Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1950-0, descending sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
1950 Sep - Oct Four Bahá'ís in Iran were arrested on trumped-up charges. The trial lasted until 1954, when the accused were given prison sentences. [BW18:390] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Court cases; Iran
1950 28 - 30 Jul The First European Teaching Summer School was held in Elsinore, Denmark. [SBBR14p243] Summer schools; Elsinore, Denmark; Denmark First European teaching summer School
1950 24–27 Jul The third European Teaching Conference was held in Copenhagen. [BW12:49; SBBR14p243]
  • 177 Bahá'ís from 22 countries attended.
  • Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, International; Copenhagen, Denmark; Denmark; Europe
    1950 9 Jul The Centenary of the Martyrdom of the Báb was commemorated.
  • For Shoghi Effendi's message to the Bahá'ís on this occasion see BW12:191–3.
  • For accounts of commemorations around the world see BW12:205–8.
  • A small group of Bahá'í pilgrims visited the site of the Báb's martyrdom and other places associated with His life. [BW12:217–26]
  • The columned arcade and parapet of the Shrine of the Báb were completed. [ZK284–5]
  • Centenaries; Báb, Martyrdom of; Báb, Shrine of; Pilgrimage; Pilgrims; Haifa, Israel; Mount Carmel MERGE; Iran; - Worldwide
    1950 Jul The British Six Year Plan was successfully completed. [BW11:25; MBW4] - Teaching Plans; - Teaching Plans, National; United Kingdom
    1950 (Early June) In 1950 Sutherland Maxwell suffered from a severe illness from which he never recovered. He returned to Montreal in early June, 1951. [From CBN undated Memorial Issue] Sutherland Maxwell; Haifa, Israel; Montreal, QC; Canada
    1950 25 May Dr Khodadad M. Fozdar, a medical officer of the State Railways in India, arrived in Singapore, the first pioneer to the country. [BW13:393]
  • His wife, Shirin Fozdar, joined him in September 1950.
  • Khodadad M. Fozdar; Shirin Fozdar; Singapore first pioneer to Singapore
    1950 25 Apr Shoghi Effendi cabled the Bahá'í world with the successes of the Bahá'í work in the past year. [MBW3]
  • The number of sovereign states and dependencies where the Faith was established reached 100, an increase of 22 countries since 1944.

    Approximate number of Localities where Bahá'ís resided in the largest Bahá'í communities.

  • European Goal Countries: --> Over thirty localities.
  • Germany and Austria: --> Over forty localities.
  • British Isles: --> Over fifty localities.
  • Australia and New Zealand: --> Over sixty localities.
  • Dominion of Canada: --> Over eighty localities.
  • India, Pakistan and Burma: --> Over eighty localities.
  • Latin America: --> Over one hundred localities.
  • Persia: --> Over seven hundred localities.
  • United States of America: --> Over eleven hundred localities. [Baha'i Historical Facts, January 15, 2018 quoted from The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1950 Information Statistical and Comparative compiled by Shoghi Effendi]
  • Statistics
    1950 Ridván Shoghi Effendi announced the Africa Campaign (1951-1953) in a cable to the British National Convention. [BW12:52; UD245–6]
  • The British community was to lead the campaign supported by the Bahá'ís of the United States and Egypt. Shoghi Effendi expanded the plan to include the cooperation of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Persia and of India, who were to provide additional pioneers. The Plan was not scheduled to start until Ridván 1950 but the British Bahá'í community as soon as possible after the Plan was announced. [UD245]
  • The object was to open the Faith to three countries, Gold Coast, Tanganyika and Uganda. Shoghi Effendi termed it "the first International collaboration plan in Bahá'í history. (CG157, 159]
  • For the objectives of the campaign see UD245–6.
  • For the importance of the enterprise see UD260–3.
  • The plan was to be launched after a year's respite but the British Bahá'ís begin to implement the plan immediately. [CB317]
  • At the time of the Campaign there was "...since the days of the Blessed Beauty and up to the early 1950s, the activities of the friends in Africa had produced the formation of one National Spiritual Assembly with its seat in Cairo, Egypt, the opening of 12 countries to the light of the Faith, and some 50 localities established throughout its vast lands. It was at such a time that the beloved Guardian ushered in the first African Teaching Plan" [Message from the Universal House of Justice To the Friends gathered at the Bahá'í International Conference at Lagos dated 19 August, 1982 ; The UK Bahá'í Journal/History]
  • The first to arise for the Campaign was Claire Gung who departed from England on the Warwick Castle on the 3rd of January, 1951 bound for Tanganyika. [CG13, 26]
  • Others who pioneered were: Philip Hainsworth, Uganda, June 1951; Hasan and Isobel Sabri, Tanganyika, July 1951; and Ted Cardell, Kenya, October 1951.
  • For additional information see The Baha'i Faith in Africa: Establishing a New Religious Movement, 1952–1962 by Anthony Lee.
  • - Teaching Plans; Africa Campaign; Claire Gung; Philip Hainsworth; Hasan Sabri; Isobel Sabri; Ted Cardell; Africa; United Kingdom; USA; Egypt the first International collaboration plan in Bahá'í history
    1950 26 Mar - 10 Apr The British Community needed 22 declarations to complete the goals of their Six Year Plan. The National Spiritual Assembly of Canada sponsored a trip by John Robarts to lend his assistance. During his 13 day stay he visited London, Manchester, Blackpool, Blackburn, Sheffield, Oxford, Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow and Edinburgh and witnessed 18 declarations. By April 10th the goal had been won. [CBN No 13 May, 1950 p4] John Robarts; London, England; Manchester, England; Blackpool, England; Blackburn, England; Sheffield, England; Oxford, England; Dublin, Ireland; Belfast, Northern Ireland; Glasgow, Scotland; Edinburgh, Scotland
    1950 3 Feb Dr Sulaymán Birgís was martyred in Káshán, Iran. [BW18:390]
  • For his obituary see BW12:684–5.
  • Two men affiliated with the Islamic Development Association of Kashan, asked Dr Sulayman Berjis to attend to a patient at their home. When the doctor arrived at the house, the two men, and others, stabbed the doctor 81 times, killing him. The murderers, who had the support of influential clerics, turned themselves in to the police. They said they had been motivated by their strong religious beliefs. A number of clerics wrote a letter to Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, the Shah of Iran, and asked him to free Berjis's murderers. The trials of the murderers took place from August 27 to September 13, 1950, in Tehran. As a result of the efforts of the clerics and a group of their supporters, conservative businessmen with links to the city's bazaar, the court pronounced the accused not guilty. They were all released. [Iran Wire; Towards a History of Iran's Baha'i Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani]
  • Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Kashan, Iran; Iran
    1950 15 Jan The earliest observation of what has become known as World Religion Day was observed in Portland, Maine in October of 1947 and was entitled "World Peace Through World Religion" after a talk by Firuz Kazemzadeh. [Portland Sunday Telegram And Sunday Press Herald. Portland, Maine. October 19, 1947. p. 42.; BN No 229 March 1956 p1]
  • In 1949 there were observances in various communities in the United States and in December of 1949 it was standardized across the United States by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States to be held January 15, 1950. The purpose of World Religion Day is to highlight the ideas that the spiritual principles underlying the world's religions are harmonious, and that religions play a significant role in unifying humanity. [BN No 226 December 1949 106BE p4-5]
  • It is celebrated internationally each year on the third Sunday in January. [Wikipedia]
  • See World Religion Day (January) by Christopher Buck
  • See message from the Universal House of Justice dated 22 October, 1968 to the Spiritual Assembly of Chicago in Lights of Guidance #1710 in which they describe the purpose of World Religion Day.

    ".....is a celebration of the need for and the coming of a world religion for mankind, the Bahá'í Faith itself." iiiii

  • World Religion Day; - Interfaith dialogue; Firsts, other; Firuz Kazemzadeh; USA
    1950 3 Jan A woman named Sughrá and her five children were brutally murdered. Members of the Spiritual Assembly of fhte Bahá'ís of Yazd were falsely accused of ordering the crime. The accusations were orchestrated by the judicial authorities from Yazd who were influenced by Mullá Khálisizádih. The trial of these innocent individuals occurred in Tehran with the help of fundamentalist religious authorities. As a result the guilty were never prosecuted and many innocent individuals were imprisoned and executed. [SCF123117] Mulla Khalisizadih; Abarqu, Yazd, Iran; Yazd, Iran; Iran
    1950 (In the year) The publication of The Covenant, An Analysis by George Townshend. It was published in Manchester by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust 15p. [Collins7.2578] Covenant; Manchester, England
    1950 (In the year) Ghulam Reza Akhzari and his son Nur Allah were killed near Yazd and Bahram Rawhani was murdered in Taft. [Towards a History of Iran's Bahá'í Community During the Reign of Mohammad Reza Shah, 1941-1979 by Mina Yazdani.] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Yazd, Iran; Taft, Iran; Iran
    1950 (In the year) The publication of Prescription for Living by Rúhíyyih Rabbani by George Ronald. The first edition was a run of 300 copies, done in a dark blue cloth, serial numbered and autographed by the author. There were subsequent printings in 1950, 1960, 1972, and 1978. [Collins7.2181-2185; CBN No 13 May 1950]
  • In 1971-1972 the book was transcribed by Gertrude D. Schurgast of Tuscon, AZ into braille. Another "printing" was done by the Service for the Blind Committee in Stevenage, England in 1983. [Collins8.118-119]
  • Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum; * Publications
    1950 (In the decade) In Iran, the Hujjatiyya Society was started by Shaykh Mahmúd Halabí to persecute and harass the Bahá'ís. [S1296]
  • During the Pahlaví era it confined itself to this end and was called the Anti-Bahá'í Society. [SI296]
  • See The Anti-Bahá'í Society by Mehdi Abedi and Michael M.J. Fischer.
  • Hojjatieh Society; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Iran
    1950 (In the year) The Court of the First Instance in Karkúk, Iraq, registered a Bahá'í marriage certificate. [MBW4; UD248]
  • This was the first time in the East, outside Israel, that a Bahá'í marriage was recognized as being legal, an important precedent for other Oriental countries. [MBW4; UD248]
  • Firsts, other; Marriage; Weddings; Recognition (legal); Karkuk, Iraq; Iraq first Bahá’í marriage recognized in the East (outside Israel)
    1950 (In the year) By this year the Bahá'í population of Black Africa was probably no more than 12. [BBRSM190–1] Statistics; Africa

    Try also a shorter date like or 1950 or 195

    try also the Chronology Canada — 1950-0 or 1950 or 195

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