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Bahá’í News

December 1981

Bahá’í Year 138

Festival musical!

‘Inca Llacta’ of Otavalo, Ecuador,
first-place winners in Radio Bahá’í’s
fourth annual Indigenous Music Festival

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Bahá’í News

In Ecuador, Radio Bahá’í sponsors its fourth Indigenous Music Festival	1
House of Representatives in Australia condemns Iran persecutions	4
22nd Green Lake, Wisconsin, Conference draws more than 1,100	12
In California, a new half-hour Bahá’í TV program makes its debut	13
Around the world: news from Bahá’í communities all over the globe	14

Bahá’í News is published monthly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States as a news organ reporting current activities of the Bahá’í world community. Manuscripts submitted should be typewritten and double spaced throughout; any footnotes should appear at the end. The contributor should keep a carbon copy. Send materials to the Periodicals Office, Bahá’í National Center, Wilmette, IL 60091, U.S.A. Changes of address should be reported to the Office of Membership and Records, Bahá’í National Center. Please attach mailing label. Subscription rates: one year, U.S. $8; two years, U.S. $15. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1981, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.

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Ecuador

Radio Bahá’í holds 4th Music Festival

Above: A part of the crowd of about 7,000 who enjoyed the music in Radio Bahá’í’s fourth annual Indigenous Music Festival held August 16 in Otavalo, Ecuador. Below: Second-place winners among the 13 musical groups, ‘Los Hijos de Imbabura’ from Iluman.

Approximately 7,000 men, women and children attended Radio Bahá’í’s fourth annual Indigenous Music Festival held August 16 in Otavalo, Ecuador.

Most of the attendees were Quechua-speaking Indians from Ecuador’s Imbabura Valley.

Preceding the event, six regional festivals were held from July 18 through August 10. They served as elimination rounds, and attracted a total of 33 musical groups, 18 of which were chosen to participate in the grand finale near the Radio Bahá’í studios in Otavalo.

The festivals are sponsored by Radio Bahá’í and a new radio rural development project, “Caminando Juntos” (Walking Together), which recently received a matching-funds grant from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) via the National Spiritual Assemblies of Canada and Ecuador.

Distinguished guests

Coordinators of the cultural-educational rural development project made arrangements for the six regional festivals (and the grand finale) in the Imbabura and Pichincha provinces by contacting officials, locating festival sites, and arranging for publicity.

A number of distinguished guests attended the festival in Otavalo including the Canadian Ambassador to Ecuador and his wife, the CIDA representative for Ecuador, the director-general of the Ecuadorian Frequency Office and his family, the commissioner of the nearby city of Cotacachi, and other local dignitaries.

Their reactions to the event ranged from awe and delight to warm praise for the services that the Bahá’ís are

[Page 2] A view of Radio Bahá’í’s regional music festival held August 9 in the village square in Cangahua, province of Pichincha.

rendering to the community via Radio Bahá’í to help preserve the indigenous culture.

Radio spot announcements invited indigenous music groups and the public at large to each regional festival, as did a jeep (outfitted with loudspeakers and a cassette tape recorder) that passed through the villages playing pre-recorded messages in Quechua and Spanish.

Each weekend, the entire Radio Bahá’í staff would load wooden stage platforms, empty 55-gallon tanks (which served as the platform base), and amplification and recording equipment onto pick-up trucks and haul it up winding mountain roads to remote festival sites.

For each event, a stage was constructed and a colorful skirt and backdrop bearing Incan designs were attached. Microphones were then set in place and cable connections made. Soon a crowd of 300 to 700 people would gather and the regional festival was under way.

The festivals were extremely well received. A total of 179 musicians played in the six regional events, with many playing and singing original composi-

‘Los Runas,’ first-place winners in last year’s third annual Indigenous Music Festival sponsored by Radio Bahá’í in Ecuador play by invitation year’s event.

[Page 3] tions in the native style.

An estimated 3,200 people attended the elimination rounds. Often a particular festival was acclaimed by residents as the largest and liveliest event ever to take place in their town. The regional festivals, newly initiated this year, no doubt left a lasting impression in the hearts and minds of the participants, truly living up to the festival’s name, “Ñucanchic Tono” (Quechua for “Our Music”).

Each of the six regional festivals, as well as the grand finale, were recorded and presented almost in their entirety on Radio Bahá’í.

A large silver first place trophy bearing the name of Radio Bahá’í was presented to the musical group from Otavalo, “Inca Llacta” (Land of the Incas). All of the other groups that performed received diplomas of special mention.

Newspaper reporters from Otavalo, the provincial capital of Ibarra, and the nation’s capital, Quito, were at the festival. The event also was videotaped in its entirety by Otavalo’s Channel 3 television.

The first-place trophy sits on a table in front of the judges (left to right) Srta. Elizabeth Loza; Sr. Remigio Caseres, professor of Quechua at the Otavalo branch of the Catholic University; Dr. Rafael Pavón; Sr. Caesar Cosme; and Sr. Herman Proaño, professor at the Otavalo High School, Republica del Ecuador, during the fourth annual Indigenous Music Festival sponsored by Radio Bahá’í in Ecuador.

Sra. Clemencia Pavón de Zuleta, director of the rural development project, ‘Caminando Juntos’ of Radio Bahá’í, gives the director-general of the Ecuadorian Frequency Office a tour of Radio Bahá’í in Otavalo, Ecuador.

Night falls and lights are strung above the stage as the Zuleta, Ecuador, regional music festival sponsored by Radio Bahá’í enters the second round of the semi-finals. Most residents of the mountain community braved the darkness and long walk home by staying until the very end—sometime around 10 p.m.

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Australia

Parliament condemns Iran persecutions

On Wednesday, August 19, following debate that lasted almost an hour, the House of Representatives in Australia adopted unanimously a resolution dealing with the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran. The transcript of the debate and subsequent resolution is reprinted here from the Australian Bahá’í Bulletin of August 1981.

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ADHERENTS OF BAHÁ’Í FAITH IN IRAN

Mr. Carlton (Mackellar)—I seek leave to amend the notice appearing in my name on the Notice Paper relating to the treatment of adherents of the Bahá’í Faith in Iran. I am seeking leave to amend it because I put it down some time ago and certain matters of fact have changed since then.

Leave granted.

Mr. Carlton—I move:

That this House—
(1) expresses its grave concern over the persecution of the adherents of the Bahá’í Faith in Iran by the regime of the Ayatollah Khomeini, and notes with alarm and abhorrence the continuing executions of Iranian Bahá’ís purely on the grounds of their religious faith;

(2) calls upon the Government of Iran to release from custody those Bahá’ís who have been unjustly detained, and to restore the holy places, properties, community centres and companies that have been confiscated;

(3) commends the Australian Government for its assistance to Australian Bahá’ís in expressing their protest to the Iranian Government, and

(4) requests the Australian Government to continue to lend its support to moves in international forums designed to restore to the Iranian Bahá’ís their freedom to live in peace and practice their religion in harmony with their fellow citizens of other faiths.

I think most members of the House will be aware by now of the nature of the Bahá’í Faith, but I would like to give some information on it during my speech and also to indicate some of the difficulties presently being experienced by adherents of that faith in Iran. The seconder of the motion, my colleague the honourable member for Tangney (Mr. Shack), will detail some of the atrocities which are being perpetrated at present by the Iranian regime on Bahá’ís. The faith of the Bahá’ís arose in Persia—now Iran—in the middle of the nineteenth century, and its name Bahá’í comes from the founder, Bahá’u’lláh, and simply means a follower of Bahá’u’lláh. It is an independent world religion.

The Bahá’í faith first came to my attention some years ago when I met the world famous baritone, Mr. Norman Bailey, who came to Australia to sing with the Australian Opera in performances of The Mastersingers of Nuremberg. I had lunch with Mr. Bailey and I was very much impressed by his adherence to this simple yet universal faith. It was by pure coincidence that a few years later I found that I was representing the electorate of Mackellar, which has within it the house of worship of the Bahá’ís in Australia.

Severe difficulties

Visitors to the northern beachside suburbs of Sydney will have noticed that remarkable building at Ingleside which can be seen for many kilometres. It is a beautiful shrine and I would advise anybody in the area to visit it and, if possible, to attend services there. More recently, and certainly since the Iranian revolution, the Bahá’ís who worship at Ingleside brought to my attention the very severe difficulties being experienced by their brethren in Iran. Certainly, following the Iranian revolution, there was a major persecution to which I shall refer later.

On 10 September last year I made a speech in the adjournment debate drawing the attention of the House to this problem, and on the following day, 11 September, I gave notice of the motion which is substantially the same as the one I moved today. Last year the former Minister for Foreign Affairs—the honourable member for Kooyong (Mr. Peacock)—saw members of the Bahá’í faith in Australia and as a result had the Iranian charge-d’affaires called in to hear the Australian Government’s concern about the persecution of Bahá’ís.

With the formation of the new Parliament, I renewed the motion on notice. On 9 March 1981 Senator Wheeldon asked a question in the Senate of Senator Dame Margaret Guilfoyle, representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Dame Margaret was able to indicate that the Australian representative at the United Nations Commission on Human Rights had specifically raised the problem of religious persecution in Iran and had raised the question of Bahá’ís in particular. Dame Margaret also indicated in that answer that the present Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Street) was continuing the role of the previous Minister in pursuing this matter in international forums and, where possible, with the Iranian Government.

On 25 March of this year the honourable member for Diamond Valley, now the Minister for Employment and Youth Affairs (Mr. N.A. Brown), spoke on the Human Rights Commission Bill and detailed the problems being experienced at that time by Iranian Bahá’ís. On 26 March 1981 Senator Puplick moved a motion in the Senate to this effect:

[Page 5] That the Senate deplores the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran, particularly the large community of Bahá’ís, and urges that this total abuse of the right to religious tolerance be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations.

That motion was supported by Senator Gareth Evans on behalf of the Australian Labor Party and it was carried by the Senate. There have been, of course, individual cases of Iranian citizens who have come to Australia, possibly before the revolution, and found that they are subject to religious persecution. I have made representations, as I am sure many other honourable members have, to the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs (Mr. Macphee) on behalf of such people, hoping that the Australian Government will be able to take a sympathetic view of their plight. I am happy to say that the Minister for Immigration and Ethnic Affairs has advised me that he is giving this matter very sympathetic consideration, and in a forthcoming statement on immigration policy matters he will refer to the status of Iranian citizens suffering persecution.

I thought that in order to indicate to the House just how outrageous it is that this should be happening to adherents I would refer to some of the basic Bahá’í teachings. The Bahá’í faith, which rose out of Islam but is different from Islam, proclaims the unity of God and His prophets. It recognises the basic oneness of all religions and the oneness of the entire human race. It encourages an independent investigation of truth. It provides the necessary agencies for the establishment and safeguarding of a permanent and universal peace as the supreme goal of mankind. It states that religion must go hand in hand with science and that it constitutes the ultimate basis of a peaceful, ordered and progressive society. It upholds the principle of equal opportunity, rights and privileges for men and women. It advocates universal compulsory education. It exalts work performed in the spirit of service to the rank of worship. The Bahá’í faith is particularly emphatic in its teachings about obedience to government, non-involvement in politics, the oneness of religion and the far-reaching implications of the oneness of mankind.

I certainly have found from my contact with individual Bahá’ís and also from attending religious services which are conducted by the Bahá’ís that they are indeed a very gentle people. The set of religious principles that I have underlined must have been startling indeed not only in Iran in the mid-nine-

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‘Many find it difficult to understand why members of a religious minority dedicated to tolerance, peace and universal brotherhood arouse such hatred in those amongst whom they live.’

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teenth century but surely throughout much of the world. It is hard to imagine that such foresight and such understanding of the movement of human progress over the forthcoming centuries would be seen by such a small band in such a place so long ago.

Many find it difficult to understand why members of a religious minority dedicated to tolerance, peace and universal brotherhood arouse hatred in those amongst whom they live. The reasons for persecutions, the hatred and the violence lie deep in the socio-psychological structure of Persian society and go back more than a century to 1844 when a young merchant of Shíráz, later known as the Báb, founded this religion whose followers rejected the literal interpretation of the Koran and held that soon he whom God shall make manifest would appear on earth to bring a new law and to inaugurate a new era in the history of mankind.

In nineteenth century Iran where even the notion of religious liberty did not exist the teachings of the Báb were bound to produce a violent reaction. Accused of heresy the Báb was imprisoned and finally executed in 1850. This did not stop the spread of the Báb’s teachings nor did it stop the resistance of his disciples who defended themselves with great valour against attacks by the united forces of the clergy, the mobs and the government. There ensued a campaign of extermination in which some 20,000 Bábis, as they were then called, were killed. The cruelty of the suppression, the indiscriminate massacre of women and children and the tortures inflicted upon masses of innocent people have been eloquently described both by participants and by Western observers. The bloodshed left a legacy of suspicion, fear and pain.

Thirteen years after the martyrdom of the Báb one of his leading disciples who had been exiled by the Persian Government to Baghdad proclaimed himself to be the one whose advent the Báb had prophesied. He became known as Bahá’u’lláh and is seen as the main founder of the religion. Most of the Báb’s followers accepted Bahá’u’lláh’s claim and they became known thereafter as Bahá’ís. Over the next 40 years Bahá’u’lláh produced a vast number of works that today constitute the scripture of the religion he founded, the Bahá’í faith. Bahá’u’lláh taught the unity of mankind and the equality of races and nations. He proclaimed the essential harmony of science and religion, equality of the sexes and the need for universal education. He also established the principles on which this currently world-wide religion would be founded.

The authorities, both religious and secular, kept Bahá’u’lláh in confinement and exile for some 40 years. Fundamentalist Muslim clergy feeling threatened by ideas that challenged the theological formulas they had repeated for hundreds of years, continued to demand the extermination of the Bahá’ís whom they denounced as heretics and harmful misleaders. In time, the Bahá’ís were turned into the scapegoats of Iranian society. As their numbers increased they became an ever more attractive target for demagogic attacks by those who wanted to distract the public or create turmoil. Since the Bahá’ís emphasized education and placed high value on work, they achieved a relatively high standard of living which made them attractive targets of pogroms.

Last, but not least, the peaceable nature of the Bahá’í community made it possible to attack Bahá’ís without fear of violent retaliation. In moments of national stress, during famines, revolutions and invasions of the country, Bahá’ís could be blamed for the nation’s miseries. If one did not wish to pay a debt one could accuse the creditor of being a Bahá’í. If an epidemic spread

[Page 6] throughout a province one could blame the Bahá’ís. Bahá’í ideals of world unity could be twisted to appear as a lack of patriotism. Bahá’í acceptance of the truth inherent in all great religions of mankind could be interpreted as a betrayal of Islam.

When in 1896 Náṣiri’d-Dín Sháh was assassinated by a pan-Islamist terrorist the Bahá’ís were automatically accused of that deed. In a brief but violent persecution that followed several Bahá’ís lost their lives. In 1903 more than 100 Bahá’ís were massacred in Yazd. The outbreak of the revolution in 1906 precipitated new attacks on Bahá’ís. As the constitutional movement developed reactionaries brought groundless accusations against the Bahá’ís, denouncing them as supporters and inspirers of the reformist cause. In the chaotic conditions of World War I and its aftermath Bahá’ís once again suffered scattered attacks in various parts of the country.

History repeats

During the 1930s things calmed down somewhat but a large scale attack on the Bahá’í community was launched in the month of Ramadan in 1955. At one of Tehran’s mosques Shaykh Muḥammad Taqi Falsafi, a fanatical mullah, daily urged his flock to rise up against the false religion. He accused the Bahá’ís of being enemies of Islam and called for severe measures against them. One can certainly see in this little piece of history as in the earlier ones precursors of what has been happening in recent times. It is almost a repeat of that old history. In 1955 there was an orgy of senseless murder, rape, pillage and destruction. The details were published in a number of leading European and American newspapers and aroused the concern of a large number of Western statesmen and scholars. The outbreaks were mentioned by President Eisenhower in a press conference reported in the Chicago Daily News on 14 July 1955. The renowned Oxford scholar, Professor Gilbert Murray, wrote an open letter in the Manchester Guardian on 22 August 1955 where he said:

A country such as Iran, whose Government approved the Declaration of Human Rights, can ill-afford to permit fanatics to attack with violence the peaceful followers of a harmless and progressive religion.

His remarks were echoed by the British historian, Professor Arnold Toynbee, who wrote to express his concern in the 3 September issue of the Times. He stated:

In publishing your leading article of August 30, ‘A Persecuted Sect,’ I am sure you have done a service to Persia as well as to her Bahá’í citizens. The Persian Government has, as you say, an interest in keeping order and protecting its nationals ... The Bahá’ís have a particularly strong claim to be tolerated, because non-violence is one of the cardinal principles of their religion.

This is quite significant because in 1955 a world-wide campaign of publicity, expressions of sympathy for the Bahá’ís of Iran on the part of outstanding individuals throughout the world and two formal appeals to the United Nations eventually resulted in some relief. The Iranian Foreign Minister gave formal reassurances to the Secretary-General of the United Nations that the persecutions would be halted. However, it took several years for passions to abate, for normalcy to return and for the Iranian Bahá’í community to begin to rebuild its shattered and desecrated holy places, community centres and educational facilities. Since then Bahá’ís have continued to live under the threat of further outbreaks and the burden of severe civil restrictions.

Though the Bahá’ís are the largest religious minority in the country their existence was not officially recognised by the government of the Sháh. Unlike other minorities, such as the Christians, the Jews and the Zoroastrians, they enjoyed no protection under the imperial constitution. Being in their vast majority ethnic Iranians, speaking Persian or Azerbaijani, they are no foreign element but a part of the Iranian nation to which they have always been loyal. It is the medieval intolerance of fanatical elements that strives to set them apart from their Muslim brothers and fellow citizens. Being non-political, law abiding, and opposed to all violence, they constitute no threat to anyone. Yet they have been the most frequently persecuted group in the nation. The current outbreaks of persecution are only one more episode in the long history of cruel and senseless oppression.

There have been six stages in what happened in Iran in recent times. The first stage was the seizure of the complete records of the National Bahá’í Centre. This action provided those responsible for the persecution with the means of identifying members of the Bahá’í community throughout Iran. The numbers are estimated—I am not quite sure of the total number—at somewhere between 200,000 and 500,000 people, which is a fairly large minority. The second stage, which began immediately, was a campaign of systematic destruction of the economic base of the community. Bahá’í assets were arbitrarily seized, pensions were canceled and bank accounts confiscated, private enterprises were looted or wrecked, farms and orchards were burned and thousands of Bahá’ís were discharged from public and private employment.

The third stage was the effort to terrorise the community. Urged on by sermons of the Shiah clergy and supported by so-called revolutionary guards, mobs destroyed Bahá’í shrines and holy places, desecrated cemeteries and raped and beat members of the faith in scores of towns and villages. The media collaborated by giving wide publicity to hate propaganda against the Bahá’ís. This has been followed by the current attempt to cut the head off the Bahá’í community, so to speak. The members of the National Bahá’í Assembly and many members of local assemblies in major cities and towns have been arrested and held without legal process. Unsubstantiated charges have been widely published that the prisoners were agents of imperialism, heretics, apostates or Savak collaborators, that is, collaborators with the Sháh’s secret police.

The fifth stage took place this past summer and fall in Europe when the campaign moved into its most ominous stage with the beginning of a series of farcical trials by local komitehs in which a dozen or more prominent Bahá’ís have been sentenced to death on these same charges. It is apparent in the sixth phase that they wished to demoralise the whole of the Bahá’í community. All those sentenced to death were offered their lives if they would take this step (recant their faith—ed). They have not done so. My colleague,

[Page 7] the honourable member for Tangney (Mr. Shack), will indicate that many people have lost their lives in this battle, although it was a one-sided battle.

Why are (the Bahá’ís) such a threat to the regime of the Ayatollah Khomeini? I think the reason is that they are such a liberal sect. Nothing they put forward could possibly be harmful to anybody except a fanatic. The principles of their religion are for openness of inquiry, equality of the sexes, independent investigation of the truth and the use of science in advancing the human race. These are all liberal principles which I hope all of us in this House share. But these principles, of course, are a dire threat to a regime such as that of the Ayatollah. It is for that reason that these people are losing their lives. I ask the House to consider this motion and pass it unanimously in the hope that these poor beleaguered people will be assisted in world forums.

Mr. Deputy Speaker (Hon. Ian Robinson)—Is the motion seconded?

Mr. Shack—I second the motion and seek leave to speak later.

Mr. Lionel Bowen (Kingsford-Smith)—I wish to make a few comments on behalf of the Opposition. I welcome the remarks made by the honourable member for Mackellar (Mr. Carlton). This matter has been the subject of debate in this Parliament. It was not raised by the honourable member for Mackellar, but was raised by his colleague, the honourable member for Diamond Valley (Mr. N.A. Brown), in the debate on the Human Rights Commission Bill last March. The honourable member for Diamond Valley then referred to a notice of motion which has been brought on for debate today. In that context we welcome the Government’s refreshing approach to dealing with notices of motion. They are not often dealt with. It appears that we will have a chance to debate some of them. My colleagues in the Opposition also have given notice of motion that they are anxious to have discussed. We look forward to continued co-operation in that respect.

This matter is a very serious one for the reason that the honourable member for Mackellar mentioned. I am pleased to note that he has given, in support of his motion, a number of facts which clearly indicate that over the centuries—certainly over this century—the Bahá’ís have been subjected to dreadful treatment by those who have been in charge in Iran. This motion mentions the present regime in Iran, but the facts clearly indicate that for some time there has been persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran whether it be under the regime of the Sháh or under the regime of some other controller of Iran. I note that the Senate has discussed this mat-

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‘There is no doubt that the Bahá’ís have been persecuted by past regimes and by the present regime in Iran. It is important that the Australian Government speaks out and condemns that persecution.’

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ter. I think Senator Puplick raised the matter on 25 March. The motion was passed and it was supported by my colleagues in that august chamber. With the permission of my friends opposite I seek leave to incorporate in (these minutes) a letter written by my Leader to the Prime Minister (Mr. Malcolm Fraser) on 5 August indicating that the Senate had passed the resolution in the following terms:

That the Senate deplores the continued persecution of religious minorities in Iran, particularly the large community of Bahá’ís, and urges that this total abuse of the right to religious tolerance be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations.

Leave granted.

The letter read as follows—

LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

5 August 1981
The Rt. Hon. Malcolm Fraser C.H.,
M.P.,
Prime Minister,
Parliament House,
Canberra, A.C.T. 2600.

My dear Prime Minister,
In the Senate on 26 March 1981 the following resolution was unanimously approved by the Senate:

“That the Senate deplores the continuing persecution of religious minorities in Iran, particularly the large community of Bahá’ís, and urges that this total abuse of the right to religious tolerance be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations.”

I would be grateful for your advice as to whether the Government has yet had the opportunity to bring the issue of the Bahá’ís to the attention of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations.

Yours sincerely,
BILL HAYDEN, M.P.

Mr. Lionel Bowen—I thank honourable members. This letter shows that the Leader of the Opposition was anxious to co-operate in the case of that resolution. We are also anxious to indicate to the honourable member for Mackellar that we have no objection to his motion. In the course of mentioning support for the Senate’s resolution, I note also that other people have had cause for concern about discrimination particularly religious discrimination in Iran. Reference has been made to the persecution of the Christians and the Jews who have had a pretty tough time in Iran. This indicates that we do have some problems in our society. Christians and Jews could hardly be said to have had an easy time in Iran under the Ayatollah, but the group that has suffered the most has certainly been the Bahá’ís. I suppose one could say also that the Kurds are having a difficult time in Iran. We talk about human rights, religious freedoms and freedoms generally. At present we have difficulties in our own land. We have accepted refugees from Asia, Latin America, Cyprus and Lebanon. We now see the problems of Northern Ireland being raised in the cities of Australia such as Sydney. We are seeing the problems of what is deemed to be religious discrimination and religious persecution.

The Australian Labor Party deplores religious intolerance wherever it occurs. There is no doubt that the Bahá’ís have been persecuted by past regimes and by the present regime in Iran. It is important that the Australian Government speaks out and condemns that persecution. We have an obligation to speak out under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is a matter of considerable regret that in spite of many years’ work by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, an effective international convention directed at the practice of religious intolerance by governments is still not in force. I understand that the Human

[Page 8] Rights Commission has recently completed a draft convention and submitted it to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations for transmission to the United Nations General Assembly.

I urge the Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Street) to instruct the Australian delegation to the forthcoming meeting of the General Assembly to give the completion of work on this convention the highest priority and to lobby other governments to give the convention the highest priority. The Human Rights Commission is a very broadly based body with 40 member countries from all regional, religious and socio-economic groups. All the arguments which could or should be reasonably advanced with respect to the substance of a convention on religious intolerance have already emerged and been thoroughly debated. There is no reason for any further delay.

It appears that the Bahá’í minority in Iran is suffering from acute repression as its members cannot enjoy normal human rights and practise their religion free from intimidation and oppression. The honourable member for Mackellar and his colleagues have said previously that there have been executions, confiscations and complete discrimination against this community which has nothing but good to offer its fellow citizens. So the Labor Party is concerned about the persecution of minorities, particularly of those such as the Bahá’ís.

Others in same boat

There are many other problems which we cannot canvass in this debate, but I have mentioned some in my opening remarks. This is a country which accepts many migrants. Migrants who have come to Australia have brought home to us the problems they have experienced in their own countries. There is no doubt that the Bahá’ís in Australia are anxious to have the Australian Government take some action. There are many others in the same boat and that is rather tragic.

It is of some satisfaction that in the development of our democracy in Australia we have made progress in giving everybody the same rights. There are some difficulties and objections which are certainly valid in respect of our Aborigines and others. But it is important that matters such as this have a chance to be aired because people have come to Australia, perhaps not because they want to come here but to escape persecution. We cannot let that pass unnoticed. We wish to see a continuation of a responsible and humane attitude to our citizens and also to our international obligations. We cannot turn people away from Australia because they are in fear of their lives. Certainly it is tragic to think that they could be in fear of their lives because of their religious beliefs.

There are many hundreds of thousands of Bahá’ís in Iran. The Bahá’ís are a pacifist religious group emphasizing unity and prohibiting involvement by their members in politics. The Bahá’ís broke away from Islam in the mid-nineteenth century. It is clear that members of that faith have been persecuted in Moslem countries ever since. They have been in Australia for over 60 years. There are Bahá’í communities in every State and Territory of Australia. There have been threats against Iranian members of the Bahá’í faith in Australia. Some members, apparently, fear for their safety and the safety of their families. That is to be deplored. It is intolerable in a democracy such as ours. There is absolutely no evidence to suggest that members of this faith have been other than hard-working citizens whose conduct is beyond reproach.

I note that the previous Minister for Foreign Affairs, the honourable member for Kooyong (Mr. Peacock), received representations from members of the Bahá’í faith and instructed his Department to call in the Iranian chargé-d’affaires and protested to him about the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran. I commend him for so doing. I urge the current Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Street) to consider whether it is not time to take such further action. Apparently, under the present regime the Bahá’ís have been subjected to arbitrary arrest, job discrimination, and, as has been indicated, the desecration of graves—in other words, to every form of persecution. Many people have been executed; I am told at least seven last September and many more in recent times. So, as I have indicated, the Opposition supports what the honourable member for Mackellar has said.

We have obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and it is significant that the signatories of this latter Covenant include the Iranian Government. Whilst we still do not have in force an international convention against the practices of religious intolerance, there are steps which the Australian Government could take, within the framework of international law, and in accordance with its international responsibilities to assist the Bahá’ís. We could, in particular, raise the serious violations to which I have referred in the United Nations Commission on Human Rights of which we are a member. I advert to the fact that Article 27 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states:

In those states in which ethnic, religious or linguistic minorities exist, persons belonging to such minorities shall not be denied the right, in community with the other members of their group, to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practise their own religion or to use their own language.

Quite clearly, on the evidence available this provision of international law has been violated by the regime in Iran. Other articles including Article 18 of that Covenant have also clearly been breached. We therefore have a duty as well as a right to raise the matter in the Human Rights Commission and we should do so.

Mr. Shack (Tangney)—Less than 24 hours have passed since the Treasurer (Mr. Howard) brought down this year’s Budget. Next week in this chamber we will be involved in the hurly-burly of debating the Budget, disputing with one another about its particular terms, criticising one another about the level of income redistribution, the size of the cake and how it is to be split up, whether we are taking too much from one sector or whether we are not giving enough to another sector. Against that background, I think it is extremely sobering that we can join together as one chamber—the House of Representatives—in recognising the persecution of a religious minority in a foreign country many thousands of miles from this place and in condemning the persecution that is taking place in that society. Of course, we are talking about the persecution of the adherents of the Bahá’í faith in Iran.

[Page 9] As my colleague, the honourable member for Mackellar (Mr. Carlton) has pointed out, there is a small Bahá’í faith community in Australia. I was impressed with them when two representatives came to see me in my Perth electorate office soon after I was elected in 1977. They came to inform me of their religion in a very self-effacing, low-key way, and to leave me some booklets and pamphlets relating to their beliefs. I certainly found it a very humbling experience because they had not come to propagandise their faith but, in my presence, to genuinely pray for me and my efforts in this Parliament. It was a very humbling experience and it bears out the fact that they are a gentle and very tolerant people. It is an extremely pacifist religion. The Bahá’ís are concerned with unity and consensus. Indeed, those concerns lead them to prohibit themselves from any involvement in the day to day political process. Yet we know that for some time now in Iran they have been facing extreme persecution solely on the basis of that very pacifist religion.

We have learned in this debate that the position of Bahá’ís in Iran has always been bleak and if we cannot relate to the circumstances surrounding the foundation of that religion in the 19th century and the persecution that followed we can certainly relate to this century. My colleague has drawn attention to the flare-ups in the 1930s when there was extreme persecution against adherents of the Bahá’í faith. In my own lifetime, in 1955, the then Minister for the Interior for the Iranian Government declared that the sect be banned and all their centres be liquidated. As my colleague has pointed out, what followed was an orgy of senseless murder, rape, pillage and persecution of every variety. It was only because of extreme world pressure that the then Iranian Government gave formal reassurances to the United Nations that the persecutions would be halted. It really has been a century of persecution with particularly nasty flare-ups. We are now seeing in the anarchial situation in Iran a heightening of that persecution. I have a quote from the Ayatollah Sadoughi when he called on the faithful masses to hunt the Bahá’ís they knew from all administrations and to deliver them to the revolutionary court.

What is extremely worrying about the present context is that it is not persecution prosecuted by a few outrageous individuals; it is persecution which is orchestrated and organised from the top. My colleague from Mackellar did us a very great service when he outlined in a very clear form the six stages of this conspiracy to destroy the Bahá’í faith, namely: To seize all their rec-

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‘What is extremely worrying about the present context is that it is not persecution prosecuted by a few outrageous individuals; it is persecution which is orchestrated and organised from the top.’

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ords; to destroy systematically the economic base of the adherents of the Bahá’í faith; to cut off the head of the Bahá’í community; to leave it leaderless and speechless; to move into a campaign of farcical detentions and trials; and, of course, organised murder and death.

I am reluctant, against the background of that experience, to portray in detail in this Parliament the particular instances, but there are people well known in Australia—Mr. Parsa, Mr. Sobhani and Mr. Firuzi, Professor Hakim, Mr. Nafti and Mr. Dehgani—who are no longer with us because they have been subjected to the organised persecution campaign going on in Iran. I have a letter here which was published in the Australian Bahá’í Bulletin in July 1979. I shall read a couple of paragraphs from the letter which obviously has come out of Iran and which was written by an adherent of the Bahá’í faith:

About 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—

The incidents of persecution—

... These believers, without having any means of livelihood, pass their days with utmost difficulty—

In this modern world—
and are banished from place to place.

This is only a glimpse into one incident, Every day, from every corner, there is another cry of grief. The number of Bahá’ís in prisons for one reason or another has increased to 200. 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 be immediately discharged.

At present thousands of friends in Iran 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.

We can be very grateful this afternoon that the honourable member for Mackellar has raised the matter in this chamber. He, of course, referred to the fact that he first raised it last year and, as the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Bowen) has mentioned, it was raised by the honourable member for Diamond Valley (Mr. N.A. Brown). Former Senator Puplick also made quite an extensive speech on the matter in the Senate last March. The Senate passed a motion deploring the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran and urged that the matter be brought to the attention of the Human Rights Commission of the United Nations. I am very pleased that since this matter has been brought to the attention of the Australian Government it has seen fit to express an opinion.

The former Minister for Foreign Affairs—the honourable member for Kooyong (Mr. Peacock)—instructed his Department to call in the Iranian chargé-d’affaires to voice the Australian Government’s protest. This protest has been continued by the present Minister. There has been worldwide condemnation from Amnesty International. The Canadian House of Commons has passed a motion similar to the motion we are considering this afternoon. The United Nations has expressed considerable concern about the situation as have many European countries. As I have said, a motion was passed in the Senate.

An important point made by my colleague the honourable member for Mackellar was that the persecution

[Page 10] which was perpetrated in 1955 in Iran ceased because of the weight of world opinion and condemnation. We now have an opportunity to contribute to the world condemnation so that the situation presently being perpetrated in Iran may again cease. I do not know whether, by passing this motion in the House of Representatives, we will save one Iranian life. I do not know whether we will preserve and protect the position of those presently under threat. But at least the passing of the motion in this House will draw the attention of the Iranian authorities to the Australian view that what is happening is objectionable. A free and independent democratic society like Australia has as one of its cornerstones a belief in the freedom of worship and religion. At least this motion will put forward our view that what is happening in that country is extremely objectionable and should cease forthwith.

Mr. Barry Jones (Lalor)—As has been pointed out by the honourable member for Mackellar (Mr. Carlton), who moved this motion, the Bahá’í faith originated in Persia, as it was then known, in the second half of the nineteenth century. The Bahá’ís trace their faith back to the Bábí faith of the 1840s, which sprang from the Shiite tradition of Islam to which the Ayatollah Khomeini belongs. It is true that Persian history has been marked by horrific persecutions of religious dissenters. I think it is important to make clear that those dissenters have not been confined to the Bahá’ís. No doubt the Bahá’ís deserve special treatment, but it also needs to be pointed out that the Jewish community of Iran, which dates back more than 2,000 years, has been virtually eliminated. The Zoroastrians, who are followers of another important religion which began in Iran, have been subject to enormous persecution. The overwhelming bulk of the members of that faith have migrated over the years to India and Pakistan. In India they are known as Parsees. The Zoroastrian religion is a native religion of Iran that has been subject to the most acute persecution. The Baluchis and Azerbaijanis have also been persecuted. So have the Kurds and to some degree the Druses, the Ishmaelite Shiites. They suffer. They have committed the abominable crime of constituting a minority—not necessarily a dissenting vocal minority but simply a recognisable minority. The majority is disposed to express its prejudice and its lack of understanding and humanity by visiting the most barbarous treatment on these minorities.

My only reservation about the motion moved by the honourable member for Mackellar is that it appears to suggest that we express concern for only one minority group. I hope the entire House agrees—I see that the mover and the seconder of the motion indicate their agreements—that we should convey to the Government that the motion ought to be read as though it applies to other persecuted minorities as well as the Bahá’ís. In 1850, the Báb, Siyyid Alí Muḥammad, founder of the Bábí faith, as mentioned by the honourable member for Mackellar, was executed in Tabriz and about 20,000 members of the Bábí sect were killed in large scale persecutions over the next few years. When in 1863 Bahá’u’lláh proclaimed his new faith, the Bahá’í, he was expelled from Persia into the Ottoman Empire and then confined to ‘Akká, which was then in Palestine and is now in the modern state of Israel. Bahá’u’lláh died in 1892 but by his death the Bahá’í faith had spread from Burma through the Middle East to the Sudan. The Bahá’í faith was further promoted by the founder’s son and grandson and extended to small groups in North Africa, the United States and Australia. Later still the faith was taken up with some success throughout the continent of Africa and in a number of Pacific islands.

‘Harassed, terrorized’

As has been mentioned, the teaching of the Bahá’ís is universalist and syncretist. The Bahá’ís do not accept the description of syncretist although the Bahá’í faith is the best example of a syncretist faith I can think of. In their services there is no priesthood and no sermons but they read from the writings of other faiths. Shoghi Effendi, one of the leading spokesmen, described the faith in the following words:

... proclaims the necessity and inevitability of the unification of mankind ... enjoins upon its followers the primary duty of an unfettered search after truth, condemns all manner of prejudice and superstition ... declares the purpose of religion to be the promotion of amity and concord ... (and) proclaims its essential harmony with science ... maintains the principle of equal rights ... insists on compulsory education, (and) ... eliminates extremes of poverty and wealth.

The Bahá’í community is organised on an elective basis, but not in Calvin’s sense. The Bahá’í community has made representations to the United Nations about the treatment of its members in Iran. The Bahá’í International Community is a non-government organisation in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in New York. The community reported to the United Nations that their members have:

... been harassed, dismissed from their jobs, denied back pay and pensions; they have been terrorised, individuals and families beaten, and in some instances driven to the mosques and forced to recant their faith; and their homes, shops, and businesses have been looted, burnt down, or otherwise destroyed. Bahá’í homes have continually been invaded by armed groups, and the family members subjected to long and harsh interrogations. The Iranian Bahá’í community has had its holy places, centres, and businesses confiscated, even destroyed and its cemeteries have been seized and desecrated.

The national spiritual assembly of the Bahá’ís reported to the United Nations. It said:

... they were denied civil rights, such as permission to register their Bahá’í marriages, the privilege to hold Bahá’í religious endowments in the name of the Bahá’í community, and freedom to publish Bahá’í literature or establish Bahá’í schools (indeed, during the reign of Muḥammad Reza Sháh’s father—
That is, the late Sháh’s father—
more than 30 Bahá’í schools throughout the country were permanently closed). Many from the rank and file of the Bahá’ís were denied jobs and sometimes even their rights to pensions because of their refusal to deny their faith.

So the events of the last few years—the persecution under the Ayatollah Khomeini—ought not to be thought of as peculiar. No doubt it has been heightened and it has become

[Page 11] quantitatively and qualitatively worse. But it is a long tradition that goes back to the Pahlavi monarchy and the Quaja (Qajar—ed.) dynasty from the nineteenth century that preceded it. I draw the attention of the House to a particulary distressing case referred to in the Medical Journal of Australia on 16 May 1981. It referred to the murder of Dr. Manuchir Hakim in Iran, which was mentioned by the honourable member for Tangney (Mr. Shack). The article reads:

Professor Hakim returned to Iran in 1938 where he established the Chair of Anatomy at Teheran University. He was also a well known specialist in the field of gastroenterology and has served for 30 years as a director of the Bahá’í Hospital in Teheran. This charitable hospital treated all, irrespective of their religious affiliations or nationality, and cared for the poor free of charge where necessary.

His other great humanitarian work was as the founder of the Bahá’í Home for the Aged which accepted people of all religious and racial backgrounds. He was decorated by the French government in 1976 with the Legion D’Honneur.

He does not sound to me like a very dangerous terrorist.

It continues:

In the months before his assassination, Professor Hakim received constant threats and anonymous telephone calls. During a short visit to Europe in 1980 he was warned by friends not to return to Iran, but his high sense of duty made him return to serve people in need despite the knowledge of danger to his own life. On January 12, 1981, he was murdered by an unknown assassin who entered his office and shot him to death after his last patient had left his clinic.

Professor Hakim was in no sense a political dissident and one is even more concerned at the loss to the world of this eminent humanitarian and gravely disturbed to learn that his property was confiscated by the Islamic Republic on January 14, two days after he was murdered, despite legal protests, and that his family is without the protection of Iranian law.

The Federation of Protestant Churches in Switzerland, through its Human Rights Commission has declared its belief that the new constitution of Iran should include protection for all religious minorities so that Professor Hakim’s family and fellow Bahá’ís may enjoy religious freedom.

Before I conclude I want to return for just a moment to the question of the Zoroastrians. A letter that appeared in the New York Times on 21 January 1979 pointed out:

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‘I do not know whether ... we will save one Iranian life ... But at least the passing of the motion will draw the attention of the Iranian authorities to the Australian view that what is happening is objectionable.’

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Over the past millenium, most Zoroastrians have fled to India, where they live in freedom and safety; these have come to be known as Parsis. The Parsis have distinguished themselves in commerce, science and the arts (Zubin Mehta, conductor of the New York Philharmonic, will be well-known to your readers). But some 27,000 Zoroastrians remain in Iran, mainly in Teheran and in the Yazd area.

That is considerably less than the number of Bahá’ís. The twentieth century has been the most appalling era in terms of religious and tribal persecution. The elimination of six million Jews in Europe in World War II stands out, but there are very many other horrific examples in other continents. The Ayatollah Khomeini presides over one of the most unattractive regimes in the world today with strong elements of obscurantism and cruelty. In the Iranian Bulletins, the news bulletins of the Committee for Defence of Political Prisoners in Iran, published by Index on Censorship in London in 1979 there is an introductory comment by the writer, Edward Mortimer, which says:

... the future of human rights in Iran is far from being assured, and it is still possible that the revolution will in the end produce a new dictatorship no less savage than that of Moḥammed Reza Pahlavi. It would not be the first revolution in the world to follow such a cycle. What would be wrong would be to attribute any such tendency to the Islamic or anti-Western character of the revolution and the regime that is emerging from it ... It is hardly surprising if they suspect the good faith of criticisms of their new rulers emanating from the West in the name of freedom or human rights ... Even those of us in the West who did speak out against the Pahlavi dictatorship in the days of its strength have to admit that we were quite unsuccessful in changing the policies of our own governments towards it.

I point out that the Bahá’í faith has not emanated from the West. It is not something imposed historically. It is something that has arisen out of the Iranian tradition, out of Iranian history. This persecution is a black mark against the record of the current Iranian Government. Why are we in the Australian Parliament raising the question of the Bahá’ís, people who are mistreated in a distant country? The reason, of course, is that we recognise our common interest—we are all part of the human race. Before I close I should mention that the honourable member for Hawker (Mr. Jacobi) was very anxious that I should indicate his very strong support for the motion. He has had many representations on this issue. The matter was raised—the honourable member for Mackellar should be congratulated for doing so—because of the common bond, membership in the human race.

Mr. Jacobi—They opposed the human rights standing committee in the Parliament. They opposed that when they had the chance. That is to be deplored.

Mr. Barry Jones—That is to be deplored, but there will be a unanimous resolution here today. I close with the famous words of John Donne, the great metaphysical poet, which expresses the feeling we all have:

No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main; if a clod be washed away by the sea, Europe is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friends or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

[Page 12]

1,100 at 22nd Green Lake Conference

More than 1,100 people including 72 non-Bahá’ís attended the 22nd annual Green Lake Bahá’í Conference September 18-20 at Green Lake, Wisconsin.

The conference theme, “Emergence from Obscurity,” was taken from the Riḍván 1981 message from the Universal House of Justice.

The gathering was blessed by the presence of the Hand of the Cause of God Dhikru’lláh Khádem who spoke on three occasions.

Other guest speakers included Continental Counsellor Angus Cowan and Auxiliary Board member Stephen Birkland.

About 200 young people participated in the children’s program that featured classes for various age groups that were supervised by a faculty of 25 full-time teachers augmented by parents and other volunteers.

The program for adults included nine optional “workshop” sessions focusing on such aspects of the emerging Bahá’í community as single adult Bahá’ís, the individual believer and the developing Assembly, Bahá’í scholarship, the “most challenging issue” (race relations), expanding public relations, merging the cultures of Persian and American believers, and Bahá’í child education.

Theme set to music

Also included were pre-youth sessions and an introduction to the Faith for non-Bahá’ís who attended.

For the convenience of conference participants, each workshop was presented three times.

The children’s program was designed to meet the youngsters’ spiritual, intellectual and social needs. Activities included prayer, study of the history of the Faith, singing, puppet shows, outdoor exploration, creative movement, and art projects.

The conference theme was set to music and lyrics written and performed by Jerry Johnson of Shorewood, Wisconsin, who also coordinated other musical presentations at the conference, most of which consisted of original compositions by Bahá’ís.

Mr. Khádem described the theme of this year’s conference, “Emergence from Obscurity,” as most appropriate in light of the present stage of recognition being reached in the non-Bahá’í world as a result of publicity about the persecution of the friends in Iran.

During an informal hour-long interview presented on stage at the conference, Mr. Khádem shared some of his personal experiences as a young man growing up in Iran, and told of his first meeting with the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, and the events that led up to it.

Above: An outdoor class taught by Dr. Khalil Khavari at the 22nd Green Lake Bahá’í Conference in September. Below: Children share crayons and paper during one of the many activities planned for them at the conference.

Mr. Birkland shared a report from Iran detailing how Bahá’í school children also are suffering for their Faith and how they are demonstrating to everyone a maturity and steadfastness far beyond their years.

A film, “Nine Bahá’ís Talk About Their Faith,” was shown at the conference, and two audio-visual presentations from the Holy Land, “Symbol of Emergence” and “Prayers and Emerging Treasure,” were made.

[Page 13]

New television program makes its debut

As a result of a Bahá’í media conference held last winter in San Fernando, California, a group of media professionals has formed a Bahá’í production company called “Light Years International.”

Already, the company has developed its first project: a 26-part Bahá’í television series, “The Spiritual Revolution: Discovering the Bahá’í Faith.”

Using a talk show format, the program features informal conversations with Bahá’ís who are educators, scientists, entertainers or in some other interesting or provocative field of endeavor.

Each program is centered around the theme of unity: unity of the family, of science and religion, of men and women, of nations, races, and the individual.

Production of the series is being financed in part by the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly, but local broadcasting, in cases where it cannot be obtained free, must be paid for by the respective communities.

In Los Angeles, California, “The Spiritual Revolution” made its debut July 19 on a UHF television station and is seen each Sunday morning at 11.

So far, according to the program’s producers, the public response has been quite encouraging: the show is attracting more and more steady viewers, who find themselves attracted to the Faith and finally are compelled to seek out the Bahá’ís and become a part of the “spiritual revolution” themselves.

LYI is presently working on a system of tape duplication that would make individual videotape copies of the program available at a reasonable cost to local communities and media committees for broadcasting and use at firesides.

‘Soap operas’ planned

Plans also are under way for other media teaching projects including a new Spanish-language television series, “Crece Con Nosotros” (Grow with Us), featuring Bahá’ís from a variety of Spanish-speaking countries, to be distributed in the U.S. and Latin America.

Also being developed is a series of Spanish-language Bahá’í “soap operas” to be directed by Counsellor Raúl Pavón of Ecuador. This kind of program is even more popular in Latin America than it is in the U.S., playing to prime time audiences.

LYI also reports the possibility of having a completely equipped television studio built at its headquarters in San Fernando, at no cost to the Faith, through an alliance with a major cable TV network.

Those who are interested in obtaining more information about “The Spiritual Revolution,” “Crece Con Nosotros,” or Light Years International, may write to the firm at 216 Chatsworth Drive, San Fernando, CA 91340.

Artist manager Marcia Day and musician Danny Deardorff discuss Danny’s spiritual victory over his physical disability on one segment of the new 26-week Bahá’í television series, ‘The Spiritual Revolution.’

[Page 14]

The world

Belize campaign sees 160-plus declare

Two Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed and more than 160 people declared their belief in Bahá’u’lláh during a teaching campaign last August in Belize that involved 11 traveling teachers from the United States.

The project, planned by the National Spiritual Assembly of Belize and the U.S. International Goals Committee, began with a day-long orientation in Belmopan, the country’s capital city.

Following a one-day teaching effort there, groups of traveling teachers, pioneers and native believers left for teaching work in three areas of the country.

In the Spanish-speaking district of Orange Walk, a public meeting was held in the town square that featured a slide presentation. Several firesides were held, and a Local Spiritual Assembly was formed.

Deepenings were conducted in Dangriga Town for the large number of believers who enrolled last year. A second group of teachers enrolled 66 people in this Stann Creek district.

The third group was assigned to Toledo, the southernmost district of Belize, where a Local Assembly was formed and more than 40 people were enrolled in the Faith.

The 10-day teaching projects in each of these districts were followed by a National Teaching Conference August 16 in Belize City.

For many participants, the campaign marked their first experience in direct teaching and consolidation in a foreign country.

Kiribati

This new Bahá’í Center on Christmas Island, Kiribati, was built last summer through the efforts of a pioneer from Tarawa, Kiribati, and local believers on Christmas Island.

A new Bahá’í Center has been built on Christmas Island, Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands) through the efforts of Peter King, a pioneer to Tarawa, Kiribati, and the Bahá’ís on Christmas Island.

Mr. King spent two months last summer working with two believers on Christmas Island to erect the Center. After his return to Tarawa, the Bahá’ís of Christmas Island began work on the remaining tasks, finishing the floors and ceiling and painting the building.

Botswana

The Hand of the Cause of God John Robarts was interviewed in April on Radio Botswana, and an unsolicited article about him was published in the Botswana Daily News during a visit to that African country by Mr. Robarts and his wife, Audrey, April 8-18.

The Hand of the Cause visited the Bahá’ís in the capital city of Gaborone on three occasions. The Robarts’ visit to the villages of Francistown, Palapye and Mahalapye (small places that seldom have visitors) brought special joy to the villagers.

In Lobatse, the Robarts met friends from their years as pioneers to Africa in the 1950s.

Philippines

One hundred twenty-three youth from 32 localities in the Philippines attended a national Bahá’í youth conference May 30-31 in Baguio City.

In a message to the Universal House of Justice, conference participants pledged to “exemplify true Bahá’í life, vigorously assist in strengthening communities ... support all NSA plans and actively participate in International Conferences.”

[Page 15]

Finland

Shown here are Bahá’ís and their guests at the national Bahá’í Summer School in Oulu, Finland. Participants at this northernmost Bahá’í school included a team of international traveling teachers who carried out teaching work in Lapland following the Nordic Midsummer Bahá’í Camp in Tervola, Finland.

United Kingdom

The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bah Rúḥíyyih Khánum addressed an audience of about 45 people during a recent visit to Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides northwest of Scotland. Many people remained after the program for an informal discussion of the Faith.

Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum’s stop at Stornoway was a part of her travels through the islands to the north and west of Scotland.

Local and national press and radio have been generous during the past year in reporting Bahá’í activities including the visit by the Hand of the Cause.

A photo feature on her visit was published in the Stornoway Gazette.

In addition, a three-minute news report of the visit, prepared by a close friend of the Faith, was broadcast in the Gaelic language by Radio Scotland.

____________

Representatives of the Bahá’í community of Glasgow, Scotland, participated June 10-11 in a “Sharing of Faiths” program held at the Glasgow City Hall and opened by the Lord Provost of Glasgow.

The Bahá’ís were joined by Jews, Christians, Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs. The purpose of the annual program is to help people learn about aspects of one another’s faiths through slides, tapes, traditional songs and dances, and questions.

Bolivia

This group of believers helped staff a Bahá’í book display in downtown La Paz, Bolivia, that was visited in July by thousands of residents of La Paz during a week-long book fair. Ehsanollah Rezvani, chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Bolivia, is second from left. The Bahá’í literature display was visited by Raúl Salmón (fifth from left), the mayor of La Paz.

Thousands of residents of La Paz, Bolivia, visited a Bahá’í literature display last July that was part of a weeklong book fair in that city.

The book display, sponsored by the Bahá’í community of La Paz, coincided with the appearance of a full-page article about the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran that appeared in El Diario, one of Bolivia’s major newspapers.

Many people who said they had read the newspaper article asked for Bahá’í literature and more information about the Faith. Several thousand pamphlets were distributed during the week, and many books were sold.

Among the visitors to the Bahá’í display was Raúl Salmón, the mayor of La Paz, who promised to read several Bahá’í books he was given.

[Page 16]

Mauritius

Shidan Fat’he-Azam, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa (at left with hand raised), addresses Bahá’ís in Port Louis, Mauritius, June 21 during his five-day visit to that country. Auxiliary Board member S. Mooten (left) is translating. The National Spiritual Assembly met separately with Counsellor Fat’he-Azam during the visit that came while the Counsellor was en route to a meeting of the Counsellors for Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.

Guatemala

Continental Counsellors for the Americas Hidáyatu’lláh Aḥmadíyyih, Carmen de Burafato and Artemus Lamb conducted a conference last July 4-6 in Guatemala City, Guatemala, for members of the Auxiliary Board in Central America.

Nineteen Board members from Belize, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua and Puerto Rico participated in the three-day meeting.

Topics for discussion included the role, functions and obligations of Auxiliary Board members, their relationship with Local Spiritual Assemblies, and the training and guidance of assistants to the Auxiliary Board.

Following the gathering, five Auxiliary Board members remained in Guatemala to help in the teaching work. With the guidance of various Local Spiritual Assemblies, the Board members held public meetings, spoke on local radio programs, and were interviewed by newspaper reporters. They also conducted children’s classes and deepenings.

Auxiliary Board member Alfonso Escobedo of Mexico later reported that the Spiritual Assembly in the community that he visited had his activities so well organized that he was kept happily busy from 9 a.m. to at least 10 p.m. each night.

At the end of the week, four Auxiliary Board members who remained in Guatemala participated in a National Teaching Conference in the capital city.

Korea

This group of children participated in children’s classes July 30-August 3 at the national Bahá’í Summer School in Pusan, Korea.

Fiji

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Fiji Islands has approved the plans of its Family Life Committee to begin publishing a magazine entitled Happy Families that is to be circulated to all Local Spiritual Assemblies and other communities that hold children’s events in that country, as well as to other National Spiritual Assemblies in the Pacific Islands.

Each issue will be designed for use over a long period of time and will include music, prayers, stories and coloring pages for children’s classes.

The magazine also will include a “forum” section for family problems, a women’s page, and games.

Happy Families will be produced first in basic English with Fijian and Hindi translations available on request.

[Page 17]

Hawaii

More than 150 people, most of whom were non-Bahá’ís from Laos, attended an observance May 23 of ‘Laos Day’ in Hawaii that was sponsored by the Spiritual Assembly of Honolulu and held at that city’s Bahá’í Center.

The program, planned by Laotian believers in Honolulu, featured a variety of Laotian entertainment. It was preceded by a Laotian-style dinner.

Movies and slides of Laos were shown, and a variety of Laotian folk dances were performed.

Governor George R. Ariyoshi of Hawaii signs a document proclaiming September 20, 1981, World Peace Day in Hawaii as Oscar Fennell and Charlotte Pelle, members of the Bahá’í community of Honolulu, look on. The governor praised the Bahá’ís for their work on behalf of world peace. World Peace Day was observed by the 28 Bahá’í communities in Hawaii.

Bangladesh

The Faith was proclaimed among academic and government officials in Bangladesh during a two-week visit last August by Dr. Alfred K. Neumann, a Bahá’í from the United States who is a member of the International Goals Committee in that country and a consultant to the United Nations Development Program.

Dr. Neumann spoke at a public meeting at the national Ḥaẓíratu’l-Quds in Dacca to which a number of dignitaries was invited.

Dr. Neumann, who is on the faculty at the University of California at Los Angeles’ School of Public Health, contacted prominent citizens of Bangladesh including a professor of community medicine at Mymensingh Medical College, a representative of the country’s ministry of health and population control, and a representative of a pharmaceutical company.

Bahá’í literature was given to each of these officials.

Perú

A teaching project among the Aymara Indians in Perú’s Huancané province, on the north side of Lake Titicaca, resulted in the formation last Riḍván of three new Local Spiritual Assemblies, the first among the Aymaras of that area.

A teaching team spent several weeks in this previously unopened area using for transportation a jeep loaned by the Continental Board of Counsellors.

Zimbabwe

Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Zimbabwe, elected at that country’s 12th Bahá’í National Convention, are (left to right) Iran Sohaili; Farhad Aghdasi; Helen A. Hope, secretary; Amos Zauyamakando, chairman; John Sargent; Doreen Mpofu; Nuri Beheshty, treasurer; Leonard Chiposi, vice-chairman; Denny Allen.

[Page 18]

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the companions of Bahá’u’lláh?

Stories from
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Stories from The Delight of Hearts: The Memoirs of Ḥájí Mírzá Ḥaydar-‘Alí tells the fascinating story
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Translated and abridged by the
Hand of the Cause of God A. Q. Faizi.

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