Chronology: Date 1999

date	event	tags	firsts
28 Dec	In a message from the Universal House of Justice addressed to the Bahá'ís of the world, some laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas which had not yet been universally applied were put into effect. Those were the laws that directly foster the devotional life of the individual and of the community which pertained to obligatory prayer, fasting and recitation of the Greatest Name ninety-five times a day. Those laws of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas that were not yet universally applicable were delineated in the message dated 8 February, 2001.	Kitáb-i-Aqdas (Most Holy Book); Laws; Gradual implementation of laws; - Basic timeline, Expanded; Obligatory prayer; Greatest Name; Fasting; - Bahá'í World Centre
1999 12 Dec	A report titled Issues Pertaining to Growth, Retention and Consolidation in the United States by the National Teaching Committee of the United States was tabled. This report suggested areas of strategic focus to pursue in the individual and collective efforts to advance the process of entry by troops in the United States. While affirming all of the major strategic objectives set by the Universal House of Justice for this Plan, the report explored how those objectives could be met within the context of the specific challenges and opportunities faced by the believers. The report concluded by offering a series of specific suggestions in these areas: 1 .Achieving a new mindset about growth 2. Continued development of local and national outreach and follow-up 3 . Building our communities: dealing with diversity of many kinds 4. Development of Training Institutes 5. Improving local stewardship 6. Improving our discourse about teaching 7. The leadership of the Regional Bahá'í Councils A Word version of the full report is available here.	Entry by troops; Wilmette, IL
1999 1 - 8 Dec	The Parliament hosted the second modern-day Parliament of the World's Religions in Cape Town, South Africa in December 1999, attended by 7,000+ global participants. The document A Call to Our Guiding Institutions served as the centrepiece for the working sessions of the Assembly. The Call—the result of a three-year drafting process—was addressed to eight of the world's most powerful and most influential institutions, inviting each to reflect on and redefine its role for a new century. [Capetown 1999]	Parliament of the Worlds Religions; Cape Town, South Africa; South Africa
1999 9 Nov	The announcement by the Universal House of Justice of the creation of the Office of Correspondence at the World Centre to improve communication between the World Centre and the Bahá'í World by assisting the Secretariat of the House of Justice in responding to routine requests and inquiries made to the World Center and also to handle a broader range of such correspondence, over its own signature, following policies laid down for this purpose. [Universal House of Justice 9 November, 1999]	Office of Correspondence; - Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel
1999 Nov	The publication of A Clarification of Some Issues Concerning Social and Economic Development in Local and National Communities prepared by the Office of Social and Economic Development at the Bahá'í World Centre. It was written to respond to a number of questions that have arisen over the previous few years. It touched on such issues as degrees of complexity in development activity, the relationship between teaching and development, and participation in development projects.	Social and economic development; Office of Social and Economic Development (OSED); - Bahá'í World Centre
1999 Sep	The murder of Abdullah Mogharrabi in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. It was determined that he was killed for his religious beliefs. [One Country Jan-Mar 2002 Vol13 Issue 4]	Persecution, Tajikistan; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Dushanbe, Tajikistan; Tajikistan
1999 Sep	September 1999 President Ṣāliḥ was again returned to office, this time in the country's first direct presidential elections and for a term lengthened to seven years. He had run virtually unopposed, as the YSP candidate was unable to secure the minimum number of votes necessary in the GPC-dominated parliament to stand in the election.	Yemen, Recent history; Yemen
1999 24 Aug	Message from the Department of the Secretariat to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States on behalf of the Universal House of Justice regarding the funding and deputization of Training Institutes. [Mess86-01p689-692, 24 August, 1999]	Training Institutes; Deputization; Funds; - Bahá'í World Centre
1999 15 - 18 Aug	A conference was held Sidcot, Avon, United Kingdom, hosted jointly by the International Environmental Forum with the Bahá'í Agency for Social and Economic Development - UK. It brought together 44 participants from 13 countries on 5 continents, as well as internet connection with an additional 70 "electronic" conference participants in 29 countries, for a total of 114 participants from 38 countries, including 8 in Africa. [International Environment Forum web site] See the website for a list of papers presented.	Social and economic development; Bahá'í Agency for Social and Economic Development; Conferences, Bahá'í; Sidcot School, England; United Kingdom
1999 4 Jul	In a message addressed to selected National Spiritual Assemblies, the Universal House of Justice delineated the policies concerning the publication and translation of historical documents. Appendix I was a letter from the Department of the Secretariat Letter 4 May 1999 to an individual in response to an inquiry requesting (1) clarification of the policies governing access to sources at the Bahá'í World Centre and (2) regarding publication of primary source material available to people through other avenues. Appendix II Policies Governing Authorized and Provisional Translations of the Bahá'í Holy Writings into English and their Publication Appendix III Policies Governing the Publication and Translation of Bahá'í Historical Documents	Policy, publication; Policy, translation; Translation; Translation into English; Translation, provisional; - Bahá'í World Centre
1999 4 Jul	In a message from the Department of the Secretariat the Universal House of Justice clarified an issue related to publication of Bahá'í Sacred Texts. It was stated that it would not be proper to publish a full-text edition of a Bahá'í Sacred Text incorporating a study guide. [4 July 1999]	Policy, publication; - Study guides
1999 21 Jun	The passing of Meherangiz Munsiff in London (b. 23 November, 1923 Bombay, India) Born into a Bahá'í family she travelled in India with Martha Root at the age of 14 years. She was appointed Knight of Bahá'u'lláh for the French Cameroons. In addition she visited more than 150 countries to teach and assist in the development of Bahá'í communities and was known as a lecturer and an activist among the international humanitarian community. [BW99-00p308-309] An autobiography Lifeline:A Life of Prayer and Service as Experienced by Meherangiz Munsiff, Knight of Baha'u'llah, was published by George Ronald Publishers in October of 2022. It was written by Meherangiz Munsiff, Jyoti Munsiff (her daughter), and Pixie MacCallum.	Meherangiz Munsiff; First Bahá'ís by country or area; London, England; United Kingdom	first to pioneer to the French Cameroons
1999 June	The dedication of the first academic chair in Bahá'í studies in Israel at Hebrew University of Jerusalem with the appointment of Prof. Moshe Sharon. The position was made possible because of an anonymous donation. [Jerusalem Post, June 7, 1999, BWNS84]	Chair in Bahá'í Studies; Hebrew University of Jerusalem; Universities; Moshe Sharon; Firsts, other; Donations; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Jerusalem, Israel; Israel	First academic chair in Bahá'í studies in Israel at Hebrew University of Jerusalem
1999 5 May	Firuz Kazemzadeh, Secretary for External Affairs for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, was appointed by President Clinton as a member of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. White House Press Release	Firuz Kazemzadeh; NSA; United States government; United States Commissions; Religious freedom; Human Rights; USA
1999 Ridván	The Universal House of Justice announced in its Ridván Message that ....."(t)he further creation of national and regional training institutes, now numbering 344, has pressed this development forward, with the result that, apart from North America and Iran where numerous courses have been given, some 70,000 individuals have already completed at least one institute course." [Mess86-01p668] Further, in its message of 26 November 1999 it stated that "An impressive network of training institutes on a scale but dimly imagined at the start of the Plan has been established throughout the world. These nascent centres of learning have made significant strides in developing formal programmes and in putting into place effective systems for the delivery of courses. Reports indicate that the number of believers benefiting directly from training courses has climbed to nearly 100,000." [Message 26 November, 1999]	Training Institutes; * Institute process; Statistics; - Bahá'í World Centre
1999 Ridván	National Spiritual Assembly of Macedonia was formed with its seat in Skopje. [Ridván Message 156]
1999 Ridván	National Spiritual Assembly of Estonia was formed with its seat in Tallinn. [BW99-00p44-45, Ridván Message 156] The Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Baltic States (Latvia and Lithuania and Estonia) that had been formed in 1992 was dissolved.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Estonia
1999 Ridván	National Spiritual Assembly of Lithuania was formed. [BW99-00p44-45, Ridván Message 156] The Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Baltic States (Latvia and Lithuania and Estonia) that had been formed in 1992 was dissolved.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Lithuania
1999 Ridván	National Spiritual Assembly of Latvia was formed. [BW99-00p44-45, Ridván Message 156] The Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Baltic States (Latvia and Lithuania and Estonia) that had been formed in 1992 was dissolved.	National Spiritual Assembly, formation; Riga; Latvia
1999 19 Apr	The Islamic Revolutionary Court in Isfahan sentenced Sina Hakiman (10 yrs), Farzad Khajeh Sharifabadi (7 yrs), Havivullhh Ferdosian Najafabadi (7 yrs) and Ziaullah Mirzapanah (3yrs) for crimes against national security. All four were among the thirty-six who were arrested in late September and in early October, 1998 in a concerted government crackdown against Bahá'í education in fourteen cities in Iran. It was reported that over 500 homes were raided in an attempt to crack down on the Bahá'í Open University. Files, equipment and other property used by the University were seized. From report by Human Rights Watch Academic Freedom Committee.	Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE); Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Education; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Court cases; Human Rights; Education; Isfahan, Iran; Iran
1999 7 Apr	The Universal House of Justice distributed a compilation entitled Issues Related to the Study of the Bahá'í Faith. The compilation had been first published in Bahá'í Canada in May 1998. See the complete history of this document at Bahai-Library.com. See as well a follow-up to the "Issues Related to the Study of the Baha'i Faith" letter, a message from the Universal House of Justice dated 14 November 2005.	Protection; Bahá'í studies; - Bahá'í World Centre
1999 19 Jan	The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Russia formally received its re-registration documents under the new law on religious organizations that was passed by the Russian Parliament in the fall of 1997. Formal recognition as a "centralized religious organization" entitled the community to full rights to teach and proclaim the Faith, publish and import literature, rent and own property, invite foreign nationals etc. [From "European Bulletin" Issue 60 February 1999]	National Spiritual Assembly; Russian Parliament; Russia
1999 12 - 14 Jan	During the World Faiths Development Dialogue continuation in Johannesburg, Matt Weinberg, director of research for the Office of Public Information of the Bahá'í International Community, presented a statement Religious Values and the Measurement of Poverty and Prosperity that addressed the question of how to measure the application of spiritual principles in development. [One Country]	World Faiths Development Dialogue (WFDD); Bahá'í International Community; Matt Weinberg; - BIC statements; Johannesburg, South Africa; South Africa
1999 (In the year)	The publication of Sacred Time; Babi and Baha'i History and Biography by John Wallbridge. The paper deals with stories of the early martyrs, the Bahá'í Faith in Turkey, and the Faith in Iran as well as miscellaneous topics.	Bábí history; Bahá'í history; John Walbridge; Lansing, MI; * Publications
1999 (in the year)	Mona Foundation was founded in 1999. The Foundation supports grassroots educational initiatives that provide education to all children, increase opportunities for women and girls, and emphasize service to the community. The goal is to alleviate global poverty and support community led transformation such that no child ever goes to bed hungry, is lost to preventable diseases, or is deprived of the gift of education for lack of resources. The core belief is that the keys to alleviating poverty are universal education, gender equality, and community building. The headquarters is located in Washington, DC with chapters in Los Angeles, Seattle, Portland and San Diego. There is a sister organization in Vancouver, Canada. [Website] See Borgen Magazine for the Mona Foundation 20 years on. The following are the results of the foundation's work with partner organizations in 2020. 2,286,575 students enrolled (in-class and online) 3,145 teachers trained 23,494 parents trained 568 known service projects 833 schools served 3,246 known communities served (by schools or service projects) 864,705 individuals impacted by the Mona Foundation outreach programs	Mona Foundation; Social and Economic Development Organizations; Los Angeles, CA; Seattle, WA; Portland, OR; San Diego, CA; Vancouver, BC
1999 ...and beyond	Based on initial experiences, the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity learned that many people – including many university students and young professionals were interested in exploring the concepts the Institute was working with, and were interested in developing the capacity to contribute to contemporary discourses through a framework that drew on insights from both science and religion. Therefore, the Institute initiated another line of action focused on raising capacity in university students and young adults to contribute to the discourse on science, religion and development, as well as to other discourses related to the betterment of society. The Institute now conducts a series of undergraduate and graduate seminars in a growing number of countries for this purpose. Seminars for Undergraduate Students See Australian brochure 2016 for a description of the course of study. Seminars for University Graduates	Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity (ISGP)
1999 (in the year)	The founding of the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity (ISGP) as a non-profit organization to work in collaboration with the Bahá'í International Community and dedicated to building capacity in individuals, groups and institutions to contribute to prevalent discourses concerned with the betterment of society. One of the purposes of the Institute was to explore, with others, the complementary roles that science and religion – as co-evolving systems of knowledge and practice – must play in the advancement of civilization. Principles, concepts and approaches that are relevant to the advancement of civilization are to be explored through a process of study, reflection and consultation. [ISPG Web site; Bahaipedia; BWNS1266] See various FaceBook pages including ISGP's The Forum. In the Ridván 2001 Message it was stated that the Institute for the Studies in Global Prosperity, (was) a new agency operating under the aegis of the Bahá'í International Community. [Ridván 2001]	Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity (ISGP); Bahá'í International Community; Science; Public discourse; New York, USA; USA
Try also a shorter date like 199 try also the Chronology Canada — 1999 or 199

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