Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

home Canada 1700s 1800s 1810s 1820s 1830s 1840s 1850s 1860s 1870s 1880s 1890s
1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
 

Date 2011-05, ascending sort newest first

date event tags firsts
2011 May Some 39 homes of Bahá'ís associated with the Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE) were raided in a coordinated attack. Educator Kamran Mortezaie served a five-year jail term. Mahmoud Badavam, Noushin Khadem, Farhad Sedghi, Riaz Sobhani and Ramin Zibaie were each sentenced to four year prison terms. The judgments against them cast their activities in support of BIHE as crimes and as "evidence" of their purported aim to subvert the state. Two psychology teachers, Faran Hesami and her husband Kamran Rahimian, were also sentenced to four years in prison. Another BIHE administrator Vahid Mahmoudi was released on 8 January 2012 after his five-year sentence was reportedly suspended. [BWNS910] Persecution, Iran; Bahá'í Institute for Higher Education (BIHE); - Persecution, Education; Iran
2011 3 May After conviction, the two women of the Yaran were transferred from Evin Prison to the even more notorious Rajaei Shahr Prison in Karaj, near Tehran. In that prison, Fariba Kamalabadi, Mahvash Sabet, and a number of political prisoners were locked up in the communal ward with hundreds of ordinary female prisoners — inmates incarcerated for crimes not linked to politics. When authorities closed the women's ward of that prison, the prisoners were all transferred to Gharchak Prison in Varamin near Tehran, where the conditions were even worse than those at Rajaei Shahr Prison. [IranWire4985; BWNS821] Yaran; Mahvash Sabet; Fariba Kamalabadi; Rajai Shahr prison; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Karaj; Varamin
2011 20 May Fariba Kamalabadi and Mahvash Sabet were returned to Evin Prison in Tehran. They had spent a brief time in the appalling conditions at Qarchak prison, (from 3 May) some 45 kilometers from Tehran. [BIC Evin; BWNS826]
  • The five men were still being held under close scrutiny in a wing of Gohardasht prison, reserved for political prisoners. [BIC Report]
  • Yaran; Evin Prison; Gohardasht prison; Qarchak prison; Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Prisons; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Tehran, Iran; Iran
    2011 29 May The inauguration of the UNESCO Square for Tolerance and Peace, situated at the point where Haifa's historic German Templar colony met the terraced gardens of the Shrine of the Báb. [BWNS828]
  • Photo.
  • Over the next year the Square was developed through the addition of upgraded stonework and decorative floral plantings in the centre of the traffic circle. [The Five Year Plan 2011-2016: Summary of Achievements and Learning pg113]
  • UNESCO for Tolerance and Peace Square; UNESCO; Tolerance; Peace; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Haifa, Israel; Israel
    2011 30 May The passing of Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Gayle Wollson (b. 2 June 1913 Crookston MN) in Wilmette, IL. She was buried in Memorial Park Cemetery and Crematorium, Skokie, Illinois [Find a grave]

    Born in the USA to Muslim, Arab-speaking parents of Syrian origin she learned of the Faith through her father. Mr Abas had been introduced to the Bahá'í Faith by a Syrian friend. As a youth she taught children's classes and was one of the very first youth travelling teachers in the US accompanying Marguerite Reimer (later Sears) and Mable Ives. She had already been pioneering in Latin America for fourteen years when in early 1954 she opened the Galápagos Islands to the Bahá'í Faith, thus earning the title 'Knight of Bahá'u'lláh'. Although her time there was brief, the story of her rich and varied life, dedicated to building up Bahá'í communities throughout Latin America, serving and empowering others, makes fascinating and inspiring reading. Her work with children's education, particularly through the Children's Public Speaking Project where she taught children to memorize passages from the Bahá'í Writings, to present them in public, and to express what they learned in service, was a precursor of the process of learning and practice now finding systematized expression in the worldwide Bahá'í community.

    She was appointed to the Auxillary Board and served for 14 years in Ecuador. In 1961 sh was elected to the National Assembly.

    From 1970 she served for five years at the World Centre where she did translation work. 'Future generations will extol your labours, follow in your footsteps, and derive inspiration from your pioneer activities.' Shoghi Effendi to Gayle Woolson in Costa Rica, 1942 [KoG224-225]

    In 1971 her book, Divine Symphony was published by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust of New Delhi. The book was reprinted in 1976 and 1977. [Collins7.2771; p156]

    For her biography see The Art of Empowering Others – A Biography of Knight of Baha'u'llah Gayle Woolson by Juliet Gentzkow and published by George Ronald.

    In Memoriam; Gayle Woolson; Knight of Bahá'u'lláh; Crookston, MN; Minnesota, USA; USA; Wilmette, IL; Illinois, USA; USA

    Try also a shorter date like 2011-0 or 2011

    try also the Chronology Canada — 2011-05 or 2011-0 or 2011

    Home Site Map Links Tags Chronology About Contact RSS