{"componentChunkName":"component---src-templates-archive-page-jsx","path":"/archive/68/","result":{"pageContext":{"strings":{"about":"About","additional_articles":"Additional Articles","administration":"Administration","africa":"Africa","all_bahaiorg_sites":"All Bahai.org Sites","all_sites":"All sites","all_sites_arising_serve":"Arising to Serve","all_sites_arising_serve_caption":"A film recounting highlights of the 41 regional Bahá’í conferences called by the Universal House of Justice in 2008","all_sites_bahai_org":"The official website of the worldwide Bahá’í community","all_sites_bahai_org_library":"Bahá’í Reference Library","all_sites_bahai_org_library_caption":"The authoritative online source of Bahá’í writings","all_sites_bahaullah_org":"The Life of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bahaullah_org_caption":"A photographic narrative of the life of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bic":"Bahá’í International Community Representative Offices","all_sites_bic_caption":"The official website of the Bahá’í International Community’s Representative Offices. The site contains news and information about recent activity and provides access to BIC statements, reports, and other publications","all_sites_bicentenary":"Bicentenary of the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_bicentenary_bab":"Bicentenary of the Birth of The Báb","all_sites_bicentenary_caption":"The official international website for the bicentenary of the birth of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_frontiers_learning":"Frontiers of Learning","all_sites_frontiers_learning_caption":"This film captures the insights and experiences of people from four communities across the world whose efforts to build vibrant communities are at the frontiers of learning","all_sites_light_to_the_world":"Light to the World","all_sites_light_to_the_world_caption":"A feature film about the life and teachings of Bahá’u’lláh","all_sites_media_bank":"Bahá’í Media Bank","all_sites_media_bank_caption":"Photographs available for downloading","all_sites_national_communities":"National Bahá’í Communities","all_sites_national_communities_caption":"A page containing links to the websites of many national Bahá’í communities from around the world","all_sites_news_bahai_org_caption":"The official news website of the worldwide Bahá’í community","all_sites_title":"Official Bahá’í Sites","all_sites_universalhouseofjustice_org":"The Universal House of Justice","all_sites_universalhouseofjustice_org_caption":"Information about the Universal House of Justice and selected statements and letters","all_sites_widening_embrace":"A Widening Embrace","all_sites_widening_embrace_caption":"A documentary film about the community-building efforts of the Bahá’í world","americas":"Americas","android":"Android","archive_results_to_of_a":"Results","archive_results_to_of_b":"to","archive_results_to_of_c":"of","asia":"Asia","back_to_story":"Back to Story","bahai_international_community":"Bahá'í International Community","bahai_media_bank":"Bahá’í Media Bank","bahai_reference_library":"Bahá’í Reference Library","bahai_world_centre":"Bahá’í World Centre","bahai_world_news_service":"Bahá’í World News Service","bahai_world_news_service_bwns":"Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","bahaiorg_home":"Bahai.org Home","bahais_semnan":"The Bahá’ís of Semnan","battambang_cambodia_house_worship":"House of Worship in Battambang, Cambodia","battambang_cambodia_temple":"Battambang, Cambodia Temple Inauguration","before_downloading_terms":"Before downloading please refer to the [Terms of use](/legal/).","bic_un_office":"Bahá’í International Community\nUN Office","brief_history":"Brief history","bwns_noTranslation":"BWNS","cdn_documentlibrary_path":"http://dl.bahai.org/bwns/assets/documentlibrary/","cdn_images_path":"//bwns.imgix.net/","chile_house_worship":"Chile House of Worship","chile_temple":"Chile Temple Inauguration","close":"Close","closed_doors_denial_education_iran":"Closed Doors: Denial of Education in Iran","comma":",","comprehensive_report":"Comprehensive report","contact":"Contact","contact_h1":"Contacting the Bahá’í World News Service","contact_h2":"Contacting Bahá’í institutions","contact_h3":"Reporting technical problems","contact_information":"Contact Information","contact_p1":"General inquiries about BWNS can be directed to [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org). Information regarding news and media contacts is available in the [Media Information](/media-information/) section.","contact_p2":"The Bahá’í Faith is established in more than 100,000 localities in virtually every country and territory around the world. At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are guided by National Spiritual Assemblies, and a list of websites for many national Bahá’í communities can be found at the [National Communities page](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/) on Bahai.org.","contact_p3":"To report a technical problem with this site, please send a detailed description and screenshot of the issue, along with the address of the page where it occurred, to [webmaster@bahai.org](mailto:webmaster@bahai.org). Please note that this email address exists to receive reports of technical problems with the site and it is not possible to respond to other queries through this facility.","copy_link":"Copy Link","did_not_match_any_documents_showing_results_for":"did not match any documents. Showing results for","did_you_mean":"Did you mean:","download":"Download","download_highest_resolution":"Download highest resolution","email":"Email","email_address":"Email Address","enlarge":"Enlarge","error_page":"Error Occurred","error_page_p1":"Sorry. An error has occurred with your request. It would help us if you let us know what you were trying to do when this error occurred by using our [contact form](https://www.bahai.org/contact/).","europe":"Europe","featured_stories":"Featured stories","featured_videos":"Featured videos","follow_updates_via_instagram_twitter":"Follow the Bahá’í World News Service on Twitter and Instagram for regular updates and stories","from_bwns_archive":"From the Bahá’í World News Service archive","get_notified_stories":"Get notified of stories","highest_resolution":"Highest resolution","historical_photographs":"Historical photographs","homepage_feature_audio_h2":"Recent podcast episodes","homepage_feature_audio_h3":"Audio versions of stories","homepage_feature_audio_p1":"Selected audio content from around the globe","homepage_feature_h1":"Subscribe to BWNS Updates","houses_worship":"Houses of Worship","human_rights_iran":"Human Rights in Iran","images":"images","ios":"iOS","iran_news_stories":"Iran News Stories","key_terms_facts":"Key terms and facts","latest_headlines":"Latest headlines","latest_video_category":"Latest","legal":"Legal","legal_h1":"Privacy","legal_h2":"Terms of Use","legal_information":"Legal Information","legal_li_1":"They must at all times be attributed to the Bahá’í World News Service.","legal_li_2":"Photographs and stories cannot be used in any way (including, without limitation, suggesting an association with or endorsement of any product, service, opinion or cause) that conflicts with the intent and premise of the original source.","legal_li_3":"Photographs may be edited for size only. Captions must remain with the photographs at all times.","legal_li_4":"The Bahá’í World News Service will not be responsible to any person or organization for any liability for any direct, incidental,  consequential, indirect, or punitive damages that may result from any access to or use of the stories and/or photographs on our site.","legal_li_5":"Although this blanket permission to reproduce BWNS material is given freely such that no special permission is required, the Bahá’í World News Service retains full copyright protection for its stories and photographs under all applicable national and international laws.","legal_p1_1":"On this Web site we try to ensure your privacy. We collect only personal information provided by you on a voluntary basis, in order to respond to your queries and to send you any additional information and material that you request.","legal_p1_2":"Visitors to this Web site are not tracked, except to produce aggregate statistical data that does not identify individual users. Where we must use cookies to provide essential functionality, these are not used to track your use of the site or to store personally-identifiable information. Steps have been taken to ensure that all information collected from you will remain secure, free from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. Please keep in mind that if you leave this site via a link, the other site may have a different policy regarding privacy.","legal_p1_3a":"We occasionally update this privacy policy and encourage you to review it periodically. If you wish to correct your personal information, or have questions regarding this policy, please send an email message to","legal_p1_3b":"or call the Bahá’í World News Service at +972 (4) 835-8412, between 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. GMT +2, Sunday through Thursday.","legal_p2_1":"All stories and photographs produced by the Bahá’í World News Service may be freely reprinted, e-mailed, posted to the World Wide Web and otherwise reproduced by any individual or organization, subject to the following restrictions:","legal_p2_2":"The Bahá’í World News Service is an agency of the Bahá’í International Community, a nongovernmental organization that represents and encompasses the five million members of the Bahá’í Faith.","links_other_websites":"Links to other Web sites","listen":"Listen","listen_bwns":"Listen to BWNS","load_more_results":"Load more results","media_bank":"Media Bank","media_information":"Media Information","media_information_about_bwns":"About BWNS","media_information_administration_h2":"International","media_information_administration_h3":"National","media_information_administration_h4":"Local","media_information_administration_p1":"The Bahá’í Faith is administered by a series of elected bodies at the local, national, and international levels. There is no class of ecclesiastics or clergy.","media_information_administration_p2":"The Universal House of Justice is the international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith. It is the supreme administrative body ordained by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years at the International Bahá’í Convention, where members of the National Spiritual Assemblies (see below) around the world serve as delegates. The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963. Its permanent seat is on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_administration_p3":"At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member elected council responsible for guiding, co-ordinating, and stimulating the activities of Local Spiritual Assemblies and individual members of the Bahá’í community within a given country. The responsibilities of a National Spiritual Assembly include channelling the community’s financial resources, fostering the growth and vibrancy of the national Bahá’í community, supervising the affairs of the community including its social and economic development activities and its properties, overseeing relations with government, resolving questions from individuals and Local Spiritual Assemblies, and strengthening the participation of the Bahá’í community in the life of society at the national level.","media_information_administration_p4":"At the local level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the Local Spiritual Assembly. Each Local Assembly consists of nine members who are chosen in annual elections. As with all other elected Bahá’í institutions, the Assembly functions as a body and makes decisions through consultation. The responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly include promoting the spiritual education of children and young people, strengthening the spiritual and social fabric of Bahá’í community life, assessing and utilizing the community’s resources, and ensuring that the energies and talents of community members contribute towards progress.","media_information_administration_p5":"In addition, the Bahá’í Faith has **counsellors**, appointed to five-year terms by the Universal House of Justice, who serve as advisers in countries and regions around the world. Currently there are 90 such counsellors assigned to specific countries or regions, and an additional nine counsellors who constitute the membership of the International Teaching Centre at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa.","media_information_administration_p6":"The Bahá’í International Community is a non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations (UN) as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_a":"the Seat of the Universal House of Justice,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_b":"the International Teaching Centre,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_c":"the Centre for the Study of the Texts,","media_information_bahai_world_centre_li_4_d":"the International Archives Building.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p1":"The spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith is permanently established in the Acre-Haifa area of northern Israel, following the explicit instructions of Bahá’u’lláh.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p2":"The burial place, or shrine, of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre and that of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa are the holiest spots on earth for Bahá’ís. Other sites associated with the life of Bahá’u’lláh as well as the burial site of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are revered by Bahá’ís as holy places.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p3":"The shrines are the object of pilgrimage for thousands of Bahá’ís each year.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p4":"The administrative offices are positioned in an Arc across Mount Carmel in Haifa and include:","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p5":"Also in Haifa are the Bahá’í International Community’s Secretariat and Office of Public Information.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p6":"The Bahá’í World Centre is known for the gardens surrounding the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre, and also for the gardens and terraces surrounding the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_bahai_world_centre_p7":"At this time the Shrine of the Báb is open to the public.","media_information_brief_history_p1":"The Bahá’í Faith traces its origin to 1844 and the announcement by a young man, Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad, in Shiraz, Persia (now Iran), that He had been sent by God to prepare humanity for a new age and the imminent appearance of another Messenger even greater than Himself.","media_information_brief_history_p10":"During the 40 years of His exile, Bahá’u’lláh revealed a series of books, tablets, and letters that today form the core of the **holy writings of the Bahá’í Faith**. Comprising the equivalent of some 100 volumes, the writings of Bahá’u’lláh describe the nature of God and the purpose of human existence, give new religious laws, and outline a vision for creating a peaceful and prosperous global society.","media_information_brief_history_p11":"In His will, Bahá’u’lláh named His eldest son, ‘Abbás Effendi (1844-1921), as the head of the Bahá’í Faith and authorized interpreter of His teachings. ‘Abbás Effendi, known to Bahá’ís as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (“Servant of Bahá”), became well-known in the Haifa/Acre area for his charitable works, and he also traveled through Europe and North America to encourage nascent Bahá’í communities and to proclaim Bahá’u’lláh’s teachings to the general public. The writings of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá are considered part of the sacred scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_brief_history_p12":"‘Abdu’l-Bahá passed away in 1921. In his will he had designated his grandson **Shoghi Effendi** (1897-1957) as his successor, with the title of **Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith**. During the ministry of Shoghi Effendi, the religion spread around the world, and its local and national administrative institutions were established. With the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the line of hereditary leaders of the Bahá’í Faith came to an end.","media_information_brief_history_p13":"Following provisions established by Bahá’u’lláh, in 1963 the **Universal House of Justice** was elected to direct the affairs of the worldwide Bahá’í community. The nine members of the Universal House of Justice are elected every five years by the members of the Bahá’í national administrative bodies around the world.","media_information_brief_history_p2":"Siyyid ‘Alí-Muhammad took the title of the **Báb** (meaning “Gate” in Arabic) and said the one whose coming He foretold would be the universal Manifestation of God sent to inaugurate an age of peace and enlightenment as promised in all the world’s religions.","media_information_brief_history_p3":"The Báb’s teachings, which spread rapidly, were viewed as heretical by the clergy and government of Persia. More than 20,000 of His followers, known as Bábís, perished in a series of massacres throughout the country.","media_information_brief_history_p4":"The Báb Himself was publicly executed in the city of Tabriz on 9 July 1850.","media_information_brief_history_p5":"Bahá’ís consider the Báb to be both an independent Messenger of God and the forerunner of **Bahá’u’lláh** (“the Glory of God” in Arabic), who is the founder of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_brief_history_p6":"Bahá’u’lláh, whose name was Mírzá Husayn ‘Alí, was born into a noble family in Tehran on 12 November 1817. In His mid-20s, He declined a life of privilege and became one of the leading disciples of the Báb.","media_information_brief_history_p7":"In 1852, in the course of the persecution of the Bábís, He was arrested, beaten, and thrown into an infamous dungeon in Tehran. After four months, He was released and banished from His native land – the beginning of 40 years of exile and imprisonment.","media_information_brief_history_p8":"He was first sent to Baghdad, where He and His companions stayed for 10 years. In 1863, on the eve of His further banishment to what is now Turkey and then to the Holy Land, Bahá’u’lláh announced that He was the Universal Messenger of God foretold by the Báb.","media_information_brief_history_p9":"In 1868, Bahá’u’lláh arrived in the Holy Land with about 70 family members and followers, sentenced by the Ottoman authorities to perpetual confinement in the penal colony of Acre. The order of confinement was never lifted, but because of the growing recognition of His outstanding character, He eventually was able to move outside the walls of the prison city. He lived His final years at a country home called Bahjí, where He passed away in 1892. He was interred there, and His shrine is the holiest place on earth for Bahá’ís.","media_information_description":"Contacts, facts, style guide,\ngeneral information, and photos","media_information_h1":"National and local","media_information_h2":"International","media_information_h2_a":"Bahá’í World News Service","media_information_h2_b":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_h2_c":"Bahá’í International Community - United Nations Offices:","media_information_h2_e":"For languages other than English:","media_information_houses_worship_li_1":"Wilmette, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1953.","media_information_houses_worship_li_2":"Kampala, Uganda. Opened in 1961.","media_information_houses_worship_li_3":"Sydney, Australia. Opened in 1961.","media_information_houses_worship_li_4":"Frankfurt, Germany. Opened in 1964.","media_information_houses_worship_li_5":"Panama City, Panama. Opened in 1972.","media_information_houses_worship_li_6":"Apia, Samoa. Opened in 1984.","media_information_houses_worship_li_7":"New Delhi, India. Opened in 1986.","media_information_houses_worship_li_8":"Santiago, Chile. Opened in 2016.","media_information_houses_worship_li_9":"Battambang, Cambodia. Opened in 2017.","media_information_houses_worship_li_10":"Norte del Cauca, Colombia. Opened in 2018.","media_information_houses_worship_li_11":"Matunda Soy, Kenya. Opened in 2021.","media_information_houses_worship_li_12":"Tanna, Vanuatu. Opened in 2021.","media_information_houses_worship_li_13":"Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo. Opened in 2023.","media_information_houses_worship_li_14":"Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. Opened in 2024.","media_information_houses_worship_p1":"Bahá’u’lláh designated Bahá’í Houses of Worship as spiritual gathering places for prayer and meditation around which will cluster social, humanitarian, educational, and scientific institutions. Eight continental, two national, and four local Bahá’í Houses of Worship have been built.","media_information_houses_worship_p2":"The physical structure of a House of Worship comprises a central building—a House of Worship—along with several dependencies. While the House of Worship forms the focal point of worship in a geographical area, its purpose is not solely to provide a place for prayer. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explained that, through the provision of education, healthcare and other services it is also to support the social and economic progress of the community and afford shelter, relief and assistance to those in need. In this connection, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá anticipated that subsidiary branches—such as a hospital, school, university, dispensary, and hospice—would gradually be added to a House of Worship. Bahá’u’lláh refers to the House of Worship as a Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, Arabic for “dawning place of the mention of God.”","media_information_houses_worship_p3":"Bahá’í Houses of Worship are located in:","media_information_houses_worship_p4":"Plans are underway to build a national House of Worship in Brazil, Canada, and Malawi. A local House of Worship is also being constructed in Batouri, Cameroon; Bihar Sharif, India; Kanchanpur, Nepal; and Mwinilunga, Zambia. At the local level, meetings for worship are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in the homes of believers all over the world.","media_information_key_terms_facts_h1":"Name of the religion and of the organization – the Bahá’í Faith","media_information_key_terms_facts_h2":"Founder of the Bahá’í Faith – Bahá’u’lláh","media_information_key_terms_facts_h3":"Year of founding – 1844","media_information_key_terms_facts_h4":"Head of the religion – the Universal House of Justice","media_information_key_terms_facts_h5":"Number of Bahá’ís – more than 5 million","media_information_key_terms_facts_h6":"Description of the religion and key beliefs","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_a":"the unity of the races and elimination of prejudice,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_b":"the equality of women and men,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_c":"universal education,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_d":"the elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_e":"a spiritual solution to economic problems,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_f":"establishment of a universal auxiliary language,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_g":"the harmony of science and religion,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_h":"the independent investigation of truth,","media_information_key_terms_facts_li_6_i":"the creation of a world commonwealth of nations that will keep the peace through collective security.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_a":"The Bahá’í Faith is an independent world religion.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_b":"A member is called a Bahá’í (plural: Bahá’ís). It is also correct to say that someone is a “member of the Bahá’í Faith,” a “follower of the Bahá’í Faith,” a “follower of Bahá’u’lláh,” or a member of the Bahá’í community of a given locality.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p1_c":"The term “Bahá’í International Community” refers to the non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations (UN) as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p2":"Bahá’ís consider Bahá’u’lláh to be the most recent in a line of great religious teachers, or Messengers of God, that includes Abraham, Buddha, Jesus Christ, Krishna, Muhammad, Moses, Zoroaster, and others. Bahá’u’lláh—the name is Arabic for “Glory of God”—was born in 1817 in Tehran, Iran, and passed away in 1892 in Acre, Israel. The coming of Bahá’u’lláh was announced by the Báb (Arabic for “Gate”), also considered by Bahá’ís to be a divine Messenger.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p3":"There are a number of important dates in the establishment of the Bahá’í Faith, but the first announcement by the Báb of the new religion came in 1844.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p4":"The Universal House of Justice is the international governing council of the Bahá’í community, an elected body of nine men. Its seat is at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel. Around the world, in almost all countries, a National Spiritual Assembly oversees the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith in that country, and Local Spiritual Assemblies oversee local affairs.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_a":"The Bahá’í Faith is an independent, monotheistic religion established in virtually every country of the world. Bahá’ís believe that the world’s major religions represent unfolding chapters in God’s teachings for humankind, and that the writings of Bahá’u’lláh represent God’s guidance for this age.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_b":"Bahá’u’lláh’s central teaching is the unity of humanity under one God.","media_information_key_terms_facts_p6_c":"Among the many Bahá’í principles are the following:","media_information_key_terms_facts_p7":"For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_li_a_1":"Phone (office): +972 (4) 835-8412","media_information_li_a_2":"E-mail, for news inquiries: [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org)","media_information_li_b_1":"Mr. Saleem Vaillaincourt (London)","media_information_li_b_2":"Senior information officer","media_information_li_b_3":"Phone (office): +1 (212) 803-2544","media_information_li_b_4":"E-mail: [media@bic.org](mailto:media@bic.org)","media_information_li_c_1":"Ms. Bani Dugal (New York)","media_information_li_c_2":"Principal Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations","media_information_li_c_3":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_li_c_4":"Phone: +1 (212) 803-2500","media_information_li_c_5":"After-hours phone: +1 (914) 329-3020","media_information_li_c_6":"E-mail: [uno-nyc@bic.org](mailto:uno-nyc@bic.org)","media_information_li_d_1":"Ms. Simin Fahandej (Geneva)","media_information_li_d_2":"Representative of the Bahá’í International Community to the United Nations","media_information_li_d_3":"Bahá’í International Community","media_information_li_d_4":"Phone: +41 (27) 798-5400","media_information_li_d_5":"After-hours phone: +41 (78) 880-0759","media_information_li_d_6":"E-mail: [geneva@bic.org](mailto:geneva@bic.org)","media_information_li_e_1":"Persian – Simin Fahandej, +41 (27) 798-5400","media_information_li_e_2":"French – Rachel Bayani, +32 (475) 750394","media_information_li_e_3":"To arrange other languages +972 (4) 835-8412","media_information_media_contacts":"Media Contacts","media_information_p1":"Editors, journalists, and other media professionals are encouraged to contact the National Office of the Bahá’ís of their own country. See [National Communities](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/).","media_information_p2":"BWNS reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","media_information_p3":"Information about the Bahá’í Faith is available at [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org/)","media_information_p_native":"The website for BWNS is located at [news.bahai.org](https://news.bahai.org/)","media_information_photographs_p1":"To arrange for photographs, you are encouraged to contact the office of the National Spiritual Assembly of the  Bahá’ís of your country. See [National Communities](https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/).","media_information_photographs_p2":"For more information, or for international photographs, contact the Bahá’í World Centre:","media_information_photographs_p3":"Phone: +972 (4) 835-8412  \n            E-mail: [news@bahai.org](mailto:news@bahai.org)","media_information_photographs_p4":"Photographs here may be downloaded and published, with photo credit given to the Bahá’í World Centre. [Terms of use](https://news.bahai.org/legal/).","media_information_photographs_p5":"Additional photos are available through the [Bahá’í Media Bank](https://media.bahai.org/). Images attached to articles in the [Bahá’í World News Service](https://news.bahai.org/) main site may also be downloaded.","media_information_photographs_p6":"Photographs of Bahá’ís imprisoned in Iran are available in the [Iran Update](/human-rights/iran/iran-update/photos.html) section of this Web site.","media_information_sidecontent_h1":"Bahá’ís in Iran","media_information_sidecontent_li":"Updates, background, photos","media_information_statistics_p1":"There are more than 5 million Bahá’ís in the world.","media_information_statistics_p2":"The Bahá’í Faith is established in virtually every country and in many dependent territories and overseas departments of countries. Bahá’ís reside in well over 100,000 localities. About 2,100 indigenous tribes, races, and ethnic groups are represented in the Bahá’í community.","media_information_statistics_p3":"There are currently 188 councils at the national level that oversee the work of communities. A network of over 300 training institutes, offering formal programs of Bahá’í education, span the globe.","media_information_statistics_p4":"Of the several thousand Bahá’í efforts in social and economic development, more than 900 are large-scale, sustained projects, including more than 600 schools and over 70 development agencies.","media_information_statistics_p5":"There are currently 14 Bahá’í Houses of Worship – in Australia, Cambodia, Chile, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Germany, India, Kenya, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Uganda, the United States, and Vanuatu. Plans are underway to build a national House of Worship in Brazil, Canada, and Malawi. Local Houses of Worship are also being constructed in Batouri, Cameroon; Bihar Sharif, India; Kanchanpur, Nepal; and Mwinilunga, Zambia. At the local level, meetings for worship are held regularly in Bahá’í centers and in the homes of believers all over the world.","media_information_statistics_p6":"The Bahá’í International Community has been registered with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York.","media_information_statistics_p7":"Bahá’í writings and other literature have been translated into more than 800 languages.","media_information_statistics_p8":"Each year, around one million people visit the Bahá’í Shrine, terraces, and gardens on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel.","media_information_statistics_p9":"In Iran, where the Bahá’í Faith originated, there are now about 300,000 Bahá’ís, constituting the largest religious minority in that country.","media_information_style_guide_h1":"Pronunciation guide","media_information_style_guide_h2":"Style guide and glossary","media_information_style_guide_p1":"**Bahá’í:**   Ba-HIGH  \n            **Bahá’u’lláh:**   Ba-ha-ul-LAH  \n            **Báb:**   Bahb (Bob)  \n            **‘Abdu’l-Bahá:**   Abdul ba-HAH  \n            **Naw-Rúz:**   Naw Rooz  \n            **Ridván:**   REZ-vahn","media_information_style_guide_p2_1":"**‘Abdu’l-Bahá** (1844-1921) – The son of Bahá’u’lláh who was the head of the Bahá’í Faith from 1892 to 1921. Bahá’u’lláh in His will had designated ‘Abdu’l-Bahá as His successor. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá occupies a special station as the authoritative interpreter of the writings of Bahá’u’lláh and as the perfect example of how a Bahá’í should live. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá traveled widely through Europe and North America from 1911-1913, explaining his Father’s teachings in talks, interviews, and addresses at universities, churches, temples, synagogues, and missions for the poor. (Bahá’ís capitalize pronouns—for example, “He”—that refers to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá out of respect for his special station. Such pronouns are not capitalized in this guide in deference to international journalistic style and also to avoid confusion with Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, who are considered to be divine Prophets.) For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_10":"**Bahá’í Faith** – The correct term for the religion is the Bahá’í Faith. It is an independent, monotheistic religion established in virtually every country of the world. It is not a sect of another religion. In a list of major religions, it would look like this: Hinduism, Zoroastrianism,  Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, Islam, the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_style_guide_p2_11":"**Bahá’í International Community** – The Bahá’í International Community is a non-governmental organization that represents the worldwide Bahá’í community. It has been registered with the United Nations as a non-governmental organization since 1948. It currently has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social council (ECOSOC) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), as well as accreditation with the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) and the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI). The Bahá’í International Community collaborates with the UN and its specialized agencies, as well as member states, inter- and non-governmental organizations, academia, and practitioners. It has Representative Offices in Addis Ababa, Brussels, Cairo, Geneva, Jakarta, and New York. For more information, see [bic.org](https://www.bic.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_12":"**Bahá’í World Centre** – The spiritual and administrative center of the Bahá’í Faith, comprising the holy places in the Haifa/Acre area in northern Israel and the Arc of administrative buildings on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The Bahá’í World Centre itself uses the spelling “Centre”; elsewhere both “Centre” and “Center” are used, depending on the custom of the country.","media_information_style_guide_p2_13":"**Bahá’u’lláh** – The founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who lived from 1817 to 1892, considered by Bahá’ís to be the most recent divine Messenger, or Manifestation of God, in a line of great religious figures that includes Abraham, Buddha, Jesus, Krishna, Moses, Muhammad, Zoroaster, the Báb, and others. Bahá’u’lláh was born in Tehran in present-day Iran, and passed away near Acre, in what is now Israel. “Bahá’u’lláh” is a title that means the “Glory of God” in Arabic; His name was Mírzá Husayn-‘Alí. His writings, which would equal about a hundred volumes, form the basis of the Bahá’í teachings. For more information, see [Bahai.org](http://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_14":"**Bahjí** – The place near Acre where the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh (His burial place) is located, as well as the mansion that was His last residence and surrounding gardens. It is a place of pilgrimage for Bahá’ís. The word “Bahjí” is Arabic for “delight.”","media_information_style_guide_p2_15":"**children’s classes** – Classes in moral education, open to all, that are provided for children, operated at the community level by the Bahá’í training institute.","media_information_style_guide_p2_16":"**Convention** – See [International Bahá’í Convention](#internationalbahaiconvention) and [National Bahá’í Convention](#nationalbahaicconvention).","media_information_style_guide_p2_18":"**counsellor** – An adviser appointed by the Universal House of Justice who serves in a particular geographic area or at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa. At present, there are 90 counsellors assigned to specific countries or regions, and nine counsellors who form the membership of the International Teaching Centre at the  Bahá’í World Centre. Appointments are for five years.","media_information_style_guide_p2_19":"**devotional meetings** – Gatherings, often in people’s homes, for prayers and to read the sacred writings of the Bahá’í Faith and other religions. Usually undertaken as an individual initiative.","media_information_style_guide_p2_2":"**accent marks** – Bahá’í, Bahá’u’lláh, and other names are written with accent marks, but many publications and websites do not have the facility for using such marks.","media_information_style_guide_p2_20":"**fast, the** – A period during which Bahá’ís abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sundown during the Bahá’í month of ‘Alá’, from 2 March to 20 March. Bahá’u’lláh enjoined His followers to pray and fast during this period. The sick, the traveler, and pregnant women, among others, are exempt.","media_information_style_guide_p2_21":"**feast** – See [Nineteen Day Feast](#nineteendayfeast).","media_information_style_guide_p2_22":"**Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith** – See [Shoghi Effendi](#shoghieffendi).","media_information_style_guide_p2_23":"**Haifa** – The city in northern Israel that, along with nearby Acre, is the location of the Bahá’í World Centre. The international administrative buildings of the Bahá’í Faith (including the Seat of the Universal House of Justice), the Shrine of the Báb, and surrounding terraces and gardens are all located on Mount Carmel in the heart of Haifa.","media_information_style_guide_p2_24":"**Holy days** – Eleven days that commemorate significant Bahá’í anniversaries. The nine holy days on which work is suspended are the Birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the Birth of the Báb, Declaration of the Báb, Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, Martyrdom of the Báb, Naw-Rúz, Ridván (a 12-day festival, of which the first, ninth and 12th days are holy days). The other two holy days are the Day of the Covenant and the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. *See names of individual holy days.*","media_information_style_guide_p2_25":"**Holy Land** – The area associated with present-day Israel, which is holy to a number of religions, including to Bahá’ís. The resting places of Bahá’u’lláh near Acre and of the Báb in Haifa are, to Bahá’ís, the holiest spots on earth.","media_information_style_guide_p2_26":"**International Archives Building** – One of the buildings at the Bahá’í World Centre on Mount Carmel in Haifa. The repository of many sacred relics of the Bahá’í Faith, it is visited by thousands of Bahá’í pilgrims each year.","media_information_style_guide_p2_27":"**International Bahá’í Convention** – A gathering every five years of delegates from around the world to consult on the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith and elect the members of the Universal House of Justice. Members of the National Spiritual Assemblies serve as delegates.","media_information_style_guide_p2_28":"**International Teaching Centre** – One of the institutions at the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa. The International Teaching Centre has nine members, all counsellors appointed by the Universal House of Justice. Appointments are for five years.","media_information_style_guide_p2_29":"**Local Spiritual Assembly** – At the local level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the Local Spiritual Assembly. Each Local Assembly consists of nine members who are chosen in annual elections. As with all other elected Bahá’í institutions, the Assembly functions as a body and makes decisions through consultation. The responsibilities of the Local Spiritual Assembly include promoting the spiritual education of children and young people, strengthening the spiritual and social fabric of Bahá’í community life, assessing and utilizing the community’s resources, and ensuring that the energies and talents of community members contribute towards progress.","media_information_style_guide_p2_3":"**Acre**– English rendering of the name of the city north of Haifa where Bahá’u’lláh was exiled in 1868. He lived in or near the city until His passing in 1892. Bahá’ís often use the Arabic name, ‘Akká, which was the name in general use during the time of Bahá’u’lláh. In Hebrew the name is Akko.","media_information_style_guide_p2_30":"**Mount Carmel** – In Haifa, Israel, site of the Bahá’í World Centre, including several Bahá’í holy places, the most important of which is the Shrine of the Báb, and the buildings housing the administrative offices of the Bahá’í World Centre.","media_information_style_guide_p2_31":"**National Bahá’í Convention** – In each country, the annual gathering of elected delegates to discuss the affairs of the Bahá’í Faith in their jurisdiction and to elect the members of the National Spiritual Assembly.","media_information_style_guide_p2_32":"**National Spiritual Assembly** – At the national level, the affairs of the Bahá’í community are administered by the National Spiritual Assembly, a nine-member elected council responsible for guiding, co-ordinating, and stimulating the activities of Local Spiritual Assemblies and individual members of the Bahá’í community within a given country. The responsibilities of a National Spiritual Assembly include channelling the community’s financial resources, fostering the growth and vibrancy of the national Bahá’í community, supervising the affairs of the community including its social and economic development activities and its properties, overseeing relations with government, resolving questions from individuals and Local Spiritual Assemblies, and strengthening the participation of the Bahá’í community in the life of society at the national level.","media_information_style_guide_p2_33":"**Nineteen Day Feast** – An administrative gathering at the local level. The term refers to a spiritual “feast” of prayers,  consultation and fellowship. It is held every 19 days, on the first day of each Bahá’í month.","media_information_style_guide_p2_34":"**pilgrimage** – Each year thousands of Bahá’ís undertake pilgrimage, during which they forge a profound and lasting connection with the spiritual and administrative centre of their Faith, located in the Haifa-Acre area of what is now northern Israel. Bahá’í pilgrims pray and meditate at the Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and the Shrine of the Báb, as well as in the beautiful gardens that surround them. They also draw inspiration from the time spent at various historical sites associated with the lives of Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi, as well as from visits to the edifices dedicated to the worldwide administration of the Bahá’í Faith.","media_information_style_guide_p2_35":"**progressive revelation** – The central belief that Manifestations of God have successively provided the guidance necessary for humanity’s social and spiritual evolution.","media_information_style_guide_p2_36":"**Regional Bahá’í Council** – In some countries, the National Spiritual Assembly assigns certain of its functions to Regional Bahá’í Councils, which serve a designated geographical area within the land in question. The responsibilities of a Regional Council may include carrying out policies of the National Spiritual Assembly, supervising progress of particular plans and projects, and taking steps to stimulate and coordinate the growth of the Bahá’í community within the region.","media_information_style_guide_p2_37":"**Shoghi Effendi** (1897-1957) – The head of the Bahá’í Faith from 1921 to 1957. His title is Guardian of the Bahá’í Faith. He is the grandson of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the great-grandson of Bahá’u’lláh. For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_38":"**Shrine of Bahá’u’lláh** – The resting place of the mortal remains of Bahá’u’lláh, located near the city of Acre in what is now Israel. The shrine is the holiest spot on earth to Bahá’ís and a place of pilgrimage.","media_information_style_guide_p2_39":"**Shrine of the Báb** – The resting place of the mortal remains of the Báb, located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. It is a sacred site to Bahá’ís and a place of pilgrimage.","media_information_style_guide_p2_4":"**‘Akká, Akko** – See entry above for “[Acre](#acre)”.","media_information_style_guide_p2_40":"**study circles** – A study circle is one of the principal elements of the process of distance education offered by the [Bahá’í training institute](https://www.bahai.org/action/response-call-bahaullah/training-institute). It is a small group that meets regularly to study the institute course materials.","media_information_style_guide_p2_41":"**Universal House of Justice** – The international governing council of the Bahá’í Faith. It is the supreme administrative body ordained by Bahá’u’lláh in His book of laws. The Universal House of Justice is elected every five years at the International Bahá’í Convention, where members of the National Spiritual Assemblies around the world serve as delegates. The Universal House of Justice was first elected in 1963. Its permanent seat is on Mount Carmel in Haifa.","media_information_style_guide_p2_5":"**Arc** – An area on Mount Carmel in Haifa, shaped like an arc, where the major international administrative buildings of the Bahá’í Faith, including the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, are situated.","media_information_style_guide_p2_6":"**Báb** – The title, meaning “Gate,” assumed by Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, the Founder of the Bábí Faith and the Forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh. Considered by Bahá’ís to be one of the twin Manifestations of God associated with the Bahá’í Faith. Born on 20 October 1819, the Báb proclaimed Himself to be the Promised One of Islam and said His mission was to announce the imminent coming of another Messenger even greater than Himself, namely Bahá’u’lláh. Because of these claims, the Báb was executed by firing squad in the public square in Tabriz on 9 July 1850. His remains were hidden in Iran for many years before being taken to Haifa/Acre in 1899 and buried on Mount Carmel in 1909. For more information, see [Bahai.org](http://www.bahai.org).","media_information_style_guide_p2_7":"**Bábí Faith** – The religion founded by the Báb. After 1863 and the announcement by Bahá’u’lláh that He was the Messenger whose coming had been foretold by the Báb, the Bahá’í Faith gradually became established and most followers of the Báb began to call themselves Bahá’ís.","media_information_style_guide_p2_8":"**Badí‘ calendar** – The Bahá’í calendar, consisting of 19 months of 19 days each, with the addition of intercalary days known as Ayyám-i-Há. The number of these intercalary days varies according to the timing of the vernal equinox in the northern hemisphere in successive years. The first day of the year corresponds to the spring equinox. The Bahá’í era (B.E.) begins with 1844, the year of the Báb’s declaration. For more information, see [Bahai.org](https://www.bahai.org/action/devotional-life/calendar).","media_information_style_guide_p2_9":"**Bahá’í** – (1) A noun referring to a member of the Bahá’í Faith. The plural is Bahá’ís. (2) An adjective describing a person, place, or thing related to the Bahá’í Faith. Examples: a Bahá’í book, the Bahá’í community, a Bahá’í holy day, a Bahá’í holy place.","media_reports":"Media Reports","menu":"Menu","meta_description_bwns":"The Bahá’í World News Service - BWNS - The official news source of the worldwide Bahá’í community, reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","minutes_short":"min","mobile_app":"Mobile app","national_bahai_communities":"National Bahá’í Communities","news_email":"news@bahai.org","news_service_home":"BWNS Home","no_matches_for":"No matches for","no_results_for":"No results for","number_of":"of","oceania":"Oceania","official_news_site":"Official news source of the worldwide Bahá’í community","one_country":"One Country","other_bahai_sites":"Other Bahá’í Sites","other_sites":"Other sites","other_stories":"Other Stories","overview_section":"Overview of this Section","page_link":"Page link","photographs":"Photographs","photographs_download":"Photographs for download","podcast":"Podcast","podcast_available":"Podcast available","podcast_description_bwns":"Reporting on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","podcast_p1":"The Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS) podcast reports on major developments and endeavors of the global Bahá’í community.","podcast_subscribe":"Subscribe to the BWNS podcast for additional audio content.","print":"Print","privacy":"Privacy","recent_articles":"Recent Articles","recent_headlines":"Recent headlines","recent_media_reports":"Recent media reports","recieve_stories_email":"Receive stories via email","related_stories":"Related Stories","results":"Results","return_top":"Return to top","rss":"RSS","search":"Search","search_bahai_reference_library":"Search the Bahá’í Reference Library","search_bahaiorg":"Search Bahai.org","search_news_service":"Search the News Service","section_shrine_of_abdulbaha_description":"Read reports on the progress","section_shrine_of_abdulbaha_title":"Coverage of Construction Work of the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá","see_all":"See All","seven_bahais_leaders":"The Seven Bahá’í Leaders","share":"Share","share_this_article":"Share this article","share_this_page":"Share this page","show_more":"Show more","sign_up":"Sign Up","slideshow":"Slideshow","social_media_name_instagram":"Instagram","social_media_name_instagram_account":"bahaiworldnewsservice","social_media_name_twitter":"Twitter","social_media_name_twitter_account":"bahainews","special_reports":"SPECIAL REPORTS","special_reports_shrine_construction":"Coverage of construction work for the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l‑Bahá","statistics":"Statistics","story_archive":"Story Archive","style_glossary_pronunciation_guide":"Style guide, glossary and pronunciation guide","subscribe":"Subscribe","subscribe-confirmation-message":"Thank you for your interest in Bahá’í World News Service (BWNS)","subscribe-souble-optin-email":"You will receive an email shortly, asking you to confirm your subscription.","subscribe_bot_submission":"This doesn't look like a human submission.","subscribe_check_email":"Please check your email to confirm your subscription!","subscribe_email_exists":"This email already exists! 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Baha'i International...","date":"2005-03-03","customDateline":null,"city":"UNITED NATIONS","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431647-bwns5811-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431647-bwns5811-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. Haleh Arbab Correa, representing the Baha'i-inspired development organization FUNDAEC, participated in a high level panel during the UN review of the Copenhagen Social Summit.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Baha'is played prominent roles last month at the 10-year review of the ground-breaking World Summit for Social Development.\n\nBaha'i International Community representative Bahiyyih Chaffers chaired one of the main panel discussions at the one-day Civil Society Forum held 8 February 2005 in association with the review, which ran from 9-18 February.\n\nOn 10 February, Haleh Arbab Correa, representing a Baha'i-inspired development organization, participated in a high-level panel on \"Promoting Full Employment,\" sitting side by side with ministers and ambassadors from more than 20 countries. Dr. Arbab Correa was one of five civil society representatives invited to participate on the panel.\n\nIn 1995 more than 250 Baha'is from some 40 countries joined 5,500 delegates of non-governmental organizations at the World Summit for Social Development, reflecting the worldwide Baha'i community's concern about the global social issues addressed by the Summit, which was held in Copenhagen in 1995.\n\nKnown sometimes simply as the Social Summit, it was one of a series of ground-breaking United Nations global conferences in the 1990s that set an international consensus on post-Cold War issues concerning sustainable development, human rights, and the advancement of women. The Summit called for a more compassionate and people-centered approach to development.\n\nThe 10-year review was conducted under the auspices of the UN Commission on Social Development. Government delegates to the meeting focused on discussing whether the goals of the 1995 meeting had been met -- or whether they had been displaced by other concerns, such as terrorism and global security issues.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The two Baha'i delegates were among more than 150 NGO representatives gathered at the Civil Society Forum. Ms. Chaffers chaired a morning discussion on \"Why Copenhagen Matters for the Millennium Development Goals.\" Those goals commit the international community to an expanded vision of development, one that vigorously promotes human development as the key to sustaining social and economic progress in all countries, and recognizes the importance of creating a global partnership for development.\n\nA member of the executive committee of the NGO Committee on Social Development, Ms. Chaffers set the tone for the discussion by stressing that the \"age-old dream of global peace\" cannot be established without \"a galvanizing vision of global prosperity\" marked by the \"material and spiritual well-being\" of all the world's inhabitants.\n\nDr. Arbab Correa also brought up the importance of taking into consideration humanity's spiritual reality in her comments at the high-level panel on employment.\n\nDr. Arbab Correa represented FUNDAEC, a Baha'i-inspired, nonprofit, non-governmental organization with 30 years of experience in rural Colombia. (Its name is a Spanish acronym for \"The Foundation for the Application and Teaching of the Sciences.\")\n\nSaying that education was the key to promoting full employment, she emphasized the importance of training young people with the skills and capabilities they will need to create a better world.\n\n\"As a Baha'i-inspired institution, we emphasize the importance of spiritual and moral values,\" said Dr. Arbab Correa. \"Our program focuses on the spiritual, intellectual, and social aspects of the human being.\"\n\nShe said also that a key motivating factor in such training is to focus on the importance of service to humanity, more than merely self-enrichment.\n\n\"If we want to train human beings to participate in the construction of a better world, it is important to emphasize the service aspect,\" she said.\n\nDr. Arbab Correa also participated in a side event about international success stories in the fight against poverty where she presented the experience of FUNDAEC.\n\n\"People should not be looked at as problems,\" said Dr. Arbab Correa, who is rector at FUNDAEC's University Center for Rural Well-being.\n\n\"People are resources. Development requires participation. People can take charge of their own development with proper education.\"\n\nToo often, added Dr. Arbab Correa, people are viewed as consumers, simply part of the market. But society is not a jungle, and development programs should aim at cooperation instead of competition.\n\n\"Human beings have a noble, spiritual aspect,\" she said. \"The role of education and development is to bring out those potentialities.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431648-bwns5810-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'i International Community representative Bahiyyih Chaffers chaired a discussion at the civil society forum held in conjunction with the UN review of the Copenhagen Social Summit."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431648-bwns5809-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'i International Community representative Bahiyyih Chaffers, center, chairing a discussion at a UN civil society forum. (Left to right) Denys Correll, executive director of The International Council on Social Welfare; Pamela Mboya, chairperson of HelpAge Kenya; Ms. Chaffers; Elsa Ramos, director, equality and youth, International Confederation of Free Trade Unions; Huguette Redegeld, vice president, International Movement ATD Fourth World."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":353,"evergreenUrl":"heroic-life-inspires-conference","title":"Heroic life inspires conference","description":"Participants at a conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of the passing of a deeply cherished Baha'i resolved to increase their service...","date":"2005-02-23","customDateline":null,"city":"OTAVALO","country":"ECUADOR","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431618-bwns5804-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431618-bwns5804-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The 1979 graveside ceremony for Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Rahmatu'llah Muhajir, Quito, Ecuador.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Participants at a conference commemorating the 25th anniversary of the passing of a deeply cherished Baha'i resolved to increase their service to humanity.\n\nThe \"Growth and Victories\" conference was held from 30 December 2004 to 2 January 2005 in honor of the Hand of the Cause of God Rahmatu'llah Muhajir (1923-79).\n\nA highly effective promoter of the teachings of the Baha'i Faith, Dr. Muhajir died in Quito, the capital city of Ecuador, while undertaking a tour of encouragement of Baha'i communities.\n\nBaha'is attending the conference came from a range of South American countries as well as from Australia, Canada, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.\n\nMost of the Baha'is who came from Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia traveled for several days by land to get to the conference.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In a message to the participants, the Universal House of Justice called upon the Baha'is to arise to serve \"with the same unrelaxing vigor, spiritual discipline, and generosity that characterized dear Dr. Muhajir.\"\n\nHighlights of the conference were talks on the life of Dr. Muhajir by his daughter, Gisu, and by a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas, Eloy Anello of Bolivia.\n\nMs. Muhajir related anecdotes from her father's life and those of other Hands of the Cause of God.\n\n\"They possessed a special spirit and capacity that was evident from an early age,\" she said.\n\nOther speakers included two other members of the Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas, Crystal Shoaie of Bolivia and Leticia de Solano of Ecuador.\n\nAmong the topics of the talks were \"The Dynamic Power of Example,\" \"The Glorious Future of the Indigenous People,\" and \"The Process of the Institute, Teaching, and Growth.\"\n\nIn between the talks, several Baha'i communities of Ecuador including those of Otavalo, Santa Rosa, Cuenca and Samborondon, gave presentations on their activities, achievements, and service performed in the name of Dr. Muhajir.\n\nOn each morning of the conference, the participants gathered for devotional meetings during which prayers and quotations often recited by Dr. Muhajir were read.\n\nLocal musicians, as well as international Baha'i artists KC Porter and Leonor Dely, gave performances that enhanced the enjoyment of the conference participants.\n\nThe Baha'i community of Ecuador has 16 Local Spiritual Assemblies and is home to a Baha'i radio station, Radio Baha'i, which has its studios in Otavalo. It is oriented towards community development and service."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431618-bwns5803-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The headstone of the grave of Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Rahmatu'llah Muhajir, Quito, Ecuador."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431618-bwns5802-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Juan Tamares of Santa Rosa, Ecuador, performing at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431624-bwns5801-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Roses adorned the stage as Leonor Dely performed at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference in Ecuador."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431625-bwns5800-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Traditional South American pan-pipes were among the instruments used by a musical group from Otavalo at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference in Ecuador."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431619-bwns5799-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Friends together at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference in Ecuador, Janai Molineaux, left, and María Fernanda Rodriguez, both of Colombia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431618-bwns5798-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A musical group from Quito at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference in Ecuador."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431617-bwns5797-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants from Quito and Cuenca at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference in Ecuador: (left to right) Shahnaz Reyes, Jose Luis Reyes, Walter Morocho, Marcia Heredia, Sadyhe Mondavi de Morocho."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431619-bwns5796-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Anita Vega of Otavalo, Ecuador, presents an address on the topic \"The Dynamic Force of Example\" at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431620-bwns5795-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference in Ecuador with a photograph of Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Rahmatu'llah Muhajir."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431617-bwns5794-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A member of the Continental Board of Counsellors, Eloy Anello of Bolivia, spoke on the topic \"The Life of Dr. Muhajir\" at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference in Ecuador."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431618-bwns5793-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'is from Santa Rosa, Ecuador, describe to the \"Growth and Victories\" conference their successful community activities."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431625-bwns5792-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Musicians Leonor Dely and KC Porter perform at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference in Ecuador."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431623-bwns5791-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Gisu Muhajir with a photograph of her father, the Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Rahmatu'llah Muhajir, at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference held in his honor."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431624-bwns5790-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Anita Vega and Juan Tamares of Ecuador at the \"Growth and Victories\" conference held in Otavalo."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":352,"evergreenUrl":"manage-time-balance-your-life","title":"Manage time to 'balance your life'","description":"Good time-management in all the important spheres of life will help meet the challenge of living a balanced life, a speaker told a Baha'i youth...","date":"2005-02-23","customDateline":null,"city":"HLUBOKÁ NAD VLTAVOU","country":"CZECH REPUBLIC","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431602-bwns5789-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431602-bwns5789-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some participants at the Changing Times seminar: (left to right) Tamy Kazai (United States), Jason Ighani (Costa Rica), Mona Vahdat (Australia).","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Good time-management in all the important spheres of life will help meet the challenge of living a balanced life, a speaker told a Baha'i youth seminar that attracted participants from 30 countries.\n\n\"Baha'is are called upon to walk with practical feet on the mystical path,\" German psychiatrist Hamid Peseschkian told the \"Changing Times European Youth Forum,\" which was held at the Townshend International School from 26 December 2004 to 1 January 2005.\n\nDr. Peseschkian offered a model of a balanced life that gives equal emphasis to four major areas -- health and body, work and achievement, contacts and relationships, and spirituality and future.\n\n\"The Baha'i Faith has the vision of a new generation of people who on the one hand exercise moderation in all things but on the other have a faith-centered life and not a work-centered one,\" he said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The seminar, organized by a team of European Baha'i youth, is the third annual event of its kind, its reputation for learning and camaraderie attracting participants from many European countries as well as from Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Namibia, New Zealand, Samoa, and the United States.\n\nThe keynote speakers were Mr. Ali Nakhjavani, who until recently served as a member of the Universal House of Justice, and his wife, Violette Nakhjavani.\n\nMr. Nakhjavani gave his insights on the world situation and on spiritual matters, and also recounted his memories of growing up in the Holy Land. Mrs. Violette Nakhjavani paid a tribute to the Hand of the Cause of God, Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani, whom she accompanied on many of her travels for the Baha'i faith.\n\nOther speakers included Italian industrialist Giuseppe Robiati, who spoke on the Baha'i view of a new world order.\n\nWorkshops addressed a variety of themes such as consumerism, the art of communication, leadership and power, and using the arts to express a vision of a new world.\n\nKeith Sabri of Australia performed two one-man plays depicting Baha'i historical events.\n\n(Seminar photos by Kamran Granfar.)\n\nFor more information about the seminar, see\n\n[http://www.changing-times.org](http://www.changing-times.org)."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431595-bwns5788-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some participants from Germany at the Changing Times seminar: (left to right) Shamim Rafat, Katharina Towfigh, Emanuel Towfigh."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431597-bwns5787-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"One of the speakers at the Changing Times seminar, Giuseppe Robiati (Italy)."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431595-bwns5786-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some participants at the Changing Times seminar: (left to right) Neda Maani (New Zealand), Shidan Tosif (Australia), Shervin Tosif (Australia), Saeed Granfar (Australia), Negin Rahbin (Sweden), Noemi Robiati (Italy)."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431597-bwns5785-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Keynote speaker at the Changing Times seminar, Mrs. Violette Nakhjavani."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431597-bwns5784-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Keynote speaker at the Changing Times seminar, Mr. Ali Nakhjavani."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431595-bwns5783-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some participants at the Changing Times seminar: (left to right) Erfan Diebel (Germany), Ario Deghani (Germany), Asis Khabirpour (Poland)."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431601-bwns5782-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants in the Changing Times European Youth Forum. Photo by Kamran Granfar."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431595-bwns5781-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Hamid Peseschkian, a speaker at the Changing Times European Youth Forum."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":351,"evergreenUrl":"religion-gives-basis-human-rights","title":"Religion gives basis for human rights","description":"The global community should look to the ethical teachings of the world religions as well as to international law to protect human rights, a keynote...","date":"2005-02-15","customDateline":null,"city":"GROESBEEK","country":"NETHERLANDS","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431586-bwns5780-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431586-bwns5780-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Shirin Milani-Ansinger, one of the lawyers attending the European Baha'i Conference on Law.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The global community should look to the ethical teachings of the world religions as well as to international law to protect human rights, a keynote speaker told the European Baha'i Conference on Law.\n\nProfessor Brian Lepard of the University of Nebraska in the United States said that violations of human rights appear to be relentlessly increasing despite dramatic advances last century aimed at safeguarding them.\n\nProfessor Lepard was delivering the Dr. Aziz Navidi Memorial Lecture, which is named after a prominent Baha'i lawyer renowned for his courage and skill in defending persecuted Baha'is.\n\nThe conference held 9-12 December 2004, attracted participants from 10 countries and was organized by the Law Association of the Tahirih Institute, an educational institute of the Dutch Baha'i community.\n\n\"International law and world religions must form a new partnership, drawing on their mutual strengths if human rights are to become a living reality for human beings groaning under the yoke of oppression, tyranny, and deprivations of their most basic human needs,\" Professor Lepard said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Professor Lepard said that many human rights are not enforced internationally because there is no agreement on their moral basis. That shortcoming helps some governments and individuals justify their violation of human rights, he said.\n\nStates are beginning to recognize the moral bankruptcy of much of existing international law and are emphasizing the need for a moral foundation for legal norms, he said. In addition, enlightened religious leaders are showing a growing interest in modern-day human rights law.\n\nProfessor Lepard said the moral and ethical teachings of  religions -- which underpinned international law at its historical formation -- give that moral foundation to human rights by declaring that they are God-given rights. They also help prioritize those rights, and they give recognition of individual duties to promote and protect the human rights of others.\n\n\"The ethical teachings of the world religions underscore that all human beings are members of one human family and are thus are entitled to the same fundamental human rights,\" Professor Lepard said.\n\nOnly the spiritual principle of the oneness of humanity will help people build bridges of friendship with those of other religions, nationalities or races and provide a firm foundation for respecting the rights of others, he said.\n\nAmong other papers delivered by Baha'i lawyers were:\n\n- \"State and Religious Order in Baha'i Theology\" by Tajan Tober (Germany).\n\n- \"The Oneness of Humanity as a Contemporary Legal Principle\" by Neysun Mahboubi (United States).\n\n- \"The Place of Idealism in an Emerging International Legal Order\" by Salim Nakhjavani (United Kingdom).\n\n- \"From Empire to Empathy: Law, Spirituality, and the Oneness of Humankind,\" by Payam Akhavan.\n\nOther contributions to the conference came from a legal officer with the International Criminal Court, Rod Rastan; two Dutch lawyers, Karlijn van der Voort and Nushin Milani; and Baha'i scholar and lawyer Susan Lamb."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431586-bwns5779-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Neysun Mahboubi delivering his address \"The Oneness of Humanity as a Contemporary Legal Principle\" at the European Baha'i Conference on Law."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431586-bwns5778-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Keynote speaker Professor Brian Lepard (center) with Rod Rastan and Ariane Sabet at the European Baha'i Conference on Law."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":350,"evergreenUrl":"completing-circle-service","title":"Completing the circle of service","description":"A recent visit by three Baha'is to these islands in the north Atlantic Ocean had its origins in a decision taken some 50 years earlier. In January...","date":"2005-02-08","customDateline":null,"city":"PRAIA","country":"CAPE VERDE","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431573-bwns5776-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431573-bwns5776-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"JoAnne Menking, who introduced the Baha'i Faith to Cape Verde with her husband, Howard, in 1954.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A recent visit by three Baha'is to these islands in the north Atlantic Ocean had its origins in a decision taken some 50 years earlier.\n\nIn January 1954 Howard and JoAnne Menking decided to leave their comfortable home in the United States to introduce the Baha'i Faith to Cape Verde, then a poverty-stricken Portuguese colony.\n\nThey were among volunteers participating in a decade-long (1953-63) initiative to establish the Faith in countries where there were no Baha'is. By the end of the decade the number of national communities had more than doubled.\n\nThe Menkings left Cape Verde in 1959 after the local Baha'i community was established.\n\nA half-century later, in November 2004, Mr. Menking returned for the jubilee celebrations of that community, accompanied by his daughter, Cristina Menking-Hoggatt, and her son, Cheyenne, 13.\n\nMr. Menking stayed three weeks, during which time he met Baha'is in various parts of the island of Santiago and spoke about the Faith to inquirers, some of whom decided to join the Baha'i community.\n\nThat warm reception to the teachings of Baha'u'llah was quite different from the response in the first testing year that Mr. and Mrs. Menking lived in Cape Verde.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Mr. Menking, now 79, told participants in the jubilee festivities held on 18 November 2004 about the challenging conditions and slow progress of the Faith in the islands in 1954.\n\nIn fact, so barren were the results of the Menkings' initial efforts to interest local people in the Baha'i Faith that Mr. Menking wrote to the head of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi, and asked about the wisdom of staying there when the needs of the Baha'is were so urgent on the mainland of Africa.\n\nShoghi Effendi replied that victories in a difficult post were more meritorious than those easily won.\n\nFrom that time on, the fortunes of the Faith in Cape Verde improved. The Menking family was also blessed with their first child. Their daughter Cristina was born on Christmas Day, 1955.\n\nThe first local person to become a Baha'i was a good friend of Howard Menking. His name Frutuoso (meaning \"fruitful\") seemed appropriate because others were soon to follow him into the Faith. They included Claremundo (meaning \"the light of the world\"), Inacio Barbosa Amado, Avalino Barros, Octavio Brito, and Entonio Leon.\n\nBy April 1956 there were enough Baha'is in Praia to form the first Local Spiritual Assembly. Three years later the Menkings returned to the United States where they continued as active participants in the Baha'i community. Mrs. Menking passed away in 1988.\n\nFor their settling in Cape Verde Mr. and Mrs. Menking received the accolade of Knight of Baha'u'llah from Shoghi Effendi.\n\nAt the jubilee festivities, a spokesman for the Baha'is of Cape Verde, Poh Chean Chong, delivered a welcoming address, and the chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Praia, Manuel Jesus Moreno, spoke about the history of the Faith in Cape Verde.\n\nThe secretary of the Cape Verde Baha'i community, Tony Parker Danso, read congratulatory messages from other Baha'i communities on the occasion.\n\nCristina Menking addressed the participants on her Baha'i experiences in Cape Verde and on the role of women and the importance of family life.\n\nTwo members of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa addressed the gathering. Beatrice Asare, delivered a congratulatory message from the Board and Kobina Fynn spoke to the gathering about the future direction of the community, and invited guests to join with the Baha'is in study circles, devotional meetings, and children's classes.\n\nAlso present were representatives of the Baha'i community of Portugal, Aminullah Shahidian and Varqa Carlos Jalali. Dr. Jalali addressed the gathering about the aims and purposes of the Baha'i Faith.\n\nA photographic exhibition included photographs of the first Baha'i institutions in Cape Verde, the early Baha'is, distinguished Baha'i visitors to the country, and current activities of the Baha'i community.\n\nParticipants enjoyed musical interludes by local Baha'i artists, and heard songs they had composed.\n\nThe National Radio of Cape Verde and Croule FM, a private radio station, broadcast coverage of the jubilee.  Three newspapers of Cape Verde, \"Expresso das Ilhas,\" \"Horizonte,\" and \"A Semana\" published articles about the celebrations."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431570-bwns5775-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Howard Menking (left) with a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, Kobina Fynn, at the jubilee celebrations of the Cape Verde Baha'i community."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431570-bwns5774-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants at the jubilee celebrations of the Cape Verde Baha'i community."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431570-bwns5773-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants at the jubilee celebrations of the Cape Verde Baha'i community."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431571-bwns5772-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Left to right: Secretary of the Cape Verde Baha'i community, Tony Parker Danso, with members of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, Beatrice Asare and Kobina Fynn."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431571-bwns5771-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Ivan, the grandson of one of the first Baha'is in Cape Verde, Avalino Barros, at the jubilee celebrations."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431571-bwns5770-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, Beatrice Asare, with a representative of the Baha'i community of Portugal, Varqa Carlos Jalali, at the Cape Verde Baha'i jubilee festivities."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431571-bwns5769-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431570-bwns5768-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Howard Menking (right) with Beatrice Asare and Aminullah Shahidian at the Cape Verde islands' Baha'i jubilee celebrations."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431571-bwns5767-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants at the jubilee celebrations of the Baha'i community of the Cape Verde islands."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":349,"evergreenUrl":"magazine-wins-design-award","title":"Magazine wins design award","description":"A magazine published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States has received an international award for best journal...","date":"2005-02-02","customDateline":null,"city":"EVANSTON, ILLINOIS","country":"UNITED STATES","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431560-bwns5765-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431560-bwns5765-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"At the award ceremony, 'World Order' managing editor Betty Fisher (fifth from left) and designer Richard Doering (sixth from left).","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A magazine published by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States has received an international award for best journal design.\n\n\"World Order\" received the award from the Council of Editors of Learned Journals (CELJ) in recognition of new designs for its cover and interior that convey the magazine's multidisciplinary nature and its relevance to the twenty-first century.\n\nThe CELJ, whose membership is comprised of more than 450 journal editors, is a major international organization dedicated to appraising academic journals in the humanities.\n\n\"World Order\" managing editor Betty Fisher said the magazine, which has been published since 1966 and has an international readership, is devoted to consideration of the spiritual, moral, cultural, and social challenges confronting world society at a time when humanity must recognize its oneness and establish a global, just civilization.\n\n\"Through this new design, the editorial board hoped to convey a multidisciplinary approach to life, as well as a commitment to social engagement, open-mindedness, and intellectual curiosity,\" Dr. Fisher said.\n\n\"We wanted the design to reflect a publication that is thought-provoking but exciting, serious but engaging, innovative but accessible.\"\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In creating a new cover for the magazine, designer Richard Doering chose a mix of classic and progressive elements to convey a sense of stability and timelessness and included the words \"religion, society, polity, arts\" to emphasize the magazine's wide focus.\n\nThe page design was developed by Patrick Falso of Allegro Design, Inc., who has worked with \"World Order\" since 1991.\n\nCELJ Vice-President Jana Argersinger said the judges found that \"World Order\" had retained aspects of its original design that gave it a distinctive look -- such as the full-bleed photos that open each article -- and at the same time introduced improvements that lend it \"a more dynamic feeling in keeping with its multifaceted editorial purview.\"\n\nThe judges also commended the new single-column format, which allows for \"the graceful placement of asymmetrical pull quotes,\" and the upgraded paper and printing quality, which \"add to the crispness of the whole package,\" Dr. Argersinger said.\n\n\"'World Order's' new incarnation is the outstanding entrant in this year's contest for journals that have launched a new design over the last three years,\" she said.\n\nThe award, presented in Philadelphia on 27 December 2004, was accepted by Dr. Fisher and Mr. Doering on behalf of the design and editorial staff.\n\n\"World Order\" has published articles, editorials, and reviews on race and racism, the equality of men and women, human rights, the environment, the United Nations, spiritual approaches to economic problems, and interfaith dialogue. It also has a reputation for publishing poetry and photographs of high artistic merit.\n\nDr. Fisher said that although \"World Order\" is intended to provide a Baha'i perspective on topics of broad social concern, it also seeks submissions from individuals, regardless of their religious background, who are interested in exploring the relationships between contemporary life and contemporary religious teachings and philosophy.\n\nSubscriptions to \"World Order\" magazine are available through the Baha'i Distribution Service at 800-999-9019 or on the Web at [http://www.bahaibookstore.com](http://www.bahaibookstore.com) ."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431560-bwns5764-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The cover of \"World Order\" Volume 35, Number 2."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":348,"evergreenUrl":"thriving-community-builds-social-unity","title":"Thriving community builds social unity","description":"The jubilee festivities here were a major victory in the history of the Rwandan Baha'i community, a speaker told the participants at the celebrations....","date":"2005-02-02","customDateline":null,"city":"KIGALI","country":"RWANDA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431525-bwns5766-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431525-bwns5766-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Higiro Anastase, a brother of the first Bahá'í of Rwanda, Alphonse Semanyenzi, speaking at the Rwandan jubilee celebrations about historical events. Mr. Anastase is a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Rwanda, as is Hayede Parsa (left.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The jubilee festivities here were a major victory in the history of the Rwandan Baha'i community, a speaker told the participants at the celebrations.\n\nUzziel Mihembezo, one of the early Baha'is of Rwanda, said that the event was proof that despite the genocide in 1994, the Baha'i community continues to grow.\n\nMany Baha'is were among the 800,000 to perish during the violence, and many fled the country.\n\nHowever, the community is thriving, with 28 Local Spiritual Assemblies and Baha'is living in 106 localities.\n\nIn a congratulatory message to the Rwandan Baha'is on the occasion of the 50th anniversary celebrations, the Universal House of Justice wrote: \"We cannot help but marvel at the progress the Cause of God has made in that land and express our humble gratitude to Baha'u'llah for bestowing His healing Message upon the sorely tried peoples of that country.\"\n\nOne of the speakers at the festivities was a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, Ahmad Parsa.\n\n\"It is a great pleasure that many principles of the Baha'i Faith have been adopted by Rwandans in their struggle to recover from what happened in 1994,\" Mr. Parsa said.\n\nThrough moral and spiritual principles people can learn to avoid dissension and disunity and to create friendship and love, he said.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The official guest speaker at the festivities, Ndigabo Francois, a government official of Nyagisagara, praised the Baha'i community for its efforts to build unity and understanding between Rwandans of different ethnic background.\n\nThose efforts include a statement in March 2000 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Rwanda to the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation in which the Assembly urged that consideration be given to making the principle of the oneness of humanity the basis for reconciliation in the country.\n\n\"Baha'is believe that humankind has always constituted one species, but that prejudice, ignorance, power seeking, and egotism have prevented many people from recognizing and accepting this oneness,\" the National Spiritual Assembly wrote.\n\nThe jubilee celebrations began on 11 December 2004 in Kigali and continued the following day in the village of Nyagisagara, 100 kilometers from the capital city.\n\nThe 450 participants at the jubilee celebrations came from different regions of Rwanda, as well as from Burundi, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Zimbabwe.\n\nJournalists from eight newspapers and magazines and from the Rwanda National Radio and Radio Flash FM covered the event. The three main newspapers in the country -- one in French, one in English and one in Kinyarwanda -- published articles about the jubilee.\n\nBaha'i choirs and dance troupes from Cyangugu, Gatenga, Goma, and Kigali performed traditional and modern dances prompting the joyous participants to join them on the stage.\n\nDuring the event, master of ceremonies Jean Baptiste Habimana, a member of the Auxiliary Board,  described the current activities of the Rwandan Baha'i community, emphasizing the regular children's classes, prayer gatherings, and study circles, all of which are open to the public.\n\nIn the Kigali region, for example, there are now eight children's classes, 13 prayer gatherings, and 20 study circles.\n\nAmong those recounting stories to the gathering about the early days of the Baha'i community were Kitoko Mangili, now the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly, Uzziel Mihembezo, and Isaac Ngwijebose.\n\nFrequently mentioned in such reminiscences were the first Rwandan Baha'i, the late Alphonse Semanyenzi, and a medical doctor, Dr. Ataollah Taaid, who came with his wife, Zahereh, to assist in the development of the Baha'i community.\n\nAfter becoming a Baha'i, Mr. Semanyenzi worked at Dr. Taaid's clinic in Kigali. In 1972 he was elected to the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Rwanda. He also served as an interpreter during the visits in 1972 and 1973 by Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani, a Hand of the Cause of God.\n\nMr. Semanyenzi's brother, Higiro Anastase, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Rwanda, told the participants about the time when the Taaid family first arrived in Rwanda in 1966.\n\nMr. Anastase said that while Dr. Taaid worked at the clinic, his wife, Zahareh, traveled the country to tell villagers about the Baha'i teachings. (Dr. and Mrs. Taaid, who now live in Belgium, were unable to attend the jubilee.)\n\nThe message of the Baha'i Faith was introduced to Rwanda (formerly part of Ruanda-Urundi) in 1953 by Mary Collison and Reginald (Rex) Collison, a retired couple from the United States, and Dunduzu Chisiza, a young Baha'i, from Malawi (then Nyasaland).\n\nFor this service Mr. and Mrs. Collison and Mr. Chisiza received the accolade of Knight of Baha'u'llah from the then head of the Faith Shoghi Effendi."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431528-bwns5763-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Rwanda at the Baha'i International Convention, Baha'i World Centre, Haifa, Israel, 1998."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431528-bwns5762-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Babies sleep while mothers participate in a Baha'i institute at Kigali, Rwanda, 1997."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431527-bwns5761-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'i children's class in Rwanda...As is the case in the rest of the world, Baha'is welcome participation by the general public in study circles, devotional meetings, and children's classes."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431530-bwns5760-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The media took a keen interest in the jubilee festivities of the Baha'i community of Rwanda...Reporters listen to a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, Ahmad Parsa (fourth from left.)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431525-bwns5759-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Rwanda, Kitoko Mangili, recounted stories of the early days of the Baha'i community in that country to the participants in the Rwandan Baha'i jubilee celebrations."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431528-bwns5758-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Multicultural dance at the jubilee celebrations of the Baha'i community of Rwanda."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431531-bwns5757-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Traditional dance at the Rwandan Baha'i jubilee celebrations."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431532-bwns5756-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Listening intently...some of the participants in the Rwandan Baha'i jubilee celebrations."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431529-bwns5755-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants in the second day of the Rwandan Baha'i jubilee celebrations, held in Nyagisagara, 100 kilometres from the capital, Kigali."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431532-bwns5754-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Joy in action...a member of the Nyagisagara Baha'i choir at the jubilee celebrations of the Baha'i community of Rwanda."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431526-bwns5753-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dancers who performed at the Rwandan Baha'i jubilee festivities in Nyagisagara."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431526-bwns5752-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the Baha'i youth and children at the jubilee festivities of the Baha'i community of Rwanda."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431526-bwns5751-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Children from Gikondo singing at the jubilee of the Rwandan Baha'i community."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431525-bwns5750-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431533-bwns5749-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the first Baha'is of Rwanda at the jubilee festivities with a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, Ahmad Parsa (seventh from left.)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431527-bwns5748-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Master of ceremonies at the Rwandan Baha'i jubilee, Jean Baptiste Habimana,(right) with Hayede Parsa, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Rwanda."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431525-bwns5747-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"One of the early members of the Rwandan Baha'i community, Uzziel Mihembezo...He told the participants in the celebrations that the jubilee festivities were a major victory."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431532-bwns5746-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A traditional dance from Gatenga was one of the items that prompted joyous participants in the jubilee festivities of the Rwandan Baha'i community to join the performers on the stage"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":347,"evergreenUrl":"history-springs-life-scottish-stage","title":"History springs to life on Scottish stage","description":"Episodes from the early history of the Baha'i Faith in the West came to life through dramatic performances here this month. In the drawing room...","date":"2005-01-27","customDateline":null,"city":"EDINBURGH","country":"SCOTLAND","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431512-bwns5745-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431512-bwns5745-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In a dramatic peformance during a weekend of events marking the anniversary of the 1913 visit to Edinburgh of 'Abdu'l-Baha, actor Sarah Munro played a housemaid recalling her experience of meeting 'Abdu'l-Baha.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Episodes from the early history of the Baha'i Faith in the West came to life through dramatic performances here this month.\n\nIn the drawing room of an historic Edinburgh house once visited by Abdu'l-Baha, actor Sarah Munro played a housemaid recounting the experience of meeting Him.\n\nThe performance was part of a weekend of events that set in motion a process to acquire a new Baha'i center in the city as a venue for a wide range of activities, including the reception of distinguished visitors.\n\nEdinburgh's significance as a capital city has increased since the re-establishment in 1999 of the Scottish Parliament after an interval of almost 300 years.\n\nThe Universal House of Justice recently called for the establishment of a new center to replace the existing one, which is no longer suitable for the growing needs of the community.\n\nAn open weekend on 8-9 January 2005 attracted more than 250 visitors who journeyed to the Scottish capital for a weekend hosted by the local Baha'i community. The program featured performances, tours, displays, and information on the proposed new center.\n\nThe weekend's events coincided with the 92nd anniversary of the visit in 1913 by Abdu'l-Baha, Who was the leader of the Baha'i Faith from the death in 1892 of His father, the Faith's Founder, Baha'u'llah, until His own passing in 1921.\n\n'Abdu'l-Baha, then 68 years of age, had traveled to Edinburgh at the invitation of Jane Whyte, a prominent society figure in turn-of-the-century Scotland. Her husband, the Reverend Dr. Alexander Whyte was a leading figure in the Free Church of Scotland who had a broad-minded approach to religion and a desire to overcome sectarianism in the church.\n\nMrs. Whyte had visited 'Abdu'l-Baha with a Baha'i friend in 1905, when He was still a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire in the Holy Land.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"On her return to Scotland, Mrs. Whyte told many groups and societies about the Baha'i teachings and hosted the first Baha'i meetings in Scotland in her own home.\n\nWith the Young Turk Revolution in 1908, 'Abdu'l-Baha was freed after more than 50 years of exile and imprisonment, and so could travel to the West to proclaim His father's teachings.\n\n'Abdu'l-Baha arrived in Edinburgh on 6 January 1913 and stayed at the Whytes' residence at 7 Charlotte Square.\n\nHe told a gathering there of prominent women that they must educate and prepare themselves for great responsibility in the years to come.\n\nDuring the anniversary of His stay, visitors were taken in groups to the house that had been the Whytes' residence.\n\nThe house is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is preserved as a fine example of a family home from the Georgian era.\n\nNormally closed to the public during the winter months, the Trust opened the house for the Baha'i visitors during the weekend -- and its own staff was on hand as guides.\n\nOn display in its rooms were precious archival items including clothing and documents belonging to 'Abdu'l-Baha that had been loaned by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom.\n\nAmong other highlights of the weekend was a performance by a Baha'i choir in the High Kirk of St Giles where 'Abdu'l-Baha had attended a performance of Handel's oratorio Messiah, held in aid of the city's poor.\n\nFor singer Maureen Hunter-Merrick, a Baha'i from Edinburgh, the performance was the spiritual highpoint of the weekend.\n\n\"We were all very moved at being able to sing in the cathedral where Abdu'l-Baha had been,\" she said.\n\n\"We chose a selection of traditional songs, prayers in the Gaelic language and modern settings of Baha'i writings to try to capture the history and special nature of the place and 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit.\"\n\nA Scottish cultural evening attracted more than 100 Baha'is and their friends, who enjoyed a traditional ceilidh band and folk dancing.\n\nThe open weekend ended with a program held at the Freemason's Hall in George Street where 'Abdu'l-Baha had addressed a gathering of Esperantists.\n\nThe guests enjoyed a program of prayers and music, reflections by scholar Moojan Momen on the significance of 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit, and presentations on the fundraising campaign to acquire the new center.\n\nBaha'is throughout the United Kingdom have been organizing fund-raising events to finance the project. Baha'is do not accept financial donations from outside of the community's own membership.\n\n\"There is a strong awareness of the significance of 'Abdu'l-Baha's visit here,\" said John Parris, a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Edinburgh, which will own the new center.\n\n\"The Baha'is here are very enthusiastic about this project, and the possibility of being able to to carry forward the train of events which was set in motion during His visit,\" Dr. Parris said.\n\n(Report and photographs by Robert Weinberg.)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431512-bwns5744-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In Edinburgh's St. George's West Church, where Dr. Alexander Whyte once preached, viola player Carolyn Sparey-Fox entertained participants in the events marking the anniversary of the 1913 visit of Abdu'l-Baha."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431512-bwns5743-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The entrance to the Georgian House at 7 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, where Abdu'l-Baha stayed in 1913."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431512-bwns5742-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Jane Whyte, at whose home Abdu'l-Baha stayed in Edinburgh, was portrayed in a dramatic presentation by Scottish Baha'i Carrie Varjavandi."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431512-bwns5741-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants in the events marking the anniversary of the 1913 visit to Edinburgh by Abdu'l-Baha gathered on the steps of the house where he stayed. Photo by Rob Weinberg."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":346,"evergreenUrl":"two-reasons-festivities","title":"Two reasons for festivities","description":"The Baha'i community of this West African country had a double reason to celebrate last month. The first was the opening of a new national Baha'i...","date":"2005-01-23","customDateline":null,"city":"BANJUL","country":"GAMBIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431474-bwns5740-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431474-bwns5740-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants at the festivities in 2005 where the history of the Baha'i Faith in The Gambia was described.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Baha'i community of this West African country had a double reason to celebrate last month.\n\nThe first was the opening of a new national Baha'i center in the coastal town of Bakau, about 10 km from the capital.\n\nThe second reason for celebration was the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Baha'i Faith to the country.\n\nThe consecutive festivities were held 24-26 December 2004.\n\nAmong the more than 200 people attending the opening and dedication ceremony of the national center, held on 24 December 2004, were representatives of the Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, and Muslim communities.\n\nAlso present were the nation's solicitor-general, Raymond Sock, and Mrs. Sock; the headman (Alkalo) of Bakau, Alhaji Luntung Jaiteh; a representative of the local mayor of Kanifing municipality; business people; and other dignitaries.\n\nBaha'i participants came not only from The Gambia -- including remote areas -- but also from neighboring Senegal and from Mali, Mauritania, Guinea, and Guinea-Bissau, as well as other countries in Africa, Europe, North America, and Asia.\n\nEleven members of the Continental Boards of Counsellors attended part or all of the festivities.\n\nAn uplifting performance by the Dakar Baha'i choir opened the dedication ceremony, followed by the reading of messages from the National Spiritual Assembly and other Baha'i institutions and individuals around the world. Precious gifts from the beleaguered Baha'i community in Iran were presented and gratefully received.\n\nThe keynote speaker, Wendi Momen, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United Kingdom, told the gathering that the Baha'i Faith was centered on a profound understanding of the interconnectedness of all people and all countries.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"Baha'is believe that by developing our spiritual nature, by acquiring those virtues and personal values that are truly reflections of the divine -- individuals are better placed to work with others to create communities and a world that is peaceful, just, prosperous, and united,\" said Dr. Momen, who first came to The Gambia in 1976 as a doctoral researcher.\n\nThe ceremony continued with a performance by Les Etincelles, a Baha'i dance troupe from Dakar. That was followed by displays of books and historical photographs and then a celebratory dinner.\n\nThe center will provide a venue for administrative and devotional meetings, study circles, children's classes, and social and economic development programs, such as free computer lessons for the public.\n\nThe program for the jubilee celebrations, which began on 25 December 2004, opened with performances on the balafon (African xylophone). The history of the Faith in The Gambia was told in both the Wolof and English languages. Then the Gambian Baha'i choir, The Nightingales of Gambia, made a dramatic entrance to the venue complete with drumming and songs.\n\nThe story of the introduction of the Baha'i Faith to The Gambia, by Fariborz Ruzbehyan, came from his grandson, Iraj Sarvian, who traveled to The Gambia from the United States for the jubilee celebrations.\n\nMr. Ruzbehyan arrived in The Gambia on 19 February 1954. For that service, Shoghi Effendi bestowed upon him the accolade of Knight of Baha'u'llah.\n\nShortly after his arrival, suffering greatly from asthma and fever, Mr. Ruzbehyan had to be admitted to a hospital but his seeming misfortune turned into delight when he was able to introduce the Faith to a fellow patient, Nelson Ethan Thomas, who soon became the first indigenous Baha'i.\n\nDuring his two years in The Gambia, Mr. Ruzbehyan saw 300 people accept the Baha'i teachings, and he helped with the elections of six Local Spiritual Assemblies. He returned briefly in 1957 and purchased a house in Serkeunda to serve as a Baha'i center.\n\nOther historical accounts at the festivities came from Baha'is who had left other countries to settle in The Gambia, and from Baha'is who had visited as travelling teachers of the Faith.\n\nThey recalled the dedicated service of many Baha'is who had since died, and also recounted many anecdotes of their experiences.\n\nAmong the Baha'is recalled with great affection was a dedicated pioneer from Ghana, Yaw Asare, who served on the National Spiritual Assembly and passed away in a tragic accident in 1992.\n\nThe first Gambian woman to be elected to the National Spiritual Assembly, Ramatoulie Dem, was warmly remembered by her granddaughter and namesake.\n\nOthers who were spoken of with great admiration included Baha'i teachers and administrators Shala Ardekani-Neyestani, Muhammad Djalali, Rose Camara, and Inayatullah Fananapazir.\n\nStories were also told of the inspiring visits of Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani and other Hands of the Cause of God, including Musa Banani, Enoch Olinga and Rahmatullah Muhajir.\n\nThe program on 26 December 2004 began with the reciting of prayers and verses by Baha'i children from Lamin Village.\n\nThe keynote speaker, prominent Baha'i author Moojan Momen, who had served the Faith in The Gambia as a youth in 1968, addressed the participants.\n\n\"In the past, revolutions and social upheavals really only changed the few people at the top and left the masses at the bottom,\" Dr. Momen said.\n\n\"In this day, a truly extraordinary change enunciated by Baha'u'llah is in the process of being realized. This change puts the affairs of the people in the hands of the people.\n\n\"It is an empowerment that requires great changes in the traditions, thinking, and acting of the people.  It is not something that will occur suddenly; rather it is a gradual but inevitable process.\"\n\nMembers of the Continental Board of Counsellors, Beatrice Asare of Ghana and Tessema Asfaw of Ethiopia, also addressed the gathering.\n\nThe joyous celebrations concluded with a picnic at Sanyang Beach."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431479-bwns5739-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Residents of the village of new Yundun in The Gambia with visiting Baha'is from Canada and the United States, who were contributing to children's classes and literacy classes. 1993."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431480-bwns5738-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Members of a Baha'i children's class in Lamin village, The Gambia, celebrating the anniversary of the birth of Baha'u'llah. 1997."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431476-bwns5737-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Members of the Quddus football team, organized by the national youth committee of the Baha'is of The Gambia. 1997."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431477-bwns5736-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A participant in free computer lessons for the public, a social and economic development program offered by the Baha'is of The Gambia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431474-bwns5735-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A participant in free computer lessons for the public, a social and economic development program offered by the Baha'is of The Gambia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431475-bwns5734-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A participant in free computer lessons for the public, a social and economic development program offered by the Baha'is of The Gambia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431478-bwns5733-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'i children at a recent Naw-Ruz (New Year) gathering in The Gambia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431475-bwns5732-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Hand of the Cause of God Rahmatullah Muhajir (fourth from left) with some Baha'is of The Gambia during a visit he made to the country."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431477-bwns5731-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In The Gambia in 1971, the Hand of the Cause of God Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani (third from left), actively assisted in the election of village Spiritual Assemblies. She is pictured here at the National Convention of Upper West Africa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431477-bwns5730-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants at a meeting of the Continental Board of Counsellors held immediately following the jubilee."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431475-bwns5729-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Deep in conversation...Baha'i participants at the festivities in Bakau."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431476-bwns5728-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants at the festivities in The Gambia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431477-bwns5727-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Les Etincelles, a Baha'i dance troupe from Dakar, Senegal, performing at the opening of the new Baha'i center in Bakau, The Gambia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431478-bwns5726-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'i choir members from The Gambia and Senegal at the jubilee festivities in The Gambia with a jubilee participant, Aqdas Rezvani (in blue gown)."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431480-bwns5725-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'i guests from Mauritania at the jubilee festivities.(Left to right) Cheikh Ould Wally, Mohamed Limay, and Douda Ndaye."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431474-bwns5724-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"One of the speakers at the festivities, Mrs. Wanjiku Kajira-Kargbo."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431479-bwns5723-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants at the celebrations marking the opening of the new Baha'i center in Bakau, The Gambia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431478-bwns5722-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some members of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa during the Baha'i jubilee festivities in The Gambia. (Left to right) Ibrahim Galadima, Tiati a Zock, Clement Thyrrell Feizoure, and Beatrice Asare."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431474-bwns5721-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431478-bwns5720-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Baha'i center in Bakau, The Gambia, during the opening festivities, December 2004."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431484-bwns5719-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The person who introduced the Baha'i Faith to The Gambia, Fariborz Ruzbehyan, (left) is pictured with the first Gambian Baha'i, Nelson Ethan Thomas (right), and Mavis Nymon, who brought the Faith to Togo. 1956."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431478-bwns5718-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants at the festivities held to celebrate the golden jubilee of the Baha'i Faith in The Gambia and the opening of a new Baha'i center in Bakau."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431475-bwns5716-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Drumming was a feature of the festivities marking the opening of a new Baha'i center in The Gambia and the 50th anniversary of the arrival of the Faith in the country. (Left to right) Bakary Bojang and Karamu Badjie, both of The Gambia."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":345,"evergreenUrl":"by-election-two-members-universal-house-justice","title":"By-election for two members of Universal House of Justice","description":"In a letter dispatched to all National Spiritual Assemblies, the Universal House of Justice announced its approval of requests by two of its...","date":"2005-01-19","customDateline":null,"city":"HAIFA","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In a letter dispatched to all National Spiritual Assemblies, the Universal House of Justice announced its approval of requests by two of its members, Mr Douglas Martin and Mr Ian Semple, for permission to relinquish their membership on the Body owing to considerations of age and the related needs of the Faith.\n\nThey will continue to serve on the House of Justice until a by-election to replace them is completed.  The results of the by-election will be announced at Naw-Ruz (21 March 2005)."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":344,"evergreenUrl":"distinguished-visitors-praise-bahai-temple","title":"Distinguished visitors praise Baha'i Temple","description":"Prominent international visitors to the Baha'i House of Worship here recently expressed their admiration of the Temple that attracts more than...","date":"2005-01-12","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW DELHI","country":"INDIA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431459-bwns5715-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431459-bwns5715-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The official party during a visit to the Baha'i Temple in India in November 2004.(From left to right): The secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, Farida Vahedi, the ambassador of Romania to India, Vasile Sofineti, Mrs. Sofineti, Prince Radu von Hohenzollern-Veringen, Crown Princess Margareta of Romania, Temple architect Fariborz Sahba, Temple public relations general manager Shatrughun Jiwnani.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Prominent international visitors to the Baha'i House of Worship here recently expressed their admiration of the Temple that attracts more than three and a half million visitors each year.\n\nCrown Princess Margareta of Romania and her husband, Prince Radu von Hohenzollern-Veringen, attended a prayer service at the Temple on 14 November 2004.\n\nOn 13 December 2004 the First Lady of the Slovak Republic, Silvia Gasparovicova, attended a similar service at the House of Worship.\n\nPrincess Margareta and her husband were welcomed at the House of Worship by the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, Farida Vahedi, and by the architect of the Temple, Fariborz Sahba, who explained features of the building.\n\nThe couple was accompanied on their visit by the ambassador of Romania to India, Vasile Sofineti, and Mrs. Sofineti.\n\nFollowing a service, which included prayers from some of the major religions, the guests proceeded to the nearby information center where they viewed an exhibition about the Baha'i Faith.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The Princess expressed delight at finding on display photographs of her great-grand-mother, Queen Marie of Romania (1875-1938), who was the first monarch to become a Baha'i.\n\nThe exhibit also included the letter of Queen Marie addressed to Shoghi Effendi, the then head of the Faith, in which she declared her belief in the Baha'i teachings.\n\nAfterwards the Princess wrote in the visitors' book that her visit had been an \"uplifting and moving experience\" and that it made \"the connection between generations, like a rainbow of hope, affection and peace, love, and faith.\"\n\n\"To see here the photographs of my great-grandmother, Queen Marie of Romania, and to feel her spirit is a blessing,\" she wrote.\n\nA month later, the First Lady of the Slovak Republic, Silvia Gasparovicova, was greeted upon her arrival at the Temple by a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors for Asia, Zena Sorabjee.\n\nMs. Gasparovicova attended a prayer service at the House of Worship accompanied by the wife of the ambassador of the Slovak Republic to India, Edita Ilascik, and the wife of the ambassador of India to the Slovak Republic, Radhika Lokesh.\n\nThe First Lady later wrote in the visitors' book, remarking on the \"very beautiful and wonderful atmosphere in this religious building.\"\n\nAmong many other prominent visitors to the Temple, which was opened in 1986, have been the president of India, the prime ministers of Norway and Sri Lanka, the president of Iceland, the vice-president of Uruguay, and the Dalai Lama.\n\nKnown in India as the Lotus Temple, it is one of the most visited buildings in the world and has won numerous architectural and engineering awards.\n\nIt is designed in the shape of a lotus flower, which is beloved in India as a symbol of purity and tenderness -- and of God's Messengers.\n\nThe Temple is one of seven Baha'i Houses of Worship in the world. The others are in Australia, Germany, Panama, Uganda, the United States, and Samoa. Another is to be built in Chile.\n\nEach temple has its own distinctive design that incorporates common elements such as a dome and nine entrances, which are symbolic both of the great religions through which humans have gained knowledge of God and of the diversity of the human race and its essential oneness.\n\n(For more information on the Lotus Temple see https://news.bahai.org/story/89/)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431460-bwns5714-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"More than 3.5 million people a year visit the Baha'i House of Worship in India, making it one of the most visited buildings in the world. Photo by Nikolai Werner."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431459-bwns5713-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The First Lady of the Slovak Republic, Silvia Gasparovicova, wrote in the visitors' book at the Baha'i Temple in India, remarking on the \"very beautiful and wonderful atmosphere in this religious building.\""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431460-bwns5712-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"During her visit to the Baha'i Temple in India, Crown Princess Margareta of Romania viewed an exhibition devoted to her great-grand-mother, Queen Marie of Romania (1875-1938), the first monarch to become a Baha'i."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431460-bwns5711-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Baha'i House of Worship, New Delhi, India. Photo by George Day."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"houses_of_worship"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":343,"evergreenUrl":"spiritual-solace-recovering-land","title":"Spiritual solace in a recovering land","description":"In a country that has endured many years of harrowing conflicts, members of the Baha'i community have found an occasion to celebrate. The golden...","date":"2005-01-02","customDateline":null,"city":"BUJUMBURA","country":"BURUNDI","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431436-bwns5710-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431436-bwns5710-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Reginald (Rex) Collison (1884-1983), a Knight of Baha'u'llah to Ruanda-Urundi (now the independent countries of Rwanda and Burundi).","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In a country that has endured many years of harrowing conflicts, members of the Baha'i community have found an occasion to celebrate.\n\nThe golden jubilee of the establishment of the Faith in the country was a time to reflect on principles of unity that show a way out of the difficulties that have saddened Burundi in recent times.\n\nThe country has suffered terribly from the sustained violence that erupted in 1993.\n\nBaha'is have been among those killed during the fighting, and many others have fled to neighboring countries.\n\nThe community suffered in other ways, such as the destruction of regional Baha'i centers in Bubanza, Carama, and Cibitoke.\n\nDespite the difficulties, the Baha'is of Burundi have been active in organizing prayer gatherings, children's classes, and study circles. They have opened these activities to the wider public, providing participants with spiritual solace, a respite from their sorrows, and a vision of a united, peaceful future.\n\nIn a message to the Baha'is of Burundi on the occasion of the jubilee, the Universal House of Justice expressed its wish that \"this historic gathering may be a source of inspiration to the friends as they endeavor to further advance the Cause of God in Burundi.\"\n\nOther congratulatory messages arrived from a former member of the Universal House of Justice, Mr. Ali Nakhjavani, and his wife, Violette, and from the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"During the celebrations, held at the national Baha'i center in Nyakabiga, Bujumbura, on 27-28 August 2004, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, Ahmad Parsa, spoke about the important role the Burundi Baha'i community has played in this region.\n\n\"Despite all the difficulties in Burundi, the Baha'is could keep their ideals and continue working for all the people of the country without any distinction,\" Mr. Parsa said.\n\n\"People are often looking for material assistance that will help the country to come out of its problems,\" he said.\n\n\"In reality the biggest need is education to a new and spiritual mentality that will assist the people to understand that they are members of the same family -- this is what the Baha'is have done and are doing in Burundi,\" he said.\n\nMr. Parsa said many residents of Burundi who were originally from Rwanda and the Congo region became Baha'is in Burundi and then returned to their homelands where they have contributed to the Baha'i communities and wider societies there.\n\nThe jubilee gathering was a time to hear about the history of the Faith in the country.\n\nThe Faith came to Burundi in 1953 when Mary and Reginald (Rex) Collison from the United States and Dunduzu Chisiza, a young Baha'i from Malawi (then Nyasaland), arrived in Ruanda-Urundi (now the independent countries of Rwanda and Burundi).\n\nThe Collisons, a retired couple, had previously rendered many services in their Baha'i community in New York, through extensive travels in the United States, and in Uganda.\n\nMr. Chisiza was their interpreter in Ruanda-Urundi. Government policies required the Collisons and Mr. Chisiza to leave the country some 18 months after their arrival but by the time of their departure, there were about 20 Baha'is in the country. The first person to accept the Baha'i teachings there was Selemani Bin Kimbulu, of Congolese origin from Bukavu.\n\nFor establishing the Baha'i community in Ruanda-Urundi, the head of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi, awarded Mr. and Mrs. Collison and Mr. Chisiza the accolade of Knight of Baha'u'llah.\n\nAt the jubilee celebrations, one of the first Baha'is of Burundi, Fidele Simwakira, 75, spoke about his recollections of the early days of the Faith in the country.\n\nMr. Bin Kimbulu, the county's first Baha'i, who now lives in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was unable to attend the festivities because the border was closed. However, his grandson, Sylvestre Kitenge, was present as a member of the choir that entertained jubilee participants.\n\nOthers who addressed the jubilee gathering about the history of the community were Zuruzuru Ezekiel, Barbara and David Sunstrum, and Jean Baptiste Habimana.\n\nJubilee participants also enjoyed some artistic presentations. A member of the Baha'i community recited some of his poetry on peace and presented a sketch about the principle of unity, and a group from Kinama performed traditional dances."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431436-bwns5709-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Mary Collison (1892-1970), a Knight of Baha'u'llah to Ruanda-Urundi (now the independent countries of Rwanda and Burundi)."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431438-bwns5708-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Members of the National Women's Committee of the Baha'i community of Burundi visiting Baha'is in Kinama, Bujumbura, 1992."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431435-bwns5707-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the first Baha'is of Burundi with Mary Collison (front, center) and Reginald (Rex) Collison (standing, right), two of the three who introduced the Baha'i Faith to the country."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431435-bwns5706-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Eight members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Burundi, 1982."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431435-bwns5705-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Eight members of the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Burundi, 1972."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431435-bwns5704-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The first Baha'i of Burundi, Selemani Bin Kimbulu (standing left), with other Baha'is including Mary Collison (front, left) and Reginald (Rex) Collison (front, right), two of the three who introduced the Faith to the country."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431436-bwns5703-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Musicians performing at the golden jubilee of the Baha'i community of Burundi."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431436-bwns5702-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the children attending the jubilee celebrations of the Baha'i community of Burundi."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431436-bwns5701-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"At the jubilee celebrations in Burundi, one of the first Baha'is of the country, Fidele Simwakira (second from left), spoke about the early days."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431438-bwns5700-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A dance troupe that performed at the jubilee celebrations of the Baha'i community of Burundi."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431435-bwns5699-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431436-bwns5698-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Baha'i Faith was introduced to Ruanda-Urundi (now the independent countries of Rwanda and Burundi) in 1953 by (from left to right) Dunduzu Chisiza and Mary and Reginald (Rex) Collison."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431436-bwns5697-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The role that the Burundi Baha'i community has played in the country was the topic of an address by a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Africa, Ahmad Parsa (standing right), at the community's golden jubilee celebrations."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431436-bwns5696-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants at the golden jubilee of the Baha'i community of Burundi."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":342,"evergreenUrl":"teacher-appreciation-days-held-canada-australia","title":"Teacher appreciation days held in Canada and Australia","description":"Baha'i communities across Canada and Australia paid respect to the teaching profession at events that marked World Teachers' Day. The role of...","date":"2004-12-23","customDateline":null,"city":"MILL BAY","country":"CANADA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431423-bwns5695-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431423-bwns5695-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"Baha'i communities across Canada and Australia paid respect to the teaching profession at events that marked World Teachers' Day.\n\nThe role of the educator is given prime importance in the Baha'i Faith, and Baha'i communities in various countries have been active supporters of the occasion, which was initiated by UNESCO in 1993 and is observed internationally in October.\n\nIn Mill Bay, British Columbia, Canada, teachers at five schools received a framed quotation from the Baha'i writings that indicate the importance of teachers: \"The education and training of children is among the most meritorious acts of humankind.\"\n\nBaha'is also presented the teachers with gifts of homemade fudge and plant arrangements.\n\nAcross the country, the Baha'is of Richmond Hill, Ontario organized a teacher appreciation event on 23 October 2004 that included a dinner and show at a local community center.\n\n\"Our teachers don't have lucrative corporate bonuses, commissions, or large salaries,\" said Bahador Derakhshani, one of the organizers.\n\n\"Yet their work is so critical in shaping the minds and soul of every future mother, father, doctor, lawyer, engineer, executive.\"\n\nThe dance academy of a nearby Baha'i-inspired school in Stratford, Ontario, Nancy Campbell Collegiate, performed dances that depicted topics such as unity and the elimination of racial and social prejudice.\n\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The principal of the school, Cora McNamara, addressed the gathering on the importance of the role of teachers.\n\nOrganizers of teacher appreciation events in Australia reported some teachers saying that it was the first time in their careers that they had received such recognition and appreciation for their efforts.\n\nEvents were held in Australia, in such places as Cairns, Darwin, Melbourne, Hobart, and Perth.\n\nIn Melbourne, teachers, school principals, a local mayor, and members of parliament gathered at a dinner and presentation ceremony for teachers.\n\nThe Victorian state parliamentary secretary for education, Liz Beattie, was the keynote speaker for the evening.\n\n\"I commend the Manningham Baha'i community for hosting this dinner to pay tribute to teachers,\" Mrs. Beattie said.\n\n\"They are not always given the generosity and the credit that they deserve,\" she said.\n\nMrs. Beattie encouraged the audience to reflect on the effect that their own teachers had made on their lives.\n\n\"It is important that as a community we acknowledge not only the dedication of teachers but also their professionalism,\" she said.\n\nNational Baha'i education officer Kath Podger also addressed the gathering.\n\n\"The Baha'i Faith teaches that our true reality is spiritual, rather than physical and that one of the attributes of man is his nobility,\" said Ms. Podger, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia.\n\nReferring to the responsibility of educators in light of this understanding, she said it is their responsibility to \"assist the child to develop and take ownership for their own spiritual progress.\"\n\nMrs. Beattie presented six school principals with books for the school library and 80 schoolteachers with certificates of appreciation.\n\nMs. Podger presented certificates of appreciation to 15 volunteer teachers of Baha'i children's classes.\n\nThe certificates included the quote from the Baha'i writings that Mrs. Beattie had referred to in her speech: \"The education of children is as the work of a loving gardener who tends his young plants in the flowering fields. The question of goodly character is of first importance.\"\n\nAustralian Baha'is also organized morning teas, dinners, and presentations at school assemblies.\n\nIn the weeks leading up to teacher appreciation events in Australia, children attending Baha'i religious education classes in government schools and after school Baha'i education classes, showed appreciation to their teachers for the contribution they made to their lives."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431423-bwns5694-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Australian national Baha'i education officer Kath Podger (front left), Victorian state parliamentary secretary for education Liz Beattie (front right), with participants at the appreciation event in Manningham."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431423-bwns5693-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Victorian state parliamentary secretary for education, Liz Beattie (right), presents a gift to Rose Walthers, the assistant principal of Bulleen Heights School in Manningham, Australia, at a teacher appreciation event organized by the local Baha'i community."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431423-bwns5692-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Cora McNamara, the principal of Nancy Campbell Collegiate, speaking about the importance of the role of teachers to a teacher appreciation gathering in Ontario, Canada."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431423-bwns5691-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Members of the Dance Academy of Nancy Campbell Collegiate, who performed at a teacher appreciation event organized by the Baha'is of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada. At left is the academy's coordinator, Leslie Switzer."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":341,"evergreenUrl":"un-expresses-concern-about-irans-bahais","title":"UN expresses concern about Iran's Baha'is","description":"For the 17th time since 1985, the United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution expressing \"serious concern\" over the human rights...","date":"2004-12-22","customDateline":null,"city":"NEW YORK","country":"","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1687959778-bwns-default-missing-image-endslate-still-8-1-1.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"For the 17th time since 1985, the United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution expressing \"serious concern\" over the human rights situation in Iran, making specific mention of the ongoing persecution of the Baha'i community there.\n\nThe resolution, introduced by Canada, passed by a vote of 71 to 54 on 20 December 2004. It called on Iran to \"eliminate all forms of discrimination based on religious grounds\" and took note of the recent upsurge of human rights violations against the Baha'is of Iran.\n\nSpecifically, the resolution noted the \"continuing discrimination against persons belonging to minorities, including Christians, Jews, and Sunnis, and the increased discrimination against the Baha'is, including cases of arbitrary arrest and detention, the denial of free worship or of publicly carrying out communal affairs, the disregard of property rights, the destruction of sites of religious importance, the suspension of social, educational, and community-related activities, and the denial of access to higher education, employment, pensions, and other benefits.\"\n\nBani Dugal, principal representative of the Baha'i International Community to the United Nations, said that the worldwide Baha'i community is thankful for the support of the international community of nations.\n\n\"As noted by the resolution, the situation for Baha'is has been worsening this year, and expressions of concern by the international community such as this remain the chief means of protection for Iran's beleaguered Baha'i community,\" said Ms. Dugal."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"defence"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":339,"evergreenUrl":"attractive-center-holds-fond-memories","title":"Attractive center holds fond memories","description":"A Western-style villa with an oriental flavor and a beautiful garden attracts the attention of passers-by here but its significance is much more...","date":"2004-12-16","customDateline":null,"city":"TAINAN","country":"TAIWAN","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431404-bwns5690-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431404-bwns5690-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Part of the garden of the Baha'i Center in Tainan, Taiwan.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A Western-style villa with an oriental flavor and a beautiful garden attracts the attention of passers-by here but its significance is much more than that of a tourist attraction.\n\nOriginally the home of prominent early members of the Baha'i Faith in this former capital of Taiwan, the building now serves as the center for a thriving Baha'i community here.\n\nA joyous event held 22-24 October 2004 marked the 50th anniversary of the arrival in Taiwan of Suleiman and Ridvaniyyih Suleimani, a Persian married couple who heeded the call for volunteers to move to the island to support the fledgling Baha'i community here.\n\nThe Suleimanis arrived on 22 October 1954 when there were only 10 Baha'is on the island. They remained in Taiwan for the rest of their lives, stalwart members of the Baha'i community.\n\nFollowing in their footsteps over the decades Baha'is came from a range of countries to help local members of the Faith establish the Taiwanese Baha'i community.\n\nWhen the Suleimanis passed away, they bequeathed their home to the Faith.\n\nA spokesperson for the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Taiwan, Thomas Lee, said the Suleimanis gave their life, their time, and their property to the Baha'i community.\n\n\"They came to meet a goal, they stayed to live their life, and they died in their post-these are truly pioneers,\" Mr. Lee said."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"On 21 October 2004, a group of Baha'is held a prayer gathering at the port of Keelung, where the Suleimanis first arrived.\n\nThe next day more than 100 Baha'is from Taiwan, as well as guests from the United States, attended a morning devotional meeting at the Baha'i center where prayers and selections from the Baha'i writings were read, chanted, and sung. Musicians played the flute, guitar, and piano.\n\nThe afternoon session included reading of congratulatory messages from the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha'is of Canada, Hawaii, Hong Kong, and the United States. A representative of the city's mayoral office also attended to convey greetings to the participants.\n\nA video presentation featured excerpts from the diary kept by Mr. Suleimani. His great niece, Touran Javid, and her husband Farhang, also addressed the gathering.\n\nThen some Taiwanese Baha'is who remembered the pioneering couple shared stories and fond reminiscences. A special touch was the provision of banana bread baked to a recipe of Mrs. Suleimani, a treat greatly appreciated by Baha'is in Taiwan throughout the years.\n\nAfter a feast including Persian as well as Chinese dishes, there was a family fun night characterized by music, singing, dancing, stories, and laughter.\n\nThe next morning Baha'is gathered for prayers at the hilltop gravesite of Mr. and Mrs. Suleimani, who passed away in 1987 and 1981 respectively.\n\nMany Taiwanese Baha'is were involved in the planning, preparation, cleaning, cooking, and other contributions to the anniversary events, Mr. Lee said.\n\n\"Unity was one of the key factors in making this event a success,\" he said.\n\nThe Taiwanese Baha'i community organizes 20 regular children's classes, attracting some 200 children. They also organize study circles and devotional meetings open to the general public.\n\nSome 200 primary school children attend their moral education classes, a social and economic project of the Taiwanese Baha'i community."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431399-bwns5689-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants in a Baha'i children's class, Taiwan, 1988."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431405-bwns5688-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Members of the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Taiwan at the International Baha'i Convention, Baha'i World Centre, Haifa, Israel, 1998."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431399-bwns5687-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Touran Javid (right), a relative of the Suleimanis, addressing the anniversary gathering with the assistance of an interpreter."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431400-bwns5686-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'is at the graves of Mr. and Mrs. Suleimani after the anniversary prayer gathering, 2004."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431399-bwns5685-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431402-bwns5684-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Early members of the Taiwanese Baha'i community, Mr. Suleimani (left) and Mrs. Suleimani (center, front) with participants at a summer school on the island, 1961."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431399-bwns5683-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Entrance to the Baha'i center in Tainan, Taiwan."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431400-bwns5682-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants at a gathering at the port of Keelung commemorating the anniversary of the arrival in 1954 of early members of the Taiwanese Baha'i community, Mr. and Mrs. Suleimani. Photo by Thomas Lee."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":338,"evergreenUrl":"standing-up-justice-truth","title":"Standing up for justice and truth","description":"When she was just a girl, Elsie Austin (1908-2004) bravely stood up for justice and truth, and she never stopped doing so throughout her long...","date":"2004-12-05","customDateline":null,"city":"SAN ANTONIO","country":"","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431373-bwns5681-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431373-bwns5681-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Elsie Austin circa 1970. At left is Firuz Kazemzadeh, then a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"When she was just a girl, Elsie Austin (1908-2004) bravely stood up for justice and truth, and she never stopped doing so throughout her long life.\n\nOne of only two African-American children in her Cincinnati classroom, Elsie pointed out errors in a textbook that denigrated the role of Africans in world history.\n\nElsie then told her class about the many contributions made by Africans in producing works of great beauty from bronze, gold, and ivory.\n\n\"There was an electric silence,\" she said many years later. She recalled that her teacher had then agreed with her and described to the class the contributions made to the world by African-Americans.\n\nElsie Austin gained her initial motivation to stand up for principle from the example and teachings of her brave forebears such as her great-grandmother, who refused to be intimidated by the racist terror perpetrated against her by the Ku Klux Klan in her home state of Alabama.\n\nAfter Dr. Austin became a Baha'i in 1934, she gained life-transforming inspiration from accounts of the life of 'Abdu'l-Baha. She was confirmed in her Baha'i attitudes and beliefs by Hands of the Cause of God Dorothy Baker and Louis Gregory, an African-American.\n\nIn a 1998 lecture Dr. Austin said that Baha'is constitute a unique world community, one that is operating in every part of the world where there is tension, violence, and hatred."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"We are making a serious effort to pry human beings away from their alienating traditions, their comfortable ignorance, and their prejudice -- but we must try harder.\"\n\nDr. Austin never wavered in her own resolve to try harder, but rather redoubled her efforts over the decades.\n\nThe service rendered to humanity by Dr. Austin was so distinguished that, after her death in October 2004, the Universal House of Justice advised the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States to hold memorial gatherings throughout the Baha'i community in the United States and in the Baha'i House of Worship in Wilmette, Illinois. That event will be held on 11 December 2004. Another such gathering will be held in the Baha'i House of Worship in Uganda.\n\nDescribing her as a \"dearly loved, keen-sighted, stalwart promoter and defender of the Cause of God,\" the Universal House of Justice said \"the shining example of her sacrificial life will remain a source of inspiration to her fellow believers for generations to come.\"\n\nDr. Austin met the head of the faith, Shoghi Effendi, while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1953, and shortly afterwards earned the accolade from him of Knight of Baha'u'llah for introducing the Baha'i Faith to Morocco.\n\nShe was a member of the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha'is of the United States (1946-53) and North and West Africa (1953-58), and of Local Spiritual Assemblies in five countries -- the United States, Morocco, Nigeria, Kenya, and the Bahamas.\n\nShe was one of the first members of the Auxiliary Board, assisting the Hand of the Cause of God Musa Banani in that role for four years. She also served at the Baha'i World Centre in the Holy Land.\n\nDr. Austin recorded a series of firsts in the secular community. She was the first African-American woman to graduate from the University of Cincinnati's College of Law and the first to be appointed assistant attorney-general of the State of Ohio.\n\nAfter a legal career with several federal government agencies, she spent a decade in Africa as a Foreign Service officer, working in cultural and educational programs sponsored by the United States Information Agency, and initiating the first women's activities program of that organization in Africa.\n\nDr. Austin participated in many international women's conferences, including the 1975 International Women's Conference in Mexico City where she chaired the Baha'i delegation.\n\nIn such roles, as in her daily life, her natural dignity and grace, and her down-to-earth attitude won the hearts of those with whom she came into contact.\n\nCiting her determination, independence, honor, and justice, her longtime friend, Lecille Webster referred to her love of fine dining and her sense of humor.\n\nDuring one address Dr. Austin said, \"I have shortened this talk, lest it become like the mercy of God in that it endures forever and passes all understanding.\" And in a resume, Dr. Austin described her hobbies: \"Reading, writing, theater and anything else which stimulates the mind and does not involve drastic exercise.\"\n\nDr. Austin won a string of awards, including two honorary doctorates. A scholarship for law students from minority groups was named after her, and she served as national president of Delta Sigma Theta, a prestigious national US public service sorority.\n\nHer writings appeared in legal journals as well as in Baha'i magazines. One of her articles, later produced as a pamphlet, was about her mentor, Louis Gregory.\n\nMore than seven decades after she stood up for the truth in her classroom, Dr. Austin delivered a lecture in which she said that there are times when it is necessary to protest, not violently but with the courage to reject the false and the unjust.\n\n\"If we go about it with faith, with intelligent protest, standing up and demonstrating what the right attitude and motivation is for human progress, we can cause progress,\" she said.\n\n\"After all, the battle we face is essentially a spiritual battle to transform the souls and spirits of human beings, to empower them to express love and justice, and to develop a unity of conscience.\""}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431373-bwns5680-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Elsie Austin (wearing coat and holding frame, seated center) with women attending the first Baha'i Convention in Tunis, Tunisia. 1956."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431373-bwns5679-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"In esteemed company...Elsie Austin (at right of woman carrying umbrella) in a group of Baha'is including Hands of the Cause of God Tarazu'llah Samandari (wearing dark hat at right), Leroy Ioas (wearing jacket and tie, center), Zikrullah Khadem (at left of Mr. Ioas), Ali-Akbar Furutan (wearing spectacles, at right of Mr. Ioas). Hasan Balyuzi, later appointed a Hand of the Cause of God is at center, rear. Kampala, Uganda. 1953."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431373-bwns5678-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Dr. Elsie Austin."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431373-bwns5677-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Enoch Olinga, later to be appointed a Hand of the Cause of God (second left), and Elsie Austin (right) with other Baha'is at the African Intercontinental Baha'i Conference, Kampala, Uganda, 1953."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431373-bwns5676-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Elsie Austin (seated, left) with other members of the Baha'i community of Tangiers, Morocco. February 1954."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431375-bwns5675-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"From 1946-53 Elsie Austin was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States. From left to right: H. Borrah Kavelin, Mamie Seto, W. Kenneth Christian, Elsie Austin, Paul Haney, Edna True, Horace Holley, Dorothy Baker, Matthew Bullock. April 1953."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431373-bwns5674-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Elsie Austin (1908-2004)."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":337,"evergreenUrl":"royal-welcome-jubilee-gathering-samoa","title":"Royal welcome at jubilee gathering in Samoa","description":"A royal welcome greeted participants at the \"Waves of One Ocean\" conference that marked the 50th anniversary of the Baha'i Faith in Samoa and...","date":"2004-11-30","customDateline":null,"city":"APIA","country":"SAMOA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431322-bwns5673-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431322-bwns5673-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"A royal welcome greeted participants at the \"Waves of One Ocean\" conference that marked the 50th anniversary of the Baha'i Faith in Samoa and the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Baha'i House of Worship here.\n\nThe Head of State of Samoa, His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, said he extended his greetings with \"profound wonder and thanksgiving to our Heavenly Father.\"\n\n\"Many friends have joined together to help bring this precious Faith to its present stage of growth and it is always a source of great joy for me to meet Baha'is from around the world,\" said His Highness, who is a member of the Baha'i Faith.\n\nHis Highness made a special mention of the Baha'i Temple in Samoa in his message, which was read to participants at a jubilee banquet by his daughter, Susuga To'oa Tosi Malietoa, who is also a Baha'i.\n\n\"One victory stands out among the many accomplishments we are celebrating this week and that is the building of a magnificent House of Worship dedicated twenty years ago,\" he said.\n\nPresent at the banquet, held on 22 September 2004, were acting Prime Minister Fiame Mataafa Naomi, other cabinet ministers, the chief justice, members of the diplomatic corps, and representatives of Christian churches.\n\nAmong the 150 Baha'is present were Lilian Wyss-Ala'i, who introduced the Faith to Samoa in 1954, and Hossein Amanat, the architect of the House of Worship.\n\nThe evening began with the reading of a message from the Universal House of Justice by the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Samoa, Steven Percival."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"Your nation has won the everlasting distinction of being blessed by the presence of His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, the first reigning monarch to accept the Message of Baha'u'llah,\" the Universal House of Justice said.\n\n\"Members of the Samoan Baha'i community have made an important contribution to the advancement of the Faith in other parts of the region and have become distinguished for their energy, devotion, and vitality,\" the Universal House of Justice said.\n\nWelcoming the participants on behalf of the government of Samoa, acting Prime Minister Fiame Mataafa Naomi said she acknowledged with gratitude \"the continuous and unwavering service rendered by the Baha'i Faith to Samoa and its people for the last 50 years.\"\n\n\"You have demonstrated in words and deeds that religion is the real basis of civilized life, which includes peace building, promotion of human rights, equality of men and women, education, healthcare, and sustainable development,\" the acting Prime Minister said.\n\n\"May God continue to bless the house where mention of God hath been made, as well as the Universal House of Justice -- may His blessing be upon his Highness, the Head of State,\" she said.\n\nKeynote speakers at the banquet also included Han Ju Kim-Farley and her husband Robert, who both spoke on moral leadership and values-based governance.\n\nGroups and individual musicians from Samoa, Australia, the Cook Islands, Tonga, and New Zealand provided musical entertainment and the evening concluded with the graceful performance of a traditional dance by Saifale'upolu Tamasese, a Baha'i from Samoa.\n\nA concurrent event held that evening was addressed by one of the early Baha'is of Samoa, Sione Malifa, and entertained by a variety of musical groups.\n\nOn the following day, more than 400 Baha'is attended a reception at the private residence of His Highness, the Malietoa.\n\nAmong those present were members of the Continental Board of Counsellors Beatrice Benson and Heather Simpson, as well as representative of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Samoa, Australia, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Hawaii, New Zealand, and Tonga.\n\nA traditional gift-giving ceremony was held, and groups from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and Tonga performed.\n\nMrs. Wyss-Ala'i also performed a Samoan dance. His Highness called on the performers to come forward to thank them personally.\n\nLater, members of the National Spiritual Assembly, accompanied by other members of the  Baha'i community, presented traditional gifts to the government of Samoa represented by acting Prime Minister Fiame Naomi and other cabinet ministers, including Health Minister Siafausa Mulitalo Vui, who thanked the Baha'is for their contributions to the country.\n\nDuring a visit to the House of Worship at Tiapapata that same day, Baha'is from the Samoan islands of Savai'i and Upolu performed songs and dances that depicted the arrival of the Faith, the dedication of the Temple, and aspects of the Baha'i teachings.\n\nAmong gifts presented on that occasion was a traditional tapa cloth given by the Tongan Baha'is to Mrs. Wyss-Ala'i in memory of her late husband, Suhayl Ala'i, who served with great distinction in the region as a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors.\n\nThe Baha'is then visited the gravesites, located on the Temple property, of Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ugo Giachery and Mr. Ala'i. They also visited the Baha'i cemetery and the Baha'i Montessori school.\n\nAt the official opening ceremony of the conference, held 22-26 September 2004, the chairman of the National Spiritual, Assembly Titi Nofoagatoto'a, introduced Mrs. Wyss-Alai to some 600 Baha'i participants from 21 countries.\n\nMrs. Wyss-Ala'i was one of six of the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia and New Zealand to answer the call in 1953 from the head of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi, to take the Faith to countries where there were no Baha'is.\n\nThen single and aged 24, she arrived in Apia, Samoa in 1954. Her brother, Frank, introduced the Faith that year to the Cocos Island. For their service, Shoghi Effendi awarded both of them the accolade of Knight of Baha'u'llah. It was a rare event that two members of one family received such a high honor.\n\nMrs. Wyss-Ala'i, who continues to reside in American Samoa, delivered an emotionally moving address to the conference during which she read the names of the 24 Knights of Baha'u'llah, 15 of them women, who took the faith to the Pacific Islands.\n\nShe spoke of her admiration for the Samoan people, told historical anecdotes, and described visits by Hands of the Cause of God Ugo Giachery, Abu'l Qasim Faizi, and Enoch Olinga.\n\nDuring the past 50 years the Samoan Baha'i community has welcomed other distinguished Baha'i guests, among them Hands of the Cause of God Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani, Collis Featherstone, Rahmatu'llah Muhajir, John Robarts, and William Sears.\n\nOnce the only Baha'i in Samoa, Mrs. Wyss-Ala'i is a member of a Baha'i community that now includes 29 Local Spiritual Assemblies.\n\nThe following day, the prime minister of Samoa, Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, who was on official business at the United Nations in New York, sent a congratulatory message to the conference in which he said: \"May God bless you all and may you have a most successful celebration....\"\n\nParticipants in a session about Baha'i history heard addresses by members of the Continental Board of Counsellors, Beatrice Benson, Heather Simpson, and Fereidoun Yazdani, all of whom later participated in discussions about the continuing expansion of the faith.\n\nA devotional service dedicated to those Baha'i who brought the Faith to the Pacific was held at the Temple and featured choirs from Samoa, American Samoa, Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand. The architect of the House of Worship in Samoa, Mr. Amanat, delivered an address in the basement hall of the Temple.\n\nThe participants accepted an invitation by a member of one of the royal families of Samoa to Afeafe o Vaetoefaga, a place of historical and mythological significance.\n\n\"It is against this background of history that I formally associate my family with the 50th celebration of Baha'i in Samoa,\" said Tuiatua Tupua Tamasese, a former prime minister, and the cousin of Saialala Tamasese, one of the first local Baha'is.\n\nThat evening Samoan Baha'i youth dedicated a dramatic performance to the Baha'is of Iran, who have been suffering severe persecution for some 25 years. Other local and visiting groups also gave performances.\n\nOn 27 September many conference participants attended a joyous picnic at a local beach.\n\nThe festivities and conference received extensive coverage by national television, radio, and Samoan newspapers, published locally and abroad.\n\nBaha'is in Samoa have made significant contributions to the well-being of the Samoan people. There are five Baha'i pre-schools in Samoa -- two in Savai'i and three on Upolu.\n\nMembers of the Baha'i community have been active in human rights education and have also produced a television cooking show promoting nutritional recipes.\n\n(This story includes a slide show. See icon above.)\n\n(Jubilee photos by Sitarih Ala'i, Pouya Ehsani, Hylton Grigor, Steven Percival, John Walker.)"}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431313-bwns5672-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The interior of the dome of the Baha'i House of Worship in Samoa. Photo by Mark Wilkie."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431314-bwns5661-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Honored guests at the opening of the Baha'i Temple in Samoa in 1984: (left to right) Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani and, slightly behind, Mr. Collis Featherstone, both Hands of the Cause of God. His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II is seated at center next to his wife, Masiofo Lili Tuni Malietoa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431322-bwns5658-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"An aerial view of construction workers near the top of the dome, whose apex is 28 meters from the ground. (Circa 1982)."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431312-bwns5655-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Gina and Russ Garcia, Baha'is from New Zealand, at the jubilee. In 1968 the Garcias, originally from the United States, sailed in Samoa on their vessel, Dawnbreaker, with other Baha'is and introduced the Faith to many people."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431313-bwns5654-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Presentation of a gift from Baha'is in Australia being received at the jubilee by Fereidoun Yazdani (left), a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors, and Titi Nofoagatoto'a (right), the chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Samoa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431318-bwns5653-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The first Baha'i Local Spiritual Assembly in Samoa, 1957."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431313-bwns5652-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Samoa, 2002."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431313-bwns5651-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani (front row, left), a Hand of the Cause of God, listening to an address by the Head of State of Samoa, His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, in the Baha'i Temple during the dedication ceremony, 1984."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431318-bwns5650-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Madame Ruhiyyih Rabbani, a Hand of the Cause of God, (right) is greeted by the Head of State of Samoa, His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, and his wife, Masiofo Lili Tuni Malietoa, at the dedication of the Samoan Temple, 1984. At far left is Suhayl Ala'i, a member of the Continental Board of Counsellors."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431319-bwns5649-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Last resting place of a significant figure in the history of the Baha'i community of Samoa, Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ugo Giachery, in the grounds of the Baha'i House of Worship at Tiapapata, Samoa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431321-bwns5648-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"At the Temple site during construction in 1982...Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ugo Giachery (left) with an engineer on the project, John Land."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431313-bwns5647-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A member of the Continental Board of Counsellors, Suhayl Ala'i, with Baha'is from Sasina, Savai'i at the National Convention of the Baha'i of Samoa, April 1989."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431313-bwns5646-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Lilian Wyss-Ala'i (right) and her daughter, Sitarih Ala'i, at the jubilee festivities."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431313-bwns5645-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some participants at the Baha'i jubilee celebrations in Samoa. Back row (left to right) Enid Denton, Sam Ale, Karen Te'o. Front row (left to right) Afioa'e Ma'aelopa, John Walker, Peni Te'o."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431313-bwns5644-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Award-winning fire dancer, Hogan Toomalatai, performing at the Baha'i jubilee festivities in Samoa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431316-bwns5643-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Samoan men bearing torches during a jubilee reception at the residence of the Head of State."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431317-bwns5642-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Participants at the Baha'i anniversary celebrations in Samoa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431324-bwns5641-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Addressing the jubilee participants...Susuga To'oa Tosi Malietoa, a daughter of the Head of State and a member of the Baha'i Faith."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431312-bwns5640-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431311-bwns5639-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"At the 20th anniversary of the opening of the Baha'i House of Worship in Samoa...the Temple's architect, Hossein Amanat."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431313-bwns5638-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Beacon of unity in the midmost heart of the ocean...the Baha'i House of Worship in Samoa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431322-bwns5637-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Performers in traditional costume at the jubilee festivities in Samoa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431314-bwns5636-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A choir from American Samoa at the jubilee."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431320-bwns5635-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A Samoan dance being performed at the jubilee by Lilian Wyss-Ala'i, who introduced the Baha'i Faith to Samoa in 1954."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431323-bwns5634-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants at the jubilee festival in front of the Baha'i Temple in Tiapapata, Samoa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431314-bwns5633-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The Head of State of Samoa, His Highness Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II, at the jubilee with daughters Susuga To'oa Tosi Malietoa-Savusa (left) and Susuga Papali'i Momoe Malietoa-Von Reiche. Photo by Sitarih Ala'i."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431321-bwns5632-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Samoa, Mulipola Ale, speaking at the 50th jubilee of the Samoan Baha'i community and the 20th anniversary of the Baha'i House of Worship in Samoa."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[{"tagName":"houses_of_worship"}],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":336,"evergreenUrl":"holy-place-restored-open-pilgrims","title":"Holy place restored and open to pilgrims","description":"In the late 1860s, Baha'i pilgrims walked hundreds of kilometers from Persia through treacherous deserts to this ancient Mediterranean city in...","date":"2004-11-24","customDateline":null,"city":"ACRE","country":"ISRAEL","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431274-bwns5612-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431274-bwns5612-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Entrance to the restored cell of Baha'u'llah. (2004)","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"In the late 1860s, Baha'i pilgrims walked hundreds of kilometers from Persia through treacherous deserts to this ancient Mediterranean city in what is now northern Israel.\n\nTheir goal was to visit Baha'u'llah, the Founder of their Faith, Who was being held in a prison citadel after His banishment to Acre by the Ottoman authorities.\n\nA victim of patently false charges, Baha'u'llah was incarcerated there with His family and some of His followers on 31 August 1868.\n\nMany of the pilgrims who sought His presence were refused entry to the walled city of Acre let alone to its citadel. Instead, they waited at the outskirts of the city hoping for even a glimpse of Him.\n\nStanding at the outer moat of the citadel, they rejoiced when they saw Baha'u'llah wave to them through a window on the floor in which He was incarcerated.\n\nMerely to gaze, however briefly, upon that majestic prophetic figure, was for those pilgrims the most important moment of their lives.\n\nToday, thousands of Baha'i pilgrims enter the very cell that Baha'u'llah occupied, now a holy place for prayer and meditation.\n\nFor the past decade, however, visits to this holy place were suspended because of the need for extensive restoration and conservation work.\n"},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"After 15 years of negotiations, research, and planning, the restoration work began in 2003 and finished about a year later, in June 2004. Approved by government authorities keen to preserve the heritage of the site, the project was supervised and financed by the Baha'i World Centre.\n\nWith the new pilgrimage season (October-July) under way, Baha'is from all over the world visit the cell as part of a nine-day pilgrimage, the main purpose of which is to pray and meditate in the Shrine of Baha'u'llah just outside Acre, and in the Shrine of the Bab in Haifa.\n\nAs well as being a place of prayer and contemplation, the cell is a solemn reminder in stone that the imprisonment of Baha'u'llah holds a parallel to the injustices and sacrilegious cruelties inflicted on earlier Manifestations of God, the Holy Ones Who founded the world's great religions.\n\nThe cell and its environs were where He revealed some of His best-known works, including a proclamation of His divine mission to political and religious leaders.\n\nIt was there, too, that Baha'u'llah met with Badi, a young hero of the Faith who was later martyred when he traveled to Persia to present a message from Baha'u'llah to the Shah (Nasiri'd-Din Shah).\n\nFrom the moment of His imprisonment in Acre, this was a place of great suffering for Baha'u'llah. In June 1870, His agonies intensified when His 22-year-old son, Mirza Mihdi, fell through an unguarded skylight on to a crate below, receiving fatal injuries. A grieving Baha'u'llah revealed a prayer in which He offered up His son to God \"that Thy servants may be quickened, and all that dwell on earth be united.\"\n\nShortly after that tragic death, the Ottoman authorities decided the citadel was needed to house troops. Accordingly, in November 1870, after two years, two months and five days in the citadel, Baha'u'llah, His family, and followers were moved to house arrest within the walls of Acre.\n\n**Protection of a holy place**\n\nThe citadel has since remained under the control of successive civil administrations.\n\nBy the early 1990s, however, deterioration of the citadel had advanced to the point that the government of Israel decided conservation work was vital to preserve the entire structure. The site is also important to the state of Israel because of the imprisonment there of groups of Jewish activists during the years of the British Mandate.\n\nThe secretary-general of the Baha'i International Community, Albert Lincoln, said detailed negotiations with the Israeli authorities were conducted about the restoration and use of the upper floor of the northwest tower, the location of Baha'u'llah's cell and associated rooms.\n\n\"Ultimately, agreement was reached on a creative compromise under which the interior of the upper floor of the northwest tower would be restored to the situation that existed in 1920, and the exterior of the building to its condition in 1947,\" Mr. Lincoln said.\n\nThe time frames allow the interior of the site to resemble its appearance during the time of Baha'u'llah and the exterior to be as it was when the Jewish activists were imprisoned there, he said.\n\n**Research**\n\nBefore the restoration project began the Baha'i World Centre commissioned a study of the building site by the Architectural Heritage Center at the Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, the Technion, and consulted with a local authority on Ottoman architecture to ensure the historical integrity of the planned restoration.\n\nResearch determined that the Ottoman citadel had been built in stages during the 18th and 19th centuries and that the northwest tower is located on top of the remains of the Hospitaller quarter of the Knights Order of St. John, a crusader structure. In the Ottoman era the citadel housed the residences of locals rulers but later was used mainly as a military barracks.\n\nThe upper floor of the northwest tower of the complex where Baha'u'llah and His family were incarcerated was probably built about 1797, according to the Technion researchers. Architectural details, including some decorative panels, indicate that the rooms were intended for somebody of high rank, such as a military commander.\n\nHowever, at the time Baha'u'llah was confined there, the place was dilapidated. The roof had been constructed of wooden beams and rafters covered with rubble and low quality mortar. Dust and grit from the rubble rained through the rotten ceiling timbers into the rooms below. The living quarters were initially dirty and the water contaminated.\n\nResearchers, looking for descriptions of the cell and the living arrangements during the time of Baha'u'llah's incarceration, consulted contemporary reports, photographs, and accounts by Western Baha'i pilgrims who visited in the early years of the 20th century, as well as later historical records.\n\nBaha'u'llah's room in the southwest corner of the building was part of an apartment comprising six other rooms where members of His household stayed.\n\nThe outer section of this area included a verandah (above which was the skylight), a kitchen, latrines, a mezzanine, and a biruni -- a room Baha'u'llah used for receiving visitors. The eastern side faced the courtyard with three open arches bounded by pairs of columns serving as balcony openings (now filled in). Other Baha'is lived elsewhere in the citadel.\n\n**Later changes**\n\nResearchers believe that there were no significant changes to the upper floor until the 1920s, when the British undertook major renovations, replacing the roof and much of the paving.\n\nMore alterations were made in 1947 during a period when the British, who were using the citadel as a prison, made part of the upper floor into the prison infirmary.\n\nIn 1947, after an escape of prisoners elsewhere in the citadel, the British authorities changed the original frames of the doorways in the upper floor from stone arches to perpendicular concrete beams, and replaced the wooden doors and partitions with steel grilles.\n\n**Plans and photograph**\n\nIn preparing the restoration project, Baha'i experts consulted plans of the upper floor that had been made by the British administration before it undertook the alterations in the 1920s. The plans, found in local archives, documented how the floor was likely to have looked in the time of Baha'u'llah.\n\nThe solution to one important question came from another source. The British had replaced the roof from which Baha'u'llah's son, Mirza Mihdi, fell to his death. The location of the skylight was not indicated in the plans found in the archives and thus its exact historical location was uncertain.\n\nThe problem was solved in the 1990s with the retrieval from German aerial photographic archives in Munich of an aerial photograph taken of the citadel in 1917. The original roof, in which the skylight is clearly visible, was still in place when that photograph was taken.\n\nAs part of the structural reinforcement of the building carried out by the Israeli authorities before the start of the Baha'i restoration project, a new concrete roof was cast. It incorporated the historic skylight at the location indicated by the 1917 aerial photograph.\n\n**Restoration project**\n\nThe restoration project, planned under the supervision of the Universal House of Justice, began in 2003.\n\nTraditional materials were used to obtain as authentic a restoration as possible. For example, white plaster of the type used in the 19th century was applied in the many places where the original had peeled off.\n\n\"The idea was that we didn't want to make the project look too new, but at the same time not look artificially old,\" said Orang Yazdani, a Baha'i specialist in conservation architecture, who managed the project.\n\n\"It will look closer to what it was like in Baha'u'llah's time in five years -- as it gets older it will look more like that time,\" Mr. Yazdani said.\n\nThe restoration work involved installing new ceilings made of katrani timber, the dense and heavy wood used by the Ottoman builders.\n\nThe doorways were restored to the shape of an arch, and wooden doors in the original style were installed. Damage done by steel bars introduced by the British was remedied.\n\nIn the cell of Baha'u'llah, six lighting and storage niches that had been sealed off were re-opened. The floor was restored to its original type.\n\nIn Baha'u'llah's cell the windows now have horizontal bars as shown in early 20th century photographs. In the other windows the grid pattern used during the British mandate has been retained.\n\nThere was yet another challenge, Mr. Yazdani said.\n\n\"How do you deal with modern needs and requirements--especially safety -- in an historical building without it looking too out of place?\"\n\nThe solution involved using copper lanterns, discreet spot lighting, and smoke alarms tucked away. However, the cell of Baha'u'llah was exempted from such facilities owing to its sacred status.\n\nWith the restoration complete, Baha'i pilgrims will now have a more accurate understanding of the circumstances surrounding Baha'u'llah's imprisonment in a place where, despite such maltreatment, He was nonetheless able to further His Faith and teachings."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431289-bwns5629-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Restoration work under way in Baha'u'llah's cell."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431278-bwns5628-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The windows of the cell of Baha'u'llah during the restoration work."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431274-bwns5627-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The upper floor about the time the restoration project began. The grilles and square doorframes were installed in 1947."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431274-bwns5626-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431296-bwns5625-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A restored room near the cell of Baha'u'llah, Who waved to pilgrims from the window at right. (2004)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431277-bwns5624-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The original stone below the historic skylight. The stairs leading to the roof are at rear left. (2004)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431282-bwns5623-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Window from which Baha'u'llah waved to pilgrims. (2004)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431280-bwns5622-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Inside the cell of Baha'u'llah after the completion of its restoration. (2004)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431284-bwns5621-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Acre, 1917. The site of the citadel is the big compound at the center, bottom section of the city. (Photo from the German Aerial Photographic Archives, Munich.)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431274-bwns5620-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431276-bwns5619-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Windows of the cell of Baha'u'llah. (2004)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431283-bwns5618-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Windows of the cell of Baha'u'llah, upper right, in the prison citadel in Acre. (2004)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431280-bwns5617-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The interior of the cell of Baha'u'llah. (2004)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431275-bwns5616-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Skylight in the ceiling of the citadel and the uncovered stone at the place where Mirza Mihdi fell. In the background is the doorway that leads to rooms including the cell of Baha'u'llah. (2004)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431274-bwns5615-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431278-bwns5614-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"View of Acre, with the prison compound at right. (Etching by David Roberts, 1839)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431290-bwns5613-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The cell of Baha'u'llah. (Photo by Clarence Welsh, circa 1921)"},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431275-bwns5630-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"The rear wall of the floor containing Baha'u'llah's cell during restoration work. (2003)"}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":335,"evergreenUrl":"mountainous-country-marks-anniversary","title":"Mountainous country marks anniversary","description":"With great emotion, William Danjon Dieudonne read a prayer at celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Baha'i Faith...","date":"2004-11-18","customDateline":null,"city":"ANDORRA LA VELLA","country":"ANDORRA","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431254-bwns5611-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431254-bwns5611-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some participants in the jubilee enjoying the beautiful setting of the anniversary festivities in Andorra.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"With great emotion, William Danjon Dieudonne read a prayer at celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the introduction of the Baha'i Faith to this country.\n\nMr. Danjon, 80, read the prayer at jubilee festivities attended by Baha'is from Andorra, Spain, and France. Guests included representatives of Christian churches, the diplomatic corps, the Red Cross, and the media.\n\nAt a conference in Stockholm in August 1953, French-born Mr. Danjon decided to answer a call from the head of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi, to establish the Faith in countries where there were no Baha'is.\n\nWhen a keynote Baha'i speaker at the conference, the Hand of the Cause Dorothy Baker, asked for a Baha'i to settle in Andorra, Mr. Danjon volunteered.\n\nHe left his home in Denmark and arrived in this mountainous country between France and Spain on 7 October 1953.\n\nHe thereby became one of a unique group of volunteers who were responsible in just one decade (1953-1963) for more than doubling the number of countries where Baha'is were resident.\n\nFor Baha'is it was important that their Faith, whose principal teaching is the oneness of humanity, could offer its teachings in as many places as possible, whether the country was large or small.\n\nAmong the many countries settled by Baha'is in 1953 were Vanuatu and the Cook Islands in the Pacific, Cameroon and the Congo Republic in Africa, and Sicily in Europe."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"The head of the Faith, Shoghi Effendi, bestowed upon Mr. Danjon and all of the others who first established the Faith in those countries the accolade \"Knight of Baha'u'llah.\"\n\n\"To come to Andorra was the most important decision of my life,\" said Mr. Danjon, who remains a resident.\n\n\"I liked the Andorra people from the very first and they liked me, I think.\"\n\nIn 1954, he saw the first fruits of his decision when two residents of Andorra, Carmen Tost Xifre de Mingorance and her husband, Jose Mingorance Fernandez, joined the Faith. They remained steadfast until they passed away. Their son, Jose Mingorance Tost, is now chairman of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Andorra.\n\nAlthough it was difficult initially for Mr. Danjon to obtain a job, he has since held prominent positions in the media, the public service, and the Red Cross. He continues to write articles for the media on the Baha'i Faith.\n\nFor eight years, he represented the Andorra Trust Board in France, where he formally presented a book of the Tablets of Baha'u'llah to two French presidents, who, by virtue of their office, held the title of co-prince of Andorra.\n\nThe jubilee celebrations took place on 17 September 2004 and included a dinner, and musical performances by Marc Pia (piano), Silvia Gil (saxophone), Sebastian Esandi (cello), and Kati Evogli (singer).\n\nChairman of the event was the secretary of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Andorra la Vella, Badi Daemi. The speakers were Antonio Gil of Andorra and Carmen Medina of Spain. Former members of the Andorra community, Olga Garcia and Juan Cisneros of Spain, gave a presentation about the Baha'i Faith. Prayers were said for the Baha'is of Andorra who have passed away.\n\nOn the day after the celebrations, an article about the event, accompanied by a photograph, appeared in the main newspaper of the country.\n\nThe Andorra community has one Local Spiritual Assembly. Like the rest of the worldwide Baha'i community, it is engaged in organizing study circles, devotional meetings, and children's classes, all of which are open to participation by the wider community."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431254-bwns5610-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Some of the participants at the jubilee celebrations in Andorra."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431254-bwns5609-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Andorra Baha'is near the Shrine of the Bab in Haifa, Israel, 1992...Carmen Tost Xifre de Mingorance (right) and Emili Armengol Theron. Mrs. Mingorance and her husband, Jose Mingorance Fernandez, were the first residents of Andorra to become Baha'is."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431255-bwns5608-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"William Danjon in the early days of the Baha'i community of Andorra."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431254-bwns5607-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Jose Mingorance Fernandez, the first resident of Andorra to become a Baha'i."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431254-bwns5606-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431255-bwns5605-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Andorra Prime Minister Marc Forne Molne (right) receives a delegation from the Baha'i community of Andorra: (left to right) Badi Daemi, Antonio Gil, William Danjon."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431254-bwns5604-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"William Danjon (left) meets the Prime Minister of Andorra, Marc Forne Molne, at a reception for Baha'i representatives before the anniversary celebrations."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null},{"storyNumber":334,"evergreenUrl":"conferences-stress-service-others","title":"Conferences stress service to others","description":"You're never too old to serve others. To prove it, Bruce Saunders told the story of a group of people in their 60s and 70s who wanted to help...","date":"2004-11-18","customDateline":false,"city":"SYDNEY","country":"","thumbnail":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431227-bwns5603-0.jpg"},"featureAudio":null,"feature":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ImageRecord","image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431227-bwns5603-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"At the Perth conference...Farah Ghalili and Farhad Fozdar.","imageStyle":"body-right","imageLink":""}],"storyContent":[{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"You're never too old to serve others. To prove it, Bruce Saunders told the story of a group of people in their 60s and 70s who wanted to help in their community.\n\n\"They decided to volunteer to do gardening for disabled people who can't look after their own gardens,\" said Mr. Saunders, speaking at a conference here entitled \"Portals to Growth -- Creating Capacity for Service.\"\n\n\"It was proof to them that at any age they could feel confident and do something great for their community,\" he said.\n\nThat story and others were told at the 1-4 October event in Sydney that attracted 1,200 participants. It was mirrored by a sister conference, attended by some 700 people, on the same subject held 7-10 October, across the continent in Perth.\n\nThe participants focused on the energy that is being unleashed through \"study circles\" and other core activities of Baha'i communities worldwide.\n\n\"Graduates (of study circles) become wonderful volunteers because they have a deep, personal commitment to serving others,\" said Mr. Saunders, who is one of many tutors throughout Australia who volunteer to assist study circle participants in their self-directed training and learning.\n\n\"They also develop the ability to look at a situation and realize what they can contribute, and have a positive impact, even if they know they're dealing with a problem that's too big for them to solve alone,\" he said.\n\nExplaining the theme of the conference, a spokesperson for the Australian Baha'i community, Yvonne Perkins, said that Baha'is worldwide have been developing activities aimed at fostering spiritual development as well as building the capacity of individuals and local communities to serve others."},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_InlineImageRecord","slideshowImageNumber":2},{"__typename":"DatoCMS_ParagraphRecord","paragraphText":"\"There are three core activities which Baha'is offer to the wider community -- study circles, children's classes, and devotional meetings,\" Ms. Perkins said.\n\n\"An increasing number of people are participating in these activities. They come from a wide range of religious and cultural backgrounds.\n\n\"More than 380 study circles are currently being conducted in Australia, about 700 devotional meetings are held regularly each month, children's classes are offered in more than 100 localities, and Baha'i classes are being held in 320 government schools,\" she said.\n\nWith the guidance of a keynote speaker at both conferences, Dr. Farzam Arbab, participants reflected on the development of study circles.\n\nMembers of study circles undertake voluntary community service, thereby learning to integrate personal spiritual development with serving others.\n\nDr. Arbab, a member of the Universal House of Justice, said study circles build not only a sense of optimism about the future, but also empower individuals to act for positive change.\n\nThe emphasis on a grassroots approach allows a great range of individual approaches and initiatives to be developed, and those that prove particularly effective can be broadened and made more widely available, Dr. Arbab said.\n\n\"The spiritual needs of human beings are identical, whether we are rich or poor, educated or uneducated, literate or illiterate,\" he said.\n\n\"In the study circles, the service component is identical no matter where you are living, or your educational background. It begins with simple tasks, such as visiting a friend or praying together, and builds up to complex acts of service as people become more confident.\"\n\nAs well as exploring ways to expand and enhance the study circle process, the conference participants also looked at how to steadily improve Baha'i educational classes offered to children.\n\nThey also looked at various ways to enhance Baha'i devotional meetings, where prayers and readings from all the major religions are combined with music and personal reflection, with the aim of building a closer relationship with God, and a deeper commitment to serving others.\n\nA popular aspect of the conferences was the emphasis placed on use of the creative arts, with individuals being encouraged to convey their understanding through song, dance, puppet shows, story telling, and live performance.\n\nAmong the professional artists who entertained were singer and songwriter Grant Hindin Miller, actors Philip Hinton and Keith Sabri, and the Mana musical group.\n\nIn line with the culture of individual participation permeating the Baha'i community worldwide, participants had the opportunity to join in one or more of the 123 workshops on offer.\n\nTopics for the afternoon workshops included, for example:\n\n* how to develop as a teacher of children's classes\n* starting a small service project and making it grow\n* managing conflict\n* including the arts in personal and community life\n* combining second language learning with moral development\n* ecological camps for junior youth\n* activities involving indigenous people\n* pathways to develop spirituality, love and service\n* children's say on children's classes\n\nDimity Podger, a conference organizer, said she was astonished by the breadth and diversity of presentations on various service projects and the experiences of Baha'i teachers working with study circles and children's classes.\n\n\"At a time when many people feel frightened about the future, and incapable of influencing positive change, Baha'is are clearly thinking hard about how you can create a dynamic, vibrant community at the grassroots,\" Ms. Podger said.\n\nBetsy Ayankoya, a Baha'i from North Carolina in the United States, attended both the Sydney and Perth conferences with three friends from the US.\n\n\"We're delighted, really, with what we've learned here -- it will really help us to implement what we're doing at home much better,\" Mrs. Ayankoya said.\n\nThe conferences had parallel sessions to meet the needs of all age groups, including children, junior youth, youth, and adults.\n\nReporting by Corinne Podger."}],"disableInlineCaptions":false,"slideshow":[{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431227-bwns5602-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"How to enchance children's classes was a theme of the conferences...Annette Subhani is pictured with her daughter, Nicole."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431227-bwns5601-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Vienna Norouzi, 11, with Eric Kingston, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Australia."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431228-bwns5600-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Portrayal by actor Philip Hinton of historical Baha'i figure Howard Colby Ives."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431228-bwns5599-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Papua New Guinea participants, Dorrie Hancock (center) and Patrick Metta (right), with Sue Whitley of Vanuatu at the Sydney conference."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431231-bwns5598-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Baha'is from the United States who attended both conferences: (left to right) Betsy Ayankoya, Viki Lee, Susan Nossa."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431227-bwns5597-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Perth participants Greg Parker (left) and Lim Sim Beow."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431230-bwns5596-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Members of the Mana musical group performing at the Sydney conference."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431227-bwns5595-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"A diversity of ages and backgrounds...some of the 1,200 participants at the Sydney conference."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431226-bwns5594-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":""},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431230-bwns5593-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Youth during a workshop in Sydney."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431228-bwns5592-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Anna McDonald (left) and Luke McPharlin in a musical performance at the conference in Perth."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431228-bwns5591-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Keynote speaker Dr. Farzam Arbab."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431229-bwns5590-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"People of all ages and from a variety of backgrounds attended the conferences."},{"image":{"url":"https://www.datocms-assets.com/6348/1543431227-bwns5589-0.jpg"},"imageDescription":"Examining the program at the Portals to Growth conference in Sydney...Sue Edwards (left) and Peter Manins."}],"pushRelatedContentDown":null,"relatedContent":[],"updatedContent":false,"excludeFromHomepage":false,"category":[],"highlightClip":null}],"lang":"en","language":"en","location":"/archive/68/"}},"staticQueryHashes":["2762707590"]}