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| Bahá’í News | August 1984 | Bahá’í Year 141 |
30 years in the Solomon Islands
On the cover: To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Faith in the Solomon Islands with the arrival on March 1, 1954, of Knights of Bahá’u’lláh Alvin and Gertrude Blum, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Solomon Islands decided to plant 30 trees, the first three of which were planted March 1 by (left to right) Ataban Tropa, the Solomons minister of lands, energy and natural resources; Mrs. Blum; and John Schenk, the Solomons chief environmental protection officer. Also participating in the tree-planting ceremony was Alick Ratu, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly. Officials chose sites in Honiara, Guadalcanal, for the planting of all 30 trees. The project received widespread attention, and the Bahá’ís were warmly praised for taking the lead in conservation. The first trees, which were planted opposite the entrance to the office of the prime minister, are marked with a commemorative plaque. Earlier this year the Bahá’í community planted trees at the Bahá’í Center in Honiara to commemorate the 15th anniversary of the passing of Knight of Bahá’u’lláh Alvin Blum.
Bahá’í News[edit]
House of Justice: Persecutions in Iran take ‘severe and critical turn’ | 1 |
WLGI Radio in South Carolina goes on the air with test broadcasts | 3 |
U.S. House of Representatives again condemns persecutions in Iran | 4 |
New mobile institute helps teach, deepen in Central African Republic | 6 |
In U.S., Louhelen conference charts course for winning goals of Plan | 8 |
First National Spiritual Assembly of Bahá’ís of French Guiana elected | 9 |
Around the world: News from Bahá’í communities all over the globe | 10 |
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 within U.S.: one year, $12; two years, $20. Outside U.S.: one year, $14; two years, $24. Foreign air mail: one year, $20; two years, $40. Payment must accompany order and must be in U.S. dollars. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1984, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
World Centre[edit]
Torture intensifies persecutions in Iran[edit]
THE PERSECUTION OF THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF IRAN HAS TAKEN AN EXTREMELY SEVERE AND CRITICAL TURN.
OVER THE LAST FIVE YEARS ABDUCTIONS, EXECUTIONS, THE IMPRISONMENT OF HUNDREDS, DISMISSAL FROM JOBS, EXPULSION OF BAHÁ’Í CHILDREN FROM SCHOOLS, DESTRUCTION OF HOMES HAVE BEEN THE COMMON LOT OF THIS OPPRESSED COMMUNITY. NOW, HOWEVER, THE AUTHORITIES IN IRAN SEEM TO HAVE DECIDED TO SUBJECT PROMINENT BAHÁ’ÍS TO BARBARIC METHODS OF TORTURE TO EXTRACT FROM THEM CONFESSIONS TO THE FALSE CHARGES LEVELED AGAINST THEM.
TORTURE HAS BEEN USED ON BAHÁ’Í PRISONERS BEFORE, BUT HITHERTO THE PURPOSE HAS BEEN TO FORCE THEM TO RECANT THEIR FAITH OR REVEAL INFORMATION ABOUT THEIR FELLOW BELIEVERS. ALL BUT A FEW OF THE BAHÁ’ÍS REMAINED FIRM AND PREFERRED IMPRISONMENT AND DEATH TO RECANTATION OF THEIR FAITH. RECENTLY AN ADDED OBJECTIVE SEEMS TO INSPIRE THE GOVERNMENT’S TORTURE-MONGERS. ALTHOUGH IN ALL THESE YEARS, SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE REVOLUTION, THE GOVERNMENT HAS BEEN IN POSSESSION, THROUGH CONFISCATION, OF ALL THE RECORDS AND FILES OF THE ENTIRE BAHÁ’Í ADMINISTRATIVE SYSTEM IN IRAN, IT HAS FAILED TO PRODUCE A SINGLE SHRED OF EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT ITS REITERATED ACCUSATION THAT THE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY IN IRAN IS A NETWORK OF FOREIGN SPIES AND AGENTS. IT WOULD SEEM THAT NOW IT HAS DETERMINED TO MANUFACTURE BY MEANS OF FALSE CONFESSIONS EXTRACTED UNDER TORTURE, EVIDENCE TO ENABLE IT TO PUBLICLY JUSTIFY ITS INHUMAN PERSECUTION OF THE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY OF IRAN. WE KNOW OF THREE BAHÁ’ÍS WHOSE WILLS HAVE BEEN BROKEN UNDER THIS BARBARIC TORTURE AND WHO HAVE SUBMITTED TO THE DEMANDS OF THE AUTHORITIES, MAKING STATEMENTS ADMITTING TO A SERIES OF CRIMES. DOUBTLESS THE AUTHORITIES HOPE TO PUBLISH SIMILAR “CONFESSIONS” IN THE DAYS TO COME, MADE BY OTHER HAPLESS VICTIMS OF THIS FLAGITIOUS TREATMENT.
WE KNOW THE NAMES OF MANY BAHÁ’ÍS WHO ARE NOW BEING TORTURED, AND ALTHOUGH, FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, THESE CANNOT BE PUBLICIZED, THEY HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO SOME INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS.
MAY 10, 1984
FURTHER TO OUR MESSAGE OF 10 MAY REGARDING TORTURE BEING INFLICTED BAHÁ’ÍS IRAN
WE SEND FOLLOWING SUMMARY OVER-ALL SITUATION THAT COUNTRY FROM MOST RECENT
INFORMATION PROVIDED BY RELIABLE
SOURCES.
- SINCE THE BEGINNING OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION MORE THAN 300 RESIDENCES OF BAHÁ’ÍS HAVE BEEN PLUNDERED OR SET ON FIRE.
- SOME 170 BAHÁ’ÍS, MOST OF THEM PROMINENT MEMBERS OF THE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY, HAVE BEEN KILLED BY A VARIETY OF METHODS, BUT PRINCIPALLY THROUGH EXECUTION BY FIRING SQUADS OR BY HANGING.
- IN URBAN AREAS PROPERTIES BELONGING TO SEVERAL HUNDRED FAMILIES HAVE BEEN SEIZED, WHILE IN RURAL AREAS MANY ORCHARDS HAVE BEEN DESTROYED AND FARMS AND ARABLE LANDS CONFISCATED. PETITIONS TO THE AUTHORITIES FOR REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES HAVE BEEN IGNORED.
- THE MINISTRY OF WORKS AND SOCIAL AFFAIRS FORMALLY INSTRUCTED INDUSTRIAL AND COMMERCIAL INSTITUTIONS NOT TO PAY THEIR BAHÁ’Í STAFF.
- MORE THAN 10,000 BAHÁ’ÍS EMPLOYED IN GOVERNMENT OFFICES OR IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR HAVE BEEN SUMMARILY DISCHARGED, THEIR RIGHTS TO PENSIONS AND OTHER EMPLOYMENT BENEFITS REVOKED. DEMANDS WERE MADE OF A NUMBER OF THEM TO REFUND THE SALARIES THEY HAD RECEIVED FOR THE DURATION OF THEIR EMPLOYMENT.
- BAHÁ’Í STUDENTS HAVE BEEN DISMISSED FROM ALL UNIVERSITIES AND OTHER INSTITUTIONS OF HIGHER LEARNING.
- IN MOST CITIES AND PROVINCES, BAHÁ’Í CHILDREN HAVE BEEN DENIED ENTRY TO SCHOOLS AND THEREFORE HAVE NO ACCESS TO
- BASIC EDUCATION.
- SOME 700 BAHÁ’ÍS, INCLUDING MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, ARE BEING HELD IN VARIOUS PRISONS THROUGHOUT IRAN.
- FOR MORE THAN NINE MONTHS VISITS TO 40 BAHÁ’Í PRISONERS HAVE BEEN STRICTLY PROHIBITED BY THE AUTHORITIES. THEIR FATE IS THEREFORE UNKNOWN.
- IN EVIN AND GAWHARDASHT PRISONS A NUMBER OF BAHÁ’Í PRISONERS ARE UNDERGOING RELENTLESS TORTURE IN AN EFFORT ON THE PART OF THE AUTHORITIES TO FORCE THEM TO ADMIT TO FALSE CHARGES OF ENGAGING IN ESPIONAGE AND ACTING AGAINST THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF IRAN. FOR A PERIOD OF MONTHS THEY HAVE BEEN SUBJECTED TO FLOGGINGS OF ALL PARTS OF THE BODY, PARTICULARLY THE LEGS AND FEET. SOMETIMES UP TO 400 STROKES BY WIRE CABLES HAVE BEEN ADMINISTERED TO ONE PRISONER, THEN HE OR SHE HAS BEEN MADE TO WALK. FINDING THIS IMPOSSIBLE, THE UNFORTUNATE PRISONER HAS BEEN FORCED TO CRAWL ON HANDS AND KNEES BACK TO A DARK CELL. IN MASHHAD AND YAZD, BAHÁ’Í PRISONERS ARE REGULARLY WHIPPED ON THE HEAD AND FACE WITH THICK PLASTIC TUBES. SIMILAR PROCEDURES ARE USED TO A LESSER DEGREE IN OTHER PRISONS. A NUMBER OF THESE VICTIMS OF TORTURE HAVE LOST THEIR SIGHT AND HEARING, OTHERS THEIR MENTAL COMPETENCE. THE BODIES OF FOUR PRISONERS SUBJECTED TO SUCH TREATMENT WERE SEEN BEFORE BEING BURIED IN UNKNOWN GRAVES. IT IS THEREFORE FEARED THAT OTHER PRISONERS WHOSE BODIES HAVE BEEN SIMILARLY BURIED WITHOUT THEIR FAMILIES BEING NOTIFIED SUFFERED THE SAME FATE.
- BAHÁ’ÍS ARE UNSAFE IN THEIR OWN HOMES, WHICH ARE ENTERED AT WILL, DAY OR NIGHT, BY REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS, WHO HARASS THE INHABITANTS BY INSULTING, THREATENING AND BEATING THEM. WHEN THE REVOLUTIONARY GUARDS INVADE A HOME WITH THE INTENTION OF ARRESTING A PARTICULAR BAHÁ’Í, IF THAT PERSON HAPPENS TO BE ABSENT, THEIR PRACTICE IS TO SEIZE AS HOSTAGES OTHER MEMBERS OF THE HOUSEHOLD, EVEN CHILDREN, AND TO RANSACK THE PLACE, CONFISCATING WHATEVER THEY PLEASE.
- WHENEVER THE HEAD OR SOME OTHER IMPORTANT MEMBER OF THE FAMILY HAS BEEN KILLED, AND OFTEN WHEN SUCH A PERSON HAS BEEN IMPRISONED, THOSE REMAINING BEHIND HAVE BEEN FORCED FROM THEIR HOMES AND NOT PERMITTED TO TAKE ANY BELONGINGS, EVEN IN THE DEAD OF WINTER. THE VICTIMS OF SUCH TREATMENT HAVE NO RECOURSE TO JUSTICE SINCE THEIR PETITIONS TO THE AUTHORITIES ARE IGNORED. BAHÁ’Í FAMILIES IN ISFAHAN, MASHHAD, TEHERAN, URUMIYYIH AND YAZD IN PARTICULAR ARE AFFECTED BY THESE CONDITIONS.
FOLLOWING INFORMATION JUST RECEIVED: EXECUTION FOUR MORE COURAGEOUS BRETHREN IRAN.
TABRIZ, MAY 5—MR. JALAL PAYRAVI, IMPRISONED OCTOBER 22, 1981; MR. MAQSUD ‘ALIZADIH, IMPRISONED JANUARY 27, 1982.
TEHERAN, MAY 15—MR. ‘ALI-MUHAMMAD ZAMANI, 45 YEARS OLD; MR. JAHANGIR HIDAYATI, 61-YEAR-OLD CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER, MEMBER NOW DISSOLVED NATIONAL ASSEMBLY KIDNAPPED JUNE 1983. BOTH TORTURED DURING IMPRISONMENT.
IN ADDITION, MR. ASADU’LLAH KAMIL-MUQADDAM DIED IN PRISON MAY 2, CIRCUMSTANCES UNKNOWN.
FRIENDS IRAN FEEL SITUATION DANGEROUS GREAT NUMBER OTHER BAHÁ’Í PRISONERS.
MAY 21, 1984
United States[edit]
WLGI Radio begins test broadcasts[edit]
| WE HASTEN TO SHARE WITH UNIVERSAL HOUSE JUSTICE THE JOY OF VICTORY. TODAY, MAY 23, 1984, AT 4:35 P.M. EDT, RADIO STATION WLGI WENT ON THE AIR IN TEST BROADCAST THAT BEGAN WITH TAPED STATEMENT BY HAND CAUSE WILLIAM SEARS.
U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
MAY 23, 1984
UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
MAY 24, 1984 |
At the start of the first test broadcast May 23 on WLGI Radio in South Carolina, the voice of the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears radiated from atop the station’s 500-foot FM tower, reaching nearly one-third of the state’s residents with these words:
“This is WLGI, 90.9 megahertz, the voice of the Louis Gregory Institute. Bravo!”
The antenna for the first Bahá’í- owned and operated radio station in North America had been connected only minutes before the first broadcast.
Later that same evening, WLGI came back on the air with music and station identifications.
Bahá’ís from Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Florence and Orangeburg began phoning the Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute near Hemingway to report hearing the new station, says Dr. Alberta Deas, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly who is director of the Gregory Institute.
Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, phoned the other members of the National Assembly, who were meeting that weekend at the Louhelen Bahá’í School in Michigan, with news of WLGI’s first broadcast.
Initially, the station began broadcasting four to five hours each day with music and station identifications. On June 3, says Dr. Deas, the station’s operators filed a request with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for permission to begin regular programming and to receive a station license.
Broadcasting by the new Bahá’í station, she says, will be increased gradually from the initial four to five hours each day to 12 and later 18 hours daily.
Eventually, WLGI may broadcast 24 hours a day, but initial plans do not call for it to do so.
Workmen are shown pouring concrete for the base of the 500-foot FM tower for WLGI Radio near Hemingway, South Carolina, the first Bahá’í-owned and operated station in North America. WLGI began test broadcasting on May 23, the anniversary of the Declaration of the Báb, with plans calling for a gradual expansion of broadcast activities to 12 and then 18 hours each day.
United States[edit]
Second House resolution censures Iran[edit]
On May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives approved House Concurrent Resolution 226 which holds the government of Iran responsible for protecting the rights of all its citizens including the Bahá’ís, condemns the edict of August 1983 labeling organized Bahá’í activities “criminal acts,” and calls on President Ronald Reagan to work through appropriate channels to help relieve the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran.
The Resolution, whose introduction in the House coincided with the 140th anniversary of the birth of the Faith in Iran, won passage 20 days after Bahá’í testimony before the House Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations and exactly one year after a dramatic appeal by President Reagan on behalf of the
Whereas more than one hundred and fifty members of the Bahá’í faith have been brutally executed by Iranian authorities since the 1979 Islamic revolution; Whereas many Bahá’ís in Iran have disappeared and others have been tortured, persecuted, and deprived of their fundamental rights to personal property and employment; Whereas an edict issued by Iran’s Prosecutor General on August 29, 1983, has far-reaching implications that threaten the lives of three hundred thousand Bahá’ís residing in Iran and places the future practice of Bahá’ísm in jeopardy by dismantling the administrative structure of the Bahá’í religion; and Whereas these actions for the first time establish an expressed national policy which lays the legal foundation for executions, arrests, the confiscation of property, denial of jobs and pensions, expulsion of Bahá’í children from schools, and other pressures which may be brought to bear by Iranian authorities on the Bahá’ís: Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That the Congress—
Sec. 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit a copy of this concurrent resolution to the President. |
Bahá’ís in Iran.
It was introduced by Rep. John Porter of Illinois who said in his remarks that its 188 co-sponsors included many members of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus.
Also speaking in support of the resolution were Rep. Gus Yatron of Pennsylvania, chairman of the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations; Rep. Jim Leach of Iowa, the subcommittee’s ranking minority member; Rep. Fortney (Pete) Stark of California; Rep. Carroll A. Campbell Jr. of South Carolina; and Rep. Dante Fascell of Florida.
Threefold purpose[edit]
“The purpose of the resolution,” said Rep. Porter, “is threefold. First, it holds the government of Iran responsible for upholding the rights of all its citizens including the Bahá’ís.
“Second, it condemns the Prosecutor General’s edict banning the Bahá’ís.
“And third, it calls upon the President of the United States to work in the United Nations and other forums with leaders of other countries to form a broad-based appeal to the Iranian government.”
Congressman Porter, in whose district is Wilmette, site of the Mother Temple of the West and the Bahá’í administrative headquarters in the U.S., said, “It is an ironic crime against all humanity that these gentle and peaceful people have been persecuted in their homeland through 140 years of history
[Page 5]
but especially since the rise to power of
the murderous Khomeini regime. ...
“Last year the Prosecutor General of Iran issued an edict banning all Bahá’í religious activities as criminal acts. Like the Nuremberg laws, this edict establishes the so-called legal grounds for mass arrests and genocide, and that is what is occurring ...—genocide.
“In response to this decree, elected leaders of the Bahá’í Faith in Iran did dissolve all Bahá’í institutions there, citing obedience, as they always do, to the civil law of the land.
“But ... this has done nothing to prevent more torture, more persecution, and more executions. ...
“The setting in Iran today resembles Nazi Germany during Hitler’s rise to power ... and the world must speak out against it. ...
“The world must learn what is happening in Iran and bring the pressure of civilized opinion to bear on this barbaric situation. ...
“This resolution will not, in itself, change anything, but the people of this planet, united in their opposition to genocide in any form, can.”
“The Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations,” said Rep. Yatron, “... has long recognized the severity of the situation facing the Bahá’í community in Iran. ...
“Over 170 prominent Bahá’ís have been executed since Khomeini came into power. Their places of worship have been destroyed, their possessions have been confiscated, and their religion banned. ...
“Bahá’ís in Iran have always experienced tremendous pressure and persecution but they are being slaughtered by the Khomeini regime for adherence to their faith. For this reason, I urge my colleagues to support House Concurrent Resolution 226.”
Rep. Leach, who was a member of the subcommittee when Bahá’ís first offered testimony in May 1982, said, “One cannot help but conclude that the aim of the Iranian government is the extirpation of the Bahá’í faith from Iran, either by forced conversion of Bahá’ís to Shi’ite Islam or ‘extermination.’ The analogies between Iran today and Germany under Hitler are towering.
“The acts of inhumanity and brutality that have been heaped upon members of a peaceful religion are incomprehensible to civilized humanity. Among those recently executed are 10 women including three teen-age girls. The Revolutionary Guard tortures others in prison, whipping them with metal cables, pouring boiling water on their heads.
“While there is some tentative glimmer of hope that worldwide protests against this persecution may have diminished the Iranian authorities’ appetite for executions, the abuses continue to occur and demand our unflagging efforts to bring all pressure possible to bear on that government for its crimes.
“... it is my hope that those Bahá’ís who remain in Iran and who live in the darkness of this terror will hear our words and know of our actions today.
“Accordingly, I urge the unanimous support of my colleagues for this resolution as a symbol that the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot perpetrate an evil of this nature in silence. International protests may prove futile, but ignoring the plight of this gentle, committed people would be morally negligent.”
On May 2, three Bahá’ís appeared before the House Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations to offer new information concerning the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran since the subcommittee heard testimony two years ago.
Among them was Said Eshragi, an Iranian Bahá’í now living in Texas whose father, mother and 22-year-old sister were among 18 Bahá’ís hanged in Shiraz in June 1983.
Also testifying were Judge James F. Nelson, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly; Dr. Wilma Brady, the National Assembly’s vice-chairman; Rep. Porter; and Elliott Abrams, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs.
Rep. Tom Lantos of California, who chaired the hearing in the absence of Rep. Yatron, proposed an international conference devoted solely to discussing the persecutions in Iran with an eye toward devising possible solutions.
Mr. Abrams, who expressed the administration’s support for House Concurrent Resolution 226, said such a conference is certainly within the realm of possibility.
Tonga[edit]
Shown with their Tongan hosts last February 25 during a visit to Tonga are 14 young women from Japan, part of a 300-member youth group that was on a goodwill tour of the country. The Japanese youth heard introductory talks on the Faith during a special reception that included an exchange of gifts and a display of Bahá’í literature. The young women said it was the first time they had heard of the Faith, and some expressed surprise when told that the Faith has been established in Japan for some time.
Central African Republic[edit]
Mobile institute aids teaching, deepening[edit]
A new Bahá’í-sponsored mobile institute in the Central African Republic made its first trip April 12-May 14 to the provinces of Mbomou and Basse Kotto where five-day deepening institutes were held in three villages. More than 60 adults from 17 communities participated in the programs, which were directed by an Auxiliary Board member.
For eight hours each day, literate and illiterate Bahá’ís studied enthusiastically the first booklets in the program whose outline was based on one used at the Ruhi Institute in Colombia, South America. Love, spiritual understanding, and service are among the topics emphasized in the course.
The following report of this first trip for the mobile institute in the Central African Republic was written by the Auxiliary Board member in charge of the project.
The words “La Foi Bahá’íe—Institut Mobile” (Bahá’í Faith—Mobile Institute) are painted on the doors of the van, making it a rolling proclamation of the Faith.
Children and adults strain to read the words aloud as the mobile institute passes through their village, and with the roads being what they are, everyone has plenty of time to read.
This first trip was to two of the most remote provinces, the Mbomou and the Basse Kotto. The friends in these areas receive few visits, and the sight of the van brought cries of “ ‘Alláh’u’-Abhá” and “Ya Bahá’u’l-Abhá” from all sides. All had seen a photograph of the van in the Bahá’í Journal and were delighted that the first visit should be to their region.
It was truly an historic occasion, and photographs were taken of the administrator and sub-administrator of Mbomou Province receiving Bahá’í literature. Photographs also were taken of the village chief in Malangamba who kindly opened the first institute, and of the Local Spiritual Assembly members who hosted it.
Planting season[edit]
Institutes of five days each were held in three villages: Malangamba, Ngoakiri and Langandi, with a total of more than 60 adults from 17 villages participating. It was the planting season, and the friends sacrificed five precious days in the fields to attend classes, which were held in the mornings, afternoons and evenings.
The sacrifice made by the friends, as well as the study of prayers and the Holy Writings, created a spiritual atmosphere that was reflected in their faces and touched the depths of their hearts. At the close of the institute in Malangamba, the friends wrote in their thank-you letter to the National Spiritual Assembly:
“The friends wanted to increase the number of days (for the institute). Unfortunately, it came to and end ... Thanks to this institute we will all go together to teach in new areas.”
During the institute sessions, activities were varied with emphasis on individual and group study rather than lectures. Prayers were learned, and the number of people who know an obligatory prayer increased from eight to 44.
The first locally produced slide and cassette tape program was tried and
Pictured are some of the participants in the first study course offered April 18-22 in Malangamba, Central African Republic, by the new Bahá’í mobile institute. They are holding booklets in the Sango language that were used to conduct the sessions. Behind them is a chalk board showing photographs of the Bahá’í World Centre which are laminated to plywood and serve as a part of the institute’s visual aids.
[Page 7]
Bahá’ís in Malangamba, Central African Republic, gather in front of the
new Bahá’í mobile institute which visited that village April 18-22 for a five-day study session conducted by an Auxiliary Board member. The institute’s curriculum is patterned after a course of study developed at the Ruhi Institute in Colombia, South America.
proved to be a resounding success. The slides in this program were taken during the December 1983 vacation school in Bagandou, Central African Republic.
The accompanying taped narration in the Sango language includes a musical background and describes the activities of this school session, inviting everyone to attend the next Bahá’í school.
Interest in presentations on Bahá’í history was heightened through the use of photographs of the Hands of the Cause of God, of prominent African Bahá’ís, and of the Bahá’í World Centre, all of which are laminated to plywood and covered with a protective coating of varnish.
The booklet deepening technique developed at the Ruhi Institute was used for the mobile institute’s study classes. During the months preceding the van’s first trip, booklets were prepared in French and Sango which made it possible for everyone who attended the classes to follow the course in a language they could understand.
Participants were divided into small groups with the literate people reading to those who could not read for themselves. This system worked quite well even in Malangamba where there were 34 participants ranging in ability from illiterate to highly literate.
The enormous success of the mobile institute can be attributed to the fact that so many people helped put it on the road: the Universal House of Justice who gave us the goal; the friends who paid for the vehicle; our National Spiritual Assembly who gave the directives; the Continental Counsellors who paid for the first trip; the Mobile Institute Commission who planned the program; and the National Teaching Committee and members of the Auxiliary Board who prepared the courses and other activities.
We are all eagerly anticipating the next trip in July.
Japan[edit]
Pictured are most of the 67 adults and 35 children who attended a Bahá’í Winter School last January 14-16 in Hiroshima, Japan. Two of those present at the successful school were not Bahá’ís.
United States[edit]
Louhelen conference maps victory course[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States convened an extraordinary conference May 25-27 at the Louhelen Bahá’í School in Michigan “to forge a new and common understanding of the Campaign of Unified Action” and to use that understanding as the basis for a cohesive and dynamic strategy for winning the goals of the Seven Year Plan.
Taking part in the conference with eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly were:
- Four members of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas: Farzam Arbáb, Sarah Martin Pereira, Fred Schechter and Velma Sherrill.
- Dr. Peter Khan, a Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre in Haifa.
- Representatives of the American Indian Teaching Committee, Business and Professional Affairs Committee, International Goals Committee, National Education Committee, National Teaching Committee, National Youth Committee, Persian Affairs Committee, NSA Properties Committee, Race Unity Committee, Social and Economic Development Committee, and South Carolina Regional Teaching Committee.
- Auxiliary Board members Stephen Birkland, Dorothy Borhani and Khalil Khavari.
- Senior staff from the Bahá’í National Center, the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, and the Louhelen Bahá’í School.
The vice-chairman of the National
Spiritual Assembly, Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, was unable to attend the conference as he was preparing testimony
for a June 26 appearance before the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee in
Washington, D.C.
The conference was begun Friday morning with a “brainstorming” session chaired by the National Assembly secretary, Robert Henderson.
From that session emerged the framework within which smaller workshop groups would consult Friday afternoon and all day Saturday, developing plans and proposals to be presented to plenary sessions Friday and Saturday evenings.
The over-all goal toward which consultation was directed was clarification of the Campaign of Unified Action, which was introduced by the National Spiritual Assembly in August 1983.
The six workshop groups, each of which included at least one member of the National Assembly, and in which the Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members were active participants, consulted on three levels: (a) vision, (b) process, and (c) structures, roles and relationships.
The first of these, vision, included as its subtopics (1) the destiny of America and conquest of the planet, (2) Bahá’u’lláh—the Source, (3) unprecedented growth, and (4) appreciating and achieving unity in diversity.
Under process, the friends consulted on (1) reliance on the Creative Word, (2) expansion and consolidation, (3) releasing the potential of the individual, (4) communication, (5) learning from experience, and (6) social and economic development.
The third topic, that of structures, roles and relationships, had as its subtopics (1) the individual, (2) the family, (3) the community, (4) the Local Spiritual Assembly, and (5) national committees and agencies including the Counsellors, the National Spiritual Assembly, the Auxiliary Boards and their assistants.
Each workshop group presented oral reports at the plenary sessions and compiled comprehensive written reports that were entered into a computer and compiled for the National Assembly and other conference participants before the close of the meeting on Sunday morning.
The positive feeling that emerged from the conference was clearly evident at each of its sessions, and is reflected in the National Spiritual Assembly’s letter to the American Bahá’í community:
“Our deliberations together at Louhelen gave us a new appreciation of our destiny, reaffirmed by the Universal House of Justice when it addressed us: ‘You are a community of victors; you occupy the front ranks of Bahá’u’lláh’s invincible army of light; indeed, you must remain in the vanguard of its thrust.’ ”
Bahá’í youth, so vital to the success of any campaign, were very much a part of the conference, which was preceded by another gathering May 23-24 at Louhelen at which 35 youth from the U.S. and Canada met with Counsellors Arbáb and Schechter to study the writings of the Guardian concerning the destiny of youth in the North American community and to discuss their unique role in helping that community to win final victory in the Seven Year Plan.
From that meeting came the broad outline of a new “youth movement,” which is not a new campaign but rather a revitalization of the Bahá’í youth in North America “to support and reinforce the teaching effort and the winning of the goals of the Seven Year Plan.”
The National Spiritual Assembly will use the proposals formulated at the Louhelen conference as a basis for its ongoing consultation on the Campaign of Unified Action “and its implications for the achievement of the remaining goals of the Seven Year Plan.”
French Guiana[edit]
First National Spiritual Assembly elected[edit]
Years of patient sacrifice and many months of hard work reached a glorious climax the weekend of April 28-29 with the election of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of French Guiana at that country’s first National Convention in Montjoly.
The spirit of joy and thanksgiving that permeated the historic gathering was heightened by the presence of many visitors from North America, South America and Europe.
The Universal House of Justice was represented by the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Muhammad Vargá.
On the continental level, the Board of Counsellors in the Americas was represented by Counsellor Lauretta King from Alaska.
The “grandmother” Assembly, Guyana, sent one of its members, Gordon Naylor, and his family as its representative, while several members of the “mother” Assembly, Suriname and French Guiana, also were present.
Also among the guests were three Auxiliary Board members, Guitty Milani, Marijke Van Lith and Benoit Girard.
Among the highlights was the presentation of a dozen red roses—one for each Local Spiritual Assembly in French Guiana—to the well-beloved and highly respected Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, Eberhard Friedland, who is truly the spiritual father of the newborn independent community.
The roses were presented to Mr. Friedland as an expression of gratitude for his heroic response to the beloved Guardian’s appeal for pioneers during the first year of the Ten Year Crusade (1953).
Now, some 31 years later, Mr. Friedland was present to witness the birth of the National Spiritual Assembly of French Guiana and to take part in a National Convention whose results included widespread proclamation of the Message of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the country.
Above: Delegates and guests at the first National Convention of French Guiana held April 28-29 in Montjoly. The Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá, who represented the Universal House of Justice, is seated at right in the third row; Eberhard Friedland, a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh who pioneered to French Guiana in 1953, is at left in the second row. Below. The members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of French Guiana are shown at the Convention.
The world[edit]
Rapid growth seen in Sierra Leone[edit]
In the nine-month period from April 1983 to January of this year the number of Spiritual Assemblies in Sierra Leone more than doubled, from 14 to 34.
According to Counsellor Zekrollah Kazemi, the same period saw the number of Bahá’ís in that country greatly increased while the goal of localities to be opened to the Faith was surpassed.
The victories came about after teaching teams were formed to carry out campaigns that were dedicated to the memory of the late Hands of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga and Rahmatu’lláh Muhájir. The first phase opened triumphantly with 10 new Spiritual Assemblies formed and 500 new believers enrolled in the Faith.
Bahá’ís in Sierra Leone’s mother community of Makeni rented a Center and began holding regular meetings to continue the expansion work and to hold deepening classes for Makeni and nearby villages.
A Bahá’í exhibit that was a part of Makeni’s agricultural show proclaimed the Faith to hundreds of visitors. The Faith also is included in the religion course at Makeni Teachers College.
Grenada[edit]
Shown are participants in a four-day Grenada Youth School held at the beginning of January. Included were dawn prayers, songs, and presentations on the Bahá’í Writings and the history of the Faith. Despite the absence of electric lights, more than 60 people attended a public meeting that was held at the close of the school session.
Sixty Bahá’í youth from four Caribbean nations participated last April in Grenada’s first Inter-Island Youth School.
Sessions were offered on Bahá’í history, Biblical prophecy, and the recent message to Bahá’í youth from the Universal House of Justice. In addition, workshops were held on public speaking and setting personal goals.
During a talent show, the West Indian youth displayed an abundance of musical, dramatic and comedic ability.
The bastinado was demonstrated during a session on the life of the Báb, and members of the audience were given blocks of ice to hold to demonstrate wintertime conditions inside the prison of Mah-Kú.
Argentina[edit]
Bahá’í youth from rural areas and cities in Argentina last February conducted two successful teaching projects.
The group that visited Argentina’s northern Toba area was invited by the pastor of a Protestant church to teach for two hours at the church.
They conducted a meeting of 120 people in Miraflores, one of the most active Bahá’í communities in the region; helped elect delegates to the Bahá’í National Convention; and conducted a Summer School in Saenz Peña that was attended by 60 people.
The other team of youth, which operated in the country’s southern Mapuche area, was accompanied by a member of the National Spiritual Assembly.
The young people presented Bahá’í books to seven mayors and four cultural directors of municipalities, were interviewed on four radio stations, and presented the film “The Green Light Expedition” in four cities. A television station showed a part of the film.
The youth also conducted two deepening institutes and visited the friends wherever they traveled.
A total of 84 new Bahá’ís were enrolled by both teaching teams.
United Kingdom[edit]
Shown are the nearly 500 delegates and guests at the Bahá’í National Convention of the United Kingdom held April 27-29 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England. Among the speakers was Agnes Ghaznavi, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Europe. In a formal visit to the Convention, the mayor of Harrogate welcomed the Bahá’ís to the city.
The British Broadcasting Corporation’s World Service has produced a second series of programs featuring operatic baritone Norman Bailey.
Mr. Bailey, who is a Bahá’í, speaks about his music and his Faith in the series, which was heard worldwide through the BBC’s shortwave facilities.
The first of six programs in the most recent “Reflections” series was broadcast Saturday, February 18.
The BBC producer informed the United Kingdom’s Bahá’í National Center that Mr. Bailey’s series on the Faith that was aired last November resulted in the greatest audience response the series had generated all year.
Offices of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of the United Kingdom have been moved to a new location in Leicestershire. The Trust’s distribution center also has been moved and is now located in a warehouse in Ketton about 10 miles from the new office.
The developments reflect the continuing growth and expansion of the Trust’s activities. Many Bahá’ís including youth helped in the work associated with the moves.
A youth project scheduled for this summer will help in making further improvements and repairs to the warehouse complex and grounds in preparation for future growth.
The Trust’s new address is 6 Mt. Pleasant, Oakham, Leicester, LE15 6HU, England.
For what is believed to be the first time in Northern Ireland, a Jew and a Christian requested to be married in a Bahá’í ceremony. The request was honored and the ceremony carried out last April 17.
The Spiritual Assembly of North Down consulted with the bride and groom and their families, and an order of service was arranged which included Bahá’í prayers and readings from the Bible.
Dr. Beman Khosravi, an Auxiliary Board member, was among the more than 40 people who attended the wedding ceremony.
More than 700 Bahá’ís attended a National Teaching Conference last January 18 in the United Kingdom. Among the speakers was Counsellor Leo Niederreiter.
A non-Bahá’í publisher in England plans to include extracts from two Bahá’í prayers in a forthcoming book of prayers for children entitled Dear God.
Hawaii[edit]
Gayle Morrison, a Bahá’í from Kapaa, Kauai, Hawaii, recently received certificates of commendation from the Hawaii State Senate and House of Representatives for her biography of the Hand of the Cause of God Louis G. Gregory, To Move the World. Mrs. Morrison also was honored for her book in a resolution passed by the city council of Kauai. In addition to her biography of Mr. Gregory, Mrs. Morrison has written numerous articles and a guide to books on Southeast Asian history, and served for several years as a member of the editorial board of World Order magazine.
Pictured are delegates and guests at the Bahá’í National Convention of Hawaii held April 27-29 at the Bahá’í National Center in Honolulu.
Shown are some of the indigenous Bahá’ís in Hawaii who attended a special
teaching conference last March
31-April 1 at the Bahá’í National Center in Honolulu. The conference, one of a series of such events for Bahá’ís in Hawaii who are members of various
ethnic groups, was held under the auspices of Hawaii’s National Teaching
Committee.
Burma[edit]
Ninety-five Bahá’ís from 20 communities in Burma attended a special deepening institute last January 21-22 in Kyetsudaw.
The gathering, called a “Key Believers Training Class,” was held with the specific permission of the government, and representatives of the divisional religious officer of Pegu and of the Kyetsudaw local people’s council attended the sessions.
Discussions of the lives of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh, the Covenant, the station of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Bahá’í administration, and Bahá’í family life were tape-recorded and forwarded to the divisional religious officer of Pegu.
Alaska[edit]
Connections Ltd., a television production company in Anchorage, Alaska, that is owned and operated by local Bahá’ís, recently won a gold medal for best energy documentary at the 26th annual International Film and Television Festival in New York City.
Connections’ entry was a 30-minute film entitled “Alaska: America’s Energy Frontier,” which was produced for the Alaska Oil and Gas Association.
The film competed with other entries from 1,800 companies in 45 countries and won one of 63 gold medals.
Upper Volta[edit]
Marco Kappenberger, a Bahá’í from Switzerland who is a representative for the Faith at the United Nations office in Geneva, Switzerland, visited Upper Volta last December and was kept busy day and night in Ouagadougou meeting with officials and attending firesides.
Accompanied by two members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Upper Volta, Mr. Kappenberger met with an assistant to the Minister of the Interior and Security, who had many questions about the Faith and its activities at the UN.
The official was given Bahá’í books, and in return offered his assurances that Bahá’ís would be free to teach the Faith in that country.
Mr. Kappenberger also met with labor leaders, the director of a hospital, directors of state offices, the resident representative of the UN Development Program, members of the press, and spoke at a special conference for attorneys.
A reception held for Mr. Kappenberger at the end of his stay in Upper Volta was attended by Bahá’ís and their guests.
Mexico[edit]
A women’s conference sponsored last March by the state Government of Oaxaca, Mexico, provided an excellent opportunity for the Spiritual Assembly of Oaxaca to make known the Bahá’í teachings on the role of women in society.
The Assembly prepared special news releases on the equality of men and women, the education of women, and women’s contributions to peace which were sent to local newspapers, radio stations, and the city’s only television station.
Five articles on the Bahá’í view of women were published in three newspapers; two of these were front page articles. The Bahá’í teachings on women were broadcast on at least one radio station.
A few months before the women’s conference was announced, the Spiritual Assembly of Oaxaca had sent Bahá’í materials on women’s rights to several prominent women including the wife of the state governor who presided at the women’s conference.
Zaire[edit]
Twenty-two new Spiritual Assemblies were formed and 66 localities were opened to the Faith as the result of a recent teaching campaign in the Malemba Nkulu zone of Zaire.
Six Bahá’ís formed two groups that proclaimed the Faith, traveling on foot for many miles. Each group contacted more than 1,000 people and enrolled more than 200 of them.
One of the teams then decided to continue traveling for a five-month period to deepen new believers in the 66 newly opened localities.
Peru[edit]
Pictured are members of a self-appointed teaching team that was responsible for enrolling 118 people in the Faith in southern Peru and helping in the formation of six new Spiritual Assemblies during a recent month-long visit to 21 localities. At the Peruvian National Convention, these friends pledged to continue their teaching work for a full year. Auxiliary Board member Jane Czerniejewski is second from right.
One hundred-eighteen people were enrolled in the Faith, six Spiritual Assemblies were formed, and 10 children’s classes were established through the efforts of a seven-member teaching team composed of six Bahá’í youth and Auxiliary Board member Jane Czerniejewski, a pioneer from the U.S., who visited 21 localities in southern Peru over a one-month period early this year.
The project was begun following the close of the Peruvian Bahá’í Summer School. During their travels, the friends gave 16 public talks, presented the Faith to local authorities, conducted deepening classes and youth meetings for Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís. They also took part in six radio interviews, one of which lasted nearly an hour.
After traveling more than 1,200 miles, the team members arrived in Chucuito Puno where the Bahá’í National Convention was to be held. There they delivered a written promise to the National Spiritual Assembly that they would give a full year of service to the project they had begun in southern Peru.
The team was inspired by the many original and creative ideas of the late Counsellor Raúl Pavón.
Taiwan[edit]
More than 80 Bahá’ís from Hong Kong, Japan, Macau, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan and four non-Bahá’í guests attended the first Regional Chinese Teaching Conference held last April 14-15 in Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Speakers at the historic gathering, which was organized by the International Chinese Teaching Committee, included Counsellor Rúḥulláh Mumtází and James Liu, representing the International Chinese Teaching Committee.
Also present to add special inspiration were members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan and Auxiliary Board members from some of the areas represented.
Among the highlights was consultation between the friends from the six Asian countries mentioned. It was the first time this was possible, and participants agreed that this kind of sharing should be pursued.
During a special session for the children, songs were learned and craft items made to be sold to benefit the Fund. The children also performed for the adults during an evening session.
One recently enrolled Bahá’í was astonished when he entered the conference room and saw his father seated there. He had no idea his father was a Bahá’í.
Before the end of the conference, one of the four non-Bahá’í guests declared her belief in Bahá’u’lláh.
Bahá’ís from Hong Kong, Malaysia and Singapore remained after the close of the conference to help the friends in Taiwan fulfill goals of the Seven Year Plan.
Pictured are the more than 80 Bahá’ís and their guests from Taiwan, Singapore, Macau, Japan, Malaysia and Hong Kong who were present last April 14-15 at the first Regional Chinese Teaching Conference in Taipei.
Shomais Afnan (standing at right), a Bahá’í from Newfoundland, Canada, addresses a women’s luncheon in Taipei, Taiwan, during an eight-month around-the-world teaching trip. Others at the head table are (left to right)
Janice Rossing of the Bahá’í Public Information Office; translator Shiao-lei Chao; and the hostess, Mrs. Q.Q. Buehrer. While in Taiwan, Mrs. Afnan was interviewed by reporters from three newspapers (both Chinese- and English-language) and by the only English-language radio station, addressed several women’s meetings, and spoke at a public meeting and a fireside. It was through her visit that the Bahá’ís of Taiwan were able to establish contact with the government office responsible for women’s activities in the Republic of China.
Belgium[edit]
Each week, Professor M. Mazgani, a Bahá’í who lives in The Netherlands, travels to Antwerp, Belgium, at the request of that country’s National Spiritual Assembly to deliver a lecture on the Faith at the Faculty of Comparative Religion.
The Faculty grew out of a 1975 Congress in Brussels at which representatives of Belgium, the United Kingdom, France and The Netherlands joined to organize a lecture series. In 1979, the concept was expanded to create a university-level institution.
During a recent curriculum change, courses were divided into two categories: Judaism, Christianity and Islam under the heading “The Great Religious Messages,” and “Movements of Lesser Importance” in which the Bahá’í Faith was included.
The National Spiritual Assembly of Belgium reacted immediately, and after an exchange of correspondence and interviews, the Faith was moved into the first category.
Malawi[edit]
When the Public Relations Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of Malawi offered to present some Bahá’í books to the country’s National Library Service, the library officials decided to purchase many Bahá’í titles so that all of its branch libraries could stock them.
The happy result of the committee’s offer is that soon the residents of Zomba, Mzuzu, Blantyre, Limbe and Lilongwe will find Bahá’í books on the shelves of their public libraries.
World Centre[edit]
For the first time, a member of a reigning royal family has arrived on pilgrimage at the Bahá’í World Centre.
Princess Gcenaphi of Swaziland was among a group of 20 Bahá’ís from that country which included Chief Johannes Dlamini and other native believers and pioneers. The arrival at the World Centre on March 19 of such a large group of pilgrims from an African country was noteworthy in itself.
The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, who had met Princess Gcenaphi and her father some years ago, held a reception at the Master’s House in honor of the royal visitor and her fellow Bahá’ís.
Also present at the reception were the Hand of the Cause ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan, members of the Universal House of Justice, and Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre.
For the enjoyment of everyone present, the visitors from Swaziland performed traditional dances, sang, and played drums.
The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum (center) is shown with Princess Gcenaphi and Chief Johannes Dlamini of Swaziland during a reception last March 19 at the House of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in honor of a group of 21 pilgrims from Swaziland.
Thailand[edit]
An estimated 2,000 people including many students and teachers learned of the Faith from a Bahá’í booth that was a part of a recent exhibit in southern Thailand commemorating the 700th anniversary of the creation of the Thai alphabet.
The Bahá’í Area Teaching Committee was invited to participate in the large exhibit planned for Songkhla, Thailand, as a result of a chance meeting between a committee member and a member of the exhibit’s organizing committee who turned out to be a Bahá’í who had lost contact with the friends some 15 years ago.
The Bahá’í booth included attractive posters, photographs and art work. Hundreds of visitors saw a slide-tape presentation on the Faith, and Bahá’í literature in Thai and English was displayed.
As a result, officials from two schools invited the Bahá’ís to set up exhibits at their schools, several people asked to be enrolled in a Bahá’í correspondence course, and a few students visited the Bahá’í Center in Hadyai.
Norway[edit]
One hundred-ten people attended this year’s Norwegian Bahá’í Winter School in Gjøvik, Norway, in the southern part of the country.
Speakers included Counsellor Agnes Ghaznavi and Auxiliary Board members Gerd Strand and Polin Rafat.
A highlight of the school was an offer by a Bahá’í to pioneer to Tromsø, making possible the formation of Europe’s northernmost Spiritual Assembly.
The weekly magazine supplement of Aftenposten, Norway’s largest circulation newspaper, based in Oslo, included in its January 21 issue a four-page spread on the Bahá’í World Centre including 1,500 words and lovely color photographs of the Holy Places including some not usually shown such as the prison cell in which Bahá’u’lláh was incarcerated in ‘Akká.
The article was written by Liss Hegge, a reporter for the paper who is a Bahá’í. Miss Hegge and a staff photographer were sent from Oslo to Haifa and ‘Akká last August.
The newspaper’s editor had become interested in the Faith after hearing of the persecutions in Iran.
Liberia[edit]
One hundred twenty-five people were recently enrolled in the Faith in Liberia and 10 new Spiritual Assemblies were formed through the efforts of a group of Bahá’ís who had attended a week-long teaching institute which focused on mass teaching at the village level.
The friends who completed the course had committed themselves to six weeks of traveling and teaching in villages throughout the country.
Trinidad/Tobago[edit]
His Excellency Ellis Clarke (center), the President of Trinidad and Tobago, receives a copy of the book A Crown of Beauty from (left to right) Counsellor Ruth Pringle; Dr. Muhammad Hasan Jamalabadi, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Trinidad and Tobago; and the Hand of the Cause of God H. Collis Featherstone and Mrs. Featherstone. The presentation was made last March 22.
Shown are participants in a deepening conference held January 15 at the Bahá’í National Center in Woodbrook, Trinidad. The guest speaker was Counsellor Peter McLaren (standing in front row second from left). Standing at the far left next to Counsellor McLaren is Auxiliary Board member Laurence Coward, while Auxiliary Board member Keith Thorpe is at the left in the second row. The conference, which was centered on methods of deepening and teaching, was sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly of Trinidad and Tobago.
Kenya[edit]
A total of 3,595 people including 2,580 adults and 1,015 youth were enrolled in the Faith in Kenya during 140 B.E., exceeding Kenya’s teaching goal for the year by 310 and more than doubling the number of enrollments in that country during the previous year.
Regional enrollment goals were met or exceeded in the Coast, Kakamega, Nandi/Uasin-Gishu and Embu regions with Coast having outstanding success in the mass teaching area of Malindi.
Communities in the Bungoma and Kisumu/Siaya regions came within-two or three people of winning their regional enrollment goals as established by the National Teaching Committee.
Italy[edit]
By last February, the Bahá’í community of Italy had achieved its goal of 50 Spiritual Assemblies with the establishment of an Assembly at Caserta in the Campania Region.
Assemblies are yet to be formed in Sassari, North Sardinia, and in Campobasso, Molise, the only region without an Assembly.
Sweden[edit]
To mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Spiritual Assembly of Gothenburg, Sweden, a display window in the city’s Central Bureau of Information was rented by the Bahá’ís for a two-week period.
Eleven thousand people came into the bureau during the time the display was present, but the number of additional people who passed by it cannot be estimated. Four hundred Bahá’í brochures were distributed and 10 books sold.
Seventy lessons on the Bahá’í Faith were presented during a recent five-month period to 45 school classes in Sundsvall, Sweden.
Teachers for the lessons have for the most part been Bahá’í youth, two of whom were traveling teachers from Australia and the United States. Three others are youth from the Stockholm area who taught 15 classes at three schools during one 48-hour period.
The response from teachers and students has been gratifying. Several teachers expressed a desire for return visits by the Bahá’í youth next fall.
Auxiliary Board member Ulf Persson spoke recently at a college in Visby, Sweden, that trains teachers of pre-school children.
Following his talk, Mr. Persson directed small group discussions on such topics as “life after death,” “sin and punishment,” and “the existence of good and evil.”
The school had planned to invite several groups to participate in a special study day whose theme was “different life-views,” but in the end it was decided to invite only the Bahá’ís.
Three representatives of the National Spiritual Assembly of Sweden paid an official visit last April 11 to the country’s minister of immigration in an effort to make it easier for Iranian refugees in Pakistan to come to Sweden.
During the meeting with Minister Anita Gradin, the group was joined by two other members of the Swedish Immigration Department.
The atmosphere was positive. Ms. Gradin was well-informed about the Bahá’í situation in Iran, and she listened closely to the National Assembly’s report and suggestions, promising to investigate the matter herself and to contact the National Assembly as soon as possible.
Correction[edit]
In the July 1984 issue of Bahá’í News, an article from the United Kingdom was headlined “Bahá’í Service at Westminster Abbey.” The headline is misleading. This was actually a Christian service in which Bahá’ís participated with prayers and songs. We apologize for any erroneous impression conveyed by the headline.
Caroline Islands[edit]
Shown are some of the Bahá’ís who were present for the dedication last February 18 of the Bahá’í Center in Yap, Caroline Islands, that will serve as the Bahá’í administrative center for the Western Caroline Islands when the National Spiritual Assembly of the Caroline Islands is formed next Riḍván. Yap is in Micronesia, east of the Philippines and southwest of Guam.
Puerto Rico[edit]
A group of 11 Bahá’ís from Panama who attended a recent radio course at the Amoz Gibson Training Center in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, was unique in two respects.
It was the first time that a group at the media center had had little prior experience in media use and practices, and it marked the first time a group that was to be directly involved in a specific radio project was sent to the center.
The training center, created and operated by K. Dean Stephens of CIRBAL, trains Bahá’ís in all aspects of radio broadcasting. Students come from all parts of the western hemisphere for courses of several weeks’ duration.
A women’s dormitory, named in memory of the late Counsellor Leonora Armstrong, is now under construction. A recently completed classroom building is named in honor of Counsellor Raúl Pavón whose genius helped give birth to Bahá’í radio in the Americas.
The Bahá’ís from Panama were expected to continue their training at approximately one-month intervals. The goal is to have a Bahá’í radio station on the air in Panama within a year as a part of the Guaymi Cultural Center project.
THE DAWNING PLACE
Bruce W. Whitmore’s long-awaited history
of North America’s Bahá’í House of Worship and the
community that built it ...
- DID YOU KNOW THAT—
- the first national Bahá’í administrative body in the world was formed to build North America’s first House of Worship?
- at least fifteen designs were considered for the project?
- Foundation Hall was rumored in the twenties to be a giant fish tank?
- a fire in 1931 engulfed the entire superstructure?
- 743 tons of quartz were used in the dome alone?
- it took fifty years to complete the project?
by |
| 331 pages, including foreword, appendices, notes, index
Hardcover edition Softcover edition
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- *Available from Bahá’í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, IL,
- U.S.A., at prices listed plus 10% postage and handling.
- Or order through your National Bahá’í Distribution
- Service; prices may vary.
- Available from
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415 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, IL 60091
