Bahá’í World/Volume 18/The Seven Year International Teaching Plan 1979-1986

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[Page 81]

THE SEVEN YEAR INTERNATIONAL TEACHING PLAN 1979—1986

1. THE LAUNCHING OF THE SEVEN YEAR PLAN

Excerpts from the message of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá’ís Of the world, Naw-Rijz 1979

THE decline of religious and moral restraints has unleashed a fury of chaos and confusion that already bears the signs of universal anarchy. Engulfed in this maelstrom, the Bahá’í world community, pursuing with indefeasible unity and spiritual force its redemptive mission, inevitably suffers the disruption of economic. social and civil life which afflicts its fellow men throughout the planet. It must also bear particular tribulations. The violent disturbances in Persia, coinciding with the gathering in of the bountiful harvest of the Five Year Plan, have brought new and cruel hardships to our longsuffering brethren in the Cradle of our Faith and confronted the Bahá’í world community with critical challenges to its life and work. As the Bahá’í world stood poised 0n the brink of victory, eagerly anticipating the next stage in the unfoldment of the Master’s Divine Plan, Baha’u‘llz’th‘s heroic compatriots. the custodians Of the Holy Places of our Faith in the land of its birth. were yet again called upon to endure the passions of brutal mobs, the looting and burning of their homes, the destruction of their means of livelihood. and physical violence and threats of death to force them to recant their faith. They, like their immortal forebears, the Dawn-Breakers, are standing steadfast in face of this new persecution and the ever-present threat of organized extermination.

‘Remembering that during the Five Year Plan the Persian friends far surpassed any other national community in their outpouring of pioneers and funds, we‘ in all those parts of

the world where we are still free to promote the Cause of God, have the responsibility to make good their temporary inability to serve. Therefore, with uplifted hearts and radiant faith, we must arise with redoubled energy to pursue our mighty task, confident that the Lord of Hosts will continue to reward our efforts with the same bountiful grace He vouchsafed to us in the Five Year Plan.

‘The teaching victories in that Plan have been truly prodigious; the points of light, those localities where the Promised One is recognized, have increased from sixty—nine thousand five hundred to over ninety-six thousand; the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies has grown from seventeen thousand to over twenty-five thousand; eighteen new National Spiritual Assemblies have been formed. The final report will disclose in all their manifold aspects the magnitude of the Victories won.

‘In the world at large the Bahá’í community is now firmly established. The Institution of the Hands of the Cause of God, the Chief Stewards of Bahá’u’lláh’s embryonic World Commonwealth, is bearing a precious fruit in the development of the International Teaching Centre as a mighty institution of the World Centre of the Faith; an institution blessed by the membership of all the Hands of the Cause; an institution whose beneficent influence is diffused to all parts of the Bahá’í community through the Continental Boards of Counsellors, the members of the Auxiliary Boards and their assistants . . .

‘The conditions of the world present the

81

[Page 82]s

82 THE BAHA 1’ WORLD

THE GROWTH OF THE Bahá’í FAITH

1953 -1983 120,000 115,642 110.000 / 103,32;

100.000 90.000

NATIONAL SPIRITUAL °°AL 90.0.2

ASSEMBLIES

1953 12

1963 56 50,000 1973 113

1979 130

1983 _. 133 70.000

69,541 60,000 .- GOAL 54,323 50,000 40.000 30.000 27,329 25,511 / /l GOAL 23.931 20,000 I / 17,037 / 15,186 11 07] q. GOAL13,955 10,000 I 3,551 2,425 LOCAL AssfiMBL‘ES 4'566 611! '53 '63 '64 '73 '74 '79 '03 TEN-YEAR cnusnn: NlNE-YEAR PLAN FlVE-YEAR PLAN SEVEN YEAR PLAN [953-1963 1964-1973 1974-1979

1979-1986

[Page 83]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA'I’ ACTIVITIES 83

followers of Bahá’u’lláh with both obstacles and opportunities. In an increasing number of countries we are witnessing the fulfilment of the warnings that the writings of our Faith contain. “Peoples, nations, adherents of divers faiths," the beloved Guardian wrote. “will jointly and_ successively arise to shatter its unity, to sup its force, and to degrade its holy name. They will assail not only the spirit which it inculcates, but the administration which is the channel, the instrument, the embodiment of that spirit. For as the authority with which Bahá’u’lláh has invested the future Bahá’í Commonwealth becomes more and more apparent, the fiercer shall be the challenge which from every quarter will be thrown at the verities it enshrines.” In different countries, in varying degrees, the followers of Bahá’u’lláh at this very hour are undergoing such attacks, and are facing imprisonment and even martyrdom rather than deny the Truth for whose sake the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh drained the cup of sacrifice.

‘In other lands, such as those in Western Europe, the faithful believers have to struggle to convey the message in the face of widespread indifference, materialistic self—satisfaction, cynicism and moral degradation. These friends, however, still have freedom to teach the Faith in their homelands, and in spite of the discouraging meagreness of outward results they continue to proclaim the Message of Bahá’u’llzih to their fellow citizens, to raise high the reputation of the Cause in the public eye, to acquaint leaders of thought and those in authority with its true tenets, and to spare no effort to seek out those receptive souls in every town and village who will respond to the divine summons and devote their lives to its service.

‘In many lands, however, there is an eager receptivity for the teachings of the Faith. The challenge for the Bahá’ís is to provide these thousands of seeking souls, as swiftly as possible, with the spiritual food that they crave, to enlist them under the banner of Bahá’u’lláh, to nurture them in the way of life He has revealed, and to guide them to elect Local Spiritual Assemblies which, as they begin to function strongly, will unite the friends in firmly consolidated Bahá’í communities and become beacons of guidance and havens of refuge to mankind.

‘Faced by such a combination of danger and opportunity, the Bahá’ís, confident in the

ultimate triumph of God’s purpose for man kind, raise their eyes to the goals of a new

Seven Year Plan.

‘In the Holy Land the strengthening of the World Centre and the augmentation of its world-wide influence must continue:

. The Seat of the Universal House of Justice will be completed and designs will. be adopted for the remaining three buildings of the World Administrative Centre of the Faith.

. The Institution of the International Teaching Centre will be developed and its functions expanded. This will require an increase in its membership and the assumption by it and by the Continental Boards of Counsellors of wider functions in the stimulation on an international scale of the propagation and consolidation of the Faith, and in the promotion of the spiritual, intellectual and community aspects of Bahá’í life.

- The House of ‘Abdu’llzih Péflé in ‘Akká will be opened to pilgrimage.

. Work will be continued on the collation and classification of the Sacred Texts and a series of compilations gleaned and translated from the writings of the Faith will be sent out to the Bahá’í world to help in deepening the friends in their understanding of the fundamentals of the Faith, enriching their spiritual lives, and reinforcing their efforts to teach the Cause.

- The ties binding the Bahá’í International

Community to the United Nations will be

further developed.

Continued efforts will be made to protect

the Faith from opposition and to emanci pate it from the fetters of persecution.

‘Each National Spiritual Assembly has been

given goals for these first two years of the

Plan, designed to continue the process of

expansion, to consolidate the victories won,

and to attain, where circumstances permit, any goals that may have had to remain unaccomplished at the end of the Five Year

Plan. During these first two years we shall be

examining, with the Continental Boards of

Counsellors and National Spiritual Assem blies, the conditions and possibilities in each

country, and shall be considering in detail the capacities and needs of each of the rapidly differentiating national Bahá’í communities before formulating the further goals towards

[Page 84]84

which each community is to work following the opening phase of the Plan.

‘Throughout the world the Seven Year Plan

must witness the attainment of the following objectives:

The Mashriqu‘l~Acflkar of Samoa is to be completed and progress will be made in the construction of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in India.

Nineteen new National Spiritual Assemblies are to be brought into being: eight in Africa, those of Angola, Bophuthatswana, the Cape Verde Islands, Gabon, Mali, M0zambiquc. Namibia and Transkei; eight in the Americas, those of Bermuda, Dominica, French Guiana. Grenada. the Leeward Islands, Martinique, St Lucia and St. Vincent; and three in the Pacific, those of the Cook Islands. Tuvalu and the West Caroline Islands; Those National Spiritual Assemblies which have had to be dissolved will. circumstances permitting, be re-established. The Message of Bahá’u’lláh must be taken to territories and islands which are as yet unopened to His Faith.

The teaching work, both that organized by institutions of the Faith and that which is the fruit of individual initiative, must be actively carried forward so that there will be growing numbers of believers, leading more countries to the stage of entry by troops and ultimately to mass conversion.

This teaching work must include prompt, thorough and continuing consolidation so that all victories will be safeguarded, the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies will be increased and the foundations of the Cause reinforced.

' The interchange of pioneers and travelling

teachers, Which contributes so importantly to the unity of the Bahá’í world and to a true understanding of the oneness of mankind, must continue. especially between neighbouring lands. At the same time, each national Bahá’í community must aspire to a rapid achievement of self-sufficiency in carrying out its Vital activities, thus acquiring the capacity to continue to function and grow even if outside help is cut off.

Especially in finance is the attainment of independence by national Bahá’í communities urgent. Already the persecutions in Tran have deprived the believers in that country

THE BAHA‘l’ WORLD

Of the bounty of contributing to the international funds of the Faith, of which they have been a major source. Economic disruption in other countries threatens further diminution of financial resources. We therefore appeal to the friends everywhere to exercise the utmost economy in the use of funds and to make those sacrifices in their personal lives which will enable them to contribute their share, according to their means. to the local, national, continental and international funds of the Faith.

For the prompt achievement of all the goals and the healthy growth of Bahá’í community life National Spiritual Assemblies must pay particular attention to the efficient functioning, in the true spirit of the Faith, of their national committees and other auxiliary institutions, and, in consultation with the Continental Boards of Counsellors, must conceive and implement programmes that will guide and reinforce the efforts of the friends in the path of service.

National Spiritual Assemblies must promote wise and dignified approaches to people prominent in all areas of human endeavour, acquainting them with the nature of the Bahá’í community and the basic tenets of the Faith, and winning their esteem and friendship.

At the heart of all activities, the spiritual, intellectual and community life of the believers must be developed and fostered. requiring: the prosecution with increased vigour Of the development of Local Spiritual Assemblies so that they may exercise their beneficial influence and guidance on the life of Bahá’í communities; the nurturing Of a deeper understanding of Bahá’í family life; the Bahá’í education of children, including the holding of regular Bahá’í classes and, where necessary, the establishment of tutorial schools for the provision of elementary education; the encouragement of Bahá’í youth in study and service; and the encouragement Of Bahá’í women to exercise to the full their privileges and responsibilities in the work of the community—may they befittingly bear witness to the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the immortal heroine of the Bahá’í Dispensation, as we approach the fiftieth anniversary of her passing.

[Page 85]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA’I’ ACTIVITIES 85

‘As lawlessness spreads in the world, as governments rise and fall, as rival groups and feuding peoples struggle, each for its own advantage, the plight of the oppressed and the deprived wrings the heart of every true Bahá’í’, tempting him to cry out in protest or to arise in wrath at the perpetrators of injustice. For this is a time of testing which calls to mind Bahá’u’lláh’s words O concourse of the heedless! I swear by God! The promised day is come, the day when tormenting trials will have surged above your heads, and beneath your feet, saying: “Taste ye what your hands have wrought!”

‘Now is the time when every follower of Bahá’u’llzih must cling fast to the Covenant of God, resist every temptation to become embroiled in the conflicts of the world, and remember that he is the holder of a precious

trust, the Message of God which, alone, can bhnish injustice from the world and cure the ills afflicting the body and spirit of man. We are the bearers Of the Word of God in this day and, however dark'the immediate horizons, we must go forward rejoicing in the knowledge that the work we are privileged to perform is God’s work and will bring to birth a world whose splendour will outshine our brightest visions and surpass our highest hopes.’

Each National Spiritual Assembly received a separate message setting forth the details of its respective goals. A summary of the progress made towards fulfilling these, as well as World Centre goals, is set out on the following

pages.

The Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel. Excavation of the site commenced in June 1975. The building was occupied by the House of Justice in January 1983.

[Page 86]86 THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

2. THE SEVEN YEAR INTERNATIONAL TEACHING PLAN 1979—1986

PROGRESS TO RIDVAN 1983

THE fifth International Convention falling just after the mid-point of the Seven Year Plan was an appropriate time for reporting on the progress toward achievement of the goals of the Plan both at the World Centre and throughout the Bahá’í world. The current Plan has been the most detailed in the number and type of goals assigned to the Bahá’í communities. The increased amount of data collected at the World Centre in monitoring the progress of the Plan attests, in itself. to the increased activity in the

Bahá’í world.

The following survey has been adapted from that prepared for use of delegates to the International Convention and has been supplemented with information which gives, in broad outline, an accurate picture of progress at Riḍván 1983.

A. THE WORLD CENTRE

1. Completion of the Construction of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice

By the summer of 1982 the building was very near completion, the final stages having been delayed by a number of factors beyond the control of the World Centre. It was therefore possible to inaugurate the use of the permanent Seat of the Universal House of Justice in a fortuitously appropriate manner through the holding of a seminar on the occasion of the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf.

Subsequently the meetings for all Holy Days which are observed in Haifa have taken place in the Seat, and each group of pilgrims has been received there by the Universal House of Justice.

Work on the final stages of the preparation of the building for occupation, and on the landscaping of the surrounding area‘ continued through the autumn and into the winter, and during the last two weeks of January 1983 the Universal House of Justice and a number of its departments moved their offices to the seat.

2. Designs for Three Additional Buildings on the Are

The task of preparing plans for the three remaining buildings which are to stand around

the Arc on Mount Carmel has been given by the Universal House of Justice to Mr. Husayn Amz’mat. As a first step, the House of Justice has requested Mr. Aménat to prepare three general presentations:

one with the levels of the land as they are now—that is to say, with the south-eastern end of the Arc at a level considerably lower than the north-western end;

another with the levels raised so that the Arc and the gardens within it are exactly symmetrical, the south-eastern end being raised to the same height as the northwestern; and

a third with only an intermediate adjustment of the levels.

Studies are also proceeding on the functions of the three buildings (the Centre for the Study of the Texts, the International Teaching Centre and the International Bahá’í’ Library), in order to judge the dimensions and placement of the structures, and their interrelationships both with one another and with the existing edifices Of the International Archives and the Universal House of Justice.

3. Development of the International Teaching Centre

One of the goals of the Seven Year Plan for the World Centre was stated as follows:

[Page 87]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA‘I’ ACTIVITIES 87

‘The Institution of the International Teaching Centre will be developed and its functions expanded. This will require an increase in its membership and the assumption by it and by the Continental Boards of Counsellors of wider functions in the stimulation on an international scale of the propagation and consolidation of the Faith, and in the promotion of the spiritual, intellectual and community aspects of Bahá’í life.‘

During the two-year opening phase of the Plan a number of important steps were taken in pursuance of this goal.

—The membership of the International Teaching Centre was increased with the appointment by the Universal House of Justice of Miss Anneliese Bopp as a Counsellor member of the nucleus of the Teaching Centre in the Holy Land.

—The foundations of the Boards of Counsellors were greatly broadened by the consolidation of thirteen Boards into five, thus widening the scope of the activities of each Board to include an entire continent.

—A further significant step in the development of the Boards of Counsellors was the setting of a specific term of office for the

Counsellors in the continents, as was envisioned in the original appointments. This term has now been set for five-year periods beginning on the Day of the Covenant, 26 November 1980.

—Steps were taken by the House of J ustice and the International Teaching Centre to strengthen the ties between the Counsellors, the Continental Pioneer Committees and the National Assemblies with a view to achieving closer collaboration between these institutions in the selection and utilization of both pioneers and travel-teachers.

—Extensive consultations were held between the House of Justice and the International Teaching Centre regarding appropriate means of opening the way in the next phase of the Plan for the Teaching Centre and the Boards of Counsellors to have a greater degree of participation in the development and financing of special teaching projects and in the provision of Bahá’í literature. The measures taken have resulted in a much wider dissemination of Bahá’í books. pamphlets and other materials for teaching and deepening, in accordance with the particular requirements of the various national communities.

Hands of the Cause and Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre; November 1979. Left to right:Abu’l-Qasim Faizz’, Hooper Dunbar, Anneliese Bopp, Paul Haney, Amatu’lBaht? Rúḥíyyih Khánum, ‘Alz’-Akbar Furman, Florence Mayberry, ‘Azz’z Yazdz’.

[Page 88]88 THE BAHA’

—In the wider field of promotion of the spiritual, intellectual and social life of the Bahá’í community, the Counsellors have been encouraged by the International Teaching Centre to become increasingly aware of the more spiritual aspects of their functions. In some continents plans are being developed by the Counsellors, together with the National Spiritual Assemblies in the area, to deepen the friends in various aspects of the Bahá’í teachings, especially on the basis of the compilations sent out by the Universal House of Justice.

4. Continued Strengthening of the Relationship between the Bahá’í International Community and the United Nations

In its consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as in its association with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Department Of Public Information (DPI), the Bahá’í International Community, through its accredited representatives at the United Nations, has continued to find many opportunities to explain how the Bahá’í teachings, principles and laws, and the spiritual and moral answers provided by the Bahá’í Faith, are essential to achieve the goals of world peace, universal human rights and the full development of all peoples sought by the United Nations Charter. More than ever, the Bahá’í International Community has been able to point to the way of life evolving in Bahá’í communities as an embodiment of the Bahá’í teachings, It did this most dramatically, for instance, during the International Year of the Child (1979), when Bahá’í communities around the world sponsored programmes and activities to promote the well-being of children.

Also, as national and local Bahá’í institutions have begun to sponsor programmes in literacy and rural development——through tutorial schools and radio stations, for instance —to assist in the development of Bahá’í communities and society as a whole, it has become possible for the Bahá’í International Community, in its statements and reports to the UN, to give further evidence of the growth of the Bahá’í world community.

Co-operation with the UN took another

lWORLD

step forward with the establishment in July 1981 of a European branch office in Geneva. and the appointment of a full-time representative, and, shortly afterwards, an alternate. Also since 1980 the Bahá’í International Community has had a representative and an alternate with the Vienna International Centre (VlC)—the new UN branch headquarters in Vienna, Austria, where the activities of the Centre for Social and Humanitarian Affairs are now located.

Activities among the non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) associated with the United Nations also continued. The Bahá’í International Community has long participated in numerous NGO committees based in New York and Geneva (and now, too. in Vienna) and has helped in planning and chairing a number of activities, such as symposia, luncheons, etc. Its representatives now serve as chairmen of the NGO Committee on UNICEF and of the NGO Committee on Human Rights (New York), and as vicechairmen of the DPI/NGO Executive Committee and of the Committee on the UN Decade for Women.

Besides encouraging National Spiritual Assemblies to establish and foster a relationship with the UN offices in their countries, sponsoring or c0~sponsoring activities in observance of UN days and years and other events, the Bahá’í International Community has, since Riḍván 1979, taken part in twenty United Nations world conferences, congresses and seminars, and attended sixty-four sessions of UN bodies concerned with a broad range of issues: human rights, social development, the advancement of women, the environment, human settlements, children, disabled persons, the ageing, drug abuse, science and technology, disarmament and peace, outer space, crime prevention, population, youth, the law of the sea and the world food problem. In this extensive co-operation with the UN, the Bahá’í International Community has presented information, submitted statements, and published brochures forty—six items in allexpressing the Bahá’í point of view on a number of these subjects. For the first time the Bahá’í International Community was invited to address the UN General Assembly, during its Second Special Session Devoted to Disarmament. It continued to participate in

[Page 89]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA‘I’ ACTIVITIES 89

New York, Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi in the regular sessions of the UNICEF Executive Board and the Governing Council of the United Nations Environment Programme. as well as in the sessions of the Economic and Social Council and many ofits functional commissions, committees and associated bodies, such as the Commission on Human Rights and its Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities; the Commission on the Status of Women; the Commission for Social Development; the Commission on Narcotic Drugs; and others. It has also participated in a number of special UN conferences and meetings since the beginning of the Seven Year Plan, of which the following are the most important:

United Nations Conference on Science and Technology for Development; Vienna, Austria, 20—31 August 1979.

World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women; Copenhagen, Denmark; 14—30 July 1980.

Sixth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders; Caracas, Venezuela; 25 August—S September 1980.

Eleventh Special Session of the General Assembly on the New International Economic Order; New York, New York, U.S.A.; 25 August—15 September 1980.

United Nations Conference of New and Renewable Sources of Energy; Nairobi, Kenya; 10—21 August 1981.

United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries; Paris, France; 1—14 September 1981.

Twelfth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Disarmament; New York, New York, U.S.A.; 7 June—9 July 1982.

World Assembly on Ageing; Vienna, Austria; 26 July—6 August 1982.

Second United Nations Conference on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space; Vienna, Austria; 9—21 August 1982.

The Bahá’í International Community also sent representatives to the following international meetings and seminars sponsored by the United Nations:

UNICEF Special Meeting on Children in Latin America and the Caribbean; Mexico City, Mexico; 16—18 May 1979.

Regional preparatory conferences for the World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women:

Europe—Paris, France; 9—12 July 1979

Asia and the Pacific—New Delhi, India;

5—9 November 1979

Latin America—Macuto, Venezuela; 12—16

November 1979

Africa—Lusaka. Zambia; 3—7 December

1979.

Sub-regional Follow-up Meeting for Pacific Women for the World Conference of the United Nations Decade for Women; Suva, Fiji; 29 October—3 November 1980.

Seminar on the Relations that Exist Between Human Rights, Peace and Development; New York, New York, U.S.A.; 3—14 August 1981.

Seminar on Protection Available to Victims of Racial Discrimination; Managua, Nicaragua; 14—22 December 1981.

Special Session of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Governing Council; Nairobi, Kenya; 10—18 May 1982.

Seminar on National, Local and Regional Arrangements for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights in the Asian Region; Colombo, Sri Lanka; 21 June—2 July 1982.

United Nations Seminar on Recourse Procedures and Other forms of Protection Available to Victims of Racial Discrimination and Activities to Be Undertaken at the National and Regional Levels, with Special Reference to Asia and the Pacific; Bangkok, Thailand; 2—13 August 1982.

As the persecution of the Bahá’í community in 1min intensified, the Bahá’í International Community helped to coordinate international efforts—initiated before the beginning of the Seven Year Plan—to bring their plight t0 the attention of the States Members of the United Nations, the UN Secretariat and non-governmental organizations working with the UN (21 detailed report of these activities appears on pages 414 to 425).

The persecution of the Bahá’ís in 1min, which constitutes a gross violation of their fundamental human rights. is clearly in con [Page 90]90 THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

travention of the standards of religious freedom set forth in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and, more recently, the Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. The plight of the Bahá’ís has struck a chord of deep concern and sympathy 0n the part of UN representatives and officials, who have demonstrated a warm willingness to initiate and press for action to remedy the situation.

The Bahá’í International Community has prepared a number of publications concerning the persecutions in lran, which have been widely distributed at the United Nations and also made available to National Spiritual Assemblies. The most important of these publications were The Bahá’ís in irdn: A Report on the Persecution of a Religious Minority (published in 1981, updated and reissued in 1982) and a formal ‘Statement in Rebuttal’ of various false and malicious charges propagated against the Bahá’í Faith at the 37th (1982) UN General Assembly by the delegation of the Islamic Republic of lrén.

The activities of the Bahá’í International Community—which included the presentation of numerous oral and written statements to appropriate human rights organs of the United Nations—have resulted in or contributed to (a) démarches by governments to the Secretary—General of the United Nations; (b) démarches by a total of 17 governments to the Iranian government in Tihran: (C) debates and resolutions by the UN Commission on Human Rights and its Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in which attention was specifically drawn to the religious nature of the persecution, and in which the Secretary-General was given a mandate to intervene with the Iranian government on behalf of the Bahá’ís; (d) statements by sixteen governments during debates on human rights at the 1981 and 1982 sessions of the UN General Assembly; (e) a 1981 intervention with the Iranian government by the UN Working Group on Enforced 0r Involuntary Disappearances; (f) discussions of the situation by the UN Human Rights Committee in July 1982, when it reviewed with representatives of the Islamic Republic of lrén the question of whether lrén was observing

and implementing the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (to which it is a party); (g) similar discussions by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination in March 1983. when it reviewed with Iranian representatives the status of minority groups in lran.

5. Emancipation and Protection of the Faith

Algeria and the Congo

There has been no appreciable change in the condition of the Faith in these two countries and the activities of the Faith continue to be banned in both of them. However. in the Congo, in response to applications made by several religious organizations, including the Bahá’í community‘ the Supreme Court is considering conferring general freedom of religion in the country. Once the decree is confirmed. the way will open for the Faith in the Congo.

Egypt

The friends here continue to suffer from the disability of lack of recognition of their institutions. Several attempts to obtain protection of the civil rights of the believers in Egypt have been made through the Bahá’í International Community. It is hoped that these

efforts will yield results in the near future.

Indonesia

Although the administrative institutions of the Faith are still not officially permitted to function, the friends engage informally in Bahá’í activities, and continue to teach on an individual basis. Small Bahá’í gatherings are being held in various parts of the country to deepen the friends and to lift their spirits. There are two training centres (hostels or Ashrams) in Padang operated by the Bahzi’r’s, at which twenty-eight students, mostly from Mentawei, are housed; and a third centre was completed in July 1982, which now boards eight boys ranging in age from eight to ten. The children are trained from the beginning to be responsible for their own school expenses by selling handicrafts, etc., and many of the graduates travel-teach, visit the friends in remote areas, and attend conferences with their own funds. Women’s classes are being held regularly, where they are taught Bahá’í prayers and the basic teachings of the Faith; and conferences, summer schools and other

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16

[Page 92]92 THE Bahá’í’ WORLD

meetings are scheduled frequently. The Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone and his wife visited Indonesia and met with the friends there. They participated in a conference at which fifty-five Bahá’ís from nineteen localities gathered together.

Bahá’í literature in various Indonesian languages is being translated, produced and distributed throughout the country in increasing quantities. irdn

This has been a tragic period for the Bahá’í’s of Train. Persecutions have steadily intensified; the Holy House of the Báb was totally demolished; the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. all local Hazfratu’l-Quds, and other Bahá’í properties were either confiscated or destroyed; Bahá’í cemeteries were seized and graves desecrated; the Nawnahalz’m and Umanz’i Companies were confiscated, and the Bahá’í Hospital and Home for the Aged were taken over by the Revolutionary authorities; one hundred and eighteen Bahá’í’s have been martyred; fourteen were kidnapped, their fate still unknown; a large number were imprisoned; hundreds were forced to flee from their homes, which were either confiscated or destroyed; shops and other properties of many of the friends were seized and/or set afire; hundreds were dismissed from their jobs, many of whom had their pensions cancelled; and Bahá’í students were expelled from schools and universities.

The Universal House of Justice called upon the United Nations office of the Bahá’í International Community and National Spiritual Assemblies in most of the world to take measures to help alleviate the suffering of the friends in Tran. As a result of such efforts, many resolutions were adopted by a number of governments and by United Nations and independent organizations protesting against the atrocities meted out to the Iranian Bahá’ís and calling upon the authorities in Train to stop the injustices being perpetrated against these innocent victims.

The sufferings of our Persian co-workers, however, have resulted in an unprecedented volume of publicity and proclamation for the Faith and have provided an opportunity for the Bahá’í’s to familiarize prominent people and those in authority with the verities Of the Cause. These victorious achievements have

made it easier for the valiant heroes in the Cradle of the Faith to bear the burden of their sufferings and have prompted them to thank Bahá’u’lláh for being chosen once again to be effective instruments for the promotion of His glorious Cause.

RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED 1. THE UNITED NATIONS a. UN General Assembly (1) Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief. 25 November 1981 (2) Resolution on the Elimination of All Forms of Religious Intolerance, 18 December 1982 b. UN Commission on Human Rights, 11 March 1982 and 8 March 1983 C. UN Sub—Commission on the Prevention of Discrimihation and Protection of Minorities, 10 September 1980, 9 September 1981, and 8 September 1982 A resolution was also passed on the topic of Religious Intolerance on 10 September 1982 2. REGIONAL BODIES a. Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (1) Declarations tabled by members, 29 September 1980 and 14 May 1981 (2) Resolution adopted, 29 January 1982 b. European Parliament, 19 September 1980. 10 April 1981, and 10 March 1983 3. NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENTS 3. Australia (1) Senate, February 1981 (2) House of Representatives, August 1981 b. Canada—House of Commons, July 1980 and July 1981 c. Fiji—Senate, March 1982 d. Federal Republic of Germany, May 1981 e. Spain—Human Rights Commission of the Senate, March 1982 f. United States (1) Senate, June 1982 (2) House of Representatives, September 1982 (3) State Senates a) Alaska, April 1979 b) California, August 1982

[Page 93],

INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA’ 1’ ACTIVITIES 93

STA TE OF ILLINOIS EIGHTY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBL Y HOUSE OF REPRESENTA TIVES

House Resolution No. 110

Offered by Representative Mrl’ikc

WHEREAS, It is the avowed foreign policy of the United States ofAmerica to encourage worldwide respect for the human rights ofaII citi:ens of the world: and

WHEREAS, The Bahá’í community. the largest religious minority in Iran. is being brutally attacked and accused of hating Muslims and committing many crimes against the nation; and

WHEREAS, The Bahá’í community in Iran, like Bahá’í communities everywhere, abstains from all political activity, is peaceful. works toward brotherhood among nations and races. promotes religious tolerance and seeks mutual understanding with members ofall faiths and groups: and

WHEREAS, [t is therefore most regrettable that the more fanatical and extremist among the Iranian Muslims have once again chosen the Bahá’í: a: scapegoats. as history shows they have done over 100 years, and have extended their campaign to the United States; therefore. be it

RESOLVED. BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE EIGHTYFIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, That we petition President Carter to request Ayatollah Khomeini and the Iranian government to recognize the Bahá’í Faith as solely a religious movement and to assure the people of Iran that all religious minorities including the Bahá’í, will have full political, cultural and religious rights; and, be it further

RESOL VED, That a suitable copy of this preamble and resolution be forwarded to President Carter and Secretary ofState Cyrus Vance.

Adopted by the House of Representatives on March 15, 1979.

DJ gig”, gm 9 g I Speaker of the House

58.44% CleG/ the House

Facsimile of House Resolution No. 110, House of Representatives, Eighty-First General Assembly, State ofIllinois, adopted 15 March 1979.

[Page 94]94 THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

C) Hawaii‘ April 1982 (1) South Dakota‘ March 1983 (4) State Houses of Representatives 4.STATEMENTS, APPEALS, ENQUIRIES, LETTERS 21) Illinois, March 1979 0FSUPPORT,ETC. b) South Dakota, March 1983 A. 1979 OTHER ACTIONS TAKEN (1) Swiss Parliamentarians 1. DEMARCHES (JOINT REPRESENTATIONS) (2) Governor of the Hawaiian Islands 21. T0 the Iranian Government in Ṭihrán (3) Numerous Senators and Congress March 1983 —Senate, February 1982

(1) On 31 January 1982 by fifteen governments—Australia, Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands. Norway, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland‘ and the United Kingdom

(2) In July 1982 by sixteen governments —all those above, plus Finland

(3) On 27 December 1982 by fifteen governments (as in N0. 1)

b. To the UN Secretary General by Am bassadors of European Economic Community countries in New York, on 12

men of the United States

(4) Prime Minister Ofthe United Kingdom

(5) All three Parliamentary parties of Luxembourg

(6) Bureau of Human Rights, Trinidad and Tobago

. 1980

(1) Former Chieflustice Of the Supreme Court of India

(2) Government of Western Samoa

(3) Governor of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

(4) Nine political factions of the Dutch

February and 17 July 1982 Parliament 2. CONGRESSIONAL HEARING IN THE UNITED (5) Minister of Cultural Affairs, LuxSTATES, MAY 1982 embourg 3. ACTIONS TAKEN IN LEGISLATIVE SESSIONS AND (6) Minister of Foreign Affairs, AusPUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL RECORDS tralia a. Australia—Senate and House of Rep- C. 1981

resentatives, March 1982 —Senate, November 1982

b. Brazil—Senate, April 1982

. Canada—House of Commons, November 1979 . Germany—three questions to Federal Government, September 1982 . Italy—two questions to Minister of Foreign Affairs, February/March 1982 —motion to Parliament, March 1982 —question to the Senate, May 1982 Netherlands—statement made by Minister for Foreign Affairs, September 1982 . Norway—statement made by Foreign Minister, May 1982 . United Kingdom—House of Commons, June 1981 —House of Lords, February 1982 United States—House of Representatives, October 1979, July and September 1981, March 1982, and

(1) Statements made at the thirtyseventh session of the Human Rights Commission in Geneva by delegations from:

a) Australia

b) Canada

0) Netherlands

d) United Kingdom

(2) King of the Belgians

(3) President of France

(4) Foreign Ministers of Australia, Belgium, the Republic of Germany and the Netherlands

(5) Under—Secretary of State, Italy

(6) Minister of Justice, Costa Rica

(7) Minister of Missions and Religious Organizations, Central African Republic

(8) Statements made in Third Committee of the thirty-sixth session of the UN. General Assembly by representatives of:

a) Australia b) Fiji c) Netherlands

[Page 95]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA‘I’ ACTIVITIES 95

EU ROPE

M» , AT Imp, cu , h oua,';‘"° M,

AN PARUAMENT

/ Working Doom?

I |981—1982

Facsimiles ofdocuments protesting against the persecution of'the Bahá’ís ofirén.

d) New Zealand 6) Sweden f) United Kingdom, on behalf of the member states of the European Economic Community g) United States (9) Various Ministries of Liberia d. 1982 (1) Presidents of France and Kiribati (2) Prime Ministers of Belize, France, Samoa and New Zealand

(3) (4)

(5) (6) (7) (8)

Office of the President and VicePresident, Gambia

Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Australia, Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Netherlands and Panama

Deputy Prime Minister, Swaziland Governor General. Jamaica Minister of State, United Kingdom Secretary of State, Republic of San Marino

[Page 96]96 THE Bahá’í WORLD

(9 Government of Finland (10) Government officials, Mexico (11) Legislators in Luxembourg, United States and the Virgin Islands (12) Eleven Parliamentarians of Finland (13) Office of Special Affairs of the Chilean Government (14) Minister of Education. Australia (15) A leadingjurist in India (16) Commission for Foreign Affairs, France 6. 1983 (1) Assistant Secretary of State of the United States to the Congressional Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations (2) Government of Finland to Iranian Representative in Helsinki

V

This is obviously not an exhaustive report of actions taken on an international scale, but it provides a glimpse of the extensive support of those in authority and prominent people as a result of the dedicated efforts of Bahá’í communities.l

Many National Spiritual Assemblies have contacted officials of their governments appealing to them for assistance in providing travel documents to those Iranian Bahá’ís who have been unable to renew their passports, in allowing them to remain in their country even though their passports or visas have expired, in issuing work permits, and in waiving the tuition fees of students whose source of income has been cut off.

The Australian Government has established a special humanitarian immigration programme for stranded Iranian Bahá’ís, and Canadian authorities have set up a project resulting in the successful transfer and settlement of hundreds of the Persian friends. Both of these programmes, which have definite criteria for acceptance of Iranian Bahá’ís, have been established as a result of the persistent efforts of the friends in these countries.

There are many Iranian believers who have applied for resettlement in another country and

1 A more complete survey can be found under ‘Detailcd Summary of Actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community, National and Local Bahá’í Institutions. Governments, non-Bahá’í Organizations and Prominent People in Connection with the Persecution of the Bahá’ís of him" p. 3371

are waiting for their applications to be processed. and a large number of others not eligible for such programmes, who are being helped financially in hardship cases by the Bahá’í Persian Relief Fund, or by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

‘Irdq

So far as can be ascertained, there are no Bahá’ís in prison in ‘Iráq at this time; but during the last few years, although the prisoners were released from custody, more were arrested and imprisoned and these. too, were later released. This pattern of arrest and release was repeated several times.

Kampucheu (Cambodia)

Bahá’í activities have been suspended and there is no contact with the friends in Kampuchea. Refugees from that country, however, are being approached by the Bahá’ís in Thailand and other countries and are given Bahá’í literature in Khmer.

Laos

The National Spiritual Assembly of Laos was elected after a lapse of six years, and efforts are now under way to recover lost Local Assemblies and re—activate the believers. The first formal meeting held at the Centre built on the Temple site took place in January 1982, and was attended by local officials who were very receptive to the Cause.

A number of National Assemblies have set up programmes to contact Laotian Bahá’í refugees and to assist them in their re-absorption into the community.

Vietnam

The Bahá’ís in Vietnam have been forbidden to meet and to practise their religion since 1978. All Bahá’í Centres throughout the country have been either closed or confiscated by the authorities. When the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Ho Chi Minh "City was seized, two members of the National Assembly who were there at the time were summarily arrested and sent to ‘re-education‘ camps. One of them was released early in 1982 because of ill health‘ but the other is still in detention and all efforts to secure his release have so far been unsuccessful. A Bahá’í from Switzerland visited the friends in Vietnam in 1980 and found them to be steadfast and strong in the

[Page 97]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT Bahá’í ACTIVITIES

Faith. Appeals have been made by the Bahá’í International Community, a number of governments and independent agencies to free the Bahá’í’ prisoners and to grant members of the Bahá’í community the religious freedom guaranteed in the Constitution of Vietnam.

Three of the friends in Vietnam recently approached the authorities requesting permission for the Bahá’í’s to meet together for prayers and other spiritual gatherings, and have asked for the return of their National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds for this purpose. It is not known whether there has been a response to their application.

A number of Bahá’í communities have undertaken projects to contact Vietnamese refugees residing in their countries, to distribute literature to them, and to meet with them for teaching and deepening purposes. Some of the friends are regularly sending parcels of medicines, clothes and other necessities to the friends in Vietnam, and the National Spiritual Assemblies of Australia, Denmark, France, Norway and Sweden have been called upon by

97

the House of Justice to participate in this programme.

6. Publication of Compilation Commemorating the Passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf

The preparation and publication of a compilation of letters to the Greatest Holy Leaf, of statements about her by Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the beloved Guardian, and of her own letters was completed in 1982 in commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of her passing. The Universal House of Justice appointed its Research Department to prepare the compilation, entitled Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf, and Mrs. Marzieh Gail and a committee at the World Centre were responsible for new translations included in this publication.

7. Collation and Classification of the Sacred Texts

Work has continued on the collation and classification of the Sacred Texts. The original

Publications of the Bahá’í World Centre 1979—1983: softcover editions ofTablets

of Bahá’u’lláh revealed after the Kitáb-i—Aqdas, Selections from the Writings of

the Báb, and Selections from the Writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; The Bahá’í World, v01. XVII (1976—1979); and Bahíyyih Khánum, the Greatest Holy Leaf.

[Page 98]98 THE BAHA‘I’ WORLD

Tablets of Buhz’t‘u‘llz’lh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahz’l and the original letters of Shoghi Effendi now housed at the World Centre number zipproximately 15,000. Authenticated copies of Tablets and letters available at the World Centre for which no originals have yet been received include some 46,000 items. Of these originals and copies, approximately 15,000 are Tablets of Bahá’í‘u’llz’lh, nearly 27,000 are Tablets of ‘Abdu'l—Bahá’í and over 17.500 are letters of Shoghi Effendi. altogether totalling more than 60.000 documents. These documents have been studied and important passages from them extracted and classified.

Further‘ compilations have been gleaned from this collection, with translations made into English of selected passages where appropriate; and these compilations were then sent out to the Bahá’í world to help in deepening the friends in their understanding of the fundamentals of the Faith, enriching, their spiritual lives and reinforcing their efforts to teach the Cause.

During the period under review. eight major compilations were prepared and Circulated to National Spiritual Assemblies, In October 1979, a set of three compilations of Writings of Bahzi'u‘lláh, the Báb and ‘Abdu’lBnhz’i was provided as a sample to be used for translation into other languages. Other compilations included ‘Extracts from the Bahzi’l’ Teachings Diseouraging Divorce‘. January 1980; ‘The Importance of Prayer, Meditation and the Devotional Attitude‘. March 1980; “Attendance of the Members of a Spiritual Assembly at its Meetings”, October 1980; “The Power of Divine Assistance”, August 1981; “Excellence in All Things”, November 1981: ‘Family Life’, January 1982; and ‘The Importance of Deepening Our Knowledge and Understanding of the Faith”. January 19834

Also, as requests for information and elucidation of passages from the various Sacred Texts and instructions of Shoghi Effendi were received by the Universal House of Justice from Bahá’í’ institutions, scholars and other individuals, small compilations on specific subjects were prepared for their study.

8. Restoration of the House of ‘Abdu’llfih Péshé

The task of restoring the House of ‘Abdu’ lláh Péshzi, following the plan prepared by Mr. Riḍvánu‘llzih ASherf and approved by the Universal House of Justice, has been steadily pursued with the aim of having this priceless residence opened for pilgrimage by the end of the second phase of the Plan. Some idea of the extent of the work involved is gained from a brief recital of the accomplishments so far achieved.

—Three-quarters of the old and broken stones of the south-east and west fagades have been replaced with a local type of sandstone purchased from demolished buildings. These stones were cut and fitted on the site.

~The plaster on the exterior walls of the central courtyard and the entrance corridor has been scraped off and these walls have been replastered with white cement and stone powder.

—F0110wing the pattern of the originals, 260 doors and windows have been made and installed.

—The roof has been reconstructed.

—Using 120 cubic metres of Katrina wood bought in Turkey, then shipped to Israel, the ceilings have been assembled and installed.

—Minor repairs have been made on the original floors of the main hall, one of the bedrooms, and part of the room in which the Guardian was born. All other floors have been re~surfaced.

—All interior walls have been replastered and painted. Red tiles purchased in France have been used in roof repair. Wiring and plumbing have been installed throughout the building. The main entrance door has been fabricated using steel pegs, as in the original.

—The facing of the south and west walls surrounding the property, 2.5 metres thick and 4.5 metres high, has been replaced, an undertaking which called for approximately 700 cubic metres of stone and cement.

—Plans have been prepared to lay out the garden, repair the pool in the central yard and to re-floor the entrance.

—Wooden partitions for the areas upstairs, the main hall and the courtyards have been made and installed.

—The old bath at the foot of the staircase has been excavated, new walls have been built and a concrete roof installed.

—The upper rooms of the House were, at the request of the Universal House of Justice,

[Page 99]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA‘I’ ACTIVITIES 99

exquisitely and carefully furnished in the style of the period by Amatu’l-Bahá Rdhi’yyih fliénum, and the delegates to the fifth International Convention were the first pilgrims privileged to visit there.

—Every effort has been made to faithfully restore this historic building to its condition at the time when it was occupied by the Master and the Holy Family. All available documents and photographs have been closely studied, and the remains of the old building have been carefully traced. Of inestimable value to the project were the detailed personal memories of the late Mrs. Zeenat (Zinat) Baghdadl’, who was a member of the household in the days of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.

9. Extension and Beautification Of the Gardens Bahjí’

The two gardens in the vicinity of the Collins gate, which were started in 1979, have been further developed. Many varieties of palms have been planted, as well as a number

of flowering eucalyptus trees, the seeds of which were procured from Australia.

The most important development was the acquisition in September 1980 Of a strip of land 13,150 square metres in area, bordering the driveway from the western gate of the Bahá’í property, which made it possible to complete the south-west quadrant gardens surrounding the Most Holy Shrine. A new circular path. like that of the Ḥaram-i-Aqdas, has been made and is bordered with cypress trees. From the western gate a new stretch of gardens has been laid out, and another driveway has been constructed from the gate to the parking lot.

Mazra‘ih

Nearly 50,000 square metres of agricultural land adjacent to and north of the Mazra‘ih property was purchased as a protection to the Mansion in this rapidly developing area.

Haifa Overgrown trees around the Shrine of the Báb and the Arc have been replaced with new

Aerial view of the south-west quadrant gardens surrounding the Shrine of Bahd'u’lláh, Bahjí’; April 1983.

[Page 100]100

plantings. New gardens have been developed around the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, and an irrigation system was installed in grassed areas.

Five terraces behind the new Seat of the Universal House of Justice have been cultivated and planted with thousands of plants and decorative shrubs.

Extensive pruning of all trees and shrubs

10. Five International C0nferences——1982

'I‘HE Bahá’í’ WORLD

was done in the Monument Gardens, and necessary repair work, including extensive rewiring, was carried out.

Extensive work was done to beautify the garden bordering Hagefen Street at the foot of Mount Carmel, where Bahá’u’lláh pitched His tent.

The Bahá’í Cemetery in Haifa was further developed.

These five international conferences dedicated to the memory of the Greatest Holy Leaf were attended by over 16,000 believers from all parts of the world.

The Hand of the Cause of God Representing Number Place and Date the Universal House of Justice Attending Dublin, Ireland Collis Featherstone 1,900 from 25—27 J une 60 countries Quito, Ecuador Paul E. Haney 1,450 from 6~8 August 43 countries Lagos, Nigeria John Robarts 1,100 from 19—22 August 90 ethnic groups Canberra, Australia Ugo Giachery 2,400 from 2—5 September 45 countries Montreal, Canada Amatu’l-Bahá Rfihfyyih Khánum 9,400 from

2—5 September

The spirit generated by these historic conferences stimulated and galvanized to greater action thousands more in a number of highly successful satellite conferences. A summary of these developments follows:

In EUROPE, all hearts rallied to respond to the call for spiritualization of the community and intensified personal teaching. A steady stream of messages from Counsellors, National Spiritual Assemblies and even local communities has been received at the World Centre recording the European acceptance of the challenges posed in Dublin.

Throughout LATIN AMERICA, stunning success was achieved by the ‘Trail of Light”, a project surrounding the Quito conference in which ten indigenous North American Bahá’ís travelled and taught in Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica‘ Guatemala, Honduras, Panama. Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador, and ended their journey at the Montreal conference. Performing tribal dances for large audiences, inspiring

101 countries (all 5 continents)

and forging bonds of love with indigenous believers and achieving unprecedented publicity for the Faith, they truly blazed a trail Of light across the Americas that augurs well for the fulfilment of the master’s prophecy concerning the destiny of American Indians in the spiritual awakening of their continent. Satellite conferences which shared the enthusiasm of Quito and also emphasized native participation were held in Costa Rica, Bolivia, Belize, Paraguay, Uruguay, Nicaragua, Panama, Suriname and French Guiana, the French Antilles, Bermuda, Barbados and Haiti.

In AFRICA, five official satellite conferences, attended by Hand of the Cause of God William Sears, echoed the ‘radiant love’ of the Lagos conference with a ‘unity, not of sitting together, but of hearts loving’. All the major ethnic groups in Southern Africa were represented at the conferences in South Africa. Bophuthatswana, Transkei and Namibia. Most of the believers at the conference in Nairobi,

[Page 101]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA’I’ ACTIVITIES 101

Some youthfulparticipants in the satellite conference held in Nairobi, Kenya; October I 982. The Hand of the Cause William Sears is seen seated in the centre, third row from the back.

Some participants in the satellite conference held in Yaoundé, Cameroon Republic; October 1982.

[Page 102]102

Kenya, were from rural areas, including many women and children, and friends from Egypt, Tanzania and Uganda.

Nigeria’s neighbours also took advantage of the activity in Lagos: Benin held five satellite conferences, attended by two hundred believers from twenty-five localities, and as a result of these and the efforts of visitors a twelve per cent growth in the Bahá’í population was recorded. Togo, Ghana, the Central African Republic and Senegal also held satellite conferences. Several teaching projects were organized in Nigeria for conference visitors; in one of these projects two hundred and fiftyfive believers were enrolled and five Assemblies formed in one week.

In NORTH AMERICA the third Continental Indigenous Council on the Blood Reserve in Southern Alberta, one of two auxiliary conferences held in conjunction with the Montreal conference, was attended by four hundred and forty-six people representing sixty Indian tribes and ten countries. The council was honoured by the presence of Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum and thrilled by the ‘Trail of Light” members, who recounted their experiences with Indian Bahá’ís in Central and South America. The seventh Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá’í Studies was also held immediately preceding the Montreal conference. More than six hundred and fifty Bahá’ís participated, discussing many topics, including Bahá’í contributions to international development. Seven satellite conferences were held in the Bahamas to share the inspiration of the Montreal conference.

In the PACIFIC teaching throughout the islands was undertaken by participants in the Canberra conference travelling to and from Australia. A large contingent from Japan attended the conference, and some remained for a teaching trip in Australia, demonstrating their awareness of the importance of the spiritual axis described by the Guardian and emphasized by the Universal House of Justice in its message to the conference. Forty overseas travel-teachers taught throughout Australia in the five months preceding and following the conference.

THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

Commemorations of the Passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf

The Bahá’í world was filled with awe and love as it became acquainted with, or learned more of, the life of the Greatest Holy Leaf during the commemorations in 1982 of the fiftieth anniversary of her passing. The compilation issued by the Universal House of Justice of Writings about her, the articles devoted to her life which were published in nearly all Bahá’í newsletters and the commemorative meetings held on all five continents inspired the friends to greater dedication and service to the Cause in memory of this immortal heroine of the Bahá’í Dispensation. In addition to the five international conferences and their satellites which were dedicated to her memory, reports were received of forty commemorative events, including several teaching projects.

11. Media Attention Focused on the World Administrative Centre

The persecutions in Iran and the worldwide efforts on behalf of the beleaguered friends in the Cradle of the Faith focused attention on the World Centre in Haifa.

During the five years since the fourth International Convention, visits were made by embassy officials from Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland and the United States, as well as official representatives from the following countries and organizations: Brazil, France, Germany, India, Israel, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, the European Parliament and the World Council of Faiths.

Visits of various national and international media services included the following:

Associated Press

CBC News

BBC-TV London, BBC-TV Wales, BBCTV Scotland

CFHI-TV—Canadian Broadcasting Company

WMAQ-TV—NBC Chicago

RAI Italian Television

SPS Cable-TV Network—San Francisco

Australian Television, ‘60 Minutes’ Programme

[Page 103]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF

WKBW-TV, Buffalo, New York ABC-TV. Los Angeles ‘Eyewitness News’ Yugoslavian National Television

French National Television

German National Television

Newspapers/Magazines: Chicago Sun-Times—U.S.A. Los Angeles Times—U.S.A. The Baltimore Sun—U.S.A. The Age—Melbourne, Australia Le Monde—Paris, France El Pais—Madrid, Spain Suburban Newspapers—Montreal, Canada

CURRENT BAHA‘I’ AC'I‘IVlTlES 103

The Jerusalem Post; Ma’ariv; Ha’aretz; Yidiot Aharonor; Al Hamishmar; K01 Baker; El Al Airlines Inflight Magazine, Israel-Al—Israel

Nuerenberger Nachrichten; Aachen Volkzeitung; Lubek Zeitung—Germany

Politiken; Jyllcmds Posten; Berlingske Tidende—Denmark

Radio: K01 Israel—English, Hebrew, Arabic and French programmes BBC World News

B. WORLD-WIDE OBJECTIVES

l. Mashriqu’l-Atflkér of India

At the beginning of the Seven Year Plan, the Universal House of Justice had approved the design of Mr. Farflmrz Sahba, who was named architect for the House of Worship in India; the foundation stone had been laid by the Hand of the Cause Amatu’l—Baha Ri’ihi’yyih IKhánum on 17 October 1977, and excavation of the area had begun.

On the first day of Riḍván 1980 a construction contract was awarded to one of the largest and best-equipped companies in India. The first concrete was poured on 30 July 1980, and over a period of five months 2,300 cubic metres of concrete were used to make up the foundation. In the next four months forty-five columns that support the podium slab at the basement level were poured. On 9 May 1981 concreting Of the huge 5,000 square metre slab commenced and continued almost around the clock with a labour force of more than 400. The floor, or inner podium, was completed by the end of June, and the outer podium by mid September 1981.

In preparation for the construction of the main entrance arches, 16 metric tons of temporary structural steel staging were fabricated to support each arch. The actual construction of the arches, each containing 105 cubic metres of concrete, began in March of 1982, and the last arch was completed on 27 July. On 3 April the foundation stone and a brick from the Si’yah-gial were embedded in

the crown of the entrance arch which faces ‘Akká.

The preparatory work for the very complicated construction of the external and internal parts of the dome to cover the central auditorium is now under way. Designing the temporary steel staging took two years of consultation and planning. More than 600 metric tons of structural steel have been used in the massive staging work erected on the floor of the Temple, supporting the inner leaves (petals) and the framework of the interior dome, which is to be umbrella—shaped and composed of nine thin hemispheric concrete shells intersecting each other and designed to be the unopened petals of the lotus blossom. In March 1982 a contract was signed with a firm in Italy for 8,000 square metres of white Pentelikon marble for the cladding of the House of Worship.

Of the nine large pools to surround the Temple, two have been completed and filled with water to a depth of one metre, and work on a third pool is in progress. Each pool covers an area of approximately 500 square metres.

The two wings of the ancillary building flanking the main entrance steps of the House of Worship have been completed, providing about 750 square metres of space which will be used for administrative offices, reception rooms, a conference hall and an audio-visual centre, as well as accommodation for the resident manager.

[Page 104]104

An average of 500 workers, men and women, and including about ninety families, have done the bulk of the work, manually. They are provided with living facilities; and a nursery and primary school have been set up at the site to care for and educate the infants and children while their parents are at work. Morale is high, and, aware of the importance of their work, the labourers work with greater diligence and interest than at other projects. An example of this concerns women, who at the peak of the concreting work carried about 71/2 metric tons of concrete in 25 kilogram headloads, walking a total of 22 kilometres back and forth between concrete mixers and forms.

It is gratifying to note the manner in which construction materials, in critically short supply, have become available, and permission has been granted by various government and municipal departments; how suppliers of noncontrolled materials have responded in giving those of a superior quality at rates often below market prices; and how construction has progressed accident-free. The most outstanding achievement was the official exemption from import duty given by three Ministries of India for the marble.

Since it was the expressed desire of the Universal House of Justice for the Bahá’ís of India to contribute a share in construction costs, special Temple coupons Of 1 to 100 rupees each were printed and distributed to Temple Fund representatives in each Bahá’í community. As a result of this effort and a generous outpouring of funds from the friends, twenty—two per cent of the total contributions received has come from India.

2. Mashriqu’l-Adhkár of Samoa

The purchase of the initial plot of Temple site land, situated at an elevation of 1,800 feet overlooking the city of Apia, was completed in November 1975. Since that time additional adjoining lots have been acquired to permit direct access to the Temple from the main road.

At Riḍván 1978 Mr. Husayn Amanat was appointed architect and in September of that year his design for the Temple was approved by the Universal House of Justice. On 27 January 1979, His Highness Malietoa Tanu THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

mafili II laid the foundation stone, and Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum, the representative of the House of Justice, participated by placing in a niche in the stone a small casket of Dust from the Sacred Shrine of Baha’u’llzih. A coloured sound motion picture entitled ‘Blessed Is the Spot‘ recorded the ceremony and the conference which was held in Apia 0n the same week-end.

Soil testing and engineering studies followed and in June 1980 tenders for the construction of the House of Worship were let. A contract was signed with a New Zealand contractor, and a building permit was issued in August. Work on the site started in September. The first concrete was poured for the foundations on 18 December 1980 in the presence of the Malietoa.

The total height of the dome will be 33 metres, and by the end of 1982, 11 metres had already been completed. By March 1983 the dome formworks had been set up, and it was anticipated that the concreting of the dome would be completed by June. It will then be covered with white tiles.The completion date for the entire building is scheduled for Riḍván 1984. The building of the Temple has already made an impact in Samoa, and it is expected to attract even more attention as it nears completion.

3. F irst Dependency of the European Mashriqu’l-Adhkár

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Germany has appointed Mr. Teuto Rocholl, the architect of the Temple in Langenhain, to be the architect for the Home for the Aged which is to be the first dependency of that Temple. Mr. Rocholl has designed some thirty to forty Homes for the Aged in all parts of Germany.

After considering recommendations from the National Spiritual Assembly, the Universal House of Justice has specified that the Bahá’í Home for the Aged should be of the type in which each resident has a private room with a bath, and will receive daily care from the staff. It will have twenty-five beds and, at current prices, it is estimated that the cost of construction will be some DM. 3,500,000, excluding the cost of the site and of connections to utilities.

[Page 105]9

1’ ACTIVITIES 105

INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA

The Hand of the Cause Ugo Giachery viewing the construction of the House of Worship near Apia. Western Samoa; September 1982.

Mr. Suleiman A. Suleimani of Taiwan accepting from His Excellency Lee Teng—Hm', the

Governor of that country, an award honouring his ‘contribution to the religious welfare of the

people of Taiwan’; 28 May 1982. Mr. Suleimani and his late wife, Ridvdhiyyt’h, were the first Bahd'z’ pioneers to Taiwan, settling in the southern port city of Tainan in 1954.

[Page 106]106

4. New Territories and Islands Opened t0 the Faith

The light of Bahá’u’lláh continues to spread to new territories and islands, as called for in the Seven Year Plan. More than fifteen islands have been opened to the Faith since the Plan began, and in order to establish what progress has been made in opening territories 0n the homefront, a major effort to determine the precise distribution of Bahá’í’s across the globe has been undertaken by the Statistics Department. In consultation with National Spiritual Assemblies, the major civil divisions

THE BAHA’

I’WORLD

inside each country (such as provinces or states) were ascertained, and these were incorporated into the reports sent by each community to the World Centre. The more detailed information that has been thus obtained has revealed how close the followers of Bahá’u’lláh have come to covering the earth with His Message: there are 2,315 civil areas within the homefronts of the 129 National Spiritual Assemblies which are able to report regularly; of these only 223 are not opened to the Faith. The locations of these civil areas, both opened and unopened, are given in the following table.

Africa Americas Asia Australasia Europe Total National Assemblies reporting regularly 35 35 25 15 19 129 Total civil areas 532 630 409 234 366 2,171 Opened civil areas 464 610 332 216 327 1,949 National Assemblies with unopened civil areas 12 6 15 8 11 52 Unopened civil areas 68 20 77 18 40 223

Seventy-eight National Spiritual Assemblies have opened all the civil areas under their jurisdiction. These National Spiritual Assemblies are as follows:

Africa (22)

Benin, Bophuthatswana, Botswana, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Togo, Transkei, Upper Volta, Zambia, Zaire and Zimbabwe.

The Americas (29)

Argentina, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Antilles, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trini dad and Tobago, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela and the Windward Islands. Asia (I I )

Jordan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia (East and West), Lebanon, Philippines, Qatar, Sikkim, Singapore, Taiwan and United Arab Emirates.

Australasia (7)

Australia, Caroline Islands, Hawaiian Islands, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Tonga.

Europe (9)

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands and the United Kingdom.

During the Seven Year Plan the following islands have been opened, listed according to National Spiritual Assembly jurisdiction:

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National Assembly

The Americas: Brazil

Dominican Republic

French Antilles Nicaragua

Asia: Singapore

Australia

Caroline Islands Caroline Islands Mariana Islands

Australasia:

Papua New Guinea

Greece Norway

Europe:

107 Area Opened

Banana] Island Saona Island Desirade Island Corn Island

Bukum Island

Flinders Island

Ulul Island

Kayangel Island

Every major island D‘Entrecasteaux Islands

Tinos Island of the Cyclades One of the Lofoten Islands

5. New National Spiritual Assemblies to be Established

Natiorial Assemblies at the beginning of the Plan in 1979 125 National Assemblies to be formed during the Seven Year Plan 22 Total 147 National Assemblies Established through Rigvén 1983 Africa: Bophuthatswana 1981 South West Africa/Namibia 1981 Transkei 1980 The Americas: Bermuda 1981 Dominica 1983 Leeward Islands 1981 St. Lucia 1983 St. Vincent and Grenada 1983 Australasia: Tuvalu 1981 Supplementary Achievements Africa: Uganda (re-established) 1981 Asia: Nepal (re-established) 1982

6. Legal Status of the Faith

Although few specific goals of this type were assigned during the Seven Year Plan, progress on this vital front continues on many levels and in many forms.

Among the most important legal recognitions of the independent status of the Faith was a constitutional amendment in Pakistan (8 April 1981), naming the Bahá’í Faith specifically among the non—Muslim faiths of the country; this was preceded by a letter from the Ministry for Religious Affairs declaring the Faith a religious ‘minority’ among ‘other non-Muslims’. Other important general re cognition Of the status of the Faith includes authorization in at least two countries for change of identity cards to show ‘Bahá’í’ rather than ‘Muslim’ as the religion of the individual. Other specific forms of recognition are outlined below.

A. National Spiritual Assembly Incorporation

During this period the Universal House of Justice has clarified the conditions under which this goal is considered achieved. The minimum requirements are that the Assembly be accorded the status of an independent legal personality able to sue and be sued, to enter into contracts, and to hold title to property

[Page 108]108

both real and personal. Insofar as legally possible. the incorporation document should also embody the provisions of the Bahá’í national or local constitution, as expressed in the model Declaration of Trust and By-Laws, and should not contain any provision contrary to Bahá’í administrative principles.

Documents now on file at the World Centre confirm this achievement for a total of seventy National Spiritual Assemblies: twenty~two in Africa, twenty-four in the Americas, seven in Asia, eight in Australasia and nine in Europe. Several other Assemblies, although not completing all the requirements above. have achieved all that is legally possible in their countries. In several other instances. the information now available at the World Centre is insufficient to determine whether or not all conditions established by the House of Justice have been met; inquiries into these cases are continuing.

During the Seven Year Plan to date, the following national incorporation goals have been assigned. The legal processes necessary for their fulfilment are often time-eonsuming; the present status is as follows:

(A = Achieved, IP = In Process)

Africa Bophuthatswana Ethiopia IP S.W. Africa/Namibia A ( 8/82) Transkei A (10/80) SUPPLEMENTAL. ACHIEVEMENT: Sierra Leone A ( 4/81) Australasia Tuvalu IP The Americas The Bahamas IP Bermuda IP Leeward Islands IP Europe Austria IP

In addition, the National Spiritual Assembly of Uganda is reported to have been ‘reregistered’ with the new government there; active efforts towards the fulfilment of this important legal status continue in all other countries where it is legally feasible.

Among important Local Spiritual Assembly

THE Bahá’í’ WORLD

incorporations achieved during this period are those of Grenada, where a legislative act has provided incorporation for all present and future Local Assemblies; of St; Vincent and the Grenadines. also by legislative act; of Cayenne in French Guiana; and of Macau. The Local Spiritual Assembly of Addis Ababa has also recently been re-registered with the High Court of Ethiopia.

B. Recognition of Bahá’í Marriage

During this period the Universal House of Justice has redefined what is meant by this goal, as follows:

Recognition of Bahá’í marriage occurs when Bahá’í authority to conduct and to certify marriages is legal; stated in another way, recognition is attained when a Bahá’í or Bahá’ís, as representative(s) of the Faith, is/are empowered to conduct and certify a legally valid marriage, whether the Bahá’í ceremony is legally sufficient or not.

(In some countries this is already possible under existing law, whether or not specific reference is made to the name of the Faith.) Records at the World Centre reflect such recognition in at least 45 countries, of which the following have been achieved during this Plan:

Africa: Mauritius Recognition Achieved 1/1/82

The Americas:

Haiti Recognition Achieved 7/5/80 Panama Recognition Regained 1/1/83 Asia:

Malaysia Recognition Achieved 1/3/82

C . Recognition of Bahá’í’ Holy Days

The conditions under which this goal is considered fulfilled have recently been clarified by the Universal House of Justice, as follows:

We should consider the status of recognition of Bahá’í Holy Days as achieved when a government department or office issues a document stating that on one or more of the Bahá’í Holy Days Bahá’í employees have the right to be excused from work, and/or Bahá’í students are permitted to absent themselves from school,

[Page 109]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA’I/ ACTIVITIES

and/or institutions owned and entirely controlled by Bahá’í’s may close on the nine specified days . . 4

In some countries this has been achieved on a national basis, in others on a state or provincial or regional basis, and in others by local or district school boards or local governments. In most instances the permission applies to schoolchildren, although in a few cases government employees are entitled to be absent while schoolchildren are not. In other cases, students or employees have been permitted to absent themselves from school or work without penalty, although there is no official documentation of this right. Efforts continue toward clarification of this question in many countries for which World Centre records are still incomplete.

Specific achievements of the Seven Year Plan to date include the following:

Africa Zimbabwe 26/10/82 Two Holy Days (as for other Faiths) permitted teachers in government schools (Ministry of Education)

The Americas Chile (28/9/81) Bahá’í School ‘Colegio Nur’ is authorized to close on Bahá’í Holy Days if legallyrequired number of school days is met

United States

(5/5/82)

State of New Jersey Department of Education letter to school superintendents and administrators provides list of Holy Days (including 7 Bahá’í Holy Days) on which it is mandatory that students be excused if requested

Australasia Hawaiian Islands (23/6/81) Legislative act permitting excused absences for all non-Christian pupils to observe their Holy Days (passed by legislature after intense public indignation at refusal of school board to permit excused rather than unexcused absences for Bahá’í children)

109

Europe England (12/7/82) Brent Local District Council permits Bahá’í teachers two Holy Days off with pay (same number as for teachers of other faiths)

Republic of Ireland

(16/10/81)

Nationally funded school adopts 12 November as holiday for entire school; a second school will do so in 1983.

D. Miscellaneous Recognition

Less direct but equally interesting forms of recognition of the Faith are many and various, and are also increasing in number and frequency. The following selected examples will give an idea of the variety of types of recognition achieved since Riḍván 1979. Africa

In Zaire, the Shaba State Protocol Office has accepted that the Bahá’í Faith be represented during all the official meetings, as are representatives of other faiths; and in Liberia, the Ministry of Information has requested the designation of Bahá’í representatives to the National Workshop on Religion.

The Americas

In Brazil, the Mayor of the city of Belo Horizonte has signed a decree designating an annual Bahá’í week, to be included by the Municipal Cultural Secretary in the annual official calendar. In Canada, the Faith has been granted non-governmental organization status with the Canadian International Development Agency, enabling co-operation and funding of many community service projects sponsored by Bahá’í institutions world—wide. Several interesting assignments have been given to US. Bahá’í representatives to the United Nations, and in 1982 the American Bahá’í community was honoured by the United States Committee for UNICEF for service to the world’s children.

Asia

In India the government officials responsible for all public libraries in each of three states have listed designated Bahá’í books for purchase by all libraries under their jurisdiction, while in Laos permission has been granted for the Bahá’ís to meet for Holy Days .

[Page 110]110

and Nineteen Day Feasts without having to obtain special permission each time‘ as generally required.

Australasia

In Kiribati the Ministry of Health and Community Affairs approached the Bahá’ís, requesting them to nominate a candidate for a Commonwealth Youth Study Fellowship.

Europe

The very interesting recognition of the Faith in certain publicly-funded schools in Ireland has been outlined above. Also in Ireland. Bahá’í children are excused from classes in Christian religious education and permitted instead to have instruction in their own Faith during those hours, and various exemptions governing such things as the form of letterheads have been granted to incorporated Assemblies there. In the United Kingdom three Bahá’í’s now serve on the Religious Education Council, and two others on the Executive Committee of the World Congress of Faiths; and Bahá’í’ viewpoints were included in the 1979 Standing Conference on Inter-Faith Dialogue in Education.

In addition, numerous exemptions from taxes, rates, and customs duties have also been reported during this period, some representing one-time exemptions on particular items or properties, and others representing general exemption.

7. New Properties (A = Achieved; IP = In Process)

TEMPLE SITES

Africa

Bophuthatswana IP Burundi IP Cape Verde Islands 1? Equatorial Guinea 1? Somalia IP S.W. Africa/Namibia IP Transkei A Australasia

Tuvalu IP Tonga 1? NATIONAL nAzl’RATU’L-QUDS Africa

Bophuthatswana IF

THE BAHA‘I’ WORLD

Burundi

Cape Verde Islands Equatorial Guinea Gabon

Somalia

S.W. Africa/Namibia Transkei

The Americas Bermuda Dominica Grenada Leeward Islands St. Lucia

A ustralasia Tuvalu

Europe France Ireland

NATIONAL ENDOWMENTS A frica

Bophuthatswana Burundi

Cape Verde Islands Equatorial Guinea Somalia

Transkei

The Americas Bermuda Asia

Nepal Australasia

Tuvalu Tonga

DISTRICT IjAszATU’L-QUDS

Africa Benin 2 Burundi Cameroon Rep. Ethiopia

The Gambia Ghana

Ivory Coast Liberia

Guinea

Mali

Nigeria

Senegal

HWHHNNWHWWH

Goal

1? IP IP IP IP IP IP IP IP IP IP IP

IP IP IP

IF A*

A:I< IP IP IP IP

AT AT

1?

IP

IP IP

IP

IP

IP IP

• By conversion of local Hazirutu'l-Quds

[Page 111]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHAqI, ACTIVITIES

111

Seychelles 3 IP Nicaragua 1 A Sierra Leone 1 IP Peru 3 IP Tanzania 1 IP Suriname & Togo 1 IP French Guiana 2 IP Za'ire 3 IP Trinidad & Tobago 1 1? Zambia 2 1? Venezuela 1? Zimbabwe 3 IP The Americas A31“ Argentina 1 [P Bangladesh 2 IP Brazil 6 IP Burma 1 IP Colombia 2 IP Nepal 1 IP Costa Rica 1 A Sikkim 2 1}) Guyana 1 IP Guatemala 2 [P Australasia Honduras 1 11’ Caroline Is. 3 IP Leeward Is. 1 [P Samoa 1 1}) Mexico 1 IP Tonga 3 IP LOCAL nAzi’RATU‘L—QUDS Number of additions during the Seven Year Plan: Africa Americas Asia Australasia TOTAL

Buildings 45 16 12 8 81

Lands 8 13 5 — 26

Rented Centres 3 1 1 — 5

M08] LE INSTITUTES

A frica

Central African Republic IP Chad IP Malawi IP Mauritius 1P Rwanda IP Tanzania A Transkei IP Uganda IP Zimbabwe IP

8. Radio Stations

The establishment of three new radio stations in South America is a goal of the Seven Year Plan and this goal is close to being won.

1. ‘Radio Bahá’í’ del Lago Titicaca‘ with its transmitter and studio in Chucuito near Puno, Peru, began broadcasting on 26 November 1981; its associated teaching institute was completed for use soon thereafter, going immediately into intensive service. At present the 1 kw. medium—wave station is reported to be broadcasting ten

hours per day in the Spanish, Quechua and Aymarei languages.

.In January 1983 a presidential decree

allocated a medium-wave radio frequency to the National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia for Caracollo, near Oruro, to become ‘Radio Bahá’í of Bolivia’. Construction of the new 1 kw. station and its associated. teaching institute are scheduled for completion in January 1984 and for inauguration at Naw—Rl’lz. A country-wide radio production and broadcasting programme was under way in 1983 as prelude to opening of the station.

. The National Spiritual Assembly of Chile

was denied a frequency for technical reasons, and is now seeking some resolution of their plan for a station at La Branza, near Temuco, in the country of the Mapuche Indians, where already it has acquired land and laid foundations for a station complex.

. In December 1982 the National Spiritual

Assembly of the United States received its construction permit for a 50 kw. FM station, to be completed in early 1984 at the Louis Gregory Institute in Hemingway,

[Page 112]112

South Carolina. Broadcasts are to reach and deepen the Bahá’í population of eastern and central South Carolina where there is the largest concentration of believers in the United States.

5. The first Bahá’í station, ‘Radio Babe“ of Ecuador”. has recently received a far more favourable short-wave frequency, and has also been expanding its public service role in agriculture, health and general culture. It is also upgrading its medium wave transmission power to 3 kw. and broadening its Bahá’í programming.

6. The National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil was denied application for a‘frequency in the vicinity of Bahia, but is seeking another frequency.

7. The National Spiritual Assembly of Panama is actively developing a radio station project in the Chiríqui area of western Panama as part of the Guaymi Educational Centre complex at Soloy.The station is anticipated to be broadcasting by mid-1984.

9. Publishing Trusts

Goals of the Plan to date have included establishment of three new Publishing Trusts, in the Ivory Coast, Kenya and Nigeria; resumption of functioning of the Publishing Trust of Uganda; further development of the Publishing Trusts of Belgium, Fiji and Lebanon; and development of regional publishing units in Zaire; and translation, publication and dissemination of literature, newsletters. correspondence courses, child education and audio-visual materials in regional languages through the State Teaching Committees of India. Significant progress has been made toward all these goals.

New Trusts

Although the Ivory Coast. Kenya and Nigeria are still functioning as national Publishing Committees, various steps are under way to establish each as a Publishing Trust. All three have produced their first publications, and it is reported that Kenya has obtained necessary equipment and that an operator has been hired and trained.

Resumption of Trust Activities in Uganda The first meeting of the reconstituted Pub THE BAHA‘l’ WORLD

lishing Trust Committee took place' in July 1981, although small-scale supply operations had resumed as early as November 1979.

Further Development of the Trusts of Belgium, Fiji and Lebanon

The valuable services of all three of these Trusts, which are major sources for the Bahá’í world of literature in French, in the languages of the islands of the Pacific and in Arabic, respectively, continue and are increasing in both quantity and quality.

Regional Publishing Activity in Zai're and India

Decentralization of publishing activity has met with enthusiasm in both of these countries with polyglot populations, and a flow of literature in local languages from regional or state committees has already begun. Since the assignment of this goal at the beginning of the second phase, regional committees in Zaire have produced at least thirty titles in ten languages; and in India State Teaching Committees have produced at least forty-one titles in twelve languages.

10. Translation and Publication Achievements A. General

Among the fundamental goals of the Seven Year Plan is that of providing every believer with portions of the Holy Texts in his or her language and to expand the range and availability of literature in as many languages as possible. Understanding of the importance of this goal is reflected in the steadily increasing flow of reports from an ever greater number of countries, announcing new translations, publications, original materials and reprints in both native and world languages. Of special interest in this regard is the number of reports from certain countries of translations made in the villages by local believers for their own use; some of these reports have reached the World Centre only some years after the achievement.

Also increasing is the number of reports reflecting co-operation between two or more National Assemblies in the translation and production of literature, and the reprinting of literature no longer available from the country

[Page 113]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA’I’ ACTIVITIES

of origin, in languages such as Lao, Vietnamese and Persian.

The total number of languages, dialects and scripts into which some Bahá’í literature (although not necessarily Scripture) has been translated has now reached a minimum of 726, of which at least 568 have been published, or reproduced in some form and made available to believers and/or to the public. This number includes two invented languages (Esperanto and Interlingua), and Braille script for use by the blind in eight different languages, including Japanese, Esperanto and Amharic. The range of literature available in each language varies from a single prayer or pamphlet to extensive libraries of titles; original, locally written materials are also appearing in an increasing number of languages.

1 13 B. Literature for Children

Provision of literature specifically for children was a goal assigned to twelve National Assemblies, the first time that this particular emphasis has been so widely assigned. Many additional communities have also felt the need for such materials for their children, as indicated by the figures in the table below, which includes colouring books and materials produced for children’s classes, but not lesson plans. In one case the lesson materials have been taped.

Titles originally produced in English are being widely translated, but many original items are also appearing in a variety of languages. Especially noteworthy are the achievements of Mexico, where six titles in Spanish

A selection of newsletters in various languages published specifically for children in the

past five years. National communities represented above are: Nigeria (English), Greece.

(Greek), Italy (Italian), South & West Africa (Afrikaans/English), Iceland (Icelandic),

Japan (Japanese), U.S.A. (English), Hawaii (English), Venezuela (Spanish), Swaziland

(Englllsh/Swahili), Ethiopia (Tigrigna), Norway (Norwegian), Netherlands (Dutch), India (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu).

[Page 114]114

. mm umuz

THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

”m 6nwmga

A ”“2”":

a 77mm

\W )R'H: (1)111;S

Some of the published versions of Words of God, a compilation prepared at the

World Centre from the Writings of the Central Figures of the Bahá’í Faith. Shown

above are editions in: Aymarci. Quechua, Spanish, Luba. Afrikaans, Xhosa, Hindi, Gujarati, Swahili, English, German, French and Ponapean.

have been produced in two years; and the Netherlands, where at least eleven, and perhaps more, of the twenty—six titles now listed for children have been produced during this Plan. In addition at least five magazines for children have begun publication during this period, one of which, Varqd, appears in five languages. The total number of languages in which at least one item has been prepared specifically for children has now reached at least sixty-four, including German Braille.

C . Sacred Texts

To assist Assemblies in making the Sacred Word available to all believers, two compilations of prayers and other selections from the Holy Texts were supplied to National Spiritual Assemblies by the Universal House of Justice. The first of these, a compilation of extracts from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Bab and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was sent in October 1979; portions of that compilation have been translated into various languages for circulation among the friends, and other such translations are in process. A smaller compilation of short prayers and other brief selections from the Writings was sent in September 1981 under the title Words of God. This

second compilation has so far been published in thirty-seven editions in twenty-seven languages in twenty-one countries; an additional twenty—three languages in seventeen countries have been translated but not yet published, and at least twenty-two more are in process. Similar small compilations under other titles are also available in at least twentyfour languages, of which at least eighteen are different from those in which Words of God has so far appeared. In addition The Hidden Words is also now available in more than ninety languages.

D. Audio- Visual Materials

A special aspect of the objective, cited above, of enabling every believer to have some portion of the Sacred Text available in his native tongue, is the provision of such texts in taped or recorded form. Increasingly extensive goals have been assigned for provision of tape-recorded prayers and extracts from the Holy Texts, as well as for production of other audio-visual materials, for use both in deepening new believers and in introducing the Faith to the public.

While certain Assemblies have provided the believers with such materials in the past, goals

[Page 115]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA’I/ ACTIVITIES

concerning them have been extensively assigned for the first time during this Plan.

Production of such materials requires not only professional expertise, but also access to specialized facilities and equipment. These factors, when combined with the newness of the goals for many of the Assemblies to which they are now assigned, have resulted in many reports to the World Centre of projects not yet completed. However, Assemblies reporting particularly extensive achievements so far include the following:

Africa

THE CAMEROONS: taped prayers and introductions t0 the Faith in Gbaya, Bamoun, Bulu, Ewondo and Duala, with others in process.

NIGERIA: taped prayers, Hidden Words, and songs in Hausa, Igbo. Yoruba, English and Tiv; filmstrip commentary translated into Hausa.

SOUTHWEST AFRICA/NAMIBIA: deepening materials in process in five local languages.

UPPER VOLTAZ tapes in Lyéle’, Nankanse and Gourmantche.

The Americas

ARGENTINA: audio-visual materials for child education, as well as taped extracts and prayers in Mapuche, Mataco and Toba.

BELIZE: tapes in Island Carib (Garifuna), Kekchi and Mopan (Maya).

BOLIVIA: an extensive list of tapes and deepening materials in Quechua, Aymaré and Spanish, including cassettes for children and radio tapes.

CANADA: films, videotapes, programming for cable television.

GUATEMALA: tapes in Cakchiquel and Mam.

PANAMA: tapes in Guaymi and Cuna.

UNITED STATES: videotapes in Chinese and Persian; TV programmes in Chinese and Spanish; filmstrip commentaries translated into Chinese, Laotian and Spanish; radio tapes, radio series, programming for cable TV and widely distributed cassette deepening tapes in English.

VENEZUELA: radio tapes in Guajiro and Spanish.

Asia MALAYSIA: an extensive list of taped ma 115

terials in Chinese, English, Tamil, Bidayuh and lban languages.

Australasia

CAROLINE ISLANDS: two and a half hours of deepening tapes in Ponapean, with other languages in process.

VANUATU: correspondence courses on tape being developed in Bislama and Lenakel.

Europe

SPAIN: extensive taping programme including thirty-six proclamation and teaching cassettes for radio use.

In addition a special Committee for Service to the Blind, located in the United Kingdom, is a clearing house and production and distribution centre for materials both on tape and in Braille; and CIRBAL (Centro para Intercambio Radiofonico Bahá’í de América Latina), among its other functions. serves as a clearing house for tapes, videotapes, script and other materials suitable for use Via radio and television.

Several other Assemblies have reported initial achievements on a lesser scale, and many projects in many languages are still in process.

E . Correspondence Courses

Correspondence courses were assigned as goals to thirty-one National Assemblies during the first phase, and were so successful that in the second phase this goal was reaffirmed for twenty-six Assemblies and extended to thirty-nine more, for a total of sixty-five. Many Assemblies to which the goal was not specifically assigned also report correspondence courses in use.

One hundred and forty courses in thirty-four languages are reported in use for inquirers, for deepening new believers, for those desirous of more advanced study, for women, for children, for youth, for parents, for Local Spiritual Assembly members and for Auxiliary Board assistants. This is a field in which interAssembly co-operation has been especially fruitful; several Assemblies report that they are using course materials developed in other countries, sometimes in other parts of the world, whether in the original form or translated or adapted. Especially noteworthy are

[Page 116]116

reports from India, where courses are now available in ten languages; from Malaysia, which lists three courses in Chinese, two in Iban, one in Malay, two in Tamil and five in English, of which one is especially for children; and from Togo, which reports three series totalling fourteen courses, with others under development.

In some cases special types of courses were called for by the goals. For example, the following countries have been called upon to develop courses especially for children: (Africa) Nigeria, Senegal, Togo; (The Americas) Brazil, Chile; (Asia) Malaysia. Of these, to date, Malaysia has reported a course for children developed in English, with additional lessons to be prepared in Malay.

1]. Efficient Functioning of National Spiritual Assemblies

National Spiritual Assemblies have distinguished themselves in their courageous and audacious defence of the Bahá’ís in Iran; the attainment of financial self—sufficiency has been another heroic achievement. The efforts to foster an awareness among the friends Of their responsibility for the growth of the Faith, to raise up self—supporting pioneers and travel-teachers, and other teaching initiatives described in a later section are further evidence of the growing independence of National Spiritual Assemblies.

A. F inancial Self-Sufficiency

Commendable efforts have been made by most National Assemblies to become increasingly independent of the International Funds of the Faith, and a fair number have achieved total self—sufficiency.

12. Public Relations A. Cordial Relations

Astonishing success was achieved in the area of fostering cordial relations with prominent people, especially through the Bahá’ís’ efforts to enlist the help of their governments in alleviating the suffering of the Bahá’ís in Iran. Seventy National Spiritual Assemblies developed systematic programmes to promote cordial relations with authorities, and ninetyfour reported some activities. Bahá’í dele THE BAHA’I’ WORLD

gations in twenty—seven countries met with thirty-five Heads of State or Government, and twenty-one National Spiritual Assemblies reported making contact with all members of parliament or all the ministers of the government. Large numbers of federal and provincial ministers, other authorities, and prominent individuals in eighty-three countries received Bahá’í delegations or information about the Faith.

Appreciation of the Faith among the leaders of the world is growing, as is evidenced by 3 Prime Minister who advised his government to receive the Bahá’ís and listen to them, another government’s request for Bahá’í prayers to be read in a Cabinet meeting, and a UN official who remarked that wherever he was posted the Bahá’ís were always the first to welcome him and offer their assistance.

B. Use ofMedia

Proclamation of the Faith in the mass media has reached unprecedented levels as a result of the suffering of the Bahá’ís in Iran. In the Seven Year Plan to date, publicity of the Faith has been reported by ninety—five Assemblies, including television coverage -in fifty-three countries, radio coverage in eighty—four and press reports in eighty—two countries.

The opening years of the Seven Year Plan have also been characterized by a great initiative by Bahá’í communities to exploit every available media opportunity. Bahá’ís in many countries have taught themselves to use the mass media in seminars and workshops, some of them conducted or assisted by media professionals who became interested in the Faith. At least ten Bahá’í communities in Canada showed regular cable TV programmes during the first phase. In Norway the Bahá’ís were the first independent group to produce a radio programme after a new law allowed this, an accomplishment which in itself produced substantial publicity for their community and the Faith. In the United States a recorded telephone message of the most recent Bahá’í news developments is used by local media representatives to write timely articles for their local papers; more than 1500 have been published there during the second phase,

Regular radio programmes were reported by a number of National Assemblies: five in

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Africa, seventeen in the Americas, two in Asia, five in Australasia and one in Europe. One National Assembly in Africa, five in the Americas and two in Europe reported regular television programmes.

The media have increasingly been used for the consolidation and spiritual enrichment of the Bahá’í community as well. A new practice is the use of national radio and newspapers to remind the far‘flung and inexperienced Bahá’í communities to observe Holy Days and other events. As a result of vigorous efforts by the Bahá’ís, All—India Radio now announces every Bahá’í Holy Day and special events. Some communities broadcast morning and evening devotions; many use frequent short radio announcements for teaching. Regular Bahá’í programmes on commercial or public radio, several of them in indigenous languages, are broadcast in thirty countries, and regular Bahá’í television programmes in eight.

For more than ten consecutive years words of Bahá’u’lláh have been raised from the midmost heart of the ocean in weekly radio and television programmes in the Dutch Antilles, now under the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Leeward Islands. The weekly Bahá’í programme on Radio Jamaica, now in its seventh year, attracts seventy-nine per cent of radio listeners, according to the station authorities. A report from the Central African Republic, where the Bahá’ís have aired a weekly radio progamme for ten years, shows the effectiveness of these programmes. Bahá’ís marching in an Independence Day Parade under a Bahá’í banner were greeted by the crowd of 25,000 with the Bahá’í radio show theme song, and shouts of ‘La Foi Bahá’í”; and as the Bahá’í’s marched past the Presidential box, the President and Government Ministers gave them special applause.

Bahá’í utilization of radio in the Americas is being assisted by CIRBAL, the agency which provides information, training and a distribution service for scripts and tapes for use principally in South and Central America and the Caribbean. Radio training workshops have been held in four countries, and Puerto Rico holds two or three annually. Many communities in Latin America have established their own recording facilities with the assistance of CIRBAL.

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13. Education] A. Bahá’í’Education of Children

The challenging goal of providing Bahá’í education for every Bahá’í child has received the devoted attention of believers around the world. Four hundred and thirty—seven institutes for training children’s teachers have been held by sixty-six National Spiritual Assemblies. Fourteen communities in the Americas now hold annual education seminars. Sixty National Spiritual Assemblies have reported developing new lesson plans for children during the Plan and the most recent reports indicate that thirty-three national communities have children’s classes in over half of their Local Spiritual Assembly areas.

A report from the Ivory Coast refers to classes in their fifth consecutive year, and describes villages where most children have memorized prayers, as well as a locality where all children, including non—Bahá’ís, attend the Bahá’í classes held in the school. Several communities provide Bahá’í education during school periods set aside for religious instruction, a trend which should increase as Bahá’ís succeed in familiarizing education authorities with the Faith. _

One hundred and twenty-six children’s schools, camps or conferences have been held during the first half of the Plan. At least fourteen communities publish Bahá’í children’s magazines, and others produce children’s pages in their national newsletters.

By Riḍván 1983 the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies holding children’s classes on a regular basis was in excess of three thousand.

B. Tutorial Schools

In summarizing the present world—wide endeavour to establish tutorial schools (usually non—formal village schools, often with a single teacher), it is clear that records and reports are incomplete. Nevertheless, the schools are playing an increasing role in the development of the Faith in many areas.

At the outset of the Seven Year Plan the goal of encouraging the establishment of tutorial schools was given to 'thirty-three

' See ‘The Development of Bahá’í Schools during the Seven Year Plan‘, p. 207.

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national Spiritual Assemblies, nineteen of which were in Africa. At the opening of the second phase of the Plan, the number of National Assemblies with this goal was raised to forty-one, and thirteen of these were given specific numbers of schools to establish.

At the end of the first phase about eighty tutorial schools were reported to be in operation.

By the end of the second phase one hundred and forty-three tutorial schools have been reported. In Asia these included: India fifty-two, Bangladesh eight, Philippines eight

A frica Americas

Tutorial schools

now functioning: 38 35

C . Academic Schools

Bahá’í academic educational programmes have been increasing during the Plan, but many have their roots in past Plans, for schools are by their nature slow-growing institutions of the Cause. Such schools are needed primarily in less-developed rural areas where large Bahá’í’ populations reside. The years of the Seven Year Plan have been characterized by the spontaneous and burgeoning interest in academic schooling, usually coupled with Bahá’í’ instruction for the students. A few countries have been active in the development of academic schools, and others have hopes and plans.

Academic schools as a goal of the Cause stem from the encouragement given by the Master to the believers in Trén and in ‘Ishqábád, Russian Turkestan, to organize schools for boys and girls.

India

The long-established New Era School in Panchgani, Maharashtra State, an international school of increasing stature, has expanded during this Plan by adding a Youth Academy and an Institute of Rural Technology, and is now developing plans for a College. A preschool, primary and secondary schools and a small Junior College are in operation; vocational training is under way in the Rural Development project and Institute. Bahá’í’ education is furthered through an associated Youth Academy.

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and Pakistan one. In Africa Zaire’s primary school programme failed to produce the desired effects, hence educational centres have replaced them, and nineteen are now reported. Also in Africa the Cameroon Republic has two tutorial schools, Central African Republic two, Lesotho three, Liberia one, Rwanda six, Senegal one, Togo two and Zambia two. In the Americas Brazil has three, Chile three, Colombia twelve, Panama eleven, Paraguay five and Venezuela one. In Australasia Vanuata has one tutorial school.

Asia Australasia Europe Total

69 1 — 143

The Rabbam’ School, a Higher Secondary School for village boys in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, has been growing steadily. It graduated its first standard XI class in 1983, the village boys already excelling in the competitive provincial examinations. Physical facilities, staff and curriculum have been supplemented and improved; extension services are being inaugurated, and the self—help and scholastic programmes are expanding. A small primary school for the staff has been initiated.

A number of smaller schools have arisen, such as the Glory English School and the Shoghi Children’s Convent in Andrha Pradesh. Private schools owned and run by Bahá’ís, operating on Bahá’í principles, have been organized in a number of places: the Glory School in Santineketan, West Bengal, conducts pre-school classes; the Jaigeon School on the border of Bhutan is a primary school.

Uganda

Two primary schools in Tilling and Odusai, Uganda, established long years ago, are now administered by the Ugandan authorities, but the physical properties are owned by the Faith.

Sikkim

The Tadong School in Gangtok continues to grow, with pre—primary and primary schools in operation up to standard VI. The school plans to open one standard each year until a secondary school is established.

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Thailand

The Santitham School in Yasothon, established in 1963. has recently been rebuilt to better accommodate its pre-primary and primary school students. A commercial school has begun to function, and a secondary school is to be opened in the new facilities.

Pakistan

The New Day Montessori School in Karachi is adding a standard each year and will expand through standard V; standard III opened in 1983.

Indonesia

In Padang, the Bahá’í .Hostels accommodate children, principally from the Mentawei Islands, who are taught crafts, given housing and Bahá’í education, and who also attend local public schools.

Haiti

The Am’s Zumizz’ School in Lilavois. near Port-au-Prince. began its first Classes in 1980. and now conducts a primary school for rural children. Vocational and extension services are being developed for village education.

Chile

Colegio Ndr in La Cisterna, a suburb of Santiago, is a Bahá’í-owned and Bahá’íadministered state-supported school, begun in 1977. It has a pre—school, primary and secondary school classes. The school’s initiative and self-help programmes are impressive.

Near Temuco, two small country primary schools have been built by the friends to serve the Mapuche Indian Bahá’ís: the Faizi School in Loncopulle and the Muhájir School in Bollilco. These schools have exemplary Bahá’í staffs and are actively growing in both student numbers and physical facilities.

United States

In October 1982 a $1,900,000 reconstruction of the Louhelen School near Davison, Michigan, was completed. This reopening of the school, which began with modest classes in 1931, is an important step in the evolution of Bahá’í academic schools in the United States. The new facility is currently used for summer schools, institutes and conferences; eventually it will become a year-round academic

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school. This development brings closer to fruition the prediction of the Guardian that Louhelen had the potential to ‘gradually develop into a true cultural and educational

Bahá’í centre”.

D. Subjects Related to Universities and Schools’

The efforts to include the Bahá’í Faith. in the curricula of universities and schools are gaining momentum through several major achievements and the persistent efforts of many Bahá’í communities around the world. One important accomplishment is the production of a college textbook on the Faith in Canada, which will soon be published in English and French. The publication in Britain of two secondary-level textbooksThe Bahá’í Faith and Eight Major Religions in Britain, which contains an excellent Bahá’í section—has assured the inclusion of the Faith in Religious Studies courses in the United Kingdom, and has given a great impetus to efforts in other parts of the world. In India the Bahá’ís have been requested to conduct moral education classes in the government schools of Orissa State. In Chile the National Spiritual Assembly is continuing to develop a curriculum for teaching the Faith in government schools, following conditions set down by the Ministry of Education. In Iceland the Bahá’ís established cordial relations with the Course Director for Religious Studies for the Icelandic schools system, and in Australia a proposed Bahá’í curriculum was submitted to the South Australian State Schools Religious Studies Committee.

Courses on or including the Bahá’í Faith have been taught at several universities in Canada, the United States, Alaska and Hawaii, as well as in Kenya, Nigeria and some other countries. The number of such courses will undoubtedly increase as a result of the vigorous teaching activities carried out in schools and universities during the Seven Year Plan. Among the many efforts all over the world the National Spiritual Assembly of Brazil prepared a letter to educators which Bahá’í students distributed to their teachers during Education Month, and several com ' See articles beginning on p 194: ‘Thc Association for Bahá’í Studies'. ‘Bahá’í Scholarship in Australia’ and ‘Bahá’í Studies Seminars at the University of Lancaster‘t

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Bahá’í mobile medical camp which extends medical aid to tribalpeoples in India. This team is working among members of the Dang tribe.

Some participants in the Scottish Summer School held at Glengonnak Camp, Abington; 1982.

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munities including Puerto Rico conducted essay contests for students. A network of 257 Bahá’í college clubs is in the forefront of teaching work in the United States, and the number of these clubs is increasing around the world.

The Association for Bahá’í Studies, founded by the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada during the Five Year Plan, has extended its activities to the United States, Australia and Europe, and continues to develop its ability to foster Bahá’í scholarship and introduce the Faith into university courses. A West African Centre for Bahá’í Studies, formed in 1983 in Nigeria, has similar goals and great potential for attracting Africans to the Faith.

14. Community Development

The development of Local Spiritual Assemblies and the consolidation of local Bahá’í communities have been at the heart of the Seven Year Plan. Great efforts and remarkable progress have been made; the quality of local Bahá’í life is changing perceptibly in all parts of the world. Many endeavours have contributed to the successful achievement of this goal: spiritual enrichment activities; efforts to strengthen Local Assemblies; the dramatic increase in activities for Bahá’í families, women and youth; and the growing frequency and accessibility of summer/winter schools.

Almost all National Spiritual Assemblies, 114 in total, have reported nationally organized community development activities; over 1,650 events attended by more than 37,000 believers have been held.

A. Spiritual E nrichment and Bahá’í Way of Life

A solid achievement of the Seven Year Plan has been the importance attached to, and efforts directed toward, the spiritual enrichment of the believers. Sixty-six National Spiritual Assemblies adopted vigorous nationwide programmes for this purpose. Most of them featured week-end or several-day institutes on specially designed programmes of study which were held in all parts of the country. The Covenant was the topic of many; others focused on prayer and study of the

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Writings; Ireland conducted a programme on The Dispensation Of Bahá’u’lláh, and in the United States two months of each year were designated study months, each community being provided with study materials, cassette tapes, etc. on the chosen subject. Many communities trained special teams to conduct the spiritual enrichment programmes. The members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom conducted twenty-five institutes on spiritual enrichment, and all those participating then led other institutes. Some African countries added an extra day to their District Conventions or Regional Teaching Conferences for a spiritual enrichment programme.

The life—giving words of the Manifestation of God, essential for spiritual growth, are becoming available to more members of the Bahá’í community, not only through the translation and publication achievements described above, but also through a new emphasis on effective distribution of Bahá’í Scripture and encouragement of its use. Several National Spiritual Assemblies have initiated programmes to provide every believer with the Words of God compilation; others have printed the short obligatory prayer or other short passages on attractive posters and cards. Several communities are producing booklets containing selections of the Writings for morning and evening devotions. Feast newsletters published by many communities include passages for daily reading. In Luxembourg these are personally delivered to each believer who does not attend the Feast.

The number of inspirational and deepening activities on the local level is also increasing; thirty-two national communities report local deepenings in over fifty per cent of their Local Spiritual Assembly areas. Dawn prayers continue in communities all over the world; in one, the friends from an entire province meet weekly to pray, deepen, and contribute to the Fund. Six National Spiritual Assemblies have reported regular prayer gatherings in more than forty per cent of their communities.

B. Local Spiritual Assembly Development

The phased programme of Local Spiritual Assembly development, detailed in the statistical summary, promises to immeasurably

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A selection ofnewslem'm whirl: slurred publication afn’r Ridwin I 97‘) in response m (/1? goals set in the Seven Year Plan. National (‘mmmmilies rz’prcswzred above are: Bahamas (English), N.E. Zaire (Swahili). W. Zaire (French), Mariana Islands (English), Malta (English), Leeward Islands (English), Thailand (English). Burlmdns (English), Norway (Persian), Canada (Persian). Pakistan (Urdu). Andaman and Nicobar lS/(mdA' (English), Burundi (French), Trunskc’i (Englisll/ X lzosa), Western Caroline Islands (English), Easlem Caroline leands (English), Honduras (Spanish). Virgin Islands (English), Peru (Spanish).

3‘ ‘ Bf mm a :vmwumr mm ‘ ' mm mats am: a mm rm 5 1mm mm mm i

Some participants in the Children’s Camp, Riversdale, Masterton, New Zealand; 1981.

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/a reinforce the foundations of the Baha 1 community. Local Spiritual Assemblies are also assuming their proper role in directing Bahá’í life; seventy National Spiritual Assemblies made efforts to have their Local Spiritual Assemblies register births, and sixty-three provided guidance for Local Assemblies regarding Bahá’í marriages and funerals. Birth registers, Bahá’í birth and marriage certificates and booklets 0n the relevant Bahá’í laws have been produced in many countries.

C . F amily Life

A deeper understanding of Bahá’í family life has been fostered by activities in many countries. Nineteen National Spiritual Assemblies held institutes or seminars on this subject, and many communities have held deepenings using the Universal House of Justice compilation on Bahá’í Family Life. Family prayers are being encouraged in a number of ways; Puerto Rico is providing a poster for families to have in their homes, and Canada has published a daybook with daily readings.

D. Women’s Activities

Inspired by the example of the Greatest Holy Leaf, the fiftieth anniversary of whose passing the friends have commemorated, Bahá’í communities around the world made more intensive efforts to encourage the par‘ ticipation of women in Bahá’í activities and to attract greater numbers of women to the Faith. Seventy-seven National Spiritual Assemblies reported women’s activities that included two hundred and sixty—two conferences. There were over one hundred and ten women’s conferences in Africa, and in an ambitious programme in Malaysia over seven hundred and fifty women attended women’s events. Twenty-four National Spiritual Assemblies report women’s teaching activities, including Chad, where one woman made a thirty—nine-day teaching trip, and later walked over 100 kilometres on a twenty—eight-day trip with another woman. During the Plan several communities have begun to produce publications for Bahá’í women.

In some parts of the world Bahá’í women meet locally for prayers, singing, craft work and instruction in nutrition and child care. In

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some developed countries, morning meetings are being held for teaching women who are at home.

E. Youth

Goals to mobilize youth for participation in expansion and consolidation activities were assigned to many communities; fifty-eight held organized youth teaching projects. In several African countries and in Australia youth teaching projects are organized for every long school holiday, and sometimes the youth have travelled on foot. Zimbabwe has trained over one hundred teams of two youth each for consolidation; Tonga attributes its progress towards large-scale enrolment to youth teaching and consolidation teams. Youth are also holding children’s classes, teaching in tutorial schools, conducting deepenings in villages and proclaiming the Faith through Bahá’í sports teams.

Over five hundred and twenty-five youth conferences, schools and camps have been held by one hundred and two National Spiritual Assemblies during the Seven Year Plan thus far.

F . Summer/Winter Schools

A signal achievement of the Plan, and one that has contributed greatly to the consolidation of the community, has been a marked increase in the number of Bahá’í summer and winter schools held each year. Almost twenty countries in Africa and about the same number in the Americas held their first Bahá’í schools during this period. The number of National Spiritual Assemblies holding summer or winter schools more than doubled, rising from around fifty to one hundred and twenty-three. Furthermore, many communities began regional schools and have also increased the number of schools held each year. Thirty-five schools are now held annually in Canada, and thirty-eight in the United States.

A new dynamism suffused many schools as a result of the directive that they should be held at low cost; all segments of the Bahá’í community attended and a wonderful spirit of love and unity was generated as the participants worked together cooking and doing other necessary chores. Many schools in [Page 124]a

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Members of the first local all-girl teaching team of Papua New Guinea who perform songs with Bahti’z’ themes, including their own original compositions.

1

Iranian Bahá’í’ choir, southern Ontario, Canada. The chair is named for the early Bahá’í martyr, Táhirih, and has, among its aims, the revival of early songs with Bahá’í’ themes and the preservation of classical Persian music presently forbidden in Irdn.

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eluded daily teaching among the local residents attracted by the example of the school.

Over 1,000 school sessions have been held world-wide, attended by over 95,000 believers and enquirers. Their combined length was 4,391 days.

G. Newsletters and Periodicals

The circulation of local, regional, national and international news is an important factor in binding together the Bahá’í community as well as in increasing the believers’ understanding of the scope and importance of the Faith they have embraced.While most national communities and many local ones produce such newsletters, albeit sometimes sporadically, specific goals calling for prompt and regular dissemination of newsletters were assigned to Brazil, Ecuador, Guyana, India (where emphasis was placed on newsletters in the regional languages of the country) and Tonga; specific goals concerning magazines were also assigned to Germany and jointly to Australia and New Zealand.

The number and variety of newsletters currently produced by the Bahá’í world is impressive. During the last year, current issues of 277 different periodicals and magazines in forty—two languages reached the World Centre Library; there is no question that many others are produced, especially on local, district and regional levels, which do not reach the World Centre. Included are national, regional and local newletters; newsletters and magazines especially for children, for parents, for youth, for women, for teachers of Bahá’í children’s classes; for native believers; for pioneers abroad; for Auxiliary Board members; for local treasurers or national treasurer’s representatives; for public affairs and public information representatives; for Persian believers in Western countries; for believers active in Bahá’í radio stations. Other newsletters are produced by National Teaching Committees, Committees for Spiritual Enrichment, Family Life Committees, Bahá’í Education Committees and university clubs. Many National Assemblies send regular newsletters to Local Spiritual Assemblies for their Nineteen Day Feasts. The National Assembly of Southwest Afn'ca/Namibia produces regular newsletters in five languages; eleven or more

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regional newsletters appear in local languages in India; Malaysia produces a national newsletter in four languages and regional newsletters in three; Switzerland currently produces eight different periodicals in three different languages; dozens of other countries produce periodicals in two or more languages, some intended for world-wide circulation. Internationally-circulated publications also include Glory magazine for youth, published in India; Child’s Way, published in English in the United States; and Varqd, a magazine for children published in India in English, Persian and Hindi and now developing editions also in five regional languages of India as well as French, German, Spanish and Portuguese.

Literary and scholarly publications intended for both Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í audiences include The Green Door, privately produced in Belgium; Opinioni Bahá’í, produced in Italy; La Pensée Bahá’í, produced in Switzerland; World Order, produced in the United States; and various publications of the Association for Bahá’í Studies, headquartered in Canada.

15. Expansion of National Communities A. Large-Scale Enrolments

Thirty—four National Spiritual Assemblies have reported teaching projects designed to attract large numbers to the Faith, and the necessity of achieving entry by troops and preparing for mass enrolment is at the forefront of the concerns and consultations of many communities. The most successful projects seem to be characterized by a high degree of motivation on the part of local participants; there has been a surge in the growth of the Faith in West Africa as friends returned from the Lagos Conference inspired to teach. Constant evaluation and attempts to improve the effectiveness of methods used are other hallmarks of highly successful projects, as is the presence of friends who are able to devote all their time to the project. One such example is the Yercaud Project in Tamil Nadu, India, dedicated to the memory of Mr. Amoz Gibson. All sixty-eight villages in the Yercaud tribal district have been opened, and in six everyone has become a Bahá’í. More than one hundred and fifty entire families have accepted the Faith, and the project

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‘.| nabs;

MON mun, "m" 1 " u x — » ~_ gm. 4..

A selection ofnewslertersforyouth now being published in various languages. Seen above are publications of eighteen national communities, representing all five continents.

Some participants in the National Youth Conference, Hong Kong; December 1982.

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participants are training all the Local Spiritual Assemblies to hold local activities from the time they are elected. Asked to send a representative to sit on the platform at an important community meeting, the Bahá’ís were thanked for what they were doing in Yercaud and told, “Till now religions came and trained the people to expect something. but the Bahá’ís are creating self-confidence in the people’s minds.’

While growth in the number of believers was moderate in most of the world, some countries are clearly moving towards the stage of entry by troops. During the first half of the Seven Year Plan the Bahá’í populations of Honduras and Dominica have quadrupled, eleven communities have more than doubled their Bahá’í population and an additional ten have increased their Bahá’í population by more than fifty per cent.

More than a one hundred per cent growth has been achieved in Burundi, Chad, Cyprus, Dominica, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, Ivory Coast and Mali. St. Lucia, Upper Volta and Vanuatu, and more than a fifty per cent growth in Bangladesh, Benin, Brazil, Guyana, Italy, Malawi, St. Vincent and Grenada, Suriname and French Guiana, Transkei and Zimbabwe.

B . Growth in N umbers of Local Spiritual Assemblies

The number of Local Spiritual Assemblies around the world has risen steadily, led by Asia, where there was an eighteen per cent increase in the number of Local Assemblies, and Africa, where there was a thirteen per cent increase. During the first half of the Seven Year Plan, the total number of Local Spiritual Assemblies rose by fourteen per cent to 27,329. The growth of Local Spiritual Assemblies and localities during the past thirty years is shown in the graph on page 82.

C. Bahá’ís in the General Population

The following percentages have been calculated using the numbers most recently reported and the most recent population statistics available to the Statistics Department. Where no report of the number of believers was sent, the last available figure was used. Ten National Spiritual Assemblies

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or areas, as listed below, have a Bahá’í population exceeding one per cent of the general population corresponding to that National Spiritual Assembly or area.

Kiribati 6.97% Tonga 3.85% Tuvalu 2.93% Belize 2.25% Marshall Islands 2.00% Samoa 1.43% St. Lucia & Dominica 1.40% Solomon Islands 1.15% Swaziland 1.13% Sikkim 1.12%

There are islands whose population is one hundred per cent Bahá’í’ in Papua New Guinea, Korea, Bangladesh and in Lake Ukerere in Tanzania.

D. I ndividual Teaching

The recognition by each believer of his personal obligation to advance the interests of the Faith is an objective of the Seven Year Plan towards which the Bahá’í world community is moving with determination. One sign of this is the adoption of personal teaching goals by increasing numbers of believers; encouragement of this action has been offered by Bahá’í institutions on all continents. At least twenty-seven National Spiritual Assemblies in Africa and nine in the Americas have published sample goals. distributed personal goal forms or held special conferences on this subject.

E. Extension Teaching Goals

The great increase in the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies adopting and pursuing extension teaching goals is another indication of the maturing awareness among believers of their responsibility for the promulgation of the Faith. At this time six National Spiritual Assemblies report adoption of extension teaching goals by one hundred per cent of their Local Spiritual Assemblies.

F . Teaching Conferences

Regional and national teaching conferences have been important not only in encouraging and inspiring the friends, but also in organiz [Page 128]128 THE BAH ”1’ WORLD

Some participants in the Bahá’í Summer School, Finland; 1982. The Hand of the Cause Collis‘ Featherstone and Mrs. Featherstone are seen in the fourth row, left.

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ing teaching campaigns and informing the believers of the possible avenues of service available to them. One hundred and sixteen National Spiritual Assemblies held over 1,400 teaching conferences, attended by over 78,000 believers. This represents an eighty-three per cent increase in the frequency of these meetings, which were held at the rate of two hundred and twenty per year during the Five Year Plan.

G. Self-supported Homefront Pioneers and Travelling Teachers

Self—supported homefront pioneering is one form of service that is increasingly suggested to the believers. Homefront pioneers have been essential in winning every Plan since the first ones the Guardian gave to North America and Europe, and on those continents homefront pioneers continue to serve valiantly in the most remote and difficult areas. In some parts of the world, however, self—supported homefront pioneering has been stressed for the first time during the Seven Year Plan. Goals in this area have been given to sixty-one National Spiritual Assemblies. Thus far reports have been received of at least forty-seven homefront pioneers in seventeen countries in Africa, of at least thirty-four in fourteen countries in Central and South America, of many in four countries in Asia and of at least eight in three countries in Australasia. The number of these heroic servants of Bahá’u’lláh is expected to rise steadily, as many National Spiritual Assemblies are actively encouraging self—supported homefront pioneering.

Those among the younger Bahá’í communities which have taken upon themselves the burden of the development of the Faith in their countries and function without outside help exhibit a special exuberance and confidence. In Tonga such teams continually support seventy-eight communities. Peru, where sixty-two per cent of village Local Spiritual Assemblies have extension teaching goals, and Zambia, where effective consolidation is carried on without the help of pioneers, also offer examples of the successes which other communities can anticipate as they move towards the goal of self—sufficiency. Many communities have found that their efforts to

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attract new believers become much more

successful when indigenous Baha 1s are in the forefront of the teaching work.

H . Enrolment of Minority Groups

While the goal to diversify the community was universal, and the goal to extend and consolidate the teaching work among minority and tribal peoples widely assigned during both phases of the current Plan, only a few such groups were specifically mentioned by name‘ The number of tribal and ethnic peoples now represented in the Faith has reached more than 2,100; however, efforts toward rectification of World Centre records on this subject do not yet permit identification of the number first enrolled during the Seven Year Plan.

Special projects for teaching ethnic minorities have been among the most exciting developments in the Plan. In the Americas the ‘Trail of Light’ project (known as ‘Camino del 501’ in the Spanish-speaking countries) was the most spectacular of many projects aimed at reaching indigenous believers. The international team of American Indian and Eskimo believers from Alaska, Canada and the United States divided into two units which visited Belize, Mexico, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Panama, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Ecuador before meeting and performing at the Quito and Montreal conferences. Intended as a means of strengthening the ties between the indigenous believers of both American continents, the teams succeeded brilliantly, galvanizing native believers in many places, some of whom had never known of the existence of Indian Bahá’ís outside their own small communities. Unexpectedly, the teams also proved extremely popular with non-Bahá’í’ audiences as well, achieving unprecedented levels of proclamation, publicity and popular acclaim and leaving a new spirit behind them wherever they went.

Also in the Americas, Brazil has had particular success in reaching Indian believers of new tribes; the Jaguar Project, intended to reach all the tribes of Mexico with the healing Message of Bahá’u’lláh, has continued in modified form; and smaller-scale projects continue in other countries with large indigenous populations. In North America the Indigenous Councils of native believers originally

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130 THE BAHA l WORLD

Some Bahá’ís Of the Tapi tribe, Mindoro, Philippines.

Some Chinese Bahá’ís of Calcutta, India, seen with Counsellor Shirin Boman (centre back).

[Page 131]INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA’I’ AC'l‘lVl'l'IES

held in Alaska have become continental in scope uniting believers from Canada, the United States, and Central and South America as well. Special projects in the United States have been designed to reach people of Spanish-speaking background in that country, and in both Canada and the United States special efforts have been made among refugees from South-east Asia. Among these unfortunate people have been found a number of believers from the communities of Kampuchea, Laos and Vietnam, and efforts have been made to incorporate them into local Bahá’í community life. Canada has also reported particular teaching success among the Sikh community there, and special efforts have been made to reach the Doukhobors.

Special projects in Asia have included not only the Amoz Gibson project in the Yercaud tribal district of India but similar projects in the Wynad tribal district in Kerala State, and in South Bihar and Orissa; and consolidation projects in the tribal districts of Dang and Jhabua. Another special project in India, carried out with the assistance of friends from Malaysia, has been aimed at reaching the Chinese population of Calcutta, and has resulted in the enrolment of the first Chinese believer in the history of the Indian Bahá’í community. Special projects for reaching the Chinese communities in their countries have also been carried out in Malaysia and other countries.

In Australasia, Papua New Guinea has, as always, had particular success in enrolling native believers, despite the formidable teaching and consolidation problems resulting from the rugged terrain and undeveloped nature of so much of the interior of the country. In Australia long—standing efforts to reach the Aborigines with the Faith have resulted in four Local Spiritual Assemblies in Aboriginal areas, and several others whose majority of members are Aboriginal believers. Special teaching projects have also been directed to the Torres Strait Islands. In New Zealand efforts continue to be made to reach the Maori, and more than forty believers, mostly of Maori background, attended a special conference on translation of the Writings into the Maori language. In Fiji special efforts are now being directed toward the large percentage of the population which comes from

131

Hindu background.

In all European countries, teaching continues among various minorities, which differ from country to country. Long-standing efforts to reach the Romany and Same peoples continue, and the number of believers from these backgrounds increases slowly, despite the difficulties in teaching and consolidation created by their nomadic way of life. Denmark has also had particular success recently in teaching Greenlanders resident in both Greenland and Denmark. In addition to these native peoples, teaching efforts also continue among guest—workers, foreign students, refugees and people from overseas territories such as the Dutch Antilles, Suriname and South Molucca. Regular conferences are also held in Germany for believers there from Turkish background, and these may soon be expanded to include Turkish believers from neighbouring countries as well.

Also highly gratifying to the House of Justice is the number of reports reaching the World Centre which reflect the increasing tempo of participation by indigenous and minority believers in the initiatives of teaching, administration, community development, and deepening. An increasing number of native believers from remote parts of the world are also now finding it possible to make the pilgrimage to the Holy Places at the World Centre, with all the resulting spiritual benefits both to themselves and to the communities to which they return.

16. Inter-Assembly Collaboration A. Assistance and Collaboration

Through inter-Assembly collaboration many projects were carried through which otherwise would not have been possible. Goals were assigned for the following types of assistance:

—Purchase of mobile and audio-visual institutes, given to nine countries in Africa; —Purchase and/or construction of nine national and thirty district Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, thirtythree in Africa, three in the Caribbean, three in Australasia;

-—Purchase of six Temple sites, five in Africa, one in Australasia;

—Assistance by supplying literature;

—Assistance by supplying pioneers and/or deputizing pioneers;

[Page 132]132

—Assistance by providing self—supported travelling teachers; —Assistance by supporting native travelling teachers; —Assistance by combined teaching on borders between two countries: Africa 20 (39 areas) Americas 7 Australasia/New Guinea Europe 10 (24 border areas) —Assistance by exchange of travelling teachers: Europe 28 areas (sets of National Assemblies); V —Inter—National Spiritual Assembly teaching projects, one in the Americas, two in

Australasia, five in Europe.

The properties and literature sections of this report describe the collaboration achievements in those areas. In a few instances, due to local circumstances; only token assistance was possible; but in most cases the collaboration extended was substantial and effective.

International collaboration in the form of joint teaching projects and exchanges of travelling teachers has given a special stimulus to the growth of the Faith in many countries. Some projects, such as several involving Malaysia, are designed to share the teaching experiences and techniques developed by one community. Often these projects emphasize the wonderful diversity of the Bahá’í community, as in the fruitful international cooperation in teaching native Americans, and in the projects which have brought speakers of one language, for example Turkish, to teach minorities speaking the same language in another country. Many of the projects in Europe have focused the energies of several communities on difficult goals. International projects are exciting and enriching for those who take p‘art, especially as many of the participants are Bahá’ís who are unable to teach the Faith in their own countries. In one such country the Bahá’ís contribute towards the expenses of the teaching teams sent to neighbouring countries each year. Thus far during the Seven Year Plan twenty National Spiritual Assemblies have collaborated on international teaching efforts other than those in border areas.

The greater part of international collaboration has been in border teaching projects,

'l‘HE Bahá’í’ WORLD

which have had excellent results in the enrolment of new ethnic groups, expansion in remote areas and in increasing unity and understanding among Bahá’í’s in neighbouring countries. Thirty-seven National Spiritual Assemblies have taken part in border teaching projects.

B. Pioneers

There have been three different pioneer calls during the Seven Year Plan to date. The first phase called for 419 pioneers world-wide; the second phase called for 286, some of which were restatements of the original 419 and others of which were new calls. The third call was made in November 1981, and called for 249 pioneers to settle at specific goals. Again, some of the 249 were new calls and others were restatements Of the original calls.

As of Riclvan 140, 3,298 pioneers have settled at their posts, of whom 547 are filling specific goals.

A summary of the goals and numbers of pioneers settled by continent is as follows:

In Africa a total of 761 pioneers were settled at their posts at Riḍván 140; 307 during the first phase, 140 during the second and 314 during the revised 11/81 phase, of whom 143 are filling specific goals.

In the Americas a total of 997 pioneers have settled as of Riḍván 140; 500 during the first phase, 160 during the second and 337 during the revised phase, of whom 177 are filling specific goals.

In Asia a total of 590 pioneers have settled as of Riḍván 140: 250 during the first phase, 93 during the second and 247 during the revised phase, of whom 64 are filling specific goals.

In Australasia a total of 257 pioneers have settled as of Riḍván 140; 61 during the first phase, 39 during the second and 157 during the revised phase, of whom 86 are filling specific goals.

In Europe a total of 693 pioneers have settled as of Riḍván 140; 345 during the first phase, 98 during the second and 250 during the revised phase, of whom 77 are filling specific goals.

C . International Travelling Teachers

During the Seven Year Plan reports of over

[Page 133]3

INTERNATIONAL SURVEY OF CURRENT BAHA i ACTIVITIES 133

4,100 travelling teachers, world-wide, have Africa, 1,392 in the Americas, 508 in Asia, been received, of whom 754 travelled in 382 in Australasia and 1,131 in Europe.

1v;

Bahá’ís gathered at the Local Bahat Centre for the Nineteen-Day Feast, Nagumeya, Ciskei; 1982.

Some participants in the Pioneer Training Institute held at Sylvan Lake, Alberta, Canada; 1981.

[Page 134]3. EXPANSION AND CQNSOLIDATION OF THE BAHA’I FAITH

Riḍván 1979—1983

INFORMATION STATISTICAL AND COMPARATIVE

Riḍván 1979 Riḍván 1983

Independent countries where the Bahá’í Faith is

established1 ................................................... 158 164 Dependent territories or overseas departments ......... 51 45 National Spiritual Assemblies .............................. 130 135 Incorporated National Spiritual Assemblies ............ 106 104 National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds (headquarters of national

Bahá’í administrative activity) ........................... 129 145 National Endowments .......................................... 156 146 Bahá’í Temples (Mashriqu’l-Acflkér) ..................... 5 5 Sites for future Bahá’í Temples .............................. 118 119 Bahá’í Publishing Trusts ....................................... 23 22 Languages into which Bahá’í literature has been

translated ....................... 640 727 Indigenous tribes, races and ethnic groups represented

in the Bahá’í Faith .......................................... 1,825 2,122 Countries that recognize Bahzi’l’ Holy Days ............... 64 68 Countries that recognize Bahá’í marriage .................. 40 48 Localities where Bahá’ís reside .............................. 103,323 115,842 Isolated centres or groups .................................... 77,812 88,513 Local Spiritual Assemblies .................................... 25,511 27,329 Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies .................. 2,099 2,764

A. AFRICA Riḍván 1979 Riḍván 1983

Independent countries where the Bahá’í Faith is

established ................................................... 50 51 Dependent territories or overseas departments ........ 6 5 National Spiritual Assemblies .............................. 37 37 Incorporated National Spiritual Assemblies ............ 31 30 National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds (headquarters of national

Bahá’í administrative activity) ........................... 35 40 National Endowments ....................................... 40 40 Bahá’í Temples (Mashriqu’l-Atflkér) ..................... 1 1 Sites for future Bahá’í Temples .............................. 32 36 Bahá’í Publishing Trusts ....................................... 1 1 Languages into which Bahá’í’ literature has been

translated ...................................................... 212 239

1 In previous vqumes of The Bahá’í World this. and the succeeding entry throughout these tables, were grouped under the heading ‘Countrics, significant territories and islands where the Bahá’í Faith is established'. To provide greater accuracy the definition of this term has been revised to approximate current geographical and political divisions of the world. resulting in a reduced number now labelled ‘Dependent territories or overseas departments'. Other factors, too complex to detail, account for the reductions in certain other figures.

[Page 135]EXPANSION AND CONSOLIDATION OF THE Bahá’í FAITH 135

Africa (cont.) Riḍván 1979 Riḍván 1983 Indigenous tribes, races and ethnic groups represented

in the Bahá’í Faith .......................................... 1,120 1,250 Countries that recognize Bahá’í’ Holy Days ............... 11 12 Countries that recognize Bahá’í marriage ............... -. .. 7 8 Localities where Bahá’ís reside .............................. 26,111 28,570 Isolated centres or groups .................................... 20,735 23,444 Local Spiritual Assemblies .................................... 5,376 5,126 Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies .................. 78 795

B. THE AMERICAS

Riḍván 1979 Riḍván 1983 Independent countries where the Bahá’í Faith is established ............................................................ 31 34 Dependent territories or overseas departments ......... 20 17 National Spiritual Assemblies .............................. 33 38 Incorporated National Spiritual Assemblies ............ 30 31 National Hazi’ratu’l-Quds (headquarters of national Bahá’í administrative activity) ........................... 34 47 National Endowments .......................................... 31 40 Bahá’í Temples (Mashriqu’l-Acflkér) ..................... 2 2 Sites for future Bahá’í Temples .............................. 30 31 Bahá’í Publishing Trusts ....................................... 3 3 Languages into which Bahá’í’ literature has been translated ...................................................... 123 167 Indigenous tribes, races and ethnic groups represented in the Bahá’í Faith .......................................... 275 325 Countries that recognize Bahá’í Holy Days ............... 23 22 Countries that recognize Bahá’í marriage .................. 10 13 Localities where Bahá’ís reside .............................. 22,577 24,929 Isolated centres or groups ............ , ....................... 16,825 19,236 Local Spiritual Assemblies .................................... 5,752 5,693 Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies .................. 906 825 c. ASIA Riḍván 1979 Riḍván 1983 Independent countries where the Bahá’í Faith is established ................................................... 36 36 Dependent territories or overseas departments ........ 5 4 National Spiritual Assemblies .............................. 27 26 Incorporated National Spiritual Assemblies ............ 15 15 National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds (headquarters of national Bahá’í administrative activity) ........................... 26 24 National Endowments ....................................... 53 29 Bahá’í Temples (Mashriqu’l-Adhkár) ..................... — Sites for future Bahá’í Temples .............................. 26 22 Bahá’í Publishing Trusts ....................................... 9 8 Languages into which Bahá’í literature has been translated ...................................................... 171 165

Indigenous tribes, races and ethnic groups represented in the Bahá’í Faith .......................................... 300 275

[Page 136]136 THE BAHA'iWORLD

Asia (cont)

Countries that recognize Bahá’í’ Holy Days ............... Countries that recognize Bahá’í marriage .................. Localities where Bahá’ís reside .............................. Isolated centres or groups .................................... Local Spiritual Assemblies .................................... Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies ..................

Riḍván 1979 10 9 49,597 36,511 13,086 712

Ridvcin 1983 13 8 57,155 41,818 15,337 681

D. AUSTRALASIA AND THE PACIFIC ISLANDS

Independent countries where the Bahá’í Faith is estab lished ............................................................ Dependent territories or overseas departments ......... National Spiritual Assemblies .............................. Incorporated National Spiritual Assemblies ............ National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds (headquarters of national

Bahá’í administrative activity) ........................... National Endowments .......................................... Bahá’í Temples (Mashriqu’l-Adhkár) ..................... Sites for future Bahá’í Temples .............................. Bahá’í Publishing Trusts ....................................... Languages into which Bahá’í’ literature has been

translated ...................................................... Indigenous tribes, races and ethnic groups represented

in the Bahá’í Faith .......................................... Countries that recognize Bahá’í Holy Days ............... Countries that recognize Bahai’l’ marriage .................. Localities where Bahá’í’s reside .............................. Isolated centres or groups .................................... Local Spiritual Assemblies .................................... Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies ..................

E. EUROPE

Independent countries where the Bahá’í Faith is estab lished ............................................................ Dependent territories or overseas departments ......... National Spiritual Assemblies .............................. Incorporated National Spiritual Assemblies ............ National Hazfratu’l-Quds (headquarters of national

Bahá’í administrative activity) ........................... National Endowments .......................................... Bahá’í Temples (Mashriqu’l-Adhkár) ..................... Sites for future Bahá’í Temples .............................. Bahá’í Publishing Trusts ....................................... Languages into which Bahá’í literature has been

translated ...................................................... Indigenous tribes, races and ethnic groups represented

in the Bahá’í Faith .......................................... Countries that recognize Bahá’í Holy Days ...............

Riḍván 1979

9 16 14 14

15 13 1 12 2

77

108 10

10 2,573 1,913 660 151

Riḍván 1979

32

4 1916

1919 1 18 8

57

22 10

Riḍván 1983

11 15 15 12

15 15 1 12 2

83 250

11 2,539 1,954

585 159

Riḍván 1983

32

4 1916

1922 1 18 8

73

22 12

[Page 137]EXPANSION AND CONSOLIDATION OF THE Bahá’í FAITH 137

Europe (cont.) Ricjvdn 1979 Riḍván 1983 Countries that recognize Bahá’í marriage .................. 4 8 Localities where Bahá’ís reside .............................. 2,465 2,649 Isolated centres or groups .................................... 1,828 2,061 Local Spiritual Assemblies .................................... 637 588 Incorporated Local Spiritual Assemblies .................. 252 304

French Minister of State for the Interior, Gaston Defferre. and Mme. Defferre, are formally welcomed by the Secretary General of the Bahá’í International Community on behalf of the Universal House of Justice on their visit 10 the Seat of the House of Justice in February 1983. The visit was the first by a government official of cabinet rank following occupation of the Seat. Pictured, left to right: Mr. Mohsen Enayat. World Centre Legal Officer; M. Defferre; Mr. Donald Barrett, Secretary General of the Bahá’í International Community; His Worship Arieh Gurel, Mayor of Haifa; and Mme. Defferre, who is better known as Edmonde Charleroux, one of Europe’s leading authors. '