| ←Previous | Bahá’í News Issue 646 |
Next→ |
 Proofread onceReturn to PDF view
|
| Bahá’í News | January 1985 | Bahá’í Year 141 |
The Hand of the Cause of God Shu‘á‘u’lláh ‘Alá’í
Bahá’í News[edit]
House of Justice announces passing of Gen. ‘Alá’í more deaths in Iran | 1 |
A Bahá’í teaching team visits remote Mornington Island in Australia | 2 |
The Bahá’í International Community responds to appeal from Ghana | 5 |
U.S. State Department document further publicizes Iran persecutions | 6 |
Pictures tell story of busy and exciting summer for Sweden’s Bahá’ís | 8 |
Two successful Inter-Regional Conferences held in Cotonou, Benin | 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 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 © 1985, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
World Centre[edit]
Hand of Cause Shu‘á‘u’lláh ‘Alá’í dies[edit]
| On the cover: GRIEVED ANNOUNCE PASSING HANDCAUSE SHU‘Á‘U’LLÁH ‘ALÁ’Í 16 NOVEMBER THUS ENDING MORE THAN 70 YEARS UNINTERRUPTED DEDICATED SERVICES THRESHOLD BAHÁ’U’LLÁH. HE WAS TOWER STRENGTH CRADLE FAITH WHERE HE SERVED EMINENTLY, DEVOTEDLY IN ITS EMERGING ADMINISTRATIVE INSTITUTIONS SINCE THEIR INCEPTION. HIS MEMBERSHIP MANY DECADES NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, FREQUENTLY AS CHAIRMAN, BEARS WITNESS TRUST BAHÁ’ÍS IRAN PLACED HIS NOBLE PERSON. HIS EXEMPLARY COURAGE REPRESENTING INTERESTS FAITH HIGH PLACES, HIS INTEGRITY PERFORMING OFFICIAL DUTIES ENHANCED PRESTIGE BELOVED FAITH HE SO DILIGENTLY SINCERELY CHAMPIONED ENTIRE LIFE. HIS MANIFOLD ACHIEVEMENTS CROWNED HONOR APPOINTMENT HANDCAUSE 29 FEBRUARY 1952. THIS ENABLED HIM EXTEND SERVICES FAITH INTERNATIONAL ARENA. SUPPLICATING SACRED THRESHOLD PROGRESS RADIANT SOUL ABHÁ KINGDOM. ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS BAHÁ’Í WORLD INCLUDING ALL MASHRIQU’L-ADHKÁRS.
UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
NOVEMBER 18, 1984 |
WITH HEAVY HEART ANNOUNCE MARTYRDOM
SHÁHPÚR MARKAZÍ OUTSTANDING SERVANT
FAITH IN IRAN MEMBER PREVIOUS NATIONAL
SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY AND AUXILIARY BOARD
MEMBER. HE SUFFERED CRUEL TORTURE PAST
FEW MONTHS. PURPOSE THESE TORTURES WAS
FORCE HIM ADMIT FALSE CHARGES IMPLICATING BAHÁ’Í INSTITUTIONS AS NETWORK ESPIONAGE AND HIMSELF AS SPY. HIS GROWING RESISTANCE INCREASED INTENSITY TORTURES WHICH MAY HAVE CAUSED HIS DEATH 23 SEPTEMBER. HE WAS BURIED 25 SEPTEMBER WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE RELATIVES FRIENDS.
REGRET ANNOUNCE ALSO PASSING AWAY IN PRISON OF AMÍNU’LLÁH QURBÁNPUR 60-YEAR-OLD MASON ON 25 AUGUST 1984. CAUSE DEATH UNKNOWN. HOWEVER BLOOD-STAINED CLOTHES RETURNED TO FAMILY TOGETHER WITH HIS RECENTLY WASHED SHOES MAKE CIRCUMSTANCES HIS DEATH SUSPICIOUS. HIS BODY WAS ALSO BURIED BY AUTHORITIES WITHOUT KNOWLEDGE RELATIVES.
OCTOBER 11, 1984
WITH SORROWFUL HEARTS WE ANNOUNCE EXECUTION OF THREE MORE BAHÁ’ÍS IN IRAN, MR.
AHMAD BASHIRI, MEMBER NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
DISBANDED 29 AUGUST 1983, MR. YUNIS NAWRUZI, MEMBER LOCAL ASSEMBLY KARAJ. THESE
TWO EXECUTED BY HANGING AND THE THIRD,
MR. FIRUZ PURDIL, AN ENGINEER FROM
MASHHAD DETAILS OF WHOSE EXECUTION NOT
YET KNOWN. IT IS CERTAIN THAT MR. BASHIRI IN
HIS FIFTEEN MONTHS IMPRISONMENT SUFFERED
CRUEL INHUMAN TORTURES DESIGNED TO OBTAIN FALSE DECLARATION FROM HIM IMPLICATING DISBANDED BAHÁ’Í ADMINISTRATION IN IRAN AS ESPIONAGE NETWORK. HIS ENDURANCE,
STEADFASTNESS, LIKE THAT OF HIS HEROIC FELLOW BELIEVERS, THWARTED INFAMOUS DESIGNS. MR. BASHIRI AND MR. NAWRUZI ALONG
WITH MR. SHAHPUR MARKAZI PREVIOUSLY REPORTED WERE INCLUDED IN LIST BAHÁ’ÍS ALREADY CONDEMNED TO DEATH. THIS CAUSES
GRAVE CONCERN FATE REMAINING VALIANT
SOULS LANGUISHING IN PRISON. KINDLY INFORM
AUTHORITIES, MEDIA.
NOVEMBER 8, 1984
Australia[edit]
Teaching Faith on Mornington Island[edit]
June 12, 1984: Our team—(Auxiliary Board member) Mahvash Master, Soakai Taufalele (a two-year-old boy), and ourselves (Steven and Mosiana Johns)—left Mareeba today for Mornington Island. It took us almost one and one-half days to drive to Kuramba where we were to board a small one-propeller aircraft. After driving over all kinds of roads until sunset, we decided to camp in the middle of nowhere next to a river and hope for the best.
June 13: After prayers we started for Normanton, an area that must be reopened to the Faith. During the trip we said 375 “Remover of Difficulties.”
On arriving, we stopped at a cafe. While we were getting Soakai out of the car, Mahvash went to the cafe where she met a gentleman with three children. She asked if he were from Normanton, and he replied that he was, but said he had been in Haifa, Israel, and Egypt two years before. As soon as we entered the shop, Mahvash gave us the exciting news and introduced us to Lance Owen.
The conversation became even more interesting when Mosiana told Mr. Owen that, two months before, she had met a girl at a bus stop who told her, “My father has been in Haifa.” Mosiana said, “I don’t think there is another person in this town who has been to Haifa—it must have been your daughter.” Lance then invited us to his home to see his pictures of Haifa. We were thinking to ourselves, “What power other than the power of prayer could have led us to the one person
Lilian Bush, the only other woman on the Council, was quite friendly. Her brother, Barry Bush, is a Bahá’í. Steve gave Annie Chong one of his paintings so she could see what he and and Mosiana had come to Mornington Island to teach.
who is most responsive to the Faith.”
When we arrived at his home, we found that the girl Mosiana had met at the bus stop was indeed Lance’s daughter. One of the first pictures he showed us was the Shrine of the Báb, a photograph he had taken on his agricultural studies. This gave us a wonderful opportunity to open a discussion of the Faith. We left books and pamphlets and promised to visit the family again on our return from Mornington Island. We then traveled to Kuramba and finished saying our 500 “Remover of Difficulties.”
We had been scheduled to fly to Mornington Island at a later time, but by God’s Will we flew straight away to Mornington that afternoon, packed into the small aircraft like a tin of sardines.
On our arrival at the airport, we noticed a government-owned jet about to take off with one of the ministers of the Queensland Parliament. The island’s Council members and other prominent people were there to say goodbye. Afterward, a bus stood ready to take the Councillors back to a meeting. We asked the driver if he would be kind enough to give us a lift to the guest house. When Mahvash stepped onto the bus, Annie Chong, the chairlady of the island, recognized her immediately and welcomed her warmly. What a wonderful coincidence!
We left our bags at the guest house and proceeded to the canteen where we were to meet the friends. Everyone was happy to see us, and we received many warm hugs. That evening, Regi Robinson, a Bahá’í who is a health inspector, came for dinner and we had a good talk about the Faith. The pilot of our plane invited us to visit him and have dinner in Urapunga, Arhnam Land.
June 14: Early in the day the older members of the community gathered at the balcony of the canteen waiting for their “meals on wheels.” We were surprised to hear them calling to us, “Grandmother,” “sister-in-law,” “brother-in-law,” and “cousin.” In some cases, they said, “You’re my mother-in-law” or “father-in-law,” although we were much younger than they. Soon we realized that this was a sign of respect, that they were saying they have accepted us in their culture and we are therefore related to them. Among them was Kelly Bunbudjie, the oldest member of the Aboriginal Elders Council, who is also a Bahá’í. Many of the older people cannot speak English, and some still carry scars from the ceremonial days.
In the afternoon, Mahvash, Steve and Mosiana went for a walk. As they passed the Council chambers, they realized
| This day-by-day report of a recent week-long teaching trip to Mornington Island in the Gulf of Carpentaria in northeastern Australia was compiled by Mosiana Johns, Steven Johns and Auxiliary Board member Mahvash Master. |
that the Councillors were having a tea break. Annie Chong called to them to come and meet the other members of the Council. Lilian Bush, the only other woman on the Council, was quite friendly. Her brother, Barry Bush, is a Bahá’í. Steve gave Annie Chong one of his paintings so she could see what he and Mosiana wanted to come to Mornington Island to teach.
June 15: We visited the hospital so that Mahvash could talk to the matron about teaching her type of physiotherapy to the nurses. She was invited
[Page 3]
to meet the staff members over morning tea, and took advantage of the opportunity to speak to about a dozen of
them about the Faith.
The matron told Mahvash that the wife of a police sergeant (a white woman) was excited to hear that a physiotherapist was on the island, but didn’t dare inquire further because she thought that Mahvash would only help the Aboriginal people. When Mahvash heard this, she told the woman that to her, color or race is of no concern; the woman later came for treatment and was given some Bahá’í books. She became so friendly toward us that often we were driven around the island in a police car.
Later in the day we went to see Hilary Lanley to explain to him the Bahá’í marriage law. He said he would like to have a Bahá’í wedding, and we became aware that many of the people were not married mainly because they could marry only in the church, as there is no other way on the island to become married.
That evening, Fanney and Robina Lanley came for dinner. Hilary Lanley was also invited but did not come. We noticed that it is better to go and bring Aboriginals if they are invited to dinner, as they sometimes haven’t the courage to come by themselves.
After our guests left, a lovely young girl came in. She was quite obviously drunk. Pointing to Mahvash, she said, “Auntie Mahvash.” Mahvash, surprised, asked her, “Do you know me?” “Yes,” the girl said. She sat next to Mahvash and said, “How can you help me in your Bahá’í religion? I’m an alcoholic.” We marveled at the memory of this young girl, who had been about 12 years old when the first team of Bahá’ís came to the island. She still remembered that the Faith had the solutions to their problems.
June 16: We went to Annie Chong’s house and spent about four hours with her, deepening her further in the Faith. She said she felt no difference being amongst the Bahá’ís or amongst her own people, who are full-blooded Aborigines.
Afterward we visited the minister of the Uniting Church, an Aboriginal, who had come to see us the previous day. He said he couldn’t stay long because his boss was on the island. He mentioned that the last time we were on the island he had invited us to speak at his church, but now, he said, because his boss was there, he had been warned not to have the Bahá’ís speak in the church. He asked for the names of all the Bahá’ís on the island, and we replied that we could not give him such a list.
Pictured (left to right) during a recent teaching trip to Mornington Island in northeastern Australia are Auxiliary Board member Mahvash Master; Annie Chong, chairlady of the Island’s governing Council; and Bahá’ís Mosiana Johns and Steven Johns.
After leaving the minister, we called on several other people and found that they were Bahá’ís. Some would tell us they were Bahá’ís, but we could not find them on our list. One of them, an elderly man, when told he was not on the list, declared his belief immediately, and is one of the oldest tribal members.
That evening we were invited to dinner by Edna Adams. She has a beautiful home, and offered us accommodations when we return to settle on the island. We were excited by this generous offer, and even more excited when she decided that evening to embrace the Faith.
June 17: This was the final day of our four-day visit on Mornington Island. Thelma Burks, who has known about the Faith for many years, put her arms around Mahvash as she was leaving and whispered that she too would like to become a Bahá’í. As the wife of the police sergeant was waiting to take us to the airport, Mahvash asked Mosiana to take Thelma into another room to explain to her the laws of the Faith and have her sign an enrollment card. At that moment another woman came and said she wanted to become a Bahá’í. She too was sent into the other room with Mosiana.
There were now 10 new enrollments on Mornington Island, raising the number of believers there to 64. Although they are not deepened in the Faith, they are never afraid to say they are Bahá’ís, and they are quite dedicated in their own way.
Steve left a sample of his art work with the Committee of Gununamanda which controls the arts and crafts business on the island.
We felt that the Regional Teaching Committee of Atherton had achieved a great deal by sending traveling teachers to the island from time to time—people like Nelly Birchall who had spent many, many weeks deepening the Bahá’ís there.
June 18: We left Mornington Island in a plane that had no seats. The pilot was apologetic, saying he had had to
[Page 4]
remove the seats to carry vegetables to
the island and was unaware that we
would be returning with him to Kuramba.
But we thanked God that we had decided to return on this plane instead of waiting until the following day, because as soon as we arrived in Normanton we met Lance Owen who told us that if we had come a day later he wouldn’t have been there. He invited us to his home, and said he had given the Bahá’í pamphlets to his children to take to school so their teachers could see them. Meanwhile, he said, he had been teaching the Faith to his friends.
That evening, Lance asked us to tell them more about the Faith. While Mahvash and Steve talked to Lance and his wife, Tessi, and Ben Rapson (Tessi’s father), Mosiana talked to the children. Later, we asked if they wished to become Bahá’ís. Lance said he would like to consult with his wife and think more about it.
June 19: Today we returned to Lance Owen’s home and found that the whole family had decided to become Bahá’ís. Although we were walking on the ground, we felt as though we were flying in the air, because with this decision, not only was Normanton reopened to the Faith but also the whole of the Carpentaria area. Lance and his family are prominent residents of the town, and he is on the board of directors of one of the stations.
Tessi’s father also accepted Bahá’u’lláh. Ian Cerny, a Bahá’í, travels often to Normanton on business. We are confident that he will deepen them further and keep the flame of the love of Bahá’u’lláh burning brightly in their hearts.
If you’ve never felt spiritually uplifted, try travel-teaching!
—Steven Johns
—Mahvash Master
Costa Rica[edit]
These Bahá’í youth from Costa Rica are members of a performing group known as ‘Ya’ which recently completed a successful proclamation tour of cities in Belize, Honduras, Mexico and Panama.
Fifty-eight people from six of Costa Rica’s seven provinces attended a Bahá’í Women’s Conference last August 12 in San José.
The conference, which was opened with prayers and the reading of a passage from the Bahá’í writings, was planned to help strengthen contact between Bahá’í women of various groups in Costa Rica and to clarify the role of women in the Faith.
Presentations were made on the lives of May Maxwell and Martha Root, and reference was made to local Bahá’í women who pioneered to Costa Rica when the Faith was first being established there.
Workshops were held on the relationship between the Faith and the women of Costa Rica.
The conference was closed with a song in Mesquito, a local Indian language.
Bahá’í International Community[edit]
Stricken Ghana given a helping hand[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community has become the third contributor to a $2.7 million emergency appeal for help to Ghana, one of 13 countries selected by UNICEF for special support in the present African emergency. The appeal, in cooperation with the Ghanaian government, drew $296,190 from the United Kingdom as part of a $1.3 million contribution to UNICEF’s special support in the Africa crisis. Another $39,250 was contributed by the Japan Committee for UNICEF. The Bahá’í contribution of $5,000 brings the total to $340,440. ‘We chose Ghana because it has a tremendous malnutrition problem,’ said Dr. Victor de Araujo, the Bahá’í International Community’s representative at the United Nations in New York. ‘According to the Bahá’í community in Ghana, the situation is very acute for children, and they asked if we could make a contribution to the UN to help meet the emergency. Since children and mothers are involved, we made the contribution through UNICEF.’ Earlier this year, the Bahá’ís gave $2,500 to UNICEF’s emergency programs in Swaziland. Pictured here are more than 300 housewives from villages in Ghana who gathered for a cooking demonstration under the auspices of the government’s Department of Community Development. The basis of the course is a booklet called ‘Good Food for Good Health,’ containing recipes using recommended local food resources. Practical demonstrations are given by team members headed by a representative of the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO). UNICEF supplies cooking utensils and other equipment for outdoor classrooms. (UNICEF photo by Paul Almasy)
United States[edit]
Document sheds light on persecutions[edit]
Reprinted from The Gist, a publication of the Bureau of Public Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, October 1984.
Plight of Iranian Bahá’ís
Background: Since the 1979 revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, the government of the “Islamic Republic of Iran” has held itself to be the embodiment of one specific religion—Shi’ite Islam—with the authority to persecute adherents of other religions. The regime has recognized officially three religious minorities—Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians—and allows them to practice their religion, to hold token representation in the legislature, and to instruct their own children. Although members of all minority religious groups face some degree of discrimination, conditions have worsened particularly for members of non-recognized groups such as the Bahá’ís, Iran’s largest non-Muslim minority
‘Although members of all minority groups face some degree of discrimination, conditions have worsened particularly for members of non-recognized groups such as the Bahá’ís, Iran’s largest non-Muslim minority group.’
group. Allowed to rise to positions of prominence under the Shah’s rule, these groups are now suspect on religious, social and political grounds and have lost favor disproportionately under the current government. The Khomeini regime has virtually outlawed the Bahá’í faith, creating one of the gravest human rights situations in the world today.
The Bahá’í faith: The Bahá’í faith—originally an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam—arose in Iran during the 19th century. The central figure in the founding of Bahá’ísm, Bahá’u’lláh, severed formal ties with Islam and developed the new faith into a separate religion.
| The Gist, a quick reference aid on U.S. foreign relations published each month by the Bureau of Public Affairs of the U.S. Department of State, devoted its October 1984 issue to a summary of the plight of Iranian Bahá’ís including background information, a brief statement about the Faith itself, the treatment of Bahá’ís in Iran, and U.S. government action on behalf of Iranian Bahá’ís. The document, which was begun in 1969 as an in-house publication, is now distributed on request to about 13,000 offices and agencies including the U.S. Information Agency; U.S. embassies and consulates; some foreign embassies; selected parliamentarians around the world; philanthropic organizations; members of Congress and some assistants; schools and universities; and editorial writers and managing editors of newspapers. |
Bahá’ís believe in equality of the sexes, racial harmony, and universal education, and practice abstinence from alcohol. There are more than 1.5 million Bahá’ís worldwide, about 350,000 of them in Iran. Persecution of Bahá’ís is based mainly upon theological differences: Muslims believe that there can be no revelation after Muhammad, and many consider the Bahá’í faith not as a separate religion but as an heretical departure from Islam.
Treatment of Bahá’ís: Viewing Bahá’ís as heretics and claiming they are a “fifth column” for the U.S. and Israel, the Khomeini regime consistently has violated the basic human rights of Iranian Bahá’ís. Because Bahá’í marriages never were recognized officially in Iran, for example, the revolutionary regime has branded Bahá’í women as “prostitutes.” Bahá’í shrines have been desecrated and destroyed; the House of the Báb, the site of the founding of the Bahá’í faith and its most holy shrine, was demolished and converted into a parking lot. Bahá’ís have been fired from their jobs and their businesses confiscated. They have been expelled from schools at all levels and denied social services and pensions to which they were entitled under Iranian law. Some of these actions involved mob violence against Bahá’ís, but most persecution has been directed by Iranian government authorities. A number of government officials belong to the Hojjatiyah, a society dedicated to exterminating all Bahá’ís.
Iranian government action: The President of the Revolutionary Court of the city of Shiraz stated early in 1983: “It is absolutely certain that in the Islamic Republic of Iran there is no place for Bahá’ís and Bahá’ísm.” The Iranian government has executed Bahá’ís and, through torture and imprisonment, has forced “conversions” of Bahá’ís to Islam. Since the revolution, more than 170 Bahá’ís have been executed by the regime or have died under torture in prison; others have simply disappeared and are presumed dead. Prominent Bahá’ís have been arrested and charged with such vague offenses as “crimes against God,” “corruption on earth,” and “Zionism.” The Islamic Republic’s official position toward Bahá’ís hardened in August 1983, when Iran’s Prosecutor General declared that “activities of Bahá’ís are banned in Iran.”
In response to the Prosecutor General’s pronouncement, and in keeping with a Bahá’í tradition of submitting to governmental authority, the National
[Page 7]
Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh (left), vice-chairman of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, discusses a Bahá’í exhibit with Elliott Abrams, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs, during a hearing on torture held last May by the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Spiritual Assembly of Bahá’ís in Iran dissolved all Bahá’í administrative institutions. At the same time, these elected representatives of the Iranian Bahá’í community appealed to the Iranian government, which was responsible for the execution or disappearance of all members of the two preceding Bahá’í National Assemblies, to restore all rights denied to individual Bahá’ís because of their religion.
Following its ban on all Bahá’í religious and institutional activities, the Iranian government has intensified its persecution. Today, more than 750 Bahá’ís, many of them women, are imprisoned in Iran. Some 32 of them are now awaiting execution. Accounts of their treatment indicate that some prisoners, including women, have been chained to benches while being whipped with canes. Others report teen-age girls being executed by firing squads or by hanging and men and women having boiling water poured on their heads and having their legs and backs branded with hot irons. Despite promises of freedom and restoration of their property if they recant, and despite brutal treatment, few Bahá’ís have renounced their faith and “converted” to Islam.
U.S. government action on behalf of Iranian Bahá’ís: Public pressure is one of the few tools available to the U.S. government when serious human rights violations take place in a country, such as Iran, where the U.S. has little influence. In key statements by the President and major administration officials, in the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, submitted annually to Congress, in comments on the Voice of America, in two concurrent congressional resolutions, and in a number of statements to the press, the U.S. government has condemned Iranian persecution of the Bahá’ís. In addition, the U.S. has given refuge to more than 10,000 Iranian Bahá’ís during the last four years. Finally, the U.S. has supported international efforts on behalf of the Bahá’ís, including those undertaken by the UN Secretary General, the UN Economic and Social Council, and the UN Human Rights Commission.
Sweden[edit]
Pictures tell story of exciting summer[edit]
Above: The picturesque site of the fifth annual Bahá’í Summer Camp held last June in Kvikkjokk, Sweden. Below: Lynne Hippler, a pioneer to Norway from the United States, shares a laugh with other camp participants.
Last June the fifth annual Bahá’í Midsummer Camp, held each year above
the Arctic Circle in one of the three
northern Scandinavian countries (Finland, Norway or Sweden), took place
at Kvikkjokk, Sweden. Sixty people including 30 children from the three
countries attended the camp whose
featured speaker was Hartmut Grossmann, a member of the Continental
Board of Counsellors for Europe. Also
present were members of the National
Spiritual Assemblies of Finland and
Norway and Ulf Persson, an Auxiliary
Board member from Sweden. Workshops were held each day on Samí
(Lapp) teaching. (Photos by Eva Nazerian)
[Page 9]
Pictured above are most of the 60 participants in the annual Bahá’í Summer
Camp held last June in Kvikkjokk,
Sweden. Hartmut Grossmann, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Europe (in white shirt), is seated at right in the fourth row.
Standing at the far left is Ulf Persson,
an Auxiliary Board member from
Sweden. Below left: Among the entertainers at the Bahá’í Summer Camp
was Rod Francett, a pioneer to Finland. Below right: Some of the camp’s
younger participants take time for
some outdoor fun and games as part of
an impromptu ‘clean-up crew.’
(Photos by Eva Nazerian)
Benin[edit]
Inter-Regional Conferences a success[edit]
| Messages from the Universal House of Justice to the Inter-Regional Bahá’í Women’s Conference held July 6-9, 1984, in Cotonou, Benin:
UPLIFTED NEWS FIRST INTER-REGIONAL WOMEN’S CONFERENCE. OFFERING PRAYERS THANKSGIVING FOR BOUNTIFUL CONFIRMATIONS. CONFIDENT SPIRIT GENERATED WILL BENEFIT BAHÁ’Í WOMEN BENIN, INDEED ENTIRE REGION. PRAYING ADDED BLESSINGS BRILLIANT VICTORIES. UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
HEARTS UPLIFTED NEWS INTER-REGIONAL TEACHING CONFERENCE. PRAYING SHRINES DETERMINATION PARTICIPANTS ACHIEVE BRILLIANT VICTORIES WILL MEET WITH OUTSTANDING SUCCESS, AND SPIRIT GENERATED AT CONFERENCE WILL PERMEATE RANK FILE BELOVED DEDICATED FRIENDS. UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
AUGUST 9, 1984 |
A combined audience of more than 350 people from many African countries was present last summer at two highly successful inter-regional Bahá’í conferences in Cotonou, Benin.
The first, a women’s conference, was held July 6-9 at INFOSEC, a national Institute for Civic, Social and Economic Training, and at the Bahá’í National Center.
The second, a teaching conference held August 3-5 at the National University of Benin in Abomey-Calavi, was followed by a public meeting at the Cotonou campus amphitheatre whose speaker was Shoghi Ghadimi.
The women’s conference drew more than 150 participants of whom about 125 were women and girls from Benin, Togo, Niger, Upper Volta, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Mali, Belgium, France and the United States.
After registration and a unity feast Friday evening at the National Center, the conference was opened Saturday morning at INFOSEC with messages from the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin and the president of the National Women’s Organization, a keynote address on the promotion of women by the national administrator, Miss Deirdre Lapin, and closing remarks by Mrs. Lea Nys, a Bahá’í from Belgium.
Impromptu address[edit]
The director of social affairs from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Mrs. Ahoyo, gave an impromptu address at the end of the program, expressing her appreciation for the conference and its goals.
Mrs. Ranzie Casu, a well-known Bahá’í singer from Ivory Coast, served as mistress of ceremonies and charmed the audience with her songs.
Bahá’í folk groups from Doloumé and Kpodoudji in Mono province and
from Porto-Novo and Tchakou-Semé
in Ouémé province opened and closed
the session with their dynamic, original
Bahá’í music.
The following sessions were devoted to workshops on various aspects of Bahá’í community and family life and the role of women.
On Sunday evening, a public meeting at which Mrs. Nys spoke on “Women’s Role in Society” was covered by television.
Again, Mrs. Casu and the Bahá’í folk groups supplied the entertainment.
The conference was closed at noon Monday with a commemoration of the anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb.
Earlier that morning, there were two practical sessions on cooking techniques by a Peace Corps volunteer and on nutritional principles by a Bahá’í public health student from the U.S., followed by closing remarks from Mrs. Nys and the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin.
As a result of the conference, Mrs. Nys had two meetings with the President of the Republic of Benin, both of which were given excellent coverage by the press, radio and television.
One week after the conference, Mrs. Nys, accompanied by members of the National Spiritual Assembly, met with the ministers of Rural Development, Labor and Social Affairs, and Youth and Sports; the president of the Women’s Organization; the prefect and assistant prefect of Ouémé and Atlantic
[Page 11]
provinces, respectively, and several
other officials and prominent people in
the capitals of Cotonou and Porto-Novo.
In early August, more than 200 participants from 19 countries including Benin gathered at the amphitheatre of the University Law School in Cotonou to welcome Hooper Dunbar, a Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre, who was nearing the end of his extensive journey around Africa.
Following a two-day Auxiliary Board conference at INFOSEC in Cotonou, four members of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa—Friday Ekpe, Kassimi Fofana, Zekrollah Kazemi and Dr. Mihdí Samandarí—together with 18 Auxiliary Board members from West Africa, joined members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Benin, Ghana, Ivory Coast and Togo in launching an exciting three-day teaching conference.
Topics discussed and consulted on included “The Spiritual Destiny of Africa,” “The Role of Bahá’í Women and Family Life,” and “Bahá’í Youth and Teaching,” and there were workshops on the education of Bahá’í children, the Local Spiritual Assembly, Bahá’í youth, and teaching campaigns.
Several traveling teachers participated in the conference and took part in teaching projects throughout the country both before and after the event.
The conference was followed by a planning and consultation session among the Counsellors, members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Benin, Ghana and Togo, and Auxiliary Board members who discussed several common aspects of the current Plan such as literature (subvention, translation and publication); border teaching; intensive teaching campaigns; and development projects.
Meanwhile, the Counsellors were able to make contact with and visit a number of high officials and other distinguished members of Benin society.
Also involved in this effort were Mr. and Mrs. Ghadimi from Belgium who, with Waidi Moustapha, a Beninese lawyer who was visiting Cotonou but is a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Ivory Coast, Mali and Guinea, undertook a week-long series of public meetings and courtesy calls on officials in the national capital, Cotonou, and two important provincial capitals, Porto-Novo and Abomey.
In all, they met with the representative of the prefect in Zou Province, 10 district chiefs, the director of the National Library, several chairmen and directors of university faculties, and other prominent citizens.
The public meetings attracted a combined audience of more than 450 of which more than half were seekers, many of them students and civil servants.
Concerning the ongoing intensive teaching projects in five districts, the teams initially reported more than 15 new Assemblies formed with more than 500 new believers enrolled in the Faith.
A colorful banner welcomes Bahá’ís and guests to the Inter-Regional Women’s Conference last July 6-9 in Cotonou, Benin. The conference drew more than 150 participants from 11 countries.
The world[edit]
Israel’s President visits World Centre[edit]
| REPORT JUST RECEIVED NORTH MADHYA PRADESH OVER 100,000 ACCEPTED FAITH. PLEASE PRAY FURTHER SUCCESS, CONFIRMATIONS.
National Spiritual Assembly of India
October 9, 1984 |
At the invitation of the Universal House of Justice, His Excellency Chaim Herzog, president of Israel, paid an official visit last October 21 to the World Centre in Haifa.
Mr. Herzog was formally greeted at the Amelia Collins gate at Bahjí by the nine members of the Universal House of Justice. At the Mansion, he was welcomed by the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Akbar Furútan who conducted him to the room of Bahá’u’lláh and showed him some of the Blessed Beauty’s Tablets.
On leaving the Mansion, Mr. Herzog paid his respects at the Sacred Tomb. A motorcade then took him to Haifa where he visited the Shrine of the Báb and the Seat of the House of Justice.
It marked the first visit by a head of state to the Seat of the House of Justice, and was the occasion for the inaugural use of the splendid dining room which had been readied for a formal luncheon by the dedicated efforts of the dozens of skilled and devoted Bahá’ís serving at the World Centre.
Attending the luncheon with President Herzog, Mr. Furútan, and the members of the Universal House of Justice and their wives were Arye Gurel, the mayor of Haifa, and Mrs. Gurel.
On behalf of the Supreme Body, one of its members, Hushmand Fatheazam, presented to the president an album of color photographs of the major Bahá’í Holy Places in Israel.
President Herzog expressed his sympathy for the Bahá’ís who are suffering in Iran, and his pride in the Bahá’í community and its world-renowned Holy Places.
United States[edit]
More than 30 Spanish-speaking Bahá’ís and their guests took part in a special Hispanic Weekend last September 8-9 at the Green Acre Bahá’í School in Eliot, Maine. Participants in the semi-annual event came from five Northeastern states and from seven countries. Classes focused on teaching the Faith, especially in the Northeastern United States.
Norway[edit]
Janet Justnes, a Bahá’í from Norway, has been asked to write a chapter on the Bahá’í Faith for a teachers’ handbook for children ages 9-12 years.
The National Spiritual Assembly of Norway recently approved the finished draft of the chapter on the Faith.
One hundred forty-seven people attended the Norwegian Bahá’í Summer School last July 5-12 in Geilo, Norway, whose theme was “The Establishment of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh.”
Summer School speakers included Counsellor Hartmut Grossmann, members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Norway, and Auxiliary Board members Polin Rafat and Gerd Strand.
A highlight of the session was a children’s performance of “The Wonder Lamp,” a play written by the Hand of the Cause of God Abu’l-Qásim Faizí.
South West Africa/Namibia[edit]
Seventy adults and children attended a Bahá’í Winter School last July 19-21 at Owambo.
The program included daytime classes and slide programs, and social events during the evening hours.
A highlight was an interview with Owambo’s chief chairman, Peter Kalangula, who had invited the Bahá’ís to meet with him at the Owambo administrative offices.
During the half-hour meeting, Mr. Kalangula was given copies of Bahá’í World Faith and The Bahá’ís in Iran. Among those who met with him were members of the National Spiritual Assembly of South West Africa/Namibia.
The spirit of the meeting was described as warm and friendly, and the principles of the Faith were courteously accepted.
Five traveling Bahá’í teachers including four from Ciskei and one from KwaZulu attended a five-day deepening course last July in Alice, Ciskei, that was hosted by the Bahá’ís of that locality.
Lowell Johnson, one of two trainers who conducted the course, is a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of South and West Africa.
The friends studied Bahá’í history, Bahá’u’lláh’s joy and suffering, and the Covenant. Parts of the consultation were video taped and seen later by members of the National Spiritual Assembly of South and West Africa who were meeting in Johannesburg.
A follow-up week of deepening was scheduled for early 1985.
Zimbabwe[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of Zimbabwe has announced the formation of 182 Local Spiritual Assemblies, surpassing the country’s goal of 180 Assemblies during the second phase of the Seven Year Plan.
The challenging task for Zimbabwe’s Bahá’ís is now the deepening and consolidation of at least 73 Assemblies by the end of the present Plan so that at least these 73 will be functioning on their own.
Canary Islands[edit]
Members of the newly formed National Spiritual Assembly of the Canary Islands are shown with the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí Akbar Furútan (center) and Louis Hénuzet (front row at far right), a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Europe.
New Zealand[edit]
The Faith was proclaimed and a recent Bahá’í martyr in Iran was honored recently in an unusual house-warming event carried out by an individual Bahá’í in New Zealand.
The Bahá’í, who had purchased a house in an industrial area of Thames, moved it, restored it, and invited the public to its dedication as “Samandari House” in memory of Dr. Faramarz Samandari who was martyred July 14, 1980.
In spite of a steady rain, more than 200 people attended the dedication. Video tapes of the recent Bahá’í International Conference in Canberra, Australia, were shown, and many pamphlets were distributed to interested guests.
Also given out was a special brochure recounting the story of Dr. Samandari and including appropriate Bahá’í quotations.
Suriname[edit]
Twenty people in the village of Saramacca, Suriname, recently became Bahá’ís as a result of a teaching trip by believers from Cayenne, French Guiana. The formation of a Spiritual Assembly in Saramacca fulfilled the goal of 12 Assemblies in Suriname before Riḍván 1984.
Andaman/Nicobar Islands[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum (fifth from left) is pictured with members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands during her visit there last April 28. The National Assembly of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands is one of nine new National Spiritual Assemblies elected for the first time during Riḍván 1984.
Japan[edit]
Five Bahá’í women from Japan recently represented the Bahá’í International Community at an international Women’s Conference that was a part of the Regional Intergovernmental Meeting of the United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific.
Several pamphlets offering Bahá’í solutions to the question of women’s status were prepared for the occasion and distributed to the more than 40 groups participating in the conference.
The literature, which informed many of those at the conference about the Faith, is also being made available in Japanese and English through the Bahá’í National Center in Tokyo.
Thirty Bahá’ís and their guests celebrated Ayyám-i-Há with a tea party on Okinawa that was hosted by the Okinawa Area Teaching Committee.
The guest speaker, Elahe Katirai from mainland Japan, delighted everyone by presenting her talk in Japanese and English. Miss Katirai pointed out the similarities between some traditional Japanese customs and the moral precepts of the Faith.
The party included games, refreshments, and a lively question-and-answer period. It was the third Ayyám- i-Há party held in recent years on Okinawa.
Grenada[edit]
Pictured shortly after their election at Riḍván 1984 are the members of the newly formed National Spiritual Assembly of Grenada, West Indies.
Peru[edit]
A group of 22 young Bahá’ís from Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, including several indigenous Indian believers, completed a CIRBAL radio training program last August at the Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir Bahá’í Institute in Chucuito/Puno, Peru.
It was the first such program to be sponsored outside of Arecibo, Puerto Rico, by CIRBAL (Bahá’í Communications Diffusion Network for Latin America).
The hands-on workshop, which covered radio production, broadcasting, and script development, was conducted by Auxiliary Board member Fernando Schiantarelli, a CIRBAL representative. The Muhajir Institute is a part of the Radio Bahá’í facilities in Chucuito/Puno.
Among the participants were the managing directors of South America’s three Bahá’í-operated radio stations. César Cortés of Radio Bahá’í/Peru, Marcelo Quintero of Radio Bahá’í/Ecuador, and Husayn Costas of Radio Bahá’í/Bolivia consulted on objectives and common challenges facing their respective stations.
Two Chilean Bahá’ís who took part in the workshop will be helping with the establishment of South America’s fourth Bahá’í radio station in Temuco, Chile.
A cable to the workshop from the Bahá’í Office of Social and Economic Development at the World Centre suggested various goals for the session.
Kenya[edit]
A delegation of seven Bahá’ís including Counsellors Thelma Khelghati and Peter Vuyiya participated last May in the 12th session of the United Nations Environment Program’s governing council held in Nairobi, Kenya.
Since all delegates were asked to prepare a statement for others attending the conference, the Bahá’í delegates, in cooperation with the Bahá’í International Community, distributed 220 copies of a report entitled “Environmental Action at the Grassroots.” The paper describes Bahá’í efforts to foster interest in the UN Environment Program.
During the conference, the Environment Liaison Center announced plans to sponsor a global meeting of environmental and development non-governing organizations early in 1985 in Nairobi to promote better understanding among these groups. Up to 1,000 people are expected to attend that conference.
Seventy-five people including 30 non-Bahá’ís attended a recent deepening institute for the Ndhiwa area in South Nyanza, Kenya, which was hosted by the Bahá’í community of Mikumu.
Included in the four-day event were classes that focused on the duties of Local Spiritual Assemblies.
The results included declarations of belief in Bahá’u’lláh from five non-Bahá’í participants and the formation of a new Spiritual Assembly.
Trinidad/Tobago[edit]
Several Bahá’í youth are seen here manning a display constructed for the Langmore Holistic Health Festival last March 30-April 1 in Palmyra, Trinidad. The Bahá’í exhibit was fully staffed by Bahá’í youth from Palmyra and the surrounding area.
Representatives of the Bahá’í Media and Public Relations Committee of Trinidad and Tobago met recently with a representative of Amnesty International and with the chairman of the Bureau on Human Rights in Trinidad and Tobago.
Each of the officials was informed about the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran and was given a copy of the books A Crown of Beauty and A Cry from the Heart.
The visits led to an invitation to attend a seminar on human rights during which Dr. Harry Collymore delivered an address which stressed the non-political nature of the Faith. His presentation was reported in an article published by a local newspaper.
Official visits by members of a Bahá’í delegation also were made to the high commissioner of Canada and to the commissioner of police, each of whom was given a copy of A Crown of Beauty and other Bahá’í literature.
The commissioner of police spoke with his Bahá’í guests for more than an hour and showed his interest in a recreation project in Palmyra, Trinidad, that was organized jointly by the Spiritual Assembly of Palmyra and representatives of Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í youth.
Thailand[edit]
The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum attended a working luncheon with members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Thailand, held a press conference, met with members of the Bahá’í community and with parents and children in Bangkok during a brief stop in that city earlier this year.
She also met with members of the Auxiliary Board and was the honored guest at reception and farewell meetings which took place at the airport.
“The many suggestions of the beloved Hand of the Cause,” wrote the National Spiritual Assembly of Thailand, “gave a new perspective to our work and stimulated consideration of methods of how large numbers of people can be brought into the Faith ...”
Twenty-four people from Tha Wa village and nearby localities in Thailand embraced the Faith last June 2-3 during the dedication of a new Bahá’í Center in the village.
Participants in the dedication program included Victor Greenspoon, the chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Thailand.
Land for the new Center was provided by the first Bahá’í of Tha Wa village and his wife.
Slides of the Bahá’í Holy Places and the recent International Convention in Haifa were shown on a large screen erected in the open air. This was followed by singing and dancing. The Spiritual Assembly of Tha Wa village also arranged for a late night snack of boiled rice.
Anthony Lease (bending forward), an Auxiliary Board member from the United States, speaks to some of the 250 elementary school students in the northern Thai village of Ban Had Nad during Mr. Lease’s visit last September. Standing behind him is Nasser Jafari, a Persian Bahá’í who is a pioneer to Thailand.
Anthony F. Lease, an Auxiliary Board member from the United States, made a teaching trip last September 16-21 to Thailand that was followed by a visit to Taiwan.
In the northern Thai village of Ban Had Nad, Mr. Lease spoke to about 250 elementary school students and met with members of the Bahá’í community.
Later, he spoke at a public meeting in Chiang Mai, about 500 miles north of Bangkok. Attending were about 90 people including newspaper reporters and representatives of three radio stations and one television station.
Immediately afterward, a philosophy professor invited Mr. Lease to speak at the university.
In Bangkok, Mr. Lease spoke at a World Peace Day observance that was planned by the Spiritual Assembly of Bangkok, thus becoming the first Bahá’í to speak at Bangkok University.
While there, he also met with members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Thailand and arranged for the establishment of an international extension teaching program between the Bahá’í communities of Bangkok and Los Angeles, California.
In Taiwan, Mr. Lease had meetings with the believers in Taipei, Counsellor Yan Kee Leong, and the chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan, and spoke at two public meetings in Taipei.
Anthony Lease (center, wearing glasses), an Auxiliary Board member from the United States, is pictured with members of the Bahá’í community of Ban Had Nad, Thailand, during Mr. Lease’s visit last September.
Finland[edit]
Two hundred people, the largest number ever, attended Finland’s Bahá’í Summer School last July at Mariehamn. Participants included visitors from 11 countries.
All of them, including children, were assigned to working groups to discuss spiritual qualities and how to bring them into our everyday lives. Each group then consulted on a particular attribute.
The groups also discussed questions about the school’s main lecture and members learned to cooperate and to work together at various tasks such as cleaning or preparing meals.
Publicity included two radio interviews and two articles in area newspapers.
Dominican Republic[edit]
The third annual Bahá’í children’s Summer School in San Juan de la Maguana, Dominican Republic, which was held last July, was planned and directed by pioneers living in the area.
The school had a dual purpose of teaching children and training children’s class teachers by using them as assistants.
The program had as its theme a trip to the Bahá’í House of Worship in Panama. The children made their own passports and airline tickets, and on the last day of school they created models of the Panama Temple using the bottoms of egg cartons for the dome.
New Caledonia/Loyalty Is.[edit]
There has been a positive response to articles on equal rights for men and women that have been placed in local newspapers in New Caledonia by believers there.
Several teachers are among those who have shown an interest. One English teacher, a member of the Association for Women’s Rights in New Caledonia, told the friends she regularly reads the articles published in the local newspaper about the Faith.
A Bahá’í book was loaned to this teacher, and she passed it on to the principal of her school when he spoke with her on the topic of peace.
Argentina[edit]
A “fisheye” lens captures a wide-angle view of the Bahá’í booth at the 10th International Book Fair held last April 6-23 in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The fair was sponsored by the Publishing Trust of the National Spiritual Assembly of Argentina and provided publicity and prestige for the Faith among Argentine publishers, city officials and the book-buying public.
An exhibit sponsored by the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Argentina was among the nearly 300 displays by publishers from several countries at the 10th International Book Fair held last August in Buenos Aires.
Those who stopped at the Bahá’í booth during the 18-day event took with them hundreds of items of information and purchased many books.
To the surprise of the Argentine Bahá’ís, the official booth of the State of Israel featured A Crown of Beauty, the well-illustrated work by U.S. Auxiliary Board member Eunice Braun and Hugh E. Chance, a member of the Universal House of Justice, which recounts the establishment of the Faith in the Holy Land and describes the present status of the Bahá’í World Centre.
The final part of a general meeting at the close of the book fair included a reading from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and some poems by the Persian Bábí poetess Ṭáhirih.
Swaziland[edit]
The Bahá’í community of Swaziland has distributed relief funds from Canada to 283 families in 96 communities who were victims of Cyclone Domonia.
The friends volunteered their time and, in most cases, their personal vehicles and gasoline to accomplish the relief mission.
This was the first time that Bahá’ís in Swaziland have been recognized as a non-governmental organization capable of distributing relief funds through their administrative body.
Funds were distributed to Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í families alike.
A report on the assignment was presented last May 31 to the senior vice-president of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) by a representative of the Bahá’í community at a meeting of all Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) that had received Canadian aid.
four activity books in one
I Am a Bahá’í
- Ideas to discover
- Hidden pictures to find
- Sharing to discover
- Collages to make
- Follow the dots
- Paste your own photographs
- Add stickers & decorations
- Draw your own pictures
- Photographs from around the world
- A song to sing
- Drawings to color
aspects of Bahá’í life in a way that will delight and instruct young readers.
It Contains:
My Bahá’í Community
- My Feast Book
Our Bahá’í Holy Days and Holidays
- Our Bahá’í House of Worship
Together these books reinforce a child’s Bahá’í identity in a manner suitable
for 3-7 year olds. A six-page parent’s message offers ideas
for use that will promote parent-child bonds.
Written by Deborah Christensen
Designed by Pepper Oldziey
Illustrated by John Solarz
- Ages 3-7 years
64 pages, 8½ x 11 inches
- ISBN 0-87743-7025
Also available: Sunflower books 1-4,
set only, $250*
- *Available from Bahá’í Distribution Service
Wilmette, IL, U.S.A., at prices listed plus 10%
postage and handling.
- Available from
- Available from
415 LINDEN AVENUE, WILMETTE, IL 60091 ■ TEL. 1-800-323-1880
