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| Bahá’í News | July 1990 | Bahá’í Year 147 |
Tracing the footsteps
of the blessed Báb
REJOICE ANNOUNCE COMPLETION RESTORATION NORTH WING OF HOUSE OF ‘ABDU’LLÁH PASHÁ IN ‘AKKÁ PERMITTING FIRST VISIT ADDITIONAL AREA THIS HOLY PLACE BY CURRENT GROUP PILGRIMS ON SEVENTEENTH JUNE. WING CONTAINS HALL IN WHICH ‘ABDU’L-BAHÁ HELD FEASTS AND OTHER GATHERINGS AND ALSO ROOM OCCUPIED BY SHOGHI EFFENDI DURING BOYHOOD, BOTH ROOMS BEFITTINGLY FURNISHED BY AMATU’L-BAHÁ RÚHÍYYIH KHÁNUM.
JOYFUL EVENT COINCIDED LETTING CONTRACT MAJOR WORKS EXTENSION MAIN TERRACE OF SHRINE OF THE BÁB. THIS INITIAL STAGE CONSTRUCTION TERRACES, COSTING APPROXIMATELY 550,000 DOLLARS, DUE TO BE COMPLETED IN FOUR MONTHS.
JUNE 19, 1990
Bahá’í News[edit]
Seven intrepid Bahá’ís go to Poland—to help build a Bahá’í school | 1 |
Another Bahá’í recalls a visit 20 years ago to the House of the Báb | 4 |
And 62 Bahá’ís return from ‘Promise of Peace’ tour to Soviet Union | 8 |
Overview of Bahá’í International Community’s work at United Nations | 10 |
Around the world: News from Bahá’í communities all over the globe | 12 |
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 Management Information Systems, 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 in U.S. dollars must accompany the order. Second class postage paid at Wilmette, IL 60091. Copyright © 1990, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. World rights reserved. Printed in the U.S.A.
Poland[edit]
Building ‘new Order,’ brick by brick[edit]
2 p.m. Saturday, April 7, 1990.
The “Trabies”* are passing us.
“Look at the Americans, mommy,” the children cry, waving out their back windows at us. “Their cars are loaded down to the ground, and they’re going so slow!”
We are on the E40 Autobahn, headed east, between Karl Marx Stadt and Dresden, deep in East Germany.
All last year I had tried to sell my Volkswagen LT28 van, after deciding that I didn’t have the time or the inclination to turn it into a motor home as I had planned. It should have been easy to sell, but it wasn’t. The price was right, the machine sound (even though it was painted six or seven shades of yellow)—but no one even asked about it. Then I got word that a load of stuff was needed in Poland to help construct a Bahá’í summer school—plumbing fixtures, tubing, supplies. I volunteered to take it.
Plumbing fixtures, tubing, supplies. At the border with the Deutsches Demokratisches Republik, talking to the Grenz polizei beamter (customs officer): “Let’s see, I’ve got three toilets—no, four, counting the porta-potty; 11 windows, a blackboard, blankets....,” all in my fractured German. He waves us through.
| This diary of a trip to Poland last April 7-12 carrying supplies to help build a Bahá’í summer school at Hajdany was written by James S. Smith, a pioneer to West Germany. The trip was made under the auspices of the European Teaching Committee of the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany. Besides Mr. Smith, those transporting the supplies were his wife, Betty, and Danis Ashberger from Germany, and Larry and Monireh Creitz; their daughter, Suzi; and Harold South, all pioneers from Luxembourg. |
One van becomes two as my brother-in-law, Larry Creitz from Luxembourg, joins in. He is carrying more tubing, fittings, a ditto machine and an overhead projector from the last Ice Age. People, too. Harold (South) came to look for places he and his wife could live on their Social Security—you can live quite well in the East if you have hard currency. Danis (Ashberger) came to work on installing the toilets, tubing and fittings. Suzi came to do whatever needed doing; Monireh came to cook; Betty and I came along to do the plumbing, cooking, cleaning, driving, or whatever.
Heading east on the E40. Joints in the cement slabs thump the tires regularly, sharply, shifting the load forward and then back. That’s when the road is smooth enough to feel the joints—not at all very often. Miles (kilometers—more kilometers) of cobblestone autobahn, speed limit 40km (24 mph). Even at that speed we are jolted. Larry gets a speeding ticket. He is following us, but the policeman probably thinks someone with Luxembourg license plates will be able to talk to him. He’s right. We learn about his son, his daughter, get their address so Suzi can write. We depart laughing.
Last night we worked until 1:30 a.m. Loading. Deciding. Refiguring. The copper tubes for the water supply had arrived at 10 p.m., and they were too long to fit in either van. At 11:30 p.m. we came to the conclusion that the rack we were trying to make fit on top of Larry’s van wasn’t strong enough to carry 80 kilos (160-plus pounds) of whippy copper. Everything went into the garage with the door closed for a “hacksaw party” (German quiet hours are in effect at from 11:30, even on a Friday night). By 1:30 a.m. everything was loaded (except for our luggage) and we fell into bed for three and a half hours of sleep. Larry insisted we had to be on the road by 6 a.m.
4:30 p.m. Saturday, April 7: We have arrived at Görlitz, on the East German/Polish border. A traffic cop waves us toward the end of a line of cars waiting to cross. The line stretches out of sight. We begin following it back. After several false turns we find the end—1,500 or 2,000 cars back and four kilometers from the border. The line is moving, though. Every 15-20 minutes someone fires up and we move forward 100-200 meters. Behind us, the line stretches to at least seven kilometers. Thank heaven Larry insisted that we leave early—the folks behind us must have left Germany around 7 or 8 a.m.
Some of the cars ahead of us and behind us don’t fire up. The people have been playing their stereos, headlights burning, forgotten. Or they have flooded their carburetors. Everyone gets out to push. We’re all in this together. East German families along the route have set up Imbiss (snack) stands along the route, capitalizing on the capitalists. A table, a few bottles, a coffee pot, and a bucket of soapy water to wash the cups. Carbonated orange juice is excellent. Coffee, not bad. We move on.
10:15 p.m.: We arrive at the border. Harold has misplaced his little visa application that was in his passport. We are all praying. We’ve heard about bureaucracy in the East Bloc (“Your paperssss are not in orrrderrr! You vill come mit me, plissss!”) Harold is in Larry’s van. Larry gets out to talk to the man at the passport window. The man nods, picks up another visa form, fills it out correctly, gives it to Larry to give to Harold, and waves them
*Trabants: East German autobahn machines—small, plastic-bodied cars often seen creeping along in the slow lane on West German autobahns, where there is usually no speed limit.
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through. We are next.
The man at the Polish end of the customs office is surprised when I say “Djinguye!” (Polish for “thank you”—my only word of Polish). He comments at length, smiling, and waves us through. Now for the customs office.
“What’s all this?”
“Well, I’ve got toilets and sinks and plumbing for a Bahá’í school we’re building near Olesnica....” He nods and waves us through. It has been a long day for him, too.
10:45 p.m.: We are rolling through the Polish night. Hitchhikers stand in the middle of the road, wearing black, trying to flag us down or commit suicide; it’s not entirely clear which. After the third incident, we decide that it’s probably both. Larry is leading. He has slowed down to 80 kph, then to 70—60 in the towns. Even in the dark it’s easy to see that this was once a prosperous area. The houses are large, ornate, solid. They are also in an advanced state of disrepair. Memories of the war are still fresh in many walls.
We pass closed gas stations with people lined up in the darkened driveways, sleeping in their cars, waiting for morning. We have enough fuel to make it to Hajdany (high-dáhn-eh), the farm near Olesnica where the school will be built. Driving so slowly uses less gas. We pass another station—it looks like the rest, but there is a red light glowing on one of the pumps—someone is getting gas! We pull in. He really is open, and he takes West German marks. We tank up on 14 Deutschemarks. Gas seems rather cheap.
Midnight: Pride and stubbornness give way to common sense. Betty takes over the driving, and I crawl into the back of the van. As I bounce around on the back seat, I am not really asleep, but not really awake either. Just the way I was while I was driving, only now the Polish citizens, scenery and property are not in as much danger.
2 a.m. Sunday, April 8.
The van bounces hard enough to send all 220 pounds of me a foot in the air. We are on a dirt road, crawling through thick forest. One kilometer. Two. A single gate, open, appears in the headlights. My mind supplies the location: Lantern Wastes in the Chronicles of Narnia. Across wide, open fields a dim light glows. We bump across the fields. Rough brick buildings loom in the darkness as a chorus of dogs breaks into song. We have arrived at Hajdany. Farhad Monadjem, our host, is there to welcome us, stocking cap and bristling beard over bathrobe, standing in the cold, beaming brighter than our headlights. Everyone adjourns to the kitchen. There are stories to tell and cups of tea to drink. I dig out my air mattress and talk to it while slowly inflating it. Now, it’s time to really sleep. The ceramic stove in the corner clinks a bit when a piece of coal falls, but I don’t hear it more than once. It’s warm, and I’m out of it.
Sunday. Monday.
The people keep arriving. From England. From Warsaw. More from Germany.
“I am Swabo (Tsvahbo). I speak one month English.” (He has been studying English for one month; already, he speaks it better than I did German after my first two years in Germany.)
“I am Hanno.” “I am Törle.” “I am Karsten.” “I am Helen.” “I am Hugh.” “I am Terry.” Sunday is a blur because my brain isn’t ready to function so quickly after the long trip. We drive Farhad’s son, Anise, into Wroctaw (Vrotswahv, once known as Breslau). He has to return to his apartment to study for an exam. First, he takes us shopping downtown. The stores are closing, but we buy some candy. Prices look horrible—200,000 zloty for a dress, for instance. We get out the calculator. Let’s see, 9,500 zloty to the dollar—the dress is $21 U.S. Cheap, no? Except Swabo has told us that his mother, a telephone operator, earns 200,000 zloty a month. Everything is relative. Anise says the quality isn’t very good. Under the layers of soot and dirt, the older buildings are lovely. The over-all effect, though, is somewhat depressing. But the people are nice.
The old farm house at Hajdany Farm, near Olesnica, Poland, that is being renovated for use as a Bahá’í summer school.
Focus in. Monday, 9:45 a.m.: I am loading broken brick onto a flat-bed trailer, ready to haul it out of the way so that the ground can be filled in, improving drainage. The trailer isn’t very strong, so I call Helge over with the tractor to pull it to the dump site. We have been working for two hours already, and we’re tired. I hold the tongue of the trailer to line it up with the tractor. Helge backs up.
I am suddenly reminded of Gene Wilder in the movie Young Frankenstein. He is jammed between a revolving bookcase and the entrance to a hidden passage. “Put-the-candle-back-in-the-socket!” he screams. My hand is jammed between the tractor hitch and trailer ring. “Pull-the-tractor-forward-now-PLEASE!” Helge looks back, pulls forward. My hand does not feel good inside the glove. I pull the glove off, and wish I hadn’t. There is a large hole in the top of the web of my hand between the thumb and fingers, an-
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other ragged one on the other side.
Lots of red. It doesn’t hurt so much as
feel—mashed. I wiggle my thumb.
Everything works, but I’m dripping on
the landscape. I clamp my other hand
over the mess to slow down the drip
and head for the house. Suzi comes
along to take care of first aid. I keep
checking myself for signs of shock,
faintness—all I feel is stupid. I have
worked with farm equipment before. I
know better.
Swabo and Helge go with Betty and me to the clinic in Olesnica. Swabo’s English is put to the test, as no one speaks anything but Polish. I don’t recommend getting hurt in Poland. The doctor is kind, concerned, quick. Thank heaven for the quick, for she has no local anesthetic. There is no medicine at the hospital. In two minutes, she cleans and staples my hand together. Thirty seconds later I am on my way across town to the pharmacy to buy antibiotics to take back to the hospital for injection. They use a new, clean, disposable needle to inject test doses to make sure that I am not allergic, and then the main dose.
11 o’clock: I am back at the farm with a mummified thumb and not a lot of pain. Like I said, mostly stupid. More people arrive. Rudi. Ashad. Eric. From Germany, Denmark, Iceland. I help unload the trailer I had started with. Suzi and Danis stack the whole and broken bricks in two piles behind the brick outhouse. We work for an hour. Two. I’m ready for tea.
Instead, I get lunch. Monireh has made Persian rice and Chela Kebab. Monireh says the meat is rabbit, and not to tell Suzi. Suzi is suspicious, and won’t eat it. Later, we learn that the Polish word Monireh has used is “rodent,” and not necessarily rabbit. Whatever it is, it is delicious.
7 p.m.: Supper is in shifts now, 10 at a time. More people have arrived. The kitchen is tiny. I hurt now, but not my thumb. Where they gave me the shots.
9 p.m.: We gather for prayers. There are too many people for the kitchen, but no one minds. Everyone is happy.
Tuesday. Wednesday.
The work goes on. They are digging a trench under one of the walls to take the sewer lines to the septic tank, and have come to a meter-diameter boulder. Everyone says that they’ll have to fill in the trench and move to one side. Helen won’t hear of it. She is down in the trench, her long black hair in her face, working the power chisel. Slowly she disappears under the wall. At 8 p.m., after supper, the remains of the stone come out.
Herr Rupert is German. He is not a Bahá’í, but is a friend to the Bahá’ís. He has volunteered to do the plastering and mortar work, crossing the GDR and Poland alone on the train. He doesn’t speak any English; Helen speaks no German. They form a team to do the walls on the dining room. Old bricks, weathered beams, wiring disappear beneath a smooth grey face.
In the kitchen, Persians and Poles, Americans and Germans struggle with the coal stove and the one tiny sink.
The ‘kitchen crew’ at Hajdany, the Polish farm house that is soon to be a Bahá’í summer school (left to right) Anna Monadjem (the hostess and owner of the house), Monireh Creitz (Luxembourg), Törle Klapp (West Germany) and Betty Smith (West Germany).
Breakfast, lunch, dinner, and morning and afternoon tea breaks. Outside, 4,000 goslings march and countermarch across the meadows, systematically turning them into deserts. One of the dobermans has a puppy. We are cooks and computer technicians, teachers and housewives, farmers and flyers. At night, around the bonfire in the yard, Ashad plays the flute and Swabo the jazz harmonica. Hanno keeps the rhythm with two sticks from the fire. Everyone sings. As I am falling asleep, I hear birds in the back of the house. A dog has knocked the door off the room where the baby chickens are kept, and they have fled in terror. Anna and I walk through the wet grass with flashlights, finding the crouching birds and tucking them into our arms, calming them. There are 80 in all, and all must be found. The roosters are white, and easy to spot. The hens are red, and blend into the dark. It takes an hour, but we find them. Meanwhile, people are still singing around the fire.
8:15 a.m. Thursday, April 12.
The yellow van is loaded with our luggage. Monireh and Betty, Danis and I must leave. None of us wants to go. Some of the people have already been working on the school building for two hours. Suzi is finishing her architectural sketch of the new kitchen. Yesterday she was filling in a hole with wet cement, her face blackened like a coal miner’s from her work upstairs, pulling beams clear from a rotted ceiling. Törle is taking over the kitchen. Maren and Jürgen have adjusted the saws and have begun making the windows. Maren is the carpenter—her father, an IBM executive, is her assistant.
We don’t want to go, but we do. Down the rutted track through the forest, where we have seen the tiny roe deer. Along the highway toward Olesnica, where every day we have seen the Polish Air Force biplane circling in its training flights. Past the turnoff to the clinic where the patient patients sit waiting for—we couldn’t figure out what they were waiting for. Away from Hajdany, away from our friends, back to Germany and work and our “normal” lives. The world had changed for us, though. And given the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, we have changed the world a little bit for everyone else, as well. Gin dobry (good day).—James S. Smith
Iran[edit]
A visit to the House of the Báb[edit]
In the many years since becoming Bahá’ís my wife and I had often wondered what it would be like to visit the land of its origin. In 1970 our opportunity arrived; the in-laws came to visit and offered to look after the four young children, and also the farm. As it happened, the farm work was in a resting time, but how could we make the necessary arrangements in so short a time before the in-laws departed?
After a host of phone calls we managed to book flights that would give us three weeks away. No sooner had we booked than another Bahá’í suggested an improvement: “Why not ask the Universal House of Justice if you could, on the return trip, spend three days in the Holy Land visiting the Shrines?” We wrote and received a welcome, but now another friend said: “Why not go to Constantinople first, and then to Edirne, to visit the House of Bahá’u’lláh before going to Iran?”
More phone calls, and that was squeezed into the schedule! We were amazed that it should have fallen into place so easily. It was obviously the Will of God, but also useful, I thought, to have a wife who was once an airline hostess and knew a lot of the ropes.
The story of our visit to Constantinople and Edirne must wait for another time, as the reader is no doubt as eager to get to the House of the Báb as we were. So, to continue: as our plane landed at Tehran airport we found ourselves in quite another world; we tried to realize how this miracle had come about. Some Bahá’í friends had been alerted to watch for us, and soon we located their waving arms. They took us to a waiting limousine which we later
During the journey we were mindful that the blessed Báb had traversed this same road on horseback more than a hundred years ago under much different conditions. It had taken Him many days, not 10 hours or so sitting in a comfortable bus.
found belonged to a general of the army, and were whisked away into the traffic. And that was our first experience of the traffic in Iran in 1970. There seemed to be only one law: “Do what you can while you can.” Ordinary policemen did not have the authority to ticket cars, and the drivers took all the liberties they could.
To get back to the story: we were taken to a hotel and then to the National Bahá’í Office to ask for permission to visit as many of the places of early Bahá’í history as our short stay would permit. We were greeted by the national secretary, who asked which places we wanted to visit. I held out my copy of The Dawn-breakers, which we had been reading on the plane, and said, “All of these.” For a moment he was at a loss for words, both because of the impossibility of visiting all those places in three weeks and because, owing to the danger to the Holy Places themselves from visits, the Universal House of Justice had instructed the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran to limit severely all such visits. Already, these places had been put off limits to Bahá’ís living in Iran, and the National Assembly wanted to restrict considerably tours by visiting Bahá’ís.
He said the committee responsible would have to guide us. Could we come back in two days? He then introduced us to Atto, another visiting pilgrim from America, who spoke good Iranian and was looking for companions with whom to share the pilgrimage. This was evidently another intervention of Providence. How could we have possibly found our way around Iran without an interpreter?
We spent the next two days investigating the modern city center, but often came upon unusual sights. Imagine, for instance, a mother and three teen-age daughters shopping in a store, she wearing the ancient traditional dress with veil over the lower half of her face, the daughters all in modern western clothing with no veils. To us, this showed clearly that the ancient and modern cultures existed in Iran side by side. In fact, as we found out later, the Shah was encouraging western ideas while the Mullas were trying to retain the ancient Muslim ways. At that time the Shah was winning easily, but as we now know, he later lost the throne and the Ayatollah Khomeini led the country back to Islamic fundamentalism.
When we returned to the National Office, the secretary suggested that we start by visiting the House of the Báb in Shíráz, 600 miles to the south. He must have felt this would keep us busy much of our allotted time. Of course, we accepted gladly; it was a most logical place to start our pilgrimage.
| This article, “Tracing the Footsteps of the Báb,” was written for Bahá’í News by Ted Cardell, a long-time Bahá’í who has since left the farm in England and now lives in Red Bluff, California. |
Soon we were aboard a long-distance bus for the first leg of our journey, to Isfahán, 300 miles away. As we wound our way through the massed rows of traffic in the city, Atto told us of a recent American visitor who had brought his own car and in seven days had six accidents. Feeling that he had too much to learn about driving in Tehran, the man took a taxi which immediately shot off at high speed into the chaos. The driver went through no less than three red lights, but coming to a green light, he stopped. When his passenger asked why he had stopped at a green light, the taxi driver replied that cer-
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tainly some crazy fool would be coming through from the other direction!
Looking around at the occupants of the bus we saw people of every class and occupation, all talking animatedly in Iranian. At the back of the bus sat an attendant with large jugs of water and two glasses to refresh any passenger who called on him. Everyone used the same glasses with a bare rinse. Since there had been a warning on the radio about a cholera epidemic, we decided to contain our thirst until we reached a rest stop.
Soon we were speeding over rough tarmac into the countryside. On our map we saw that the road skirted an enormous desert that stretched over most of the center of Iran. Atto recalled that Iran, the old Persia, had for several thousand years been the site of great battles between competing tyrants. It was the custom of whoever won those battles to burn and destroy the whole countryside. Thus this desert had all been beautiful country at one time.
We covered many featureless miles and passed through a few hamlets until, five hours later, the bus drew up at an eating place. We wondered whether it was safe for tourists to go in, and if the food was clean. Atto assured us that it was and we entered a barren room, full of crude tables and chairs where true peasants sat smoking their hubble-bubble pipes while watching television. We found some soft drinks; the food was simple but adequate, and we reboarded the bus refreshed. The next few hours of bumpy, dusty travel brought only one real change in the scenery. We came to a place where an underground river surfaced, and the people were drawing pure water from it. Our bus stopped while we filled our containers.
During the journey we were mindful that the blessed Báb had traversed this same road on horseback more than a hundred years ago under much different conditions. It had taken Him many days, not 10 hours or so sitting in a comfortable bus. By evening we came to the lovely and famous city of Isfahán, the mid-point of our journey. To say that it is a treasure-house of entrancing architecture only partly describes this jewel of a city. Everywhere there was evidence of thoughtfully created beauty, in the buildings, the streets and the people. It was a sudden and dramatic change from the bleak countryside. We stayed at a hotel that was more like an art museum.
The upper room of the House of the Báb in Shíráz as it appeared in 1970
The next morning some local Bahá’ís came and took us to the house of the Beloved of Martyrs and the King of Martyrs. When they were killed by a mob, all the contents of the house had been ransacked and confiscated, and the families were destitute. A maid, however, found a few coins in the wreckage and brought them to the wife. With great disdain she had thrown them to the mob, saying, “What God has taken, I will not take back!”
The present custodians of the house told us the story, and reminded us that when the Báb, on His journey north, had visited this home, those two martyrs were then only about 10 and 12 years old. They were helping to serve the visitors, and became so uplifted by the words of the Báb that they asked him for martyrdom. The Báb accepted. It was years later, when they were grown and had devoted their lives to the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh, that they attained martyrdom.
Our guides next took us to see their extensive archives building which had somehow survived the years of persecution. Many historic Bahá’í relics were on display, but perhaps the most breathtaking were two full front pages of an ancient Russian newspaper, yellowed with age but still clearly depicting dramatic and earth-shaking events. The first was a drawing of the execution of the Báb, showing the firing squad, the smoke from their guns, and the two victims fixed to the wall in Tabriz. The other was a life-like drawing of God’s most great Manifestation, Bahá’u’lláh, on a white horse, entering Bahjí with His servants and family. The detail was so clear that we could see the expression on Bahá’u’lláh’s face as He looked with power and authority toward the artist. So real was the drawing that we gazed at it in awe for some time.
The next morning we boarded another bus and set off, only to come to a halt at the city’s boundary. The driver parked the bus and disappeared for an hour. We were then told that by law a driver is not allowed to drive for more than eight hours. The driver had driven all night to arrive at Isfahán, and had to be replaced. Two or three hours later another driver arrived, and we continued our journey.
There was little of significance during the next day’s journey, but as dusk began to fall on that desolate landscape we saw in the distance that our road wound across a valley and entered a giant stone gate. As we approached it, we saw that it was covered in Arabic lettering. “Look, Ted and Alicia,”
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said Atto, “the Koran Gate.” We passed through and entered Shíráz, the
birthplace of the Báb.
We found a hotel, got a hot bath and a good night’s sleep. Next morning we phoned a local Bahá’í whose name the national secretary had given us, and he came to guide us around the city and to the House of the Báb. We went first to see the beautiful and impressive shrine to the famous poet, Saadi. While walking around the ornamental pools and into the cool shrine, we were told of Saadi’s prophesying the arrival of the Báb. Next we saw the equally beautiful monument to Haafiz, another poet who had prophesied this great Day. Our guide then had to return to his business, and before leaving suggested that the following day we might like to visit the ancient ruins of Persepolis, about 50 miles to the north. We wandered for a while in the street, and suddenly were hailed by joyfully by a young man whom we recognized as one of the Persian Bahá’ís living in England who had visited our farm the year before. His name was Baghram. “What on earth are you doing here?” we said in astonishment. “I live here,” he replied. “This is my home town which I have come to visit.” We told him of our own visit, and shared many memories together.
Early the next morning we took a taxi to the ruins of Persepolis, the ancient seat of King Darius. The road from Shíráz was through a more cultivated area of Iran, and various crops could be seen on all sides. Once more we were struck by the strange contrasts in this land. We saw a farmer harvesting wheat as had been done in Biblical times, spreading sheaves on the ground and driving oxen over them to trample out the grain; another man was throwing the grain and chaff up in the wind to separate them. Arriving at Persepolis we wandered silently among the ruins. After the reign of Darius his kingdom had been conquered and the city and palace destroyed. Only a few giant stone pillars and some carved statues remained. All was kept in excellent condition for the tourists. Later we retired to a lovely tea house and in the cool of the evening sat eating a large watermelon before returning to Shíráz.
The next morning our guide took us first to the gate in the southern part of the city where on that historic day, May 22, 1844, the Báb greeted Mulla Husayn. The gate had since been demolished, but we were shown two large trees at the entrance to a market where it had stood. I got out of the taxi and set up my tripod and large camera, determined to do this in a professional way, only to have a heavy hand take me by the shoulder. Looking up, I found myself confronted by a policeman giving a stern lecture in Iranian. I
We advanced into the courtyard and looked around. To the left was the well from which must have been drawn the water that was brought to wash the feet of Mulla Husayn. Looking up, we gazed upon a large, ornate window on the next floor.
had visions of us languishing in a foreign jail, but Atto turned up and translated: “He says this is forbidden because these people are very backward and hate all foreigners. You are likely to cause a riot.” Hastily packing up, we departed without a photograph, but vowing to return the next morning and shoot through the taxi window. Those pictures, by the way, turned out well.
Next came our visit to the House of the Báb. Again, our guide impressed on us the importance of protecting the House. He explained that once before a mob had ransacked the House and smashed the precious windows. Fortunately, the Bahá’ís had anticipated the attack and replaced the original windows with duplicates before it happened.
Iranian clothes were loaned to my wife, complete with a “yashmack” (veil) to cover the lower part of her face. My European clothes were common to the Iranians and required no disguise. How great had been the need for such precautions we can now appreciate some 20 years later; now there is no trace of this sacred House. The mobs and the government have razed it to the ground. But to return to our visit:
We proceeded on foot, along various pathways between the houses, but as we passed a small boy seated in a doorway, he looked up with a smile and greeted us in English: “Hallo!” So much for our disguise! We had no alternative but to pass on with a chuckle. Soon we came to a heavy wooden door on which our guide knocked. It was opened, and we passed into a small garden. Here we were led to the opening of an underground tunnel which connected with the garden next door. I remember nothing of the garden, for as we emerged from the tunnel we faced a tall brick wall with an archway through which we could see into the courtyard of the Báb’s House. In the center was a small, clear pool of water, and beside it an orange tree, a descendant of one the Báb had planted more than a hundred years ago.
We advanced into the courtyard and looked around. To the left was the well from which must have been drawn the water that was brought to wash the feet of Mulla Husayn. Looking up, we gazed upon a large, ornate window on the next floor. It had five vertical sections featuring designs in colored glass. To our right was the main entrance from the street. Through this door the Báb had led Mulla Husayn with the words, “Enter in peace secure.” But now it was permanently secured and never used. Near the door was the foot of a red carpeted stairway leading to that upper room. Reverently, we ascended the stairs and found ourselves on a small landing with an open doorway to our left. We stood looking through the door over a high step which also functioned as a threshold for prayer. As we knelt at the threshold we gazed upon a scene we will long remember.
Rich Persian carpets covered the floor; in the far corner, next to the large window, stood an old-fashioned oil lamp; perhaps the spot where the blessed Báb had been seated when He spoke with Mulla Husayn. (Let the reader pause here and take up his copy of The Dawn-breakers. On page 65 are photographs of the main street entrance and also the stairs up which we had climbed; on page 59 are three views of the room at the top of the stairs.)
As we gazed across to that corner by the window, the words from The Dawn-breakers came to our minds: “Now is the time to reveal the Surih of Joseph.” We seemed to hear Mulla Husayn describe his state of mind: “I sat spellbound by His utterance, oblivious of time and those who awaited
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me.” And again: “The entire chamber
seemed to have been vitalized by that
celestial potency which emanated from
His inspired utterance. Everything in
that room seemed to be vibrating with
this testimony: ‘Verily, verily, the
dawn of a new Day has broken. The
Promised One is enthroned in the
hearts of men....’ ”
All the colors in that room were harmonious. They seemed to speak to us of an ineffable glory. The lower panels on each wall were light green with white trim. Above were several alcoves along each wall, recessed about six inches into the walls. Patterns in brown, picked out in white, covered these alcoves and everything up to the ceiling. The morning sun streamed in through the delicate window panes, causing patterns of colored light to fall on walls and carpet. The ceiling was a delightful sight with a continuous pattern of crosses inside circles, light brown on a cream-colored background.
Across the room we saw another pair of double doors, leading perhaps to other parts of the House. We knelt at the raised step at our own doorway and prayed, each in his own way. After some time we arose and took photographs. I did not have a wide-angle lens, so took 13 overlapping pictures to cover the entire room. Later, these were put together to make a breathtaking view of that sacred spot.
Downstairs, we moved from room to room trying to visualize its occupants going about their daily tasks. Finally we went into the courtyard and gathered a few of the oranges that had fallen. These we treasure today in our small family archives. Atto then called us into the small garden by which we had entered, and there tea was served by an elderly woman dressed in clothes of a century ago. She was one of the custodians. Atto talked with her for a while in Persian; suddenly he burst into delighted laughter. We pressed him to explain, and here is his account: “You see this old lady, dressed in the fashion of the old days? Recently, on a Holy Day, she was passing along the street nearby when a teen-aged youth from next door spat on her as she passed by. With one sweep of the back of her hand, she knocked him to the ground. A man, seeing this, shouted, ‘Hey, old woman, why did you do that?’ ‘He spat on me!’ she replied. ‘So he should; you are a Bábí,’ he said. She drew herself up, looked him in the eye with a power that belied her age, and forcefully replied, ‘I am ready; you do it too!’ The man retreated, abashed at such faith.”
As we retraced our steps to the main streets, our hearts and minds were trying to adjust to these inspiring sights and events. But there was more to come. We were taken next to the Masjid-i-Vakil mosque to see the pulpit from which the Báb had addressed the congregation.
We read how the Shah summoned the Báb to Tehran for a full investigation, but after the Báb had left Isfahán, the chief Vazir had persuaded the Shah that it might be dangerous for him to meet the Báb, Who seemed to have a magic power to change people. The Shah had then ordered the Báb to turn away from Tehran and proceed to the prison of Mah-kú to await his pleasure. On the way, the Báb had spent some time in Tabriz, being imprisoned in the fort named “The Citadel.” It seems that we were now destined to follow the same route, for the next day we flew back to Tehran and once again consulted with the national secretary, who suggested that we go to Tabriz.
We spent the night in a hotel in Tehran and were amazed to see on the hotel register the names of the Hand of the Cause of God William Sears and his wife, Marguerite. From our room, we rang them and pretended to be phoning from England, but when we disclosed that we were in the same hotel they invited us over and we were able to have a long talk with them about their own travels in Iran, undertaken at the request of the Universal House of Justice. They had just returned from Mah-kú, where we were hoping to go, but since they had been surrounded by a mob and forced to leave town, they advised us not to go there. However, they felt it would be in order to go to Tabriz. That afternoon we attended a large Bahá’í meeting for women in Tehran; the speaker was Mr. Sears.
The next morning we flew to Tabriz. Looking at a map, we saw that our plane would pass over Zanján, where many Bábís had been besieged in a fort and later martyred. We followed our flight on the map and found ourselves above Zanján at a great height, but unable to see it because it was directly beneath us. Soon, however, the plane varied its course and we were able to photograph the city.
In Tabriz we found a lively Bahá’í community and attended a large fireside. As we left, the friends pointed out some men nearby who, they said, always waited outside Bahá’í meetings to persuade inquirers it was wicked to go there. At the time, we were amused. Little did we know that in a few short years, massive persecution would rear its ugly head again and cost many lives.
Later, the friends took us to the Citadel, a massive ruin of a fort. The window of the room in which the Báb had been incarcerated was still visible at the top right-hand side of the building. I found a way to climb up to that room, which looked out over the city. One of my companions pointed out a large white building in the middle of the city, about a mile away. This was the site of the Báb’s martyrdom after He had spent some time imprisoned in Mah-kú and Chihriq and after His trial before the leading Mullahs. We remembered that incredible scene when the Báb had faced His accusers and announced, “I am, I am, I am the Promised One!”
That evening we were entertained by a young Bahá’í family with two lovely children. The mother was English and the father an Iranian doctor. We cherish the photo we took of that event, for he was martyred a few years later.
We flew back to Tehran and then took another flight out of the country. We had to take a circular route to avoid flying over Syria; this meant flying once more over Tabriz, Mah-kú and then Mt. Ararat in Turkey, where it is said Noah’s Ark came to rest after the Flood. We meditated on that great catastrophe that had descended upon the world because of its wickedness and for rejecting the Prophet of God. What, we wondered, would be the fate of this generation before it would with one voice acclaim God’s Promised One? Our plane landed in the Holy Land and we were able to visit the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb and to pray that mankind would soon open its spiritual eye to the long-awaited arrival of the Kingdom of God on earth.
Soviet Union[edit]
‘The Promise of World Peace’ tour[edit]
This article, “The Promise of World Peace Tour,” is reprinted from the April 1990 issue of Light of the Pacific, the newsletter of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Hawaiian Islands.
They came together from eight nations and found the idea of world peace very much alive in the Soviet Union. The 62 members of “The Promise of World Peace Tour” were overwhelmed with the response when they traveled to Russia in November and December of last year. “It was unbelievable,” said Robert Palmer of Maui, one of the tour coordinators. “Our youth learned firsthand that the people of the world’s other superpower are as anxious for cooperation among our nations as we are.”
Bahá’ís from eight international communities—Australia, New Zealand, the Mariana Islands, Samoa, Canada, the U.S., Germany and Israel—joined the 24 Hawaiian Bahá’ís on the 12-day tour. The Promise of World Peace Tour was hosted by Youth Ambassadors International of Washington state and by the Foundation for Social Innovations (FSI) in Moscow. Their shared mission of bridging two cultures through youth and teacher exchanges has resulted in past youth summer camps in both countries and in public support by Raisa Gorbachev, wife of Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev.
The Bahá’í group of 42 youth and 20 adults was invited to the Soviet Union after helping Youth Ambassadors International host 14 Soviet youth at a summer camp on Maui two years ago. It was there that YAI and FSI became aware of “The Promise of World Peace,” a letter addressed to the peoples of the world by the Universal House of Justice. Finding it a document supportive of their mission, YAI and FSI felt it should be shared with
One youth ... summed up the experience by saying, ‘It’s easy to talk about world peace and being a world citizen when you’re in Hawaii. But it’s hard when you’re in a situation and don’t know the language and have to ... communicate.’
Soviet youth. And indeed, it was this message of inevitable world peace and a plan for global cooperation that drew such overwhelming response from the people the group met.
Visits coordinated by the FSI in the cities of Moscow and Kazan included schools, factories, a home for children of dysfunctional families, an artists’ center and a university, many of which had never hosted foreigners before. They also arranged a five-hour youth congress at Moscow’s Ministry of Propaganda at the Kremlin where more than 200 western and Soviet students publicly discussed their concepts of world peace. Educators heading private and school groups devoted to peace and international friendship attending this same congress interacted with the visiting adults. According to Dr. Gary Morrison, another tour coordinator and secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Hawaiian Islands, the audience’s response took them by surprise each time “The Promise of World Peace” was introduced.
“We expected polite applause and polite questions, but we didn’t expect the instant and intense interest in the principles expressed in ‘The Promise of World Peace,’ ” said Dr. Morrison. “Sometimes the whole schedule of a day’s events was thrown off due to the eager response from our guests demanding post-meeting personal interaction among individuals to discuss ideas set forth in the document. We were delighted when they said they saw in the document something concrete with which to build on their current efforts toward world peace.” Teachers in two schools asked for additional Russian-language copies of the peace statement to incorporate into their classes on ethics and international politics.
Visits to Soviet homes provided even more significant experiences of personal interaction among group members and Soviet citizens. Twenty-five stayed with Soviet host families of children attending Moscow’s School No. 235. Home visits were four days long and a first experience for the families, which only recently were allowed to have foreigners in their homes. “It was an experiment by the school and a wonderful success,” said Dr. Morrison. “Being offered the chance to live everyday life in Soviet homes was probably the best experience our youth had, and was the source of tremendous growth in cultural understanding for both the Soviets and Americans.” One youth from Hawaii, Judy Petkovsek, summed up the experience by saying, “It’s easy to talk about world peace and being a world citizen when you’re in Hawaii. But it’s hard when you’re in a situation and don’t know the language and have to figure out how to communicate.”
According to Dr. Morrison, the adult group chaperones were also able to interact with professional Soviet counterparts and establish lasting professional links that may result eventually in student and college exchanges. Among them were medical professionals at Moscow’s Monika research hospital, department heads of the University of Kazan’s journalism, science, music and international relations departments, members of cultural and popular dance and song groups, and a
| A finely crafted symbol of peace is sent from Hawaii to Russia—with love |
|---|
| A symbol of love, the traditional calabash, was passed from one generation to another and placed in the home of the favored descendant. Among Hawaiian people, the calabash was the choice gift for the Ali’i, the royalty.
The artist has infused the pedestal calabash with symbolic elements of peace. The dark cord around the top and bottom of the pedestal symbolizes that moment when life appears to be out of control and the decision is made to get a grip on life and hold it together. The belt around the middle of the pedestal symbolizes the need to take responsibility for life, when you need to “buckle down” or “buckle up” and take stock of your life. The penny in the belt symbolizes a new beginning, and its portrait of Abraham Lincoln focuses on honesty, that new beginnings must be made with honesty. The gold cord around the base of the pedestal symbolizes the golden foundation of peace. The message of the pedestal in symbolic terms is that America and the Soviet Union will get a grip on life and have a new beginning in complete honesty in striving toward peace. The three large calabash bowls, when turned right side up, have images inside, also with symbolic elements. When you turn over the base of the pedestal to look inside the largest of the calabash bowls, you will find inside a natural illusion of a universe. For the artist, this means being inside the world and looking out, being in the heart of the world, that peace can come only when you get into the heart and look out from there. The center pedestal calabash has a distinct image of a butterfly, which represents peace. At the top, inside the calabash, the artist sees an image of an eagle with a sickle in its beak, symbolizing the United States and the Soviet Union flying together in peace. Mr. Medeiros presented this fabulous piece of art work to “The Promise of World Peace Tour” as a gesture of Aloha from the people of the Hawaiian Islands. It stands five feet tall and is valued at $20,000. |
Moscow concert pianist, as well as extensive contacts among the city of Kazan’s professional television, radio and print journalists and with a Radio Moscow program producer. “The Promise of World Peace” was presented on the Kazan television and radio programs of the Tartar Autonomous Republic, each time with a potential audience of four million. At least two newspapers stated the wish to print the peace message in full accompanied by news articles of the group’s visit.
As the first foreign group to be invited to stay in the Tartar capital of Kazan, the group was asked to address the issue of youth gangs, and met with gang members. One of the hosts in Kazan was the director and producer of a brutally frank award-winning documentary film on the Kazan youth gangs that has given rise to the terminology “the Kazan phenomenon” elsewhere in the Soviet Union.
A final highlight for the group was the presentation, complete with traditional Hawaiian hula, of a set of Hawaiian calabash bowls at the world-famous Moscow Pushkin Museum where they are now on display. Hawaiian artist and craftsman Stewart Medeiros fashioned the bowls into a Queen Lili’uokalani ‘Umeke with a naturally occurring design in one bowl which appeared to be that of a sickle and an eagle, symbolizing the Soviet Union and the United States flying together in peace. In a stately receiving room in the Pushkin Museum, the bowls were officially presented by Dr. Morrison and Robert Palmer of Maui to the curator of the museum’s foreign relations department.
Throughout the visit, the group found that it was free to share its ideas and thoughts about peace and the Bahá’í religion both privately and publicly when Soviets expressed a desire to know more. Without exception, the Soviet people were warm, hospitable, open and generous in ways few of the group had ever experienced anywhere. Exchanging decorative pins is a common expression of friendship among people in the Soviet Union, and throughout the exchange the group found their most popular pin was one showing a world in space with the caption “All One People.”
Haiti[edit]
A delegation of four Bahá’ís representing the country’s National Spiritual Assembly, recently presented a copy of “The Promise of World Peace” to provisional President Madame Erthal Pascal Trouillot.
The President opened the meeting by relating some of her memories of Bahá’í meetings she had attended as a child, which she described as “joyous.” She said she had visited the House of Worship in the U.S. and was deeply impressed by the beauty of the Sacred Writings on the walls.
She then accepted the peace statement from Auxiliary Board member Laurence Bosschaart.
After a discussion of Bahá’í principles and the Administrative Order, the director of the Anís Zunúzí Bahá’í School spoke about the importance of education and of some of the activities at the school.
The president was given copies of “One Country,” a publication that describes the school at Lilavois, and The Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh as a gift from the National Assembly.
President Trouillot said she believes that “all religions are one.” She was happy to hear from the Bahá’ís, and expressed a desire to visit the National Center in Kingston. She asked for prayers for Haiti and its people.
United Nations[edit]
Notes on an evolving relationship[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, like every National Assembly, is represented at the United Nations by the Bahá’í International Community (BIC). Unlike other National Assemblies, however, the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly has its own representative at the UN because of the location of that international body in New York City.
Since 1947, when the UN first recognized non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and gave them official status, the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly has appointed representatives to the organization to act on its behalf. The National Assembly is considered an NGO observer and is accredited to the UN Department of Public Information. More than 1,000 other NGOs have such status. As an observer, the National Spiritual Assembly’s representative may attend open meetings of the General Assembly, ECOSOC, and other UN organs, departments and specialized agencies.
The Bahá’í International Community, however, is a specific agency established by the Universal House of Justice to represent that international Bahá’í council and the Bahá’í world community to the world at large. The Universal House of Justice has referred to the Bahá’í International Community as “windows of the Bahá’í community to the world,” stating further that “the Bahá’í International Community is the name used by the Bahá’í world in its relationships with the United Nations, governments, and other international or national organizations.” The Bahá’í International Community, now comprising 151 national/regional affiliates with a membership of some five million—a cross-section of humanity—is engaged in a wide range of activities serving the spiritual, social and economic needs of people everywhere.
The primary function of Bahá’í
In helping the UN on matters of common interest and concern, the Bahá’í International Community’s UN office has consistently encouraged local and national Bahá’í communities around the world to cooperate in UN programs and observances.
work at the United Nations has been to forge close ties with the UN, gaining recognition, prestige and influence for the Faith while cooperating to build a better world. The work of the UN office reflects the wide-ranging concerns of Bahá’í communities around the world. These efforts help familiarize the UN and its agencies with Bahá’í principles and programs, and support the work of that world organization which will lead to the achievement of the Lesser Peace.
In 1970, the Bahá’í International Community was accorded consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), and in 1976 with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). Consultative status confers the right to make written and oral statements to the UN bodies. The BIC is also associated with the UN Department of Public Information and enjoys a relationship with a number of other UN offices and departments dealing with specific issues. In all cases, the United Nations relationship has afforded—and continues to afford—many opportunities, at UN headquarters and in the field, to acquaint UN personnel, diplomats and leaders of non-governmental organizations with the aims and character of the Bahá’í Faith.
The Bahá’í UN office has also played a leading role in the attempts of the worldwide Bahá’í community to protect the beleaguered Bahá’í community of Iran. It has sought to bring the Bahá’í case before the UN Human Rights Commission in allaying and ending the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran. One result of these efforts has been the passage, each year for the past three years, of resolutions by the UN General Assembly expressing its concern about human rights in Iran, and mentioning specifically the Bahá’í situation there.
In helping the UN on matters of common interest and concern, the Bahá’í International Community’s UN office has consistently encouraged local and national Bahá’í communities around the world to cooperate wholeheartedly in UN programs and observances. Bahá’í communities have accordingly participated in United Nations days, years, decades and other special observances, ranging from International Day of Peace, UN Day, Human Rights and World Food Day to International Years of the Child, Youth and Peace, and UN Decades for Women and to Combat Racial Discrimination and Racism.
A review of the activities of the Bahá’í International Community at the UN for the years 1986-89 indicates that it increased its cooperation with the UN system by creating an Office of the Environment, expanding its offices and activities in New York and Geneva, Switzerland, and establishing working relations with the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition, besides strengthening its relationship with the UN in Vienna and Nairobi, it appointed UN representatives in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Santiago, Chile; Bangkok, Thailand; and Rome.
There are presently six full-time representatives for the Bahá’í International Community at work on UN-related issues: three in New York and three in Geneva, plus one representa-
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tive for the Bahá’ís of the United
States.
During the past four years, the Bahá’í International Community took part in more than 80 UN meetings including major UN conferences, as well as sessions of the UN Economic and Social Council—its regional and functional commissions, committees and working groups—and meetings of other UN bodies. It contributed more than 60 statements on such issues as the advancement of women (in education, development, decision-making and peace); social and humanitarian affairs (social welfare, popular participation, the environment, drug abuse); peace and disarmament (nuclear energy, development); human rights (the elimination of torture, racism, religious intolerance; protection of minorities; the right to development; human rights education). Another 17 statements made jointly with other NGOs addressed issues that included children and war, the role of women in development, the prevention of discrimination against and protection of women, the rights of the child, AIDS and discrimination.
The information that follows is part of the quadrennial report which NGOs in consultative status with ECOSOC are required to submit to that body.
Peace and disarmament[edit]
In cooperation with the International Year of Peace Secretariat (later the Peace Studies Unit) and the Department of Disarmament Affairs, the Bahá’í International Community continued to provide local, national and international support for UN peace and disarmament efforts. As a result of worldwide Bahá’í activities during IYP, the UN Secretary-General designated the Bahá’í International Community and five of its affiliates as “Peace Messengers.” In addition, the Bahá’í International Community participated in the UN Conference for Promotion of International Cooperation in the Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy, the UN Conference on Disarmament and Development, and the Third Special Session of the UN General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament.
Social and humanitarian affairs[edit]
Collaboration with the UN and its agencies on social and humanitarian issues increased substantially during the years under review. Extensive activities on behalf of women, youth, the aging, and the family, as well as efforts to prevent drug abuse were carried out in close cooperation with the UN Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs. The Bahá’í International Community even provided an intern to help the Youth Unit in Vienna for nine months in 1987-88. Efforts to improve health care included distribution of “Facts for Life” and participation in a major consultation on AIDS. The Bahá’í International Community expanded its consultative relations with UNICEF by working closely with the NGO Committee on UNICEF and its newly created Education Working Group on preparations for the World Conference on Education for All.
Women[edit]
Through a wide range of projects and activities at the international, national and local levels, the Bahá’í International Community continued to implement the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies. Its representatives also took part in sessions of the Commission on the Status of Women, conferences sponsored by Regional Economic Commissions, and UN seminars concerning women, submitting pertinent statements. Since 1988, the Bahá’í International Community has served as convenor of “Advocates for African Food Security: Lessening the Burden on Women,” a coalition of international and national non-governmental organizations, UN agencies, and inter-governmental bodies.
Human rights and refugees[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community contributed to deliberations on a wide range of human rights issues during the annual sessions of the Commission on Human Rights and its Sub-Commission on the Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities. It also delivered statements to the annual sessions of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations, and submitted proposals on draft instruments to the Working Group on the Right and Responsibility of Individuals, Groups and Organs of Society to Promote and Protect Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the Working Group on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National, Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. As a participant in both UN and NGO working groups, it helped draft the Convention on the Rights of the Child, contributing notably to the text of Article 17. The Bahá’í International Community also worked with the UN High Commissioner on Refugees (UNHCR), attending yearly sessions of the UNHCR Executive Committee, and taking part in the formal consultations and informal meetings between the UNHCR and its NGO operational partners.
Information activities[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community continued to disseminate information about the UN and its activities to its affiliates all over the world, encouraging sponsorship by Bahá’í communities of initiatives in support of special programs, years or days, such as the Decade for Cultural Development, the International Year of Peace, International Literacy Year, the International Day of Peace, UN Day, Human Rights Day, and World Food Day. Representatives of the Bahá’í International Community also helped plan and carry out annual DPI/NGO conferences in New York City.
Participation in UN NGO activities[edit]
The Bahá’í International Community has collaborated closely with NGOs at the UN, primarily in New York, Geneva and Vienna, participating in many NGO conferences and consultations. It served as Vice-President (1986-88)—and now serves as Secretary (1988-91)—of the Board of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations in Consultative Status with ECOSOC (CONGO). In New York, Geneva and Vienna, its representatives also served during this time as officers on NGO committees on human rights, the family, women, human settlements, development, youth, the Department of Public Information, and UNICEF.
The world[edit]
Assembly is formed in Tallin, Estonia[edit]
On the first day of Riḍván the first local Spiritual Assembly of Tallin, Estonia, was formed.
Elected from a community of 13 Bahá’ís were five women and four men. Four of the Assembly members are native Estonians, and one is Russian. Also elected was Brigitte Lundblade, a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Shetland Islands, who was born and raised in Tallin.
Six thousand copies of the Universal House of Justice’s peace statement and 4,000 copies of The Hidden Words were printed in Russian and shipped from Tallin to Moscow for use during a tour of the Soviet Union by American Bahá’í musician Red Grammer. The materials, printed by a cooperative in Tallin in which two members of the Assembly are associated, are the first of many titles that may be printed for distribution to Russian-speaking peoples.
The new Assembly has formed a printing committee to consult with the cooperative and the Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Germany about this endeavor.
In the presence of Counsellor Ursula Mühlschlegel and members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Austria, the election of the local Spiritual Assembly of Budapest, Hungary, took place this year for the first time since before World War II.
Before an audience of about 50 Bahá’ís from Austria and Hungary, the friends recalled the historic visit of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Budapest and His stay only a short distance from the site of the current election. They remembered, too, the dedicated efforts of traveling teachers and early believers in Hungary that led to the election of Budapest’s first local Assembly in 1939.
Cameroon[edit]
More than 200 people gathered last February at the Regional Bahá’í Centre in Bamenda, Cameroon, to witness the Bahá’í marriage of Emerencia Panweh and James Basalingi. The celebration included devotions, songs, gifts for the young couple, and a traditional wedding dance which accompanied the bride from her parents’ home to the Bahá’í Centre.
Taiwan[edit]
The National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan has decided to open a permanent Bahá’í Office of the Environment in Taipei.
During the past several months the National Assembly and the national government of Taiwan have co-sponsored a program to promote environmental awareness. This has led to a number of television, radio, newspaper and magazine interviews and reports, many of which have explained the project’s sponsorship.
Recently, a member of Taiwan’s Council of Agriculture said the Bahá’ís were “the ideal people” to organize a nationwide environmental education conference that would bring together various government departments, such as those of the National Parks, Environmental Protection, Education, the Council of Agriculture, and others.
Plans for such a conference are under way as daily environmental education programs proceed successfully in many areas of Taiwan, co-sponsored by the Bahá’ís and the government.
India[edit]
On April 3, a Hindu holiday, more than 100,000 people visited the Bahá’í House of Worship at Bahapur, India, the largest number ever to come to the Temple in a single day.
Thanks to the cooperation of those who work at the Temple, from the garden and housekeeping staff to the volunteers from the Bahá’í community of Delhi, the unprecedented number of guests was received courteously and efficiently, and the spiritual atmosphere of the Temple was maintained.
Six special devotional programs were held to accommodate the visitors, and the Temple overflowed with worshippers during each prayer session.
On April 9, in the presence of witnesses, the vice-chancellor and registrar of Indore University, and the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of India, affixed their signatures and the official seal of the Bahá’í community of India on a “Memorandum of Understanding” establishing a Chair for Bahá’í Studies at the university.
As of the week prior to Riḍván, the Muhájir Project in India reported 8,040 enrollments and 60 localities opened to the Faith.
The campaign is being carried out in Pondicherry Union which includes the south coastal states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh.
Australia[edit]
The ninth annual Conference of the Australian Association for Bahá’í Studies was held April 13-16 in Perth.
Among the highlights was a day-long symposium on “The Environment: Humanity’s Common Heritage,” which included contributions by several Bahá’ís who are environmental experts.
More than 300 people registered for the conference including members of the public who had heard radio announcements about the event.
Several of the speakers were interviewed on radio and television, and a number of media representatives attended the symposium. News reports and interviews were broadcast on two local TV stations.
Panama[edit]
Counsellor Hizzaya Hissani leads the friends in song during a recent visit to the Bahá’í National Center in Panama City. The occasion was a welcoming ceremony for ‘Azíz Yazdí who was traveling in Panama and Central America. ‘When Counsellor Hissani sings,’ said Counsellor Ruth Pringle, who also attended the meeting, ‘all the spirits are lifted.’
Nigeria[edit]
In January, 627 people embraced the Faith during the first two weeks of the Maxwell/Rivers Teaching Campaign in the Bori region of Nigeria.
The campaign, named for Dr. and Mrs. William Maxwell who pioneered to Nigeria from 1967-73, is supported by seven full-time and 14 part-time teachers. The goal is to form 24 new local Spiritual Assemblies in that area.
After the first two weeks of teaching a six-week consolidation effort was begun, featuring a mobile institute that visits villages with new Bahá’ís. As a result, 74 more people joined the Faith, several newly formed Assemblies are functioning, and enthusiasm for the Faith is growing.
In March a local teaching conference was attended by 44 people, more than half of whom were newly declared Bahá’ís.
The Muhájir/Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Project, held last January 15-19 at the University of Ife in Oyo State, Nigeria, included the presentation of the Universal House of Justice’s peace statement to senior staff members, holding firesides on campus, and proclaiming the Faith at the annual Book Fair.
About 500 students attended the firesides, at which the Bahá’ís found themselves literally surrounded by groups of people asking questions about the Faith.
During the first five months of its use, the Bahá’í Mobile Institute in Oghara State, Nigeria, has had a significant impact on the Bahá’í community as well as on the Faith’s public image.
The vehicle was dedicated November 6, 1989, during a ceremony at the palace of the Prime Minister of Oghala State, who is a Bahá’í.
Since then, the Mobile Institute has been driven to all of the villages in Jesse, Oghara and Bendel states, has taken part in the Kay Wilson/Nnewi Teaching Campaign, and has been used for consolidation visits to villages in Bendel, Anambra and Rivers states.
Guyana[edit]
Counsellors Eloy Anello and Peter McLaren coordinated a week of orientation in Guyana for 12 teachers from overseas and 12 Guyanese.
A teaching project followed, the first week of which produced more than 500 new believers in the upper Corentyne region. By the end of the month there were 2,200 new believers in Guyana.
Brazil[edit]
Reports from the Southern Teaching Project in Alvorada, Brazil, say that in two days, February 13-14, 228 people were enrolled in the Faith.
As of the end of February, more than 600 new believers had been enrolled.
Alvorada has had a Bahá’í school for the past 15 years, so many of the new Bahá’ís are long-time friends of the Faith. As a result, the campaign is bringing in new believers who are already well-informed about the Faith.
While enrollments continue and the campaign has been extended beyond its February closing date, deepenings have begun through visits to the new Bahá’ís and their families.
The efforts of Auxiliary Board member Tuba Maani, four local Spiritual Assemblies, and pioneers and traveling teachers from three states in Brazil have contributed greatly to the success of the project.
Hawaii[edit]
David Hofman, retired member of the Universal House of Justice, made an extended visit to the Hawaiian Islands in February and March.
After his arrival on February 2 Mr. Hofman went first to the island of Oahu where he lunched with Counsellor Ben Ayala, presented a fireside during a dinner for Chinese teaching aboard the S.S. Independence, and was a guest at a dinner party at which six Soviet guests also were welcomed.
During a week on Kauai, Mr. Hofman spoke at the Rotary Club, public meetings, firesides, Bahá’í gatherings and a youth meeting, and video taped a session with Counsellor Gayle Morrison on “The Sanctity and Nature of Bahá’í Elections.”
The following week, on Maui, he again spoke to the Rotary Club, addressed a Chinese teaching event, hosted a meeting for Bahá’ís, and visited local Bahá’í communities.
Returning to Oahu for another week, Mr. Hofman held deepenings, meetings and firesides in a number of communities, held an island-wide Bahá’í meeting at the Bahá’í National Center, and met with Counsellors Ayala and Morrison and the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.
He was the featured speaker at the National Assembly’s International Literacy Year banquet and Naw-Rúz celebration, at which he sat with Gov. John Waihee and Mrs. Waihee. He then had an in-depth interview with the Honolulu Advertiser.
The advice Mr. Hofman constantly gave the friends in Hawaii was to read the works of Shoghi Effendi, persevere in teaching, and never become discouraged.
Chile[edit]
Pictured are the first three Bahá’ís to graduate from the Núr School in Santiago, Chile, with school sub-director Myriam Rodriguez (left) and director Yolanda Pizarro (second from right). The students are (left to right) Verónica del Carmen Guajardo Reyes, Leyla Andrea Muñoz Silva, and Liliana del Rosario Rojas Nuñez who received special honors for having the best grade point average. Colegio Núr’s class of 1989, which totaled 19, was graduated last December 6.
More than 135 Bahá’ís, representing 12 of Chile’s 13 regions, met with Counsellor Isabel de Calderón, members of the National Spiritual Assembly, and five Auxiliary Board members last January 21-22 in Santiago for a National Teaching Conference whose themes were “Entry By Troops” and “Personal Transformation.”
In her keynote address, Counsellor Calderón shared news of the Muhájir Project in Ecuador which moved the National Spiritual Assembly to declare the community’s adherence to “Muhájir Year” in Chile.
Kenya[edit]
On February 8-11, the seventh annual National Bahá’í Women’s Conference was held at Nakuru, in Kenya’s lovely Rift Valley.
This year’s theme was “Women and Literacy,” and topics discussed included the Greatest Holy Leaf, the Law of Huqúqu’lláh, Bahá’í family life, family planning according to the Writings, and AIDS.
The guest of honor was Njoki Wainaina, coordinator of the African Development and Communications Network, who spoke about the importance of literacy, illustrating in her talk how, in all aspects of community life, literacy is a requirement.
Also speaking on literacy, and challenging the women to take immediate action to acquire literacy and spread it among their fellows, was Counsellor Beatrice Asare.
Literacy is especially important for Bahá’ís, she said, in order to study the Word of God.
Many of those at the conference contributed to the fund for construction of the Arc on Mount Carmel, and one woman, who had carried a declaration card with her for two years, signed it during the conference.
A television program, “The Voice of Kenya,” filmed sessions for later broadcast, and reporters from three major newspapers covered parts of the conference.
Bangladesh[edit]
A deepening conference was held last February in the remote village of Nimgutu, deep in the tribal areas of Bangladesh. A busload of Bahá’ís who came to the event were greeted by “the joyful faces of the tribesmen and the beautiful rhythm of drums.”
The conference, held to deepen nearly 500 recently declared Bahá’ís, was planned by tribal Bahá’ís and held in an open field. The friends collected more than 150 kilograms of rice to feed their guests, and as many were coming on foot from as far away as 12 kilometers (nearly eight miles), Bahá’í songs were played on a loudspeaker, welcoming the visitors while they were yet a long way off.
The conference was opened with a prayer, followed by a message from the National Spiritual Assembly of Bangladesh. In between the several talks on teaching, participants enjoyed singing together.
Songs and tribal dances followed the formal program while 227 visitors were enrolled in the Faith. Before the conference was over, nearly all of the 700 people attending were Bahá’ís.
Samoa[edit]
The recent celebration of the 50th anniversary of the service of His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II to the people of Western Samoa included a parade in which 40 Bahá’ís marched for the review of the Malietoa and his guest, the King of Tonga.
The Bahá’ís also entered a float depicting the oneness of mankind, which placed second in the judging. The Malietoa, who is a Bahá’í, was represented on the float by his grandson, also a Bahá’í.
On January 7, the Bahá’í Center in Pago Pago, American Samoa, hosted Bahá’ís and 70 guests at a farewell service for the Canow Paddlers Association. Most of the non-Bahá’ís present were members of the Association, which has gone to New Zealand to represent American Samoa at the World Sprints competition.
Since the Pago Pago Bahá’í youth team is the island canoe racing champion, the Bahá’ís held the service at the Center the night before their departure. After the program, which included readings from the Bible and the Bahá’í Writings, several people had questions about the Faith.
Malawi[edit]
The Bahá’ís of Nkombe, Malawi, traversed mountain paths recently to help deepen Bahá’ís in Chinthebe. They did not ask for help from the National Spiritual Assembly or National Teaching Committee.
Their initiative, according to a report in the Nineteen Day Feast letter, shows “a growing understanding of the fact that the Bahá’í Faith belongs to them and they should arise to serve Bahá’u’lláh.”
Republic of Ireland[edit]
More than 130 men and women from all walks of life and from all areas of Ireland, north and south, gathered recently for a conference in Dublin on the equality of men and women. The specific focus of the conference was the harmonious development of men and women and the role of women as peace-makers.
The conference and social evening that followed were the first part of a social and economic development project sponsored by Cooperation North, a non-political, non-denominational group that promotes good-will between northern and southern Ireland.
Cooperation North invited Bahá’ís from the south to join with Bahá’ís in Northern Ireland to arrange two weekends of events, one in Dublin, the second in Belfast. More than 40 non-Bahá’ís attended.
Also, eight organizations sent representatives to the conferences including the Irish branch of the United Nations, the Network of Professional Women in Business, and other women’s groups around the country.
About 100 people attended the opening last November 13 of an exhibit of the works of Gerry O’Mahony, a Bahá’í who is an artist and member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Ireland, at the Temple Bar Gallery in Dublin.
About 20 paintings were exhibited in the show, which was entitled “Response.” Mr. O’Mahony acknowledged that the Bahá’í peace statement was a major influence in his work.
Soviet Union[edit]
El Viento Canta, the musical group that features South American music as it spreads the Bahá’í teachings, recently performed at the first Bahá’í weekend school to be held in Russia. The school was organized by the Bahá’ís of Moscow, who elected a Spiritual Assembly at Riḍván.
Sixty people, most of whom were Bahá’ís, attended the school. They represented a large number of republics in the USSR including Estonia, Latvia, Turkmenistan, the Ukraine and the Russian SFSR (Moscow, Murmansk and Leningrad) along with countries including Canada, Germany, Iran, Liechtenstein, Mexico, Norway, Peru, Puerto Rico, the Republic of Ireland, the United Kingdom and United States.
Members of El Viento Canta opened the program with songs and prayers.
Prior to the weekend school, El Viento Canto performed three times in Tallin, Estonia, including appearances at an English secondary school with 160 students and a concert attended by 60 people.
At the Pedagogic Institute, 300 students attended a third concert. The group asked members of the audience to sign their guest book afterward, and many stood in line for more than half an hour to do so.
One guest wrote, “To make Estonian girls dance and sing and cheer like that, there must be something really special—which you have.”
India[edit]
In January, the Bahá’ís of the South Arcot District of Tamil Nadu State, India, inaugurated a new phase of the Dr. Muhájir Memorial Teaching Project, and by the end of the first week had enrolled 2,500 new Bahá’ís. As of February 12, the total number of new enrollees stood at 14,050 including members of two new tribes.
The newest phase of the project resulted from the visit last December of David Hofman, retired member of the Universal House of Justice, after which 600 people were enrolled.
An integral part of the effort is a consolidation plan that follows the enrollment of new Bahá’ís. A week after their enrollment, they are invited to a one-day study class and then invited to become a part of the teaching effort. After three weeks, those who volunteer attend an in-depth 10-day study session where they learn the rudiments of teaching and deepening.
In February, Counsellor S. Nagaratnam, three Auxiliary Board members and about 35 of the teachers gathered for a victory conference to initiate the final phases of the campaign, which are to include continuing contact with the new believers through visits and correspondence.
Teaching committees will be formed in every village to help organize the Nineteen Day Feasts, children’s classes, youth activities, literacy classes and deepenings, and to communicate with the State Bahá’í Council. The committees will also be responsible for encouraging the friends to take part in the election of their local Spiritual Assemblies.
The third phase of the project is to create strong local Assemblies as quickly as possible. Assistants to the Auxiliary Board have been appointed in all areas to facilitate the process.
A recent teaching campaign carried out in the Purulia district of West Bengal, India, in memory of the Hand of the Cause of God Rahmatu’lláh Muhájir witnessed three successful peace conferences at area colleges. As of March 31, the campaign had led to the enrollment of 500 people.
Mrs. Maryam Babar, wife of the Pakistani High Commissioner in Delhi, India, recently visited the Bahá’í House of Worship in Bahapur. She said that before coming to Delhi, she and her husband were in Iran for four years and that Mr. Babar’s secretary was a Bahá’í. She asked many questions about the Teachings.
New Zealand[edit]
Three of the young Bahá’ís who went on a tour of the Soviet Union last December with Youth Ambassadors International share highlights of their experience with fellow youth at the recent Pacific Bahá’í Youth Conference in Auckland, New Zealand.
Seven hundred people from 12 countries and islands attended the recent Pacific Bahá’í Youth Conference in Auckland, New Zealand.
Among those attending were the Hand of the Cause of God Collis Featherstone and his wife, Madge.
Three young people who had recently toured the Soviet Union under the auspices of Youth Ambassadors International told of their experiences, as did those youth who had come from a recent teaching project in Hong Kong and Macau.
Twenty-three young people volunteered a year of service to the Faith, while more than 60 offered to travel and teach.
Germany[edit]
About 250 Bahá’ís from at least 25 countries gathered last March 24-25 in Hofheim, Germany, for an Eastern European Teaching Conference.
Among those inspiring the conference with their contributions were two Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre, Isobel Sabri and Donald Rogers, and Counsellors for Europe Agnes Ghaznavi, Elisabeth Mühlschlegel, Ursula Mühlschlegel and Polin Rafat.
Inspiring, too, was the influence of Bahá’ís from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia and East Germany, among whom were four new believers. Fifteen Western European countries were represented along with Canada, Hawaii, India and the United States.
The conference was centered around plans and activities in support of the Universal House of Justice’s supplementary Two Year Plan for teaching in Eastern Europe.
During the conference, prayers were recited in several of the languages of Eastern Europe, and some of the believers from that area gave spontaneous talks.
Canada[edit]
An ongoing Bahá’í fireside is drawing capacity crowds each week in Flamborough, Ontario, Canada. Many “regulars” drive nearly an hour, even on snowy winter evenings, to attend the popular gathering.
On one evening, a team of young Bahá’ís who had been in the area for three weeks and were about to continue on to a new area brought their 11 newly declared Bahá’í friends to the fireside.
The Bahá’í speaker followed a talk about the promised emergence of the Lesser Peace by reciting from memory three pages of writings by the Guardian about the Bahá’í vision of the unity of the human race.
Instead of taking questions, the speaker then asked each of the new Bahá’ís to tell how he or she had become attracted to the Faith.
One by one the 11 told their stories, and it was apparent that the events of their lives and the development of their spirits had prepared the way for their acceptance of Bahá’u’lláh.
One told of having overheard a conversation between a group of Bahá’ís in a doughnut shop. “I had to find out who these people were,” he said, “who would talk about the human soul in a doughnut shop.”
Pictured are many of those who took part May 5 in a day-long effort to reach the Chinese population of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Fifteen youngsters from the Maxwell Bahá’í School helped the Vancouver Bahá’ís carry out their recently established goal to reach the Chinese in that area. They spent the day on the streets of Chinatown, inviting residents to a dinner and fireside that evening. More than 60 attended, and two were enrolled in the Faith.
A young woman who had adopted some of the religious practices of native peoples said she had seen an arrow-shaped cloud and followed it. Eventually she had come to the house of people who knew of, and told her about, the Cause of God.
Cameroon[edit]
Pictured are many of the 50 people who gathered in February for the Bamenda Unit Convention at the Regional Centre in Bamenda, Cameroon. The Convention was preceded by a unity Feast and ‘bon voyage’ party for a community member, Ibrahim Nyambi, who was leaving to serve at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel.
Trinidad/Tobago[edit]
Edna Ruth Caverly, a Bahá’í from Port of Spain, Trinidad, represented the Faith last April 14 at a seminar on Women and Literacy at the Eric Williams Financial Complex in Port of Spain.
She was invited to take part by Steve Solomon, who had been a guest speaker several years ago at the National Conference for the Homeless sponsored by the Bahá’ís of Port of Spain.
During the seminar, Mrs. Caverly spoke about some current Bahá’í activities in the area of literacy, using as a source the International Task Force newsletters from the Bahá’í International Community office in New York. Her report was well-received, and she was able to distribute copies of the peace statement to the chairman and panelists at the seminar as well as to many other interested people.
Zikrullah Khadem
The Itinerant Hand of the Cause of God
With Love
by Javidukht Khadem
| by Mr. Khadem, each one illustrating the emphasis he placed on obedience to the institutions, on Bahá’í family life and unity, and on fasting, prayer, pilgrimage, and teaching.
HC $24.95 / SC $14.95 |
| AN INSPIRING BIOGRAPHY of the Hand of the Cause of God Zikrullah Khadem, this book is a story of love—one man’s love of God, of the Central Figures of the Bahá’í Faith, and of his unfaltering devotion to
Shoghi Effendi. Written by Zikrullah Khadem’s wife, Javidukht Khadem, this book is a tender portrait of her husband, depicting over sixty-one years of service to the Bahá’í Faith. Also contained in the biography are essays written by the five Khadem children that capture the spirit of love and guidance given |
