First National Spiritual Assembly of Sudan -- April 1971

Elected members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Sudan. Seated, left to right: Mr. Merghani Osman, Mr. Shakey Hassan Marrei, Mrs. Nawal Marrei, Mr. Hassan El-Said, Mr. Mosa Osman. Standing: Mr. Rashid Ali Hassib, Mr. Said El-Said, Mr. Said Ahmed Shalabi, and Mr. Mohamed Hassan.

April 1954: First Auxiliary Boards appointed

In the unfoldment of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause the Guardian instructed the fifteen Hands of the Cause outside the Holy Land to appoint, during Ridvan 1954, "by virtue of their supreme function as chosen instruments for the propagation of the Faith," five auxiliary Boards, one for each of the five continents. This body of the Hands of the Cause was, in the Guardian's words, "now entering (the) second phase (of) its evolution signalized (by) forging (of) ties (with the) National Spiritual Assemblies (of the) Baha'i world (for the) purpose (of) lending them assistance (in) attaining (the) objectives (of the) Ten Year Plan."

The task of the auxiliary Boards was to "increasingly lend (their) assistance (for the) promotion (of the) interests (of the) Ten-Year Crusade." Their function was to act "as deputies, assistants and advisers of the Hands," "working in conjunction" with the National Spiritual Assemblies on each continent. Their duties had been defined by the Guardian in his cablegram of October 8, 1952, launching the World Crusade: to "assist, through periodic systematic visits (to) Baha'i centers (in the) efficient, prompt execution" of the twelve projected National teaching plans.

The five auxiliary Boards appointed by the fifteen Hands of the Cause were announced as follows:

April 1970: First National Convention of the Baha'is of Uganda

First National Convention of the Baha'is of Uganda, April 1970 (Baha'i News, February 1971) 

August 6-12, 1970: First National Baha'i Youth Institute in Uganda

First National Baha'i Youth Institute held at Kikaaya Hill, Kampala, Uganda August 6-12, 1970. Shown are youth with: Moses Senoga, member of National Spiritual Assembly of Uganda, seated second from left; Zylpha Mapp, American pioneer and secretary of National Education Committee of Uganda, seated fourth from left. Holding the symbol of the Greatest Name is Justine Serunjogi, the first girl to attend the institute. (Baha'i News, November 1970)

April 1972: First National Convention of the Baha'is of Afghanistan

Some of the Baha'is attending the first National Convention in Afghanistan, April 1972. This photograph was taken at the Haziratu'l-Quds in Kabul. (Baha'i News, September 1972)

First National Convention of the Baha'is of Rhodesia - April 1970

Delegates and friends at the first National Convention of the Baha'is of Rhodesia held April 25-26, 1970 in Salisbury, Rhodesia. (Baha'i News, November 1970)

First American National Baha'i Education Conference -- Feb. 1970

First National Baha'i Education Conference in America was held in Wilmette, Illinois, between February 20-22, 1970 (Baha'i News April 1970)

The Báb’s First Disciples – The Letters of the Living

• They were seventeen men and one woman.

• The first to believe in the Báb was Mulla Husayn Bushrú’í.

• The second to believe in the Báb was Mulla Ali Bastamí.

• Two of them were brothers, a third a nephew of them.

• Two were cousins.

• Ten of them were Muslim clerics before becoming Bábis.

• One of them was referred to by the Báb, in allegorical language, as the return of the Imam Ali.

• One of them was instrumental in bringing the news of the Advent of the Báb to the attention of Tahirih who was in Karbala, Iraq at the time – before she became a Babi.

• One of them didn’t personally meet the Báb .

• One of them became known as the First Babi martyr.

• One of them was the son of a famous Persian mujtahid (a prominent religious scholar).

• One of them visited Baha’u’llah in Baghdad.

• One of them became the Báb’s secretary -- His amanuensis.

• One of them went to India, another to Iraq, proclaimed the Advent of the Báb, was arrested and tried in Baghdad, and sentenced to work for life in the imperial naval dock in Istanbul.