Materials Provided by the Bahá'í World Centre on Gender in the Writings, and Matters of Translation

1. Cover letter

15 August 2002

Transmitted by email [address redacted]:

Mrs. ..., U.S.A.

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

The Universal House of Justice referred your emailed letter dated 22 June 2002 to its Research Department for comments, and it commends to your study the enclosed memorandum prepared in response to your queries concerning the use of masculine pronouns and images in the Sacred Writings of the Faith. We hope this information will prove useful to your endeavors, and you are free to use any of the contents in your presentation at the Association for Bahá’í Studies conference.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat

Enclosure with four attachments

Memorandum - Use of Masculine Pronouns and Images
Attachment - The Use of the Masculine Gender in the Bahá’í Writings Extracts from Letters Written By and on Behalf of the Universal House of Justice
Attachment - Literary Style – Translation
Attachment - The Difficult Art of Translation – Selected Extracts From Letters Written By and On Behalf of the Universal House of Justice Concerning the Translations of Shoghi Effendi
Attachment - Importance of and Guidance on Translating the Bahá’í Writings into Indigenous and Other Languages

2. Use of Masculine Pronouns and Images

3. The Use of the Masculine Gender in the Bahá’í Writings
Extracts from Letters Written By and on Behalf of the Universal House of Justice

4. Literary Style – Translation

5. The Difficult Art of Translation
Selected Extracts From Letters Written By and On Behalf of the Universal House of Justice Concerning the Translations of Shoghi Effendi

6. Importance of and Guidance on Translating the Bahá’í Writings into Indigenous and Other Languages