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TAGS: Appointed arm; Covenant (general); Covenant-breakers; Custodians; Guardianship; Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Activities; International Bahai Council; Ministry of the Custodians (book); Universal House of Justice; Universal House of Justice, Election of
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Ministry of the Custodians:
An Account of the Stewardship of the Hands of the Cause 1957-1963

by / on behalf of Universal House of Justice and Ruhiyyih (Mary Maxwell) Khanum

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Chapter 4


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MINISTRY OF THE CUSTODIANS
1960



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To the Hands of the Cause of God throughout the World
January 8, 1960

Beloved Co-workers:
Reports received from all parts of the Bahá'í world tell of the enthusiasm of the friends over the message sent from the recent gathering of the Hands held in Bahji The National Assemblies, as well as many of the believers, have assured us that this message has greatly inspired them and they have pledged the fullest support in carrying out the detailed plans we have made for the fulfilment of the supremely important objective of establishing the requisite number of Local and National Assemblies by Ridvan 1962. This response has greatly encouraged us and we hasten to share this good news with you all.
As we all realized in Bahji the complete unity of the Hands of the Faith at this crucial time is essential to ensure the triumph of the Plan of our beloved Guardian and the glorious consummation of the establishment of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. Above all, we must adhere strictly to the solemn agreement we made to limit all discussions of the Guardianship to the references made in the messages from our three Conclaves. The same of course applies with equal force to our agreement that none of us would express any view individually concerning the question of the eligibility of the Hands for membership on the Universal House of Justice, but would simply refer the friends to the Writings of the Central Figures of the Faith, including those of the beloved Guardian.
We have recently written a letter to all National and Regional Assemblies, asking them to refrain from publishing or printing any new treatises or statements relating to the Administrative Order in its present stage and to the question of the Guardianship. There have been one or two instances of such things being published which might cause confusion and unnecessary discussion amongst the friends. We therefore felt it imperative to take action before other material of this nature appeared. The response of the Assemblies concerned has been very cooperative when we called this matter to their attention.
We have received word that some of the Hands have not been sufficiently careful in strictly observing the understandings which we reached, particularly that no comment whatsoever would be made concerning the Guardianship or its future except as outlined in our three messages.
We call this to your attention because we are fearful that the least infraction of this most important matter on the part of any Hand may lead to very serious consequences throughout the Bahá'í world.
When we visit the sacred Shrines, we pray most ardently for each and



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every one of you and for the success of the great work you are carrying forward in such a sacrificial and effective manner.
We send loving Bahá'í greetings,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

To the Hands of the Cause of God throughout the World
February 11, 1960

Dear Fellow-Hands:
It was agreed at the Conclave that the Hands residing in the Holy Land should from time to time circulate some of the news contained in the reports and letters that flow in to the World Centre. We enclose the first of these News Letters which we trust you will find helpful in your teaching and other activities.
We are asking the National Assemblies to share this with the friends through their own News Letters.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

To All National Spiritual Assemblies
February 11, 1960

Beloved Friends:
Enclosed is a communication from the World Centre, giving some highlights on the progress of the Faith, gleaned from news reaching Haifa from all over the Bahá'í world.
We feel that such a News Letter from the Holy Land, which we plan to issue from time to time, will be of interest to the friends and provide a source of inspiration and encouragement.
Please share this bulletin with the believers in your area through your News Letter.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

NEWS FROM THE WORLD CENTRE OF THE FAITH

February 11, 1960

Dearly beloved Friends:
The Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land have received many requests



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for news direct from the World Centre, and it has been our hope for some time to share with the believers selections from the glad-tidings which reach us here.
The two years which have elapsed since the passing of our dearly beloved Guardian have imposed such heavy burdens that it has been impossible hitherto for us to undertake this informal news letter to the friends, which we hope to be able to send out from time to time in the future.
Through the grace of Bahá'u'lláh, the day-to-day work of the World Centre has continued very much as it did in the time of our beloved Guardian, but of course without the divine inspiration, the wondrous wisdom and love which it then received through the Sign of God on earth.
As the friends have no doubt noticed from the correspondence coming from the Hands in the Holy Land, we have been blessed with the assistance on different occasions of many of our fellow-Hands. That is why the signatures on the letters are not the same at different times. Some of us are occasionally absent for necessary reasons, and then one or more of the Hands from another place has come to our assistance and acted as a substitute. This has greatly enriched our meetings by bringing us the viewpoints of our fellow-Hands, and enabling them to acquire an intimate experience with the problems facing the Bahá'í world in the course of the prosecution of the Ten Year Crusade.
In view of the vast territories of the Western Hemisphere, and the fact that two of the Hands of the Faith of that area have moved to the Holy Land, for service at the World Centre, it was decided at the recent Conclave of the Hands that in addition to William Sears, Hermann Grossmann should serve as a Hand of the Western Hemisphere for the remainder of the Crusade. He is now in South America, actively assisting the two South American Regional Assemblies in the attainment of their Crusade goals.
Many of the Hands, realizing how little time is left to us to achieve the World Crusade goals of our beloved Guardian are now engaged in extensive travels. Ugo Giachery, is making a tour of Central America. John Robarts, has left Africa for an extended visit to Canada to assist the friends in attaining their home-front goals. Adelbert Muhlschlegel, is spending some months in Scandinavia and Finland, assisting the Regional Assembly of these countries in the all-important work of teaching and consolidation. 'Ali-Akbar Furutan one of the Hands serving in the Holy Land, is at present making a lengthy visit to Iran, encouraging the believers to arise as pioneers for centres abroad, as well as in Iran itself. Shu'a'u'llah 'Ala'i is visiting centres in the Indian sub-continent, the Northern Pacific



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region, and Japan. The other continental Hands are carrying on their activities at a heightened pace. At the present time the Hand of the Cause Tarazu'llah Samandari, is working in Haifa on the identification of the handwriting of the innumerable Tablets collected in the International Bahá'í Archives. His long association with the Faith, dating from the days of the Blessed Beauty Himself, has made him familiar to a unique degree with the penmanship of the Bab. Bahá'u'lláh, 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and their various amanuenses, and ideally fits him for this important service.
The prominence of the edifices associated with the World Centre of the Faith is steadily increasing in Israel, like a constellation that mounts the heavens as the hours advance. The peace and beauty which streams from the inner Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh and the splendour of the Haram-i-Aqdas which surrounds it; the Shrine of the Bab. the International Archives Building, and the extensive surrounding gardens of both buildings, are becoming recognized more and more as outstanding sites in this country. Indeed it can be truly said that nothing comparable to these buildings and gardens exists anywhere in Israel, or for that matter on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. Innumerable postcards, greeting cards, photographs and books publicize the Holy Shrines and their environs in Haifa and 'Akka, A ceaseless stream of tourists from abroad and from different towns in Israel flows into the Shrine gardens daily; tour buses and school buses pour hundreds of sight-seers into the Bahá'í Holy Places; and there can be no doubt that just as the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in America is a great silent teacher, as the Master said it would be, so the Shrines here have likewise become mighty teachers of the Faith. We feel sure that in the future a rich harvest will be reaped from the many souls who have visited their sacred precincts. It is surprising how many of the visitors inform the friends who show them around that they have Bahá'í friends or relatives in other countries. Ten years ago this was a remark rarely heard, but it is now becoming commonplace, and testifies to the extraordinary progress the Faith has made all over the world -- a progress directly attributable to the unremitting labours, the determination and the self-sacrifice of our beloved Guardian.
The plans made by him are continually bearing fruit. Since his passing, with the exception of a few remaining territories in the Soviet zone of influence, every single virgin country specified by him in the Ten Year Crusade has been opened to the Faith. Paul Adams succeeded, as the friends know, in opening Spitzbergen in 1958, and this devoted young Knight of Bahá'u'lláh, after overcoming many difficulties, was able to return this winter to that far northern outpost. During the last few months Jeanne Frankel and her mother, Elizabeth Bates, were able to enter the Cocos Islands. This goal of the Ten Year Plan had been previously



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opened to the Faith by Frank Wyss, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh from Australia. Unfortunately he was refused permission to remain, but Jeanne has been more fortunate, and the wonderful news has recently reached us that she now has a group of Bahá'ís in that far-off tropical island. Great indeed is the power of Bahá'u'lláh!
It is not possible to go into details of the progress being made all over the world; however, some of the highlights are indeed thrilling. Recently in Swaziland the Faith has been listed as a fourth religion by the Government. Last year it was possible for Collis Featherstone to visit, at the invitation of some of the Maori chiefs in New Zealand, a centre of Maori culture and to present the Faith to the leaders of the people. As all religious teaching has been forbidden in that area because of the conflicts the different Christian sects aroused amongst the people, this was indeed a unique honour conferred by the Maori leaders upon a representative of our Faith. The chiefs were deeply impressed and requested that literature be left for their people to study. The third all-American Indian Bahá'í Assembly was formed last April in Bolivia, and since then many hundreds of Indians have entered the Faith-outstanding steps toward fulfilment of one of the dearest hopes of the beloved Guardian, who urged the friends on many occasions to remember the words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in the Divine Plan, that if the original inhabitants of America accepted the Faith they would become as enkindled as the original inhabitants of Arabia who accepted the Prophet Muhammad.
Among the many outstanding advances in Africa may be cited the extraordinary number of enrolments in Uganda and Kenya, which are now on such a scale as to present a serious problem to the administrative bodies responsible. There are just not enough Bahá'ís to keep up with the work of checking the declaration cards that come in! The mass conversion desired and foretold by the beloved Guardian is now taking place in this area, as well as in the Malayan Archipelago and other areas of the Pacific. It presents a great challenge and a wonderful hope for the future. Schools run by Bahá'ís for the Africans are perforce increasing throughout the continent as the Faith spreads and the Bahá'í membership increases so rapidly.
In view of the urgent need for pioneers to fill the goals in Latin America and Europe, it is encouraging to note that there is a strong internal movement of pioneers. At least ten German Bahá'ís have arisen and volunteered to go to the aid of their sister communities in neighbouring countries. This is a great step forward, as the German Bahá'í Community has had special responsibilities and honours conferred upon it by both 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian. In Latin America also, many pioneers are leaving the established communities, to settle in the



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goal cities where Local Assemblies must be formed this coming Ridvan.
Plans for the construction of the Mother Temple of Europe in Frankfurt are at last beginning to take concrete form. The German National Spiritual Assembly, in view of past frustrating experiences had refused to purchase outright the Temple property until such time as permission to build was assured from the authorities. This now having at last been obtained, the deeds to the property have been transferred to the name of the Assembly. The architect's working drawings are well under way, and as soon as weather permits, actual work on the site will be commenced. As the friends are aware, the Mother Temple of Africa, situated in Kampala, will be dedicated at the beginning of next summer. The Mother Temple of Australia is advancing at a rapid pace, and although the exterior of the building may be completed by the coming Ridvan plans for its dedication are being made for the following year, in other words, 1961. The funds for these two Temples, thanks to the munificence of the beloved Guardian himself, and the generosity of the believers, have been assured; but the greater part of the funds needed to construct the German Temple has still to be raised, and this presents a serious challenge to the Bahá'ís throughout the world in completing this vital goal of the Fourth Phase of the Crusade before 1963.
The many pilgrims who visited the Holy Land will remember how often the beloved Guardian mentioned his heavy burdens, and that he was over-worked and concerned over the multitudinous problems which faced him. This work and these problems have fallen to the lot of the Hands of the Faith, who have been obliged and privileged to assume the burden at the World Centre. We ask the believers to remember us in their prayers as we remember them in ours in the Holy Shrines. We realize that only the grace of Bahá'u'lláh can assist us all-His followers all over the world-to bring to a successful conclusion the mighty plan of our beloved Guardian. We also realize, however, that the grace of God must be attracted by a magnet in this world. The magnet, we know, is purity of heart, dedication in service, obedience to the Divine commands, and willingness to sacrifice. We urge all of the friends, whoever they are and wherever they are serving, whatever their station in life, their age, their education or abilities, to remember their individual and collective responsibility for executing the Plan of God. Let them study the Guardian's World Crusade, and determine in what manner locally, nationally, on the home front or in the international arena they can most effectively assist in laying the foundation of that supreme edifice, the Universal House of Justice.
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND



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To All National Spiritual Assemblies
February 21, 1960

Dear Bahá'í Friends:
We would like to remind you of our request that all National Spiritual Assemblies submit semi-annual reports to reach the Holy Land not later than October 15 and March 15. The information you send us each year in the March 15 report is of great assistance in preparing our Ridvan Message to the Annual Conventions, which summarizes the progress of the Faith throughout the world. It is vital that these reports reach Haifa not later than March 15.
Our previous communications have outlined the specific information to be included in these reports. This next report should include, in addition to the number of Assemblies, groups and isolated centres a brief summary of the status of the settlement of the goal cities chosen to achieve the vitally important home-front objectives in your area, as well as a list of teaching conferences and schools held in your territory since last Ridvan. The report should also include any particularly noteworthy or interesting achievements during the past year, whether they represent World Crusade victories or the achievement of supplementary goals.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND


RIDVAN
MESSAGE 1960

To Annual Bahá'í Conventions

Dearly beloved Friends:
Another twelve months of important Bahá'í events have revolved upon the mighty axis of our beloved Guardian's divinely inspired, world encompassing Crusade. Once again, at this blessed Ridvan period, we pause to survey the accomplishments of the past year, to enumerate its victories and to assess the tasks that still lie ahead ere we reach the goal of 1963 and enter upon the celebration of the supreme Jubilee of our Faith, the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh's Mission -- a Mission which casts its light forward over five hundred thousand years of human destiny. We Bahá'ís may well raise our hearts in thanksgiving to Him for the constant evidences of His unfailing grace, protection and guidance vouchsafed to us, the small but faithful band of His followers



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scattered throughout the populous and ancient centres of culture in both the East and the West, throughout the wildernesses of Africa and the New World, and the far-flung islands of the seas. In spite of the heavy blow we received so recently through earthly separation from our Guardian --a blow from which our hearts still bleed; in spite of our frailty as chosen instruments of God; in spite of the fewness of our numbers in the face of the teeming millions as yet unaware of the advent of the Promised One of all ages; in spite of the circumscribed nature of our material resources in spite of all these things we witness that this Faith of ours is receiving an uninterrupted impetus from the Will of Bahá'u'lláh and that its nascent institutions, given to us by Him, elaborated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and erected by Shoghi Effendi are multiplying in number, growing in strength, casting down deeper roots into the life of society, increasing in prestige and demonstrating the power nascent within them which must flower eventually into a World Civilization and bring about that Golden Age which will in truth be the Kingdom of Heaven upon earth.
The process of knitting the Bahá'í world together and coordinating its far-flung activities, which was carried on from the World Centre of our Faith by the beloved Guardian, has steadily continued since his passing and bears witness to the enduring foundations he laid during the thirty-six years of unremitting toil and self-sacrifice which characterized his ministry. The brilliance of his planning, the far-reaching vision which inspired his decisions, the vitality of the Administrative Order he built up during his lifetime, continue to bear fruit. The "heart and nerve centre" of the Faith, the hub into which the spokes of this mighty wheel of God, this New World Order, fit has continued to function with unabated vitality, receiving its spiritual impetus from the twin Holy Shrines in which are laid to rest the Twin Manifestations of God for this Day, and pouring this life-force into the world-wide Community of the followers of the Most Great Name, in spite of having so recently passed through one of the worst crises in one hundred and seventeen years of Bahá'í history. The Ten Year Plan, the latest step in the unfoldment of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan designed to bring about the spiritual conquest of the entire globe, has forged ahead in a truly miraculous manner since that grievous and fateful November day in 1957 which witnessed the removal of its guiding force, its Commander-in-Chief, the designer of its every phase, and the one to whom its prosecutors, whether Hands, Board members, administrative bodies, pioneers or teachers, looked for words of encouragement and guidance and from whom they eagerly anticipated receiving that measure of reward or acclaim that he in his wisdom and love might bestow upon them.
Not only has the unity of the Faith been protected, the plans of its



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enemies forestalled and its properties safeguarded, but the spirit of the believers has not faltered in the darkest hour of test. We may truly say that it is this great pact of faith in the hearts of the friends that has held the Cause steadily on the course chartered for it by its Guardian, and has been the magnet attracting so many new souls to the Faith during the past two years. It is this force of faith in Bahá'u'lláh and love for Him that has swept the Bahá'ís of the world forward to such astonishing victories as the establishment during this present Ridvan period of the entire number of Spiritual Assemblies specified by the beloved Guardian in the Ten Year Plan as the necessary foundation for the future independent national Bahá'í bodies of Latin America. Those responsible for this feat obeyed his behest to ". . . set their faces towards those fields that still remain unexplored and direct their steps to those goals that are as yet unattained, assured that He Who has led them to achieve such triumphs . . . will continue to assist them in enriching their spiritual birthright to a degree that no finite mind can imagine or human heart perceive." How shining are the evidences that this promised support has been vouchsafed to them by Bahá'u'lláh Himself. Last Ridvan with so many Local Assemblies still needed in Latin America, the heights still to be scaled seemed unattainable; this Ridvan the banner of conquest floats proudly from every hilltop. How greatly must Shoghi Effendi's heart rejoice!
The truly extraordinary evidences of progress throughout the entire range of Bahá'í activity should cause us all to ponder anew the mysterious power of this Faith, to marvel at the secret springs that so constantly feed its needs, and to supplicate that during the coming year a still greater measure of Bahá'u'lláh's loving protection, His all-conquering strength, His unfailing guidance, may be vouchsafed to us in the prosecution of the beloved Guardian's mighty Crusade. With humble gratitude for the untiring and consecrated labours of our fellow-believers and deep joy in their achievements, we share with the friends the truly remarkable list of the major events and victories of this past year.
The number of territories comprising the World Community of the Most Great Name has now risen to the impressive total of two hundred and fifty-six, including all of the one hundred and thirty-one original virgin goals of the World Crusade listed by our beloved Guardian, with the exception of ten territories within the Soviet orbit. One of the most difficult objectives of the Ten Year Plan, Hainan Island, has recently been opened by a stalwart Knight of Bahá'u'lláh of Chinese origin, adding another pearl to that chain of islands girdling the Asiatic mainland.
The steady process of multiplication of localities where Bahá'ís reside in all parts of the globe has raised the total of these centres to over five thousand eight hundred, far exceeding "the goal of five thousand Bahá'í



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centres in the Eastern and Western Hemispheres" called for by our beloved Guardian in his Ridvan Message three short years ago. More than thirteen hundred localities have been added since his passing, over six hundred of these during the past year alone.
This uninterrupted expansion, brought about by the twin processes of dispersion and enrolment of new believers, has brought the number of such centres in the Goal Countries of Europe to more than a hundred and forty; in Germany and Austria, to a hundred and forty-eight; in the British Isles to a hundred and fifty-one; in Australasia and in the Dominion of Canada, respectively, to nearly a hundred and sixty; in the Indian subcontinent to a hundred and eighty; in Latin America to nearly three hundred and forty; in the Pacific area to over five hundred; in Persia to more than one thousand and seventy; in the African continent to eleven hundred and forty; and in the United States of America to nearly fifteen hundred and seventy.
In the African continent and throughout the Pacific region, areas encompassing almost half of the original one hundred and thirty-one virgin territories to be opened during the World Crusade, extraordinary progress continues to be made, the rate of increase far surpassing that in any other parts of the world and bearing conclusive witness to the spiritual vitality in the hearts of their indigenous peoples. As evidence of this mighty process of conversion now taking place, we may cite the fact that over four hundred new centres have been added in Africa during the past two years, and over two hundred in the Pacific region during the last twelve months. In Latin America, the scene next year of the formation of no less than twenty-one new National Spiritual Assemblies, more than a hundred centres have been added since last Ridvan a feat the magnitude of which cannot be sufficiently stressed when one considers the vast territory involved and the relatively small number of believers able to carry forward the work of the Crusade.
The number of Local Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world, referred to by our Guardian as the "foundation of the edifice of a rising Order", is rapidly approaching one thousand five hundred, reflecting an increase of almost two hundred in each of the last two Ridvan periods. Of these more than two hundred and forty are now incorporated.
Over half of the thirty-one National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies now established have achieved the Crusade goal of incorporation, seventeen having so far secured this legal registration, the latest being the energetic National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Burma, which has just received, less than a year after its own formation, official recognition by the Government of the Union of Burma.
Translations of the continually expanding literature of the Faith have



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now been made in two hundred and sixty-eight different languages, representing an increase of nearly one hundred and eighty since the inception of the Crusade. Ninety-six of these are supplementary to those originally specified by our beloved Guardian in the Ten Year Plan. During the Crusade years Bahá'í literature has been translated into all of the European languages called for in the Plan; into eighty-two of the indigenous languages of Asia; sixty-five of Africa; and over twenty in the Americas.
Progress in erecting the three great Mother Temples of Africa, Australasia and Europe is steadily continuing. Practically three years before the end of the World Crusade the beautiful and highly suitable Mashriqu'l-Adkhar at present reaching completion in the heart of Africa, will be dedicated, during this coming August, at a ceremony attended by believers from many districts and territories of what was once known as the "dark continent" but now shines as one of the brightest regions of the entire Bahá'í world. The Temple in Sydney, Australia, is rising at a rapid pace, and already this great "silent teacher" of the Antipodes is attracting wide publicity and the attention of thousands of people who pass by it daily on an adjacent main highway. It is anticipated that its dedication will take place early in 1961. The plans for the European Mashriqu'l-Adkhar, long the subject of opposition on the part of certain church elements in Germany, are now well advanced and it is hoped that construction can commence during the coming months at the Temple site near Frankfurt. These historic first steps in-the process of erecting Houses of Worship and their attendant institutions, which play such an important part in the Bahá'í society envisaged by Bahá'u'lláh, are being followed up and supported through the purchase of many sites for future Temples. During the past year, Japan, Austria, Bolivia, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic have acquired plots of land for this purpose, raising the number of such sites since the inauguration of the Ten Year Plan to the truly impressive total of thirty-three.
Among the many other properties added in various parts of the world during the past year to the already impressive list of Bahá'í holdings, the following are of special interest because of the official recognition which their acquisition has involved, giving increasing emphasis to the independent character of the Faith, and adding to its prestige: The approval, by the District Commissioner of Kenya, of the allocation of two plots of land in village areas for Bahá'í purposes, and the pending approval of a third plot; the authorization, confirmed through a special decree issued by the Ministry of Finance in Laos, for the Bahá'í Community in Vientiane to own in its name a plot of land as an endowment; and the recognition by Governmental authorities of Bahá'í burial grounds as such in Abbotabad, Nawabshah and Montgomery, in Pakistan, and in Seremban, Malaya, the



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three latter sites being direct allocations of Government land for the purpose of establishing separate Balid'i cemeteries.
Another evidence of the growing recognition of the independent character of the Faith is the continued expansion in the number of territories, states, provinces and other civic units where the Balid'i Marriage Certificate is legally accepted. Such recognition has now been granted in nearly forty-five different countries and political sub-divisions, the latest additions being the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in the Dominion of Canada. The Balid'i Holy Days are now officially recognized by school authorities in eighty different countries, states and cities. In the United States, including Alaska, more than ten new areas have been added since last Ridvan.
In the African continent, the onward march of the Faith bears eloquent testimony to the spiritual receptivity of its inhabitants, so strongly emphasized by our beloved Guardian, and reflected, even before his passing, in the beginnings of that mass conversion confidently predicted by him. As a result of the intensive teaching campaigns launched by the four African Regional Assemblies, the number of declared believers throughout this vast continent has risen to well over fifteen thousand, seven thousand having been added since last Ridvan. In Central and East Africa, the number of enrolled believers has more than doubled in the short space of a year. Over four thousand new declarations have been recorded in Uganda alone since April 1959, nearly twelve hundred in Kenya, and well over two hundred in Tanganyika. In the Belgian Congo, also, the beginnings of mass conversion are becoming evident. In the far-flung territories under the jurisdiction of the Regional Assembly of South and West Africa, a gain of over sixty percent has occurred during the past twelve months in the total number of adherents of the Faith. The zeal of the now believers in this area is well illustrated, by the recent settlement of the Island of Sesse in Lake Victoria, an accomplishment of a nature ever dear to Shoghi Effendi's heart. The number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in the whole of Africa has reached a total of three hundred and seventy-six, an increase of well over two hundred since the passing of the beloved Guardian. Representatives of two hundred and seventy-three different African tribes are now included in the membership of the Balid'i Community. Noteworthy among the many new instances of official recognition accorded the Faith during the past year are: The establishment and registration of the first Balid'i Publishing Trust in Africa, in Kampala, Uganda; the inclusion of "Bahá'í' on the official census sheet as one of the religions of Swaziland; and the registration of the Haziratu'l-Quds of Port Victoria, Seychelles as a religious property, thereby exempting it from all taxation.



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The Pacific area, exclusive of Australasia, competing with the African continent for that "Palm of victory" so often mentioned by the beloved Guardian himself, continues to fulfil the high expectations held by him for the rapid advancement of the Faith throughout its widely dispersed countries, islands and territories. Last year the number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in this region had reached one short of the hundred mark double the number which existed in 1957, and a further substantial increase is anticipated during the present Ridvan period. In the region of South-East Asia, the number of declared believers now exceeds seven thousand five hundred, including over forty-eight hundred in the Mentawai Islands alone. In addition to the astounding progress being made there, more than a thousand new believers have entered the Faith in Indonesia during the period since Ridvan, 1959. In the ten island groups comprising the territory of the Regional Assembly of the South Pacific, there are now nearly sixty localities. A three-fold increase in the number of centres in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands has occurred in the past year, and news has recently been received that on one of these islands, to which the first Gilbertese Bahá'í was banished because of his association with the Faith, nearly fifty new believers have recently been enrolled, due to his single-handed efforts. One Haziratu'l-Quds has already been completed in this remote outpost, and two more are under construction.
In the vast territory of the Western Hemisphere, including within its confines the Cradle of the Administrative Order, as well as those republics whose rulers were addressed by Bahá'u'lláh in such insistent and weighty terms, the number of localities to which the light of His Faith has penetrated now totals nearly two thousand one hundred, well over three hundred of which constitute Local Spiritual Assemblies; almost a hundred and forty of these are now incorporated. The rapid spread of the Faith among the Indians of South America in recent months has rivaled the extraordinary progress made in the heart of the African continent and the islands of the Pacific, and may well foreshadow a parallel process of mass conversion in the New World. In Bolivia, a seven-fold increase in the number of Indian believers has occurred since last Ridvan bringing the total to over the one thousand mark, drawn from almost a hundred different localities. As many as twenty-five new all-Indian Local Spiritual Assemblies may be formed in this country alone during the current Ridvan period. Throughout the Americas contact has been established with more than sixty different tribes since the inception of the Crusade, evidence of the steady progress made in carrying the Teachings to these indigenous peoples to whose enrolment in the Faith both 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and our beloved Guardian attached such great importance.
Among the many instances of an ever-wider proclamation of the Message



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of Bahá'u'lláh during recent months, the following may be cited as an indication of the wide geographical area now being reached, and a testimony to the increasing official and public recognition of the Faith as an independent religion: The Australia-wide press and publicity campaign recently initiated by the National Assembly of that country; the first publicity received over both radio and television in the British Isles; the broadcast of a program consisting of Bahá'í Sacred Writings over the All-India Radio from New Delhi; the presentation of the Message to the people of Japan on Radio Tokyo, and from a national television station in that country; the time accorded to a Bahá'í speaker in Switzerland over Radio Lausanne, as well as the television interview granted a travelling teacher in France, which was telecast from two principal stations in that country; the allocation of radio broadcast time to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Suva, Fiji Islands, along with other religions, including Christian, Hindu and Muslim; and the notable increase in publicity freely accorded the Faith in the United States of America, particularly in connection with such Bahá'í-sponsored events as World Religion Day, Race Amity Day, and the Bahá'í observance of United Nations Week.
An enumeration of the various teaching conferences, institutes and week-end schools held throughout the world during the last twelve months is most impressive, not only because of the very large number which took place, but also because nearly every part of the world-wide Bahá'í Community is represented. Though not necessarily complete, the following is a representative list of these gatherings, which our beloved Guardian considered to be a demonstration of the zeal and earnestness of the believers in "discharging their primary obligation to propagate their Faith": The Austrian Teaching Conferences held during the past winter in Vienna, and in Linz, as well as the first Austrian Youth Winter School in Krieglach; the Benelux Teaching Conference in Brussels; the striking total of one hundred and sixteen teaching conferences, one-day and week-end schools held in twenty-four different cities and towns in the British Isles; the Regional Teaching Conferences held in Germany, in Hannover, Heilbronn, Koln, Stuttgart, Ulm, and two in Frankfurt; the two Regional Teaching Conferences held in France, in Orleans and Montpellier; the six Regional Teaching Conferences held in the Iberian Peninsula; the Teaching Conference for the German-speaking cantons of Switzerland, in Zurich, and that for French Switzerland, in Lausanne; the Italian Teaching Conference, in Rome; the Finnish Teaching Conference, in Helsinki; the three Teaching Conferences of India, in New Delhi, Kanpur, and Mysore; the Teaching Conferences of Japan, in Tokyo, Osaka, Hiroshima, and Nagasaki; the Teaching Conference of East Pakistan, at Dacca, and of West Pakistan, at Lyallpore; the forty-five teaching



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conferences and week-end schools held in Central and East Africa, including thirty-five in Uganda, four in Kenya, four in Tanganyika, and one in Ruanda-Urundi; the teaching conferences and teacher training schools held in Mauritius, Mozambique, both Northern and Southern Rhodesia, Nyasaland, Swaziland, the Union of South Africa, and Zululand; the many teaching conferences in the Australian continent, including three in each of the States of Victoria, and Queensland, respectively, two each in New South Wales, South Australia and Western Australia, and the same number in Tasmania; the teaching conferences held in all of the main centres of the North Island of New Zealand; the first All-Philippine Teaching Conference, in Manila, and the conferences held in Indonesia, Malaya, and other areas of Southeast Asia; the Teaching Conferences of the South Pacific Islands, at Tuarabu Village, in the Gilbert and Ellice group, in Apia, Western Samoa, the three conferences held in the Tongan Islands, and the Fiji Teaching Conference in Suva; the Winter Workshop held on the campus of the University of Alaska, at Fairbanks; the Winter Conference in Ketchikan, Alaska; the All-Argentine Teaching Conference, in Rosario, and similar conferences held in Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay; the National Teaching Conferences of Peru, in Lima, and of Brazil, in Niteroi; the twenty-five teaching conferences held in Canada, covering every province of the Dominion, and including thirteen in Ontario alone; the Costa Rica Teaching Conference in San Jose; the Teaching Conference of Nicaragua, held in Managua; the All-Mexico Conference, in Mexico City; the Youth Congress held in Guatemala City; the Intercommunity Teaching Conference of Panama, in La Chorrera; the Honduran Teaching Conference, held in Taulabe; the three International Schools of the Greater Antilles, one in Ciudad Trujillo, Dominican Republic, and two in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, as well as two National Teaching Conferences in the same area; and the series of nation-wide conferences, nearly sixty in number, held in the United States of America, sponsored by the National Spiritual Assembly, and aimed at creating a deeper understanding of the needs of the Cause at this present stage of the World Crusade, and designed to lend a marked impetus to the teaching work, both abroad and on the home front, as well as approximately sixty additional Area Teaching Conferences held throughout the length and breadth of that country.
The recapitulation of facts such as these, concrete evidence of the astonishing forward march of this irresistible, divinely-inspired Plan, cannot but fill our souls with courage and determination to arise and carry out the remaining tasks of the World Crusade with greater vigour and dedication than ever before.
The supreme importance and significance of the World Centre of the



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Faith, irrevocably fixed by Bahá'u'lláh Himself in the Holy Land, and constantly stressed by the Guardian in his writings, has emerged since his passing and looms before us in its stupendous outlines, as the Most Great Jubilee approaches and the institutions of the World Centre evolve. It is incumbent upon the Bahá'ís particularly their elected National and Regional representatives, to realize that the unity of the Faith and the necessary uniform spread of its activities depend upon the proper co-ordination and protection which is given from the World Centre. National or Regional plans or interests cannot be permitted to sacrifice the overall interests of a closely-knit, smoothly functioning World Community. The eagerness of the Assemblies, and the believers they represent, each striving to attain in its own area a greater measure of development, to raise up new institutions such as Haziratu'l-Quds, Temples, schools and endowments, must be at once fostered and contained; fostered so that the Faith may arise locally in all its glory and power in different parts of the world; contained and directed so that each part whilst expanding and developing as fast as possible may not place in jeopardy the work of another area or undertake over-expansion or expenditure at the expense of another member of this single entity -a World Community. A constant consultative flow of communications must ever-increasingly, as the Crusade draws to its close, pass in and out of Haifa between the various National and Regional Assemblies and the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land upon whom has devolved the task at this critical juncture in Balid'i history of safeguarding and promoting the world interests and world-wide progress of the Cause of God.
During this year of momentous preparation for the election of no less than twenty-one new National Spiritual Assemblies in Central America, the Antilles and South America, a ceaseless effort must be exerted on the part of all those responsible for the fulfilment of these supremely important goals of the Crusade in order to ensure that the newly elected Local Assemblies, as well as those previously elected, remain at their present level, that they be deepened in faith and understanding of the Administrative Order, that the Communities they represent are increased in number and the rank and file of the believers more deeply confirmed in the spirit of the Faith and encouraged to serve its interests and spread its knowledge among the peoples of their respective countries. This is going to require arduous work on the part of those devoted and consecrated pioneers who constitute the vanguard of Bahá'u'lláh's advancing hosts; it is going to mean more pioneers and teachers may still be required in this strategic field of service; it will entail on the part of the Mother Community in North America an unabated flow of assistance in the form of loving consultation, cooperation and guidance, as well as a supply of



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material means from this more prosperous and richly blessed community to these struggling new daughter communities, rich in spirit and in promise, but often lacking in the financial resources necessary to attain their objectives and maintain their centres it is going to necessitate further outpourings of treasure from the devoted self-sacrificing followers of Bahá'u'lláh in the Cradle of the Faith who already, through the operation of the Persia-America deputization plan, have been responsible during the past eighteen months for much of the present spectacular success we now enjoy in the Latin American field; it will entail a greater measure of activity on the part of both the Board members and the elected representatives of the present four Regional National Assemblies functioning in this area. It must inevitably draw heavily upon the strength and the time-so fleeting, so short and therefore so precious-of the Hands of the Faith, both those serving at the World Centre and those allotted to the Western Hemisphere. We are confident, however, that these needs can and will be met and the glorious prize now well within our reach be seized in all its perfection and the new National Assemblies emerge next Ridvan in all their promise, prepared to assume their function as pillars of that Universal House of Justice so soon to be born.
We are evidently entering a new phase in the unfoldment of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Plan for the spiritual conquest of the entire planet. A movement can be seen in different parts of the world such as has not been witnessed since the inception of this Cause in Persia. The masses are beginning to stir, to raise their eyes and look questioningly upon the Message we are presenting to them; at first by hundreds, now in some places by thousands, they are embracing this Faith, fulfilling the prophecies of the Master and the words of the Guardian. Although at the present time this new process is taking place largely amongst the so-called more primitive members of human society, introducing into the Bahá'í family of peoples much needed qualities of both heart and mind, we have every reason to believe it presages similar movements of mass conversion in other territories.
The impact of the passing of our beloved Guardian, the electric shock it administered to the entire body of the believers, the fire of sorrow and test through which they passed and from which they are emerging stronger than ever before, cannot but release, as has every major crisis in the past history of our Faith, a fresh flow of those forces which mysteriously and irresistibly lead it to new victories, widen the pale of its influence, and swell the ranks of its followers. In view of this conspicuous process now taking place we call upon those pioneers and believers struggling in distant and difficult fields and particularly those in the recently opened territories, to persevere in their labours, to take fresh heart, to appreciate the spiritual significance of the service they are rendering and remain



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steadfastly at their posts-posts so dear to our beloved Guardian and to which he attached such great importance. Though the soil of men's hearts be infertile, the spiritual climate of their thoughts inhospitable and the promised harvest seem but a distant dream, let them remember their sacred responsibility as Bahá'u'lláh's "forward-marching warriors" and steadfastly persevere in their task until they not only achieve success, but God willing, in the end bless the land they have served so faithfully by laying their bones to rest in it, as many a pioneer has done before them, and their graves become places of visitation for future generations.
The recent, little short of miraculous, achievements in Latin America demonstrate to us what hidden springs of strength are released in us when we obey the behests of our Guardian. They prove to us that the promised aid of the Supreme Concourse is at hand, eager to assist us, and that in the words of Shoghi Effendi its "invisible battalions are mustered, rank upon rank, ready to pour forth reinforcements from on High" and sustain even the humblest service undertaken in the Path of God.
Very little time remains to us if we are to accomplish fully and with resounding success the tasks allotted to us by Shoghi Effendi in the last, mighty Plan we received from him, the final fruit of his divinely-inspired mind. We need not, we cannot, and we will not fail him. It lies within our power to seal with complete victory his world-encircling Crusade. This can only be done, however, if mighty and ceaseless efforts are made by each and every believer and more particularly those who form a part of such richly blessed and favoured Communities as those in the Cradle of the Faith and in the Cradle of its Administrative Order. Aside from the task of consolidating and maintaining the work in Latin America, prior to the election in Ridvan 1961 of the twenty-one independent National Assemblies to be formed there, a tremendous amount of work faces the Bahá'ís whether they be Hands, national bodies entrusted with specific tasks, teachers or pioneers. In Europe, where no less than eleven National Assemblies must be formed in the spring of 1962, the requisite number of Local Assemblies, the foundation for these new institutions, is far from being complete. Approximately forty must be constituted by next April. The field is difficult, the people, sunk in materialism, often cynical and disillusioned as a result of two world wars, are indifferent to religious truth and preoccupied with the economic problems and social diversions of a highly civilized continent. All these factors constitute one of the greatest challenges of the entire Crusade. A Faith, however, for which twenty thousand of its adherents died as martyrs, which has planted its banner in a little over a hundred years in two hundred and fifty-six territories of the globe, embracing every independent nation, every dominion, mandate and trust territory and all the major islands of the world,



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whose valiant pioneers and teachers are scattered like life-giving seed in every comer of the planet, has the power within it to sweep away every obstacle in its path. If the present National Assemblies focus their strength and concentrate their thoughts, resources and energies on the goals they must attain; if the individual believers consult their hearts and their consciences and arise and proceed to the battle-fronts most in need of their assistance; then the power placed by God in the Ten Year Plan, the third and final stage of the initial epoch in the evolution of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Master Plan, will, like a mighty tidal wave, sweep away every remaining obstacle and carry us to glorious victory.
We must face the fact that a still greater measure of self-sacrifice is required of us than perhaps at any previous time in the prosecution of the World Crusade. Two-thirds of this Crusade is already won; the opening of the virgin territories, the translation of our literature into so many diversified languages, the erection of continental Houses of Worship, the multiplication of Assemblies and centres the increasing recognition of the independent character of our Faith, the incorporation of its administrative bodies, the formation of new national bodies, are either accomplished facts or now lie well within our grasp. The last third, however, still remains. The new National Assemblies must be securely raised on their specified foundations; the home fronts, the very bedrock of existing older National Assemblies, which have lagged far behind the general rate of progress achieved in other fields, must now receive the assistance which alone can fulfil their objectives, namely, a wide increase in settlers and an influx of new souls enlisted under the banner of Bahá'u'lláh through a renewed and unremitting teaching effort. And finally, the European Temple, one of the most important goals of the Ten Year Plan, still remains to be erected. The accomplishment of these tasks not only requires a fresh dedication to our work on the part of every single believer, but of necessity will demand a great outpouring of our material resources. The strength of the Cause of God in all Dispensations, however, has been in the rank and file of its adherents; it is the meek, the obscure, the poor, indeed often the needy, who have arisen like veritable spiritual giants and established its institutions, raised its first precious edifices, carried its Message to the masses, laid down their lives for its Teachings, and demonstrated the regenerating spiritual power of the Word of its Manifestation. So today, as our Guardian's Crusade approaches its end, it is to the rank and file of the believers that we must took. From them will come its heroes, saints and martyrs; they will be the ones to fulfil the hopes of Shoghi Effendi to realize the promises of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, to lay the foundations of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh on an unshakeable foundation, to win the ultimate victory.



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The beloved Guardian made quite clear the supreme role of every single Bahá'í He said, one year after the inception of the World Crusade, that "This challenge, so severe and insistent, and yet so glorious, faces no doubt primarily the individual believer on whom, in the last resort, depends the fate of the entire community. He it is who constitutes the warp and woof on which the quality and pattern of the whole fabric must depend. He it is who acts as one of the countless links in the mighty chain that now girdles the globe. He it is who serves as one of the multitude of bricks which support the structure and ensure the stability of the administrative edifice now being raised in every part of the world. Without his support, at once whole-hearted, continuous and generous, every measure adopted, and every plan formulated, by the body which acts as the national representative of the community to which he belongs, is foredoomed to failure. The World Centre of the Faith itself is paralyzed if such a support on the part of the rank and file of the community is denied it. The Author of the Divine Plan Himself is impeded in His purpose if the proper instruments for the execution of His design are lacking. The sustaining strength of Bahá'u'lláh Himself, the Founder of the Faith, will be withheld from every and each individual who fails in the long run to arise and play his part."
The Master has made clear in an impelling and impassioned appeal, the overwhelming potency of the forces released by Bahá'u'lláh, which activate those who respond to His call. These words surely leave none of us any excuse for failing in our duty to God, Bahá'u'lláh and His Cause: "The undying Fire which the Lord of the Kingdom hath kindled in the midst of the holy Tree is burning fiercely in the midmost heart of the world. The conflagration it will provoke will envelop the whole earth. Its blazing flames will illuminate its peoples and kindreds. All the signs have been revealed; every prophetic allusion hath been manifested. Whatever hath been enshrined in all the Scriptures of the past hath been made evident. To doubt or hesitate is no more possible ... Time is pressing. The Divine Charger is impatient, and can tarry no longer. Ours is the duty to rush forward and, ere it is too late, win the victory."
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

To the Continental Hands and All National Spiritual Assemblies
APRIL 28, 1960

DEEPLY REGRET NECESSITY INFORM BAHA'I WORLD HAND CAUSE MASON REMEY NOW ASSERTING HE IS GUARDIAN FAITH STOP THIS PREPOSTEROUS CLAIM CLEARLY CONTRARY SACRED TEXTS CAN ONLY BE REGARDED AS


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EVIDENCE CONDITION PROFOUND EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE STOP CALL UPON BELIEVERS EVERYWHERE JOIN HANDS HOLY LAND COMPLETE REPUDIATION MS MISGUIDED ACTION STOP SHARE THIS MESSAGE FRIENDS.
[CABLE]HANDS HOLY LAND

To the Hand of the Cause Mason Remey
April 30,1960

Dear Mason:
For your information we quote below the text of a cable sent by the Hands in the Holy Land to the Continental Hands and to all National Assemblies on April 28:
Deeply regret necessity inform Bahá'í world Hand Cause Mason Remey now asserting he is Guardian Faith Stop This preposterous claim clearly contrary Sacred Texts can only be regarded as evidence condition profound emotional disturbance Stop Call upon believers everywhere join Hands Holy Land complete repudiation this misguided action Stop Share this message friends.
Before their departure for Canada and the United States, Ruhiyyih KHANUM and Mrs. Collins participated in the decision to take this action, making it unanimous.
With heartfelt regret,
Faithfully yours,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

To the National Spiritual Assembly and the Believers of France
May 5,1960

Dear Friends:
The Hands in the Holy Land are sending the Hand of the Cause Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, to France, to meet with the National Spiritual Assembly and the Bahá'ís of France, and to act on behalf of the Hands for the protection of the Faith in the situation created by Mr. Remey's unfounded claim.
Mr. Faizi, will act in accordance with instructions given him by the Hands in the Holy Land. He is empowered to take whatever steps may be necessary to carry out these instructions.
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND



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To the Hands of the Cause of God and the National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the Bahá'í World
May 10, 1960

Dearly beloved Friends:
In order that the Bahá'í world may know the reaction of the various National Assemblies and Conventions to Mr. Remey's misguided action proclaiming himself to be the Guardian of the Faith, we are sharing with you the texts of the messages already received by the Hands in the Holy Land, reflecting widespread repudiation of this baseless claim, and pledging loyalty to the divinely-ordained institution of the Hands. We know the friends will rejoice in the world-wide expressions of solidarity and stead-fastness with which this fantastic and ill-advised claim was met. God indeed protects His Cause!
It is clear that by claiming that he is the Guardian, Mr. Remey has abandoned his station as a Hand of the Cause, and therefore cannot receive recognition as a Hand until he renounces the self-conferred title of Guardian. The Hands of the Holy Land will notify the National Assemblies if this occurs.
For the protection of our beloved Faith we call upon the friends every-where to have no association with Mr. Remey as long as he continues to press his false claim to the station of Guardianship. We also request the believers to forward to the World Centre through their National Assemblies any communications which they may receive from Mr. Remey.
Naturally we hope that the emotional disturbance that led to Mr. Remey's regrettable action will prove not to be permanent and that we shall soon be able to inform the friends that he has withdrawn the claim and that communication with him is again permitted. Meanwhile you should be watchful, and keep us informed of any developments.
Such episodes as this can, through firmness, steadfastness and loyalty to the Covenant, prove of great benefit to the Cause of God, and through the consecrated efforts of the friends attract the bounties of Bahá'u'lláh that alone can ensure its triumph.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
The following are the messages already received by the Hands in the Holy Land from the various National Assemblies repudiating the Remey claim and pledging loyalty to the institution of the Hands. In many cases the news of Mr. Remey's action was received while the National Conventions were in session.



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The separate messages received from these Conventions are also included.
Alaska April 30,1960
COMPLETELY REPUDIATE RIDICULOUS CLAIM STOP PROCLAMATION RECEIVED REMEY NOT BEING CIRCULATED STOP WIRING MESSAGE ALL LOCAL ASSEMBLIES STOP ASSURING HANDSFAITH CONTINUED STEADFASTNESS ALASKAN COMMUNITY.
Alaska Convention MAY 1, 1960
LOVING GREETINGS FROM 8 DELEGATES 52 ASSEMBLED GUESTS FOURTH ANNUAL ALASKA BAHA'I CONVENTION STOP CONVENTION HAPPY JOYOUS NEWS VICTORIES ACCOMPLISHMENTS PAST YEAR STOP EACH BELIEVER ENTHUSED INCREASE EFFORT DURING COMING YEAR STOP DETERMINED ACHIEVE REMAINING GOALS STOP PLEDGE PRAYERS SUPPORT INSTITUTION HANDS FAITH STOP PRAYERS FOR HEALTH EACH HAND.
Arabian Peninsula MAY 4,1960
ON BEHALF EACH EVERY MEMBER OUR COMMUNITY WE AFFIRM OUR DISREGARD COMPLETE REPUDIATION MISGUIDED ACTION HAND CAUSE MASON REMEY STOP ALL FRIENDS HERE PRESENT UNEQUIVOCAL OBEDIENCE FAITHFULNESS STEADFASTNESS SACRED TEXTS REVERED CUSTODIANS RESIDING HOLY LAND.
Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay April 30, 1960
EXTREMELY REGRET NEWS HAND CAUSE MASON REMEY STOP SHARING MESSAGE FRIENDS STOP ASSURING HUMBLE LOYALTY
Australia April 30,1960
NSA DEEPLY SYMPATHETIC YOUR DISTRESS REMEY STOP MEMBERS PRAY DIVINE COMPASSION MASON ASSURE DEVOTED ALLEGIANCE PRAYERS PROTECTION.
Australian Convention April 30, 1960
ASSEMBLED DELEGATES FRIENDS GRIEVED MISGUIDED ACTIONS DEVOTED SERVANT MASON REMEY STOP PRAYING HIS RETURN SHELTER COVENANT STOP PLEDGE UNSWERVING ALLEGIANCE INSTITUTIONS HANDS NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES FERVENTLY PRAYING PROTECTION HANDS AND FAITH.
Austria April 29, 1960
RECEIVED MESSAGE SHARE WITH FRIENDS JOIN HANDS HOLY LAND COMPLETE REPUDIATION MISGUIDED ACTION DEVOTEDLY.



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Benelux April 29, 1960
REMEY'S PROCLAMATION ONLY REINFORCES OUR UNSWERVING LOYALTY FAITHFULNESS CONSECRATED DEVOTION CUSTODIANS FAITH HAIFA AND FIRMNESS IN COVENANT STOP UNDEVIATINGLY DETERMINED ACHIEVE GOAL UNDER DIRECTION GUIDANCE WORLD CENTRE PRAYING PROTECTION CAUSE.
Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela MAY 1, 1960
REGRET INFORMATION RECEIVED IN YOUR CABLE ALL BELIEVERS ASSEMBLED CONVENTION AND NSA PLEDGE LOYALTY AND SUPPORT TO HANDS DEEPEST LOVE.
British Isles MAY 8,1960
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY IN SESSION CONFIRMS UNRESERVEDLY EXPRESSION LOYALTY TO HANDS ALREADY SENT BY LETTER REJECTS COMPLETELY BASELESS CLAIM MASON REMEY STOP CONFIDENT LOYALTY ENTIRE BRITISH BAHA'I COMMUNITY STOP ASSEMBLY GOING TODAY BELOVED GUARDIAN'S GRAVE OFFER PRAYERS COMFORT BELOVED HANDS PROTECTION BAHA'I WORLD STOP SINCERE DEVOTION DEEPEST LOVE.
Burma April 30,1960
BURMESE BAHAI'S FIRM STEADFAST LOYAL ASSURE OUR ALLEGIANCE.
Canada MAY 3,1960
ASSURE HANDS HOLY LAND UNDIVIDED SUPPORT COMPLETE REPUDIATION REMEY PROCLAMATION STOP CANADIAN CONVENTION INFORMED UNANIMOUSLY VOTED SIMILAR ACTION STOP WRITING CANADIAN BELIEVERS IMMEDIATELY CONFIDENT THEIR FULL UNALTERED LOYALTY SHOGHI Effendi HANDS HAIFA.
Canadian Convention MAY 3,1960
FOLLOWING READING MASON REMEY'S REGRETTABLE DOCUMENT CANADIAN NATIONAL CONVENTION DELEGATES AND FRIENDS PLEDGE TO OUR BELOVED GUARDIAN SHOGHI Effendi AND HANDS OF THE CAUSE FIRM LOYALTY ABSOLUTE DEVOTION FERVENT PRAYERS PROTECTION FAITH.
Central America, Mexico and Panama MAY 2,1960
RECEIVED CABLE ABOUT MASON REMEY STOP PLEDGE COMPLETE SUPPORT WORLD CENTRE.
Central and East Africa MAY 5,1960
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BEHALF COMMUNITY CENTRAL EAST AFRICA



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WHOLEHEARTEDLY REPUDIATE CLAIM REMEY ASSURE CHIEF STEWARDS LOVING LOYALTY
Greater Antilles Convention MAY 1, 1960
PLEDGE COMPLETE LOYALTY FIRMNESS COVENANT TEST BRINGS GREATER CRUSADE VICTORY.
India April 30, 1960
SADDENED NEWS MASON REMEYS PREPOSTEROUS CLAIM STOP BEHALF INDIAN BELIEVERS ASSURE HANDSFAITH UNFLINCHING STEADFASTNESS LOYALTY STOP CONFIDENT UNITY FAITH DESPITE SEVERE TESTS AS IN PAST STOP PRAYING ARDENTLY.
Iran MAY 5,1960
YOUR MESSAGE CONCERNING MASON RECEIVED WE SUBMIT OUR UTMOST DEVOTION LOYALTY TO CAUSE WILL TESTAMENT AND BELOVED ALL HEARTS THE GUARDIAN STOP MOST GRATEFUL THAT REVERED BODY PROTECTORS FAITH CONFERRED UPON THEM CHIEF STEWARDSHIP WORLD ORDER BAHA'U'LLAH, HAVE AT ONCE ARISEN PROTECT CAUSE FROM ATTACK DISLOYAL UNFAITHFUL PERSONS STOP HEREBY DECLARE OUR SUBMISSIVENESS OBEDIENCE DECISIONS THAT REVERED BODY
Italo-Swiss MAY 5,1960
ASSEMBLY REPUDIATES COMPLETELY REMEY CLAIM STOP PLEDGES UNFAILING TRUST IN CHIEF STEWARDS DEEPEST LOVE.
North East Africa MAY 9,1960
REGRET DEEPLY MASON REMEYS FALSE ATTITUDE ALL BAHXIS STEADFAST AS EVER.
North East Asia MAY 2,1960
THIS NSA WILL FULLY SUPPORT ANY ACTION TAKEN BY HANDSFAITH HOLY LAND IN REPUDIATING PREPOSTEROUS CLAIM MASON REMEY.
Pakistan MAY 3, 1960
RECEIVED MESSAGE REGARDING HAND CAUSE REMEY STOP ASSURING STEADFASTNESS COMMUNITY COMPLETE LOYALTY SUPPORT HANDSFAITH HOLYLAND.
Scandinavia and Finland April 29, 1960
SADLY ANNOUNCE REMEY PROCLAMATION CLAIMING GUARDIANSHIP RECEIVED DEFYING AUTHORITY HANDSFAITH ANNULLING PLANS FULFILMENT CRUSADE GOALS DEMANDING ALLEGIANCE HIS INFALLIBILITY STOP



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FORWARDING PROCLAMATION STOP ASSURING CHIEF STEWARDS STEADFAST OBEDIENCE DEVOTED LOVE HEARTFELT SYMPATHY NSA REELECTED FOUR NEW ASSEMBLIES ESTABLISHED.
South East Asia MAY 2,1960
BEHALF BAHA'I COMMUNITIES SOUTH EAST ASIA EXPRESS LOYALTY REVERED CUSTODIANS SUPPORT FIRM ACTION REPUDIATING REMEYS PREPOSTEROUS CLAIM.
South Pacific Islands April 30, 1960
ASSURE HANDS FAITH ABIDING LOYALTY WILL TESTAMENT CHIEF STEWARDS BAHA`U'LLAH COMPLETELY REPUDIATE CLAIM GUARDIANSHIP MISGUIDED ACTION MASON REMEY PRAYING REMOVER DIFFICULTIES.
South Pacific Islands Convention MAY 3, 1960
DELEGATES BELIEVERS ASSEMBLED CONVENTION ASSURE LOYALTY LOVE.
United States MAY 1, 1960
NEW NATIONAL ASSEMBLY CHAIRMAN BORRAH KAVELIN VICECHAIRMAN DAVID RUHE SECRETARY CHARLES WOLCOTT TREASURER ARTHUR DAHL RECORDING SECRETARY EDNA TRUE ASSISTANT SECRETARY CHARLOTTE LINFOOT OTHER THREE MEMBERS FLORENCE MAYBERRY ELLSWORTH BLACKWELL AMOZ GIBSON ALL PLEDGE LOYALTY COOPERATION DEEPEST LOVE TO HANDS OF FAITH.
United States Convention April 29, 1960
ASSEMBLED DELEGATES 52ND ANNUAL CONVENTION PLEDGE ANEW UNDEVIATING LOYALTY INSTITUTION OF HANDS ESPECIALLY STEWARDS LABOURING IN HOLY LAND STOP CONVENTION UNANIMOUSLY REPUDIATES REMEY PROCLAMATION JOINING PRAYERS WITH YOURS FOR DIVINE HEALING STOP DEEPEST LOVE (SIGNED) CONVENTION DELEGATES.
Germany MAY 10, 1960
ASSURE COMPLETE REPUDIATION (REMEY) PROCLAMATION AND LOYALTY TO CHIEF STEWARDS HOPE GETTING FURTHER CLARIFYING NEWS FROM BODY HANDS LOVING GREETINGS AND PRAYERS PROTECTION CAUSE.

To the Hands of the Cause of God
May 14,1960

Dear Bahá'í Friends:
Some of you already know that most of the National Assemblies have



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repudiated Mason Remey's claim and cabled their loyalty to the institution of the Hands. Up to the date this letter was written, twenty-five National Assemblies had sent such messages, and we are confident five of the remaining six will be received soon.
To our surprise however the French National Assembly voted to recognize the claim. Our first news of this was a cable from Mr. Barafrukhteh, a member of the National Assembly, telling us that eight of its members were recognizing Mason Remey. Confirmation came from Mr. Navidi, Protection Board member, who was asked to go to France to investigate and report. He cabled that the French National Assembly was circulating the French believers to accept the claim; and as the situation seemed to be dangerous, and as Ugo and Hasan were not well and Adelbert was in Scandinavia, the Hands in the Holy Land decided to send Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, to deal with the situation on their behalf.
Some of the National Assembly members repented their action and cabled the Hands for forgiveness, but five remained unyieldingly obstinate in their recognition of the claim and obstructed the actions taken by the Hands to protect the Faith. These were led by Mr. J. Marangella, General M. Darakhshan and Mr. B. Fillon, all of whom Faizi, felt to be spiritually diseased and contaminating others. Steps are being taken to find out whether the European Hands join Faizi, in recommending their expulsion in accordance with the decision of the first Bahji Conclave, that the Hands in the Holy Land were responsible for denouncing Covenant-breakers upon recommendation by the Hands of the continent concerned. A recommendation will if necessary be obtained later about Mr. Soghomonian and Mr. Harvey, the other two members of the National Assembly who support the claim.
Meanwhile the French National Assembly has been dissolved and the five offending members declared ineligible for re-election. The Paris Assembly, which is loyal, is acting for the time being as the Central Assembly for France, under Faizi's guidance. Faizi, will visit all the French communities before a new election is held.
We believe that the prompt action of sending Faizi, to France has prevented the infection from spreading far; cables of loyalty have been received from all the National Assemblies of Europe except the Iberian Peninsula, and the exception is believed to be due to difficulties of communication as our original "cable" had to be sent by mail. Adelbert has returned to Germany at our request to watch the situation there because of the previous strong feeling about the Guardianship in that country.
Episodes such as the present tragic claim of Mason Remey serve to strengthen the Cause, and it is gratifying that his claim has secured no



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greater following. Even in France, we are hoping the disturbance will prove of limited extent.
This letter is sent to keep the Continental Hands informed of the situation and to ask for their special prayers for France. Any further action taken regarding the three ringleaders will be communicated to you later. Meanwhile the possibility of the infection spreading to individual believers in other lands should be borne in mind.
We send you all our warmest and deepest love.
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

To the Hands of the Cause of God and the National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the Bahá'í World
May 28, 1960

Dearly beloved Friends:
Two weeks ago we shared with you messages received up to that time from twenty-four National Spiritual Assemblies repudiating the preposterous claim of Mr. Remey and pledging undeviating loyalty to the Institution of the Hands of the Cause. Since then similar messages have been received in Haifa from all of the remaining national and regional bodies with the exception of the National Assembly of France. The full texts of these communications are attached.
In spite of this world-wide demonstration of solidarity and steadfastness in the Covenant, a group of five members of the French National Assembly accepted Mr. Remey as the Guardian of the Faith, and the National Assembly informed the believers of France of the advent of a new Guardian.
Acting immediately to protect the Faith, the Hands in the Holy Land sent the Hand of the Cause Abu'l-Qasim Faizi, to France as their representative, with specific instructions to dissolve the National Assembly and call for a new election if the five members persisted in their dangerous and disloyal course of action. These misguided believers remained adamant in their views, refused to cooperate with the Hands, resigned as members of the National Assembly, and are now actively opposing the efforts of the Hands to protect the Faith.
The vast majority of the French believers have remained firm, and coinciding with the Commemoration of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, a new election will be held, and a reconstituted National Assembly will come into existence. The thirty-one national and regional bodies will then form an impregnable and closely-knit World Community, dedicated to



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the fulfilment of the divinely-guided Plan of our beloved Guardian, and triumphant over-any forces seeking to disrupt its basic unity.
The cables and other messages received from the various National and Regional Assemblies, as well as numerous communications sent to the Hands from individual believers in various parts of the world, reflect general acceptance and understanding of the reasons why Mr. Remey's regrettable claim, and his so-called proclamation announcing it, are insupportable and contrary, not only to the Sacred Texts of our Faith, but also to specific instructions and messages of our beloved Guardian.
For the information of the friends everywhere we bring to their attention some of the points which refute this unfortunate and baseless claim.
(1) The quality or station of infallibility, we are told by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, is of two kinds, one the Most Great Infallibility, which is the one possessed inherently by the Manifestations of God, and the other the conferred infallibility, such as that given to the Master, to the Guardian of the Cause of God, and to the Universal House of Justice. In the Bahá'í Dispensation, only the authorized interpretations of the. Holy Word by the Master and the Guardian, and legislation by the Universal House of Justice have been given this conferred infallibility. There is nothing in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, nor in the messages or instructions of our beloved Guardian, which gives Mr. Remey any basis whatsoever for claiming to be the infallible Guardian. Indeed no one can claim such a station; it can only be conferred by an infallible source, in this Dispensation in accordance with explicit, divinely-revealed Texts.
(2) Mr. Remey makes the preposterous claim that since the International Bahá'í Council was referred to by our beloved Guardian as the forerunner of the supreme administrative institution of the Universal House of Justice, his appointment or designation by Shoghi Effendi as President of this appointed body meant that he would: automatically become the head of the Universal House of Justice when it is elected, and therefore is now to be considered as the Guardian of the Faith. This ridiculous and insupportable contention completely overlooks the fact that the beloved Guardian created the International Council as an appointed body, to serve for a temporary period, with functions clearly defined by him, and that he announced it would be transformed into a "duly elected body". Thus the membership and officers of the elected body would be created only by election, not appointment. There is not the slightest indication in any text or message of the beloved Guardian that Mr. Remey's designation as President of the appointed International Council was any more permanent than that of any of the other appointed members or officers.
(3) Mr. Remey himself signed the Proclamation of the Hands of the



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THE MINISTRY OF THE CUSTODIANS, Cause in November, 1957 which contained the definite statement that "no successor to Shoghi Effendi could have been appointed by him". This document also clearly stated that "The entire body of the Hands assembled by the nine Hands of the World Centre will decide when and how the International Bahá'í Council is to evolve through the successive stages outlined by the Guardian, culminating in the call to election of the Universal House of Justice by the membership of all National Spiritual Assemblies." This pledge is being fulfilled by the plans announced in the message of the Hands to the Bahá'í world following their last Conclave.
It is clear that Mr. Remey's claim to be the infallible Guardian must be dismissed as completely without foundation, since there is no written authority in the Sacred Texts to support it. We can only repeat the hope expressed in our letter of May 10 that the profound emotional disturbance which undoubtedly prompted his regrettable action will prove to be temporary in character.
We are confident that the friends will now direct all their thoughts and efforts toward the attainment of final victory in the Holy Crusade entrusted to us by our beloved Guardian, and be ever mindful of these words addressed to us by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament:
O ye beloved of the Lord! The greatest of all things is the protection of the True Faith of God, the preservation of His Law, the safe guarding of His Cause and service unto His Word.

With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

The following are the messages received at the World Centre from the remaining National Assemblies of the Bahá'í world (except France) which had not been heard from at the time our communication of May 10 was sent. These messages from the remaining six national or regional bodies, all contain repudiations of the Remey claim and express loyalty to the Institution of the Hands. The text of the official action of the International Bahá'í Council on the Remey claim is also included.
International Bahá'í Council MAY 13,1960
At a meeting of the International Bahá'í Council held on April 27, 1960, the following Motion was passed by unanimous vote:
"That the members present wish to record in these Minutes their complete and final rejection of Mr. Remey's unsupportable claim to be Guardian of the Faith, a claim which has no foundation in the



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Sacred Texts of our Faith, including the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Centre of the Covenant, nor in the instructions or actions of the beloved Guardian.
Iberian Peninsula MAY 16,1960
(The message from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Iberian Peninsula was received in garbled form but is quoted below exactly as it was received in Haifa):
FRIENDS OF IBERIAN PENINSULA ASSERT AND RENEW OUR ADHESION JOIN HANDS HOLY LAND.
'Iraq MAY 21, 1960
NSA CONVENED 19TH FIRMLY REPUDIATE REMEY LATELY RECEIVED REGRETTABLE CLAIM STOP PLEDGE BEHALF BELIEVERS IRAQ AND JURISDICTION UNSHAKEABLE FAITH RENEWED UNWAVERING LOYALTY LOVE WRITING.
New Zealand MAY 14, 1960
ASSEMBLY REAFFIRMS UNSWERVING ALLEGIANCE INSTITUTION HANDS STOP PRAYERS FOR SPEEDY REMOVAL ALL DIFFICULTIES.
North West Africa MAY 17,1960
NSA NORTHWEST AFRICA CABLES QUOTE PLEASE ASSURE HANDS FAITH OUR REPUDIATION REMEY CLAIM OUR LOYALTY UNCONDITIONAL ATTACHMENT CHIEF STEWARDS STOP ACTION TAKEN ALL NSAS HAVE ALSO WRITTEN HANDS UNQUOTE BANANI.
South and West Africa MAY 12, 1960
DEEPLY GRIEVE SERIOUS EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE HAND CAUSE MASON REMEY STOP JOIN HANDS HOLYLAND COMPLETE REPUDIATION CLAIM STOP ASKING PRAYERS REGION COMPLETE HEALING MENTALLY DISTRACTED SOUL.
Turkey MAY 13, 1960
(Following is a translation of the message received from the National Assembly of Turkey, which was written in Persian):
Your telegram dated April 28th, 1960 was received and its contents carefully noted. In accordance with your instructions, all the Local Spiritual Assemblies, Bahá'í centres and individual believers immediately received the translation of the telegram, as well as a complete explanation of its contents. This Assembly, with profound humility, clings to the threshold of the Almighty and, by turning for guidance towards your exalted and divinely appointed body, expresses as ever



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before, unswerving servitude and attachment to God's Holy Covenant. We humbly supplicate the Divine Threshold to guide us to whatsoever is His Will and His Pleasure.
To the Hands of the Cause of God
June 15, 1960

Dear Bahá'í Friends:
You will be pleased to hear that the new French National Assembly has been elected and is now functioning. It seems that only about fifteen believers throughout the world have accepted Mason Remey's claim, of whom about ten are in France and five in the United States. Those in the United States have never been leading figures in the Cause there and are unlikely to attract sympathizers.
Support on this scale will not permit even the enemies of the Faith to say there has been a rift in the Cause, but in view of Mason Remey's position in the Bahá'í World Community during the lifetime of the beloved Guardian, we feel it would be advisable to have on record written statements from all the Hands that they reject his claim.
We will therefore appreciate it if you will let us have such a statement for permanent record.
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

P.S. Since the above was typed we have received a visit from the head of the Bahá'í Department of the Ministry of Religions in Israel, who told us that Mason Remey had written to the President of Israel, the Minister of Religions, and the head of the Bahá'í Department announcing that Shoghi Effendi in his lifetime appointed him Guardian of the Faith. The Israel Government appears to appreciate the true situation, but this action makes it even more important to have on record your rejection of the claim. We are watching the situation closely.
A letter has been sent to the Ministry of Religions repudiating Mason Remey's claim and enclosing copies of the cables of repudiation from all the thirty-one National Assemblies. This will be brought to the attention of the President.
Postscript to Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum:1
We feel that the above action is all that is needed at present. If you have any suggestions, please let us know.

1 This postscript also written to Mrs. Collins, Mr. Faizi, and Mr. Ioas.


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To All National Spiritual Assemblies
July 5, 1960

Beloved Friends:
We have already sent you an account of the reaction of the Bahá'í world to Mason Remey's claim. It is now clear that a mere handful of believers supported it, but that these have been working actively to get others to join them.
It must be obvious to the friends everywhere that acceptance of this baseless claim, and particularly activity in support of it designed to influence others, constitutes a betrayal of the Sacred Texts upholding the structure of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh. This has been unanimously attested by all the National Assemblies in their repudiation of Mr. Remey's action.
In discharging their responsibility to safeguard the Bahá'í Community, the Hands of the Cause at an early stage instructed that the friends in France should refrain from associating with the former members of the National Assembly there who were active in their support of Mr. Remey. The Hands in the Holy Land feel that the time has now come to extend this policy to all individuals who openly support this false claim. The believers everywhere should immediately cease associating, either by direct contact or by correspondence, with anyone who supports Mason Remey's claim to be the Guardian of the Faith, because the actions of these misguided people, whatever their intent, can only lead to discord and division within the Cause of God. We may indeed rejoice that this latest attempt to create division has, like all others before it, failed utterly to destroy the basic unity of the Faith.
The response of the friends in all parts of the world reflects how faithfully they have heeded the injunction of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will and Testament: "Guard ye the Cause of God, protect His law and have the utmost fear of discord."
By unity such as the believers have shown, all attempts to create division can be foiled, and the waverers saved from becoming subject to that most terrible of all punishments described by the Master in His Will when He wrote: "Should any, within or without the company of the Hands of the Cause of God disobey and seek division, the wrath of God and His vengeance will be upon him, for he will have caused a breach in the true Faith of God."
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND



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To the Hands of the Cause of God throughout the World
July 7, 1960

CONFIDENTIAL


Beloved Co-workers:
In accordance with our principles of procedure, the Hands in the Holy Land have the duty and responsibility of calling the Annual Meeting of the entire body of the Hands. After consideration of all factors, we have chosen the period October 18-27 as the dates for this year's Conclave, with the understanding that the time will be extended if necessary. Before this meeting we will as usual send to each Hand a tentative or suggested agenda for consideration.
It has been recommended that this year a special effort be made by all the Continental Hands to arrange for visits to as many Bahá'í centres as possible on their way to or from the Conclave. We feel that such visits at this time will have great influence in unifying the friends and deepening them in their understanding of the Covenant. We urge each Hand to work out as extensive an itinerary as possible.
You have been kept informed of the main developments to date in the Remey matter through our various communications, but we feel the time has now come to refer to the entire body of our fellow-Hands the information, views and recommendations received from various individual Hands calling for further action.
As most of you undoubtedly know, Mason has followed up his original proclamation with other documents including one entitled "The Question of the Guardianship", and another document which he calls his first "Encyclical" to the Bahá'í world. In the latter document he definitely classifies all of the Hands as violators, calls upon the believers to abandon their activities in support of the plans announced by the Hands for the remainder of the beloved Guardian's Crusade, to withdraw their financial support of these activities, and directs them to turn to him alone for guidance and instructions. He is distributing these documents widely, and his leading supporters are writing to the believers, urging them to investigate the Remey claim and accept his station as the second Guardian of the Faith. We are enclosing for your information a copy of another communication which we have just sent to all National Assemblies, calling upon the friends to refrain from any association with those who support Mason's claim.
In France, the reconstituted National Assembly has taken action depriving the five disloyal former members of that Assembly of their voting right and membership in the Community.
We wish to report that our representative, Mr. Faizi, recommended



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expulsion of the disloyal individuals in France, who in his view are suffering from a real spiritual illness. He was joined in this recommendation by Dr. Giachery, but the other two European Hands, Mr. Balyuzi and Dr. Muhlschlegel, did not concur; therefore the European Hands as a body did not recommend expulsion. The attached excerpts from communications received in Haifa will give you their views and recommendations, and those of Mr. Faizi.
All of you will recall that at our first Conclave a formal action was recorded, giving the Hands in the Holy Land the responsibility for expelling people from the Faith, but only on recommendation of the Continental Hands concerned, after investigation by them. Thus in the case of the disloyal members in France, the Hands in the Holy Land were bound by the action of the majority of the European Hands in not recommending expulsion at this time.
With regard to Mason himself, since we had no instructions covering defection by one of the Hands of the Cause, we have felt that any action in his case beyond the steps already taken, should be by the body of the Hands itself. In view of the increasingly insistent recommendations received from the Hands now in the Western Hemisphere calling for Mason's immediate expulsion, we believe this question must now be referred to the body of the Hands for advice and decision. Attached are copies of their views and recommendations.
To these we wish to add our own view that Mason's claim and activities in opposition to the decisions and Plans of our beloved Guardian, constitute a basis for expulsion from the Faith, because they are in fact a protest against the decision of Shoghi Effendi in not appointing a successor to him as the Guardian of the Faith. Our Beloved did not make such an appointment because to do so in the circumstances with which he was faced would have been a violation of the Sacred Texts; thus his nonappointment of a successor upheld the Text of the written Covenant of God. This was explicitly stated in the Proclamation issued from our first Conclave in which we said that "no successor to Shoghi Effendi could have been appointed by him". This Proclamation was signed by Mason, who now states in one of his documents that he has known for the past twelve years that he was to be the second Guardian of the Faith, and the successor to Shoghi Effendi in that station!
We believe that Mason's claim and activities fall within the warning and injunction contained in these words of the sacred Will and Testament of the Master: "It is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice, upon all the Aghsan, the Afnan, the Hands of the Cause of God to show their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the Guardian of the Cause of God, to turn unto him and be lowly before him. He



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that opposeth him hath opposed the True One, will make a breach in the Cause of God, will subvert His Word and will become a manifestation of the Centre of Sedition. Beware, beware, lest the days after the Ascension (of Bahá'u'lláh) be repeated when the Centre of Sedition waxed haughty and rebellious and with Divine Unity for his excuse deprived himself and perturbed and poisoned others. No doubt every vain-glorious one that purposeth dissension and discord will not openly declare his evil purposes, nay rather, even as impure gold, will he seize upon divers measures and various pretexts that he may separate the gathering of the people of Baha) My object is to show that the Hands of the Cause of God must be ever watchful and so soon as they find anyone beginning to oppose and protest against the Guardian of the Cause of God, cast him out from the congregation of the people of Baha) and in no wise accept any excuse from him. How often hath grievous error been disguised in the garb of truth, that it might sow the seeds of-doubt in the hearts of men!"
As you know, there are many other passages in the Will and Testament more strongly condemning Covenant-breakers, in which it is said they should be cut off from the Community of the believers, shunned and avoided entirely.
The questions now referred to you, our fellow-Hands, for decision are:
(1) Whether you wish to support the recommendations for immediate expulsion of Mason and announcement of this to the believers, or
(2) Whether you wish action on this whole question to be deferred until the Conclave in October.
We request you to study this letter and the attached recommendations carefully and prayerfully, and then send us your reply immediately by cable.
We send you our warmest greetings and loving prayers.
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

Excerpts from Communications Received from Various Hands Containing Comments and Recommendations on Mason Remey's Status (and that of his chief supporters).
A. Q. Faizí
MAY 7,1960
DARAKHSHAN MARANGELLA Fillon, DANGEROUSLY SPIRITUALLY DIS EASED INFECTING OTHERS SOGHOMONIAN HARVEY GIVEN CHANCE RE PENTANCE TEN TONIGHT WILL SEND FULL REPORT EXECUTION DECISIONS
PLEASE PRAY.FAIZI



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MAY 8,1960
FIVE NSA MEMBERS UNCHANGEABLE SAKE GOD PROTECTION CAUSE EXPEL IMMEDIATELY MARANGELLA DARAKHSHAN Fillon, STOP DO NOT BE TAKEN BY PITY STOP ANNOUNCE THEIR EXPULSION BAHA'I WORLD STOP THEIR DEVIOUS CONTAGION SPREADS IF NOT STOPPED TO OTHERS SOGHOMONIAN HARVEY ADVISE LATER.
FAIZI
MAY 9,1960
MET COMMUNITY PARIS FIVE NEFARIOUS MEMBERS ABSENT CONTAMI-NATED ATMOSPHERE PURIFIED RESULTS EXCELLENT DETAILED REPORTS FOLLOW EXPULSION THREE IMPERATIVE BECAUSE INFECT BELIEVERS EUROPE AMERICA.
FAIZI
MAY 10, 1960
WHY DELAY EXPULSION PLEASE EXPEL MARANGELLA DARAKHSHAN FILLON AT ONCE.
FAIZI
Dr. Ugo Giachery MAY 10, 1960
FULLY SUPPORT FAIZIS PROPOSAL CUSTODIANS EXPEL MARANGELLA DARAKHSHAN Fillon, PREVENT SPREAD INFECTIOUS DISEASE STOP WOULD URGE YOU REQUEST MUHLSCHLEGEL NOW OSLO RETURN IMMEDIATELY GERMANY MEET NSA FORESTALL OTHER DEFECTIONS.
GIACHERY
(Dr. Muhlschlegel, was requested to proceed immediately to Germany, which he did, and found that the German National Spiritual Assembly and believers were loyal.)
Hasan Balyuzi MAY 12, 1960 STRONGLY DISAPPROVE BEG NO ACTION UNTIL RECEIVE MY LETTER.
BALYUZI
MAY 15,1960
Mason's claim is laughable, preposterous, abominable. It shows that his mind has deteriorated.... The action of those who uphold this ridiculous claim is indeed abominable. But I cannot bring myself to accept the thesis that the Hands have the authority to expel anyone for this reason. Where do the Hands obtain their authority to expel anyone from the Community? From the Will and the Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá These are the exact words of the Master, which I have read and read, and which I quote: "My object is to show that the Hands of the Cause of God must be ever watchful and so soon as they find anyone



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beginning to oppose and protest against the Guardian of the Cause of God, cast him out from the congregation of the people of Baha) and in no wise accept any excuse from him. How often hath grievous error been disguised in the garb of truth, that it might sow the seeds of doubt in the hearts of men!" Perhaps I'm mistaken, but nowhere else have I found the express authority given to the Hands of the Cause to expel people for any reason other than opposition to the Guardian. The Hands can and must expel anyone who associates with Covenant-breakers, old and new. They can and must expel anyone who disregards a definite injunction of the beloved Guardian. Such acts constitute opposition to Shoghi Effendi But I'm convinced (and perfectly ready and willing at the same time to believe otherwise, if conclusive proofs are shown to me) that the Hands have no authority to expel anyone for any other reason, albeit they are exercising their indubitable right to protect the Faith. By so doing, the Hands will be setting up a new category of Covenant-breakers, for which they have no authority, as far as I can see it. Now if the majority of the Hands agree in a Conclave that they are knowingly taking upon themselves powers, not given them by the Sacred Text, because it is forced upon them through circumstances beyond their control, I will have to submit to the majority decision, although under protest, and then I shall know where I stand. But at the present time unless you convince me to the contrary, I cannot accept this thesis as resting upon the sanction of the Sacred Text.
Hasan M. Balyuzi

European Hands
June 7, 1960
LOVING GREETINGS COMPLETION MOST SUCCESSFUL CONFERENCE STOP REQUEST MR FAIZI REMAIN LONGER EUROPE STOP FULLY AGREE DEPRIVE VOTING RIGHTS RING LEADERS FRANCE ALLOWING TIME LIMIT OTHERS DEEPEST LOVE.
EUROPEAN HANDS
Dr. Adelbert Muhlschlegel
June 21, 1960
At the Brussels conference, as you have been informed, presumably, Faizi, reported the situation in France. Joel Marangella has been removed as Board member, the French National Spiritual Assembly got the suggestion from the Hands to deprive the five disloyal members of the former National Spiritual Assembly of their administrative rights, but the Hands did not recommend to the Hands in the Holy Land the expulsion of these five, at present.



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Leroy Ioas
MAY 11, 1960
GREATLY DISTRESSED FRANCE STOP OFFER FOLLOWING (1) AGREE FAIZI IMMEDIATE EXPULSION THREE URGENT NECESSARY PROTECTION FAITH FRANCE EUROPE (2) IF NOT ALREADY DONE IMMEDIATE REMOVAL MARANGELLA BOARD (3) OTHER TWO GIVEN TIME LIMIT RECANT OR EXPELLED (4) TIME LIMIT GIVEN REMEY WITHDRAW CLAIM OR EXPELLED STOP ILLOGICAL EXPEL SATELLITES AND NOT PRINCIPAL.
LEROY
MAY 31, 1960
MASON ISSUED FIRST SERIES ENCYCLICALS BAHA'I WORLD FURTHERANCE FALLACIOUS CLAIM BRANDING ALL HANDS COVENANT BREAKERS AND INSTRUCTING FRIENDS CEASE ASSOCIATION HANDS STOP SUGGEST (1) EXCOMMUNICATION REMEY (2) EXCOMMUNICATION THREE FRANCE RECOMMENDED BY Faizi; (3) CABLE ADVICE THESE ACTIONS ALL NATIONALS (4) ABSENCE SUCH ACTION AND ADVICE CAUSING CONFUSION.
LEROY
June 23, 1960
It is a sad turn of events that a man of Mr. Charles Mason Remey's stature in the Faith-with such a remarkably long period of service under the loving guidance of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi --should now transgress the laws of the Faith-and its institutions-and even more particularly, the confidence the Centres of the Faith reposed in him-by now proclaiming himself the second Guardian of the Faith.... This ridiculous claim, of course, I reject and strongly condemn. With his continuing destructive activities I do not see how we can dismiss them-by simply asking the Friends not to associate with him. As I have cabled previously, he must be put out of the Faith entirely as a Covenant-breaker --and the same action must be taken with regard to those who uphold his blasphemous claims. The question of Covenant-breaking is not one of votes-it is a case of disobedience-and Mr. Remey and his associates have disobeyed the teachings of the Faith-have stirred up difficulties --are centres of hate of the progress of the Faith-and the sacrificial services of the Friends.... This matter should not drift as is being allowed.
Leroy Ioas
Asian Hands
MAY 3,1960
DEEPLY REGRET MASON'S BESOTIED ATFITUDE AND ACTION AGAINST COVENANT AND REPUDIATION WILL TESTAMENT THUS DEPRIVING HIMSELF MERCY BOUNTY BLESSED BEAUTY THIS WORLD AND WORLDS TO COME.
HANDS ASIA ALAI VARQA KHADEM



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William Sears
(Undated -presumably written early in June)
You will have received by now Mason's second letter, and the other correspondence from the United States National Spiritual Assembly. I did not send it, as I have been in Wilmette since this letter came out working closely with them as things develop. I have also been in touch with (Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum, and with Leroy. I have kept Hermann informed and am awaiting his reply. It is my personal feeling now that we see the result of this act of Mason's that we should delay no longer in putting him out of the Faith if he does not repudiate. This would also be the action, I feel, which should be taken against those who support him, and who after proper warning, persist in their support. Several of them are waging campaigns with their friends to get them to support Mason. So far it is minor, scattered and sporadic; but it has a growing potential if we do not take firm action. The friends will feel there must be something more to Mason's claim unless there is some strong, firm, clear-cut reaction on the part of the Hands.... It is a growing thing. It needs action. He must either repudiate at once or be removed. There can be no more delay in this action, in my opinion. We are losing valuable ground that will be hard to reclaim.
William Sears
June 11, 1960
UNITED VIEW HANDSWEST UNLESS REMEY REPUDIATES IMMEDIATELY SHOULD BE EXPELLED.
SEARS
June 29, 1960
REMEY WRITTEN UDO SCHAEFER 10 PAGE LETTER PRAISING HIS DOCUment GUARDIANSHIP HISTORIC ORDERING HUNDRED COPIES FOR CIRCU-LATION INFECTION SPREADING ALARMINGLY HERE WITHOUT RESTRAINT MARANGELLA INFLUENCE CONSTANT CORRESPONDENCE SPREADING WIDELY INSIDIOUSLY THREE QUESTIONABLE BELIEVERS ASKED SOUVENIR MASTER IF REMEY CLAIM BASELESS WHY NO ACTION BY HANDS WAS IT FROM FEAR OR WERE THEY DISUNITED IMPERATIVE DEFINITE ACTION BE TAKEN REMEY AND ALL WHO SUPPORT HIM INDECISIVENESS HANDS WEAKENING POSITION INSTITUTIONS ENCOURAGING BOLDNESS ENEMIES URGE CABLE ALL HANDS CALLING FOR EXPULSION REMEY AND ALL WHO SUPPORT HIM SCHAEFER APPARENTLY FAITHFUL.
SEARS
June 30,1960
I have read Mason's 10-page letter which attacks the Hands, saying that we have agreed, but not announced it to the friends, that the Guardianship is ended and are working to make this a reality around the world. Mason says in the letter that he is sending 100 copies of Udo Schaefer's document to selected contacts. His letter is to Schaefer,



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scolding him for abandoning his stand on the Guardianship, and supporting the Hands. This letter has been duplicated and has been sent to friends in Connecticut.... My own opinion is that there is no deep-seated problem, and that if definite action is taken on the matter so they (the believers) feel comforted by this show of strength and unity, it will abate. However, if they feel free to discuss it at Feasts, write each other about it, exchange Joel Marangella's letter (etc.) with no warning of the consequences, it can grow to proportions far out of line with its importance. In other words, it is not so important what Mason is doing now, but what we do. Hence the appeal for united action.
I completely agree that all the Hands should unite in this action, as they (the entire body) are the ones who must accept this responsibility as "Chief Stewards". However, to await a meeting this Fall would be to delay it too long, I feel. Surely if all the Hands repudiate Mason and call for his expulsion if he does not repudiate, it is sufficient.
The Master gave the Hands the power to "cast out" anyone who "opposed" the Guardian or caused a "division". Mason has "opposed" the beloved Guardian for two years, insisting, as you well know, that we the Hands should choose a Guardian. He called us "violators" at the last meeting because we wouldn't choose a Guardian, in spite of the beloved Guardian's written words that the Hands could not choose a Guardian, and against the sacred Will and Testament that only the Guardian could choose his successor. Mason has truly caused a "division" however small by appointing himself, declaring himself infallible, circulating the National Spiritual Assemblies and the Bahá'ís sending out his encyclical letter, and now approaching the Government of Israel. He has "opposed" the Guardian and caused a "division" and under our sacred right as Hands, we should "cast him out" and "accept no excuse whatsoever" from him.
So far there has been no publicity, but if he and his cohorts are free to go on unchecked until October it could become serious just through neglect. My heart tells me that we should be more vigilant and forceful as a warning to other usurpers-as it is not only our duty, but our sacred right as conferred in the Will and Testament.
William Sears
BAHA'I WILMETTE
JULY 13, 1960

GRIEVED ANNOUNCE PASSING HAIFA MUCH-LOVED DISTINGUISHED HAND CAUSE GOD HORACE HOLLEY OUTSTANDING CHAMPION FAITH SINCE DAYS


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MASTER PRAISED BY BELOVED GUARDIAN FOR UNIQUE CONTRIBUTION DEVELOPMENT ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER STOP HIS INDEFATIGABLE SERVICES PROTECTION TEACHING ADMINISTRATIVE FIELDS CULMINATING SERVICE HOLY LAND INSPIRING EXAMPLE PRESENT FUTURE GENERATIONS BAHA'IS STOP SHARE ABOVE MESSAGE HANDS ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES STOP URGE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS TEMPLE LOCAL COMMUNITIES UNITED STATES.
[CABLE]HANDSFAITH

To the Hands of the Cause throughout the World
July 21, 1960

Dear Fellow-Hands:
Enclosed is the second letter issued from the Holy Land containing the news of the progress of the Faith received at the World Centre since our Ridvan Message was prepared. These letters are not being issued on a regular schedule, but are sent out when we have sufficient interesting and stimulating news to put together a communication which will be a source of encouragement and inspiration to the friends.
As in the case of the first News Letter, issued earlier this year, we are asking the National Assemblies to share this Bulletin with the believers in their area through their own News Letters.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

To All National Spiritual Assemblies
July 21, 1960

Beloved Friends:
Enclosed is another News Letter from the Holy Land, giving the heartening news of the progress of the Faith which has come to the World Centre since our Ridvan Message was prepared.
This is the second of a series of such letters which we have informed you that we plan to issue from time to time. We hope this letter will prove to be a source of inspiration and encouragement to the friends.
Please share this Bulletin with the believers in your area through your News Letter.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND




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NEWS FROM THE WORLD CENTRE OF THE FAITH

To All National Spiritual Assemblies
July 21, 1960

Dearly beloved Friends:
Since our first News Letter of February last, our Ridvan message has brought you news of the progress of the Faith all over the world, and now we send you news of more recent events.
At the World Centre, the flow of visitors to the Shrines and Gardens has continued. Among those who came were many distinguished foreign visitors, including Ambassadors and Cabinet Ministers. The House of 'Abbud, in which Bahá'u'lláh lived for nearly seven years during His incarceration in 'Akka, and in which the Kitab-i-Aqdas was revealed, has been extensively renovated and restored. The palace of Mazra'ih, where Bahá'u'lláh lived in the period between His leaving 'Akka, and taking up residence in Bahji has also been extensively renovated. The pilgrim season, that began after the Conclave of the Hands in Bahji ended with the commemoration of the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh, during the season pilgrims from every continent passed their allotted nine days of pilgrimage in the Holy Land. Outstanding among the missions carried out by the Hands of the Cause in recent months has been the visit of (Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum, to North America, where she found a wonderful spirit of determination among the friends. In both the United States and Canada she met with the believers at key centres and addressed many large public meetings. Her visit brought a great deal of favourable publicity for the Faith. She spent some time with the Indians, from whom the Master confidently expected so much; John Robarts, also visited a number of Indian groups in the course of his mission in Canada. William Sears has travelled very extensively in Latin America, including Central America, the Greater Antilles and the northern countries of South America. The friends there are jubilant at the victories achieved last Ridvan. Hermann Grossmann, in the course of his tour of South America, recently visited the friends in the disaster area of Chile. Mr. Samandari, spent some time in Turkey on his way from the Holy Land to his post, and Dr. Muhajir, is now visiting the countries of South East Asia. Collis Featherstone journeyed to New Zealand, attended the Convention there, and visited the Maoris, the indigenous people who have shown great receptivity to the Faith.
Reports from the various National Spiritual Assemblies during the Ridvan period brought much joyful and encouraging news. Firstly there was the achievement of all the Local Assembly goals, and more, in Latin America. Venezuela, for instance, formed four new Local Assemblies,



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three over the goal. As a result of these great victories the new National Spiritual Assemblies can be established next Ridván, based on an adequate number of Local Assemblies. In the United States forty new Assemblies were elected, more than in any year since the beginning of the Crusade. In the whole Western Hemisphere nearly eighty new Assemblies were formed, and the number of new believers during the year was almost 2,000. An interesting feature has been the continued spread of the Faith amongst Indians in various parts of the Western Hemisphere, from the Far North where the Yukon's first Indian believer has been accepted, through Mexico, which has its first Indian believer, to Bolivia, where hundreds of the Indians in the Andes have embraced the Faith. A start has been made in teaching the Carib Indians of the West Indies in Dominica.
As usual, Africa has led the Bahá'í world in growth and numbers. In the one year since Ridvan 1959 the number of Local Assemblies in Central and East Africa has grown from 240 to 400. In number of centres the United States still leads with 1,560, but Africa with 1,140, has now moved up to second place. The area of Central and East Africa, the scene of so many historic events in the Faith, has recently witnessed great success in the Eastern Belgian Congo, where hitherto little progress had been made. The energetic teaching activity of some of the believers from Usurnbura, in neighbouring Ruanda-Urundi, has in a few months set on fire over 500 new believers, and thirteen new Local Assemblies have been elected. This is one of the most spectacular teaching developments in the history of the Faith in Africa, or indeed anywhere, and is the first real growth in any of the French-speaking territories in that part of Africa. To quote the Central and East African National Spiritual Assembly: "The Faith in this Region is like a giant river overflowing its banks, flooding out across the countryside, carrying the Word of God wherever the receptivity of the people takes it."
The Region of North West Africa, which at the formation of its National Assembly in 1956 had 920 believers, now has approximately 3,000, of which 1,800 are in the British Cameroons. The number of Local Assemblies has grown from 38 to 113. There are 18 properties owned by the Faith in this Region, including the National Haziratu'l-Quds in Tunis and five other Haziratu'l-Quds, the Temple land in Tunis, two burial grounds, two endowments, and six Bahá'í centres in the British Cameroons. Dahomey, a part of the French Union, has its first believers. Truly Africa, the Dark Continent, is now, as foretold by the beloved Guardian, a beacon of light in the Bahá'í world!
The third area of outstanding growth in recent years has been South East Asia. Here there are more than eleven times as many centres as in 1957 when the Regional Assembly was formed; there are ten times more



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Local Assemblies, and the number of believers has grown from 1,500 to 7,500. In one island in Indonesia half of the population of 10,000 are Bahá'ís; there are 16 Local Assemblies and at least 10 Bahá'í schools. Among the most exciting developments in the Region has been the growth of the Faith in Java, which at the time of the beloved Guardian's passing had less than 20 believers; now there are almost 1,300, mainly young people. Java is one of the most densely populated countries in the world and offers unlimited opportunities for the expansion of the Faith.
In other parts of the world too, there has been progress, even if on a smaller scale. In Europe, where eleven National Assemblies are scheduled to be formed in 1962, there is still a challenging distance to be covered before all goals are achieved, but Belgium now has the number of Assemblies needed, Scandinavia had four new ones last Ridvan Portugal two, and Italy four. India established 11 new Local Assemblies, more than in any recent year.
In other ways too, progress is being made toward the achievement of Crusade goals. The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in the course of building near Kampala, Uganda, is well on the way to completion. The tiling of the dome in four shades of colour, has been finished, various fittings chosen and ordered, and it is now hoped to dedicate it in January, 1961. Equally good progress is being made on the Temple at Sydney, Australia. History was made and much publicity was attracted when, for the first time in Australia, a helicopter was used to lift into position the fleche on the top of the dome. Newspapers all over Australia mentioned this and three Sydney television stations reported it in detail. It is expected that the dedication will take place during Ridvan 1961. In Germany, where the third Temple of the Crusade is to be built, serious obstacles have been encountered; fortunately these now seem to be almost at an end, and there is a good prospect that building may begin soon.
As we pursue our goals of the Ten Year Crusade, events not directly connected with these goals also demonstrate the progress of the Cause.
World Religion Day was happily and successfully celebrated in many places, but in Vientiane, capital of Laos, it became an outstanding event. A distinguished gathering of about 300, including members of the King's Council, Consular and United Nations officials, and representatives of various sects of six religions, took part and heard a message from H.M. the King of Laos, brought to the meeting by H.R.H. Prince Chantharangai.
As a non-governmental organization accepted by United Nations, the Bahá'í International Community was invited to send representatives to a Round Table Conference organized by the World Federalists in Paris, on the subject of a permanent force for United Nations. The Bahá'í point of view much impressed those present.



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As the Faith has proved many times in its history, difficulties ultimately bring it victory. An American pioneer in El Salvador was ordered to leave because of false accusations made against him. Subsequently he was cleared of all suspicion and allowed to return. The National Spiritual Assembly of Central America then sought an interview with high officials of the Salvador Government, which resulted in an assurance that Bahá'ís are completely free to follow their Faith and to teach it in that country.
In the past months there has been news of natural disasters in various parts of the world. In March the islands of Mauritius and Madagascar were swept by cyclones. In both places some of the friends lost their homes, but they were undeterred, continuing to keep the Fast and to hold their meetings, often in the open air. One community in Madagascar held a Nineteen Day Feast during a cyclone, with only three absentees. Earthquakes have occurred in widely separated parts of the world, in Persia, in Morocco, and in Chile, bringing death and destruction to many. In all these calamities we were deeply thankful to hear from the respective National Assemblies that, though some had their homes damaged, there had been no loss of life amongst the Bahá'ís The Regional Spiritual Assembly has sent a representative to the disaster area of Chile to ascertain what help the friends there need, and the Hands at the World Centre have sent a sum of money for their relief.
The Crusade progresses on the way to its goals but the time grows ever shorter. Bahá'u'lláh Himself has left us in no doubt of our duty, and is specific in promises of the divine help on which we can draw.
Teach ye the Cause of God, 0 people of Baha, for God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds.

And when he determineth to leave his home, for the sake of the Cause of his Lord, let him put his whole trust in God, as the best provision for his journey, and array himself with the robe of virtue. . . . If he be kindled with the fire of His love, if he forgoeth all created things, the words he uttereth shall set on fire them that hear him.

Whoso openeth his lips in this Day and maketh mention of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend upon him from the heaven of My name, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.

In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND



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To All National Spiritual Assemblies, C/O BAHA'I WILMETTE
JULY 26, 1960

ENTIRE BODY HANDS OBEDIENT PROVISIONS WILL TESTAMENT CENTRE COVENANT COMMUNICATIONS BELOVED GUARDIAN ENJOINING THEM PROTECT HOLY CAUSE ATTACKS ENEMIES WITHIN WITHOUT ANNOUNCE BAHA'I WORLD MASON REMEY COVENANT BREAKER EXPELLED FAITH STOP ACTION FOLLOWS LONG PERIOD PATIENCE FORBEARANCE OPPORTUNITY GIVEN HIM WITHDRAW SHAMEFUL PRETENSION SACRED STATION GUARDIANSHIP CONSTITUTING HERETICAL CLAIM CONTRARY EXPLICIT PROVISIONS WILL MASTER STOP DESPITE UNIVERSAL REPUDIATION DENUNCIATION BY ALL HANDS INTERNATIONAL BAHA'I COUNCIL ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES REMEY CONTINUING AGITATE UNFOUNDED CLAIM ACTIVELY SEEKING CREATE DIVISION RANKS FAITHFUL SOW SEEDS DOUBT HEARTS BELIEVERS UNDERMINE ACTIVITIES INSTITUTION HANDS CHIEF STEWARDS DEDICATED FULFILMENT BELOVED GUARDIAN'S TEN YEAR PLAN STOP ACCORDANCE INJUNCTION WILL TESTAMENT 'Abdu'l-Bahá, CALL UPON FRIENDS EVERYWHERE SHUN REMEY AND ANYONE ASSOCIATING WITH HIM OR ACTIVELY SUPPORTING HIS CLAIMS STOP CONFIDENT COMMUNITY MOST GREAT NAME UNITED WHOLEHEARTED CONDEMNATION THIS LATEST ILL-FATED ATTEMPT DISRUPT GOD's HOLY CAUSE WILL EMERGE TRIUMPHANT STRENGTHENED GALVANIZED ISSUE FORTH WIN REMAINING GOALS GLORIOUS WORLD ENCIRCLING CRUSADE STOP CABLE MESSAGE ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
[CABLE]HANDSFAITH

To All National Spiritual Assemblies, c/o BAHAI WILMETTE
AUGUST 3, 1960

BELOVED GUARDIAN'S GLORIOUS EPISTLE GOD PASSES BY CLEARLY STATES HOLY CAUSE CONSTANTLY SUBJECT CRISES GIVING RISE GREATER VICTORIES STOP HISTORY DEFECTION DISTINGUISHED BELIEVERS FOLLOWING ASCENSION FORERUNNER FAITH SUPREME MANIFESTATION CENTRE COVENANT NOW REPEATED AFTER ASCENSION PRECIOUS SHOGHI Effendi THROUGH MASON REMEY'S DEFECTION HIS PREPOSTEROUS UTTERLY UNFOUNDED CLAIMS STOP PROTECTION BELIEVERS FROM ACTIVITIES MISGUIDED MISCHIEF MAKERS GIVEN EVERY OPPORTUNITY REPENT NOW REQUIRES EXPULSION FAITH REMEY's HENCHMEN JOHN CARRE BERNARD Fillon, MONEER. DARAKHSHAN JOEL MARANGELLA JACQUES SOGHOMONIAN DONALD HARVEY JOHN BYERS IN FRANCE AND MARY WILKIN UNITED STATES STOP HENCEFORTH ANYONE ASSOCIATING THESE PEOPLE OR SUPPORTING REMEY CLAIM LIKEWISE CONSIDERED COVENANT BREAKER STOP CONFIDENT FAITHFUL DEVOTED BODY


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BELIEVERS MINDFUL INFINITE BOUNTIES PRAISES SHOWERED BELOVED GUARDIAN WILL DEMONSTRATE THROUGH UNITED ACTION IMPREGNABLE SOLIDARITY ARISE ACHIEVE GLORIOUS GOALS GOD-INSPIRED CRUSADE STOP CABLE MESSAGE ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
[CABLE]HANDSFAITH

To the Hands of the Cause of God
August 9, 1960

CONFIDENTIAL

Dearly beloved Fellow-Hands:
We know that you are anxious to receive news of the situation which has developed as a result of the tragic defection of Mason Remey and his preposterous claim to be the one chosen to fill the place of our beloved Guardian who was the divinely appointed scion of God on earth.
It seems that his agitation, far from ceasing and far from being-as we at first hoped and believed-the evidence of great emotional disturbance and unbalance-is a persistent and well-thought-out campaign. Not only does he personally continue to send out communications asserting his claim and adding ridiculous arguments to support it, but his attacks on the Hands and all who support them are becoming more violent and insidious all the time, and his chief supporters in France, Joel Marangella, Don Harvey and others, have now been joined by Mary Magdalene Wilkin in the United States. These henchmen are circularizing the Bahá'í world widely with violent attacks on the Hands, their decisions and their right to carry on the beloved Guardian's Crusade while at the same time deducing so-called "proofs" of the authenticity of Mason's claims and position.
In view of this critical situation and the urgent need to close this door through which spiritual pollution was pouring unhindered into the Bahá'í world, following receipt of your replies to our July 7th, letter we expelled both him and his supporters from the Faith. We felt we could not take the risk of deferring this drastic action until the time when we all meet together-even if the date of the meeting had been advanced to early September (we could not have gotten the Annual Meeting ready before then).
We thank you for the prompt expressions of opinion we received here from all of you in response to our letter which enabled us to take this action for the protection of the Faith on behalf of the entire body of the Hands. We therefore sent the two following cables to all National Spiritual Assemblies:
JULY 26, 1960
ENTIRE BODY HANDS OBEDIENT PROVISIONS WILL TESTAMENT CENTRE



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COVENANT COMMUNICATIONS BELOVED GUARDIAN ENJOINING THEM PROTECT HOLY CAUSE ATTACKS ENEMIES WITHIN WITHOUT ANNOUNCE BAHA'I WORLD MASON REMEY COVENANT BREAKER EXPELLED FAITH STOP ACTION FOLLOWS LONG PERIOD PATIENCE FORBEARANCE OPPORTUNITY GIVEN HIM WITHDRAW SHAMEFUL PRETENSION SACRED STATION GUARDIANSHIP CONSTITUTING HERETICAL CLAIM CONTRARY EXPLICIT PROVISIONS WILL MASTER STOP DESPITE UNIVERSAL REPUDIATION DENUNCIATION BY ALL HANDS INTERNATIONAL BAHA'I COUNCIL ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES REMEY CONTINUING AGITATE UNFOUNDED CLAIM ACTIVELY SEEKING CREATE DIVISION RANKS FAITHFUL SOW SEEDS DOUBT HEARTS BELIEVERS UNDERMINE ACTIVITIES INSTITUTION HANDS CHIEF STEWARDS DEDICATED FULFILMENT BELOVED GUARDIAN'S TEN YEAR PLAN STOP ACCORDANCE INJUNCTION WILL TESTAMENT 'ABDU'L-BAHA, CALL UPON FRIENDS EVERYWHERE SHUN REMEY AND ANYONE ASSOCIATING WITH HIM OR ACTIVELY SUPPORTING HIS CLAIMS STOP CONFIDENT COMMUNITY MOST GREAT NAME UNITED WHOLEHEARTED CONDEMNATION THIS LATEST ILL-FATED ATTEMPT DISRUPT GOD'S HOLY CAUSE WILL EMERGE TRIUMPHANT STRENGTHENED GALVANIZED ISSUE FORTH WIN REMAINING GOALS GLORIOUS WORLD ENCIRCLING CRUSADE STOP CABLE MESSAGE ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
HANDSFAITH
AUGUST 3,1960
BELOVED GUARDIAN'S GLORIOUS EPISTLE GOD PASSES BY CLEARLY STATES HOLY CAUSE CONSTANTLY SUBJECT CRISES GIVING RISE GREATER VICTORIES STOP HISTORY DEFECTION DISTINGUISHED BELIEVERS FOLLOWING ASCENSION FORERUNNER FAITH SUPREME MANIFESTATION CENTRE COVENANT NOW REPEATED AFTER ASCENSION PRECIOUS SHOGHI Effendi THROUGH MASON REMEY'S DEFECTION HIS PREPOSTEROUS UTTERLY UNFOUNDED CLAIMS STOP PROTECTION BELIEVERS FROM ACTIVITIES MISGUIDED MISCHIEF MAKERS GIVEN EVERY OPPORTUNITY REPENT NOW REQUIRES EXPULSION FAITH REMEY'S HENCHMEN JOHN CARRE BERNARD FILLON, MONEER DARAKHSHAN JOEL MARANGELLA JACQUES SOGHOMONIAN DONALD HARVEY JOHN BYERS IN FRANCE AND MARY WILKIN UNITED STATES STOP HENCEFORTH ANYONE ASSOCIATING THESE PEOPLE OR SUPPORTING REMEY CLAIM LIKEWISE CONSIDERED COVENANT BREAKER STOP CONFIDENT FAITHFUL DEVOTED BODY BELIEVERS MINDFUL INFINITE BOUNTIES PRAISES SHOWERED BELOVED GUARDIAN WILL DEMONSTRATE THROUGH UNITED ACTION IMPREGNABLE SOLIDARITY ARISE ACHIEVE GLORIOUS GOALS GODINSPIRED CRUSADE STOP CABLE MESSAGE ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
HANDSFAITH



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Replies expressing gratitude for and approval of this action are now beginning to come in from the National Spiritual Assemblies.
Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum, cut short a much-needed rest after her exhaustive tour of the United States and Canada when we informed her of the sudden death of our dear co-worker Horace Holley, and flew back from Canada as soon as she could arrange her travelling plans. Bill Sears, who had planned to visit some of the European centres prior to our Bahji meeting, hastened his arrival after being informed of Horace's death, and got here three days before Ruhiyyih Khanum. Faizi, (whose return entry visa held him up) arrived a few days later. Their report made it clear that responsible believers were considerably puzzled and distressed by the lack of action from the World Centre in expelling what had obviously become a most active and threatening group of Covenant-breakers. In addition to this, the American National Spiritual Assembly, in whose area this poisonous material was being most widely circulated, cabled us as follows:
JULY 18, 1960
CONSIDERED JUDGEMENT OUR ASSEMBLY ACTIONS TAKEN THUS FAR BY HANDS HOLY LAND INADEQUATE DEAL DECISIVELY SATISFACTORILY NUMEROUS BELIEVERS ATTRACTED REMEY CLAIM STOP SITUATION FRAUGHT CONFUSION DOUBT DANGER STOP RESPECTFULLY URGE DEFINITE DRASTIC IMMEDIATE ACTION HANDS DECLARING REMEY VIOLATOR SAME FATE ALL THOSE CONTINUING SUPPORT HIM DEVOTED LOVE.
WOLCOTT [SECRETARY]
We all knew after the passing of our beloved Guardian false claims would surely be made; but we never dreamed they would come from one of ourselves, from a Hand honoured by both 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi History has repeated itself once again, and from the text of that glorious epistle God Passes By we are assured that any crisis this may momentarily precipitate in Bahá'í affairs will inevitably be succeeded by a resounding victory and a great forward surge in the work of this holy Faith.
We need not tell you how difficult has been this whole series of events for those serving here at the World Centre! You can well imagine. In the midst of this crisis, with four Custodians absent --Milly Collins and Leroy Ioas for reasons of health and Ruhiyyih Khanum, and Faizi, on specific missions --our very dear co-worker Horace Holley, suddenly died. As you know his heart was in a state where this could have happened at any moment during the past years. For a few days he had felt too weak to get



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up and be about, but his condition did not lead us, or his physician, to believe his death was imminent. On the evening of the 12th of July he collapsed on leaving the bathroom and died immediately. A very beautiful and moving service was held in the hall of the Master's Home; and less than twenty-four hours after his passing we laid him to rest in the Bahá'í Cemetery, right near the graves of Dr. Esslemont and the Afnan who built the 'Ishqabad Temple. We are deeply grateful to Bahá'u'lláh that we had the valued, mature and wise advice of dear Horace during the most difficult period of this whole Remey affair and that he was able, through his example and counsels, to render at the end of his life yet another great service to the Faith he had worked for so constantly, with such outstanding distinction and devotion, and for so many years --a Faith whose Guardian had heaped upon him so many honours. May God in His mercy give each one of us an end as blessed as his!
All this has made us feel very keenly, and we know the same feeling is in your hearts too, that we must draw ever closer to each other-we who were chosen by our beloved Guardian, poor and unworthy though we are, to carry on his work, to serve as Hands of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and help crown with victory this latest stage in the unfoldment of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan. Our essential unity, the love we have for Shoghi Effendi and in his love for each other, must grow daily stronger, so that we can fulfil our primary function of protecting and propagating the Cause of God. We feel our forthcoming Annual Meeting will inevitably, after this serious onslaught on the Faith and the Institution of the Hands, be productive of great results for the forthcoming year, and that we will be assisted to make truly inspiring plans for the tremendous work that lies ahead of the entire Bahá'í world during the closing years of the Crusade.
We are eagerly looking forward to your arrival here. As soon as possible we will send you the agenda for the meeting. Now that this defection of Mason and the handful of his supporters (about 15 people in all, some of them wives of the chief dissidents) has been put in its proper light before the Bahá'í world, we can go on to other matters for which there has been no time during the past critical three months when we were investigating the situation, studying Faizi's detailed reports on the condition in France and answering a tremendous amount of correspondence pouring in in connection with winning the Crusade goals, Mason's claims, and so on.
We ask you to pray for all of us, but particularly for the health of Ugo and Bill; the former is slowly recovering from a very grave infection contracted during his tour of Central America, the latter has just left for a sanatorium in Europe to care for a disturbing liver condition seriously impairing his health. Our dear fellow-Hand Musa Banani; has suffered a



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stroke and is at present in a hospital in Frankfurt receiving medical care for his paralyzed right side. We ask your ardent supplications on his behalf. Please also pray for the improvement in health of Milly, Leroy and Enoch.
In the holy Shrines we always supplicate for all of the Hands, as you know, and beseech Bahá'u'lláh's confirmations, protection and grace.
With deepest love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

To All National Spiritual Assemblies
August 27, 1960

Dear Bahá'í Friends:
For your information and for the protection of the Cause, we wish to inform you of the recent steps taken by the Egyptian Government against the Faith, and to indicate what course of action should be followed by the National Assemblies of the Bahá'í world.
According to press dispatches, the Government of the United Arab Republic (Egypt and Syria) has issued a decree which closes all Bahá'í centres forbids any Bahá'í activity in Egypt or Syria, and gives the Government the right to confiscate Bahá'í property. Substantial penalties (fine, imprisonment, or both) are imposed for any disobedience of this law.
We now have confirmation of these actions and a request that all Assemblies and individual believers refrain from any correspondence with the friends in Egypt or Syria. It is essential that this instruction be followed without any exceptions, in order to avoid further restrictions on the Bahá'ís in those countries. Furthermore, no steps should be taken by any National Assembly to protest against or publicize the action of the Government of the United Arab Republic.
We are requesting the representatives of the Bahá'í International Community in the United States to take the matter up with the appropriate agencies of the United Nations, stressing the non-political character of the Faith, and that the basic right of freedom of religion has been violated. This is the only official action which we feel is wise at this time, but if any inquiries are received, the answer can be given that appropriate steps are being taken through the United Nations.
All of us can, however, pray for the protection of the friends and the removal of these unfortunate restrictions.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND



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To the Hands of the Cause of God throughout the World
August 31, 1960

Beloved Co-Workers:
As you know, this year's Conclave of the Hands is to take place during the period October 18-27. In accordance with our usual practice we are sending to each Hand the following suggestions for the agenda of the meeting.

AGENDA -1960 CONCLAVE

SUGGESTIONS OF THE HANDS

THE INTERNATIONAL BAHÁ'Í COUNCIL

WINNING THE REMAINING CRUSADE GOALS
Formation of National Spiritual Assemblies and Local Spiritual Assemblies
European Temple
ACTIVITIES OF THE HANDS
Hands in the Holy Land
Travel of Hands
Auxiliary Boards
FINANCIAL SITUATION
World Centre Report
Crusade Obligations

We are looking forward eagerly to welcoming you in Haifa and to the opportunity of praying and consulting together on the vital work which lies ahead for us all.
With our warmest and deepest love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

To the Bahá'ís throughout the East and the West
September 7, 1960

Beloved Friends:
They that have forsaken their country for the purpose of teaching Our Cause --these shall the Faithful Spirit strengthen through its



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power.... Such a service is, indeed, the prince of all goodly deeds, and the ornament of every goodly act.

Should anyone arise for the triumph of Our Cause, him will God render victorious though tens of thousands of enemies be leagued against him.
Bahá'u'lláh


In the past months, since the Annual Conventions were held, many events have taken place which have caused the friends to rejoice anew over the truly unassailable foundation upon which our glorious Faith has been laid. The individual believers in every part of the world have arisen with renewed consecration and redoubled zeal to devote themselves to winning the goals of our beloved Guardian's holy Crusade.
The news of the progress being made in winning these goals has been truly inspiring; a steady flow of pioneers from North America and Persia is going out to support the work in those crucial places where new National Assemblies must be formed either next April or in Ridvan 1962. In addition to this, local pioneers in Latin America and Europe are reinforcing the work, and through their familiarity with the languages and customs of the people are proving of invaluable assistance in building up new Assemblies and strengthening existing ones.
We clearly see that the words of our beloved Guardian resound with thrilling fulfilment around the Balid'i world: "From the record of its tumultuous history, almost every page of which portrays a fresh crisis . . . recounts the tale of a base betrayal ... there emerges, clear and incontrovertible, the supreme truth that with every fresh outbreak of hostility to the Faith, whether from within or from without, a corresponding measure of outpouring grace, sustaining its defenders and confounding its adversaries, has been providentially released, communicating a fresh impulse to the onward march of the Faith . . ."
What bounties we share, what privileges we have been given, what blessings have been showered upon us! Is it any wonder that 'Abdu'l-Bahá asked us over and over, "Do you know in what day you are living?"
Where such manifold blessings are given, an equally deep responsibility and challenge confronts us. This is the hour for every single believer to arise as never before and rededicate himself to the unfinished tasks of the beloved Guardian's Ten Year Plan, so that the rising tide of victories which made the past year unprecedented in the Faith, may sweep us on to greater triumphs and even more brilliant accomplishments on every front.
The eyes of the Bahá'í world are particularly directed to the goal cities of Europe where we still have twenty-seven Local Spiritual Assemblies to establish in nine countries. The most urgent need is for heroic pioneers to



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arise, determined to overcome every obstacle that stands in their path and volunteer their services through their own National Spiritual Assembly. At the start of this great Global Crusade, the beloved Guardian said that pioneering was the single most important service in the Bahá'í world in that hour. That service remains unique and priceless.
Time is getting terrifyingly short; we must all hasten on our individual and collective paths of service in order to win all the goals of our beloved Guardian. We ask each one of you to reconsider how you may be of greater help, as a pioneer, as a teacher, through greater support of the Fund, in any and every way possible, so that these coming months may see a great upsurge of activity and the kindling of a mighty flame of devotion which will sweep like wildfire throughout the Bahá'í world and carry us all to victory.
At the Annual Meeting of the Hands of the Cause, starting on October the 18th, momentous decisions will have to be made, and exhaustive plans formulated. We ask the believers everywhere in the world to join us on the evening of October 19th, in saying the "Tablet of Ahmad or another prayer, supplicating that all difficulties may be removed, all obstacles overcome, in the vital months that lie ahead-months which must witness the election of twenty-one new National Assemblies in the Latin American area and the creation of twenty-seven new Local Assemblies in the goal countries of Europe, Assemblies which are to be the foundation of the new European National Assemblies to be elected in Ridvan 1962. We felt that this day, October 19th, would carry a special blessing, as it is the anniversary, according to the solar calendar, of the birthday of the precious Bab. The Hands will, after sunset on that day, be praying at Bahji, in the holy Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. Please join us then in thought, spirit and prayer.
Confident of final victory, and resolved to show forth, in the words of the beloved Guardian, "a dazzling display of the qualities which must distinguish a worthy stewardship of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh", let the friends everywhere arise with one accord, and conclude triumphantly those tasks which the Will of the Most High has ordained it should be their privilege to perform.
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

To All National Spiritual Assemblies
October 15, 1960

Dear Bahá'í Friends:
In view of the proclamation issued by Mason Remey in which he



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claims to be the second guardian of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and the present circulation of what he calls encyclical letters, as well as various letters being written by his misguided supporters, the Hands of the Cause feel it imperative to place before the believers certain facts and passages from the Sacred Writings of our Faith in refutation of these spurious and highly misleading statements.
Mason Remey has had the temerity to assert that the beloved Guardian of the Cause appointed him during his own lifetime as his successor. He builds up his claim by saying that because he was appointed President of the first International Bahá'í Council, he becomes automatically the President of the elected International Bahá'í Council, and later, on its election, Chairman of the Universal House of Justice. To quote his own argument:
He who is President of the Universal House of Justice is the Guardian of the Faith for he who is the Guardian of the Faith is President of the Universal House of Justice. These two offices are one and the same. Therefore, when the beloved Guardian Shoghi Effendi appointed me President of the Bahá'í International Council, that, he explained, was the forerunner of the Universal House of Justice that was the Embrionic [sic] Universal House of Justice that would eventually develop into the Universal House of Justice. I or one of my successors in Guardianship would be President of this divinely instituted infallible body, the Universal House of Justice; therefore the Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith and the Presidency of the Universal House of Justice are one and the same position in the Faith.
This contention requires a careful study of the Words of 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the Will and Testament, because this sacred document sets forth the conditions requisite for Guardianship in no uncertain terms. We must never forget for a moment that it was the Master Who established the Station of the Guardianship; and in fact appointed the successor of Shoghi Effendi as between Shoghi Effendi's first born, or another branch (Ghosn).
In the Will He clearly states:
He is the expounder of the Words of God and after him will succeed the-first-born of his lineal descendants....

It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor, that differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the



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essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first-born of the Guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words: "The child is the secret essence of its sire", that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the Guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he (the Guardian of the Cause of God), choose an other branch to succeed him.
It has become clear during the past months that lack of knowledge of the meaning of the word "branch" as used in the Master's Will and Testament has led to great confusion in certain quarters in the West.
The word "Ghosn" (plural Aghsan is an Arabic word, meaning "branch".
Bahá'u'lláh used this word specifically to designate his own male descendants. It does not apply to any other category of people. He gave the title to 'Abdu'l-Bahá of "the Most Great Branch". His second son, Muhammad 'Ali was known as "the Greater Branch"; His third son, Midhi, "the Purest Branch", etc. The Guardian himself is designated in the Master's Will as "the Chosen Branch".
All the male relatives of the Bab. are invariably referred to as "Afnan", which means "twigs".
These two designations are not interchangeable.
Over and over in Bahá'u'lláh's Tablets these terms Aghsan and "Afnan" are specifically used in this sense.
For instance, in the Tablet of the Branch, the original word is "Ghosn" (i.e. branch), referring to 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
The ordinary English usage of the word "branch" has caused a great deal of confusion, whereas there is not a shadow of ambiguity in the Persian and Arabic texts.
Because of ignorance of the Arabic and Persian languages and the use of these two terms in our Sacred Texts, spurious arguments have been put forth by those making the false claim that Shoghi Effendi could have appointed a successor other than a blood descendant of Bahá'u'lláh.
It should likewise be pointed out that neither in Persian nor Arabic are there ever any capital letters, so that it is impossible to deduce any arguments from a capitalization or lack of capitalization in the English texts.
We direct attention to the first Proclamation issued by all the Hands of the Bahá'í world from Bahji, November 25, 1957 (including Mason Remey).
The same Hands (one of whom was Mason Remey), rejoining the other Hands assembled in the Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahji



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certified that Shoghi Effendi had left no Will and Testament. It was likewise certified that the beloved Guardian had left no heir. The Afghan (branches) one and all are either dead, or have been declared violators of the Covenant by the Guardian for their faithless ness to the Master's Will and Testament and their hostility to him named first Guardian in that sacred document.

... the realization that no successor to Shoghi Effendi could have been appointed by him ...
Thus it is clear that no one but a blood descendant of Bahá'u'lláh could possibly have been appointed by Shoghi Effendi as Guardian of the Faith.
Bahá'u'lláh, in writing, in unambiguous terms established the Master as the Centre of His Covenant. 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His turn, in His Own handwriting created the beloved Guardian, Shoghi Effendi as the Centre of His Covenant and specified the conditions of future Guardianship.
Without one written word from the Guardian, Mason Remey claims that because he was the President of the International Bahá'í Council, and because this body is the embryonic international institution, it automatically makes him the President of that future body, and hence, Guardian of the Faith.
If the President of the International Bahá'í Council is ipso facto the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, then the beloved Guardian, himself, Shoghi Effendi would have had to be the President of this first International Bahá'í Council.
If the presidency of the first International Bahá'í Council, which was not an elected body but appointed by Shoghi Effendi was a permanent thing, why did the beloved Guardian himself call for an elected International Bahá'í Council in the future as part of the evolution of this institution and its eventual efflorescence into the Universal House of Justice?
We have not even an intimation in any writing of Shoghi Effendi that the officers of the first appointed International Bahá'í Council would be carried forward into the elected International Bahá'í Council.
There is nothing to indicate anywhere in the Teachings that the officers of the elected International Bahá'í Council would not be elected according to the pattern of election of every other Bahá'í elected body.
The manner of the election of the Universal House of Justice has been laid down by 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself.
There is no possible reason for concluding that Mason Remey or any other Council member would automatically be carried forward into membership in that body.
If the presidency of either an appointed or an elected International



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Bahá'í Council were synonymous with the presidency of the Universal House of Justice, then it follows the beloved Guardian himself would have assumed this position.
Mason Remey signed the first communication sent out by 26 Hands of the Faith, from Bahji in November, 1957, in which it was stated that as the beloved Guardian had left no Will and no successor, the Hands of the Faith, designated by Shoghi Effendi as the Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth, would carry on the work of the Crusade until the formation of that infallible Body, the Universal House of Justice.
Although Mason Remey, himself a Hand of the Cause, acted as one of the nine Hands in the Holy Land until the end of October, 1959, he never intimated his claim to be the second Guardian to any individual Hand, to the group of Hands serving at the World Centre, or to the body of the Hands gathered in Bahji at their Conclaves.
The first intimation any of us received of this astounding claim was when he mailed us a copy of his proclamation, at a time when it was already in the mail to National Assemblies and individuals.
How can Mason Remey reconcile his assertion that he was appointed by Shoghi Effendi as his successor during his lifetime with the provisions in the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá that during the lifetime of the Guardian, nine of the Hands of the Cause of God must be elected by their fellow-Hands, and give their assent to the choice made by him of his successor? If the Guardian appointed Mason Remey, why did he go against the provisions of the Will in this important respect? Such an implication is a flagrant attack on Shoghi Effendi himself.
The terrible dangers of accepting so manifestly false a claim as that which Mason Remey has made are thus clear for all to see.
In addition to having set aside the provisions of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will in making this claim, in addition to not having one single written word in evidence that the beloved Guardian intended to make him his successor, Mason Remey has written that he will appoint his own successor to the Guardianship.
Every believer, into whose mind has crept for even a second, a shadow of doubt as regards the personal status of Mason Remey may see for himself to what a degree he has entirely brushed aside every single foundation laid by 'Abdu'l-Bahá in His Will for the Guardianship.
The glorious Báb forbade association with Covenant-breakers. Bahá'u'lláh strictly forbade association with the Covenant-breakers, and even warned the friends against entering if possible a city where Covenant-breakers resided, as their poison polluted the entire area. 'Abdu'l-Bahá's teaching with regard to shunning and having no contact whatsoever with



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the Covenant-breakers is contained in hundreds of Tablets. The beloved Guardian forbade all association with Covenant-breakers and warned that their poison was so deadly, that it was not permissible to have even their literature in one's possession.
The Chief Stewards of the Faith, mindful of their paramount responsibility to protect the believers, have taken action to expel from the Faith Mason Remey and his supporters because of their Covenant-breaking activities, and to forbid all association with them.
The beloved Master, in His Will and Testament, issued this clear warning to all the friends:
Beware, beware, lest the days after the Ascension (of Bahá'u'lláh) be repeated when the Centre of Sedition waxed haughty and rebellious and with Divine Unity for his excuse deprived himself and perturbed and poisoned others.

O God, my God! I call Thee, Thy Prophets and Thy Messengers, Thy Saints and Thy Holy Ones, to witness that I have declared conclusively Thy Proofs unto Thy loved ones and set forth clearly all things unto them, that they may watch over Thy Faith, guard Thy Straight Path and protect Thy Resplendent Law. Thou art, verily, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise!

With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND


BAHA'I WILMETTE
OCTOBER 29,1960

SHARE JOYOUS NEWS BELIEVERS OBSTACLES ATTAINMENT ONE BELOVED GUARDIAN'S MAJOR CRUSADE GOALS ERECTION MOTHER TEMPLE EUROPE NOW OVERCOME STOP EXCAVATION FOUNDATIONS ALREADY COMMENCED STOP HAND CAUSE AMELIA COLLINS REPRESENTATIVE GUARDIAN FRANKFURT CONFERENCE WILL ATTEND HISTORIC CEREMONY LAYING CORNER STONE NOVEMBER TWENTIETH AND PLACE SACRED DUST MOST HOLY SHRINE PREVIOUSLY ENTRUSTED GERMAN ASSEMBLY THIS PURPOSE STOP FOLLOWING SEVEN YEARS' DELAY ALL HEARTS UPLIFTED THANKSGIVING BAHA'U'LLAH, GREAT VICTORY STOP SHARE MESSAGE ALL NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
[CABLE]HANDSFAITH



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To All National Spiritual Assemblies
November 4, 1960

Beloved Friends:
We enclose a copy of the Message to the Bahá'ís of East and West from the Hands of the Cause assembled for the fourth time at Bahjí.
The tasks outlined in this communication, and the enumeration of the victories won in the beloved Guardian's World Crusade, are of such vital significance to the believers that we ask you to share it with them immediately through your News Letter, or otherwise.
We look forward to hearing in due course of further great victories won for the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh through the dedicated consecrated efforts of the Bahá'ís in every land united in determination to overcome whatever obstacles lie between them and the fulfilment of the Ten Year Crusade.
With warm Bahá'í love,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

CONCLAVE MESSAGE
1960

From the Hands of the Cause to the Bahá'ís of East and West
Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh
Bahji 'Akka, Israel
November 2, 1960

Dearly beloved Friends:
Fully aware of the fact that the destinies of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh for decades to come hinge upon the actions which must be taken during the coming twelve months, the Hands of the Cause of God, meeting in Bahji in the precincts of the Most Holy Shrine, at their fourth Annual Gathering held since the passing of our beloved Guardian, have considered those measures necessary to enable us to attain the goals of this divinely inspired, globe-encircling Crusade. After joining the Bahá'ís of the entire world in supplication for the victory of the Ten Year Plan, after sixteen days of profound and exhaustive consultation, we are now in a position to share with our fellow-believers the nature of the tasks facing us and the plans formulated to ensure their achievement.
The unprecedented global victories which thrilled and uplifted the hearts of the believers everywhere last Ridvan are gathering momentum as this holy Crusade approaches its end. The world-wide Bahá'í Community,



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faced by yet another severe test during the past year, has risen to new heights of accomplishment. The evidences of the watchful protection of the Twin Founders of our Faith and the assistance of the Supreme Concourse, promised to all those who arise to promote it, are to be seen on every side. We now stand on the threshold of one of the most significant and critical moments in our history, fraught with golden opportunities, demanding tremendous self-sacrifice.
Our beloved Guardian led us year after year, along the most arduous paths, to victories which, to the people of the world, must have appeared impossible of achievement. Yet victory was ours at every step of the way. Before we muster our strength for the tasks that lie immediately ahead, let us for a moment contemplate what has already been accomplished by the followers of Bahá'u'lláh since the inception of the Ten Year Plan: The banner of the Faith has been unfurled in the astounding number of two hundred and fifty-six countries of the globe; the Mother Temples of both Africa and Australia are to all intents and purposes completed; at long last the soil has been turned on the site of the Mother Temple of the European continent and its corner-stone will be laid this month-just three years after the passing of our most beloved Guardian, an event which culminates seven years of heart-breaking effort to secure a property where permission to build could finally be obtained, and which marks another great victory of the Cause of God over the consistent opposition of certain ecclesiastical elements. Well nigh three thousand pioneers have left their homes since 1953 and scattered over the face of the planet, to the barren lands of the world, to regions within the Arctic Circle, to distant deserts and lonely islands, to populous cities and jungle villages. Heroes and martyrs, individuals drawn from every stratum of society, old people and young children, representatives of not only the Asiatic and European civilizations, but Africans, American Indians, Pacific Islanders and Eskimos, have swelled the ranks of pioneers, each in his own way and in his own part of the world, contributing to this glorious testimonial of belief in the Manifestation of God in this day. The initial evidences of that great wave of mass conversion which must sweep the planet have been seen through the enrolment, since the inception of the Crusade, amongst the Africans, the people of Indonesia, and the Indians of South America, of over 30,000 believers, almost 20,000 of whom have embraced the Faith since the passing of the beloved of our hearts; the centres where believers reside have been more than doubled since 1953; hundreds of new Spiritual Assemblies have been formed; schools opened and run by Bahá'ís have been multiplied, not only in the Pacific area and in Africa, but more recently in India and in Latin America; the first dependency of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Wilmette-harbinger of the great cultural and



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humanitarian centres that will cluster about Bahá'í Houses of Worship in the future-has been completed. And last but not least, the Spiritual Assemblies specified by the beloved Guardian for Latin America have been elected and upon this firm foundation can now be erected next Ridvan the twenty-one new pillars of the Universal House of Justice. All these are but a part of the tremendous victories won for the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh by His small band of devoted, heroic followers in less than eight years.
The Crusade has reached the point where the Hands of the Cause can no longer operate on a regional basis alone, but must render their services on a global scale. This indeed seems the next step in the "development", as the beloved Guardian wrote, "of the Institution of the Hands of the Cause" which he, in his great wisdom, made an objective of the Ten Year Plan and which he elaborated upon increasingly during the last years of his life, particularly stressing it in his message of June 4, 1957 and in the very last communication he sent to the Bahá'í world on the eve of his passing. So great and so crushing are the responsibilities which have fallen upon the Hands since his passing, so increasingly vast the field in which they are called upon to serve, that it is no longer possible to confine their activities to a specific region. The answer to this problem seems to be more travelling on their part, and the concentration of their forces on those places where the need is greatest.
The passing of our very dear co-worker Horace Holley has left us without a ninth member of the body of Hands serving in the Holy Land. In order to fill this vacancy, far-reaching changes have been made in the disposition of the Hands in such a way as to not only protect the World Centre, but also serve the best interests of the continental work in various parts of the globe. William Sears has been chosen to replace Horace Holley at the World Centre; John Robarts, is returning to the Western Hemisphere, his original home, in order to ensure that the vital work in the Americas receives adequate support at this time. Rahmatu'llah Muhájir is being transferred to Africa, with the understanding he will spend some months of each year travelling and teaching in his former area.
The Auxiliary Board members, mindful of the words of the Guardian concerning their functions as "deputies, assistants and advisers of the Hands", and remembering the conspicuous part they have already played in winning the resounding victories of the Crusade, henceforth should concentrate their forces, as we approach the pinnacle of achievement, on the specific tasks given them, namely, teaching and protecting the Faith.
The significance and the vital importance of the proper relationship between the Institution of the Hands, with its Boards, and the National Spiritual Assemblies with their committees, was set forth in most pregnant



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terms by Shoghi Effendi in one of his last messages: "Call upon Hands and National Assemblies, each continent separately, to establish henceforth direct contact and deliberate, whenever feasible, as frequently as possible, to exchange reports to be submitted by their respective Auxiliary Boards and national committees, to exercise unrelaxing vigilance and carry out unflinchingly their sacred, inescapable duties. The security of our precious Faith, the preservation of the spiritual health of the Bahá'í communities, the vitality of the faith of its individual members, the proper functioning of its laboriously erected institutions, the fruition of its worldwide enterprises, the fulfilment of its ultimate destiny, all are directly dependent upon the befitting discharge of the weighty responsibilities now resting upon the members of these two institutions . . ."
Our strength has always lain in obedience to the commands of the Centre of the Covenant; if the Hands and their Boards, the National Assemblies and their committees, each functioning in the field delineated for it by the Guardian, will cooperate to the full extent implied in his above words, great spiritual powers will be released and a tremendous new impetus be given to the work of the Crusade in all its aspects.
The opportunities that call us to swift and sustained action in the teaching field are unique, infinitely precious, immeasurably glorious. In these fast-fleeting months which lie ahead of us we have to match the magnitude and the challenge of our beloved Guardian's command with an effort unequalled in Bahá'í history, for this, the fourth and last phase of his world-encircling Crusade, he has told us "must be immortalized ... by an unprecedented increase in the number of avowed supporters of the Faith in all the continents of the globe, of every race, clime, creed and colour, and from every stratum of present-day society. . ."
The Manifestation of God Himself has said: "Teach ye the Cause of God, O people of Bahá, for God hath prescribed unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message, and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds." No one can afford to ignore this command. "Of all the gifts of God", wrote the beloved Master in His Will and Testament, "the greatest is the gift of Teaching. It draweth unto us the Grace of God and is our first obligation. Of such a gift how can we deprive ourselves? Nay, our lives, our goods, our comforts, our rest, we offer them all as a sacrifice for the Abha Beauty and teach the Cause of God." Bahá'u'lláh Himself indicated the path every believer must follow when He revealed these words: "Whoso is worthy of so high a calling, let him arise and promote it. Whoso is unable, it is his duty to appoint him who will, in his stead, proclaim this Revelation, whose power hath caused the foundations of the mightiest structures to quake, every mountain to be crushed into dust, and every soul to be dumbfounded." The urgent need of the present hour



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necessitates not only an immediate upsurge of individual action, but also the re-orientation of all the administrative agencies of our Faith towards the supreme obligation of spreading the Message of Bahá'u'lláh and the exertion on their part of a maximum effort in the teaching field. As the travels and movements of teachers engaged in awakening the masses increase and multiply, blessings will correspondingly flow. To this the Master Himself bore witness. Time is short and herculean the task, but the promise of the Blessed Perfection rings in our hearts and fortifies our resolve: "Whoso openeth his lips in this Day and maketh mention of the name of his Lord, the hosts of Divine inspiration shall descend upon him from the heaven of My Name, the All-Knowing, the All-Wise. On him shall also descend the Concourse on High, each bearing aloft a chalice of pure light."
In connection with the tremendous task of forming twenty-one new National Spiritual Assemblies, assisting the teaching work in those countries where many goals of the home front still remain to be won, and furthering the process of mass conversion so dear to the Guardian's heart, the Hands of the Faith have planned extensive travels during the coming months in order to aid and stimulate the world-wide activities of the Faith to the greatest possible extent.
Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih KHANUM will attend the dedication of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar at Kampala, the Mother Temple of Africa, in January and visit various areas in that continent where mass conversion is taking place; she likewise plans to be present at the dedication of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkar in Sydney, the Mother Temple of the Antipodes, which will be held next September, meeting the friends in Australia and New Zealand, as well as certain centres in South East Asia. Amelia Collins will lay the corner-stone of the Mother Temple of Europe, during this present month, in Frankfurt; Tarazu'llah Samandari, will shortly leave for a prolonged tour of Pakistan, India, Burma and Ceylon to assist the work in those countries. Leroy Ioas, will visit centres in Europe during the summer months.
On the occasion of the formation next Ridvan of the largest number of National Assemblies to be elected at one time during any period of Bahá'í history, eleven Hands of the Cause, pursuant to the policy of the beloved Guardian, will attend the sessions of the different Conventions as follows: Hermann Grossmann in Argentina and Chile; Rahmatu'llah Muh6jir in Paraguay and Bolivia; Hasan Balyuzi in Peru and Ecuador; Shu'a'u'llah 'Ala'i in Venezuela and Colombia; Ugo Giachery, in the Dominican Republic and Haiti; Enoch Olinga, in Jamaica and Cuba; Dhikru'llah Khadem in Panama and Costa Rica; John Robarts, in Nicaragua and Honduras; William Sears in El Salvador and Guatemala; Paul



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Haney in Mexico and also in Wilmette; 'Ali-Akbar Furutan; in Brazil and Uruguay.
These Hands of the Cause, in addition to spending some time in each of the twenty-one countries where these historic gatherings are being held will, as the occasion permits, make a point of visiting not only the goal countries of Europe, but also the home fronts in Britain and Germany, the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Alaska and certain islands of the Pacific. Enoch Olinga, will travel for four months in the Greater Antilles and Central America. Rahmatu'llah Muhajir will travel across Africa, and later make a prolonged tour among the Bolivian Indians.
One of the most significant events during this coming Ridvan period will take place when the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í world elect the International Bahá'í Council. We shall witness for the first time in the history of the Faith an election on a global scale, and the hearts of the believers will echo the words of the beloved Guardian at the time when he appointed the first International Bahá'í Council: "Hail with thankful, joyous heart" this historic moment. This Council, which the beloved Guardian characterized as the "most significant milestone" in the evolution of the Administrative Order since the Master's passing, will now undergo, in his own words, its "transformation into a duly elected body"; it will be international in character, and have its headquarters at the World Centre of the Faith. In addition to those functions which were announced last year, it will be given certain administrative duties to discharge in facilitating the work at the World Centre in relation to National Assemblies abroad. It would be well for the believers, pondering at this time the importance of the step that is being taken through this election, to bear in mind that however significant this first universally elected body may be, it must never be compared with that Supreme Body upon which we are promised the Twin Manifestations of God will confer infallibility in the discharge of those duties ordained for it in the Holy Text.
In considering the immediate needs of this Faith so infinitely dear to all our hearts, it has become evident that from now until the end of the Crusade in Ridvan 1963, not only a tremendous united effort on all fronts is going to be required, but above all a great self-sacrificing outpouring of our material substance. The cost of erecting the Mother Temple of Europe, enshrined in the heart of that continent which is the cradle of western civilization, has increased, since the beloved Guardian approved its design, between 30 and 40 percent, owing to steadily rising prices in Germany. Because of this it has become imperative, in order to prevent a still greater increase in cost, to purchase all the raw materials at the



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present time and to ensure that neither delay in commencing building operations nor any interruption in the construction of the superstructure takes place. This means that in a period of one year the funds of the Faith are being called upon to provide the major expense involved in its erection. The Hands of the Cause, mindful that Shoghi Effendi pledged a third of the estimated sum of one million dollars for the three historic Temples to be forever associated with the world-wide labours of the followers of Bahá'u'lláh during the Ten Year Plan, will provide the remainder of his pledge still to be paid for this purpose. In addition to the urgent demands being made upon the resources of the Faith in this connection, it must be borne in mind that the vanguard of valiant pioneers who in many places form the backbone of the existing Local Assemblies in Latin America and the nucleus of those which must be formed this year in eleven European countries, must at all costs be enabled to remain at their posts. To withdraw any of these forces at this time from strategic areas would be disastrous and might place in jeopardy those National Assemblies so soon to act as pillars of the Universal House of Justice. The International Bahá'í Council, fulfilling yet another stage in its evolution and efflorescence into the Universal House of Justice, must be elected and means be provided for at least a quorum of its members to function in Haifa. In addition to this, the World Centre, the heart and nerve centre of the Faith, its holy Shrines and institutions, its multiple properties and magnificent gardens must be maintained and preserved for posterity.
To not present this picture of our obligations and needs, our responsibilities and the mighty challenge confronting us, to our fellow believers, would, we feel, be neither fair nor realistic. However great the burden resting on our shoulders as Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth, it does not rest on us alone; each and every believer has his or her own responsibility towards the Cause of God, each one of us, in differing degrees but in universal measure, is called upon to bring a personal sacrifice to the altar of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh at this time. We know that it is indeed spiritually far more important for each believer to give a token offering than for those more blessed with material means to carry the brunt of the burden alone. It is our ardent hope that our Bahá'í brothers and sisters in Africa and the Pacific area, in the Andes, in the jungles and the deserts, on the Indian reservations of North America, in distant wastelands, and the regions of the Arctic Circle will, as a symbol of our great brotherhood and our unity under the banner of the Blessed Perfection, likewise contribute regularly, if only one penny, to further the achievement of the remaining goals of our beloved Guardian's Crusade and to enable us to win a victory in 1963 such as has never been recorded in the annals of any religion in the



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memory of man. We call upon all the friends to join in a year of austerity and self-sacrifice. The opportunity to render unique service has been offered to this generation at this time. It will never come again in this Dispensation. The final and crowning service of our Guardian's life was this Holy Crusade he left to us as a priceless legacy. To win it is our infinite privilege, our greatest blessing in this world and in the world to come.
In ever greater measure the promises of Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá are being fulfilled. The specific goals set by our Guardian are being realized one by one with unbelievable rapidity. The assurance given us in our teachings that every test releases forces latent with new victories is being demonstrated before our very eyes. This world-girdling Crusade, the essential object of which is no less than the spiritualization of the entire planet, is now gathering the final momentum necessary to carry it forward in one stupendous surge to a resounding victory on all fronts.
If ever a year of glorious enterprise has faced the Community of the Most Great Name, it is this year. We can look back in pride upon a steadily mounting, uninterrupted tide of victories unequalled since the days of the Heroic Age of our Faith. We can look forward with hope and confidence to the tremendous achievements that lie ahead of us during the coming twelve months. These recent victories, these future achievements are the fruit of the labours of our dearly beloved Guardian. His was the hand that sowed the seeds, and in his name the harvest will be gathered in.
Let us remember the promise Shoghi Effendi himself gave us: "The all-conquering potency of the grace of God, vouchsafed through the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh, will, undoubtedly, mysteriously and surprisingly, enable whosoever arises to champion His Cause to win complete and total victory."
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
[Signed as follows]
RuhiyyihA. Vargha
Amelia CollinsMohajer
Leroy IoasZikrullah Khadem
H. Collis FeatherstoneHasan M. Balyuzi
Ugo GiacheryEnoch Olinga
Adelbert Muhlschlegel[Musa Banani, signed in
English on his behalf]
Agnes B. Alexander
Sh. AlaiA. Furutan
Tarazu'llah SamandariJohn A. Robarts
Hermann GrossmannJohn Ferraby
A. Q. FaiziWilliam Sears
Paul HaneyJalal Khazeh



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To the National and Regional Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í World
November 13,1960

Dear Co-workers:
In accordance with the decisions of the body of the Hands of the Cause of God regarding the election of the International Bahá'í Council, we are sending to the Secretary of each National or Regional Spiritual Assembly nine ballot papers, one for each member. These ballot papers carry all the necessary instructions.
They should be collected by the Secretaries of the Assemblies in envelopes that are specially provided with the ballots. The envelopes must be sealed. Should any one or some of the members fail to send in their votes, the Secretary ought not to delay the dispatch of the ballots received. These should be mailed together to the World Centre in ample time to reach here before April 21st; 1961.
The results will be announced during the Ridvan period.
With loving greetings,
In the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND

BAHA'I WILMETTE
NOVEMBER 21,1960

GRIEVE ANNOUNCE PASSING HAND CAUSE CLARA DUNN DISTINGUISHED MEMBER AMERICAN BAHA'I COMMUNITY WHO WITH HYDE DUNN SPIRITUAL CONQUEROR AUSTRALIA RESPONDED MASTERS APPEAL DIVINE PLAN AROSE CARRIED FAITH ANTIPODES RENDERED UNIQUE UNFORGETTABLE PIONEER SERVICE OVER FORTY YEAR PERIOD STOP ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERING TEMPLE STOP SHARE MESSAGE HANDS NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
[CABLE]HANDSFAITH


BAHA'IRAT FRANKFURT
NOVEMBER 24,1960

OVERJOYED GLORIOUS VICTORY LAYING CORNERSTONE MOTHER TEMPLE EUROPE ASSURE PRAYERS SHRINES.
[CABLE]HANDSFAITH




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