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| Bahá’í News | October 1976 | Bahá’í Year 133 |
Sequoyah: Tribute to a Servant of Mankind
Contents
Universal House of Justice Message | 1 |
Sequoyah: | 2 |
Tribute to a Servant of Mankind |
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Bahá’u’lláh’s Message challenges World Congress Faiths | 6 |
Boosting expansion in North America | 7 |
Mr. Furútan in the United States |
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Bahá’í International Community | 10 |
The Bahá’í International Community: a growing presence at the United Nations; A different view on crime prevention shared. |
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Around the World | 14 |
Alaska, Austria, Bolivia, Netherlands, Switzerland |
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| The cover photo shows Ross Swimmer, right, Principal Chief of the Cherokee people, presenting an award to Bahá’í artist David Villaseñor at a ceremony in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, capital of the Cherokee Nation. Mr. Villaseñor sculpted a statue of Cherokee sage Sequoyah, which was presented to the Cherokee Nation by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States. |
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Bahá’í News is published monthly for circulation among Bahá’ís only by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to: Bahá’í News Editorial Office, 112 Linden Avenue, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A.
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Copyright © 1976, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World Rights Reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Universal House of Justice[edit]
| Royalty visits Guardian’s resting place |
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With feelings immense elation announce Bahá’í communities all continents joyful news first visit by Bahá’í reigning monarch to resting place beloved Shoghi Effendi well nigh nineteen years following his passing. His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II of Western Samoa course his recent visit London attained this inestimable bounty. His Highness accompanied by small delegation friends headed by Hand Cause Giachery including Hands Cause Khádem Varqa and five members National Assembly United Kingdom proceeded cemetery participated deeply moving highly dignified visitation resting place Sign God on earth whose lifelong heroic labours achieved worldwide spread glorious Cause Bahá’u’lláh. Following prayers devotions and expressions appreciation gratitude by His Highness he met with radiant spirit large gathering believers assembled precincts grave to welcome him and to whom he conveyed greetings his fellow Samoan Bahá’ís and his hope growth Faith from strength to strength all over world. In Holy Land synchronizing with these events Hands Cause other members International Teaching Centre joined members House Justice special visit Bahjí where fervent prayers were offered Sacred Threshold Most Holy Shrine in thanksgiving highly significant development which represents prelude to fulfillment long cherished desire ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi witness pilgrim kings pay their humble tribute at Holy Shrines Founders our Faith in spiritual heart planet. Fervently praying this joyous news will strengthen efforts to forge ahead however arduous the tasks however seemingly insurmountable the obstacles until every goal worldwide plan is speedily and fully consummated. Universal House of Justice 21 October 1976
Joyfully announce realization hope expressed in January 1975 that by midway point Five Year Plan most pioneer posts be settled. Out of these 962 posts 612 already filled through settlement 1374 pioneers. 350 posts still remain unfilled but 227 volunteers have arisen and are being processed for settlement these goals. Call with urgent insistence all National Assemblies with unfilled pioneer goals expedite fulfillment assignments countries still needing urgent support. Praying Holy Shrines bountiful blessings all who have arisen pioneer fields various lands and who will arise during fast fleeting months before Riḍván 1977 win outstanding pioneer goals Five Year Plan. Universal House of Justice 7 September 1976
Deeply grieved passing dedicated steadfast promoter cause dearly loved Adelaid Sharp whose selfless labours nearly five decades community cradle faith in educating its children inspiring enriching spiritual life its youth researching translating writings consolidating its administrative institutions and as first woman member its National Spiritual Assembly will always be lovingly remembered. Her devoted services won her praise beloved Guardian reinforced ties binding American Bahá’í community to friends Bahá’u’lláh’s native land. Fervently praying Holy Shrines continuous progress her soul Abhá Kingdom. Advise hold befitting memorial gatherings honour her name. NSA U.S. holding memorial gathering Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. Advise hold befitting memorial service Temple. Universal House of Justice 7 September 1976 |
Sequoyah[edit]
Tribute to a Servant of Mankind[edit]
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Extensive publicity in the Indian press of America accompanied presentation of a ten-foot, redwood statue of Sequoyah by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States to the Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation, Ross O. Swimmer, during the annual Cherokee Celebration on the Labor Day weekend, near Tahlequah, Oklahoma. A circle of Cherokee visitors surrounding the statue of Sequoyah the morning after its formal presentation to the Cherokee Nation left no doubt in the minds of viewers that the statue had arrived in a welcome new home.
For Chief Swimmer, the statue was characterized as a “beautiful, distinguished and deeply appreciated gift from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States.” For the artist, David Villaseñor, this work culminated nine years of effort, following a dream that he would create a carving of a great Indian leader. For the National Spiritual Assembly, this event presented an opportunity to enunciate, before a large audience of Cherokee Indians and their friends, the principle of the oneness of mankind and to show appreciation of the contribution made to this nation by its Indian inhabitants.
More than 200 people, including members of the Cherokee tribal council and local dignitaries, were guests of the National Spiritual Assembly at a luncheon in the Tsa-La-Gi lodge, part of the Cherokee tribal complex, the day preceding formal presentation of the statue. A descendant of Sequoyah, Mr. George Cochrane, said the opening prayer at the luncheon.
In accepting the gift, Chief Swimmer said: “The theme of our Celebration this year is ‘Reunion’ and this gathering today, with Chief Crow representing the Eastern Cherokee, is a fitting expression of that theme.”
Five members of the National Spiritual
Top left, the statue of Sequoyah is unveiled at Tahlequah, Oklahoma, capital of the Cherokee Nation. David Villaseñor, the artist, stands at left with microphone in hand. Left, the name Sequoyah is shown in the Cherokee script. Right, Franklin Kahn, a Navajo member of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, addressing the Cherokee people during the presentation of the statue.
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Assembly took part in the weekend program: Dr. Daniel Jordan, Mr. Glenford Mitchell, Dr. Dorothy Nelson, Mrs. Soo Fouts, and Mr. Franklin Kahn. Auxiliary Board member Mrs. Nancy Phillips and Judge James Nelson took part in television and radio programs prior to the formal presentation Saturday. Radio stations in Pryor, Tahlequah, Wagoner, and Muskogee, as well as network television stations in Tulsa, carried interviews with members of the National Spiritual Assembly and the Auxiliary Board member throughout the weekend. National Public Radio sent an interviewer from their Oklahoma affiliate, Mr. Garland McWater, of Stillwater, who not only covered the luncheon but interviewed individually all members of the National Spiritual Assembly who were present, and artist David Villaseñor, for separate programs to be broadcast nationally at a later date.
Franklin Kahn, in the formal presentation of the statue before a crowd of Cherokees Saturday, September 4, spoke of the love Bahá’ís feel for all the peoples of the world and the particular appreciation expressed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for the North American Indians. “We are happy to give this statue of a true servant of his people to the Cherokee Nation, the largest tribe in America,” said Mr. Kahn. In his response, Chief Swimmer again praised the generosity of the Bahá’ís, saying that the week he spent in Los Angeles, where there was a preliminary presentation of the statue, had been one he would never forget and attributed this to the kindness and warmth of the Bahá’ís. “Now Sequoyah has come to his true home,” he said, “and we gratefully accept from the National Spiritual Assembly this great work of art. It is fitting it should be presented to us by a member of the second largest tribe in this country, the Navajo.”
Chief Swimmer and his wife entertained Mrs. Fouts, Mr. and Mrs. Kahn and their son, Larry, and other Bahá’ís from the National Center who stayed an extra day at the Celebration, at breakfast in Tsa-La-Gi lodge. Here he spoke fully about his hopes for his people and the difficulties he is facing as a newly-elected chief with a slim majority. He invited those present to feel welcome to come back and visit, and that evening included Mrs. Fouts and the Kahn family in his party attending a traditional stomp dance forty-five miles from the Cherokee tribal complex.
One month prior to the preliminary presentation of the statue at the American Indian Arts and Cultural Exchange in Los Angeles, a news release and photograph of the statue and artist was sent to all the Indian newspapers in the country, as well as major daily newspapers and magazines. Many of them ran this information. The Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner included the photograph and brief article on their religion page during the weekend of the presentation.
The Celebration at the Cherokee tribal complex was filled with many memorable moments, one of the outstanding ones occurring when the Kahn family, with seven-year-old Larry in traditional Indian dress, danced in the pow-wow with thousands of their Cherokee brothers. Although this was not an occasion for open proclamation of the Faith, a noted Cherokee artist, Willard Stone, returned the day after the luncheon to request Bahá’í books. He commented, “I never knew other people felt the way I do about all of us being one family.”
Surely this was the weekend that Sequoyah’s statue, together with the spirit of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, came to the Cherokee Nation in Oklahoma.
1. Artist Villaseñor with statue; 2. members of the U.S. National Assembly with Ross Swimmer, light coat facing camera, Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation; 3. Prayers were offered before the start of the NSA’s luncheon for Cherokee leaders; 4. Members of the National Spiritual Assembly with their guests. Representing the Board of Counsellors for North America was Auxiliary Board member Nancy Phillips, second from left. John Kolstoe left, Chairman of the Alaskan National Assembly, was also present; 5. Visitors view the statue; 6. Bahá’ís meet with members of Indian and national press.
Bahá’u’lláh’s Message challenges World Congress Faiths[edit]
The worldwide development of the Bahá’í Cause was dramatically recognized this July when the Faith was selected as one of the six world religions on which formal papers were presented at the 40th-anniversary meeting of the World Congress of Faiths. The other five faiths represented were Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, and Hinduism, with speakers as impressive as the Right Reverend George Appleton, Archbishop of Jerusalem, His Excellency Sadiq-i-Mahdi, an Islamic scholar of international repute and formerly prime minister of Sudan, and the Most Reverend Lord Abbot Kisho Ohtani of the Mother Monastery of Buddhism in Japan. The gathering was given added significance by the fact that it took place in Canterbury, England, the ‘cradle of English Christianity’.
The World Congress of Faiths was originally founded in 1936 by Sir Francis Younghusband, in response to the growing interest in all religions, which was one of the outgrowths of the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago in 1893, the historic gathering at which the message of Bahá’u’lláh was presented for the first time in the West. The organizers invited the Beloved Guardian to deliver one of the papers, for both Sir Francis and Lord Samuel had personally known both ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi and had been deeply impressed with the spirit and teachings of the Faith. It would have been inappropriate for him to appear as one of several speakers on such a program, but the Guardian took a lively interest in the work of the Congress and asked Mr. George Townshend, later a Hand of the Cause, to deliver an address on his behalf. Mr. Townsend chose as his theme ‘Bahá’u’lláh’s Plan for World Fellowship’ and challenged the representatives of all the religions gathered in London in 1936 to study Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings and to attempt to find agreement on the principles which they contained.
It was, therefore, very fitting that the Faith should again be represented in a keynote address at the 40th-anniversary Congress this year. The British National Assembly, which has maintained contact with the Congress over the years, asked the Universal House of Justice to nominate a Bahá’í speaker from outside the British Isles. To the delight of our own National Assembly, a Canadian believer, Mr. Douglas Martin, was selected by the House of Justice to deliver the address. His paper was entitled ‘Bahá’u’lláh’s Model for World Fellowship’. Its essential message was that the Plan which Mr. Townsend had presented 40 years before, and which the interfaith movement around the world had for all practical purposes ignored, had been successfully set in motion by the Guardian himself. The paper was therefore presented in the form of a ‘progress report’ on the ‘model which has now emerged as the result of 40 years of effort on the part of the Bahá’í community around the world.’ The speaker was able to show that the goal which the World Congress of Faith was founded to seek is within mankind’s possibility to grasp, and that the Bahá’í community itself is the evidence that the unification of mankind and of religion is a practical reality.
The paper closed with a challenge to the Congress to undertake a serious and major study of Bahá’u’lláh’s model, ‘because that model lies directly in that path of the universal search for Truth chosen by the Congress itself,’ to examine its success in achieving universality without uniformity, and its preservation of unity without suppressing the spiritual integrity of its members. Mr. Martin urged the Congress to mobilize the scholarly resources which such a major research project would require and to share the findings with all mankind: Bahá’u’lláh’s model is a proof, a gage that the universe we live in is rational, progressively evolving and at its heart loving and joyful, the intended home of a united human race. We have only to claim it.’
The paper was very well received, and the Bahá’ís present particularly appreciated the courtesy extended to the Faith by the Dean of Westminster who himself served as Chairman of that particular session and expressed the warmest sentiments of admiration for both the teaching of the Cause and the way in which the Bahá’í community was attempting to put them into effect. Thanks to the presence at the conference of a number of British believers it was also possible to hold firesides and discussion groups and thus answer the many inquiries which the presentation aroused from those attending.
A high point of the four days of meetings was a special service held at Canterbury Cathedral, the ancient building whose foundation dates back to St. Augustine, which was the scene and martyrdom and entombment of St. Thomas Becket, and which of course is immortalized in Chaucer’s famous Canterbury Tales. It was a very moving experience to see turbaned Sikhs, Buddhists in long gowns, and members of the Jewish Faith in skull caps participating with Christians, Muslims, Bahá’ís and all of those others present. In his sermon, the Right Reverend George Appleton, Archbishop of Jerusalem paid tribute to the contributions which each of the founders of the great faiths has made to the spiritual history of mankind, recognizing each of these Founders by name, and concluding with a tribute to Bahá’u’lláh’s ‘teachings of universality and the positive and confident spirit in which the Bahá’ís are putting these teachings into practice all over the globe.’
Boosting expansion in North America[edit]
Mr. Furútan in the United States[edit]
Capacity attendance at summer schools, laughter and learning have accompanied the visit of the Hand Of the Cause of God ‘Alí Akbar Furútan to the American Bahá’í community. Throughout a heavy schedule of classes at summer schools from coast to coast, as well as public meetings in a few major cities across the country, Mr. Furútan emphasized the significance of this day, “when all the doors of teaching are open in your beautiful country,” and urged the friends not to lessen their activities in mass teaching areas.
Mr. Furútan was invited by the National Spiritual Assembly to discuss the Bahá’í Administrative Order with Assemblies and believers throughout the United States. Mr. Furútan served on the National Assembly of Iran for 24 years. He arrived in the U.S. in the first days of August and returned to the Holy Land September 12.
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On his final day in the United States Mr. Furútan met with Spanish-speaking believers from the Chicago area. This photograph was taken at the end of his presentation.
“It is evident that you are teaching well, for everywhere I meet new believers,” he commented several times. “I would ask only that your teaching increase still more, for the time is ripe and many successes await your efforts.”
Wherever Mr. Furútan traveled, he left a trail of happy Bahá’ís, warmed by his praise and encouraged by his view of the great opportunities available to the American believers. He forgot no one. Old and young, of all backgrounds and economic strata, whether already declared Bahá’ís or seekers, each person coming into his presence was given a share of his love. At the summer schools, special classes were held for the staff, many of whom commented later that this greatly increased their awareness of “the privilege of serving”.
For many Bahá’ís who had never had the experience of meeting a Hand of the Cause of God, this moment left indelible memories. One later reported: “I always thought that every single Bahá’í had the same station and should be treated exactly alike. Somehow, the humility and kindness of Mr. Furútan helped me to feel reverence, and to know that he had the station of Hand of the Cause of God, representative of the Guardian, Shoghi Effendi.”
This was an experience shared by others. To live while the Hands of the Cause are amongst us, sharing their memories of the beloved Guardian and their view of the emerging World Order of Bahá’u’lláh was a blessing commented on by several of those attending the summer schools. “I understand better what it means to serve on a Local Spiritual Assembly,” said one Bahá’í, and another added: “It is more important to me, now, to read communications from the National Spiritual Assembly and support their decisions.”
In Los Angeles, 1,000 Bahá’ís gathered for an unforgettable evening with Mr. Furútan and his wife, who traveled with him throughout America. At this meeting, he stressed the importance of reading from the Writings each evening and morning, of saying the obligatory prayer daily, and of attending Feast. “It is so important that we study the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and all the Central Figures of the Faith,” he said. “Each Bahá’í can decide the amount he wishes to read, whether it be one page, one sentence or one book, but it is necessary that we turn to the Writings morning and evening if we wish the power of this Faith to be expressed in our daily actions.”
An unexpected gift for Bahá’ís and friends attending a meeting at the Los Angeles Center, at which Principal Chief Ross O. Swimmer, of the Cherokee Nation, was the speaker, was the arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Furútan as guests at this gathering.
While in the Temple area, Mr. Furútan consented to make three video tapes in which he speaks on such topics as “The Covenant,” “The Local Spiritual Assembly,” and “Backbiting.” These video tapes will be edited and made available to the community at a later date.
Mr. Furútan was particularly pleased with the Louis Gregory Institute, where he said he felt the influence of the spirit of Louis Gregory. The summer schools at which he taught were: Oklahoma/Texas, Washington/East, Bosch, Green Acre, as well as the Louis Gregory Institute. He spoke at meetings with Bahá’ís in Los Angeles and San Jose, California; New York City, New York; Albuquerque, New Mexico, and Atlanta, Georgia, as well as a meeting at the House of Worship in Wilmette.
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Top, Mr. Furútan met with the National Assembly on September 11 to report his impressions of conditions in the Bahá’í community. He said afterwards that he had witnessed great progress since his visit seven years before. Many new believers had been enrolled he said, and the friends were paying more attention to the education of children; Right, while in Wilmette Mr. Furútan recorded three videotapes for use in deepening the communities; Below, many hundreds of believers attended his talk at the House of Worship in Wilmette. He urged the friends not to ignore their own families when teaching the Faith. We are going to the masses with news of these teachings, and we are sacrificing our lives for their fulfillment. “In light of this is it logical that we ... leave our families and our children alone without guidance?”
Bahá’í International Community[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community: a growing presence at the United Nations[edit]
Many people ask—Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís—“What is the Bahá’í International Community?” It is the name used, for the purpose of representation at the United Nations, by the Bahá’í world community, a community, growing every year, uniting every year in diversity more people of different backgrounds. Non-Bahá’ís we meet are often surprised when we tell them that more than 1,600 ethnic groups and tribes are represented in the Bahá’í world community; that Bahá’ís live in over 70,000 localities; and that the Bahá’í Writings can be read today in some 600 languages and dialects. Bahá’ís living in 330 countries and territories—152 of these independent nations—are the people that make up the Bahá’í International Community. So, at the United Nations, the “Bahá’í International Community” is not only three “words,” but in its wider implications it is a “world”—a developing world fellowship underpinned and supported by a divine world order.
While the Bahá’í International Community is, in a sense, merely a name for a nongovernmental organization cooperating closely with the United Nations to achieve the goals expressed in the UN Charter—world peace, universal human rights, and the full economic and social development of the peoples of this planet—it is, in its broader sense, immensely more than that. It represents the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh in its current stage of development.
The Bahá’í International Community is a growing presence at the United Nations. As is true for every human being, officials representing their respective countries and governments at the United Nations, as well as the international civil servants working for the United Nations Secretariat, may be more or less responsive to the healing medicine of Bahá’u’lláh for the ills of humanity. What is important is that Bahá’í principles and teachings are being offered, through personal conversation and through official statements, to representatives of almost all nations on earth, as the solution to the problems of their own people and those of mankind. Furthermore, since all men and women are both citizens of their countries and citizens of the planet, governments at the UN are becoming increasingly aware that purely national or regional solutions will not be truly effective. “The interdependence of all peoples and nations” has, in fact, become a commonplace concept and phrase at the United Nations.
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The strengthening of the ties of the Bahá’í International Community with the United Nations is a Bahá’í World Center goal for the Five-Year Plan—as it was earlier for the Nine-Year Plan. In fact, the Bahá’í-UN relationship began in 1947, when the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada became affiliated with the United Nations Office of Public Information (OPI) as a national Non-Governmental Organization. (In granting accreditation to religious bodies the United Nations distinguishes between “religions,” which it does not accredit, and “organizations connected with religions.” For this reason, it is not the “Bahá’í Faith,” but the “Bahá’í International Community”—that is, the world Bahá’í community—which is officially represented at the United Nations.)
On April 16, 1948, the Guardian sent a cable to the National Convention of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations:
“Recognition extended Faith United Nations as international non-governmental body enabling appointment accredited representatives to United Nations conferences heralding world recognition universal proclamation Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.”
The significance of the association of the Bahá’í International Community with the United Nations was further emphasized by Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated May 18, 1948, written by his secretary on his behalf to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States: “The recognition given your Assembly (as representative of the other National Spiritual Assemblies) by U.N.O. conferences marks an important step forward in the struggle of our beloved Faith to receive in the eyes of the world its just due, and be recognized as an independent World Religion. Indeed, this step would have a favorable reaction on the progress of the Cause everywhere, especially in those parts of the world where it is still persecuted, belittled, or scorned, particularly in the East.”
The expanding relationship of the Bahá’í International Community with the United Nations since 1948 had afforded new and varied opportunities for increasing the recognition and prestige of the Faith in the eyes of the world. The relevance of the cooperation of the Bahá’í world community
Victor de Araujo, representative of the Bahá’í International Community, at the United Nations in New York.
with the UN was further highlighted by the Universal House of Justice, when the Bahá’í International Community was granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in 1970, in a cable to the Bahá’í world: “Joyfully announce Bahá’í world attainment consultative status United Nations Economic and Social Council, thereby fulfilling long-cherished hope beloved Guardian and World Centre goal Nine Year Plan... significant achievement adds prestige influence recognition ever-advancing Faith Bahá’u’lláh...”
On March 8, 1976, the Bahá’í International Community achieved a third relationship with the United Nations—consultative status with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). This further affiliation promises to offer additional avenues for establishing close ties with the UN, and to make better known the Bahá’í Faith and its institutions throughout the world.
These six years since the Bahá’í world gained accreditation with the Economic and Social Council have offered the Bahá’í International Community numerous opportunities to bring to the attention of UN delegates, representing now 144 independent countries, the Bahá’í teachings, principles, and laws, as well as to acquaint these government officials with the growing implementation of such teachings in the lives of Bahá’ís and of their communities. In our most recent pamphlet, “Building a Unified Community,” prepared for the United Nations Conference on Habitat/Human Settlements, after mentioning that we are accredited with the UN Economic and Social Council, with UNICEF, and with the UN Office of Public Information, and that we have representatives at the United Nations in New York and in Geneva, as well as with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in Nairobi, we explained that “in the areas of social and economic development, the Bahá’í International Community has worked closely with ECOSOC, its functional commissions, committees, and associated bodies. In this cooperation, it has furnished information, submitted statements, and published brochures on many issues: human rights, social development, status of women, world food, science and technology, population, drug abuse, environment, the United Nations University, the family, youth, and now human settlements.”
Furthermore, the Bahá’í International Community “has also participated in United Nations Years and major world conferences concerned with the socio-economic
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problems of our planet, as well as in preparatory and follow-up meetings and activities.”
The consultative relationship with the Economic and Social Council, a relationship established in Article 71 of the Charter of the United Nations, allowing ECOSOC to make “suitable arrangements for consultation with non-governmental organizations which are concerned with matters within its competence,” marked a new stage in the relationship of the Bahá’í International Community with the UN. We could now participate in all sessions of the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies, and could attend United Nations global and regional conferences and seminars organized under the jurisdiction of ECOSOC. Here, Bahá’í International Community representatives to governmental conferences and meetings could present pertinent written or oral statements. The former were circulated widely, almost always as United Nations official documents, in three languages: English, French, and Spanish. The Bahá’í International Community could also now be “consulted” on studies being undertaken by the United Nations, or on the substance of UN resolutions which asked for the views of non-governmental organizations; and this has already happened on the subject of the rights of minorities and of indigenous populations, on genocide, on the status of women, etc.
The wide access to highly placed governmental officials, which is today available to the Bahá’í International Community, is of direct assistance to the Five Year Plan goal, assigned by the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies, of reaching and making friends with “prominent people and responsible governments officials.” Since the UN delegates whom the Bahá’í International Community representatives meet are not only professional diplomats, stationed in New York or Geneva, but also experts in a variety of social and economic fields sent by their governments as delegates to world-wide conferences, the Bahá’í International Community office informs the appropriate National Spiritual Assemblies of friendly contacts. These institutions may then, if they wish, continue such friendships, and foster the person’s understanding of the Faith, and his or her sympathy for Bahá’í views and goals.
The Bahá’í representative chairs a meeting of the Annual Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations at UN Headquarters in 1972.
Since 1970, the Bahá’í International Community has been invited to participate in a series of United Nations world conferences on economic and social matters, designed not only to create worldwide awareness of the existence of such serious world problems, but also to seek solutions through a world plan of action and through national programs of implementation. Representatives of the Bahá’í International Community attended the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment (1972), the World Population and World Food Conferences (1974), respectively in Bucharest and Rome, the World Conference for International Women’s Year (1975) in Mexico City, and recently, the Habitat/Human Settlements Conference in Vancouver, Canada. For such conferences—as well as frequently for UN seminars and other meetings—pamphlets and statements have been prepared, presenting, in brief but attractive and dignified manner, the Bahá’í view. In all presentations, the Bahá’í International Community office in New York has followed closely the advice of the Universal House of Justice given to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States: “The guidance that Bahá’í institutions offer to mankind does not comprise a series of specific answers to current problems, but rather the illumination of an entirely new way of life. Without this way of life the problems are insoluble; with it they will either not arise, or, if they arise, can be resolved...”
The pamphlets the Bahá’í International Community has published—“The Environment and Human Values - A Bahá’í View,” for the Stockholm Conference; “One World, One People - A Bahá’í View,” for the World Population Conference; “Divine Law: Source of Human Rights - A Bahá’í View,” in observance of the 25th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; “Equality of Men and Women: A New Reality,” for the World Conference for International Women’s Year; and “Building a Unified Community,” for the Habitat Conference—attempt to respond to the world issues with which the UN is concerned, offering not only the Bahá’í approach to life and society, but also suggesting the application of certain Bahá’í principles to specific world problems. These pamphlets are intended not only for the Bahá’í work with the United Nations, but are for use by Bahá’ís in proclaiming and teaching the Faith around the world. They focus on the Bahá’í community as the visible product of Bahá’í teachings and laws, and offer a different way to present the Bahá’í answer to individuals who are looking for a solution to the many pressing world problems. While these concerned people are not necessarily seeking for religion, they are becoming more and more frustrated, as one human solution after another collapses. The words “spiritual” and “moral,” in fact, are now heard with increasing frequency in the halls of the United Nations; and many speak of the need for a “change of attitudes,” of “values,” in order to achieve the full social and economic development of the peoples of the earth.
In the same way, the statements the Bahá’í International Community has presented to the UN, bearing frequently the UN official heading and classification, can
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be useful to the Bahá’í friends in teaching those thinking and feeling people who are earnestly pained at the world’s sufferings and would wish to see the agonies of the world relieved. For many are beginning to see that the greatest “hunger” in the world is, as the Universal House of Justice has told us, “spiritual hunger.” Unless people acknowledge and assuage that hunger, problems of starvation and malnutrition can have no lasting answer.
One helpful illustration of the direct connection between goals of the Five-Year Plan and the work of the Bahá’í world community at the United Nations is the question of the status of women throughout the world. In its message of May 25, 1975, to National Spiritual Assemblies, the Universal House of Justice wrote: “Although obviously the entire Bahá’í world community is committed to encouraging and stimulating the vital role of women in the Bahá’í community as well as in society at large, the Five-Year Plan calls specifically on eighty National Spiritual Assemblies to organize Bahá’í activities for women. In the course of the current year, which has been designated ‘International Women’s Year’ as a worldwide activity of the United Nations, the Bahá’ís, particularly in these eighty national communities, should initiate and implement programs which will stimulate and promote the full and equal participation of women in all aspects of Bahá’í community life, so that through their accomplishments the friends will demonstrate the distinction of the Cause of God in this field of human endeavor.”
International Women’s Year is past, but we have now entered the United Nations Decade for Women (1976-1985). How easy for Bahá’í communities therefore to fulfill this goal of the Five-Year Plan, while at the same time evidencing interest and cooperation in the work which the UN has been undertaking for over 25 years to improve the life of women on the planet.
As the Bahá’í International Community intensifies its cooperation with the United Nations, it is becoming increasingly clear that people are weary of ideals, no matter how generous and enlightened, and want to see action, to see results. How often the word “implementation” is used by UN delegates. Laws are on the books, but are not implemented; plans of action are formulated, but not carried out. Therefore, what in the long run will count most toward the recognition, prestige and influence of the Bahá’í Faith in UN and international circles, with statesmen, scientists, educators, etc., is the accomplishment of the Bahá’í institutions as they administer progressively larger and larger groups of people, in preparation for the day when a spiritual race of men and women will build a world society and a civilization unlike any we can now imagine.
If the work of the United Nations—eighty-five percent of it in the economic and social areas—represents a preparation for the Lesser Peace, so does that of the Bahá’í world community. We are building the Most Great Peace; but as the Guardian explained so clearly many years ago, the work Bahá’ís do is also essential for the coming into being of the Lesser Peace: “He (The Guardian) cannot urge you all sufficiently, and through you the... believers, the importance of Bahá’ís realizing that direct, concentrated and efficiently carried out Bahá’í work is not only their supreme duty but the best way they can serve the interests of humanity and hasten the day when at least the Lesser Peace will become a reality. We must always bear in mind that Bahá’u’lláh’s Order is the sovereign remedy, and all other measures, inaugurated by the United Nations or various governments, are in the nature of palliatives, however sound and progressive they may be. We must concentrate in perfecting our characters as individual Bahá’ís and on maturing our still embryonic, and as yet imperfectly understood World Order; on spreading the Message, according to the provisions of the Divine Plan; and on building a tightly-knit, worldwide Bahá’í community. We are relatively few in numbers, and have such a precious, unique and responsible task to carry out, we must concentrate our full forces upon it.”
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A representative of the Bahá’í International Community attended a session of the UN Committee on Crime Prevention and Control for the first time, to explore the possibility of Bahá’í participation in international efforts to come to grips with growing lawlessness.
Discussion at the fourth session of the committee, held in New York between June 21-July 2, focused on five issues:
- public cooperation in crime prevention and treatment of offenders,
- the need to develop international machinery to handle inmate grievances,
- the need to develop multi-national research programs and cooperation on prevention and treatment,
- the need to develop effective programs to curb interpersonal violence,
- the emergence on the world scene of new types of criminal behavior, such as terrorism, art thefts, and drug traffic.
The fourteen member committee is comprised primarily of jurists, although three members are M.D.’s. The committee chairman, Giuseppe di Gennaro, is an Italian magistrate who in 1975 was kidnapped and held for ransom by terrorists. He personally bargained with his captors and was released after five days.
Joining the committee at this session were observers from eight UN member States, representatives of UN agencies and officials of the UN Secretariat, and representatives of 10 non-governmental organizations, including the Bahá’í International Community.
The Bahá’í representative was able to meet with judges, lawyers, and criminologists from Bolivia, France, Ivory Coast, Nepal, Norway, United Kingdom, Roumania, and the United States. In each encounter it was stressed that programs that proceed from the assumption that man is a spiritual and ethical being will provide the best prospects for solutions, and that Bahá’í communities, through their adherence to the laws of God, are effectively contributing to the elimination of crime in the world.
Most participants expressed interest in the aims and activities of the Bahá’í International Community, and some were aware of the work of Bahá’ís in their own countries.
At this session the committee took three basic actions. It drafted a set of procedures for implementing the Standard Minimum Rules For The Treatment of Prisoners, a measure setting forth grievance procedures for prisoners adopted by the General Assembly in 1957. It drafted an international code of conduct for law enforcement officials (a code of conduct for judges is
Around the World[edit]
Alaska
Summer school prompts new sense cooperation[edit]
The Nineteenth Annual Alaska Bahá’í Summer School held in Juneau from July 31 to August 3 was one of the most successful ever held. Although the number of participants was smaller than in previous years (about 80 registered), an unprecedented feeling of cooperation and love was present throughout the four days.
Along with the regular classes, there were new activities that were especially successful. In the morning before the first class, the Southeast Child Education Committee presented a short program called “Early Morning Tidings.” A new attribute of God was discussed, and examples on how to use this attribute in the family were given.
One morning, as an example of cooperation, Kay Larson tried to drive an uncooperative team of huskies around the room. (Her children played the part of the husky dogs.) Through this simple presentation, both children and adults could see the value of cooperation and unity in the family or the Bahá’í Community.
At the end of each day, everyone came together again to sing with our visiting musicians Red Grammer from Wisconsin and Tom Rockwell from Nevada.
The first class of the day was on administration given by Tod Jones of Wrangell. Tod stressed the need for specific goals to be set by Local Spiritual Assemblies. In addition, Vi Gilbert talked about Assemblies in Kenya, and Georgia Haisler gave some suggestions for consultation.
The class after lunch was entitled “Different Aspects of Teaching” with a different instructor each day. Daniel Lord, a travel teacher who has been teaching in Guam, talked about teaching in “primitive” areas. He advised would-be teachers to gain knowledge of the culture and way of life of the people they intended to visit. Auxiliary Board member Moses Hokafonu of Tonga spoke of the need for a simple, direct method that comes from the heart. He asked the Bahá’ís to show their happiness, to be absolutely truthful, and to visit people, especially those sick or in trouble. Red Grammer talked about teaching through musical proclamations. He gave advice to musicians and communities wishing to try this form of teaching in their home communities.
The Child Education Committee had the adults tour the children’s classes where they were shown the highly successful “Learning Centers.” Many ideas were given that would help in setting up children’s classes in any community. They also told about youth classes and gave an example of a monthly dance sponsored by the youth group in Petersburg.
The last class of the day was devoted to the Central Figures of the Faith with Alice Dudley of Nebraska telling many unfamiliar stories about the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi. She gave a very moving account of the beloved Guardian’s funeral which she attended. She told of other historic Bahá’í events that she also had the bounty of witnessing.
Top, Tongan Auxiliary Board member Moses Hokafonu, was keynote speaker at Alaskan summer school. Center, a young Bahá’í works on large poster produced by children’s class. Below, participants in this years Alaska Bahá’í Summer School.
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The Children’s Classes were enjoyed by both parents and children. There were crafts, games, and sciences all presented with a particular Bahá’í principle in mind. In the afternoon, there were recreational activities.
Leo Baldwin taught the well-attended youth classes where various Bahá’í subjects were discussed. Many parents commented that teenagers who had previously never been interested in the Writings now were eager to read Advent of Divine Justice by Shoghi Effendi. In the afternoon, they participated in recreational activities such as bowling, swimming, and trips to the museum.
The fifth day was “Fun Day” with Walter Gnagy taking everyone who wanted to go on a geological tour of the Mendenhall Glacier. This was very successful and especially interesting to people from out-of-state. That afternoon there was a picnic and auction with all the proceeds going to the Fund. The youth had set up the picnic themselves and they also were in charge of the auction.
Evenings were devoted to musical performances starring Red Grammer. Red has a spectacular voice and composes most of his songs. He set many of the Writings to music accompanied by his superb guitar playing. From five to ten non-Bahá’ís attended each night. The proclamations were well-publicized and they also gave the Bahá’ís an opportunity to teach with the team or on their own.
The staff at the FM radio station where Red played one day were so impressed that they recorded the performance on their own and played it the following Sunday. After the music, firesides were given by Vi Gilbert, pioneer to Kenya, and Moses Hokafonu, Auxiliary Board member from Tonga.
Austria
Teaching in provinces key facet of new plan[edit]
The Austrian summer school was held in Kranebitten near Innsbruck from Aug. 7-13, immediately following the International Bahá’í Conference in Paris.
The wonderful atmosphere of the school was due in part to the presence of the Hand of the Cause John Robarts and his wife. Also attending were Continental Counsellor Anneliese Bopp, the Chairman of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly Firuz Kazemzadeh, and Auxiliary Board members Anna Grossman and Iradj Pourahimi.
The theme of this year’s school was “Our Responsibility in the Divine Plan”; the talks given concentrated mainly on our responsibility to fulfill the goals of the Five Year Plan. The daily talks given by John Robarts on the meaning and rewards of prayer emphasized that the Concourse on High is waiting to come to our aid in fulfilling our goals, should we but ask.
A day of teaching, and a unity feast in the evening, brought nearly twenty contacts in the nearby goal city of Solbad Hall. Further results of the summer school: a twenty-minute radio interview with a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Austria; a radio interview
The Austrian Dawnbreakers get ready for a street concert in Zug, Switzerland.
The Austrian Dawnbreakers. Their performances were popular in every European country visited.
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with the Dawnbreakers, in which their new album was introduced; and a newspaper article with photos in the Tiroler Tageszeitung, about the Dawnbreakers and the Bahá’í religion.
On September 22, the Dawnbreakers performed at the headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. The performance was in memory of Mehrdad Poostchi, a Bahá’í and former agency staff member, who died recently. More than 200 of the 2,500 people invited attended the concert. Most were non-Bahá’ís.
Invitations, explaining the teachings of the Faith, went to the staffs of most United Nations organizations in Vienna, including UNICEF, UNIDO, and IAEA. During the program itself, which lasted more than an hour, the audience was introduced to the beliefs of the Bahá’í Faith.
Performers tour in Europe to proclaim Faith[edit]
On the 24th of July, four autos left Vienna, Austria, with 15 Bahá’ís and piles of equipment. Their purpose was to bring the Message of Bahá’u’lláh to people in seven cities of Austria, Italy, West Germany, and Switzerland.
Part of the group was a theater company, The Comet. Their play, Five in the Heavens, done in pantomime, presented the idea of progressive revelation. The rest were members of Dawnbreakers, a Bahá’í musical group whose songs told about Bahá’u’lláh and His Message.
The many anticipated difficulties in the tour did not arise; there were no delays because of equipment at almost daily border crossings, as is normal in Europe.
Not only did the size of the group grow from day to day, as more Bahá’ís joined the project, but the spirit did also. Daily consultations were held to plan and improve the programs.
By the end of the tour, some 22 people had participated, among them, two friends from West Germany, who played wonderful Greek music, and a girl from Italy, who unexpectedly joined the group after the first performance. Other friends accompanied the tour for one or two days at a time.
The performances were shown on television, and the new Dawnbreaker’s album was played on the radio frequently. Several newspapers wrote very positive articles. One said: “... the group astonished through their well-groomed appearance and their disciplined behavior...”, “... no one could withhold their sympathy from the Viennese [group] during the spiritual songs, rather one was gripped and enchanted by this special music....”
At least one open-air meeting was held each day, where information on the Faith was given, and people invited for the evening performance. The results were quite good for this area of Europe; the attendance at the performances was excellent. After the show, discussions on the Faith were held with the visitors.
Bolivia
Unified approach to Quechua sought at unusual conference[edit]
A second International Quechua Conference was held in Cochabamba, Bolivia from August 13-15. More than 300 Bolivian Indians, clad in traditional dress, attended the session sponsored by the Continental Board of Counsellors for Latin America. The purpose of this conference, as of the first, held in Peru in 1975, was to explore ways to derive a standard for Quechua literature distributed to Bahá’ís in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador. There are significant differences in the Quechua spoken in each of the three countries, as the conferees discovered in their first 1975 meeting in Cuzco. As in the earlier gathering, the Quechua believers in Cochabamba compared their distinctive dialects and in extended workshops, discussed ways they might better understand one another. They also studied recently completed translations of Bahá’í literature into Quechua. Quechua until recently has not had a written form. There has been growing interest throughout the region in stimulating reuse of the ancient Indian language. Peru has now recognized Quechua, with Spanish, as a national language. Bolivia is expected to follow suit.
The workshops served as forums for consultation on expansion and consolidation of the Faith in Indian areas and for presenting information teachers would find necessary in carrying forward their work.
Counsellors Mas’ud Khamsí and Raul Pavon encouraged the Indian friends to take the Message to their kinsmen and neighbors. Their entreaty was enthusiastically applauded, the report of the event said, and many of the friends made a commitment to follow through with the request.
The gathering, held on a campus of the University of Bolivia, was given thorough coverage in local newspapers. Many students and their professors expressed interest in the aims of the Bahá’í Faith as well.
New teaching campaigns bearing fruit in Bolivia[edit]
Teaching teams are active in several areas of Bolivia attempting to enlist Indian peoples into the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh. In the tropical lowlands state of Santa Cruz, Bahá’ís for several months have been going on weekends into the countryside to tell about the Faith.
“The receptivity in many places has been amazing,” the Bahá’í News correspondent in Bolivia reports. “Schools and teacher’s colleges have opened their doors wide for the Bahá’ís to come and speak.”
During a trip to Bolivia in April, the Hand of the Cause of God Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir was encouraged by the enthusiasm with which the Faith was being greeted in certain academic circles.
“He told us we must not relax our efforts for a minute—the people were ready now,” the report on the project said. “It was from his last trip to Bolivia that the impetus was generated to start developing these special teaching projects.”
A highlight of the Santa Cruz campaign came in mid-Summer when a team of teachers visited the communities of Paso Verde and Paylon, about two hours by car from Santa Cruz.
“There the first seven souls from the Ayoreo tribe embraced the Faith,” the report said. “One of these new believers was practically raised by American missionaries and spoke excellent English. He said that upon accepting Bahá’u’lláh, he had in one day found the happiness he had been seeking for many, many years. He enthusiastically offered to assist in translating Bahá’í literature into the Ayoreo language.”
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“The rural districts of the State of Santa Cruz are showing great promise for the Faith,” the report continued, “and the thirst of the masses to hear the new Message from God is most apparent. It is our hope that before long teaching teams will be organized which can remain in communities for days and weeks at a time.”
A second area where teaching work is scoring advances is in the State of Loayza, in the La Paz mountain range. “As a preliminary to larger campaigns, teams of two traveling teachers were sent to this district to feel out the response of the people,” the teaching report said. The people of the region are mostly Aymara Indians.
When the teams encountered an encouraging receptivity to the claim of Bahá’u’lláh, a larger group was sent into the field to attempt to capitalize on the new-found possibilities.
On September 10 a team of two pioneers and two native traveling teachers set out for Loayza from La Paz. In Caxata, they picked up a third native believer, and in Cairoma, a fourth.
On the 11th an unexpected snowstorm forced them back to Cairoma, to find hospitality with one of the families studying the Bahá’í Faith.
“The snowstorm was providential,” the teaching report said, “for on that day and in that home 13 people declared their Faith in Bahá’u’lláh. As the snow continued to fall, the teaching team deepened their new Bahá’í brothers.”
That night a special treat was in store for the people of Cairoma. The team had with it a copy of The Green Light Expedition, a film produced by Rúḥíyyih Khánum on a teaching trip to isolated Indian communities along the navigable rivers of northern South America.
“In a town that had no movie theatre and no public amusements, the prospect of viewing a film was like sunshine cutting through the gloom,” the report said. “More than 180 townspeople jammed into the local schoolhouse to watch that company of stalwart Bahá’ís foray into a tropical world they never even dreamed existed. A lively question and answer period followed the film, and soon 23 more people embraced the Cause, including two of the school’s teachers.”
On the following day, September 12, the team continued its journey to Loayza. In each of the towns they entered en route they arranged for a showing of Bahá’í films, each time drawing large and enthusiastic audiences. Films, the team reported, were effective aids in drawing people to meetings who might otherwise be reluctant to learn of a strange new religion in the world. The novelty of cinema was irresistible. People would enter the makeshift theater self-consciously, but would soon relax and begin to enjoy themselves.
Throughout its journey the team found that people were acquainted with the basic teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. Large numbers identified themselves as regular listeners of the Bahá’í radio programs broadcast each morning in Quechua, Aymara, and Spanish from La Paz, some 80 miles away. Having heard the broadcast message, and met Bahá’ís in person, many people were ready to enlist in the Faith. One local official said he was convinced of the authenticity of the Bahá’í teachings and would declare his faith publicly at the next town meeting.
In a neighboring town of Pucarani on September 13, the familiar proclamation format was repeated: Bahá’í films were shown and a discussion period was conducted. “Suddenly, without being asked, 12 people, mostly youth, declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh,” the project report said. “It was indeed a heady experience for the team.” For the rest of the evening, they explained the nature of the Message brought by Bahá’u’lláh to mankind.”
By the end of the weekend new localities had been opened to the Faith and 54 new believers had declared their Faith.
Netherlands
Stress given to winning Five Year Plan goals[edit]
A national teaching conference was held in Amsterdam August 22 to complement the recent International Teaching Conferences in Helsinki and Paris. More than 250 Dutch believers attended.
Counsellor Adib Taherzadeh was guest speaker for the occasion. He told the friends they could accomplish anything, if they had faith. Faith was the greatest power in the world, he said, and could move mountains for them. A new teaching plan for Holland was unveiled by the newly appointed National Teaching Committee. The emphasis of the plan was to stimulate activity in the provinces through Regional Teaching Committees.
The announcement that the province of Zeeland had been opened by Moroccan pioneer, A. Amrani, was greeted with enthusiastic applause. Zeeland has been a difficult region to open and had long been a goal of the Dutch community.
Not long after this conference, the Dutch community was privileged to receive a visit from the Hand of the Cause Dhikru’lláh Khádem and his wife Javidukht. Their visit lasted from August 31 until September 6.
They traveled to the east and west, to the north and south of the country, visiting communities in The Hague, Utrecht, Arnhem, Vlaardingen, Amsterdam, and Groningen, inspiring the friends and gladdening their hearts.
He spoke with great feeling about the beloved Guardian, bringing a new love and understanding of the greatness of Shoghi Effendi. He brought a keener awareness of the role of the Western believers and of the wonders that have taken place throughout the Bahá’í World.
Switzerland
French language Bahá’í magazine seeks subscribers[edit]
A Bahá’í magazine in French published quarterly under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Switzerland is obtainable from La Pensee Bahá’í, P.O. Box 175, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland. It contains inspirational articles, deepening materials, discusses topical subjects in the light of Bahá’í teachings and provides news of general interest of the Bahá’í World Community. La Pensee Bahá’í is distributed throughout the French-speaking Bahá’í world. A two-year subscription cost SF 18 or the equivalent in foreign currency. This magazine is a useful aid in teaching the Faith since its contents are aimed both at Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís. Back issues are obtainable on a limited scale. Volume II, bound in green artificial leather, contains all issues from 1969 through 1972. For full particulars, write: La Pensee Bahá’í, P.O. Box 175, 1260 Nyon, Switzerland.
