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Bahá’í News

June 1983

Bahá’í Year 140

World Peace Day Observance
in Colombo, Sri Lanka

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Bahá’í News

A prayer by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which mentions martyrs and persecutions	1
A prominent official in Shíráz says there is ‘no place in Iran’ for Bahá’ís	2
The Bahá’í community’s response to persecutions in Iran is reviewed	3
A statement on disarmament by the Bahá’í International Community	8
Further development of the Rabbani Bahá’í School in Gwalior, India	10
Around the world: News from Bahá’í communities all over the globe	12

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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The Universal House of Justice has sent to all National Spiritual Assemblies the following prayer revealed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in which mention is made of persecutions, the martyred friends and their relatives. The prayer is for general use. • He is God O Lord my God! O Thou Helper of the feeble, Succourer of the poor and Deliverer of the helpless who turn unto Thee. With utmost lowliness I raise my suppliant hands to Thy kingdom of beauty and fervently call upon Thee with my inner tongue, saying: O God, my God! Aid me to adore Thee; strengthen my loins to serve Thee; assist me by Thy grace in my servitude to Thee; suffer me to remain steadfast in my obedience to Thee; pour forth upon me the liberal effusions of Thy bounty, let the glances of the eye of Thy loving-kindness be directed towards me, and immerse me in the ocean of Thy forgiveness. Grant that I may be confirmed in my allegiance to Thy Faith, and bestow upon me a fuller measure of certitude and assurance, that I may wholly dispense with the world, may turn my face with entire devotion towards Thy face, be reinforced by the compelling power of proofs and testimonies, and, invested with majesty and power, may pass beyond every region of heaven and earth. Verily Thou art the Merciful, the All-Glorious, the Kind, the Compassionate. O Lord! These are the survivors of the martyrs, that company of blessed souls. They have sustained every tribulation and displayed patience in the face of grievous injustice. They have forsaken all comfort and prosperity, have willingly submitted to dire suffering and adversity in the path of Thy love, and are still held captive in the clutches of their enemies who continually torment them with sore torment, and oppress them because they walk steadfastly in Thy straight path. There is no one to help them, no one to befriend them. Apart from the ignoble and the wicked, there is no one to associate and consort with them. O Lord! These souls have tasted bitter agony in this earthly life and have, as a sign of their love for the shining beauty of Thy countenance and in their eagerness to attain Thy celestial kingdom, tolerated every gross indignity that the people of tyranny have inflicted upon them. O Lord! Fill their ears with the verses of divine assistance and of a speedy victory, and deliver them from the oppression of such as wield terrible might. Withhold the hands of the wicked, and leave not these souls to be torn by the claws and teeth of fierce beasts, for they are captivated by their love for Thee, entrusted with the mysteries of Thy holiness, stand humbly at Thy door and have attained to Thine exalted precinct. O Lord! Graciously reinforce them with a new spirit; illumine their eyes by enabling them to behold Thy wondrous evidences in the gloom of night; destine for them all good that aboundeth in Thy kingdom of eternal mysteries; make them as brilliant stars shining over all regions, luxuriant trees laden with fruit and branches moving in the breezes of dawn. Verily, Thou art the Bountiful, the Mighty, the Omnipotent, the Unconstrained. There is none other God but Thee, the God of love and tender mercy, the All-Glorious, the Ever-Forgiving.

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Islamic judge: ‘Recant or be dealt with’

The president of the Islamic Revolutionary Court of Shíráz, Iran, is quoted in a newspaper interview as saying, “It is absolutely certain that in the Islamic Republic of Iran there is no place whatsoever for Bahá’ís and Bahá’ísm.”

The interview with Hojjatol-Islam Qazai, which appeared in the February 22 edition of the daily newspaper Khabar-i-Junúb, offers further evidence in support of what the Bahá’ís in Iran have always maintained, namely, that the government there is determined to eliminate the more active members of the Bahá’í community, particularly those elected to Assemblies, in the hope that by coupling such action with constant pressure and harassment of the mass of Bahá’ís, the Faith will be uprooted and destroyed.

“Before it is too late,” Mr. Qazai, who is also the religious judge in Shíráz, is quoted as saying, “the Bahá’ís should recant Bahá’ísm, which is condemned by reason and logic.

“Otherwise, the day will soon come when the Islamic nation will deal with them in accordance with its religious obligations, like it has dealt with other hypocrites who have appeared in more dangerous garb and have religious and satanic gatherings.”

The Revolutionary Court in Shíráz has sentenced 22 Bahá’ís to death, three of whom—two men and one woman—were hanged in March.

Following are excerpts from the interview with Mr. Qazai:

“The Iranian nation has arisen in accordance with Koranic teachings and by the will of God has determined to establish the Government of God on earth.

“Therefore, it cannot tolerate the perverted Bahá’ís who are instruments of Satan and followers of the devil and of the super powers and their agents, such as the Universal House of Justice of Israel.

“It is absolutely certain that in the Islamic Republic of Iran there is no place whatsoever for Bahá’ís and Bahá’ísm ....

“We witness that these germs of corruption (Bahá’ís), who are offsprings of Satan and mercenary agents of the House of Justice of Israel, have created, however ridiculously, a state within a state, and a government and administration different from that of Islam.

“It is laughable that in spite of this they claim to be loyal to the government and obedient to its laws. But this claim is a cover to hide their separation from the nation.

“The Bahá’ís of Iran have one-, five- and 10-year plans, which are being formulated by the colonialist satans and are being executed by the followers of Bahá’ísm ....

“According to their religion, Bahá’ís consider themselves obligated to follow the Universal House of Justice, and the House of Justice is obligated according to Bahá’í principles to follow the government of Israel.

“In spite of all this, the Bahá’ís in Iran are not being arrested merely because they are Bahá’ís; those who are active members of their administration are being arrested because of their direct or indirect relation with the House of Justice.

“Only those who attach no value to the martyrs of the Islamic Republic, and to the people and government of Iran, are imprisoned. Such people are clear manifestations of ‘the leaders of infidelity and Koffar-i-Harbi’ (infidels against whom war is incumbent).

“I hereby announce to the Bahá’ís that if they consider themselves loyal to the laws of the Islamic Republic and its Constitution, then in accordance with Article 13 of the Constitution any activities on the part of the Bahá’ís are against the Constitution, and the election of their Assemblies, the committees, Feasts, etc., are all crimes, and according to the Constitution those who commit such crimes are considered criminals.

“I take this opportunity to advise all fair-minded and intelligent Bahá’ís to return to the bosom of highly-esteemed Islam and wash from their faces the shame of following Bahá’ísm, which is a product of colonialism ....

“Before it is too late the Bahá’ís should recant Bahá’ísm, which is condemned by reason and logic.

“Bahá’ís should know that they are not more powerful than the hypocrites and that the nation of the Party of God (Muslims) is not powerless in uprooting them.

“Praised be to God that many Bahá’ís return to the bosom of Islam every day and curse the leaders of Bahá’ísm. Daily newspapers are a witness to the logical action of some of these people.”

Speaking of the condemnation to death of more than 20 Bahá’ís in Shíráz, Mr. Qazai says:

“It has been proven that those who are condemned to death have been active members of Bahá’ísm, from whom the simple people cannot escape.

“The attachment of these condemned Bahá’ís to internal and external devils is true beyond any doubt, and their enmity to Islam and Muslims largely evident.”

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A response to recent persecutions in Iran

The nature of persecution, whether religious or political, has prompted scholars and serious writers to consider usually one of four approaches.¹ Martyrology is a legitimate enterprise that “preserves and memorializes the tragic events” ensuing from the persecution.² A second approach would describe the resistance, whether active or passive, in the face of relentless oppression.³ The study of specific policies and the mechanism of destruction provides a third avenue,⁴ while the human face of the persecuted group itself constitutes yet a fourth view.⁵ This last approach is essentially an ethnographic account of the day-to-day living of the victims of persecution.

Available materials when considering the recently intensified persecution of the Bahá’í community in Iran lend themselves to a thorough study of the social context in which a persecuted religious minority finds itself. The theme of this paper is to demonstrate how efforts of the Shi’ih authorities to politicize the Bahá’í situation have largely failed and to explain why the Bahá’í community has continued to exist despite the pressures of persecution. As a result of these events, the Bahá’í community has emerged from social obscurity.

Throughout its 138-year history, since 1844, the Bahá’í Faith in Iran has known persecution. There is a

This article, entitled “Emerging from Obscurity: The Response of the Iranian Bahá’í Community to Persecution, 1978-1982,” is reprinted with permission from the Fall 1982 issue (Vol. III, No. 1) of Conflict Quarterly. It was written by Dr. Will C. van den Hoonaard, a Bahá’í who is director of the Atlantic Regional Studies Program and assistant professor of sociology at the University of New Brunswick, Canada.

considerable body of literature which addresses the nature of opposition to this Faith. Nabil’s Narrative⁶ provides eyewitness accounts of persecutions in the 1844-53 period, as does Count Gobineau’s well-known work.⁷ However, not many reports exist to furnish us with accounts of the persecutions that occurred between 1853 and 1921.⁸

The 1921-1979 period, also relatively little documented, was more recently covered in a lengthy article by D. Martin in Middle East Focus.⁹ All these documented materials show that the basis of the persecution lies squarely in the hands of the Shi’ih clergy. With the heightened wave of persecution since the declaration of the Islamic Republic in late 1978, a good number of authentic documents pertaining to both persecutors and the persecuted have come to our attention.¹⁰ In 1982, three books are being published as complete accounts of the persecutions.¹¹ All of these accounts serve to underscore the fact that the persecution of the Bahá’í community in Iran has been continuous, regardless of regime or time. One report states the following:

“The Bahá’í community as a whole ... suffered sustained and systematic persecution under the Shah, and its members were relegated to second-class citizens, a practice which the present regime has easily inherited.”¹²

It is important to stress the point that the current outbreak of religious persecution against the Bahá’ís should not be simply regarded as some unfortunate outcome of the revolution in Iran.

The main elements of the more recent persecutions are actually derived from what has happened earlier: a thorough denial of all common civil and human rights. Bahá’í marriage is not recognized in Iran, and thus a wife is open to prosecution for prostitution. The institutions of the Bahá’í Faith have also been denied the right to function as legitimate corporate bodies. No public religious services are permitted, Bahá’í schools have been closed down, and Bahá’í literature cannot be published or distributed.

Bahá’ís, who are imprisoned or executed under the current wave of persecution, are “typically charged with ‘spreading corruption throughout the world, spying for Zionist forces, promoting U.S. imperialism and sympathizing with the former regime.’ ”¹³ These charges are particularly offensive to a religious community which, despite provocation, continues to be apolitical. The apolitical nature of the Bahá’í community is not only apparent from its teachings,¹⁴ but also from various researched reports assembled by disinterested parties.¹⁵ It was this same apolitical attitude that led Bahá’ís not to join the former Shah’s Rastakhiz Party in 1976. The Shah had established a one-party system as a means of removing opposition, and many Iranians who are associated with the present regime were members of this party.

The current wave of persecution is based on a three-point plan that aims at strangulating and, eventually, completely extirpating the Iranian Bahá’í community from Persian soil. This has led some analysts to look upon this plan as the “Final Solution.”¹⁶ This plan involves (a) confiscation or destruction of Bahá’í Holy Places and properties and the freezing or seizing of assets owned by Bahá’ís; (b) the arrest and execution of prominent Bahá’ís; and (c) the intimidation of the rank-and-file membership. The statistics available provide evidence that the persecution is indeed substantial. There are more than 10,000 homeless

[Page 4] Bahá’ís, at least 150 are held in prison without charges, 113 have been executed, and at least 14 have disappeared or been kidnapped.¹⁷ It would indeed be a complete misunderstanding of the Iranian situation if one were to equate the severe persecution of the Bahá’ís with the restrictions imposed upon the other minority faiths, which are all legally recognized. While these latter faiths have rights enjoined upon them as “people of the Book,” the Bahá’ís are ostracized, and persecuted, to the extreme.

Bahá’í Holy Places, properties and assets

The denial of recognition as a minority religion under the new Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran¹⁸ has abetted unrestrained action on the part of mobs and official elements to confiscate and destroy all Bahá’í properties. Bahá’í holding companies—necessary institutions in Iran because official Bahá’í bodies have never been recognized—were completely sequestered, and this paved the way for seizure of all Bahá’í property. Local and national assets have been frozen, including a Bahá’í hospital, clinic and an agricultural institute. Bahá’í cemeteries have been destroyed. Religious sites have been confiscated, razed to the ground or occupied. One of the most sacred Holy Places in the Bahá’í world, the House of the Báb¹⁹ in Shiraz, was ravaged to the ground despite assurances to the contrary by the authorities.

Arrest and execution of prominent Bahá’ís

In various localities throughout Iran, members of local Bahá’í governing bodies have been summarily arrested and executed, and the members of the Faith’s recently reconstituted national governing body met the same fate. Complaints from Bahá’í governing bodies have not been registered by the authorities because these bodies are not officially recognized and are thus seen as “non-existent.”

Intimidation of the rank and file

The purpose of the persecution is to cut off to all Bahá’ís the basic source of such fundamental needs as food, shelter, and personal security. Iranian institutions and authorities have embarked on institutional persecution of the membership. Students have had to return scholarships, schools have expelled 70,000 Bahá’í children,²¹ students’ diplomas have been denied after completion of training or studies, students have been harassed and attempts at brainwashing have occurred, and pensions have been denied to both pensioners and widows. Hundreds of Bahá’ís have been affected in the educational, public health, and civil service sectors. The denial of trade licenses and the refusal to issue birth certificates further exacerbates the Bahá’í situation. The recent identity card re-registration program²² ensures that citizens can acquire the staples of livelihood and fuel. The Bahá’í community, however, has been denied this right.

What the institutions cannot effect, the fanatical mobs have been empowered, through silence and inaction on the part of authorities, to accomplish. A campaign to inflict physical harm on individual Bahá’ís and their families with the purpose of creating confusion and fear is under way.²³ Injury through traffic “accidents,” setting fire to people, raping, forcing Bahá’ís to recant, abducting children, and killing by stoning, hanging, beating, or torture portray the images of a pogrom. Even the dead are not untouched by this violence. Many executed Bahá’ís are unceremoniously, often clandestinely, buried. Graves and cemeteries have been desecrated and destroyed and bodies disinterred, looted and burned.

Who is implicated?

The organizational responsibility for this persecution seems to lie in the hands of the Tablighat-i-Islami (“Society for the Propagation of Islam”),²⁴ a fundamentalist Muslim group whose chief designs are to infiltrate and destroy the Bahá’í community, first under SAVAK during the reign of the Shah,²⁵ and currently working with the blessings of the present regime. Another organization, the “Foundation for the Dispossessed” (Bunyad-i-Mustad’ifin), confiscates Bahá’í properties and turns them to various charitable purposes.

A surfeit of official agencies provides the legal framework under which the activities of these organizations take place.²⁶ The Iranian Supreme Court, the Revolutionary Court, the Supreme Judicial Council in Tehran have issued statements detrimental to the Bahá’í community. A host of informal groups have been spurred by these statements: “armed men,” angry mobs, crowds, “masked men,” Revolutionary Guards, local Revolutionary Komitehs, chiefs of villages, and preachers in mosques.

The inattentive observer in Iran would not be aware of the scale of persecution. The media are wont to use code-words, e.g., “the misled and heretical sect,” to denote the Bahá’í community. The meaning of such phrases is, nonetheless, clear to all. Etela’at, a leading Iranian daily newspaper, regularly publishes official orders affecting the Bahá’ís.²⁷ Only in the past few years have observers, particularly the Western media, been mindful of the Bahá’í situation in Iran. While the media were initially innocent of the nature and extent of the persecution, they too are now refusing to politicize the persecution.²⁸ Rather than being regarded as a “heretical sect,” the Bahá’í community is now seen by analysts in its own light, namely as an independent religious community, which is being persecuted purely on religious grounds.

These more progressive Western interpretations of the Bahá’í situation in Iran also indicate that the Bahá’í community, although suffering extensively under the burden of oppression, has shown signs of vigor and, in fact, renewed spiritual devotion. For example, Le Monde²⁹ recounts the story of a Mr. Kamran Samimi who had the opportunity of leaving Iran, but refused to do so because of his willingness to stay to assist his fellow believers. That same report further states that “The Bahá’ís are not deprived of spiritual direction, even now.”

Another account, in the Globe and Mail,³⁰ relates the story of a Dr. Samandari, a practicing medical doctor in Canada, who returned to Iran to “help his countrymen,” knowing that he would be arrested and possibly executed, which happened soon after his arrival. There is also the account of Professor Manuchihr Hakim, a medical practitioner and recipient of numerous awards for his discoveries in anatomy, founder of the Bahá’í hospital in Tehran, who had returned to Iran anticipating death. Other expatriate Bahá’ís have returned to Iran,

[Page 5] despite warnings by Amnesty International.³¹ One newspaper reported that the Bahá’ís “are largely determined to remain in the land where their Faith was founded.”³²

Bahá’í sources of information also indicate this spiritual rededication of the Persian Bahá’í community. For example, in a recent communication to all Canadian Bahá’ís, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada spoke of the “courage, steadfastness, and unity which has suffused the Bahá’í community in Iran.”³³ A telex from the international Bahá’í governing body stated:

“... thousands of Bahá’ís, unmindful of consequences, have courageously appealed by letter or cable to various high officials complaining about barbaric acts, gross injustice and revealed their names and addresses.”³⁴

The magnitude of such personal behavior is also reflected by Bahá’ís who have been daily harassed by looters, as for instance the Bahá’í families in Yazd who treat the looters as children who want to be satisfied with playthings.³⁵

Other examples of this behavior are found in the prisons, where Bahá’ís are known to have begun programs of benefit to the prison population as a whole, or have helped prison guards with their personal problems. In areas where there is a Bahá’í refugee problem, the Bahá’ís have been such a cohesive group that they have even refused offers of food from their persecutors.³⁶

This form of resistance corresponds to the organized activities of the Bahá’í communities in Iran. For example, the Bahá’í community of Yazd established a Bahá’í program of study after the dismissal of more than 100 children from schools.³⁷ In other reports Bahá’í communities are said to have coordinated activities to alleviate pressures on afflicted believers by providing clothing, food, heating facilities, and spiritual counseling. The elected bodies of communities continue to meet and their committees continue to function.³⁸

This creative response to persecution has its effects on the non-Bahá’í society in Iran. For example, the attendance of a large number of people of all religious backgrounds is characteristic at funerals of slain Bahá’ís, and the non-Bahá’í spouses of Bahá’ís have become Bahá’ís. The Bahá’í community in Iran is responding dynamically and with spiritual élan, despite the methodological plan by the civil and ecclesiastical authorities to uproot the entire Bahá’í community. We are led to consider why the persecution is not achieving its ultimate goal of eradicating the Bahá’í community. Two factors account for the singular lack of success in uprooting the Bahá’í com-

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‘... thousands of Bahá’ís, unmindful of consequences, have courageously appealed by letter or cable to various high officials (in Iran) complaining about barbaric acts, gross injustice and revealed their names and addresses.’

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munity. There are “internal” factors which relate to the distinctive character of the Bahá’í community, as well as “external” reasons, i.e., those related to the Iranian political and social climate beyond the pale of that community.

Internal factors

One of the chief underpinnings of the regime’s strategy to undercut the Bahá’í community reveals a lack of comprehension of the distinctive system of governance of that community. This strategy involves “cutting the head off the Bahá’í community.” Presumably, this refers to the “leaders” of the Bahá’í religious community.

Leadership in the Bahá’í community is vested in elected bodies on the local and national levels. Every year in April, the Bahá’í community elects from its membership nine adult believers who can serve on the governing body. The qualities required by members being considered by the electorate refer to the person’s devotion, experience, loyalty, and well-trained mind. There is no electioneering or campaigning on one’s own, or someone else’s, behalf. Leadership is vested in this council as a whole, not in any one specific individual or individuals who are serving on it. No individual serving on such a body has any powers or prerogatives extending beyond the confines of that body. The “Spiritual Assembly” renders decisions only when it is in session. In the case of the Iranian experience, the national governing council’s membership has been replaced as soon as its previous members were arrested or executed. This process frustrates all efforts by the authorities to do away with Bahá’í “leadership.”

The diverse membership of the 500,000-member Bahá’í community is another consideration that mitigates against full-scale attempts to uproot that community. The ratio of Bahá’í to non-Bahá’í population is about 1:70. Statistically, this means there is at least one Bahá’í for every 11 or 12 households in Iran.³⁹ Many non-Bahá’í families will therefore be able to see directly the impact of persecution within a circle of about a dozen families. It is unlikely that all families are fundamentally and radically opposed to the Bahá’ís, given the extent of personal knowledge that exists about individual Bahá’ís and their families. It is more probable that persecution might be most serious in areas where Bahá’ís constitute a considerable minority in the population.

A powerful source of inspiration which explains the current dynamism in the Bahá’í community is the history of the persecuted minority itself. The Bahá’ís have spiritual recourse to some of the most noble and enduring examples of unflagging heroism of their ancestors, at least 20,000, going back 138 years. This inheritance of the past serves as a stumbling block to fanatical elements in society at large to create a timid religious community. One commentary on the Bahá’í situation stated that:

“... because the Bahá’í faith took root in the martyrdom of its founders, such persecutions have played a crucial role in galvanizing the Bahá’ís into action.”⁴⁰

Finally, the abstinence from political activity by the Bahá’í community has served to expose the falsity of the regime’s efforts to politicize the Bahá’í issue. No charge made by the authorities has ever been substantiated with regard to political involvement.⁴¹ The teachings of the Bahá’í Faith are quite clear on this point. The only Bahá’í who involved himself with politics, General Sani’i, the father of former Prime Minister Amir A. Hoveida, was expelled from the Bahá’í community because of this action.

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External factors

Four elements constitute the external factors that explain the continued existence of the Bahá’í community. First, the present regime has been constantly distracted from the Bahá’í community by civil strife and warfare. Various indigenous groups vie for attention and resources, such as the Arab minority in southern Iran and the Kurds in northern Iran. The war with Iraq provides another distraction that has prevented the Bahá’í community from receiving still more vicious blows. The regime’s attention has also been diverted to a crackdown on intellectuals, writers, leftists, and such minorities as the Azerbaijanis and the Sunni Muslims in the south.

A second factor which has prevented the authorities from pursuing Bahá’ís more relentlessly is the economic upheaval of the country as a whole by the anachronistic economic policies created by the religious leaders of Iran. Much energy has had to be devoted to attempting to solve the problems arising out of these policies.

The admiration and respect from Muslims themselves, both those who are personal friends of the Bahá’ís as well as those who have had business dealings with the Bahá’ís, have undercut in some cases the workings of fanatical mobs and persecutors. Muslim neighbors are known to have opened doors and offered their homes to some of the havenless Bahá’ís, albeit furtively. “No one,” however, “is willing to (publicly) take up the defense of the Bahá’ís within Iran.”⁴² Officials in the administrative heirarchy have also opposed, in some instances, measures leveled against Bahá’ís, at the expense of firing or demotion.⁴³ The Bahá’í community of Iran has existed for several generations in that country, weaving their lives and teachings into the fabric of Iranian society.

Finally, the efforts of the community of nations and the public media have, to some extent, softened the wave of persecution. Individual governments and parliaments, such as the Canadian Parliament,⁴⁴ Britain, Australia,⁴⁵ the Netherlands,⁴⁶ Germany,⁴⁷ the European Economic Community and Parliament,⁴⁸ and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe⁴⁹ have presented the Iranian authorities with international opinion on the situation. Subsequently, agencies of the United Nations, including the Human Rights Commission,⁵⁰ the Subcommission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities,⁵¹ the Economic and Social Council⁵² and the Third Committee of the General Assembly⁵³ have issued statements and resolutions regarding the safety of the Iranian Bahá’í community. Furthermore, the Committee on Crime Prevention and Contro⁵⁴ also examined the issue of “the practice of summary executions and arbitrary executions.” The United Nations Human Rights Committee—consisting of 18 experts to monitor the performance of states who are parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—is also presently (April 1982) closely following the Bahá’í situation.

The substantial number of human rights organizations, most notably Amnesty International, as well as religious groups concerned with human rights, such as the United Church of Canada⁵⁵ and the International Association for Religious Freedom⁵⁶, which have protested the treatment of the Iranian Bahá’ís confirms the widespread impact of the persecution of the Iranian Bahá’ís on the world as a whole. Perhaps one of the most significant statements was made by the Federation of Protestant Churches in Switzerland.⁵⁷ This organization was one of the first to have conducted thorough research as to the apolitical status of the Bahá’í community prior to issuing its statement.

These developments, along with those occurring at governmental levels, have provided the means by which the Bahá’í community in Iran, and indeed in the world as a whole, is gradually emerging from obscurity.

Conclusion

This brief examination of the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran indicates how the efforts of the Shi’ih clergy have largely failed in politicizing the Bahá’í situation. The persecution has a religious base. The modern teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, such as the equality of women and men, the harmony of science and religion, the oneness of mankind, and universal education are the sources of discrimination and of persecution. For example, the teachings on the equality of women and men have been misconstrued as the basis for prostitution and having “illegitimate” children, resulting in “proper” penalties according to Muslim law. With the increasing levels of persecution and in light of the Faith’s modern teachings, the charges against the Bahá’ís are becoming increasingly absurd.

Second, the current Bahá’í situation shows how vulnerable minority groups can become convenient scapegoats during times of social and economic upheaval.⁵⁸

What would be generally applicable in the lessons derived from the Bahá’í persecutions in Iran? It is this: civil, political, cultural and economic freedoms are often based on precarious sentiments and social consensus, even in “enlightened” countries. Fuller knowledge of minorities whose basic rights even to exist are called into question provides a good antidote against the predisposition of leaders or powerful groups to dispense with freedom of conscience. Every instance of persecution, such as the Bahá’í case in Iran, becomes the touchstone of an emerging universal moral order. The need to establish such an order is becoming increasingly apparent.

These theoretical and moral issues are alone sufficient grounds on which to require a complete cessation of oppression. There is also an empirical fact, which has been naively ignored by persecutors—persecution permits a religious community to emerge from obscurity. Never in the history of the Bahá’í world community has world opinion and knowledge of the aims and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith been more forcefully acknowledged that during the current wave of persecution in Iran. The “no-win” situation which presents itself to the persecutors must bring little comfort to those who are responsible for the oppression. The “problematique” was already acknowledged in the Bahá’í Writings a long time ago:

“... they (i.e., oppressors) thought that violence and interference would cause extinction and silence and lead to suppression and oblivion, whereas interference in matters of conscience causes stability and firmness and attracts the attention of men’s sight and souls; which fact has received experimental proof many times and often.”⁵⁹

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Footnotes

1. Isaiah Truck, Jewish Responses to Nazi Persecution: Collective and Individual Behavior in Extremis (New York: Stein and Day, 1979), pp. ix-x.
2. Some Bahá’í examples: Martha Root, Tahirih the Pure, Rev. ed., originally published in 1939 (Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 1981); Gloria Faizí, Fire on the Mountain Top (London: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1973); ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Memorials of the Faithful (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1971); Kazem Kazemzadeh, “Varqá and Ruhu’llah: Deathless in Martyrdom,” World Order, vol. 9, no. 2 (Winter 1974-75), pp. 29-44; Muhammad Labib, The Seven Martyrs of Hurmuzak, trans. Moojan Momen (Oxford: George Ronald, 1981); Dimitri Marianoff and Marzieh Gail, “Thrills of Yearning Love,” World Order, vol. 6, no. 4 (Summer 1974), pp. 7-42.
3. Again, some Bahá’í illustrations: William Sears, Release the Sun (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1960); Nabil-i-A’zam, The Dawn-Breakers: Nabil’s Narrative of the Early Days of the Bahá’í Revelation, trans. and ed. Shoghi Effendi (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1932); Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1957); Joseph Arthur Comte de Gobineau, Religions et Philosophies dans l’Asie Centrale, 9th ed. (Paris: Gallimard, 1957), pp. 131-275; Christine Hakim, Les Bahá’ís: Victoire sur la Violence (Lausanne, Switzerland: Editions Favre, 1982).
4. A Bahá’í instance of this approach is Douglas Martin, “The Bahá’ís of Iran Under the Pahlavi Regime, 1921-1929,” Middle East Focus, vol. 4, no. 6 (March 1982), pp. 7-17; Geoffrey Nash, Iran’s Secret Pogrom (Suffolk: Neville Spearman, 1982).
5. Some Bahá’í accounts of this genre can be found in: A.Q. Faizí, trans. and ed., Stories from the Delight of Hearts (Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 1980); Lady Blomfield, The Chosen Highway (London: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1940); William Sears, The Bahá’ís in Iran: A Cry from the Heart (Oxford: George Ronald, 1982).
6. Nabil-i-A’zam, op. cit.
7. Gobineau, op. cit.
8. Shoghi Effendi, op. cit., pp. 104-150, 296-299.
9. Martin, op. cit.
10. See Bahá’í International Community, The Bahá’ís in Iran: A Report of the Persecution of a Religious Minority (New York: June 1981), and Update (November 1981).
11. William Sears, A Cry from the Heart, op. cit.; Geoffrey Nash, op. cit.; Christine Hakim, op. cit.
12. Times (London), August 30, 1980.
13. Globe and Mail (Toronto), July 31, 1980.
14. Bahá’í International Community, The Bahá’ís in Iran, op. cit., pp. 11-76.
15. Times (London), July 15, 1980; Toronto Star, December 26, 1979; the European Parliament also produced a White Paper on this subject (European Parliament, “Minutes of proceedings of the sitting of Friday, 19 September1980).
16. Sunday Times (London), September 20, 1981.
17. Bahá’í International Community, Chronological Summary of Individual Acts of Persecution Against the Bahá’ís in Iran (from August 1978) (New York: November 1981), 34 pp.; Sunday Times (London), September 20, 1981, reports that there are 166 executed.
18. A listing of disabilities as a result of the Constitutional neglect of the Bahá’ís is found in Bahá’í International Community, The Bahá’ís in Iran, op. cit., pp. 17-19.
19. The Báb, Whose name signifies “Gate (for a new age),” is the Forerunner of the Bahá’í Faith. He proclaimed His mission in this house in 1844 and was put to death by the Persian religious and secular authorities in 1850.
20. The New York Times, August 6, 1981.
21. Sunday Times (London), September 20, 1981.
22. “Recant or Else,” The Economist, January 23, 1982, and The Guardian, January 26, 1982.
23. See, e.g., United Nations Commission on Human Rights, E/CN.4/Sub.2/L778 of September 2, 1981, which categorically refers to this physical threat against individual Bahá’ís.
24. Times (London), July 15, 1980.
25. A document was “published on 9 June 1980 in Mujahid, one of the dailies in Iran, (and) clearly indicates that Tablighat-i-Islami ... was supported by the Shah’s secret police, SAVAK, in its anti-Bahá’í activities” (Martin, op. cit.)
26. “Editorial,” The New York Times, April 27, 1981, and Times (London), July 15, 1980.
27. The June 27, 1980, issue of Etela’at, for example, carried a government order dismissing all Bahá’í employees.
28. Editorials, news and feature articles have appeared in all major newspapers in the West including the Washington Post, Le Monde, The New York Times, Sunday Times, The Guardian, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, Die Velt, and others. The television media have also recently adopted a more neutral, and therefore more penetrating view, such as Geoffrey Nash’s W-5 program, “Iran’s Secret Pogrom,” as well as CBS and the BBC.
29. Le Monde, January 1, 1982.
30. Globe and Mail, July 31, 1980. The story also appeared in Newsday, September 26, 1981, p. 2, Part II.
31. Maclean’s, July 13, 1981, p. 47.
32. Washington Post, February 1980.
33. Letter from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada to all Canadian Bahá’ís, January 7, 1982.
34. Telex from the Universal House of Justice, Haifa, Israel, to the Bahá’ís of the world, March 9, 1982.
35. “Excerpt from a Letter from Yazd,” February 1982, published in Canadian News, recounts several stories of this nature: “When they (the Bahá’ís of Yazd) are looted of their property, furniture and belongings they part with them as they would outworn dolls and playthings ... They shower love upon those who come to take away their belongings as might an affectionate and indulgent parent who with a smile will give a worthless toy or plaything to a naughty child ...”
36. Living, a California daily, reported this on January 19, 1982, pp. B5 and 7.
37. “Excerpt from a Letter from Yazd,” February 1982.
38. Various reports distributed by the Universal House of Justice, Summer 1979.
39. We assume an average household of circa 6.
40. Maclean’s, July 13, 1981, p. 47.
41. The continued existence of the Bahá’í community cannot be explained in terms of the alleged power possessed by the Bahá’ís. The Bahá’ís under the regime of the Shah did not possess influence, although a number did occupy prominent scientific and administrative posts. In any event, the Bahá’í community also consists of rural peoples and as such never has enjoyed any special privileges.
42. Le Monde, January 1, 1982, p. 2.
43. For example, one headmaster of a school in Yazd decided to resign after receiving the order to dismiss his Bahá’í students. (He absented himself from school, later.) “Excerpt from a Letter from Yazd,” February 1982.
44. Two unanimous Parliamentary resolutions and statements.
45. A Resolution in the House of Representatives, March 25, 1981.
46. Netherlands Parliament, July 1980.
47. Heads of state or other governments or parliaments which have made statements include France, Belgium, Luxembourg, India, Switzerland, Western Samoa and Fiji.
48. The European Parliament passed on September 19, 1980, a Resolution urging governments to impose trade embargos and urging the Iranian government to recognize the Bahá’í community. A second Resolution was passed on April 10, 1982.
49. This Assembly issued a written declaration September 29, 1980, urging the Committee of Ministers to make urgent representations to the Iranian authorities. On January 29, 1982, the Assembly tabled a full report by Mr. M. Desjardin. A parallel body of the Assembly, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, also issued a statement on November 25, 1981, expressing concern over the Bahá’ís.
50. A four-nation draft Resolution (Canada, Australia, United Kingdom, the Netherlands) was passed on March 9, 1981. On March 11, 1982, the Commission adopted a third Resolution, requesting the Secretary-General to “establish direct contact with the Government of Iran ... to ensure that the Bahá’ís are guaranteed full enjoyment of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.”
51. A Resolution was passed on September 10, 1980, concerning the safety of Bahá’ís in Iran. A second Resolution (Resolution 8 (xxxiv) ) requested that the Secretary-General of the United Nations gather relevant information.
52. A 10-nation Resolution was adopted on April 29-30, 1981, drawing attention to the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran.
53. This Committee tabled the Iranian situation for discussion by the United Nations General Assembly.
54. At its 7th session, March 1982.
55. Executives of the General Council of the United Church of Canada met in plenary session on November 17-20, 1981, and passed a Resolution. This statement, forwarded to the Canadian government, was issued entirely at the initiative of the Church.
56. Other human rights organizations include the Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism, the Pacific Conference of Churches, and Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (based in France).
57. September 12, 1979.
58. Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh (“For Bahá’ís in Iran, a Threat of Extinction,” The New York Times, August 6, 1981, p. 23) mentions how the Iranian regime accused the Bahá’ís during the 1906-11 revolution of having formed a Bahá’í plot behind the Persian constitutional movement. Such charges have no basis in fact.
59. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, quoted by the Universal House of Justice, “Letter to the Bahá’í World,” January 1982, p. 2.

[Page 8]

A Bahá’í statement on disarmament

It is important, in the view of the Bahá’í International Community, to understand that what must occur to eliminate the arms race is a very basic reorientation in the thinking of governments and peoples, requiring commitment to the organic oneness of mankind.

All people must rid themselves of their prejudices, superstitions, and limitations. This can only be done when they are willing to regard humanity as one entity,

firmly convinced that in a world of inter-dependent peoples and nations the advantages of the part is best to be reached by the advantage of the whole, and that no abiding benefit can be conferred upon the component parts if the general interests of the entity itself are ignored or neglected.

The Bahá’í International Community would, therefore, like to propose to the second special session of the General Assembly of disarmament an extensive and intensive program of education of all peoples in the vital principle—and truth—of the organic oneness of humanity.

We recommend that such an educational program, with a universal curriculum adaptable to each culture, be

An oral statement by the Bahá’í International Community to the second Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament, June 24, 1982.

fostered by governments, using schools, the media, businesses, industry, in fact all public and private means, in every country.

This program of education—drawing on all human knowledge bearing evidence to this oneness of humanity, whether from science or religion—would begin by fostering in all

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The root principle of unity is, we believe, an understanding of the true identity of a human being. This seems to be the paramount need in the world—the attainment of unity through an awareness of our true nobility as human beings.

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peoples an understanding and acceptance of the oneness of the human race, leading to an eventual acceptance of all the rich diversity of cultures as integral and unified elements of a single entity, and the recognition of the earth as the one home of the one human family.

The second part of the process of fundamental change that the Bahá’í International Community envisages is for society, through its governments, to achieve collective security, based on trust and justice, a security that will provide for lasting world peace and make obsolete once and for all the arms arsenals and the reasoning behind them.

In this process, both governments and peoples bear a responsibility to prevent war, to seek ways to unite and disarm, and to bring about world order. To achieve this, sooner or later, it is the Bahá’í view that:

Some form of a world Super-State must needs be evolved, in whose favor all the nations of the world will have willingly ceded every claim to make war, certain rights to impose taxation and all rights to maintain armaments, except for purposes of maintining internal order within their respective dominions.

Such a state will have to include within its orbit an International Executive adequate to enforce supreme and unchallengeable authority on every recalcitrant member of the commonwealth; a World Parliament whose members shall be elected by the people in their respective countries and whose election shall be confirmed by their respective governments; and a Supreme Tribunal whose judgment will have a binding effect even in such cases where the parties concerned did not voluntarily agree to submit their case to its consideration.

A world community in which all economic barriers will have been permanently demolished and the interdependence of Capital and Labor definitely recognized; in which the clamor of religious fanaticism and strife will have been forever stilled; in which the flame of racial animosity will have been finally extinguished; in which a single code of international law—the product of the considered judgment of the world’s federated representatives—shall have as its sanction the instant and coercive intervention of the combined forces of the federated units; and finally a world community in which the fury of a capricious and militant nationalism will have been transmuted into an abiding consciousness of world citizenship—such indeed, appears, in its broadest outline, the Order anticipated by Bahá’u’lláh, an Order that shall come to be regarded as the fairest fruit of a slowly maturing age.

When, in 1868, Bahá’u’lláh addressed the kings and rulers of the world, He warned that

the well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established.

These words speak to our times. They speak to the dual obligation which must be met by each person, whether governing or governed, if we

[Page 9] are to achieve world disarmament and human happiness in a world at peace: first, the responsibility to establish unity within self, and among ourselves; then, to build a world society and bring about world order and a world civilization.

The root principle of unity is, we believe, an understanding of the true identity of a human being. This seems to be the paramount need in the world—the attainment of unity through an awareness of our true reality, our nobility as human beings. This means a reawakened realization of our connection with God. This link is “the strong cord that none can sever”; and this identity of dependence, once fully integrated, can then be expressed successfully in a spirit of service to humanity.

The inability of human power alone to solve the affairs of humanity—to give an opportunity to each person for the full development of his nature, qualities, talents, and the full expression of these potentialities in a world of peace and security—is amply demonstrated by the history of this century.

Today, the moral and spiritual imperative of achieving the oneness of humanity cannot be avoided or evaded by any one of us. For the principle of the oneness of mankind, in the Bahá’í view,

implies an organic change in the structure of present-day society, a change such as the world has not yet experienced. It constitutes a challenge, at once bold and universal, to outworn shibboleths of national creeds—creeds that have had their day and which must, in the ordinary course of events as shaped and controlled by Providence, give way to a new gospel, fundamentally different from, and infinitely superior to, what the world has already conceived. It calls for no less than the reconstruction and the demilitarization of the whole civilized world—a world organically unified in all the essential aspects of its life, its political machinery, its spiritual aspiration, its trade and finance, its script and language, and yet infinite in the diversity of the national characteristics of its federated units.

It represents the consummation of human evolution—an evolution that has had its earliest beginnings in the birth of family life, its subsequent development in the achievement of tribal solidarity, leading in turn to the constitution of the city-state, and expanding later into the institution of independent and sovereign nations.

The principle of the Oneness of Mankind, as proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh, carries with it no more and no less than a solemn assertion that attainment to this final stage in this stupendous evolution is not only necessary but inevitable, that its realization is fast approaching, and that nothing short of a power that is born of God can succeed in establishing it.

Corrections

In the March 1983 issue of Bahá’í News, the sentence on Page 4 in the article “Monsalvat: The Mount of Peace” that begins “Just months after the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1921, Miss Farmer, while at a meeting in Boston ...” should read as follows: “In June 1892, several months before the passing of Bahá’u’lláh ...”

In that same article, on Page 9, the sentence that reads “... ever since that day a short time after the passing of Bahá’u’lláh ...” should read “... ever since that day a short time before the passing of Bahá’u’lláh ...”

In the April 1983 issue, in the article headlined “Zunúzí School Board of Directors Named,” the sentence that reads “... for the modest sum of $18.00 a year (U.S.) Bahá’ís can sponsor one student at the school ...” is incorrect. The figure should be $180.00 a year.

We regret the errors and offer our apology for them.

Elena Yaganegi (standing, facing camera) conducts a Bahá’í Sunday school class at her home in Nonga, Papua New Guinea. The classes are attended regularly by an average of 20 children from the Nonga area which is located near Rabaul.

[Page 10]

Rabbani School continues steady growth

Workers put the finishing touches on the newest dormitory building at the Rabbani Bahá’í School in India.

Shown here are staff members of the Rabbani Bahá’í School in Gwalior, India. The school’s principal, Dr. Stephen Waite, is standing at right in the first row. Mrs. Waite is seated at the right.

The Rabbani Bahá’í School, established on the plains of north-central India at Gwalior in 1977 by the National Spiritual Assembly of India, continues to grow and develop.

Having opened its doors six years ago with 47 students in the sixth standard (grade), the school has expanded to include the 11th standard and has a total enrollment of 165.

The development of the Rabbani School was one of India’s goals of the Five Year Plan, and its further development is a goal of the Seven Year Plan.

The school recently gained final recognition by the State of Madhya Pradesh as a secondary school, and this year graduated its first class of 21 students.

Many of its students have distinguished themselves as merit scholars in the last three years of the state-run eighth class examination.

Out of 80 students from Rabbani over the last three years, 16 have attained merit status. From the first year of the board examination up to the present, the first merit position in the district has been taken by a Rabbani student. In 1981-82 seven of the 20 merit finalists for the district were from the Rabbani School.

The long-planned program for constructing new buildings at the school has begun with the completion of the first dormitory. All existing buildings are fully utilized; hence, the new buildings are required.

The school’s design is the result of the voluntary services of two Bahá’í architects from the United States, Tom Kubala and Allen Washatko, who have imparted a village-type flavor to the campus, as Rabbani students all come from the villages.

At the Rabbani School, students re-

[Page 11] Students and staff of the Rabbani Bahá’í School in Gwalior, India. The school has grown from an enrollment of 47 students in 1977 to 165 during the last school year.

ceive academic, vocational and spiritual training. The vocational experiences are designed to equip them to return to their villages as productive workers.

Teaching trips are conducted from the school each weekend as four teams of about 10 students each leave for separate locations. Also, two regular children’s schools are staffed by Rabbani students every Sunday morning.

On a rotating basis, four nearby villages and four more distant ones are reached once each month on weekends for a systematic program of deepening. This directly involves the students in the experience of regular teaching and deepening.

New staff members are welcomed periodically, adding to the ranks of Bahá’í expertise at the school. Many more friends are needed as staff members in the areas of agriculture, vocational training, agri-business, animal husbandry and seed technology.

As facilities and staff expand, and students join in the effort, the Rabbani School will exercise an ever wider influence in shaping the growth of the Bahá’í community in India.

An interior view of the partially completed dormitory building at the Rabbani Bahá’í School in India. The school’s design was prepared by two Bahá’í architects from the United States, Tom Kubala and Allen Washatko.

Shown is the 1983 graduating class of 21 students at the Rabbani Bahá’í School in Gwalior, India.

[Page 12]

The world

Two non-Bahá’í speakers praise Faith

Two speakers at a recent six-day conference held under non-Bahá’í auspices on the island of Maui, Hawaii, made favorable references to the Faith.

The conference, which attracted several prominent speakers, had as its theme “The Spirit of Health.”

One of the speakers, Dr. Buckminster Fuller, a well known inventor, architect, mathematician, philosopher and educator, referred several times to the Bahá’í slogan “One Planet, One People ... Please” that has appeared on bumper stickers and T-shirts.

At one point during the conference a Bahá’í student wearing one of the T-shirts was invited on stage to show the audience the slogan. “That’s what’s needed today,” said Dr. Fuller.

A local radio station and the Maui News reported that Dr. Fuller “summed up his whole speech in one T-shirt: ‘One Planet, One People ... Please’ ”

Other speakers included Dr. Robert Mollison, an environmental designer from Australia who commented on how greatly he respected the Bahá’ís he had met at the university in Tasmania, and Marilyn Ferguson, author of Aquarian Conspiracy, who was presented with a copy of Bahá’í World Faith on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly of Hawaii.

United States

Nearly 200 Bahá’ís and their guests were present March 7 at the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, for a special celebration marking the 80th anniversary of the beginning of the project to build the House of Worship.

The observance was coupled with the fourth annual presentation of the Corinne True Awards for Meritorious Service at the House of Worship.

Awards were given this year to 44 individuals and one Bahá’í community.

A highlight of the program was a slide presentation, prepared by the House of Worship Activities Office, of the Hand of the Cause of God Corinne True’s first pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1907.

At that time she carried with her a petition to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá signed by almost 800 Bahá’ís in the U.S. and Canada pledging their support to the Temple project.

The soundtrack for the presentation featured Mrs. True herself. It was edited from an interview conducted 32 years ago by the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears when Mrs. True was 90 years old.

Swaziland

Nearly 100 people from nine countries attended the Bahá’í Summer School of Swaziland last December 26-January 1 in Mbabane. Swaziland’s Bahá’í youth did much of the planning for the school session.

Nearly 100 people from South Africa, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Botswana, Bophuthatswana, Canada, Swaziland and the United States attended a week-long Bahá’í Summer School last December 26-January 1 at the Bahá’í National Center in Mbabane, Swaziland.

The Bahá’í youth of Swaziland planned much of the school sessions which included classes on the Báb, Bahá’í family life, and the meaning of chastity. Participants read prayers and enjoyed singing and games.

The week ended with the Bahá’í marriage ceremony of an African and a Persian that was attended by all those at the Summer School.

[Page 13]

Sri Lanka

An audience of about 700 people including leaders of thought, government representatives, and the general public filled the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo, Sri Lanka, January 16 for the third annual World Religion Day observance sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of Sri Lanka.

Using the theme “Religion Should Be the Cause of Unity,” the special program featured distinguished speakers representing Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith.

Among the speakers were the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of Sri Lanka and the country’s highest ranking Roman Catholic prelate.

The keynote address was given by the Hon. E.L.B. Hurulle, Sri Lanka’s minister of cultural affairs, who congratulated the Bahá’ís for initiating World Religion Day in Sri Lanka.

Excellent publicity for this third observance of World Religion Day included reports on radio and television and eight articles that appeared before and after the event in four English-language newspapers.

In a message to those attending the program, the Hon. Ranasinghe Premadasa, prime minister of Sri Lanka, made reference to the Faith in expressing his praise of the observance:

“... The celebrations of World Religion Day—in which the emphasis is on the unity of all religions—by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Sri Lanka is therefore a most laudable venture which should be welcomed by all people of good will ...”

The site of this year’s conference, the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall, is one of the largest such facilities in South Asia, and the National Spiritual Assembly of Sri Lanka already has booked it again for the fourth World Religion Day observance in 1984.

Dr. A.T. Ariyaratne, chairman of the World Religion Day observance held January 16 in Colombo, Sri Lanka, addresses the audience of nearly 700. Dr. Ariyaratne is a recipient of the King Baudoin Award for Social Development and is known as ‘the Gandhi of Sri Lanka.’

Sri Lanka’s World Religion Day observance was held January 16 at the S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall in Colombo. The annual event is sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of Sri Lanka.

The Netherlands

The National Spiritual Assembly of The Netherlands recently won a significant victory through increasing and diversifying Bahá’í literature for children available in Dutch.

New publications in that language include translations of God and His Messengers, Stories of Bahá’u’lláh as Told by Pokka, The Proud Helper, The Unfriendly Governor, Stories for Children, the four-part Sunflower series, and a loose-leaf edition of the history of the Faith written for children by Lout van Veenendaal.

Ecuador

Nineteen people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during a public meeting in Ambato, Ecuador, that was conducted by a group of seven Bahá’ís from several countries who visited Ambato following the International Conference last August 5-8 in Quito.

Although the traveling teachers were in Ambato for only 24 hours, they had a radio interview, taught in the city, and participated in the public meeting.

“Since then,” says a report from a representative of the National Spiritual Assembly of Ecuador, “we have had many new enrollments, several each week, and most of them youth. An average of 30 to 60 people are attending the meetings every week.”

Mexico

Translations of the short Obligatory Prayer have now been made in two new dialects of Zapotec, an Indian language spoken extensively in the State of Oaxaca, Mexico, bringing to 19 the number of Zapotec dialects into which this prayer has been translated.

[Page 14]

United Kingdom

While the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran has been mentioned in the past in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the most widespread discussion at several levels of Parliament took place in March.

On March 8, the matter was considered in the House of Lords after Lord Whaddon asked what action Her Majesty’s government was taking with respect to the persecutions.

Speaking for the government, Lord Skelmersdale replied that on December 27, 1982, the Danish ambassador in Tehran had made an official representation to the Iranian authorities on behalf of the 10 Member States of the European Community.

In view of recent developments, he added, a further approach would be made on behalf of these nations, which includes the United Kingdom.

On March 3, a member of Parliament from London had asked a question in the House of Commons regarding whether time would be made available for a full debate on the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran, in view of, as he put it, “... the gross offense that the Iranian treatment of the Bahá’í community gives to the Bahá’í community in our own country.”

At the same time, two “Early Day Motions” regarding the Bahá’í situation in Iran were submitted in the House of Commons. The motions were signed by several members of Parliament from various parties.

Theoretically, such motions are to be debated at some point, but in practice time is never available for them. Nevertheless, they provide a useful device whereby the government and the public can be made aware that there are items about which several MPs feel strongly and which they want publicized.

* * *

More than 60 Bahá’ís from Northern Ireland attended a weekend deepening session January 29-30 in Bangor, County Down, whose speakers included Counsellor Adib Taherzadeh; Dr. Iain Palin, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom; and Auxiliary Board members Dr. Beman Khosravi and Dr. Keith Munro.

This was the first in a series of meetings planned by Counsellor Taherzadeh with the cooperation of the National Spiritual Assembly in response to a call from the Universal House of Justice for “... a campaign of spiritualisation of the Bahá’í community, allied with intensified personal teaching, as has never been witnessed in your continent.” The call was a part of the Supreme Body’s message to the International Conference in Dublin, Ireland.

The Counsellor stressed the importance of reading the Writings each morning and evening, observance of the Obligatory Prayers, service to the Cause, and pure and goodly deeds.

His address and those of the other speakers were taped for later distribution. A special booklet prepared by the National Spiritual Assembly and containing a digest of the presentations, together with a letter from the Assembly, was given to each person at the weekend meeting. Arrangements were made to provide copies to those who were unable to attend.

Attendance was the same at both sessions in spite of sudden snows and blizzard conditions that hit Northern Ireland that Sunday.

* * *

The Bahá’í Center in Edinburgh, Scotland, was the site of a recent art exhibit that featured paintings, pottery, photographs and poetry readings.

“The steady flow of visitors attracted by this event,” it was reported, “showed that the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds also has a role to play as a ‘silent teacher’ of the Faith.”

The idea of hosting an exhibition combining literary, artistic and musical talent of the highest order at the Bahá’í Center sprang from last summer’s Edinburgh International Festival.

Alaska

About 150 Bahá’ís from 25 communities in Alaska attended a “Winter Weekend” last January 1-2 at the National Guard Armory in Wasilla.

Classes were offered on marriage and family life, combating prejudice and fault-finding, the life of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and pioneering.

A workshop session focused on the Seven Year Plan, while the youth who were present shared their ideas about the new World Order.

Following supper Saturday evening, participants shared stories of their teaching experiences.

Caroline Islands

More than 30 Bahá’ís attended a deepening institute last August in Ngardmau, Palau, Western Caroline Islands. Shown in the background is the first Bahá’í Center to be completed in the Western Carolines.

[Page 15]

India

Two groups of Bahá’ís from the New Era High School in Panchgani, Maharashtra, India, proclaimed the Faith during December and January through musical performances in several cities of southern India.

One group performed in Maharashtra State while another, composed of six students and a staff member from the high school, spent three weeks performing in the cities of Bangalore, Ootacamund, Belgaum and Mysore.

Both groups used the name “New Horizon.” They followed the first, highly successful musical group from the school, “The Chosen Highway,” which proclaimed the Faith last June and July to more than 16,000 people in 10 cities of southern India.

The New Horizon group that visited Bangalore performed at the South India Teaching Conference held in that city last December 24-26.

In Ootacamund, the group performed during a two-day youth conference, while in Mysore, they performed for members of the Bahá’í community and their guests.

In Belgaum, New Horizon performed at two colleges, a women’s club and an intercollegiate entertainment night, an annual event arranged by the local Bahá’í youth committee.

Using the name ‘New Horizon,’ this group of six students and one staff member from the New Era High School in Panchgani, India, proclaimed the Faith last December and January with musical performances in four cities of southern India. Members of the group are (left to right) Kirk Johnson and Melanie Baker, both from the United States; Mehraban Farahmand from India; Vida Yaganegi from Bhutan; Shekufeh Akhtar Khaveri from India; Jo Ann Green from Canada, and Glenda Palmer from New Zealand.

Argentina

Bahá’í youth in Buenos Aires, Argentina, teach the Faith and sell Bahá’í books and posters during an outdoor public book fair that is held for six hours each Sunday. The youth began participating in the book fair last December and have been doing so ever since. As a result, many people have visited the Bahá’í Center in Buenos Aires, and so far two people have become Bahá’ís after learning about the Faith at the book fair.

Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe’s Bahá’í media committee recently visited nine schools in the Chinamore area and one at Sedbury, calling on headmasters, teachers and students.

At one school, literature on the Faith was accepted for the school library, and follow-up contact has been made.

The Bahá’ís addressed an audience of 800 students and 21 teachers at the Zimbiru primary school in Domboshawa, where the headmaster said, “God sent you to cool my heart. I lost my nephew recently and these words you have spoken have cooled my scalding heart.”

During return visits to that school, five teachers and 20 students embraced the Faith. Meanwhile, six teachers and a number of students entered the Faith as a result of visits to the Tsatse secondary school.

[Page 16]

Nigeria

More than 60 Bahá’ís and 10 guests participated April 2-3 in the second annual national Bahá’í Youth Conference of Nigeria held on the campus of the University of Nigeria at Nsukka, Anambra State.

Speakers at the conference, which was sponsored by the National Youth Committee, included Auxiliary Board members Mas’ud Samadi, Sathia Narayan and Dr. Kiser Barnes, and Don Addison, an assistant to the Auxiliary Board.

The weekend of teaching and deepening was balanced with recreational activities, games, and much singing and music.

Large banners, hung at various well-traveled locations on campus, attracted many visitors to the conference.

At the close of the event, three youth volunteered to participate in extensive teaching projects that have been planned.

* * *

Nearly 50 Bahá’ís participated last December 26-January 1 in a Seven-Day Bahá’í School held in the newly constructed Ihie Etche District Bahá’í Center in Rivers State, Nigeria.

Teachers including Counsellors Friday Ekpe and Dr. Mihdí Samandarí conducted classes on the life of Bahá’u’lláh, the history of the Faith in Africa and Nigeria, and the significance of the Obligatory Prayers.

The Bahá’í Center overflowed each evening with more than 100 people, most of them seekers from the area, who came to hear the Counsellors speak about the principles of the Faith and the spiritual destiny of Africa.

On the final evening of the Bahá’í school, Counsellor Ekpe spoke at a public meeting and answered questions late into the night. Thirteen people at that meeting declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh.

The school’s comprehensive program included classes on Bahá’í family life, the role of women, the education of children, functions of the Local Spiritual Assembly, the lives of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Greatest Holy Leaf, and the present phase of the Seven Year Plan.

Each session was animated by lively music. A group of Bahá’ís from Port Harcourt filled several nights with drumming, musical renditions of some of The Hidden Words of Bahá’u’lláh, and other songs.

Pictured are most of the 70 participants at the second annual national Bahá’í Youth Conference of Nigeria which was held April 2-3 at the Arts Theatre on the campus of the University of Nigeria at Nsukka, Anambra State.

The school, organized by the Seven-Day Bahá’í School Committee in cooperation with the Spiritual Assembly of Ihie Etche, fulfills a goal of the Seven Year Plan.

While the school was in session, the National Teaching Committee organized a teaching and consolidation project in nearby villages.

Five teaching teams met with receptive villagers in the area, and about 15 people embraced the Faith. Deepening of these new believers was an integral part of the project. Some of the new Bahá’ís joined the classes at the Bahá’í school.

Chile

Auxiliary Board member Felipe Jara (near center) talks about the Faith to some members of the Mapuche Indian tribe near Tirua, Chile. Mr. Jara was on a trip into the countryside last February to record sounds for use in Bahá’í radio broadcasts in Chile.

[Page 17]

Kenya

Auxiliary Board member Festus Mukalama addressed an audience of 22 youth during a recent deepening conference held at the Malava, Kenya, Bahá’í Center that was initiated by the youth in Malava who, along with youth from Lutali, provided food for conference participants.

Other speakers discussed effective teaching methods and Bahá’í standards of behavior. A discussion of “what it means to be a Bahá’í youth” and a panel discussion inspired lively participation.

Individual goals were adopted with Bahá’ís from a number of locations pledging to help with the formation of Bahá’í clubs in their schools.

Following the conference, two teams of youth visited other Bahá’í communities to report to youth there on what was achieved at the youth conference.

* * *

Three hundred students and eight of their teachers at Kenya Science Teachers College attended a recent meeting in the school’s main hall where two carefully coordinated presentations on the Faith were made by Bahá’ís Charles Mung’onye and Dr. H.T.D. Rost.

Mr. Mung’onye presented a general introduction to the Faith that was followed by a presentation by Dr. Rost on science and religion.

‘The Dawn Breakers,’ a musical group composed of Bahá’ís from the Nairobi, Kenya, community performs during a public observance last October 20 of the anniversary of the Birth of the Báb. The event was held at the Bahá’í National Center in Nairobi.

The audience was receptive and attentive, and a flurry of questions extended the meeting’s duration to two hours and 15 minutes.

When students indicated that there was not enough time available, the college dean proposed to arrange for another meeting with the Bahá’ís.

Later that evening, the Bahá’ís met with the eight faculty members and some of the students at a reception.

Some days later, Dr. Rost, accompanied by Forough Olinga, presented Bahá’í books to the college library and spoke about the Faith at length to the college’s head librarian and his assistant.

India

This medical team, organized under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of India, visited the country’s Dang tribal area last September to administer free aid to more than 600 patients. In November, another team visited the village of Gumma Reddipur where 65 residents sought medical assistance. These medical camps enlist the services of Bahá’ís with professional skills and also use non-Bahá’í volunteers.

South and West Africa

An impromptu meeting attended by 33 Bahá’ís and their guests resulted last December 5 when a teaching team from Windhoek, South Africa, lost its way and stopped to ask directions of members of a road construction crew.

One of the workers indicated that he had heard of the Faith and invited the friends to remain at the construction camp. Three team members stayed while two others went to invite Bahá’ís from Okahandja.

The spontaneous proclamation included talks and questions from members of a very interested audience. The Bahá’ís promised their guests that they would soon return.

[Page 18]

A desert tale of adventure and daring
for 5-11 year olds

ZAHRA‘S
SEARCH

written by GAIL RADLEY
illustrated by Winifred Barnum Newman

Zahra’s older brother has disappeared. Yet no one except Zahra is concerned about where he has gone or what might have happened to him.

Finally, Zahra, the youngest gazelle in the herd, cannot allow darkness, hunger, heat, thirstiness, or the pessimism of the herd stop her from searching for her beloved brother.

Certain death at the mouths of a hungry pack of dogs forces her to take a chance that brings rewards she never dreamed existed.

The pen-and-ink illustrations, rendered in brown ink on beige stock, contribute to the sense of danger, mystery, and challenge that permeate Zahra’s search.

GAIL RADLEY has had three books released by Crown Publishers—a picture book called The Night Stella Hid the Stars, and two books for teenagers entitled Nothing Stays the Same Forever and The World Turned Inside Out—and has a number of works in preparation. She lives with her husband and two children in Virginia.

WINIFRED BARNUM NEWMAN is an author, designer, and illustrator. Her Secret in the Garden, which she wrote and illustrated, is available from the Bahá’í Publishing Trust.

Ages 5-11 years
32 pages, 5½ x 8¼ inches
ISBN 0-87743-161-2
Paper Catalog No. 353-018

^$ 3^00*

*Valid only in the United States. All others write for prices and ordering and shipping instructions.

Available from

Bahá’í Publishing Trust
415 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, IL 60091