the policewoman, before she would come forward to meet her visitors. During the course of the visit the old woman noticed a young male guard who was supposed to control the visitors. In her special Parsi � Yazdi accent she maternally addressed complimentary remarks to him with such obvious love and sincerity that the young man was visibly uncomfortable and ashamed.
She remarked to her visitors, 'I always thought that mothers could really love only their own children, but I have come to feel genuine love for these young men who are on duty.' The young guard had nothing to say, but stood with bowed head.
The fire of sincere love is melting the ice of hatred.
Then with remarkable candour this old woman, more than eighty years of age, said to her visitors, 'Tell everybody that Bahá'u'lláh has enabled me to perform miracles. Tell them that the Bahá'í prayers which I copy out for the sick ones in this prison cause them to become cured.' She related how one of the guards sought her out excitedly to tell her his story. 'I was searching for you,' he said. 'I wanted to tell you that the prayers you wrote out for me and my wife a year ago have been answered and our wish to have a baby is fulfilled. This has made it unnecessary for me to divorce my wife for her inability to conceive a child.'
In the evenings the women prisoners crowd together around the mother and daughter and ask them to tell them stories and speak to them. They speak most beautifully and with such a sweet accent that nobody wants to go to sleep. Even the guards do not object.
When Sarafr6z, the mother, has a visitor, she begs them to bring fruit from her orchard in order to make a feast for the prisoners. The old woman does not know that her orchard and other properties have been confiscated. But the visitors know what to do. They purchase large quantities of fruit so she can provide hospitality to her fellow prisoners. When have you heard stories like this?
Glad tidings! Glad tidings!The climate of this city in the midst of the desert is changed and the perfume of the love of God has filled all corners. In my next letter I will write you more such stories � if I am still alive, or free
Page 337INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 337
H. DETAILED SUMMARY OF ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE BAHA'I
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, NATIONAL AND LOCAL BAHA'I
INSTITUTIONS, GOVERNMENTS, NONBAHÁ'Í ORGANIZATIONS
AND PROMINENT PEOPLE IN CONNECTION WITH THE PERSECUTION
OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF I RANSpiritual Assembly sent a message to the Ambassador of fr6n in Washington reporting on disturbances in IrAn, expressing the concern of the Bahá'ís in the United States, stressing the noninvolvement of Bahá'ís in political affairs, and stating they were relying on the justice and ability of authorities in Iran to protect the lives, properties and rights of the Bahá'ís there.
NovemberCommunity released a statement to the news media about the disturbances in LrTh involving members of the Bahá'í community.
� United States � The NationalCarter about the situation, offered to send a delegation to the
Februaryissued an appeal to President Carter to help Jewish, Christian and Bahá'í communities in IrAn.
� National and Local Assemblies, as well as individual Baha'is, offered articles to the media, letters to editors and statements to radio and television, repudiating falsehoods about the Faith and providing the true facts.
Marchof Representatives of the State of Illinois adopted a resolution deploring the persecution of the Bahá'ís in I r~n and petitioning President Carter to request Ayatollah Khomeini and the Iranian Government to recognize the Faith as a religious movement and to assure the people of IrAn that all religious minorities including the Bahá'í Faith will have full White House, and asked for his intercession and requested him to convey the concern of the Bahá'ís to the Iranian Government.
Decemberpursued a well-organized campaign of approaching the media, providing them with accurate information about the Faith.
� Most National Assembliescabled the Prime Minister of Iran expressing their concern and appealing for assistance in safeguarding the lives of the Bahá'ís and protecting the Bahá'í Holy Places in 1r~n.
� The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity shared the above information with the Secretary-General of the United Nations and appropriate UN offices, urging them to intervene on behalf of the Baha in Irdn.
1979 political, cultural and religious rights. Copy of this document went to President Carter and Secretary of State
Cyrus Vance.wrote to the Prime Minister of fr6n asking his intervention regarding the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities, including the Baha'is.
April� Alaska � A resolution was passed by the Senate of the State of Alaska and was sent to President Carter and the Secretary of State, expressing concern regarding the persecution of the Bahá'ís in frin and appealing to the United States Government to use its efforts to stop religious persecution and restriction of human rights in Iran.
Page 338sent cables to the Prime Minister of Iran with a copy to the Iranian Embassy or Consulate in their countries offering to send a delegation to explain the Bahá'í position and convey the deep concern of the Bahá'ís for the safety of Bahá'í Holy
Places in Iran.Community sent a letter to the Iranian representative of the United Nations regarding the above and sought an interview.
� 30 National Assembliesagain contacted their Iranian Embassies or Consulates, in writing, about the proposed Constitution of fran omitting the Bahá'í Faith as a minority religion, for transmittal to the
Iranian authorities. Theyalso offered to send a delegation to the Embassy or Consulate, and meetings subsequently took place in many of these countries.
� Bahá'í InterntitionalCommunity � a cable was sent to the Prime Minister of fr6n outlining the Baha position in respect to accusations levelled against the Baha of Irttn.
JuneAssemblies and over 10,000 Local Assemblies sent cables to Ayatollah Khomeini regarding the expropriation of Bahá'í properties in Iran.
� National Assemblies intensified their publicity campaigns about the above.
� Switzerland � Swiss Parliamentariansissued a statement about the Bahá'í religious minority in fr6n, expressing their concern and hope that in future the Baha would enjoy freedom and havc their rights recognized.
Most European NationalSpiritual Assemblies attempted to obtain similar statements from their Parliamentarians.
� A letter was sent from the Secretary-General of the International
Commission of Juriststo the Prime Minister of IrAn expressing the hope that the new Constitution for I din would include provisions 'to safeguard the rights of minorities, whether ethnic, religious, or of other kinds, with effective remedies for their enforcement'. He went on to say that 'these rights should be extended to those minorities which may at times have incurred unpopularity, such as the members of the Bahá'í Faith. We would urge that, in accordance with the wellknown Islamic traditions of tolerance, they should also be assured such rights and protection.'
Julycabled the Iranian Embassy or Consulate in their countries expressing their concern for the growing persecutions in I r~n and appealing to them for the restitution of the National Hazfratu'1-Quds in Iran and other properties and the recognition of the Bahá'í Faith as a minority religion.
� Many National SpiritualAssemblies offered help to Iranian students residing in their countries, since their funds had been cut off because of the Iranian Government freezing the assets of Nawn6h~Thn
Co.Assemblies sent a copy of an open letter (prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly of frhn and distributed in IrAn to the press, appropriate governmental authorities, prominent people, etc., clarifying the position of the Bahá'ís in the Cradle of the Faith) to the Iranian Bahá'ís in their areas.
� Hawaiian Islands � The Governorwrote to President Carter expressing the concern of the National Spiritual
Assembly and Local Spiritualabout the persecution of their fellow Baha in Ir6n.
Augustcontinued their active proclamation of the Faith, expressing their hope that provision would be made in the new Iranian Constitution for the protection of.
the true civil rights of the Baha community of I din.
� 42 National SpiritualAssemblies sent cables to Ayatollah Khomeini and the Prime Minister of I r~n as well as to the
Iranian Embassy or Consulatein their countries, regarding the imminent demolition of the House of the Báb in Shir~z, conveyed this information to Government officials of their countries and shared a press release with all media.
� 60 additional National Spiritual Assemblies later sent cables to Ayatollah Khomeini regarding the above.
� 42 National SpiritualINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 3 damages to the House
of the BTh, urging the Iranian Government to return the House to the
Baha.and the media in their countries regarding the fact that the new
Iranian Constitutiondid not include the Bahá'ís as a religious minority.
� United States � Many Senatorsand Congressmen protested to the President and Department of State concerning the plight of the Iranian
Baha'is.Rights Commission of the Federation of Protestant
Churches in Switzerlandissued a declaration on the state of religious minorities in I iTh specifically about the state of the Baha in IrAn.
Octobercontacted officials and the press, refuting accusations made against the Bahá'ís in Jr4n.
� Austria � A delegation of the National Spiritual Assembly met with the authorities of the Iranian
Embassy.Minister expressed the concern of the Bahá'ís to the Iranian Ambassador and asked what action could be taken.
Junesent delegations to the Iranian Embassy or Consulate in their countries expressing their concern regarding the freedom and safety of the Bahá'ís of fiTh.
They also wrote letters to be transmitted to the Iranian Government by the Embassy or Consulate.
� 7 National SpiritualAssemblies contacted the highest officials of their Governments dealing with foreign affairs.
� 8 National SpiritualAssemblies sent cables to Ayatollah Khomeini, the President and Head of the Revolutionary
Council in Inin� United States � A letter was sent to the Prime Minister of Ir~in signed by 28 States Senators.
� An address was made by a Congressman in theshared with Government authorities copies of correspondence received from the Iranian Embassy in their countries, as well as replies made.
� 95 National Spiritualand the Minister of Foreign Affairs in fran regarding the further demolition of the House of the Báb, despite assurances by the Government that it would be protected.
� Canada � A debate was held in the House of Commons.
� United States � A delegation of the National Assembly met with officials at the Iranian Embassy in Washington D.C.
December� Luxembourg � A statement was issued from all 3 Parliamentary parties expressing their concern regarding the situation in I r~n and asking that the rights of the Bahá'í community be protected through the new Iranian
Constitution.1980 regarding articles in Le Monde and in Iranian newspapers, conveying their concern about the fate of the Iranian Baha'is, asking them to take measures to protect them. They also shared a copy of these cables with their Iranian Embassy and informed the news media.
� 95 National SpiritualAssemblies, on behalf of the Bahá'ís in their communities, cabled Ayatollah
Khomeini, the Presidentof Iran and the Head of the Supreme Court about the ominously increasing pressures against the Bahá'ís in frAn; 41 of these National Spiritual Assemblies sent copies of these cables to the Iranian Embassies in their
Page 340340 THE BAHÁ'Í WOR countries, and 87 of them sent copies to high officials and the media.
� 87 National SpiritualAssemblies enlisted the support of prominent leaders and contacted the media regarding the continuation of the wave of persecutions.
� 16 European Assembliesapproached the Council of Europe regarding the above.
� The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity conveyed to appropriate offices and individuals the plight of the Baha in Ir6n.
� Canada � A resolution was adopted by the Parliament and forwarded to the
UN Sec-retary-General.� India � A letter was sent from a former Chief Justice to the Secretary-General of the UN, proposing to raise the question of the Bahá'í persecutions on an international Level by protest of judges and jurists of the world.
� Commonwealth of the Northernwrote to President Carter asking that appropriate action be taken to focus world attention on the plight of Baha of fran.
� Netherlands � 9 political factions of the Dutch Parliament, comprising 148 of the total 150 members, signed a letter to the Iranian Embassy expressing concern about the growing number of executions of members of religious minorities in Irhn and specifically mentioning the Baha'is.
� The Government of WesternSamoa asked its Ambassador in the UN to lodge a complaint about persecutions of all minorities in Jrin.
Augustsent cables to the President and Prime Minister of IrAn protesting the arrest of all members of the
National Spiritual Assemblyof Iran and two Auxiliary Board members. All but 8 of these Assemblies contacted the officials in their countries, and 86 sent copies of the above cables to their respective Embassy or Consulate and requested an interview, and shared the news with the mass media. 16 of these Assemblies informed their respective representatives of the Council of Europe and the
European Parliament.for Foreign Affairs asked the Iranian Charg6 d'Affaires to inform the Iranian Government of the Australian Government's concern about the persecutions of the Bahá'ís in IrAn.
� Luxembourg � A letter was sent from the Ministry of Cultural Affairs to the Ambassador of Ir4n in Luxembourg asking his intervention with the Iranian Government, and asking that the persecution of the Baha cease.
SeptemberAssemblies sent cables to the President and Prime Minister in fr6n; 87 of them contacted Government officials and protested to their respective Iranian
Ambassador or Consul;89 of them stepped up their publicity campaign and placed articles about the Faith in widely-read magazines and periodicals; and 3 Assemblies included the relatives of martyrs in their publicity projects.
� Australia � A motion (notice given) was made in the
House of Representatives.on the Prevention of Discrimination and the Protection of Minorities, Geneva � A resolution was passed on 10 September.
� European Parliament � A resolution was adopted on 19 September.
� Parliamentary Assemblyof the Council of Europe � A resolution was tabled on 29 September.
Octoberinformed Government authorities about the problems facing the displaced Iranian Bahá'ís and many of them appointed committees to assist the ifiends.
The National Spiritualand Australia have worked with the immigration authorities in their countries to expedite the processing of applications of Iranian Bahá'ís for immigration into their countries.
� 43 National SpiritualAssemblies sent letters to their respective Iranian Ambassador or Consul regarding the recrudescence of the persecutions, shared the news with the
Page 341INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 341
media and enlisted the support of eminent figures in humanitarian, business and professional circles who pledged use of their influence to help. They also maintained contact with Government officials.
December� Assemblies � Regarding the martyrdom of the Ma's6mis � 21
National Spiritual As-Januaryand the Bahá'í International Community contacted the media, medical organizations, etc. in connection with the assassination of
Professor ManiichihrAssemblies stepped up their contacts with authorities, organizations and the media regarding the assassination of Professor Hakim and their apprehension about the Bahá'ís in fr6n losing their jobs because of their Faith.
Februaryused documents from IrTh (which provide evidence of the persecution of the Baha'is) in their approaches to the authorities.
� 45 National SpiritualAssemblies informed authorities and the media about the execution of two of the friends from
AMdih. The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity conveyed this information to the appropriate United Nations agencies.
� 98 National SpiritualAssemblies sent cables to Ayatollah Khomeini asking his intervention in the matter of the High Court of Justice in TilirAn upholding the verdict of the ShfrAz court~ to execute two Baha'is.
16 of these Assemblies contacted appropriate officials and governmental agencies, and 54 used the information in their proclamation efforts.
� Australia � The Senate adopted a resolution deploring the persecution of the Bahá'ís of fran.
� Europe � UN Human RightsCommunity made a statement at the 37th session semblies informed officials of their Governments and attempted to induce the news media to make efforts to obtain a report from their representatives in frhn if possible. The
Bahá'í Internationalof the United Nations, expressing the concern of the worldwide Bahá'í community over the fate of innocent Baha'is.
1981 of the Commission on the question of missing and disappeared persons.
Statements were also made at this session on the question of violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms by Viscount
Colville of Cuiross (UnitedKingdom), representatives of the Netherlands, Canada ~nd Australia, the Bahá'í international Community and the observer for fr6n.
Marchissued a press release regarding the execution of Col.
Val2datreported to have occurred on 18 March but denied on 19 March.
� Hawaiian Islands � The director of the Bahá'í Public
Relations Departmentgdve a report on the persecution of the Iranian Baha as a part of the 30-minute report 'Genocide in the
World' on KGMB-TV.� Assemblies � Regarding the imminent obliteration of the site of the House of the Mb,
100 National SpiritualAssemblies brought the matter to the attention of their Governments and the media, and 85 of them sent a cable to the nearest Iranian Embassy asking it to convey to fr6n the profound concern of the Bahá'ís over the persecutions.
� Regarding the 7 martyrs of Hamadhn � 100 National
Spiritual Assembliessent cables to Ayatollah Khomeini requesting his personal intervention, and sent a copy of the cable to the nearest Iranian Embassy with a letter appealing for their assistance. 118 sent cables to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, asking him to arrange to
Page 342342 THE BAHÁ'Í WOR send a special representative or a UN Commission to fr6n to ascertain the facts and assist the Baha'is.
Thousands of Local SpiritualAssemblies, groups and isolated centres sent similar cables. 43 Assemblies shared copies of the cables with their Governments, appealing to them to make their own pleas to the Iranian authorities and to urge the Secretary-General of the United Nations to take action; and shared copies with the media on national and local levels; with humanitarian organizations concerned with human rights; and prominent people of goodwill.
100 shared by letter to appropriate UN offices copy of the cable to the Secretary-General from their Assemblies and samples of cables from their Local
Spiritual Assemblies.Assemblies cabled the Iranian Embassy for transmittal to I rtn expressing their shock over 3 more executions.
They also maintained contact with their Governments, urging them to use measures open to them, and intensified their publicity campaigns.
� 21 National SpiritualAssemblies registered the protest of the entire Baha world to their Governments, respective Iranian Embassies and the mass media regarding the execution of 4 more
Baha'is.Community prepared a brief general statement for the Dutch representative to the United Nations for transmittal to Ambassadors in Tihran.
� Europe � Parliamentary Assemblyof the Council of Europe � A resolution was tabled on
14 May.� France � A letter was sent from Action by Christians for the Abolishment of Torture to Ayatollah Khomeini, referring to the inhumane treatment of Baha.
� Germany � A resolution was adopted by the German
Federal Parliament.� United Kingdom � A letter was written to the UN Secretary-General by the President of Trinity College, and was signed by 12 heads of other colleges in Oxford, England.
� United States � A cable was sent to Alexander Ilaig, Department of State, from the Commission on
Social Action of Reform Judaism.of Churches sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General.
� A publication of the IrdnAction and Human Rights urged widespread protests against violations of basic rights of the religious minorities in LAn.
� A letter was written to the UN Secretary-General General by the President of the Wilmette Rotary Club urging intervention by the United Nations to prevent further violations to the human rights of the Baha'is.
June� United Kingdom � A member of Parliament tabled an 'early day motion' in the House of Commons 'calling upon Her Majesty's Government to make urgent representations to the Iranian Government to give the Bahá'í community legal recognition and protection under the provisions of the UN Convention on Human Rights and put an end to the persecution of members of the Bahá'í community'.
Julyreceived a copy of the resolution adopted by the European Parliament and most of them used this document in their contacts with the authorities and the media.
� 21 National SpiritualAssemblies informed their Governments of two more executions and of the steadily deteriorating situation.
� All National SpiritualAssemblies received a copy of the resolution passed by the German Parliament deploring the persecutions of the Baha in IrAn and 86 of these Assemblies used this document in their approaches to the authorities.
� Canada � A second resolution was unanimously adopted by the House of Commons condemning the persecution of the Baha, particularly deploring the desecration of the House of the Báb.
� Belgium � The Minister of Foreign Affairs sent a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly in response to the King's request to answer question � besides supporting the action of the European Economic Community (EEC), the diplomatic representative was given instructions for the protection of members of the Bahá'í community.
� Germany � A letter was written to the National Assembly from the Foreign Minister,
Hans-Dietrich Genscher.INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES � Netherlands � A resolution on the religious persecutions in frTh was passed by the International Association for Religious Freedom at its Congress in Holland.
� United Kingdom � A letter was written to the UN Secretary-General by the Master of Balliol College in Oxford, England.
� A resolution was passed in a meeting of the House of Commons.
� United States � A speech was made from the floor of the House of Representatives.
Augustshared with their Governments and the media the news of the perilous situation in
Yazd.Assemblies encouraged or engaged wellknown journalists to write articles about the Faith.
� 30 National SpiritualAssemblies began setting up Persian Relief Funds in their countries.
� 21 National SpiritualAssemblies shared with their Governments reports on the imprisonment and summary trials of some of the martyrs.
� Australia � A resolution was adopted by the House of Representatives.
� Europe � UN SubCommissionof Minorities7 Geneva � A statement was made by the Bahá'í International Community on Agenda item 6.
� France � President Mitterrandreceived French President Mitter-rand's letter and shared the contents with the authorities in their countries.
Septemberused, in their approaches to Government officials, documents providing evidence regarding the persecution of Baha students in fr6n and abroad.
� 21 National SpiritualAssemblies shared with the media news about the execution in frdn of 6 more Baha'is.
� 21 National SpiritualAssemblies, especially in countries involved with the Council of Europe and the European Parliament, brought to the attention of their Governments news of the dire developments in Yazd.
� Most National Spiritualin connection with the persecution of the Bahá'ís in fr6n was made by the
National Spiritual Assemblyto the heads of the Commonwealth Governments when they met in Australia in September/October.
� Bahamas � Information about the persecution of the Baha in fran was presented to some of the 42 heads of delegations attending the Commonwealth Finance
Ministers' Conference.letter was received from the Minister of Missions and
Religious Organizationssaying that the Government would support within all branches of the UN respect for the principle of freedom of conscience, and for protection against the violation of human rights.
� Europe � UN SubCommissionon the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Geneva � A resolution was adopted on 9 September.
� Germany � TV 'Weltspiegel' � an original BBC videotape was viewed with a commentary in German.
� Luxembourg � A letter was received from the President of the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg condemning the persecutions 'by reason of religion', and outlining steps it is taking to help the Iranian
Baha.� An interview was held with Glenford Mitchell on WBBM TV on the persecution of Iranian Baha'is. Focus
Report.shared with Government officials information about the broadcast on 'Voice of America' regarding a new campaign to exterminate Bahá'ís in fran.
� 21 National SpiritualAssemblies shared with Government officials and the media news regarding further acts of persecution.
� Bangladesh � A letter was sent from the High Commissioner of Canada for Bangla
Page 344344 THE desh expressing sympathy and 'extending a helping hand'.
� Italy � A letter was sent from the Undersecretary of State to member of
Parliament Mr. Fiandrottiregarding steps the Italian Government has taken to assist the
Baha'is.to the persecution of the Baha in I rin was made by the United States alternate representative of the United Nations in the Third Committee of the 36th session of the Assembly, on the
'Elimination of All FormsStatements were also made by the representative from Fiji, and by the representative from the United Kingdom, on behalf of the member States of the European Economic
Community.published a large article about the Baha of frAn written by Curt Goering of its Washington D.C. office.
� Assemblies � 21 Nationalinformed their Governments about the building of the road through the site of the House of the BTh, the issuance by the Iranian Government to its Consular representatives throughout the world of an order to compile a list of Baha and refrain from extending passports of Iranian Baha, the raiding of the National Spiritual Assembly office in Iran and the arrest of 6 members of the Local Spiritual
Assembly of Tihrdn.of Justice sent a letter to the National Assembly saying he will willingly collaborate in the task of denouncing the violation of human rights of the
Bahá'ís of Iran.� Finland � An enquiry was made by eleven members of Parliament to the Speaker of the Parliament, requesting that the members of the Cabinet advise them what action it plans to take to condemn the persecutions of the Bahá'ís in Iran.
� Iceland � A Bahá'í delegation visited the President, and the friends received an unprecedented amount of publicity.
� irdn � The Dutch Ambassador in Tihr6n conveyed the concern of his Government over the fate of the Bahá'í community of ran.
� Luxembourg � An interview was held with attorney Robert Krieps, lawyer and deputy of the Chamber of Deputies, regarding Iranian Bahá'ís living in Luxembourg.
Iranian nationals who hold Luxembourg I.D. cards can stay in the country, but may not travel abroad.
� The Netherlands � A letter was received from the
Minister of Foreign Affairssharing the alarm of the Baha, and mentioning the raising of the matter by the TEN European countries at the UN General Assembly.
� Thailand � The Hand of themet with Ambassadors of Canada and Australia in Bangkok, Thailand, establishing friendly contacts and receiving assurances of the interest and sympathy of their respective Governments.
� UN General Assembly � Statementswere made in the Third Committee of the 36th session of the Assembly under
ECOSOC Report; Human Rightssituations, by representatives of the following countries: Australia, Canada, the
Netherlands, New Zealandtelexed most of its national sections calling for action regarding members of the Bahá'í Faith in IrAn and the arrest of the S members of the
National Spiritual Assembly.The recommended action was: telegrams and airmail letters to Iranian authorities asking for clarification of the reasons for the arrest of these Bahá'ís and their present whereabouts.
� Assemblies � Many Nationalasked their Governments for help in dealing with Bahá'ís holding Iranian passports.
� 21 National SpiritualAssemblies informed the media and Government officials that the Bahá'í cemetery in Tihr~n had been seized and the House of Bahá'u'lláh in TAkur had
Page 345INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 345
been demolished. Many other National Spiritual Assemblies later took similar action.
� Many National SpiritualAssemblies contacted Government officials and the media regarding the arrest of 8 members of the National Spiritual Assembly of fMn.
� Australia � A letter was received from the Acting Foreign Minister saying that the Government will continue its efforts in international forums to heighten the world's awareness of the persecution of the Bahá'ís in 1dm.
� The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity issued a press release about the execution of the 8 National Spiritual Assembly members, and many
National Spiritual Assembliesshared the above news with their Governments and the media. The Baha
International Community� Letters were sent to selected National Assemblies in Europe from the Bahá'í International Community regarding the forthcoming 38th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in Geneva,
1 February � 12 March 1982.friends contacted high officials of the Government and obtained 'positive results'.
� Baha representatives had a favourable interview with the Ambassador at the Senegalese Embassy.
� Ghana � A halfhour radio interview was held, as well as a press conference.
� Greece � Announcements were made on radio and TV about the execujion of 8 members of the National Spiritual Assembly of fr6n.
� Liberia � The friends distributed booklets entitled Plight of the Bahá'í Faith in Irdn to the Head of State, Government officials and the media. As a result, letters were received from the Acting Minister of State, the Assistant
Ivlinister of Afro-Asianof Justice, Minister of Rural Development and Urban Reconstruction, Minister of Health and
Social Welfare, Minister� Argentina � A proclamation folder 'Special Report on fnin' was prepared for presentation to authorities and prominent people.
� Assemblies � 22 Nationalappealed to their Governments to lend support to the request of the Bahá'í
International Communityto the UN Secretary-General to investigate denial by Ayatollah Ardibili of the execution of the 8 members of the National Spiritual Assembly of I ran.
� 22 National SpiritualAssemblies wrote an open letter to the media for the attention and action of the Iranian Embassies in their countries regarding the above.
� At least 22 National SpiritualAssemblies informed the media and appealed to their respective Governments about the execution of 6 members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihr~n and one other person, and asked their Governments to take steps open to them to assist.
� Australia � A letter was received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs about being informed by the Australian Embassy in Tihr6n of the execution of 8 members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran. He promised to move for a strong statement at the February 1982 meeting of the UN Human Rights
Commission in Geneva.of the Supreme Court and the Prime Minister of frhn regarding the execution of the 8 members of the
National Spiritual AssemblyCommunity wrote a letter to the Division of Human Rights, Geneva, with a 7-page summary of a report submitted to Mr. van Boven, Director of the Division of Human
Rights.Assembly received a letter from the Prime Minister stating it is a 'sad situation and is abhorred by all right and thinking people.
We shall continue to do what is possible to help.'
� Botswana � One of the friends met with President Dr. Q. K. J. Mirza updating him about the plight of the friends in fran.
If Iranian Embassies do not extend pass346 THE BA ports of the Iranian Baha, the Government will issue special residence permits.
� Brazil � A delegation of the National Assembly met with the Ambassador of the Department of Africa, Asia and the Far East, and with the Ambassador of the
Department of Internationalinterview held on Radio Bangui regarding the execution of 8 members of the National Spiritual Assembly of frhn.
� Immigration � Those IranianBahá'ís who can obtain an entry tisa do not need work permits and may stay in the country indefinitely without having a valid passport.
� Europe � A d6marche (joint representation) was made on 31 January 1982 to the Iranian Government in TihrTh by the following 15 Governments: Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United
Kingdom.of the Council of Europe � A resolution was unanimously adopted (its third) following a 2-hour debate by 18 speakers from 10 countries, supporting the attitude of the SubCommission for Human Rights, expressing solidarity towards persons and communities who are unjustly treated, and calling on the Governments of the Council of Europe to use all channels and opportunities to convince the Iranian Government of the necessity to respect the law, etc. (Document #4835 of 18 Jan. 1982 � resolution passed on 29 January 1982).
� France � The National SpiritualAssembly received a letter from the Minister of Foreign Affairs regarding the recent executions.
� Gambia � Letters were received from the office of the President and the Vice-President, both offering support and assurances that the Gambian Government would stand up to violations of human rights.
� A full 2-page article appeared in Jeune Afrique, which has a circulation of about 2 million and goes to Africa and all Arab countries and francophone colonies.
� Germany � The German member of the Council of Europe plans to speak about the Bahá'í situation in fr6n at the meeting of the
Council in Strasbourg.� There were more than 240 news articles about the Bahá'í situation in fr6n.
� The National Assemblyreceived copies of letters of Amnesty International from London and Germany giving details of the recent executions in frdn and asking its members to turn to the Iranian authorities for help for the Baha'is.
� Hawaiian Islands � Miss HalehSamimi, daughter of martyr KAmr6m Samimf, was interviewed on the 6 and 10 p.m. newscasts on KHON-TV and on two newsreels on KLKU-TV.
� Italy � There is clear evidence that the Iranian Embassy is not renewing the passports of Iranian Baha'is.
� A meeting of representatives of the National Spiritual Assembly was held with Dr. Lamela at the Home Office regarding the difficulties facing Iranian Baha in staying and working in Italy.
� A letter was received by the Bahá'í community of San Marino from the Secretary of State of the Republic of San Marino.
� Kiribati � A visit of National Assembly representatives was made to officials of immigration � the Government allows Iranians to apply for immigration into the country.
� Luxembourg � A press conference was held resulting in 3 news articles and one radio programme.
� A public commemoration was held on behalf of the martyrs in IrAn with press and radio releases.
� The National SpiritualAssembly has established friendly relations with the local group of Amnesty
International.of the National Assembly met with the head of immigration on Guam.
� South and West Africa � Aradio news programme reported the number of telegrams and messages that have been received in Irhn from all over the world, including the United Nations, requesting the Iranian Government to stop the persecution of the Baha'is.
� Spain � Letters were sent to each memberINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES of Parliament, 350 in all, transmitting the White Paper prepared by the Bahá'í International Community..
In response one member expressed his sOlidarity with the Baha'is, condemned the repression to which they are subjected and promised to make it widely known to his Parliamentary group. At least six other members acknowledged receipt of the material.
� Switzerland � The NationalSpiritual Assembly wrote to the Federal Councillor, Pierre Aubert, and informed the Federal authorities about the execution of 8 members of the National Spiritual Assembly of fain and 6 members of the Local Assembly of
Tihr4n.� United States � An article appeared in the New York
Times.� Large memorial gatherings were held in Los Angeles, Boston and New York to honour the Bahá'í martyrs in fran.
� The Los Angeles (California)Bahá'í community, between 4 and 12 January 1982, was able to obtain time on 13 TV programmes and 1 radio programme, and 4 news articles appeared in 3 major newspapers.
� Zambia � Its Public Relationsshared with appropriate offices of their respective Governments the letter dated 10 January 1982 from Mr. Mansour Farhang, onetime Ambassador to the United Nations from Ir6n, to Professor Richard Falk of Princeton University, in which he repudiates a number of accusations made by the Iranian Government against the Baha'is.
� Europe � A d6marche was made by EEC Ambassadors in New York to the Secretary-General of the United Nations on 12 February 1982.
� France � A letter was received from the President of the Republic expressing his distress about the execution of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran, and saying they are doing all they can. He hopes that expressions of international conscience will incline the authorities to respect the rights of the Baha'is.
� An article appeared in La Croix, a Catholic newspaper.
� Germany � Amnesty Internationalorganized silent marches for those killed in Iran, including the Baha'is.
� Italy � Roland Phulipp consulted Dr. Hans Benedikter, delegate of the South Tyrolian People's Party to the Roman House.
He promised to present a resolution to the Italian Parliament advocating the rights of the Persian Baha'is, and to write an article for the German-language daily, etc. � Ivory Coast � Interviews were held between 22 February and 23 March by representatives of the National Spiritual
Assembly and Counsellorof the Supreme Court, 9 Ministers of State, and other prominent people, informing them of the Bahá'í situation prevailing in
Inn.� Jamaica � A letter was received from the Governor-General sympathizing with the Bahá'ís and advising them to write to the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade for help.
� It appears that the Ministry of National Security and Justice will grant travel documents to replace Iranian passports of three Iranian Bahá'í families, whose passports have expired or are about to expire.
� Malawi � a delegation of theplanned to meet with the Secretary to the President and Cabinet.
� Mexico � A letter was received from the President, Chamber of Deputies Commission on Foreign Relations, from the Director of the Department of Refugees, office of the Secretary of the Government, and from a lawyer to the Director of the Department of Refugees regarding Iranian Bahá'ís seeking asylum.
� The Minority Rights Grouppublished a report (No. 51), 'The Baha of fran', by Roger Cooper.
� Namibia � Iranian Baha'is, who have permanent residence permits, could be given travel documents from the Government if their passports are not returned from the Iranian Embassy. Those with temporary residence visas will be considered case by case.
� Norway � A letter was received from the Office of the
Minister of Foreign Affairsadvising that on 31 January 1982 Norway took part in a joint 'western address to the Iranian authorities'.
(D6marche as cited previously.)� Portugal � A meeting was held with the Secretary to the President of the Parliament, who said it was likely that the President would transmit information about the Bahá'ís of Ir~in to the Committees for Political Affairs and Rights and
Freedom.� Spain � A representative of the National Spiritual Assembly contacted the High Commissioner for Refugees, ascertaining that it is possible to provide Persian Baha with passports, in collaboration with Spanish police, if the Iranian Embassy will not renew their passports.
In some cases they will even help them obtain residency and work permits and extend financial assistance.
� Swaziland � A letter was received from the Deputy Prime Minister's office acknowledging receipt of documents about the persecution of the Bahá'ís in IrAn and saying that Swaziland 'supports all those institutions and organizations that work toward this objective', i.e., the promotion of national and international peace and human understanding.
� Switzerland � TV programme 'Visiteurs du Soir', a 25-minute interview with
Mrs. Christine Hakim-Samandariabout the assassination of her father and the persecution of the Bahá'ís in kin.
� UN Press Briefing � the Secretary-General met with representatives of Belgium, Denmark and the United Kingdom, who expressed the concern of the EEC over the persecution of the Baha in Iran, as well as summary executions.
� United Kingdom � the Baha'isituation was discussed at a meeting of the House of Lords.
� A letter was received from the Minister of State outlining the steps he has taken.
� United States � A Senatorspoke in the Senate calling attention to the oppression of Iranian Bahá'ís and encouraging Congressional hearings on the persecution of religious minorities in Iran.
Marchsemblies contacted Government officials and the media regarding the martyrdom of 2 more Baha in fffin and the continuing persecutions, especially in Yazd and
Shir~z.was directed to the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs regarding the plight of religious minorities in Jr6n, particularly the Baha, asking if the Government is able to make a special provision for people to settle in Australia.
Mr. Macphee answered about the special humanitarian programme established by the Immigration authorities.
� Belize � A Day of Prayerheld jn memory of the Bahá'í martyrs in Iffin was announced in the newspapers and on a 15-minute radio interview.
Prayer meetings were held in 6 major towns.� Bolivia � A press conference was held in La Paz resulting in a news article being printed in a major newspaper,
Ultima Hora. Informationfolders were distributed to the media in that city.
� Contact was made with the Minister of the Interior by a Bahá'í delegation.
� Denmark � An interview was held with Mr. Gerald Knight of the Bahá'í International Community on national TV and radio news programmes.
� Europe � UN Commission forresolution was adopted, one of the clauses of which reads as follows: 'Requests the Secretary-General to establish direct contacts with the Qovernment of IrAn on the human rights situation prevailing in that country and to continue his efforts to endeavour to ensure that the Bahá'ís are guaranteed full enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.'
� Europe � UN Commission forstatement was made by the Bahá'í International Community, on agenda item 20, 'Report of the SubCommission.
� Fiji � The Senate passed a resolution expressing its grave concern over the continuing persecution of the Bahá'ís of IrAn and commending the Fiji Government's stand at the
Human Rights CommissionINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 349
March at the Hotel Presidentti in Helsinki by Messrs.
Gerald Knight and Giovanni Bahá'u'lláhof the Baha International Community and by representatives of the National Spiritual
Assembly of Finland.� Hong Kong � A TV interview was held on Radio Hong Kong, English News Department.
� Italy � In the city of Rimini at a preliminary meeting of Amnesty International, the Bahá'ís were invited to participate and report on the plight of the Bahá'ís in tr6n. They drafted a resolution which will be presented at the 16 � 18 April meeting of Amnesty International in Assisi to arrange for a debate at the World
Congress of Amnesty InternationalIslands � I he head of the Immigration Office in New Caledonia says that special visas with the possibility of employment will be granted to Iranians holding refugee status documents.
� New Zealand � A Baha delegation met with the Governor-General about the plight of the friends in IrAn.
� Samoa � A letter was sent from the Prime Minister and Departments of the Government sending a message through the Samoan Ambassador to the UN to be transmitted to the Iranian Government through their Embassy, expressing concern for the persecution of the Baha in fr6n and appealing for an immediate end to these persecutions and executions in the spirit of humanity.
� Spain � The Senate's Specialadopted a declaration condemning the persecution of the Iranian Baha'is.
� Sweden � Mr. Knight of the� United Kingdom � At a public meeting of Amnesty International at Guildford University on the subject of human rights the keynote speaker, Terry Waite, who was sent to kin to release English missionaries imprisoned there, made a specific plea on behalf of the Bahá'ís of lr~n.
� On the TV programme 'Newsnight', Dr. Geoffrey Nash, who wrote Irdn's Secret Pogrom, was interviewed regarding the persecution of the Bahá'ís as portrayed in his book.
� United States � A television documentary was prepared on the persecution of the Bahá'ís in fran.
� An article appeared in the Los Angeles Times publishing a letter written by the Presbyterian President of the Southern California Inter-religious Council, the Executive Vice-President of the Southern California Board of Rabbis and the Executive Director of the Southern California Ecumenical Council, expressing their sympathy and condemnation over the killing and persecution of the Bahá'ís in IrAn.
� Senator Sidney Yates spoke in Congress, on the floor of the House of Representatives.
� Virgin Islands � Interviews� Argentina � A meeting was held with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to update him on news from I ran. A dossier was prepared and presented to authorities and prominent people.
� Assemblies � Many Nationalinformed Government officials and the news media about the execution of 2 more Baha in fr6n and the attacks against the friends in Says6n (near Tabriz) and HisAr, and the increased arrests that are occurring.
� National Spiritual Assembliesupdated the authorities and the media about 8 more executions and a fresh outburst of persecutions against the Baha community in I ran.
� Many National Spiritualofficials and the media about the execution of 2 more Bahá'ís in a village near
Tihr6n.� Australia � A 15-minute programme about the Bahá'ís in fr6n was aired nationwide on
ABC-TV.� The '60-Minutes' TV news team filmed the special prayer service held by the friends in memory of the Baha martyrs of Iran.
� The '60-Minutes' TV show was aired, a 15-minute segment of it being devoted to the persecution of the Bahá'ís in IrAn.
� Brazil � A speech was made by Senator Leite Chaves to the National Congress ap
Page 350350 THE BAHÁ'Í WORLD pealing to the Brazilian
Minister of Foreign Affairs'to use his influence with the Iranian Embassy to put a stop to this violation of human rights, expressing the concern of the Senate of Brazil'; and he asked for a motion that the Senate express to the Bahá'í National Convention of Brazil that 'such violence and so much suffering in relation to the followers of religion should cease, as it should, in the country of its birth and of the Founder, where He had received the inspiration to create it and to spread it throughout the world'.
(Published in the official Didrio Do Congresso Nacional, No. 052, 1 May 1982.)
� Canada � The Committee on the Church and International Affairs of the United Church of Canada sent a letter to the President of the ICRC in Geneva expressing concern about 'reported att acks on whole communities, such as the Baha'is', and urging the ICRC to send an investigation team to tin to inspect the prisons.
� A letter was sent to theof Canada assuring its cooperation in any way possible.
� French Antilles � FR3 TVin Guadeloupe and Martinique presented simultaneously the interview with Mrs. Christine Hakim-Samandarf made by the French TV company.
� Germany � Two members of the National Spiritual Assembly met with the
Minister of Foreign AffairsSenate passed a resolution urging the pursuit of all available means to put an end to the campaign of genocide against the Bahá'ís of fran.
� Hong Kong � A 3 � 4-minute TV� RTV News spot in English and Chinese regarding the execution of 3 Bahá'ís in Karaj.
� The Netherlands � A 15-minuteprogramme about the Iranian Bahá'í situation was aired on 'Avro's Televiser', and concluded with a direct appeal to the Dutch Parliament to raise its voice for their protection because 'it may well be too late for the 400,000 innocent people, and we will not be able to say then that we did not know about it'.
� Northern Ireland � A 50-minutecontained an article about the martyrdom of six Bahá'ís and asked its members to send cables and letters to President
Khamenei and Prime Minister Mousaviexpressing concern about the recent executions, stressing Al's opposition to the death penalty, but appealing against the imprisonment and execution of the Bahá'ís in particular.
� United States � A letter was received from Senator
Bill Bradley.� A Congressional hearing was held for 2� hours led by two Congressmen, one of whom introduced a resolution calling for an embargo on I r~n until conditions for the Bahá'ís improve.
The chairman concluded that resolution 'with teeth' would be adopted to alleviate the suffering of the victims of religious persecution throughout the world.
� The Senate Foreign RelationsCommittee adopted a resolution a few days before the above, introduced by Senator
Heinz (in March).passed a resolution regarding the plight of the Iranian
Baha'is.� Coffee clubs distributed over 33,000 leaflets regarding the Bahá'í situation in Irdn, and 3,000 letters were sent to Congressional representatives protesting the treatment of the Iranian friends.
� Virgin Islands � Letterswere received from Senators in response to the National
Spiritual Assembly'sappeal, and one Senator asked for an interview. Another letter was received from a Senator expressing sympathy and hoping 'world leaders will resolve this deplorable act'.
June� Chile � The Spanish edition of the White Paper was sent to all Ministers of State. All acknowledged receipt of this document.
� A letter was received from the Office of Special Affairs of the Chilean Government acknowledging receipt of the Spanish version of the White Paper and inviting the representative of the Bahá'í Public
ReINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 351
lations Department of the National Spiritual Assembly to meet with the head of this Office.
A 30-minute interview was held on 5 July.� France � A letter was received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Claude Cheys-son, stating in part that 'with the encouragement of the French Government, meetings are being held at this moment between the ten countries of the EEC for the purpose of reviewing humanitarian steps taken in January by its members with the Iranian authorities on behalf of the Baha, as well as action taken in January by these countries to approach the UN Secretary-General'.
� India � The Indian Express, New Delhi, one of the leading newspapers in India, published a letter from Mr. V. M. Tarkunde, a leading jurist and public figure in India, doubting a claim made by the Iranian Embassy that nobody is persecuted in Iran merely because of his faith. He suggests that a delegation go to kin to investigate the situation.
� Kiribati � National SpiritualAssembly representatives met with the President, who assured them his Government would send a communication to the Iranian Government through the Iranian Embassy in Australia expressing their concern about the persecution of Iranian Baha'is. (The communication referred to above was sent on
22 July� Upper Volta � A TV programme was aired � documentary from the French TV network about the persecution and execution of Iranian Baha'is, including an interview with Mrs.
Christine Hakim-Samandari.officials and the media about the execution of 4 believers in Qazvin and the mounting pressures against the Bahá'ís in lr~n.
� Australia � A letter was received by the National Spiritual Assembly from the Minister of Foreign Affairs informing it that Australia joined 15 other countries in making a d6marche to the Iranian Government, recalling the deep concern of all countries regarding the position of the Bahá'ís in Ir4n, and seeking a response and assurances that the Iranian authorities would respect the human rights of the Iranian Baha'is.
� The Baha'i' InternationalCommunity reported that the Minority Rights Group Ltd. submitted a report to members of the Human Rights Committee of the UN dealing with compliance by I r~n with the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights.Assembly reported that the Charg6 d'Affaires of Denmark made representation on behalf of the TEN EEC countries, plus 6 other~ countries presenting to the Director of the Legal Department of fr6n a note about the plight of the Bahá'í community.
� Replies were received from prominent people in response to their receiving the French White Paper, among whom were members of the French
Government National Assemblyand Senate, the Ministers of Culture and Foreign Affairs, the President, and the Consul General of Grenoble.
� A letter was received from the Technical Adviser to the Minister for European Affairs stating that 'a new step will be undertaken as soon as possible by the representative of the EEC to the Secretary-General of the United Nations � A letter was received from Mr. Vincent Ansquer of the National Assembly of the Republic of France transmitting a copy of a proposal for a resolution of the European Parliament on the plight of the Bahá'í community of I ran. (Document 1381/82.)
� New Zealand � Prime MinisterMuldoon wrote a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly advising that the UN
Permanent Representativesin New York and Geneva have placed on record New Zealand's concern regarding the situation of the
Bahá'ís in IrAn.� Virgin Islands � A letter was received by the National Spiritual Assembly from Sidney Lee, Senator of the 14th Legislature, supporting the stand of the Baha'is.
Augustand the media about the martyrdom of a Baha in Shir~z and another in
Uniimiyyih.� Belgium � A letter was received from the Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterating the concern of the Belgian Government of continuing to bring within the TEN (EEC countries) its contribution to the alleviation of the plight of the Iranian Baha community.
� The European Parliamentsent a letter and proposition of a resolution regarding the persecution of the Bahá'ís in frdn, calling on the Iranian authorities to grant the Bahá'ís their fundamental rights.
� France � A letter was received from the Prime Minister, Pierre Mauroy, who asked the partners in EEC countries to undertake new joint steps with the Iranian authorities and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
(France and the Netherlands initiated this step.)
� The Netherlands � A petition was presented to the Commission for Foreign Affairs of the
Dutch Parliament (160Baha took part) and a Bahá'í delegation met with 3 members of the Commission, who promised to bring the petition to the attention of the Foreign
Minister.� The above matter was discussed during a meeting of the
Commission for Foreign Affairsof the 14th Legislature shared her concern and expressed her willingness to help the Baha'is.
September� Canada � A meeting was held by National Spiritual Assembly representatives and an Auxiliary Board member with Prime Minister Trudeau, at which time he was briefed on the persecutions of the Iranian
Baha'is.Sub-Commis-sion on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Geneva � A resolution was adopted on 8 September on the topic of religious intolerance.
� France � The Minister ofwrote to a Deputy of the National Assembly of the Republic advising him he has asked that steps be renewed to help the Baha, i.e. to make representation to both the
UN Secretary-General� Belgium � An article appeared in the daily newspaper
Le Soir on 24 January.Two important reactions followed accompanied by a request for regular clarification by the Minister of Finance and a TV journalist.
� United States � An article appeared in The New York Times on 17 January about Zia Nassry and his experiences in prison in Ir6n. He told reporters about the torture and wanton killings in Iran prisons and praised the Baha prisoners he met, stating that they 'went to their deaths rather than renounce their faith. There was Postchi, a businessman, Farid, a lawyer; Dr. Far-hangi, a physician, and Mowhundal, a science teacher, all of whom were executed.'
� Virgin Islands � A letter was received from Ron de Lugo, Member of the U.S. Congress, expressing his concern about the treatment of the Bahá'ís in Iran and pledging his support towards the efforts being made to 'bring about a change in that Government's policies'.
� Windward Islands � A delegation of local Bahá'ís met with Foreign Affairs
Minister Hudson K. Tannison 13 January to brief him with details about the persecution of the Iranian believers.
Februarysent out on 14 February an Urgent Action appeal for general distribution, asking recipients to send a cable or express letter immediately to one or more of the following:
Ayatollah Khomeini, HojjatoleslamHussein Musavi. In such communications they should refer to the 22 Bahá'ís in Shfr~z who are sentenced to death, stressing Amnesty International's opposition to the use of the death penalty and appealing in particular
Page 353INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 353
for a 'halt to the imprisonment and execution of Bahá'í
� Australia � Letters were received from the following: Senator K. Sibraa advising that he would like to be informed of any new developments concerning the situation in Iran; the Commissioner for Community Relations expressing his sympathy for the situation in fr6n; the Minister for Health expressing a continued interest in the situation in IrAn; and the Minister for Education who said that he will continue to do all he can to encourage his Government to make our concerns known to fr6n.
� Botswana � Radio Botswanabroadcast on two consecutive days news of efforts being made by the Bahá'í
International Communityin Geneva on behalf of the Bahá'ís in fAn. The news was apparently picked up from an international news source and read on the 7:00 am. news.
� India � A statement was signed by some of the most prominent people in India appealing to the Iranian Government to stop the execution of the 22 Bahá'ís facing the death sentence in Shirtz. Copies of this appeal were sent to all leading newspapers throughout
India.� Netherlands � The Dutch branch of Amnesty International consulted the Bahá'í National Assembly for background information about the Faith for publication in a bulletin which also contained the above 14 February despatch.
� Senegal � On 3 February representatives of the National Assembly met with two Senegalese representatives to the Human Rights Commission, briefing them about the situation of the Bahá'ís in fran.
� Uganda � A delegation of the National Assembly met with Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials on 28 February 1983.
The spokesman from the Ministry said he would brief the President of Uganda before his trip to New Delhi for the nonaligned summit, stated that 'We fully support freedom of religion and are willing to join our voice with others on this issue', and 'will do everything possible to support you on this issue~ � United States � The secretary of the National Assembly met with the Washington representative of the
UN High Commissionerfor Refugees about the Iranian Bahá'ís in various countries needing immigration assistance. He also met with many other officials of the Government about the situation of the Bahá'ís in IrAn.
� The President of the NationalJames Armstrong, sent a telegram to Ayatollah Khomeini asking him to spare the lives of those sentenced to death in Iran, who have been imprisoned on the basis of matters of conscience. Reports have reached us of the impending executions of 22 such persons recently sentenced in Shiraz '(22 February).
� The Temple Beth Ami in Reseda, California, gathered signatures on petitions denouncing the continued murder and persecution of Bahá'ís in Ir6n under the Khomeini r6gime. One set was sent to the UN Secretary-General, and the other to the Senator of their district with a copy to the Congressional
Representative.about the Bahá'ís under death sentence in Shiffiz.
Marchmade a statement to the 39th session of the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva on 2 March 1983.
� The representative of the Islamic Republic of fr6n also made a statement at this session on the same date.
� On 7 March 1983 the UnitedHRJ1349 concerning the debate on Religious Intolerance at the Human Rights Commission in Geneva. It contained a statement made by Mrs. Mashid Fatio, representative of the Bahá'í International Community, welcoming the proposals made in the draft resolution before the Commission.
� The UN Commission on HumanRights adopted on 8 March a resolution expressing concern for the grave violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in IrAn, urging the Iranian Government to respect and ensure the rights of all individuals, requesting the Secretary-General or his representative to submit a report on the human rights situation in IrAn to the Corn
Page 354imssion on Human Rights at its 40th session, and requesting the Iranian Government to extend its cooperation to the Secretary-General.
Bahá'ís are mentioned specifically in paragraphs 1 and 3. Significant statements which were of help to the Bahá'í case were made by the following Governments: Item 12: Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world: Australia, Canada, Denmark,
France, Federal Republicof Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Togo, United Kingdom,
United States.on Human Rights (which included discussion on the death penalty): the
Netherlands.of the Declaration on the Elimination of all forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief: Canada, Denmark, Fiji, Ireland, the Netherlands, Peru, Switzerland, logo, United
States.its meeting in Strasbourg this body unanimously adopted an excellent resolution on 10 March dealing almost exclusively with the situation of the Bahá'ís in Shir~z.
� Geneva � On 11 March the United Nations issuedregarding the adoption of measures for continuing action to promote respect for human rights. The release mentioned the resolution about the continuing grave violations of human rights in IrAn, specifically mentioning the Baha, as cited above (Resolution passed on
8 March by UN Human Rights� Ireland � On 11 March a letter was received by the National Assembly from the Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs stating that: Ireland cosponsored a resolution on the human rights question in Iran at the UN Human Rights Commission in Genevx its
Permanent Representativein Geneva spoke on this item appealing to the Iranian authorities to put a stop to the summary executioii of Bahá'ís and to secure for them the freedom to practise their religion without discrimination.
� Mauritius � On 21 March the secretary of the National Assembly was interviewed on television about the development of the Faith in that country and the persecution of the
Bahá'ís in IrAn.� Sweden � Two representatives of the National Assembly met with the Foreign Minister to discuss the plight of the Bahá'ís in fr6n.
� Switzerland � The NationalAssembly wrote on 16 March to the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. Pierre Aubert, to inform him of the execution on 12 March of three Bahá'ís in Shfr4z.
� United Kingdom � On 3 Marcha London Member of Parliament asked a question in the House of Commons seeking to know whether time would be made available for a full debate on the persecution of the Baha in Iran, and pointing out '. the gross offence that the Iranian treatment of the Baha community gives to the Bahá'í community in our own country'.
� At the same time two 'Early Day Motions' were submitted in the House of Commons, signed by a large number of members of Parliament from various parties.
These motions are theoretically to be debated at some point, but in practice time is never available for them; however, they provide a useful device whereby the Government and public can be made aware that there are items about which a number of members of Parliament feel strongly and which they want publicized.
� United Nations, Officeof the Under-Secretary-General for Political and General Assembly Affairs � In response to a briefing paper on the situation facing the Bahá'ís in I r~n sent on 25 March to the Secretary-General of the United Nations from the Bahá'í International
Community, the Special Assistantfor Political and Humanitarian Affairs answered on 28 March: 'We of course will seek to be as helpful as circumstances permit, particularly with reference to the lives of those imprisoned.'
� United Kingdom � Speakingin the House of Lords in the United Kingdom on 8 March, Lord Whaddon asked her Majesty's Government to urge the Iranian Government to include the Bahá'í Faith as a legitimate independent religion in their Constitution.
� Lord Mirza asked that no Iranian Bahá'í should be repatriated against his or her will from this country (United Kingdom) to IrAn.
Page 355INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 355
� Lord Renton referred to the United Kingdom's impeccable record of religious tolerance, while Lord Kilbracken asked whether or not the Government was equally concerned about the persecution by the Iranians of the Kurdish and other minorities. Lord Skehnersdale answered: 'Human fights are human rights wherever they occur.'
� United Nations Daily PressBriefing � At the briefing held on 17 March Mr. Fran9ois Giuliani said, in response to questions, that the UN had received reports about the summary execution of Bahá'ís in frTh and this was a matter of longstanding concern to the UN that had been discussed with the Iranian authorities on several occasions.
� United States � A concurrent resolution was passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate of the State of South Dakota, requesting the Congress of the United States to continue its efforts to halt the persecutions of the Bahá'í minority in fr6n and instructing the Chief Clerk to send the document to each member of the South Dakota Congressional delegations, the President of the United States, the Bahá'í International Community and the Local Spiritual
Assembly of Pierre, South� Letters were received from 5 Senators in response to communications from the National Assembly updating them on the persecutions.
� A letter dated 23 March was received from Senator Bob Dole transmitting a statement he made in the Senate on the same date.
The statement appears in the Congressional Record of the Senate.
� The secretary of the National Assembly met with the Director of the International
Rescue Committee in NewYork regarding possible assistance in helping Bahá'í refugees.
� Congressman John Porterof Illinois made a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives on 3 March about the 'final solution' planned by the 'Khomeini regime for the Bahá'ís and other oppressed minorities in I ran', and urged the State Department to do something to 'end the evil persecution of the Bahá'ís by the tyrannical regime .' until it is settled 'to our satisfaction'.
� On 3 March Elliott Abbas, Assistant Secretary of State, spoke before the
House Foreign AffairsSubcommittee on Human rights and International Organizations, expressing his 'profound dismay and alarm with the recent reports that the Iranian Revolutionary Supreme Court in Tehran has upheld the death sentences of 22 Bahais It is our sincere hope that the Iranian authorities will heed the voice of world public opinion and refrain from executing these individuals.'
� The following actions were taken concerning the recent execution of 3 Baha in Shirtjz: Appeals were telexed to Government officials, prominent people and the media; selected Local Spiritual Assemblies were mobilized to solicit statements from influential individuals and groups who have shown an interest in humanitarian matters, and to reach local media; individual believers were called upon to write letters to the editors of their local newspapers; 600 media committees and representatives were asked to support efforts of their Local Assemblies; and press releases were sent to major wire services, selected contadts of the press, and local media committees.
April� Australia � A notice of motion was made by Senator Baume on 21 April as follows: 'I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move � That the Australian Senate condemns the systematic deprivation by the Islamic Republic of frdn of the most basic rights of citizens of that country whose only crime is that they are members of the Bahá'í and other minority religious faiths.'
� Central South Zaire � A delegation of the Bahá'í Administrative Committee met with the President of the Republic of Zaire and Messrs. Mobutu and Ladawa, and during the meeting discussed the persecutions in fr6n.
� Panama � The article by Bernard Weinraub about the persecution of the Baha in fr6n, which was published in The New York Times and widely circulated by the N.Y. Times News Service, appeared in the Panamanian Star
& Herald on 29 April.� United States � An article appeared in The New York Times on 26 April about the new
Page 356persecutions against the Baha'is, stating that 'State Department officials are concerned over a court sentence handed down two months ago in Shiraz, in south central fr6n, of execution for 22 Bahá'í men and women, for spying and for alleged links to Israel.'
Prayers for the Bahá'ís were said in three Christian churches and a synagogue in Wichita, Kansas, on the insistence of the clergy.
� A tree was planted on 15 April in the Cortez City Park in memory of the Bahá'í martyrs in fr6n, a gift to the city from several Colorado State Bahá'í communities in that area.
A procession of Bahá'ís of The Netherlands, each carrying a white rose in honour of an individual martyr, silently proceeded through The Hague to the Dutch Parliament where government officials accorded sympathetic attention to the description of the plight of the Bahá'ís of Irdn; August 1982.
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12. LETTER FROM THE UNIVERSAL HOUSEON 10 February 1980, the Universal House of Justice addressed a letter in Persian to the Iranian believers residing in countries outside Iran. The National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom prepared a translation into English, the text of which was sent to all National Spiritual Assemblies on 29 July 1980 with the following explanatory note: 'The message includes several quotations from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi hitherto untranslated into English. The English text of these passages, as they appear in the attached translated message, have been checked and approved at the World Centre, and may be regarded by the friends as authorized texts. Passages previously published and included in the message can be found in the following publications: The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 146 and p. 33; The Promised Day is Come, p. 1; and Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed after the Kitáb-i-A A qdas, p. 35 and p. 219.'
10 February 1980To the dear Iranian believers resident in other countries throughout the world In these tumultuous days when the lovers of the Best Beloved are remote from their homeland, associating with their fellow-believers in other lands, and participating in the services of the loyal supporters throughout the world, we felt it necessary to convey our thoughts to those distinguished friends, with absolute sincerity and affection, and invite them to that which we believe can guarantee their tranquillity and happiness, as well as their eternal salvation and redemption; so that with firm steps and sure hearts they may, God willing, withstand the onslaughts which have and will afffict all the countries of the globe. Thus they may fix their gaze on the dawn of the fulfilment of the soul-vitalizing promises of God and remain certain that behind these dark clouds the Sun of the Will of God is shining resplendent from its height of glory and might.
Before long these dark clouds of contention, negligence, fanaticism, and rebellion shall disperse, the day of victory shall dawn above the horizon, and a new age shall illumine the world. It should not be surmised that the events which have taken place in all corners of the globe, incuding the sacred land of fran, have occurred as isolated incidents without any aim and purpose. According to the words of our beloved Guardian: 'The invisible hand is at work and the convulsions taking place on earth are a prelude to the proclamation of the Cause of God.' This is but one of the mysterious forces of this supreme Revelation which is causing the limbs of mankind to quake and those who are drunk with pride and negligence to be thunderstruck and shaken. To the truth of this testifies the sacred verse: The world's equilibrium hat,'i been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order, and the repeated warnings of the Pen of ~the Most High, such as: The world is encircled with calamities. Even if at times some good may be evident, it is inevitable that a great calamity followeth � and yet no one on earth hath perceived its origin The world is in travail and its agitation waxeth day by day. Its face is turned towards waywardness and uhbelief. Such shall be its plight that to disclose it now would not be meet and seemly.
Its perversity will long continue. And when the appointed hour is come, there shall suddenly appear that which shall cause the limbs of mankind to quake. Then and only then will the Divine Standard be unfurled and the Nightingale of Paradise warble its melody.
Similarly, the Pen of the Centre of the Covenant has repeatedly prophesied the in
Page 358tolerable calamities which must beset this wayward humanity ere it heeds the life-giving Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.
Chaos and confusion are daily increasing in the world. They will attain such intensity as to render the frame of mankind unable to bear them. Then will men be awakened and become aware that religion is the impregnable stronghold and the manifest light of the world, and its laws, exhortations and teachings the source of life on earth.
Every discerning eye clearly sees that the early stages of this chaos have daily manifestations affecting the structure of human society; its destructive forces are uprooting lime-honoured institutions which were a haven and refuge for the inhabitants of the earth in bygone days and centuries, and around which revolved all human affairs. The same destructive forces are also deranging the political, economic, scientific, literary, and moral equilibrium of the world and are destroying the fairest fruits of the present civilization. Political machinations of those in authority have placed the seal of obsolescence upon the root-principles of the world's order.
Greed and passion, deceit, hypocrisy, tyranny, and pride are dominating features afflicting human relations.
Discoveries and inventions, which are the fruit of scientific and technological advancements, have become the means and tools of mass extermination and destruction and are in the hands of the ungodly.
Even music, art, and literature, which are to represent and inspire the noblest sentiments and highest aspirations and should be a source of comfort and tranquillity for troubled souls, have strayed from the straight path and are now the mirrors of the soiled hearts of this confused, unprincipled, and disordered age. Perversions such as these shall result in the ordeals which have been prophesied by the Blessed Beauty in the following words: Every day a new calamity will seize the earth and a fresh tormenting trial will appear. The day is approaching when its [civilization's]
flame will devour the cities.In such an afflicted time, when mankind is bewildered and the wisest of men are perplexed as to the remedy, the people of Baha, who have confidence in His unfailing grace and divine guidance, are assured that each of these tormenting trials has a cause, a purpose, and a definite result, and all are essential instruments for the establishment of the immutable Will of God on earth. In other words, on the one hand humanity is struck by the scourge of His chastisement which will inevitably bring together the scattered and vanquished tribes of the earth; and on the other, the weak few whom He has nurtured under the protection of His loving guidance are, in this formative age and period of transition, continuing to build amidst these tumultuous waves an impregnable stronghold which will be the sole remaining refuge for those lost multitudes. Therefore, the dear friends of God who have such a broad and clear vision before them are not perturbed by such events, nor are they panic-stricken by such thundering sounds, nor will they face such convulsions with fear and trepidation, nor will they be deterred, even for a moment, from fulfilling their sacred responsibilities.
One of their sacred responsibilities is to exemplify in their lives those attributes which are acceptable at His
Sacred Threshold. Othersmust inhale from them the holy fragrances of the homeland of Bahá'u'lláh, the land which is the birthplace of sell-sacrificing martyrs and devoted lovers of the Omnipotent Lord. They must not forget that Bahá'ís throughout the world expect much from the Iranian believers.
They should hearken to the life-giving clarion call which their Peerless Beloved has given to the friends in frdn: It is the wish of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and that which attracts His good-pleasure, and indeed it is His binding command that Baha'is, in all matters, even in small daily transactions and dealings with others, should act in accordance with the Divine Teachings.
He has commanded us not to be content with lowliness, humility and meekness but rather to become man(festaiions of utter nothingness and selflessness. Loyalty and fidelity, compassion and love are exhortations of old. In this supreme Dispensation the people of Baha are called upon to sacrifice their very lives.
Notice the extent to which the friends have been required, in the
Sacred Epistles and Tabletsas well as in our Beloved's Testament, to be righteous, well-wishing, forbearing, sanctified, pure, detached from
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all else save God, severed from the trappings of this world and adorned with the mantle of a goodly character and divine attributes. Before all else they must sanctify their hearts and purify their motives, otherwise all efforts in furthering qny enterprise will be fruitless. They must eschew affectation and imitation, for every man of understanding will instantly detect their loathsome odour.
They must not neglect the special times they should set aside for meditation, reflection and prayer, for without the blessings and confirmations of God, success, progress and development are difficult, nay impossible. You cannot tin-agine what influence is exerted on the hearts of men by genuine love, sincerity and purity of motive, but such an effect can only be produced when strivings and efforts are made every day by every individual. Let not the stranger, the envious and the enemy have cause to attribute the sublimity of the Faith in the past and in its early days to the appearance of outstanding and sanctified souls and the perseverance of martyrs whose absence today implies the necessary decline, weakening, scattering and annihilation of the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.We beseech God to aid and assist them daily to centre their attentions on these divine admonitions and to tread the path of faithfulness so as to secure abiding happiness.
Another of the sacred responsibilities of the believers is their spiritual commitment to serve God's Sacred Threshold at all times and under all conditions so that they may dedicate the few, fleeting days of their lives � particularly in this age of transition � to the Cause of God, unmindful of the vicissitudes of fortune, trusting in Providence, and relieved of worries and anxieties. Witness what joyful tidings the Pen of the Most High has given to such blessed souls: Whatsoever occurreth in the world of being is light for His loved ones and fire for the people of sedition and strife.
Even if all the losses of the world were to be sustained by one of the friends of God, he would still profit thereby, whereas true loss would be borne by such as are wayward, ignorant and contemptuous.
Although the author of the following saying had intended it otherwise, yet We find it pertinent to the operation of God's immutable Will: 'Even or odd, thou shalt win the wager'. The friends of God shall win and profit under all conditions, and shall attain true wealth'. In fire they remain cold, and from water they emerge dry.
Their affairs are at variance with the affairs of men.
Gain is their lot; whatever the deal. To this test ifi eth every wise one with a discerning eye, and every fair-minded one with a hearing ear.
Yet another sacred duty is that of clinging to the cord of moderation in all things, lest they who are to be the essence of detachment and moderation be deluded by the trappings of this nether world or set their hearts on its adornments and waste their lives.
If they are wealthy they should make these bestowals a means of drawing nigh unto God's Threshold, rather than being so attached to them that they forget the admonitions of the Pen of the Most High.
The Voice of Truth has said: Having attained the stage of fulfilment and reached his maturity, man standeth in need of wealth, and such wealth as he acquireth through crafts or professions is commendable and praiseworthy in the estimation of men of wisdom. If wealth and prosperity become the means of service at God's Threshold it is highly meritorious, otherwise it would be better to avoid them. Turn to the Book of the Covenant, the Hidden Words, and other Tablets, lest the cord of your salvation become a rope of woe which will lead to your own destruction.
How numerous are those negligent souls, particularly from among your own compatriots, who have been deprived of the blessings of faith and true understanding.
Witness how, no sooner had they attained their newly-amassed wealth and status, than they became so bewitched by them as to forget the virtues and true perfections of man's station. They clung to their empty and fruitless lifestyle.
They had naught else but their homes, their commercial success, and their ornamental trappings of which to be proud. Behold their ultimate fate. Many a triumphal arch was reduced to a ruin, many an imperial palace was converted into a barn. Many a day of deceit turned into a night of despair. Vast treasures changed hands and, at the end of their lives, they were left only with tears of loss and regret. all that perisheth
Page 360and changeth is not and hath never been, worthy of attention, except to a recognized measure.'
Therefore the people of BaM must not fall prey to the corruption of the ruthless but rather cling to contentment and moderation. They must make their homes havens for the believers, folds for their gatherings and centres for the promulgation of His Cause and the diffusion of His love, so that people of all strata, whether high or low, may feel at home and be able to consort in an atmosphere of love and fellowship.
Another sacred responsibility of those dear Iranian friends now living abroad is to consult with the
Assemblies and Bahá'íInstitutions so that their settlement in needy areas may help the establishment and consolidation of the Faith. They must serve on the pioneer front wherever they reside. They must now allow themselves to be drawn to and congregate in areas where their relatives or friends reside, unaware of the pioneering needs of the Faith. Praised be God that, through the blessings of the Greatest Name, the believers have been imbued with a love and unity which transcends the ties of kinship and friendship and overcomes the barriers of language and culture. Therefore there is no need for the Iranian friends to congregate in one place. Often such a congregation creates problems. For example, should the number of Iranians exceed the number of native believers in a community, they would inadvertently bring about such difficulties as might hamper the progress of the Cause of God, and the world-conquering religion of the AbM Beauty might appear to others as a religion which is limited and peculiar to Iranians. This could but lead to a waste of time and the disenchantment of both Bahá'ís and non-Bah&is. Under such circumstances the dear Iranian friends would neither enjoy their stay in that place nor would they be able to serve the Faith in a befitting manner. It is our ardent hope that, wherever possible, the Iranian friends may settk in those towns or villages which are pioneering goals, so that through their stay the foundation of the Cause may be strengthened.
They must encourage each other to pioneer and disperse in accordance with the teaching plans wherever they reside, and sacrifice the happiness and joy which they may otherwise obtain from companionship with each other for the sake of the vital interests of the Cause.
Another of the sacred duties incumbent upon the believers is that of avoiding participation in political discussions and intrigues which have become popular nowadays.
What have the people of Baha to do with political contention and controversy? With absolute certainty they must prove to the world that Baha'is, by virtue of their beliefs, are loyal citizens of whatever country they reside in and are far removed from the machinations of conspirators and the perpetrators of destruction and chaos.
Their ideal is the happiness of all the peoples of the world and sincere and wholehearted service to them. In administrative positions they are obedient to their governments and carry out their duties with the utmost honesty and trustworthiness.
They regard no faction as superior to another and prefer no individual above another. They oppose no one, for the Divine Pen has prohibited sedition and corruption and enjoined peace and harmony upon us. For more than a century Bahá'ís have proven by their deeds that they regard servitude and service to their fellow man as being more worthy than the privileges of power which can be gained from politics. In administering their own affairs, they rely on God rather than on the influence of those in power and authority. Particularly in these days when the enemies of the Faith have afflicted the Cause in the sacred land of Iran with the darts of calumny and slander on every side, the dear Iranian friends should be vigilant, both in their contact with other Iranians abroad and with people in generaL and behave in such a way as to leave no doubt as to the independence and nonalignment of the Baha and their good will to all people, whether in fr6n or elsewhere.
They must not give a new excuse to cause trouble to those mischief-makers who have always sought to further their own unworthy ends by making the Bahá'í community a target for their malicious accusations.
0 beloved of God, and compatriots of the AbhA Beauty! Your relationship to the Blessed Perfection merits befitting gratitude. Having appreciated the true value of so inestimable a bounty, your forefathers regarded the offering of their lives in the path of their kind Beloved as easy to make. They
Page 361INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 361
were put in chains, became captives of the sword, lost their homes and belongings, yet no sound was heard from their lacerated throats but the cry of Yd Bahd'u'1-Abhd and Yd Ally-yu'l Aid.
The vibration of the sound of that same soul-burning cry gradually noised abroad the call of this world-illuminating Great Announcement and the ringing notes of that call resounded in all regions of the world, and now too, the beloved friends in fran, who are the devoted dwellers in the courtyard of the Beloved, stand firm in the same Covenant and Testament. Behold the courage, firmness, detachment, unity, cooperation, zeal, and enthusiasm with which these loyal lovers of the Beloved daily face their tests and prove and demonstrate to the world, with radiant and shining faces, their purity, their heritage, their quality, and their virtue.
With the utmost meekness, truthfulness, wisdom, and courage they meet the challenges presented to them, the challenge of defying the enemies, dispelling misunderstandings which are a re-suit of the proliferation of calumnies and false accusations.
They have met their fate with acquiescence, have bowed their heads in the valley of submission and resignation, and have borne every tribulation with radiance, for they know with absolute certainty that the fulfilment of divine prophecies will coincide with dire events and the bearing of innumerable afflictions.
The beloved Guardiansays: 'If in the days to come, adversities of various kinds should encircle that land and national upheavals should further aggravate the present calamities, and intensify the repeated afflictions', the dear friends in that country should not feel 'sorrowful and grieved' and must not be deflected 'from their straight path and chosen highway'. He then continues to address the dear friends in these words: 'The liberation of this meek and innocent band of His followers from the fetters of its bondage and the talons of the people of tyranny and enmity must needs be preceded by the clamour and agitation of the masses. The realization of glory, of tranquillity, and of true security for the people of Baha will necessitate opposition, aggression and commotion on the part of the people of malevolence and iniquity.
Therefore, should the buffeting waves of the sea of tribulation intensify and the storms of trials and tribulations assail that meek congregation from all six sides, know of a certainty and without a moment's hesitation that the time for their deliverance has drawn nigh, that the age-old promise of their assured glory will soon be fulfilled, and that at long last the means are provided for the persecuted people of Baha in that land to attain salvation and supreme triumph. A firm step and an unshakeable resolve are essential so that the remaining stages may come to pass and the cherished ideals of the people of Bah6 may be realized on the loftiest summits, and be made manifest in astounding brilliance. "Such is God's method, and no change shalt thou find in His method."
That is why those royal falcons who soar in the firmament of God's love have arisen with such joy, tranquillity, and dignity that their serenity has become a magnet for the attraction of the confirmations of the Concourse on High and has brought such a resounding success to them as has astonished and startled the people of Baha throughout the world. Others have been inspired by the example of those treasured brethren to renew their pledge to their All-Glorious Beloved and to serve His Sacred Threshold with high endeavour. Thus they endeavour, as far as possible, to make good the temporary disability of the believers in frhn.
Inspired by the courage, constancy, sincerity, and devotion of those enamoured friends in the path of their Beloved, they are increasing their services and renewing and strengthening their resolve so that they may arise in the arena of the love of God as it beseems tnie lovers.
That is why n these days the followers of the Greatest Name in different parts of the world have undertaken to win new victories in remembrance and on behalf of their dear friends in tAn. They have made new plans and their efforts have been confirmed with resounding success, which they attribute to the influences of the high endeavours and the constancy of the friends in the Cradle of the Faith.
What then will you do, dear friends who come from that sacred land of Iran? You are the birds of that rosegarden.
You should sing such a song that the hearts of others will rejoice with gladness.
Page 362You are the candles of that Divine Sanctuary. You should shed such a light that it will illumine the eyes of the intimates of God's mysteries. Our eager hearts in these days are expectant to see the rays of loyalty and integrity from amidst these dark and threatening ing clouds, so that your blessed names, like those of your self-sacrificing compatriots, may be recorded in gold upon the Tablets of Honour. This is dependent upon your own high endeavour.
(Translated by 'In~yatThree volumes on the persecutions of the Bahá'ís of Irdn: A Cry from the Heart (1982) by the Hand of the Cause William Sears, Les Baha'is, ou victoire sur la violence (1982) by Christine
Hakim and Iran's Secret Pogrom (1982) by Geoffrey Nash.
Page 363INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 363
13. THE EMERGENCE OF A UNIVERSALALL have been awestruck by recent events in Irdn which are reminiscent of the early days of the Baha Faith in that country during the nineteenth century. The ordeal of the Iranian Bahá'í community leaves a powerful impression on both committed and uncommitted observers.
We are well-advised to weigh the minute elements of this tragic drama, as well as its fuller implications. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Son of the Prophet-Founder of the Faith, has repeatedly reminded the Bahá'ís of these implications: Therefore, 0 ye beloved of God, be not grieved when people stand against you, persecute you, afflict you and trouble you and say all manner of evil against you. The darkness will pass away and the light of the manifest signs will apear.'
The nature of persecution, whether religious or political, has prompted scholars to consider one of four approaches.2
Martyrology attempts to preserve and memorialize the tragic events ensuing from persecution.3 A second approach describes individual resistance, whether active or passive, in the face of relentless oppression A The study of specific policies and the mechanism of oppression and destruction provides a third avenue.5
All2 This article has been considerably revised from the one that originally appeared as 'Emerging from Obscurity: The Response of the Iranian
Bahá'í Community to Persecution:1978 � 1982', Conflict Quarterly, Vol. 3, no. 3 (Fall, 1982), University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, Canada, pp. 5 � 16.
See, for example, KazemDeathless in Martyrdom', World Order, Vol. 9, no. 2 (Winter, 1974 � 1975), pp. 29 � 44.
A good example can be found in Christine fiakim, Les land: ott Victoire stir La Violence (Lausanne, Switzer-Editions Favre,
1982). Also: WilliamBahá'ís in irdn: A Cry from the Heart (Oxford: George Ronald, 1982).
e.g Douglas Martin, 'The Bahá'ís of jrgn Under the Pahiavi Regime, 1921 � 1979,' Middle East Focus, Vol. 4, no. 6 (March 1982, pp. 7 � 17.
these accounts help us to understand the fierce oppression and the human suffering and heroism we associate with the persecution of our religious brethren and sisters in IrAn. Thus, the significance of the Iranian persecution is enshrined in the conquest of the spirit over the forces of materialism.
All these accounts inspire and demonstrate that the spiritual flame can be rekindled once again. Particularly, they reveal the depth of the individual's response to persecution. Bahá'u'lláh, referring to the early companions of the BTh, spoke of the same divine attributes which such souls manifest: All these stainless hearts and sanctified souls have, with absolute resignation, responded to the summons of His decree. Instead of complaining, they rendered thanks unto God, and amidst the darkness of their anguish they revealed naught but radiant acquiescence to His will The persecution and pain they inflicted on these holy and spiritual beings were regarded by them as means unto salvation, prosperity, and everlasting success.6
The human face of the persecuted group constitutes the fourth view. This is the collective dimension.
It is a socio~ogica1 fact that the real nature of social phenomena becomes more apparent at times of social conflict or stress.
Might this not be equally true when we consider the collective scope of the Bahá'í response in frdn?
This social dimension is significant in that the persecutions bring to light the unique character of the Bahá'í Faith and, in particular, they have served to highlight the novel features of the Bahá'í community, whose unity and modus operandi are enshrined in Baha scripture.
The persecutions have simply shownBaha Publishing Trust, 1931, rev. ed. 1974), pp. 235 � 236.
Page 364the specific strengths of the Bahá'í Order during such times when 'all manmade and essentially defective political institutions'1 fail or collapse. Those who examine the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh not only become aware that its Administrative Order is 'fundamentally different from anything that any Prophet has previously established' ,2 but are encouraged to critically examine it: [The Faith] which the bewildered followers of bankrupt and broken creeds might well approach and critically examine, and seek, ere it is too late, the invulnerable security of its world-embracing shelter.3
The recent events in Iran attract the attention of these 'followers of bankrupt and broken creeds', as the events themselves attest to the unique character of the Bahá'í community.
There is a fifth dimension which makes the persecutions of the Bahá'ís a significant phenomenon in our times. The impact of the persecutions has assumed an international scope and touches every member of the human family. This universal response to the events in Ir6n clearly indicates the emergence of an international conscience, presupposing an international moral order, linked to the emergence of the worldwide Bahá'í community.
The purpose of this essay is to concentrate on the sociological significance of the persecutions in IrAn, namely the way they highlight the unique aspects of the Bahá'í community, and how they relate to a developing universal moral order.
NOVEL FEATURES OF THE BAHÁ'Í COMMUNITYThe social significance of the persecuted Iranian Bahá'í community leads us to ponder the cohesive force, the nature of leadership, the apolitical nature and the diversity and spread of that community.
These aspects stand out in sharp contrast to other types of human communities.
Social CohesionIndependent observers have noted the social cohesiveness of the Iranian Bahá'í community. Although suffering extensively under the burden of oppression, it shows signs of intense vigour and spiritual devotion.
These signs are not only the outcome of an individualistic orientation but should be viewed as the result of a reorganization of its community life � the establishment of the distinctive nature of Bahá'í communities.
The Bahá'í community is already a historical reality which is able to sustain the transformation of the human personality.
Baha'is, therefore, link their own personal welfare with that of the Bahá'í community as a whole. For example, Le Monde recbunts the story of a Mr. K~mr6n Samimi who had the opportunity of leaving lr~n, but refused to do so because of his moral
1 Shoghi Effendi, Thecompulsion to stay to assist his fellow believers.4
That same report states that 'The Bahá'ís are not deprived of spiritual direction, even now'.
Another account, in the Globe and Mail,5 relates the story of a Dr. Far~marz Samandari, a practising medical doctor in Canada, who returned to fran to 'help his countrymen', knowing that he would be arrested and possibly executed, which, indeed, happened soon after his arrival in that country. Professor Marnichihr Hakim, a medical practitioner and recipient of numerous awards for his discoveries in anatomy and founder of the Baha Hospital in Tihr~n, returned to Iran anticipating death (he was in fact shot in his clinic on 12 January 1981) but felt obliged to share in carrying the burdens of the Bahá'í community.
Other expatriate Bahá'íshave returned to IrAn, despite the warnings of Amnesty International.6
It is in such instances that the inspired personality can touch and change human history, driven by a purpose that seeks to fulfil the purpose of human unity.
Bahá'í sources of information also indicate a general spiritual rededication of the Persian Bahá'í community. One newspaper reported Le Monde, 1 January 1982.
Mr. $amimf was executed in Tihr6n on 27 December 1981.
31 July 1980. The story also appeared in Newsday,INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 365
that the Baha are 'largely determined to remain in the land where their Faith was founded' 1 A telex from the Universal House of Justice, the Baha international governing body, sent on 9 March 1982 to selected National
Spiritual Assembliesand subsequently to all such bodies, stated: ... thousands [of Iranian]
Baha'is, unmind-hi of consequences, have courageously appealed by letter or cable to various high officials at national and local levels complaining about barbaric acts, gross injustice, [and] revealed their names and addresses Too numerous are the heroic events which speak of the 'courage, steadfastness and unity which have suffused the Bahá'í community in IrAn'.2 Such events are presently being recorded for the benefit of future generations of believers.
The spiritual elevation of such personal behaviour is also reflected by Bahá'ís who have been daily harassed by looters, as for instance the Bahá'í families in Yazd who treat the looters as children who want to be satisfied with playthings.3 Other examples of this behaviour are found in the prisons, where Bahá'ís are known to have instituted programmes of benefit to the prison population as a whole, or have assisted prison guards with their personal or marital problems.
In areas where numbers of Bahá'í refugees have gathered, they have established such cohesion that they have even refused offers of food from their persecutors.4
This imaginative resistance corresponds to the organized activities of the Bahá'í communities in I din.
For instance, the Baha community of Yazd established a
Bahá'í2 A recent communication to all Canadian Bahá'ís from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of Canada.
'Excerpt from a letter from Yazd,' February 1982, published in Bahá'í News (U.S.A.), No. 613, April 1q82, pp. 4 � 6, recounts several stories of this nature: 'When they [the Bahá'ís of Yazd] are looted of their property, furniture and belongings, they part with them as they would with outworn dolls and playthings They shower love upon those who come to take away their belongings as might an affectionate and indulgent parent who with a smile will give a worthless toy or plaything to a naughty child The Sun (San Bernardino,
California), 19 Januaryprogramme of education after the dismissal of over one hundred children from schools.5 In other reports, Bahá'í communities are stated to have coordinated activities to alleviate pressures on afflicted believers by providing clothing, food, heating facilities and spiritual counselling.
The elected bodies of the communities continue to meet, and their committees continue to function.6
The creative and cohesive response to persecution has its effects on the non-B ah&i society of fr6n. Attendance of a large number of people of all religious backgrounds is characteristic at funerals of slain Baha, and non-Bahá'í spouses of Bahá'ís have declared their faith in
Bahá'u'lláh. The Bahacommunity in Ir4n is responding dynamically and with spiritual 6lan to the methodical plan of the civil and ecclesiastical authorities to entirely uproot it. Leadership in the Bahá'í
CommunityOne of the chief prongs of the present r6gime's strategy to undercut the Baha community reveals a lack of comprehension by the authorities of the distinctive system of governance of that community. Their strategy involves 'cutting off the head of the Bahá'í community'.
This refers, presumably, to its 'leaders'.Leadership in the Bahá'í community is vested in elected bodies at local and national levels. Every year in April, Bahá'í C0111-munities elect from their membership nine adult believers who can serve on the governing body. The qualities required by members being considered for election are devotion, experience, loyalty and a well-trained mind. There is no electioneering or campaigning on one's own, or someone else's, behalf. Leadership is, moreover, vested in this council as a whole, not in any one specific individual, or individuals, who are serving on it. No individual serving on the body has any powers extending beyond the confines of that body. The Spiritual Assembly renders decisions oniy when it is in session.
'Excerpt from a letter from Yazd,' February 1982.administrative bodies ceased to function in obedience to the governmental order banning the Baha
Administrative Order.Such a ban constitutes, ironically, a formal recognition of Baha institutions.
Page 366is a divinely created institution whose members operate it according to its laws.
Bahá'u'lláh writes: The Lord hat/i ordained that in every city a House of Justice be established wherein shall gather counsellors to the number of Baha [nine]
I Membership may change, but not the Spiritual Assembly as such. This principle has become clearly demonstrated in the Iranian experience.
In numerous instances arrested or executed members of the Local Assemblies or the National Assembly have been replaced by other members. This process frustrates all efforts by the authorities to do away with Bahá'í 'leadership'.
The Apolitical Natureof the Bahá'í Communhy Both cursory observers and those who wish to examine more closely the workings of the Baha community in Jr~in will be impressed with the apolitical nature of that community, as indeed of the entire worldwide Baha community. One hundred and forty years of persecution, albeit in varying severity; have not moved the Bahá'í community to partisan politics.
Efforts of previous r6gimes of fr6n to involve or implicate the Bahá'í community in politics have been abysmal failures.
The Bahá'í teachings are very clear on this point: the Guardian, through his secretary, has encouraged the Baha to 'shun politics like the plague'.2 The
Universal House of Justicehas reiterated this principle of noninvolvement in politics, drawing on the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh
Himself.It is noteworthy that despite offered opportunities of gaining some political, shortterm advantage, the Bahá'í community has not seized such opportunities.
The writings of the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi, had forewarned the Bahá'ís of such enticements when they would become a large social force: As the number of the Bahá'í communities in various parts of the world multiplies and 1 Universal House of Justice, A Synopsis and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, transi.
Shoghi Effendi (Haifa:from the Guardian (New Delhi: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1973), p. 57.
their power, as a social force, becomes increasingly apparent, they will no doubt find themselves increasingly subjected to the pressure which men of authority and influence, in the political domain, will exercise in the hope of obtaining the support they require for the advancement of their aims.3
The single individual believer who permitted himself to become involved with politics, General Asadu'llAh Sanfi, was expelled from the Faith for that reason alone. To date, no charge of political involvement levelled against the Baha community by either present or previous authorities has ever been substantiated.
The continued existence of the Bahá'í community in frAn cannot be explained in terms of the alleged power possessed by the Baha'is.
In this instance, the Bahá'í community is a sociological anomaly.
While most social analysts state that power, and political power in particular, is the basis of society, the continued existence of the Bahá'í community offers proof that moral power is superior to political might. The establishment and evolution of Bahá'í communities follow the operation of a divine law designed to reshape human society. According to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the laws of God are not impositions of will, or of power or pleasure, but the resolution of truth, reason and justice.4
The Bahá'ís under the r6gime of the Shdh did not possess power or influence, although a number of believers did occupy prominent scientific and administrative posts. It is equally true to say that the Bahá'í community consists mainly of rural peoples who, as such, never enjoyed any 'privileges.
Diversity and Spread of the Bahá'í Community This brings us to the diverse membership of the
Bahá'í community. Itis this diversity which has prevented its full-scale uprooting. Baha communities are found in all civil areas in the country.
By April 1983 there werein IrAn, incorporating all the diverse elements of the population as a
Shoghi Eftendi, The GoldenINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 367
whole, both tribal and religious. Representatives of close to two-thirds of all tribal minorities are found among the Baha.
The Bahá'í community includes peoples of such diverse backgrounds as Zoroastrians, Jews, Christians and Muslims.
With so many elements of Iranian society represented in the Bahá'í community there is neither one social nor ethnic background to serve as the focus of attack and the persecutors have been unable to touch a particular 'psyche' among the Baha'is, except that of divinely inspired sacrifice. There are no predictable human reactions to persecutions fostered by virtue of social or ethnic uniformity.
The Bahá'í community is too diverse in character to resuft in a uniform human response.
In the Bahá'í view, the diversity of the human group acts as a stabilizing element rather than a disruptive force, particifiarly when such variegated personalities and cultures are under the influence of the revealed Word of God: The other kind [of difference]
which is a token of diversity is the essence of perfection and the cause of the appearance of the bestowals of the
Most Glorious Lord.'The spread of the Bahá'í community has, by itself, frustrated the efforts of the persecutors. Them are 350,0% Bahá'ís in iran. Since furthermore, the ratio of Bahá'í to non-B ah&i population is about 1:70, there is at least one Bahá'í for every eleven or twelve households.2 Many non-Bahá'í families are therefore acquainted with the manner in which Bahá'ís conduct themselves in their personal lives and in their professions and businesses. Today, as in the past, this lifestyle has aroused both emulation from the general population and envy from fanatical e1em~nts. 'Abdu'l-Bahá often referred to such examples drawn froth the early days of the Faith. Speaking of an early believer who had espoused the teachings of the Báb as a result of witnessing an episode of persecution, He said: When the clamor of the people rose high he hastened into the Street, and, becoming cognizant of the offence and the offender,
1 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Selectionsand the cause of his public disgrace and punishment in full detaiL he fell to making search, and that very day entered the society of the Báb's, saying, 'This very ill-usage and public humiliation is a proof of truth and the '3 very best of arguments Envy is a characteristic of fanatical groups � and also a part of the history of the persecution of the Faith in IrAn.
One is reminded of Bahá'u'lláh's statement recorded in the wellknown interview with Edward Granville
Browne:We desire but the good of the world and the happiness of the nations; yet they deem Us a stirrer-up of strife and sedition worthy of bondage and banishment.4
Such personal knowledge of the Bahá'ís has prevented further destruction of the community. The admiration and respect accorded by Muslims, Christians,
Jews and Zoroastrians� those who are personal friends of the Bahá'ís or those who have had business dealings with them � have in some cases mitigated or offset the efforts of fanatical mobs and persecutors.
Muslim neighbours are known to have opened doorsand offered their homes to havenless Baha families, albeit furtively.5 This undercurrent of unofficial and informal sympathy has even become evident among some officials in the administrative hierarchy. In some instances they have opposed the measures levelled against the Bahá'ís at the risk of personal deposition or demotion. One headmaster of a school in Yazd decided to resign after receiving the order to dismiss his Baha pupils. He later absented himself from school.
The Bahá'í community of Iran has existed for several generations, weaving the diversity of its membership into the fabric of Iranian society.
'Abdu'l-Bahá, A Traveler'sPublishing Trust, 1980), p. 21. ibid. Le Monde, 1 tlanuary 1982, p. 2, states that 'No one is willing to [publiejy]
take up the defense of the Bahá'ís within Iran.'What are some of the other lessons to be learned from the persecutions and how can they apply to other countries? Civil, political, cultural and economic freedoms are often based on precarious sentiments and social consensus.
In many of the socalled 'enlightened' countries these freedoms have been of too recent gain to occupy a secure foothold in the political and social structures of society. Fuller knowledge of the conditions of minorities who have been denied fundamental freedoms indicates the precariousness of the humanitarian attitudes of governments.
There is also an empirical fact that the persecutors have naively ignored.
Never in the history of the Bahá'í world community has world opinion in favour of the aims and teachings of the Baha Faith been more forcefully expressed than during the current wave of persecution in Iran.
The 'no-win~ situation which presents itself to the persecutors must bring little comfort to those responsible for the oppression. This condition illustrates the point made by 'Abdu'l-Bahá: they [i.e., oppressors]
thought that violence and interference would cause extinction and silence and lead to suppression and oblivion; whereas interference in matters of conscience causes stability and firmness and attracts the attention of men's sight and souls; which fact has received experimental proof many times and often �~ What attracts the attention of all humanity are the unique features of the Baha community and its positive approach to the emergence of a new universal moral order. It is a striking fact that conditions of home and state have only in recent times become a matter of universal concern.
While until recently any matter that affected the wellbeing of a country was considered the exclusive concern of the secular or religious authorities in that country, the welfare of every nation, community, group or family has today become of universal concern.
The walls that served to both protect those who violated human rights and to hinder the development of human so-'Abdu'1-Bah6,
'Abdu'l-Bahá, A Traveler'sWhile human policies were previously guided by limited national interests, they are today increasingly matters of international concern. The patchwork of these human policies has given way to a universal pattern of human rights and obligations. We are now witnessing the decline of inadequate human standards and the emergence of a new universal moral order.
The trials of the Bahá'í community in Iran are a major contributing factor to the creation of that moral order. In a sense, the emergence of the Iranian Baha community coincides with the emergence of that moral order. The two are inseparably linked together.
We should perhaps examine how 'this twofold process works.
This process is a dialectical one. The emergence of the Bahá'í community from obscurity is partially possible through the existence of the growing universal consciousness. Universal declarations and covenants dealing with the dignity ~f the human person and social groups are steadily being established. While it is true that nations may choose to accept or ignore such international standards of human rights and obligations, according to their own political advantage, the fact remains that universal standards are being developed and established. New nations and the international media, to name but two examples, often derive their sense of justice and universal morality from the provisions in these international codes.
The persecutions of the Baha are thus an affront to every citizen of global outlook who has become immersed in this universal, moral consciousness. An attack on a Bahá'í in even the most remote place by the most ignorant of men does not go unnoticed. The Bahá'ís become yet another focus of our universal moral conscience. The more severe the persecutions, the louder will be the outcry of humanity as a whole.
This outcry is also the means by which universal, moral sentiments become crystallized and clearer. This outcry also contributes to the emergence of the Bahá'í community from obscurity. The two processes are interlinked and mutually supporting.
Page 369THIS bibliography attempts to bring together a representative sampling of works published by non-Babil'f agencies, in western languages, that make reference to the persecution of the Baha community in kin during the period Ridvan 1979 to Ridvan 1983. The bibliographer makes no claim that the bibliography is exhaustive, the entries being taken exclusively from the collections of materials held in the
Bahá'í World Centre Library.In the case of books, pamphlets and journal articles an attempt was made to be thorough, and the entries reflect both those materials with significant references to the persecutions, and those which include passing mention in a larger context. In the case of newspaper articles, sheer volume forced the compiler to rely upon selection of the most important articles from a number of countries.
In a number of cases the Bahá'í community of Iran is treated in works which deal with political issues in I ran. It should be noted that the Bahá'í Faith is not a political tovement, as clearly stated in other sections of this volume of The Bahá'í World. There are also sections 1.1.1.
and 2.1.1. listing items in English which speak of the Bahá'ís from the point of view of the governing authorities of the Islamic Republic of I r6n. The reader will understand that the Bahá'ís categorically deny the charges and accusations made against them by these authorities.
The entries are arranged in broad categories by type of publication, and sub-arranged by language.
Within language categories, the entries are alphabetical by the entry � by author or, in the absence of an author, by title. Newspaper articles are arranged by country, then alphabetically by the entry. Occasionally entries have no indication of page number(s) on which the reference to the
Baha Faith appears. Thisoccurs either because the bibliographical item itself has no paging, or because the compilers have seen an incomplete copy. Apologies are made for this inadequacy, which it is hoped will be remedied as time permits.
1. Books and pamphlets 1.1. Englishin Iran. London: Amnesty International, 7 Sept. 1982. pp. 9, 14.
'Bahá'ís Persecuted inCooper, Roger. The Bahá'ís in Iran. London: Minority Rights Group, 1982.
Halliday, Fred. 'The Báb's of Iran.' (BBC World Service Radio Script, 1600 05/03, Eastern
Topical Unit.)of Civil and Political Rights by the Islamic Republic of Iran. Berkeley: 1SF Iran, 1982. pp. 51 � 53, 139, 152, 156, 175.
____� Report on 1SF Iran'sdes aha'is pn Ii Representative press clippings reporting on the persecution of Bahá'ís in Irt~n.
Page 371INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES Flossmoor, Ill.: The Committee, 1981. pp. 9 � 10.
Kazemi, Farhad, ed. IranianSociety for Iranian Studies, 1981. (Iranian Studies, v. 13, nos. 1 � 4.) pp. 67 � 69, 71, 78, 96.
Leach, Jim. Death Sentences of Bahá'ís Must Be Commuted [Washington, D.C.]: Jim Leach,
1983. Congressman's Pressin the Islamic Republic of Iran: Papers Presented at the
Convention on Human RightsNotes on Compliance by Iran with the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. London:to Wipe Out the Bahá'í is. Suffolk: Neville Spearman, 1982.
Schifter, Richard. 'Statement by Richardof All Forms of Racial Discrimination," 7 Oct. 1981,' United States Mission to the
United Nations. PressSears, William. A Cry from the Heart: the Bahá'ís in Iran. Oxford: George Ronald, 1982.
Winter, Roger P. 'WhoSurvey, 1982. New York: ACNS, 1982. p. 5 1.1.1. English, Anti-Bahá'í Bahaism, Its Origin and
Its Role. The Hague:(Nashr-i-Farhang-i-Inqihib-i-Is1~mf), [1983?j. 1.2. French Bri~re, Claire. Iran, la Rc~volution au Nom de Dieu. Paris: Editions du Senil, 1979. pp. 175 � 177.
Hakim, Christine. LesFranz, Erhard. Minderheiten in Iran: Doku-mentation zur Ethnographie und
Politik. Hamburg: Deutsches2. Journal articles 2.1. English 'A.I. Concerned with Executions in Iran,' Human Rights Internet Reporter, v. 7, no. 1 (Sept � Oct. 1981), p. 167.
'After the Shah, Big NewWorries for Iran's Minorities,' U.S. News and World Report, (29 Jan. 1979), p. 32.
'Amnesty InternationalRights Internet Reporter, v. 7, no. 3 (Jan � Feb. 1982), pp. 537 � 538.
'Bahá'í Leaders Are Executed,'Newsletter (London), v. 12, no. 2 (Feb. 1982), p. 6.
'Bahai Members Executed,' The Forum (Wichita, Kans.), (June 1981), p. 1.
'Bahai Religion Out,'(Wheaton, Ill.), v. 12, no. 7 (June 1982), p. [2].
'Baha'is, a Model of Privatefrom an Interview with Carolyne Dowdell,' Refuge (Downsville, Ont.), v. 2, no. 1 (Sept � Oct. 1982), pp. 1, 3.
Baha, Jalil. 'The Theocrats'The Besieged Bahais of Iran,' Asiaweek, (3 Apr. 1981), p. 46.
Blake, Patricia. 'Terror in the Name of God:and Work (Edin-burgh), (Dec. 1980). P~a1in, lain S. 'Prayers
Page 372372 THE BAHÁ'Í WORLD for Iranians,' [letter to the editor], (Feb. 1981), p. 6.
Chakravartty, Nikhil.Curtis, Michael. 'Khomeini's Thoughts on Jews and Israel,' Middle East Review (New Brunswick, N.J.), (Spring 1979), pp. 57 � 58.
Delloff, Linda Marie.Heretics,' Liberty (Washington, D.C.), v. 76, no. 6 (Nov. � Dec. 1981), pp. 16 � 18.
Dwyer, Cynthia. 'A Plea for Baha'is: Former Prisoner Reports Iran Persecution,' The Episcopalian (Philadelphia), (Apr. 1982).
Ertugrul, Irene. 'The Plight of a Troubled Minority,' The Middle East (London), (Apr. 1983), pp. 35 � 37.
'Executions Commonplace,' Canadian Jewish News (Toronto), (27 Aug. 1981).
Farhang, Mansour. 'Khomeini'sNation (30 Jan. 1982), pp. 108 � 110. Letter from John Huddleston and reply by Farhang (27 Feb. 1982), p. 226.
'Figures Show Most ExecutionsGhosh, Tirthankar. 'Persecuted for Their Faith?' Sunday (Calcutta), v. 9, no. 10 (23 Aug. 1981), p. 43.
Gittings, James A. 'It's Still Dangerous to Believe,' A.D. (New York), v. 11, no. 4 (Apr. 1982), p. 14.
Goering, Curt. 'The Bahá'ís of Iran: Persecution Is Government Policy,' Matchbox (Washington, D.C.), (Nov. 1981), pp. 1, 5.
'Grim Toll of Executionsin Iran,' Canadian Churchman, v. 107, no. 8 (Oct. 1981).
Halliday, Fred. 'The Coalition Against theHassall, Graham, 'Persecution of a Minority in Iran,' Union Recorder (Sydney, Australia), v. 62, no. 9 (28 June 1982), pp. 11, 14.
'Holier than Khomeini', The Economist (London), v. 286, no. 7277 (19 Feb. 1983), pp. 50, 53.
Homayun, Sirus. 'The Baha'i'Intolerance for the Tolerant,' The Economist (London), (13 Sept. 1980).
'Iran,' Human Rights Internet'Iran, an Epidemic of Fear Among the Expatriates,' Business Week, (11 Dec. 1978), pp. 71 � 72.
'Iran, Bahá'í Persecution,'Ahead?', Church & State, v. 32, no. 2 (Feb. 1979), pp. 3, 6 � 7.
'Iran, Execution TollNewsletter (London), v. 12, no. 7 (July 1982), p. 6.
Iran Press Service no.Baha'is,' The Forum (Wichita, Kans.), (Sept. 1981).
Kazemzadeh, Firuz. 'Attack on the Bahais: the Persecution of the
"Infidels",' The New Republicthe Bahais,' The New York Review of Books, v. 29, no. 8 (13 May 1982), pp. 43 � 44.
Martin, Douglas. 'The Bahá'ís of Iran Under the Pahiavi Regime, 1921 � 1979,' Middle East Focus (Toronto), v. 4, no. 6 (Mar. 1982), pp. 7 � 17.
Menon, Shashi. 'Bahá'ísINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAH Scapegoats by Khomeini,' Onlooker (Bom-bay), v. 44, no. 4 (16 � 28 Feb. 1982), p. 17.
____ 'Mullahs Exterminatethe Bahais,' Onlooker (Bombay), v. 43, no. 16 (1 � 15 Sept. 1981), p. 41.
Palm, Lain S. 'Lifting the Sanctions,' Now! (London), (6 Feb. 1981), p. 30.
Pearce, Chris. 'In the Name of God: Apostasy or Death for Iran's Baha'is,' East � West Photo Journal, v. 2, no. 6 (Winter 1981), pp. 20 � 23.
'Persecution of Bahá'ís [sic] in Iran,' Goa Today (Panjim, Goa), v. 16, no. 7 (Feb. 1982), p. 21.
Pitts, Brendan. 'Manuchir Hakim Murdered in Iran,' Medical Journal of Australia, (16 May 1981), p. 540.
Qasim, Seeme. 'A Young Indian Bahá'í Speaks Out,' Eve's Weekly, (17 � 23 Oct. 1981), p. 13.
'Recant or Else,' TheRenner, John. 'Explosive Act of Desperation,' Maclean's (Toronto), v. 94, no. 28 (13 July 1981), p. 23.
'Report from Iran,' UNChronicle (New York), v. 19, no. 8 (Sept. 1982), pp. 53, 55, 56, 58.
Robinson, Catherine. 'TheSamandari, Anita. 'Death in Tabriz,' The Green and White: University of Saskatchewan Alumni
Association MagazineShahabuddin, Syed. 'Iran, the Mullah and the Gun,' Sunday (Calcutta), v. 9, no. 44 (18 � 24 Apr. 1982), pp. 36 � 37, 39, 41.
'She Spreads the Word,' New Idea (Mel-bourne), (13 Feb. 1982), p. 31.
Silgardo, Melanie. 'Recant or Die,' Imprint (Bombay), v. 21, no. 6 (Sept. 1981), pp. 35 � 36, 41.
Singer, Henry A. [Letter to the Editor], New YorkSorabjee, Zena. 'Persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran,' Freedom First (Bombay), (Aug. 1981), p. 7.
'Terror in Iran,' PeaceTruelove, Adrienne. 'Fanaticism in Iran,' Education: Journal of the New South Wales Teachers' Federation, v. 63, no. 11 (5 July 1982), p. 9.
Ullmann, Christian. 'Khomeini vs. the Bahais: "Official" Persecution Stalks Iran's "Heretics",' World Press Review (New York), v. 29, no. 11 (Nov. 1982), p. 61.
'UN Subcommission on Discrimination and Minorities,'
The Review [InternationalQuarterly (Fredericton, N.B.), v. 3, no. 1 (Fall 1982), pp. 5 � 16.
Williams, VaT. 'No LetUp in the Rule of Religious Hate,' Now! (London), (13 Feb. 1981).
Woodward, Kenneth L. 'Iran's2.1.1. English, Anti-Bahá'í 'Bahá'í Members of the Espionage Network Executed,' Imam (London), (11 Feb. 1982), p. 22.
'The Bahá'ís in Iran,' Imam (London), V. 2, no. 5 � 6 (June � July 1982), pp. 20 � 21.
Iran Newsletter (HongKong), no. 44 (25 Sept. 1981), pp. 7 � 8; no. 51(16 Mar. 1982), pp. 4 � 5. Published by the Consulate General of the Islamic
Republic of Iran.Peters, Jan. 'Dc Vervolging van de Bahá'ís in Iran,' Dc Bazuin jaarg. 65 nr.
12 (19 maart 1982), p. 4.'De Revolutie heeft 35 miljoen spionnen, Knack (Brussels), (17 feb. 1982), pp. 177 � 180.
Wessels, Anton. 'Bahais worden wreed ver-volgd omdat het ketters zijn: executies in Iran zonder vorm van proces,' Hervormd Nederland (20 feb. 1982), p. 10.
2.4.3. Italian Giorda, Gian Luca. 'L'Ordine & Bruciate Tutti i Baha'i,' Ii Settimenale, anno VII, n. 52 (dW. 1980), pp. 92 � 93.
Moramarco, Michele. 'Una Curiosa Incom-patibilitA,' Hiram (Roma), no. 4 (agosto 1980), p. 125.
Sorani, Aldo. 'I Baha'i, una Drammatica Attua1it~,' Hiram (Roma), no. 4 (agosto 1980), pp. 124 � 125.
2.4.4. Norwegian Berget, Ottar. 'Jeg ber hver dag for minmanns morder,' H]emmet (Oslo), no. 25 (1982), pp. 110 fIX 'Iran etter Bani-Sadr: en Islamsk Kruttonne,' Program Bladet, nr. 36 (5 � 11 Sept. 1981), p: 54.
Petierson, Join. 'Hun dode for sin Gud,' N~ (Oslo), nr. 42 (14 okt. 1981), pp. 34 � 35.
2.4.5. Portuguesede Deus,' Tempo Magazine (Portugal), (9 July 1981), p. 3.
2.4.6. Spanish Lagos, Gustavo. 'Iran, el Pavo Real que Queria Ser Potencia Mundial,' Mensaje (Chile), no. 277 (abril 1979), pp. 105 � 106.
'Persecuci6n a Los Bahai,' Ercilla (Santiago, Chile), (10 de marzo 1982), p. 53.
3. Official documents.in Iran,' Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, Daily Hansard [Australia],
(Wed., 19 Aug. 1981), pp. 411 � 420.tatives. Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, Daily Hansard (10 Sept. 1980), pp. 1137 � 1138.
'Bahá'í Community, Iran,' New Zealand. Parliament.
Debates, (14 Oct. 1981), pp. 4106 � 4107.resenta-fives, Daily Hansard [Australial, (11 Sept. 1980), p. 1154.
'The Baha'is, Iranian Persecution,' Parliamentary Debates, House of Lords, Official Report, v. 427, no. 38 (10 Feb. 1982), pp. 244 � 257.
Brazil. Congresso. Senado.Didric do Con-gresso Nacional, se~o II, ano XXXVII, no. 052, 10 de majo de 1982, pp. 1315 � 1317.
California. Legislature.by Senator Dan O'Keefe Relative to Members of the Bahá'í Faith. [Sacramento]:
The Senate, 1982.Canada. Parliament. House of Commons. 'Condemnation of Persecution of Religious Minorities in Iran,' Debates, (16 July 1980), p. 2953.
'Condemning Iranian Persecutionof the Bahá'í Community,' Congressional Record, v. 128, no. 133, part 11(30 Sept. 1982), pp.
H8229-H8232.Assembly. Motion for a Resolution on the Persecution of Members of the Bahá'í
Community in Iran. Documentand Others, on Persecution of the Members of the Bahá'í Faith in Iran. Document 4798, 6 Oct. 1981.
Council of Europe. Parliamentary1st Part). Official Report. Document AS (34) CR 5. pp. 95 � 100.
Council of Europe. ParliamentaryINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA I ACT 'Les Bahais, 1'~terne1
Bouc ~missaire de 1'Irak,' France-Israel Information, (nov. � dec. 1981), p. 25.
Berg, Boas. 'Le Grand Massacre,' L'Arche, no. 300 (mars 1982), p. 63.
Bri~re, Claire. 'Les Damn~s de 1'Islam,' Le Nouvel
Observateur (Paris), (16 � 22Brun. Jean. 'Le Baha'isme, une Religion sans Pretres, ni Rite, ni Lieux du Culte,' Nostradamus (Paris), (avr.
1979), pp. 15 � 17.'Le Drame des Baha'is,' Pourquoi Pas? (Brus-sels), (29 jan. 1981), pp. 42 � 44.
Ermont, Pierre. 'Iran, les Vengeurs de Dieu,' Le(Paris), (16 jan. 1982), pp. 70, 83 � 85, 87, 90, 92.
'Iran, Plus de 4400 Ex6cutions,' Chronique d'Informations Internationales Stir les Droits de 1'Homme, les Prisonniers d'Opinion, la Torture, la Peine de Mort (Paris), no. 78 (aofit 1982), p. 10.
Kravetz, Marc. 'Iran, lesLumire, J.-P. 'Les Crimes du Pouvoir an Nom de 1'Islam,' R4forme (Paris), no. 1887 (20 juin 1981), pp. 4 � 5.
Mannoni, Eugene. 'Persecutions, les Bahá'ís Aussi.' Le Point (Paris), no. 365 (17 sept. 1979).
'Le Massacre des Innocents,' Pourquoi Pas? (Brussels), (21 jan. 1982), pp. 38 � 40.
P6ju, Marcel. 'La Solutiondes Baha'is,' Esprit (Paris), 1979, 9 � 10 (sept. � oct.), pp. 280 � 286.
Thoraval, Yves. 'QuandVallette, Mireille. 'Les Baha'is, on 1'~crase-ment d'un Espoir Universel,' Radio-TV (Lausanne), no. 5 (4 f~v. 1982), pp. 48 � 49.
2.3. German 'Ausrottungs-Kampagne gegen die Baha'i-Religion,' CSI Informationen und Appelle (Z~irich), nr. 6 (Okt. � Nov. 1982), pp. 1, 4.
'Baha'i-Verfolgung im Iran,' Christ in der Gegenwart (Freiburg), 33. Jahrg.
nr. 36 (6 Sept. 1981), p. 290.des Orients (Opladen), 21. Jahrg. nr. 3 (Sept. 1980), p. 328.
'Erneut 22 Bahá'í zum TodeFr~5h1ich, Silvia. 'Vogeifreic der iranischen Gesellschaft,' Der Aufbau (Zurich), 63. Jahrg.
nr. 18 (4 Sept. 1982), pp. 140 � 141.der Bahá'í in Iran,' Der Aufbau (ZUrich), 63. Jahrg.
nr. 3 (6 Feb. 1982), p. 22.Hofmann, Tessa. 'Die Bahá'í im Iran: als gnisste re1igi~ise Minderheit seit uber 130 Jahren verfolgt,' Pogrom (G6ttingen), nr. 92, 13. Jahrg. (Aug. � Sept. 1982), pp. 32 � 38.
'Ketzer ausmerzen,' Der Spiegel, nr. 7 (1982), pp. 120 � 121.
Naipaul, V. S. "Als Unglaubiger unter Glan-bigen," Weitwoche Magazin (ZUrich), ni. 33 (18 Aug. 1982), pp. 13 � 14.
Reimeir, Bernhard. 'Golgatha heute: Bahais, die duldsamen M~irtyrer,' Die neue Hoff-nung, fir. 2/3 82, 5 Jahrg.,
pp. 18 � 19.gegen religk~se Minderheit,' PPP (Bonn), v. 34, nr.
7 (30 Mirza 1983), pp. 4 � 6.2.4. Other languages 2.4.1. Danish Warburg, Margit. 'De Forfulgte
Bahá'í i Iran,' Dansk Missionsblad(Hellerup), 149 arg. 8 (Aug. 1982), pp. 3 � 6; 9 (Sept. 1982), pp. 3 � 8.
Page 376376 Document AS/Pol (33) 21, 12 nov. 1981.
De Lugo, Ron. 'Plight of Members of the Bahá'íof Extinction,' Congressional Record: Extension of Remarks,
(15 Sept.Dole, Robert. 'Murder in Iran,' Congressional Record, Senate, (21 May 1979), p. S6282 � 3.
'Persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran, Congressional Record, Senate, (23 Mar. 1983), pp. S3895 � S3896.
European Communities.____� Gazzetta Ufficiale, C265, 23 anno (13 ottobre 1980), p. 101.
____� Journal Officiel� Official Journal. C265, v. 23 (13 Oct. 1980), pp. 8,16, 21, 101 � 102.
____� Publikatieblad, C265, 23e jaarg. (13 Okt. 1980), p. 100.
European Parliament. Documentsde Sc~ance, 1981 � 1982 (6 avr. 1981), document 1109/ 81/rev. II.
� Documents de S~ance, 1982 � 1983____� Documents de S~ance, 1982 � 1983 (31 ao~it 1982), document 1568/82.
____� Verbatim Report ofFinland. Parliament. Kir]allinen Kysymys, no. 478, 1981
Vp.Bericht, 51 Sitzung, 18 September 1981, pp. 2847, 2852.
'Immigration of Baha'is,' Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives, Daily Han-sard [Australia],
(24 Mar. 1982), p. 1316.'Iran's Holy War on Bahais,' Congressional Record, House, (4 Mar. 1982), p. H693.
Italy. Parlamento. Camera dei Deputati. In-terrogazioni in Commissione, 25 febbraio 1982, p. V; Interrogazioni a Risposta Scritta, 5 maizo 1982, p. XI.
Italy. Parlamento. Senato.(VIII legislatura: 492a seduta pubblica; 12 maggio 1982). pp. 20 � 22.
Leach, Jim. 'More Bahá'ísdes S~ances Publiques, 7e seance, mardi 26 octobre 1982.
Norway. Storting. Stortingsforhandliger:get, nr. 34, 26 mai � 1 juni, sesjonen 1981 � 1982, pp. 3600 � 3601.
'Pers6cution des Membres de la communaut6 Bahá'í en Iran,' Journal Officiel des Corn-munaut~s Europ~ennes: D~bats du Pane-ment Europ~en, no. 1 � 260 (sept. 1980), pp. 388 � 392.
'Persecution of Bahá'í Faith, Notice of Motion,' Parliamentary Debates, House of Representatives,
Daily Hansard [Australia], (4'Persecution of Bahá'í in Iran,' Official Journal of the European Communities: Debates of the European Parliament, nos. 1 � 260 (Sept. 1980), pp. 331 � 334.
Proxmire, William. 'Iranian____ 'Victims of Religious Persecution: Bahais of
Iran,' Congressional'Resumption of Debate on the Persecution of Bahá'í
Faith in Iran,' Parliamentof Fiji, Parliamentary Debates, the Senate, Daily Hansard, (17 Mar. 1982), pp. 52 � 55.
United Kingdom. Parliament.Debates (Hansard), v. 38, no. 71 (3 Mar. 1983), pp. 380, 4401, 4405.
United Nations. CommissionINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í Session). Summary Record
of the 1604th Meeting.., Document E/CN.4/SR. 1604, 20 Feb. 1981, pp. 8 � 9.
Summary Record of the____� Summary Record of the 1 632nd Meeting � Document E/CN.4/SR.1632, 12 Mar. 1981.
____� Summary Record of the 1 633rd Meeting Document E/CN.4/SR.1633, 16 Mar. 1981, p. 5.
____� Commission on Humanto the Provisional Agenda, Document E/CN.4/1480/Add.1, 31 Dec. 1981, p. 24.
� Question of the Violation of HumanDocument EICN.4119821SR.59, 17 Mar. 1982, pp. 4 � 5.
____� Commission on HumanRights in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Document E/CN.4/1983/L.70/Rev. 1, 7 Mar. 1983.
� Commission on 1-lumanon Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities.
Draft Report of the Subcommission to the Commission on Human Rights on its Thirty-Fourth Session ., Document E/CN.4/ Sub.2/(XXXJV)/CRP.
1/Add. 17, 10 Sept. 1981, items 20 � 24.by Mr. Eide, Mr. Foli, Jet. al.] Document EICN.4ISub.21 L.778, 2 Sept. 1981, agenda item 6.
____� Question of the Violation of HumanNote Verbale dated 10 August 1981 from the Permanent Mission of Canada to the
United Nations Document� ., pp. 68 � 69. Document E/CN.4/1413, E/CN.4/Sub. 2/459.
Human Rights CommitteeRecord of the 364th Meeting ., CCPRIC/SR.364, 19 July 1982, pp. 11, 13, 16.
____ Summary Record of the 366th Meeting � ., CCPRIC/SR.366, 19 July 1982, p. 5. ____� Summary Record of the 368th Meeting CCPPJCISR.368, 21 July 1982, p. 4.
� Information Service (Geneva).of Human Rights Violation in Any Part of the World, Press Release HR/1033, pp. 4 � 6.
United States. Congress4.1. Canada: 'Bahá'ís still persecuted by Iran regime,' The Citizen (Ottawa), (26 Mar. 1983), p. 45.
B~1iveau, Jules. 'Les baha'is c6k~brent leurs martyrs dans la jole,' La Presse (Montr~a1), (4 Sept. 1982).
Crosby, Louise. 'Being Bahá'í invites death in Iran: refugee,' The Citizen (Ottawa), (3 Dec. 1982), p. 52.
� 'Grateful Bahá'ís thank Canada for action on Iranian persecution,' The Citizen (Ottawa), (9 Sept. 1982), p. 48.
Harpur, Tom. 'Let's have no tie with Iran that kills
Baha'is,' Saturday Star'Iranian Bahais face execution,' The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver), (16 Feb. 1983), p. A16.
LaChance, Paul. 'La persecution des baha'is,' Le Soleil (Quebec City), (1 Apr. 1983).
McDowell, Michael. 'Bahá'í died for his faith, brother says,' The Globe and Mail (Toron-to), (4 Sept. 1982), p. 14.
Morissette, Rodoiphe.'Khomeiny continue de pers~cuter la minorit~ religieuse ba-ha'ie,' Le Devoir (Montr~a1),
(22 Mar.Read, Nicholas. 'Bahá'ís "are Iran's scapegoats",'
The Vancouver Sun (Vancouver), (274.7. United Kingdom: 378 THE BAHÁ'Í Ch~dai11e, Jean. 'Le g6nocide des Bahá'ís en Iran,'
La Nouvelle Re~publique'Khomeiny laisse Le choix ~ ses 450 000 Bahais: "L'Lslam ou la mort",' France-Soir (Paris), (11 Nov. 1981), p. 1.
'R6pression et pers&~ution en Iran,' Le Monde (Paris), (30 Dec. 1981), p. 1.
4.3. Germany: 'Tag der Menschenrechte: Hofheimer Bahá'í bangen urn Mitglabige im Iran,' Hof7ieimer Zeitung (Hofheim), (11 Dec. 1982), p. 11.
Vocke, Harald. 'Systematischer Volkermord an den Bahai in Iran,' Die Welt (Bonn), (1 Dec. 1982), p. 7.
'22 Bahai warten in Schiraz auf ihie Hinrich-tung,'
Frankfurter AligemeineGeyelin, Philip. 'What Can Be Done to Help Baha'is?,'
The International Herald4.5. Italy: 'Nuove vittime tra i Bahá'í iraniani,' La Stampa (Torino), (13 Mar. 1983).
Pagliari, Ovidjo. 'Continua a Teheran Ta repressione religiosa dei Baha'i,' Ii Mes-sagero (Rome), (8 Mar. 1983).
Tana, Fabjo. 'Le Vittime Dimenticate di Khomeini,' Ii Globo (Rome), (1 Aug. 1982), p. 16.
Tosatti, Marco. 'L'Lran massacra gil inoffen-sivi Baha'i,' La Stampa (Torino), (5 Jan. 1982).
4.6. Sweden: Apple, R. W. 'Religk5s grupp forfoljs i Iran,' Svenska Daghiadet (Stockholm), (11 Mar. 1983), p. 4.
'Bahais executed in Iran,'Coleman, Michael. 'Eleven vanish into unknown jail,'
The Times (London), (24Mortimer, Edward. 'A people in the shadow of extinction,' The Times (London), (30 Mar. 1982).
Righter, Rosemary. 'Iran plans a final so1~ ution for 300,000 "rebels": death if they don't recant faith,' The Sunday Times (London), (20 Sept. 1981), p. 1.
'Of these Iran leaders, only one still lives,' The Sunday Times (London), (21 Mar. 1982), p. 8.
Tisdall, Simon. 'Bahá'ís persecution warning, The4.8. United States: Apple, R. W. Jr. 'Iran's Baha'is: Some Call It Genocide,' The New York Times (New York), (27 Feb. 1983).
Bahá'ís Fear ExterminationBailey, Kathleen. 'Iran reported waging genocide on Baha'i,' The Washington Times (Washington D.C.), (1 June 1982), p. 3A.
Brune, Tom. 'Bahá'ís in Iran: Do they face extermination?'
Boston Sunday Globe (Boston), (16 Jan. 1983), p. A23.
Butler, Sharon. 'ReligiousCrossette, Barbara. 'U.S. Bahá'ís Assail han's Crackdown,' The New York Times (New York), (18 Oct. 1981).
Derwinski, Edward. 'Bahá'í tragedy goes on in Iran,' Chicago Tribune (Chicago), (18 Jan. 1983), p. 10.
Hanley, Charles J. 'ChargingHayes, Thomas C. '2,500 in Los Angeles Mourn Deaths in Iran of
15 Bahais,' TheINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA'I' ACTIVITIES 379
Hyer, Marjorie. 'Bahá'íof Extinction,' The New York Times (New York), (6 Aug. 1981).
'Senate condemns persecution of Baha'is, News World (New York), (1 July 1982).
'U.N. slows executions of Bahais,' Washington Times (Washington D.C.), (22 Oct. 1982).
Newsstand posters printed by Tribune de Gen&ve and Journal de Gen~ve for display in public newspaper dispensers; 1980.
Page 380I N many cases, the year of an event is given in the sources only as a year of the Hijri (Muslim) calendar. The start of the Hijri year, which is thirteen days shorter than the solar year, rotates through the solar year and thus any particular Hijri year overlaps two solar years. In the following list, where only a Hijri date is given in the sources the event has been listed under the first of the two Gregorian years that that Hijri year covers unless the start of the Hijri year falls in November or December, in which case the event is listed under the following year. Similarly, the Baha year, which begins on the vernal equinox, overlaps two Gregorian years. Those events for which only the Baha year is given are shown in the following list as occurring in the first of the two Gregorian years that that year overlaps. In these cases the relevant year is given in parentheses after the Gregorian year together with the following abbreviations: A.H.Q. � Lunar Hijri year; B.E. � Badi' (Baha) year.
Unfortunately, in a work of this nature, it is not possible to give a detailed note of the source of information used for each episode. In compiling this chronology of the persecutions of the BThI and Bahá'í Faiths in fr6n from their inception in 1844 until the start of the current persecutions in 1978, a wide variety of sources has been used, from English works such as Nabil's Narrative and volumes of The Bahá'í World to printed Persian woiks such as Lshr6q-Khavarf's s Taqvtm-i-Tdr[kh-i-Amr and Hdi1-i-M4zandar~ni's Zuhdru'l-Haqq. Also manuscript materials have been used, especially a series of histories of the Bahá'í Faith in different localities in Irdn that were compiled by various authors particularly in the 1920s and 1930s under the instructions of Shoghi Effendi.
This listing must be regarded as provisional since further research will undoubtedly uncover other episodes of persecution not listed here.
1845: 23 June; Shfrrtz:Arrest, beating and expulsion from Shirdz of Quddiis, MulTA SAdiq-i-KhurAs~ni,
Mu11~ 'Ali-Akbar-i-ArdistAniand MuT1A Ab6-Thlib; this was followed by the arrest of the Báb.
1845: Yazd and KirmAn:set upon and beaten after announcing the mission of the Báb in each of these two cities.
1846: 23 September Shfr~zThe Báb arrested by the Governor but released following the outbreak of a cholera epidemic.
1847: July; BeginningMullh IbrThim-i-MahallAti, the bearer of T6hirih's treatise to the 'ulamA of Hamad6n, severely beaten.
1847: October; Qazvin:Arrest of some thirty Báb's, including TThirih, following the murder of 1-ffiji Mull6
Muhammad Taqfy-i-Barag~6ni.Báb's brought to Tihrdn. Shaykh Salih-i-Karimi publicly executed in Tihran and HAjI Asadu'llAh-i-FarhAdf secretly put to death in prison.
The remaining prisoners returned to Qazvin whereand MuTU LbrThim-i-Maljalhti were put to death. Bahá'u'lláh imprisoned briefly while trying to assist Báb's of Qazvfn.
1848: April; BeginningBahá'u'lláh and His companions, returning from Bahá'u'lláh attacked by villagers.
1848: July; Tabrfz: TrialINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CU imprisoned by Mirza Muhammad-Taqf, mujtahid of Sari.
1848: September; BandarJaz: Arrival of decree of the ShTh ordering Bahá'u'lláh's arrest.
News of the death of the ShTh cancelled the decree.
1848: 10 October; Bdrfuriish:Seven of Mull6 ilusayn's companions killed in a clash with a crowd roused by the Sa'idu'1-'Ulam4.
Later another three were killed as they tried to sound the adhAn in the caravanserai of the Sabzih-Maydin of B6rfuriish.
1848: Upheaval at Shaykhand his companions entered the Shrine of Shaykh Tabarsi and were attacked that night by a body of horsemen from QThi-Kul6.
19 December: Arrival of 'Abdu'llAh Kh6n's forces and the start of the siege.
21 December: Major sortid led by Quddiis dispersed besiegers.
early January, 1849: Arrival of Mihdf-Quli Mirza and 3,000 royal troops.
11 January: Night sortie led by Quddiis upon the headquarters of Mihdf-Quli Mirza at Vaskas dispersed the camp.
27 January: Arrival of reinforcements for the besiegers under 'AbMs-Quli
KhAn-i-LThjdni.2 February: Major sortie led by Mulh Husayn dispersed the camp of their enemy but resulted in martyrdom of Mu11~ Husayn himself and some forty of his companions.
27 March: Mihdf-Qulf Mirzabuilt fortifications and started bombardment of the Shrine.
early April: Arrival of9 May: Qudd6s, receiving promises of safety written on the Qur'an, left the Shrine and entered the Prince's camp.
10 May: Quddfls's companions tricked into leaving the Shrine; they were then set upon and killed. End of Shaykh Tabarsi upheaval.
1848: 1848: early December; Amul: Bahá'u'lláh and eleven companions, trying to reach Shaykh Tabarsi, arrested and imprisoned; Bahá'u'lláh bastinadoed.
1849: 16 May; Bdrfurhsh:HusaS,n-i-Turshfzf, H4ji Muhammad-Taqfy-i-Kirm4nf,
Muham-mad-Husayn-i-Mar4hi'f.1850: First upheaval at Nayrfz; the main events were:
27 May: Entry of Vahidinto Nayriz; his address at the Jum'ih mosque; the Governor made moves against him; Vahid ordered his companions to occupy the fort of KMjih.
about 6 June: Arrival of Mihr-'Ali KhAn-i-N6rf with troops from Shfr6z.
about 8 June: Night sortie by Báb's routed troops.
about 9 June: Prolonged fighting on this day led to many deaths on both sides.
17 June: Vahid, having received a promise of safety written on the Qur'an, left the fort for Mihr-'Alf KhAn's camp.
21 June: The B~bfs were, through treachery, induced to leave the fort, then set upon and killed.
24 June: The arrival in Shfr~z of thirteen severed heads of BThis which were paraded through the town.
29 June: Martyrdom of Vaijid.arrived in Shfr~z with Báb prisoners and decapitated heads.
1850: 9 July; Tabriz:1850: The upheaval at Zanj~n; the main events were: 19 May: Mir SaiTh dispersed a mob sent against Hujjat by the Governor; the Governor sent to Tihrdn for reinforcements; the town divided into two.
1, 13 and 16 June: Arrival382 4 August: Fierce fighting ending in Báb victory and recapture of lost positions.
17 August: General assault on BThI positions repelled, but Báb's lost ground.
25 August: Arrival of 'Azfz Kh6n-i-Mukri, commander-in-chief of frTh's army.
3 September: General assault ordered by 'Aziz KlAn repelled.
11 September: Arrival of troop reinforcements.early October: Bombardment and assault took several BThf positions, leaving the BThis confined to a small number of houses.
mid-November: Arrival of further reinforcements.about 2 January 1851: General assault resulted in capture of remaining Báb positions and killing of several hundred Báb men and women. End of Zanj6n upheaval.
1850: 3 October; Shir~z:1851: about November; LuristAn: Sayyid Basfr-i-Hindf, the blind Indian Sayyid, put to death cruelly by Jidirim
Mirza.Following the attempt on the life of the Sith (15 August), a large number of BThis were arrested in TihrAn and its environs.
Initially some ten were executed by the official executioners. These included
Su-laym6n Kh6n and TAhirih.After the initial executions, about twenty or more Báb's were distributed among the various courtiers and government departments to be tortured and put to death.
1852: August; Mfl6n, near1852: September; N6r, Mdzandaffin: Royal troops attacked Báb's of this area killing several.
1853: The Second upheaval at Nayriz, the main events were: October: Mirza Na'im-i-Nflri, the new Governor, began to treat the Báb's harshly, arresting a large number of them and pillaging their property.
In response the BThis fled to the hills and took up defensive positions there.
mid-October: Mirza Na'fm's troops launched major attack on the Báb positions in the hills during the night but were thrown back in much confusion and with great loss of life.
31 October: Báb's asked to negotiate terms. early November: BThis tricked into leaving their positions then attacked and over a hundred killed.
Some 600 women prisoners, 80 � 180 male prisoners and the heads of some 180 martyrs were taken to Shfr6z. End of second Nayrfz upheaval.
1853: 24 November Shir~zin Shir~z with prisoners and heads of BThfs; several more Báb's executed; heads dispatched to Tihr6n but later buried at AbAdih; many of the women were forced to marry the soldiers.
1862 (BE. 18): Tihr6n:and Isfah6n: Shaykh Muhammad-BAqir, 'the Wolf', ordered the arrest of several hundred BThis and had them brought to 1sf ah6n. Mirza Habfbu'lhh and UstAd Husayn-'Alf-i-Khayy6x were executed and a number of the prisoners were sent on to Tihr~n where they languished in prison for several months before being set free. On their return to IsfahAn, U6ii
Mulid Hasan and H6jf Muhammad-S4diqwereFollowing a disturbance in which a Báb was killed, about one hundred Bahá'ís were arrested.
1867: 8 January; Tabriz:ZanjTh: Execution of Mirza Muhammad-'Ah, a physician of HamadAn.
1867: January or February;of Aq~ Buzurg-i-Khur6s6nf Badf, Bahá'u'lláh's messenger to Msiru'd-Din SMh.
1869: 25 December F~irAnBaha'is: Aq6 Mirza Aq6y-i-Rikdb-S6z, Mashliadi
Muhammad-Nabi, and Mash-hadi1873 (A.H.Q. 1290): Tihr~n: Ibn-i-Abhar imprisoned for fourteen months and fifteen days.
1874: April; JsfahAn:Twenty or more Bahá'ís arrested at instigation of Shaykh
Muham-mad-B6qir, 'the1875 (A.H.Q. 1292): Sidih, Jsfah6n: 'Ulam6 roused rabble against Ba1P'is; several Bahá'ís imprisoned in JsfalThn including Nayyir and SliP.
1876 (A.TZLQ. 1293): TihrAn: Six Baha arrested and imprisoned for three months and seventeen days.
1877: September; Maslihad:Muhammad-Hasan, the 'King of Martyrs', and H~jf Sayyid Muhammad-1-lusayn, the 'Beloved of Martyrs'.
1880 (A.H.Q. 1297): SultAn6bdd: Martyrdom of seven Baha'is; three Bahá'ís killed on the orders of Sayyid
Mu~iammad-Mqir-i-Mujtahidand a large number of Bahá'ís arrested and thrown into prison. Four more Bahá'ís were executed in prison. An old lady, Sayyidih Kh6num Bab, was sent to Tihran and strangled in prison.
1882: December; Tihr~n:Arrest of some fifty Baha; they were eventually released after nineteen months in prison.
1882 (about A.H.Q. 1299):he was sent to J~fahan where he spent a year in prison.
1883: 19 March: Rasht:Sixteen Baha traders of the bazaar arrested; three others brought from
LThijAn. Liii Na~fr-i-Qaz-vini1883 (A.H.Q. 1300): Yazd: Six Bahá'ís arrested and sent to JsfahAn in chains.
1883 (A.H.Q. 1300): Sarvistli, F~trs: Four Bahá'ís arrested and sent to Shir~z where they were bastinadoed.
1884 (A.H.Q. 1302): Turshfzarrested and imprisoned for two years before being killed in prison.
1888: July � August; Sarvisthn, Fars: Two Bahá'ís arrested and sent to Shir6z where one of them was imprisoned.
1888: 23 October; Jsfah6n:Aq6 Najaff, the 'Son of the Wolf, having initiated a campaign against the Bahá'ís in June, on this day, drove over one hundred Bahá'ís out of Sidih and Najaffi-bAd: they took sanctuary in the Telegraph Office and in the stables of the Governor in Jsfahdn.
18 July: They were persuaded to leave the Telegraph Office after being assured that they would receive protection in their villages.
August: Bahá'ís of Sidiband NajaffilAd, having received no help, went to TihrAn to petition the Shah.
25 February 1890: On their return from Tihr6n with the ShAh's decree permitting their return home, seven were killed as they tried to return to Sidih.
1890: August � SeptemberArrest and beating of MullA Hasan and his two brothers.
1890 (A.I-I.Q. 1308):Akhiind and H~ji Amin, who remained imprisoned in Tihr~n and Qazvin for two years, and of Jbn-i-Abhar who remained imprisoned in Tihr4n for four years.
1890 (A.H.Q. 1308): Funigh (Dhgh6bAd),arrested and sent to Maslihad; from there he was sent to KaHt-i-N~dirf where he was imprisoned for two years.
1890 (A.H.Q. 1308): Mashhad: Mob set out to kill Mirza Husayn-i-Bajist6ni but failing to find him looted his shop.
1891: 19 May; Yazd: Theexecuted by the Governor, Jal6-lu'd-Dawlih, at the instigation of the mujtahid, Shaykh Hasan-i-SabzivTh; their names were: 'Ali-Asghar, MuT1A Mihdi, AqA 'All, Mulh 'Alfy-i-SabzivArf, Muhammad-Mqir, and two brothers, 'Au-Asghar and Muhammad-Hasan.
1891: 3 October; Yazd:Aq6 Murtad6 of Sarvi-stAn, who had been in prison for five year.s, executed.
1892 (A.H.Q. 1310): TilirAn:1893: 17 June: Aq~ Muhammad-Rid6y-i-Mu-hammad6b4di
killed by three men on the decree of Mirza Sayyid 'Alf-i-Mudarris and Shaykh Muhammad-Taqiy-i-Sabzi-v6rf, two of the 'ulam6 of
Yazd.1894 (A.n.Q. 1312): NislThpiir Khur~s~n Two Bahá'ís arrested and bastinadoed so severely that one, Muihi 'Ali-Akbar, died seven days later and the other was mentally affected and died two years later.
1894 (A.H.Q. 1312): Hamad6n: H4ji Y~rf, a Bahá'í of Jewish background, arrested and imprisoned.
1894 (A.H.Q. 1312): Dastjirtn Bushniyyih,1894 (A.H.Q. 1312): F4rAn, Khur~sTh: Baha of the town beaten and Bahá'í homes Looted.
1896: 1 May; Tihr~n: Martyrdomof 'Au-Muhammad Varqtt and his twelve-year-old son, Rhh'u'116.h.
1896: May; Abddih, Hrs:Leading Bahá'ís of the town arrested; other Bahá'ís forced to flee the town and their homes looted.
1896: June � July; Turbat-i-Haydari, Khur~-san: Two mujtahids stirred up the people against the Bahá'ís causing several Bahá'ís to be beaten and four Baha imprisoned.
1896: 21 JuLy; Turbat-i-1-Iaydarf:24 July: Four Baha'is, previously imprisoned, executed on decree of the mujta-hid, Shaykh 'Ali-Akbar-i-Yazdi; their names were: Mirza Ghul6m-'Ali, Aq~ Muhammad-'Aliy-i-SabbAgh,
Aq6 Mu-hammad-Hasan-i-KalThsh1896 (A.H.Q. 1314): Kh6zisffin: Mu11A Hasan Khaz&i arrested.
1897: February; MamaqAn,arrested; three of them were bastinadoed and three imprisoned in Tabrfz.
1897 (A.II.Q. 1315): Says6n,Fifteen Bahá'ís arrested, taken to Tabrfz, imprisoned and fined.
1897 (A.H.Q. 1315): Nayriz,arrested on orders of Aq~ Najaff, the 'Son of the Wolf.
1897 (A.H.Q. 1315): HamadTh: Homes of several Bahá'ís looted and ransacked after complaint by Jews of ~he town against Bahá'ís of Jewish background.
1898: 9 February: Mashhad:shot, beaten and then burned to death in one of the main streets of the town by four religious students.
1898: April; Hamad~n:Nine Bahá'ís attending a Ridvan meeting arrested, beaten and imprisoned.
1898: 1 June; Yazd: Aq61898 (A.H.Q. 1316): Qazvin: Several Bahá'ís arrested and imprisoned.
1898 (A.a.Q. 1316): Uis~r,INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURR beaten; Bahá'í houses looted.
1899 (A.H.Q. 1317): KirmThsh6h:1900 (A.H.Q. 1318): Kirm6nshTh: Mirza M6s~ Kkin, Hakim-JUhi, expelled from the town.
1901: May; Najaffib6d:1901 (B.E. 57): Yazd: Sayyid ffishim-i-Urusf d6z arrested and taken before the muj -tahid, Mirza Abu'L-Hasan-i-Mudarris, who signed a decree for his death on account of his being a Baha'i; but he was saved by Sih6mu'1-Mulk.
1902: 18 March; Jsfand6bhdand Sayyid Ja'far on the orders of Mirza 'Abdu'1-Ghani muj-tahid of Abarqh; expulsion of several Bahá'ís from the town. Another Baha'i, Aq~ Ri~h, also killed.
1902 (A.H.Q. 1320): Ndq,1902 (A.H.Q. 1320): Bandar Anzali: Sayyid 'Ali, the Lm~m-Jum'ih, roused the rabble to attack the house where HAji Mirza Haydar-'Ali was staying; oniy the intervention of the Governor saved the latter.
1902 (A.H.Q. 1320): ShirAz: H~jf Abu'1-Hasan beaten so severely on the orders of the mujtahid, Udji Sayyid 'Ali-Akbar-i-Khl-Asiri, that he died a few months later from the effects.
1902: Shfniz: During most of this year there was agitation, stirred up by the 'ulamA, against
H~jf Shaykhu'r-Ra'fsbecause of his being a Baha'i; eventually he was forced to leave ShfrAz in August.
1903: Upheaval at Raslit:main events were: 3 May: Agitation against Bahá'ís following publication of photograph of the Bahá'í community; several Bahá'ís beaten.
7 May: Mob disrupted a Bahá'í funeral, exhumed body and burned it. 16 May: Renewed uproar in the town following the placing of a forged placard at the door of the local mujtahid, J+iji Khum4mi.
17 May: Two leading Baha'is,Mulk and Mudabbiru'1-Mam6lik, expelled from the town.
1903: Upheaval at Isfah6n:seized by students of Aqd Naj aft and beaten severely; this caused a large number of Bahá'ís to take sanctuary in the Russian Consulate.
28 May: Large mob gathered outside Russian Consulate and beat Bahá'ís as they left; Sayyid Abu'1-Q6sim-i-Marn6ni, aged 90, died as a result of the injuries he received.
1903: 8 June; Mirza,of the town; several beaten and imprisoned; Mirza Jsm&fl-i-Khayy6i killed and Aq~ 'Ahy-i-Zargar died later as a result of injuries he received.
1903: Upheaval at Yazdand surrounding villages; main events were: 14 June: Yazd: Sayyid Muhammad-Ibra-him, the new Jm6m-Jum'ih, preached against the Baha'is; rabble took to the streets; shop of Aq~ Muhammad-Husayn-i-Att6r and several other Bahá'ís looted.
15 June: Yazd: HAji Mirz6y-i-Ha1abi-S~z attacked with an axe and died later the same day.
22 June: Taft: Rabble attacked Baha'is' houses killing six Baha'is.
24 June: Ardik4n: Rabble27 June; Yazd: Rabble killed six Baha'is; citadel besieged in the belief that Mull6 'Abdu'1-Ghani was there.
ManshAd: Rabble killed six Baha'is.ArdikTh: Rabble set out for home of Sadru's-Su1t~n but were turned back.
28 June; Yazd: On orders of the Governor, Jal6lu'd-Dawlili, two Bahá'ís brought before him; one was blown from a cannon and another had his throat cut.
Taft: Mull6 Mn~iammad-FIusaynArdikTh: Sadru's-SuItAn, his brothers, Niz~mu'sh-Shari'ih and Mu'tamadu'sh-Sharf'ih, his nephew, Diy&u'sh-Sharfih, and four others killed.
Hanz4: Fatimih Bfgum killed.shot to death on decree of Shaykh Husayn-i-Daffiz.
Chin6r: AqA Mu1iammad-H~shim-i-DallAISult6n KhAnum thrown from top of a building and killed.
'AbMsAbAd: AqA 'Ali-Akbar-i-Qass6b beaten to death.
8 July; ManshAd: AqAand Mirza Muhammad-JbrAhim, Tabfb-i-Khuramsh4hi beaten to death.
11 July; Mansh6d: AqAAqA Asadu'llAh killed and his head taken back to Manshdd.
G~vafshAd: UstTh Rid4'A1i-Akbar-i-Zarq~ni incited the people to attack the Baha'is.
1903 (A.H.Q. 1321):1903 (A.H.Q. 1321): KashAn: Several Bahá'ís arrested and imprisoned; Jewish leaders in the town denounced several Bahá'ís of Jewish background and these were also imprisoned.
1904 (A.H.Q. 1322): Shiniz: Mob attacked houses of Baha'is.
1905: March; MarAghih,Bahá'ís killed and injured by bullets; six Baha arrested.
1906 (A.H.Q. 1324):by the 'ulamA caused expulsion of Shaykh 'Ali-Akbar-i-QiichAnf.
1907: 25 April; Tabriz:1907 (A.H.Q. 1325): Nayrfz: H6jar, an elderly Bahá'í lady, shot dead.
1908 (A.H.Q. 1326): Kirmli: Martyrdom of 'Au1908 (A.H.Q. 1326): Shir6z: Qav~mu'1-Mu1k attacked the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Bahá'ís from the pulpit of the Masjid-i-Naw.
1909: March; Nayriz:Eighteen Bahá'ís killed by Shaykh Zakariyya after he took the town in the name of the Constitutional-ists.
1909: 7 April; Kirm~nsh6h:1909: March � April; Mmiq, Khur~s~n:Bah&-is of this village attacked; Kad-khud~ LsmA'fl killed..
1909: 22 April; lulis6r1909: 28 July; N6miq, Khur4s~tn: Mull6 'All-Akbar, his wife and two sisters killed; later in the day, AqA Flasan killed.
Page 3871912: 3 January; Stiff, Mdzandar6n: Mob attacked houses of Baha'is; Mirza
Mu-hammad-'Ali, Mushfru't-TujjAr, shot, Mirza Mahm6d-i-S6tat-s6.z suffocated and Aq~ Muhammad-Ism~'fl, Aminu't-Tujj~r beaten and shot to death. A few days later Mirza Habibu'116h also killed.
1912: January; Bahá'u'lláh'sM4zandarTh: Mirza Muhammad-'Ali, Mu'fnu't-Tujj6r, and his wife killed.
1912: 4 February; MThfur6zak,1914: (A.H.Q. 1332): Hamadhn: Several Bahá'ís arrested.
1915: 14 February; Ardist6n:general agitation against Baha'is; some Bahá'í houses looted.
26 February; large number of Bahá'ís arrested and imprisoned; they were eventually released on payment of large fines.
1915: 14 March; Mashhad:shot to death; this was followed by considerable anti-Bahá'í agitation and several Bahá'ís had to seek sanctuary.
Three hundred persons arrested.Mirza 'All-Akbar, his wife, his wife's sister (aged 12) and their four children (aged from 46 days to 11 years) killed by having their throats cut.
1916: 28 July; SangsarThis was followed by general agitation against the Bahá'ís in the town and boycott of Bahá'ís in the bazaar and public baths. Thirty-two Bahá'ís arrested.
1918: 15 March; BandarJaz: Aq~ Mirza Jav4d, J'timThu't-TujjAr, shot and the houses of the Bahá'ís looted causing the death of Aq~ Mirza.
Jav6d's 14-year-old nephew.Shaykh Murtad6 incited the people against the Baha in the shrine of ShAh Chirigh. Bahá'ís threatened and insulted but firm official action averted the danger to the Baha'is.
1920: 21 May; SulthnTh6d:against Baha; plans made for general massacre and looting on 24 September (10 Muharram), but this was averted by the appointment of a strong Acting-Governor.
1920: October; Far6gh, Fhrs: Mirza Mustaf4 killed and other Bahá'ís imprisoned.
1920: November; K6sh4n:KhAn IbtihAju'1-Mulk, at the hands of the Jangalfs.
1921: 23 January; Kirm6nshTh:K6shdn: 'Ulam6 agitated against Baha and tried to close Bahá'í school.
1921: April; SulttntMd:Agitation against the Baha'is; attack on Bahá'ís planned for 24 April (15 Sha'b6n) but averted by the
Governor.After two weeks of agitation against the Baha'is, one Baha was beaten in the bazaar and the threat of a general attack on the Bahá'ís was averted oniy by a show of force on the part of the Governor.
Page 388Mirza Muham-mad-i-Shir~zi, a merchant, arrested and all of his goods confiscated.
1921: July; KAsh6n: Demonstrationsof Baha of Zoroastrian background by the Zoroastrian agent, Mr. Pestanji Tasker.
1921: July � August; Oum:Fifteen Bahá'ís arrested and newly-built Bahá'í Centre burned down.
1921: 10 October K6shAnFollowing weeks of agitation, the Bahá'í school in this town was closed and many Bahá'ís harassed.
1921: 20 October; Sangsar:Mustaffi Tab*tab6' i; continual agitation prevented burial of the body for several days.
1921: 29 November; Yazd:Several Bahá'ís beaten; 'ulam6 attempted to organize an anti-Bahá'í boycott.
1922 (A.H.Q. 1341): Shahmfrz6dDemonstrations against Baha; two Ba-hd'is beaten.
1924: 9 March; Mar~ghih, AdharbAyjAn: Two mullis stirred up the people against the Baha; one Baha beaten and two imprisoned for several months.
1924: 21 � 28 March Mashliad:Daily attacks on Baha and Bahá'í shops culminating in' expulsion from the town of AqA Gui-kThf and other leading Baha.
1924: 2 April; Turbat-i-}-IaydariGeneral attack on Baha'is; several arrested and imprisoned; some forced to leave the town permanently.
1924: 5 April; ffurshiz KhurAsdn: Shaykh 'Abdu'1-Majid, SAdiqu'1-'UlamA, beaten to death.
1924: ApPi; Sarch6h, BirjandBahá'ís arrested and beaten; Bahá'í houses looted.
1924: April; Khiisif,beaten; Bahá'í houses and orchards looted and destroyed.
1924: 22 June; Fir6zdb4d,Anti-Bahá'í agitation, culminating in the murder of the American Vice-Consul, Major Robert Imbrie, on the accusation of being a Bahá'í (although he was not in fact a Baha'i).
1925: MiyAn-du-Ab: Baha'isforbidden to enter public baths; two Bahá'ís arrested.
1926: 7 April; Jahrum, Hrs: Eight Bahá'ís beaten to death: Sayyid Husayn Raw-Mnf, Ustid 'Abbas, Muhammad-K6zim, Muhammad-Hasan,
Aq~ Muhammad-Shaft' Mashhadfhouses were looted and several other Bahá'ís beaten.
1926: 29 June; Zav~rih, near Jsfah6n: Martyrdom of three Baha'is: Aq~
Asadu'ihh, Aq6 Sayyidattacked Baha from the pulpit; Bahá'ís blockaded into town and an attack on them was being prepared, but they managed to obtain assistance from the military authorities.
1926: MaAghih, Adharbayj~n:For most of this year, severe restrictions were placed upon the Bahá'ís of this town including: prohibition against shops serving Baha'is; prohibition against Baha entering the public baths; prohibition against Bahá'í burials.
1927: 25 March: Ardibilof Aqh 'Abdu'1-'Azfm, Aminu'1-'U1am~, at the decree of Haji Mirza 'Alt-Akbar, mujtahid of
Ardibil.1932: Throughout frTh: Iranian government introduced several measures against the Baha'is: Restrictions placed upon the import of Bahá'í books and periodicals by post; restrictions placed upon Bahá'í publication in IrAn; Bahá'í marriage certificates denied recognition.
i933 (BE. 90): Gulphyg6n: Bahá'ís refused admission to public baths; Shaykh Ja'far HidAyat beaten and expelled from the town.
1933 (B.E. 90): Qazvin:389 INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAII 1934 (B.E. 91): Throughout mm: Several measures taken against the Bahá'ís by the government: Closure of Tarbiyat Bahá'í Schools in Tihr6n following their failure to remain open on a Bahá'í Holy Day; closure of nineteen other Bahá'í schools in K~sh6n, Qazvfn, Yazd, NajafTh6d, AbAdih, etc.; Bahá'í meetings forbidden by police order in many towns: TibrAn, Mashhad Sabziv~r, Qazvfn, Ar6k (Sul-lAnAb6d), etc.; Bahá'í
Centres (Hazf-ratu'1-Quds)closed by the authorities in K~sMn Hamad6n and ZThid&n; police harassment of Bahá'ís over filling-in of census returns, over marriage certificates and registration of births; some Baha in the army stripped of rank and imprisoned; some Baha government employees dismissed.
1935 (BE. 92): Throughoutfnin: Continuation of repressive government action: Meetings in Baha Centre in Tihr~n banned; arrest and imprisonment of a number of Bahá'ís in
Bandar Shah; Secretaryof Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of ArAk arrested; arrest and harassment of Bahá'ís in Qazvfn; arrest of a Bahá'í in
Z4hid6n.frhn: Police orders sent throughout hAn prohibiting all Bahá'í meetings; several local Bahá'í Centres (Hazfratu'1-Quds) attacked or closed down;
Bahá'ís in Bandar Sh6hinterrogated by police for closing their shops on Baha Holy Days.
1937: May: Yazd: Severalprominent Bahá'ís arrested; they were imprisoned in Tihr6n for four years and one died in prison.
1937: July: Sangsar Khur6s6nNine Bahá'ís imprisoned for closing their shops on a Baha Holy Day; remained in prison for two months.
1937 (BE. 94): Chain-tang, near HindiyAn: Five Baha families attacked in their homes, beaten severely and forced to leave the village.
1937 (BE. 94): Throughoutfr6n: Continuation of repressive government action: Many Bahá'ís employed in police force, army and government departments dismissed; six members of Local Spiritual Assembly of Ahv6z arrested; Baha in Bandar Sh6h who closed their shops on Bahá'í Holy Days were arrested; all Bahá'í meetings prohibited by police order in Kirm~insh4h, Bfrjand, Anik and other towns.
1938 (B.E. 95): Throughout Jr6n: Continuation of repressive government action: Throughout the country, Bahá'ís marrying without going through the official religious procedure, which did not recognize the Bahá'í Faith, were investigated; in Tihr6n alone several hundred Baha were investigated with a view to prosecution, most were imprisoned for a while pending bail. After trial some were imprisoned for six to eight months and fined; police harassment of Baha meetings in Kir-m6nslAh ZThid6n Mashhad, Sangsar, Bandar Pahlavf, Taft, etc.
1941: January; Sangsararrested and banished to other towns for closing their shops on Bahá'í
Holy Days.Akbarf, his two sons, Ya'qhb and Yflsif, and his daughter, Nargis, killed and several other members of his family severely beaten during an attack on his house by an armed mob.
1941 (n.E. 98): Báb1944: 12 May: AbAdih, FArs: Bahá'í Centre attacked by a mob of 4,000; building looted and destroyed; several Bahá'ís severely beaten.
1944: 8 August; SMhrfid:After three weeks of anti-Bahá'í agitation, three Bahá'ís were murdered: AqA Muhammad
Jadh-bAni, Aqa Asadu'lldhnumerous Bahá'í houses attacked and looted. The confessed murderers were tried and acquitted.
1944 (B.E. 101): Throughout fran: Following the martyrdoms in ShAhnid and the widespread publicity given to the results of the trial, there was an eruption of persecution throughout I ran: Ab6dih: Bahá'í beaten, houses sacked. Bandar
Jaz: Bahá'í Centre (Haziraknifed; attackers set free and attacked another three Baha leaving one a permanent invalid.
Bujniird: Bahá'í family driven from town.Bushniyyih: Baha, including women and children attacked and beaten, homes and shops looted and burned, Bahá'í cemetery desecrated.
HrAn (Firdaws): Bahá'íFour Bahá'ís arrested on trumped-up charge; trials lasted until 1954 when the accused were given prison sentences.
1951: 12 March: Yazd:Attack on Bahá'ís of Taft resulting in death of one Baha'i:
Bahrdm Rawh6ni.1951: June; FirAn (Firdaws), Khur4s6n: Attack on Baha'is, several houses burned.
1951 (B.E. 108): Throughout frTh: Introduction by the government of repressive measures against the Baha'is: Dismissal of Bahá'ís from government positions; fifty employees of Public hospital in Mashhad dismissed.
1951 (n.E. 108): Aran,1952: (B.E. 109): Najaf4b6d: Attack on Baha and Baha houses; several Bahá'í houses set on fire.
1953: (B.E. 110): Bushr6yyih and F6r6n (Fir daws),
KhuAsdn: Attacks on Baha'isBaha expelled from employment in Ministries of Health and Public Highways.
1955: 18 � 22 January; His~rarrested and beaten; four of these dragged around the town; Bahá'í houses attacked, looted and set on fire.
4 Febmary; His6r KhunisTh:During the month of Ramadttn, which began on this date,
Shaykh Muhammad-TaqiFalsaff preached against the Baha in the Khu'~ Mosque in Tihr~n. These inflammatory speeches were broadcast on the national Iranian radio and stirred up the people against the Baha.
2 May; Tihr~n: Police locked doors of the National Baha Centre in Tihr~n, preventing the holding there of the final day of the National Baha Convention.
7 May; Tihr6n: Army occupied the National Bahá'í Centre.
8 May; Rasht: Local Baha'iINTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 391
17 May; Minister of Interiorannounced in the National Parliament that the government had issued orders for the suppression of the 'Bahá'í sect' and the liquidation of Bahá'í
Centres.22 May; Dome of the National Bahá'í Centre demolished with the personal participation of several high-ranking army officers including
Major-General BAHÁ'U'LLÁH27 May; M6hfurflzak, near Sari: Local Bahá'í Centre demolished.
30 May; AbAdih, F6rs:May � July: The publication of pictures of the destruction of the dome of the
National Baha Centrewith official participation encouraged a widespread outburst of fanaticism throughout IrAn in the course of which: Many Bahá'ís were beaten, including women and children.
Bahá'í houses and shops were looted and burned.Bahá'í employees in government service were dismissed.
Bodies of Bahá'í dead were disinterred from Bahá'í cemeteries and mutilated.
Young women were abducted and forced to marrySeveral women were publicly stripped and/or raped.
Crops and orchards belonging to Bahá'ís were looted and destroyed.
Bahá'í children were expelled from schools.Seven Bahá'ís stabbed and beaten to death by a mob:
UstAd Firaydiin, Ruqiyyihand Aq~ Hid~yatu'11Th; several other Bahá'ís including women beaten and severely injured; Baba'i houses looted and property damaged.
September � October; BandarBahá'ís continue to be dismissed from employment; Bahá'í students expelled from Shir6z University.
1963: 5 June onwards;Advantage was taken of general antigovernment disorder to launch an attack on the Bahá'ís in several localities under the cover of these disturbances: Tihr6n: Bahá'í cemetery attacked, buildings burnt and graves desecrated.
Ar4n, near K4sMn: Bahá'íhouses attacked and burned. Local Baha Centre attacked.
Isfah6n: Local Bahá'íShfniz: Attack made on several Bahá'í homes and businesses.
Attack on the House of the Báb in Shfr6z attempted.
Some Bahá'ís expelled from government employment.
1966: December; Saysdn,Karfmi beaten to death by a mob; Bahá'ís attacked and beaten.
1968 � 1969; Throughoutfrdn: Pressure on Bahá'ís intensified through refusal of applications for government employment; refusal to admit Bahá'ís to
Colleges and Universities;closures of local Bahá'í Centres and attacks on some individual Baha'is.
1975: Throughout Inin:Following the setting up of the RaslAkhiz political party by the ShAh and the refusal of the Bahá'ís to join it, on account of their religious principles, many Bahá'ís lost their jobs and great pressures were brought to bear on others.
1977: 14 May; FAdil6bAd, GurgAn: Attack on the house of Riih'u'116h Taymiiri-Muqaddam resulting in his being killed and his sister severely injured.
Page 392� Zah,d~n Towns and cities in mm in which Bahá'ís were arrested or killed between 1979 and 1983.
Illustration depicting the death of a Bahd'ifrom the magazine Ima'ma, circa 1911.
Page 393THE relationship of the world Bahá'í community to the United Nations began in 1948, when the eight National Spiritual Assemblies then existing were recognized collectively by the U.N. Office of
Public information (OPI)as an international nongovernmental organization under the name 'Baha International Community.'
An official Bahá'í � U.N. relationship had actually started a year before � in the spring of 1947 � when OPI accredited the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of the United States and Canada as a national nongovernmental organization, qualified to be represented through an observer.
The next step in Bahá'í � U.N. cooperation � and a major one � took place in 1970, when the Baha
International Communitywas granted consultative status, category H, with the
United Nations EconomicA few years later, in 1974, as an extension of this relationship in the economic and social fields, the
Baha International Commhnityestablished an association with the United Nations
Environment Programme(UNEP). Then, in 1976 � another important development � it was weT-corned into consultative status with the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF).Although limited to activities educating the public about the aims and programs of the United Nations, the first stage of Bahá'í � U.N. cooperation allowed many opportunities for sharing the Bahá'í perspective, both through participation in numerous nongovernmental conferences, and through the presentation to the U.N. of several important statements.
One of the most important contributions took place in 1947, when the United
NationsFor detailed information on Bahá'í International Community activities with the U.N. during this period, see earlier volumes of The
Bahá'í World.Rabbani head of the Bahá'í Faith, resident at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, requesting an expression of the Bahá'í attitude to the future of Palestine.
Explaining that 'Our aim is the establishment of universal peace in the world and our desire to see justice prevail in every domain of human society, including the domain of politics,' Shoghi Effendi enclosed with his reply a summary of the history and teachings of the Bahá'í Faith.
Other presentations of note were: A 'Bahá'í Declaration on Human Obligations and Rights' (1947); a study entitled 'Proposals for Charter Revision,' circulated at a U.N.
Conference for Revisionof the U.N. Charter (1955); a statement endorsing the Genocide Convention, presented to the President of the
Commission on Human Rights(1959); and a comprehensive statement to a meeting of the United Nations
Office of Public Informationto discuss problems of cooperation 'with the United Nations family insofar as its programme affects the new nations', noting the 'vigorous assistance of Baha communities' through the implementation of Baha teachings and principles, to help the less developed peoples become integrated into the more developed society surrounding them (1960).
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity was also able, even in the early years of its relationship with the U.N., to assist in the protection and recognition of the Bahá'í world community.
Such were the cases of Bahá'í persecutions in Iran and Morocco, in 1955 and 1962, respectively, when appeals were lodged with the United Nations, and in 1967, the presentation, on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, of a special edition of the Proclamation of Bahá'u'lláh to fifty-six Heads of States, through the good offices of their Permanent Representatives to the
United Nations.These years witnessed a noticeable increase in the range and depth of Bahá'í � U.N. cooperation, as the Bahá'í International Community began the steady growth of its consultative relationship with ECOSOC and with UNICEF, and its association with UNEP; while continuing its close cooperation with the U.N.
Office of Public InformationAs it worked closely with ECOSOC, its functional commissions, committees and associated bodies, the Bahá'í International Community gradually explored new avenues of participation in United Nations social and economic programs.
Not only was it represented at sessions of U.N. bodies concerned with issues of human rights, social development, status of women, environment, human settlements, world food, science and technology, population, law of the sea, crime prevention, narcotic drugs, children, youth, the family, the United Nations University, and disarmament, but it also furnished information, submitted statements and published brochures on most of these subjects. In addition the Bahá'í International Community participated in United Nations Years, in world conferences and congresses, in regional conferences and in seminars concerned with the socioeconomic problems of our planet, as well as in preparation and followup meetings and activities.
When the Committee on NonGovernmental Organizations, the functional committee of ECOSOC in charge of fostering the U.N. relationship with NGO's in the social and economic field, reviewed at its 1978 session the work of nongovernmental organizations in consultative status with ECOSOC during the years 1973 � 1977, the Baha
International Communityreport, showing an impressive roster of activities recording warm cooperation with the U.N., was approved without questions.
Most gratifying during this period was the increased awareness and participation of national Baha communities through their National Spiritual Assemblies, U.N. representatives and committees, in fostering the ties of the Bahá'í world with the United Nations. They not only organized national and local Bahá'í � U.N. activities, but also provided knowledgeable Baha to help both in preparing statements and pamphlets examining the application of Bahá'í teachings and principles to the solution of specific world issues, and in representing the Baha International Community at conferences. In addition, the involvement of National Spiritual Assemblies in countries where U.N. conferences or meetings took place, through furnishing valuable services to ensure a more effective Bahá'í participation, created an awareness of how each Baha community did, in fact, share in the
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity's consultative relationship with ECOSOC and
UNICEF.Community also worked closely, through its U.N. representatives, with U.N. offices and officials at U.N. headquarters in New York, as well as in Geneva and Nairobi; and, through representatives from its member Bahá'í communities, with U.N. field offices around the world.
In addition, under the direction and guidance of the Universal House of Justice, contacts were made on many occasions during this period with the United Nations Missions and Secretariat. Here again a growing understanding of the nonpolitical and constructive nature of the Bahá'í International Community in the work of the U.N., aided by its consultative status, made access to key United Nations officials easier when a clear presentation of the Bahá'í position was needed to foster the official recognition of the Faith, or to prevent discrimination against the Baha community.
During these years it became clear that, as government delegates and United Nations personnel increasingly witnessed the Bahá'í presence, through extensive Bahá'í representation and a variety of Bahá'í statements (almost always circulated as U.N. documents), they were becoming aware of the existence not oniy of a worldwide Bahá'í community, but also of a Bahá'í view resting on a new spiritual and moral foundation essential for an effective and permanent solution to world problems and the building of a world civilization.
Page 395INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 395
Bahá'í International Community representatives attending the United Nations Commission on Human Rights held in Geneva; 31 January 1983. Seen on the far left, wearing headphones, is Mr. Giovanni Bahá'u'lláh of the European Branch of the Bahá'í International Community and, next to him, Mr. Gerald Knight, Alternate Representative, of the New York Office.
United Nations Day observance held at the Bahá'í Centre of Mauritius; 23 October 1980.
The Chairman of the City of Quatre-Bornes addressed an audience of approximately one hundred guests.
Page 396THE period 1979 � 1983 witnessed considerable growth of
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity activities with the United Nations. Besides expanding its cooperation with the U.N. in the many areas of earlier involvement related to programs implementing the goals of the U.N. Charter � peace, human rights, and development1 � the Bahá'í
International Communitywas able to offer the Bahá'í perspective and cooperation in new areas of U.N. concern � disabled persons, the aging, new and renewable sources of energy � as well as to begin its contribution to an issue long considered important by the U.N. � the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space.
The responsibilities of the Bahá'í International Community for the protection of the Faith, prominent on a few occasions in the past, were greatly expanded during this period to allow, under instructions from the Universal House of Justice, for the coordination of worldwide activities, at international and national levels, on behalf of the beleaguered Bahá'í friends in I r~n.2
In 1981 the Bahá'í InternationalCommunity was asked to submit a report of its activities in fulfillment oUts consultative relationship with the Economic and Social Council, covering the years 1977 to 1981, for examination by the U.N.
Committee on NonGovernmental OrganizationsThis second quadrennial report prepared by the Bahá'í International Community, since receiving consultative status with ECOSOC in 1970, again showed extensive cooperation and, like the previous one (1973 � 1977), received full approval.
The Baha InternationalCommunity office in New York increased gradually both its space and personnel, and by Ridvan of 1983
See Summary of Bahá'íAlso, for full details, see The Ba/id'! World, vol. XVII, p. 229.
2 A full report on the activities of the Bahá'íin assisting the friends in Iran can be found on p. 337.
the office comprised some 2,000 square feet with a staff of nine full-time persons, and several volunteers.
This expansion was in part the result of the escalation of the persecutions in fran, and led soon to a logical concentration of all Bahá'í International Community human rights activities in one specific section, headed by Mr. Gerald Knight, who had joined the Bahá'í International Community office in New York in 1979 as Alternate Representative. Mr. Knight, then serving as Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Fiji Islands, replaced Dr. Will. C. van den Hoon-aard, who resigned to pursue a career in university teaching.
Dr. van den Hoonaard had served as Alternate Representative with much enthusiasm and dedication since 1975.
In 1981 the range of Baha'ioperations in Geneva was expanded through the establishment of a European Branch Office to assist in the Baha activities with the U.N. in Geneva and Vienna, as well as to establish a closer relationship with European national Bahá'í communities and with some regional bodies such as the Council of Europe and the European Parliament. Mr. Giovanni Bahá'u'lláh, Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Italy, was appointed to head this office and represent the Bahá'í International Community with the U.N. in Geneva. Dr. Marco Kappenberger who had served in that capacity since 1972, but whose present professional responsibilities prevented him from devoting the time and energy which he had so generously given in the past, continued to assist as Alternate Representative until the end of 1981, along with Mine. Machid Fatlo, then Alternate Representative.
Mine. Fatlo is now working full-time as Alternate Representative for the European Branch Office and the U.N. in Geneva.
When in September 1979the United Nations moved its Centre for Social and Humanitarian Affairs to Vienna, it became necessary for the
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Baha International Communityto appoint representatives to the Vienna International Centre (VIC) � the new U.N. branch headquarters � since important areas of social and humanitarian activity, such as the advancement of women, crime prevention, curbing of drug abuse, as well as issues related to the aging, youth, disabled persons, were now centered in Vienna. Accordingly, Mr. Gerhard Schweter and Mr. Kent Beveridge, members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Austria, were appointed Baha International Community representatives, and served most ably and enthusiastically in that capacity from early 1980 to early 1982, when both had to resign because of demanding professional and elected Bahá'í responsibilities.
Since then, Mr. RolandKMer have been responsible, as Representative and Alternate respectively, for the Bahá'í International Community participation in activities taking place at the Vienna International
Centre.Rich opportunities for the Bahá'í International Community to contribute towards the constructive work of the United Nations in building a world in which justice and peace will prevail continued to surface during this period, in almost all areas of human needs and concerns, and the Bahá'í cooperation was increasingly welcomed by the United Nations.
NEW AREAS OF COOPERA HONAs it began considering issues affecting the wellbeing of the 'aging' � persons over sixty years old � the United Nations decided to convene, in 1982, a World Assembly on the Aging, to explore the problem fully, and created an Advisory Committee to plan for the conference and to draft a Plan of Action for approval and implementation by all governments. The Bahá'í International Community showed warm interest in the issue by taking part in these preparatory U.N. activities, and later in the World Assembly itself.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity also joined in the efforts of the NGO Committee on the Aging to encourage the contribution of nongovernmental organizations to the World Assembly deliberations, and served during 1981 and 1982 on the Committee's Executive Board.
In addition, it sent representatives to a NGO Forum on Aging, which met in Vienna a few months before the Assembly, to exchange the views and knowledge of NGO's, so that these might be channeled through a comprehensive report to the World Assembly. Two Bahá'í recommendations, offered to the organizers of the Forum when the agenda of the meeting was being planned, were repeated during the Forum: (1) that there must be full integration of the aging in the human community, since the community should be an extended family in which everyone, of any age, is an essential part, and not oniy allowed, but encouraged, to make the fullest possible contribution to the wellbeing of the whole; and (2) that in considering the needs of the aging in the process of development we must take into account the wholeness of the human being � moral and spiritual dimension, besides his emotional, intellectual, and physical nature � when discussing the special contributions of older persons to development and their sharing in the resulting benefits.
At the World Assembly, an oral statement by therepresentative also stressed the Bahá'í view. It expressed the hope that the Assembly would in its concern for the aging 'create a momentum for a better understanding of the reality of the human being in its various aspects.' The Bahá'í perspective was conveyed even more fully in one of the parallel NGO meetings addressed specifically to the 'Spiritual Needs of the Aging.'
Disabled PersonsIn its growing concern with the plight of persons suffering from a wide range of disabilities, the United Nations proclaimed 1981, International Year of
Disabled Persons. TheCommunity expressed its cooperation through participation in a U.N. Advisory Committee whose main task was to prepare a program of action to improve the conditions of the disabled, for implementation by world governments with the assistance of nongovernmental institutions and organizations.
A number of Bahá'í communities around the world also undertook programs for the disabled during IYDP.
At present, a Decade of Disabled Persons (1983 � 1992), proclaimed by the U.N. General Assembly, provides the Baha International
Page 398Community and its member communities worldwide with further opportunities for cooperation.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity also contributed during this period to the drafting of a brochure on 'The DisaNed Child,' published by the NGO Committee on UNICEF, outlining UNICEF's approach to disability and the role that NGO's could play in preventing and treating disabilities in children. It also worked closely with other NGO's in a UNICEF/NGO Committee on the Disabled Child, which cosponsored a symposium on 'Childhood Disabilities: Inevitable or Preventable,' as a contribution to JYDP.
Energy � New and Renewableon New and Renewable Sources of Energy, in Nairobi, Kenya, to identify broad guidelines for short and long-term solutions to the divers needs and problems of energy and to develop an appropriate plan of action. This U.N. Conference had been preceded in March of that year by a conference of nongovernmental organizations � 'Energy 2000' � held in Tunis, Tunisia. The
Bahá'í International Communitydelegation took part both in the Conference and in a parallel NGO Forum.
A brief statement circulated to the Conference, remarked that 'the integration of life on the planet requires unified action on a scale we have not yet achieved,' since until 'there is unity at the most fundamental level � that of human values � social problems, simple or complex, will remain unresolved.'
The statement further stressed that 'the worldwide nature of the problem in energy and in similar environmental issues requires a universal spiritual solution,' and concluded by observing that we must be cognizant 'of the tremendous power of spiritual energy which will be released when the oneness of mankind is realized and the limitless potential that will be available to us for effecting lasting change for the betterment of all mankind.' This is a goal for which Bahá'ís are striving and towards which humanity itself is moving.
Participation by the Bahadelegation in the Conference and in the parallel NGO Forum also included assistance in preparing a Kenya NGO exhibit and giving interviews on behalf of the Kenya NGO group; keynoting a panel for the NGO Forum on education, training and awareness in relation to energy issues, as well as participation in other NGO workshops; newspaper, radio and TV interviews featuring the
Bahá'í International Communityparticipation in the Conference; and wide distribution of the brochure, 'The Environment and Human Values � A Bahá'í
View.'was represented at a meeting of an Interim Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, in Rome, called to launch the implementation of the Programme of Action, approved at the Nairobi Conference, for the development and utilization of new and renewable sources of energy. In 1983, the
Bahá'í International Communitycohtin-ued its involvement in this issue, by attending the first session of the Intergovernmental Committee on New and Renewable Sources of Energy, meeting in New York; and it will continue to seek opportunities for cooperation on this issue.
Exploration and PeacefulFor many years the United Nations has been aware of the potential of outer space exploration in the social and economic development of the planet, but has been concerned at the same time with the grave danger of the use of outer space by technologically advanced nations for military purposes.
To discuss these issues at the highest level the U.N. held the UNISPACE '82 Conference in Vienna, in August of 1982. In participating for the first time in discussions on this subject, the Baha
International Communitysubmitted to the Conference a written statement, officially circulated, and further called attention to its views in an oral presentation. The key point made in those statements was that, if we are to prepare ourselves to utilize the promising new technology that has permitted travel and exploration in outer space, we must recognize the truth stated by Bahá'u'lláh more than a century ago that 'the earth is but one country and mankind its citizens,' and must work together 'to foster and promote world minded-ness like never before in the planet's history.'
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Ultimately, the unity of the human race, the statement concluded, quoting from the Baha Writings, implied 'the establishment of a world commonwealth,' a stage of international development requiring 'no less than the reconstruction and demilitarization of the whole civilized world � a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life.'
CONTINUING AREAS OF GO-OPERAof the Child (IYC) was enthusiastically supported by the Bahá'í International Community � ninety-four national communities participated � as evidenced by a widely distributed report on Bahá'í activities around the world. This report included information on a series of Bahá'í ongoing programs in child education, teacher training, preparation of child education materials, publications for and concerning children, and women's activities; besides describing the specific Bahá'í promotion of IYC through organizing and planning programs, publicity campaigns, exhibitions and displays, parades and festivals, radio, television and press publicity, and public events. There was much publicity also through Bahá'í media. In contrast to those activities generally aimed at and involving the adult public, many programs were specifically child directed: children's festivals, parties, entertainment; children's conferences; and children's art and music.
This IYC report � included in a special IYC edition of Bahá'í News (U.S.A.), July 1980 � was sent to
Mrs. Estefania Aldabafor JYC, and shared with a number of U.N. and UNICEF officials andpersonnel.
In a letter of thanks, Mrs. Lim wrote that reading this issue of Bahá'í News cover to cover had given her 'such a great feeling of comfort, elation and towering sense of pride' in the achievements of the Bahá'í International Community during JYC. She continued: 'I cannot express my feelings of gratitude in more adequate ways to your organization for the all-out cooperation and support which you as an NGO extended to our IYC Secretariat and above all to the children of the world for the promotion of their welfare and development.'
ment.' Mrs. Lim concluded her letter by saying: 'I pray and hope that the Year 1979 (JYC) was just a beginning of Baha'is' deep commitment for the child's causes and that your widespread advocacy will now begin to bear fruit on behalf of the child.'
The Baha InternationalCommunity continued to take part in the annual sessions of the UNICEF Executive Board � in 1979 in Mexico City, preceded by a special meeting on the situation and development of children in Latin America and the Caribbean; and in 1980, 1981 and 1982 in New York. The Spanish and English versions of the May 1979 NGO/UNJCEF Newsletter, containing a report on the efforts of Baha communities in Latin America and the Caribbean to increase awareness of UNICEF programs in those areas, were circulafed at the Mexico City meetings.
During this entire peripd the Bahá'í International Community was represented on the Steering Committee of the Non-Governmen-tal
Organizations Committeeon UNICEF. Mrs. Mary Sawicki sewed as Secretary from 1979 to 1981; later Dr. Victor de Araujo was elected Chairman of the NGO Committee on UNICEF, and has been serving in that capacity since October 1981. Mrs. Sawicki served also for several years as Assistant Editor of the NGO/UNICEF Newsletter, and Dr. de Araujo is presently on the Editorial Board of the NGO Forum, the official NGO publication that has succeeded the Newsletter.
Their contribution has been welcomed by NGO's and the UNICEF Secretariat, and has further strengthened the Baha International Community relationship with
UNICEF.In addition, besides serving during IYC on the IYC/NGO Committee, and participating in numerous committees and special meetings in observance Qf that Year, the Bahá'í
International Communitytook part in activities concerning the disabled child, breast feeding and infant feeding � Bahá'í representatives helped to organize and chair the 1981 NGOI UNICEF symposia on 'The Disabled Child' and on 'Breast Feeding' � as well as NGOI UNICEF field level relations, and assistance to children in emergency situations.
As UNICEF became increasingly aware of the extent of Bahá'í activities on behalf of
Page 400Community LYC consultant for Africa, in West Africa (reported in the NGO/UNLCEF Newsletter), as well as the operations of the Bahá'í schools in India and the radio stations in Ecuador and Peru � it became clear that there would be opportunities, in the near future, for field level cooperation with UNICEF.
Crime Preventionon the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held in
1980 in Caracas~ Venezuela.Strategies,' circulated as a Congress document, offered the view that 'both the causes of crime and the means of its prevention are inextricably linked to the question of personal moral values'; and that although punishment for crime is one of the means 'by which society can and must, if necessary protect itself against oppressors, it is nevertheless possible to educate human beings so effectively in moral virtues that ''crime itself will appear to them as the greatest chastisement, the utmost condemnation and torment".' The statement further quoted from the Baha Writings that religion is a 'mighty bulwark' preventing 'both the manifest and the concealed crime and is the all-inclusive power which guarantees the felicity of the world of mankind.'
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity also continued to cooperate with the Branch on Crime prevention and Criminal Justice, in the U.N. Centre for Social and Humanitarian Affairs, in Vienna, and to attend the biennial sessions of the Committee on Crime
Prevention and Control.representative made a statement on 'Summary or Arbitrary Executions,' providing documentation from the recent Bahá'í experience in fran � without identifying the country � as an objective contribution to the discussion on the issue.
Development � Social andBesides continuing its participation in the two main yearly sessions of the Economic and
Social Council, in NewYork and Geneva respectively, as well as in the biennial sessions of the Commission for Social Development, the
Baha International Communityfound several other opportunities during this period to indicate its deep interest in promoting the social and economic development of all peoples, by attending the 1981 United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, in Paris, as well as by participating in meetings of the High-Level Committee on the Review of Technical
Cooperation among DevelopingCountries held in Geneva and New York. It also followed closely the 11th Special Session of the General Assembly on the New International Economic Order, and participated in the NGO Forum, 'Agenda for the Eighties.'
The Baha InternationalCommunity also frequenfly took part in discussions of U.N. bodies seeking avenues of closer cooperation with nongovernmental organizations, in rural and urban development programs � such as the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP)and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNJCEF) � for the time when the growth of Bahá'í communities would make it possible to begin field projects in cooperation with the
United Nations.In addressing the U.N. General Assembly, as a nongovernmental organization invited to make a contribution to the deliberations of the 1982 Second Special
Session on DisarmamentCommunity took a further step in its cooperation with the U.N. in the work of that world organization to achieve general and complete disarmament.
In observing that the 'inability of human power alone to solve the affairs of humanity,' had been amply demonstrated by the history of this century, and that a 'reawakened realization of our connection with God' had become, therefore, essential, the statement offered two main recommendations: (1) establishment of a program of education for all peoples in the vital principle and truth of the organic oneness of humanity, drawing on all knowledge, whether from science or religion; and (2) achievement of collective security, based on trust and justice, through the efforts of governments and peoples � a
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security that would provide for lasting world peace, 'and make obsolete once and for all the arms arsenals and the reasoning behind them.'
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity also circulated during SSD2 a cover-updated version of 'The Promise of Disarmament and Peace,' a statement prepared for the 1978 General Assembly session on Disarmament. This brochure was mailed with the oral statement later that year, during Disarmament Week � a yearly event beginning on U.N. Day, 24 October � to U.N. delegations and to important members of the U.N. Secretariat. Copies were also sent to Baha communities around the world, with a letter encouraging Baha participation in Disarmament Week and in a World Disarmament Campaign launched by the
United Nations.Both before and after SSD2, the Bahá'í International Community continued its cooperation with the U.N.
Department for DisarmamentAffairs, as well as its participation in the work of the NGO Committees on
Disarmament in New Yorkand Geneva, and in NGO conferences and meetings organized by those Committees.
Environmentwith the United Nations in the area of the environment, dating from the 1972 World Conference on the Human Environment, in Stockholm, Sweden, continued steadily during this period through attendance at the yearly sessions of the Governing Coun-cii of the U.N. Environment Programme (UNEP), in Nairobi, and through membership and participation in the activities of the Environment Liaison Centre, a non-govern-mental group concerned with environmental issues.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity also took part in the Special Session of UNEP commemorating the 10th Anniversary of the Stockholm
Conference.Further, Bahá'í communities expressed their concern for a better quality of life on this planet through activities in observance of World Environment Day, 5 June. In Kenya, for instance, educational programs and special projects for the occasion, to assist UNEP and government programs in the environment field, such as in tree-planting, water and sanitation, and soil erosion, involving village chiefs, school principals, and other local officials and prominent persons, were most successful.
FoodCommunity continued to follow with much interest United Nations efforts to resolve the serious world food problem. In this regard it worked closely with the NGO Working Group on Food and Rural Development, most recently in the preparations being made for participation of nongovernmental organizations in the Ninth Annual Ministerial Session of the World Food Council, to take place in New York, in June 1983, and in the parallel NGO Food Policy Forum planned for that occasion.
HealthCommunity pursued its concern for primary health care by keeping in touch with the offices of UNICEF and WHO in New York, and, towards the end of this period, foresaw rich opportunities for cooperation when UNICEF launched a four-pronged children's health revolution � oral rehydration therapy, immunization, breast feeding and proper weaning, and home growth charts� intended to speed up the goal of 'Health for All by the Year 2000,' set up by the WHO/UNICEF Alma Ata Conference in 1978.
It also expressed its interest in the International
Drinking Water Supplyand Sanitation Decade (1981 � 1990), a decade to achieve clean water and sanitation for all by the year 1990, and sought ways to gradually inform Bahá'í communities about this area of U.N. activity, for possible cooperation.
In the field of mental health, the Bahá'í International Community was most capably represented at the 1979 and 1981 World Congresses on Mental Health, held respectively in Salzburg, Austria and Manila, Philippines, prestigious meetings sponsored by a nongovernmental organization, the World Federation for Mental Health. The Salzburg Congress, especially, offered an excellent opportunity to disseminate the Baha point of view, when almost 600 copies of 'The Violence Free Society: A Gift for Our Children,' a monograph published by the Association for Bahá'í Studies (ABS), were distributed to participating professionals.
Page 402The work of WHO and UNICEF in the field of health was also brought to the attention of Bahá'í health professionals at the 1980 Conference on ~Hea1th and Healing,' sponsored by the Association for Bab6'i Studies in Ottawa, Canada, when the Bahá'í International Community representative delivered a paper entitled
'Health: A Global Perspective.'After the Ottawa Conference led to the establishment in 1982 of a Bahá'í International
Health Agency,1 the Bahá'í InternationalCommunity sought to develop a close relationship with that institution, with the aim of broadening and deepening Bahá'í participation in U.N. health programs and activities.
Human RightsBesides its extensive role in seeking assistance from the United Nations to redress the flagrant violation of human rights experienced by the Bahá'í community in fr6n � a human rights activity documented fully in another section of the present edition of
Bahá'í World2 � the Bahá'íInternational Community widened the scope of its cooperation in implementing the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights as elaborated and codified in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. Not only did it continue its longtime assistance to U.N. efforts in corn-batting racism and racial discrimination, but contributed the Bahá'í views on the drafting of a Declaration on the
Elimination of All Formsof Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief (and after the adoption of this Declaration in 1981, on implementing the principles of the Declaration); on the drafting of a Convention on the Rights of the Child; on the elaboration of a Declaration on the Right to Development; and on the promotion and protection of the rights of indigenous populations.
A number of written and oral statements submitted to the Commission on Human Rights and the SubCommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, at their yearly sessions, as well as information provided to the Division of Human Rights � now Centre See p. 201.
2 See p. 414.for Human Rights � in reply to requests for Baha views and assistance, conveyed the Baha principles and teachings, and offered specific suggestions for action in those human rights areas.
For the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Bahá'í International Community was able to offer the text of two articles, one on the role of the mass media in disseminating information of benefit to the health and welfare and the social and cultural development of the child, and the other on the appropriate guidance, training and education to which the child should be entitled for his social, spiritual, and moral development and wellbeing. These proposals were submitted to the January 1983 session of the Working Group of the Commission on Human Rights charged with the drafting process. In addition a statement was circulated to the 1983 session of the Commission on Human Rights stressing the importance of the acquisition and exercise of spiritual qualities, which 'must be taught, fostered and developed,' and will best take root 'if they are taught from earliest childhood.' It was essential in the Bahá'í view, that every child receive spiritual education, and that the Convention contain provisions specifically designed to promote this purpose. Such provisions would not only enable the child to realize his full human potential but would also 'make a contribution of vital significance to the advancement of humanity as a whole towards its goal of universal justice, peace and order.'
To the 1980 session of the Commission on Human Rights, deliberating on a 'Declaration on the
Elimination of All FormsCommunity presented a written statement containing numerous observations on the true freedom of religion and belief, pertinent to the drafting of this human rights instrument; and, in addition, made available to all participants a detailed explanation of the Bahá'í views, along with a draft Declaration incorporating the changes suggested. Following the welcome adoption of this important Declaration by the U.N. General Assembly at its 1981 session, the
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity made two oral statements to the Commission on Human Rights, early in 1983, elaborat
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ing its views. It pointed to education as the essential factor in eradicating prejudice and in securing implementation of the Declara-han, and outlined the Bahá'í view on the role of religion, the essential oneness and unity of all religion, and the position of Bahá'u'lláh as the Divine Educator for our age.
The statement concluded by welcoming the proposals, later approved by the Commission, for a comprehensive and thorough study on the current dimensions of the problems of intolerance and of discrimination on the grounds of religion or belief, using as terms of reference the Declaration, and for holding a seminar, some time during 1984 � 1985, to encourage understanding, tolerance and respect 'in matters relating to freedom of religion or belief.'
Having followed with great interest the evolution within the United Nations system of the concept of the right to development,1 and the elaboration of a Declaration on this right, the Bahá'í International Community presented a number of pertinent observations on the subject at the 1983 session of the Commission on Human Rights. It suggested that the right to development was unique in its universality � the universality of participation � since it could be 'achieved only through global efforts, and only through the involvement of all sectors of human society'; and that in acknowledging the rights to which all men and women are entitled, and the obligations which they owe to their fellow human beings throughout the world, a significant step was taking place in the advancement of humanity towards true world unity.
Further, because of the organic oneness of the human race the development of the individual could not be seen in isolation, but had to be seen as 'an essential prerequisite for the harmonious development of the society of which he is a part.'
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity was also able to express during these years its concern for the rights of indigenous peoples. In comments made to the 1983 session of the Commission on Human Rights, for instance, on the activities of the Working Group on A statement on 'The Right to Development: Exploring its
Social and Cultural Dimensions'had, for instance, been submitted to a NGO Forum � Agenda for the Eighties' � held during the 1980 Special Session of the General Assembly on the New International
Economic Order.Indigenous Populations, it pointed out that over 1,900 tribes and ethnic groups were represented in the Bahá'í world community, an evidence of the basic Bahá'í teaching of the oneness of mankind. Earlier, observations regarding the Baha view of the importance of indigenous populations had been offered in a statement delivered at the 1981 U.N. Seminar on Protection
Available to VictimsThe participation of indigenous populations in the mainstream of Bahá'í worldwide activity, the Baha International Community representative explained, had provided an understanding of the 'value of these people who are so often looked down upon from a material standpoint, but are in reality to be appreciated in their possession of certain spiritual, human qualities that are evident to those who have had time to live with them during years of close association.
These spiritual qualities of compassion, justice and harmony with nature are precisely what the world needs.'
In continuing its cooperation with the United Nations, in programs and activities for the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1974 � 1983), the Bahá'í International Community kept the U.N. informed of the efforts of Bahá'í communities around the world to achieve racial unity and harmony and work towards the elimination of all forms of racial prejudice, by reporting from time to time on Bahá'í activities in the field of education, on active participation and cooperation with United Nations programs and activities, and on implementation of the principles of racial equality and unity in the day to day social life of Baha communities in every part of the world.
In 1981, the Bahá'í InternationalCommunity was asked to provide the SubCommission on Prevention of Discrimination and
Protection of Minoritieswith information on measures taken to eliminate racism and racial discrimination in public and private employment, and with respect to voting and election to public office. This request allowed an opportunity to explain the Bahá'í view on minorities � that it is a violation of the spirit of the Baha Faith to 'discriminate against any race, on the ground of its being socially backward, politically immature, and numerically in a minority,' and that 'if any discrimina
Page 404tion is at all to be tolerated, it should be a discrimination not against, but rather in favor of the minority, be it racial or otherwise.'
This principle, the reply pointed out, guided Bahá'í employment practices and the process of Bahá'í ekctions, and influenced the actions of Bahá'ís beyond the confines of the Bahá'í community.
In a statement to the 1982 session of the Commission on Hum~rn Rights, the
Bahá'í International Communitypointed out that the solution to eradicating racism and racial discrimination 'lies in the recognition of the fact that we are all members of one human family and that we are all the citizens of one country, this planet earth, which is home to us all.'
In 1983, on the same subject, it reiterated to the Commission this point, stressing that 'all beings are created equal in the sight of God, and all should have equal opportunity to develop their potentialities in the service of mankind'; and further suggested that the Second World
Conference on Racismand Racial Discrimination, in 1983, might wish to take the important step of adopting an 'in � depth educational programme of all peoples in the vital principle of the organic oneness of humanity.'
(This proposal had been made earlier in an oral statement to the 1981 'Seminar on the Relationship that
Must Exist Between HumanRights, Development and Peace.') At a regional level, besides the Managua Conference mentioned earlier, the
Bahá'í International Communityparticipated in a 'Seminar on Protection to Victims of Racial Discrimination Specifically in the Areas of Asia and the Pacific,' held in Bangkok, Thailand, in 1982. Again, both in an oral and a written statement, the Bahá'í representative explained, in considerable detail, the Bahá'í concern for human rights and the Bahá'í community's longtime action in abolishing racial discrimination and racism; and outlined the achievements within the Bahá'í world community, as well as worldwide Bahá'í participation in U.N. activities.
During these years thealso worked closely with other nongovernmental organizations concerned with human rights, both in New York and in Geneva.
As an evidence of awareness of the Bahá'í concern for human rights issues,
Mr.Gerald Knight was elected in 1982 to serve as Chairman of the NGO Committee on Human Rights at U.N. headquarters in New York. This responsibility, an expression of service to the NGO community, further contributed to the recognition of the Baha International Community as a non-governrnenta~ organization deeply committed to the establishment of universal human rights.
Human SettlementsThe Bahá'í interest and involvement in the U.N. issue of human settlements/habitat, dating from Bahá'í International Community participation in the 1976 Vancouver Conference on Human Settlements, continued during the period 1979 � 1983 through attendance at the yearly sessions of the U.N. Commission on Human Settlements and through close contact with the U.N. Habitat
Centre in Nairobi. In1980 and 1981, when the Commission sessions were not held, as usual, in Nairobi, the Bahá'í communities of Mexico and the Philippines helped in providing representation at the Commission sessions held respectively in Mexico
City and Manila. The Baha'icontinued to bring to the attention of the Commission, at these meetings, the importance of satisfying both the physical and spiritual needs of human beings in urban and rural areas, if settlements are to allow for the full expression of the potentialities of people.
Law of the SeaCommunity delegation witnessed the successful conclusion of the Third
United Nations Conferenceon the Law of the Sea, when, after ten years of negotiations, a Convention was signed by 119 U.N. member states in Kingston, Jamaica, December 1982.
The Baha presence at numerous sessions of the Conference during those years showed clearly our appreciation for the importance of this milestone in establishing international rule over the seabed and the ocean floor � a considerable portion of the planet, and a vast resource for the wellbeing of humanity.
Narcotic DrugsCommunity continued its cooperation with U.N. efforts to
Page 405combat drug abuse, working closely with the Division of Narcotic Drugs, and participating in the yearly sessions of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs. A report to the 1980 session of that Commission, regarding the activities of Bahá'í communities in combatting drug abuse, circulated in an official document, expressed the Bahá'í view that although national and international programs of education and medical care are of prime importance, 'essentially what is required is a spiritual impetus'; and further, that if each individual develops a consciousness 'of his innate nobility, he becomes endowed with a strength and high ideals which make him uninterested in the use of toxic and addictive substances which inflict heavy injury on his health and that of his society.'
In 1982, at the request of the Division of Narcotic
Drugs, the Bahá'í International CommunityThe suggestions included action that might be taken by the government, society, schools, the media, parents, and important social figures.
Peaceproclaimed 1986 as International Year of Peace (JYP), as an occasion for rededication by member states to the goals of the U.N. Charter, the Bahá'í International Community reiterated its expression of interest dating to the beginnings of the U.N. in San Francisco.
It provided the Executive Secretary of JYP with detailed information on the Bahá'í teachings and principles regarding peace, as well as evidence of the work of the Bahá'í world community for over one hundred years to achieve this goal, and assured him of wholehearted Bahá'í participation in that Year.
The decision of the U.N. in November 1981 to declare the third Tuesday in September, the opening day of the regular yearly session of the U.N. General
Assembly, as InternationalDay of Peace, was also most welcome. Bahá'í communities worldwide will in the forthcoming years undoubtedly organize programs for this occasion, in the same spirit of cooperation they have shown for a long time in celebrating U.N. Day, Human Rights Day, and other special U.N. events.
A third development of significant interest to the Bahá'í International Community was the establishment in San Jose, Costa Rica, with the approval of the United
Nations, of a Universityfor Peace. Although not' financed or operated by the U.N., this University, which will function as an institution to foster peace education, has on its Council representatives from the U.N. and UNESCO.
Both the Bahá'í InternationalCommunity and the Bahá'ís of Costa Rica are establishing a close relationship with the University President and with members of the University Council, and look forward to contributing to that institution, as it begins its opeiations, both the perspective of the Baha Writings and the experience of the Bahá'í world community.
Populationin the issue of population � a problem considered a part of the overall social and economic development of the peoples of the planet � began in 1974 through Bahá'í participation in the World Population Year as well as in the World Population Conference in Bucharest, Romania. It has continued through attendance at the biennial sessions of the Population Commission. Recently, as preparations started for an International
Conference on Populationin 1984, to evaluate progress made in implementing the World Plan df Action approved in Bucharest and to deliberate on future action needed, the Baha International Community joined with other nongovernmental organizations in preliminary consultations and activities relating to the Conference itself and to NGO parallel programs that will take place at the same time.
Science and TechnologyCommunity was represented at the 1979 United Nations
Conference on Scienceand Technology for Development (UNCSTD), in Vienna, Austria, and also took part in the programs of a parallel NonGovernmental Forum. Its statement on 'Science and Technology for Human Advancement,' was distributed as an official document to Conference delegates. While expressing the Bahá'í view that science and technology are 'essential to the full development of the individual and society,' the
Page 406statement noted that 'much of the difficulty in applying science to development today has come from the failure to link science with the basic spiritual and moral values upon which each society is built;' that such values are derived from religion; and that 'if lasting development is to occur, religion and science, "the most potent forces in human life," must be brought into unity.'
At present, the Bahá'íis in contact with the Centre for Science and Technology for Development, and participates in the yearly sessions of the Intergovernmental Committee of Science and Technology for Development, a body which has welcomed cooperation by nongovernmental organizations concerned with this vital issue.
Womenwas granted consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council in 1970, it has taken a very active part in U.N. activities to promote the advancement of women. It has presented statements explaining the Bahá'í view on issues related to women to the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women, to two world conferences on women, and to meetings held by U.N. Regional Economic Commissions in preparation for those Conferences.
It has also replied to questionnaires received from the U.N. Branch for the Advancement of Women and submitted in the form of reports the Bahá'í view in specific areas such as employment and education. More information has probably been submitted to the United Nations on the status of women than on any other issue.
One of the earliest reports shared with the United Nations based on replies to a questionnaire prepared by the Bahá'í International Community was on the status of women in Baha communities.
Although the findings were preliminary in nature, they provided evidence of the deep concern in the world Bahá'í community for the condition of women, of the educational process in which Bahá'ís are involved to attain equality, and of the expectations for future expanded social and economic activities to promote the development of women.
In 1980, to survey progress made during the first half of the United Nations Decade for Women (1976 � 1985), a Second World Conference on Women was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Again there was Bahá'í representation at four regional preparatory conferences held respectively in Paris, New Delhi, Macuto (Venezuela), and Lusaka.
A delegation of women represented the Bahá'í International Community at the Copenhagen Conference, and with the cooperation of the Danish Bahá'í Community, the Bahá'í International Community was able to make a contribution to parallel NGO activities.
In its statement to the Copenhagen Conference, the Bahá'í International Community stressed two important principles which it felt would guide men and women 'to a dedication to the best interests of humanity, in a spirit of service rather than of competition and confrontation.'
The first principle was that 'the most effective motivation for change' was 'a declaration of equality of the sexes based on a universally ackowledged authority and having influence on the hearts and minds of people.' Further, 'recognition of this authority' had to be freely given, and 'attract all nationalities, races, and classes to its validity' instilling 'the desire to abandon prejudice in favor of loving cooperation.'
The second principle was that 'an authoritative statement of equality must be binding on men as well as women, since it is essential that men recognize the equal status of women for women to be free from the struggle for their rights, and for each sex to complement and help the other.'
A special booklet containing excerpts from the numerous
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity submissions to the United Nations on the equality of men and women, entitled 'Universal Values for the Advancement of Women,' was also prepared for the Conference, and widely distributed.
In addition the Bahá'íattended sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women, and was active in meetings of the NGO Committee on the U.N. Decade for
Women in New York � where Mrs.Mary Sawicki, for many years a Bahá'í International
Community Alternate Representativefor special meetings, served as Vice-Chairperson � and in Geneva.
Page 407INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 407
Bahá'í representatives who attended the Second World Conference on the United Nations Decade for Women, held in Copenhagen; July 1980. Left to right: Mrs. Machid Fatio, Mrs. Annette Riis-Zahra'i, Mrs. Mary Sawicki.
Bahá'í literature display on view during the Second World Conference on Women held in
Copenhagen; July 1980.The enthusiastic participation of the Bahá'í International Community in United Nations activities related to women has led to widespread appreciation of the Bahá'í views on the significance of equality in establishing universal peace and social and economic development.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity is increasingly identified, as a result, with the worldwide network of people and organizations working in a spirit of friendly cooperation to remove traditional barriers to women's advancement and to encourage and promote the positive attitudes vital to the achievement of full equality for men and women.
YouthWhen, in December 1979, the U.N. General Assembly proclaimed 1985 as International Youth Year (IYY) � with the themes of Participation, Development and Peace � and decided to establish an Advisory Committee for IYY to formulate a specific program of measures and activities to be undertaken prior to and during JYY, the Bahá'í International Community, whose involvement for many years in youth issues at the U.N. had included participation in the 1970 World Youth
Assembly in New Yorkand the 1973 U.N. Seminar on Youth and Human Rights in San Remo, Italy, warmly welcomed this decision, since it would permit an even more substantive Bahá'í expression of the vital role that youth can play in bringing about world peace and in building a world civilization.
Accordingly the Bahá'ítook part in the first and second sessions of the JYY Advisory Committee and established a close relationship with the U.N. Secretariat for IYY at the Vienna International Centre. Further, when the NGO Youth Caucus � which, responding to an invitation, sent two representatives to the 1981 Baha Youth
Conference in KansasCity, Missouri, U.S.A � became formally constituted as a NGO Committee on Youth, under the Conference of NonGovernmental Organizations in Consuhative Status with ECOSOC (CONGO), the
Bahá'í International CommunityIt has continued to play an active role in the work of the Committee as well as its two SubCommittees on IYY and Tree Planting, and the Bahá'í International Community repre sentative has, in addition, helped plan the September
1983 Annual DPTINGO ConferenceCommunity will continue to serve as liaison with Bahá'í national communities, providing information, materials, and suggestions to assist Bahá'í youth to undertake activities and projects that will make a contribution to the valuable goals of
IYY.Community relationship with nongovernmental organizations continued with the same spirit of harmony and cooperation expressed in the past, through participation during this period in activities of the Conference of NGO's in Consultative Status with ECOSOC and its various committees on development, U.N. Women's Decade, environment, disarmament, human rights, and the aging, in New York, Geneva, and now Vienna. It also worked close-~y with the NGO Committee on UNICEF and its subcommittees on issues such as the disabled child and infant feeding. In its relationship with the Department of Public Information the Bahá'í International Community attended regular briefings on U.N. issues and participated in the
Annual DPI! NGO Conferences.representatives helped to plan and run a number of activities, such as seminars, symposia, and luncheons.
These representatives contributed their time and expertise to several NGO executive committees and boards, and now serve as Chairmen of the NGO
Committee on UNICEF (Dr.(Mr. Gerald Knight), and as Vice-Chairmen of the DPI/NGO Executive
Committee (Mr. GeraldKnight) and of the Committee on the U.N. Decade for Women (Mrs. Mary Sawicki).
From time to time thecosponsored statements with other nongovernmental organizations, as it had in the past, when these were constructive and nonpolitical in nature.
It also continued occasionally to take part in conferences organ
Page 409INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 409
ized by nongovernmental organizations on subjects of special Baki'f interest.
Such were the 10th Conference on the Law of the World, Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1981, and the United Towns Conference, Casablanca, Morocco, November, 1981 � and the previously mentioned World Congresses on Mental Health.
Relationship of the Bahá'íCommunity began its participation in the work of the South Pacific Commission in 1978 when it was invited to attend the 18th South Pacific Conference � one of the yearly meetings of the Commission � in Noumea, New Caledonia. Since then, because of the strong interest of the Bahá'í community of the Pacific in the work of the Commission, and with the assistance and recommendations of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Australasia, it has pursued its involvement in the activities of this important intergovernmental body, whose aim is to promote the economic and social wellbeing and advancement of the peoples of the Pacific Island countries and territories.
Accordingly the Bahá'íences in Papeete, Tahiti (1979), Port Moresby, Papua
New Guinea (1980), PortVila, Vanuatu (1981), and Pago Pago, American Samoa (1982). An oral statement on the issue of children � 'Meeting the Needs of Island Children' � was made to the Tahiti Conference; and written statements were circulated to the three other conferences, respectively on 'Spiritual and Social Values for Rural Development,' 'The Preservation of the High Qualities of Life in the Pacific,' and 'Rural Development:
The Bases for Progressin the Pacific.' Mrs. Tinai Hancock, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Australasia, most ably represented the Bahá'í International Community at these conferences with the assistance of alternate representatives from different Bahá'í communities in the Pacific.
Having made the South Pacific Commission aware of the intense Bahá'í concern for the wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific area, in their spiritual as well as physical development, a new stage of cooperation was beginning to unfold, as it became evident that the Commission would like to work closely with Bahá'í communities in rural development programs � through Bahá'í community projects or participation in SPC projects � to improve the quality of life of the Island peoples.
Bahá'í International Community representatives to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights held in Geneva; 15 February 1982. Left, Mrs. Machid Patio; right, Mr. Gerald Knight.
Page 410SPECIAL UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCES, CONGRESSES AND
SEMINARS IN WHICH THE BAHÁ'Í JNTFRNATIONAL COMMUNITY
PARTICIPATEDMrs. Carmen de Burafato, Mr. Sydney Adler, Mrs. Cheryl Martinez, Mr.
Francisco Chin.for World Conference of the Decade for Women; Paris,
France; 9 � 12 July 1979.on Science and Technology for Development; Vienna,
Austria; 20 � 3 1 August 1979.Reps.: Dr. Marco Kappenberger, Dr. Gerhard Schwe-ter, Dr. Kent Beveridge, Mr. Gunther Hang, Mrs. Otti Kaefer, Ms. Ingrid Missaghi, Dr. Leo Niederreitei, Mr.
Roland Philipp.Reps.: Mrs. Zena Sorabjee, Dr. Tahera Vajdi, Mrs.
Bharti Gandhi.for World Conference of the Decade for Women; Lusaka,
Zambia; 3 � 7 December7. World Conference of the United Nations Decade for
Women; Copenhagen, Denmark;Reps.: Mrs. Mary Sawicki, Mrs. Machid Fatio, Mrs.
Annette Riis-Zahra'i.Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders; Caracas, Venezuela;
25 August � 5 Septemberof the General Assembly on the New International Economic Order; New York, U.S.A.;
25 August � 15 September11. Seminar on the Relations that Exist between Human
Rights, Peace and Development;Reps.: Dr. Victor de Araujo, Mr. Gerald Knight, Mr.
Giovanni Bahá'u'lláh.Reps.: Mr. Peter Vuyiya, Mr. Richard Si. Báb Baker, Mrs. Falairiva Taafaki, Mrs. Irma Allen,
Mrs.Catherine Mboya, Mr. Bernard Muyendo, Mrs. Deborah
Christensen.of Racial Discrimination; Managua, Nicaragua, 14 � 22
Decem-her 1981.15. Special Session of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) GoverningRights in the Asian Region; Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21
June through 2 July 1982.Reps.: Mr. Giovanni Bahá'u'lláh, Dr. Leo Niederreiter, Mr. Roland Philipp, Mrs.
Otti Kaefer.forms of Protection Available to Victims of Racial
Discrimination and ActivitiesConference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer
Space (UNISPACE '82);Reps.: Mr. Giovanni Bahá'u'lláh, Mrs. Otti Raefer, Mr. Roland Philipp, Dr. Leo
Niederreiter.STATEMENTS, REPORTS AND OTHER PUBLICATIONS PRESENTED BY
THE BAHÁ'Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO THE UNITED NATIONS
1979 � 1983 1. 'Observations ConcerningWomen of the United Nations Ways and Means for the ImprovementCentre for Social Development in the Status and Role and Humanitarian Affairs of Women in Education in reply to their questionnaire; and in the Economic 22 June 1979 and Social Fields' submitted2. 'The Impact of the to the Branch for the Mass Communication Media Advancement of on the
Page 411and Women,' reply to a questionnaire from Special Rapporteur of the Economic and Social Council, Mrs.
Esnieralda Arboleda Cuevas;3. 'Science and Technology for Human Advancement,' written statement submitted to the United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development, U.N. document A/CONF/81/BP/NGO/19; Vienna, Austria, 20 � 31
August 1979.4. Written statement to the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Regional Preparatory Conference for the World Conference of the United
Nations Decade for Women;5. Written statement presented to the Economic Commission for Latin America (ECLA)
Regional Preparatoryon the Integration of Women into the Economic and Social Development of Latin America; Macuto,
Venezuela, 12 � 16 November6. Written statenient to the Economic Commission for
Africa (ECA) Second Regionalfor Women on the Integration of Women in Development; Lusaka, Zambia, 37 December 1979.
7. Report of participation of the Bahá'í International Community in the 'Implementation of the Programme for the
Decade for Action w Combat8. Report on the Draft Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief presented to the U.N.
Division of Human Rights;9. Written statement submitted to the 36th Session of the Commission on Human Rights on the Draft Declaration on the Elimination of all Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, U.N. document E/CN.4/NGO/263; 1 February 1980. (A fuller treatment of Bahá'í International Community views, along with a draft Declaration incorporating the changes suggested, was made available to participants at the
Commission Session.)10. Report of activities of Bahá'í communities during 1979 in combatting drug abuse, circulated to the 6th special session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, as U.N. document E/CN.7/647fAdd.3; Vienna, Austria, 6 February 1980.
11. 'The Moral ImperativesA Baha Perspective,' oral statement presented at the Annual Conference of the
NonGovernmental OrganizationsYear of the Child,' submitted to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the U.N. Department of
International Economicand Social Affairs, and the U.N. Department of Public
Information; March 1980.13. Written statement presented to the World Cdnference of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace, U.N. document AICONF.94/ NGO/11; Copenhagen, Denmark, 14 � 30 July 1980.
14. 'Universal Values for the Advancement of Women, report prepared for the World Conference of the United
Nations Decade for Womenand NGO Forum; Copenhagen, Denmark, 14 � 30 July 1980.
15. 'Crime Trends and CrimePrevention Strategies,' written statement to the Sixth
United Nations Congresson the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, circul&ed as A!CONF.87/NGO/BIC; Caracas,
Venezuela, 25 Augustand Cultural Dimensions,' written statement submitted to the NGO Workgroup on
Social and Cultural Dimensionsof Development, Agenda for the Eighties; New York, U.S.A., 26 August 1980.
17. Oral statement to the18. 'Implementation of the Programme for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination,' oral statement presented to the Commission on Human Rights at its 37th session; Geneva, Switzerland,
13 February 1981.Resolution 3 (XXXIII),' information submitted to the United Nations
Division of Human Rights;20. Oral statement to the Seminar on the Relations that Exist between Human
Rights, Peace and Development;for the Advancement of Women at the request of the
Centre for Social Developmentand Humanitarian Affairs in preparing reports for the 29th session of the Commi�sion on the Status of Women; 14 August 1981.
22. Written statement to the United Nations Conference on
New and Renewable Sourcesand the Role of the SubCommission,' oral statement to the
SubCommission on Preventionof Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, 34th session; 20 August 1981.
24. Oral statement to theon Protection Available to Victims of Racial Discrimination; Managua,
Nicaragua, 14 � 22 December25. 'Implementation of the Programme for the Decade for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination,' oral statement presented to the 38th session of the Commission on Human Rights; Geneva,
Switzerland, 15 February26. Oral statement, delivered in French, on summary or arbitrary executions, to the seventh session of the Committee on Crime
Prevention and Control;Community Related to the Work of the United Nations
During the Period October1977 through September 1981'; report submitted to the United Nations
Economic and Social Councilfor its quadrennial review of nongovernmental organizations in consultative status; circulated in U.N. document E/C.2/1982/Add.3; 14 � 16
April 1982.28. Oral statement presented to the United Nations Seminar on National, Local and
Regional Arrangementsin the Asian Region; Colombo, Sri Lanka, 21 June through 2 July 1982.
29. Oral statement presented to the Twelfth Special Session of the General
Assembly (Second SpecialSession on Disarmament), U.N. document AIS12/ AC.1/PV.5; New York, U.S.A.,
24 June 1982.30. Oral statement presented to the World Assembly on Aging; Vienna, Austrja,
26 July through 6 August 1982.31. Oral statement presented to the United Nations Seminar on Recourse Procedures and Other Forms of Protection
Available to Victimsof Racial Discrimination and Activities to be Undertaken at the National and Regional Levels, with Special Reference to Asia and the Pacific; Bangkok, Thailand, 2 � 13
August 1982.412 THE BAHÁ'Í 32. 'Cooperation at the international, regional and sub-regional levels to combat racial discrimination,' working paper circulated as U.N. document HR/THAI-LAND/1982/WP.12; Bangkok, Thailand, 2 � 13
August 1982.Babaje Groupe de travail sur les populations autoclitones,' oral statement to the first session of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations of the Sub-Commis-sion on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities;
913 August 1982.34. Oral statement presented to the Second United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space; Vienna, Austria, 13 August 1982.
35. Background paper circulated in English at the Second
United Nations Conference1O1/BP/NGO/6; Vienna, Austria, 9 � 21 August 1982.
36. tomments and Proposals on an Effective International
Campaign Against Trafficin Drugs,' written statement submitted to the United
Nations Division of Narcotic37. Written statement on the Convention on the Rights of the Child submitted to the 39th sessioh of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, U.N. document E/CN.4/NGO/3; Geneva, Switzerland,
13 January 1983.38. Written proposals on the Convention on the Rights of the Child submitted to the 39th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, U.N. document E/CN.4/1983/WG.2; Geneva,
Switzerland, 21 January39. Oral statement on the Implementation of the Programme for the Decade to Combat Racism and
Racial Discriminationpresented to the 14th meeting of the Commission on Human Rights; Geneva,
Swit~er1and, 9 February40. Oral statement on Social Integration presented to the Commission on Social Development, 28th session; Vienna,
Austria, 10 February41. Oral statement on the Declaration on the Right to Development presented to the 17th meeting of the Commission on Human Rights; Geneva, Switzerland, 11
February 1983.Populations presented to the 28th meeting of the Commission on Human Rights; Geneva, Switzerland,
18 Eebruary 1983.43. Oral statement on Implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of all
Forms of Intoleranceand of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief presented to the 28th meeting of the Commission on Human Rights; Geneva,
Switzerland, 18 February44. Oral statement on Implementation of the Declaration on the Elimination of all
Forms of Intoleran&eand of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief presented to the 50th meeting of the Commission on Human Rights; Geneva,
Switzerland, 7 MarchRELATIONSHIP OF ThE BAHÁ'Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC COMMISSIONSTATEMENTS PRESENTED TO THE SOUTH PACIFIC COMMISSION
AT CONFERENCES1. 'Meeting the Needs of Pacific,' written statement Island Children,' oral presented to the 21st statement presented to Conference of the South the 19th Conference of Pacific Commission; Port the South Pacific Commission;Vila, Vanuatu, 24 � 30 October Papeete, Tahiti, 6 � 12 1981.
October 1979. 4. 'Rural Development:
2. 'Spiritual and Social The Basis for Progress
Values for Rural Development,' writtenin the Pacific,' written statement presented to statement presented to the 20th Conference of the the 22nd Conference of
South Pacific Commission; the South Pacific Commission;
Port Moresby, Papua New Pago Pago, American Samoa, Guinea, 18 � 24 October 23 � 29 October 1982.
1980.3. 'The Preservation of the High Qualities of Life in the
Page 413INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 413
A selection of the major publications of the Bahá'í International Community, including the 'white paper' entitled The Bahá'ís in Iran (in English, French and Spanish), two other documents on the persecutions, and a statement on
The Promise of Disarmament and Peace.United Nations Day observance sponsored by the Bahá'ís of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia;
24 October 1980.in connection with the persecution of the Bahá'í community of fr~in began during the months of revolutionary turmoil that preceded the overthrow of the
Pahiavi r6gime. (Detailsof the persecutions suffered by the Baha during that period are to be found on page 79 of vol. XVII of The Bahá'í World.)
In November 1978 theCommunity issued a statement to the international news media, emphasizing the perilous situation of the Bahá'í community of fran and explaining the true nature and teachings of the Baha Faith (which had frequently been misrepresented in media reports on the disturbances in fr6n).
Detailed information concerning the persecutions was sent to the Secretary-General and senior human rights officials of the United Nations. The following month, the Bahá'í International Community addressed a direct appeal to UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, urging him to intervene to protect the lives and properties of the Bahá'ís in IrAn.
Following the accession to power of Irdn's revolutionary government early in 1979, the Bahá'í International Community, on behalf of the Bahá'ís of the world, cabled Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan to request that the Bahá'í religious minority be granted full recognition and protection under the new Iranian Constitution, which was at that time being drafted. Two months later, in May
1979, the Bahá'í InternationalCommunity again cabled Prime Minister Bazargan, expressing the dismay of the Bahá'í world at the continuing attacks on the Baha and the, seizure of their holy places, refuting in detail the many false allegations being propagated in I r~n against the Bahá'í Faith and its followers, and requesting once again that the Bahá'í minority be granted constitutional recognition and protection.
Throughout 1979 the BahaMission to the United Nations, expressing its grave concern at each adverse development in the situation of the Baha and urgently seeking an appointment to discuss the matter. The Iranian Charg6 d'Affaires, Mr. Jamal Shemirani, agreed to oniy one meeting, held in June 1979, when he assured Dr. Victor de Araujo, representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations, that the government of the Islamic Republic of IrAn was firmly committed to protecting the lives and properties of all its citizens, and that the Bahá'í holy places in I r~n had been taken over by the government solely for their protection.
Despite these assurances, the situation continued to deteriorate and, in
September 1979, the Bahá'ífound it necessary to cable Prime Minister Bazargan as follows:
HAVE RECEIVED DISTRESSINGThis message, like those before it, failed to elicit any response from the Iranian government, and it was at this point that the Bahá'í International Community first took steps to bring the plight of the Bahá'ís in Iran formally to the attention of government representatives to the United Nations.
A letter was sent to the UN Ambassadors of almost one hundred nations, conveying the shock and dismay of the Bahá'í world at the wanton destruction of the House of the Mb.
The Ambassadors were not requested to intervene at this stage, since it was still hoped that, as the situation in fran stabilized, the Iranian government would take steps to control the fanatical elements within the country and to
Page 415INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 415
provide relief and protection for the Baha'is. For similar reasons no action was taken to raise the issue for debate by the human rights organs of the United
Nations. The UN Secretary-Generalwere, however, kept fully informed of all developments pertaining to the situation of the Baha'is. When, in
February 1986, a UN Commissionof Inquiry was appointed to visit frdn for the purpose of receiving testimony concerning allegedviolations of human rights perpetrated during the Pahiavi r6gime, the
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity was able to submit to the five expert members of that body a detailed account of the acts of discrimination and persecution suffered by the Bahá'í community between the years 1921 and 1978, evidence which clearly refuted the false allegation that the Bahá'ís had been closely affiliated with and had consequently benefited from the former r6gime.
In June 1980 Mr. GeraldKnight, alternate representative of the Baha International Community to the United Nations, met lr~n's new Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr. Mansour Farhang, and conveyed to him the Bahá'í
International Community'sgrave concern at the ever-increasing scale of the persecutions against the Bahá'í community in Ir6n. Ambassador Farhang stated that the Iranian government was not itself opposed to the Baha'is, that there was no organized movement in IrTh against the Baha'is, and that the attacks upon them were the work of fanatical elements which the government was not yet able to control.
As the persecutions intensified the Bahá'í International Community appealed once again to UN Secretary-General Waldheim to intervene with the Iranian authorities on behalf of the Baha'is.
The UN correspondents of the international media were kept closely informed of developments and the
Bahá'í International Communitysought the assistance of appropriate nongovernmental organizations � notably Amnesty International, the International League for Human Rights and the
International Commissionof Jurists � in increasing international awareness of the plight of the Bahá'ís of IrAn. Urgent appeals were addressed to Ambassador Farhang, and later to President Bani-sadr and
Prime Mmister Rajai of fr6n, strongly protesting the arbitrary arrests of Bahá'ís on manifestly false charges and urging them to intervene to protect the oppressed Baha minority.
In July 1980 the Bahawrote for the second time to UN Ambassadors, reporting the summary execution of two members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tabrfz, recounting the manifold persecutions being suffered by the friends in IrAn, and briefly explaining the nature and teachings of the Baha Faith. The following month a further letter was sent to the same Ambassadors, reporting the arrest of the entire membership of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha of frTh and rebutting the false charge of espionage that had been levelled against them. In both letters, the Bahá'í International Community appealed to the Ambassadors and their governments to use their good offices to persuade the Iranian government to take steps to alleviate the plight of the Baha'is.
When it became apparent that all appeals to the Iranian government were going unheeded, the Universal House of Justice directed the Bahá'í International Community to appeal to international bodies to take action on behalf of the beleaguered friends in frdn.
The first body to which an appeal was made was the United Nations SubCommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, a body composed of twenty-six independent experts from all parts of the world.
In its statement to thedescribed the many violations of human fights suffered by the Bahá'í community since the start of the Iranian Revolution and emphasized the escalating nature of the persecution. On 10 September 1980 the SubCommission adopted a resolution in which it expressed its profound concern for the safety of the recently-arrested members of the National Spiritual Assembly and invited the government of fr6n to protect the fundamental human fights and freedoms of the Bahá'í minority.'
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity coordinated the efforts of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Europe to bring the plight of SubCommission resolution
10 (XXXIII).Bahá'í delegation to the meetings of the European Parliament held in September 1980.
Bahá'í delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe which met in Strasbourg, France; 29 January 1981.
Page 417INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 417
the Bahá'ís in I r~n to the attention of European parliamentarians prior to the September 1980 meetings of the European Parliament and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Coun-cii of Europe. Appropriate documentation was prepared by the Bahá'í International Community for circulation to European parliamentarians and government officials.
On 19 September 1980 the Bahá'í delegation, which included a representative from each of the nine member states of the European Community, had the satisfaction of witnessing the adoption by the 410-member European Parliament of a unanimous resolution condemning the persecution of the Baha in I din and calling upon the government of fran to grant recognition to the Bahá'í community.1
A smaller Bahá'í InternationalCommunity delegation remained in Strasbourg to cover the meeting of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. Numerous interviews were arranged at which the situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran was discussed in detail with Ambassadors and human rights officials at the Council of Europe.
On 29 September 1980the Parliamentary Assembly published a Written Declaration calling upon the Committee of Ministers of the twenty-one member states of the Council of Europe to make urgent representations to the Iranian authorities to put an end to the persecution of the Baha Following the resolution of the European Parliament, the foreign ministers of several member governments of the European Community informed the Bahá'ís in their own countries that the nine member states of the European Community shared the concern of the European parliamentarians for the plight of the Bahá'ís in fr6n. Since efforts to improve the treatment of the Bahá'ís had produced no positive results, the
Bahá'í International Communitytook the matter to the human rights organs of the United Nations.
Acting on this recommendation, the Bahá'í International Community made two statements at the 37th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights at its February/March 1981 meeting in Geneva.
Resolution not numbered.Text appears in the Official Journal of the European Communities, Volume 23, reference C 265.
2 For text see Parliamentary Assembly document no.
4622 � Written DeclarationNo. 88 (3rd edition) of 11 May 1981 (originally tabled on 29 September 1980).
This step represented a milestone in efforts to alleviate the sufferings of the Bahá'ís in Iran, since it was the first occasion on which the Baha case had been officially presented to a truly international body of governments � in this case, a body composed of forty-three member states of the United Nations from every continent of the world.
In its first statement the Bahá'í International Community drew the attention of the Commission to the kidnapping and subsequent disappearance of fourteen prominent Bahá'ís in Iran. In its second statement, the
Baha International Communitydescribed the persecutions in I ran, emphasized their systematic nature, and explained the significance of the deliberate omission of the Bahá'í minority from the Iranian Constitution.
Many delegations from the one hundred or so governments represented at the Commission, either as members or observers, were extremely sympathetic to the Bahá'í case and four governments � Australia,
Canada, the Netherlandsand the United Kingdom � made specific references to the persecution of the Bahá'ís in frTh in general statements on the violation of human rights. In response, the representative of I din categorically denied that Bahá'ís were being arrested, executed and abducted in I r~n and affirmed that the Baha minority enjoyed full rights and protection under the
Iranian Constitution.Concerned at the Iranian government's failure to respond to any of the appeals so far addressed to it, the Bahá'í International Community again worked closely with the National Spiritual
Assemblies of Europeto launch a further appeal to European parliamentarians.
The response was immediate.Parliament adopted its second unanimous resolution on the Bahá'í case, calling on the foreign ministers of the ten member states of the European Community (Greece had joined the nine in January 1981) to make urgent representations to the Iranian government 'to secure the release of members of the Bahá'í community currently in detention merely on account of their religious beliefs, and to prevent any persecution of and discrimination against the Bahá'í minority in frTh' .~ The following Resolution not numbered.
Text appears in the Official Journal of the European Communities, Volume 24, reference C 101.
Page 418month the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe tabled a resolution in which it voiced its grave concern at the 'escalation in the systematic campaign of persecution being waged against the Bahá'ís in IrAn' and recommended that the matter be brought to the attention of the
United Nations GeneralIn a statement to the European Parliament on 6 May 1981, the foreign minister of the Netherlands (the then chairman of the Council of Ministers of the European Community) stated that the situation of the Bahá'ís had been discussed by the Council of Ministers on various occasions and would continue to receive the full attention of the ten member states.
Later in the same month the Bahá'í International Community was invited by the government of the Netherlands to prepare a brief general statement concerning the Iranian Bahá'í community for transmittal to the Ambassadors of the ten in Tehran. The concern of these governments was further manifested at the spring 1981 meeting in New York of the United Nations Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC)where, in a joint statement dealing with religious intolerance, the ten member states of the European Community drew the attention of ECOSOC's fifty-four member governments to the perilous situation of the Bahá'ís in fr6n.
The representative of Canada also referred to the Baha in his remarks on the same subject.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity meanwhile continued its efforts to win some relief for the suffering friends in Iran. Details of the circumstances surrounding the kidnapping and subsequent disappearance of fourteen prominent Bahá'ís were documented and submitted to the five-member
UN Working Group on Enforcedor Involuntary Disappearances � a subsidiary body of the Commission on Human Rights � which met in closed session in New York early in May 1981. By poignant coincidence, the wife of one of the disappeared members of the National Assembly of IrAn was visiting New York at that time and the Baha International Community took steps to ensure that the members of the Working Group received her firsthand account of her husband's arrest and of her
Parliamentary Assemblysubsequent attempts to trace him. Arrangements were also made for this courageous lady to share her experiences with diplomats and senior human rights officials at the United Nations, including the Director of the UN Division for Human Rights; Mr.
Theo van Boven. The WorkingGroup subsequently raised the question of the disappearances with the Iranian authorities, who disclaimed responsibility and denied all knowledge of the whereabouts or fate of the missing Baha'is.
It had by this time become apparent that the persecutions in frdn were not only continuing but were increasing both in severity and scale, and the Baha International Community accordingly intensified its efforts to publicize the plight of. the Bahá'ís and to win further international support for their case. Although it appeared unlikely that the government of I rttn would respond favourably to international appeals on behalf of the Baha, it was clearly important to ensure that the campaign of persecution was not allowed to proceed in a semi-clandestine manner and that the Iranian authorities were made fully aware of the fact that any acts of persecution against the Bahá'í community would inevitably attract widespread international publicity and condemnation.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity accordingly initiated a policy, which it has continued, of reporting immediately not oniy to the UN Secretary-General (as it had always done) but also to governments (through their UN Ambassadors) each time a major new incident of persecution occurred.
In response to the appeals which accompanied these reports, the Secretary-General and a number of individual governments repeatedly made their concern for the Bahá'ís known to the Iranian authorities through appropriate diplomatic channels.
Media correspondents at the United Nations were likewise informed of each new development in fr4n. There was a consequent renewal of interest in the Bahá'í case, resulting in increased press coverage of the persecutions, as well as radio and television interviews in which representatives of the Bahá'í International Community were able to increase public awareness of the sufferings of their fellow believers in IrAn.
Additional steps were taken by the Bahá'í International Community to ensure that the
Page 419INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 419
plight of the Bahá'ís became not only more widely known but also more fully understood. A major step was the publication, in June 1981, of a report entitled The Bahá'ís in Iran: A Report on the Persecution of a Relikious Minority, which documented the persecutions, examined their historical background and motivation, discussed and refuted the false charges customarily levelled against the Bahá'ís by the Iranian authorities, charted the course of international efforts to halt the persecutions, and briefly explained the major principles of the Bahá'í Faith. Published in English, French and Spanish, this 86-page illustrated brochure was made available to National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world for use in their contacts with parliamentarians, civil servants, prominent persons and the media in their own countries.
Copies were circulated by the Bahá'í International Community to UN Ambassadors, the Secretary-General, human rights officials in New York and Geneva, nongovernmental organizations concerned with human rights and UN correspondents of the international media.
The report was subsequently distributed by the Baha
International Communityat every UN meeting at which human rights violations in Iran were discussed and quickly became the standard reference document on the Bahá'í case. The information it contained was updated by a supplementary report published in November 1981. A revised and fully updated edition was published in July 1982.
Two further documents were prepared by the Bahaspecifically for the information of government representatives and human rights officials: the first, a chronological summary of individual acts of persecution against Bahá'ís in fr4n during the period
August 1978 to September 1981;the second, a compilation of official documentation from frdn testifying to religious discrimination against the members of the Bahá'í community.
By the time the Unitedmet for its 36th session from September to December 1981, the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Ir6n was generally recognized as being the foremost example of religious intolerance in the contemporary world, and was frequently cited as such. The sufferings endured by the Baha served to focus the attention of governments on the need to establish international standards for the protection of the right to freedom of religion and the plight of the Bahá'ís was much in the mind of delegates when, on 25 November
1981, the General Assemblyvoted in plenary session to adopt the Declaration on the Elimination of All
Forms of Intoleranceand of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. The adoption of this major new international human rights instrument was widely considered to be one of the most important achievements of the 36th General Asse.mbly, and certainly the most important recent achievement of the Commission on Human Rights (which drafted it) and of its parent body, the Economic and Social Council (which passed it to the General Assembly for adoption).
Following the adoption of this historic Declaration, the delegation of fr6n took the floor to indicate that it could support the Declaration 'insofar as it is in total conformity with islamic jurisprudence'.
Many delegations at theexpressed their anxiety over the human rights situation in Ir6n and the governments of Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom (on behalf of the ten member states of the European Community) and the United States referred specifically to the persecution of the Baha'is. The delegation of fran responded by denying that Bahá'ís were persecuted for their religion and by alleging that the Bahá'í Faith was not a religion but a political tool of western colonialism.
A large number of delegations expressed their concern at the growing incidence of summary and arbitrary executions in various parts of the world, and the United Kingdom (on behalf of the ten member states of the European Community) made specific reference to the executions in Iran.
The General Assemblyadopted a resolution condemning these practices and requesting the UN
Committee on Crime Preventionand Control to examine the problem at its 7th session in March 1982. The Bahá'í
International Communitysent a representative to the meeting of that Committee in Vienna, to provide information about the summary and arbitrary executions of Bahá'ís in Irhn during the previous two years.
In a statement at the 34th session ofthe United Nations SubCommission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, the Bahá'í International Community drew attention to the fact that the persecutions in IrAn were not oniy intensifying but were becoming increasingly official in nature and that mere membership in the Bahá'í community and participation in Bahá'í activities was now being treated by the courts as a capital offence. On 19 September 1981 the SubCommission adopted its second resolution on the Bahá'í case. This resolution � cosponsored by members from Africa,
Latin America, Europeand Asia � drew the attention of the Commission on Human Rights (the parent body of the SubCommission) to the 'perilous situation faced by the Baha community in Iran' and requested the UN Secretary-General to 'submit all relevant information about the treatment of the Bahá'ís in Iran to the Commission on Human Rights '1 at its thirty-eighth session While in Europe for the
SubCommission, GeraldKnight met with foreign ministry officials in Paris and Stockholm, spoke in Bonn at a reception for parliamentarians hosted by the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and, at a Baha conference in London, briefed the
Continental Board of Counsellorsand members of the National Assemblies of Europe on the work being carried out by the
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity in connection with the situation in Iran.
In a statement issued on 25 November 1981, theof the Council of Europe expressed its deep concern over reports of the continuing persecution of the Baha, called for an intensification of the endeavours of the United Nations to improve the lot of the Baha community in Iran, and indicated that it would closely follow developments at the forthcoming 38th session of the Commission on Human Rights.
Early in January 1982the Baha International Community, on behalf of the Bahá'ís of the world, cabled Ayatollah
Khomeini, Prime MinisterMir ilusayn Musavi and the President of the Supreme Court of I ifin, Ayatollah Musavi Ardibili, protesting the recent secret executions of eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of fran and seven other Baha, including six members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihr6n who had been condemned to death on false charges of espionage. The cable called upon the Iranian leaders to take steps to halt the summary arrest and execution of Baha'is, to require those responsible for formulating charges against the Bahá'ís to produce documentary evidence in support of those charges and to extend to the members of the Bahá'í community the right � which had been rigidly denied to them � to defend themselves and disprove publicly the false and malicious charges brought against them.
A nineteen-member Bahá'í delegation attended the January 1982 meeting in Strasbourg of the
Parliamentary AssemblyThe delegation was composed of representatives of the National Assemblies of sixteen of the twenty-one member states of the Council of Europe, together with representatives of the
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity to the United Nations in New York and Geneva. On the agenda of the parliamentary Assembly for Friday 29 January 1982 was the item: 'Persecutions in mm: Rapporteur M. Dejardin.'
Monsieur Dejardin's report dealt with the overall human rights situation in I r~n and contained extensive references to the persecution of the Baha'is. During the two-hour debate that followed the presentation of this report, eighteen speakers from ten different countries expressed their horror at the massive violations of human fights taking place in fran and focused especially on the religious persecution of the Baha'is. Some speakers strongly urged the Commission on Human Rights to take action on the Bahá'í case. At the conclusion of the debate the Parliamentary Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution in which it expressed its wholehearted support for the attitudes taken by the SubCommission and called upon the government of fr6n to extend constitutional guarantees to the Bahá'í community.2
A major diplomatic initiative was jointly launched by fifteen governments � the ten member states of the European Community, together with Australia, Norway, Portugal, 2 Parliamentary Assembly resolution 768 (1982).
SubCommission resolution S (XXXIV).INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 421
Sweden and Switzerland � which, on 31 January 1982, made a dfmarche (formal representation) to the Iranian government in Tihr6n. The text of the &marche expressed profound concern at the recent executions of prominent Baha, drew the attention of the Iranian government to the relevant provisions of the major international human rights instruments (to which Ir6n had subscribed) and stated that the fifteen governments wished to receive assurances that those provisions would be respected in the case of members of the Bahá'í community in IrAn.
As requested by the SubCommission in its resolution of 19 September 1981, a report on the treatment of the Bahá'ís in fr6n was prepared by the UN Secretary-General and circulated to delegates at the 38th session of the
Commission on Human Rights.1The report included a summary of the information contained in the Bahá'í International Community publication
The Bahá'ís in Inin:A Report on the Persecution of a Religious Minority and its November 1981 update.
Extensive references were made at the Commission to the human rights situation in fr6n and thirteen of the Commission's forty-three member governments referred specifically to the plight of the Baha. The representative of IrAn responded to these expressions of concern by attacking the bona fides of the human rights organs of the United Nations in taking up the case of the Bahá'ís and by claiming that historical links existed between the Bahá'u'lláh and western colonialism, that the Bahá'ís were opponents of Isl6m and political supporters of the late Shah, that no Bahá'í was persecuted in frhn because of his religion and that those who had been executed or imprisoned had been involved in espionage 'and other activities contrary to the higher interests of the Islamic Republic of fnin'.
In the first of its two statements at the Commission, the Baha International Community quoted numerous examples of recent actions taken by the Iranian authorities against the Baha'is, both individually and as a community, which clearly demonstrated the purely religious nature of the persecution. In its second statement, the Bahá'í International Community comprehensively rebutted the false allegations made by the representative of I An, explaining that these charges had been fabricated by the Iranian authorities in order to justify their anti-Bah&f activities and to conceal the fact that the persecution was motivated solely by primitive religious prejudice.
In both its statements the Bahá'í International Community emphasized that the goal of the campaign of persecution was to eradicate the Baha community and obliterate all traces of the Bahá'í Faith in the land of its birth.
A resolution, sponsored by nine governments and supported by delegations from Africa, Asia, Central and South America, Europe, Australia and the Pacific, was adopted by the Commission on 11 March 1982. This resolution, which firmly established lr6n on the human rights agenda of the United Nations, called upon UN Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar to establish direct contacts with the Iranian government on the human rights situation prevailing in fr6n, to 'continue his efforts to endeavour to ensure that the Bahá'ís are guaranteed full enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms' and to submit a report to the Commission at its 39th session.2
Following the Commission, Gerald Knight, alternate representative of the
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity to the United Nations in New York, and Giovanni Bahá'u'lláh, representative of the Baha International Community to the United Nations in Geneva, visited Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.
In each country they met with government officials, spoke at public meetings and pattici-pated in press conferences which resulted in unprecedented coverage by the Scandinavian press, radio and television services not only of the persecutions in fran but also of the Bahá'í Faith itself. Mr. Knight was subsequently interviewed by the press and radio in Iceland and by BBC television in the United
Kingdom.The genocidal nature of the campaign against the Bahá'í community in IrAn was by now widely recognized and Gerald Knight was one of the three speakers invited to address a Symposium on Genocide held in London on 20 March 1982. The symposium was organized UN document EICN.4/1517 of 31 December 1981. 2 Commission on Human Rights resolution 1982/27.
Page 422by an ad hoc coalition of nongovernmental organizations under the leadership of Professor Leo Kuyper, an international expert on genocide. In his presentation, Mr. Knight highlighted the genocidal features of the Iranian government's campaign against the Bahá'ís and, at the request of the organizers of the symposium, put forward his views and recommendations on the proposed establishment of a new international human rights agency dealing specifically with cases of genocide.
At the spring 1982 session of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, a number of governments expressed their continuing concern at the deteriorating situation of the Bahá'ís in IrAn. On 17 July 1982, seventeen governments � the ten member states of the European Community, together with Australia, Austria, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland � made a joint d~-marche to the Iranian government in Tihr6n, protesting its treatment of the Baha'is.
Later in the same year, on 27 December 1982, all the above governments save Finland made a further joint dtmarche to the Iranian government, once again calling for justice and fair treatment for the Bahá'í community.
Concern for the Bahá'ís was also voiced by members of the United Nations
Human Rights Committee � abody of eighteen independent experts � when, at its 16th session in Geneva in July 1982, it reviewed with representatives of the government of fr6n the progress being made in Ir6n in implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. TheCommittee had at its disposal a copy of the Iranian Constitution and also documentation from the Baha International Community concerning the persecution of the Baha minority. It was evident to the members of the Committee that both the constitutional law of Iran and the day-to-day practices of the Iranian authorities fell far short of the standards set out in the Covenant and many members expressed their unease at the ambivalence of those provisions of the Constitution which purported to protect fundamental human rights, particularly those which concerned the rights of non-Muslim citizens.
Responding to the Committee's comments, the leader of the Iranian delegation, Ayatollah Siyyid Fladi Khosroshahi, decried the fact that many Committee members had raised specific questions concerning the Baha'is. lie gave no direct answers to the searching questions posed by the Committee but simply asserted that a relatively small number of Baha had been executed in iran and that their executions had nothing to do with their religious beliefs.
At the 37th session of the United Nations Generalto December 1982, many governments expressed their grave anxiety over the human fights situation in frAn and referred specifically to the religious persecution of the Baha.
The Iranian delegation responded with anger, charging that these governments were motivated by political rather than humanitarian considerations and declaring that the government of IrAn had no intention of changing its domestic policies.
On 23 November 1982 the Iranian delegation circulated to representatives to the Third Committee (the
Social, Cultural and HumanitarianAffairs Committee) of the 37th General Assembly a document entitled Human Rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran � A Reviewof the Facts. Section 2 of the document, headed 'Religious Persecution?', was devoted exclusively to an attack on the Baha Faith and its followers. The document denied that Baha were being persecuted in Ir6n because of their religious beliefs, charged that the Bahá'í Faith was a political entity 'created and nourished by anti-Islamic and colonial powers', claimed that the Bahá'ís had established 'a very sophisticated and systematic espionage network' and alleged that the followers of the Bahá'í Faith worldwide were engaged in spying for various governments and in financially supporting
Zionism.Community immediately prepared and circulated to representatives to the Third Committee a written statement rebutting the false charges contained in the Iranian document and calling for the appointment of an impartial body of enquiry to investigate the entire situation. Copies of the rebuttal statement, together with relevant extracts from the Iranian document, were also sent to the Ambassadors of all 157 member governments of the United Nations.
This was the first occasion on which the Bahá'í International Community had felt
Page 423INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 423
it appropriate to communicate with every UN Ambassador concerning the situation of the Bahá'ís in IrAn, and this unprecedented step was taken solely as a resuft of the Iranian government's action in propagating its outrageous charges at the highest internafional forum.
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity's rebuttal statement was subsequently circulated as an official document of the United Nations at the 39th session of the Commission on Human Rights at its January/March 1983 meeting in Geneva.
It was contained in a comprehensive report prepared by the Secretary-General on the human rights situation in IrAn. This lengthy report � prepared pursuant to the Commission~ s resolution of 11 March 1982 � contained extensive references to the persecution of the Baha'is, based on information provided by the Bahá'í International Community and a number of concerned nongovernmental organizations, such as
Amnesty InternationalThe report also contained information submitted to the Secretary-General by the Iranian government, including the text of the document circulated by IrAn at the 37th General
Assembly.'In a separate document circulated at the Commission, the Secretary-General reported on the direct contacts he had established with the Iranian government concerning the general human rights situation prevailing in frAn. Paragraph 3 of that report read as follows: CDuring the past year, the Secretary-General discussed reports of human rights violations with the Permanent Representative of the Islamic
Republic of Iran. Amongthe related topics, the Secretary-General referred to reports of the persecution and, in some cases, summary execution of members of the Bahá'í religious community. In this connection,
Ambassador Rajai Khorassanisaid that nobody was persecuted in Iran because of his religious beliefs and that, in his Government's view, the Bahá'ís were not a religious group but, rather, a political movement aimed at creating division among the people of Iran.'2
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity made three statements at the Commission concerning the situation of the Baha in fr6n. The
UN document E/CN.4/1983/19first statement, under the agenda item dealing with enforced or involuntary disappearances, drew the attention of the Commission to the fact that fourteen prominent Baha'is, and also two abducted Bahá'í schoolgirls, were still missing in Ir6n. The statement included an urgent request to the Commission to appeal to the Iranian government to commute the death sentences recently passed on twenty-two Bahá'ís by the revolutionary court of Shfr~z. This request was repeated in the Bahá'í International Community's second statement, which also emphasized the fact that Bahá'ís were being condemned to death solely on the grounds of their religion.
Responding to the second statement, the delegation of Irhn denied any religious persecution of Bahá'ís and charged that the Bahá'í
International Community'ssole purpose in attending the Commission was to launch 'baseless propaganda' against the Islamic Republic of fr6n. The Iranian representative also claimed (inaccurately) that the Bahá'í
International Communityhad made no contribution whatsoever to the work of the Commission.
The human rights situation in frgn was a major focus of attention at the Commission and the governments of Australia, Canada, D~nmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway,
Togo, the United Kingdomand the United States specifically expressed their concern for the Baha'is. A number of delegations included in their statements appeals to the Iranian government to spare the lives of the Bahá'ís condemned to death in Shfr4z.
In its third and major statement at the Commission, the Bahá'í International Community pointed out that the government of Iran was no longer attempting to deny its harsh treatment of the Bahá'ís but was, instead, seeking to justify it and also to deprive it of any religious significance.
The barrage of false charges levelled against the Bahá'ís by the government of fr6n was nothing more than a smokescreen designed to conceal the true reason for the persecution of the Bahá'í community � the true reason being that the fundamentalist religious leaders in fr6n were not prepared to tolerate the existence of any religion that appeared after Ls16~m.
The Baha Internationalwent on to cite various compelling proofs that the persecution was motivated solely by religious prejudice and to rebut the baseless allegations made by the Iranian government against the Baha'is. It concluded by pointing out that the Iranian representative's claim that the Bahá'í
International Communitymade no contribution to the work of the Commission was yet one more instance of an Iranian spokesman making baseless allegations against the Baha. The Bahá'í
International Communityhad already made statements at the current session of the Commission concerning the Elimination of Racism, the Right to Development, and the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Peoples.
It had presented a written statement on the Rights of the Child and had submitted two sets of draft articles to the Working Group responsible for drawing up a Convention on the Rights of the Child. The
Bahá'í InternationalCommunity had been contributing actively and positively to the work of the United Nations in the social, cultural, economic and humanitarian fields for over thirty years. The presence of Baha representatives at the Commission on Human Rights was therefore neither unprecedented nor sinister.
Disregarding these comments, the representative of I din once again attempted to convince delegates that thq Bahá'í International Community had never contributed to the work of the Commission and was using it solely as a forum for launching 'groundless allegations' against the government of Irdn.. He claimed that those governments who had expressed their concern for the Baha in Iran were motivated by purely political considerations.
Shortly before the Commission, the Iranian government had indicated that it would be willing for a representative of the
UN Secretary-Generalto visit lrTh for the purpose of investigating the human fights situation there. This offer was confirmed on 31 January 1983 (the date on which the Commission began its 39th session) and the visit was scheduled to take place during the latter half of March (shortly after the Commission ended). The offer was widely regarded as a device whereby the government of fran hoped to persuade the Commission on Human Rights that it was not necessary for it to take action at its 39th session on the human rights situation in bAn. If the Commission failed to adopt a resolution on fr&n, the Secretary-General would no longer have a mandate to act on human rights violations in Inn and would be totally dependent on the goodwill of the Iranian authorities. The Commission, however, failed to react as the Iranian government had hoped and a resolution was duly drafted. During the debate on the resolution, the representative of IrAn threatened that its adoption would lead to the cancellation of the offer for a representative of the Secretary-General to visit 1dm. This threat made no impression on the Commission and the resolution was adopted on 8 March 1983.
The resolution, supported by delegations from Africa,
Asia, Central and NorthAmerica and Europe, expressed the Commission~ s profound concern' at the continuing grave violations of human rights in IThn, including the religious persecution of the Baha'is, urged the government of Iran to guarantee to all its citizens the fights recognized in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and requested the Secretary-General to 'continue direct contacts with the government of the Islamic Republic of IrAn on the grave human rights situation prevailing in that country, including the situation of the Baha is Responding to appeals on behalf of the Bahá'ís in ShirAz, the European
Parliament, on 10 March1983, adopted a resolution which called upon the government of fr6n to suspend the death sentences of the twenty-two condemned Bahá'ís and requested the foreign ministers of the ten member states of the European Community to make urgent representations to the Iranian government 'in order to secure the release of these meffibers of the Baha religious community and a halt to all manner of persecution and discrimination to which the Bahá'í minority in IrAn is '2 subject The plight of the Bahá'ís in fr&n was next considered by the United Nations Committee on the
Elimination of RacialDiscrimination (CERD), a body of eighteen independent
1 Commission on Human RightsText appears in the Official Journal of the European Communities, Volume 26, reference C 96.
Page 425experts charged with monitoring the progress made by States parties in complying with the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Racial Discrimination.The involvement of CERD in the Baha case arose from the fact that the iranian government, in its periodic report to the Committee, had claimed that the only minorities in I r~n were religious rather than racial and were all fully protected under the Constitution, and that the Bahá'í International Community � aware of this misstatement � had submitted to CERD a written report describing the true situation of the Bahá'í minority in I din. In the course of their 18 March 1983 dialogue with representatives of the government of fr6n, the members of the Committee posed repeated questions concerning the treatment of the Baha'is. After unsuccessfully challenging the Committee's competence to consider questions related to religion, the Iranian spokesman flatly denied that Bahá'ís were being persecuted in I r~n because of their religious beliefs and asserted that the Bahá'í Faith was a subversive political organization. These and other misstateffients by the Iranian representative were duly corrected in a memorandum subsequently circulated by the Baha International Community to the members of CERD.
By Ridvan 1983, then, the persecution of the Bahá'ís in fran was firmly established on the human rights agenda of the
United Nations. The Secretary-Generaland his senior human rights officials were actively involved in efforts to persuade the Iranian government to halt the persecution. Governments in every continent of the world had made the Iranian government aware of their abhorrence of its policies and of their profound concern for the Baha'is. The false and malicious charges made by the government of I r~n against the Baha Faith and its followers had been rejected out of hand by every human rights organ that had examined them.The persecution of the Bahá'í Faith in the land of its birth was by now recognized throughout the globe as constituting the most blatant example of religious intolerance in the contemporary world.
t Senior Iranian military officers are seen attacking the Bahá'í National Centre, Tihrdn; 1955.
Page 426In previous volumes, many certificates of incorporation or other documents attesting recognition of various National Spiritual Assemblies have been reproduced. The following are representative of the forms of recognition obtained by National SpiritualAssemblies during the period covered by this volume.
1. Certificate of Incorporation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Transkei; 30
October 1980.2. Certificate of Incorporation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South West Africa/Namibia dated 25 August 1982. This was achieved by a change of name from the
Bahá'í Land Company to the National Spiritual Assembly.
426INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT I3AHA'f ACTIVITIES
R~WUi~L1C OK TRAN~EIThis is to certity that ThE 1~AT1~AL SP~P~ThA1~ ASS~1M~LY OF ThE BAHÁ'ÍS OF TRANSKEI ( Co r~t~d a~soci~ion nct for gain) x~'as :~ay inco~mor~ted under ~he Conv~ntes Act, 61 of 1973. and that the corr~any is a cor~p~ny limited by guarantee ~r~d i~ incorporated under ~cti~n 2~.
Signed and s~a1e~ a Urntat~ this $ d~y of Oc+c~~e ~ on~ thous~na rune hundre~i ar~ ei~b~y. /%~i;' 4 v: ~ r~ ~ ~ � c~) ~ ~ (~4Y~ );~)4~i~~ ~�d. The Spiritual As~mb1y the H (7 C ~ ~ ~K 2. Ceri4icate of Incorporation of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Dededo, Guam, dated 14 July 1981.
This is the first Local Spiritual Assembly in the Mariana Islands to achieve incorporation.
Page 432~"rtif'i tii~it THE LDCAL SPIRITUAL P~$SE~flBLY CE THE ~ HFI' OF
I4A~A~iP~IRI COUNTYI 3. Certificate of Incorporation of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the BahtV(s of Waimairi County, New Zealand; 22 December 1980.
Page 433AN ACT to prO~1d(~ for the incorporMion of thc Lo~I Spiritud
Asseml,lic~ o ~ th~' BMmi s ~f S~Wi~ Vine~'n ~nd ~ Grena-diu~ms
~ms and for ~n8t1er~ (Uunec~ed therewith.13fl IT ENACIEI) by ibe Qwun '~ Most B~&&Vit ~Th5e~y, iw ~nd w H h~? ~dx~r~ a~ ~ CHTIS('flI 0 ~ 11 (Bi~C of ARS~flb~y (I ~~iii~t Vuiteni ~'rid 'the Crcimdincs rind by 4]i~ mitiiori�y ~d I Ii~ g811~e i~ foflows: I 'I'liis i\v~ nI~v I~ ~'iVd as ~e T~~i~I 2piritxml i~mb]ie~ ~ ~ he ix~~a is of ~' im Viti~nt i~rj~ra~r1 2. 1 ~ re~i I ~z mt \ I he ~ re~ir ~inv~ ~v~o diiv (fllflltQd flu '~ c~f ~bo ~ r~I~~I~7TJ7QO efc~u~fTh ~x ~a TE~4Th~A Rri~2i~
CIG~7~L C2 113 }LA'IS fJ~ JAPC, C~Dfl~3� ~ ~ U~C~ CC~mion~tA ~ Lm~1
~ '~rz{ iO~ S~f4~L-'V (L~), c~nf~io ~ 4 voJiyxi9a~c~ a t~vcz'r d~ la � 2~LZ~. i~i~AX, ~\CIC}2X~ DL WS A~A~1S Y YL PirJJ, ~ �cr u~6~ ct~ Th c~o 7~m~ v c~iu~iCA O~UX1itZ~r)a ~G~rn1~2a r~1iqI~~zL ~fl ~a &C~&~ ctc~ JuJ~i � ~i 2~ � c~os~ ~ ~r 2.a ~.uai~ i ar~c32a e3 e&U4 ~ c~J. 1~a t1~Dfl.L~ ~e 1ic~la ~tiC~j~c1. I 2~.-'f~ca~scrLa2a ~IL t~rv~O ci~ la ~e~c4 u.~ F~cvi~ ~Sn L~ U r~ci6i~ (kn~ra1 ~e ~ d~n~ro d~ los tr~~ ~ ~u e~xdicj6n.
iq~~cLr~4/ ~os~ mn~icurZ 2. Resolution of the Ministry of Education of Peru dated 2 May 1979, approving exemption of customs duty on a vehicle donated by the National Spiritual Assembly of Japan to the National Spiritual Assembly of Peru for use in the Bahá'í teaching work and by the Bahá'í radio in Puno.
Page 440SfCR~TAR~A ?AINI5TCRL~L D~ ~D~JCACliA~ VU~CtC~ ~&DJCACTONAL ~L �
REGION ~1~T~OPO1AThNA /00 ~ TA2L~CI~U~TCSECCION COL~GIOS PARTICULAR~S "C~L~GIO NUR~ ~ LA C{S �
N~E3R/R~L/SSV/YPC/1ahf, REGION ~4~TRO~QLJTANA.r ~ANTIA~O, / is n'~ 7; * ~ ~SOLUCION ~XL~NTA ~ /
V~STOLo dispuesto ~n los a~t~cuIc3s ~ � i C , � ~ � � l7~ � 2l~ y sigui'nLes ~I Decreto ~L � ~ ~remo NQ 154 de 1979 je~ Ministeri0 de f~ducacj~n ~ ~~a f~eso1~j~n N~ 600 d~ 1977 de la C0n � :r~-aioUa Geneca2 de la RepC~b1Ica y c~r~tde1ancrn Lo so1ici~ado por expediente I~&Q 355/79 d~ F~e � conocimiento i~stata1 del Co1~gio Nur, La regu1ari~a~i6n de la situ~ci6n 1eQ~1 y admi nisLiativa del citado estab1~cirniento p~xticu � lar, en beneficio de los a1umno~ qua se encuen tran asistiendo en el mi~ma, dur~nte 2979.
E~ Infovme T&cnico � P~dag6gico evacuado por Ia Uriidad de Supervisi5n de la ~3ecci6n Coleqlos � Pa~tacuiares de esta.~ecretarIa r'ljnjster�al de ~ducaci6n, Regi~6n Metropolitana, con fecha ~u � lb de 1q79.
d) y el Informe ccmp1ement~irio evacu~da por la Unidad de Supervlsi6n dcl Area cie ~duc~3ci6n, � d~ (st~ Secr~t~rfa Minist~ria1 de ~dL~aci3n �
Reqi6n Metropo1it~ri~, mediarite OrdirmriQ Interno N~ 753 1e 6 de Diciembre de 1979; er~ us~ d~ ~ las ~icu1t~des que m~ fueron conferid~s par D~ crete Supremo pjQ ~324 de 1974 y Qecreta Z3up~m~7 NQ 415 de 1976 y los antecedentes que b~ do a ~a vista, dicto 1~ sigtdente ~ R & ~i 0 L U C t 0 M E~UNOON �O~J~ACICPAL U~L al to p~cttcu1~c deri~mLnado CCt,Z~$~O ~UR~ u~ �
~n Aven~da Am4 ~ 'espt~cio ~42 355~ ~ ~3. Resolution of the Ministry of Education, Chile, dated 18 December 1979, recognizing the Baha'i' school 'Colegio Nur' in La Cisterna, for the school year 1979, 'as long as it fulfills the conditions and requirements demanded by the law and the regulations'.
Page 441Published by th~ nIornatt~oa~ Fed~,atio~i for Doturnentation with the Th,~.sj~I ,i~lanc~ of timesco
INTERNATIONAL FEI~ERAflON FOR DOL~U?AENTATiON4. Official publication of the International Federation for Documentation showing the amendment of Universal Decimal ClassLfication removing the Báb and Bahá'í Faiths as subdivisions under Isldm, assigning them their own classification number, and correcting the designation.
Page 442N~ F. 17 (4)S1-?sb~ � The foil wiiig Oi~�e~ made b tile E~idco~ c~ the 7th April, 1981 i~i b pub shed for Leneral in! rma ~ THE PROV S ON oN I ION (AMIND NT) O~DE l9~1 k putsudn~ of ~h P;o~Iati~a i n of the fifth day of Jul 1977. rcad wub Ihe L~tws ~Ctrnz~iu~nc~ in Farce) Order. 1977 (CM.LA, Order No. 1 of 1977).
1h Chief Marti~iI U~w A~irninisLra~or~ with a view to consolidating and d~c1~ring the law, is pIta ed t~ mak I fol 'ing Orde~r I. Short ti~3~ and comm rn~emeut. I) Thi: Order may be ~aIkd the Pt visional Constitution (Am ndm n 0 r, 1981.
(2) II shall come into f~ o~ and sh I) deemed to h v~ 1z~n ~ect on the twenty-fourth day of MarTh, ~98J.
2. In~er~en ~ t~w Axticle IA, C~MJ~4, Order No. I of I9SL � In th~ Pxo~ visional Constitution Order, 1981 (C~tLA.. Oder No. I of 1981 ~ hcr~inafier rcfrrrcd to as the said Order. ~-fter Article 'I; the fQllowing new Anick ~hatI b~ ifl5ertcd, namely "IA. Dcfininon.r. � Ln the con i fo and this Order and II nac ii and other legal instrum n un~ ~h re is anything r p ~ n th~ SUWcct or context, � (a) ~ Mu~1im" means a p~son wbQ bctieves in th~ unity ~r~d o~1c~ ~'ess of AJm~ghty APah, ~n the absolute and unqtmlificd finalily of the Propheihood of Muh~imrn~d (p~acc b~ upon him, th~ List of th~ p~ophet~, ud does not belicyc in, ~nize &s, a prophet or r~Iigious retor~ner, any person who claiiued or ~Iaiins to be a propb~t, i~ any scnse of th~ word or of any dcs.
cript~on what. e, alter Muhammad (pc~acc upon hi~xi); and (b)~ non-Muslim" means a person who i. not d M ~1im aM includes s a p~r on b lon~ng to e C i tia Hindu, Sikb~ Bud~ hi~tor Pars comwu~ y~ a rs. n of the U di ni group ~r he 1~hori group (who ca~ tbc~sd~'es Ahmadi~' or by any o~bcr name), or a Babai, and & person bc1~nging to any ci thc ~ch~duJ-ed d ~stts.
3. Sab~4itu1ion of Article ~, C.MI.A~ (Thier No. 1 of I9SL � ln thc said Order, for Article 2 th~ foilawin sIr 11 be ub ti~ut~ nam ly "2. Ceirain provisions Cov~it~~ro, to fc?~r~ "w J Ordcr~ � T ~ oil w~ ing Ani~Ies of the C~n~titution of ih~ I~mic Republic of Pa&ist~n.
1973, which ~s i~ a cya~cr~. ;~ th.is ~d~t ~rr~d to ~s h~ ~oa~ Stjtution, shall b~ de~rn~ to f~rrn pan of ~hi~ Order a~d shall have ~ffwt subject to this Ordtr and any ~)rder rtiade by tl~c P~t~id~nt or the Chicf MBrt~I Law AdrninPAraic~. na~ie1y 5. Text of Presidential Order amending Constitution of Pakistan, 7 April 1981, specifically naming the Bahá'ís among non-Muslim minorities of Pakistan.
Page 443INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 443
~G � u~ ~-~i irrt.11ar ~citv,!,1cS rc1i2i3t~s on ci aTh, 4 ;ctiudda ~, rulr(ir12e% 3k ,&lsccnci ~ -0cv4 orienta � en, d;,I,Z,, t~ ~ Li &oaujnUn1 rnt:d ~ 2,. ri ~rvZk. U' ~4ios crnunicaci~,. r~-~1va, x nr'trHi r;Llifl.4VP Trier ~.i~Lcrc~w's, mncc'Ier ~iccpici~ do Q,~Ozocio � U A\rII 1.' A I Al. ~ 11 ~AIAI'. PL ~O � AX 4, ~,xp,~1 ~c ~tu r Cncxo1u:kiorLco~c,3,,:t radiocmi v,r~t-tvr ~ V !,ocial et in Ir,c~:'jdid Ua Car;7 nih, C~it~ 1~ ~rovineia (Tcrcado del !e,artn~nto do k4tztt, pzn rINrar 0. ~4, *oli,,.
I,.. 7. Supreme Resolution from Presidency of the Republic, Bolivia, 6 January 1983, authorizing establishment of the Bahá'í radio station at Caracollo.
Page 445Le Miaietr., Charg~ du ~cr~tariat G6nhrkl dii Gourernement et de 1'Tn~ foruatiom & ~a~gui Tetro ~.tt~* du 17 2~'6yrier 198~ deuaadAnt 2,'ina,rt�on d~artic1eu dan.
la Pr4~so E~rit,.i4oaui.ur H'BO?TO, ~.c t~iir~, de 1'Aea.mblAe Spirituo)le Nationale de5 BAHA t1$ �~ ~6pub1iqut
CentrafricaineMonsi,u~', Noun aoc~1Bonu beau. :.c.ptian d. votre lettr0 du 17 F~vri8r ~9~3 ~a,t laqu,3,le VQUR d.aazdes 1mut~ria&tie3 ~. f~ii-e in~errer dCB awticles dane la Press. ~crit. National..
NOXW donnan. aotr accord A ~.tt. demand,. Ainei, vc,~s devez ~oun i~gtt~o .~i wa~ort &TaO la Direotion G6~4ra1o do la Pre~e potu~ fi � ze~ les uo4al�t4a de c.tt. collabQratlozl.
MAR 48. Letter dated 9 March 1983 from Ministry of Information, Central African Republic, permitting the National Spiritual Assembly to insert articles in the national press.
Page 446CONFWERACIQH 1'.1A~IOt4AL D~ CAMPESI Os Of E~LiVUA 'TZ~/'
.7-LATIER~iA ER~iA eSQEQUJENLATRASAJAPXRI~JTE8 D~ P D~P~ACIO~~ES DIPA1~A AL~E~ � F ~AOION~8 ~SPZ~IAL~S
C1~NThALX3 PR~VINCIALX~S � Smi ~RAL~S I SIlWICA?OS AGRARIOS D~ ~A �
~AJLDO~S cMiflSn;03 1~ ~OLtV1tA.p r I 3* a t 0. � O.upalar.a C~UptE1*.A~ ri Cemiti ~.,.1~o�,aari. &. 1* O.if.~r~@Lh Na aeRtO �$ial,, ~. ~irig. p.1 cazpoain.A, t~t.gr. d.1 pa!m~ eli ~ ~.iQ&t&Uh3zte 4. lAS 1@~'~� ~S la liftC1~A~ ouii. �S la ~OI4S~fl~UQIO~ ~QLI !IOA DEL ~S~ADO~ qua r.o,a,c. e3. 15.bre .j~x~i~ib de ]~as r.1~4iar~#a. �aup.sjxad. b.1iyi.~., p*I~~l~,s �n ~,n~ci,io~t. do trAbA~&~*r~ ~~9 � gin.. 4.1 p1dB qns1 #tLA F~ BAUA'~ os ~z~a i~1igih ~.a ~ Jn � ma ?~Q 16?696 d.4 6 ~. Abi~i1 ~, i,973~ c~ fi~ea I. pr.~.vor i~o1~~a ,s pirl.tua2.#s, educ&ct.n&iea, hu~~itaria~ ;@~iab~ ~tc0ot~ IAN ceApeRi~.I qu� ~ La R.34giI~ flh&~1~ .L misme tia~ip. Eel ey~iezteu ~ ~ ~e1 pL!3, 4~ a~uer~, a 1~w ��TR&E �*t&b1.ei~a~ �~ 1e~ '~E&~RIWS flAHA~I~".
~aip sex .). �bj4te 4. oeep.r~X~a 1~s c~~p~f~.rwft C&~pt~iue~ ~ ai~.raci5x ~e lii ~.~fe~ormct~ Ua~i~~1 ~ Traba~d,x~ ~i~ss ~ B.liYi&.
A C~ �st~ #apeoial a~tiv., u&ludamou ~ .uY fl TflAT~ ~L CA~4flLSIEADO ~OIJV!ANO 9. Circular letter, dated 10 October 1980, to Directors of Departmental Federations from the National Confederation of 'Campesinos' (country people) of Bolivia informing them that the Bahá'í Faith is a religion recognized by the Government and requesting that all confidence and consideration be extended to the Bahá'í teachers who are helping with the social and spiritual education of the country people.
Page 4471981A � 0 11%f~ 2,~, ~ tLt~r~ Th ~ 0 1 7 ~ ~ ~ 6 a., ~ ~ �A?~~.
Discurso proferido pelo Deputadoo Sn. PflESWENTE (JORCS �ETTE~ p~Ia Orde~.o no bye D~put~d~ K~�1~ ~ o s~. A�ILA NUN~S (P~1s Cr~~x) � Cr. P~~1d~nte, qQ~rQ �,znrur~r~9tstro nob~ r~aJizada no intel o1$rta. no pr5xsro d�~ ~ julto, do ~9 an�versfltQ da BRASTh. Lobelon ~AChan~d&Th,". ton. ~Thdt e~ ,~inhaMo $es~ ~g �L~3EOne�&tt~ CO~AO~ ~A4~A'I ~o4n sir,, ~io de co vatuL~9$o~ peThtc~nsc~r~o, a 4 d~ jvdhc' p~vThdonro. ~6 EO~ titvers~rto ~ cTh F~ 3AA~Z2~ no A F~ E~h5i n~r��u no Irs, e~i iS44, t~n~o ~ ~ polo �V3b g~tabe1cctd4 nc' �rio 4i~ po~ 1W ~rnbr~ persa. querevctou6c~s ens1~t~ dur~nU�mAi5 d~ 40 ee exikic ~eusg~id~~sss tin espa1t~adn, pelos ctn~ con tinentes, p~l set ~fr5rin~ Jo ~ conqreg~ndo ~ de rod~ rienta~os po~ I~t1tM~~s qiItI~d~ eitit~ -d~d1',~ 1',~ i da paz da fraL~ti& -d~t~r~a1.
d~t~r~a1.A �~ 3~h i6~r~ovagA~ d~ r.1iqi5~,, pn,b1~m~s d~ h~.nid~de. P~s~uisuas p~6p~L.s r~ crtt~ras, 1e1sem~d~,.ntos oats 4e 660 Idlomas, e c~Thpre pro~cis~ 4o tod~s~ rov'~1a~5es d1~tnas ~nterkr~ A A ~ dIg~os 6irigento~ e filtadot d~~'entu~tcsQ b,,sca 3 coacr~ttn;io ~ �aoaL~.
S~I~ a �~ .24 d~ j~nib~ d~ I9aL D~p~ � ~ AaIa ~ues. W Vice � XAa~r da RaX~,i&. ~A ~ ~Th guM a ktte eA
F~ d~ B~b5'&11~hvrn 4~utrThap~ss�v*, Q~ Z� cO~rn,to i~, rh~w~ das re11gfl~ qua p&~ra~, Th~aprova tcWX o tSpo de int~n~~ dos ~r,Votas d~ pass~d~ ~ N~i~ p&~,, k esplilto pie ~ntmase~s d~ fide1idad~ de qu~Jque~~r~n � c~us~. S~u prop~.it~ prQn~rL~ c decIa~eo p~&tL'11~r a Se qua2~usr PS ~bt~rc~rpri~ma�,,npLtta Ia roLl � tc~o ~ do t6~~i~ e ft1os6f�c~s.
r~ta 1rrbuid~ d~ poder 406 opeta no campo da ~ q~ tr~sforna ~id~ d~ p~~e# � � A Si a~h5~ � deA~~ Sn a~A~rIdaaeeinsptra~i~ 405 ~ju~ Thr~m pr~~vadas 1nact~~sua forma ortjinti como tora,~ rtv~1, � ~s pelcz ~Thn.3adaes d~
P5.E'~ volume exte~s~u cmqnancia e �t~~ re1iqThs~. da huma~Adaac.
� fl~h511~b tOn~, tmpossF~eI 02dqt~~r d&vis~ r~nid~de r~B~i. por 2.
2. X~d�ca%, fitboma1s~ Ih~,. Ab~Xd ~,h5, ~o,1r o acto~iz~do 4~ cus cscvito~ ~qrados.
3. d~1�n~~Io princf~d~ frnd~r~L~i d~ Ord~ A~Int,t~,rI~, t~b5 'I.
10. Excerpt from a speech given by Deputy Atila Nunes in the 46th Extraordinary Session of the Legislature of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 24 June 1981. The entire speech was published in the Official Record of 26 June 1981 and covered three and a half pages.
Mr. Nunes tells of the history of the Faith, its Teachings, its spread, the lives of the Central Figures, its laws and ethical teachings, including quotations from the Writings.
Page 448~h.3t be in ~P3t1Qn fo~ tWit ~ th8fl 1~4 days during th~ ~hw~1 yec~. ~r~d ~2) ro~ ~rOre th~ 56 i~y~ ar~ ~t1o~d In Ie~p~t o~ v~caAon.
~ thes~ rL'lPs the foJAo~ing is th~ School ea1end~r for ~9~2-1YE-V1rs~
V1rs~ ~rr~ 1st Septen~b2~ 23rd OC9mb~T (I1c~1U~IVEfl
Se~md T~: 7th Ianuary 7th AprI! ~1n~1usive)Yhix1 T~pm: 19th Apxii 30 June (inc1usIv~) C~iri~tma~ -24th h D~c~m~r -~th i~nu~u~y, Eastei~ -8th h Apr.U -18th Ap~-iA.
Su~r~er -IsV V July � 31st August.R~2~ ~ioi~ Holidays: 12th November tAnniversary of th~ Bixth of B~h~'tj'flah (Founder of tne ~haIi faith)
~th O~en~b~t-: Tfm~cu1ate ThnceptionCathulic feast) 24th Febr~ia~-~: Ash Wedn2sUay (Chpi~ti~n holIday) 20th r1~y~ A~ens1cn ~ay ~Chr-istian bolyday) Public ho1id~y~ In ~dditiun to above -7th th June.
190 school days.11. Circular letter to parents, from the Bray School Project, Bray, Ireland, listing school closings and holidays; 16 October 1981. The school, a recognized national one funded by the Department of Education, adopted 12 November, the Birthday of Bahá'u'lláh, as a holiday for the entire school, as Bahá'í children constitute the second largest religious group among students.
Page 449INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHÁ'Í ACTIVITIES 449
r.M.VflOyPr~I0 EO~ nALMIAI R .r4~KrT~N m~Jh(H AJIYeYNXH hJE~K ~TxPot~OaQN-Tz?oePM~KQ1~
TM N MA ETEPOOPHEK~J'A~jv~z 5 � 1 � ~.O78.5/AI2752 x. RO~P BAUG Ml~rp.iL~X~w~ 15 ~ ~ X~t~1~6 ~(l~ 9 TC,. A~vc.,
flA~po~'p~ TnA.~,o~3212768 J'Avg p6~vc~ ot~v &4 1 � 7 � 1981 arr~a~ s~, a~ p~Q~t .1 &xo~Q&~VrE4 rd �p Kt/V34 Mi~~dX v~ q~,vtpXov~a~. ~ i~oi~ rE~ �p~c vri~z~v ~ r~x6ym~y ~cv~ 1~L~ ~ r~j'i ~xpe~w1u~ o~ Et~v,j x~C G~ ~reOV0~ �1~ Ot~TC~, X@~J �~,CCx~T~L ~6 � p~r~ ~C ~ 166 'Iw~v. X~~xi~ 9 A/var~ ~o4~t~v � 'Ei~po~pl~qx~jv (3) c rty. A/vv~;
�~ I~h~1~12. Letter dated 5 January 1982, from Ministry of National Education and Religion, Greece, giving official permission to the Bahá'ís of Iraki ion, Crete, to meet.
Page 450U rim dc~ llccxcii nr � n1 j,~ H U to cxl ~ v. r ~fl ~VJVt 'CUd (kvcj Iu ~ 4' it cc t~ 'a. tA: U~,. XzvillQ ~!
cone 1Y1ThiThcTh rin~re~wt\tl ~r otcC ,~ la Pirotci6a Luc ni do ioloco ic;ci s ~4i Ii s$ i, .a cv~n Jo 5. cuunc2a.s, ;,uT .~S t$t�~ c~� ~cio ms yiort~t-fl y Jo ~,. xwxsL j ~j C a CS trivos. t~t db )o~icicn$ tic 1~ Icy Cc P 'cO IA 0-sv h~ Pu eflfl.
N9 7 -~2-B B 5 ci ~y~{%vr,o tKzAcr, � 1 irrobhY 4 ~ 5. 5( ~.ra ic y 3 "~ o ~cic~r Li �:.
a.~2 4 A~ Th v1 / c:1IN THE NAME OF GOD, THE ONE, THE INCOMPARABLE, THE ALL-POWERFUL, THE ALL-KNOWING,
THE ALL-WISE.The light that is shed from the heaven of bounty, and the benediction that shineth from the dawning-place of the will of God, the Lord of the Kingdom of Names, rest upon Him Who is the Supreme Mediator, the Most Exalted Pen, Him Whom God hath made the dawning-place of His most excellent names and the dayspring of His most exalted attributes. Through Him the light of unity hat/i shone forth above the horizon of the world, and the law of oneness hath been revealed amidst the nations, who, with radiant faces, have turned towards the Supreme Horizon, and acknowledged that which ~he Tongue. of Utterance hat/i spoken in the kingdom of His knowledge: 'Earth and heaven, glory and dominion, are God's, the Omnipotent, the Almighty, the Lord of grace abounding!'
ITH joyous and thankful hearts we testify to the abundance of God's Mercy, to the perfection of His Justice and to the fulfilment of His Ancient
Promise.of God's Word in this Day, the Source of Authority, the Fountainhead of Justice, the Creator of a new
World Order, the Establisherof the Most Great Peace, the Inspirer and Founder of a world civilization, the Judge, the Lawgiver, the Unifier and Redeemer of all mankind, has proclaimed the advent of God's Kingdom on earth, has formulated its laws and ordinances, enunciated its principles, and ordained its institutions. To direct and canalize the forces released by His Revelation, He instituted His Covenant, whose power has preserved the integrity of His Faith, maintained its unity and stimulated its worldwide expansion throughout the successive ministries of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. It continues to fulfil its life-giving purpose through the agency of the Universal House of Justice whose fundamental object, as one of the twin successors of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, is to ensure the continuity of that divinely appointed authority which flows from the Source of the Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers, and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings.
The fundamental purpose animating the Faith of God and His Religion,declares Bahá'u'lláh, is to safeguard the interests and promote the unity of the human race, and to foster the spirit of love and fellowship amongst men. Suffer it not to become a source of dissension and discord, of hate and enmity. This is the straight Path, the fixed and immovable foundation. Whatsoever is raised on this foundation, the changes and chances of the world can never impair its strength, nor will the revolution of countless centuries undermine its structure.
Unto the Most Holy Book, 'Abdu'l-Bahá declares in His Will and Testament, every one must turn, and cill that is not expressly recorded therein must be referred to the Universal
House of Justice.The provenance, the authority, the duties, the sphere of action of the Universal House of Justice all derive from the revealed Word of Bahá'u'lláh which, together with the interpretations and expositions of the Centre of the 453
Page 454Covenant and of the Guardian of the Cause � who, after 'Abdu'l-Bahá, is the sole authority in the interpretation of Bahá'í Scripture � constitute the binding terms of reference of the Universal House of Justice and are its bedrock foundation. The authority of these Texts is absolute and immutable until such time as Almighty God shall reveal His new Manifestation to Whom will belong all authority and power.
There being no successor to Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of the Cause of God, the Universal House of Justice is the Head of the Faith and its supreme institution, to which all must turn, and on it rests the ultimate responsibility for ensuring the unity and progress of the Cause of God. Further, there devolve upon it the duties of directing and coordinating the work of the Hands of the Cause, of ensuring the continuing discharge of the functions of protection and propagation vested in that institution, and of providing for the receipt and disbursement of the Ijluq4qu'llAh.
Among the powers and duties with which the Universal House of Justice has been invested are: To ensure the preservation of the Sacred Texts and to safeguard their inviolability; to analyse, classify, and coordinate the Writings; and to defend and protect the Cause of God and emancipate it from the fetters of repression and persecution; To advance the interests of the Faith of God: to proclaim, propagate and teach its Message; to expand and--consolidate the institutions of its
Administrative Order;to promote the attainment of those spiritual qualities which should characterize Bahá'í life individually and collectively; to do its utmost for th& realization of greater cordiality and comity amongst the nations and for the attainment of universal peace; and to foster that which is conducive to the enlightenment and illumination of the souls of men and the advancement and betterment of the world; To enact laws and ordinances not expressly recorded in the Sacred Texts; to abrogate, according to the changes and requirements of the time, its own enactments; to deliberate and decide upon all problems which have caused difference; to elucidate questions that are obscure; to safeguard the personal rights, freedom and initiative of individuals; and to give attention to the preservation of human honour, to the development of countries and the stability of states; To promulgate and apply the laws and principles of the Faith; to safeguard and enforce that rectitude of conduct which the Law of God enjoins; to preserve and develop the Spiritual and Administrative Centre of the BTh~'i Faith, permanently fixed in the twin cities of 'Akka and Haifa; to administer the affairs of the Bahá'í community throughout the world; to guide, organize, coordinate and unify its activities; to found institutions; to be responsible for ensuring that no body or institution within the Cause abuse its privileges or decline in the exercise of its rights and prerogatives; and to provide for the receipt, disposition, administration and safeguarding of the funds, endowments and other properties that are entrusted to its care; To adjudicate disputes falling within its purview; to give judgement in cases of violation of the laws of the Faith and to pronounce sanctions for such violations; to provide for tile enforcement of its decisions; to provide for the arbitration and settlement of disputes arising between peoples; and to be the exponent and guardian of that Divine Justice which can alone ensure the security of, and establish the reign of law and order in, the world.
The members of the Universal House of Justice, designated by Bahá'u'lláh 'the Men of Justice', 'the people of Baha who have been mentioned in the Book of Names',
'the Trustees of Godamongst His servants and the daysprings of authority in His countries', shall in the discharge of their responsibilities ever bear in mind the following standards set forth by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Cause of
God:'In the conduct of the administrative affairs of the Faith, in the enactment of the legislation necessary to supplement the laws the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the members of the Universal House of Justice, it should be borne in mind, are not, as Bahá'u'lláh's utterances clearly imply, responsible to
Page 455those whom they represent, nor are they allowed to be governed by the feelings, the general opinion, and even the convictions of the mass of the faithful, or of those who directly elect them. They are to follow, in a prayerful attitude, the dictates and promptings of their conscience. They may, indeed they must, acquaint themselves with the conditions prevailing among the community, must weigh dispassionately in their minds the merits of any case presented for their consideration, but must reserve for themselves the right of an unfettered decision. God will verily inspire them with whatsoever He willeth,is Bahá'u'lláh's incontrovertible assurance.
They, and not the body of those who either directly or indirectly elect them, have thus been made the recipients of the divine guidance which is at once the lifeblood and ultimate safeguard of this Revelation.'
Hugh E. Chanceof Justice was first elected on the first day, of the Festival of Ridvan in the one hundred and twentieth year of the Bahá'í Era,1 when the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies, in accordance with the provisions of the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and in response to the summons of the Hands of the Cause of God, the Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth, brought into being this 'crowning glory' of the administrative institutions of Bahá'u'lláh, the very 'nucleus and forerunner' of His World Order.
Now, therefore, in obedience to the Command of God and with entire reliance upon Him, we, the members of the Universal House of Justice, set our hands and its seal to this Declaration of Trust which, together with the ByLaws hereto appended, form the Constitution of the Universal House of Justice.
21 April 1963 AD.Signed in the City of Haifa on the fourth day of the month of Qawi in the one hundred and twenty-ninth year of the HaMi Era, corresponding to the twenty-sixth day of the month of November in the year 1972 according to the Gregorian calendar.
ciaA 6%%4,~..Facsimile of signatures on the Constitution of the Universal House of Justice;
26 November 1972.T HE Universal House of Justice is the supreme institution of an Administrative Order whose salient features, whose authority and whose principles of operation are clearly enunciated in the Sacred Writings of the Bahá'í Faith and their authorized interpretations. This
Administrative Orderconsists, on the one hand, of a series of elected councils, universal, secondary and local, in which are vested legislative, executive and judicial powers over the Bahá'í community and, on the other, of eminent and devoted believers appointed for the specific purposes of protecting and propagating the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh under the guidance of the Head of that Faith.
This Administrative Orderis the nucleus and pattern of the World Order adumbrated by Bahá'u'lláh. In the course of its divinely propelled organic growth its institutions will expand, putting forth auxiliary branches and developing subordinate agencies, multiplying their activities and diversifying their functions, in consonance with the principles and purposes revealed by Bahá'u'lláh for the progress of the human race.
I. MEMBERSHIP IN THE BAHA'IThe Bahá'í Community shall consist of all persons recognized by the Universal House of Justice as possessing the qualifications of Bahá'í faith and practice.
1. In order to be eligible to vote and hold elective office, a Bahá'í must have attained the age of twenty-one years.
2. The rights, privileges and duties of individual Bahá'ís are as set forth in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi and as laid down by the Universal House of Justice.
II. LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIESWhenever in any locality the number of Bahá'ís resident therein who have attained the age of twenty-one exceeds nine, these shall on the First Day of Ri4vdn convene and elect a local administrative body of nine members to be known as the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of that locality.
Every such Spiritual Assemblyshall be elected annually thereafter upon each successive
First Day of RiQv6n.The members shall hold office for the term of one year or until their successors are elected. When, however, the number of Bahá'ís as aforesaid in any locality is exactly nine, these shall on the First Day of Ri4v6n constitute themselves the Local Spiritual Assembly by joint declaration.
1. The general powers and duties of a Local Spiritual Assembly are as set forth in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi and as laid down by the
Universal House of Justice.shall exercise full jurisdiction over all Bahá'í activities and affairs within its locality, subject to the provisions of the
Local Bahá'í Constitution.t3. The area of jurisdiction of a Local Spiritual Assembly shall be decided by the National Spiritual Assembly in accordance with the principle laid down for each country by the
Universal House of Justice.Whenever it is decided by the Universal House of Justice to form in any country or region a National Spiritual Assembly, the voting members of the Bahá'í community of that country or region shall, in a manner and at a time to be decided by the Universal House of Justice, elect their delegates to their
National Convention. Thesedelegates shall, in turn, elect in the manner provided in the National Bahá'í Constitution2 a body of nine members to be known as the National Spiritual Assembly of the BalTh'fsof that country or region. The members shall continue in office for a period of one year or until their successors shall be elected.
1. The general powers and duties of a National Spiritual Assembly are as set forth in the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi and as laid down by the Universal House of Justice.
ByLaws of a Local SpiritualAssembly shall have exclusive jurisdiction and authority over all the activities and affairs of the Bahá'í Faith throughout its area.
It shall endeavour to stimulate, unify and coordinate the manifold activities of the Local Spiritual Assemblies and of individual Bahá'ís in its area and by all possible means assist them to promote the oneness of mankind. It shall furthermore represent its national Bahá'í community in relation to other national Bahá'í communities and to the
Universal House of Justice.3. The area of jurisdiction of a National Spiritual Assembly shall be as defined by the Universal
House of Justice.4. The principal business of the National Convention shall be consultation on Bahá'í activities, plans and policies and the election of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly, as set forth in the National
Bahá'í Constitution.shall consider that it is impracticable or unwise to hold the National Convention, the said Assembly shall provide ways and means by which the annual election and the other essential business of the Convention may be conducted.
(b) Vacancies in the membership of the National Spiritual Assembly shall be filled by a vote of the delegates composing the Convention which elected the Assembly, the ballot to be taken by correspondence or in any other manner decided by the National Spiritual Assembly.
IV. OBLIGATIONS OF MEMBERS OFAmong the most outstanding and sacred duties incumbent upon those who have been called upon to initiate, direct and coordinate the affairs of the Cause of God as members of its Spiritual Assemblies are: to win by every means in their power the confidence and affection of those whom it is their privilege to serve; to investigate and acquaint themselves with the considered views, the prevailing sentiments and the personal convictions of those whose welfare it is their solemn obligation to promote; to purge their deliberations and the gen eral conduct of their affairs of selfcontained aloofness, the suspicion of secrecy, the stifling atmosphere of dictatorial assertiveness and of every word and deed that may savour of partiality, seif-centredness and prejudice; and while retaining the sacred right of final decision in their hands, to invite discussion, ventilate grievances, welcome advice and foster the sense of interdependence and copartnership, of understanding and mutual confidence between themselves and all other Baha'is.
V. THE UNIVERSAL HOUSEThe Universal House of Justice shall consist of nine men who have been elected from the Bahá'í community in the manner hereinafter provided.
1. ELECTIONThe members of the Universal House of Justice shall be elected by secret ballot by the members of all National
Spiritualshall be held once every five years unless otherwise decided by the Universal House of Justice, and those elected shall continue in office until such time as their successors shall be elected and the first meeting of these successors is duly held.
(b) Upon receiving the call to Convention eachshall submit to the Universal House of Justice a list of the names of its members.
The recognition and seating of the delegates to the
International Convention(c) The principle business of the International Convention shall be to elect the members of the Universal House of Justice, to deliberate on the affairs of the Bahá'í Cause throughout the world, and to make recommendations and suggestions for the consideration of the
Universal House of Justice.shall be conducted in such man-ncr as the Universal House of Justice shall from time to time decide.
(e) The Universal House of Justice shallprovide a procedure whereby those delegates who are unable to be present in person at the International Convention shall cast their ballots for the election of the members of the Universal House of Justice.
(f) If at the time of an election the Universal House of Justice shall consider that it is impracticable or unwise to hold the International Convention it shall determine how the election shall take place.
(g) On the day of the election the ballots of all voters shall be scrutinized and counted and the result certified by tellers appointed in accordance with the instructions of the Universal House of Justice.
(h) If a member of a National Spiritual Assembly who has voted by mail ceases to be a member of that National Spiritual Assembly between the time of casting his ballot and the date of the counting of the ballots, his ballot shall nevertheless remain valid unless in the interval his successor shall have been elected and the ballot of such successor shall have been received by the tellers.
(i) In case by reason of a tie vote or votes the full membership of the
Universal House of Justiceis not determined on the first ballot, then one or more additional ballots shall be held on the perSons tied until all members are elected. The electors in the case of additional ballots shall be the members of National Spiritual Assemblies in office at the time each subsequent vote is taken.
2. VACANCIES IN MEMBERSHIPA vacancy in the membership of the Universal House of Justice will occur upon the death of a member or in the following cases: (a) Should any member of the Universal House of Justice commit a sin injurious to the common weal, he may be dismissed from membership by the
Universal House of Justice.(b) The Universal House of Justice may at its discretion declare a vacancy with respect to any member who in its judgement is unable to fulfil the functions of membership.
(c) A member may relinquish his membership ship on the Universal House of Justice only with the approval of the Universal House of
Justice.If a vacancy in the membership of the Universal House of Justice occurs, the
Universal House of Justiceshall call a by-election at the earliest possible date unless such date, in the judgement of the Universal House of Justice, falls too close to the date of a regular election of the entire membership, in which case the Universal House of Justice may, at its discretion, defer the filling of the vacancy to the time of the regular election. If a by-election is held, the voters shall be the members of the
National Spiritual Assem-lies(a) After the election of the Universal House of Justices the first meeting shall be called by the member elected by the highest number of votes or, in his absence or other incapacity, by the member elected by the next highest number of votes or, in case two or more members have received the same highest number of votes, then by the member selected by lot from among those members. Subsequent meetings shall be called in the manner decided by the Universal
House of Justice.(b) The Universal House of Justice has no officers.
It shall provide for the conduct of its meetings and shall organize its activities in such manner as it shall from time to time decide.
(c) The business of theshall be conducted by the full membership in consultation, except that the Universal House of Justice may from time to time provide for quorums of less than the full membership for specified classes of business.
5. SIGNATUREThe signature of the Universal House of Justice shall be the words 'The Universal House of Justice' or in Persian 'Baytu'1-'Ad1-i-A'~am' written by ha,pd by any one of its members upon authority of the Universal House of Justice, to which shall be affixed in each case the Seal of the
Universal House of Justice.The Universal House of Justice shall provide for the recording and verification of its decisions in such manner as it shall, from time to time, judge necessary.
VI. BAHÁ'Í ELECTIONSIn order to preserve the spiritual character and purpose of Bahá'í elections the practices of nomination or electioneering, or any other procedure or activity detrimental to that character and purpose shall be eschewed. A silent and prayerful atmosphere shall prevail during the election so that each elector may vote for none but those whom prayer and reflection inspire him to uphold.
1. AU Bahá'í elections, except elections of officers of Local and National Spiritual Assemblies and committees, shau be by plurality vote taken by secret ballot.
2. Election of the officers of a Spiritual Assembly or committee shall be by majority vote of the Assembly or committee taken by secret ballot.
3. In case by reason of a tie vote or votes the full membership of an elected body is not determined on the first ballot, then one or more additional ballots shall be taken on the persons tied until all members are elected.
4. The duties and rights of a Bahá'í elector may not be assigned nor may they be exercised by proxy.
VII. THE RIGHT OF REVIEWThe Universal House of Justice has the right to review any decision or action of any Spiritual Assembly, National or Local, and to approve, modify or reverse such decision or action.
The Universal House of Justice also has the right to intervene in any matter in which a Spiritual Assembly is failing to take action or to reach a decision and, at its discretion, to require that action be taken, or itself to take action directly in the matter.
VIII. APPEALSThe right of appeal exists in the circumstances, and shall be exercised according to the procedures outlined below: 1. (a) Any member of a local Bahá'í community may appeal from a decision of his
Local Spiritual Assemblyto the National Spiritual Assembly which shall determine whether it shall take jurisdiction of the matter or refer it back to the Local Spiritual Assembly for reconsideration. If such an appeal concerns the membership of a person in the Bahá'í communtiy, the National Spiritual Assembly is obliged to take jurisdiction of and decide the case.
(b) Any Bahá'í may appeal from a decision of histo the Universal House of Justice which shall determine whether it shall take jurisdiction of the matter or leave it within the final jurisdiction of the National Spiritual
Assembly.(c) If any differences arise between two or more Local Spiritual Assemblies and if these Assemblies are unable to resolve them, any one such Assembly may bring the matter to the National Spiritual Assembly which shall thereupon take jurisdiction of the case. If the decision of the National Spiritual Assembly thereon is unsatisfactory to any ot the Assemblies concerned, or if a Local Spiritual Assembly at any time has reason to believe that actions of its National Spiritual Assembly are affecting adversely the welfare and unity of that Local Assembly's community, it shall, in either case, after seeking to compose its difference of opinion with the National Spiritual Assembly, have the right to appeal to the Universal House of Justice, which shall determine whether it shall take jurisdiction of. the matter or leave it within the final jurisdiction of the National Spiritual
Assembly.2. An appellant, whether institution or individual, shall in the first instance make appeal to the Assembly whose decision is questioned, either for reconsideration of the case by that Assembly or for submission to a higher body. In the latter case the Assembly is in duty bound to submit the appeal together with full particulars of the matter. If an Assembly refuses to submit the appeal, or fails to do so within a reasonable time, the appellant may take the case directly to the higher authority.
Page 460The institution of the Boards of Counsellors was brought into being by the Universal House of Justice to extend into the future the specific functions of protection and propagation conferred upon the Hands of the Cause of God. The members of these boards are appointed by the Universal
House of Justice.1. The term of office of a Counsellor, the number of Counsellors on each Board, and the boundaries of the zone in which each Board of Counsellors shall operate, shall be decided by the Universal
House of Justice.2. A Counsellor functions as such only within his zone and should he move his residence out of the zone for which he is appointed he automatically relinquishes his appointment.
3. The rank and specific duties of a Counsellor render him ineligble for service on local or national administrative bodies. If elected to the
Universal House of JusticeIn each zone there shall be two Auxiliary Boards, one for the protection and one for the N propagation of the Faith, the numbers of whose members shall be set by the Universal House of Justice. The members of these Auxiliary Boards shall serve under the direction of the Continental
Board of Counsellorsand shall act as their deputies, assistants and advisers.
1. The members of the Auxiliary Boards shall be appointed from among the believers of that zone by the Continental
Board of Counsellors.member shall be alloted a specific area in which to serve and, unless specifically deputized by the Counsellors, shall not function as a member of the Auxiliary Board outside that area.
3. An Auxiliary Board member is eligible for any elective office but if elected to an administrative post on a national or local level must decide whether to retain membership on the Board or accept the administrative post, since he may not serve in both capacities at the same time. If elected to the Universal House of Justice he ceases to be a member of the
Auxiliary Board.This Constitution may be amended by decision of the Universal House of Justice when the full membershin is oresent.
The members of the Universal House of Justice elected at Ridvan 1983. Left to right Mr Hugh Chance, Mr. Charles Wolcott, Mr. Borrah Kavelin, Mr. David Hofman, Mr. Glenford Mitchell, Dr. David S. Ruhe, Mr. Ian Semple, Mr. Hushmand Fatheazam, Mr. 'Au Naki4avdni.
Page 461It is a time for rejoicing. The Sun of Bahá'u'lláh is mounting the heavens, bringing into ever clearer light the contrast between the gloom, the despair, the frustrations and bewilderment of the world, and the radiance, confidence, joy and certitude of His lovers. Lift up your hearts. The Day of God is here.
THESE concluding words of the Ridvan message of the Universal House of Justice to the Ba1A'is of the world were read by Abdu'l-Bahá Rfihiyyih Kh6num when she opened the first consultative session of the fifth International Bahá'í Convention on Saturday, 30 April1983.
Simultaneously translated into Spanish and French though headphones which had been made available to the delegates, the message infused the deliberations with an observable tone of optimism.
The initial session was held the previous day at 9:00 a.m. on Friday, 29 April, in the permanent Seat of the Universal
House of Justice. Thereception concourse was filled to capacity with five hundred and ninety delegates from one hundred and nineteen National Spiritual Assemblies. Also present were eight Hands of the Cause of God � Abdu'l-Bahá Rahiyyih KMnum, Dr. Ugo Giachery, 'Ali-Akbar Funitan Dhikru'llAh Kh6dem, Dr. 'All-Muhammad VarqA,
Wil-ham Sears, John Robartsand Collis Feather-stone � the members of the Universal House of Justice, and fifty-seven Counsellors including the four Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre. A temporary dais had been constructed at the base of the lower steps of the main staircase to accommodate the balloting procedure. An enormous urn filled with hundreds of red and white spring flowers graced the dais.
The programme for the day provided for the election of the Universal House of Justice, the taking of the official Convention photograph and the celebration of the Ninth Day of Ridvan.
In the evening there was screened an audiovisual presentation on the progress of the
Seven Year Plan.The Hand of the Cause Abdu'l-Bahá RiP hiyyih Kh6num presided, opening the session with a newly-translated prayer of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í which had been distributed throughout the Bahá'í world in order that it might be recited on 28 April on behalf of the Iranian believers in special gatherings held in all 1 communities.
After additional prayers in French, Spanish and Persian had been read or chanted, delegates representing one hundred and thirty-three National
Spiritual Assembliesparticipated, either in person or by mail, in electing the nine members of the Universal House of Justice who will serve for the next five years. The members elected were: Mr. 'AU Na1~ja-vAni, Mr. Hushmand Fatheazam, Mr. Jan Semple, Dr. David S. Ruhe, Mr. Glenford Mitchell, Mr. David I{ofman, Mr. Borrah Kavelin, Mr. Charles Wolcott and Mr. Hugh F.
Chance.Powerful emotions stirred the believers when the name of the National Spiritual Assembly of fnin was announced. The entire assemblage arose as one body and stood with dignity and reverence while the first Chief Teller, Judge Dorothy Nelson, called out the names of the members of the Spiritual Assembly of I r~in and the ballots which they had mailed were cast.
All remained standing for a further minute of silent tribute. The National Spiritual Assembly of fran had sent one hundred and thirty-three red roses as its gift to its sister National Assemblies, and one rose was presented to each delegation as they left the dais.
Of the one thousand one hundred and The text of this prayer appears on p. 290.
Page 462twenty-nine ballots cast, only three were invalid.
The nine members of thewere elected by over seven thousand out of the ten thousand one hundred and thirty-four individual votes cast.
For three days � from 30 April to 2 May � plenary sessions of the Convention wete held at the Haifa Auditorium. Each session was presided over by a Hand of the Cause of God and was marked by the obvious joy of the delegates in being present at this significant event in the history of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. The Hands of the Cause suffused the proceedings with humour, fervour and spiritual vitality. The subjects discussed during these general meetings included ways and means to acquaint governments, media, leaders of thought and the general public with the aims and purposes of the Faith; the need to assist and stimulate the Bahá'ís to attain new and higher Levels of spiritual understanding and devotion; the growing importance of expansion, consolidation and proclamation of the Faith through a greater variety and a Larger volume of Bahá'í Literature, and a wider and more effective use of the media, particularly of radio, in broadcasting the divine message; what the institutions of the Cause can do to assist and encourage the development of the economic and social life of the countries of the third world despite the limited resources of the Bahá'í community; and identifying the challenging needs and opportunities of the Faith during the remaining and concluding years of the century.
In addition to the plenary sessions more than one hundred consultative sessions were held in the evening hours between and among delegations that share common problems and interests. These gatherings sometimes lasted until past 11:00 p.m. and involved as many as six or seven national delegations.
One evening was devoted to continental meetings, each of the five separate sessions being chaired by a member of the Continental
Board of Counsellors.The opening days of the delegates' stay in Haifa, 26 � 28 April, were devoted to visits to the Holy Places in 'Akka and Haifa and included the first-ever visits to the restored house of 'Abdu'lhih Pashi where the first pilgrims from the West were received by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. The delegates displayed re spect and appreciation for the meticulous work of restoration and admiration for the scrupulously faithful furnishing which had been accomplished under the careful supervision of
Amatu'I-Bahfi RiihiyyihKlThnum. A highlight of the three days was a tour of the magnificent new Seat of the Universal House of Justice which stood in the full splendour of the spring gardens covering the Bahá'í properties on Mount Carmel. The Shrine of the BTh, the Seat of the House of Justice, the International Archives building and the Monuments of the Holy Family were each illuminated by night and stood in beautiful contrast against the dark mountain.
Two J-Toiy Days were observed during the Convention period. The Ninth Day of Ridvan was celebrated in the courtyard and gardens of the Pilgrim House in the vicinity of the Shrine of the BTh, and the Twelfth Day of Ridvan in the Haram-i-Aqdas at Baha where Bahá'u'lláh is entombed. Prayers and chants uttered in nine languages included heartfelt supplications on behalf of the suffering Baha of fran. On each of the two Holy Days more than nine hundred Bahá'ís circumambulated the Holy Tombs after the respective Tablets of Visitation had been read.
A moving moment occurred at the opening of the observance of the Ninth Day of Ridvan when a special message from His Highness Malietoa Tanumafihi II, dated 6 April 1983, was read by Abdu'l-Bahá R6hiyyih
KM-mim:'Precious Members of the Universal House of Justice, Beloved Hands of the Cause, Respected Counsellors, Esteemed Delegates attending the 5th International
Bahá'í Convention � 'Mydear spiritual Brothers and Sisters, 'While our hearts turn with sorrow and grief to the events engulfing our fellow believers in the cradle of the Faith and witness with profound admiration their exemplary steadfastness and spiritual strength, our grateful hearts turn to Bahá'u'lláh in thanksgiving for the many victories that have come to the Bahá'í World.
'The completion of the magnificent permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the simultaneous rising of the two Houses of Worship in Asia and the Pacific,
Page 464the unprecedented support and recognition of the Cause by many distinguished leaders of Governments, are but a few historic milestones our generation has been fortunate to witness.
'A new momentum, a new spirit is felt in this part of the world.
In Samoa we witness a new surge of enthusiasm, activity and devotion by the believers and recognition and respect by the friends of our precious Faith. Our grateful appreciation goes to the Universal House of Justice who chose this small nation to be the recipient of that wonderful gift � the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Pacific. We are equally gratified by the support of the friends of God all over the world, even the smallest and remotest villages in all continents, that are giving for the completion of this enterprise.
~May this historic convention be a source of joy and solace to your hearts.
Our most sincere prayers and good wishes are with you during the course of your deliberations.'
Through the spontaneous and devoted efforts of two members of the World Centre staff, the Hands of the Cause and the Counsellors received the gift of a cassette recording of the address of Abdu'l-Bahá Riil3iyyih Khfinum which opened, and that of William Sears which closed, the pknary sessions, and were thus able to share with the National Conventions they were scheduled to attend a remembrance from the Holy Land.
The address of Mr. Sears was also made available to all National Assemblies in Africa.
The Hands of the Cause, with the exception of Mr. Sears who returned to Canada after addressing the closing session of the Convention, remained in Haifa for another five days to consult with the fifty-three visiting members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and the
International TeachingCentre. The members of the House of Justice participated in the consultations. On the final day the House of Justice entertained the visitors at a farewell luncheon at Mazra'ih.
Friends gathered at Pilgrim House, Haifa, for the observance during the International Convention, 1983, of the Ninth Day of Ridvan. Seen seated is Abdu'l-Bahá R4h(yyih Khdnum; standing, the
Hand of the Cause Dhikru'lldh Khddem.Call out to Zion, 0 Carmel, and announce the loyful tidings: He that was hidden from mortal eyes is come! His all-conquering sovereignty is manifest; His all-encompassing ing splendour is revealed. Beware lest thou hesitate or halt. Verily this is the Day in which both land and sea rejoice at this announcement, the Day for which have been laid up those things which God, through a bounty beyond the ken of mortal mind or heart, hath destined for revelation. Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee, and will manifest the people of Baha who have been mentioned in the Book of Names.
Bahá'u'lláh, Tablet of CarmelON 5 June 1975 the Universal House of Justice announced to all National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the Bahá'í world that 'it is now both necessary and possible to initiate construction of a building that will not only serve the practical needs of a steadily consolidating administrative centre but will, for centuries to come, stand as a visible expression of the majesty of the divinely ordained institutions of the Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh'. The building, the House of Justice explained, would be faced 'with stone from Italy, and surrounded by a stately colonnade of Corinthian columns'. It would contain, in addition to the council chamber of the House of Justice, 'a library, a concourse for the reception of pilgrims and dignitaries, storage vaults with air-purification for the preservation of original Tablets and other precious documents, accommodation for the secretariat and the many ancillary services that will be required'. The design, classically beautiful and majestic, was that of Mr. Husayn Amdnat whose appointment as architect was announced on 18 September 1973.
On 10 January 1977 the House of Justice announced that an agreement had been signed with a general contractor for the erection of the building. 'The erection of this building which, comprising five and a half storeys,' the House of Justice wrote, 'far surpasses in size and complexity any building at present in existence at the World Centre, presents a major challenge to the Bahá'í community, whose resources are already too meagre in relation to the great tasks that lie before it. But the spirit of sacrifice has been the hallmark of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh of every race and clime and as they unite to raise this second1 of the great edifices of the Administrative Centre of their Faith they will rejoice at having the inestimable privilege of taking part in a "vast and irresistible process" which Shoghi Effendi stated is "unexampled in the spiritual history of mankind" and which will "attain its final consummation, in the Golden Age of the Faith, through the raising of the standard of the Most Great Peace, and the emergence, in the plenitude of its power and glory, of the focal Centre of the agencies constituting the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh".'
Excavation of the site on the slopes of Mount Carmel began on 17 June 1975 and construction proceeded without interruption. On 29 April 1978, assisted by the architect and Mr. 'Aziz Khabfpiir, the resident construction engineer, the Hand of the Cause Abdu'l-Bahá Riihfyyih Kh6num, during the fourth International Convention, placed a casket containing Dust from the Holy Shrines of the Faith in a niche above the front entrance of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, in the outer wall of the council chamber.
Despite the outbreak of the persecution of the Bahá'í community in the cradle of the Faith and the instigation of repressive measures which resulted in virtually crippling the capacity of the believers in Ir6n to make financial contributions, heroic compensatory sacrifices were made by the followers of Bahá'u'lláh in every land which enabled the construction of the edifice � the greatest single undertaking of the Five Year Plan � to proceed without halt, and by Ridvan 1983 all was in readiness for the fifth International Convention.
The first of the majestic the Faith which was completed edifices constituting in the summer of 1957 (Universal this mighty Centre, was House of Justice).
the building for theThe Permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice being landscaped in April 1983 for the fifth
International Bahá'í Convention.Placingfirstpre-cast sections of terrace walls; 16 October1979.
Page 468Placing marble steps leading to the front entrance; 13 December1979.
Completion of exterior marble;Laying of granite tiles in reception concourse; 25 November1980.
Commencement of roof tiling;View of roof from Mount Carmel, showing tiling in process,
3 February 1981.The Seat of the House of Justice viewed from the air; 9 May 1981.
Erection of rubbed walnut balustrades at eastern end of reception concourse; 15 July1981.
~jj~ Completed decorative, domed ceiling of the Council Chamber;
15 July 1981.6. DATES OF HIST Birth of Bahá'u'lláh
November 1817Birth of the BAb20 October 1819 Declaration of the Mission of the Báb in
ShirAz 23 May 18441847 Incarceration of the Báb in Chihrfq, Adhir b4yj4n April 1848
Conference of Badasht June1848 Interrogation of the BTh in Tabrfz, Adhir b6yj~n July 1848 Martyrdom of the BTh in Tabriz kdhirb6yj6n 9Ju1y1850 Attempt on the life of N6~iri'd-Din Sh6h ...
15 August 1852in the Sfy4h-CM1 of Tihr6n August 1852
Banishment of Bahá'u'lláhto KurdistAn lOAprill854 Return of Bahá'u'lláh from
KurdistAn 19 March1856 Declaration of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh 22 April 1863
Arrival of Bahá'u'lláhArrival of the Báb's remains in the Holy Land 31 January 1899 Reincarceration of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 'Akka 20 August 1901 Commencement of the construction of the Ma~jyiqu'I-A~k6r of 'I~q6bAd 28
November 1902Release of 'Abdu'l-Bahá from His incarcera tion September 1908 Interment of the Mb's remains on Mt. Carmel
21 March 1909tion 21 March 1909 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í departure from Egypt September 1910 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í arrival in London 4
September 1911Laying of the cornerstone of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Wilmette, Ill., by
'Abdu'l-Bahá 1 May 1912Second visit of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Europe and tour through the United Kingdom, France, Germany,
Hungary and Austriato June 1913 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í return to the Holy Land 5 December 1913 Unveiling of the Tablets of the Divine Plan April1919 Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
28 November 1921 Verdictof the Islamic Court in Egypt pro-flouncing the Faith to be an independent religion 10 May 1925 Martha Root's first interview with Queen Marie of Romania
30 January 1926Resolution of the Council of the League of Nations upholding the claim of the Bahá'í community to the House of Bahá'u'lláh in
BaghdAd 4 March 1929Celebration of the Centenary of the Declaration of the Mb 23 May 1944 Inception of the Second
American Seven-YearCentenary of the Martyrdom of the BTh 91u1y1950 Completion of the Arcade and Parapet of the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel
9 July 1950Inauguration of the Centenary Celebrations of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Prophetic
Mission October 1952THE WOR Inauguration of the Ten-Year
International Bahá'í Teachingand Consolidation Plan Ridvan 1953 Bahá'í dedication of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in
Wilmette, Illinois 1 May1953 Completion of the construction of the Shrine of the Báb October 1953 Expansion of the Faith to 100 additionaL countries and islands by settlement of the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh 1953 � 1954 Completion of exterior of International
Archives Building 19574 November 1957 The holding of five Intercontinental
TeachingConferences successively in Kampala, Sydney, Wilmette,
Frankfurt, Djakarta/Singapore1958 First dependency of a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, the Bahá'í Home for the Aged, opened in Wilmette, Illinois, U.S.A
January 1959DedWation of the Mother Temple of Africa, Kampala,
Uganda 14 January1961 Dedication of the Mother Temple of the Antipodes,
Sydney, Australiaof the Nine Year Plan April 1964 Dedication of the Mother Temple of Europe, near Frankfurt, Germany
4 July 1964 Celebration1967 Opening of period of proclamation of the Cause, inaugurated by the presentation by the
Universal House of Justiceto 140 Heads of State of a special edition of The Proclama tion of Bahá'u'lláh October 1967 The holding of six Intercontinental
Conferences OctoberTanumafihi II, of Western Samoa, embraced the Faith
19 February1968 Establishment by the Universal House of Justice of the Continental Boards of
Counsellors 21 June 1968Commemoration of 100th anniversary of arrival of Bahá'u'lláh in the Holy Land ... 31 August 1968
The Bahá'í InternationalCommunity accredited with consultative status to the United Nations
Economic and Social Council27May1970 Commemoration of 100th anniversary of the death of Mirza Mihdi, 'The
Purest Branch' 23 June1970 The holding of eight Oceanic and Continental Conferences
14 August 1970 � 5 September1971 Commemoration of 50th anniyersary of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá
26 � 28 November1971 Completion of erection of Obelisk, Mt. Carmel
19 December 19711972 Adoption by the Universal House of Justice of its Constitution 26 November 1972 Publication by the Universal House of Justice of A
Synopsis and CodificationEstablishment by the Universal House of Justice of the
International Teaching1976 and January 1977 Commemoration of the Centenary of the termination of
Bahá'u'lláh's ConfinementLaying of the foundation stone of the Mother Temple of the Indian subcontinent
17 October 1977Laying of the foundation stone of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Pacific Islands
27 January 1979Commemoration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the passing of Bahá'í Kh4num, the
Greatest Holy Leaf July1982 The holding of five International Teaching Conferences between
June and September1982 Occupation by the Universal House of Justice of its
Permanent SeatOpening of the House of 'Abdu'lhh PAshA to pilgrims April 1983 / Stairs leading to the main rooms of the House of 'Abdu'lldh
Pdshd 1983.It was like unto a bag of musk. When I opened it, the fragrance of the love of God was perceived.
It is my hope that thy rivulet may develop into a sea and surge with the breezes of divine guidance, casting a wave to the East and another to the West.
Be thou deeply thankful to thy teacher and show unto her heartfelt and spiritual gratitude, because it was she who caused thee to hear the divine call and it was through her that thou didst attain to eternal grace. Thou wert earthly and thou becamest heavenly, thou wert in darkness and thou didst attain illumination; thou wert of the world of matter and thou becamest divine, and thou didst obtain a portion and share of the eternal bestowal.
Be filled with happiness and derive joy from the melody of the Supreme
Concourse!It is my hope that thou wilt follow in the path of Bahá'u'lláh. Thine honoured wtfe will be favoured at the threshold of Oneness and looked upon with the eyes of the merciful Lord. Upon thee be the Glory of the All-Glorious.
This hope of 'Abdu'l-Bahá that Adelbert Muhlschlegel would walk in the path of Bahá'u'lláh came true and he continued in this path devotedly to the end of his life. He was born on 16 June 1897 in Berlin. His father was a military doctor in the service of the King of Wurttemberg, which influenced young Adelbert's choice of profession. His mother was the daughter of the pastor of Biberach, and she passed on to her son the longing for spiritual values. Adelbert described his childhood, part of which was spent in Stuttgart, as a cheerful one. He lived for many years in a house with a large garden. His parents gave him much love and attention.
He had the example of his mother's pious and radiant soul as well as his father's discipline and encouragement in sports. In addition, he had a charming little sister who later emigrated to eastern Europe and accepted the Faith there.
During World War I Adelbertserved in the medical corps and struggled to harmonize within himself the hard facts of medicine with the longing for spiritual enlightenment. His medical studies took him to Freiburg,
Greifs-wald and Tubingen.He grew increasingly convinced that a new era was coming into being and he became a true seeker. In 1920 he received a letter from his mother in which she said that she had found a new and universal Cause, the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
He studied the few texts which were available at that time, realized that it was the truth he had been searching for, and accepted the
Faith.In 1922 he opened his first medical practice, in Stuttgart. There followed a time of inner struggle to harmonize his profession and his private life with the Teachings. He participated in the community life of Stuttgart, gave talks and wrote a melodrama for the third 'Bahá'í Congress', held in September 1924. Two years later he married Herma Weidle, They had two girls and three boys of whom one died in early childhood. Herma was a radiant mother and Adelbert's close companion in all his Bahá'í activities until she was called to the Abh6 Kingdom in 1964.1
They had the great privilege of making a pilgrimage together in 1936 and of being in the presence of Shoghi Effendi who walked alone with Adelbert for a quarter of an hour in the gardens.
Then came the time in 1937 when the Faith was prohibited in Germany.
Throughout the years of the Second World War Adelbert remained with his family in Stuttgart, as a doctor. Their apartment was bombed. In 1945, in their new home, Adelbert and Herma created a true centre for Bahá'í activities and, in addition, a place to which many young Iranian Bahá'ís turned upon their arrival in Germany. A warm atmosphere full of humour enveloped everyone.
If any material difficulty arose, as was not unusual in those post1
1 See In Memoriam', Thewar years, Adelbert would compose a song making light of the problem.
He continued to provide translations of Bahá'í literature and widened his working knowledge of a number of European languages. He wrote many articles on Bahá'í subjects that appeared in various publications.
For many years � and until January 1958 � he served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria, and was often its chairman.
In February 1952 AdelbertMflhisehiegel was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God and from 1959 devoted his entire time.
to service to the Faith.In 1957 a profound spiritual experience deeply affected him, preparing him for a life of complete dedication to service to Bahá'u'lláh.
In that year, when the beloved Guardian passed away,
Abdu'l-Bahá R6hfyyihto wash the body of Shoghi Effendi before interment.
This experience is best described in his own words: 'Something new happened to me in that hour that I cannot, even after a few days, speak of, but I can mention the wisdom and love that I felt pour over me.
In that room � which to worldly eyes would have appeared so different � there was a tremendous spiritual force such as I have oniy felt in my life in the holy Shrines. My first impression was the contrast between the body left behind and the majestic, transfigured face, a soul-stirring picture of the joyous victory of the eternal over the transient. My second impression, as I prayed and thought and carefully did what I had to do, was that in this degree of consecration to the work of God I should work all my life, and mankind should work a thousand years, in order to construct "the Kingdom" on earth; and my third thought was, as I washed each member of his body and anointed it, that I thanked those beloved hands which had worked and written to establish the Covenant, those feet that had walked for us, that mouth that had spoken to us, that head that had thought for us, and I prayed and meditated and supplicated that in the short time left to me, the members of my body might hasten to follow in his path of service; and my last thought was of my own distress because I felt how unworthy my hands were to anoint that blessed brow with attar-of-rose as the Masters of old were wont to do to their pupils; and yet what privileges, what duties fall to us, the living, to watch over what is past and mortal, be it ever so exalted. A great deal of mercy, love, and wisdom were hidden in this hour.'1 The Hand of the Cause
Adelbert Mull-schiegelwas one of the Chief Stewards of the Cause who guided it through the dark corridor from 1957 to 1963 when the
Universal House of Justicewas elected. During this time he visited many European countries, assisting in increasing the number of National
Spiritual Assembliesthere from three, in 1953, to sixteen, in 1963. In 1958 Dr. Mtihlschlegel and his wife pioneered from Stuttgart to various centres and finally to Ttibingen where Herma passed away in 1964 following a long and severe illness during which she was cared for by her husband.
A shining light had left this world to continue her services in another realm, and to assist her dear husband in this one.
After the death of his wife in 1964 Dr. Mfihlschlegel moved to Vienna to help consolidate this still struggling national corn-See See The Baha World, vol. XIII, pp. 218 � 219.
Page 613munity, The secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly was Ursula Kohler who, a year later, became his wife and close collaborator. Then in 1970, when Switzerland needed heLp to open one of its French-speaking cantons, Dr. Mflhlschlegel registered in the University of Fribourg in order to obtain his residence permit.
Soon a healthy community was established in Fribourg with his help and that of his wife. From Austria and Switzerland his travels in Europe continued. When, in 1968, the Hands of the Cause were freed to serve on a worldwide basis through the establishment of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, Dr. Miihlschlegel made his first trip to other continents. In 1969, at the request of the Universal House of Jusfice, he journeyed to Asia, visiting Persia, India, West Pakistan (now
Bangladesh) and Nepal.Having achieved his purpose in Switzerland, Dr. Mfihlschlegel and his wife moved in 1974, at the suggestion of the House of Justice, to Hoffleim, Germany, very close to the Mother Temple of Europe. Again their home became a centre of Baha hospitality enriched by the great wisdom of Dr. Mfihlschlegel who shared his knowledge with the visiting friends.
In addition, he travelled to Africa in 1971 and 1972, and to South America in 1975. During these long trips he was accompanied by his wife, and although his heart was beginning to fail, he yet felt that he could render stilL another service by moving to a new country � the source of the classical tradition so dear to his heart, namely Greece. And so in 1977, at the age of eighty, he settled, with Ursula, in their last pioneer post, Athens.
The first National SpiritualNow came a time of spiritual maturity for Dr. Miihlschlegel, The harmony of his home attracted friends from near and far, and all drew benefit from his combination of love and wisdom. Restricted in his travels, this faithful servant of the Cause devoted his time to study and to the preparation of a book concerning the achievement of maturity in the Cause. God took the pen from his hand before this work could go to the printer. However, his wife, Ursula, intends to complete for him this last effort of service. On
29 July 1980 the Handof the Cause of God Adelbert Muhl-schlegel joined his BeLoved and his loved ones in the AbhA Kingdom, leaving his wife, Ursula, to continue serving, assisted by him from on high. LIe is buried on the shores of the Mediterranean whose waters lap his rest-ing-place and the shores of the Holy Land, which he so often visited to pray at the holy Shrines. Dr. Miihlschlegel had delighted a great number of friends with his poems; in 1977 a collection of these was published by the Baha Publishing Trust of Germany, commemorating his eightieth birthday. His last poem describes his dedication to the essence of life.
A copy appears in the original German in the poetry section of this volume of the international record.
The Universal House of Justice informed the Baha world of his passing in its cable of 29 July:
WITH SORROWFUL HEARTS1909 � 1982 In every dispensation the Manifestation of God, after His ascension, has raised up special individuaLs for the service of His Cause, men
Page 614and women who have given their Lives to promoting the new Message and who have become stars in the new heaven, second only in brilliance to those original Companions, Apostles, Letters, attendant upon the Prophet Himself during His earthly sojourn.
Such a one was Paul Haney.He was born of Bahá'í parents on 20 August 1909, during the ministry of 'Abdu'1-l3abA and his mother confided in writing to Abdu'l-Bahá Rhhiyyih KhAnum 'I was carrying him when we were in the presence of the Master in the Most Great Prison in 'Akka in 1909 � and I have always felt he was destined for the Cause.'
Paul always maintained that this was his first pilgrimage.
Mary Ida Parkhurst andwere married in 1893 and became Bahá'ís in 1900. They were both of true, Godfearing, religious stock, Charles's father having been a wellknown Methodist minister in Illinois, and one of the six founders of Northwestern University, in Evanston.
His grandson, Paul, benefited from the provision in perpetuity of scholarships for descendants of the six. Not until nine years after their recognition of Bahá'u'lláh, and in the seventeenth year of their marriage, was Paul born, the only child of parents already immortalized as among the handful of first believers in the American continent. Prom the day they embraced the Faith, the whole life of the Haneys revolved about 'Abdu'l-Bahá; to serve Him, to consult Him, to be sure they were fulfilling His wishes, to receive His good pleasure, was their all in all. It was 'Abdu'l-Bahá
Who called Mary Haney'Mariam', a name she henceforth used all her life. This complete orientation to the Centre of the Covenant became foi Paul � indeed for all that generation of Bahá'í children � the primary relationship in life.
We know little of the effect of prenatal influences on the soul and not enough about those of childhood, but the indications are that it woffid be hard to overstate them. Paul's entire environment, from that first embryonic visit to the Master, was entirely Baha'i, focused on the Centre of the Covenant and later on the Guardian.
Mariam wrote, 'Almost immediately after he was born the Master gave him His own name � Abdu'l-Bahá � He also gave him the name Paul', and Corinne True confirmed, in a letter to Mariam from
Alexandria on 19 November1919, that she had asked the Master 'if He had given the name Abdu'l-Bahá to Paul as had been reported to you and He confirmed what you were given. Paul for the outside world.
His real name is AbdulMany Tablets from the Master to Mariam refer to Paul. The newly born babe is blessed, and acceptable in the Divine Kingdom.
He is a servant of the Blessed Perfection and belonged-i to Him. Thank God for having been confirmed to attain such a blessing I ask God that my namesake, Abdu'l-Bahá, may grow and develop day by day and that his radiant face may be illumined with the light of the greatest bestowal. It was also noted that.
thy dear son, Paul, feeleth greatly attracted to the Kingdom of Abhd. This news imparteth the utmost ]oy and happiness Send Paul to school; I hope he will become a verdant and fresh plant in the Abhd Paradise With such showering of grace from the Centre of the Covenant and with such spiritual antecedents it was natural to expect great things from him.
Paul fulfilled those hopes � even as a child.His red hair � inherited from his mother � his blue eyes, frank and open countenance and cheerful disposition, even his unusual height and gangling gait, delighted people and endeared him to them. May Maxwell wrote to Mariam as Paul's fifteenth birthday approached, tell me if Paul has a tennis racquet because I would like to give him one on his birthday.
I have a peculiar love for that dear, blessed boy.'
His mother adored him.who 'loves everyone'; '. he is not mine any more for I have given him to the Most Great Cause.' The boy's father died when Paul was barely ten years old and Mariam raised him within the aura of her own single-minded devotion to the Master.
She raised him alone and under great financial stress, but surrounded him with such tender care and infused into him such complete dedication to the Centre of the Covenant, and to the Covenant itself, that service tQ the Great Cause became the one purpose of his life.
The loss of his father undoubtedly helped to develop in him that sense of responsibility
Page 615There is a touching story from his early youth demonstrating this feeling in relationship to his beloved mother.
On Paul's entering CentralHigh School, one of Mariam's neighbours said to her, 'Your lovely son will not come out of school as good as he is now.' Shortly after that Paul assured his mother that she need never worry about him; he was not attracted by the wild life which so many youth feel to be a necessary proof of their manliness. There was no trace of sanctimoniousness in this attitude; he was just not attracted. There was a pure-heartedness about him which seemed an essential, unforced part of his nature. He enjoyed being decent and spiritually-minded and concerned with others. The Master's bestowal and his mother's loving education caused him to flourish spiritually. It would be hard to overestimate Mariam's influence, not only upon the development of his character but upon his chief interest in life, for she was totally involved in the work of the Cause in North America, being secretary of the National Teaching Committee from 1920 � when Paul would have been eleven � for several years onward, and took an active part in the conferences, Conventions and summer schools. In fact the first Convention for Amity between the
Coloured and White Raceswas held in Washington, D.C., in May 1921, where the Haneys lived. Mariam had asked the Master where she and her son could best serve the Cause, and He sent her a message through Corinne True to go to Washington, where she found a small apartment, of which she wrote, '.
we are both very happy and our one room apartment is a haven of rest for us both .' As a youth Paul formed a close friendship with Mary Maxwell � later Abdu'l-Bahá Riihfyyih Kh4num � whom he met with other Bahá'í children at the Green Acre Summer School, Conventions, and on other Bahá'í occasions.
Before going to Northwestern University, Paul obtained work in a government office in Washington, and attended night school. When he was twenty-two years old he was appointed to the National Teaching Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, an appointment which drew forth from May Maxwell the following note: 'As for you dear Paul I feel that you bring to the National field of teaching not oniy the steadfast faith, the spirit of devotion and sacrifice which so characterized the older generation of Baha and on which foundation our beloved Cause has been established in America, but the forward vision, the worldwide horizon, the thrilling life and motion of which our youthful Guardian is the Head and
SourceThe Bahá'í Magazine of January 1934 contains an article entitled 'The
Economic OrganizationHaney, M.B.A., and is described as 'written by a young Bahá'í student of economic problems Paul was by now a professional economist, having graduated from Northwestern University.
At this time his life revolved around his professional duties and active service to the promotion of the
Cause in North America.He was a member of the first National Youth Committee in the United States and was constantly active in the work of the Cause.
In 1946 he was elected to membership of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. Canada established its own National Spiritual Assembly in 1948 and
Page 616Paul remained a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, serving as its chairman from 1950 to 1957. During these years he served the National Spiritual Assembly in innumerable ways. He was chairman of the Temple Trustees
Construction Committeefor the completion of the interior of the Baha House of Worship in Wilmette; he represented the National Spiritual Assembly at the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada; in 1951 he represented the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States at the formation of the Regional
National Spiritual Assemblyof South America, and in 1953 at the formation of the Regional National
Spiritual Assembly of Italyand Switzerland. Paul's Baha background, his deep knowledge of the Cause, his upright and distinguished character lent prestige to the
National Spiritual Assemblyof the United States, while at the same time his services as its chairman increased his own distinction in the Bahá'í world.
It therefore came as no surprise when, on 19 March 1954, the following cable came to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United
States: ANNOUNCE ALLPaul's reply to the Guardian was: OVERWHELMED OUTPOURING
BELOVED GUARDIAN'S BOUNTYFor the next three years Paul Haney's life was one of constant service in many parts of the world.
In April 1956, on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, he attended the Convention of South and West Africa; in April 1957 he represented the Guardian at the first Alaskan Convention in Anchorage, where he read the message from the Guardian to that Convention. A letter from the Guardian to Mariam, during these years, contained the following passage in the section written by the Guardian's secretary:
'He Shoghi Effendi]hopes that dear Paul will ever-increasingly be able to render the Cause important services. Surely you and his father in the Abh4 Kingdom must rejoice to see how your cherished hopes are being fulfilled in this beloved son, who is so devoted, and has the interests of the Faith so completely at heart.'
Paul Haney, in his personal life, was unassuming, warmhearted, friendly and even-tempered. He was a founder and one of the most popular members of the Caesaria Golf Club, where he often acted as judge in competitions and tournaments. One of the latter was an annual event for a trophy presented by the Bahá'í community of Haifa.
In the very early 1940s, when he attended the Green Acre Summer School, he delivered a message from his beloved mother to Helen Margery Wheeler, a Bahá'í from Worcester, Massachusetts.
They were married in 1942 on 15 July, �at Worcester, and went to live in Washington, not far from Mariam.
They remained there until their removal to theHaney passed to the AbhA Kingdom. An account of her life may be read in The Bahá'í World, vol. XIV, pp. 346 ff.
The year 1957 brought to all the Hands of the Cause of God the greatest crisis � and the climax � of their lives. The sudden passing of the beloved Guardian, in London, on 4 November of that year, brought instant tragedy and dismay to the heart of every Baha'i. But it was the Hands of the Cause who bore the main brunt of that bludgeon stroke, for they had been nominated, in the last message penned by Shoghi Effendi,
'Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh'sUpon them fell the burden, while bearing the stress of their own unendurable heartache, of preserving the unity of the Bahá'í world, reassuring the friends everywhere and encouraging them to maintain, unabated, the magnificeHt forward march of the Cause of God which had been built up during the first four years of the beloved Guardian's
World Crusade. Theirstory is told in other places.1 But that was their day of immortality, when they rendered historic and effective service to the whole of humanity. After the funeral in London they gathered in Haifa, and in the Mansion at Baha, to take up their glorious labours. One of their decisions The Bahá'í World, vol. XIV, pp. 431 � 435; see also Hofman, A Commentary on the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Epilogue, Rev. ed. (1982).
Page 617was to elect nine of their members to remain in the Holy Land and serve at the World Centre of the Faith to continue the Guardian's work and bring to a successful conclusion his World Crusade with the election, in 1963, of the Universal House of Justice. Paul Haney was one of the nine elected; they were known as Hands of the Cause of God Residing in the Holy Land.
The great change for Paul entailed considerable sacrifice. Not only would he be separated from his beloved mother, but, in his professional life he was within sight of appointment to a very high and well-paid position.
It is recorded that when requested to serve in the Holy Land he bowed his head and immediately agreed. A letter from
Mariam to Abdu'l-BaháR6hiyyih KhAnum dated 12 April 1958 reads as follows: 'The beloved Paul is so pure-hearted, so conscientious, so noble a soul that when this great blessing and honor came to him � that is, of being one of the nine Hands of the Baha Cause to abide in Haifa � he said he could not live with himself had he not accepted this tremendous spiritual bounty naturally I miss Paul � the pure-hearted � but I believe I am with him daily in his service.
Distance is no real separation when there is understanding and love.'
From now on Paul's entire life and total energies were concentrated on service to the Cause of God. He prepared the definitive statement on the Hands of the Cause of God and their activities during the interregnum between the passing of the Guardian and the election of the Universal House of Justice, which forms one of the most important items in the monumental vol. XIII of The Bahá'í World, and he played his part in composing the messages of explanation and encouragement which flowed from the Custodians, as the nine Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land became known. He travelled the world as representative of the Custodians, attending
National Conventionsin long-estab-lished Bahá'í communities and those inaugurating new National
Spiritual Assemblies.in 1963, celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh and the victorious culmination of the World Crusade, he presented a significant paper on the importance of the World Centre of the Faith.
One of the first actions of the Universal House of Justice was to invite five Hands of the Cause to remain in the Holy Land for certain specified duties and as advisers to the House of Justice.
Paul Haney was one of the five. One of his first appointments was to the Editorial Committee responsible for gathering information from the entire Bahá'í world and rewriting and editing it for distribution to all National Spiritual
Assemblies. At Ridvan 1965he attended the fifty-sixth Annual Convention of the United States Baha community as the official representative of the Universal
House Qf Justice. Andthereafter, Paul Haney, Hand of the Cause of God, distinguished, incorruptible, adamantine in his defence of the Covenant, sound in his judgement and greatly loved by Bahá'ís everywhere, travelled throughout the world as representative of the Universal House of Justice, visiting Bahá'í communities and their institutions to advise, encourage and instruct. He attended diplomatic and governmental functions in Jerusalem as representative of the Bahá'í World Centre.
Together with other Hands of the Cause he played a great part in the development of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, and later the International Teaching Centre, representing the Universal House of Justice at the inaugural gathering of the Continental
Board of Counsellorsfor Asia, held in New Delhi in 1981. He took part in all four International Conventions held during his lifetime, and was chairman at the opening session of the 1968 event.
In August 1982 he represented the House of Justice at the Continental Conference in Quito, Ecuador, followed by a meeting with the
Board of Counsellorsfor the Americas and attendance at the satellite conferences in
Costa Rica and Panama.On his return to the Holy Land he delighted the Bahá'ís at the World Centre with his characteristically jovial, spiritually uplifting and informative account of the journey.
On 3 December 1982 he met death suddenly and instantly in an automobile accident. The Universal House of Justice sent the following cable to the Bahá'í world:
WITH STRICKEN HEARTS ANNOUNCE1926 � 1979 Enoch Olinga came from a family of devout Christian converts taught by the Church Missionary Society, now the Native Anglican Church of Uganda. His people lived in the Teso northeastern part of the country and belonged to the Atesot tribe, of the clan of Aatekok or Iraraka. His father, Samusan Okadakina, of the village of Tilling in Ngora County, volunteered in 1920 to take Christianity to Soroti County where he became a catechist in the church, and where, in 1921, he married, according to church ritual, Eseza Iyamitai, who gave birth on 24 June 1926, in r4 MY') QP
� ~t F C ' (4�~ a 7) ,,(U / F; K The fragment of paper lining from a biscuit tin upon which Mr. Baha Vu]ddni wrote a last message to his family before his martyrdom on 27 September 1979 in Mahdbdd.
Qiblih,1 and to the astonishment of his fellow prisoners offered prayers.
At 3:30 p.m. on 27 September 1979, Mr. Vujd4ni and three other prisoners who were not Bahá'ís were taken from the prison to an adjacent courtyard where repeated shots were heard to ring out.
The bodies of the executed men were unceremoniously left in the yard of the nearby clinic and their families were instructed to remove them for burial.
A notice was posted next to the clinic on which there appeared the names of the dead prisoners and the charges on which they had been tried. 'Bahá'í religion' was written beside Mr. Vuj-dhni's name in the place where the charge was set out.
Later it was noticed that someone had drawn a line through the words 'Bahá'í religion'.
Thus it was that Baha VujdAni was called upon to tread the path of martyrdom as had thousands of his fellow Bahá'ís before him in the Land of Bahá'u'lláh's birth.
1 The direction toward which the faithful turn in prayer.
The Tomb of Bahá'u'lláhApproximately two thousand people � most of whom were not Baha � attended the funeral to honour a man whose kind demeanour and reputation for honesty had attracted the friendship and respect of the community of MahAbhd.
FRANZ POLLINGERAs a small boy Franz Pdllinger was taken from Kiagenfurt, Austria, where he was born in 1895, to live with his grandparents in the
Page 701had lost his father very early in life, and his mother was forced to work in the city to support the family. It soon became apparent that Franz could not see well. During the seven years he was able to attend school, he had great difficulty with subjects requiring use of his eyes. Later, because of poor eyesight, he was unable to retain any of the many jobs he attempted � working in a foundry, as a construction worker or as the pit boy in a mine. Pie also worked for a time as a painter, as a fire boy in a coffee house, and in a theatre, until he finally found a position in the household of a nobleman in lower Austria. In his search for an ophthalmologist who could correct his failing eyesight, Franz went to Munich in 1914. The doctors in Germany were no more successful in curing his condition than those in Austria had been. He therefore made himself a monocle from a flashlight lens and was thus able to read a little with one eye.
While working in the household of the Bavarian envoy in Stuttgart, Mr. P6llinger met Mr. Bauer, the household masseur, who befriended him. During a Sunday afternoon visit to the Bauer family, Franz mentioned that truth was more important to him than anything else.
Mrs. Bauer told him that as a seeker of truth he should know that Christ had returned and had suffered imprisonment and exile for forty years. He was intrigued and asked to hear more. That Sunday was 23 May 1916, the anniversary of the Declaration of the BTh. As Mr. Pdllinger himself later related, 'At home I of course read the booklet, and those Words of Bahá'u'lláh, the Words of Wisdom, impressed me greatly. "My God," I thought, "how wide I can open my lungs to the air, as if my lungs were filled with ethereal air!" That was what I felt; I was electrified by the beauty of those Words. Thus I received the Bahá'í teachings � that was my commencement.'
Franz used the remaining time before returning to Vienna to study the
Bahá'í Writings� in spite of his disability � and to visit deepening classes and firesides. He received answers to his many questions from Miss Alma Knobloch' who was his true spiritual teacher. Lie wrote to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and in return received a short Tablet in which the Master assured him of His prayers that he be able to successfully overcome self, acquire divine perception and be vivified by the eternal Glad Tidings. When he left Stuttgart to return to Vienna, his only solace was that in Vienna he was closer to the Holy Land and thus to 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Neither the fact that he was completely alone nor the severity of the period following World War I lessened his courage or diminished his love for the Cause.
In a Tablet to Alma Knobloch, who had written of Franz Pdllinger's deteriorating eyesight and of his search for an ophthalmologist, 'Abdu'l-Bahá responded that He prayed Mr. Pdllinger's eyes would be so enlightened that he would become a discoverer of reality in all stages of life. Franz recounted, 'I then realized that my earthly eyes were not of the same importance as the eternal eyes, the eyes of the soul, and that 'Abdu'l-Bahá had opened my eyes through His believers, through Ills friends. It was a great exultation!'
In the period that followed, during which702 THE flA}iA'i WORLD Franz found the first waiting souls in Vienna and in St. Veit an der Glan, he received his second Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Bahá: '0 thou who art thirsty for the water of Heavenly Life! Thy letter has been received. Its contents imparted great joy because they were expressive of firmness and steadfastness.
'I feel great kindness toward thee and supplicate eternal endearment and everlasting life for thee so that thou mayest in those regions raise the ca~1 of the Kingdom, delivering the people from the obscurities of the world of nature through the hght of guidance, that thou mayest, like the Egyptian messenger, become the bearer of the garment of the heavenly Joseph, giving light to the eyes of the Jacobs and perfuming nostrils with the fragrances of the mantle of the Joseph of the Kingdom.
'Give the divine Glad Tidings to the friends in Vienna, so that they may attain to eternal blessings, obtain new life and acquire limitless rapture and joy.'
'These regions are greatly in need of the heavenly Glad Tidings because all have through the severity of the calamities of the war, become disappointed, withered, faded and almost dead. So they are in need of the breath of life. This breath of hfe is simply the heavenly
Glad Tidings. Nothingcan relieve them from this sorrow, grief, depression, disappointment except the divine Glad Tidings.
Because of his servitude and his love for Bahá'íwas the magnet that drew a number of thirsting souls to the Ocean of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh. These souls formed the basis of the Viennese Bahá'í community. Later, at an institute for the blind where he learned basket weaving, he found a number of souls whose spiritual eyes were open and who recognized the truth of Bahá'u'lláh's message.
The first Local SpiritualAssembly of Vienna was formed in 1926. In the meantime, through Franz's indefatigable efforts, a fledgling Bahá'í community was established in Graz.
During this period, MarthaFranz was always ready to assist Cited, in this translation, in Star of the West, vol. 13, no. 10, January 1923, p. 281, where the name of the recipient is erroneously given as
Pallinger.where he could: he organized public Lectures, firesides and deepening classes, and found ways to introduce Martha Root to Austria's leading public figures. Although there was widespread unemployment in Vienna, he did not hesitate to leave his job whenever he felt called upon to serve.
After Shoghi Effendi assumed his office as Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, he addressed Mr. Pdllinger in many letters as 'My dearest Franz', 'My dear coworker', or 'My dear and precious coworker'..
A postscript penned in his own hand to a letter written on his behalf on 7 September 1926 states,
'My dearest Franz: YourContinue in your steadfast heroic efforts and never forget that your exemplary services are engraved in characters of gold upon the radiant scroll in the AbM Kingdom. You occupy a warm and abiding place in my heart. Your unsparing efforts are drawing you closer and closer to the heart of the CAuse.
You are destined to render memorable services to our beloved Cause. If you but persevere, doors will be opened to your face, obstacles will be fast removed and you will witness the harvest for which you are preparing so devotedly.
Write me in full and frequently for I thirst for the glad-tidings of your letters.
I will continue to pray for you from all my heart.'
The Guardian's love and encouragement stimulated him to sacrifice even more of himself for the
Cause of God.1935. From that time they trod the path of service and sacrifice together, with faces shining and their beings full of humour. However, the times were deteriorating noticeably as society lost its equilibrium and order vanished. Soon all meetings had to be registered with the police who sent a plainclothes policeman to note all occurrences.
The right of assembly was suspended entirely in 1937, which precluded further Baha meetings.
This was the beginning of a very sad time for the Austrian Baha community.
As most of the Baha in Austria were of Jewish ancestry, those who did not leave the country were deported to concentration camps. Mr. and Mrs. Pdllinger attempted to help wherever possible, at no little danger to themselves. At the end of World War II only a small number of Bahá'ís remained in Austria.
With Undaunted courage they began to rebuild the community.
Franz even attempted to have the Bahá'í Faith officiaBy recognized by the occupying powers.
Before the Guardian died he had stipulated. that the National Spiritual Assembly of Austria should be formed in 1959. The necessary foundations were laid through the formation of the Local
Spiritual Assembliesof Graz Salzburg, Innsbruck and Linz whose establishment was aided through the efforts of pioneers from I ran, the Federal Republic of Germany and the United
States of America. Whenthe first National Spiritual Assembly was elected at Ridvan 1959, Franz Pdllinger was one of the nine members.
In 1963, after forty-seVen years, Franz's dearest wish was fulfilled. Alma Knobloch had taught him a prayer which expressed the desire to make a pilgrimage to 'Akka and Haifa. When the first Universal House of Justice was elected, Franz Pdllinger was present.
His dream was fulfilled, his patience rewarded.In the following years there were very few activities in which he did not take part, whether summer or winter schools, seminars or firesides, youth camps or teaching activities. His humorous contributions, filled with the varied experience of his life, enriched every meeting.
At the close of the Five Year Plan (1973 � 1978), as the Austrian Bahá'í community reached a new level of development, he was able to witness the fruits of his lengthy and untiring effort in the service of the Cause of
Bahá'u'lláh.In the final weeks of his life, Franz Pdllinger felt as if he were being called home. At last he could hasten to meet 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, whose mandate to spread the divine Glad Tidings in Austria he had never neglected. After sixty-three years of loyal service, his shining soul winged its way back to its Creator. Our prayers accompany it.
KAMHIZ PoOsTcHIa Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for having pioneered to the Island of Mauritius in 1953,1 passed on to the Abh6 Kingdom on 29 October 1979 in San Mateo, California. She was laid to rest in the beautiful hills overlooking an expanse of the great Pacific
Ocean.Oceans were not a barrier to Ottilie's adventuresome spirit. She was to cross and recross the Atlantic, the Pacific and the Indian Oceans by both sea and air.
She set goals for herself and went about accomplishing them regardless of the perils she might face.
As a young girl she left her native Germany to seek adventure in the United States where she settled in Chicago and managed a building in which she rented rooms. One of her tenants, Betty Powers, had in her room a photograph of 'Abdu'l-Bahá which aroused Ottilie's pass-lug interest � she thought Him a Holy Man � but through changing her job Ottilie lost contact with the Baha until 1941 when the distress and loneliness occasioned by World War II caused her to be drawn irresistibly to the Bahá'í Temple.
After attending meetings conducted by Melvin Newport and
Albert Windust, Ottiliegave her heart and life to Bahá'u'lláh. 'The Guardian will pray that, in the days to come, you may render the Faith many lasting and noteworthy services,' Shoghi Effendi's secretary wrote to her on his behalf on 10 December
1942. Almost immediately Ottiliearose to pioneer in Arizona to fill a goal of the Seven Year Plan in that State. From here she moved to San Mateo, California, where her dear Bahá'í friend, Mrs. Lisette Berger, made her welcome. San Mateo became the base to which she would return from her various international pioneering posts when necessity dictated. As a naturalized citizen of the United States she could not be away from the country for more than five years without losing her citizenship.
Ottilie was present at the International Conference in Chicago in 1953 when the beloved Guardian launched the Ten Year Crusade.
All hearts were touched and a flood of volunteers arose in response to the call for pioneers.
But Ottilie was always a person of action and she was one of the first to put her affairs in order and leave. She stored some of herbelongings with Mrs. Berger and departed Ottilie Rhein, named by the beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá'í World, p. 57.
Page 704in Uganda but the Guardian had specified the settlement of virgin areas so she determined to go to Mauritius, an island mentioned by name in 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í Tablets of the Divine Plan and one 'whose name was enshrined in Baha history 'during the Heroic Age as the source, two years before 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í arrival in America, of a contribution towards the purchase of the site of the Mother Temple of the West'.1
She pored over maps, atlases and encyclopedias but could discover very little about the island except that it had a mixed population, that sugar cane was the chief crop raised and that French and English were spoken. But that was enough for her, and excitedly she boarded a ship at Mombasa after having visited Kenya, Uganda and Tangaiiyika (now Tanzania).
She arrived in a heavy downpour on 11 Novembercable � ASSURE RHEIN LOVING APPRECIATION � Was relayed to her on 4 December by Paul E. Haney, then chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States.
1 The Universal HouseOttilie's utter trust in Bahá'u'lláh enabled her to overcome the difficulties she encountered. She rejoiced at obtaining a visa which was valid for six months and which later was extended to three years plus three months.
With the assistance of a German missionary she found a house which-offered offered the barest necessities but which provided a setting for Bahá'í meetings.
Her first shopping expedition, occasioned by the urgent need to acquire mosquito netting, led her to a shop whose proprietor, Mr. Him Lim, a Chinese, became the first resident of Mauritius to accept the Faith. When she had enrolled two Bahá'ís and had interested a number of inquirers, Mr. Jalhl Nakhjav6ni,2 and later another Persian believer, visited the island and assisted with the teaching work. By 1956, just before her visa expired, there were forty Baha'is, enough to form three Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Although some vacillated at the last moment, Ottilie was determined not to be deprived of victory.
By sheer determination she confirmed some new believers and induced others to change residence with the result that there were established � as she later recorded � 'three Local
Spiritual Assembliesfor the three years of teaching'. A strong and self reliant foundation had been laid. This victory made it possible for Mauritius to send a delegate to the historic first Regional Convention convened at the farm of Mr. and Mrs. William Sears, near Johannesburg, South Africa, at Ridvan 1956. ButOttilie's service in Mauritius was at an end. Her request for an extension of her visa was refused although she called upon the Governor who listened sympathetically to her appeal and was attentive to her explanation of the Faith. This same gentleman � Sir Seewoosagur Ramgoolam � later became Prime Minister and addressed the Baha Oceanic Conference held in Mauritius in August 1970. Ottilie had the bounty of attending that gathering and of rebeiving his smile of recognition.
After leaving Mauritiusshe remained in Kampala for a time lending much needed assistance in the production of Bahá'í literature until it became necessary for her to return to the United States to safeguard her citizenship.
But her restless spirit could not be idle 2 See 'In Memoriam', p. 797.
Page 705when the Faith needed pioneers. By 1959 she had saved enough money to make a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and then settle in Chile where, by living frugally, she was able to remain from 1960 until 1963. Chile was her last international venture, but in her home community of San Mateo she could always be depended upon to contribute her share to every activity. One of her greatest joys was to keep in touch with her Bahá'í friends throughout the world.
On 27 December 1978 the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Mauritius wrote to Ottilie Rhein, addressing her as 'Spiritual Mother of Mauritius', and conveying 'deep Jove and gratitude on the occasion of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of the Faith in Mauritius It is highly significant that God's Message for this day was planted in this island by a lady.
We turn our hearts in thankfulness to Bahá'u'lláh that you were chosen for this and we pray to Him that He may shower all His blessings on you and bring you eternal joy and happiness. Present generations may not be aware of the import of such a feat by you, but your name will forever be associated with the Faith in Mauritius and future genenitions will befittingly mark the event of your first coming to Mauritius.
It may not be without meaning that when you landed in Mauritius on that morning of Sunday, the 11th November 1953, it was raining heavily � the happy presage of a bountiful harvest.
And again, on 21 February 1979, 'We were deeply touched to read the copy of the letter the Universal House of Justice addressed to you on the 29th November 1978 and appreciate your kind thoughts for Mauritius. It is incredible that a quarter of a century has elapsed since you arrived in Mauritius.
The seed you planted has grown and it has no doubt been sustained by your love, devotion and sincerity in the Cause of God We have now seventy-four Local
Spiritual AssembliesOttilie remained in spirit a true pioneer right to the end. In her life she manifested the seven qualifications of the divinely enlightened soul mentioned by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in one of His Tablets: knowledge of God, faith, steadfastness, truthfulness, uprightness, fidelity and evanescence or humility.
She was honoured at the time of her passing with the following cable from the Universal House of
Justice:One must see the example of sincere love, patience, discipline and humility in order to believe in the existence of these qualities. Mabel Adelle Sneider possessed them all, and more. She was born in Casper, Wyoming, U.S.A. on 8 September 1901 and grew up on a cattle ranch in Thermopolis, Wyoming, acquiring a deep love for horses and the outdoors. After graduating from high school she attended Fort
Collins AgriculturalCollege and then studied nursing which was her lifelong profession. Mabel declared her faith in Bahá'u'lláh in 1946 in Panama where she worked at the Gorgas Hospital. When asked why she became a Baha'i, she simply stated, 'It made sense.' From the moment she embraced the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh she devoted her time and effort to furthering its progress. Putting her pioneering spirit into action, she made long-range plans to pioneer for the Faith after she retired from nursing.
Mabel was adventurous but practical in nature, and she loved to travel.
Page 706In 1953 Mabel had the privilege of making her pilgrimage and of meeting the beloved Guardian.
Dorothy Baker and MillieThe friendship that Mabel formed with these two outstanding believers exerted an influence which lasted the rest of her life.
One of the many services that Mabel performed for the Faith in Panama was that of assisting in the selection and purchase of the original land for the Panama House of Worship, a parcel that was later exchanged for the present Temple site. She went as a travelling teacher to Africa and to Central and South America. She retired after thirty years of service at the Gorgas Hospital and, on 17 July 1958, left Panama for the island of Tarawa, Gilbert Islands (now Kiribati), in the South Pacific, where she remained for fifteen years. Knowing what to expect when she reached her destination, she purchased a hand-operated machine for making cement blocks, a set of directions for making a native-style stove, and a bicycle which was her sole means of transportation. With the blocks she built herself a house based somewhat on an African model, and constructed a stove. Her residence on the island of Bikenibeu became widely known as 'Mabel's house'. Although there were discouraging moments, she wrote in March 1964, 'There have been rare cases when, having talked with someone of the Faith, you felt that great spirit, and then the feeling of having to come back into this world and walk on the roads again. You live in hopes of capturing these moments again How blessed, though, I am, for I do have the love and loyalty of many and they really love the Faith. Their lives have been completely changed and they are willing to devote their entire time to the teaching of the Faith. I am certain they are very dear to Bahá'u'lláh. This is one of the reasons you feel that this is your home and where you hope to stay.'
During her first few years in the islands Mabel spent most of her time travelling to every island to meet the Bahá'ís and help them establish the Faith.
She served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Gilbert Islands which was formed for the first time in 1967 and held the offices of secretary or treasurer. She helped purchase the site for the
National Hazfratu'1-Quds.She was twice a delegate to the International Convention in Haifa for the election of the Universal
House of Justice. Hermarriage in August 1965 to Mr. Tebakasro Aritiera ended in divorce in 1975 at which time she reverted to the use of her maiden name.
The need for medical attention forced Mabel to return to the United States in 1975. Even with severely impaired eyesight she vigorously served the Faith in Huntsville, Texas, whose lapsed Local Spiritual Assembly was formed again in 1978 with Mabel as chairman. The friends in Huntsville felt blessed to have her in their midst.
She had an introverted personality. She was a listener and rarely spoke, but when she did she was mild, loving and honest; she had a childlike quality in her manner.
Mabel served Bahá'u'lláh'sCause to her utmost. Her intense love for the Faith and her determination to get things done were an inspiration to all who knew her. A few weeks before her passing, the local newspaper ran a picture of the Mother Temple of the West and featured the Bahá'í Faith as the religion of the week.
As Mabel looked at the photograph of the House of Worship she remArked, 'I have done everything that I wanted to do for the
Page 7071979, in her seventy-ninth year, she passed away as the result of a stroke.
~Iusayn Halabi1921 � 1979 This believer, whose death occurred on 17 December 1979, was named a Knight of
Bahá'u'lláh by ShoghiEffendi for his service in pioneering to Hadhramaut in February 1954.
HELEN HAZEL WJLKS1903 � 1980 Helen Wilks was born on 31 March 1903 in Anderson, Indiana, U.S.A. Her father died in 1919, whereupon she went to live with an aunt and uncle in Bellingham, Washington, where she completed her education and became a teacher.
Her first position was in a one-room schoolhouse in Glacier, Washington, near Mt. Baker. Many of her students were older than she was. She would walk to school through the snow with her legs bound in burlap bags. Before the students arrived it was her duty to start the fire in the wood-burning stove, chop enough wood for the following day, then sweep the floor.
During the depression, in the early 1930s, Helen worked as a clerk in a store. A coworker, Anna Reed, walked across the aisle and whispered in her ear, 'Did you know Christ has returned?'
Instead of dismissing this as the remark of a fanatic or crank, Helen thought: 'If He has, where is He?' Helen's daughter, Phylis Kiehn, takes up the story: 'And so the seed was planted. Mother listened, studied, and decided that this strange new religion was not for her. She packed the Ford with her belongings and set off for Phoenix, Arizona, but, as I recall, we weren't there very long before she exclaimed that she must know more about this religion.
She left us in Phoenix and hitchhiked all the way back to Seattle, a distance of about 1,600 miles, in order to locate and further question Anna Reed. In 1934 mother became a confirmed Bahá'í and started a children's class at the Bahá'í Centre in the old Arcade Building in Seattle. The class was her first � I was "the children".
After she remarried in 1936 the class comprised myself and my stepbrother.'
William S. WiIks became a dedicated Bahá'í not Long after his marriage to Helen. Over the years the couple moved seven times in the Seattle area in order to help establish new Local Spiritual Assemblies.
At the London Congressin 1963 they made their plans for their greatest move � as pioneers to Africa. Would that space permitted the recounting of all their experiences in this new wnture! On their first teaching trip, much to their astonishment, they found themselves snowbound for three days in southern Africa. William � or 'Bill' as he was known � died on 14 December 1965, two days before his sixty-fifth birthday, and is buried in Mbabane, Swaziland.
Helen survived him by fifteen years which were devoted to ceaseless teaching trips in some nine or more countries in the southern Africa area.
Her passing on 3 January 1980, following a massive heart attack, ended a life of great service on this earth. Counsellor Shidan Fat'he-Aazam, alluding to the wish of a true soldier to die with his boots on, wrote of her:
Page 708'Well, our dear Helen, whom we alLknow was a real and true soldier in the Army of Bahá'u'lláh, ifiways had her boots on for fear she might have to face her Lord without them. Those of us who knew her and worked with her could bear witness to her love, her devotion and her self-sacrifice for our beloved Faith.
She gave herself totally, body and soul, to Bahá'u'lláh.
Every step she took, every breath she drew, was to promote the Faith of God. At the age of seventy-six her spirit and her energy were youthful � so full of happiness, life and vitality. Her contribution to our beloved Faith, both in her native land and in the continent of her adoption, Africa, was tremendous. She was an indefatigable teacher of the Faith � always on the go, constantly seeking contacts and giving the Message During the last fourteen years of her life Helen served the Faith as a member of the Auxiliary Board for Propagation, first in Swaziland and then in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), and was sent by the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa on special projects in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zambia, Malawi,
SeychelLes and Mauritius.In all these places she will be remembered with deep love, admiration, awe and gratitude. In January 1980 Gary Worth, a fellow pioneer to Zimbabwe, paid tribute: 'Her spirit and enthusiasm, her energy, her sense of fun and laughter, and her desire to teach the multitudes about Bahá'u'lláh were unmatched by any other person I have met in my lifetime despite age, failing health and poor eyesight, Helen had not decreased her activities on behalf of the Faith in the slightest bit. She begged for and scraped up valuable petrol coupons so that she could continue her teaching work in this wartorn country. She spent most of her small pension on petrol for her car.
In this way she continued to bring the Bahá'í teachings to the people of this region through her never-failing spirit and love of life On the very day of her heart attack, Helen made an exhausting teaching trip to at least eleven areas and on her last evening attended a meeting of a local Bahá'í Women's Club.
On her deathbed she sent a message to her teaching companion, Mr. Carlos Kaupo, an assistant Auxiliary Board member, encouraging him to continue teaching. lie has
Helen Hazel Wilksbeen Helen's eyes and driver and teaching companion these past several months and deserves great praise for his efforts in assisting her.
I am not qualified to speak of Helen Wilks's valiant services to the Faith, because she had reached a level of spirit and understanding which I do not comprehend.
But with her passing, I am rededicating my life Helen's devoted services earned her the following cable sent by the International Teaching Centre to the Continental Board of Counsellors in
Africa on 7 January 1980:of Justice stated, 'It is the hope of the Universal House of JusticQ that the selfless and sacrificial efforts
Page 709of friends like Helen Wilks may serve to inspire other friends in their aspirations for services to the Threshold of the Blessed Beauty, and to guide them in what they can achieve by devoting their resources to the advancement of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.'
Helen's wish to 'die with her boots on' was granted.
After her passing, comfort was taken in the knowledge that she took her flight to the Abh~i Kingdom the way she always wished, dying in service to God.
(Based on a memoir prepared by ELAINE EJLERS for the Continental Board of
Counsellors in Africa)1895 � 1980 Lsfandiyar Ghobad was born into a Zoroastrian family in 1895 in Yazd, IrAn. He was brought up in surroundings which were coloured by deep-rooted religious orthodoxy
Isfandiyar Ghobadand tainted by ancestral superstitions, prejudices and rituals. As a young man his quest for religious truth was ardent. While still a school student he would frequently challenge, in the presence of the religious instructor, the validity of the concepts prevalent amongst his own people, in return for which he would be punished harshly and accused of having been influenced by the 'heresy' of the Mbi movement.
These confrontations made his receptive soul even more sensitive to the light of divine guidance.
At last, through a new bond of marriage in the family household, be came to hear about Bahá'u'lláh from his brother-in-law, a staunch Baha'i. The seed of faith which had germinated in his heart soon became a fruitful tree as a result of the instruction and loving care of such prominent souls as H�
Muhammad T6hir-i-M6imirfIsfandiyar's recognition of Bahá'u'lláh at the age of twenty-two enkindled the flame of faith in the hearts of his entire family. Soon after his declaration he wrote to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and in reply he received an inspiring Tablet which instilled in his heart a new zeal and hope. He joined his father in trade but events forced him to leave his homeland for India and from there he proceeded to the Holy Land on pilgrimage. His arrival in the Hoiy Land coincided with the Guardian's departure from Haifa after the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá As a result he attained the presence of the Greatest Holy Leaf whose loving grace and affection encompassed him for fifty days. During that period he was privileged to receive from her gracious hand a copy of the Tablet of the Holy Mariner in the handwriting of Shoghi Effendi, as well as a letter full of encouragement and assuring him of a subsequent visit. After a few months' sojourn in Cairo, the joyous news of the Guardian's return reached him. Lie again asked permission to come to the Holy Land and to his joy received a loving invitation in which the Guardian expressed his eagerness to welcome him. On 19 October 1924 he set off for Haifa and was honoured to bask for forty days in the sunshine of the loving kindness of the beloved Guardian.
Isfan-diyar's real spiritual life began to take shape during this memorable pilgrimage and the Guardian's parting words � 'Isfancliyar, I shall
Page 710never forget you, be assured' � engraved themselves indelibly on his heart and became his 'best provision' for the rest of his life.
On his return to I r~n he was appointed to serve on various administrative bodies of the Faith which w~re closely associated with activities of the Baha youth and teaching. In later years he was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Tihr~n and he remained a member until he left I ran.
His third pilgrimage � this time accompanied by his wife and youngest daughter � took place in 1952, immediately before the launching of the Ten Year Crusade.
They were among the pilgrims who heard from the Guardian's own lips his glorious message about the unfoldment of divine destiny through the implementation of the Ten Year Plan; they were galvanized by the spirit of urgency of the moment.
A few months after Isfandiyar returned to TihrAn the National Spiritual Assembly assigned him the task of visiting the believers in the towns and cities of the southern part of I r~n to share with them the joyous news of the commencement of the Ten Year Crusade and to stimulate their participation in its prosecution. His wife, Pariz6d, accompanied him.
Profoundly touched by the call himself, Isfandiyar and his family pioneered to Bursa, Turkey, and later to Recife, Brazil.
While in Bursa, in 1962, he and his wife had had the privilege of being invited to accompany the Hand of the Cause of God TarAzu'llAh Saman-dad on his three-month tour of Pakistan, India, Ceylon and Burma, a unique opportunity which was joyfully seized and which brought many inspiring experiences.
In 1967 he settled in the United Kingdom where he remained in active service to the Cause until he passed on to the AbhA
Kingdom on 18 January1980. He was buried in the precincts of the blessed resting-place of the beloved of his heart, Shoghi
Effendi.From the time he became a Baha, Isfandi-yar Ohobad served with all his strength, even in his later years when he suffered from a heart condition. He is remembered by those who knew him as one steadfast in the Faith, dedicated in its service, forbearing in sufferings, radiant and assured in heart and submissive to the will of God. Precision and order were characteristic of both his private life and his professional practice.
His life's achievements were crowned by the cable sent by the Universal House of Justice on 21
JanuaryHis mother was the granddaughter of the younger uncle of the Bin, Mirza Husayn 'All, and his father was the grandson of the elder uncle of the BTh, Mirza
Siyyid Muhammad.He was born in Yazd, Ir6n, in the year 1888, on the very day that seven Baha of that city were martyred.
His father died when he was young and he was brought up by his grandfather, Mirza Muhammad Taqi Vakflu-Dawlali, the builder of the Bahá'í
Temple of 'Ishq~Md. Withhis mother and sister he travelled from 'Ishqabad to the Holy Land to reach the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, but soon after his arrival in the Holy Land his grandfather passed away and he was sheltered under the loving care of the Master. He was sent by 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the same school in Beirut which was attended by Shoghi Effendi and later on, when the Master sent
Shoghi Effendi to Englandto study, He also sent the young AfnAn to study agriculture there. In some of the letters Shoghi Effendi wrote while studying in Oxford he mentions the AfiThn whom he occasionally visited in Yorkshire.
After completing his studies, Muhammad 'Au AfnTh returned to the Holy Land oniy twenty days before 'Abdu'l-Bahá passed away. The Afnan remained in Haifa for six months and then returned to Yazd on the instructions of the beloved Guardian.
For many years he was elected as a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yazd and often was privileged to serve as chairman.
Page 711In 1939 an unfortunate incident occurred. The workman responsible for the heating of the Baha public bath was injured during the course of duty.
The enemies of the Faith seized the opportunity of making mischief. The chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yazd was imprisoned and other members were prosecuted. Fortunately the members were released after a short time. Eleven years later, in a village called Abarqii, soon after a Bahá'í pioneer was sent from Yazd to that village, a woman and her several children were murdered in mysterious circumstances. The enemies of the Bahá'í community attributed this tragic event to the coming of the pioneer to their village.
As a result the nine members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yazd were sentenced to three years' imprisonment. They were confined to prison first in Yazd, then in Kirm6n, and finally in the prison of Tihr6n. After his release from prison the AfiPn visited the Holy Land and attained the presence of the beloved Guardian who praised the steadfastness of those who had suffered unjust imprisonment. Through their incarceration, he said, these beliovers had followed in the footsteps of the
Bab.in his eighty-ninth year and was buried in the Bahá'í cemetery of that city.
ABU'L-QASIM AFNAN1932 � 1980 For more than twenty years Jnparaju Chin-niah strode the Malaysian Bahá'í scene like a spiritual colossus. He was a valued friend to everyone who knew him and all were drowned in profound sorrow when he passed away suddenly on 5 February 1980. Two days later the following cable was received from the Universal House of Justice, describing his significant service to the Cause both in Malaysia and throughout the region of Southeast
Asia:Inparaju was his actual name but early in life he became known as 'Inbum', meaning 'joy', 'sweet' or 'lovdy' in the Tamil language.
Born on 9 March 1932 in Malacca, Malaysia, he was the second child of a schoolteacher, Mr. J. V. Chinniali, who, like his wife Elizabeth Thyria Ratnam, was of
Ceylonese origin. Thefamily had a strong affiliation with the Methodist Church in Malacca.
We know little of Inbum's childhood except that he was a brilliant student and an active sportsman.
He was a keen scout and rose to the rank of King's
Scout, representing Malaysiaat a Jamboree in Australia in 1949. Although he did very well in his Cambridge examination that same year, family circum
Page 712stances prevented his pursuing his studies further.
He started off his working life as a teacher inwhere his father had served earlier. In time Inbum rose to the post of headmaster of the
Masjid Tanah PrimarySchool. When this appointment was made in 1957, he was the youngest person ever to have been made headmaster in the State. At a later time he was appointed headmaster of a Secondary Continuation School in Jasin and, in 1965, headmaster of Sekola
Menangab Jasin.By 1954 Malacca had become a hub of Bahá'í activity.
Among the many active workers there were schoolteachers, one of whom was teaching in Malacca High School. Inbum attended his first Bahá'í fireside � a talk on 'The New World Order' � and often mentioned that if it were not for Mr. Kumara Das he might not have accepted the Faith.
Inbum's marriage in 1960 to the exuberant and radiant Chinese Baha'i, Lily Leong, a fellow teacher at Masjid Tanali Primary School, drew considerable attention in Malacca where interracial marriages were still taboo. Four lovely children were born to them.
Early in his life, despite his quiet nature, Inbum's qualities of leadership emerged and it
Inpart4u Chinniahis not surprising that these characteristics were identified and made use of in his service to the Bahá'í Faith.
He served on the National Teachingof Malaysia in 1965 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly, serving as treasurer and later as secretary.
He settled in Kuala Lumpur.His home at Setapak became, as it were, a mini-hostel, harbouring numerous students and Baha youth. One youth who stayed with him remarked, 'Inbum had the unique ability to tap the latent potential in each individual . many were the leaders who were nurtured and trained under his able hands.'
During his years as secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly important organizational improvements were effected in the office of that body.
In June 1972 the Handand while there encouraged Inbum to go to Africa as a travelling teacher.
Inbum spent six months in Tanzania on leave without salary and made a valuable contribution to the work of the Faith there. A Malaysian travelling teacher who was in Tanzania in 1977 when Inbum was appointed to the Board of Counsellors for Southeast Asia witnessed the great joy experienced by the African friends when they learned of his appointment.
He had served ably as a member of the Auxiliary Board for protection since 1972 and now he threw himself wholeheartedly into his role as Counsellor, on one occasion travelling the distance of a thousand miles by bus in order to attend a meeting in Bangkok. He was a living example of forgiveness, patience and consideration; he saw the good in every individual and never spoke ill of anyone.
He had a genuine humility and the gift of ettending a tender and personal attention to those who needed his assistance. His ready wit lightened all hearts.
A sense of urgency was noted in the last few months of his life. He often mentioned that he looked forward to early retirement in order to devote even more time to the Faith.
In December 1979 when news was received of the untimely death of the Hand of the Cause Rahmatu'114h
Muh6jir, although Inbumcould be seen consoling the Baha all across the country, it was obvious that no one was more
Page 713heartbroken than himself; it was as though a lieutenant had lost his most admired general. Thirtyfive days later the lieutenant was to joifi his loved commander in the Abh6
Kingdom.Inbum often jokingly remarked to his wife, 'I may be poor in wealth, but I am rich in friends!' The large gathering of mourners who came from all parts of the country to attend his funeral, and the torrent of telegrams and telephone calls that were received from all parts of the world, testify to what a rare friend he was. His INSPIRED
SERVICES WERE TREASURESCentre cabled at the time of his passing. Later, on 14 February, that institution wrote to members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors throughout the world: 'The loss of this devoted servant of the Faith is indeed great because of his knowledge, wide experience, high efficiency and constancy, all sweetened by an unassuming and natural humility.'
(Adapted from MalaysianWhen we returned to Canada in 1968, after fourteen years of pioneering in South Africa, we felt we had not done much for the Faith in those long years. In fact, we believed that any I
Rosemary SalaAfter Rosemary winged away on 20 February 1980 in Guadalajara, Mexico, due to cerebral thrombosis, I was flooded with messages from our former pioneer post.
The Evening Post of PortElizabeth, South Africa, under the headline 'Service for Former PB. School Library Pioneer', published the following item, together with a picture of Rosemary, in its issue of 18 March 1980: 'A memorial service for a former Port Elizabeth woman, Mrs. Rosemary Sala, who pioneered school libraries in black schools, was held in New Brighton at the weekend. The service was held at the Cowan High School, New Brighton.
'Mr. Frank Tonjeni, principal of Cowan High School, said Mrs. Sala was interested in black education while she lived in South Afric6.
"She was a very energetic woman and established libraries in all our secondary and high schools."
'Mrs. Sala also established a Sala Prize at three of the schools for leadership and scholastic achievement.
"Above the door of our school library there is a plaque bearing imprint we might have made would soon be her name," Mr. Tonjeni said.
Page 714'Her permit to enter New Brighton was withdrawn in May, 1967.'
Because of the Apartheid laws, social contact in South Africa was very difficult. Rosemary succeeded in obtaining from the authorities permission to enter black townships, where she established libraries in eleven schools, placed over 10,000 books, and brought enjoyment to thousands of students. She did this for ten years, her permit being renewed from year to year. Later it was restricted, and finally it was withdrawn.
Bahá'í News, South and West Africa, states in its February 1980 issue: 'She is known in all the schools of New Brighton, Kwa Zakele and Zwide, and will live in our midst for ages as the mother of the Bahá'ís of New Brighton. Many times have I heard her say: "I have said the Greatest Name all over New Brighton and Kwa Zakele."
I will always remember her as the kindly lady who was never frightened � even of waiting for the local bus to take her into town. She was unceasing in her efforts to attract all levels of society to the Faith I, for one, will never rest until I have done all the things she herself would have done for the Bahá'ís of the townships in Port
Elizabeth.'to Captain and Mrs. Malcolm N. Gillies. When she was four her family brought her to Montreal, Quebec, where she was raised in a strict Presbyterian home. She wanted to become an architect, but the only faculty that would then accept women students was in New York City, and her mother would not allow her to move. She, therefore, had to be satisfied with graduating from Macdonald Teachers' College, near Montreal.
In December 1927, in Montreal, three young Bahá'ís � Rowland Estall, George F. Spendlove1 and myself � started the first organized Baha youth group of North America.
Within months a few young people were attracted, among whom was a teacher who taught in the same school as Rosemary. She invited Rosemary who came out of curiosity. The following summer Rosemary was invited to the Bahá'í school in Green Acre where she was deeply influenced by the re1 See 'In Memoriam', The Bahá'í World, vol. XIII, p. 895.
nowned teacher, Mrs. Elizabeth Greenleaf.2 That autumn Rosemary declared her faith in Bahá'u'lláh. Since we had three 'Mary's' in our youth group, George
Spendlove gave Mary Gilliesthe name Rosemary which remained with her all her life.
She was soon elected youth delegate to the National Convention in Wilmette and was active in various national activities with the result that long after our marriage which took place in 1934 I was known only as 'the husband of Rosemary Gullies'.
During the past forty years we have attended many conventions, conferences, summer and winter schook, and on almost every occasion � even as recently as a year ago � I have seen young Baha with eager eyes, who have read her artide 'Marriage in the Bahá'í Faith',3 corner her and become absorbed in deep discussion. Rbsemary often said that because of that article she seems to have been used, all these years, as an unofficial Bahá'í marriage counsellor.
Rosemary and I worked together as one breath and I beg forgiveness if, in attempting to describe her services, I enumerate my own. In August 1938, while in Green Acre, we tried to induce a couple to pioneer in Latin America under the first Seven Year Plan. By the time we reached our home in St. Lambert, Quebec, we realized that while trying to inspire others we had talked ourselves into going.
After six months of intensive preparation and an immersion course in Spanish, we set sail the following spring for Caracas, Venezuela, where we stayed for a year.4 We found the experience so joyful and thri11in~ that the desire to pioneer remained with us for the rest of our lives. On our return journey to Canada we drove sixteen hours a day for eight days on a primitive, tortuous mountain road from Caracas to BogotA, Colombia.
Since we were the first Baha to make that trip, Rosemary invoked the Greatest Name in every valley and hamlet. We returned to Caracas in 1946 during the course of a four-month lecture tour which took us to every country in Latin
America except Paraguay. Oneof the highlights for us was our visit, in Buenos Aires, to the resting-place of Mrs.
2 See it Memoriam', TheMay Maxwell where we offered prayers. In 1947 we were back in Venezuela, this time during the course of a Caribbean teaching tour.
In Canada we were instrumental in the creation of the first summer conferences and the Laurentian Bahá'í School; and, as members of the Canadian National Teaching Corn. mittee, we helped to prepare the Canadian community for the election, in 1948, of its first National Spiritual Assembly on which we served for the following six years.1
In 1952 Rosemary went on her first pilgrimage to Haifa as a guest of the Guardian. Her second visit to the Holy Land was in 1968 as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of South and
West Africa.With the announcement of the Ten Year Crusade we volunteered to pioneer.
The Guardian suggested Comoro Islands in the Indian Ocean, but since a visa was refused he gave us Zululand as a second choice. We arrived in May 1954 and settled on a trading post in a native reserve, with no telephone or electricity.
We were two hours' distance from the nearest doctor or police station. To our great disappointment, after one year our permit was not renewed. We moved to Port Elizabeth, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where we lived for thirteen years. We had to return to Canada for three years � which was a culture shock in reverse � and were happy to pioneer again, in 1971, this time to Guadalajara, Mexico. Previous to this, however, we made a tour of the Far East. We travelled all over Mexico, attended the Merida Conference and made two side trips to Panama. Rosemary spent many weeks preparing illustrated albums about historical events related to the Faith which are on display at the Bahá'í Shrine in
Montreal.KMnum wrote this about Rosemary: 'She was a remarkable woman, a very sweet one, and her devotion to the Faith was truly exemplary.
It never flagged but went on year after year to the very last breath.
May we all die as she did, with the good pleasure of Bahá'u'lláh. She was also a devoted friend and a loyal one, and I shall miss very much receiving her letters Rosemary will certainly go down as one of
Canada's outstanding Baha'isas the Canadian community emerged and grew in stature and strength.'
The Hand of the Cause John Robarts and his wife, Audrey, lifelong friends, chose for Rosemary the following from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá: 0 ye handmaid of the merciful Lord!
How many queens' of this world laid down their heads on a pillow of dust and disappeared.
No fruit was left of them, no trace, no sign, not even their names Not so the handmaids who ministered at the Threshold of God; these have shone forth like glittering stars in the skies of ancient glory, shedding their splendours across all the reaches of time.2
EMERIC SALA1913 � 1980 Robert Earl Hayden was born in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A., on 4 August 1913 of poor, uneducated parents.
At birth he was named Asabeing his father's name and 'Bundy' the name of the family doctor who had attended his birth.
After the separation and divorce of his parents while he was still an infant, his mother put him in the care of friends,
William and Sue EllenHayden, while she set about finding work to provide for him. A job was found in Buffalo, New York, and she moved there, visiting Robert and the Haydens occasionally.
The Haydens did not like the name 'Asa' for the boy and, hoping that they would be permitted to adopt him as their own, renamed him 'Robert Earl'.
His mother did not object to this, esp~cia11y since she felt that the child had a good home while she was working.
It was during his preschool years that it was discovered how little sight he had.
Nevertheless, he was provided with glasses and eagerly learned to read before entering school. During his elementary school years he read a dictionary, an encyclopedia and any other available material, although he was placed in the sight-saving class.
When Robert entered school he 1 Shoghi Effendi in Messages to Canada, pp. 45, 74. 2 Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'1-Rahd, p. 23.
Page 716was registered as Robert Earl Hayden. Not until his fortieth year did he come to know that this was not his legal name.
Only in 1978 was it made legal.Since there was no money for college when he finished high school, he gave up hope of acquiring a higher education. However, the social worker who served his family interceded because of the obvious capabilities of the young mAn and enabled him to receive a four-year scholarship to Detroit City College, now known as Wayne State University.
In the summer of 1938, four years after completing his college work, he entered the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor for advaflced study. It was there that he entered a competition for a Hopwood Award, and that summer won a minor award for poetry.
In 1940 he married Erma Inez Morris. The following year they moved to Ann Arbor where Robert began graduate work in earnest and also took advantage of the opportunity to study with W. H. Auden, who at that time was visiting poet at the University of Michi gan. In 1940 Robert Hayden's first book of poetry Heart-Shape in the Dust was published by a small press in Detroit.
A daughter, Maia, was born in 1942, and that same year Robert won a major Hopwood Award for Poetry. He received a Master of Arts degree in English in 1944 and that fall was appointed
Teaching Fellow in English. Heheld that position for two years, the first black person to have been given that opportunity at the university.
In 1946 Robert and his family moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he taught at Fisk University for twenty-two years. Meanwhile, he continued to write poetry, his first love. He could not find a publisher, but from time to time his poems would appear in magazines, including Atlantic Monthly and
Poetry. In 1962 Balladof Remembrance was published in England. Then, between
1966 and 1978, New Yorkpublishers and others brought out Selected Poems, Words in the Mourning Time, Angle of Ascent,
Night-Blooming CereusThese accomplishments led eventually to other recognition: the reception of the Grand Prize for Poetry at the first World Festival of the Arts in Dakar,
Senegal, 1965; the Russellelection by the Academy of American Poets as its 1975 Fellow; membership in the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; and appointment (1976 � 1978) to the post of Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. � these are a few of the many honours given him. In the last-named post he was enabled to bring the Bahá'í teachings to the attention of the manager of the Senate Chambers and some other government officials.
On 3 January 1980 he was invited to the White House to read, along with other poets, and was received with genuine warmth by President and Mrs. Carter.
Robert was not a joiner and past experience had made him wary of institutional religion. However, the Hand of the Cause Dorothy Baker, through the instrumentality of Katherine Mills of Ann Arbor, had convinced him of the truth of the
Cause of Bahá'u'lláhand he joined the Faith in 1943. During his Bahá'í life he served on the
Local Spiritual Assembliesof Nashville, Tennessee, and, while he held the consultantship at the Library of Congress, of
Page 717He also spoke about the Faith many times on television and radio.
Robert was often asked to give talks on the Faith.
After a few such addresses he steadfastly refused these requests, firmly convinced that he could serve the Cause better as a poet. In this role he always strove for excellence. He received many requests to give readings of his poetry and always complied if it was at all possible.
Readings took him to many places in the United States. At these presentations he usually read poems he had written containing direct reference to the Faith as well as those on other subjects. He prefaced the readings with explanatory information about the
Bahá'í Revelation. Mostof all, however, wherever he went he was recognized by all who met him as one who promoted a universal point of view as found in the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh: whether in the classroom, on the lecture platform, or in social gatherings, this was the only view he held valid. In his work this also was true.
In a letter written to an inquirer in December 1970 he had this to say: 'I think of the writing of poems as one way of coming to grips with inner and outer realities � as a spiritual act, really, a sort of prayer for illumination and perfection.
The Bahá'í Faith, with its emphasis on the essential oneness of mankind and its vision of world unity, is an increasingly power-hi influence on my poetry today � and the only one to which I willingly submit.'
From 1968 until his death Robert Hayden was an associate editor of World Order, a Bahá'í periodical published under the aegis of the
National Spiritual AssemblyH~ made constant efforts to raise the standard of the poetry used in the publication. World Order was very close to his heart, and he thought of his work for it as a real service he could render the Faith.
On 28 February 1980 the? � 1980 Angeline Giachery, whose pure and angelic spirit returned to God on 23 April 1980, was born in Sweden towards the end of the nineteenth century.
The solemn beauty of her native land, bejewelled by thousands of rivers and lakes, and dotted with serenely tranquil and majestic forests, impressed itself upon her gentle spirit and found reflection in her stainless character.
Highly sensitive to the divine intelligence and exquisite harmony that rule the universe, she found perfection in all created things.
The inner happiness which suffused her being was crowned by her peerless love for the Creator. Her childhood and adolescence were richly blessed and congenial. As a small child she studied music passionately and became an accomplished violinist.
She was educated in Sweden and England and was a diligent student who took delight in her studies.
She enjoyed the rational sciences � particularly mathematics � liberal arts, literature and the poetry of both countries. Travels
Page 718in Europe and abroad completed her education and widened her perspective, preparing her to make what she would later recognize as the supreme choice of her life. In the early 1920s she was introduced to the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh while visiting friends in Boston, U.S.A. Her conversion was immediate, sincere and total: she dedicated the rest of her life to ardent service to the Cause of God and to bringing happiness to her fellow man. A short time later I met Angeline in the home of mutual friends; she was gentle, gracious, cultured, elegant and happy. In her presence one seemed to sense the fragrance of the pines and firs of the Varmiand forest, the most romantic and beautiful region of Sweden. We met frequently and a mutual affection developed.
On 24(Note: the works of Bahá'u'lláh, translated into English by Shoghi Effendi, are listed on p. 837.
under the subheading, 'Translations'.)Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas
2. THE Báb's BESTKNOWN WORKS(Note: The BTh Himself states in one passage of the Persian BayTh that His writings comprise no less than 500,000 verses.)
COMPILATIONS IN ENGLISHBahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette Illinois, 1957.
Originally published by Cope & Fenwick, London, 1910, under the title
The Mysterious Forcesof Civilization. Subsequently published by Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1918.
Some Answered Questions.First printed by Kegan, Paul, Trench, Trubner and Co. Ltd., London,
1908. Subsequentlypublishedby Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1918, and other
Bahá'í Publishing Trusts.Peace, the Hague. Bahá'í Publishing Committee, New York, 1930.
Tablet to Dr. Forel. Bahá'í Publishing Committee, New York, 1930.
Tablets of the Divine Plan. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1959.
A Traveller's Narrative.by Edward Granville Browne under the title A Traveller's Narrative written to illustrate The Episode of the Báb. Cambridge University Press, 1891. Bahá'í Publishing Committee, New York, 1930.
Will and Testament. Baha'iBahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1944, 1968, and other Bahá'í
Publishing Trusts.Translated from the original Persian and annotated by Marzieh Gail. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1971.
Page 836Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1945.
Paris Talks; a compilation of His addresses in Paris.
G. Bell and Son Ltd.,London, 1923. Subsequently published by Bahá'í Publishing Trust, London, 10th edition 1961; and in the United States under the title The Wisdom of 'Abdu'l-Bahá; Brentano's, New York, 1924.
The Promulgation of UniversalPeace, vols. I, JI~ a compilation of His addresses in Canada and the United States in 1912. Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1922 and '1925.
Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá; compiled from His correspondence with individual believers, groups and Assemblies of the East and West.-WorJd Centre Publications, 1978.
Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, vols. I, II, III; a compilation of His letters to individual believers in America.
Bahá'í Publishing Society, Chicago, 1909, 1915, 1916.
4. SOME COMPILATIONS FROM THE WRITINGS OFPublishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois, 1943, 1956.
The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.Bahá'í Publishing Trust, London, 1950; revised, 1963.
The Divine Art of Living.Bahá'í Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois, 1944; revised, 1960.
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'í Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois, 1939, 1952, and other Bahá'í
Publishing Trusts.by Bahá'u'lláh, Bahá'í Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois, 1938, 1954, and other Bahá'í Publishing Trusts.
The Reality of Man. Baha'iPublishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois, 1931; revised, 1962.
Selections from the Writings of the BeTh. World Centre Publications, 1976.
Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh(Note: A large number of Prayer Books compiled of prayers revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb and 'Abdu'l-Bahá has been published by Bahá'í Publishing Trusts and National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world.)
5. SHOGHI EFFENDI'S BESTKNOWN WORKSThe Unfoldment of World Civilization. March, 1936.
America and the Most Great Peace. April, 1933.The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh. February, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. February, 1929.
The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, Further Considerations.
ns. March, 1930.(Note: The above seven essays have been published in one volume entitled The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1938. Revised edition, 1955; second printing, 1965.)
Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1941.God Passes By. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wil-mette, mette, Illinois, 1944.
Page 837The Dawn-Breakers, by Muliammad-i-Zarandf, surnamed
Nabil-i-A'zam. Bahá'íPublishing Committee, New York, 1932, and other Bahá'í
Publishing Trusts.Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, by Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1941, 1953, and other Bahá'í Publishing Trusts.
Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1939, 1952, and other Bahá'í Publishing Trusts.
The Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláhYork, 1924. Bahá'í Publishing Committee, London, 1932, and other Bahá'í Publishing
Trusts.Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1931, 1950, and other Bahá'í
Publishing Trusts.by Bahá'u'lláh. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1938, 1962, and other
Bahá'í Publishing Trusts.Peace, The Hague, by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, dated December 17, 1919. Published as a leaflet by Bahá'í Publishing Trust, London.
Tablet to Dr. Forel, byin Star of th~ West, vol. xiv, no. 4, July 1923, p. 101. Subsequently published as a leaflet by various Bahá'í Publishing
Trusts.Tablet of the Holy Mariner, by Bahá'u'lláh. Published in Star of the West, vol. xiii, no. 4, May 1922, p. 75. Subsequently published in Prayer Books and other compilations.
The Will and Testamentof'Abdu'1-Bahi Bahá'í Publishing Committee, New York, 1925, 1935. Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1944, 1968, and other
Bahá'í Publishing Trusts.Bahá'í Publishing Committee, Wilmette, Illinois, 1928, 1960.
Messages to America (1932 � 1946).Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, 1947.
Messages to the Bahá'íBahá'í Publishing Trust, Wil-mette, Illinois, 1965.
Messages to Canada. NationalSpiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada, 1965.
Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand
(1923 � 1957). N~tiona1to India (1923 � 1957). Bahá'í Publishing Trust, New Delhi, 1970.
Directives from the Guardian.to Alaska. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Alaska, 1976.
Call to the Nations. WorldPREVIOUS volumes of The Bahá'í World list more than 650 languages, major dialects and scripts into which the Sacred Writings and other literature of the Bahá'í Faith have been translated; the total number has now reached more than 725. The promotion of such translations has been an important objective of the international teaching plans conducted by the Bah&Pworld community over the years, with the purpose of making available to the believers in many lands the Scriptures of their faith in their own tongues. Information about the languages in which Bahá'í literature is currently available may be obtained from the Bahá'í World Centre, P3. Box 155, 31 001 Haifa, Israel.
Listed below, in alphabetical order by continent of origin, are the languages, dialects and scripts in which translations of Bahá'í literature have definitely been made, whether for the first time or enriching available literature, during the period between Ridvan 1979 and Ridvan 1983.
These accomplishments include translations, publications and recordings on tape, although not all have been achieved in each of the languages named. Literature in each dialect and each different script has been treated as a separate achievement, as each is assumed to reach a different public. This is a minimum listing; other reports, some elements of which are still ambiguous, remain under investigation.
Usage and spelling chosen for primary listings and indication of dialect relationships follow, where possible, C. F. and F. M. Voegelin, Classification and Index of the World's Languages,1 even when this differs from generally recognized usage or that of the speakers themselves.
Some variant names and spellings, including variants previously reported, appear in parentheses; listings in quotation marks (' ')have not yet been identified from this reference, or there is some ambiguity regarding exact identification.
The major countries, islands or territories where the languages are spoken are shown in italics. Where no such entry is given, the language is spoken in so many widely scattered territories that to list them would be unwieldy; many of these languages are found worldwide.
Languages officially used in countries in more than one continent are grouped separately at the head of the list.
The number of languages, dialects and scripts listed here as achievements of the Plan to date total 334. Of these, 66 are new languages, dialects or scripts never before reported, and 17 others may also prove to be new when accurate identification or date of achievement has been established.
A. LANGUAGES IN INTERNATIONAL USE1. English: 'Riijano' script Insufficient Information (Further investigation is needed to determine whether the following represent a new accomplishment or enrichment of existing literature): 1. Portuguese: Braille text 1 Foundations of Linguistics Series; Elsevier, New York and Amsterdam; 1977.
Page 839c. AFRICA First T 1. Amharic: Braille text (new script) (Ethiopia) 2. BANDA: Báb dialect
(Benin)13. ici-Lamba (Zambia) 14. ki-Lega (ki-Rega)
(Za&e)20. Se-TSWANA: se-Kgalagadi dialect (Bot-swana) 21. ki-TuBA: Monokutuba dialect (Zah-e) 22. YASA: Kombe dialect
(Equatorial Guinea)Insufficient information (Fudher investigation is needed to determine whether the following represent new accomplishments or enrichment of existing literature):
1. t 'Baka' (Cameroons)6. ci-Sena (Mozambique) 7. ce-Venda (Southern
Africa)Language specifically named as a translation goal of the Seven
Year Plan. t Efforts52. LUHYA: lu-Tiriki dialect (Kenya) 53. ci-Lunda (Angola;
Zaire; Zambia)* Language specifically named as a translation goal of the Seven
Year Plan. ~ Efforts83. olu-Nyole (Kenya) 84. shi-Ronga (Shironga)
(Mozambique, South Africa)100. liv (Nigeria) 101. ci-Tonga, Zambian
(Plateau Tonga) (Zambia)AFRICAN ASSEMBLIES HAVE ALSO REPORTED ACHIEVEMENTS 1N
*Arabjc *French13. 'de la Canada', dialect of San Juan Coatzaspan, TeotitL6n del Camino
(Mexico)14. 'de la Costa', dialect of Pinotepa Nacional, Jamiltepec
District (Ma-icc)* Language specifically named as a translation goal of the Seven Year Plan. t Efforts to obtain exact identification
Continue.15. 'de La Mixteca Alta', dialect of Yo-sondija, Tiaxiaco District
(Mexico)16. 'de Ia Mixteca Baja', dialect of Santa In6s del Rio, Nochistkn
District (Mexico)24. dialect of Lachigol6o (Mexico) 25. dialect of San Juan Tagui,
Villa Alta District (Mexico)26. dialect of Tialixtac (Mexico) 27. 'de la Sierra', dialect of Ixtian District (Mexico) 28. 'de la Sierra', dialect of San Bar-to1om~o Zoogocho,
Villa Alta District (Mexico)842 29. 'de La Sierra', dialect of Villa Hidalgo, dalgo, Villa Alta District
(Mexico)30. 'del Sur', dialect of Pochutla District trict (Mexico) 31. 'del Sur', dialect of San Pedro Mix-tepec, tepec, Miahuat1~.n
District (Mexi-co)Insufficient Information (Further investigation is needed to determine whether the following represent new accomplishments or enrichment of existing literature):
1. Cree (Canada)24. t unspecified Bolivian dialect (Bol-ivia) ivia) 25. t unspecified Ecuadorian dialect
(Ecuador)33. 'del Jstmo', dialect of Tehuantepec and Juchitlan Districts,
(Mexico)34. 'del Valle', dialect of Mitla, Tioco-lula lula District (Mexico) 35. 'del Valle', dialect of San Baltazar
Chichicapan, Ocot1~n DistrictAMERICAN ASSEMBLIES HAVE ALSO REPORTED ACHIEVEMENTS 1N
English* Language specifically named as a translation goal of the Seven Year Plan.
t Efforts to obtain exact identification continue.
Page 843Insufficient Information (Further investigation is needed to determine whether the following represent new accomplishments or enrichment of existing literature):
1. Mundari ('Mundra') (India)5. Chinese, Modem 6. DAYAK, LAND ('BIDAYUH'): l3ukar Sadong dialect (Borneo; Sara wak) 7. DAYAK, LAND ('BIDAYuH'): Jagoi
(Biratak) dialect (Borneo; Sara-wak)wak) 8. Dayak, Sea (Iban) (Borneo; Sarawak) 9. DUSTJN (KADAZAN): Penampang dialect lect (Sabah)
10. * Gujarati (India)18. ~ Korean (Korea; China, Japan) 19. * Lao (Laotian) (Laos; Thailand; et al.)
20. * Lepcha (Bhutan, India; Nepal)ASIAN ASSEMBLIES HAVE ALSO REPORTED ACHIEVEMENTS 1N
EnglishFirst Transla 1. Chiinbu (Kuman) (Papua New Guinea)
2. CHIMBU: Gumine (Golin) (Papua New4. German, Rabaul Creole ('Unset * Language specifically named as a translation goal of the Seven Year Plan. I Efforts to obtain exact identification continue.
deutsch') (Papua New Guinea)Insufficient Information (Further investigation is needed to determine whether the following represent new accomplishments or enrichment of existing literature):
1. Chamorro (Guam; Mariana21. TANNA: Lenakel dialect (Van uatu) 22. TANNA: Nupuanmen ('Whitesands') dialect
(Vanuatu)AUSTRALASIAN ASSEMBLIES HAVE ALSO REPORTED ACHIEVEMENTS 1N
Arabic Japanese (Katakana script)Insufficient information (Further investigation is needed to determine whether the following represent new accomplishments or enrichment of existing literature): 1. 1 INUIT: Greenlandic, 'West Central' dialect lect (Greenland)
Literature Enr 1. ~ Albanian (Albania;
et al.)* Language specifically named as a translation goal of the Seven
Year Plan. t EffortsEUROPEAN ASSEMBLIES HAVE ALSO REPORTED ACHIEVEMENTS IN:
Arabic PersianHis Worship Raid Salm6n, Mayor of La Paz, Bolivia, (third from right) visiting the Bahá'í exhibit at the La Paz book fair; July 1981.
Page 846C C I bear witness, 0 my God, that Thou hast created me to know Thee and to worship Thee. I testify, at this moment, ment, to my powerlessness and to Thy might, to my poverty and to Thy wealth.
C There is none other God but Thee, the Help in Peril, ~ the Self-Subsisting.
846Short Daily Obligatory Prayer in Arabic and English.
A. BOVE is the original Arabic with its translation into English of one of the prayers revealed by Bahá'u'lláh and prescribed for fulfilment of the daily obligatory prayer. It is known as the Short Obligatory Prayer, and when used is recited once in twenty-four hours, at noon.
In previous volumes of The Bahá'í World translations of this prayer were published in almost 400 languages, dialects or scripts. These are listed below, by continent, with corrected designations where possible, followed by the texts of new or improved translations which became available in the period Ridvan 1979 � 1983, bringing the total to 501. In some instances identification is provisional, and in others alternative translations may appear pending final approval of the relevant National Spiritual Assemblies. Not all the Braille texts available are shown. There exist some oral translations made on tape recordings which are not reflected in these pages.
The usage and spelling chosen for primary listings, and indication of dialect relationships, follow, where possible, C. F. and F. M. Voegelin, Classification and Index of the World's Languages. It is recognized by the compilers of this list that these designations, therefore, sometimes do not reflect the name by which a particular language or dialect is best known, or the designation preferred by those who speak it. Some varialit flames and spellings, including variants previously reported, appear in parentheses.
Page 847Exceptions to Voegelin & Voegelin's usage have been made in a few cases: where the name of a language has been officially changed in the country in which it is spoken; where Voegelin & Voegelin's primary listing is known to be considered pejorative by speakers of the language or dialect; and in a few other instances. Also, certain of the European dialects of Scandinavian and Netherlandic-German have been listed as separate languages, on the basis of their long separate histories as literary languages.
A. AFRICA37 * 0//wi (!kwi) (Botswana) 38. HATJSA: unidentified Nigetian dialect
39. Herero (Namibia/Southdialect (Zafre) 61. si-Lozi (Zambia) 62. ki-Luba-Katanga (Kiluba)
(Zarre)74. MASABA: ulu-Bukusu (Lubukusu) dialect (Kenya,
Uganda)84. NOuNI: isi-Swati (SiSwati, Swazi) dialect (Swaziland,
South Africa)dialect (Ni-ger; ger; Nigeria) 108. Sotho, Northern (se-Pedi)
(Southdialect (Soma-lia) lia) 113. Temen (Temne, Themne)
(Guinea;116. liv (Nigeria) 117. Tobote (Busari, Bassar)
(Ghana; Togo)126. Yoruba (Benin; Nigeria) Congo; Sudan; ZaUre)
127. Zande (Central African Republic; 128. olu-Ziba (olu-Haya) (Tanzania)
IMPROVED TRANSLATIONS (2)Ndina uira, Wee Ngai wakwa, ati Wee wanyumbire nigetha ngumenye na nguku-magie.
Na ndina uira thiini wa kahiinda gaaka iguru na wagi uhoti wakwa na iguru na uhoti waku, iguru na uthiini wakwa na iguru na utonga waku.
Gutiri Ngai ungi tiga Wee, Uria Muteithia wa Ugwaati mi, Uria Wirugaimie.
2. ci-MAKONDE (Shimakonde)wangu, doni undingumba nikumanye nikupambedye Wa-ko. Niku-kumanyia kwa wakati hau, kudidi-manga kwangu na chakulula Chako, na nina-sikini wangu na uhumu Wako.
Apali Nungu junji ni Wako,ADDITIONAL TEXTS (NOT PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN THE BAHÁ'Í WORLD) (24 1. BARGU (BARIBA) (Benin;
Nigeria; To go) Na sAa seeda (Yareru), nen gusuna, me a man taka kuawa na n nun y~ kpa na n nun saam3. Th na y5 mi na nen dam sariru yt, ma na wunsn yiko ys arumani yt Gusuno goo maa sari ma n kun wuns wune wi a ra faaba ko gzban di � Wuns wi a w~a wunsn hi S33.
2. BIHARI: 'Mauritian(?) script (Mauritius) ~ *~T I WN ~mit ~ F~ ?itt tWt otr~tccwrr ~t T~FN~7fr~T ~~er I ~t d~t TrNTh ~ ~a ~Th& ~# I ~~ift~detr ~ ~T~3I I
3. BIHARI: 'Mauritianscript (Mauritius) Hai Jshwar! Hum gawaahi det ham ki Tohk6 chinh6 kA atir tohur pooja kar6 khatir Tou hamk6 paida ka~k hawa. Hum haY ghari ma nat hafn ki hum bahout kamjor haYn aur tou sab sakti se bharam hawa.
Hum garib hafn aur lou sab parkaar k~ dhan-dawlat se bhar-pour hawa.
Tohk6 chork6 dousra koyi Parmatma naY ha. Touhi sankat s6 choraw6 aula hawa aur Touhi sab Jagah mein samaail baara.
4. Báb (BWAMOU) (UpperDonbeeni. N lee seera bio Un lera mi yi, ti nan zun-wo, ~ loo baani-wo.
N ta n bidamu le wo paanka boo han laana waan, 6n loo mun ta n khemu le wo paanmamu boo.
Donbeeni bwin binnian mian ka mu yinan Wote, Yan na yii fueni mu bosoa yi, Yan na wi mi hakuru ycrc paanka kasi yi.
5. CREOLE, INDIAN OCEAN:Mon port temwagnaz, 0 mon Dye, ki Ou'n kie mwan pou rekonnet e ador Ou.
Mon sertifye, an se moman, ki mwan mon feb, e Ou ou For, ki mwan mon pov, e Ou ou Ris.
Napa lot Dye ki Ou, Sekour-dan-Danze Legzistansn lani b' a Ta ko ele ye ne dan n tigi ala, janko n' ka se k' i 1~n, k' i bato.
n' be n' ka sebaliya kasi, ka i ka kotigiya tando.
n be hami ni n ka fantanya ye, ka i ka fat ntigiya jamu.
ala wc rc te yen n' e ala kelen te, mm bi se ka m~ga tanga koo jugu ma mm kelen y' a ycrc dan.
Page 850Na mem, a Zamba worn, ne onga kom ma ne me yem W6 me lugu fe w~.
Pti6 te, ma yebe ~vodi dzam ayi ngul dzo~, mebua main ayi akuma doe.
Zambe mf~ avegan ki ai W6, Nk~ a mbedzam, enyo ato'o ai 6men.
8. FANG (Equatorial Guinea)Me ne ngafiia, ha Zama, na wua onga vele ma n~ meyem wua ya kang wua.
Me ne ngafiia eyondji nf~ kaa ngu djam ya en ngu djue, ateifi dam ya acum due.
Zama nfe ases a1oran~ wua, efli avoro eyong otere ab~ ya naa wua fe wuaning ya en ngu djue.
9. FRAFRA (Ghana)Nbo fo p00mm, 0 nminga Winne, ti fo inge man ti ilmina fom La n'puusa fo, main sake lelewa ti manka ta panga dee Fom tan, ti man dela nasa dee Fo de tibsa.
Win disere ka le bona, Fo ma, vom songra, nbo wuu.
10. t 'GBEN' (BEN) (Togo) N two k gaal � o n Yedu � k fi n tag'n k ban'a k bic gi pug'a. N two, yog mba k be n& k n k m~k sicla pau ama fi pa ikul' k n be talat nilj ama k ijalmaam kultie a yal. Y~du k be k kat a po, fi ywa mba tie tot-dan yubon nuj. Fi tie ywa mba tun k pag u kwa.
11. HAUSA (Arabic script) (West Central Africa). s.t, '~ 7 7 12. KABRE (KABYB) (Togo) 14. LUHYA: lu-Tiriki dialect (Kenya) Hayi ~ mcnk~ asey4edv.
rjlabi-m se mansimi-IJ nc mansami-iJ.Manay l~dcy~ se menks cjamtv n~ ijks 4ondv, mentisi man-kvii3lj y~ n~ fla-flim yc~.
~S3 fl~3yV ~zi fle-dl.eke. kufirnj taa y3, y3.fryi 43c1c~ pltaslna-1J; Na weyi rjliziy a~yv Na weyi ijw~ fm-ti ycc Ijyaki syaa fiulJ kact~ taa.
13. KOMORO (COMORIAN) (ComoroNgami chahidi be mnyezi mgu ukaya humi umbu yili nihudjuwe yirudi nihu tweyi.
Ngam kubali he wakati rile nuwo he wangu wahangu no ushindzi wahaho, wo wumasikini wahangu no utadjiri wahaho.
Kapvatsi mgu wasaya yitso ndawe, ye wu sayidio harumwa wo utaabifu ye wu djitosho ayece.
Ndi ni lirola, Oh Nyasaye wanje, shijira Wanomba Khukhumanya nuk-khusaala Yi-we. Ndolekhitsanya, khu inyinga yinu, vude-dekhere vwanje flu khutsingulu Tsiotsio, khu-vudakha vwanje na khuvuruji Vwovwo.
Shaliho Nyasaye wundi na akhali Yiwe, Mukhonyi mu shivi, na Umenyanga
Won-yene.Ny6n c6 ~ W3 ny~by~c~M1, o ~my6 yi W3 mmy6 n ziirhin~, s'a 1u~ir m n c6rh6yf1~. A y6 ~ j~-muru ?id~ mmy~ w6n6, ~ yfzhil nd~ mmye d5 phr~ yi d~n k'~ t6n~ ~ge d'mye diidii mmy6 n W3 v~rn~ a n6n6 we5' b~ ziirhn~, zie.
16. MBAI (Chad; CentralToy i yan kajim o alla loin nda kam doiti i ki loin ndi bor kadi-te i yan kem-sa tar loin kok
Page 851BAHÁ'Í BIBLIOGRAPHY roiti i mad kram U koum to ndo loin anei i yan kajim ho, i yan ngom-m ho kam douniante nei ho kam kon-be-te loi ho.
Rota i alla ke maj, nan yan-guer Loi i ke boo nan toi degue toube.
17. t MBAKA (Central AfricanMa wa gomokouyo, 6 mokom6 gna; gbapo mo m6n6 ma na kokobo ma hilo, na t6t6k6-klo.
Ma y~ ngayolonmat6 kp6kp~k6, kp6k-p6k6 ngamo pa y6gbo; ma vo na guomo omit~ yaya ngamo.
Ga mokom6 kpii o wod~, walo, kpaa, mo a vona 6 616 vo ogbo gnomo mo a volon a hinga kapan vo kpaa d6non.
18. MBATL (ISSONGO, LISSONGO) (CentralNgoy6 mondo dola, 6, Mot6ngb6 gna, mb&t~ hokia moumo m6mbo, mou mo s6k6-koundio.
Ngoyo mou nzonzonzo na boli gna, na lomba Nzio, ikN6 gna na 1ou616 ma
Nzio.Mot6ngb6 gna w~; mo kalissia bando lo na, Ndaha mossiki iko mou kini.
19. NAMA (Southwest Africa/Namibia)Tita ge ra +an-!gfl, Ai ti Elotse Sats ge a guru te !Khaisa. Satsa tani +an tsi 0gore 0ise, tita gera !khd!gfl ti 0gai-o-!nasib, tsi sa 0gaiba. Ti 0gatsisib tsi Sa !khusiba. Sats osef ge 0ni Elo& Hfl tama hh.
Hui-aots tsu-!gTh !nfl, 00i-aitsania mabasen hfltsa.
20. NANKANSE (NANKANI) (Ghanaian dialect) Main bangeya, Winne, it Fom inge man ti n'bange dee puusa Fom, man tiise sira, leleewa, ti man ka tan panga dee Fon tan, man dela nassa dee Fon de tibsa.
Winne deyilla ka le bonna dee Fan ma, songra kum puom, daalum bonna woo.
21. NANKANSE (NANKANI) (UpperVolta dialect) o Nahaba Ouinnd, man tan kassdto ti fou naha-man, tin bang'fo, nong'fo, la indoss'fo.
Main ziin wan, main mi intorrogo Ta fou pangan main mi in'nongdn Ia fou tar'son.
Ouinn~ Kabol san dag'na foum, foum d6 S~ka insongri y6l b66ro pooam, seka inka tarr'danna.
22. SIiRtRE (SERER) (TheSeede a mi e, wo Roog, wo bindaxam ndax urn andofi soo bugofi.
Mixe seede a ndik, o flak o waages, fo waag'of, o flakes fo jeg'of.
Roog fa lefi jeegee faa refeerna wo, wo fiufigh we ndefna na sabab, oxaa na fioowaa o floon xooxum.
23. ki-TUBA: Monokutuba dialect ('Kikon-go Monokutuba')
(ZaFre)Mono ikele mbangi, eb Nzambi na mono, na kuzaba nde: nge gangaka mono, sambu na kuzaba nge ti kupesa nge lukumu, se-sepi yayi, mono ke ndima bufioti na mono ye bunene na nge, bunsukami na mono, ye bumvwama na nge.
Na utwala na nge, Nzambi ya nkaka i-kele ye, ya ke gulusaka na bigonsa, yina ya ke zingaka na ngolo na yandi mosi kaka.
24. ce-VENDA (Venda; SouthNdi a lanziela yawee Mudzimu wanga, uri Wo ntsika u U divha na u U luvha.
Ndi tanziela zwino, u shaya nungo hanga na maainja.
Au, vhushai hanga na lupfumo Lwau.A hu na munwe Mudzimu e si Iwe, Mufarisi Milingoni,
Muciiitelazwothe.t Efforts to obtain exact identification continue.
PUBLISHED2. ALEUT: Eastern dialect5. t 'Araucan' (submitted (Cyrillic script) (Alaska;from Panama)
Aleutian Islands; Siberia)6. t 'Arhuaco' (Colombia)
3. Amuesha (Peru) 7. Aymara (Bolivia; 4. APACHE: Mescalero dialectPeru)
(United 8. Baur6 (Bolivia)13. t 'CARIB: Moreno dialect' (submitted from Honduras) 14. t 'Carib, Island (Caribe)' (submitted from Honduras)
45. t 'Catio' (Colombia;(Amaracaeri) dialect lect (Peru) 46. Mascoy: Lengua dialect
(Paraguay)dialect (Argentina; Bolivia) 80. Tupi: Guarani dialect
(Argentina; Brazil; Paraguay)BAHÁ'Í BIBLIO 81. Turn: Guarayfl dialect
(Bolivia)1. ZAPOTEC: dialect of Mitla, Tiacolula district (Mexico) Nar~i nac~i testigw, Oh Xtioze, de que Luj bazalaajslu narA te gumbee Luj ne ganelaaza Luj. Nar~ nac~. testigw naa impot6ns xtena ne xpoderlu, xquel probe ne xquel nazaa'clu.
Xeti ru ste Dios m~is que Luj, ni racnee nen peligr, ni yu la gac por laani.
ADDITIONAL TEXTS (NOT PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED IN THE BAHÁ'Í WORLD) (42)
1. AMUZGO (Mexico)Ja ndfaa, uu Totz6n, flu sin~je cu~.na chi cuan6'nguu ndo ndza nangngj6 uu.
Ja ban6'ng xhingbd xhejatakinj6ja nd6uu t6ung nanj6uu, ja ts6'an ndia'ja ndu uutAuu.
TAnang cufehi Totzdn chiuu, uunang mati'ndf xhi'naban cufnang dont~, uunang manchf'ncu nchuba man.
2. CI-IINANTEC: dialect of Ayotzintepec, Tuxtepec district (Mexico) Nah lan testigo, quian Dio, Ne me cuahnah ma leli quiun Ne, ma leh nanNe.
Nah fant judzo na ga jiuh sachabe cha quien Ne cia poder quia, nali fijan ne la'da jeu qui Ia je.
Sa chan Ma Dio m6s que Ne, siempre me ayudar la man go quiente, Ne chan flian.
3. CHINANTEC: dialect ofdistrict (Mexico) Ning testigo, nin. Did yha fling ca qulaniug comoni calawni canognin. Nm a nog gio moy lala calajig y juini y tifieni. Ya sha sia Diii ja nin va sha no chio may lay sha mog chiu guia cunia.
4. CHINANTEC: dialect ofdistrict (Mexico) Laa testigo, Oh Diu qua, de que Niy ca mi chaa ni jun ruguhe Niy jun mooni adorar Niy.
Moo testigo cu lue naa sa vee niy y Niy vee, ti fieni y Niy clii qula.
Tza chaa y ja Diu mas ja Niy ba, tza mi ay jay y hue, tza ca la chaa cii iho.
5. CHINANTEC:1 dialect of Usila (Mexico) Niahg25Na'ch mat pay pach fiawe wich oyach, 0' Malquayak, mapuch nap fiem sa'ch iiemuyach muyach mesquap.
Nem meech fiach mat-keefiap mapill nap fiawe yew kich p'warr pin map nap fiawey, yew quax'chelpin napuch mu yax. Malquayak pa'as yow low-waym-lax ushet nemam fiem ma'k, fiaway kam lay Malquayak pich ushet nemam supeck efiam-cha.
The numerals are a guide to pronunciation, differentiating between the five possible tones for each word.
Page 854Mwen s6 t6mwen'w, Bondyd mwen, ki Ou f6 mwen pou konn6t Ou 6pi adow6'w.
Mwen ka testify6, atjw6lman, ki mwen feb ek Ou fd, ki mwen p6v ~pi Ou wich.
I pa ni d6t Bondy6 ki'w, ki ka end6 non en denj6, ki sa viv pa kd'w yonn.
8. CREOLE, LESSER ANTILLES: Gua-daloup6en dialect
(Guadeloupe)o Bondy6, mwen ka t6mwagn6 Ou m6t6 mwen asi 1at~ pou mwen konn~t ou 6 pou mwen ador6'w. Mwen ka test6 con i6 la fbs en mwen pa ka bbd6 ta'w, sa mwen tini pa ayen kot6 sa ou tini.
Ou s~ s&1 Bondy6 qui tini, s6 Ou ki ka pdt6 soukou adan tout' danj 6, st Ou ki ka doubout asi pwa a kd'w menm.
9. CREOLE, LESSER ANTILLES: Mar-tiniquais dialect
(Martinique)Bondy6 0, man ka t6mwagn6 Ou m6t6 mwen asou 1at~, pou man p6 sa konn~t ou pou man p6 sa ador6'w.
Man ka test6 tou kon man la a, fds mwen pa ka bdd6 b6 ta'w, sa man ni pa ayen kot6 sa ou ni. Ou s6 s~1 Bondy6 ki ni, Wou~ki ka pdt6 soukou adan tout' danj6, Wou ki ka doubout asou pwa kb'w menm.
10. CREOLE, LESSER ANTILLES: St. Lucian dialect ('Patois')
(St. Lucia)Mwen ka s~mant6, mon Di6, komkw6 Ou mwen pou kon~t Ou 6pi adow6 Ou.
Mwen ka t~stifi6 atjwdlman komkw~ mwen fdb 6pi s6 Ou ki ni tout fds &v~c pouvwa, mwen pbv 6pi tout wish&s s6 sa Ou.
La pa ni pies dbt Di6 apa di Ou, On ki ka pdt6 soukou an tout danj6, Ou ka &ksist6 pa K6w Tousel.
11. CUICATEC (Mexico)U testigo yami Dios nyi tachi did u nae trichi di y di adorar.
Atestiguo di mnifio ama impotencia did ama poder, u pobre u tedy riqueza.
Uffi ama Dios amandy diivo did ayudar nae ama peligro, chi ama nuy yi idifias.
12. HUAVE (Mexico)Shic testigo, oh sha Dios, de que 1k teran shic para mayaj emMs y nataj adorarte.
Dc nataj atestiguar canacu sha impotencia y mi poder, sha pobreza y mi tomieun.
Ngo maj-leik a To nap Dios mAs que 1k, ci que ataj ayudar ush ajhik peligro, nhu que subsiste por nhowey ano.
13. INUIT: Barren Grounds dialect (Eastern Arctic Syllabics) (Canada)
L~'~L %tflCrJ~%L C9~L Jfl(r'LL~L M-rOh C~~j~LC4' 1Bahá'í Publishing Committee],
c1952. 103 p. 7.52. idem. Wilinette: Baha Publishing Trust, 1960. 82 p. 7.53. idem. New Delhi: Baha Publishing Trust, 1970. 82 p. (Three variants: one with pink cover; one with yellow cover with black lettering; one with
Page 883black and magenta cover and series Service to Universities).
7.54. A Compendium of Volumes oft/ic Bahá'í World, an International Record, I-XIL 82 � 110 of the Bahá'í Era (1925 � 1954). conip.
Roger White. Oxford:Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1950, 1951. 90 p. 7.56. idem. Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, nd. 90 p.; 1969. 93 p. 7.57. Coy, Genevieve.
Counsels of Perfection:Ronald, 1978. 186 p. 7.58. Dean, S. I. 52 Bahá'í
Talks for All Occasions. Kualaiv, 208 p. 7.60. De Corrales, Jeanne Frankel. Nine Days to
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(Maqdrndt-i-Tawh[d).Tib-rAn: Mu'asisiy-i-Mi1hy-i-Matb&~t-i-Amri, 133 [1976 � 1977]. 346 p. 11. Dhuk&f Bayd&i, Nimatu'116.h
(Tadhkariy-i-Shu'ardyi-Qarn-i-Avval-i-Bahd'O. Tihr~n: Mu'asisiy-i-Milliy-iMatbflAt-i-Arnrf, 121 � [1964 � ]. 4 v. published.
12. Dihq6n, GhulAm-Ali.Tih-tin: Mu'asisiyiMi11iyiMatbd'~itiArnrf, 135 [1978 � 1979]. 341 p. 13. F~diI-i-M~zandar6nf,
Assadu'llTh. (AsrdruTihrAn: Mu'asisiy-iMiIliy-i-Matb~6t-i-Amrf, [194 � ?]. v 3 and v. 8 pts. 1 and 2 published.
Volume 3 has title: Kitáb-i-Zuhrfr al-Haq.[1973 � 1974]. 112 p. 17. (Qdfihih Sdldr-i-Bandigi).
Tihr~n: Mn'asisiy-iMillfy-i-Matb&6t-i-Amrf, 132 [1975 � 1976]. 160 p. 18. Faydi, Muhammad-All.
(Akji1dq-i-Bahd'~. Tihr4n:Tihr6n: Mu'asisiy-i-Mil1fy-i-Matbfl'~t-i-Amrf, 125 [1968 � 1969]. 277 p. liy-i-Matbii'~t-i-Amri, 132 [1976]. 396 p. 21. (Zfaydt-i-1'Iadrat-i-'Abdu'l-Bahá).
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Mirza (Rihiatus-Sudar).BaM'f-Verlag, 1982. 530 p. 32. Ishr~q-KMvarf, 'Abdu'1-Ivlamfd.
(Ayydm-i-Tis'ili). 5th ed. Tihr~n: Mu'asisiy-i-Milliy-i-Matb6'6t-i-Amri, 129 [1972 � 1973]. 576 p. 33. idem. Los Angeles: Ka1im~t Press, 1981.
576 p. 34. (Gan]-i-Slzdygdn).Tihr~n: Mu'asisiy-i-Milliy-iMatbii'~t-i-Amri, 124 [1967 � 1968]. 214 p. 35. (Gan]iniy-i-Hudad va Ahkdm). Tihr6n: Mu'asisiy-i-Milliy-i-MatbdMt-i-Amrf, 109 [1958 � 1959]. 384 p. 36. idem. Tihr~n: Mu'asisiy-i-Millfy-i-Matbfr6t-iAmrf, 119 [1962 � 1963]. 466 p. 37. idem. 3rd ed. Tihr6n: Mu'asisiy-i-Millfy-i-Matbii'at-i-Amri, 128 [1971 � 1972]. 466 p. 38. idem. New Delhi: Baha Publishing Trust, 1980.
466 p. 39. (Nib-ayn Nayyarayn).Tihr6n: Mu'asisiy-i-Miuiyi-Matbii'6t-i-Amri, 123 [1965 � 1966]. 302 p. 40. (Qdmtis-i-Iqdn). Tibran: Mu'asisiy-i-Milliy-i-Matbagt-i-Amrf, 127 � 128 [1970 � 1972]. 4 v. 41. (Rahiq-i-MakhWm).
TihrAn: Mu'asisiy-i-Millfy-iMatba'~t-i-Amri, 130 � [1973 � ]. 2 v. published.
42. (Ta qvim-i-Tdrikh-i-Amr).Tihran: Mu'asisiy-iMillfy-i-Matbfl'6t-i-Anirf, 126 [19694970]. 365 p. 43. Khadem, Zikrullah.
(Ri Ydd-i-Mahbflb).Tihr~n: Mu'asisiy-i-Mi1liy-i-Matbii'~t-i-Amrf, 131 [1974]. 396 p. 44. Mahmiidf Hushang.
(Ydd Ddshthdy dar Bdriy-i-Ijad-rat-i-'Abdu'l-Bahá).
Tihrgn: Mu'asisiy-i-Milliy-i-Matbiittt-i-Amri, 130 [1973]. 2 v.
45. Malik Khusruvi Muhammad-AlLMu'asisiyiMiJliyiMatbii'gtiAmrf, 118 [1961 � 1962]. 266 p. 46. (Thr(klz-i-Shuhaddy-i-Amr).
Tihr~n: Mu'asisiy-iMi1liy-i-Matb&~t-i-Amrf, 130 � [1973 � ]. 3 v. published.
47. MihrabkhAnj R ($j7arhiAhvdliJindbiAbu'1Fadd'il Amrf, 131 [1975]. 488 p. 48. Misb~h, 'Azfzu'lUh.
(Daldilu's-Sulh). Tihrgn:Muasisiy-i-MilIiy-i-Matbu'At-i-Amrf, 128 [1971 � 1972]. 571, 88 p. 49. Mu'ayyad, Habfb. (Khdtirdt-i-Habib).
Tihr6n: Mu'asisiy-i-Mi11fy-i-Matba'~it-i-Amrf, 118 � (1961 � ]. 2 v. published.
50. Muhammad Thhir-i-M6lmirf.623 p. 51. idem. Tihr6n: Mu'asisiy-i-Millfy-i-Matbfrat-iAmrf, nd. [1970?]. 623 p. 52. idern. Karachi: Hah&f Publishing Trust, 135 [1978].
612 p. 53. NatAl Z6dih, Mirza.Tihr~n: Mu'asisiy-i-Milliy-i-Matbii'6t-i-Amri, 129 [1972 � 1973]. 346 p. 54. NAtiq, Muhammad. (al-Jiawrat alA wid miii al-A4Lmnd-zirdt al-Diniyyah). Cairo: Faraju'116h Zaki, AM.
1342 [1923 � 1924]. 232 p. 55. NuqabA'i, His~m. (TMzirih,
Qurratu'1-'Ayn). Tihr~n:Mu'asisiy-i-Millfy-i-Matb&~t-i-Amrf, 128 [1971 � 1972]. 56. N6sh-Ab6df, Hasan Rahm6ni. (Baydn-i-Haqiqat).
Tih-nin: Mu'asisiyiMiIlfyiMatbflAtiArnri, 118 [1961 � 1962]. 246 p. 57. (Mir'dtu'1-Haqiqat).
Tihnin: Mu'asisiy-i-MiIIiy-iMatbii'gt-i-Amrf, 129 [1972 � 1973]. 308 p. 58. Qadimi, Riad. (Du Hizdr Lughat) . Tihr~n: Muasisiy-iMilliy-i-Matba'6t-i-Amri, 124 [1967 � 1968]. 219 p. 59. (Slush Hizdr Lughafl.
Tihnin: Mu'asisiy-i-MiIliyi-Matbii'~t-i-Amri, 131 [1974 � 1975]. 449 p. 60. idern. Hofheim-Langenhain: Bah&f-Verlag, 1982.
449 p. 61. QubAd, lsfandiyAr.Tihr4n: Mu'asisiy-i-Milliy-i-Matb&M-i-Amrf, 131 [1974 � 1975]. 423 p. 62. Samandar, K~izim. (Tdrikh-i-Samandar).
Tihr6n: Mu'asisiy-i-MiIliy-i-Matbimt-i-Amri, 131 [1974 � 1975], 532 p. 63. Suhr~b, 'In6yatu'116h.
(Hdyat-i-Bahd'z9. Tihr~n:Mu'asisiy-i-Mi1liy-i-Matbii'~t-i-Aimri, 122 [1965 � 1966]. 202 p. 64. (Mabddiy-i-Istidldl).
Tihr6n: Mu'asisiy-i-Milliy-iMatbii'~t-i-Amri, 130 [1973 � 1974]. 455 p. 65. Su1aym~nf, 'Azizu'lhih.
(Masdbih-i-Hiddyat).2nd ed. TihrAn: Mu'asisiyiMillfyiMatbii'atiAmrf, 118 � 132 [1961 � 1975]. 9 v. 66. Tkibit-i-MarAghi'f,
Muhammad. (Dar Khidrnat-i-Di~sfl Tibran:Mu'asisiy-i-Millfy-i-Marb&at-i-Amrf, 132 [1975 � 132 [1975 � 1976].
483 p. 67. Yazd6ni, Alimad. (Kitáb-i-Nazar-i-I]mdli dar D(ydnat-107 [1950].
156 p. 68. Yiinis KMn-i-Afriikhtih.TihrAn: Mu'asisiy-i-MiIliy-i-Matb6'6t-i-Amrf, 124 [1967 � 1968]. 564 p. 70. idem. Rev. ed. [Los Angeles]: Kalim6t Press, 1983. 564 p. '71. Zarq~ni, Mahmiid.
(Kitáb-i-Baddyi'u'1-Athdr).Press). 2 v. 72. idem. Hofheim-Langenhain: Bah6'f-Verlag, 1982.
2 v.Moskva: Zelenaja Paloch-ka, 1913. 96 p. 2. Grinevskaya, Izabella.
(Bab: DramaticheskajaS. Peterburg: T-vo Kliudozhestvennoi Pechati, 1903. 148 p. 3. idem. Izd. 2c. Petrograd: Koreika, 1916. 165 p.
4. (Bekha-ulla: Poema Tragedijav Stikhakh iz Istorii Persii). St. Petersburg: Tip. I. 0. Braude, 1912.
184 p. 5. Ivanov, M. S. (Babidikie Vossianija v Irane, 1848 � 1852).
Moskva: Akadernija NaukEditorial Bahá'í de Espafia, 1972. 129 p. 2. Hern~ndez, Juanita.
Faro de Luz: Pam losComit6 Nacional de Ensefianza de Mujeres y Nifios, 1978.
110 p. 3. idem. 2a ed. Guatemala:de los Baha de Guatemala, 1980. vi, 110 p. 4. Marqu6s y Utrillas,
1os~ Luis. Perspectivasde Espafia, 1982. 99 p. 5. Mehrabkhani, R. La Aurora del Dia Prometido. Madrid: Editorial Bahá'í de Espafia, 1974. 290 p.
6. El Esplendor del DiaEditorial Baha de Espafia, 1983. 204 p. 8. Noches Navideuias. Madrid: Editorial Baha, 1969. 126 p.
SWEDISHoch Bud, 1969. 178 p. 2. idem. [Enskede]: Bah6'i-Fdrlaget, 1981. 176 p.
TURKISH1. Doktoroglu, Sami. Bekienen ~?ag. Istanbul: Giiryay Matbaacilik, 1975. 94 p. 2. Oz~uca, N. Bahai Dini: Tarihi, Prensipleri ye
Dint HilkiPnleri. Ankara:Hi) kijinler ye Izahieri. Ankara: Ba~nur Matbaasi, 1971.
123 p.320 p. 2. idem. Karachi: Baha Publishing Trust, nd., [197 � ],
408 p. 3. (Risdlat-i-Itdhiyyih).Karachi: Baha Publishing Trust, nd. [197 � ?]. 208 p. 4. Mustaf~i Riimf, Siyyid.
(al-Mi'ydr al-Sahih Ii Ma'rifah al-MiMi va al-Mast/i). [New Delhi: Bahai Publishing Committee],
1947. 148 p. 5. (Zuhar-i-Qd'im-i-AI-i-Muhamrnad).
Karachi: Baha PublishingThis bibliography is an attempt to bring together all theses and dissertations relating to the Bahá'í Faith which have been required for obtaining university degrees, whether Bachelor's, Master's or Doctoral. Entries are arranged alphabetically by author's last name. Each thesis is assigned a number in sequence which begins with TH. In future volumes of The Bahá'í World, additional theses will co THi. Abadi, Behnaz. (1981).
The World Into One Nation:as Found in Islam and Baha'i. MA. Con-cordia University, Montreal.
TH3. Alter, S. Neale. (1923).Studies in Bahaism. Ph.D., University of Edinburgh.
TH4. Amanat, Abbas. (1981).(1971). Responsivizy, the Evolution of Creative Synthesis. Ph.D., University of
Massachusetts.Case Study of the Houston Baha'is. MA., University of Houston.
T118. Asander, Margit.(1977). Religion, Sanu~ ci M.~de-cine: Place de in Foi Baha'i. M.D.,
Universit6 de Grenoble.TH12. Behroozi, Shahia B. (1971). The Rote of Bahá'í Faith in the Social
Development of Bahá'íMaster of Social Work, University of the Philippines.
T1113. Berger, Peter L. (1954). From Sect toder Baha'i-Verwahungsordnung innerhaib der Gemeinsehaft der Baha, tinter besondere Betrach-tung der zwei leitenden Institutionen.
Doctorate, Universit?it(1933). A Study of the Rise and Diffusion of the Bahá'í Religion. BA., Reed
College.Evolution in the United States and Canada from 1922 to 1936. Ph.D., Universit~ Catholique de
Louvaifi.T1117. Garlington, William N. (1975). The Ba/mi
Faith in Maiwa: A StudyTHiS. Garrigues, Steve L. (1976). The Rahais of Matwa:
Identity and Change Among(1983). Die metaphysiseher und dheologischer Grundlagen der Erziehungslehre der Bahd'i-Religion.
MA., Universitat Stuttgart,the Training Requiremnts of International Bahá'í Traveling Teachers. Ed.D., Boston
University.T1122. Hakini-Samandari, Christine. (1979). Atude d'une Institution Religieusc: t'Ordre Administratif
Bahá'í et In Conimnunaun~des Fiddes. Ph.D., Ecole des Hautes ttudes en Sciences
Sociales.(1980). The Growth and Spread of the Bahá'í Faith.
Ph.D., University of(1977). Encounter of Two Myths: Bahá'í and Christian in the Rural
American South � A Studyin der 'Neuen Weltordnung' auf Grund der Raha'i-Lehre. Doctorate, Leopold-Franzens Universit?it
Innsbruek.Analysis of the Ba/mi Movement. MA., University of California at Berkeley.
TH31. Lerche, Charles.for World Order: The Bahá'í Fall/i. MA., American University.
TH32. Loeppert, Theodor A. (1933). Die Forteniwicklung c/er
Bdbi-Bahá'í im Westen.schaft des Bah~','srnus: Ursprung, Enwicklung, heutiger Stand. Universitat des
Saarlands.A Revised Survey of the Sources for Early Báb Doctrine and History. Fellowship
Dissertation, King's(1967). The Life and Work of Sarah Jane Farmer, 184 7 � 1916. MA., University of
Waterloo.(1969). The Growth of the Bahá'í Faith in Malaysia.
University of Malaya.A Short History of the Bahá'í Faith in Canada, 18984975.
BA., Carleton University.Yan Kee Leong: A Biography of a Malaysian Cartoonist.
MS., Iowa State University.Used by Baha is in Educating Persons to Adopt Ba/mi Faith.
BA., University of Rajasthan.of the Bahá'í Faidi in New Zealand. M.A. University of Auckland.
TH45. Rost, Harry. (1969).of Bahá'í Universities and Colleges Based Upon a Study of Bahá'í Literature.
Ph.D., University of SouthThis Prophetern'ersrdndnis der Bahiji-Religion aus der Sichr ihrer GriPider. MA.,
Mulheim-Ruhr.TH5O. Scholl, Steven D. (1980). Im~,nT Sh~'tsrn and the Bahá'í Faith:
A Preliminary Study.TI151. Scotlo di Ereca, Cosetta. (1983). Le Persecuzione dei Bahá'í in Persia datl'Avvento dei Pahiavi az Giorni Nostri. Tesi di Laurea, Universit~ degli
Studi di Venezia, FacoIt~of the Báb and Bahá'í Religions. Ph.D., University of Lancaster.
THS3. Smolander, Kenny.(1980). Tolstol el/a Foi Baha'i. M6rnoire de Licence, Universit~ de
Gen~vc.to the Bahá'í Faith in Yazd, Iran. MA., University of Arizona.
TH56. Szepesi, Angela.Recherches sur les Origines de B~bisme et ses Rapports avec lislam. Ph.D., Universi1~ de Paris.
TH5S. Tirandaz, Mina. (1974).Study qf the North American Speaking Tour of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and a RhetoricalAnalysis of His Addresses. Ph.D., Ohio
University.dun Oiseau, ou: Une Introduction c~ la Conception Bahaje de Ia Santa. M.D., Universit~ de Lyon.
TH63. Zabih, M. (1949).Die L~5sung der sozialen Fragen auf Grund der Baha'i-Lehren.
Doctorate, Universi-t~itof Bahá'í Philosophy with a Special Consideration of the Concept of Unity.
Ph.D., University of2. Andalib. v. 1, no. 1 (138, 1981 � 1982) � . Thornhill,
Ont.: National SpiritualAssembly of the Baha of Canada. Persian language general Bahá'í journal.
3. Bahá'í News, no. 1 (Dec. 1924) � . Wilmette,of the Baha of the United States. Monthly journal of international Bahá'í news.
4. Bahá'í Studies. v.v. 1, no. 1 (June 1982) � . Newcastle upon Tyne, Eng.: Stephen
Lambden. UnofficialStudies. Baha studies journal containing conference papers and short essays.
7. Brilliant Star. v. 15, no. 1 (Mar � Apr. 1983) � .
Hixson, Tenn.: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. Children's journal which succeeds
Child's Way.9. Opinioni Baha'i. no. 1(1973) � no. 16 (lugljo 1976); v. 1, no. 1 (inverno 1977) � .
Roma: Assemblea Spiritualede Suisse. French language general Bahá'í journal.
11. Pensamiento Baha'i, no. 1 (enero 1980) � .de los Baha de Espafia. Spanish language general Bahá'í journal.
12. Varqd. v. 1 (Jan. 1971) � . New Delhi: VarqA.
Persian language children's magazine, volumes 1 � 5 of which were published in Iran, 1971 � 1976.
13. Varqd: Children's14. World Order. v. 1, no. 1 (Fall 1966) � . Wilmette,
Ill.:Partial view of the Bahá'í exhibit at the International Book Fair held in Frankfurt from 6 to 11 October 1982 in which publications of the German Bahá'í Publishing Trust and nineteen other Baha'i' publishers from seventeen countries were displayed.
Page 893'Abbas 'Abdu'l-Bahá 'Abdu'1-Hamfd 'Abdu'I-I5usayn 'Abdu'116h
Abh6Ahv~z Akbar 'Akka 'A1& 'All 'All-Muhammad A1IAh-u-AbhA AlvAb
Abdu'l-Bahá'urn Imrtm Im6m-Jum'ih Im~m-Z6dih Iqan Iran 'Ir6q 'Ir6qi 'IrAq-i-'Ajam
Isfahhn 'Ishqabad IshrttqAt IshtihArd IslAm Isma'flfyyih 'Izzat
JaMtL.) t m h~) '4 ..zh gh ~ ~ h sCM~ ~ LmS �~IIII.. .4
ORIENTAL TERMS 895The 'i' added to the name of a town signifies 'belonging to'. Thus Shir~zi means native of Shfr~z.
3. NOTES ON THE PRONUNCIATIONThe emphasis in Persian words is more or less evenly distributed, each syllable being equally stressed as in French.
For example, do not say Tab riz or Tabarsi; stay as long on one syllable as on the next; Tabriz; Tabarsi. (While there are many exceptions to this rule, it is the most generally correct method of treating the question of stress.)
A frequent mistake is the failure to distinguish between broad and flat 'a's.' This differentiation makes the language especially musical and should be observed: in the word Afn~n, for example, pronounce the first 'a' as in account.
and the second syllable to rhyme with on. Americans are apt to pronounce short 'a' plus 'r' like the verb form are; this is a mistake; 'ar' should be pronounced as in the word hurry � cf. Tarbiyat.
The same differentiation should be observed in the case of long and short 'i' and long and short 'u'. As the guide to the transliteration indicates, short 'i' is like 'e' in best, and long 'i' like 'ee' in meet; for example, IbrThfm is pronounced
Eb-r~heem; Ishim is Ess-lahm.Short 'u' being like 'o' in short, and long 'ii' like '00' in moon, the following would be pronounced:
Page 896Pronounce 'aw' to rhyme with low, or mown; Nawruz is No-Rooz.
The following consonants may be pronounced like z: dh z z d The following consonants may be pronounced like ss: th s s Zh is pronounced like the 's' in pleasure.
~b is pronounced like 'cli' in Scottish loch or German nacht. Do not pronounce it as 'k'.
Westerners often experience difficulty pronouncing 'gh' and 'q'; a guttural French �' will serve here; otherwise use hard 'g' as in good.
H and 1, approximately like the English aspirate 'h', should never be dropped. Tihr~n is Teh-ron; madrisih is mad-res-seh;
Mihrib is Meh-rob.In the case of double letters pronounce each separately: 'Abbas.
The character transliterated (') represents a pause; it is not unlike the initial sound made in pronouncing such a word as every.
The word Bahá'í is phonetically as follows: 'a' as in account; '6' as in hail; ('), pause; 'f'as ec in meet.
The character transliterated (') may also be treated as a pause.
NB. As Persian often indicates no vowel sounds and as its pronunciation differs in different localities throughout Persia and the Near East as well as among individuals in any given locality, a uniform system of transliteration such as the above, which is in use by Bahá'í communities all over the world, is indispensable to the student.
An example of Mishkin-Qalam's calligraphy, dated AH 1303 (1885), to be seen in the house at Mazra'ih.
Page 8974. DEFINITIONS OF SOME OF Ab Father
Aba (See Abii.)'Aba A loose, sleeveless cloak or mantle, open in front.
'AM Servant, bondsman; worshipper (of God).'Abdu'l-Bahá Servant of Baha: title of the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, and
Centre of His Covenant.whereby each letter of the Arabic alphabet is assigned a specific numerical value.
Abli, Aba, Abi Father of.Adib Refined, cultured, learned, writer, scholar, man of letters. Title of one of the early Hands of the Cause.
'Adi Justice. (See Baytu'I-'AdI-i-A'zam.)the BTh's kindred specifically, descendants of His three maternal uncles and His wife's two brothers.
Agha Originally lord, nobleman; officer, commander: placed after a woman's name Aghd is a courtesy title comparable with Aq~; may also form part of a compound proper name.
Agh~in Literally Branches:A.H. Anno Hegirae (in the year of the Emigration): denotes the Muslim Era, reckoned from the year of Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina in AD.
622. (See Hijrat.)a name for the Siirih of Joseph. Tafsir-i-Ahsanu'l-Qisas: the Bib's Commentary on the Sarih of Joseph, the Qayyamu'1-Asmd'.
Akbar Greater, greatest.'AId' Loftiness: nineteenth month of the Badi' calendar.
(See Wi.)'Au The first Lm~m and rightful successor of Muhammad; also the fourth Caliph according to the Sunnab.
Allah God.Name, adopted during the period of Bahá'u'lláh's exile in Adrianople as a greeting among the Baha'is.
AII~h-u-Akbar God is MostGreat: Muslim salutation, and opening words of the call to prayer, superseded by AIIah-u-Abh~ as a greeting among the Baha during the Adrianople period.
AI-Madinah Literally Theand Ha Abu'1-Hasan-i-Ardik~nf, first trustees of the Ijuququ'lIah.
Amir Prince, ruler; commander, governor. Anis Literally companion, friend, associate: appellation given by the Báb to Mirza Muhammad-'Alfy-i-Zurnizi, the youthful disciple who shared His martyrdom.
Aqa Master; The Master:title given by Bahá'u'lláh to 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Also used, preceding a name, in an honorific sense: Mister, Sir. (See Sarkar-Aqa.)
Aqdas Most Holy. (See'Asbura Tenth day of the month of MuILIar-ram, anniversary of the martyrdom of the Jm~im Husayn.
Asm~' Names: ninth month of the Badi' calendar.A'zam Greatest. (See Baytu'I-'AdI-i-A'zam; Ism-i-A'zam;
Sadr.i-A'zam.)'Azamat Grandeur: fourth month of the Badi' calendar.
'A~im Literally mighty, great, glorious: titleB~b Gate: title assumed by Mirza 'All-Muhammad after the declaration of His Mission in Shfr6z on 23 Ma~ 1844.
BAN Follower of the Bib.BAbu'I-BAb The Gate of the Gate: title of Mulid Husayn, the first Letter of the Living.
Badi' Wonderful: (1)of Khur~san, the seventeen-year-old bearer of Bahá'u'lláh's
Tablet to Ndsiri'd-Din ShAh.(2) StyLe of the new nineteen-month calendar of the Bahá'í Era. (See B.E.) Bagum Lady (of rank), dame, begum: placed after a woman's given name Ba gum is a courtesy title comparable with
Big.Bah~ Glory, splendour, light: (1) The Greatest Name. (See Bahá'u'lláh.)
(2) First month of the Badf' calendar.of God: title of Mirza Husayn-'Ali: born in Tihr~n on 12 November 1817; ascended in Babji, near 'Akka on
29 May 1892.Babji Literally delight, gladness, joy: denotes that part of the Plain of 'Akka where the Shrine and Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh are situated.
Bani-Wshim LiterallySons of Hdshim (great grandfather of Muhammad): clan of Quraysh from which Muhammad was descended.
Bahá'u'lláh Remnantof God: traditional appellation of the QA'im, derived from the Qur'an; designation of the B&o as the Promised One of Jshm, and applied by
Him to Bahá'u'lláh.Baytrn Literally exposition, explanation, lucidity, eloquence, utterance: title given by the Mb to His Revelation, and to two of His Writings, one in Persian, the other in Arabic.
Bayt House.B.E. Bahá'í Era: denotes the Badi' calendar, reckoned from the year of the B~.b's declaration of His Mission in 1844.
Big Literally lord, prince; governor, bey: placed after the given name, Big was used as a courtesy title for middle-ranking officials. (See KhAn.)
Bish6rht Glad Tidings:title of one of the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
BismillAhi'r-Rahin6ni'r-Rabiminvocation prefixed to all but the ninth siirih of the Qur'an, and composed (in Arabic) of nineteen letters.
Caliph Vicar, deputy: successor of the Prophet Muhammad, supreme civil and spiritual head of the Islamic world, a title claimed by successive dynasties.
Caravanserai, sera, -sary (See I(h~n.) D&6gbih High constable.
Darvish (Religious) mendicant, dervish, Muslim mystic.
(See ~6fi.)Dayy6n Literally conqueror, ruler; Judge (an epithet of the Godhead): title conferred by the Báb on Mirza Asadu'llAh, Learned divine of Khuy.
DhabfI~ Literally slain, sacrificed, offered up:Siyyid Jsm~ifl-i-ZavAri'i, enraptured follower of Bahá'u'lláh.
(2) Title given by Bahá'u'lláh to HAjI Muhammad-JsinA'fl-i-K6sh6ni, ardent early teacher of the Cause.
Dhi'b The Wolf appellation applied by Bahá'u'lláh to Shaykh Muhammad-Mqir who, together with Mir Muhammad-Husayn (the Ragsh 6), precipitated the deaths of the King and Beloved of Martyrs, and instigated the martyrdom of many other Baha'is, particularly in JsfahTh and Yazd. (See Mabb6bu'sh-Shuhad&
SuIt~nu'sh-Shu-hadA.)Dhikr Mention, remembering; remembrance of God; praise and thanksgiving; recital of the names of God, religious exercise or ceremony;
The Qur'an, The WordFarm~n Order, command, firman, edict, royal decree.
Farr~sb Footman, lictor, attendant. FarrAsbFarsakh Unit of measurement, approximately 3 � 4 miles or nearly 5.5 kilometres.
F~timih Daughter of the Prophet, wife of the ImArn 'Au and mother of the
ImAm Ijusayn.Fatv~ A legal pronouncement or decree by a Muslim mufti.
Firdaws Garden; Paradise. Firm~nBranch: title conferred by Bahá'u'lláh on Mirza Mihdf brothenof 'Abdu'l-Bahá who died in the Most Great Prison in 'Akka.
Ghusn-i-A'zam The MostGreat Branch: title conferred by Bahá'u'lláh on 'Abdu'l-Bahá Wi The thirty-first letter of the Persian alphabet, with a numerical value of five. Ayy~m-i-H~ Literally The days of Hd: the Intercalary Days, so named by Bahá'u'lláh in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, where He also ordained that they should immediately precede the month of 'AU.', the month of fasting which closes the Baha year.
Every fourth year the number of the Intercalary Days is raised from four to five to accommodate the extra day of the leap year.
Hadith Literally report, account; Prophetic Tradition.
The whole body of the sacred tradition of the Muslims is called the k{ad{Ili. (Plural: Ah6dith.)
Ijla4rat Literally presence.Placed before a name, in the form of Hadrat-i-� � , the word is a courtesy title signifying 'His Majesty', 'His Holiness'.
IjIa4rat-i-A'IA His Holiness,1j~ji, thu A Muslim who has performed the pilgrimage to Mecca.
Ijaram Sanctuary, sacred precinct or court.Holy Court: a designation given by the Guardian to the northwestern quadrant of the garden surrounding the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.
llawdaj Howdah: a litter carried by a camel, mule, horse or elephant for travelling purposes.
Hazfratu'I-Quds The SacredFold: official title designating headquarters of Bahá'í administrative ministrative activity in a particular country or region.
llijrat, llijra(h) Literallythe date of Muhammad's flight from Mecca to Medina in AD. 622: the basis of Islamic chronology.
ljliuI Nonsacred ground, an antonym of ilaram.Ijlujjat Literally proof argument, reason: title of MulIA Muhammad-'Alfy-i-ZanjThi, hero of the ZanjAn upheaval.
~uq6qu'II~h Right of God:payment by the believers, instituted in the Kitd b-i-A qdas.
Ijlusayn The third Jrn6m, second son of 'All and Htimih, martyred on the plains of KarbilA on 10 Muharram A.H. 61 (AD.
680).Ijusayniyyih A place where the martyrdom of the Im4m Husayn is mourned, or where Muslim passion-plays may be presented. The term is the designation that was given to Bahá'u'lláh's
Most Great House in BaghdAdafter its forcible occupation by the Shfah community.
-i-Sound inserted in pronunciation (though not represented in Persian script) at the end of a word to indicate that the following word stands in a possessive or adjectival relation to it.
Ibn Son.'Urn Knowledge: twelfth month of the Badi' calendar.
Imrtm Head, chief leader.(1) Muslim cleric who leads the congregation in prayer. (See
Imdm-Jum'ih.) (2) Titleapplied by the Shfahs to each of the twelve successors of Muhammad in the line of
'AU. (See 'Au;Iin~m-Jum'ih Muslim clergyman who performs the Friday prayers, the leading imdm in a town or city; chief of the mu11~s, who recites the Friday prayers for the sovereign.
ImAm-Z~dih Descendanttitle of Bahá'u'lláh's Epistle to Jr{6jf Mirza Siyyid Muhammad, a maternal uncle of the Mb.
Isbrhq~t Splendours: title of one of the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
Page 900Name of God: title bestowed by Bahá'u'lláh on a number of believers.
Isr~fiI Angel who sounds the trumpet on the Day of Judgement.
'Izzat Might: tenth month of the Badi' calendar.the Mb's allusions to the fortress of Mdh-K6 and the castle of Chihriq respectively.
J6hiiyyih The Age of Ignorance:denotes the state of paganism prevailing in Arabia before the advent of Muhammad.
JaIM Glory: second month of the Badf' calendar.Jihgd Literally striving, endeavour; crusade; holy war, enjoined in the Qur'an, abrogated by Bahá'u'lláh.
Jin6b Literally threshold: placed before a name, in the form Jindb-i-� � , the word is a courtesy title signifying 'His Excellency', 'His Honour'.
Jubbih An outer coat or cloak.Ka'bih The Kaaba: ancient shrine at Mecca, chosen by Muhammad to be the centre of pilgrimage for Muslims. The most holy shrine in Isl6m and Qibtih of the Muslim world.
Kabir Literally great, big, old. (See Akbar.) Kad-Khud~ Chief of a ward or parish in a town; headman of a village.
Kalhntar Mayor.Title given by Bahá'u'lláh to His faithful brother, Mirza Miis4. (See KaIimu'll~b.)
Kalimgt Words: seventh month of the Badi' calendar.
Kalimu'II~h He Who Conversedtitle of Moses, given to Him in the Islamic Dispensation.
Kamhl Perfection: eighth month of the Badi' calendar.
Karbil&i Style of a Muslimwho has performed the pilgrimage to Karbih; as a title it is placed before the given name.
Kawthar Literally plentiful, abundant sweet (potion): a river in Paradise, whence all other rivers derive their source.
Kh6dimu'lIhh Servant of God: title of Mirza Aq~ Thn, amanuensis of Bahá'u'lláh.
Khalifih (See Caliph.)of H~i Muhammad-JbrThim-i-Qazvfni, conferred on him by the
Mb.Khalilu'IIgb Friend of God: title given to Abraham in the Qur'Th.
Kb6n (1) Prince, lord, nobleman, chieftain. Originally used as a courtesy title for officers and high-ranking officials Khdn came to denote � placed after a given name � simply 'gentleman'.
(See Big.) (2) Exchange, market; inn, caravanserai: an inn constructed around a central court where caravans (trains of pack animals) may rest for the night.
Khcrnum Lady; wife. Placedafter a woman's given name, Khdnum is a courtesy title meaning 'gentlewoman' comparable with Kh&in.
Kbidr The Green One: aprophet, companion of Moses according to Islamic tradition, associated with the unnamed personage mentioned in Qur'an 18:60 � 82; believed to have drunk from the fountain of life and to be its custodian, he symbolizes the true guide.
Khutbih Sermon delivered in the mosques on Fridays at noon by the imam.
Kiblah (See Qiblib.)Holy Book: title of Bahá'u'lláh's Book of Laws and Ordinances.
Koran (See Qur'an.)Kul6h The Persian lambskin hat worn by government employees and civilians.
Kull-i-Shay' Literallyall things: the term, whose numerical value is 361, signifies 19 cycles of 19 years in the Badi' calendar.
Lawly Literally slate, sheet, table; Tablet. (Plural:
Alvhh.)ORIENTAL Madrisib Seminary, school, religious college. Maljbiibu'sh-SbuhadA
Beloved of Martyrs:title conferred by Bahá'u'lláh on Mirza Muhammad-Husayn, martyred in Isfah6n together with his brother, the
SuIt~nu'sh-Shuhad~i. (SeeMas~i'iI Questions: fifteenth month of the Badi' calendar.
Mashhadi Style of a Muslimwho has performed the pilgrimage to Mashhad as a title it is placed before the given name.
Mashiyyat Will: eleventh month of the Badi' calendar.
Mashriqu'l-Adhkar LiterallyThe Dawning-place of the Praise of God: title designating a Bahá'í House of Worship.
Masjid Mosque: a MuslimMecca Birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and scene of the early, difficult years of His ministry before His emigration to Medina. (See Hijrat;
Ka'bih.)adoptive home after His flight from Mecca, and scene of the latter years of His ministry, during which His Faith spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula, and its social teachings were promulgated. (See llijrat.)
Mibdi Literally directed, guided; one who is rightly guided; The Mahdi: a designation of the Twelfth Im~m; title of the Manifestation expected by Jsl6m.
Mihr6b A niche in the wall of a mosque indicating the direction of Mecca, before which the im~m stands when leading the congregation in prayer; the most important part of a mosque.
Mir A contraction of amir, used, when prefixed to a name, to denote descent from the House of the Prophet. (See Siyyid.)
Mi'r~j The Ascent: Muhammad'smystic vision of the 'night journey' in which He ascended into heaven.
Mirza A contraction of amir-zddih, meaning son of an amir'. When affixed to a name it signifies 'Prince'; when prefixed, it either denotes a clerk, secretary, scribe or scholar or conveys a merely honorific sense:
Mister.the musk-scented pen: title applied to Mirza Husayn-i-JsfahAni, a distinguished Bahá'í calligraphist.
Mu'adhdhin Muezzin: the one who sounds the adWrn, the Muslim call to prayer.
Mub~rak Blessed. (Seelaw; gives a fatv~i or sentence on a point of religious jurisprudence.
Muharram First month of the Muslim lunar calendar, the first ten days of which are observed by the Shfahs as part of their mourning period for the Jm6m ljlusayn, whose martyrdom occurred on the tenth day, 'Ashfiri Mujtahid Muslim doctor-of-law.
Most of the mujtahids of Irdn have received their diplomas from the most eminent jurists of Karbil6 and Najaf.
Mulk Dominion: eighteenth month of the Badi' calendar.
MUThi Muslim trained in theology and Islamic jurisprudence; theologian, priest.
Mustagb6th He Who Is Invoked(for Help), God: term used by the BTh in reference to the advent of Bahá'u'lláh on the Day of the Latter
Resurrection.Nabil Learned, noble: title bestowed by Bahá'u'lláh on a number of the believers, most prominent among whom were Mulla Muhammad-i-Zarandi, author of The Dawn-Breakers (Nabfl-i-A'zam), and
Muild Muhammad-i-Qi'iniNavvhb An honorific implying Grace, Highness: title of Asiyih Khdnum, wife of Bahá'u'lláh and mother of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Naw-Riiz Literally NewDay, date of the vernal equinox; according to the Persian calendar, the day on which the sun enters Aries.
Nuq{ib Point.Niir Light: fifth month of the Badi' calendar. Pablavgn Athlete, champion: term applied
Page 902Pgshci Honorary title formerly given to a Turkish officer of high rank such as military commander or provincial governor.
Pish-Kish Present, tip, douceur.Q64i Muslim judge � civil, criminal, or ecclesiastic.
Q~'im He Who Shall Arise:QaIam-i-A'I~ The Pen of the Most High: a designation of Bahá'u'lláh.
QaIy~n Narghile, hookah, hubble-bubble pipe. Oriental pipe in which the smoke is drawn through water in a vase by means of a long tube.
Qawi Speech: fourteenth month of the Badi' calendar.
Qayytimu'I-Asm~' (SeeQiblih Literally that which faces one; prayer-direction; point of adoration: the focus to which the faithful turn in prayer. The Qiblih for Muslims is the Ka'bih in Mecca; for Baha, the Most Holy Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh at Baha: 'the Heart and Qiblih of the Bahá'í world.'
Quddiis Literally Pure, Holy, Blessed: title conferred by Bahá'u'lláh on Mulh Mu-hammad-'Aliy-i-Mrfurhshf, last of the eighteen Letters of the Living at the Conference of Badasht.
Qudrat Power: thirteenth month of the Badi' calendar.
Qur'an The Reading; TheBook revealed to Muhammad: The Koran, Holy Book of the Muslims.
Qur'an Sacrifice.Solace of the Eyes: a term applied to an object of affection. (1) Title conferred upon Thhirih by Siyyid Khzim of Rasht.
(2) Term used by the Mb in the Qayyamu'l-Asmd' to refer both to Bahá'u'lláh and to Himself.
Rabb-i-A'I~ Exalted Lord:Rabi'u'I-Avval Third month of the Muslim lunar calendar.
RabPu'th-TMni Fourth month of the Mus-urn lunar calendar.
R4imat Mercy: sixth month of the Badf' calendar.Ra'is President, head, leader. Lawlj-i-Ra'is: Tablet addressed by Bahá'u'lláh to 'fiJi P6sh~i the Ottoman
Grand Vizier.Ramad~n Ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar in which the Fast is observed.
Rao4i The She-Serpent:appellation applied by Bahá'u'lláh to Mir Muhammad-Husayn, the Im6m-Jum'ih of Jsfah6n, accomplice of Shaykh Muhammad-Mqir.
(See Dhi'b.)Ridvan Literally good-pleasure, favour, acceptance; garden, Paradise; name of the custodian of Paradise. The holiest and most significant of all Bahá'í festivals, commemorating Bahá'u'lláh's Declaration of His Mission to His companions in 1863, a twelve-day period extending from 21 April to 2 May, and celebrated ~nnua11y.
S~d The seventeenth letter of the Persian alphabet.
Ar4-i-~d Literally LandTree beyond which there is no passing: symbolic of the Manifestation of God. (See Sidrih.)
Sadr-i-A'zam Grand ViPer,Sgbibu'z-Zam~n Lord of the Age: one of the titles of the promised QA'im.
Y6 ~iiIflbu'z-Zam~n! Rallying-crybe with you! a greeting among Muslims. Va's-SaI~m And peace (be with you): formula used to conclude an epistle or dissertation, indicating that the author has nothing further to say.
Salsabil Pure, limpid water. A fountain in Paradise.
Saniandar Literally salamander; phoenix. A mythical creature indestructible by fire. Title bestowed by Bahá'u'lláh on Shaykh Kdzim-i-Samandar of Qazvin.
Sark&ir-Aqh LiterallySha'bgn Eighth month of the Muslim lunar calendar.
Shah King, especially of frAn.and Promised One of the Zoroastrians, identified by Bahá'ís with Bahá'u'lláh.
Page 903Sharaf Honour: sixteenth month of the Badf' calendar.
Shari'at, SharPah LiterallyShaykh Venerable old man; tribal or village chief patriarch, sheik; learned man, elder, professor; clerical dignitary, superior of dervish order. (See
Shaykhu'1-Islhm.)Among his doctrines, in addition to the imminent dual Advent, was that the Prophet Muhammad's material body did not ascend to heaven on the night of the Mf'rtij.
Shaykhu'I-Is1~m High Priest,highest rank in the Muslim religious hierarchy; also, title of the head of a religious court, appointed to every large city by the Sh6h.
Shi'ah, Shf'ih Literallyfaction, party, sect: partisans of 'Au and of his descendants as the sole lawful 'Vicars of the Prophet'. The Shf'ahs reject the first three Caliphs, believing that the successorship in Isl6m belonged by divine right to 'All (first Im6m and fourth Caliph) and to his descendants. Originally, the successorship was the vital point of difference, and Jsl6m was divided because Muhammad's (albeit verbal) appointment of 'Ali was disregarded. (See Sunnab;
Im6m.)Shf'i Sbiite Member of the Shf'ah (or Party) of 'Au; Muslim of the ShPah branch of IslAm.
Shin The sixteenth letter of the Persian alphabet.
Ard-i-Shin Literallyof God: a designation of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, conferred on Him by Bahá'u'lláh.
Siy~h-ChM Black Pit: the subterranean dungeon geon in Tihr~n to which Bahá'u'lláh was consigned in August 1852. Here, chained in darkness three flights of stairs underground, in the company of some 150 thieves and assassins, He received the first intimations of His world Mission; regarded by Bahá'ís as the holiest place in IrAn's capital.
Siyyid Literally chief, lord, prince: descendant of the Prophet Muhammad.
Siyyidu'sh-Shuhad&i PrinceSufi An exponent of Sufism, a Muslim mystic or darvish.
Sulpin Sovereignty: (1)Seventeenth month of the Badi' calendar. (2) King, sovereign, monarch, sultan.
Sulhinu'sh-Shuhad6 Kingof Martyrs: title conferred by Bahá'u'lláh on Mirza Muham-mad-Hasan, martyred brother of the Mahbiibu'sh-Shubad& Sunnab Literally way, custom, practice; The Way of the Prophet as reported in the Ijiadith. Designates by far the largest sect of Jshm, which includes the four socalled orthodox sects: Hanbalites, Hanafites, Malikites and Shaflites. Sunnis accept the Caliphs as legitimate, believing that the position of Caliph is elective. (See Shi'ab; Caliph.)
Sunni, Sunnite MuslimS6rih Name of a chapter of the Qur'Th; used by the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh in the titles of some of Their Own Writings.
Siiriy-i-Muhik Sri nh of the Kings. Tablet revealed by Bahá'u'lláh while in
Adrianople.Th The nineteenth letter of the Persian alphabet, with a numerical value of nine. Ar~-i-T~ Literally
Land of Td: Tihrdn.Pure One: title conferred on Zarrin-Thj by Bahá'u'lláh at the Conference of Badasht.
T~ij Literally crown.Tall felt headdress adopted by Bahá'u'lláh in 1863, on the day of His departure from His Most Holy House in BaghdAd.
TajaIIfy~t Effulgences:title of one of the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
Takyih Religious house, monastery; hostel for pilgrims; religious theatre for presenting
Page 904904 THE BAH Muslim passion-plays; place at which the martyrdom of Husayn is commemorated. (See
Husayniyyih.)Taraz~t Ornaments: title of one of the Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.
Tuimin Discontinued unit of Iranian currency. 'Ulama Literally learned men, scholars; clerical authorities, theologians, divines: the Muslim religious hierarchy.
(Singular:Cord: a Qur'anic term, used in the Bahá'í Writings to symbolize the Covenant and
Testament.Ustad Teacher, professor; mechanic, artisan, craftsman.
VaI~iid Single, unique, peerless: title of Siyyid Yahy~y-i-D~rThf, hero of the Nayrfz upheaval.
V~iI~id Literally unity; one, single, unique; The One, Indivisible God.
The word, whose numerical value is nineteen, denotes: (1) A unity' or section of the Baydn. The Persian Baydn consists of nine Vdhids of nineteen chapters each, except the last, which has oniy ten chapters.
(2) The eighteen Letters of the Living (the B~b's first disciples) and the BTh Himself, who together constitute the first VAhid of the BThi Dispensation.
(3) Each cycle of nineteen years in the B~di' calendar.
(See KuII-i-Shay'.)Varaqib Leaf; often used metaphorically in the Bahá'í Writings to refer to a woman.
Varaqiy-i-'UIy~ Literallytitle of Bahá'u'lláh (or Baha'i) Kh~num saintly daughter of Bahá'u'lláh and 'the outstanding heroine of the Bahá'í Dispensation'.
Varq~ Bird, nightingale;Vazir Vizir, minister (of state), vizier. Vazir-i-A'zam: Grand Vizier, Prime Minister.
ViI~yat Guardianship.Waqf Literally bequeathing (for charitable uses); pious bequest, religious endowment, estate held in rnortmain. Denotes landed property endowed to the Muslim community; in Iran, the estate of the expected Im~im.
Ya Vocative particle meaningZ~idih Born; offspring, son. Used as a suffix after a proper name it means 'Son of � '.
(See Imam-Zadib; Mirza.)of Qazvin � better known as T~hirih � was designated by her family and kindred.
Zawra' A term signifyingZamzam Literally copious (water): sacred well within the precincts of the
Great Mosque in Mecca.Though salty, its water is much esteemed for pious uses, such as ablutions, and drinking after a fast.
Zaynu'I-Muqarrabin Literallybestowed by Bahá'u'lláh on Mu11~ Zaynu'1-'Abidfn of Najaf-AMd, faithful apostle and trusted scribe.
Page 905'AU M. Yazdi (1899 � 1978), a noted Bahá'í lecturer and writer, served on many national committees of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and was, for thirty years, chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Berkeley, California, Marion Carpenter Yazdf, whom he married in 1926, has commemorated his life and service in Youth in the Vanguard: Memoirs and Letters Collected by the
First Bahá'í Student at Berkeley and at Stanford University (Wilmette: United States
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982). The following reminiscence is adapted from a longer work, Prophetic Days: Memories of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, written by 'All M, Yazdi in 1975 and compiled by Marion Yazdf.
I N 1856, or thereabouts, even as the little city of Yazd, in the very heart of Persia, was carrying on its lackluster existence, something was astir. The town's population for the most part lived in poverty and ignorance, unaware of what was happening in the rest of the world, But there was something stirring. There was hushed talk of the BTh, the new Prophet Who had been martyred, and of the Message He had brought. There were people secretly spreading the news at the risk of their lives.
A youth, only fourteen, came into contact with these people, heard the Message and wholeheartedly accepted it. only fourteen years of age! His name was Shaykh 'AU.1 He was the eldest son of the well-to-do and highly respected ItI6ii
'Abdu'r1Rahim Yazdf.The family was alarmed, The boy was in grave danger.
His allegiance could bring ruin to the whole family. But Shaykh 'Alt was ablaze. To distract him from the Báb Faith, his family sent him to Kirman with enough goods to start a business, The shop was successful but soon rumors floated back that he was meeting with the
Báb's. 'Abdu'r-Rahmfn1 The uncle for whom Ali M, Yazdi was named by 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
Later, while still a young man, he was sent byto help Mirza Haydar-Ali. He stayed on to teach, and died there.
In Yazd the boy again attended the secret meetings and took aid to the beleaguered BThis who were imprisoned there, One night he was so late returning home that his mother, terribly worried, waited for him at the door and when he came in, slapped him, without saying a word, In silence he took her hand, kissed it tenderly, and gazed at her with deep love.
Throughout this difficult time, in the face of the calumnies and persecutions heaped upon the BThis by their enemies Shaykh 'All displayed a kindness and fearlessness remarkable in one so young. As time passed, his character, his behavior, his attitude and his actions gradually won over the whole family, One by one they joined the Faith. Now meetings were held in the Yazdi home though the need for secrecy remained paramount.
Teachers came from other cities, each with new tales. Some who came from BaghdAd spoke of Bahá'u'lláh.
Later they came from Adrianople, and then from 'Akka.
My father, Hdjf Muhammad, who like his brother had joined the Faith when he was fourteen, left for the Holy Land with a friend, a donkey, lots of faith and very Little money. He and his companion set out to see Bahá'u'lláh and traveled over steep, rugged mountains and across hot, arid plains until they arrived in 'Akka, around 1870. Other mem 907
Page 908bers of the family followed later. HAji 'Abdu'r-Rahim, my grandfather, left Yazd after he had been tortured, beaten and bastinadoed. The story of this 'precious soul', as the Master called him, his arrival in 'Akka, and his life there, is told with tender compassion by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Memorials of the Faithful.1 Each member of the Yazdi family was given an assignment by Bahá'u'lláh and sent out to accomplish it. H~ji Muhammad, my father, and two other youthful believers were sent to Egypt where they worked hard for many years and eventually built up a prosperous business. Through these believers � all young people � the Faith was first established in Alexandria, Cairo and Port Said. Although they were not free to openly teach the Faith they were on good terms with the population and were generally well-liked and respected.
My family and I lived in a suburb of Alexandria called Ramleh, a beautiful and peaceful residential district on the edge of the Mediterranean. The house in which I was born, and where I lived until I was about four or five, had a separate guest house and a large garden surrounded by a wall of roughhewn stone.
Within the garden there were many lime, sweet lemon, orange and pomegranate trees as well as rose bushes.
In the summer a tropical scent hung in the air.The house to which we then moved also had a large garden. Jasmine grew over the veranda, a large open porch adjoining the garden.
Here our family often had breakfast, with father presiding at the samovar and dispensing glasses of hot tea to the adults and, to the children, hot water with a drop of tea floating on top. Before breakfast, however, we chanted our morning �prayers and heard father tell wonderful stories about his experiences with Bahá'u'lláh and the Master, or read the latest communications from the Holy Land.
It was in this setting, when I was a child of eleven, that I heard the news of the coming of 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Ramleh. The news came suddenly, without warning. The Master had left Haifa without notice on a steamer bound for Europe. Because of ill health and fatigue, He had stopped in Port Said and was coming on to Alexandria.
Then the news came that He was coming to Ramich!To Ramleh where 1 Memorials of the Faithful, trans. Marzieh Gail. Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1971, pp. 64 � 66.
we lived! What a miracle!There was intense joy within the Bahá'í community, within my family, within me. Of all the places in the world, He happened to choose Ramleh as His headquarters for His trips to Europe and America during the period 1910 � 1913. Excitement, curiosity, anticipation swirled through my mind.
All I knew about 'Abdu'l-Bahá was what my father had told us. No one in the immediate family except father and grandfather had seen Him.
The oniy photograph was an early one taken when He was a young man in Adrianople.
He was a prisoner beyond our reach, a legendary figure.
Now He was free and coming to Ramleb! The Bahá'í Faith was an integral part of me, not something superimposed.
In Ramleh I was surrounded by it, lived it, believed it, cherished its spiritual concepts and goals and principles. I realized its fundamental importance, its necessity for the world today. Yet my studies at the French school which I attended had opened other areas to my mind. The discoveries of science fascinated me and I believed they provided us with effective tools for the implementation of the teachings of the Faith.
I prayed that I might be guided to play some role in this endeavor.
I sensed that my contact with 'Abdu'l-Bahá would provide the inspiration and the impetus to move in this direction. So I waited eagerly for the day of His arrival.
There was a crowd gathered in front of the Hotel Victoria.
Suddenly there was a hush, a stillness, and I knew that He had come. I looked.
There He was! He walked through the crowd � slowly, majestically, smiling radiantly as he greeted the bowed heads on either side. I could only get a vague impression as I could not get near Him.
The sound of the wind and surf from the nearby shore drowned out His voice so I could hardly hear Him. Nevertheless, I went away happy.
A few days later, a villa was rented for the Master and His family, not far from the Hotel Victoria, in a lovely residential section that lay right next to the beautiful Mediterranean and the beaches.
Like all the villas in that area, it had a garden with blossoms and flowering shrubs.
It was there that 'Abdu'l-Bahá chose to receive His guests � a great variety of notables, public figures, clerics, aristocrats, writers, as well as poor and despairing people.
Page 909I went there often, sometimes on the way home from school, sometimes on weekends. When I was not in school I spent most of my time in His garden. I would wait to catch a glimpse of Him as He came out for His customary walk, or conversed with pilgrims from faraway places. To hear His vibrant and melodious voice ringing in the open air, to see Him, somehow exhilarated me and gave me hope. Quite often, He came to me and smiled and talked.
There was a radiance about Him an almost unlimited kindness and love that shone from Him. Seeing Him, I was infused with a feeling of goodness. I felt humble and, at the same time, exceedingly happy.
I had many opportunities to see the Master � as we always called Him � at meetings and on festive occasions. I especially remember the first time He came to our house to address a large gathering of believers. The friends were all gathered, talking happily, waiting. Suddenly all grew quiet. From outside, before He entered the room, I could hear the voice of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, very resonant, very beautiful. Then He swept in, with His robe flowing! He was straight as an arrow. His head was thrown back. His silver-gray hair fell in waves to His shoulders. His beard was white; His eyes were keen; His forehead, broad.
He wore a white turban around an ivory-colored felt cap.
He looked at everyone, smiled and web corned all with Khushdmadid!
Khushdmadid! (Welcome!Welcome!) I had been taught that in the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, I should sit or stand with my hands crossed in front of me, and look down. I was so anxious to see Him that I found myself looking up furtively now and then. He often spoke � I was privileged to hear Him speak on many subjects. For nine months it seemed like paradise.
Then He left us and sailed for Europe. How dismal everything became. But there was school and there were duties. Exciting news came from Europe, and there were memories!
'Abdu'l-Bahá came back four months later. Paradise returned. He spoke to me on several occasions, calling me Shaykh 'Au, the name He Himself had given me, after my uncle who was the first member of the family to join the Faith. When 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke to me, I would look into His eyes � blue, smiling and full of love.
Again He left us, this time for America. I will never forget the scene of His departure as Pie came out of the house and turned to wave His last farewell to His disconsolate family gazing down from the veranda above. They were greatly concerned about His safety and wellbeing. He was sixty-eight years old.
He had suffered many hardships and endured severe trials.
He had been in prison for forty years of His life and now He was undertaking this journey to a far-off country utterly different from any to which He was accustomed. But 'Abdu'l-Bahá had made up His mind and nothing could turn Him back. He walked out of the garden gate and never looked back again. He walked for several blocksnear the shore to take the electric train to Alexandria where He would board the ship that was to take Him to New York. He was followed by about thirty believers who walked silently behind Him. I was one of them.
What 'Abdu'l-Bahá accomplished in America is now history.
He went to Europe and came back to Ramleh on 3 July 1913, to remain until the following December.
Then He left for Haifa, never to return.That was the first chapter of my experience with 'Abdu'l-Bahá when I was a child between the ages of eleven and fourteen.
In 1914 my family moved to Beirut, Lebanon, only a short distance north of Haifa. This opened the second chapter when I was privileged to be in the presence of the Master again, but only on special occasions.
I was at that time a student at the American University of Beirut, then known as the Syrian Protestant College. In the summer of 1917 I spent my summer vacation with nty uncle, Mirza Husayn Yazdi, in his house on Mt. Carmel, a memorable two months for me. Every evening before sunset I had the bounty of being in the presence of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
I would join the other believers gathered in front of the Master's house. The entrance had an iron gate and then a garden. He would come out with a cheerful and warm greeting, welcome all, and take His seat on the platform at the head of the wide stairs. The sun was going down, and it was very quiet. Sometimes He sat in a relaxed attitude and didn't speak at all.
Usually, however, He spoke.He talked in His commanding voice, looking straight ahead, as if He were addressing posterity.
He talked about Bahá'u'lláh, about His Teachings, and about significant
Page 910events in the history of the Faith. He told stories sprinkled with humor.
Often, however, He talked of the believers around the world and of their progress in spreading the Faith. Then He would become wistful. For three years, while World War I raged, He had little news from abroad. The isolation and constraint weighed heavily upon Him. Now and then He would address individuals in the audience, ask them about their families, their work, their problems; He would offer advice and help. Toward the end, He would ask one of the believers to chant verses from the poems of Bahá'u'lláh.
When the chanting ended, the meeting was over.There were frequent visits to the Shrine of the Báb.
'Abdu'l-Bahá would ride the old horsedrawn, bus-like vehicle up the mountain. The rest of us would walk along the rocky road, past the Pilgrim House, to the terrace overlooking the city of Haifa, the blue bay beyond and, in the distance, the hazy outline of 'Akka. We would gather there until 'Abdu'l-Bahá appeared and entered the Shrine. He would chant the Tablet of Visitation.
Sometimes He asked ShoghiEffendi to chant this prayer. And when it was all over and the believers began to leave the Shrine, He would stand at the door with a bottle of rose water and put a little in each one's hand.
There were also trips � less frequent � to 'Akka and Baha, and visits to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.
There were also times that summer when 'Abdu'l-Bahá went in the horsedrawn carriage to Tiberias, Lake Tiberias and the Sea of Galilee, of Biblical renown. His purpose on these trips was to oversee the grain crops which the believers, under His supervision, had planted in the Jordan Valley. The grain the Master had stored in ancient Roman pits was to be distributed to everyone who needed it, Bahá'í and non-Bahá'í alike. On 27 April 1920, in the garden of the Military Governor of Haifa, 'Abdu'l-Bahá was invested with the insignia of the Knighthood of the British Empire in recognition of His humanitarian work during the war for the relief of distress and famine.
I would sometimes go into 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í garden and talk with Ism~ii1 AqA, the gardener, an old man beloved by the Master. On one of my visits to the Master's garden I noticed that everyone was quiet. When I asked why, I was told that a commission of inquiry was interrogating 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His room. I could hear 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í clear, commanding voice through the open window above our heads. He spoke to the members of the commission with dignity and authority as if He were the investigator and they the suspected culprits. Although He was humble in many ways, 'Abdu'l-Bahá never really bowed to anyone; at the right time, and in the fight way, He was proud. He would not compromise the Cause of God. Somehow, the confidence with which the Master spoke gave me confidence and faith that He would be spared. Those were dangerous and difficult days. The violators were active and JamM PAsh~ had vowed that he would crucify 'Abdu'l-Bahá when he returned victorious from his campaigns. Whep he did return, however, he was fleeing in defeat and humiliation. Despite the turbulence of this period the Master conferred upon the Bahá'ís of the west their world mission by revealing the Tablets of the Divine Plan, eight in 1916 and six in 1917.
I remember other little details from the summer of 1917, such as eating at 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í table.
He ate very simply, but He insisted on others having the proper amount of food. Quite often He would come behind the guests and speak to them.
I remember His standing behind my chair saying, 'Why aren't you eating?'
I was hungry, but my shyness prevented my eating.'Why aren't you eating, Shaykh 'AliT And He placed a generous portion of rice on my plate. I had to eat it! One day, when I was walking along a curved street up the hill toward the House of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, I turned the corner and there He was! I saw the Master walking down the hill, followed by two of the believers. As was the custom, I stepped to one side and bowed.
The Master stopped and walked over to me, stopped right in front of me, and looked me straight in the eyes. I shall never forget having seen 'Abdu'l-Bahá face to face.
What was He like? His bearing was majestic, and yet He was genial. He was full of contrasts: dominant, yet humble; strong, yet tender; loving and affectionate, yet He could be very stern.
He was intensely human, most keenly alive to the joys and sorrows of this
Page 911life. There was no one who felt more acutely than He did the sufferings of humanity.
At the end of the summer I went to see my family in Damascus before going back to college to graduate.
Then I returned home. The war seemed to drag on and on, but finally the end came. Our great concern was Haifa: what had happened there?
But soon the news arrived: General Allenby and the British had occupied Haifa and the Master was safe.
As the doors to the outside world opened again we began to make plans.
There was much thinking and counting of pennies.I had studied civil engineering and had been hired as a draftsman by the government.
From my earnings I had saved a little, but it wasn't endugh to enable me to go on with my graduate studies.
News of this reached 'Abdu'l-Bahá through my uncle, Mirza Husayn, and the Master offered me one hundred pounds which, in those days, was the equivalent of about $500.00. That made it possible for me to go. I wasted no time.
In the autumn of 1919 I went to Haifa in order to say farewell to 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
I was on my way to Europe � Switzerland and then Germany � for my graduate studies. I was twenty years old. This was to be my last experience with 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
I was in Haifa for two or three days. Just before I left 'Abdu'l-Bahá called me to His room. I was there alone with Him; the only other person was Shoghi Effendi, who was in and out. The Master invited me to be seated and
He asked Shoghi EffendiHe spoke to me, gave me instructions on how to live, mentioned that He had hopes for me. He said, 'You are a good boy, Shaykh 'Au.' The tea that Shoghi Effendi brought in a glass was boiling hot. I tried to drink it, but couldn't. 'Abdu'l-Bahá said, 'Drink! Drink your tea!' So I had to drink it! It didn't matter!
At the very end He gave me His blessing. Then He stood up and beckoned me to Him. I went to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and He put His arms around me and kissed me on both cheeks. I never saw Him again.
Two years later, when I was at the University of California studying civil engineering, I learned of 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í ascension.
Looking back, I can see that the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá marked the end of an era. He was passionately devoted to the single goal of spreading the
Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh.It was His mission to establish the brotherhood of man on earth in fact, as well as in principle. Nothing stopped Him; nothing deflected Him from His purpose. And yet it was not easy, for despite His high station, He was also intensely human, and He suffered a great deal. He was often very happy, and He always asked the Bahá'ís to be happy. Be happy! Be happy! That was His counsel to the believers, and He set the example. But there were times when I would see Him with the burdens of the whole world upon His shoulders.
There is something I learned from 'Abdu'l-Bahá which I feel should not be forgotten. His life was not really His life alone; it was the life of every one of us. It was an example for every one of us. A new generation of Bahá'ís is being attracted to the Faith, and a new generation is growing up within the Bahá'í community.
They will acquire knowledge of the Faith from books.
But this is a living Faith.The Manifestation of God has appeared and initiated a new era.
Bahá'ís have lived and worked and died for this Cause. The Faith is not something extraneous; it is not merely something beautiful, logical, just and fair � it is the very blood and fiber of our being, our very life. If men and women all over the world were to arise in ever-increasing numbers and make 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í way of life their own, each pursuing His path with zest and confidence, what would the world be like? Would not these individuals be a new race of men?
Page 912I N contrast to most institutionalized religious thought, the Bahá'í Faith teaches that spiritual reality is logical and that man should examine that reality with the same rational faculties and rigorous standards which he uses in probing the phenomenal world.
In support of this approach, the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá provide clear, forthright, and logically based responses to virtually every major philosophical and theological question.
There is one question, however, that rarely gets asked, not because the answer is unavailable in the Bahá'í Writings, but because most people probably do not think to ask it. The question concerns the moral rationale for physical reality � why it exists aqd how it functions in relation to spiritual goals. Sometimes the matter is dealt with on a superficial level: since God fashioned the physical world and since lie has intended that we should evolve spiritually, then phenomenal reality must be a benevolent creation which somehow facilitates our development. Such a response may be initially comforting, but it does not penetrate to the heart of the matter where the question is conceived in the first place: it hardly resolves the myriad philosophical and pragmatic dilemmas which confront us daily in our desire to cope intelligently with a world that often seems to make little sense.
To some, even the Bahá'í writings may appear enigmatic regarding this matter.
On the one hand, Bahá'u'lláh admonishes us to be detached from the physical world: Abandon not the everlasting beauty for a beauty that must die, and set not your affections on this mortal world of dust.2 On the other hand, He commands us to pay close attention to our Adapted by the author from his 'The Metaphorical Nature of Physical Reality', published in Ba/id'!
Studies, vol. 3, November 1977 (copyright � 1977, Canadian Association for Studies on the Baha Faith, and reprinted by permission). The original article also appeared with the author's revisions in World Order, vol. 11, no. 4, Summer 1977 (copyright � 1977, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United
States).Words of Bahá'u'lláh, trans. Shoghi Effendi, rev. ed. (Wilmette, Ill.:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1954), p. 26.physical actions, to have a vocation, to be wholeheartedly involved in the phenomenal world: The best of men are they that earn a livelihood by their calling and spend upon themselves and upon their kindred for the love of God, the Lord of all worlds.3
Since there are no explicit contradictions in theregarding this subject and since Bahá'u'lláh has provided us with the necessary laws and institutions to direct the temporal affairs of men, this question may seem superfluous.
Quite possibly this is why the question is rarely verbalized. The result of the unasked question remaining unanswered is that many accept a vision of themselves as precariously tottering between two worlds and most approach things physical with confusion or at least some vague but haunting s&nse of guilt or anxiety.
Bahá'u'lláh does give us clear permission to partake of the material bounties of the world: Should a man wish to adorn himself with the ornaments of the earth, to wear its apparels, or partake of the benefits it can bestow, no harm can befall him, if he alloweth nothing whatever to intervene between him and God We still find ourselves trying to live simultaneously in two disparate worlds, one of which, we are told, has the power to impede our spiritual progress. We still sense within us two natures, one spiritual and transcendent, the other appetitive and mundane, and more often than not, the fulfillment of one seems to deny fulfillment of the other.
Historically there have emerged three general perceptions of man's proper relationship to physical reality. The first of these attitudes is that man is essentially spiritual in nature and that to attain his highest destiny, man must reject the physical world and the appetites, passions and other debasing kinds of involvement in that reality. Such a view implies that since man is essentially spiritual, ibid., p. 51.
Bahá'u'lláh, quoted inhe should avoid any activity which detracts from his spiritual concerns. Clearly the purest expression of such a view would be the various forms of asceticism. Antithetical to this view is the notion that man is essentially an animal who is happiest when he devotes himself to the physical world and the bounties it can offer and discards the vain and frustrating attempts to become something more transcendent. Such a perception may be reflected in a range of philosophical stances, from hedonism to humanism, but however it is expressed, the essentially existential tenor of this attitude reflects an emphasis on the physical man and the present tense.
Between these extremes are the various attempts to live successfully while participating in both worlds. In general, such views attempt either to find a middle path wherein physical action is governed by spiritual guidelines or to discover an integration of the two realities wherein the physical world is perceived as a Platonic analogue to or reflection of spiritual reality.
To one who peruses cursorily the Bahá'í Teachings, it might appear that the Bahá'í point of view could affiliate with any one of the three categories I have described. The emphasis on practical solutions to world problems, such as world government, world economic systems, and universal education, might seem to imply that the Bahá'í Faith is existentially oriented, particularly with regard to the emphasis in the Baha Writings on deeds: The essence of faith is fewness of words and abundance of deeds; he whose words exceed his deeds, know verily his death is better than his life?
Other passages from the Writings, taken by themselves, would seem to indicate a complete disregard for the physical world and a suppression of all material concerns: Blind thine eyes, that thou mayest behold My beauty; stop thine ears, that thou mayest hearken unto the sweet melody of My voice; empty thyself of all learning, that thou mayest partake of My knowledge; and sanctify thyself from riches, that thou mayest
1 Bahá'u'lláh in Bahá'íWritings of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, rev. ed. (Wilmette, III.:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1956), p. 141.obtain a lasting share from the ocean of My eternal wealth 2 Taken as a whole, the Teachings of the Faith might seem to imply a careful balance, a sort of Aristotelian mean between the extremes of attachment to the physical world and asceticism.
A closer examination of the Bahá'í Writings, however, reveals a perception of physical and spiritual reality as one integral, harmoniously functioning construct. From this point of view, physical reality is not an arbitrary creation, nor is it something with which we should be only incidentally concerned as we devote ourselves to another realm.
What the Bahá'í Writingsdo provide are specific and logical responses to questions about the spiritual significance of the physical world.
Throughout the Bahá'ístates that the physical world has the capacity to reflect or manifest spiritual qualities. This capacity is not confined to mankind, however, but is valid as well for all phenomenal objects ahd relationships among those objects: Know thou that every created thing is a sign of the revelation of God. Each, according to its capacity, is, and will ever remain, a token of the Almighty.
Inasmuch as He, the sovereign Lord of all, hath willed to reveal His sovereignty in the kingdom of names and attributes, each and every created thing hath, through the act of the Divine Will, been made a sign of His glory.
So pervasive and general is this revelation that nothing whatsoever in the whole universe can be discovered that doth not reflect His splendor.3
Furthermore, He asserts thaj this capaCity is the essential reality of the phenomenal world and that without it, phenomenal reality would cease to exist: Were the Hand of Divine power to divest of this high endowment all created things, the entire universe would become desolate and void.4
In another passage, Bahá'u'lláh states that man can perceive this relationship, i.e. the
2 Bahá'u'lláh, The Hiddenfrom the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, trans. Shoghi Effendi, rev. ed. (Wilmette,
Ill.: Bahá'í Publishingway in which phenomenal obj ects mirror forth spiritual attributes: each and every created thing hath, according to a fixed decree, been endowed with the capacity to exercise a particular influence, and been made to possess a distinct virtue.
He is really a believer in the Unity of God who recognizeth in each and every created thing the sign of the revelation of Him Who is the Eternal Truth, and not he who maintaineth that the creature is indistinguishable from the Creator.1
In still other passages, Bahá'u'lláh explains that the capacity of the physical world to reflect the divine attributes and the capacity of man to recognize this correlation are not coincidental; it is the explicit function of the physical world to educate man: Out of the wastes of nothingness, with the clay of My command I made thee to appear, and have ordained for thy training every atom in existence and the essence of all created things.2
Metaphorically, the Writingsdepict physical reality as a classroom replete with teaching devices, the physical objects themselves. The Bahá'í Writings also make clear that the student is not left to his own intuition to utilize this educational environment. He is provided with teachers, the Manifestations, who explain the objectives of that education and the means by which they can be achieved. In short, the Manifestation relates the physical experience to spiritual growth, though like the wise teacher He is, He forces the student to participate in discerning these correlations.
The complexity of the Manifestation's task is partly evident in the fact that He must work on two levels in order to make us understand the nature of where we aspire to be, a spiritual realm, and of where we are, the physical world.
Consequently, the ManifestationAs He reiterates the eternal, changeless attributes of the spiritual world, He is a Revelator, an Unveiler of divine reality and moral law. In this context, religious law transcends the usual connotation of the imposition of order on disorder. Properly understood, moral or spiritual law assumes the same 1 ibid p. 189.
Bahá'u'lláh, The Hiddenobjective authority as scientific law: just as scientific law describes relationships among phenomenal entities, so spiritual and moral law describe the relationships among spiritual entities. In this sense, moral law is not an arbitrary prescription; it is objective description.
So it is that we ascribe to Newton the virtue of having discovered and formulated the law of mutual attraction of masses, not of having contrived or invented this property of matter.
Similarly, the Manifestationdoes not create divine reality or the laws governing that reality: He reveals them to us and promulgates compliance with them.
Likewise, just as advances in scientific understanding render more and more complete our descriptions of the phenomenal world, so the progression of revelation by the Manifestations renders our understanding of the spiritual reality and its laws more and more accurate and complete.
But the Manifestationis not only a describer or revealer. He actively affects the degree to which the physical world reflects the spiritual world. In this capacity, He becomes more than an instructor who helps us to understand and utilize our physical classroom; He becomes a creative force which puts in motion the energies and laws that will cause that spiritual reality to be actuated in the phenomenal world.
For example, when Bahá'u'lláh instituted the concept of the equality of men and women, He was both revealing a spiritual verity which has always existed, and pronouncing to what extent the physical world is ready to manifest that reality. Likewise, when Bahá'u'lláh speaks of the unity of science and religion, He is revealing an objective reality, a universal law, that these two bodies of learning are probing the same organic construct and therefore are not in conflict. At the same time, Bahá'u'lláh is admonishing the human institutions which embody these areas of human investigation to become aware of this verity and to implement it in their own actions so that man may live more successfully.
From the Bahá'í perspective, then, there is no conifict between the physical world and the spiritual world, nor should there be a problem with man's participation in either.
That is, in theory if one follows the guidelines which the
Page 915Manifestation provides, the study of and participation in one world will enhance and facilitate one's perception of and capable utilization of the other. Furthermore, the Bahá'í point of view renders invalid the traditional distinction between the methods used to probe these two facets of our experience. Instead of perceiving religious belief as being beyond and impervious to rational investigation, the Bahá'í Writings 'state that the same standards which are valid for examining scientific belief are equally appropriate to religious conviction: God has endowed man with intelligence and reason whereby he is required to determine the verity of questions and propositions.
If religious beliefs and opinions are found contrary to the standards of science they are mere superstitions and imaginations; for the antithesis of knowledge is ignorance, and the child of ignorance is superstition. Unquestionably there must be agreement between true religion and science. If a question be found contrary to reason, faith and belief in it are impossible and there is no outcome but wavering and vacillation.1
Bahá'u'lláh's statements about the educational value of phenomenal reality portray the essential unity of the physical and spiritual realms, but in order to understand how spiritual education takes place on the individual level, we must first understand the metaphorical relationship between the two aspects of reality.
First of all, metaphor is one of several kinds of analogical devices, all of which function more or less the same � they compare, two essentially dissimilar things. The objects compared may be people, situations, relationships, abstractions, or any sort of material thing, but always there is an implicit or explicit statement of similarity between these essentially different subjects. Secondly, whether the analogical device is metaphor, simile, allegory, conceit, symbol, or some other type of figure, it will contain three basic parts: the tenor, that which is being described; the vehicle, that which is compared to the tenor; and the 1 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Bahá'í World Faith, p. 240.
meaning, that area of similarity between the tenor and vehicle.
The term metaphor is often used to designate this process in general, though strictly speaking, the metaphor is a relatively short, implicit analogical device. Sometimes the term figure or the term image is also used in this general sense, figure denoting figure of speech or rhetorical device, and image designating figurative image. But whatever term one uses, and regardless of whether the device is a one-word metaphor or an elaborate parable, a particularly interesting process must occur if the device is to work effectively.
The reader or listener must be made to think, to be a bit creative, because he must complete the final and most important part of the process himself.
He is responsible for determining in what way the tenor and vehicle are similar.
Take the simple metaphor 'Jane is a lovely flower'.
The analogical equation is established because the tenor 'Jane' is essentially different from the vehicle 'flower'. (Had we compared Jane to Mary, the tenor and the vehicle would be essentially the same, both being women, and no analogy would occur.) The reader or listener must now finish the process by deciding what the tenor and vehicle have in common. If the metaphor is completely obvious or trite, then the mind may go from the tenor to the meaning without the least examination of the vehiclg. So everyday similes such as 'cold as ice' or 'hard as a rock' require no mental examination of the vehicle because no resistance is offered and the process is short circuited. Description has occurred, but the device has not caused the reader to participate significantly.
The value or function of the analogical process is immense. On the obvious level, it is a useful way to explain the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar, the abstract in terms of the concrete. In addition, it has the capacity to compress a great deal of meaning into a few words, and because it offers a variety of meanings, it can be an expansive description rather than a limiting or restrictive one. But probably the most important feature of the analogical process is its ability to educate. That is, when one is forced to examine the vehicle in order to understand the tenor, he is exercising one of his most important capacities as a human being:
Page 916Metaphor is a process of comparing and identifying one thing with another.
Then as we see what things have in common, we see the general meaning they have. Now the ability to see the relationship between one thing and another is almost a definition of intelligence. Thinking in metaphors is a tool of intelligence. Perhaps it is the most important tool.'
In addition to exercising this faculty of discernment, one is also extracting the meaning for himself instead of having meaning imposed on him. Thus, the analogical process is indirect and objective in that the teacher is one step removed from the teaching device.
In effect, if one is to obtain meaning, he must exercise his volition and examine the two ingredients. When he gets the meaning on his own, he will not feel that he has been told what to think, though he may be grateful to the one who was creative enough to conceive the equation.
One can hardly discuss the use of the analogical process with regard to religion without mentioning at least one more important asset of this device: it is a safeguard against dogmatism. For example, when Christ states that He is the 'Bread of Life',2 He means something positive by it; that He is valuable, a source of sustenance, of spiritual nutrition, and a variety of other things. But there is no one 'correct' translation of the equation. To view the metaphor as having one meaning is to miss the analogical equation, mistake the vehicle for the tenor, and to end up believing that Christ was actually a piece of bread.
But perhaps 'he clearest sign of the importance of this process in human development is that without this ability we would not be able to ascend for even a moment from the physical world, because abstract thought is impossible without the use of metaphor. Therefore in order to discuss or understand or perceive spiritual qualities, we must first relate them to a concrete form: � human knowledge is of two kinds. One is the knowledge of things perceptible to the senses The other kind of human knowledge is intellectual � that is to say, it is
1 Louis Simpson, An Introductionto Poetry (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1967), p. 6.
2 John 6:35; Citationsa reality of the intellect, it has no outward form and no place, and is not perceptible to the senses Therefore to explain the reality of the spirit, its condition, its station, one is obliged to give explanations under the forms of sensible things, because in the external world all that exists is sensible.3
'Abdu'l-Bahá goes on to give examples of this mechanism of human intellect as it enables us to communicate the knowledge of abstract thought: For example, grief and happiness are intellectual things; when you wish to express those spiritual qualities you say: 'My heart is oppressed; my heart is enlarged'; though the heart of man is neither oppressed nor enlarged.
This is an intellectual or spiritual state, to explain which you are obliged to have recourse to sensible figures.
Another example: you say, 'such an individual made great progress,' though he is remaining in the same place; or again, 'such an one's position was exalted,' although like every one else, he walks upon the earth. This exaltation and this progress are spiritual states and intellectual realities; but to explain them you are obliged to have recourse to sensible figures, because in the exterior world there is nothing that is not sensible. So the symbol of knowledge is light, and of ignorance, darkness; but reflect, is knowledge sensible light, or ignorance sensible darkness? No, they are merely symbols.4
Hand in hand with the faculty for inductive logic, the analogical sensibility enables the child to pass beyond the Pavlovian or Skin-nerian reflex and to conceptualize himself and the world around him. Wittingly and unwittingly, a child collects the data from his daily experience, perceives the similarity among these experiences, and induces an abstract belief about those experiences.
For example, the child is punished or corrected for various actions, essentially different actions, and he perceives the similar ingredients of rules, authority, obedience. He then induces the generalizations about those concepts � that there are rules which require his obedience to authority, or, if there is no consistency to the
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some AnsweredQuestions, trans. and ed. Laura Clifford Barney, rev. ed. (Wilmette, Ill.:
Baha Publishing Trust, 1964), p. 95.rules of their application, that authority is capricious, unjust, frightening.
From such initial stages of abstract thought, the child can progress without limit to larger, more expansive and encompassing abstractions, since the concept will always be in a relative state of being perceived. For example, once having perceived authority as it is dramatized in the familial relationship, the child may inductively collect and store other dramatizations of this abstraction, perhaps in a teacher, or in a public official.
As he continues to expand the data he collects, he may perceive authority elsewhere; a belief in truth, honesty, or kindness, for example, may represent authority to some people more powerfully than any human figure of authority.
The point is that there is no final or complete perception of the abstraction; it can always be more acutely perceived or more exquisitely dramatized in the phenomenal world.
Of course, the idea of limitless growth is not confined to the individual.
Society itself can manifest a collective awareness of authority, justice, honesty, and as its awareness of these attributes expands, society is capable of implementing that understanding more completely in social action.
Viewed in this context, the metaphorical process is an educational tool which can help provide unlimited development, even if one has no precise moral code or established theological belief. However, within the context of the Bahá'í perception of man's nature and destiny, this process assumes a much greater significance � not only does this endeavor bring immediate fulfillment and happiness by utilizing the physical metaphor as it was created to be used; it also results in the gradual improvement of the soul itself as, incrementally, particular attributes are habituated and assimilated.
IIIThe improvement of the soul by dramatizing spiritual attributes is hardly a new notion. The allegorical fable has long been recognized as an effective device for teaching children.
Likewise in the medieval era, the Christian church used allegorical theater (morality plays) to teach an unlearned and predominately illiterate populace the essential doctrine of their Faith.
In fact, virtually all drama, including classical tragedy, ultimately derives from this same impetus and origin. Common among all these forms was the attempt to give tropological expression to metaphysical concepts � to express spirituality in concrete form.
This is not to imply that all such devices can be distilled into one common process, but all do share essentially the same ingredients or steps.
First, one must understand the nature of the attribute by observing how this quality might be made manifest in physical action. Secondly, one must decide to acquire this attribute by determining to carry out this action.
Third, one must fulfill his noble intentions, not once, but consistently, repeatedly until the response is habitual, instinctive. When a particular dramatization of the attribute has been habituated, we can assume that the soul has, to some degree, assimilated that quality.
It is then possible for one to perceive that same attribute on a higher level and to implement this understanding with a repetition of the same sequence of responses. In this manner, the human soul can continue to progress, whether in this world or the next, without ever reaching a final stage of perfection because, according to the Bahá'í Writings, the human soul has the capacity for infinite growth: When man reaches the noblest state in the world of humanity, then he can make further progress in the conditions of perfection, but not in state; for such states are limited, but the divine perfections are endless.
Both before and after putting off this material form, there is progress in perfec-don, but not in state. So beings are consummated in perfect man. There is no other being higher than a perfect man. But when he has reached this state he can still make progress in perfections but not in state, because there is no state higher than that of a perfect man to which he can transfer himself 1 The physical metaphor, then, functions on this plane as an integral and inextricable part of man's efforts to fulfill his primary goal, spiritual development. It provides the means by which he perceives spiritual qualities in the
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answeredfirst place, and it is the means by which he may express and acquire that attribute once it is understood.
Even as the process of spiritual growth attains higher levels of response, man never completely relinquishes on this plane this reciprocal relationship between the conception of spirituality and the implementation through metaphorical act.
Take the example of cleanliness.A child may first understand this abstraction in terms of seeing the similarity among diverse acts of cleanliness he is required to perform � cleaning his room, washing his body, putting his toys in order.
In the beginning, these acts are received as separate commands: each requires understanding, volition, and action, until it becomes habituated. At some point, the child may perceive the analogical relationship that unites these acts, and instead of having to learn so many specific regulations, he will be able to reverse the process � to apply his understanding of the quality of cleanliness to other ostensibly unrelated situations and to habituate more and more specific manifestations of this quality. As each level of understanding is implemented through habit and discipline, the child is liberated and enabled to apply his volitional energies to ever more sophisticated levels of understanding � cleanliness of thought, purity of motive, chastity of conduct.
Even such a brief treatment of how this process works makes apparent several important factors related to spiritual growth through physical action. First, it is almost inevitably true that spiritual growth is gradual, painstaking, difficult. There are, no doubt, moments of great insight, visions of great change, and possibly days and weeks of rapid advancement.
But the enduring and effective change of the human soul is attained slowly, meticulously, wittingly. Secondly, it becomes clear that habit and discipline instead of being restrictive or limiting, are, when applied positively to the formation of attributes, agents of liberation and advancement.
Without some capacity for self-discipline, one cannot become released from one level of response in order to ascend to the next level. Consequently, the early training of a child in the formation of good habits and the use of discipline is, when properly taught, a key to freedom and not a stuffing of the creative spirit. Once accustomed to the rewards of applied habit and discipline, one will be less likely to be overwhelmed by a third factor in this process, the negative feedback that is incurred when one struggles against the natural inertia and resistance to growth.
That is, if we are looking for spiritual growth without discomfort, we will fare about as well as a marathon runner trying to become conditioned without the willingness to endure days of strain and breathlessness.
If we are not accustomed to persisting in spite of anxiety and discomfort, if we have not experienced analogous efforts where we have persisted and have been rewarded by positive results, then the abstract understanding of the value of our efforts may not be enough impetus to ensure success. This verity explains the problem with seeking a religion which feels good, the assumption being that the seeker is where he should be, already perfected, and any belief which feels uncomfortable by implying he should struggle to change is clearly erroneous.
If the metaphorical process is the best device by which spiritual growth is initiated in the physical world, then it would seem logical that this process would be evident in the methods of the Manifestations, since they are perfect teachers sent to direct our spiritual development. And what we find when we examine the teaching techniques of the Manifestations is that the metaphorical devices constitute the core of Their methodology as reflected in Their actions, language, and laws.
First of all, the actions, even the identity of the Manifestation involve the metaphorical process.
Besides being an Emissary, the Manifestation is also an Exemplar, a perfect reflection of the attributes of God. This capacity relates directly to man's twofold purpose in life: The purpose of God in creating man hat/i been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence.'
Since the Baha Writingsdepict God as essentially Unknowable, then the most effective means of knowing God is through the Manifestation who portrays that Essence to us. Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings, p. 70.
Page 919It is clear, however, that attaining the Presence of God does not imply physical proximity,' but changing the spiritual condition of our souls so that we are ever more completely acquiring the spiritual attributes of God thereby becoming more like Him.
As we have already seen, however, acquisition cannot take place without understanding. What a study of the Writings quickly reveals, in other words, is that knowing God and attaining His Presence are aspects of one' process.
As Bahá'u'lláh points out in His initial statement in the Aqdas, one cannot sever the recognition of the Manifestation from obedience to His laws: These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other.2
Recognition of the Manifestation, then, is a necessary prerequisite for spiritual advancement; it is not sufficient to follow some pattern of behavior. And recognition of the Manifestation implies more than perceiving the validity of His description of the universe and the pragmatic value of His ordinances; it involves perceiving the way in which the Manifestation metaphorizes or dramatizes God to us. In this way, the Manifestation is clearly distinct from every other spiritual teacher, no matter how astute their teachings or wise their laws. To know God is to know the Manifestation first, and to know the Manifestation is to understand the way in which He manifests the qualities of God.
In responding to Philip's request to see the Father, Christ states: 'Have I been with you so long, and yet you do not know me, Philip?
He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, "Show us the Father"?'3 Of course, it is important not to confuse the tenor with the vehicle, not to take the metaphor at its literal value, but to extract the meaning by discerning the similarity between the two components, between the vehicle (Christ) and the tenor (God).
Clearly the similarity between these essentially different entities is not physical, since the Manifestation is not necessarily physically impressive and since God is not a physical being. The similarity is ibid., p. 184.
2 Bahá'u'lláh, quoted in[comp. The Universal House of Justice] (Haifa: Bahá'í World Centre, 1973), p. 11.
John 14:9.not in physical power, since none of the Manifestations aspires to earthly ascendancy. Clearly the commonly held qualities are spiritual powers and capacities. To confuse the literal or physical nature of the vehicle, the person or personality of the Manifestation, with the tenor it represents, the nature of God, is to do more than misuse an analogy. To miss the metaphorical nature of the relationship between the Manifestation and God is to utterly misunderstand the nature of the Manifestation, to fail to understand God Himself, and to confuse the whole educative process by which the Manifestation is attempting to instruct us. It is no doubt because of this confusion that the Manifestations expend such energy in trying to make this analogical relationship quite clear.
For example, even though Christ states that no one can understand God except by first understanding Christ, He makes it clear that He is essentially different from God: 'I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.'4 Furthermore, throughout His teaching, He explains that He is not the authority behind the Revelation, but a reflection of the Deity Who is: 'He who believes in me, believes not in me but in him who sent me.'5 'For I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak. '6 'The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority; but the Father who dwells in me does his works.'7
Similarly, Bahá'u'lláhclearly explains the relationshfp of the Manifestation to God, and repeatedly enunciates this same theme � that He is a tool which God uses to educate men: This thing is not from Me, but frqm One Who is
Almighty and All-Knowing.And He bade Me lift up My voice between earth and S heaven This is but a leaf which the winds of the will of Thy Lord, the Almighty, the All-Praised, have stirred
John 15:1.(Wilmette, Ill.: Baha Publishing Trust, 1944), p. 102.
ibid.own volition have I revealed Myself but God, of His own choosing, hath manifested
Me.1One example of the disastrous results of not recognizing the metaphorical process at work in the nature of the Manifestation is evident in the far-reaching effects of the vote taken at the Council of Nicea in 325. The followers of Athanasius had come to believe that the tenor and the vehicle were one � that Christ and God were the same essence. The followers of Anus believed that Christ was essentially inferior to God. Anus lost. The institution of the Church sanctioned the theology of Athanasius, condemned as heresy the views of Anus, and effectively severed itself from Christ's fundamental teaching for all time.
As Muhammad pointed out to the Christians, to equate Christ with God was to add Gods to God, in effect, to believe in more than one God, as the idolators did in Muhammad's day: 'Infidels now are they who say, "God is the Messiah, Son of Mary;" for the Messiah said, "0 children of Israel! worship God, my Lord and your Lord."
Whoso shall join other gods with God, God shall forbid him the Garden, and his abode shall be the Fire; and the wicked shall have no helpers.'2 The use of metaphor is also the key to unlocking the meaning of the physical acts of the Manifestations.
Since none of the Manifestations aspire to physical authority or dominion, then clearly any expression of physical power has little importance as a literal phenomenon.
In healing the sick, Christ was not attempting to rid the nation of disease or demonstrate innovative medical technique. As 'Abdu'l-Bahá explains, the miraculous acts of the Manifestations had as their primary and essential value the metaphorical or analogical dramatization of a spiritual action: The outward miracles have no importance for the people of Reality. If a blind man receive sight, for example, he will finally again become sightless, for he will die, and be deprived of all his senses and powers. Therefore causing the blind man to see is comparatively of little importance, for this ibid p. 102.
2 Muhammad, The Koran, trans. J. M. RodwellJ. M. Dent & Sons, 1953), p. 494. Sura 'SI: 'The Table', verse 76.
faculty of sight will at last disappear. If the body of a dead person be resuscitated, of what use is it since the body will die again? But it is important to give perception and eternal life, that is the spiritual and divine life Whenever in the Holy Books they speak of raising the dead, the meaning is that the dead were blessed by eternal life; where it is said that the blind receive sight, the signification is that he obtained the true perception This is ascertained from the text of the Gospel where Christ said: 'These are like those of whom Isaiah said, They have eyes and see not, they have ears and hear not; and I healed them.'
The meaning is not that the Manifestations are unable to perform miracles, for they have all power.
But for them the inner sight, spiritual healing, and eternal life are the valuable and important It is with obvious wisdom, therefore, that Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá exhort the Ba-h&is not to place any emphasis on the miracles associated with Bahá'u'lláh.
First of all, as 'Abdu'l-Bahá points out, the act is valuable only to those who witness the event, and even those may doubt what they have seen: I do not wish to mention the miracles of Bahá'u'lláh, for it may be said that these are traditions, liable both to truth and to error Though if I wished to mention the supernatural acts of Bahá'u'lláh, they are numerous; they are acknowledged in the Orient, and even by some strangers to the Cause Yes miracles are proofs for the bystander only, and even he may regard them not as a miracle but as an enchantment.4
In the second place, there is an obvious temptation on the part of the followers of a Manifestation to praise Him for these physical acts and perceive Him as a figure of temporal power instead of spiritual authority. In other words, it is too easy for the followers to become attached to the metaphorical vehicle, the
Manifestation Himselfor the literal act He performs, instead of perceiving the essential value of these metaphors, the similarity
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some AnsweredThe incident of Christ's feeding the five thousand is a particularly instructive example of this problem.
After He performed the miracle of feeding the masses with only five barley loaves and two fishes, the people believed He was a Prophet. When Christ perceived that they wanted to take Him by force and make Him king, He fled to the hills by Himself.
His reason for this evasive action He explained to His disciples the next day when they found Him on the other side of the sea of Galilee: 'Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you; for on him has God the Father set his seal.'1 When the people missed the essential meaning or inner significance of His act, and wanted to follow Him for the literal value of the physical action, He left them.
The patience with which He afterwards tried to explain the analogical value of His actions is evident in the continuation of His explanation: 'Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, "He gave them bread from heaven to eat." Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." They said to him, "Lord, give us this bread always." Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst."
'2 If we think that Christ belabors this imagery, we are wrong; even when He repeats and extends this conceit, the Jews are not able to perceive the analogical process He is using: 'I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh.'
'The Jews then disputed among themselves, 1 John, 6:25.
2 John 6:31 � 35.saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"'3 Having been raised in a legalistic religious tradition, the Jews had difficulty understanding teachings which were communicated through analogy, even though most of their own ritual was, in its original intention, metaphorical dramatization.
In a very real sense, the actions and teaching methods of Christ were aimed at breaking through this literalistic tradition in order to teach His followers to think analogically, to sense the spirit behind the works. As one of His last actions among His disciples, for example, He continued the bread imagery at the Last Supper: 'Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body." And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, "Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." ~ In this case, a verbal metaphor was not sufficient; Christ has His own disciples act out the analogy.
The life of Bahá'u'lláh also contains many actions with obvious analogical meaning. The conference at Badasht is perhaps one of the most intriguing.
The occasion was the need to 'implement the revelation of the Bay6n by a sudden, a complete and dramatic break with the past � with its order, its ecciesiasticism, its traditions, and ceremonials.'5 In order to act out this transition, Bahá'u'lláh rented three gardens, one for Himself, one for Quddhs, a third for TAhirih. According to a prearranged plan,6 Quddiis and iThirib publicly quarreled during the conference, Qudd6s advocating a conservative view that the followers of the BTh not disassociate themselves from the religion of Ishm and T6hirih urging a complete break with Islhm:
'ft was Bahá'u'lláh Whosteadily, unerringly, yet unsuspectedly, steered the course of that memorable episode, and it was Bahá'u'lláh Who brought the meeting to its final and
John 6:51 � 52.NaNI's Narrative of the Early Days of the Ba/nit Revelation, trans. and ed. Shoghi Effendi (Wilmette,
Ill.: Baha Publishingdramatic climax. One day in His presence, when illness had confined Him to bed, T6hirih, regarded as the fair and spotless emblem of chastity and the incarnation of the FAtimih, appeared suddenly, adorned yet unveiled, before the assembled companions, seated herself on the right-hand of the affrighted and infuriated Quddds, and, tearing through her fiery words the veils guarding the sanctity of the ordinances of IslAm, sounded the clarion-call, and proclaimed the inauguration of a new Dis'1 pensation.
This dramatic event no doubt had many figurative meanings, not the least of which was a transition from one 'garden', Ishm, to a completely new 'garden', the Báb Revelation. We may also find symbolism in the fact that Bahá'u'lláh occupied a third 'garden', possibly
His Revelation:Proclaim unto the children of assurance that within the realms of holiness, nigh unto the celestial paradise, a new garden hat/i appeared, round which circle the denizens of the realm on high and the immortal dwellers of the exalted paradise.2
Possibly the most obvious use of metaphor by the Manifestations is in the language They use.
Whether it is the allegorical myths of the Old Testament, the parables of Christ, or the exquisite poetic imagery of Bahá'u'lláh's verses, the language of the Manifestations frequently relies on figures drawn from the phenomenal world in order to translate abstract concepts into terms that men can understand.
To render a comparative analysis of the types of imagery used by the successive Manifestations would require volumes, but several general. observations will help to demonstrate how essential metaphor is in the language of these Teachers.
As Bahá'u'lláh explains in the Kitáb-i-Iqdn, the Manifestations do not always use language which is veiled, illusive, analogical; the way They speak depends on the exigencies of the situation: It is evident unto thee that the Birds of Heaven and Doves of Eternity speak a twofold language.
One language, the outward language, is devoid of allusions, is unconcealed and unveiled; that it may be a
Shoghi Effendi~ God Passesguiding lamp and a beaconing light whereby wayfarers may attain the heights of holiness, and seekers may advance into the realm of eternal reunion.
Such are the unveiled traditions and the evident verses already mentioned.
The other language is veiled and concealed, so that whatever lieth hidden in the heart of the malevolent may be made manifest and their innermost being be disclosed In such utterances, the literal meaning, as generally understood by the people, is not what hat/i been intended.3
An illustration of Bahá'u'lláh's statement might be the distinction we would make between the language with which the Manifestation reveals His laws and the language with which He inspires and explains spiritual attributes.
Of course, there are no exact rules regarding when a Manifestation will speak metaphorically and when He will not.
As we look at the Old Testament, for example, we can only guess how literally the followers of Abraham or Moses perceived the anthropomorphic descriptions of God and the physical evidences of His intervention in the Lives of men. But two major uses of metaphorical language seem relatively consistent, at least with Christ and
Bahá'u'lláh.The first recurring use is to convey concepts of spirituality, for which purpose Christ used the parable. Like the other analogical devices, the parable forces the listener to participate, to decide the meaning. But being an extended analogy in the form of a story, the parable has the further advantage of working on various levels with multiple analogical equations, and of holding th~ listener's interest, since it is also a dramatic story.
Thus while Christ was establishing an intimacy with the literal story by using characters and situations familiar to His audience (laborers in vineyards, sowers of seed, etc.), He was also teaching His followers to think abstractly, to escape the literalism of their past beliefs and to understand the spiritual or inner significance of His words. Instead of an elaborate canon of law, He left them with a treasury of memorable stories, though He left Laws as well. Each of these stories could operate on a level of applicability
Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitáb-i-Iqdn:Shoghi Effendi, 2nd ed. (Wilmette, Ill.: Baha Publishing Trust, 1950), p. 255.
Page 923appropriate to anyone searching for understanding and enlightenment. Those who could not penetrate the literal story could not understand His teachings; those who had not already penetrated the literalism of their own Messianic prophesies probably did not recognize the authority of Christ in the first place: 'Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to him who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing, they do not hear, nor do they understand."
'~ Christ later told His disciples that 'the hour is coming when I shall no longer speak to you in figures but tell you plainly of the Father,'2 and certainly Bahá'u'lláh fulfills this promise in the Kitáb-i-Iqdn. Without veiled language or indirection Bahá'u'lláh reveals a highly structured exposition on God's divine plan, describes the nature of the Manifestations and clarifies the logical basis for the teaching methods of the Manifestations.
Bahá'u'lláh does use imagery when it is called for and He uses it with unsurpassable skill and magnificence. In His meditative Writings, in most of the prayers, in mystical treatises such as The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys which rely heavily on metaphor and allegory, in the second half of the Hidden Words of Bahá'u'lláh and in various other poetic and allusive tablets, Bahá'u'lláh has bequeathed to us a storehouse of metaphor and symbol which mankind will study for some time to come before scratching the surface of possible meanings. In fact, in describing those utterances in which the literal meaning, as generally understood by the people, is not what hath been intended,3 Bahá'u'lláh states: Thus it is recorded: 'Every knowledge hath seventy meanings, of which one only is known amongst the people. And when the
Matthew 13:10 � 13.Qd'im shall arise, He shall reveal unto men all that which remaineth.'
He also saith: 'We speak one word, and by it we intend one and seventy meanings; each one of these meanings we can explain.'4 But it is not only in the more abstruse tablets that Bahá'u'lláh uses imagery. Even in the Kitáb-i-Iqdn, which is a relpiively straightforward essay, or in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, which contains the Laws of Bahá'u'lláh, there appears image upon image, sometimes only a word or a phrase, but often several lines in length.
'To give even the most cursory treatment of these images would be difficult in so short a space; to survey them would be impossible.
One need only glimpse a few of the numerous images that appear in the opening passages of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas to understand the problem: Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures.
Think not that we have revealed unto you a mere code of laws. Nay, rather, We have unsealed the choice Wine with the fingers of might and power.
Whenever My laws appear like the sun in the heaven of Mine utterance, they must be faithfully obeyed by all, though My decree be such as to cause the heaven of every religion to be cleft asunder.5
In these excerpts from some of Bahá'u'lláh's prefatory remarks about His laws, we see the laws compared to lamps, keys, choice wine, and the sun, and these are but a meager sampling of the quantity, the quality and complexity of imagery in the language of Bahá'u'lláh's less metaphorical
Writing.But besides using metaphor in the language of Their teachings, the Manifestations utilize metaphor in the language of prophecy.
Many Christians are still trying to discover the figurative meaning of the metaphorical terms with which Christ describes His return, or the key to the symbols used in Revelations. Likewise, the scholars of Lshm have devoted themselves to interpreting the veiled traditions regarding the Promised Q&im, just as the Jews have looked for the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecy.
ibid.and Codification of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 11 � 12.
Page 924Perhaps because prophecy is such an important link from one Revelation to the next, Bahá'u'lláh devotes a good portion of the Kitáb-i-Iqdn to a study of the nature of prophecy. In fact, because it is replete with examples of how recurring metaphors are used and because it discusses the rationale behind the use of prophecy, the Kitáb-i-Iqdn could almost be considered a textbook study on the subject.
Specifically, Bahá'u'lláhdiscusses the use of metaphorical language as He explains vehicles such as 'suns', 'heaven', 'clouds', 'smoke', and 'angels'; but more interestingly, He discusses some of the reasons for this intentional obfuscation.
Clearly the failure to describe the exact time and place and personality of the next Manifestation is not due to a lack of knowledge on the part of God or His Messengers, but if people were to follow a name or physical aspect only, they would not actually understand what it was they sought. Some might turn to the Manifestation because they wished to achieve fame or use His power for their benefit.
Those who already possessed authority and power might view a Manifestation as a threat to their esteem.
But because the Manifestation is hidden, one must be spiritually aware in order to discover Him. If one understands authority and power in literal terms, if he looks for a physically impressive figure or someone who aspires to temporal power, he will not be able to discover the meaning of the figurative language of prophecy.
In order to be changed by the spiritual power which emanates from the Manifestation, one has to be spiritually receptive, in the same way that a television receiver can take the invisible signals which surround us and translate them into intelligible pictures. If one examines prophetic language, or confronts the Manifestation, and does not have spiritual receptivity, he may perceive some power, but he will not be able to translate its meaning. In this sense, prophetic language is essentially metaphorical so that we will be obliged to educate ourselves spiritually in order to benefit from
God's Messengers.In the laws of the Manifestation one can find another use of metaphor, though generally not in the language of the laws. For the most part, the Manifestations describe their laws and the actions of men through these laws in clear, straightforward language, but the actions they require do have metaphorical value, or inner significance. That is, besides the pragmatic benefits which the laws may bestow, they also force us to act out dramatically in the physical world what we are trying to accomplish in the spiritual world.
This correlation may not be so apparent with the laws which are basically restrictive and prohibitive in nature, but it is there all the same. For example, the Jews may have thought the Mosaic dietary laws to be arbitrary, but they followed them anyway, and in doing so they practiced reverence for the authority of Moses and His beneficent intentions.
Now that science has described how various diseases are contracted, we can understand the scientific basis for the Mosaic laws and perceive that these socalled restrictions were actually a source of liberation.
In this sense, perceiving this divine logic and learning to follow the prescribed conduct which the Manifestations reveal is training ourselves to have faith in the ultimate liberation which this ostensible restriction imposes.
It is then possible to apply this lesson to our compliance with spiritual laws; no longer are these exhortations viewed as incidental. Like their counterparts (the physical laws) they are pragmatic, logical, sources of liberation.
The training we experience in complying with laws governing our physical action transfers into the realm of spiritual action, and the end result is that we understand dramatically and metaphorically the beneficence of God's laws: Say: True liberty consisteth in man's submission unto My commandments, little as ye know it Were men to observe that which We have sent down unto them from the Heaven of Revelation, they would, of a certainty, attain unto perfect liberty.
Happy is the man that hat/i apprehended the Purpose of God in whatever He hath revealed from the Heaven of His Will, that pervadeth all created things.1
Understood in the light of this statement by Bahá'u'lláh, the laws of the Manifestation never prevent the full and complete utilization of the physical experience.
On the contrary, even those laws which imply restriction ulti-1 ibid., p. 25.
Page 925mately encourage the most fulfilling use of the physical metaphor. Stated another way, the laws of the Manifestation enable one to experience the metaphorical value of the physical world, even when the follower is unaware that he is doing anything other than obeying divine authority.
The laws which provide creative use of physical experience are perhaps even more obviously reenforcing the metaphorical value of the physical experience than are the laws of admonition and prohibition. In the first place, these laws change constantly from one Manifestation to the next so that they accurately describe the relative progress of man. As I have already attempted to show, this progress itself is essentially metaphorical in nature in that it is a literal societal construct which figuratively portrays a spiritual condition. When the law creates institutions, organizational structure, and codes of behavior which foster metaphorical advancement, it is an integral part of man's efforts to dramatize or act out spiritual progress. But besides this long-range benefit, the law has the immediate effect of creating for the individual at that moment in time an atmosphere or environment conducive to spiritual growth. The profound influence that physical environment can have on mental and spiritual outlook we are only beginning to understand, but the Manifestation has always understood this reality and has reflected as much in His laws. Thus, whether the law describes how people organize, carry out human relationships, care for their bodies, worship, or perform any other literal act, it is helping to effect spiritual development: External cleanliness, although it is but a physical thing, hath a great influence upon spirituality. For example, although sound is but the vibrations of the air which affect the tympanum of the ear, and vibrations of the air are but an accident among the accidents which depend upon the air, consider how much marvelous notes or a charming song influence the spirits!1
As the law gradually enhances man's ability to manifest spiritual concepts through dramatic, analogical physical action, it participates in the largest and most important metaphorical exercise on the planet, the establishment of a spiritual kingdom expressed in terms of a societal structure.
Seen in this light, the entire Bahá'í administrative order, its institutions and procedures are dramatic physical expressions of this spiritual process.
Finally, many of the laws themselves are directly metaphorical exercises.
When Christ wished to teach the abstract concept of Love to His followers, He ordained a law that dramatizes this quality: 'You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." But I say to you, Do not resist one who is evil. But if any one strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also; and if anyone would sue you and take your coat, let him have your cloak as well; and if any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to him who begs from you, and do not refuse him who would borrow from you For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even tax collectors do the same?'2
Likewise, while Bahá'u'lláhteaches us the abstract concepts of the spiritual equality of men and the unity of mankind, He also provides us through His creative laws the dramatic institutions which enable us to act out that spiritual reality with physical action. Properly understood and perceived, many of the laws of the Manifestations are similarly dramaturgical in nature, metaphorical devices by which we express with Literal action what we wish to feel and understand on a spiritual level.
Sometimes the understanding precedes the dramatization; sometimes the reverse is true. The point is that whether in studying the nature of the Manifestation Himself, His actions, His language, or His laws, we can observe the analogical tie between spiritual growth and physical action as each reenforces the other in a pattern of continuous growth.
If we can assume, then, that we have ascertained the validity of physical reality as a metaphorical teaching device and the fundamental logic underlying its structure, we can proceed to the final consideration, the Abdu'l-Bahá in Bahá'í World Faith, p. 334. 2 Matthew 5:38 � 46.
Page 926For even if this process of spiritual development and enlightenment works quite capably, why could there not be a simpler, easier, less painful method of accomplishing the same task? Stated another way, if God is omnipotent and can create us in whatever way He wishes, why did He not create us already spiritualized, already in a state of understanding?
If the question seems presumptuous, especially in the light of having examined the divine bestowals of this creation, it is not; Bahá'u'lláh treats this question when He explains the following:
He Who is the Day Springof Truth is, no doubt, fully capable of rescuing from such remoteness wayward souls and of causing them to draw nigh unto His court and attain His Presence.
'If God had pleased He had surely made all men one people.' His purpose, however, is to enable the pure in spirit and the detached in heart to ascend, by virtue of their own innate powers, unto the shores of the Most Great Ocean, that thereby they who seek the Beauty of the All-Glorious may be distinguished and separated from the wayward and the perverse.1
In effect, to create already spiritualized creatures is to produce automatons incapable of appreciating what they have because they have not discovered it nor have they experienced anything else. Likewise, were the spiritual reality more apparent on this plane, man would have no sense of personal recognition and perception, since this reality would be obvious to all alike.
By veiling spiritual reality in a physical garb, by removing the essential reality of things one step from the vision of men, God has enabled us to have every opportunity to come to this knowledge and also have the bounty of recognition together with an awareness of the contrast between illusion and reality. This change from darkness to light, from ignorance to understanding, can provide more than a few moments of elation and reward; it can provide us with the impetus to continue our ascent and the tools of discernment with which to achieve that objective.
But perhaps the most important justification for the necessity of physical reality is Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings, p. 158.
the nature of the next world. For example, were there oniy two levels of existence in the next world, a Heaven for those who succeed and a Hell for those who fail, or even if there were various sorts of Dantean circles within these categories, then possibly God could create us already spiritual, and we would not have lost much. In fact, in view of the literal pitfalls we might avoid, such a creation would be much preferred. But in the Bahá'í Writings we are told that there is no static existence in the next world, no relegation to an eternal abode within some fixed state of existence. Whether in this world or the next, we are constantly changing, it is to be hoped in a positive way, and the point of transition we call death does not end the process of spiritual development nor does it end our need to utilize the important and essential faculty of discernment with its accompanying tools of volition and action. There is no end point, no state in which we are finally and completely perfected: Both before and after putting off this material form, there is progress in perfection, but not in state Hence, as the perfections of humanity are endless, man can also make progress in perfections after leaving this world.2
Even if we have not used well these necessary tools of spiritual growth, even if we have in this life neglected our essential nature, it may be possible to develop these faculties in the next world: It is even possible that the condition of those who have died in sin and unbelief may become changed Thus as souls in this world, through the help of the supplications, the entreaties, and the prayers of the holy ones, can acquik development, so is it the same after death. Through their own prayers and supplications they can also progress; more especially when they are the object of the intercession of the Holy Manifestations .~
This distinction between the concept of the afterlife as depicted in the Bahá'í Writings and the traditional conceptions of other religions is a crucial one. Were man's destiny to attain one unchanging state of being, one explicit
2 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answeredlevel of growth, then such development could conceivably be accomplished by the provision of an exacting canon of rules and guidelines. However, since we are as human souls, whether in this world or the next, always in a state of becoming, a set code of behavior would be impossible for several reasons. First of all, we must constantly aim higher. What was admirable, impressive, and progressive yesterday may be regressive today.
Secondly, no two situations or people are exactly the same, and no guidelines, no matter how tediously drawn, could take into account all of these variables.
Third, what is frequently required of us for our advancement is not a bold and courageous surpassing of our previous day's goals, but a finely chosen path of moderation or balance between two unhealthy extremes of response, such as the courage that lies between foolhardiness and cowardice, the joy between oppressive seriousness and insipid frivolity, or the wise guidance between unfeeling judiciality and permissive laxity.
In each of these cases what is clearly required is a faculty of discernment and judgment, not a blind adherence to dogma. Bahá'u'lláh admonishes us to evaluate our progress on a daily basis, and with each new assessment, we must decide what is progressive and yet not so far beyond our grasp that we will unwisely frustrate our determination to strive. Likewise, no handbook to personal conduct can take into account the exigencies of every situation, and perhaps this accounts for the fact that Bahá'u'lláh revealed relatively few specific laws regarding personal behavior. What He did create are decision-making institutions which have the capacity to consider the variables in a given situation, and He left an abundance of instructional Writings which can help to foster this same capacity in the individual.
Simply to follow a code of laws would require great effort and sacrifice, but to nurture the faculties of judgment, discernment, and understanding, in addition to adhering to basic laws, requires a completely different kind of effort. At the same time, it can yield a wholly different kind of reward, the recognition of Him Whose Presence we strive to attain, and this understanding, as we have already observed, is part of the avowed purpose of our creation.
It becomes clear, then, that our development is almost completely contingent on our utilization of this metaphorical process which has been provided for our advancement. What becomes equally clear is that to learn how to use this device, we must rely on our own volition and, at least in the initial stages of our growth, participate actively, enthusiastically, but wisely in the physical reality which contains these analogies.
No doubt there are a myriad justifications for the wisdom of the physical universe and its capacity to teach us, but one final requisite for the proper use of this instructional device should be mentioned.
Our association with the metaphorical world must incorporate detachment, which is both a quality and a process. As a quality, the term detachment denotes the capacity to use the physical analogues without becoming infatuated with them.
As a process, the term implies a gradual relinquishing of our reliance on the physical vehicle to accomplish spiritual development.
In other words, detachment requires that our reliance on the physical experience be purposely shortlived.
Like the water that primes a pump, the physical lessons serve to initiate understanding and other essential spiritual tools.
But as our growth progresses, we should relate less and less directly to the physical analogue in order to understand the abstraction and express our development.
In the beginning we are like young lovers, attracted to the literal vehicle which has conveyed the abstract feelings and emotions. We find it difficult to disassociate the idea from the metaphorical vehicle just as the lovers cannot differentiate their love from the physical expression of that feeling. But as the lovers mature, they must relinquish their dependency on the bodies to convey this spiritual bond and must recognize the true source of their attraction to one another.
So must we in our development become more and more aware of the reality that is expressing itself through the physical world, and thus become less and less needful of relating to that spiritual reality through the phenomenal metaphor.
For example, we are told in the Writings of all religions that one of the most dangerous distractions and detriments to our advance
Page 928ment is the love of self, which is expressed metaphorically by attachment to the physical metaphor for self, our body. When we become overly concerned about our physical appearance, we may be forgetting that our ultimate reality is the soul which is temporarily expressing itself through that corporeal metaphor. When we love that vehicle for itself or see it as synonymous with the tenor, we are becoming attached to the metaphor and forgetting the analogy.
To safeguard against just such a misuse of the physical experience, the Creator has provided us with a number of metaphorical reminders of our true nature and essential reality. The most intriguing of these is the aging process.
At almost the precise point when our physical bodies have reached their peak, we are as intellectual and spiritual beings just beginning to comprehend fully what we are supposed to be accomplishing on this plane of existence. Stated simply, just as we begin to strive for spiritual growth, our metaphorical self begins to crumble before our eyes. We may miss the point of our earthly mission and attempt to become attached to the metaphorical self; but this divinely ordained process is daily teaching us that our attachment is doomed, that we are in the long run going to be detached whether we like it or not.
Thus, if we desire growth as our goal in life, the only kind of growth available that has any lasting value is spiritual growth, and if this development progresses as it can and should, the deterioration of the physical self together with the deterioration of our capacity to relate to the entire physical classroom, will parallel a corresponding increase in our spiritual faculties so that at the moment of transition from the physical world to the 'real world', our final detachment from the wornout metaphor will occur at the precise instant that we can no longer use it anyway: The nature of the soul after death can never be described, nor is it meet and permissible to reveal its whole character to the eyes of men. The
Prophets and Messengersof God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth.
The purpose underlying their revelation hath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the
Most High.1I F you had your life to live all over again, what would you change?'
This question was put to Bernard Leach during the Last year of his life. His instantaneous reply: 'Nothing, except myself, I hope.'
'A change for the better?'When I went into hospital nine years ago and very nearly died, what did I learn? That I had never been as kind as those who were kind to me. And I felt shame at myself for not having been more thoughtful, more kind, more generous.
It did make a difference.'The interview was for a 'Profile' of Bernard Leach C.H., C.B.E., for the overseas service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which was broadcast to over forty countries.
Many times I have been asked what I remember most about Bernard Leach: it was his humility.
He used to say, pointing his long finger upwards, 'It's the "I", not the I., I remember vividly his miraculous recovery from that serious illness in 1969. The doctors and the specialist did not expect him to live. He was eighty-three.
But those Bahá'ís who were close to him at the time had no doubts.
This was a spiritual progression. There was even a Bahá'í nurse who had just arrived at the hospital to take part of her training. I was committed to a demanding job that weekend in August. I knew he was gasping for breath with the help of oxygen.
My prayers took me to the typewriter. 'You are suffering like the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh for the love of God because He has great things for you to do.
Be content with the love of God. Everyone, everywhere is praying for you and willing you to get better.' This message I sent in large type, to be read to him by a very dear friend.
I was told that be changed colour afterwards.In the evening I received the wording of a cable from the Universal House of Justice assuring Bernard of loving prayers. Early the next morning I was allowed into his hospital room for the few minutes I needed.
'I've been very ill,' he said between gasps for breath.
'I know,' I said. 'Don't talk, listen.' I placed my hand on his shoulder.
'Everyone is praying for you on Mount Carmel.They are praying at the J-Ioiy Shrines for your recovery. Then I left him, knowing that he would draw comfort from the thought of those prayers. About a week or so later when I visited him he showed me the following lines that he had written:
In GratitudeOh, let me out Into the garden there I want to put down My shrunken hand To the green grass Yet once again Before I lie quiet Under the sod.
Many voices rose gently To Him, the Lord God, Who looked down in mercy And said, 'Spare the rod.'
In this room Where I have known Such pain and joy I felt the tremor Of those prayers All the way from
Here to Carmel.o God, wilt Thou Accept my thanks From here to Heaven?
When Bernard Leach was born in Hong Kong in 1887 his mother died, and he was taken by his grandparents to live with them in Kyoto where his grandfather was a professor of English at the university.
Bernard was educated in England, and at the Slade School of Art in London he met his lifelong friend, Reginald Turvey whom the Guardian later referred to as 'the spiritual father of the
Page 930When Bernard returned to Japan in 1909 with the first etching press ever to reach that country (he planned to make a living teaching etching) he wanted to find out more about Eastern art and life. He speaks of his experience in 1911 when he met a group of artists and poets and first saw pots being made.
'One was taken out from the kiln, red hot, with long-handled tongs, dipped into a bucket of cold water, and it did not break.
I thought, "Isn't it exciting! I want to do that; I believe I could learn to do that. I wonder if I could get a teacher?
I did Before he left Japan in 1920 some of his friends presented him with a book entitled An English
Artist in Japan. Theprophetic tribute written by Soetsu Yanagi, the founder of the Japanese Craft Movement, concludes with these words: 'When he leaves us we shall have lost the one man who knows Japan on its spiritual side. I feel very sad that he is going, but I hope when he returns to his own land he will be able to represent the East in a more just way than has yet been done, and that not oniy in words will he be able to show his affection, but in his works. I consider his position in Japan, and also his mission in his own country, to be pregnant with the deepest meaning.
He is trying to knit the East and West together by art, and it seems likely that he will be remembered as the first to accomplish as an artist what for so long mankind has been dreaming of bringing about I desire distinction for you were the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá addressed to the Baha'is.
Fifty years after Bernard Leach left Japan he was honoured by the World Crafts Council at a gathering in Dublin. In 1974 he received the Japan Foundation Cultural Award; he had already been given, in 1966, the Order of the Sacred Treasure, Second Class, the highest honour the Japanese government bestows upon a foreigner. He was made a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1962 and, in 1973, in an audience with Her
Majesty Queen Elizabethat Buckingham Palace, he was made a Companion of Honour.
During these later years retrospective exhibitions of his work were held both in Japan (1966) and in England (1977). During the opening week of his exhibition in London's Victoria and Albert Museum printed invitations were made available to visitors for a Bahá'í talk given by him at the Commonwealth Institute on 'My life, my work and my belief'.
Many people attended that meeting and mention of the Bahá'í Faith was made in some of the press reports.
These years also saw the publication of several books written by Bernard Leach including Drawings, Verse and Belief in 1973 and, in 1978, Beyond East and West, which he considered to be his most important literary work. This book, the last two chapters of which are devoted to the Faith � 'The Mountain of God' and 'Stepping Stones of Belief' � was also published in America and has been translated into Japanese. Many seeds must have been and still are being sown through this testament of faith.
Reviews of Beyond Eastand West in many countries mentioned his Bahá'í belief and paid tribute to him. The reviewer of the Birmingham Post wrote: 'I have never met Bernard Leach. I feel that, having seen this last exhibition and having enjoyed every page of this enlightening and loving book, and having as it were travelled with him through time, sharing his feelings and experiences and friendships, I now already do know, and intimately, this great man, respected and indeed honoured all the world over It is a book to be delighted in, not just by potters such as Leach himself, or even by artists and craftsmen in general, but by anyone who cares about the joy of the one life we all share � all roads meeting, as we are reminded, on the mountain of God It was not possible for Bernard in his book of memoirs to include all his Ba1P'f activities over the years. Wherever he travelled he tried to keep some time for talks on the Faith. While exhibiting in South America � in Caracas and Bogota � he was tendered a special reception in Colombia to which several Bahá'ís were invited.
His pamphlet, My ReligiousFaith, written in Japan in 1953, has been translated into Japanese and is still being used. A copy was presented to Princess Chichibu by Abdu'l-Bahá Rhhiyyih Kh~num when she visited her while touring Japan in 1978.
Page 931The blindness which came to Bernard in 1974 opened another door. On 30
DecemberAwake, awake, the inner eyes, Love more, not less, The memories of human sight, See with, not through.
The spiritual awareness which grew with his blindness was an inspiration to visitors who came from far and wide to see him. He talked much about the Faith. One potter declared her belief in Bahá'u'lláh upon returning to America after spending a few days with him in St. Ives, Cornwall.
It was important to him to leave this world with all work done. 'Death as.a friend, death as a doorway', he wrote to a Baha friend after completing his manuscript of Beyond East and West.
It was a long time since 1914 when he had first heard of the Bahá'í
Faith from Agnes Alexanderin Japan and, in that same year, had written: 'I have seen a vision of the marriage of East and West, and far off down the Halls of Time I heard the echo of a childlike
Voice: "How long? HowFIIUMAN history has witnessed the birth, proliferation, and death of countless religions, belief systems, and philosophies. Though the generating impulse for each of these systems is undoubtedly related to numerous particular cultural and psychological factors, there runs through virtually all of them the common idea that man is not, in his naturally given human state, whole or complete. The concomitant to this belief is the idea that man must undergo some process of completion, some discipline of self-definition.
Such a process is usually regarded by its exponents as the basic purpose of man's existence, for through it man is seen to acquire or develop what is essential and universal, and not merely accidental and local, within the range of human potentiality. By this process, he defines what he truly is by becoming what he most truly can be. The process is often described as one of 'salvation', of being lifted above the condition of unregeneration (or spiritual death) to the plane of a superior reality.
The revealed religions have been major sources of such salvation concepts, spiritual philosophies, and spiritual disciplines.
Historically, the revealed religions would seem to be united in affirming, each in its own particular way, that there is an objectively real spiritual dimension to the universe, and that this spiritual dimension of existence is for man the most fundamental and the most important aspect of reality. However, the revealed religions also appear, at least at first glance, to exhibit a disturbing degree of difference in their respective views of the exact nature of this spiritual reality and of how man should relate properly to it. Moreover, most of the traditional systems of religious belief appear now to have crystalized into rigid social patterns and dogmatic attitudes of thought and belief with which the modern ethos of rapid social and intellectual change seems incompatible.
The changes in modem-day society are being 1 Reprinted by permission of the author from Bahá'í Studies, vol. 11, 1982. � 1982
Association for Bahá'íwrought primarily by a highly efficient, powerful, and established science which owes little or nothing to established religion.
Whereas the religions, for the most part, continue to press harder and harder their mutually contradictory claims each to possess an absolute and unchanging truth which admits no compromise, science is based squarely on the idea that truth is relative and progressive, that what is useful and productive in the realm of ideas and techniques today may be obsolete and unproductive tomorrow. Thus, traditional religion has come to abhor and fear change while science thrives upon it. Yet, science and technology have not given man the sense of wholeness he has so long been seeking, even though they have given him a vastly increased power to control and manipulate his physical environment.
The sense of incompleteness and the conscious need for transcendence, for contact with some deep spiritual reality, are widespread in our society.
Indeed, hardly at any other time of history or in any other culture has the sense of spiritual inadequacy been so acute as is currently the case in industrialized, high-technology,
Western culture. Butif contemporary man turns to religion for enlightenment, he too often finds dogmatism, which his mind cannot accept, or mindless emotionalism which is not worthy of acceptance.
From the modern perspective, each of the great religions appears as a system which was largely successful in satisfying the spiritual and social needs of a certain people or culture during a previous era of history, but which is no longer adequate to meet the needs of humanity in the present critical period of history. Thus, modern man is caught in a serious dilemma with regard to fundamental spiritual questions. On the one hand, the highly efficient science he has so successfully developed serves in part to deepen his moral and spiritual needs � needs that science alone cannot satisfy.2
On the other hand, most of 2 For example, powerful new techniques for manipulating such things as the human genetic endowment raise novel and acute ethical questions concerning their proper and responsible use.
Page 933the traditional religious forms, attitudes and concepts now appear obsolete and irrelevant.
This modern dilemma is addressed by several of the fundamental principles of the historically recent Bahá'í Faith. The Bahá'í principle of the unity of science and religion holds that religious truth, like scientific truth (or truth in general), is relative and progressive. It accepts unreservedly that 'If religious beliefs and opinions are found con triiry to the standards of science they are mere superstitions and imaginations.'
A In particular, with regard to spiritual questions the Bahá'í Faith rejects a dogmatic approach: It affirms that there are spiritual realities governed by lawful relationships, and it invites each individual to assume a scientific attitude and to seek out and test for himself these spiritual truths.2
Concerning the great world religions, the Baha Faith teaches that they all derive from one common source, namely, that one, ultimate, creative force responsible for the phenomena of the universe, that force we call God.
Bahá'ís hold that the founding figures of these great religious systems (e.g., Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Zoroaster, Muhammad) were all chosen channels or true spokesmen for this unique God, and that differences in Their teachings are due primarily to the varying requirements of the cultures and ages in which these systems were originally promulgated. Other significant doctrinal differences among these systems, as they are currently elaborated, are attributed to inaccuracies and distortions gradually introduced by their followers in the course of their evolution as social systems after the death of their Founders.3 However, the essential spiritual message of Abdu'l-Bahá iii Ba/id'!
World Faith (Wilmette:2 The present article consists in a rather detailed discussion of certain aspects of the Bahá'í conception of these spiritual truths and realities, but with little or no attempt to explain the basis upon which such a-concep-tion rests. This latter task was the objective of a previous effort by the present writer, published as 'The Science of Religion,' Bahá'í Studies, vol. 2, rev. ed., 1980.
Also, one should not forget that, except for the more historically recent of these systems (such as Islam), we have no direct access to the exact words or the pure form of the original teachings as given by the Founder. Moreover, the various interpretations which theologians and thinkers have subsequently attached to those written records which do exist are conditioned and limited by various cultural factors and cannot, therefore, be regarded as surely authentic representations of the thought of the Founder.
these systems is affirmed to be universal and common to all.
The Bahá'í Faith views itself as deriving from the most recent of these revelation events, as the latest chapter in the (unending) book of religion, so to speak.
Bahá'u'lláh (1817 � 1892), Founder of the Bahá'í Faith, put forth these and other teachings in a series of over 100 books and manuscripts written primarily between 1853 and His death in 1892.
Thus, Bahá'ís feel that traditional religions are perceived by modern man as so unsatisfactory partly because some of their teachings are laden with culture-bound patterns and concepts (e.g., the dietary and penal laws of Judaism and Islam) and partly because of manmade distortions and corruptions which have crept in over the years. Religious dogmatism represents the arrogant attempt to transform a relative and partial conception of truth into an absolute and unchanging system, binding the whole of mankind for all human history.
According to the Bahá'í understanding of the dynamics of God-created human nature, no such fixed system could ever be adequate for mankind.
The Bahá'í system itself is viewed as responding to the needs of mankind in the present hour, but not for all future history.
Baha hold that the basic spiritual message common to the revealed religions is progressively elaborated and more fully articulated in each successive revelation.
One would therefore expect that the Bahá'í Faith, if it is indeed the most recent divinely inspired articulation of spiritual truth to mankind, would contain a fuller elaboration and a deeper expression of this truth.
I believe that such is the case, and in the following pages I have quoted liberally, and sometimes at length, from the Bahá'í Writings in an effort to convey to the reader some of the incredible spiritual riches they contain. Yet, all of the ideas and opinions expressed herein should be strictly regarded as nothing beyond the attempt of one mind to grasp some of the deeper meanings latent in the profound Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi. In an effort to limit the scope of this monograph to reasonable proportions and to achieve an orderly exposition, I have consistently focused on the concept of spiritu
Page 934ality, that is, on an intellectual and logical understanding of spirituality. This work does not attempt in any way to be a manual for attaining spirituality but seeks only to gain, insofar as is possible, a clearer conception of what is implied in attaining it. Of course, attaining any goal is easier when we have a clear conception of what its attainment involves. I have offered the present text for publication only in the hope that it may contribute in some measure to the common task we all have of trying to express our spiritual understanding to each other, especially as I have already richly benefited from the insights and reflections of so many in this regard.
I. The Nature of Manof Man's Character The Bahá'í Writings articulate a model of human nature and functioning which sees man as the product of two basic conditions, the physical (material) and the spiritual (non-material).
The physical dimension of man's existence derives from his genetic endowment, determined at conception, plus the interaction of this configuration with the environment. This interaction produces an internal, physical milieu which is unique to each individual, though sharing common features with all members of the human species. The spiritual dimension of man's nature derives from the existence of a nonmaterial entity, the soul, which is individualized, it is explained, at the moment of conception.
Just as the physical body of man has various physical capacities, so the soul has its capacities, called spiritual capacities of man. Among the most important spiritual capacities mentioned in the Bahá'í Writings as characteristic of man are those of the intellect or understanding, the heart or feeling capacity, and the will (the capacity to initiate and sustain action).
The interactions of the individual with his environment affect not only his body but his soul as well.
They develop both the genetically given physical capacities and the initially given spiritual capacities.
These interactions may be called learning or education, and they give rise to a third aspect of man's total character, an aspect that is both physical and spiritual.
In sum, there are three essential aspects of the character of man: his genetic endowment, which is purely physical; his soul and its capacities, which are purely spiritual; and education, which is both physical and spiritual.'
In Some Answered Questions, 'Abdu'l-Bahá speaks of these three basic aspects of man's character: 'He [man] has the innate character, the inherited character, and the acquired character which is gained by education.
'With regard to the innate character, although the divine creation is purely good, yet the varieties of natural qualities in man come from the difference of degree; all are excellent, but they are more or less so, according to the degree. So all mankind possess intelligence and capacities, but the intelligence, the capacity and the worthiness of men differ...
'The variety of inherited qualities comes from strength and weakness of constitution � that is to say, when the two parents are weak, the children will be weak; if they are strong, the children will be robust 'But the difference of the qualities with regard to culture is very great, for education 1 According to the Bahá'í conception, the soul of each individual is eternal while the body, composed as it is of elements, is subject to physical decomposition, i.e., death.
Thus, the soul is the true source of the individual's consciousness, personality, and self.
The soul does not depend on the body but rather the body is the instrument of the soul during the period of earthly existence when the soul and the body are linked together.
The Baha Writings also make unequivocally clear the Bahá'í belief that each human soul is not preexistent but is 'individualized' at the moment of conception.
Bahá'ís do not, therefore, believe in reincarnation � the doctrine that the same individual soul returns in different bodies to live different or successive earthly lives. It is explained rather that the soul's progress after the death of the physical body is towards God and that this progression takes place in other, purely spiritual (i.e. nonmaterial) realms of existence.
Of course, we cannot see the soul since it is not physical, but we can deduce its existence from the observable effects it produces. Roughly speaking, we can observe that the physical endowments of the higher apes, and, in particular, their central nervous systems, do not differ substantially from man's. Yet such beings seem incapable of the conscious, self-aware, deliberate intellection which characterizes man.
At best, they seem capable only of 'reactive' conditioned response rather than the imaginative, self-initiated thought of man, involving as it does long chains of deduction, and anticipation of and adaptation to imagined future events (i.e., hypotheses).
Page 935has great influence Education must be considered as most important, for as diseases in the world of bodies are extremely contagious, so, in the same way, qualities of spirit and heart are extremely contagious. Education has a universal influence, and the differences caused by it are very great.
From this, and other similar passages in the Bahá'í Writings, it is clear that the innate character derives from the capacities of the soul while the inherited character derives from the individual's genetic endowment. Once fixed, these two elements of man's character remain unchanged, but the process of education enables man to develop these capacities either to a relatively high degree or to a relatively low degree, thus producing significant differences in character not attributable solely either to heredity or to innate spiritual capacity.
2. Spirituality DefinedWe have used the word 'capacity' in referring both to the spiritual and to the physical endowments of the individual. The word connotes a potential, something to be fulfilled or accomplished (and something that is capable of fulfillment and accomplishment). Indeed, it is clear that the individual, at his birth into this world, is capable of manifesting very few of the qualities possessed by the mature adult human being. We know, moreover, that unless the infant is properly cared for and provided with a host of support systems and a growth-inducing milieu, he will never exhibit such qualities. Life, then, is a growth process.
Man begins the process as a little bundle of potential and proceeds, for better or worse, to develop his potential through the process of education (considered broadly as the sum of all environmental influences on the individual plus the individual's reaction to these influences).
According to Bahá'í teachings, the very purpose of man's life is the proper, harmonious, and full development of spiritual capacities.
This is the most worthwhile possible goal since spiritual capacities, being part of the immortal soul (see note 1), will eternally endure while the body and its capacities will not. However, the body is the
Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answeredinstrument of the soul's development in this earthly life, and so physical health and development cannot be safely neglected but rather must be made to serve the primary goal of fostering the soul's progress.
Bahá'u'lláh expresses this truth succinctly and powerfully: 'Through the Teachings of this Day Star of Truth [The Manifestation or Prophet of God] every man will advance and develop until he attaineth the station at which he can manifest all the potential forces with which his inmost true self hat/i been endowed.
It is for this very purpose that in every age and dispensation the Prophets of God and His chosen Ones have appeared amongst men, and have evinced such power as is born of God and such might as only the Eternal can reveal. '2 The process of developing one's spiritual capacities is called spiritual growth or simply spirituality.
We can thus formulate a working (operational) definition of the concept of spirituality as follows: Spirituality is the process of the full, adequate, proper, and harmonious development of one's spiritual capacities.
Unspirituality, by contrast, is either the lack of development of these capacities, their imbalanced or inharmonious development (e.g., the development of one to the exclusion of dthers), or else the false (im-proper) development and/or use of these capacities.
With this definition of spirituality in mind, we can also formulate a working definition of Bahá'í morality: That which fosters and advances the process of spiritual development is good, and that which tends to inhibit it is bad. Every law, counsel or behavioural norm contained in the Writings of the Baha Faith can be understood in large measure from this perspective.
3. The Duality of HumanThe only component of man's character capable of change is that which is acquired through education, where the latter term is understood broadly to mean the sum of all influences on the individual resulting from his encounters with and reactions to his environment. However, the human situation is such
2 Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings936 that not every influence, and most certainly not every one of our reactions to these influences, is conducive to spiritual progress. Thus, the process of spiritual growth involves learning how to make appropriate respdnses to various circumstances and how to initiate certain kinds of actions: spiritual growth is an educational process of a particular sort.
The experience of our life during the period when the body and the soul are linked is one of a tension between contradicting and opposing forces.
'Abdu'l-Bahá explains that this tension results from the duality of the physical and the spiritual in man's nature. On the one hand, man's body has legitimate physical needs which cry for satisfaction: food, shelter, companionship, and protection from threatening forces. However, in seeking to satisfy these needs, man is easily led to be possessive, aggressive, and insensitive to the needs of others. On the other hand, man's soul also has intrinsic needs that demand satisfaction. These needs are metaphysical and intangible. They incite the individual to seek meaning and purpose in Life and to establish the proper relationship with God, with himself, and with his fellow humans.
Though this proper relationship may, and indeed must, be expressed through physical means, it also is essentially intangible.
It involves submission to the will of God, the acceptance of our dependence on a power higher than ourselves. It implies self-knowledge, the discovery both of our limitations and of our particular talents and capacities.
And it requires recognition of and respect for the rights of others. This means that we realize and understand that all other men have needs similar to our own and that we accept all the implications of this fact in our relations with and actions towards others.
Of course, the Baha Faith is certainly not the first belief system to recognize this duality in man's nature. But the Baha view of this duality is significantly different from certain views frequently attributed to other belief systems, for the Bahá'í Faith does not superimpose an absolute (good � evil) value judgement upon the duality, viewing all things spiritual as good and all things material as bad. The Bahá'í Writings make clear that man can misuse his spiritual faculties just as easily as he can misuse his material ones.
At the same time, the material faculties of man (indeed all of man's natural capacities) are viewed as God-given and therefore intrinsically (metaphysically) good.
As moral categories, good and evil are relative terms: A given action on the part of an individual is relatively less good than another action if that other action would have been more favourable to the process of spiritual growth. Moreover, the Bahá'í Writings lead us to understand that God judges human actions only with regard to those actions which are truly logically possible for the individual in the given circumstances.
To judge otherwise would be tantamount to requiring of man that which is beyond his capabilities or, paraphrasing words of Bahá'u'lláh, to tasking a soul beyond its power.1
In other words, only the direction of the spiritual growth process is given absolutely: it is towards the (unattainable) ideal of Godlike perfection.
But the process itself is lived relatively by each individual according to his spiritual and material endowments plus the free will choices he makes in dealing with the particular circumstances of his life. Since only God knows truly what these endowments and circumstances are for any individual, only God can judge the degree of moral responsi-2 bility of the individual in any situation.
Here is the way that 'Abdu'l-Bahá explains the essential and intrinsic goodness of all of man's capacities, material or spiritual: 'In creation there is no evil; all is good. Certain qualities and natures innate in some men and apparently blameworthy are not so in reality.
For example, from the beginning of his life you can see in a nursing child the signs of greed, of anger and of temper. Then, it may be said, good and evil are innate in the reality of man, and this is contrary to the pure goodness of nature and creation. The answer to this is that greed, which is to ask for something more, is a praiseworthy quality provided that it is used See ibid., p. 106.
2 This observation explains the time-honoured injunction expressed by virtually all religious prophets and thinkers that no man is capable of judging the spiritual or moral worth of any other individual. This has nothing to do with society's right to protect itself against antisQcial behaviour whether perpetrated deliberately by morally insensitive individuals, or involuntarily by sick or misguided individuals.
Page 937suitably. So if a man is greedy to acquire science and knowledge, or to become compassionate, generous and just, it is most praiseworthy.
If he exercises his anger and wrath against the bloodthirsty tyrants who are like ferocious beasts, it is very praiseworthy; but if he does not use these qualities in a right way, they are blameworthy.
'Then it is evident that in creation and nature evil does not exist at all; but when the natural qualities of man are used in an unlawful way, they are blameworthy.'1 Thus, the main function of the body is to serve as an instrument of the soul during the time when the immortal soul is linked to the mortal body.
This period constitutes the first stage of an eternal growth process.
The body's capacities, when properly used, contribute to the process of spiritual growth. These material capacities are no more intrinsically bad than the capacities of the soul itself. Both material and spiritual capacities become harmful if they are misused through false or improper development.
However, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá do stress the fact that the material capacities must be rigorously disciplined (not suppressed) if they ~re to serve their intended purpose as vehicles for spiritual growth.
Since satisfying our physical needs can easily incite us to become aggressive towards others and insensitive to their needs, the individual must engage in a daily struggle with himself to maintain the proper perspective on life and its spiritual meaning.2
1 Some Answered Questions, p. 215.make totally clear the Baha disbelief in the objective existence of Satan or of any such evil power or force (Cf. Some
Answered Questions, The NonexistenceIt is explained that what man perceives as evil within himself is simply the absence of some positive quality (which lack is perhaps perceived in a particularly acute way if the individual suddenly finds himself in a situation where the missing quality would have been very useful). Similarly, strong or irrational urges are not, it is affirmed, the result of the action on us of some extrinsic evil force, but rather of subjective desires arising from within ourselves, possibly due either to a prior lack of proper discipline or to the existence of some deep need which we may have neglected to fulfil in a healthy way (or which has not, in any case, been properly fulfilled). 'Abdu'l-Bahá explains that improper development can pervert our intrinsically good, natural (God-given) capacities into negative and destructive acquired capacities: capacity is of two kinds: natural capacity and acquired capacity. The first, which is the creation of God, is purely good.
but the acquired capacity has become the cause of the appearance More will be said later about the nature of this daily spiritual discipline.
The main point here is that the tension between the material and the spiritual in man is a creative tension purposely given by God, a tension whose function it is constantly to remind the individual of the necessity of making an effort in the path of spiritual growth. Moreover, the existence of the material body with its needs provides daily opportunities for the individual to dramatize through action the degree of spirituality he has attained and to assess realistically his progress.3
If man did not have the spiritual-material duality in his nature, he would be spared the unpleasant tension that often accompanies the struggle to take a step along the path of spiritual growth, but he would also be denied the opportunities for growth provided by this very duality.
4. Metaphysical ConsiderationsWe have seen how the Bahá'í concept of spirituality flows naturally and logically from a coherent concept of the nature of man and of God's purpose for man. It must be admitted, however, that a paradox seems to lie at the heart of this process, or at least of our experience of the process during this earthly life.
The paradox is that God has given man immediate and easy access to material rebiity while denying him such immediate access to spiritual realities.
This seems a curious thing for God to have done if, in fact, the most important aspect of reality is the spiritual one and if our basic purpose in life is spiritual.
If the spiritual dimension of man's existence is of evil. For example, God has created all men that they are benefited by sugar and honey and harmed and destroyed by poison. This nature and constitution is innate, and God has given it equally to all mankind. But man begins little by hide to accustom himself bo poison by taking a small quantity each day, and gradually increasing it, until lie reaches a point that he cannot live without a gram of opium each day.
The natural capacities are thus completely perverted.
Observe how much the natural capacity and constitution can be changed until by different habits and training hey become entirely perverted. One does not criticize vicious people because of their innate capacities and nature, but rather for their acquired capacities and nature.' ibid., pp. 214 � 215.
For example, since everyone knows what the physical sensation of hunger is like, anyone who willingly sacrifices his own physical wellbeing to help feed others commands a certain respect and communicates a spiritual reality to others in a way that far transcends preaching or philosophical discourse.
Page 938ultimately the most real, then why are we given immediate perception oniy of the less substantial portion of total reality?
Why, in short, are we called upon by God to pursue a spiritual purpose while being immersed in a sea of materiality?
To many people, this basic perception of our human condition is not just a paradox but an outright contradiction. It is impossible, they say, that there could be a world of unseen and unobservable spiritual realities so much less accessible than the world of material reality: the most obvious exphnation for the inaccessibility of spiritual reality is that it does not exist.
Whether or not the paradox is stated this strongly, it remains the basic stumbling block to atheists, agnostics, materialists, and positivists of whatever philosophical stripe in their approach to spiritual questions. Fop, even if one becomes convinced that there is a significant, nonmaterial dimension to objective reality, the rationale for its having been deliberately hidden from immediate access by a God who nevertheless holds us responsible for relating properly to it remains obscure.
Fortunately for our attempts to grasp the deeper significance of the Bahá'í concept of spirituality, Bahá'u'lláh has explained in clear terms the divine purpose underlying this fundamental feature of the human situation.
The explanation Lies in the principle of 'separation and distinction' by which God wishes individual moral and spiritual attainment to be the result of the individual's self-responsible and self-directed efforts.
Bahá'u'lláh affirms unequivocally that God could certainly have rendered spiritual truth and spiritual reality as irrefutably evident and as immediately accessible to our spiritual senses as is material reality to our physical senses.
But, had He done so, all men would have been forever bereft of one important experience: the experience of the state of spiritual deprivation. As the universe is now ordered, everyone can have the experience of moving from a position of relative doubt, insecurity, uncertainty, and fear towards a position of relative certitude, security, knowledge and faith.
On this journey, we learn important lessons which would otherwise be denied us. We value true spirituality the more for having experienced, to whatever degree, its lack, and we are grateful for the privilege of having participated in and contributed to the process of its attainment.
All of this would not be possible if spiritual knowledge and perfection were simply our natural state of being from the moment of our creation.
Here is one passage in which Bahá'u'lláh explains the principle of separation and distinction: 'The purpose of God in creating man hat/i been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to twain
His Presence.� Whoso hat/i recognized the Day Spring of Divine guidance and entered His holy court hath drawn nigh unto God and attained His Presence. Whoso bath failed to recognize Him will have condemned himself to the misery of remoteness, a remoteness which is naught but utter nothingness and the essence of the nethermost fire. Such will be his fate, though to outward seeming he may occupy the earth's loftiest seats and be established upon its most exalted throne.
'He Who is the Day Spring of Truth is, no doubt, fully capable of rescuing from such remoteness wayward souls and of causing them to draw nigh unto His court and attain His Presence.
'If God had pleased He had surely made all men one people.' His purpose, however, is to enable the pure in spirit and the detached in heart to ascend, by virtue of their own innate powers, unto the shores of the Most Great Ocean, that thereby they who seek the Beauty of the All-Glorious may be distinguished and separated from the wayward and perverse. Thus hat/i it been ordained by the all-glorious and resplendent Pen....
'That the Manifestations of Divine justice, the Day Springs of heavenly grace, have when they appeared amongst men always been destitute of all earthly dominion and shorn of the means of worldly ascendancy, should be attributed to this same principle of separation and distinction which ani-mateth the Divine
Purpose. Were the Eternal Essenceto manifest all that is latent within Him, -~none would be found to question His power or repudiate His truth.
Nay, all created things would be so dazzled andthunderstruck by ihe evidences of His light as to be reduced to utter nothingness.'1 From this passage, we can understand that the intangibility of spiritual realities is not an accident but rather a deliberate and fundamental aspect of God's purpose for man. Of course, if God had created us with no spiritual inclinations or perceptions whatever, if He had denied us immediate access to any part of reality, material or spiritual, or if He had created us with spiritual and metaphysical longings impossible of genuine fulfillment, we would be unable to succeed in our basic task. By starting the eternal spiritual growth process as spiritual-material hybrids, having immediate access to material reality and being endowed with significant physical and intellectual powers, we are able to learn the subtleties of spiritual development gradually.
By experiencing firsthand the order and the lawfulness of the physical creation, we come to understand that the unseen spiritual realm is similarly ordered and governed by lawful, cause-and-effect relationships.
At first intuitively, then explicitly and intellectually, and finally through genuine spiritual experience and inner development, we learn to participate consciously in this spiritual order of things. It becomes a day-to-day reality having an immediacy equal to and even greater than the immediacy of physical experience. Indeed, as Bahá'u'lláh explains, if we fulfill our responsibilities and learn our lessons well, we will be ready at the time of our physical death to pass easily into the purely spiritual realm. We will already have become familiar with its basic laws and modes of functioning and will therefore be prepared to take up our lives in that new realm and proceed with our growth process in a harmonious and satisfying manner:
'The Prophets and Messengersof God have been sent down for the sole purpose of guiding mankind to the straight Path of Truth.
The purpose underlying their revela-ticrn bath been to educate all men, that they may, at the hour of death, ascend, in the utmost purity and sanctity and with absolute detachment, to the throne of the
Most High.'2Spirituality is the process of the proper development of man's innate spiritual capacities. But how does this process start and how is it carried on? What is the relationship between spiritual development and other kinds of development processes (e.g. formal schooling)?
Why do there seem to have been so few people who have thus conceived the purpose of their lives and dedicated themselves to the pursuit of spirituality?
Answers to these and other similar questions are given in the Bahá'í Writings, but we need to proceed systematically to gain perspective.
Clearly the prime condition for embarking on the process of spiritual development is the awareness that the process is useful, necessary, and realistically possible: the individual must become fully alert to the objective existence of the spiritual dimension of reality.
Since such spiritual realities as God, the soul, and the mind are not directly observable, man has no immediate access to them. He has only indirect access through the observable effects that these spiritual realities may produce.
The Bahá'í Writings acknowledge this situation and affirm that the Manifestation (or Prophet) of God is the most important observable reality which gives man access to intangible reality: 'The door of the knowledge of the Ancient of Days being thus closed in the face of all beings, the Source of infinite grace. hath caused those luminous Gems of Holiness to appear out of the realm of the spirit, in the noble form of the human temple, and be made manifest unto all men, that they may impart unto the world the mysteries of the unchangeable Being, and tell of the subtleties of
His imperishable Essence.These sanctified Mirrors, these Daysprings of ancient glory are one and all the Exponents on earth of Him Who is the central Orb of the universe, its Essence and ultimate Purpose.'3 2 ibid., pp. 156 � 157. For a parallel discussion of some of these points see 'The
Metaphorical Nature of PhysicalReality', by John S. Hatcher, Bahá'í Studies, vol. 3,1977.
Bahá'u'lláh, The Bookof Certitude (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Committee, 1954), pp. 99 � 100.
Page 940In another passage, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said: 'The knowledge of the Reality of the Divinity is impossible and unattainable, but the knowledge of the
Manifestations of Godis the knowledge of God, for the bounties, splendours and divine attributes are apparent in Them.
Therefore, if man attains to the knowledge of the Manifestations of God, he will attain to the knowledge of God; and if he be neglectful of the knowledge of the Holy Manifestations, he will be bereft of the knowledge of God.'
Thus, the Manifestationsconstitute that part of observable reality which most readily leads man to the knowkdge and awareness of the spiritual dimension of existence. Of course, only those living in the lifetime of a Manifestation can observe Him at first hand, but His revelation and His Writings constitute permanent observable realities which enable us to maintain objective content in our beliefs, concepts and practices: 'Say: The first and foremost testimony establishing His truth is His own Self Next to this testimony is His Revelation. For whoso faileth to recognize either the one or the other He hat/i established the words He hath retealed as proof of His reality and truth.'2 Elsewhere in the Baha Writings, it is explained that everything in observable reality, when properly perceived, reveals some aspect of God, its Creator.
However, only a conscious, willing, intelligent being such as man can reflect (to whatever limited degree) the higher aspects of God. The Manifestations of God, being the 'most accomplished, the most distinguished, and the most excellent'3 of men, endowed by God with transhuman spiritual capacities, represent the fullest possible expression of the divine in observable reality.
Thus, the first step in the path of spiritual growth is to become as intensely aware as possible of the reality of the spiritual realm of existence. The principal key to such an awareness is knowledge of the Manifestations of
God.Indeed, since the Manifestations constitute Some Answered Questions, p. 222.
2 Gleanings, p. 105.such a unique link between man and the unseen world of spiritual reality, knowledge of the Manifestations is the foundation of the whole process of spiritual development.4 This is not to say that real spiritual progress cannot take place before one recognizes and accepts the Manifestation.5 However, the Bahá'í Writings do affirm that in order to progress beyond a certain level on the path of spirituality, knowledge of the Manifestation is essential. Sooner or later (in this world or the next), knowledge and acceptance of the Manifestation must occur in the life of each individual.
The question naturally arises as to what step or steps follow the recognition of the Manifestation.
Here again Bahá'u'lláhis quite clear and emphatic: The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of
Him Who is the Day Springof His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hat/i attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof, hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed. It behoveth every one who reacheth his most sublime suuion, this summit of transcendent glory, to observe every ordinance of Him Who is the Desire of the world.
These twin duties are inseparable. Neither is acceptable without the other.'6 Thus, even though the recognition of the Manifestation of God is described as equal to 'all good,' recognition alone is not a sufficient basis for spiritual growth.
The effort to con-'In 'In this regard, Bahá'u'lláh has said: 'Neither the candle nor the lamp can be lighted through their own unaided effort, nor can it ever be possible for the mirror to free itself from its dross. It is clear and evident that until a fire is kindled the lamp will never be ignited, and unless the dross is blotted out front the face of the mirror it can never represent the image of the sun nor jlect its light and glory.'
Gleanings, p. 66. He goes on to point out that the necessary 'fire' and 'light' are transmitted from God to man through the Manifestations.
In one of His works, Bahá'u'lláh describes the stage leading up to the acceptance of the Manifestations as 'the valley of search.'
It is a period during which one thinks deeply about the human condition, seeks answers to penetrating questions, and sharpens and develops one's capacities in preparation for their full use. It is a period of increasing restlessness and impatience with ignorance and injustice.
6 Gleanings, pp. 330331.form oneself to the standards of behaviour, thought, and attitude expressed by the various laws ordained by the Manifestation is also an intrinsic, inseparable part of the process. 1 The idea that great effort is necessary to the prosecution of the spiritual growth process occurs throughout the Bahá'í Writings: 'The incomparable Creator hath created all men from one same substance, and hat/i exalted their reality above the rest of His creatures.
Success or failure, gain or loss, must, therefore, depend upon man's own exertions.
The more he striveth, the greater will be his progress.2
'Know thou that all men have been created in the nature made by God, the Guardian, the Self-Subsisting.
Unto each one hath been prescribed a preordained measure, as decreed in God's mighty and guarded Tablets. All that which ye potentially possess can, however, be manifested only as a result of your own volition.3
He hath entrusted every created thing with a sign of His knowledge, so that none of His creatures may be deprived of its share in expressing, each according to its capacity and rank, this knowledge.
This sign is the mirror of His beauty in the world of creation. The greater the effort exerted for the refinement of this sublime and noble mirror, the more faithfully will it be made to reflect the glory of the names and attributes of God, and reveal the wonders of His signs and knowledge.
'There can be no doubt whatever that, in consequence of the efforts which every man may consciously exert and as a result of the exertion of his own spiritual faculties, this mirror can be so cleansed. as to be able to draw nigh unto the meads of eternal holiness and attain the courts of everlasting fellowship.
'~ Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'I-flah~i stress that mankind has undergone a collective process of evolution by which it has now arrived at the threshold of maturity.
God now requires more of man, in particular that he assume responsibility for the process of self-development: 'For in this holy Dispensation, the crowning of bygone ages, and cycles, true Faith is no mere acknowledgement of the Unity of God, but the living of a life that will manifest all the perfections implied in such belief.' 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Divine Art of Living (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1974), p. 25.
2 Bahá'u'lláh, Gleanings, pp. 81 � 82.'Personal effort is indeed a vital prerequisite to the recognition and acceptance of the Cause of God. No matter how strong the measure of Divine grace, unless supplemented by personal, sustained and intelligent effort it cannot become fully effective and be of any real and abiding advantage.
This last statement, fromof the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957, makes clear that recognition of and faith in the Manifestation of God are not simply unidirectional 'gifts' from God to man.
Rather, both involve a reciprocal relationship requiring an intelligent and energetic response on the part of the individual.
Nor is true faith based on any irrational or psychopathological impulse.6
2. The Nature of the Process We have seen how the spiritual growth process may begin by acceptance of the Manifestation and obedience to his laws and principles. We need now to gain a measure of understanding of the nature of the process itself.
We have characterized spiritual growth as an educational process of a particular sort for which the individual assumes responsibility and by which he learns to feel, think, and act in certain appropriate ways. It is a process through which the individual eventually becomes the truest expression of what he has always potentially been.
Let us consider several further quotations from the Bahá'í Writings which confirm this view of the spiritual growth process.
Shoghi Effendi in TheTrust, 1956), pp. 382 � 383, where faith is defined to be conscious knowledge: 'By fafth is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds.' Of course, whenever man gains knowledge which contradicts his preconceived notions, he experiences inner conflict and may therefore initially perceive the new knowledge (and thus the new faith) as irrational in that it contradicts what he previously assumed to be true. But this initial perception is gradually overcome as continued experience furtt~er confirms the new knowledge, finally leading to an integration of the new with whatever was correct and healthy in the old. But this model of faith stands in significant contrast to the widely-held view that religious faith is essentially or fundamentally irrational (and blind) in its very nature.
Page 942'Whatever duty Thou hast prescribed unto Thy servants of extolling to the utmost Thy majesty and glory is but a token of Thy grace unto them, that they may be enabled to ascend unto the station conferred upon their own inmost being, the station of the knowledge of their own selves.'1 Here the 'duties' which God has pr~scribed for man are seen not as ends in themselves but rather as 'tokens,' in other words as symbols for and means towards another, ultimate end. This end is characterized as being a particular kind of knowledge, here called self-knowledge.
In the following, Bahá'u'lláh speaks similarly of self-knowledge:
'0 My servants! Couldye apprehend with what wonders of My munificence and bounty I have willed to entrust your souls, ye would, of a truth, rid yourselves of attachment to all created things, and would gain a true knowledge of your own selves � a knowledge which is the same as the comprehension of Mine own Being.
One significant aspect of this passage is that true knowledge of self is identified with knowledge of God. That knowledge of God is identical with the fundamental purpose of life for the individual is clearly stated by Bahá'u'lláh in numerous passages. For example: 'The purpose of God in creating man hat/i been, and will ever be, to enable him to know his Creator and to attain His Presence. To this most excellent aim, this supreme objective, all the heavenly Books and the divinely-revealed and weighty Scriptures unequivocally bear witness.'3 Thus, while acceptance of the Manifestation of God and obedience to His ordinances is a necessary step which each individual must accomplish at some point in the spiritual growth process, these and other such duties are means to an ultimate end which is described as true self-knowledge.
This quality of self-knowledge is equated with knowledge of God, and knowledge of God is considered 1 Gleanings, pp. 4 � 5.
2 ibid., pp. 326 � 327.by Bahá'u'lláh as constituting the essential reason for man's existence.
All of this would seem to say that religion, in the final analysis, represents a cognitive discipline of some sort. But what kind of cognitive discipline could involve the full development of all man's spiritual capacities, and not just the mind? What kind of knowledge is meant by the true knowledge of self and how can such knowledge be tantamount to knowledge of God?
Bahá'u'lláh gives the key to answering these important questions in an explicit statement clearly describing the highest form of knowledge and development accessible to man: 'Consider the rational faculty with which God hath endowed the essence of man. Examine thine own self, and behold how thy motion and stillness, thy will and purpose, thy sight and hearing, thy sense of smell and power of speech, and whatever else is related to, or transcendeth, thy physical senses or spiritual perceptions, all proceed from, and owe their existence to, this same faculty.
'Wert thou to ponder in thine heart, from now until the end that hath no end, and with all the concentrated intelligence and understanding which the greatest minds have attained in the past or will attain in the future, this divinely ordained and subtle Reality, this sign of the revelation of the All-Abiding, All-Glorious God, thou wilt fail to comprehend its mystery or to appraise its virtue.
Having recognized thy powerlessness to attain to an adequate understanding of that Reality which abideth within thee, thou wilt readily admit the futility of such efforts as may be attempted by thee, or by any of the created things, to fathom the mystery of the Living God, the Day Star of unfading glory, the Ancient of everlasting days.
This confession of helplessness which mature contemplation must eventually impel every mind to make is in itself the acme of human understanding, and marketh the culmination of man's development.'4 This passage seems to indicate that the ultimate form of knowledge available to man is represented by his total awareness of certain limitations which are inherent in his very ibid., pp. 164 � 165.
Page 943nature or at least in the fundamental relationship between his nature and the phenomena of existence (including his own being and that of God). In particular, man must assimilate in some profound way the truth that the absolute knowledge of God and even of his own self lie forever beyond his reach. His realization of this truth is consequent to his having made a profound and accurate appraisal of his God-created capacities and potentialities. Thus, in the last analysis, true self-knowledge appears as a deep and mature knowledge of both the limitations and the capacities of the self. Let us recall that attaining to this knowledge is said to require strenuous effort on the part of man and to involve the development of a11 the potential forces with which his inmost true self bath been endowed.'1 To gain a broader perspective on this question, let us compare the self-knowledge described here with human knowledge in general, hoping that such a comparison will help us to understand more clearly what is particular to true self-knowledge.
In general terms, a 'knowing situation' involves a subjectivity (in this case that of man), some phenomenon which is the object of knowledge, and finally those means and resources which the subject can mobilize in order to obtain the understanding he seeks.
If we agree to lump these last aspects of the knowing process under the general term 'method,' we arrive at the following schema: knowing subject method phenomenon Quite clearly, the knowledge which is ultimately obtained from this process will depend on all three fundamental aspects of the knowing situation. It will depend on the nature of the phenomehon being studied (e.g., whether it is easily observable and accessible, whether it is complex or simple), on both the capacities and limitations of the knowing subject, and on the method used. In particular, the knowledge which results from this process will necessarily be relative and limited unless the knowing subject possesses some infallible method of knowledge. In this regard, it is important to note that the Baha Writings stress repeatedly that human beings (other than the Manifestations) have no such ibid., p. 68, previously quoted in Section 1.2
infallible method of knowledge and that human understanding of all things is therefore relative and limited.2
For example, in a talk given at Green Acre near Eliot, Maine in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá discusses the different criteria 'by which the human mind reaches its conclusions' .~ After a discussion of each criterion, showing why it is fallible and relative, 'Abdu'l-Bahá states: 'Consequently, it has become evident that the four criteria or standards of judgement by which the human mind reaches its conclusions are faulty and inaccurate.' He then proceeds to explain that the best man can do is to use systematically all of the criteria at his disposal.4
In another passage, 'Abdu'l-Bahá affirms: 'Knowledge is of two kinds.
One is subjective and the other objective knowledge � that is to say, an intuitive knowledge and a knowledge derived from perception.
'The knowledge of things which men universally have is gained by reflection or by evidence � that is to say, either by the power of the mind the conception of an object is formed, or from beholding an ob]ect the form is produced in the mirror of the heart. The circle of this knowledge is very limited because it depends upon effort and attainment.'5 'Abdu'l-Bahá then explains that the first kind of knowledge, that which is subjective and intuitive, is the special consciousness of the Manifestations: 'Since the Sanctified Realities, the supreme Manifestations of God, surround the essence and qualities of the creatures, transcend and contain existing realities and understand all things, therefore, Their knowledge is divine knowledge, and not acquired � that is to say, it is a holy bounty; it is a divine revelation.'6 2 It is interesting that modern science and modern scientific philosophy take essentially the same view of human knowledge. I have elsewhere treated this theme at some length (see Rahd'i Studies, vol. 2, 'The Science of Religion,' 1980), but will not enter into the discussion of such questions here.
He explicitly mentions sense experience, reason, inspiration or intuition, and scriptural authority.
The quoted passages are from 'Abdu'l-Bahá, The Promulgation of the Universal Peace (Wilmette, Ill.:
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 2nd ed., 1982), pp. 253 � 255. 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Some Answered Questions, p. 157.
6 ibid., pp. 157 � 158.Here again we see that 'Abdu'l-Bahá expresses the limited character of all human knowledge (in contrast to the unlimited knowledge of the Manifestations deriving from their special superhuman nature). In yet another passage 'Abdu'l-Bahá puts the matter thus: 'Know that there are two kinds of knowledge: the knowledge of the essence of a thing and the knowledge of its qualities. The essence of a thing is known through its qualities; otherwise, it is unknown and hidden.
'As our knowledge of things, even of created and limited things, is knowledge of their qualities and not of their essence, how is it possible to comprehend in its essence the Divine Reality, which is unlimited?
Knowing God, therefore, means the comprehension and the knowledge of His attributes, and not of His Reality. This knowledge of the attributes is also proportioned to the capacity and power of man; it is not absolute.'1 It would seem clear from these and other similar passages from the Bahá'í Writings that whatever distinctive characteristics the true knowledge of self (or, equivalently, the knowledge of God) may have, it does not differ from other forms of knowledge with regard to degree of certainty.
It is not less certain than other forms of knowledge since all human knowledge (including the knowledge of God and of 'created and limited things') is relative and limited.
Nor does it differ from these other forms of knowledge by being more certain, as is clear from the passage above and from the passages of Bahá'u'lláh previously cited.2
1 ibid., pp. 220 � 221.2 Some mystics and religious philosophers have contended that our knowledge of God is absolute and for that reason superior to the relative and limited knowledge obtained by science. Such thinkers offer mysticism as an alternative discipline to science.
It is important to realize that the Bahá'í Faith does not lend support to such a view. In particular, concerning the inherent limitations of the individual's intuitive powers, however disciplined or well-developed, Shoghi Effendi has said: With regard to your question as to the value of intuition as a source of guidance for the individual; implicit faith in our intuitiye powers is unwise, but through daily prayer and sustained effort one can discover, though not always and fully, God's Will intuitively.
Under no circumstances, however, can a person be absolutely certain that he is recognizing God's Will, through the exercise of his intuition. It However, if we compare knowledge of God with other forms of knowledge, not from the point of view of degrees of certainty, but rather from the standpoint of the relationship between man as knowing subject on the one hand, and the phenomenon which is the object of study on the other, we can immediately see that there is a tremendous difference.
In all sciences and branches of knowledge other than religion, the object of study is a phenomenon which is either inferior to man in complexity and subtlety (in the case of physics and chemistry) or on a level with man (in the case of biology, psychology, and sociology).
In either case, for each of these sciences the human knower is in a position of relative dominance or superiority which enables him to manipulate to a significant degree the phenomenon being studied.
We can successfully use these phenomena as instruments for our purposes. But when we come to knowledge of God, we suddenly find ourselves confronted with a phenomenon which is superior to us and which we cannot manipulate. Many of the reflexes and techniques learned in studying other phenomena no longer apply. Far from learning how to manipulate God, we must learn how to discern expressions of God's will for us and respond adequately to them. It is we who now must become (consciously acquiescing) instruments for God's purposes.3
often happens that the latter results in completely misrepresenting the truth, and thus becomes a source of error rather than of guidance.
Moreover, the Bahá'í Writingsclearly recognize that the human mind has a capacity for self-generated illusion which, if not recognized by the individual, can lead him into serious error: You yourself must surely know that modern psychology has taught that the capacity of the human mind for believing what it imagines, is almost infinite. Because people think they have a certain type of experience, think they remember something of a previous life, does not mean they actually had the experience, or existed previously.
The power of their mind would be quite sufficient to make them believe firmly such a thing had happened.'
(This latter passage is also by Shoghi Effendi and both statements are quoted in a letter written by the Universal House of Justice to an individual
Baha'i.)In particular, the Manifestations of God represent objective and universally accessible expressions of God's will.
Humanity's interaction with the Manifestations provides an important opportunity to experience concretely a phenomenon which man cannot manipulate or dominate.
The Manifestations likewise provide a challenge to each individual's capacity to respond adequately to the divine will.
Page 945Viewed in this perspective, the distinctive characteristic of knowing God, as compared with all other forms of (human) knowledge, is that the human knower is in a position of inferiority with respect to the object of knowledge. Rather than encompassing and dominating the phenomenon by aggressive and rnanipu-lative techniques, man is now encompassed by a phenomenon more powerful than himself.
Perhaps, then, one of the deep meanings of the true knowledge of self (which is equivalent to the knowledge of God) is that we are here confronted with the task of learning novel, and initially unnatural, patterns of thought, feeling, and action. We must retrain ourselves in a wholly new way. We must not oniy understand our position of dependence on God, but also integrate that understanding into our lives until it becomes part of us, and indeed until it becomes us, an expression of what we are.
In other words, the full, harmonious, and proper development of our spiritual capacities means developing these capacities so that we may respond ever more adequately, and with increasing sensitivity and nuance, to the will of God: The process of spiritual growth is the process by which we learn how to conform ourselves to the divine will on ever deeper levels of our being.1
From this viewpoint, conscious dependence upon God and obedience to His will is not a capitulation of individual responsibility, a sort of helpless 'giving up,' but rather an assumption of an even greater degree of responsibility and self-control. We must learn through deep self-knowledge, how to be responsive to the spirit of God.
The ability to respond to God in such a wholehearted, deeply intelligent and sensitive way is not part of the natural gift of any human being. What is naturally given to us is the capacity, the potential to attain to such a state. Its actual achievement, however, is consequent only to a persistent and strenuous effort on our part. The fact that such effort, and indeed suffering, are necessary to attain this state of spirituality makes life often Another important dimension of spirituality is service to the collectivity. The development of one's spiritual and material capacities makes one a more valuable servant. More will be said about this in a later section.
difficult.2 But the fact that it is truly possible makes of life a spiritual adventure a hundredfold more exciting than any other physical or romantic adventure could ever possibly be.
George Townshend, a Bahá'írenowned for the spiritual quality of his personal life, has given a description of this state of spiritual-mindedness.
One senses that Townshend's statement is based on deep personal experience as well as intelligent contemplation: 'When the veils of illusion which hide a man s own heart from himself are drawn aside, when after purgation he comes to himself and attains self knowledge and sees himself as he truly is, then at the same moment and by the same act of knowledge he beholds there in his own heart His Father who has patiently awaited His son's return.
'Only through this act of self completion, through this conclusion of the journey which begins in the kingdom of the senses and leads inward through the kingdom of the moral to end in that of the spiritual, does real happiness become possible. Now for the first time a man's whole being can be integrated, and a harmony of all his faculties be established.
Through his union with the Divine Spirit he has found the secret of the unifying of his own being. He who is the Breath of Joy becomes the animating principle of his existence.
Man knows the Peace ofOne of Bahá'u'lláh's major works, The Book of Certitude, is largely devoted to a detailed explanation of the way in which God has provid&d for the education of mankind through the periodic appearance in human history of a God-sent Manifestation or Revelator. At one point in His discussion of these questions, Bahá'u'lláh gives a wonderfully explicit description of the steps and stages involved in the individual's progress 2 Concerning the necessity of such suffering in the pursuit of spirituality, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said: 'Everything of importance in this world demands the close attention of its seeker.
The one in pursuit of anything must undergo difficulties and hardships until the object in view is attained and die great success is obtained. This is the case of things pertaining to the world. How much higher is that which concerns the Supreme Concourse!'
Divine Art of Living, p. 92.towards full spiritual development. This portion of The Book of Certitude has become popularly known among Bahá'ís as the 'Tablet to the True Seeker,' although Bahá'u'lláh does not Himself designate the passage by this or any other such appellation.
In general terms, a 'true seeker' is anyone who has become aware of the objective existence of the spiritual dimension of reality, has realized that spiritual growth and development constitute the basic purpose of existence, and has sincerely and seriously embarked on the enterprise of fostering his spiritual progress. It is quite clear from the context of the passage that Bahá'u'lláh is primarily addressing those who have already reached the stage of accepting the Manifestation of God and obeying His commandments.
Bahá'u'lláh begins by describing in considerable detail the attitudes, thought patterns, and behaviour patterns that characterize a true seeker. He mentions such things as humility, abstention from backbiting and vicious criticism of others, kindness and helpfulness to those who are poor or otherwise in need, and the regular practice of the discipline of prayer and of meditation.
He concludes this descrigtion by saying 'These are among the attributes of the exalted, and constitute the hallmark of the spiritually-minded When the detached wayfarer and sincere seeker hath fulfilled these essential conditions, then and only then can he be called a true seeker.'1 He then continues by describing both the quality of effort necessary to the attainment of spirituality and the state of being which this attainment secures to the individual: 'Only when the lamp of search, of earnest striving, of longing desire, of passionate devotion, of fervid love, of rapture, and ecstasy, is kindled within the seeker's heart, and the breeze of His lovingkindness is wafted upon his soul, will the darkness of error be dispelled, the mists of doubts and misgivings be dissipated, and the lights of knowledge and certitude envelop his being. At that hour will the mystic Herald, bearing the joyful tidings of the Spirit, shine forth from the City of God resplendent as the The Book of Certitude, p. 195.
morn, and, through the trumpet-blast of knowledge, will awaken the heart, the soul, and the spirit from the slumber of negligence.
Then will the manifold favours and outpouring grace of the holy and everlasting Spirit confer such new life upon the seeker that he wilifind himself endowed with a new eye, a new ear, a new heart, and a new mind. He will contemplate the manifest signs of the universe, and will penetrate the hidden mysteries of the soul. Gazing with the eye of God, he will perceive within every atom a door that leadeth him to the stations of absolute certitude. He will discover in all things the mysteries of divine Revelation and the evidences of an everlasting manifestation.
Nor should the achievement of such a degree of spiritual development be considered an ideal, static configuration from which no further change or development is possible, as the following two passages from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá make clear: 'As the divine bounties are endless, so human perfections are endless. If it were possible to reach a limit of perfection, then one of the realities of the beings might reach the condition of being independent of God, and the contingent might attain to the condition of the absolute. But for every being there is a point which it cannot overpass � that is to say, he who is in the condition of servitude, however far he may progress in gaining limitless perfections, will never reach the conditions of Deity.
'For example, Peter cannot become Christ.2 ibid., pp. 195 � 196. Bahá'u'lláh's reference in this passage to 'absolute certitude' might be perceived at first as contradicting the strong statements regarding the limitations on human knowledge which we have earlier quoted.
However, this superficial perception is relieved when we reflect that 'certitude' refers to a (psycho-logical) state of being whereas the notion of 'degree of certainty' (and in particular the question of whether knowledge is relative or absolute) is concerned rather with the criteria of verification available to man as knowing subject. Thus, Bahá'u'lláh would seem to be saying that man can attain to a sense of absolute certitude even though his criteria of verification, and thus his knowledge, remain limited. Also, it is clear that such phrases as 'the eye of God' should be taken metaphorically and not literally. This metaphor, together with other such phrases as 'new life' and 'absolute certitude,' convey a strong sense of the discontinuity between the respective degrees of understanding possessed by the individual before and after his attainment of true self-knowledge.
Page 947All that he can do is, in the condition of servitude, to attain endless perfections ~Both before and after putting off this materialform, there is progress in perfection but not in state. There is no other being higher than a perfect man. But man when he has reached this state can still make progress in perfections but not in state because there is no state higher than that of a perfect man to which he can transfer himself.
He only progresses in the state of humanity, for the human perfections are infinite. Thus, however learned a man may be, we can imagine one more learned.
'Hence, as the perfections of humanity are endless, man can also make progress in perfections after leaving this world.'2 3. The Dynamics of the
Spiritual Growth Processdescription of the state of being resulting from the attainment of true self-knowledge, it would be only natural to wish that this state could be achieved instantaneously, perhaps through some supreme gesture of self � renunciation or whatever. However, the Writings of the Bahá'í Faith make it plain that this is not possible. By its very nature, true spirituality is something which can oniy be achieved as the result of a certain self-aware and self-responsible process of development.
'Abdu'l-Bahá often responded to Bahá'ís who felt overwhelmed by the task of refining their character by stressing the necessity of patience and daily striving. 'Be patient, be as I am,' He would say.3 Spirituality was to be won 'little by little; day by day'.4
And again: 'He is a true Bahá'í who strives by day and by night to progress and advance along the path of human endeavor, whose most cherished desire is so to live and act as to enrich and. illuminate the world, whose source of inspiration is the essence of Divine virtue, whose aim in life is so to conduct himself as to be the cause of infinite progress.
Onlywhen he attains unto such perfect gifts can it be said of him that he is a true Bahá'í This last passage in particular would seem to indicate that one of the signs of an individual's maturity is his acceptance of the gradual nature of the process of spiritual growth and of the necessity for daily striving. Indeed, psychology has established that one important measure of maturity is the capacity to delay gratification, i.e., to work for goals whose attainment is not to be had in the short term.
Since spirituality is the highest and most important goal anyone can possibly have, it is natural that its achievement should call forth the greatest possible maturity on the part of the individual.6
In a similar vein, Shoghi Effendi has said that the
Baha'is:should not look at the depraved condition of the society in which they live, nor at the evidences of moral degradation and frivolous conduct which the people around them display. They should not content themselves merely with relative distinction and excellence. Rather they should fix their gaze upon nobler heights by setting the counsels and exhortations of the Pen of Glory as their supreme goal. Then it will be readily realized how numerous are the stages that still remain to be traversed and how far off the desired goal lies � a goal which is none other than exemplifying heavenly morals and virtues.'7 In describing the experience of the individual as he progresses towards this goal, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said: 'Know thou, verily, there are many veils in which the Truth is enveloped; gloomy veils; then delicate and transparent veils; then the envelopment of Light, the sight of which dazzles the eyes.'
8 Indeed, one of Bahá'u'lláh's major works, The Seven Valleys, describes in poetic and powerfully descriptive language the different stages of spiritual perception through which an individual may pass in his efforts to Divine Art of Living, p. 25.
6 This point of view on spirituality is in sharp contrast with the viewpoint found in many contemporary cults and Sects which stress instant gratification and irresponsibility in the name of honesty and spontaneity.
The Bahá'í Life, p. 2.attain to the goal of spirituality.1 In the Tablet of Wisdom, Bahá'u'lláh says simply: 'Let each morn be better than its eve and each morrow richer than its yesterday.'2
Elsewhere, Bahá'u'lláhhas urged man to live in such a way that each day his faith increases over the previous day.
All of these passages strongly reinforce the notion that spirituality is to be won only through a gradual process and is not to be attained by any once-and-for-all act of faith.
We want now to understand the dynamics of this process.
How do we even lake one step forward? Also, we need to understand how a gradual process can produce a change as radical as that described by Bahá'u'lláh in the passage quoted in the previous section (see note 41).
The answer to this last consideration is that the rate of change produced by the process is not constant. In technical language, the process is exponential and not linear. To say that a growth process is linear means that the rate of growth is unchanging.
In an exponential process, on the other hand, the rate of growth is very small in the beginning but gradually increases until a sort of saturation point is reached. When this point is passed, the rate of growth becomes virtually infinite, and the mechanism of the process becomes virtually automatic.
There is, so to speak, an 'explosion' of progress.3
As we examine the dynamics of the process of spiritual development we will see precisely how the exponential nature of the process can be concretely understood.
Let us turn, then, to an examination of these dynamics.
The main problem is to understand how the various capacities of the individual � mind,
1 Bahá'u'lláh, The Sevencompiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice, 1978), p. 138.
In an exponential process, the rate of growth at any given stage of the process is directly proportional to the total growth attained at that stage. Thus, as the process develops and progress is made, the rate of progress increases.
An example would be a production process such that the total amount produced at any given stage is double the total amount produced at the previous stage (imagine a reproduction process in which bacteria double each second, starting with one bacterium).
Since the double of a large number represents a much greater increase than the double of a small number, doubling is an example of an exponential law of progress.
heart, and will � are to interact in order to produce a definite step forward in the path towards full development. Basic to our understanding of this obviously complex interaction are two important points that Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá both stress regarding the growth process/The first is that no one faculty acting alone is sufficient to produce results.4 The second point is that there is a hierarchical relationship between these faculties in which knowledge is first, love is second, and will is third. Let us discuss each of these points in turn.
As we have seen in Section I on the nature of man, each individual has certain basic, innate spiritual capacities, but in a degree and in a proportion which are unique to him. Moreover, the initial development of these innate capacities takes place under conditions over which the individual has very little control (e.g., the conditions of the family into which he is born, the social and physical surroundings to which he is exposed).
An important consequence of this universal, existential situation is that each one of us arrives at the threshold of adulthood having developed a more or less spontaneous and unexamined pattern of responses to life situations. This pattern, unique to each individual, is an expression of his basic personality at that stage of his development.5
Bahá'u'lláh has stressed that the merit of all deeds is dependent upon God's acceptance (cf.
A Synopsis and Codificationp. 52), and 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said that 'good actions alone, without the knowledge of God, cannot be the cause of eternal salvation, everlasting success, and prosperity, and entrance into the Kingdom of God.'
Some Answered Questions, p. 238. On the other hand, knowledge without action is also declared to be unacceptable: 'Mere knowledge of principles is not sufficient. We all know and admit that justice is good but there is need of volition and action to carry out and manifest it' 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Foundations of World Unity (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1945), p. 26. At the same time, love and sincere good intentions alone are also insufficient for spiritual progress, for they need to be guided by knowledge and wisdom and expressed through action. Moreover, without true self-knowledge we may sometimes mistake physical attraction or self-centred emotional need as love and act upon it with negative results.
At this point in our development, it is difficult if not impossible to know how much of our mode of functioning is due to our innate qualities and how much is due to the cumulative influence of external conditions.
Thus, our spontaneous response pattern may be a reasonably authentic expression of our true selves or it may contain significant distortions. It is only by moving on to the next
Page 949Given the limited and relative nature of our innate spiritual capacities as well as the conditions under which they will have developed up to this point in our lives, our personal response pattern will necessarily involve many imbalances, immaturities and imperfections.
Moreover, because of the largely spontaneous and unselfconscious nature of our pattern, we will be unaware of many aspects of it. Thus, our attainment of true self knowedge will involve our becoming acutely aware of the internal psychic mechanisms of our responsd pattern. We must take stock of both the strengths and the weaknesses of our pattern and make deliberate efforts to bring it into harmony, balance, and full development. We must also begin to correct false or improper development.
This is the beginning of a transformation or growth process for which we assume responsibility.
Until this point in our lives, our growth and development has been primarily in the hands of others. Though we have collaborated in the process with some degree of consciousness, nevertheless the major part has been beyond our control and indeed beyond our awareness.
We have been the relatively passive recipients of a process to which we have been subjected by others. Now we must become the agents and prime movers of our own growth process. This self-directed process is a continuation of the previously unconscious one, but it represents a new and significant stage in our lives.
This new, self-directed growth process is going to take time. Moreover, it is sometimes going to be painful, and in the beginning stages at least, very painful.
The new, more balanced functioning for which we begin to strive will appear at first to be unnatural since the spontaneous pattern we will have previously developed is the natural expression of our (relatively undeveloped and immature) selves.
In fact, one of the major problems involved in starting the process of spiritual growth is that we initially feel so comfortable with our spontaneous and unexamined mode of functioning. This is why it often happens that an individual becomes strongly motivated to begin the spiritual growth process oniy after stage of self-aware, self-directed growth that we can gain insight into this question.
his spontaneous system of coping has failed in some clear and dramatic way.
The realization that failure has occurred may come in many different forms.
Perhaps we are faced with a 'test,' a life situation that puts new and unusual strain on our defective response system and thus reveals to us its weakness. We may even temporarily break down, i.e., become unable to function in situations which previously posed no difficulties. This is because we have become so disillusioned by our sudden realization of our weakness that we put the whole framework of our personalities into doubt.
Perceiving that things are wrong, but not yet, knowing just how or why, we suspend activity until we can gain perspective on what is happening.
1 Or, the perception of the inadequacy of our spontaneous system of functioning may result from our unanticipated failure at some endeavour.
We are then led to wonder why we anticipated a success that we were unable to deliver.2
1 If a person has been fortunate in the quality of spiritual education he has received during his formative years, his spontaneous system of functioning may be very good indeed compared with others in less fortunate circumstances. If his spiritual education has been especially good, he will have already learned and understood the necessity of assuming the responsibility for his own spiritual growth process (and will have already begun to do so as� an adolescent). In such cases as these, the individual will not need any test or dramatic setback in order to awaken him to spiritual realities of which he is already aware. Indeed, the Bahá'í Writings explain that the very purpote of the spiritual education of children and youth is to lead them to such an understanding of spiritual realities that, upon reaching adulthood, they will be naturally equipped to take charge of their own lives and spiritual growth processes.
Spiritual education of this quAlity is extremely rare (in fact virtually nonexistent) in our society today, but the Baha Writings contain many principles and techniques for the spiritual education of children and affirm that the application of these principles will, in the future, enable the majority of people to attain the age of adulthood with a clear understanding of the dynamics of the spiritual growth process. Though this state of affairs will not eliminate all human suffering (in particular suffering which comes from physical accidents or certain illnesses), it will eliminate that considerable proportion of human suffering which is generated by the sick, distorted, and destructive response patterns and modes of functioning so widespread in current society.
2 The answer may be that our expectations were unreasonable to begin with. In this way, failure to obtain some particular external goal can lead to success in gaining valid knowledge and insight into our internal processes, thus fostering spiritual growth. Indeed, there is very little that happens to us in life that cannot be used to give us new self-insight and hence contribute to fulfilling the basic purpose of prosecuting the spiritual
Page 950The frequency with which the perception of inadequacy and the consequent motivation to change is born through fiery ordeal has led some to build a model of spiritual growth in which such dramatic failures and terrible sufferings are considered to be unavoidable and necessary aspects of the growth process. The Bahá'í Writings would appear to take a middle position on this question. On the one hand, they clearly affirm that tests, difficulties, and sufferings are inevitable, natural concomitants of the spiritual growth process. Such painful experiences, it is explained, serve to give us deeper understanding of certain spiritual laws upon which our continued growth depends.1 On the other hand, many instances of human suffering are simply the result of careless living and are therefore potentially avoidable. Baha are taught to pray to God for preservation from violent or extreme tests.
Moreover, the Bahá'íWritings strictly forbid asceticism and any other similar philosophies or disciplines which incite the individual actively to seek pain or suffering in the path of spiritual growth. The growth process itself involves enough pain without our seeking more through misguided or thoughtless living.
But the deep sufferings and dramatic setbacks are potentially there for everyone who feels inclined to learn the hard way.2
growth process. It sometimes happens that a person whose spontaneous level of functioning is quite weak and defective is soon led to discover this fact while a person whose spontaneous level of functioning is rather high (due to favourable circumstances in early life or to exceptional natural endowments) persists for many years in his spiritually unaware state, making no spiritual progress whatever. In this way, the person whose spontaneous level of functioning is weak may take charge of his growth process much sooner than others and thereby eventually surpass those with more favourable natural endowments or initial life circumstances.
1 Regarding the spiritual meaning and purpose of suffering, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said: 'Tests are benefits from God, for which we should thank Him. Grief and sorrow do not come to us by chance, they are sent to us by the Divine mercy for our own perfecting. The mind and spirit of man advance when he is tried by suffering suffering and tribuladon free man from the petty affairs of this worldly life until he arrives at a state of complete detachment.
His attitude in this world will be that of divine happiness. Through suffering (one) will attain to an eternal happiness which nothing can take from him. To attain eternal happiness one must suffer.
He who has reached the state of self sacrifice has true joy. Temporal ]oy will vanish.' Divine Art of Living, pp. 89 � 90.
2 Naturally, it is heartening to see examples of murderers, thieves, rapists, or drug addicts who turn themselves around and become useful members of society and Of course, even dramatic failures and sufferings may sometimes not be enough to convince us of our weaknesses and immaturities. We may put up various 'defences,' i.e., we may resist seeing the truth of the matter even when it is plain to everyone but ourselves.
We engage in such strategies of self-illusion primarily when, for whatever reason, we find some particular bit of self-revelation unusually hard to take.
If we do not learn the lesson from the situation, we may blindly and adamantly persist in the same behaviour or thought patterns which continue to produce new and perhaps even more painful situations. We are then in a 'vicious circle' in which our resistance to accepting the truer picture of reality actually increases with each new bit of negative feedback.
Regarding such vicious circle situations, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has said: 'Tests are a means by which a soul is measured as to its fitness, and proven out by its own acts. God knows its fitness beforehand, and also its unpreparedness, but man, with an ego, would not believe himself unfit unless some proof were given to him. Con-seqently his susceptibility to evil is proven to him when he falls into tests, and the tests are continued until the soul realizes its own unfitness, then remorse and regret tend to root out the weakness.'3 Let us sum up. We start the process of conscious spiritual development by becoming aware of how we function at our present level of maturity. We assess as realistically as possible the level of intellectual, emotional, and behavioural maturity we have attained at present.
As we perceive imbalanced development, underdevelopment, or improper development, we begin the job of correcting the perceived inadequacies.
It is at this stage, in particular, that the Bahá'í view of the nature of man becomes so important in fostering our spiritual growth and progress.4
Suppose we perceive, for occasionally morally and intellectually superior human beings. But one can also deplore the fact that people with such potential and talents must waste so many years and cause so much suffering to themselves and others before realizing their potential.
Quoted in Daniel Jordan,Of course, if our parents and educators have also had the Baha viewpoint of the nature of man, this will have
Page 951example, that we have a tendency to be very wilful, aggressive, and dominant in our relations with others. From the Bahá'í viewpoint, we would not consider the negative features of this pattern as inherently evil or sinful or as arising from some evil part of ourselves, a part which must be despised and suppressed. We are free to recognize the positive potential of this aspect of our character. After examination, we might find that we have not sufficiently developed our feeling capacity and are, therefore, sometimes insensitive to the needs and feelings of others. Or perhaps we often act impulsively and need to develop also our understanding capacity so as to act more reflectively and wisely. Or again, we might find that our mode of relating to others represents an attempt to satisfy in an illegitimate way some need within us (a need for security or self-worth perhaps) that we have not succeeded in meeting legitimately. We will then understand that we have been engaging in an improper (and unproductive) use of will and must, therefore, set about redeploying our psychic forces in a more productive manner.
As we gradually succeed in doing this, we will satisfy our inner need legitimately and improve our relationships with others at the same time.
1 contributed to our development during our formative years.
However, our future growth and development will depend on whatever attitudes and viewpoints we persodally maintajo. Nevertheless, we will continue to be significantly affected by our interactions with others and therefore by the attitudes and viewpoints which they have.
More will be said about this point in a later section.
This hypothetical example serves to stress an important point concerning the Bahá'í view of human nature. To say that human nature, in both its material and spiritual aspects, is good means that all of man's natural needs and urges are God-given.
Since Bahá'ís also believe that God's purpose for mankind is positive and beneficial, it follows that there is a legitimate, God-given (and truly satisfactory) way of meeting every natural internal human need (see the quotation in note 6). Such a view contrasts sharply with the idea that some of man's basic urges are intrinsically evil and/or inherently socially (and self) destructive.
The Bahá'í view of man certainly recognizes that the perversion of a natural capacity or need can lead to virulent social, psychological, moral and spiritual ills, and that dealing with people or groups so afflicted can be extremely difficult.
Nevertheless, in effecting a cure even of these terrible spiritual pathologies, it is helpful to realize that the process is based on teaching (and learning) detachment from the false pattern and attachment to the healthy one rather than the purely negative attempt to suppress unacceptable behaviour.
In other words, the model of human spiritual and moral functioning offered by the Baha Faith enables us to respond creatively and constructively once we become aware that change is necessary.
We avoid wasting precious energy on guilt, self-hatred, or other such unproductive mechanisms. We are able to produce some degree of change almost immediately.
This gives us positive feedback, makes us feel better about ourselves, and helps generate courage to continue the process of change we have just begun.
We now come to the important question of the mechanism by which we can take a step forward in the path of spiritual progress. What we need to consider is the hierarchical relationship between knowledge, love, and action.
4. Knowledge, Love, andA close examination of the psychology of the spiritual growth process as presented in the Baha Writings indicates that the proper and harmonious functioning of our basic spiritual capacities depends on recognizing a hierarchical relationship among them. At the apex of this hierarchy is the knowing capacity.
'First and foremost among these favors, which the Almighty hat/i conferred upon man, is the gift of understanding. His purpose in conferring such a gift is none other except to enable His creature to know and recognize the one true God � exalted be His glory.
This gift giveth man the power to discern the truth in all things, leadeth him to that which is right, and helpeth him to discover the secrets of creation. Next in rank, is the power of vision, the chief instrument whereby his understanding can function. The senses of hearing, of the heart, and the like, are similarly to be reckoned among the gifts with which the human body is endowed.
'These gifts are inherent in man himself That which is preeminent above all other gifts, is incorruptible in nature, and per-taineth to God Himself, is the gift of Divine Revelation.
Every bounty conferred by the Creator upon man, be it material or spiritual, is subservient unto this.'2 2 Gleanings, pp. 194 � 195.
Page 952In the last chapter of Some Answered Questions, 'Abdu'l-Bahá elaborates even further on this theme.
He explains that right actions and moral behaviour are not in themselves sufficient for spirituality. Alone, such actions and behaviour constitute '. a body of the greatest loveliness, but without spirit.'1 He then explains: that which is the cause of everlasting life, eternal honour, universal enlightenment, real salvation and prosperity is, first of all, the knowledge of God.'2 He continues, affirming: 'Second, comes the love of God, the light of which shines in the lamp of the hearts of those who know God.' .~ and 'The third virtue of humanity is the goodwill which is the basis of good actions.
though a good action is praiseworthy, yet if it is. not sustained by the knowledge of God, the love of God, and a sincere intention, it is imperfect.'4 In another passage, 'Abdu'l-Bahá expresses the primacy of knowledge with respect to action as follows: 'Although a person of good deeds is acceptable at the Threshold of the Almighty, yet it is first "to know" and then "to do". Although a blind man produceth a most wonderful and exquisite art, yet he is deprived of seeing it. By faith is meant, first, conscious knowledge, and second, the practice of good deeds.'5 In yet another passage, 'Abdu'l-Bahá describes the steps towards the attainment of spirituality: 'By what means can man acquire these things? How shall he obtain these merciful gifts and powers?
First, through the knowledge of God. Second, through the love of God. Third, through faith. Fourth, through philanthropic deeds. Fifth, through self-sacrifice.
Sixth, through severance from this world. Seventh, through sanctity and holiness.
Unless he acquires these forces and attains to these requirements he will surely be deprived of the life that is eternal.'6 In the above passages, and in many others not quoted, the hierarchical ordering of spiritual faculties is the same: Knowledge leads to love which generates the courage to act (i.e., faith) which forms the basis of the intention to Some Answered Questions, p. 300.
2 ibid ibid. ibid., p. 302.act (i.e., motive and good will) which in turn leads to action itself (i.e., good deeds). Of course, the knowledge which starts this psycho-spiritual chain reaction is not just any kind of knowledge, but the knowledge of God which is equivalent to true self-knowledge.
As we begin to take charge of our own spiritual growth process, one of the main problems we Lace is that our existing perception of ourselves � of what we are and of what we should be � is bound to be distorted and inadequate in various ways, for this self-perception (or self-image) is the very basis of the spontaneous response pattern we have inherited from our childhood and early youth. Indeed, our mode of functioning at any given stage of our development is largely just a dramatization of our basic self-image; it is the projection of this self-image onto the various life situations we encounter. Thus, our self-image is, in many ways, the key to our personalities.
To say that our self-image is distorted means that it does not correspond to reality, the reality that is within us. Perhaps we have an exaggerated image of ourselves, believing we have talents and abilities we lack in reality. We may, at the same time and in other ways, underestimate ourselves, carrying an unrealistically negative concept of our
Capacities.In any case, to the degree that our self-concept is false we will experience unpleasant tensions and difficulties as we become involved in various life situations. The false or unrealistic parts of our self-image will be implicitly judged by our encounter with external reality.
We will sense this and begin to perceive, at first vaguely and uncomfortably but then more sharply, that something is wrong. Even though this feedback information from external reality may be from neutral sources and devoid of any value-judgemental quality, we may nevertheless perceive it as a threat or even an attack. If the feedback is not neutral but comes, say, in the form of blatantly negative criticism from others, our sense of being threatened will certainly be much greater.
Moreover, we will perceive the source of these threats as being somewhere outside ourselves.
It will not naturally occur to us that the source lies rather within ourselves in
Page 953the form of an illusory and unrealistic self concept.
Therefore, our instinctive reaction to the negative feedback information will be to resist, to defend our self-image and to strive to maintain it. In defending our self-image, we believe we are defending our selves because we do not view ourselves as a mosaic of true and false, real and unreal. We see only the seamless, undifferentiated whole of 'I' or 'me. The result is that we begin to bind up more and more of our psychic energies in the defence of our self-image. We confuse egotistic pride, which is our attachment to our limited and distorted self-concept, with self-respect and honour, which are expressions of the deep spiritual truth that we are created in the image of God with an intrinsic value given by Him and without any essentially evil or sinful part.
The 'binding energy' involved in our defence of our self-concept is frequently experienced as various negative emotions like fear, rage, jealousy, or aggression.
These emotions are all expressions of our attempt to locate the source of our irritation outside ourselves in objective, external reality. We are also liable to experience considerable anxiety as we cling more and more desperately to whatever false part of ourselves we cannot relinquish.
Clearly, the greater the pathology of our self-image and the greater our attachment to it, the stronger will be our sense of being threatened and attacked, and the greater will be the amount of psychic energy necessary to maintain and defend the false part of our self-image.
At this point, an increase in self knowledge will be represented by some insight into ourselves which enables us to discard a false part of our self-image.
This act of self-knowledge is the first stage of the mechanism involved in taking a single step forward in the process of spiritual growth. Such an increment in self-knowledge has one immediate consequence: It instantly releases that part of our psychic energy which was previously bound up in defending and maintaining the false self-concept. The release of this binding energy is most usually experienced as an extremely positive emotion, a sense of exhilaration and of liberation. It is love. We have a truer picture of our real (and therefore God-created) selves, and we have a new reservoir of energy which is now freed for its God-intended use in the form of service to others.
Following this release of energy will be an increase in courage. We have more courage partly because we have more knowledge of reality and have therefore succeeded in reducing, however slightly, the vastness of what is unknown and hence potentially threatening to us. We also have more courage because we have more energy to deal with whatever unforeseen difficulties may lie ahead. This new increment of courage is an increase in faith.
Courage generates within us intentionality, i.e., the willingness and the desire to act. We want to act because we are anxious to experience the sense of increased mastery that will come from dealing with life situations which previously appeared difficult or impossible but which now seem challenging and interesting. And we are also eager to seek new challenges, to use our new knowledge and energy in circumstances we would have previously avoided.
And, most importantly, we have an intense desire to share with others, to serve them and to be an instrument, to whatever possible extent, in the process of their spiritual growth and development.
Finally, this intentionality, this new motivation, expresses itself in concrete action. Until now everything has taken place internally, in the inner recesses of our psyche. No external observer could possibly know that anything significant has taken place. But when we began to act, the reality of this inner process is dramatized. Action, then, is the dramatization of intentionality and therefore of knowledge, faith, and love. It is the visible, observable concomitant of the invisible process that has occurred within us. We have taken a step forward in our spiritual development.
We have moved from one level to another. However small the step may be, however minimal the difference between the old level of functioning and the new, a definite transition has taken place.
Whenever we act, we affect not only ourselves but also our physical and social environment. Our action thereby evokes a reaction from others.
This reaction is, of course, just a form of the feedback information mentioned above. But the difference is that our action has now been the result of a
Page 954conscious and deliberate process. We know why we acted the way we did. Thus, we will perceive the reaction in a different way, even if it is negative (our good intentions certainly do not guarantee that the reaction will be positive). We will welcome the reaction because it will help us evaluate our actions.
In short, the reaction to our actions will give us new knowledge, new self-insight. In this way, the cycle starts again and the process of taking another step along the path of spiritual growth is repeated. We represent this by the following diagram:
KNOWLEDGEAs is the case with any new discipline, so it is with learning spiritual growth. Our first steps forward are painfully self-cohscious and hesitant. We are acutely aware of each detail, so much so that we wonder whether we will ever be able to make it work. We are elated at our first successes, but we tend to linget on the plateaus, becoming sufficiently motivated to take another step only when negative pressures begin to build up intolerably, forcing us to act.
Yet, as we pursue the process, we becomd more adept at it. Gradually, certain aspects become spontaneous and natural (not unconscious).
They become part of us to the point of being reflex actions. The feedback loop resulting from our actions becomes more and more automatic.
The rate of progress begins to pick up. The steps merge imperceptibly.
Finally, the process becomes almost continuous.In other words, the rate of progress increases as we go along because we are not only making progress but also perfecting our skill at making progress.
'Abdu'l-Bahá has said: 'It is possible to so ad]ust one's self to the practice of nobility that its atmosphere surrounds and colours every act. When actions are habitually and conscientiously adjusted to noble standards, with no thought of the words that might herald them, then nobility becomes the accent of life.
At such a degree of evolution one scarcely needs try any longer to be good � all acts are become the distinctive expression of nobility.'1 A process in which the rate of progress is proportional,to the amount of progress made is exponential (see note 52). Thus, an analysis of the mechanism of the spiritual growth process allows us to understand why this process, though remaining a gradual one, is exponential: It is because we perfect the process of growing spiritually as we grow, thereby increasing the rate at which growth occurs.
The above diagram, and the detailed analysis of each stage of the mechanism involved in the hierarchical relationship between knowledge, ledge, love, and will, should not lead us to FAH~ H forget the other fundamental point, namely that all of our spiritual faculties must function together at each stage of the mechanism. In order to gain self-insight, we must will to know the truth about ourselves, and we must be attracted towards the truth.
When we act, we must temper our actions with the knowledge and wisdom we have already accumulated at that given point in our development.
Moreover, when we begin the process of conscious, self-directed spiritual growth, we do not start from absolute emptiness but rather from the basis of whatever knowledge, love, faith, and will we have developed at that point in our lives. Thus, the spiritual growth process is lived and dramatized by each individual in a way which is unique to him even though the basic mechanism of progress and the rules which govern it are universal.
5. Tools for SpiritualOur understanding of the process of spiritual growth and its dynamics does not guarantee that we will be successful in our pursuit of spirituality.
We stand in need of practical tools to help us at every turn. The Bahá'í Writings give a clear indication of a number of such tools. In particular, prayer, meditation on and study of the Writings of the Manifestations, and active service to mankind are repeatedly mentioned. For example, in a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi it is stated: 'When a person becomes a Baha, actually what takes place is that the seed of the 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Star of the West, Vol. 17, p. 286.
Page 955spirit starts to grow in the human soul. This seed must be watered by the outpourings of the Holy Spirit. These gifts of the spirit are received through prayer, meditation, study of the Holy Utterances and service to the Cause of God service in the Cause is like the plough which ploughs the physical soil when seeds are sown.'1 Some of the points mentioned briefly in the above passage are amplified in the following statement from the same source: 'How to attain spirituality is indeed a question to which every young man and woman must sobner or later try to find a satisfactory answer.
'Indeed the chief reason for the evils now rampant in society is the lack of spirituality. The materialistic civilization of our age has so much absorbed the energy and interest of mankind that people in general do no longer feel the necessity of raising themselves above the forces and conditions of their daily material existence. There is not sufficient demand for things that we call spiritual to differentiate them from the needs and requirements of our physical existence.
'The universal crisis affecting mankind is, therefore, essentially spiritual in its causes the core of religious faith is that mystic feeling which unites Man with God. This state of spiritual communion can be brought about and maintained by means of meditation and prayer.
And this is the reason why Bahá'u'lláh has so much stressed the importance of worship. The Baha Faith, like all other Divine Religions, is thus fundamentally mystic in character.
Its chief goal is the development of the individual and society, through the acquisition of spiritual virtues and powers. It is the soul of man which has first to be fed.
And this spiritual nourishment prayer can best provide.'2 With regard to meditation, the Bahá'í Writings explain that it has no set form and that each individual is free to meditate in the Excerpt from a letter written on behalf of
Shoghi Effendi in TheStatements by 'Abdu'l-Bahá describe meditation as a silent contemplation, a sustained mental concentration or focusing of thought: 'Bahá'u'lláh says there is a sign (from God) in every phenomenon: the sign of the intellect is contemplation and the sign of contemplation is silence, because it is impossible for a man to do two things at one time � he cannot both speak and meditate.
'Meditation is the key for opening the doors of mysteries. In that state man abstracts himself: in that state man withdraws himself from all outside objects; in that subjective mood he is immersed in the ocean of spiritual life and can unfold the secrets of things-in-themselves.'3 'Abdu'l-Bahá leaves no doubt concerning the importance of meditation as a tool for spiritual growth: 'You cannot apply the name 'man' to any being void of this faculty of meditation; without it he would be a mere animal, lower than the beasts.
'Through the faculty of meditation man attains to eternal life; through it he receives the breath of the Holy Spirit � the bestowal of the Spirit is given in reflection Qnd meditation.
And Bahá'u'lláh has said that 'One hour's reflection is preferable to seventy years of pious worship.'5 The Bahá'í Writings suggest that the words and teachings of the Manifestations provide a helpful focus for meditation. Also, while giving considerable freedom to the individual concerning prayer, they likewise suggest that the prayers of the Manifestations are especially useful in establishing a spiritual connection between the soul of man and the Divine Spirit. Prayer is defined as conversation or communion with God: 'The wisdom of prayer is this, that it causes a connection between the servant and the True One, because in that state of prayer man with all his heart and soul turns his face
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Paris Talks1979), pp. 174 � 175. '~ ibid., p. 175. Book of Certitude, p. 238. These strong statements of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá concerning meditation should not, however, be taken as implying an absolute faith in man's intuitive powers.
See note 35.The greatest happiness for a lover is to converse with his beloved, and the greatest gift for a seeker is to become familiar with the object of his longing. That is why the greatest hope of every soul who is attracted to the kingdom of God is to find an opportunity to entreat and supplicate at the ocean of His utterance, goodness and generosity.'1 'Abdu'l-Bahá has elsewhere explained that the spirit in which one prays is the most important dimension of prayer. A ritualistic mumbling of words or a mindless repetition of syllables is not prayer. Moreover, the Bahá'í Writings enjoin the spiritual seeker to make of his whole life, including his professional activities, an act of worship: 'In the Bahá'í Cause arts, sciences and all crafts are counted as worship.
The man who makes apiece of notepaper to the best of his ability, conscientiously, concentrating all his forces on perfecting it, is giving praise to God.
Briefly, all effort put forth by man from the fullness of his heart is worship, if it is prompted by the highest motives and the will to do service to humanity. This is worship: to serve mankind and to minister to the needs of the people. Service is prayer.'
2 Thus, it is the spirit and motive of service to others which makes external activity a tool for spiritual progress.
In order to pursue the goal of spirituality, one must therefore maintain a persistently high level of motivation. Prayer, meditation, and study of the Words of the Manifestations are essential in this regard: 'The first thing to do is to acquire a thirst for spirituality, then Live the Life! Live the Life!
Live the Life! The way to acquire this thirst is to meditate upon the future life. Study the Holy Words, read your Bible, read the Holy Books, especially study the Holy
Utterances of Bahá'u'lláh.Prayer and Meditation, take much time for these two. Then will you know the Great Thirst, and then only can you begin to
Live the Life!'3Thus, while the quality and maturity of one's relationship to others remain the best measure of spiritual progress and growth, acquiring the capacity for such mature relationships depends essentially on an intense inner life and self-development.
Moreover, the individual's actions are experienced both by himself and by others, whereas inner life is experienced only by the individual and is thereby more properly 'his.' The sense of 'that mystic feeling which unites Man with God' becomes to the spiritual seeker the most precious of experiences.
It is that part of spirituality which lies at the centre of his heart and soul.
In this inner dimension, spirituality becomes a sort of dialogue between the human soul and the Divine Spirit as channelled through the Manifestation. It is within this subjective but nevertheless real dimension of inner spirituality that one finds all the passion, the exaltation of spirit, as well as the terrible but somehow precious moments of despair, of utter helplessness and defeat, of shame and repentance. It is here that one learns with the deeply certain knowledge only personal experience can bestow, that the ultimate category of existence, the absolute and transcendent God who guides and oversees our destiny, is an infinitely loving and merciful Being.
III. The Collective DimensionUntil now in our discussion, we have viewed the process of spiritual growth as being primarily an individual one, a process which effects changes within the individual and in his behaviour towards his social and natural environment.
However, it is obvious that individual spiritual growth does not and cannot take place in a vacuum.
It takes place within the context of a given society that is bound to have a profound influence on the individual in his pursuit of spirituality.
Indeed, there are many intricate, subtle, and complex interactions between any society and each of the individuals composing it. These interactions produce reciprocal influences that operate on different levels of behaviour, life experience, and consciousness.
It is thereforemore accurate to view the spiritual growth process as an organically social one having several identifiable but related components. Some of these are: (1) an individual component, which has been the main focus of our discussion in the previous sections, (2) a collective or global component, involving the evolution of society as a whole, and (3) an interactive component, involving the relationship between the individual and society.
In this section, the global and interactive dimensions of the spiritual growth process will be briefly examined.
The Bahá'í Writings make clear that, just as the individual has a basically spiritual purpose to his existence, so society also has a spiritual raison d'6tre. The spiritual purpose of society is to provide the optimal milieu for the full and adequate spiritual growth and development of the individuals in that society.
In the Bahá'í view, all other aspects of social evolution, such as technological innovations, institutional structures, decision-making procedures and the exercise of authority, group interactions, and the like, are to be judged positive or negative according to whether they contribute to or detract from the goal of fostering a favourable milieu for spiritual growth.
Such a concept of society and its meaning is certainly a radical departure from the commonly held view that society serves primarily as a vehicle for economic activity to provide for the conditions of material existence.
However, the inherent limitations of this common viewpoint become readily apparent when one reflects that nature itself already provides the basic conditions for material existence.
Therefore, providing such conditions can hardly be the fundamental purpose of human society, for society then becomes redundant at best and possibly harmful.
Of course, economic activity is an important part of society's function since a certain level of material wellbeing and stability provides opportunities for spiritual growth. A social milieu in which large segments of the population are starving or living in other such extreme conditions is hardly a milieu which is favourable to the full and adequate spiritual development of its members, although spiritual growth can take place under such conditions.
ditions. Also, a just, well-organized, and efficient economy can serve to free man, at least partially, from boring and excessive labour and thus provide time for higher intellectual and artistic pursuits.
Another spiritual implication of economic activity is that it requires intense human interaction and therefore provides many of the challenges and opportunities necessary to stimulate spiritual growth among its participants.
It is in the market place that questions of justice, compassion, honesty, trust, and self-sacrifice become living reality and not just abstract philosophy.
We therefore cannot safely neglect the 'outer' dimension of society in the name of our basic preoccupation with spiritual growth.
Indeed if the prevailing structures and behavioural norms of society are such as to inhibit or discourage spiritual growth, the individual will be impeded in his personal growth process. The occasional moral hero will succeed in spiritualizing his life against all odds, but the vast majority will eventually succumb to the prevailing negative influences.
Also, one of the important characteristics of personal spiritual maturity is a highly developed social conscience. The spiritually-minded individual has become intensely aware of the many ways he depends on society and has a keen sense of social obligation.
Society thus benefits from the spiritualized individuals within its fold because of the unselfish quality of their service to the collectivity, and because their particular talents and capacities are relatively well-developed.
At the same time, the individual spiritual seeker's relative dependence on society fosters his humility, and the energy and effort he contributes towards the solution of social problems helps prevent the (necessary) attention he gives to his inner spiritual struggles from leading to an unhealthy degree of self-preoccupation.
Bahá'u'lláh has said that the individual in the pursuit of spirituality should be anxiously concerned with the needs of the society in which he lives and that 'All men have been created to carry forward an ever-advancing civilization.'1
2. UnityIn our discussion of the principles governing Gleanings, p. 215.
Page 958individual spiritual growth, we have seen that certain attitudes and behaviour patterns are conducive to spiritual growth whereas others are not. In the same way, certain social norms and types of social structures are conducive to the spiritual growth process whereas others are not. One of the fundamental features of the Bahá'í Faith is that its teachings include detailed prescriptions regarding social structures and their relationship to spiritual growth. Broadly speaking, Bahá'u'lláh teaches that those social and economic structures which favour cooperation and unity are conducive to the spiritual growth process while those structures based on competition, conffict, power-seeking, and dominance-seeking hierarchies are destructive to the growth process. The unity taught by Bahá'u'lláh is not simply a formal juxtaposition of disparate parts, but an organic unity based on a spiritual quality of relationship between groups and among individuals working within a given group. Nor is it a uniformity or homogeneity, but a 'unity in diversity,' a unity in which the particular qualities of the cooperating components are respected in a way that enables these qualities to contribute to the unity of the whqle rather than detracting from it as so often happens in the case of social structures based on competition and dominance-seeking.
The Bahá'í focus on unity, and the attention which the Baha Writings give to the social and collective dimension of the spiritual growth process probably represent the most original contributions of the Bahá'í Faith to the collective spiritual consciousness of mankind, for the individual dimension of the spiritual growth process has been a part of every reveakd religion.
Indeed, some revelations, for example those of Jesus and Buddha, have focused almost entirely on the individual. Other revelations, such as those of Moses and Muhammad, have treated the social dimension to a greater degree, giving laws governing the behaviour of groups as well as that of individuals.
However, in the case of the Bahá'í Faith, we see for perhaps the first time in religious history the spiritual growth process in its full collective dimension.
3. Social Evolution; WorldIn the Baha view, the whole of mankind constitutes an organic unit which has undergone a collective growth process similar to that of the individual. Just as the individual achieves his maturity in stages, gradually developing his abilities and enlarging the scope of his knowledge and understanding, so mankind has passed through different stages in the as yet unfinished process of achieving its collective maturity.
According to Bahá'u'lláh, each occurrence of revelation has enabled mankind to achieve some particular step forward in its growth process. Of course, every revelation has contributed in a general way to mankind's spiritual awareness by restating and elaborating those eternal spiritual truths which are the very basis of human existence. But Bahá'u'lláh affirms that, besides this general and universal function common to all revelations, there is a specific function by which each revelation plays its particular and unique role in the total growth process. Here are some of the ways that these two dimensions of revelation are described in the Bahá'í Writings: 'The divine religions embody two kinds of ordinances.
First those which constitute essential or spiritual teachings of the Word of God. These are faith in God, the acquirement of the virtues which characterize perfect manhood, praiseworthy moralities, the acquisition of the bestowals and bounties emanating from the divine effulgences; in brief the ordinances which concern the realm of morals and ethics. This is the fundamental aspect of the religion of God and this is of the highest importance because knowledge of God is the fundamental requirement of man. This is the essential foundation of all the divine religions, the reality itself, common to all.
'Secondly: Laws and ordinances which are temporary and nonessential. These concern human transactions and relations. They are accidental and subject to change according to the exigencies of time and place.'1 'God's purpose in sending His Prophets unto men is twofold. The first is to liberate the children of men from the darkness of ignorance, and guide them to the light of true understanding. The second is to ensure the
'Abdu'l-Bahá, Faith Forpeace and tranquillity of mankind, and provide all the means by which they can be established.'1 'These Manifestations of God have each a twofold station.
One is the station of pure abstraction and essential unity If thou wilt observe with discriminating eyes, thou wilt behold Them all abiding in the same tabernacle, soaring in the, same heaven, seated upon the same throne, uttering the same speech, and proclaiming the same Faith..
The other station is the station of distinction, and pertaineth to the world of creation, and to the limitations thereof. In this respect, each Manifestation of God hat/i a distinct individuality, a definitely prescribed mission, a predestined revelation, and specially designated limitations. Each one of them is known by a different name, is characterized by a special attribute, fulfils a definite mission, and is entrusted with a particular Revelation.'2
Bahá'u'lláh associates His'particular revelation' with the transition from adolescence to adulthood in the collective life of mankind. He affirms that the social history of mankind from its primitive beginnings in the formation of small social groups until the present day represents the stages of the infancy, childhood, and adolescence of mankind.
Mankind now stands poised on the brink of maturity, and the current turbulence and strife in the world are analogous to the turbulence of the ultimate stages of preaduithood in the life of the individual.
'The long ages of infancy and childhood, through which the human race had to pass, have receded into the background.
Humanity is now experiencing the commotions invariably associated with the most turbulent stage of its evolution, the stage of adolescence, when the impetuosity of youth and its vehemence reach their climax, and must gradually be superseded by the calmness, the wisdom, and the maturity that characterize the stage of manhood.'3 Gleanings, pp. 79 � 80.
2 ibid., pp. 50 � 52.959 'The principle of the Oneness of Mankind � the pivot round which all the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh revolve � is no mere outburst of ignorant emotionalism or an expression of vague and pious hope. Its message is applicable not oniy to the individual, but concerns itself primarily with the nature of those essential relationships that must bind all the states and nations as members of one human family.
It implies an organic change in the structure of presentday society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced.
'It represents the consummation of human evolution � an evolution that has had its earliest beginnings in the birth of family life, its subsequent development in the achievement of tribal solidarity, leading in turn to the constitution of the city-state, and expanding later into the institution of independent and sovereign nations.
'The principle of the Oneness of Mankind, as proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh, carries with it no more and no less than a solemn assertion that attainment to this final stage in this stupendous evolution is not oniy necessary but inevitable, that its realization is fast approaching, and that nothing short of a power that is born of God can succeed in establishing it.'4 Because Bahá'u'lláh conceived His fundamental mission to be that of realizing world unity, His teachings contain detailed proposals for the establishment of institutions and social forms conducive to that end. For example, He proposes the establishment of a world legislature and a world court having final jurisdiction in all disputes between nations. He proposes the adoption of a universal auxiliary language, of universal obligatory education, of the principle of equality of the sexes, and of an economic system which would eliminate the extremes of poverty and wealth.
All of these institutions and principles He sees as essential to building a society that encourages and promotes the full spiritual growth of its members.
'The emergence of a world community, the consciousness of world citizenship, the founding of a world civilization and world 'ibid., pp. 42 � 43.
Page 960culture � all of which must synchronize with the initial stages in the unfoldment of the Golden Age of the Bahá'í Era � should, by their very nature, be regarded, as far as this planetary life is concerned, as the furthermost limits in the organization of human society, though man, as an individual, will, nay must indeed as a result of such a consummation, continue indefinitely to progress and develop.'1 Bahá'u'lláh gave the term 'world order' to the new system He envisaged.
Baha believe that the establishment of this new world order is ultimately the only answer to the quest for spiritual growth.
For if the stability, harmony, and morally progressive character of human society are not assured, the individual's goal of achieving spiritual development will be frustrated and his basic purpose in life thereby undermined.
The change in focus which results from this global perspective on the spiritual growth process is succinctly and clearly expressed by Shoghi Effendi: the object of life to a Bahá'í is to promote the oneness of mankind.
The whole object of our lives is bound up with the lives of all human beings; not a personal salvation we are seeking, but a universal one. Our aim is to produce a world civilization which will in turn react on the character of the individual. It is, in a way, the inverse of Christianity which started with the individual unit and through it reached out to the conglomerate life of men.'2
4. The Báb~'i CommunityThe social structures and behavioural norms of presentday society are largely those we have inherited from the past.
For the most part, they have not been consciously chosen by the collectivity through some deliberate process, but rather have evolved in response to various temporary and sometimes contradictory exigencies.
They most certainly have not been chosen according to the criterion of fostering spiritual growth.
'ibid., p. 163.2 Shoghi Effendi, quoted in The Spiritual Revolution (Thornhill,
Ontario: Canadian Bahá'íEspecially in the industrialized West, but even in more technologically primitive societies, the currently existing social forms are largely based on competition and on dominance-seeking hierarchies. Such social forms tend to promote disunity, conflict, aggressive behaviour, power-seeking behaviour, and excessive preoccupation with purely material success. The following passage from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh powerfully conveys the destructive effects mankind has suffered as a result of these social forms and behaviour patterns: 'And amongst the realms of unity is the unity of rank and station.
It kdoundeth to the exaltation of the Cause, glorifying it among all peoples.
Ever since the seeking of preference and distinction came into play, the world bath been laid waste.
it hat/i become desolate.Those who have quaffed from the ocean of divine utterance and fixed their gaze upon the Realm of Glory should regard themselves as being on the same level as the others and in the same station. Were this matter to be definitely established and conclusively demonstrated through the power and might of God, the world would become as the Abhd
Paradise.'Indeed, man is noble, inasmuch as each one is a repository of the sign of God. Nevertheless, to regard oneself as superior in knowledge, learning or virtue, or to exalt oneself or seek preference, is a grievous transgression.
Great is the blessedness of those who are adorned with the ornament of this unity and have been graciously confirmed by God.'3 Given Bahá'u'lláh's affirmation that unity is the necessary social basis for spiritual growth, it follows that we are now living in a society which is Largely indifferent and in many ways detrimental to the spiritual growth process. Indeed, the historical events of the twentieth century and the moral quality of our day to day lives provide powerful confirmations of this hypothesis. The social structures of presentday society are vestiges of past forms which may have been helpful in stimulating certain kinds of growth during previous stages Quoted in a letter from the Universal House of
Justicepublished in Bahá'í Canada, June � July 1978, p. 3.
Page 961of mankind's spiritual evolution but which have now outlived their usefulness.
This situation obviously poses a deep prob-1cm to any individual who is serious in his pursuit of spiritual growth.
Even if one accepts Bahá'u'lláh's model of world order and is willing to strive to bring it about as the best hope for mankind, how is one to pursue successfully the spiritual growth process in a milieu that is so unconcerned with it?
The answer the Bahá'í Faith offers to this dilemma is the Bahá'í community.
Bahá'u'lláh has not only offered a vision and a hope for the future, He has established a living community which already functions on the basis of the unity principles. This community is conceived as a prototype or an embryo of the future world society. By relating properly to this community and participating in it, the individual finds himself capable of developing his spiritual capacities in a significant way, even if the enveloping society-at-Large remains indifferent to the growth process. Bahá'ís view the Baha community established by Bahá'u'lláh as a precious and necessary tool for this transition period from the old to the new social order.
At the same time, the growth and development of the Bahá'í community are part of the progressive establishment of the world order itself.
Moreover, the Bahá'ícommunity functions as an entity and as a constructive force within the larger community to stimulate the movement of society as a whole towards unity.
The individual's participation in the Bahá'í community is not passive. There is no priest-hopd, clergy, or ecclesiastical hierarchy in the Bahá'í Faith.
Spiritual growth is a self initiated, self-responsible process, and the individual's participation in the Bahá'í community in no way diminishes his responsibility for his personal development.
In order to understand more clearly how participation in the Bahá'í community fosters spiritual development, let us focus for a moment on the spiritually negative features of modern-day society. It is in the contrast between the Bahá'í community, based on unity and cooperation, and the larger society based on competition and dominance-seeking, that we can gain insight into the interactive dimension of the spiritual growth process.
It is the essence of the relationship between an individual alid the society to which he belongs that the individual is strongly motivated to succeed according to the prevailing norms of success in the given society. Security, status, material wellbeing, social acceptance, and approval are the main things the individual seeks from society, and success in satisfying societal norms yields these rewards. Society wants the individual's productive effort, his collaboration and support in the realization of collective goals. Society applies both incentives and threats to induce the individual to accept social norms and goals.
To say that an individual accepts the norms and goals of a society means that he uses his understanding capacity to learn the skills necessary for success. He must also cultivate those emotional patterns, attitudes, and aspirations which characterize socially successful individuals in the given society.
Finally, he must act in a way conducive to success. Such a pattern of behaviour will involve producing certain goods or services as well as a certain kind of relationship with other members of the society.
The norms of modern industrialized society largely revolve around material success through competition, dominance-seeking and power-seeking. The goal is usually a high level of economic productivity coupled with a high ranking and status in the social hierarchy. To succeed, the individual must learn those skills and techniques which enable him to best others in competitive struggle and to obtain power over them. He must learn how to manipulate, control, and dominate others. The knowledge which is useful to these ends is often diametrically opposed to the kind of knowledge involved in spiritual growth. We have earlier seen that the self-knowledge which is equivalent to the knowledge� of God amounts to knowing how to submit to the will of God: The individual must learn how to be the conscious instrument of a force that is his moral and spiritual superior.
Thus, virtually all the skills he develops in the pursuit of social success in a power-oriented society will be useless and, in fact, detrimental to his spiritual growth.
The spiritually sensitive individual in modern society is therefore faced with a dilemma.
He will either become a split personality, trying to be spiritual part of the time and to manipulate others for the
Page 962remainder, or else he will ultimately have to choose between the two goals of social success and spiritual progress. 1 It is not only the development of the knowing capacity that is falsified by the pursuit of success in competition, but the heart's feeling capacity as well. One must continually give priority to one's own needs and desires and become increasingly insensitive to the needs of others.
Genuine compassion towards and love for other individuals undermines the will to dominate because such empathetic emotions lead one to identify with and to experience the feelings of the dominated other.
The giving and receiving of love is a reciprocal or symmetric relationship.
It is a positive and satisfying experience for both parties.
Dominance, however, is asymmetrical, yielding positive emotions and a sense of exhilaration for the dominant one, but generally negative, depressed, angry and self deprecating emotions for the one dominated. It is therefore logically and psychologically impossible to seek to dominate someone whom we genuinely love, since the empathetic emotions of love allow us to feel the unpleasant emotions of being dominated, and this experience undermines our willingness to become the conscious agent of producing such negative emotions in one we love and respect.
In other words, we cannot be successful in competitive struggle with others without hurting them, and we cannot deliberately hurt others if we love them. It is thus easy to see how a person who dedicates himself to success in competitive struggle with others will increasingly become alienated both from himself and from others. His heart will become atrophied and hard. The development of his feeling capacity will be stunted and distorted.
The will capacity is also misused in the pursuit of power and dominance.
The force of the will is turned outward towards others and used against them rather than being turned inward towards self-mastery and self-dominance. The will is used to oppose others, 1 Success in the pursuit of dominance must be distinguished from success in the pursuit of excellence.
Striving for excellence is highly encouraged in the Baha Writings.
That the two pursuits are different, and that competitive struggle with others is not necessary to attain excellence, are important spiritual and psychological insights.
to limit their field of action, rather than being applied to develop the internal capacities of the self in the pursuit of spirituality and excellence.
Excellence represents self-development, the flowering of the self's capacities and qualities. It involves comparisons between our performance at different instances and under various circumstances (so-called 'self-competition'). But competition and power-seeking are based on comparisons with the performance of others. Such comparisons usually lead either to mediocrity, arrogance, undeveloped potential and unrealistically 1ow~ self-expectations or else to depression, jealousy, aggressive behaviour and unrealistically high self-expec-tations, depending on the capacities of those with whom we choose to compare ourselves. Neither of these is conducive to excellence.
In pursuing power, we tend to manipulate others, to use them as means to our ends. This is the very opposite of serving others and of acting towards them in such a way as to contribute to their spiritual advancement � the proper, God-intended expression of the will in action. In fact, unselfish service to society and true sdf-development go hand-in-hand, for a high degree of development makes us secure in our identity. It gives us inner peace and self confidence.
Moreover, we have more to give others, and our service is therefore more valuable and more effective.
Thus, spirituality and the pursuit of excellence reinforce each other while power struggle and competition are inimical to both. The pursuit of dominance may stimulate some development on the part of the 'winners,' but such development is often at the expense of others and of society as a whole. And even for the winners, it frequently produces an unstable, artificial, and imbalanced kind of development.
A society based on unity, cooperation and mutual encouragement allows everyone to pursue spirituality and excellence while contributing significantly to the society itself.
Just as love is satisfactory to both giver and receiver, so unity is beneficial both to society and to the individual members of the society. Such is the interactive dimension of the spiritual growth process.
Unity, cooperation, and mutuality constitute the norms and goals of the Bahá'í corn
Page 963munity and form the basis of its institutions. Therefore, all the spiritual benefits which derive from a society based on unity principles accrue to those who participate in the Bahá'í community.
There is, first of all, the association with other people who are also committed to the process of self-aware, self-initiated spiritual growth. Since no two people have exactly the same experiences or have attained an identical level of develJpment in all areas of their lives, the individual participant receives much stimulation and help from others. When facing a spiritual crisis in his personal life, he can usually find those who have already faced a similar crisis and can give helpful advice and loving encouragement.
He therefore overcomes many difficulties which, under other circumstances, might have discouraged him to such an extent that he would have abandoned the struggle for spiritual growth.
He consequently attains a much higher level of development than would have been the case had he been deprived of such helpful associations and fellowship.
At the same time, the mutuality and reciprocal nature of association based on unity means that the relationship with the community is not unidirectional: The individual is not a passive recipient of spiritual advice from experts, but has opportunities to contribute to the growth of others and of the community. His own qualities, experiences, and opinions are respected and valued by others.
He is constantly being called upon to sacrifice purely selfish interests in the path of service. This acts as a check on pride and arrogance. Since sincerely motivated service to others is the real fruit of the spiritual growth process, the individual is provided almost daily with concrete situations which enable him better to evaluate the level of spiritual development he has attained.
The spiritual seeker in contemplative isolation can easily fall victim to the subtle pitfall of spiritual pride. Preoccupied with his perception of his internal mental processes, he can quickly acquire the self-generated illusion that he has reached a high degree of spiritual development.
Constant and vigorous participation in a hardworking community can help to dispel such conceits.
Participation in the Bahá'í community enables one to acquire certain specific skills that cannot be easily acquired elsewhere. For example, the basis of group decision-making in the Bahá'í Faith is consultation, a process involving a frank but loving expression of views by those involved on a basis of absolute equality.
Consultation represents a subtle and multifaceted spiritual process, and time and effort are required to perfect it. Similarly, the electoral processes in the Bahá'í community involve many unique aspects which will not be discussed in the framework of this paper.
Another important dimension of the Baha community is its diversity and universality. One is called upon to associate intimately with people of all social, cultural, and racial backgrounds.
In society at large, our associations tend to be based on homogeneity: We associate with people with whom we feel the most comfortable. If most of our associations are on this basis, it will be difficult for us to discover our subtle prejudices and illusory self-concepts.
Our friends will be those who are congruent with the false as well as the true aspects of our personality. The immense diversity within the Bahá'í community makes the discovery of prejudice and self-deceit much easier.
Thus, the Bahá'í Faithviews the spiritual growth process as both collective and individual. The collective dimension involves the principles by which human society can be properly structured and ordered so as to optimize spiritual and material wellbeing and to provide a healthy growth milieu for all individuals within it. The individual bears the primary responsibility for prosecuting his own growth process and for working to create a unified and healthy social milieu for everyone. This involves working towards the establishment of world unity. In particular, it involves active participation in the ongoing life of the Bahá'í community which, though forming only a part of society as a whole, already functions on the basis of the unity principles and seeks to implement them progressively in society.
IV. Summary and ConclusionIn the Bahá'í conception, spirituality is the process of the full, adequate, proper, and harmonious development of the spiritual capacities of each human being and of the
Page 964collectivity of human beings. These spiritual capacities are capacities of a nonphysical, indivisible and eternally lasting entity called the soul.
The soul of each individual, with its particular characteristics, is formed at the moment of the conception of the physical body. The process of spiritual development is eternal, continuing in other dimensions of existence after the death of the physical body. The body and its physical capacities serve as instruments for this process of spiritual growth during the period of earthly life when the body and soul are linked together.
All of man's initially given capacities, both physical and spiritual, are good and potentially helpful to the spiritual growth process. However, there is a certain tension between the body's physical needs and the metaphysical needs of the soul. Physical needs and desires must therefore be disciplined (not suppressed) if they are to contribute to the process of spiritual development in an effective way. Through the misuse or improper development of his initially given capacities, man can acquire unnatural or inordinate capacities and needs inimical to the spiritual growth process.
Among the basic spiritual capacities to be developed are the understanding or knowing capacity, the heart or feeling capacity, and the will, which represents the capacity to initiate and sustain action. The beginning stage of the process of spiritual development in childhood is one in which the individual is primarily the passive recipient of an educational process initiated by others.
As the individual attains the full development of his physical capacities in adolescence, he becomes the active and self-responsible agent of his own growth process.
The goal of the development of the knowing capacity is the attainment of truth, which means that which is in conformity with reality. The ultimate reality to be known is God, and the highest form of knowledge is the knowledge of Him. God is the self-aware and intelligent force (Creator) responsible for man and his development.
This knowledge of God takes the form of a particukr kind of self-knowledge which enables the individual to become a conscious, willing, and intelligent instrument for God and for his purposes.
The goal of the development of the heart capacity is love. Love represents the energy necessary to pursue the goal of spiritual development.
It is experienced as a strong attraction for and attachment to God and the laws and principles He has established. It also expresses itself as an attraction to others and in particular to the spiritual potential they have as beings like ourselves.
Love thereby creates within us the desire to become instruments for the growth process of others.
The goal of the development of the will capacity is service to God, to others, and to ourselves. Service is realized by a certain kind of intentionality (good will) which is dramatized through appropriate action (good works). All of these basic capacities must be developed systematically and concomitantly, or else false or improper development (unspiri-tuality) will result.
Our condition during the period of earthly life is one in which we have direct access to material reality but only indirect access to spiritual reality.
The proper relationship to God is therefore established by means of recognizing and accepting the Manifestations or prophetic figures Who are superhuman beings sent by God for the purpose of educating and instructing mankind. These Manifestations are the link between the visible world of material reality and the invisible, but ultimately more real, world of spiritual reality. Acceptance of the Manifestations and obedience to the laws They reveal are seen to constitute an essential prerequisite for the successful prosecution of the spiritual growth process.
The human race constitutes an organic unit whose fundamental component is the individual. Mankind undergoes a collective spiritual evolution analogous to the individual's own growth process. The periodic appearance of a Manifestation of God is the motive force of this process of social evolution.
Human society is currently at the stage of the critical transition from adolescence to adulthood or maturity.
The practical expression of this yet-to-be-achieved maturity is a unified world society based on a world government, the elimination of prejudice and war, and the establishment of justice and harmony among the nations and peoples of the world. The particular mission of the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh is to provide the basis for this new
Page 965world order and the moral impetus to effect this transition in the collective life of mankind. Relating effectively to this present stage of society's evolution is essential to the successful prosecution of the spiritual growth process in our individual lives. Participation in the worldwide Bahá'í community is especially helpful in this regard.
Such, in its barest outlines, is the process of individual and collective spiritual growth as found in the Báb6'i Writings. Undoubtedly, what remains to be discovered and understood in the vast revelation of Bahá'u'lláh is infinitely greater than what we can now understand and greater still than what we have been able to discuss in the present article.
But the only intelligent response to this perception of our relative ignorance is not to wait passively until such future time as these deeper implications will have become evident, but rather to act vigorously and decisively on the basis of our limited understanding.
Indeed, without such a response to the revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, we may never arrive at the point where we will be able to penetrate the more subtle and deeper dimensions of the spiritual growth process.
No true knowledge is purely intellectual but spiritual knowledge is unique in the breadth of its experiential dimension: it must be lived to become part of us. Nowhere does this truth appear more clearly than in the succinct and powerful coda to Bahá'u'lláh's Hidden
Words:that the favour is complete, the argument fulfilled, the proof manifest and the evidence established.
Let it now be seen what your endeavours in the path of detachment will reveal.'1
Bahá'u'lláh, The HiddenBe thankful to God for having enabled you to recognize His Cause. Whoever has received this blessing must, prior to his acceptance, have performed some deed which, though he himself was unaware pf its character, was ordained by God as a means whereby he has been guided to find and embrace the Truth.
Bahá'u'lláhThe Dawn-Breakers, p. 586 NOTHING new or exciting ever seemed to happen in the village of MaryamThAd, in the district of Yazd, in fr6n. Although it was a fair size, the village was far removed from civilization and lacked the hustle and bustle of a large urban centre.
The populace led rather quiet and simple lives. And in all the area there probably could not have been found a more simple, quiet and unsophisticated man than Mihrab6n Rustam
Bu1bu1~n.From the moment of his birth Mihrab4n, whose name means 'Kind', had known only a rural life.
Farming had been the occupation of his forefathers and it was to become his, as well. Even as a child he saw more of farm and field, mule and plough, tilling and cultivation, than he did of school. For a couple of years he attended the nearest Zoroastrian fire-temple where he learned the alphabet and, without truly understanding them, committed to memory some prayers from the Avesta, the sacred books of the religion of his forebears. But that was all the education he received.
As a young man Mihrab6n began to work in the fields and from that time cm he lost touch with the world outside his own immediate neighbourhood.
At the bteak of day he would go to his fields and there he would remain until sunset, day after day, summer and winter. He had no companions except the birds that flew overhead making shrill cries and those which chirped from the trees as he worked.
Zoroastrians in IrAn did not then enjoy the rights of first-grade citizens.
They could not go about in the town unless they wore their coloured uniforms which served to identify and set them apart. They could not mount a donkey and pass through the bazaar without some ruffian taunting and abusing them. They dared not go out on a rainy day for it was believed by their Muslim neighbours that they would pollute the rain, the symbol of God's mercy.
On certain nights word would be passed in whispers through the Zoroastrian quarter: 'Tonight the sacred fire will be lit.' One by one, all would go to the fire-temple and pray in undertones in order not to arouse the wrath of the fanatical element.
With all Mihrab6n's simplicity, rustic manners and lack of formal education, he had implicit faith in God. He would often look up at the sky and marvel at the greatness of the universe. The beauty he saw in nature confirmed his devotion to the Unseen.
He would visit the fire-temple as often as he could and pray with a great intensity of heart and soul. Often he would ask the priests questions about God, the Prophet Zoroaster, Avestic Gathas, and the advent of Hooshidar and Shah Bahram Varjavand, but he found the replies of the priests confusing and his perplexity was compounded. Occasionally doubts would arise in his mind: Will the Promised One come? Will the Muslims accept Him or treat Him as they treat us? Will He come only to emancipate the Zoroastrians or to unite mankind? Are the priests offering us true spiritual guidance? Shall we adhere to our Faith or leave our ways and follow the Promised One as did those who chose to follow Zoroaster?
Many such questions arose to trouble MihraMn.Then something happened which proved to be the turning-point in his life. One afternoon while he was working on the land Mihrab6n's attention was attracted by two persons who were running towards him in obvious distress. He observed them silently. When they drew near they raised piteous voices saying, 'Save our lives; give us asylum; we are being pursued by assassins.' Without a word, he
Page 967took them into his barn, showed them a place of concealment and then locked the door. No sooner had he done so than an angry group appeared, their eyes glazed with violent hatred and excitement.
They interrogated him as to the whereabouts of the' two persons he had sheltered. Sensing their animosity he denied all knowledge of the existence of the fugitives, and the danger was averted.
Towards dawn, the two refugees borrowed Mihrab4n's donkey and, with expressions of gratitude, left his fields in safety. They returned the next day in order to pay him the price of the animal but he would not accept. Instead, he requested them to accept it as God-sent.
Then he asked them why they had been hounded and pursued. They explained that they were followers of
Bahá'u'lláh, the Manifestationof God, Who was exiled and imprisoned in 'Akka; they were going to leave Iran in order to pay their respects to Him and seek
His blessing. MihraMnreally did not understand their explanation but in his simple and pure-hearted way said, 'When you reach your destination, be so good as to remember me to Him, as well.'
After a long and arduous journey the pilgrims at last reached 'Akka. Bahá'u'lláh was still in prison and it was not possible for them to attain His presence immediately. Consumed with love for Him they would gaze up at His prison cell, content with but a glimpse of His waving hand and yearning to gaze upon His adored countenance.
For this they had exposed themselves to every risk and hazard, had journeyed for months, had walked hundreds of miles � just for one glance. They resolved to stay in the Holy Land as long as they could, content to glimpse Him when they could and longing to enter His presence and transmit messages from the friends.
XVhen, at last, the pilgrims attained the presence of Bahá'u'lláh, they stayed for some days pouring out their hearts and relaying the messages of the friends who were unable to come. When they sought Bahá'u'lláh's permission to return home He astonished them by saying, 'But you did not deliver unto Us all that with which you were entrusted.'
What was meant by that statement, the pilgrims asked themselves, and spent a sleepless night fearing that they had incurred the displeasure of their Beloved. At last one of them recalled the Zoroastrian farmer who had saved their lives and had requested to be remembered to the Blessed Beauty. In their ecstasy at finding themselves in the presence of Bahá'u'lláh they had quite forgotten the incident and Mihrabhn's act of kindness in sheltering them from their pursuers.
They hastened to Bahá'u'lláh and narrated the whole episode.
The compassionate heart of the Beloved of the World was moved. He said to the pilgrims that one who wishes to love God must show love to the friends of God. Mihrabhn had extended love spontaneously to these two and had risked his own life to protect them without thought of faVour or reward. Now the ocean of divine grace surged and Bahá'u'lláh revealed a Tablet for Mihrab6n and arranged for it to be sent to him. Thus this simple farmer was immortalized in a Tablet of extreme beauty and forcefulness which has been given a place in a compilation of Bahá'u'lláh's Tablets published under the title
Ad'fyih-i-Mahbiib (Prayershas approved the following English translation of this Tablet: In the Name of God, the
All-Loving0 Mihrabdn! One of the friends hath evoked thy remembrance; thus have We remembered thee.
In this glorious Day everything that can be seen is a witness, and called-i all men unto the one true God. Say! This is the Day in which the sun of spiritual discernment is shining forth in the heaven of true understanding.
Blessed is he that hath perceived and recognized it. Whatsoever was foretold in former times hath now been fulfilled.
Say, 0 friends! Suffernot yourselves to be far removed from the ocean of heavenly grace. He is come astonishingly near unto you. He Who had been concealed from men's eyes is now come. How good is His coming! In one hand He is carrying the water of life and in the other the charter of true liberty. Cast ye away one thing and take hold of another.
Cast away whatsoever per-taineth to the world and take firm hold of that which the hand of divine providence
Page 968Lo, that which no eye hath ever beheld is now revealed. 0 friends!
Hasten ye, hasten ye, hearken ye, hearken ye!The deeds of the high priests have caused the people to be estranged from Almighty God.
Instead of evincing self-denial they have given themselves up to inordinate desires and strayed far from the path of the Lord God.
They have grievously erred, yet fondly imagine themselves to be treading the right path. We have, however, warned the leaders of religion and taken them to witness, that they might in this day solemnly affirm His truth and guide His creatures unto the
Spirit of Purity.Shake off your slumber, rouse yourselves from unconsciousness, incline your inner ears to the melody of the All-Sufficing and conduct yourselves in a manner that beseemeth the
Day of God Himself.Great is the station of him who hath in this Day perceived and become aware of the truth, and wretched is he who hath failed to comprehend the utterances of the Lord of wisdom and to recognize the newly-arrived Friend in His new attire.
Behold, the Ocean of true knowledge hat/i appeared and the DayStar of wisdom shineth resplendent. Incline your ears to the Voice of the Eternal Lord of Utterance and purge yourselves from whatsoever is deemed unseemly, that ye may become worthy to gain admittance into the court of your Creator. Say, in this Day the Almighty hath unloosed His tongue before the assemblage of men. It behoveth you to draw nigh unto Him and to grasp the truths of His weighty utterance.
Indeed His utterance is a messenger that beareth the token of His presence.
It delivereth you from darkness and guideth your steps unto the effulgent light of His glory.
Thy name was mentioned before Us and We have remembered thee in Our Tablet. This remembrance is like unto a sapling that We have planted with the hand of lovingkindness.
Ere long will it grow verdant and flourishing, laden with abundant fruits. Thus hath the Lord God ordained, and thus hath He shown the way; He is the Mighty, the Seeing, the Lord of
Utterance and Wisdom.'Abdu'l-Bahá, too, ever thoughtful of the friends, immortalized MihraMn in a Tablet which He revealed in honour of his kinsmen and in which He bade them to become intoxicated with the love of God, to offer the wine of the Revelation to the people and to rest assured that this is the Day of Victory.
After a few years MihraMn Rustam Bul-bu1~n, now a confirmed believer, settled in India where his daughter, also a staunch and firm Baha'i, had married and made her home. One of his grandchildren, Mrs. Shfrfn Nfir~ni, was named by Shoghi Effendi a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for her service in opening to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade the territory of Karaikal in southern India. His grandson,
Sh~tptir Khujastig~inMihrab6n was of a retiring nature and he loved Bahá'u'lláh above all else. He passed away in 1940 when he was past eighty years of age. From his life we glean the important lesson that a good deed performed selflessly may confer immortality upon a humble soul and result in his name being honoured throughout the ages.
Page 969was born in 1896 into an orthodox Brahmin family in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India. At an early age he showed religious inclinations and reputedly ran away from home on several occasions to become a holy man (sadhu). He studied at Agra and then went on to earn his Bachelor of Science degree at the
University of Allahabad.It was during this time, while still a young man, that he met Professor Pritam Singh1 who was lecturing at the university. Under the influence of this renowned Bahá'í teacher, he accepted the Bahá'í
Faith.There was at once a change in his life. After obtaining his Master's degree at the Hindu University of Benares, he received a scholarship from the Indian government to study for his doctorate abroad. This he proceeded to do; but en route to Europe, he stopped off in Haifa and was received by the Master. 'Abdu'l-Bahá advised him to change his intended fie1~i of study, and he became, as a result, a skilled technologist in the sugar industry.
On his return to India from the United Kingdom, where he met Shoghi Effendi and Dr. John Esslemont, Dr. Bhargava began his career, and was instrumental in introducing the Bahá'í Faith to many people, including the employees under him and the foreign technologists whom he met in the course of his work. His wife, Shyamdulari Bhargava, a pious and high-minded woman who came from a very orthodox Brahmin family, also became a follower of Bahá'u'lláh.
Dr. Bhargava became a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of India and served on that body for many years.
He was fearless in his espousal of the Bahá'í Cause, even though this brought him the enmity of powerful figures. Yet this audacity also impressed, as in the case of Jawaharlal Nehru, who, having received books and information from Dr. Bhargava, was able to intervene to defend the Baha from persecution in Kamarhati village, near Calcutta. Although asked to join the Congress Party, Dr. Bhar-gava remained staunch in his adherence to
1 See 'In Memoriam', TheBahá'í principles, and his stand was respected. When his wife died he insisted upon her being accorded Bahá'í burial rites.
She was the first Bahá'í from a Hindu background to be buried according to Bahá'í law, though this action caused something of a stir at the time. Occurring as it did at the height of the impassioned riots between Hindus and Mus-urns, this was a courageous and dangerous act on his part.
Dr. Bhargava was active in speaking fours introducing the Bahá'í Faith to the people of India. He was an excellent speaker who had made a deep study of the Sacred Scripture.
He placed great store on prayer; for him the Bahá'í Faith came first and last. On his passing the
Universal House of Justicecabled on 20 March 1974: SADDENED PASSING DR. RHARGAVA.
LONGA. UGUST FOREL was one of the greatest scientific minds of the latter half of the last century and the beginning of the present century. He gained world renown during his own lifetime for his studies in the fields of entomology, brain anatomy, psychiatry and mental hygiene. He was active in many social reform movements such as temperance, women's rights and world-peace movements. He has been described as 'one of the last representatives of a generation of encyclopedists, of open and curious minds, who took interest in almost all human activities', as 'a glory not only to his Swiss fatherland, but to the whole human race', and as 'the strongest and purest voice of the world's conscience'.2
In 1920 August Forel encountered the Bahá'í Faith and immediately recognized the striking similarity between his own principles and those proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh, Founder of the Bahá'í Faith.3 He wrote directly to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's eldest son and appointed successor, expressing his admiration for the Bahá'í principles and asking whether he could be considered a Bahá'í with his agnostic and Darwinian tendencies.
The answe+ he received constitutes one of the most comprehensive statements of the Bahá'í conception of the nature of God, of man and of the universe.4
Forel became a member of the Bahá'í Faith in 1921 and in August of that year he added This article was adapted by the author from a chapter of his book For the Good of Mankind: August Forel and the Bahá'í
Faith (Oxford: GeorgeRonald, Publisher, 1984) and is here printed with the publisher's permission.
2 Oscar Forel, AugusteForel', Zeit-schrift fur die gesamte Neurologie mid Psychiatrie, 136 (1931), 642 � 644; Arthur Kronfeld,
'August Forel, der Mannund sein Werk', Psyclzotherapeutische Praxis, 1 (1934), 227 � 228.
The Baha Faith is a monotheistic religion, founded in the 19th century by Bahá'u'lláh (The Glory of God) and based on the principles of the oneness of God, the oneness of religion and the oneness of mankind. Cf., e.g., Bahá'u'lláh and the New
Era (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing'Abdu'1-Hah6, 'Tablet to Dr. Auguste Henri Forel', The Bahá'í World,
Volume XV, 1968 � 1973 (Haifa:the following paragraph to his will and testament (which he had written in 1912): 'I wrote the preceding lines in 1912. What must I add today, in August 1921, after such horrible wars have reduced humanity to fire and blood, and at the same time, unmasking as never before, the terrifying ferociousness of our hateful instincts?
Nothing, except that we must remain all the more steadfast, all the more unshakable in our struggle for the common good. Our children must not become discouraged; on the contrary, they must take advantage of the present world chaos in order to further the painful organization, higher and supranational, of mankind, with the help of a universal federation of peoples.
'At Karisruhe, in 1920, I first came to know of the supraconfessional world religion of the Baha'is, founded in the East more than seventy-five years ago by the Persian Bahá'u'lláh. This is the true religion of human social good, without dogmas or priests, uniting all men on this small terrestrial globe of ours. I have become a Baha'i. May this religion live and prosper for the good of mankind; this is my most ardent wish.'5 For the next ten years, until his death in 1931, he undertook activities supporting the Bahá'í teachings that are truly impressive. Nothing thwarted his resolve to fulfil his 'most ardent wish'.
Among his many activities in favour of these teachings was his defence of the Persian Baha during the wave of persecutions against them in the 1920s.
This is particularly interesting when one considers that this community is, at present, once again the target of barbaric cruelties, pogroms, persecutions and martyrdorns. Ever since its inception in the middle of the last century, the Bahá'í Faith has been subjected in Persia to waves of open and ruthless persecution.
These outbreaks are often associated with periods of 'Oraison fun&bre', Ponds Ford, Document no. LS1925, 1 � 12, D6partement des Manuscrits,
Bib1ioth~que Can-tonalepolitical upheaval, as at present, when the Bahá'ís in particular are singled out as scapegoats. In the 1920s Persia had recently deposed the Q~jAr dynasty and chosen, with� the support and sanction of the Shfih ecclesiastical hierarchy, Reza Pahiavi, father of the late ShAh as hereditary sovereign. Such an initial period of instability, and uncertainty afforded the traditional enemies of the Bahá'í Faith their longed-for opportunity to give open vent to their evil schemes.1
The first stirrings of the persecutions occurred almost simultaneously in several provinces in the first months of 1925. Forel learned of these persecutions through Shoghi Effendi, great-grandson of Bahá'u'lláh and head (Guardian) of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. He undertook immediate action to call the atrocities to the attention of the European public. In the following undated letter, sent to the French Foreign Minister and received on 10 April 1925, Forel wrote: The universal religion of the Baha'is, whose twelve principles are enclosed, was founded in 1851 by Bahá'u'lláh.
It is spreading more and more throughout the world. In spite of the persecutions to which the Bahá'ís have been subjected by Muslims, the Bahá'í Faith has gained about 500,000 followers in Persia. But 'Abdu'l-Bahá was forced to take refuge in Haifa in Palestine; he died there in 1922.2
'Abdu'l-Bahá'í successor, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, is presently head of the movement in Haifa. Two years ago, during an international congress, a Persian Muslim affirmed to me personally the high esteem which the Bahá'ís have gradually won in Persia.
But, alas! The world war has brought in its wake personal, economic and regional discords which have ignited, once again, the For a detailed treatment of the presentday persecutions, see
The Bahá'ís in Jrdn:A report on the Persecutions of a Religious Minority (New York: Baha International Community, 866 U.N. Plaza, 1982).
For a treatment of the persecutions in the 1920s, see Douglas Martin, 'The
Bahá'ís of IrAn Under2 'Abdu'l-Bahá did not flee to Palestine. RMher, as an exile, He shared the successive banishments of His Father, Bahá'u'lláh.
Palestine was for them the final destination of a series of exiles decreed by the Shah of Persia and the Ottoman sultan.
'Abdu'l-Bahá died in 1921, not 1922.irrational and fanatical hatreds of the Mus-urns against innocent Baha'is.
Shoghi Effendi writes us that among other things, in the provinces of Fars, Yazd and Khurasan, etc., Muslims are destroying or burning the houses of the Baha'is, and murdering, mutilating or martyring the Bahá'ís themselves who offer only passive resistance in keeping with their broad principles. At times they must flee.
I will not go into the details of these atrocities.
I will merely attempt, with the weakening forces of a crippled old man, to call the attention of the European press and governments to these sad happenings, requesting them, urgently, to exert themselves, wherever possible, in order to put an end to these unspeakable cruelties, or at least to limit them as much as possible. I can hereby attest that all the Baha I have known have deeply impressed me as pure and shining examples of high moral standards, of disinterested devotion and of truly international bounty.
The following address is sufficient: Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, Haifa, Palestine.
(signed) Dr. A. Forel P.S. I had the honour of hearing your talk in Geneva in 1923 on the subject of world peace and ipternational arbitration.3
We do not know what the reaction was to this appeal.
The minister in question was none other than Edouard
Herriot, Premier of FranceA few days later Forel addressed an almost identical plea to the Neue Freje
Presse of Vienna. Thiswas published on 26 April 1925 under the title 'A Persecuted
Religion:Islamic cruelties against the Baha'is', and contains Forel's explanation of the Bahá'í teachings: The Bahá'í Religion, which was born in Persia, now has followers the world over. It is a religion with neither dogmas nor priests.
Its twelve principles were proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh in the year 1851. Among other things one finds: All mankind is to be considered as one; all prejudices
August Forel to French(date arrived), Archives diplomatiques du Minist~re des Affaires dtang~res, Paris, Document no. NS E, Asic, Perse, 1918 � 1929, vol. 22 � Questions religieuses, cote E � 368 � 1.
Page 972against other peoples, other nations, other races must be abolished. All religions must unite in a superior unity which represents the Godhead.
A firm federation of all peoples with an internationAl tribunal must establish and maintain a universal and lasting peace. In addition to the different national.
languages an international language must be introduced and taught everywhere.
Every human, being has the same rights to the spiritual and physical necessities that his existence requires. All have the duty to seek out the truth for themselves; between true religion and true science there can be no contradictions. Both sexes should receive the best possible education corresponding to the development of their individual talents. Men and women have the same rights everywhere; all forms of slavery and subservience are strongly forbidden. All human beings have the duty to work; for invalids and people without a means of livelihood, the state must provide the latter through the enacting of laws.1
On 11 May Dr. J. B. Esslemont2 wrote Forel on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, thanking him for the helpful article and inquiring if arrangements could be made to have it published in other newspapers. Forel replied, according to notes on the letter, and authorized translation and reproduction of the article. According to Ford himself, an 'impartial Turkish translation of this article was published in a "pro-gressive" Istanbul newspaper'. On 20 May Shoghi
Effendi cabled Forel:During the following year persecution of the Bahá'ís in Persia intensified, and Forel wrote the following article, which appeared in the Neue Ziircher Zeitung
(23 May) and Droll2 j� lB. Essiemont, M.D. (1874 � 1925). Medical director of Home Sanatorium, Bournemouth, England, from 1908 to 1923, author of Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (see note 3), now translated into fifty-eight languages.
J. E. Esslemont to August Forel, 11 May 1925, Shoghi
Effendi Letters, International1927 (draft), Ponds Forel, Document no. IS1925, V A.39, Lausanne; and Shoghi Effendi to Forel (telegram), 21 May 1925, Fonds Forel, Document no. IS3765, IV52,
Lausanne.du Peuple (15 May), in slightly different versions:
New Persecutions and Martyrdomsof Bahá'ís I have learned from Shoghi Effendi, the present Head of the interdenominational Baha religion, that, alas!
in spite of their innocence, twelve precious members of the Bahá'ís have just been subjected to a long and atrocious martyrdom and were killed in southern Persia. This is a repetition of previous persecutions without any justification, for the Bahá'ís refrain from provoking anyone, in keeping with their sacred principles. They accept in their midst Mus-urns as they do all other confessions.
When, I ask, will Western Europe awake from its indifference and its heedlessness towards this flower of humanity which, by its pfinciples, is fervently exerting itself in order to achieve, all over the earth, a true and effective love of one's fellow man, regardless of his religion.
The press of all parties is urgently requested to help us by publishing these lines in order to awaken the consciences.
The governments are requested to act with all their power in order to prevent the renewal of such atrocities: they can do this if they wish, of a common accord, by putting pressure on the Persian government.
The League of Nationsis also requested to take up this matter. This is part of its international and supranational duty of keeping peace among all peoples. In unity there is force. Let us not lose this wonderful opportunity for unity in common action for the good. I will say no more � that should be sufficient.
Whoever has doubts can write to the Bahá'í Bureau in Geneva for information and documentation.
Dr. A. Forel former Professor at theThe same appeal was also sent to the League of Nations, addressed to
Sir EricDrummond, Secretary-General, along with the following handwritten message:
Yvorne (Vaud) SwitzerlandHonoured Sir, I am sending you herewith a short but urgent appeal on behalf of the poor Baha'is, urgently requesting that you take note of it as well as of the explanations on the other attached sheet. I would particularly like to draw your attention to the penultimate paragraph of my appeal which concerns especially the League of Nations.
I have been a Bahá'í since 1921; the Baha number today over 500,000 adherents.
I am counting on you to inform as rapidly as possible the organs of the League of Nations, whom it concerns, of the plight of the persecuted Bahá'ís in Jahrum; there is no time to lose.
Please accept, honoured Sir, the expression of my noblest sentiments.
Dr. A. Forel P.S. Please excuse my bother and my poor handwriting; my arm is paralysed and I am 78 years old.1
Forel's letter and a copy of the answer he received are on file in the archives of the League of Nations.
The reply must have been a disappointment: I am obliged to inform you that, concerning petitions on behalf of minorities, the League of Nations is only competent if the concerned States have accepted an international agreement concerning the protection of minorities and if this agreement has been placed under the guarantee of the League of Nations. Such is not the case of Persia, and the League of Nations is thus not competent to undertake action concerning the facts submitted in your request.
The following year, in a letter dated 27 Aprilagain appealed, through his secretary, to Forel for his assistance and intervention on behalf of the persecuted Bahá'ís in Persia.
August Fore! to Sir EricDrummond, 12 May 1926, Archives of the League of Nations, Geneva, document no. 41/51398/51398 (also contains answer to Forel from G.C., Directeur de Ia Section des Minorities, pour le Secr~taire g~n&aI).
My dear Dr. Forel, I am taking the liberty of sending you enclosed a copy of Shoghi Effendi's letter to the Assemblies in the West, in connection with the martyrdom of still another brother of the
Faith in Persia.The horrible news of this evil happening has just broken upon us and Shoghi Effendi would be very grateful if you could communicate the news to some papers in Switzerland and Germany for publication. With all our grief and feelings we can extend no helping hand to our fellow-Bahá'ís in that distracted country.
All that we can do is to help through publicity, and acquaint humanity in the civilized world with such terrible tales of horror.
In the event of publication of the news contained in the enclosed letter, Shoghi Effendi would deeply appreciate it if you could send him a copy of it. Shoghi Effendi added in his own handwriting: My dear and valued coworker: Your letter dated March 24 and the copy of 'Der Freidenker' have safely reached me and I thank you warmly for your continued efforts for the spread of the Bahá'í Faith. I trust that the journals with which you are in touch will publish the account given in my letter, and I shall be pleased to receive copies of such publications.
Their sufferings, so heroically borne, surely deserve the most strenuous efforts on our part to give them the widest possible publicity.
Your true and grateful coworker,Forel's notes on the letter indicate that the news was sent to the 'Freidenker', to his printer and to Vienna. An account of the execution appeared in the Neues Wiener Abendblatt on 10 June 1927 under the title 'Martyr of a new Religion: Murder of a Bahá'í Forel had earlier published in the Neue Freje Presse of Vienna still another article entitled 'Persecution of the Bahá'í Religion:
A Letter from Persia'.of a letter from a Bahá'í in Hamad6n that describe the various forms of open and subtle persecution to which the Baha there were being subjected daily.
The article ended with this paragraph: Be happy, friends. You are the free servants of God. fly free, sing happily, serve joyously, remember us always � and pray for us. We all look forward to the day when we will, unhindered, be able to practise our Faith. This hope is strengthened through our Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, that the thick clouds oppressing the horizon of Persia will be dissipated and the sun of freedom will shine on our land, for it is the homeland of
Bahá'u'lláhForel seems to have taken this request for prayer to heart. In the unclassified documents of the Forel papers at the University of Lausanne there exists a small scrap of paper on which he wrote, in French on one side and in German on the other:
Baha Prayer for October0 Thou, universal and unknowable God! Suffer us, poor humans on this small terrestrial globe, to work relentlessly for the social good of all mankind, just as Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and so many other courageous martyrs have done before us. Suffer us to struggk against our hereditary, voracious, hypocritical and egotistical instincts. No sweet-sounding slogans, whether spoken or written. Rather good, great and resolute acts, Oniy then, shall we overcome.
Amen.2 August Ford, 'Notes Diverses', Fonds Forel, Document no. LS1925, 110.46, Lausanne.
August Forel; 1924. Thisphotograph was chosen for reproduction on the presentday 1,000 franc Swiss banknote.
On the French copy of this prayer there is a note: 'sent, 8 September 1927', but there is no indication to whom it was addressed.
It is a tragic coincidence that, in 1978, shortly before the recent recrudescence of cruel persecutions against the Persian Bahá'í community, August Ford's portrait and symbols of his awe-inspiring lifework were printed on the new one-thousand-franc
Swiss banknote. Thoughefforts to alleviate the sufferings of these innocent servants of humanity often seem (today as in Forel's day) fruitless and frustrating, we can, and certainly must, follow Forel's example and continue to do our utmost to awaken the world's conscience to this crying injustice.
Page 975I Tis little known in the West among students and adherents of the Bahá'í
Faith that Bahá'u'lláhaddressed Himself to the public press. It is necessary to set aside squeamishness to depict the circumstances which brought about His doing so. A spring day in Yazd, a Persian city dating from the fifth century, the seat of numerous mosques, an important centre for the production of silk carpets. It was the 19th of May, 1891.
Exhilarated by the violence it had witnessed, the excited mob called for the shedding of more blood of the hated Baha'is.
Only two victims remained, young brothers in their early twenties.
Already the crowd ha4l been treated to a thrilling spectacle. A young man of twenty-seven, 'Ali-Asghar, had been strangled and his body dragged through the streets to the accompaniment of drums and trumpets.
Then Mull6 Mihdi, a man in his eighty-fifth year, had been beheaded and his corpse hauled in similar manner to another quarter of the city where a considerable throng of onlookers, their frenzy mounting with the music, witnessed the decapitation of Aq6 'Alt the youthful brother-in-law of the two young men who had thus far escaped harm. From there the people rushed to yet another sector of Yazd where they relished the sight of
MulIA 'Aliy-i-Sabzivihaving his throat slashed. They then fell upon his body, hacking it to pieces with a spade while he was still alive, and pounded his skull to a pulp with stones. At the moment he was seized he had been addressing the tumultuous gathering, exhorting them to recognize the truth of the New Day, fully aware of his imminent martyrdom and glorying in it. Then, in yet another quarter, the townsfolk rejoiced in slaying Muhammad B6qir.
It is reasonable to feel compassion for this rabble.
Theirs was a profound and manipulable ignorance easily inflamed by fanatical rhetoric and capable, with encouragement from figures of authority, of finding expression in acts of depravity and barbarism. The calculating would be among them � those with vested interests, fearful of loss of power and office � and ruffians and idle thrill-seekers� but no doubt many of their number were utterly convinced that their actions were meritorious in the sight of God, would win the approval of His Prophet and priests, and secure their position in the all-important afterlife. And so their sincere devotion led them to participate in these murders of supposed. enemies of the established order.
It is a classic example of what scholars of the phenomenon call 'enantiodromea', the principle by which any extreme � even virtue � if pushed to the limit, grotesquely crosses over into its opposite.
Five had died. But two young men remained and these were to receive the full force of the crowd's savage fury.
The music grew wilder, drowning the shouts of the swirling mob which propelled the youths brutally to the public square, MaydTh-i-Kh6n, where an especially theatrical fate, matched to the mood of the crowd, awaited them.
The youths, Sons of Aqfi Husayn-i-KAshAni, known as Bahá'u'lláh, were silk weavers. They had been raised by affectionate parents and had always lived close to the bosom of their family. Everything about them was conventional for that time and place save that they and their parents had embraced the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
It was this circumstance which brought them to the horrific scene on that spring day in Yazd.
The young men, with the five other Bahá'ís whose deaths they had just witnessed, had gathered for a meeting when a surprise raid was conducted on the house and all were carried off.
It is said that some ill-disposed neighbours had alerted the authorities.
Good citizens, these, for the pogrom had been instigated by the mujtahid of the city, Shaykh Flasan-i-SabzivTh, acting on instructions of the Governor, Jal6lu'd-Dawlih, and the slaughter of the victims � sanctioned sport for the Muslim populace � could be averted only by their denial of faith. The seven were, in a caricature of trial, invited to renounce their religion. How can the true believer barter or dissemble? Having spurned the offer, all seven were condemned to death
Page 976and surrendered to the executioner and the mob who were eager to aid him in his grisly task.
The elder brother, age twenty-three, bore the same name as his friend who had died earlier that day � 'AIi-Asghar. He had recently married and was theTather of an infant daughter.
The younger, MuhammadFlasan, age twenty-one, has been described by those who knew him as a youth of extreme beauty, delicacy and masculine grace.
The official executioner, Afrisiyab, and the chief constable, MuMrak-KMn had been urged by the Governor to spare Muhammad 1-lasan's life, if possible, by persuading the young man to recant. Were he to do so, he would be welcomed at the residence of the Governor and showered with favours.
'Alf-Asghar was dealt with first. Having swiftly affTi7med his refusal to recant, he was beheaded.
Then it was his younger brother's turn. The Governor's enticement was extended by the constable to the handsome young man from whom it drew an impatient reply: 'Hurry up! My friends have all preceded me!
Do what you are charged to do!' He was then decapitated.
In a burst of showmanship � playing to the cheering crowd � the executioner slit open the boy's stomach, plucked out the heart, liver and intestines, and held them aloft. This exhibitionist gesture inspired the audience to commit further atrocities.
The head of Muhammad Hasan was impaled on a spear and paraded through the city � again with the accompaniment of music � and suspended on a mulberry tree. The multitude stoned it so viciously that the skull was broken. His body was then cast before the door of his mother's house. Some women darted from the crowd, danced jnto the room where the mother sat, and mocked her.
Pieces of the boy's flesh were carried away to be used as a medicament.
Then the head of Muhammad I{asan was attached to the lower part of his body and borne with the remains of the other martyrs to the outskirts of the city where they were pelted with stones and finally thrown into a pit in the plain of Salsabfl.
The elder brother, 'ALf-Asghar, was not spared ignominy.
In an esped~T1y cruel gesture, the crowd carried his head to the home of his mother and cast it into the room where she sat with her son's young wife. The mother arose, bathed her son's head, and set it outside, admonishing her jeering torturers riot to attempt to return to her what she had given to
God.The frenzy had at last reached its climax, and now a carnival atmosphere prevailed. The Governor declared a public holiday and by his order the shops were closed. When evening came the city was illuminated and the populace gave itself over to festivities.
The name of the mother of the two young men has not come down to us; we know her only as Umm-i-Shahid the mother of the martyr, though she lost more than one member of her family that day. But the magnificence of her gesture will fire the imagination of generations to come. She lived on into the period of the ministry of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and received from Him at least one Tablet extolling her courage and fortitude, and consoling her in her loss. The young widow of 'All-AsgMr, Sakfnih SfltTh, chose not to remarry, though she had offers and was urged to do so. Apprised of her plight, 'Abdu'l-Bahá invited her and her infant daughter, F6timih Yin, to come to the Holy Land where she had the bounty of serving in His household.
Thus all seven lost their lives. It was not, alas, the only occasion upon which a septet of believers was slain in Yazd; similar episodes occurred in July 1955 and as recently as September 1980. There were also many isolated martyrdoms in that city over the years, and an especially devastating upheaval took place in 1903 when many Bahá'ís lost their lives in various ways, including stabbing and awing, and one even being shot from a cannon by a direct order of JaI6l'ud-Dawlih, the Governor.
Bahá'u'lláh stigmatized this man � son of Zi11u's-SuLt~n 'The Infernal Tree', and grandson of N6siri'd-Din Shhh � as 'The Tyrant of
Yazd'.The deaths of the seven plunged Bahá'u'lláh, then living out the penultimate year of His life in the mansion of Baha, into profound grief. The late Hand of the Cause H. M. Balyuz(, in Bahá'u'lláh, the King of Glory, recounts: 'When news of the death of the Seven Martyrs of Yazd reached them, it brought great sorrow to
Bahá'u'lláh. H~jf MirzaBTh] writes that for nine days all revelation ceased and no one was admitted into His presence, until on the ninth day they were all summoned. The deep sorrow that surrounded Him.
was indescribable. He spoke extensively about the Q~j~rs and their deeds. Afterwards, He mentioned the events of Yazd; thus sternly did the Tongue of Grandeur speak of Ja1~1u'd-Daw1ih and Zulu's-Su1t~tn. Then He said: Do not be sad, do not be downcast, do not let your hearts bleed. The sacred tree of the Cause of God is watered by the blood of the martyrs.
A tree, unless watered, does not grow and bear fruit.
Bahá'u'lláh also revealed a Tablet, as yet not fully translated into English, honouring the seven martyrs.
Sometimes popularly referred to as the 'Tablet to The Times' because of its reference to the most respected and influential newspaper of the day � The Times of
London� it is a document of astonishing power. The tone is one of impassioned anguish, the ~Tongue of Grandeur' giving divine expression to our human responses, reflecting even our indignation and bewilderment, our sense of outrage and inconsolableness.
Specific reference is made to the two young brothers and an unusually full description is given of their torture and martyrdom.
The Governor's offer of protection for the younger man is mentioned and even the sector of the square where the youths died is named. Such atrocities, Bahá'u'lláh exclaims, have not been witnessed in the past nor will again be seen in future.
He describes the mutilating of the bodies, alludes to the reward given to the executioner, the taunting and reviling of the families of the victims, the parading of the head on spear-point through the streets to celebratory musical accompaniment, the lighting of the city by night, the festival air which prevailed. God knows, He laments, what the oppressed innocents suffered.
Then He calls upon the public press of the world � newspapers, in the Bahá'í Revelation are exhorted by Bahá'u'lláh to mirror truth, and all those responsible for their production 'to be sanctified from malice, passion and prejudice, to be just and fair-minded, to be painstaking in their enquiries, and ascertain all the facts in every situation' � to take note of these happenings, to launch an enquiry, to faithfully record these facts and,in effect, to aid in awakening human consciousness to these sacrifices.
The Tablet was not delivered to The Times (nor perhaps was intended to be), but in the following excerpt that newspaper is singled out, it would seem, as representative of the rational spirit of enquiry, of all that is true, praiseworthy and humane in Western thought: O 'Times', 0 thou endowed with the power of utterance!
0 dawning place of news! Spend an hour with the oppressed of Irdn, and witness how the exemplars of justice and equity are sorely tried beneath the sword of tyrants. Infants have been deprived of milk, and women and children have fallen captive to the lawless. The blood of God's lovers hath dyed the earth red, and the sighs of His near ones have set the universe ablaze.
0 assemblage of rulers, ye are the manifestations of power and might, and the fountainheads of the glory, greatness and authority of God Himself. Gaze upon the plight of the wronged ones. 0 daysprings of justice, the fierce gales of rancour and hatred have extinguished the lamps of virtue and piely.
At dawn, the gentle breeze of divine compassion hath wafted over charred and cast out bodies, whispering these exalted words. 'Woe, woe unto you, 0 people of Ir6n! Ye have spilled the blood of your own friends and yet remain in ignorance of what ye have done.
Should ye become aware of the deeds ye have perpetrated, ye would flee to the desert and bewail your crimes and tyranny.
O misguided ones, what sin have the little children committed? Hat/i anyone, in these days, had pity on the dependants of the oppressed? A report hath reached Us that the followers of the Spirit [Christ] � rnay the peace of God and His mercy be upon Him � secredy sent them provisions and befriended them out of utmost sympathy.
We beseech God, the Eternal Truth, to confirm all in accomplishing that which is pleasing to
Him.o newspapers published throughout the cities and countries of the world! Have ye heard the groan of the downtrodden, and have their cries of anguish reached your ears?
Or have these remained concealed? It is hoped that ye will investigate the truth of what hath occurred and vindicate it.
Page 978In His Tar~zdt Bahá'u'lláh, Who had, on more than one occasion, been personally slandered and maligned in the press, and His Cause misrepresented in stories fabricated by His avowed enemies, recorded His awareness of inaccurate, perhaps even irresponsible, reporting:
Concerning this WrongedOne, most of the things reported in the newspapers are devoid of truth. Fair speech and truthfulness, by reason of their lofty rank and position, are regarded as a sun shining above the horizon of knowledge.
The waves rising from this Ocean are apparent before the eyes of the peoples of the world and the effusions of the Pen of wisdom and utterance are manifest everywhere.
It is reported in the press that this Servant hat/i fled from the land of lid rTihr~n1 and gone to 'Irdq. Gracious God!
Not even for a single moment hath this Wronged One ever concealed Himself.
Rather hath He at all times remained steadfast and conspicuous before the eyes of all men. Never have We retreated, nor shall We ever seek flight.
In truth it is the foolish people who flee from Our presence. We left Our home country accompanied by two mounted escorts, representing the two honoured governments of Persia and Russia until We arrived in 'Irdq in the plenitude of glory and power. Praise be to God! The Cause whereof this Wronged One is the Bearer standeth as high as heaven and shineth resplendent as the sun. Concealment hath no access unto this station, nor is there any occasion for fear or silence.
In the same Tablet He extols knowledge and describes the integrity and regard for truth which should govern those who write for newspapers: Knowledge is one of the wondrous gifts of God.
It is incumbent upon everyone to acquire it. Such arts and material means as are now manifest have been achieved by virtue of His knowledge and wisdom which have been revealed in Epistles and Tablets through His
Most Exalted Pen � a Penout of whose treasuiy pearls of wisdom and utterance and the arts and crafts of the world are brought to light.
In this Day the secrets of the earth are laid bare before the eyes of men.
The pages of swiftly-appearing newspapers are indeed the mirror of the world.
They reflect the deeds and the pursuits of divers peoples and kindreds.
They both reflect them and make them known. They are a mirror endowed with hearing, sight and speech.
This is an amazing and potent phenomenon. However, it bel-toveth the writers thereof to be purged from the promptings of evil passions and desires and to be attired with the raiment of justice and equity. They should enquire into situations as much as possible and ascertain the facts, then set them down in writing.
Among the indicators that 'appear as the outstanding characteristics of a decadent society', corruption of the press is cited by Shoghi Effendi, together with 'the degeneracy of art and music' and the 'infection of literature', in his masterful and succinct analysis in 'The
Unfoldment of World Civilization'.In that same essay, in sketching the broad outlines of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, whose goal is the unification of the planet, he does not fail to mention the lofty and constructive role to be played by a truly free press. 'The press will, under such a system, he writes, 'while giving full scope to the expression of the diversified views and convictions of mankind, cease to be mischievously manipulated by vested interests, whether private or public, and will be liberated from the influence of contending governments and peoples.'
No 'mirror of the world' more dramatically reflects the emergence of the Bahá'í Faith from obscurity than the press. With the renewed persecution of the Bahá'ís in the land where the Faith was born � persecution which, despite its instigators' seeming sole concession to enlightenment in the adoption of polite refinements such as closeted firing squads, private hangings and diabolical, exquisitely designed secret tortures, has the same demonic force and malicious purpose as earlier episodes � the media, and particularly the press of the world, on an unprecedented scale, locally, nationally and internationally, has sympathetically, emphatically, eloquently, insistently and for the most part accurately
Page 979979 reported the situation, expressed shock and barbarity and demanded its cessation. Among dismay editorially, striven to alert readers to them, it is noted with gratification, is The the gravity of the oppression, condemned its Times.
T$ahal comxnuiiitie~ wo~ri~d ~.bo~t I~Ie of members ~eize1 in Tehr~n and ~c~u~ed ~f rate in C0U~ plot Eleven vanish into unknown jail By M~bf4 C.I.,,.l ~ ~ ~,I Th~fl ~Mo.i N ~44 a,4 ~ftfl C Mflt~fl4W~ ~ ~ .4 ~
I~ ~ � �tfl ~ B h,~fl44~W flh* ~ h. 4 g~i ~ ~ $~ ,w~ ' S., t,,tb4, ~ �,4~ tft~I iM .f 45LiW~ S~dt 4 b ~ The Times of London, 30 August 1Q80, reported the seizure of the members of the
National Spiritual Assembly of Irdn.AUGUST RUDD was privileged to plant the banner of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in Sweden and to lay the foundation for its development and expansion in that country. He was born on 7 August 1871 in V?irmland, near the Norwegian border.
His parents had many children and the family lived with meagre economic resources.
Around 1890 August moved to the Norwegian side of the border to live with two of his brothers, Edvin and Otto, who were inventors and who achieved some recognition for their designs for a boat engine and typewriter.
In 1893 the three brothers emigrated to the United States. They settled first in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and later in Chicago, Illinois, where they received the Baha message. August wrote to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the autumn of 1919 expressing his wish to return to Sweden and not long thereafter received the following Tablet from the Master: '0 thou son of the Kingdom!
'Thy letter was received.In the country of Sweden the call of God is not yet raised. God willing, thou mayst be confirmed to raise the divine call in that country and be the cause of guidance unto a large multitude.
Let not this statement look strange to thee, because the confirmations of the Kingdom of Abh6 are powerful. They make the feeble strong, and give feathers and wings to the featherless bird.
'The maidservant of God, Miss Knob-loch,1 went from America to Germany.
Of course thou hast heard how she stirred Germany and consequently how many souls were guided!
Now I supplicate to God that thou mayest be more (than she) confirmed, so that that dark country of the world of nature may be illumined with the heavenly luminosity.
Feel assured that confirmation will reach thee '2pioneered in July 1907 to Germany where she was from time to time assisted by her sister, Fanny. See 'In
Memoriam', The Bahá'í2 Star of the West, vol. 11, no. 16, December 1920, p. 270.
In spite of physical weakness as a result of illness, August sailed from New York on 25 June 1920 and arrived in Sweden the following month. He settled in Boda, V~irm1and, where he became, according to all available information, the first Bahá'í pioneer in Sweden. Records show that there had been periodic and temporary Bahá'í visitors to Sweden from as early as 1908, but now the country had a resident believer. The following year, 1921, Edvard Olsson also came to Sweden from the United States as a pioneer and settled only a few miles north of Boda.
The men had known one another in the United States and they kept in contact with each other until August Rudd's death.
Not long after his arrival at his post, August wrote to his fellow believers in the United States through the editors of Star of the West: 'Friends of the Kingdom of E1-Abh6!
'Your humble co-servant in the great Cause of God arrived in Sweden the 8th of July. Went to the most remote corner of the country to begin spreading the great Truth, and there I found a pure-hearted soul, who in three weeks accepted the Truth. Highly educated in both Swedish and English, she began to work with me in the Cause. Naturally, progress is very slow, but hope by the grace of God and our beloved '3 Master, will soon grow faster The 'pure-hearted soul' to whom he alluded was Miss Anna Gustavsson, a teacher at Bovikens school, to whom August turned for assistance in translating Bahá'í pamphlets into Swedish and to help him improve and refine his knowledge of the language. Within a short time of her acceptance of the Faith they were married.
The couple became widely known in their surroundings, due in part to their purchase of both a motorboat and an automobile which they used for teaching trips in both Sweden and Norway. They also established good relations with the newspapers and had published many articles about the Bahá'í Faith and its progress in the world.
ibid., p. 272.In 1923 the Rudds were paid a visit by Mrs. Louise Ericksson from the United States who presented them with a copy of Dr. John
E. Esslemont's Bahá'u'lláhand the New Era, the first edition of which had just been published under the imprint of George Allen & Unwin Ltd., London.
As soon as he took the book in his hands, August exclaimed, 'Anna, we shall translate this book!'
This they did, and the Swedish translation was published in 1932.
The activities of the Rudds in Sweden and Norway were reported in Star of the West, vol. 17, no. 1, April 1926: 'These teachers, together with Mrs. Louise Ericks[s]on of Brooklyn, N.Y., who has spent much time in Sweden, and who even while in this country constantly assists the work of the Bahá'í Cause in her native land across the sea, have given of their time, effort and all of their resources in ardent devotion to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the divine plan of teaching which He gave to the world.
They have not only lived and worked in the large centers of population, but during summer vacations always go by automobile mobile for long teaching tours through the country.
'The people of these far northern climes are always much attracted to the Bahá'í Teachings for world unity, and when they are awakened, they become very strong adherents of the Faith. They say with one accord, "The
Teachings and Principlesof the Bahá'í Cause are so high and noble, so pure and holy, that we cannot do anything else but work and spread them, and you can count on us as coworkers August Rudd died on 13 February 1926. Anna continued her intensive teaching and translating work.
She published several pamphlets and in 1936, under the direction of Shoghi Effendi, she published the Swedish translation of a second book, the Kitáb-i-Iqdn. Anna also furthered the planning which she and August had begun for the visits of travelling teachers and the settling of pioneers in
Stockholm and Gothenburgin those centres as quickly as possible. Sadly, she
Page 982did not live to experience the fulfilment of these goals as she passed away on 27 August 1943 and the first Local Spiritual
Assembly in Sweden (Stockholm)August and Anna Rudd are forever inseparably associated with the establishment and early development of the Bahá'í Faith in Sweden.
In one of his Letters to them the Guardian said, in effect, that the reports of their activities which they sent to him testified eloquently and powerfully to the dynamic all-conquering spirit of Bahá'u'lláh working so astonishingly through them. It is for present and future generations of Bahá'ís in Sweden and Norway to repay their debt of gratitude to these early servants of the Baha Cause in those lands by the brilliance of their exploits in its service and their willingness to become increasingly effective channels of that spirit through which all obstacles are vanquished.
Some participants in the first Winter School of Sweden, held on Gotland Island in the Baltic Sea;
December 1979.The sunlight is black The sunlight is black What raven wing Covered my sun at noonday?
In my mouth is the salt of tears I cannot swallow so much salt...
Blood is so beautiful Blood is so pure Why do the people let blood Run in the street?
So long it took To make this man Noble and good His mind and his soul Expanded like sunlight At noonday.
Why did you kill him?Are you pleased at this riddled shell, This mangle of bone and flesh?
Did you think your deed in the dark Was a bright light?
Everything is pulsing, Throbbing and throbbing!Go to Musa on the hill Go to your Master Go to your Guardian Go to the Kingdom of
Light!But ask not of us Nor of your people Who have plucked a sin Big enough and dark enough To blot out the noonday sun!
Woe to Africa!Weep as you have not wept before, Weep on your knees, Weep your eyes blind, You have murdered Abu'1-Futgh,
The Father of VictoriesYour jewelled crown Placed by God on your head Is rolled into the grave � Weep, weep, weep your heart away.
Rahiyyih (Amatu'I-BahdA translation from Persian of a poem written by a Muslim woman who was a cellmate of one of the recent Bahá'í women martyrs.
For the author's protection, her name is withheld.
Do you remember that you told me 'How tight is our cage! How difficult to breathe in this close and terrible place!' You wanted to sacrifice yourself. I wanted to be freed from prison, but you wanted to sacrifice yourself. You looked at the door of the cell in such a strange way, as though someone called you from heaven. I saw in your gaze the look of a fulfilled and proud lover.
I saw the desire for flight in your eyes, as though you were going back to lihe nest. At that moment you murmured into my ears, 'Life is vanity; why should we stay till we rot?'
We both said the same thing, that life is meaningless, that at the end we have to go in any case.
But behold how beautifully you spread your wings, broke your cage. Your umbrella was of flowers. Now even the Seven Heavens are not vast enough under your feet.
How well you knew that to take wing is the best way to go home. You had a power equal to the whole world; your heart was like an ocean. It is my humiliation to see that you are up there and I am still here.
I am in this swamp of the earth and you are with your Beloved. I am still drowned in wonderment and you have arrived at your destiny.
Do you remember that you told me, 'How tight is our cage! How difficult to breathe in this close and terrible place!' Are you aware that I cannot erase your memory from my heart throughout eternity? You are a proud eagle. My heart is a captive bird.
Even if it were not imprisoned, it is a captive in the world. You are not here but have taken to your wings. I stay, and I rot, and I die.
Translated by Hushmandwas told that the Islamic court had decreed that he should be put to death. On hearing the decision, he composed the following poem for his son.
My Soroush, behold your father and see how perplexed he is. He keeps to himself and muses.
He is captive in the hands of the oppressors, like Joseph in the well of Canaan.
My Soroush..See how the enemies ruined our home, at this fall season which is followed by winter.
You trembled like autumn leaves in the bosom of your mom, when you heard that your father was in the hands of the enemies.
They attacked our home.Books, pamphlets and notebooks were all taken, picture of the Beloved too, which was so dear..
At this time I heard a sweet message: Why is the bird of your heart so sorrowful?
Don't be so sad; this is the bounty of theDrink the everlasting wine from the cupbearer's hand.
If they took 'Abdu'l-Bahá'í picture, why worry? it is engraved on the wall of my heart.
If they took the prayer book, many tablets are hidden in my heart, If they broke the tapes of the voices of the friends, the bird of my heart is a sweet-singing bird.
They cannot drain the fountain of the Sun, even though clouds are now ruling in this region.
Look at the tiny prison cells which are filled with the melodies of prayer and the mention of God.
Listen to the cry of '0 Baha, 0 my God', which echoes like a thunder and roars.
The sound of the 'remover of difficulties' chanted by the friends, flies to the Heaven of God like an eagle.
One friend is saying the song of 'Praise be to my God the exalted', and the other is chanting the verse of '0 Beloved look at Thy lovers', One is full of joy from The song of '0 God', and the other is weeping at the chaining of Al-MustaghAth'.
One is driflik with the wine of 'Our God theand the other is astonished a~ The inebriety of the wine of 'if there were no calamities'.
We must make the most of these various-colored wines, since the cupbearer is the beauty of ifie Beloved. I wonder from which cup I should drink, since there are so many wines in this happy feast. Although the cell is filled with absolute darkness, the beauty of the Beloved is shining in the garden of my heart.
If the judge finds out about my joyous state, I am sure that he will regret his decree. Drink from the wine of true understanding in secret, 0 friends, and whip lashes will be your punishment. Look at the degree of the ignorance of the guard, I am fully drunk and he wants order. Thanks to God since with ~he help of the Beloved prison has become a palace to His lovers.
B al calar della nofle quella strada scintillante sul mare mi portb in un mondo diverso dove I'oro ~ nei cuori e le gemme nel petto.
Giuseppe de Marco (Sicily)Bien-aim~, avec humiIit~, j'ai orn~ ma t&te de ton turban vert Avec orgueil, j'ai hiss~ bien haut 1'~tendard noir, en marchant ~ d~couvert.
Avec mes trois cent treize compagnons, pour Toi, j'ai chevauch~ dans les t~n~bres L'ennemi a fui; pourtant, Tabarsi m'accueillera avec des cris funThres.
Avant que mon ~me ne s'envole, ~ mon confident qui extirpa mon doute Au Tabernacle vivant de Dieu, je dis en mourant: mon bien-aim~, &oute!
Avec mon sabre, 1'arbre, le fusil et 1'homme, je les ai coup6s Avec ton nom, B~b, j'ai fendu 1'erreur de tes ennemis regroup~s.
Avec mon cheval fougeux, j'ai porte 1'~pouvante chez les impies Avec ma foi, j'ai efface Ia honte de ma paine assoupie.
Sous La pluie et les balles, j'ai combattu le vice et la corruption Sous les maLEdictions, j'ai d~couvert ton ineffable dilection.
Sous les outrages, sans faiblir, j'ai combattu ces mullAs ~hont~s Sous le lourd tourment de ton absence, j'ai bu au miel de tes bont~s.
Sur mon corps amaigri, mes vetements flottent comme des oripeaux Sur mes kvres, tes pri&es vibrent, pour claquer comme des drapeaux.
Sur mes os, ma peau 1ivr.~e aux morsures de la glace s'est tann6e Sur le feu ardent de mon amour, mon reste d'~go fut calcin6.
Avec mes fr~res, j'ai bu longuement au calice de Ia souffrance Avec eux, j'ai hum~ au champ de 1'oblation ta subtile fragrance.
Avec nos poitrines nues, nous avons courn an-devant du danger Avec joic, nous offrons notre sang pour que Toi, tu puisses 1'engranger.
Pour Ia v&it~, nous avons rong~ Ic cuir, mange 1'herbe et 1'~corce Pour ta Cause, j'ai voulu te servir jusqu'h 1'extinction de ma force.
Pour ta 1umi~re, j'ai charge les canons, afin qu'eIle puisse 6clore Pour le monde qui attend, nous avons brise Ia gangue de 1'aurore.
La poitrine trou~e, mourant, je retourne au fort, au pas, 1'Ame inassouvie Maintenant, bien-aim~, maintenant, puis-je frapper ~ Ia porte de Ia vie?
Gilbert Robert (France)Bridal-white and calm For she would be victor this was her hour. by the silk scarf she carried 'Yield or be death's cold sister!' when the execution knot And she: would close love's halter home.
Martyn Burke (Belgium)No one will stand that tall among the columns of the Báb's Shrine, Your back in its lean grey coat bending to us in the dark, Ushering us delicately into firm belief, like a benediction, like the long, arched curve of humility that bows from self to nothingness before
Him.No one will approach the Threshold from such special height, Nor in that same long-boned, sparse-stepped way � Sway so like the reed to the darting currents of God's will, More obediently gather greatness down to the scattered petals there.
Oh, blessing � that once we witnessed this, Witnessed you backing to the door so awkwardly graceful, That we were privileged to walk the gravelled path beside you from the Shrine, Pacing our steps with yours over the acquiescent stones.
... somewhere in the list could we perhaps slip a plea for consideration that we surrendered our lives that men may be happy and free?
From last letter of Mihdiexecuted in Shfr6z 17 March 1981 Do you remember now as you went on your way many a holiday with your rogue children running on and the whole world blue and gold under the blazening sun and the ornamental streams whispering paradisal promises in Sa'di's Garden and the scintillating roses scented like rose-water � � do you remember if perchance you saw him � that silent man who gave his life for you?
Geoffrey Nash (UnitedWe zijn over donkere paden gegaan; zacht knerpend grind onder de voeten; een knikje, een glimlach, maar allen zwijgend in de stille cypressenlaan.
Verzameldbij de marmeren koepel in schijnwerperlicht dat schaduwen werpi hoger dan de bomen reiken herdenken wij haar met ons gebed.
Daarna stilte, aandachtig zwijgen, alien naar haar toegewend terwiji boven ons de motten fladd'ren, aangetrokken, als wij, door haar licht.
Alldh-u-Abhaenfants du monde le royanme d'AbhA au royanme d'AbhA enfants du monde seules les danses et les joies chantons enfants du monde Ic royaume d'AbM sont sujets d'amour d'unit~ et de fetes an royanme d'Abh6 chantons enfants du monde le royaume d'AbhA Ic royanme est A nous qui taisons nos pr~jug& et qui aimons les autres au royanme d'Abh6 chantons enfants du monde Ic royaume d'AbM de par Ic ciel de sa Beaut~ Regardons I3ahA nous sourire Ct le Maitre nous appeler au royaume d'AbM chantons enfants du monde le royaume d'Abh6.
Anneke Buys (The Netherlands) Kaluba Dibwa Lumbaya Muadiamvita (Zatre)
Page 987Chorus: Y~ Bah&u'1-Abh6 (4 x) Natutashe kuli lesa Watupele nkombe ipya Bushe chinsi tulolela?
Nkombe ipya naise lelo.This is no tepid milky tea-drink for swallowing mildly in shallow conversations.
This drink burns strong and bold on tongues yet tastes as sweet as honey.
It gathers courage thrusting forward the prior timid towards lands of crawling grasses and stands them under flying bat-wings to test the bitterness.
The hearts beat louder with each deep drink slowly drawn from the cup of golden utterances. A zealous song begins its bleating on lovers' battlefields: 'Loving, loving' (in flOW translation) 'for dying ties the lovers' knot, iii a chain a dancing chorus chasing down a worldly rot. Slipping through the hangman's fingers from the noose escapes the sigh; they cannot slice a soul in splinters; they cannot quell the joyous cry.
Churning, churning' (amalgamation) 'the bones can pile to the sky. They cannot break the throbbing spirit; they cannot char the name, Baha.'
Judith Partelow ProvostUnidos siempre en rezar, Unidos siempre en cantar.
Viviremos en nuestra Fe, Con Ia ayuda de Bahá'u'lláh, Con La Iuz de un nuevo dia, Que brilla en nuestras almas.
Con La luz de la verdad, Quitar~s nuestra tristeza, Con el pan de vida eterna, ;Perdonad, Sefior, perddn!
Hacia Ti levanto mis ojos. En Dios pongo nil esperanza, Por La justicia social.
Rujino GualavisiDoes the brand go to the burning, or the yearning brow Go to the brand?
Does the knife curve to the killing Or the willing flesh Curve to the knife?
Does the rope coil to the hanging, Or the martyr's neck Coil to the rope?
Die SeeleSo zart und klein bin ich, so rein und so vow AU durchghiht Du gibst dem Keim den Leib, das Heim. 0, bleib' urn mich beiniiht!
Ich wachse hier, Dii, glaub' es mir, was heimlich in mir ruht. Da leuchtet Er, und das ist mehr als Him und Herz und
Blut.Noch ferner Kiang zum schweren Gang ins Zeitliche gebannt, zu Freud und Zwang, zu Jubelsang, zn dir, mein Heimatland.
Audrie Reynolds (Alaska)Adelbert Miihlschiegel (Greece)
Page 988Accompanied by a number of frail-bodied men and children of tender age' It is how one imagines that Long winter trek over bleak and wind-scarred ranges as this day, reaching its sparing light forces us to spend another night against a whispering mountain.
Three months the journey lasted through hardships and hunger and the sharpest embrace of cold, sometimes He rode in the howdab ill after being so long in chains, into that frigid strangulating air whose sharpest gales extended so negligently against them through sweeps of drifting snow that often blocked their passage � until the single officer from the Imperial guard yearned only to turn back.
Caught in the currents of air we slip into the deep crevice of blue-gray rock as the evening advances, all manner of thoughts retreating somewhere out there above the tree line.
One sees � the opal mists gathering them in drawing together like glassy pearls the cluster of frozen tents so stark in the scaling wind, the pungent scent of horses breathing heavier than before their frosted manes now silver against the extending dark.
His eldest Son, barely a youth chanting in chilled air within a frugal atmosphere, everyone lapsing to silence as the gentle sounds of the prayer ascend the lamplight shadows.
Through purple daybreak between rain and singing wind we descend, impatient to catch the sun's clear warmth continually caught up by that deliberate banishment. One is overwhelmed by just the thought � a throat accustomed to the touch of silk scarred and insensibly maimed by rusted iron fetters.
And there � His daughter-child cloaked in the mistral morning a shield to the negative cold, her attitudes transform the day rekindle their tranquillity.
Beyond each obscure summit they move so slowly forward into a dazzling austere sun which soon expands to merge one vague plateau into another. The world, like those callous heights, indifferent to His journey.
Yet picture � the peasantry blinking into the white light, no doubt insensible to frost bite leaning forward, anxious to meet those Exiles: to see His face � to touch His robe � to catch one glimpse � might soften the untamed heart obliterate the harshness.
One overhears � 'The gentle Lady offered us golden buttons in exchange for a little cooking oil and a small amount of rice.'
The village people sensed a Great One passed among them accepting deprivation that man might gain immaculate
FireBelieving � When He departed they would see Him again and again in memory, recalling it through an everchanging light, the arching winter sun framing His shoulders.
Crossing this icy scree each pebble seems to shine in pristine glaze a mass of beauty � but oh, how profusely in the flush of spring can one visualize the fragile mountain flowers blooming where He had restedl
Larry Rowdon (Canada)Bahá'u'lláh, referring in part to His exile towards Ir~q. See God Passes By, pp. 106 � 109, and Baha'i, ElM.,
Bahá'u'lláh, the King of Glory, pp. 102 � 105.I believe many of us share today deep pain for the waste of the precious lives of children everywhere.
Indivisible from us, these children walk their last inevitable miles � a marathon from no free choice � hoping to snap the finish line alive.
When they cross bridges they cannot recall a starting point, nor see how near to the race end: just catch their breath, and take one further step.
They die and live in us, these children, holding spirit tight to body, as if a loosening grasp might mean a stop, an end too soon � without a second chance, no way to travel back. Tomorrow, brothers, sisters, may well not start the trek, lie under blankets at some camp, having overslept their human time.
Victor de Araujo (U.S.A.)� for the sleeping ones � In the heart of a stone A bird grew wings Grew eager to break From gravity in flight.
He thought: 'there, in the air's open cage, Is my realm � my first and natural domain.'
Bird into bird he then became, His wings opening in ecstasy The stone ceasing to function about him.
The air became a kingdom of waves and paths And he had motion to express, to celebrate Becoming a truth in, the joy of a truth found As much as you in the empire of dreams may know.
Martyn Burke (Belgium)Un mundo mortecino extiende sus alas hacia Ia Infinita Luz del Alba. Pobre humanidad adormecida!
Ya lIegd ci Dfa con resplandores de fuego, ardiendo en alegria.
Ya ci Gallo cant6 con clara y profunda voz, dando la Buena Nueva, inundando los corazones desde las
Altas Ramas del ReinoOh ta, Pueblo!: Aman~ce, puntea el Sol en las colinas. Nunca m6s podr~s cerrar los ojos ante Ia belleza del
Paisaje.Abrelos, pues No dejes que ci egoismo nuble tus ~upiIas y no yeas m~s que transfiguradas apariencias, cayendo en ci fango de tu existencia.
Abrelos, piaes Y que til espiritu vivificado por ci Esplendor de la Aurora aleje, di a tras di a, las vanas fantasfas de un ego moribundo.
Vuelahacia la Luz, Hermano!Here in the Gardens, on the paths Where sparrows with brown tabby wings Skip bright and simple Catching up each pilgrim's crumbs, On the shaded sward where blackbirds Prance and cock their saffron beaks, Where a red crowned woodpecker, upside down, Hammers at silver twisted bark � Here in these Gardens we walk and grieve The scars on one child's downy leg, The mark of every stone that's flung, The deaths in prison, told, The loss of every dear and helpless man.
Yet in these gentle Gardens, at dusk A robin trebles undisturbed, And, at dawn, surprised by prayers, Frail ears flick, a rabbit scuds Breathless among roses, unpursued � And stories weep from lip to lip, The honour of dishonoured names, A peasant woman's burning hair, Raped innocents, their souls unstained, And payment for each bullet used.
While here, in our sweet Gardens, still, Green wood-sparrows will bow the twigs Of Cypress trees, and sunbirds Flicker among shifting leaves Where purple bougainvillaca teems, And blossoms ripen into fruit, even As the broad summer's flame tree flourishes.
Shirin Sabri (Cyprus)first in contemplation sweet prayer and my soul's debauch (drunken with Thy wine); dropping daily to the knee in adoration to all things as I thought preferring Thee (or else that uterine sensation); I was none the less rocked, held in holy arms and fed. Filled were all the empty places deserts, grey desolate dead stretches of loneliness and my bloodless heart devoid of all graces, blessed and brought to moist and beating life.
A living heart, pulsing with the rhythmic dance of feeling servant of a serving soul finds less time for kneeling.
Carol G. Handy (U.S.A.)Some people say it's an existential guilt reaction Due to anxiety repressed during childhood, And only now,coming to the fore.
Some people say it's a miracle.Some people tell me it's related To being helpless, and wanting to change the system.
Other j~eopIe are very sure That it's because I have a sense of my own mortality, Or perhaps a vague awareness Of some of the larger themes in life.
Some people say it's because I hate my mother.I say it is waking to wind chimes, The sound of rain, The smell of bacon, The sudden jolt of spiders on my skin, And the knowledge that sometimes People aren't enough.
I say it comes from dying, And living again.Pensieri come bianche vele suII'azzurro mare nel sole di Portofino vanno suile ali del vento E 1'eco, di rimando, in nfl sussurro di preghiera, col treno in corsa ripete e Va:
Alldh'u'Abhd!.Hoje ~ Nawruz urn dia mais de Amor urn dia mais de Luz em cada cora~o Hoje ~ Naw-Rfiz neste mundo dos.
homens meus irm~osat History If there is yet time My children will play by the fireside.
And someday they may Shake their heads in disbelief As they stride forth from these ruins With hands clutching tightly Their children's hands And their hearts clinging to A larger blueprint, A greater
Revelation.Hoje amai a Unidade no Profeta que estA junto de n6s na participaqao das ora~6es na verdade de AbhA Hoje n�o estamos s6s
Hoje ~ Naw-RiizSomos los cimientos de una nueva tierra, somos las semillas de un nuevo jardin.
Ingenuos, sencillos, humildes y pobres, con mu problemas, con mu deficiencias hemos sido escogidos para ser transformados, para ser portadores de una nueva luz.
Dc negros carbones nos ha hecho Dios sus diamantes; de granos de arena, ahora somos sus perlas mejores; somos las gotas de agua transverberadas por la Gloria del Sol.
Ninguno se puede gloriar de si mismo, nada de m6rito es nuestro.
No ha hecho falta casi ni valor.Sdlo dejarse ilevar como la hoja en ci viento por Ia Fuerza Suprema que todo lo elige, lo cambia, lo eleva, lo orienta a sn fin.
Somos las piedras de la celestial Kaaba, Somos los ladrillos de una nueva Jerusakn.
Nuestra fuerza es let esperanza de que el Ma ha liegado, Ia obra est6 en marcha y surge radiante una Nueva Ciudad, Ia ciudad sin santuario, sin sol y sin luna porque sdlo Ia alumbra la Gloria de Dios.
Jos~ Lids Marqu~s (Spain)Oh! tQu6 pudiera yo pensar despues de conocer tu vida y tu ejemplo, tu prisi6n y tu martirio; despu~s de ver in cuerpo perforado per Ia descarga brutal de setecientos cinquenta fusiles infernales?
tQu~ pudiera yo sentir, al ver el santisimo santuario de tu cuerpo -colgando do destrozado (como p~nduIo inmolado), marcando el tictac del tiempo venidero cuando rndos los hombres tendnin que regirse por la hora exacta dcl reloj universal que hi echaste a andar a la hora de tu muerte?
tQu~ pudiera yo decir, cuando siento en mi el reflector potente de tu amor, que atraviesa lado a lado cual espada enmorada, mi alma triste y torturada por el mundo y ci dolor?
tQ~~ pudiera yo decir, cuando siento que me envuelves en tu hMito divino y me Ilevas tras de U; que me arrastras con tu manto, tu mirada y tu bondad, y me lievas al sendero de una gran tranquilidad?
Báb � Heraldo, Puerta, nacido en Oriente y fulgor de Occidente, rayo matriz de Ia unidad, espejo radiante que proyecta el fulgurante anhelo de la humanidad; yo te declaro protector, iniciador, canalizador, orientador, oc~ano inmenso que bafia con sus olas Ia maravillosa tierra que nos vid nacer. Sos el precursor de la armonia y de la maravillosa gracia que Dios manifest6, SOS la base principal y punto de apoyo espiritual de Ia fuerza redentora. Sos el lazo universal que une corazones, sos ci alma de 'cristal' que riega bendiciones.
tQ~~ pudiera yo decir?(On reading letters written in 1980 � 1981, by Bahá'í prisoners in Iran, to their families, within an hour of their execution for refusing to recant their faith.)
How simply the fictive hero becomes the real; How gladly with proper words the soldier dies If he must.
Wallace StevensI leave a wristwatch and a blanket; please collect them Brought to the extremes of our commitment let us not speak of torture but say death simplifies our gestures, pries us from abstractions.
The cloak and flourish put aside we seek a hunible order, a final dignity, our testament the cordial instruction of vacationing householder to milkman.
If I have offended anyone I ask forgiveness Finality too has its protocol.
If we die well and decorously it is our sanctioned custom.
We are reconciled to our convention though no one sees and the world's cameras and microphones distractedly avert their glance. We have heroic models in these matters, know our end has meaning if only light and shade come clear again in a blurred age.
I had no time to finish weaving bracelets for our daughters Reasonable men desire to leave mementoes and we are reasonable men, moderate even in our regret and gladness.
Death might blush to call us from our innocent concerns but nothing checks that wastrel's rasher whims.
Kiss the children for me and beg them not to mourn How simple it all is, the human pang domesticated in a penstroke.
Even the callous might not deplore our final modest question, the one we cannot put to God: My dearest wife, are you well pleased with me?
Lord, Lord! accept these as the proper words.Riding my days like humpbacked whales Riding the creature He formed for me or dolphins that dauntlessly dart, that dies when we once arrive, wondering when it will start: hoping to get there alive the Day of Light with its timeless sails, where the sun is the essence of sea.
Riding leviathan-style � Dolphins, whales, must you dive, above, beneath, and in-between � must you plunge so endlessly?
can't view the sunstruck scene or see supernal smile.
Bret Breneman (U.S.A.)-nis nis ft ii i I � flip n tu-S ~'T r n n Dedicated to Det Norske Solist-kor and its conductor Knut Nystedt
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1002For the Bahá'í International Conference, Dublin 1982
0 PRECIOUS LEAF0� � e 0Pre -cious Leaf_________ 0 bright -estflame_______ So stead fast and ~J 4 ~' . W 4 .L' � .-~ ~ true_______ Thro' hard ship and pain. 0 Pre -cious Leaf______ 0 guid -ing I h L W 4w 4~ light Your spi-Pt has shoneThro' the darkest of nights. And ,~II N
7 p. F'now______ we turn to you To guide us ev er 3
,(Soft1y)~ I Itrue_____ On the path of God 0 Baha yih Kh~-num____ Our task is great Our numbers few_______________ as we ga -ther to
~ LL~ f 44Jday in remembrance of you. From ev-'ry land We join as '~' one____________ In the set vice of GodUn -i-ted d singwith just one voiceOursor row ow turned to joy In the path of God 0 Bah fy yih Kh~-num_____ Greatest Ho ly ~dtim~ ~'First time I I ' I We Leaf______ Greatest Ho ly 1003
Page 1004. pI A You have isno may ourlives_________________________ It ~ ~ II II I, A � It is great.f nofeat no to feat, � ~.
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er_____________ er_____________ would be shab-bi death!
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Page 10091009 if that is your de sire. ________________ rj � match, that is your de sire. _________________ A A What shall we fear____________ who know the un dy -ing What shall we fear____________ who know the un dy -ing
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