Chronology: Date 2003

date	event	tags	firsts
2003 17 - 19 Dec	The Bahá'i´International Community, with UNICEF, UNESCO, and major international non-governmental organizations, co-sponsored a regional conference in India with the theme, Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy. An address was delivered by Bani Dugal, the Principal Representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations. She noted that, according to UNICEF, 121 million children received little or no schooling of which 65 million of these were girls. The text of her speech can be found in the reference. [Education: The Right of Every Girl and Boy]	Bahá'í International Community; UNICEF; UNESCO; United Nations; Bani Dugal; - BIC statements; New Delhi, India; India
2003 16 Dec	Shirin Ebadi, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, the first Muslim woman to win the coveted distinction. For a long time she has fought for the rights of women and children in Iran and it is most fitting that she, a woman lawyer who dared to speak out against the sexist Iranian regime, be praised and recognised by the world. She was an author and also the founder of the Association for Support of Children's Rights in Iran. [Nobel Peace Prize 2003] In 2002 she founded the Defender of Human Rights Center and in 2009 she was forced to flee into exile after briefly serving as legal counsel for the imprisoned Yaran. Mrs. Ebadi was threatened, intimidated, and vilified in the news media after taking on their case and was not given access to their case files. [BWNS694 ]	Shirin Ebadi; Nobel Peace Prize; Human Rights; Women; Firsts, other; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Iran	first Muslim woman to be awarded Nobel Peace Prize
2003 10 - 12 Dec	The World Summit on the Information Society gave the Bahá'í International Community an opportunity to assemble a delegation of Internet and Communications Specialists out of which one chaired the Ethics and Values caucus. The event was devoted to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the Information and Communication Technologies. Some 54 heads of state, prime ministers, presidents, and vice presidents, along with 83 ministers, came to the WSIS, which drew official delegations from some 176 countries. Also attending were several thousand representatives of nongovernmental organizations, business groups, the media, and other organizations of civil society. The Bahá'í International Community's delegation to the WSIS was Michael Quinn of the United States; Bahiyyih Chaffers, permanent representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the UN; Laina Raveendran Greene of Singapore; and Karanja Gakio of Botswana, one of the founders of Africa Online. [BWNS268]	United Nations; Bahá'í International Community; Michael Quinn; Bahiyyih Chaffers; Laina Raveendran Greene; Karanja Gakio; Geneva, Switzerland; Switzerland
2003 26 Nov	The passing of Hand of the Cause of God Ali Akbar Furútan in Haifa at the age of 98. [BWNS261, BW'03-'04pg227] Born in Sabzivar, Iran, on 29 April 1905. Moved with his family to Ashgabat in what was then Russian Turkestan (now part of Turkmenistan), and, through his years of school and university, he took an active part in the work of the Bahá'í communities of Ashgabat, Baku, Moscow, and other parts of Russia. In 1930 he was expelled from the Soviet Union during the Stalinist persecution of religion and from that time on played an ever more significant role in the work and administration of the Iranian Bahá'í community. [BW03-04p227-230] Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii] For a tribute from the Universal House of Justice see message of 27 November, 2003.	- Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; `Alí-Akbar Furútan; In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, First Contingent; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Haifa, Israel; Sabzivar; Iran; Ashgabat; Turkmenistan; Bandar Anzali, Iran; Moscow, Russia
2003 6 - 7 Sep	The celebration of the Jubilee of the opening of the Faith in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was commemorated in Kinshasa by some 600 participants. Among those at the celebrations in the capital were three of the first Congolese Bahá'ís: Louis Selemani, 81, Remy Kalonji, 83, and Valerien Mukendi, 83. One invited guest who could not make it was Ola Pawlowska, 93, though she participated in the celebrations by sending a message of congratulations and love to a community to which she devoted three decades of her life from her home in Canada. Guests of honour at the jubilee included Mr. Nakhjavani, former member of the Universal House of Justice, and Mrs. Nakhjavani, as well as Joan Lincoln, counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre, and Albert Lincoln, secretary-general of the Bahá'í International Community. All four had spent many years as pioneers in Africa. Active teaching in the area began in 1953. Before that time, colonial authorities did not permit the promotion of the Faith and that is when Ali Nakhjavani and his wife, Violette, driving across Africa from Uganda, took Ugandan Baha'i Samson Mungongo to the city of Kamina. The first local assembly was formed in 1957 and the National Assembly was inaugurated in 1970. This event also marked the first time the National Spiritual Assembly had been able to meet in Kinshasa since 1998 because of the war. [BWNS248] For further details on the development of the Faith in the DRC see Legacy of Courage: The Life of Ola Pawlowska, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh by Suzanne Schuurman.	Anniversaries and jubilees; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo; Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire)
2003 Autumn	The publication of History of Bahá'ísm in Iran by Abdullah Shahbazi, the then head of the Political Studies and Research Institute, part of the Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies. In his book he advanced the theory of the alliance between Bahá'ísm and Zionism. [Iran Press Watch 1407]	Conspiracy theories; Zionism; Criticism and apologetics; Iran
2000 29 - 31 Aug	The celebration of the Jubilee of the opening of the Faith in the Republic of the Congo was commemorated in Brazzaville by 200 attendees. It was in 1953 that Ali and Violette Nakhjavani dropped off pioneer Max Kanyerezi in Brazzaville in the Middle Congo as it was then called, subsequently the "French Congo" and now "The Republic of the Congo". All Bahá'í activities were suspended by law from 1978 until 1992 when a democratically elected government replaced the Communist regime. The new government granted legal recognition of the Faith. During the years 1992 to 2003 the country endured two civil wars which further disrupted activity. There are now 20 local spiritual assemblies. [BWNS246]	Max Kanyerezi; Violette Nakhjavani; `Alí Nakhjavání; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo; Congo, Democratic Republic of (Zaire)
2003 22 Aug	The passing of Ruth Yancey Pringle in Ciudad, Costa Rica at the age of 83 after 5 decades of service to the Faith, 2 decades as on the Continental Board of Counsellors. The Universal House of Justice praised her as an "intrepid champion" of the Faith of God. [BWNS250, BW'03-'04pg236] She went pioneering before being accepted into the Faith. The Chicago Assembly was preoccupied with the organization of the Intercontinental Conference and didn't have a chance to process her application for membership. Because she was so close to the Faith she was allowed to attend the conference and she departed for her pioneer post immediately after. She received her membership card after arriving at her pioneer goal in Puerto Rico. [from a talk by Hooper Dunbar 26:05]	Ruth Pringle; Counsellors; In Memoriam; Births and deaths; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Ciudad Colon, Costa Rica; Costa Rica
2003 25 Jul	The passing of Elisabeth Charlotte (Lottie) Tobias. She was described by the National Spiritual Assembly as being the "mother" of the Netherlands Bahá'í community. [BW03-04p238]	First Bahá'ís by country or area; Lottie Tobias; Netherlands
2003 18 Jul	The passing of Dr David Kelly. He was buried in Mt Mary's churchyard in Longworth, near Farringdon in Oxfordshire. [BBC News 6 August 2003] Dr Kelly, an Oxford-educated microbiologist, had spent the majority of his career as a consultant to the MoD and other government departments and agencies, advising them on his area of expertise - arms control. He had been scientific adviser to the Proliferation and Arms Control secretariat for more than three years and, following the first Gulf War, he had worked as a weapons inspector in Iraq between 1991 and 1998. He became the senior adviser on biological warfare for the UN in Iraq in 1994, holding the post until 1999. Dr Kelly apparently committed suicide after being named as the source of a BBC report suggesting that intelligence on Iraq's weapons was "transformed" on the orders of Downing Street shortly before its publication. Such was the conclusion of a controversial inquiry conducted by Lord Hutton. [The Hutton Report] [BBC News 27 January 2004; BBC News 2 September 2003; BBC News 30 October 2003; BBC News 13 May 2004]	In Memoriam; David Kelly; Suicide; Longworth, Oxfordshire, England
2003 Jul	His Royal Highness Prince Andrew became the first member of the Royal Family to visit the National Bahá'í Centre in London. [The referenced web site has since ceased operation.]	Prince Andrew; London, England; United Kingdom
2003 20 Jun	The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Ursula Samandari (b. Ursula Newman 29 December, 1909 in Mitcham, Surrey, England) at her pioneering post in Buea, Cameroon. In 1953 she and Dr. Mihdi Samandari moved to Nairobi, Kenya, and a year later went to live in Mogadishu, Somalia where they stayed until 1971. At the request of the Universal House of Justice, they had pioneered to Cameroon. [BWNS230, BW'03-'04pg237]	Ursula Samandari; Pioneer; Mihdi Samandari; In Memoriam; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Buea, Cameroon; Cameroon; Nairobi, Kenya; Kenya; Mogadishu, Somalia; Somalia
2003 1 Jun	A fatwa was issued by the Mufti of Sabah State Government that declared that the Bahá'í teachings were deviant teachings and that Muslims were forbidden all involvement including the practice of the Faith and the holding of any literature or other material. [Fatwa]	Fatwa; Persecution, Malaysia; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Sabah, Malaysia; Malaysia
2003 Jun	The publication of Minimalism: A Bridge between Classical Philosophy and the Bahá'í Revelation by Dr. William Hatcher. In it he offers a logical proof for the existence of God. He concludes that the application of the principles of relational logic to this question prove that there is a single, universal, and eternal First Cause — something that is very much like God the Creator as named in all of the world's major religions. [BWNS226]	- Philosophy; William Hatcher; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS)
2003 9 May	The passing of David Hofman (b.1908 in Poona, India) in Oxford, England. [BW03-04p234-235] He was one of the nine elected members of the Universal House of Justice when that institution came into being in 1963. He presented the first statement from the supreme Baha'i administrative body in April 1963 to the World Congress in London. Twenty-nine years later, in 1992, he delivered the opening address to the second Baha'i World Congress in New York, an event attended by some 30,000 people. He served as a member of the Universal House of Justice for 25 years, until he left in 1988 at the age of 80. [BWNS209, BW'03-'04pg234, UK Bahá'í Journal] His published works included: Selections from Bahá'í Scriptures (1941) The Renewal of Civilization (1945) God and His Messengers (1953) George Townshend, A Life (1983) A Commentary on the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá (1983) Baha'u'llah, the Prince of Peace: A Portrait (1992)	David Hofman; Universal House of Justice, Members of; Bahá'í World Congress, First (1963); In Memoriam; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); United Kingdom
2003 May	The announcement by the Universal House of Justice of the appointment of Siamak Hariri of Toronto, Canada, as architect of the Bahá'í Temple to be built near Santiago in Chile. [BWNS223] See Ted Talk by Siamak Hariri entitled How do you build a sacred space?	Siamak Hariri; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Santiago; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Design; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); Architecture; Architects; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Santiago, Chile; Chile; Toronto, ON
2003 Apr	The publication of Building Momentum: A Coherent Approach to Growth by the International Teaching Centre at the request of the Universal House of Justice. Because of the cancellation of the 9th International Conference this publication had to be sent to all National Spiritual Assemblies rather than giving a copy to the delegates as had been planned. [BW03-04p35] See also TP367.	* Institute process; Training Institutes; Growth; International Teaching Centre; * Publications; Building Momentum (document); - International Teaching Centre, Publications; - Bahá'í World Centre	first...
2003 29 Apr	The ninth election of the Universal House of Justice by postal ballot by 1,544 electors from 178 countries. Chosen were Hartmut Grossmann and Firaydoun Javaheri to replace retiring members Mr. Nakhjavani, 83, and Mr. Fatheazam, 79 and re-elected were Farzam Arbab, Kiser Barnes, Hooper Dunbar, Peter Khan, Douglas Martin, Glenford Mitchell and Ian Semple. [One Country Vol.15 Issue1, BWNS207] Mr. Grossmann, born in Germany, had academic qualifications in the German and English languages. He served on the National Spiritual Assemblies of the Bahá'ís of Germany (1963 to 1969) and Finland (1977 to 1980). He was a university academic in Finland. Mr. Grossmann was appointed a Continental Counsellor in 1980, advising Bahá'í communities throughout Europe in their growth and development. He had been serving in the International Teaching Centre prior to his election. Dr. Javaheri, who was born in Iran, had a doctorate in agronomy. He lived for 27 years in Africa -- Gambia then Zambia -- where he was Chief Technical Adviser for the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. He served the Bahá'í communities there in the area of social and economic development. He was appointed a Continental Counsellor in 1995 after serving for 19 years as a member of its Auxiliary Board. He, like Mr Grossmann, had been serving in the International Teaching Centre prior to his election. [BWNS208]	Universal House of Justice, Election of; Elections; Universal House of Justice, Members of; Conventions, International; Firsts, other; Hartmut Grossmann; Firaydoun Javaheri; Farzam Arbab; Kiser Barnes; Hooper Dunbar; Peter Khan; Douglas Martin; Glenford Mitchell; Ian Semple; Retirements; `Alí Nakhjavání; Hushmand Fatheazam; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel	First postal ballot for an International Bahá'í Convention.
2003 28 Apr	The retirement of Mr. Ali Nakhjavani and Mr. Hushmand Fatheazam from the Universal House of Justice. Both had served since the inception of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. They are replaced by Mr. Hartmut Grossmann and Dr. Firaydoun Javaheri. [BWNS208]	`Alí Nakhjavání; Hushmand Fatheazam; Retirements; Universal House of Justice, Members of; Hartmut Grossmann; Firaydoun Javaheri; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Bahá'í World Centre
2003 27 Apr	Bahá'ís from the north and south of Cyprus met when they were permitted to cross the demarcation line that had divided the island for three decades. The event followed the decision by the Turkish Cypriot authorities to lift the ban on travel across the cease-fire line. Some 60 Turkish and Greek Bahá'ís held a devotional meeting together at the Bahá'í center in Nicosia. [BWNS216]	History (general); Unity; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Nicosia, Cyprus; Cyprus; Turkey; Greece
2003 Ridván	"In response to the call issued by the National Spiritual Assembly of Chile, 185 design concepts have been received from architects and designers around the world for the Mother Temple of South America to be constructed in Santiago." [Riḍván 2003 To the Bahá'ís of the World] In view of the critical world situation the Universal House of Justice advised the friends to:' Let them strive to understand more deeply the Teachings that are relevant by reviewing letters of Shoghi Effendi which have been published in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, particularly those entitled "The Goal of a New World Order," "America and the Most Great Peace," and "The Unfoldment of World Civilization."	Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Santiago; - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Design; Architecture; Santiago, Chile; Chile
2003 4 Apr	Given current conditions in the world at the time, the Ninth International Convention was cancelled. It had been scheduled for 29 April to 2 May. Ballots from the National Spiritual Assembly members were mailed to the World Centre. The 19 delegates that had been chosen as tellers travelled to the World Centre to count the votes. [BW'02-'03pg37-38, BWNS202]	Conventions, International; Firsts, other; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Bahá'í World Centre; Haifa, Israel	First time an International Bahá'í Convention was cancelled.
2003 18 Mar	The President of India, Abdul Kalam, visited the Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi, the first official visit there by an Indian Head of State since the Temple was opened in December 1986. [BWNS204]	`Abdu'l Kalam; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Delhi; Lotus temple; Prominent visitors; - Presidents; Firsts, other; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); New Delhi, India; India	First visit to the Bahá'í House of Worship in New Delhi by an Indian head of state.
2003 11 Mar	Bani Dugal Gujral was appointed Principal Representative of the Bahá'í International Community to the United Nations. Ms. Dugal Gujral had been serving as interim Principal Representative since the resignation of Techeste Ahderom in 2001. Ms. Dugal Gujral came to the Bahá'í International Community in 1994 and served as Director of the Community's Office for the Advancement of Women. A native of India, where she practiced law before coming to the United States, Ms. Dugal Gujral holds a Master's degree in Environmental Law from Pace University School of Law in New York. [One Country Vol.14 Issue4]	Bani Dugal Gujral; Bahá'í International Community; Women; Techeste Ahderom; United Nations; New York, USA; USA
2003 3 Mar	The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Una Dean, née Townshend, in Edmonton, Canada. Una lived a full life of Bahá'í service. In 1946 she was the first Bahá'í in Dublin and was later a member of the first spiritual assembly. She also helped to form the first spiritual assembly in Liverpool. In October 1953 she was the first Bahá'i in Malta, a goal of the Ten Year Crusade. In 1954 she returned to Ireland to tend to her ailing father and to assist him in writing Christ and Bahá'u'lláh. After his passing in 1957 she moved to America, met and married her husband, Dick Dean, and moved to Edmonton where she served on the Local Assembly until 1987. [BW02-03p269]	Una Dean; Una Townshend; - Knights of Bahá'u'lláh; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Edmonton, AB; Alberta, Canada; Canada; Malta; Ireland; Liverpool, England; Dublin, Ireland	First Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Dublin.
2003 7 – 9 Feb	The dedication of the Louis G. Gregory Museum in his birthplace, Charleston, South Carolina. [BWNS188, Wilmette Institute; Bahá'í Encyclopedia] For biographical information on Hand of the Cause Louis Gregory see Gayle Morrison, To Move the World: Louis G. Gregory and the Advancement of Racial Unity in America (Wilmette, IL, USA Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1982, 1999 printing). Museum website.	Louis Gregory Museum; Louis G. Gregory; Gayle Morrison; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); South Carolina, USA; USA
2003 4 Jan	The Bahá'ís of Hungary celebrated the inauguration of a new national centre. In 1990 there were only 70 Bahá'í in Hungary. At the time of the opening of the new national centre there were more than 1,200 spread among some 65 localities. More than two-thirds of the membership are members of the Roma people. [BWNS187]	Statistics; Roma; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Budapest, Hungary
2003 (In the year)	The Louis G. Gregory Baha'i Museum was opened in the home that Mr Gregory's stepfather built for his family in the mid-1880s in Charleston, South Carolina. The opening was the culmination of a project that began in 1988 with the purchase of the property. The Baha'i community rallied to the cause, raising the money to purchase and eventually renovate the house. It is a memorial to the life and work of its namesake, one of the founding teachers and administrators of the Bahá'í Faith in the United States and a pioneer of interracial reconciliation. [The Louis G. Gregory Baha'i Museum]	Louis G. Gregory; Charleston, SC
2003 (In the year)	A fatwa was issued against the Bahá'í Faith in Egypt by Al-Azhar, the prominent religious institution supporting the continued ban as apostates.	Fatwa; Persecution, Egypt; - Persecution, Bans; - Persecution; Cairo, Egypt; Egypt
Try also a shorter date like 200 try also the Chronology Canada — 2003 or 200

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