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Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1937, descending sort earliest first

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1937 20 Dec
193-
Mírzá Ḥusayn-'Alíy-i-Jahrumí represented the arch-breaker of the Covenant, Mírzá Muhammad-'Ali, in Persia.

Mírzá Ḥusayn-i-Shírázíy-i-Khurṭúmí represented the arch-breaker of the Covenant in India.

Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ḥusayn-i-Káshání represented him in Egypt. [GPB318]

Covenant-breaking; Mírzá Husayn-`Alíy-i-Jahrumí; Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí; Mírzá Husayn-i-Shiraziy-i-Khurtumi; Hájí Muhammad-Husayn-i-Kashani; Iran; Egypt; India
1937 20 Dec
193-
Muhammad-'Alí, half-brother of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Arch-breaker of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, died. [CB355; GPB320; MA11]

During Bahá'u'lláh's ministry, Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí was known by the title Ghusn-i-Akbar (the Greater Branch). After he broke the Covenant, believers referred to him as the Naqid-i-Akbar (the Arch-Covenant-breaker).

"The Hand of Omnipotence has removed the archbreaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, his hopes shattered, his plottings frustrated, the society of his fellow-conspirators extinguished. God's triumphant Faith forges on, its unity unimpaired, its purpose unsullied, its stability unshaken. Such a death calls for neither exultation nor recrimination, but evokes overwhelming pity at so tragic a downfall unparalleled in religious history." [Cablegram December 20, 1937 MA11)

      This perfidious man, consumed by a "soul festering jealousy" toward Abdu'l-Baha, behaved in a way that "…agitated the minds and hearts of a vast proportion of the faithful throughout the East, eclipsed, for a time, the Orb of the Covenant, created an irreparable breach within the ranks of Bahá'u'lláh's own kindred, sealed ultimately the fate of the great majority of the members of His family, and gravely damaged the prestige, though it never succeeded in causing a permanent cleavage in the structure, of the Faith itself." [GPB246]

      He had changed the text of at least one tablet of Bahá'u'lláh to make it appear that Bahá'u'lláh was condemning the wicked deeds of'Abdu'l-Bahá. He plotted to murder 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He made repeated false allegations about 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the Ottoman authorities so that the Master came perilously closed to being exiled to a remote part of the Libyan desert. In addition, from 1892 to 1929, Muhammad Ali and his relatives occupied the mansion of Bahji, where Bahá'u'lláh's tomb was located, and it was not until 1952 that the property surrounding the Shrine was finally owned, without hindrance, by the Bahá'í community. [CoB153; PP231-233]

      He "was stricken with paralysis which crippled half his body; lay bedridden in pain for months before he died; and was buried according to Muslim rites, in the immediate vicinity of a local Muslim shrine, his grave remaining until the present day (1944) devoid of even a tombstone—a pitiful reminder of the hollowness of the claims he had advanced, of the depths of infamy to which he had sunk, and of the severity of the retribution his acts had so richly merited." [GPB319-320]

  • For details of his death and funeral see DH117 and GPB320.
  • Muhammad-`Alí; Covenant-breaking; Births and deaths; Akka, Israel
    1937 Dec
    193-
    The writing of Episodes in the History of the Covenant by Shoghi Effendi originally written as "Waqáy-i-Tárikhiyyih dar 'Ahd wa Mitháq-i-Iláhi" for the friends in Iran. In 1997 it was translated by Khazeh Fananapazir and edited by Mehdi Wolf. [Episodes in the History of the Covenant] Covenant; Covenant-breaking; * Shoghi Effendi, Writings of; Shoghi Effendi, Works of; * Bahá'í World Centre; Iran
    1937 Jul
    193-
    Nine Bahá'ís were imprisoned in Sangsar, Khurásán, Iran, for closing their shops on Bahá'í holy days. [BW18:389]
  • They were imprisoned for two months. [BW18:389]
  • Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution; Holy days; Sangesar, Iran; Khurásán, Iran; Iran
    1937 Jun
    193-
    Martha Root made her final trip to China, arriving in Shanghai from Japan. She was evacuated on the 14th of August because Shanghai was under bombardment from the Japanese forces. From there she sailed to the Philippines, arriving in Manila on the 20th of August. [PH41; Film Early History of the Baha'í Faith in China 25 min 46 sec ] Martha Root; Shanghai, China
    1937 21 May
    193-
    All Bahá'í activities and institutions were banned in Germany by a special order of the Reichsführer SS and the Gestapo Chief of Staff Heinrich Himmler when he banned the Bahá'í Faith in Germany. He blamed it on the religion's "international and pacifist tendencies." The Nazi government increasingly targeted the Bahá'ís after Himmler's edict, first by tearing down the public memorial to 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Bad Mergntheim and then, in 1939, making mass arrests of the former members of the National Spiritual Assembly. Bahá'ís went to jail, some for very long periods, without charges. In 1942, more mass arrests occurred. Many of the Bahá'ís from Germany and the surrounding countries disappeared in the Nazi concentration camp system. [BBRSM185; Bahá'í Teachings; German Bahá'í website archives; The German Baha'i Community under National Socialism p19]]
  • See talk by David Langness entitled Nazi Germany: The Untold Story of the Bahá'ís.
  • See Shoghi Effendi's letter of 11 February 1934 where he says in part:

      The wave of nationalism, so aggressive and so contagious in its effects, which has swept not only over Europe but over a large part of mankind is, indeed, the very negation of the gospel of peace and of brotherhood proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh. The actual trend in the political world is, indeed, far from being in the direction of the Bahá'í teachings. The world is drawing nearer and nearer to a universal catastrophe which will mark the end of a bankrupt and of a fundamentally defective civilization. [LDG1p55]
  • See letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi 10 November 1938 regarding the German community's efforts to have the government rescind the ban. [Messages from Shoghi Effendi to the Benelux countries pp38-40]
  • Persecution, Germany; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Bans; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Court cases; World War II; Germany
    1937 2 May
    193-
    The Yerrinbool Bahá'í School (originally known as 'Bolton Place') was officially opened in Australia. [Yerrinbool Bahá'í School 1938 - 1988: An Account of the First Fifty Years by Graham Hassall; Yerrinbool Bahá'í School and the Australian Bahá'í Community by Fazel Naghdy]
  • Bahaipedia.
  • Yerrinbool Bahá'í School; - Bahá'í inspired schools; Yerrinbool, New South Wales; Australia
    1937 May
    193-
    Several prominent Bahá'ís were arrested in Yazd. [BW18:389]
  • They were imprisoned in Tihrán for four years; one died in prison. [BW18:389]
  • Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Yazd, Iran; Tehran, Iran; Iran
    1937 May
    193-
    Fred Schopflocher contributed and additional $100,000 (see 16 March, 1929) to the goal of $350,000 to complete the exterior ornamentation of the House of Worship. For his dedication to the construction the Guardian designated him as "Chief Temple Builder". [LoF 388-390, BW12p664] Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; Fred Schopflocher; Funds; Wilmette, IL; United States (USA)
    1937 Ridván
    193-
    The First Seven Year Plan (1937-1944) was launched in North America. [BBD180; BBRSM158; BW7:17–18; MA9, 11-12, 87]
  • The Guardian's Seven Year Plan for the American Bahá'ís
  • For the role of individuals, local spiritual assemblies and the National Spiritual Assembly see MA11–12.
  • The Plan called for:
    • the completion of the exterior of the Wilmette Temple. BW7:17–18; PP385]
    • the establishment of a local spiritual assembly in each state and province of the United States and Canada. [PP385]
    • the establishment of a centre in each of the republics of Latin America. [PP385; The Spiritual Conquest of the Planet (Supplement)p2]

      This date, the inception of the First Seven Year Plan of the North American Bahá'í community, marked the opening of the First Epoch of the Divine Plan. This epoch concluded with the successful completion of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963. [Epochs of the Formative Age by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice]

  • Seven Year Plan, US and CA (1937-1944); - Teaching Plans; - Teaching Plans, National; LSA; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Wilmette; Ages and Epochs; Tablets of the Divine Plan; United States (USA); Canada
    1921 - 1937
    193-
    In the period from the inception of the Guardianship to 1937 Shoghi Effendi laid the foundation of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh in conformity with the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Some of the major accomplishments were:
  • Continued the translation work that began while he was still an assistant to 'Abdu'l-Bahá and later as a student at Oxford.
  • Explained the principles and structure of the Administrative Order.
  • Developed the constitutional structure of the local and national spiritual assemblies.
  • Clarified the relationships of these assemblies with the community of believers and elucidate the manner of their election and operation.
  • Emphasized that the Administrative Order was the channel through which the spirit of God would flow and instructed that they be ever watchful lest "the means supersede the end". [Pg209]
  • Imparted the vision of the new world order through his letter which have become to be know as "The World Order Letters". [PG209-215]
  • * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); World Order of Bahá'u'lláh (book); * Administrative Order; * Administration; Local Spiritual Assemblies; National Spiritual Assemblies
    1937 11 Apr
    193-
    The passing of Dr. Zíá Bagdádí (b. February 9, 1882, Beirut, Lebanon) in Augusta, Georgia. He was buried in Westover Memorial Park, Augusta, Georgia.
  • Dr. Bagdádí attended the American University of Beirut and graduated as a physician. In September 1909, on 'Abdu'l-Bahá's advice, he moved to Chicago to further his medical studies and soon emerged as a pillar of the Chicago Bahá'í community. A major translator of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's tablets into English and the editor of the Persian pages of Star of the West, he accompanied 'Abdu'l-Bahá on much of His North American travels in 1912. In the year 1929, Dr. Bagdádí wrote a book telling of his birthplace and travels in the Orient under the title, Treasures of the East. He wrote of his experiences in the presence of Bahá'u'lláh as a child.
  • He married Zeenat Khanum who was the daughter of Hasan Aqa Tabrizi, aunt of Ali Nakhjavani who went to the Holy Land to give information relating to the restoration of the house of 'Abdu'llah Pasha. Zeenat's sister was Fatimih Khanum (Ali Nakhjavani's mother) who spent her youth in service to the Greatest Holy Leaf. These two sisters, when they were young girls in 'Akka, nine and eleven years old, were accepted into the household of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. They were married in the first Bahá'í marriage in Montreal, Canada which took place on April 30, 1914. [Bahá'í Chronicles] iiiii
  • In Memoriam; Zia Bagdadi; Bagdadi family (Baghdadi family); Star of the West; Zeenat Khanum; Hasan Aqa Tabrizi; Fatimih Khanum; `Alí Nakhjavání; House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá; American University of Beirut; Restoration; Augusta, GA; United States (USA); Beirut, Lebanon; Lebanon; Montreal, QC; Canada
    1937 25 Mar
    193-
    Shoghi Effendi married Mary Maxwell, Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum. [PP151; UD115; BN No107 April 1937 p1]]
  • For a description of the simple wedding see GBF68–9 and PP151–2.
  • Shoghi Effendi stressed that the marriage drew the Occident and the Orient closer together. [GBF69–70; PP153]
  • The American Bahá'í community sent $19 from each of its 71 Assemblies as a wedding gift. [GBF70; PP153]
  • An extension was built onto Shoghi Effendi's apartment on the roof of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's house in Haifa to accommodate the couple. [BBD107; DH152]
  • See also MA89.
  • * Shoghi Effendi (chronology); Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum; Interracial marriage; Gifts; * Shoghi Effendi, Basic timeline; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Haifa, Israel
    1937 2 Feb
    193-
    The passing of Mary Hanford Finney Ford (b. 1 November, 1856, in Meadville, PA) in Clearwater, FL. She was buried at the Forest Hill Cemetery in Kansas City, MI.
  • She was active in the sufferage movement throughout most of her life.
  • She found the Bahá'í Faith through Sarah Farmer, Green Acre, and Mirza Abu'l-Fadl, and helped form the first community of Bahá'ís in Boston where Louis Bourgeois, future architect of the first Bahá'í House of Worship in the West, then joined the religion.
  • In 1907 she went on pilgrimage where, it is said, 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave her access to teachings not universally given and to Tablets that were not to be copied. [FMH72]
  • In 1910 she published The Oriental Rose: The Teachings of Abdul Baha Which Trace the Chart of "The Shining Pathway"
  • She traveled with `Abdu'l-Bahá during some of his journeys in various places in Europe and then in America.
  • She published The World of Abdul Baha first in 1921 and then three subsequent printings.
  • In the latter part of her life she often traveled to Europe for some months of the year and during this period introduced the Faith to Ugo Giachery. [Wikipedia]
  • Find a grave.
  • Mary Hanford Ford; In Memoriam; Meadville, PA; Clearwater, FL; United States (USA)
    14 Jan
    193-
    Louis and Louise Gregory sailed to Haiti with the assignment to introduce the Faith to prominent Haitians. Although they met with success they were not able to extend their stay.. They were watched by the authorities and undermined by a "high ecclesiastical authority". They were denied permission to hold meetings so they left the country on the 10th of April and returned home via Kingston, Jamaica. [SYH218, 242; TMW246-251]
  • See the report as given by the Inter-America Committee in BN no 109 July 1937 p3-5.
  • Louise Gregory; Louis G. Gregory; Persecution, Haiti; Haiti
    1937 (In the year)
    193-
    The marriage of Ruth Browne and Ellsworth Blackwell in Chicago. Theirs was the second United States inter-racial Bahá'í marriage. [from White and Negro Alike. Stories of Baha'i Pioneers Ellsworth and Ruth Blackwell]

    In a cablegram, in 1939, the Guardian asked American Bahá'ís, "White and Negro alike," to arise and move to foreign lands, especially to countries in the Caribbean and in Central America. Ellsworth and Ruth Blackwell volunteered to give up jobs and leave their home in Chicago and go where the need was greatest. In 1940, they were the first Bahá'í pioneers to move to Haiti, where they spent more than half of the next thirty-five years. Here are stories, many told in their own words, of the victories, as well as the challenges, they experienced in Haiti and in periods when they returned to Chicago between 1940 and 1975.

    Ruth Browne; Ruth Blackwell; Ellsworth Blackwell; Marriage; Interracial marriage; Chicago, IL
    1937 (In the year)
    193-
    Mrs Mabel Ives made an extended trip to Moncton, New Brunswick to teach the Faith. She was assisted by Rosemary Sala of St. Lambert. [TG102, 108] Travel Teaching; Mabel Rice-Wray Ives; Rosemary Sala; Moncton, NB; New Brunswick, Canada; Canada
    1937 (In the year)
    193-
    The persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran continued throughout the country. [BW18p389]
  • Many Bahá'ís employed in the police force, army and government departments were dismissed.
  • Six members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Ahváz were arrested.
  • Bahá'ís who closed their shops on Bahá'í holy days in Bandar Sháh were arrested.
  • All Bahá'í meetings in Kirmánsháh, Bírjand, Arák and other towns were prohibited by police order.
  • Five Bahá'í families were attacked in their homes in Cham-tang, near Hindíyán. They were severely beaten and forced to leave the village.
  • Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; LSA; Holy days; Iran; Ahvaz, Iran; Bandar Shah, Iran; Kirmánsháh, Iran; Bírjand, Iran; Arak, Iran; Cham-tang, Iran
    1937 (In the year)
    193-
    The British Bahá'í Publishing Trust was founded. [BBRSM184; BW9:32; GT138–42] - Publishing Trusts; United Kingdom
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