Bahá’í World/Volume 26/From the Universal House of Justice
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FROM THE
UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
he establishment of the Universal House of Justice, the international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith, was called for in the writings of Baha’u’llah, Who vested the institution with authority to “take counsel together regarding these things which have not outwardly been revealed in the Book, and to enforce that which is agreeable to them.”1 While the Universal House of Justice does not have the right to nullify laws or alter teachings revealed by Baha’u’llah, it is authorized to legislate on matters not dealt with in the Bahá’í writings, and it can abrogate its own laws. Abdu’l-Bahá explained this right of abrogation thus: “The wisdom of this is that the times never remain the same, for change is a necessary quality and an essential attribute of this world, and of time and place. Therefore the House Of Justice will take action accordingly.”2 In His Will and Testament,
1. Tablets OfBahd ’u ’Zlcih revealed after the Kildb-iv‘leClS (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1995), p. 68.
2. “Rahiq-i-Mafltfim,” vol. I, pp. 302—04; Cited in Wellspring Of Guidance (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1976), pp. 84—86.
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TIiE B&HAJ WORLD
‘Abdu’l-Bahá stated that it is “incumbent” upon members of the Universal House of Justice to “deliberate upon all problems which have caused difference, questions that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book” and that “Whatsoever they decide has the same effect as the Text itself.”3 Consequently, since the Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963, the Bahá’í community has turned to it with respect and trust, regarding obedience to its decisions as obedience to the will of God. Observers are struck by the energizing effect that such obedience produces.
Throughout its thirty-five year existence, the Universal House of Justice has conducted a voluminous correspondence with individuals, institutions, the Bahá’í community as a whole, and other organizations. It thereby provides Clarification and elucidation of issues relating to the development of the Bahá’í community, guidance concerning the gradual application of Baha’u’llah’s laws, encouragement to believers to arise and promulgate their Faith, and directives concerning the further development of the Bahá’í administrative system. The maj or messages written by the Universal House of Justice in 1997—98 to Bahá’í communities around the world fall mainly into the latter two categories, with perhaps the most significant announcement being the establishment of an entirely new level of Bahá’í administration.
Riḍván Message (154 BE.)
As is the case generally in the messages that it writes each April to the Bahá’í world, the Universal House of Justice began its “Riḍván message” of 154 BE. (21 April 1997) by reviewing a number of the accomplishments of the Bahá’í community during the first year of its current global Four Year Plan regarding the growth and consolidation Of the Faith.
This was a year, the House of Justice said, in which Bahá’í communities and institutions around the world gave shape to national and regional plans based on the points made in its letters to eight regions of the world in 1996.4 This planning process also
3. The Will and Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1991), p. 20.
4. For a summary of the contents of these letters, see The Bahá’í World 1996—97, pp. 28—36.
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T1113 UNWERSAL HQUSE OE JUSTICE
served to enhance the “collaborative relationship” between the elected and appointed arms of the Bahá’í administrative system.
This was also a year in which the Universal House of Justice strengthened the Bahá’í community’s foundations by encouraging its members to engage in focused pursuit of the major aim of the F our Year Plan—namely, movement towards ensuring sustained large-scale growth in the number of avowed believers and an accelerated program of consolidation (referred to as an advance in the process of “entry by troops”). During this short span of time the Bahá’í community established nearly two hundred training institutes—many of which were already offering inaugural courses by the beginning of this year. These institutes are designed to promote systematic and programmatic training in core concepts of the Bahá’í Faith and thus to develop the human resources of the community. Activity during the year also prompted the Universal House of Justice to remark on the increasing numbers of Bahá’ís throughout the planet who either established residence in foreign countries and thus became “pioneers,” or who traveled and taught their Faith internationally, or who deputized others to perform this task—all resulting in the widespread promulgation of the Bahá’í Faith. In the arena of community consolidation, efforts to act on the 1997 directive of the House of Justice that Local Spiritual Assemblies be elected only on the first of the twelve—day Riḍván period, “increasing endeavors to hold regular devotional meetings,” and expanding efforts to utilize the arts in proclaiming the Faith to the public and in community activities were all praised.
Reviewing other accomplishments of the year, the House of Justice mentioned the acquisition of the apartment at 4 Avenue de Carnoéns in Paris, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed when He Visited the City; the 14 August 1997 special session of the Federal Chamber of Deputies in Brazil, held in recognition of the seventy-fifth anniversary of the introduction of the Bahá’í Faith into that country and honored by the presence of Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih _Khanum; and the launching of the Bahá’í International Community’s site on the World Wide Web in July 1996.5
5. See The Bahá’í World 1996—97, pp. 47—54 for a full report on the anniversary in Brazil, and pp. 157—60 for a story on the web site launch.
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The House of Justice remarked on a number of accomplishments in connection with the construction projects underway at the Bahá’í World Centre on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel: the completion of the marble colonnade of the Centre for the Study of the Texts, the rise to the seventh level of the International Teaching Centre, and the “ongoing emergence of the far-stretching features of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Bab.” The partial lowering of the section of the public road over which the terraces will pass and the acquisition and demolition of the last building that stood as an obstruction to the construction of the lower terraces also received special note. The House of Justice praised the “incessant heroism” of “rich and poor alike” in contributing fiinds to support these vast construction projects.
Such an “auspicious beginning to the Four Year Plan” should, the House of Justice said, inspire confidence in all members of the Bahá’í community throughout the world. A further mark of encouragement, the institution stated, was that “circumstances have made it feasible for the reestablishment this Riḍván of the National Spiritual Assembly of Rwanda,” bringing the total of National Spiritual Assemblies around the world to l75—all eligible to participate in the Eighth International Bahá’í Convention in Haifa in April 1998.
Closing its message by referring to “the unfolding, spiritual drama of these momentous days,” the Universal House of Justice asserted that “only a united and sustained effort by the friends everywhere to advance the process of entry by tr00ps can befit such a historic moment.”
Establishment of Regional Bahá’í Councils On 30 May 1997, a letter from the Universal House of Justice to the 175 National Spiritual Assemblies around the world heralded a new stage in the evolution of the Bahá’í administrative system. Reflecting the emphasis laid by Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith, on developing a healthy balance between centralization and decentralization, the Universal House of Justice announced that “the time has arrived for us to formalize a new element of Bahá’í administration, between the local and national levels, comprising institutions of a special kind, to be designated as ‘Regional Bahá’í C0uncils.’” They are to be established with the guidance of the
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T111? UNIYERSAL HOUSE g1; JUSTICE
Universal House of Justice in countries where conditions require and circumstances permit.
Designed to provide “a means of carryng forward the teaching work and administering related affairs of a rapidly growing Bahá’í community,” the Bahá’í Councils represent a level of autonomous decision making “below the National Spiritual Assembly and above the Local Assemblies”—although they are not empowered to direct the work of Local Spiritual Assemblies. The Councils support their National Assemblies administratively and, within the framework established by each Assembly, can make autonomous decisions. In this way, National Assemblies devolve responsibilities regarding the expansion and consolidation of their communities and the carrying out of certain administrative activities.
In a number of countries, Local Spiritual Assembly members are involved in the Choice of Council members through direct election. In places where the Councils are appointed by the National Spiritual Assembly, the votes of the Local Spiritual Assembly members serve as non-binding recommendations for possible Council membership. Through this method capable Bahá’ís who are known to believers in that region will be brought “into public service.”
The new administrative level allows for the establishment of Regional Councils that can function in ethnically distinct regions of the world which cover part of two or more countries. These administrative bodies will also encourage an “increase in the capacity of the National Spiritual Assembly itself to keep fully informed” of activities throughout the length and breadth of its jurisdiction.
Setting the development in historical perspective, the House of Justice pointed out that
The institutions of the Adminstrative Order of Baha’u’llah, rooted in the provisions of His Revelation, have emerged gradually and organically, as the Bahá’í community has grown through the power of the divine impulse imparted to humankind in this age. The characteristics and functions of each of these institutions have evolved, and are still evolving, as are the relationships between them.
While the evolution of Bahá’í institutions must deal with varying exigencies of time and place, the House of Justice stated it “should
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stiictly follow the essential principles of Bahá’í administration which have been laid down in the Sacred Text and in the interpretations provided by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the Guardian.”
To be designated either as “State Bahá’í Councils” or “Provincial Bahá’í Councils,” according to the country in which they are functioning, these bodies will “greatly enhance the ability of the Administrative Order to deal with the complex situations with which it is confronted in a number of countries at the present time.”
Establishment 0r Reestablishment of National Spiritual Assemblies
A letter from the Universal House of Justice on 20 February 1998 announced the decision to establish three new National Spiritual Assemblies and to reestablish another National Assembly in May 1998. The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís Of Sabah, with its seat in Kota Kinabalu, and the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Sarawak, with its seat in Kuching, were to be formed in Malaysia, and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Slovakia, based in Bratislava, was to be formed in Europe. (The former Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís Of the Czech and Slovak Republics, with its seat in Prague, would then become the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís Of the Czech Republic.) The House of Justice also looked forward to the reestablishment Of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Liberia, with its seat in Monrovia, in May 1998. The prolonged state of political upheaval in the country had made it impossible to hold National Conventions for that body’s reelection since 1992.
Other Correspondence On 11 August 1997 the Universal House of Justice wrote to all National Spiritual Assemblies regarding the launch of the human rights education program developed by the Bahá’í International Community’s United Nations Office. This program is designed to support the United Nations in this Vital issue, particularly during the United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education. While “building effective relations with...govern1nents and influencing official attitudes and policies on matters of global, rather than of strictly national, importance,” the program will concentrate “on
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THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE 943 USTICE
strictly national, importance,” the program will concentrate “on promoting the interests of society as a Whole and not on calling attention to a need to assist the Bahá’í community.”
Throughout the year, the Universal House of Justice also wrote numerous letters to National Spiritual Assemblies with regard to their participation in the upcoming Eighth International Bahá’í Convention. Other major correspondence conveyed information concerning the situation of the Bahá’í community in Iran.6
6. See pp. 51—60 for further information on the current situation of Iran’s Bahá’ís.
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