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From "Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File"
Communities are reminded that however motivated they might be by a wish to share the experience of Bahá'í fellowship and hospitality with non-Bahá'í friends and contacts, the Nineteen Day Feast is not the correct forum. Changing the Nineteen Day Feast into a Unity Feast should not be a regular practice. It is of course permissible to hold additional meetings, such as Unity Feasts and firesides to serve this function.
No. 802, p240 - Omit consultative part of Feast if non-Bahá'í appears
"The rule that only Bahá'ís may take part in Nineteen Day Feasts is not a new one, indeed it was often reiterated by the beloved Guardian. However, when a non-Bahá'í does appear at a Feast he should not be asked to leave; rather the Assembly should omit the consultative part of the Feast, and the non-Bahá'í should be made welcome. Of course, if the non-Bahá'í is well known to the Bahá'ís and no hurt feelings would be caused, he might be asked to retire during the consultative part. In general, however, it is much better to avoid such problems where possible ...
"During the period of consultation the Bahá'ís should be able to enjoy perfect freedom to express their views on the work of the Cause, unembarrassed by the feeling that all they are saying is being heard by someone who has not accepted Bahá'u'lláh and who might, thereby, gain a very distorted picture of the Faith. It would also be very embarrassing for any sensitive non-Bahá'í to find himself plunged into the midst of a discussion of the detailed affairs of a Bahá'í Community of which he is not a part".
(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, March 24, 1970. The Nineteen Day Feast, November 1975).
No. 804, p241 - Non-Bahá'í attendance at Nineteen Day Feast
"With regard to the attendance of non-Bahá'ís at a Nineteen Day Feast, you can explain to ... the essential domestic, administrative nature of the Nineteen Day Feast ... the Guardian's secretary wrote on his behalf on 21 September 1946: 'As regards your question concerning Nineteen Day Feasts ... as to non-Bahá'ís attending, this should by all means be avoided, but if non-believers come to the Nineteen Day Feast, they should not be put out, as this might hurt their feelings.'
"This is why, if a non-Bahá'í does appear at a Nineteen Day Feast he should be made to feel welcome, but a Bahá'í should certainly not invite a non-Bahá'í to attend. A non-Bahá'í, who asks to be invited to a Feast will usually understand if this matter is explained to him". (From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the British Isles, March 13, 1967).
No. 804, p241 - The Nineteen Day Feast for Bahá'ís exclusively - no variation from this principle permitted
"...The Guardian wishes me to direct your attention to the fact that none of the institutions of the Faith nor its cardinal principles may be changed under any circumstances.
"The Nineteen Day Feast is an institution of the Cause, first established by the Báb, later confirmed by Bahá'u'lláh and now made a prominent part of the administrative order of the Faith. These Nineteen Day Feasts are for the Bahá'ís, and the Bahá'ís exclusively, and no variation from this principle is permitted.
"Thus the Guardian feels you should rescind the action taken by your Assembly in opening the Feasts to 'near Bahá'ís', as it is not consistent with the spirit of the administrative order for non-Bahá'ís or near Bahá'ís to attend the Nineteen Day Feasts, particularly the administrative portion of the Feast." (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of Germany and Austria, May 28, 1954)
More and more people have the use of electronic mail these days. The National Spiritual Assembly has its own e-mailing list NEWS@bahai.org.uk which is used by the Assembly and its agencies to share fresh, often urgent, news with the community and it urges all Bahá'ís in the UK who have e-mail to join it. It also asks that each community where there is someone with e-mail (i.e. the majority of communities) ensure that there is a member whose responsibility it is to share news from the NEWS list with the others. NEWS is where e.g., the latest information from Iran, information about other developments, availability of fresh resources etc, will be posted. Bahá'ís who have e-mail and have not already joined should contact: NEWS.admin@bahai.org.uk
Office of External Affairs
Bahá'í National Office, 27 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PD Tel: 0171 584 2566, Fax: 0171 584 9402 e-mail: oea@bahai.org.uk
Work In Progress
Early Day Motions
EDM 26 has now reached 165 signatures which is a significant achievement and we are working towards the 200 mark. EDM 418 is now at 69 signatures and we are looking to get it into three figures.
UNHCR - Iran Resolution
We note with great satisfaction that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights (UNHCR) passed the resolution that strongly condemned Iran for its human rights record which included language about the Bahá'í community.
The Office of External Affairs had held a series of meetings with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the months proceeding the Commission and the resolution was one of the main topics of discussion. We wish to record our gratitude to the FCO for their efforts to ensure that this resolution passed.
International Criminal Court Treaty
The Office of External Affairs is in the preliminary stages of facilitating an interfaith delegation to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to press for ratification of the International Criminal Court (ICC) treaty.
Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education, Iran
Signed statements of protest have begun to arrive at the Bahá'í Centre signed by some of the country's leading academics in their field. However, there is still an urgent need for all those Bahá'ís with connections in higher education to approach their contacts with the view to having them register their protest against the continued harassment of the Bahá'í Institute of Higher Education. The issue is now more important than ever, since the four staff members who had been kept in prison since October have now been given prison sentences ranging from three to ten years.
Public Information - Media
There has been a surge of interest in the Faith in recent weeks, from various members of the media. Thanks to the initiative of one of the friends the BBC television series "Heaven and Earth" are keen to make a short programme on the Faith that will be broadcast nationally.
Other interest has come from the "Sunday Times Magazine" looking at religions in London. They recently interviewed Cymbeline Smith in London about her reasons for being a Bahá'í and view of the world.
Shamim Razavi from York community will soon be appearing on one or two episodes of a new discussion series hosted by Jo Brand called "Soul to Soul", made by Granada television, to be shown in that region. The programme looks at a number of different religious questions and discusses them with members of various faiths.
Bahá'í Information Office
Tel: 01732 369694, Fax: 01732 569733 e-mail: bio@bahai.org.uk
The Web of Faith Project
Web of Faith is an exciting project which will take our Bahá'í community into a new stage in its development. Initiated by the National Spiritual Assembly, it aims to have each local community, and each appropriate administrative agency, establish a presence on the World Wide Web. The Bahá'í Information Office has been charged with leading the project, preparing the materials, and guiding and supporting communities and other bodies towards fulfilling their part.
Some communities and administrative bodies already have Websites, but were this project to be fully successful this total would increase many fold. There are several key reasons why this should happen:
- GROWTH: Use of the Internet is increasing dramatically, and a large Bahá'í presence on the it will help spread knowledge of the Faith and its teachings. This is especially important for young people at school, college, and university - whom we very much want to learn about the Faith.
- PROTECTION: It will help to dilute out the growing number of sites on the Web which are against the Faith, mostly put there by fundamentalists of other religions or by Covenant-Breakers. When someone goes on to the Web to find out about the Faith and more are, every year - we want them to find readily the Bahá'í sites that will give them the accurate information about our Faith.
HELPING RAISE THE STATUS OF BAHá'í BODIES: Many organisations have Websites and put the URL (the electronic "address") on their notepaper and other literature. This will make it easier for people to learn about them and find out what they have to say. But it also enhances their standing: having a Website is widely seen as a mark of an organisation that is both established and modern. If a community is struggling to get people in its area to take the Faith seriously, to show that it is not just some new cult or anything of that sort, the fact that it has a Website stands in its favour. It is an aid to both teaching and protection at a local level.
A range of material has been prepared explaining what is involved, written from the point of view of people who know little or nothing about the subject. A group of Bahá'ís with expertise in the area have made themselves available to advise by phone and help with problems. Other resources have been gathered for use actually in Websites.
A letter and other literature about the project were sent to all communities and appropriate administrative bodies. The package included a questionnaire to let the Office know where each stood at the moment on a scale from "we have no computer" through to "we already have a Website", as well as an order form for the Information Sheets that explain how to go about getting a Website. Many responses were received (though a number of communities have yet to return their questionnaire). The information was collated and gave an interesting picture of where our national community stands at the moment with regard to the World Wide Web.
Already some bodies have established Websites since the start of the project while others are making progress. The Bahá'í Information Office is very pleased to be working with them, and it will be following up with communities and others to help them bring this exciting and challenging project to a successful conclusion.
India Temple - In London
For the past few months the drivers using a busy London street have had their spirits lifted by a large picture of the Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi, India. It appears on a hoarding as part of an advertisement by the construction firm Larsen and Tourro.
The notice clearly identifies the temple for what it is and boldly describes it as "the 20th Century Taj Mahal".
The picture has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people: the road it is on is one of the busiest in the country, being a main route out of London for Heathrow Airport and the West of England.
A series of photographs of the advertising hoarding and its situation are posted to the WWW as part of the BIO Webspace. Visit them at: http://www.iol.ie/~isp/indlon/
Announcing the Millennium Site
The approaching end of the Twentieth Century (as usually calculated) of the Christian era has brought much public interest in the future and speculation about what it holds. Bahá'ís have many golden opportunities to share with these interested people the Message that makes sense of it all.
To help them in this the already wide range of Bahá'í literature and resources is being augmented by new items particularly relevant to this time. The Bahá'í Information Office of the United Kingdom is sharing some of these through a new dedicated Website. The site is now operational with the first four such items. The key one is "Who is Writing the Future? - Reflections on the Twentieth Century".
In a letter, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the UK describes it as: " ... an exciting new document prepared by the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information at the request of the Universal House of Justice. (It) reviews important milestones in the history of the twentieth century in the light of the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh and sets out prospects and challenges for the transition to a global civilization."
The National Assembly goes on to say: "The year 2000 will bring to an end 'the century of light', as 'Abdu'l-Bahá referred to the twentieth century. The Master's perspective on this tempestuous period offers Bahá'ís and Bahá'í communities an opportunity to participate meaningfully in many of the activities and discussions taking place around the world over the next two years. "Who is Writing the Future?" is intended to help us do this. Its purpose is to serve as a source of ideas, perspectives, images and language that will stimulate a wide range of creative responses among Bahá'ís." (Publication of this document in hard copy in the UK is in process. It can be downloaded from the Website. The Office can also make it available as e-text.)
Other resources on the site are "Peace among the Nations" (a statement by the Baha'i International Community), "Towards the New Millennium", an article by noted Bahá'í scholar Dr Moojan Momen which will produce many insights and ideas, and a suggested media letter pursuing the idea of a multi-faith approach to the millennium. Other items will be added.
The site can be visited at: http://www.iol.ie/~isp/y2k/ and feedback is welcome.
Radio scripts
If you have produced radio scripts for special events, Holy Days or programmes such as "Thought for the Day", it would be most helpful if they could be available through BIO to the rest of the community for adaptation in local areas.
It would be helpful if such items could be sent in duplicate, so that we may also share them with the Bahá'í World Centre Library. Thank you.
Press cuttings please
The Bahá'í Information Office needs to know what has been appearing about the Faith in the local and regional press throughout the country. We depend on you to send in your coverage - please do so and keep us up-to-date.
Please send a copy of your press cuttings, along with - very important - the name and date of the newspaper.
Going on Pilgrimage?
A Bahá'í pilgrimage is a wonderful experience - why not share it with others. A draft press release is available to help you prepare something for your local papers - please do take this chance to let the people in your area hear more about the Faith and its activities. To obtain a copy write to The National Office, 27 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PD.
Bahá'í Information Office - Third Floor, Bridge House, 97-101 High Street, Tonbridge TN9 1DP Tel: 01732 369694, Fax: 01732 569733 e-mail: bio@bahai.org.uk