Chronology: Date 1997

Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1997, sorted by events, ascending

date	event	tags	firsts
1997 (In the year) 199-	In 1997 One Country launched its website that contained all the English issues of the newsletter published over the previous three years. [One Country Vol 23 Issue3, BW'86-92p539]	One Country (magazine); - Newsletters; Internet; Websites; Bahá'í International Community
1997 30 May 199-	In its message of 30 May 1997 the Universal House of Justice announced that they have authorized the formation of "State Bahá'í Councils" or "Regional Teaching and Administrative Committees" to be called "Regional Bahá'í Councils. Their intention was to provide a balance between centralization and decentralization. This structure had been in place in some countries, notably India, for some years prior to this time. See 23 May, 1986. [TP87-90] For a synopsis of the letter see The Establishment of Regional Bahá'í Councils in Certain Countries, Their Characteristics and Functions. The distinguishing effects of the establishment of Regional Bahá'í Councils were the following: It provided for a level of autonomous decision making on both teaching and administrative matters, as distinct from merely executive action, below the National Assembly and above the Local Assemblies. It involved the members of Local Spiritual Assemblies of the area in the choice of the members of the Council, thus reinforcing the bond between it and the local believers while, at the same time, bringing into public service capable believers who were known to the friends in their own region. It established direct consultative relationships between the Continental Counselors and the Regional Bahá'í Councils. It offered the possibility of forming a Regional Bahá'í Council in an ethnically distinct region which covered parts of two or more countries. In such a situation the Council was designated to work directly under one of the National Assemblies involved, providing copies of its reports and minutes to the other National Assembly. The greater degree of decentralization involved in the devolution of authority upon Regional Bahá'í Councils required a corresponding increase in the capacity of the National Spiritual Assembly itself to keep fully informed of what was proceeding in all parts of the territory over which it had ultimate jurisdiction.	State Bahá'í Councils; Regional Bahá'í Councils; National Spiritual Assemblies; NSA; Local Spiritual Assemblies; LSA; Administration; Regional Council; - Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel
1997 27 Apr 199-	In the second parliamentary election in Yemen the GPC won a majority of the seats, Iṣlāḥ finished second, and the YSP (Yemen Socialist Party) virtually committed political suicide by boycotting the elections. Given its sizable majority, the GPC chose to rule alone, thereby making Iṣlāḥ the major opposition party in parliament. In late 1994 the plural executive had been abolished and President Ṣāliḥ reelected to a five-year term by parliament.	Yemen, Recent history; Yemen
1997 4 Jul 199-	Masha'llah Enayati, a 63-year-old man, died in custody while in prison in Isfahan after being severely beaten. [One Country Jul-Sep 1998 Vol 10 Issue 2]	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Arrests; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Isfahan, Iran; Iran; Biography
1997 6 Jul 199-	Shahram Reza'i, a conscript in the army, was shot in the head by his superior officer at a military base near Rasht, Iran. The officer, who said the bullets were fired in error, was released a few days after a court excused him from paying the blood money normally required in such cases because the dead soldier was a Bahá'í. [One Country Jul-Sep 1998 Vol 10 Issue 2]	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Court cases; Rasht, Iran; Iran
1997 15 Mar 199-	The Bahá'í International Community presented a statement The United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education during the 53rd Session of the UN Commission on Human Rights held in Geneva. This statement focused on educating children and youth to instill in them those virtues required for a progressive society. [BIC website 1 January 1997]	United Nations; Bahá'í International Community; - BIC statements; Geneva, Switzerland; Switzerland
1997 24-26 Oct 199-	The International Environment Forum was launched at the first International Bahá'í Environment Conference in de Poort, Netherlands, with participants from nine countries, who were joined electronically by people from 21 countries participating in the e-mail version of the conference. A Bahá'í Perspective on the Environment and Sustainable Development was presented by Michael Richards of the Overseas Development Institute in London. At the conference, the objectives, activities and structure of the Forum were agreed and statutes adopted, and a governing board of five people was elected. It is a Bahá'í-inspired non-governmental organization that linked together Bahá'ís and others interested in the fields of environment and sustainable development. Development of the Forum had been encouraged and guided by the Bahá'í International Community, although it had no formal link with the Bahá'í administration.	International Environment Forum (IEF); Bahá'í International Community; Conferences, Bahá'í; - Conferences, International; - First conferences; Environment; De Poort, Netherlands; - BIC statements; Groesbeek, Netherlands; Netherlands	first International Bahá'í Environment Conference
1997 24 Mar - 16 May 199-	The nine member First Nations Travel Teaching Trip to the South Pacific, called "The Journey of Teech-ma" consisted of Canadian Bahá'ís from Kwakiutl, Nuu-Cha-Nuth, the Ojibway First Nations, a Yupik Bahá'í from Alaska and three non-Native Canadian friends. They shared their culture and their Faith with the Maori, other New Zealanders, the Aborigines and other Australians as well as the ne-Vanuatu peoples. See entry for 1994 (Summer). [SDSC370]	- First Nations, Canada; Travel Teaching; Pacific; Maoris; - Aboriginal people; - Indigenous people; New Zealand; Australia; Vanuatu; Canada
1997 - 2004 199-	The publication of the Bahá'í Journal UK. The first issue was published in 1997 and the last was Volume 20 No 5 published in January/February of 2004 where it was announced that the publication had been superseded by the UK Bahá'í Journal. Scans of back issues can be found on Bahá'i Library.	Bahá'í Journal UK; United Kingdom
1997 Ridván 199-	The re-formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Rwanda brought the total number of national spiritual assemblies to 175. [BW97-98p32]	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Statistics; Kigali, Rwanda; Rwanda
1997 1 Oct 199-	The release of the film Crossing Frontiers: Portrait of a World Citizen - Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum by Badiyan Distribution. This video, on the life of the Hand of the Cause of God Amatu'l-Baha Ruhiyyih Khanum, explored the frontiers she crossed in her travels to over 185 countries promoting the essential teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. In the course of her travels she gave countless lectures, met many leading dignitaries, and was interviewed on radio, television and by the press throughout the world, continually promoting the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. [9 Star Media] The video has been made available on YouTube.	Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum, Journeys of; - Film; - Documentaries
1997 (In the year) 199-	The Tahirih Justice Center was founded to address the acute need for legal services of immigrant and refugee women who have fled to the U.S. to seek protection from human rights abuses. The Center's founder, Ms. Layli Miller, created the Center after she was besieged by requests for legal assistance following her involvement in a high-profile case that set national precedent and revolutionized asylum law in the United States. The case was that of Fauziya Kassindja, a 17 year-old woman who fled Togo in fear of a forced polygamous marriage and a tribal practice known as female genital mutilation. After arriving in the U.S. and spending more than seventeen months in detention, Ms. Kassindja was granted asylum on June 13th, 1996 by the United States Board of Immigration Appeals in a decision that opened the door to gender-based persecution as a grounds for asylum. [Tahirih Justice Center] For more on the Tahirih Justice Center see article in the Religion News Service.	Tahirih Justice Center; Human rights; Women; Refugees; Migration; Layli Miller-Muro; United States (USA)
1997 Ridván 199-	The Universal House of Justice announced in its Ridván Message that nearly 200 Training Institutes had been established in the previous twelve months. [Mess86-01p580]	Training Institutes; Statistics; - Institute process; - Bahá'í World Centre
1997 Ridván 199-	The Universal House of Justice restricted the formation of Local Spiritual Assemblies to the first day of Riḍván. This measure had the effect anticipated; there was a decrease in the number of these institutions but the fall was not drastic. [Message from the Universal House of Justice Ridván 2000] "As of Riḍván 1997, all Local Spiritual Assemblies throughout the world will have to be elected on the First Day of Riḍván." (31 December 1995 – To the Bahá'ís of the World) "This development was related to the fact that, while believers from outside a locality could assist with the electoral process, the primary responsibility for electing any Assembly and maintaining its operations rests with the Bahá'ís of that place" (30 December 2021 – To the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors)	Ridván Festival; Elections; Administration; Local Spiritual Assemblies; LSA; Growth; Statistics; Bahá'í Faith, Evolutionary nature of; Maturity of humanity; - Worldwide
1997 31 Jan 199-	The Universal House of Justice wrote all National Spiritual Assemblies, Continental Counsellors, and the International Teaching Centre about "advertisements...placed by the Covenant-breaker Joel Bray Marangella, seeking to revive his claim to be the "third Guardian of the Faith." [Reddit post] Marganella died in 2013. [Bahaipedia]	Covenant-breaking; Joel Marangella; - Bahá'í World Centre


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