National Spiritual Assembly

James Clappison, MP for Hertsmere, tabled a motion for an adjournment debate on 6th July on problems of religious intolerance in the Middle East. In his speech he paid special attention to the plight of the Bahá’í community in Iran as well as to the problems facing the Iranian Jewish community. Lembit Opik, MP for Montgomeryshire, elaborated on the persecution facing Bahá’ís in Iran, and Cheryl Gillan, MP for Chesham and Amersham, intervened to give her support for the Bahá’ís. Several MPs who spoke in the debate commented on the good character of the Bahá’ís they know in their constituencies.

Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Tony Lloyd MP, stated the government’s continued support for Bahá’ís facing persecution.

Adjournment debates are held at the end of the day’s business in Parliament and give MPs a chance to raise issues that they are concerned about. The Office of External Affairs had been working with Lembit Opik to table a motion for an adjournment debate on the situation of the Bahá’ís in Iran, but this debate came "out of the blue". The Office was able to respond quickly to provide material for Mr Opik’s intervention in the debate; it was gratifying to note the accuracy of Mr Clappison’s information and the unsolicited intervention of Ms Gillan. Above all, this shows how essential is the work of Bahá’ís at local level in building relationships with their constituency MPs.

July brought good news from Iran where a number of Bahá’í prisoners were released. One prisoner, Mr. Ramin Rahnavaz, had been arrested and sentenced in May to six months in prison in Tabriz for services to the youth of that city. A number of Bahá’ís arrested in Rasht and Tabriz in May have been released, although charges may still be brought against them.

Mr. Ziaullah Mirzapanah who had been sentenced to three years in prison in Isfahan had been taken ill and hospitalised. When he was able to leave the hospital, the prison authorities allowed him to return to his home, on the understanding that they could find him whenever necessary.

On 9th July Mr Dermod Knox represented the Bahá’í Community at a reception at the Royal Institute of International Affairs to meet the Hon Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh. Mr Knox was able to extend, on behalf of the Secretary General, the warmest best wishes of the Bahá’í Community of the United Kingdom on the occasion of her visit to the United Kingdom.

Early Day Motion number 26 (protesting against the execution of Mr Ruhu’llah Rawhani in July 1998) will stay in force until the end of the Parliamentary session in November, one month after Parliament resumes after the summer recess. This will give us an opportunity to try to reach our of goal getting 200 Members of Parliament signatures on the Motion.

Now that we have reached the summer holidays it is a good time to review the progress of the academic campaign on the Bahá’í Institute of Higher Education. A number of Local Spiritual Assemblies and individuals have been very active in bringing the situation to the attention of many academics across the country. We have now obtained 188 signatures on the statement protesting about the attempted closure of the Institute. Amongst these names from many different universities are some very influential members of academic institutions, such as the Chief Executive of the Institute of Biology, the head of the European Vice Chancellors’ Committee, and Professor Kevin Boyle of the Human Rights Centre at Essex University.

As there are still Bahá’ís in prison for their involvement with the Institute this campaign remains a relevant issue. We urge those who have not yet been able to mobilise opinion at their local universities to make a plan of action for the beginning of the new academic year. We want to draw the attention of as many academics as possible to the limitations on the academic freedom of Bahá’ís in Iran. This issue was also mentioned in Parliament in the recent adjournment debate.

Mr Dermod Knox speaking with the Hon Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, in July.

In the words of the Universal House of Justice, it is crucial "for the National Spiritual Assemblies to work out ways and means of creating a sense of belonging in the hearts of the believers. One of the ways this can be done is to bring to their attention the needs of the Fund." (1) Simply saying that money is needed is not enough. What are the true and long-lasting needs of the Fund? The Fund needs:

universal participation, sacrifice, and regular support.

This can’t be measured in pounds. It doesn’t come from wallets. It cannot be banked. It comes from hearts.

To understand universal participation we must turn once more to the words of the Universal House of Justice: "the National Fund ... should receive the continued and whole-hearted support of all the believers. Both the local Assemblies and the individual believers should realise that unless they contribute regularly and generously to that Fund the progress of the Faith ... will not only be considerably retarded, but will inevitably come to a standstill." (2) What does the progress of the Faith look like? It can take many shapes, amongst other things, the defence of the friends in Iran, children’s classes and the development of the arts. It entails every individual giving independently and every Local Spiritual Assembly giving as a body to the National Fund.

"Every Bahá’í ­ no matter how poor, must realise what a grave responsibility he has to shoulder in this connection, and should have confidence that his spiritual progress as a believer in the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh will largely depend upon the measure in which he proves, in deeds, his readiness to support materially the divine institutions of His Faith." (3)

The above statement by the Guardian may help us to define more clearly in our minds the nature of sacrifice. The National Spiritual Assembly has set a budget for this year of £983,000 which works out at just over £80,000 per month. From covenants and gift aids we can realise £20-30,000 per month. They are crucially important. The Universal House of Justice has granted us almost £90,000. We paid off the last £6,000 of our debt to the House of Justice last year. This £90,000 is a gift and we do not have to repay it. We have to find other means of saying "thank you" to the Universal House of Justice - to ponder the meaning of sacrifice.

The National Assembly’s definition of "regular" is once in every 30 days. The Guardian states: "We must be like the fountain or spring that is continually emptying itself of all that it has and is continually being refilled from an invisible source." Such acts of faith are not easy to master! He goes onto say: "To be continually giving out for the good of our fellows undeterred by fear of poverty and reliant on the unfailing bounty of the Source of all wealth and all good - this is the secret of right living." (4)

In the concept of the Covenant that the National Spiritual Assembly is striving to foster, there is no set target in terms of figures but three set targets of a different kind: universal participation, sacrifice and regular support. Crucial to our understanding of this is the following quotation from the Universal House of Justice: "Not all believers can give public talks, not all are called upon to serve on administrative institutions, but all can:

pray, fight their own spiritual battles, and contribute to the Fund.

If every believer will carry out these sacred duties, we shall be astonished at the accession of power which will result to the whole body, and which in turn will give rise to further growth and the showering of greater blessings on all of us." (5)

To achieve a true sense of belonging we need to hold in our hearts these three Fund targets and those three private aims.

1. From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to various National Spiritual Assemblies, Feb 9th 1967 Lights of Guidance, p252
2. Ibid.
3. Shoghi Effendi: Dawn of a New Day, p68
4. Shoghi Effendi: Directives of the Guardian, p32
5. The Universal House of Justice, Wellsprings of Guidance, p38

Spirit & Form Seminars

Sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly, the Spirit & Form seminars offer a day-long experience of workshops, presentations, and discussions on a Spiritual Assembly’s responsibilities with respect to issues of trustworthiness, and excellence, and offers examples of both in the spiritual and material world.

4th-5th September: Northern Ireland (contact Training Institute or Council for details)

4th-5th December: Scotland (contact Training Institute or Council for details)

For more information or assistance contact the Office of the Treasurer at the address above.

Suggestions for community consultation

Month of Izzat (Might) begins at sunset 8th September

This is not a Cause which may be made a plaything for your idle fancies, nor is it a field for the foolish and faint of heart. By God, this is the arena of insight and detachment, of vision and upliftment, where none may spur on their chargers save the valiant horsemen of the Merciful, who have severed all attachment to the world of being. These, truly, are they that render God victorious on earth, and are the dawning-places of His sovereign might amidst mankind. (Bahá’u’lláh, Kitáb-i-Aqdas, k178)

• How can we become the "horsemen of the Merciful"?
• Does everyone have to do the same thing?
• If everyone strove to be "horsemen" how would our community change?

Month of Mashiyyat (Will) begins at sunset 27th September

O ye peoples of the world! Know assuredly that My commandments are the lamps of My loving providence among My servants, and the keys of My mercy for My creatures. Thus hath it been sent down from the heaven of the Will of your Lord, the Lord of Revelation. Were any man to taste the sweetness of the words which the lips of the All-Merciful have willed to utter, he would, though the treasures of the earth be in his possession, renounce them one and all, that he might vindicate the truth of even one of His commandments, shining above the Dayspring of His bountiful care and loving-kindness. (Bahá’u’lláh: The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, k3)

• Why does it sometimes seem so difficult to believe our laws are keys of Mercy?
• What does it mean to renounce the treasure of the earth?
• Can you find other passages where Bahá’u’lláh talks about wealth and our attitude towards it?

Going on Pilgrimage?

Not only is going on Pilgrimage a wonderful experience in its own right, it is also a great chance to share the Faith with others by putting a report in to your local media afterwards. If you need any help or suggestions with this, a press lead is available on request from the National Office.

The National Spiritual Assembly would like to remind Friends being admitted to hospital, or those giving their personal details, that they should ensure that their religion is specifically entered as "Bahá’í" or "Bahá’í Faith" in their records. Because the National Health Service does not (yet) have an official category for the Faith in its records, failure to do so could result in the patient being classed as an "other". This is not appropriate.

Mount Carmel Projects: In this photo taken on 26th May one can see the landscaping of this inner court of the Centre for the Study of the Texts.

As the Bahá’í Faith slowly emerges from obscurity and the spotlight of media attention begins to focus on the Faith and on the Bahá’í community, both challenges and opportunities present themselves.

One such opportunity is the start of local community television - long a feature of life in other parts of the world. Local community TV provides a potential for much wider and more frequent exposure of the Faith than is possible on national and regional channels. It also offers the chance for us to gain experience in the use of this most influential of media, and to develop material and resources which could be of immeasurable value in the years to come. As it seems these stations may rely in part on volunteers to help run them, the opportunities are multiplied.

The first, pioneering, local community TV station, TV12, broadcasting on normal, terrestrial channels, was established a few months ago on the Isle of Wight. The Isle of Wight Bahá’ís worked from the beginning to establish good relations with the station and its staff, and to their delight have already been asked to make a half hour programme about the Faith.

Local TV stations are now beginning to be established in other parts of the country and steps have been taken to set up a working group among the communities affected to make the most of this new opportunity.

If you learn, through your local press or other means, that there are plans to establish a local community TV station in your area, please let BIO and your Bahá’í Council know straight away.

Bahá’ís have always been encouraged to take advantage of the developments of this new age in order to make sure that everyone has heard of the Faith:

"… he would suggest that the main consideration is to bring to the attention of the public the fact that the Faith exists, and its teachings. Every kind of broadcast, whether of passages from the writings, or on topical subjects, or lectures, should be used. The people need to hear the word ‘Bahá’í’ so that they can, if receptive, respond and seek the Cause out. The primary duty of the friends everywhere in the world is to let the people know such a Revelation is in existence; their next duty is to teach it." (1)

Keep your eyes and ears open and alert and let us know if you hear of such a venture in your area - the possibilities are very exciting...

1) (From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, 24th July 1943: A Compilation on the "Use of Radio and Television in Teaching", 1st April 1975, from the World Centre) also in Multiple Authors: Lights of Guidance, pp 584-585, #1974. "Bring to Attention of the Public the Fact that the Faith Exists"

Local newspapers like local news - but they also want their community to feel part of the wider world. And they are still impressed with the Internet and the World Wide Web. They recognise increased public interest as more and more people get on line through free service providers, Internet access coming with new home computers, etc.

BIO has noted that the local media really do like the idea of people putting their area on the world map through a Website. In various parts of the country, communities have found that when they told the press about their Web pages and how they could be contacted by scores of millions of people^* the press were delighted and featured the news prominently. In this way their work of local proclamation and teaching was helped as well. (Read about what happened in the Isle of Wight in the UK Community News section).

So when your community’s site is up, please submit a press release about it to your local media, explaining what it is and what it can do.

The report of the Officers of the 1999 National Convention together with the resolutions passed at Convention and the National Assembly’s responses to the resolutions is now available from the National Office. The National Assembly will be happy to supply a copy (in print or on floppy disk in MS Word 97 format) to anyone who requests one.

Please send your request with your name and address to: Convention Report, National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the UK, 27 Rutland Gate, London SW7 1PD, or e-mail your request with "Convention Report" in the subject line to: secretariat@bahai.org.uk (remember to include your name and mailing address). Please note that the National Spiritual Assembly will pay the cost of the postage.

The report can also be visited at the National Spiritual Assembly’s website: http://www.bahai.org.uk/