Bahá’í World/Volume 29/Selected New Publications
Selected NEW PUBLICATIONS[edit]
Amatu’l-Bahá Visits India Violette Nakhjavání. New Delhi: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 2000. 203 pp.
Recounts Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥiyyih Khánum’s first tour of the Indian subcontinent, which covered more than fifty-five thousand miles over seven months. The author, who traveled with Amatu’l-Bahá, draws from her daily diary records as well as from tape-recorded speeches to examine the methods Amatu’l-Bahá used to teach the Bahá’í Faith and studies her simplicity, sincerity, and devotion to the Faith.
Century of Light Prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 2001. 157 pp.
An examination of the twentieth century from the vantage point of the turbulence of society and the simultaneous process of the emergence of the Bahá’í Faith from obscurity. Of the book, the Universal House of Justice wrote, "We commend it to the thoughtful study of the friends, in the confidence that the perspective it opens up will prove both spiritually enriching and of practical help in sharing with others the challenging implications of the Revelation brought by Bahá’u’lláh."
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Child of the Covenant: A Study Guide to the Will and Testament
of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
Adib Taherzadeh. Oxford: George Ronald, 2000. 480 pp.
Provides a detailed and insightful study of the Will and Testament of
‘Abdu’l-Bahá, a document which Shoghi Effendi described as the "charter
of Bahá’u’lláh’s New World Order." This book is a sequel to Mr.
Taherzadeh’s 1992 volume, The Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh.
Compilation of Compilations, Volume Three Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. Ingleside, New South Wales: Bahá’í Publications Australia, 2000. 320 pp. Compilation of 11 collections of Bahá’i writings previously assembled by the Research Department on the subjects of agriculture, community functioning, cultural diversity, the importance of the arts, the national convention, promoting entry by troops, the sanctity and nature of Bahá’í elections, Bahá’i scholarship, services in Bahá’i houses of worship, socioeconomic development, and teaching indigenous peoples.
Door of Hope: The Bahá’í Faith in the Holy Land David S Ruhe. 2d rev. ed. Oxford: George Ronald, 2001. 246 pp. Definitive guide to the history and pilgrimage sites of the Bahá’í Faith in Israel. The book offers a study of the geography, archaeology, and history of all that relates to the Bahá’í Faith in the Holy Land.
Her Eternal Crown Della L Marcus. Oxford: George Ronald, 2000. 319 pp. Recounts the relationship between the first monarch to accept the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh and the religion she embraced. The author draws on Queen Marie’s own letters and diary entries, and the letters and articles of her friend, Hand of the Cause of God Martha Root. The book provides a unique glimpse into the life of Queen Marie and her struggle to proclaim the new religion.
I Beheld a Maiden: The Bahá’í Faith and the Life of the Spirit Terry Culhane. Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 2000. 157 pp. Proposes a reading of the body of Bahá’u’lláh’s writings as a conversation between a lover (Bahá’u’lláh) and His Beloved (the Maiden). The book offers an examination of Bahá’i mystical writings and shares insights from the author’s own spiritual journey.
The Importance of Obligatory Prayer and Fasting
Compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of
Justice. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 2000. 30 pp.
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NEW PUBLICATIONS[edit]
Selection of newly translated extracts and prayers from the Bahá’í writings regarding obligatory prayer and fasting, to which Bahá’u’lláh refers collectively as the "sun and moon" of religion.
The Institution of the Counsellors Prepared by the Universal House of Justice. Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 2001. 47 pp. Outlines and explains the functions and responsibility of an institution of the Bahá’i administrative order comprising emminent and devoted Bahá’ís appointed by the Universal House of Justice for the specific purpose of protecting and propagating the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
Islam and the Bahá’í Faith: An Introduction to the Bahá’í Faith for Muslims Moojan Momen. Oxford: George Ronald, 2000. 293 pp. Introduces the Bahá’í Faith from the perspective of Muslim theology. The author uses the authoritative Sunni collection of Traditions and draws on Islamic prophecies to explain the significance of the Bahá’í Faith. He describes the Bahá’i view of the Prophet Muhammad and of Islam, the spiritual and ethical teachings of the Bahá’í Faith, Bahá’í spirituality, and Bahá’i law, social teachings, and community life, and provides a brief history of the Bahá’í Faith.
The Kitáb-i-Aqdas Bahá’u’lláh. New Delhi: Rakmo Press, 2000. Wilmette: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 2000. Budapest: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 2001. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book, is Bahá’u’lláh’s charter for a new world civilization. Written in Arabic circa 1873, these are the volume's first authorized Oriya, Arabic, and Hungarian editions.
Learn Well This Tablet H Richard Gurinsky. Oxford: George Ronald, 2000. 327 pp. Offers a line-by-line study of the text of the Tablet of Ahmad, revealed by Bahá’u’lláh during His exile in Adrianople and identified by Shoghi Effendi as being invested with a "special potency and significance." The book seeks to increase understanding and appreciation of the historical context of the prayer's revelation, as well as its significance and impor- tance in life today. It also contains a biographical sketch of Mirza Ahmad Yazdi, to whom the Tablet was addressed.
Life, On the Fence
Marvin "Doc" Holladay. Oxford: George Ronald, 2000. 258 pp.
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An autobiographical telling of an insider's view of the world of jazz and
its origins, alongside the author's discovery of the Bahá’í Faith. The book
details the author's life and his struggles with art and spirituality, and his
struggle with racism as a white musician in a predominantly black
musical world.
Logos and Civilization: Spirit, History, and Order in the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh Nader Saiedi. Bethesda, Maryland: University of Maryland Press, 2000. 404 pp. A systematic exposition of major themes to be found in the principal writings of Bahá’u’lláh. The author outlines three successive stages of Bahá’u’lláh’s writings, which collectively laid the foundation for His ethics and mysticism, followed by theology and hermeneutics and then the laws of personal and social conduct, as well as the structure of a new administrative order.
Mahatma Gandhi and the Bahá’ís: Striving Toward a Non- Violent Civilization MV Gandhimohan. New Delhi: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 2000. 212 pp. Introduces a vision of a nonviolent civilization as described both in the writings of Mahatma Gandhi and those of the Bahá’í Faith. Questioning mainstream political, economic, social, and religious notions of success, the book's analysis paints an optimistic future of an ever-advancing civilization that cultivates unity in diversity.
The Priceless Pearl Rúḥiyyih Rabbání. 2nd ed. Oakham, United Kingdom: Bahá’í Pub- lishing Trust, 2000. 484 pp. A biography of Shoghi Effendi, great-grandson of Bahá’u’lláh and Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957, written by his widow, Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥiyyih Khánum.
Racial Healing: The Institutes for the Healing of Racism
Reginald Newkirk and Nathan Rutstein. Albion, Michigan: National
Resource Center for the Healing of Racism, 2000. 201 pp.
Story of the grassroots movement of Institutes for the Healing of Racism
throughout North America, a spiritually-based, nonconfrontational
process by which to heal human hearts of racism. This book offers readers
a standard text that sets forth the philosophy, psychology, and format of
the Institutes and shares the personal accounts of the authors as they
journey along the path to healing.
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NEW PUBLICATIONS[edit]
Re-thinking, Re-visioning, Re-placing Theo Cope. Oxford: George Ronald, 2001. 322 pp.
Presents two works, "Heart Thoughts" and "A Place for a Psychological Philosophy," which attempt to rethink some ideas of Western philosophy and metaphysics. The book examines the teachings of Swiss psychiatrist CG Jung in light of the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith and challenges Jung's followers to examine the spiritual dimension of existence.
Solitude & Solidarity: The Artist and the Bahá’í Community Michael Fitzgerald. Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 2000. 121 pp.
Explores the relationship between art and spirituality through a collection of essays on the role of the Bahá’í artist. The author discusses his craft, the inner life of the artist, current events, and the spirit of the age.
A Tribute to Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum Violette Nakhjavání. Nepean, Ontario: Nine Pines Publishing, 2000. 86 pp.
A biography of Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum. The author, a close friend and traveling companion to Amatu’l-Bahá for 40 years, offers a succinct and compelling memoir of one of the great women of the Bahá’í Faith. The story elucidates events of Amatu’l-Bahá’s life, from her early childhood and youth in Canada and Europe, through her years of marriage to Shoghi Effendi in the Holy Land, to her final travels and last decades of service.