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| Bahá’í News | September 1979 | Bahá’í Year 136 |
Bahá’ís and the fight against drug abuse
Contents[edit]
Crisis in Írán |
|
Universal House of Justice comments on worsening situation | 2 |
Letter from Írán |
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Eyewitness report of oppression, heroism in Cradle of the Faith | 4 |
Drug abuse |
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Bahá’í community, UN join forces to help solve serious problem | 6 |
Around the world |
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News from Bahá’í communities in every corner of the globe | 10 |
Cover
In 1974, the Bahá’í International Community was asked by the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs whether the Bahá’í community was interested in UN activities to combat drug abuse and alcoholism. The result of that inquiry has been a series of statements to the UN Commission expressing the Bahá’í view on the use of drugs and alcohol, and outlining efforts within the Bahá’í community to combat the problem through the Teachings of Bahá’u’lláh which expressly forbid the use of such dangerous and debilitating substances under most conditions. A report of the Bahá’í International Community’s continuing cooperation in the UN’s fight against drug abuse begins on Page 6.
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The Universal House of Justice comments on the crisis in Írán[edit]
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
Further to the letter of the House of Justice to you of May 23rd, the situation in Persia continues to become a cause for deep concern and the friends and Holy Places in the country are in serious danger. We have been directed by the House of Justice to inform you of the following developments in the Cradle of our Faith.
1. An order has been issued by the authorities requiring the Umana Company to cease functioning under its Bahá’í manager and to operate henceforth under a new non-Bahá’í management. This company holds on behalf of the Bahá’í community all the properties of the Faith, including the Holy Places. This step is ominous in its implications as it forebodes total confiscation of all our properties, including Bahá’í cemeteries. A similar step has been taken in respect of the Bahá’í hospital in Ṭihrán, known as the Missaqiyyih Hospital.
2. As a result of the recent disturbances, local revolutionary committees in Írán have instigated, in rural areas, the looting of the homes of several hundred Bahá’í families and the deprivation of their means of livelihood. Although a partial restitution of these properties has taken place, adequate compensation for the losses sustained by the Bahá’ís has yet to be made.
3. Efforts are being made to silence the religious conscience of the Bahá’ís, as they are threatened with dismissal from their jobs and loss of their retirement allowances if they refuse to recant their Faith.
4. Shirkat-i-Nawnahálán, a commercial company of sixty years’ standing, in which over 15,000 Bahá’ís have shares and investments, is occupied, its assets frozen, and its staff prevented from work and denied their salaries. This action contradicts
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public proclamations of the new regime as well as accepted
international standards.
5. The proposed drafts of the new constitution as published in the press recognize three religious minorities but omit mention of the Bahá’ís, in spite of the fact that they are the largest religious minority in the country.
6. The true aims and principles of the Faith are being maliciously misrepresented by a group of fanatical Shí’ih fundamentalists, established over twenty years ago, and one of whose chief aims has been and is to harass the Bahá’í community in Írán. This group is presently spreading false allegations against the Bahá’ís, unjustly accusing them of being enemies of Islam, agents of Zionism and political tools of the previous regime. Such allegations have aroused the passions of uninformed mobs, and created misunderstandings with the authorities. As the Bahá’ís are not a recognized entity in Iran, they have no opportunity to deny or disprove these false accusations.
The points outlined above are being given to you so that you and the friends in your area may be informed of these developments. It may be necessary for certain National Spiritual Assemblies to conduct a new and intensified publicity campaign based on the above points, in which case the House of Justice will specifically cable you to this effect.
One of the Persian friends has written to the House of Justice a eulogy of the spirit of his fellow-believers at this moment of deep agitation and turmoil in the Cradle of our Faith. A copy of extracts from his letter is enclosed.
With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Darkness of tyranny, oppression covers Írán[edit]
- Extracts from a report of one of the friends from Persia:
The enemies of the Faith, filled with hatred and cruelty, have once again attacked the wronged and homeless believers and the Bahá’í properties. They are truly the return of their bloodthirsty predecessors. The friends have encountered such persecution and have manifested such courage and steadfastness that in every detail they have become the return of the martyrs and the heroes of the Cause of God. The events of history have become alive once again and are re-occurring. No day passes without the shedding of tears of blood and the anguish of hearts. The news of sad events, like a weighty hammer continually descends upon the Bahá’ís. No pen is able to describe the degree of afflictions and difficulties inflicted upon these wronged believers.
Almost 2,000 men, women, children and youth have sought refuge in the mountains and deserts and live in tents. They have spent many cold and rainy days in the caves of the mountains. Many are injured with broken arms and legs. The small children have lost their ability to talk, having been frightened so much because of the incidents, and the milk of the nursing mothers has dried up. These believers, without having any means of liveli-
[Page 5]
hood, pass their days with utmost difficulty and are banished from
place to place.
When the believers, hungry and grief-stricken, had gathered together in the wilderness, the enemies sent them chilaw-kabáb (kabáb with rice) to win their hearts. But those beloved ones did not accept the food and returned it. It is easy to say or write these words, but the bearing of these afflictions is only possible through the power of God. Those few who have denied their faith have escaped to Iṣfáhán, crying and lamenting that they were threatened with the raping of the women of their households. They sit and cry for hours saying they did not know what else to do.
This is only a glimpse into one incident. Every day, from every corner, there is another cry of grief. The Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds of Ábádih, where the heads of the early martyrs of the Faith have been buried, has been leveled to the dust. Many other Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds have been destroyed. The number of Bahá’ís in prison for one reason or another has increased to 20. Many have been discharged from their jobs. Many have lost their retirement allowances. The Ministry of Education has officially sent a circular that those Bahá’ís who do not deny their faith should be immediately discharged.
Facing these difficulties, in the midst of the darkness of this oppression and tyranny, are the illumined faces of the National Spiritual Assembly members: the sources of hope. Truly, they are angels of God; no, more exalted. Every minute of their lives deserves the reward of a martyr, and each one of them, the reward of a thousand martyrs. They are the personification of steadfastness, courage, and sacrifice, with nothing but the service of the Cause in their hearts and souls. Whenever I looked upon the faces of these illuminated and beloved ones in the meetings of the Assembly, my tears would uncontrollably pour from my eyes.
There are many such examples amongst the Auxiliary Board members, members of the Assemblies and the youth. Truly, the new creations of God are beyond our imaginations. Unless one witnesses such events in person, the extent of the sacrifice and steadfastness that these friends have manifested cannot be comprehended.
Whenever I witnessed what befell these believers, the words of God would find meaning in front of my eyes. I had looked up the meaning of these words in the dictionaries, but I did not know that in addition to their obvious meaning they describe, or better even, create new realities. Now that the tempest of trials and afflictions has encircled the community of the beloved ones, the believers who have remained behind and who steadfastly and firmly are bearing the burden of this storm, only can sing the eternal epic of the second century of the Faith. Truly, all of them are the children and descendants of those who watered the tree of the Faith with their pure blood. This tree is still bearing fruit, is still growing! What a glory! What a glory!
There is so much to say and tell, but the mental anguish is so severe, the conditions are so dark and confused, and the outpouring of the difficulties so abundant that my tongue is not able to utter a word and my mind is bewildered. I can only cry. May my soul be sacrificed for the faithful followers of Bahá’u’lláh who have created the greatest epic in the history of the second century of this new Day. One of the guards who had gone to the house of one of the friends had told her that he could not believe the forbearance and patience of the Bahá’ís and had asked how we could ever do it!
These are events to remember. Whenever the bloodthirsty enemies or others have returned a part of the looted belongings of the Bahá’ís, they have refused to accept them, crying that they will not take back what they have given in the path of God. One of the friends of Shíráz, who was a wealthy man, after the incident of Shíráz lost absolutely everything, and, refusing the help of the Assembly on the grounds that there were many more needy than he, started to work as a laborer to make a living for his family. He could not bring himself to accept any help whatever from non-Bahá’ís, or to tell of his situation to friends. A friend related that when he saw him, he was so touched that his knees could no more bear the weight of his body.
- ‘The news of sad events, like a weighty hammer continually descends upon the Bahá’ís. No pen is able to describe the degree of afflictions and difficulties inflicted upon these wronged believers.’
And yet another story. A believer who had incurred a loss of Rls. 170,000,000, wrote on the questionnaire form of the Assembly that he did not need any help! When everything is gone with the wind, only faith remains.
At present thousands of friends in Írán have lost everything, or have lost their jobs and are meeting their expenses by the sale of their belongings. And then there are those who are fleeing from one place to another and in grave danger. This is only the beginning of the journey of love, and its end is not known.
For five months the National Spiritual Assembly has been meeting at least three or four times a week, for about six to eight continuous hours each time, and devotes 90 per cent of its time to discussion of urgent matters relating to the situation.
The staff of the Nawnahálán Company have not received their salaries for three months now and about 40 families are affected by this situation. Many other families who had given whatever they had to the Nawnahálán Company and were dependent on the interest received to pay for their expenses, are left without any income. All petitions and complaints have remained unanswered. Whatever was lost is lost and nothing has been recovered.
God willing, I will write a book instead of a letter and present it to you so that perhaps a drop of this ocean of difficulties may be recorded. The request of this servant and every one of the believers is to express our servitude and beseech the House of Justice for its prayers in the Holy Shrines. From whomever I asked whether they had any special request to be conveyed to you, I was told to beg for your prayers that God may give them the power and worthiness to accept and bear the difficulties.
Drug Abuse[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community joins forces with United Nations agencies to battle onerous problem[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community has worked closely in the last few years with the United Nations in an important area of UN activity — the prevention of drug abuse and alcoholism.
The Bahá’í approach to this problem has been warmly welcomed by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, a governmental body of 30 member states established by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to assist and advise ECOSOC on the control of narcotic drugs and the problems of alcoholism, and by the UN Division of Narcotic Drugs, the arm of the UN Secretariat servicing that Commission. The Bahá’í International Community is accredited with ECOSOC in consultative status.
The Bahá’í view on narcotic drugs and alcoholism has been expressed in statements and reports, as well as through the participation of the Bahá’í International Community, since 1975, in the annual sessions of the Commission.
This Bahá’í-UN relationship began in November 1974, with a reply to an inquiry from the Division of Narcotic Drugs as to whether the Bahá’í world community was interested in the UN activities to fight drug abuse. The Bahá’í International Community shared with the Division the Bahá’í Writings explaining the law of Bahá’u’lláh on “total abstinence from all alcoholic drinks, from opium, and from similar habit-forming drugs,” and included directives from the Universal House of Justice and the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States on hallucinogenic drugs.
Reports with information on worldwide Bahá’í activities to educate Bahá’ís as well as the public about the problems of drug abuse and alcoholism, and on the cooperation of Bahá’í communities with civil authorities and organizations concerned with this matter, compiled with the assistance of Continental Boards of Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies, were submitted to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs in 1976 and 1978.
At the 28th session of the Commission, February 1979, the Bahá’í International Community representative was invited to make an oral statement enlarging on the Bahá’í report, which had been included in an official document then being discussed by that UN body.
Bahá’í International Community presents Faith’s view on drug abuse, alcoholism to the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs[edit]
The following is an oral statement by the Bahá’í Community to the 28th session of the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs, February 12-23, 1979, at Geneva, Switzerland. The statement was circulated before the Commission as document No. E/CN.4/Sub. 2/L. 684.
In taking the floor for the first time to offer its views to the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, the Bahá’í International Community would like to warmly congratulate the Commission for its valuable programs to control and eradicate drug abuse, and for consistently encouraging the cooperation of non-governmental organizations in its work.
We are most happy to have established a close relationship with the Commission, through participation in its annual sessions and submission, at the Commission’s request, of information on the worldwide activities of Bahá’í communities in the prevention of drug abuse, such as the reports for the years 1975, 1977, and 1978, the latter forwarded to the Division of Narcotic Drugs on 10 November 1978.
Our involvement in the aims of the Commission cannot but increase, since today some 30,000 Bahá’í communities around the world are continuing to implement, among their own members and in society at large, the basic solution to the drug problem: namely, the proper development of attitudes and motivation that, we feel, will eventually eliminate the problems of drug abuse and alcoholism.
The Bahá’í International Community believes that alongside essential national and international measures, there must be individual commitment to eradicate drug abuse. This commitment derives from the conviction that man is a noble and spiritual being, whose purpose in life is to develop his latent potential for service for humanity. Such a deeply felt commitment is best fostered within the family, the basic unit of society, and the first group where individuals can achieve a sense of their high purpose in life and their positive influence on society.
Efforts of the Bahá’í family are reinforced by the Bahá’í community as a whole, providing the proper environment where these family-taught attitudes can be practiced within the wider social framework. In such a community, with its focus on the development of human potential for the good of humanity, positive alternatives are found, therefore, for the use of drugs.
In addition, we might mention that the sense of hope and personal fulfillment found in Bahá’í communities acts as an effective antidote to the feelings of despair and lack of fulfillment which are considered as the basic nurturing ground for drug addiction. For one of the fundamental causes of drug addiction, we suggest, is the inability of a person to develop his latent potential.
When he cannot do so, he becomes aimless, and this condition causes anxiety. In trying to overcome his inner insecurity, he may then become dependent upon alcohol and drugs. Unfortunately, there is no clinical solution to the problems which are fundamentally spiritual; and at this point proper attitudes and motivation become fundamental.
We are most pleased for the opportunity to share these thoughts with the Commission, in brief amplification of the report we have submitted, and assure the Commission on Narcotic Drugs that it has a most supportive ally in the Bahá’í International Community.
Bahá’í communities around the world strive to carry out Bahá’í Teachings prohibiting use of drugs, alcohol[edit]
The following report of the Bahá’í International Community on its activities in the prevention of drug abuse was prepared for the 28th session of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs, 10 November 1978, and appeared as Provisional Agenda Item 6(b).
Bahá’ís—individually and collectively—are enjoined by the Sacred Writings of the Bahá’í Faith to completely abstain from all alcoholic drinks, opium, and similar habit-forming drugs. Since the aim of the Bahá’í world community is to bring about a “world civilization which in turn will react on the character of the individual,” Bahá’í communities that comprise the Bahá’í International Community offer a spiritual and social environment in which the potential for human growth and actualization, and the satisfaction gained in exploring and developing constructive alternatives makes the use of drugs easily avoided. Below are some instances of Bahá’í cooperation and programs in the fight against drug abuse.
Educational and counseling programs. In South America, the prohibition in the Bahá’í teachings regarding drugs and alcohol is always part of Bahá’í radio and television programming, as well as of courses offered at Bahá’í summer schools. In one country, with a large Bahá’í population, the prevalent chewing of coca leaf is gradually disappearing in Bahá’í communities, especially among the new generation. It is no longer used in Bahá’í meetings and activities. In another country, both rural and city Bahá’í communities are being taught the danger of using, growing, transporting and selling narcotic drugs. Throughout Central America, Bahá’í communities have begun an intensive educational program on the Bahá’í law forbidding alcohol and narcotic drugs. In Western Asia, regular reminders are sent by Bahá’í local governing bodies to Bahá’ís to observe this law. Articles have been published quoting the Bahá’í Writings on the subject, and meetings and study classes have been organized to discuss the issue. This Bahá’í law is also included in lessons given to Bahá’í children and youth in Bahá’í education classes. In one country, all introductory Bahá’í literature mentions the prohibition of alcoholic drinks. In North America, national and local Bahá’í governing bodies not only keep Bahá’ís advised in their publications of the Bahá’í laws on alcohol and drugs, but also provide counseling facilities.
Cooperation with civil authorities and organizations. In Canada, lengthy editorials—as open letters in local newspapers, as well as articles—have been published on the prevention and elimination of alcoholism and drug dependency. In Tanzania, the Bahá’í community participated in a seminar on alcoholism and drug abuse, organized by the Karibu Tanzania Project under the Ministry of National Culture and Youth. In Peru, the Bahá’í community has sought collaboration with the UNDP office in United Nations programs to prevent drug abuse. In El Salvador, members of the Bahá’í community have cooperated with the Ministry of Education by giving special lectures on drug abuse, in schools. The Bahá’í community of the U.S. Virgin Islands hosted a three-part series of films on “Alcoholism and Its Effect on the Family,” inviting a speaker from the Virgin Islands Commission on Alcoholism and Narcotics. In Brazil, the Bahá’í community of Sao Paulo is in contact with the National Commission to Combat Narcotics and with Alcoholics Anonymous for projects of joint collaboration.
As Bahá’í communities deepen their understanding of the Bahá’í teachings, principles, and laws—an ongoing process in the Bahá’í world community spread now to some 90,000 localities in over 300 countries and territories—one can expect the Bahá’í contribution in the fight against drug abuse to grow in power and effectiveness.
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The following statement, “Cooperation of the Bahá’í International Community in the Fight Against Drug Abuse,” was submitted on November 14, 1974, to the United Nations Division of
Narcotic Drugs in reply to a questionnaire on “Activities in the Fight Against Drug Abuse.”
The Bahá’í International Community, comprising Bahá’í communities in 335 countries and territories, a cross-section of humanity in which may be found represented over 1,600 tribes and ethnic groups, lives by the principles, teachings, and laws of Bahá’u’lláh, the Prophet-Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. One of these laws is the “total abstinence from all alcoholic drinks, from opium, and from similar habit-forming drugs.” This interdiction has been further elaborated in several passages from the Bahá’í Writings, quoted below:
“The drinking of wine is, according to the text of the Most Holy Book (the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh’s book of laws), forbidden, for it is the cause of chronic disease, weakeneth the nerves, and consumeth the mind.”
“Become ye intoxicated with the wine of the love of God, and not with that which deadeneth your minds, O ye that adore Him. Verily, it hath been forbidden unto every believer, whether man or woman.”
“As to the question of opium, disgusting and execrated... the formal text of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas forbids and reproves it and, according to reason, its use leads to madness. Experience has shown that he who giveth himself up to it is completely excluded from the world of humanity. Let us take refuge in God against the perpetration of so shameful a thing, which is the destruction of the foundations of humanity and which causeth a perpetual unhappiness. It taketh possession of the soul of man, killeth the reason, weakeneth the intelligence, maketh a living man dead and extinguisheth the natural heat. It is impossible to imagine anything more pernicious. Happy is he who never mentioneth the word opium! But what is the fate of those who make use of it!”
In 1968, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States communicated with its Bahá’í community on the subject of hallucinogenic agents. The letter began with a brief explanation:
“Throughout the world the commonest of the old and new hallucinogens is marijuana, in other forms known as hashish or kif or by other names. Use of the peyote hallucinogen, mescaline, is localized on the whole to the southwestern United States. The synthetic chemical LSD-25, an urban problem, has produced great hazards to its users with its powerful but erratic effects. While hallucinogens vary in their potency and brain localization, characteristically all are habituating. None are addictive in the sense of the opiates and the cocaine derivatives.”
That governing body of the Bahá’í community of the United States (a member of the Bahá’í International Community) then referred to hashish, “which is prepared from the Eastern variety of the Cannabis weed, whose western variety produces mariJuana,” and quoted two passages from the Bahá’í Writings:
“Regarding hashish... this is the worst of all intoxicants, and its prohibition is explicitly revealed. Its use causeth the disintegration of thought and the complete torpor of the soul.”
“Alcohol consumeth the mind and causeth man to commit acts of absurdity, but... this wicked hashish extinguisheth the mind, freezeth the spirit, petrifieth the soul, wasteth the body and leaveth man frustrated and lost.”
In that same letter, the National Spiritual Assembly mentioned that the peyote cactus, source of the hallucinogen named mescaline, is “taken ceremonially” by certain Indian tribes of the Southwest, and proceeded to quote an explanation given by the Universal House of Justice, the Supreme administrative body of the Bahá’í International Community:
- “Anyone involved in the use of peyote should be told that in the Bahá’í Faith spiritual stimulation comes from turning one’s heart to Bahá’u’lláh and not through any physical means. They should therefore be encouraged to give up the use of peyote.”
As for LSD-25, “which has produced much hazardous lay experimentation,” and whose “chemical relatives are also dangerously unpredictable and powerful,” that Assembly quoted another directive from the Universal House of Justice:
- “Bahá’ís should not use hallucinogenic agents, including LSD, peyote and similar substances, except when prescribed for medical treatment. Neither should they become involved in experiments with such substances.”
The National Spiritual Assembly’s communication then concluded by observing that “there is no doubt that the great powers of modern chemistry and pharmacology will, in the coming decades, produce ever more specific, potent and dangerous intoxicants, each with nerve or mind-altering powers. However, as a general principle, all of these agents are proscribed, and are only to be used under medical supervision,” and followed this statement with two references from the Universal House of Justice emphasizing the “fundamental issues of human spirituality”:
- “Concerning the so-called ‘spiritual’ virtues of the hallucinogens... spiritual stimulation should come from turning one’s heart to Bahá’u’lláh and not through physical means such as drugs and agents.”
- “Hallucinogenic agents are a form of intoxicant. As the friends, including the youth, are required to strictly abstain from all forms of intoxicants, and are further expected conscientiously to obey the civil laws of their country, it is obvious that they should refrain from using these drugs.”
Today Bahá’ís in over 70,000 worldwide centers are committed to the law of their Faith that forbids the use of alcoholic beverages, opium, and other habit-forming drugs. A simple and logical explanation of this prohibition can be found in the great importance which Bahá’í communities attach to the development and protection of the human mind. Anything that deadens human consciousness or impairs a person’s capacity to develop not only a “high resolve” and an “excellent character,” but also “the breadth of his learning” and “his ability to solve difficult problems,” all for the noblest human aim of service to the common good, is strictly forbidden.
As may be seen, Bahá’í communities are already making an important contribution to the work of the United Nations in its fight against drug abuse, through the lives of their own members. Bahá’ís also actively participate, whenever they find opportunity, in drug education programs. Further, since Bahá’ís believe that religion and science must be in harmony, as facets of one reality, it is now possible to add to the logical explanations found in the Bahá’í Writings for the prohibition of alcohol and drugs, scientific evidence, mounting every year in quantity and depth, establishing persuasively the damage done to the human consciousness, by the use of such substances.
Around the World[edit]
Hawaii[edit]
More than 100 Bahá’í attended the National Convention of the Bahá’ís of Hawaii held April 27-29 at the Bahá’í National Center in Honolulu. Counsellor Elena Maria Marsella and three Auxiliary Board members were welcomed by delegates and observers from six Hawaiian islands.
One of the ways in which the Bahá’ís of Hawaii observed Naw-Rúz this year was to present a Bahá’í prayer to open the sessions of both the Hawaii State Senate and the Hawaii State House of Representatives March 21.
Miss Healani Hamilton, a student at Kamehameha Schools and a member of the Koolaupoko Bahá’í community, read the prayer at the State Senate.
Billy Smits Jr., a student at Campbell High School and a member of the Ewa Bahá’í community, recited the prayer at the State House of Representatives.
The names of both youths and their Bahá’í communities were listed in the daily printed records of both houses’ activities.
Billy Smits Jr., a student at Campbell High School and a member of the Ewa, Hawaii, Bahá’í community reads a Bahá’í prayer at the opening of the Hawaii State House of Representatives on Naw-Rúz, March 21.
Benin[edit]
In response to a call from the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin for extensive study, renewed dedication, and an early victory in winning the goals of the first phase of the Seven Year Plan, two weekend meetings were held recently at Benin’s National Bahá’í Center in Cotonou.
At the first meeting, May 26-27, members of the National Spiritual Assembly and its national and local committees met with Counsellor Thelma Khelghati and Auxiliary Board member Frederic Hodonou to study the Naw-Rúz message from the Universal House of Justice and the initial goals of the Seven Year Plan.
Committees consulted separately and reported progress in formulating plans to win their studies, and the short obligatory prayer was taught to participants in Fon, a principal local language.
The following weekend, more than 30 young people gathered at the National Center for a Youth Conference.
Topics for discussion included relationships with non-Bahá’ís and older believers, non-involvement in politics, Bahá’í history, teaching and service, and courtship and marriage.
India[edit]
More than 1,300 persons accepted the Faith during the first three weeks of March as a result of the East India teaching project launched last year by the National Spiritual Assembly of India.
The project, centered in an area around Bangladesh from Calcutta eastward, includes the states of West Bengal, Sikkim, Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Arunchal Pradesh, Nagaland, Mizoram, and Meghalaya.
Three islands in the large delta of the Hoogly-Ganges river system witnessed the enrollment of more than 750 new believers within a month.
In Kurseong, in the Darjeeling district of Upper West Bengal State, more than 150 persons have accepted the Faith. New teaching efforts are aimed at the nearby cities of Kalimpong and Darjeeling.
Fourteen of the more than 500 students who heard a talk by Counsellor Shirin Boman at Mohanpur Higher Secondary School at Fatikchara were enrolled in the Faith.
In the far eastern area of India surrounded by Bangladesh, Bhutan, China and Burma, Bahá’í pioneers have moved into North Lakhimpur in Arunchai, Pradesh State; to Agartala in Tripura State, and to Imphal in Manipur State.
In Khatra, West Bengal State, a consolidation project designed to strengthen the Bahá’í community so it could engage in extension teaching resulted in the enrollment of 100 new believers in four localities.
Finland[edit]
The first Local Spiritual Assembly in Lapland was formed last Riḍván in Kemi, Finland, the gateway city to Lapland.
On April 1, 1979, there were five adults in the Bahá’í group of Kemi. The number of firesides was doubled, then tripled. One of the friends in Kemi had to change her residence, and though nearly everyone agreed that it would be almost impossible to find a place to live there in mid-winter, she not only found a new home, she also found three adult seekers.
On April 19, a 20-year-old woman declared her belief in Bahá’u’lláh at a fireside. The next day, following five days and nights of discussion, and four visits by an Auxiliary Board member and a representative of the National Spiritual Assembly, two of the three new seekers also declared.
The Bahá’ís then received word that a Finnish homefront pioneer was available if one more Bahá’í could be found.
Early on April 21, the third seeker was phoned and asked if she would like to become a Bahá’í. Her answer was “yes.” The Kemi community thus numbered nine adults, and the Assembly was formed.
The first Local Spiritual Assembly in Lapland was formed at Riḍván 1979 in Kemi, Finland. Its members are (front row left to right) Arja Hautamäki, Marjatta Tiihonen, Vuokko Hirvasoja, Carol Bardin, Evi Eggert, and (back row left to right) Hannu Tiihonen, Matti Vesamaa, Kenneth Pierce, Dari Thomas.
Panama[edit]
More than 400 Guaymí Indian believers from the Chiriquí Mountains in far Western Panama were present April 8 at the largest Bahá’í gathering ever held in that country, the dedication of a new Regional Teaching Institute for the Guaymí area at Boca de Soloy.
Also present at the ceremony were Alfred Osborne, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Central America, seven members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Panama, and several Auxiliary Board members.
Italy[edit]
The Bahá’í book display at Milan’s International Trade Fair last April 14-23 used UNICEF and Bahá’í posters in Italian to attract visitors. Some 4,600 UNICEF leaflets were given away, as well as many ‘Declaration of Children’s Rights’ posters and pamphlets explaining the relationship of the Bahá’í Faith to the United Nations.
‘Siete Tutti Fiori della Stresso Giardino’ (Ye Are All Flowers of One Garden) was the theme of a Bahá’í book display last April 29-May 13 at the International Trade Fair in Cagliari, Sardinia.
The Faith was proclaimed publicly for the first time in Bari, Italy, March 28-April 2 via a book display at Expo Levante. More than 500 people accepted free Bahá’í literature.
“The International Year of the Child” was the theme of Bahá’í book displays at International Trade Fairs in the Italian cities of Milan and Bari, and the Sardinian city of Cagliari this spring.
The Bahá’ís of Bari used photographs, collages and drawings to imaginatively illustrate the principles of the Faith. Flowers and plants were also used. Close to 5,000 people heard about the Faith for the first time. As a result, a university professor of education declared his belief in Bahá’u’lláh.
In Milan, UNICEF and Bahá’í posters in Italian for the International Year of the Child were displayed. Dr. Arnoldo Farina, Italian General Secretary of the National UNICEF committee, visited the Bahá’í display while at the fair and thanked the friends for the work they are doing.
For the fifth year in a row, the Bahá’ís of Cagliari participated in the Trade Fair, and their efforts were so successful that they ran out of International Year of the Child stickers to pass out to visitors.
Thousands of stickers for the International Year of the Child prepared by the Italian National Child Education Committee were given away last spring at Bahá’í book displays at International Trade Fairs in Milan, Bari and Cagliari.
El Salvador[edit]
The National Committee for Bahá’í Youth Activities in El Salvador recently held a poetry contest. The winning entry, “Las Pruedas que Nos Afligan” (The Tests That Afflict Us), by Avencio Depas, was printed in the national Bahá’í newsletter...
The El Salvador Bahá’í community has bid a sad farewell to two of its beloved pioneer families.
A farewell party for Shelly and David Hansen and their five-month-old daughter, Sarah, was held in Nahuizalco. The town is known for its weaving, and a local weaver created a wall hanging of the Greatest Name that was auctioned to the friends for 250 colones ($100) at the farewell party and the money donated to the local Bahá’í Fund.
Another recent party honored Continental Counsellor Artemus Lamb and his wife who have moved to Mérida, Mexico, after many years of service in El Salvador...
Children’s classes, activities and festivals have been held recently in Santa Ana, Majicanos, Cuscatlan and Santa Tecla, El Salvador...
The country now has local Bahá’í Centers in these communities: Oratorio Conception, Caluco, Canton Gualindo Arriba, Quelepa, San Isidro Laborador, San Augustin, Delicias de Conception, Mexicanos, Las Maderas, San Miguel and Jutla. There are also 25 endowment properties...
Pakistan[edit]
The Happy Home building in Karachi, Pakistan, endowed to the National Spiritual Assembly, houses a Bahá’í-managed Montessori school that will eventually have 100 students.
The Bahá’í-managed New Day Montessori school opened its doors in Karachi, Pakistan, on February 27, and by April 14 had an enrollment of 40 students.
A Bahá’í-managed Montessori school opened its doors in Karachi, Pakistan, last February 27. Open to children of all religions, the school is housed in the Happy Home building, an endowment gifted to the National Spiritual Assembly and used for its national offices until it was felt propitious to open the school. The project has the approval of the Universal House of Justice.
By April 14, 40 children, including two Bahá’í girls, had been enrolled. To maintain its quality as the best Montessori school in Pakistan, enrollment will be limited to 100 students.
The school is managed by Mehraban Jamshedi, Asrai Husain Siddigui, and Riaz Mazcuri. Mr. Jamshedi, an Auxiliary Board member, represents the Continental Board of Counsellors at the school.
Dominican Republic[edit]
Delegates to the 19th National Bahá’í Convention of the Dominican Republic held April 28-29 at Moca are shown with Counsellor Artemus Lamb (third from right in back row).
Artemus Lamb, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Central America, was among those present April 27-29 at the 19th National Covention of the Bahá’ís of the Dominican Republic held in Moca.
More than three-fourths of the delegates participated in electing the new National Spiritual Assembly that is composed of a majority of Dominican believers.
On Saturday evening, delegates and visitors attended a Bahá’í wedding. For many, it was the first such occasion they had witnessed.
A week after the Convention, the Counsellors held their regular meeting at which José Martínez, a Bahá’í for only three years, was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Auxiliary Board.
On May 6, the Counsellors sponsored an institute on living a Bahá’í life. Topics included family life, courtship and marriage, and the role of assistants to the Auxiliary Board.
United States[edit]
As a part of the community’s observance of the International Year of the Child, Bahá’í children in the Houston, Texas, area are participating in the daily “Meditations” program at sign-on and sign-off on Houston’s KPRC-TV.
Station personnel, reluctant at first to use children on the programs when approached by the Bahá’ís, were delighted with the results, and asked the friends to return to tape more of the three-minute spots.
The two tapes produced at the first session were shown last March. Each was used twice, at sign-on and again at sign-off. They were scheduled to be repeated in June.
The Faith was identified on the screen, and two or three children, ages 5 to 15, appeared on each tape. One of the tapes included prayers in English, Spanish and Persian.
Japan[edit]
The Bahá’í community of Ube, in Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture, observed Children’s Day, a national Japanese holiday, May 5 with a picnic whose theme was “Children Are Walking the Path of the Future.”
Activities for children of all ages were centered around learning the principles of science through play. Also included were a treasure hunt, puppet show and group painting project.
Bahá’í pamphlets and literature from UNESCO about the International Year of the Child were given to adults. For many, it was their first Bahá’í activity.
The Ube community has made regular children’s classes a goal for the first two-year phase of the Seven Year Plan.
Western Samoa[edit]
The Bahá’í community of Faleasou-Uta, Western Samoa, dedicated its local Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds on October 25, 1978, climaxing a remarkable six-month period in which the community not only elected its Spiritual Assembly and built and decorated the Center, but also incorporated the Local Assembly and registered officially with the government of Western Samoa. The events took place from Riḍván 1978, when the Assembly was formed, and fulfilled three major goals of the Five Year Plan.
Sardinia[edit]
On November 26, 1978, the anniversary of the Day of the Covenant, another anniversary was commemorated by the Bahá’ís of Sardinia—the 25th anniversary of the arrival of the Faith on that Mediterranean island.
Many of the Bahá’ís and 70 guests who attended the observance had been personal friends of the Knight of Bahá’u’lláh Marie Ciocca who opened Sardinia to the Faith late in 1953.
Mrs. Ciocca, who came to Sardinia from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, passed away on the eve of the historic Oceanic Conference in Palermo, Sicily, in August 1968, and is buried at her pioneer post in Cagliari, Sardinia.
Radio Sardinia, two local television stations and several local radio stations publicized the anniversary observance. An accurate and sympathetic account of the Faith appeared in the local newspaper the day before the event.
The author of the article, a friend of the Faith, wrote a longer and more comprehensive article for an almanac published a few weeks after the celebration. Both articles were widely read and have greatly assisted proclamation of the Faith in Sardinia.
Cameroon Republic[edit]
The Bahá’ís of the Cameroon Republic held their National Convention April 29 at the National Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Victoria, Cameroon.
French Guiana[edit]
A quarter-hour interview on national radio was among the highlights of a visit May 14-18 to French Guiana by the Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Muḥammad Varqá.
Dr. Varqá visited several communities in French Guiana and was the honored guest at a unity feast at the Bahá’í National Center sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Cayenne. Twenty believers representing seven localities attended the gathering.
The Hand of the Cause discussed the new Seven Year Plan, explaining its significance and exhorting the friends to sustain the teaching momentum generated during the Five Year Plan.
Switzerland[edit]
The face on a recently-introduced 1,000-franc Swiss bank note is that of Dr. Auguste Forel, a world-renowned entomologist, anatomist and psychiatrist who was one of the first three Swiss Bahá’ís and one to whom the Master, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, addressed a Tablet.
Dr. Forel (1848-1931) studied the brain and hypnosis, supported sex education, and founded organizations to help those who wished to stop drinking alcohol. He made important discoveries related to the brain and nervous system, and others relating to the biology of ants.
In 1971, 40 years after his death, Dr. Forel’s face appeared on a Swiss postage stamp in the “Outstanding Physicians” series.
United Kingdom[edit]
Bernard Leach, a world-renowned Bahá’í artist whose pottery became museum pieces, died May 6 in the fishing village of St. Ives, England, his home for many years. He was 92 years old.
In 1919, Mr. Leach became a student of Shoji Hamada, a famous Japanese potter. The two men founded the St. Ives Pottery in 1920.
Pots made by Mr. Leach now sell for up to $4,000 each. Last year he said he had made some 100,000 pots during his lifetime but had destroyed at least one-quarter of them either accidentally or intentionally.
Mr. Leach credited a son, David, one of his five children and also a potter, with making his pottery works a flourishing success.
Peru[edit]
A 60-person delegation of Peruvian Bahá’ís recently visited Victor Raul Haya de la Torre, president of Peru’s new National Constituent Assembly, to present the Bahá’í views of administration and justice to those who are charged with drafting a new constitution. Sr. de la Torre, seated at the left, graciously greeted the delegation.
Luxembourg[edit]
André Brugiroux, a Bahá’í from France and well-known author, spoke at several well-attended meetings in Luxembourg last December, some of which were sponsored by non-Bahá’í organizations including the United Nations Organization on UN Day.
Mr. Brugiroux’s visit generated excellent publicity for the Faith with interviews on radio and television and several newspaper articles.
Belize[edit]
The marriage of Bernice Supal and Selvyn Codd late last year was the first Bahá’í wedding recognized by the authorities in Belize. The simple and dignified ceremony was attended by many Bahá’ís and other friends of the couple. Creole food was served at the reception, and the Bahá’ís baked and presented a lovely wedding cake.
Rhodesia[edit]
Organizing women’s clubs as a preliminary step toward introducing the Faith to communities has led to remarkable teaching results for the Bahá’í community in Rhodesia.
In Rhobrick, for example, the approach resulted in the formation of a Local Spiritual Assembly composed entirely of women. They are teaching their husbands about the Faith and have more than 70 children enrolled in regular Bahá’í classes.
Another community, Bulawayo, has begun women’s clubs in three nearby communities. All have started children’s classes, are conducting extension teaching, and soon will have Local Spiritual Assemblies.
Australia[edit]
Robert and Han-Ju Kim-Farley of San Francisco, California, specialists in international health and nutrition, visited Australia in March. Their two-week trip to seven cities resulted in 28 meetings including firesides, public events, deepenings and meetings with prominent health specialists. There were four radio interviews and one newspaper article. In all, the Kim-Farleys introduced some 180 seekers to the Faith and met more than 100 of the friends. Their Australian visit was part of an around-the-world teaching trip that included stops in Oklahoma, Hawaii, American Samoa, Western Samoa, Fiji, New Caledonia, Malaysia, India, Europe, Central America, and the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel.
