MESSAGES TO THE BAHA'I WORLD: 1950-1957
(U.S., 1971)
FILENAME: MBW.FN
FILEDATE: 08-06-94
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Review of World Progress of the Faith
Hail the valiant acts during the course of the last twelve months
of members of firmly knit, world embracing, divinely propelled Bahá'í
Community, singly, collectively, both sexes, all ages laboring in
near, and distant fields, in Eastern and Western hemispheres, gathered
from diverse classes, creeds and colors; as administrators, in
the respective home lands or as settlers or itinerant teachers overseas;
whether serving in private capacity or in official association
with authorities.
Second half of opening decade of second Bahá'í century befittingly
ushered in.
Recent exploits in virgin territories of Western hemisphere,
Arabian Peninsula, South and East Asia raised to one hundred the
number of sovereign states, and dependencies, enrolled under the
banner of the Faith.
Forthcoming celebrations, commemorating the Hundredth Anniversary
of the Martyrdom of the Herald of the Faith, doubly
glorious, through association this historic victory, representing an
increase of no less than twenty-two countries in the brief span of
six years, since the Centennial of the Declaration of His Mission.
Number of centers in Australasia now exceeds sixty; Canadian
Community nearing ninety centers already established; Alaskan
territory eleven centers; European goal countries thirty-five, number
of newly declared believers almost doubled during course of
past year.
Bahá'í literature enriched by translation into Welsh, Eskimo,
Swahili, Hausa, Chinyanja, raising the total number of languages
to sixty-three.
Languages in process of translation, eleven.
Official recognition, constituting a unique victory in the annals
of the Faith in the East, and West, extending to newly formed
National Spiritual Assembly of the Dominion of Canada, through
granting act of Parliament, enabling the National elected representatives
to incorporate as religious organization.
Additional contract placed for the construction of the parapet,
crowning the Arcade of the Báb's Mausoleum on Mount Carmel,
raising the total tonnage ordered to almost eight hundred.
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The erection of the ornamental columns of the Temple interior
commenced; ventilation and heating systems installed; number of
visitors since the opening of the edifice to the public, over four hundred
thousand.
Six year plan of the British Bahá'í Community triumphantly
concluded; almost quintupled number of Assemblies in the British
Isles; laid basis administrative structure of the Faith in the capital of
Eire and in the chief cities of North Ireland and Scotland.
Plan initiated Persian Bahá'í Community consummated 31 Assemblies,
17 Groups, 11 Isolated Centers formed beyond prescribed
objectives.
Recognition, long last, accorded by `Iráqí authorities to all marriages
solemnized by Bahá'í Assemblies in `Iráq through official
registration of the marriage certificate by court, first instance setting
a momentous precedent throughout the Muslim East, constituting
a significant landmark in the process of the emancipation of
the Oriental followers of the Faith from the fetters of religious
orthodoxy.
Certificate authorizing the celebration of Bahá'í marriages issued
by the District of Columbia court.
Eight islands of Hawaii granted authority to recognize Bahá'í
marriages.
Bahá'í marriage contract legalized by attorney general throughout
the territory of Alaska.
Bahá'í Holy Days recognized by Educational Department of
the State of Victoria, Australia.
Second European Teaching Conference convened in the capital
city of Belgium, attended by hundred and thirty representatives
from nineteen countries.
The historic first all-Swiss Bahá'í Conference the latest, most
promising fruit of the transatlantic enterprise initiated by the
American Bahá'í Community, held in the Swiss capital, presaging
the acquisition by the goal countries of an independent status within
the family of Bahá'í national Communities.
The process of extension of Bahá'í endowments accelerated
through the donation of twenty acre property near Anchorage,
Alaska; purchase of twenty-two acres in neighborhood of Auckland,
site of projected New Zealand summer school; grant of burial
ground by Egyptian authorities to Port Said Bahá'í Community.
Ties binding the Bahá'í International Community to the United
Nations reinforced through participation in European Regional
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Conference of nongovernmental organizations in Geneva; and in
Latin American Conferences in Chile, Uruguay; and in similar
conferences in Kansas and Lake Success; through submission in
response to the request of the UNO Committee of statement on the
Bahá'í concept and method of community worship, subsequently
transmitted to the Secretariat responsible for the planning of permanent
headquarters in the United Nations.
Last but not least, nay the crowning achievement of the year
just concluded, are the stupendous exertions of the vanguard of the
resistlessly advancing Bahá'í World Community resulting in the
raising of half a million dollars, virtually attaining the objective
set for the two-year drive to ensure the completion of the interior
ornamentation of the Mother Temple of the West in anticipation of
its approaching jubilee.
First stage of austerity period resolutely embarked upon, successfully
traversed.
Resolution no less grim, self abnegation no less heroic, solidarity
in sacrifice no less striking, must needs distinguish the final
phase of the stern struggle, still facing the dauntless highminded
spartan-souled American Bahá'í Community, designed to liquidate
the deficit in the General Fund, marring the otherwise spotless record
of collective achievement, as well as to provide financial support
imperatively required to meet, through prompt despatch of substantial
number of competent pioneers, the emergency existing in
Central and South America, thereby ensuring the glorious consummation
of the thirteen-year-old enterprise through the formation
of the projected twin National Assemblies in Latin America.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 25, 1950]
An Enterprise Transcending Any National Institution
Announce to believers, through all National Assemblies, termination
initial stage of construction of domed structure designed to
embellish and preserve the Báb's sepulcher on Mount Carmel.
The two-year enterprise launched on the eve of the gravest turmoil
rocking the Holy Land in modern times, involving the expenditure
of a quarter of a million dollars, necessitating the transportation
and placing of almost eight hundred tons of stone and
marble mosaic, was consummated on the eve of the Centenary of
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His martyrdom. My soul is thrilled in contemplation of the rising
edifice, the beauty of its design, the majesty of its proportions, the
loveliness of its surroundings, the historic associations of the site it
occupies, the sacredness of the Sanctuary it envelops, the transcendent
holiness of the Treasure it enshrines.
My gratitude is deepened by the miraculous recovery of its gifted
architect, Sutherland Maxwell, whose illness was pronounced hopeless
by physicians. I acknowledge the valuable service rendered by
Ugo Giachery, through his supervision of the work of shipment of
consignments to Haifa.
The hour is ripe to undertake the preliminaries for the erection
of the octagonal first unit of the superstructure, another milestone
in the process set in motion sixty years ago by Bahá'u'lláh's visit to
Mount Carmel. This process which gathered momentum through
the transportation of His Holiness, the Báb's remains to the Holy
Land after fifty years' concealment, through the erection of the
sanctuary by `Abdu'l-Bahá in the darkest years of His Ministry,
through the entombment of the remains by Him on the morrow of
His forty year incarceration, through the commencement of the
construction of the arcade on the fortieth anniversary of the interment
of the Holy Dust, through the termination of the parapet on
the eve of the Centenary of the Báb's martyrdom, must be accelerated
through the erection of the dome, attaining consummation
through the emergence of the institutions of the world administrative
center of the Faith in the vicinity of its world spiritual Center,
signalizing the sailing of the Divine Ark on God's Mountain,
prophesied in the Tablet of Carmel.
I appeal to entire body of believers to seize this priceless opportunity
to stimulate the unfoldment of this process through generous,
sustained contributions for the furtherance of an enterprise
transcending any national institution whether Hazírá or Mashriqu'l-Adhkár,
reared in the past or in process of construction. The hour
is propitious, particularly during the three year interval separating
the Centennials of the Báb's martyrdom and the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's
Mission, coinciding with the hundredth anniversary of the
greatest holocaust in the history of the Faith, to repay part of the
infinite debt of gratitude owed its martyrs, through hastening the
conclusion of the holiest enterprise since the dawn of the Revelation,
interwoven with the ministries of Bahá'u'lláh, and `Abdu'l-Bahá,
linking the Heroic and Formative Ages of the Bahá'í Dispensation,
cementing the ties binding the communities of the East
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and West with the World Center of the Faith and shedding imperishable
luster on the first and second centuries of the Bahá'í
Era, which posterity will hail as the most befitting tribute to the
One Who made the most precious sacrifice for the sake of the most
sublime Faith in mankind's spiritual history.
--Shoghi
[July 7, 1950]
Opening Door to Pilgrimage
Announce to friends the delivery after more than fifty years of
key to Qasr Mazra'ih by Israel authorities. Historic dwelling place
of Bahá'u'lláh after leaving Prison City of `Akká now being furnished
in anticipation opening door to pilgrimage.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, December 16, 1950]
Formation of First International Bahá'í Council
Proclaim National Assemblies of East and West weighty epoch-making
decision of formation of first International Bahá'í Council,
forerunner of supreme administrative institution destined to emerge
in fullness of time within precincts beneath shadow of World Spiritual
Center of Faith already established in twin cities of `Akká
and Haifa. Fulfillment of prophecies uttered by Founder of Faith
and Center of His Covenant culminating in establishment of Jewish
State, signalizing birth after lapse of two thousand years of an
independent nation in the Holy Land, the swift unfoldment of historic
undertaking associated with construction of superstructure of
the Báb's Sepulcher on Mount Carmel, the present adequate maturity
of nine vigorously functioning national administrative institutions
throughout Bahá'í World, combine to induce me to arrive at
this historic decision marking most significant milestone in evolution
of Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in course
of last thirty years. Nascent Institution now created is invested
with threefold function: first, to forge link with authorities of
newly emerged State; second, to assist me to discharge responsibilities
involved in erection of mighty superstructure of the Báb's Holy
Shrine; third, to conduct negotiations related to matters of personal
status with civil authorities. To these will be added further functions
in course of evolution of this first embryonic International Institution,
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marking its development into officially recognized Bahá'í
Court, its transformation into duly elected body, its efflorescence
into Universal House of Justice, and its final fruition through erection
of manifold auxiliary institutions constituting the World Administrative
Center destined to arise and function and remain permanently
established in close neighborhood of Twin Holy Shrines.
Hail with thankful, joyous heart at long last the constitution of International
Council which history will acclaim as the greatest event
shedding luster upon second epoch of Formative Age of Bahá'í Dispensation
potentially unsurpassed by any enterprise undertaken since
inception of Administrative Order of Faith on morrow of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Ascension, ranking second only to glorious immortal events
associated with Ministries of the Three Central Figures of Faith in
course of First Age of most glorious Dispensation of the five thousand
century Bahá'í Cycle. Advise publicize announcement through
Public Relations Committee.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, January 9, 1951]
Spiritual and Administrative World Center
Announce to friends of East and West the following: furnishing
Mazra'ih, completion of restoration of historic house of Bahá'u'lláh
in Acre,+F1 scene of prolonged afflictions sustained by Founder
of Faith, as well as supreme crisis suffered by `Abdu'l-Bahá at hands
of Covenantbreakers. Greatly enhanced international endowments
in Holy Land in twin cities of Acre and Haifa, now include twin
Holy Shrines situated on plain of Acre and slope of Mount Carmel;
twin Mansions of Bahjí and Mazra'ih, twin historic Houses inhabited
by Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá; twin International Archives
adjoining the Báb's Sepulcher and the resting-place of the Greatest
Holy Leaf; twin Pilgrim Houses, constructed for Oriental and Occidental
pilgrims; twin Gardens of Ridván and Firdaws, associated
with the memory of the Author of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
Greatly welcome assistance of the newly-formed International
Council, particularly its President, Mason Remey, and its Vice-President,
Amelia Collins, through contact with authorities designed
to spread the fame, consolidate the foundations and widen the scope
of influence emanating from the twin spiritual, administrative
+F1 i.e. `Akká
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World Centers permanently fixed in the Holy Land constituting the
midmost heart of the entire planet.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, March 2, 1951]
Transcending in Sacredness
On occasion of celebration of Naw-Rúz Festival announce to
followers of Faith of Bahá'u'lláh East and West, through National
Assemblies, completion of excavation for foundations for eight
piers designed to support the mighty dome of the Báb's Sepulcher, as
well as momentous decision to place hundred thirty thousand dollar
contract for the stone work of both cylinder and dome.
Approaching Centenary of the birth of the prophetic Mission of
the Founder of the Faith, the virtual consummation of the fifty
year project culminating in the termination of the interior ornamentation
of the Mother Temple of the West, the risks involved in
any delay owing to the threatening international situation, the necessity
to insure increasing support to reinforce the newly-forged
ties with the civil authorities of the recently emerged State in the
Holy Land through the formation of the International Bahá'í Council,
the considerable saving effected through signature to the contract
for the entire stone work required to erect the superstructure
of the edifice, impel me to take the major step in the development of
the swiftly progressing, irresistibly advancing enterprise transcending
in sacredness any collective undertaking launched in the course
of the history of the hundred year old Faith.
I am moved to renew my fervent plea addressed to all national
and local Assemblies and believers in all continents of the globe to
arise and determinedly gird up their loins to contribute, through
curtailment of budgets, adequate appropriations from national and
local funds, as well as direct sustained individual donations, to insure
uninterrupted financial support, however great the sacrifice involved,
however heavy the burdens, however distracting the successive
crises of the present critical hour. Austerity period previously
affecting the fortunes of the American Bahá'í community unavoidably
prolonged and now extended to embrace the entire Bahá'í
world in recognition of the pressing needs and paramount importance
of this glorious international task.
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Urge followers of the Most Great Name to demonstrate a still
nobler spirit of self-abnegation in the course of the swiftly diminishing
interval separating us from the hundredth anniversary of the
birth of the Mission of the Author of the Revelation, commemorating
the Centenary of the blood bath constituting the most tragic
episode in Bahá'í history associated with the martyrdom of the immortal
Táhirih, the subjection of Bahá'u'lláh to the rigors of the
Síyáh-Chál in Tihrán and the barbarous execution of unnumbered
heroes and saints of the Apostolic Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, March 21, 1951]
Pilgrim Kings to Pay Humble Tribute
Announce to friends of East and West completion of two additional
terraces marking termination of scheme initiated quarter
century ago designed to fulfill Master's cherished desire to connect
directly, through series of nine terraces, the Báb's Sepulcher with
Templar Colony at foot of Mount Carmel. Machinations of Covenant-breakers
who succeeded in shelving project for more than decade
foiled. Hail success of enterprise presaging the day destined to
witness, as envisaged by `Abdu'l-Bahá, pilgrim kings ascending this
route to pay humble tribute to Martyr-Herald of Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 2, 1951]
Epoch-Making Events
My heart is filled with thankfulness at contemplation of the
chain of swiftly succeeding, epoch-making events transpiring in the
course of the fifth year of the second Seven Year Plan, rendered
memorable through association with the Centenary of the Martyrdom
of the Prophet-Herald of the Bahá'í Dispensation testifying to
God's unfailing protection and the manifold blessings vouchsafed to
the Community of the Most Great Name alike in its World Center
and in all continents of the globe.
Divine retributive justice is strikingly demonstrated through a
series of sudden, rapid, devastating blows sweeping over leaders
and henchmen of breakers of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant foiling the
schemes, levelling the hopes, and well-nigh extinguishing the remnants
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of the conspiring crew which dared challenge the authority,
succeeded in inflicting untold sorrow and assiduously plotted to
disrupt the Will and Testament of its appointed Center.
The triumphant, resistlessly expanding Bahá'í Administrative
Order now embraces one hundred and six sovereign states and dependencies
constituting an addition of no less than twenty-seven
countries since the Centenary celebration of the Declaration of the
Mission of the Holy Báb.
The number of languages into which Bahá'í literature is translated
or in process of translation is over eighty.
The number of incorporated Assemblies, local and national, is
one hundred and ten.
The Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Herald of the Faith
was befittingly commemorated, synchronizing with the completion
of the Arcade and Parapet of His Sepulcher on Mount Carmel,
marking the termination of the two-year, quarter million dollar enterprise.
The preliminaries for the erection of two additional Pillars of
the Universal House of Justice, culminating in the formation of
National Assemblies in Central America, Mexico, and the Antilles,
and in South America have been successfully concluded, following
the raising of a similar Pillar in the Dominion of Canada.
The interior ornamentation of the Mother Temple of the West
is virtually completed, paving the way for the provision of accessories
and landscaping in preparation of its public dedication destined
to coincide with the twin celebrations of the consummation of the
fifty year old enterprise and the Birth of Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic
mission.
The prelude to the historic African campaign, the foremost objective
of the two year plan of the Bahá'í Community of the British
Isles, linking in formal association four National Assemblies is
marked by the departure of the first pioneer to Tanganyika and
plans for settlement Gold Coast and Uganda.
Contracts amounting to over two hundred ten thousand dollars
successively placed for stones, window frames, railing, steel, cement,
required for the erection of the Octagon, Cylinder and Dome
of the Báb's Sepulcher raising to sixteen hundred tons total tonnage
ordered from Italy.
A quarter-century old project is terminated through the construction
of the last two terraces connecting the same edifice with
the Templar Colony at the foot of Carmel.
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The four year plan initiated by the Persian National Assembly
in the promotion of the interests of the women members of the
community is successfully concluded despite increasing disabilities
resulting from the recrudescence of religious fanaticism afflicting
the sore-pressed homeland of Bahá'u'lláh.
A notable step in the progress of Bahá'í women of the Middle
East is taken through the extension of the right of membership in
local Assemblies to women believers in Egypt.
The third European Teaching Conference and Summer School
was held in Copenhagen and attended by one hundred seventy-seven
persons representing twenty-two countries.
The second All-Swiss Conference convened in Zurich, foreshadowing
the closer integration of the ten goal countries of the
European continent through the eventual formation of regional
National Assemblies in Scandinavia, the Benelux countries, Switzerland,
Italian and Iberian peninsulas.
Bahá'í literature in Greenlandic, previously disseminated as far
as Thule, Etah, beyond the Arctic Circle, has been dispatched to
radio station in Brondlundsfjord, Peary Land, eighty-second latitude,
northernmost outpost of the globe.
Ties, linking the World Center of the Faith with the newly-emerged,
rapidly consolidating sovereign state in the Holy Land,
have been reinforced through the delivery by the Ministry of Religious
Affairs of the Mazra'ih Mansion into Bahá'í custody, the
recognition of Bahá'í Holy Days by the Ministry of Education
and Culture, following exemption granted to Bahá'í international
endowments, and recognition accorded Bahá'í marriage certificate.
Bahá'u'lláh's residence in `Akká, the scene of severe crises in the
course of the ministries of the Founder of the Faith and the Center
of His Covenant renovated and furnished, are added to the Holy
Places already opened to the steadily swelling number of visitors
both local and foreign.
A significant step was taken by the City Governorate of Cairo
presaging the eventual recognition by state authorities of the Bahá'í
laws of personal status, already codified and submitted to the
central government by the Egyptian National Assembly.
Bonds binding the Bahá'í world community to United Nations
strengthened by Bahá'í participation in regional conference of
Non-Governmental Organizations in Geneva and Istanbul.
Preliminary steps taken in preparation of final design for the
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Mashriqu'l-Adhkár on Mount Carmel by President of the International
Bahá'í Council, specifically appointed by `Abdu'l-Bahá to be
its architect.
Process of the unfoldment of the ever-advancing Administrative
Order accelerated by the formation of the International Bahá'í
Council designed to assist in the erection of the superstructure of
the Báb's Sepulcher, cement ties uniting the budding World Administrative
Center with the recently established state, and pave the
way for the formation of the Bahá'í Court, essential prelude to the
institution of the Universal House of Justice.
I hail particularly the brilliant victory won by the American
Bahá'í Community in meeting the financial requirements for the
completion of the interior ornamentation of the Temple and eliminating
the deficit in the Victory Fund, exploits doubly meritorious
owing to the added responsibilities courageously assumed to assist
enterprise in the African field, and construction of the Báb's Sepulcher
in the Holy Land.
I am thrilled by the multiple evidences of the simultaneous prosecution
of Bahá'í national plans, East and West, and the rise and
steady consolidation of the World Center of the Faith, constituting
the distinguishing features of the second epoch of the Formative
Age whose inception on the morrow of the Second World War
coincided with the inauguration of the second Bahá'í century, and
which bids fair to eclipse the splendors of the preceding epoch,
which posterity will associate with the birth and rise of the embryonic
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 25, 1951]
Reorientation
Emergence of independent sovereign state in Holy Land, synchronizing
with the rise and consolidation of the Administrative
Center of the World Faith of Bahá'u'lláh of which the establishment
of the International Bahá'í Council and the construction of
the superstructure of the Báb's Sepulcher constitute the initial major
evidences, as well as the projected acquisition of extensive properties
in close neighborhood of the Most Holy Tomb of Bahá and the
precincts of the Shrine on Mount Carmel, Haifa, essential to their
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preservation, resulting from far-reaching changes in the newly-established
state, demand henceforth reorientation and necessitate
increasing financial support by Bahá'í National Communities of
East and West, through curtailment of national and local budgets.
The extent of appropriations from national and local budgets of
communities in both hemispheres is regarded as a spiritual obligation
and left to the discretion of the elected representatives of the
believers. Moreover, participation of individual believers, through
contributions directly transmitted to the Holy Land are imperative
and beyond the scope of the jurisdiction of National and local Assemblies.
Upon the response of the privileged builders of the World
Order of Bahá'u'lláh depend the nature and the rapidity of the
evolution of the World Administrative Center designed to culminate
in the erection of the last unit crowning the structure of the embryonic
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.
Our distinguished co-worker, Millie Collins, Vice-Chairman of
the International Council is acquainting you with the pressing problems
and the projected plans and the contracts afoot designed to accelerate
the process initiated in the Holy Land for the furtherance
of these supreme, momentous, highly meritorious objectives. Communicate
this message to all National Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 25, 1951]
Invite Valiant Co-Sharers in Holy Enterprise to Join
Me in Prayers
Announce to National Assemblies of East and West that hallowed,
historic enterprise which posterity will hail as most befitting
tribute by present generation of builders of embryonic World Order
of Bahá'u'lláh in memory of the Prophet-Herald of Bahá'í Dispensation
is now entering new stage of development presaging the approaching
year of final consummation.
Owing to magnitude of task undertaken, manifold responsibilities
already shouldered by Bahá'í communities of East and West, no
further step beyond construction of Arcade, erection of crowning
Parapet was originally envisaged. Sudden unexpected worsening of
international situation, necessity to effect economy, exigencies attending
rise of World Administrative Center of Faith impelled me
subsequently to place contract in Italy for provision of stones required
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for both Octagon and Dome, leaving resumption of construction
work to indefinite future date.
Am now encouraged, owing response to recent call, to take eagerly
anticipated decision to commence Octagon, first major unit
of superstructure of sacred stately Edifice designed to support Drum
and pave way for erection of Dome, last remaining unit of entire
enterprise. Contract of approximately thirty thousand dollars has
just been placed in Holy Land for construction of Octagon including
eight Pinnacles, following completion of structural work commenced
last June.
Further consignment hundred twenty tons, comprising lower
part of Octagon and Pinnacles, four completed Facades, Door,
Window Frames have arrived at Port of Haifa.
Invite valiant co-sharers in Holy Enterprise join me in prayers
for its uninterrupted prosecution, in speedy fulfilment of hopes
cherished by both Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá for glorification of
eternal resting-place of Primal Point in bosom of God's Holy
Mountain.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, August 24, 1951]
Acquisition of Area on Mount Carmel
Announce to National Assemblies of Bahá'í world that prolonged,
delicate negotiations involving Ministries of Finance and
Religious Affairs and Haifa Municipality have culminated in agreement
in principle to purchase approximately twenty-two thousand
meter area, estimated value hundred eighteen thousand dollars, situated
on slope of Mount Carmel overlooking resting-place of Greatest
Holy Leaf and eastern approaches to Báb's Sepulcher.
Acquisition of area extending from heart to ridge of mountain
safeguards precincts of sacred Mausoleum now in process of erection,
broadens basis of administrative structure of rising World
Center of Faith in Holy Land, may induce civil authorities to
abandon project construction of arterial road crossing diagonally
Bahá'í international endowments, and facilitates extension of terraces
ultimately stretching from foot to crown of God's Holy
Mountain.
Contemplating transfer part of title deeds of land in question to
Israel branches of American, Indian National Assemblies, reserving
remainder for future transfer to other National Assemblies following
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upon incorporation of their respective branches on soil of Holy
Land.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, September 24, 1951]
Old and New Covenant-Breakers
With feeling profound concern, grief, indignation, am compelled
disclose Bahá'í world recent developments Holy Land furnishing
further incontestable proof relationship established old and
new Covenant-breakers demonstrating increasing boldness, marked,
tragic decline in character and spiritual condition grandchildren
`Abdu'l-Bahá. Their shameful attitude and conduct receiving approbation
their elders. Evidences multiplying attesting Ruhi's increasing
rebelliousness, efforts exerted my eldest sister pave way
fourth alliance members family Siyyid `Alí involving marriage his
granddaughter with Ruha's son and personal contact recently established
my own treacherous, despicable brother Riaz with Majdi'd-Dín,
redoubtable enemy Faith, former henchman Muhammad-`Alí,
Archbreaker Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. Convey information all National
Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, December, 13, 1951]
Jubilee Centenary
Convey all National Assemblies Bahá'í world the following
momentous announcement.
Approaching Great Jubilee commemorating Centenary termination
Bábí Dispensation, birth Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation in Síyáh-Chál,
Tihrán, as well as imperative necessity adopt effectual measures
insure befitting inauguration third concluding phase of initial epoch
in the execution `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan destined culminate
hundredth anniversary of Declaration of Founder of Faith in
Baghdád, impel me summon entire Bahá'í world, through eleven
National Assemblies already functioning in East and West, bestir
itself, arise during sixteen months ahead through supreme concerted
sustained effort, prepare for demonstration of Bahá'í solidarity
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of unprecedented scope and intensity during entire course
Bahá'í history.
Forthcoming celebrations must be signalized through inauguration
long anticipated intercontinental stage in administrative evolution
of Faith marking its gradual development through successive
phases of local, regional, national, international Bahá'í activity.
Initiation this highly significant measure further cementing Bahá'í
National Assemblies in five continents of globe will be acclaimed
by posterity as counterpart to consolidation Faith at its World
Center through recent formation International Bahá'í Council in
Holy Land.
Centennial festivities of Year Nine continuing throughout Holy
Year commencing October 1952 must include, apart from consummation
plans initiated by various National Assemblies both
hemispheres, the formal dedication for public worship of Mother
Temple of West in heart North American continent, and possible
termination superstructure of Báb's Sepulcher in Holy Land, the
convocation of four intercontinental Bahá'í Teaching Conferences
to be held successively in course historic Year on continents of
Africa, America, Europe, Asia.
First conference will be convened by British National Spiritual
Assembly in Kampala, Uganda in early spring, representative of
British, American, Persian, Egyptian, Indian National Spiritual
Assemblies, to which Bahá'ís residing in America, Persia, Indian
subcontinent, British Isles, every territory African continent will
be invited attend, aiming planting banner of Faith in remaining
territories and neighboring islands east, south, west African continent.
Second conference will be convened by United States National
Spiritual Assembly in Wilmette, in Ridván period, representative of
chief trustees `Abdu'l-Bahá's Plan, their ally and associates United
States, Canadian, Latin American National Assemblies, to which
Bahá'ís every State American Union, every Province Canada, every
Republic Latin America will be invited attend, designed pave way establishment
Faith in remaining territories of the Americas and neighboring
islands in both Atlantic and Pacific oceans.
Third conference will be convened by American European
Teaching Committee in Stockholm, Sweden, during summer, representative
of American, British, German National Assemblies,
to which Bahá'ís of each ten goal countries Europe and England,
+P18
Scotland, Wales, Eire, France, Germany, Austria, Finland, will be
invited attend, for purpose gradual introduction of Faith into remaining
sovereign states European continent and neighboring islands
Mediterranean, Atlantic Ocean, North Sea.
Fourth conference will be convened by National Spiritual Assembly
subcontinent India in New Delhi, autumn, representative
of National Assemblies of Persia, Indian subcontinent, `Iráq,
Australasia, United States, Canada, Central and South America, to
which Bahá'ís residing in every sovereign state and dependency in
Asia, North, Central, South America, Australia, New Zealand,
Tasmania will be invited attend, in order deliberate measures calculated
open Faith remaining Asiatic states and dependencies, particularly
South East Asia and islands of South Pacific and Indian
Oceans.
Address plea particularly to convenors above mentioned conferences
to arise within short time at their disposal, prayerfully
consider, carefully plan, energetically prosecute, respective sacred
delegated tasks, take immediate preliminary steps issue invitations,
fix procedure, provide smooth working, accord wide publicity, insure
resounding success, epoch-making conferences immortalizing
Centenary of memorable Year, anticipated by St. John the Divine,
foreshadowed by Shaykh Ahmad, eulogized by the Báb, extolled by
both Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá, and constituting prelude to Most
Great Jubilee, which will alike commemorate Centenary formal assumption
by Author of Bahá'í Revelation of His Prophetic Office,
and mark, God willing, worldwide establishment Faith forecast by
Center of Covenant in His Tablets prophecied by Daniel in his book,
thus paving way for advent of Golden Age destined witness world
recognition, universal proclamation, ultimate triumph of the Cause
of Bahá'u'lláh.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, November 30, 1951]
The Guardian Announces Appointment of Hands of the Cause
Recall feelings of profound thankfulness and joy at chain of
recent historic events heralding long anticipated rise and establishment
of the World Administrative Center of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh
in Holy Land regarded as third most momentous epoch-making
+P19
development since inception of the Formative Age on morrow of
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Ascension.
Quarter century constituting opening epoch this age signalized
successively by erection consolidation over period no less than
sixteen years of local, national institutions of Bahá'í Administrative
Order in five continents of globe in conformity with provisions
of the Will of the Center of Covenant, and initiation of first Seven
Year Plan by American Bahá'í Community marking inauguration
first epoch in execution of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan unavoidably
held in abeyance over two decades pending creation of divinely-appointed
administrative agencies designed by its Author for its
effective prosecution.
Opening years of the second epoch of the Formative Age now
witnessing at long last commencement of third vast majestic fate-laden
process following two above-mentioned developments destined
through gradual emergence of the manifold institutions in
World Center of the Faith as crown of the administrative structure
of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Order. Gigantic process now
set in motion opening decade second Bahá'í Century synchronizing
with, deriving notable impetus through, birth of sovereign State,
Holy Land, greatly accelerated through series of swiftly succeeding
events originated in World Center of Faith.
First, inauguration most holy worldwide enterprise unprecedented
in annals of the Faith, construction in heart of Mount
Carmel superstructure of the Báb's Sepulcher. Second, creation of
International Bahá'í Council in precincts Holy Shrine, forerunner
of International House of Justice, supreme legislative organ of
nascent, divinely-conceived, world-encircling Bahá'í Administrative
Order. Third, acquisition, restoration and embellishment of historic
sites associated with incarceration of Bahá'u'lláh, `Abdu'l-Bahá,
recognition their sacred character, exemption from taxes by newly
formed State, accessibility to appreciative general public. Fourth,
initiation of formal negotiation with central municipal authorities
of same State with twofold purpose: preserve for posterity immediate
directly threatened neighborhood Most Holy Tomb of the Founder
of the Faith on outskirts of `Akká, and acquire extensive, sorely
needed properties in vicinity of Báb's Sepulcher destined serve as
site of future edifices envisaged by `Abdu'l-Bahá to house auxiliary
agencies revolving around twin institutions of Guardianship and
House of Justice. Fifth, preparation of design of future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
on Mount Carmel, outstanding indispensable feature unfoldment
+P20
rising World Administrative Order. Sixth, forthcoming
convocation of four conferences embracing eleven National Assemblies
in all continents of globe marking inauguration beyond limits
of World Center of the Faith of intercontinental stage of Bahá'í
activity, precursor final step summoning assemblage representative
communities all sovereign states, chief dependencies, islands, entire
planet.
Hour now ripe to take long inevitably deferred step in conformity
with provisions of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Testament in conjunction
with six above-mentioned steps through appointment of first
contingent of Hands of Cause of God, twelve in number, equally
allocated Holy Land, Asiatic, American, European continents. Initial
step now taken regarded as preparatory full development of institution
provided in `Abdu'l-Bahá's Will, paralleled preliminary
measure formation International Council destined to culminate in
emergence of Universal House of Justice. Nascent institution forging
fresh links binding rising World Center of Faith to consolidating
World Community of followers of Most Great Name, paving way to
adoption supplementary measures calculated reinforce foundations
structure of the Bahá'í Administrative Order.
Nominated Hands comprise, Holy Land, Sutherland Maxwell,
Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, President, Vice-President, International
Bahá'í Council; cradle Faith, Valíyu'lláh Varqá, Tarazu'lláh
Samandarí, `Alí-Akbar Furútan; American continent, Horace Holley,
Dorothy Baker, Leroy Ioas; European continent, George
Townshend, Hermann Grossmann, Ugo Giachery. Nine elevated to
rank of Hand in three continents outside Holy Land advised remain
present posts and continue discharge vital administrative,
teaching duties pending assignment of specific functions as need
arises. Urge all nine attend as my representatives all four forthcoming
intercontinental conferences as well as discharge whatever
responsibilities incumbent upon them at that time as elected representatives
of national Bahá'í communities.
Communicate text of announcement to all National Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, December 24, 1951]
Second Appointment of Hands of the Cause
Announce friends East and West, through National Assemblies,
following nominations raising the number of the present Hands of
+P21
the Cause of God to nineteen. Dominion Canada and United States,
Fred Schopflocher and Corinne True, respectively. Cradle of Faith,
Dhikru'lláh Khádem, Shu'á'u'lláh `Alá'í. Germany, Africa, Australia,
Adelbert Mühlschlegel, Músá Banání, Clara Dunn, respectively.
Members august body invested in conformity with `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Testament, twofold sacred function, the propagation and preservation
of the unity of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and destined to assume
individually in the course of time the direction of institutions paralleling
those revolving around the Universal House of Justice, the
supreme legislative body of the Bahá'í world, are now recruited from
all five continents of the globe and representative of the three principal
world religions of mankind. Recently urged newly-appointed
Hand of Canada, on occasion of his pilgrimage to Holy Land, to
undertake preliminary measures, in conjunction with Canadian National
Assembly for the establishment of national Hazíratu'l-Quds
similar to those already founded in Teheran, Wilmette, Baghdád,
Sydney, Frankfurt, Cairo and New Delhi. Identical instructions
were given appointed Hand of Africa in course of his just concluded
pilgrimage, for the acquisition of property in Kampala to serve as
local Hazíratu'l-Quds to synchronize with formation of first Assembly
in heart of Africa, to be regarded as nucleus of national administrative
headquarters of Faith destined to arise on morrow of
formation of National Spiritual Assembly of Central and Eastern
Territories of African continent.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, February 29, 1952]
Triple Announcement
Occasion approaching celebration ninth Naw-Rúz second
Bahá'í century, desire share following triple announcement Bahá'í
world through National Assemblies East and West. First: Safe
arrival in Holy Land in the course of the last six months successive
consignments of stones for the remaining facades of the Octagon
and Pinnacles, eighteen window frames belonging to the Drum,
one hundred tons of cement, thirty-five tons of timber, fifteen tons
of steel, eight wrought iron balustrades, stones for the lower section
of the Drum as well as the completion of construction of the Octagon
and the erection of fifteen feet Pinnacles constituting, with the
ornamental balustrades, the central adornment of the Holy Edifice.
+P22
The leaded glass required for twenty-four windows of the Octagon
and eighteen lancet windows of the Drum, ordered. Investigations
initiated for the fabrication of gilded tiles, the final material necessary
for the construction of the Sepulcher.
Recall with feelings of humble thankfulness and intense joy the
series of historic landmarks in the progress of the sacred enterprise,
associated, first, with the formal entombment, Naw-Rúz 1909,
sixty lunar years after the Báb's martyrdom, of His dust in the
vault of the Shrine; second, the laying, forty years later, Naw-Rúz
1949, of the first threshold stones of the Arcade of the Sepulcher;
third, the completion, two years later, Naw-Rúz 1951, of the excavation
for eight piers, designed to support the Dome, followed
by the placing, a year later, on the eve of Naw-Rúz 1952, of the
second crown of the same Edifice. The way is now prepared for
the erection of the Drum, including eighteen windows symbolizing
the eighteen Letters of the Living, the appointed transmitters of the
dawning Light of the Author of the Bábí Dispensation, as well as
the rearing of the golden Dome, constituting the third and final
unit of the triple crown destined to irradiate its splendor in the
heart of God's Holy Mountain. Moved to pay warm, loving tribute
to the Shrine's immortal architect and Hand of the Cause, Sutherland
Maxwell, and the services of Ugo Giachery, UNO Representative
of the International Bahá'í Community, recently elevated to the
rank of Hand of the Cause, and newly-appointed member of the
International Bahá'í Council, who is ably discharging manifold
responsibilities connected with the mighty undertaking.
Second announcement: The enlargement of the International
Bahá'í Council. Present membership now comprises: Amatu'l-Bahá
Rúhíyyih, chosen liaison between me and the Council. Hands of
the Cause, Mason Remey, Amelia Collins, Ugo Giachery, Leroy
Ioas, President, Vice-President, member at large, Secretary-General,
respectively. Jessie Revell, Ethel Revell, Lotfullah Hakim, Treasurer,
Western and Eastern assistant Secretaries.
Third announcement: Following upon the missions entrusted to
the Hands of the Cause in connection with the establishment of
Hazíratu'l-Quds in the Dominion of Canada and Central Africa,
have instructed Ugo Giachery to take in conjunction with the European
Teaching Committee, immediate steps, after the conclusion
of his pilgrimage, aiming at the formation, ere the termination of
the American Community's second Seven Year Plan, of the first
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland.
+P23
Advise United States National Assembly arrange, through
European Teaching Committee, the election on the occasion of
Naw-Rúz 1953 of nineteen delegates by all local Assemblies already
established in both countries. Urge convocation Ridván same year,
in the city of Florence, on the occasion of the festivities of the
Bahá'í Holy Year of the first Convention for the express purpose of
electing through the delegates the projected National Assembly. Appeal
to the American Bahá'í community, particularly the Bahá'ís
residing in Italy and Switzerland, to exert their utmost to insure in
the course of the coming year the multiplication of Spiritual Assemblies
in both countries, thereby broadening the basis of the projected
pillar of the future Universal House of Justice. Advise European
Teaching Committee, upon consummation of the glorious enterprise
to issue formal invitation to their spiritual offspring, the
newly-emerged National Assembly, to participate, together with its
sister National Assemblies of the United States, the British Isles,
and Germany, in the Intercontinental Conference in August of the
same year in the capital city of Sweden. Anticipate entrusting to
the youngest among the twelve National Assemblies of the Bahá'í
World a specific plan enabling it, in conjunction with its sister National
Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í World, to promote in the
course of the ten years separating the second from the Most Great
Jubilee the Global Crusade designed to hoist the standard of Bahá'u'lláh
in the remaining states, dependencies and islands of the whole
planet. Invite the attendants to the third Bahá'í Intercontinental
Conference to befittingly commemorate the undreamt-of climax of
the brilliant victories won in the course of the second Seven Year
Plan, eclipsing the feats accomplished in the Latin American field
in the course of the first Seven Year Plan and presaging the tremendous
triumph to be won in the course of the third Seven Year
Plan in the African, Asiatic and Australian continents.
With throbbing heart call to mind the solemn affirmations and
glowing promises recorded in the Tablets of the Divine Plan envisioning
the evidences of the everlasting dominion destined to
signalize the inauguration, and accompany the triumphal progress,
of the mission of the vanguard of Bahá'u'lláh's crusaders and
champion builders of His world order in the European, Asiatic,
African and Australian continents and the islands of the Pacific
Ocean. Advise European Teaching Committee to cable the text of
the third announcement to the Assemblies of the capital cities of
Italy and Switzerland and urge on my behalf the participation of
+P24
the Swiss believers in the first teaching conference in Rome on
the eve of Naw-Rúz this year for consultation with their Italian
collaborators on the prosecution of the soul-uplifting fateful undertaking
in the heart and south of the European continent.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, March 8, 1952]
The Historic Process
Announce to National Assemblies of East and West joyful news
of final implementation of agreement with Israel authorities involving
acquisition, against payment of hundred eighteen thousand
dollars, of eighteen plots, approximately six acres, in precincts of
Báb's Sepulcher.
The historic process of establishment of international Bahá'í
endowments on Mount Carmel, inevitably held in abeyance for
fifty years after the inception of the Faith, initiated on the morrow
of Bahá'u'lláh's Ascension, through the purchase, in the course of
`Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry, of a limited number of plots in the immediate
surroundings of the newly erected Tomb in the heart of the
Mountain of God, and greatly accelerated through the purchase of
extensive properties following the Master's passing, necessitated by
the unprecedented influx of immigrants to the Holy Land, is now
further reinforced, raising the total area owned on the slopes of the
Holy Mountain to almost fifty acres.
Desire to acknowledge the indefatigable efforts exerted by the
first western Bahá'í pilgrim since opening of the door of pilgrimage,
Lawrence Hautz, in hastening the successful termination of the
protracted negotiations with the civil authorities of the Holy Land.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 3, 1952]
God's Avenging Wrath
Inform National Assemblies that God's avenging wrath having
afflicted in rapid succession during recent years two sons, brother
and sister-in-law of Archbreaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant,
has now struck down second son of Siyyid `Alí, Nayer Afnán,
pivot of machinations, connecting link between old and new Covenant-breakers.
+P25
Time alone will reveal extent of havoc wreaked by
this virus of violation injected, fostered over two decades in `Abdu'l-Bahá's
family. History will brand him one whose grandmother,
wife of Bahá'u'lláh, joined breakers of His Covenant on morrow of
His passing, whose parents lent her undivided support, whose father
openly accused `Abdu'l-Bahá as one deserving capital punishment,
who broke his promise to the Báb's wife to escort her to Holy Land,
precipitating thereby her death, who was repeatedly denounced by
Center of the Covenant as His chief enemy, whose eldest brother
through deliberate misrepresentation of facts inflicted humiliation
upon defenders of the House of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád, whose
sister-in-law is championing the cause of declared enemies of
Faith, whose brothers supported him attributing to `Abdu'l-Bahá
responsibility for fatal disease which afflicted their mother, who
himself in retaliation first succeeded in winning over through marriage
my eldest sister, subsequently paved way for marriage of his
brothers to two other grandchildren of the Master, who was planning
a fourth marriage between his daughter and grandson of
`Abdu'l-Bahá, thereby involving in shameful marriages three
branches of His family, who over twenty years schemed to undermine
the position of the Center of Faith through association with
representatives of traditional enemies of Faith in Persia, Muslim
Arab communities, notables and civil authorities in Holy Land,
who lately was scheduled to appear as star witness on behalf of
daughter of Badí'u'lláh in recent lawsuit challenging the authority
conferred upon Guardian of Faith in `Abdu'l-Bahá's Testament.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 5, 1952]
Irresistible March of the Faith
Soul stirred, heart uplifted by recollection of events signalizing
the twelve month period preceding the fateful year destined to
witness the consummation of series of plans formulated by Bahá'í
National Assemblies of five continents, as well as the inauguration
of the second, glorious Jubilee of the Bahá'í Dispensation. The
irresistible march of the Faith marked simultaneously by the steady
consolidation of its administrative institutions and the rapid enlargement
of its limits. No less than eighteen countries have been enrolled,
raising the total number within its orbit to one hundred
+P26
twenty-four. Languages in which Bahá'í literature is printed or is
being translated are now ninety, including twelve African languages.
The vast process of the rise and establishment of the World Center
of the Faith has been accelerated. Contingents of Hands of the Cause
have been successively appointed in every continent of the globe, five
of whom are shouldering responsibilities in the Holy Land. The International
Bahá'í Council has been enlarged and officers designated.
An interview was accorded by, and literature presented to the
Israel Prime Minister in the course of his American visit by representatives
of the American National Assembly. Eighteen plots, a
twenty-two thousand square meter area, have been added to the
International Bahá'í endowments on the slopes of Carmel. Government
survey concluded paving the way for the acquisition of over
one hundred forty thousand square meters of property in the precincts
of the Most Holy Tomb at Bahjí. The design for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
on Carmel, conceived by the President of the International
Bahá'í Council, completed. Privileges, exemption already
accorded Bahá'í Holy Places in Israel by Ministry of Finance extended
to `Abdu'l-Bahá's Home, Eastern and Western Pilgrim
Houses. Pilgrimages to World Center of the Faith resumed following
decade of external hostilities and internal disturbances agitating
the Holy Land. Eight piers, designed to support the thousand ton
superstructure of the Báb's Sepulcher constructed. Successive contracts,
totalling approximately forty-seven thousand dollars, for the
construction of the structural work and the erection of the Octagon
signed, culminating in the completion of the first unit of the superstructure,
and the raising of eight pinnacles, constituting the second
crown of the Holy Edifice. Preparations to build the Drum, the
foundation unit of the golden Dome of the Sepulcher, commenced.
Twin pillars of the future House of Justice erected in Central
and South America, additional pillar projected for Europe uniting
the heart and south of the continent.
Preliminary measures initiated for the convocation of four
intercontinental conferences in the African, American, European and
Asiatic continents, involving the participation of twelve National
Spiritual Assemblies, designed alike to befittingly celebrate the
Centenary of the Year Nine and to launch ten year crusade destined
to culminate in the Most Great Jubilee.
Two year plan of the Bahá'í community of the British Isles
formally launched on the African continent through the dispatch
of pioneers to the virgin territories of Tanganyika, Uganda, and
+P27
the Gold Coast, has been reinforced by the assignment of Liberia
to the American, Somaliland, Nyasaland and North Rhodesia to
the Persian, Zanzibar and Madagascar to the Indian, and Libya
and Algeria to the Egyptian, National Assemblies, raising the number
of States and Dependencies already soon to be opened to the
Faith to twenty-five.
First fruits garnered comprise purchase of seventeen thousand
dollar Hazíratu'l-Quds in Kampala, settlement of Persian, American,
British, Egyptian and Portuguese pioneers in Liberia, North
Rhodesia, Angola, Libya, Spanish Morocco and Mozambique,
inauguration of teaching classes, public meetings and firesides,
enrollment of several native Africans belonging to the Teso, Yao,
Buganda and Mutoco tribes, and the formation of Spiritual Assemblies
in Kampala and Dar-es-Salaam.
European Teaching campaign, exceeding fondest hopes, stimulated
successively by convocation of the fourth European Teaching
Conference in Scheveningen, representative of twenty-one countries,
the first Iberian Conference in Madrid, the third Swiss Conference
in Bern, the first Italian Conference in Rome, the first Benelux
Conference in Brussels and the establishment of headquarters in
Amsterdam, Brussels, Luxembourg-Ville, Bern and Lisbon.
The process of consolidation of the Faith stimulated by the
recognition of Bahá'í Holy Days by the Superintendent of Public
Schools in Kenosha, Superintendent School in Milwaukee, and
Rhode Island State Department of Civil Service, and of the Bahá'í
marriage certificate by civil authorities of Indianapolis; by the authorization
by Adjutant General of Bahá'í identification for believers
serving in U.S. Armed Forces.
Bahá'í administrative centers steadily multiplying in Hijáz,
Yemen, Bahrayn, Ahsá, Koweit, Qatar, Dubai, Masqat, Aden,
heralding convocation of historic Bahá'í Convention in the Arabian
Peninsula, destined to culminate in the erection of a pillar of the Universal
House of Justice in the midmost heart of the Islamic world.
The nineteen month plan, formulated by the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Indian subcontinent and Burma, aiming among
other things at the introduction and consolidation of the Faith in
the capital cities of Nepal, Siam, Indo-China, Malaya, Indonesia
and Sarawak.
Ties binding International Bahá'í Community to United Nations
reinforced by official participation of Bahá'í delegates in regional
Non-Governmental Conferences in Istanbul, Managua, Den
+P28
Passar, Paris and Lawrence, Kansas. Historic site of House occupied
by Bahá'u'lláh in Istanbul has been partly purchased, and investigations
conducted for the acquisition of similar sites associated
with the exile of the Founder of the Faith in Adrianople.
Northern outposts of the Faith reinforced by the settlement of
pioneers in Edgedes Minde, Greenland, and in Yellowknife, Canadian
North Western Territories.
Last but not least, the internal ornamentation of the Mother
Temple of the West has been terminated, and design adopted, funds
allocated by the Temple Trustees for the landscaping of its immediate
surroundings, constituting the final step for its approaching
Jubilee. Appeal American Bahá'í community standing on threshold
of concluding year of second Seven Year Plan, traversing the
last stage of the austerity period, confronted by the approaching
centenary of the darkest, bloodiest episode in Bahá'í history, associated
with the nation-wide holocaust of Táhirih's martyrdom, and
with Bahá'u'lláh's imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál in Tihrán, to
arise and scale still loftier heights of self-sacrifice and efface the deficit
in the National Fund. Address in particular fervent plea to brace itself
to play a preponderating role in the impending world crusade,
which a world community, utilizing the agencies of a divinely-appointed
world administrative order, is preparing to launch, amidst
the deepening shadows of a world crisis for the execution of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
world-encircling plan and the subsequent unfoldment of a
world civilization, and the ultimate attainment of the supreme objective,
the illumination and redemption of a whole world.
Advise share message National Assemblies East and West.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 23, 1952]
Rapid Progress of a World Center--Decline in Fortunes of Covenant-Breakers
On morrow of sixtieth anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's Ascension
share double announcement with Bahá'í world through all National
Assemblies: The rapid progress of the enterprise majestically
unfolding in the heart of God's Holy Mountain, and the steady
decline in the fortunes of the remnant of old Covenant-breakers
still defiantly challenging the combined strength of the Bahá'í world
community.
+P29
The termination of the Octagon, setting the second crown on
the Holy Edifice, synchronizing with last Naw-Rúz Festival, was
followed by the erection and gilding of the balustrade during the
course of the succeeding Ridván period. Preliminary investigations
culminated in the erection of the scaffolding and the commencement
of the construction of the Drum at an estimated cost of thirteen
thousand pounds, constituting the third unit of the Edifice
preparatory to raising the golden Dome. Experiments, prior to the
placing of the contract for the gilded tiles for the Dome, concluded.
Confidently anticipate the completion of all preliminaries, enabling
the builders of the mighty, sacred Structure to start construction
of the Dome on the morrow of the opening of the fast approaching
Holy Year, paving the way to the fulfilment of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
prophecy, uttered in the dark days of the First World War, envisaging
the glory of the resplendent Dome greeting the devout gaze
of future pilgrims drawing nigh to the shores of the Holy Land.
Old Covenant-breakers, untaught by the lessons of the past
sixty years, the reverses suffered in connection with the restitution
of keys to the Shrine, the evacuation and restoration of the Mansion,
the devastating loss in rapid succession of outstanding leaders
and spokesmen, backed by the support of the perfidious Sohrab,
engaging the services of a clever, hostile lawyer, unitedly challenged
the authority conferred by `Abdu'l-Bahá's Testament, and
instituted legal proceedings against the Guardian of the Faith,
questioned his right to demolish dilapidated house situated within
the precincts and constituting an affront to the Most Holy Shrine
of the Bahá'í World, were rebuffed through the intervention of
the Israel government denying the competence of the civil court to
adjudicate the matter, subsequently threatened to appeal the government
decision to the Supreme Court, provoked the authorities who,
in consequence of my representations to both the Prime Minister
and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, issued authorization to demolish
the ruins.
Short-sighted action prompted by blind, uncontrollable animosity,
resulted in the irretrievable curtailment of long-standing privileges
extended to the Covenant-breakers during the course of six
decades on the occasion of the celebration of the Bahá'í Holy Days.
The signal success in the removal of the ruins was immediately
followed by landscaping the approaches to the Shrine, the erection
of a gate and the embellishment of the surroundings of the Tomb
of Bahá'u'lláh, long denied a befitting entrance through the deliberate
+P30
obstruction by the enemies of the Faith. Public access to
the heart of the Qiblih of the Bahá'í World is now made possible
through traversing the sacred precincts leading successively to the
Holy Court, the outer and inner sanctuaries, the Blessed Threshold
and the Holy of Holies. Recent events prelude the acquisition and
development of over thirty acres of property surrounding Bahá'u'lláh's
resting place and are paving the way for the erection in
the course of future decades of a befitting Mausoleum destined to
enshrine the Dust of the Founder of God's Most Holy Faith.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, June 11, 1952]
The Summons of the Lord of Hosts
The steady expansion of the activities conducted so devotedly
and so efficiently, during the last twelve months, by the members of
the valiant and exemplary American Bahá'í Community, under the
aegis of their elected national representatives, is such as to evoke
feelings of deep and sincere admiration in my heart, and will serve
to heighten the esteem in which they are held by their brethren in
every continent of the globe.
The completion of the interior ornamentation of the holiest
House of Worship ever to be raised by the followers of the Faith
of Bahá'u'lláh, the initiation of the landscaping of the immediate
approaches of this sacred and majestic Edifice, the actual launching
of the highly promising, profoundly significant African Campaign,
through the arrival and settlement of American pioneers in both
East and West Africa; the energetic efforts exerted for the multiplication
of Bahá'í administrative institutions and the stimulation
and consolidation of the all-important teaching work throughout
the States of the American Union; the generous, the unhesitating
and effectual support extended to the newly fledged communities in
Latin America in their efforts for the consolidation of the administrative
structure so laboriously erected in recent years; the ready
and enthusiastic response to the world-wide call for a befitting celebration
by the entire Bahá'í world of the hundredth anniversary of
the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic Mission; the magnificent services
already rendered by the recently elevated American Hands of
the Cause of God, in diversified spheres of Bahá'í activity, at the
World Center of the Faith, in the triple function of hastening the
+P31
construction of the Báb's Sepulcher, of consolidating the ties binding
the International Bahá'í Council to the civil authorities of Israel,
and of completing the design of the projected Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
on Mt. Carmel, as well as in Latin America; the repeated contributions
made for the erection of that Sepulcher, for the extension of
Bahá'í international endowments and the institution of the Hazíratu'l-Quds
in Kampala; the marvellous loyalty demonstrated in
connection with the repeated defection of members of the Holy
Family and the nefarious activities of Covenant-breakers, both old
and new; as well as the share a number of these Hands have had in
administering a stunning defeat to the enemies of the Faith who,
so boldly and shamelessly sought, through legal action, to challenge
the authority of the Guardian of the Faith, and to publicly humiliate,
the institution created through the provisions of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Testament; the further unfoldment of the European project
through the initiation of the two historic Conferences held in the
Low Countries and in the Iberian Peninsula, and the convocation
of the fateful Conference in Rome, heralding the formation of
the Italo-Swiss National Assembly--the fairest fruit of that mighty
Project--these stand out as the distinctive, the unforgettable,
the infinitely meritorious achievements which posterity will record
as the noblest exploits immortalizing the concluding years of the
Second Seven Year Plan, and conferring untold benefits on its
executors throughout the length and breadth of the Great Republic
of the West.
So notable a record, such splendid achievements, investing, as
they inevitably must, the American Bahá'í Community, with the
potentialities so essential for the adequate conduct of the impending
Ten Year Plan, that will constitute the third and last stage in the
initial epoch, in the unfoldment of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Plan, and auguring
well for the triumphant conclusion of the present Seven Year
Plan, can, and must, if the star of this enviable community is to
continue to rise, rapidly and uninterruptedly, to its meridian, be
converted into a stepping-stone for the achievements of such feats
as will not only outshine the splendor of the services already
enumerated, but constitute a befitting termination to the second
collective enterprise undertaken in American Bahá'í history, in the
service of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, and for the execution of the
grand Design conceived by the Center of His Covenant.
The support extended by a self-sacrificing, high-minded, ever
alert community, for the erection of the Drum of the Sepulcher of
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the Báb and the raising of its crowning unit--the Dome itself--
must, in the course of this current year, be consistently maintained,
both by the individual members of this community, and the body
of its elected representatives. The assistance required for the acquisition
of extensive properties, comprising both lands and houses,
in the immediate neighborhood of the Most Holy Tomb in Bahjí,
and for the embellishment of the approaches of that hallowed Shrine
--the Qiblih of the Bahá'í world--as a necessary prelude to the
ultimate erection of a befitting Mausoleum to enshrine the remains
of God's Supreme Manifestation on earth, must be generously and
systematically extended. The scheme of landscaping the area surrounding
the recently completed Mother Temple of the West, in
time for its consecration and formal opening for public Bahá'í worship,
must be rapidly and carefully carried out. The subsidiary Plan,
formulated for the intensification of the Campaign of internal expansion
and consolidation in every State of the American Republic, must
be assiduously executed, and under no circumstances, be allowed to
deteriorate or to fall into abeyance. The flow of pioneers to the
African continent, to Liberia, North Africa, West and East Africa,
must, at whatever cost, and while there is yet time, be substantially
accelerated, as the essential prerequisite to the Ten Year crusade to
be launched by no less than five National Assemblies in the African
continent, on the morrow of the celebrations of the impending Holy
Year. The process of multiplication of Bahá'í local Assemblies in the
ten goal countries of Europe, and particularly in Italy and Switzerland,
and the preparatory measures required to ensure the success of
the twin historic assemblages destined to commemorate the last year
of the Seven Year enterprise launched in the European continent--
the European Teaching Conference in Luxemburg and the Italo-Swiss
Convention in Florence--must be pushed forward with extreme
care, vigilance and vigor. The utmost help and the necessary
guidance must be vouchsafed to the newly emerged sister communities,
in both Central and South America, to enable them to consummate
their spontaneously undertaken Plans, so vital to their future
association with the organized communities, in both the Eastern and
Western Hemispheres, in the prosecution of the world-wide undertaking
destined to be launched on the morrow of the celebration of the
approaching Great Jubilee. Above all, the most careful, prayerful,
concentrated attention should be given by your Assembly, in conjunction
with the several national committees, appointed for this
purpose, to the adequate celebration of the fast approaching Holy
+P33
Year, both locally, nationally and internationally, with particular
emphasis on the three outstanding functions which the members of
this Assembly must discharge, namely, the solemn consecration of
the completed House of Worship and the commemoration of its
Jubilee, the formal convocation of the Inter-continental Conference,
and the holding of the Annual Convention in Wilmette, and
the effective participation of the members of the American Bahá'í
Community, both officially and unofficially, in the three other historic
Inter-continental Conferences to be convened successively in Kampala,
Stockholm and New Delhi.
The tasks ahead, calling for the expenditure of every ounce of
energy on the part of the members of the indefatigable irresistably
advancing, majestically unfolding American Bahá'í community and
for the unrelaxing vigilance of its national elected representatives,
are immense, highly diversified, truly challenging, sacred in character,
undreamt of in their potentialities, urgent by their very nature,
and inescapable in the responsibilities they involve. At the World
Center of the Faith, where, at long last the machinery of its highest
institutions has been erected, and around whose most holy shrines
the supreme organs of its unfolding Order, are, in their embryonic
form, unfolding; amidst the diversified tribes and races, peopling
the Dependencies and Principalities of the Dark Continent of
Africa; in the far-flung territories of Central and South America
so alien in culture, temperament, habits, language and outlook; in
the capital cities and traditional strongholds of a materially highly
advanced yet spiritually famished, much tormented, fear-ridden,
hopelessly-sundered, heterogeneous conglomeration of races, nations,
sects and classes overspreading the continent of Europe; in
the heart of the African continent, in the capital city of the Indian
sub-continent; in one of the leading capitals of the Scandinavian
countries in Northern Europe; in the very heart of the leading
Republic of the Western Hemisphere, the standard-bearers of the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, the champion-builders of the Administrative
Order, the vanguard of the Heralds of His World Order, and the
Chief and appointed executors of the Master Plan of the Center of
His Covenant, have, in the course of the few, fast-fleeting months
ahead, separating them from the grandest crusade thus far launched
in Bahá'í history, been assigned tasks, obligations and responsibilities
that they can afford to neither minimize, neglect or shirk for
a moment.
Within only a few weeks the Bahá'í World will enter upon
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the centenary of that fateful day of August the fifteenth, when a
dastardly act, fraught with such terrible consequences, unleashed a
series of tragic events that stained the annals of the Faith, that
precipitated calamities on a scale unprecedented since its inception
and unsurpassed in their tragic character by any event except the
martyrdom of its Herald, which culminated in an holocaust
reminiscent of the direst tribulations undergone by the persecuted
followers of any previous religion, and which, in turn, paved the
way, even as the darkest hour of the night precedes the dawn, for
the first glimmerings that were to proclaim, to an unsuspecting
world, and amidst the gloom and stench of the Síyáh-Chál of
Tihrán, the birth of the Mission of the Founder of our Faith. Less
than four months separate us from the centenary celebrations designed
to befittingly commemorate that glorious event in Bahá'í history,
an event even more potent in its implications than the birth
of the Bábí Dispensation, and yielding in sacredness to none other
except the memorable occasion when the Founder of the Faith Himself
ascended the throne of His spiritual sovereignty and formally
assumed in the City of Baghdád, His Prophetic Office. The radiance
of God's infant light shining within the walls of that pestilential Pit--
a radiance, an infinitesimal glimmer of which, as the Founder of
the Faith, Himself, later testified, caused the dwellers of Sinai to
swoon away--seemed, as it were, to be intermingled, whilst Bahá'u'lláh
lay in chains and fetters in that subterranean dungeon, and,
for many months after, with the somberness of the tragedy which
enveloped the members of a persecuted community in almost every
province of that hapless land. The dawning-light of the Revelation
promised and lauded by the Báb marks the termination of the second
and darker crisis in the annals of the Bábí Dispensation, and signalizes
the commencement of a ten-year long crisis, the first of
the three successive ones that left their lasting imprint on His Ministry.
Little wonder that, in the months immediately ahead, when
our thoughts are fixed upon those days which heralded the outbreak
of this reign of unprecedented terror, and the outburst of a light
of such inconceivable brightness and in the twelve-month period
immediately following when we commemorate the centenary of
that reign of terror as well as throughout the succeeding decade,
constituting the hundredth anniversary of the period following the
birth of so glorious a Mission--little wonder that the followers of the
Author of such a Revelation should be called upon to pour forth, as a
+P35
ransom for so much suffering, and in thanksgiving for such priceless
benefits conferred upon mankind, their substance, exert themselves
to the utmost, scale the summits of self-sacrifice, accomplish the most
valorous feats, and, through a concerted, determined, consecrated
ten-year-long effort, achieve their greatest victories in honor of the
Founder of their Faith, in grateful memory of His unnumbered
slaughtered servants, and for the world establishment, and ultimate
triumph, of His embryonic World Order.
The four inter-continental Conferences, constituting the highlights
of the centenary celebrations commemorating this unique period
in Bahá'í history, commingling so much tragedy and glory, as well
as the public consecration of the Most Holy House of Worship
ever to be raised for the glory of the Most Great Name, must alike
proclaim, in no uncertain voice, the significance of the happenings
which, a hundred years ago, endowed mankind with a potency
unapproached at any period in the world's spiritual history, and
signalize the inauguration of what may yet come to be regarded as
a period of collective administrative and teaching accomplishments
distinguishing the Formative Age of our Faith and endowed with
a fertility comparable to that which marked the spiritual feats of the
dawn-breakers of the Heroic Age which preceded it.
To the members of the valorous American Bahá'í Community,
the chosen trustees and principal executors of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine
Plan, who, by virtue of the mission entrusted to them by the Center
of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, have been empowered, and are fully
qualified, to assume a preponderating role in the conduct of this
world-encompassing crusade; to the long-suffering, the unflinching,
the much loved and steadfast members of the venerable and
still persecuted community of Bahá'u'lláh's followers laboring in
His native land, whose spiritual ancestors have left a legacy of
unsurpassed heroism and saintliness to the rising generation in both
the East and the West; to the members of the small, yet intensely
alive, community dwelling in the heart and center of the far-flung
British Commonwealth of Nations, whose destiny is to lend a notable
impetus to the progress of this world Crusade; through
awakening the vast and heterogeneous multitudes that owe allegiance
to the British Crown, and are dispersed throughout the five
continents of the globe; to the members of the equally small yet
virile and highly promising community, planted in the heart of the
European continent, whose mission is to spread the light of the
Faith throughout the regions that lie in its neighborhood and project
+P36
its radiance as far as the heart of the Asiatic continent; to the
members of the newly emerged yet swiftly advancing community
established in the Dominion of Canada, worthy allies of the American
Bahá'í Community in the furtherance of the Grand Design
delineated in `Abdu'l-Bahá's immortal Tablets; to the members of
the loyal, the assiduously laboring and highly diversified community
in the Indian sub-continent, whose geographic position entitles them
to extend substantial assistance to the prodigious task of awakening
the peoples of South East Asia to the redemptive Message of
Bahá'u'lláh; to the members of the second most persecuted yet
resolute community established in the heart of both the Arab and
Muslim worlds, who, by virtue of the position they occupy, must
play a distinctive part in the emancipation of a proscribed Faith
from the fetters of religious orthodoxy; to the members of the
youthful yet vigorously functioning community, championing the
Cause of Bahá'u'lláh in the Antipodes who, by reason of their close
proximity, are expected to contribute a substantial share to the
establishment of the institutions of the Faith in the numerous and
widely scattered islands and archipelagos of the South Pacific
Ocean; to the members of a long-established yet still persecuted
community dwelling in a territory which may well rank, next to the
Holy Land and the Cradle of our Faith, as the most holy in the
entire Bahá'í world, who are destined to share with their brethren
in Persia, Egypt and Pakistan in the task of achieving the recognition
of a down-trodden Faith, by the ecclesiastical leaders of Islám;
to the newly-fledged, spiritually alert communities of Central and
South America, who, by virtue of the responsibilities invested in
the inhabitants of the Western Hemisphere through the ringing call
of Bahá'u'lláh in the Aqdas and the utterances of the Center of His
Covenant, are expected by their brethren, in both the East and the
West, to worthily play their part as associates of the chief executors
of the Plan bequeathed by `Abdu'l-Bahá; to the members of the
communities in Italy and Switzerland, as yet in the embryonic stage
of their development, and who will soon take their place as an independent
entity in the international Bahá'í community, and must assume
their share in planting the banner of a triumphant Faith in the
heart of a continent regarded as the cradle of Western civilization
as well as in the stronghold and nerve-center of the most powerful
church in Christendom; indeed, to each and every believer, whether
isolated, or associated with any local Assembly or group, who,
though as yet unidentified with any specific national Plan for the
+P37
systematic prosecution of this Crusade, can still, and indeed must,
lend his particular assistance in this gigantic enterprise--to all,
without distinction of race, nation, class, color, age or sex, I feel
moved, as the fateful hour of a memorable centenary approaches, to
address my plea, with all the fervor that my soul can command
and all the love that my heart contains, to rededicate themselves,
collectively, and individually, to the task that lies ahead of them.
Under whatever conditions, the dearly loved, the divinely sustained,
the onward marching legions of the army of Bahá'u'lláh
may be laboring, in whatever theatre they may operate, in whatever
climes they may struggle, whether in the cold and inhospitable
territories beyond the Arctic Circle, or in the torrid zones of both
the Eastern and Western Hemispheres; on the borders of the
jungles of Burma, Malaya and India; on the fringes of the deserts
of Africa and of the Arabian Peninsula; in the lonely, far-away,
backward and sparsely populated islands dotting the Atlantic, the
Pacific and the Indian Oceans and the North Sea; amidst the
diversified tribes of the Negroes of Africa, the Eskimos and the
Lapps of the Arctic regions, the Mongolians of East and South
East Asia, the Polynesians of the South Pacific Islands, the reservations
of the Red Indians in both American continents, the
Maoris of New Zealand, and the aborigines of Australia; within
the time-honored strongholds of both Christianity and Islám,
whether it be in Mecca, Rome, Cairo, Najaf or Karbilá; or in
towns and cities whose inhabitants are either immersed in crass
materialism, or breathe the fetid air of an aggressive racialism, or
find themselves bound by the chains and fetters of a haughty
intellectualism, or have fallen a prey to the forces of a blind and
militant nationalism, or are steeped in the atmosphere of a narrow
and intolerant ecclesiasticism--to them all, as well as to those who,
as the fortunes of this fate-laden Crusade prosper, will be called
upon to unfurl the standard of an all-conquering Faith in the
strongholds of Hinduism, and assist in the breaking up of a rigid
age-long caste system, who will replace the seminaries and monasteries
acting as the nurseries of the Buddhist Faith with the divinely-ordained
institutions of Bahá'u'lláh's victorious Order, who will
penetrate the jungles of the Amazon, scale the mountain-fastnesses
of Tibet, establish direct contact with the teeming and hapless
multitudes in the interior of China, Mongolia and Japan, sit with
the leprous, consort with the outcasts in their penal colonies, traverse
the steppes of Russia or scatter throughout the wastes of Siberia, I
+P38
direct my impassioned appeal to obey, as befits His warriors, the
summons of the Lord of Hosts, and prepare for that Day of Days
when His victorious battalions will, to the accompaniment of
hozannas from the invisible angels in the Abhá Kingdom, celebrate
the hour of final victory.
"O, that I could travel," `Abdu'l-Bahá, crying out from the
depths of His soul, gives utterance to His longing, in a memorable
passage, in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, addressed to the North
American believers, "even though on foot and in the utmost poverty,
to these regions, and raising the call of `Yá-Bahá'u'l-Abhá' in cities,
villages, mountains, deserts and oceans, promote the Divine teachings!
This, alas, I cannot do. How intensely I deplore it! Please
God, ye may achieve it!"
"Teach ye the Cause of God, O people of Bahá," the Author of
our Faith, Himself, admonishes His followers, "....for God
hath prescribed unto every one the duty of proclaiming His Message,
and regardeth it as the most meritorious of all deeds....
Should any one arise for the triumph of Our Cause, him will God
render victorious though tens of thousands of enemies be leagued
against him." "They that have forsaken their country," He assures
them, "for the purpose of teaching Our Cause--these shall the
Faithful Spirit strengthen through its power.... Such a service
is, indeed, the prince of all goodly deeds, and the ornament of every
goodly act." "When the hour cometh that this wronged and broken-winged
bird will have taken its flight unto the celestial Concourse,"
is `Abdu'l-Bahá's last poignant call to the entire body of the followers
of His Father's Faith, as recorded in His Will and Testament,
"it is incumbent upon ... the friends and loved ones, one
and all, to bestir themselves and arise, with heart and soul, and in
one accord ... to teach His Cause and promote His Faith. It
behoveth them not to rest for a moment.... They must disperse
themselves in every land ... and travel throughout all regions.
Bestirred, without rest, and steadfast to the end, they must raise in
every land the cry of `Yá-Bahá'u'l-Abhá' ... that throughout
the East and the West a vast concourse may gather under the
shadow of the Word of God, that the sweet savors of holiness may
be wafted, that men's faces may be illumined, that their hearts may
be filled with the Divine Spirit and their souls become heavenly."
No matter how long the period that separates them from ultimate
victory; however arduous the task; however formidable the
exertions demanded of them; however dark the days which mankind,
+P39
perplexed and sorely-tried, must, in its hour of travail,
traverse; however severe the tests with which they who are to
redeem its fortunes will be confronted; however afflictive the darts
which their present enemies, as well as those whom Providence,
will, through His mysterious dispensations raise up from within or
from without, may rain upon them, however grievous the ordeal
of temporary separation from the heart and nerve-center of their
Faith which future unforeseeable disturbances may impose upon
them, I adjure them, by the precious blood that flowed in such
great profusion, by the lives of the unnumbered saints and heroes who
were immolated, by the supreme, the glorious sacrifice of the
Prophet-Herald of our Faith, by the tribulations which its Founder,
Himself, willingly underwent, so that His Cause might live, His
Order might redeem a shattered world and its glory might suffuse
the entire planet--I adjure them, as this solemn hour draws nigh,
to resolve never to flinch, never to hesitate, never to relax, until
each and every objective in the Plans to be proclaimed, at a later
date, has been fully consummated.
Your true brother
--Shoghi
[June 30, 1952]
Fulfilment of National Teaching Plans
Recall with feelings of profound emotion, as mid-August approaches,
the distressing circumstances attending the dastardly act
which, one hundred years ago, precipitated the chain of calamitous
events, unparalleled in scope and severity in the annals of the Faith
of Bahá'u'lláh and constituting, next to the martyrdom of its Herald,
the darkest, bloodiest and most tragic episode of the Heroic Age of
the Bahá'í Dispensation. Invite members of all communities of the
Bahá'í World, standing at the threshold of the Holy Year to call to
mind the manifold tribulations afflicting God's infant Faith immediately
preceding, accompanying and following the imprisonment
of the Author of the Bahá'í Revelation in the Síyáh-Chál in
Tihrán, the somber scene of the birth of His glorious mission.
Urge them to remember the multitude of barbarous acts in which
king, government, people and ecclesiastics participated; to ponder
the ferocious character of the persecutions; and to meditate upon
the vastness of their range as well as their far-reaching consequences.
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Request them to dwell particularly upon the seeming helplessness
of God's struggling Faith and direct special attention to
the ordeals undergone by Bahá'u'lláh, its sole surviving pillar, subsequent
to the birth of His Mission, His ultimate banishment, and
culminating in His incarceration in the Holy Land and in the fulfilment
of age-long prophecies.
Address to them, as well as to their national representatives, my
last appeal here at the commencement of the forthcoming Centenary
Celebrations to exert in the course of the critical, fleeting
months ahead, one final, supreme effort to ensure complete, total
success of all plans formulated by National Assemblies in every continent
of the globe, culminating in the Ridván period, falling in the
middle and marking the central features of the celebrations of the
Holy Year.
Supplicating God's bountiful blessings on each and every national
enterprise, the triumphant consummation of which will be
regarded by posterity as a befitting tribute paid by their participants
to the immortal memory of the unexampled heroism of the dawn-breakers
of the Apostolic Age of the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh
and will crown the festivities commemorating the centenary of the
birth of His Mission and will constitute a worthy prelude to the
launching of the global spiritual crusade destined to culminate in the
one hundredth anniversary of the formal assumption by the Author
of the Bahá'í Revelation of His Prophetic Office, and to diffuse the
radiance of His Faith over the face of the entire planet.
Share message with all National Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, August 5, 1952]
Launching the World-Embracing Spiritual Crusade
Hail, with feelings of humble thankfulness and unbounded joy,
opening of the Holy Year commemorating the centenary of the rise
of the Orb of Bahá'u'lláh's most sublime Revelation marking the
consummation of the six thousand year cycle ushered in by Adam,
glorified by all past prophets and sealed with the blood of the Author
of the Bábí Dispensation. Evoke on this auspicious occasion the
glorious memory and acclaim the immortal exploits of the Dawn-Breakers
of the Apostolic Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation in the
cradle of the Faith and the mighty feats of the champion builders
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of its rising World Order in the Western Hemisphere as well as the
multitude of valorous achievements of the past and present generations
of their brethren in the European, Asiatic, African and
Australian continents, whose combined accomplishments during the
one hundred and nine years of its existence contributed to the
survival of God's struggling Faith, the reinforcement of its infant
strength, the safeguarding of the unity of its supporters, the preservation
of the integrity of its teachings, the enrichment of the
lives of its followers, the rise of the institutions of its administrative
order, the fashioning of the agencies for the systematic diffusion
of its light and the broadening and the consolidation of its
foundations. Moved to express the confident hope as the centenary
celebrations now commencing, attain their climax during the approaching
Ridván period, that the plans formulated by the valiant
members of the World Bahá'í Community in the five continents,
may each and all, through their victorious consummation, add
distinct fresh luster to the world-wide festivities constituting the
collective tribute paid by the followers of the Most Great Name to
the memory of the august Founder of their Faith in honor of the
centenary of the birth of His Mission and the eternal glory of His
embryonic, majestically unfolding World Order.
Feel hour propitious to proclaim to the entire Bahá'í world the
projected launching on the occasion of the convocation of the approaching
Intercontinental Conferences on the four continents of
the globe the fate-laden, soul-stirring, decade-long, world-embracing
Spiritual Crusade involving the simultaneous initiation of
twelve national Ten Year Plans and the concerted participation of
all National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'í world aiming at the
immediate extension of Bahá'u'lláh's spiritual dominion as well as
the eventual establishment of the structure of His administrative
order in all remaining Sovereign States, Principal Dependencies
comprising Principalities, Sultanates, Emirates, Shaykhdoms, Protectorates,
Trust Territories, and Crown Colonies scattered over
the surface of the entire planet. The entire body of the avowed
supporters of Bahá'u'lláh's all-conquering Faith are now summoned
to achieve in a single decade feats eclipsing in totality the
achievements which in the course of the eleven preceding decades
illuminated the annals of Bahá'í pioneering.
The four-fold objectives of the forthcoming Crusade, marking
the third and last phase of the initial epoch of the evolution of
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan are destined to culminate in the world-wide
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festivities commemorating the fast-approaching Most Great
Jubilee. First, development of the institutions at the World Center
of the Faith in the Holy Land. Second, consolidation, through
carefully devised measures on the home front of the twelve territories
destined to serve as administrative bases for the operations
of the twelve National Plans. Third, consolidation of all territories
already opened to the Faith. Fourth, the opening of the remaining
chief virgin territories on the planet through specific allotments to
each National Assembly functioning in the Bahá'í world.
The projected historic, spiritual venture, at once arduous, audacious,
challenging, unprecedented in scope and character in the entire
field of Bahá'í history, soon to be set in motion, involves:
Adoption of preliminary measures to the construction of Bahá'u'lláh's
Sepulcher in the Holy Land.
Doubling the number of countries within the pale of the Faith
through planting its banner in the remaining Sovereign States of
the planet as well as the remaining virgin Territories mentioned in
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan, involving the opening of
forty-one countries on the Asiatic, thirty-three on the African,
thirty on the European, twenty-seven on the American continents.
Over twofold increase in the number of languages into which
Bahá'í literature is translated, printed or in process of translation--
forty in Asia, thirty-one in Africa, ten each in Europe and America,
to be allocated to the American, British, Indian and Australian
Bahá'í communities, including for the most part those into which
Gospels have been already translated. Doubling the number of
Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs, through the initiation of the construction of
one on the Asiatic and the other on the European continent. The
acquisition of the site of the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár on Mount
Carmel. The purchase of the land for eleven future Temples, three
on the American, three on the African, two on the Asiatic, two on
the European, one on the Australian continents. The erection of the
first dependency of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Wilmette. The development
of the functions of the institution of the Hands of the
Cause. The establishment of a Bahá'í Court in the Holy Land,
preliminary to the emergence of the Universal House of Justice.
Codification of the laws and ordinances of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas,
Mother Book of the Bahá'í Revelation. Establishment of six national
Bahá'í Courts in the chief cities of the Islamic East--Tihrán,
Cairo, Baghdád, New Delhi, Karachi, Kabul. Extension of international
Bahá'í endowments in the Holy Land, on the plain of
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`Akká and the slopes of Mount Carmel. Construction of international
Bahá'í Archives in the neighborhood of the Báb's Sepulcher.
Construction of a tomb for the wife of the Báb in Shíráz. Identification
of the resting places of the father of Bahá'u'lláh and the mother
and cousin of the Báb for reburial in the Bahá'í cemetery in the
vicinity of the Most Great House. Acquisition of the Garden of
Ridván in Baghdád, site of the Síyáh-Chál in Tihrán, site of the
martyrdom of the Báb in Tabríz, and of His incarceration in
Chihríq.
More than quadruple the number of National Spiritual Assemblies--
twenty-one on the American, thirteen on the European, ten
on the Asiatic, three on the African and one on the Australian
continents. Multiply seven-fold national Hazíratu'l-Quds, their
establishment in the capital cities of the chief Sovereign States and
chief cities of the principal Dependencies of the planet--twenty-one
in America, fifteen in Europe, nine in Asia, three in Africa, one in
New Zealand. Framing national Bahá'í constitutions, and establishment
of national Bahá'í endowments in same capitals and cities of
same States and Dependencies.
More than quintuple the number of incorporated National Assemblies--
twenty-one in America, thirteen in Europe, twelve in
Asia, three in Africa, one in Australasia. The establishment of six
national Bahá'í Publishing Trusts--two in America, two in Asia,
one in Africa, one in Europe.
The participation of the women of Persia in the membership
of national and local Assemblies. Establishment of seven Israel
branches of National Spiritual Assemblies--two from Europe, two
from Asia, one each from America, Africa and Australia. The establishment
of a national Bahá'í printing press in Tihrán.
Reinforcement of the ties binding the Bahá'í World Community
to the United Nations. Inclusion, circumstances permitting, of eleven
Republics comprised within Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
and two European Soviet-controlled States within the orbit of the
Administrative Order of the Faith. Convocation of a World Bahá'í
Congress in the vicinity of the Garden of Ridván, Baghdád, third
holiest city of Bahá'í world, on the occasion of the world-wide celebrations
of the Most Great Jubilee, commemorating the Centenary of
the Ascension of Bahá'u'lláh to the Throne of His Sovereignty.
Current Bahá'í history must henceforth, as second decade of
second Bahá'í century opens, move rapidly and majestically as it
has never moved before since the inception of the Faith over a
+P44
century ago. Earthly symbols of Bahá'u'lláh's unearthly Sovereignty
must needs, ere the decade separating the two memorable
Jubilees draws to a close, be raised as far north as Franklin beyond
the Arctic Circle and as far south as the Falkland Islands, marking
the southern extremity of the western hemisphere, amidst the remote,
lonely, inhospitable islands of the archipelagos of the South
Pacific, the Indian and Atlantic oceans, the mountain fastnesses of
Tibet, the jungles of Africa, the deserts of Arabia, the steppes of
Russia, the Indian Reservations of North America, the wastelands
of Siberia and Mongolia, amongst the Eskimos of Greenland and
Alaska, the Negroes of Africa, Buddhist strongholds in the heart
of Asia, amongst Lapps of Finland, the Polynesians of the South
Sea Islands, Negritos of the archipelagos of the South Pacific
Ocean.
The broad outlines of the world-encircling plan were divinely
revealed. Its course was charted by `Abdu'l-Bahá's infallible Pen.
Its shining goals have been set. The requisite administrative machinery
has been created. Signal has been given by the Author of
the Plan, its Supreme Commander. The Lord of Hosts, the King
of Kings has pledged unfailing aid to every crusader battling for
His Cause. Invisible battalions are mustered, rank upon rank, ready
to pour forth reinforcements from on high. Bahá'u'lláh's army
of light is standing on the threshold of the Holy Year. Let them, as
they enter it, vow with one voice, one heart, one soul, never to turn
back in the entire course of the fateful decade ahead until each
and every one will have contributed his share in laying on a world-wide
scale an unassailable administrative foundation for Bahá'u'lláh's
Christ-promised Kingdom on earth, swelling thereby the
chorus of universal jubilation wherein earth and heaven will join
as prophesied by Daniel, echoed by `Abdu'l-Bahá: "on that day will
the faithful rejoice with exceeding gladness."
Call upon fifteen Hands from five continents, by virtue of their
supreme function as chosen instruments for the propagation of the
Faith, to inaugurate historic mission through the appointment,
during Ridván 1954, of four auxiliary boards one each continent,
of nine members each, who will, as their adjuncts, or deputies, and
working in conjunction with the various National Assemblies functioning
on each continent, assist, through periodic systematic visits
to Bahá'í centers, in the efficient, prompt execution of the twelve
projected National Plans. Moreover request communities observing
Bahá'í Holy Days, solar calendar, celebrate with befitting solemnity
+P45
the approaching anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's Birthday, falling
in the middle of the two month period during which, a hundred
years ago, the Author of the Faith received the first intimation of
His glorious Mission.
Advise American Bahá'í community commemorate occasion by
special gathering in the Temple in Wilmette and urge attendance of
as many believers as possible and invite Hands of the Cause in
United States and Canada to participate as my representatives.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, October 8, 1952]
Acquisition of Vitally-Needed Property
Announce to Bahá'í communities, East and West, on the joyous
occasion of the hundred and thirty-fifth Anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's
Birthday, the successful termination of the protracted negotiations,
initiated two years ago and culminating in the signature to the
contract providing the eventual, formal transfer by the Development
Authority of the State of Israel to the Palestine Branch of
the American National Spiritual Assembly of the extensive, long-desired,
vitally-needed property surrounding and safeguarding for
posterity the Most Holy Tomb of the Founder of the Faith, as well
as the adjoining Mansion.
The acquired area, raising Bahá'í holdings on the holy plain of
`Akká from four thousand to one hundred and fifty-five thousand
square meters, was exchanged against property donated by children
of Zikrullah, grandchildren of Mírzá Muhammad Qulí, Bahá'u'lláh's
faithful half-brother and companion in exile.
This spontaneous offer contrasts with the shameful action of
the family in the sale to non-Bahá'ís of the property in the neighborhood
of the Jordan valley purchased through the instrumentality of
`Abdu'l-Bahá during Bahá'u'lláh's lifetime, pursuant to His instructions
and alluded to in His writings.
The forty acre property acquired in this single transaction almost
equals the entire Bahá'í international endowments purchased
in the course of sixty years in the vicinity of the Báb's Sepulcher
on the slope of Mount Carmel.
The exchange of said property, including land and houses, was
made possible by the precipitate flight of the former Arab owners,
traditional supporters of the old Covenant-breakers and descendants
+P46
of the notorious enemy of `Abdu'l-Bahá who placed his residence at
the disposal of the Committee of Investigation.
The signature to the agreement signalized the commencement
of large-scale landscaping, aiming at the beautification of the immediate
precincts of the holiest spot in the entire Bahá'í world,
itself the prelude to the eventual erection, as happened in the case of
the Báb's Sepulcher, of a befitting Mausoleum enshrining the precious
Dust of the Most Great Name.
Desire to acknowledge the indefatigable efforts exerted by both
Larry Hautz and Leroy Ioas enabling the consummation of the
initial stage of the enterprise destined to eclipse in its final phase
the splendor and magnificence of the Báb's resting-place on Mount
Carmel.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, November 12, 1952]
Representatives for Intercontinental Conferences
On occasion of Centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's release from oppressive
imprisonment in the Síyáh-Chál, Tihrán, synchronizing with
the termination of the epoch-making, two-month period associated
with the Birth of His Revelation, unsurpassed, with the sole exception
of the Declaration of His mission, by any episode in the world's
spiritual history, call upon Bahá'í communities, East and West, to
ponder the unique significance, focus attention on imperative requirements
and to respond worthily to the challenge offered each
of the four fate-laden, fast-approaching Intercontinental Conferences,
constituting the highlights of recently ushered-in Holy Year.
Desire to announce the appointment of the Hands of the Cause,
honored by direct association with the newly-initiated enterprises
at the world center of the Faith, to act, in addition to their individual
participation in the deliberations at the forthcoming Conferences,
as my special representatives, entrusted with a four-fold
mission: to bear, for the edification of the attendants, a precious
remembrance of the Co-founder of the Faith, deliver my official
message to the assembled believers, elucidate the character and
purposes of the impending decade-long spiritual World Crusade
and rally the participants to energetic, sustained, enthusiastic prosecution
of the colossal tasks ahead.
Instructing the President of the International Bahá'í Council,
+P47
Mason Remey, Member at Large, Ugo Giachery, and Secretary-General,
Leroy Ioas, to discharge these functions in the course of
the New Delhi, Stockholm and Kampala Conferences, respectively.
Delegating Amatu'l-Bahá, accompanied by Vice-President of
the International Council, Amelia Collins, to fulfil three of the
above mentioned functions, as well as carry on my behalf, to unveil
on the occasion of the completion of the construction of the Mother
Temple of the West, to the privileged attendants at the Wilmette
Conference a most prized remembrance of the Author of the Faith,
which never before left the shores of the Holy Land, to be placed
beneath the dome of the consecrated edifice. Moreover assigning her
the task to act as my deputy at the historic ceremony marking the
official Dedication of the holiest Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Bahá'í
world reared to the everlasting glory and honor of the Most Great
Name in the heart of the North American continent.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, December 15, 1952]
Twofold Victory in Holy Land
On occasion of Naw-Rúz of Holy Year convey twin joyful
tidings to National Assemblies of the Bahá'í world. Building
operations of the final unit of the Báb's Sepulcher commenced.
Recall at this hour successive landmarks, each coinciding with a
Naw-Rúz Festival in the history of the sixty year old enterprise
founded by the Author of the Bahá'í Revelation. First, Naw-Rúz,
1909, witnessed the entombment within the Holy of Holies of the
Shrine constructed by `Abdu'l-Bahá of the dust of the Martyr-Prophet
of the Faith. Second, Naw-Rúz, 1949, coincided with the
laying of the first threshold stones of the arcade. Third, Naw-Rúz,
1951, synchronized with the termination of the excavation within
the Shrine foundations for the eight piers designed to support the
weight of the three story superstructure. Fourth, Naw-Rúz, 1952,
is associated with the completion of the octagon setting second
crown of the holy Edifice.
The celebrations of Naw-Rúz in this Holy Year are heightened
by the placing of the first stones encircling the base of the dome.
Anticipating, as the climax of the world-wide rejoicings of the
Holy Year draw near, the placing of the gilded tiles, the fourth and
last unit of the majestic Edifice. Fervently hoping that the greatest
+P48
enterprise undertaken at the World Center of the Faith will be
consummated ere the conclusion of the festivities of the Holy Year.
International endowments surrounding the tomb of the Prophet-Herald
of the Faith on the bosom of God's Holy Mountain are
considerably extended through the acquisition, after thirty years'
effort, of a wooded area of over twenty-three thousand square
meters, including a building overlooking the sacred spot, made
possible through the estate bequeathed to the Faith by the herald of
Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, Roy Wilhelm, raising the total area within
the precincts permanently dedicated to the Báb's Sepulcher to almost
a quarter million square meters.
Heart filled with humble gratitude at the double victory of the
Faith, adding great joyousness to the Bahá'í New Year's Day,
presaging still greater triumphs as the Bahá'í World approaches
the high water mark of the world-wide celebrations of the memorable
year commemorating the hundredth anniversary of the birth of
the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, March 21, 1953]
Treacherous Ruhi Afnan
Treacherous Ruhi Afnan, not content with previous disobedience,
correspondence with Ahmad Sohrab, contact with old Covenant-breakers,
sale, in conjunction with other members of family,
of sacred property purchased by Founder of Faith, and allowing
his sister to marry son of `Abdu'l-Bahá's enemy, is now openly
lecturing on Bahá'í movement, claiming to be its exponent and is
misrepresenting the teachings and deliberately causing confusion in
minds of authorities and the local population. Inform National
Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, May 17, 1953]
The Paramount Issue
On occasion of the sixty-first Anniversary of the Ascension of
Bahá'u'lláh, on the morrow of the opening, initial phase of the
momentous World Crusade, call upon His followers in all continents
to allow no slackening, nay, to insure acceleration of the
marvelous momentum generated by the historic celebrations climaxing
+P49
the festivities of Holy Year. The dispersal, immediate, determined,
sustained and universal, throughout the unopened territories
of the planet, is the paramount issue challenging the spirit and
resources of the privileged prosecutors of the Ten-Year Plan in the
course of the current year.
All National Assemblies are urged to give it priority assignments
in their national budgets. The chief executors of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Plan, by virtue of the primacy conferred in His Tablets,
are accorded the prerogative to stimulate the vital process of the
dispersal through the dispatch, in addition to their allotted tasks, of
pioneers to the virgin territories allocated to their sister communities
East and West.
Once again I appeal to members of all communities to arise and
enlist, ere the present opportunity is irretrievably lost, in the army
of Bahá'u'lláh's crusaders. The hour is ripe to disencumber themselves
of worldly vanities, to mount the steed of steadfastness, unfurl
the banner of renunciation, don the armor of utter consecration to
God's Cause, gird themselves with the girdle of a chaste and holy
life, unsheathe the sword of Bahá'u'lláh's utterance, buckle on the
shield of His love, carry as sole provision implicit trust in His
promise, flee their homelands, and scatter far and wide to capture
the unsurrendered territories of the entire planet.
Would to God that Bahá'í warriors, six score and ten, the number
required to fill the gaps in the still unconquered territories of
the globe, will promptly arise and enroll themselves to achieve the
goals ere the conclusion of the opening year of the decade-long,
greatest collective enterprise since the memorable episodes associated
with the Dawn-Breakers of the Heroic Age.
Planning to inscribe, in chronological order, the names of the
spiritual conquerors on an illuminated Roll of Honor, to be deposited
at the entrance door of the inner Sanctuary of the Tomb
of Bahá'u'lláh, as a permanent memorial of the contribution by the
champions of His Faith at the victorious conclusion of the opening
campaign of the Global Crusade which is destined to attain consummation
at the Most Great Jubilee commemorating the Centenary
of the Declaration of His Mission. Anticipate making periodic
announcements of the names of the valiant knights upon their
arrival at their posts to discharge their historic missions.
Share message National Assemblies of the Bahá'í World.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, May 28, 1953]
+P50
Sealing the Triumphant Festivities of Holy Year
Transmit to the National Assemblies of the Bahá'í world the
joyous news that the placing of gilded tiles over the entire surface
of the dome of the Báb's Sepulcher has been terminated. The last
stones of the crown surrounding the base of the dome have been
laid, marking the conclusion of the stonework of the superstructure
of the holy edifice. The shuttering of the interior of the dome has
been removed. Frames of the lancet windows of the drum have
been installed. The placing of the frames of the octagon windows
and the plastering of the interior of the dome are approaching
completion. Electric cables designed for the illumination of the
majestic structure have been placed in position. Anticipate the early
removal of the scaffolding prior to the placing of the eighteen
stained glass lancet windows.
Feel assured consummation of the sixty year old enterprise will
synchronize with the holding of the forthcoming New Delhi Intercontinental
Teaching Conference, sealing the triumphant world-wide
festivities of the Holy Year commemorating the centenary of
the birth of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, August 19, 1953]
Roll of Honor
Transmit the following joyful tidings National Spiritual Assemblies
of the Bahá'í world. World spiritual crusade, mightiest
agency yet conceived for the systematic execution of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Divine Plan, has been befittingly ushered in through successive,
magnificent victories won by Bahá'u'lláh's crusaders in virgin
territories in every continent of the globe.
The four months which have elapsed since its glorious inauguration
amidst the climax of the Centenary of the inception of His
Mission, have been immortalized by the opening of no less than
twenty-eight territories and islands, nine in Europe, eight in America,
six in Africa, five in Asia, constituting a dispersal unprecedented
in its rapidity and scope during eleven decades of Bahá'í history.
The number of pioneers who responded to the call for settlement
of open and unopened territories on the planet passed the
three hundred mark: over a hundred and fifty from America, over
+P51
fifty from Europe, over forty from Africa, over forty from Asia.
The number of prospective pioneers to virgin areas is over forty.
All Western Hemisphere and African areas allocated to the United
States National Assembly, as well as all European areas allocated to
the various National Assemblies, have been assigned.
The Roll of Honor designed to perpetuate the memory of the
exploits of the spiritual conquerors is already inscribed with the
names of the following pioneers, together with their respective
territories, amounting to almost a fourth of the number required for
the attainment of the paramount objective of the opening phase of
the ten year plan. Sohail Samandari, Italian Somaliland; Mary
and Rex Collison, Dunduzu Chisizwa, Ruanda-Urundi; `Izzatu'lláh
Zahrai, Southern Rhodesia; Ghulamal Kurlawala, Daman; Gail
and Jameson Bond, Franklin; Roshan Aftabi, Feroza Yaganagi,
Goa; Rose Perkal, Jack Huffman, Kodiak Island; Mr. and Mrs.
Arthur Crane, Key West; Saeed Nahvi, Shyan Behrarilal, Pondicherry;
Udainarayan Singh, Sikkim; Fred Schechter, French
Somaliland; Virginia Orbison, Balearic Islands; Mr. and Mrs.
Amín Banání, Greece; Abbás Vakil, Cyprus; Gertrude Eisenberg,
Canary Islands; Dick Stanton, Keewatin; Mr. and Mrs. Jenabe
Caldwell, Aleutian Islands; Edythe MacArthur, Queen Charlotte
Islands; Hushmand Manuchihri, Liechtenstein; Eskil Ljungberg,
Faroe Islands; Mildred Clark and Loyce Lawrence, Lofoten Islands;
Salisa Kirmani, Shirin Nurani, Karikal; Zíá'u'lláh Asgarzadeh,
Evelyn Baxter, Channel Islands; Kay Weston, Magdalen
Islands; Julius Edwards, Northern Territories Protectorate; Doris
Richardson, Grand Manan Island; Charles Dunning, Orkney Islands;
Nellie French, Monaco.
Countries in which Bahá'ís reside now aggregate over one hundred
fifty. Over seventy have been added in the course of the nine
years separating the first and second Jubilees.
The festivities of the Holy Year, so splendidly inaugurated,
attaining the high water mark on the occasion of the Ninetieth
Anniversary of the declaration of the Mission of the Founder of
the Faith, are approaching their end. Appeal entire body of His
followers to exert a concerted, superhuman effort to celebrate,
through acceleration of their dispersal, the conclusion of the world-wide
rejoicings, and pay worthy tribute to His memory, through as
close an approach to the two hundred mark as possible of the total
number of sovereign States, Dependencies, and Islands comprised
within the orbit of His irresistibly expanding Faith, achieving thereby
+P52
a feat paralleling, in the eyes of posterity, the triumphant completion
of the superstructure of the Sepulcher of its Co-Founder at the
Bahá'í World Center in the Holy Land.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, September 20, 1953]
Twenty-One Virgin Areas
Announce to National Assemblies of the Bahá'í world that the
three week interval since the close of the Holy Year witnessed planting
the banner of God's triumphant Cause in no less than twenty-one
virgin areas of the globe, raising the total number of territories
opened to the Faith to two hundred, representing well nigh a sixty
per cent increase in the course of a little over half a year in the number
of sovereign States and Dependencies included within its pale
during the one hundred and nine years of its existence.
The seventy-two virgin areas, brought within the orbit of the
swiftly expanding Bahá'í administrative order since the launching of
the World Crusade, include twenty-one in the Americas, nineteen in
Africa, nineteen in Europe and thirteen in Asia.
The following pioneers have been inscribed on the Roll of
Honor since the last announcement: Gerald, Gail and Leeanna
Curwin, Bahamas; Enoch Olinga, British Cameroons; Malcolm
King, British Guiana; Peggy and George True, Canaries; Shirley
Warde, British Honduras; Irving Geary, Cape Breton Island;
Zunilda Palacios, Chilöe Island; Edith Danielson, Cook Islands;
Himatlal Bhatt, Diu Island; Elinor and Robert Wolff, Dutch
Guiana; Eberhard Friedland, French Guiana; Labib Esphahani,
French West Africa; Adela and Salvador Tormo, Juan Fernandez
Island; Gladys and Benjamin Weeden, Leeward Islands; Frances
Heller, Macao; Lionel Peraji, Máhe; Ola Pawlowska, Miquelon
and St. Pierre Islands; Elsie Austin, Nosrat Shayesteh, Abbás
Muhammad-`Alí Jalali Rowhani, Ardekani Hasanzadeh Rafii,
Morocco, International Zone; Bertha Dobbins, New Hebrides;
Opal and Leland Jensen, Réunion Island; Marie Ciocca, Sardinia;
Abbás Kamil, Seychelles Islands; Emma Rice and Mr. and Mrs.
Bagley, Sicily; Greta Lamprill and Glad Parke, Society Islands;
Mr. and Mrs. McKay, Mr. and Mrs. Fleming and Miss Jenssen,
Spanish Morocco; Muhammad Mostafá, Spanish Sahara; Lillian
Middlemast and Esther M. Evans, Windward Islands.
+P53
As few as two territories of Europe, six in the Americas, fourteen
in Africa and twenty-two in Asia still remain unopened, excluding
the Republics and satellites of the Soviet Union. May the
opening year of the decade-long spiritual Crusade be victoriously
concluded and befittingly celebrated in the course of the festivities
of next Ridván through the establishment of the nucleus of the Faith
in each of the remaining forty-four territories, insuring thereby
the virtual attainment of the foremost objective of the initial stage
of the Ten Year Plan.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, November 11, 1953]
Fast-Dwindling Band of Covenant-Breakers
Following the successive blows which fell with dramatic swiftness
two years ago upon the ring-leaders of the fast dwindling
band of old Covenant-breakers at the World Center of the Faith,
God's avenging hand struck down in the last two months, Avarih,
Fareed and Falah, within the cradle of the Faith, North America
and Turkey, who demonstrated varying degrees, in the course of
over thirty years, of faithlessness to `Abdu'l-Bahá.
The first of the above named will be condemned by posterity as
being the most shameless, vicious, relentless apostate in the annals
of the Faith, who, through ceaseless vitriolic attacks in recorded
voluminous writings and close alliance with its traditional enemies,
assiduously schemed to blacken its name and subvert the foundations
of its institutions.
The second, history will recognize as one of the most perfidious
among the kinsmen of the interpreters of the Center of the Covenant,
who, driven by ungovernable cupidity, committed acts causing
agonies of grief and distress to the beloved Master and culminating
in open association with breakers of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant in the
Holy Land.
The third will be chiefly remembered by the pride, obstinacy
and insatiable ambition impelling him to violate the spiritual and
administrative precepts of the Faith.
All three, however blinded by perversity, could not have failed to
perceive, as their infamous careers approached their end, the futility
of their opposition and measure their own loss by the degree of
progress and consolidation of the triumphant administrative order
+P54
so magnificently celebrated in the course of the festivities of the
recently concluded Holy Year.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, December 16, 1953]
World Crusade Forges Ahead
Inform National Assemblies East and West that the Bahá'í
World Crusade, matchless in its vastness, unsurpassed in its potentialities
in the spiritual annals of mankind, announced on the eve of
the Holy Year and formally launched during the climax of the
festivities commemorating the centenary of the birth of the Mission
of the Founder of the Faith, is forging ahead and gathering momentum
in both its territorial and institutional aspects in every
continent of the globe and the chief islands of the Pacific, the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans and the Mediterranean and North Seas.
The number of sovereign States and dependencies within the
orbit of a divinely propelled Order now totals two hundred five.
No less than seventy-seven territories have been won over by the
Knights of Bahá'u'lláh during a little over half a year, representing
two thirds of the total number of virgin areas exclusive of Soviet-controlled
Republics and satellites which must needs be opened in
the course of the whole decade. Every single territory, whether island
or situated on a continent, with the exception of the above-mentioned
Republics and satellites has been definitely assigned.
Out of a total of eleven, eight Funds have been inaugurated in
the course of the same year, aggregating approximately two hundred
thousand dollars designed to pave the way for the acquisition
of sites for the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs on Carmel and in
Canada, Panama, Italy, Sweden, `Iráq, Australia and India.
The hour is propitious for all National Assemblies, particularly
the United States, the British and the Egyptian, to participate befittingly
in the opening of the three remaining Funds ere the first
year of the Ten Year Plan draws to a close, insuring thereby the
early purchase of sites for the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs in Cairo,
Kampala and Johannesburg. Contributing three thousand pounds
as my initial donation to this three-fold, meritorious purpose.
Preliminary measures have been adopted by the German National
Spiritual Assembly and projects have been initiated in Tihrán
+P55
calculated to hasten the construction of the third and fourth
Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs of the Bahá'í world in the heart of the European
and Asiatic continents.
Appeal to individual believers to reinforce to whatever extent
possible the contributions of the Bahá'í national bodies called upon
at this hour to unitedly lend an impetus to the unfoldment of the
opening phase of the Ten Year Plan whose consummation will,
God willing, insure the triumphant conclusion of the initial epoch
in the evolution of the grand Design conceived by the Center of the
Covenant for the systematic propagation of His Father's Faith.
Advise forward all contributions, whether individual or collective,
to the Egyptian, British or United States National Assemblies which
are primarily invested with responsibility for the eventual erection
of the Bahá'í Houses of Worship in the north, the heart, and the
south of the African continent.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, December 7, 1953]
Hand of Cause Appointment
Inform National Assemblies elevation of Jalál Kházeh to rank
of Hand of Cause.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, December 7, 1953]
Appeal for Pioneer Settlement
The nine months which have elapsed since the launching of the
spiritual world-encompassing Crusade have witnessed the entry of
the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh in well-nigh four score and ten territories
throughout the planet, representing virtually three-fourths of
the total number of areas, exclusive of the Soviet zone of influence,
destined to be opened in the course of the entire decade and swelling
the roll of sovereign States and Dependencies enlisted under the
banner of His Faith to two hundred and thirteen.
All independent States and Principalities on the European
continent, excluding Soviet Republics and satellites, have been
opened.
+P56
All territories in North, Central and South America, excluding
Labrador, have been opened.
All territories on the Asiatic continent outside of the Russian
orbit have been opened, except Tibet and Bhutan.
All islands in the Mediterranean, all islands in the North Sea
have been opened, except Spitzbergen.
All African sovereign States, Colonies, Protectorates and Trust
territories, with the exception of Togolands, Spanish Guinea, Bechuanaland,
Swaziland, Gambia and the French Cameroons, have been
opened.
All islands in the South and North Atlantic, except St. Helena,
St. Thomas, Anticosti, and the Falklands, have been opened.
All Indian Ocean islands with the exception of Socotra, the
Cocos, Comoro, Mentawei, Nicobar, Chagos Archipelago and
Kuria-Muria have been opened.
All islands in the North and South Pacific, exclusive of Soviet-controlled
territories, have been opened except Galapagos, Gilbert
and Ellice, Admiralty, Loyalty, Marshall, Mariana, Brunei and
Portuguese Timor.
The Concourse on high hails with delight the phenomenal
rapidity of the victories of Bahá'í pioneering in the virgin areas of
the globe.
Encouraged to address an urgent plea to all National Assemblies
concerned, as well as to each and every prospective pioneer assigned
to the aforementioned territories, to expedite by every means
at their disposal their arrival at their respective posts ere the expiry
of the swiftly-passing three-month period separating them from the
conclusion of the opening year of this auspiciously-unfolding decade.
Appeal furthermore to the entire body of participants in the
Crusade to put forth all strength to secure entry of additional
volunteers into these same territories multiplying thereby chances of
their inclusion within the pale of the Faith ere the celebration of the
fast-approaching Ridván.
Supplicating with redoubled ardor a further measure of Bahá'u'lláh's
sustaining grace, surpassing the conspicuous blessings already
vouchsafed to His wholly-dedicated, widely-scattered, forward-marching
warriors since the launching of the Ten Year Plan.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, February 8, 1954]
+P57
Hand of Cause Appointment
Announce to all National Assemblies elevation of Paul Haney
to rank of Hand of the Cause.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, March 19, 1954]
Roll of Honor--Additional Inscriptions
On occasion Naw-Rúz, marking opening the second decade of
the second Bahá'í century, inform National Assemblies of the
Bahá'í world that the following pioneers scattered over twenty-one
virgin areas have been inscribed on the Roll of Honor since the
fourth periodic announcement. Otillie Rhein, Mauritius; Olga
Mills, Malta; Peter Lugayula, Ashanti Protectorate; Virginia
Breaks, Caroline Islands; Dr. Fozdar, Andaman Islands; Elly
Becking, Dutch New Guinea; Andrew and Nina Matthisen, Bahamas;
Carl and Loretta Scherer, Macao; Gulnar Aftabi, Bahiyyih
Rowhani, Kaykhosrow Dahmobadi, Diu Island; Jean and Tove
Deleuran, Charles Ioas, Balearic Islands; Adib Bagdadi, Hussayn
Halabi, Hadhramaut; Kenneth and Roberta Christian, Eyneddin
and Tahereh Alai, Joan Powis, Southern Rhodesia; Hormoz
Zendeh, Morocco International Zone; Howard and Joanne Menking,
Cape Verde Islands; Elizabeth Bevan, Rhodes; Matthew
Bullock, Dutch West Indies; Lillian Wyss, Samoa; Dulcie Dive,
Cook Islands; Stanley Bolton, Jr., Tonga Islands; Gretta Jankko,
Marquesas Islands; Jean Sevin, Tuamotu Archipelago; Alvin and
Gertrude Blum, Solomon Islands; Bernard Guhrke, Kodiak Island;
John Leonard, Falkland Islands; Munir Vakil, Kuria-Muria
Islands; John and Audrey Robarts, Bechuanaland; Charles Dayton
and wife, David Schreiber, Leeward Islands; Faiborz Roozebehyan,
Gambia; Rahmat and Iran Muhajer, Mentawei Islands; Gertrud
Ankersmit, Frisian Islands; Shamsi Navidi, Monaco; Roy and
Elena Fernie, Gilbert and Ellice Islands; Qudratullah Rowhani,
Khodarahm Mojgani, Máhe.
Ninety-one virgin areas have been opened to the Faith since the
launching of the Crusade. Total number of territories within its
pale now raised to two hundred nineteen. Remaining unopened
territories, excluding Soviet Republics and satellites, twenty-five.
+P58
Appeal to prospective pioneers whilst the opening year of the
Ten Year Crusade is speeding to its close, to expedite entry into
unopened areas contributing thereby to the enhancement of the
celebrations of the coming Ridván rendered memorable by the
swift, magnificent victories achieved in the pioneering field, unsurpassed
in the course of the eleven decades of Bahá'í history.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, March 21, 1954]
Institution of Hands of the Cause
To all the Hands of the Cause and all National Assemblies of
the Bahá'í World:
Hail emergence of the unfoldment in the opening years of the
second epoch of the formative age of the Bahá'í Dispensation of the
august Institution foreshadowed by the Founder of the Faith and
formally established in the Testament of the Center of His Covenant,
closely associated in provisions of the same Will with Institution
of the Guardianship, destined to assume in the fullness of
time, under the aegis of the Guardian, the dual sacred responsibility
for protection and propagation of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.
Desire to pay warm tribute to the services rendered severally
and collectively by appointed hands at the World Center of the
Faith and in territories beyond its confines.
Greatly value their support in the erection of the Báb's Sepulcher
on Mt. Carmel; in reinforcing ties with the newly emerged State
of Israel; in the extension of the International Endowments in
the Holy Land; in the initiation of the preliminary measures for
the establishment of the Bahá'í World Administrative Center, as
well as in their participation in four successive intercontinental
Teaching Conferences; in their extensive travels in African territories,
in North, Central and South America, in the European,
Asiatic and Australian Continents.
This newly constituted body, embarked on its mission with such
auspicious circumstances, is now entering the second phase of its
evolution signalized by forging of ties with the National Spiritual
Assemblies of the Bahá'í world for the purpose of lending them
assistance in attaining the objectives of the Ten Year Plan.
The hour is ripe for the fifteen Hands residing outside the
Holy Land to proceed during Ridván with the appointment, in each
+P59
continent separately, from among the resident Bahá'ís of that
Continent, of Auxiliary Boards, whose members, acting as deputies,
assistants and advisers of the Hands, must increasingly lend their
assistance for the promotion of the interests of the Ten Year
Crusade.
Advise the Hands of the Asiatic, American and European Continents
to convene in Tihrán, Wilmette and Frankfurt respectively
for the purposes of consultation and nomination.
The Hands of the Cause of the African and Australian Continents
must exercise their functions in Kampala and Sydney respectively.
The Auxiliary Boards of the American, European and
African Continents must consist of nine members each, of the
Asiatic and Australian continents of seven and two respectively.
The allocation of areas in each continent to the members of the
Auxiliary Boards, as well as subsidiary matters regarding the development
of the activities of the newly appointed bodies, and the
manner of collaboration with the National Spiritual Assemblies in
their respective Continents, is left to the discretion of the Hands.
All Boards must report and be responsible to the Hands charged
with their appointment.
The Hands of each Continent in their turn must keep in close
touch with, and report the result of the nominations and progress
of the activities of the Boards to the National Assemblies in their
respective continents, as well as to the four Hands residing in the
Holy Land destined to act as liaison between themselves and the
Guardian of the Faith.
Urge the initiation of five Continental Bahá'í Funds which, as
they develop, will increasingly facilitate the discharge of the functions
assigned to the Boards.
Transmitting five thousand pounds as my initial contribution
to be equally divided among the five Continents.
Appeal to the twelve National Assemblies and individuals to insure
a steady augmentation of these Funds through annual assignment
in National Budgets and by individual contributions.
Advise transmit contributions to Varqá, Holley, Giachery, Banání
and Dunn acting as Trustees of the Asiatic, American, European,
African and Australian Funds respectively.
Fervently supplicating at the Holy Threshold for an unprecedented
measure of blessings on this vital and indispensable organ
of the embryonic and steadily unfolding Bahá'í Administrative
+P60
Order, presaging the emergence of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh
which must pave the way for the establishment of the World Civilization
destined to attain maturity in the course of successive Dispensations
in the Five Thousand Century Bahá'í Cycle.
Airmail copies to all Hands and National Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 6, 1954]
A Divinely-Guided Faith
On the eve of this Ridván Festival marking the opening of the
second decade of the second Bahá'í century, and coinciding with
the termination of the first year of the World Spiritual Crusade, I
hail with feelings of joy and wonder the superb feats of the heroic
company of the Knights of the Lord of Hosts in pursuance of their
sublime mission for the spiritual conquest of the planet. The first
twelve months of this decade-long enterprise unexampled in its
scope, significance and potentialities in the world's spiritual history
and launched simultaneously, amidst the climax of the world-wide
festivities of a memorable Holy Year, in the American, the European,
the African, the Asiatic and the Australian continents, have
witnessed the hoisting of the banner of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh
in no less than a hundred virgin territories of the globe. The total
number of the newly opened sovereign states and dependencies
comprising Principalities, Sultanates, Emirates, Sheikhdoms, Protectorates,
Trust Territories and Crown Colonies, scattered over the
face of the earth, represents almost seven-eighths of all the territories,
exclusive of the Soviet Republics and Satellites, destined to
be opened in the course of an entire decade. The northern frontiers
of a divinely guided, rapidly marching, majestically expanding
Faith have been pushed, in consequence of the phenomenal success
recently achieved by the vanguard of Bahá'u'lláh's crusaders, beyond
the Arctic Circle as far as Arctic Bay, Franklin, 73 degrees
latitude. Its southern limits have now reached the Falkland Islands
in the neighborhood of Magallanes, the world's southernmost city.
Other outlying outposts have been established in places as far apart
as Sikkim at the foot of the Himalayas, the Lofoten Islands in the
heart of the European Northland, Fezzan on the northern fringe of
the Sahara Desert, the Andaman Islands and the Seychelles, the
penal colonies in the Indian Ocean, the three Guianas and the leper
+P61
colonies on the Atlantic Coast, the Faroe and Shetland Islands, the
wind-swept and inhospitable archipelagos of the North Sea, Hadhramaut
on the sun-baked shores of the Arabian Peninsula, St.
Helena isolated in the midst of the South Atlantic Ocean and the
Gilbert Islands, the war-devastated, sparsely populated Atolls situated
in the heart of the Pacific Ocean.
God's infant Faith, confined during the first nine years of its
existence to its birthland and the adjoining territory of `Iráq,
reaching, in the course of the thirty-nine years of Bahá'u'lláh's
Ministry, to thirteen other lands, enlarged, during `Abdu'l-Bahá's
twenty-nine year Ministry, through the opening of twenty additional
countries, only succeeded, after the lapse of three-quarters of
a century, in including within its orbit thirty-five countries within
both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
The subsequent quarter of a century, constituting the first Epoch
of the Formative Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation, witnessed the
planting of the banner of the Faith in over forty territories of the
globe, raising the number of countries included within its pale, on
the eve of the Centenary Celebrations of the Declaration of the
Báb's Mission to seventy-eight. The nine-year interval separating
the first from the second Bahá'í Jubilee was signalized by the spiritual
conquest of no less than fifty countries of the globe, whilst the
first year of the Ten Year Plan has been immortalized by the opening
of one hundred countries, swelling the number of the sovereign
states and dependencies enlisted under the standard of the Cause of
God to two hundred and twenty-eight. All territories in North, Central
and South America; all sovereign states and principalities on
the continent of Europe, excluding the Russian Republics and Satellites;
all territories on the Asiatic continent, with the exception of
Tibet, of Bhutan and of the Soviet Republics; all the islands of the
Mediterranean; all the islands of the North Sea, with the exception
of Spitzbergen; all African territories with the exception of Spanish
Guinea; all the islands of the North and South Atlantic Ocean
except Anticosti and St. Thomas; all the islands of the Pacific
Ocean except Comoro Islands, Cocos Island, Nicobar Islands, Hainan
Island, Portuguese Timor, Chagos Archipelago, Loyalty Islands,
Marshall Islands, Admiralty Islands, Mariana Islands, are
now included within the orbit of an irresistibly unfolding, rapidly
consolidating, world-girdling Administrative Order.
The number of the European, the African, the Asiatic, and the
American-Indian languages, including seven supplementary languages,
+P62
into which Bahá'í literature has been, and is being translated,
is over forty-two, raising the total number of the translations
undertaken since the inception of the Faith to one hundred and
thirty.
The African Campaign, outshining the brilliant success of the
enterprise launched in Latin America, throwing into shade the splendor
of the victories won in recent years on the European continent,
eclipsing all previous collective pioneer undertakings embarked
upon in the Asiatic and Australian continents, has almost doubled,
in the course of a single year, the number of territories opened
since the introduction of the Faith in that continent over eighty
years ago. The total number of converts to the Faith belonging to
the African race has passed the six hundred mark. The total number
of African Bahá'í centers has now been raised to over one hundred
and ninety. The total number of the tribes indigenous to the soil of
that continent represented in the Faith is now over sixty.
A single territory out of the forty-five territories already
opened to the Faith in the African continent, situated in its very
heart and which, a little over two years ago did not possess a single
Bahá'í, now boasts of over five hundred colored converts, who are
settled in over eighty localities, are drawn from thirty tribes, are
provided with thirteen local Assemblies, and anticipate the immediate
formation of about ten additional Assemblies. This same territory
has, moreover, distinguished itself throughout the entire Bahá'í
world through the dispatch of nine members of its mother Assembly
for the purpose of pioneering in neighboring centers, as well
as in territories situated on the eastern and western coasts of the
African continent. A number of the newly-won recruits in some of
these territories have, moreover, been instrumental in winning the
allegiance of some of the members of their race, and have, in their
turn, succeeded in opening no less than three neighboring territories
in that continent.
Contact has been established with no less than twenty-two American
Indian tribes, raising the total number of tribes contacted
throughout the Western Hemisphere to thirty-four. The first Greenlandic,
the first Pygmy, the first Berber, the first Fijian, Bahá'ís
have been enrolled, swelling the number of races represented in the
Bahá'í World Community to thirty-five.
The opening year of this World Spiritual Crusade has, moreover,
gathered significance through the convocation first of the
Stockholm, and later of the New Delhi Intercontinental Teaching
+P63
Conferences, which, together with the two previous Conferences
held during the first part of the Holy Year in Kampala and Wilmette,
assembled a total of over thirty-four hundred followers of
the Faith from more than eighty countries of both the Eastern and
the Western Hemispheres and representing the principal races of
mankind.
Within the confines of the Holy Land, "the Heart of the world
and the Qiblih of all nations," the erection of the first base stones of
the ornamental crown of the Dome of the Báb's Sepulcher which
had commenced with Naw-Rúz of the Holy Year, was followed
successively by the laying, during the Ridván period, of the first of
the twelve thousand gilded tiles destined to cover the two-hundred
and fifty square meter area of the Dome and the placing of the
stone lantern which marked the consummation of the three quarters
of a million dollar enterprise, and coincided with the closing period
of the Year associated with the hundredth anniversary of the birth
of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh. The site for the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
of the Holy Land has been selected--an area of approximately
twenty thousand square meters--situated at the head of the
Mountain of God, in close proximity to the Spot hallowed by the
footsteps of Bahá'u'lláh, near the time-honored Cave of Elijah, and
associated with the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel, the Charter
of the World Spiritual and Administrative Centers of the Faith on
that mountain. Funds totaling one hundred thousand dollars have,
moreover, been contributed by one of the Hands of the Cause, residing
in the Holy Land, and negotiations have been initiated with the
Israeli authorities for the purpose of effecting the immediate purchase
of the selected site. Measures have been undertaken and Bahá'í
Continental Funds inaugurated in anticipation of the forthcoming
appointment by the fifteen Hands residing outside the Holy
Land of five Auxiliary Boards, one in each of the continents of the
globe, the members of which will act as deputies of the Hands in
their respective continents, and will aid and advise them in the effective
prosecution of the Ten-Year Plan, and will assist them, at a
later period, in the discharge of their dual and sacred task of safeguarding
the Faith and of promoting its teaching activities. The international
Bahá'í endowments, situated in the heart of Mt. Carmel,
and in the plain of `Akká, already extending over an area of over
three hundred and fifty thousand square meters, have been enlarged
through the acquisition of properties overlooking the Resting Places
of the Most Exalted Leaf and of the Purest Branch, which, when
+P64
added to the plots situated on the ridge of Mt. Carmel, on its western
extremity and in the close neighborhood of the Shrine built within
its heart--for the acquisition of which negotiations have been set
afoot--will constitute an addition of over thirty thousand square
meters to the vast area of Bahá'í holdings permanently dedicated to
the Shrines of the Founder of the Faith and of its Herald. The embellishment
of the Harám-i-Aqdas, the outer Sanctuary of Bahá'u'lláh's
Sepulcher, already accomplished in the course of the Holy
Year commemorating the centenary of the birth of His prophetic
Mission, has been greatly enhanced through the laying out, on both
its northern and southern sides, of formal gardens, extending over
an area of ten thousand square meters, providing a befitting approach
to His Mansion and considerably widening the area stretching
in front of His holy Sepulcher. The design of the international
Bahá'í Archives, the first stately Edifice destined to usher in the
establishment of the World Administrative Center of the Faith on
Mt. Carmel--the Ark referred to by Bahá'u'lláh in the closing passages
of His Tablet of Carmel--has been completed, and plans and
drawings forwarded to Italy for the purpose of securing bids for its
construction immediately after the conclusion of the necessary preliminary
steps taken in the Holy Land for its forthcoming erection.
Israel Branches of the British, the Persian, the Canadian and the
Australian Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies have been legally
established, recognized formally as Religious Societies by the Israeli
Civil Authorities, and empowered to hold without restriction title to
immovable property in any part of the country on behalf of their
parent Assemblies. Contact has moreover been established with the
President of Israel, its Prime Minister and five other Cabinet Ministers,
as well as with the President of the Knesset, culminating in the
establishment of a special Bahá'í Department in the Ministry of
Religious Affairs, and in an official statement by the Head of this
Ministry to Parliament emphasizing the international scope of the
Faith and the importance of its World Center--a series of events
that have paved the way for the forthcoming official visit, during
the early days of the Ridván period, of the President of Israel,
himself, to the Báb's Sepulcher on Mt. Carmel.
The site of the Síyáh-Chál--that pestilential subterranean Pit,
the scene of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic Mission, and the
holiest place in the capital city of His native land--has been recently
purchased, together with the surrounding area, involving an
expenditure of approximately four hundred thousand dollars contributed
+P65
by a Persian follower of the Faith, whilst negotiations have
been initiated for the acquisition of the site of the Báb's incarceration
in the mountains of Ádhirbayján. Full rights have been accorded
to Bahá'í women residing in the cradle of the Faith, to participate
in the membership of both national and local Bahá'í Spiritual
Assemblies, removing thereby the last remaining obstacle to the
enjoyment of complete equality of rights in the conduct of the administrative
affairs of the Persian Bahá'í Community.
Eleven Temple Funds have been inaugurated, amounting to almost
a quarter of a million dollars, for the purchase of land for
future Bahá'í Temples in the Western Hemisphere, in the European,
the African, the Asiatic and the Australian continents, followed
by the purchase of a four-acre plot, commanding an extensive
view of the Pacific Ocean and the greater portion of Greater Sydney
area, and by the selection of appropriate sites outside the Cities
of Frankfurt and of Panama City.
The institutions of Bahá'í National Hazíratu'l-Quds in East and
West, already reaching an estimated value of over a million and a
half dollars, have been enhanced through the purchase and formal
opening of the Hazíratu'l-Quds of the Bahá'ís of Paris, destined to
evolve into the national administrative headquarters of the French
Bahá'í Community, and through the inauguration of National Hazíratu'l-Quds
Funds in Anchorage, Alaska, as well as in the capital
cities of Italy and of Switzerland.
The initial landscaping of the area surrounding the Mother
Temple of the West, involving an expenditure of over two hundred
and fifty thousand dollars, has been completed and been followed by
an appropriation of two hundred and twenty thousand dollars by
the United States National Spiritual Assembly for the completion
of the entire project. The nature of the first Dependency of the
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of Wilmette has been finally decided upon by
the members of that same Assembly, in anticipation of its early establishment
within the precincts of the Mother Temple of the West.
The Local Spiritual Assemblies of San Diego, Sacramento and
Fresno in California, of Tucson in Arizona, and of Oak Park in
Illinois have been legally incorporated, raising the number of national
and local Bahá'í incorporated Assemblies in the United States
of America and in the entire Bahá'í world to sixty-three and one
hundred and twenty, respectively. National Bahá'í endowments have
been established in Anchorage, Alaska. The Bahá'í Assemblies of
Tucson, Arizona and of Sacramento, California have been qualified
+P66
to conduct legal Bahá'í marriage services. Bahá'í Holy Days have
been recognized in Los Angeles, California and Castro Valley, California;
Niles Township, Michigan; Seattle, Washington; Newton,
Massachusetts; Prince George County, Maryland; Cleveland, Ohio;
Kenosha, Wisconsin; Maywood, Illinois.
The spiritual conquest of one hundred territories of the globe,
the steady rise of the embryonic World Order of the Faith, and the
multiplication and consolidation of its institutions have, in the
course of the opening year of this World Spiritual Crusade, been
paralleled by a no less startling decline in the fortunes of the enemies
of the Faith, as evidenced by the removal, by the Hand of Providence,
of its arch-enemy in Persia who, for thirty years, savagely
attacked its Founders and its chief Promoter, and tirelessly schemed
to extinguish its light, dishonor its name and wreck its institutions,
as well as by the death of two others, who, in varying degrees,
demonstrated their ingratitude and infidelity to the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's
Covenant.
The opening phase of this gigantic, divinely propelled, world-encircling
Crusade has been triumphantly concluded. The success
crowning the initial stage in its unfoldment has exceeded our fondest
expectations. The most vital and spectacular objective of the
Ten Year Plan has been virtually attained ere the termination of
the first year of this decade-long stupendous enterprise. The second
phase, now auspiciously ushered in, must witness, in all the territories
of the planet, whether newly opened or not, an upsurge of
activity which, in its range and intensity, will excel the exploits
which have so greatly enlarged the limits, and noised abroad the
fame, of the Cause of God.
The energetic and systematic prosecution of the all important
teaching work both at home and abroad, designed to increase
rapidly the number of the avowed and active supporters of the
Faith; the preservation, at any cost, of the prizes so laboriously won
in the far flung, the numerous and newly opened territories of the
globe; the maintenance, by every available means, of the status of
local Spiritual Assemblies already established throughout the Bahá'í
world; the steady multiplication of isolated centers, of groups
and of local Assemblies in order to hasten the emergence of no less
than forty-eight National Spiritual Assemblies in both the Eastern
and Western Hemispheres; the prompt conclusion of negotiations
for the purchase of sites for future Bahá'í Temples in the American,
the European, the Asiatic and the African continents; the
+P67
initiation of Funds for the establishment of National Hazíratu'l-Quds
in the capital cities of the Sovereign States and in the chief
cities of the Dependencies specifically mentioned in the Plan; the
speedy fulfillment of the task undertaken for the translation and
publication of Bahá'í literature in the languages allocated under
that same Plan, to various National Spiritual Assemblies; the continued
acquisition of Bahá'í Holy Places in Bahá'u'lláh's native
land; the adoption of preparatory measures for the construction of
the Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs of Tihrán and of Frankfurt; the establishment
of the first Dependency of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Wilmette;
the inauguration of National Bahá'í endowments designed
to pave the way for the formation of National Spiritual Assemblies;
the lending of a fresh impetus to the incorporation of local
Spiritual Assemblies; the establishment of Bahá'í Publishing Trusts
--these stand out as the essential objectives of the phase now unfolding
before the eyes of the Bahá'í communities in the five continents
of the globe.
I direct my fervent plea to all the delegates assembled at the
twelve annual Bahá'í Conventions to ponder these objectives in their
hearts, to dedicate themselves anew to the tasks now challenging the
spirit and combined resources of the entire body of the followers of
the Faith, to rouse all the communities they represent to assume a
worthy share in the common and gigantic effort that must needs be
exerted for the attainment of the aforementioned goals, ensuring
thereby the uninterrupted progress and the ultimate consummation
of the noblest collective enterprise undertaken by the followers of
the Most Great Name for the propagation and the establishment of
His Faith over the entire face of the planet.
--Shoghi
[April, 1954]
Glad Tidings
On the morrow of the close of the Ridván period share with
National Assemblies of the Bahá'í world additional glad tidings
supplementing the message addressed a fortnight ago to delegates to
national Conventions East and West.
Six acre and five acre plots have been purchased in Kampala
and Panama City as sites of future Temples in the heart of the
African continent and Central America.
+P68
First historic African Spiritual Assemblies have been formed in
Johannesburg, Brazzaville, Victoria, Topremang, Casablanca, Tangier,
Algiers, Tripoli, Bukora. In Uganda alone, eleven additional
Assemblies have been established, over three hundred and eighty
additional converts enrolled, raising the total white and Negro believers
to over six hundred and seventy. The number of localities
where Bahá'ís reside on the Arabian Peninsula is now over fifteen,
in Egypt and Sudan over forty, in the British Isles over fifty, in
Australasia over sixty, in the ten European goal countries over seventy,
in Germany and Austria over seventy, in Uganda over eighty,
in Canada over a hundred, in Latin America over a hundred and
ten, in the Indian subcontinent and Burma over a hundred and
thirty, in the African continent over a hundred and ninety, in Persia
over six hundred and in the United States over twelve hundred,
swelling the number of Bahá'í centers scattered over the surface of
the globe to well nigh twenty-nine hundred.
Additional National Hazíratu'l-Quds Funds have been inaugurated
in ten countries of Central America.
The number of Bahá'í books and pamphlets for the blind transcribed
into Braille, English, Esperanto, German, Japanese, now
totals over a hundred and ten.
The President of the State of Israel, accompanied by Mrs. Ben
Zvi, visited, as anticipated, the Shrines on Mount Carmel, following
a reception in their honor held in `Abdu'l-Bahá's house marking
the first official visit paid by the Head of a sovereign independent
State to the Sepulchers of the Martyr-Prophet of the Faith and the
Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant.
The following pioneers have been inscribed on the Roll of
Honor since the fifth periodic announcement: Bruce Matthews,
Howard Gilliland, Labrador; Olivia Kelsey and Florence Ullrich,
Monaco; Joan Powis, South Rhodesia; Sohrab Payman, San
Marino; Samuel Njiki, Mehrangiz Munsiff, French Cameroons;
Gail Avery, Baranof Island; Benedict Eballa, Ashanti Protectorate;
Martin Manga, Northern Territories Protectorate; Gayle Woolson,
Galapagós Islands; Bula Stewart and John Allen and wife,
Swaziland; Charles Duncan, Harry Clark, John Fozdar, Brunei;
David Tanyi, French Togoland; Edward Tabe, Albert Buapiah,
British Togoland; Kay Zinky, Magdalen Islands; John and Margery
Kellberg, Dutch West Indies; Robert Powers, Jr., and Cynthia
Olson, Mariana Islands; Habib Esfahani, French West Africa.
+P69
The Roll of Honor, after the lapse of one year since the launching
of the World Crusade, is now closed, with the exception of
pioneers who have already left for their destination, as well as those
first arriving in the few remaining virgin territories inside and
outside Soviet Republics and satellites.
The Concourse on High will continue to applaud the highly
meritorious services rendered by future volunteers arising to reinforce
the historic work so nobly initiated by the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
in the far-flung, newly opened territories. Posterity will
likewise record with admiration and gratitude the initial victories
destined to be won in the course of the spiritual conquest of the
continents and islands of the globe.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, May 4, 1954]
A Succession of Victories
The opening months of the second phase of the Ten-Year Plan
have witnessed, on the American, the European, the African, the
Asiatic and the Australian fronts, a succession of victories rivalling,
in their variety, rapidity and significance, the prodigious efforts
exerted, and the superb exploits achieved, during the first twelve
months of the Global Crusade, by the mighty company of the stalwart
Knights of Bahá'u'lláh in well nigh a hundred virgin territories
scattered over the face of the planet.
Seven virgin territories have been opened to the Faith since
the announcement on the morrow of the Ridván Festival, raising
the total number of the Sovereign States and Dependencies enlisted
under the banner of the Cause of God to two hundred and
thirty-five. The number of the unopened territories outside of the
Soviet Orbit has now shrunk to eight, namely: Spitzbergen, Anticosti
Island, St. Thomas Island, Nicobar Islands, Cocos Island,
Socotra Island, Loyalty Islands, and the Chagos Archipelago. The
following pioneers have been inscribed on the Roll of Honor since
my last sixth periodic announcement: Elizabeth Stamp, St. Helena;
Mr. and Mrs. Harold Fitzner, Portuguese Timor; Elise Schreiber,
Spanish Guinea; Violet Hoehnke, Admiralty Islands; Shahpoor
Rowhani and Ardeshir Faroodi, Bhutan; Mehraben Sohaili, Comoro
Islands; Marcia Atwater, Marshall Islands.
The number of Bahá'í centers scattered over the continents and
+P70
islands of the globe has now passed the three thousand mark. A
contract has been signed for the purchase of a three-acre plot as the
site of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of Europe, situated on a plateau
near the Taunus Hills in the vicinity of the City of Frankfurt. A
thirty thousand square meter property located on the banks of the
Tigris has been acquired as the site of the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
of the Holy City of Baghdád. A plot lying in the outskirts of New
Delhi has been secured at the price of a hundred thousand rupees as
the site of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Indian sub-continent.
A twelve thousand dollar plot has been bought in Johannesburg as
the site of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of South Africa. A five-year
Plan has been initiated in Bahá'u'lláh's native land designed
to raise twelve million tumans for the projected construction of the
first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in the cradle of the Faith. A six thousand
dollar plot has been purchased in the vicinity of the resting-place of
the Greatest Holy Leaf and registered in the name of the newly
established Israel Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of the British Isles. A property has been acquired opposite
the Mother Temple of the West to serve as a possible site for the
first Dependency of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of Wilmette. A contract
has been signed, pending registration of a house valued at ten
thousand dollars and situated in the immediate neighborhood of
the Báb's Sepulcher, in the name of the recently established Israel
Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada.
Preliminary steps have been taken for the acquisition of two
plots, the one situated on the ridge of Mt. Carmel, the other to the
west of the Báb's resting-place and for their subsequent registration
in the name of the Israel Branches of the National Spiritual
Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of Persia and of Australia and New
Zealand, respectively. A national Hazíratu'l-Quds has been purchased
in Kabul and one in Johannesburg. Arrangements will soon
be completed for the purchase of a building costing over eighteen
thousand dollars for a national Hazíratu'l-Quds in Tunis. Funds
totalling over one hundred thousand dollars have been initiated for
the purchase of similar institutions in Anchorage, Asunción, Auckland,
Bahrayn, Beirut, Bern, Bogota, Brussels, Buenos Aires, Caracas,
Ciudad Trujillo, Colombo, Copenhagen, Guatemala, Havana,
Helsingfors, Istanbul, Jakarta, Johannesburg, La Paz, Lima, Lisbon,
London, Luxembourg, Madrid, Managua, Mexico City, Montevideo,
Oslo, Panama City, Port-au-Prince, Quito, Rio de Janeiro,
Rome, San José, Santiago, San Salvador, Stockholm, Suva, Tegucigalpa,
+P71
The Hague, Tokyo, and Vienna, as well as for the acquisition
of the Garden of Ridván in Baghdád, the transfer of the
remains of the wife of the Báb in Shíráz and for the purchase of
the sites associated with Bahá'u'lláh's exile in Istanbul and in Adrianople.
The initiation of these Funds has been made possible to a
notable extent as a result of the successive contributions made by
the Hand of the Cause, Amelia Collins, outstanding benefactress
of the Faith, for the furtherance of some of the most vital objectives
of the Ten-Year Plan. Negotiations are now afoot aiming at
the acquisition of the fortress of Chihríq including its precincts involving
the expenditure of a sum of over two hundred thousand
tumans. Preliminary documents have been signed in connection
with the purchase from the Development Authority of the State of
Israel of five houses, situated at the foot of Mt. Carmel and adjoining
the last terrace of the Báb's Shrine, for a sum of approximately
sixty thousand dollars.
The phenomenal progress of the African Campaign, alike in the
teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá'í activity, has been
maintained, most conspicuously in the heart of that continent, as
evidenced by the ever-swelling number of African converts, now
numbering over seven hundred, three hundred and eighty of which
have been added in the course of a single year. The number of Bahá'í
centers now spread over the face of this continent is a hundred
and ninety-five. The number of African tribes represented in the
Faith in this same continent has reached eighty-five. The African
languages into which Bahá'í literature has been translated now number
thirty-four, whilst the number of African local spiritual assemblies
has swelled to fifty.
I feel the hour is now ripe for the adoption of preliminary
measures designed to pave the way for the simultaneous erection
during Ridván of 1956 of three pillars of the future Universal
House of Justice in the North, the South and the very heart of this
long dormant continent. The first of these pillars will be designated
the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central and East
Africa; the second the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís
of South and West Africa; and the third the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of North-West Africa. Responsibility for
the convocation of the three epoch-making conventions, to be held
in Kampala, Johannesburg and Tunis, preparatory to the emergence
of these three central administrative institutions of the fast-evolving
Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh in the African
+P72
continent will devolve upon the British, the United States and the
Egyptian Spiritual Assemblies, respectively.
The jurisdiction of the first Assembly will embrace Uganda,
Tanganyika, Kenya, the Belgian Congo, Ruanda-Urundi, French
Equatorial Africa, Zanzibar, the Comoro Islands and the Seychelles.
That of the second will extend over the Union of South
Africa, South-West Africa, Northern Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia,
Mozambique, Angola, Bechuanaland, Basutoland, Swaziland,
Nyasaland, Zululand, Madagascar, Mauritius, Réunion Island
and St. Helena. That of the third will include Tunisia, Algeria,
Morocco (Int. Zone), Spanish Morocco, French Morocco, Spanish
Sahara, Rio de Oro, Spanish Guinea, Ashanti Protectorate,
French Cameroons, British Cameroons, Northern Territories Protectorate,
French Togoland, British Togoland, Gambia, Portuguese
Guinea, French West Africa, the Gold Coast, Liberia, Nigeria,
Sierra Leone, Madeira, the Canary Islands, Cape Verde Islands,
and St. Thomas Island.
Abyssinia, Libya, Eritrea, British, French and Italian Somaliland
and Socotra Island will, as of Ridván of that same year, fall
within the administrative jurisdiction of the Egyptian National
Spiritual Assembly which will from then on be designated as the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of North-East Africa. All
African territories originally allocated to the United States, the Persian,
the Egyptian, the Indian, and the British National Spiritual Assemblies
will continue, in the course of the Ten-Year Plan, to benefit
from the advantages of sustained assistance by these Assemblies
--an assistance that will enable them to assume an ever-increasing
share in the steadily expanding activities of the nascent National
Spiritual Assemblies.
Only local spiritual assemblies duly constituted during Ridván
1955 will be qualified to elect delegates to these four historic conventions
to be convened during the succeeding year.
I call upon the Hand of the Cause, Músá Banání, to act as my
representative at each of the three Conventions destined to culminate
in the emergence of these three momentous institutions. I moreover
invite the Chairman of the United States, the British and the
Egyptian National Spiritual Assemblies to convene the aforementioned
Conventions falling within the respective jurisdiction of
these Assemblies and urge as many members of the African Auxiliary
Board as possible to attend the sessions, and lend their support
to the deliberations, of these gatherings. I feel, moreover, moved
at this juncture to stress the urgent necessity for all groups established
+P73
throughout the African continent as well as in the islands
situated in its neighborhood--already four score in number--to
seize their present golden opportunity during the fast-fleeting
months separating them from next Ridván, and exert every effort
to attain assembly status which will enable them to participate in
the election of, and contribute to the broadening of the foundations
of the projected National Spiritual Assemblies.
I earnestly appeal to all Bahá'í communities, and in particular to
their national elected representatives in Latin America, Europe,
Asia and Australia to brace themselves and vie with one another in
emulating the example of their African sister communities ranking
among the youngest in the Bahá'í world. I entreat them, through a
greater dispersal and an intensification of teaching activity, to lend
an unprecedented impetus to the multiplication of local spiritual assemblies
in their respective areas, accelerating thereby the dynamic
process of the formation of National Spiritual Assemblies--a process
destined to usher in the third and most brilliant phase, and
constituting unquestionably the noblest objective, of the most stupendous
crusade ever launched in the course of eleven decades of
Bahá'í history.
Share this message with the Hands of the Cause and the National
Spiritual Assemblies throughout the Bahá'í World.
--Shoghi
[October 1, 1954]
Administrative Seats of Divinely-Appointed Institutions
I hail, with feelings of thankfulness and relief, the signature, on
the eve of `Abdu'l-Bahá's ascension, of a contract for the immediate
expropriation, by the Israeli Finance Minister, on the recommendation
of the Mayor of the City of Haifa, of a thirteen-hundred meter
plot, owned by the sister of Fareed, notorious enemy of the Center
of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. This historic act paves the way for the
early transfer of the title deed of this plot by the State of Israel to
the Bahá'í Community, now engaged in establishing and consolidating
its World Administrative Center in the Holy Land.
The truculence, greed and obstinacy, of this breaker of the
Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, demonstrated by her persistent refusal to
sell and by the exorbitant price subsequently demanded, raised, during
more than thirty years, an almost insurmountable obstacle to
+P74
the acquisition of an area which, however circumscribed, occupies
a central position amidst the extensive Bahá'í domains in the heart
of God's Holy Mountain, is situated in the vicinity of the Báb's
Sepulcher, overlooks the Tomb of the Greatest Holy Leaf, and
adjoins the resting-places of the Brother and the Mother of `Abdu'l-Bahá,
and which, through deliberate neglect, has been allowed to
become an eyesore to all those who throng the embellished precincts
of a Mausoleum rightly regarded as the second holiest Shrine in the
Bahá'í world.
The ownership of this plot will now enable us to locate the site,
excavate the foundations, and erect the structure, of the International
Bahá'í Archives, designed by the Hand of the Cause, Mason
Remey, President of the International Bahá'í Council, which will
serve as the permanent and befitting repository for the priceless and
numerous relics associated with the Twin Founders of the Faith,
with the Perfect Exemplar of its teachings and with its heroes,
saints and martyrs, and the building of which constitutes one of the
foremost objectives of the Ten-Year Plan.
The raising of this Edifice will in turn herald the construction,
in the course of successive epochs of the Formative Age of the
Faith, of several other structures, which will serve as the administrative
seats of such divinely appointed institutions as the Guardianship,
the Hands of the Cause, and the Universal House of Justice.
These Edifices will, in the shape of a far-flung arc, and following a
harmonizing style of architecture, surround the resting-places of
the Greatest Holy Leaf, ranking as foremost among the members
of her sex in the Bahá'í Dispensation, of her Brother, offered up as
a ransom by Bahá'u'lláh for the quickening of the world and its
unification, and of their Mother, proclaimed by Him to be His
chosen "consort in all the worlds of God." The ultimate completion
of this stupendous undertaking will mark the culmination of
the development of a world-wide divinely-appointed Administrative
Order whose beginnings may be traced as far back as the concluding
years of the Heroic Age of the Faith.
This vast and irresistible process, unexampled in the spiritual
history of mankind, and which will synchronize with two no less
significant developments--the establishment of the Lesser Peace and
the evolution of Bahá'í national and local institutions--the one
outside and the other within the Bahá'í world--will attain its final
consummation, in the Golden Age of the Faith, through the raising
of the standard of the Most Great Peace, and the emergence, in
+P75
the plenitude of its power and glory, of the focal Center of the
agencies constituting the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh. The final
establishment of this seat of the future Bahá'í World Commonwealth
will signalize at once the proclamation of the sovereignty of
the Founder of our Faith and the advent of the Kingdom of the
Father repeatedly lauded and promised by Jesus Christ.
This World Order will, in turn, in the course of successive Dispensations
of the Bahá'í Cycle, yield its fairest fruit through the
birth and flowering of a civilization, divinely inspired, unique in its
features, world-embracing in its scope, and fundamentally spiritual
in its character--a civilization destined as it unfolds to derive its
initial impulse from the spirit animating the very institutions which,
in their embryonic state, are now stirring in the womb of the
present Formative Age of the Faith.
Advise share this message with the Hands of the Cause and the
members of the National Spiritual Assemblies throughout the Bahá'í
world.
--Shoghi
[November 27, 1954]
International Archives Building and Design for Temple in Persia
On the occasion of the Naw-Rúz Festival marking the opening
of the auspicious year being celebrated by the followers of the Faith
in approximately sixteen hundred centers in the Western Hemisphere,
above eight hundred in Asia, well nigh three hundred in
Africa, more than two hundred in Europe and over one hundred
in the Antipodes, I joyfully announce the commencement of the
excavation for the foundations of the International Archives heralding
the rise of the first edifice destined to inaugurate the establishment
of the seat of the World Bahá'í Administrative order in
the Holy Land.
I announce moreover the selection of the design submitted by
the Hand of the Cause, Mason Remey, for the projected Mother
Temple in Bahá'u'lláh's native land, paving the way for the construction
of the third Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Bahá'í world.
Urge followers of the Faith in Eastern and Western Hemispheres
to arise and lend support to the erection of these twin
mighty institutions of the embryonic World Order of Bahá'u'lláh
+P76
at the World Center of the Faith and within the cradle of His
Revelation.
Share twin glad tidings with all National Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, March 20, 1955]
Achievements of Second Year of Ten Year Plan
On the occasion of the triumphant conclusion of the second
year of the Ten Year Plan, marking the termination of the first
half of the second phase of a decade-long Bahá'í World Spiritual
Crusade, I invite the delegates assembled at the twelve Annual Conventions,
convened simultaneously throughout the Bahá'í world
during the Ridván Festival, to survey with me the multiple evidences
of the progressive unfoldment of the incalculable potentialities with
which this world-enveloping, steadily consolidating enterprise has
been endowed by the Author of the Tablets of the Divine Plan at
the very hour of its inception.
In every continent of the globe, throughout the widely scattered
islands of the Mediterranean and the North Sea, of the Atlantic,
the Pacific and Indian Oceans, this mighty Plan, devised for the
systematic execution of the Design conceived by the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's
Covenant for the propagation of His Father's Faith, is
forging ahead, gaining momentum with every passing day, tearing
down barriers in all climes and amidst divers peoples and races,
widening irresistibly the scope of its beneficent operations, and
revealing ever more compelling signs of its inherent strength as it
marches towards the spiritual conquest of the entire planet.
TWO HUNDRED THIRTY-SIX TERRITORIES NOW OPENED TO THE FAITH
The number of the virgin territories of the globe opened to the
Faith has, since the inauguration, and in direct consequence of the
vigorous prosecution, of this stupendous undertaking, been raised to
one hundred and eight, swelling the number of the sovereign states
and chief dependencies included within the pale of the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh to two hundred and thirty-six, above two hundred of
which have been enlisted under His banner since the ascension of
the Center of His Covenant.
All the territories within the confines of the American, the European,
+P77
the Asiatic and the African continents, assigned to ten
Bahá'í National Assemblies, have, with the exception of Soviet-controlled
territories, been opened. Of the seventy-two islands allocated
to eleven Bahá'í National Assemblies no less than sixty-four
have opened their doors to the vanguard of Bahá'í Crusaders, leaving
Spitzbergen and Anticosti Island, situated respectively in the
North Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, Nicobar Islands, Cocos
Island and Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, and Loyalty
Islands, Sakhalin Island and Hainan Island in the Pacific Ocean
--one of which is a native reserve, two of which are within the
Soviet orbit, while four others are either privately owned or controlled
by private companies--as yet unopened by the heroic band
battling for the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
The northern limits of the Faith in Europe have been pushed
beyond the Arctic Circle as far as 70 degrees latitude, through the
settlement of a Bahá'í pioneer in Reals Kolen, Batsfjord, Finnmark,
only three degrees below Arctic Bay, Franklin, the northernmost
Bahá'í Center established, in the course of the opening year
of the Ten-Year Plan, in the North American Continent. Valiant
pioneers have, moreover, volunteered and are busily engaged in
devising plans, or have actually embarked on the necessary preparations,
to cross the mountain frontiers of Tibet, to enter the Ukraine,
beyond the Iron Curtain, to gain admission to the few remaining,
hitherto inaccessible islands of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and
to penetrate deep into the Arctic Ocean as far as the icebound island
of Spitzbergen.
NUMBER OF RACES, LANGUAGES, INCORPORATED ASSEMBLIES AUGMENTED
No less than forty races are now represented in the world-wide
Bahá'í Community, which has been recently enriched through the
enrollment of representatives of the Greek, the Berber, the Pigmy,
the Somali and Guanche races. The number of localities where Bahá'ís
now reside is well over thirty-two hundred, of which fourteen
hundred are located in the Great Republic of the West, over six
hundred in the Cradle of the Faith, more than three hundred in the
African Continent, and over one hundred each in the Dominion of
Canada, in Australasia, Latin America and in the Indian Sub-Continent.
In the African Continent alone the number of members
of the Negro race has, within the space of four years, increased to
over thirteen hundred; the number of territories opened to the
+P78
Faith has reached fifty-eight, the number of local Spiritual Assemblies
already established and functioning is now fifty, the number
of tribes represented within the swiftly expanding Bahá'í Community
is now over ninety, whilst the number of African languages
into which Bahá'í literature has been and is being translated exceeds
fifty.
The total number of the European, the African, the Asiatic and
American-Indian languages into which Bahá'í literature has been
and is being translated is one hundred and sixty-seven, of which
fifty-five are among those included in the provisions of the Ten-Year
Plan, and twenty-four are supplementary languages into
which the translation of Bahá'í literature has been spontaneously
undertaken by the indefatigable band of pioneers and new converts
in Africa, in South East Asia, in the South Pacific Islands and in
the Antipodes.
The number of incorporated Bahá'í national and local Spiritual
Assemblies has now reached one hundred and forty, seventy-five
of which are located in the United States of America, the latest additions
to this steadily mounting list in other continents being the
Assemblies of London and Manchester in the British Isles; of
Ciudad Trujillo in the Dominican Republic; of Kuching in Sarawak;
of Jakarta in Indonesia; of Helsinki in Finland and of San
Juan in Puerto Rico.
ACTIVITIES AT THE WORLD CENTER
In the Holy Land, the Center and Pivot around which the institutions
of a world-encompassing Administrative Order revolve,
steps have been taken for the preparation of a Synopsis, and for
the Codification of the Laws, of the Most Holy Book, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas,
the Mother-Book of the Bahá'í Revelation, as an essential
prelude to the eventual translation and publication of its entire text.
A Fund has been inaugurated in anticipation of the adoption of
preliminary measures for the ultimate construction of Bahá'u'lláh's
Sepulcher in the heart of the Harám-i-Aqdas recently established
in the plain of `Akká.
The international Bahá'í endowments on Mt. Carmel have been
greatly enhanced by the signature of a contract with the Israeli
Authorities for the acquisition of an area of thirty-six thousand
square meters, situated on the promontory of Mt. Carmel, overlooking
the Cave of Elijah, as well as the spot sanctified by the
footsteps of Bahá'u'lláh and associated with the revelation of the
+P79
Tablet of Carmel, for the price of one hundred and eight thousand
dollars, to serve as the site for the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the
Holy Land, the entire sum having been donated by Amelia Collins,
Hand of the Cause and outstanding benefactress of the Faith.
The vast area surrounding the Báb's Sepulcher has been enlarged
through the purchase from the Development Authority of
the State of Israel, of five houses, adjoining the last terrace of His
Shrine for a sum of approximately sixty thousand dollars, as well
as through the acquisition of a six thousand dollar plot that has been
registered in the name of the Israeli Branch of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles; of a house,
valued at ten thousand dollars, that has been registered in the name
of the Israeli Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Canada; of a twenty-eight thousand dollar plot, to be
registered in the name of the Israeli Branch of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia; and of a five thousand dollar
plot to be registered in the name of the Israeli Branch of the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and New
Zealand. Moreover, steps are now being taken for the purchase of
several properties, valued at approximately one hundred and forty
thousand dollars, the acquisition of which is essential for the safeguarding
of the area in the close vicinity of the Báb's Sepulcher, as
well as for the future extension of the arc around which the edifices,
destined to serve as the seat of the future Bahá'í World Commonwealth,
are to be erected.
Following the expropriation by the Israeli Finance Minister, on
the recommendation of the Mayor of the City of Haifa, of the plot
adjoining the site of the future International Bahá'í Archives on
Mt. Carmel, the fixing of the position of the far-flung arc, around
which the edifices constituting the Seat of the World Bahá'í Administrative
Order are to be built, the location of the site of the
building and the preparations for the excavation of its foundations,
an hundred and twelve thousand dollar contract has been signed in
Rome for the quarrying, the dressing and carving of the stones
and the fifty-two columns of the building which will amount in
weight to over nine hundred tons and are to be shipped within less
than two years to the Holy Land.
The landscaping of the extensive area stretching between the
Báb's Sepulcher and the resting-places of the Greatest Holy Leaf,
the Purest Branch and their mother, and destined to encircle this
Edifice, has been undertaken, adding greatly to the beauty of the
+P80
surroundings of these consecrated Spots in the heart of God's Holy
Mountain.
ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE CRADLE OF THE FAITH
In the Cradle of the Faith, the site of the Síyáh-Chál, the scene
of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Mission and the second holiest spot in
His native land, purchased in the course of the first year of the
Ten-Year Plan, has been transferred by the donor of this holy and
historic place, Habíb Sábet, to the name of one of the Hands of the
Cause acting as my official representative in that country.
A five-year Plan has been inaugurated for the purpose of raising
twelve million túmans for the construction of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
in that land. The design of this historic Edifice has been
finally selected from among a number of designs submitted by
Bahá'í Architects in both the East and the West, the choice falling
upon the plan conceived by the Hand of the Cause and President of
the International Bahá'í Council, Mason Remey--a design which
incorporates a dome reminiscent of that of the Báb's Holy Sepulcher.
A contract has moreover been signed as a preliminary step for
the eventual purchase of the Fortress of Chihríq and its surroundings,
for a sum of over two hundred thousand túmans.
GOALS ATTAINED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
In the United States of America a plot has been acquired in
the precincts of the Mother Temple of the West to serve as the site
for the construction of a Home for the Aged, and which will constitute
the first of the Dependencies to be erected around that holiest
Bahá'í House of Worship. Measures have been adopted, and the
design authorized, for the completion of the landscaping of the
area surrounding that same building. The National Bahá'í Publishing
Committee has been converted into a Bahá'í Publishing
Trust, functioning under the jurisdiction of the American National
Spiritual Assembly. The total number of American Indian tribes
with which contact has been established has now reached twenty-two,
whilst members of the Apache, the Cherokee, the Omaha, the
Oneida, and the Sioux tribes have been enrolled in the American
Bahá'í Community. The number of territories, federal districts
and states of the United States of America where official authorization
for the conduct of Bahá'í marriages has been granted is now
twenty-one, whilst the number of localities in that same country
+P81
where the Bahá'í Holy Days are officially recognized is over twenty-five.
PROPERTIES ACQUIRED AROUND THE WORLD
Land for no less than eight of eleven Temple sites to be acquired
according to the provisions of the Ten-Year Plan, and involving
an expenditure of eighty thousand dollars has been purchased
in the following places: in the holy city of Baghdád, on the
banks of the Tigris, blessed by the footsteps of Bahá'u'lláh, of an
area of thirty thousand square meters; on the banks of the Nile in
Cairo, the center of both the Arab and Islamic worlds, of an area of
seventeen thousand square meters; in Frankfurt, the heart of the
European continent, of an area of seventeen thousand square meters;
in New Delhi, the capital of India, of an area of sixty-six
thousand square meters; in Sydney, the oldest Bahá'í center in the
Australian continent, of an area of eleven thousand square meters;
in Kampala, in the heart of the African continent, of an area of
twenty-four thousand square meters; in Johannesburg, the second
largest city in the African continent, of an area of six thousand
square meters; and in Panama City, the importance of which has
been underlined by `Abdu'l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan,
of an area of twenty thousand square meters.
No less than fourteen national Hazíratu'l-Quds, out of the
forty-nine listed in the provisions of the Ten-Year Plan and which
are to serve as seats of future Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies,
have already been purchased, largely through the liberal contributions
of the Hand of the Cause, Amelia Collins. These buildings,
involving the expenditure of over two hundred thousand dollars,
are situated in five continents of the globe; in London, Bern and
Vienna in the European continent; in Anchorage, Lima and Panama
City in the American continent; in Tokyo, Istanbul, Kábul,
Bahrayn and Suva in the Asiatic continent; in Johannesburg and
Tunis in the African continent; and in Auckland in the Antipodes.
Negotiations for the purchase of three additional Hazíratu'l-Quds,
in the cities of Rome, Jakarta and Colombo are moreover under
way, while funds, totalling one hundred and thirty thousand dollars
have been pledged for the purchase, in the immediate future, of
twenty-seven other Hazíratu'l-Quds in Latin America and the European
continent.
Furthermore, the sum of fifty thousand dollars has been contributed
by the Hand of the Cause, Amelia Collins, as yet another
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evidence of her munificence, for the purpose of establishing Bahá'í
national endowments in no less than fifty countries, situated in all
five continents of the globe. A plot has, moreover, been purchased
in South Africa, a property offered in the Aleutian Islands and a
fund initiated for the same purpose in Alaska and Finland.
SIXTEEN NEW NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES BY RIDVAN, 1957
Such marvelous progress, involving such diversified activities,
extending over so immense a field, within such a brief space of
time, and notwithstanding the smallness of the numbers of the participants
in this Global Crusade, the meagerness of their resources
and the restrictions imposed upon them by those who are either unsympathetic
to their Cause, or alarmed by their rising influence, or
envious of the pervasive power of the Faith they champion, impels
me to announce, in anticipation of the opening of the third phase of
the Ten-Year Plan, the formation, during Ridván, 1957, in addition
to the three Regional National Spiritual Assemblies to be
elected in 1956 in the African continent, of thirteen National Spiritual
Assemblies, some of which will be regional, others independent,
some interim and others permanent.
These National Spiritual Assemblies, representing no less than
forty-two territories will be established in four continents of the
globe. Four will be in Asia: in Japan, in Pákistán, in the Arabian
Peninsula and in South-East Asia. Three will be in Europe: in
Scandinavia and Finland, in the Benelux countries and in the Iberian
Peninsula. Five will be in America: the first, combining within
its jurisdiction the Republics of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay
and Bolivia; the second, comprising the Republics of Brazil,
Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela; the third including Mexico
and the Republics of Central America, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama; the fourth embracing the
Islands of the Greater Antilles, Haiti, Cuba and the Dominican
Republic, and the fifth in Alaska. And lastly, one will be in the
Antipodes, in the Dominion of New Zealand.
Responsibility for the convocation of the eight Bahá'í Conventions,
whose delegates are to elect eight National Spiritual Assemblies
in North, Central and South America and in Europe, and
which are to be held in Anchorage, in Panama City, in Port-au-Prince,
in Buenos Aires, in Lima, in Stockholm, in Brussels and in
Madrid, will devolve upon the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of the United States of America; for the convocation of
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the four conventions whose delegates are to elect four National
Spiritual Assemblies in Asia, and which are to be held in Tokyo, in
Karachi, in Bahrayn and in Jakarta, upon the National Spiritual
Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America, of
Persia, and of India, Pákistán and Burma; and for the convocation
of the convention whose delegates are to elect the National Spiritual
Assembly of New Zealand, which is to be held in Auckland, upon
the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and
New Zealand.
HANDS OF THE CAUSE TO ATTEND HISTORIC CONVENTIONS
I call upon the following Hands of the Cause to act as my representatives
at these thirteen historic conventions, that are to pave
the way for the erection, in four continents of the globe, of the
pillars destined to support, in varying measure, the Universal House
of Justice, the final unit in the construction of the edifice of the
Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh: Valíyu'lláh
Varqá and Horace Holley at the South American Conventions to
be held in Buenos Aires and Lima respectively; Corinne True at
the Greater Antilles Convention to be held in Port-au-Prince; Dhikru'lláh
Khádem at the Central American Convention to be held in
Panama City; Paul Haney at the Alaska Convention, to be held
in Anchorage; Hermann Grossmann and Adelbert Mühlschlegel at
the Scandinavian-Finnish Convention to be held in Stockholm;
George Townshend at the Benelux Convention to be held in Brussels;
Ugo Giachery at the Iberian Convention to be held in Madrid;
Tarazu'lláh Samandarí at the Arabian Convention to be held in
Bahrayn; `Alí-Akbar Furútan at the Southeast Asian Convention,
to be held in Jakarta; Shu'á'u'lláh `Alá'í at the Pákistání Convention
to be held in Karachi; Jalál Kházeh at the Japanese Convention
to be held in Tokyo; Clara Dunn at the New Zealand Convention
to be held in Auckland.
I urge, moreover, as many members as feasible of the Auxiliary
Boards appointed by the aforementioned Hands of the Cause, in
the American, the European, the Asiatic and the Australian continents,
to attend these momentous gatherings, at which the representatives
of as many as forty-two Bahá'í Communities will assemble,
and, through their active participation, reinforce and widen
the scope of the deliberations of the elected delegates.
Furthermore, I cannot too strongly emphasize the vital necessity
for all the Bahá'í groups, scattered throughout these forty-two
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countries, to brace themselves, and make a supreme effort, during
these intervening two years, to achieve assembly status, ensuring
thereby their participation in the election of the delegates to these
fate-laden conventions, and contributing, through this act, to the
broadening and strengthening of the foundations of these projected
pivotal institutions, destined to play so prominent and vital a part in
ushering in the last phase in the gradual establishment of the structure
of an Administrative Order that must needs slowly evolve into
the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, and which in turn will give birth,
in the fullness of time, to a world spiritual civilization, which posterity
will hail as the fairest fruit of His Revelation.
GUARDIAN'S APPEAL TO UPHOLDERS OF THE FAITH
Finally, I direct my appeal, through the assembled delegates, to
the entire body of the believers whom they represent, and indeed, on
this occasion, to all the upholders of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh wherever
they reside in all the continents of the globe, to arise, at so
auspicious an hour in the fortunes of the Faith, synchronizing with
so fateful and perilous an hour in the fortunes of mankind, and
consecrate themselves afresh, throughout this last, fast-fleeting year
of the present phase of this momentous, world-girdling Plan, to the
furtherance of the immediate objectives enumerated in my last
year's Convention Message, ensuring thereby a befitting conclusion
to a stage in its resistless unfoldment destined to usher in its third
and most brilliant phase--a phase on which the triumphant consummation
of the Plan itself must so largely depend.
It is indeed my fervent and constant prayer that the members of
this firmly-knit, intensely alive, world-embracing Community,
spurred on by the triple impulse generated through the revelation of
the Tablet of Carmel by Bahá'u'lláh and the Will and Testament as
well as the Tablets of the Divine Plan bequeathed by the Center of
His Covenant--the three Charters which have set in motion three
distinct processes, the first operating in the Holy Land for the development
of the institutions of the Faith at its World Center and
the other two, throughout the rest of the Bahá'í world, for its
propagation and the establishment of its Administrative Order--
may advance from strength to strength and victory to victory. May
they hasten, by their present exertions, the advent of that blissful
consummation when the shackles hampering the growth of their
beloved Faith will have been finally burst asunder, when its independent
status will have been officially and universally recognized,
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when it will have ascended the throne and wielded the scepter of
spiritual and temporal authority, when the brightness of its glory
will have illuminated the whole earth, and its dominion will have
been established over the entire planet.
--Shoghi
[April, 1955]
Achievements--Supplementary Report
Share National Assemblies following announcement supplementing
message recently addressed to delegates of the Bahá'í Conventions.
Annual elections of the second year, second decade, of the second
Bahá'í century, were signalized by the formation of the first
historic local Assemblies in communities as diversified and far
apart as Mecca, Qiblih of Islamic world, Muscat and Riaz, situated
on the shore and in the heart of the Arabian Peninsula; in the
Bahamas, British West Indies; in Diu Island, Kuala Lumpur, Malacca,
Sargodha, Saigon, in Southeast Asia; Monte Carlo, Basel,
Mongat, Orleans, Marseilles, Bergen, Cologne, in Europe; in Reunion
Island, Zanzibar, Seychelles, Madagascar, in the Indian
Ocean; in the holy cities of Kazímayn and Najaf, strongholds of
Shí'ih orthodoxy in `Iráq, in addition to the group already established
in Karbilá; Teneriffe and Las Palmas, in the Atlantic Ocean.
Africa alone boasts the establishment of above seventy new Assemblies,
raising the total number established since the launching of
the systematic simultaneous teaching campaigns on the African continent
four years ago to well above one hundred. Uganda in particular
achieved the unique, memorable feat of the formation of
seventeen new Assemblies, swelling number of Assemblies to forty-one,
localities to over hundred, total believers to almost nine hundred.
The sacred dust of the Báb's infant son, extolled in the Qayyúmu'l-Asmá'
was respectfully and ceremoniously transferred on
the anniversary of his Father's martyrdom, in the presence of pilgrims
and resident believers to the Bahá'í cemetery in Shíráz, the
prelude to the translation to the same spot of the remains of the
Báb's beloved and long-suffering consort.
Five additional incorporations of local Assemblies, including
Suva, Fiji.
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A pioneer has embarked for Loyalty Island, the last remaining
unopened island in the Pacific Ocean outside the Soviet orbit.
Negotiations for the purchase of national Hazírás in Colombo
and Jakarta are nearing completion.
Preliminary steps have been undertaken for the establishment
of a Bahá'í Publishing Trust in Tihrán.
The design for the Mother Temple in the cradle of the Faith
was unveiled in the presence of pilgrims and resident believers assembled
within the Harám-i-Aqdas on the first day of Ridván.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 30, 1955]
Prayers for Faith in Persia
Call upon all believers to join me in special, fervent prayers
for Divine protection of the vital interests and complete emancipation
from shackles of the beloved Faith in Bahá'u'lláh's native land.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, April 30, 1955]
Appointment to International Bahá'í Council
Announce to National Assemblies the number of the members
of the International Council has been raised to nine through appointment
of Sylvia Ioas.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, May 4, 1955]
Implications and Requirements
Impelled at this grave hour in the chequered history of the
over century-old, world-encompassing, repeatedly-persecuted yet
undefeatable Faith, to summon the entire body of the valorous
upholders of its institutions who, severally and collectively, stand
pledged to the prosecution of the mightiest crusade launched since
its inception, whether residing in homelands or overseas, however
repressive the regimes under which they labor, to ponder anew the
full implications and essential requirements of their stewardship of
the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh.
+P87
Entreat them to refuse to allow any vicissitudes, present or
future, to dampen their ardor and enthusiasm, impair their solidarity,
weaken their resolution, or deflect them from their high
purpose. Unbowed by adversity, disdainful of the clamors, undeterred
by the machinations of the inveterate, artful, traditional
enemies who are alarmed by their own declining fortunes, contrasting
with the evidence of the dynamic force, impelling power, rising
prestige, indivisible unity, accumulating resources, multiplying institutions
and inextinguishable spirit of God's infant Faith, it behoveth
them to bend their energies, rise to higher levels of consecration,
vigilantly combat all forms of misrepresentations, eradicate
suspicions, dispel misgivings, silence criticisms, through still
more compelling demonstration of loyalty to their respective governments,
win, maintain and strengthen the confidence of the civil
authorities in their integrity and sincerity, reaffirm the universality
of the aims and purposes of the Faith, proclaim the spiritual character
of its fundamental principles, and assert the non-political
character of its administrative institutions.
Appeal to members of communities untrammeled by the disabilities
and shackles imposed on their less privileged brethren, particularly
those established in the North American continent, recognized
stronghold of the administrative order of the Faith, and
those residing in the British Commonwealth and Empire, situated
in the heart, the East and West of the African continent, scattered
throughout the Antipodes and Pacific area, to arise promptly and
accelerate the tempo of their activities, multiply exploits which will
more than offset the transient setbacks which a steadily-advancing
and as yet not fully-emancipated Faith may suffer. Theirs is the
sublime opportunity so to act as to thoroughly dishearten and confound
any schemes which envious, fanatical and embittered adversaries,
tottering to their fall, may devise.
Share message with National Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, May 26, 1955]
Archbreaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant
Announce to National Assemblies that Majdi'd-Dín, the most redoubtable
adversary of `Abdu'l-Bahá, denounced by Him as the incarnation
of Satan and who played a predominant part in kindling
the hostility of `Abdu'l-Hamíd and Jamál Páshá, and who was the
+P88
chief instigator of Covenant-breaking and archbreaker of Bahá'u'lláh's
Covenant, and who above sixty years labored with fiendish ingenuity
and guile to undermine its foundations, miserably perished
struck with paralysis affecting his limbs and tongue. Dispensation of
Providence prolonged the span of his infamous life to a hundred
years, enabling him to witness the extinction of his cherished hopes
and the disintegration with dramatic rapidity of the infernal crew
he unceasingly incited and zealously directed, and the triumphant
progress and glorious termination of `Abdu'l-Bahá's thirty-year
ministry as well as evidences of the rise and establishment in all
continents of the globe of the administrative order, child of the
divinely-appointed Covenant and harbinger of the world-encircling
order.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, June 3, 1955]
World-Wide Reverberations
Mysterious dispensations of ever-watchful Providence, hastening,
through turmoil and trial, the triumph of His undefeatable
Faith, dictating at this critical hour the sudden deterioration of the
situation confronting the largest community of the Bahá'í world,
as evidenced by the violent recrudescence of the persecution afflicting
intermittently, for over a century, its members residing in
Bahá'u'lláh's native land.
Following the seizure and the destruction of the dome of the
community's national administrative headquarters, the occupation
of similar institutions in all provinces, the government declaration
to the Majlis outlawing the Faith and a virulent press and radio
campaign, distorting its history, calumniating its Founders, misrepresenting
its tenets and obscuring its aims and purposes, a series
of atrocities has been perpetrated in rapid succession throughout the
length and breadth of the land against members of a sorely-tried
community.
The House of the Báb, the foremost Shrine in Írán, has been
twice desecrated and severely damaged; Bahá'u'lláh's ancestral
Home at Takur occupied; the house of the Báb's uncle razed to the
ground; shops, farms plundered; crops burned, livestock destroyed;
bodies disinterred in the cemeteries and mutilated; private houses
broken into, damaged and looted; adults execrated and beaten;
young women abducted and forced to marry Muslims; children
+P89
mocked, reviled, beaten and expelled from the schools; boycott by
butchers and bakers imposed; fifteen-year-old girl raped; eleven-month-old
baby trampled underfoot; and pressure brought to bear
upon believers to recant their Faith.
More recently a family of seven, the oldest eighty, the youngest
nineteen, residing in Hurmuzak of the Province of Yazd, were
set upon by a mob two thousand strong, accompanied by music of
drums and trumpets, which hacked them to pieces with spades and
axes. Meanwhile an official circular has been issued by the Prime
Minister, addressed to Government Departments ordering the expulsion
of all Bahá'í employes refusing to recant.
This highly distressing situation threatens to worsen during
Muharram and Safar.
Reacting to these barbarous acts, over a thousand groups and
local Assemblies of the Bahá'í world appealed telegraphically to the
authorities, and all National Assemblies addressed written communications
to the Sháh, the government and parliament, pleading
for justice and protection.
Finding written pleas unanswered, an appeal has been lodged
with United Nations by representatives of the International Bahá'í
Community at Geneva. Copies of the appeal were delivered to representatives
of member nations of the Social and Economic Council,
the Director of the Human Rights Division and certain specialized
agencies of nongovernmental organizations with consultative
status. Furthermore, President Eisenhower who, according to
the newspapers, first mentioned the persecutions at a Press Conference
in Washington, has been appealed to by the National representatives
of the American Bahá'í Community and all Assemblies
and groups in the United States to intervene on behalf of their
oppressed sister community.
Whatever the outcome of the present heart-rending events, one
fact emerges clear and indisputable. God's infant Faith, provided,
through the operation of a quarter-century-long process associated
with the first epoch of the formative age of the Faith, with the
machinery of a divinely appointed Administrative Order, and utilizing
in the course of the succeeding epoch, through the formulation
of a series of national plans, culminating in the launching of the
World Crusade, the newly-born administrative agencies for the
systematic propagation of the Faith, is now gradually emerging from
obscurity in the wake of the ordeal convulsing the overwhelming
majority of the followers of the Faith.
+P90
The world-wide reverberations of this nation-wide commotion
will be hailed by posterity as the mighty blast of God's trumpet
designed to awaken, through the instrumentality of its oldest, most
redoubtable, most vicious, most fanatical adversaries, countless multitudes,
and the Chancelleries and Chief Magistrates of the East
and of the West, to the existence and implications of the Faith proclaimed
by His Messenger in this Day. This long-desired, ardently-hoped-for
emergence, itself a long-drawn-out process, is bound to
pave the way for the emancipation of this same Faith from the
fetters of orthodoxy in Islamic countries, as well as the ultimate
recognition of the independent character of the Revelation of
Bahá'u'lláh in His homeland.
Owing to the grievous losses sustained, and the necessity to
demonstrate world-wide Bahá'í solidarity, an "Aid the Persecuted"
Fund has been inaugurated for the purpose of bringing immediate
relief to the despoiled and homeless victims. Myself contributing
the equivalent of eighteen thousand dollars for this noble purpose.
However conscious I am of the manifold demands on the adherents
of the Faith, I am impelled to invite them to participate through
contributions to be transmitted through their respective National
Assemblies.
Moreover, undeterred by the obstacles placed in the path of the
crusaders of Bahá'u'lláh, the historic decision has been arrived at
to raise the Mother Temple of Africa in the City of Kampala,
situated in its heart and constituting a supreme consolation to the
masses of oppressed valiant brethren in the Cradle of the Faith.
Every continent of the globe except Australasia will thereby pride
itself on and derive direct spiritual benefits from its own Mashriqu'l-Adhkár.
Befitting recognition will, moreover, have been accorded
the marvelous expansion of the Faith and the amazing multiplications
of its administrative institutions throughout this continent, a
continent fully deserving of a House of Worship, complementing
the four national Hazíratu'l-Quds already established, wherein the
spirit of an unconquerable Faith can dwell, within whose walls the
African adherents of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh can congregate, and
from which anthems of praise glorifying the Most Great Name can
ascend to the Concourse of the Abhá Kingdom.
Transmit message to Hands of the Cause and National Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, August 23, 1955]
+P91
Hand of Cause Appointment
Inform Hands and National Assemblies that Varqá's son, `Alí
Muhammad has been appointed to succeed his father now gathered
into the concourse on high in the Abhá Kingdom, as Trustee of
Huquq and elevated to rank of Hand of the Cause.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, November 15, 1955]
So Significant a Victory
The triumphant termination of the second phase of the decade-long
global Spiritual Crusade on which the followers of the Faith
of Bahá'u'lláh have so auspiciously embarked impels me to share
with the delegates assembled at the Annual Bahá'í Conventions
convened in all the continents of the globe the feelings of joy, of
pride and of thankfulness which so significant a victory has
evoked in my heart.
A REMARKABLE VICTORY
The year that has just ended--a year which posterity cannot fail
to regard as one of the most eventful and challenging in the annals
of the Formative Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation--has been overshadowed,
in the course of its opening months, by a sudden and
highly menacing crisis in the fortunes of this Faith, a crisis which,
though as yet not fully resolved, has already led to a remarkable
victory over the combined forces of its traditional adversaries in
the land of its birth, who, for more than a century, have plotted
assiduously to disrupt its foundations, tarnish its glory and extinguish
its light. A long-abused, down-trodden, sorely tried community,
constituting the overwhelming majority of Bahá'u'lláh's
followers, subjected recently to the strain and stress of a violent
recrudescence of persecution, which was marked throughout by intense
vilification, intimidation, spoliation, expulsion, arson, rape,
and murder, has emerged triumphant from yet another gruelling
experience--a testing period of exceptional severity--its unity unbroken,
its confidence reinforced, its prestige considerably enhanced,
its fame noised abroad to an unprecedented degree, its administrative
agencies unshaken, its endowments unimpaired, and the grim,
boastful and reiterated threats of its sworn enemies to outlaw it
through formal legislative action, confiscate its property, demolish
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its edifices, imprison and deport its members, and extirpate it, root
and branch, in the native land of its Founder unenforced.
PROGRESSIVE UNFOLDMENT OF THE TEN-YEAR CRUSADE
Simultaneous with this marvelous, awe-inspiring interposition
of Providence, at this critical stage in the mysterious evolution
and the resistless progress of God's infant Faith in the land of its
birth, towards the two shining goals of complete emancipation
from the shackles of religious orthodoxy and of state recognition,
an equally significant development can be noted, during the last
twelve-month, in the progressive unfoldment, beyond the confines
of this storm-tossed land, and stretching to the farthest corners
of the earth, of the Ten-Year Plan, now entering upon the third,
and what promises to be the most brilliant, phase in its execution.
This world-encompassing enterprise, embarked upon, three
years ago, on the occasion of the world-wide celebrations commemorating
the centenary of the birth of the Mission of the
Founder of our Faith, has, in all phases of its operation, throughout
five continents, as well as the islands of the seas, gathered swift
momentum, and is demonstrating, in both its territorial and institutional
aspects, a vitality, and has registered successes, that have
far exceeded the expectations of even the most sanguine among its
promoters.
The number of localities into which the light of this unconquerable
Faith, now radiating the splendor of its glory over the face of
the planet, has penetrated, has swelled to well nigh thirty-seven
hundred, marking an increase of almost five hundred in the course
of a single year. The number of Sovereign States and Chief Dependencies
included within its pale, which multiplied with such
amazing swiftness during the opening year of this World-Crusade,
has now risen to two hundred and forty-seven through the arrival
of the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh Udai Narain Singh, Frank Wyss
and Daniel Haumont, in Tibet, in Cocos Island and Loyalty Islands,
respectively, as well as through the opening of Laos and
Cambodia and of the Islands of Pemba, Fernando Po, Trinidad
and Corisco--territories not included in the provisions of the Ten-Year
Plan,--and as a result of information recently received indicating
the presence of a few believers in the Soviet Republics of
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The number of local Spiritual Assemblies
now functioning throughout the length and breadth of the
Bahá'í World exceeds nine hundred. Every single country listed in
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the Plan within the confines of every continent of the globe, with
the exception of those within the Soviet Orbit, are now opened to
the Faith. All islands figuring in that Plan, over seventy in number,
situated in the Pacific, the Atlantic, and the Indian Oceans, in the
Mediterranean and the North Sea, have, likewise been opened except
Nicobar Islands, Chagos Archipelago, Hainan Island, Sakhalin
Island, Spitzbergen and Anticosti Island. The number of the islands
of the globe to which the Message of Bahá'u'lláh has been carried
since its inception now totals ninety-eight. In the Pacific Ocean
alone the number of opened territories is now over forty, while the
number of localities where Bahá'ís reside exceeds one hundred and
seventy. The number of languages into which Bahá'í literature has
been and is being translated has now reached one hundred and
ninety, no less than thirty-four of which are to be regarded as supplementary
to those included in the provisions of the Plan.
FAST-AWAKENING CONTINENT OF AFRICA
In the Continent of Africa and in its neighboring islands, in
both the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, the number of the avowed
supporters of the Faith has passed the three thousand mark; over
two thousand five hundred of whom belong to the Negro race. The
number of territories opened to the Faith in that fast-awakening continent
and its neighboring islands has risen to fifty-eight, while the
number of localities where Bahá'ís reside is over four hundred. The
number of tribes represented in the Bahá'í Community is now over
one hundred and forty, the number of local Assemblies already
established is over one hundred and twenty, and the number of
languages into which Bahá'í literature has been and is being
translated exceeds fifty.
FORTY-THREE NATIONAL HAZÍRATU'L-QUDS
The number of incorporated Assemblies, both local and national,
in various continents of the globe, has been raised to one
hundred and sixty-eight, the latest additions being the Italo-Swiss
National Spiritual Assembly and the Local Spiritual Assemblies of
Brussels, Tokyo, Liverpool, Hamilton, Winnipeg, Quincy, Basel,
Zürich, Geneva, Heidelberg, Buenos Aires, Saigon, Suva, Malacca
and Addis Ababa. The number of National Hazíratu'l-Quds, the
precursors of Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies, acquired in the
capitals and leading cities of North, Central and South America, of
the goal countries of Europe, of Africa, Asia and Australasia, and
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of several islands of the globe, has reached forty-three, involving
the expenditure of over half a million dollars, amply compensating
for the seizure and occupation of the National Administrative
Headquarters of the Faith and the demolition of its dome by the
military authorities in the Persian capital.
TEMPLE SITES AND ENDOWMENTS
Land for ten Temple sites has moreover been acquired at a cost
of no less than one hundred thousand dollars, while negotiations
are well advanced for the acquisition of the one remaining Temple
site to be purchased in the Swedish capital. In no less than thirty
of the fifty-one countries listed in the Ten-Year Plan, National
Bahá'í endowments estimated as having a value of one hundred
thousand dollars have been acquired, outstanding among them being
the Maxwell Home honored by the presence of `Abdu'l-Bahá
while in Montreal, which has been transferred by the Hand of the
Cause Amatu'l-Bahá to the Canadian National Spiritual Assembly.
Efforts are moreover being strenuously exerted for the establishment
of similar endowments in the twenty-one remaining countries. Following
the completion and adoption of the design for the first
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in the cradle of the Faith, steps have been taken
for the preparation of no less than three additional designs, one for
the Temple scheduled to be erected in the heart of the European
Continent, another for the one to be erected in the near future in
the African Continent, and the third for the one contemplated for
Australasia, paving the way thereby in each of the remaining
continents of the globe for the erection of a House to be consecrated
to the worship of the one true God, and to the glory and
honor of His Messenger for this Day.
DEVELOPMENT OF BAHÁ'Í WORLD CENTER
In the Holy Land, the center and pivot round which the
divinely appointed, fast multiplying institutions of a world-encircling,
resistlessly marching Faith revolve, the double process, so
noticeable in recent years, involving a rapid decline in the fortunes
of the breakers of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant and proclaiming the rise
of the institutions of its World Administrative Center, in the
shadow of His Shrine, has been accelerated on the one hand,
through the death, in miserable circumstances, of the treacherous
and malignant Majdi'd-Dín, the last survivor of the principal instigators
of the rebellion against the Will of the Founder of our
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Faith, and, on the other, through the laying of the foundation, and
the erection of some of the pillars, of the facade and of the northern
side of the International Bahá'í Archives--the first of the
major edifices destined to constitute the seat of the World Bahá'í
Administrative Center to be established on Mt. Carmel. No less
than thirty of the fifty-two pillars, each over seven meters high,
of this imposing and strikingly beautiful edifice have already been
raised, whilst half of the nine hundred tons of stone ordered in
Italy for its construction have already been safely delivered at the
Port of Haifa. A contract, moreover, for over fifteen thousand
dollars has been placed with a tile factory in Utrecht for the manufacture
of over seven thousand green tiles designed to cover the
five hundred square meters of the roof of the building.
Coincident with these building operations an extensive plot, adjoining
the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf has, after protracted
and difficult negotiations, been purchased for the sum of one
hundred thousand dollars, for the purpose of extending and safeguarding,
on the one hand, the area of the international Bahá'í endowments
on Mt. Carmel, and of providing, on the other, the
much needed space for the extension and completion of the far-flung
arc around which the edifices of the World Bahá'í Administrative
Order are to be built. The recently acquired area surrounding
the holiest Shrine in the Bahá'í World and its appointed Qiblih
in the plain of `Akká has been further extended through the purchase
from the Development Authority of the State of Israel of a dilapidated
house, situated south of the Mansion and blessed by the
presence of `Abdu'l-Bahá and in which He was wont to receive
His friends, amongst them the first party of western Bahá'í pilgrims
to arrive in the Holy Land after the passing of Bahá'u'lláh.
To these latest acquisitions must be added the purchase of another
plot situated in the neighborhood of the Báb's Sepulcher and adjoining
the area surrounding the future seat of the World Bahá'í
Administrative Order, raising thereby the total area of the international
Bahá'í endowments in the Holy Land to over four hundred
thousand square meters. Furthermore, the necessary formalities
have been completed in connection with the purchase of the site of
the future Mashriqu'l-Adhkár on Mt. Carmel, while the transfer of
the title deeds of recently acquired plots to the name of the Israel
branches of the United States, the British, the Persian, the Canadian
and Australian Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies is being expeditiously
carried out.
+P96
EVENTS IN THE UNITED STATES
In the United States of America, the home of the champion-builders
of a fast-evolving Order, an official invitation was extended
to the Bahá'í Community by the San Francisco Council of
Churches to send representatives to attend a Service of Prayer for
Peace and Divine Guidance to the United Nations, an invitation to
which the Community warmly responded. At this inter-religious
gathering, held in the Cow Palace in San Francisco, the birthplace
of the Charter of the United Nations, which united nearly sixteen
thousand people in worship and silent prayers, and at which government
leaders, among them the United States Secretary of State,
were present, the voice of the Bahá'í representative was the first to
be raised, reciting a prayer revealed by Bahá'u'lláh, after whom a
prayer was read by each of the representatives of the Christian, the
Muslim, the Jewish, the Hindu, and the Buddhist Faiths, all of
whom were similarly invited to participate in that immense and
historic gathering. A prayer revealed by `Abdu'l-Bahá for America
was presented by the elected national representatives of the United
States Bahá'í Community to President Eisenhower, who acknowledged
its receipt in warm terms and above his own signature.
OTHER VICTORIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Nor should mention be omitted in this brief survey of Bahá'í
victories and achievements in the course of the closing year of the
second phase of the Ten-Year Plan of the establishment of a
Bahá'í Publishing Trust in India; of the establishment of over
thirty new centers and fifteen Assemblies in India, Pákistán and
Burma; of the purchase of some of the holy sites blessed by the
footsteps of Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople, the Land of Mystery and the
scene of the proclamation of His Message; of the holding of the
first Bahá'í Summer School in Central Africa, in Kobuka, Uganda,
attended by about one hundred African and white believers and
representatives of no less than twenty-eight Bahá'í local Assemblies;
of the convocation of the first historic All-France Teaching
Conference, the first fruit of the combined labors of the believers of
about thirty centers already established throughout the length and
breadth of that country; of the setting apart of a plot to serve as a
burial-ground for the members of the Bahá'í community in Tripoli,
Libya and in the capital of Tanganyika; of the purchase of land for
the establishment of a Bahá'í Summer School in `Iráq; of the extension
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to the Bahá'í women in Egypt of the right to be elected to the
Egyptian Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly as well as to participate
as delegates in the National Bahá'í Convention; of the purchase,
in an island near Muara Siberut, Mentawei Islands, of a plot supplementing
the Bahá'í endowment established in Jakarta, the Indonesian
capital; of the pushing of the northern outpost of the
Faith in Alaska to Point Barrow beyond the Arctic Circle; of the
initiation of auxiliary plans for the promotion of the Faith in the
Seychelles Islands and in the Sudan; and of the arrival of a pioneer
in Praslin Island forming a part of the Seychelles group.
APPEAL TO UNITED NATIONS
Nor can I in this survey allow to pass unnoticed the energetic
and commendable efforts exerted by Bahá'í communities the world
over for the support, protection and relief of the persecuted members
of the Persian Bahá'í Community subjected to one of the severest
ordeals experienced in recent years by the steadfast followers of
the Faith in the land of its birth. Following this barbarous recrudescence
of religious persecution and the transmission of over one
thousand messages by Bahá'í communities, some in writing and
others telegraphically, to His Majesty the Sháh, the Government,
the Majlis and the Senate, and reinforcing the wide publicity given
in the world's leading newspapers and the numerous protests voiced
by scholars, statesmen, government envoys and people of eminence
such as Pandit Nehru, Eleanor Roosevelt, Professor Gilbert Murray
and Professor A. Toynbee, a written communication accompanied
by a memorandum listing the atrocities perpetrated throughout
the Persian provinces, was submitted in Geneva to the Secretary
General of the United Nations, who appointed a commission of
United Nations officers, headed by the High Commissioner for
Refugees, instructing its members to contact the Persian Foreign
Minister and urge him to obtain from his government in Tihrán
a formal assurance that the rights of the Bahá'í minority in that
land would be protected. Copies of this communication addressed
to the United Nations were delivered to the representatives of the
member nations of the Social and Economic Council, to the Director
of the Human Rights Division, and to certain specialized agencies
of non-governmental organizations with consultative status. Furthermore,
the American President was appealed to by the national
representatives of the American Bahá'í Communities as well as by
all local Assemblies and groups in the United States. A courteous
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and reassuring letter was subsequently received by the American
Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly from the State Department in
Washington, acknowledging the receipt of the appeal, while the
Director of the Division of Human Rights addressed in his turn
a communication to the Secretary of the American National Spiritual
Assembly, informing him that summaries of both the letter and
petition forwarded to him would be furnished to the Commission of
Human Rights, and copies sent to the Persian Government. Assurance
was moreover given that summaries would also be sent
to the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection
of Minorities. As a further measure to obtain redress a
forty-thousand dollar publicity campaign was initiated by the
American Bahá'í Community designed to lend an impetus to the
proclamation of the fundamental verities of the Faith, the aims
and purposes of its followers, and of the disabilities suffered by the
overwhelming majority of its adherents in the land of its birth.
ENROLLMENTS IN VIRGIN TERRITORIES
Nor can I refrain from emphasizing in this rapid survey the
highly significant fact that in over sixty territories, constituting
more than a half of the total number of virgin territories opened
to the Faith, since the inauguration of the World Spiritual
Crusade, the number of those who have espoused the Cause of
Bahá'u'lláh and enlisted under His banner has surpassed the number
originally anticipated and regarded as a minimum for the opening
of these territories; that in a considerable proportion of them the
Bahá'í membership has far exceeded the number required for the
formation of local Assemblies; that in Gambia as many as three
hundred, and in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands as many as five
hundred, have been and are being enrolled beneath His standard;
and that in Uganda alone, which holds the palm of victory, the
number of registered believers has exceeded one thousand.
NEXT PHASE OF WORLD CRUSADE
Such heart-warming, soul-stirring examples of Bahá'í initiative
and enterprise; such splendid testimonies to Bahá'í solidarity,
perseverance, courage, fortitude, and self-sacrifice, displayed in
rapid succession, and over so immense an area of the globe's surface,
and in the face of mounting opposition on the part of those
who envy the ever widening glory of the Faith or fear the influence
of its all-pervasive power, have shed on the opening chapter
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of this Crusade a luster which the passing of time can never tarnish.
The third phase of this momentous enterprise--the opening of
which is, at this hour, being signalized by the emergence of no
less than three additional Regional Bahá'í Assemblies in the African
Continent--must cast on the annals of this prodigious Crusade an
illumination of such brilliancy as will eclipse the splendor of this
luster.
The glorious and stupendous work already accomplished, singly
and collectively, in the course of three brief years, in five continents
of the globe and the islands of the seas, both at home and
abroad, in the teaching as well as the administrative spheres of
Bahá'í activity must, as the army of Bahá'u'lláh's crusaders marches
forward into new and vaster fields to capture still greater heights,
never be jeopardized or allowed to lag or suffer a setback. The prizes
so arduously won should not only be jealously preserved but should
be constantly enriched. Far from suffering the long and distinguished
record of feats which have been achieved to be tarnished, assiduous
efforts must be exerted to ennoble it with every passing day.
The newly opened territories of the globe must, under no circumstances,
be allowed to relapse into the state of spiritual deprivation
from which they have so recently and laboriously been rescued.
Nay, the highly edifying evidences proclaiming the expansion and
the consolidation of the superb historic work achieved in so many
of these territories must be rapidly multiplied. The local assemblies
that have been so diligently and patiently established must under
no circumstances be allowed to dissolve, or their foundations be in
any way endangered. The mighty and steady process involving the
increase in the number of the avowed supporters of the Faith, and
the multiplication of isolated centers, groups and local assemblies
must, throughout this newly opened phase of the Plan, be markedly
accelerated. The incorporation of local assemblies must proceed
with a rapidity that will throw into shade the progress achieved in
this respect during the first two phases of the Plan. The remaining
unopened territories of the globe outside the Soviet orbit, now
confined to no more than four lonely islands, must with the least
possible delay, be won over to the ever spreading dominion of
Bahá'u'lláh, consummating thereby the most far-reaching and
thrilling of all the enterprises launched through the concerted efforts
of His valiant followers. The one remaining Temple site destined
to be bought in the Swedish capital must be speedily acquired. The
six remaining Hazíratu'l-Quds, some in Latin America, others in
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the European continent, must likewise be rapidly established. The
Bahá'í endowments in the countries still deprived of the benefits of
this divinely appointed institution must be forthwith purchased. The
task of completing the translation of Bahá'í literature into the
languages listed in the provisions of the Plan must be carried out
with renewed determination and vigor. The Bahá'í Publishing
Trusts that are as yet unestablished must be founded at the earliest
possible opportunity. The sacred obligation of purchasing the remaining
chief historic sites in the birthplace of the Faith, and
particularly the scenes of the Báb's incarceration and martyrdom,
must be discharged as expeditiously as possible. The search now
being conducted for the purpose of identifying the resting-places of
the Father of Bahá'u'lláh, of the Mother and the Cousin of the
Báb must be pursued with the utmost diligence and circumspection.
The construction of the Mother Temple of Europe, so vital and yet
so long overdue, must be speedily commenced, whilst a parallel effort
must be exerted in Africa for the erection, without delay, of a
similar institution which the phenomenal progress of the Faith in
that continent has made imperative. The Construction of the Home
for the Aged, marking the inauguration of the first of the Dependencies
of the Holiest House of Worship in the Bahá'í world,
must, now that the site in the proximity of the Temple has been
acquired, be started and expeditiously carried forward. The process
of incorporating the newly formed National Spiritual Assemblies,
whether regional or independent, must be initiated soon after their
formation, and should be continually stimulated with every increase
in the number of these assemblies in all the continents of the globe.
Above all, an effort unprecedented in its range and intensity, must
be exerted for the speedy multiplication of local spiritual assemblies
in all the territories where National Spiritual Assemblies, whether
independent or regional, provisional or permanent, are to be established,
for the purpose of broadening and strengthening the foundations
on which these potent national institutions--the pillars of
the future Universal House of Justice--must rest. Immediate attention
should be focused on the multiplication of such institutions
in areas where these National Spiritual Assemblies are to be established
in the near future, such as South and Central America, the
Arabian Peninsula, Southeast Asia, Pákistán, Alaska, Japan, New
Zealand, Scandinavia and Finland, the Benelux countries, the
Iberian Peninsula and France, as well as those territories in which
national assemblies are to be established at a later stage in the course
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of the unfoldment of the present phase of the Plan, and the date
of the formation of which will, to a large extent, depend on the
rapidity with which these local assemblies are formed.
A MAJOR TURNING POINT
The Crusade, on which the army of the Lord of Hosts has so
joyously and confidently embarked, now stands at a major turning
point in the history of its marvelous unfoldment. Three years of
magnificent exploits, achieved for the propagation of the light of
an immortal and infinitely precious Faith and for the strengthening
of the fabric of its Administrative Order, now lie behind it. A spirit
of abnegation and self-sacrifice, so rare that only the spirit of the
Dawn-breakers of a former age can be said to have surpassed it,
has consistently animated, singly as well as collectively, its participants
in every clime, of all classes, of either sex, and of every age.
A treasure, immense in its range has been willingly and lovingly
expended to insure its systematic and successful prosecution. Already
a few heroic souls have either quaffed the cup of martyrdom,
or laid down their lives, or been subjected to divers ordeals while
combating for its Cause. Its repercussions have spread so far as to
alarm a not inconsiderable element among the traditional and redoubtable
adversaries of its courageous and consecrated prosecutors.
Indeed as it has forged ahead, it has raised up new enemies intent on
obstructing its forward march and on defeating its purpose. Premonitory
signs can already be discerned in far-off regions heralding the
approach of the day when troops will flock to its standard, fulfilling
the predictions uttered long ago by the Supreme Captain of its forces.
Before the eyes of the warriors enlisting under its banner
stretch fields of exploration and consolidation of such vastness as
might well dazzle the eyes and strike awe into the heart of any soul
less robust than those who have arisen to identify themselves with
its Cause. The heights its champions must scale are indeed formidable.
The pitfalls that bestrew their path are still numerous. The
road leading to ultimate and total victory is tortuous, stony and
narrow. Theirs, however, is the emphatic assurance, revealed by
the Pen of the Most High--the Prime Mover of the forces unleashed
by this world-girdling Crusade--that "Whosoever ariseth
to aid our Cause God will render him victorious over ten times ten
thousand souls, and, should he wax in his love for Me, him will
We cause to triumph over all that is in heaven and all that is on
earth."
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Putting on the armor of His love, firmly buckling on the shield
of His mighty Covenant, mounted on the steed of steadfastness,
holding aloft the lance of the Word of the Lord of Hosts, and with
unquestioning reliance on His promises as the best provision for
their journey, let them 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, and to store up such prizes in His Kingdom, will continue
to assist them in enriching their spiritual birthright to a degree
that no finite mind can imagine or human heart perceive.
--Shoghi
[April, 1956]
Evidences of the Resistless March of the World Crusade
At this auspicious hour, marking yet another milestone in the
progress of the divinely-guided, world-embracing, steadily consolidating
Community of the followers of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh,
I feel once again impelled to share with the elected representatives
of the vast majority of its avowed supporters, assembled on the
occasion of the convocation of the twenty-four Bahá'í Conventions
being held simultaneously in the American, the European, the
Asiatic, the African, and the Australian continents, the latest evidences
of its resistless march along the path traced for it by both
its Founder and the appointed Center of His Covenant.
The year that has just expired, signalized, at the hour of its
birth, by the emergence of three regional spiritual assemblies, on
the northern fringes, in the heart, and at the southern extremity
of the long dormant African continent, and ushering in the third
phase of a decade-long, world-encompassing Spiritual Crusade, has,
as we look back on the triumphs and trials that have marked its
course, accelerated, to a notable extent, the two parallel processes of
integration and disintegration associated respectively with the rising
fortunes of God's infant Faith and the sinking fortunes of the
institutions of a declining civilization.
Indeed, as we gaze in retrospect beyond the immediate past, and
survey, in however cursory a manner, the vicissitudes afflicting an
increasingly tormented society, and recall the strains and stresses
to which the fabric of a dying Order has been increasingly subjected,
we cannot but marvel at the sharp contrast presented, on the
one hand, by the accumulated evidences of the orderly unfoldment,
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and the uninterrupted multiplication of the agencies, of an Administrative
Order designed to be the harbinger of a world civilization,
and, on the other, by the ominous manifestations of acute
political conflict, of social unrest, of racial animosity, of class antagonism,
of immorality and of irreligion, proclaiming, in no uncertain
terms, the corruption and obsolescence of the institutions of
a bankrupt Order.
PORTENTOUS PROPHECIES
Against the background of these afflictive disturbances--the
turmoil and tribulations of a travailing age--we may well ponder
the portentous prophecies uttered well-nigh fourscore years ago,
by the Author of our Faith, as well as the dire predictions made by
Him Who is the unerring Interpreter of His teachings, all foreshadowing
a universal commotion, of a scope and intensity unparalleled
in the annals of mankind.
The violent derangement of the world's equilibrium; the trembling
that will seize the limbs of mankind; the radical transformation
of human society; the rolling up of the present-day Order; the
fundamental changes affecting the structure of government; the
weakening of the pillars of religion; the rise of dictatorships; the
spread of tyranny; the fall of monarchies; the decline of ecclesiastical
institutions; the increase of anarchy and chaos; the extension
and consolidation of the Movement of the Left; the fanning into
flame of the smouldering fire of racial strife; the development of
infernal engines of war; the burning of cities; the contamination
of the atmosphere of the earth--these stand out as the signs and
portents that must either herald or accompany the retributive calamity
which, as decreed by Him Who is the Judge and Redeemer
of mankind, must, sooner or later, afflict a society which, for the
most part, and for over a century, has turned a deaf ear to the
Voice of God's Messenger in this day--a calamity which must
purge the human race of the dross of its age-long corruptions, and
weld its component parts into a firmly-knit world-embracing Fellowship
--a Fellowship destined, in the fullness of time, to be incorporated
in the framework, and to be galvanized by the spiritualizing
influences, of a mysteriously expanding, divinely appointed
Order, and to flower, in the course of future Dispensations, into
a Civilization, the like of which mankind has, at no stage in its
evolution, witnessed.
Parallel with this process of progressive deterioration in human
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affairs, now visibly gathering momentum outside the pale of the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and recalling the convulsions which, on a far
more restricted scale, seized a declining empire in the opening
centuries of the Christian era, far less spectacular in its manifestation,
has been the process of integration, as demonstrated by the
increasing cohesion, the multiplication, and the reinforcement of
the foundations, of the institutions of the embryonic Bahá'í World
Order, which, now, under the impact of the forces released by a
World Spiritual Crusade, deriving its authority from the Will and
Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, and launched for the express purpose
of executing the Divine Plan bequeathed by Him to His followers
in the evening of His life, is contributing, unnoticed by a generation
forgetful of its God, and already in the shadow of His Visitation,
to the building up, slowly but irresistibly, of that Ark of
human salvation, ordained as the ultimate haven of a society destined,
for the most part, to be submerged by the tidal wave of the
abuses and evils which its own perversity has engendered.
VICTORY OVER ECCLESIASTICAL FORCES
The fourth year of this Ten-Year Crusade, endowed with such
tremendous potentialities, has witnessed, in the Cradle of the Faith,
and in direct consequence of the strenuous, the concerted and persistent
efforts exerted by the champion-builders of this embryonic
World Order, holding aloft the standard of an unconquerable
Faith in the American and European continents, and reinforced
by the voice of men of eminence in both the East and the West,
and, particularly, by responsible officials, occupying high positions
in various agencies of the United Nations, a victory over the
ecclesiastical forces leagued against it and a fanatical population
determined to extirpate it root and branch--a victory which must
rank as one of the most striking among those won in the Formative
Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation. The numerous properties, serving,
for the most part, as the administrative headquarters of the Faith,
and scattered throughout the provinces of that sorely tried land,
outstanding among which is the House of the Báb in Shíráz--the
holiest spot in that country, the scene of the birth of His Revelation,
and the ordained Center of Pilgrimage--have, pursuant to orders
issued by the central authorities in Tihrán, been returned to their
owners, despite the protests of a relentless and powerful clergy,
the agitation of a hostile population, and the importunate demands
made by prominent members of the Legislature to outlaw and disendow
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the Faith, confiscate its literature, raze to the ground its
principal edifices, deport its chief supporters, and root it out of the
provinces. A firm and categorical assurance has, moreover, been
given by the Chief Magistrate and the head of his Cabinet to the
national representatives of the Persian Bahá'í Community that their
national administrative headquarters in Tihrán, together with all
its furnishings, books and documents, which have thus far been
kept intact in that edifice, will be restored.
Whilst so conspicuous a victory was being registered by a persecuted
Faith in the land of its birth over the combined forces of its
traditional adversaries, its stalwart standard-bearers, in both hemispheres,
have, in accordance with their solemn pledges, given at the
time of the inception of the Ten-Year Crusade, been pursuing their
historic task of enlarging the orbit, and of consolidating the institutions,
of a rapidly maturing Administrative Order.
ACHIEVEMENTS OF WORLD CRUSADE
The number of territories included within the pale of the Faith,
embracing all the sovereign states and chief dependencies of the
planet, has now, in consequence of this prodigious effort, been
raised to two hundred and fifty-one, as a result of the opening of
the island of Anticosti, in the North Atlantic Ocean, by the Knight
of Bahá'u'lláh, Mary Zabolotny, of the arrival of a pioneer in
Mafia Island, off the coast of Tanganyika, and of the news received
recently of the presence of a few followers of the Faith in the Soviet
Republics of Tádzhíkistán and of Kirgizia, almost doubling, within
the space of four years, the total number of territories opened in
the course of eleven decades of Bahá'í history. Of the hundred and
thirty-one territories listed in the Ten-Year Plan, only Spitzbergen,
Nicobar Islands and the Chagos Archipelago, as well as eleven
territories, which are either incorporated in the Soviet Union or are
included within its orbit, remain to be opened by the band of intrepid
warriors intent upon enlarging the limits, and spreading far and
wide the fame, of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. Every single territory of
the hundred and twenty, mentioned by the Author of the Divine
Plan in His memorable Tablets, is now opened to His Father's
Faith, proclaiming the exemplary fidelity of His followers to the
dearest wishes expressed by the Center of the Covenant in those
Tablets.
The total number of localities where the followers of the Most
Great Name now reside has, as a result of their unprecedented
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scattering over the surface of the globe, exceeded the forty-two
hundred mark, representing an increase of no less than a thousand
centers in the course of the last two years. Of these localities--foci
of the warming and healing light of an all-conquering Revelation--
over a hundred are now established in Australasia, over a hundred
and ten in the British Isles, over a hundred and ten in the Goal
Countries of Europe, over a hundred and ten in the Dominion of
Canada, over a hundred and thirty in Latin America, over a hundred
and thirty in Germany and Austria, over a hundred and forty in
the Indian subcontinent, over two hundred and ten in the Pacific
area, over five hundred and fifty in the African continent, over
nine hundred and eighty in Persia, over fourteen hundred and sixty
in the United States of America.
The northernmost outpost of the Faith has now been pushed far
beyond the Arctic Circle, as far as 76 degrees latitude, in consequence
of the arrival of William Carr, a Canadian believer, in
Thule, Greenland, a settlement situated three degrees above Arctic
Bay, Franklin, the most northerly center hitherto established in the
Bahá'í world.
The number of local spiritual assemblies organized in all the
continents of the globe, constituting the broad and indestructible
foundation of the edifice of a rising Order, now exceeds one
thousand, an increase of more than a hundred in the space of a
single year.
The number of islands now within the pale of the Faith, situated
in the Atlantic, the Pacific, and the Indian Oceans as well as in the
Mediterranean and the North Sea, is now over a hundred, seventy-four
of which have been opened since the inauguration of the
World Spiritual Crusade, including five islands, situated in the
Atlantic and Indian Oceans and not listed as objectives of the Ten-Year
Plan.
The number of languages into which the continually expanding
literature of the Faith has been and is being translated has risen
to two hundred and thirty, representing an increase of forty in the
course of one year. Seventy-five of these languages are included
in the ninety-one named in the Ten-Year Plan, while sixty-six have
been added to those originally specified in the provisions of that
same Plan. Of this widely disseminated literature seven books have
been lately presented by an adherent of the Faith residing in Christchurch,
New Zealand, to the officer in charge of the American
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Antarctic Expedition for its library, while others have been dispatched,
beyond the Antarctic Circle, as far south as the Expedition's
base, at McMurdo Sound, 77 degrees latitude, on the shores
of the Ross Sea.
The number of incorporated spiritual assemblies, whether local
or national, in all the continents of the globe, has now swelled to
one hundred and ninety-five, more than ninety of which are situated
in the United States of America. Outstanding among those
that have been recently registered are the assemblies of Bern,
Switzerland; Frankfurt, Germany; Luxembourg, Luxembourg;
Brisbane, Australia; Scarborough, Canada; Aligarh, India; Mastung,
Pakistan; Huncayo, Peru; Cochabamba, Bolivia; Colombo,
Ceylon; Kuala Lumpur, Malaya; Asmara, Eritrea; Monrovia and
Bomi Hills, Liberia; Tuarabu, Gilbert and Ellice Islands; Baro-bai-Amantai,
Indonesia; and Simatalu Saibi, Simatalu Ulu, Sipipajet,
Mentawai Islands.
Of the forty-nine National Hazíratu'l-Quds enumerated in the
Ten-Year Plan all but three have already been established, involving
the expenditure of over five hundred and seventy thousand dollars,
raising thereby the value of all the edifices, serving as the national
administrative headquarters of the Faith in all the continents
of the globe, to over two and a half million dollars.
Of the fifty-one countries in which, in accordance with that
same Plan, national Bahá'í endowments are to be purchased within
the space of a decade, as many as forty-nine have achieved their
goals, through the expenditure of a sum estimated at more than
one hundred and thirty thousand dollars.
The number of sovereign states, dependencies, as well as territories,
federal districts and states of the United States of America,
where the Bahá'í Marriage Certificate is recognized is now over
thirty, the latest additions being Vietnam, Gilbert and Ellice Islands,
Indonesia and Liberia. The number of countries, states as well as
cities of the United States, where the Educational Authorities have
recognized the Bahá'í Holy Days now exceeds forty-five, among
which are included Israel, the British Isles, Samoa, Liberia,
Tanganyika, the states of Victoria and of South Australia. Mention
in this connection, moreover, should be made of the recognition
officially extended by the authorities of H. M. Kitalya Farm
Prison in Uganda to its recently converted Bahá'í inmates to observe
these same Holy Days.
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THE QIBLIH OF A WORLD COMMUNITY
In the Holy Land--the Qiblih of a world community, the heart
from which the energizing influences of a vivifying Faith continually
stream, and the seat and center around which the diversified
activities of a divinely appointed Administrative Order revolve--
following upon the termination of the construction of the Báb's holy
Sepulcher, marking the closing of the first chapter in the history of
the evolution of the central institutions of a world Faith, a marked
progress in the rise and establishment of these institutions has been
clearly noticeable. The remaining twenty-two pillars of the International
Bahá'í Archives--the initial Edifice heralding the establishment
of the Bahá'í World Administrative Center on Mt. Carmel
--have been erected. The last half of the nine hundred tons of
stone, ordered in Italy for its construction, have reached their destination,
enabling the exterior of the building to be completed,
while the forty-four tons of glazed green tiles, manufactured in
Utrecht, to cover the five hundred square meters of roof, have been
placed in position, the whole contributing, to an unprecedented degree,
through its colorfulness, its classic style and graceful proportions, and
in conjunction with the stately, golden-crowned Mausoleum rising
beyond it, to the unfolding glory of the central institutions of a
World Faith nestling in the heart of God's holy mountain.
Simultaneous with this striking development, the plan designed
to insure the extension and completion of the arc serving as a
base for the erection of future edifices constituting the World Bahá'í
Administrative Center, has been successfully carried out. The dilapidated
house, situated in the close neighborhood of Bahá'u'lláh's
Shrine, recently acquired from the Development Authority of the
State of Israel, because of its historic associations, has been restored.
Negotiations, moreover, have been initiated with that same
Authority for the acquisition of two plots to the north and south of
the Shrine, for the purpose of safeguarding its precincts from a
further extension of the new settlements springing up rapidly in
the plain of `Akká. Steps have also been taken to register the title-deeds
of a centrally located plot, originally owned by a Covenant-breaker,
and abutting on the International Archives, in the name of
the Israel Branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís
of the British Isles. A further blow has been struck at the remnants
of the implacable enemies of `Abdu'l-Bahá, the breakers of
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His Father's Covenant, still living in the immediate vicinity of the
holiest shrine of the Bahá'í world, through the destruction of a row
of ruinous sheds which had been under their control, through orders
issued by the Municipal Authorities of `Akká. And, lastly, an
expropriation order has been published in the Israel Official Gazette
by the Treasury Department of Israel related to buildings enclosed
within the Harám-i-Aqdas, aiming at the eviction of these same
enemies from the outer Sanctuary of Bahá'u'lláh's Sepulcher, following
upon the evacuation by them of the Mansion at Bahjí after
two score years of occupancy, and which, when carried out, will
mark the final cleansing, after more than sixty-five years, of the
immediate surroundings of the holiest Spot in the Bahá'í world.
Nor can I dismiss this subject related to the progress achieved
in the development of Bahá'í international institutions in the Holy
Land without a special reference to the continual extension and
embellishment of the international endowments of the Faith in the
plain of `Akká and on the slopes of Mt. Carmel, the value of which
now exceeds five million two hundred thousand dollars, as well as
to the ever-swelling crowds of visitors flocking to the Bahá'í
Shrines in both of these places, and particularly to the number of
those entering the Tomb of the Báb which, during a single day, in
a three-hour period, has exceeded a thousand.
THE TEN-YEAR PLAN IN THE UNITED STATES
In the United States of America, the cradle and citadel of the
embryonic World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, the elected national representatives
of the American Bahá'í Community, acting as the representatives
of the International Bahá'í Community, charged with
the defense of the cause of their persecuted brethren in the cradle of
the Faith, have energetically pursued their efforts, through representations
made to the United Nations officials and agencies in
New York and Geneva, through their contact with high-ranking
officials of the American State Department and through measures
of publicity in the American Press, all culminating in the victory
won over the adversaries of the Faith, to which reference has
been made earlier in these pages.
The landscaping of the Temple area, including the operation
of the nine fountains, as envisaged by `Abdu'l-Bahá, has been completed
at a cost of two hundred and twenty-five thousand dollars.
The number of visitors who, since public guiding has been instituted,
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have flocked to the doors of this Mother Temple of the
West, now standing amidst such attractive surroundings, has exceeded
seven hundred thousand, whilst more than three thousand
have entered its doors in the course of a single day. Authorization
has moreover been recently given by the Wilmette Village Board
for the construction of the Home for the Aged, the first Dependency
of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. The value of national and local
endowments owned by, and under the control of, that community,
whose members have so spontaneously and effectively championed
the cause of the persecuted and the down-trodden, and so generously
contributed to their relief in the past, is now four and a half million
dollars. The number of American Indian tribes with which
contact has been established in the Western Hemisphere--an
achievement in which the members of this Community have played
a leading role--is now over forty-five. No less than eighteen American
Indian tribes are now represented in the Bahá'í communities
of that same hemisphere, mainly as a result of the assiduous endeavors
exerted by the members of this Community. The number
of territories, federal districts and states where official authorization
for the conduct of Bahá'í marriages has been obtained is now
twenty-eight, whilst the number of localities, in that same country,
where the Bahá'í Holy Days are officially recognized is one short of
forty.
IN THE AFRICAN CONTINENT
In the African continent, where the momentum gained in the
process of propagation of the Faith and the consolidation of its
newly-born administrative institutions has exceeded the rate of progress
achieved in every other continent of the globe, and particularly
since the emergence, a year ago, of three regional spiritual
assemblies, the number of the adherents of the Faith, including
those in the newly-opened islands off the eastern and western
coasts of that vast continent, is now well over thirty-five hundred,
over three thousand of whom are Negroes. The number of localities
where the followers of Bahá'u'lláh reside is over five hundred and
fifty. The number of tribes represented in these flourishing communities
has reached one hundred and ninety-seven. The number of
languages into which Bahá'í literature has been and is being translated
is over seventy, whilst the number of local spiritual assemblies,
constituting the bedrock of a solidly established Order, is approaching
one hundred and fifty.
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IN THE PACIFIC AREA
In the Pacific area, where Bahá'í exploits bid fair to outshine
the feats achieved in any other ocean, and indeed in every continent
of the globe, now competing for the palm of victory with the
African continent itself, preliminary measures have been undertaken
for the formation of no less than three of the thirteen national
and regional spiritual assemblies which are to be established in the
course of this year's Ridván festivities. These three assemblies, the
seats of which are to be located in Japan, in Indonesia and in the
Dominion of New Zealand, are destined to function in regions
where the yellow, the brown and white races predominate, and in
which the majority of the inhabitants belong either to the Buddhist,
the Muslim or Christian Faiths. In so vast and promising an area,
blessed by the labors of two Hands of the Cause of God, the number
of localities where Bahá'ís reside, which in the concluding years
of the Apostolic Age of the Faith, had barely reached ten, has
now swelled to over two hundred and ten, scattered over no less
than forty islands. It already boasts over seventeen hundred believers
of the brown race alone, more than fifty local spiritual assemblies,
five national Hazíratu'l-Quds, three Bahá'í schools,
twenty-one incorporated local spiritual assemblies, four states where
Bahá'í national endowments have been established, a site purchased
for its first projected Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, three territories where
the Bahá'í Marriage Certificate is recognized, and three others
where Bahá'í children have been allowed to observe the Bahá'í
Holy Days, as well as the translation of Bahá'í literature into no
less than fifty of the languages current among its indigenous
population. It, moreover, prides itself on the initiation of teaching
activities in no less than a hundred of the four hundred islands
constituting one of its numerous southern archipelagos.
THE MOTHER-TEMPLES OF THREE CONTINENTS
So brilliant and diversified a record of services to the Cause of
Bahá'u'lláh, in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, has been
greatly enriched by the plans now initiated for the launching of an
ambitious three-fold enterprise, designed to compensate for the
disabilities suffered by the sorely-tried Community of the followers
of His Faith in the land of His birth, aiming at the erection, in
localities as far apart as Frankfurt, Sydney and Kampala, of the
Mother-Temples of the European, the Australian and African
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continents, at a cost of approximately one million dollars, complementing
the Temples already constructed in the Asiatic and
American continents. One-third of this sum I, gladly and with a
grateful heart, pledge at this auspicious hour, a sum which, when
added to the funds already donated for this laudable purpose,
amounting to one hundred and forty thousand dollars--over one
hundred thousand of which represents the munificent donation of
the Hand of the Cause, Amelia Collins--will constitute well-nigh
half of the entire amount required to ensure the consummation of
this stupendous, epoch-making undertaking.
The designs for these sacred Fanes, to be raised to the glory of
the Founder of our Faith, and dedicated to the worship of the one
true God, have, in the case of the Australian and African Temples,
been already executed by the Hand of the Cause, Mason Remey,
whilst the design for the German Temple has been completed by
the German architect, Teuto Rocholl--all three of which will be
exhibited, for the first time, to the assembled delegates at the thirteen
historic Bahá'í National Conventions being held for the first time
during this year's Ridván Festival. The excavation of the foundations
of the African Temple has actually commenced, whilst plans
and specifications are being prepared by a well-known firm in
Kampala. The construction of the Australian Temple has, moreover,
been placed in the hands of a reliable Sydney architect, who
will have completed the detailed drawings and specifications by the
first of Ridván, and contemplates beginning work on the foundations
by next June and completing the building by March, 1959.
To the National and Local Spiritual Assemblies, more than a
thousand in number, to groups as well as individuals, in every
continent of the globe, and in whatever island they may be laboring
in the service of this glorious Faith, I direct an earnest plea to arise,
now that the prodigious task of the purchase of more than forty
national Hazíratu'l-Quds, and the establishment of Bahá'í national
endowments in nearly fifty countries, has been triumphantly consummated
and display, at this hour when the global Spiritual Crusade
has just passed the third-way point, the self-same solidarity,
generosity, tenacity and single-mindedness which they have consistently
demonstrated since its inauguration four years ago, which
have insured the success of some of the most arduous enterprises
launched under the Ten-Year Plan, and which, in the decades preceding
its inception, have brought to a glorious culmination the task
of erecting the first two Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs of the Bahá'í world.
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KNIGHTS OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH AND HEROIC PIONEERS
A special tribute, I feel, should be paid in this survey of worldwide
Bahá'í achievements, to the heroic band of pioneers, and
particularly to the company of the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh, who, as
a result of their indomitable spirit, courage, steadfastness, and
self-abnegation,
have achieved in the course of four brief years, in so
many of the virgin territories newly opened to His Faith, a measure
of success far exceeding the most sanguine expectations. Such a
success, reflected in both the numerical strength of these territories
and the range and solidity of the achievements of the Bahá'í crusaders
responsible for their opening and development, has surpassed
to an unbelievable extent the goals set for them under the Ten-Year
Plan.
To Uganda, opened on the eve of the Global Crusade, where the
number of the avowed adherents of the Faith has now passed the
eleven hundred mark, and the number of Bahá'í centers exceeds one
hundred and eighty, to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands and Gambia
where the number of the believers has reached five hundred and
three hundred respectively, must be added Mentawai Islands, where
adult Bahá'ís now number over eleven hundred; the British Cameroons,
with well-nigh three hundred adult Bahá'ís; Mauritius with
over seventy; Basutoland with over fifty; Ruanda-Urundi and the
Seychelles, each with over thirty; Spanish Morocco, Reunion Island,
the French Cameroons, British Togoland, French Togoland,
Sikkim, the Canary Islands, British Guiana, Cape Verde Islands,
Ashanti Protectorate, Swaziland, South Rhodesia, each with over
twenty; and Key West, French Equatorial Africa, Cook Islands,
Balearic Islands, French Somaliland, Italian Somaliland, Cyprus,
Morocco International Zone, Samoa Islands, Mariana Islands,
New Hebrides Islands, Solomon Islands, Portuguese Timor,
Bechuanaland, Northern Territories Protectorate, Bahama Islands,
and Brunei, each with between ten and twenty.
CONFERENCES AND INSTITUTES
Nor should reference be omitted in these pages to the surprisingly
numerous conferences and institutes which, in the course
of the last twelve months, have been organized by the enterprising,
the indefatigable and vigilant members of Bahá'í communities in
various parts of the world, supplementing the multiple activities
carried on with such splendid vigor in the course of the prosecution
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of the Ten-Year Plan. A mere enumeration of these institutes and
conferences will serve to reveal their diversity and scope, and demonstrate
the earnestness with which their organizers and participants
are discharging their primary obligation to propagate their Faith:
The first Southeast Asia Teaching Conference in Djakarta,
Indonesia; the first All-Taiwan Teaching Conference in Tainan;
the Korean Summer and Winter Conference in Kwangju; the
Indo-China Teaching Conference in Saigon; the Japanese National
Teaching Conference in Kyoto; the first American Indian Teaching
Conference in Northern Arizona; the American Indian Teaching
Conference in Los Angeles, California; the Alaskan Teaching
Conference in Fairbanks; the Hawaii-wide Teaching Conference
in Honolulu; the Western Canada Summer Conference in Banff;
the Maritime Teaching Conference in Charlottetown, Prince Edward
Island; the Teaching Conference in Beaulac, Canada; the
French Teaching Conference in Mentone-Garavan; the third Italian
Teaching Conference in Rome; the third Swiss Teaching Conference
in Basel; the Teaching Conference in Romanshorn; the Teaching
Conference in Neuchatel; the Iberian Teaching Conferences in
Barcelona; the first Austrian Teaching Conference in Gosau; the
Teaching Conference in Frankfurt; the Regional Convention in
Stuttgart; the Teaching Conference in Stockholm; the Benelux
Regional Teaching Conferences in Brussels and in The Hague;
the Nordisk Teaching Conference in Moss, Norway; the Northwest
Teaching Conferences in Liverpool, Blackpool and Manchester;
the Midlands Teaching Conference in Birmingham; the
Southeast Teaching Conferences in London and Reading; the
Scottish Teaching Conferences in Edinburgh and Glasgow; the
Northern Ireland Teaching Conference in Belfast; the Northeast
Teaching Conference in Leeds; the Southwest Teaching Conferences
in Portcawl, Torquay and Cardiff; the British Northern Isles
Teaching Conference in Lerwick, Shetland Islands; the South
India Teaching Conference in Bangalore; the Pákistán Teaching
Conference in Karachi; the South Australian State Teaching Conference
in Adelaide; the New South Wales Regional Teaching
Conference in Sydney; the Australian Post-Convention Teaching
Institute in Sydney; the New Zealand Teaching Conference in
Wellington; the New Zealand Regional Teaching Conference in
New Plymouth; the Regional Teaching Conference in Hobart,
Tasmania; the Canary Islands Teaching Conference in Las
Palmas; the first Colombian Teaching Conference in Bogotá; the
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Peruvian Teaching Conference in Lima; the first Mexican Teaching
Conference in Mexico City; the Cuban Teaching Conference in
Havana; the Haitian Teaching Conference in Port-au-Prince; the
Honduran Teaching Conference in Honduras; the Guatemalan
Teaching Conference in Guatemala; the Dominican Teaching Conference
in Ciudad Trujillo; the Jamaican Teaching Conference in
Kingston; the El Salvador Teaching Conference in Santa Ana; the
Nicaraguan Teaching Conference in Managua; the Costa Rican
Teaching Conference in San José; the Panamanian Teaching Conference
in Panama City; the Annual Study Institute of Brazil in
Rezende; the Teaching Conferences of the British Cameroons in
Mutengere, as well as a large number of similar conferences and
institutes too numerous to mention held throughout the United
States of America.
To these highly praiseworthy accomplishments, in which an increasing
number of the promoters of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh,
whether teachers or administrators, have shared in recent years,
must be added an even more impressive list of enterprises, none of
them specified as part of the Ten-Year Plan, and which stalwart upholders
of His Cause, driven by an irresistible impulse to further
enlarge its limits, multiply its assets, consolidate its foundations, and
noise abroad its fame, have initiated and conducted at a steadily
accelerated pace since the launching of the World Spiritual Crusade.
Indeed the multiplicity, variety, scope, and significance of these
enterprises have impelled me to tabulate and record them for
posterity on a specially prepared map, designed to present graphically
the achievements supplementing the tasks already performed in
pursuance of the provisions of the Ten-Year Plan. A bare recital
of these additional victories won, in such rapid succession, over so
vast a field, by the band of Bahá'u'lláh's crusaders, will amply
demonstrate the unquenchable enthusiasm, no less than the inflexible
resolve and boundless devotion, animating His followers in the
pursuit of their high calling.
DYNAMIC POWER OF FAITH
The opening of the Sovereign states of Laos and of Cambodia
and of the islands of Trinidad, of Corisco, of Fernando-Po, of
Pemba and of Mafia; the acquisition of sites for the construction
of the future Mother-Temples of Argentina, of Brazil and of
Libya; the sum recently allocated for the purchase of a site for the
erection of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the British Isles; the
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launching of the twin far-reaching enterprises designed to culminate
in the establishment of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs of Africa and of
Australasia; the founding of Bahá'í Schools in the New Hebrides
Islands, in Mentawai Islands and in the Gilbert and Ellice Islands;
the establishment of Bahá'í burial grounds in Libya, Burma and
Tanganyika; the formulation of supplementary plans by the newly
emerged regional spiritual assemblies in Africa, and by the Bahá'í
communities of the Seychelles and the Súdán; the acquisition of
land for the Bahá'í summer schools of Egypt, of `Iráq and of
Chile; the establishment of Bahá'í endowments in the Aleutian Islands,
in Swaziland, in Mentawai Islands, in Spanish Morocco, in
Basutoland and in Liberia; the acquisition of local Hazíratu'l-Quds
in Gambia, in the Aleutian Islands, in Uganda, in Spanish Morocco,
in the British Cameroons, in Algeria and in French Morocco; the
translation of Bahá'í literature into thirty-one African, seven American
Indian, and twenty-eight miscellaneous languages; the purchase
of Bahá'í historic sites in the City of Adrianople; the founding of
an Indian Cultural Institute in Chichicastenango, Guatemala; the
transfer of the remains of the Báb's infant son from a mosque in
Shíráz to the Bahá'í burial ground in that city--these proclaim, in
no uncertain terms, the splendid initiative and the dynamic power of
the faith of the bearers of the Gospel of the New Day, as well as
their unyielding determination to exceed, by every means in their
power, the bounds of their prescribed duties and responsibilities
assumed under the Ten-Year Plan, and to enhance, through every
channel open to them, and over as wide a range as their circumstances
permit, their share of service in the collective task now being
prosecuted with such exemplary heroism, on the whole surface of
the planet, for the world-wide triumph of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh
and the ultimate redemption of all mankind.
SOLEMN RENEWAL OF DEDICATION
Dearly-beloved friends: The opening of the second year of the
third phase of a ten-year long Crusade, marking the passing of a
little over one third of its duration; coinciding with the closing of a
period rendered memorable by the achievement of so many of its
goals, as well as by a succession of victories won in fields beyond its
scope; significantly ushered in by the emergence of no less than
thirteen national and regional spiritual assemblies in four continents,
with a jurisdiction embracing more than forty territories
of the globe, in the election of which over three hundred delegates
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representing more than one hundred and thirty local communities
will participate; and over the inauguration of which no less than
thirteen Hands of the Cause of God will preside--the opening of so
auspicious a year must be signalized by a solemn renewal of dedication,
on the part of all who are participating in this colossal,
world-girdling enterprise, and indeed by the entire company of
those who profess the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh--a dedication which,
as the year pursues its course, will be reflected in acts the brilliance
of which will eclipse the shining exploits achieved since the inception
of the Crusade, and, indeed, since the commencement of the Formative
Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
The preeminent task of teaching the Faith to the multitudes
who consciously or unconsciously thirst after the healing Word of
God in this day--a task so dear to the heart of `Abdu'l-Bahá;
at once so sacred, so fundamental, and so urgent; primarily involving
and challenging every single individual; the bed-rock on
which the solidity and the stability of the multiplying institutions of
a rising Order must rest--such a task must, in the course of this
year, be accorded priority over every other Bahá'í activity.
"If they arise to teach My Cause," Bahá'u'lláh Himself, revealing
the secret of success for the propagation of His Faith, has declared,
"they must let the breath of Him Who is the Unconstrained,
stir them, and must spread it abroad on the earth with high
resolve, with minds that are wholly centered in Him, and with hearts
that are completely detached from, and independent of, all things,
and with souls that are sanctified from the world and its vanities.
It behooveth them to choose as the best provision for their journey
reliance upon God, and to clothe themselves with the love of their
Lord, the Most Exalted, the All-Glorious. If they do so, their words
shall influence their hearers."
TASKS FOR THE CURRENT YEAR
The historic work initiated, at the price of so much sacrifice, in
more than one hundred territories of the globe, must not only be
jealously safeguarded, but continually expanded, and wisely consolidated.
A determined effort must be made to insure, as speedily
as possible, the resettlement of the territories which Bahá'í pioneers
have been forced to abandon, and the opening of the three virgin
islands situated in the North Sea and in the Indian Ocean, as well as
the six Republics of the Soviet Union and the five territories included
within the Soviet Orbit. Particular attention should be paid
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to the all-important task of broadening and consolidating the
foundations of the newly emerged national and regional spiritual
assemblies, as an essential preliminary to the formation of additional
ones designed to buttress the fabric of a steadily expanding
Administrative Order. Simultaneous with the acceleration in the
process of individual conversion, the equally pressing need of safeguarding
local spiritual assemblies from dissolution and of increasing
rapidly their number, must continually be borne in mind, as the
most effectual means for the strengthening of the structural basis
of the Administrative Order of the Faith. Complementing this
laudable task, strenuous efforts must be exerted for the purpose of
multiplying the existing groups and isolated centers in all the continents
of the globe, insuring thereby the early attainment of the
goal of five thousand Bahá'í centers in the Eastern and Western
Hemispheres. The three remaining Hazíratu'l-Quds, the last two
national endowments, the one remaining Temple site, must, despite
the present obstacles and the complications that have arisen, be
speedily acquired, whilst the unexpected setback in the purchase of
the Temple site in Frankfurt must be overcome. The important
two-fold task of translating and of publishing Bahá'í literature,
constituting so vital an aspect of the Plan, must be diligently pursued
and rapidly completed. The construction of the Home for the Aged
--an institution designed to inaugurate the Dependencies of the
Mother Temple of the West--must without further delay be commenced.
The process of incorporating firmly grounded local as well
as newly formed national and regional spiritual assemblies must be
given an unprecedented impetus in every continent of the globe.
The no less essential obligation to establish the remaining Bahá'í
Publishing Trusts must likewise be discharged. Strenuous efforts
must be exerted to vindicate the independent character of the Bahá'í
Faith through obtaining recognition by civil authorities, in as many
countries, states and localities as possible, of both the Bahá'í Marriage
Certificate and the Bahá'í Holy Days. Nor should any effort
be spared, however severe the challenge, to insure the acquisition
and preservation for posterity of the few remaining historic sites in
the Cradle of the Faith, and particularly those associated with the
incarceration and execution of its Herald in Ádhirbayján. The
equally meritorious project of transferring the remains of the
Father of Bahá'u'lláh, of the mother and of the cousin of the Báb
to the Bahá'í burial ground in the vicinity of the Most Great House,
must receive the continued and prayerful attention of those on
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whom this sacred responsibility primarily devolves. In particular a
determined effort must be made, now that no less than nine of the
fifteen republics constituting the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
are included within the pale of the Faith, and especially by
those Bahá'í communities situated on the periphery of this vast
territory, to establish a nucleus, however small, in each of the six
remaining republics, all of which are now confined to the European
continent, as well as in each of the two islands and of the three
satellites included within the Soviet Orbit, thereby decisively contributing
to the consummation of one of the most challenging
objectives of this world-embracing Crusade.
Supplementing these manifold and pressing duties, which the
audacious prosecutors of this vast Crusade are now, with such
modest resources, and despite the smallness of their numbers, so
nobly discharging, over so large a portion of the globe, and at so
turbulent a stage in the affairs of mankind, is the no less vital obligation
to insure through a still more spectacular demonstration of
world-wide Bahá'í solidarity and self-sacrifice, the means whereby
the three monumental Edifices, each designed to serve as a house for
the indwelling Spirit of God and a tabernacle for the glorification
of His appointed Messenger in this day, may, without any interruption,
be raised and dedicated, in the European, the African and
Australian continents, and contribute their share to the world-wide
celebrations of the Centenary towards which every Bahá'í heart is
eagerly straining.
Great are the strides that have already been made, and phenomenal
the success achieved, by the prosecutors of a thrice blessed
Crusade--a Crusade so closely associated with the epoch-making
Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan, utilizing as its agencies the
laboriously erected institutions of an efficiently functioning,
divinely-appointed Administrative Order, and linking, as it forges
ahead, two historic centenaries commemorating the Birth and the
Declaration of the Mission of the Founder of our Faith. The tasks
that still remain to be accomplished, however, are truly formidable.
Above all, the homefront, that must serve as a base, and act as a
reservoir for the supply of a steady flow of pioneers and resources
for the multiple organized operations of a continually expanding
Crusade, and which, alas, in several countries, distinguished by an
outstanding record of service to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has been
progressively declining, must, at whatever cost, and within as short
a time as possible, be revitalized, extended and consolidated. More
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than ever its manpower must rapidly increase, the administrative
machinery it utilizes, and on which it relies, for the effectual discharge
of its Mission, must be assiduously perfected, and, most
important of all, its spiritual driving force must be constantly
reinforced through a firmer grasp by the individuals, ultimately
responsible for its progress, of the distinguishing verities and
fundamental purposes of their Faith, through a fuller dedication to
its glorious Mission, and through a closer communion with its
animating Spirit.
THE GUARDIAN'S APPEAL TO ALL BAHÁ'ÍS
I appeal, as I close this review of the superb feats already accomplished,
in the course of so many campaigns, by the heroic band of
the warriors of Bahá'u'lláh, battling in His Name and by His aid
for the purification, the unification and the spiritualization of a
morally and spiritually bankrupt society, now hovering on the brink
of self-destruction, for a renewed dedication, at this critical hour in
the fortunes of mankind, on the part of the entire company of my
spiritual brethren in every continent of the globe, to the high ideals
of the Cause they have espoused, as well as to the immediate
accomplishment of the goals of the Crusade on which they have
embarked, be they in active service or not, of either sex, young as
well as old, rich or poor, whether veteran or newly enrolled--a
dedication reminiscent of the pledges which the Dawn-breakers of
an earlier Apostolic Age, assembled in conference at Badasht, and
faced with issues of a different but equally challenging nature,
willingly and solemnly made for the prosecution of the collective
task with which they were confronted.
May this Crusade, on which the privileged heirs and present
successors of the heroes of the Primitive Age of our Faith have so
auspiciously embarked, yield, as it speeds on to its mid-way point,
such a harvest as will amaze its prosecutors, astonish the world at
large, and draw forth from the Source on high a measure of
celestial strength adequate to insure its triumphant consummation.
--Shoghi
[April, 1957]
Epoch-Making Victory Won Over Covenant-Breakers
With feelings of profound joy, exultation and thankfulness,
announce on morrow of sixty-fifth Anniversary of Ascension of
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Bahá'u'lláh, signal, epoch-making victory won over the ignoble
band of breakers of His Covenant which, in the course of over six
decades, has entrenched itself in the precincts of the Most Holy
Shrine of the Bahá'í world, provoking through acts of overt
hostility and ingenious machinations, in alliance with external
enemies under three successive regimes, the wrath of the Lord of the
Covenant Himself, incurring the malediction of the Concourse on
high, and filling with inexpressible anguish the heart of `Abdu'l-Bahá.
The expropriation order issued by the Israeli government, mentioned
in the recent Convention Message, related to the entire
property owned by Covenant-breakers within the Harám-i-Aqdas,
recently contested by these same enemies through appeal to Israel's
Supreme Court, now confirmed through adverse decision just announced
by same Court, enabling the civil authorities to enforce the
original decision and proceed with the eviction of the wretched
remnants of the once redoubtable adversaries who, both within the
Holy Land and beyond its confines, labored so long and so assiduously
to disrupt the foundations of the Faith, sap their loyalty and
cause a permanent cleavage in the ranks of its supporters.
This final, shattering and most humiliating blow may well be
regarded as the culmination in the long series of reverses suffered
by these same relentless foes, marked by the repudiation of their
preposterous claims following the Passing of Bahá'u'lláh, by the
overwhelming majority of His followers, east and west; by the
abject failure of `Abdu'l-Hamíd, as well as the notorious Commission
of Inquiry, to banish `Abdu'l-Bahá to Fezzan; by the
ignominious defeat of the Turkish Commander-in-Chief, the cruel,
boastful Jamál Páshá, following his threat to crucify the Center of
the Covenant outside the main gate of the fortress City of `Akká;
by acquisition of the site for the construction of the Báb's Sepulcher;
by the restitution of the keys to the Most Holy Tomb and
the recognition by the British authorities of the right of the Bahá'í
world community to the custodianship of the Bahá'í Shrines; by the
establishment of the international Bahá'í endowments on Mt.
Carmel; by the formation of the Palestine branches of the Bahá'í
National Assemblies; by exhumation of the Brother and Mother of
`Abdu'l-Bahá and reburial in the neighborhood of the Báb's resting
place; by the evacuation by these same adversaries of the Mansion
of Bahjí, after forty years' occupancy; by the demise, in distressing
circumstances, of the archbreaker of the Covenant himself; by the
ignominious flight of his henchmen on the eve of the disturbances
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which rocked the Holy Land in recent years; by the deaths with
dramatic swiftness of this same lieutenant, his kindred and closest
associates; by the intervention of the Israeli government in denying
the competence of the civil courts to adjudicate the case brought
by the remnant of these same Covenant-breakers and the subsequent
authorization issued by the Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign
Affairs to demolish the ruined building close to the vicinity of
Bahá'u'lláh's Tomb; finally, by the extinction of the life of the
prime mover in the diabolical plans directed during the course of
three decades against `Abdu'l-Bahá.
The implementation of this order will, at long last, cleanse the
Outer Sanctuary of the Qiblih of the Bahá'í world of the pollution
staining the fair name of the Faith and pave the way for the adoption
and execution of preliminary measures designed to herald the
construction in future decades of the stately, befitting Mausoleum
designed to enshrine the holiest dust the earth ever received into its
bosom.
Share announcement Hands of the Cause and all National
Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, June 3, 1957]
Call to Hands of Cause and National Assemblies
Divinely appointed Institution of the Hands of the Cause,
invested by virtue of the authority conferred by the Testament of
the Center of the Covenant with the twin functions of protecting
and propagating the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, now entering new phase
in the process of the unfoldment of its sacred mission. To its newly
assured responsibility to assist National Spiritual Assemblies of the
Bahá'í world in the specific purpose of effectively prosecuting the
World Spiritual Crusade, the primary obligation to watch over and
insure protection to the Bahá'í world community, in close collaboration
with these same National Assemblies, is now added.
Recent events, the triumphant consummation of a series of historic
enterprises, such as the construction of the superstructure of
the Báb's Sepulcher, the dedication of the Mother Temple of the
West, the world-wide celebrations of the Holy Year, the convocation
of four Intercontinental Teaching Conferences launching the
Ten Year Crusade, the unprecedented dispersal of its valiant prosecutors
over the face of the globe, the extraordinary progress of
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the African and Pacific campaigns, the rise of the administrative
order in the Arabian Peninsula in the heart of the Islámic world,
the discomfiture of the powerful antagonists in the Cradle of the
Faith, the erection of the International Archives, heralding the
establishment of the seat of the World Administrative Order in the
Holy Land, served to inflame the unquenchable animosity of its
Muslim opponents and raised up a new set of adversaries in the
Christian fold and roused internal enemies, old and new Covenant-breakers,
to fresh attempts to arrest the march of the Cause of God,
misrepresent its purpose, disrupt its administrative institutions,
dampen the zeal and sap the loyalty of its supporters.
Evidences of increasing hostility without, persistent machinations
within, foreshadowing dire contests destined to range the
Army of Light against the forces of darkness, both secular and
religious, predicted in unequivocal language by `Abdu'l-Bahá,
necessitate in this crucial hour closer association of the Hands of
the five continents and the bodies of the elected representatives of
the national Bahá'í communities the world over for joint investigation
of the nefarious activities of internal enemies and the adoption
of wise, effective measures to counteract their treacherous schemes,
protect the mass of the believers, and arrest the spread of their evil
influence.
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,
occupying, with the Universal House of Justice, next to the
Institution of the Guardianship, foremost rank in the divinely
ordained administrative hierarchy of the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, June 4, 1957]
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Restitution of Bahá'í Properties in Persia
Rejoice announce yet another victory won in cradle of Faith,
swiftly following crushing defeat recently sustained by Covenant-breakers
in Holy Land. National Hazíratu'l-Quds in Tihrán has
been returned, completing thereby the restitution of Bahá'í properties
seized at the instigation of traditional enemies in Bahá'u'lláh's
native land.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, June 8, 1957]
Purification of Harám-i-Aqdas
Announce to Hands and all National Assemblies that following
the loss of the appeal to the Supreme Court, the Government
expropriation order has been implemented, resulting in the complete
evacuation of the remnant of Covenant-breakers and the transfer
of all their belongings from the precincts of the Most Holy Shrine,
and the purification, after six long decades, of the Harám-i-Aqdas
from every trace of their contamination. Measures under way to
effect transfer of title deeds of the evacuated property to the
triumphant Bahá'í community.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, September 6, 1957]
Announcement of Series of Five Intercontinental Conferences and Appointment of Eight Additional Hands of the Cause
On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the opening of the
memorable Holy Year associated with the Centenary celebrations
of the birth of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh in the Síyáh-Chál of
Tihrán--an anniversary falling only a few months before the
decade-long global Spiritual Crusade, on which the entire company
of His followers have embarked, will have reached its midway
point--I feel moved to announce the convocation of a series of
Intercontinental Conferences, five in number, to be held successively
in Kampala, Uganda, in the heart of the African continent; in the
city of Sydney, the oldest Bahá'í center established in the Antipodes;
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in Chicago, where the name of Bahá'u'lláh was publicly mentioned
for the first time in the western world; in the city of Frankfurt,
in the heart of the European continent; and in Djakarta, the capital
city of the Republic of Indonesia.
These historic gatherings, which will recall in some of their
aspects the four epoch-making Conferences which commemorated
the hundredth anniversary of the inception of the Bahá'í Revelation,
are to be held respectively in the months of January, March, May,
July and September, under the auspices of the Regional Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central and East Africa, the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia, the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America, the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria,
and the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South-East
Asia.
They are to be convened by the chairmen of the aforementioned
Regional and National Spiritual Assemblies for the five-fold purpose
of offering humble thanksgiving to the Divine Author of our
Faith, Who has graciously enabled His followers, during a period
of deepening anxiety and amidst the confusion and uncertainties
of a critical phase in the fortunes of mankind, to prosecute uninterruptedly
the Ten-Year Plan formulated for the execution of
the Grand Design conceived by `Abdu'l-Bahá; of reviewing and
celebrating the series of signal victories won so rapidly in the
course of each of the campaigns of this world-encircling Crusade;
of deliberating on ways and means that will insure its triumphant
consummation; and of lending simultaneously a powerful impetus,
the world over, to the vital process of individual conversion--the
preeminent purpose underlying the Plan in all its ramifications--
and to the construction and completion of the three Mother Temples
to be built in the European, the African, and Australian continents.
PHENOMENAL ADVANCE ACHIEVED IN WORLD CRUSADE
The phenomenal advances made since the inception of this globe-girdling
Crusade, in the brief space of less than five years, eclipses
--if we pause to ponder the scope and significance of recent developments--
in both the number and quality of the feats achieved by
its prosecutors, any previous collective enterprise undertaken by the
followers of the Faith, at any time and in any part of the world,
since the close of the initial and most turbulent epoch of the Heroic
Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
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The raising of the number of Bahá'í centers--foci and pivots
of Bahá'í teaching and administrative activity--all over the globe,
from twenty-five hundred to forty-five hundred; of the number of
countries, both sovereign States and Dependencies, included within
the pale of the Faith from one hundred and twenty-eight to two
hundred and fifty-four; and of the number of Bahá'í national and
regional Spiritual Assemblies--forerunners of the Universal House
of Justice--from twelve to twenty-six; the substantial multiplication
of Bahá'í local Spiritual Assemblies--constituting the foundation
of a rising Administrative Order--throughout five continents,
whose number has now passed the thousand mark; the planting of
the banner of the Faith in over seventy islands, situated in the
Pacific, the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans, as well as in the Mediterranean
and the North Sea; the establishment of its northernmost
outpost beyond the Arctic Circle, in far-off Thule, Greenland;
the erection and completion, in the Holy Land itself, at the cost of
over a quarter of a million dollars, of the Bahá'í International
Archives, heralding the emergence, in its plenitude, of the seat of
the embryonic World Order of Bahá'u'lláh on the slopes of Mt.
Carmel and facing the Qiblih of the Bahá'í world; the enlargement
of the scope of Bahá'í international endowments in the twin cities
of `Akká and Haifa, constituting the World Center of the Faith,
until their present value can now be estimated at over five and a
half million dollars; a corresponding extension of Bahá'í national
endowments in the Great Republic of the West--the stronghold of
the Bahá'í Administrative Order--the value of which is fast approaching
five million dollars, and of Bahá'í holdings in the Cradle
of the Faith, conservatively estimated to be well over forty million
túmans; the acquisition of no less than forty-eight National
Hazíratu'l-Quds--the central administrative headquarters of Bahá'í
communities established in the sovereign States and chief Dependencies
of the globe--involving an expenditure of over half a million
dollars; the founding of Bahá'í national endowments in no less than
fifty capitals and chief cities of all five continents, the cost of which
may be estimated to be at least one hundred and fifty thousand
dollars; the initiation of the construction of the Mother Temples of
both Africa and Australia, as well as the purchase of eleven Temple
sites for over two hundred thousand dollars; the incorporation of
over ninety national and local Spiritual Assemblies, raising the
total number of incorporated Assemblies the world over to over two
hundred; the translation of Bahá'í literature into one hundred and
+P127
forty-eight languages, of which no less than seventy-two are over
and above those called for by the provisions of the Ten-Year Plan,
bringing the total number of languages to two hundred and thirty-seven;
as well as a series of additional accomplishments, too numerous
to recount, supplementing the objectives of that Plan, in connection
with the opening of virgin territories, the acquisition of
Temple sites, the inauguration of Bahá'í schools, the founding of
Bahá'í local endowments, the establishment of local Hazíratu'l-Quds,
the formulation of subsidiary Plans, the initiation of a
Bahá'í Publishing Trust, the purchase of Bahá'í Holy Sites, and of
plots for Bahá'í burial-grounds and for Bahá'í summer schools--
all these can be regarded by any fair-minded observer in no other
light except as the manifestations of a momentous progress as
diversified in character as it is far-reaching in its import.
ANOTHER CONTINGENT OF HANDS OF THE CAUSE OF GOD
So marvelous a progress, embracing so vast a field, achieved in
so short a time, by so small a band of heroic souls, well deserves, at
this juncture in the evolution of a decade-long Crusade, to be
signalized by, and indeed necessitates, the announcement of yet
another step in the progressive unfoldment of one of the cardinal
and pivotal institutions ordained by Bahá'u'lláh, and confirmed in
the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá, involving the designation
of yet another contingent of the Hands of the Cause of God,
raising thereby to thrice nine the total number of the Chief Stewards
of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth, who have been
invested by the unerring Pen of the Center of His Covenant with
the dual function of guarding over the security, and of insuring
the propagation, of His Father's Faith.
The eight now elevated to this exalted rank are: Enoch Olinga,
William Sears, and John Robarts, in West and South Africa;
Hasan Balyuzi and John Ferraby in the British Isles; Collis
Featherstone and Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir, in the Pacific area; and
Abu'l-Qásim Faizí in the Arabian Peninsula--a group chosen
from four continents of the globe, and representing the Afnán, as
well as the black and white races and whose members are derived
from Christian, Muslim, Jewish and Pagan backgrounds.
This latest addition to the band of the high-ranking officers of
a fast evolving World Administrative Order, involving a further
expansion of the august institution of the Hands of the Cause of
God, calls for, in view of the recent assumption by them of their
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sacred responsibility as protectors of the Faith, the appointment by
these same Hands, in each continent separately, of an additional
Auxiliary Board, equal in membership to the existing one, and
charged with the specific duty of watching over the security of the
Faith, thereby complementing the function of the original Board,
whose duty will henceforth be exclusively concerned with assisting
the prosecution of the Ten-Year Plan.
At these five Intercontinental Conferences the Hands of the
Cause, whether previously or recently appointed, particularly those
associated with the Conference being held in the continent they
represent, as well as members of their Auxiliary Boards, and representatives
of the Regional and National Spiritual Assemblies
primarily concerned with the opening of the virgin territories included
in the continent to which they belong and of the islands
situated in the neighborhood of that continent, as well as all believers,
wherever their residence may be, are invited to be present.
To the Kampala Conference a representative of each of the
United States, the British, the Persian, the North-East African,
the Indian and the `Iráqí National Spiritual Assemblies; to the
Chicago Conference a representative of each of the United States,
the Canadian, and Latin American National Spiritual Assemblies;
to the Frankfurt Conference a representative of each of the British,
the German, the Italo-Swiss and the United States National Spiritual
Assemblies; and to the Djakarta Conference a representative of
each of the United States, the Canadian, the Persian, the Indian,
the Australian and the `Iráqí National Spiritual Assemblies, should
be sent in the capacity of an official participant.
Any other members of these Assemblies, as well as any of the
members of the newly established National and Regional Spiritual
Assemblies, are welcome to be present at these five successive Conferences.
THE GUARDIAN'S REPRESENTATIVES AT THE CONFERENCES
The following five Hands, who, in their capacity as members of
the International Bahá'í Council, are closely associated with the rise
and development of the institutions of the Faith at its World
Center, have been chosen to act as my special representatives at this
second series of Intercontinental Conferences: Amatu'l-Bahá,
Rúhíyyih, accompanied by Lutfu'lláh Hakím, member of the International
Council, at the Kampala Conference; Mason Remey, at the
Sydney Conference; Ugo Giachery, at the Chicago Conference;
+P129
Amelia Collins, at the Frankfurt Conference; and Leroy Ioas, at the
Djakarta Conference.
To three of them, attending the Kampala, the Sydney and the
Frankfurt Conferences, I shall entrust a portion of the blessed earth
from the inmost Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, a lock of His precious Hair,
and a reproduction of His Portrait, to be exhibited by them to the
assembled friends at these Conferences. Two of these representatives
will be instructed to deposit, on my behalf, the blessed earth
in the foundations of the two Temples to be erected in the African
and Australian continents, while the other sacred gifts will be
delivered for safe keeping by these representatives to the Central
and East African Regional Assembly and the Australian and
German National Spiritual Assemblies. A fourth portrait of
Bahá'u'lláh will be entrusted to my representative, Leroy Ioas, to
be exhibited at the Djakarta Conference, and returned for safe
keeping to the Holy Land, while to Ugo Giachery, representing me
at the Chicago Conference, will be assigned the duty of exhibiting
the portraits of Bahá'u'lláh and of the Báb, already entrusted to
the United States National Spiritual Assembly.
FOURTH PHASE OF TEN-YEAR PLAN
The holding of this second series of Intercontinental Conferences,
marking the halfway point of the greatest Crusade ever
embarked upon for the propagation of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh
in both the eastern and western hemispheres, signalizes the opening
of the fourth phase of the Ten-Year Plan. The first phase, covering
the initial twelve months of this stupendous enterprise, will forever
be associated with the carrying of the Message of Bahá'u'lláh
to no less than a hundred countries of the globe. The second phase,
lasting twice as long as the first, witnessed the acquisition of a
remarkably large number of national Hazíratu'l-Quds, and the
establishment, in numerous countries, of Bahá'í national endowments,
complementing, through the process of administrative consolidation,
the striking enlargement of the orbit of the Faith in the
course of the initial phase of the Plan. The third phase, equal in
duration to the preceding phase, has been made memorable by the
striking multiplication of Bahá'í centers, and the formation of no
less than sixteen Regional and National Spiritual Assemblies.
The fourth phase, the opening of which is now approaching,
must be immortalized, on the one hand, by an unprecedented increase
in the number of avowed supporters of the Faith, in all the
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continents of the globe, of every race, clime, creed and color, and
from every stratum of present-day society, coupled with a corresponding
increase in the number of Bahá'í centers, and, on the
other, by a swift progress in the erection of the Mother Temples of
Africa and Australia, as well as by the initiation of the construction
of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of Europe.
The phase which the valiant prosecutors of a Crusade, endowed
with such tremendous potentialities, are about to enter must, as this
divinely propelled, this highly beneficent, mysteriously unfolding
enterprise hastens past its midway point, and approaches the closing
stages of its world-wide operations, witness, in both the teaching
and administrative spheres, and in consequence of the impact, which,
it is ardently hoped, the deliberations and resolutions of the attendants
at these forthcoming Conferences will have upon the immediate
destinies of this Crusade, an upsurge of enthusiasm and consecration,
before which every single as well as collective exploit, associated
with any of the three previous phases, will pale.
I call upon each and every Hand of the Cause of God, previously
or now appointed, upon the entire body of the believers participating
in this Crusade, and, in particular, upon their elected representatives,
the members of the various Regional and National Spiritual Assemblies
in both the East and the West, and, even more emphatically,
upon those privileged to convene and organize these history-making
Conferences, to bestir themselves, and, according to their rank,
capacity, function and resources, befittingly prepare themselves,
during the short interval separating them from the opening of the
first of these five Conferences, to meet the challenge, and seize the
opportunities, of this auspicious hour, and insure, through a dazzling
display of the qualities which must distinguish a worthy
stewardship of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, the total and resounding
success of these Conferences, dedicated to the glorification of His
Name, and expressly convened for the purpose of accelerating the
march of the institutions of His world-redeeming Order, and of
hastening the establishment of His Kingdom in the hearts of men.
--Shoghi
[October, 1957]
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MESSAGES TO THE BAHÁ'Í WORLD
1950-1957
A Supplementary Collection
New Step in Building the Báb's Shrine
Announce to national assemblies of America, Europe, and Australia
the initiation of preliminary measures for erection of steel
framework designed to support the contemplated dome of the Báb's
Sepulcher. Holy edifice, whose site the Founder of the Faith designated
while Himself an exile in Most Great Prison, whose central
structure the Center of His Covenant erected in the course of the turbulent
years of His ministry, whose enveloping arcade was constructed
despite internal disturbance rocking the Holy Land, is now
carried forward despite the mounting international tension through
signing of sixty-three thousand dollar contract for stonework of
octagon. Request beloved friends, collaborators in historic undertaking,
to join me in prayers for uninterrupted prosecution of work
simultaneously initiated in Italy and Holy Land designed to attain
final consummation in rearing the lofty dome, crowning unit of enterprise
so intimately associated with the Three Central Figures of
Faith linking the Heroic and Formative Ages of the Bahá'í Dispensation.
[January 4, 1951]
Construction of Shrine Moves Forward
Announce to friends of East and West that operations commenced
last Naw-Rúz on excavation for eight shafts designed for
piers supporting the dome of the Báb's Sepulcher terminated. Consignment
of thirty-three tons of steel, fifty tons of cement safely
delivered to Holy Land. Seven thousand three hundred pound (i.e.,
Israeli unit of currency) contract for structural work, capable of
sustaining the thousand-ton weight of superstructure, signed. First
installment out of eight hundred tons of stones for octagon and dome
of Shrine recently received. Greatly heartened by response of self-sacrificing
believers in both hemispheres enabling energetic prosecution
at this critical hour of so holy an enterprise. May sustained
support of all communities hasten its glorious consummation.
[May 29, 1951]
Pilgrimage to World Center Again Permitted
Announce to all national assemblies restrictions on pilgrimage being
gradually removed. Owing to prevailing conditions, maximum
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duration will be nine days. Permission of Guardian necessary, as few
at a time are now permitted.
[December 25, 1951]
Administrative Headquarters in Africa
Inform United States, British, Persian, Egyptian, Indian National
Assemblies of imminent purchase of Hazíratu'l-Quds of Central
Africa. Have forwarded my contribution, six thousand dollars,
toward historic enterprise. Appeal five cooperating National Assemblies
to participate through contribution toward meritorious purchase.
Purchase price 5500 pounds. Advise forward contributions to
Banani, Kampala.
[March 16, 1952]
William Sutherland Maxwell Passes--Rúhíyyih Khánum Appointed Hand
With sorrowful heart announce through national assemblies
that Hand of Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, highly esteemed, dearly beloved
Sutherland Maxwell, has been gathered into the glory of the Abhá
Kingdom. His saintly life, extending well nigh four score years, enriched
during the course of `Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry by services in
the Dominion of Canada, ennobled during Formative Age of Faith
by decade of services in Holy Land, during darkest days of my life,
doubly honored through association with the crown of martyrdom
won by May Maxwell and incomparable honor bestowed upon his
daughter, attained consummation through his appointment as architect
of the arcade and superstructure of the Báb's Sepulcher as
well as elevation to the front rank of the Hands of Cause of God.
Advise all national assemblies to hold befitting memorial gatherings
particularly in the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Wilmette and in the Hazíratu'l-Quds
in Tihrán.
Have instructed Hands of Cause in United States and Canada,
Horace Holley and Fred Schopflocher, to attend as my representatives
the funeral in Montreal. Moved to name after him the southern
door of the Báb's Tomb as tribute to his services to second holiest
Shrine of the Bahá'í world. The mantle of Hand of Cause now falls
upon the shoulders of his distinguished daughter, Amatu'l-Bahá
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Rúhíyyih, who has already rendered and is still rendering manifold
no less meritorious self-sacrificing services at World Center of Faith
of Bahá'u'lláh.
[March 26, 1952]
Progress on Shrine of the Báb
On eve of opening of Holy Year announce to Bahá'í communities
of East and West joyful tidings of conclusion of over ten
thousand dollar contract with Utrecht firm for the fabrication of
twelve thousand gilded tiles to cover an area of two hundred and
fifty square meters of dome of Báb's Sepulcher. Eighteen stained
glass windows of drum and twenty-four windows of octagon delivered
to Mount Carmel. Stones required for construction of drum
and ribs and brim and lantern of dome nearing completion, heralding
the early commencement of the erection of the last remaining
unit of rapidly rising edifice. Eastward extension of terrace adjoining
Sepulcher virtually terminated raising the total length of horizontal
area fronting the Shrine to about six hundred feet, adding
greatly to the beauty and stateliness of the approaches to the magnificent
structure, already enhanced through recent extension of
terraces linking Haifa's oldest and most imposing avenue with Báb's
resting place majestically rising in the bosom of Carmel.
[October 14, 1952]
Achievements of Heroic Pioneers in Africa
Rejoice to share with Bahá'í communities East and West thrilling
reports of feats achieved by the heroic band of Bahá'í pioneers laboring
in divers widely scattered African territories, particularly in
Uganda, in the heart of the continent, reminiscent alike of episodes
related in the Book of Acts and the rapid, dramatic propagation of
the Faith through the instrumentality of the dawn-breakers in the
Heroic Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation. The marvelous accomplishments
signalizing the rise and establishment of the Administrative
Order of the Faith in Latin America have been eclipsed. The exploits
immortalizing the recently launched crusade in the European
continent have been surpassed. The goal of the seven-month plan,
initiated by the Kampala Assembly, aiming at doubling the twelve
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enrolled believers, has been outstripped. The number of Africans
converted in the course of the last fifteen months, residing in Kampala
and outlying districts, with Protestant, Catholic and pagan
backgrounds, lettered and unlettered, of both sexes, representative
of no less than sixteen tribes, has passed the two hundred mark.
The effulgent rays of God's triumphant Cause, radiating from
the focal center, are fast awakening the continent and penetrating
at an accelerating rate isolated regions unfrequented by white men
and enveloping with their radiance souls hitherto indifferent to the
persistent humanitarian activities of the Christian missions and the
civilizing influence of the civil authorities. No less than nine localities
will be qualified to attain, by this coming Ridván, assembly
status within a single territory of the long-slumbering continent.
Zanzibar, Madagascar, French Morocco, South Rhodesia,
Italian Somaliland are already or soon will be opened to the Faith.
Desire to pay special tribute to the strenuous efforts exerted by
`Alí Nakhjavání, setting an example of dedication and freedom
from prejudice to fellow pioneers laboring in inhospitable surroundings
and confronted by manifold and formidable obstacles.
Planning to entrust to the special representative delegated to attend
the approaching Kampala Conference a portrait of the holy
Báb, a replica of the one deposited beneath the dome of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
in Wilmette, to be exhibited to the assembled attendants
on the historic occasion. Confident unveiling may draw newly recruited
vanguard of the ever-swelling host of Bahá'u'lláh, as well as
all participating visitors, itinerant teachers and settlers, closer to the
spirit of the Martyr-Prophet of the Faith and bestow everlasting
benediction on all gathered at the memorable sessions of the epoch-making
Intercontinental Conference dedicated to the prosecution of
the latest, most glorious crusade launched in the course of eleven
decades of Bahá'í history.
[January 5, 1953]
Rapid Progress of Twin Sacred Undertakings
On eve of convocation of history-making, long eagerly anticipated
African Intercontinental Conference share with communities
of Bahá'í world the joyous news of the rapid progress of the twin
sacred undertakings launched on the Mountain of God and the holy
Plain of `Akká, destined to culminate in the erection of worthy
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sepulchers of the Herald and Author of the Bahá'í Revelation.
World-wide celebrations of the Holy Year inaugurated last October,
heightened during course of present month through the holding of
the epoch-making gathering, moving steadily towards climax during
approaching Ridván festivities, have been greatly enhanced by
the latest developments of the institutions at the World Center of
the Faith.
Construction of the third unit of the Báb's Shrine is terminated,
synchronizing with the safe arrival at the port of Haifa of the last
consignment of stones ordered in Italy totaling over thirteen hundred
tons. First section of the brim of the dome, constituting the
base of the topmost tier of the triple crown of the majestic edifice,
has been erected, heralding the placing during Ridván period of tiles
as well as construction of ribs of the golden dome.
The landscaping initiated at the inception of the Holy Year of
thirteen thousand square meter area immediately surrounding the
Qiblih of the Bahá'í world, involving extension of its outer sanctuary,
to be designated henceforth as the Harám-i-Aqdas, is virtually
concluded, paving the way, successively, for the embellishment and
extensive illumination of the entire area and erection of stately portals,
presaging the rearing at a future date of a magnificent mausoleum
in its heart. The striking enhancement of the beauty and stateliness
of the most holy spot in the Bahá'í world constitutes a befitting
tribute to the memory of the Founder of the Faith, within the hallowed
area adjacent to His resting place, on the occasion of the centenary
celebrations of the birth of His glorious Mission.
[February 9, 1953]
African Intercontinental Conference
[Kampala, Uganda, February 12-18, 1953]
I hail with a joyous heart the convocation in the heart of the
African continent of the first of the four Intercontinental Teaching
Conferences constituting the highlights of the world-wide celebrations
of the Holy Year which commemorates the hundredth anniversary
of the birth of the Mission of the Founder of our Faith. I welcome
with open arms the unexpectedly large number of the representatives
of the pure-hearted and the spiritually receptive Negro race, so
dearly loved by `Abdu'l-Bahá, for whose conversion to His Father's
Faith He so deeply yearned and whose interests He so ardently
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championed in the course of His memorable visit to the North American
continent. I am reminded, on this historic occasion, of the
significant words uttered by Bahá'u'lláh Himself, Who as attested
by the Center of the Covenant, in His Writings, "compared the
colored people to the black pupil of the eye," through which "the
light of the spirit shineth forth." I feel particularly gratified by the
substantial participation in this epoch-making conference of the
members of a race dwelling in a continent which for the most part
has retained its primitive simplicity and remained uncontaminated
by the evils of a gross, a rampant and cancerous materialism undermining
the fabric of human society alike in the East and in the West,
eating into the vitals of the conflicting peoples and races inhabiting
the American, the European and the Asiatic continents, and alas
threatening to engulf in one common catastrophic convulsion the generality
of mankind. I acclaim the preponderance of the members of
this same race at so significant a conference, a phenomenon unprecedented
in the annals of Bahá'í conferences held during over a century,
and auguring well for a corresponding multiplication in the
number of the representatives of the yellow, the red and brown
races of mankind dwelling respectively in the Far East, in the Far
West and in the islands of the South Pacific Ocean, a multiplication
designed ultimately to bring to a proper equipoise the divers ethnic
elements comprised within the highly diversified world-embracing
Bahá'í fellowship.
TRIBUTE TO PIONEERS IN AFRICAN FIELD
I feel moved, on this auspicious occasion, to pay a warm tribute
to the elected representatives, as well as the members, of the British,
the Persian, the American, the Egyptian and the Indian Bahá'í Communities
which have participated, in pursuance of their respective
plans, in the opening stage of a colossal teaching campaign, constituting
a vital phase of the impending decade-long World Crusade,
and aiming at the spiritual conquest of the entire African continent.
I desire in particular to express to all those gathered at this conference
my feelings of abiding appreciation of the magnificent role
played and of the remarkable prizes won, by the small band of Persian,
British and American pioneers, in the course of the initial stage
of this divinely propelled and mysteriously unfolding collective enterprise,
which has overshadowed both the Latin American and
European teaching campaigns launched in recent years, which is
destined to exert an incalculable influence on the fortunes of the
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Faith throughout the world, and which may well have far-reaching
repercussions among the two chief races dwelling in the North American
continent.
FIRST AFRICAN PILLAR OF UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
To the American Bahá'í Community, the chief executor of `Abdu'l-Bahá's
Divine Plan; to the British Bahá'í Community, destined
to play in future decades a predominating role in opening to the Faith
of Bahá'u'lláh not only the British territories throughout the African
continent, but the divers dependencies of the British Crown scattered
on the surface of the globe; to the Persian Bahá'í Community,
at once the most venerable and most consistently persecuted among
its sister communities in both the East and the West; to the Egyptian
Bahá'í Community that may well boast of having erected in that
continent the first pillar of the Universal House of Justice; to the
Indian Bahá'í Community, fated to contribute, to a marked degree,
to the spiritual quickening of the Indians constituting a noble element
of the population of Africa--to these communities I feel I
must acknowledge my deep sense of thankfulness for the strenuous
efforts exerted by their pioneers to raise aloft the standard of the
Faith in the territories allocated to them in Liberia, Uganda, Tanganyika,
the Gold Coast, Kenya, Somaliland, Nyasaland, Northern
Rhodesia, Libya, Algeria, Zanzibar and Madagascar. To others who,
though not following the fixed pattern of the plan initiated for the
present African campaign, have arisen to introduce the Faith in the
territories of Sierra Leone, Angola, Mozambique and Southern
Rhodesia I feel, moreover, a debt of gratitude is due for their share
in extending the range of Bahá'í pioneer activity in that continent.
AFRICAN PROJECTS TO BE LAUNCHED
The hour is indeed propitious, as the climax of the world-wide
rejoicings signalizing the Holy Year approaches, for the national
spiritual assemblies of these same communities to gird up their loins,
in collaboration with the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís
of `Iráq, in a supreme effort to launch, on the morrow of this fateful
conference, that phase of the Ten-Year Crusade which, God willing,
will culminate in the introduction of our glorious Faith in all the
remaining territories of that vast continent as well as the chief
neighboring islands lying in the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans. The
decade on whose threshold they now stand must, circumstances permitting,
witness:
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First, the erection of three additional pillars within the confines
of that continent and its neighboring islands, designed to support,
together with no less than forty-five other national spiritual assemblies
to be established in other parts of the world, the final unit in
the erection of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh,
namely: The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central
and East Africa, to be formed under the aegis of the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles, with its seat
in Kampala; the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South
and West Africa, to be formed under the aegis of the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America,
with its seat in Johannesburg; the National Spiritual Assembly of
the Bahá'ís of North West Africa, to be formed under the aegis of
the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Egypt and Súdán,
with its seat in Tunis.
Second, the initial purchase of land for the future construction of
three Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs, one in Cairo, one in Kampala and one in
Johannesburg, situated respectively in the north, the heart and the
south of the African continent.
Third, the opening of the following thirty-three virgin territories
and islands: Cape Verde Islands, Canary Islands, French Somaliland,
French Togoland, Mauritius, Northern Territories Protectorate,
Portuguese Guinea, Reunion Island, Spanish Guinea, St.
Helena, and St. Thomas Island, assigned to the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America; Ashanti
Protectorate, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Italian Somaliland, Southern
Rhodesia and Swaziland, assigned to the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia; French Equatorial Africa,
French West Africa, Morocco (International Zone), Rio de Oro,
Spanish Morocco and Spanish Sahara, assigned to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Egypt and Súdán; Comoro Islands,
French Cameroons, Gambia, Ruanda-Urundi and Socotra
Island, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
India, Pákistán and Burma; the British Cameroons, British Togoland,
Madeira and South West Africa, assigned to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles; and Seychelles
Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís
of `Iráq.
Fourth, the translation and publication of Bahá'í literature in the
following thirty-one languages to be undertaken by the National Spiritual
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Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles: Accra, Afrikaans,
Aladian, Ashanti, Banu, Bemba, Bua, Chuana, Gio, Gu, Jieng, Jolof,
Kuanyama, Krongo, Kroo, Luimbi, Malagasy, Nubian, Pedi, Popo,
Ronga, Sena, Shilha, Shona, Sobo, Suto, Wongo, Xosa, Yalunka,
Yao and Zulu.
Fifth, the consolidation of the twenty-four following territories
already opened to the Faith in the African continent: Angola, Belgian
Congo, Gold Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanganyika,
Uganda and Zululand, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles; Abyssinia, Algeria, Eritrea,
Libya, French Morocco, Somaliland, Súdán and Tunisia, allocated
to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Egypt and Súdán;
Madagascar, Mozambique and Zanzibar, allocated to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, Pákistán and
Burma; Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, allocated to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia; Liberia and South Africa,
allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
the United States of America.
Sixth, the establishment, circumstances permitting, of a national
Bahá'í Court in the capital city of Egypt, the recognized center of
both the Islamic and Arab worlds, officially empowered to apply, in
matters of personal status, the laws and ordinances revealed in the
Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Mother-Book of the Bahá'í Revelation.
Seventh, the incorporation of the three above-mentioned regional
national spiritual assemblies.
Eighth, the establishment by those same national spiritual assemblies
of national Bahá'í endowments.
Ninth, the establishment of a national Hazíratu'l-Quds in Johannesburg
and one in Tunis and the conversion into a similar institution
of the local Hazíratu'l-Quds of Kampala.
Tenth, the formation of a national Bahá'í Publishing Trust in
Cairo.
Eleventh, the formation of an Israel branch of the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Egypt and Súdán, authorized
to hold, on behalf of its parent institution, property dedicated to the
holy shrines at the World Center of the Faith in the state of Israel.
Twelfth, the appointment, during Ridván 1954, by the Hand of
the Cause in Africa, of an Auxiliary Board of nine members who
will, in conjunction with the six national spiritual assemblies participating
in the African campaign, assist, through periodic and systematic
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visits to Bahá'í centers, in the efficient and prompt execution
of the plans formulated for the prosecution of the teaching campaign
in the African continent.
A SPIRITUALLY WELDED UNIT
May the six aforementioned national spiritual assemblies, aided
by the Hand of the Cause appointed in that continent, and the Auxiliary
Board to be chosen by him, and supported by the national committees
and subcommittees to be formed in due course, and reinforced
by the constant and energetic efforts of an ever-swelling number of
pioneers, whether settlers or itinerant teachers, and assisted by the
wholehearted collaboration of the indigenous believers in all localities,
be spiritually welded into a unit at once dynamic and coherent,
and be suffused with the creative, the directing and propelling forces
proceeding from the Source of the Revelation Himself, and be made,
as the projected campaign unfolds, the vehicle of His grace from on
high, and prove themselves worthy and effective instruments for
the execution and ultimate consummation of one of the most thrilling
and far-reaching enterprises undertaken in the Formative Age
of the Faith and constituting one of the noblest phases of the most
glorious Crusade ever launched in the course of Bahá'í history for
the systematic propagation of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh over the surface
of the entire planet.
[February 1953]
Fivefold Historic Celebration in America
On the occasion of the fivefold historic celebration--the dedication
for public worship of the holiest Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the
Bahá'í world; the convocation of the Second Intercontinental Teaching
Conference of the Holy Year; the anniversary of the Declaration
of Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden of Ridván; the holding of the Forty-Fifth
American Bahá'í Convention, and the launching of the epochal,
global, spiritual Crusade, marking the climax of the festivities associated
with the Centenary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Mission--
announce to His followers of East and West that the final phase of
the construction of the Báb's Sepulcher has been ushered in through
the erection of scaffolding for the completion of the shuttering of
the dome.
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Forty-four gilded tiles out of a total of twelve thousand, designed
to cover two hundred fifty square meter surface of the dome, were
placed in permanent position on the eve of the ninth day of the ninetieth
anniversary of the Ridván Festival. On the afternoon of the
same day, during the course of a moving ceremony in the presence
of pilgrims and resident believers of `Akká and Haifa, I have placed
reverently a fragment of the plaster ceiling of the Báb's prison cell
in the castle of Máh-Kú beneath the gilded tiles of the crowning
unit of the majestic edifice, circumambulated the base of the dome,
paid homage to His memory, recalled His afflictive imprisonment
and offered prayers on behalf of the friends of East and West on a
subsequent visit to the interior of His Shrine.
Preparatory steps are now being taken for the pouring of concrete
for the construction of the ribs of the dome, as well as for the
placing of ornamental stones surrounding its base.
My hopes are heightened that the termination of the five-year-long,
three-quarter million dollar enterprise, undertaken in the heart
of Carmel, will coincide with the termination of the world-wide
celebrations commemorating the Centenary of the inception of
Bahá'u'lláh's ministry.
Also announce the formation of no less than sixteen new spiritual
assemblies in the African continent:--Monrovia, Benghazi,
Nairobi, Jinja, Akarukei, Tilling, Mbale, Atoot, Kococwa, Acissa,
Opot, Fassy, Ocaka, Osopotoil, Kadoki, Kabuku.
In Uganda alone the number of believers is over two hundred
ninety, residing in twenty-five localities, representative of twenty
tribes.
Finally share the heart-warming news of the impending establishment
of the long-overdue Hazíratu'l-Quds in the French capital
through the conclusion of an agreement to purchase a nine
thousand pound property situated in the best residential quarter of
the city.
Kiyani's spontaneous, generous contribution is solely responsible
for the achievement of the great victory of the establishment of the
institution designed to serve as the administrative headquarters of
both the present Paris Assembly and the projected French National
Spiritual Assembly.
Advise the American National Assembly to share this message
with its sister assemblies throughout the Bahá'í world.
[April 30, 1953]
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All-America Intercontinental Conference--
First Message
[Wilmette--Chicago, May 1953]
With a heart overflowing with joy and thankfulness I acclaim, at
this hour marking the climax of the world-wide festivities of this
Holy Year, the convocation, in the heart of the North American continent
and under the shadow of the newly consecrated Mother Temple
of the West, of the second and, without doubt, the most distinguished
of the four Intercontinental Teaching Conferences commemorating
the Centenary of the inception of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh. On the
occasion of the opening of this epoch-making conference, at which
members of the United States, the Canadian, the Central American
and South American National Spiritual Assemblies, as well as representatives
of the Bahá'í communities in the states of the American
Union, in the provinces of the Dominion of Canada, in Alaska, and
in the republics of Latin America, are assembled, I recall the unique,
the historic, the highly significant and profoundly moving summons
issued by the Author of the Bahá'í Faith Himself, and enshrined for
all time in the Mother-Book of His Revelation and repository of His
laws, and addressed collectively to the rulers of the entire Western
Hemisphere, conferring upon them an honor such as has not been conferred
by Him on the rulers of any other continent of the globe. With
a throbbing heart I call to mind, at a distance of more than a century,
since the Herald of the Faith bade in His Qayyúmu'l-Asmá' the
"peoples of the West" to "issue forth" from their "cities" to aid His
Cause, the long series of events which have illuminated the annals of
Bahá'í history in the course of six memorable decades stretching from
the time when the name of Bahá'u'lláh was first publicly mentioned
on the American continent to the present hour when the first
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the West has finally been dedicated to public
worship on the occasion of the celebrations signalizing the termination
of the first century since the birth of His Mission. I can but, at
this juncture, touch upon certain outstanding episodes which, viewed
in their proper perspective, may well be regarded as landmarks in the
rise and development of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh throughout the
Americas. I am particularly reminded of the holding of the World
Parliament of Religions of Chicago in September 1893; of the arrival
of the first American Bahá'í pilgrims in the Holy Land in December
1898; of the inception of the Temple enterprise in June 1903;
of the opening of the first American Bahá'í Convention in March
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1909; of `Abdu'l-Bahá's arrival in America in April 1912; of the laying
by Him of the cornerstone of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in May
1912; of the unveiling of the Tablets of the Divine Plan in April
1919; of the birth and rise of the Bahá'í Administrative Order on the
morrow of `Abdu'l-Bahá's ascension; of the official inauguration of
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Plan through the launching of the first seven-year
teaching enterprise in April 1937; of the completion of the exterior
ornamentation of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, on the eve of the centenary
celebrations of the Founding of the Faith, in May 1944; of the inception
of the Second Seven-Year Plan in April 1946; of the formation
of an independent National Spiritual Assembly in the Dominion
of Canada in April 1948; of the establishment of the National Spiritual
Assemblies of Central and South America in April 1951; and of
the completion of the interior ornamentation of the Temple in October
1952.
SIX DECADES OF ACHIEVEMENT
So remarkable a development in the course of the past six decades,
spanning the concluding phase of the Heroic and the opening decade
of the Formative Age of the Faith, and encompassing the length and
breadth of a continent, so greatly blessed, so richly endowed, has resulted
in the extension of the ramifications of a nascent Administrative
Order to every state of the American Union, to every province
of the Dominion of Canada, and to every republic of Central and
South America; in the construction, the ornamentation, and the dedication
to public worship of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the western
world; in the erection of no less than four pillars destined with
others to sustain the weight of the final and crowning unit of the
administrative structure of the Faith; in the establishment of over ninety
centers in the Dominion of Canada, of over an hundred centers in
Latin America, and of over twelve hundred centers in the great republic
of the West, covering a range that stretches from the Arctic
Circle in the North to the extremity of Chile in the South; in the
founding of local and national endowments estimated at over three
million dollars; in the incorporation of no less than four national, and
of more than fifty local Bahá'í spiritual assemblies; in the recognition
by eighteen states of the American Union of the Bahá'í marriage certificate;
in the establishment of two national administrative headquarters,
one in the Dominion of Canada and the other in the heart
of the North American continent; in the framing of national Bahá'í
constitutions; in the inauguration of summer schools; and in a notable
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progress in the translation, the printing and the dissemination of
Bahá'í literature.
The hour has now struck for the national Bahá'í communities
dwelling within the confines of the Western Hemisphere--the first
region in the western world to be warmed and illuminated by the rays
of God's infant Faith shining from its World Center in the Holy
Land--to arise and, in thanksgiving for the manifold blessings continually
showered upon them from on high during the past six decades
and for the inestimable bounties of God's unfailing protection and
sustaining grace vouchsafed His Cause ever since its inception more
than a century ago, and in anticipation of the Most Great Jubilee
which will commemorate the hundredth anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's
formal assumption of His prophetic office, launch, determinedly and
unitedly, the third and last stage of an enterprise inaugurated sixteen
years ago, the termination of which will mark the closing of the initial
epoch in the evolution of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan. Standing
on the threshold of a ten-year-long, world-embracing Spiritual Crusade
these communities are now called upon, by virtue of the weighty
pronouncement recorded in the Most Holy Book, and in direct consequence
of the revelation of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, to play a
preponderating role in the systematic propagation of the Faith, in the
course of the coming decade, which will, God willing, culminate in
the spiritual conquest of the entire planet.
It is incumbent upon the members of the American Bahá'í Community,
the chief executors of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan, the members
of the Canadian Bahá'í Community acting as their allies, and the
members of the Latin American Bahá'í Communities in their capacity
as associates in the execution of this Plan, to brace themselves and
initiate, in addition to the responsibilities they have assumed, and will
assume, in other continents of the globe, an intercontinental campaign
designed to carry a stage further the glorious work already inaugurated
throughout the Western Hemisphere.
SPECIAL TASKS OF FOUR NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES
The task, at once arduous, thrilling and challenging, which now
confronts these four Bahá'í communities involves: First, the formation,
under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of the United States, and in collaboration with the two existing
national assemblies in Latin America, of one national spiritual
assembly in each of the twenty Latin American republics as well as
the establishment of a national spiritual assembly in Alaska under
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the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the
United States of America. Second, the establishment of the first dependency
of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Wilmette. Third, the purchase
of land for the future construction of two Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs,
one in Toronto, Ontario; one in Panama City, Panama, situated respectively
in North and in Central America. Fourth, the opening of
the following twenty-seven virgin territories and islands: Anticosti
Island, Baranof Island, Cape Breton Island, Franklin, Grand Manan
Island, Keewatin, Labrador, Magdalen Islands, Miquelon Island and
St. Pierre Island, Queen Charlotte Islands and Yukon, assigned to the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada; Aleutian Islands,
Falkland Islands, Key West and Kodiak Island assigned to the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of
America; Bahama Islands, British Honduras, Dutch West Indies and
Margarita Island, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Central America; British Guiana, Chilöe Island, Dutch
Guiana, French Guiana, Galapagos Islands, Juan Fernandez Islands,
Leeward Islands, and Windward Islands, assigned to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South America. Fifth, the translation
and publication of Bahá'í literature in the following ten languages,
to be undertaken by the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of the United States of America: Aguaruna, Arawak, Blackfoot,
Cherokee, Iroquois, Lengua, Mataco, Maya, Mexican and
Yahgan. Sixth, the consolidation of Greenland, Mackenzie and Newfoundland,
allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Canada; of Alaska, the Hawaiian Islands and Puerto Rico
allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the
United States of America; of Bermuda, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican
Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica,
Martinique, Mexico, Nicaragua and Panama allocated to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Central America; and of Argentina,
Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru,
Uruguay and Venezuela, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of South America. Seventh, the incorporation of the
twenty-one above-mentioned national spiritual assemblies. Eighth,
the establishment by these same national spiritual assemblies of national
Bahá'í endowments. Ninth, the establishment of a national
Hazíratu'l-Quds in the capital city of each of the aforementioned republics,
as well as one in Anchorage, Alaska. Tenth, the formation of
two national Bahá'í publishing trusts, one in Wilmette, Illinois, and
the other in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Eleventh, the formation of an
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Israel branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
Canada, authorized to hold, on behalf of its parent institution, property
dedicated to the holy shrines at the World Center of the Faith
in the state of Israel. Twelfth, the appointment during Ridván 1954,
by the Hands of the Cause in the United States and Canada, of an
Auxiliary Board of nine members who will, in conjunction with the
four national spiritual assemblies participating in the American campaign,
assist, through periodic and systematic visits to Bahá'í centers,
in the efficient and prompt execution of the plans formulated for the
prosecution of the teaching campaign in the American continent.
PORTRAIT OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH SENT
Mindful of the magnificent services rendered during over half a
century by the chief executors of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan, within
a territory that posterity will regard as the cradle of the embryonic
World Order of Bahá'u'lláh and the stronghold of its nascent institutions,
and confident that this vast and historic assemblage, over which
the national elected representatives of this privileged community are
presiding, will prove to be the harbinger of still greater victories, I
have been impelled to transmit, through my special representative,
who will participate on my behalf in the proceedings of this conference
and act as my deputy at the official dedication of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár,
a reproduction of the portrait of Bahá'u'lláh Himself, made
in the prime of His life, whilst an exile in Baghdád, as a token of my
admiration for this community's unflagging and herculean labors,
and as a benediction and inspiration for those who, whether officially
or unofficially, are participating in the proceedings of a conference
that will go down in history as the most momentous gathering held
since the close of the Heroic Age of the Faith and will be regarded
as the most potent agency in paving the way for the launching of one
of the most brilliant phases of the grandest crusade ever undertaken
by the followers of Bahá'u'lláh since the inception of His Faith more
than a hundred years ago.
[May 3, 1953]
All-America Intercontinental Conference--
Second Message
On the occasion of the launching of an epochal, global, spiritual,
decade-long crusade, constituting the high-water mark of the festivities
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commemorating the centenary of the birth of the Mission of
Bahá'u'lláh, coinciding with the ninetieth anniversary of the declaration
of that same Mission in the Garden of Ridván, and synchronizing
with both the convocation of the All-American Intercontinental
Teaching Conference in Chicago, and the fiftieth anniversary of the
inception of the holiest Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Bahá'í world and
its dedication to public worship--on such a solemn and historic occasion
I invite His followers, the world over, to contemplate with me
the glorious and manifold evidences of the onward march of His
Faith and of the steady unfoldment of its embryonic World Order
both in the Holy Land and in the five continents of the globe.
This infinitely precious Faith, despite eleven decades of uninterrupted
persecution, on the part of governments and ecclesiastics, involving
the martyrdom of its Prophet-Herald, the four banishments
and forty-year-long exile suffered by its Founder, the forty years of
incarceration inflicted upon its Exemplar, and the sacrifice of no less
than twenty thousand of its followers, has succeeded in firmly establishing
itself in all the continents of the globe, and is irresistibly
forging ahead, with accelerating momentum, bidding fair to envelop,
at the close of the coming decade, the whole planet with the radiance
of its splendor.
Confined within the lifetime of its Martyr-Prophet to two countries,
reaching during the period of the ministry of its Author thirteen
other lands, planting its banner in the course of the ministry of the
Center of the Covenant in twenty additional sovereign states and dependencies
in both hemispheres, this Faith has spread, since the ascension
of `Abdu'l-Bahá, to ninety-four countries, raising the total number
of the territories within its pale to one hundred twenty-nine, no
less than eighteen of which were added in a single year, while fifty-one
were opened in the course of the nine-year interval separating the
first from the second Bahá'í Jubilee. The number of eastern and western
languages into which its literature has been translated and printed,
or is in the process of translation, and which reached forty-one a
decade ago, is now ninety-one, including thirteen African and twenty-five
Indian and Burmese languages. The number of settlements in
Greenland provided with Bahá'í scriptures in the Greenlandic tongue
has been raised to forty-eight, including Thule beyond the Arctic
Circle and Etah near the 80th latitude, whilst Bahá'í literature in that
same language has been dispatched as far north as the radio station at
Brondlunsfjord, Pearyland, 82nd latitude, the northernmost outpost
of the world. Representatives of thirty-one races and of twenty-four
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African tribes have been enrolled in the Bahá'í World Community.
Contact has been established with the following seventeen minority
groups and races: the Eskimos of Alaska and Greenland, the
Lapps of Scandinavia, the Maoris of New Zealand, the Sea-Dayaks
of Sarawak, the Polynesians of the Fiji Islands, the Cree Indians of
Prairie Provinces, Canada, the Cherokee Indians in North Carolina,
the Oneida Indians in Wisconsin, the Omaha Indians in Nebraska,
the Seminole Indians in Florida, the Mexican Indians in Mexico, the
Indians of the San Blas Islands, the Indians of Chichicastenango in
Guatemala, the Mayans in Yucatan, the Patagonian Indians in Argentina,
the Indians of La Paz in Bolivia and the Inca Indians in Peru.
ELEVEN PILLARS OF THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE RAISE CENTERS TO 2500
The national plans, formulated and vigorously and systematically
prosecuted, in the course of the concluding years of the first, and the
opening years of the second, epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith,
by the Bahá'í communities in the United States, in Persia, in the British
Isles, in Latin America, in Canada, in India, Pákistán and Burma,
in `Iráq, in Australia and New Zealand, in Germany and Austria, in
Egypt and the Súdán, have raised the number of Bahá'í centers established
in both hemispheres to two thousand five hundred maintained
by representatives of the white, the black, the yellow, the red and the
brown races of mankind, comprising ten in the Arabian Peninsula,
over thirty in Egypt and the Súdán, over forty in the recently opened
European goal countries, over fifty in the British Isles, over sixty in
Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania, over seventy in Germany and
Austria, over ninety in Canada, over ninety in India, Pákistán and
Burma, over one hundred in Central and South America, over six
hundred in Persia and over one thousand two hundred in the United
States of America. The superstructure of the Sepulcher of the
Martyr-Herald of the Faith--a three-quarters of a million dollar enterprise--
is nearing completion, on the slopes of the Mountain of
God, within the heart of the Holy Land, the nest of the Prophets, and
the divinely chosen Spiritual and Administrative Center of the Bahá'í
world. The preliminary measures, heralding the unfoldment of the
institution of Guardianship, the pivot of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and
Testament, have been adopted, through the appointment of the first
two contingents of the Hands of the Cause, numbering nineteen, recruited
from the five continents of the globe, representative in their
extraction of the three principal religions of mankind, and constituting
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the nucleus of that august institution invested with such
weighty and sacred functions by the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant.
The International Bahá'í Council, comprising eight members,
charged with assisting in the manifold activities attendant upon the
rise of the World Administrative Center of the Faith, which must
pave the way for the formation of a Bahá'í International Court and
the eventual emergence of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme
legislative body of the future Bahá'í Commonwealth, has been
established, enlarged, and the functions of its members defined. The
number of the pillars of the Universal House of Justice has been
raised to twelve through the successive formation of the Canadian,
the Central American, the South American and the Italo-Swiss National
Spiritual Assemblies. The stupendous process of the rise and
consolidation of the World Administrative Center of the Faith has
been accelerated through the acquisition, in the Plain of `Akká, of a
one hundred and sixty thousand square meter area, surrounding the
Qiblih of the Bahá'í world, permitting of the extension of the Outer
Sanctuary of the Most Holy Tomb--to be designated henceforth the
Harám-i-Aqdas--through the initiation, at the inception of the Holy
Year, of the landscaping and embellishment of a tenth of the acquired
area, and through the adoption of measures for the extensive illumination
of the entire Sanctuary and the erection of stately portals constituting
a befitting tribute to the memory of the Author of the Faith,
within the sacred precincts of His Sepulcher, on the occasion of the
celebration of the greatest festival of the year commemorating the
Centenary of the birth of His Mission. The fifty-year-old enterprise,
involving the purchase of land for the construction, the exterior and
interior ornamentation, and the landscaping of the grounds of the
holiest House of Worship ever to be reared to the glory of the Most
Great Name, the Mother Temple of the West, and involving the expenditure
of over two and a half million dollars, has been consummated,
in time for its dedication to public worship during the Ridván
period of this Holy Year coinciding with both the fiftieth anniversary
of the inception of this enterprise and the one-hundredth anniversary
of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's ministry. The design for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár
on Mt. Carmel, conceived by the architect appointed by
`Abdu'l-Bahá, has been completed, and a model constructed, which is
soon to be unveiled at the All-America Intercontinental Teaching
Conference, in anticipation of the selection and the purchase of its
future site, and of its ultimate construction in the neighborhood of
the Báb's Sepulcher. The total area of Bahá'í international endowments,
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surrounding and permanently dedicated to the Tomb of the
Báb has been raised, through recent successive purchases of extensive
plots, overlooking that hallowed spot, to almost one-quarter of a million
square meters. The estimated value of the Bahá'í international
endowments and holy places at the World Center of the Faith, in the
twin cities of `Akká and Haifa, has passed the four million dollar
mark. The Bahá'í national endowments in the United States of America
now exceed three million dollars. The area of land purchased on
the slopes of the Elburz Mountains, overlooking the city of Tihrán,
in anticipation of the construction of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of
Persia, has reached approximately four million square meters. The
area of land dedicated to the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, in the vicinity of
the confines of the Holy Land, exceeds two million three hundred
thousand square meters. The area of land dedicated to the Shrine of
the Báb and registered in the name of the Israel branch of the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of
America, is more than one hundred thousand square meters. Over
one hundred and fifty thousand square meters of land have been dedicated
to the Faith in the Antipodes, eighty thousand square meters
in the Territory of Alaska, whilst the lands contributed in Latin
America for a similar purpose approximate one-half of a million
square meters, ninety thousand of which have been set aside near
Santiago, Chile, for the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of South America.
The estimated value of the national Bahá'í administrative headquarters
established in Tihrán, in Wilmette, Illinois, in Baghdád, in Cairo,
in New Delhi, in Sydney, in Frankfurt and in Toronto, exceeds one
and three-quarters of a million dollars. The Bahá'í spiritual assemblies
now incorporated number one hundred and fourteen, of which
nine are national and the rest local assemblies, fifty-six of which are
in the United States of America, sixteen in India, eleven in South
America, six in Central America, three each in Pákistán, in Burma
and in Canada, two in Australia and one each in Germany, in Balúchistán,
in New Zealand, in the Philippine Islands and in Malaya.
The Bahá'í marriage certificate has been recognized by the Israel civil
authorities, as well as by twenty-one federal districts and states of the
United States of America. The Bahá'í holy days have been recognized
by the Ministry of Education of the State of Israel, in the British
Isles, by the state of Victoria in Australia, in Anchorage, Alaska,
in Washington, D.C. and in seven states of the American Union. National
Bahá'í conferences have been held in recent years in Bern,
Zurich, Basel, Rome; national Bahá'í women's conventions and youth
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conferences have convened in Tihrán, whilst regional teaching conferences
have been organized in Buenos Aires, in Panama City, in
Scandinavia, in the Iberian Peninsula, and in the Benelux countries.
European international teaching conferences have been convened successively
in Geneva, in Brussels, in Copenhagen, in Scheveningen and
in Luxembourg City, paving the way for the convocation of four
successive Intercontinental Teaching Conferences, the first of which
has recently been held in Kampala, in the heart of the African continent,
the rest to be successively convened in Wilmette, Illinois, in
Stockholm and in New Delhi--Conferences which, God willing, will
be the forerunners of the World Bahá'í Congress, to be convened in
the city of Baghdád, on the occasion of the centenary of the formal
assumption by Bahá'u'lláh of His prophetic office. Recognition has
been extended to the Faith by the United Nations as an international
non-governmental organization enabling the Bahá'í International
Community to appoint accredited representatives, who have already
attended, in their capacity as observers, the Conference on Human
Rights held in Geneva and the United Nations General Assembly
held in Paris and participated in United Nations regional non-governmental
conferences, held in localities as far apart as New York,
Santiago, Manila, Istanbul, Den Passar, Paris, Managua, Geneva
and Montevideo.
PRELUDE TO PRODIGIOUS EXPANSION
So glorious a record of accomplishments in the service of the
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, whether local, national or international, in both
the teaching and administrative spheres of Bahá'í activity, can be regarded
in no other light than as a prelude to a period of prodigious
expansion and consolidation to be inaugurated by the launching of a
global spiritual crusade, on the threshold of which the Bahá'í world
now stands. This crusade extending through ten years will involve
the simultaneous prosecution of twelve national plans, will necessitate
the active and sustained participation of each of the twelve existing
national spiritual assemblies representing no less than thirty-six nations
and will demand the utmost exertion, consecration and heroism.
It aims at the broadening and the reinforcement of the foundations
of the Faith in each of the twelve areas that are to serve as operational
bases for the prosecution of these twelve national plans; the
opening of one hundred and thirty-one territories to the Faith; the
consolidation of one hundred and eighteen territories; the translation
and printing of literature in ninety-one languages; the construction
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of two Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs; the acquisition of sites for the future
construction of eleven Temples; the formation of forty-eight national
spiritual assemblies; the founding of forty-seven national Hazíratu'l-Quds;
the incorporation of fifty national spiritual assemblies; the
framing of Bahá'í national constitutions and the establishment of
Bahá'í national endowments by each of these national assemblies; the
adoption of preliminary measures for the construction of Bahá'u'lláh's
Sepulcher; the erection of the first dependency of the first
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the western world; the development of the
institution of the Hands of the Cause; the transformation of the International
Bahá'í Council into an international Bahá'í court; the codification
of the laws and ordinances of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas; the establishment
of six national Bahá'í Courts in the chief cities of the Islamic
East; the extension of international Bahá'í endowments in the Plain
of `Akká and on the slopes of Mt. Carmel; the construction of the
International Bahá'í Archives in the neighborhood of the Báb's Sepulcher;
the construction of the tomb of the Báb's wife in Shíráz; the
identification of the resting-places of Bahá'u'lláh's father, of the
Báb's mother and of His cousin and their reburial in the neighborhood
of the Most Great House; the acquisition of the Garden of
Ridván in Baghdád, and of the sites of the Síyáh-Chál in Tihrán, of
the Báb's martyrdom in Tabríz and of His incarceration in Chihríq;
the establishment of six Bahá'í national publishing trusts; the formation
of seven Israel branches of Bahá'í national spiritual assemblies;
the participation of women in the membership of Bahá'í local and
national spiritual assemblies in Persia; the establishment of a Bahá'í
national printing-press in Tihrán; the reinforcement of the ties binding
the Bahá'í World Community with the United Nations; the
opening to the Faith, circumstances permitting, of eleven republics
comprised in the Soviet Union, as well as two Soviet-controlled European
states--all, please God, culminating in the convocation of a
World Bahá'í Congress, in the vicinity of the Garden of Ridván, in
the third holiest city of the Bahá'í world, on the occasion of the world-wide
celebrations commemorating the centenary of the formal assumption
by Bahá'u'lláh of His prophetic office.
A PLANETARY SPIRITUAL CRUSADE
Let there be no mistake. The avowed, the primary aim of this
Spiritual Crusade is none other than the conquest of the citadels of
men's hearts. The theater of its operations is the entire planet. Its
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duration a whole decade. Its commencement synchronizes with the
centenary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Mission. Its culmination will
coincide with the centenary of the declaration of that same Mission.
The agencies assisting in its conduct are the nascent administrative
institutions of a steadily evolving divinely appointed order. Its driving
force is the energizing influence generated by the Revelation heralded
by the Báb and proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh. Its Marshal is none other
than the Author of the Divine Plan. Its standard-bearers are the
Hands of the Cause of God appointed in every continent of the globe.
Its generals are the twelve national spiritual assemblies participating
in the execution of its design. Its vanguard is the chief executors of
`Abdu'l-Bahá's master plan, their allies and associates. Its legions are
the rank and file of believers standing behind these same twelve national
assemblies and sharing in the global task embracing the American,
the European, the African, the Asiatic and Australian fronts.
The charter directing its course is the immortal Tablets that have
flowed from the pen of the Center of the Covenant Himself. The
armor with which its onrushing hosts have been invested is the glad
tidings of God's own message in this day, the principles underlying
the order proclaimed by His Messenger, and the laws and ordinances
governing His Dispensation. The battle cry animating its heroes and
heroines is the cry of Yá-Bahá'u'l-Abhá, Yá Alíyyu'l-`Alá.
So vast, so momentous and challenging a crusade that will, God
willing, illuminate the annals of the second epoch of the Formative
Age of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and immortalize the second decade
of the second Bahá'í century, and the termination of which will mark
the closing of the first epoch in the evolution of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine
Plan, will, in itself, pave the way for, and constitute the prelude
to, the initiation of the laborious and tremendously long process of
establishing in the course of subsequent crusades in all the newly
opened sovereign states, dependencies and islands of the planet, as
well as in all the remaining territories of the globe, the framework of
the Administrative Order of the Faith, with all its attendant agencies,
and of eventually erecting in these territories still more pillars to
share in sustaining the weight and in broadening the foundation of
the Universal House of Justice.
BEGIN NINTH PART OF MAJESTIC PROCESS
Then, and only then, will the vast, the majestic process, set in
motion at the dawn of the Adamic cycle, attain its consummation--a
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process which commenced six thousand years ago, with the planting,
in the soil of the divine will, of the tree of divine revelation, and
which has already passed through certain stages and must needs pass
through still others ere it attains its final consummation. The first part
of this process was the slow and steady growth of this tree of divine
revelation, successively putting forth its branches, shoots and offshoots,
and revealing its leaves, buds and blossoms, as a direct consequence
of the light and warmth imparted to it by a series of progressive
dispensations associated with Moses, Zoroaster, Buddha,
Jesus, Muhammad and other Prophets, and of the vernal showers of
blood shed by countless martyrs in their path. The second part of this
process was the fruition of this tree, "that belongeth neither to the
East nor to the West," when the Báb appeared as the perfect fruit and
declared His mission in the Year Sixty in the city of Shíráz. The
third part was the grinding of this sacred seed, of infinite preciousness
and potency, in the mill of adversity, causing it to yield its oil,
six years later, in the city of Tabríz. The fourth part was the ignition
of this oil by the hand of Providence in the depths and amidst the
darkness of the Síyáh-Chál of Tihrán a hundred years ago. The fifth,
was the clothing of that flickering light, which had scarcely penetrated
the adjoining territory of `Iráq, in the lamp of revelation, after
an eclipse lasting no less than ten years, in the city of Baghdád. The
sixth, was the spread of the radiance of that light, shining with added
brilliancy in its crystal globe in Adrianople, and later on in the fortress
town of `Akká, to thirteen countries in the Asiatic and African continents.
The seventh was its projection, from the Most Great Prison,
in the course of the ministry of the Center of the Covenant, across
the seas and the shedding of its illumination upon twenty sovereign
states and dependencies in the American, the European, and Australian
continents. The eighth part of that process was the diffusion of
that same light in the course of the first, and the opening years of the
second, epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith, over ninety-four
sovereign states, dependencies and islands of the planet, as a result of
the prosecution of a series of national plans, initiated by eleven national
spiritual assemblies throughout the Bahá'í world, utilizing the
agencies of a newly emerged, divinely appointed Administrative Order,
and which has now culminated in the one hundredth anniversary
of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Mission. The ninth part of this process--
the stage we are now entering--is the further diffusion of that same
light over one hundred and thirty-one additional territories and islands
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in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, through the operation
of a decade-long world spiritual crusade whose termination
will, God willing, coincide with the Most Great Jubilee commemorating
the centenary of the declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád.
And finally the tenth part of this mighty process must be the penetration
of that light, in the course of numerous crusades and of successive
epochs of both the Formative and Golden Ages of the Faith, into
all the remaining territories of the globe through the erection of the
entire machinery of Bahá'u'lláh's Administrative Order in all territories,
both East and West, the stage at which the light of God's triumphant
Faith shining in all its power and glory will have suffused
and enveloped the entire planet.
This present Crusade, on the threshold of which we now stand,
will, moreover, by virtue of the dynamic forces it will release and its
wide repercussions over the entire surface of the globe, contribute
effectually to the acceleration of yet another process of tremendous
significance which will carry the steadily evolving Faith of Bahá'u'lláh
through its present stages of obscurity, of repression, of emancipation
and of recognition--stages one or another of which Bahá'í
national communities in various parts of the world now find themselves
in--to the stage of establishment, the stage at which the Faith
of Bahá'u'lláh will be recognized by the civil authorities as the state
religion, similar to that which Christianity entered in the years following
the death of the Emperor Constantine, a stage which must
later be followed by the emergence of the Bahá'í state itself, functioning,
in all religious and civil matters, in strict accordance with the
laws and ordinances of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy, the
Mother-Book of the Bahá'í Revelation, a stage which, in the fullness
of time, will culminate in the establishment of the World Bahá'í
Commonwealth, functioning in the plenitude of its powers, and which
will signalize the long-awaited advent of the Christ-promised Kingdom
of God on earth--the Kingdom of Bahá'u'lláh--mirroring however
faintly upon this humble handful of dust the glories of the Abhá
Kingdom.
This final and crowning stage in the evolution of the plan wrought
by God Himself for humanity will, in turn, prove to be the signal
for the birth of a world civilization, incomparable in its range, its
character and potency, in the history of mankind--a civilization
which posterity will, with one voice, acclaim as the fairest fruit of
the Golden Age of the Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, and whose rich
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harvest will be garnered during future dispensations destined to succeed
one another in the course of the five thousand century Bahá'í
Cycle.
[May 4, 1953]
Appeal for Funds to Purchase Temple Site in Italy
Launching of the World Crusade signalized spontaneous contributions
from the delegates assembled in Florence to purchase land
for the first Italian Mashriqu'l-Adhkár within the stronghold of
leading community of Christendom. Appeal to national assemblies
of the Bahá'í world to participate in the historic enterprise synchronizing
with emergence of a sister assembly on European continent.
Urged in message, addressed to Hand of the Cause Ugo
Giachery, the selection of the site. Transmitting one thousand pounds
as my contribution for this meritorious purpose to the treasurer,
Anne Lynch, in Geneva.
[May 4, 1953]
Joyful Announcement of Progress
Joyfully announce to the Bahá'í world the rapid progress of the
final stages of the construction of the Báb's mausoleum on Mt. Carmel,
as well as the splendid initiative of the Bahá'ís of Panama aiming
at the acquisition of the site of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of
Central America. Erection of the lantern and the placing of the ribs
of the dome completed. Five thousand gilded tiles dispatched from
Utrecht have been safely received, half of which have been already
placed in position, disclosing a glimpse of the shining splendor of the
completed dome.
Appeal to national assemblies, East and West, to participate
through contributions, in the meritorious endeavors exerted toward
the eventual establishment of a Bahá'í House of Worship in the City
of Panama, specifically mentioned by `Abdu'l-Bahá, situated in the
heart of the Western Hemisphere. Myself contributed five hundred
pounds for the furtherance of this notable objective of the Ten Year
Global Crusade.
Share message with national assemblies.
[June 25, 1953]
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European Intercontinental Conference
[Stockholm, Sweden, July 21-26, 1953]
With a glad and grateful heart I welcome the convocation, in the
capital city of Sweden, of the third of a series of Intercontinental
Teaching Conferences associated with the world-wide festivities
commemorating the centenary of the Mission of Bahá'u'lláh and
destined to exert a profound and lasting influence on the immediate
fortunes of His Faith in all continents of the globe.
I look back, with feelings of wonder, thankfulness and joy, upon
the chain of memorable circumstances which, a little over a century
ago, accompanied the introduction of the Faith into, and marked
the inception of its nascent institutions within, a continent which,
in the course of the last two thousand years, has exercised on the
destiny of the human race a pervasive influence unequaled by that of
any other continent of the globe.
I feel impelled, on this historic occasion, when the members of
the American, the British, the German and the newly formed Italo-Swiss
National Spiritual Assemblies, as well as representatives of
the Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom, of Eire, of Germany, of Austria,
of the Scandinavian and Benelux countries, of the Iberian Peninsula,
of Italy, of Switzerland, of France and of Finland are assembled,
to pay a warm tribute to the valiant labors of the early British and
French Bahá'í pioneers, who at the very dawn of the Faith in Europe,
strove with such diligence, consecration and resolution, to
fan into flame that holy fire which the hand of the appointed Center
of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant had kindled in the northwest extremity of
that continent on the morrow of His Father's ascension. I recall the
slow eastward spread of that infant light which led to the gradual
emergence of the German and Austrian Bahá'í Communities, during
the darkest period of `Abdu'l-Bahá's incarceration in the prison-fortress
of `Akká. I am reminded of His subsequent epoch-making
visit, soon after His providential release from His forty-year confinement
in the Most Great Prison, to these newly fledged struggling
communities, of His patient seed-sowing destined to yield at a later
age its first fruits, and constituting a landmark of the utmost significance
in the rise and establishment of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh
in that continent.
EMERGENCE OF FAITH'S EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS
I, moreover, call to mind, on this occasion, the successive episodes
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which, on the morrow of `Abdu'l-Bahá's ascension, in the course of
the initial epoch of the Formative Age of the Bahá'í Dispensation,
signalized the emergence of those administrative institutions, both
local and national, which proclaimed the germination of those potent
seeds which had lain dormant for more than a decade in these newly
opened European territories, and which culminated in the construction
of the framework of the Administrative Order of the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh and the erection of the first two pillars destined to sustain
in that continent the weight of the final unit of that Order.
Nor can I fail to acclaim, as a further milestone in the irresistible
evolution of that Faith, the launching, following the creation
of the administrative agencies designed to provide the effectual instruments
for its propagation, of the Six-Year Plan of the British
Bahá'í Community followed successively by the European Teaching
Campaign, inaugurated in accordance with the provisions of the
Second Seven-Year Plan of the American Bahá'í Community, the
Five-Year Plan conceived by the German and Austrian Bahá'í Communities
and the Two-Year Plan later initiated by the British Bahá'í Community--
Plans which, within less than a decade, succeeded in
laying the structural basis of the Administrative Order of the Faith
in Wales, in Scotland, in Northern Ireland and in Eire, in multiplying
and consolidating Bahá'í institutions throughout the
British Isles, in broadening and strengthening the foundations of that same
Order in Germany and Austria, in erecting the National Administrative
Headquarters of the Faith in the city of Frankfurt, in establishing
spiritual assemblies in the capital cities of no less than ten
sovereign states in Europe, in reinforcing the administrative foundations
of that Faith in those territories, in providing the means
for the convocation of five European, and a series of regional, teaching
conferences, and above all, in the convocation of the historic
convention in Florence culminating in the emergence of the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland, the third
in a series of institutions destined to play their part in the eventual
establishment of the supreme legislative body of the Administrative
Order of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
The hour is now ripe for these communities whether new or old,
local or national, already functioning on the northern, the western
and the southern fringes of that continent, as well as those situated
in its very heart, to initiate befittingly and prosecute energetically
the European campaign of a global Crusade which will not only
contribute, to an unprecedented degree, to the broadening and the
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consolidation of the foundations of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh on the
continent of Europe, but will also diffuse its light over the neighboring
islands, and will, God willing, carry its radiance to the eastern
territories of that continent, and beyond them as far as the heart of
Asia.
CRUSADE PROJECTS TO BE UNDERTAKEN
The privileged prosecutors of so revolutionizing, so gigantic, so
sacred and beneficent a campaign, are, on the morrow of its launching,
and, at such a crucial hour in the destinies of the European
continent, summoned to undertake:
First, the formation, under the aegis of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, of one national spiritual
assembly in each one of the Scandinavian and Benelux countries,
and those of the Iberian Peninsula, and one in Finland, as well
as the establishment, in collaboration with the Paris Spiritual Assembly,
of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of France;
the establishment, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria, of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Austria; and the establishment, under
the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the
United States, and in association with the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland, of independent National
Spiritual Assemblies in Italy and Switzerland.
Second, the construction of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of
Europe in the city of Frankfurt, the heart of Germany, which occupies
such a central position in the continent of Europe.
Third, the purchase of land for the future construction of two
Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs, one in the north in the city of Stockholm, and
one in the south in the city of Rome, the seat and stronghold of the
most powerful church in Christendom.
Fourth, the opening of the following thirty virgin territories
and islands: Albania, Crete, Estonia, Finno-Karelia, Frisian Islands,
Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldavia, Rumania, White Russia, assigned
to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany
and Austria; Channel Islands, Cyprus, Faroe Islands, Hebrides
Islands, Malta, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, assigned to the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles;
Andorra, Azores, Balearic Islands, Lofoten Islands, Spitzbergen,
Ukraine, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís
of the United States of America; Liechtenstein, Monaco, Rhodes,
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San Marino, Sardinia, Sicily, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland.
Fifth, the translation and publication of Bahá'í literature in the
following ten languages to be undertaken by the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America, through
its European Teaching Committee: Basque, Estonian, Flemish,
Lapp, Maltese, Piedmontese, Romani, Romansch, Yiddish, Ziryen.
Sixth, the consolidation of Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France,
Holland, Italy, Luxembourg, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden,
Switzerland, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of the United States of America; of Austria, Bulgaria,
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Russian S.F.S., Yugoslavia, allocated
to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany
and Austria; of Eire, allocated to the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles; of Iceland, allocated
to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada; and
of Corsica, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Italy and Switzerland.
Seventh, the incorporation of the thirteen above-mentioned national
spiritual assemblies.
Eighth, the establishment by these same national spiritual assemblies
of national Bahá'í endowments.
Ninth, the establishment of a national Hazíratu'l-Quds in the
capital city of each of the countries where national spiritual assemblies
are to be established, as well as one in London and one in Paris.
Tenth, the formation of a national Bahá'í Publishing Trust in
Frankfurt, Germany.
Eleventh, the formation of Israel branches of the National Spiritual
Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles and of Germany
and Austria, authorized to hold, on behalf of their parent institutions,
property dedicated to the holy shrines at the World Center of
the Faith in the state of Israel.
Twelfth, the conversion to the Faith of representatives of the
Basque and Gypsy races.
Thirteenth, the appointment, during Ridván 1954, by the Hands
of the Cause in Europe, of an Auxiliary Board of nine members
who will, in conjunction with the four national spiritual assemblies
participating in the European campaign, assist, through periodic and
systematic visits to Bahá'í centers, in the efficient and prompt execution
of the plans formulated for the prosecution of the teaching campaign
in the European continent.
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OPENING OF A GREAT SPIRITUAL REVIVAL
A continent, occupying such a central and strategic position on
the entire planet; so rich and eventful in its history, so diversified
in its culture; from whose soil sprang both the Hellenic and Roman
civilizations; the mainspring of a civilization to some of whose
features Bahá'u'lláh Himself paid tribute; on whose southern shores
Christendom first established its home; along whose eastern marches
the mighty forces of the Cross and the Crescent so frequently
clashed; on whose southwestern extremity a fast evolving Islamic
culture yielded its fairest fruit; in whose heart the light of the Reformation
shone so brightly, shedding its rays as far as the outlying
regions of the globe; the wellspring of American culture; whose
northern and western fringes were first warmed and illuminated,
less than a century ago, by the dawning light of the Revelation of
Bahá'u'lláh; in whose heart a community, so rich in promise, was
subsequently established; whose soil was later sanctified by the
twice-repeated visit of the appointed Center of His Covenant; which
witnessed, in consequence of the rise and establishment of the Administrative
Order of His Faith, the erection of two of the foremost
pillars of the future Universal House of Justice; which, in
recent years, sustained the dynamic impact of a series of national
plans preparatory to the launching of a World Spiritual Crusade--
such a continent has at last at this critical hour--this great turning-point
in its fortunes--entered upon what may well be regarded as
the opening phase of a great spiritual revival that bids fair to eclipse
any period in its spiritual history.
May the elected representatives of the national Bahá'í communities
entrusted with the conduct of this momentous undertaking
launched on the soil of this continent, aided by the Hands of the
Cause and their Auxiliary Board, reinforced by the local communities,
the groups and isolated believers sharing in this massive and
collective enterprise, and supported by the subsidiary agencies to be
appointed for its efficient prosecution, be graciously assisted by the
Lord of Hosts to contribute, in the years immediately ahead, through
their concerted efforts and collective achievements, in both the teaching
and administrative spheres of Bahá'í activity, to the success of
this glorious Crusade, and lend a tremendous impetus to the conversion,
the reconciliation and the ultimate unification of the divers
and conflicting peoples, races and classes dwelling within the borders
of a travailing, a sorely agitated, and spiritually famished continent.
+P162
May all the privileged participators, enlisting under the banner of
Bahá'u'lláh for the promotion of so preeminent and meritorious a
Cause, be they from the Eastern or Western Hemisphere, of either
sex, white or colored, young or old, neophyte or veteran, whether
serving in their capacity as expounders of the teachings, or administrators,
of His Faith, as settlers or itinerant teachers, distinguish
themselves by such deeds of heroism as will rival, nay outshine, the
feats accomplished nineteen hundred years ago, by that little band of
God-intoxicated disciples who, fearlessly preaching the Gospel of a
newly arisen Messiah, contributed so decisively to the illumination,
the regeneration and the advancement of the entire European continent.
[July 1953]
Magnificent Response by Communities of East and West
Happy to convey to assembled friends at epoch-making conference
the news of the magnificent response by Bahá'í communities in
the East and in the West, during the course of the less than three-month
interval separating the second and third Intercontinental
Conferences of this Holy Year, to the call to arise and befittingly
inaugurate the opening phase of the World Crusade. The number of
the pioneers, whether white or colored, young or old, on all continents
who volunteered for service in both virgin and open territories
is past the two hundred mark, including three offers for the leper
colonies. Ruanda-Urundi, Samoan Islands, Daman, Southern Rhodesia,
Goa, Kodiak Island and Italian Somaliland are already opened.
The settlement of French Equatorial Africa, Solomon Islands,
Queen Charlotte Islands, South West Africa, Cape Verde Islands,
Togoland, Mauritius, Reunion Island, St. Helena Island, St. Thomas
Island, Channel Islands, Aleutian Islands, Azores, Key West, Cook
Islands, Monaco, Balearic Islands, Malta, Cyprus, Hebrides Islands,
Northern Territories Protectorate, Seychelles, Andorra, Canary Islands
and French Somaliland is virtually assured. The northern outposts
of the Faith in the Western Hemisphere have been pushed as
far as Arctic Bay, Franklin, seventy-three degrees north latitude,
and in Europe as far as the Lofoten Islands. A pioneer is en route
to Fezzan, Libya, chosen scene of `Abdu'l-Bahá's banishment by
`Abdu'l-Hamíd.
All the areas within the Western Hemisphere allocated to the
+P163
United States National Assembly are assigned. A third of the membership
of that same Assembly is joining the ranks of the pioneers.
The remaining sister national assemblies are now vying in a spiritual
race to complete assignments in their respective continents. Funds
are inaugurated and sites are being investigated for the purchase of
land for the Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs of Rome, Panama City and Toronto
and for a national Hazíratu'l-Quds in London. I appeal to the attendants
at this conference, in thanksgiving for the manifold blessings
abundantly showered upon Bahá'u'lláh's crusaders, to immortalize
their proceedings through the inauguration of funds for the purchase
of sites for Temples in that northern city, the scene of the present
conference, and in Frankfurt in the heart of the European continent.
I am contributing two thousand pounds for the furtherance
of these meritorious enterprises.
I urge, moreover, that the participants, in view of the disproportionately
small number of pioneers destined for virgin territories
in relation to the total of volunteers, swell the roll of honor through
enlisting promptly under the unfurled banner of the advancing hosts
of Bahá'u'lláh. No worthier contribution can be offered on the altar
of Bahá'í sacrifice, no greater honor won during the course of the
Holy Year now swiftly drawing to its close.
[July 1953]
Asian Intercontinental Conference
[NEW DELHI, INDIA, OCTOBER 7-15, 1953]
With high hopes and a joyful heart I acclaim the convocation,
in the leading city of the Indian subcontinent, of the fourth and last
of the Intercontinental Teaching Conferences of a memorable Holy
Year commemorating the centenary of the birth of the prophetic
Mission of Bahá'u'lláh.
On this historic occasion, when the members of the National
Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America,
of the Dominion of Canada, of Central and South America, of Persia,
of the Indian subcontinent and of Burma, of `Iráq and of Australasia,
as well as representatives of the sovereign states and
dependencies of the Asiatic continent, of the republics of North, Central
and South America, and of Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania
are assembled, and are to deliberate on the needs and requirements
of the recently launched triple campaign embracing the Asiatic
+P164
mainland, the Australian continent and the islands of the Pacific
Ocean--a campaign which may well be regarded as the most extensive,
the most arduous and the most momentous of all the
campaigns of a world-girdling Crusade, and which, in its scope, is
unparalleled in the history of the Faith in the entire Eastern Hemisphere--
my thoughts, on such an occasion, go back to the early
dawn of our Faith, to those unforgettable scenes of matchless heroism,
of dark tragedy, of imperishable glory which heralded its birth,
and accompanied the spread of its infant light in the heart of the
Asiatic continent.
I vividly recall the meteoric rise of the Faith of the Báb in the
provinces of Persia and the stirring episodes associated with His
cruel incarceration in the mountain-fastnesses of Ádhirbayján, with
the revelation of the laws of His Dispensation, with the proclamation
of the independence of His Faith, with the peerless heroism of His
disciples, with the fiendish cruelty of His foes--the chief magistrate,
the civil authorities, the ecclesiastical dignitaries and the masses of
the people of His native land--with the humiliation, the spoliation,
the dispersal, the eventual massacre of a vast number of His followers,
and, above all, with His own execution in the city of Tabríz.
EARLY STAGES OF BAHÁ'U'LLÁH'S FAITH
With a throb of wonder I call to mind the early and sudden
fruition of His Dispensation in the capital city of that land, and the
dramatic circumstances attending the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Revelation
culminating in His precipitate banishment to `Iráq.
I am reminded, moreover, of the initial spread of the light of
this revelation, in consequence of the banishment of Bahá'u'lláh, to
the adjoining territories of `Iráq, and, as far as the western fringes
of that continent, to Turkey and the neighboring territories of Lebanon,
Jordan and Syria, and, at a later stage, to the Indian subcontinent
and China, situated on the southern and eastern extremities
of that continent as well as to the Caucasus and Russian Turkistán.
Nor can I fail to remember the series of alternating crises and
victories, each constituting a landmark in the evolution of the Faith--
which it has experienced in some of these territories, associated
with the distressful withdrawal of its Author to the mountains of
Sulamáníyyih; with the glorious declaration of His Mission in Baghdád;
with His second and third banishments to Constantinople and
Adrianople; with the grievous rebellion of His half-brother; with
the proclamation of His own Mission; with His fourth banishment
+P165
to the desolate and far-off penal colony of `Akká in Syria;
with the revelation of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, His Most Holy Book;
with His ascension in the Holy Land; with the establishment of His
Covenant and the inauguration of the ministry of `Abdu'l-Bahá,
His son and the Exemplar and authorized Interpreter of His teachings.
These opening stages in the evolution of His Faith in the Asiatic
continent were followed, while the first and Apostolic Age of His
Dispensation was drawing to a close, by the opening of the islands
situated in the Pacific Ocean, Japan in the north, and the Australian
continent in the south. To these memorable chapters of Asian Bahá'í
history another was soon added, on the morrow of the ascension of
the Center of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, and during the initial epoch
of the Formative Age of the Faith, distinguished by the rise of the
Administrative Order and the erection of its pillars in the cradle of
that Faith, in `Iráq, in India, Pákistán and Burma and in the Antipodes.
This memorable episode in its development in that vast continent
was succeeded by the initiation, during the second epoch of that
same Age, of a series of plans in those same territories in support of
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Divine Plan and as a prelude to the opening of the
recently launched world-embracing Spiritual Crusade.
ASIA'S HOUR IN THE GLOBAL CRUSADE
The hour has now struck for this continent, on whose soil, more
than a century ago, so much sacred blood was shed, in whose very
heart deeds of such tragic heroism were performed, and in many of
whose territories such brilliant victories have been won, to contribute,
in association with its sister continents, to the progress and ultimate
triumph of this global Crusade, in a manner befitting its unrivaled
position in the entire Bahá'í world.
The various Bahá'í communities dwelling within the borders of
this continent and those situated to the south of its shores in the
Antipodes, which include the oldest and most venerable among all
the communities of the Bahá'í world, and whose members in their
aggregate constitute the overwhelming majority of the followers of
Bahá'u'lláh, are called upon, in close association with four other
Bahá'í communities in the Western Hemisphere, to undertake in
the course of the coming decade:
First, the construction of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár in Bahá'u'lláh's
native land, in the city of Tihrán, surnamed by Bahá'u'lláh
"Mother of the World."
+P166
Second, the purchase of land for the future construction of three
Mashriqu'l-Adhkárs, one in the city of Baghdád, enshrining the
"Most Great House," the third holiest city of the Bahá'í world, one
in New Delhi, the leading city of the Indian subcontinent, and the
third in Sydney, the oldest and foremost Bahá'í center in the Antipodes.
Third, the formation of no less than eleven national spiritual
assemblies, one each in Pákistán, Burma and Ceylon, under the
aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India,
Pákistán and Burma; one in Turkey and one in Afghánistán, under
the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia;
one in Japan, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America; one in New Zealand,
under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
Australia and New Zealand, as well as four regional national spiritual
assemblies, one in the Arabian Peninsula, under the aegis of the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia; one in southeast
Asia, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of India, Pákistán and Burma; a third in the South Pacific,
under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís
of the United States of America; and a fourth in the Near East,
under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís
of `Iráq.
Fourth, the opening of the following forty-one virgin territories
and islands: Andaman Islands, Bhutan, Daman, Diu, Goa, Karikal,
Máhe, Mariana Islands, Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry, Sikkim, assigned
to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India,
Pákistán and Burma; Caroline Islands, Dutch New Guinea, Hainan
Island, Kazakhstan, Macao Island, Sakhalin Island, Tibet, Tonga Islands,
assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís
of the United States of America; Brunei, Chagos Archipelago,
Kirgizia, Mongolia, Solomon Islands, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan,
assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia;
Admiralty Islands, Cocos Island, Loyalty Islands, Mentawei Islands,
New Hebrides Islands, Portuguese Timor, Society Islands, assigned
to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia and
New Zealand; Gilbert and Ellice Islands, Marshall Islands,
Tuamotu Archipelago, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá'ís of Central America; Hadhramaut, Kuria-Muria Islands,
assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
`Iráq; Marquesas Islands, Samoa Islands, assigned to the National
+P167
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada; Cook Islands, assigned
to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South America.
Fifth, the translation and publication of Bahá'í literature in the
following forty languages, to be undertaken by the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India, Pákistán and Burma, in association
with the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
Australia and New Zealand: Abor Miri, Aneityum, Annamese, Balochi,
Bentuni, Binandere, Cheremiss, Chungchia, Georgian, Houailou,
Javanese, Kado, Kaili, Kopu, Kusaie, Lepcha, Lifu, Manchu,
Manipuri, Manus Island, Marquesas, Mentawei, Mongolian, Mordoff,
Mwala, Na-Hsi, Nicobarese, Niue, Ossete, Ostiak, Pali, Panjabi,
Pashto, Perm, Petats, Samoan, Tho, Tibetan, Tongan, Vogul.
Sixth, the consolidation of Aden Protectorate, Ádhirbayján,
Afghánistán, Ahsá, Armenia, Bahrein Island, Georgia, Hijáz, Saudi-Arabia,
Turkey, Turkmenistan, Yemen, allocated to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Persia; of Balúchistán, Borneo,
Burma, Ceylon, Indo-China, Indonesia, Malaya, Nepal, Pákistán,
Sarawak, Siam, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of India, Pákistán and Burma; of China, Formosa, Japan,
Korea, Manchuria, Philippine Islands, allocated to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America;
of Jordan, Kuweit, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Trucial Sheikhs, Ummán,
allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of
`Iráq; of Bismarck Archipelago, Fiji, New Caledonia, Australian
New Guinea, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Australia and New Zealand; of Hong Kong, allocated to
the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles.
Seventh, the incorporation of the eleven above-mentioned national
spiritual assemblies, as well as those of Persia and `Iráq.
Eighth, the establishment by these above-mentioned eleven national
spiritual assemblies of national Bahá'í endowments.
Ninth, the establishment of a national Hazíratu'l-Quds in the
capital cities of each of the countries where national spiritual assemblies
are to be established, as well as one in Suva, one in Jakarta, one
in Bahrein and one in Beirut.
Tenth, the establishment of a national Bahá'í Court in the capital
cities of Persia, of `Iráq, of Pákistán and of Afghánistán--the leading
Muslim centers in the Asiatic continent.
Eleventh, the establishment of two national Bahá'í Publishing
Trusts, one in Tihrán and one in New Delhi.
Twelfth, the formation of Israel branches of the National Spiritual
+P168
Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of Persia, of `Iráq, and of Australia,
authorized to hold on behalf of their parent institutions property
dedicated to the holy shrines at the World Center of the Faith in the
state of Israel.
Thirteenth, the appointment, during Ridván 1954, by the Hands
of the Cause in Asia and in Australia of an Auxiliary Board of nine
members who will, in conjunction with the eight national spiritual
assemblies participating in the Asiatic and Australian campaigns,
assist, through periodic and systematic visits to Bahá'í centers, in
the efficient and prompt execution of the plans formulated for the
prosecution of the teaching campaigns in the continent of Asia and
in the Antipodes.
ON THE THRESHOLD OF A NEW SPIRITUAL ERA
The Asiatic continent, the cradle of the principal religions of
mankind; the home of so many of the oldest and mightiest civilizations
which have flourished on this planet; the crossways of so many
kindreds and races; the battleground of so many peoples and nations;
above whose horizons, in modern times, the suns of two independent
revelations--the promise and consummation of a six thousand year
old religious cycle--have successively arisen; where the Authors of
both of these revelations suffered banishment and died; within whose
confines the Center of a divinely appointed Covenant was born, endured
a forty-year incarceration and passed away; on whose western
extremity the Qiblih of the Bahá'í world has been definitely established;
in whose heart the city proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh as the
"Mother of the World" is enshrined; within whose borders another
city regarded as the "cynosure of an adoring world" and the scene of
the greatest and most glorious revelation the world has witnessed is
embosomed; on whose soil so many saints, heroes and martyrs, associated
with both of these revelations, have lived, struggled and died
--such a continent, so privileged among its sister continents and yet
so long and so sadly tormented, now stands at the hour of the launching
of a world-encompassing Crusade, on the threshold of an era
that may well recall, in its glory and ultimate repercussions, the great
periods of spiritual revival which, from the dawn of recorded history
have, at various stages in the revelation of God's purpose for
mankind, illuminated the path of the human race.
May this Crusade, launched simultaneously on the Asiatic mainland,
its neighboring islands and the Antipodes, under the direction
of eight national spiritual assemblies, and through the operation of
+P169
eight systematic teaching plans, and the concerted efforts of Bahá'í
communities in both the East and the West, provide, as it unfolds,
an effective antidote to the baneful forces of atheism, nationalism,
secularism and materialism that are tearing at the vitals of this turbulent
continent, and may it re-enact those scenes of spiritual heroism
which, more than any of the secular revolutions which have agitated
its face, have left their everlasting imprint on the fortunes of the
peoples and nations dwelling within its borders.
[October 1953]
Triple Announcement on Conclusion of Holy Year
On the occasion of the conclusion of the Holy Year I am overjoyed
to share the following triple announcement with the attendants
at the fourth and final Intercontinental Teaching Conference, marking
the termination of festivities associated with the centenary of the
birth of Bahá'u'lláh's Prophetic Mission.
The five-year-old, three-quarter million dollar enterprise, constituting
the final stage in the initial epoch of the evolutionary process
initiated over sixty years ago by the Founder of the Faith, in the
heart of the Mountain of God, is consummated. The finishing touches
of the installation of stained glass windows in the drum and octagon,
the removal of scaffolding from the exterior and interior of the edifice,
the interior calcimining of the dome, drum and octagon, tuck-pointing,
cleaning and floodlighting the entire structure have been
completed, synchronizing with the closing weeks of the glorious,
twelve-month annals of the Holy Faith.
A steadily swelling throng of visitors from far and near, on many
days exceeding a thousand, is flocking to the gates leading to the
Inner Sanctuary of this majestic mausoleum; paying homage to the
Queen of Carmel enthroned on God's Mountain, crowned in glowing
gold, robed in shimmering white, girdled in emerald green, enchanting
every eye from air, sea, plain and hill.
I am moved to request the attendants at the Conference to hold
a befitting memorial gathering to pay tribute to the Hand of the
Cause, Sutherland Maxwell, immortal architect of the arcade and
superstructure of the Shrine. I feel, moreover, acknowledgement
should be made at the same gathering to the unflagging labors and
vigilance of the Hand of the Cause, Ugo Giachery, in negotiating
contracts, inspecting and dispatching all materials required for the
+P170
construction of the edifice, as well as of the assiduous, constant care
of the Hand of the Cause, Leroy Ioas, in supervising the construction
of both drum and dome. To two doors of the Shrine recently
named after the first two aforementioned Hands, the octagon door,
now added, will henceforth be associated with the third Hand who
contributed to the raising of this stately, sacred structure.
The second announcement is that the world-wide process of the
settlement of virgin areas of the globe has been accelerated by the
arrival of the following pioneers at their respective posts: Cora
Oliver, British Honduras; Carole and Dwight Allen, Greece; Mr.
and Mrs. Xavier Rodrigues, Portuguese Guinea; Brigitte Hasselblatt,
Shetlands; Elizabeth Hopper, Ada Schott, Sara Kenny and
Mrs. Duffield, Madeira; H. J. Snider, Key West; Hugh McKinley
and mother, Cyprus; Max Kenyerezi, French Equatorial Africa;
Elsa Grossmann, Frisian Islands; Helen Robinson, Baranof; Mr.
and Mrs. Ted Anderson, Yukon; Tabendeh Payman, San Marino;
Una Townshend, Malta; Rolf Haug, Crete, swelling the Roll of Honor, raising the
number of territories within
the pale of the Faith to one hundred sixty-five. Two additional pioneers
are proceeding to leper colonies in Puerto Rico and French
Guiana. Two valiant pioneers from India and America are preparing
entry into Tibet. Two more members of the United States National
Assembly have volunteered to pioneer, raising the number to
five. United States pioneers are departing to twenty-four virgin territories
ere the conclusion of the Holy Year. The Feast of Names
was celebrated last August by two stalwart crusaders at the weather
station at Buchanan Bay on desolate Ellesmere Island, latitude
seventy-nine, less than seven hundred miles from the North Pole.
The irresistibly unfolding Crusade has been sanctified by the death
of heroic, eighty-eight year old Ella Bailey, elevating her to the rank
of the martyrs of the Faith, shedding further luster on the American
Bahá'í Community and consecrating the soil of the fast-awakening
African continent.
The third announcement is that preliminary steps have been
taken, aiming at the acquisition of an extensive area at the head of
the holy mountain, scene of the revelation of the Tablet of Carmel,
preparatory to the purchase of the site for the future Mother
Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the Holy Land, made possible by the munificent
hundred thousand dollar donation of the Hand of the Cause,
Amelia Collins, signalizing the opening of the second stage in the
unfoldment of the mighty process set in motion by the Author of
the Faith.
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A TRIPLE RESPONSIBILITY
This triple bounty vouchsafed the Community of the Most Great
Name, scattered over the face of the planet, calls for tremendous,
immediate, concerted exertion by the assembled believers in order
adequately to discharge this triple responsibility. First, redoubled
consecration to the pioneering task, particularly in the Pacific area
emphasized in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, raising thereby, ere
adjournment of the Conference, the number of territories opened
to the Faith or assigned pioneers for immediate settlement to above
two hundred. Second, the demonstration of increasing self-sacrifice
through the inauguration of Funds for the purchase of land
for future Temples on the Asiatic continent and in the Antipodes,
in Baghdád, New Delhi and Sydney. I am contributing three thousand
pounds for the furtherance of these meritorious enterprises.
Third, earnest consultation by representatives of the Persian and
`Iráqí National Assemblies, directly concerned with the holy task,
with the assembled Hands of the Cause on ways and means to conduct
a thorough investigation to ensure purchase of the holy places,
particularly the site of the Síyáh-Chál, the cradle of the Revelation
to the Author of the Faith, as well as the identification and transfer
to Bahá'í cemeteries of the bodies of the relatives of the Báb and
Bahá'u'lláh, constituting vital objectives of the Ten-Year Plan.
I am ardently hoping, fervently supplicating that this epochal
Conference, setting the seal on the celebration of the second Bahá'í
Jubilee, may contribute in an unprecedented degree through the
character of its deliberations, the solidity of its achievements, the
scope of its accomplishments, to the ultimate attainment of the shining
goals of the World Crusade, destined to culminate in the not far
distant Most Great Jubilee associated with the hundredth anniversary
of the assumption by Bahá'u'lláh of His prophetic office.
[7 October 1953]
Hands at New Delhi Conference to Aid in Attaining Goals
On the eve of the conclusion of the festivities commemorating
the centenary of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh's ministry, I am moved to
direct the following specific message to the Hands assembled at the
conference. In grateful recognition of the multiple bounties showered
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in rapid succession upon the army of the Lord of Hosts during the
course of the Holy Year, auspiciously ushered in through the proclamation
of the objectives of the World Crusade, whose opening
months witnessed the convocation in the heart of the African continent
of the first Intercontinental Teaching Conference; whose climax
was signalized by the simultaneous holding in the heart of
North America of the Intercontinental Conference of the Western
Hemisphere, the dedication of the Mother Temple of the West and
the launching of the Ten-Year Plan; whose record has been ennobled
by two additional intercontinental gatherings, successively convened
in the European and Asiatic continents, all eleven Hands are called
upon to arise to enhance the abiding value of their strenuous, exemplary
labors during the last twelve months, constituting the initial
chapter in their steadily unfolding world mission.
The hour is propitious on the morrow of the last intercontinental
conference to gird your loins for yet another, still wider dispersal,
extending over one or two months and embracing Asia, Africa and
Australasia, for the purpose of establishing close contact with the
national assemblies, advising and assisting local assemblies and individuals
to attain the goals of the globe-girdling Plan.
The adoption of the following itinerary is recommended: Mason
Remey, Dorothy Baker and Horace Holley to India, Pákistán,
Burma and Ceylon; Ugo Giachery to Persia; Valíyu'lláh Varqá,
Shu'á'u'lláh `Alá'í to `Iráq, Turkey and Egypt; Clara Dunn and
`Alí-Akbar Furútan to Australia and New Zealand; Zikru'lláh
Khádem to Malaya and Japan; Tarazu'lláh Samandarí and Músá
Banání to the Arabian Peninsula. I am contributing three thousand
pounds for assistance in the execution of this meritorious enterprise.
I urge the Persian, Indian, Australian, Egyptian and `Iráqí
National Assemblies to extend the utmost assistance, to arrange
schedules, publicize the Faith wherever advisable and direct local assemblies
to utilize every means in their power to add momentum to
the most ambitious undertaking yet embarked upon by the followers
of Bahá'u'lláh during the one hundred ten years of Bahá'í history.
[October 1953]
Further Additions to Roll of Honor
As the Holy Year expires I am overjoyed to announce to the
assembled believers no less than thirteen additions to the Roll of
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Honor since transmission of the last message to the Conference a
week ago: Clair Gung, Southern Rhodesia; Ursula von Brunn, Frisian
Islands; Richard Nolen and family, Azores; Katherine Meyer,
Margarita Island; Geraldine Craney, Hebrides; Fawzi Zeinolabedin
and family, Spanish Morocco; Manouchihr Hezari, Morocco, International
Zone; Earle Render, Leeward Islands; Ted Cardell, Southwest
Africa; William Danjon, Andorra; Fred and Jean Allen, Cape
Breton Island; Frederick and Elizabeth Laws, Basutoland; Amín
Batt, Rió de Oro. The total number of virgin areas, inscribed on the
scroll with the names of conquerors since the launching of the World
Crusade last Ridván, has mounted to fifty. The number of territories
included in the orbit of the Faith has been raised within an unbelievably
short time to one hundred seventy-eight, marking an increase
of one hundred countries since the celebration of the first Jubilee
nine years ago. In addition, sixty unopened areas are bespoken,
including the Ukraine and Albania. No more than eight volunteers
are required to be dispatched to Ashanti Protectorate, Bechuanaland,
Chagos Archipelago, Comoro Islands, Marquesas Islands,
Marshall Islands, Spanish Sahara and Tonga Islands in order to
ensure the attainment of the preeminent goal of the Global Crusade,
excluding the Socialist republics and satellite countries. The moment
has arrived for the last day of this year, forever sanctified in the
memory of future generations owing to its sacred associations, to
be linked with the closing of the already narrow gap separating the
vanguard of the army of crusaders from victory in the most glorious
phase of the grandest collective spiritual enterprise yet embarked
upon by the organized, firmly knit communities of the Most Great
Name scattered throughout the planet.
[October 14, 1953]
Valíyu'lláh Varqá Passes; Son Appointed
Profoundly grieved by loss of outstanding Hand of Cause of
God, exemplary Trustee of Huqúqu'lláh, distinguished representative
of most venerable community of Bahá'í world, worthy son,
brother of twin immortal martyrs of the Faith, dearly beloved disciple
of Center of the Covenant. Shining record of his services
extending over half century enriched the annals of Heroic and Formative
Ages of Bahá'í Dispensation. His reward in Abhá Kingdom
is inestimable. Advise you to erect on my behalf befitting monument
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at his grave. His mantle as Trustee of funds of Huqúq now falls on
`Alí Muhammad his son. Instruct Rawhani Tihrán to arrange befitting
memorial gatherings in capital and provinces to honor memory
of mighty pillar in cradle of Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. Newly appointed
Trustee of Huqúq is now elevated to rank of Hand of Cause.
[November 15, 1955]
Passing of George Townshend
Deeply mourn the passing of dearly loved, much admired,
greatly gifted, outstanding Hand of Cause George Townshend. His
death on morrow of publication of his crowning achievement robs
the British followers of Bahá'u'lláh of their most distinguished
collaborator and Faith itself of one of its stoutest defenders. His
sterling qualities, his scholarship, his challenging writings, his high
ecclesiastical position unrivalled by any Bahá'í in western world, entitle
him to rank with Thomas Breakwell and Dr. Esslemont, one
of three luminaries shedding brilliant luster on annals of Irish, English
and Scottish Bahá'í communities. His fearless championship of
the Cause he loved so dearly, served so valiantly, constitutes significant
landmark in British Bahá'í history. So enviable a position calls
for national tribute to his memory by assembled delegates and visitors
at forthcoming British Bahá'í Convention. Assure relatives of deepest
loving sympathy in grievous loss. Confident his reward is inestimable
in Abhá Kingdom.
[March 25, 1957]
George Townshend Passes; Agnes Alexander Appointed
Inform Hands and national assemblies of the Bahá'í world of
the passing into Abhá Kingdom of Hand of Cause George Townshend,
indefatigable, highly talented, fearless defender of the Faith of
Bahá'u'lláh.
Agnes Alexander, distinguished pioneer of the Faith, elevated
to rank of Hand of Cause. Confident her appointment will spiritually
reinforce teaching campaign simultaneously conducted in north,
south and heart of Pacific Ocean.
[March 27, 1957]
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Remains of Mírzá Buzurg Transferred
Inform Hands and national assemblies of transfer of remains of
Mírzá Buzurg, marking attainment of yet another outstanding objective
of the Crusade. Advise avoid publicity.
[July 17, 1957]