The new report was prepared by the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran, in partnership with Eleos Justice at Monash University, a think tank created and directed by Mai Sato, the new UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Iran. The report focuses on violence perpetrated against the Bahá'í community since the Baha’i Faith emerged in 1844, by documenting three forms of violence as described by sociologist Johan Galtung; direct, structural and cultural, showing them to be part of the Iranian government’s systematic effort to eliminate the Bahá'í religious minority from society.

One major finding of the report, however, is that the Iranian population has increasingly “resisted” the policy of discrimination against the Bahá'í community. There appears to have been a shift in public attitudes toward Bahá'ís from contempt and avoidance around the time of the Revolution to increasing indifference, acceptance and even support of the Bahá'í community. [BIC News 11NOV24]

In September 2021, the Secretary-General responded with his report, Our Common Agenda, a wake-up call to speed up the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and propel the commitments contained in the UN75 Declaration. In some cases, the proposals addressed gaps that had emerged since 2015, requiring new intergovernmental agreements. The report, therefore, called for a Summit of the Future to forge a new global consensus on readying for a future that is rife with risks but also opportunities. The General Assembly welcomed the submission of the "rich and substantive" report and agreed to hold the Summit on 22-23 September 2024, preceded by a ministerial meeting in 2023. An action-oriented Pact for the Future is expected to be agreed by Member States through intergovernmental negotiations on issues they decide to take forward. [Road to the Summit of the Future]

Jimmy Seals and Dash Crofts were pop-rock troubadours in the ‘70s famous for songs such as “Summer Breeze,” “Diamond Girl,” “We May Never Pass This Way (Again),” and “Get Closer.” Their deep connection to the Baha’i Faith made them the only American musicians who caused thousands to join an organized religion, and their lyrics frequently explored mystical concepts. Their exquisite vocal blend and their guitar and mandolin counterpoint generated a huge following and the respect of peer musicians, as they went from small town roots in Texas to filling stadiums in their heyday. Seals & Crofts had an extended family of musicians who contributed road stories, songwriting insight and personal reflections over decades of struggles, setbacks and ultimately the breakthrough success of “Summer Breeze.” Jimmy and Dash were polar opposites but their shared values and unlikely mesh of talents forged a unique sound, aided by their legendary Wrecking Crew producer, Louie Shelton. Seals & Crofts: Chronicles of a Summer Breeze is not a typical expose’ of sex, drugs, or even hard core rock and roll. It is a story of two musicians who shared a lifetime of another sort of adventures. The book details their incredible happenstance to join a Top 40 instrumental band as teenagers, years of paying dues, finding their calling, surviving the controversy of a politically charged hit single, trying their hand at disco, and fading into the background of an 80’s music scene, only to re-emerge as vanguards of the Baha’i Faith. This is their story.

The Bahá'í International Community release a statement titled Embracing Interdependence: Foundations for a World in Transition, which highlighte the imperative for the international community to place humanity’s interdependence at the heart of the systems of global governance.

The BIC statement can be viewed here.

The raid last year prompted repeated calls by the international community for the release of the detained Bahá'ís. In August 2023 six members of the United Nations Security Council “deplored” the detentions and more recently, in May, a powerful coalition of United Nations Special Rapporteurs, European parliamentarians, ambassadors, international human rights organizations, and a Nobel laureate addressed the matter alongside the #FreeYemeniBahá'ís campaign online. Several Yemeni tribal leaders and religious figures also played a major role in the release of the Bahá'í detainees. [BIC News 20 August 2024; BSNS1746]

The presentations were:

The message contained details of the treatment of 47 women. They pointed out that over the last year that two-thirds of all Bahá'í prisoners in Iran have been women and that a significant number were being held without due process and their whereabouts were unknown. Many of the victims have been mothers of young children and that they have had to endure the harsh conditions of solitary confinement, frequent interrogations, inadequate medical attention, and restricted family contact.

They called on the government of Iran to provide additional information of the 47 cases mentioned, as well as legal grounds for the steps taken against them and updates on their individual health. They also called for an end to the discrimination against Bahá'í citizens in Iran.

On 25 May 2023, armed Huthi forces stormed a peaceful gathering of Baha’is in a private residence in Sana’a and arbitrarily detained 17 people, including five women. They forcibly disappearedthem for around four months until their families learned they were being held at Huthi-run security and intelligence detention centres in Sana’a. Between June 2023 and June 2024, 13 individuals including Abdullah al-Olofi and all five women were released following international pressure. The four remaining Bahá'ís continued to be held without charge and were denied their right to legal counsel.

Since 2015, Amnesty International has documented the cases of at least 100 members of the Bahá'í faith in Yemen, who have been detained by the Huthi de facto authorities and subjected to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, torture and ill-treatment and denied fair trial rights. [Amnesty International 27 May 2021; Posted on X by @BahaiBIV 22 June 2024]

Other related stories: BWNS1733; BWNS1732; BWNS1713; BWNS1524; BWNS1688

See as well In Conversation: Stories from temple dedication in Papua New Guinea.

A summary of the report is available in English and in Farsi.

A website has been established and they have a YouTube and a Facebook presence as well.

This book follows the story of the ‘Adasíyyih community, a farming village established by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá , in what is now Jordan. Bahá'ís from Iran settled there and transformed a degraded parcel of land into the site of a thriving farm and prosperous community whose residents embodied the Bahá'í teachings. It was this farming village— along with several others in the region of the Galilee— that produced a surplus of crops, which enabled ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to keep famine at bay for so many people during World War I, a feat that would earn Him a knighthood from the British Empire. In time, ‘Adasíyyih would become a model village for Jordanians, and Jordan’s royalty would become frequent guests. Author Paul Hanley’ s extensive research, along with his deep interest in agricultural systems, provides a fascinating glimpse at this remarkable history and the lessons that can be applied to current agroecological efforts.

See also interview on Bahá'í Blog.

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 statement detailed a range of new and ever harsher methods the authorities are using to persecute the Bahá'ís. The methods include home raids and searches, arrests, trials, prison terms, land and property confiscations, hate speech, the denial of education, and the denial of burial rights and of basic citizenship rights. The principal goal of these new tactics, the Bahá'í International Community believes, is to sow fear and confusion, to disenfranchise and further impoverish Baha'is, to prolong the harassment of individuals, and to instill feelings of uncertainty and thus rob all Baha'is of peace and security in their daily lives.

It bears a similarity to the Lawḥ-i-Qarn (Tablet of the Centennial) that Shoghi Effendi sent to the Bahá'ís of Iran to commemorate the Centenary of the Faith in 1944.

Ms. Mohammadi was unable to attend and her 17-year-old twin children, Kiana Rahmani and Ali Rahmani, instead accepted medal and diploma on her behalf and read out a speech she had prepared. [New York Times 10 December 2023]

In September 2022 a young Kurdish woman, Mahsa Jina Amini, was killed while in the custody of the Iranian morality police. Her killing triggered the largest political demonstrations against Iran's theocratic regime since it came to power in 1979. Under the slogan "Woman – Life – Freedom", hundreds of thousands of Iranians took part in peaceful protests against the authorities' brutality and oppression of women. The regime cracked down hard on the protests: more than 500 demonstrators were killed. Thousands were injured, including many who were blinded by rubber bullets fired by the police. At least 20,000 people were arrested and held in regime custody. [Nobel Prize]

Mohammadi's husband, Taghi Rahmani, said at a press conference in Oslo that she would undertake the hunger strike as a gesture of support for the Bahá'í religious minority. [Yahoo News 10 December 2023] .

Hend Bint Abalrahman Al-Muftah, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations office in Geneva, and head of delegation,Hend Bint Abalrahman Al-Muftah, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the United Nations office in Geneva, and head of delegation, responded by stating that "The State did not consider religion when determining whether to provide residency or not, the delegation said. No person of Baha'i faith or other faiths were deported unless they unlawfully stayed in Qatar." [OHCHR website]

Mavis Cox was a distinguished pioneer from the Caribbean city of Moruga, Trinidad and Tobago. She journeyed to Africa in 1955, immediately after becoming a Bahá'í while in Harlem, in Upper Manhattan, New York City. This video was recorded on her 94th Birthday in 2016 while she narrated her history and sojourn in Eastern Africa. In the 80's into the early 2000's, she was in charge of the Kilifi Bahá'í Institute at the Coastal region of Kenya and later moved to Nairobi where she served the Kenyan Bahá'í Community in many capacities. Her life is a legacy of absolute resilience, dedicated service and obedience to the Centre of the Covenant. [From Trinidad to Africa With Faith ----The Story of Mavis Cox Changawa]

The British Bahá'í community has been in existence since 1899 and its elected national leadership council, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles (later the United Kingdom), was first elected in 1923. Although a number of monographs, articles and biographies have appeared over the years, no overall survey of the community's history has yet been published. The Bahá'í Community of the British Isles, 1844–1963 is an attempt to fill some of the gap.

Website.

Mr. Khanjani's arrest comes days after two other Bahá'í women and former Yaran members, Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi, received confirmation of their 10-year prison terms which were upheld this week on appeal. A fourth member of the Yaran, Afif Naimi was also arrested a year ago and has recently received a seven-year jail term. His brother, Enoyatollah, was sentenced to 18 years in prison by Judge Morteza Barati of the Isfahan Revolutionary Court, 10 years for "organizing a group or association aimed at undermining national security" and to five years in prison for "propaganda against the regime". If the verdict is upheld by the appeals court,Naimi must serve the maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. The court also sentenced him to a fine of 50 million tomans and deprived him of his civil rights for 15 years. [Iranwire 15 may 2023]

On December 13, HRANA reported authorities had released Afif Naimi from prison. [US State Department 2022 Report on International Religious Freedom: Iran]

Nine other Bahá'ís were also arrested on the same day as Mr Khanjani. They are the owners and employees of a number of pharmacy businesses, which were sealed and shut down by the authorities. They have been accused of disrupting pharmaceutical supplies. In the face of growing solidarity between the Bahá'ís and the general population the government is trying to drive a wedge by calling these legitimate Bahá'í-owned trading businesses "hoarders". These new arrests have taken the number of Bahá'ís arrested or imprisoned in recent weeks to almost 60 incidents. During the same period, over 26 Bahá'ís also received sentences for jail terms that could begin at any time. Further, 18 Bahá'ís have faced interrogations. Fifty-nine Bahá'í-owned businesses were reported to have been sealed by the authorities and the homes of nine others were raided and searched. The brutal crackdown is reminiscent of August last year, where over 300 incidents of persecution against the Bahá'ís occurred in one month alone. [BIC News 16 August 2023; HRANA]

A source close to Sabet's family revealed that Sabet, aged 70, is battling multiple illnesses that have been aggravated by her prolonged imprisonment. Over the past few months, she has faced several hospitalizations. [Iran Press Watch 11 August 2-23]

They, along with fellow former member of the "Yaran", Mr Afif Naimi, had been arrested on the 31st of July at the outset of the summer crackdown. [BIC News 18 November 2022]

Subsequently one man and three women were released in June and two men in July. [Amnesty International 8 August 2023]

The BIC invited people around the world, whether as artists, musicians, filmmakers, or in other creative areas, to pay tribute in their name. Contributions included: songs about the 10 women, short videos about their lives, a memory of the women themselves, graphic arts, written work, social media posts, or public events and memorials, to honour the longstanding struggle and efforts towards gender equality in Iran.

Details about the 10 women and a recounting of the story of their arrest and public execution can be found here.

Please see BIC News 1 August 2023 for a complete report.

On the 12th of September 2023 the US House of Representatives has passed a resolution about the Bahá'ís in Iran with 28 congressional co-sponsors—an unprecedented number of co-sponsors among congressional resolutions on the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran for at least 20 years. House Resolution 492, was introduced by Illinois Congresswoman, Jan Schakowsky. It follows Ms. Schakowsky's strong support for the ongoing #OurStoryIsOne campaign, launched in June of this year where she initially announced this bill. The campaign began in honour of the 40th anniversary of the execution of 10 Baha'i women in Shiraz for their beliefs. The Baha'i International Community dedicated the campaign and the anniversary to all women in Iran who continue to struggle for the cause of gender equality.

The resolution begins with the execution of the 10 women, stating, "[w]hereas June 18, 2023, marks the 40th anniversary of the execution of 10 Bahá'í women by the Iranian Government each witnessing the hanging of those hanged before her in a final failed attempt to induce abandonment of their faith after over 6 months of imprisonment and violent abuse, with the youngest only 17 years old."

It further condemns the "violation of the International Covenants on Human Rights," calling on the Iranian government to "immediately release Baha'is and others imprisoned or detained solely on account of religion, end its state-sponsored campaign of hate propaganda against the Bahá'ís, and reverse policies that discriminate against Bahá'ís and other religious minorities. [GlobeNewswire 12 September 2023; Iran Press Watch 15 September 2023]

The film can be viewed on YouTube. There are plans to release subtitled versions in Arabic, French, Russian, and Spanish. A version with Persian subtitles can be seen here. [BWNS1622]

They called for the establishment of a local Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Kanchanpur, Nepal, and in Mwinilunga, Zambia. A national House of Worship is to be raised up in Toronto, Canada, in the vicinity of the long-established National Bahá'í Centre. [BWNS 1669]

The 72 minute film highlighted efforts in four regions of the world where people, communities, and institutions were striving together to channel the transformative power of the Bahá'í teachings toward social change. It was scripted in English with subtitled versions in other languages. A voiceover version of the film in Arabic was also made available. [BWNS1660]

To prepare for their duty in electing the Universal House of Justice, delegates immersed themselves in the spiritual atmosphere of the Bahá'í Holy Places in Akka and Haifa including the construction site of the Shrine of 'Abdu'l-Baha.

At the start of the Convention, the Bahá'ís in Iran, who for several decades have been prevented from forming Bahá'í institutions and therefore electing representatives, were remembered by the participants, and their absence was poignantly marked by a beautiful arrangement of 95 red roses.

Some 1,250 delegates came from 176 countries across the world to attend the International Convention which ran from the 29th of April to the 2nd of May. On the first day of their arrival the delegates visited the Holy Places in Haifa and in Akka [BWNS1656]

On Saturday, the 29th of April, the 12th day of Ridván, 1590 votes were counted on behalf of the assembled and absent delegates. There was a tie for the 9th place and the assembled delegates voted on Sunday to decided between the two men. On the 1st of May it was announced that Chuungu Malitonga, Paul Lample, Juan Francisco Mora, Ayman Rouhani, Payman Mohajer, Shahriar Razavi, Praveen Mallik, Andrej Donoval, and Albert Nshisu Nsunga were elected. [BWNS1656; BWNS1657; BWNS1658; BWNS1659]

See two photo albums posted by Hungarian delegate and photographer Edit Kalman called Precious Souls and Special days.

Mahvash Sabet and Fariba Kamalabadi were among the prisoners who sent a written note from their cells in Evan Prison to this symposium that was held on the Clubhouse app. After their message was published, both women were barred from receiving visitors or using their phones for three weeks. [IranWire 24 April, 2023; IranWire 15 May 2023]

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]

          This book shines a light on a remarkable heroine of the Bahá'í Faith. Alma Knobloch (1864-1943) one of the three Knobloch sisters, raised up the first African-American community in North America, and was instrumental in the growth of the Bahá'í community in Germany. In His Tablets of the Divine Plan, 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote: 'Likewise Miss Knobloch travelled alone to Germany. To what a great extent she became confirmed!'
          Alma's 13 years in Germany saw an astonishing growth in the Bahá'í community to become the largest in Europe. Following 'Abdu'l-Bahá's visit in 1913 and the outbreak of the First World War, the emerging community focused its efforts on peace: soldiers who had attended Bahá'í meetings entered the battlefields with Baha'i prayers and quotations against their breasts. Alma continued to open new Bahá'í communities, and at the end of the War she emerged from the bomb shelters of Mannheim to receive confirmations in large halls overflowing with hundreds of people who came to hear the message of Baha'u'llah throughout Germany. She also taught early believers in Switzerland, Austria, and the Czech Republic, as well as future Hand of the Cause Hermann Grossmann, and the first European martyr, Adam Benke. Many of the Tablets from 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Alma and other believers in Germany from 1908 to 1920 are published in English in this book for the first time.
          In 1920, Alma returned to the United States, where she dedicated the rest of her days to race unity, fearlessly crossing the racial and social barriers to build up lasting communities in Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. These later years of her life have been little known until now and are recounted here.

Members of the Bahá'í community had requested that the Alexandria administrative authorities allocate a piece of land to be used as a burial site for its members because, at that time,, only a single cemetery space in Cairo's Basatin neighbourhood was available to the thousands of Egyptians of the Bahá'í Faith. This resulted in the depletion of the cemetery's capacity and forced families of deceased Bahá'ís to transport their loved ones' remains to Cairo from all across Egypt.

The legal representative of the Bahá'í community argued before the Alexandria Administrative Court that local administrative authorities had previously approved the allocation of burial sites for individuals who are not affiliated with the three officially recognized religions in Egypt — Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. He noted that the Cairo Governorate had leased land to the Indian Embassy to cremate the bodies of deceased Hindus in 1964. The Cairo authorities had also granted Bahá'ís the right to bury members of their community in a separate piece of land in 1965. He added that the Governorates of Ismailia and Port Said had approved the allocation of burial sites to the Bahá'í community in 1944 and 1949. Therefore, on the grounds that local governments had previously allocated burial sites to individuals not affiliated with the three recognized religions, the Governorate of Alexandria had no right to reject the Baha'i community's request that a new burial site be allocated for its members.

The reason given for not allowing the appeal by the court was that the Egyptian state recognizes only Islam, Judaism, and Christianity as religions. This was based on the opinionof the Islamic Research Academy affiliated with the Al-Azhar, the main Islamic institution of Egypt. The Islamic Research Academy claimed in a report submitted to the court that providing a burial site for the Bahá'í community would "lead to discrimination, further division, fragmentation, and rupture of the fabric of one society."

In another decision issued on December 20, 2022, the Administrative Court of the Governorate of Port Said rejected a petition submitted by members of the Bahá'í community to allocate a piece of land to be used as a new burial site by the community. In this case they had asked that a burial site should be located on a piece of land that had been confiscated in the 1970's for which no compensation was forthcoming. This request was also disallowed. [EIN Newswire]

They had been arrested on the 31st of July at the start of yet another crackdown against the Iranian Bahá'ís. Thirteen Bahá'ís were arrested in the raid including Afif Naeimi. Sabet, Kamalabadi and Naeimi were members of a group of people known as the "Yaran," or "Friends" of Iran, which until 2008 served as an informal leadership of the Iranian Bahá'í community. All seven of its members were arrested in 2007 and 2008 and jailed for a decade. [BWNS1631; BIC News 1AUF22; Iran Press Watch 14DEC22; Iran Press Watch July 31, 2023]

The letter starts with the statement, "Your country is blessed with remarkable ethnic and cultural diversity." (para 2). Indeed, there are about 250 ethnic groups in the DRC and 240 identified languages, four of which have been chosen as official regional languages with French being the common language of Instruction, business, national administration and external relations. More than half the population live in a rural setting and just less than half of the population is under the age of 15 years. [Britannica]

More information about the Faith in the Democratic Republic of the Congo can be found in Bahaipedia and Bahá'í Media.

The film focuses on the period following the Islamic Revolution and traces the impact of the persecution of the Bahá'ís on several individuals and families. It contrasts the personal lives of Bahá'ís with the public statements of Iranian officials, highlighting the stigmatization and oppression of the Bahá'í minority in Iran.

The progress on the construction work can be see in the gallery of pictures on the BWNS website. [BWNS1617]

According to Amini's cousin, she was tortured and insulted in the van, as witnessed by her co-detainees. After she arrived at the police station, she began to lose vision and fainted. It took 30 minutes for the ambulance to arrive, and an hour and a half for her to get to Kasra hospital.

For two days, Amini was in a coma in Kasra Hospital in Tehran. On 16 September, a journalist broke the story of her coma, posting to Twitter a photo of Amini's father and grandmother crying and embracing in the hospital hallway. Amini died in the intensive care unit later that day. [Wikipedia]

A movement, "Woman, Life, Freedom" sprang up in the wake of Amini's death seeking the end of Iran's imposition of a headscarf on all women and an end to the Muslim cleric-led government in Tehran. The protests persisted until at least January 2023 with over 500 protesters killed at the hands of state security forces, and over 19,400 protestors arrested as per reports by Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA).

Amini's death sparked mass protests, beginning in her home town of Saghez, then spreading around the country as the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests and ultimately posed one of the biggest threats to Iran's clerical establishment since the foundation of the Islamic republic in 1979. At least 500 people were reported killed in the government's crackdown on demonstrators. [RadioFreeEurope RadioLiberty 8 March 2024?]

Established in 2000 the BWNS has been made available on mobile applications for both Android and iOS, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. In addition there is a podcast and one can subscribe here and not miss any news releases. [BWNS1612]

A Bahá'í in Egypt: A story of 3 generations

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]

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.

Objectives:

Achievements

Solomon Belay of the Addis Ababa Office stated: "The summit offered an opportunity to present EU leaders with key insights emerging from the many conversations of the BIC with government officials, policy makers, faith leaders, and civil society organizations about a range of themes being explored by the BIC in recent years, including global governance, migration, climate change, agriculture, and food security. We will be offering the same perspectives to AU leaders."

Rachel Bayani of the Brussels Office explained that reshaping international structures and relationships according to the principle of humanity's oneness is a challenging task that will require effort over generations. "The statement offers a few practical suggestions for moving toward this goal. First is for careful consideration to be given to the impact of European policies on all segments of society in Africa, Europe, and across the world". [BWNS1594]

Notwithstanding the fact that Tunisian citizens have the right, according to the constitution, international charters and treaties, to establish their religious rites some religious communities, notably the Jews, Christians, Shites, and Bahá'ís still experience difficulty in practicing their faith. The Bahá'í representative, Mohamed ben Moussa acknowledged that adherents of the Bahá'í faith in Tunisia are subjected to violations, as fatwas of infidelity were issued against them by the grand mufti of Tunisia in December 2020. Additionally, the presidency of the Tunisian government accused them of apostasy.

This charter aroused a great uproar among Tunisian society, which responded with an extensive campaign of insults and threats of violence, reaching the point of calling for murder. Although the official authorities were silent, the Ministry of Religious Affairs sent a representative to attend the signing. The organizers said that the strong reaction was expected but did not anticipate the many messages of threats and insults from the general public, radical Muslim sheikhs, intellectuals and others. All negative comments were unanimous; that Tunisia is a Muslim country and will remain so. This strong reaction was evidence of the extent of extremist ideology and hatred in the community and their lack of acceptance of those who differ from them. [The Christian Post 6Feb2022]

The Counsellors in all continents will be called to the Bahá'í World Centre in December 2021 to take part in deliberations on the general features of the Plan to be launched the following Riḍván. At the conclusion of that gathering, they are to be joined by members of the Auxiliary Boards for Protection and Propagation to consult on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and on the decisive role that the Counsellors and their auxiliaries are to play in meeting them. [From a message from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of the World dated 29 October 2020]

The film provided insight into a hundred years of endeavor and learning since the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in 1921, carried out by a burgeoning Bahá'í community, and outlined the journey that has led to the community's current efforts to contribute to the emergence of a world organized around the principle of the oneness of humanity.

The 66-minute film was made available in Arabic, English, French, Persian, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. The original version with English subtitles was placed on YouTube. [BWNS1574]

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

Attendees at the press conference included Hossein Amanat, who was selected by the Universal House of Justice as the architect for the project, Sohrab Youssefian, liaison between the project and Margraf, and two members of Italy's Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly. The Italian marble company that will cut and chiseled the marble was represented by Silvio Xompero, president of Margraf, and by Alessandro Peotta, head of the Margraf Technical Office. This firm has a long record of service to the Faith [BWNS1569]

The organization "Execution of Imam Khomeini's Order" – an agency controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which held and sold assets seized from proscribed groups and individuals and has done so since the 1979 Islamic Revolution – advertised the 13 properties on an auction website in mid-October. Each property had been listed for sale at a price just 15 percent of market value. The auctions listings have been published despite Bahá'ís having held the deeds to these properties for generations. [Iran Wire 6DEC21]

Several events that were intended for the public were held in Haifa and 'Akká to mark the centenary of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

-In Haifa, the mayor of the city, Einat Kalisch-Rotem, and other municipal officials, members of diverse faith communities, and other residents of the city honoured the centenary at a historic building near 'Abdu'l-Bahá's residence on Haparsim Street in a spirit of fellowship and unity reminiscent of the gatherings He Himself would hold with people of all backgrounds.

-In 'Akká, a public reception at the House of 'Abdu'lláh Páshá, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá lived and received countless guests from 1896 to 1910, allowed people from around the country to learn about His life and His service to the inhabitants of 'Akká through an exhibition and a guided visit of the site.

-In Bahjí, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá had rented a residence for Bahá'u'lláh and His family in 1879, a special program brought together the mayor of 'Akká, Shimon Lankri, and other government officials, various community and religious leaders—Jewish, Muslim, Christian, and Druze—academics, and civil society representatives to hear stories from the life of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, where many of those gathered also shared their perspectives on His impact on the people of the region. [BWNS1552; BWNS1555]

Some 600 presentatives of Bahá'í communities from nations and regions around the world began to arrive in Haifa for the historic gathering at the Bahá'í World Centre. In the days following they visited the Holy Places in the Akka/Haifa area. [BWNS1553; BWNS1555]

On the 25th of November the friends gathered in the concourse of the Universal House of Justice building. A Message from the Universal House of Justice was addressed to the gathering. The program included remarks by a member of the International Teaching Centre, Muna Tehrani with the keynote address given by ITC member Gloria Javid entitles 'Abdu'l-Bahá as the Centre of the Covenant. [BWNS1556]

On the 26th of November Mrs Antonella Demonte, member of the International Teaching Centre, delivered a Keynote Address entitled The Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Unfoldment of the Administrative Order.

The Centenary of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing was marked in the early hours of the 27th of November with the attendees assembled in the courtyard of the Haifa Pilgrim House. A tribute written by the Universal House of Justice for the occasion was read by one of its members. [BWNS1558]

On the 28th of November representatives of Bahá'í communities throughout the world came together in the concourse of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice for a spiritually charged closing of the centenary gathering. The closing session included addresses delivered by members of the International Teaching Centre, Antonella Demonte, Dr Holly Woodard, and Rachel Ndegwa. Prayers were chanted and spoken in different languages, there was a musical interlude, and Bahá'í writings were sung by a choir. The film Exemplar was shown. [BWNS1559]

The inspirational story of Richard St. Barbe Baker, aka the "Man of the Trees," The heritage documentary The Legacy of Saskatoon's Secret Forest tells the story of his remarkable life and achievements. There is a 15 minute version heritage documentary and a one hour long presentation with greetings from around the world. The 15 minute prequel film "Richard St. Barbe Baker Park" tells how the heritage documentary came to be. From roots in Saskatoon he went on to inspire tree planting and forest protection around the world. The International Tree Foundation, which he founded in 1922, is still active in 14 countries. Countless people motivated by him are environmental champions today. A companion curriculum describes his holistic world view, and his daring life of action on behalf of the earth.

Although a number of Iranian Bahá'ís were still held back by Iran's refusal to recognize the institution, BIHE graduates would go on to study at a choice of 98 different international universities and colleges. [Borgen Magazine 14 November 2021]

The Universal House of Justice was represented by Henry Tamashiro who delivered this Message.

Specifics

Location:near Lenakel on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu
Unveiling of the design: 18 June 2017
Foundation Stone: 17 November 2019
Construction Period: 17 November 2019 to 13 November 2021
Site Dedication:13 November 2021
Architect: Ashkan Mostaghim
Architectural firm:
Capacity: 300
Dimensions:
Cost:
Dependencies: Amphitheater for large community gatherings
References: BWNS1550; BWNS1549; BWNS1530; BWNS1515; BWNS1175; BWNS1373; BWNS1176

This Holy Place has been described by the Universal House of Justice in a letter to all Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies as "that serene and sacred spot, the first residence of Bahá'u'lláh after nine years' confinement within the walls of the prison-city of 'Akká."

* 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

The websites and social media channels are compounded by videos, print newspaper articles and other written media, books, seminars, exhibitions, graffiti and fatwas from both official outlets and others sponsored by the government but purporting to be independent. [Bahá'í International Community News]

Since 2017, more than 33,000 pieces of toxic anti-Bahá'í content have been published or broadcast. In recent years, hundreds of websites and dozens of social media accounts have systematically attacked the Bahá'í community, misrepresenting Bahá'í beliefs in a manner designed to cause maximum offence to Iran's Muslim-majority population. [CiJA Statement on Iranian anti-Bahá'í Campaign] (The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs is the advocacy agent of Jewish Federations across Canada.)

António Guterres, the United Nations Secretary-General, in his 2019 Plan of Action to Combat Hate Speech, said that "[h]ate speech is a menace to democratic values, social stability and peace. As a matter of principle, the United Nations must confront hate speech at every turn. Silence can signal indifference to bigotry and intolerance, even as a situation escalates and the vulnerable become victims."

Incitement to hatred is prohibited under international treaties that Iran itself has ratified, such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. [United Nations Plan of Action on Hate Speech]

The Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights (RWCHR) and Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA) strongly condemn the increase in anti-Bahá'í propaganda disseminated by Iranian state-run media. A recent report by the Bahá'í Community of Canada found that "Iran's state-sponsored campaign of hatred against the Bahá''í Faith has been on the rise across all media platforms, including the web, social media, radio, newspapers, and television." On the 20th of July they issued a joint statement from Professor Irwin Cotler, Founder and International Chair of the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights, Mr. Ali Ehsassi, Member of Parliament (House of Commons of Canada) and Mr. Anders Österberg, Member of the Swedish ParliamentFounding Member of PGA's Parliamentary Rapid Response Team (PARRT).

See the report entitled State-sponsored hate propaganda against Iranian Bahá'ís published by the Office of Public Affairs of the Bahá'í Community of Canada.

See a speech titled A Non-Governmental Perspective on the Relative Effectiveness of Multilateral and Bilateral Measures by Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative, United Nations Office, Bahá'í International Community given in Florence, Italy 9 April 2022. The talk was presented at a conference on Religion, Hateful Expression and Violence sponsored by the Centre for International Law Research and Policy.

See Erased in the Shadows: The Persecution of Iran's Bahá'ís by Sabrina Nelson dated 2 October 2024.

On November 18, 2018, the clerical regime's intelligence forces arrested Shahrzad Nazifi and her daughter on the motorcycle track. They ransacked the Nazifi residence for about 5 hours and took some personal belongings with them. In May 2019, Mrs. Nazifi and other family members were barred from attending motorcycling tracks, participating in competitions, and exercising with a motorcycle without receiving a court order. [HRANA website]

John was raised in a Lutheran family, and studied psychology at University. He and his wife, Beverley, became Bahá'ís in 1953 and John attended the New Delhi Intercontinental Teaching Conference the same year. He had been intending to conduct research in the field of Psychology on cognitive modalities, but felt that pioneering for the Faith was more important after attending the Conference, and volunteered to pioneer to Alaska. John and Beverley moved to Alaska in 1953.

He was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Alaska in the late 1950's and served on the body until 1960, when he and Beverley pioneered to Fort Yukon, where they lived for three years. He went on pilgrimage to Haifa in 1960 and met Ruhiyyih Khanum, and told her a story about meeting Dr. Hubert Parris, which she encouraged him to put in writing. He eventually did so when he wrote the book Crazy Lovers of Bahá'u'lláh.

In 1962 he co-wrote a pamphlet on the Faith titled Bahá'í Teachings: A Light For All Regions with Peter Simple, the second Athabaskan Indian to become a Bahá'í in Yukon. The Kolstoes moved from Fort Yukon to Fairbanks and John was re-elected to the Alaskan National Assembly in 1963. He was elected Chairman of the Assembly in 1972, and represented the Assembly at the Dedication of the Matthew Kaszab Institute in November that year.

In 1975 he wrote twelve articles on the Covenant for Alaska Bahá'í News which eventually served as the basis for the book The Covenant and You. In July 1976 he opened the International Bahá'í Conference held in Anchorage. The Kolstoes left Alaska in 1985 and pioneered to St. Lucia in the Caribbean. John's wife Beverley passed away in Alaska in 1996. In 2001 John re-married, marrying Janet J. Smith. [Bahaipedia]

A list of his publications includes:

• Consultation; A Universal Lamp of Guidance Published by George Ronald in 1985.
• Bahá'í Consultation Workbook
• Bahá'í Teachings, Light for all Regions written by Peter Simple, an Athabascan Indian, and John Kolstoe. This booklet provides a summary of the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith, with an emphasis on how they connect with the beliefs of indigenous peoples of North America. Published in 1962, 1969 and the third edition was published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform in 2016.
• Compassionate Woman - The Life and Legacy of Patricia Locke. Published by BPT-Wilmette in 2011.
• Making the Invisible Visible - The Human Principle for Sustaining Innovation (with Robert Rosenfeld). Published by Xlibris in 2006.
• Progressive Revelation a picture story of how God speaks to mankind Published by the National spiritual Assembly of Alaska in 1995. This was a video recording released in 1995.
• Developing Genius: Getting the Most Out of Group Decision-Making Published by George Ronald in 1995.
• Deliver This Clear Message: The Tablet of Ahmad as a Practical Guide and Mandate to Teach Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform in 2017
• Pondering the Fire Tablet: Reflections on Bahá'u'lláh's "Fire Tablet" 2014 or 2015
• Commentaries on Three Major Tablets Published independently in 2020.
• Road Maps to the Future Published by Royal Falcon Books. Royal Falcon Books is an imprint of the Bahá'í Publishing Trust, India, 2008.
• The Covenant and You Published by George Ronald in 2015.
• Crazy Lovers of Bahá'u'lláh: Inspirational Stories of Little Giants Published by CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform in 2015.
• God Intoxicated Lovers of Bahá'u'lláh: Champion Builders of a New World Civilization Published independently in 2019.
• Healing and Beyond: Exploring the Long Healing Prayer Published independently in 2016.

The ceremony was attended by some one hundred people including government officials, village and district chiefs, local dignitaries, representatives of local and national Bahá'í institutions, and other representatives of the construction team including Neda Samimi, the architect. The Universal House of Justice was represented by Townshend Lihanda, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa who delivered this message on their behalf.

The previous day a small ornamental case containing dust from one of the Holy Shrines at the Bahá'í World Centre was placed within the structure of the House of Worship symbolizing the profound connection between the temple and the spiritual center of the Bahá'í Faith. [BWNS1511]

They reported as well that the first three of the ten segments of the folding walls that will surround the central plaza had been built. Each of these segments must be constructed one by one. [BWNS1509]

Formally part of a regional spiritual assembly of Slovenia and Croatia, the left the National Spiritual Assembly of Slovenia with its seat in Ljubljana, Slovenia. [BINS317:2; BW93–4:82; BW94–5:25, 3–6]

At Riḍván 2021, the followers of Bahá'u'lláh will embark on a Plan lasting a single year. Brief, but pregnant with portent, this one-year endeavour will begin a new wave of Plans bearing the ark of the Cause into the third century of the Bahá'í Era. During the course of this auspicious twelve months, the Bahá'í world's commemoration of the centenary of the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Bahá will include a special gathering at the Bahá'í World Centre to which representatives of every National Spiritual Assembly and every Regional Bahá'í Council will be invited. This, however, is to be but the first in a sequence of events that will prepare the believers for the demands of the decades to come. The following January, the elapse of one hundred years since the first public reading of the Master's Will and Testament will be the occasion for a conference in the Holy Land bringing together the Continental Boards of Counsellors and all members of the Auxiliary Boards for Protection and Propagation. The spiritual energy released at these two historic gatherings must then be carried to all the friends of God in every land in which they reside. For this purpose, a series of conferences will be convened worldwide in the months that follow, a catalyst to the multi-year endeavour that shall succeed the coming One Year Plan. [Ridván Message 2018]

Objectives

Achievements of the last Five Year Plan (2016-2021)

The restoration work was done to reproduce the House exactly as it had been when the Holy Family occupied it. No effort was spared. Even traditional glass-blowing techniques were used to produce the windowpanes. [BWNS1501]

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]

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]

On a December day in 1973, Anisa Abdul-Razzaq Abbas heard a knock at the door of the Baghdad home she was visiting. She opened the door to greet two men from the Iraqi Al-Amn security force, who immediately placed her under arrest. Her crime: being a member of the Bahá'í Faith, Over the next six years, Anisa would spend three years in Iraq's infamous Abu Ghraib prison and a further three years in Al-Rashaad prison before her release in 1979. During her years of incarceration, Anisa would rely on her faith to meet the myriad challenges of prison life. Day after day, she and her fellow-prisoners experienced levels of cruelty and injustice that most would find unthinkable. Separated from her husband, who was being held in the men's prison, and from her children, Alhan and Ruwa, who were without both parents, Anisa was sustained through her darkest days by the love of her family, and by the strength and solidarity offered by her fellow Bahá'í prisoners.*Anisa's story is one of patience, courage, and steadfastness in the face of religious prejudice and state-sponsored oppression, and it is a reminder to us all of the resilient strength of the human spirit. *Their eldest child, Abir was attending university in Sulaimaniyyeh after serving a six month sentence.

Yemen was reliant on import for 90% of its food. The situation was exacerbated by the global COVID-19 turndown which led to a sharp drop in remittances – the largest source of foreign currency and a lifeline for many families where 80 per cent of people live below the poverty line. As a result, millions more people could not afford to meet their basic needs. A fuel crisis in the north led to fuel shortages and price hikes. Government capacity to regularly pay salaries and pensions to public employees has been hindered and public services have been degraded. Between April and August 2020, heavy rains and flooding devastated communities, causing deaths and injuries, destroying infrastructure and livelihoods, and increasing the spread of deadly diseases. Tens of thousands of families were affected, many of them already displaced. Other natural hazards posed a threat, including desert locust infestations. The impact of the drivers of the crisis is most visible in the growing risk of famine and severe acute malnutrition, disease outbreaks, conflict casualties, forced displacement and reversal of past development gains. In addition, the conduct of the parties to the conflict had had a profound impact on the aid operation – particularly humanitarian access, aid delivery and data collection. [OCHA Report]

In July it was reported that a large part of the population had been affected by heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding. Covid-19 continued to ravage the population. (No sports were available form the north of the country where the pandemic was not recognized. 11.3 million children were in need of humanitarian assistance and 20.7 million people were in need. [Reliefweb]

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]

"The film examines advances in the area of equality of women and men at the level of the grassroots and their connection with the conversations that have been unfolding at the UN, drawing on examples inspired by Bahá'í community-building efforts in different countries around the world," said Saphira Rameshfar, Representative of the BIC.

In July 2019 agents from the Ministry of Intelligence entered Mr. Amini's home and confiscated his books and computer. A year later, in August 2020, Mr. Amini was sentenced to a one-year term of imprisonment and two years of exile. That sentence was reduced to a six-month term of imprisonment at the Alborz Province Appeal Court.

Mr Amini was denied access to higher education however he was been able to make a significant contribution in the field of Iranian history. Among his publications are:

• Documents on Contemporary Iranian Zoroastrians
• Documents on the Bahá'ís of Iran, a five-volume collection of governmental documents pertaining to the Bahá'ís of Iran
• The Reciprocal Discourses of the Iranian Religious Minorities and the Constitutional Revolution of 1906-1911
• Hidden Resurrection: An Exploration of the Babi and Bahá'í Faiths' Relationship with Iran's Intellectual Movements

An open letter written on behalf of the Committee on Academic Freedom of the Middle East Studies Association (MESA) and signed by some 40 North American Islamic/Persian scholars was addressed to Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Chief Justice Ebrahim Raisi, Head of the Judiciary calling on them to end such abuses, to promptly release Mr. Amini, and to return his computer and books so that he could resume his work and continue to make scholarly contributions that benefit all those who support and admire Iran and its peoples. [Telegraph posting 3 April 2021; Iran Press Watch; Iran Wire]

This publication is available on the Routledge site as an ebook for loan if your institution has access. It may be previewed at this location. (Click on "Preview Book")

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]

The Bahá'ís of Australia embarked on the two year project to facilitate discussion on social cohesion and related questions with hundreds of participants—including officials, organizations of civil society, journalists, and numerous social actors—across all states and territories.

The project began in 2017 and by 2018 the Office of External Affairs had become more engaged. With the encouragement of different social actors and government departments, the idea for Creating an Inclusive Narrative began to take shape. Australia is a country of over 80 ethnic and racial groups in more than 417 localities and the process had to involve diverse voices from different realities throughout the country—east and west, rural and urban, and from the grassroots to the national level. In order for this to scale, many people were involved as facilitators. It was important that facilitators were residents of the areas in which gatherings were taking place ensuring their familiarity with local issues and concerns. This approach meant that facilitators and participants could continue their discussions in between the monthly gatherings, resulting in growing enthusiasm and interest among participants to continue the process. The project eventually sustained monthly gatherings concurrently across several states, resulting in a total of 50 roundtables. [BWNS1504; BWNS1470; BWNS1498]

The raids took place in the capital Tehran, as well as Karaj, Isfahan, Mashhad, Kerman, Shahin-Shahr and Baharestan. Witnesses reported that the agents ignored all the government's own health protocols while at the homes of the Baha'is. [BIC News]

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]

After the laying of the foundations which was completed last December, work progressed on an intricate steel structure for the central edifice that traces the unique weaving pattern of the exterior. An innovative design for the steel dome, devised by Werkstudio, an engineering firm based in Germany and Poland, will provide the required strength with an economical use of material.

The structural system will interfaces with the nine entrance canopies that provide lateral strength to the temple. This system, parts of which are nearing completion, will eventually support a steel dome mesh that will at its apex reach a height of approximately 16 meters above floor level.

Designs were being finalized for wood panels that will adorn the entrances of the temple, using local timber. Planning is also under way for gardens that will surround the central edifice.

The resolution asks Iran to "eliminate, in law and practice… all forms of discrimination on the basis of thought, conscience, religion or belief, including economic restrictions… [and] the denial of and restrictions on access to education, including for members of the Bahá'í faith." It also urges an end to "other human rights violations against persons belonging to recognized and unrecognized religious minorities."

This deprivation of the freedom to practice their religion is a breach of Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and Article 18 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The United Nations covenant holds that every person has the right to freedom of religion, freedom of converting religion, as well as freedom of expression, individually or collectively; openly or secretly.

Just four days after the UN resolution was passed there were raids on Bahá'í homes in Tehran, Karaj, Isfahan and its suburbs, Mashhad and Kerman. [Iran Press Watch 22 November 2020; Iran Press Watch 23 November 2020]

In a seminar held by the Office, three members of the Bahá'í community with expertise in the fields of governance, economics, and the environment explored some of the implications of the BIC statement, A Governance Befitting, and its call for a "global civic ethic." The BIC presenters were: Maja Groff, an international lawyer based in The Hague, Netherlands, Augusto Lopez-Claros, executive director of the Global Governance Forum, and Arthur Lyon Dahl, president of the International Environment Forum. [BWNS1465]

AFRICA (20 Counsellors): Mélanie Bangala, Mariama Ousmane Djaouga, Alain Pierre Djoulde, Agatha Sarinoda Gaisie-Nketsiah, Augustino Ibrahim, Mati Issoufou, Hamed Javaheri, Jacques Tshibuabua Kabuya, Musonda Kapusa-Linsel (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Linnet Sifuna Kisaka, Townshend Lihanda, Izzat Abumba Mionda, Maina Mkandawire, Judicaël Mokolé, Amélia Mujinga Ngandu, Nsika Mutasa, Michael Okiria, Nancy Oloro Robarts, Djamila Tchakréo, Jean- Pierre Tshibangu

THE AMERICAS (21 Counsellors): José Luis Almeida, Ayafor Temengye Ayafor, Louis Boddy, Natasha Bruss, Beatriz Carmona, Brígida Carrillo, Ingrid Umpierre Conter, Blas Cruz Martínez, Daniel Duhart, Farah Guchani-Rosenberg, Sonlla Heern, Badí Hernández, Irene Iturburo, Nwandi Ngozi Lawson, Ada Micheline Leonce Ferdinand, Borna Noureddin (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Arthur Powell, Pejman Samoori, Bernardino Sánchez, William Silva, Margarita Valdez Martínez

ASIA (27 Counsellors): Yam Prasad Acharya, Jamil Aliyev, Bhavna Anbarasan, Walid Ayyash, Marjini Deraoh, Gulnara Eyvazova, Shareen Farhad, Nadera Fikri, Kam Mui Fok Sayers, Rahul Kumar, Nicholas Loh, Parimal Mahato, Tarrant Matthew Mahony, Uttam Mitra, Myint Zaw Oo, Faris Naimi, Sokuntheary Reth, Foad Reyhani (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Artin Rezaie, Hesham Saad, Niroshani Saleh, Omid Seioshanseian, Dregpal Singh, Zebinisso Soliyeva, Ircham Sujadmiko, Fang Jung Tseng Chung, Ozoda Zoidova

AUSTRALASIA (10 Counsellors): Bob Ale, Latai 'Atoa, Ritia Kamauti Bakineti, Kirk Johnson, Jalal Rodney Mills, Taraz Nadarajah, Daniel Pierce, Kessia Ruh, Vahid Saberi, Tessa Scrine (Trustee of the Continental Fund) To the Bahá'ís of the World 2 29 October 2020

EUROPE (12 Counsellors): Raffaella Capozzi Gubinelli, Aistė Elijio, Orlando Ravelo Hernández, Varqá Khadem, Shirin Youssefian Maanian, Sabà Mazza, Veranika Medvedeva, Hedyeh Nadafi-Stoffel, Yevgeniya Poluektova, Mehdi Rezvan, Amir Saberin (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Paul Verheij

The Universal House of Justice paid tribute to those retiring members:
Vugar Alizadeh, Naisan Azimi, Ronny Brenes, Olga Daradur, Jabbar Eidelkhani, Clément Thyrrell Feizouré, Shirin Fozdar-Foroudi, Zoraida García Garro, Bernard Lo Cascio, Lee Lee Loh Ludher, Sehla Masunda, Nibras Sarmad Moqbel, Aggrey Zeyazi Munubi, Delafruz Nassimova, Ahmad Parsa, U'ileiuluwehi Pimental, Iharinirina Rakotomavo, Carmen Elisa de Sadeghian, Rajan Sawant, Mark Sisson, Christopher Kiprotich Songok, Raúl Taboada, Henry Tamashiro, Shabnam Tashakour

The statement, which was released in September, highlights the need for systems of global cooperation to be strengthened if humanity is to address the serious challenges of our time and seize the immense opportunities of the coming years for progress.

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]

The American screenwriter, director and producer Jeff Kaufman and his co-producer, Marcia S. Ross, were unable to get visas to travel to Iran themselves. They relied on their on-the-ground film crew as well as calls with Sotoudeh and her husband Khandan. The film took four years to make and is essential viewing. Everyone involved, including Sotoudeh, put themselves in jeopardy by agreeing to participate in the project, but clearly, for them, the importance of its message outweighed the risk of arrest. The project also had to forego crowdfunding or fundraising of any kind in order to keep the film secret and protect those involved.

Sotoudeh has been called "the Nelson Mandela of Iran." [Forbes] ,

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]

See Memorial for Douglas Martin -Online Commemoration.

He was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada from 1960 to 1985 and served the last twenty years as the general secretary. In 1985. He was appointed director-general of the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information at the World Centre. He served in that capacity until 1993 when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice. He retired from the House of Justice in 2005 due to considerations of age and related needs of the Faith. [BWNS1455]

• In 1984 he co-authored the introductory text,The Bahai Faith: The Emerging Global Religion with his friend William S Hatcher.
• His essay, The Missionary as Historian: William Miller and the Bahá'í Faith was a review of William McElwee Miller's book The Bahá'í Faith: Its History and Teachings.
• His series of talks entitled Historical Consciousness and the Divine Plan was packaged as a compact disc and has been made available on Bahá'í Library.
• His paper Persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran 1844-1984 published in Bahá'í Studies in 1984 is available in PDF.
• His article Humanity's Coming Encounter with Baha'u'llah was published in American Bahá'í in 1992.
• In 1998 his article Bahá'í Faith was published in Canadian Encyclopedia.
• The Mission of the Bab: Retrospective 1844-1944 as published in Bahá'í World. [BW23p193]

He completed an undergraduate degree at Amherst College, Massachusetts in 1964 and obtained a doctorate in physics at the University of California, Berkeley, in 1968 before settling in Colombia as a pioneer.

From 1970 until 1980 he served as the Chairman for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Colombia. In 1980 he was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Protection and Propagation of the Faith in the Americas, on which he served for eight years. In 1988, he was named to the Bahá'í International Teaching Centre and was a member of that body until 1993, when he was first elected to the Universal House of Justice. He served until his retirement in 2013.

He served as president of Fundacion para la Aplicacion de las Ciencias (FUNDAEC), a nongovernmental development agency in Colombia, from 1974 to 1988, and continued to serve on its board of directors until the end of his life. [BWNS1453; Bahaipedia]

In addition to her critiques on Persian literature she published a biography of Zandokht Shiraizi, a pioneer in the feminist movement in Iran. She resided in New Jersey where she worked on the editorial board of the New Jersey-based magazine, Persian Heritage. Bassari also assisted in books on the life of Táhirih and contributed with Persian to English translations in academia. [Wikipedia]

"Bosch has for several decades served as a vital center of learning and inspiration," the letter continued. "We have no doubt that, once the present difficulties are overcome, it will once again become a place radiating the light of the unifying teachings of our Faith and a source of spiritual power for the entire region." [US Bahá'í News}

The webinar explored the various dimensions of the challenge with urban development in India. Deliberations were focused on the dual need to bring about structural changes to make urban spaces more inclusive and to transform the way the urban poor are conceived in development thinking and urban policies. Speakers included the following noted economists, social scientists and development practitioners: Prof. Amitabh Kundu, Distinguished Fellow, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, New Delhi; Prof. Partha Mukhopadhyay, Senior Fellow, Centre for Policy Research, New Delhi; Dr Siddharth Agarwal of the Urban Health Research Centre, New Delhi; Dr Puja Guha Azim Premji University, Bangalore; Dr Vandana Swami, Azim Premji University, Bangalore and Ms Caroline Fazli, Research Scholar, University of Bath. The webinar was moderated by Dr. Arash Fazli, Head, Bahá'í Chair for Studies in Development.

The design, created by Wolff Architects in Cape Town, South Africa, was inspired by traditional artworks, structures and natural features of the DRC, as well as by the Bahá'í sacred teachings, particularly by the spiritual concept that God's bounty is unceasingly flowing over all people. The patterns that will adorn the outside of the dome of the central edifice will express this idea in a style reminiscent of the artwork of various Congolese peoples.

Commenting on the design, the architects stated: "We were inspired by an image of 19th century Congolese architecture which showed the most beautiful structures that appear to have finely woven bamboo facades with a parabolic roof made of palm leaves. These houses were located amongst giant baobab trees. ... The undulating roof of the temple makes reference to this history." [BWNS1438; BWNS1649]

A section drawing showing the temple's interior (top) and an elevation drawing of the temple's exterior (bottom).

Some team members of the firm Wolff Architects Nokubekezela Mchunu, Alexandra Böhmer, Bayo Windapo, Takalani Mbadi, Paul Munting, Temba Jauch, Matthew Eberhard, and Alex Coetzee.

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]

  More specifically the USCIRF released Iran Policy Brief: Increased Persecution of Iran's Bahá'í Community in 2019 (PDF). Referring to the continuing violations of religious freedom by the clergy-dominated Islamic Republic government, the report urged the U.S. government to impose sanctions on government institutions and officials responsible for violating religious freedoms in Iran, to freeze their assets and to ban them from entering the United States.

The statement can be found on the UN website.

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]