Chronology: Date 1975

date	event	tags	firsts
1975 (End of the year)	The Bahá'ís of the Central African Republic began to televise regular semi-weekly programmes. [BW16:141]	Radio; Central African Republic
1975 Dec	The first National Teaching Conference to be held in Senegal took place in Dakar. [BW16:175]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; Teaching; Dakar, Senegal; Senegal; - First conferences	first National Teaching Conference in Senegal
1975 Dec	The first International Youth School to be held in Rhodesia took place near Bulawayo. [BW16:155]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Youth; - Conferences, International; - First conferences; Bulawayo, Rhodesia; Rhodesia	first International Youth School in Rhodesia
1975 Nov	In Iran, the house of the maternal uncle of the Báb and the adjacent house in which the Báb was born were destroyed on the pretext that the sites needed to be cleared. [BW17:79]	Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Destruction; - Persecution; Báb, House of (Shiraz); Báb, Family of; Shíráz, Iran; Iran
1975 Nov	The land for the Samoan House of Worship was purchased on a site overlooking Apia. [BW18:104]	Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Apia, Samoa; Purchases and exchanges; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Apia, Samoa; Samoa
1975 31 Oct	The Secretary of Religious Affairs in the President's Office of Uganda informed the Bahá'ís that the Bahá'í Faith was not among those religions prohibited to practise in the country. [BW16:147]	Recognition (legal); Uganda
1975 c. Oct	The Icelandic Bahá'í community proclaimed the Faith to the leaders of Iceland, presenting them with literature, including The Bahá'í World,Vol. XIV. Presentations were made to the president of the Republic of Iceland, the Bishop of Iceland and the Rev. Arelius Nielsson, who was described as " the best beloved priest in this country and surely the most renown. [BN No 537 December 1975 p15]	Proclamation; Iceland
1975 Oct	The New Era Rural Development Project, the first project of its kind in the world, began in the villages around Panchgani, India. [BW17:227–8]	New Era Development Institute, India; Social and economic development; Firsts, other; Panchgani, India; Maharashtra, India; India	first rural development project in world
1975 Sep c.	In Iraq, a young Bahá'í was detained, interrogated, beaten and asked to recant his faith when he specified his religion on a form. When he refused to recant his faith he was tried by a revolutionary court and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. [BW16:138]	Persecution, Iraq; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Iraq
1975 9 – 12 Jul	The first International Bahá'í Youth Conference of Iceland took place in Njardvik with youth from nine countries. [BW16:301]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Youth; Youth; - First conferences; Njardvik, Iceland; Iceland; - Europe	first International Bahá’í Youth Conference of Iceland
1975 4 - 8 Jul	The Ridván Message contained the phrase, "EVIDENCES GATHERING CLOUDS WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION" and the Universal House of Justice called together all the 'high ranking officers' and 'senior administrative bodies' of the Faith in North America for special consultation on the future protection of the Cause" to be held in Wilmette. It was attended by the three Hands of the Cause for North America, Mr Sears, Mr Robarts and Mr Zikrullah Khadem; the four members of the Board of Counsellors, Velma Sherrill, Lloyd Gardner, Sarah Periera, and Edna True; all the members of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Alaska, Canada and the United States as well as representative of the National Assembly of Hawaii; all of the Auxiliary Board members in North America and special guest, Counsellor 'Azíz Yazdí of the International Teaching Centre. Although the primary reason for gathering was to discuss the issue of the protection of the Faith there were opportunities for members of the three National Spiritual Assemblies and the Auxiliary Boards to share teaching ideas and to learn of the goals achieved in other areas. [BN Vol 52 No 8 August, 1975 p13-14, CBN Issue 287 Aug/Sept 1975 p1-4]	- Conferences; - Conferences, Continental; Wilmette, IL; Chicago, IL; USA	first continental conference in North America.
1975 Jul	The first Katio Indians to become Bahá'ís enrolled in northern Colombia. [BW16:217]	First believers by background; Colombia	first Katio Indian Bahá’ís in northern Colombia
1975 Jul	In Iraq, a partial amnesty reducing the terms of the Bahá'ís imprisoned by 15 per cent was granted. [BW16:138]	Persecution, Iraq; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Iraq
1975 24 Jun	Iran became one of the first countries in the world to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The covenant spelled out clearly the concept of freedom of religion or belief. Article 18 states that "[e]veryone shall have the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion. This right shall include freedom to have or to adopt a religion or belief of his choice, and freedom, either individually or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his/her religion or belief in worship, observance, practice and teaching." The ICCPR also spells out specific rights to due process "without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status." These include freedom from arbitrary arrest or detention, the right to be "promptly informed" of charges, and the right to legal counsel. Article 9 of the ICCPR states that "[n]o one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention." It also states that "[a]nyone who is arrested shall be informed, at the time of arrest, of the reasons for his arrest and shall be promptly informed of any charges against him." Article 14 spells out the right to legal counsel, stating everyone has the right "to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing. …" The Covenant was opened for signature at New York on 19 December 1966 and came into force on 23 March 1976. [International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; Fact Sheet]	International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); United Nations; Human Rights; United Nations; Bahá'í International Community; New York, USA; USA; Iran
1975 21 Jun	Following the revolution in Portugal in April, the National Spiritual Assembly was officially recognized. The process of incorporation began in 1951.	National Spiritual Assembly; Portugal
1975 19 Jun - 2 Jul	Two* Bahá'í women represented the Bahá'í International Community at the first World Conference on Women in Mexico City. It was the first international conference held by the United Nations to focus solely on women's issues and marked a turning point in policy directives. Nine Bahá'ís represented the Bahá'í International Community at the parallel NGO Tribune. Those attending were: Dorothy Nelson; Jane Faily, Sheila Banání, Edris Rice-Wray, Carmen Burafato, Catherine Mboya, Shirin Fozdar, Jyoti Munsiff, Elsie Austin and Shomais Afnán. The purpose of the Conference was to give shape to a Ten-Year Plan of Action to promote equality between men and women in member nations by stressing better education and increased participation of women in decision-making in order to bring the neglected resources of women into the struggle for development and peace. [CBN No 287 Aug/Sep 1975 p16; Wikipedia; United Nations - Conferences] The Bahá'í International Community issued a statement entitled International Women's Year. See UN Women.	Bahá'í International Community; - Conferences; Conferences, Women; Dorothy Nelson; Jane Faily; Sheila Banani; Edris Rice-Wray; Carmen Burafato; Catherine Mboya; Shirin Fozdar; Jyoti Munsiff; Elsie Austin; Shomais Afnan; - BIC statements; Mexico City, Mexico; Mexico	first World Conference on Women in Mexico City
1975 5 Jun	In a message to the Bahá'ís of the world, the Universal House of Justice recalled the "capital institutional significance" of the transference to Mount Carmel of the sacred remains of the Purest Branch and Navváb, interring them in the immediate neighbourhood of the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf some thirty-six years prior. Now, on the occasion of the commencement of the construction of the seat of the Universal House of Justice, they recounted the progress of the Faith in the eighteen years since the completion of the first building on the Arc, the International Archives Building in June of 1957. In the time between 1957 to 1975....... - National Spiritual Assemblies have increased from 26 to 119 - Local Spiritual Assemblies have increased from 1,000 to 17,000 - Localities have increased from 4,500 to over 70,000 [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 5 June 1975]	Statistics; - Bahá'í World Centre
1975 5 Jun	Excavation of the site of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice began. [BW16:133; BW18:465] See BW16:399–404 for an article on the Seat by architect Husayn Amánat. See BW17:301 for the significance of the seat.	Hossein Amanat (Husayn Amanat); Universal House of Justice, Seat of; Architecture; Architects; Haifa, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre
1975 Jun	Elti Kunak of Papua New Guinea was awarded the British Empire Medal for her work with women's clubs in the Bismarck Archipelago. [BW16:278]	Elti Kunak; Papua New Guinea
1975 25 May	The compilation, Use of Radio and Television in Teaching (Extracts from letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi), was sent in a message addressed to all National Spiritual Assemblies by the Universal House of Justice. [25 May 1975]	Media (communication); Bahá'í Radio; - Compilations; Teaching; - Bahá'í World Centre
1975 2 May	The first teaching institute of the Bahamas took place in Nassau. [BW16:207]	Teaching institutes; Firsts, other; Islands; Nassau, Bahamas; Bahamas	first teaching institute of Bahamas
1975 25 Apr	A revolution in Portugal removed the ban on Bahá'í meetings and teaching activities.	Persecution, Portugal; - Persecution, Bans; - Persecution; Portugal
1975 Ridván	The first local spiritual assembly to be elected among the Meo tribes, Laotian refugees in northern Thailand, was formed. [BW16:262]	Local Spiritual Assembly; Thailand	first Local Spiritual Assembly among Meo tribes, Laotian refugees
1975 Ridván	In the chaos related to the final days of the Vietnam War, a national convention could not be held and the election of the National Spiritual Assembly was conducted by mailed ballot. At this time it was estimated that the Bahá'í population of Vietnam was around 200,000. [Bahaipedia] The reunification of the country took place on the 30th of April, 1975. "Vietnam was reunified under a communist government, who proscribed the practice of the religion from 1975 to 1992, leading to a sharp drop in community numbers." []	Conventions, National; Vietnam
1975 Ridván	The zone of Northwestern Africa was split into the two separate zones of Northern and Western Africa and to each of which were transferred parts of the Central and East African zone. The zone of Northern Africa comprised of Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Spanish Sahara. The zone of Western Africa consisted of Mauritania, Sénégal, the Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, the Cape Verde Islands, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Upper Volta, Niger, Ghana, Togo, Dahomey, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and São Tomé and Príncipe. [Message of the Universal House of Justice dated 6 January 1975] In 1976 there was a ban on the Faith in Mali.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation
1975 Ridván	By this time the Bahá'í communities of Liberia and Guinea had developed sufficiently to merit their own Regional Spiritual Assembly. Previously they had been administrated by the National Spiritual Assembly of West Africa which had been formed in 1964 and re-formed in 1970. This new administrative unit, the National Spiritual Assembly of Liberia and Guinea, operated until 1982 when they each formed an independent national assembly. [BW98-99p54-55]	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Liberia; Guinea
1975 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of Benin was formed. Prior to this the Bahá'í community in Benin was administrated by the National Spiritual Assembly of Dahomey, Togo and Niger from 1970 to 1975. It was called the National Spiritual Assembly of Dahomey until 1976 when it was renamed the National Spiritual Assembly of Benin. [BW16:161]	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Benin
1975 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of Niger was formed with its seat in Niamey. [BW16:141] Prior to this, the Bahá'í community in Niger was administrated by the National Spiritual Assembly of Dahomey, Togo and Niger from 1970 to 1975.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Niger	first NSA Niger
1975 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of Jordan was formed with its seat in Amman. From 1970 it was a part of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Near East with its seat in Lebanon and jurisdiction over Lebanon, Jordon and Syria. This left the National Spiritual Assembly of Lebanon with its seat in Beirut and jurisdiction over Syria. [BW16:264] For picture see BW16:452.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Amman, Jordan; Jordan; Lebanon; Syria	first NSA Jordan
1975 Ridván	The Universal House of Justice changed the name of the National Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa to the National Spiritual Assembly of Ethiopia. The only difference in the area of jurisdiction was that it no longer included Somalia. [BW16:144]	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Ethiopia	first NSA Ethiopia
1975 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of The Gambia was formed with its seat in Banjul. [BW16:165]	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Banjul (Bathurst), The Gambia; Gambia, The	first NSA The Gambia
1975 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of Upper West Africa was formed with its seat in Dakar, Senegal. The name was later changed to the National Spiritual Assembly of Senegal. [BW16:141] Jurisdiction: Senegal, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau and the Cape Verde Islands.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Dakar, Senegal; Senegal	first NSA Upper West Africa
1975 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of Togo was formed with its seat in Lomé. [BW16:141] Prior to this, the Bahá'í community in Togo was administrated by the National Spiritual Assembly of Dahomey, Togo and Niger from 1970 to 1975.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Lomé, Togo; Togo	first NSA Togo
1975 Ridván	The National Spiritual Assembly of Sierra Leone was formed with its seat in Freetown. [BW16:141]	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Freetown, Sierra Leone; Sierra Leone	first NSA Sierra Leone
1975 20 Apr	Michael Cooper, a Bahá'í from Northampton, U.K., who had never had a passport, never been out of his country , and never been on an airplane, volunteered to pioneer to Iceland. He on April 20th, just in time to become the ninth member of a Spiritual Assembly. [BN No 544 July 1975 p17]	Pioneering; Michael Cooper; Iceland
1975 29 Mar	The first Bahá'í Youth Conference of the Canary Islands was held in Santa Cruz. [BW16:313]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Youth; Youth; - First conferences; Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Canary Islands; Canary Islands, Spain	first Bahá’í Youth Conference of Canary Islands
1975 Mar	The only Bahá'í to visit the continent in the 1970s, John R. Peiniger, an Australian, was stationed in Antarctica for a brief time. See Aníbal and Norma Soto, a couple who visited in the previous decade.	John R. Peiniger; Antarctica
1975 5 Feb	A strip of land facing the resting place of Shoghi Effendi was purchased by the Universal House of Justice to ensure protection of the site. [BW16:134; BW17:82; VV22]	Shoghi Effendi, Resting place of; London, England; United Kingdom
1975 Feb - Aug	Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum set out on the Green Light Expedition to visit the indigenous peoples of the Amazon Basin in South America. [VV30–2] For a pictorial description of the expedition see BW16:419–48. See Green Light Expedition, a film by Rodney Charters, Mark Sadan, David Walker and Anthony Worley.	Green Light Expedition; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum, Journeys of; Rodney Charters; Mark Sadan; David Walker; Anthony Worley; Latin America; - Documentaries
1975 Feb	The Arab Boycott Office, at its meeting in Cairo, announced that the Bahá'í Faith had been placed on its blacklist. The decision had been taken through a misunderstanding as to the true nature and purpose of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, and was subsequently modified to state that only the businesses of individual Bahá'ís and companies owned by them would be boycotted. [BW17:78] See the statement released by the Bahá'í Community in New York on the 25th of February 1975.	Persecution, Egypt; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt
1975 Feb	The first Bahá'í Women's Conference of the Solomon Islands took place at Auki, Malaita Island, attended by more than 90 women. [BW16:282]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Women; Women; - First conferences; Solomon Islands; Oceania	first Bahá’í Women’s Conference of Solomon Islands
1975 Feb	The first National Teaching Conference in Sierra Leone took place in Bo. [BW16:172]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; Teaching; - First conferences; Bo, Sierra Leone; Sierra Leone	first National Teaching Conference in Sierra Leone
1975 14 Jan	The house of 'Abdu'lláh Páshá was purchased after lengthy and delicate negotiations. [BBD108; BW16:103, 133; BW17:82; DH73; VV39] For a history of the house see BW16:103–6.	House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá; Purchases and exchanges; - Bahá'í World Centre buildings, monuments and gardens; - Bahá'í World Centre; Akka, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel
1975 Jan	A Bahá'í was arrested in Iraq and sentenced to ten years' imprisonment. [BW16:138]	Persecution, Iraq; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Iraq
1975 2 – 4 Jan	The first annual meeting of the Association for Bahá'í Studies is held at Cedar Glen, Bolton, Ontario. [BW17:198] See also BBD201–2; VV23–5.	Conferences, Bahá'í studies; Bahá'í Studies, Associations for; Association for Bahá'í Studies (North America); Bolton, ON; Ontario, Canada; Canada	first annual meeting of the Association for Bahá’í Studies
1975 1 Jan	Shidan and Susan Kouchekzadeh, an Iranian-British couple pioneering in Sierra Leone, arrived in Conakry, the first Bahá'ís to settle in Guinea.	First Bahá'ís by country or area; Conakry, Guinea; Guinea; Sierra Leone	first Bahá’ís to settle in Guinea
1975 (In the year)	The release of the film entitled Invitation produced under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada by Elizabeth Martin, with the help of Chris Lyons. It was a memoir of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum incorporating footage from Khánum's Andean trip along with memories of her childhood years in Montreal. [HNWE36] The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Canada invited Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá to the re-opening of the Bahá'í Shrine in Montreal following the completion of renovations to the historic Bahá'í site. This film documents inspired talks she gave from August 30th to September 7th, including the on given in the Church of the Messiah, where 'Abdu'l-Bahá had given an address in 1912. She shares reminiscences related to her childhood home which was later designated by Shoghi Effendi as a Shrine. The film was originally shot in 16mm and was digitally remastered in 2003.	- Film; Invitation (film); Elizabeth Martin; Chris Lyons; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum, Journeys of; Montreal, QC; Canada; Latin America
1975 (In the year)	The first Bahá'í summer school to be held in Antigua took place. [BW16:187] For picture see BW16:188.	First summer and winter schools; Antigua	first Bahá’í summer school in Antigua
1975 (In the year)	In Indonesia several Bahá'ís were arrested, given light sentences and released for violating the 1962 and 1972 bans on Bahá'í activity. [BW19:41] A few months later four Bahá'ís were sentenced to five years' imprisonment; they remained in prison for the full five years. [BW19:41]	Persecution, Indonesia; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution, Bans; - Persecution; Indonesia
1975 (In the year)	Following the creation of the Rastákhíz political party by the Sháh of Iran and the refusal of the Bahá'ís to join it, although membership in it is compulsory, Bahá'ís throughout Iran are put under pressure. [BW18p391] Many Bahá'ís lost their jobs. [BW18:391]	Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Iran
1975 (In the year)	The Bahá'í Publishing Trust of Australia was established.	Publishing Trusts; Australia
1975 (In the year)	The Bahá'í Publishing Trust of Fiji was established.	Publishing Trusts; Fiji
1975 (In the year)	The Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt decided that the 1960 decree of President Nasser banning all Bahá'í activities was constitutional and the application of the Bahá'ís for annulment of the decree was dismissed. [BW16:137] Though nominally they have been guaranteed equal rights and religious freedoms under the 1971 Constitution, Bahá'ís, in practice, have retained a secondary legal status due to ongoing religious discrimination. Issues pertaining to personal status in Egypt were informed by religious rather than civil law and recognition pertained only to Islam, Christianity and Judaism. Aspects of religious life such as marriage, divorce and family relationships were not recognized by the state.	Persecution, Egypt; - Persecution, Bans; - Persecution; Human Rights; Egypt
1975 (In the year)	The first all-Quechua Bahá'í Conference was held in Cusco, Peru, attended by Bahá'ís from Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador. [BW16p445] This conference was attended by Rúhíyyih Khánum and some of her companions on the Green Light Expedition. [BW16p439] The supreme deity of the Incas, Ilya-Tiqsi Viracocha Pachayachachiq ("Ancient Foundation, Lord, Teacher"), was incarnated and dwelled among men as the Inca prophet of God. Viracocha promised to return one day and that hope has been realized. [Indigenous Messengers of God by Christopher Buck and Kevin Locke p13; Native Messengers of God in Canada?: A Test Case for Bahá'í Universalism by Christopher Buck]	Quechua; Conferences, Bahá'í; - Conferences, International; - First conferences; Native Americans; - Native American messengers; Indigenous people; Viracocha; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum, Journeys of; Green Light Expedition; Cusco, Peru; Peru	first international Quechua conference in Cusco, Peru
1975 (In the year)	The ban imposed on the Bahá'í Faith in Burundi in 1974 was lifted but Bahá'í activities continued to be restricted, particularly in provincial areas. [BW16:137]	Persecution, Burundi; - Persecution, Bans; - Persecution; Burundi
1975 (In the year)	Owing to the continuing ban on Bahá'í activities and institutions, the national spiritual assembly and all local spiritual assemblies were disbanded in Indonesia.	Persecution, Indonesia; - Persecution, Bans; - Persecution; Indonesia
Try also a shorter date like 197 try also the Chronology Canada — 1975 or 197

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