Bahá’í World/Volume 12/International Survey of Current Bahá’í Activities

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INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA’I’ ACTIVITIES

THE four-year period covered in this survey was marked by events and activities of surpassing importance to the followers of Bahá’u’lláh. Not since the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which terminated the Heroic Age of the Faith in 1921 and the publication of His Testament which inaugurated the Formative Age have Bahá’ís been conscious of such profound alteration and redirection of the affairs of their community or been drawn so deeply into its sustaining spirit.

Two Centennials were celebrated: the Martyrdom of the Báb, July 9, 1950, and the Birth of the Mission of Bahá’u’lláh during Holy Year, 1952-1953, consecrating the Bahá’ís of East and West to the exalted character of their Faith and purifying their souls by realization of the tragic persecutions suffered by the Founders and Their following in Persia.

These spiritual experiences were given expression in worthy action. The world-wide Bahá’í community entered upon the prosecution of a ten-year intercontinental teaching plan, a crusade aimed at a tremendous expansion in the number of countries and political dependencies having Bahá’í centers and a vast increase in the number of Bahá’í institutions. This crusade was initiated by four Intercontinental Teaching Conferences held successively in Kampala, Uganda, in Chicago and Wilmette, Illinois, in Stockholm, Sweden, and in New Delhi, India, during 1953, involving the participation and cooperation of all National Spiritual Assemblies for the first time in Bahá’í history. The completion of the Shrine of the Bath on Mt. Carmel, Haifa, and Of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, that same year gave public evidence of the vitality of the Faith. Two new international Bahá’í institutions were established: the International Bahá’í Council at the Bahá’í World Center in Israel, and the Hands of the Cause with

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members in the Holy Land, in Iran, in Africa, in Australia, in Europe and in North America. The number of National Spiritual Assemblies was increased to twelve by the formation of the National Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of Central America, South America, and of Italy and Switzerland.

The impetus in the growth of the Bahá’í Faith internationally was witnessed not only outwardly but also within the spiritual awareness of the Bahá’ís themselves. The years preceding the Centenary Anniversary of the Martyrdom Of the Báb (July, 1950) had been largely those of laying groundwork, building local and national communities. The ultimate objective was known—the erection of a world community living according to the spiritual Laws and Ordinances of Bahá’u’lláh—but this was something for the far distant future. Suddenly, with the erection of the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel and the opening of the doors of contribution to this “transcending enterprise” to the Bahá’ís of the world, the spiritual impulse was released for an international consciousness in fact, a matter of action not of thinking only. The succession of occurrences which followed quickly, inaugurated by the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith and emanating from the International Center of the Faith in the Holy Land, united the Bahá’ís of the world in action as never before in the history of the Faith had been possible. In his Announcement of the Centenary Commemoration Of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission, inaugurating the intercontinental teaching work, the Guardian called upon the Bahá’ís of the world to prepare themselves “for demonstration of Bahá’í solidarity of unprecedented scope and intensity during the entire course of Bahá’í history.”

Thus, during the years 1950-1954 (years 107-110 of the Bahá’í Era) the Bahá’ís of

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East and West were swept into an unprecedented and spiritually vitalizing stage of the development of the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, destined to emerge “in the fullness of time” in a world-recognized, spiritually unified and administered world commonwealth, the Kingdom of God on earth.

Nor will the student of current affairs fail to note the fact that this dynamic spiritual world plan was inaugurated at a time when the menace of devastating atomic warfare oppressed the peoples of all nations with the

ominous threat that civilization as we know it is doomed to destruction.

As the world lay helpless under this darkness, the new creation of Baha’u’llah, His community of followers, gathered their forces to establish the foundation of unity throughout the world. Nothing short of the Divine Power invested in the Mission of the Prophet can reverse the fatal direction of human affairs and re-deploy men’s faculties in the constructive task of unifying the peoples in one Faith and one Order.

CENTENARY COMMEMORATIONS OF THE MA‘RTYRDOM OF THE BAR

THE Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Bab was reverently anticipated by the Bahá’ís of East and West. References to His mission and martyrdom in Bahá’í Sacred Writings were searched out and pondered. Chapters in Dawn-Breakers and God Passes By vividly depicting the event were read again and again.

The Centenary actually began for Bahá’ís when they received the Guardian’s cablegram dated July 4, 1950. Moved by the glimpse of high significance revealed by these words, the Bahá’ís contemplated the mysterious scene which took place at Tabríz on July 9, 1850, when the radiant Youth chosen by God to enact so tremendous a drama expired, pierced by the bullets fired by a regiment acting under official command. For, as was emphasized in a previous volume dealing with the Declaration of the Bab in 1844, the Báb terminated the Prophetic Era and reflected the Dawn of the Sun of Truth risen to signalize the Promised Day of the maturity of the human race.

A twofold Centenary program was carried out in the various Bahá’í national communities in accordance with the conditions in each, including national and local gatherings of believers for spiritual observance of the event, and public activities conveying the challenge of the Báb’s Mission to mankind.

Thus, in Egypt and Sfidan the National

Spiritual Assembly reported the publication of a memorial pamphlet, copies of which were distributed freely, a devotional program in the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of Cairo and in local centers, consisting of passages from Sacred Writings, and a public meeting to which eminent non-Bahá’ís were invited. In view of the religious background of their nation, the Egyptian Bahá’ís produced a selection of passages from the Old and New Testament and the Qur’án which lent support to the Mission of the Bahá’í Faith. Invitations were sent personally to about eighty eminent men of letters, law, the arts, educators, parliamentarians and representatives of the press known to be liberals or independent seekers after truth.

This public meeting concluded with refreshments during which a moving picture of the Bahá’í House of Worship was exhibited.

The effect was to strengthen the prestige of the Faith among intellectual circles and persons of good will. This result was reflected in the favorable comment published in the daily press.

The Assembly’s report included mention of the successful commemoration held in Addis-Abba, Ethiopia.

In Persia the National Spiritual Assembly published a translation of Shoghi Effendi’s World Survey pamphlet and prepared a

The Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel. Beyond the Shrine can be seen the city of Haifa, the harbor, the bay of ‘Akká, and the hills of the Lebanon.

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Centenary program which was carried out by the local communities.

Throughout Canada, likewise, a great number of devotional and public meetings were carried out in accordance with a plan launched by the National Spiritual Assembly.

The tribute paid to the Báb by Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand in devotional and public meetings was enlarged through their publication of a pamphlet Martyrdom of the Báb. This memorial brochure contained a photograph of the design of the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel and a photograph of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, with a selection of passages reporting the Báb’s own words to His disciples, Bahá’u’lláh’s Tribute to Him, utterances of the Báb, and a thoughtful summary of the Bahá’í Faith.

An excellent press report published in Auckland, based upon a conference with a Persian Bahá’í student, gave a very favorable impression of the public meeting conducted in that city. The speakers were Suhayl Alá’í and Gertrude Blum.

In Paris a public meeting was held at the Music Social, notices of which were circulated in artistic circles, University City, and magazine and newspaper editors, attracting a gathering of some one hundred and fifty guests. Addresses were delivered by M. Delacroix, Mrs. Marion Little and Mlle. L. Migette.

George Townshend, a leading Bahá’í scholar and author, contributed a brief article on “The Call of the Martyrs," attesting the complete devotion of those who yielded up their lives through “all-absorbing, allforgetting devotion for one in Whom they saw God Manifest.” In this treatise the Bahá’ís were poignantly reminded of the Báb’s significant words: “0 My beloved friends! You are the bearers Of the name of God in this Day. You have been chosen as the repositories of His mystery. It behoves each one of you to manifest the attributes of God, and to exemplify by your deeds and words the signs of His righteousness, His power and glory . . . For verily I say, this is the Day spoken of by God in His Book.”

Local centers in India, Pékistén and Burma observed the Centenary not only with meetings but also by providing food to the indigent through municipal agencies. A radio program was also made available to local stations. Nationally, the Centenary

message was broadcast in four languagesEnglish, Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi—over Radio GOA. The National Assembly likewise conducted a public meeting at the Constitution Club, New Delhi, the program including addresses by Prof. Abdul-Majid Khan, Shri S. N. Chaturvedi, and Shrimati Shirin Boman.

A scholarly article on the Martyrdom of the Báb, based on Nabil’s Narrative, by Prof. Alessandro Bausani, was published in the Italian language magazine Oriente M0derno, volume 30, 1950.

A Portrait of the Báb, presented to the American Bahá’ís by the Guardian in 1944, was reverently shown to believers gathered in Foundation Hall, Bahá’í House of Worship, at the hour of noon on the Centenary date. After this rare and solemn privilege the throng reassembled in the auditorium where a program of readings was carried out under the great dome of the Temple. It was in this hallowed setting, on so holy an occasion, that the cabled message from the Guardian was read, stating in part: “Moved share (With) assembled representatives (of) American Bahá’í Community gathered beneath (the) dome (of the) Most Holy House (of) Worship (in the) Bahá’í world, feelings (of) profound emotion evoked (by this) historic occasion the world-wide commemoration (of the) first Centenary (of the) Martyrdom (of the) Blessed Báb, Prophet (and)_ Herald (of the) Faith (of) Bahá’u’lláh, Founder (of the) Dispensation marking (the) culmination (of the) six thousand year old Adamic Cycle, Inaugurator (of the) five thousand century Bahá’í Cycle.”

Still later the gathering met again in Foundation Hall for a national public meeting attended by about nine hundred persons. Miss Elsie Austin presided, and addresses were delivered by Dr. G. A. Borgese, University of Chicago, Mrs. Dorothy Beecher Baker and Mr. William Kenneth Christian. After this program a moving picture film of the Shrines and Gardens at the World Center, sent by the Guardian, was shown to the Bahá’ís.

Meanwhile local meetings were held to commemorate the Centenary throughout the United States, and many radio stations broadcast the story of the Martyrdom of the Báb.

The national program included the publication of two Centenary pamphlets: The

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The Shrine of the Báb, Haifa, Israel, as seen from the slopes of Mt. Carmel.

Bahá’í Faith—1844-1950, a World Survey, compiled by Shoghi Effendi, and The Martyr-Prophet of a World Faith, by William B. Sears, dramatically presenting the Báb’s mission and martyrdom for a western public.

“The Báb, the Exalted One, is the Mom of Truth, the splendor of Whose light,” ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote, “shineth throughout all

regions. He is also the Harbinger of the Most Great Light, the Abhá Luminary. The Blessed Beauty [Bahá’u’lláh] is the One promised by the sacred books of the past, the revelation of the Source of light that shone upon Mount Sinai, whose fire glowed in the midst of the Burning Bush. We are, one and all, servants of their threshold, and

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stand each as a lowly keeper at their door. . . . Every proof and prophecy, every manner of evidence, whether based on reason or on the text of the scriptures and traditions, are to be regarded as centered in the persons of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb. In Them is to be found their complete fulfillment.” Reports from the Bahá’ís of Germany mention public memorial services conducted in the larger communities—Esslingen, Gbppingen, Frankfurt-am-Main, Heidelberg, Karlsruhe and Stuttgart. Musical selections from the works of Bach, Hayden and Beethoven, and readings from the Sacred Writings created an impressive background for

addresses eulogizing the Báb and explaining His mission.

Throughout the British Isles the Centenary coincided with the successful conclusion of the first national, coordinated teaching campaign to be conducted by the British Bahá’ís. Meetings of commemoration were held in London, Edinburgh, Dublin, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol and Manchester on a regional scale and locally in Bournemouth, Newcastle and Torquay.

After a devotional period these programs presented a dramatic script on the Martyrdom of the Báb and a review of the activities of the Bahá’í world community.

CENTENARY CELEBRATIONS OF THE BIRTH OF BAHA’U’LLAH’S MISSION

A MOMENTOUS message was cabled by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Faith, from the Bahá’í World Center on November 30, 1951, which is cited in part as follows:

“Approaching Great Jubilee commemorating (the) Centenary (of the) termination (of the) Bábi Dispensation (and) birth (of) Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation (in) Siyéh-Qiél, Tihran, as well as imperative necessity adopt effectual measures insure befitting inauguration (of) third concluding phase of initial epoch (in) execution (of) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan destined (to) culminate (in) hundredth anniversary (of) Declaration of Founder (of) Faith (in) Bag_hdad, impel me (to) summon entire Bahá’í world, through (the) eleven National Assemblies already functioning (in) East (and) West, (to) bestir itself, arise during sixteen months ahead through supreme, concerted, sustained effort, (and) prepare for demonstration (of) Bahá’í solidarity (of) unprecedented scope (and) intensity (during) entire course (of) Bahá’í history.

“Forthcoming celebrations must be signalized through inauguration (of) long-anticipated iritercontinental stage in administrative evolution (of) Faith marking its gradual development through successive phases (of) local, regional, national (and) international Bahá’í activity. Initiation (of) this highly significant measure further cementing Bahá’í National Assemblies (in) five continents (of) globe will be acclaimed (by) posterity

as counterpart (to) consolidation (of) Faith at its World Center through recent formation (of) International Bahá’í Council (in the) Holy Land.

“Centennial festivities (of) Year Nine continuing throughout Holy Year commencing October 1952 must include, apart from consummation (of) plans initiated (by) various National Assemblies in both hemispheres, (the) formal dedication (for) public worship (of the) Mother Temple (of the) West (in the) heart (of) North American Continent, (and) possible termination (of) superstructure (of the) Báb’s Sepulcher (in) Holy Land, (the) convocation (of) four intercontinental Bahá’í Teaching Conferences to be held successively (in the) course (of) historic year (on) Continents (of) Africa, America, Europe, Asia.”

The message continued with the directions that the first conference was to be convened by the British National Spiritual Assembly in Kampala, Uganda, in the early spring of 1953, representing the National Assemblies of the British Isles, United States, Persia, Egypt and Sfidén, India, Pakistan and Burma. Invitations to attend were to be issued to Bahá’ís residing in America, Persia, the subcontinent of India, the British Isles and every territory on the continent of Africa. The aim of the conference was to plant the banner of the Faith in remaining territories of Africa and the neighboring islands to the east, south and west.

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The second conference, Shoghi Effendi directed, was to be convened by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States in Wilmette, Illinois, during the Riḍván period, representing the Bahá’ís of the United States as chief trustees of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan, and their ally and associates, the National Assemblies of Canada and Latin America. Invitations to attend were to be extended to Bahá’ís in every State of the United States, every Province of Canada and every Republic of Latin America. The purpose of this conference was to prepare for the establishment of the Faith in the remaining territories of the Americas and the nearby islands of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

The third in this series of Intercontinental Conferences was to be convened in Stockholm, Sweden, during the summer of 1953 by the European Teaching Committee of the United States Assembly, and was to be representative of the American, British and German National Assemblies. Invitations to attend were to be extended to Bahá’ís from the ten countries of Western Europe, England, Scotland, Wales, Eire, France, Germany, Austria, and Finland. The purpose of this gathering was to provide for the gradual introduction of the Faith into the remaining Sovereign States of the European Continent and its neighboring islands in the Mediterranean, the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea.

The fourth and concluding Jubilee Teaching Conference was to be convened in New Delhi, India, in the autumn of 1953 by the National Spiritual Assembly of India, Pakistén and Burma, representative of the National Assemblies of Persia, the Indian subcontinent, ‘Iráq, Australasia, the United States, Canada, Central America and South America. Invitations to attend were to be extended to the Bahá’ís of every Sovereign State and dependency of Asia, North America, Central America and South America, Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania. This Conference was to consult on steps aimed at opening the Faith in the remaining Asiatic States and dependencies, particularly in South East Asia and the islands of the South Pacific and Indian Oceans.

The Guardian ended his message with this plea: “Address plea particularly (to) convenors (of) above—mentioned conferences (to) arise . . . prayerfully consider, carefully plan, energetically prosecute, (the) respective sacred delegated tasks . . . fix

procedure, provide (for) smooth working, accord wide publicity, insure resounding success, of epoch-making Conferences immortalizing Centenary (of) memorable Year anticipated (by) St. John (the) Divine, foreshadowed by s_liaylgh Ahmad, eulogized (by the) Bab, extolled (by) both Bahá’u’lláh (and) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and constituting prelude (to) Most Great Jubilee which will alike commemorate (the) Centenary (of) formal assumption (by the) Author (of the) Bahá’í Revelation (of) His Prophetic Office, (and) mark, God willing, the world-wide establishment (of the) Faith forecast (by the) Center (of the) Covenant [i.e., ‘Abdu’l-Bahá] in His Tablets, prophesied (by) Daniel (in) his book, thus paving (the) way (for the) advent (of the) Golden Age destined (to) witness (the) world recognition, universal proclamation (and the) ultimate triumph (of the) Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.”

By this portentous message the Bahá’ís were ushered into a new era of action and understanding, symbolized by the Centenary of the Birth of the Mission of Bahá’u’lláh and given substance in this series of four intercontinental teaching conferences which inaugurated a new World Crusade to culminate in the year 1963, the one hundredth anniversary of Bahá’u’lláh’s public assumption of His Mission.

The Centenary of the Birth of the Mission of Bahá’u’lláh was observed throughout the Bahá’í world during the year beginning the middle of October, 1952, and ending the middle of October, 1953. This period marked the centenary of the year 1269 A.H., known among Bahá’ís as the “Year Nine.” It possesses great significance since in His Writings the Báb used it to foretell the Birth of the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh and therefore the end of His own Dispensation.

The intimation of His Mission as the Promised One of all nations was quickened spiritually in Bahá’u’lláh as He lay in chains, a prisoner, in the dungeon of Siyéh—glél, Ṭihrán. It was in so foul a place, to One so cruelly oppressed, that the Holy Spirit descended to the person of Husayn ‘Ali and created Bahá’u’lláh, the Manifestation of God and the Law-Giver for a new World Era.

The Guardian has thus described this tremendous event: “It was in such dramatic circumstances, recalling the experience of

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Moses when face to face with the Burning Bush in the wilderness of Sinai, the successive visions of Zoroaster, the opening of the heavens and the descent of the Dove upon Christ in the Jordan, the cry of Gabriel heard by Muhammad in the Cave of Hira, and the dream of the Báb, in which the blood of the Imam Husayn touched and sanctified His lips, that Bahá’u’lláh, He ‘around Whom the Point of the Bayan hath revolved,’ and the Vehicle of the greatest Revelation the world has yet seen, received the first intimation of His sublime Mission, and that a ministry, which, alike in its duration and fecundity, is unsurpassed in the

religious history of mankind, was inaugurated.”

Gratitude to God for this supreme mercy, assuring the ultimate regeneration of humanity and the establishment of Christ’s Kingdom on earth, inspired the Bahá’ís as they carried out their plans for the celebration of this great Jubilee.

While each National Spiritual Assembly prepared and carried out appropriate devotional and public meetings throughout Holy Year in celebration of the Mission of Baha’u’llah, the several Intercontinental Conferences themselves represented the fulfillment of this sacred experience.

INAUGURATION OF THE WORLD CRUSADE

THE publication of a pamphlet, compiled by the Guardian setting forth a statistical survey of the Ten-Year International Bahá’í Teaching Plan constituting the World Crusade, underlay the thinking and action of Bahá’ís in celebrating the Mission of Bahá’u’lláh. The Plan as set forth, accompanied by a map, included in the present volume, specifies twenty—seven objectives, some to be realized at the World Center and others won by the twelve participating National Spiritual Assemblies by 1963—-the most challenging task ever set for the followers of a Prophet to achieve. Among these objectives might be noted: establishing the Faith in one hundred thirty—one new countries and territorial divisions; translation and publication of Bahá’í texts in ninety-one new languages; construction of two new Bahá’í Houses of Worship and purchase of land for eleven future Temples; establishing fortyeight additional National Spiritual Assemblies; and purchasing properties to be used as National Administrative Centers in fortynine cities of the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and New Zealand.

The first Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Holy Year was conducted by the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles at Kampala, Uganda, February 12 to 18, 1953.

All four Conferences disclosed a basic pattern. A message from the Guardian was delivered by his special representative, at Hand of the Cause. At Kampala Mr. Leroy Ioas presented the Guardian’s message, the

aim of which was to emphasize the importance of those elements in the Ten-Year Plan which related to Africa. A sacred relic entrusted by the Guardian to his representative, in this case a portrait of the Báb, was so placed that each attendant in turn could gaze upon the Countenance of the Martyr Prophet. The third element in the pattern consisted of the active participation of all National Spiritual Assemblies having teaching missions in that continent. The fourth was the impressive response made by volunteers to arise and go forth into the pioneer field. Another element was the conduct of Bahá’í public meetings.

At Kampala Bahá’í members from all the different continents gathered together for the first time for discussion of a common theme. About two hundred thirty-two persons attended the Kampala Conference, representing nineteen countries, one hundred twenty—three of whom were native African believers. Some thirty tribes and races were represented. By some mysterious process of spiritual alchemy the outer differences and distinctions so important to the worldly were dissolved away, and what one felt in his fellow—participant was a joyous light ignited by the fire of the Mission of Baha’u’llah. The oneness of mankind found impressive exemplification. The variety itself was evidence of true unity since unity is of the spirit and not a uniformity of type or personality.

The agenda, entitled “Light Over Africa,” devoted two sessions to commemoration of the Centenary. The rapid progress of pio [Page 27]

The Shrine of the Martyr Prophet of the Bahá’í Faith, completed in October, 1953.

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neering and teaching work in Africa since 1950 was summarized. Its prime purpose was to bring the Bahá’í teachings to the natives and after securing their confidence confirmations were recorded far beyond expectation.

The spiritual capacity of the native African for independent investigation of truth and responsible membership in the Bahá’í community has been fully demonstrated.

It was at the Kampala Conference that the statement was made that this Ten-Year Crusade will result in the fulfillment of the prophecies of Daniel relative to the 1335 days, when the Glory of the Lord will cover the earth.

Mr. Hasan Balyuzi, Chairman of the British National Spiritual Assembly, presided at the Conference sessions. The participating National Assemblies were, besides the British, the Egyptian, the United States, Persian, the ‘Iráq and Indian Assemblies, among which the goal areas of Africa and adjacent islands have been divided. These Assemblies, through their representatives, held two conferences to arrange for cooperation in the African teaching campaign.

The Guardian’s plans and hopes for Africa were eloquently expounded by Mr. Ioas. A11 present realized what a privilege had been granted them in Mr. Tarézu’lláh Samandari’s moving presentation of his personal recollections of Bahá’u’lláh.

Two public meetings were held, one in the Conference meeting place, the other in the assembly auditorium of the local college.

Though second in time, the Intercontinental Teaching Conference held in Chicago and Wilmette, Illinois, had the distinction of inaugurating the Ten-Year Crusade. From thirty countries came a throng of over twenty-three hundred Bahá’ís. The great auditorium of Medinah Temple, Chicago, presented an impressive spectacle during the Conference sessions.

As his special representative the Guardian appointed ‘Amatu’l—Baha Rúḥíyyih Khánum, Hand of the Cause, WhOSe gracious presence and rare charm as speaker seemed to crown the success of the important occasion.

This Conference was termed an AllAmerica Conference, and it was conducted by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States in association With the National Spiritual Assemblies of

Canada, Central America and South America. Its essential purposes were, first, to emphasize the vital importance of the World Crusade in all continents, and second, to consult and plan on how to meet the goals set forth by the Ten-Year Plan for the Western Hemisphere and surrounding islands. Mr. Paul E. Haney, Chairman of the United States Assembly, presided at the sessions.

Rúḥíyyih Khánum delivered the principal address on the “Character and Purpose of the World Crusade,” and in a later session aroused the spirit of pioneering with her stirring talk programmed as “Mount Your Steeds!” One evening session was devoted to the Guardian’s representative which was followed by a reception in which all Bahá’ís had the privilege of presentation to this distinguished Hand of the Cause and member of the Guardian’s family.

During the course of the Conference several groups of Bahá’ís were assembled on the speakers’ platform for special attention: those who had been present when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá dedicated the Temple grounds in 1912; twelve Hands of the Cause; Bahá’ís from Persia; a group of Latin American Bahá’ís; of Bahá’í Youth; of American Indians; and a large company of those who, during the Conference, had arisen to volunteer their services as pioneers to the number of one hundred and fifty.

During the afternoon of Sunday, May 3, the Conference assembled in the auditorium of the House of Worship for the unveiling of the portrait of Bahá’u’lláh which Rúḥíyyih Khánum had brought as the Guardian’s supreme blessing to this Conference. The Bahá’ís entered the auditorium one by one and Rúḥíyyih Khánum touched the hand of each with a drop of the fragrant attar of rose sent by the Guardian for this occasion. The portrait of Bahá’u’lláh and a portrait of the Bab were placed on a table at the front of the auditorium. Quietly, reverently, one by one, the seated Bahá’ís arose and paused before these Remembrances of the Twin Manifestations of God in this great Day. Words cannot describe this unique privilege. It was an inner dedication of spirit to the new World Faith. Perhaps outside the Bahá’í World Center at Haifa the celebration of the Jubilee, the Mission of Bahá’u’lláh, around the world, witnessed no more significant event.

The Conference devoted an evening session to the unveiling of the model of the

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Bahá’í House of Worship, designed by C. Mason Remey, which is to be constructed on Mt. Carmel in the Holy Land. Mr. Remey, Hand of the Cause and President of the International Bahá’í Council, spoke of the temples of worship which each religion has developed to express its particular style of architecture. “The place of worship has been the cultural center.” He then referred to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh which exhort His followers to build temples for worship, with a general plan for their design and function. The speaker had visited the city of ‘Ishqábád many years ago where the first Bahá’í Temple had been constructed, recently, alas, confiscated by the civil authorities and diverted to other use.

The Bahá’ís were deeply impressed by Mr. Remey’s design which has had the distinction of being chosen for the future Temple in the Holy Land, associated with the Bahá’í Shrines and the World Center which is arising step by step in the Holy Land, heart of the world.

Among the key addresses which impressed the gathering we note the remarks on teaching work in Africa by Mfisé Banéni; the exposition of the significance of the Year Nine, by Shu’a’1’u’lláh ‘Alá’í; Mr. Samandari’s reminiscences of Bahá’u’lláh; Mr. ‘Ali-Akbar Furfitan’s talk on the Bahá’í Administrative Order; Mr. Valiyu’lláh Varqé’s presentation of the subject “Heroes of the Lord of Hosts”; and Mr. thkru’lláh K_hé.dem’s story of Ṭihrán—the standard of sacrifice. All these speakers were Hands of the Cause.

Jubilee public meetings were notable occasions. On Wednesday evening, April 29, Dr. Paul Hutchinson of The Christian Century, and Mrs. Dorothy Baker of the National Bahá’í Assembly spoke on “Religion for Humanity.” Matthew Bullock, member of the National Assembly, presided. On Friday, May 1, the public meeting was held in New Trier High School, Winnetka, in the vicinity of the Temple in Wilmette. This meeting formally presented to the friends and neighbors the story of the Bahá’í Temple to be publicly dedicated the following day. Paul Haney, presiding, read messages of greeting and good wishes from distinguished personages, including Justice William Douglas of the United States Supreme Court, Mrs. Ruth Bryan Rhode, Dr. Marcus Bach and the Israeli Ambassador. William Alexander, President of Wilmette Village,

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shared the platform as guest of the Baha IS.

Allen B. McDaniel, supervising engineer of Temple construction for many years, outlined the history of the project from its first beginnings some fifty years before, through the purchase of land, the selection of Louis Bourgeois as architect, and the completion of the structure under successive contracts. Robert McLaughlin, Director of the School of Architecture of Princeton University, explained the features of the architectural design. Horace Holley dealt with the Temple in terms of the meaning of worship. Edwin Eardley, member of the Temple Technical Committee, and Hilbert Dahl, landscape architect, whose design was selected for landscaping the Temple grounds, were presented to the audience. Mr. Alexander, in the name of the Village of Wilmette, offered congratulations on the completion of Temple construction. The local residents, he said, feel privileged to have this world famous structure in their community.

The public program returned to the Medinah Temple in Chicago. The theme “One God and One People” was presented Sunday evening May 3 by Dr. Charles H. Wesley, president of Central State College, Ohio, followed by Rúḥíyyih Khánum, Ali Yazdi presiding. The account written after this meeting stated concerning Rúḥíyyih Khánum: “Every one was touched by the spirit which flowed through her, by her dignity, simplicity and candor, and even more by those indefinable qualities of a selfless Bahá’í, and each knew he had spent a moment with a rare soul.”

The fourth public meeting was devoted to the theme “The Human Goal,” with H. B. Kavelin presiding. The speakers were Norman Cousins, editor, Saturday Review of Literature, and Dr. W. Kenneth Christian, member of the National Spiritual Assembly.

Extraordinary was the publicity which acclaimed the Jubilee and the dedication of the House of Worship, carried by Associated Press, United Press and Universal Press. Feature stories appeared in Newsweek, Cappers Weekly, The Chicago Sunday Tribune, Chicago Daily News (an editorial), and the Bahá’í press committee received clippings from three hundred and ninety-seven cities.

Thirteen international radio broadcasts were beamed over Station WRUL to Europe, the Near East and Latin America. Fifty television stations shOWed a film-shor’t on the Temple dedication, while Universal

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Newsreel pictures were shown in many theaters.

This Conference, like that held in Kampala, produced a new spirit of intimate fellowship among Bahá’ís who had, while loyal to the same Faith, been long accustomed to regard themselves as members of one particular national community. Boundaries were swept away.

The Third Intercontinental Teaching Conference was held in Stockholm, Sweden, from July 21 to July 26, 1953, in the attractive auditorium of the Medborgarhus. This Conference was planned and conducted by the European Teaching Committee. Edna M. True, Committee chairman, presided, with Mrs. Marion Hofman of England serving as co-chairman. The participating Bahá’í bodies were the National Spiritual Assemblies of the British Isles, Germany and Austria, Italy and Switzerland, the United States. Three hundred seventy-seven persons attended, representing Bahá’ís in thirty different countries. Ugo Giachery, Hand of the Cause, represented the Guardian of the Faith and read the Guardian’s message addressed to the Conference. This message outlined thirteen European goals to be achieved during the Ten-Year Plan.

The experience acquired in the conduct of the two previous Intercontinental Conferences, at Kampala and Chicago, made the Stockholm Conference an efficient and smoothly running organized meeting.

Among the agenda topics presented by Hands of the Cause and other Bahá’ís we note: Launching the World-Embracing Spiritual Crusade, by Ugo Giachery; Europe’s Part in the Ten—Year Global Crusade, by Hermann Grossmann; the Kampala Conference, by Mfisé Banéni; the All-American Conference, by Beatrice Ashton and Mildred Mottahedeh; Temple Dedication, by Horace Holley; Sufierings of Bahá’u’lláh and Their Significance, by George Townshend and D_hikru’lláh Khádem.

The first afternoon was devoted to the unveiling of the portrait of the Báb by the Guardian’s representative and the commemoration of the Mission of Bahá’u’lláh.

A public meeting was held in the Concerthus which assembled an audience of about seven hundred. Mrs. Gerd Strand of Oslo spoke on “The Spiritual Regeneration of the Individual Man,” and Professor Zeine N. Zeine of Beirut spoke on “The Recon struction of Human Society." Hans Odemyr of Stockholm presided.

The Bahá’ís attending the Stockholm Conference were profoundly conscious of the vital importance of carrying out a spiritual mission in Europe, the ancient theater of war and conquest, of upholding the Message of reconciliation, peace and unity in a universal Faith.

The European goals set forth in the World Crusade call for pioneer settlement of thirty new territories on the continent and adjacent islands, and the formation of more 10cal Spiritual Assemblies in fifteen lands. The success of the Conference was signalized by the rise of sixty—three volunteers prepared to enter the teaching field. Before the end of the final session, pioneers were assigned to all the new territories to be opened in Europe, except lands where religious missions are at present not permitted.

An unforgettable occasion was the Unity Banquet held in the magnificent Golden Room of Stockholm Town Hall, commemorating the Jubilee of the Year Nine. In this setting the chanting of Bahá’u’lláh’s words in the original Persian seemed to carry a special penetrating force. The Banquet program was simple and effective. Other than the prayers and invocations, only simple and heart-warming greetings in many languages were delivered, each speaker testifying to his faith and his resolve to serve the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh.

The Stockholm Conference rested on a strong basis in the establishment of Bahá’í Assemblies in the ten western countries of Europe since 1946, and the activities of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the British Isles and of Germany and Austria over the years. The International Bahá’í Bureau, long maintained in Geneva, Switzerland, has also contributed to the teaching work in Europe.

The fourth and final Intercontinental Teaching Conference, convened at New Delhi, India, was electrified by a cabled message received from the Guardian of the Faith in Haifa announcing the completion of construction of the superstructure of the Shrine of the Báb after five years of work, at a cost of about seven hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This achievement at the World Center seemed to be the climax of the Holy Year.

The New Delhi Conference was conducted by the National Spiritual Assembly

[Page 31]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 31

of India, Pakistan and Burma, A. A. Butt presiding at the first session. Other sessions had as Chairman 21 representative of the participating National Bahá’í Assembliesthose of the United States, Canada, Central and South America, Persia, the host Assembly of India, Pakistan and Burma, ‘Iráq, and Australia and New Zealand.

C. Mason Remey, Hand of the Cause from Haifa, as the Guardian’s representative, delivered Shoghi Effendi’s formal message to New Delhi. In it were enumerated forty-one virgin territories and islands constituting the Asia Teaching Mission entrusted to the eight participating Assemblies.

“The Asiatic Continent,” the Guardian wrote, “the cradle of the principal religions of mankind; the home of so many of the oldest and mightiest civilizations which have flourished on this planet; the crossways of so many kindreds and races; the battleground of so many peoples and nations; above whose horizons, in modern times, the suns of two independent Revelations—the promise and consummation of a six thousand year old religious CycIe—have successively arisen; where the Authors of both these Revelations suffered banishment and died; within whose confines the Center of a divinely-appointed Covenant was born, endured a forty-year incarceration and passed away; on whose Western extremity the Qiblih of the Bahá’í world has been definitely established; in whose heart the city proclaimed by Bahá’u’lláh as the ‘Mother of the World’ is enshrined; within whose borders another city regarded as the ‘Cynosure of an adoring world’ and the scene of the greatest and most glorious Revelation the world has witnessed is embosomed; on whose soil so many saints, heroes and martyrs, associated with both of these Revelations, have lived, struggled and died—such a continent, so privileged among its sister continents and yet so long and so sadly tormented, now stands at the hour of the launching of a world-eneompassing Crusade, on the threshold of an era that may recall, in its glory and ultimate repercussions, the great periods of spiritual revival which, from the dawn of recorded history have, at various stages in the revelation of God’s purpose for mankind, illuminated the path of the human race.

“May this Crusade, launched simultaneously on the Asiatic mainland, its neighboring islands and the Antipodes, under the di rection of eight National Spiritual Assemblies, and through the operation of eight systematic Teaching Plans, and the concerted efforts of Bahá’í communities in both the East and the West, provide, as it unfolds, an effective antidote to the baneful forces of atheism, nationalism, secularism and materialism that are tearing at the Vitals of this turbulent continent, and may it reenact those scenes of spiritual heroism which, more than any of the secular revolutions which have agitated its face, have left their everlasting imprint on the fortunes of the peoples and nations dwelling within its borders."

This note of spiritual statesmanship gave the Bahá’ís at New Delhi a deeper understanding of the meaning of their teaching mission in relation to past historical events.

For the Conference there had been arranged a colorful canopy on the grounds of the Constitution Club. The Bahá’í from the West arriving at the meeting was struck by the pageantry of human types and costumes represented by his comrades from the East. Thirty nations were represented among the four hundred and fifty Bahá’ís who registered. The opening period of devotions was conducted in English, Persian, Hindustani and Burmese.

The portrait of the Martyr Prophet, the Bab, was unveiled by Mr. Remey and before it, in awe and reverence, the Bahá’ís present knelt and besought the purity essential to service in the Kingdom.

The public events included in the Conference agenda provided two public meetingsone held under the marquee, the other in New Delhi Town Hall. The speakers on the platform at the first meeting were Horace Holley, Stanley Bolton, Sr., Dorothy Baker and Ugo Giachery, with C. Mason Remey presiding. At the Town Hall the theme “Towards a World Federation,” was elucidated by H. C. Featherstone, John Robarts, Mildred Mottahedeh and A. Q. Faizi.

New Delhi surpassed the three previous Conferences in its program of public relations. A public reception and tea held in the garden of Imperial Hotel was attended by nearly one thousand persons, including high officials of the India government and representatives from Embassies and Consulates and men from the press. Formal acceptance had been received from men in high official positions. The setting for this occasion was charming and effective.

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For press and other public distribution the Indian Assembly had published a brochure quoting appreciations of the Faith written by eminent Indians, and reproducing many press notices of the Bahá’í Jubilee.

Moreover, the host Assembly found it possible to present delegations of Bahá’ís to three government leaders—the President of India, the Vice-President, and Prime Minister Nehru.

Much of the time during the sessions was devoted to filling the forty-one pioneer posts by volunteers and to contributing funds for the future construction of three Houses of Worship. In both realms the result was excellent. It was announced that, aside from delays in arranging visas, it appeared that all Asiatic virgin territories would soon be definitely filled. Seventy—four Bahá’ís offered their services as pioneers. A generous amount was raised or contributed toward the cost of purchasing three Temple sites. The sessions brought out from a number of Bahá’ís the personal story of their teaching work in the early days or, more recently, under conditions of determined opposition. The very history of the Faith seemed to be repeated in the experience of these spiritual heroes.

The Conference held a memorial meeting in honor of the late William Sutherland

Maxwell, designer of the Shrine of the Báb, with eulogies by John Robarts, Ugo Giachery and C. Mason Remey. Prayers were offered for the departed Hand of the Cause, Siegfried Schopflocher, of Montreal.

Many of the Bahá’ís visited the site selected for the future Temple outside New Delhi on a slope overlooking the city.

This Conference terminated with the observance of the mid-October Bahá’í Nineteen Day Feast during the early evening of October 15, the date of the termination also of Holy Year.

After the New Delhi Conference Hands of the Cause visited local Bahá’í communities in India, Pakistan, Burma, Ceylon and other countries of the Orient, by direction of the Guardian. Similar directions had been received at the three previous Conferences, with the result that Hands of the Cause met and addressed local Bahá’í communities in Africa, United States, Central and South America, Canada and countries in Western Europe. This action brought the new institution closer to the body of Bahá’ís.

It was on her return home from India, after weeks of travel and public teaching, that Dorothy Baker met death when the airplane in which she was traveling exploded and plunged into the Mediterranean Sea.

EVENTS CONNECTED WITH THE HOLY LAND AND THE GROWTH OF THE INTERNATIONAL CENTER

EMERGENCE of the Bahá’í world community in the years 1950-1954 into a consciously functioning international organism was given its impetus by developments initiated by the Guardian of the Faith at its International Center in the Holy Land, in Haifa and ‘Akká in Israel, “under the shadow of the Mountain of God, Mt. Carmel.”

These developments at the International Center were inevitably associated, during these years, with the development of the rapidly emerging new State of Israel. The spirit released by the erection of the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel, which the Guardian termed an “enterprise transcending in sacredness any collective undertaking launched in the course of the history of the

hundred year old Faith,” not only inspired the Bahá’ís of the world but also gave confidence and hope to the new State, which, in turn, showed its appreciation in many ways, notably in the recognition of the historic sites of the Faith as Bahá’í Holy Places, in assistance with acquisition of new properties needed, and in increasing recognition of the status of the Faith and of its appointed Head. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í World Faith.

COMPLETION OF THE SEPULCHER OF THE BAB Erection of the superstructure of the

Sepulcher of the Báb, the “shell designed to preserve and adorn the original structure

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Aerial view of the Shrine of the Báb, Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel. The building was completed in October, 1953.

raised by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as the Tomb of the Martyr Herald of our Faith,” proceeded uninterruptedly. Begun in 1948, the work on the superstructure progressed from stage to stage as successive contracts were signed by the Guardian, or his representative in Italy, Ugo Giachery, for the plans, the cutting and carving of the marble in Italy and its shipment to Haifa, together with cement, steel, wrought-iron railings, window—frames, until the Shrine was finally completed five years later, in October, 1953, at a total cost of three-quarters of a million dollars.

By the Centenary Anniversary of the Martyrdom of the Báb, in July, 1950, the “initial stage” of this “irresistibly advancing enterprise” was completed, and the Arcade with its Rose Baveno granite columns, its curved and exquisitely carved corner panels of gleaming Chiampo stone, and the green marble mosaic panel of the Greatest Name in the north fagade, “the fairest gem set in the crown of the Arcade,” gave breath-taking promise of what was yet to come.

It was the inspiring and unifying privilege

of Bahá’ís over all the world to contribute sacrificially toward the cost of this first of the Institutions at the International Center of the Faith.

The new Government of Israel, struggling in its birth pangs, gave spontaneous expression of its appreciation of the developments in the heart of the Holy Mountain, by permitting the various kinds of material imported for the construction of the Shrine, to enter tax free. The new Government even donated some cement at a crucial stage, when it was itself feverishly erecting buildings and housing for its new citizens. The International Bahá’í Council wrote of this gift: “One would have to be a resident of this country to realize just what that means.”

By Riḍván of 1952 what the Guardian called the “second crown,” with its eight majestic, minaret-like pinnacles gracing the Octagon, was completed. As the next stage of construction proceeded and the circular Drum with its eighteen stained-glass windows was erected, the third “crown”—the brim of the Dome—was set in place by

[Page 34]Night View of the Sepulcher Of the Báb on Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel, showing terraces and gardens.

[Page 35]CURRENT BAHA'I ACTIVITIES 35

Naw-Rúz of 1953, to be followed by erection of the Dome and the laying, during Riḍván of 1953, of the first golden tiles covering the two hundred and fifty square meter area of the Dome. On the ninth day of the ninetieth Anniversary of the Riḍván Festival the Guardian, with his own hands, reverently placed a fragment from the plaster ceiling of the Báb’s prison cell in the castle of Méh-Kfi beneath one of the gilded tiles of the Dome of this beautiful Shrine.

Erection of the final unit, the stone lantern, coincided with the closing of the Holy Year (October, 1953), associated with the Centenary of the birth of the Mission of Bahá’u’lláh. (For further details on the erection Of the Shrine of the Báb, see Section VI.)

The Guardian cabled to the Fourth Intercontinental Teaching Conference in New Delhi in October, 1953: “(A) steadily swelling throng (of) visitors (from) far (and) near, (on) many days exceeding (a) thousand, (is) flocking (the) gates leading (to the) Inner Sanctuary (of this) majestic mausoleum; paying homage (to the) Queen of Carmel enthroned (on) God’s Mountain, crowned (in) glowing gold, robed (in) shimmering white, girdled (in) emerald green, enchanting every eye from air, sea, plain (and) hill.”

During the erection of the Sepulcher of the Báb the Guardian had had the broad terrace on which it rests extended toward the east, adding three hundred and fifty square meters in area, thus enhancing the “beauty and stateliness of the immediate surroundings” of the Shrine.

COMPLETION OF CONSTRUCTION OF NINE TERRACES

In April, 1951, the Guardian added the two lower terraces to the impressive roadway leading, terrace by gardened terrace, from the city directly to the Shrine. With the addition of the two lower terraces and their beautification, the Guardian completed the series of nine terraces “linking Haifa’s oldest and most imposing avenue with the Báb’s resting place majestically rising in the bosom of Carmel.” Thus was fulfilled ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s “cherished desire” to connect the Shrine with the German Templar colony at the foot of Mt. Carmel. The Guardian wrote the Bahá’ís of Persia and the Middle East that this roadway would become known as

the “avenue of the kings and moharchs of the earth.”

EXTENSION OF INTERNATIONAL ENDOWMENTS

Bahá’í International Endowments have been rapidly extended at the World Center of the Faith through the purchase of properties on the slopes of Mt. Carmel, until as of April, 1954, they cover a total area of over three hundred and fifty thousand square meters, valued at approximately four million dollars.

The Guardian pointed out in a cable dated April 3, 1952, that the “historic process” of establishment of international Bahá’í endowments on Mt. Carmel, “inevitably delayed” during the first fifty years of the Faith, was “initiated on the morrow of Bahá’u’lláh’s ascension” through the purchase of a limited number of plots during the lifetime of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in the immediate area of the then newly erected Tomb of the Báb. The process was “greatly accelerated” through the purchase of extensive properties after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing and is “now further reinforced.”

A twenty thousand square meter area, consisting of eighteen plots, was added in 1952 at a cost of one hundred eighteen thousand dollars, overlooking the resting-place of the revered sister of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the eastern approaches to the Shrine of the Báb. Land extending from the heart of the Mountain to its ridge was also added, to safeguard the immediate precincts of the Shrine and to provide for extension of the terraces to the top of the Mountain above the Shrine, as envisaged by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

In March, 1953, the Guardian announced the acquisition, “after thirty years of effort, of a wooded area of over twenty-three thousand square meters,” made possible through the estate bequeathed to the Faith by Roy C. Wilhelm. Acquisition of this property increased “the total area within the precincts permanently dedicated to the Báb’s SepulCher to almost a quarter million square meters.” Over one hundred thousand square meters of the land permanently dedicated to the Shrine of the Báb are registered in the name of the Israel Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America.

A strip of land previously owned by Mrs. Farah Sprague, who had asked a fantastic

[Page 36]

[Page 37]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 37

price for this property, when the Guardian repeatedly tried to acquire it, and had finally arbitrarily refused to sell it at all to the Bahá’ís, was expropriated on the recommendation of the Mayor of Haifa. Arrangements were made with the Finance Minister of the State of Israel through the Guardian’s representatives for purchase of the property for a small amount. It is now a part of the land being prepared for the International Archives building.

In the city of Haifa a piece of property facing both the House of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Western Pilgrim House was also acquired, to be kept as a private open space. The Guardian has had it planted with gardens.

PURCHASE OF TEMPLE LAND 0N MT. CARMEL AND COMPLETION OF DESIGN

When the Guardian announced, in October, 1952, the tasks to be accomplished during the Ten-Year World Spiritual Crusade, one of the objectives at the World Center of the Faith was the acquisition of land for the future Mashriqu’l-Adhkár on Mt. Carmel. A year later he announced that a site had been selected and preliminary steps taken toward the purchase of an area at the head of the Mountain of God. This area, comprising approximately thirty-six thousand square meters is located “in close proximity to the Spot hallowed by the footsteps of Bahá’u’lláh, near the time-honored Cave of Elijah, and associated with the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel, the Charter of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centers of the Faith on that mountain.” Funds amounting to over one hundred thousand dollars have been generously contributed by one of the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land.

Forty years earlier ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had written to Charles Mason Remey, wellknown architect then living in Washington, DC, that his mission would be to design the Bahá’í House of Worship to be built on Mt. Carmel. Mr. Remey had been studying architecture in Paris as a young man when he first heard of the Faith and since then had made and exhibited internationally

many drawings of designs for a Bahá’í House of Worship. In 1948 at the invitation of the Guardian he went to Haifa to live and there, under the direction of the Guardian, has been working on the plans for the Temple to be built on Mt. Carmel. The completed design, approved by the Guardian, and a model of this first Bahá’í Temple for the Holy Land, were exhibited at the Second Intercontinental Bahá’í Teaching Conference in Chicago, Illinois, in May, 1953. The design provides a circular building, embellished with beautiful minaret-like spires, and has nine approaches through gardens.

DESIGN OF INTERNATIONAL ARCHIVES BUILDING

In the development of the Bahá’í International Center the first edifice “destined to usher in the establishment of the World Administrative Center of the Faith” is the International Bahá’í Archives. One of the fundamental provisions of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is that there shall be not only the aspect of worship and glorification of God but also the channel through which that spirit thus engendered can flow out to the world through Bahá’í activities. The Administrative Center provides that channel.

The design for the International Bahá’í Archives has been made by Charles Mason Remey, carrying out suggestions of the Guardian of the Faith. It was first exhibited at the Fourth Intercontinental Conference at New Delhi, October, 1953. It calls for a stately marble edifice, of pure classic Greek form, similar to the Parthenon in Athens, having Ionic columns on each side. The building is to be erected on the slope of Mt. Carmel, at the west end of an are which circles from the main boulevard above the resting places of the sister of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His mother and brother. Again the marble work is being done in Italy, and shipped to Haifa, as for the Shrine of the Báb.

The World Administrative Center of the Bahá’í Faith, of which the International Archives is the first building, is, as the Guardian points out, “the Ark referred to by Baha’u’llah in the closing passages of His

The circular cluster of cypress trees (foreground) is the spot visited by Bahá’u’lláh, from which He indicated the present site of the Shrine of the Báb and stated that His Remains must be brought from Persia and placed there.

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Tablet of Carmel.” Addressing Mt. Carmel Bahá’u’lláh writes: “Ere long will God sail His Ark upon thee, and will manifest the people of Bahá who have been mentioned in the Book of Names.”

NEW ISRAEL BRANCHES ESTABLISHED

In order that Bahá’í properties on Mt. Carmel may be safeguarded by being held in the names of various National Spiritual Assemblies, Israel Branches of seven National Spiritual Assemblies are to be established, in addition to that of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America, which has been in effect for many years. As of April, 1954, four new Israel Branches had been legally established, formally recognized as Religious Societies by the Israeli Civil Authority and empowered to hold unrestricted title to immovable property in any part of the State of Israel, on behalf of their parent Assembly.

The four new Israel Branches are those of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of the British Isles, of Persia, of Canada, and of Australia. Through these bodies the National Spiritual Assembly concerned has an interest in the property registered in its name and could challenge, through its Government, any claims that might be made by enemies of the Faith.

APPOINTMENT OF THE HANDS OF THE CAUSE OF GOD

In December, 1951, the entire Bahá’í world was profoundly stirred and humbly grateful that the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith felt the time had come in the unfoldment of the Faith to proclaim publicly the appointment of the first Hands of the Cause to be named during their lifetime. Provision for this Institution had been made by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in His Testament, and Bahá’u’lláh had named a few devoted and dedicated believers as Hands of the Cause, but hitherto the designation by the Guardian of an outstanding servant of the Faith as Hand of the Cause had been made publicly only after that person’s death.

The Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states that “the Hands of the Cause of God must be nominated and appointed by the Guardian of the Cause of God. All must be under his shadow and obey his command.”

The first Guardian of the Cause of God

deemed the “hour now ripe to take long inevitably deferred step.” Appointment of the first contingent of the Hands of the Cause of God was made known in a cablegram from the Guardian dated December 24, 1951, in which twelve were named, “equally allocated Holy Land, Asiatic, American, European continents.” Those nominated were:

Holy Land: Sutherland Maxwell, Mason Remey, Mrs. Amelia Collins.

Cradle of the Faith (Persia): Valiyu’lláh Varqé, Tarézu’llah Samandari, ‘Ali-Akbar Furt’itan.

American Continent: Dorothy Baker, Leroy Ioas.

European Continent: George Townshend, Hermann Grossmann, Ugo Giachery.

The number of the Hands of the Cause was raised to nineteen with the nomination of seven additional, in the Guardian’s cablegram of February 29, 1952:

Dominion of Canada: Fred Schopflocher.

United States of America: Mrs. Corinne True.

Persia: lláh ‘Alá’í.

Germany: Adelbert Mühlschlegel.

Africa: Mesa Banéni.

Australia: Mrs. Clara Dunn.

In this cablegram the Guardian stated: “Members august body invested (in) conformity (with) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Testament, twofold sacred function, (the) propagation (and) preservation (of the) unity (of the) Faith (of) Bahá’u’lláh, (and) destined (to) assume individually (in the) course (of) time (the) direction (of) institutions paralleling those revolving around (the) Universal House (of) Justice, (the) supreme legislative body (of the) Bahá’í World, (are) now recruited (from) all five Continents (of) the globe (and) representative (of the) three principal world religions (of) mankind.”

On the death of Mr. Maxwell in March, 1952, the Guardian cabled that the mantle of Hand of the Cause “now falls (upon the) shoulders (of) his distinguished daughter, Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih, who (has) already rendered (and is) still rendering manifold no less meritorious self—sacrificing services” at the World Center of the Faith.

A sixth Hand of the Cause for Persia was named by the Guardian on December 7, 1953, with the appointment of Jalél Igiézeh. And Paul Haney of the United States was

Horace Holley,

Ifllikru’lláh Khádem, Shu’é’u’ [Page 39]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 39

Manesmann pipes placed prior to erection, within the recently cast reinforced concrete work which constitutes the support for the superstructure of the Báb’s Shrine.

Erection of the cement ceiling of the octagon of the Shrine, January February, 1952.

One of the completed pinnacles of the octagon, March, 1952.

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nominated Hand of the Cause in the Guardian’s cable of March 19, 1954. Mr. Schopflocher of Canada passed away in July, 1953, and Mrs. Dorothy Baker of the United States had been killed in an airplane accident in J anuary, 1954.

Four of the Hands of the Cause serve in Haifa at the World Center—Amatu’l—Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, Mason Remey, Mrs. Amelia Collins, and Leroy Ioas.

In the Guardian’s cablegram to the Hands of the Cause and the National Spiritual Assemblies, dated April 6, 1954, he acknowledged the services of the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land in the erection of the Báb’s Sepulcher on Mt. Camel, in the reinforcement of ties With the newly emerged State of Israel, in extension of Bahá’í International Endowments in the Holy Land, in the initiation of preliminary measures for the establishment of the Bahá’í International Administrative Center, and in the participation of these Hands of the Cause in the four successive Intercontinental Bahá’í Teaching Conferences and their subsequent travels in the five continents.

APPOINTMENT OF AUXILIARY BOARDS

In the unfoldment of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause the Guardian instructed the fifteen Hands of the Cause outside the Holy Land to appoint, during Riḍván 1954, “by virtue of their supreme function as chosen instruments for the propagation of the Faith," five auxiliary Boards, one for each of the five continents. This body of the Hands of the Cause was, in the Guardian’s words, “now entering (the) second phase (of) its evolution signalized (by) forging (of) ties (with the) National Spiritual Assemblies (Of the) Bahá’í world (for the) purpose (of) lending them assistance (in) attaining (the) objectives (of the) Ten Year Plan.”

The task of the auxiliary Boards was to “increasingly lend (their) assistance (for the) promotion (of the) interests (of the) Ten-Year Crusade.” Their function was to act “as deputies, assistants and advisers of the Hands,” “working in conjunction” with the National Spiritual Assemblies on each continent. Their duties had been defined by the Guardian in his cablegram of October 8, 1952, launching the World Crusade: to “assist, through periodic systematic visits (to) Bahá’í centers (in the) efficient, prompt exe cution” of the twelve projected National teaching plans.

The five auxiliary Boards appointed by the fifteen Hands of the Cause were announced as follows:

A frican: John Allen Miss Elsie Austin ‘Ali Nalgljavéni Jalél Nak_hjavéni J ohn Robarts William Sears Muhammad Mustafa Soleiman Valerie Wilson ‘Aziz Yazdi

A merican:

Canada: Rowland Estall

Central America: Esteban Canales

South America: Mrs. Gayle Woolson, Mrs. Margot Worley

United States and inter-America: William de Forge Mrs. Margery McCormick Mrs. Katherine McLaughlin Mrs. Florence Mayberry Dr. Sarah Pereira

Asiatic:

Miss Agnes Alexander

Mrs. Elena Marsella Fernie

Abul Qasim Faizi

Abbas Ali Butt

Carl A. Scherer

Daoud Toeg

Kazem Kazemzadeh

A ustralian:

H. C. Featherstone Miss Thelma Perks

European:

Mrs. Marion Hofman Mrs. Dorothy Ferraby Eugen Schmidt

Mrs. Anna Grossmann Louis Henuzet

Joel Marengella

Miss Elsa Steinmetz Mrs. Angeline Giachery Mrs. Tove Deleuran

FORMATION OF INTERNATIONAL BAHA’I COUNCIL

In January, 1951, the Guardian made known to the National Spiritual Assemblies of East and West his “weighty epoch-making

[Page 41]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 41

decision” to form the first International Bahá’í Council, as a forerunner of the Universal House of Justice “destined to emerge in the fullness of time” at the International Center of the Faith, “the midmost heart of the entire planet.” He referred to the Inter national Council as an “embryonic International Institution,” stating that it will evolve into an officially recognized Bahá’í Court, be transformed into a “duly elected body” and reach its efllorescence finally as the Universal House of Justice. He outlined its threefold function: (1) to forge a link with authorities of the newly emerged State of Israel, (2) to assist the Guardian in the erection of the Shrine of the Báb, and (3) to conduct negotiations related to matters paving the way for the formation of the Bahá’í Court.

The Guardian appointed the following members of the International Bahá’í Council:

Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, as liaison between himself and the Council

Charles Mason Remey, president

Mrs. Amelia Collins, vice-president

Ugo Giachery, member—at-large

Leroy Ioas, secretary—general

Jessie Revell, treasurer

Ethel Revell, Western assistant secretary

Luṭfu’lláh Ḥakím, Eastern assistant secretary.

Two comprehensive letters have been received from the International Bahá’í Council by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, which are included in Part Two, Section I, of this volume. These letters serve to keep the Bahá’ís informed of interesting events connected with the progressive developments at the International Center of the Faith, which have been announced by the Guardian.

Assistance of the members of this Council has been repeatedly acknowledged by the Guardian in the work at the International Bahá’í Center, in the erection of the Shrine of the Báb, in contacts which members of the Council have made with Government and religious authorities of the State of Israel, in widening the understanding of the Faith and its spiritual influence in the world.

ACQUISITION AND EMBELLISHMENT OF LAND SURROUNDING THE SHRINE 0F BAHA’U’LLAH

One of the most astounding and miraculous developments at the World Center of

the Faith has been the acquisition and embellishment of the land surrounding the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí, on the plain outside of ‘Akká. After two—year-long negotiations the Guardian announced on November 12, 1952, that a contract had been signed whereby about one hundred sixty thousand square meters of land (forty acres) in the immediate area of the Shrine were to be transferred by the Israeli Government to Bahá’í ownership. Thus the Guardian was able to begin carrying out his longing to beautify the entire surroundings of the Tomb of the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith.

This property, equal in extent almost to “the entire Bahá’í international endowments purchased in the course of sixty years in the vicinity of the Báb’s Sepulcher,” had come into the hands of the Israeli Government because of the precipitate flight of the former Arab owners. The Government of Israel was willing to arrange for its exchange for property which was located in a strategic area, owned by Bahá’ís who offered to donate their property for the purpose of the exchange. The dramatic event was heightened by the fact that the property in the Bahjí area now being acquired by the Bahá’ís had formerly been owned by Arab supporters of old Covenant-breakers and descendents of the notorious enemy of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá who had placed his residence at the disposal of the Turkish Committee of Investigation sent to interrogate ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. just prior to overthrow of the Caliphate in 1908. The area donated for exchange, on the other hand, was property belonging to the grandchildren of Mirzá Muhammad-Quli, Bahá’u’lláh’s faithful half—brother and companion in exile.

The Guardian’s cable announced that the contract was signed on the one hundred thirty-fifth anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh. Transfer of the Bahjí property was arranged by the Development Authority of Israel to be registered under the name of the Israel Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America.

The International Council wrote: “The magnitude of this historic event is difficult to understand at this time.”

Immediately the Guardian began laying out gardens to beautify the area around the Sepulcher of Bahá’u’lláh, “the Qiblih of the Bahá’í world.” Laid out in the form of a semi-circle around the Shrine, with a radius

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of 110 meters, the gardens, “sprung from the dust,” are decorated with white Carrara marble vases and ornaments, with decorative lamp posts and beautiful wrought-iron gates flecked with gold, on graceful pebbled paths leading to the Shrine. The International Council wrote of these developments:

“Lo! like a dream they [the gardens] spread before the eyes of the Bahá’ís. Indeed the Arab laborers would quote to each other an old saying: ‘The ring of Solomon has been found!’—which stems from a tradition that the king lost his ring, and that whoever found it and turned it on his fingerwhatever he wished for would materialize instantly.”

In order to embellish the area immediately adjacent to the Tomb of Baha’u’llah, the Guardian had, in years past, removed some piles of ruined buildings and had completely renovated the Mansion of Bahjí, where Baha’u’llah was living when He ascended in 1892, and where Muhammad-‘Ali, “Arch Covenant-breaker of Bahá’u’lláh’s Testament,” had been permitted to live with his family, while ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His family were still living in ‘Akká. By 1932 the roof of the Bahjí Mansion .was caving in through neglect of the property by the then inhabitant, Muhammad-‘Ali, who claimed to have no funds to repair the damage. The Guardian, who felt that such a condition was not only a disgrace to the memory of Baha’u’llah but was a responsibility of the Bahá’ís to repair, prevailed upon Muhammad-‘Ali to move with his family to an adjacent building. The Guardian then restored the Mansion, with great care, to its original beauty, for it was an exquisite oriental palace built by a wealthy resident of ‘Akká during the time of Baha’u’llah’s incarceration in the prison city and deserted when a pestilence struck the area. After the Guardian had renovated the entire building, restoring even the original delicate mural decorations on the walls, he lined the rooms with cases containing original Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, books and pictures of priceless historical value, and placed in Baha’u’llah’s own room original relics associated with His stay there. The Guardian then invited the British District Commissioner to inspect the Mansion with him. The Commissioner was so impressed that he agreed to ask the High Commissioner to include it as a Bahá’í Holy Place, making it, as were the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and of the Báb, and Baha’u’ llah’s House in ‘Akká, exempt from taxation. Thus the status of the Mansion of Bahjí changed from a personal residence to a beautiful Museum and Pilgrim House for the Bahá’ís.

By 1951 there remained still a small onestory building adjacent to the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh whose roof had caved in and whose walls were crumbling. As Custodian of the Bahá’í Holy Places the Guardian considered its presence detrimental to the diggnity of the approach to the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, and in December, 1951, he ordered it demolished. Before his order could be carried out, however, an order was issued from the Haifa court to prevent this action, at the instigation of the Covenant-breakers, urged on by Majdi’d-Din, who was nearly one hundred years old, miserably paralyzed and still living in an adjacent building. After a legal suit, described in a subsequent section of thls Survey, the case was settled as a complete victory for the Bahá’ís, upholding the authority Of the Guardian of the Bahá’í World Faith.

Within forty-eight hours after settlement of this case, in which title to the house occupied by Muhammad-‘Ali was also cleared and included in the settlement, the ruins were removed “in a blast of joy” and within one week gardens had appeared as if by magic, with pebbled paths, marble ornaments, peacocks, eagles, cypress trees, and beautiful wrought-iron gates.

THE HARAM-I-AQDAS

Within these gardens, immediately adjacent to the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh, the Guardian has Created an “outer sanctuary” Which he has termed the Ḥaram-i—Aqdas, or Most Holy Court. He has stated that in the future a “magnificent Mausoleum” will be erected in its heart. He cabled, February 9, 1953: “(The) striking enhancement (of the) beauty (and) stateliness (of the) most holy spot (in the) Bahá’í world constitutes (a) befitting tribute (to the) memory (of the) Founder (of the) Faith, within (the) hallowed area adjacent (to) His resting-place, (on the) occasion (of the) Centenary Celebrations (of the) birth (of) His glorious Mission.”

RESUMPTION OF PILGRIMAGE

On December 25, 1951, a cablegram from the Guardian was received by all National

[Page 43]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 43

A corner of the Báb’s Shrine with two pinnacles of the octagon completed and the wrought-iron gilded railing in position.

Spiritual Assemblies which brought untold joy to thousands of Bahá’ís the world over. It announced “restrictions on pilgrimage being gradually removed." Not since the war, ten years before, had it been possible for Bahá’ís to fulfill the longing of their hearts to visit the Holy Shrines and be privileged to meet the Guardian of the Faith in person.

Within four months one hundred Bahá’ís from‘East and West had been permitted this pnvilege. Their visits were necessarily restricted to nine days, owing to limited accommodations in the two Pilgrim Houses, so that as many as possible could be received as the Guardian’s guests. During this pilgrimage the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí and the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel are visited, a night at least is spent in the Man sion of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí, His cell in the prison of ‘Akká is visited, as well as the House in ‘Akká where He revealed the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the House where lived ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Bahíyyih Khánum, His revered sister; also visited are the peaceful Garden of Riḍván and the Garden of Firdaws, where Bahá’u’lláh often went, and the International Archives, where priceless relics and treasurm are viewed.

The Guardian has pointed out that the pilgrims constitute the stream of life blood flowing in and out of the great heart of the Faith. As direct result of the inspiration received, many Bahá’ís have pioneered to distant countries and islands of the world, carrying the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh to important goals of the Ten-Year Crusade.

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THE HOUSE OF MAZRA‘IH

The Mansion of Mazra‘ih, in the country a few miles north of ‘Akká, where Bahá’u’lláh first lived after leaving the prison city, has become a Bahá’í Holy Place to be visited by Bahá’í pilgrims, because of the gracious intervention of the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. Ben-Gurion. Mazra‘ih was formerly the residence of a wealthy Arab Péshé, which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had rented and prepared for Bahá’u’lláh so that He might be surrounded by the verdure He loved after His nine years of confinement within the prison and the prison city. The Mansion had since become a Muslim religious endowment but by arrangements made, at the Prime Minister’s suggestion, through the Minister of Religions it is now rented to the Bahá’ís. The Guardian had it attractively and simply furnished in December, 1950, “in anticipation” of opening the door of pilgrimage.

THE HOUSE OF BAHA’U’LLAH IN ‘AKKA

Within the prison city of ‘Akká is the large House where Baha’u’llah lived after His confinement in the prison itself. and where He revealed the Kitcib—i—Aqdas in which are “preserved for posterity the basic laws and ordinances on which the fabric of His future World Order must rest.” Later Bahá’u’lláh moved to Mazra‘ih and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and His family remained for a time in the House in ‘Akká.

The House of Bahá’u’lláh in ‘Akká, now a Bahá’í Holy Place, was completely renovated and furnished by the Guardian, except that the room of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, where the Aqdas was revealed, has been left exactly as it was. This House is now visited by a “steadily swelling number of visitors, both local and foreign.”

It is of interest to recall that the Guardian, in his God Passes By. terms the Kitáb-iA qa'as “the Charter of the future world civilization,” and points out that David referred to ‘Akká as the “strong city” and Hosea called it “a door of hope.”

BAHA’U’LLAH’S PRISON CELL

The placing of the room occupied by Bahá’u’lláh in the fortress prison of ‘Akká under the control of the Bahá’ís is another dramatic occurrence, one which has made it

possible for all Bahá’í pilgrims to visit this scene of His great suffering and to pray there.

Presentation of this room to the Bahá’ís came about without any request having been made on their part, according to a letter from the International Council. The members of the Council were simply informed one day in 1951 by the Government Physician in charge of the hospital into which this fortress prison has now been converted, that ' he wished to deliver the keys of Bahá’u’lláh’s room, as it had been set aside for the Bahá’ís. The room has been marked with a dignified plaque over the entrance. It is a large corner room, on the top floor of the fortress prison, with high, small, deeply recessed windows and bare stone floor.

Bahá’u’lláh wrote, as cited by the Guardian: “Blessed the man that hath visited ‘Akká, and blessed he that hath visited the visitor of ‘Akká.” “He that raiseth therein the call to prayer, his voice will be lifted up unto Paradise.”

CORDIAL RELATIONS WITH STATE OF ISRAEL

The Guardian has frequently referred, in his messages to the National Assemblies, to the cordial relations existing between the State of Israel and the International Center of the Faith. He has expressed his deep appreciation of the assistance given by the Prime Minister, Mr. Ben-Gurion, and the Ministries of the Government in various ways. Some of these have already been a1Iuded to, in connection with the construction of the Shrine of the Báb and the designation of historical sites of the Faith as Bahá’í Holy Places.

Of vital importance has been the increasing evidence of greater and deeper understanding of what the Bahá’í Faith is and what it stands for. Contacts by members of the International Bahá’í Council with the departments of the Government, both State and local, and with many Cabinet officials, have done much to help in establishing and maintaining these cordial relations.

A reception given by the International Council at the Mansion of Bahá’u’lláh at Bahjí was one of the first steps taken to establish friendly understanding. It was attended by Government officials, Consuls, representatives from the Ministry of Religions in Jerusalem and by many friends and acquaintances. Greetings have been ex [Page 45]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 45

tended to the Bahá’ís, in turn, by means of Israeli radio broadcasts on special Bahá’í Feast Days, such as Naw-Rt’iz and Riḍván. Bahá’í books have been placed in the library of the Ministry of Religions and presented to the Minister himself, who is a profound student of religions, at his request.

The importance of. the fact that the International Center of the Bahá’í World Faith is in Israel is being more and more realized by authorities of both the State Government and the cities of Haifa and ‘Akká. Many Cabinet officials have visited the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh, the Shrine of the Báb, the Mansion of Bahjí, and the Bahá’í Gardens in ‘Akká and on Mt. Carmel.

VISIT OF THE PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL

On April 26, 1954, the extent of these growing cordial relations between the State of Israel and the International Center of the Faith was evidenced when His Excellency the President of the State of Israel, Mr. Izhak Ben-Zvi, and Mrs. Ben-Zvi, officially visited the Shrine of the Báb and of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. on Mt. Carmel, and called upon the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, in response to an invitation tendered earlier by the Guardian. This was the first time in Bahá’í history that the Head of a sovereign independent State had officially visited the Shrine and called on the Head of the Bahá’í World Faith. The Secretary—General of the International Bahá’í Council describes this event, as follows:

“On that historic day the President and the Secretary—General of the International Bahá’í Council were received by the President of the State of Israel and Mrs. Ben-Zvi in their suite at the Megiddo Hotel in Haifa at nine in the morning. After visiting a few minutes, the party left by auto for the home of Shoghi Effendi.

“The Guardian and Rúḥíyyih Khánum warmly received the President and Mrs. Ben-Zvi, surrounding them with gracious hospitality. During the friendly and informal discussion which followed, Shoghi Effendi outlined the aims and purposes of the Faith, the love and friendliness of the Bahá’ís for Israel, and their hope and prayer for the success of the State. The President recalled a visit with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá some years ago in Bahjí, when he and Mrs. Ben-Zvi were making a tour of the country. Persian tea and sweets were served. A beautiful hand wrought silver-bound volume with colored views of the Bahá’í Holy Places in Israel, both at Bahjí and on Mt. Carmel, was presented to the President as a memento of the occasion.

“The party then left for the gardens and Shrines. The Guardian took his honored guests through the gardens fragrant with the perfume of roses, lilies and the many flowers in bloom, showing them the view over Haifa with ‘Akká in the distance to the north. Then he escorted them to the Holy Shrines.

“The President and Mrs. Ben-Zvi were greatly impressed with the atmosphere of the sacred precincts, commented at length on the glory of the Shrine of the Báb and the gardens, which they recognized as the most beautiful in Israel.

“On leaving, the President expressed his appreciation of the hospitality shown by the Guardian and of the work which the Bahá’ís are doing in Israel. He extended his best wishes for the success of the Bahá’í community, not only in Israel, but throughout the world.

“The preliminary steps leading to this historic Visit may be of interest. In J anuary the President, Vice-President and SecretaryGeneral of the International Bahá’í Council asked permission to call on the President of the State of Israel to greet him officially. The latter received them on February first. It was during that visit that the President expressed the wish to visit His Eminence, the Guardian of the Faith and the Shrine and gardens on Mt. Carmel. Subsequently, the Guardian extended a cordial invitation to the President, which was accepted for April 26.”

OFFICIAL RECOGNITION OF THE Bahá’í FAITH

Evidence of the official recognition of the Bahá’í Faith as an independent world religion by the Jewish authorities has been witnessed by exemption of Bahá’í properties from all taxation, both State and local. This exemption is especially noteworthy in a growing new State, struggling to maintain and further its own development. The exemption includes the properties of the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and of the Báb, the International Archives (at present in two separate locations), the two Mansions of Bahá’u’lláh (Bahjí and Mazra‘ih), the House in ‘Akká where Bahá’u’lláh lived when He revealed the Aqdas and the House

[Page 46]46 THE

BAHA’I WORLD

Finishing the molds for beams of the great “star” foundation. Note that the molds for the beams interlock; beams when poured are six feet deep. (See drawing, page 245.)

in Haifa where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá lived when He passed away. Objects received for these properties are also exempted from taxation.

Other evidence of official recognition of the Bahá’í Faith has been given in various ways:

A Bahá’í marriage certificate has been accepted and registered by the District Commissioner Of Haifa.

A Bahá’í Department has been established under the Ministry of Religious Affairs.

Goods consigned to the Bahá’í Community have been exempted from all customs duties. This important evidence of official recognition has come about through the good offices of the Minister of Finance, and has included all material imported for the construction of the Shrine of the Báb. The exemption also includes material imported for beautification of the Gardens and all furniture for the Bahá’í Holy Places. It has been extended to include material for all international endowments surrounding the Shrine on Mt. Carmel from the ridge of the Mountain to the Templar Colony at its foot, and for the immediate vicinity of the resting places of the Greatest Holy Leaf and her kinsmen. As the Guardian wrote in his letter of March 29, 1951: “All these establish, beyond the shadow of doubt, the high status enjoyed by the international institutions of a World Faith, in the eyes of a new-born State.”

Furthermore, a circular issued to all schools by the Ministry of Education and Culture provides for the excusing of Bahá’í children from school attendance on Bahá’í Holy Days. This action was unsolicited by the Bahá’ís and provides yet further evidence of the official recognition of the Bahá’í

Faith. LEGAL CASE WON BY THE Bahá’ís

The legal case brought by the Covenant-breakers in December, 1951, in connection with the ruined house adjacent to the Tomb of Bahá’u’lláh, referred to under “Acquisition and Embellishment of Land Surrounding the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh," was started in the civil court of Haifa as a suit against the Guardian of the Faith, to restrain him

[Page 47]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 47

A

The great star-shaped reinforced concrete foundation of the octagon of the Báb’s Shrine.

[Page 48]48 THE BAHA’I WORLD

from removing some unsightly ruins. As Custodian of Bahá’í Holy Places and as undisputed possessor of the building concerned for over thirty years, the Guardian considered he was free to order their removal. The Covenant-breakers, however, led by Mrs. Musa Bahá’í, daughter of a brother of Muhammad-‘Ali, refused every reasonable solution offered by the lawyers and representatives of the Guardian, so that it became obvious that those who had brought the suit wished no settlement but only to prolong the existing situation. When the Covenant-breakers had the audacity to summon the Head of the Faith to court as witness, the Guardian appealed to the Government to lift the matter entirely out of the jurisdiction of the civil court. The Attomey-General then, instructed by the Minister of Religions, informed the head of the Haifa court that according to a Statute in existence since 1924 the case was not one to be tried in a civil court but was a religious matter.

To the astonishment of all, however, the lawyer for the Covenant-breakers challenged the order of the Attorney-General and appealed the case to the Supreme Court. Interviews were being constantly held with the higher authorities in Jerusalem by the Guardian’s representatives, three Hands of the Cause, as well as through lawyers of the respective parties to the suit, without any progress being made.

At this point the Guardian transmitted an appeal to the Prime Minister. This brought immediate solution, as the representative of the Prime Minister informed the Covenant-breakers that any further litigation they wished to carry on would be against the Government. If they wished to do that, they could. The case and the appeal were dropped at once.

For six months, the Covenant-breakers had apparently tried to restrain the Guardian from embellishing the precincts of the Tomb of Baha’u’llah. During that interval, however, they had revealed, to higher and higher departments of the Government, that their real objective was not concerned with the ruins in question but with an insidious plan to obtain possession of a key to the Holy Shrine, so that they could represent themselves as “joint custodian” with the Guardian, and to secure rooms in the Mansion of Bahjí itself. During this period of litigation it often seemed, the International Council has stated, that the case would be

dropped or settled out of court, but it continued, as if providentially, until it reached the Ofi‘ice of the Prime Minister himself, through whose intervention it was settled. Meanwhile, as the International Council points out, the high-ranking officials of the Foreign Office, of the Ministry of Religions, of the Attorney-General's Office and of the Prime Minister’s Office have become well aware that “the Bahá’í Faith is united under the leadership of its legitimate Guardian and that he is the true Custodian of the Bahá’í Holy Places.”

DECLINING FORTUNES OF THE COVENANTBREAKERS

The termination of the legal action brought against the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith was but another indication of the declining fortunes of the Covenant-breakers. The Guardian cabled on June 11, 1952, a “double announcement” to the Bahá’í world: “(The) rapid progress (of the) enterprise majestically unfolding (in the) heart (of) God’s Holy Mountain, (and the) steady deCline (in the) fortunes (of the) remnant (of) old Covenant-breakers still defiantly challenging (the) combined strength (of the) Bahá’í world community.” As a result of this “short-sighted action” on the part of a handful of enemies of the Faith, longstanding privileges which had been extended to the Covenant-breakers for sixty years were “irretrievably” curtailed.

Other attempts of the enemies of the Faith to indefinitely delay the completion of the nine terraces leading to the Shrine of the Bath from the city of Haifa had been frustrated early in 1951.

“God’s avenging wrath” had removed, early in April, 1952, the son of Siyyid ‘Ali, Nayer Afnan, who was to have been a star witness for the Covenant-breakers in the lawsuit brought to challenge the authority conferred upon the Guardian in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Testament, by virtue of which he is Custodian of Bahá’í Holy Places.

A few months later, in December, 1953, the Guardian cabled that three others of the few remaining who had shown faithlessness to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had been struck downAvarih in Persia, Fareed in the United States, and Falah in Turkey. The Guardian stated: “All three, however blinded (by) perversity, could not have failed (to) perceive, as (their) infamous careers ap [Page 49]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 49

proached (their) end, (the) futility (of their) opp05ition, (the) measure (of their) own loss (and the) degree (of) progress (and) consolidation (of the) triumphant Administrative order (so) magnificently celebrated (in the) course (of the) fes tivities (of the) recently concluded Holy Year.”

As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written: “Firmness in the Covenant will preserve the unity of the religion of God and the foundation of the religion of God will not be shaken.”

REGIONAL AND NATIONAL TEACHING CONFERENCES

THE year 1946 marked the beginning of a new stage in the expansion of the Bahá’í Faith through the launching of a SevenYear Plan during which the American Bahá’ís were to establish Bahá’í communities in ten countries of Western Europe.

During the first two years of that period, the activities consisted chiefly of placing Bahá’í settlers under the direction of the European Teaching Committee in at least one key city in each country. This undertaking, Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, referred to as “the opening phase of the spiritual conquest of the old world under the divinely conceived plan” entrusted to the American Bahá’í Community by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. thirty years before.

So rapidly did the teaching work of the pioneers proceed that in May, 1948, it was possible to assemble ninety-two believers in Geneva, Switzerland, from all ten goal countries for the first Bahá’í European Teaching Conference. The results of this first conference were so successful in terms of inspiration, planning and developing appropriate teaching techniques, that similar conferences were held annually to 1952, each one of which was acclaimed by the Guardian as “leaving an indelible imprint on the annals of the second stage of the evolution of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan.”

COPENHAGEN CONFERENCE

The first such conference in the period covered by this volume (1950-1954) took place in Elsinore, near Copenhagen, Denmark, July 24-30, 1950, with an attendance of one hundred seventy-seven Bahá’ís representing twenty-two countries. The greeting from Shoghi Effendi to the gathering hailed it as the “first evidence (of the) answer (to the) prayer (of the) Center (of the) Covenant voiced (in) His Tablet over thirty

years ago, supplicating (that) holy souls be raised up (to) promulgate the Faith (in) northern lands.”

At the Conference was first inaugurated the type of Bahá’í summer school which henceforth would follow each summer conference. Besides prolonging the sessions of the Conference, the program of the school was designed to stimulate the spirit of Bahá’í fellowship, to deepen the understanding on the part of the Bahá’ís in the fundamental spiritual and administrative principles of the Faith and to fix the pattern of future independent national summer schools in the ten goal countries.

SECOND ALL-SWISS CONFERENCE

Ziirich, Switzerland, was the scene of the second All—Swiss Conference, November 18 and 19, 1950, with an attendance of eighty, including five Bahá’ís from Germany and two United States pioneers from Luxembourg. The primary purpose of this meeting was to consolidate and expand the teaching plans within Switzerland itself and to relate them to the prosecution of the seven points of endeavor listed by Shoghi Effendi in his cablegram to the Copenhagen Conference. These were: rapid increase in membership, effective promotion of extension teaching work, consolidation of all administrative agencies, energetic dissemination of Bahá’í literature, closer collaboration with sister communities in the European continent, greater awareness of the inescapable responsibilities and deeper understanding of the verities of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, of His Covenant and World Order, and above all, “constant daily effort aiming at the enrichment of the spiritual life of the individual,” the sole foundation whereupon the stability of the structure of every Bahá’í administrative edifice must depend.

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In his cablegram of April 25, 1951, enumerating to the American National Bahá’í Convention the accomplishments of the fifth year of the Second Seven-Year Plan, Shoghi Effendi mentioned this second All-Swiss Conference as “foreshadowing (the) closer integration (of the) ten goal countries (of the) European continent through (the) eventual formation (of) regional National Assemblies (in) Scandinavia, (the) Benelux countries, Switzerland (and) Italian and Iberian peninsulas.”

CONFERENCE IN HOLLAND

The fourth European Teaching Conference took place in Scheviningen in Holland, on the outskirts of The Hague, August 31 to September 4, 1951, attended by one hundred forty representatives from twenty—two countries. This city was to produce the second local Spiritual Assembly in that country eight months later, harvest from the initial seed sown there by the Hand of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá when He addressed a Tablet to the Central Organization for Durable Peace which met in The Hague in 1919, calling the attention of the representatives of the nations gathered there to Bahá’u’lláh’s plan for universal peace.

The Guardian’s message to the Scheviningen Conference referred to the range and quality of the work already accomplished, the spirit demonstrated by the pioneers and the new Bahá’ís, and the degree of maturity attained in the greatly diversified, budding and virile communities of Europe “rightly regarded (as the) first fruits (of the) operation (of) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan (on the) European continent.”

The message further enlarged the horizon of the believers and gave them a glimpse of the tasks that would follow upon the termination of the remaining two years of the Second Seven-Year Plan. These, the Guardian said, would include “(the) gradual formation (of) regional National Assemblies (as) prelude (to the) emergence (of a) separate National Assembly (in) each goal country as well as (the) launching (of) organized campaigns, in collaboration (with the) parent community (of the) great republic of the West (in) conjunction (with the) long-standing, preeminent national community [Germany] laboring (in the) heart (of the) European continent, aiming (at the) spiritual conquest (of the) remain ing sovereign states (of) Europe and, God willing, reaching beyond its borders as far as (the) heart (of the) Asiatic continent.”

Thus opened still another stage in the evolution of the Bahá’í World Community ——one of “regional cooperation,” through the five groupings of Bahá’í communities already forming, namely, in the Scandinavian countries where the plan was already in operation, in the Benelux countries, the Iberian peninsula, and in Italy and Switzerland.

Confident of divine assistance, the delegates at this conference enthusiastically assumed another goal which was to become the culminating achievement of the SevenYear Plan—the formation of at least one regional National Spiritual Assembly by 1953. Furthermore, plans were made for participation in the forthcoming Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Stockholm which was soon to open the way for the gradual introduction of the Faith in the remaining sovereign states in the European continent, and in the neighboring islands of the Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the North Sea.

FIRST IBERIAN CONFERENCE

In order to launch the plan of regional cooperation immediately, Miss Edna True, chairman of the European Teaching Committee, and the American pioneers who had attended the Conference in Holland, proceeded directly to Madrid, Spain, where they were joined by nine Spanish and Portuguese Bahá’ís, for the first Iberian Teaching Conference, September 14 to 16, 1951.

Though small and insignificant in number, but armed with the promises of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, this little band resolved to demonstrate to their fellow-countrymen how to dissolve the barriers of prejudice that had existed traditionally between Spain and Portugal for generations.

Before the three short days had ended, they had initiated plans for the exchange of community bulletins and qualified teachers, formed an Iberian Teaching Committee, mapped out an extension teaching program aimed at forming six new local Spiritual Assemblies, and established a fund for the work at the World Center.

The acceleration of the teaching work in all ten countries resulting from the various conferences and summer schools, and the

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growing number of local Spiritual Assemblies and Bahá’í Groups in all Western Europe, clearly indicated the necessity and wisdom of developing the work along regional lines as called for by the Guardian. With less than one year remaining in the Seven-Year Plan, the Geneva office of the European Teaching Committee became the scene of intense activity, for from here the Committee directed preparations for no less than six conferences in 1952 with the respective regional teaching committees responsible for local arrangements.

THIRD ALL-SWIss CONFERENCE

The first of the series was the third AllSwiss Conference in Bern, February 23 and 24, 1952, during which a Swiss National Teaching Committee was formed, to which the European Teaching Committee transferred major responsibility for the development and consolidation of new Bahá’í communities within Switzerland.

ITALIAN CONFERENCE

A month later, the first Bahá’í conference ever to take place in Italy opened in Rome on Naw-Rúz Day (March 21), 1952. The presence of Mr. thkru’lláh Khádem, Hand of the Cause of God, from Persia, who had been given a special mission by the Guardian to visit all Bahá’í centers in Europe, together with Dr. Ugo Giachery, a Hand of the Cause of God in Europe residing in Rome, lent unusual historic significance to this gathering.

Mr. Khádem told the seventy assembled friends about the map of the world on which the Guardian had marked with large circles the areas of the earth’s surface that would within the next decade form forty-eight new National Spiritual Assemblies. The first of these new ones, which would be the twelfth, was to embrace Italy and Switzerland, chosen for this bounty and honor because of the swift progress that had been made in the establishment of the Faith in that region.

The area being thus defined for what was to become the Italo-Swiss National Spiritual Assembly in April, 1953, the Italian and Swiss Bahá’ís present at the Conference immediately mapped out plans for the election of nineteen delegates from centers in Italy and Switzerland who would convene in Florence during the following Riḍván period

to elect nine members for “the twelfth pillar of the Universal House of Justice.”

Henceforth the European Teaching Committee concentrated its attention upon the strengthening of the remaining eight countries that were to comprise the next National Assemblies, plus the two (Finland and France) which the Guardian now also placed under its jurisdiction.

BENELUX REGIONAL CONFERENCE

The first Benelux Regional Conference was held in Brussels, Belgium, April 12 to 14, 1952, with forty-seven representatives from Holland, Luxembourg and Belgium. Mr. Khádem, Hand of the Cause of God, brought news of the developments at the World Center of the Faith and of the activities in Persia and the various centers he had already visited in Europe. The main theme of the Conference was: “Goals Ahead,” and special plans were made for the Fifth European Teaching Conference scheduled to take place in Luxembourg August 30 to September 7 of that year.

LUXEMBOURG CONFERENCE

The Conference in Luxembourg, the European Teaching Committee announced, was to be the last of the series of the European Teaching Conferences. Each had indeed left “an indelible imprint” on the “evolution of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan” in western Europe. Here in this smallest of the ten goal countries, the crossroads of culture and conquest for centuries, three Hands of the Cause of God were present as the personal representatives of the Guardian—Mr. Ignidem from Persia, Dr. Giachery from Italy and Dr. Adelbert Mühlschlegel from Germany.

Reviewing the achievements of the SevenYear Plan which would draw to a close six months hence, the European Teaching Committee pointed out that at the beginning of the European campaign there was only a small handful of believers, but at this Conference one hundred thirty-two Bahá’ís from twenty-one countries had responded to the roll call and had joined their hearts in prayer in twelve languages.

The Luxembourg meeting was followed by four more Regional Conferences, each convened in a city where intensive teaching work had been started by the regional teach [Page 52]52 THE BAHA’I WORLD

ing committee for that particular grouping of countries.

REGIONAL CONFERENCES

The first, the Iberian Conference, was held in Lisbon, Portugal, September 12 to 14, 1952, to carry forward the plans that had been initiated for Spain and Portugal the previous year. The next two were held simultaneously, November 1 and 2, in Oslo for the Scandinavian region of Norway, Sweden and Denmark, and in Antwerp for the Benelux region of Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg. And finally, November 22 and 23, another, the fourth All-Swiss Conference, took place in Basel, Switzerland.

In Basel much planning was done for the Bahá’í Convention to be held in Florence the following April for the formation of the Italo-Swiss National Spiritual Assembly, “a stepping-stone in the formation in the course of the next decade of two independent National Spiritual Assemblies.”

Although this was the concluding phase of the Second Seven-Year Plan, the expansion of the Faith in Europe was to go forward With even greater impetus as part of the World Crusade whose aim is the “spiritual conquest” of the entire planet.

Bahá’í PARTICIPATION IN UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCES

While concentrating primary attention on Bahá’í conferences, the Bahá’í community continued to give encouragement and co operation to meetings of the United Nations

and its Regional Conferences of Non-Governmental Organizations.

Between 1950 and 1954 accredited delegates and observers not only attended all the conferences, but won recognition for their participation in the discussions, their services on working committees, and for the breadth of vision expressed in the several resolutions which they offered. Accredited representatives of the International Bahá’í Community and delegates and observers from the United States, joined by representatives from other national Bahá’í communities, met in Regional Conferences of NonGovernmental Organizations in Geneva, Switzerland; Istanbul, Turkey; Managua, Nicaragua; Santiago, Chile; Den Passar, Indonesia; Paris, France; La Paz, Bolivia; Manila, Philippine Islands; and Montevideo, Uruguay, as well as annually in Lawrence, Kansas, and in the International Non-Govemmental Conferences in New York, the home of the United Nations, and in Geneva, Switzerland.

Through personal association with delegates from other organizations, press interviews, and invitations to speak about the Faith on the floor of the conferences, at luncheons and other meetings, these representatives have brought the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh concerning World Order to the attention of the leaders in the cause of peace in many countries and established the recognition of the Bahá’í International Community as “an agency working for and firmly believing in the unification of the human family and permanent peace.”

DEVELOPMENT OF THE FAITH IN AFRICA

THE) hour (is) propitious (for the) galvanized, firmly knit body (of) believers (to) brace itself (to) embark . . . (on) yet another historic undertaking . . . designed (to) carry (the) torch (of the) Faith (to) territories (of the) Dark Continent.”

The cablegram from the Guardian to the National Bahá’í Convention of the British Isles in April, 1950, from which these words are quoted, set the stage for an intensive teaching campaign in a vast continent where only the northern shores and southern tip had previously been touched by the Light of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh.

Another passage from this same message

defined the “preliminary steps” as “the formation (of) nuclei (in) three' of the dependencies (of the) British Crown, either (in) East (or) West Africa” and the “translation, publication (and) dissemination of Bahá’í literature . . . (in) three Africanlanguages (in) addition (to the) three already undertaken.”

On July 5 of the same year, the Guardian called upon the American Bahá’í community to “lend valued assistance (to the) meritorious enterprise" and he appealed “particularly (to) its dearly-beloved members belonging (to the) Negro race (to) participate (in the) contemplated project

[Page 53]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 53

marking (a) significant milestone (in the) world-unfoldment (of the) Faith, supplementing (the) work initiated fifty years ago (on the) North American continent . . . (and) providing (the) prelude (to the) fullscale operations destined (to) be launched (at a) later period (of the) unfoldment (of the) Divine Plan aiming (at the) conversion (of the) backward, oppressed masses (of the) swift—awakening continent.”

Within the year, participation in this “epoch-making enterprise” was further expanded to include the National Spiritual Assemblies of Persia, Egypt and India; the first pioneers had arrived, and others were on the way, including the first two American Negro pioneers, Mrs. Ethel Stephens, who had chosen to settle in the Gold Coast, and Mr. William Foster, who chose Liberia as his post.

The first fruits of this historic campaign were the acceptance of the Faith in Dar es Salaam by Mr. P. K. Gopalskrishan Nayer, of Indian nationality, and by Mr. Denis Dudley-Smith of Nyasaland, followed very shortly by the enrollment in Kampala of the first two Africans, Crispian Kajubi and Frederick Bizabwa, members of the Buganda and Mtoro tribes, respectively. The first public presentation of the Faith in Kampala was made by an African contact before a gathering of three hundred Africans from several tribes.

By April, 1952, two years after the launching of the campaign, the number of states and dependencies to be opened in Africa had been increased to twenty-five, pioneers had arrived in nine of them, members of four African tribes had enrolled as members, and local Spiritual Assemblies had been formed in Kampala, Uganda, and Dar es Salaam, Tanganyika. Six months later (October, 1952) there were one hundred believers in Uganda alone.

No sooner had the Africans enrolled than they began to go out as Bahá’í teachers and pioneers to carry the Faith to their own people. The first to undertake such a mission was Denis Dudley-Smith, who returned to his native village in Nyasaland, thus becoming the first Bahá’í to settle in that country.

Another was Enoch Olinga of Kampala who spent his two weeks of vacation teaching in the Teso and Mbale areas of Eastern Uganda where seventy-two Africans immediately accepted the Faith.

As the teaching work progressed, the need for literature increased, but by early fall, 1952, in addition to translations done in KiSwahili, Hausa and ChiNyanja before the opening of the campaign, pamphlets had been published in Twi, Igbo and Yoruba, and six others were being completed for printing—Acholi, Luganda, Adanwe, Ewe, Mende and KiKikuyu.

With the launching of the Ten-Year Plan on May 1, 1953, the remaining states and dependencies, as well as the bordering islands of Africa were added to the campaign, thus incorporating all of Africa in the total World Crusade. The renewed appeal for pioneers included in the Guardian’s message to the Intercontinental Conference held in Chicago, resulted in a rapid influx of settlers both for the virgin areas and for reinforcement of the centers already established, whose teaching efforts, added to those of the African Bahá’ís, made it possible for the Guardian in his message to the twelve National Bahá’í Conventions one year later, to assess the accomplishments in Africa in four short years as follows:

“The African Campaign, outshining the brilliant success of the enterprise launched in Latin America, throwing into shade the splendor of the victon'es won in recent years on the European continent, eclipsing all previous collective pioneer undertakings embarked upon in the Asiatic and Australian continents, has almost doubled, in the course of a single year, the number of territories opened since the introduction of the Faith in that continent over eighty years ago. The total number of converts to the Faith belonging to the African race has passed the six hundred mark. The total number of African Bahá’í centers has now been raised to over one hundred and ninety. The total number of tribes indigenous to the soil of that continent represented in the Faith is now over sixty.”

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RAPID WORLD-WIDE EXTENSION OF THE FAITH

AMONG the twenty-seven objectives of the World Crusade announced by the Guardian to the Bahá’í Community on October 8, 1952, was that of “doubling (the) number (of) countries within (the) pale (of the) Faith through planting its banner (in the) remaining Sovereign States (of the) planet as well as (the) remaining virgin territories mentioned (in) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets (of the) Divine Plan, involving (the) opening (of) forty—one countries (on the) Asiatic, thirty-three (on the) African, thirty (on the) European, twenty—seven (on the) American continents.”

To each of the eleven existing National Spiritual Assemblies the Guardian assigned the specific territories for which it was to be responsible. To the Forty-Fifth Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America in Chicago, April 29, 1953, he called upon the “stalwart American Bahá’í community” to “arise and reaffirm . . . its primacy . . . and capture loftier heights . . . for the exaltation of God’s Cause.” And in a second letter entitled “A Turning Point in American Bahá’í History,” dated July 18, 1953, the Guardian appealed to “the envied custodians of a Divine Plan” to “vindicate their right to the leadership of this World Crusade” and to “scatter far and wide” in fulfillment of “the hope voiced by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that from their homeland ‘heavenly illumination’ may ‘stream to all the peoples of the world.’ ”

Such was the response that by April, 1954, the Guardian announced to all twelve Bahá’í Conventions that through “the superb feats of the heroic company of the Knights of the Lord of Hosts in pursuance of their sublime mission” the banner of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh had been hoisted “in no less than a hundred virgin territories of the globe,” thus “swelling the number of sovereign states and dependences enlisted under the standard of the Cause of God to two hundred and twenty—eight.”

In consequence of the phenomenal success achieved by the vanguard of “Bahá’u’lláh’s crusaders,” he further stated that “the northern frontiers of a divinely guided, rapidly marching, majestically expanding Faith have been pushed . . . beyond the Arctic

Circle as far as Arctic Bay, Franklin, 73 degrees latitude” and “its southern limits have now reached the Falkland Islands in the neighborhood of Magallanes, the world’s southernmost city."

RACES REPRESENTED IN THE FAITH

The expansion of the Faith into many new areas of the earth resulted in embracing Within its membership many races and tribes hitherto deprived of the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. Among the goals of the World Crusade were two designed to accomplish this objective among specified races, namely, the conversion to the Faith of members of the leading Indian tribes, and representatives of the Basque and Gypsy races.

By April, 1954, the Guardian announced that contact had been established with twenty—two American Indian tribes, raising to thirty-four the total number of tribes contacted throughout the Western Hemisphere. Also, the first Greenlandic, the first Pygmy, the first Berber, and the first Fijian Bahá’ís had been enrolled, swelling the total number of races represented in the Bahá’í World Community to thirty—five.

LANGUAGES

The translation of Bahá’í literature into ninety-one additional languages was another goal of the Ten—Year Plan, representing a twofold increase in the number of languages into which translations had been printed or were in the process of translation.

By the end of the first year, introductory literature had been translated or was being translated into forty-two languages—European, African, Asiatic, American Indian, including seven supplementary languages, thereby raising the total number of translations undertaken since the inception of the Faith to one hundred and thirty. By this time, also, Bahá’í literature had been dispatched as far as the northernmost outpost of the globe—the radio station in Brondlundsfjord, Pearyland, 82 degrees north latitude.

The needs of the blind, too, for the Light of Bahá’u’lláh, had not been overlooked. A

[Page 55]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 55

steady increase in the number of Braille transcriptions, not only in English but also in Esperanto, Japanese and German, brought the number of Braille publications to one hundred and ten by April, 1954.

ESTABLISHMENT OF Two HAziRATU’L—QUDS

On February 29, 1952, Shoghi Effendi announced by cable to the Bahá’í world, his instructions to the Hand of the Cause of God in Africa, Mr. Mfisé Banéni, to acquire property in Kampala, Uganda, for a local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, to be regarded as the nucleus of a future national administrative headquarters.

This news was followed two weeks later by the Guardian’s announcement to the five National Assemblies engaged in the teaching campaign in Africa that he himself had contributed six thousand dollars toward this historic enterprise, and he appealed to the Assemblies to participate through contributions toward the completion of the total purchase price of fifty-five hundred pounds sterling, or seventeen thousand dollars.

In commenting on the swift movement of events represented by this development, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States pointed out to the American Bahá’ís that their national headquarters, the first, was acquired thirty years after the first National Bahá’í Convention in North America, whereas, in Central Africa, even before the establishment of the first local Assembly “the far—seeing Guardian prepares an Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, creating for the Bahá’í work a substantial edifice” assuring prestige and respect for the activities of the Uganda believers.

On June 3, 1952, the Kampala local Spiritual Assembly, formed the preceding April let, officially took possession of the property and immediately began preparation for a public dedication on July 5. Over sixty people attended the formal opening, including representatives of more than twelve African tribes.

The second Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds to be acquired during this period was one in Paris, destined to become the national administrative headquarters of the French Bahá’í community. This achievement was announced in the Guardian’s cablegram to the Forty-Fifth Annual Bahá’í Convention of the United States Bahá’ís on April 30, 1953, as follows: “Heart-warming news (of the) impending

establishment (of the) long overdue Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds (in the) French capital through (the) conclusion (of an) agreement (to) purchase (a) nine thousand pound property situated (in the) best residential quarter (of the) city.”

The acquisition of this property was made possible by the spontaneous and generous contribution of a single believer, Mr. Hussayn Quli Kiyani, recently come to Paris from Persia.

The formal dedication of the Paris Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds took place on J uly 4, 1953, with Dr. Ugo Giachery, Hand of the Cause of God, coming from Rome to assist in the ceremonies.

FUNDS INAUGURATED FOR PURCHASE OF ELEVEN TEMPLE SITES

The purchase of land for eleven future Bahá’í Houses of Worship, three on the American, three on the African, two on the Asiatic, two on the European and one on the Australian continents, was another of the objectives of the World Crusade ending in 1963 as announced by the Guardian on October 8, 1952. The purchase of sites for four was assigned specifically to the American Bahá’í community—Stockholm, Sweden; Rome, Italy; Panama City, Panama, and Johannesburg, Union of South Africa.

On June 25, 1953, the Guardian cabled all National Assemblies “East (and) West (to) participate through contributions and (in the) meritorious endeavors exerted (toward the) eventual establishment (of a) Bahá’í House (of) Worship (in the) City (of) Panama, specifically mentioned (by) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, situated (in the) heart (of the) Western Hemisphere,” and for his own participation in the “furtherance (of this) notable objective” he contributed five hundred pounds.

Meanwhile, contributions for eight of the sites had aggregated, by December 7, 1953, approximately two hundred thousand dollars. These were for the Temple sites on Mt. Carmel, in Canada, Panama, Italy, Sweden, ‘Iráq, Australia and India. On that date the Guardian cabled all National Assemblies: “(The) hour (is) propitious (for) all National Assemblies, particularly (the) United States, (the) British (and the) Egyptian, (to) participate befittingly (in the) opening (of the) three remaining Funds ere (the) first year (of the) Ten-Year Plan draws (to

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3.) close, insuring thereby (the) early purchase (of) sites (for the) future Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs (in) Cairo, Kampala (and) Johannesburg.” He further appealed to the individual believers to reinforce the contributions being made by the three national bodies primarily invested with the responsibility of erecting the Temples in these cities, and himself contributed an initial gift of three thousand pounds for this purpose, thus clearly emphasizing the supreme importance of this aspect of the World Crusade and the necessity of its early completion.

On April 21, 1954, the first of the sites was purchased at a price of eighteen thousand dollars—five acres of land on a hill seven miles from the heart of the city of Panama, with a beautiful view of the city and bay.

A few days later in his message to the twelve National Assemblies, the Guardian announced the purchase of a four-acre site in Australia, commanding an extensive view of the Pacific Ocean and the greater portion of Greater Sydney. Later the municipal authorities repossessed the property for town planning purposes. His supplementary message dated May 4, 1954, further announced the purchase of a six-acre site in Kampala.

INCORPORATION During the four years preceding 1950 the

consolidation of the Faith was reflected through the incorporation of seven National

Spiritual Assemblies and twenty-six local Assemblies. Within the next year, by April 21, 1951, the number of incorporated National and local Assemblies had reached one hundred and ten, and in April, 1954, the number of National and local incorporated Assemblies in the United States and the entire world totaled sixty—six and one hundred twenty, respectively.

Bahá’í MARRIAGE LEGALIZED

Another evidence of the growing recognition accorded the Faith by legal bodies is the increasing number of States granting local Spiritual Assemblies authority to conduct legal Bahá’í marriages. At the close of the period covered by this volume Bahá’í communities in twenty-one States of the

United States enjoy this authority. RECOGNITION OF Bahá’í HOLY DAYS

The number of school authorities granting exemption from school attendance by Bahá’í children on their Holy Days is still another evidence of the increasing recognition of the independent character of the Faith. By 1954 this privilege had been granted by local school boards in seven States in the United States, and in Anchorage, Alaska, the British Isles, the State of Victoria in Australia, and by the Minister of Education and Culture in Israel for Bahá’í schoolchildren there.

REVIEW OF VARIOUS NATIONAL EVENTS

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA End of Second Seven-Year Plan

DURING the period of the first World War, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá revealed the series of Tablets addressed to Bahá’ís of the United States and Bahá’ís of Canada which, when received after the end of hostilities, communication from Palestine being interrupted by the occupying forces, were published under the title The Divine Plan. These Tablets charged the Bahá’ís of North America with the mission of establishing the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in countries where the spiritual banner had not yet been raised.

A number of years had to pass without concerted action on this international task

while the administrative institutions described in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Testament were acquiring strength and experience under the Guardian’s direction. In 1937, as reported in a previous volume, Shoghi Effendi called upon the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada to carry out the objectives enumerated in the first Seven-Year Plan terminating in 1944, date of the Centenary of the Announcement of the Báb. By 1944 the exterior ornamentation had been applied to the House of Worship, local Assemblies established in all States and Provinces, and local Assemblies formed in fourteen republics of Latin America.

In 1946, the Guardian announced in a message addressed to the North American Annual Convention, a second Plan. “The

[Page 57]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 57

time is ripe, events are pressing, Hosts on high are sounding the signal for inauguration of a second Seven-Year Plan designed to culminate [in] first Centennial of the Year Nine marking the mystic birth of Bahá’u’lláh’s prophetic mission in Siyéh-Qlél at Ṭihrán.”

This Plan embraced four objectives: multiplication of Bahá’í centers throughout the Americas and bolder proclamation of the Faith to the masses; completion of the interior ornamentation of the House of Worship; formation of three National Assemblies, one in Canada, one in Central America and one in South America; the initiation of “systematic teaching activity in war—torn, spiritually famished European Continent,” aiming at the establishment of local Assemblies in the countries of Western Europe.

“The opening decade of the second Bahá’í century coincides,” the Guardian wrote to North America on June 15, 1946, “with the launching of the second Seven-Year Plan, destined alike to consolidate the exploits that have shed such luster on the last years of the preceding century, and to carry the Plan a stage further across the ocean to the 'shores of the Old World, and to communicate, through the operation of its regenerative power, its healing influence to the peoples of the most afflicted, impoverished and agitated continent of the globe.”

As reported elsewhere in this review, the four objectives of the second Seven-Year Plan were achieved.

The significance of this Plan emerges as one contemplates the international events and conditions which resulted from the second World War, challenging the religious conscience of mankind. The elements of unity which inspire the Bahá’í Message were implanted in new lands, creating a far broader basis and a stronger foundation for subsequent teaching plans aimed at carrying the Faith to the ends of the earth.

The completion of the ornamentation of the Temple interior prepared this House of Worship for its destined spiritual function; the formation of three more National Spiritual Assemblies, bringing the number to eleven, manifested the vitality of the Faith in creating .new national communities expressive of the variety of peoples and tongues responding to the call of Bahá’u’lláh, and the formation of local Assemblies

in capital cities of Europe prepared the way for additional national administrative bodies in the future. In the darkness of a war—rent world the light of the Sun of Truth shone with increased intensity. While the Plan originally called for the formation of National Spiritual Assemblies in Canada, Central America and South America, the progress of the teaching work in Europe proceeded so successfully that the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Italy and Switzerland was also achieved before the end of this second Seven-Year Plan.

Completion of Bahá’í T emple

To complete the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, contracts for the ornamentation, utilities and furnishings of the interior, and for the landscaping of the grounds had to be executed. The interior was completed by the spring of 1951, and the landscape plan brought to its final stage for the public dedication held May 2, 1953.

The interior ornamentation designs made by Louis J. Bourgeois, Temple architect, provided for the treatment of the nine bays or alcoves on the main floor as separate rooms. This early concept reflected a misunderstanding of the function of the Temple in expressing the basic unity of religion. The concept later given by the Guardian of the Faith made these bays an integral part of the Temple auditorium. To increase the seating capacity a stairway leading from Temple foundation level to the main floor and thence to the first gallery was removed and a new spiral stairway constructed from foundation to gallery which fits between two adjoining alcoves 0n the main floor level.

To carry out this concept, and to maintain harmony of design between exterior and interior ornamentation, two independent studies were carried out over a period of nine months after the decision to proceed with interior ornamentation had been made in the spring of 1946. The essential features sought were to carry the spirit of the exterior design and its architectural motifs into the interior, the creation of a single great auditorium, provision for satisfactory acoustics, the use of color, and seating arrangement. Allen B. McDaniel’s treatment was approved.

A Temple Construction Committee was appointed consisting of Paul E. Haney, chairman, Amelia E. Collins, Edna M. True,

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and Philip G. Sprague. Leroy Ioas was later added. A technical advisory board was also set up, the members being Allen B. McDaniel, Robert W. McLaughlin and Edwin H. Eardley. After investigation Alfred P. Shaw, architect, was chosen to prepare the detailed plans and specifications. It is Mr. Shaw’s recreation of the spirit of the Bourgeois design which has been carried out in the ornamentation of the Temple interior. The firm of Shaw, Metz and Dolio designed and engineered the utilities.

Final plans and cost estimates were approved in January, 1949, the estimated cost being $780,000.

The John J. Earley Studio was awarded the contract for making the sectional units of architectural concrete to be aflixed to the walls and columns, and the contract for: work on the project at the Temple was placed with the George A. Fuller Company.

Between July, 1949, and April, 1951, one thousand concrete sections were cast at the Barley Studio, shipped to the Temple and set in place. Actual operation began on July 11, 1949. Before the ornamental surface could be applied, the interior columns and piers were set in place, and the utilities and fixtures installed. The cast concrete sections were made of a mixture of ground white and crystalline quartz with cement, while for the ornamentation up to the dome level the cast units were fabricated with a background of rose quartz. The floor of auditorium and surrounding alcoves were laid in terrazzo, another use of color. Color also appears in the upholstered seats and the window draperies. The temporary wooden doors installed when the superstructure was built were replaced with bronze panels and doors with plate glass.

Seats in the nine bays face the center of the auditorium; in the central hall itself the seats face a single portable reading desk, pointing the attendants in the direction of ‘Akká.

Just as the completion of the exterior ornamentation endowed the structure with a new and deeper meaning, while notably enhancing its physical beauty, so the completion of the interior created an effect greatly exceeding the anticipation of its friends and workers. What has become apparent and real, to the inner eye as well as to physical vision, is the majesty befitting worship offered the one true God.

The great interior provides interesting

perspective, from floor to dome, from floor to first and second gallery, central hall to alcove, and from alcove across the wide hall to opposite entrance portal. Innumerable details invite notice~the great columns supporting the dome, treatment of piers and gallery columns, details of ornamentation, the Bahá’í texts set forth in gold lettering in each of the nine bays, the dome itself, where the lines of the columns, prolonged in the ornamental scheme, converge at the center where the Arabic symbol, “God Most Glorious,” associates the House of Worship with the Bahá’í World Faith.

The final cost of the interior ornamentation as recorded in January, 1954, was $933,481.99. This sum included certain essential maintenance items and also the cost of capping the nine pylons, actually an element of the exterior ornamentation.

Dedication of Temple to Public Worship

The Bahá’í Temple in Wilmette was publicly dedicated on Saturday afternoon, May 2, 1953, a unique event in the series of Jubilee celebrations held throughout the world.

For the American Bahá’ís, especially, the dedication represented the actual achievement of the goal toward which they had been striving since ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, in 1903, granted their petition for the privilege of constructing a Temple in America. Moreover, during His visit to America in 1912 their revered Master had visited the Temple site and consecrated the future edifice. Here, then, stood the holiest House of Worship ever to arise in the Bahá’í world, for none other could receive His blessing. Deep in their hearts they cherished His assurance that when this Temple was completed it would release spiritual powers.

As the doors were opened a great throng stood waiting, filling the Temple steps, the entrance way and extending along the street outside the grounds. Three times was the auditorium filled that afternoon, and at the end hundreds reluctantly departed without having been able to enter the auditorium.

The Message of Dedication prepared by the Guardian of the Faith was read on his behalf by his chosen representative, Rúḥíyyih Khánum, presented to the gathering by Paul E. Haney, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. Her clear voice filled the auditorium, focusing attention on the high significance of the Message. “. . . This

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House of Worship, now opening wide its doors to peoples of all creeds, of all races, of all nations and of all classes, is dedicated to the three fundamental verities animating and underlying the Bahá’í Faith—the Unity of God, the Unity of His Prophets, the Unity of Mankind.

“I greet and welcome you on behalf of the Guardian of our Faith within these walls, and invite you to share with us the words recorded in the Sacred Scriptures which we believe to be repositories of the eternal and fundamental truths revealed by God in various ages, for the guidance and salvation of all mankind.”

All arose as Rúḥíyyih Khánum read a prayer revealed by Bahá’u’lláh.

Readers from the Persian, Latin American and North American Bahá’ís then in turn stood at the reading desk and presented passages from the Old Testament, the New Testament, the Qur’án and the Bahá’í Sacred Writings. The Northwestern University A Cappella Choir sang choral selections, at the opening of the dedication service, during the readings and after the final prayer. A note of triumphant ecstasy prevailed throughout the afternoon.

The passages from the four Sacred Scriptures were, to the Bahá’ís at least, the complete evidence of the unity of the Prophets in revealing, at different stages of human evolution, the divine will and guidance for mankind. Among the visitors many remarked afterward that they had not realized that the various Prophets had brought the same basic truths.

Immediately after the public dedication, plans were put into operation for the conduct of a weekly program of public worship. These programs also present selections from the various Sacred Scriptures, with vocal music provided by an A Cappella Choir directed by Mr. Lloyd Cousins. The Temple is thus fulfilling its mission as the herald in the Western world of the universal spiritual concept: the Unity of God, the Unity of His Prophets, the Unity of Mankind. Participants in these programs are chosen without consideration of race or class.

The event attained national significance through messages of greeting received from distinguished personages, from radio announcements and from illustrated feature articles carried, among others, by The Chicago Sunday Tribune. The Wilmette and

neighboring village of Winnetka weekly papers devoted almost an entire issue to the story of the Temple. Universal Newsreel pictures included exterior and interior views of the Temple. Fifty television stations made use of a Bahá’í Temple dedication film short. Public interest and commendation was aroused to an extraordinary degree.

Landscaping the Temple Grounds

In July, 1951, the design submitted by Hilbert Dahl was adopted for landscaping the Temple grounds. Letters written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá laid down certain elements to be incorporated in the landscape plan: a circular area, with nine gardens, nine approaching paths, nine fountains and nine pools. To these elements Mr. Dahl had given most careful consideration and his design carried out the basic concept. Work was started on the contract in April, 1952.

The landscaping went forward under two successive contracts. The first, at an estimated cost of $200,000, was intended to provide for the essentials of the plan. The details not completed by 1953 were included in a supplementary contract to be carried out over a period of two or more years at an estimated cost of from $180,000 to $200,000.

The landscaping plan, accordingly, was not entirely completed during the period covered by the present survey.

Mr. Dahl’s design provided for a circular concrete platform extending out from the bottom of the Temple steps, its outer circumference a series of concave arcs after the fashion of the entrance bays of the Temple itself; steps descend from the platform to the garden level where nine sunken gardens were to be developed; nine pathways lead between the gardens to an outer circular walk to be constructed on the largest diameter permitted by the area of the grounds.

The principal entrance to the Temple steps extends from Linden Avenue, to the south, where a wide flight of concrete steps rises to the garden level. The longest approach runs from the corner of Linden Avenue and Sheridan Road.

As the work progressed, the nine gardens were seen to be designed in different patterns of flowers and shrubs, affording a pleasing variety. Rows of cypresses were

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planted along the paths leading to the gardens. Plantings of small flowering trees enhanced the beauty of the landscaped area. Extensive lawn areas were laid out. Describing the design Mr. Dahl wrote: “It involves an approach leading to each of nine entrance bays with gardens between. Circular fountains with jets of water keeping them ever fresh and clear are found in the gardens . . . The whole is enclosed within an outer circular walk, and an inner walk, at the base of the Temple steps, provides a vantage point at a higher elevation from which the garden scene can be viewed.

“The gardens are arranged and planted with simple dignity, restrained in treatment but with a touch of color and softness of texture which will give them a gardenesque feeling of peaceful and quiet loveliness . . . In area there are involved almost five acres of intensive development.”

The concrete work was carried out by the George A. Fuller Company under extension of the contract executed for the interior ornamentation. A contract was entered into with the landscape architect on July 9, 1951. To represent the Temple trustees in the execution of these contracts a Temple Landscape Committee was appointed consisting of Robert W. McLaugh lin, Leroy Ioas, H. B. Kavelin and Clarence

Ullrich.

The gardens and general landscape plan were sufficiently advanced by May, 1953, to delight those who attended the public dedication. The temporary floodlighting equipment as employed during the Jubilee period brilliantly depicted the imposing architectural features of the House of Worshi .

1E5: restudy of the design in its relation to the particular area involved was carried out by the Temple Landscape Committee. Their recommendation eliminated the reflecting pools and the sunken gardens with low walk, substituting lawn areas for the reflecting pools. A tunnel structure was recommended over the service entrance to the Temple foundation, with two utility rooms. Other recommendations were that the outer circular walk should be constructed with concrete edged with flagstone; and some of the paths leading from the outer walk through the gardens developed with lawns.

The decision to eliminate the reflecting pools and the walled sunken gardens was

based on the fact that the landscaped area is not large enough for pools and the size of the gardens does not warrant the rather intricate treatment which the landscape architect originally proposed.

With each succeeding season of intensive gardening the landscape develops new beauty.

Complete final cost of the project will not be available until the next volume of The Bahá’í World.

FORMATION OF LATIN AMERICAN ASSEMBLIES

Included in the objectives of the Second Seven-Year Plan given by the Guardian to North America in 1946 was the establishment of National Spiritual Assemblies in Central America and South America before 1953. Since the delegates who would elect the members of these Assemblies would be representative of the local Bahá’í Assemblies in existence at the time, an energetic teaching plan was inaugurated by the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States to develop at least one Assembly in each country. The activities of the Teaching Committee appointed to carry out the plan included the appointment of regional teaching committees, and the holding of annual conferences and Bahá’í schools, each designed to prepare the Latin American Bahá’ís for the responsibilities they would ultimately assume as independent Bahá’í communities.

The first of the twin historic Conventions called to elect these new National Spiritual Assemblies was held in Lima, Peru, April 22 to 24, 1951, with eighteen of the twentyseven oflficial delegates present in person and seven voting by mail. Representing the Bahá’ís of the United States were Paul E. Haney, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly, and Miss Edna M. True, former secretary of the Inter-America Committee.

The Convention for Central America, Mexico and the Antilles, opened the same day in Panama City with twenty-five official delegates representing all of the seventeen local Spiritual Assemblies in the twelve countries of this region. Here the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States was represented by its vice-chairman, Mrs. Dorothy Baker, who was also chairman of the Inter-America Committee, and by Horace Holley, secretary of the National Assembly.

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Congratulating the believers at both Conventions for the “magnificent triumph marking (the) culmination (of the) fourteenyear old process linking (the) concluding years (of the) first with (the) opening decade (of the) second Bahá’í century,” the Guardian’s cabled message appealed to the two new National Assemblies to “arise (in) complete unity, exemplary fidelity, greatest wisdom, utmost dedication, unswerving resolve, heroic self-sacrifice (to) befittingly discharge (their) threefold, sacred, inescapable responsibilities: first, (to) consolidate (the) two newly-elected pillars (of the) world administrative order (of the) Faith; second, (to) stimulate (the) propagation (of) its teachings; third, (to) enrich (the) spiritual life (and) deepen (the) understanding (of) its avowed supporters. . . .”

As a token of his love and as the first precious relic for its national archives, the Guardian also presented to each Assembly through Mrs. Amelia Collins, Hand of the Cause of God, a lock of the blessed hair of Bahá’u’lláh.

Messages were read from each of the other nine National Spiritual Assemblies and each delegate was presented with a picture of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in a special souvenir folder bearing a greeting from their “brothers and sisters in Europe, under the Divine Plan.”

Part of the agenda at both conventions was devoted to the discussion of the three Seven-Year Plans given by the Guardian to North America, as part of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Divine Plan to spread the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh throughout the world, and how, under the aegis of the Bahá’ís of the United States, the believers in Latin America and Europe had been aided to attain this stage of international administrative cooperation, “thereby paving the way to the ultimate organic union” of all National Spiritual Assemblies in the International House of Justice, destined, as declared by the Guardian “to launch enterprises embracing the whole Bahá’í world.”

Thus began a new stage in the evolution of the Administrative Order in Latin America. During the next two years, the believers in Central and South America, under their respective National Spiritual Assemblies and with the counsel and guidance of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, were to devote their energies to carrying out the three objectives assigned to

them in the Guardian’s message, to the end that they would be prepared and ready by Riḍván 1953 to assume their full and independent roles as “pillars of the Universal House of Justice” and participants in the global crusade.

FORMATION OF THE ITALO-SWISS ASSEMBLY

Although not originally designated as an objective of the Second Seven-Year Plan and its teaching campaign in Europe, the Guardian cabled the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States on March 8, 1952, that immediate steps were to be taken for the formation of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Italy and Switzerland in Riḍván 1953. The election of nineteen delegates by all established local Spiritual Assemblies in the two countries was set for Naw-Rúz 1953, and the city of Florence, Italy, was designated as the place where they would elect this new “pillar (of the) Universal House of Justice, (the) third in Europe (and) twelfth (in the) Bahá’í World.”

This Assembly, the Guardian stated, was to be regarded as “a stepping stone (in the) formation (in the) course (of the) impending decade-long crusade (of) two independent National Spiritual Assemblies, destined (to) each lend (an) impetus (to the) unfoldment (and) consolidation (of) Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Order.”

Indicative of the importance of this step, the cablegram also announced that the Guardian would entrust to this youngest of Assemblies a specific plan by which it would collaborate with its sister National Assemblies in the achievement of all the goals of the World Crusade.

The Convention took place April 23 to 26, 1953, with eighteen of the nineteen elected delegates and thirty visitors present from Italy and Switzerland. Mr. Paul E. Haney, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, brought greetings from the American Bahá’ís and stressed the unique distinction of the erection of this twelfth pillar of the Universal House of Justice during the Holy Year.

Miss Edna True, chairman of the European Teaching Committee, and member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, expressed the great pride of both the American and European Bahá’ís in the remarkable progress of the Faith in

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these two countries in the seven short years since the inauguration of the Second SevenYear Plan.

The Guardian’s message to the Convention, awaited with eager anticipation, expressed his feelings of “joy, pride and gratitude" to the “steadily unfolding, highly promising Italian-Swiss Bahá’í communities” and assured this youngest National Spiritual Assembly of his prayers that it would be enabled to befittingly discharge its responsibilities and tasks through which it would “contribute (a) distinct share (in the) world-wide festivities which will commemorate (the) hundredth anniversary (of the) Declaration (of) Bahá’u’lláh’s Mission (in the) city of Baghdad.”

To this “infant institution” the Guardian assigned two vital functions: “(to) stimulate (the) propagation (of the) Faith (and to) consolidate (its) institutions (over the) length (and) breadth (of) Switzerland (and the) Italian Peninsula.”

The ten specific tasks which these functions involve are listed elsewhere in this volume as those responsibilities assigned by the Guardian to Italy and Switzerland under the Ten-Year Crusade.

Among the many gifts presented to the new Assembly was one of rare historical significance from the Guardian—two Tablets written by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá shortly before His passing, to Mrs. J. A. Burr of Florence, the first Bahá’í in that city and the first to kindle the light of the Cause in Italy. Others of particular note were letters of acclaim from the eleven sister National Assemblies, bound in leather for “permanent inspiration,” the Assembly’s ofl‘icial seal, engraved in three languages—Italian, French and German—a gift of the European Teaching Committee, and a gift of fifteen hundred dollars from the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States on behalf of the believers of that country to inaugurate the new Assembly’s National Bahá’í Fund.

Taking a prominent part in the Convention was Dr. Ugo Giachery, Hand of the Cause of God, present as the Guardian’s representative, who in his closing remarks as chairman of the Convention and of the newly elected National Spiritual Assembly, remarked: “Six years ago who would have dreamed that we should meet in Florence today; that our two countries would be joined in an undertaking whose vastness leaves us aghast? Let each one of us take

inventory and realize what his share in effort, dedication and sacrifice must be!”

NATIONAL ENDOWMENTS IN THE UNITED STATES

The extensive properties of the Bahá’ís of the United States of America, valued at more than $3,200,000, are indicative of the rapid expansion and stability of the Faith in this country. Most widely known is the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois, which was formally dedicated and opened to the public on May 2, 1953. Erected on land purchased between 1908 and 1914, the cost of construction, including landscaping up to April, 1954, was $2,763,617.88.

The Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, also in Wilmette, consisting of the national administrative headquarters of the National Spiritual Assembly, a supplementary administrative office, the office of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust, the Collins House, and certain land, is valued at $83,026. The Wilson House in Malden, Massachusetts, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá rested on the occasion of His visit to the United States in 1912, is valued at $7,000.

In addition there are four Bahá’í schools, located respectively in Maine, Michigan, Colorado, and California, each consisting of certain lands and a number of buildings, having a total value of $375,418.

Two pieces of property in Wilmette, one adjoining the administrative headquarters on the shore of Lake Michigan, and a lot across the street from the Bahá’í House of Worship, are being held for future additions to the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár.

FIRST DEPENDENCY OF THE TEMPLE

In his message to the Forty-Fifth Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of the United States, April 29 to May 1, 1953, the Guardian included among the World Crusade objectives for the believers of the United States “the erection of the first Dependency of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of the Western World,” the first of five accessory institutions named by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá which will ultimately surround the Bahá’í House of Worship.

The nature of the dependency was clarified in August, 1953, when the Guardian recommended that it be a home for the aged, to be started on a modest scale, to

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demonstrate to the people of the world the expression of the Bahá’í Faith in terms of practical service to humanity.

Up to the time of this survey the only step that has been taken toward this objective is the appointment of a special committee to compile information regarding state and county laws governing the construction and operation of such an institution, the suitability of the lake shore property for the purpose, and the estimated building and operating costs of a home housing twenty guests and staff.

INTERVIEW OF ISRAEL PRIME MINISTER WITH NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY MEMBERS

On May 19, 1951, His Excellency the Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. David BenGurion, during a short visit in Chicago, received three members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, accompanied by the Vice-President of the International Bahá’í Council, Mrs. Amelia E. Collins. The interview was held in the Prime Minister’s suite in the Ambassador East Hotel. The Guardian had wished the National Spiritual Assembly to express to the Prime Minister the great interest the Bahá’ís of the United States of America have in the progress of Israel.

The interview was very friendly and cordial. His Excellency was particularly interested in Mrs. Collins’ association with the Bahá’í World Center in Israel, and invited her to call on himself and Mrs. Ben-Gurion when she returned to Haifa. His Excellency was interested to know how the Bahá’í Faith had been introduced to America, what had been the effects following ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit to the United States in 1912, and to what extent the Faith had spread to other lands.

A selection of Bahá’í literature was presented to the Prime Minister, together with the color print of the design of the Shrine of the Báb on Mt. Carmel and a framed photograph of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. On the same day the Prime Minister’s press representative released the following statement concerning the interview to newspapers and radio stations:

“The Prime Minister of Israel, Mr. David Ben-Gurion, this morning received four members of the National Spiritual Assembly

of Bahá’ís in the United States who expressed to the Prime Minister their gratitude for the Government of Israel’s exemplary treatment of their World Headquarters and their World Leader Shoghi Effendi Rabbani.

“The representatives were Mrs. Amelia Collins, Vice-Chairman Bahá’í International Council who lives in Haifa; Miss Edna M. True, Recording Secretary; Mr. Horace Holley, Secretary; and Mr. Leroy C. Ioas, Treasurer.

“For almost an hour the Prime Minister and his guests discussed the spiritual content of the Bahá’í Faith and its spread throughout the world. The Prime Minister was particularly interested in the manner in which the Bahá’í faith was introduced into the United States. He expressed surprise when he was informed that there are Bahá’í centers in over one hundred seventy-five cities in the United States and that there are twenty—five hundred such centers throughout the world. He was told that the Bahá’í faith has been accredited to the United Nations within the International Non-Governmental Organizations of the United Nations.

“Prior to their departure the Bahá’í representatives presented to the Prime Minister a photograph of the Bahá’í Temple in Wilmette which is the national shrine for the Bahá’í faith in the United States. He was also given a letter expressing the Bahá’í appreciation for the Government of Israel’s understanding of their problems and the good wishes of the Bahá’í faith for the development of Israel.”

Owing to his many appointments it was not possible for the Prime Minister to accept the National Assembly’s invitation to visit the Bahá’í House of Worship.

VISIT OF MAYOR OF HAIFA TO THE TEMPLE

A year later the National Spiritual Assembly was able to extend an invitation to the Mayor of Haifa, Mr. Aba Khoushy, to visit the Bahá’í Temple, and on May 14, 1952, members of the National Assembly and a group of about thirty Bahá’ís cordially welcomed the Mayor of Haifa at the Bahá’í House of Worship. In response to a request to speak to the group, the Mayor expressed his admiration for the Shrine and the Shrine Gardens on Mt. Carmel and voiced his respect and regard for the Bahá’ís and the desire of the Haifa civil authorities to give their cooperation in the projects being un [Page 64]64 THE BAHA’I WORLD

dertaken at the World Center of the Faith. In turn, Mayor Khoushy and his party were assured of the grateful appreciation of the American Bahá’ís and of their interest in the development of the Bahá’í World Center. After the prayer for all nations was read, Mayor Khoushy and his party were conducted through the Temple and it was obvious that they were deeply impressed.

PRESENTATION OF Bahá’í LITERATURE TO THE QUEEN OF HOLLAND

In connection with the Fourth European Bahá’í Teaching Conference held in Holland in 1951 the Dutch Bahá’í Community was able to fulfill one of its long-cherished hopes, to acquaint Queen Juliana in a dignified way with the Bahá’í teachings and the work being done in the Netherlands.

The Dutch Bahá’ís had had a copy of their new Dutch translation of the Selected Writings of Bahá’u’lláh specially bound in green morocco with the title in gold, in readiness for presentation to Her Majesty the Queen. In addition, they had had made, by a Dutch artist well known for her beautiful handmade leatherwork, a simple pigskin case, in which the Dutch translation and a few books on the Faith in English could be placed together, for the presentation. The artist, not knowing for whom the case was intended, had remarked that pigskin was especially loved by the Queen Mother, for whom she had made several things.

A letter was sent to Her Majesty the Queen, after long planning, by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Amsterdam, expressing their wish to present the Bloemlezing uit de Geschriften van Bahci’u’lla’h to the Queen, giving a brief statement of the aims and purposes of the Bahá’í Faith, and commenting appreciatively on the Queen’s public expressions of strong humanitarian principles and trust in God’s guidance.

Presentation of the case with the Bahá’í books was made on August 31, 1951, the day when Bahá’ís from nineteen countries Were gathering for the Fourth European Teaching Conference which was to start the next morning. The Bahá’í messenger presented himself at the gate of the Soestdijk Palace and was conducted to the secretariat of the Queen, where two of the Queen’s private secretaries cordially received him. When the case was unwrapped both secretaries expressed their admiration for the artistic and lovely way in which the Bahá’í books were presented. For almost one and a half hours they inquired about the Faith and looked through the books, which they promised to present to the Queen on her return to the Palace. A few days later the following gracious letter was received, signed by one of the private secretaries of Her Majesty the Queen:

“Her Majesty the Queen has asked me to convey to you her sincere thanks for the offering of the ‘Bloemlezing uit de Geschriften van Bahá’u’lláh’ and some English books about the Bahá’í World Faith, which Her Majesty has accepted with special gratitude.”

PERsrA Purchase of the Siydh—Ciidl

In the third year following the Martyrdom of the Báb, Husayn-‘Ali, pre—eminent among the Báb’s followers, was seized by order of the Sháh and confined for four months in the subterranean dungeon of Tihran known as the Síyáh-Chál, an abandoned reservoir which had served one of the public baths of the city. His place of confinement was reached along a completely darkened corridor, down three steep flights of stairs. There, in thick darkness, his fellow prisoners numbered about one hundred and fifty, among whom were thieves, assassins and highwaymen. The dungeon was used for the imprisonment of desperate criminals.

His feet were placed in stocks and a heavy chain was fastened around his neck. The place has been described as “chill and damp, filthy, fever-stricken, infested with vermin, and filled with a .noisome stench.”

It was under these conditions, reflecting the bitterest tyranny and fanaticism of the age, that the intimation of a supreme prophetic mission entered the heart of Husayn‘Ali, transforming him into Baha’u’llah, The Glory of God.

In His Epistle to Nésiri‘d-Din Shéh, revealed at a later time, Bahá’u’lláh thus described the Divine origin of His mission: “0 king! I was but a man like others, asleep upon My couch, when 10, the breezes of the All-Glorious were wafted over Me, and taught Me the knowledge of all that hath been. This thing is not from Me, but from One Who is Almighty and AlloKnowing . . . His all—compelling summons hath

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reached Me, and caused Me to speak His praise amidst all people.”

The birth of the mission of Bahá’u’lláh has been described by the Guardian of the Faith in these words: “Wrapped in its stygian gloom, breathing its fetid air, numbed by its humid and icy atmosphere, His feet in stocks, His neck weighed down by a mighty chain, surrounded by criminals and miscreants of the worst order . . . at so critical an hour and under such appalling circumstances the ‘Most Great Spirit,’ as designated by Himself, and symbolized in the Zoroastrian, the Mosaic, the Christian, and Muhammadan Dispensations by the Sacred Fire, the Burning Bush, the Dove and the Angel Gabriel, respectively, descended upon, and revealed itself, personified by a ‘Maiden,’ to the agonized soul of Bahá’u’lláh.”

The history of religion can offer no sharper contrast between the power of the Holy Spirit and the circumstances under which that power manifested itself in its chosen human vehicle. That from such a beginning the mission of Bahá’u’lláh could arise and reveal salvation to the peoples and nations is an evidence of divine power none can deny.

To Bahá’ís, the place so consecrated by supreme sacrifice has been venerated as a holy place of their Faith. In the spring of 1954 the site of Siyéh-C_hal in Tihran was purchased for the Faith by Habib Sabet for $400,000.

End of F our-Year Plan for Persian Women

The International Survey published for the years 1946—1950 included reference to the effort made by the Persian Bahá’ís to create opportunities for Bahá’í women to attain education, and their aim to bring about equality with men in relation to elective and appointive offices in the community.

This aim was pursued under a four-year plan the result of which has been to find women elected to membership on Assemblies for the first time, thus overcoming a long historic disability. The service of men and women in these elective bodies represents the operation of the principle of equality of opportunity and status for men and women which the Bahá’í Faith has established in the new social pattern now unfolding throughout the world.

Through special classes and discussions

and by active participation in Bahá’í community affairs the Bahá’í women of Persia have fully demonstrated their capacity to assume responsibilities which had been reserved for men. Indeed, in the arena of spiritual heroism from the earliest days of the Faith, Persian Bahá’í women have risen to sublime heights of fortitude and sacrifice. The name of Táhirih stands beside those of the most exalted women in history.

The Four—Year Plan provided facilities for the education of girls and special classes for adult women. A National Women’s Progressive Committee was appointed, with regional committees acting under its supervision. A national convention for Bahá’í women was held annually, with the participation of the members of the National Women‘s Progressive Committee and twenty-two representatives of the regional committees. At these gatherings the women demonstrated their ability and aptitude for serving their Faith on an equality with the men. In addition, district conventions were held semi-annually, to consult on ways to carry education even to women in the vi]lages. The program of education included oral instruction for the illiterate and those who had little schooling; an advanced class for graduates of secondary schools, and a higher class of more advanced education for women living in the larger centers. Finally, a periodical was circulated with contents covering topics of general history, Bahá’í history, science, literature, health, hygiene, housekeeping and care of children.

From Shoghi Effendi a message was received which stated: “The great barrier has now been completely removed and absolute equality is attained as the result of recent developments, as well as the glorious and continuing efforts rendered by the beloved Bahá’í sisters in that country and abroad.”

END OF EGYPTIAN FIVE-YEAR PLAN

The Five—Year Plan of the Bahá’ís of Egypt and the Sfidén began in May, 1948, in response to a cablegram from the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Egypt and St’ldan. At the end of this Plan the goals achieved in Egypt included the establishment of three new local Spiritual Assemblies, in Sohag (1950), Mehalla e1 Kobra (1951) and Mansoura (1952), thus raising to nine the number of local Spiritual Assemblies. Six virgin prov [Page 66]66 THE BAHA’I WORLD

inces were opened, of nine set up as goals. A plot for a permanent summer school was found but legal transfer of the land was not yet completed. In the Stidén the goals were achieved in the opening of three new centers, at Port Sfidan, Wau and Wad Medani. A Bahá’í center was established at Asmara in Eritrea. In Africa, Algeria was opened to the Faith and in Libya Bahá’í centers were established in Benghazi and Tripoli. A Spiritual Assembly was established in Tunis in April, 1953.

Women Included in Assembly Membership for First Time

Elections for members of local Spiritual Assemblies in Egypt on April 21, 1951, for the first time permitted inclusion of women. Accordingly, one or two women members were elected as members of the Spiritual Assemblies of Alexandria, Cairo, and Port Said. The Guardian referred to this change in his message to the 1951 National Convention of the Bahá’ís in the United States, as follows: “(A) notable step (in the) progress (of) Bahá’í women (of the) Middle East (is) taken through (the) extension (of the) right (of) membership (in) local Assemblies (to) women believers (in) Egypt.”

PURCHASE OF HISTORIC SITE, ISTANBUL

Among the many significant events that transpired during the period covered by this volume was one announced in the Guardian’s message to the National Convention of Bahá’ís in the United States on April 23, 1952, in this statement: “Historic site (of) House occupied (by) Baha’u’llah (in) Istanbul (has been) partly purchased.” On October 1, 1954, the Guardian further announced to all believers of the East and West that funds to complete the acquisition of this historical edifice had been provided as a result of “successive contributions made by the Hand of the Cause, Amelia Collins, outstanding benefactress of the Faith, for the furtherance of some of the most vital objectives of the Ten-Year Plan.”

Thus there has been preserved for future generations another historic place associated with the exile and banishment of Baha’u’llah from the land of His birth and His incarceration in the prison city of ‘Akká.

It was while residing in this house for four months from August 16, 1953, that

Bahá’u’lláh addressed to Sultan ‘Abdu’l‘Aziz the first of His communications to the rulers and ecclesiastical leaders of the world, proclaiming the Divine Summons and warning all those who refused to heed His Call. On the eve of His banishment from that city by the Sultan’s edict, Bahá’u’lláh revealed: “Were all the governments of earth to unite to take My life and the lives of all who bear this Name, this Divine Fire would never be quenched. . . . Whatever may yet befall Us, great shall be Our gain, and manifest the loss wherewith they shall be afflicted.” The Guardian points out that Sultan ‘Abdu’l-‘Aziz was also “first among Oriental monarchs to sustain the impact of God’s retributive justice.”

The months which Baha’u’llah and His family spent in this house have been associated by the Guardian with the beginning of a period in which “untold privations and unprecedented trials were mingled with the noblest spiritual triumphs,” and one in which “the day-star of Bahá’u’lláh’s ministry was about to reach its zenith.”

END OF CANADIAN FIVE-YEAR PLAN

On April 21, 1953, the Canadian Bahá’í Community rejoiced in the news that their Five-Year Plan was completely and successfully fulfilled. The plan had been initiated when the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada was first established in 1948. Completion of the plan climaxed five years of intensive teaching work and its organization throughout Canada, from Victoria to Newfoundland. It meant that a total of thirty Spiritual Assemblies had been established in Canada, and that Bahá’ís were resident in one hundred different 10calities throughout the Provinces. A National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds had been purchased in the heart of Toronto.

Purchase of Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds

A building was purchased in October, 1952, on St. George Street, Toronto, to serve as the Canadian Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, in response to the Guardian’s writing the Canadian National Bahá’í Assembly that “effort must . . . be exerted for the establishment of an institution which, though not an integral part of the [five-year] Plan, formulated for that Community, is none the less regarded as indispensable owing to its emer [Page 67]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 67

gence into an independent existence.” Later it was found necessary to sell the building acquired, because it proved to be unsuitable on account of fire regulations.

MAXWELL HOUSE DEEDED TO CANADIAN NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

The home of Mr. and Mrs. William Sutherland Maxwell on Pine Avenue in Montreal, Canada, for many years the gathering place of Bahá’ís and their friends, was given over to the ownership of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada, to be maintained as a Shrine in remembrance of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s stay in this home in 1912. This gracious gift was that of Rúḥíyyih Igbénum, daughter of May and Sutherland Maxwell, and now the wife of the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. Transfer of the property was completed in March, 1954. It was the first Bahá’í home in Canada, established in 1907.

Uncountable numbers of persons had been received in this home and had there heard of the Bahá’í Faith and been surrounded with spiritual guidance and love. The Canadian National Spiritual Assembly wrote of the gift of this home by Rúḥíyyih Igu’murn: “Many who enter its lovely white doors have the inner realization that they stand within the same walls where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had stood.”

END OF AUSTRALIAN SIX-YEAR PLAN

The Six-Year Plan of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand was fulfilled in April, 1953, and all the goals exceeded. The Plan called for establishment of two new Spiritual Assemblies in Australia and nineteen groups in Australasia. Five additional Assemblies were established, bringing the total number in Australia and New Zealand to seventeen. Twenty-one groups beyond the goals of the plan brought the total number of groups to forty.

Purchase of Temple Site in Sydney

In acknowledging the news of purchase of the site for a Bahá’í House of Worship in Sydney to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand, the Guardian wrote, on June 16, 1954: “The number of pioneers of the Na tional Body who have gone forth as pioneers to virgin territories . . . the purchase of the Temple site in Sydney—all attest the Vitality of the faith of the believers in the Antipodes.” The Temple site chosen was unfortunately, however, shortly after its purchase, repossessed by the city, and the National Spiritual Assembly, though having to relinquish this site, was paid a sum for it which brought a considerable profit. END OF GERMAN FIVE-YEAR PLAN The Five~Year Plan of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Germany and Austria was inaugurated in May, 1948, in response to a suggestion made by Shoghi Effendi, who left the extent of the plan to the decision of the National Assembly. The following objectives were set up: (1) Consolidation and strengthening the understanding of the Bahá’ís for the Administrative Order; (2) increasing the number of Bahá’í centers from fourteen to twenty—eight and at the same time furthering Community growth; (3) deepening in the Teachings, through addition to the Bahá’í literature in German, in order to replace the Bahá’í literature confiscated and destroyed by the National Socialist government; (4) erection of a National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Frankfurt-am-Main. During the course of the Plan three communities of active Bahá’ís were cut off from the main body of German Bahá’ís, as activities of the Faith were prohibited in the Eastern Zone of Germany.

During the first four years of the Plan six Bahá’í groups were brought to community status, one of which relapsed to group status. During the last year of the Plan, through the sacrificial efforts of the Bahá’ís of Germany, aided by Bahá’ís from Persia who had come to study in Germany, concentration on nine goal cities resulted in establishment of nine additional Assemblies by the end of the five years, thus fulfilling the objective of fourteen additional Bahá’í Communities. The nine new Assemblies established in one year were Bad Cannstatt, Bonn, Ebingen, Freiburg-i-Breisgau, Giessen, Heilbronn, Ludwigsburg, T'Libingen and Ulm.

On the site of the ruin purchased at Westendstrasse 24, in Frankfurt-am—Main, for the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds shortly before the beginning of the Five-Year Plan, a stately

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five-story building was erected and completed by the end of the Plan. Seemingly insurmountable obstacles arose in all phases of the erection of the building—financing, materials, permits—but each was overcome in turn. A few paragraphs from the account of the architect of the building, Bruno Bauer, give modest insight into what some of these difficulties were:

“Thanks to the great-hearted and generous gifts of our beloved Guardian and with the help of additional gifts and loans of the Bahá’ís it was possible to work out financing arrangements through building loans (mortgages). With a part of the building fund, construction above the first floor was begun in the summer of 1950. All the believers were delighted and breathed more easily, with relief and gratitude. Then . . . a rift occurred in the favorable relations between East and West and in its wake came new vexations, disputes and economic difficulties. All prices mounted, the workers struck, materials were again hoarded and thus became scarce and in part illegal. New evidences of lack of confidence pervaded the world. Our work was threatened with coming to an end. A whole series of old encumbrances burdened the property and had to be set aside. Old claims had to give way to new. Endless, galling dealings with the former owners, with the mortgage office, with the notary and with a number of financial institutions were necessary in order to clear the way for continuing the construction. The believers had to be appealed to for new sacrifices. Next to the evident divine blessing we must be thankful for this courage in sacrifice, this insight and this unbending will and faith in success, but especially to the great help of our Guardian, so that we could go forward with the construction and meet the contracts.”

In July, 1950, the commemoration of the Martyrdom of the Báb in Frankfurt was held in the large first floor room of the Hazira, while construction with the upper floors was in progress. In 1952 all interior construction work was completed, and a lovely garden and planting had been installed in the spacious area back of the building. The finished Hazira contains, on the third floor, a meeting hall seating one hundred thirty persons, with balcony overlooking the garden, and an adjoining kitchen; a secretariat on the second floor; and several apartments at present leased to

help finance payment of the mortgages.

Addition to the Bahá’í literature in German has included new translations and editions of the Hidden Words, a selection of prayers, translation and publication of Shoghi Effendi’s “The Dispensation of Bahá’u’lláh” from The World Order of Bahti’u’lláh, of Paris Talks of ‘A bdu’I—Bahd, of Some Answered Questions, and, in press, of Shoghi Effendi’s God Passes By. A beginning was thus made in the Five-Year Plan to re-establish an authentic Bahá’í literature in German.

END OF CENTRAL AMERICAN ONE-YEAR PLAN

At the Annual Convention of the Bahá’ís of Central America held in San José, Costa Rica, in 1952, the idea of a Plan was developed and later approved by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Central America and the Antilles, then beginning its second year of existence. The Guardian had written the Assembly urging it “to devote its energy primarily to laying a sound and abiding foundation for the future.” The Plan encompassed four points formulated by the Guardian: (1) to establish harmony, love and understanding among the Bahá’ís, (2) to promote the teaching work, (3) to win support for the National Bahá’í Fund, and (4) to assure publication of Bahá’í literature in well-translated Spanish editions, in cooperation with the National Spiritual Assembly of South America.

To fulfill the first objective the Central American National Spiritual Assembly sent a member to each principal community of each country under its jurisdiction, to establish a bond of love and service through these visits; and in reply to letters it took particular care to quote from the Writings on each specific question or problem raised.

For the second objective two National Teaching Committees were formed, one for work among Spanish speaking friends and the other among English and French. These Committees in turn encouraged the Regional Teaching Committees which carried out specific projects in the field. An Indian Committee carried the Teachings to the aborigines and established a Bahá’í Cultural Institute in the heart of the Indian country in Chichicastenango, Guatemala. The first Bahá’í School in Central America was held at “Karbila” outside of Tegucigalpa, Hon [Page 69]CURRENT BAHA’I ACTIVITIES 69

duras. At the end of the Plan all Assemblies had been maintained and teaching work was being actively carried on in many fields.

Support for the National Bahá’í Fund was aided by appeals in the Assembly’s official news organ Noticias, published in Spanish, French and English and mailed to every Bahá’í.

In the interests of well-translated Bahá’í literature in Spanish, steps were taken to consolidate all translating efforts and to secure well-qualified translators.

END OF INDIAN NINETEEN-MONTH PLAN

The Nineteen-Month Plan of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India, Pakistan and Burma, extending from September, 1951, to April, 1953, was the third successive Bahá’í Teaching Plan undertaken in the sub-continent of India and Burma. Five main objectives were outlined and although all were not fully attained, the end of the Plan saw great progress as a result of the intense efforts of the Bahá’ís of this area.

The first objective was to offer Rs 2,50,000 to the Shrine of the Báb Fund; a little over three-fourths of this sum was contributed.

Esslemont’s Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era was translated and printed in three languages, Indonesian, Siamese, Karen; a revised translation was made in Burmese; and a smaller booklet, “Bahá’í’u’llah and His Message,” was translated and printed in Kachin.

The third objective, pioneering into neighboring countries, succeeded in opening seven of eight “goal” countries, with formation of an Assembly in two and promise of one in a third. The areas opened were Siam (Thailand); Malaya, with an Assembly in Singapore; Indonesia; Sarawak, with an Assembly established in Kuching; Zanzibar; Madagascar; and Nepal. IndoChina remained unsettled.

On the home front of the Indian subcontinent, eight of ten Spiritual Assemblies hoped for were established in India, three of five in Pakistan, and one of two in Ceylon. It was not possible to fulfill the objectives in Burma owing to disturbed conditions in that country. Of thirteen Assemblies to be consolidated in India, twelve maintained their status, and all Assemblies to be consolidated in Pakistan (three) and Burma (four) maintained status.

The fifth objective, expansion of the Bahá’í New Era School in Panchgani, to bring it to the status of government recognition, was not attained although progress was made toward this goal. The eighth anniversary of the school was celebrated in December, 1952. More suitable, larger property was purchased and the school was moved to the new premises in February, 1953. Improvements were being made in this twenty-eight acre property, on which were located five bungalows in good condition, the number of classrooms was being increased, playgrounds were being developed, and a qualified teaching stafl was being arranged for.

During the Nineteen-Month Plan wide publicity was received in the press which would prove of valuable assistance in the work of the future.

BRILLIANT END OF BRITISH Two-YEAR PLAN

Projected in 1950, in the Guardian’s cablegram to the British Bahá’í Convention of that year, the Two-Year Plan of the British Bahá’ís was to be a prelude to the “initiation (of the) systematic campaign designed (to) carry (the) torch (of the) Faith (to) territories (of the) Dark Continent whose northern (and) southern fringes were successively illuminated (in the) course (of the) ministries (of) Bahá’u’lláh (and) ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.”

The three objectives of the Plan were (1) to strengthen the nineteen Spiritual Assemblies already established in the British Isles, (2) to form nuclei in three dependencies of the British Crown in East or West Africa, and (3) to translate, publish and disseminate Bahá’í literature through the British Publishing Trust in three African languages in addition to the three already undertaken in the Six-Year Plan successfully completed less than a year previously by the British Bahá’ís.

At the midpoint of the Plan, in April, 1952, the Guardian was able to announce that pioneers had been dispatched to the three virgin territories of Tanganyika, Uganda and the Gold Coast; that a seventeen thousand dollar Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds had been purchased in Kampala, Uganda; that native Africans of the Teso, Yao, Buganda and Mutoco tribes had been enrolled in the Faith; and that Spiritual Assemblies had

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been formed in Kampala and in Dar es Salaam.

When the Plan came to its brilliant conclusion in April, 1953, the Guardian announced that the number of believers in Uganda alone was over two hundred and ninety, residing in twenty-five localities and representing twenty tribes. In Africa all goals were exceeded. Twelve new local Spiritual Assemblies had been established in Uganda, and besides the Assembly in Tanganyika one was assured in Kenya. In his message to the First Intercontinental Bahá’í Teaching Conference held in Kampala, in February, 1953, the Guardian wrote: “I welcome with open arms the unexpectedly large number of the representatives of the pure-hearted and the spiritually receptive Negro race.”

On the home front in the British Isles, all Assemblies were maintained on a firm basis. In addition to the three pamphlets previously printed in African languages (ChiNyanja, KiSwahili and Hausa), translations into Luganda, Twi and Ateso were published and in use, and translations into at least eight additional African languages were in progress. The pamphlets were printed by the British Publishing Trust and distributed by them.

The objectives thus brilliantly achieved in the British Two-Year Plan laid the groundwork for and greatly furthered the tremendous successes of the African teaching work in which six National Spiritual Assemblies were to cooperate during the TenYear Crusade.