Bahá’í World/Volume 8/National Spiritual Assembly of ‘Iráq Annual Report 1938-1939
ANNUAL REPORT—NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF THE BAHÁ’Í OF ‘IRÁQ—1938-1940
THE Bahá’ís of ‘Iráq were severely tested recently when authorities in Mosul, northern ‘Iráq, acting on reports that Bahá’ís are communists, arrested accused believers and detained them pending their trial by court-martial.
The friends were held under intolerable prison conditions in the intense summer heat for almost two weeks. Nevertheless, assured of the help of Bahá’u’lláh, they remained unperturbed, and were even able to spread the teachings among their fellow-prisoners. After close investigation, the authorities were convinced that the accused were Bahá’ís, not communists, and that the Faith is non-political, non-subversive, and in no way connected with communism. The National Spiritual Assembly closely followed the proceedings, and, as had been expected, the arrested believers were declared innocent and promptly released, their faith greatly reinforced by this tribulation. A letter to the National Spiritual Assembly from Muḥammad Ṭáhir Najm, member of the Bahá’í group of Mosul, is in part as follows:
“. . . the police authorities yesterday evening (June 22, 1939) suddenly called at the homes of Mullá Aḥmad H. Malláh, Sharíf ‘Aziz, and Ḥáshim Muḥammad and conducted a careful inspection there. Then, taking whatever Bahá’í books and letters they could find, they arrested these believers pending their trial by the court-martial, which would also investigate about the Faith. As regards the rest of the friends, it is rumoured that we, too, shall be arrested today or tomorrow. . . . Our attitude toward these events, which we regard as a propaganda for our dear Cause, is that of perfect joy and happiness. We are fully prepared to sacrifice our lives and precious possessions for the sake of upholding the Word of God in this land. Would to God we are made a sacrifice for His most great Cause. . . .”
The most vital activity of the ‘Iráq Bahá’ís during these two years has been the construction of the new Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds. Where the former center was located in the dark, winding alleys of old Baghdád, the new edifice stands in its own beautiful gardens in a modern suburb. Total expenditures on the building alone have amounted to 3,500 pounds, while the whole property, that is, the building and the site of land (40 m. x 60 m.), is now estimated at 6,000 pounds.
Owing to financial difficulties, construction work on the new center had been suspended at the close of its first stage in the summer of 1937. Early in April 1938, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly returned from Haifa bearing emphatic instructions from the Guardian relative to the speedy completion of the work—an undertaking described as “momentous.” With his message the Guardian graciously enclosed 50 pounds as a contribution toward the enterprise. The National Spiritual Assembly immediately called a number of consultation meetings in which delegates and friends were invited to join; these resulted in an urgent appeal to the entire Bahá’í community. The response was most encouraging, as a relatively small number of contributors during the Riḍván Feast of 1938 added 500 pounds to the Guardian’s original donation.
Contributions during Riḍván 1939 totalled 380 pounds, and it is expected that sums raised this year will at least equal those of 1938. Construction work was resumed August 23, 1938, and the new Hall, a befitting center for Bahá’í spiritual and administrative purposes, is expected to be inaugurated in September, 1939. In its Annual Report of 1939 the National Spiritual Assembly stated that this undertaking had not only enhanced the dignity and good name of the Cause, but had also done much to unify the Bahá’ís of ‘Iráq, necessitating as it did their common effort in carrying out the Guardian’s instructions. A recent letter from the Guardian enclosed a further donation to the work of 50 pounds. Replying to Naw-Rúz, 1939 greetings of the National Spiritual Assembly, the Guardian wired, “Loving appreciation. Praying unprecedented victories.”
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On the tragic occasion
of the death in a
motor accident of King Ghází, April 4,
1939, the National Spiritual Assembly,
sympathizing with the Royal Family in their
deep sorrow, sent the following telegram
to H.R.H. Prince ‘Abdu’lláh, just declared
Regent: “The painful tragedy that has so
suddenly broken upon this dear Kingdom
through the death of its beloved Ruler, His
Majesty King Ghází the First, has caused
the hearts of the Bahá’ís in ‘Iráq to bleed,
who approach your Highness and the Royal
Family with their sincere expression of
heartfelt condolence, supplicating the
Lord, exalted be He, to inspire all with patience and
peace, and to keep his guarded son,
His Majesty King Faydal the Second, the center of
the hopes of the afflicted people. (Sgd.)
The National Spiritual Assembly continues to publish quarterly the BAHÁ’Í NEWS LETTER, which was started in its new form in December 1937, and is issued in both English and Arabic. Responding to the appeal of the National Spiritual Assembly of Egypt, requesting cooperation in the sale and distribution of the Arabic translation of the Dawn-Breakers (now still at press), the National Spiritual Assembly has thus far transmitted some 60 pounds as advance orders for this important work, which will greatly enrich Bahá’í literature in Arabic.
A generous donation of ten copies of the BAHÁ’Í WORLD Vol. VII, was gratefully received in September, 1939, from. Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher of Montreal, who requested presentation of these to sympathetic inquirers. The National Spiritual Assembly likewise ordered ten copies of this volume. Our beloved sister, Miss Martha L. Root, last year presented to Local Assemblies and Groups several copies of her splendid work, Ṭáhirih the Pure—Írán’s Greatest Woman. The late Muḥammad ‘Alí Banná Yazdí, a believer who died in Haifa some time ago, willed one-fourth of his bequest to the General Fund of the ‘Iráq National Spiritual Assembly. This sum, just under 220 pounds, was recently received through the kindness of the Spiritual Assembly of Haifa.
The Annual Bahá’í Youth World Symposiums are regularly held and enthusiastically celebrated in Baghdád. Young believers and their non-Bahá’í friends attend these to study various phases of the Cause, and the vital duties that devolve upon youth in the face of modern world trends.
To sum up, dominant events of the present two-year period have been: the imprisonment of Mosul Bahá’ís on the charge of communism, and their acquittal; the construction of the new and beautiful Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds; the continued expansion and consolidation of all Bahá’í activities throughout ‘Iráq.
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
