First time three Mapuche Indians elected to Chile National Spiritual Assembly

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Chile elected in April 1989. For the first time in its 29-year history it includes three Mapuche Indians. From left to right are Antonio Lizama, Felipe Jara (vice-chairman), Elena Velasquez de Reid (chairman), Robert Siegel (corresponding secretary), Doris Millalen, Nelson Sanchez, Fazael Youseffi (treasurer), Paula Seigel, and Roberto Jara (recording secretary) (Baha'i News, August 1989)

Radio Baha'i Chile was officially opened on December 20, 1986

This photograph of the main building of Radio Baha’i Chile in Labranzo, Commune of Temuco, was taken in February, 1988, shortly after the celebration of the station's first anniversary. Radio Baha’i operating on 1160 kHz and serving principally the indigenous, population of Mapuche Indian community was officially opened on December 20, 1986.

During February 1988, the group of young Baha’is shown here, from the communities of Las Condes and Temuco, Santiago, volunteered between one and two weeks each to Radio Baha’i Chile. Their project helped fulfill a youth ‘week of service, campaign launched by the National spiritual Assembly as a part of its goals for the Six year Plan directed specifically toward youth.(Baha’i News, October 1988).

1977: First Spiritual Assembly of the Maksi District, Shajapur (Madhya Pradesh), India

The members of the first Spiritual Assembly of the Maksi District, Shajapur (Madhya Pradesh), India, formed in February 1977 (Baha'i News, February 1987)

The International Teaching Center appointed by the Universal House of Justice in May 1988

Pictured with members of the recently appointed International Teaching Centre are the Hands of the Cause of God Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum and Ali Akbar Furutan (front row, third and fourth from right). In the back row (left to right) are Hartmut Grossmann, Masud Khamsi, Magdalene Carney, Donald Rogers and Farzam Arbab. Others in the front row are (left to right) Joy Stevenson, Lauretta King, Peter Vuyiya and Isabel Sabri. (Baha'i News, September 1988)

The first Baha'i secondary school in Africa -- Ruaha Technical Secondary School in Tanzania:

The first Baha'i secondary school in Africa is a dynamic place to visit and to pioneer. The Ruaha Technical Secondary School, which is nestled on some 50 acres along the Ruaha River and several kilometers outside the town of Iringa, Tanzania, at an elevation of about 5,000 feet, was begun a mere three years ago with the laying of the foundation stone on October 29, 1985.

Only 55 days later, when the first classroom building was completed and the school administrators asked permission to open, the government Ministry of Education was astonished, and sent several officers to check the buildings. They were quickly reassured, and classes began on March 27, 1986, with students in Form I, the first year of high school. In its third year of operation, the school had Forms I, II and III with about 300 students. Plans were formulated to continue adding students until Forms I-VI are included; the latter two Forms are above the usual four of high school and will teach the technical subjects -- air conditioning and refrigeration, auto mechanics and electric power production are some of the possibilities.

The school is on property donated by the Town Council of Iringa. All buildings are constructed of brick which is fired right on the property; they include classrooms, a science lab, offices, a canteen and shop for everyday items, a staff room, and teachers' housing. The school is owned by the National Spiritual Assembly of Tanzania and approved by the country's Ministry of Education. (Adapted from the Baha’i News, August 1988)

April 29 – May 2, 1988: Six hundred sixty-three delegates participated at the 6th International Baha’i Convention in Haifa, Israel

The Convention was officially opened Friday morning, April 29, with prayers in four languages. Six hundred sixty-three delegates representing 132 of the 148 National Spiritual Assemblies were present in Haifa Auditorium to take part in the election of the Universal House of Justice. In addition, mail ballots were cast by delegates from the 16 countries who were unable to attend. The spectacular array of humanity, many wearing national costumes, colored the atmosphere of solemnity as each delegate stepped forward to cast a ballot.

Also present for the opening session were five of the Hands of the Cause of God, lending a special dignity and the spiritual force of their high office: Amatu’l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum, ‘Ali Akbar Furutan, Dr. ‘Ali Muhammad Varqa, William Sears and Collis Featherstone.

A highlight of the balloting was the presence of two delegates from Cuba, which had never before been represented at an International Convention. They were warmly applauded as they crossed the stage to cast their ballots. The results of the voting were announced at noon on Saturday, June 30, by the chief teller, Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh, vice-chairman of the U.S. National Spiritual Assembly. Of the 1,296 ballots cast, only one was invalid. The members were elected by a total of 7,880 of the 11,655 individual votes cast.

The members of the House of Justice were:

‘Ali Nakhjavani, Glenford Mitchell, Hushmand Fatheazam, Ian Semple, Peter Khan, David Ruhe, Hugh Chance, Hooper Dunbar and Adib Taherzadeh.
(Adapted from Baha’i News, July 1988)

November 1985: First Baha'i pre-school and social and economic development project in Belize -- the ‘Garden of the Covenant’ Baha'i Pre-School in Dangriga

After five years of hopes and dreams the first Baha'i pre-school and social and economic development project in Belize became a reality in November of 1985 with the opening of the Garden of the Covenant Baha'i Pre-School in Dangriga.

The Spiritual Assembly of Dangriga had begun thinking about such a school in 1980. The first step was to improve the facilities of the Regional Baha'i Centre in Dangriga to house the school ... When the National Spiritual Assembly of Belize received news that two new pioneers, Mitch and Rita Wagener would be coming to the country in June 1985, and word was passed to the Spiritual Assembly of Dangriga that Rita, a Ugandan, was a trained pre-school teacher, minds began to click and it appeared that the "seed" might soon bear fruit... It was decided that the school would provide "Montessori-type" education and give individualized attention to the children, enrollment would be kept small-never more than I5 students morning and 15 afternoon. 
(Baha’i News, July 1986)

1920: The first woman speaker at India’s first Baha’i National Convention

Elizabeth Stewart was the only woman speaker at the first Baha'i Convention in India, in 1920. She was also the only Person at that time who spoke on the equality of men and women. Prior to going to India Elizabeth worked as nurse in Tihran, Persian, for many years, along with Dr. Susan Moody. 
(Adapted from Star of the West, vol. 17, no. 8, November 1926) 
(For a brief account of her life please visit We are Baha’is)

Growth of the Baha'i World Community as of January 1988

(Information provided by the Department of Statistics at the Baha’i World Centre)

Localities where Baha'is reside: World Total: (118,626) – Africa (36,621); Americas (26,880); Asia (48,839); Australasia (3,200); Europe (3,086

Isolated Centers: World Total: (33,751) – Africa (12,210); Americas (9,253); Asia (10,438); Australasia (810); Europe (1,040)

Groups with fewer than 9: World Total: (33,751) – Africa (12,210); Americas (9,253); Asia (10,438); Australasia (810); Europe (1,040)

Groups with 9 or more members: World Total: (24,760) – Africa (4,673); Americas (2,912); Asia (16,714); Australasia (432); Europe (28)

Indigenous tribes, races and ethnic groups: World Total: (2,112) – Africa (1,250); Americas (340); Asia (250); Australasia (250); Europe (22)

Languages into which Baha'i literature is translated: World Total: (782) – Africa (255); Americas (169); Asia (169); Australasia (111); Europe (78)

Countries where the Faith is established: Independent countries: World Total: (166) – Africa (51); Americas (35); Asia (37); Australasia (11); Europe (32)

Countries where the Faith is established: Dependent territories or overseas departments: World Total: (48) – Africa (6); Americas (16); Asia (3); Australasia (13); Europe (10)

First National Convention of the Baha'is of Iran, 1934

First National Convention of the Baha'is of Iran, 1934 (The Baha'i World 1934-1936)  

1868: Baha'u'llah Arrives in 'Akka - narrated by Ruhiyyih Khanum

circa 1925: Baha'i Orphanage in Tokyo, Japan

Baha'i Orphanage in Tokyo, Japan, circa 1925 -- earthquake orphans (Star of the West, vol. 16, no. 2, May 1925)

Governments Receive Peace Statement

The Bahamas

His Excellency Sir Gerald Cash, the Governor General of the Bahamas (second from right), was presented a copy of the peace statement on October 24, 1985, by a delegation of three members of the Notional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahamas. (Baha'i News, February 1986)

Australia

Dr. Rudolf Kirchschlaeger, the President of Austria (second from right),receives the peace statement from a three-member delegation comprised of members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Austria. The presentation was made in October 1985. (Baha’i News, February 1986)

Grenada

Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Grenada present the Universal House of Justice's peace statement, 'The Promise of World Peace,' to Sir Paul Scoon (left), the Governor General of Grenada, during a ceremony in October 1985.(Baha’i News, February 1986)

Guatemala

Guatemala's head of state, Gen. Oscar Humberto Mejia V. (third from left),receives a five-member Baha'i delegation who presented him with a special copy of 'The Promise of World Peace.' in October 1985. (Baha’i News, February 1986)

Baha'i Development Projects Worldwide as of April 1986

Baha'i Development Projects Worldwide as of April 1986 (Baha'i News April 1986)

Haji Muhammad-Karim Khan, the arch-enemy of the Bab

Haji Muhammad-Karim Khan, arch-enemy of the Bab. (The Baha'i World 1932-1934)

April 1985: First National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Ciskei

Members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Ciskei, elected at Ridvan 1985. (Baha'i News, October 1985)

First National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Mali, April 1985

The members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Mali, elected at Ridvan 1985. (Baha'i News, September 1985)

Baha’u’llah describes (in a prayer) the extreme hardships of “that terrible journey” from Tihran to Baghdad in 1853 and the “woes and trials” He endured in the Siyah-Chal (just prior to the journey)

In a prayer revealed by Him at that time [during the journey], Bahá'u'lláh, expatiating upon the woes and trials He had endured in the Siyah-Chal, thus bears witness to the hardships undergone in the course of that "terrible journey": "My God, My Master, My Desire!... Thou hast created this atom of dust through the consummate power of Thy might, and nurtured Him with Thine hands which none can chain up.... Thou hast destined for Him trials and tribulations which no tongue can describe, nor any of Thy Tablets adequately recount. The throat Thou didst accustom to the touch of silk Thou hast, in the end, clasped with strong chains, and the body Thou didst ease with brocades and velvets Thou hast at last subjected to the abasement of a dungeon. Thy decree hath shackled Me with unnumbered fetters, and cast about My neck chains that none can sunder. A number of years have passed during which afflictions have, like showers of mercy, rained upon Me.... How many the nights during which the weight of chains and fetters allowed Me no rest, and how numerous the days during which peace and tranquillity were denied Me, by reason of that wherewith the hands and tongues of men have afflicted Me! Both bread and water which Thou hast, through Thy all-embracing mercy, allowed unto the beasts of the field, they have, for a time, forbidden unto this servant, and the things they refused to inflict upon such as have seceded from Thy Cause, the same have they suffered to be inflicted upon Me, until, finally, Thy decree was irrevocably fixed, and Thy behest summoned this servant to depart out of Persia, accompanied by a number of frail-bodied men and children of tender age, at this time when the cold is so intense that one cannot even speak, and ice and snow so abundant that it is impossible to move." (Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, p. 108)

1981: Inaugural meeting of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas

Inaugural meeting of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas (1981) with the Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum. Seated, left to right: Ruth Pingle, Velma Sherrill, Carmen de Burafato, Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum, Lauretta King, Sarah Pereira. Standing, left to right,: Peter McLaren, Angus Cowan, Farzam Arbab, Artemus Lamb, Hidayatu'llah Ahmadiyyih, Raul Pavon, Lloyd Gardner, Masud Khamsi, Donald Witzel, Athos Costas, Fred Schechter. (The Baha'i World, 1979-1983)

‘Abdu’l-Baha explains the circumstances pertaining to His incarceration and final release

When the deposed Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Abdu’l-Hamid, arose in tyranny and oppression, ‘Abdu'l-Baha was incarcerated in the prison of Acca and was surrounded with the utmost surveillance of police, detectives and men of the Secret Service. The door of communication was entirely closed and the means of correspondence was prevented. If any soul approached the house he was searched; nay, rather, threatened with dire persecution. The affairs reached to such a degree that, not being satisfied with these restrictions, the Sultan sent an oppressive investigating Commission, so that with all kinds of wiles, simulations, slander and fabrication of false stories they might fasten some guilt upon ‘Abdul-Baha in order that he might crucify Him, or cast Him into the sea, or banish Him into the heart of the distant and unknown Sahara of Feyzan (Africa) That oppressive investigating Commission exercised its rights with tyranny and passed the sentence that ‘Abdu'l-Baha merited all kinds of persecution. Finally they decided to send Him to Feyzan, and when they cabled this decision to the palace of Abdu’l-Hamid, an answer was received that the matter of Feyzan was approved by the Imperial Order. Then that unjust investigating Commission returned to Constantinople. They were in the midst of the sea when the cannon of God boomed forth before the palace of Abdu’l-Hamid, a charge of dynamite was exploded, a number of people were killed, Abdu’l-Hamid fled into the interior of his residence, difficulties and trials surrounded him, and incidents and events developed rapidly. Therefore he did not find the opportunity to oppress ‘Abdu’l-Baha; public revolution was started, which ended in his deposition, and the Hand of Divine Power released the neck of ‘Abdu’l-Baha from the chains of the prison of Joseph and the fetters and manacles were placed around the unblessed neck of ‘Abdu’l-Hamid. Be ye admonished, O ye people of insight! Now ‘Abdu’l-Baha, with the greatest power, has hastened to the country of Egypt from the land of prison. Praise be to God, that through the Bounty and Providence of the Blessed Perfection, no sooner did he land in Alexandria than the Word of God was promoted and the melody of the Kingdom of Abha was heard. All the newspapers wrote innumerable articles. Some gave the utmost praise; others raised a great cry, saying: "The arrival of this personage in this land will shake the pillars of Religion and will shatter to pieces ancient customs and conventions. He attracts everyone he meets and when he loosens his tongue in any meeting, it creates faith in the hearts of the deniers.'' The papers are still writing detailed articles and will continue to do so. (‘Abdu’l-Baha, from a Tablet addressed to the American believers in 1911, Star of the West, vol.2, no. 4, May 17, 1911)

First National Spiritual Assembly of the Andama and Nichobar Islands, April 28, 1984

The Hand of the Cause of God Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum (fifth from left) is pictured with members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Andama and Nichobar Islands, April 28, 1984. (Baha'i News, January 1985)

April 11, 1912: 'Abdu’l-Baha’s Arrival in America

(By Wendell Phillips Dodge a reporter for the New York City News Association, who boarded the Cedric at quarantine and interviewed ‘Abdu’l-Baha coming up the bay. It was given to all of the New York newspapers, and, through the Associated Press, was sent, though boiled clown considerably, to newspapers throughout the world.)


‘Abdu’l-Baha, the eminent Persian philosopher and leader of the Baha’i movement for the unification of religions and the establishment of universal peace, arrived April 11th on the steamship Cedric from Alexandria, Egypt. It is his first visit to America, and except for a brief visit to Paris and London last summer and fall, it is the first time in forty years that he has gone beyond the fortification of the 'prison city" of Acre, Syria, to which place he and his father, Baha’u’llah, the founder of the Baha’i movement, were banished by the Turkish government a half century ago.

He comes on a mission of international peace, to attend and address the Peace Conference at Lake Mohonk the latter part of the month, and to address various peace meetings, educational societies, religious organizations etc.

While the ship news reporters boarded the Cedric down the bay, ‘Abdu'l-Baha was found on the upper deck, standing where he could see the pilot, his long, flowing oriental robe flapping in the breeze. He was clothed in a long, black robe open at the front and disclosing another robe of light tan. Upon his head was a pure white turban, such as eastern patriarchs wear.

His face was light itself as he scanned the harbor and greeted the reporters, who had been kept waiting at quarantine for three and a half hours before they could board the ship with the customs officers, owing to a case of smallpox and several cases of typhoid fever in the steerage, which had to be removed to Hoffman Island for isolation, and the ship then fumigated. He is a man of medium height, though at first sight he seemed to be much taller. He is strongly and solidly built, and weighs probably one hundred and sixty five pounds. As he paced the deck, talking with the reporters, he appeared alert and active in every movement, his head thrown back and splendidly poised upon his broad, square shoulders, most of the time. A profusion of iron grey hair bursting out at the sides of the turban and hanging long upon the neck; a large, massive head, full domed and remarkably wide across the forehead and temples, the forehead rising like a great palisade above the eyes, which were very wide apart, their orbits large and deep, looking out from under massive overhanging brows; strong Roman nose, generous ears, decisive yet kindly mouth and chin; a creamy white complexion, beard same color as his hair, worn full over the face and carefully trimmed at almost full length -- this completes an insufficient word picture of this "Wise Man Out of the East."

His first words were about the press, saying:

Members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Gabon, April 1984

Members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Gabon, elected at Ridvan 1984, are shown with Dr. Hushang Ahdieh, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Africa (front row center) who represented the Universal House of Justice at Gabon's National Convention. (Baha'i News, November 1984)

Site of the Garden of Ilkhani, Tihran, Persia, where Tahirih suffered martyrdom

Site of the Garden of Ilkhani, Tihran, Persia, where Tahirih suffered martyrdom (The Baha'i World 1932-1934)

Canada’s First International Baha’i Youth Conference, London, Ontario, August 25-27, 1984

The Youth Movement and its impact on the Faith in North America was the centerpiece August 25-27 as nearly 2,000 young people from 52 countries gathered at Canada's first International Baha’i Youth Conference to rededicate themselves to securing a resounding victory in the final months of the Seven Year Plan.

The conference, whose theme was "If you only knew ...,” was blessed by the presence of the Hands of the Cause of God 'Ali-Akbar Furutan, John Robarts and 'Ali-Muhammad Varqa.

Registration figures showed that about 800 youth from the U.S. and another 800 from Canada were among the 1,972 participants who also included four youth who traveled all the way from the Philippines, 10 who came from Germany, and six youth from Japan who were members of that country's National Teaching Committee and National Youth Committee. 
(Baha’i News, October 1984)