February 1958: Introduction of Baha’i News “Supplement”

A Message from US National Spiritual Assembly:

Beginning with this issue, BAHA'I NEWS will henceforth carry as an insert a United States Supplement, which will be devoted to subjects of particular interest and concern to the believers of this country. This action brings BAHA'I NEWS more in conformity with the wishes of the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, who expressed the hope years ago that BAHA'I NEWS would become "the foremost Baha'i journal of the world."

Up to this time, BAHA'I NEWS has been designed to meet that purpose so far as possible, depending upon the material received from all parts of the world, but in addition it has been the medium of communication between the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and its committees and the individual members of the American Baha'i community.

This new plan means that from now on any information, suggestions, recommendations, and requests that concern the believers in the United States only will be concentrated largely in the Supplement, but the main body of BAHA'I NEWS will continue to carry news and reports of Baha'i activities in the United States which are of interest to the friends throughout the world and which reflect progress in the World Crusade.

1967: Baha'i Week proclaimed in Indianapolis - marking the 150th anniversary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah

The Indianapolis Spiritual Assembly decided in March, 1967 to proclaim the Baha'i Faith through holding a "Baha'i Week" in November, 1967, marking the 150th anniversary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah and held just one year after the first proclamation week in Indiana (Fort Wayne, November, 1966). Work began immediately and preparations proceeded through the following months. A prelude to the Week was the annual State Fair Baha'i exhibit in August which publicized the coming event to at least 250,000 people. The launching of the Proclamation was in October when the Mayor of Indianapolis, John J. Barton, and a State Senator, Nelson Grills, were present at a tea commemorating the centenary of the messages of Baha’u’llah to the kings and rulers. 

(US National Baha’i Review, February 1968) 

June 1968: The Institution of the Continental Boards of Counselors is brought into being by the Universal House of Justice

In June 1968 the Institution of the Continental Boards of Counselors was brought into being, fulfilling the goal of extending the aforementioned functions of the Hands into the future, and this momentous decision was accompanied by the next step in the development of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause: the continental Hands were to serve henceforth on a worldwide basis and operate individually in direct relationship to the Universal House of Justice; the Hands ceased to be responsible for the direction of the Auxiliary Boards, which became an auxiliary institution of the Continental Boards of Counselors; the Hands of the Cause residing in the Holy Land were given the task of acting as liaison between the Universal House of Justice and the Boards of Counselors; and the working interrelationships between the Hands and the Boards of Counselors were established. Reference was also made to the future establishment by the Universal House of Justice, with the assistance of the Hands residing in the Holy Land, of an international teaching center in the Holy Land. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 24 April 1972; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1968-1973’)

1968: One Hundredth Anniversary of Baha'u'llah's Arrival in the Holy Land

In August 1968 nearly two thousand Baha'is from many countries assembled at Bahji to commemorate the one hundredth anniversary of the arrival of Baha'u'llah in the Holy Land. They then ascended the long stairway from Carmel Avenue to the Shrine of the Báb, around which they walked in respect for the Forerunner and Herald of their Faith. ('The Baha'is and the Holy Land', an audio-visual program prepare by the NSA of the United States, 1971)

April 1968: A Baha'i delegation met with Israel's President

At the First International Baha'i Convention held  in the Holy Land in 1968 this delegation was sent to Jerusalem to make a formal call on Israel's President Zalman Shazar, to deliver the greetings of the convention. ('The Baha'is and the Holy Land', an audio-visual program prepare by the NSA of the United States, 1971)

Significant Events in the Life of Bahá'u'láh

Please see a chronological list at Baha’u’llah – The Glory of God

Circa 1871: Baha’u’llah reveals Lawh-i-Qad Ihtaraqa'l-Mukhlisun - The Fire Tablet

Towards the end of 1871 Bahá'u'lláh received a letter from one of His devoted followers in Persia, Haji Siyyid 'Ali-Akbar-i-Dahaji, a nephew of Siyyid Mihdi, the Ismu'llah.[1] In answer to his letter, Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Lawh-i-Qad Ihtaraqa'l-Mukhlisun, or the Lawh-i-ihtiraq, translated into English and known in the west as the Fire Tablet. The recipient of this Tablet, Haji Siyyid 'Ali-Akbar was so much loved by Bahá'u'lláh that when he passed away Bahá'u'lláh gave his uncle the name 'Ali-Akbar, in memory of that devoted believer.

The Lawh-i-Qad Ihtaraqa'l-Mukhlisun is one of Bahá'u'lláh's most celebrated Tablets; it is possessed of great powers, and the believers often recite it at times of difficulties and suffering. Of this Tablet Bahá'u'lláh states in the Fire Tablet:

'Should all the servants read and ponder this, there shall be kindled in their veins a fire that shall set aflame the worlds.'

The Fire Tablet is in Arabic rhyming verse; it moves the heart when chanted in the original language. It was revealed at a time when great afflictions and sorrows had surrounded Bahá'u'lláh as a result of the hostility, betrayal and acts of infamy perpetrated by those few individuals who had once claimed to be the helpers of the Cause of God. Bahá'u'lláh pours out His heart in this Tablet and expatiates on His afflictions. For nothing brings more sorrow to the heart of the Manifestation of God than unfaithfulness and treachery from within the community. Imprisonment and all manner of persecution by the outside enemy can do no harm to the Cause. What harms it are the actions of those who bear His name and yet commit deeds contrary to His good-pleasure. These few breakers of the Covenant of the Báb, who followed Mirza Yahya and rose up against Bahá'u'lláh from within, created such havoc in the community and among the inhabitants of 'Akká that the Pen of Bahá'u'lláh lamented in this Tablet in a manner unprecedented in all His Writings.

An ancient inn in Zanjan where the Báb stayed

Views of the dilapidated inn in Zanjan, Persia, where the Báb stayed in a room on the second floor (here marked with an "X"). The inn since then has fallen disrepair and in 1970's was used as a sort of depot for trucks. (source: 'Land of Resplendent Glory', by the International Baha'i Audio-Visual Centre, 1971)

The Báb's journey from Shiraz to Isfahan

A famous 300-year-old bridge near Persepolis, Persia, that the Báb crossed on His way from Shiraz to Isfahan in 1846. (source: 'Land of Resplendent Glory', by the International Baha'i Audio-Visual Centre, 1971)

1945: National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada

Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada 1944-1945 (Re-elected for the year 1945-19460) (The Baha'i World 1944-1946)

1945: First Baha'i-Sponsored Youth Gathering in Punta Arenas, Magallanes, Chile

First public meeting for Youth held under the auspices of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Punta Arenas, Magallanes, Chile, July, 1945. (The Baha'i World 1944-1946)

1944: First Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Sholapur, India

(The Baha'i World 1944-1946)

Percentage of Continental Counsellors who are women – 1980-2010

The table above represents a historical overview of the percentage of women serving as members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors for the period from 26 November 1980—when the number of Boards was fixed at five—until now [2010], including the most recent appointments that took effect on 26 November 2010. Percentages have been calculated on the basis of the appointments made at the beginning of each five-year term; mid-term appointments have not been considered. 

(Included with a letter dated 23 January 2013 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice)

1844: Bushihr, Persia - Wooden sailing vessels

An old-time wooden sailing vessel like this was used by the Báb to sail for Mecca in October of 1844. With Him were the Letter of the Living Quddus and an Ethiopian attendant with a large basket of  sweet lemons to make up for the absence of fresh water. The voyage took about two months. They sailed 3,000 miles around Arabia to the Red Sea and to Jaddih, the port of Mecca.(source: 'Land of Resplendent Glory', by the International Baha'i Audio-Visual Centre, 1971)

Picture of the original door to the House of the Báb

(source: 'Land of Resplendent Glory', by the International Baha'i Audio-Visual Centre, 1971)

Pilgrimage to the House of the Báb

Ílkhání Mosque in Shiraz, Persia

The The Ílkhání Mosque in Shiraz, Persia where many of the Letters of the Living were housed during their forty-day-long search for the Promised One. (‘Pilgrimage to the House of the Báb’, 1977)

1957: First Conclave of the Hands of the Cause of God - recalled by John Robarts

(Excerpt from a talk given by Hand of the Cause John Robarts at the Association for Baha'i Studies in 1980)

First Baha’i Temple

The world's first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar was built in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, bordering northern Iran.

A women's meeting shows the interior design of the Ashgabat Temple. The women and girls would take turns reading or chanting prayers.

The front arch of the Ashgabat House of Worship

November 14, 2015: Battambang, Cambodia — first groundbreaking for a local Baha'i House of Worship

Some 200 community members attended an event marking the groundbreaking.

Community members participate in the groundbreaking at the spot marking the center of the central edifice.

People from surrounding neighborhoods make their way to the event commemorating the groundbreaking.

Members of the community work together to build a fence around the Temple land.

Some two hundred community members from the region of Battambang in Cambodia gathered to celebrate the momentous occasion, beginning with prayers at dawn. The event coincided with the commemoration of the Twin Holy Birthdays—the Birth of the Bab and the Birth of Baha'u'llah.

Though yet unbuilt, the House of Worship is becoming part of the fabric of community life, and developments related to its construction are viewed as a collective endeavor, galvanizing the surrounding population. It is, as described by the Universal House of Justice, connecting "two essential, inseparable aspects of Baha'i life: worship and service".

The groundbreaking commemorated yesterday marks a milestone—the first of its kind—among the seven locations announced by the Universal House of Justice in 2012 to raise a Baha'i House of Worship in the coming years. 

(Baha’i World News Service)

1893 Chicago: World's Parliament of Religions - a letter describing Baha'u'llah and the Baha'i Faith was read

Chicago's World Columbian Exposition in 1893 celebrated the 400th anniversary of the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus. The World's Parliament of Religions was one of many conferences planned to coincide with the fair and was the world's first ecumenical meeting. It met for 17 days in the Hall of Columbus at the Art Institute of Chicago. Clergy from many Christian denominations took part, as well as representatives of other faiths, which included the following: Muslim, Hindus, Buddhists, Zoroastrians, Confucians, and Jains… There was no member of the Baha'i Faith present. A Christian missionary in Syria sent a letter describing Baha'u'llah and the Baha'i Faith that was read at a conference session. The Parliament caused a great interest in comparative religions amongst Chicagoans. When a Syrian Baha'i named Ibrahim Kheiralla came to Chicago in 1894 hoping to make his fortune, he initiated classes on spiritual healing, which included some Baha'i prayers and principles. Students in those classes became the early Baha'is of Chicago. 

(‘Images of America – Baha’i Temple’, by Candace Moore Hill)

Early 1900's: A Persian Caravansary

A Caravansary or “Hotel” on the road to Shiraz, Persia

Inside its walls is an immense court yard where travelers are herded indiscriminately with their camels and other beasts of burden. These “hotels” are designed to give the caravans a resting place at night protected from marauders. 

(National Geographic 1921)

1946: First Baha'i Latin-American Conference, Panama

The first Latin-American Conference was held in Panama, 1946. Baha'i representatives were present from the United States, Nicaragua, Chile, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Venezuela, the Canal Zone and Panama. (The Baha'i World 1944-1946)

1976: Baha’is in the Province of Khurasan, Iran, “won (a) unique distinction”

15 October 1976

To the friends gathered at the International Teaching Conference in Nairobi, Kenya

REJOICE SHARE WITH FRIENDS AT NAIROBI CONFERENCE JOYOUS TIDINGS RECEIVED FROM CRADLE FAITH FRIENDS PROVINCE KHURASAN WHERE MIGHTY EVENTS TOOK PLACE EARLY YEARS HEROIC AGE HAVE WON UNIQUE DISTINCTION. EVERY LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY EVEN EVERY GROUP THAT PROVINCE HAS FORMULATED ITS LOCAL GOALS AND EVERY INDIVIDUAL BELIEVER HAS ADOPTED PERSONAL TEACHING GOALS. OBJECTIVE ENVISAGED FIVE YEAR PLAN BRILLIANTLY OUTSTRIPPED. FERVENTLY PRAYING SHRINES SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES GROUPS INDIVIDUAL BELIEVERS EVERY LAND WILL BE INSPIRED FOLLOW THIS EXAMPLE.

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963 to 1986)

1888 & 1921: Views of Shiraz and the Qur'an Gate

The capital of the Province of Fars is situated in a fertile plain at an elevation of a mile above sea level. A mud wall four miles in circumference surrounds the town, which has a population of 60,000. 

(National Geographic, 1921)

Qur'an Gate 1888 (Encyclopedia Iranica)