He was a cultural/linguistic anthropologist and engaging storyteller, wrote numerous nonfiction and fiction books and dramatic works influenced by Bahá'í themes. He served the Faith as a pioneer in Panama, Colombia, Cameroon and Slovakia; strengthened his scholarly pursuits during 13 years in Britain; and worked with various populations in the United States and abroad to preserve cultural heritage.

Among his publications are: A Leaf of Honey and the Proverbs of the Rainforest and A Wayfarer's Guide to Bringing the Sacred Home.

In view of the critical world situation the Universal House of Justice advised the friends to:'

Let them strive to understand more deeply the Teachings that are relevant by reviewing letters of Shoghi Effendi which have been published in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, particularly those entitled "The Goal of a New World Order," "America and the Most Great Peace," and "The Unfoldment of World Civilization."

The relationship between the Harvard Divinity School and the Bahá'í Faith has deep roots. Albert Vail, an early Bahá’í and former Unitarian minister, published an article on the Baha'i Faith in the Harvard Theological Review. Stanwood Cobb, another former Unitarian minister, was an early American Bahá’í and a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School as well. More recently Christopher D. Hampson, graduated in 2016 with both an MTS (Master of Theological Studies Program) from the Divinity School and a JD (Juris Doctor) from Harvard Law School.

The broader connection between the Harvard Divinity School and the Bahá’í Faith is also evident through the sympathy of prominent figures like William James, a Harvard alumnus, who showed sympathy for the Bahá’í Faith and its concept of religious unity.

The Harvard Bahá’í Association, a group of Bahá’ístudents, has been in existence since at least the 1950s.

From the time of the setting of the sun on October 21st in Kiribati, an island republic in the Central Pacific just west of the International Date Line, until sunset in Hawaii on the 22nd of October, 72 hours later, celebrations were held in thousands of localities throughout the world commemorating the 200th anniversary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh.

Coverage on the bicentenary website began soon after 8:00 GMT on 20 October and concluded at 4:00 GMT on 23 October documenting some of the thousands of celebrations. [BWNS1201, BWNS1203, BWNS1205, BWNS1206, BWNS1207, BWNS1208, BWNS1209, BWNS1210, BWNS1211, BWNS1221, BWNS1213, BWNS1214, BWNS1216, BWNS1218]

Travel bans and orders to report daily to a provincial intelligence office were also issued. A number of the Baha'is also received in addition a combined total of 24 years of internal exile—with the individual banishments set for two years.

Many of the 26 sentenced to prison are couples with young children. [BIC News 23 June 2022]

See the conference recommendations and actions.

The Bahá'í International Community released a statement, One Planet, One Habitation: A Bahá'í Perspective on Recasting Humanity's Relationship with the Natural World. The statement underlines the gap between intention and action as one of the central challenges facing humanity and states that the essential principle of humanity's oneness as the only foundation on which sustainable societies can be raised. [BWNS1599]

The statement is available on the BIC statements page and at Bahá'í Library.

Qatar has a long-standing record of discriminating against Bahá’ís, including by deportation, delaying the community’s attempts to reestablish an existing Bahá’í cemetery, and refusing to register marriage certificates issued by elected Bahá’í institutions in Qatar. [Human Rights Watch 15 Aug]

Qatar’s deputy attorney general appealed the sentence on September 7 seeking a longer prison term, the appeal document reviewed by Human Rights Watch revealed. An appeal hearing was held on September 10, with the decision expected on September 17. Court documents show the prosecution lists two grounds for the appeal. The first alleges the court erred in law by linking the offenses with which he was charged, thus treating them as one crime. The prosecutor is asking for Rowhani to be given the maximum sentence for each of three offenses. The prosecution also claims that the offenses constituted an “infringement upon the authority of the State.” The prosecutor requested a “deterrent penalty,” stating that the aim is not only to deter the individual from reoffending, but also the rest of society. Qatari authorities convicted Rowhani despite United Nations experts’ warnings of what they described in July as “a broader and disturbing pattern of disparate treatment of the Bahá’í minority in Qatar.” Qatari authorities have discriminated against members of the Bahá’í faith based solely on their religious identity through deportations and blacklisting. This has resulted in the separation of families and loss of employment and income, delaying the community’s attempts to re-establish an existing Bahá’í cemetery, and rejecting marriage certificates issued by elected Bahá’í institutions in Qatar. Qatar deported as many as 14 members of the group over more than 20 years for no apparent reason other than belonging to the Bahá’í faith. [Human Rights Watch 16 September]

On the 1st of October the Bahá'í International Community announced that Mr Rohani had been acquitted of the charges against him and release. [BIC News; Geneva Council for Rights and Liberties]

Five Baha'is, who had been detained since 2017 and were among the 24 being tried, were present during the court hearing. The Bahá'ís later, for the first time since their original detention, were allowed to meet with their lawyer outside the courtroom. Six officers supervised the meeting as per Judge al-Amdi's decree. The lawyer continued to be denied access to the documents presented to the court by the prosecution. [BIC 28 February 2020; BIC 23 February 2020]

The central foundation of 2,900 square metres was completed in a single concrete pour. It is supported by deep underground piles.

Next the base will be laid for the sloping gardens that will rise from the encircling path to culminate over the spot where the sacred remains of 'Abdu'l-Bahá will rest.

Permits have been obtained for the final stages of construction. [BWNS1454]

She launched a hunger strike at the end of September to protest being denied visits and phone calls from her family. Her family convinced her to end the hunger strike on the 23rd of October. This was one of two hunger strikes she staged during her first term in prison. The other was to protest against the conditions in Evin. [Web Citation]

In January 2011, Iranian authorities sentenced Sotoudeh to 11 years in prison, in addition to barring her from practicing law and from leaving the country for 20 years. Later that year, an appeals court reduced her sentence to six years and her practice ban to ten years in August of 2014. [Wikipedia]

Sotoudeh was released on 18 September 2013 along with ten other political prisoners, days before an address by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to the United Nations. The Iranian authorities have given no reason for her release and no indication of whether it is unconditional. [Amnesty International]

Rowhani was charged under articles 4 and 42(5) of Law No. (15) of 2014 on the Regulation of Charitable Activities for collecting funds in 2013 and 2014 “without permission from the Board [of Directors of the Regulatory Authority for Charitable Activities],” according to court documents reviewed by Human Rights Watch. This law took effect after being published in the country’s official gazette on October 2, 2014. The retrospective application of the penalties under this law contradicts article 40 of Qatar’s constitution and article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

The charges were based on Rowhani’s collection of donations from Bahá'ís in Qatar as part of his role on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Qatar, the Bahá'í International Community (BIC) said. Financial donations are considered a religious obligation (but without pressure or coercion from other Bahá'ís or Bahá'í institutions) and are central to the Bahá'i faith. [Human Right Watch 25 May 2025]

* Abdu'l-Baha: The Mystery – Part 1: Beginnings

* Abdu'l-Baha: The Mystery – Part 2: Master of the Prison City

* Abdu'l-Baha: The Mystery – Part 3: Tumultuous Years

* Abdu'l-Baha: The Mystery – Part 4: Travels in the West

* Abdu'l-Baha: The Mystery – Part 5: The End of the Journey

* Abdu'l-Baha: The Mystery – Part 6: Touching Hearts: Stories of Transformation

A video, Light in a Dark World, made for the occasion, was presented. In the video they enumerated the five principles that enabled the Assembly to govern more effectively. They were 1. using the principles of Bahá'í consultation, 2. turning to the guidance of the Universal House of Justice, 3. collaboration with the institutions of the Counsellors, and drawing on the experience of individual Counsellors, 4. the members of the Assembly's involvement in the work of the Universal House of Justice, and 5. the members of the Assembly championing the decisions of the Assembly itself. [BWNS1708]

The main focus of the evening was a theatrical performance entitled A Life So Noble, which had been inspired by Ruhiyyih Khanum's life. Written by Canadian-born actress/writer Beverley Evans and directed by Annabel Knight, the show took four major aspects of Khanum's life and character and personified them in four women actresses, Maria Friedman, Beverley Evans, Sarah Clive and Kerry-Ann Smith, who told her story using words taken from Ruhiyyih Khanum's own lectures and writings.[BWNS124]

On 3 July 2013, Morsi was deposed by a coup d'état led by the minister of defense General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi. The situation of Egypt's Bahá'í community remained uncertain. The prescriptions of the 1960 Presidential Decree, despite the revolution, had yet to be annulled. This meant that despite the 2009 lifting of the restrictions on identification documents, the Bahá'í Faith still had not received actual recognition as a religion and Bahá'í were frequently subjected to public vilification. It was a period of extreme unrest. It is estimated that between Sisi's overthrow of Morsi and the 2014 presidential elections, an estimated 20,000 activists and dissidents were arrested by the police under the interim government. El-Sisi went on to become Egypt's president by popular election in 2014.

Independent Iranian news sources reported that Mahvash Sabet Shahriari was said to have had her knees injured while under interrogation by officials in Evin jail. Evin prison is often called the "world's worst prison". It has a reputation for its inhumane living conditions, where inmates are subjected to daily whippings, beatings and torture. Former inmates have previously spoken about the barbaric horrors they witnessed while in Evin- including electrocution, rape, torture and executions. [Daily Mail 11 April 2023]

IranWire received an audio file from Faezeh Hashemi, a political activist and daughter of late President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, herself jailed in Evin but briefly released on a leave of absence, spoke about her cellmates. "Mahvash recounts that during an interrogation the interrogator kicked the chair from under her and, since she was facing the wall, her knees hit the wall. Now, they have X-rayed her in prison and told her that the bones in her knees are broken. She is in such a condition, 70 years old, innocent and in prison only because she is a Baha'i," Hashemi said in the recording. People close to Fariba and Mahvash believe that the delay in transferring Mahvash to the women's ward was most likely because of her broken knees, since interrogators wanted to keep it a secret and kept her in solitary confinement until she could walk. [IranWire 31 July 2023]

To illustrate:
-Sexist and misogynistic terms saw an 11 per cent increase compared to the previous month, reaching 410,000 instances across social media platforms.
-Monarchist-affiliated hashtags also featured prominently in this content.
-Nearly 3,000 anti-Christian posts were published in Persian cyberspace in December, reflecting a 50 percent increase from the prior month. The most notable spike occurred during Christmas celebrations.
-Anti-Semitic rhetoric persisted as well, with over 23,000 posts targeting Jews in December. These narratives often echoed broader government-backed themes of international conspiracy.
-Zoroastrians were also targeted, with 2,300 posts monitored,
-The Sunni Muslim community was targeted with some 3,200 posts.
-Hate speech against Bahá'ís remained ingrained in Iranian state media and social media, with at least 2,500 posts monitored in December. Reports from Mehr News and Mashregh were two examples of anti-Bahá'í propaganda. One Mehr report celebrated the actions of a cleric, Mahdi Shahverdi, who reportedly travels across the country to counter “covert activities” by Bahá'ís. Another story in Mashregh attempted to link the Bahá'ís in Iran with a recent YouTube concert given by Pasatoo Ahmadi, in which the female singer appeared unveiled. [IranWire 10Jan25]

The challenge for the Bahá'í Community was the lack of legal recognition, which created difficulties for Moroccan Bahá'ís with regard to the personal status system. [Yabiladi]

Mr. Ben Moussa of the Bahá'í Office of External Affairs expressed the opinion that new notions of citizenship must be based on inclusivity and not exclusivity, stating: "Societies have historically been built hierarchically: believer and nonbeliever, free person and slave, man and women. As a result, many segments of society have not been able to contribute to public life. In such an environment, a society is not able to reach its potential. [BWNS1476]

They said that this process had been approved and adopted over the two previous years. [Paragraph 32]

The Bahá'í community of Qatar and the BIC have previously raised these cases with Qatari officials and Qatar's National Human Rights Committee. The authorities have alleged without evidence to UN Special Rapporteurs and diplomats, who had raised concerns, that these cases are unrelated to each other and had each been a national security concern. [BIC Video Statement; BIC News 31Mar21]

The latest government crackdown, which intensified following the Israel-Iran conflict in June 2025, has involved arbitrary arrests, interrogations, unjust convictions, and imprisonments, as well as property confiscations. Between June and November 2025, the BIC documented more than 750 persecutory acts across Iran, three times the number recorded during the same period in 2024. These incidents include over 200 raids on homes and businesses, followed by interrogations, resulting in the detention and arrest of at least 110 Bahá'ís. Revolutionary Courts held hearings for more than 100 individuals and issued new sentences against Bahá'ís, each ranging from two to ten years in prison. At least 45 people were summoned to begin serving their prison sentences during this period. Among those imprisoned are mothers who have been separated from their young children. [BIC News 10 December 2025; BIC News 18 December 2025; Human Rights Watch 10 December 2025]

The Bahá'í­ International Community, with international headquarters in Haifa, Israel, had over 5 million members in approximately 17,000 organized local communities in 235 countries and territories. They are organized as 182 national (or regional) affiliates (associations). Affiliates as of December 2001 are as follows:

Africa: Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Repbulic, Chad, Congo Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Réunion, Rwanda, Sao Tomé-Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Europe: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.

America: Antigua-Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Greenland, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela.

Pacific: Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Mariana Islands, Marshall Island, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

Asia: Bahrain, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea Republic, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos PDR, Lebanon, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Yemen Republic. [Quadrennial Report to the UN Economic & Social Council (ECOSOC) 1998-2001 BIC Statement 1 June 2002]

Note: The text says "182 national (or regional) affiliates (associations)" but a count of the above comes to 178. Alaska (NSA 1957), Hawaii (NSA 1964), the Canary Islands (NSA 1984), and Andaman and Nicobar (NSA 1984) have not been listed.

Beth, a teacher by training, has taught English in Arizona, China, Japan, and Sakhalin Island, then pioneered to Nunavut where she, among many other things, started a painting project, "The Arctic Youth Art initiative," which has reached youth in many Inuit settlements and led to her winning this award.

Participants in Core Activities: 2016 approx 333,000          2021 2,000,000

Number of National and Regional Training Institutes in Operation:      2021 329

Number of participants who have complete at least one book in the sequence:      2021 750,000

Number of courses completed by participants in the main sequence of courses: 2016 approx. 666,666     2021 2,000,000

Number of Clusters with an Intensive Program of Growth:      2021 approx. 4,000

Number of Cluster that have passed the third milestone: 2016 20 in 40 countries          2021 1,000 in nearly 100 countries. [Riḍván Message 2021]

She first encountered the Faith on board a ship from fellow passengers, Martin and Gerda Aiff and their children, who where on their way to Windhoek. She retuned to Germany after three years and accepted the Faith in about April of 1963 and after the opening of the Frankfurt Temple in the summer of 1964 she returned to Windhoek, eventually settling in Elizabeth Bay where she served by teaching children's classes. After four years he returned to Germany and locate in Ulm. While preparing to return to Windhoek she received the news of her appointment as an Auxiliary Board Member.

In 1971 she pioneered to Manaia, Romania where she worked as a tourist guide for 4 1/2 seasons. She did international travel teaching in Korea, Thailand, Rangoon, where she visited Daidanaw, known as Àbdu'l-Bahá's Village. [information from "Thursday Night@7PM" 7 December 2023]

When Shoghi Effendi was interred in November 1957 London's Great Northern Cemetery (since renamed New Southgate Cemetery) was larger than it is now. Over the years parts were sold off for development, and it was in response to this process that a sizeable portion around the Guardian's Resting Place was subsequently bought for the Faith so that it could be preserved and developed suitably. The cemetery opened a new entrance and the one through which the Guardian's funeral cortege passed fell into disuse. The gates and pillars of this entrance were purchased by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom, acting on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, and a long process to have them reinstalled in a more suitable place came to fruition in 1998. [Reference links no longer in existence.]

Approximately 7,100 articles have been published in print or online in the Encyclopedia of Iranica after four decades. If one includes cross-reference, the total of entries would be over 9,000.

In 1990, Professor Yarshater established the Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation to ensure the continuation of this comprehensive scholarly work. He was the Foundation's President until his passing at the age of 98 in 2018.

Columbia University and the Encyclopædia Iranica became involved in two lawsuits: In the first, Columbia University asked the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York to rule that Columbia owned the copyright of Encyclopedia of Iranica. In the second the EIF accused Columbia university of infringing Iranica's copyrights and misusing their trademarks. A year later, in July 2020, the court granted the EIF a temporary restraining order to prevent Columbia from using the "Encyclopaedia Iranica" name connected with its publications. As a result, Columbia University had to stop publishing facsimile 6 of Volume XVI of the encyclopedia. The restraining order was lifted in October 2020.

The ruling by the New York court not only granted the Yarshater Center at Columbia University the right to publish Encyclopaedia Iranica but by implication viewed Columbia as the legitimate holder of Iranica's copyright. The legal battle continues. [Radio Maneh]

Note: Al-Shari 'newspaper is an independent newspaper publishing since 2007 in Sana'a. In 2015 it was forced to stop publishing due to harassment and threats received by the Houthi militia and resumed its daily publication from Aden. [Arab News 20/11/2020; Iran Wire 22NOV20]

Most of the Baha'i homes in Ivel have been unoccupied since their residents fled after previous incidents of violence or as a result of official displacement. In 2007, for example, six of their houses were torched. in 1983, a few years after the Iranian revolution, at least 30 families from this and neighboring villages were put on buses and expelled. Persistent government attacks on Baha'is in all the mass media – along with inaction by local officials to protect them – have continued to incite hatred against the Bahá'ís in the region and throughout Iran. [BWNS780; BWNS782; Iran Press Watch 6202]

Qatar’s government has discriminated against Bahá'ís in Qatar for decades, with hundreds of people harmed by a pattern of punishment and discriminatory policies. The government has deported as many as 14 members of the group for no apparent reason other than individuals belonging to the Bahá'í faith in cases Human Rights Watch documented from 2003 to 2025. Qatari authorities have also previously terminated the employment of a Bahá'í member and refused to grant a certificate of good conduct, which is required for employment in Qatar, to four members of the group.

Islam is Qatar’s official religion. And while the Qatari constitution guarantees freedom to practice religious rites, Qatari authorities have discriminated against the Bahá'í minority in the country in administrative and legal matters. A high-ranking Qatari religious figure told one of the now-deported Bahá'ís that if he announced his conversion to Sunni Islam, he could “make the deportation go away.”

In addition to the deportations, officials have delayed the community’s attempts to reestablish an existing Bahá'í cemetery and refused to accept marriage certificates issued by elected Bahá'í institutions in Qatar. Bahá'ís have also faced discrimination elsewhere in the region, including the crime against humanity of persecution in Iran and other forms of repression in Egypt and Yemen. [News Release 25 May 2025]

Here you will find information on The Guardian's Resting Place and directions to the Southgate Cemetery.

“Since the establishment in 2005 of the International Board of Trustees, assuming the responsibilities of the Chief Trustee, the institution of the trusteeship of Ḥuqúqu’lláh has evolved rapidly. Notably, the membership of the International Board of Trustees has increased from three to seven; its term of service—as well as that of the members of the National and Regional Boards—has been extended from three to five years; and with the able support of the Office of Ḥuqúqu’lláh in the Holy Land, the International Board oversees the work of a worldwide network of National and Regional Boards, Deputy Trustees, and Representatives. Given these developments, and since there is no longer a Chief Trustee, members of the National and Regional Boards, previously referred to as Deputy Trustees, will henceforth be known simply as Trustees.”

Objectives:

For AFRICA (20 Counsellors): Izzat Abumba Mionda, Mariama Ousmane Djaouga, Alain Pierre Djoulde, Augustino Ibrahim, Mati Issoufou, Hamed Javaheri, Musonda Kapusa-Linsel (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Linet Nafula Kisaka, Townshend Lihanda, Makoena Martha Masha, Judicaël Mokolé, Amélia Mujinga Ngandu, Nsika Mutasa, Justave Ndjibu Kapenga, Mélanie Ngalula Muambangu, Michael Okiria, Nana Yaw Otu-Ansah, Nancy Oloro Robarts, Djamila Tchakréo, Annie Yohari Kingombe

For THE AMERICAS (21 Counsellors): Vafa William Akhtar-Khavari, José Luis Almeida, Sonya Appadoo, Ayafor Temengye Ayafor, Louis Boddy, Natasha Bruss, Brígida Carrillo, Ingrid Umpierre Conter, Blas Cruz Martínez, Daniel Duhart, Farah Guchani-Rosenberg, Badi Hernandez, Nazanin Ho, Irene Iturburo, Jasmine Miller-Kleinhenz, Borna Noureddin (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Wedzer Saintea, Pejman Samoori, Bernardino Sánchez, William Silva, Margarita Valdez Martínez

For ASIA (27 Counsellors): Yam Prasad Acharya, Vafa David Amirkia, Bhavna Anbarasan, Walid Ayyash, Marijini Deraoh, Gulnara Eyvazova, Shareen Farhad, Rahul Kumar, Nicholas Loh, Parimal Mahato, Tarrant Matthew Mahony, Uttam Mitra, Fares Naimi, Melonna Jane Montalban Njang, Rasha Oflazoğlu, Thi Thuc Quynh Ho, Zafar Rahimov, Foad Reyhani (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Hesham Saad, Niroshini Saleh, Omid Seioshanseian, Oxana Shulga, Dregpal Singh, Sadhu Ram Tamang, Fang Jung Tseng Chung, Lyazzat Yangaliyeva, Ozoda Zoidova

For AUSTRALASIA (10 Counsellors): Bob Ale, Latai ‘Atoa, Bererin Barnabas, Julie Joekari, Kirk Johnson, Taraz Nadarajah, Daniel Pierce Olam, Vahid Saberi (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Jeffrey Sabour, Reena Torabi

For EUROPE (12 Counsellors): Faina Berger, Marina Bruckmann, Raffaella Capozzi Gubinelli, Orlando Ravelo Hernández, Varqá Khadem (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Ana-Maria Marian, Puria Mahally, Veronika Medvedeva, Hedyeh Nadafi-Stoffel, Navid Sabet, Alexis Semple, Shirin Youssefian Maanian

The following believers, now being relieved of the duties of membership on the Boards of Counsellors, have earned our abiding gratitude for their sacrificial contributions to the progress of the Cause: Jamil Aliyev, Ritia Kamauti Bakineti, Beatriz Carmona, Nadera Fikri, Kam Mui Fok Sayers, Agatha Sarinoda Gaisie-Nketsiah, Sonlla Heern, Nwandi Ngozi Lawson, Ada Micheline Leonce Ferdinand, Sabà Mazza, Jalal Rodney Mills, Maina Mkandawire, Myint Zaw Oo, Yevgeniya Poluektova, Arthur Powell, Sokuntheary Reth, Artin Rezaie, Mehdi Rezvan, Kessia Ruh, Tessa Scrine, Zebinisso Soliyeva, Ircham Sujadmiko, Jacques Tshibuabua Kabuya, Paul Verheij. [UK BAhá'í News 15 October 2025]

No date was set for the the conclusion of the project but it was recognized that the accident will cause a substantial delay. No increase in donations to the project will be required. [4 July 2022]

In these days truthfulness and sincerity are sorely afflicted in the clutches of falsehood, and justice is tormented by the scourge of injustice.

as well as:

...thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbour.

They encouraged us to rely on science and the independent investigation of truth but not to let differing opinions among the believers lead to division. [11 February 2021]

Those appointed were:
For AFRICA (19 Counsellors): Selam Ahderom (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Ramchand Coonjul, Mariama Ousmane Djaouga, Maziar Djoneidi, Clément Thyrell Feizouré, Agatha Gaisie-Nketsiah, Kini Musalo Geoghegan, Amina Jaouane, Townshend Lihanda, Sehla Masunda, Katalayi Mbombo, Maina Mkandawire, Aggrey Zeyazi Munubi, Zowé Tiba Nganyadé, Albert Nshisu Nsunga, Helen Otia, Ahmad Parsa, Christopher Kiprotich Songok, Tiati à Zock

For THE AMERICAS (19 Counsellors): José Luis Almeida, Ann Boyles, Ronny Brenes, Beatriz Carmona, Daniel Duhart, Jorge Henrique Guerreiro (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Ana Hilda de Lemus, Alison Milston, Borna Noureddin, Garth Pollock, Ganesh Ramsahai, Carmen Elisa de Sadeghian, Pejman Samoori, Bernardino Sánchez, Daniel Scott, Navid Serrano, Leticia de Solano, Anita Vandella Williams, Holly Woodard

For ASIA (20 Counsellors): Jamil Aliyev, Enkhdelger Banzragch, Jabbar Eidelkhani, Bijan Farid, Nadera Fikri, Gloria Javid, Lee Lee Loh Ludher, Tarrant Matthew Mahony, Khumukcham Satish Meetei, Delafruz Nassimova, Lori McLaughlin Noguchi, Khursheda Porsayeva, Foad Reyhani (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Rajan Sawant, Omid Seioshanseian, Zebiniso Solieva, George Soraya, Ircham Hadi Sujadmiko, Mehranguiz Farid Tehrani, Myint Zaw Oo

For AUSTRALASIA (11 Counsellors): Sohayla Asari, Ritia Kamauti Bakineti, Soheyla Bolouri, Kirk Johnson, Dinesh Kumar-Mills, Jalal Rodney Mills, U’ileiuluwehi Pimental, Kessia Aisoli Ruh, Tessa Scrine, Henry Tamashiro, Alan Wilcox (Trustee of the Continental Fund)

For EUROPE (12 Counsellors): Naisan Azimi, Uta von Both (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Olga Daradur, Antonella Demonte, Andrej Donoval, Aistė Elijio, Shirin Fozdar-Foroudi, Zoraida García Garro, Saba Khabirpour, Bernard Lo Cascio, Firouzeh Moghbel-Naderi, Paul Verheij

The following believers, were relieved of the duties of membership on the Boards of Counsellors: Farzin Aghdasi, Eugene S. Andrews, Fadel Ardakani, Fevziye Baki, Nidavanur Baskaran, Beatrice Benson, Desmond Godfrey Browne, David Chittleborough, Irene Chung, Vivien Craig, Olga Daynovskaya, Ehsanollah Hemmat, David Huang, Nadia Jaberi-Koppold, Eric Kingston, Deborah Kirton, Eddy Lutchmaya, Enos Makhele, Antônio Gabriel Marques Filho, Tsatsi Othaniel Mfete, Ruth Amos Mnyampi, Hannu Tapani Olkkonen, Jaya Gopan Ramasamy, Lateef Rasheed, Manijeh Reyhani, İlhan Sezgin, Crystal Baker Shoaie, Marilyn Smith, Rodrigo Tomás, Gerardo Vargas, Robin White, Fereidoun Yazdani, Sohrab Youssefian. [Mess2001-2022p325

They were:
For AFRICA (18 Counsellors): Melanie Bangala, Mariama Ousmane Djaouga, Alain Pierre Djoulde, Clement Thyrell Feizoure, Agatha Gaisie-Nketsiah, Maty Issoufou, Musonda Kapusa-Linsel (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Townshend Lihand Sehla Masunda, Maina Mkandawire, Judicael Mokole, Aggrey Zeyazi Munubi, Albert Nshisu Nsunga, Ahmad Parsa, Iharinirina Rakotomavo, Nancy Oloro Robarts, Christopher Kiprotich Songok, Djamila Tchakreo
For THE AMERICAS (19 Counsellors): Jose Luis Almeida, Ronny Brenes (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Beatriz Carmona, Brigida Carrillo, Ingrid Umpierre Conter, Daniel Duhart, Farah Guchani-Rosenberg, Sonlla Heern, Nwandi Ngozi Lawson, Borna Noureddin, Arthur Powell, Carmen Elisa de Sadeghian, Pejman Samoori, Bernardino Sanchez, Navid Serrano, Mark Sisson, Raul Taboada, Shabnam Tashakour, Holly Woodard
For ASIA (22 Counsellors): Jamil Aliyev, Vugar Alizadeh, Walid Ayyash, Jabbar Eidelkhani, Shareen Farhad, Nadera Fikri, Kam Mui Sayers Fok, Gloria Javid, Lee Lee Loh Ludher, Tarrant Matthew Mahony, Nibras Sarmad Moqbel, Delafruz Nassimova, Myint Zaw Oo, Sokuntheary Reth, Foad Reyhani (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Hesham Saad, Rajan Sawant, Omid Seioshanseian, Dregpal Singh, Zebinisso Soliyeva, Ircham Sujadmiko, Fang Jung Tseng Chung
For AUSTRALASIA (10 Counsellors): Ritia Kamauti Bakineti, Nadia Fifita, Kirk Johnson, Dinesh Kumar-Mills, Jalal Rodney Mills, Taraz Nadarajah, Daniel Pierce, Kessia Ruh, Tessa Scrine (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Henry Tamashiro
For EUROPE (12 Counsellors): Naisan Azimi, Raffaella Capozzi Gubinelli, Olga Daradur, Aiste Elijio, Shirin Fozdar-Foroudi, Zoraida Garcia Garro, Bernard Lo Cascio (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Saba Mazza, Yevgeniya Poluektova, Mehdi Rezvan, Amir Saberin, Paul Verheij
The following believers, were relieved of the duties of membership on the Boards of Counsellors:
Selam Ahderom, Sohayla Asari, Enkhdelger Banzragch, Soheyla Bolouri, Uta von Both, Ann Boyles, Maziar Djoneidi, Bijan Farid, Amina Jaouane, Saba Khabirpour, Ana Hilda de Lemus, Katalayi Mbombo, Firouzeh Moghbel-Naderi, Zowe Tiba Nganyade, Lori McLaughlin Noguchi, Helen Otia, U'ileiuluwehi Pimental, Khursheda Porsayeva, Ganesh Ramsahai, Leticia Iturburo Rivadeneira, Daniel Scott, George Soraya, Alan Wilcox, Anita Vandella Williams, Tiati a Zock [Mess2001-2022p550-550]

For AFRICA (19 Counsellors): Selam Ahderom, Desmond Browne, Maziar Djoneidi, Mehraz Ehsani (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Clément Thyrrell Feizouré, Agatha Gaisie-Nketsiah, Isatou Hyde-Forster, Amina Jaouane, Sinuhé Lozano, Eddy Lutchmaya, Enos Makhele, Tsatsi Othaniel Mfete, Maina Mkandawire, Ruth Mnyampi, Zowe Tiba Nganyade, Albert Nshisu Nsunga, Ahmad Parsa, Garth Pollock, Tiati à Zock.

For THE AMERICAS (19 Counsellors): Farzin Aghdasi, Eugene Andrews, Stephen Birkland, Ann Boyles, Jorge Henrique Guerreiro, Ehsanollah Hemmat, Deborah Kirton, Ana Hilda de Lemus, Antônio Gabriel Marques, Juan Francisco Mora, Rebequa Murphy, Ganesh Ramsahai, Carmen Elisa de Sadeghian, Daniel Scott, Crystal Shoaie, Marilyn Smith, Leticia de Solano, Rodrigo Tomás (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Gerardo Vargas.

For ASIA (19 Counsellors): Fadel Ardakani, Uransaikhan Baatar, Nidavanur Baskaran, Irene Chung, Jabbar Eidelkhani, Bijan Farid, David Huang (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Lee Lee Ludher, Tarrant Mahony, Delafruz Nassimova, Lori Noguchi, Jaya Gopan Ramasamy, Lateef Rasheed, Foad Reyhani, Ayman Rouhani, Omid Seioshanseian, Payam Shoghi, George Soraya, Mehranguiz Tehrani.

For AUSTRALASIA (11 Counsellors): Kessia Aisoli Ruh, Beatrice Benson, Soheyla Bolouri, David Chittleborough (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Eric Kingston, Jalal Mills, Manijeh Reyhani, Henry Tamashiro, Robin White, Alan Wilcox, Fereidoun Yazdani.

For EUROPE (13 Counsellors): Naisan Azimi, Fevziye Baki, Uta von Both (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Vivien Craig, Olga Dainovskaia, Emilio Egea, Shirin Fozdar-Foroudi, Nadia Jaberi-Koppold, Saba Khabirpour, Firouzeh Moghbel-Naderi, Hannu Tapani Olkkonen, Ilhan Sezgin, Sohrab Youssefian.

The following believers were relieved of the duties of membership on the Boards of Counsellors: Beth Allen, George Allen, Eloy Anello, Beatrice Asare, Asfaw Tessema, Donald Blanks, Alla Borets, Niaz Bushrui, Irma Nelly Dooki, Kobina Fynn, Ibrahim Galadima, Abdu’l-Missagh Ghadirian, Elena Gruzkova, Angélica Huerta, Humaida Jumalon, Moussa Kamaye, Hervé Masrour, Catherine Monajjem, Paul Öjermark, Mu¥ammad Otmani, Arturo Serrano, Heather Simpson, David Smith, Zena Sorabjee, Nosrat Tirandaz, Nicola Towfigh, Rosalie Tran, Larissa Tsutskova, Erama Ugaia, Dorothy Whyte, Ivo Zerbes, Antoinette Ziehi. [Mess2001-2022p109(pdf)]