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Bahá’í News

May 1983

Bahá’í Year 140

The ‘spiritual axis’

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DISTRESSED ANNOUNCE EXECUTION BY HANGING ON 12 MARCH TWO INNOCENT FRIENDS SHIRAZ YADU’LLAH MAHMUDNIZHAD AND RAHMATU’LLAH VAFA’I. THIS HEINOUS CRIME PERPETRATED ON MORROW PASSAGE RESOLUTION UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION EXPRESSING CONCERN VIOLATION FUNDAMENTAL FREEDOMS AND REQUESTING SECRETARY GENERAL CONTINUE EFFORTS SAFEGUARD RIGHTS BAHÁ’ÍS IRAN.

REQUEST APPEAL CONSCIENCE GOVERNMENT LEADERS, PUBLIC, EXERT EFFORTS PREVENT SUCH ACTS DEFIANCE BY PRESENT REGIME IRAN.

SUPPLICATING DIVINE THRESHOLD DELIVERANCE BRETHREN IRAN BRAVELY FACING INTENSE CRUELTIES.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
MARCH 14, 1983

FURTHER OUR TELEX 14 MARCH JUST LEARNED DISTRESSING NEWS MRS. TUBA ZA’IRPUR WAS EXECUTED BY HANGING TOGETHER TWO FRIENDS MENTIONED OUR PREVIOUS MESSAGE. BODIES OF THREE WERE BURIED IN BAHÁ’Í CEMETERY BY PRISON GUARDS WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE, PRESENCE RELATIVES. EXECUTIONS WERE NOT ANNOUNCED EVEN TO FAMILIES.

THIS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SHOULD BE INCORPORATED YOUR ACTION WITH GOVERNMENT LEADERS, MEDIA.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
MARCH 15, 1983

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Bahá’í News

A Bahá’í rebuttal to Iran’s statement to the UN General Assembly	1
Counsellor Peter Khan comments on Japan-Australia ‘spiritual axis’	6
Around the world: News from Bahá’í communities all over the globe	11

Bahá’í News is published monthly 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 the Periodicals Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A. Changes of address should be reported to the Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center. Please attach mailing label. Subscription rates: one year, $12 U.S.; two years, $20 U.S. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1983, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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BIC rebuts Iran’s anti-Bahá’í document

In a document entitled “Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran—a review of the facts,” circulated to representatives to the Third Committee of the 37th session of the General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters on 23 November 1982, the delegation of the Islamic Republic of Iran made a number of false and damaging statements concerning the nature of the Bahá’í Faith and the activities of its followers. The Bahá’í International Community wishes to refute these false statements and to present the true facts.

1. The Bahá’í Faith is accused of being “a political entity created and nourished by anti-Islamic and Colonial Powers” (see page 27 paragraph 3 of the report). Reference is also made to “the Bahá’í espionage network” (p. 3, para. 2) and it is alleged that “a very sophisticated and systematic espionage network has been established by the Bahá’ís” (p. 29, para. 2). Other references of a similar nature appear elsewhere in the report.

This statement by the Bahá’í International Community was presented to rebut accusations made against the Bahá’í Faith by the permanent mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the 37th session of the United Nations General Assembly in November 1982.

The Bahá’í International Community categorically denies these allegations. Participation in partisan politics, and involvement in any form of subversive activity, are both totally forbidden to Bahá’ís in accordance with the most fundamental principles of their Faith.

Bahá’í communities exist in countries throughout the world and their activities are known to the governments of these countries to be non-political, non-partisan and peaceful.

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The activities of Bahá’í communities ... are open to scrutiny and ... the Bahá’í International Community invites the establishment of an impartial body ... to mount a thorough investigation into the activities of the Bahá’í world community.

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The activities of Bahá’í communities in every part of the world are open to scrutiny and, in view of the serious nature of the charges made by the Iranian government in this world forum, the Bahá’í International Community invites the establishment of an impartial body of inquiry to mount a thorough investigation into the activities of the Bahá’í world community.

2. All of the allegations made against the Bahá’ís in Iran are based on deliberate misinterpretations of the aims and purposes of the Bahá’í Faith and its teachings. The most common charges leveled against the Bahá’ís—and repeated in Iran’s new report—are as follows:

1. Bahá’ís are accused of being political supporters of the late Shah and of having benefited from the former regime.
2. Bahá’ís are accused of being a political organization opposed to the present Iranian government.
3. Bahá’ís are accused of collaboration with SAVAK.
4. Bahá’ís are accused of being enemies of Islam.
5. Bahá’ís are accused of being agents of Zionism.

All of these allegations are explained and convincingly refuted in the Bahá’í International Community’s publication “The Bahá’ís in Iran: A Report on the Persecution of a Religious Minority,” revised and updated July 1982, pages 19 to 24.

The new and/or very specific allegations contained in Iran’s latest report can be answered as follows:

3. It is alleged that the son of the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith was an agent of the British government, engaged in “covert activities against the Ottoman Empire” in Palestine; that, during World War I, he was “highly successful to render great services for the British army,” including supplying the army with “large supplies of food and grains which he had secretly been storing”; and that the British authorities protected his life and gave him “huge amounts of gold” and a knighthood as a reward for his espionage activities. (See pages 24 and 25 of the report.)

These alleged “facts” are gross distortions of the truth.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá (also known as Abbas Effendi), the son of the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith, was not a British spy. The knighthood conferred upon him by the British government in 1920 was in recognition of his humanitarian services to the poor and needy in Palestine during World War I. To portray these humanitarian services as calculated political acts is totally unjustified. Although ‘Abdu’l-Bahá accepted the knighthood, he never used the title, and he never received any financial aid, much less “huge amounts of gold” (p. 25, para. 6) from the British government.

The intervention of the British government in 1918 to protect the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had nothing whatsoever to do with any supposed covert association between that government and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It was inspired by, and in response to, urgent requests from

[Page 2] the British Bahá’ís, who were gravely concerned about the safety of the leader of their faith—just as Bahá’ís in the free world today appeal to their governments, expressing concern about the safety of their fellow-believers in Iran.

The concern of the British Bahá’ís arose from the fact that the leader of the advancing Turkish forces, Jamal Pasha (a fanatical and long-standing enemy of the Bahá’í Faith) had publicly declared his intention of crucifying ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and his family on the slopes of Mount Carmel. The British authorities (including those named in the report, p. 24, para. 3) responded sympathetically to the appeals of the Bahá’ís and alerted the Commander of their forces in Palestine to the potential danger. Having entered Haifa, General Allenby duly cabled a confirmation to London that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and his family were safe.

In order to reinforce the argument that some clandestine connection existed between the British government and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the report (pages 24 to 26) cites the names of many prominent Britons. It should be emphasized, however, that, during his years in the Holy Land, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was in contact with prominent persons in many countries (among them such eminent figures as Dr. Auguste Forel of Switzerland, Leo Tolstoy of Russia, Professor Arminius Vambery of Hungary, Prince Muhammad-Ali Pasha of Egypt); with scholars and leaders in Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries; and with such institutions as the Central Organization for a Durable Peace, in the Netherlands.

Similarly, while the report (p. 26, para. 1) names the two British officials who attended ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s funeral, it fails to mention that, in recognition of his high and unique position, the chiefs of the Muslim, Christian, Jewish and other religious communities in the Holy Land, as well as notables from all strata of Palestinian society, were also present at the obsequies.

4. It is alleged that the Bahá’í Faith was used by the colonial powers as a tool for colonial expansion into Muslim countries.

This is a complete fabrication, unsubstantiated even by the “evidence” adduced in its support. The report (p. 26, para. 5) accurately refers to a passage in the Bahá’í book, God Passes By, recording that the leader of the Bahá’í Faith was invited to “spend a while in India,” but fails to cite either the circumstances of the invitation or the response to it—both of which are detailed in the same passage.

These seven Bahá’ís, photographed in prison two months before their deaths, were martyred June 14, 1981 in Hamadan, Iran.

At the time of the invitation, news of the martyrdom of the Báb (the Prophet-Herald of the Bahá’í Faith) and the massacre of 20,000 of His followers had spread to the West and had aroused much sympathy and interest among Europeans. Bahá’u’lláh, the most prominent follower of the Báb (Who had not yet declared His own mission) was exiled by the Iranian government and imprisoned in Baghdad, Iraq. His plight attracted the sympathetic attention of the British consul-general in Baghdad, 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 Baghdad.

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 non-political 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.

The reference (allegedly drawn from the same book, but actually to be found in a letter written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to an individual Bahá’í) to the “anxiety” of the government of France to send Bahá’ís to the French colonies in Muslim Africa is likewise taken out of context and is deliberately misleading. The true facts are that the French Ambassador in Tehran, greatly impressed by the Bahá’í teachings and by their effect upon the people who embraced them, suggested that Bahá’ís might go to Tunisia and teach their faith there. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá duly mentioned this suggestion in a letter to one of his followers but, as it happened, nothing ever came of it. Clearly, this incident cannot seriously be used to suggest, or prove, any form of collusion between the Bahá’í Faith and the French government to promote colonial expansion in Africa.

5. Certain Bahá’ís are alleged to

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The following resolution was passed March 18 during the 39th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights meeting in Geneva, Switzerland: Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world, with particular reference to colonial and other dependent countries and territories The situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran The Commission on Human Rights, Guided by the principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Human Rights, Reaffirming that all Member States have an obligation to promote and protect human rights and fundamental freedoms and to fulfill the obligations they have undertaken under the various international instruments in this field, Recalling General Assembly resolution 36/22 of 1981 and General Assembly resolution 37/182 of 17 December 1982 on the practice of arbitrary or summary executions, Recalling also General Assembly resolution 36/55 proclaiming the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Recalling further its own resolution 1982/27 of 11 March 1982 in which the Commission inter alia urged the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to respect and ensure the rights of all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction, Mindful of resolution 1982/25 of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, Taking note of the Edict of the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran of 16 December 1982 calling for the correction of judicial abuses, Having carefully examined the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN./4/1983/19) and the relevant sections in the report on summary or arbitrary executions (E/CN./4/1983/16), Encouraged by the report of the Secretary-General (E/CN./4/1983/52) in which he announces a mission of his Representative to the Islamic Republic of Iran, providing an opportunity to clarify further the situation of human rights in that country, 1. Expresses its profound concern at the continuing grave violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the Islamic Republic of Iran as reflected in the report of the Secretary-General, and particularly at the evidence of summary and arbitrary executions, torture, detention without trial, religious intolerance and persecution, in particular of Bahá’ís, and the lack of independent judiciary and other recognized safeguards for a fair trial; 2. Urges once more the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a State party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to respect and ensure all individuals within its territory and subject to its jurisdiction the rights recognized in that Covenant; 3. Requests the Secretary-General or his representative 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 Bahá’ís; 4. Requests also the Secretary-General or his representative to submit to the Commission on Human Rights at its fortieth session a comprehensive report on the direct contacts and the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran including conclusions and suggestions as regards the respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms in that country; 5. Requests once more the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran to extend its co-operation to the Secretary-General or his representative; 6. Decides to continue its consideration of the human rights situation in the Islamic Republic of Iran at its fortieth session.

have held high political office during the reign of the late Shah.

Bahá’ís are forbidden by the laws of their faith from becoming involved in partisan politics or from holding any political post. The report (pages 27/28) accuses the Iranian Bahá’ís of not adhering to this principle of their faith, alleging that certain people identified as Bahá’ís held prominent political positions during the reign of the late Shah. These accusations are refuted below.

It should be noted in this connection that, during the reign of the Shah, it was common for unscrupulous politicians to attempt to discredit their political opponents by accusing them of being Bahá’ís. Such accusations were either entirely without foundation or were based upon the fact that the fathers or families of the individuals concerned had once been Bahá’ís. It is, however, a basic principle of the Bahá’í 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. A person is a Bahá’í only when he freely declares himself to be a Bahá’í.

It is true that Dr. Ayadi, a Bahá’í, served as personal physician to the late Shah. He was appointed to this non-political position not only because of his skill in medicine but also because of his personal integrity and trustworthiness. It is untrue to state (as does the report) that he was “the man behind the whole pharmaceutical market.”

General Khattani, Commander of the Air Force; Mrs. Parsa, Minister of Education; and General Nasiri, head of SAVAK, were never Bahá’ís and never claimed to be Bahá’ís.

General Sani’i, Minister of War, was once a Bahá’í but was expelled from the Bahá’í community when he accepted ministerial office in the government—in accordance with the Bahá’í law forbidding Bahá’ís to hold political office.

Parviz Sabeti, Director-General of SAVAK; Mansur Ruhani, Minister of Agriculture; and Prime Minister Amir Abbas Hoveida were never Bahá’ís and never claimed to be Bahá’ís. Their alleged membership in the Bahá’í community was based on the fact that their fathers were, or had once been, Bahá’ís.

[Page 4] 6. Bahá’ís are accused of being agents and political supporters of Zionism. The report (p. 27, para. 1) cites the well-worn accusation that, since the Bahá’í World Centre is in Israel, the Bahá’í Faith must in some way be identified with Zionism, and also asserts that this means that the Bahá’í Faith is not a religion but is a “political entity created and nourished by anti-Islamic and Colonial Powers.”

The Bahá’í World Centre was 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 Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’u’lláh, was exiled to the Holy Land in compliance with the order of two Islamic governments (Iran 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’u’lláh Himself directed that the world spiritual and administrative centres of His Faith 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 temporary political expediency.

References are made later in the report (p. 28, para. 4 and 8) to the Bahá’ís sending “millions of dollars” to Israel to “support the Zionist regime.” This allegation is entirely without foundation. The funds sent by Bahá’ís the world over (including those in Iran) to the Bahá’í World Centre are solely and exclusively for the upkeep of their holy Shrines and historic sites in the Holy Land, and for the administration of their faith.

It should be noted that other religious communities contribute toward the maintenance of their holy places in Israel without attracting the charge that they are financially supporting the government of Israel. Similarly, the Shiite Muslims send financial contributions toward the upkeep of their holy places at Najaf and Karbila in Iraq. Should the fact that Iran and Iraq are at war suddenly draw down the charge upon the Muslim Iranians that they have lent financial aid to the Iraqi government? Yet this is precisely the nature of the spurious allegations being made by the Iranian government against the Bahá’ís.

7. SAVAK documents adduced to support allegations against the Bahá’ís.

The report (pages 28/29) summarizes the contents of various documents allegedly extracted from the files of SAVAK, which purport to implicate Bahá’ís (or alleged Bahá’ís) in a variety of anti-Islamic activities.

It is impossible for the Bahá’í International Community to comment upon these documents because it has not seen them. It might, however, be asked how and why—since the present Iranian government has itself discredited SAVAK—the documentation produced by this organization has suddenly become relevant and “authentic” where Bahá’ís are concerned.

The hostility of SAVAK toward the Bahá’ís is well attested. A SAVAK memorandum linking the bureau with the operations of the fanatical anti-Bahá’í organization Tablighat-i-Islami was published in the Iranian daily newspaper Mujahid on 9 June 1980, and one of the final acts of SAVAK in 1978, shortly before the fall of the Shah, was to attempt to divert public attention away from disaffection with the regime by mounting violent attacks on the Bahá’ís. During raids organized by SAVAK on Saadi village near Shiraz, 150 Bahá’í homes were looted and burned down. The Bahá’í International Community has in its possession an announcement by Ayatollah Mahallati, the most prominent religious leader in Shiraz, telling Muslims that such attacks against the Bahá’ís were the machinations of SAVAK, and warning them not to participate.

8. Specific cases of accused Bahá’ís.

The report cites the cases of five Bahá’ís, tried in February 1980, who were “proven guilty in the Court of Justice” but whose sentences were commuted (p. 31).

These trials actually took place in Shiraz, under very questionable circumstances, and the Bahá’í International Community cannot comment upon the veracity of the evidence or charges. We do, however, have reliable and up-to-date information concerning the fate of these Bahá’ís.

1. Enayatollah Ehsanian—stated in the report to have been released for lack of evidence against him. True.

2. Ja’far Sha’er-zadeh—stated in the report to have been released on compassionate grounds. He was, in fact, re-arrested about one month ago and is currently in detention in Shiraz.

3. Sattar Khosh-Khu—stated in the report to have been found guilty of supporting Zionism and to have been given

Testimony of Elliott Abrams, assistant secretary of state, Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, March 3, 1983, before the United States House of Representatives’ Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations. Mr. Abrams provided written prepared testimony on human rights violations around the world, then added these comments in the record: Mr. Chairman: Before closing I would like to take this opportunity to express my profoundest dismay and alarm with the recent reports that the Iranian Revolutionary Supreme Court in Tehran has upheld the death sentences of 22 Bahá’ís. As you know, the Department has supported resolutions in international institutions condemning Iran’s treatment of the Bahá’ís. Mention of their difficulties has been made in all human rights reports prepared since the overthrow of the Shah and the Department fully supported the resolution concerning Bahá’ís passed by Congress last fall. It is Our sincere hope that the Iranian authorities will heed the voice of world public opinion and refrain from executing these individuals.

a two-year prison sentence. He was, in fact, summarily executed in Shiraz on 30 April 1981 (approximately 14 months after his trial).

4. Enayatollah Mehdi-zadeh—stated in the report to have been released. He was actually released after spending 10 months in prison.

5. Mohammad-Reza Hesami—stated in the report to have been fined and released. He is, in fact, still in prison and has not at any time been released.

The stated purpose of including these details in the report was to make it “crystal clear” that “not a single person in the Islamic Republic of Iran

[Page 5] is tried and punished merely because of his/her particular ideology or set of principles.” (p. 30, para. 7).

Even if it were to be assumed, for the sake of argument, that the details of the cases cited in the report were true, it is difficult to see how isolated cases such as these could justify the pervasive and continuing persecution of the entire Bahá’í community of Iran.

Despite the repeated denials of the Iranian government, it is clear that the persecution of the Bahá’ís is based solely upon their religious beliefs.

During the past four years, one hundred and eighteen Bahá’ís have died for their faith in Iran. No evidence exists to support any of the charges brought against those who were executed. In the very few cases in which a Bahá’í has been willing to recant his faith, he has immediately been released and all charges against him dropped—while his fellow believers who refused to recant have been executed.

Two Bahá’ís very recently executed in Shiraz—Mr. Habibu’llah Awji on 16 November and Mr. Ziya’u’llah Ahrari on 21 November—were offered their freedom by the trial judge if they would agree to recant their religion. In the case of Mr. Ahrari, the court verdict—published in the Tehran daily newspaper Kayhan on 22 November— clearly stated that the principal charge against him was his membership in the Bahá’í community.

Membership in the Bahá’í community was first recognized by the courts as a capital offence in March 1981, when Mr. Mihdi Anvari and Mr. Hidayatu’llah Dihqani were tried and executed in Shiraz. In the case of Mr. ‘Azizu’llah Gulshani, executed by hanging on 29 April 1982, the charges against him related solely to his Bahá’í activities. (These charges were detailed in Kayhan on 29 April 1982.)

All the Bahá’ís executed during the past two years were prominent believers whose executions were intended to intimidate the rank and file of the Bahá’í community into recanting their faith. Most compelling is the fact that the authorities have twice eliminated the membership of the national governing body of the Bahá’í Faith in Iran. On 21 August 1980, all nine members of this body were arrested by revolutionary guards and have since disappeared without trace. On 27 December 1981, eight members of the national governing body that replaced them were secretly executed in Tehran. Their execution, initially denied by the authorities, was finally admitted by the President of the Supreme Court of Iran, Ayatollah Musavi Ardibili, at a press conference on 5 January 1982.

Shown is a part of the crowd of 4,000 who attended the funeral of Dr. Manuchihr Hakim in January 1980. Dr. Hakim, a Bahá’í who was a world renowned physician, was shot to death in his clinic in Tehran.

The executions and disappearances are part of a systematic campaign to eradicate the Iranian Bahá’í community and obliterate all traces of the Bahá’í Faith from Iran.

The other elements of the campaign are the confiscation and destruction of all Bahá’í community properties and holy places in Iran (now accomplished) and the denial of the most basic human rights to the thousands upon thousands of innocent Bahá’ís. This denial has been expressed in many dehumanizing ways, such as dismissal from employment, denial of pensions, confiscation of private property and denial of schooling to children. (An article in the newspaper Kayhan on 25 November 1981 reported the expulsion of 43 students from the University of Shiraz because of their membership in the “misguided Bahá’í-group.”)

Many of the notices dismissing Bahá’ís from their jobs have clearly stated that membership in the Bahá’í community is the reason for dismissal, and many of the notices have stated that the individual concerned will be given back his job if he will publicly recant his faith. In a communiqué published in Kayhan on 8 December 1981, the Ministry of Labour stated that dismissal for life from government service had been decreed by the Islamic Parliament as “the punishment for anyone who is a member of the misguided Bahá’í group.”

It is clear to the Bahá’í International Community that the allegations contained in the report circulated by Iran in the General Assembly represent an attempt to conceal, and to divert international attention from, the fanatically religious motivation behind the persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran, and to undermine the good reputation which the Bahá’í community enjoys throughout the world.

The Bahá’í International Community emphatically refutes all the charges leveled against the Bahá’ís by the Iranian government and its spokesmen, most particularly the charges of political involvement and espionage, and strongly appeals for the establishment of an independent body to investigate the entire situation.

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Spiritual axis: ‘A powerful magnet’

In its message to the Asian/Australasian Bahá’í Conference held last September in Canberra, Australia, the Universal House of Justice drew attention to statements of the Guardian concerning a “spiritual axis” between Australia and Japan.

The purpose of this article is to explore some aspects of the teachings on this spiritual axis, which is destined to affect profoundly the future development of the Faith.

Both the passage of time and the continuing guidance of the Universal House of Justice will be required to disclose fully the mystery and significance of this spiritual axis. It is possible, however, at this early stage, to identify some of the basic features of this novel aspect of the future growth and development of the Faith.

Japan and Australia are separated not only by a vast oceanic distance, but also by fundamental differences of culture, race, language and tradition, and by the memories of the great conflict that engulfed the Pacific region from 1941 to 1945. Yet Shoghi Effendi has unambiguously foreshadowed a remarkable relationship between the Bahá’í communities in these two nations.

In 1957, the Guardian referred to “a spiritual axis, extending from the Antipodes to the northern islands of the Pacific Ocean—an axis whose northern and southern poles will act as powerful magnets, endowed with exceptional spiritual potency, and towards which other younger and less experienced communities will tend for some time to gravitate.”¹

At that time, Shoghi Effendi affirmed that the formation of the Regional Spiritual Assembly of North-East

Dr. Peter J. Khan, the author of this article on the spiritual axis between Australia and Japan, is a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Australasia.

Asia “constitutes a notable parallel to the rise of similar institutions in the Antipodes, establishing thereby a spiritual equilibrium destined to affect, to a marked degree, the destinies of the Faith throughout the islands of the Pacific Ocean, in the years immediately ahead.”²

Prior to a detailed study of this spiritual axis, two fundamental principles that appear to underly it are discussed here.

The principle of magnetism

The phenomenon of magnetism is a familiar feature of the physical world. Magnetic materials are characterized by an arrangement of atoms which, in conformity with the laws of nature, gives rise to a magnetic field exerting an attractive force on other similar materials.

Since medieval times, scientists have puzzled over the attributes of the magnetic field—the fact that action occurs at a distance, that there is no visible or tangible connection between the two materials, that the attractive force increases greatly as the distance of separation is diminished.

One of the distinctive features of the Bahá’í Revelation is its use of magnetism as an analogy with which to describe the operation of spiritual forces. Consider, for example, the use of the term by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to describe the Manifestation of God as “the Magnet of the souls and hearts in the Pole of the existing world, to which all the sacred hearts are attracted from the far distant lands and countries.”³

By this means, the Master conveys a profound spiritual truth in a simple manner, drawing upon the well-known physical phenomenon as an analogy.

In other places, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá refers to the Revelation in these terms: “the divine magnet—the power of the Word of God—will attract the hearts,”⁴ and describes the power of the Covenant as being analogous to magnetism in His exhortation: “be attracted by the magnet of the Covenant.”⁵

The magnetism analogy is applied not only to the Manifestation and His teachings, but is extended to apply also to actions of the believers that are undertaken in conformity with Divine Law. For example, Shoghi Effendi says: “Today, as never before, the magnet which attracts the blessings from on high, is teaching the Faith of God.”⁶

And the Universal House of Justice has referred to Bahá’í conferences in these words: “... these conferences, focal points of the love and prayers of the friends everywhere, magnets to attract the spiritual powers which alone can confirm their work ...”⁷

‘Abdu’l-Bahá earlier had described the gathering of the friends together in this way: “The greatest means for the union and harmony of all is spiritual meetings. This matter is very important and is a magnet to attract Divine confirmation.”⁸

All of these statements, and the many other references to magnetism in the Bahá’í Writings, represent statements of Divine truth, which describe the operation of spiritual forces, just as the laws of nature uncovered by science describe the forces of attraction in the material world.

This principle of magnetism is found explicitly in the statement of the Guardian that refers to Australia and Japan, and is implicit in the descriptions of the significance of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs and the Holy Shrines. It is also implicit in the Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to the American believers in which He calls upon them to serve the

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Someone who does not comprehend the spiritual nature of Bahá’í community growth would search in vain for a causative relationship between an apparently insignificant beautification of land on a mountain slope and the growth of the Institutions of a new World Order foreshadowed in the Bahá’í Writings.

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Faith, and promises that “Should success crown your enterprise, America will assuredly evolve into a centre from which waves of spiritual power will emanate.”⁹

Through the manner in which the international Bahá’í community develops and the embryonic World Order evolves, and as a result of the complex interplay between material resources, as well as cultural, geographic, educational and technical factors, and also communication and transportation facilities, the believers in Australia and Japan will be impelled to perform such prodigious service to the Faith that these two areas will become as poles of a magnet for spiritual forces affecting the Asian and Australasian regions.

The mystery of growth

Collective human enterprises in the world around us, such as industrial production, the construction of cities, and the exploitation of natural resources, are examples of inorganic growth—characterized by exhaustive prior planning in which the final form of the product, building, dam or mine is clearly determined before construction begins, and by progress toward the goal in a well understood, orderly and systematic manner.

In contrast, we see organic growth of living entities in the vegetable, animal or human world—characterized by evolutionary development from an insignificant beginning, proceeding through intermediate forms at an apparently irregular rate, and reaching a mature condition that differs greatly in form and attibutes from the embryonic seed.

This kind of growth is mysterious in nature, and contributes much to the beauty and wonder of the universe. Its mystery arises from the inability of a human being to grasp fully the Divine principles that govern organic growth, or to comprehend the internal spirit that motivates this growth.

The growth of the worldwide Bahá’í community is an organic process that defies comprehension by those whose standards are inorganic. As a consequence, its strength, potential and internal dynamism are gravely underestimated by those who assess its present condition by inorganic measures.

An example of a factor that contributes mysteriously to the growth of the Bahá’í community is that of development at the World Centre. In 1939, when the Guardian took a major step in developing the monument gardens on Mount Carmel, he described it as “an event which will release forces that are bound to hasten the emergence ... of some of the highest gems of ... World Order.”¹⁰

Someone who does not comprehend the spiritual nature of Bahá’í community growth would search in vain for a causative relationship between an apparently insignificant beautification of land on a mountain slope and the growth of the Institutions of a new World Order foreshadowed in the Bahá’í Writings.

Other examples may be found in authoritative statements about the future development of the Faith in Europe. The Universal House of Justice has referred to “the islands of the Mediterranean and the North Sea” as “islands which are to play such an important role in the awakening of the entire continent.”¹¹

Under conditions of inorganic growth, the process would be the exact opposite: first, the Faith would be established firmly on the European continental land mass, and from there, the Mediterranean and North Sea islands would be opened to the Faith. But the organic growth process proceeds by an entirely different strategy, governed by Divine principle, and manifested in the successive Plans emanating from the World Centre of the Faith.

Another European example is that of the future role of the Bahá’í community in Germany, which is destined, in the words of the Guardian, to “embark on a campaign, beyond the borders of its homeland, that will carry the light of the Faith to the adjoining eastern frontiers of Europe, into Asia.”¹²

Applying inorganic principles, one would be unlikely to choose the German Bahá’ís for such a role, in view of the tensions and apprehensions which have been apparent between Germany and its Eastern European neighbors since the 1940s.

The statements in the Bahá’í Writings concerning the spiritual axis between Australia and Japan well illustrate the mysteries of organic growth. A casual observer might well wonder why these two countries, so greatly different in population, culture, language, custom and race, and separated by so great a distance, should be designated as the magnetic poles of a spiritual power in that region.

Divine guidance, cognizant of past and future from a perspective that transcends the dimension of time, asserts that the opportunities and challenges destined to arise, as the Bahá’í community hastens toward completion of all the provisions of the Divine Plan in the decades or centuries ahead, will be such as to project Australia and Japan into a pre-eminent role in the affairs of the Faith in the Asian-Australasian region.

The Bahá’í teachings foster the use of the rational faculties in a spirit of inquiry, to unravel the mysteries of the spiritual and material worlds, and thus to contribute to the growth of religious and scientific understanding. Hence, we may confidently anticipate that the mysteries of organic growth will become progressively disclosed, as our understanding of the interplay between the spiritual and material determinants of growth increases, and as the passage of time reveals more fully the course followed by the Bahá’í community in its expansion.

The Asian-Australasian region

The spiritual axis between Australia

[Page 8] and Japan lies at the interface of “the vast continent of Asia” and “the water hemisphere which comprises all of Australasia.”¹³ Together, “the population of Asia and Australasia is well over half the world population.”¹⁴ Within these two continental areas are to be found many areas named specifically by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, significant in light of the statement by the Universal House of Justice as to “how great is the potential for the Faith in the localities blessed by these references.”¹⁵

The Australasian continental region embraces the Pacific, the world’s largest ocean, in which are to be found 10,000 islands scattered over an area of 160 million square kilometers; it is lightly populated, with the largest number of people being the some 15 million in Australia, whose land area is almost equal to that of the United States.

Shoghi Effendi described the Pacific region around, and including, Australia as “an area endowed with unimaginable potentialities, and which, owing to its strategic position, is bound to feel the impact of world shaking forces, and to shape to a marked degree through the experiences gained by its peoples in the school of adversity, the destinies of mankind.”¹⁶

‘Abdu’l-Bahá directed attention to “the three great island groups of the Pacific Ocean—Polynesia, Micronesia and Melanesia.”¹⁷ The great potential of the indigenous Pacific Islanders is lauded by the Guardian in his statement that “a spiritual receptivity, a purity of heart and uprightness of character exists potentially amongst many of the peoples of the Pacific Isles to an extent equal to that of the tribesmen of Africa.”¹⁸

By contrast, the vast Asian continental land mass includes more than half the entire population of the world. It is described by the Guardian as “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 ...”¹⁹

The Universal House of Justice caused attention recently to the fact that this region “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.”²⁰

‘Abdu’l-Bahá is reported to have described China many years ago in these terms: “China, China, China, China-ward the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh must march! Where is that holy sanctified Bahá’í to become the teacher of China! China has most great capability. The Chinese people are most simple-hearted and truth-seeking ... China is the country of the future ...”²¹

DR. PETER J. KHAN

The area of influence of the spiritual axis between Australia and Japan also includes Southeast Asia, a region described by the Guardian in this manner:

“By virtue of its vastness, its heterogeneous character, its geographical position, bridging the gulf separating the Bahá’í communities now firmly established in both the northern and southern regions of the Pacific Ocean, the spiritual receptivity of many of its inhabitants, and the role which they are destined to play in the future shaping of the affairs of mankind, this vast area ... is bound ... to exercise a far-reaching influence on the future destinies of the World Bahá’í community ...”²²

Elsewhere, the Universal House of Justice says of this region: “South East Asia, whose gifted and industrious people have embraced four of the world’s major religions, have produced in all ages civilizations and cultures representative of the highest accomplishments of the human race.”²³

From these passages it is clear that the continental areas on both sides of the spiritual axis have unusually great potential, and that they are destined to have a marked influence on the future of mankind.

The two continental regions are complementary in the role that they can play in the development of the worldwide Bahá’í community. Asia has the potential to provide vast manpower to reinforce the ranks of teachers and administrators, while the small independent nations of Australasia can bring recognition and prestige to the Faith as the Bahá’ís become an appreciable fraction of the national population and as the Bahá’í values permeate the national consciousness.

The Asian believers bring to the Bahá’í community the richness of their cultural traditions rooted in the wisdom of the great religions of the Prophetic Cycle, while the Australasian Bahá’ís are, in many nations, relatively free from the fetters of religious orthodoxy and ecclesiastical authority and can thus freely surrender themselves to the Bahá’í way of life. The individualism that is so dominant in much of Australasia is balanced by the emphasis on social cooperation and collective action in much of Asia.

Thus the spiritual axis acts as a bridge joining together the best qualities of the peoples of the world’s largest continent and the world’s largest oceanic area, for the construction of the new World Order.

Australia and Japan

Australia and Japan, designated as the southern and northern poles, respectively, of the spiritual axis, share certain characteristics in common

[Page 9]

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The formation in 1957 of a regional National Spiritual Assembly centered in Tokyo was hailed by the Guardian as ‘a momentous development paving the way for the eventual introduction of the Faith into the far-flung Chinese mainland and, beyond it, to the extensive territories of Soviet Russia.’

---

while they are complementary in other ways.

Both share the bounty of having been opened to the Faith during the Ministry of the Center of the Covenant, by Bahá’ís who came as pioneers from America and who were later to be designated as Hands of the Cause of God. The Guardian refers to the Japanese and Australian Bahá’í communities as having had “the inestimable privilege of being called into being in the lifetime of, and through the operation of the dynamic forces released by the Centre of Bahá’u’lláh’s Covenant.”²⁴

Both are destined to shoulder great responsibilities in service to the Cause. The Guardian indicated that the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand would “contribute, to a degree unsuspected as yet by its members, its full share to the world-wide establishment of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, the emancipation of its Oriental followers, the recognition of its independence, the birth of its World Order and the emergence of ... world civilization.”²⁵

He further designated the Japanese Bahá’ís as “destined to have a preponderating share in awakening the peoples and races inhabiting the entire Pacific area, to the Message of Bahá’u’lláh, and to act as the Vanguard of His hosts in their future spiritual conquest of the main body of the yellow race on the Chinese mainland.”²⁶

The formation in 1957 of a regional National Spiritual Assembly centered in Tokyo was hailed by the Guardian as “a momentous development paving the way for the eventual introduction of the Faith into the far-flung Chinese mainland and, beyond it, to the extensive territories of Soviet Russia.”²⁷

In addition, there are complementary characteristics. Australia has a small population spread over a large area, whereas Japan has a large population concentrated in a relatively small area. Commercially, these two nations have become important trading partners in recent years, with the vast natural resources of Australia balanced by the mighty industrial technology of Japan.

The Guardian analyzed the Australian Bahá’í community as showing “exemplary loyalty,” “unsparing devotion,” “keen enthusiasm,” “persistent endeavours” and “willingness to sacrifice.”²⁸ On one occasion, he said, through his secretary, that “the soundness, healthiness and vigour” of the Australian Bahá’í community “is an example to the Bahá’ís in other continents of the globe.”²⁹

The Japanese people were described by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as being “intelligent and sagacious”³⁰ and as having “the power of rapid assimilation” and of being “endowed with a most remarkable capacity for the spread of the Cause of God.”³¹ Shoghi Effendi praised the Japanese people for their “great vision and spirituality”³² and for being “so sensitive to every form of beauty both spiritual and material.”³³ The Guardian also wrote that “the love of the Japanese people for truth and beauty is very great.”³⁴

It is clear that the Australian and Japanese Bahá’ís share great opportunities and responsibilities for the future progress of the Faith, and that their characteristics are complementary rather than identical. It thus follows that unity and close cooperation between the two communities allows these complementary qualities to be combined to produce an amalgam having a capacity and potential far greater than that of the individual national communities themselves.

This complementary quality may well be one of the secrets behind the mystery of the spiritual axis, and the profound influence that the axis is destined to have on the future growth of the Faith.

Developing the spiritual axis

The Bahá’í writings clearly indicate measures to be taken, and pitfalls to be avoided, in the development of the spiritual axis. As early as 1918, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote to Agnes Alexander, who was then a pioneer to Japan, advising her that “Effort must be exerted ... that East and West, like unto two longing souls, may embrace each other in the utmost of love.”³⁵

In his message concerning the spiritual axis, Shoghi Effendi designated “the close and continued association” of the Australian and Japanese Bahá’í communities in raising and consolidating the World Order as being “a matter of vital and urgent importance.”³⁶ One historic milestone in that close association was the unprecedented joint consultation of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Japan and Australia at the International Bahá’í Conference last September in Canberra.

The Guardian also identified three barriers, which form part of the life of the two nations and which must be overcome in order to effect and maintain that association. These barriers are:

• “... great ... distance that separates them ...”
• “... they differ in race, language, custom, and religion ...”
• “... active ... political forces which tend to keep them apart and foster racial and political antagonisms ...”³⁷

The Universal House of Justice commented on that passage recently, pointing out that “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 Bahá’í communities on either side of the axis.”³⁸

A significant outcome of the spiritual axis is the execution of collective projects by the Japanese and Australian Bahá’í communities, with the support of Bahá’ís in other areas. The Guardian indicated that the spiritual axis was “destined to affect, to a marked degree, the destinies of the Faith

[Page 10] throughout the islands of the Pacific Ocean in the years immediately ahead,”³⁹ and he spoke of “the collective enterprises that must, sooner or later, be launched and carried to a successful conclusion by the island communities situated in the Northern and Southern regions as well as in the heart of the Pacific Ocean.”⁴⁰

The Guardian also called on Australia to “lend whatever assistance is possible” to the Bahá’í community of New Zealand so that, in the future, that community might also “share, in a befitting manner”⁴¹ in these collective endeavors.

The Universal House of Justice has designated as one of the goals of the Seven Year Plan “a joint team teaching project to the Caroline Islands” to be planned and carried out as a collaborative effort by the National Spiritual Assemblies of Australia and Japan. No doubt this project, important as it is, will prove to be no more than the beginning of a vast program of collaboration in projects in the Pacific Islands and in Asia, stretching forth into the distant future of the Formative Age of the Faith.

The effect on the world

Shoghi Effendi, in a letter written in 1922, his first message to the Bahá’ís of Japan in his capacity as Guardian of the Faith, quoted the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as stating: “Japan, with (another country whose name He stated but bade us conceal for the present) will take the lead in the spiritual re-awakening of the peoples and nations that the world shall soon witness.”⁴²

In light of later references by the Guardian to the relationship between Japan and Australia, it appears reasonable to entertain the possibility that perhaps these were the two countries to which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá referred, and that the power of the spiritual axis will be to effect “the spiritual re-awakening of the peoples and nations” so desperately needed by a social order which is, throughout the world, infected with “materialism, greed, corruption and conflict.”⁴³

NOTES

1. Shoghi Effendi, Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand 1923-1947.
2. “Japan Will Turn Ablaze,” compilation.
3. Tablets of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Vol. 1.
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
6. Shoghi Effendi, in “The Power of Divine Assistance,” compilation.
7. Universal House of Justice, Wellspring of Guidance.
8. The Divine Art of Living, compilation.
9. Citadel of Faith, p. 29.
10. Shoghi Effendi, Messages to America 1932-1946, p. 33.
11. Wellspring of Guidance.
12. Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand 1923-1947.
13. Universal House of Justice, message to the Asian/Australasian Bahá’í Conference in Canberra, September 1982.
14. Message to the Asian/Australasian Bahá’í Conference, September 1982.
15. Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1968-1973.
16. Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand 1923-1947.
17. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 13.
18. Shoghi Effendi, “The Unfolding Destiny of the British Bahá’í Community,” p. 365.
19. The Bahá’í World, Vol. XII, pp. 180-81.
20. Message to the Asian/Australian Bahá’í Conference in Canberra, September 1982.
21. “Star of the West” magazine, Vol. III, No. 3, p. 37.
22. The Bahá’í World, Vol. XIII, p. 302.
23. Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1968-1973.
24. Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand 1923-1947.
25. Ibid.
26. Ibid.
27. “Japan Will Turn Ablaze,” compilation.
28. Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand 1923-1947.
29. Ibid.
30. “Japan Will Turn Ablaze,” compilation.
31. Ibid.
32. Ibid.
33. Ibid.
34. Ibid.
35. Ibid.
36. Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand 1923-1947.
37. Ibid.
38. Message to the Asian/Australian Bahá’í Conference in Canberra, September 1982.
39. “Japan Will Turn Ablaze,” compilation.
40. Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand 1923-1947.
41. Ibid.
42. “Japan Will Turn Ablaze,” compilation.
43. Message to the Asian/Australian Bahá’í Conference in Canberra, September 1982.

[Page 11]

The world

Performing group proclaims Faith in UK

The Faith is being proclaimed in the United Kingdom through the efforts of five Bahá’ís who have created a musical performance entitled “The Seasons of Man” that was presented in eight cities of northeastern England and southern Scotland last summer.

During that tour, members of the group, known as “Fire and Snow,” were interviewed for 30 minutes on Radio Aire in Leeds.

Now back on the road for a second season, Fire and Snow is generating even more media interest.

Reports in the local paper followed a recent performance in Newmarket, after which members of the group were interviewed on BBC Radio Cambridge’s “Sunday Company” magazine program during which the Faith was discussed.

A recent breakthrough was achieved with two non-Bahá’í bookings for Fire and Snow. The group was scheduled to appear at the Luton Theatre Festival and at East Warwickshire College in Rugby.

* * *

The Faith received its most extensive press coverage to date in Northern Ireland last November 27-December 10 when more than 300 column inches in newspapers throughout the province were devoted to Bahá’í-related articles.

Much of the coverage was centered on two traveling teachers who were making separate but almost simultaneous visits to Northern Ireland.

The two, American poet and writer Dorothy Lee Hansen and Dr. Geoffrey Nash from England, were interviewed by several newspapers. Dr. Nash is the author of Iran’s Secret Pogrom, an account of the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran.

One journal in Northern Ireland devoted almost one full page to a review of Dr. Nash’s book. Ms. Hansen also was interviewed on radio.

Another source for publicity during this period was a successful reception held for dignitaries in Ballymena. This was especially welcome, since Ballymena has a reputation for Christian fundamentalism.

The deputy mayor of the town attended in his official capacity, and became so involved that at the end of the reception he expressed his warm appreciation for having been invited and pledged that he and his council would do all they could to focus public awareness on the plight of Bahá’ís in Iran.

In a sadder vein, public interest also was aroused by publicity given to reports of the tragic death of Dr. Daniel C. Jordan, the vice-chairman of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly.

This resulted from Dr. Jordan’s close ties with Northern Ireland; his wife, Nancy, is a native of Larne, and their marriage ceremony in 1956 was the first Bahá’í wedding ever to take place in the province.

* * *

A beautiful white magnolia tree was planted last September 25 in the eastern corner of the Canterbury Cathedral precincts by local Bahá’ís in memory of the martyred Bahá’ís in Iran. The tree is in a direct line with the cathedral altar, as it faces the Holy Land.

The Dean of Canterbury said he felt privileged to be associated with this planting in the most sacred place in the cathedral precincts. “This tree will be a reminder of those who have given their lives for God,” he said.

Among those present on the occasion were the chairman and secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom.

Dominican Republic

Shown during their visit last October 30-31 to the Dominican Republic are Continental Counsellors (left to right) Carmen de Burafato, Ruth Pringle and Dr. Farzam Arbab. The Counsellors met with members of the National Spiritual Assembly, the National Teaching Committee, and other interested friends. Consultation centered on ways in which a teaching-deepening program used in Colombia through the auspices of the Ruhi Bahá’í School there might be used in the Dominican Republic. Counsellors Pringle and de Burafato also spoke at an evening proclamation meeting at the National Library.

[Page 12]

Panama

United Nations Human Rights Day was observed last December 10 in Panama City, Panama, with a chamber music concert sponsored by the Spiritual Assemblies of Panama City and Ancon. The concert marked the debut of a newly formed quartet. The program included a talk on the Faith and the Bahá’í view of human rights by Rachel Constante, a member of the Spiritual Assembly of Panama City.

Samoa

This photograph, taken last December 15, shows the erection of reinforcing steel bars in the dome ribs of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Apia, Western Samoa.

Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í women from several Pacific communities participated last fall in a two-day women’s conference in Apia, Western Samoa, that was planned in honor of the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf.

Speakers at the conference included Her Highness Masiofo Lili Malietoa, the wife of His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II; the Malietoa’s sister, Her Highness Salamasina Malietoa; Counsellor Tinai Hancock; and Pa Arika Lady Davis, a Bahá’í who is the wife of the prime minister of the Cook Islands.

Auxiliary Board members from Kiribati, Tuvalu, the Cook Islands and Samoa participated in the conference which also was attended by a Maori woman from New Zealand.

Singapore

Nanyang Siang Pau, the leading Chinese-language daily newspaper in Singapore, last September 9 carried a photograph and report of an interview with a Bahá’í delegation to its editorial offices where the visitors were received by the deputy chief editor.

Later, a reporter from the paper visited the home of the assistant secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly to obtain more information about the Faith for a longer article.

Among the members of the Bahá’í delegation that visited the newspaper offices was Dr. Marco Kappenberger, a Bahá’í from Switzerland who is a Bahá’í observer at the United Nations in Geneva.

During his visit to Singapore, Dr. Kappenberger lunched with Professor Ho Wing Meng of the department of philosophy at the National University of Singapore.

With him during that visit were Murray Samuel, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Singapore, and Shirin Fozdar. Five Bahá’í books were presented to Professor Meng.

* * *

Eight people were enrolled in the Faith in Singapore during a two-week period last December.

Six of the new Bahá’ís accepted the Faith during a fireside conducted by a traveling teacher from Western Malaysia who dedicated a few weeks of his school holidays to teaching in Singapore.

Two others embraced the Cause during the Singapore Winter School held the last week in December.

[Page 13]

Belize

One hundred-sixteen Bahá’ís and their guests including 41 children from all six districts of Belize participated last December in a four-day Bahá’í Winter School held on a farm in the west central part of the country near its border with Guatemala.

Classes for youth and adults included presentations on the meaning of sacrifice. Local teachers were joined by two visitors from the United States and Canada who also conducted classes.

Separate sessions were provided for children from the ages of 3 to 13 years, and a special class for youth was held each day of the Winter School.

During the afternoons participants chose between selected arts and crafts, drama or choir. On the final day, each activity class presented its special project to the entire school.

The art class prepared an art mural of dough depicting people of all races; the drama class prepared several skits with Bahá’í themes, and the choir sang several new songs its members had learned during the school sessions.

Also on the final day, the children presented highlights of their Saturday evening talent show to everyone present.

Finland

Special visitors to Finland during B.E. 139 included the Hand of the Cause of God and Mrs. H. Collis Featherstone, who attended the Finnish Bahá’í Summer School, and Counsellors Hartmut Grossman, who attended a teaching conference in Jyvaskyla, and Betty Reed, who participated in the Finnish Bahá’í Winter School.

Stirred by this impulse, the Finnish Bahá’í community has embarked on a two-pronged campaign of personal teaching and proclamation.

The first year of the teaching campaign, which is to run through the remainder of the Seven Year Plan, is dedicated to the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf. The effort is focused upon winning the remaining goals of the Plan and deepenings for individuals and small groups.

Also scheduled is a week-long nationwide proclamation designed to reach “key figures” in Finland including those who live where there is presently no Bahá’í community. Each of these prominent persons will be contacted by letter and sent an information booklet especially designed for the proclamation week.

Besides special teaching projects to help win the youth goals in Finland, the Bahá’í youth there now have a Bahá’í school of higher education.

Using lectures, extensive home assignments, and other projects, the youth are tackling such subjects as The Dawn-breakers, The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, and the challenges of being a Bahá’í youth in today’s world.

The task is made harder by the fact that much of their study and deepening materials have not yet been translated into Finnish.

Shown are participants in the 1982 Finnish Bahá’í Winter School. Counsellor Betty Reed (standing at left in second row) was among the speakers.

Pictured here are participants in the Bahá’í Summer School held last year in Savonlinna, Finland. A special guest at the school was the Hand of the Cause of God H. Collis Featherstone (standing in front row left of center in dark coat).

[Page 14]

Solomon Islands

Pictured here are Bahá’ís who attended the Guadalcanal Regional Teaching Conference last October 23-24 in Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.

More than 120 Bahá’ís and their guests attended an interfaith observance of United Nations Day last October 24 at the Bahá’í National Center in Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands.

The program, following the format used for a similar UN Day observance at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Sydney, Australia, included selected writings from the world’s great religions interspersed with songs by a local choir composed of Bahá’ís.

An edited version of the program was broadcast that evening by the national radio network in the Solomons.

The UN Day program was held as a part of the Guadalcanal Regional Teaching Conference October 23-24 that was attended by many Bahá’ís from outlying areas who experienced their first large Bahá’í gathering and their first opportunity to help arrange such an event.

The conference featured reports on teaching from the Bahá’í International Conference held last September 2-5 in Canberra, Australia.

Benin

Increased teaching efforts in Benin have resulted in the recent formation of one new Spiritual Assembly in the Borgou region, one in the Mono, and four in the Zou, with six more Assemblies to be formed in Zou in the near future.

The National Spiritual Assembly of Benin traces the upsurge in teaching to the efforts of 18 traveling teachers who visited the country before and after the International Conference in Lagos, Nigeria.

“Partly as a result of this,” the National Spiritual Assembly writes, “a delegation of 120 Beninese men, women, youth and children from all six provinces went to Lagos. The repercussions of their participation are still being felt as those who attended recount their experiences to their families and friends and engage in heightened teaching activity.”

Benin’s National Assembly has written letters of appreciation to each of the traveling teachers.

Mexico

Shown here are some of the Bahá’ís and their friends who participated last September in a deepening institute for new believers held in the village of Guegovela, Oaxaca, Mexico. The institute, dedicated to the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf, was sponsored by the Regional Teaching Committee of Oaxaca and featured presentations on her life, progressive revelation, the Covenant, prayer and meditation, and the importance of unity.

[Page 15]

Papua New Guinea

Shown here are participants in a Pidgin English deepening institute called ‘Lanim Moa Skul’ that was held last December 18-19 in Keravat, Papua New Guinea. Seven of those who attended the two-day institute declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

About 40 adults and children participated last December 18-19 in “Lanim Moa Skul,” a Bahá’í deepening institute in Pidgin English held in Keravat, Papua New Guinea.

Speakers included two members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Papua New Guinea, Paul Bluett and David Hall, and Auxiliary Board member Ruhi Mills.

Mr. Hall, who is secretary of the National Assembly, conducted a workshop session on use of the teaching booklet.

Three Bahá’í youth from Australia, Canada and Papua New Guinea spoke about Badi’ and about Bahá’í youth activities in their respective countries.

Seven people at the institute declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

Children sing songs about the Faith during a ‘Seminar on Family Life’ held last October 24 in Rabaul, Papua New Guinea, to commemorate United Nations Day. More than 80 people from many provinces of Papua New Guinea and from India, Bangladesh and the United States participated including the minister and choir from a local Seventh Day Adventist church.

Zimbabwe

Twenty-four people at the Gonza Secondary School in Mhondoro, Zimbabwe, declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during a recent visit to the school by a group of Bahá’ís.

The new believers at the school include a teacher who heads the institution’s secondary wing.

Several students expressed a wish to enroll after completing further study of the Faith.

The visit was part of a teaching effort aimed at several primary and secondary schools and training centers, many of which were being revisited.

* * *

Children from five communities in Zimbabwe attended a recent children’s conference at Mutsigiri Farm where they heard stories about the life of Bahá’u’lláh, participated in lively discussions, and sang songs.

A talk on the attributes of Bahá’í life was followed by a spontaneous presentation by the children of small plays illustrating particular attributes assigned to their group. It was evident that the children returned home delighted with their experience in this new learning technique.

* * *

Twenty-five people attended a recent regional Bahá’í Women’s Conference that was sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Mashonaland, Zimbabwe.

Participants studied the life of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the principles of Bahá’í family life, and several domestic topics including pregnancy and child care.

The gathering was marked by a high spirit of enthusiasm and active audience participation.

Burma

Forty Bahá’ís representing 11 Local Spiritual Assemblies in Burma participated in a recent teaching campaign that carried the Faith to almost all areas around Mandalay City including 13 nearby villages.

As a result of the project, four people have been enrolled as Bahá’ís.

An attractive invitation card was distributed to about 900 households, and nearly 200 requests for more information about the Faith were received.

[Page 16]

Bermuda

Speakers at the United Nations Day observance last November 7 in Hamilton, Bermuda, were (left to right) Merle Martin, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board; Mary Walker, vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Bermuda; His Excellency Sir Richard Posnett, governor of Bermuda; Nancy Mondschein, the representative of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly to the United Nations; Randall Butler, an aide to the governor; and Leighton Rochester (standing), chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Bermuda.

United Nations Day was observed in Bermuda last November 7 with a program at the city hall in Hamilton that was sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of Bermuda.

One of the guest speakers was His Excellency Sir Richard Posnett, the governor of Bermuda and a long-time friend of the Faith, who told the audience of Bahá’ís and their guests that he felt compelled to speak (in spite of a painful back injury suffered only five days before) because of his experience in Kampala, Uganda, at the time of the brutal murder of the Hand of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga, and because the United Nations is dear to his heart as he worked there for four years as a member of the mission from the United Kingdom.

In 1979, the governor arrived in Kampala one day after the withdrawal from the capital of Idi Amin’s forces.

The following morning, he said, he was at breakfast when someone ran in to tell him of a tragedy five or six doors down the road.

Arriving at the Olinga home, Sir Richard found the Hand of the Cause lying dead in the driveway and his wife and three children inside the house. All of them had been shot to death.

Two months after becoming governor of Bermuda, Sir Richard mentioned the Faith in a talk that was carried on radio and television and covered in all three of Bermuda’s newspapers.

Another of the UN Day speakers was Nancy Mondschein, the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly’s representative at the United Nations, whose topic was “The Bahá’í Faith and the United Nations.”

Entertainment was provided by Joy Blackett, a member of the Bahá’í community of Pembroke, Bermuda, who is an internationally known mezzo-soprano concert and opera singer.

Joy Blackett (at microphone), a Bahá’í from Bermuda who is a renowned mezzo-soprano opera and concert singer, is shown performing during the United Nations Day observance last November 7 in Hamilton, Bermuda.

Argentina

Nine teaching teams, formed recently in Argentina to carry out expansion and consolidation work, are proclaiming the Faith to all strata of society.

Each of eight teams, whose membership changes slightly for various projects, is dedicated to the memory of one of the recent Persian martyrs with members of that martyr’s family on the team.

The ninth team is dedicated to the memory of Amoz Gibson, a member of the Universal House of Justice who died last year.

The teams are working to overcome the obstacle of the vast empty spaces in Argentina that hinder the exchange of news and activities.

[Page 17]

Hawaii

Twenty Filipino Bahá’ís from five major islands in the Hawaiian chain attended the first Filipino Teaching Conference in Hawaii last February 4-6 at the Bahá’í National Center in Honolulu.

The National Teaching Committee of Hawaii, inspired by the directive from the Universal House of Justice to train Filipino teachers there during the Seven Year Plan, sponsored and planned the gathering to “stimulate, encourage and inspire” the participants.

Speakers at the conference, which was conducted in Ilocano, the predominant Filipino dialect spoken in Hawaii, included Counsellor Ben Ayala, who is himself Filipino.

The sessions were marked by frank and open consultation on a variety of topics. An evening session included Filipino dancing and singing, and participants shared stories of how they had become Bahá’ís and offered ideas and suggestions for teaching others.

Two of the participants said their attendance increased their pride in being Filipino. One said she had grown up being “ashamed” of her heritage, but said that the conference had helped to change her feelings.

The other spoke of how surprisingly comfortable it had been to be in a group of Bahá’ís that was primarily Filipino and how confident she had suddenly become in her use of her native dialect.

The small but historic gathering was permeated by a sense of significance and festive homecoming.

Pictured with members of the sponsoring National Teaching Committee of the Hawaiian Islands are 20 Filipino Bahá’ís from five major islands in the Hawaiian chain who attended the first Filipino Teaching Conference last February 4-6 at the Bahá’í National Center in Honolulu.

Central African Republic

Progress on a goal of the Seven Year Plan is reported by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Central African Republic with the translation and publication of Bahá’í literature in French and Sango.

Working closely with the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, the National Spiritual Assembly recently published a selection of prayers and excerpts from The Hidden Words in French under the title Prayers and Meditations; a French edition of The Remembrance of God; and Manual for the Functioning of a Local Spiritual Assembly, also in French, that is described as being of special usefulness in villages.

A compilation on Bahá’í family life has been translated into Sango and French. Also published is a textbook in Sango for use in children’s classes and a booklet in Sango for deepening on Bahá’í family life. Other booklets are in the process of publication.

Pakistan

More than 200 Bahá’ís from 19 localities joined many non-Bahá’í guests last December 24-28 at the Winter School in Hyderabad, Pakistan.

Speakers included members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Pakistan and the Auxiliary Board. Counsellor Ṣábir Áfáqí sent a special message to the participants.

Seventeen teachers including women, youth and elderly Bahá’ís conducted a variety of classes that focused on the history of the Faith; Bahá’í principles, laws and administration. Separate classes for children were arranged by the National Youth and Education Committee.

Each morning, following individual prayer, special prayers were read for the persecuted Bahá’ís in Iran.

Each evening, Bahá’í youth from various localities presented programs including songs with Bahá’í themes and skits that were well received.

On one evening, the National Ladies Committee conducted a bazaar. On another evening, participants were divided into three workshop groups to discuss the Bahá’í life, teaching, and pioneering.

* * *

World Religion Day was observed January 17 in Karachi, Pakistan, with a public seminar that featured representatives of the Bahá’í, Christian, Hindu and Zoroastrian faiths discussing “the need for religion.”

[Page 18] Don’t miss a major publishing event of the 1980s!

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