Note: to repeat, the above listing only includes common non-academic articles. More complete listings can be found by consulting the Index Islamicus, William Collins' Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths 1844-1985, the Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), and the Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI).

Here are listed the most common introductory textbooks and dictionaries on the world's religions, as well as some major encyclopedias, organized by the degree to which they include a useful presentation of the Bahá'í Faith. Since the focus of this bibliography is books more than authors, they are alphabetized by title. Parenthetical notes follow most entries.

** Introductory religion textbooks, encyclopedias, and dictionaries which include a complete, useful, and accurate presentation of the Faith

   Encyclopaedia Iranica. Ed. Ehsan Yarshater. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1985-. (Without doubt the encyclopedia containing the most complete and most numerous entries on the Faith, its history, and its major personages. Articles by a veritable who's who of Bahá'í academics on a good variety of subjects, from Azalís to Cosmology, Bahá'í.)
   Encyclopedia of Islam. Ed. H. Gibb et al. London: Luzac & Co., 1960. (Accurate articles but short.)
   Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics. Ed. James Hastings. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1909. (Though of course outdated, the entries contained are by Browne and are classics.)
   A Handbook of Living Religions. Ed. John R. Hinnells. London: Penguin Books, 1985. (The article contained here is lengthy [23 pages] and accurate. However, it is written by an ex-Bahá'í--Denis MacEoin--who occasionally speaks negatively of the Faith. Some may consider this piece too critical to be classified as scholarly.)
   Religions of the World. Lewis M. Hopfe. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987. (This discussion of the Faith is relatively complete and well- written, though at ten pages it is a little too abbreviated.)
   World Faiths. S. A. Nigosian. New York: St. Martins Press, 1994. (Probably the most complete treatment of the Bahá'í Faith in any introductory textbook. Save for a few minor inaccuracies the presentation is quite reliable.)

** Introductory religion textbooks and dictionaries which include a useful and accurate but short presentation of the Faith

   America's Alternative Religions. Ed. Timothy Miller. Albany: SUNY Press, 1995. (Article on the Faith, "The American Bahá'í Community in the Nineties," is good but too specific to use as a general introductory text.)
   Encyclopedia Britannica. Chicago: William Benton, Publisher, 1979. (Good but insufficient entries for an encyclopedia of this size.)
   Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Mircea Eliade. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1987. (The entries, by Alessandro Bausani, are good but noticeably short for this, the definitive encylopedia of religion.)
   Living Religions. Mary Pat Fisher. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1994. (Though only two pages long, this section is well-written and sympathetic.)
   The Religious Experience of Mankind. Ninian Smart. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1984. (Well-written and accurate but only two pages long.)
   A Sourcebook for Earth's Community of Religions. Ed. Joel Beversluis. New York: CoNexus Press, 1995. Also published as Sourcebook for the Community of Religions, A. Ed. Joel Beversluis. Chicago: The Council for a Parliament of the World's Religions, 1993. (This book consists of a series of brief overviews, and the section on the Faith provides a good explnation of basic Bahá'í history and teachings. However, it and the other summaries are too short to use as effective introductions.)
   World Religions. Warren Matthews. St. Paul: West Publishing, 1991. (Matthews' discussion of the Faith, though not very long, contains a good amount of detail on the Faith's history and is fairly presented.)
    World Religions: Western Traditions. Ed. Willard G. Oxtoby. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996. (The section on the Bahá'í Faith, pp. 500-503, is well-written and useful, suffering only from brevity.)
   The World's Religions. Ed. Peter Clarke. London: Reader's Digest, 1993. (Small introduction on p.205, under the "Islamic" section.)
   The World's Religions. Ninian Smart. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1989. (Like Smart's The Religious Experience of Mankind, presentation is accurate and fair but only two pages long.)

** Introductory religion textbooks, encyclopedias, and dictionaries which include a relatively accurate but dated or marginally useful presentation of the Faith

   The Encyclopedia Americana. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated, 1992. (Articles are out of date and contain the consequent inaccuracies, but are otherwise complete summaries.)
   History of the World's Religions. David S. and John B. Noss. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1990. (An otherwise very respectable textbook, its discussion of the Faith is brief and often misleading.)
   Larouse Dictionary of Beliefs and Religions. (Though suffering from a bad writing style and minor errors, these entries are sufficiently long and detailed to include in this section.)

** Introductory religion textbooks and dictionaries which include
a poor, partial, or inaccurate presentation of the Faith

   Academic American Encyclopedia. Danbury, Connecticut: Grolier Incorporated,1995. (Entries are mostly accurate but too short to be of use.
   Concise Encyclopedia of Islam. (Contains numerous errors.)
   The Dictionary of Bible and Religion. Gen. Ed. William H. Gentz. Nashville: Parthenon Press, 1986. (Sympathetic but brief and not well-written.)
   The Harper Collins Dictionary of Religion. Jonathon Z. Smith, ed. San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1995. (Relatively complete entries, but containing serious and even humorous errors.)
   Many People, Many Faiths. Robert S. Ellwood. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1992. (Brief mention of the Faith as a new religious movement, on p.387.)
   A New Dictionary of Religions. John R. Hinnells, ed. Oxford: Penguin Books Ltd. 1995. (Fairly accurate but short.)
   Religious Worlds: The Comparative Study of Religion. William E. Paden. Boston: Beacon Press, 1988. (Accurate but minimal entry.)
   Ways to the Center: An Introduction to World Religions. Denise and John T. Carmody. Belmont, California: Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1993. (Contains only one small paragraph on the Faith, but includes a large picture of the Shrine of the Báb.)
   World Religions: An Introduction. Charles R. Monroe. Amherst: Prometheus Books, 1995. (Minimal entry.)
   The World's Religions. Huston Smith. San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1991. (Though otherwise one of the very best introductory texts on world religions, this book makes only one mention of the Faith.)

** Introductory religion textbooks and dictionares which make no mention of the Faith

   After Patriarchy: Feminist Transformations of the World Religions. Ed. P.M. Cooey. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1992.
   Exploring Religious Meaning. Ed. Robert C. Monk et al. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1994.
   Historical Atlas of the Religions of the World. Ed. I. Faruqi. New York: MacMillan, 1974.
   The Illustrated World's Religions. Huston Smith. San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1994.
   The Major Religions: An Introduction with Texts. T. Patrick Burke. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1996.
   Man's Religious Quest - A Reader. Ed. W. Foy. London: Open University Press, 1978.
   Mysticism in the World's Religions. Geoffrey Parrinder. London: Sheldon Press, 1976.
   Our Religions. Arvind Sharma, ed. San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993.
   Pluralism: Challenge to World Religions. H. Coward. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1985.
   Problems of Suffering in the Religions of the World. J. Bowker. London: Cambridge University Press, 1975.
   Religions of the World. Niels C. Nielsen, Jr., et al. New York: St. Martins, 1988.
   Religious Traditions of the World. H. Byron Earhart, ed. San Francisco: Harper Collins Publishers, 1993.
   The Great Religions of the Modern World. Ed. E.J. Jurgi. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1946.
   The World's Religions. Ed. S. Sutherland. London: Routledge, 1988.
   This Sacred Earth: Religion, Nature and the Environment. Ed. RS Gottlieb. NY: Routledge, 1996.
   The Varieties of Religious Experience. William James. (First appeared in 1902 and since republished numerous times. No mention of Faith, but listed because it is a classic and a standard.)
   World Religions - Our Quest for Meaning. Raush, D.A. and C. Voss. Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989.
   World Religions and Human Liberation. D. Cohn-Sherbok. Maryknoll: Orbis, 1992.
   World Religions and World Community.R.L. Slater. NY: Colombia UP, 1963.
   World Religions in War and Peace. H.O. Thompson. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1988.
   A World Religions Reader. Ed. Ian S. Markham. Cambridge: Blackwell Publishers, 1996.

DESCRIPTION OF
BAHA'I INTERNET RESOURCES

by Jonah Winters

last updated August 11, 2001

[Note: This article is continually being updated. Please advise if any errors are found in it or if significant omissions have been made. The BCCA has also prepared a similar article with less description and more links, Baha'i Resources on the Internet. A comprehensive overview of Baha'i discussion groups on the internet, i.e. email and usenet, can be obtained by sending a blank email to get-faq1@bcca.org. Many starting points and resources such as a glossary of internet-related terms can be found at the Getting Started page, which includes links such as How do I know which are reliable websites and which to avoid?, a Glossary of internet-related terms, Starting points for researching the humanities online, Starting points for researching the Baha'i Faith online, and Guide to finding Baha'i books online. -J.W.]

1. Introduction

   The internet is a complex, unorganized, rapidly evolving, and ever-changing environment. Thus, while the structure and technology of it can be explained relatively easily, it is rarely possible to give a complete content description for any specific topic. This document will list most of the major resources available. The reader can use these as entrance points into cyberspace, from which points he or she can search and discover the rest. One can also consult the list of Publishing Houses and Journals for email and homepage addresses. Many of these web addresses also provide lists of links and thus can serve as starting points.

   The internet is often equated with the World Wide Web, largely because of the relatively recent advent of graphical web browsers like Netscape and Microsoft Internet Explorer. These allow the user to interface with many different types of internet resource through one program, masking what is in reality a variety of distinct internet functions. The primary types of basic functions, or "protocols," are the World Wide Web, which allows one to view pages of text and graphics from distant computers; email, which allows one to send data, usually letters, from one person's private "account" to another's; the Usenet, which allows one to read from or add to a public message database, much as one would tack notes on to an office bulletin-board; FTP, which transfers files from one computer to another; and Internet Relay Chat, with which computer users who are logged-on at the same time can type messages to each other, much like a large telephone conference-call conducted through computers. There are other basic protocols but they tend to be out- dated (like gopher), little-used (like hytelnet), for somewhat advanced application (like telnet), or not yet functional (like virtual reality).

   The internet rapidly changes in many ways. Web sites and listservers (defined below) come into and go out of existence with great rapidity, and their addresses change even more regularly (many are operated by students on their university's computers and so have to change addresses every time they change or leave schools). The information contained in this section is all current as of July 2000, but will gradually decrease in accuracy. Should an address be invalid, the best option is to do an internet search for it (using a source such as Yahoo or Altavista) to see if the site has relocated.

   This guide to internet resources will first describe the main Baha'i source for organizing and assisting with the internet, the Baha'i Computer and Communications Association-the BCCA-and then list the major resources for the primary features in relative order of common availability: email, the web, the usenet, and ftp. Quotations included are from the relevant webpages or listservers discussed and so their sources are not cited.

2. BCCA

   The Baha'i Computer and Communications Association is, according to its mission statement, "a group of Baha'is dedicated to promoting use of computer, network and telecommunication technologies in the service of the global Baha'i community and humanity in order to foster consultation, and to propagate the healing message of Baha'u'llah." Its mandate includes: (1) providing a pool of Baha'i technical volunteers; (2) disseminating information and details on Baha'i computer projects around the world; (3) providing assistance to Baha'i institutions and individuals to develop solutions with computer and telecommunications technology; (4) encouraging individual Baha'is to form local computer user groups which will serve local Baha'i institutions in a given area; (5) creating conferencing and consultation forums linking Baha'is around the world by telecommunications and computer technologies; (6) seeking to establish computer and communications standards that can be adopted by the Baha'i World Community; (7) disseminating information on computing and communications technology to the Baha'i World Community; (8) developing Computer Mediated Communication techniques that will efficiently communicate the healing message of Baha'u'llah to the generality of humankind; and (9) providing, in a systematic way, a full range of communication and consultation facilities to Baha'i educational institutions around the world.

        The Baha'i Computer and Communications Association 
        can be contacted at: 
   
        BCCA                                Phone: (206) 453-8766
        203 Bellevue Way N.E. Suite 314     FAX:(206) 453-7083
        Bellevue, WA 98004                  Webpage: www.bcca.org
        USA                                 Email: webmaster@www.bcca.org 
   
   

   The BCCA maintains a few basic files describing matters of interest to Baha'i on the internet, an index for which can be obtained by sending a blank email to get-index@bcca.org. One of these, a good if dated summary of Baha'i online activities, can be obtained by sending a blank email to get-faq1@bcca.org.

3. Email

   Note: see also the FAQ at www.geocities.com/Athens/3751/faq1-list.html.

   The most common use of email is for users to send messages back and forth to each other as individuals. This is not a public feature and is not a resource. However, there is a mechanism called a "listserver" by which email postings can be shared amongst a private group of individuals. One host computer will act as a central switching station for the listserver, sending a copy of every email sent to it back out to every member of the group. It is thus like the usenet (see below), save that the medium of transmission is different and it tends to be a more regulated environment. Unlike the usenet, listservers are sometimes private, not automated, in which case one must write to a contact person to get added. Like the usenet, listserver groups are each focused on one topic. Unlike the usenet, these topics tend to be more specific and useful: where the usenet tends to feature groups discussing popular culture and events, listservers often address the needs of more private professional or academic communities. Some listservers, such as talisman2000@egroups.com or zuhur19@egroups.com, also have web interfaces where one can read and post email.

   There are numerous listservers, from private ones for small Baha'i clubs at individual universities or for Baha'is employed at individual corporations to public ones such as fora for Baha'i announcements, Baha'is in Japan, Baha'i singles, Baha'i literature, Baha'i women, or Baha'i academics. Since many of these are regional and/or private, far more exist than any one database could know of and list. The best ways to seek specific listservers are either to write to the BCCA at webmaster@www.bcca.org or post a question to an appropriate public one or to soc.religion.bahai (see below).

   General Baha'i listervers

   Three of the major general Baha'i listervs are bahai-announce, bahai-discuss, and bahai-faith. Baha'i-announce is a world-wide forum for announcements of Baha'i-related matters. Baha'i-discuss is probably the largest and most active of the Baha'i-only listservers, and is used for general discussion of any matter related to the Faith which members wish to discuss. Bahai-faith is the email version of the usenet newsgroup soc.religion.bahai (see below), designed for those without usenet access. To subscribe to any of these three, send your request to bahai-announce-request@bcca.org, to bahai-discuss-request@bcca.org, or to bahai-faith-request@bcca.org, resp. (include your full name, Baha'i ID #, and city/state/country of residence). To post messages to the newsgroup (which will be first screened by the moderators), emails are sent to bahai-announce@bcca.org, bahai-discuss@bcca.org, or bahai-faith@bcca.org.

   Other available services include the Noble Creation list, which discusses social and economic development issues, and can be subscribed to by sending a blank email to noble-creation-request@bcca.org. Postings to Noble Creation are sent to Noble-Creation@bcca.org, and more information can be obtained at www.bcca.org/services/lists/noble-creation. There is a variety of listservers for Baha'is only, including bahai-announce, which focuses on news and other announcements of interest to the Baha'i community; Bahai-discuss, which is a somewhat random discussion of Baha'i-related issues; Bahai-women-converse, of issues for and about women; and others. Listservers for both Baha'is and non-Baha'is available here include Race Unity, for discussions of racial equality and elimination of prejudice, and Bahai-Readings, a daily posting of excerpts from Baha'i sacred texts.

   Some Baha'i listservers are also hosted at egroups.com, including race-unity@egroups.com (subscribe by sending a blank email to race-unity-subscribe@egroups.com) and bahai-environment@egroups.com.

   To subscribe to one of these, write to bahai-request@bcca.org. Include the following in the email: (1) Email address of person subscribing, in lowercase letters only (it usually comes with the mail, but it may have an interim host included or it may have to be extracted from other extraneous header information); (2) name of the person subscribing, last name first; (3) The NAME(s) of the LIST(s) you wish to subscribe to (there is more than one list managers); if a Baha'i-only listserver, then include either one's Baha'i ID number or, if not available, then the name of a Baha'i that can verify your status; and (5) place of residence (city, state/province (for US or Canada), and country). You may include your full home address and phone numbers (home, work including area code and country code, where applicable) for inclusion in the BCCA database, but if you do, then you must indicate if this information can be given out to other Baha'is on e-mail database queries. For a description of all other BCCA mailing lists send a blank email to get-faq1@bcca.org.

   Academic Baha'i listservers

   A variety of scholarly listservers has been born and died in the past three years. The three main ones in existence as of this writing are Bahai-studies, H-Bahai, and Talisman (this is actually Talisman two: after a brief hiatus, the group Talisman one changed mandates and owners in June, 1996). These three groups have slightly different atmospheres, levels and types of discussion, and often different memberships. Some of these have splintered into smaller groups, as for example Talisman two has spun off talisman2000@egroups.com and zuhur19@egroups.com, and there are surely other academic Baha'i lists than these. The Wilmette Institute, for example, has its own public list for Baha'i studies announcements, which can be subscribed to by sending a blank email to subscribe-winews@lists.usbnc.org or visiting the website lists.usbnc.org/lyris/lyris.pl?enter=winews.

   Bahai-studies

   Bahai-studies is an unmoderated group maintained by Mark A. Foster. Its mandate is "the consultative investigation of truth/reality, using the Baha'i Teachings as its spiritual foundation. In light of the list's purposes and objectives, it is not a discussion/announcement list in the usual sense." It is available both in a regular version (mailings are received in one's mail inbox as and when posted) and as a digest (mailings are collated and received as one compilation of postings in one's inbox once per day). To subscribe, send a message to major@jccc.net. The subject line is to be left blank, and in the body of the text one writes "subscribe bahai-st" (without quotation marks). All other information, such as tag lines and signature files, should be removed. To subscribe to the digest version, do the same but write "subscribe bahai-st-digest" in the body instead. To post a message to the Baha'i Studies list, send it to bahai-st@jccc.net. For this the subject line and the body of the message can be whatever the writer wishes to post; this message will go to every member of the group, not to the automated subscription program.

   H-Bahai

   H-Bahai is "an academic forum for the discussion of technical issues in the study of the Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i movements. Not only university teachers and graduate students, but exceptionally qualified high school teachers, librarians, and other intellectuals are potential candidates for membership. A degree in the humanities or social sciences is usually required." Membership is restricted "to individuals who have demonstrated a serious interest in the academic study of the Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Faiths, as evidenced in professional training, publications, teaching or service to these or closely related fields, or by other relevant significant achievements or signs of ability to contribute to academic discourse on the subject." H-Bahai is sponsored by H-Net, the Humanities and Social Sciences On-line of Michigan State University. Its level of discussion tends to be fairly scholarly, and its membership is almost exclusively academic. To join H-BAHAI, send a message to listserver@h-net.msu.edu, with no subject line, and only this in the body: "sub H-BAHAI firstname lastname, institution," where personal information is substituted for "firstname lastname, institution." Capitalization does not matter, but spelling, spaces and commas do. When you include your own information, the message will look something like this: "sub H-BAHAI Jonah Winters, University of Toronto." If you have any questions or experience any difficulties in attempting to subscribe, send a message to Juan Cole, jrcole@umich.edu. H-Bahai also has a website homepage: see below.

   Talisman

   Talisman is unmoderated, meaning that any posting automatically is sent to all group members, and unlike H-Bahai has no expectation that its members will hold a higher or post-secondary degree. The mission statement of Irfan, a now-defunct listserverer, applies equally well to both: "The purpose of the Irfan list is to disseminate information and ideas emerging from the academic study of the Baha'i Faith beyond the academic community and to facilitate discussions of issues relating to the Baha'i Faith that are informed by academic scholarship." Talisman can be subscribed to by sending a blank email message to talisman9-subscribe@onelist.com

4. World Wide Web

   Though the most famous and visible part of the internet, the web is actually one of its newest. It is, however, one of the most useful means of searching for and downloading information. Indeed, the number of unpublished articles, histories, and provisional translations available online, as well as the complete set of sacred writings, Baha'i International Community statements, and other official material, makes the web an indispensable source of information.

   Standard Baha'i Sites

   There are several hundred Baha'i oriented sites currently available online, and the number is growing by at least 20% per year. One need not list more than just a few of these, though, because one of the prime features of the web is its ability to "link," i.e. to connect different documents and distant sites to each other: from each one the internet user can find indices of numerous others and quickly explore dozens of different sites. Most of these are what are here termed "standard" Baha'i sites, so-called because for the most part they present the same information and the same links, differing mostly in manner of presentation and items of regional or personal interest.

   The sacred writings have been available by ftp (see below) from the Baha'i World Center for some time. They are now mirrored to many other sites around the world and available through web browsers. An index to some of these sites is available at www.bcca.org/info/texts/topiclist.html. The BCCA homepage, http://www.bcca.org, is a good starting point for other internet Baha'i resources. From here one can find links to online compilations, The Baha'is magazine online (oneworld.wa.com/bahai/magazine/cover.html), Baha'i International Community statements, relatively complete lists of individuals' and groups' homepages, Baha'i-related photographs and clip-art, and explanations of other resources such as chat groups and listservers. Very good indices to all of these resources, organized differently and perhaps more clearly, can also by found at bcca.org/bahaivision (formerly "Glen Little's Baha'i Page"). The Baha'i International Community's homepage also opens with a good introductory online magazine on the Faith, at www.bahai.org.

   Another good starting point for one wishing to explore the Baha'i webpages without necessarily searching for specific items is the Baha'i Webring. The Webring is a service which allows sites with a common theme to interconnect. When one enters a webring, one can choose options such as jumping to the next page on the ring, the previous one, or any random site. To join this service, or to enter the Baha'i Webring from the top, go to webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?home&ring=bahai (this server is frequently down; if no response, try again a day later). To enter the ring at a randomly-chosen site, type webring.org/cgi-bin/webring?id=112&ring=bahai&random into your web browser.

   Finally, Baha'is who have a valid United States Baha'i identity card can access the United States Baha'i National Center's website, www.usbnc.org. This site contains among other things feast messages, news, annual reports, descriptions of the major departments at the Baha'i National Center, their functions, and answers to common question about them.

   Academic Baha'i Sites

   Academic Baha'i Sites are harder to find than the standard ones—while there are well over a hundred sites providing information of a personal or regional interest, and linking to the same few providers of sacred texts, images, and other common information, there is only a handful of sites providing new and original academic information, or information presented in a scholarly fashion.

   The largest online resource for Baha'i studies is the Baha'i Academics Resource Library, bahai-library.org. This site features several thousand documents broken down into headings such as Primary Source Material, which includes provisional translations, letters from the Universal House of Justice, historical documents, and pilgrims' notes; Secondary Source Material, which includes articles, journalistic pieces, book reviews, court documents, and personal essays; Resource Tools, which includes a database of Baha'i scholars, bibliographies, journal indices, and philological tools; and a listing of all of the useful academic sites. This Resource Guide is also available at this site in an online format.

   The other sites of academic utility will all be listed here, because it could take some time for the researcher to find them on his or her own. The H-Bahai listserver, run by H-Net, the "Humanities and Social Sciences On-Line" initiative sponsored Michigan State University and supported by National Endowment for the Humanities and the Michigan Council for the Humanities, also has a webpage at h-net.msu.edu/~bahai. Here is included a variety of articles, provisional translations, historical materials in the original Arabic and Persian (available as graphic files), book reviews, and other documents such as the "Occasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies" series. The H-Bahai homepage is emerging as a very useful site for original online publishing, and is the most scholarly and selective collection of academic materials available.

   Juan R.I. Cole's Home Page, www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bahai.htm, was the first academic webpage on the Faith. It includes numerous original Baha'i material as well as other Islamic studies and related links. Some of these documents, and others similar, are included at the website for the H-Bahai listserver, http://h-net.msu.edu/~bahai. Both of these websites also feature documents related to Babi and Baha'i history in their original Arabic and Persian-these have been scanned and entered as photo images, which can then be viewed online page-by-page. Moojan Momen's Religious Studies page, http://www.northill.demon.co.uk/relstud, includes a few original and not otherwise-available articles authored by him, and his Arjmand Colloquia page, http://www.northill.demon.co.uk/irfan, includes abstracts from and reports on the Haj Mehdi Arjmand seminars for the study of sacred texts. Stephen Fuqua's site, Spirit of Glory: The Baha'i Faith's Studies Material, page offers a wide variety of materials, some not available elsewhere. Finally, worthy of note is Sifter: An Institute for the Study of Baha'i Writings, http://www.shodjai.org/new.html. Among other things Sifter features one thousand letters of Shoghi Effendi which are available only in books elsewhere online but here are indexed chronologically, complete with publishing information. The North American Association for Baha'i Studies also has a webpage, www.bahai-studies.ca.

5. Usenet

   The usenet is a public "bulletin-board" system accessed through applications with titles like "newsreader," "net news," or, in UNIX, "trn," "rn," and "tin." It is divided up into numerous—over 21,000—individual "newsgroups," each one dedicated to discussing a specific topic. Though joining a group is called "subscribing," joining is actually free and automated. Newsgroups have names like alt.fan.michael.jackson, alt.binaries.art.digitized, comp.macintosh.utilities, rec.humor, soc.culture.iranian, talk.clubs.boy.scouts, etc.

   Thus far two newsgroups are dedicated to discussing the Baha'i Faith: talk.religion.bahai and soc.religion.bahai. The former is somewhat new and hence might not carried by all internet service providers. It is unmoderated, and tends to contain many postings, sometimes critical, by non-Baha'is. In contrast, soc.religion.bahai (often abbreviated "srb") has been in existence for a few years and is stable and reliable. It is moderated, meaning that editors read all submissions to the group before posting them publicly to screen out junk mail and the occasional hate mail.

   Soc.religion.bahai's mission statement defines it thus: "The newsgroup will act as a non- threatening forum for discussing and sharing information about the tenets, history, and texts of the Baha'i Faith. Prior to its formation there was a good amount of traffic on this topic in other newsgroups; this group provides a 'single point of contact' for such discussion. Examples of posts that fall within the group's scope are: (1) The Baha'i Faith's relation to other religions; (2) Relevance of Baha'i principles to current world events/problems; (3) Analysis of particular scriptural passages or themes; and (4) General Q & A."

   One can subscribe to soc.religion.bahai within one's newsreader application. If it does not appear to be available, contact the customer service representative of your internet service provider to get it added to your newsfeed. More information can be obtained by visiting its website, the Soc.Religion.Bahai home page, at bcca.org/services/srb. At this site one can access the srb archives, as well as read introductory articles about srb, the Baha'i Faith, a bibliography for the Faith, and a document on Baha'i Resources on the Internet. As well, if one does not wish to or cannot use a newsreader, all srb postings can be obtained via email-see above.

6. FTP

   To date, the original collection of sacred and related texts from the Baha'i World Center is only available via file transfer protocol—ftp—though they are mirrored in many other places via the web (via hypertext transfer protocol, http), such as at bahai-library.org/writings. If for any reason one seeks to access these files from the world center instead of from the sites mirrored on the web, one can simply use one's web browser. Type ftp://ftp.bwc.org/bahai/ into the "location" or "go" bar. Explore the directories or read the "readme" files to get directions. To download a file, simply click on the file name. Before downloading a zipped file, be sure to have the appropriate decompression software. With UNIX, at the command prompt type "ftp," then "open ftp.bwc.org." When connected, type "anonymous" as login and your login name (e.g., for me it's "winters") as your password. Commands include "help" to list topics; "ls" to list files and directories; "cd (directory name)," e.g. "cd bahai" to change directories; "cd .." (note two periods) to move to one directory higher; "get (filename)," e.g. "get nabil.zip" to download a file, and "quit" to exit. If it won't let you download it is likely that you are seeing a directory, not a file. For example, "iqan" is a folder containing different format versions of the Kitab-i-Iqan. One must first change directory, "cd iqan," then list contents, "ls," and then download the desired file, e.g. "get iqa-eng-txt01-Z." This process may seem more foreign to the new internet user and is more difficult to navigate than simply accessing the files via the web. It is listed here for the sake of completeness.

7. Software

   Many pieces of Baha'i-related computer software, such as search programs, can be either ordered or downloaded online. Ian Vink Software, ianvink.com/bahai, includes free programs such as study guides and graphics as well as purchasable software for community administration and other study guides. For a list of other software sites, see bahai-library.com/links.

   The authoritative Baha'i Writings are available online for handheld computers, sp. using the PalmOS (i.e. Palm Pilot) and PocketPC (Microsoft) operating systems. These have been prepared by Darren Hiebert and can be found at http://www.jkl.com/eBahai.

   There are at least two CD-ROMs available which have archived almost all academic and primary-source Baha'i material available on the internet on a CD-ROM. Both are designed to be an offline equivalent of surfing Baha'i sites on the web, intended largely for use by those (1) without Internet access, (2) with a slow modem, or (3) simply wishing to have all relevant sites archived on their own computer for ease of use and speed of access. One is Graham Sorenson's, which can be ordered from bahai-library.org/cdrom. The second is the Master Baha'i Library.

   "Archive" is a searchable electronic textbase of the Baha'i Writings for both Macintosh and Windows computers, which features a user-friendly Mac-like interface. It features regular updates, available for free for registered users. It can be ordered from http://bahai-library.org/archive.

   "Immerse: The Electronic Baha'i Library," by Bernal Schooley, is a free set of all the sacred Baha'i writings complete with a full text proximity search feature (including boolean, wildcard, and phrase support searching) which allows the user to find passages in nearly four hundred books, messages by the Baha'i Central Figures, the Universal House of Justice, and holy books from the major world religions. It is currently available for Windows 95 and Windows 3.1 only. The original website, tranquillity.com/immerse, is no longer active, but the program has appeared again at www6.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?fcode=000EJA. See also the new homepage, at www.lotsofschooleys.com/Immerse/index.htm.

   A new entry to the software market is the "Baha'i Library Multi-Media CD-ROM," billed as "the first multimedia Baha'i reference library available to date in the Baha'i world. This multimedia reference CD is a continuance of Digital Era Productions' previous product, the Baha'is Magazine CD ROM, (www.bahaicd.com) introduced in 1997 as a multimedia version of the Baha'is Magazine." It costs $129, and is available from www.bahailibrary.com.

   MARS: Multiple Author Refer System is a popular Baha'i-text search engine which can be purchased online at crimsonpublications.com.

   "Sifter: Star of the West" CD-ROM contains all 25 volumes of the original Star of the West in a single CD. Includes the article "Introduction to Star of the West" by Duane Troxel.

   A final software resource to list is True Seeker, which is an online search engine for the Baha'i sacred writings. The True Seeker home page allows you to do key word searches of the Baha'i Writings, either by searching all texts or a specific subset. This can be found at metalab.unc.edu/Bahai/TrueSeeker.

Most of these videos on the Bahá'í Faith are designed to highlight an aspect of the Bahá'í Faith, but are usually prepared in a documentary or news magazine format, and thus are often suitable for use in the classroom. For information on how to obtain these tapes, contact the Bahá'í Distribution Service: phone (800) 999-9019; email bds@usbnc.org.

Bahá'í Education in India. This documentary explores the impact the Bahá'í teachings on education and economic development are having in rural India and describes the role of grassroots Bahá'í governing bodies (local spiritual assemblies) in fostering development.

Bahá'í National Convention Telecast. 120 minutes. This video, transmitted live from the 88th Bahá'í National Convention in Chicago in 1997, gives an insight into the proceedings of a national convention. Includes the statement "Two Wings of a Bird: The Equality of Men and Women."

Bahá'í Newsreel. Approx. 30-60 minutes. A series of news videos on current events in the Bahá'í Faith, produced three or more times a year by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. The "Bahá'í Newsreel" is designed to inform the Bahá'ís of the major developments in their religion, to emphasize the current concerns of the National Spiritual Assembly and the Universal House of Justice, and, to a lesser extent, to demonstrate what the Bahá'í Faith is doing to solve world problems. Some newsreels may be suitable for classroom use, depending on the need of the class and the nature of the audience.

From Haitian Roots. 20 minutes. A documentary about education and development projects carried out by the Haitian Bahá'í community, especially at the Anís Zunúzí School, a Bahá'í elementary school near Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

The Green Light Expedition. Several hours in length. A documentary about the trip of Madame Rúhíyyih Rabbání, widow of Shoghi Effendi and one of the most prominent Bahá'ís in the world, up the Orinoco and Amazon Rivers and into the Andes Mountains of Peru to meet indigenous peoples of South America and encourage them to strengthen their knowledge of the Bahá'í Faith. Parts may be suitable for anthropology audiences, as it highlights the relationship between the Bahá'í Faith and native peoples.

Jewel in the Lotus. 27 minutes. A video about the Bahá'í House of Worship at Bahapur, outside New Delhi, India, from its conception in the early years of this century through the enormously complex construction phase to its dedication in 1986.

Lasting Remembrances. Appr. ten hours. This series of five videos consititute the oficial video recordings of the second Bahá'í World Congress in New York, 1992. Contents include speeches, dramatic presentations, and performances by the World Congress choir.

Mona With the Children and The Making of the Mona Video. Approx. 45 minutes. In 1983 Islamic officials ordered ten Bahá'í women in Shíráz to be hanged for refusing to deny their religion and to convert to Islam. Among the ten was eighteen-year-old Mona Mahmudnezhad. She was executed for her "crime" of teaching Bahá'í children's classes. Her heroism inspired the writing of a song by Canadian pop star Doug Cameron titled "Mona with the Children" which was made into a brief "rock" video. Following the video is a description of why the video was made and what its various scenes signify. In the process, the video describes the persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran in a powerful, poignant, and dignified way. A video particularly suitable for high school and junior college classes.

Morning Stars: A Profile of Kevin Locke. 28 minutes. An introduction to the Bahá'í Faith as it relates to Native American culture, religion, and prophecy, featuring Kevin Locke, a Lakota Sioux musician and dancer who is a former member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States.

Nova Bahá'í Video Series. A series of seven tapes, available in many languages and formats, on the basic subjects of the Faith, including Bahá'í history, teachings for leading a Bahá'í lifestyle, and how to teach the masses and spread the Faith.

Peace: The Promise. A documentary on the Bahá'í International Peace Conference, held in San Francisco in 1986, which explores the Bahá'í commitment to world peace.

The Pilgrimage. 120 minutes. A visit to the Holy Places at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa and 'Akká, Israel. Rúhíyyih Rabbání, perhaps the most respected Bahá'í in the world, conducts the tour. Excellent for classes interested in the nature of Bahá'í pilgrimage, the purpose of the Bahá'í World Centre, Bahá'í devotion to the lives of its founders, and its modern administrative functioning.

The Prisoner of Akka. 30 min. A popular exposition of the life of Bahá'u'lláh and his new message for humanity.

The Seat of God's Throne. 33 minutes. A documentary about the Bahá'í World Centre of the Bahá'í Faith in Haifa, Israel, its history, and the massive construction project it has initiates to complete three more monumental marble buildings on the "Arc" on the side of Mount Carmel. Though primarily designed for a Bahá'í audience, this video is suitable for non-Bahá'ís as well.

Below are listed the few Bahá'í Publishing Trusts, Associations for Bahá'í Studies, and independent publishing houses and journals that publish material the reader might find useful. The list of Bahá'í Publishing Trusts is not complete, but only details those whose publications have been cited in the Resource Guide; complete listings of all but the independent houses are included in every recent edition of The Bahá'í World. Most of the below will fulfill orders or provide catalogues upon request.

[Note: be careful to distinguish between the number "1" and the letter "l" in the email addresses.]

Arts Dialogue  Homepage:                 Arts Dialogue, produced by the Bahá'í          
http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/7324/      Association for the Arts (BAFA), is a          
For subscriptions, write:  Kathleen      quarterly newsletter of news, letters,         
Babb  Kirikushi, Etajima-cho             profiles, articles, illustrations,             
Aki-gun, Hiroshima-ken 73721,            photographs, poems and creative writing from   
Japan  Email: kbabb@gol.com  Cost:       around the globe. The purpose of the           
equivalent US$20 year                    newsletter is to develop the arts across all   
                                         disciplines and cultures, to follow what       
                                         artists and arts-related people are doing,     
                                         and to provide an opportunity to exchange      
                                         ideas and a forum for the analysis and         
                                         critique of the arts.                          



Association for Bahá'í Studies:          The Australian ABS publishes occasional        
Australia  c/o Natalie                   collections of ABS articles and essays.        
Mobini-Kesheh, secr.  P.O. Box 4239                                                     
University of Melbourne  Parkville                                                      
VIC  3052  Australia                                                                    



Association for Bahá'í Studies:          The Association for Bahá'í Studies: English    
English Speaking Europe For              Speaking Europe (ABS-ESE) publishes the        
subscriptions, write:  The               Bahá'í Studies Review, which contains          
Secretary, ABS-ESE  Rutland Gate         articles of about the same level of            
London  SW7 1PD    England               scholarly interest as the Journal of Bahá'í    
                                         Studies.                                       



Association for Bahá'í Studies:          The North American ABS is the first and        
North America For both                   largest of the world's Associations for        
subscriptions and editorial              Bahá'í Studies. Its journal, the Journal of    
matters, write:  34 Copernicus           Bahá'í Studies, is the preeminent academic     
Street  Ottawa, Ontario  K1N 7K4         journal of the Faith.                          
Canada   Phone: (613) 233-1903  Fax                                                     
(613) 233-3644  Email:                                                                  
as929@freenet.carleton.ca                                                               
Homepage:                                                                               
http://www.bahai-studies.ca/~absnam                                                                    



Bahá'í Book Collectors: Jon and          "Jon and Chris Hendershot: Bahá'í Book         
Chris  Hendershot  1039 Ninth            Collectors" is an online meeting place for     
Street  Manhattan Beach, CA              collectors of Bahá'í books, magazines,         
90266, USA  Email:                       pamphlets, and ephemera in English. They       
jcdhender@loop.com  Homepage:            help organize book auctions, coordinate        
http://www.loop.com/~jcdhender/          collectors, and provide "want" and "for        
                                         trade" lists for those seeking hard-to-find    
                                         materials.                                     



Bahá'í Booksource International         The Bahai Booksource International features    
5755 Rodeo Rd.  Los Angeles, CA          the largest selection of Bahá'í books          
90016, USA  Telephone:                   available, in a variety of languages. They     
(213)933-8297  Fax: (213)933-1820        carry over 4,000 different items in 91         
Email: bbi@booksource.org               languages, as well as various gift items.      
Homepage: http://www.booksource.org                                                     



Bahá'í Distribution Service For          The Bahá'í Distribution Service is the         
catalogues or orders, write:  5397       central book warehouse and distribution        
Wilbanks Rd.  Chattanooga, TN            service in the United States. Most books       
37343  Phone: (800) 999-9019  Fax:       cited in the guide can be purchased from       
(423) 843-0836  Email:                   them.                                          
bds@usbnc.org                                                                           



Bahá'í Publishing Trust: Australia       The Australian BPT produces, among other       
For subscriptions to Herald of the       things, editions of compilations of the        
South, write:  Bahá'í Publications       sacred writings. Their magazine, Herald of     
Australia  P.O. Box 285  Mona Vale       the South, includes general articles on the    
NSW 2103  Australia  Phone: (02)         Faith and often features essays on or          
9913 1554  Fax: (02) 9970 6710           photographic essays of greater Oceania.        
General correspondence, write:  GPO                                                     
Box 283  Canberra  ACT 2610                                                             
Australia  Fax: 61 (0)6 247 2943                                                        
Email: bahaipub1@peg.apc.org                                                            



Bahá'í Publishing Trust: Brazil          The Brazilian BPT produces some Persian and    
Editora Bahá'í Brasil  Rua Conego        Arabic editions of the sacred writings.        
Eugenito Leite, 350  05414 Sao                                                          
Paolo  SP - Brazil  Phone:                                                              
55-(11)-8534628                                                                         



Bahá'í Publishing Trust: Germany         The German BPT produces much original          
Bahá'í-Verlag  Eppsteiner Strasse        scholarship and Persian and Arabic editions    
89  D-65719 Hofheim  Germany             of the sacred writings.                        
Phone: 49-(6192)-2292   Fax:                                                            
49-(6192)-992999  Email:                                                                
bahai@geod.geonet                                                                       



Bahá'í Publishing Trust: United          The UK BPT occasionally publishes works of     
Kingdom  6 Mount Pleasant  Oakham        interest to scholars.                          
Leicestershire LE15 6HU  England                                                        
Phone: 44-(1572)-722780   Fax:                                                          
44-(1572)-724280 For sales, write:                                                      
sales@bahaibooks.co.uk For                                                              
editorial matters, write:                                                               
editorial@bahaibooks.co.uk                                                              



Bahá'í Publishing Trust: United          The US BPT produces, among other things,       
States For general correspondence,       World Order magazine, which is "intended to    
contact: Phone: 1-(708)-2511854          stimulate, inspire, and serve thinking         
Fax: 1-(708)-2513652  Email:             people in their search to find relationships   
bpt@usbnc.org For World Order            between contemporary life and contemporary     
editorial matters, write:  World         religious teachings and philosophy" (World     
Order  415 Linden Avenue  Wilmette,      Order statement of purpose). Its essays are    
IL  60091  Email:                        academic but not always solely on the Faith.   
worldorder@usbnc.org For World                                                          
Order subscriptions, write:  World                                                      
Order Subscriber Service  Bahá'í                                                        
National Center  Wilmette, IL                                                           
60091                                                                                   



Bahá'í Studies Bulletin                  The Bahá'í Studies Bulletin, a publication     
                                         of scholarship, provisional translations,      
                                         and occasional correspondence from the         
                                         Universal House of Justice, was published      
                                         from 1982 to 1993. Back issues or reprints     
                                         of articles are not available as of the        
                                         moment. However, a reprint series of most of   
                                         the old Bulletin articles, as well as a new    
                                         journal called Abhá: A Journal of              
                                         Bábí-Bahá'í Studies, will soon be launched     
                                         by Stephen Lambden's Hurqalya Publications.    



Crimson Publications For general         Crimson Publications is best-known for         
correspondence, write:  P.O. Box         Multiple Author Refer System (MARS), usually   
1613  San Juan Capistrano, CA 92693      known as REFER, the PC computer databases of   
Phone: (714) 240-2092  Fax: (714)        all English writings of the Bahá'í primary     
240-9599  Email:                         figures. They offer databases for the          
crimson@compuserve.com  For REFER        writings of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh,              
orders, contact either Crimson           'Abdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and major        
Publications or the Bahá'í               compilations, and soon may be releasing a      
Distribution Service                     database of the secondary sources of           
                                         Taherzadeh's The Covenant and the Revelation   
                                         of Bahá'u'lláhseries, Balyuzi's biographies   
                                         of the central figures, Nabíl's                
                                         Dawn-Breakers, and Lights of Guidance.         
                                         Crimson also publishes Bahá'í software         
                                         designed by private developers.                



Deepen magazine Tsavo West Bahá'í        The Tsavo West Bahá'í Institute is a           
Institute  P.O. Box 6081  Wilmette,      non-profit organization dedicated to the       
IL  60091-6081  Phone: (312)             research, publication, and dissemination of    
274-6593  Email:                         materials in support of the Bahá'í Faith.      
tsavowest@earthlink.net Webpage:         Its quarterly journal, Deepen magazine,        
http://home.earthlink.net/~tsavowest/    publishes both popular and somewhat            
                                         scholarly articles and includes teaching       
                                         materials such as posters and clip art in      
                                         each issue.                                    



dialogue: A Quarterly Journal            dialogue was produced by a group of Bahá'ís    
Exploring the Implications of the        in Los Angeles publishing independently. Its   
Bahá'í Faith for Our Time.   write       focus was "a more dynamic engagement with      
to Kalimát Press, below, for             contemporary intellectual, social,             
ordering back issues.                    religious, political, and cultural currents    
                                         of thought and action." (1:1, p.2) Only six    
                                         issues, between 1986 and 1988, were            
                                         produced. Some of these back issues can be     
                                         ordered from Kalimát Press (see below).        



George Ronald  46 High Street            George Ronald is a major publisher of          
Kidlington  Oxford, England  OX5         secondary Bahá'í books. They produce a great   
2DN  Email:                              variety of both popular and academic books.    
sales@grpubl.demon.co.uk For orders                                                     
within the US, write:  8325 17th                                                        
Street North  St. Petersburg, FL                                                        
33702                                                                                   



Institute for Bahá'í Studies in          The Institute for Bahá'í Studies in Persian    
Persian  P.O. Box 65600  Dundas,         produces many study materials and monographs   
Ont.  L9H-6Y6  Canada  Phone: (905)      in Persian, and occasionally publishes         
628-3040  Fax: (905) 628-3276            Persian and Arabic editions of the sacred      
Email: IBS@bcon.com                      writings. Currently they are reprinting the    
                                         Athár-i-Qalam-i-A'lá series.                   



Images International   5010 Austin       Images International carries Bahá'í            
Rd.  Hixon, TN  37343-3913  Phone:       audio-visual products, including deepening     
(423) 870-4525  or  (800) 470-4525       tapes and books on tape, as well as special    
Fax: (423) 870-4774  Email:              materials like t-shirts.                       
tenelex@chattanooga.net  Homepage:                                                      
http://www.globweb.com/image                                                            



Kalimát Press   Email:                   Kalimát Press is a small company dedicated     
KalimatP@aol.com  Webpage:               to the publication of books and other          
www.kalimat.com Editorial matters,       materials on the Bahá'í Faith. It has          
write:  1600 Sawtelle Blvd., Suite       produced over 100 titles since its founding    
34  Los Angeles, CA  90025  Phone:       in 1978, focusing on Bahá'í history,           
(310) 479-5668  or  (800) 788-4067       scholarship, translations from Persian, and    
For orders, write:  Publishers           Bahá'í childrens' materials. Kalimát           
Services  P.O. Box 2510  Novato, CA      publishes the series Studies in Bábí and       
94948  Phone: (415) 883-3530  Fax:       Bahá'í History and -Religions, cited           
(415) 883-4280                           extensively throughout this guide.             



Landegg Academy  CH-9405                 Landegg Academy has published a few useful     
Wienacht/AR  Switzerland   Tel:          materials, such as proceedings of              
41-71-891 91 31  Fax: 41-71-891 43       conferences. Its main service is as one of     
01  E-mail: info@landegg.org             the major centers of Bahá'í studies in         
Homepage:                                Europe. Landegg also provides a listserv of    
http://www.landegg.org/landegg/          Landegg-related news. Write to                 
                                         info@landegg.org, in the subject line write    
                                         "subscribe," and leave the body of the         
                                         message blank.                                 



Naturegraph Publishers  P.O. Box         Naturegraph specializes in books on natural    
1075  Happy Camp, CA  96039  Phone:      history, crafts, wildlife, and Native          
(916) 493-5353  Fax: (916) 493-5240      American studies. They also carry a            
Email: naturgraph@aol.com                selection of Bahá'í books on a variety of      
                                         topics.                                        



One Country  One Country  Bahá'í         One Country is published quarterly by the      
International Community  Suite 120       Bahá'í International Community, an             
866 United Nations Plaza  New York,      international NGO (non-governmental            
New York  10017  Phone:                  organization) which represents the worldwide   
212-803-2543  Fax: 212-803-2566          membership of the Faith. Its articles          
Email: 1country@bic.org  Homepage:       include a great deal of news about United      
http://www.onecountry.org/               Nations activities and Bahá'í development      
                                         projects around the world.                     



OneWorld Publications For editorial      OneWorld's logo is "Books for Thoughtful       
matters, write:  185 Banbury Road        People." They publish a wide selection of      
Oxford, England  OX2 7AR  Phone:         books on the Faith, both academic and          
01865-310597  Fax: 01865-310598          popular. As well, they publish or reprint      
Email: oneworld@cix.compulink.co.uk      many scholarly works on other religions,       
For orders within the US, write:         mysticism, science, psychology, and other      
P.O. Box 7  New York, New York           topics.                                        
10024  Phone: (202) 799-3854  Fax:                                                      
(212) 799-7116                                                                          



Palabra Publications  3735 B Shares      Palabra publishes a variety of teaching and    
Place  Riviera Beach, FL  33404          deepening materials, including occasional      
Phone: (561 ) 845-1919  Fax: (561)       compilations from the writings of              
845-0126  Email: palabrapub@aol.com      Bahá'u'lláh or the Universal House of          
                                         Justice. They also carry Library 2.1, a        
                                         software program similar to REFER but          
                                         designed for Macintosh.                        



Special Ideas  2900 W. Bristol Dr.       Special Ideas is a company founded to help     
Bloomington, IN  47404  Phone:           provide Bahá'ís with low-cost teaching         
(800) 326-1197  (812) 876-3742           materials. They sell introductory teaching     
Email: seeker@indiana.edu, or            aids such as games, posters, pamphlets,        
bahai@bluemarble.net  Webpage:           displays, t-shirts, and books, and offer       
www.special-ideas.com  Seekernet         free advice and teaching tips. Special Ideas   
1-800-seekernet (800-733-5376)           also sponsors Seekernet, a free information    
Webpage: http://bahai.seeker.net         service. Those investigating the Faith can     
                                         call 1-800-Seeker-Net (800-733-5376) to get    
                                         a free packet of introductory literature on    
                                         the Faith and the number of a Bahá'í           
                                         community local to their area.                 



Unity Arts Inc. Nine Pines               Unity Arts is the central Bahá'í book          
Publishing  26 Concourse Gate            distribution service for Canada. They carry    
Nepean, Ont. K2E-7T7  Phone from         both a full selection of Bahá'í material and   
both US and Canada:  (800)               as well certain non-Bahá'í items such as       
465-3287, or  (613) 727-6200  Fax:       children's books. They and their Nine Pines    
613- 727-3704  Email:                    division also publish original books and       
Unityarts@aol.com                        manufacture audio-visual and special           
                                         materials.                                     



University Microfilms International      UMI has copies of most master's theses and     
300 N. Zeeb Rd.  Ann Arbor Michigan      doctoral dissertations done in North America   
48106  Phone: (313) 761-4700  or         and many foreign ones as well. Almost all      
(800) 521-0600                           unpublished theses listed in this guide can    
                                         be purchased from them. Average cost is        
                                         around US$30-50.                               



Whitcomb Publishing, Inc  32            Whitcomb Publishing produces both Bahá'í and   
Hampden Street  Springfield, MA          non-Bahá'í books designed to help apply        
01103  Phone: (800) 354-1789 or          Bahá'í principles to contemporary world        
(413) 737-9630  Email:                   issues. Their latest series of works is on     
paulrobbin@aol.com                       Bahá'í solutions to the problem of racism.     



White Cloud Press  P.O. Box 3400         White Cloud Press has published books of       
Ashland, OR  97520  Phone/fax:           interest to Bahá'í scholars but not directly   
(541) 488-6415  Email:                   on the Faith, including works of Háfiz and     
sscholl@jeffnet.org  Webpage:            T. Izutsu; J. Cole's and J. Walbridge's        
www.jeffnet.org/whitecloud               translations of K. Gibran; anthologies of      
                                         essays on religion and mysticism; and Wisdom   
                                         of the Master, a new compilation of the        
                                         writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, forthcoming.         



White Mountain Publications

Box 5180, R. R. #2 New Box 1178                        White Mountain Publications carries both
New Liskeard, Ontario  P0J-1P0  Canada                 deepening and teaching materials, such as
Phone, toll-free from within Canada only:              study guides, compilations, and some
(800) 258-5451, or from elsewhere:                     historical material, and organizational
(705) 647-5424  Fax: (705) 647-8366                    aids, such as planning calendars.                                                                                         

chapter 2

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chapter 4