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New
N ATIQNAL SPIRITUAL
ASSEMBLIES
I n the spring of 1998, the Bahá’í communities of Slovakia, Sabah, and Sarawak gathered to participate in their communities’ first national Bahá’í Conventions. In Africa, the Bahá’ís of Liberia held their first national Convention in seven years, postponed due to the protracted civil war in that country. At these annual gatherings Bahá’í communities elect the governing councils responsible for supervising and organizing their affairs at the national level. The establishment of these National Spiritual Assemblies brings the total number of these institutions, as of Riḍván 1998, to 179.
‘Abdu’l-Bahá began the process of Bahá’í administration building more than seventy-five years ago, when He first called for the establishment of “secondary Houses of Justice,” whose members act as the electors Of the Universal House of Justice and which function as the national governing institutions of the Faith in their respective countries. In 1923, Shoghi Effendi began to establish secondary Houses of Justice in communities which were sufficiently developed, and temporarily designated them “National Spiritual Assemblies.” Now the Universal House of Justice decides when a Bahá’í community is ready to establish its own National Assembly.
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Through their close association and communication with the Bahá’í World Centre, National Spiritual Assemblies provide the link binding national communities to the House of Justice. As bodies charged with directing, coordinating, and unifying the affairs of the Faith throughout their respective jurisdictions, they have the flexibility to adapt to changing native conditions, designing plans and imparting guidance appropriate to the needs and strengths of their Bahá’í population. The National Assembly is also the official representative of its community in relation to its national government and to other national Bahá’í communities; it plans and coordinates national teaching programs, sponsors and guides national institute programs, approves and supervises nationallevel social and economic development projects, disseminates and supervises the translation of Bahá’í literature into local languages, and is the trustee of national Bahá’í funds and properties. The establishment of a National Spiritual Assembly is a signal point in the growth of a Bahá’í community, one that casts a wide net of spiritual and administrative benefits.
Liberia
Africa’s first independent black republic, Liberia saw its first Bahá’í settlers arrive in the early 1950s. Julius Edwards from Jamaica pioneered t0 Liberia and Guinea for over twenty-three years, contributing significantly to the development of the Liberian Bahá’í community. In 1954, the country’s Bahá’ís were brought under the jurisdiction of the newly established National Spiritual Assembly of North-West Africa, an evolutionary step which no doubt helped influence the Liberian government to grant legal recognition, in the 19505, of Bahá’í holy days and marriages and, in 1957, to the Local Spiritual Assemblies of Monrovia and Bomi Hills. President William V. S. Tubman of Liberia in 1962 Visited the Bahá’í World Centre, becoming the first foreign Head of State to do so.1
In 1971 the Monrovian Bahá’ís hosted the first Bahá’í Continental Conference of Africa, which was attended by Hands of the
1. President Ben Zvi of Israel had previously visited the Bahá’í World Centre in 1954.
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NEW NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES
Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khanum and Rahmatullah Muhájir. Monrovia hosted another significant gathering, the West African Bahá’í Women’s Conference, in 1978. By 1975 the Bahá’í communities of Liberia and Guinea had developed sufficiently to require their own Regional Spiritual Assembly, which operated until 1982. That year witnessed the election of Liberia’s own National Spiritual Assembly, which existed until the civil war of 1991—1998 forced the suspension of its operations. Even in the midst of that conflict, however, Liberian Bahá’ís continued to establish Local Spiritual Assemblies and hold Bahá’í activities within their refugee camps. The first Bahá’í radio station in the eastern hemisphere, which began broadcasting from Monrovia in 1986 and contributed to the nascent process of Bahá’í social and economic development in Western Africa, was destroyed during the war.
After an enforced seven—year hiatus, the Liberian Bahá’í community gathered for its twenty—seventh national Bahá’í Convention, which was held 23—24 May 1998 in an atmosphere of joyous celebration at the Radio Bahá’í building in Monrovia. The sixteen delegates who were able to attend elected the National Assembly on 23 May. Counsellor Beatrice Asare, who represented the Universal House of Justice at the Convention, praised the spirit animating the delegates, who “until recently were embroiled in tribal conflicts” and were “now dancing together in a spirit of love and unity under the umbrella of Baha’u’llah.” The following day the Convention attendees consulted on the Riḍván message from the Universal House of Justice. The Convention was preceded by a two—day training institute on topics such as the role of the individual in the Bahá’í community, Bahá’í history and administration, and prayer.
Slovakia When Czechoslovakia achieved independence in 1991 with the fall of the Soviet Union, the rapid expansion of the country’s Bahá’í community moved the Universal House of Justice to call for the establishment of a National Spiritual Assembly. Two years later, when Czechoslovakia split into the ethnically distinct Czech and Slovak Republics, the National Assembly became a Regional Spiritual Assembly, with its jurisdiction unchanged. During the
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T HfE Bahá’í WORLD
past decade, the Slovakian Bahá’í community advanced to a point of requiring its own National Assembly, and in 1997 the House of Justice called for its establishment. When the new National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Slovakia was formed in 1998, the existing Regional Spiritual Assembly became the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Czech Republic.
Between 22 and 24 May 1998, nine delegates from various communities throughout Slovakia gathered in Bratislava to elect the country’s first National Spiritual Assembly. Hand of the Cause of God Dr. ‘Ali-Muhammad Varqé represented the Universal House of Justice at the occasion. Also attending were Counsellor Shapour Rassekh, four members of the Auxiliary Board, members of the outgoing Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Republics, and almost 150 Bahá’ís from neighboring countries. During the evening of 22 May the assembled delegates and observers first celebrated the anniversary of the declaration by the Báb of His prophetic mission and gathered the next day to elect the National Spiritual Assembly. The election, wrote one attendee, “took place in a charged atmosphere of deepest devotion, and its results were announced amidst many tears of gratitude to the Blessed Beauty.” The Assembly and delegates then consulted on how to build the Slovakian community’s Vision of its collective future and other Vital topics.
Throughout the years of its development, the Czech and Slovak Bahá’í communities have reached out to leaders of government, undertaken programs of systematic training, and sought to reach out to the wider community. For their part, Czech and Slovak leaders have long responded positively to contact with Bahá’ís, beginning in the early decades of this century with the efforts of Bahá’í traveling teacher Martha Root, who met personally with Presidents Masaryk and Benes. As part of its response to the Four Year Plan, the Slovak community has been engaged in building a nation—wide system of training institutes. In addition to the day-today activities taken to proclaim the Bahá’í Faith to the Slovak people, on 8 February 1999 the National Assembly launched the official website of the Slovak Bahá’í community.2
2. Accessible at <www.bahai.sk>.
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NEW NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES
Sabah and Sarawak
The roots of the Bahá’í community of Malaysia reach back to 1951, when J amshed and Parvati Fozdar arrived‘ as permanent settlers in Kuching, in the Malay state of Sarawak. The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Malaysia was established in 1964. More recently, the high level of Bahá’í activity in Sabah and Sarawak prompted the Universal House of Justice to call for the establishment of separate administrative bodies in each state, called the Spiritual Assembly of Sabah and the Spiritual Assembly of Sarawak.
Delegates elected the first Spiritual Assembly of Sabah on 23 May 1998 in Kota Kinabalu. Present at the Convention were Counsellor Vicente Samaniego, representing the House of Justice; Dr. Inderjit Singh Ludher of the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Malaysia; six members of the Auxiliary Board; and more than one hundred Bahá’í observers. The Universal House of Justice, in its message to the Convention, wrote, “this gathering will be looked upon by future generations as one of the turning points in the history of the Cause of God in your land,” and expressed the hope that “the Bahá’í community in Sabah will flourish like a beautiful
' . At CON¥ENTIK
The members of the first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís ofSabah, elected on 23 May 1998 in the state 19 capital, Kota Kinabalu.
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garden, abundant with flowers of many kinds, all watered from the clouds of bounty of Baha’u’llah.”
Twenty-eight delegates traveled to Kuching to elect the first Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Sarawak during a Convention held 22—24 May 1998. This event was attended by Counsellor George Soraya, representing the Universal House of Justice; Dr. P. Sreedharan, representing the Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia; five members of the Auxiliary Board in Asia; and more than three hundred Bahá’í observers from throughout the state. F ollowing the announcement of the election results on 23 May, delegates offered the newly elected Spiritual Assembly suggestions regarding the Convention, training institutes, the extension and development of the Sarawak Bahá’í community, the holding of children’s classes and adult literacy classes, and the translation of the Bahá’í writings into local languages. The assemblage also gave generously to the Sarawak Bahá’í fund. The Universal House of J ustice, in its message to the Convention, called upon “all the Bahá’ís of Sarawak to rally around their newly formed Spiritual Assembly and to give it all possible support, to enable it to carry out its Godgiven responsibility of raising the banner of the unity of mankind to new heights.”
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