Bahá’í World/Volume 6/Youth Activities Throughout the Bahá’í World

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[Page 426]

YOUTH ACTIVITIES THROUGHOUT THE BAHÁ’Í WORLD

BAHÁ’Í YOUTH

An Estimate and Survey of International Events

1934 to 1936

BY MARION HOLLEY

TODAY it is no longer necessary to define the world’s condition. The pressure of years, now almost seven, of steady social disintegration accompanying and feeding upon our economic chaos, has weighed upon the native optimism of us all, until in honest dismay we have come to admit a predicament. The privileges which seemed ours for the taking have vanished; neither desire nor urgent need seem likely to restore them. The universe, once so friendly, evinces a marked disinterest in our affairs, ignores our suggestions, proceeds calmly to its own destiny while we writhe in ours.

Clearly, human society has an existence of its own, a power of choice apart from the necessity of nature which, underestimated and abused, has attained sudden prominence by leading us into our present unhappy state. In an environment potentially adequate, with unique equipment of intellect and energy, we of the human race are nevertheless free to starve, kill, and misuse our fellows and ourselves. It is a situation we should brand as improbable except that it surrounds us.

In this confusion of 1936, all are victims alike, for the disruption and perversion of social institutions proceeds as virulently in Europe as in America, in Asia, Africa, and in most of the countries of the world. Scarcely a single constructive idea stands out against the prevailing drift. Young people, who are not historically patient, seem at as great a loss as their elders for an impulse toward the proper action. It is a stale, a sterile period; yet may it not be the propitious moment for deliverance—for the challenge of this extreme futility by a sound and vital program?

Three years ago in the summer of 1933, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada appointed a Youth Committee which, in an advisory capacity, was to aid in the spread and consolidation of the Bahá’í Faith among young people. The scope of its work as later defined by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Cause, was extended to the international field, for he wrote: "You should not confine your activities to the national sphere but should strive to create under the supervision of your National Spiritual Assembly an international body of active young Bahá’í men and women who, conscious of their manifold and sacred responsibilities, will unanimously arise to spread the Holy Word.” (August, 1933)

This Committee, in its first general letter, named the dynamic which has motivated each subsequent act, that stirring ideal of world change which Bahá’u’lláh, the Manifestation of the power and authority of God, reieased to reshape and renew our troubled society. "The world’s equilibrium,” Bahá’u’lláh affirmed, “hath been upset through the vibrating influence of this most great, this new World Order. Mankind’s ordered life hath been revolutionized through the agency of this unique, this wondrous System—the like of which mortal eyes have never witnessed.”

[Page 427] To the support of this startling challenge —for Bahá’u’lláh’s enunciation constitutes a mighty claim—the Youth Committee called its contemporaries. “We have grown firmly convinced that our destiny is indeed to live in the construction of a new world order, an order which must rise from and displace this helpless and decadent civilization. . . . Surely none of us would now deny that it is the task of this generation, of this Bahá’í generation, to build the framework for that wonderful conception.” (Bahá’í News, November, 1933.)

The record of the response from Bahá’í youth will form the substance of this survey. Because of the shortness of time since 1933, and the barriers of language and space which still intervene between American youth and international groups, the record is incomplete. On the other hand, the diverse activities of young Bahá’ís throughout the world cannot be attributed to the efforts of one committee. The announcement, be it remembered, was Bahá’u’lláh’s and it has roused not only His immediate followers, but all those who are contributing in any way to the unfoldment of this destined plan.

BAHÁ’Í STANDARDS AFFECTING YOUTH

The process of growth in the Bahá’í community presents an interesting study, for it assumes characteristic patterns and develops through phases of vitality which are original, demanding, but absolutely necessary. There are periods in the process which, to outward seeming, are unproductive; yet in these times certain ideals are implanted which nourish the whole action that is to follow. There are insistent patterns which appear to limit and constrict growth; yet ultimately these form a solid base from which the community rises to unforeseen achievement.

That Bahá’í youth are subject to the same conditions which govern the Bahá’í community was one of the first discoveries of local youth committees. It was soon found that neither efficient nor ingenious plans for organization and teaching can ensure group success, apart from adherence to the will of Bahá’u’lláh. Two standards in particular stand out as measures of youth work, and in these past two years every effort has been thwarted or confirmed according to its conformity with them.

The first standard imposed by Bahá’u’lláh was that of character. “Whose ariseth among you to teach the Cause of his Lord, let him, before all else, teach his own self, that his speech may attract the hearts of them that hear him.” The transformation of one’s own life and the expression in deeds of that faith which is verbally professed is the primary obligation of every Bahá’í. In 1934, Shoghi Effendi addressed the youth conference at Louhelen in these words: “A tremendous responsibility has been laid upon you, and nothing short of a pure, a virtuous, an active and truly exemplary life can enable you to fulfill your high destiny.”

This goal, so difficult of attainment, so alien to the prevailing customs and habits of society, was at first neglected by Bahá’í youth. Perhaps it is fairer to say that it was overlooked, in their eagerness to win the attention and comradeship of other young people. Some felt even a certain shyness at the thought of creating a sense of difference.

Today, however, that hesitance has passed and in its place is a growing sentiment in favor of frank, unqualified faithfulness to the ideals of Bahá’í conduct. Bahá’u’lláh forbade the use of intoxicants and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recommended the renouncing of tobacco. More important, the virtues of honesty, courtesy, justice, dignity, tolerance, and kindliness were enjoined. In a tablet to an American believer, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá emphasized the importance of chastity, “because in the ocean of divine knowledge one particle of chastity is greater than ten thousand years of adoration.” And always he spoke of that greatest characteristic, love, the crown of human perfection. “The first bounty from the True One is love, unity and harmony,” he said, "and without these all the deeds pass in vain and give no result.”

A gradual awakening to the profound import of these instructions of the Manifestation is the most significant present trend among young Bahá’ís. In articles for the bulletin Bahá’í Youth, in letters, in [Page 428] discussion groups and on the public platform, these ideals are being stressed and this fact will surely hasten the day when "the Bahá’í youth of America,” in fulfillment of the National Assembly’s urgent hope, “can be a source of inspiration to the numberless young people who are groping for a light in the darkness of the present chaos, and seeking a sure foundation upon which to build their lives.” (Letter to the Youth Committee, November 5, 1935.)

The second standard set forth by Bahá’u’lláh was unity. "In this wondrous Revelation, this glorious century, the foundation of the Faith of God and the distinguishing feature of His Law is the consciousness of the Oneness of Mankind.” This principle extends into every aspect of society, uniting in a common destiny every class, race, religion, nation and temperament. It is the basis for the new institutional life of man and it determines the form into which all institutions must develop. Yet at the time of the appointment of the Youth Committee, no one suspected its chief problems would be contributed by the operations of this standard. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had written that “universality is of God and all limitations earthly.” No one associated this divine principle with the mechanics of a youth movement.

In a sense the establishment of youth groups in the midst of Bahá’í community life is incongruous. The rivalry of youth with age has enjoyed a long history and a peculiarly sterile one; it was not the intent of the National Assembly to perpetuate it. Some emphasis of teaching work among young people was required, however, together with a more consistent effort to initiate Bahá’í youth into community responsibility. So the Youth Committee was created, but its energies for several months were diverted by an attempt first to define and later to abolish a conception of age limit. Although that struggle is now past, the necessity for constant interpretation of function and adjustment remains.

For the problem which confronts Bahá’í youth is one unknown to other youth organizations. The methods which bring success to these groups betray our deepest purposes. No guidance can be obtained by studying them and no imitation can assist in a solution. Rather what is demanded of young Bahá’ís is a fresh imagination, a profound and mature originality, that they may conceive a new relationship for youth and age, and create, by identifying their aims with the larger ideals of the community, a new integration. Thus their work will advance, not retard, the development of an original society-Bahá’u’lláh’s conception of an organic, all-embracing, world community.

Local groups have approached this problem in various ways, sometimes failing altogether, their expansion undoubtedly delayed; yet one cannot study their efforts without gaining confidence that finer relations are being continuously established as each group strives toward a fuller consultation and more steadfast individual service under the leadership of its local Spiritual Assembly.

AN ASSEMBLY OF YOUNG PEOPLE

The spirit of the Bahá’í Faith has, throughout its history, exerted a special attraction over young people. In Nabil’s great narrative of the early days of the movement, The Dawn-Breakers, although no emphasis is laid upon youth, it is evident upon every page that the first followers of the Báb, most of whom sealed their sincerity with martyrdom, were men under thirty. The Báb Himself, described as a “Youth of radiant countenance,” was but twenty-five when He announced His mission. Nor is it unusual that His Cause should have found its chief champions among younger people, for the message of the Báb shattered traditions, evoked a deep idealism, and required daring for its spread.

Each of the Founders of the Faith was supported by a group of persons whose lives, activities, and ambitions were centered in the Prophet’s will. The Báb, in six brief years, created His heralds and sent them forth to rouse Írán. By 1852, they had accomplished their destiny and joined their Master. (He was martyred in 1850.) The generation of believers in the Manifestation of Bahá’u’lláh formed another group who, for half a century, labored to establish His Cause. When in 1892, Bahá’u’lláh passed [Page 429] on, His work was continued by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; it was the latter’s special privilege to extend the influence of the Bahá’í Faith into the western world. In France, Germany, England, and in America the news of this personage spread, exciting a great enthusiasm in the hearts of innumerable men and women. These, too, were often young; today they continue to breathe into the local Assemblies a sense of the greatness of the Cause, teaching by their example that devotion and reverence, that patient service which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Himself so patiently taught to them.

But today is another day and a new epoch in the advance of the Cause. It is the time which belongs, in history, to Shoghi Effendi, first Guardian and grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. It is the period of consolidation, of the establishment of that Administrative Order which “will, as its component parts, its organic institutions, begin to function with efficiency and vigor, assert its claim and demonstrate its capacity to be regarded not only as the nucleus but the very pattern of the New World Order destined to embrace in the fulness of time the whole of mankind.” And Shoghi Effendi, like his predecessors, is the center for the ardent hopes, the devoted services of a generation. Youth! Today’s youth, like the generations which have gone before, has found its destined field of action—the building of a world community.

It is, therefore, worthy of note that in Flint, Michigan, an Assembly has been organized which is composed solely of young people. “We have not felt a need for a special Youth Committee as our Flint Bahá’í Assembly is made up entirely of young people, except for one member who has just been elected to the Assembly to fill a vacancy. . . . Being a small community, we have set no age limits, because the three young people who exceed the age of twenty-five years, by two or three years, are quite naturally a part of the youth group. There are nine Bahá’ís who are between the ages of twenty-one and twenty—five.” This was in September, 1935. In November of the same year a letter was received: “Recently, we added six new believers to our community, which brings the total resident believers to eighteen. God is good, and Bahá’u’lláh lives, today and always!”

In Flint the exhilaration which is felt in those words has been translated into thrilling motion. A dozen plans of teaching are used; there are afternoon and evening study classes; each week at least one open discussion is scheduled “where anyone is welcome to give his viewpoint in exchange for ours”; On Saturday night the community joins in recreation; nationally known teachers are invited to assist, and for them “we arrange public meetings, group meetings, and private consultations, ahead of time so that there is a definite program to fill in every hour of their stay.” This wide scope of activity bespeaks a vitality and singleness of purpose which will teach the Cause around the world.

THE NEW HOUR IN TEACHING

There are, perhaps, few local Assemblies where a group of young Bahá’ís, by its own unaided efforts, has obtained the success of the Flint Assembly. There are, however, innumerable local communities in which youth groups exist and prosper. In a survey made in the fall of 1935, twenty-eight organized groups were discovered in America. In addition, in a total of sixty-one localities there were young Bahá’ís from sixteen to twenty-five years of age. In most cases, these young people carry, aside from their youth activities, a responsible share in the general life of the community. They serve on committees, lead classes, take eager part in Feast consultations, are rapidly qualifying as public speakers, and assist in the organization of inter-Assembly and teaching conferences.

But their chief opportunity lies in that special phase of teaching which is planned for youth. No other part of the Bahá’í community is so fitted to undertake this work, for no one else understands quite so intimately the problems and modes of thinking of young people.

In this field the Bahá’í youth of London seem to have achieved an outstanding success. The News Letter from the Bahá’ís of the British Isles makes frequent mention of their programs which, during 1934 and 1935, included a monthly series of [Page 430] discussion groups, a monthly series of public talks, and frequent social meetings. There are now twenty-five active Bahá’ís and their numbers will no doubt increase as they devise fresh attractions. In April, 1934, one hundred and fifty guests were entertained with a play and a brief exposition of the Faith. In August, a Summer School for youth was held. This group has also tried methods of publicity, the latest being a circular letter to a number of youth which included these sentences: “We believe that everyone looks today for a better order of things. Many hopes and aspirations have sadly come to no result. . . . Our organization is young, but it is born and bred on solid principles given to us more than sixty years ago. At a time when no one thought of International Cooperation, Bahá’u’lláh arose in Írán, as the Promised One of all the Faiths, speaking of a world state and federation of mankind. He proclaimed the basic oneness of all religions, and ordained equality of sexes, equal opportunity for all, universal education, and a fair solution of economic difficulties. We are following in His footsteps. . . . You will find us a group of people who know what they want, and with faith in their work for making this earth a saner and more congenial place to live.”

It has been the privilege of local youth groups, in the few years of their existence, to inaugurate a number of original teaching methods. One which was initiated during 1935, with real success was the teaching team. Today there are three such teams, the first begun in Los Angeles, followed by teams in San Francisco and New York. The method has been vividly described by Mr. Joseph Bray of San Francisco: “We call it the miniature symposium and it is working beautifully. The way it works is this: some friend, a non-Bahá’í, asks friends in to hear of the New World Order. Usually four of us arrive and after everyone is settled, I start off with a talk of six or seven minutes on, say ‘The Signs and Need of a New World Order.’ Of course that’s an easy subject because all one needs do is to read yesterday’s or today’s newspaper for material. At our last symposium Sylvia Ioas took up where I finished; Joyce Lyon gave a fine talk of six or seven minutes on ‘The Three Great Figures of the Bahá’í Faith’; Marḍíyyih Carpenter finished with general remarks and led a very interesting discussion. There are many advantages to this type of teaching work. In the first place, the guests and sincere inquirers are not bored with a talk of half an hour or longer on the part of one speaker; also there are presented several different points of view.” Other teams speak with enthusiasm of the unity which is developed among the members, a unity which lends courage to each and is, for the listeners, convincing.

In America the use of the inter-group conference has imparted great stimulation to the activities of individual Bahá’ís and youth groups. Perhaps the most outstanding meeting of this type, one which has become almost an institution, is the youth dinner held during each National Convention. In 1934, the participants, numbering seventy-three, held a lively round—table discussion of teaching methods for young people, the report of which, carried in the international Bulletin, reached Bahá’í youth throughout the world.

Several localities are especially suited to these inter-group meetings. New York, with outlying suburbs, neighboring communities, and Assemblies not too far away, scheduled a regional teaching conference in October, 1935, on the occasion of Rúḥí Effendi’s visit to America. This proved so valuable that another conference was planned for the Christmas holidays, and invitations were sent to twenty—five Assemblies. Both San Francisco and Los Angeles, on the west coast, on several occasions sponsored this same type of discussion with Bahá’í youth from neighboring cities. But no region is so adapted to the inter—Assembly meeting as the central states and on the North Shore of Lake Michigan a number of conferences have occurred. The participating groups include Chicago, Kenosha, Racine, Winnetka, Wilmette, Evanston, Urbana, Peoria, Flint, and Milwaukee; in 1935, they met at the Louhelen Summer School, in Winnetka in September, and in Peoria. Situated as these youth groups are in the near vicinity of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, their increasing strength is of [Page 431] great promise, hearing, it would seem, testimony to the Guardian’s cabled message that the “forces which progressive revelation of this mighty symbol of our Faith is fast releasing in heart of a sorely-tried continent no one of this generation can correctly appraise.” (October, 1935.)

From Assemblies throughout the world reports come of other youth groups, each with its specialized program and each contributing life to this far-flung Cause. Already the units of the New World Order are assuming tangible form in these Assemblies; their youth are a guarantee of their perpetuation.

In Paris a group of Íránian students holds, according to one observer, “brilliant meetings.” In December, 1934, this union sponsored its fifth annual conference where the following subjects were considered: (1) The Bahá’í Faith and World Politics, (2) The Bahá’í Faith in Present-Day Írán, (3) Discipline, the Basis of Liberty, and (4) Patriotism and World Cooperation.

The Baghdád Youth Committee has "weekly study classes where the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and the Íqán are discussed, and talks on important subjects are given.”

In 1934, a new group was organized in Sydney, Australia, by a former member of the Montreal Youth Group, Mrs. Poppoea Rickman.

On the island of Maui, in the Hawaiian group, a study class of thirty young people meets, and a large proportion of these youth are Japanese. Hawaii, even more than the United States, is by virtue of its diverse races a unique laboratory for the proving of Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings on the oneness of mankind.

Although Íránian youth activities form the subject of a later section of this paper, the news from Massoud Rassikh, a Bahá’í student in the American University of Beirut, is appropriate here. In the summer of 1934, Mr. Rassikh and several friends formed in Qazvin a club of young people, Bahá’ís and others, for physical recreation. A tennis court was built in the garden of the Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds, thus making this Bahá’í center a point of general attraction.

Mention should be made, too, of the efforts of Mrs. Gregory in Belgrade, Jugoslavia, who is teaching a class of six Russian students, and of Miss Alexander who, in Tokyo, is gradually reaching young people through the medium of an English conversation class.

It is manifestly impossible to comment upon the activities of Bahá’í youth in every Bahá’í community throughout the world. But surely, in this scant survey, one may glimpse the power and energy of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh, may perhaps be convinced that, as the Guardian has said, “the new hour has struck in (the) history of our beloved Cause.”

THE SUMMER SCHOOLS

With the increased interest in youth work, partly as a result of the appointment of a National Youth Committee, and the wide expansion of functioning groups, it has become necessary to divide the United States and Canada into three large regions, thus better to understand and assist local action. This division, made by the National Committee to expedite its own business, grew naturally out of the fact that Bahá’ís have already concentrated their attention upon three centers: the Summer Schools at Green Acre, Louhelen and Geyserville. Just as the Bahá’í communities have drawn fresh vigor each year from these institutions, so now Bahá’í youth are taking more part and receiving as a consequence more training and inspiration.

In 1934, for the first time, a special youth conference was planned at Central States Summer School. Twenty-six young Bahá’ís sponsored the move and the sessions were attended by almost fifty. This group, before its dispersion, elected a Youth Council which, with the Summer School Committee, was made responsible for the following year’s meeting. In reply to an announcement of these facts, Shoghi Effendi sent instructions in words which are of significance not only to the youth of Louhelen, but to all Bahá’í young people who are making efforts in the path of Bahá’u’lláh. “The work in which you are engaged is dear and near to my heart and constitutes one of the most vital aspects of the manifold activities of our beloved Faith. The highest standards of purity, of [Page 432] integrity, of detachment and sacrifice must be maintained by the members of your group in order to enable you to play a decisive part in the spread and consolidation of the Faith. A tremendous responsibility has been laid upon you, and nothing short of a pure, a virtuous, an active and truly exemplary life can enable you to fulfil your high destiny. I will pray that you may be guided and strengthened to render the most effective service to the Cause and by your example lend a fresh impetus to the onward march of its newborn institutions.”

The Youth Conference of 1935, four days in length and attended by sixty young people, carried forward the spirit set the preceding summer. We quote from the letter sent by the Youth Council to Shoghi Effendi: “It is with great joy that we report the completion of a most successful and happy Youth Conference. . . . The spirit of joy and cooperation among us has been continually present, with a deepening sense of responsibility and devotion to our beloved Faith.

“The mornings have been devoted to classes. We opened with a devotional, in which various people were given an opportunity to serve; Mrs. Bishop Brown led the class on the ‘Bahá’í Approach to World Problems’; Mrs. Dorothy Baker spoke inspiringly on ‘The Bahá’í Life.’ The two classes which were held during the last period in the morning dealt with the Guardian’s letters, for those who were well acquainted with the Bahá’í teachings, and ‘What is the Bahá’í Movement?’ for those who were less familiar with them. The afternoons and evenings were mostly spent in recreation and informal gatherings-an excellent opportunity to become better acquainted and to speak more intimately in regard to those Bahá’í problems which lie closest to our hearts.”

Under date of August 3, 1935, the Guardian replied: "I am overjoyed to learn of the splendid work you have achieved, and particularly of the determination with which you have arisen to promote the best interests of our beloved Faith. I will, from the depths of my heart, pray for the early and complete realization of your highest and dearest hopes. Rest assured, and persevere, however great the obstacles which you may have to face in the future or the disappointments which you must necessarily experience. Your work will assuredly triumph.”

The Summer Schools of Green Acre and Geyserville have not as yet adopted the procedure of a separate conference for youth. However, each of them has arranged certain specialized sessions and in each, young Bahá’ís have made notable contributions to the program. It is still a question, at least in Geyserville, as to whether a Youth Conference is desired; a feeling strong with many is that in some way, new and so far untried, youth may win an important place in the program, discover especial functions, and enrich both themselves and the main body of the school by creating this higher integration.

At any rate, Geyserville holds a great challenge, for in 1935, a large group of children and youth were in attendance. There were, between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, some fifteen young people, seventeen who were from ten to fourteen years, and thirteen from seven to nine years. These children represent a potential reservior which, in the next few years, may be developed to the honor of the Faith. At present, plans are already on foot to issue a small bulletin of Geyserville news for circulation among the Bahá’í youth in western Assemblies. Such a paper will intensify interest, and may lead to the type of program so deeply desired.

At Green Acre a weekend was devoted during the Summer School of 1934, to youth meetings. Three sessions were held for the discussion of world problems, as solved by Bahá’u’lláh. A costume ball and beach picnic were also arranged, and on Sunday morning the regular meeting was conducted by young Bahá’ís. At this school three of the adult courses were taught by Bahá’í youth: Mary Maxwell on “The Dawn-Breakers,” Bahíyyih Lindstrom on "The Íqán,” and David Hofman with a discussion on “Proposed Solutions of the Economic Problem.”

In 1935, although a second youth conference was planned, it was not carried through, due to the small numbers who [Page 433] were able to attend. Green Acre is more expensive than the other two schools and more remote. However, thirteen of the young people held an impromptu meeting for consultation, adopting a firm resolution to sponsor a program in 1936.

America is not the only country to have established Bahá’í Summer Schools. Previous mention has been made of the Summer School arranged by the London Youth Group. An account has also been received of the “Summer-Week” in Esslingen, Germany, from which the following extracts are taken. It must be remembered, however, that as Helen Bishop has written, “In Germany the law prohibits or does not permit any youth organizations because they have an elaborate political . . . organization in which youth is practically compelled to participate.”

Dr. Hermann Grossmann prepared this report, which has been translated from his German. “There is no youth work of the Bahá’ís in Germany and Austria at this time. The young Bahá’ís attend the common Bahá’í meetings. The yearly Bahá’í Summer School in Esslingen (on the Neckar River) takes place in the Esslingen Bahá’í Home. This summer school has been created by the young generation to represent a center of systematic study of the Teachings and for social contact. . . .

“The first summer-school week in Esslingen took place from August 13 to August 21, 1932. . . . The fourth Bahá’í Summer—week held from August 24 to September 1, 1935, dealt with these themes: ‘Mankind in the New Era’ and ‘Bahá’u’lláh’s Message.’ . . .

“All the meetings mentioned are in the form of social work-gatherings. A constantly growing number of attendants of all ages is registered. The young Bahá’ís also attend these meetings with sincere interest. The age mostly represented in speakers and participants, as well as that of most of the volunteers in kitchen-work, is the age between twenty-five and forty years.

“Concluding the summer school session there was a Fall meeting in Esslingen on October 6, 1934. This meeting was especially devoted to the Bahá’í youth.”

SOME OTHER ACTIVITIES

A major problem confronting any international movement is that of communication and the young Bahá’ís have doubtless been impeded in their program by it. However, various means are now in existence which, except for the language barriers, show good promise. Bertram Dewing has for three years edited a Youth Section in the Herald of the South. If Assemblies subscribed more widely to this magazine it could become a most valuable medium.

The Bahá’í News has published frequent articles and news of the Youth Committee, and during 1934-35, no issue passed without some mention of youth activity.

The National Youth Committee has itself issued an occasional bulletin, and in its third issue has adopted a new format and name. Henceforth it is hoped that Bahá’í Youth, An International Bulletin, will appear quarterly, carrying to youth in all parts of the world news and help from their contemporaries.

Finally, with the help of Victoria Bedikian, a world-wide interchange of correspondence has begun.

One project yet remains to be noted which carries more significance than almost any other; its success will ensure the continuity of our whole program. In July, 1934, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada asked all local Assemblies to encourage young people from sixteen to twenty-one years of age to declare “their interest in the Cause and their intention to become voting members. . . .” To these youth was accorded the privilege of attending Nineteen Day Feasts. The Youth Committee studied this matter and in its second Bulletin suggested a study outline by the use of which young people might acquire a sufficient knowledge of the Faith to determine their own interest. Undoubtedly a campaign must be entered upon to enroll the children of Bahá’ís and all those who manifest a sincere conviction. Each youth group, by its very nature, has a special obligation in this regard and a special opportunity to prepare its younger members for this prime, essential step.

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FOR THE FUTURE

Bahá’í youth, three years ago, stood at the threshold of service to their Faith. There were individuals among them who had participated fully in the community tasks; sporadic attempts at organization had occurred; but no unity of consciousness, no group dedication of will, no “international body of active young Bahá’í men and women” had been envisioned or achieved. In the light of these facts, the story of progress since 1933 is no slight one; it represents the initial steps, maneuvered at the bidding of the Guardian, with the steady support of the National Spiritual Assembly, of a movement which today has won security on a solid basis of philosophy and accomplishment.

Today the promise is all ahead. Today the New World Order exists in the minds of youth, not dimly, not as a fantastic hope, but in a real form which is vivid, sure, and ours to be demonstrated. That mankind will demonstrate it upon the field of civilization none of us doubts. That young Bahá’ís shall lead the way is our utmost desire. But only the grace of Bahá’u’lláh can bestow such a priceless favor, and only our lives, when surrendered to the purpose of the Guardian, will render us worthy of His trust.

YOUTH IN ÍRÁN

BY MARḌÍYYIH CARPENTER

UNTIL the summer of 1935, when the Government ordered women of Írán to unveil and appear in public, the term “youth group” as applied to Bahá’í activities in Írán referred to separate groups composed of young men and women respectively. For centuries the veil has made of Írán virtually two separate nations; hampered by its restrictions, women of Írán were unable fully to cooperate with the men in directing Bahá’í activities; at present it is obvious that after gradual adjustment to the new way of living, young Bahá’í women will in cooperation with the men play a still more significant role in establishing a new Bahá’í civilization throughout Írán.

An investigation of the Ṭihrán Youth Group will serve to illustrate the activities of young Bahá’ís of Írán as a whole. This group has an enrollment of several hundred members, who among other duties direct a library and maintain a number of classes in public speaking, Bahá’í history and principles; they engage in athletics, their teams competing with others throughout the city. They write and produce enthusiastically attended plays illustrative of Bahá’í principles. Visitors to Írán long remember the work of the two Service Committees, composed largely of young men and women whose function it is to prepare general meetings, receptions, feasts and the like; at a few hours’ notice they can transform an auditorium into a palace hung with rugs, bright with candelabra, and serve several hundred guests a perfectly appointed banquet—their ability in this adequately emphasizing that cardinal Íránian principle of hospitality. Regarding teaching activities carried on by these young people, a number of factors illustrative of the difficulties they meet and overcome along this line are worthy of note. Present-day Muslims have as a rule been brought up to disregard the Bahá’ís, for adverse propaganda has been so strong that it has effectively throttled any effort a Muslim might make toward impartial investigation of this Cause. A Muslim hearing of some achievement on the part of a Bahá’í is apt to say, “How can such a man be a Bahá’í”; which is similar to the American’s commenting on a Negro’s achievement, “But he has white blood!” or to the European’s saying of an American achievement, “But his ancestors were European!” Those who remember the hate engendered by propagandists in the last war, a hate which made impartial thinking criminal, will understand this phase of the present situation in Írán. The average modern Muslim is incidentally not interested in religion; from Europe he has imported cynicism, along with champagne and the rhumba; of religion he retains only the dregs of [Page 435] faith: fanaticism. Other difficulties besetting the young Bahá’í teacher are the fact that the Cause is revealed partly in Arabic, virtually a foreign language to Íránians; that many Íránians are illiterate; that the Government has forbidden the entry of Bahá’í books into Írán, so that such facilities as a public reading room with a wealth of available literature, are unachievable; that transportational difficulties widen the distances, and living conditions curtail leisure; that so recently as the winter of 1934, Bahá’ís were compelled by the authorities to pledge that they would hold no meetings. Obviously teaching the Cause in Írán is not so simple as in such a country as the United States, where one has only to reach for an Esslemont, place it in the inquirer’s hands and send him away, happy in the knowledge that he will now make a Bahá’í of himself.

With reference to educational facilities for Bahá’í youth of Írán, as it is known the Government closed all Bahá’í schools in the country during the winter of 1934-35. The curriculum in these was uniformly that laid down by the Ministry of Education; it is probably accurate that French influence, stressing theory rather than practice, predominated in the system adopted; subjects were secular, and a large percentage of the students were often non-Bahá’í. The officially recognized superiority of these schools consisted in their discipline and idealism, as well as in their academic equipment. Supplementary to the secular education received in the schools, Bahá’í youth attend weekly classes in character training—the well-known “Dars-i-Akhláq” course of study composed of teachings of the various Manifestations—and later take up the intensive study of such works as the Íqán and Some Answered Questions. These classes meet at the homes of parents at different points throughout the city and are frequently visited by members of the Spiritual Assembly and others; opportunities are given the students to speak in general meetings and yearly examinations are "publicly” held at which prizes are distributed. Committees composed of young men and women respectively, direct instruction in all these classes. The summer school which is proving so effective a means of teaching the Cause throughout the West has not yet been introduced into Írán, partly no doubt for transportational and climatic reasons. A day’s excursion into the country or a short trip to welcome or bid good—by to some visitor, in the course of which meetings may be held, are perhaps the nearest parallel to the summer schools of the West. It is probable that with the increasing motorization of Írán the summer school will be established here.

It would seem, incidentally, that the youth of Írán are not especially “youth-conscious.” Age in the East has always been confused with wisdom, and a successful youth is one who gives an impression of age. ("Pír-shí”—“May you become old” is a phrase sometimes used in expressing thanks.) Moreover, there is perhaps no Youth Group in Írán similar to that in the West, where a college career prolongs adolescence; for example, Írán has as yet no university for women, and for them as a rule marriage and the cares of family life immediately follow the secondary education. On the other hand, the young men are very frequently educated abroad, and the years of separation from their elders tend to obliterate any feeling of differentiation based on age.

Regarding the Guardian’s injunction to build up an “international body of active young Bahá’í men and women,” it would seem that a first step in accomplishing this with reference to Írán would be to establish regular correspondence with various members of the youth group of Írán. It might not be amiss to exchange questionnaires (always bearing in mind that the Eastern method of collecting information is to “by indirections find directions out”). Obviously, in future a considerable amount of traveling will be necessary to enable Bahá’ís in different countries to meet face to face and discuss their work around conference tables; to lay the foundations of such meetings and to dispatch their preliminaries by means of regular correspondence would seem advisable at present. The personal contact established through letters is indispensable in this connection; mere text—book information on the countries to be represented at such conferences would prove insufficient.