Queen Marie of Rumania’s planned pilgrimage to Baha’i World Center

…the widely publicized yet sadly frustrated visit of a noble Queen, who, at the very threshold of the city of her heart’s desire, was compelled, according to her own written testimony, to divert her steps, and forego the privilege of so priceless a benefit. 

-Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

Revolutionary changes in the world during the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Baha – summarized by Shoghi Effendi

…the revolutionary changes in the great world which that ministry [‘Abdu’l-Baha’s] has witnessed… —most of them flowing directly from the warnings which were uttered by the Báb, in the first chapter of His Qayyúmu’l-Asmá, on the very night of the Declaration of His Mission in Shíráz, and which were later reinforced by the pregnant passages addressed by Bahá’u’lláh to the kings of the earth and the world’s religious leaders, in both the Súriy-i-Mulúk and the Kitáb-i-Aqdas.

• The conversion of the Portuguese monarchy and the Chinese empire into republics;
• the collapse of the Russian, the German and Austrian empires, and the ignominious fate which befell their rulers;
• the assassination of Násiri’d-Dín Sháh, the fall of Sultán ‘Abdu’l-Hamíd—
• these may be said to have marked further stages in the operation of that catastrophic process the inception of which was signalized in the lifetime of Bahá’u’lláh
• by the murder of Sulṭán ‘Abdu’l-‘Azíz,
• by the dramatic downfall of Napoleon III, and the extinction of the Third Empire, and
• by the self-imposed imprisonment and virtual termination of the temporal sovereignty of the Pope himself.
•  Later, after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing, the same process was to be accelerated
•  by the demise of the Qájár dynasty in Persia,
•  by the overthrow of the Spanish monarchy,
•  by the collapse of both the Sultanate and the Caliphate in Turkey,
•  by a swift decline in the fortunes of Shí’ah Islám and of the Christian Missions in the East, and
•  by the cruel fate that is now overtaking so many of the crowned heads of Europe. 

- Shoghi Effendi  ('God Passes By')

1982: Progress of the Faith in Africa --> 37 NSAs, 4990 LSAs, 29,000 localities, and representations from 1152 African tribes

Today [1982], after the lapse of a little over three decades, we stand in awe as we view with admiration one of the most valiant contingents of the Army of Light, guided by its own Board of Counsellors, led and administered by 37 National Spiritual Assemblies and 4990 Local Spiritual Assemblies, privileged to serve an eager and radiant community of believers drawn from 1152 African tribes residing in 29,000 localities. 

-The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 19 August 1982 addressed to the friends gathered at the Baha'i International Conference at Lagos; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

The “catastrophes that befell the monarchies of the world through the neglect of Bahá’u’lláh’s warnings conveyed in the opening passages of His Súriy-i-Mulúk”

But the rapid dissolution of the Ottoman, the Napoleonic, the German, the Austrian and the Russian empires, the demise of the Qájár dynasty and the virtual extinction of the temporal sovereignty of the Roman Pontiff do not exhaust the story of the catastrophes that befell the monarchies of the world through the neglect of Bahá’u’lláh’s warnings conveyed in the opening passages of His Súriy-i-Mulúk. The conversion of the Portuguese and Spanish monarchies, as well as the Chinese empire, into republics; the strange fate that has, more recently, been pursuing the sovereigns of Holland, of Norway, of Greece, of Yugoslavia and of Albania now living in exile; the virtual abdication of the authority exercised by the kings of Denmark, of Belgium, of Bulgaria, of Rumania and of Italy; the apprehension with which their fellow sovereigns must be viewing the convulsions that have seized so many thrones; the shame and acts of violence which, in some instances, have darkened the annals of the reigns of certain monarchs in both the East and the West, and still more recently the sudden downfall of the Founder of the newly established dynasty in Persia—these are yet further instances of the infliction of the “Divine Chastisement” foreshadowed by Bahá’u’lláh in that immortal Súrih, and show forth the divine reality of the arraignment pronounced by Him against the rulers of the earth in His Most Holy Book. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

April 1972: Total number of National Spiritual Assemblies reached 110

REJOICE ANNOUNCE ALL FRIENDS FORMATION DURING RIDVAN 1972 NINE ADDITIONAL NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES RAISING TOTAL NUMBER PILLARS UNIVERSAL HOUSE JUSTICE TO ONE HUNDRED AND TEN. THREE IN AFRICA MALAGASY REPUBLIC REUNION SEYCHELLES THREE IN ASIA EAST PAKISTAN NEPAL SINGAPORE ONE IN AUSTRALASIA NORTHWEST PACIFIC OCEAN COMPRISING GUAM CAROLINES MARIANAS MARSHALLS TWO IN EUROPE ICELAND AND REPUBLIC IRELAND.

- The Universal House of Justice  (Excerpt from a cable dated 11 February 1971 to all National Spiritual Assemblies'; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

Consequences of rejecting the Message of God brought by Bahá’u’lláh: Pope Pius IX

…the fate that has overtaken those kings, ministers and ecclesiastics, in the East as well as in the West, who have, at various stages of Bahá’u’lláh’s ministry, either deliberately persecuted His Cause, or have neglected to heed the warnings He had uttered, or have failed in their manifest duty to respond to His summons or to accord Him and His message the treatment they deserved, particular attention…

Pope Pius IX, the undisputed head of the most powerful Church in Christendom, who had been commanded, in an Epistle addressed to him by Bahá’u’lláh, to leave his “palaces unto such as desire them,” to “sell all the embellished ornaments” in his possession, to “expend them in the path of God,” and hasten towards “the Kingdom,” was compelled to surrender, in distressing circumstances, to the besieging forces of King Victor Emmanuel, and to submit himself to be depossessed of the Papal States and of Rome itself. The loss of “the Eternal City,” over which the Papal flag had flown for one thousand years, and the humiliation of the religious orders under his jurisdiction, added mental anguish to his physical infirmities and embittered the last years of his life. The formal recognition of the Kingdom of Italy subsequently exacted from one of his successors in the Vatican, confirmed the virtual extinction of the Pope’s temporal sovereignty. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

Early 1950s: The Guardian “ushered in the first African Teaching Plan”

As we review the annals of our Faith we see that since the days of the Blessed Beauty and up to the early 1950s, the activities of the friends in Africa had produced the formation of one National Spiritual Assembly with its seat in Cairo, Egypt, the opening of 12 countries to the light of the Faith, and some 50 localities established throughout its vast lands.  It was at such a time that the beloved Guardian ushered in the first African Teaching Plan, to be followed during the remaining years of his ministry and in subsequent years after his passing, by a series of challenging and bravely executed plans designed to implant the banner of the Faith throughout the length and breadth of that continent and its neighbouring islands.  

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message dated 19 August 1982 addressed to the friends gathered at the Baha'i International Conference at Lagos; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

circa 1930's: The Baha'i Temple In Ishqabad, Russia

1979-1982: Some Non-Baha'i Individuals and Organizations that Issued Statements, Letters, Cables, or Press Releases, Concerning the Persecution of Baha’is in Iran

• Human Rights Commission of the Federation of Protestant Churches in Switzerland
• Amnesty International
• Trinidad and Tobago Bureau on Human Rights
• Former Chief Justice, India
• Commission on Social Action of Reform Judaism
• Pacific Conference of Churches
• 13 Heads of Colleges in Oxford, U.K.
• The Master, Balliol College, Oxford, England
• Iran Committee for Democratic Action and Human Rights (based in the United States)
• Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (based in France)
• A large number of Senators and Congressmen of the United States

(Prepared by the Baha’i International Community and accompanied a letter from the Universal House of Justice to the Baha’is of the World, 26 January 1982; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

1955: Very intense and widespread persecution against the Baha’is in Iran

It was in April and May of 1955, during the month of Ramadan, the Muslim month of fasting, that the popular preacher Shaykh Muhammad-Taqi, known as Falsafi, began to preach against the Baha'is in a Tihran mosque. These speeches were broadcast nationally by the Government radio and became more fierce and vituperative each day. Throughout the entire country, the passions of the rabble were aroused and further fanned by local religious leaders. The police and the army took over the National Baha’i headquarters in Tihran and destroyed the dome of the building. On 17 May, the Minister of the Interior announced in Parliament that the Government had issued orders for the suppression of the 'Baha'i sect'. Thus the effects of the inflammatory words of the religious leaders compounded by the encouragement given by the Government precipitated an avalanche of persecution: Baha'i holy places were occupied and ransacked, homes and farms looted and burned, Baha'i cemeteries desecrated; adults were beaten, young women abducted and forced to marry Muslims, children expelled from schools, and many dismissed from their employment. Throughout the whole of that summer, the persecutions continued across the entire country. Not only was it entirely unchecked by the Government or police, but, in many areas, it was Government officials who instigated and led the attack on the Baha'is. 

- Moojan Momen  (Forward to ‘The Seven Martyrs of Hurmuzak’, by Muhammad Labib, translated by Moojan Momen)

September 1, 2017: Opening of the first local Baha'i House of Worship - Battambang, Cambodia

(Baha'i World News Service)

Baha’u’llah spent five years in Europe – first time for a Manifestation of God

Adrianople early 19th Century

In this great Day Europe is blessed as never before in its history, for the Manifestation of God, the Lord of Hosts, spent five years of His exiles within its borders, sending forth from His "remote prison" [1] the first of those challenging, world-shaking addresses to the kings and rulers, six of whom were European potentates. There is no authenticated record of a Manifestation of God ever before setting foot in Europe. 

- The Universal House of Justice  (From a message addressed to the friends gathered at the International Conference in Dublin, 2 June 1982; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

[1] Baha'u'llah was banished to Adrianople (now Edirne, Turkey), which He called the "remote prison".

1979-1982: Number of cables received by the United Nations Secretary-general concerning the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran

118 National Spiritual Assemblies cabled the Secretary-general of the United Nations, as did thousands of Local Assemblies, Baha'i groups and isolated centres.  It was estimated that some 10-15,000 cables reached him, protesting the execution of seven Baha'is in Hamadan.

(From a Summary prepared by the Baha’i International Community and accompanied a letter from the Universal House of Justice to the Baha’is of the World, 26 January 1982; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

Consequences of rejecting the Message of God brought by Bahá’u’lláh: Nicolaevitch Alexander II, the all-powerful Czar of Russia

…the fate that has overtaken those kings, ministers and ecclesiastics, in the East as well as in the West, who have, at various stages of Bahá’u’lláh’s ministry, either deliberately persecuted His Cause, or have neglected to heed the warnings He had uttered, or have failed in their manifest duty to respond to His summons or to accord Him and His message the treatment they deserved, particular attention…

Nicolaevitch Alexander II, the all-powerful Czar of Russia, who, in a Tablet addressed to him by name had been thrice warned by Bahá’u’lláh, had been bidden to “summon the nations unto God,” and had been cautioned not to allow his sovereignty to prevent him from recognizing “the Supreme Sovereign,” suffered several attempts on his life, and at last died at the hand of an assassin. A harsh policy of repression, initiated by himself and followed by his successor, Alexander III, paved the way for a revolution which, in the reign of Nicholas II, swept away on a bloody tide the empire of the Czars, brought in its wake war, disease and famine, and established a militant proletariat which massacred the nobility, persecuted the clergy, drove away the intellectuals, disendowed the state religion, executed the Czar with his consort and his family, and extinguished the dynasty of the Romanoffs. 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

circa 1948: Cypress trees marking the spot where Baha’u’llah sat and chose site for the Shrine of the Báb

(The Baha’i World 1946-1950)

Messages of condolences from high officials and tributes in various newspapers concerning the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Baha

• The British Secretary of State for the Colonies, Mr. Winston Churchill, telegraphed immediately to the High Commissioner for Palestine, Sir Herbert Samuel, instructing him to “convey to the Bahá’í Community, on behalf of His Majesty’s Government, their sympathy and condolence.”
• Viscount Allenby, the High Commissioner for Egypt, wired the High Commissioner for Palestine asking him to “convey to the relatives of the late Sir ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Abbás Effendi and to the Bahá’í Community” his “sincere sympathy in the loss of their revered leader.”
• The Council of Ministers in Baghdád instructed the Prime Minister Siyyid ‘Abdu’r-Rahmán to extend their “sympathy to the family of His Holiness ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in their bereavement.”
• The Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Expeditionary Force, General Congreve, addressed to the High Commissioner for Palestine a message requesting him to “convey his deepest sympathy to the family of the late Sir Abbás Bahá’í.”
• General Sir Arthur Money, former Chief Administrator of Palestine, wrote expressing his sadness, his profound respect and his admiration for Him as well as his sympathy in the loss which His family had sustained.
• One of the distinguished figures in the academic life of the University of Oxford, a famous professor and scholar, wrote on behalf of himself and his wife: “The passing beyond the veil into fuller life must be specially wonderful and blessed for One Who has always fixed His thoughts on high, and striven to lead an exalted life here below.”
• Many and divers newspapers, such as
• the London “Times,”
• the “Morning Post,”
• the “Daily Mail,”
• the “New York World,”
• “Le Temps,”
• the “Times of India” and others, in different languages and countries, paid their tribute to One Who had rendered the Cause of human brotherhood and peace such signal and imperishable services.
• The High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, sent immediately a message conveying his desire to attend the funeral in person, in order as he himself later wrote, to “express my respect for His creed and my regard for His person.” 

- Shoghi Effendi  (‘God Passes By’)

‘Abdu’l-Baha’s last day on earth

Till the very last day of His earthly life ‘Abdu’l-Bahá continued to shower that same love upon high and low alike, to extend that same assistance to the poor and the down-trodden, and to carry out those same duties in the service of His Father’s Faith, as had been His wont from the days of His boyhood. On the Friday before His passing, despite great fatigue, He attended the noonday prayer at the mosque, and distributed afterwards alms, as was His custom, among the poor; dictated some Tablets—the last ones He revealed—; blessed the marriage of a trusted servant, which He had insisted should take place that day; attended the usual meeting of the friends in His home; felt feverish the next day, and being unable to leave the house on the following Sunday, sent all the believers to the Tomb of the Báb to attend a feast which a Pársí pilgrim was offering on the occasion of the anniversary of the Declaration of the Covenant; received with His unfailing courtesy and kindness that same afternoon, and despite growing weariness, the Muftí of Haifa, the Mayor and the Head of the Police; and inquired that night—the last of His life—before He retired after the health of every member of His household, of the pilgrims and of the friends in Haifa.

1951: Shrine of the Báb

View of the Shrine of the Báb and gardens, from photograph received from the Guardian early in March, 1951. 

(Baha’i News April 1951)

1992: The Second Bahá'í World Congress in New York

(Baha'i World News Service)

1910: Some historic developments in Akka & Haifa

The Ottoman officials have recently opened two large gateways through the thick, solid and ancient walls of the old fort of Acca. Both open out on the green plain in front of Bahji, where the Holy Tomb is located. Wonderful to relate, one of these gates is situated back of the old house of 'Abdu'l-Baha, where he often walked, during the time of his confinement, to the fortress!

Furthermore, official men, architects and masons have come from Constantinople for the express purpose of planning a beautiful city outside of the old prison walls! To live today and witness the actual fulfillment of the old prophecies is verily a blessing for which we cannot be sufficiently thankful.

- Ameen U. Fareed (Star of the West, vol. 1, no. 9, August 20, 1910)

Japan 1960: First Local Spiritual Assembly formed entirely of Japanese believers

(Baha’i News, April 1960)

The Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Akashi, Japan

1979-1982: Cables received by Ayatollah Khomeini concerning the persecution of the Baha’is in Iran

Over 10,000 Local Spiritual Assemblies cabled the Ayatollah Khomeini, urging his intervention regarding the expropriation of Baha'i properties in Iran.

(From a Summary prepared by the Baha’i International Community and accompanied a letter from the Universal House of Justice to the Baha’is of the World, 26 January 1982; ‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986’)

1944: Three future Hands of the Cause of God

Presiding National Spiritual Assembly officers of the Centenary Convention in Persia. Left to right: Shuallah Ala'i (vice-chairman), Vali'ullah Varqa (chairman) and Ali-Akbar Furutan (secretary). 

(Baha’i News, April 1946)

1994: First National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Cambodia

Hand of the Cause of God Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum (center) with members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Cambodia, Counsellors Lee Lee Ludher (far left) and Shantha Sundram (third from right), and Mrs. Violette Nakhjavani (third from left). 

(The Baha'i World 1994-1995)

1994: First National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Uzbekistan

(The Baha'i World 1994-1995)