Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 2007-09, descending — sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
2007 30 Sep In a message from the International Teaching Centre to all Continental Counsellors it shared lessons learned at the recent meetings of the Continental Boards in which the focus had been the challenge of accelerating the movement of clusters and the launching of an increasing number of Intensive Programs of Growth. The message set the direction for the teaching work. International Teaching Centre; - Bahá'í World Centre
2007 22 Sep The passing of Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa (b.1911 or 1912) at his home in Haifa. Mr Varqa received his name from 'Abdu'l-Bahá in memory of his grandfather, who had been killed for being a follower of Bahá'u'lláh. He was the last survivor of the 27 Hands of the Cause who were alive when Shoghi Effendi passed away in 1957. [BWNS579; One Country]
  • He had been appointed Hand of the Cause on the 15th of March, 1955 after the passing of his father Hand of the Cause of God Jináb-i-Valíyu'lláh Varqá, [MoVxxiv]
  • He was appointed as the last Trustee of the Huqúqulláh, a position also held by his father. During his tenure, the Huqúqulláh expanded its base from a few Iranian believers to include every believer in the world in 1992.
  • He lived in Iran but happened to be away during the revolution in 1979 and never returned. He was accepted as a refugee in Canada and lived there for several years before being called to service at the World Centre.
  • For a short biography see LoF183-187.
    		•  Varqá, `Alí-Muhammad; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; Births and deaths; In Memoriam; Varqa; - Hands of the Cause, Institution; Appointed arm; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Basic timeline, Expanded; Huququllah; Haifa, Israel
    2007 13 Sep The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the resolution entitled United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. [United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples]
  • The vote was passed by a majority of 144 states in favour, 4 votes against (Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States) and 11 abstentions (Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burundi, Colombia, Georgia, Kenya, Nigeria, Russian Federation, Samoa and Ukraine). Since that time, the four countries voting against have reversed their position and now support the Declaration. [Division for Social Policy and Development Indigenous Peoples website]
  • In November 2010, Canada issued a Statement of Support endorsing the principles of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
  • In November 2015, the Prime Minister of Canada asked the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs and other ministers, in the mandate letters, to implement the declaration.
  • In May 2016, the Minister of Indigenous and Northern Affairs announced Canada was now a full supporter, without qualification, of the declaration.
  • For an Historical Overview of the resolution see Division for Social Policy and Development Indigenous Peoples website.
  • The text of the Resolution A/RES/61/295 has been published in an "Adolescent-Friendly Version of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples".
  • In a CBC news story published 15 January2024 it was revealed that Canada and Australia had conspired to create a government-friendly UNDRIP substitute in 2002-2003. See a 2002 Australian Cabinet document related to the issue of the drafting of a separate proposal to change the existing document. On the 10th of May, 2016 the Canadian government announced its full support of the Declaration and commitment to adopt and implement it in accordance with the Canadian Constitution.
    		• United Nations; United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples; Indigenous people; New York, USA
    2007 9 Sep In its message to the Bahá'í students deprived of access to higher education in Iran of the 9th of September 2007, the Universal House of Justice used the term "constructive resilience" to describe the non-adversarial approach taken by the Bahá'ís in the face of violent oppression.

    For further exploration of this term see:

    Bahá'í Library: Constructive Resilience: The Bahá'í Response to Oppression by Michael Karlberg (Also published in Peace and Change, 35:2 pages 222-257 2010-04. (PDF)

      See his presentation on the same subject to the Bahá'í Studies Conference at the Ezri Centre for Iranian and the Persian Gulf Studies of Haifa University in 2016 on YouTube.

    Constructive Resilience by Firaydoun Javaheri was published in the Journal of Bahá'í Studies, 28 April 2018 and can be found on Bahá'í Library.

    A Master's thesis titled Exploring Constructive Resilience: A Qualitative Investigation of the Bahá'i Response to Oppression was presented by Mark Kazemzadeh at the University of Massachusetts in Boston in 2019.

    Constructive resilience in response to oppression: the strategy of Bahá'ís in Iran by Leyla Tavernaro-Haidarian 31 May 2022 was published in the Community Development Journal.

    		Persecution, Iran; Iran
    2007 9 – 10 Sep A Bahá'í cemetery near Najafabad, Iran was destroyed using heavy equipment. More than 100 graves were desecrated. [BWNS578] Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Destruction; - Persecution; Cemeteries and graves; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Najaf, Iranabad, Iran; Iran
    2007 Aug-Sep In memory of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and because the Native people had such a special place in her heart and that of the Guardian, Violette and 'Ali Nakhjanání travelled throughout North America during the months of August and September visiting aboriginal believers. They visited Vancouver, Anchorage, Juneau before going to South Dakota, Montana, Arizona and Atlanta, Georgia where they spoke with 450 African-American believers. They visited the temple in Wilmette and then the Eskasoni First Nation in Nova Scotia.
  • The primary purpose of their visit was to meet with and encourage the aboriginal believers and to remind the of their responsibility and high destiny in the Faith. [CBN Vol 20 No 3 Winter 2007/2008 p23-25]
    		•  Violette Nakhjavani; `Alí Nakhjavání; Teaching; Indigenous people; Native Americans; First Nations; Vancouver, BC; Anchorage, AK; Juneau, AK; Canada; South Dakota, USA; Montana, USA; Arizona, USA; Atlanta, GA; Wilmette, IL; USA

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