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Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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2024 22 - 23 Sep
202-
The 75th Anniversary of the United Nations was marked in June 2020 with a declaration by Member States that included 12 overarching commitments along with a request to the Secretary-General for recommendations to address both current and future challenges.

In September 2021, the Secretary-General responded with his report, Our Common Agenda, a wake-up call to speed up the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals and propel the commitments contained in the UN75 Declaration. In some cases, the proposals addressed gaps that had emerged since 2015, requiring new intergovernmental agreements. The report, therefore, called for a Summit of the Future to forge a new global consensus on readying for a future that is rife with risks but also opportunities. The General Assembly welcomed the submission of the "rich and substantive" report and agreed to hold the Summit on 22-23 September 2024, preceded by a ministerial meeting in 2023. An action-oriented Pact for the Future is expected to be agreed by Member States through intergovernmental negotiations on issues they decide to take forward. [Road to the Summit of the Future]

United Nations; Summit of the Future (UN conference); New York, USA; New York City, NY
2024 8 Aug
202-
The publication of the statement In the Vanguard: The Role of Youth in an Ever-Advancing Global Society, by the New York Office of the Bahá’í International Community (BIC). It calls for a rethinking of how youth are perceived and engaged by communities and institutions with the aim of creating conditions that allow their capacities to flourish and it explores the profound potential of young people in fostering societal transformation and contributing to an ever-advancing global society. [BWNS1744]

The BIC statement can be viewed here.

- BIC statements; Bahá'í International News Service; New York City, NY; Youth
2024 20 Aug
202-
The release of four Yemeni Bahá'ís, Abdul Elah Al Boni, Muhammad Bashir, Ibrahim Juail, and Hassan Thabet, who had been jailed by the Houthi authorities since May, 2023 in a raid on a private residence. These four were the last of the 17 that were detained. They reported that during their incarceration they were under pressure to renounce their faith through forced participation in “cultural courses” conducted by Houthi agents, which essentially amount to attempts at forced indoctrination.

The raid last year prompted repeated calls by the international community for the release of the detained Bahá'ís. In August 2023 six members of the United Nations Security Council “deplored” the detentions and more recently, in May, a powerful coalition of United Nations Special Rapporteurs, European parliamentarians, ambassadors, international human rights organizations, and a Nobel laureate addressed the matter alongside the #FreeYemeniBahá'ís campaign online. Several Yemeni tribal leaders and religious figures also played a major role in the release of the Bahá'í detainees. [BIC News 20 August 2024; BSNS1746]

Yemen; Persecution, Yemen
2024 2 - 4 Aug
202-
The 48th Annual Conference of the Association of Bahá'í Studies was held in Atlanta, Georgia. It was attended by some 1,900 participants. [BWNS1745]

The presentations were:

  • Reflecting Advances in Thought and Action: The Purpose and Philosophy of The Bahá'í World by Naisohn Aria
      It was announced that the Universal House of Justice would seen publish Volume 34 of The Bahá'í World (2006-2021).
  • Striving for Coherence: Reflections on Steeling Oneself for a Life of Service by Jasmine Miller-Kleinhenz
  • A Still More Superb Mission by Paul Lample
  • Visions of the Sacred: Conversations with Baha'i Artists by Kim MacQueen
  • The Nine Year Plan and the 28 November 2023 Message of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of the World by Firaydoun Javaheri

    Videos of the presentations are available here.

  • 2024 21 Jun
    202-
    The Huthi de facto authorities released Baha’i human rights activist Abdullah al-Olofi from over a year in arbitrary detention, yet are continuing to arbitrarily detain four other Bahá'ís. The four remaining prisoners are Abdul’elah Muhammad al-Boni, 30, Hassan Tariq Thabet al-Zakari, 28, Muhammad Bashir Abdel Jalil, 25, and Ibrahim Ahmad Jo’eil, 49,

    On 25 May 2023, armed Huthi forces stormed a peaceful gathering of Baha’is in a private residence in Sana’a and arbitrarily detained 17 people, including five women. They forcibly disappearedthem for around four months until their families learned they were being held at Huthi-run security and intelligence detention centres in Sana’a. Between June 2023 and June 2024, 13 individuals including Abdullah al-Olofi and all five women were released following international pressure. The four remaining Bahá'ís continued to be held without charge and were denied their right to legal counsel.

    Since 2015, Amnesty International has documented the cases of at least 100 members of the Bahá'í faith in Yemen, who have been detained by the Huthi de facto authorities and subjected to enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, torture and ill-treatment and denied fair trial rights. [Amnesty International 27 May 2021; Posted on X by @BahaiBIV 22 June 2024]

    Persecution, Yemen; Yemen
    2024 26 May
    202-
    The inauguration of the national Bahá'í House of Worship in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea. The Universal House of Justice was represented by Counsellor Kessia Ruh who read the letter. There were some 1,000 participants of the ceremony that included government officials, religious leaders, members of civil society, representatives of local and national Bahá’í institutions, and many other people from across the country. The following day approximately 3,000 people gathered to celebrate the historic opening of PNG’s national Bahá’í House of Worship on the second day of the dedication program. [BWNS1734]

    Other related stories: BWNS1733; BWNS1732; BWNS1713; BWNS1524; BWNS1688

    See as well In Conversation: Stories from temple dedication in Papua New Guinea.

    Papua New Guinea; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Port Moresby; Kessia Ruh
    2024 8 Mar
    202-
    A report mandated by the UN Human Rights Council to the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on the Islamic Republic of Iran on November 24, 2022, to investigate alleged human rights violations in Iran related to the protests that followed Mahsa Amini's death, said the mission "has established the existence of evidence of trauma to Ms. Amini's body, inflicted while in the custody of the morality police." United Nations; Mahsa Amini
    2024 Jan
    202-
    The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States established the Corinne True Center for Bahá'í History. Its stated purpose was to foster the study of Bahá'í history, Bahá'í sacred texts, Bahá'í philosophical and theological concepts, and world religions from a Bahá'í and comparative perspective. It will accomplish this through online noncredit courses, web presentations and interviews, online seminars, online conferences, in-person conferences, and publication of some of the resulting research. It will seek to support these subjects at three levels in order to provide comprehensive support to Bahá'í culture and Bahá'í scholarship: at an introductory level, to inform rank and file believers and their friends and encourage them to do basic scholarship; at an advanced level, for Bahá'ís and their friends wishing to go into greater depth of study and research; and at the graduate and postgraduate levels, via seminars and academic-level conferences.

    A website has been established and they have a YouTube and a Facebook presence as well.

    Corinne True Center for Bahá'í History; Corinne True; United States (USA)
    2024 (In the year)
    202-
    The publication of Adasiyyih: The Story of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Model Farming Community by Paul Hanley. Published by Bahá'í Publishing in Evanston, IL.

    This book follows the story of the ‘Adasíyyih community, a farming village established by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá , in what is now Jordan. Bahá'ís from Iran settled there and transformed a degraded parcel of land into the site of a thriving farm and prosperous community whose residents embodied the Bahá'í teachings. It was this farming village— along with several others in the region of the Galilee— that produced a surplus of crops, which enabled ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to keep famine at bay for so many people during World War I, a feat that would earn Him a knighthood from the British Empire. In time, ‘Adasíyyih would become a model village for Jordanians, and Jordan’s royalty would become frequent guests. Author Paul Hanley’ s extensive research, along with his deep interest in agricultural systems, provides a fascinating glimpse at this remarkable history and the lessons that can be applied to current agroecological efforts.

    See also interview on Bahá'í Blog.

    Adasiyyih, Palestine; Agriculture
    2023 21 Dec
    202-
    A special reception at Portcullis House in Westminster was organized by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on the Bahá'í Faith to commemorate the centenary of the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom. They brought together government officials, civil society leaders, journalists and representatives of various faith communities.

    A video, Light in a Dark World, made for the occasion, was presented. In the video they enumerated the five principles that enabled the Assembly to govern more effectively. They were 1. using the principles of Bahá'í consultation, 2. turning to the guidance of the Universal House of Justice, 3. collaboration with the institutions of the Counsellors, and drawing on the experience of individual Counsellors, 4. the members of the Assembly's involvement in the work of the Universal House of Justice, and 5. the members of the Assembly championing the decisions of the Assembly itself. [BWNS1708]

    National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom; Light in a Dark World (film); United Kingdom

    Only the newest 10 entries are shown above, as a sample.

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