Ṭáhirih, seizing upon the opportunity, arose and, unveiled, came forth from the garden. She proceeded towards the tent of Bahá’u’lláh crying out and proclaiming: “I am the Trumpet-blast; I am the Bugle-call!”—which are two of the signs of the Day of Resurrection mentioned in the Qur’án. Calling out in this fashion, she entered the tent of Bahá’u’lláh. No sooner had she entered than Bahá’u’lláh instructed the believers to recite the Súrih of the Event from the Qur’án, a Súrih that describes the upheaval of the Day of Resurrection.
[Twelve Table Talks given by ‘Abdu'l-Bahá in ‘Akká, no. 9, "Ṭáhirih and the Conference of Badasht"]

"While engulfed in tribulations I heard a most wondrous, a most sweet voice, calling above My head. Turning My face, I beheld a Maiden—the embodiment of the remembrance of the name of My Lord—suspended in the air before Me. So rejoiced was she in her very soul that her countenance shone with the ornament of the good pleasure of God, and her cheeks glowed with the brightness of the All-Merciful. Betwixt earth and heaven she was raising a call which captivated the hearts and minds of men. She was imparting to both My inward and outer being tidings which rejoiced My soul, and the souls of God’s honoured servants.

Pointing with her finger unto My head, she addressed all who are in heaven and all who are on earth, saying: By God! This is the Best-Beloved of the worlds, and yet ye comprehend not. This is the Beauty of God amongst you, and the power of His sovereignty within you, could ye but understand. This is the Mystery of God and His Treasure, the Cause of God and His glory unto all who are in the kingdoms of Revelation and of creation, if ye be of them that perceive. This is He Whose Presence is the ardent desire of the denizens of the Realm of eternity, and of them that dwell within the Tabernacle of glory, and yet from His Beauty do ye turn aside." Súriy-i-Haykal para 6-7; SLH5-6

• See Questions of Haji Mirza Siyyid Ali Muhammad occasioning the Revelation of the Kitab-i-Iqan by Haji Mirza Siyyid Ali Muhammad as translated by Denis MacEoin.

And now concerning the extensive commentary on the Islamic tradition which begins, “I was a hidden treasure…” During the days of Our sojourn in the Land of Mystery, ʻAlí Páshá had asked the Most Mighty Branch of God—may My life be a sacrifice for the ground which His most pure footsteps have trodden—to provide a commentary on this hadith. This He did in accordance with the exigencies of the time, and His purpose was that all may benefit from it…

As per a 1995 article prepared for The Bahá'í Encyclopedia, it was previously believed that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was 17 years old at the time of writing, if so, this would have dated the Tablet at about 1861. Given that this new evidence proves that it was written in Edirne, He would have been 19 years old but more probably in his early twenties. [Thanks to Necati Alkan for providing this correction and to Adib Masumian for doing the translation at his request.] iiiii

Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, president of Argentina; John A. Macdonald, prime minister of Canada; Federico Errázuriz Zanartu, president of Chile; Eustorgio Salgar and Manuel Murillo Toro, presidents of Colombia; Tomás Guardia Gutiérrez, president of Costa Rica; Buenaventura Báez, president of the Dominican Republic; Gabriel García Moreno, president of Ecuador; Justo Rufino Barrios, president of Guatemala; Nissage Saget, president of Haiti; Benito Juárez and Sebastián Lerdo de Tejada, presidents of Mexico; José Vicente Cuadra, president of Nicaragua; Francisco Solano López, president of Paraguay; Manuel Pardo, president of Peru; Ulysses S. Grant, president of the United States of America; Lorenzo Batlle y Grau and Tomás Gomensoro, presidents of Uruguay; and Antonio Guzmán Blanco, president of Venezuela.

...some of the most celebrated passages of that Book (Kitáb-i-Aqdas) to the Chief Magistrates of the entire American continent, bidding them “bind with the hands of justice the broken,” and “crush the oppressor” with the “rod of the commandments” of their Lord. Unlike the kings of the earth whom He had so boldly condemned in that same Book, unlike the European Sovereigns whom He had either rebuked, warned or denounced, such as the French Emperor, the most powerful monarch of his time, the Conqueror of that monarch, the Heir of the Holy Roman Empire, and the Caliph of Islám, the Rulers of America were not only spared the ominous and emphatic warnings which He uttered against the crowned heads of the world, but were called upon to bring their corrective and healing influence to bear upon the injustices perpetrated by the tyrannical and the ungodly. [MA91]

• These countries were: Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Burma, Egypt, Georgia, India, Israel (Palestine), Lebanon, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Turkmenistan. [Patheos website] [key]

Thomas Breakwell died in relative obscurity, a victim of tuberculosis in a poor quarter of the city of Paris. His earthly remains now lie in the communal charnel house at the cemetery of Pantin. It was not until the summer of 1997 that a dignified but suitably modest monument to mark his resting place was finally unveiled to the world. [The Life of Thomas Breakwell by Rajwantee Lakshiman-Lepain p10-11]

Ms. Grinevskaya’s play about the Báb was first staged in St. Petersburg in January 1904. Mr. Tolstoy read the play and wrote Ms. Grinevskaya to praise her and share his sympathy with the Baha'í teachings, according to an article by Martha Root in the 1934-1936 edition of The Bahá'í World.

• Laura Barney's first pilgrimage to met 'Abdu'l-Bahá was in 1900. As with other Western pilgrims the practice was to travel to Cairo and from there, after resting from the long travel and permission had been granted, to make the final leg of the journey to the Holy Land. Mírzá Abu’l-Fadl help prepare the visitors for the experience. He became her beloved teacher and friend.
• Initially she made notes herself for her personal study but decided to make His answers available to others. During her third visit in 1904, when Western visitors were limited because 'Abdu'l-Bahá had been re-incarcerated, she asked permission to bring Ethel Rosenberg as stenographer. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s answers were also recorded in Persian. Mírzá Munír, the son of Mírzá Muhammad-Qulí, the faithful half-brother of Bahá’u’lláh, was given this task. These Persian transcripts were corrected by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, revised and then verified again by HIm and became the basis for the publications that were to follow. Due to this diligence the book can be considered as Bahá'í scripture. [M9YA 340-345; BFA2p238]
• During this extended visit (winter 1904-1905) the visitors stayed with the Family in the house of ‘Abdu’lláh Páshá. Youness Khán Afroukhteh served as interpreter as well as His daughters Rouha Khánum and Munavar Khánum when no men could be present and after Afroukhteh's departure for Europe.

An authorized translation of the text of the recording has been made available. See here for more background information.

On the 12th of June, the Executive Committee of the Central Organization for a Durable Peace in The Hague responded to 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablet. Ahmad Yazdani immediately forwarded it to Haifa.

"To ensure the preservation of the Sacred Texts and to safeguard their inviolability; to analyse, classify, and coordinate the Writings; and to defend and protect the Cause of God and emancipate it from the fetters of repression and persecution;"

"an attack which, viewed in the perspective of history, will be acclaimed by future generations as a landmark not only in the Formative Period of the Faith but in the history of the first Bahá'í century. Indeed, the sequel to this assault may be said to have opened a new chapter in the evolution of the Faith itself, an evolution which, carrying it through the successive stages of repression, of emancipation, of recognition as an independent Revelation, and as a state religion, must lead to the establishment of the Bahá'í state and culminate in the emergence of the Bahá'í World Commonwealth. [GPB364]

"the presentation of a petition addressed by the national elected representatives of that community to the Egyptian Prime Minister, the Minister of the Interior and the Minister of Justice (supported by a similar communication addressed by the American National Spiritual Assembly to the Egyptian Government, see BW4p166), enclosing a copy of the judgment of the Court, and of their national Bahá'í constitution and by-laws, requesting them to recognize their Assembly as a body qualified to exercise the functions of an independent court and empowered to apply, in all matters affecting their personal status, the laws and ordinances revealed by the Author of their Faith--these stand out as the initial consequences of a historic pronouncement that must eventually lead to the establishment of that Faith on a basis of absolute equality with its sister religions in that land." [GPB367]

"it became a lever which the Egyptian Bahá'í community, followed later by its sister-communities, readily utilized for the purpose of asserting the independence of its Faith and of seeking for it the recognition of its government. Translated into several languages, circulated among Bahá'í communities in East and West, it gradually paved the way for the initiation of negotiations between the elected representatives of these communities and the civil authorities in Egypt, in the Holy Land, in Persia and even in the United States of America, for the purpose of securing the official recognition by these authorities of the Faith as an independent religion. " [GPB366]

Background Information

"It was in the village of Kawmu's-Sa`áyidih, in the district of Beba, of the province of Beni Suef in Upper Egypt, that, as a result of the religious fanaticism which the formation of a Bahá'í assembly had kindled in the breast of the headman of that village, and of the grave accusations made by him to both the District Police Officer and the Governor of the province--accusations which aroused the Muhammadans to such a pitch of excitement as to cause them to perpetrate shameful acts against their victims--that action was initiated by the notary of the village, in his capacity as a religious plaintiff authorized by the Ministry of Justice, against three Bahá'í residents of that village, demanding that their Muslim wives be divorced from them on the grounds that their husbands had abandoned Islám after their legal marriage as Muslims." [GPB364-365]

Browne's Publications

• Religious Systems of the World: A Contribution to the Study of Comparative Religion (1889)
  
• A Traveller's Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Báb (1891) A history by`Abdu'l-Bahá which Browne translated and extensively annotated.
  
• Tarikh-i-Jadid or New History of Mirza`Ali Muhammad the Báb (1893) by Mirza Husayn Hamadani translated by E.G.Browne.
  • Hájjí Mírzá Jani Kashani wrote a substantial history of the Bábi Faith sometime between 1850-1852. (He was martyred in 1852.) These memoirs as they were copied and re-copied and spawned a great many versions which differed particularly in their portrayal of Subh-i-Azál and Bahá'u'lláh, depending on the editor’s loyalty.
  • In about 1880 Mírzá Husayn Hamadani with the support of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl took some version of Mírzá Jani's 1851 account and worked it up into a new history, The Tárikh-i-Jadíd. He did this at the request of a Zoroastrian, Manakji, who then added a preface, an epilogue, and an unknown number of amendments to the text and then published it under his own name.
  • Nabil-i-Akbar, in response to a commission by Bahá'u'lláh, made a revision of this work somewhere between 1880-1883 which is known as The Táríkh-i Badí‘-i Bayání.
  • Browne used two these two manuscripts, The Tárikh-i-Jadíd and The Táríkh-i Badí‘-i Bayání to write the single volume The New History (tarikh-i-jadid) of Mírzá Ali-Muhammed, the Báb. In referring to Mírzá Jani's history throughout the footnotes, he was not aware of the problems of discerning what represents the original memoirs and what others have added.
• A Year Among the Persians (1893) Vividly describes his adventures, including his encounters with the Bahá'ís and Azalís during his time in Persian from October 1887 to September 1888. The memoir of his sojourn did much to familiarize English readers with the Báb, His gentleness and patience, the cruel fate which had overtaken him, and the unflinching courage wherewith he and his followers, from the greatest to the least, had endured the merciless torments inflicted upon them by their enemies. [Tales of Magnificent Heroism by Robert Weinburg.
• A chapter from the history of Cannabis Indica (1897)
• A Literary History of Persia From Firdawsí to Sa'dí (in four volumes) (1902-24)
• The Persian Revolution of 1905–1909 (1910) About the Persian Constitutional Revolution, of which Browne was an ardent supporter.
• He published, in Persian, the text of The Kitab-i-Nuqtatu'l-Kaf, being the earliest History of the Bábís compiled by Hájji Mírzá Jání of Kásgán between the years 1850 and 1852, edited from the unique Ms. Suppl. Persan 1071. (1910) This was a work that he had done at an earlier date. It was published at the instigation of Mirza Muhammad Qazvini, a well-known Iranian literary critic and Azalí sympathizer, who wrote the Persian Introduction to this volume. After the publication of this work, `Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to a number of Iranian Bahá'ís, urging them to compile material to refute its contents. One such work was Dashf al-Ghitá by Mírzá Abul-Fazl Gulpáyigání. [RR232] [See The History and Provenance of an Early Manuscript of the Nuqtat al-kaf dated 1268 (1851-52) by William F. McCants and Kavian Sadeghzade Milani and Nuqtat al-Káf by Kavian Sadeghzade Milani as well as Nuqtat al-Kaf and the Babi Chronicle Traditions by Juan Cole; The Bab's Stay in Kashan: A Historiographical Analysis of the Kitab-i-Nuqtatu'l-Kaf Based on the Kashan Pericope by Kavian Milani; MCS517; 541]
  • When E.G. Browne published the Nuqtatu'l-Kaf with its Persian and English introductions that contained much material hostile to the Bahá'í Faith, a number of Bahá'í scholars worked on refutations of this book. [Mirza Abu'l-Fadl] Gulpaygani also began to work on such a book, but when heard that work on a similar book in Iran under the guidance of the Hands of the Cause had reached an advanced stage, he suspended work on his book awaiting a manuscript from Iran. Unfortunately he never got back to this book and at his death the manuscript was incomplete. When Mirza Abu'l-Fadl's papers were sent to his cousin Sayyid Mahdi Gulpaygani in Ashkhabad, the latter undertook to complete the work. The final work was published in Ashkhabad. Of the 438 pages of the book some 132 are attributed to Mirza Abu'l-Fadl. The final work, however, has a tone and vehemence completely uncharacteristic of Mirza Abu'l-Fadl and `Abdu'l-Baha instructed that it should not be distributed. [from a post by Adib Masumian to the [bahai-library.com/tarikh] list 25 April 2021]
  .
• It is reported that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was "deeply annoyed" with Browne over the publication and dissemination of the Kitáb-i Nuqtatu'l-Káf as reported by Áqáy-i-Taqízádih in ´Ábdu'l-Baha's Meetings with Two Prominent Iranians introduced and translated by Ahang Rabbani. [World Order Vol 30 No 1 Fall 1998 p46]
• It would appear that Browne loved the Bábi movement however as the religion changed into the Bahá'í Faith, he insisted on calling it the Bábi religion. Browne did not understand the the claims of Baha’u’lláh and the transitional and the historical factors at work. He saw the early Bábi movement as the beginning of the Faith and thought that the Bahá'í Faith was a sect of Bábism. This was largely due to the influence of Bahá’u’lláh’s half-brother, Azal. Browne was disappointed that the Bahá'ís did not take up the cause of constitutional reform but he was well aware that 'Abdu'l-Bahá had forbidden participation in political struggles, and that had they supported the Constitutionalists, it would the brought that wrath of the persecution of the Bahá'ís down upon them.
• 'Abdu'l-Bahá is reported to have said, "They tampered with the contents of the history of Hájí Mírzá Jání by removing some of its passages and inserting others. They sent it to the libraries of London and Paris and through such falsehood induced him [Browne] to translate and publish the document. In order to achieve his own selfish desires, he had it printed." [MD24]
• Also from 'Abdu'l-Bahá, "I wrote to him, saying, `You are the first European teacher and author to have attained His Blessed Presence. Do not lose this distinction.' He did not understand me and his loss will be known when the lights of guidance shine in England with supreme brilliancy." [MD278]
• From GPB81, Browne's testimony, “One of those strange outbursts,”...“of enthusiasm, faith, fervent devotion and indomitable heroism … the birth of a Faith which may not impossibly win a place amidst the great religions of the world.” And again: “The spirit which pervades the Bábís is such that it can hardly fail to affect most powerfully all subjected to its influence.… Let those who have not seen disbelieve me if they will, but, should that spirit once reveal itself to them, they will experience an emotion which they are not likely to forget.”
• The Persian Constitutional Movement (1918) [MCS544]
• Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion (1918) The book represented no great amount of original work on Browne's part since it was mainly documents that he had collected.
• Arabian Medicine (1921) [Browne, Edward Granville by Moojan Momen] iiiii
• For scholarly works on the life of Browne see Selections From The Writings of E.G. Browne - On The Babi And Baha'i Religions by Moojan Momen and Edward Granville Browne and the Baha'i Faith by Hasan Balyuzi. Both have been published by George Ronald.

the brightest embodiment of that love which is born of God and of that human sympathy which few mortals are capable of evincing.

• 27 February, 1929: The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh
• 21 March, 1930: The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh Further Considerations
• 28 November, 1931: The Goal of the New World Order
• 21 March, 1931: Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh
• 21 April, 1933: America and the Most Great Peace
• 8 February, 1934:The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh consisting of:
  • Bahá’u’lláh
  • Báb
  • Abdu’l‑Bahá
  • Administrative Order
• 11 March, 1936: The Unfoldment of World Civilization

Specifics

Location: Wilmette, Illinois, U.S. Cook County
Administration: On the same day as the internment of the sacred remains of the Báb on Mount Carmel, March 21st, 1909, the first American Bahá'í Convention opened in Chicago. The Convention established the 'Bahá'í Temple Unity', incorporated to hold title to the Temple property and to provide for its construction. A constitution was framed and an Executive Board of the Bahá'í Temple Unity elected. This body became the future National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. [BBD39; BBRSM:106; BW10:179; GPB349; PP397; SBBH1:146; BFA2:XVII, 309; BW13:849; MBW142–3]
Foundation Stone: by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, 1 May, 1912
Construction Period:The purchase of the site completed: 1914. Design Chosen: 1920. Superstructure: 1921 – 1 May 1931. External Ornamentation: June 1932 -1943. Interior: 1951
Dedication: 1 May 1953
Architects: Louis Bourgeois with Alfred Shaw (interior cladding) Bourgeois became a Baha’i in New York City in 1907, and two years later responded to the call for designs for the Temple. In 1920, delegates from across the country unanimously selected his innovative design. Bourgeois traveled to Haifa to consult with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. With ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s encouragement, Bourgeois refined and scaled down the size of his design. [The House of Worship Architecture]
Seating: 1,191 [DP220]
Dimensions: 203ft at the base and 49ft high
Cost: $2.6 million (another source) $51,500 (land) plus $3,212,517.60 (construction costs 1921-1953)
Dependencies: Construction of a home for the aged was began in December, 1957 and inaugurated on 1 February, 1959. It is located about three blocks away.
Note: In GPB349 Shoghi Effendi states that “…this enterprise—the crowning achievement of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in the first Bahá’í century…”.
References: CEBF236-241,GPB348-353, MDM121-239, The Dawning Place, The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1963 Information Statistical & Comparative p36-37. iiiii

• See the message from the Universal House of Justice dated 26 November, 2007 for a list of accomplishments of the Hands of the Cause during the period between the passing of the Guardian and the election of the Universal House of Justice.

• Among the eleven people named to the Boards in Africa were three native believers: Oloro Epyeru and Kolonario Oule in Uganda, and Seewoosumbur-Jeehiba Appa in Mauritius.

Contemplating this awe-inspiring, supernal episode, we may obtain a clearer understanding of our own times, a more confident view of their outcome and a deeper apprehension of the part we are called upon to play. That the violent disruption which has seized the entire planet is beyond the ability of men to assuage, unaided by God’s revelation, is a truth repeatedly and forcibly set forth in our Writings. The old order cannot be repaired; it is being rolled up before our eyes. The moral decay and disorder convulsing human society must run their course; we can neither arrest nor divert them.

Woman, light of the future generation - when we, the women of the world, reflect on the true meaning of this theme that was chosen and as its full meaning penetrates more and more deeply into the conscience of each woman, we must understand that affectionate, that supreme privilege is ours and that inescapable duty is ours, and so we must rise as never before, to fulfill our first obligation. Women know that they are the first educators of humanity ...

"In the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal, the believers have, through the integrity of their character and the excellence of their conduct, overcome in recent years restrictions on the expansion of the Cause. They are now held in high regard and are successfully engaged in presenting the Faith to the people as a unifying force which can contribute to the progress of the nation. As they grow in strength, they can begin to look beyond their own borders and assist in the propagation of the Faith in those areas to which they have such easy access." [Ridván 153] [key]

"The five international conferences of the Seven Year Plan were called to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the passing of the Greatest Holy Leaf, to discuss anew the present condition of the Faith in a turbulent world society, to examine the great opportunities for its future growth and development, and to focus attention on the unfulfilled goals of the Plan. We are certain that the contemplation of the gathered friends on the sterling qualities which distinguished the heroic life of the Greatest Holy Leaf will help them to persevere in their noble endeavours." [The Universal House of Justice, from a message to the International Conference in Canberra, Australia, 2, September 1982 para 3] [key]

Specifics

Location: New Delhi, India (Bahapur (Abode of Light))
Foundation Stone: 17 October 1977 (Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum)
Construction Period: April 1980 - December 1986
Site Dedication:24 December 1986 (Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum placed a silver casket containing Dust from the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb into the crown of the Prayer Hall arch facing ‘Akká)
Architect/Project Manager: Fariburz Sahbá
Seating: 1200
Dimensions:Inner buds are 34.3m high, the outer leaves are 15.4m wide and 22.5m high.
Cost: $10m
Dependencies:
References: BW16p486-487, BW17p368-370, BW18p103-104, 571-584, BW19p559-568, BW20p731-753

...the Government has recognized the Bahá'í community as a religious association with the right to spread the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh

In 2005 the Romanian Bahá'í community numbered some 7000, but in January 2007 a law was passed that had restrictive requirements for religious communities to be recognized, which Bahá'ís and other religions could not meet. Some of the restrictions include waiting twelve years from petitioning for recognition and to have over 22,000 members. [ROMANIA: Too much power for the state and recognised communities?] [key]

The Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is represented in every country on earth. The sudden change in the political climate, no doubt by intervention of God’s Major Plan, opened vast regions to the penetration of the divine teachings, primarily in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc countries. The opportunities created by this change made possible the settlement of Knights of Bahá’u’lláh in the last virgin territories that remained from Shoghi Effendi’s Ten Year World Crusade. They also impelled the launching at Ridván 1990 of the subsidiary Two Year Plan for those regions. This supplementary Plan was a spectacular success, not only in terms of expansion in the many countries involved, but also in the diversity of the strata represented by the new believers in these countries, in the volume and variety of Bahá’í literature published and in the array of Bahá’í institutions established during that short time. The Bahá’í world was highly stimulated by these developments, and a number of countries elsewhere recorded significant successes in the teaching work…

• Introduction: Religion as an Agent for Promoting the Advancement of Women at all Levels.
• Education: Educating Girls: An Investment in the Future.
• Health: Primary Health Care and the Empowerment of Women.
• Violence: Ending Violence Against Women.
• Economic Structures: Women in the Informal Sector in Malaysia.
• Power Sharing Bahá'í Law and Principle: Creating Legal and Institutional Structures for Gender Equality.
• Mechanisms for Advancement: UNIFEM/Bahá'í Project Raises Community Awareness.
• Human Rights: Protection of Women's Rights.
• Girl Child: The Girl Child: A Critical Concern.
• Appendix: The Status of Women in the Bahá'í Community.

As the term “institute” has assumed various uses in the Bahá’í community, a word of clarification is needed. The next four years will represent an extraordinary period in the history of our Faith, a turning point of epochal magnitude. What the friends throughout the world are now being asked to do is to commit themselves, their material resources, their abilities and their time to the development of a network of training institutes on a scale never before attempted. These centres of Bahá’í learning will have as their goal one very practical outcome, namely, the raising up of large numbers of believers who are trained to foster and facilitate the process of entry by troops with efficiency and love.

• The training institutes focused on generating an increasing flow of individuals endowed with the necessary capacities to sustain the process of growth. It was recognized that certain activities were a natural response to the spiritual needs of a population. Study circles, children’s classes, devotional meetings, and later junior youth groups stood out as being of central importance in this regard, and when woven together with related activities, the dynamics generated could give rise to a vibrant pattern of community life. [Ridván Message 2021]

• As of this date there were 170 Regional Councils in 45 countries.

• Ridván 2010
• 29 August 2010
• 1 January 2011
• Ridván 2011

• Reading the reality of society and its discourses on race. This includes not only visiting cities as described above to learn about current programs, but also discovering how people in various parts of society are talking about race.
• Entering established social spaces, such as conferences and workshops. A wide variety of opportunities are open for Baha’i participation, Andrews notes — not just groups that study the dynamic between white and African-American communities, but also institutes for studies concerning Native Americans, Asian Americans and Latin Americans.
• Developing sincere friendships with people active in social justice work. Working with others over a number of years, OPA has found a nucleus of groups “with whom we can build relationships and who are interested in engaging with us,” Lample says. Those collaborations help the office participate effectively in high levels of discourse.
• Convening spaces for a variety of people and agencies and creating content to stimulate sharing of thoughts. Right now the most active Baha’i-sponsored space is the Dialogue on Faith and Race, which OPA hosts every three months. While that attracts about 20 participants in an average session, “about 50 organizations are loosely part of the community that we bring together,” Andrews says. Usually the content that starts conversations at those gatherings is in the form of a document or white paper, but the team is looking at learning to create podcasts and videos for a wider audience.
• Learning how to engage small, knowledgeable groups of Bahá’ís. The race discourse team has started conversations with Baha’is across the country who have expertise and experience taking part in the national discourse on race. “This aspect of our work will likely grow and develop as the American Baha’i community continues to gain more experience in translating the writings of Baha’u’llah into action and the power to articulate what it is learning,” Lample says. [NSA USA website] [key]

Within its walls the “Most Great House of God,” His “Footstool” and the “Throne of His Glory,” “the Cynosure of an adoring world,” the “Lamp of Salvation between earth and heaven,” the “Sign of His remembrance to all who are in heaven and on earth,” enshrining the “Jewel whose glory hath irradiated all creation,” the “Standard” of His Kingdom, the “Shrine round which will circle the concourse of the faithful” was irrevocably founded and permanently consecrated. Upon it, by virtue of its sanctity as Bahá’u’lláh’s “Most Holy Habitation” and “Seat of His transcendent glory,” was conferred the honor of being regarded as a center of pilgrimage second to none except the city of ‘Akká, His “Most Great Prison,” in whose immediate vicinity His holy Sepulcher, the Qiblih of the Bahá’í world, is enshrined.

Other messages related to the Plan are:

• 2 January 2016 – To the Bahá’ís of the World
• 26 March 2016 – To the Bahá’ís of the World acting under the Mandate of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
• 26 March 2016 – To the chosen recipients of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Tablets of the Divine Plan, the Bahá’ís of the United States and the Bahá’ís of Canada
• Riḍván 2016 – To the Bahá’ís of the World

Specifics

Location: Santiago, Chile
Foundation Stone:
Construction Period: 2013 – October 2016
Site Dedication:13-16 October 2016
Architect: Siamak Hariri
Landscape Architect: Juan Grimm
Seating:
Dimensions:2,415 square-metre (26,000 square-feet)
Cost: approximately $30m
Dependencies:
References: BWNS800, BWNS921, BWNS940, BWNS959, BWNS982, BWNS1123, BWNS1125, BWNS1055, BWNS1199
• Since its dedication in October 2016, the Temple has been a recipient of an International Architecture Award as well as awards for structural artistry from the Institution of Structural Engineers, for innovation in architecture from the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, for innovation from the American Institute of Architects, for design excellence from the Ontario Association of Architects, for “Best in Americas, Civil Buildings,” from World Architecture News, and for Architectural and Cultural design from American Architecture Prize. [BWNS1262]
• The Temple design won the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada (RAIC) International Prize. This renowned prize is awarded every two years and was created to celebrate socially transformative, respectful, uplifting and inclusive architecture. [FloorNature site.]
• This site states that since the opening some 1.4 million people have visited. Some weekend have had up to 36,000 visitors.
• This site has some spectacular photographs.
• The announcement that Hariri Pontarini Architects had won the prize on the 25th of October, 2019.
• Some spectacular pictures, some of which were taken during the construction.
• See a short video made by Hariri Pontarini Architects.

Specifics

Location: Battambang, Cambodia
Design unveiled:July 2015
Groundbreaking ceremony: 14 November, 2015
Construction Period:January 2016 to September 2017
Site Dedication: 1 September, 2017
Architect: Tang Sochet Vitou
Architectural firm: Architecture Design Intelligence (ADI)
Seating:
Dimensions: Inside height 11.8m
Cost:
Dependencies:
References: [BWNS906, BWNS1062, BWNS1082, BWNS1100, BWNS1120, BWNS1137, BWNS1157, BWNS1185, BWNS1187, BWNS1189, BWNS1190 (slide show), BWNS1191 (video), BWNS1192] [key]

Specifics

Location: Aqua Azul, Notre del Cauca, Columbia
Property acquired:December, 2013
Design unveiled: 13 September, 2014
Groundbreaking: 22 May, 2016
Construction Period: January 2017 to July 2018
Site Dedication: 22 July, 2018
Architect:Mr. Gutierrez Chacón
Architectural firm:CUNA Engineering and Sustainable Architecture
Seating:
Dimensions:The Temple is 18 metres tall. Inside height is 15 metres.
Cost:
Dependencies:
References: BWNS1020; BWNS1047; BWNS1109; BWNS1153; BWNS1168; BWNS1222; BWNS1240; BWNS1249; BWNS1268, BWNS1277.

Location: Matunda Soy district in Kenya
Foundation Stone: 23 March 2019 to 23 May 2021
Construction Period: 28 February 2019 to
Site Dedication: 23 May 2021
Architect: Neda Samimi (The first woman whose design for a Baha’i House of Worship was selected.)
Architectural firm: under the auspices of Archipoint Consulting Architects (Mr Alfred Mango, Architect)
Seating: 250
Dimensions:
Land: The area was about 20 acres inclusive of the Lwanda Learning Site which occupies about 3 acres.
Cost: (land and building)15m Kshs plus 152m Kshs (approximately US$1.5m)
Dependencies: Existing buildings will be repurposed as educational facilities and as offices for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Kenya.
References: BWNS1251; BWNS1317; BWNS1473; BWNS1493; BWNS1511.