June 30. On this date in 1952, a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "Regarding the prophecy of Daniel: ... this prophecy refers to the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden of Ridvan, Baghdad."

June 30. On this date in 1952, a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "Regarding the prophecy of Daniel: ... this prophecy refers to the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden of Ridvan, Baghdad."

Regarding the prophecy of Daniel: ... this prophecy refers to the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden of Ridvan, Baghdad. Reference to this can be found in "The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá" in quotations from two of His Tablets.
(30 June 1952)

June 2. On this date in 1996, the Universal House of Justice responded to an individual who had written "regarding questions raised about the fulfilment of the Biblical prophecy of Daniel concerning 1,335 days, as well as modifications made to 'Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era'" subsequent to the death of John Esslemont due to the failure of this prophecy.

A reference to this prophecy from Daniel is one of the notable posthumous edits from John Esslemont's book Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era...

Perhaps the most important change in Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era was made on page 212 of the 1923 edition. Recorded as a Bahá'í prophecy (59) concerning the "Coming of the Kingdom of God," Esslemont cited Abdu'l-Bahá's interpretation of the last two verses of the Book of Daniel from the Bible. He stated that the 1335 days spoken of by Daniel represented 1335 solar years from Muhammad's flight to Medina in 622 A.D., which would equal 1957 A.D.. When asked "'What shall we see at the end of the 1335 days?'," Abdu'l-Bahá's reply was: "'Universal Peace will be firmly established, a Universal language promoted. Misunderstandings will pass away. The Bahá'í Cause will be promulgated in all parts and the oneness of mankind established. It will be most glorious!'" (60) In editions published after his death, Esslemont's words have been changed to say that Abdu'l-Bahá "reckoned the fulfillment of Daniel's prophecy from the date of the beginning of the Muhammadan era " (61) and one of Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets is quoted on the same subject in which he writes, "'For according to this calculation a century will have elapsed from the dawn of the Sun of Truth....'" Esslemont appears to conclude that Abdu'l-Bahá was referring to the year 1963 and the one hundredth anniversary of Bahá'u'lláh's public claim to be a Manifestation of God. (62) These words, however, were never written by the author, but were added posthumously. And, it should be noted that the phrase "'the dawn of the Sun of Truth'" is not a reference to a particular year, in this case 1863, but to a period of years when the Bab and his followers were preparing the way for the Manifestation of Bahá'u'lláh. Hence, they are commonly referred to as the "Dawn-Breakers." (63) Further, in another quotation which originally appeared on the same page, but was also removed from later editions, Abdu'l-Bahá plainly stated, "' This is the Century of the Sun of Truth. This is the Century of the establishment of the Kingdom of God upon the earth.'" (64) Esslemont recorded Abdu'l-Bahá as declaring explicitly that the prophecy was to be computed from the Hijra or 622 A.D. and that specific conditions would exist in the world upon it's fulfillment in 1957. When it became apparent that this Bahá'í prophecy would not be fulfilled, it was replaced with the ambiguous material which has remained in the text to the present. This is evident from the fact that, although Esslemont's other eyewitness accounts were removed in the 1937 revision, the record of Abdu'l-Bahá's prophecy was left intact by the American National Spiritual Assembly and Shoghi Effendi. It was not changed until after 1957. (65) Also, Abdu'l-Bahá's conviction that all of these events would take place in this century have been expressed in other writings and it is evident that Shoghi Effendi shared his optimism as well. (66)

On May 4, 1946, Shoghi Effendi wrote "...The 1335 days is figured according to the solar calendar, but in adjusting the 1335 days, one must take into consideration the time at which the prophecies were given and change them into solar time, which would bring the date to 1963."

1414. Predictions of Peace, Prophecy of Daniel--1335 Days
"Now concerning the verse in Daniel, the interpretation whereof thou didst ask, namely, 'Blessed is he who cometh unto the thousand three hundred and thirty five days'. These days must be reckoned as solar and not lunar years. For according to this calculation a century will have elapsed from the dawn of the Sun of Truth, then will the teachings of God be firmly established upon the earth, and the Divine Light shall flood the world from the East even unto the West. Then, on this day, will the faithful rejoice."
(Abdu'l-Bahá: From a Tablet to a Kurdish friend: The Passing of Abdu'l-Bahá, p. 31, Shoghi Effendi and Lady Blomfield)
"...The 1335 days is figured according to the solar calendar, but in adjusting the 1335 days, one must take into consideration the time at which the prophecies were given and change them into solar time, which would bring the date to 1963.
"There is one thing of importance for the Bahá'ís to understand; and that is, that this prophecy refers to happenings within the Faith, not occurrences outside the Faith. It refers specifically to the spread of the Faith over the face of the earth. This will be accomplished when the Bahá'í Faith is firmly established in all the virgin areas outlined in the Ten-Year Crusade, and the other goals of the Crusade are completed. Thus it behooves us to work day and night in order to accomplish this glorious goal."
(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, May 4, 1946: Some Extracts from Letters written on behalf of the Guardian on the subject of the Prophecy of Daniel: A Compilation from the World Centre to the compiler)

On May 11, 1956, Shoghi Effendi wrote, "In other words, when we fulfill the Ten Year Crusade we will have brought into fulfillment Daniel's great prophecy of 'Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1335 days.' What could be more wonderful than taking part in the fulfillment of religious prophecy of over 3,000 years!"

148 PIONEERING
"...Sometimes people strive all their lives to render outstanding service. Here is the time and opportunity to render historic services; in fact the most unique in history, aiding in the fulfillment of Daniel's Prophecies of the Last Day, and the 1335 days, when men are to be blessed by the Glory of the Lord, covering the entire globe--which is the real goal of the Ten Year Crusade.
"In other words, when we fulfill the Ten Year Crusade we will have brought into fulfillment Daniel's great prophecy of 'Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1335 days.' What could be more wonderful than taking part in the fulfillment of religious prophecy of over 3,000 years!"
"The pioneers themselves must realize that not only are they fulfilling the wishes of Bahá'u'lláh, and doing that which the Master Himself said He longed to do; namely, to go, if necessary on foot, and carry His Father's Message to all the regions of the earth; but they are enhancing the prestige of the Faith to a remarkable degree in the eyes of the public, and specially in the eyes of the officials. There is no doubt that the rapid forward march of the Faith recently has attracted a far greater measure of attention on the part of the thoughtful people, and people of position in society and in educational fields, than has been the case for almost one hundred years.
"Therefore, each pioneer must feel his responsibility very heavily, and understand that his calling is far above the average service; and his duty to remain at his post a very pressing one indeed."

Prophecy of Daniel; Modifications of Baha'u'llah and the New Era

by / on behalf of Universal House of Justice

1996-06-02

Mr. .... Dear Bahá'í Friend,
Your email of 8 May 1996 regarding questions raised about the fulfilment of the Biblical prophecy of Daniel concerning 1,335 days, as well as modifications made to "Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era", was referred to us for response. In answer to earlier, similar questions on these subjects, memoranda were prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. Copies of these are enclosed.
It is our hope that these will be helpful to you in responding to the questions which have been raised.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat

Enclosures (appended)
M E M O R A N D U M To: The Universal House of Justice
Date: 13 December 1990 From: Research Department

DANIEL'S PROPHECIES Revised February 1996 From time to time, questions are raised by the Bahá'ís about the interpretation of the Biblical prophecies contained in the following verses in Daniel 12:11-12:

And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days. Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.

To assist the friends in their study of this subject, the Research Department has prepared a summary of the elucidations contained in the Writings of Abdu'l-Bahá and the letters written by or on behalf of Shoghi Effendi on this theme. Three main issues are addressed: the interpretation of 1,290 days; the interpretation of 1,335 days; and the date of the commencement of the "hundred lunar years", which, as mentioned by Shoghi Effendi in "God Passes By" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1987), page 151, will precede the consummation of the 1,335 days. 1. 1,290 Days
In "Some Answered Questions" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1984), pages 43-44, Abdu'l-Bahá interprets the prophecy concerning the 1,290 days in the following terms:

The beginning of this lunar reckoning is from the day of the proclamation of the prophethood of Muhammad in the country of Hijaz; and that was three years after His mission, because in the beginning the prophethood of Muhammad was kept secret, and no one knew it save Khadijah and Ibn Nawfal. After three years it was announced. And Bahá'u'lláh, in the year 1290 from the proclamation of the mission of Muhammad, caused His manifestation to be known.

Note that the Master indicates that, in this instance, time is measured by the "lunar" calendar. Since the proclamation of the mission of Muhammad took place ten years prior to the Hegira, i.e., His flight from Mecca to Medina, from which date the Muslim calendar begins, the year 1290 from the proclamation of the mission of Muhammad was the year 1280 of the Hegira, or 1863-64 A.D. There are references to 1,290 days in "God Passes By", on pages 110 and 151. In these passages, Shoghi Effendi confirms that the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, which occurred in 1863 (1280 A.H.), represents the fulfilment of the 1,290 days.

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2. 1,335 Days Two Tablets revealed by `Abdu'l-Bahá which are published in "The Passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá" (Haifa: 1922), by Lady Blomfield and Shoghi Effendi, provide interpretations of the 1,335 days referred to by Daniel:

Now concerning the verse in Daniel, the interpretation whereof thou didst ask, namely, "Blessed is he who cometh unto the thousand three hundred and thirty five days". These days must be reckoned as solar and not lunar years. For according to this calculation a century will have elapsed from the dawn of the Sun of Truth, then will the teachings of God be firmly established upon the earth, and the Divine Light shall flood the world from the East even unto the West. Then, on this day, will the faithful rejoice! (p. 31) O servant of God! The afore mentioned a thousand three hundred and thirty-five years must be reckoned from the day of the flight of His Holiness Muhammad, the Apostle of God, (Hegira) salutations and blessings rest upon Him, at the close of which time the signs of the rise, the glory, the exaltation, the spread of the Word of God throughout the East and the West shall appear. (p. 31)

From these Tablets it appears that:

- The spread of the Faith throughout the world will signal the fulfilment of this prophecy. - The "days must be reckoned as solar and not lunar years".
- The Tablets suggest that the prophecy is fulfilled by two different dates. The first derives from the centenary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh; the second is calculated from 622 A.D. -- hence, 1963 and 1957.

Shoghi Effendi associated Daniel's reference to the 1,335 days and Abdu'l-Bahá's statements about this prophecy with the centenary of the formal assumption of Bahá'u'lláh's prophetic office and the worldwide triumph of the Bahá'í Cause. He stressed that the prophecy refers to occurrences within the Bahá'í community, rather than to events in the outside world, e.g., the establishment of peace. While the Guardian clearly allied the triumph of the Faith with the successful termination of the third Teaching Plan undertaken by the believers, in his letters and those written on his behalf, three specific dates are mentioned as marking the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy. 2.1 1960 -- A lunar reckoning

Concerning the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad, Shoghi Effendi, in "God Passes By", page 151, wrote:

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The "hundred lunar years", destined to immediately precede that blissful consummation (1,335 days), announced by Daniel ... had commenced.

One hundred years, by a "lunar reckoning", after the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh coincides with 1960. 2.2 1963 -- A solar reckoning
When the world-embracing Spiritual Crusade was announced in October 1952, Shoghi Effendi linked the completion of this decade-long enterprise with the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy:

LET THEM AS THEY ENTER IT VOW ONE VOICE ONE HEART ONE SOUL NEVER TURN BACK ENTIRE COURSE FATEFUL DECADE AHEAD UNTIL EACH EVERY ONE WILL HAVE CONTRIBUTED SHARE LAYING ON WORLD-WIDE SCALE AN UNASSAILABLE ADMINISTRATIVE FOUNDATION FOR BAHA'U'LLAH'S CHRIST-PROMISED KINGDOM ON EARTH SWELLING THEREBY CHORUS UNIVERSAL JUBILATION WHEREIN EARTH HEAVEN WILL JOIN AS PROPHESIED DANIEL ECHOED `ABDU'L-BAHA ON THAT DAY WILL FAITHFUL REJOICE WITH EXCEEDING GLADNESS.
        ("Messages to the Bahá'í World, 1950-1957" (Wilmette:
        Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1971), p. 44)

Thereafter, the fulfilment of Daniel's prophecy concerning the 1,335 days is associated with the end of the Ten Year Crusade. For example, in a letter dated 9 February 1953 on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a group of Bahá'ís, his secretary wrote:

The purpose of the Conferences¹ will be the world-wide propagation of the Faith. They will lay the foundations of the service of the Bahá'ís of the world for the great Ten Year Crusade ahead -- which, God willing, will be consummated in the fulfilment of the prophecies of Daniel, and the achievement of the initial goals set by `Abdu'l-Bahá in the Tablets of the Divine Plan, whereby the world will be flooded with the Glory of the Lord.

And, in a letter dated 11 May 1956 written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, we find the following statement:

...when we fulfil the Ten Year Crusade, we will have brought into fulfilment Daniel's great prophecy of "Blessed is he who waits and comes to the 1335 days".

------------------------
1. International Conferences scheduled to take place during 1953.

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2.3 1957 There are several references in letters written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi which give 1957 as the date of the fulfilment of the prophecy. For example:

It is far too early to make any predictions about peace of any sort, judging by the ebullitions of the world's affairs these days! `Abdu'l-Bahá, in His Tablets, connects the prophecy of Daniel -- 1957 -- with the proclamation and spread of the Cause.         (31 July 1946 to an individual believer)

It is interesting to note that, when a National Spiritual Assembly sought clarification from the beloved Guardian about whether the 1,335 days culminate in 1957 or in 1963, Shoghi Effendi in a letter dated 30 June 1952 written on his behalf indicated:

Regarding the prophecy of Daniel: ... this prophecy refers to the hundredth anniversary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in the Garden of Ridvan, Baghdad. Reference to this can be found in "The Passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá" in quotations from two of His Tablets.         (30 June 1952)

2.4 The Calculation of the Date A number of believers requested guidance from Shoghi Effendi about how to calculate the date that will coincide with the fulfilment of the 1,335 days. We provide two responses written on behalf of the Guardian:

The 1335 days referred to by Daniel will be fulfilled in 1963. The date of the Hijra is 622 A.D. The 1335 days is figured according to the solar calendar, but in adjusting the 1335 days, one must take into consideration the time at which the prophecies were given and change them into solar time, which would bring the date to 1963. There is one thing of importance for the Bahá'ís to understand; and that is, that this prophecy refers to happenings within the Faith, not occurrences outside the Faith. It refers specifically to the spread of the Faith over the face of the earth. This will be accomplished when the Bahá'í Faith is firmly established in all of the virgin areas outlined in the Ten Year Crusade, and the other goals of the Crusade are completed. Thus it behoves us to work day and night in order to accomplish this glorious goal.
        (18 December 1953 to an individual believer)
As regards your question concerning the date 1335: The reckoning of this date does not bring it to the exact date of 1963, but a few more years. Nevertheless, there is no conflict in this,

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because `Abdu'l-Bahá says that it will be the beginning of the diffusion of the Light of the Faith in the east and the west. This will already have begun to come about before 1963, which is the fulfilment of the 100 years from Bahá'u'lláh's Declaration.

(31 January 1955 to an individual believer)

It is noteworthy that insufficient information is provided in the first extract to permit a precise calculation, while in the second, the Guardian's secretary indicates that a calculation would not give "the exact date of 1963, but a few more years". The Research Department has not been able to locate any additional authoritative texts which contain detailed instructions concerning how to make the calculation. 3. The "Hundred Lunar Years"
In "God Passes By", page 151, Shoghi Effendi allies the "hundred lunar " years after the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh with the fulfilment of the 1,335 days of Daniel's prophecy. The only other reference to one hundred "lunar" years that the Research Department has, so far, been able to find, is contained in a letter dated 31 October 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to a National Spiritual Assembly. This letter clarifies the mistaken assumption that the year 1335 relates to the centenary of Bahá'u'lláh's mystic experience in the Siyah-Chal (i.e., 1952-1953):

He wishes me to point out that this is inaccurate as on page 151 of "God Passes By", in the references to His Declaration, the Guardian clearly states that with this Declaration the "hundred lunar years" ... had commenced'. The mystic experience of Bahá'u'lláh was in the Siyah- Chal and has nothing to do with Daniel's prophecy. This statement of the Guardian is itself based on extracts from two of the Master's Tablets which are published in "The Passing of Abdu'l-Bahá".

In addition, a believer asked Shoghi Effendi about the relationship between the establishment of peace and the fulfilment of the prophecy about the 1,335 days and requested the source of, a reference to, and the starting date of, a prophecy concerning the "one hundred years after the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh" referred to in a pilgrim's notes. The Guardian in a letter dated 1 April 1946 written on his behalf made the following response:

`Abdu'l-Bahá's interpretation of the prophecy of Daniel does not definitely connect it with either the Lesser or the Most Great Peace, but rather with a great step forward on the part of humanity and the Bahá'í Faith. All we know is that the Lesser and the Most Great Peace will come -- their exact dates we do not know. The 100 years is from 1853; the Master explains this in some of His Tablets, and is quoted in "The Passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá".

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Both of the letters cited above base their conclusions on the same two Tablets of `Abdu'l-Bahá, which are quoted in section 2 of this memorandum. Since the beloved Guardian rules out a relationship between Daniel's prophecy and the intimation of the coming of revelation to Bahá'u'lláh, it is evident that some other explanation must be found for the significance of the one- hundred-year period that begins in 1853. 4. Concluding Remarks
While it is clear that the prophecy concerning the 1,335 days is associated with the spread of the Bahá'í Faith throughout the world, several different dates are given in our authoritative texts for the actual fulfilment of this prophecy. As mentioned earlier, the two Tablets of the Master which are cited in "The Passing of `Abdu'l-Bahá", page 31, suggest different dates for the fulfilment of the prophecy of the 1,335 days: 1963 and 1957. Further, in the letters written by or on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian indicates that these same Tablets form the basis for his interpretation of the date of the fulfilment of the 1,335 days referred to in Daniel. Three different dates are either given by the Guardian or can be inferred from these same Tablets -- 1957, 1960, and 1963.
In addition, these same Tablets are also given as the reference for the one-hundred-year period that began in 1853.
In light of the foregoing, it is, therefore, suggested that:

- The prophecy of Daniel about the 1,335 days is not fulfilled by just one single date. Its fulfilment is, rather, a process that extends over a period of time. - The fulfilment of the prophecy coincides with the period of the Ten Year Crusade, 1953-1963, a span of time that includes 1953 (the end of the hundred years whose significance is unclear), 1957, 1960, and 1963.

It is interesting to note that Shoghi Effendi described the Ten Year Crusade as the "ninth part" of that "majestic process, set in motion at the dawn of the Adamic cycle" by means of which the "light" of God's Revelation will be diffused

in both the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, through the operation of a decade-long world spiritual crusade whose termination will, God willing, coincide with the Most Great Jubilee commemorating the Centenary of the Declaration of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad.
        (30 April 1953 to the All-America Intercontinental Teaching
        Conference, published in "Messages to the Bahá'í World
        1950-1957" (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1971), p. 155)

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Furthermore, the Guardian in a letter dated 7 March 1955 written on his behalf to an individual believer states:

Thus in the Ten Year Crusade, we are actually fulfilling the prophecy of Daniel, because with the completion of the Ten Year Crusade in 1963 we will have established the Faith in every part of the globe. What a great privilege it is that individuals such as we are, have an opportunity to not only spread the Teachings of Bahá'u'lláh, but in this period of the Ten Year Crusade, are actually engaged in the fulfilment of prophecy.

June 30. On this date in 1949, Shoghi Effendi wrote "The course of recent developments in the life of the German Bahá'í community has given rise to considerable anxiety and caused me grave concern, in view of the eminent position which the collective achievements of its members have enabled it to obtain on the morrow of the severest crisis which it has experienced in its history."

June 30. On this date in 1949, Shoghi Effendi wrote "The course of recent developments in the life of the German Bahá'í community has given rise to considerable anxiety and caused me grave concern, in view of the eminent position which the collective achievements of its members have enabled it to obtain on the morrow of the severest crisis which it has experienced in its history."

June 30. On this date in 1948, a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "The Bahá'í teacher must be all confidence. Therein lies his strength and the secret of his success."

June 30. On this date in 1948, a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "The Bahá'í teacher must be all confidence. Therein lies his strength and the secret of his success."

1948. The Bahá'í teacher must be all confidence. Therein lies his strength and the secret of his success. Though single-handed, and no matter how great the apathy of the people around you may be, you should have faith that the hosts of the Kingdom are on your side, and that through their help you are bound to overcome the forces of darkness that are facing the Cause of God. Persevere, be happy and confident, therefore.
(From a letter dated 30 June 1937 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer)

June 30. On this date in 1949, a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "As you can well imagine this disaffection of the Master's Family has been a very sad and heavy blow to him; but, although for many years he shielded them with his silence, in the end he was forced to speak out in order to protect the Faith."

June 30. On this date in 1949, a letter (also here) on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "As you can well imagine this disaffection of the Master's Family has been a very sad and heavy blow to him; but, although for many years he shielded them with his silence, in the end he was forced to speak out in order to protect the Faith."

June 30. On this date in 1952, a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "As the Cause spreads all over the world its rate of acceleration increases, too, and new centres in Africa, in some mysterious way, have spiritual repercussions which aid in forming new centres everywhere."

June 30. On this date in 1952, a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "As the Cause spreads all over the world its rate of acceleration increases, too, and new centres in Africa, in some mysterious way, have spiritual repercussions which aid in forming new centres everywhere."

"The Latin American communities are still on the threshold of their international Bahá'í life; he feels sure that they will rapidly grow into it. Compared with the length of time it took the North American, the British, and the French communities to grow up and spread, their growth is like lightning. As the Cause spreads all over the world its rate of acceleration increases, too, and new centres in Africa, in some mysterious way, have spiritual repercussions which aid in forming new centres everywhere." (Letter 30 June 1952, on behalf Shoghi Effendi) [17]

June 30. On this date in 1999, the Universal House of Justice outlined its procedures for approving provisional, as opposed to authorized, translations, noting "In the case of items to be included in works submitted to non-Bahá'í publishers, the authors or translators themselves should forward the items here for consideration prior to the involvement of any non-Bahá'í publishers. Publications containing such translations, once these have been cleared, should indicate that they are provisional translations...It remains the prerogative of the World Centre to decide on the timeliness and wisdom of publishing English translations of specific Tablets. Some may be identified as not suitable for publication at the present time."

June 30. On this date in 1999, the Universal House of Justice outlined its procedures for approving provisional, as opposed to authorized, translations, noting "In the case of items to be included in works submitted to non-Bahá'í publishers, the authors or translators themselves should forward the items here for consideration prior to the involvement of any non-Bahá'í publishers. Publications containing such translations, once these have been cleared, should indicate that they are provisional translations...It remains the prerogative of the World Centre to decide on the timeliness and wisdom of publishing English translations of specific Tablets. Some may be identified as not suitable for publication at the present time."

From: Bahá'í World Centre
Subject: English Translations of Bahá'í Writings
30 June 1999
To the National Spiritual Assemblies of Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire, the Fiji Islands, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, the Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States
Dear Bahá'í Friends,
The Universal House of Justice has recently had opportunity to review the procedures related to the translation of Bahá'í Writings into English, whether involving whole works or extracts. We have been asked to share with you the following conclusions, which may relate to your publishing programs or to those of other Bahá'í publishers within your jurisdiction.
As in the past, certain Tablets or extracts translated into English for use or publication by the Bahá'í World Centre or other publishers will continue to be reviewed and approved in the Holy Land and designated as "authorized translations".
However, because of the increasing need for translation of specific material, particularly in relation to growing scholarly interest in the Faith and its various Teachings, favorable consideration has been given to allowing wider use of provisional translations. Individual believers, of course, remain free to translate into English any of the Holy Writings for their own use. Such translations may also be published in circulars and journals without review other than by the editors of such publications. They may also be shared electronically. In all such cases they should be clearly identified as `provisional translations'.
The House of Justice has now established a mechanism which will allow for inclusion in books and pamphlets of provisional translations which are of sufficiently good quality for wide distribution. Arrangements have been made for such translations to be checked at the World Centre. When these items are to be included in works intended for publication by a Bahá'í publisher, the trust or publisher involved should forward them here for the necessary clearance. In the case of items to be included in works submitted to non-Bahá'í publishers, the authors or translators themselves should forward the items here for consideration prior to the involvement of any non-Bahá'í publishers. Publications containing such translations, once these have been cleared, should indicate that they are provisional translations.
The translations submitted for checking at the World Centre should include copies of the Arabic or Persian texts used by the translator(s). The items sent will be considered both from the point of view of the quality of the English rendering of the material and as to whether there are any major doubtful points with regard to the accuracy of the translation itself. Those which fall short on either of these counts will be returned to the sender with an explanation. For instance, the translations may need further refining or may contain mistakes of meaning, and, therefore, necessitate improvement before re-submission.
It remains the prerogative of the World Centre to decide on the timeliness and wisdom of publishing English translations of specific Tablets. Some may be identified as not suitable for publication at the present time.
The House of Justice is hopeful that this new arrangement will lead to the availability of a greater amount of translated material and avoid the present delays in approving fully authorized translations
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
cc: International Teaching Centre, Boards of Counsellors, Bahá'í Publishing Trusts, George Ronald, Publisher, Kalimat Press, Oneworld Publications, Palabra Publications, Office of Persian Affairs, U.S.A.

June 30. On this date in 1941, one week after Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, Shoghi Effendi sent a cable to North American Bahá'ís stating "SHADOWS GOD'S RETRIBUTIVE ACT FAST GATHERING...AS OLD WORLD SINKS BENEATH WEIGHT CRUMBLING OLD ORDER SO MUST NEW WORLD EXPONENTS BAHA'U'LLAH'S NASCENT INTEGRATING WORLD ORDER CLIMB LOFTIER SUMMITS THEIR SUBLIME CALLING. URGENTLY INSISTENTLY PLEAD ALL AMERICAN BELIEVERS PARTICULARLY NATIONAL TEACHING INTER-AMERICA COMMITTEES ABOVE ALL NATIONAL ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES ARM THEIR SOULS LABOR MORE RESOLUTELY COOPERATE MORE CLOSELY SCATTER MORE WIDELY SACRIFICE MORE ABUNDANTLY ENSURE DURING REMAINING YEARS SEVEN YEAR PLAN BRILLIANT DISCHARGE ONE REMAINING OBLIGATION THEIR DUAL TASK WHOSE CONSUMMATION MUST SIGNALIZE TERMINATION SEAL TRIUMPH FIRST BAHA'I CENTURY."

June 30. On this date in 1941, one week after Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union, Shoghi Effendi sent a cable to North American Bahá'ís stating "SHADOWS GOD'S RETRIBUTIVE ACT FAST GATHERING...AS OLD WORLD SINKS BENEATH WEIGHT CRUMBLING OLD ORDER SO MUST NEW WORLD EXPONENTS BAHA'U'LLAH'S NASCENT INTEGRATING WORLD ORDER CLIMB LOFTIER SUMMITS THEIR SUBLIME CALLING. URGENTLY INSISTENTLY PLEAD ALL AMERICAN BELIEVERS PARTICULARLY NATIONAL TEACHING INTER-AMERICA COMMITTEES ABOVE ALL NATIONAL ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES ARM THEIR SOULS LABOR MORE RESOLUTELY COOPERATE MORE CLOSELY SCATTER MORE WIDELY SACRIFICE MORE ABUNDANTLY ENSURE DURING REMAINING YEARS SEVEN YEAR PLAN BRILLIANT DISCHARGE ONE REMAINING OBLIGATION THEIR DUAL TASK WHOSE CONSUMMATION MUST SIGNALIZE TERMINATION SEAL TRIUMPH FIRST BAHA'I CENTURY."

Fate-Laden World Ordeal
30 JUNE 1941
FATE-LADEN WORLD ORDEAL MOVING IN STEADY PREORDAINED CRESCENDO. BLAZE SEEMINGLY UNCONTROLLABLE FIRE LEAPING RAVAGING LAST REMAINING GREAT POWER ON EUROPEAN CONTINENT. SHADOWS GOD'S RETRIBUTIVE ACT FAST GATHERING. AS ARENA WORLD-CONVULSING CONTEST BROADENS, AS WOUNDS IT INFLICTS DEEPEN, AS ISSUES IT RAISES AGGRAVATE MULTIPLY SO WILL OPERATION SPIRITUAL FORCES DESTINED CAST BURDEN TRAVAILING AGE BE ACCELERATED. AS OLD WORLD SINKS BENEATH WEIGHT CRUMBLING OLD ORDER SO MUST NEW WORLD EXPONENTS BAHA'U'LLAH'S NASCENT INTEGRATING WORLD ORDER CLIMB LOFTIER SUMMITS THEIR SUBLIME CALLING. URGENTLY INSISTENTLY PLEAD ALL AMERICAN BELIEVERS PARTICULARLY NATIONAL TEACHING INTER-AMERICA COMMITTEES ABOVE ALL NATIONAL ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES ARM THEIR SOULS LABOR MORE RESOLUTELY COOPERATE MORE CLOSELY SCATTER MORE WIDELY SACRIFICE MORE ABUNDANTLY ENSURE DURING REMAINING YEARS SEVEN YEAR PLAN BRILLIANT DISCHARGE ONE REMAINING OBLIGATION THEIR DUAL TASK WHOSE CONSUMMATION MUST SIGNALIZE TERMINATION SEAL TRIUMPH FIRST BAHA'I CENTURY.

On May 16, 1933, Shoghi Effendi wrote Adelbert Mühlschlegel that "whatever we say of Germany, we have to admit that its people are endowed with a spiritual vitality quite superior to many other races."

16 May 1933
Dear Dr. Muhlschlegel:
The Guardian ... does sincerely hope that the reports we receive here about the sentiments rampant in Germany are untrue to fact, that it is a regeneration of the people rather than a retrogression towards a dead past. Because whatever we say of Germany, we have to admit that its people are endowed with a spiritual vitality quite superior to many other races. Being in the heart of that populated continent and being inspired by such a strong religious spirit, Germany can easily achieve a wonderful task in regenerating the world. The eyes of the world are surely centered around it expecting to see what it will do.
Yet we Bahá'ís should remember that we stand above politics. That that field does not interest us; that we attribute importance to things of the spirit, that we await salvation to come from the Faith that burns in our hearts.
In his moments of prayer and meditation at the Blessed Shrines, the Guardian will think of you and the other friends in Germany and ask God to guide you and assist you in playing your important role of spiritualizing the whole world--so immersed at present in material pursuits and interests....
In the Guardian's own handwriting:
Dear and precious co-worker:
I was so pleased to receive your letter. I long to hear more fully and more frequently from you. You are a tower of ... and a pillar of His Faith in that land. Germany has a glorious future under the banner of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. Its mission is to champion the cause of God in Europe and establish it firmly in the heart of that continent. The tests and trials which have beset the Faith in that land were necessary and providential. It is for the German believers, who have weathered the storm, to arise and promote the Cause, to proclaim the non-political character of their Faith, to establish its nascent institutions and prove by their words and acts their freedom from every taint of particularism and prejudice. May the Almighty guide their steps, sustain them in their efforts and bless their activities.
Shoghi

On February 11, 1934, Shoghi Effendi addressed a letter to a German Bahá'í stating about the Nazi government that "obedience to the regulations and orders of the state is indeed, the sacred obligation of every true and loyal Bahá'í" and that "our German friends are under the sacred obligation to whole-heartedly obey the existing political regime, whatever be their personal views and criticisms of its actual working. There is nothing more contrary to the spirit of the Cause than open rebellion against the governmental authorities of a country, specially if they do not interfere in and do not oppose the inner and sacred beliefs and religious convictions of the individual. And there is every reason to believe that the present regime in Germany, which has thus far refused to trample upon the domain of individual conscience in all matters pertaining to religion will never encroach upon it in the near future, unless some unforeseen and unexpected changes take place. And this seems to be doubtful at present."

11 February 1934
Dear Bahá'í Brother,
I am charged by the Guardian to thank you for your letter of Jan. 30th as well as for the enclosed pamphlet containing the address delivered by Herr Hitler on Oct. 14th, 1933, on the subject of Germany's attitude towards peace, all of which he read with deepest care and sustained interest. He wishes me to convey to you and to all the members of your German National Assembly and through them to all the followers of the Faith in Germany his views on the present conditions in that land, and particularly in their relation to the nature and scope of the Bahá'í activities of our German believers.
At the outset it should be made indubitably clear that the Bahá'í Cause being essentially a religious movement of a spiritual character stands above every political party or group, and thus cannot and should not act in contravention to the principles, laws, and doctrines of any government. Obedience to the regulations and orders of the state is indeed, the sacred obligation of every true and loyal Bahá'í. Both Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá have urged us all to be submissive and loyal to the political authorities of our respective countries. It follows, therefore, that our German friends are under the sacred obligation to whole-heartedly obey the existing political regime, whatever be their personal views and criticisms of its actual working. There is nothing more contrary to the spirit of the Cause than open rebellion against the governmental authorities of a country, specially if they do not interfere in and do not oppose the inner and sacred beliefs and religious convictions of the individual. And there is every reason to believe that the present regime in Germany which has thus far refused to trample upon the domain of individual conscience in all matters pertaining to religion will never encroach upon it in the near future, unless some unforeseen and unexpected changes take place. And this seems to be doubtful at present.
For whereas the friends should obey the government under which they live, even at the risk of sacrificing all their administrative affairs and interests, they should under no circumstances suffer their inner religious beliefs and convictions to be violated and transgressed by any authority whatever. A distinction of a fundamental importance must, therefore, be made between spiritual and administrative matters. Whereas the former are sacred and inviolable, and hence cannot be subject to compromise, the latter are secondary and can consequently be given up and even sacrificed for the sake of obedience to the laws and regulations of the government. Obedience to the state is so vital a principle of the Cause that should the authorities in Germany decide to-day to prevent the Bahá'ís from holding any meeting or publishing any literature they should obey and be as submissive as our Russian believers have thus far been under the Soviet regime. But, as already pointed out, such an allegiance is confined merely to administrative matters which if checked can only retard the progress of the Faith for some time. In matters of belief, however, no compromise whatever should be allowed, even though the outcome of it be death or expulsion
There is one more point to be emphasized in this connection. The principle of obedience to government does not place any Bahá'í under the obligation of identifying the teachings of his Faith with the political program enforced by the government. For such an identification, besides being erroneous and contrary to both the spirit as well as the form of the Bahá'í message, would necessarily create a conflict within the conscience of every loyal believer.
For reasons which are only too obvious the Bahá'í philosophy of social and political organization cannot be fully reconciled with the political doctrines and conceptions that are current and much in vogue to-day. The wave of nationalism, so aggressive and so contagious in its effects, which has swept not only over Europe but over a large part of mankind is, indeed, the very negation of the gospel of peace and of brotherhood proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh. The actual trend in the political world is, indeed, far from being in the direction of the Bahá'í teachings. The world is drawing nearer and nearer to a universal catastrophe which will mark the end of a bankrupt and of a fundamentally defective civilization.
From such considerations we can well conclude that we as Bahá'ís can in no wise identify the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh with man-made creeds and conceptions, which by their very nature are impotent to save the world from the dangers with which it is being so fiercely and so increasingly assailed.
The Guardian hopes that these brief explanations will be sufficient to guide our German National Assembly in their efforts to safeguard and promote the interests of the Faith, and that through them they will be given a new vision of the Cause and a fresh determination to carry forward its message to the world at large.
With greetings and best wishes to you and to all the friends in Germany,...
In the Guardian's own handwriting:
Dear and valued co-worker:
I wish to add a few words in loving appreciation of your strenuous, your intelligent and devoted efforts for the spread and consolidation of our beloved Faith. May the Almighty bless your endeavours, deepen your understanding of the essentials and requirements of our beloved Cause, and enable you in these difficult and challenging days to promote its interests and consolidate its institutions,
Your true brother,
Shoghi

On April 25, 1938, one month after Nazi Germany's Anschluss of Austria, a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi stated "it made him immensely happy to realize that the friends in Germany and Austria have been again drawn together, and are closer than ever in the past. He hopes that the removal of the barriers which have hitherto so sadly separated the German and Austrian communities will mark the beginning of a new era of unprecedented growth and expansion in your affairs."

25 April 1938
Dear Friends,
The postcard message which you had sent the Guardian on the occasion of Dr. Muhlschlegel's visit to Vienna, has just been received, and it made him immensely happy to realize that the friends in Germany and Austria have been again drawn together, and are closer than ever in the past. He hopes that the removal of the barriers which have hitherto so sadly separated the German and Austrian communities will mark the beginning of a new era of unprecedented growth and expansion in your affairs. He is certain that you are fully alive to the far-reaching possibilities which the present hour offers, and wishes you therefore to be happy and thankful, and confident in the blessings which the future has in store for you, and your dear co-workers in that land.
I take this opportunity of assuring you once more of his prayers for your welfare, protection and continued guidance, and reciprocating your very kind greetings,...
In the Guardian's own handwriting:
Assuring you in person of my incessant prayers for your protection, guidance and happiness,
your true and grateful brother,
Shoghi

June 30. On this date in 1937, Shoghi Effendi said "Bahá'ís, therefore, are advised to avoid, as much as they can, getting mixed in labour strikes and troubles" because "non-cooperation too, even though not accompanied by acts of violence, is ineffective."

June 30. On this date in 1937, Shoghi Effendi said "Bahá'ís, therefore, are advised to avoid, as much as they can, getting mixed in labour strikes and troubles" because "non-cooperation too, even though not accompanied by acts of violence, is ineffective."

1404. As to Participation in Strikes
"As to participation in strikes, when one of the believers who was employed in a factory as a supervisor to labourers and who felt that a strike was likely at the factory asked the Guardian what the Bahá'í attitude should be if a strike were called, the Guardian's secretary in a letter dated June 30, 1937 wrote on his behalf:
'With regard to your question concerning the Bahá'í attitude towards labour problems; these cannot assuredly be solved, Abdu'l-Bahá tells us, through the sheer force of physical violence. Non-cooperation too, even though not accompanied by acts of violence, is ineffective. The conflict between labour and capital can best be solved through the peaceful and constructive methods of cooperation and of consultation.
'The Bahá'ís, therefore, are advised to avoid, as much as they can, getting mixed in labour strikes and troubles, and particularly to desist from all acts of physical violence which indeed run counter to the very spirit of the Cause. The Faith of Bahá'u'lláh stands for peace, harmony, and cooperation between the individuals and nations of the world.'"
(From a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of Luxembourg, April 4, 1973)

June 30. On this date in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had lunch at the Morristown, New Jersey home of the Persian consul-general Topakyan, causing him to be late to his train departing Montclair, New Jersey, leading to the report in the New York Times that "The departure of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, leader of the Bahá’í cult, from Montclair to-day was attended by excitement...When train time came, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was not in sight. He had been delayed. The baggage of the Persians was aboard the train, and as it moved away they appealed to the trainmen in several Oriental languages to defer the departure for a few minutes. Several of the excited followers of the prophet, when they realized that the train was leaving, jumped to the platforms. One of them, in swinging his arms about, accidentally or otherwise, pulled the bell rope. At the same instant, by a strange coincidence, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá hove in sight in an automobile. To add to the excitement a Persian accidentally knocked off the conductor’s hat. The train came to a halt, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá leaped from the automobile and was hustled aboard the coach by his friends."

June 30. On this date in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had lunch at the Morristown, New Jersey home of the Persian consul-general Topakyan, causing him to be late to his train departing Montclair, New Jersey, leading to the report in the New York Times that "The departure of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, leader of the Bahá’í cult, from Montclair to-day was attended by excitement...When train time came, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was not in sight. He had been delayed. The baggage of the Persians was aboard the train, and as it moved away they appealed to the trainmen in several Oriental languages to defer the departure for a few minutes. Several of the excited followers of the prophet, when they realized that the train was leaving, jumped to the platforms. One of them, in swinging his arms about, accidentally or otherwise, pulled the bell rope. At the same instant, by a strange coincidence, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá hove in sight in an automobile. To add to the excitement a Persian accidentally knocked off the conductor’s hat. The train came to a halt, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá leaped from the automobile and was hustled aboard the coach by his friends."

June 29. On this date in 1960, William Sears cabled about Mason Remey's claim to be the Second Guardian "infection spreading here alarmingly.. believers asked souvenir Master if Remey claim baseless why no action by Hands was it from fear or were they disunited...Hands weakening position Institutions encouraging boldness enemies..."

June 29. On this date in 1960, William Sears cabled about Mason Remey's claim to be the Second Guardian "infection spreading here alarmingly.. believers asked souvenir Master if Remey claim baseless why no action by Hands was it from fear or were they disunited...Hands weakening position Institutions encouraging boldness enemies..."

June 29, 1960
REMEY WRITTEN UDO SCHAEFER 10 PAGE LETTER PRAISING HIS DOCUment GUARDIANSHIP HISTORIC ORDERING HUNDRED COPIES FOR CIRCU-LATION INFECTION SPREADING ALARMINGLY HERE WITHOUT RESTRAINT MARANGELLA INFLUENCE CONSTANT CORRESPONDENCE SPREADING WIDELY INSIDIOUSLY THREE QUESTIONABLE BELIEVERS ASKED SOUVENIR MASTER IF REMEY CLAIM BASELESS WHY NO ACTION BY HANDS WAS IT FROM FEAR OR WERE THEY DISUNITED IMPERATIVE DEFINITE ACTION BE TAKEN REMEY AND ALL WHO SUPPORT HIM INDECISIVENESS HANDS WEAKENING POSITION INSTITUTIONS ENCOURAGING BOLDNESS ENEMIES URGE CABLE ALL HANDS CALLING FOR EXPULSION REMEY AND ALL WHO SUPPORT HIM SCHAEFER APPARENTLY FAITHFUL.
SEARS

June 29. On this date in 1961, the Hands of the Cause of God cabled an announcement regarding the election of the International Bahá’í Council.

June 29. On this date in 1961, the Hands of the Cause of God cabled an announcement regarding the election of the International Bahá’í Council.

JUNE 29, 1961
HEARTS GREATLY ENCOURAGED BY ENTHUSIASM ENERGY DETERMINATION ELECTED INTERNATIONAL BAHA'I COUNCIL DISCHARGE VITAL EVER INCREASing RESPONSIBILITIES STOP DELIGHTED SHARE NEWS ELECTION FOLLOWING OFFICERS ALI NAKHJAVANI SYLVIA IOAS CHARLES WOLCOTT IAN SEMPLE JESSIE REVELL PRESIDENT VICE PRESIDENT SECRETARY GENERAL ASSISTANT SECRETARY TREASURER RESPECTIVELY STOP OTHER MEMBERS ETHEL REVELL LOTFULLAH HAKIM MILDRED MOTTAHEDEH AND BORRAH KAVELIN MEMBER AT LARGE STOP SHARE MESSAGE HANDS NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES.
[CABLE]
HANDSFAITH

In 1951, Shoghi Effendi, as Guardian, appointed members to the International Bahá’í Council, naming Mason Remey as the Council's President and describing it as an embryonic international House of Justice.

When Shoghi Effendi passed away in 1957 without having appointed a successor Guardian, as confirmed by a "Unanimous Proclamation of the 27 Hands of the Cause of God", the Hands of the Cause of God elected from among their own nine individuals who would serve as Custodians to help lead the transition of the International Bahá’í Council, into the Universal House of Justice.

In 1961 the International Bahá’í Council was changed to an elected body, with members of all National Spiritual Assemblies voting.

In 1963, the first Universal House of Justice was elected, and its members are elected every five years by members of each Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly in the world. In practice, the Bahá’í electoral system most closely resembles council democracy as it still exists in Cuba, wherein individuals elect Local Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect National Spiritual Assemblies, who then elect the Universal House of Justice. With no politicking or partisanship allowed, there is little turnover in leadership and Universal House of Justice members almost invariably serve until retirement or death. New members are currently generally elected from the appointed institutions of the Bahá’í administration, particularly the International Teaching Centre. In fact, all of the current members of the Universal House of Justice previously served as members of the International Teaching Centre. In council democracies, these career bureaucrats were known as the nomenklatura.

With the eventual passing of the individual Hands of the Cause of God appointed by Shoghi Effendi and without a Guardian to appoint additional Hands, the Universal House of Justice saw the need for developing an institution for the purpose of performing the Hands' function of protection and propagation of the Faith.

In 1968 the Continental Board of Counselors was formed. The Counselors appoint Auxiliaries collectively referred to as Auxiliary Boards in smaller regional areas, who in turn appoint their own Assistants to work in localities.
 
Auxiliary Board Members for Protection are charged with watching over the security of the Bahá’í Faith, and Auxiliary Board Members for Propagation are responsible for working with the grassroots on the global Plans established by the Universal House of Justice. Originally, members of the Auxiliary Boards were appointed by and served under the Hands of the Cause of God who directed their efforts worldwide. The first members of the Auxiliary Boards were appointed in 1954, and they were divided into five distinct geographical regions.

In 1973 the administrative branch called the Institution of the Counselors was formed. Also in 1973, the International Teaching Centre was first formed by the Universal House of Justice, and originally consisted of the 17 Hands of the Cause still living at that time, plus three Counsellor members. The number of Counsellor members was raised to four in 1979, to seven in 1983, and finally to the current nine in 1988. The Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre are appointed by the Universal House of Justice to five-year terms that begin shortly after the International Convention and election of the Universal House of Justice.

June 29. On this date in 2001, Holly Hanson gave a presentation titled "Sexuality, Self, and the Shape of Society" at the "Building the Kingdom Conference", Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which argues that our culture's current understanding of sexuality is relatively new, is materialistic, and ultimately unjust, especially in the highly politicized discourse about homosexuality.

June 29. On this date in 2001, Holly Hanson gave a presentation titled "Sexuality, Self, and the Shape of Society" at the "Building the Kingdom Conference", Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which argues that our culture's current understanding of sexuality is relatively new, is materialistic, and ultimately unjust, especially in the highly politicized discourse about homosexuality.

Sexuality, Self, and the Shape of Society

by Holly Hanson

2001-06

      I am Holly Hanson, and this presentation is "Sexuality, Self, and the Shape of Society." I have written and thought about the Bahá'í Revelation and how it affects society - some of you may be familiar with my book on Bahá'í social and economic development, or with essays I have published on Bahá'í ideas regarding overcoming racism, the creation of social justice, and related topics. I teach history at Mount Holyoke College, and this talk builds on the understanding of the history of sexuality which I have developed as a professional historian. I am one of the very many Bahá'ís in this country who was not raised a Bahá'í -- my parents were radical social reformers, and I grew up in a home that was emphatically atheist until I discovered the Faith and became a Bahá'í at the age of fifteen.

      This talk is about the painful, bitter conflict about sexuality which is vexing us in the United States -- and which we are imposing on the rest of the world. I want to look at the consequences of this conflict, which are greater than we realize, I want to show how we arrived at the point of thinking the way we do. We will explore how our ideas and our experiences of sexuality have changed over the past few hundred years as our society has taken its modern shape. The angry, hurtful debate in this country about whether our lives and our legal and social structures should be "gay-affirming" or should reject homosexuality is an aspect of a profound, encompassing transformation in our organization of society, and our understanding and experience of ourselves. These changes are complex, but they have to do with an assertion of the primacy of the material dimensions of human beings. I want to argue that the patterns we have created over the past several hundred years are not good for us. We have created them and we live inside them, but if we look at them, we may see that we would prefer lives that are not so incessantly material. In order to be happy, in order to develop the capacities God has given us and in order to make the world the manifestation of justice that God wants it to be, we need to change the shape of society and change our understanding of our own selves.

      I want to begin with two observations. First, discussions of sexuality in this society tend to be fundamentally coercive: people are telling each other what to think. As a Bahá'í, I cannot do that and I do not want to. A core principle of the Bahá'í Faith is that every person has to seek and understand truth for herself or himself. This is the capacity of every person and the obligation of every person. I believe that Bahá'u'lláh's words enable human beings to create well-being in the world, and in this talk I am sharing with you how I have understood what the Bahá'í Revelation says about sexuality and society. Perhaps these ideas will be useful to you; perhaps you will have thoughts about how I can expand my understanding of this subject, perhaps you will find these ideas totally useless. The last part of the presentation will be discussion and questions, and I hope we will all learn from each other. But as you listen to me, I want you to keep in mind that I absolutely am not telling you that you ought to agree with me.

      Second, it is possible that some people have chosen this presentation because they want support in being Bahá'ís who experience same-sex desire, or in being the fellow community members of those believers. The Bahá'í writings clearly forbid homophobia, but at the same time Bahá'í law only allows sexual expression inside a marriage between a woman and a man. Many people find this confusing or difficult to accept. We will get to those issues, I promise.


Gay-Affirming versus Gay-Rejecting: A Conflict that is Harmful to Everyone

      Let's imagine the current discussions over homosexuality in our culture. On one side is the gay-affirming position, which says "God loves everyone, God loves homosexuals. Any group that denies gay people the possibility of sexual expression is fundamentally unjust. Religions have to discard their outdated teachings, so if your religion is not gay-affirming, you should change it." We can imagine this person here, wearing a rainbow pin - maybe it says, "we are everywhere" or maybe it says "I'm straight but not narrow." On the other side of this polarized conflict is the gay-rejecting position, which says "All the holy books of all the world's religions say it is wrong to be gay, and the acceptance of homosexuality is a sign of the decline of civilization. Any person who thinks they want to live a gay lifestyle should just pray to God to change, and they can change, (and be like us)." We can imagine this person here, with a book that he is quoting, to tell the other side they are wrong.

      People's hopes for the world and their sense of themselves as good people are caught up in this conflict. Part of the gay-affirming position, is that the world will become better -- more tolerant, more accepting, more celebrating of diversity, through active acceptance of homosexuals. There is also a demand for visibility - "we are here - do not deny our existence." The gay-rejecting side also understands its actions to be a social necessity -- that the world will be a better place if people pay attention to religion and obey religious law. These people's identity is also invested: they believe the way God wants people to be is the way we are.

      Underneath the rational gay-affirming argument there may be anger and pain at having experienced intolerance and rejection. Underneath the gay-rejecting position may be fear: that same-sex desire is scary because it does not make sense; that things are more and more out of control in the world around us, and attacking same-sex sex seems to be a way to make things more stable.

      This highly charged, highly polarized debate makes it impossible to think about the issues in another way. People want to know, are you gay-affirming? or are you gay-rejecting? and no other answer is possible. The costs of this conflict are high. It hurts us, when people feel they are being attacked -- and they are being attacked-- on both sides. It divides us, when people are forced to take sides. It distracts us, when this conflict overwhelms other concerns: who receives health care? who pays attention to children after school? How do we counteract AIDS? More profoundly, it hardens and confirms limited, unproductive ways of thinking about our own reality.

      In order to see this, we need to consider the underlying assumptions which the gay affirming position and the gay-rejecting positions share. The gay-affirming side views sexual desire as something that defines human beings: experiencing same sex desire makes a person a homosexual: a person can acknowledge that, and define himself as gay; a person who experiences same sex desire but does not adopt a gay identity is gay and experiencing internalized homophobia. There is not any other choice, it is permanent, and it is defining. The gay-rejecting side also views sexual desire as defining, because it asks people to stop experiencing same-sex desire, which is bad, and change themselves so they experience heterosexual desire, which is good. Again, sexual desire defines people.

      Both sides share a vision that in order to be happy and fulfilled, an adult person needs to find a partner who will meet one's needs for emotional intimacy, physical closeness and sexual expression, for financial support, for practical life support, for socializing, and for reproduction. This unit will be legally recognized, but it also, in practice, will be defined by jointly owned possessions. The jointly owned possessions. In this society, aren't wedding presents the difference between a couple living together and a married couple? And if a couple own property separately, do we ask, are they really married? Access to legal recognition for this unit is a main concern of gay rights activism; and marriages are the organizing principle of people's lives for the gay-rejecting side. Both sides are looking to this legally defined, possession-laden unit to make people happy; they are relying on it, to the exclusion of any other relationship or social institution, to meet people's needs. Of course marriage, life-partnership, is a powerful institution that supports people. But we have impossible expectations of what it will accomplish for us. One partner-person cannot give us emotional, physical, and financial security, and children, and sexual satisfaction, and fun and companionship, and help with life's difficulties, and a sense of purpose, for all of our lives. No one can do that for us. Complete dependence on one other person will not work. But partnership as the exclusive strategy for personal happiness is an underlying assumption of the gay-affirming and gay-rejecting points of view.

      Both sides in this argument also have a fundamentally static view of society: the changes that are necessary are other people becoming more like them. The gay-rejecting side asks everyone to have families like theirs, which they perceive to be traditional. The gay-affirming side asks everyone to be tolerant, like they are. Both sides see the world as having the social structures we have now, although the gay-affirming side wants the benefits of marriage extended to homosexuals.

      The underlying assumptions of both sides of this conflict are wrong. Sexual desire does not define human beings. A long term relationship with one person is not the cause of human happiness. And no one is the living model for the society God wants us to create. To think about the world in this way is a really bad idea. I am not saying that recognition of the existence of homosexuality is a bad idea, I am saying the whole cultural framework, our whole perception of heterosexuality and homosexuality and of human nature as fundamentally material, sexual, and acquisitive is a bad idea. Our culture's way of thinking about sexuality flattens, narrows, and diminishes what it is to be human; it distorts us. Furthermore, it interferes with the process of imagining and creating a just society, because it naturalizes oppressive gender roles, acquiesces in the loss of social responsibility of members of a community for each other. It freezes attention on the simple question of what do people do with desire, blocking out consideration of any other dimension of what might be just or unjust about society.

      How did we arrive at such an unproductive way of thinking and acting? Our materialistic, body-centered way of thinking about ourselves and the world has emerged over the past several hundred years. This is really important: the biology of human reproduction may be constant, but the way human beings understand sex is constantly changing, just as all human patterns of thought and institutions are constantly changing. "Nothing is stationary in the material world of outer phenomena or in the inner world of intellect and consciousness."^[1] Society transforms through a dynamic interplay between people's efforts in the world and their responses to its influences. We are not entirely creators of our destiny, because circumstances shape us; but we are not robots either, because we can change those circumstances by the actions we take. Shoghi Effendi, the great-grandson of Bahá'u'lláh and the leader of the Bahá'í Faith for the middle third of the twentieth century wrote:

"We cannot segregate the human heart from the environment outside us and say that once one of these is reformed everything will be improved. Man is organic with the world. His inner life moulds the environment and is itself also deeply affected by it. The one acts upon the other and every abiding change in the life of man is the result of these mutual reactions."^[2]

      Race is a good example of this feedback loop. We know that race has no reality. But the existence of racist structures and institutions in a society affect its members: people will be shaped by those elements of a society, perceive race, and perpetuate it. But people who want to overcome racism can take deliberate steps to change their own thoughts, to deliberately break down habits of racial separation -- their actions can have an affect on the shape of the society. The effects go both ways.

      Another concept to keep in mind is that not all transformations are progressive. A selfish action can have consequences far beyond the intentions of the initiator. In 1914, travelling in the United States, Abdu'l Bahá stated that national and racial distinctions were created by despots and conquerors who sought to dominate others:

"We are all human, all servants of God and all come from Adam's family. Why, then, all these fallacious national and racial distinctions? These boundary lines and artificial barriers have been created by despots and conquerors who sought to attain dominion over mankind, thereby engendering patriotic feeling and rousing selfish devotion to merely local standards of government."^[3]

      When we look at the origins of our culture's ideas and practices about human nature and sexuality, we see people being shaped by and shaping society, and we also see the far-reaching, tremendously destructive consequences of ideas imposed for the benefit of some people only.

      A set of changes in how people in Europe experienced sexuality, which started in the late eighteenth century, happened at the same time as other profound cultural changes. For about half a century before this, European intellectual life had been revolutionized by a group of thinkers who prioritized human reason and knowledge derived from the senses over religious knowledge. There were economic changes also. Wealth became more concentrated and productive activity became more centralized. This had social consequences: relationships between people which had in the past had social and economic dimensions became solely economic. Gradually, everything in life came to be exchangeable for money - this process is called commodification. Although this process created a lot of wealth, many people lost their ability to control their productive life, and work became more regimented. The kinds of communities that people lived in as a result of these transformations were different than the kinds of communities people lived in before industrialization. These changes in the practice of production and the organization of wealth led to changes in the way that people thought about society and human nature. Organic models for society, which included God and the soul, got replaced by economic models, in which all the elements of the systems were material. Thinkers began to conceptualize social relations in terms of purchase and of human beings as bundles of needs which could be met by consumption.

      We can trace these transformations in the history of sexuality. Until the late eighteenth century, people in Europe thought men and women had the same sexual organs: in women these organs were inside, and slightly inferior; in men they were on the outside, in their perfect form. The organs were basically the same. This was replaced by the concept that female and male bodies were diametrically opposed, and women were perceived to be entirely controlled by their sexual organs, while men were perceived to be in control of theirs sexuality, in the same way that men were thought to be in control of shaping the world through engagement in the market economy.^[4] As social classes solidified and industrialists sought to create markets for the massive output of nineteenth century factories, women's sexuality became divided by class. Women who worked in factories in Europe were considered to be inherently impure, their work made them hypersexual. Part of the rationalization for a migrant female labor force in American textile factories was to protect the workers from sexualizing consequences of labor.^[5] Wealthy and middle class women, on the other hand, were perceived as asexual, and the Victorian woman's purity, which she created by staying in a home full of possessions, healed her husband from the spiritual wounds he received as an industrialist. Since this work involved breaking expectations of reciprocity which had governed social relations previously, it makes sense that people thought work harmed men spiritually. The division between sexual working class women and asexual middle class women ended in the early twentieth century when, in an effort to sell automobiles to women, women's magazines began to promote the concept of "the modern woman" who was just as sexually free as a man, and who created a romantic life with a romantic partner.^[6]

      European or North American concepts of masculinity were also shaped by industrialization and the emergence of a culture of consumption. In the colonial period, manhood involved reproduction, and court records show cases of women taking their husbands to court for being impotent. In the mid-nineteenth century, as the culture stressed middle class men's calm, cool capacity to control the economy, manliness involved control of sexual impulses. Doctors and public speakers warned of the disfigurement and disease that men would suffer if they used up the energy they needed for active engagement in the world with unnecessary sex. In the early twentieth century, as a culture of consumption became entrenched, doctors urged men to find means of sexual release in order to be healthy.^[7]

      Our ways of thinking about homosexual desires and actions have followed the same trajectory. In the late nineteenth century, same-sex sex stopped being a verb - an action some people took, and became a noun - a quality that defined a category of people. A rethinking of human nature which began to focus more thoroughly on the body, the rising status of medical discourse, and the activist efforts of people who believed that those who participated in homosexual sex should not be punished all contributed to this transition.^[8]

      There is another level of connection between social and economic insecurity and our concepts of sexuality. Homosexuality and heterosexuality are ideas that make sense together. The idea that deviant desire defines some people makes sexual desire a determining characteristic of everyone's identity. The idea of a homosexual -- a person who wants to have sex with someone of the same sex is an identifiable kind of person -- came into existence at the same time as the idea of a heterosexual -- that a person who wants to have sex with someone of the opposite sex is a particular kind of person. Before that, people were people, and what they might have desired, or what they might have done sexually, did not define them. Historians have argued that people began to create these new categories as a result of the disturbance in family life that accompanied the consolidation of industrial capitalism. People's loss of control over their own lives, and also the cultivation of higher levels of consumption that industrial production necessitated, led to more rigid distinction of male and female social roles. While in the more distant past most same-sex sex between men involved adult men and boys, communities of men who assertively rejected male gender roles began to emerge in the nineteenth century.^[9] For a while, these men did not call themselves homosexuals ( for example, in New York in the late nineteenth century they made sharp distinctions between men who cross-dressed and displayed feminine characteristics, men who followed the culture's norms of behavior for men but wanted to sleep with men, and men who had wives or girlfriends but were willing to sleep with men). However, men who did not display feminine characteristics (and tended to be middle class) wanted to be understood as something different from normal men, and also different from effeminate men (who were more likely to be working class). They began to define themselves as homosexual, which helped to create the patterns that psychologists and medical men labelled.^[10] Furthermore, men who perceived an erosion of their manliness through a narrowing of their ability to control their work lives and through new assertiveness of workers and women also participated in the creation of this category by defining their manliness as sexual interest in women only. Their changing perception of themselves helped to create the category of heterosexual.^[11]

      The establishment of the categories of heterosexual and homosexual drastically changed patterns of friendship among people of the same sex. Nineteenth century women and men established life-long, deeply intimate friendships with people of the same sex, friendships which had an intensity which we would now perceive as deviant. Once sexuality became a part of how people defined themselves, this pattern of emotional closeness ceased in U.S. society.^[12]

      Our current way of thinking, that divides people into heterosexuals and homosexuals, came into being about one hundred years ago. It is real: we both shape and are shaped by the societies that we live in. Since these categories are so firmly established, it makes sense that we experience our own reality as defined by desire. Sexual identities are very comforting to people - both people who identify themselves as homosexuals and people who identify themselves as heterosexuals.

      However, if we look at how we have arrived at the conception that people are defined by desire and find happiness in possessions and a romantic partner, we may ask ourselves whether we really want these ideas shaping us, whether this is the best we can do for ourselves. We have come to this pattern of thought through a long process that involved an increasing focus on the human body and the loss of a consensus about humanity's spiritual reality. It followed a drastic reduction of the richness of people's social relationships. It accompanied a profound anxiety about the direction of social change, which led to intensely rigid gender roles, a narrowing of the realms of activity considered acceptable for women and for men. After several hundred years of this process, we experience ourselves as bundles of needs which can be satisfied through consumption. We are so accommodated to the degradation of human beings as objects of the desire of others that it seems normal. We objectify ourselves, and whole industries exist to help us do it. We have commodified every conceivable social relationship: we pay people to talk to us and to take care of our aging relatives, we have learned to express our emotions in purchases. As a result, we live with material excess whose results will be inscribed on the planet for generations. The set of beliefs and practices we have about sexuality are less than useless. The theories are pernicious, the standards are false, the claims are hollow, the habits are perverse, and the excesses are sacrilegious.^[13] This was my first point. When people ask me where Bahá'ís stand on the question of homosexuality, I say, we disagree with our culture's conception of sexuality, all of it, heterosexuality and homosexuality, the whole way we think about it and act on it is not useful to us as human beings, and we need to change it.

      This brings me to my second point. While our culture's conflict over sexuality is focussed on whether or not people who experience same-sex desire can change or should change, the Bahá'í perspective is that all of us need to change. We need to change ourselves for our own sake, and for the well-being of society. We do not think that people who are now defined as homosexuals, need to stop being who they are and start being people who are straight with family values. We think that everyone, whatever we desire, however we understand ourselves, needs to deliberately engage in a process of individual and social transformation to make the world into what God wants it to be. This is the purpose of religion, as Bahá'u'lláh explains."...is not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself, both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions? For if the character of mankind be not changed, the futility of God's universal Manifestations would be apparent."^[14]

      The courage we need to imagine that we can live differently, and the vision of what God intends, and the capacity to accomplish it come from the Word of God.

      There are beautiful statements in the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh that define human reality as an expression of God's love: the image of God is engraved on us. "O Son of Man! Veiled in My immemorial being and in the ancient eternity of My essence, I knew My love for thee; therefore I created thee, have engraved on thee Mine image and revealed to thee My beauty."^[15] To be most fully human, according to Bahá'u'lláh, we need to focus our attention and understanding on our connection to the divine inside of us. "O Son of Spirit! I created thee rich, why dost thou bring thyself down to poverty? Noble I made thee, wherewith dost thou abase thyself? Out of the essence of knowledge I gave thee being, why seekest thou enlightenment from anyone beside Me? Out of the clay of love I molded thee, how dost thou busy thyself with another? Turn thy sight unto thyself, that thou mayest find Me standing within thee, mighty powerful and self-subsisting."^[16] If we think about human beings this way, holding sexual desire -- or any other desires -- at the center of our understanding of ourselves does not seem that useful. The word of God may change our experience of ourselves as primarily material beings. Bahá'u'lláh says this: "Were any man to ponder in is heart that which the Pen of the Most High hath revealed and to taste of its sweetness, he would, of a certainty, find himself emptied and delivered from his own desires, and utterly subservient to the Will of the Almighty. Happy is the man that hath attained so high a station, and hath not deprived himself of so bountiful a grace."^[17] Bahá'u'lláh is saying that far from being fixed, impermeable, and at the core of our beings, desire disappears, it evaporates, it empties out of us when we taste the sweetness of the word of God.

      What about strategies for human happiness? What else might we consider, besides finding a partner and owning a lot of stuff together? Bahá'u'lláh makes many clear statements about this. He says "Dissipate not the wealth of your precious lives in the pursuit of evil and corrupt affection, nor let your endeavours be spent in promoting your personal interest."^[18] Abdu'l Bahá, the son of Bahá'u'lláh, wrote "Supreme happiness is man's, and he beholds the signs of God in the world and in the human soul, if he urges on the steed of high endeavor in the arena of civilization and justice. And this is man's uttermost wretchedness: that he should live inert, apathetic and dull, involved with only his base appetites."^[19]Pursuing our physical longings, Abdu'l Bahá says, creates human wretchedness, and happiness comes from making strenuous efforts to facilitate civilization and justice.

      This is what communities are for. They are our means for facilitating civilization and justice. In communities, we can deliberately, systematically, work to change the conditions that created the degraded conception of reality that entraps us. All of us, together, are responsible for creating the conditions in which each of us lives as an individual. Social patterns that cause alienation and humiliation, such as those we have now, make it more difficult for people to live in a way that is characterized by connection to God. We need to purposefully create the dense web of connection, of love between many people, of habits of service to each other, which is the pattern of life in harmony with our true nature. When we do this, the lives of people struggling with difficult spiritual tests will be easier. For example, Bahá'u'lláh requires that His followers express gender equality in their personal lives and in their patterns of social interaction.^[20] The Bahá'í writings affirm that the world needs men who are sensitive and intuitive and women who are strong and effective in the world. The actions that we take as communities to establish gender equality and to eliminate rigid gender roles are important for all of us, but they are especially important for a member of the community whose own life moves beyond constrained gender roles. All of us struggle to prioritize spiritual longings over material desires in the way we live our lives, and the structures that a community creates - of meetings for worship and study, of interpersonal interaction that draws out our spiritual capacity, make this easier. These structures may be particularly valuable for believers who experience same-sex desire that they cannot act on as Bahá'ís. A community that is loving, respectful, and focussed outward on creating well-being in the world, will unfold and develop the capacities of all of its members.

      Some people reject the idea that deliberately engaged communities, trying to be obedient to the will of God, is a wholesome environment for people who experience same-sex desire. They say, "you say you love and include everyone, but if the gay people can't have sex, it is not fair." I want to disagree, to suggest that the injustice to people who experience same sex desire is the way their inner lives have become fodder for a highly politicized fight.

      Chastity, in a society that asserts sex is everything, is certainly not easy. But the individual lives of people who experience same sex desire are burdened by the way religioun is used in the debate over homosexuality. Two principles of spiritual growth have been drawn into opposition with each other in the increasing politicization of sexual desire in our society. One of these is the principle that truthfulness is the foundation of spiritual progress for a soul.

      Truthfulness is the foundation of all the virtues of the world of humanity. Without truthfulness, progress and success in all of the worlds of God are impossible for a soul. When this holy attribute is established in man, all the divine qualities will also become realized.^[21]

      The other is the principle that we make progress spiritually through constant movement towards God.

      Creation is the expression of motion. Motion is life. A moving object is a living object, whereas that which is motionless and inert is as dead. All created forms are progressive in their planes, or kingdoms of existence, under the stimulus of the power or spirit of life. The universal energy is dynamic. Nothing is stationary in the material world of outer phenomena or in the inner world of intellect and consciousness.^[22]

      The gay-rejecting strand of religious thought about sexuality seems to ask people with same sex desire to not tell the truth about themselves, to seek a conversion experience that makes them straight. At the other extreme, some strands of gay politics ask people to hold an unchanging, solidified experience of desire at the core of their being. Although both of these strategies are presented as the means of achieving emotional and spiritual health, both are flawed: the pray-for-miracle-that-will-make-you-straight strategy lacks a recognition that truthfulness is the foundation of spiritual progress. Divine virtues unfold by our being truthful, so how could denying one's experience and knowledge of self be a good thing? It is unjust to ask this of people. The gay-identity strategy asks people to achieve emotional and spiritual health through telling the truth about their same-sex desire and holding it at the absolute center of their lives, with a higher priority than anything else. This lacks a recognition that the essence of human nature is our connection with God, and that all material desires are ephemeral. If the love of God burns away our desires, why insist that people continuously put them back in place? It is unjust to ask people to do this.

      People who want to know more about Bahá'ís dealing with same-sex desire may want to get in touch with BNASAA, the Bahá'í Network on Aids, Sexuality, Addiction, and Abuse. This is a group that is other people as well but includes gay Bahá'ís, committed to supporting each other in their efforts to be obedient to Bahá'í law, in a context of confidentiality. This is an institution under the sponsorship of the National Spiritual Assembly of Canada. Their email address is bnasaa@home.com, and their web address is http://member.home.net/bnasaa, or you could watch for their meetings, which appear on the schedule of the permanent Bahá'í schools.

      Finally, I want to consider how the Bahá'í community might be doing a better job of loving and supporting its members who experience same-sex desire. Shoghi Effendi told the Bahá'í community in the 1950s that it should not discriminate against homosexuals, and the Universal House of Justice made a clear statement about this a few years ago: "To regard homosexuals with prejudice and disdain would be entirely against the spirit of the Bahá'í teachings."^[23] Transcending the homophobia which is part of our society requires honesty. Are we afraid that other people's experience of same-sex desire might be contagious? Are we accepting negative stereotypes? Like many other prejudices, a fear of homosexuals can operate on a very subtle level. One manifestation of this is to assume that anyone who experiences same-sex desire is having sex with someone. We understand that people can have heterosexual desires and not act on them: this is what we expect of all the single people in our communities. We need to be careful to treat Bahá'ís who experience same-sex desire with the same kind of respect: to recognize these members of our community as also capable of chastity, and interact with people in a way that shows that. We need to recognize that we are all people who have tests and are struggling, people who experience same-sex desire need the same love and support that everyone else needs.

      Abdu'l Bahá said in 1914 that "To accept and observe a distinction which God has not intended in creation is ignorance and superstition."^[24] The distinction which we accept and observe regarding sexual desire in our society is a manifestation of ignorance and superstition, and it oppresses us, all of us. It diminishes our perception of our true reality, it accepts an impoverishment of social bonds and community, it legitimizes false distinctions in gender roles. It confirms an enervating materialism. We are shaped by these ideas, but we don't have to be. We can change them, we can "urge on the steed of high endeavour in the arena of civilization and justice" and make the world different than it is.


Notes

^[1] Abdu'l Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p 140.
^[2] Shoghi Effendi through his Secretary, quoted in Universal House of Justice, Research Department, Statement on Conservation of Earth's Resources.
^[3] Abdu'l Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 354.
^[4] Thomas Laqueur, "Orgasm, Generation, and the Politics of Reproductive Biology," in Catherine Gallagher and Thomas Laqueur, eds., The Making of the Modern Body: Sexuality and Society in the Nineteenth Century, (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987), pp. 1-41.
^[5] Holly Hanson, "Mill Girls' and 'Mine Boys': the Cultural Meanings of Migrant Labor." Social History
^[6] Pamela S. Haag, "In Search of 'The Real Thing'" Ideologies of Love, Modern Romance, and Women's Sexual Subjectivity in the United States, 1920-40, in Fout and Tantillo, 161-192.
^[7] Kevin J. Mumford, "'Lost Manhood' Found: Male Sexual Impotence and Victorian Culture in the United States," in John C. Fout and Maura Shaw Tantillo, eds., American Sexual Politics: Sex, Gender, and Race since the Civil War (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1993), 75-100.
^[8] Jeffrey Weeks, "The Body and Sexuality" in Stuart Hall, David Held, Don Hubert and Kenneth Thompson, eds., Modernity: An Introduction to Modern Societies, (Malden: Blackwell, 1996), 364-393. Michel Foucault's History of Sexuality originated this arena of inquiry.
^[9] Weeks, 383-4.
^[10] George Chauncey, Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940, (New York: BasicBooks, 1994), pp. 21-2.
^[11] Chauncey, pp. 117-9.
^[12] Carroll Smith-Rosenburg, "The Female World of Love and Ritual: Relations Between Women in Nineteenth-Century America", Disorderly Conduct: Visions of Gender in Victorian America, (Oxford, 1985). Chauncey,
^[13] Paraphrasing Shoghi Effendi, Advent of Divine Justice, p. 25.
^[14] Bahá'u'lláh, The Kitab-i-Íqán, pp. 240-1.
^[15] Bahá'u'lláh, The Hidden Words, no. 3.
^[16] Bahá'u'lláh, Hidden Words, no.13.
^[17] Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 343.
^[18] Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 138.
^[19] Abdu'l Bahá, Secret of Divine Civilization, pp. 3-4.
^[20] "Exalted, immensely exalted is He Who hat removed differences and established harmony. Glorified, infinitely glorified is He Who hath caused discord to cease, and decreed solidarity and unity. Praised be God, the Pen of the Most High hath lifted distinctions from between His servants and handmaidens and, through His consummate favours and all-encompassing mercy, hath conferred upon all a station and rank on the same plane. He hath broken the back of vain imaginings with the sword of utterance and hath obliterated the perils of idle fancies through the pervasive power of His might." Bahá'u'lláh, Women, p. 1
^[21] Abdu'l Bahá, Bahá'í World Faith, p. 384.
^[22] Abdu'l Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 140.
^[23] Letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of the U.S., September 11, 1995, published in The American Bahá'í, November 23, 1995.
^[24] Abdu'l Bahá, Promulgation of Universal Peace, p. 76. Abdu'l Bahá was speaking about the equality of men and women.