Bahá’í World/Volume 34/Highlights of the Messages from the Universal House of Justice

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[Page 37]

Highlights of Messages from the Universal House of Justice

Unique among the world's religious communities, the members of the Bahá’í Faith maintain a complete unity of purpose and vision, inspired and preserved by their adhering to sacred writings of Bahá’u’lláh, and their turning to His appointed successors: the authorized interpreters of these writings, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi; and the institution designated to administer the laws of the Faith.

This clear center of authority, now embodied in the institution of the Universal House of Justice—the community's elected international governing council—was conceived by Bahá’u’lláh to protect His Faith from factionalism and to provide the world with a model framework for the practical establishment of unity.

Since its first election in 1963, the Universal House of Justice has guided the growth and development of the Bahá’í community. Consequently, the Faith's integrity has been preserved, its unity maintained, and its expansion around the world directed and sustained.

The Universal House of Justice is the sole institution of the Bahá’í Faith that is empowered to enact further application of Bahá’u’lláh's laws. While it cannot annul or modify any directive explicitly given by Bahá’u’lláh in His writings, it does have the [Page 38]authority to decide on matters not specified in the texts, and performs a number of specific functions “to ensure the continuity of that divinely appointed authority which flows from the Source of the Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers, and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings.”¹

Through its communications, the Universal House of Justice provides vision and direction to the worldwide community. On occasion, it addresses the wider community, setting forth the Bahá’í perspective on issues that are of particular concern to the well-being of the peoples of the world, the purpose being to inspire constructive action in relation to them.

In the year under review, a number of significant communications from the Universal House of Justice offered guidance to the Bahá’í community.

Worldwide growth and development of the Bahá’í Faith

One of the most important of the regular communications of the Universal House of Justice is the message released each year during the Festival of Riḍván (21 April–2 May). As the Bahá’í world community embarked on the fourth year of its current five-year plan of growth and development, the message of the Universal House of Justice written at Riḍván 2005 presented an upbeat assessment of the community’s ongoing efforts to strengthen the skills and capacities of its members through the use of training institutes employing course materials developed by the Ruhi Institute in Colombia, which has given a sense of global coherence to the process of learning in which the Bahá’í community is engaged. The Universal House of Justice noted that more than 200,000 people worldwide had completed Book 1 of the Ruhi Institute and that some 10,000 Bahá’ís were now qualified to act as tutors for the courses through “study circles.” There were now sizeable groups of trained Bahá’ís in some 150 geographical locations, known as “clusters,” experimenting with, or ready to initiate, intensive programs designed to develop the community and extend its activities and influence. The experiences being garnered in these locations were being systematically analyzed and shared to assist the efforts of Bahá’ís all over the world.

The Universal House of Justice celebrated the “continual enhancement of the spiritual life of Bahá’í communities every- [Page 39]The members of the Universal House of Justice, 2005–2006.

where,” contrasting the growing solidarity within the Faith with the evidences of the decline in society, the “breakdown in which a demoralized world is entrapped.” As Bahá’ís focused on devotional meetings, children’s classes, and study circles, a renewed spiritual vitality could be discerned in the community, accounting for the growing participation of people of diverse backgrounds from the wider community, many of whom chose to join the Faith.

On 30 October 2005, a letter to the Bahá’ís of the world announced the names of 81 individuals appointed to a new five-year term as members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors for the Protection and Propagation of the Bahá’í Faith. Five Continental Boards of Counsellors have the responsibility of educating, encouraging, and motivating Bahá’í communities through their interaction with National Spiritual Assemblies and with 990 Auxiliary Board members who work at the regional and local level. The new contingent of Counsellors were invited to the Bahá’í World Centre for a conference from 27 to 31 December to deliberate on the features of the next five-year plan of growth and development to be launched at Riḍván 2006. A seminal letter from the Universal House of Justice addressed to the conference of the Continental Board of Counsellors, dated 27 December 2005, and widely circulated to Bahá’ís throughout the world, provided analysis of the activities of the community over the previous [Page 40]Gathered on the steps of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice on Mount Carmel, Haifa, Israel, are members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors together with, at front, center, the Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ali- Muḥammad Varqá, members of the Universal House of Justice, and the International Teaching Centre.

five years, and gave clear direction for its future evolution. The letter emphasized the need for individual believers, communities, and institutions to continue developing their capacities and maintaining their focus. The Universal House of Justice highlighted the importance of cultivating a "pattern of behavior" in community life that attracts people: "A nurturing environment is being cultivated in which each individual is encouraged to progress at his or her own pace without the pressure of unreasonable expectations. At the heart of such developments is a growing awareness of the implications of the universality and comprehensiveness of the Faith."

A letter from the Universal House of Justice addressed to all National Spiritual Assemblies on 28 December 2005 offered [Page 41]

FROM THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

further guidance on the curriculum of training institute programs. Assemblies everywhere were encouraged to adopt the books of the Ruhi Institute as the main sequence of courses for institutes. The message also explored the idea of the development of other courses branching out from the main sequence, addressing areas of action specific to a particular culture or population.

As the gathering in the Holy Land of the Continental Counsellors drew to a close, the Universal House of Justice addressed a message to the Bahá’ís of the world, dated 31 December 2005:

We are moved to share with you the feelings of joy, triumph, and confidence which have characterized several days of focused deliberation on the present Five Year Plan and on the global enterprise that will succeed it. Persistent questions of how to sustain the process of growth, of how to achieve a balance between expansion and consolidation, that have engaged the Bahá’í community for nearly half a century found clear answers in the experiences shared from diverse clusters on all continents.

The Universal House of Justice expressed its interest at the sharing in the conference of "accounts of obstacles surmounted, fresh learning acquired, and creative insights discovered."

The situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran

Several letters during the year detailed specific events related to the persecution of Iran's long-suffering Bahá’í community. On 29 September 2005, the Universal House of Justice confirmed that Bahá’í students in Iran had once again been denied access to higher education:

The Iranian government had publicly announced that applicants of the national university entrance examination would no longer be asked to state their religion on the application form. Their hopes thus being raised, the students took their exams without having to list their religion. However when the test results were made known, reference to the applicant's religion remained on the form and the religion of the Bahá’í applicants was registered as Islam. Appeals to the governmental agency overseeing the examination process went unanswered. The Bahá’ís, as a matter [Page 42]of principle, would not deny their Faith, so they could not accept or use the exam cards to apply for admission into either public or private institutions of higher education.

On 20 December 2005, a message of condolence was sent to the Bahá’ís in Iran following the death in a prison in Yazd of Mr. Dhabihu’lláh Mahramí, "his sacrifice once again demonstrating to the world that Bahá’ís—who harbor no intention or desire save service to the world of humanity, the fostering of fellowship and friendship, and the establishment of universal peace—rather than being intimidated. . . embrace with meekness the persecution that is meted out to them through ignorant prejudice."

In a further message, sent on the same day to National Spiritual Assemblies, the Universal House of Justice noted that it was particularly poignant that on the very day Mr. Mahrami's body was being laid to rest, a resolution on the human rights situation in Iran was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . . . In addition to expressing the General Assembly's serious concern at 'the continuing discrimination, and other human rights violations against persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, including the Bahá’ís, the Resolution notes explicitly 'the escalation and increased frequency of discrimination and other human rights violations against the Bahá’í[s], including cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, the denial of freedom of religion or of publicly carrying out communal affairs, the disregard of property rights, the destruction of sites of religious importance, the suspension of social, educational and community-related activities and the denial of access to higher education, employment, pensions, adequate housing, and other benefits."

The release of The Tabernacle of Unity

On 20 April 2006, the Universal House of Justice announced to all National Spiritual Assemblies the completion of a volume of newly translated writings from Bahá’u’lláh, entitled The Tabernacle of Unity. The main feature of this small book is Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet to Mánikchí Ṣáhib, a prominent Zoroastrian. The Universal House of Justice wrote that the contents of the book "offer a glimpse of [Page 43]Ian Semple, a former member of the Universal House of Justice, at the centenary celebration of the German Bahá’í community, held in Stuttgart.

Bahá’u’lláh’s relationship with the followers of a religion that had arisen, many centuries before, in the same land that witnessed the birth of His own Faith."3.

Bahá’í Internet Agency

The rise of computer technology has greatly increased opportunities to make known to society at large the activities of the Bahá’í community. On 16 June 2005, the Universal House of Justice announced to all National Spiritual Assemblies its decision to create an international Bahá’í Internet Agency to assist Bahá’í institutions in addressing issues as they pertain to the Internet.

The Centenary of the Bahá’í Faith in Germany

On 10 September 2005, the Universal House of Justice addressed a special message to those gathered at celebrations for the centenary of the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith in Germany. "This is a moment for reflection, profound reflection," it wrote, "one that recounts the highlights in contrast to the dark aspects punctuating the history [Page 44]of crisis and victory that depicts the evolution of the German community. No other community in the Western world can claim to have demonstrated a greater resilience in the face of formidable obstacles that threatened to rob you of the shining triumph, the potent prospects, signalized by your very meeting on so auspicious an occasion."

The message reviewed the outstanding achievements of the community throughout its 100-year history and encouraged the Bahá’ís in Germany to "seize the opportunities open to them to move resolutely to the next chapter of their destiny, which is unfolding so brilliantly."4

NOTES

1 The Constitution of the Universal House of Justice (Haifa: Bahá’í World Centre, 1972), pp. 3-4. 2 For further details on the ongoing persecutions in Iran's Bahá’í community, see pp. 115-27 of this volume. 3 For further information on The Tabernacle of Unity, see pp. 89-92 of this volume. 4 For further details on the celebrations of the centenary of the Bahá’í Faith in Germany, see pp. 85-88 of this volume.