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1869 17 Nov The Suez Canal was opened to navigation. At this time the canal was164km (102 miles) long and 8 metres (26 feet) deep, 72 feet wide at the bottom, and 200 to 300 feet wide at the surface. Consequently, fewer than 500 ships navigated it in its first full year of operation. Major improvements began in 1876 and by 1887 night navigation was allowed, a measure that doubled its capacity.
  • In the 1950s the waterway was substantially expanded, deepened and lengthened to accommodate the demands of shipping companies. By 1956 when Egyptian President Nasser nationalised it, the canal was 175km (109 miles long and 14 metres (46 feet) deep and could take takers with a capacity of 30,000 tonnes and a draft of up to 10.7 metres (35 feet)
  • A major expansion in 2015 increased the length to 193km (120 miles) and its depth to 24 metres (79 feet). Ships as large as 240,000 tonnes with a draft of 10 metres (66 feet) could be accommodated. Throughput was increased to 50 ships daily.
  • See 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Egypt pg96 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's "The Spiritual Lesson Drawn from the Material Progress of Port Said and the Suez Canal".
  • Port Said; Egypt Suez Canal; Unity; Teaching
    1906 Mar Mrs Whyte, the wife of a well-known Scottish clergyman, made a pilgrimage to `Akká with Mary Virginia Thornburgh-Cropper. In answer to a letter that Mrs Whyte left for `Abdu'l-Bahá upon their departure, He revealed the Tablet the `Seven Candles of Unity'. [AB361–2, SCU4554]
  • See AB360–2 and SWAB29–32 for text of the Tablet.
  • See AB355–9, BW4396-399 and SBR20–1 for accounts of Mrs Whyte's pilgrimage.
  • See also Anjam Khursheed's, The Seven Candles of Unity pg45-54.
  • Her account of the meeting with 'Abdu'l-Bahá can be found in Seven Candles of Unity: the Story of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in Edinburgh (London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1991). [Scottish Women: A Documentary History, 1780-1914 by Esther Breitenbach and Linda Fleming p.213]
  • Akka Seven Candles of Unity; Unity; Abdul-Baha, Writings and talks of; Abdul-Baha, Life of; Abdul-Baha, Basic timeline; Jane Whyte; Mary Virginia Thornburgh-Cropper; Pilgrims; - Basic timeline, Expanded
    1909 21 Mar On the same day as the interment of the sacred remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel the first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. [BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3; SBBH1:146]
  • It was held in the home of Corinne True. [CT82–3]
  • It was attended by 39 delegates from 36 cities. [GPB262; SBBH1:146]
  • The Convention established the 'Bahá'í Temple Unity', incorporated to hold title to the Temple property and to provide for its construction. A constitution was framed and an Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity elected. This body became the future National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [BBD39; BBRSM:106; BW10:179; GPB349; PP397; SBBH1:146] iiiii
  • Chicago; United States; Canada Conventions, National; Corinne True; Bahai Temple Unity; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette; First conventions; National Spiritual Assembly; Mashriqul-Adhkar (House of Worship)
    1911. 26 - 29 Jul The First Universal Races Congress was held at the University of London. It was the first important conference in which the British Bahá'ís participated. It was an international symposium on the theme of the brotherhood of humankind and attracted leading politicians, theologians and scholars from the whole of the British Empire and from Europe as well as North America. During the Congress itself there were several presentations from Bahá'ís including the reading of a letter from 'Abdu'l-Bahá who was in Egypt at the time. [NBAD45]
  • See 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Letter and here.
  • See SoW Vol II No 9 for a report by Wellesley Tudor-Pole, an article by Thorton Chase as well as the letter from 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the conference. See as well Speech for the Universal Races Congress translation and comments by Senn McGlinn.
  • A translation was published in "The Christian Commonwealth" on August 2, 1911.
  • A bibliography of the presentations, papers and contributions and secondary literature by Ralph Dumain can be found here.
  • A paper by Dr W E B DuBois entitled The Negro Race in the United States of America (pp348-364)was also presented at this conference.
  • Alain Locke attended. It may have been where he first heard of the Bahá'í faith. He credits this conference as his inspiration to begin the first of five historic lectures on race relation he delivered at Howard University in 1916. [Alain Locke: Faith & Philosophy p43 by Dr Chrisopher Buck]
  • See the website of the National Centre for Race Amity.
    • The long term goal of the National Center for Race Amity is to have a reesoltuin adopted by both the House and the Senate to have the second Sunday in June declared as an annual Day of Observance in the United States, with the President issuing a Proclamation supporting the passage of the Race Amity Day Resolution.
  • London; United Kingdom Conferences, Racial amity; Race amity; Race (general); Race unity; Firsts, Other; Alain Locke; Wellesley Tudor-Pole; Thorton Chase; Abdi'l-Baha, Writings of
    1911 22 Aug - 3 Sep `Abdu'l-Bahá took up residence at Thonon-les-Bains on Lake Leman (Lake Geneva). [AB140; GPB280; SBR219]
  • While there He encountered Zillu's-Sultán, the eldest son of the Sháh of the time, Násirid-Dín Sháh. It was he who had ratified the execution of the King of Martyrs and the Beloved of Martyrs and at least 100 others. The whole family was in exile in Geneva at this time. 'Abdu'l-Bahá was very courteous to this man who had been such an inveterate enemy of the Cause. [DJT172, AY19, GPB201] .
  • The Master sent for Juliet Thompson who had been waiting in London for His permission to join Him.
  • During His stay he had a visit from Annie Boylan, a member of the New York community that was experiencing disharmony. Unaware of Bahá'í election procedures, a group that was unhappy with the disunity and ineffectiveness of the Council had organized a vote to be rid of several of its Council members. 'Abdu'l-Bahá had written to the community a short time before recommending that the Council be expanded from 9 to 27 members so that all factions could be represented. He also recommended that women be included on the Council and that the name be changed to "the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of New York". This apparently addressed the problem of disunity because the New York community went on to contribute significantly to the progress of the Faith on a national level. [DJT181, BFA2p338]
  • Horace Holley, who lived at Quattro Torri, Siena, Italy at the time, along with his wife Bertha Herbert and baby daughter Hertha, visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the 29th and 30th of August. Please see his Religion for Mankind p 232-237 for a pen portrait of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
  • He met with Elizabeth Stewart and Lillian Kappes who were on their way to Tehran. [find reference]
  • It would appear that He returned to Marseilles and travelled to London by sea. [SCU22-23]
  • Thonon-les-Bains; Lake Leman; Marseilles; France; Switzerland; Italy; London; United Kingdom; New York; United States Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, First Western tour; Board of Council; Spiritual Assemblies; Unity; Zillus-Sultan; Persecution; Mirza Muhammad-Hasan (King of Martyrs); Mirza Muhammad-Husayn (Beloved of Martyrs); King of Martyrs and Beloved of Martyrs; Juliet Thompson; Horace Holley; Elizabeth Stewart; Lillian Kappes; Ships
    1912 26 Apr 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke at President Taft's All Saints Unitarian Church to the Women's Alliance on the subject of the varieties of light, the effulgence of the Sun of Reality in its original essence, and of the waiting souls with pure hearts who are like unto clear spotless mirrors, whose eyes and ears become enlightened by the appearance of the Sun of Reality. [APD50; 239D45; MD62-64]
  • Before lunch He spoke in the home of John J. White at the invitation of Mrs White. Lunch was taken at the Parsons home with the Turkish Ambassador as a guest.
  • On this day He spoke with the US Treasurer, Lee McClung. [Luminous Journey 30:24]
  • In the early evening He addressed a gathering in the Parsons' home. The subject of the talk was the interpretation of the Old Testament statement concerning the creation of man in the image of God. After the meeting, `Abdu'l-Bahá went for a stroll in a park to recuperate. [APD51]
  • In the evening 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke ing the Memorial Continental Hall in the new national headquarters of the Daughters of the American Revolution on 17th Street, NW, between C and D Streets. He shared the podium with Samuel Gompers, the President of the American Federation of Labor. Gompers made a plea for the women of the working classes and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá drew a parallel between the advancement of women in the West and in the East citing the new building as an example of the power of women.
  • None of His talks for this day has been recorded in The Promulgation of Universal Peace.
  • Washington DC; United States Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Abdul-Baha, Talks at churches; Abdul-Baha, Talks at homes; John J. White; Agnes Parsons; Lee McClung; Orient-Occident Unity
    1912. 27 Apr - 2 May The Bahá'í Temple Unity held the 4th annual meeting in Chicago. [SoW Vol 2 No 18 February 7, 1912 p8] Chicago Bahai Temple Unity
    1912 30 Apr Talk at Hull House, Chicago, Illinois where He spoke about racial unity. Hull House was a immigrant community centre, one of the earliest in Chicago, founded by Jane Addams of the National American Woman Suffrage Association. [PUP67, MD70; ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Historic Meeting with Jane Addams by Ruth Moffet]
  • Talk at Fourth Annual Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Handel Hall, Chicago, Illinois. [PUP69, MD71]
    • The NAACP’s co-founder, writer and civil rights activist W.E.B. Du Bois, was in correspondence with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and published His talk as well as His photo in the organization’s magazine, The Crisis Vol. 4, No. 1 (May, 1912) pp14-16. [BWNS1310; Luminous Journey 45:04] iiiii
    • The website for the current day on-line magazine and a collection can be found in the Smithsonian Museum.
    • His talks in Chicago attracted such prominent Black people as Alain LeRoy Locke, Ida B. Wells and Robert Sengstacke Abbott, the founder of The Chicago Defender, the most influential Black newspaper. [Luminous Journey 45:26]
    • See FMH152 for the story of Grace Ober inviting Dr. Du Bois and 60 others from an NAACP Convention in Pittsburg 6-10 July, 1931, to their tenement flat for tea.
  • In the evening He greeted the closing session of the public meeting of the Bahá’í Temple Unity where more than a thousand people had gathered. After His address he donated 2,000 francs to the Temple Fund. The meeting was held in the Drill Hall, Masonic Temple, Chicago, Illinois. [PUP65, SYH67]
  • Chicago; United States Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Conventions, National; Bahai Temple Unity; Abdul-Baha, Talks at other places; W.E.B. Du Bois; National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); BWNS
    1912 29 Jun `Abdu'l-Bahá hosted a Unity Feast in the Evergreen Cabin at the Wilhelm properties in West Englewood, New Jersey. [239D:102; AB223, PUP213]
  • For pictures of this event see 239D:100–1.
  • Some years later, in 1953, Curtis Kelsey helped to rebuild and enlarge Evergreen Cabin, built on the spot where 'Abdu'l-Baha was host at the first Unity Feast in America. [BW15p470]
  • See Shoghi Effendi's comments to Roy Wilhelm about West Englewood, 14 November 1932. [BN No 80 January 1934 p5]
  • A Brief History of Roy Wilhelm and the Annual Souvenir Unity Feast of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá by Joel Nizin.
  • West Englewood; New Jersey; United States Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Unity Feast; Roy Wilhelm; Evergreen cabin
    1912. 22 or 27 Sep The marriage of Louis G. Gregory and Louisa (“Louise”) A. M. Mathew, the first interracial Bahá’í couple, who met while on pilgrimage and whom 'Abdul-Bahá had encouraged to marry. They exchanged Bahá’í vows after the rites performed by Rev. Everard W. Daniel, curate of St. Philip’s Protestant Episcopal Church, perhaps the most prestigious African American church in the country, in a private ceremony in his residence. In a “Tablet” (translated March 14, 1914). She was 46 and he was 8 years younger. [SYH73-75, 91]
  • `Abdu’l-Bahá lauded the Gregorys’ marriage as “an introduction to the accomplishment” of harmony between the races. [`ABDU’L-BAHÁ’ S 1912 HOWARD UNIVERSITY SPEECH: A CIVIL WAR MYTH FOR INTERRACIAL EMANCIPATION p117 by Dr Christopher Buck]
  • See The Journey West.
  • The prayer, "Verily, they are married in obedience to thy command. Cause them to become the signs of unity and harmony until the end of time..." was revealed for their wedding by 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [FMH97]
  • ”Intermarriage is a good way to efface racial differences. It produces strong, beautiful offspring, clever and resourceful.” [sYH7]
  • [239D:169] reported this marriage took place on the 27th of September.
  • At this time interracial marriage was legal in Washington but not socially acceptable. It was outlawed in 25 states. It wasn't until 1967 that legislation forbidding interracial marriages was henceforth illegal. In the Washington community at this time there were white Bahá'ís who did not yet understand the principle of racial unity. [SYH80, 85-86]
  • "I made that marriage." 'Abdu'l-Bahá is reported having said to Mrs Parsons. "I wish the white and coloured races to marry"
  • New York; United States Marriage; Louis Gregory; Louisa Mathew Gregory; Firsts, Other; Race (general); Unity; Interracial marriage; Weddings; Louise Gregory
    1913 18 Jan `Abdu'l-Bahá received guests from the Muslim Community of Britain and was asked to speak at the Shah Jehan Mosque at Woking, one of the two mosques in England at the time and the first built in England and perhaps Western Europe. He spoke on the subject of the Unity of Religions and translation was done by Mírzá Ahmad Sohrab. [CH152, AB370, BW3p278-279, BW4p377]
  • Note ABTM303 reports that this event took place on the 17th of January.
  • Dr. Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner (1840–1899) was the builder of the Oriental Institute, founded to train Asians living in Europe for the learned professions, to the study of linguistics and culture, and for the teaching of languages to Europeans who wished to travel to the East. To cater for the spiritual needs of students of all major faiths and to provide for any who lived within reach, Dr. Leitner intended to build a synagogue, a church, a temple and a mosque. Only the Shah Jehan Mosque was completed. (Oct-Nov 1889). The Institute relied too heavily upon Dr. Leitner’s personal enthusiasm and wealth and it did not survive his early death in March of 1899. The Mosque was closed and practically empty between 1899 and 1912. Khwaja Kamal-ud-Din, a prominent Kashmiri lawyer and founder of the Woking Muslim Mission, worked to repair and re-open the Mosque in 1913. It was the first formal place of Islamic worship in England and became a centre of Islam in the UK. [Dr. Gottlieb Wilhelm Leitner]
  • For a photo of the gathering see BW3p280 or BWNS818.
  • Woking; Surrey; United Kingdom Abdul-Baha, Travels of; Abdul-Baha, Second Western tour; Mosques; Unity of religion; Interfaith dialogue; BWNS
    1919. (Late Winter until Early Autumn and beyond) "Red Summer" is the period from late winter through early autumn of 1919 during which white supremacist terrorism and racial riots took place in more than three dozen cities across the United States, as well as in one rural county in Arkansas.

    Some historians claim that the racial terror connected with “Red Summer” began as early as 1917 during the bloody massacre that occurred in East St. Louis, Illinois, a barbaric pogrom that would eventually set the stage for the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst episodes of post-Civil War racial violence ever committed against Black Americans. The Tulsa Massacre left as many as 300 Black people dead and destroyed more than 35 square blocks of Greenwood, an all-Black community so wealthy, the philosopher Booker T. Washington called it “Negro Wall Street.” [Red Summer: When Racists Mobs Ruled]

  • See Wikipedia for a partial list of locations where such events took place in 1919 alone.

    It was against this backdrop of racial tension and hatred that the Baha'i community promoted racial amity. [SYH125-126]

  • United States Red Summer; Race; Race (general): Race amity; Race unity; Racism
    1919 26 Apr-1 May The 14 Tablets of the Divine Plan were unveiled in a dramatic ceremony at the Hotel McAlpin in New York, during the `Convention of the Covenant'. The Tablets had been brought to America by Ahmad Sohrab at the request of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [ABNYP172Note24, BBD219; PP437; SBBH1:134; SBBH2:135; SBR86; AB434; TDPXI]
  • For details of the convention programme, Tablets and talks given see SW10, 4:54-72; SW10, 5:83-94; SW10, 6:99-103, 111-12 SW10, 7:122-7, 138; SW10, 10:197-203; and SW10, 12:2279.
  • Mary Maxwell (Rúhíyyih Khánum) was among the young people who unveil the Tablets. [PP437]
  • Hyde and Clara Dunn and Martha Root responded immediately to the appeal, the Dunns went to Australia where they open 700 towns to the Faith, and Martha Root embarked on the first of her journeys which are to extend over 20 years. [GPB308; MR88]
  • See also CT138-9.
  • Agnes Parsons arrived from her pilgrimage just before the close of the convention and was able to convey the instructions from `Abdu'l-Bahá to arrange a Convention for `the unity of the coloured and white races'. [BW5:413; SBR87]
  • The book Unveiling of the Divine Plan includes nine talks given by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab to the National Convention.
  • Shoghi Effendi calls the Tablets of the Divine Plan a charter for the propagation and the establishment of the Administrative Order. It has also been called a charter for the teaching of the Faith. [MBW84; LOG1628]
  • For the significance of the Tablets of the Divine Plan see ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Champion of Universal Peace by Hoda Mahmoudi and Janet Khan.
  • New York; United States Tablets of the Divine Plan; Abdul-Baha, Writings and talks of; Charters of the Bahai Faith; Conventions, National; Amatul-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum; Agnes Parsons; Hyde Dunn; Clara Dunn; Martha Root; Race (general); Race amity; Race unity; Ahmad Sohrab
    1921 19-21 May The first Race Amity Conference was held in Washington DC at the old First Congregational Church, 10th & G Streets NW. This church had a reputation for opposition to racial prejudice and had close ties with Howard University. It had a capacity of 2,000. [BW2:281; CoO197; SYH126]

    Referring back to this historic event, Abdu’l-Baha, in a Tablet to Roy Williams (an African-American Baha’i from New York City), wrote:

      I hope that the Congress of the White and the Colored that was instituted will have great influence in the inhabitants of America, so that everyone may confess and bring witness that the teachings of His Holiness, Baha’u’llah, assembles the White, the Black, the Yellow, the Red and the Brown under the shade of the pavilion of the Oneness of the World of Humanity; and that if the teachings of His Holiness, Baha’u’llah, be not enforced, the antagonism between the Colored and the White, in America, will give rise to great calamities. The ointment for this wound and the remedy for this disease is only the Holy Breaths [Holy Spirit]. If the hearts be attracted to the Heavenly Bounties, surely will the White and the Colored, in a short time, according to the teachings of Baha’u’llah, put away hatred and animosity and [abide in] perfect love and fellowship. (Haifa, August 2, 1921, translated by Touhi [Ruhi] M. Afnan.) [The Bahá'í “Pupil of the Eye” Metaphor—What Does it Mean? by Christopher Buck]
  • Martha Root handled the newspaper publicity for the conference and 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent a message to it via Mountfort Mills. [SYH126]
  • Mabry and Sadie Oglesby and their daughter Bertha from Boston as well as Agnes Parsons and Louis Gregory were involved. Agnes Parsons, during her pilgrimage in 1920, was instructed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "I want you to arrange in Washington a convention for unity between the white and colored people."[SETPE1p141-145, BW2p281]
  • For details of the conference see the article by Louis Gregory entitled "Inter-racial Amity". [BW2:281-2]
  • See article The Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America:Alain Locke and Robert Abbot by Christopher Buck [Bahá'í Studies Review, 17, pages 3-46, 2011] (includes a chronology of 29 Race Amity conferences organized in the United States between 1921 and 1935).
  • The Washington Bee (which, as part of its masthead, billed itself “Washington’s Best and Leading Negro Newspaper”) published the text of the entire speech on May 25, 1912, in an article headlined, “Abdue [ sic] Baha: Revolution in Religious Worship.”
  • Documentary: 'Abdu'l-Baha's Initiative on Race from 1921: Race Amity Conferences.
  • See the film Root of the Race Amiy Movement.
  • See the trailer for the film An American Story: Race Amity and the Other Tradition.
  • See the website for the National Centre for Race Amity.
  • Washington DC; United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity; First conferences; Mabry Oglesby; Sadie Oglesby; Agnes Parsons; Louis Gregory; Martha Root; Mountfort Mills
    1921 5-6 Dec The second Convention for Amity between the White and Coloured Races was held in Springfield, Massachusetts. [BW2:282; SBR92; SYH113-114, 126]
  • Over a thousand people attended. [SW13, 3:51]
  • For a report of the convention see SW13, 3:51-5, 601.
  • For a photograph see SW13, 3:50.
  • Springfield; Massachusetts; United States Race (general); Race amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race amity
    1922 Apr To the United States and Canada Shoghi Effendi sent a message to transform the 'Executive Board' into a legislative institution. [CB293; CT160; ER211-12; PP56]
  • It had been functioning since 1909 concerned mostly with the construction of the Bahá'í House of Worship.
  • This year the elected members of the Executive Board Bahá'í Temple Unity were: Mountfort Mills. Annie L. Parmerton. Bernard M. Jacobsen. Arthur S. Agnew. Corinne True. William H. Hoar. Joseph H. Hannen. Roy C. Wilhelm.
  • He addressed his first letter to this body as the "National Spiritual Assembly of the United States" on December 23rd however in God Passes By pg333 he stated that the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States was not formed until 1925. [SETPE1p107, CT160, CoB293]
  • Chicago; United States Executive Board; Bahai Temple Unity; National Spiritual Assemblies; Spiritual Assemblies; Mashriqul-Adhkar, Wilmette; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1922 25 Apr A National Spiritual Assembly was elected in the United States to replace the Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity. [SBR94]
  • The difference between this body and its forerunner was little more than a change in name. [DP122]
  • The conversion of the Bahá'í Temple Unity into the National Spiritual Assembly took four years; it was not until 1925 that Shoghi Effendi recognized the American national body as a National Spiritual Assembly. [CT161; DP121-2; GPB333]
  • The election procedure followed that used in the United States and not the current Bahá'í procedure: there was electioneering and candidates were nominated, with a straw poll taken to trim the number of eligible candidates. [CT160; DP122]
  • Chicago; United States National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Spiritual Assemblies; Executive Board; Bahai Temple Unity; Elections; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1924. 28 - 30 Mar A public conference devoted to Inter-racial Harmony and Peace, the third Race Amity Convention, was held at the public auditorium of the Community Church of NY on Park Avenue at 34th Street and at the Meeting House of the Society for Ethical Culture at 2 West 64th Street. Its organization was a collaborative effort with the NAACP, the National Urban League and the Bahá'í community participating. Presenters included Mr. Mountfort Mills, Mr. Franz Boas, Dr. Loro, Taracknath Das, Mr. Stephen S. Wise, Dr. Alain Locke, Mr. James Weldon Johnson, Ms. Ruth Morgan and Mr. John Finley. It was the third Racial Unity conference to be held. [Highlights of the First 40 Years of the Bahá’í Faith in New York, City of the Covenant, 1892-1932 by Hussein Ahdieh p23; BW2:282-3; SBR93; TMW1467; SYH126] New York Race Amity; Race Unity; Conferences
    1925. 20- 22 Mar The Palace Hotel, the city's first premier luxury hotel, was the site for the first World Unity Conference in San Francisco. The three day event was organized by Leroy Ioas, Ella Goodall Cooper and Kathryn Frankland in cooperation with Rabbi Rudolph Coffee. Dr. David Starr Jordan, founding president of Stanford University, served as the honorary chairman of the conference. Those who addressed the conference were Rabbi Coffee and Dr. Jordan but also the senior priest of the Catholic Cathedral, a professor of religion, a Protestant minister of a large African-American congregation, distinguished academics, and a foreign diplomat. The last one to address the conference was the Persian Bahá’í scholar, Mírzá Asadu’llah Fádil Mázandarání, the only Bahá’í on the program.
  • Ioas provided the National Spiritual Assembly with a report, and he suggested that similar World Unity Conferences be held in other communities. The National Assembly enthusiastically agreed and established a three-person committee, including two of its officers, to assist other localities in their efforts to hold conferences. The committee members were Horace Holley, Florence Reed Morton, and Mary Rumsey Movius. World Unity Conferences were organized for Green Acre-August, Philadelphia-September, Cleveland-October and Chicago in November.

    During 1926 and into 1927, eighteen communities held World Unity Conferences using the San Francisco model. These included Worcester, Massachusetts; New York, New York Oct 10-12; Montreal, Canada; Cleveland, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Hartford, Connecticut; New Haven, Connecticut; Chicago, Illinois; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; and Buffalo, New York. [BN No 12 Jun-Jul 1926 p6-7; The Cause of Universal Peace: 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Enduring Impact by Kathryn Jewett Hogenson; LI45-49; BN No 20 Nov 1927 p5]

  • See BA117 for Shoghi Effendi's comments and recommendations.
  • San Francisco; California; United States Conferences, Race amity; Conferences, World unity; Leroy Ioas; Ella Goodall Cooper; Kathryn Frankland
    1927 8 Jan The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada appointed seven people to a National Race Unity Committee. [SBR94; TMW166]
  • For the functions and challenges faced by the committee see TMW165–72.
  • United States; Canada National Spiritual Assembly; Race (general); Race Unity; Race Amity
    1927 13–16 Jan A World Unity Conference was held in Dayton, Ohio, one of many such conferences to be held in the year in major cities of the United States. [TMW159, 165]
  • See also The Babi and Bahá'í Religions: An Annotated Bibliography, section 'conference listing'.
  • Dayton; Ohio; United States Conferences, Unity
    1927 8 - 10 Apr The second conference for racial amity in Washington was held at the Mt Pleasant Congregational Church with the cooperation and participation of other like-minded groups and persons. [BW2p284]
  • Members of the Race Amity committee were Louis Gregory; Agnes Parsons, Sia Baghdad, Alain Locke and Pauline Hannen. [SYH146]
  • Other conferences were held inNew York state, in Portsmouth, NewHampshire, with monthly amity meetings in Boston and a second one in Washington in November. [SYH146]
  • Washington DC; United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity
    1927 Oct The first issue of the monthy called World Unity Magazine. Its editors were John Herman Randall, John Herman Randall Jr. and Horace Holley. The concluding volume of the magazine stated its unique character proceeded from the outlook of its founders, who "realized the inter-dependence of religion, science and sociology in the movements simultaneously destroying the past and forming a new era in human history." During its last years of publication, it was openly a Bahá’í journal. [The Cause of Universal Peace]
  • All subsequent issues are available at Baha'i Works.
  • In 1935 it was decided to merge World Unity with another publication, Star of the West (renamed The Bahá’í Magazine in its later volumes) to become a new entity, World Order. This magazine was published from 1935 to 1949, revived in 1966, and ran until 2007. Like World Unity, its erudite articles covered a wide range of topics aimed at the educated public, but it was unmistakably a Bahá’í organ under the auspices of the US National Spiritual Assembly and never acquired as broad a readership as World Unity. [BN No 90 Mar 1935 p8]
  • New York; United States World Unity magazine; Conferences, World unity; John Herman Randall Sr; John Herman Randall Jr; Horace Holley
    1927 10 - 11 Nov The third convention for amity in inter-racial relations in Washington was held in the Mt. Pleasant Congregational Church. [BW2p285; SYH146] Washington DC; United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity
    1928 Jan A charter was granted by the State of New York to World Unity Foundation, a body of trustees administering the Conferences, the Institute of World Unity, and also assisting in the promotion of World Unity Magazine. The purpose of the Foundation, as set forth in the Charter, is "to maintain facilities for promoting those ethical, humanitarian and spiritual ideals and principles which create harmony and understanding among religions, races, nations and classes; and for cooperating with established educational, scientific and religious bodies working ior these ends." The Charter was granted to the following as trustees: John Herman Randall (a Christian Minister), Mary Rumsey Movius, Melbert B, Cary, Florence Reed Morton, Alfred W. Martin, Horace Holley and Mountfort Mills. [BN No 20 Nov 1927 p8; BN No 22 Mar 1928 p8] New York; United States Conferences, World unity; World Unity Foundation; World Unity (magazine)
    1928. Jan (toward the end of the month) The Chicago community held its first Race Amity Conference. Louis Gregory was a speaker at that gathering. [SYH147] Chicago, IL Race Amity Conference; Louis Gregory; Race (general); Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity
    1928 11 - 12 Feb The ‘Conference for Inter-Racial Amity' was arranged by Inter-Racial Amity Committee of the Bahá’ís of Montreal’. There were three sessions in three venues: the YMCA, Channing Hall, and the Union Congregational Church. Speakers included Louis Gregory (‘International Lecturer on Race Relations’) and Agnes MacPhail, first Canadian woman Member of Parliament. [The Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America: Alain Locke and Robert Abbot by Christopher Buck page 34, Bahá'í Studies Review, 17, pages 3-46, 2011, BW7p660]
  • See BW6p659-664 for the essay by Louis Gregory entitled "Racial Likenesses and Differences: The Scientific Evidence and the Bahá'í Teachings".
  • Date conflict: "The Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, 1898-1948 by Will C. van den Hoonaard on page 90 says: "and on 2-4 March 1930 The Montreal Bahá'ís held Race Amity meeting." His source was the National Bahá'í Archives Canada, Notes on Montreal Bahá'í History.
  • SYH147 confirms the conference in Montréal was in "mid-February".
  • Montreal; Quebec; Canada Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity; Agnes MacPhail; Louis Gregory
    1929. 18 Mar The International Bahá'í Bureau was recognized by the League of Nations. [BIC History Timeline] New York, NY League of Nations; Bahai International Community
    1930. 18 Mar The International Bahá'í Bureau was registered as an International Working Unit by the League of Nations. [BIC History page 18 Mar 1939] BIC; League of Nations; Bahai International Community
    1932 27 Feb Race Amity gatherings became an effective way promote the principle of racial equality. A number pf banquets were held and at one such gathering held in Los Angeles, the circle of racial amity activities was widened to include not only white and coloured but also Native Americans, as well as Chinese and Japanese. At the banquet dinner, Nellie French represented the National Assembly and Chief Luther Standing Bear, who attended in full regalia with a number of his tribesmen, offered a prayer and spoke of peace as a covenant among all races. A Native American tribal dance followed as part of the programme. [Louis Gregory, ‘Racial Amity in America: An Historical Review’, in BW7p652-666.] Los Angeles; California; United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity; Native Americans; Chinese diaspora; Japanese diaspora
    1934 23 Jan Agnes S. Parsons died after an automobile accident. [BW5:410; SBR96; BN No 82 April 1934 p4]
  • She is primarily remembered for her contribution to the cause of race unity in North America. [BW5:413]
  • For her obituary see BW5:410–14.
  • See also Diary of Agnes Parsons; SBR76–96.
  • See as well FMH47-49 for the story of how she came to accept the Cause through three supernatural signs during her pilgrimage in 1910.
  • Washington DC; United States Agnes Parsons; Race (general); Unity; In Memoriam
    1934. 14 Mar Louise Gregory arrived in Belgrade to join Martha Root in the teaching work. Their overlap lasted until the 25th of March when Martha left for Athens. [SYH186-187]
  • Martha had arranged for a new believer, Mrs Draga Ilić, to translate Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era as well as the Hidden Words into Serbian. [SYH187]
  • During her time here Louisa received American visitors Charles and Helen Bishop from Portland, OR, who were on their way to Geneva to take up service at the International Bahá'í Bureau. They had been on pilgrimage in Haifa. [SYH188; BW6p133]
  • Louise established herself as a language teacher giving private lessons. On the 19th of June she moved to a larger house near the Austrian border then after a few weeks went to Salzburg to meet with Miss Fürth until the end of July. When Marion Jack arrived they travelled together to Munich and Göppingen and then to Esslingen to attend the German Bahá'í summer school at the request of Shoghi Effendi. It ran from the 5th to the 12th of August. [SYH190-191, 195]
      For photos taken at the summer school see SYH198-199.
  • After the summer school Marion and Louise went to Stuttgart and arrived back in Salzburg on the 3rd of September. She had trouble having her visa renewed and ultimately had to go to Vienna for this purpose. She returned to Belgrade by boat down the Danube. [SYH196-197]
  • A report on her teaching work in Belgrade was printed in the Bahá'í News No 90 March 1935 pg11.
  • Because her visa expired she was obliged to return to America. She left Belgrade near the end of April and went to England with plans to visit her relatives before boarding the Laconia in Liverpool destined for Boston on the 11th of May 1935. She had been away from home some 18 months on this teaching trip and had visited Varna in Bulgaria, Salzburg in Austria, Belgrade in Yugoslavia, Esslingen, Munich, Göppingen and Stuttgart in Germany, Salzburg and Vienna in Austria. [SYH 203-205, 242] ,
  • Belgrade; Yugoslavia; Salzburg; Munich; Germany Louise Gregory; Martha Root; Draga Ilić; Bahaullah and the New Era (book); Language; Translation; Charles Bishop; Helen Bishop; International Bahai Bureau; Bahai International Community
    1936 Jul Following on the success of the initial Race Amity conferences in Washington, DC, the National Spiritual Assembly formed a racial amity committee. For a list of the committees complete with membership from 1921 until 1932 see The Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America: Alain Locke and Robert Abbot by Christoper Buck. [Bahá'í Studies Review 17, 2011, 3–46]
  • In July, 1936 it was announced that "The National Spiritual Assembly had not appointed a Race Amity Committee that year. Its view was that race amity activities have sometimes resulted in emphasizing race differences rather than their unity and reconciliation within the Cause. Local Assemblies were requested to provide for amity meetings and regard them as a direct part of teaching." [TMW213]
  • United States Race (general); Race Amity; Race unity; Conferences, Race Amity; Unity; National Spiritual Assembly
    1941 31 Nov Some members of the National Spiritual Assembly filed suit against Sohrab to try to stop him from using the name Bahá'í. He had opened a Bahá'í bookshop in New York in 1939. This suit was filed in the Supreme Court of New York County. The judge granted a motion to dismiss, stating that "the plaintiffs have no right to a monopoly of the name of a religion. The defendants, who purport to be members of the same religion, have an equal right to use the name of the religion..." The judge mentioned that the complaint could be further amended and the NSA appealed but the Appellate Court affirmed the decision of the lower court.
          The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada distributed a mimeographed statement concerning the New History Society entitled The Basis of the Bahá’í Community, which explained the purpose and outcome of the lawsuit entered against the founders of the New History Society to prevent their misuse of the name "Bahá’í” on which the National Spiritual Assembly had obtained a trademark patent. [The Basis of the Bahá'í Community: A Statement Concerning the New History Society]
  • Also see United States National Spiritual Assembly vs. Mirza Ahmad Sohrab.
  • During the second World War the New History Society put forth an alleged passage from 'Abdu'l-Bahá which would justify citizens in refusing to obey their governments when drafted into the military forces. The National Spiritual Assembly was obliged to explain the true Bahá'í position to the federal authorities as set forth by the Guardian.
  • New York; United States Covenant-breakers; New History Society; Ahmad Sohrab; The Basis of the Bahai Community
    1943 (In the year) The first Bahá’í group was formed in Bogotá, Colombia, with the celebration of a Unity Feast. Bogota; Colombia Unity Feast
    1946 (In the year) The first issue of the News Exchange was published by the International Bahá'í Bureau in Geneva. The last issue was published in December of 1956. It was published in English, French and German. [CBN No 89 June 1957 p5] Geneva; Switzerland Bahai International Community; News Exchange; Anne Lynch; International Bahai Bureau
    1947 1 Feb Reflecting the unity in diversity highly valued by the Bahá'í community, Amin Banani, Mildred Mottahedeh, Hilda Yen, and Matthew Bullock presented the statement "A Bahá'í Declaration of Human Obligations and Rights" to the UN, which ended by quoting a well-known passage by Baha'u'llah: "The earth is but one country, and mankind its citizens."
  • In 1947 as was "The Bahá'í Statement of the Rights of Women". [PP304]
  • Amin Banani was an influential scholar; Mildred Mottahedeh was a member of the International Bahá'í Council from 1961-63 and later a representative of the BIC for many years (1948-1967); Hilda Yen was a leading figure in Chinese-American society who worked as a diplomat for many years; and Matthew Bullock was a Knight of Baha'u'llah for the Dutch West Indies, on this day was also a Knight for the Netherlands Antilles, and later a representative of the BIC. [BWNS1172]
  • For background information on the initiative to become involved with the United Nations see PP303-304.
  • New York; United States United Nations; Matthew Bullock; Bahai International Community; Firsts, Other; BWNS; Amin Banani; Mildred Mottahedeh; Hilda Yen
    1947. 18 May The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada was accredited by the United Nations as a non-governmental organization with observer status. [BW12:597; PP303; BIC site History 18 May 1947] New York; United States National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada; United Nations; NGO; BIC; Bahai International Community
    1947. 18 Jun The International Bahá'í Bureau contributed to the preparatory work of the Human Rights Commission for the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. [BIC History 18 Jun 1947] New York, NY UN; Bahai International Community; BIC
    1948 18 Apr The name ‘Bahá’í International Community’ was first used to refer to the eight existing National Spiritual Assemblies recognized collectively as a non-governmental organization. Those Assemblies were those of North America; the British Isles; Germany and Austria; Egypt and Sfidan; ‘Iráq; Iran (Persia); India, Pakistan and Burma; and Australia and New Zealand. Subsequently to these eight bodies were added the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá’ís of Canada, of Central America and of South America. Each National Spiritual Assembly in its application established the National Assembly of the United States as its representative in relation to the United Nations. [BBRSM149; BW11:43; BW12:597; BIC History 18 April 1948]
  • The Bahá’í International Community evolved to become an international non-governmental organization with affiliates in over 180 countries and territories, which together represent over 5-6 million members of the Bahá’í Faith. As an international NGO, the Office interacts and cooperates with the United Nations, its specialized agencies, with governments, as well as with inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations. The BIC seeks to promote and apply principles — derived from the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith — which contribute to the resolution of current day challenges facing humanity and the development of a united, peaceful, just, and sustainable civilization. The work of the BIC focuses on the promotion of a universal standard for human rights, the advancement of women, and the promotion of just and equitable means of global prosperity.
  • Mildred Mottahedeh was appointed to serve as the accredited Bahá’í International Observer, a post she held as a volunteer for almost 20 years. [BW12:601]
  • The following is a list of UN agencies with whom the BIC has representation: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and World Health Organization (WHO).
  • In the Ridván Message of 2001, the Universal House of Justice wrote:
      On many occasions during this one-year endeavour, the external affairs of the Faith were especially visible. Consider, for example, the instances of Bahá’í representatives' having participated prominently in the millennial events that took place in May, August and September at the urging of the Secretary-General of the United Nations. The implications of so close and conspicuous an involvement of the Bahá’í International Community with the processes of the Lesser Peace will require the passage of time to be properly understood. (emphasis added)
  • New York; United States BIC; NGO; Bahai International Community (general); Mildred Mottahedeh; UNICEF; UNIFEM; UNEP; Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); World Health Organization (WHO); Firsts, Other; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Shoghi Effendi, Life of
    1948. 18 Jun The Bahá’í International Community took part in its first United Nations conference, on human rights. [BW11:43; BIC History 18 June 1948] Geneva Bahai International Community; BIC; United Nations; Human rights
    1949. 4 - 9 Apr Bahá’í delegation to the United Nations International Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations consisted of Amin Banani, Mildred R. Mottahedeh, Hilda Yen and Matthew Bullock. [BIC History 1949} Lake Success, NY BIC; Bahai International Community; Amin Banani; Mildred Mottahedeh; Hilda Yen; Matthew Bullock.
    1949. 9 Nov The Bahá'í International Community, in a letter addressed to Mr Trygve Lie, the Secretary-General of the United Nation, informed the United Nations of the spiritual nature of the Bahá'í Faith. [BW12p598-600]
  • Also included was a prayer card.
  • See as well Bahá'í Relationship with United Nations.
  • New York, NY; United States Bahai International Community
    1954 9 Jun The passing of Alain LeRoy Locke (b. September 13, 1885, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.) in New York. He was laid to rest in Congressional Cemetery in Washington DC.
  • Locke graduated from Harvard University and was the first African American to win a prestigious Rhodes Scholarship (1907). Despite his intellect and clear talent, Locke faced significant barriers as an African American. In spite of the fact that he had been selected as the first African-American Rhodes Scholar, Locke was denied admission to several colleges at the University of Oxford because of his race. He finally gained entry into Hertford College, where he studied from 1907 to 1910. Locke also studied philosophy at the University of Berlin during his years abroad. He subsequently received a doctorate in philosophy from Harvard and taught at Howard University.
  • Locke declared his belief in the Bahá'í Faith in 1918. He is thus among a list of some 40 known African Americans to join the religion during the ministry of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
  • In 1925 he published The New Negro: An Interpretation of Negro Life. It was an anthology showcasing African American artists and is generally considered a seminal moment in the founding of the Harlem Renaissance and he became known as the "Dean of the Harlem Renaissance" which sought to advance African Americans through race relations, the arts, and social thought, leaving behind European and white American styles and celebrating the black experience.
  • See Alain Locke: Four Talks Redefining Democracy, Education, and World Citizenship edited and introduced by Christoper Buck and Betty J Fisher in World Order Vol 38 No3 p21-41. [Uplifting Words; Wikipedia] [Uplifting Words; Wikipedia]
  • See his article "Impressions of Haifa". [BW3p527-528]
  • See also his article "The Orientation of Hope". [BW5p527-528]
  • See Alain Locke: Bahá'í Philosopher by Christopher Buck.
  • See Alain Locke: Faith & Philosophy by Christopher Buck
    • See the review by Derik Smith in World Order Vol 38 No3 p42-48.
  • See Bahá'í Chronicles.
  • See Bahá'í Teachings.
  • See Uplifting Words.
  • The US Postal Service issued a series of stamps entitles Great Literary Movement: The voices of the Harlem Renaissance Forever on 21 May 2020.
  • Find a grave.
  • Philadelphia; New York Alain Locke; In Memoriam; Philosophy; Race amity; Race unity; Harlem Renaissance; African Americans
    1955. 18 Apr After the violent storm of persecutions against the Bahá'í's in Iran broke loose, the Bahá'í International Community delegates presented their case and Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjold, intervened with the Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs and brought an immediate end to the physical persecution and lifted the danger of a massacre. [Bahá'í International Community History, 18 April 1955] Iran UN; United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Bahai International Community
    1955 23 May The Bahá’í International Community submitted its Proposals for Charter Revision to the United Nations for the Conference for Revision of the UN Charter. [BW13:788, 795–802] New York; United States Bahai International Community; United Nations Charter; United Nations
    1955 Aug Appeals were made by National Spiritual Assemblies around the world through the Bahá’í International Community to the UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld to ask the Iranian government to halt the attacks on the Bahá’ís. [BW13:789–91; BW16:329; MBW88–9; PP304, 311; CBN No 81 October 1956 p1]
  • The intervention of the Secretary-General of the UN, along with the efforts of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, brought an end to the physical persecution of the Bahá’ís, although their human rights are still denied. [BW13:790; BW16:329]
  • This marked the first time the Faith was able to defend itself with its newly born administrative agencies. An “Aid the Persecuted Fund” was established.
  • Historian Mohamad Tavakoli-Targhi noted that the 1955 anti-Bahá'í campaign was both the apogee and the point of separation of the state-clergy co-operation. The Shah succumbing to international pressure to provide human rights, withdrew support. The result was that the period from the late fifties until 1977-1978 was a period of relative safety. [Towards a History of Iran’s Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.]
  • New York; United States; Iran Bahai International Community; United Nations; NSA; Human rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution
    1956 Dec It was announced that Mr Ugo Giachery, Mr Navidi, Mr John Ferraby, Mrs Mildred Mottahedeh and Mr Amin Banani had been appointed to an international committee to represent the Bahá'í International Community in relation to the United Nations in matters connect with the persecution of the Bahá'ís of Persia. [CBN No 83 December, 1956 p2] BWC BIC; Ugo Giachery; Aziz Navidi; John Ferraby; Mildred Mottahedeh; Amin Banani; Bahai International Community
    1957 9 Jun The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States designated the second Sunday in June as Race Unity Day. The purpose of Race Unity Day is to promote racial harmony and understanding and to focus attention on racial prejudice, which Bahá’ís believe is the most challenging moral issue facing our nation. Since then, communities throughout the country have held celebrations, open to the public, every year on the second Sunday in June. [Race Unity Day by Christopher Buck published in Religious Celebrations, pages 727-732] United States Race Unity Day
    1959 10 Apr Representatives of the Bahá’í International Community presented to the President of the Human Rights Commission, Ambassador Gunewardene of Ceylon, a statement endorsing the Genocide Convention. [BW13:791–4] New York; United States Human Rights; United Nations; Genocide; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements
    1960 17 – 18 May The Bahá’í International Community attended a meeting called by the United Nations Office of Public Information to discuss problems of cooperation ‘with the United Nations family insofar as its programme affects the new nations’. The Bahá’í statement regarding this became part of the conference record. [BW13:792]
  • For the text of statement see BW13:792–4.
  • Bahai International Community; United Nations; BIC statements
    1962. 20 Jul The passing of Harlan Foster Ober (b. October 6, 1881 in Beverly, Massachusetts) in Pretoria, Gauteng, South Africa.
  • He had graduated from Harvard University in 1905 with a B.A. and later obtained a law degree from Northeastern University in Boston.
  • Harlan Ober became a Bahá'í at Green Acre in 1905. Another source said it was in the spring of 1906 in a room in the Commonwealth Hotel in Boston that he overcame his doubts while using a prayer and other literature given to him by Lua Getsinger. [LDNW23; 100-101; SBR120-121]
  • Hooper Harris and Lua Getsinger's brother, Dr. William Moore, were selected to make a teaching trip to India. When Moore died suddenly Harlan Ober was chosen to replace him. As he had no funds for the trip Lua borrowed the money from Mr Hervey Lunt, the father of Alfred Lunt. [LGHC105]
  • In 1906 he made a visit to 'Abdu'l-Bahá while He was still confined to prison.
  • On the 17th of July, 1912 he married Grace Roberts (aunt of future Hand of the Cause John Robarts) in a ceremony conducted by the Reverend Howard Colby Ives at 209 West 78th Street in New York. When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited America in 1912 He had suggested that Grace Robarts and Harlan marry, and they both agreed with the match, with Harlan travelling to New York from Boston and proposing in Central Park after being informed of the suggestion by Lua Getsinger. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá performed the marriage ceremony in the room he was staying in in New York on July 17, 1912, and Howard Colby Ives later performed a legal ceremony. [SoW Vol 3 No 12 p14; Bahaipedia; The Jouney West, July 2012; Mother’s Stories: Stories of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Early Believers told by Muriel Ives Barrow Newhall to her son, p. 20]
  • They adopted three children of English, German and Russian background.
  • It was from their home in Cambridge, MA, from the office of the National Teaching Committee, that the first Teaching Bulletin was issued on November 19, 1919. This bulletin evolved to the US Baha'i News.
  • He was closely involved with Race Unity work and made many teaching trips to the southern states with his friend Louis Gregory.
  • He served on the Bahá'í Temple Unity Executive Board as president or secretary from 1918 to 1920. The work of this board was taken over by the National Spiritual Assembly when it was elected in 1922.
  • In 1938 Harlan was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada and he served on it until 1941.
  • Grace passed away in 1938, leaving Harlan widowed.
  • He married his second wife, Dr Elizabeth Kidder Ober in Beverly, MA on the 21st of June, 1941. Shoghi Effendi was pleased with the way the marriage was conducted, without having any church ceremony or minister conduct the service. [BW13p869, 871]
  • After their pilgrimage in 1956 Harlan and Elizabeth Ober travelled to South Africa where they helped form the first all-African Local Spiritual Assembly in Pretoria as had previously been request of them by the Guardian. They returned in December as pioneers. [BW13869]
  • He was appointed to the Auxiliary Board for Protection in Africa in October of 1957 and served on the National Teaching Committee of South and West Africa for two years.
  • He was buried in the Zandfontein Cemetery in Pretoria. [BW13p870; Find a grave; Bahaipedia; BW13p869]
  • Beverly MA; United States; Pretoria; South Africa Harlan Ober; Grace Robarts Ober; In Memoriam; US Bahai News; Race Unity; Elizabeth Kidder Ober; Elizabeth Ober; Auxiliary Board Members
    1962 17 Dec The Custodians asked the Bahá’í International Community to issue press releases deploring Morocco’s persecution of religious minorities and pointing out its failure to adhere to the UN charter condemning religious intolerance. [MoC397] Morocco Custodians; Bahai International Community; Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights
    1962 21 Dec Telegrams were sent by the Bahá'í International Community to Secretary-General U Thant and 35 United Nations delegations appealing for help under the Genocide Convention for the Bahá’ís sentenced to death and imprisoned for life in Morocco. [BW13:794] Morocco Persecution, Morocco; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; United Nations; Bahai International Community
    1963 Jan The publication of Freedom of Religion on Trial in Morocco: The Nador Case by Bahá'í International Community. It was a report on the situation in Morocco to that point in time. Morocco Bahai International Community; Persecution, Morocco
    1965 18 Mar The Bahá’í International Community established its own offices in the United Nations Plaza Building in New York. [BW14:90, BIC-History] New York Bahai International Community; United Nations
    1967 (In the year) Victor de Araujo was appointed by the Universal House of Justice as the full-time Accredited Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations; Mildred Mottahedeh was appointed Alternate Representative. [BW14:88–9; BW15:364]
  • For picture see BW15:365.
  • New York; United States Victor de Araujo; Mildred Mottahedeh; Bahai International Community; United Nations
    1970. 18 or 20 Mar The passing of Hilda Yank Sing Yen Male (b. 29 Nov or 29 Nov 1902, 1904 or 1906 in China, d. Riverdale, Bronx County, New York, USA). She was buried at the Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum, Hartsdale, New York, USA.
  • In Memoriam. [BW15p476-478; PH54-56]
  • A note from Mrs. Mildred Mottahedeh. read, in part: "This noble lady played an important role in the development of the Bahá'í Faith in the international field, and it was through her efforts that the Bahá'ís began their work with the United Nations." [BN No 472 July 1970 p2]
  • For a biography see Wikipedia.
  • She asked to attend the 1944 Baháʼí Annual convention as an observer and was moved by the spontaneous gestures of welcome and care shown between individuals society normally kept apart. She requested to enroll as a Baháʼí. She then asked to address the convention as a Baháʼí:

    "Fellow Baha'is, this is more than a pleasure. It is a miracle that I am participating with you in discussing such important matters. I contacted two denominations and a parliament of religions before I met Julia Goldman, Baha'i, who sowed this seed in my heart. While convalescent from a flying crash, my life was given me for service to God. Julia took me under her wing. I saw God vaguely; then more clearly, through the Baha'i Faith. Then came the battle of Hongkong(sic) where all shared in a common danger and hunger - forced to live the oneness of mankind. At length I secured a priority to fly to America and how do I rejoice to be in this free country! Conferring with Americans I have found this country the best to execute the message of peace. I have been blessed in meeting other Baha'is. I have been deeply impressed by the love and affection among Baha'is. China is well prepared by its sages for the Baha'i Faith. …" [BN No 170 September 1944 p6]

  • Find a grave.
  • Riverdale, NY; China Hilda Yen; United Nations; BIC; Bahai International Community; In Memoriam
    1970 27 May The Bahá’í International Community was granted consultative status, category II, by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations [BBRSM149; BW15:178, 366; BW16:333; BW19:30; VV54]
  • As a result, the Bahá’í International Community began to be represented at sessions of UN bodies addressing a wide range of issues of particular interest to Bahá’ís, including human rights, social development, status of women, environment, human settlements, agriculture, science and technology, new and renewable resources, population, law of the sea, crime prevention, narcotic drugs, children, youth, the family, disabled persons, the ageing, the United Nations University and disarmament.
  • At such sessions the Bahá’í International Community offers statements on the Bahá’í position on the subject under discussion.
  • Prior to this date individuals were accredited as "observer" representatives of the "Bahá'í International Community" which originally had been established in 1947 under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. Individuals who served as observer representatives on a part-time basis were Mildred Mottahedeh, Dr Ugo Giachery, John Ferraby, 'Azíz Navidi and Dr Amin Banáni among others. In 1963 the responsibility for the BIC was transferred to the Universal House of Justice and in 1965 permanent offices were established in New York with a full-time representative appointed. The first representative was Mildred Mottahedeh who soon asked to be replaced. Dr Victor de Arujo served for 23 years until his retirement in January, 1991. [BW15p358-367]
  • Bahá’í International Community Representative, Victor de Araujo, was elected to the Executive Board of the Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations. [BIC History 1970]
  • New York; United States Bahai International Community; United Nations; Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC); Mildred Mottahedeh; Ugo Giachery; John Ferraby; Aziz Navidi; Amin Banani; Victor de Araujo
    1970. 27 May The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations approved the recommendation by the Committee on Non-Governmental Organisations of February 12th 1970, that the Bahá'í International Community be granted consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. New York; NY United Nations Economic and Social Council; Bahai International Community; United Nations find reference
    1971. 18 Apr The Bahá'í International Community appointed a representative to the UN in Geneva. [BIC History 1971] Geneva Bahai International Community
    1971. 16 - 29 June A special seminar for UN member state was held in Yaoundé in observance of the International Year for Action to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination. The Bahá'í International Community was represented by Dr 'Azíz Navídí and Counsellor Dr Mihdí Samandarí. This was the first representation of the Bahá'í International Community with their consultative status. [BW15p368] Yaoundé; Cameroon Bahai International Community; Aziz Navidi; Mihdi Samandari
    1972. 5 - 16 Jun The Bahá'í International Community was invited to participate in the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment held in Stockholm. It was attended by some 1,500 representatives and 600 observers. The BIC Representatives were Dr Arthur Lyon Dahl, a marine ecologist and Mr Torleif Ingelog, a forest ecologist. A special pamphlet, The Environment and Human Values: A Bahá'í View was prepared and distributed. [BW15p368]

    The Stockholm Declaration provided the first global set of principles for future international cooperation on environmental issues.

    Stockholm; Sweden BIC; Bahai International Community; Arthur Dahl; Torleif Ingelog; Environment; United Nations; BIC statements
    1974. 19 - 30 Aug The 3rd World Population Conference was held in Bucharest, Romania. The Conference was attended by representatives of 135 countries. The debate focused on the relationship between population issues and development. The Conference adopted the World Population Plan of Action, which stated, among other principles, that the essential aim is the social, economic and cultural development of countries, that population variables and development are interdependent and that population policies and objectives are an integral part (constituent elements) of socio-economic development policies. [United Nations site]
  • The Bahá'í International Community delegates to this conference presented the brochure, One World, One People - A Bahá'í View.
  • The paper emphasized that 'effective medium and long-range plans for solving the world food problem must rest on a conviction, by the individual and society, of the organic oneness of humanity, and a commitment to education and work that will be of service not only to one's fellow citizens, but to mankind as a whole', and suggested, among other considerations, that 'agriculture must be acknowledged as a vital human occupation and given a position of prestige in society'.
  • Delegates to the conference included Dr. Victor de Araujo, Miss Anneliese Bopp, Dr. Marco G. Kappenberger, and Mr. André McLaughlin. [BW16p344]
  • Bucharest; Romania United Nations; Bahai International Community; Victor de Araujo; Anneliese Bopp; Marco G. Kappenberger; Andre McLaughlin
    1974. 5 - 16 Nov The United Nations World Food Conference was held in Rome. [BW16p344]
  • The Bahá'í International Community delegates to this conference presented the brochure, One World, One People - A Bahá'í View.
  • See the statement presented by the Bahá'í International Community to the Conference.
  • Rome; Italy United Nations; Bahai International Community
    1974. 1 Dec The Bahá'í International Community appointed a representative in Nairobi. [BIC History 1974] Nairobi; Kenya BIC; Bahai International Community
    1975 19 Jun - 2 Jul Two* Bahá’í women represented the Bahá’í International Community at the first World Conference on Women in Mexico City. It was the first international conference held by the United Nations to focus solely on women's issues and marked a turning point in policy directives. Nine Bahá’ís represented the Bahá’í International Community at the parallel NGO Tribune. Those attending were: Dorothy Nelson*; Jane Faily, Sheila Banání, Edris Rice-Wray, Carmen Burafato, Catherine Mboya, Shirin Fozdar*, Jyoti Munsiff, Elsie Austin and Shomais Afnán.
  • The purpose of the Conference was to give shape to a Ten-Year Plan of Action to promote equality between men and women in member nations by stressing better education and increased participation of women in decision-making in order to bring the neglected resources of women into the struggle for development and peace. [CBN No 287 Aug/Sep 1975 p16; Wikipedia]
  • The Bahá'í International Community issued a statement entitled International Women's Year.
  • Mexico City; Mexico Bahai International Community; Conference; Womens Conference; Dorothy Nelson; Jane Faily; Sheila Banani; Edris Rice-Wray; Carmen Burafato; Catherine Mboya; Shirin Fozdar; Jyoti Munsiff; Elsie Austin; Shomais Afnan; BIC statements
    1975 24 Jun Iran became one of the first countries in the world to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The covenant spelled out clearly the concept of freedom of religion or belief.
    Article 18 states that “[e]veryone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his/her religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching.” The ICCPR also spells out specific rights to due process “without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.” These include freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention, the right to be “promptly informed” of charges, and the right to legal counsel. Article 9 of the ICCPR states that “[n]o one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention.” It also states that “[a]nyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him.” Article 14 spells out the right to legal counsel, stating everyone has the right “to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing. …”
    The Covenant was opened for signature at New York on 19 December 1966 and came into force on 23 March 1976. [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Fact Sheet]
    New York; United States; Iran International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); United Nations; Human rights; United Nations; Bahai International Community
    1976 8 Mar The Bahá’í International Community was granted consultative status with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). [BIC History Consultative Status; BW16:337–8; VV54] New York; United States United Nations; UNICEF; Bahai International Community
    1978. 14 - 26 Aug The Bahá'í International Community participated in the first World Conference to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination and sent a delegation of African, European, and Asian backgrounds to participate. A major focus on the conference was South Africa's apartheid policies of racial segregation and discrimination. [BIC History 1978]
  • See the declaration submitted by the Bahá'í International Community.
  • See the resolutions adopted.
  • Declaration and Programme of Action
  • Geneva Bahai International Community; Racism; United Nations; BIC statements
    1978. 14 - 25 Aug The first World Conference Against Racism was held in Geneva, Switzerland. A major focus on the conference was South Africa's apartheid policies of racial segregation and discrimination.
  • UN website
  • Geneva United Nations; Bahai International Community; UNESCO; Racism; Discrimination
    1978 28 – 30 Dec The West African Bahá’í Women’s Conference was held in Monrovia, Liberia with the theme, "Spiritual Education of Women-The Foundation of a New Human Society". [BW17:154]
  • Delegates from sixteen countries attended. It was attended by 150 women and 50 men. Keynote speaker was Dr. Jane Faily, Consultant to the Bahá'í International Community's representative to the United Nations and a clinical psychologist associated with the University of Ottawa. [BN 136 April, 1979 pg10-15]
  • Monrovia; Liberia; Africa Women; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, Women; Conferences, International; Jane Faily; Bahai International Community
    1979. 12 Jun The UN Conference entitled "The Human Factor in Science and Technology for Development" was held in New York. Those attending on behalf of the Bahá'í International Community were: Dr. Will C. van den Hoonaard, Alternative Representative of the Baha'i International Community; Dr. K.H. Standke, Director, UN Office of Science and Technology for Development; Mr. Jurge Mahner, Special Fellow, UN Institute for Training and Research; Mr. John Edmonds, Engineer, Baha'i; and Ms. Susan Berge, Economist, Baha'i. [BIC History Science and Technology for Development] New York; United States Bahai International Community; United Nations conferences
    1980 (In the year) The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW18:92]
  • Twenty–four Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW18:229–30]
  • BW18:291–2 shows a slightly different, incorrect list.
  • For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:293–305 and BW19:236–46.
  • For accounts of some of the martyrdoms see BW18:275–81.
  • Twelve Bahá’ís disappeared and were presumed dead. [BW19:235]
  • For a list of resolutions adopted by the United Nations, regional bodies, national and provincial governments, and other actions taken, see BW18:92–6.
  • For a list of the actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community, Bahá’í institutions and others see BW18:339–41, 415–17.
  • Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; United Nations; Bahai International Community; Human rights
    1980. 14 - 30 Jul Representatives of the Bahá'í International Community participated in the Second World Conference of Women in Copenhagen, Denmark and its preparatory conferences in Paris, New Delhi, Macuto (Venezuela) and Lusaka (Zambia). [Wikipedia; BIC History Second World Conference on Women]
  • The BIC presented two statements, Equality, development and peace; and Universal Values for the Advancement of Women.
  • Report of the World Conference of the UN Decade for Women; Equality, Develpment and Peace. (pdf)
  • Copenhagen; Denmark UN; United Nations; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1980 Sep The European Parliament, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe and the United Nations Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities adopted resolutions on the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran. [BW19:38] Iran European Union; United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community
    1981 (In the year) The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW18:92]
  • Forty–six Bahá’ís were executed and two assassinated. [BW18:292–3; BW19:230–1]
  • For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–46.
  • For accounts of some of the martyrdoms see BW18:277–8, 281–4.
  • For excerpts from the wills of some of the martyrs see BW18:284–9.
  • For a list of resolutions adopted by the United Nations, regional bodies, national and provincial governments, and other actions taken, see BW18:92–6 and BW19:44–6.
  • For a list of the actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community, Bahá’í institutions and others see BW18:341–5, 417–20.
  • See Archives of Bahá'í Persecution in Iran for an edited video recording of the secret trial of the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran at Evin Prison in Tehran. (In Farsi)
  • During the year the Bahá'í International Community made its first appeal to the UN Commission in Human Rights to address the situation of the Bahá'í Community in Iran. [BIC History 1981]
  • Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; United Nations; Bahai International Community; Human rights; NSA
    1981 1 Jan The European branch office of the Bahá’í International Community was established in Geneva. [BW19:33, VV54, BIC-History] Geneva; Switzerland BIC; Bahai International Community
    1981. 1 Dec The Bahá'í International Community made its first appeal to the Commission on Human Rights to address the situation of the Bahá'í community in Iran and released a publication called The Baha'i's in Iran: A Report on the Persecution of a Religious Minority found in the Iran Human Rights Documentation Centre. New York; United States BIC; Bahai International Community; Persecution, Iran; BIC statements
    1982 (In the year) The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW18:92]
  • Thirty–two Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW19:232]
  • BW18:293–4 shows a slightly different, incorrect list.
  • For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–246.
  • For a list of resolutions adopted by the United Nations, regional bodies, national and provincial governments, and other actions taken, see BW18:92–96 and BW19:44–46.
  • For a list of the actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community, Bahá’í institutions and others see BW18:345–352, 369-379,420–424.
  • See the Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 26 January 1982 for a summation of the steps taken by the coordinated Bahá'í community to expose the crimes of the Iranian regime and to bring pressure to have the persecutions stop.
  • Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; United Nations; Bahai International Community; Human rights
    1983 (In the year) The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW18:92; BW19:177–226]
  • Twenty–nine Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW19:232–3]
  • All Bahá'í elected and appointed institutions were banned by the government in this year; most of the members of the previous three national governing councils having successively been executed. The members of a third National Spiritual Assembly eventually all were arrested or "disappeared". In the absence of a national governing council (known as a “National Spiritual Assembly”), the ad hoc leadership group, called the “Friends in Iran,” (Yaran) was formed with the full knowledge of the government. The various governments in power in Iran since 1983 had always been aware of this group. In fact, over the years government officials have routinely had dealings with the members of the Yaran, albeit often informally. [BWNS694] iiiii
  • For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–46.
  • For a list of resolutions adopted by the United Nations, regional bodies, national and provincial governments, and other actions taken, see BW18:92–6 and BW19:44–6.
  • For a list of the actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community, Bahá’í institutions and others see BW18:352–6, 424–5.
  • Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution, Human rights; Persecution, Bans; Persecution; United Nations; Bahai International Community; Human rights; Yaran; BWNS
    1983. 1 - 12 Aug The second World Conference Against Racism was held in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • Report
  • UN website
  • Geneva United Nations; Bahai International Community; UNESCO; Racism; Discrimination
    1983 20 Oct The establishment of the Office of Social and Economic Development.

     In a message to the Bahá'í world the Universal House of Justice called on individuals and Bahá'í communities to apply the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh systematically to the problems of their societies. This seminal statement pointed to the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh as a source of order in the world, asserted the coherence of the spiritual and the material dimensions of human life, praised the social and economic progress achieved by the Bahá'í community of Iran, announced the establishment of the Office of Social and Economic Development at the World Centre and defined the role of various Bahá'í agencies in fostering development. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 20 October, 1983, Mess63-86p602-603,AWH6–10; BW19:153, BW92-93pg229-245]

  • For the response of the Bahá’í world to the letter see BW19:112–13.
  • See also Social and Economic Development: The Bahá'í Contribution, a paper prepared for the United Nations Department of Public Information Annual Conference of Non-Governmental Organizations (“New Approaches to Development: Building a Just World”) held in New York 5 September 1984.
  • The document Bahá’í Social and Economic Development: Prospects for the Future, prepared at the World Centre was approved for publication by the Universal House of Justice on the 16th of September 1993, for use by the Office of Social and Economic Development (OSED) in orienting and guiding the work in this area. Most central to this vision was the question of capacity building. That activity should start on a modest scale and only grow in complexity in keeping with available human resources was a concept that gradually came to influence development thought and practice. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 26 November, 2012]
  • See also The Evolution of Institutional Capacity for Social and Economic Development by the Office of Social and Economic Development dated 28 August, 1994. It described two types of organizational arrangements that emerged in the Bahá'í world capable of undertaking increasingly complex development efforts - training institutes and Bahá'í-inspired agencies.
  • A related document, The Prosperity of Humankind, was issued by the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information and disseminated at the United Nations' 1995 World Summit for Social Development held in Copenhagen, Denmark. It offered a vision of social and economic development based on Bahá'í concepts. The document was first released on 23 January 1995.
  • A Clarification of Some Issues Concerning Social and Economic Development in Local and National Communities was prepared by the Office of Social and Economic Development in November of 1999 to respond to a number of questions that had arisen over the previous few years. It touched on such issues as degrees of complexity in development activity, the relationship between teaching and development, and participation in development projects.
  • See also Social Action by Office of Social and Economic Development dated 26 November, 2012.
  • See also For the Betterment of the World:The Worldwide Bahá'í Community's Approach to Social and Economic Development by Office of Social and Economic Development released on the 27th of April, 2018, updating publications of 2003 and 2008.
  • See also Vick, Social and Economic Development: A Bahá’í Approach.
  • The Office of Social and Economic Development was succeeded by the Bahá’í International Development Organization on 9 November 2018.
  • BWC Social and economic development; Social action; Office of Social and Economic Development; Bahai International Development Organization; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1984 (In the year) The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW19:177–226]
  • Thirty Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW19:233-4]
  • For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–46.
  • For a list of resolutions adopted by the United Nations, regional bodies, national and provincial governments and other actions taken, see BW19:44–6.
  • Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; United Nations; Human rights; Bahai International Community
    1984. 19 Oct The United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNCHR) appointed Andrés Aguilar of Venezuela as its Special Representative to Iran on human rights. Iran refused to engage with him and he eventually resigned in 1986, unable to persuade Iranian officials to cooperate with him in any way. [Wikipedia; BIC site History] New York, NY UN; United Nations; UNHCR; Andres Aguilar; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Bahai International Community
    1984 9 Nov The Universal House of Justice met with representatives of the Bahá’í International Community and various national spiritual assemblies at the World Centre. Haifa Universal House of Justice; Baha’i International Community; National Spiritual Assembly
    1985 (In the year) The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW19:177–226]
  • Seven Bahá’ís were executed or otherwise killed. [BW19:234]
  • For pictures of the martyrs see BW18:295–305 and BW19:236–46.
  • For the actions taken by the Bahá’í International Community see BW19:39.
  • Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; Bahai International Community; Human rights
    1985 (In the year) A regional office of the Bahá’í International Community affiliated with the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) was established in Bangkok. [BW19:161–2] Bangkok; Thailand Bahai International Community; Social and economic development
    1985 15 – 26 Jul Ten representatives of the Bahá’í International Community attended the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women and Forum ‘85 in Nairobi. [BW19:147–8, 412; VV28–9]
  • For a report of the Bahá’í participation see BW19:4.12–15.
  • For pictures see BW19:413, 415.
  • Nairobi; Kenya Bahai International Community; United Nations; Women
    1985 24 Oct On the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations and in anticipation of the United Nations International Year of Peace, the Universal House of Justice addressed a message "To the Peoples of the World" inviting them to consider that a new social order can be fostered by all peoples’ seeing themselves as members of one universal family. This message, The Promise of World Peace was presented to world leaders and countless others during the United Nations International Year of Peace. [BBD174, 187–8; BW19:139, 155; VV59, 86–8, The Promise of World Peace]
  • See BW20p131 for the logistics involved in distributing it throughout the world.
  • Within six months national spiritual assemblies present copies to 167 world leaders, including 140 to leaders of independent countries. [BW19:139, 334–6]
  • For pictures see BW19:337–44.
  • For text see BW19:324–33.
  • See the compilation on Peace compiled by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice.
  • See the oral statement from the Bahá'í International Community of the 17th of April 1986 addressed to the NGO committee for the University of Peace.
  • See the Message of the Universal House of Justice dated 18 January 2019 on the subject of world peace.
  • BWC; Worldwide United Nations; Universal House of Justice; Universal House of Justice, Basic timeline; Promise of World Peace (statement); Statements; Publications; Peace; World peace (general); - Basic timeline, Condensed; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Universal House of Justice, Letters and messages; Bahai International Community
    1985 22 Nov The Promise of World Peace was presented to the Secretary-General of the United Nations Javier Perez de Cuellar by Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and representatives of the Bahá’í International Community. [BW19:33, 382; VV87] United Nations; Javier Perez de Cuellar; United Nations, Secretary-Generals; Promise of World Peace (statement); Bahai International Community
    1985 13 Dec For the first time, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the human rights situation in Iran which contained specific references to the Bahá’ís. [BW19:38; VV55] Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; United Nations; Human rights; Bahai International Community
    1986 (In the year) Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, a prominent diplomat, and professor of law from El Salvador served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran from 1986 to 1995. He visited Iran three times between 1990 and 1992, but after his third visit, he was barred from visiting Iran. [Wikipedia]
  • His eight years as Special Representative were particularly significant, principally for a series of reports that authoritatively documented the intense, often brutal, violations committed by Iran against its own citizens. These were critical in calling the world's attention to the brutality of the regime at the time. Prof. Pohl's 1993 report to the Commission was notable for its disclosure of the so-called "Baha'i Question" memorandum, a previously secret 1991 letter issued by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council that established a national policy for dealing with Iran's Bahá'ís, setting limits on their educational, economic and cultural activities. [BWNS879; BBC 1993 Jan]
  • New York, NY UN; United Nations; Galindo Pohl; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Bahai International Community
    1986 (In the year) The persecution of the Bahá’ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW19:177–226]
  • One Bahá’í, 15-year-old Paymán Subhání, was killed. [BW19:225–6, 234]
  • For his picture see BW19:246.
  • For the actions taken by the Bahá’í international Community see BW19:38.
  • Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; Bahai International Community; Human rights
    1986 21 Jan The Islamic Research Academy at the Azhar University in Cairo published in a number of newspapers a lengthy opinion about the Bahá’í Faith in advance of the court cases of Bahá’ís due to be heard in February. [BW19:286]
  • "The essence of the statement is that the condemnation of the Bahá'ís should not be only based on charges of the Bahá'ís resuming activities and holding meetings, but rather on their beliefs. Consequently all Bahá'ís should be incriminated and not only those who allegedly have disobeyed a particular law." [Ref Enayat below]
  • For a refutation of this statement by the Bahá’í International Community, see BW19:288–96 and "Far Stretching River".
  • Also see Commentary on the Azhar's Statement regarding Bahá'ís and Bahá'ísm by Moshen Enayat.
    • "It (the commentary) was sent to the main daily Egyptian newspapers, all of which had published the Azhar statement under large headlines. It was also sent to some suitable senior officials, such as the Minister of Information and the Speaker of Parliament. To our knowledge no newspaper has published it. "
    • "The accusations listed in the statement are mostly repetitions of previous allegations, except for its inference that the unanimous opposition of Muslims to the Bahá'í Faith is a proof of its error; an assertion implicitly invoking the tradition attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that the unanimity of the Muslim nation cannot be infallible. The importance of the statement consisted in its attempt to make the condemnation of the Bahá'í Faith a doctrinal assertion, and as a consequence, tremendous pressure was exerted by some religious deputies on the speaker of the Egyptian parliament to pass a bill which stipulated that conversion to the Bahá'í Faith was an act of apostasy punishable by death."
  • Egypt Persecution, Egypt; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution; Court cases; Bahai International Community; Criticism and apologetics; Moshen Enayat
    1987 22 Apr A ceremony was held to sign a ‘status agreement’ between the Bahá’í International Community and the Government of Israel defining the relationship of the Bahá’í World Centre with the State of Israel. [LETTER OF THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE, 30 APR 87]
  • Shimon Peres, Vice-President and Foreign Minister, represented the Government of Israel while Donald Barrett signed the agreement in his capacity as Secretary-General of the Bahá’í International Community. [Message from the Universal House of Justice, 30 April 1887]
  • Israel; Haifa; BWC Status agreement; Bahai International Community; Shimon Peres; Donald Barrett
    1987 Sep The United Nations Secretary-General designated the Bahá’í International Community and the National Spiritual Assemblies of Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Kenya and Lesotho as Peace Messengers, an honour given to only 300 organizations worldwide for their support of the UN Year of Peace 1986. [BINS173:4] New York; United States; Australia; Belgium; Brazil; Kenya; Lesotho United Nations; Bahai International Community; International Year of Peace; Peace
    1987 3 Oct The Bahá’í International Community joined the Network on Conservation and Religion of the World Wide Fund for Nature, the sixth major religion to do so. [AWH56; BBD38; VV106] Bahai International Community; World Wide Fund for Nature; Nature; Environment
    1988 (In the year) Branches of the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information were established in Paris and London. [VV54] Paris; London Baha’i International Community
    1988 (In the year) ‘Arts for Nature’, a fund-raising programme held to benefit the work of the World Wide Fund for Nature, was held in London with the collaboration of the Bahá’í International Community. [AWH61; VV106] London; United Kingdom Bahai International Community; Arts; Nature; World Wide Fund for Nature; Environment
    1988 (In the year) The Bahá’í International Community became a founding member of ‘Advocates for African Food Security: Lessening the Burden for Women, a coalition of agencies and organizations formed to act on behalf of farm women in Africa, and is convener for 1988–92. Africa Bahai International Community; Rural development; Social and economic development; Women
    1988 17 Feb The publication of the statement by the Bahá'í International Community, “Eliminating Religious Intolerance”, for the forty-fourth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Geneva; Switzerland Religious intolerance; United Nations; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Publications
    1988. 19 Feb The publication of the statement by the Bahá'í International Community, “Eliminating Torture”, for the forty-fourth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Geneva Torture; United Nations; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1988 30 Nov The Bahá’í International Community was elected Secretary of the Board of the ‘Conference on Non-Governmental Organizations in consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations’ (CONGO) for the period 1988–91. [BINS189:2] New York Bahai International Community; United Nations; Social and economic development
    1988 8 Dec The plenary session of the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution concerning human rights in Iran which specifically mentions the suffering of the Bahá’ís. [BINS189:2] Iran United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community
    1988 29 Dec The Universal House of Justice issued a letter to the Bahá’ís in the United States published as Individual Rights and Freedoms in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. [Mess86-01p60] BWC; United States Universal House of Justice, Letters and messages; Publications; Administration; Administrative Order; Authority; Bahai Faith, Evolutionary nature of; Consultation; Criticism and apologetics; Ethics; Freedom and liberty; Freedom of expression; Human rights; Individualism; Moderation; Review; Unity; Western culture
    1988 30 Dec - 1989 1 Jan Senior officers of the Bahá’í International Community in the Holy Land, Geneva, and New York met with representatives of five national spiritual assemblies to discuss their collaboration with the United Nations, its agencies and their governments. Bahai International Community
    1989 (In the year) A branch of the Bahá’í International Community’s Office of Public Information was established in Hong Kong in anticipation of the time when the Bahá’í Faith can be proclaimed on the mainland of China. [AWH61; VV54] Hong Kong; China Bahai International Community; Office of Public Information
    1989 (In the year) The establishment of the Bahá'í International Community's Office of the Environment in New York. Ridván Message 1992 [AWH75; VV54 106] New York; United States Bahai International Community; Environment
    1989 Feb The inaugural publication of One Country, the newsletter of the Bahá'í International Community. It was a publication of the Office of Public Information of the Bahá'í International Community in New York. The periodical reported mainly on activities of the worldwide Bahá'í community in relation to issues of sustainable development, peace and world order, human rights, and the advancement of women. [BW'86-‘92 p.539] New York; United States One Country (magazine); Newsletters; Bahai International Community; First publications; Publications; - Periodicals Find date
    1989. 8 Feb The publication of the statement by the Bahá'í International Community, “Eliminating Racism”, to the forty-fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Geneva; Switzerland Racism; United Nations; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1989. 9 Feb The publication of the statement by the Bahá'í International Community, “Right to Development”, to the forty-fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Geneva; Switzerland Human rights; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; United Nations
    1989. 15 Feb The publication of the statement by the Bahá'í International Community, “Creating a Universal Culture of Human Rights”, to the fourty-fifth session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Geneva Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Human Rights; United Nations
    1989 9 Mar The Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution expressing grave concern at human rights violations in Iran, mentioning the Bahá’ís three times. [BINS195:1] Iran United Nations; Human rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Bahai International Community
    1989 17 Mar The Bahá’í International Community entered into a ‘working relationship’ with the World Health Organization (WHO) for the period 1989–91. [AWH61; BINS201:1] Bahai International Community; World Health Organization (WHO)
    1989 Sep The Bahá’í Office of the Environment was established as part of the Bahá’í International Community in New York. [AWH75; VV54, 106] New York; United States Bahai Office of the Environment; Environment; Bahai International Community
    1989 Oct One Country, the newsletter of the Bahá'í International Community, started publication in five other languages - French, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, and German. The first French language edition of the publication was launched in Paris in October, 1989. Each issue contained two or three in-depth feature stories on the United Nations, noteworthy social and economic development projects, environmental efforts or educational programs, along with an editorial that addresses world problems from a Bahá'í point of view. Bahai International Community; One Country (magazine); First publications; Newsletters; Publications
    1990 (In the year) The Asian Buddhist Conference for Peace was held in Mongolia.
  • A representative of the International Bahá'í Community was the only non-Buddhist speaker invited to address a public meeting held in conjunction with the conference. [AWH88] [VV101]
  • The paper that was delivered was entitled The Common Goal of Universal Peace in Buddhism and the Bahá'í Faith.
  • Mongolia Buddhism; International peace conferences; Bahai International Community; Interfaith dialogue
    1990 (In the year) The Bahá'í International Community, through the Office of the Environment in collaboration with other environmental organizations, re-instituted the annual World Forestry Charter Gathering that had be founded in 1945 by Richard St. Barbe Baker. [AWH75] [VV106] Bahai International Community; Environment; Richard St. Barbe Baker
    1990 (In the year) The Bahá'í International Community was invited to participate in the World Conference on Education for All in Thailand because of its involvement in the work of the Task Force for Literacy under the aegis of UNESCO. [AWH75] Thailand Bahai International Community; Education; Literacy; UNESCO
    1990 (In the year) A branch of the Bahá'í International Community's United Nations Office for the Pacific region was opened in Suva, Fiji. [AWH76; VV54] Suva; Fiji Bahai International Community
    1990 (In the year) For the first time a representative of the United Nations was able to officially meet with a representative of the proscribed Bahá'í community in Irán. The report to the United Nations Commission on Human Rights resulted in a resolution being adapted on Irán in a session held in Geneva. [AWH76] Iran; Geneva United Nations Commission on Human Rights; Bahai International Community
    1990 6 Sep The Bahá'í International Community opened a branch of its United Nations Office for the Pacific region in Suva, Fiji. [AWH76; BINS233:4–5; VV54] Suva; Fiji Bahai International Community; United Nations; Pacific
    1990. 29 - 30 Sep The largest gathering of world leaders in history assembled at the United Nations to attend the World Summit for Children. Led by 71 heads of State and Government and 88 other senior officials, mostly at the ministerial level, the World Summit adopted a Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children and a Plan of Action for implementing the Declaration in the 1990s.
  • The Bahá'í International Community played a key role among non-governmental organizations in promoting the concept of rights for children.
  • World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children.
  • Plan of Action for Implementing the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and Development of Children in the 1990s.
  • Goals for Children and Development in the 1990s.
  • New York, NY United Nations; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1991 (In the year) The first major public statement of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, The Vision of Race Unity: America's Most challenging Issue, was published and disseminated widely throughout the country. United States Vision of Race Unity (statement); Race (general); Unity; Publications; Statements; National Spiritual Assembly, statements; Public discourse Find ref
    1991 Jan Dr. Victor de Araujo, Bahá'í representative to the United Nations for 23 years and the first full-time representative, retired from his duties. He had represented the BIC at innumerable conferences and seminars throughout the world as well as at the UN headquarters in New York, often serving as chairman on the UN committees. [VV54]
  • Mr. Techeste Ahderom of Eritrea succeeded him. [VV54]
  • New York; United States Victor de Araujo; Bahai International Community; United States; Techeste Ahderom; Firsts, Other
    1991 25 Feb In Iran, a secret government memorandum (known as the Golpaygani Memorandum) was drawn up by Iran's Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council and signed by Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, which provided a blueprint of the policies and actions to which the Bahá'í community of Iran was to be subjugated. The memorandum demanded a shift in Iran's stance towards Bahá'ís from overt persecution to a more covert policy aimed at depleting the Iranian Bahá'í community's economic and cultural resources. This was a change in the policy for the Islamic regime which had openly persecuted and killed Bahá'ís during its first decade in power and had accused them of being spies for various foreign powers. The document also called for “countering and destroying their [Bahá'ís] cultural roots abroad.” [Iran Press Watch 1407]
    Signed by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the memorandum established a subtle government policy aimed at essentially grinding the community into nonexistence by:
  • forcing Bahá'í children to have a strong Islamic education,
  • pushing Bahá'í adults into the economic periphery and forcing them from all positions of power or influence, and
  • requiring that Bahá'í youth "be expelled from universities, either in the admission process or during the course of their studies, once it becomes known that they are Bahá'ís." [One Country; Iran Press Watch 1578]
  • The memorandum can be found here, here and here.
  • This document might have remained secret had it not been divulged to Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, the Salvadoran diplomat who served as the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran between 1986 and 1995. Professor Pohl disclosed the document in 1993 during a session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (now replaced by the Human Rights Council). [BWNS575]
  • Iran; United States Golpaygani Memorandum; Ayatollah Khamenei; Ayatollahs; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; United Nations; Persecution, education; BWNS; Bahai International Community
    1992. 29 May A statement titled Bahá'u'lláh was published by the office of the Bahá'í International Community Office of Public Information in New York marking the centenary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh. It was bound as a booklet and given wide distribution in many national communities.

    The statement was formally released at a press conference in Bombay, India by Hassan Sabri. [VV126]

    Mumbai (Bombay); India Bahaullah (statement); Historical Overviews by Central Figures or BWC; Bahai International Community; Office of Public Information; Hassan Sabri; Bahaullah, Life of; Bahaullah, Life of (documents); Statements; Publications
    1992 1 - 14 Jun Bahá'ís from many countries participated in the United Nations Conference on the Environment (UNCED), known as the Earth Summit, and the Global Forum for non-governmental organizations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. [BINS272:1–3; BW92–3:124; VV110]
  • The Bahá'í International Community delegation was extremely active in the Global Forum, promoting a holistic approach in negotiations on the Earth Charter; as well, it was the only religious nongovernmental organization to make a statement to the Summit's plenary session.
  • For a report of the Bahá'í involvement at the Earth Summit see BW92–3:177–89.
  • For the text of the statement of' the Bahá'í International Community read at the plenary session see BW92–3:191–2.
  • For pictures see BW92–3:179, 183, 186.
  • Rio de Janeiro; Brazil Earth Summit; United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; United Nations; Environment; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1992 Dec The Universal House of Justice announced its decision to establish an Office for the Advancement of Women at the headquarters of the Bahá'í International Community in New York. Support for UN efforts to improve the status of women, which had been carried out for twenty years by the United Nations Office, continued uninterrupted under the auspices of this new office. At annual sessions of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, statements addressed appropriate topics on the agenda, such as partnership between women and men, the status of girl children, the participation of women in decision making, partnership for development, and the human rights of women. [VV29; 54; BIC Document #: 95-0228; BW92–3:136]
  • The Office for the Advancement of Women officially opened its doors on the 26th of May, 1993. [BINS296:2; BW93–4:83–9; VV29] For pictures see BW93–4:83, 86.
  • New York; United States Bahai International Community; Women; Office for the Advancement of Women; Social and economic development; BIC statements
    1993 22 Feb At the 49th session of the UN Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations in Geneva released a report providing evidence that the Iránian Government had established a secret plan approved by Irán's highest ranking officials including both President Hashemi Rafsanjani and Ayatollah Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to oppress and persecute the Bahá'í community both in Irán and abroad. Galindo Pohl, special representative in charge of monitoring the human rights situation in Iran, highlights the contents of the secret document written by Iran's Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council. [BW92–3:139; BW94–5:134] [from Bahá'í Community of Canada Department of Public Affairs press release dated 25 February, 1993] Iran; Geneva; Switzerland Persecution; Hashemi Rafsanjani; Ali Khamenei; Galindo Pohl; Human rights; United Nations; Iran Memorandum; United Nations; Bahai International Community
    1993. 8 Mar The Bahá'í International Community presented the joint statement entitled Rights of the Child to the 49th session of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights. Agenda item 24. (a): Status of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Statement was signed by the following non-governmental organizations in Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC): Anti-Slavery International, Disabled Peoples' International, International Association of Penal Law, International Council of Jewish Women, International Council of Women, International Educational Development, International Movement for Fraternal Union among Races and Peoples, Human Rights Advocates, Planetary Citizens, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Geneva Rights of the Child; Bahai International Community
    1993 21 Mar The presentation of the first Race Unity Award by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada. Canada National Spiritual Assembly; Race unity; Race (general)
    1993 10 – 25 Jun The Bahá'í International Community and Bahá'ís from 11 countries participated in the United Nations World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna and the parallel meetings for non-governmental organizations. [BINS298:1–2]
  • The representatives from the Bahá'í International Community highlighted the importance of recognizing the universal nature of human rights.
  • A joint statement entitled Promoting Religious Tolerance was presented by the Bahá'í international Community.
  • Vienna; Austria United Nations conferences; Human Rights; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1994 Jul 28 The World Forestry Charter Gatherings, established by Richard St. Barbe Baker in 1945, were re-instituted by the Bahá'í International Community's Office of the Environment at a luncheon at St James's Palace, London. [AWH75; BW94–5:112–13, 142–3; OC6,2:1; VV106]
  • For pictures see BW94–5:143 and OC6,2:1, 12.
  • London; United Kingdom Environment; Richard St. Barbe Baker; Bahai International Community
    1994 Sep 5 – 13 The Bahá'í International Community attended the United Nations International Conference on Population of Development and the parallel Non-Governmental Organizations' Forum in Cairo. [BINS328:1] Cairo; Egypt Bahai International Community; United Nations
    1995 (In the year) Following the resignation of Galindo Pohl, the UNCHR appointed Maurice Copithorne, a Canadian lawyer, as the Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran.
  • On 22 April 2002, the UNCHR voted not to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, a decision condemned by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).
  • The BIC paid tribute to him upon his passing on 14 February, 2019.
  • New York, NY Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; UN; United Nations; Maurice Copithorne; Bahai International Community
    1995 23 Jan To respond to the increased attention given to the issues of social and economic development following the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, the Universal House of Justice asked the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information to prepare a statement on the concept of global prosperity in the context of the Bahá'í teachings. The statement is entitled The Prosperity of Humankind. [Mess86-01p417-8]

    Humanity has done well to articulate material indicators of development, and even to achieve a number of them. But focusing only on that which is quantifiable has obscured the critical importance of factors related to higher aspects of the human spirit, such as the value of relationships, the quality of one’s character, and the coherence between principles and deeds. The need to bring such factors to the centre of the development discourse was outlined in The Prosperity of Humankind, which made clear that ideals require the force of spiritual commitment to cement them. The statement laid out an ambitious vision of humanity’s capacity to take charge of the course of its development, and addressed a set of principles and concepts indispensable to the task, from reimagining collective decision-making to rearranging economic priorities. It called for “unconditioned recognition of the oneness of humankind” and “a commitment to the establishment of justice as the organizing principle of society”. [BIC 3 March 2020]

    BWC Prosperity of Humankind (statement); Social and economic development; Social action; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Publications; - Basic timeline, Expanded
    1995 Mar 3 – 12 The Bahá'í International Community and Bahá'ís from many countries participated in the United Nations World Summit for Social Development and the parallel Forum ‘95 for non-governmental organizations in Copenhagen. The delegation from the Bahá'í International Community focused on concepts of world citizenship and global prosperity as a means of suggesting how the Conference's main concerns about social integration and the alleviation of poverty could be creatively addressed. [BINS337:1–2; SBBR14p250-251]
  • For a report of the Bahá'í involvement in the Summit see BW94–5:37–6.
  • For the text of The Prosperity of Humankind the Bahá'í International Community statement released at the Summit, see BW94–5 273–96.
  • For pictures see BW94–5:39, 43, 45.
  • A Summary Report on the World Summit for Social Development (PDF).
  • Copenhagen; Denmark United Nations Summits; Bahai International Community; Social and economic development; Prosperity of Humankind (statement); BIC statements; Statements; Publications
    1995 30 Aug – 8 Sep Some 400-500 Bahá'í women and men from more than 50 countries around the world participated in the NGO Forum on Women at the Fourth United Nations International Conference on Women held in the resort city of Huairou some 50 kilometers north of Beijing.
  • See One Country Vol 7 Issue 2 for profiles of some of the attendees.
  • Bahá'í perspectives on equality were also shared with both Conference and Forum participants through distribution of The Greatness Which Might Be Theirs , a collection of Bahá'í International Community statements and essays by Bahá'ís reflecting on the Agenda and Platform for Action. The booklet's title is drawn from the words of `Abdu'l-Bahá: "As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibility, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs."
  • See Towards the Goal of Full Partnership: One Hundred and Fifty Years of the Advancement of Women by Ann Boyles written in anticipation of the conference. It is a survey of the Bahá’í community's efforts to understand and practice the principle of equality between men and women. [BW93-94p237-275]
  • Beijing; China; Huairou, China United Nations; Women; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1995. 4 - 15 Sep Fourth World Conference on Women was held at the Beijing International Conference Centre. It was one of the largest international meetings ever convened under United Nations auspices, some 17,000 people were registered including 5,000 delegates from 189 states and the European Union, 4,000 NGO representatives, and more than 3,200 members of the media. [BW95-96p151-158]
  • See Equality, Development, and Peace: Baha'is and the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and NGO Forum. [BW95-96p145-158]
  • The conference was called by the United Nations to review progress made toward implementation of the "Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women" adopted at the Third World Conference in Nairobi in 1985.
  • Seven Bahá'í delegations were accredited to the conference: the Bahá'í International Community, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, the Bahá'í community of the Netherlands, the Bahá'í community of Canada, l' Association Bahá'íe de Femmes (France), l' Association médicale Bahá'íe (France), and the National Bahá'í Office for the Advancement of Women (Nigeria).
  • By the end of the conference it was determined that much remains to be done, and a Declaration and Platform for Action was adopted aimed at launching a global campaign to bring women into full and equal participation in all spheres of public and private life worldwide. The Platform addressed twelve critical areas of concern: poverty, education, health, violence, armed conflict, economic structures, power sharing and decision-making, mechanisms to promote the advancement of women, human rights, the media, the environment, and the girl child.
  • The Greatness Which Might Be Theirs: Protection of Women's Rights
  • The BIC distributed the statement The Role of Religion in Promoting the Advancement of Women. The Bahá'í International Community and and the parallel Non-Governmental Organization Forum,
  • In year 2000, the follow-up documant for the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action entitled Beijing +5 Political Declaration and Outcome which reviewed progress towards the Platform for Action five years after its adoption.
  • Beijing; China United Nations; Bahai International Community; Women; BIC statements
    1995 Oct The publication of Turning Point For All Nations by the Bahá'í International Community, United Nations Office, in New York in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. It was a call for world leaders to define a role for the UN. [Turning Point for all Nations, en français] New York; United States Turning Point For All Nations (statement); Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Publications; United Nations
    1995. 1 Dec The 51st Session of the UN Human Rights Commission was held. In January the Bahá'í International Community submitted Promoting Religious Tolerance addressed an individual's basic human right to follow his/her conscience in matters of religion and belief. Geneva; Switzerland United Nations; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1996 03 - 14 Jun The Bahá'í International Community and 150 Bahá'ís from many countries participated in the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) and the parallel Non-Governmental Organization Forum in Istanbul. [BINS365:5]
  • The Bahá'í International Community presented a statement entitled Sustainable Communities in an Integrating World to the Plenary . [BIC History Habitat II]
  • Istanbul; Turkey United Nations; Migration; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1996. 1 Jul The Bahá’í International Community launched the site “The Bahá’í World”. Its stated purpose was to present "a collection of essays and articles that explore themes of relevance to the progress and well-being of humanity, highlight advancements in the worldwide Bahá’í community at the levels of thought and action, and reflect on the dynamic history of the Bahá’í Faith." It is one of the websites that continues the tradition initiated by Shoghi Effendi in 1926 when he began the publication of what came to be called "The Bahá'í World". Thirty-six volumes were published over to cover the period from 1925 to 2006, providing a public record of the Bahá'í international community's activities and achievements. [Ridván 1997]

    See 2019-05-23.

    BWC International Baha'i Community; Bahai World volumes; Bahai.org; Websites; Internet; BWNS
    1996. 1 Aug The Bahá'í International Community launched its first website. The site contained exclusively Baha'i International Community statements. Previously these statements had been hosted on an Internet Gopher server. [BIC History Launch of Official Website] New York, NY Bahai International Community
    1997 (In the year) In 1997 One Country launched its website that contained all the English issues of the newsletter published over the previous three years. [One Country Vol 23 Issue3, BW’86-92p539] One Country (magazine); Newsletters; Internet; Websites; Bahai International Community
    1997. 15 Mar The Bahá'í International Community presented a statement The United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education during the 53rd Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights held in Geneva. This statement focused on educating children and youth to instill in them those virtues required for a progressive society. [BIC website 1 January 1997] Geneva; Switzerland United Nations; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    1997 24-26 Oct The International Environment Forum was launched at the first International Bahá'í Environment Conference in de Poort, Netherlands, with participants from nine countries, who were joined electronically by people from 21 countries participating in the e-mail version of the conference.
  • A Bahá'í Perspective on the Environment and Sustainable Development was presented by Michael Richards of the Overseas Development Institute in London.
  • At the conference, the objectives, activities and structure of the Forum were agreed and statutes adopted, and a governing board of five people was elected.
  • It is a Bahá'í-inspired non-governmental organization that linked together Bahá'ís and others interested in the fields of environment and sustainable development. Development of the Forum had been encouraged and guided by the Bahá'í International Community, although it had no formal link with the Bahá'í administration.
  • Groesbeek; Netherlands International Environment Forum; Bahai International Community; Conferences, Bahai; Conferences, International; First conferences; Environment; De Poort; BIC statements iefworld.org/conf1.htm
    1998. 18 -19 Feb World Faiths and Development Dialogue (WFDD) hosted an event at Lambeth Palace in London that brought together spiritual leaders from nine major religions as well as traditional development experts. This gathering was dedicated to discussing development in the context of how faith and development organizations can cooperate to improve development as a process that encompasses both the spiritual and material aspects of life.The Bahá'í International Community contributed a paper entitled Valuing Spirituality in Development: Initial Considerations Regarding the Creation of Spiritually Based Indicators for Development. [BIC History 1 January 1998]
  • Kiser Barnes, Counsellor and member of the International Teaching Centre represented the International Bahá'í Community. Accompanying him was Lawrence Arturo, Director of the Bahá'í International Office of the Environment in New York City and Bahá'í Representative to the United Nations on environmental and development issues. [One Country] .
  • London; United Kingdom World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD); Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Lawrence Arturo; Kiser Barnes
    1998. 2 - 13 Mar During the 42nd Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in March, the Bahá'í International Community presented its statement Empowering the Girl Child, which supported the girl child as a critical area of concern. [UN Women] New York, NY Bahai International Community; Women; United Nations; BIC statements
    1999 (in the year) The founding of the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity (ISGP) as a non-profit organization to work in collaboration with the Bahá’í International Community and dedicated to building capacity in individuals, groups and institutions to contribute to prevalent discourses concerned with the betterment of society. One of the purposes of the Institute was to explore, with others, the complementary roles that science and religion – as co-evolving systems of knowledge and practice – must play in the advancement of civilization. Principles, concepts and approaches that are relevant to the advancement of civilization are to be explored through a process of study, reflection and consultation. [ISPG Web site; Bahaipedia; BWNS1266]
    • See various FaceBook pages including ISGP's The Forum.
  • In the Ridván 2001 Message it was stated that the Institute for the Studies in Global Prosperity, (was) a new agency operating under the aegis of the Bahá’í International Community. [Ridván 2001]
  • New York; United States Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity (ISGP); Bahai International Community; Science; Public discourse
    1999. 12 - 14 Jan During the World Faiths Development Dialogue continuation in Johannesburg, Matt Weinberg, director of research for the Office of Public Information of the Bahá'í International Community, presented a statement Religious Values and the Measurement of Poverty and Prosperity that addressed the question of how to measure the application of spiritual principles in development. [One Country] Johannesburg; South Africa World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD); Bahai International Community; Matt Weinberg; BIC statements
    2000 17 Feb The passing of Mildred Mottahedeh in New York. She had been elected to the International Bahá’í Council, the first globally elected Bahá’í body and was the first Bahá'í International Community representative to the United Nations. She was born in Seabright, New Jersey, on 7 August 1908 and was 91. [One Country Jan-Mar 2000 Vol 11 Issue 4; TP705-706; BW99-00p307-308]
  • See Blogspot.
  • New York; Seabright; New Jersey; United States International Bahai Council; Bahai International Community; Mildred Mottahedeh; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Firsts, Other
    2000 22 - 26 May The United Nations Millennium Forum was held at United Nations Headquarters in New York. It attracted 1,350 participants from more than 106 countries and many others participated remotely via Internet. The purpose was to give organizations of civil society an opportunity to formulate views and recommendations on global issues to be taken up at the subsequent Millennium Summit in September to be attended by heads of state and government. Convened by the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the Forum's overarching theme - "The United Nations for the 21st Century" - encompassed six main sub-themes in its declaration: 1) Peace, security and disarmament; 2) Eradication of poverty, including debt cancellation and social development; 3) Human rights; 4) Sustainable development and environment; 5) Facing the challenges of globalization: achieving equity, justice and diversity; and, 6) Strengthening and democratizing the United Nations and international organizations. The document was divided into three main areas: recommendations for governmental action; proposals for the United Nations; and actions to be undertaken by civil society itself. The Bahá’í International Community as an NGO representing a cross-section of humankind acted as a unifying agent in major discussions. Our principal representative at the United Nations, Techeste Ahderrom, was appointed to cochair a committee of non-governmental organizations. Lawrence Arturo and Diane 'Alá'í represented the Bahá'í International Community. [BW00-01p87-89, Letter from the Universal House of Justice dated 24 September 2000] New York; United States United Nations Millennium Forum and Summit; United Nations; United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; Conferences; Millennium; Bahai International Community; Peace; Security; Disarmament; Wealth and poverty; Social and economic development; Human rights; Sustainable development; environment; Globalization; Justice; Diversity; Prosperity; Equality; Solidarity; Tolerance; Nature; Cooperation; Interfaith dialogue; Techeste Ahderom; Lawrence Arturo; Diane Alai
    2000 28 - 31 Aug The Millennium Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders was held in New York and involved more than 1,000 attendees. The “very specific purpose” of this meeting was “to further the prospects for peace among peoples and nations, and within every individual.” The outcome of this Peace Summit was the adoption and signing of a declaration committing the participants to global peace. Noting that “the United Nations and the religions of the world have a common concern for human dignity, justice and peace,” accepting that “men and women are equal partners in all aspects of life and children are the hope of the future,” and acknowledging that “religions have contributed to the peace of the world but have also been used to create division and fuel hostilities,” the declaration resolved to “collaborate with the United Nations and all men and women of goodwill locally, regionally and globally in the pursuit of peace in all its dimensions.” The Baha'i' International Community was represented by its Secretary-General, Mr Albert Lincoln. Laurence Arturo and Bani Dugal-Gujral also attended as BIC representatives. [BW00-01p89, Letter from the Universal House of Justice dated 24 September 2000; One Country] New York; United States United Nations Millennium Forum and Summit; United Nations; United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; International Peace Conferences; Conferences; Millennium; Bahai International Community; Peace; World peace (general); Peace Summit of Religious and Spiritual Leaders; Interfaith dialogue; Albert Lincoln; Laurence Arturo; Bani Dugal Gujral
    2000 6 - 8 Sep The General Assembly Millennium Summit was held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and was attended by leaders of more than 150 nations. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan presented a report entitled, "We The Peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the 21st Century". In which was presented an overview of the challenges facing humankind and suggested practical solutions. Some of the key themes addressed include health, environment, human rights and other social issues, international law, peace and rejuvenating the United Nations. It is striking that called upon by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to address so historic a gathering was Mr. Techeste Ahderom, the principal representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations, addressed the gathering as the spokesman of civil society. He was accorded this honour because he had presided as cochair at the earlier United Nations Millennium Forum. After all the national leaders had spoken and before the Summit had adopted its declaration on 8 September, Mr. Ahderom made a speech in which he conveyed to that unprecedented assemblage a report of the Forum. The text of his speech is enclosed herewith. On the last day a declaration was unanimously adopted that began by asserting: “We, Heads of State and Government, have gathered at United Nations Headquarters in New York from 6 to 8 September 2000, at the dawn of a new Millennium, to reaffirm our faith in the Organization and its Charter as indispensable foundations of a more peaceful, prosperous and just world.” [BW00-01p91-93, Letter from the Universal House of Justice dated 24 September 2000]
    • The text of Mr. Ahderom's speech can be found on the BIC's website and at BW00-01p243-247.
    • Millennium Declaration (in all UN working languages)
    • The Millennium Development Goals are to: (1) eradicate extreme poverty and hunger; (2) achieve universal primary education; (3) promote gender equality and empower women; (4) reduce child mortality; (5) improve maternal health; (6) combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; (7) ensure environmental sustainability; and (8) develop a global partnership for development.
    • UN website.
    New York; United States United Nations Millennium Forum and Summit; United Nations; United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; Conferences; Millennium; Bahai International Community; Peace; World peace (general); Security; Disarmament; Wealth and poverty; Social and economic development; Human rights; Sustainable development; Environment; Globalization; Justice; Diversity; Prosperity; Equality; Solidarity; Tolerance; Nature; Cooperation; Interfaith dialogue; Techeste Ahderom
    2000. 8 Sep Dr. Techeste Ahderom, then the BIC Principle Representative to the United Nations, addressed the assembled heads of state of more than 150 nations on behalf of the peoples of the world. In his talk, Ahderom reminded the assembled leaders that the very idea of the League of Nations and, later, the United Nations, arose through the participation of civil society in various forms. He closed with the words from the Millenium Forum Declaration: “’In our vision we are one human family, in all our diversity, living on one common homeland …’” [The Cause of Universal Peace] New York; NY United Nations; Bahai International Community; Dr Techeste Ahderom
    2000 19 Sep In a ceremony, the final earth samples from 26 nations were deposited in the Peace Monument, which was built by the Bahá'í International Community and the Bahá'í Community of Brazil in 1992 for the 1992 Earth Summit. Designed by the renowned Brazilian sculptor Siron Franco, the five-meter concrete and ceramic monument is located near the entrance to the Santos Dumont Airport in Rio de Janeiro, just north of Flamengo Park and the site of the 1992 Global Forum, the parallel conference of non-governmental organizations held during the 1992 Earth Summit, which was formally known as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. [BWNS85] Rio de Janeiro; Brazil Earth Summit; United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; United Nations; Environment; Peace Monument; Monuments; Earth; BWNS; Bahai International Community
    2001 4 Jan The passing of Dr. Victor de Araujo of Vista, NY at the age of 78 years. He was born near London, England and spent his childhood and youth in Brazil. He came to the United Stated in 1946 as a vice consul to the Brazilian Consulate in Chicago. From 1967-1990, Dr. de Araujo served as a Representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations. In his years in this position he represented the Bahá'í International Community both at the United Nations headquarters and at numerous conferences around the world. He also participated in the preparation of Bahá'í statements on human rights, the environment, and the equality of men and women, which were presented to the United Nations. [Bahá'í Announce 5Jan2001; BW00-01p269-270] London; United Kingdom; Brazil; New York; United States Bahai International Community; United Nations; In Memoriam; Victor de Araujo
    2001 19 Apr The publication of the memorandum entitled Attainment of the Unity of Nations and the Lesser Peace by the Research Department on behalf of the Universal House of Justice. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 19 April, 2001] BWC Unity of Nations; Lesser Peace; Peace; World peace (general); Unity; World order (general); Prophecies; Seven candles of unity; Publications
    2001 30 Apr – 2 May The Bahá'í International Community issued a statement, entitled Sustainable Development: the Spiritual Dimension, for the first session of the United Nations Preparatory Committee of the World Summit on Sustainable Development at the UN in New York. [BWNS93]
  • For the complete text with footnotes see: Statement.
  • New York Bahai International Community; Sustainable Development; United Nations; United Nations Summits; BWNS; BIC statements
    2001 28 - 31 May Global Form on Fighting Corruption II was held in The Hague. [IAACA Web Site]
  • The paper entitled Overcoming Corruption and Safeguarding Integrity in Public Institutions: A Bahá'í Perspective was prepared by the Bahá’í World Centre at the request of the United States government and for use of the Bahá’í representative to the forum. [Text]
  • The Hague; Netherlands Corruption; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Publications; BIC statements
    2001. 25 - 27 Jun During the special session of the General Assembly on the HIV./AIDS pandemic held at the UN headquarters, the Bahá'í International Community circulated a written statement entitled HIV/AIDS and Gender Equality: Transforming Attitudes and Behaviors that emphasized the need to transform the attitudes and behaviors that spread the disease and directed attention to the important roles played by men and faith communities in turning the tide of the pandemic. [BIC History] New York, NY Bahai International Community; United Nations; HIV/AIDS; Gender; Equality; BIC statements
    2001 31 Aug – 8 Sep The third United Nations World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, was held in Durban, South Africa. The conference was also known as Durban I.
  • The BIC was one of nearly two thousand NGOs present at the NGO forum. The conference itself was fraught with challenges that demonstrated the complexity of these issues and the sensitivity they must be addressed for meaningful change to occur. The BIC participated in the Religious, the Spiritual and the International NGO caucuses; it had an exhibition booth and distributed the statement entitled One Same Substance: Consciously Creating a Global Culture of Unity which provided an outline of the efforts Bahais are doing towards this goal. [One Country]
    • See as well BWNS133 for the full text.
  • UN website
  • Durban; South Africa United Nations; Racism; Discrimination; Bahai International Community; UNESCO
    2001 23 - 25 Nov International Consultative Conference on School Education in relation with Freedom of Religion and Belief, Tolerance and Non-discrimination, a United Nations conference was held in Madrid, Spain.
  • The Bahá'í International Community presented a statement, entitled Belief and Tolerance: Lights Amidst the Darkness. For the text of the document see BWNS141 or on the BIC Site.
  • Madrid; Spain United Nations conferences; Tolerance; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Publications; BWNS; BIC statements
    2001 13 Dec The passing of Giovanni (Gianni) Ballerio (b. 15 February 1943 in Asmara, Eritrea) in Geneva after a battle with cancer. He was 58. [BW01-02p302]
  • He had been a representative of the Bahá'í International Community at the United Nations in Geneva and in New York since 1981. [One Country Vol.13 Issue 3]
  • Geneva; Switzerland Giovanni (Gianni) Ballerio; Bahai International Community; In Memoriam; Births and deaths
    2002 5 Mar The announcement by the Bahá'í International Community of the murder of three Bahá'ís in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. Rashid Gulov was shot and killed on 23 October 2001 while returning home from work. A second man, Mosadegh Afshin Shokoufeh, was shot outside his home on 3 December 2001 and died from his wounds on the way to the hospital. These deaths follow the assassination of 88 year old Abdullah Mogharrabi, a leader in the community, in September 1999. [BWNS153] Dushanbe; Tajikistan Persecution, Tajikistan; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; BWNS; Bahai International Community
    2002 Ridván The Universal House of Justice issued a letter addressed to the world’s religious leaders warning of “the danger posed by "the rising fires of religious prejudice" and called for decisive action against fanaticism and intolerance”. [One Country Vol.14 Issue 1]
  • For the text of the letter see To the World's Religious Leaders.
  • Also see One Country Vol.14 Issue 1 for an abridged version.
  • See also BWNS200; BWNS168, BWNS200; BW'02-‘03pg79-98.
  • The essential message was that God is one and all religions are from that same God and that recognition of these truths is a prerequisite that must be at the heart of all religious discourse. Bahá'i institutions throughout the world delivered thousands of copies of this message to influential figures and the major faith communities. Although some were dismissed out of hand, in general the message was warmly welcomed. [One Common Faith p.ii]
  • BWC Letter to the Worlds Religious leaders; Religious leaders; Universal House of Justice; Universal House of Justice, Letters and messages; Universal House of Justice, Basic timeline; BWNS; - Basic timeline, Condensed; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Interfaith dialogue; Unity of religion
    2002 26 Aug – 4 Sep World Summit on Sustainable Development, a United Nations conference in Johannesburg, South Africa. The Bahá'í International Community issued a statement, entitled Religion and Development at the Crossroads: Convergence or Divergence?. [BWNS169, BWNS170]
  • For the full text and footnotes see: BIC Web Site.
  • Johannesburg; South Africa United Nations; Sustainable Development; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Publications; BWNS; BIC statements
    2003 11 Mar Bani Dugal Gujral was appointed Principal Representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations.
  • Ms. Dugal Gujral had been serving as interim Principal Representative since the resignation of Techeste Ahderom in 2001.
  • Ms. Dugal Gujral came to the Bahá'í International Community in 1994 and served as Director of the Community's Office for the Advancement of Women. A native of India, where she practiced law before coming to the United States, Ms. Dugal Gujral holds a Master's degree in Environmental Law from Pace University School of Law in New York. [One Country Vol.14 Issue4]
  • New York; United States Bani Dugal Gujral; Bahai International Community; Women; Techeste Ahderom; United Nations
    2003 27 Apr Bahá'ís from the north and south of Cyprus met when they were permitted to cross the demarcation line that had divided the island for three decades. The event followed the decision by the Turkish Cypriot authorities to lift the ban on travel across the cease-fire line. Some 60 Turkish and Greek Bahá'ís held a devotional meeting together at the Bahá'í center in Nicosia. [BWNS216] Nicosia; Cyprus; Turkey; Greece History (general); Unity; BWNS
    2003. 10 - 12 Dec The World Summit on the Information Society gave the Bahá'í International Community an opportunity to assemble a delegation of Internet and Communications Specialists out of which one chaired the Ethics and Values caucus. The event was devoted to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the Information and Communication Technologies. Some 54 heads of state, prime ministers, presidents, and vice presidents, along with 83 ministers, came to the WSIS, which drew official delegations from some 176 countries. Also attending were several thousand representatives of nongovernmental organizations, business groups, the media, and other organizations of civil society.
  • The Bahá'í International Community's delegation to the WSIS was Michael Quinn of the United States; Bahiyyih Chaffers, permanent representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the UN; Laina Raveendran Greene of Singapore; and Karanja Gakio of Botswana, one of the founders of Africa Online. [BWNS268]
  • Geneva; Switzerland United Nations; Bahai International Community; Michael Quinn; Bahiyyih Chaffers; Laina Raveendran Greene; Karanja Gakio
    2003. 17 - 19 Dec The Bahá'i´International Community, with UNICEF, UNESCO, and major international non-governmental organizations, co-sponsored a regional conference in India with the theme, Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy. An address was delivered by Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations. She noted that, according to UNICEF, 121 million children received little or no schooling of which 65 million of these were girls. The text of her speech can be found in the reference. [Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy] New Delhi; India Bahai International Community; UNICEF; UNESCO; United Nations; Bani Dugal; BIC statements
    2004 31 May The launch of the Web site The Bahá'í Reference Library by the Bahá'í International Community. It marked the first time that a voluminous authoritative library of Bahá'í scripture and other Bahá'í publications had been available on the Internet. [reference.bahai.org, BWNS302] BWC Bahai Reference Library; Bahai.org; Websites; Internet; Publications; BWNS; Bahai International Community
    2005 (In the year) The publication of One Common Faith by the Universal House of Justice.
  • "The statement ‘One Common Faith’, prepared under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, addresses the following fundamental question of the modern world: On one hand the facts of history show clearly that revealed (prophetic) religion has been the primary driving force of the rise of human civilization. On the other hand, the current forms of the respective communities derived from these same religions have now become one of the most divisive and destructive forces of the twenty-first century. How could such a thing have occurred?" [Précis Commentary on ‘One Common Faith’ by William S. Hatcher]
  • Unlike the pamphlet written by George Townshend to all Christians under the title “The Old Churches and the New World Faith” in 1949 or the letter to the clergy in 2002, this statement is for "the thoughtful study of the friends". [One Common Faith p.iii-iv]
  • BWC One Common Faith (commentary); Interfaith dialogue; Universal House of Justice, Letters and messages; Unity of religion
    2005. 28 Feb - 11 Mar As Chair of the NGO Commission on the Status of Women, Ms Bani Dugal facilitated and organized the participation of over 2,700 civil society representatives from nearly 600 NGOs. The Bahá'í International Community sponsored the 49th NGO consultation for the Commission on the Status of Women at Barnard College, New York. [UN Women 49th session] New York; United States Bahai International Community; United Nations; Commission on the Status of Women; Bani Dugal
    2005 20 Apr The launch of the new official website, titled The Bahá'ís to replace the previous site, "The Bahá'í World," at the same address. The site is also a portal to the family of official web sites of the Bahá'í International Community.
  • The content of "The Bahá'í World" continued to be available as Bahá'í Topics: An Information Resource (archived, now redirects to bahai.org). [BWNS368]
  • BWC Bahai.org; Websites; Internet; Publications; BWNS; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2005. 14 -16 Sep The 2005 World Summit was a follow-up summit meeting to the United Nations' 2000 Millennium Summit, which led to the Millennium Declaration of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Representatives (including many leaders) of the then 191 (later 193) member states met in New York City for what the United Nations described as "a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take bold decisions in the areas of development, security, human rights and reform of the United Nations." [THE 2005 WORLD SUMMIT: AN OVERVIEW]
  • 2005 World Summit Outcome
  • Millennium Development Goals
    1. To eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
    2. To achieve universal primary education
    3. To promote gender equality and empower women
    4. To reduce child mortality
    5. To improve maternal health
    6. To combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases
    7. To ensure environmental sustainability
    8. To develop a global partnership for development
  • New York; United States United Nations Millennium Forum and Summit; United Nations; United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; Conferences; Millennium; Bahai International Community; Peace; World peace (general); Security; Disarmament; Wealth and poverty; Social and economic development; Human rights; Sustainable development; environment; Globalization; Justice; Diversity; Prosperity; Equality; Solidarity; Tolerance; Nature; Cooperation; Interfaith dialogue
    2005. 01 Oct The Search for Values in the Age of Transition was written on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the UN and contained recommendations for UN reform in the areas of development, human rights and the rule of law, democracy, and collective security.
  • Freedom to Believe: Upholding the Standard of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, written about the same time, called on the United Nations to affirm unequivocally the right of an individual's to change his or her religion under international law.
  • New York; United States United Nations; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2006 - 2007 (academic year) For more than two decades young Bahá’ís had been barred from entering university through an application process that required them to deny their faith. Though a modification in the process, achieved through worldwide public pressure, enabled a few hundred to register at the start of the 2006–2007 academic year, their hopes of pursuing higher education were soon dashed because that same year a confidential letter sent from Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology instructed Iranian universities to expel any student who was discovered to be a Bahá'í. The letter refuted previous statements by Iranian officials who had said Bahá'í students in Iran faced no discrimination. [BWNS575]
  • The English translation of the letter.
  • Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Education; Higher education; Human rights; Bahai International Community
    2006. 27 Feb - 10 Mar The 50th session of the Commission on the Status of Women was held at the UN Headquarters in New York. [UN Women]
  • The Bahá'í International Community presented Beyond Legal Reforms: Culture and Capacity in the Eradication of Violence Against Women and Girls.
  • New York, NY United Nations; Bahai International Community; Women; Commission on the Status of Women; BIC statements
    2006 16 Jun The Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information announced the launch of a new website called "Bahá'í Media Bank,". The site contained more than 2,500 high-quality photographs on Bahá'í-related themes and the plan was to eventually include video and audio material. [BWNS455]
  • In September 2017, after nearly 11 years, the site was given an upgrade in time for the historic 200th anniversary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh. [BWNS1200]
  • BWC; Worldwide Bahai.org; Bahai Media Bank; Websites; Visuals; - Bahai World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; All subjects; Bahai International Community
    2006 31 Jul The announcement of the publication of The Tabernacle of Unity. This publication of the Bahá'í World Centre contained five tablets - letters - written by Bahá'u'lláh to individuals of Zoroastrian background in the 1800s. As such, these tablets provide important insights into the interrelatedness of religion. [BWNS466] BWC Tabernacle of Unity (book); Zoroastrianism; Bahaullah, Writings of; Interfaith dialogue; Manikchi Limji Hataria; Translation; Publications; BWNS
    2007 12 Oct The opening of a new office of the Bahá'í International Community in Brussels. The purpose was to strengthen the BIC's ties with the European Union. [BWNS581] Brussels; Belgium Bahai International Community; BWNS
    2007 7 Nov The launch of a new website by the Bahá'í International Community, The Life of Bahá'u'lláh to provide illustration of Bahá'u'lláh's life through photographs of places and artifacts and relics associated directly with Him. [BWNS586] BWC Bahai.org; Websites; Internet; Bahaullah, Life of (documents); Bahaullah, Life of; Relics; Publications; BWNS; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2008 14 Feb The publication of a new statement from the Bahá'í International Community entitled Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward as One. The paper calls for a coherent, principle-based approach to the eradication of global poverty and was presented to the 46th Commission on Social Development. [One Country]
  • In English.
  • In Farsi
  • Also presented to the Commission was the statement Full Employment and Decent Work.
  • New York; United States Wealth and poverty; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Publications
    2008. 25 Feb - 7 Mar The 52nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women was held at the United Nations headquarters in New York. [UN Women]
  • The Bahá'í International Community presented Mobilizing Institutional, Legal and Cultural Resources to Achieve Gender Equality.
  • Baha'i International Community Representative, Ms. Bani Dugal was elected to serve as the President of the NGO Committee on Freedom of Religion or Belief in New York. During the 52nd Commission on Status of Women. [BIC History 2008]
  • New York, NY United Nations; Bahai International Community; Women; Bani Dugal; Commission on the Status of Women; BIC statements
    2008. 01 Sep The publication of The Bahá'í Question: Cultural Cleansing in Iran by the Bahá'í International Community.
  • It was made available in English and in Spanish.
  • New York, NY Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2009. 20 Feb The UN reviewed the Declaration of Copenhagen and Programme of Action for Social Development on November 26, 2007 and the United Nations General Assembly declared the 20th of February as the World Day of Social Justice. Its purpose was “to remember that social justice is necessary for peace, security, and development around the world” as an overall concept, and then more specifically to promote efforts to educate people about wide-ranging inequities such as poverty, gender equality, and social well-being. The intention was to not only raise individual awareness but to seek responses from institutions including governments. The concept was first proposed by the government of Kyrgyzstan. [Wikipedia] BIC Videos] New York; United States Justice (general); Bahai International Community; Tahirih Naylor
    2009 4 Mar The Bahá'í International Community at the United Nations sent an open letter to Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi, the Prosecutor-General of Iran, regarding recent measures taken against the Yaran (at the national level) and the Khademin (at the local level). Since the disbanding of the Bahá'í administrative order in Iran in September of 1983, these groups had been functioning in close collaboration with the authorities.
  • The letter reiterated, in broad strokes, the history of the relationship between the authorities and the Bahá'í community since the revolution and addressed the accusations leveled against them as well as the deliberate misrepresentations of the community. The letter closed with numerous examples of the support for the community from the Iranian population.
  • Iran Ayatollah Qorban-Ali Dorri-Najafabadi; Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2009. 20 - 24 Apr The Durban Review Conference is the official name of the 2009 United Nations World Conference Against Racism (WCAR), also known as Durban II. It took place at the United Nations Office in Geneva, Switzerland.
  • The conference was called with a mandate to review the implementation of The Durban Declaration and Programme of Action from the 2001 World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance. It was boycotted by Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, and the United States. The Czech Republic discontinued its attendance on the first day, and twenty-three other European Union countries sent low-level delegations. The western countries had expressed concerns that the conference would be used to promote anti-Semitism and laws against blasphemy perceived as contrary to the principles of free speech, and that the conference would not deal with discrimination against homosexuals. European countries also criticized the meeting for focusing on the West and ignoring problems of racism and intolerance in the developing world.
  • Controversy surrounded the attendance of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the conference due to his past statements on Israel and accusing the West of using the Holocaust as a "pretext" for aggression against Palestinians. The distributed English version of the speech referred to the Holocaust as an "ambiguous and dubious question". When Ahmadinejad began to speak about Israel, all the European Union delegates left the conference room, while a number of the remaining delegates applauded the Iranian President.
  • UN website
  • Geneva United Nations; Racism; Discrimination; Bahai International Community; UNESCO
    2009. 2 - 4 Nov A new initiative of the UN Development Programme and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation launched at Windsor Castle afforded the Bahá'í International Community the opportunity to begin to apply the framework of action underlying the Institute Process to the problem of climate change. Represented by the Bahá'í International Community, the Bahá'í Faith joined other world religions in articulating a Seven-Year Plan for Generational Change with respect to environmental stewardship. Their plan, one of the 31 presented, outlined a community-based methodology of social transformation rooted in the spiritual development of the individual and the channeling of collective energies towards service to humanity. [One Country]
  • During the conference BIC representatives Tahirih Naylor and Arthur Lyon Dahl were presented with certificates from HRH Prince Philip, the founder of the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC). [BIC History 2009]
  • Windsor Castle United Nations; Bahai International Community; * Institute Process; Tahirih Naylor; Arthur Dahl
    2009 7 – 18 Dec The Copenhagen Climate Change Conference raised climate change policy to the highest political level. Close to 115 world leaders attended the high-level segment, making it one of the largest gatherings of world leaders ever outside UN headquarters in New York. More than 40,000 people, representing governments, non-governmental organizations, intergovernmental organizations, faith-based organizations, media and UN agencies applied for accreditation. The delegation of the Bahá'í International Community led by Tahirih Naylor, registered with the United Nations as an international nongovernmental organization, comprised some 21 people. [BWNS742; BIC History 2009]
  • United Nations Climate Change Conference.
  • Copenhagen; Denmark Climate change; Environment; United Nations; United Nations conferences; BWNS; Copenhagen Summit; Bahai International Community
    2010 May The publication of Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism," for the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development. The statement can be read at BIC10-0503. [BWNS770] New York; United States Sustainable Development; Prosperity; Consumerism; Materialism; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Publications; United Nations; BWNS
    2010. 2 Jul The UN General Assembly voted unanimously to create UN Women, (General Assembly resolution 64/289) a new entity merging the four UN offices focusing on gender equality: the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), the Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW), the Office of the Special Adviser on Gender Issues, and the International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women. Following the passage of the resolution, the Bahá'í International Community, as one of the core NGOs leading the campaign for the new gender entity, received congratulatory notes from NGOs and women around the world expressing their appreciation and support for its role in the four-year campaign. [BIC History; UN Women]
  • See as well A short history of the Commission on the Status of Women (PDF).
  • New York, NY; United States United Nations; Bahai International Community; UN Women; Commission on the Status of Women; BIC statements
    2010 7 Dec In an open letter to Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq Larijani, the Head of the Judiciary, the Bahá'í International Community today contrasted the country's persecution of Bahá'ís with Iran's own call for Muslim minorities to be treated fairly in other countries. [BWNS801]
  • In English: BIC Letter.
  • In Farsi: BIC Letter (Farsi).
  • Iran Ayatollah Mohammad Sadeq Larijani; Open letters; Bahai International Community; Persecution, Iran; Persecution; Human rights; BWNS; BIC statements
    2011. 22 Feb - 4 Mar The 55th session of the Commission on the Status of Women took place at United Nations Headquarters in New York. [UN Women; One Country].
  • The Bahá'í International Community contributed the statement Education and training for the Betterment of Society ]
  • New York; United States Bahai International Community; United Nations; Commission on the Status of Women; BIC statements
    2011 Mar In March 2011, the UN Human Rights Council re-established the mandate of Special Rapporteur to Iran, which they had terminated in 2002, under the title "Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran". The Commission had stopped appointing investigators for Iran in an effort to encourage a dialogue with the country on human rights. Then, in 2005, the Commission was disbanded in favour of a new entity, the Human Rights Council, which, for a variety of reasons, was considerably more reluctant to criticize individual countries. Human rights activists believed the moral authority behind having such a UN-appointed special rapporteur was a critical step in bringing to light the severity of rights violations in Iran. [One Country]
  • Ahmed Shaheed was appointed and his mandate lasted from 2011 to 2016 when he went on to become the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief.
  • An Iranian parliamentarian referred to the United Nations Human Rights Rapporteur Ahmed Shaheed as a Zionist and CIA agent. [Islamic Republic News Agency 29 March 2014]
  • New York, NY Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Ahmed Shaheed; UN; United Nations; Bahai International Community
    2011. 11 Sep A follow-up conference dubbed "Durban III" took place in New York City. It was boycotted by Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, United States and the Czech Republic, along with Austria, Bulgaria, France, and the United Kingdom.
  • UN website
  • Wikimilli.
  • New York; NY United Nations; Racism; Discrimination; Bahai International Community; UNESCO
    2011. 21 Oct The release of the report entitled Inciting Hatred by the Bahá'í International Community which summarized each of the 400-plus documents or articles that were collected during the period of this survey, from 17 December 2009 to 16 May 2011 to prove that the Iranian regime has a systematic programme to demonize the Bahá'í community in the eyes of their compatriots.

      The report says in part "Despite this prolonged and systematic attack on its integrity and values, Iran’s Bahá’í community is not dispirited, demoralized or downtrodden. Nor have they risen up to counter-attack their oppressors with force or any trace of bitterness. Rather they have calmly stated their case and called for their fundamental human rights with dignity and courtesy, winning the admiration of their compatriots, observers and, in some cases, even those who are obligated to oppress them under government policy."

  • Inciting Hatred: Iran's media campaign to demonize Bahá'ís is available in English and Farsi.
  • New York, NY United Nations; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2012. 19 Jun Over 100 people gathered to mark the re-dedication of the “Peace Monument,” which contains soil brought from nearly 150 countries and is a symbolic representation of the oneness of humanity and the global cooperation needed to achieve lasting peace. The monument was built by the Bahá'í International Community and the Bahá'í Community of Brazil in 1992 for the 1992 Earth Summit. Members of the Baha'i International Community’s delegation attending were: Duncan Hanks, Daniel Perell, May Akale, Ming Hwee Chong, Peter Adriance. [One Country; BIC HIstory 2012] Rio De Janeiro; Brazil United Nations; Bahai International Community; Peace Monument; Duncan Hanks; Daniel Perell; May Akale, Ming Hwee Chong; Peter Adriance; Earth Summit
    2012. 29 Oct The Bahá'í International Community published a special report on The Baha'is of Semnan: A Case Study in Religious Hatred. (Video) This video report highlighted the effect on one community of the Iranian government’s methodical and organized campaign to incite hatred against the Bahá'ís and eliminate them as a viable social entity.
  • The Bahá'ís of Semnan had been the focus in recent years of intensifying persecution, facing an array of economic, physical, and psychological attacks. While these types of attacks on Bahá'ís were not confined to Semnan, the situation there was noteworthy for its particular intensity and the mobilization and coordination of official and semi-official elements -- including the police, the courts, local officials, and the clergy. [BWNS]
  • The report was also made availalble in hard copy. (PDF).
  • Semnan; Iran Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2012. 15 Nov In contribution to the 57th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women the Bahá'í International Community issued a statement entitled Towards the Eradication of Violence Against Women and Girls.
  • PDF..
  • New York; New York Bahai International Community; Equality; Women; statements
    2013 Mar The publication of the report entitled Violence with Impunity: Acts of Aggression Against Iran's Bahá'í Community published by the Bahá'í International Community. The report documents a rising tide of violence directed against the Iranian Bahá'í community - and the degree to which attackers enjoy complete impunity from prosecution or punishment.
  • From 2005 through 2012, for example, there were 52 cases where Bahá'ís have been held in solitary confinement, and another 52 incidents where Bahá'ís have been physically assaulted. Some 49 incidents of arson against Bahá'í homes and shops, more than 30 cases of vandalism, and at least 42 incidents of cemetery desecration were also documented. [BWNS972]
  • Report in English.
  • Report in Farsi.
  • Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Justice; Bahai International Community; BWNS; BIC statements
    2013 14 May The Bahá'í International Community launched the Five Years Too Many campaign to protest the 20-year prison sentences given to the Bahá'í leaders in Iran, the longest sentence given to prisoners of conscience under the current regime. The harshness of the sentences reflected the Government’s resolve to completely oppress the Iranian Bahá'í community, which faced a systematic, “cradle-to-grave” persecution that was among the most serious examples of state-sponsored religious persecution in the world. [Five Years Too Many, BWNS954] Tihran; Iran; Worldwide Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community; BWNS; BIC statements
    2013 1 Oct The Bahá'í International Community announced the appointment of Joshua Lincoln as its new Secretary-General. This announcement followed the announcement of the retirement of Mr. Albert Lincoln who had served as Secretary-General for 19 years. [BWNS968, BWNS969] BWC; Haifa Bahai International Community; Joshua Lincoln; Bahai International Community, Secretaries-General; Albert Lincoln; Retirements; BWNS
    2013 28 Oct The release of the video Violence with Impunity: Acts of Aggression Against Iran's Bahá'í Community based on the report of the same name. [BWNS972]
  • Engish
  • Farsi
  • Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Arrests; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Justice; Bahai International Community; BWNS; film; Violence with Impunity
    2014 (In the year) An office of the Bahá'i International Community was opened in Addis Ababa to work in collaboration with governmental, intergovernmental, and non-governmental agencies operating on the African stage. The office maintained strong ties with the African Union, which traced its roots to Addis Ababa in 1963. At the 50th anniversary of that founding, African leaders commissioned Agenda 2063: The Africa We Want. This document painted a vivid picture of where Africans would like to see their continent in 50 years' time.
  • The Office worked in five thematic areas: peace and security, the environment and climate change, inequalities between the materially rich and poor, the equality of men and women, and education for all. [BIC website; BIC News]
  • Addis Ababa; Ethiopia Bahai International Community
    2014 (In the year) The Baha'i International Community opened a Regional Office in Jakarta. The Office engaged inter-governmental associations such as ASEAN as well as various governmental agencies, civil society organizations and research institutes in the region with a view to convening gatherings, creating spaces devoted to collective inquiry, and meaningful discussion of contemporary issues in the region of Southeast Asia.
  • The present work of the Office is built on the long-time presence of the Baha'i Faith in this part of the world, dating back more than a century to the 1870s. Today, Baha'is are present in all Southeast Asian countries and are actively working for the spiritual and social advancement of their neighborhoods and villages. [BIC website; BIC News]
  • Jakarta; Indonesia Bahai International Community
    2015 22 Apr Pressures on Jamaleddin Khanjani’s family had increased since his arrest in 2008. Their country home in Semnan was demolished by Security Forces. The family had been given 48 hours to evacuate the house and even though they had succeeded in obtaining a ruling from the Supreme Court to stop the demolition, the home was destroyed. Authorities objected to a house that had been built with a City permit 18 years previously claiming that the owner of this property is unknown and the deed was not acceptable. The farmland, where the house was situated, had belonged to the family for more than 200 years.
  • Their farm had more than 40 thousand fruit trees, however, in recent years the authorities had blocked the road during harvest time to prevent more than 200-300 Tons of apples and peaches from reaching the market. A few years prior they had demolished a water storage facility that the family had legally constructed (the government permit and other documents were all available). More than 100 million Liters of water had been stored for agricultural purposes. The family had a thirty-year permit for a pasture for their cattle however they were forced to sell some and purchase forage for the remainder.
  • About two weeks prior the CEO of the family's farming company had been sentence to a one-year imprisonment. He had been in prison a few times before and was now back in prison again.
  • Although the Khanjani family included both Bahá’ís and Muslims, systematic confrontations and harassment of the family continued during his incarceration. The authorities erected a security station at the entrance to the property where they inspected the cars of family members and did bodily searches. Everyone had to be inspected to be able to go to his/her home. Even the 85-year old mother of Mr Kanjani had to obtain an access card to go to her residence.
  • Semnan’s Revolutionary Guard and Ministry of Information declared the farm to be a military area. They built a duty post next the site of the demolished family home. Authorities prohibited the transfer the animals to a warmer climate in a truck. As a result a number of the sheep died.
  • With respect to the condition of Jamaleddin Khanjani in prison; he was over 80 years old and on one occasion, had to be transferred to the hospital once for a heart surgery. He was immediately returned to prison although having a medical furlough would have been the usual procedure.
  • Mr. Khanjani's family members had been the objects of persecution as well. Foad, his grandson had been in prison for four years and his granddaughter, Leva, had just completed her sentence. His nephew, Navid, who had filed a complaint with the judicial system for having been deprived of education, was faced with fictitious charges and had been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment. He has had a number of medical issues for which he has not received adequate treatment.
  • The workplace of Mr. Khanjani’s son, who worked in the optical field, had been raided a few months prior. All his belongings and property were confiscated based on unfounded accusations of illicit transactions. He had spent some time in prison and had been recently been released.
  • Mr. Khanjani's brother had a factory in Semnan and had imported equipment for making prescription lenses from Germany. He had suspended work in his factory for the anniversary of passing of Bahá’u’lláh and the authorities closed his business based on different excuses. The Ministry of Information asked him why the factory had been closed and he said it was his religious holiday. They shuttered the factory permanently, confiscated all the equipment and auctioned it all without any compensation.
  • Although a large number of their family members were Muslim they lived together, the Muslims participating in the Bahá’í commemorations and the Bahá’ís participating in theirs. [Iran Press Watch 11853]
  • See the report from the Bahá'í International Community on the persecution of the Bahá'ís of Semnan.
  • Semnan; Iran Jamaloddin Khanjani; Persecution; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2015 14 May A global campaign called "Seven Days in Remembrance of Seven Years in Prison for the Seven Bahá'í Leaders" to call attention to the long and unjust imprisonment of seven Iranian Bahá'í leaders was launched on the seventh anniversary of their arrest. Each day of the week-long campaign, starting 14 May 2015, was dedicated to one member of the seven: Mahvash Sabet, Fariba Kamalabadi, Jamaloddin Khanjani, Afif Naeimi, Saeid Rezaie, Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Vahid Tizfahm. [7 Days] Tihran; Iran; New York; United States; Worldwide Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community
    2015. 8 - 9 Sep The Baha'i International Community and representatives of 23 other major religious traditions offered to the United Nations ideas and action plans in support of the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)—called Agenda 2030, the UN's primary development agenda for the next 15 years.

    Referred to as "the Bristol Commitments", contributions from the various religious groups were presented and discussed at a two-day event, titled "Faith in the Future", in Bristol, UK. The event was co-hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Alliance of Religions and Conservation (ARC).

    Daniel Perell, a representative of the BIC to the UN, spoke about the transformational power of religion, which can tap human motivation at the deepest levels. [BWNS 1067]

    Bristol Bahai International Community; United Nations; Faith in the Future; Daniel Perell; BIC statements
    2015 25 Sep The UN further defined its Sustainable Development goals at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit, Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
  • Subsequently, on the 15th of November, the Bahá'í International Community published the statement, Summoning Our Common Will: A Baha’i Contribution to the United Nations Global Development Agenda.
  • New York; United States Sustainable Development; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements
    2016 (In the year) Asma Jilani Jahangir was selected as the Special Rapporteur in 2016. She was a human rights lawyer of Pakistani origin and a former President of the Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan. She suffered from cardiac arrest in Lahore on 11 February 2018 and later died at the hospital. [Wikipedia] New York; United States UN; United Nations; Asma Jahangir; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Bahai International Community
    2016 29 Apr In observance of the eighth anniversary of the arrest and incarceration of seven Iranian Bahá'í leaders, the Bahá'í International Community was launched a global campaign calling for their immediate release. Taking the theme “Enough! Release the Bahá'í Seven,” the campaign emphasized the fact that, under Iran’s own national penal code, the seven were now overdue for conditional release. [Enough!]
  • A special campaign page was established with information about their current legal situation and other resources. [Enough! Release the Bahá'í Seven].
  • The campaign included an account on FaceBook.
  • and a Twitter handle. The hashtag for the campaign was: #ReleaseBahai7Now.
  • Tihran; Iran Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2016 12 May In commemoration of the incarceration of the Yaran in Iran in 2008 the International Bahá'í Community (BIC) released a video entitled Enough! Release the Baha’i Seven Now. Tihran; Iran Yaran; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution; Human rights; Bahai International Community
    2016 23 - 24 May The first World Humanitarian Summit was held in Istanbul, Turkey. The summit, organized by the United Nations, called on government leaders as well as those from business, aid agencies, civil society and faith-based organizations to consult on the question of disaster relief.
  • A statement released by the Bahá'í International Community for the occasion, titled "Rising Together: Building the Capacity to Recover from Within" is available at their website.
  • Istanbul; Turkey United Nations Summits; United Nations conferences; Conferences; Calamities and catastrophes; Charity and relief work; Capacity building; Social and economic development; Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Statements; Publications
    2016. 6 Sep In a letter the BIC called on Iranian President Rouhani to end systematic economic oppression. The letter signed by Bani Dugal, Principal Representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations, drew attention to the stark contradiction between statements espoused by the Iranian government regarding economic justice, equality for all and reducing unemployment on one hand, and the unrelenting efforts to impoverish a section of its own citizens on the other. New York; United States Bani Dugal Gujral; Bahai International Community; Persecution, Iran; Persecution
    2016 26 Oct The report from the offices of the Bahá'í International Community entitled The Bahá'í Question Revisited: Persecution and Resilience in Iran was formally released.
  • The full report can be read on-line here.
  • A list of resolutions by the United Nations and United Nations bodies that referenced the situation of Bahá'ís in Iran since 1980 can be found at this location.
  • An annex to The Bahá'í Question Revisited is the report called "Inciting Hatred". It is an analysis of approximately 400 anti-Bahá'í articles, broadcasts, and webpages from late December 2009 through May 2011 and can be found here.
  • A list of the 222 Bahá'ís who have been killed in Iran since 1978 can be read here.
  • Iran; New York; United States Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Other; Persecution, Deaths; Persecution; Bahai International Community; Human rights; United Nations; BIC statements
    2017 15 Feb The Bahá'í International Community announced the launch of a website for the Bahá'ís of Iran at Bahaisofiran.org. "Although the official website of the worldwide Bahá'í community had recently been made available in Persian and a number of other languages, the new "Baha'is of Iran" website was the first website of the Bahá'í community of Iran. This development was especially important at a time when a large volume of anti-Bahá'í propaganda had proliferated in that country. Since 2013 alone, more than 20,000 such pieces had been disseminated in Iran's media." [BWNS1152, The Baha'i Question Revisited]
  • Web sites for other national communities can be found at A Global Community.
  • Iran Websites; Internet; Publications; BWNS; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2017 12 May The Bahá'í International Community launched a global campaign calling for the immediate release of the seven Iranian Bahá'í leaders, unjustly imprisoned for nine years as of the 14th of May.
  • The theme of the campaign, “Not Another Year,” was intended to raise awareness about the seven women and men unjustly arrested in 2008 and sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment for their religious beliefs. This sentence was reduced to 10 years in 2015 after the overdue application of a new Iranian Penal Code. [BWNS1167]
    • The official video of the Bahá'í International Community to commemorate the 9th anniversary of the arrest and imprisonment of seven Iranian Bahá'í leaders - Not Another Year.
  • Iran Yaran; Court cases; Human rights; Persecution, Iran; Persecution, Court cases; Persecution, Other; Persecution; BWNS; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2018. (In the year) The Bahá'í International Community established a web site, Archives of Bahá'í Persecution in Iran to document the persecution of the Bahá'ís in Iran. Each document is available as a digital scan of the original and in a text-searchable format. In time, all materials will be available in both Persian and English. The site was established in response to rising interest both internationally and within Iran to understand the depth and breadth of this persecution. The documents shed light on the decades-long, systematic, and ongoing persecution of the Baha’is, instigated by the clergy and by the government.

    Although most of the documents on this website are related to the decades following the Islamic revolution in 1979, there are many that date back a long time prior to the revolution. They cover a wide range of persecutions, including systematic discrimination, arrest and imprisonment, execution, economic oppression, exclusion from education, acts of destruction and violence, and incitement to hatred. Over time, the archive will contain thousands of documents, mostly text documents, but also audio and visual records, many of which were being made publicly available for the first time.

    One can subscribe to receive an email with weekly updates.

    On the 9th of May 2023 the Universal House of Justice wrote to all National Assemblies announcing that this resource had been made available. iiiii

    Iran Persecution, Iran; Baha'i International Community; BIC
    2018. 18 Jan The publication of A Vision of Peace: Stories from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is a brief history of the struggles and successes of the Bahá'í community in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
  • The podcast associated with this Bahá’í World News Service story, can be found here.
  • Democratic Republic of the Congo Community building
    2018. 25 Jan Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran, Asma Jahangir, in her report, shared with that country on this date, listed the names of some 77 Bahá'ís imprisoned in that country.
  • Report.
  • New York, NY UN; United Nations; Asma Jahangir; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2018. 25 Jan By way of a contribution to the 7th Annual ECOSOC Youth Forum at the United Nations, the Bahá'í International Community presented a statement titled, Rising Generations: Weaving a New Tapestry of Community Life in which our current systems of governance, economics, health, and education, among others were discussed and thought given to what these systems would have to be like in the future. New York; United States Bahai International Community; BIC statements
    2018. 29 Jan - 7 Feb The 56th session of the United Nations Commission for Social Development focused on strategies for eradicating poverty. It explored many dimensions of this complex and vexing issue, including the necessity of realizing the equality of women and men, the promise and potential pitfalls of technology, issues of disability and inclusion, as well as the special role of families, communities, and youth.

    The BIC prepared a statement for the Commission calling for a profound shift in thinking. Referring to the Commission’s aim of “eradicating poverty to achieve sustainable development for all,” the statement explains that it “is not simply a matter of expanding access to material resources, challenging as that can be. Rather, it is an endeavor of structural and social transformation on scales never attempted before. And the magnitude of that work calls for new ways of understanding individual human beings and society as a whole.”

    The statement, Towards a Just Economic Order: Conceptual Foundations and Moral Prerequisites was made available on the BIC website.

    New York; NY United Nation; Bahai International Community; Statements
    2018 12 Mar The Bahá'í International Community in New York released the statement "Beyond Mere Economics: A Moral Inquiry into the Roots of Empowerment" to the 62nd session of the Commission on the Status of Women (12 to 23 March 2018). [BWNS1243] New York; United States Bahai International Community; BIC statements; Publications; Women; Empowerment; Economics; United Nations; BWNS
    2018 12 Apr The premiere of the documentary film, An American Story: Race Amity and The Other Tradition in a television broadcast on station WBGH, channel 2 in Boston, MA. [Trailer]
  • From the film website...."The primary purpose of the documentary project, An American Story: Race Amity and The Other Tradition, is to impact the public discourse on race. To move the discourse from the “blame/grievance/rejection” cycle to a view from a different lens, the lens of “amity/collaboration/access and equity.”
  • Boston; Massachusetts; United States Race (general); Unity; Race Amity; Race unity; Racism; Documentaries
    2018 19 - 22 Nov The second annual Arab Sustainable Development Week was held in Cairo from 19 to 22 November to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by the year 2030. More than 120 diplomats, government officials, representatives of regional and international organizations, businesses, and academics attended the event. Speakers included Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit and Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, among a number of other leaders in the Arab region.
    It was the first time the Bahá'í community had an official presence at a space convened by the Arab League, a regional organization of about 20 nations in North Africa and the Middle East. Bahá'í International Community representatives were Dr. Solomon Belay, from the BIC Addis Ababa office, Shahnaz Jaberi from BIC-Bahrain and Hatem El-Hady from BIC-Egypt. The BIC statement, Summoning Our Common Will: A Baha’i Contribution to the United Nations Global Development Agenda, was distributed at the event. [BWNS1299]
    Cairo; Egypt Solomon Belay; Shahnaz Jaberi; Hatem El-Hady; Bahai International Community; Arab League; Sustainable Development; Ahmed Aboul-Gheit; Mostafa Madbouly; BIC statements
    2019. 18 Jun About 8,000 people attended the European Development Days conference in Brussels. It was co-organized by World Vision International, ACT Alliance, Islamic Relief Worldwide, Brot für die Welt, EU-CORD Network, and the Bahá'í International Community. The Bahá'í International Community moderated one of the EDD panel discussions called What's religion got to do with it?
  • The panel discussion can be heard on SoundCloud.
  • Brussels; Belgium Bahai International Community; Conference
    2019 Aug Religions for Peace is the world’s largest inter-religious coalition. Their mandate is to work to transform violent conflict, advance human development, promote just and harmonious societies. It is comprised of a world council of religious leaders and bodies from over 125 countries. Its organization, built over its 50-year history, comprises of six regional Interreligious Councils and is built on the principle of religious representation that reflects the fabric of religious demography.
  • The Bahá'í International Community’s Principal Representative, Ms. Bani Dugal, was elected as a co-president and member of the World Council of Religions for Peace to become part of the 51 member council of co-presidents. The election, which is held every five years, was held in August in Lindau, Germany. Ms. Dugal was elected by over 700 voting delegates.
  • Dr. Azza Karam, Professor of Religion and Development at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Netherlands and former senior advisor on culture at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was elected as the body’s new secretary-general, becoming the first woman to hold the post. At UNFPA, she also served as chairperson of the UN task force on engagement with faith-based organizations. [BIC News]
  • Lindau; Germany Bahai International Community; Bani Dugal; Religions for Peace; Azza Karam
    2019. 10 Sep In the 42nd Regular Session of the Human Rights Council, the International Bahá'í Community presented an Oral Statement addressing the High Commissioner report on Yemen.
  • See as well the BIC's statement to the 40th Session of the UN Human Rights Council on the 20th of March, 2019.
  • New York, NY; Yemen Persecution, Yemen; BIC; Bahai International Community
    2019. 1 Oct The Bahá'í International Community announced the appointment of Dr. David Rutstein as its new Secretary-General. He succeeded Dr. Joshua Lincoln who had been serving in this capacity since 2013. The role of the Secretary-General is to act on behalf of the Universal House of Justice in the conduct of its external affairs, including its relations with Israel. [BWNS1357] BWC David Rutstein; Joshua Lincoln; Bahai International Community; Secretary-General
    2020. 27 Jan The Baha’i International Community expressed its concern with the surge in persecution by the Iranian authorities against the Bahá'í community. It had the appearance of an institutional decision that impacted Bahá'ís across the country.
  • By restricting applicants of the new Iranian national identification card to select only one of the four recognized religions—i.e. Islam, Christianity, Judaism or Zoroastrianism—those belonging to other faiths, including Bahá'ís, were forced to either lie about their beliefs or remain deprived of the most basic civil services, such as applying for a loan, cashing a check, or buying property.
  • A court has ruled that all of the properties belonging to the Bahá'ís in the village of Ivel be confiscated on the basis that Bahá'ís have “a perverse ideology” and therefore have no “legitimacy in their ownership” of any property. This outrageous decision is despite the fact that Baha’is have been resident in the area and owned properties there for generations, reaching as far back as the mid 1800s.
  • In the previous three months alone, dozens of Bahá'ís were arrested and dozens more received religiously-motivated sentences, for a combined prison term of nearly one hundred years. Individual Bahá'ís were sentenced to upwards of ten years in prison; in yet another case the gold used by a Bahá'í in his jewelry business was called for to be confiscated.
  • In the previous three months, Bahá'ís also experienced multiple home raids, attacks on properties, confiscation of possessions, dismissals from employment, and continued denial of access to higher education. In one case, a Bahá'í home was entirely destroyed. In another instance, a non-Bahá'í employer was forced to provide a list of her Bahá'í employees and then to dismiss them from employment.
  • A relentless campaign of misinformation about the Bahá'í Faith targeting the Iranian public has continued in full force in the news and social media. Thousands of such anti-Bahá'í propaganda have circulated in 2019 alone. [BIC 27 January 2020]
  • See an update on the situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran from the Bahá'í International Community as of August 2020.
  • Iran; Ivel Persecution, Iran; Bahai International Community
    2020. 2 Mar The Bahá'í International Community-Brussels hosted a conference entitled A Vision for A Society of the Future? A Brainstorming Session on AI. [YouTube; BIC website]
  • See Uplifting Words for a brief report on the brainstorming session.
  • Brussels; Belgium Bahai International Community
    2020. 9 -20 Mar The Bahá'í International Community submitted a statement entitled Developing New Dynamics of Power to Transform the Structures of Society to the Commission on the Status of Women in the follow-up to the Fourth World Conference on Women and to the twenty-third special session of the General Assembly.

    The statement can be found on the UN website.

    New York; United States Bahai International Community; Statements; Equality
    2020. 25 Mar The Houthi authorities announced the intended release of all Bahá'í prisoners in Yemen as well as a pardon for Hamed bin Haydara whose death sentence was upheld by an appeals court in Sana’a just two days prior. The six Bahá'ís that were to be released from custody were the aforementioned Mr. Hamed bin Haydara, as well as Mr. Waleed Ayyash, Mr. Akram Ayyash, Mr. Kayvan Ghaderi, Mr. Badiullah Sanai, and Mr. Wael al-Arieghie.
  • The Bahá'í International Community further advocated for the Houthi authorities to drop charges that were issued in 2018 against over 20 other Bahá'ís, to return seized assets and properties of members of the Bahá'í community, and to allow the functioning of Bahá'í institutions in Yemen. [Asharq Al-Awsat 27 March 2020]
  • The announcement was made In a general television address by Mr. Mahdi al-Mashat, President of the Houthi Supreme Political Council. [BIC 25 March 2020]
  • Notwithstanding the above, the prisoners were not released.
  • Sanaa; Yemen Persecution, Yemen; Persecution, Court cases; Hamed bin Haydara; Waleed Ayyash; Akram Ayyash; Kayvan Ghaderi; Badiullah Sanai; Wael al-Arieghie; Bahai International Community
    2020. 22 Apr The Brussels Office of the Bahá'í International Community launched a quarterly newsletter to share more widely insights emerging from its efforts to contribute to contemporary discourses in Europe. [BWNS1424; BIC Newsletter]
  • Click here to subscribe.
  • Brussels; Belgium Bahai International Community; Newsletter
    2020. 19 Jun The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States issued a statement entitled Forging a Path to Racial Justice in response to the death of George Floyd and the subsequent demonstrations for racial unity that followed.
  • See as well their website Race Unity Action.
  • See also The Bahá’í Response to Racial Injustice and Pursuit of Racial Unity Part 1 (1912-1996) and Part 2 (1996-2021). [BWNS1514]
  • Wilmette; United States Racial amity; Race (general); Race unity; Racism; Statements; Public discourse
    2020. 30 Jul It was announced that Mr. Hamed bin Haydara, Mr. Waleed Ayyash, Mr. Akram Ayyash, Mr. Kayvan Ghaderi, Mr. Badiullah Sanai, and Mr. Wael al-Arieghie, prominent Bahá'ís that had been imprisoned by the Houthi authorities in Sana’a, were released from prison in Sana’a. Their years-long incarceration on charges of espionage and heresy had drawn worldwide condemnation.
  • Following their release, the Bahá'í International Community called for the lifting of all charges against these six individuals and the other Bahá'ís that had been charged, the return of their assets and properties, and the safeguarding of the rights of all Bahá'ís in Yemen to live according to their beliefs without risk of persecution. [BIC News 30 July 2020]
  • The release of the six came four months after the Shiite Houthis announced they had commuted the death sentence of Hamed bin Haydara and ordered his release, as well as that of the other five detainees. The six men were flown out of Yemen to Ethiopia late on Thursday, said bin Haydara’s wife, Alham. It was reported that they were living in “safe” locations in Europe, receiving medication for wounds and diseases that they contracted during their detention inside Houthi prisons. [San Francisco Chronicle 30 July 2020; Arab News 20/11/2020]
  • The six had been detained at various times:
        Mr. Haydara, an engineer, was arrested because of his beliefs at his workplace in December 2013. Following a long court case that lacked due process, he was sentenced to death in 2018. His appeal was rejected in 2020.
        Mr. Ghaderi, a project officer, was arrested in 2016 when a gathering was raided.
        In April 2017, Mr. Waleed Ayyash, a Yemeni tribal leader, was arrested on his way to Hudaydah and was held in an undisclosed location.
        The following month, Mr. Al-Arieghie, a civil rights activist, was abducted by the authorities in Sana’a.
        Mr. Sana’i, a prominent civil engineer in Yemen in his late 60s, was arrested in front of his workplace.
        In October 2017, Mr. Akram Ayyash, a manager of a nonprofit organization, was arrested during a raid by security forces on a Bahá'í celebration.
  • In September 2018, these five, along with nineteen others, were indicted at a court hearing in Sana’a under baseless charges. [BWNS1443]
  • Diane Ala'i, representative of the Bahá'í International Community, expressed gratitude to the UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Martin Griffiths and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights for their support. [The National]
  • Upon their release they were immediately exiled from the country. [AL Monitor 10 August 2020]
  • Following another court hearing on 22 August 2020 the charges against the six men were not dropped and the prosecution declared the recently released men as “fugitives” despite the fact that their departure from Yemen had been a condition of their release. The prosecution asked the bailors to ensure the compulsory attendance of five of them at the next hearing scheduled for the 12th of September. [BIC News]
  • Sanaa; Yemen; Ethiopia Persecution, Yemen; Hamed bin Haydara; Waleed Ayyash; Akram Ayyash; Kayvan Ghaderi; Badiullah Sanai; Wael al-Arieghie; Bahai International Community
    2020. 21 Sep The Bahá'í International Community issued a statement entitled A Governance Befitting: Humanity and the Path Toward a Just Global Order on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. [BIC Publications]
  • The PDF was made available in English.
  • The statement was released following the UN75 Global Governance Forum that was held on the 16 and 17th of September with the theme “the future we want, the UN we need”. [UN2020]
  • New York; United States Bahai International Community; United Nations
    2020. 21 Oct The Bahá'í International Community launched the statement entitled A Governance Befitting: Humanity and the Path Toward a Just Global Order on the eve of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. The launch event, which welcomed some 200 attendees across the world, was an invitation to further exploration and one of many contributions the BIC is making to discussions about the need for systems of global cooperation to be strengthened. [BWNS1461]

    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.

  • YouTube
  • See a perspective piece on the statement by journalist and anthropologist Temily Tavangar.
  • New York; United States United Nations; Statements; BIC statements; Bahai International Community
    2020. 2 - 6 Nov The Geneva Office of the Bahá’í International Community joined with civil society actors, academics, and representatives of UN agencies and international organizations to contribute to discussions on peace-building initiatives around the world at Geneva Peace Week, an annual event that has been held since 2014.

    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]

  • Photos.
  • Geneva; Switzerland Bahai International Community
    2021. 3 Feb To mark the 25th anniversary of the landmark Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that resulted from the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, the Bahá'í International Community released a film that reflected on the advances made toward the goals for gender equality articulated in the declaration.
    The feature-length film called Glimpses into the Spirit of Gender Equality premiered at a virtual screening before a gathering of UN officials, ambassadors of member states, non-governmental organizations, and other civil society actors.
      “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.
  • The film available on YouTube. [BWNS1485]
  • For the response to this film see BIC News.
  • New York Bahai International Community; film; Gender; Equality; Saphira Rameshfar; Glimpses into the Spirit of Gender Equality
    2021. 8 - 17 Feb The 59th session of the Commission for Social Development (CSocD59) took place from 8 to 17 February 2021 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. The Commission is the advisory body responsible for the social development pillar of global development. At the conclusion of the session four draft resolutions, all without a vote, were forwarded to the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for consideration, including one that addressed this year’s priority theme for the 46-member subsidiary body — the role of digital technologies on social development and the well-being of all. [59th Session]
  • The Bahá'í International Community presented a statement and a video entitled Reflections of Our Values: Digital Technologies and a Just Transition.

    The Bahá'í International Community partnered with the United Arab Emirates and the NGO Committee on Social Development to host an online event entitled “Artificial Intelligence: Ethical Dimensions of the Virtual World”. Drawing more than 100 diplomats, policy makers, and civil society actors, the panel discussion was organized under the auspices of the United Nations’s 59th session of the Commission for Social Development. It responded to the Commission’s focus on the role of digital technologies in providing for the well-being of all. [BWNS1487]

  • New York; NY United Nations; Bahai International Community
    2021. 15 - 26 Mar 65th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). The Baha’i International Community’s (BIC) 49 delegates joined more than 25,000 participants from around the world for the gathering. This was the largest gathering since the 1995 World Conference on Women in Beijing, held with the purpose of advancing the global discourse on gender equality. The CSW took place virtually this year in light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which allowed the Baha’i International Community to send a diverse delegation of men and women from Mexico, France, Australia, Ethiopia, Turkey, Papua New Guinea, Canada, the United States, and many other countries (reference in Baha'i Canada)
  • The film, Glimpses into the Spirit of Gender Equality, was released at the 65th UN Commission on the Status of Women, as the Baha’i International Community’s contribution to the celebration of 25 years since the landmark 4th World Conference on Women that was held in Beijing, China. Premiered online in March 2021, the film highlights urban and rural grassroots experiences in applying the spiritual principle of gender equality, drawing from the momentum generated since Beijing.
  • United Nations; Bahai International Community
    2021. 8 Jul The Bahá'í International Community made representation to the United Nations or the Iranian government to be held accountable for its campaign of hate speech against the Baha’is in Iran. In previous months, the four-decades long state-sponsored campaign of hate speech and propaganda reached new levels, increasing in both sophistication and scale. This provoked fresh concerns for the rights of the Baha’is in Iran, as history had shown that flagrant violations of human rights often take place in a climate of hate and disinformation following such propaganda efforts.

    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-Baahá'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.

    Geneva Bahai International community; United Nations; Persecution, Iran; Hate Speech; Irwin Cotler; Ali Ehassi; Anders Osterberg; Bani Dugal
    2021. 13 Jul In response to the Iranian government's continued campaign of hate speech, the Bahá'í International Community launched a new microsite of The Bahá’ís of Iran website called Raasti (Truth). It was set up to provide accurate information, including from independent sources, in an effort to respond to baseless accusations and misinformation produced by the machinery of propaganda targeting the Bahá’ís in Iran.
  • In addition, video released by the BIC called on people to join the global outcry over the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran, launching the hashtag #StopHatePropaganda on Twitter. [BWNS1519]
  • Geneva Bahai International Community; Persecution, Iran; Twitter
    2021. 19 Jul A Twitter storm under the hashtag of #StopHatePropaganda and running from 5pm to 7pm GMT, 9.30pm to 11.30pm Tehran time, aimed to draw global attention to a 40-year campaign of hate speech conducted by the Iranian government against the Baha’i community in Iran, the country’s largest non-Muslim religious minority. Iran Press Watch; Iran Press Watch; BWNS1519] Geneva Persecution, Iran; Bahai International Community; twitter; BWNS
    2021. 16 Dec The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has called on the Iranian government to end its discrimination of minorities in Iran, including of the Bahá'í community. The vote confirms a Third Committee resolution passed in November. The resolution was endorsed by the General Assembly’s 76th session and introduced by Canada and 47 co-sponsors from all regions, passed by 78 votes in favour, with 31 against and 69 abstentions. [BIC News; BWNS1568; Iran Press Watch/a>]
  • The Resolution.
  • One of the latest incidents occurred in Kata where thirteen irrigated farmland plots belonging to Bahá'ís in the village in Iran’s southwest was targeted by authorities seeking to further expropriate the assets of Baha’is in the country. The organization “Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order” – a parastatal agency controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which holds and sells assets seized from proscribed groups and individuals and has done so since the 1979 Islamic Revolution – advertised the 13 land parcels on an auction website in mid-October. Each property has been listed for sale at a price estimated to be only 15% of its fair market value. [BIC News]
  • Farm lands in Semnan, Roshankouh, and Ivel have also been confiscated recently. [BWNS1568]
  • New York; United States; Kata; Semnan; Roshankouh; Ivel; Iran Persecution, Iran; United Nations; Bahai International Community; BWNS
    2022. 14 Feb The statement The Oneness of Humanity—Implications for the Africa-European Union Partnership was jointly prepared by the Addis Ababa and Brussels Offices of the BIC on the occasion of the 6th African Union (AU)-European Union (EU) Summit held in Brussels.

    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]

  • The statement.
  • Brussels, Belgium Bahai International Community; Solomon Belay; Rachel Bayani; BIC statements
    2022. 25 Mar In a statement was delivered by the Bahá'í International Community’s representative, Simin Fahandej, by video to the 49th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva it was announced that more than 1,000 Bahá'ís are in a “limbo” between their initial arrests, their legal hearings and their final summons to prison. A “rising trend” in the confiscation of Bahá'í-owned properties was also of “particular concern”, Fahandej told the Human Rights Council. And while the appropriation of assets was not new, she added, it did seem that the Iranian authorities were “increasingly using the legal system” for such seizures. The concern is that confiscations of Bahá'í properties enrich the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order, also known as Setad, which is controlled by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. [Iran Press Watch 25 March 2022] Geneva, Switzerland Bahai International Community; Persecution, Iran
    2022. 2 - 3 Jun A conference titled, Stockholm+50: a healthy planet for the prosperity of all – our responsibility, our opportunity, was an international meeting convened by the United Nations General Assembly. It was a commemoration of 50 years since the 1972 Conference on the Human Environment. The purpose was to focus on ways to accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals and to tackle the planetary crisis of climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.

    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.

    Stockholm; Sweden Conference; Environment; United Nations; Baha'i International Community; BWNS
    2023. 23 Jan The Addis Ababa Office of the Bahá’í International Community (BIC) released a short video titled Women in Peace, exploring the important role that women can play in the peace-building process. Dr Solomon Belay of the BIC said that there is a relationship between the advancement of women and the creation of prosperous and peaceful societies and that full participation of women in all spheres of society is required, especially in leadership roles. [BWNS1640] Addis Ababa; Ethiopia Baha'i International Community; film; Solomon Belay
    2023. 15 May The Bahá’í International Community announced the launching a global campaign, called #OurStoryIsOne, to honour the 10 Iranian women executed forty years prior and the long struggle for gender equality lived by women of all faiths and backgrounds in Iran for many decades and which continued in that country. The campaign started in June and spanned a year, with its most intensive phase taking place the first three weeks of June, leading up to the 40th anniversary of their execution on 18 June.

    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]

    Geneva; Switzerland; Shiraz; Iran Persecution, Iran; Bahai International Community
    2023. 4 Dec In a statement released by the Bahá'í Community titled, A Change in Tactics: The Iranian Government’s Recent Persecution of Bahá'ís, it was reported that the latest change in tactics represents an escalation and intensification of its policy of systematic persecution against the community.

    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.

    Iran Persecution, Iran; Baha'i International Community

    from the chronology of Canada

    date event locations tags see also
    1909 21 Mar "The first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. [BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3; SBBH1:146]
  • It was held in the home of Corinne True. [CT82–3]
  • It was attended by 39 delegates from 36 cities. [GPB262; SBBH1:146]
  • The Convention established the 'Bahá'í Temple Unity', which was incorporated to hold title to the Temple property and to provide for its construction. A constitution was framed and an Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity elected. [BBD39; BBRSM:106; BW10:179; GPB349; PP397; SBBH1:146]"
  • Chicago, IL National Convention; Corrine True; Bahai Temple Unity; Constitution; Executive Board of the Bahai Temple Unity
    1943 12 Nov The Edmonton Baha’i community organized a Race Unity meeting with Muslims, Jews, Ukrainians and one Chinese in attendance. [Edmonton Bahá'í History] Edmonton, AB Race Unity; Interfaith
    1970. 12 Jan An animated presentation entitled "The Community of Baha'u'llah" made its initial presentation at the Art Centre in Ottawa. They had just come from their trial run in St. Lambert, Quebec and had a plan to visit Oshawa, Hamilton, Guelph, North Bay, Fort William (Thunder Bay), Winnipeg, Brandon, Regina, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Kelowna, Vancouver, Nanaimo and Victoria before doing their final presentation in Toronto just before the National Convention.
  • The hosts for the presentation were: Al Houdek, Gerry Bourassa; Leslie Houdek, Sandra Kostaschuk, Garry Berteig; Larry Brown, and Valerie Berteig with Dick Stanton as the Tour Manager.
  • Travelling exhibit was intended as a vehicle to introduce the Message of Baha'u'llah. They utilized film, sound and slides, as well as traditional art forms. The plan was to have the local communities integrate interested person into the community after the team had made the initial contact. The eight member team made the three month trip in two vehicles, an Econoline van and a station wagon. [CBN No 236 January-February 1970 BE 126 p1]
  • The tour continued into the Maritimes for several more months with some changes in the team to include Gale Bundy, Fred Ward, and Bob Kingdon. The tour ended at Rochdale College in Toronto. [email exchange with Garry Berteig 4 January 2020] iiiii
  • St Lambert, QC; Ottawa, ON; Oshawa, ON; Hamilton, ON; Guelph, ON; North Bay, ON; Fort William, ON; Thunder Bay, ON; Winnipeg, MB; Brandon, MB; Regina, SK; Saskatoon, SK; Edmonton, AB; Lethbridge, AB; Kelowna, BC; Vancouver, BC; Nanaimo, BC; Victoria, BC; Toronto, ON Proclamation; The Community of Bahaullah; Al Houdek; Gerry Bourrassa; Leslie Houdek; Sandra Kostaschuk; Gary Berteig; Garry Brown; Valerie Berteig; Dick Stanton; Fred Ward; Gale Bundy; Bob Kingdon
    1993 21 Mar The presentation of the first Race Unity Award by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada.
  • See message from the Universal House of Justice entitled Cultural Reconciliation in Canada.
  • National Spiritual Assembly; Race unity; Race (general)
    1996. (In the year) The publication of The Origins of the Baha'i Community of Canada, 1898-1948 by Will C. van den Hoonaard. It was published by the Wilfid Laurier University Press.
  • See a review by Mike McMullen.
  • The book is available at BahaiWorks.
  • Will C. van den Hoonaard; The Origins of the Bahai Community of Canada; Mike McMullen
    2002 May After ten years of operation in the Ottawa area, Unity Arts moved to Toronto. The new address was: Unity Arts Inc. - Nine Pines Publishing, 10 - 945 Middlefield Rd., Toronto, ON, M 1 V 5E1. The primary reason for the relocation was the need to expand and be situated nearer the Bahá'í National Centre in Thornhill. Although Unity Arts was privately owned and operated, it acted on behalf of the National Spiritual Assembly as the national distributor of Bahá'í literature in Canada for the previous few years.
  • During the two previous years, Nines Pines Publishing, the publishing imprint of Unity Arts, collaborated on a number of joint publishing projects with Bahá'í Canada Publications, notably A Tribute to Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum and Century of Light. [BC Vol 15 No 2 June 2002 p25]
  • Ottawa, ON; Toronto, ON Unity Arts; Nine Pine Publishing
    2017. 7 Dec In its letter to all Local Spiritual Assemblies the National Spiritual Assembly introduced the Community Properties Fund, “to be established to support the acquisition, maintenance and use of properties at all levels of the community,” including possibilities such as facilities with residential space “dedicated to all forms of educational activity, offices to serve the needs of regional agencies and neighbourhood space to support children’s classes, junior youth groups and study circles”.

    The Community Properties Fund were intended to provide the ongoing material resources necessary for this advancement. The National Spiritual Assembly contributed an initial $2.5 million to this Fund, and called on the community to match this amount over the remainder of the current Five Year Plan. Returns from this sum will then generate funds allocated to community properties. [Bahá'í Canada 2019-03-27

    Community Properties Fund
    2018 Jul The opening of the Greenboro Neighbourhood Centre in a strip mall in south Ottawa community of Greenboro.

    The neighbourhood of Greenboro had been a centre of intense activity since 2014, with high receptivity. When the renting of facilities to accommodate these activities on an ad-hoc basis became impractical, the National Spiritual Assembly approved the rental of a former commercial space. Volunteers worked tirelessly to renovate the property to suit the activities that would take place there. This initiative was made possible because of the the National Assembly's Community Properties Fund. [Bahá'í Canada 2019-03-27]

    Ottawa, ON Community Properties Fund

    from the main catalogue

    1. 1970-1995: Newspaper articles archive (1970-1995). Collection of newspaper articles from 1970-1995. [about]
    2. 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, by Bahá'í International Community (2008-02-06). Bahá'í International Community’s Statement on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights [about]
    3. Abdu'l-Baha and "The Other", by Jan T. Jasion (2021-02). On xenophobia; Abdu'l-Bahá's response to it; his reactions to certain newspapers; the impact of xenophobia on digitized collections; some comments by Bahá'u'lláh on journalism. Text of a webinar presented to the Wilmette Institute (December, 2020). [about]
    4. Abdu'l-Bahá in America, by Robert H. Stockman, and Abdu'l-Bahá's Journey West: The Course of Human Solidarity, ed. Negar Mottahedeh: Reviews, by Firuz Kazemzadeh, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 23:1-4 (2013). [about]
    5. 'Abdu'l-Bahá on Christ and Christianity: An interview with Pasteur Monnier on the relationship between the Bahá'í Faith and Christianity, Paris, by Abdu'l-Bahá, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 3:1 (1993-12). Revised translation of an interview with Pasteur Monnier, from chapter 5 of 'Abdu'l-Bahá on Divine Philosophy. [about]
    6. Abdu'l-Baha's 1912 Howard University Speech: A Civil War Myth for Interracial Emancipation, by Christopher Buck, in Abdu'l-Bahá's Journey West: The Course of Human Solidarity, ed. Negar Mottahedeh (2013). Overview of the event, press coverage, publications of the speech, the Emancipation Proclamation "myth" and its historical influence, the role of whites, and the rhetoric of progress. [about]
    7. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Elucidation of the Concept of the Oneness of Humanity During His Western Travels, by Wendi Momen, in Lights of Irfan, 14 (2013). Today the Bahá'í teaching of oneness of humankind is widely accepted, but in the early 1900s it was a difficult concept to convey or put into practice. Abdu'l-Bahá made this principle a centerpiece of his talks and actions in the West. [about]
    8. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Encounter with Modernity during His Western Travels, by Wendi Momen, in Lights of Irfan, 13 (2012). Abdu'l-Bahá's responses to the West's technology and innovations on the one hand, vs. its archaic racist and sexual philosophies on the other. [about]
    9. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Response to the Doctrine of the Unity of Existence, by Keven Brown, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 11:3-4 (2001). Includes provisional translation of Tablet on the Unity of Existence. [about]
    10. ['Abdu'l-Bahá] Declares Zionists Must Work with Other Races: From the Globe and Commercial Advertiser (New York, July 17, 1919), by Marion Weinstein, in Star of the West, 10:10 (1919-09-08). An interview with 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the League of Nations, Bahá'í ideas for peace, and the Holy Land. [Note: at this time in history, years before the Second World War, the terms "Zionist" and "Palestine" had somewhat different meanings.] [about]
    11. 'Abdu'l-Bahá on the World Stage, by Iraj Ghanooni (2022). A contrast of the spiritual purpose of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's first visit to Paris with the secular aims of some famous Iranian contemporaries who went there around the same time; includes philosophical discussions and an analysis of two talks by ‘Abdu'l-Bahá. [about]
    12. Achieving Reconciliation in a Conflicting World, by Ismael Velasco, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 18:1-4 (2008). The dynamics of conflict against the backdrop of globalization, and religion's role in fostering unity. A "logic of reconciliation" will allow us to find harmony among ideas, individuals, and communities. [about]
    13. Achieving Universal Participation of Older Adults: An Exploration of Its Challenges and Spiritual Foundations, by Catherine Bigonnesse and Jean Marc Bigonnesse, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 25:4 (2015). On involving older adults in the process of participation in society; some of the root causes of ageism, such as avoiding the topic of death and a materialistic view of the soul; the role of older adults in the process of community building. [about]
    14. Activities in Support of International Literacy Year - 1990, by Bahá'í International Community (1991-02-04). The BIC actively supports the work of the International Task Force on Literacy, including international meetings, whilst promoting numerous national activities concerned with literacy, education, and the empowerment of women. [about]
    15. Activities in the Bahá'í World Community to Improve the Status of Women during the United Nations Decade for Women, by Bahá’í International Community (1985-07-15). Report presented to the World Conference to Review and Appraise the Achievements of the United Nations Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace [about]
    16. Additional Tablets and Extracts from Tablets Revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, by Bahá'u'lláh (2018/2023). 80 selections, updated August 2023. [about]
    17. Additional Tablets, Extracts and Talks, by Abdu'l-Bahá (2018/2023). 167 selections, updated August 2023. [about]
    18. Advocates for African Food Security: Lessening the Burden for Women, by Bahá'í International Community (1991-02-27). A joint statement to the 35th session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women, Agenda Item 4: Monitoring the implementation of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women [about]
    19. African American Baha'is, Race Relations and the Development of the Baha'i Community in the United States, by Richard Thomas (2005-03-08). Robert Turner, Susie Steward, Louis Gregory, and the roles played by blacks in the history of the Bahá'ís of the US. [about]
    20. African Americans in the United States, by Universal House of Justice (1996-04-01). Comments about what public role might be played by the Bahá'í Faith in America to ameliorate the difficulties faced by African-American males. [about]
    21. Alain Locke: 'Race Amity' and the Bahá'í Faith, by Christopher Buck (2007-09-24). Presentation in slide format about the "First Black Rhodes Scholar." [about]
    22. Alain Locke materials: index to some documents online (2010). List of the various documents at the Bahá'í Library Online by or about Alain Locke, an American writer, philosopher, educator, and patron of the arts who received a Tablet from Abdu'l-Bahá. [about]
    23. Alain Locke on Race, Religion, and the Bahá'í Faith, by Christopher Buck, in The Bahá'í Faith and African American History, chapter 3 (2018). Locke was cynical about the prospect of real progress in race relations within Christianity itself, but he saw potential in Bahá'í efforts to promote race amity and making democracy more egalitarian in terms of the rights of minorities. [about]
    24. Alain Locke's "Moral Imperatives for World Order" Revisited, by Christopher Buck, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 29:1 (2019). In public speeches presented in 1944 Locke argues that racism, although an American problem, is not purely a domestic issue; it has bilateral and multilateral consequences; unity of races, religions, and nations is a moral imperative. [about]
    25. Ameen Rihani and the Unity of Religion: The Politics of Time and the Politics of Eternity, by Suheil Badi Bushrui, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 24:3-4 (2014). Overview of the life and thought of a Lebanese-American writer, intellectual, and political activist, who believed in the oneness of religions and the brotherhood of nations and devoted his life to promoting East-West understanding. [about]
    26. "And universal peace — in what Book is this written?": How and Why 'Abdu'l-Bahá Identified "New" and Distinctive Bahá'í Principles, by Christopher Buck (2022-09). Reflections on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's answer to the question "What has Bahá’u’lláh brought that we have not heard before?" [about]
    27. Año Internacional de la Mujer, El, by Bahá'í International Community (1974). Exposición presentada por la Comunidad Internacional Bahá’í en el 25° período de sesiones de la Comisión de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Condición Jurídica y Social de la Mujer. [about]
    28. Answered Questions, Some, by Abdu'l-Bahá (2014). 'Table talks' given by ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá in ‘Akká between 1904 and 1906 in response to questions posed by Laura Dreyfus-Barney; first published in 1908, the new 2014 edition has been extensively retranslated. [about]
    29. Aplicación de la Declaración sobre la Eliminación de todas las formas de intolerancia y discriminación fundadas en la religión o las convicciones, 1988, by Bahá'í International Community (1988-02-17). intolerancia y discriminación [about]
    30. Aplicación del Programa de acción para el Segundo Decenio de la lucha contra el racismo y la discriminación racial, by Bahá'í International Community (1947-02). lucha contra el racismo [about]
    31. Apocalyptic Thinking and Process Thinking: A Bahá'í Contribution to Religious Thought, by Moojan Momen, in Lights of Irfan, 13 (2012). The process of change in religious thinking and how it manifests in expectations about the Lesser Peace, both from Bahá'í texts and within the community. Includes discussions of "the calamity," and of non-Bahá'í political evolution in the 20th century. [about]
    32. Architectures of Thinking, The, by Jordi Vallverdu Segura and Josuke Nakano, in Journal of the Sociology and Theory of Religion, 13:1 (2022). Sacred architectures play a role in shaping cognition — which results from the relationships between the subject and their surroundings. By sharing an environment and its relationships, members of a community define their values, attitudes, and "reality." [about]
    33. Atlanta Bahá'í Community and Race Unity, The: 1909-1950, by Mike McMullen, in World Order, 26.4 (1995 Summer). History of the Bahá'í­ faith in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, a city whose Bahá'í community dates back almost to the earliest beginnings of the Bahá'ís in the United States. [about]
    34. Attainment of the Unity of Nations and the Lesser Peace, by Universal House of Justice (2001-04-19). Letter sent to all NSAs and later broadcast to the Bahá'í world to explain the process through which the Lesser Peace will be created and its relation to the Most Great Peace. [about]
    35. Authenticity of Texts, by Universal House of Justice (1996-10-22). Status of texts of Abdu'l-Bahá's talks, of the books Bahá'í World Faith and Foundations of World Unity, of letters from the Universal House of Justice versus its Secretariat, and of letters from the Guardian. [about]
    36. Authority and Centrality of the Universal House of Justice, by Universal House of Justice, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 13 (2012). Issues inspired by Udo Schaefer's writings about limitations on infallibility and the House's spheres of jurisdiction. [about]
    37. Avoidance of Politics and Controversial Matters, by Universal House of Justice (2003-01-12). A short explanation that the aim of Bahá'ís is to reconcile viewpoints and heal divisions, but not become involved with disputes of the many conflicting elements of society around them. Includes introductory letter from the US NSA, and a compilation. [about]
    38. Bahá'í: Religion and Diet, by Paul Fieldhouse, in Encyclopedia of Food and Culture (2003). Short overview of fasting, feast, and diet. [about]
    39. Bahá'í "Pupil of the Eye" Metaphor, The: Promoting Ideal Race Relations in Jim Crow America, by Christopher Buck, in The Bahá'í Faith and African American History, chapter 1 (2018). On the notable contribution to promoting ideal race relations in Jim Crow America by the Bahá'í Faith which, though small in number, was socially significant in its concerted efforts to foster and advance harmony between the races. [about]
    40. Bahá'í 'Race Amity' Movement and the Black Intelligentsia in Jim Crow America, The: Alain Locke and Robert Abbott, by Christopher Buck, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 17 (2011). W. E. B. Du Bois, Alain L. Locke and Robert S. Abbott, ranked as the 4th, 36th and 41st most influential in African American history, all expressed interest in the Baha’i ethic of world unity, from family to international relations, and social crisis. [about]
    41. Bahá'í Approach to Cosmopolitan Ideas in International Relations, The, by Nalinie N. Mooten (2005). On Western cosmopolitan thought from its infancy to the present day and on a Bahá’í cosmopolitan model to International Relations (IR), which reinforces ideas based on essential oneness. [about]
    42. Bahá'í Approach to Cosmopolitan Ideas in International Relations, The, by Nalinie N. Mooten (2006-11-14). A Bahá’í approach to the cosmopolitan tradition in International Relations theory; contributions the Bahá’í model can offer to this growing tradition; cosmopolitanism as articulated by the Cynics in ancient Greece and by Enlightenment philosophies. [about]
    43. Bahá'í Approach to Non-Involvement in Partisan Political Activity, by Shoghi Effendi and Universal House of Justice (2022-10). Resource for individual and group study, in light of the current civil and political unrest in the U.S., Iran, and the world; reasons for the Bahá’í stance against partisan activity and its approach to social change; Bahá'í use of social media. [about]
    44. Bahá'í Contribution to Cosmopolitan International Relations Theory, The, by Nalinie N. Mooten, in Online Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 1 (2007). Bahá’í concepts of global governance, unity in diversity, and ethical reform as contributions to a cosmopolitan International Relations theory. [about]
    45. Bahá'í Cosmological Symbolism and the Ecofeminist Critique, by Michael W. Sours, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 7:1 (1995). Constituents of Bahá'í cosmological symbolism; introduction to the main feminist/environmentalist arguments; eschatological character of Bahá'í cosmological symbolism; Bahá'í eschatology provides answers to many feminist and ecological objections. [about]
    46. Baha'i Doctrine Attracts Non-whites, by James S. Tinney, in The National Leader, 2:24 (1983-10-20). On the Bahá'í Faith's progress toward racial unity; brief bios of Glenford Mitchell, Amoz Gibson, Wilma Brady, Barbara Eaton Bond, and Alberta Deas; reflections on Black experiences of the Bahá'í community. [about]
    47. Bahá'í Faith and African American History, The: Introduction, by Loni Bramson (2018). Contents, Introduction, and Index from this book, with links to two chapters (by Christopher Buck). [about]
    48. Bahá'í Faith and Religious Diversity, by Phillip Smith, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 1:1 (1991). The Bahá'í principal of unity in diversity as applied to religious pluralism. [about]
    49. Baha'i Faith and Syncretism, The, by Robert Stockman, in Resource Guide for the Scholarly Study of the Bahá'í Faith (1997). Addresses the common misunderstanding that the Bahá'í Faith is syncretistic. [about]
    50. Bahá'í Faith and the Construction of Social Reality: How do Bahá'ís Translate the Word of God into Practice? , by Shahla Mehrgani (2017). This project takes a constructionist approach, using a case study of the Bahá'ís of Sheffield U.K. and Peter Berger’s conceptual framework of interpreting Baha’i scriptures, to understand how Bahá'ís construct their social reality. [about]
    51. Bahá'í Faith, The: An Introduction, by Bahá'í International Community (1998). An overview of the Bahá'í Faith, in words and pictures. [about]
    52. Baha'i Faith: The Basics by Christopher Buck: Review, by Jack McLean (2020-01). [about]
    53. Bahá'í News Publications Seek to Elevate Thought, Inspire Action, by Bahá'í World News Service, in Bahá'í World (2018-10-12). Brief overview of the histories of various Bahá'í journals: Star of the West, Khurshid-i khavar, Sonne der Wahrheit, Wirklichkeit, The Dawn, Herald of the South, The Bahá'í World, World Order, and Bahá’í World News Service. [about]
    54. Baha'i Principle of Religious Unity and the Challenge of Radical Pluralism, by Dann J. May, in Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá'í Theology, Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions vol. 8 (1993/1997). A shorter version of this thesis is published as "The Bahá'í Principle of Religious Unity: A Dynamic Perspectivism." [about]
    55. Bahá'í Question, The: Cultural Cleansing in Iran, by Bahá'í International Community (2008-09). [about]
    56. Bahá'í Reception of the Qur'an, The, by Todd Lawson (2016-03-10). Quranic themes inform much of the Bahá'í proclamation. One theme is unity: there is one god, one humanity, and one religion. Another is the importance of Revelation through God's recurring messengers, and Apocalypse as but the dawn of a new message. [about]
    57. Bahá'í Response to Racial Injustice and Pursuit of Racial Unity, The: Part 1 (1912-1996), by Richard Thomas, in Bahá'í World (2021-01). The American Bahá’í community’s historical efforts to address racial injustice which has afflicted the United States since its founding. [about]
    58. Bahá'í Statement on Nature, The, by Bahá'í International Community (1987). Prepared as official statement by the BIC Office of Public Information for the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). [about]
    59. Bahá'í World 2004??"2005, The: Activities Report, by Bahá'í International Community, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 33 (2004-2005) (2007). The Bahá'í community's promotion of human rights, the advancement of women, social development, and reform processes at the United Nations. [about]
    60. Bahá'í World 2005-2006, The: Activities Report, by Bahá'í International Community, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 34 (2005-2006) (2008). The BIC's promotion of human rights, the advancement of women, social development, and reforming the human rights machinery at the United Nations; involvement with the 2005 World Summit. [about]
    61. Bahá'í World, The: Volume 18 (1979-1983), in Bahá'í World (1986). Periodic volumes that survey the global activities and major achievements of the Faith. [about]
    62. Bahá'í Worldview on Unity of Religions: Progressive Revelation, The: Principles and Insights from the History of Science, by Jena Khadem Khodadad, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 10 (2009). Examination of the Bahá’í belief in the unity of religions and the doctrine of "progressive revelation" through the lens of Thomas Kuhn's concept of scientific revolutions. [about]
    63. Bahá'í Writings and Kant's "Perpetual Peace", The, by Ian Kluge, in Lights of Irfan, 13 (2012). Kant's Perpetual Peace: A Philosophical Sketch (1795) outlined practical steps necessary to end war through the establishment of a "league of peace" and a union of nations. This essay traces similarities between Kant's and Bahá'í proposals. [about]
    64. Bahá'ís have outsized MLK presence, by Abe Levy, in My San Antonio (2013-01-18). Bahá'ís play an increasingly-active role in events celebrating the message of Martin Luther King. [about]
    65. Bahá'ísm: Some Uncertainties about its Role as a Globalizing Religion, by Denis MacEoin, in Bahá'í and Globalisation, ed. Margit Warburg (2005). On Bahá'í self-understanding as the religion to unite all faiths in the culmination of globalisation, vs. the challenges which secular values present to a religion that, rooted in Islamic thinking, aims to fuse the spheres of religion and society. [about]
    66. Bahá'ísm - Its Origins and Role: A Rebuttal, by Bahá'í International Community (1983-08). The complete Iranian document "Bahaism — its origins and its role" together with BIC commentary on that document. [about]
    67. Bahá'ísm, the religion of brotherhood and its place in the evolution of creeds, by Francis Henry Skrine (1912). An outsider's sympathetic portrayal of the Bahá'í history and teachings, written with "express approval" of Abdu'l-Bahá. [about]
    68. Bahá'u'lláh and Liberation Theology, by Juan Cole, in Revisioning the Sacred: New Perspectives on a Bahá'í Theology, Studies in the Bábí and Bahá'í Religions vol. 8 (1997). The idea of liberation and equality is central to Bahá'í theology; the poor in the 19th century Middle East; Bahá'u'lláh and the poor; Tablet to the Kings on wealth and peace; laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and Huququ'lláh; state social welfare. [about]
    69. Baha'u'llah and the New Era, by John E. Esslemont (1980). The classic introductory text on the Bahá'í Faith focusing on Bahá'í teachings and the lives of the Bab, Bahá'u'lláh, and Abdu'l-Bahá. [about]
    70. Baha'u'llah and the Reconciliation of Religions, by Peter Terry (2014). The reconciliation of religions is one of the principal themes of Bahá'u'lláh's writings, yet one rarely discussed in introductions to the Bahá'í Faith and often ignored in surveys of Bahá'í teachings. [about]
    71. Bahá'u'lláh as fulfilment of the theophanic promise in the Sermons of Imam 'Alí ibn Abí Ṭálib: Translation of al Tutunjiyya, Iftikhár and Ma'rifat bin-Nurániyyat, by Khazeh Fananapazir, in Online Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 1 (2007). Translations of Tutunjiyya "Sermon of the Gulf," Iftikhár "Sermon of Iftikhár," and Ma'rifat bin-Nurániyyat "Sermon of Ma'rifat bin-Nurániyyat." [about]
    72. Bahá'u'lláh's "Most Sublime Vision", by Wolfgang A. Klebel, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 9 (2008). Examines the question: What philosophical viewpoints are necessary to understand what Bahá’u’lláh calls "Thy transcendent unity," i.e., the concept of unity and oneness, which are ubiquitous in the Bahá’í Writings? [about]
    73. Bahá'u'lláh's Life and Mission: "This is the One Who Hath Glorified the Son", by JoAnn M. Borovicka, in Lights of Irfan, 19 (2018). Ways in which Bahá’u’lláh glorifies Jesus Christ and His Cause: He quotes, explains, and defends Christian scripture; supplements Christ’s teachings for the needs of a fast-evolving society; and speaks of Christ as an existing spiritual reality. [about]
    74. Baha'u'llah's Prophetology: Archetypal patterns in the lives of the founders of the world religions, by Moojan Momen, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 5.1 (1995). Explores the theory that the lives of the prophet-founders of the world religions have in some ways re-capitulated each other. [about]
    75. Baha'u'llah's Tablet to Mánikchí Sáhib: Introduction and provisional translation, by Ramin Neshati, in Lights of Irfan, Book 3 (2002). [about]
    76. Baha'u'llah's Unity Paradigm: A Contribution to Interfaith Dialogue on a Global Ethic?, by Udo Schaefer, in Dialogue and Universalism, 6:11-12 (1996). The mystic unity of religions and the concept of progressive revelation. [about]
    77. Bahá'í Faith and Peace Psychology, The: The Potential for Science and Religion to Collaborate, by Rhett Diessner, in Peace Psychology Bulletin, 3:3 (1994). On the potential for Bahá’í peace initiatives, coupled with empirical peace psychology approaches, regarding: ethnicity and peace, feminism and peace, and peace and education. [about]
    78. Base Espiritual de la Igualdad, La, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-07-10). [about]
    79. Becoming Physicians to the World: Transforming "Non-Involvement in Politics", by John T. Dale, in dialogue magazine, 2:2-3 (1988). Looking at this issue from the perspective of positive human rights and cross-cultural communication to devise a better message than "non-involvement" as the basis for Bahá'í relations with the world around us, and recasting it as a message of unity. [about]
    80. Becoming Your True Self, by Daniel C. Jordan, in World Order, 3:1 (1968). The nature of human potential, and how the Bahá'í Faith can guide the process of spiritual transformation. [about]
    81. Beyond Legal Reforms: Culture and Capacity in the Eradication of Violence Against Women and Girls, by Bahá'í International Community (2006-07-02). Statement on the epidemic of violence against women around the world, as perpetuated by social norms, religious fanaticism, and economic and political exploitation; necessary educational objectives and legal frameworks. [about]
    82. Beyond Pluralism, by Moojan Momen (1995-04). Brief thoughts on the Bahá'í Faith as a "metareligion." [about]
    83. Beyond the Clash of Religions: The Emergence of a New Paradigm, by Udo Schaefer (1998). Religious pluralism and associated issues: diversity and unity of religions, absoluteness, relativity of truth, New Age thought, and interfaith dialogue [about]
    84. Birth of the Human Being, The: Beyond Religious Traditionalism and Materialist Modernity, by Nader Saiedi, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 21:1-4 (2011). We have arrived at a turning point in human evolution: the moment of the birth of the human being. This paper examines the development of this idea in the Writings of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and its opposite concept, dehumanization. [about]
    85. Buddhism and the Bahá'í Faith, by Daniel Conner, in World Order, 6:2 (1971-72 Winter). Brief summary of the history and thought of Buddhism; commonalities with Western concepts; different emphases placed on ethics vs. metaphysics; aspects of social control. [about]
    86. Building Intercultural Community: Insights from Indigenous Bahá'í History, by Chelsea Horton, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 26:3 (2016). Bridging Bahá'í communities with Indigenous populations in Canada and the United States was not easy, and was especially fraught for native believers, who also confronted tensions of intercultural understanding and sometimes outright racism. [about]
    87. Canadian Bahá'ís 1938-2000, The: Construction of Oneness in Personal and Collective Identity, by Lynn Echevarria-Howe, in Bahá'í and Globalisation (2005). On how globalization includes greater consciousness of the whole world, and a sociological perspective on how this consciousness has been nurtured within the Canadian Bahá'í community. [about]
    88. Carta de la Tierra, by Bahá'í International Community (1991-04-05). Combatiendo el Racismo. BIC comment on the UN Earth Charter proposal. [about]
    89. Carta Sobre Relaciones entre AEN, Comunidad e Individuo, by Universal House of Justice (1994-05-19). [about]
    90. Catastrophe, Armageddon and Millennium: Some Aspects of the Bábí-Bahá'í Exegesis of Apocalyptic Symbolism, by Stephen Lambden: Commentary, "The Apocalyptic Upheaval Completed?", by William P. Collins, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 10 (2001). Commentary on earlier article by Stephen Lambden. [about]
    91. Centering the "Pupil of the Eye": Blackness, Modernity, and the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, by Derik Smith, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 29:1-2 (2019). The "pupil of the eye" metaphor is a deeply consequential, distinguishing feature of the transformative social and spiritual system laid out in Bahá’u’lláh's Revelation. [about]
    92. Century of Light, by Universal House of Justice (2001). Survey of the history and dramatic changes of the 20th Century and the Bahá'í Faith's emergence from obscurity, "demonstrating on a global scale the unifying power with which its Divine origin has endowed it." [about]
    93. Challenge to Chaos: The Mission of the Bahá'í Faith, by Horace Holley (1954). Summary of the mission of Bahá'u'lláh through the lens of three essential truths: Unity of God, Unity of the Prophets, and Unity of Humankind. Published as a stand-alone pamphlet. [about]
    94. Champions of Oneness: Louis Gregory and His Shining Circle, by Janet Ruhe-Schoen: Review, by Lex Musta, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies (2016). [about]
    95. Changing Reality: The Bahá'í Community and the Creation of a New Reality, by Moojan Momen, in História Questões & Debates, 43 (2005). The Bahá’í teachings criticize the socially created realities of warfare, environmental destruction, and the subordination of women, lower social classes and ethnic minorities, instead promoting a vision of global solidarity and individual worth. [about]
    96. Ciudadanía Mundial: Ética Global Para El Desarrollo Sostenible, by Bahá'í International Community (1993-06-14). Comunidades Sostenibles en un Mundo Integrante [about]
    97. Colonialism, Nationalism and Jewish Immigration to Palestine: Abdu'l-Baha's Viewpoints Regarding the Middle East, by Kamran Ekbal (2014). Abdu'l-Bahá was opposed to the cultural and political colonialism of foreign powers and their militaries. In spite of the Bahá'í principle of abstaining from politics, exceptions can be made in the face of tyranny and injustice. [about]
    98. Colorblindness and Race Unity: One Bahá'í's Perspective, by Donald Osborn (1997). Reflections on race perspectives in the Bahá'í writings. [about]
    99. Combatiendo el Racismo, by Bahá'í International Community (1983). Declaración presentada a la Segunda Conferencia Mundial para Combatir el Racismo y la Discriminación Racial. Ginebra, Suiza, 1­12 de agosto de 1983 [about]
    100. Commentary on the Islamic Tradition "I Was a Hidden Treasure..." (Tafsír-i-Hadith-i-Kuntu Kanzan Makhfíyyan), by Abdu'l-Bahá, in Bahá'í Studies Bulletin, 3:4 (1995-12). Translation of a treatise written by 'Abdu'l-Bahá when he was in his teens, expounding on the terms "Hidden Treasure", "Love", "Creation", and "Knowledge" in a manner which suggests that the recipient was a Sufi and an admirer of Ibn 'Arabí. [about]
    101. Comments on "Infallible Institutions?" by Udo Shaefer and "Response" by Peter Terry, by Wm. Keith Bookwalter (2020/2023). Thoughts on infallibility of the Universal House of Justice through a case study of predictions regarding the "unity of nations" and the Lesser Peace by the year 2000. [about]
    102. Communal Harmony: India's Greatest Challenge, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India (1993(?)/2015). A formal statement from the NSA of the Bahá'ís of India on the need to overcome religious, linguistic and caste-based tensions. [about]
    103. Community and Collective Action, by Gustavo Correa, in Bahá'í World (2015/2020-08). On the hopeful efforts of groups of people around the world to build a new kind of community based on the oneness of humankind, and the vision and process guiding these efforts. [about]
    104. Community as Family, The: Opportunities of Growth, by Ros Gabriel, in The Family: Our Hopes and Challenges (1995). [about]
    105. Community Functioning, Issues Concerning: Fostering the Development of Bahá'í Communities, by Shoghi Effendi and Universal House of Justice, in Compilation of Compilations, Volume 3 (2000). Extensive guidance on community development. Includes extracts from letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi on fostering the evolution of Bahá'í communities. [about]
    106. Comparative Lives of the Founders of the World Religions, by Moojan Momen, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 5.1 (1995). Table comparing the lives of the Founders of the world's religions. [about]
    107. Compilation "L'état actuel de désordre et de confusion du monde," Centre International d'Enseignement, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (2020-09). Compilation du Centre International d'Enseignement. [about]
    108. Compilation of Extracts Regarding Arius, by Research Department of the Universal House of Justice and Abdu'l-Bahá (1991/1996). Collection of materials regarding an early Christian theologian who, in expounding that Christ was subordinate to God the Father, discarded the trinity and fractured the unity of the Church. [about]
    109. Comunidades Sostenibles en un Mundo Integrante, by Bahá'í International Community (1996-06-03). Enunciado presentó por la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í a la Conferencia sobre Domicilios Humanos (Albergue II) de las Naciones Unidas. Estanbul, Turquía, 3 al 14 de junio de 1996. [about]
    110. Concept of Manifestation in the Bahá'í Writings, The, by Juan Cole, in Bahá'í Studies, 9 (1982). Lengthy overview of Bahá'í theology and prophetology and their Islamic roots. [about]
    111. Condicion juridica y social de la mujer, La, by Bahá'í International Community (1988). [about]
    112. Conferencia Mundial del Año Internacional de la Mujer: Declaración presentada por la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í, by Bahá'í International Community (1975). Declaración presentada por la Comunidad Internacional Bahá’í (en carácter consultivo con el Consejo Económico y Social — Categoría II) Ciudad de México, México, 1975. [about]
    113. Conferencia Mundial para el Examen y la Evaluación de los Logros del Decenio de las Naciones Unidas para la Mujer: Igualdad, Desarrollo y Paz, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-06-15). Informe presentado por la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í acerca de las actividades de la Comunidad Bahá'í Mundial para mejorar la condición de la mujer durante el Decenio de las Naciones Unidas para la Mujer y Programas Futuros para el Adelanto de la Muje [about]
    114. Conservación y el Desarrollo Sostenible en la Fe Bahá'í, La, by Bahá'í International Community (1995-05). [about]
    115. Constructive Resilience, by Firaydoun Javaheri, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 28:4 (2018). How the perseverance of the Bahá'ís in Iran has resulted in the generality of the Iranian people beginning to admire and, in some cases, arising to assist the Bahá'ís. [about]
    116. Cosmopolitan World of the Quran and Late Antique Humanism, The, by Todd Lawson, in Religions, 12:8 (2021). On the Qur'an's use of the themes of epic and apocalypse to reveal its most cherished sacred truths: the Oneness of God, the Oneness of Religion, and the Oneness of Humanity. Contains no mention of the Bahá'í Faith. [about]
    117. Creación De Familias Liberadas De La Violencia, La: Un Informe Resumido Del Simposio Llevado Acabo, by Bahá'í International Community (1994-05). [about]
    118. Creating a New Mind: Reflections on the Individual, the Institutions, and the Community, by Paul Lample (1999). On the influence of the human mind in shaping human reality, and three vehicles for changing reality: the individual, the institutions, and the community at large. Two versions of book included. [about]
    119. Creating an Inclusive Narrative, by Australian Bahá'í Community (2020-11). Culmination of a series of nationwide round tables, conveying the vision of Australians to foster a socially cohesive society. [about]
    120. Creating Intimacy: In the Community and With the Seeker, by Phyllis K. Peterson (1998). On how intimacy in the Bahá'í community can be created, using Bahá’í scriptures as guideline. We hunger for intimacy, which is a prerequisite for friendship and a key principle in teaching. Cases drawn from experiences of people who feel psychically hurt. [about]
    121. Creation, by Lasse Thoresen, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 12:1-4 (2002). Contributing to the creation of a new civilization as a researcher or an artist means participating in the process of never-ending unfolding; the divine names are the eternal archetypes organizing the material world; dialogue between thinking and reality. [about]
    122. Creative Word and the Meaning of Unity, The: An Annotated Survey of Bahá'u'lláh's Lawh-i-Ittihád (Tablet of Unity), by Shahrokh Monjazeb (2010). On the contents of the Tablet of Unity and its relevance for the social life of humanity, including a provisional English translation from the earliest Persian/Arabic published source. [about]
    123. Crisis of Identity, The, by Shahrzad Sabet, in Bahá'í World (2023-01-17). Exploring how the Bahá’í principle of the oneness of humanity can resolve the seemingly intractable tension between oneness and diversity. [about]
    124. Cultural Reconciliation in Canada, by Universal House of Justice, in Baha'i Canada, 13:2 (2000-06). The Universal House of Justice suggests to the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada that their efforts at unity and reconciliation should focus on culture rather than on race. [about]
    125. Cultural Reconciliation in Canada - questions, by Universal House of Justice (2001). Reply from the House of Justice to a request for a reexamination of the assumptions on which its letter to Canada of 5 September 1999 was based. [about]
    126. Dawn over Mount Hira and Other Essays, by Marzieh Gail (1976). A collection of essays on various topics of interest to Bahá'í studies and history. Most of these were first published in Star of the West and World Order between 1929 and 1971. [about]
    127. De la Córdoba Mora a los Bahá'ís de Irán, by Boris Handal, in Revista Cultura y Religión, 4:1 (2010). Contrast between the contemporary Iranian Bahá'í community and the treatment of religious minorities in Spain under the Moors. [about]
    128. Dear White Christians: For Those Still Longing for Racial Reconciliation, by Jennifer Harvey: Review, by Dianne Coin, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). [about]
    129. Declaración bahá'í sobre obligaciones y derechos humanos, 1947, by Bahá'í International Community (1947-02). Declaración de la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í ante la Conferencia Internacional de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Relación Entre el Desarme y el Desarrollo, Wilmette, Illinois, Febrero de 1947. [about]
    130. Declaración de la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í ante la Conferencia Internacional de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Uso Indebido y el Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, by Bahá'í International Community (1987-06). Declaración de la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í ante la Conferencia Internacional de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Uso Indebido y el Tráfico Ilícito de Drogas, Viena, Austria, 17-26 de junio de 1987 [about]
    131. Declaración de la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í ante la Conferencia Internacional de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Relación Entre el Desarme y el Desarrollo, by Bahá'í International Community (1987-08/1987-09). El Año Internacional de la Mujer. Nueva York, Nueva York, 24 de agosto-11 de septiembre de 1987 [about]
    132. Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Nine Year Plan, by Universal House of Justice (2022-11-01). Matters relating to the Nine Year Plan (2022-2031), ethnic and cultural diversity, the human family's crisis of identity, prejudice, Africa, and economic injustice. [about]
    133. Desarme y la Paz, El, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-02). [about]
    134. Descripción de La Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í, by Bahá'í International Community (2000-06-06). Descripción de La Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í [about]
    135. Developing Distinctive Bahá'í Communities: Guidelines for Spiritual Assemblies, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (1998). A guide to community development. Links to document offsite. [about]
    136. Dialogue between Yin-Yang Concepts and the Bahá'í Faith, The, by Phyllis Ghim-Lian Chew, in Singapore Bahá'í Studies Review, vol. 6 (2001). Yin-yang, a pivotal theory in Chinese thought influencing government, architecture, relationships, and ethics, has many similarities with the Bahá’í Faith, including the origin of matter, the nature of history, man-woman relationships, and health. [about]
    137. Dialogues with Scientists and Sages: The Search for Unity, by Renee Weber: Review, by Kishan Manocha, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 2:1 (1992). [about]
    138. Did Prophecy Fail? The Lesser Peace and the Year 2000, by Jack McLean (2003-08). Prior to the 2010s, there was widespread belief in the Bahá'í community that the Lesser Peace would be established by the year 2000, following some catastrophic event. Yet the Scriptures do not make this claim. Prophecy is interpreted in retrospect. [about]
    139. Disintegration of Society and the Development of a New Order, by Universal House of Justice (1996-05-13). On the disintegration of society and the development of a new order, and how the advancement of civilization and the development of human nature can continue. [about]
    140. Division and Unity in the Baha'i Community: Towards a Definition of Fundamentalism, by Moojan Momen (2009). 15 criteria that define "fundamentalism," and their applicability and/or inapplicability to the Bahá'í community; it may be more useful to use a psychological definition that sees the phenomenon as a value-free cognitive style, a way of perceiving. [about]
    141. Effect of Revelation on Artistic Expression, The, by Otto Donald Rogers, in Bahá'í Studies, 10 (1982). The themes and processes of visual art are the same as those of constructive evolution: man as an instrument, desire for order and beauty, use of materials, element of light, principle of unity, balance of polarities, and mobility through faith. [about]
    142. El Desarrollo Sostenible y el Espíritu Humano, by Bahá'í International Community (1992-06). El Desarrollo Sostenible y el Espíritu Humano, presentado Río de Janeiro, Brasil, junio de 1992. [about]
    143. El Papel de la religión en el desarrollo social, by Bahá'í International Community (1994-09). Comentarios al borrador de la Declaración y Programa de Acción para el desarrollo social. Presentado durante la reunión del Comité Preparatorio para la Cumbre Mundial sobre el Desarrollo Social, New York, New York, 1994 [about]
    144. Emergence of World Civilization, The: An Exposition on Excerpts from the Writings of Shoghi Effendi, by James B. Thomas, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 8 (2007). A study of the Guardian's "The Unfoldment of World Civilization" (1936); humanity's coming of age; the process of integration; pangs of death and birth during an age of transition; collapse of Islam; breakdown of political and economic structures. [about]
    145. Employment and Work, by Bahá'í International Community (2008-02-11). Statement of the BIC to the 46th Commission on Social Development on the theme "Full Employment and Decent Work" [about]
    146. Encouragement, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (2006). [about]
    147. Equality and Baha'i Principles in Northern Ireland, by Edwin Graham, in Solas, 1 (2001). A paper in two parts: (1) the development of equality legislation in Northern Ireland, and (2) the Bahá’í Teachings in relation to equality and the extent to which Northern Irish legislation applies or does not apply them. [about]
    148. Eradicating Poverty: Moving Forward as One, by Bahá'í International Community (2008). BIC statement on poverty. [about]
    149. Estudios Preliminares Sobre la Condición Jurídica y Social de la Mujer en la Comunidad Mundial Bahá'í, by Bahá'í International Community (1974). Declaración presentada al 25° período de sesiones de la Comisión de las Naciones Unidas sobre la Condición Jurídica y Social de la Mujer, New York, 1974. [about]
    150. European Strategy for the Elderly, A: The Irreplaceable Role of Community Life, by Bahá'í International Community (2023-11-29). Statement envisioning the elderly as invaluable contributors to community life, emphasizing their role as active participants in shaping a cohesive and vibrant society. [about]
    151. Evolution of Reality, The, by George Land, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 3:1 (1990). Entropy maintains that all structures eventually decay. Humanity's challenge is to understand that nature's creative process changes systems, including organizations and civilization; this can lead to new connections, ideas, resources, and opportunities. [about]
    152. "Evolution of Reality," by George Land: Commentary, by Tony Michel, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 3:4 (1991). [about]
    153. Excerpts from the Risáliy-i-Dhahabiyyih, by Báb, The (2001). On effulgences, essence, and unity of existence. [about]
    154. Experiment in Race Relations, A, by Robert P. Powers, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 11 (1946-1950) (1952). An early program in race tolerance, preceding the Civil Rights movement, as described by a prominent Chief Law Enforcement Officer in early 20th-century California. [about]
    155. Exposition of the Tablet of the World (Lawh-i-Dunyá), An, by James B. Thomas, in Lights of Irfan, 4 (2003). To fully appreciate the historical significance of the Tablet of the World, this essay first portrays the developing conditions in Persia and in the world that preceded this Tablet, then discusses its salient points. [about]
    156. Extract from Brochure "One World, One People - A Bahá'í View", by Bahá'í International Community (1974). Short selection from a brochure presented by the Baha’i International Community to delegates attending the United Nations World Population Conference and World Food Conference in 1974. [about]
    157. Fact and Fiction: Interrelationships between History and Imagination, by Bahiyyih Nakhjavani, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 10:3-4 (2000). On the tension between "fact" and "fiction," between objective history and our relative and subjective stories, between art as the representation of reality and faith based on the Word of God. We inherited a responsibility to resolve this tension. [about]
    158. Faith, Theory, and Practice: Interracial Marriage as a Symbol of the Oneness of Humanity, by Benjamin Leiker (2004-04). [about]
    159. Family and the Future, The: Legal Perspectives, by P. E. Ringwood, in The Family: Our Hopes and Challenges (1995). Legal action and institutions must be developed which are positive, constructive and linked with community education and resources to improve the quality of family life; we must not forget that all life has a spiritual perspective. [about]
    160. Fifty Bahá'í Principles of Unity: A Paradigm of Social Salvation, by Christopher Buck, in Bahá'í Studies Review, 18 (2014). World religions are systems of salvation, liberation, or harmony, in direct response to the perceived human predicament. To Baha’is, this predicament is profound estrangement and the solution is world unity, from family to international relations. [about]
    161. Firm Cord of Servitude, The, by Theo A. Cope, in Lights of Irfan, Book 2 (2001). A call for a revisioning of mysticism's claims of "union with God" in light of the Bahá'í Teachings as well as Jungian psychology. [about]
    162. For the Student of Religion, by Bahá'í International Community (1985/2006). Adapted from William S. Hatcher and Douglas Martin's The Bahá'í Faith: The Emerging Global Religion (1985), for posting at bahai.org (2006). [about]
    163. Forces of Our Time: Lecture Series, by Hooper Dunbar (2011-04). Six lectures series at Bosch Bahá'í School, April 15-17 2011. [about]
    164. Forces of Our Time, The, by Hooper Dunbar, in dialogue magazine, 1:3 (1986). Excerpt from a talk presented at the "Prepare for Peace" conference, Long Beach, California, August 1985. [about]
    165. Foundations of World Unity, by Abdu'l-Bahá (1979). A collection of talks and writings of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. [about]
    166. Foundations of World Unity Cross-Referenced to Other Works (2003). [about]
    167. Fourth Candle, The: The Unity of Religion and Interfaith Dialogue, by Christopher Buck, in dialogue magazine, 1:2 (1986). What does "Unity in Religion" mean, and how does it apply for Bahá'ís' interactions with other religious communities? An essay inspired by Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablet "Seven Candles of Unity," utopia, Hans Kung, and the Lesser Peace. [about]
    168. From Adam to Bahá'u'lláh: The Idea of a Chain of Prophecy, by Zaid Lundberg, in Lights of Irfan, Book 3 (2002). Whilst the modern period has seen a series of scientific paradigm shifts which have radically altered the scientific understanding of man and nature, no theory of religion has had similar success; the potential of the Bahá’í perspective. [about]
    169. From Moorish Cordova to the Bahá'ís of Iran: Islamic Tolerance and Intolerance, by Boris Handal, in IDEA: A Journal of Social Issues, 12:1 (2007-09-08). Though Bahá'ís are persecuted in Iran, Muhammad taught understanding and respect towards religious minorities. Cordova, Spain is an example of historical tolerance where Muslims, Christians and Jews co-existed harmoniously under Islamic rule. [about]
    170. From Outsider to Outsider: A Study of Iranian Bahá'ís' Identity in Iran and the United States, by Naghme Naseri Morlock, in Journal of Hate Studies, 18:1 (2023). The denial of a national identity of Bahá'ís in Iran; their experiences in the U.S.; cultural differences between immigrant and American Bahá'ís; the importance of religious identity; how religious, national, and cultural identities are negotiated. [about]
    171. Function of Revelation in Artistic Expression, The, by Otto Donald Rogers, in Bahá'í Studies, 1 (1976). Overview of some Bahá'í themes and how they are reflected in the making of art: man as an instrument; desire for order and beauty; use of materials; element of light; principle of unity; polarities and relationships; part and whole; energy and power. [about]
    172. Gender perspectives and the work of the United Nations, by Bahá'í International Community (2007-09-20). Statement to the UN Human Rights Council on integrating gender perspectives. [about]
    173. Give Me Thy Grace to Serve Thy Loved Ones, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (2018-05). A selection of writings prepared by the International Teaching Centre for the Continental Counsellors and their Auxiliaries. [about]
    174. Good of the World and the Happiness of the Nations, The: A Study of Modern Utopian and Dystopian Literature, by Elham Afnan, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 1:4 (1989). The Bahá'í Writings, with their new understanding of human destiny, can bridge the gap between utopian visions of progress from 19th-century literature and dystopian visions of 20th-century fiction, disillusioned by war and social and economic disasters. [about]
    175. Gregory, Louis G.: The Advancement of Racial Unity in America, by Harlan F. Ober, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (April 1950-1954) (1993/1998). Short biography of an early African-American Bahá'í. [about]
    176. Hacia un modelo de desarrollo para el siglo XXI, by Bahá'í International Community (1994). Hacia un modelo de desarrollo para el siglo XXI. [about]
    177. Harvard Pluralism Project: Baha'i (2023). Six overview essays on Bahá'í history, beliefs, and practices. (Offsite) [about]
    178. Hayden, Robert, by Christopher Buck and Derik Smith, in Oxford Research Encyclopedia, Literature (2019). In his poetics of history and his nuanced representations of black life, Hayden's art showed that the African American experience was quintessentially American, and that blackness was an essential aspect of heterogeneous America. [about]
    179. Heart of the Gospel: The Bible and the Bahá'í Faith, by George Townshend (1939). Using only the text of the Bible, Townshend provides a new reading of Scripture as a guidebook for those who seek a universal view of religion and the contemporary world. [about]
    180. Hindu Concept of God, The: Unity in Diversity, by Anjam Khursheed, in Singapore Bahá'í Studies Review, vol. 2 (1997). The fundamental unity behind Hindu concepts of God and those found in the Semitic traditions, and the principle of unity in diversity, allow Hindu and Bahá'í beliefs to come together and further their common goal of uniting the world's religions. [about]
    181. Historia de su Cooperacion con las Naciones Unidas, by Bahá'í International Community (n.d.). [about]
    182. Hope and Resilience: The Application of Spiritual Principles to Community Life, by Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity (2021). On how communities use concepts and principles such as the oneness of humankind and interconnectedness with nature in their efforts to contribute towards the common good; on strong networks of social support and the management of water-related challenges. [about]
    183. Hora Decisiva para todas las Naciones, by Bahá'í International Community (1995-10). Declaración de la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í con motivo del 50 aniversario de Naciones Unidas Octubre 1995 [about]
    184. Human Rights and Multiculturalism, by Kiser Barnes, in Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights, Tahereh Tahririha-Danesh (2001). The concept of human rights must be enriched by spiritual principles. They rest on universal principles of morality and justice, and are a philosophical source for political and social reform. [about]
    185. Humanitarian Responses to Global Conflicts, by Universal House of Justice (2015-01-13). A letter to and response from the House about why Bahá'ís do not condemn the 2014 attacks on Gaza, and principles to consider when addressing conflicts. [about]
    186. Humanity's Coming Encounter with Baha'u'llah, by Douglas Martin, in American Bahá'í (1992-04-09). Retrospective look at the previous 100 years of Bahá'í history, current shifts of focus and teaching plans, and the prospects for the future which the new Message can bring. [about]
    187. I am all the Prophets": The Poetics of Pluralism in Bahá'í Texts, by Juan Cole, in Poetics Today, 14:3 (1993 Fall). Literary analysis of a passage from Tablet of Blood (Súriy-i-Damm) in which Bahá'u'lláh identifies Himself with all the past Prophets and their sufferings, depicting himself mortally wounded on the field of battle, like Imám Husayn. [about]
    188. Ideas, Religion, and Social Change, by Julia Berger, in Rethinking Religion and Politics in a Plural World: The Bahá'í International Community and the United Nations (2021). Links to a book chapter and video presentation and presentation notes (offsite) presented for the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities, on meaning-making processes driving NGO behavior and the Bahá'í Faith's pursuit of social change. [about]
    189. Immanence and Transcendence in Theophanic Symbolism, by Michael W. Sours, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 5:2 (1992). Bahá'u'lláh uses symbols to depict theophanies — the appearance of God and the divine in the realm of creation — such as "angel," "fire," and the prophets' claims to be incarnating the "face" or "voice" of God; these convey the transcendence of God. [about]
    190. Indexes to Bahá'í World volumes: Obituaries, chronologies, contents, illustrations, in Bahá'í World (2013). Seven separate indexes for Bahá'í World, in PDF, Word, and Excel versions. [about]
    191. Individual Rights and Freedoms, by Universal House of Justice (1988-12-29). An important and often-quoted letter about rights and freedom of expression in the Bahá'í community, as contrasted with those in American civil society. [about]
    192. Indonesian Bahá'í Community's Perspective on Gender Equality, by Samsul Hidayat, in Al-Albab, 12:1 (2023). On the concept of gender equality in Indonesian context from a Bahá'í perspective; Bahá'ís view gender differences only from biological factors; differences are due to the cultures of the people, not patriarchal ideology like in the Indonesian tradition. [about]
    193. Insistent Self, The: How to Nurture Our Spirit, by Lesley Shams (2015). The nature of our ego and the effort needed to prevent this lower nature taking over and hindering our spiritual destiny; compilation of guidance from the Writings and other sources on the spiritual path, prayer, fasting, sacrifice, tests, love, etc. [about]
    194. Integracion de la mujer en el desarrollo enocomico y social de America Latina y el Caribe, La, by Bahá'í International Community (1988-09). Revisión y evaluación crítica de algunos aspectos de la condición de la mujer en la region, incluso su integración en el mercado laboral, mujeres jefes de familia y el papel de la mujer en el comercio en el Caribe. [about]
    195. Internationalism and Divine Law: A Baha'i Perspective, by Roshan Danesh, in Journal of Law and Religion, 19:2 (2004). On the internationalism motif in Bahá'í political and legal thought; the place of divine legal claims in contemporary debates about models of world order; religion as a unifying force; concept of divine law in both Persian and Islamic history. [about]
    196. Internet Discussions, Character of, by Universal House of Justice (1995-05-19). Internet courtesy, discipline, and the need for Bahá'ís online to be a "spiritual leaven." [about]
    197. Interreligious and Intercultural Cooperation, by Bahá'í International Community (2007-10). Statement to the United Nations on best practices and strategies for interreligious and intercultural cooperation. [about]
    198. Intimate Diversity: The Presentation of Multiculturalism and Multiracialism in a High-Boundary Religious Movement, by Kathleen Jenkins, in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42:3 (2003). On the construction and maintenance of multiracial/ethnic networks in religious movements, through a comparative analysis of International Churches of Christ, The People's Temple, and the U.S. Bahá'í community. [about]
    199. Introduction to a Statement on Race Unity, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (1997-12-17). An informal letter on the "most challenging issue confronting America." [about]
    200. Jainism and the Bahá'í Faith: Non-Violence and Plurality Across Time and Space, by Yifan Zhang, in ISJS-Transactions: A Quarterly Refereed Online Research Journal on Jainism, 6:2 (2022 April-June). Comparison of similarities in Bahá'í and Jain teachings, especially in non-violence and plurality across time and space. Link to article (offsite). [about]
    201. Key Passages from the Kitáb-i-Íqán (Book of Certitude) in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, by Bahá'u'lláh (2022). Cross-reference compilation of 40 passages from the Kitáb-i-Íqán selected by Shoghi Effendi for inclusion in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, adapted from Hooper Dunbar's Companion to the Study of the Kitáb-i-Íqán. [about]
    202. Keys to Harmony, by Daniel C. Jordan (n.d.). Ways of bringing harmony into the world, using musical analogies. [about]
    203. Kitáb-i-Aqdas as a Lens with which to Examine some of the Dilemmas of Modernity, The, by Betsy Omidvaran, in Solas, 2 (2002). Contrast between the Aqdas - the source of laws of future society - and issues of the modern world as it had evolved up to the 19th century. Discussion of Houses of Worship, universal language, financial principles, justice, the Covenant, and unity. [about]
    204. L'histoire de Salut et Changement de Paradigme: Deux Contributions à la Théologie Bahá'íe, by Udo Schaefer (1993). French translation of Beyond the Clash of Religions: The Emergence of a New Paradigm. [about]
    205. La construcción de comunidades y el compromiso social de los bahá'ís en Madrid, Sevilla, Barcelona y Valencia, by Aldo Marcelo Caceres, in Journal of the Sociology and Theory of Religion, 13:1 (2022). Este estudio pretende dar visibilidad a una serie de actividades educativas y de compromiso social, que los bahá’ís vienen desarrollando en Madrid, Sevilla, Barcelona y Valencia, por comprender sus profunda vocación de servicio. [about]
    206. Language and Worldview, by Alvino E. Fantini, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 2:2 (1989). Languages are paradigms of a view of the world. Knowledge of more than one language holds promise for an expanded worldview, for understanding other people on their own terms. [about]
    207. Le tabernacle de l'unité: Réponses à Mánikchí Sahib et autres écrits, by Bahá'u'lláh (2014). Traduction de The Tabernacle of Unity: Bahá'u'lláh's Responses To Mánikchi Sáhib. [about]
    208. Legacies and Prospects: Baha'i Community Building Yesterday and Tomorrow, by Ismael Velasco (2002). On the rise and evolution of a world Bahá'í community in the 20th century, and new paradigms for community building. [about]
    209. Legacy of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Visit to America, 1912, The, by Robert Stockman (2012). Overview of Abdu’l-Bahá’s trip to the U.S. and Canada, its impact, his social action and public discourse, and comparison with similar "travel-teaching" trips by Protap Chunder Mozoomdar and Swami Vivekanada (Hindus) and Anagarika Dharmapala (a Buddhist). [about]
    210. Legislación Internacional para el Medio Ambiente y el Desarrollo, by Bahá'í International Community (1991-08). Una declaraciòn presentada por la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'í al Comité Preparatorio para la Conferencia de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Medio Ambiente y el Desarrollo. Ginebra Suiza, Agosto 1991. [about]
    211. Letter to Martha Root, by Abdu'l-Bahá (1920). A letter to believers in America. [about]
    212. Letter to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, May 19 1994, by Universal House of Justice (1994-05-19). A lengthy response inspired by the US community's 1994 "Vision in Action" initiative, addressing the slowness of the growth of the Faith in America and the impact of negative trends in American society on the nation's Bahá'í community. [about]
    213. Letter to the United States and Canada on racism, 1961, by Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum (1961-03-09). [about]
    214. Letter to the World's Religious Leaders, by Universal House of Justice (2002-04). On historic challenges that leaders of religion must respond to, if spiritual leadership is to have meaning in the new global society. [about]
    215. Letters Written on Behalf of the Guardian, by Universal House of Justice, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 8 (2007). Three questions: Letters Written on Behalf of Shoghi Effendi; Status of Research Department Memoranda; Bahá'í Writings Based in Fact? Includes clarification on the authenticity of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's published talks. [about]
    216. Lidia Zamenhof, by John T. Dale (1996). Brief biography of the daughter of Ludwig Lazarus Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto. [about]
    217. Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (1988). The classic Bahá'í reference book. This is its first online edition. [about]
    218. List of Articles on BahaiTeachings.org, by Christopher Buck (2020). List of online essays and articles by Christopher Buck since 2014. [about]
    219. Lists of Articles, by Brent Poirier (2009-2019). Lists of 126 articles at the author's six blog websites. [about]
    220. Locke, Shock, and Abbott: Baha'i Theology and the Acceleration of the African American Civil Rights Movement, by Guy Emerson Mount (2010). African American responses to Abdu'l-Bahá's 1912 visit to America, Abdu'l Baha's teachings among prominent African American leaders, and the nature of the 'Black Church' during the wider 'Progressive Era' of Jim Crow segregation. [about]
    221. Logos, Mythos and Kerygma: The Logic of Reconciliation and the Occultation of the Promised Qá'im in Bábí-Bahá'í Scripture, by Ismael Velasco (2004). Theological background of the Twelfth Imam in Shi'i Islam, comprehensive interpretation of Bahá'u'lláh's and 'Abdu'l-Bahá's position on the occultation and the Qá'ím, and the historicity of the 12th Imám in the Bahá'í writings. [about]
    222. Love and Estrangement in the Bahá'í Community, by Arnold Nerenberg: Review, by Sidney Edward Morrison, in dialogue magazine, 2:1 (1987). On personal feelings of alienation in the Bahá'í community, self image, and backbiting. [about]
    223. Love of Iran, A, by Iraj Ghanooni (2022). Philosophical reflections on how fundamentally our homeland shapes our reality, and how ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s deep love of His own homeland of Iran went far beyond a particularistic sentiment of nationalism and was in fact one of "universal patriotism." [about]
    224. Lucha Contra el Hambre, La, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-06). Declaración a la 11a Sesión de Ministros del Consejo Mundial de la Alimentación de las Naciones Unidas, París, Francia, 1985. [about]
    225. Meaning of Detachment, The, by Phyllis K. Peterson (1997). Detachment as it relates to women, teaching, the media, and unity. [about]
    226. Meeting a Prophet, by Archie Bell, in The Spell of the Holy Land (1915). Book chapter containing three interviews with 'Abdu'l-Bahá at the Sea of Galilee. [about]
    227. Message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors on the Nine Year Plan, by Universal House of Justice (2021-12-30). Features of the new 9-Year Plan, "the first major undertaking in a sacred twenty-five-year venture, generational in its scope and significance," to be implemented Ridvan 2022. [about]
    228. Message to the Indian and Eskimo Bahá'ís of the Western Hemisphere, by Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum (1969). Letter to Native American and Inuit believers, about the assurance given in the Bahá'í Writings that their future is very great, and that they themselves best help to fulfill these promises by taking the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh to their own people. [about]
    229. Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986: Third Epoch of the Formative Age, by Universal House of Justice (1996). [about]
    230. Messianic Roots of Babi-Bahá'í Globalism, The, by Stephen Lambden, in Bahá'í and Globalisation (2005). Contrast of the continuity between the globalism of the Bab’s Qayyum al-asma’ and Baha’u’llah’s globalism, verses breaks between the two, e.g. the abandoning of jihad as a means of promoting a globalisation process. [about]
    231. Mikhail Sergeev, Theory of Religious Cycles: Tradition, Modernity and the Bahá'í Faith: Review, by Benjamin Olshin, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 4 (2015). [about]
    232. Millennium Forum, by Universal House of Justice (2000-09-24). [about]
    233. Mobilizing Institutional, Legal and Cultural Resources to Achieve Gender Equality, by Bahá'í International Community (2008-02-01). The central role of girls and women in human development; the need to end the cultural, institutional, and legal obstacles towards their progress and all forms of discrimination against them. [about]
    234. Monologues on the Bicentenary of the Birth of Baha'u'llah and Howard University Visit Commemoration, by Vasu Mohan and Donna Denize (2017-10/2018-04). Five biographical monologues delivered in the fictionalized voices of Harriett Gibbs Marshall, Laura Dreyfus Barney, Louis Gregory, Alain Locke, and Pocahontas Pope. [about]
    235. More Constructive Encounter, A: A Bahá’í View of Religion and Human Rights, by Barney Leith, in Does God Believe in Human Rights? Essays on Religion and Human Rights, ed. Nazila Ghanea et al. (2007). Relationship between religion and human rights, and the work of the Bahá’í community in wholeheartedly supporting the theory and practice of universal rights. [about]
    236. "Most Great Reconstruction": The Bahá'í Faith in Jim Crow South Carolina, 1898-1965, by Louis E. Venters (2010). The Faith enjoyed a period of growth from the 1960s-1980s that was largely inspired by interracial teaching campaigns in the South. The Bahá'í movement in South Carolina was a significant, sustained response to racist ideologies. Link to thesis (offsite). [about]
    237. Mujeres y Hombres, Una Sociedad para un Planeta Saludable, by Bahá'í International Community (1991-11). Exposición presentada al "World Women's Congress for a Healthy Planet", Miami, Florida, 8-12 Noviembre, 1991. [about]
    238. Mystic Cup, The: Essential Mystical Nature of the Bahá'í Faith, by LeRoy Jones, in Lights of Irfan, Book 2 (2001). Although the Bahá’í Faith is fundamentally mystic in character, American Bahá’ís often do not even understand what  mysticism is. Heart-centered mystic oneness is crucial in individual, societal, and adminstrative spiritual transformation. [about]
    239. Nature of the Persecution against the Bahá'ís in Iran, by Bahá'í International Community (2010-02). The situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran in 2010; historical and legal context; denial of individual and communal rights; incitement to hatred based on religion or belief. [about]
    240. New Creation, A: The Power of the Covenant in the Life of Louis Gregory, by Gayle Morrison, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 9:4 (1999). Louis Gregory's achievements, focussing on his promotion of the oneness of humankind, teaching the Bahá’í Faith, and administering its affairs. Gregory became both a herald of the Covenant and an enduring example of its transforming power. [about]
    241. Next Stage, The, by Douglas Martin, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 23:1-4 (2013). Bahá'í scholars find themselves at a stage in the Faith’s development where they must construct a discourse that is free of "haughty intellectualism." The Association for Bahá’í Studies can help promote the Bahá'í cause to institutions of higher learning. [about]
    242. Nine Year Plan, The: 2022-2031, by Universal House of Justice (2021-2022). 9 letters from November 2021 to January 2022, addressed to the Bahá'í world, Continental Counsellors, Auxiliary Board members, and National Spiritual Assemblies. Link to free download of book (offsite). [about]
    243. Notes on Words of the Guardian, by Virginia Orbison (1956). Ten pages of notes, preserved as an appendix to Orbison's lengthy manuscript "Diary of a Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, Made by Virginia Orbison, January 15 to February 11". [about]
    244. On the Betterment of the World and the Countering of Negative and Disunifying Forces, by Universal House of Justice (2020-11-24). On how individuals can contribute to the betterment of society in view of the present state of the world. [about]
    245. One Common Faith, by Universal House of Justice (2005). Review of relevant passages from both the writings of Bahá'u'lláh and the scriptures of other faiths against the background of contemporary crises. [about]
    246. One Human Race: Warwick Leaflets, by Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop (1993). Brief introduction of ideas related to the Bahá'í concept of the oneness of mankind. [about]
    247. One Planet, One Habitation: A Bahá'í Perspective on Recasting Humanity's Relationship with the Natural World, by Bahá'í International Community (2022-06-01). A pictorial magazine-style overview of Bahá'í views on the environment, trusteeship, development, progress, and spirituality. [about]
    248. Oneness of Mankind, The: Basic Principle of the Bahá'í Faith, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, in Bahá'í News, 303 (1956-05). Statement of Bahá'í teachings prepared in order to clarify the position of members of the Faith throughout the United States at this critical hour, published as an insert in the U.S. Bahá'í newsletter. [about]
    249. Oneness of Reality, The: A Response to Moojan Momen's "Relativism as a Basis for Baha'i Metaphysics", by Peter Terry (2018). Dialogue on epistemology and ontology as presented in the core literature of the Baha’i religion. [about]
    250. Orientation of Hope and Lessons in World Crisis, The, by Alain Locke, in Bahá'í World, vols. 5 and 9 (1936/1945). Two essays meditating on the relevance of Bahá'í principles to the period preceding and during the Second World War. [about]
    251. Origins of the Bahá'í Concept of Unity and Causality: A Brief Survey of Greek, Neoplatonic, and Islamic Underpinnings, by Babak Rod Khadem, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 7 (2006). The Bahá’í conception of unity has historical and intellectual precedents. On the history of this concept (and the concept of causality) as it developed in ancient Greek thought, Neoplatonism, and, subsequently, in Islamic philosophy and mysticism. [about]
    252. Overcoming Barriers to Unity: An Essay on Group Harmony, by Steven E. Ellis (1996). Different perspectives on unity and disunity; red flags of disunity including anger, advising, perfectionism, excessive speech; group decision-making; and the role of the institutions. Includes compilation on the subject of unity. [about]
    253. Papel de la educación, los medios de información y las artes en el desarrollo social, El, by Bahá'í International Community (1994-08). El papel de la educación, los medios de información [about]
    254. Papel de la Juventud en los Derechos Humanos, El, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-02). [about]
    255. Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Bahá'í Faith, by Christopher Buck (1999). Study of Bahá'í and Christian symbology, the "first academic monograph comparing Christianity and the Bahá'í Faith." [about]
    256. Passages uit de Kitáb-i-Íqán (Boek van Zekerheid) in Bloemlezing uit de Geschriften van Bahá'u'lláh, by Bahá'u'lláh (2022). Compilatie van 40 passages uit de Kitáb-i-Íqán door Shoghi Effendi geselecteerd voor opname in Bloemlezing uit de Geschriften van Bahá'u'lláh. [about]
    257. Path of God, The, by Wolfgang A. Klebel, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 11 (2010). A comparison of the 'Global Ethic' (Hans Küng) with the Bahá'í Faith. The core ethical principles found in all religions are the most likely first step towards the unification of all religions: an inspiration for Unity in Diversity. [about]
    258. Path to God, The: 1937, by Dorothy Baker (1937). Essay published as a pamphlet about the goal of life, revelation and access to heaven, self-improvement while on earth, prayer and spiritual surrender, loving the Messenger and following his teachings. [about]
    259. Path to God, The: 1956, by Dorothy Baker, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 12 (1950-54) (1956). Some elements for spiritual success: power through prayer and nine benefits of prayer, victorious living, and immortality. [about]
    260. Paz y el Desarrollo, La, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-05). Declaración presentada al Seminario de las Naciones Unidas para las regiones de Asia, el Pacífico y Asia Occidental, para el Año Internacional de la Paz, Bangkok, Tailandia, 20 al 24 de mayo de 1985 [about]
    261. Peace in Perspective: The Historical Development of Peace Studies and the Bahá'í Concept, by Marcos Alan Ferreira, in Journal of the Sociology and Theory of Religion, 13:1 (2022). How the peace concept evolved through history, and how it dialogues with perspectives of Bahá’í writings and thinkers vs. the conceptual frameworks of Peace Studies, in light of an understanding of violence, human nature, and unity. [about]
    262. Peace, Activism for, by Universal House of Justice (1987-06-17). Bahá'ís may be actively involved in peace processes but may not interfere excessively, since Bahá'í institutions will not be directly involved in effecting the political unity of nations. [about]
    263. Persecution of the Baha'is in Iran: 1979-1986: A 7-year campaign to eliminate a religious minority, by Bahá'í International Community (1986). Overview of activities and propaganda against Bahá'ís in Iran, and the responses of the United Nations. [about]
    264. Persian-speaking Believers in Anglophone Communities, by Universal House of Justice, in Bahá'í Canada, 8:6 (1996-02). Some Persian expatriates feel deprived of participation in Bahá'í gatherings because of an inability to understand English. [about]
    265. Political Non-Involvement and Obedience to Government: Compilation by Peter Khan with Cover Letter from Secretariat, by Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi (2003-01-12). Current world events can cause confusion and anguish among those seeking global peace. Rather than being drawn into prevailing attitudes and disputes, Bahá'ís must hold a broader long-term perspective. [about]
    266. Power and the Bahá'í community, by Moojan Momen, in Lights of Irfan, 19 (2018). While Bahá'í social teachings may have sounded new and exciting a century ago, that is no longer the case today. The problem the world faces is not in the principles that would lead to a better society, but in their application. [about]
    267. Power of Unity, The: Beyond Prejudice and Racism [excerpts], by Báb, The and Bahá'u'lláh (1986). [about]
    268. Précis Commentary on One Common Faith, by William S. Hatcher (2008). Commentary on the statement ‘One Common Faith’. [about]
    269. Prejudice and Discrimination, by Will C. van den Hoonaard (1993-11). Prejudice is cultural. History shows no society is immune. U.S. Bahá'ís facilitated Racial Amity groups in the 20s and 30s, and found ignorance plus apathy are key factors in prejudice. Reducing it requires a universal commitment to the unity of humanity. [about]
    270. Preparación para Vivir en Paz, el Papel de la Juventud, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-05). [about]
    271. Preparación Para Vivir En Paz, La, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-02). Charla presentada durante el Seminario Regional de las Naciones Unidas para Latinoamérica y el Caribe, auspiciado por la Comisión Económica y Social para Latinoamérica y el Caribe (ECLAC) 26 de febrero de 1985 [about]
    272. Preparación para Vivir en Paz, La Contribución de la Mujer, by Bahá'í International Community (1985-05). Declaración preparada por la Comunidad Internacional Bahá’í para el Seminario Regional Europeo para el Año Internacional de la Paz, Viena, Austria: 6 al 10 de mayo de 1985 [about]
    273. Prevención de Discriminaciones y Protección a las Minorías, 1988, by Bahá'í International Community (1988-08). [about]
    274. Prevención de Discriminaciones y Protección a las Minorías, 1989, by Bahá'í International Community (1989-12). [about]
    275. Principle of the Oneness of Humankind, The: Strong Foundationalism, Non-Adversarialism, and the Imperatives of Our Time, by Filip Boicu (2022). Some of the ways in which the concept of globalization has been framed in the recent past; the vision of Shoghi Effendi; The Seven Valleys and social change; moral codes and ethical living; the oneness of humankind and non-adversarialism. [about]
    276. Progressive Revelation and Oneness of Religion, by William Sears (1972 (?) / 2018). A videotaped talk (possibly from 1972), along with a shorter animated 2018 presentation prepared by a graphic designer for the Bahá'í Journeys website. [about]
    277. Promise of World Peace, by Universal House of Justice (1985-10). A document distributed to many politicians and prominent individuals since its writing in 1985, it was the first official public statement made by the Universal House of Justice since its inception in 1963. [about]
    278. Prophets of Mahabad, and Nature of Creation: The Two Questions of Manakji Limji Hataria, by Susan Maneck (2011). Discussion of Baha’u’llah’s letters to Manakji Hataria as found in the Tabernacle of Unity, compiled from an email discussion group archive; the context of the questions and their answers against the background of Ishraqi philosophy. [about]
    279. Proposals to the United Nations for Charter Revision, by Bahá'í International Community (1955-05-23). Proposals from the Bahai International Community for revision of the U.N. charter in its capacity as a non-governmental organization with consultative status at the U.N. [about]
    280. Proselytizing, Development, and the Covenant, by Universal House of Justice, in Messages from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986, The Third Epoch of the Formative Age (1996). Teaching vs. proselytization; applying Bahá'í social teachings without becoming ensnared in prevailing cultural mores; and the uniqueness of the Bahá'í covenant. [about]
    281. Prosperity of Humankind, by Bahá'í International Community (1995-03-03). A statement prepared by the Bahá'í International Community Office of Public Information, Haifa, first distributed at the United Nations World Summit on Social Development, Copenhagen, Denmark, 1995. [about]
    282. Psychology and Peace, by Ronald Roesch, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 1:2 (1988). The relevance of psychology to the establishment of peace in the context of the Bahá’í peace message. [about]
    283. Pupil of the Eye, The: African Americans in the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, by Báb, The and Bahá'u'lláh, 2nd edition (1998). A compilation of references in the Bahá'í writings to African-Americans and those of African descent. [about]
    284. Pursuit of Social Justice, The, by Michael Karlberg, in Bahá'í World (2022-08-03). An interdisciplinary examination of prevailing conceptions of human nature, power, social organization, and social change, and their implications for the pursuit of peace and justice. [about]
    285. Questions about Science and Religion: Interviews with Abdul Baha at Tiberias and Haifa, by Anna Kunz, in Star of the West, 13:6 (1922-09). Questions asked of Abdu'l-Bahá by two Christians visiting Haifa in 1921. [about]
    286. Questions about the Second Coming, by George Townshend (1953). Answers by Townshend to questions asked by the Bahá’ís of Kampala, Uganda about the return of Christ, the Bible, false prophets, the day of judgment, and the trinity. [about]
    287. Qur'anic Kerygma: Epic, Apocalypse, and Typological Figuration, by Todd Lawson, in Routledge Companion to the Qur'an, chapter 17 (2022). Article contains no mention of the Bábí or Bahá'í Faiths, but includes themes of relevance to Bahá'í teachings on the typologies of proclamation and apocalypse. [about]
    288. Race and Man: A Compilation, by Maye Harvey Gift and Alice Simmons Cox (1943). A collection of words of scientists, sociologists and educators, arranged to present the problem of race relations in this modern world and the solutions as great thinkers envision them, followed by Bahá'í teachings on the same topics. [about]
    289. Race and Racism: Perspectives from Bahá'í Theology and Critical Sociology, by Matthew Hughey, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). Review of the concepts of race and racism based on social scientific understanding, in order to better understand their definition and to delineate their relation to one another, and correlate them with the Bahá'í Writings. [about]
    290. Race Unity Day, by Christopher Buck, in Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations (2011-09). [about]
    291. Race, Place, and Clusters: Current Vision and Possible Strategies, by June Manning Thomas, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). Division by place affects the possibilities for racial unity, especially in fragmented U.S. metropolitan areas. The "institute process” as a strategy could overcome challenges that place-based action poses for racial unity. [about]
    292. Racial Identity and the Patterns of Consolation in the Poetry of Robert Hayden, by John S. Hatcher, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 3:2 (1990). The dramatic tension in Robert Hayden’s poetry has often been mistaken for personal ambivalence and confusion with regard to both his ethnic identity and his beliefs as a Bahá’í — rather than the clear pattern of consolation that unites them. [about]
    293. Raising Children of Light: editorial, by Bahá'í International Community, in Jerusalem Post (2008). In seeking to end the world's suffering, we need to acknowledge that we are all one human race in an increasingly interconnected world, educate children and mothers, and end the oppression of girls and women. [about]
    294. Raising the Tent of Unity, by Ali-Akbar Furutan (1970/1972). The year 1844 marked the end of humanity’s childhood and signaled the "coming of age" of the human race. Like a pot of water which has just come to a boil, we are now ready to rid ourselves of enmity and discord, and abide in freedom and security. [about]
    295. Reading Reality in Times of Crisis: 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Great War, by Amin Egea, in Bahá'í World (2021-05-08). How ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s analysis of the crises of His time was profoundly distinct from contemporaneous “progressive” movements and thinkers. [about]
    296. Reconciliation of Races and Religions, The, by Thomas Kelly Cheyne (1914). Early history of the Bábí and Bahá'í movements, life stories of their participants, and their contemporary religious context, written by a distinguished British Biblical scholar. [about]
    297. Reconciliation of Religions, The: Imperative for the 21st Century, by Peter Terry (2015). While the 12 principles attributed to 'Abdu'l-Bahá include the harmony of religion with science and reason and the imperative that religion lead to unity, one principle that was at least as prominent is often left out: the reconciliation of religions. [about]
    298. Reconsidering the Civil Rights Era in the Footsteps of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, by June Thomas, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 31:4 (2022-09). On principles of racial prejudice and 1960s South Carolina, including the fallacy of racial prejudice, the need to judge people by their moral character rather than their race, and the responsibilities of different races toward each other. [about]
    299. Reflections on the First Century of the Formative Age, by Universal House of Justice (2023-11-28). Overview of the Faith's developments and activities during the previous century, including the Guardianship, global expansion, community building and development, participation in societal discourse, and construction of the Bahá'í World Centre. [about]
    300. Reflections on the Principle of Unity/Oneness, Some, by Hooshmand Badee, in Lights of Irfan, 19 (2018). Reflections on the message of Bahá'u'lláh creating the oneness of humanity and a global society that is based on unity and love rather than factors such as economic and political gains. [about]
    301. Réflexions intimes sur le Kitáb-i-Aqdas, by Pierre Daoust (2022). Un petit recueil de réflexions; une sorte de voyage dans un domaine aux multiples paysages, qui donnera l'envie à d'autres de lire le Kitáb-i-Aqdas et d'être eux aussi touchés par sa profondeur, sa sagesse, et sa beauté. [about]
    302. Reis naar het Hart van de Qur'án: Het Heilige Boek van de islam voor hen die nadenken (door een niet-moslim), by David Russell Garcia (2022). Een overzicht van de Koran en zijn thema's: islam versus het christendom; wetten, geestelijke en sociale principes; heilige oorlog en vechten; redenen achter de reputatie van de islam als een oorlogsreligie; apocalypse. [about]
    303. Religion and Exclusivism: A Bahá'í Perspective, by Julio Savi, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 7 (2006). Various factors have distracted the attention of religionists from the essential teachings of religion rather than its secondary aspects; this has led to dangerous claims to exclusivity or finality, which need to resolved to ensure peaceful coexistence. [about]
    304. Religion in the Modem World, by Anjam Khursheed, in Singapore Bahá'í Studies Review, vol. 6 (2001). On aspects of the Western secular rebellion against theocracy and the rise of free enquiry and freedom of conscience through the lens of the European Reformation and Galileo’s conflict with the Papacy; religion's role in strengthening family unity. [about]
    305. Religions Are One: Warwick Leaflets, by Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop (1993). [about]
    306. Religious Pluralism: A Bahá'í Perspective, by Julio Savi, in World Order, 31.2 (2000). On resolving the conflicting truth claims made by different religious traditions; finding definitions for "religion" and "prophet"; problems of historical texts; the current state of religion. [about]
    307. Religious Pluralism and the Baha'i Faith, by Seena Fazel, in Interreligious Insight, 1:3 (2003-07). Provides an overview of the Bahá'í poisition on religious pluralism, reviewing relevant Bahá'í texts and scholarship that bear on this theme. Published with minor revisions. [about]
    308. Remembering 'Abdu'l-Baha's Call for Unity, a Century after World War I, by Bahá'í World News Service (2018-11-26). Collection of newspaper articles and photographs of Abdu'l-Bahá, on the general theme of unity in the face of war. [about]
    309. Requisites for Family Unity: The Role of the Father in the Family, by Safoura Chittleborough, in The Family: Our Hopes and Challenges (1995). The importance of the family as a whole in child-rearing and the negative consequences of family breakdown. [about]
    310. Research Department, Functions of; Etymologies of three terms, by Universal House of Justice, in Bahá'í Studies Bulletin (1992). Two questions: (1) what is the function of the Research Department, and (2) etymologies of the three terms "world of exemplars," "'álam," and "barzakh." Includes translated excerpts of tablets of Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá. [about]
    311. Rethinking Prosperity: Forging Alternatives to a Culture of Consumerism, by Bahá'í International Community (2010-05-03). The BIC's contribution to the 18th Session of the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development, New York. [about]
    312. Return of the Dreamtime, by Pym Trueman, in The Family: Our Hopes and Challenges (1995). Brief history of Christianity and missionary work in Samoa and Australia, and how native Samoan customs and beliefs were changed or lost. [about]
    313. Rights to Human and Social Development: A Survey of the Activities of the Bahá'í International Community, by Graham Hassall, in Bahá'í-Inspired Perspectives on Human Rights (2001). BIC contributions to thinking about human rights and social development have centered on 6 themes: a global complex systems approach, oneness of humanity, role of religious belief, primacy of education, values-based approach, and effectiveness of the U.N. [about]
    314. Rising to the Challenge of Reconciliation, by Roshan Danesh and Douglas White III, in Bahá'í World (2023-01-08). Analyzing the legacy of colonialism and racism in Canada and examining the profound, multifaceted process of social transformation that genuine reconciliation implies. [about]
    315. Road Less Travelled By, The, by John S. Hatcher, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). "From the Editor's Desk": Overview of this issue's articles regarding racism and proper responses to it, both among the general population and within the Bahá'í community itself. [about]
    316. Robert Hayden and Being Politically Correct, by Duane L. Herrmann (1993-08). Robert Hayden did not bow to or rebel against expectations of political correctness, and regarded his race as "human" rather than "black." He embraced his African-American identity, but did not want to be defined by it. [about]
    317. Robert Hayden's Epic of Community, by Benjamin Friedlander, in Melus (1998). A study of Hayden's poetry in the context of the American experience. [about]
    318. Ruhi book series, by Ruhi Institute (1987-2024). Published volumes of the Ruhi Institute books. (Links to documents, offsite.) [about]
    319. Sailor's Problem, The, by Ben Roskams (1995-12). A short play about unity featuring Sherlock Holmes. [about]
    320. Same Yet Different, The: Bahá'í Perspectives on Achieving Unity out of Difference, by Deborah Clark Vance (2002-05). Based on in-depth interviews with members of the Bahá’í Faith [in the USA] to uncover a description of how they believe they can bring together diverse people; development of a linear model of multicultural communication. [about]
    321. Same Yet Different, The: Creating Unity Among the Diverse Members of the Bahá'í Faith, by Deborah Clark Vance, in Journal of Intergroup Relations (a publication of the National Association of Human Rights Workers), Volume 29:4 (2002/2003 Winter). A study of the process by which people form a unified community from diverse cultures based on interviews with a small group of American Bahá’ís; the importance of foundational beliefs in this process; learning intercultural communication. [about]
    322. Search for Values in an Age of Transition, The: includes Study Guide , by Bahá'í International Community (2005-10). A statement on the 60th anniversary of the United Nations, new paradigms taking hold, and the place of the UN. Includes study guide to assist readers in their understanding and examination of the concepts presented in the statement. [about]
    323. Searching Eye, The: The Independent Investigation of Truth, by Gary L. Matthews, in Bahá'í News, 701 (1989-09). Concepts informing the personal search for truth: the role of faith, the trap of imitation, the role of justice, the impact on unity, the oneness of truth, and the scientific method. [about]
    324. Seeking Light in the Darkness of "Race", by Jamar M. Wheeler, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 27:3 (2017). A historical sketch of how race concepts evolved, with analysis at macro and micro levels of society. Oneness of mankind is an enlightening force that, through individual agency and collective social action, can transform society. [about]
    325. Settling the Score With Mr. Ogden Nash for the Seven Spiritual Ages of Mrs. Marmaduke Moore and Thereby Achieving if Not a Better Verse at Least a Longer Title, by Roger White, in Another Song, Another Season (1979). A dialogue for two readers, adapted from a poem. [about]
    326. Seven Candles of Unity: The Story of `Abdu'l-Bahá in Edinburgh, by Anjam Khursheed: Review, by Wendi Momen, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 5:3 (1993). [about]
    327. Shoghi Effendi: Guide for a New Millennium, by Glenford Mitchell, in Bahá'í World, vol. 25 (1997). The Bahá'í community is a global laboratory in which a transformation in individual and collective behaviour is progressing, leading to a new sense of community and the glimmerings of a new world order. [about]
    328. Shoghi Effendi and Social Justice, by Jack McLean, in Berkshire Encyclopedia of Religion and Social Justice (2007-03). The term "social justice” has been used by many engaged groups as a rhetorical tool to obtain more equitable transformations of the social order. To the Guardian and the later Bahá'í Administration, it is a Divine justice at heart. [about]
    329. Situation of the Bahá'ís in Egypt, by Bahá'í International Community (2007-09-24). Oral Statement of the Bahá’í International Community to the Human Rights Council (6th Session of the Human Rights Council), Geneva, Switzerland. [about]
    330. Social Action, Public Discourse, and Non-involvement in Political Affairs, by Universal House of Justice (2017-04-27). Alternative courses of action to civil disobedience, circumscribed roles for protest, and the freedom that Bahá’ís have to engage in social action and public discourse, particularly in relation to the principle of non-involvement in political affairs. [about]
    331. Social Affinity Flow Theory: A New Understanding of Both Human Interaction and the Power of the Baha'i Training Institute Process, by Christopher G. Gourdine and Justin R. Edgren, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 29:4 (2019). On a new explanation of social rifts prevalent in many societies today as well as constructive efforts of social change, including community-building work of the Bahá'í Faith, in both its teachings and its training institute process. [about]
    332. Some Reflections on Bahá'í Approaches to Social Change, by Roshan Danesh and Lex Musta (2012-12). The Bahá’í writings foresee social change happening both through engagement in society at large and through the work of building patterns and structures within Bahá’í community life. There should be less emphasis on limiting political participation. [about]
    333. Spatial Strategies for Racial Unity, by June Manning Thomas, in Bahá'í World (2020-09). On the nature and approaches of Bahá’í educational programs and community building efforts which seek, in the context of neighborhoods and villages, to raise capacity for service to humanity. [about]
    334. Special Report on Baha'i Burial vs. Maori Custom, by National Spiritual Assembly of New Zealand (1989-10-06). Special report about reconciling Bahá'í burial laws with local maori customs where they conflict; includes guidance from the Universal House of Justice. [about]
    335. Spiritual Footprints in the Sands of Time, by Kevin Brogan, in Solas, 3 (2003). The covenantal relationship between God and humankind; the lives of the founders of Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and Buddhism; the societies in which these religions developed; and some of their common features. [about]
    336. Spiritual Health of American Community, by Universal House of Justice, in The American Bahá'í (1991-03). Publication of a letter addressing an individual's concerns for the spiritual health of the American Bahá’í community, and suggestions for personal action. (Letter dated Dec. 24 1990, published March 1991.) [about]
    337. Spiritual Reinforcement: Study Questions, Compilation, and Quiz (1957 (?)). Questions and quizzes for individual study and group discussion, on "what every Bahá'í should know" about the Covenant and the Bahá'í way of living. [about]
    338. Sri Aurobindo Movement and the Bahá'í Faith, by Anil Sarwal (2001). Summary historical connections between the two communities. [about]
    339. Statement in Rebuttal of Accusations Made against the Bahá'í Faith by the Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran to the United Nations, by Bahá'í International Community (1982-11-30). In a document distributed to the UN, "Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran," Iran made a number of false and damaging statements concerning the Bahá'í Faith. The BIC wishes to refute these false statements and to present the true facts. [about]
    340. Statement on Bahá'u'lláh, A, by Bahá'í International Community (1992-05). Introduction to the life and work of Bahá'u'lláh, released in 1992 in honor of the centenary of his death, at the request of the Universal House of Justice. [about]
    341. Station of Baha'u'llah: Three Letters, by Universal House of Justice (1991-1992). Three letters on the station of Bahá'u'lláh, the souls of the Manifestations, the varying intensities of their Revelations, the phrase "most precious Being," and on teaching the Faith to Christians. [about]
    342. Station of Bahá'u'lláh and the Significance of His Revelation, The, by Universal House of Justice (1992-10-15). As the soul is a mystery that the human mind cannot unravel, even more ineffable is the nature of the Manifestations of God, the relationships between them, and their relationship to God. [about]
    343. Still the Most Challenging Issue, by John S. Hatcher, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 29:1-2 (2019). "From the Editor's Desk": On race, racism, and the American Bahá'í community. [about]
    344. Structure of Existence in the Bab's Tafsir and the Perfect Man Motif, The, by Todd Lawson, in Studia Iranica: Cahiers 11: Recurrent Patterns in Iranian Religions from Mazdaism to Sufism (1992). The Perfect Man is the mediator between God and the World. He is the mirror in which creation sees God, the eye by which God sees creation. The Bab phrased his cosmology and his Quranic exegesis in light of wahdat al-wujud, the Unity of Being. [about]
    345. Summon Up Remembrance, by Marzieh Gail (1987). Memoir left by Ali-Kuli Khan, one of the first translators of Bahá'í Writings; writings of his wife Florence; other family papers and memories. [about]
    346. Symbolic Profile of the Bahá'í Faith, A, by Christopher Buck, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 8:4 (1998). A “symbolic profile” of Bahá’í consciousness as shaped by the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ancillary texts: Ninian Smart’s dimensional model of religion is used to order and classify the symbols, together with insights from Sherry Ortner & John Wansbrough. [about]
    347. Tabernacle of Unity, The: Bahá'u'lláh's Responses To Mánikchi Sáhib, by Bahá'u'lláh (2006). [about]
    348. Tablet from Our Lord, Abbas Effendi, Presented by Abdel Karim Effendi, to the American Beloved, and Tablet from the Master, by Abdu'l-Bahá (n.d.). Two Tablets self-published in the early 1900s. (Date of illustration 1889.) Translator and context not given. [about]
    349. Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha Concerning Arius, by Universal House of Justice (1998-03-17). Arius was an early Christian theologian whose rejection of the Trinity, Abdu'l-Bahá said, destroyed the unity of the Church. [about]
    350. Tablet of Seven Questions (Lawh-i-haft purish), by Bahá'u'lláh, in Bahá'í Studies Bulletin, 7:3-4 (1993-06). [about]
    351. Tablet of the Uncompounded Reality: Translation, by Bahá'u'lláh, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 11 (2010). [about]
    352. Tablet of the Uncompounded Reality: Introduction, by Moojan Momen, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 11 (2010). The conflict in Islam between philosopher-mystics who adhere to the philosophy of existential oneness (wahdat al-wujud) and those who oppose this view as heresy. [about]
    353. Tablet of Unity, by Bahá'u'lláh (1996). [about]
    354. Tablet of Unity, by Bahá'u'lláh, in Lights of Irfan, 2 (2001). Refers to unities of religion, words, ritual acts, ranks, wealth, and souls. [about]
    355. Tablet on the Unity of Existence (Sharh Wahdat al-Wujúd), by Abdu'l-Bahá (2001). [about]
    356. Tablet to Jamal-i-Burujirdi (Lawh-i-Jamál-i-Burujirdí), by Bahá'u'lláh, in Bahá'í Studies Bulletin, 5:1-2 (1991-01). Tablet to a one-time Covenant-breaker, also known as the Tablet of Beauty. [about]
    357. Tablet to Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Concerning the Questions of Manakji Limji Hataria: Baha'u'llah on Hinduism and Zoroastrianism, by Bahá'u'lláh (1995). Introduction to, article about, and translation of the Tablet to Maneckji. [about]
    358. Tablet To the Beloved of God in General in America, by Abdu'l-Bahá, in By Thy Strengthening Grace (2006). Tablet sent in response to a petition signed by American believers in 1905, including Rose Hilty and Mary Miller of Kansas. [about]
    359. Taking Care with Translation of Sacred Scripture, by Edward Price (2016/2020). Examination of the importance of using reliable translations of the Qur’án. Includes technical discussion of the meanings of Islam, Muslim, and Allah, aspects of the Arabic language, and errors of translation. [about]
    360. Teaching As Worship: Pedagogy of the Spirit in the Narratives of Bahá'í Educators, by Tracey Booth Snipes (2007). How Bahá'ís' perception of their role as educators, along with their interpretation of religious philosophy and professional experience, help shape their teaching and work; the effect of human secularism and religious theory on the academic experience. [about]
    361. Television Address of Iranian President Khatami, by Universal House of Justice and Bahá'í International Community (1998-07). Questions and answers about a historically unique television interview of Iranian President Khatami, given on CNN Wednesday, Jan 7, 1998. [about]
    362. The Cause of Universal Peace: 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Enduring Impact, by Kathryn Jewett-Hogenson, in Bahá'í World (2021-02-23). On Abdu'l-Bahá's interest in the Lake Mohonk Conferences on International Arbitration in New York, 1912, and the Quaker founders Albert and Alfred Smiley; Leroy Ioas and the World Unity Conferences; World Unity magazine (later World Order). [about]
    363. Theses on Modernity and the Bahá'í Faith, by Mikhail Sergeev, in Studies in Bahá'í Philosophy, vol. 4 (2015). On how new religious movements respond to modernity; cycles of religion; project of modernity; culture vs. civilization; the Bahá'í extension of modernity; Bahá'í departure from modernity; separation of religion and state. [about]
    364. Three Teaching Methods Used During North America's First Seven-Year Plan, by Roger M. Dahl, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 5:3 (1993). Teaching methods used by American Bahá’ís to spread the Faith; firesides and teaching campaigns evolved during the 1930s; pioneer settlements were not used systematically until the Seven-Year Plan; difficulties caused by the race question in the South. [about]
    365. To Set the World in Order: Building and Preserving Strong Marriages, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (2023-08). The cause of unity; creating families that illuminate the world; the ideal milieu for learning the principles of consultation; addressing challenges. [about]
    366. Towards a Sustainable Food System, by Bahá'í International Community (2022-09-13). Short selection on sustainable, non-exploitative food systems that provide for the global population. [about]
    367. Translation List: Provisional Translations of Baháʼí Literature (2009-2023). Index to talks, letters, and other items translated from Persian and Arabic to English by Adib Masumian; listed here for the sake of search engines and tagging. [about]
    368. Truth Triumphs: A Bahá'í Response to Misrepresentations of the Bahá'í Teachings and Bahá'í History, by Peter Terry (1999-12). Rebuttal of Francis Beckwith's thesis "Bahá'í, A Christian response to Bahá'ísm, the religion which aims toward one world government and one common faith." [about]
    369. Turning Point for All Nations, by Bahá'í International Community (1995-10). A statement on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations, about the scope, function, and mandate of the UN, and world concerns it must address. [about]
    370. Two Parts of the Law of God, The: The Essential and the Secondary Teachings of the True Religion of God, and Counterfeit Doctrines (2022). Four compilations on themes related to the progressive revelation of the religion of God; essential vs. secondary teachings; counterfeit doctrines of the false religion of man. [about]
    371. Una misma sustancia: Crear conscientemente una cultura mundial de unidad, by Bahá'í International Community (2001-09). Exposición escrita presentada por la Comunidad Internacional Bahá'i en la Conferencia Mundial contra el Racismo, la Discriminación Racial, la Xenofobia y las Formas Conexas de Intolerencia [about]
    372. Una perspectiva bahá'í acerca del rol de los medios de comunicación y transporte en la configuración de una sociedad internacional, by Ruben Jimenez Majidi, in Journal of the Sociology and Theory of Religion, 13:1 (2022). Una investigación cualitativa basada en una revisión documental y bibliográfica acerca de la influencia de tecnologías de comunicación y transporte sobre procesos sociales, y sus correlación con la visión que proyectan las enseñas, y el avance cientía. [about]
    373. Unity and Consultation: Foundations of Sustainable Development, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (1994). [about]
    374. Unity and Progressive Revelation: Comparing Bahá'í Principles with the Basic Concepts of Teilhard de Chardin, by Wolfgang A. Klebel, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 5 (2004). An attempt to correlate specific Bahá'í teachings with the corresponding concepts of Teilhard de Chardin, allowing us to compare the Faith with the 'progressive movements of today' and promote the study of the Bahá'í teachings more deeply. [about]
    375. Unity in Diversity: Toward a Correlation of the Bahá'í Perspective with Current Empirical Findings in the Social Science Literature, by Ismael Velasco (2009). The Bahá'í community has much to learn from, and contribute to, the efforts of psychologists, sociologists and network theorists to understand the workings of both unity and diversity in human collectivities; cohesion research within Bahá'í studies. [about]
    376. Unity of Civilization, The, by Robley Edward Whitson, in The Coming Convergence of World Religions (1971). Excerpt of a chapter on unity of humankind and civilizations. No mention of the Bahá'í Faith, but the content is of direct interest to Bahá'í studies. [about]
    377. Unity of Nations, The, by Stanwood Cobb, in Bahá'í World, Vol. 7 (1936-1938) (1938). A look six decades into the future (from 1938) to envision the Lesser Peace. [about]
    378. Unity of Religions in This Century, Jews and the Crucifixion, and the Sacrifice of Ishmael, The, by Universal House of Justice (1990-11-06). [about]
    379. Unity Principle, The: Ideas of Social Concord and Discord in the Bahá'í Faith, by Robert Stockman, in Research in Human Social Conflict, Volume 2, ed. Joseph Gittler, (2001). The concept of unity pervades Bahá’í thought, expressed both in the functioning of Bahá’í administration and the Bahá’í community and in the avoidance of political partisanship in the relationship of Bahá’ís to the wider world. [about]
    380. Unity: The Creative Foundation of Peace, by H. B. Danesh: Review, by Susan Lamb, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 1:1 (1988). [about]
    381. Universal House of Justice and the Principles of Jurisprudence, by Abdu'l-Bahá (2001-04). Authorized translation of an excerpt of a tablet on "the wisdom of referring certain important laws to the House of Justice." [about]
    382. Universal Language, Adoption of, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (2008). [about]
    383. Universality of the Laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, The, by Bijan Samali, in The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: Studies from the First National Conference on the Holy Book, vol. 1 (1996). The laws of the Aqdas focus on the individual; are applicable to everyone; facilitate the realisation of the oneness of human race; ensure the equality of the sexes; are adaptable to cultural diversities; and call for the elimination of all prejudices. [about]
    384. Unrestrained as the Wind: A Life Dedicated to Bahá'u'lláh (1985). Compilation of quotations on topics of especial interest to Bahá'í youth. [about]
    385. Us and Them: A Study of Alienation and World Order, by Charles O. Lerche, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 5:4 (1994). The division of the world into mutually exclusive identity groups and its implications for international affairs; alienation and estrangement as useful tools; the Bahá'í model of world unity and world civilization; the phenomenon of European integration. [about]
    386. Valorando la espiritualidad en el Desarrollo: Consideraciones Iniciales en cuanto a la Creación de Indicadores de Base Espiritual para el Desarrollo, by Bahá'í International Community (1998). Consideraciones Iniciales en cuanto a la Creación de Indicadores de Base Espiritual para el Desarrollo, presentado al "Diálogo Mundial de las Fes y el Desarrollo." [about]
    387. Verge of the New, The: A Series of Talks, by Steven Phelps (2017-09-18). Introducing a way of looking at the past and future of religion in the context of the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment. Includes compilation of Writings on spiritual dislocation, science, language, spiritual evolution, nature, and revelation. [about]
    388. Violence with Impunity: Acts of aggression against Iran's Bahá'í community, by Bahá'í International Community (2013-03). Book-length report on the rising tide of violence directed against the Iranian Bahá'í community 2005-20012, and the degree to which attackers enjoy impunity from prosecution or punishment. [about]
    389. Vision of Race Unity: America's Most Challenging Issue, by National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (1991). A formal statement from the US NSA on "the most challenging issue confronting America." [about]
    390. Voyage to the Heart of the Koran: The Holy Book of Islám for Thinking Minds (By a Non-Muslim), by David Russell Garcia (2003-10). A lengthy overview of the Qur'án and its themes for a Bahá'í audience; holy war and fighting; reasons behind Islám's reputation as a war-like religion; theology of Islám vs. Christianity; laws and admonitions; spiritual and social principles; apocalypse. [about]
    391. Waves of One Sea, The: A Compilation on Unity in the Bahá'í Writings, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (2004). A compilation on the nature, significance, and promotion of Unity. [about]
    392. We can do without fences built by prejudice, by Ted Slavin, in St. Catharines Standard (2011). Just as a windstorm knocks down fences, struggles can unite strangers and overcoming barriers will improve communities. [about]
    393. Whanau (extended family) Structures as an Innovative Intervention into Maori Educational and Schooling Crises, by Graham Hingangaroa Smith, in The Family: Our Hopes and Challenges (1995). The development of an innovative response by the indigenous Maori people of New Zealand to the dual crises of Maori educational underachievement on the one hand and to the loss of Maori language, knowledge and culture on the other. [about]
    394. White Bahá'í Men as a sub-group combatting racism, by Universal House of Justice, in American Bahá'í, 31:6 (2000-03-14). Use of the phrase "white Bahá'í men" in an anti-racism project in North Carolina. [about]
    395. Who is Writing the Future?: Reflections on the Twentieth Century, by Bahá'í International Community (1999-02). A statement on the current state of human society and its evolution, by the BIC's Office of Public Information. [about]
    396. Why the Bahá'í Faith Is Not Pluralist, by Grant S. Martin, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 8 (2007). Argues against Seena Fazel that the Bahá’í Faith is not a form of religious pluralism. [about]
    397. Will Globalization Lead to a World Commonwealth?, by Sohrab Abizadeh, in Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 15:1-4 (2005). How emerging international crises, such as global epidemics, when combined with the fundamental principles of unity and social justice prescribed in the writings of the Bahá’í Faith, are impelling the world toward the formation of a world commonwealth. [about]
    398. Wittgensteinian Language-Games in an Indo-Persian Dialogue on the World Religions, by Juan Cole, in Iran Nameh, 30:3 (2015 Fall). Reflections on Bahá'u'lláh's theology of previous religions and Ludwig Wittgenstein’s concept of "language games"; Hinduism, India, and 19th-century Iranian culture; Manakji’s questions about Hinduism and Zoroastrianism. [about]
    399. Word is the Master Key for the Whole World, The: The Bahá'í Revelation and the "Teaching and Spirit of the Cause" in Dialogical and Personal Thinking, by Wolfgang A. Klebel, in Lights of Irfan, Volume 8 (2007). The Word of God is the master key that opens all doors; it assures the opening to the meaning of the whole world and its relationship to heaven; it is the key to the hearts of men and the human spirit, which opens this world towards the doors of heaven. [about]
    400. World Citizenship: Warwick Leaflets, by Warwick Bahá'í Bookshop (1996). [about]
    401. World Into One Nation, The: World Peace and the Bahá'í Faith, by Nahzy Abadi Buck (1981-06). How a whole human society, united and cooperative, can be like a single family. Includes overview of opinions of world leaders on the Bahá'í Faith, essential elements of the Faith, cooperation of the Bahá'í International Community with the United Nations. [about]
    402. World Vision of a Savant, The, by Auguste Henri Forel, in Star of the West, 18:11 (1928). Ruminations on the nature of the human brain, causes of racism, how to stop wars, the meaning of "God," and Bahá'í principles. [about]
    403. World's Current State of Disorder and Confusion, The, by Bahá'u'lláh and Abdu'l-Bahá (2020-09). Compilation of passages relevant to contemporary issues of 2020, and the appropriate disposition of the Bahá'ís. [about]
    404. 谁在写??'们的未来 (Who's Writing the Future?): 二十世纪的省思 (Reflections on the Twentieth Century), by Bahá'í International Community (n.d.). Prepared by the Office of Public Information. [about]
     
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