Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 2019-08, descending — sort earliest first

date event tags firsts
2019 30 Aug The passing of Dr Udo Schaefer (b. October 19, 1926 in Heidelberg, Germany). He enrolled as a Bahá'í in 1948 and became one of the most important contemporary theologians of the Bahá'í Faith, well known for his scholarship and his defence of the Faith. He came from a family of musicians and his early studies were in in that field but he changed streams and became a lawyer. [FaceBook]
  • English translations of his work include:
  • His publications in German.
  • His publications in French
  • His publications in Spanish
  • His publications in other languages, (Russian, Portuguese, Dutch and Farsi).
  • His articles.
  • His website.
  • Wikipedia.
    		• In Memoriam; Udo Schaefer; Heidelberg, Germany; Germany
    2019 16 Aug The United Nations Special Rapporteur on minority issues and the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief sent a message to the Government of Qatar. The letter brought forth allegations concerning the discriminatory treatment of the Bahá'í religious minority in Qatar, specifically involving deportations, blacklisting, the inability to build a cemetery, and issues with personal legal status.

    The Special Rapporteur's letter also discussed the restrictions on the construction of a Bahá'í cemetery on land that was granted by the Municipality of Doha. This cemetery has been an ongoing issue since 2009, when authorities broke into the cemetery, exhumed the remains, and relocated them on the instructions of the Doha Municipality. This caused many families emotional stress and has led to the inability to identify some remains. Later that year, the Minister of the Municipality did eventually apologize and stated that new land would be allocated. In 2010 and 2015 new locations were identified and budgets were allocated, however despite regular follow up from the Bahá'í community, there has been no construction and no progress made.

    Additionally, the Allegation Letter addressed the difficulties the Bahá'í community faces in upholding their personal legal status. Qatari authorities do not recognize Bahá'í documents like marriage licenses, divorces, or inheritance papers unless they have been attested to or obtained abroad. This requires extensive and expensive travel that delays and complicates legal obligations. An attempt has been made by the Bahá'í community to have the Ministry of Justice accept and authenticate Bahá'í documents, however the Minister has not decided on the matter.

    The government of Qatar did not respond to the Special Rapporteur's letter. [ Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain website]

    		Persecution, Qatar; Qatar
    2019 8 - 11 Aug The 43rd Annual Conference of the Association for Bahá'í Studies–North America was held in the Westin Hotel in Ottawa, Canada. The four day conference was attended by some 1,400 persons. [BWNS1347]
  • Plenary session recordings of past sessions are available for free streaming and downloading on the ABS Vimeo page.
  • Photos.
    		• Association for Bahá'í Studies (North America); Bahá'í Studies, Associations for; Ottawa, ON; Ontario, Canada; Canada
    2019 Aug Religions for Peace is the world's largest inter-religious coalition. Their mandate is to work to transform violent conflict, advance human development, promote just and harmonious societies. It is comprised of a world council of religious leaders and bodies from over 125 countries. Its organization, built over its 50-year history, comprises of six regional Interreligious Councils and is built on the principle of religious representation that reflects the fabric of religious demography.
  • The Bahá'í International Community's Principal Representative, Ms. Bani Dugal, was elected as a co-president and member of the World Council of Religions for Peace to become part of the 51 member council of co-presidents. The election, which is held every five years, was held in August in Lindau, Germany. Ms. Dugal was elected by over 700 voting delegates.
  • Dr. Azza Karam, Professor of Religion and Development at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, Netherlands and former senior advisor on culture at the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) was elected as the body's new secretary-general, becoming the first woman to hold the post. At UNFPA, she also served as chairperson of the UN task force on engagement with faith-based organizations. [BIC News]
    		•  Bahá'í International Community; Bani Dugal; Religions for Peace; Azza Karam; Lindau; Germany

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