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| Bahá’í News | November 1986 | Bahá’í Year 143 |
Dizzy Gillespie at South Carolina’s ‘Peace Fest ’86’
IN VARDÁVARD, A VILLAGE IN OUTSKIRTS KARAJ, NEAR TIHRÁN, SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD BOY, MEMBER DEVOTED BAHÁ’Í FAMILY, BÍZHAN TÁLIBÍ, WAS KILLED A FEW DAYS AGO. FANATICAL ELEMENTS IN VILLAGE HAD REPEATEDLY ABUSED THIS FAMILY AND OTHER LOCAL FRIENDS. BODY FOUND IN GARDEN WITH EVIDENCE SEVERE INJURIES THROUGH BRUTAL BEATING. MURDERERS HAD THE BODY HANGED TO SUGGEST SUICIDE. HOWEVER LOCAL GENDARMES WHO ARRIVED ON SCENE AVERRED DEATH WAS DUE TO INJURIES. MEMBERS FAMILY COMPLAINED TO LOCAL AUTHORITIES, BUT THIS RESULTED IN HIS MOTHER, BROTHER AND COUSIN BEING HELD IN SOLITARY CONFINEMENT IN TIHRÁN.
OCTOBER 8, 1986
Bahá’í News[edit]
South Carolina’s Louis Gregory Bahá’í Institute hosts ‘Peace Fest ’86’ | 1 |
Yan Kee Leong, first Malaysian to embrace the Faith, dead at age 86 | 2 |
India’s House of Worship, not yet open to public, draws strong praise | 5 |
Nearly 1,000 gather at 27th Green Lake (Wisconsin) Bahá’í conference | 6 |
Haiti’s Anís Zunúzí Bahá’í School reaches out to aid local communities | 8 |
Statistical update from World Centre on Bahá’í development programs | 13 |
Bahá’í House of Worship in Australia celebrates its 25th anniversary | 14 |
In Britain, House of Lords debates the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran | 16 |
Bahá’ís in the Marshall Islands sponsor a National Peace Conference | 17 |
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 within the U.S.: one year, $12; two years, $20. Outside the U.S.: one year, $14; two years, 24$. Foreign air mail: one year, $20; two years, $40. Payment must accompany the order and must be in U.S. dollars. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1986, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
United States[edit]
South Carolina hosts ‘Peace Fest ’86’[edit]
Famed jazz trumpeter John Birks (Dizzy) Gillespie was the star attraction at “Peace Fest ’86,” a Bahá’í-sponsored conference held September 19-20 at the Louis G. Gregory Institute near Hemingway, South Carolina.
The conference was held to celebrate “Peace Week” in South Carolina as proclaimed by Gov. Richard W. Riley.
About 250 people crowded under a tent in the institute’s “backyard” for a Friday evening jazz concert that featured Mr. Gillespie; Marvin (Doc) Holladay on baritone sax; Don Erdman on tenor sax; pianist Mike Longo, and drummer Jeffrey Morton.
The festivities continued the following day as several inspiring speakers addressed a “Peace Forum” at the Institute.
The keynote address was given by
The conference ended Saturday evening with a ‘Gospel Jubilee’ featuring Sam and the Exciting Linen Singers, a traveling gospel group; soloists Kathy Murray and Priscilla Jeanne; and a Bahá’í youth choir from Kingstree, South Carolina.
the Rev. McKinley Young, pastor of the historic Big Bethel A.M.E. Church in Atlanta, Georgia, who urged his listeners to continue peace activities and quoted the words of Christ, “ ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God.’
“With peaceful interaction between brothers,” he said, “we can make a better society for everyone.”
The audience then heard a panel discussion entitled “Peace ... More Than an End to War,” which was moderated by Dr. Elise Davis-McFarland, director of planning and institutional research at The Citadel in Charleston.
Panelists were Mrs. Melba Taylor Holt, the wife of a Lutheran minister and member of “Peace Links—Women Against Nuclear War”; Skip Johnson, a feature writer for the Charleston News and Courier specializing in religion; Holly Gatling, Pee Dee Bureau chief for the Columbia State; Alexander Gray, associate director of Carolina Peace, co-chairman of the state Rainbow Coalition, and editor of the Palmetto Post, a weekly black-oriented paper in Columbia; and Dr. Roger Doost, a doctor of public administration and member of the Spiritual Assembly of Clemson, South Carolina.
Speaking later that day were Dr. Frederick Clark, an engineer at the International Paper Corporation in nearby Georgetown; Latta Thomas, a representative from the governor’s office; Dr. Leroy Brown, vice-president of student services at Midlands Technical College in Columbia; and Shiva Tavana, the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly’s representative at the United Nations in New York City.
The conference ended Saturday evening with a “Gospel Jubilee” featuring Sam and the Exciting Linen Singers, a traveling gospel group; soloists Kathy Murray and Priscilla Jeanne; and a Bahá’í youth choir from Kingstree, South Carolina.
Jazz trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and baritone saxophonist Marvin (Doc) Holladay perform at ‘Peace Fest ’86.’ Other members of the group were saxophonist Don Erdman, pianist Mike Longo and drummer Jeffrey Morton.
Malaysia[edit]
‘Uncle’ Yan Kee Leong dead at 86[edit]
| PROFOUNDLY GRIEVED INFORM PASSING DEARLY LOVED UNCLE YAN KEE LEONG FIRST BELIEVER MALAYSIA ON 17 JUNE 1986. COMMUNITY DEEPLY GRIEVED LOSS ITS FIRST, FOREMOST TEACHER, INSPIRER, BELOVED FATHER.
HUMBLY BESEECH PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL ABHÁ KINGDOM. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF
THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF MALAYSIA JUNE 18, 1986
ADVISE HOLD BEFITTING MEMORIAL GATHERINGS IN MALAYSIA AND SINGAPORE. ASSURE DISTINGUISHED RELATIVES, FRIENDS LOVING PRAYERS PROGRESS SOUL ABHÁ KINGDOM. UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
JUNE 19, 1986 |
Yan Kee Leong, the first Bahá’í in Malaysia, who died June 17 at the age of 86, was laid to rest the following day in his birthplace, the town of Ipoh.
The funeral was attended by about 600 people from all parts of the country and from Singapore. The National Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia called the show of support from the Bahá’í community “overwhelming.”
The town of Ipoh, the National Assembly added, “had not seen a funeral procession of such size and dignity for a long, long time. As the procession crossed the Canning Gardens Road onto Tambun Road heading toward the Chinese Cemetery close by, traffic came to a standstill and many in their waiting cars wondered what was going on. They watched the long procession with mixed feelings and amazement as they had never seen a Chinese funeral procession of such size comprising Chinese, Indians and whites, many in deep sorrow, walking along behind a hearse with such solemn dignity and without the usual lantern bearers and professional weepers. A young man who arrived at the cemetery late by taxi was asked by the driver whether the person who had passed away was a ‘menteri’ (a minister). Little did he know that the person who had died will be remembered much longer in history than any minister in this world. A few residents of Ipoh who had read the morning papers, and who saw the unique procession along Tambun Road were of course able to identify that the person who had died was that famous cartoonist and Bahá’í leader that the Straits Times and the Star papers had mentioned as a friend of the first Prime Minister of Malaysia, Tunku Abdul Rahman. But even as that taxi driver, they too did not know the station of that 86-year-old gentleman and his unique position in the future history of this country and this region.”
A principal speaker at the funeral service was Mrs. Shirin Fozdar, who brought to Yan Kee Leong the message of Bahá’u’lláh which he accepted on December 19, 1953. Other speakers were Counsellors Chellie Sundram and John Fozdar, both of whom had served with “Uncle Yan Kee,” as he was affectionately known, on the National Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia and the Continental Board of Counsellors in Asia.
The National Spiritual Assembly’s tribute to the former Counsellor calls him “a foremost teacher of the Faith, loving inspirer and a beloved father to all of us.... In him we have lost a noble exemplar, who though advanced in age, left a vivid impression in our hearts and minds of how service to the Cause of God should be our foremost goal, and that devotion to Bahá’u’lláh is the only sustenance of our lives.”
On July 19, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Singapore held a memorial service at the Bahá’í Center, a notice of which was published in the Straits Times. About 50 people, among them old friends and relations who remembered and loved him, came to pay their respects to Yan Kee Leong.
Mr. Leong was born in Selangor on November 19, 1899. His life as the son of a tin miner; the early death of his father; the sufferings his mother underwent to raise the family; his early education in a Chinese school near Kuala Lumpur and later in St. Ed-
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wards, Port Dickson; his conversion to
Catholicism and his dream of becoming a priest; his marriage; his profession as a chemist and dispenser; his
prominence as an artist and cartoonist
for local newspapers; his ideals of
peace and unity; his thirst for spirituality; his participation in world peace
conferences, and many more details of
Yan Kee Leong’s life before he became
a Bahá’í are vividly recounted by his
grandson, Henry Ong, in a book entitled Uncle Yankee.
At the age of 54, Yan Kee Leong became the first Bahá’í teacher to bring the message to his fellow Malaysians. Some of his Theosophist friends became Bahá’ís, and at Riḍván 1954 the first local Spiritual Assembly in that country was formed in Seremban. He also taught in Malacca and Kuala Lumpur, and the following Riḍván local Assemblies were formed in those cities too. In 1964, when the first National Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia was elected, Yan Kee Leong became its secretary. He was named an Auxiliary Board member the following year, and in 1968 was appointed a member of the first Continental Board of Counsellors for the South East Asian Zone.
During his 33 years as a Bahá’í, Yan Kee Leong received many communications from prominent Bahá’ís all over the world, but the one he cherished most was a letter from the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, assuring him of prayers at the Holy Shrines for a long life of dedicated service to the Cause he loved so much.
In the evening of his life, when his strength was rapidly failing him, he made a supreme effort to appear at the National Convention of Malaysia on April 28 to bid a final farewell to the spiritual children he had so lovingly and tenderly cared for for so many years. Significantly, the Convention was held this year at the newly acquired Balakong Bahá’í Institute, close to the village in which Uncle Yan Kee Leong was born at the turn of the century.
The story of Yan Kee Leong, Malaysia’s first Bahá’í[edit]
On December 19, 1953, a Malayan Chinese artist named Yan Kee Leong signed a card accepting Bahá’u’lláh and His Teachings. Possibly the only person aware of the historical significance of that moment was Mrs. Shirin Fozdar, the pioneer who handed him the card, the signing of which made him the first believer in Malaya (known today as West Malaysia). That simple act heralded the birth of a new era for this country, which has reached the mature age of 21 years in 1974, and whose national register now lists the names of more than 30,000 believers in both East and West Malaysia.
The Bahá’í story of Yan Kee Leong began when the seed of the Faith was first sown in the town of Shantiniketan in India in 1949, when he attended a World Pacifist Conference as the official Chinese delegate from Malaya. Chance (or was it fate?) placed him next to an eloquent speaker representing a religion called “Bahá’í,” and he recognized in the talk something that sounded exactly like what he had been searching for. He immediately suggested to the speaker, Mrs. Shirin Fozdar, that she visit Malaya and lecture on the Faith. Although a Roman Catholic, Yan Kee Leong had in fact been such an earnest seeker that he was at that time the founder of a Society of Universal
| This account of the life of Yan Kee Leong, the first Bahá’í in Malaysia, who died June 17 at the age of 86, first appeared in the Malaysian Bahá’í News, Vol. 9, No. 4 (December 1973-July 1974). |
Brotherhood whose aims were in line with the teachings of the Faith.
In 1952, Yan Kee Leong was once again a delegate from Malaya at an international gathering, the World Federalist Government Conference in Japan. His colleague was Tunku Abdul Rahman (who later became Malaysia’s first Prime Minister). At the conference, partly held in Hiroshima, fate again placed Yan Kee Leong next to another distinguished Bahá’í pioneer, Agnes Alexander, with whom he later kept up a regular correspondence. (Agnes Alexander became a Hand of the Cause of God in 1957.)
First pioneers to arrive[edit]
Around the Bahá’í world, the first Seven Year Plan, inaugurated by the beloved Guardian, was in progress, and in Bombay, a call for pioneers was answered by Dr. and Mrs. K.M. Fozdar who arrived in Singapore in 1950 as the first pioneers to that region. A state of emergency existed in Malaya at the time, restricting free and easy travel, and it was not until three years later, in 1953, that Yan Kee Leong was able to arrange talks for Mrs. Fozdar in Malacca, Seremban and Kuala Lumpur. By the end of that tour, he had signed himself into history by becoming the first Bahá’í of Malaya.
An exciting beginning[edit]
Bahá’í records around the world have the names of many first believers who have since been lost through inactivity, but for “Yankee,” as he is popularly called, this was only the beginning of an impressive list of firsts. He had been an ardent Theosophist, and lost no time in passing on his exciting discovery to his colleagues, many of whom recognized in Bahá’u’lláh’s Teachings the culmination of their search.
The Theosophical Society of Seremban (Mr. Leong’s hometown) closed its doors that year as all the members became Bahá’ís. Some of them were privileged to serve on the first local Spiritual Assembly of Seremban, which was also the first Assembly to be elected in Malaya, on April 21, 1954.
Dr. and Mrs. Fozdar then charged Yankee with the responsibility of opening Malacca and Kuala Lumpur to the Faith. He wasted not a moment, and Bahá’u’lláh guided him to the waiting souls in both places. By the following Riḍván, there were local Spiritual Assemblies in Malacca and Kuala Lumpur.
There was no National Spiritual Assembly in the region at that time, and declaration cards were returned to the National Spiritual Assembly of India and Burma for recording. In 1957, the Regional Spiritual Assembly of South East Asia was formed, with jurisdiction over seven countries in that area, and Yan Kee Leong was privileged to serve for a time on that body.
Mass teaching begins[edit]
Yankee was the first Bahá’í from Malaya to travel teach in the neigh-
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boring countries of Brunei and Sarawak, doing so at the invitation of John
and Minou Fozdar, who were pioneering there, and with the help of an interpreter, Philip Cheng, he began mass teaching among the Ibans (an indigenous tribe). Many of the Iban residents
of the long-houses in up-country villages still remember Yankee’s early
visits.
The first Iban believer[edit]
Jantom ak Ugo, the first Iban Bahá’í, embraced the Faith during Yankee’s first visit in 1960. He still (1974) serves on the Spiritual Assembly of Brunei and is active in the Faith.
First to bring the Message to the Aslis (aborigines) in mainland Malaya[edit]
On the mainland of Malaya, Yankee was the first Bahá’í to take the Faith to the aborigines (Asli) in the jungles, responding to a request by the Regional Spiritual Assembly. His fondest memory was of the time when the first Asli village, in the state of Perak, accepted Bahá’u’lláh in 1959. This achievement is all the more remarkable when one realizes that Yankee was not a young man at the time, but a good 60 years old, and that the Malayan jungle can be a nasty place with thick undergrowth, criss-crossed with rivers and filled with leaches.
His international activities[edit]
In 1964 the National Spiritual Assembly of Malaysia came into being, and Yan Kee Leong was elected its first secretary. By the following year, he was appointed an Auxiliary Board member, and his travels and projects continued with ever-increasing zeal. Together with fellow Auxiliary Board member Leong Tat Chee, Yankee visited Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, becoming the first Malaysian Bahá’ís to go there. On their return, both these stalwarts continued to appeal for teachers from Malaysia to help in these countries, resulting in a great awareness of their needs and culminating in our first few pioneers there.
His service as a Counsellor[edit]
In 1968, Yankee was appointed a member of the first Continental Board of Counsellors for South East Asia, and has since represented the Board in Burma, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand and elsewhere.
Yankee’s journeys to the surrounding countries were not merely in the nature of visits to encourage the believers. In spite of his age and health, he was always in the forefront of active teaching efforts. To the mountains of up-country Thailand he went with the friends, and helped open new communities of tribal believers. In Laos too, he traveled to remote regions with the pioneers, staying under primitive conditions, and helped to bring into the Faith members of various Laotian and Meo tribes.
At the request of the Hand of the Cause of God Rahmatu’lláh Muhájir, Yankee visited the Philippines in 1966 where he had the boundless joy of bringing the first Chinese Bahá’í into the Faith. He was also privileged to guide the first Chinese believers of Burma to the Faith during a visit to that country in 1972, and it was at his suggestion that the National Spiritual Assembly of Burma formed its first National Youth Committee, which today is a very active group in Burma.
Singapore and Hong Kong[edit]
When Singapore needed help before the formation of her National Assembly, Yankee went to help the handful of workers there, and together with Leong Tat Chee, manned the Bahá’í Centre, working ceaselessly for many months. At Riḍván 1972 he had the bounty of being present at the birth of the National Spiritual Assembly of Singapore, on which his daughter, Rose Ong, was elected chairman and his grandson, Henry Ong, served as a member.
In 1971, an intensive 40-day teaching campaign was organized in Hong Kong, and Yankee, as always, was there in the front lines walking up and down in the villages in the New Territories and taking the Message to the nearby islands.
In early 1974, at the request of the Board of Counsellors, Yankee spent some months in Hong Kong to help in the preparation of its first National Convention. He was there to help usher in the new National Assembly, formed at Riḍván 1974 in the presence of the beloved Hand of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum.
Epilogue[edit]
Much has happened in Malaysia in these last 21 years since the time when a single dedicated believer, undaunted by the skepticism of family and friends, started the process of sharing his newfound Faith with others. Over the years, he has had the joy of seeing his children become pillars of the country, and his grandchildren become active Bahá’í youth.
‘UNCLE’ YAN KEE LEONG
Counsellor Yan Kee Leong, the only Chinese member of the Continental Board of Counsellors, is presently visiting countries where Chinese reside, with Vietnam as his first destination, and possibly Mauritius next year.
Seventy-five and young at heart, our first believer, beloved Yan Kee Leong, is still out there on the front line, an inspiration for this generation and others yet to come.—Shantha Sundram
India[edit]
Although the Bahá’í House of Worship near New Delhi, India, is not yet open to the public, its sublime beauty and splendid architecture are being noticed and written about in journals and periodicals around the world. Last February, when the ‘Federation International Precontrain’ of France, one of the most distinguished international engineering organizations, held its 10th International Congress in New Delhi, interest was so high following a slide presentation on the Temple that permission was given for about 200 of the engineers from all over the world to tour the site. Comments such as ‘The most beautiful building ever made’ and ‘The eighth wonder of the world’ are typical of those written by the engineers in the Temple Visitors’ Book. One of the visitors, John P. Allen, is editor-in-chief of the British magazine Construction News, in which a long article about the Temple was published in April 1986. In the August issue of the magazine Delhi Scan, the architecture critic, who is himself a well-known architect, wrote, ‘This structure is perhaps Delhi’s most beautiful post-independence building. Conceived as an opening lotus and magnificent in its proportions, the Bahá’í House of Worship could well be Delhi’s only candidate for an international award. The construction over the past six years has been a labor of love; (the) fantastically accurate and complicated marble work and joinery on the facade should be a textbook lesson in perfection to all those behind constructing buildings in Delhi.’ On August 23, Dr. David Ruhe, a member of the Universal House of Justice, and Mrs. Ruhe visited the Temple. Afterward, they wrote: ‘There is no question that this is the signal feat of the decade for the Faith and the symbol of the Cause through Asia. The spirit of the Bahá’í Faith is already strong in the unfinished edifice. How much more so when the Holy Word rises in chant and song within this dawning place of the mention of God.’
United States[edit]
Green Lake holds 27th Conference[edit]
Buoyed by the great success of the Bahá’í International Peace Conference in San Francisco, some 969 Bahá’ís gathered September 12-14 at the 27th annual Green Lake Bahá’í Conference at the American Baptist Center in lovely Green Lake, Wisconsin.
Bahá’ís and their guests heard from several notable speakers; took part in more than a dozen afternoon workshops, each of which addressed the conference theme, “The Unfolding Pattern: The Fourth Epoch,” and consulted on how best to win the goals of the Six Year Plan as set forth by the Universal House of Justice.
Morris Taylor, a Bahá’í from Evanston, Illinois, gives one of his two talks at the 27th annual Green Lake (Wisconsin) Bahá’í Conference.
The keynote address, “Evidences of This New Life,” was given by Tony Pelle, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Hawaiian Islands.
Other featured speakers were Counsellors Eloy Anello and Robert Harris; Dr. Robert Henderson, secretary of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly; Kevin Schuler of the Office of the Treasurer at the Bahá’í National Center; and Morris Taylor, a Bahá’í from Evanston, Illinois.
Those at the conference were also pleased to welcome Ebenezer Iniyezo, vice-chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of Nigeria.
Counsellor Anello spoke about the Six Year Plan from an international perspective, saying that its success on that scale depends to a great extent on the response of the American Bahá’í community.
“One way in which the U.S. Bahá’ís can contribute to the international needs of the Faith,” he said, “is by making use of the ample supply of energy and enthusiasm found in our youth.”
Parents of Bahá’í youth, he said, need to be informed of how a year of service to the Faith can be beneficial to the personal and spiritual growth as well as to the education of their sons and daughters.
Counsellor Harris stressed the excitement of being a part of this period in history and of witnessing the many changes that have brought us to the fourth epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith.
Dr. Henderson presented what he described as a “family talk” on the importance of grassroots activity in the growth of the worldwide Bahá’í com-
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munity, reminding his audience of the
spiritual legacy inherited by the Bahá’ís
from the heroic steadfastness of the
martyrs in Iran.
“Sometimes,” he said, “we see ourselves only in terms of our limitations and conflicts. We don’t always see the magnificence that others see in us; the love and unity that others call ‘outstanding.’
“The Peace Conference in San Francisco was the largest public event we’ve ever attempted for Bahá’í and non-Bahá’í participation. The one statement repeated by almost every non-Bahá’í speaker there was, in essence, ‘You have the message that mankind needs; the problem is, you won’t tell anybody!’ ”
Besides the speakers and workshops, two slide programs were presented, the first by Mr. Pelle, who delighted everyone with a marvelous set of slides depicting the building of the newest House of Worship in India, the other by Ethel and Lacy Crawford from the World Centre in Haifa entitled “Vital Developments,” which illustrated some of the exciting events in Bahá’í history leading up to the fourth epoch of the Formative Age.
Each of the 14 workshop sessions dealt with issues relevant to the Six Year Plan. Also held was a meeting exclusively for youth at which Counsellor Harris and Mr. Pelle spoke along with two youth—Gilbert Smith, chairman of the National Youth Committee, and Mark Movagh.
As at every Green Lake Conference, a superb and dedicated group of children’s teachers conducted classes for every age group.
There was entertainment too, with performances collectively titled “The Unfolding Pattern: The Magical Vision.”
Among the performing artists were Anne Atkinson and Ladjamaya Green who acted out a dramatic sequence entitled “Peace”; mime Sharon Davis who was accompanied by her husband, George, reading about the role of women in peace; pianist Mark Ochu; singer/guitarist Mark Spittal; dancer Michele Broussard; vocalist Cecilia Smith, accompanied by pianist Ellen Swan Dixon; Jocelyn Boor who presented a poetry reading; Shokouh Rezai Davis who chanted Persian poetry; and a children’s group who presented a mime skit entitled “Each One Teach One.”
Above: Children at the Green Lake Conference offer a skit entitled ‘Each One Teach One.’ Below: Janet Bucknell of the Bahá’í Publishing Trust in Wilmette, Illinois, conducts one of the conference’s 14 workshops, this one on ‘Special Projects During the Six Year Plan.’
Following the Saturday evening performance, many of the friends convened at the Green Lake “cabaret” for more music and dancing. Counsellor Harris, who served as emcee, kept things moving along with his rich repertoire of “true stories,” much to the delight of everyone present.
The conference theme song, “Feel It in Your Heart,” was written by Jerry Lerner of Shorewood, Wisconsin.
Haiti[edit]
Zunúzí School reaches out to community[edit]
Readers of previous issues of Timoun will be familiar with the early stages of the Anís Zunúzí Rural Development Project during which Bahá’ís in Haiti began exploring ways of reaching out into the community around the school in Lilavois, and later the Amelia Collins School in Liancourt. They will recall that Family Education Centers set up during the pilot phase became focal centers for a variety of activities responding to the expressed interests and needs of the people at the time: a pre-school program in collaboration with UNICEF, daily lunches for the children, parent meetings, vaccination clinics, distribution of tree seedlings, women’s activities, and adult literacy classes.
At the same time, project staff, aware of the overwhelming nature of the basic problems of the area (lack of irrigation, small land size), introduced a form of grass-roots organization known as “groupements” to combat divisiveness and prevailing attitudes of resignation and hopelessness.
We are eager to bring readers of Timoun up to date on these activities and to share what we have learned from the varying successes and difficulties encountered over the past year, in the hope that our experiences may contribute in some way to the growing understanding and involvement of Bahá’ís in socio-economic development.
At a time when the Universal House of Justice is encouraging small, self-sufficient social and economic development projects, we realize what a privilege
The most encouraging progress ... has been seen in the emerging presence of the local Spiritual Assemblies of Lilavois and Liancourt, and in the increasing spirit of independence and enthusiasm of the groupement members.
it is to be one of the few Bahá’í development projects receiving outside financial assistance from the World Centre and the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), enabling us to have a full-time staff of five and a vehicle. However, within the context of the larger project, we have sought to promote grass-roots involvement and self-sufficiency so that groups of rural women and men will gain not only short-term material benefits, but also the ability to organize themselves on a progressive spiritual basis in order to maintain and increase these material benefits on their own, after the external project funds are terminated.
The most encouraging progress in this respect has been seen in the emerging presence of the local Spiritual Assemblies of Lilavois and Liancourt, and in the increasing spirit of independence and enthusiasm of the groupement members. The participation of a growing number of rural adults and youth in these cooperative mini-enterprises has brought into play new attitudes toward progress, and has reinforced new practices of cooperation, planning and service whose effect has also been felt in other activities of the development project.
LILAVOIS[edit]
Thanks largely to the patient and loving encouragement of project animators and the solid reputation already established by the Anís Zunúzí School, more than 200 people have become involved in development activities, despite the lack of community organization in the area or its proximity to the large city.
Groupements (cooperatives)[edit]
In 1984 the first four groupements invested a total of $58.40 of their own money in small commercial projects. They gave themselves names like “Sparks,” “Union of Lilavois Youth,” etc. In June 1986 groupements have a total accumulated capital of $1,513.00 invested in commercial and animal-raising activities. They continue to reinvest their earnings, each gradually saving toward a “mother project” of its choosing which will be not only profit-making but useful to the community. Many of the groupements are considering animal-raising; one, called “La Foi” (The Faith), already raises goats.
| This report of a Bahá’í-sponsored rural development project in Haiti was written by project manager Linda Neufeld and first appeared in the September 1986 issue of Timoun, a monthly publication of the Anís Zunúzí Bahá’í School in Lilavois. |
During visits to their meetings by project animators, and in a series of monthly seminars at the Anís Zunúzí School, participants improve their consultation and management skills and deepen their understanding of the spiritual principles of development such as unity, service, work and knowledge, using a course prepared by the Project.
The groupements also evaluate one another’s progress in quarterly regional meetings, during which they set qualitative and quantitative goals for the next quarter.
Tree nursury and grafted fruit trees[edit]
At the Anís Zunúzí School we were delighted when a second test showed the water in the new well was not saline. The well now supplies irrigation for 100 grafted trees planted behind the school, and for a newly constructed
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nursery that produces 80,000 seedlings
per year. An advance from the Pan-American Development Foundation
(PADF) covering construction costs
and the nurseryman’s salary will be
paid back in seedlings which PADF
then distributes free via local animators in the Lilavois area and in two
other projects. Our area alone will distribute 4,500 seedlings among 30 farmers.
These fast-growing hardwood trees (nîme, lucina, eucalyptus, acacia, etc.) are drought-resistant. Since they can be planted along with regular crops, to provide wind-breaks or shade, and will regrow if branches are cut for firewood or lumber, poor farmers are interested in planting them. This PADF project is one of the first to make any headway in reforesting this severely eroded country, and we are pleased to be a part of their program. Two of their six regional agro-foresters are Bahá’ís.
Teacher orientation[edit]
In consultation with the Anís Zunúzí Administrative Council, it was decided to offer a three-week seminar for the seven teachers of the Anís Zunúzí School to orient them on the development activities established by the Project. So far, the Project, though based at the school, has functioned parallel to school activities, with little interaction. Integration is a major goal this year so that the school will be able to maintain the extension program.
During the seminars, the teachers studied the Project courses “Principles of Development” and “Community Animation,” and enjoyed taking part in ongoing groupement, parent and literacy activities as field practice. On a field trip to Liancourt to attend their regional groupement meeting, they were thrilled to be met by a marching band and parade of more than 100 groupement members who then proceeded to report and evaluate their activities during the previous three months.
After the seminar, two of the teachers were able to add a community service dimension to their work for the 1985/86 school year. One of them continued holding an adult literacy class begun by the PROTOS volunteers, and the other began a popular upgrading class for local youth and adults. Many of the participants are women who have had the opportunity of only several years of schooling.
The long-range goal of the school is that all teachers will participate in community development. However, since most activities take place in the late afternoon, the other teachers are at present unable to take part because of the long commuting distance and their own attendance at night school.
Pre-school program[edit]
During the 1985/86 school year, four pre-school programs functioned in the Lilavois area in addition to the one at the Anís Zunúzí School itself. Two of them are supported by the Spiritual Assembly of Lilavois. The teachers are secondary students of the Anís Zunúzí School.
Since they began, more than 150 young children have benefited from these well-planned UNICEF-directed programs of intellectual, psychomotoric and social development, supple-
| Film documents Anís Zunúzí School’s Development Project
Behind the scenes, the production was a marvel of closely coordinated collaboration at all levels as Counsellor Ruth Pringle, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Haiti, the Auxiliary Board members, the school’s Administrative Council, the Rural Development Project staff, and everyone at the grass-roots bent their energies toward making the scenes visible evidence of the spiritual, social and economic progress taking place. Arriving May 18, 1986, the team worked long hours in oppressive heat to produce “some of the most exciting footage they had ever seen.” The purpose of the project is to produce one or more video tapes that will be made available to Bahá’ís and possibly to development agencies throughout the world. In addition, a large series of professional still shots in black and white and color slides were taken by Mr. Sadan. Not only were there scenes of the students at the Anís Zunúzí Bahá’í School at work in the classroom and at play on the grounds, but also scenes of the community at large; the homes; the market; the capital city of Port-au-Prince; and even aerial shots of the school and of the impressive mountainous landscape of Haiti. In addition, the less understood rural development extension projects of the Bahá’ís are captured on video tape. Everything from the pre-school centers, vaccination program and literacy classes to the tree nursery and all-important mini-cooperatives come alive with the enthusiasm that the Haitians, Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike, feel toward these development projects that bring new hope to their lives and help them to improve their own lot. When people ask, “What are the Bahá’ís doing?” by means of these video tapes every Bahá’í can be proud to show the very real achievements of the Faith in Haiti. But what of the future? For the 1986-87 school year, about half of the budget for the school and extension projects is coming from friends all over the world who contribute in the general range of $100-$300 a year. It is indeed confirming to see the generous response of so many of the friends. The hope of everyone involved in the video taping is that it will help other national communities in the world-wide Bahá’í family’s collective endeavor to uplift the spiritual, social and economic life of the people through the application of Bahá’í principles. In addition, with the cessation by the end of 1986 of funding by the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), and the need to incorporate some of the existing programs into the extension work of the Anís Zunúzí Bahá’í School, it is hoped that a trust fund can be established at a level which will place the Haitian Bahá’í institutional program on a sound financial footing for years to come. |
[Page 10]
mented with Bahá’í moral education.
Parents have commented favorably
about the programs and the changes
they see in their children. But despite
many motivational visits and meetings,
parental support of the centers has
been much less than we expected from
their initial enthusiastic requests for a
center.
Last summer, parents from the active women’s committee of Liancourt spent several days as volunteer animators in the Lilavois area visiting parents and renewing to some degree their commitment to support their centers through small monthly fees, participation in repairs, and parent meetings.
This past year, however, political unrest contributed to irregular attendance, and parental support was again low. We are presently consulting with the Spiritual Assembly, monitors and parents to decide the future of these centers. The pre-school program will probably close temporarily in two or three of the outlying centers as we seek new strategies to reach larger numbers of children and parents.
Infant care[edit]
This aspect of the UNICEF program has been quite successful in the Lilavois area. Through the Center for Special Education, a young Bahá’í woman who attends secondary classes at the Anís Zunúzí School has been trained in the care and stimulation of infants 0-3 years of age. She now visits 41 babies and their mothers, evaluates the infants’ progress, and suggests appropriate games and interaction to the mothers. Several group meetings were held, at which babies were weighed and information shared with the mothers about health and nutrition. Through these visits, a case of hydrocephalus has been detected and directed to treatment. A seven-month-old baby was aided to sit up, through exercises suggested by our infant care worker.
Health[edit]
Project staff contacted local health personnel and transported them to the centers to hold regular vaccination clinics in which several hundred children have been immunized for the first time against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio and measles. Vitamin A has been given to help prevent loss of vision. Much of the success of these clinics has been due to the efforts of the project staff and monitors in inviting parents and informing them of the importance of immunizing the children.
Women’s activities[edit]
For several months, sessions were held at the Anís Zunúzí School and the Léhoux Center in which local women discussed some aspects of the woman’s role in health and nutrition, then taught each other new skills (embroidery, crocheting, sewing, cooking and baking). A women’s committee was formed to direct activities but has not
Although originally outside the Project area, Liancourt has now become the most successful of the Family Education Centers and is being consolidated to serve as a model of the interaction of various community services ...
functioned since the political unrest in January and February 1986. Instead, the Spiritual Assembly, with Project support, has inaugurated a series of monthly women’s seminars that are attracting women from several localities. During the first of these seminars, women studied quotes about women and health, and they brought local medicinal plants whose use they explained.
Literacy[edit]
Adult literacy sessions for about 15 adults are given at Léhoux by a local youth recruited by the Bahá’í Project and trained by Foster Parents’ Plan and the Department of Literacy and Community Action.
Animal-raising[edit]
Lilavois residents own very small parcels of land or none at all. Water is scarce, and city people are buying up land to build houses; so, the Project is promoting animal-raising to supplement income.
Project animators have shared useful information learned at a government-sponsored seminar on goat-raising and were given two male goats for Lilavois and Liancourt to improve the strain.
LIANCOURT[edit]
The development activities in this town, two hours’ drive from the Anís Zunúzí School, began spontaneously when Project animators returned to Liancourt during their days off. Although originally outside the Project area, Liancourt has now become the most successful of the Family Education Centers and is being consolidated to serve as a model of the interaction of various community services under the coordination of the Spiritual Assembly.
Because of the greater density of this rural population and its distance from the capital, the groupements here are more numerous, more mature and more oriented toward agriculture and community service than in Lilavois. In addition to their own group projects, regional meetings and seminars, groupement members here have contributed labor and materials to the building of a piggery and tree nursery on nearby properties. The active Women’s Committee, composed of more than 60 members, helps maintain the Amelia Collins Bahá’í School, the center of most activities, which now houses a primary class as well as the pre-school program.
Amelia Collins School[edit]
This modest 25-year-old building, donated by the Hand of the Cause of God Amelia Collins, is now the center of most development activities in Liancourt. This year, a Grade One class was added to the UNICEF pre-school class. The Spiritual Assembly and a project animator, with help from parents, helped supervise the construction of a new classroom.
Adult learning[edit]
Local youth, inspired by evening sessions about development held by project animator Francisque Francois, decided to offer free evening classes in French, Spanish and English as well as drawing, to adults. They also formed their own theatre group. Over the last year, two devoted members of the women’s committee have been teaching a group of 15 women to read. These women received training first at a Scheut Fathers’ seminar sponsored by the Project, and later, through the Haitian Center for Research and the Promotion of Women, which also donated a sewing machine and a stove. The women also hold afternoon sewing sessions through which many have learned to sew their children’s clothes. Women also bake cakes to sell locally.
Tree nursery[edit]
Following the signing of a contract between PADF and the Spiritual Assembly of Liancourt, a shade house was built in 1985; a nursery man was hired; and more than 140,000 seedlings have been distributed so far. The regional PADF coordinator is a Bahá’í who supervises the work of 10 animators, each of whom distributes 4,500 seedlings per season.
Animal-raising[edit]
Despite many setbacks, groupement members persevered in the construction of a piggery. The Project contributed cement and bought three pigs when the official pig repopulation organization failed to come through with the expected five pigs. Pig-raising is a lucrative and important undertaking since 1983 when swine fever necessitated the elimination of all pigs, the “bank account” of many rural peasants. The Project also has periodic vaccination clinics and has helped goat owners by offering a quarter-blood male goat for breeding purposes.
PRESENT AND FUTURE[edit]
Although the Bahá’í Faith is not taught directly in Project activities,
((diagram prepared by Sherif Rushdy)
The process of development at a grass-roots level has been so successful in Liancourt, a small town some two and one-half hours’ drive north of the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince and two hours north from the Anís Zunúzí Bahá’í School, that it has become the focal point as a model of development.
As the diagram depicts, at the center of the process is the local Spiritual Assembly which directs the classes and activities in the Bahá’í School or Family Education Center. With support from the development fund, the local Assembly coordinates and oversees the “moniteurs” or teachers of the pre-school classes and elementary grades, and the secondary tutoring which takes place in the Family Education Center.
It also oversees the women’s committee which organizes literacy classes, sewing and cooking activities for Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike, at the Center. Many of these women are members of mini-cooperatives or “groupements” who use cooking, baking and sewing skills, etc., for their small commercial enterprises. With the help of a full-time trained facilitator, the women in these mini-coöps are supervised, until their coöp reaches the point at which it may actually employ one or more members and make a profit that can be paid out to its members. The facilitator is helped in his work by volunteer facilitators and, of course, by means of consultation with the local Spiritual Assembly. The mini-coöps may be based on trade (buying and selling) or agricultural production, animal raising or other production-oriented projects. They may form associations to facilitate buying or selling in quantity, for example. The facilitator helps some mini-coöps to obtain credit, expertise and/or materials from other development agencies.
As local Spiritual Assemblies mature, this model should be useful to propel other Bahá’í communities ahead in the field of social and economic development. The Liancourt Development Model will be refined and adapted as more experience is gained, but the necessity of having strong functioning local Spiritual Assemblies will remain at the core of the process.
[Page 12]
Students upgrade their education at an adult literacy class in Lilavois.
and a majority of participants are not yet Bahá’ís, they openly attest to the influence of the Writings and principles of Bahá’u’lláh in changing their lives.
Many lent a hand in cleaning up the Amelia Collins Bahá’í School and reclaiming stolen furniture after looters savaged it during recent unrest. In Lilavois, rich and poor alike have been heard to praise the Anís Zunúzí School and the Project for material and social improvements they have introduced. A Liancourt minister who once preached against the Faith asked for copies of the texts used in a development seminar, claiming they were all in conformity with his beliefs. A man who used to curtail his wife’s development activities was recently seen helping her decorate the Amelia Collins School for a meeting.
Another important development over the past year has been the maturation and growing confidence of the local Spiritual Assemblies of Lilavois and Liancourt as they begin their role in socio-economic development.
The Project staff recently spent several days consulting with Canadian Project Manager Sherif Rushdy, now completing his doctoral thesis in Haiti, about the future of the Bahá’í development work in that country.
As the Spiritual Assemblies of Lilavois and Liancourt take on more and more responsibility for coordinating development activities in their areas, a model begins to emerge that can serve other local communities as they mature to the point of initiating small socio-economic development projects.
Over the next six years it is hoped that both the Anís Zunúzí School and the Amelia Collins School will serve as centers for public seminars on education and development, and will expand their function as training centers for local Bahá’í development workers, youth and women’s group leaders, and children’s teachers.
The Bahá’í National Development Committee of Haiti will have to work hard to assure the continuation and coordination of development activities after the Project officially ends and non-Bahá’í funding ceases. It is planning ways in which to further educate the Bahá’í community in order to increase involvement in this important aspect of our growth.—Linda Neufeld
World Centre[edit]
Bahá’í Social and Economic Development Programs
As the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh has now emerged from obscurity and entered the fourth epoch of the Formative Age, a rapidly increasing number of Bahá’í communities are pursuing social and economic development activities. The Seven Year Plan witnessed a ten-fold increase in the number of such programs, including a 75 percent rise during the past year. Presently, 1,247 projects are under way, sponsored by 93 national communities. Of this total of 93 countries or territories, 27 are in Africa, 29 in the Americas, 18 in Asia, 7 in Australasia and 12 in Europe.
| World | Africa | Americas | Asia | Australasia | Europe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | 732 | 169 | 115 | 427 | 13 | 8 |
| Tutorial Schools | 558 | 141 | 92 | 317 | 8 | 0 |
| Academic Schools | 40 | 5 | 11 | 24 | 0 | 0 |
| Other Projects | 134 | 23 | 12 | 86 | 5 | 8 |
| Health & Social Services | 78 | 28 | 14 | 25 | 2 | 9 |
| Radio Stations | 5 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Agriculture & Forestry | 74 | 35 | 13 | 20 | 5 | 1 |
| Community Development | 358 | 60 | 266 | 12 | 7 | 13 |
| Total | 1,247 | 292 | 413 | 484 | 27 | 31 |
The vast majority of these programs are modest local efforts which apply Bahá’í principles to fundamental
problems facing Bahá’ís and non-Bahá’ís alike. Indeed, these humanitarian endeavors may well be viewed as
precursors of some of the dependencies of future Mashriqu’l-Adhkárs. Motivated by the transforming power of
Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, Bahá’ís increasingly are forging personal commitments to apply these life-giving
Teachings to the myriad ills afflicting humanity. An ongoing process of Bahá’í consultation channels this spiritual energy through the administrative institutions of the Faith so that activities evolve in ways appropriate to
changing conditions and foster an interactive process of individual and community change. While these programs address a wide range of locally perceived needs, most focus on the provision of basic education and training for materially impoverished rural peoples in the Third World, where the vast majority of the Faith’s adherents reside. This pattern, established through actions by hundreds of local Bahá’í communities, seems especially
timely and appropriate since the Universal House of Justice, in “The Promise of World Peace,” has advised the
people of the world that universal education, especially that of women and girls, is among the most important
means of promoting world peace.
Australia[edit]
House of Worship marks its 25th year[edit]
The Bahá’í House of Worship is now 25 years old. The Australian Bahá’í community entered the Ten Year World Crusade not knowing that by its end, they would be the proud custodians of one of the few Houses of Worship in the Bahá’í world. In his cable to the Australian community in April 1953, outlining the country’s goals for the next 10 years, Shoghi Effendi called for the purchase of a Temple site.1 A month later, the National Spiritual Assembly appealed to the community for assistance, saying, “this is one of the great goals before us. The search for the site will now be the responsibility and joy of every one of us. No one, as yet, has any idea where this site will be....”2 In the Ten Year Plan, Shoghi Effendi had also called for the acquisition of Temple sites in Frankfurt, New Delhi, Rome, Cairo, Stockholm, Toronto, Panama City, Baghdad, Kampala, Johannesburg, Santiago,3 and Tehran.
By March 1954, the Temple site committee (Lillian Wyss, Stanley Bolton Jr., Meg Degotardi, Glad Parke, Greta Lamprill, Jane Routh, and Frank Wyss) had secured a site at North Balgowlah, and cabled the Guardian “purchase secured 4 acres temple site.”4 In July, the National Spiritual Assembly received a letter of congratulations from Shoghi Effendi, and the community turned its attention to other goals of the plan—expansion on the homefront and into the islands of the Pacific.
In Iran, however, the progress of the plan was halted by a new outbreak of
In the Ten Year Plan, Shoghi Effendi had also called for the acquisition of Temple sites in Frankfurt, New Delhi, Rome, Cairo, Stockholm, Toronto, Panama City, Baghdad, Kampala, Johannesburg, Santiago, and Tehran.
persecution. Whereas in March 1955 the Guardian announced that he had selected the design by Mason Remey for the Tehran Temple, in May, the Iranian government announced an edict outlawing the Bahá’í Faith; the National Centre in Tehran was partly demolished, the House of the Báb desecrated, and Bahá’ís were attacked. Now unable to construct a Temple in Tehran, the Guardian asked the National Spiritual Assembly to prepare construction plans by Riḍván 1957, but to keep all the plans confidential until announced by him. This announcement, in the Guardian’s Convention message for 1957, astonished and excited the Australian community.
The work of the Temple site committee, thought to be complete, was extended when the original site at North Balgowlah was requisitioned by the New South Wales Department of Education. A new search began, and the present site, slightly more than seven acres, was secured at Mona Vale.5
The Guardian instructed that the Temple be built by 1959. The Hand of the Cause of God Amelia Collins made an initial donation of $25,000 and the Guardian donated $6,000.6 The Temple was designed by Mason Remey, and its specifications developed by a Sydney architect, John Brogan. Excavations began in December 1957, and by January 1958 the Temple fund stood at 43,000 pounds.7 Later in 1958, at the Intercontinental Conference in Sydney, Mr. Habib Sabet led an appeal for funds, and in about an hour 30,000 pounds in gifts in pledges was raised.8 Other donations came from the National Spiritual Assemblies of Iran, the Arabian Peninsula, New Zealand, and Alaska, as well as from individuals in other countries.9
The challenge of constructing a building of such unusual design attracted the attention of the building industry, the media, and university students. The Temple construction committee was so pleased with the number of people visiting to inspect construction that it erected a large sign post showing the basic Bahá’í principles. In September 1959, a Public Relations Committee issued a general press release about the Temple to all newspapers in areas where Bahá’ís lived. Pix Magazine, on April 9, 1960, included an article on the Temple, and on August 7, TCN9 television showed three minutes’ coverage of it on its news.
Construction did not proceed quite as fast as expected, the usual labor troubles being one factor, and the technical
| This article about the 25th anniversary of the Bahá’í House of Worship in Mona Vale, Australia, was written by Graham Hassall and first appeared in the Australian Bahá’í Bulletin, No. 352 (September 1986). |
requirements of the unusual building being another. By March 1958 the foundation walls and one-quarter of the floor had been constructed. Then for some months, work was confined to completing the base and preparation of forms for building the walls.10 The dome was begun in December 1959, and the dedication service, planned for April 1961, was postponed until September 14-17.11 Early in 1961, the main structure of the dome had been completed, 151,000 pounds had been spent, and it was estimated that 21,000 pounds remained to be
[Page 15]
spent. Meanwhile, the National Spiritual Assembly announced that Rúḥíyyih Khánum would be coming to
open the Sydney Temple.12 In April
1961 the windows were being put in
place, the steps were poured, and Albert Styles was resident as the first
caretaker. A roster had been made,
and weekend guiding began. A Temple
Services committee was appointed, and
advised the community early:
“Believers who wish to take part in these services are advised that they will be expected to ensure that their pronunciation and diction are of sufficient standard to be in keeping with the dignity and the devotional nature of the services. If necessary, believers should take lessons in voice production, pronunciation and reading.”13
The dedication program spanned several days and included public meetings, a meeting of the community with Rúḥíyyih Khánum, and dedication programs in the Temple and at Anzac House in the city. The official opening was held on September 14 at the National Centre, 2 Lang Road, Paddington. This was followed by a devotional program at Anzac House, dedicated to the memory of Clara and Hyde Dunn, who brought the Bahá’í message to Australia.
At this meeting, representatives of Bahá’í communities in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific gave reports on the progress of their communities to an audience of about 250. The following day, a Saturday, a service was held in the Temple for the first time, attended by about 300 people. Following a dedication message presented by Rúḥíyyih Khánum, there were readings from Bahá’í scriptures by Gertrude Blum, Perce Allmond, Betty Anderson, Madge Featherstone, Hadi Rahmani, Noel Bluett, Beryl Trip and the Hand of the Cause of God Collis Featherstone. The following day two public services were held, attracting about 2,000 people. As with the previous day, Rúḥíyyih Khánum read the dedication message, and several Bahá’ís had the opportunity of reading from the scriptures.
The historic days of dedication attracted to the community unprecedented publicity in daily and weekly papers and magazines, on television and radio, even in the cinema newsreels of Cinesound and Movietone.
From that moment until the present, the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in Sydney has become a focal point, a privilege and a responsibility for the Australian Bahá’í community, rekindling and nourishing man’s desire to commune with his Creator, and attracting unnumbered inquirers to the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
REFERENCES
- Bahá’í Bulletin, May 1953, p. 1.
- Bahá’í Bulletin, June 1953, p. 4.
- Bahá’í News Bulletin, July 1954, p. 3.
- National News Items, March 1954, p. 4.
- Bahá’í Bulletin, February-March 1956, p. 2.
- National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia and New Zealand, Annual Reports, Bahá’í Year 113, 1956-57.
- Bahá’í Bulletin, January 22, 1958, p. 3.
- Bahá’í Bulletin, July 1958, p. 3.
- National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Australia, Annual Report, 114, 1957-58, p. 3.
- Bahá’í Bulletin, October-November 1958, pp. 10-11.
- Bahá’í Bulletin, October 1960, p. 5.
- Bahá’í Bulletin, January 1961, p. 2.
- Bahá’í Bulletin, April 1961, p. 7.
United Kingdom[edit]
House of Lords discusses persecutions[edit]
The House met at eleven of the clock: The LORD CHANCELLOR on the Woolsack.
Prayers—Read by the Lord Bishop of Rochester.
Lord Molloy: My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper.
The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they will make further representations to the Government of Iran in the light of the recent reports of killing and torturing of members of the Bahá’í faith in that country.
Baroness Hooper: My Lords, we are deeply concerned about the human rights situation in Iran, including the persecution of minorities such as Bahá’ís. The United Kingdom co-sponsored the draft resolution that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in December 1985 calling for an end to violations of human rights in Iran. We shall continue to express our concern at every opportunity.
Lord Molloy: My Lords, I am very grateful to the noble Baroness for that reply, and I am sure that the many thousands of Britons who are members of that minority religion will also be grateful for what she has just said.
Is the noble Baroness not aware that for six years there was the most heinous campaign against the Bahá’í religion
| This discussion of the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran was conducted June 13, 1986, in Parliament’s House of Lords, London, England. It is reported fully and without comment; the opinions expressed therein are not necessarily those of the Bahá’í community in Iran or elsewhere. |
involving torture, killing, and all kinds of persecution? After representations were made to the UN there was a lull but, alas, it has all started again. Does the noble Baroness not agree that inasmuch as there has been in recent months stoning of members of the Bahá’í faith, imprisonment, confiscation of finances and property, denial of legal rights, deprivation of livelihood and summary executions, the Government might now consider making representations not only to the United Nations but also to the EC and the British Commonwealth of Nations on behalf of that honorable though minority religion?
Baroness Hooper: My Lords, we are aware of recent press reports of renewed persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran. I believe that action taken by all international groups, and by the Community partners in particular, can be, and is, most effective. We have already made representations with our Community partners about human rights violations in Iran and we shall certainly consider doing so again should the circumstances warrant it.
Lord Melish: My Lords, is the noble Baroness not aware that, in the Ayatollah Khomeini, we are dealing with an absolute religious maniac? The man is stark raving mad. Any representations we may make would be an absolute waste of time, when one is dealing with people like him. Is it not logical to assume from all that that it is necessary—and I say this for the benefit of those who oppose—for Britain to have an armed defense, because we are dealing with crackpots throughout the world?
Baroness Hooper: My Lords, I note with interest the noble Lord’s remarks.
Lord Gladwyn: My Lords, what evidence is there in the possession of the Governmment that the present Iranian Government are behind and are supporting the activities of revolutionary Shi’ite movements in other countries of the Middle East and elsewhere?
Baroness Hooper: My Lords, that matter is somewhat without the terms of the original Question and I am not able to give the noble Lord a reply, but I will look into it.
Lord Boston of Faversham: My Lords, would the Minister not accept that what she has said, particularly in answer to the first two questions, is very welcome? Will she bear in mind that a representative of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights was appointed to investigate the circumstances of the Bahá’ís in Iran? Can she give the House any information about the progress that is being made in that investigation?
Baroness Hooper: My Lords, I am only aware that the investigation is under way; I cannot report back on it. With regard to recent press reports concerning renewed persecution, our own representatives in Tehran have not been able to confirm them. It is for that reason that it would not be appropriate for us to make specific representations at the moment, although we shall continue to express our concern about the general situation. But we will pursue, and will certainly take into consideration, the report of the United Nations representative.
Lord Boston of Faversham: My Lords, I am very much obliged. Will the Minister consider making a further statement to the House about that report when further details become available?
Baroness Hooper: My Lords, I am not totally familiar with the procedures in such a case but I feel sure that if a Question were to be put down by the noble Lord, then we should be happy to answer it.
[Page 17]
Lord Monson: My Lords, does the
noble Baroness not agree that the state-inspired murder, torture and forced
conversion of the Bahá’ís in Iran actually constitutes genocide, as defined
by the 1948 United Nations convention
on the prevention and punishment of
the crime of genocide?
Baroness Hooper: My Lords, I can only reply that there was considerable support for the draft resolution that was co-sponsored by the United Kingdom in the United Nations in December 1985.
Lord Gladwyn: My Lords, will the noble Baroness be so kind as to make a reply in writing to the supplementary question that I put?
Baroness Hooper: Certainly, my Lords.
Lord Molloy: My Lords, does the noble Baroness not agree that the Bahá’ís in Iran are suffering from organized government tyranny, and although that government might be led by a crackpot, will she in no way take any notice of that fact? It is an appalling policy to say that, because a state leader poses as a crackpot, he will receive no condemnation from anyone. I hope that the noble Baroness will resist any such suggestion. I return to her first words in reply to my Question, which I know for certain will give so much encouragement and hope to the Bahá’í people in our country and throughout the world.
Baroness Hooper: My Lords, I can only repeat that we will continue to express our concern about those violations at every opportunity.
Marshall Islands[edit]
Bahá’ís from more than 20 communities in the Marshall Islands gathered August 23-24 at the Bahá’í National Center in Darrit, Majuro, for a Bahá’í National Peace Conference. Pictured above are many of those who attended including Counsellor Richard Benson (seated at the far left in the third row). On Sunday, the friends heard a number of distinguished guest speakers among whom was A.D. Tennekone, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Republic of the Marshall Islands (shown speaking in the photo at left with Dr. Masao Korean, secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, translating). Other speakers were Mike Senko, U.S. liaison officer for the Marshall Islands; Alfred Capelle, director of the Catholic schools on Majuro, Marshall Islands; and Auxiliary Board member Betra Majmeto who closed the meeting by relating the guest speakers’ ideas to the Bahá’í teachings on peace.
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