December 30. On this date in 2016, the Bahá’í World News Service reported on the Unity Foundation, "an organization started by a small group of Baha'is 25 years ago and inspired by the teachings of the Faith." The Administrator of Unity Foundation is Paul Arbab, son of Farzam Arbab

 

December 30. On this date in 2016, the Bahá’í World News Service reported on the Unity Foundation, "an organization started by a small group of Baha'is 25 years ago and inspired by the teachings of the Faith." The Administrator of Unity Foundation is Paul Arbab, son of Farzam Arbab.

"Unity Foundation, which works with Luxembourg's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and "a network of local development agencies assisting them in their efforts to build capacity amongst populations to take charge of their own social and economic development" is governed by a board of directors which regularly meets to consult on the strategic direction of the organization. The day-to-day work is being carried out by the office team. Our external consultancy body, the [Bahá'í] Office of Social and Economic Development (OSED) in Haifa, Israel connects us to grass-root development agencies which have the capacity to work with external funding organization. OSED and the [Luxembourg] Ministry of Foreign Affairs act as two filters ensuring the quality and integrity of our projects."

Per Unity Foundation's "Annual Report 2015," the latest year for which one is available, in the section titled "Finances", "The figures include the support received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

"All our projects are co-financed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Without the generous co-financing policy we would not be able to support so many wonderful projects." The total given is €548,240.

"The Ministry reimburses some part of our administrative costs." The figure given is €50,283.

The Administrator of Unity Foundation is Paul Arbab. "Born in the US, Paul grew up in Colombia. He holds an MBA and joined the board of Unity Foundation in January 2007. Since then he has been able to provide valuable input to the strategic direction of the Foundation. He is a proud father of two toddlers and strongly believes in the power of education."

Paul Arbab is the son of Farzam Arbab. Initially elected in 1993 to the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith, Farzam Arbab retired from that body in 2013. Before his election to the Universal House of Justice, in 1988, he was appointed to the International Teaching Center. The International Teaching Centre, whose seat is at the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa, Israel, is composed of nine Counsellors appointed by the Universal House of Justice and tasked with duties to stimulate and coordinate the Continental Board of Counselors and assist the Universal House of Justice in matters relating to the teaching and protection of the faith. All of the current members of the Universal House of Justice previously served as members of the International Teaching Centre. In 1980 he was appointed to the Continental Board of Counsellors for the Protection and Propagation of the Faith in the Americas, on which he served for eight years. From 1970 until 1980 he served as the Chairman for the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Colombia.

While in Colombia, Farzam Arbab was one of the founders of FUNDAEC (Foundation for the Application and Teaching of the Sciences). He served as its Director from 1974 through 1988 and continues to serve on its board. FUNDAEC was established in 1974 by a group in Colombia who were looking for new strategies to develop the capacities of people and to generate knowledge in isolated regions of the country. The model, known as SAT (for "Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial, Spanish for "System for Tutorial Learning") started in 1980 and centers on the use of interactive workbooks facilitated by a tutor. In Colombia, these tutors are trained at the Center for Rural Education.

The SAT techniques Arbab helped develop at FUNDAEC have been applied to the Bahá'í community in the form of the Ruhi Institute, which was named after Arbab's father. Centered on Bahá'í study circles, the goal of the Ruhi Institute courses is to "evoke a transformative learning experience through a learner-centered, experiential, and collaborative approach facilitated by a tutor rather than an instructor, a teacher, or an expert." Among the principles of the Ruhi curriculum is the utilization of service projects to implement learning into tangible action. The Universal House of Justice has encouraged the emulation of the Ruhi model throughout the global Bahá'í community. According to one researcher, the Ruhi Institute's method has resulted in "nonhierarchical, self-initiated, self-organized small groups engaged in study, teaching, and action" and is "becoming the core of Bahá’í community life worldwide as the outcome of a process that has sought to nurture the spiritual life of individuals and families and to establish social foundations for the vision and practice of religious world citizenship." Paul Lample, another member of the Universal Hose of Justice, has stated "Doubtless the institute and its curriculum will continue to evolve, both in content and form, to a level of greater complexity in regions and nations within the framework of the administrative order throughout the various stages of the Divine Planin the second century of the Formative Age."

FUNDAEC's current Director is Bita Correa. Aside from being FUNDAEC's current program director, Bita Correa participated as a member of the Bahá'í International Community’s delegation to the 55th United Nations Commission for Social Development. A recent graduate of Bryn Mawr College, Bita Correa is the daughter of Haleh Arbab, Farzam Arbab's sister, and Gustavo Correa.

Haleh Arbab, is currently director of the Institute for Studies in Global Prosperity, a non-profit educational and research organization "dedicated to building capacity in individuals, groups and institutions to contribute to prevalent discourses concerned with the betterment of society" through "working in collaboration with the Bahá'í International Community." Born in Iran and educated in the United States, Haleh Arbab previously lived in Colombia from 1982 to 2005 where she worked with the FUNDAEC.

Haleh Arbab's husband and Bita Correa's father is Gustavo Correa. Since 2008, Gustavo Correa has been a member of the Universal House of Justice. Before his election to the Universal House of Justice, in 2005, he was appointed to the International Teaching Centre. Along with his brother-in-law, Farzam Arbab, Gustavo Correa was one of the founders of FUNDAEC and later served as its Director, the position currently held by his daughter, Bita Correa.

For a number of years now, Unity Foundation has collaborated with FUNDAEC and "since June 2013, Unity Foundation has renewed its collaboration with FUNDAEC."

Embracing oneness means rethinking prosperity and development

30 December 2016

LUXEMBOURG — Unity Foundation, an organization started by a small group of Baha'is 25 years ago and inspired by the teachings of the Faith, has been one of several Baha'i-inspired agencies that assist social and economic development organizations around the world to access essential funding. The challenge before it is how to facilitate the flow of funds from one part of the world to another while preserving and strengthening a local community's ownership and capacity to direct its own path of development.

Baha'i endeavors for social and economic development operate on the principle that populations should be the protagonists of their own material, spiritual, and intellectual advancement, not just recipients or mere participants. The majority of such initiatives are sustained by resources in the local communities that are carrying them out. Some efforts continue to grow in scale and complexity and eventually require financial resources from outside the community to enable them to extend proven practices and have even greater impact.

Agencies inspired by the Baha'i teachings, such as Unity Foundation, have been learning about raising financial resources in support of development initiatives that have reached a certain level of growth and complexity. In these instances, Baha'i institutions that have been following such organizations closely arrange contact with the Foundation.

These projects fall mainly into two categories: those that provide education for children through the establishment of community-based elementary schools and those that develop the capacities of youth in rural areas to become promoters of community well-being.

"Guided by our principles, we do not initiate, carry out, or manage the development projects in other parts of the world," said Fernand Schaber, the President of Unity Foundation's Board of Directors. "We see ourselves as equal partners with those projects that receive funds. Our role is to represent their vision to the donor community in Luxembourg.

"We also do not choose the projects. They are recommended to us through certain Baha'i institutions. We have learned that working within this system helps us to avoid the many pitfalls that can arise in local communities when financial resources are not provided through appropriate channels."

A central element of the Foundation's understanding of development is its conception of prosperity.

"We recognize the importance of being prosperous in material means, infrastructure, and technology, but it is of equal, if not greater importance, for communities to be prosperous in family and societal unity, in harmony, in high-mindedness, in peace, in generosity, in justice, and in equality between men and women," explained Board of Directors member Angela Roldan. "The hope is that children in every society will grow up with a heightened awareness that the accumulation of wealth should not only benefit themselves but be a source of the wealth and happiness of others.

"From this perspective then, we do not adhere to the practice of dividing the world into groups of 'the developed' and 'the underdeveloped.' Every country in the world has a long way to go in learning how to reach true prosperity. What is required is a global process of learning, in which each nation and people, all on an equal footing, can contribute its share of insights and be seen as a protagonist along its own path of development. And this is the principle that we try to reflect in our relationships with our partners in other parts of the world," Dr. Roldan said.

In the context of arranging funds for projects around the world, the Foundation is learning how to contribute to the discourse on development in Luxembourg, drawing on the experiences being generated globally from the projects with which it works.

"The conversations we have with donors are not just about fund raising. More broadly, these conversations are raising consciousness about the concepts and principles central to development," said Yves Wiltgen, the Foundation's Public Discourse Officer. "We are promoting a dialogue around these ideas in different spaces, including with individual donors, in schools, in the media, and in special gatherings or other events.

"Interestingly, people see that insights generated in other parts of the world are also applicable to the development of Luxembourg. For example, knowledge is being gained about how communities can become united around higher aspirations and how people can take initiative to help others in their communities," continued Mr. Wiltgen.

The work of Unity Foundation has advanced in collaboration with the Luxembourg Government's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has developed a deep appreciation for the principles guiding the organization. Together, the Foundation and the Ministry have facilitated the flow of more than €3 million to projects in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia over the past five years.

On 19 November, Unity Foundation hosted a formal dinner to mark its twenty-fifth anniversary. One hundred sixty individuals attended the event at the Cercle Cite in Luxembourg. Guests included people from the business, media, and government sectors, as well as other individuals who have supported the Foundation's work.

"This event was a lot more than a celebration of twenty-five years of Unity Foundation," stated Mr. Wiltgen. "It is a sign of a certain level of consciousness that material wealth in one part of the world and its absence in others is not acceptable when we consider the whole world as one family."

 

December 30. On this date in 1939, Shoghi Effendi wrote American Bahá'ís about funding for the completion of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the West, titling it "The Seal of Complete Triumph".

 

December 30. On this date in 1939, Shoghi Effendi wrote American Bahá'ís about funding for the completion of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the West, titling it "The Seal of Complete Triumph".

THE SEAL OF COMPLETE TRIUMPH

The association of the First Mashriqu'l-Adhkár of the West with the hallowed memories of the Purest Branch and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's mother, recently re-interred under the shadow of the Báb's holy Shrine, inaugurates a new, and at long last the final phase of an enterprise which, thirty years ago, was providentially launched on the very day the remains of the Forerunner of our Faith were laid to rest by our beloved Master in the sepulchre specifically erected for that purpose on Mount Carmel. The birth of this holy enterprise, pregnant with such rich, such infinite possibilities, synchronized with, and was consecrated through, this historic event which, as 'Abdu'l-Bahá Himself has affirmed, constitutes the most signal act of the triple mission He had been prompted to perform. The site of the Temple itself was honored by the presence of Him Who, ever since this enterprise was initiated, had, through his messages and Tablets, bestowed upon it His special attention and care, and surrounded it with the marks of His unfailing solicitude. Its foundation-stone was laid by His own loving hands, on an occasion so moving that it has come to be regarded as one of the most stirring episodes of His historic visit to the North American continent. Its superstructure was raised as a direct consequence of the pent-up energies which surged from the breasts of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's lovers at a time when His sudden removal from their midst had plunged them into consternation, bewilderment and sorrow. Its external ornamentation was initiated and accelerated through the energizing influences which the rising and continually consolidating institutions of a divinely established Administrative Order had released in the midst of a community that had identified its vital interests with that Temple's destiny. The measures devised to hasten its completion were incorporated in a Plan which derives its inspiration from those destiny-shaping Tablets wherein, in bold relief, stands outlined the world mission entrusted by their Author to the American Bahá'í community. And finally, the Fund, designed to receive and dispose of the resources amassed for its prosecution, was linked with the memory and bore the name of her whose ebbing life was brightened and cheered by those tidings that unmistakably revealed to her the depth of devotion and the tenacity of purpose which animate the American believers in the cause of their beloved Temple. And now, while the Bahá'í world vibrates with emotion at the news of the transfer of the precious remains of both the Purest Branch and of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's mother to a spot which, watched over by the Twin Holy Shrines and in the close neighborhood of the resting-place of the Greatest Holy Leaf, is to become the focus of the administrative institutions of the Faith at its world center, the mere act of linking the destiny of so far-reaching an undertaking with so significant an event in the Formative Period of our Faith will assuredly set the seal of complete triumph upon, and enhance the spiritual potentialities of, a work so significantly started and so magnificently executed by the followers of Bahá'u'lláh in the North American continent.

The Plan which your Assembly has suggested to raise the sum of fifty thousand dollars by next April, which will enable you to place the necessary contracts for the final completion of the entire First Story of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, meets with my unqualified approval. It was specially in order to initiate and encourage the progress of such a plan that I felt impelled to pledge the sum of one thousand pounds in the memory of these two glorious souls who, apart from the Founders of our Faith and its Exemplar, tower together with the Greatest Holy Leaf, above the rank and file of the faithful.

The interval separating us from that date is admittedly short. The explosive forces which lie dormant in the international field may, ere the expiry of these fleeting months, break out in an eruption that may prove the most fateful that mankind has experienced. It is within the power of the organized body of the American believers to further demonstrate the imperturbability of their faith, the serenity of their confidence and the unyielding tenacity of their resolve.

We stand at the threshold of the decade within which the centenary of the birth of our Faith is to be celebrated. Scarcely more than four years stand between us and that glorious consummation. No community, no individual, neither in the East nor in the West, however afflictive the circumstances that now prevail, can afford to hesitate or falter. The few years immediately ahead are endowed with potencies that we can but dimly appreciate. Ours is the duty and privilege to utilize to the full the opportunities which these fate-laden years offer us. The American Bahá'í community, already responsible, over such a long period, for such heroic acts, under such severe handicaps, cannot and will not hesitate or falter. The past is a witness of their splendid triumphs. The future will be no less a witness of their final victory.

December 30, 1939

December 30. On this date in 1979 the Universal House of Justice sent a cablegram announcing the death of Hand of the Cause of God and Knight of Bahá’u’lláh Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir who had passed away one day previous, on December 29, 1979. Rahmatu'llah Muhájir was a prominent fourth generation Bahá’í, born on April 4, 1923, in Iran. In 1954 he married Írán Furútan, the daughter of Hand of the Cause of God and Iran National Spiritual Assembly Member 'Alí-Akbar Furútan, who is known for his censorship of (devout Bahá’í scholar) Jinab-i Fadil's academic works. The newlyweds pioneered to the Mentawai Islands for which they were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh by Shoghi Effendi in 1954. In 1958, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi. He died of a heart attack at the age of 56 in Ecuador.

 

December 30. On this date in 1979 the Universal House of Justice sent a cablegram announcing the death of Hand of the Cause of God and Knight of Bahá’u’lláh Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir who had passed away one day previous, on December 29, 1979. Rahmatu'llah Muhájir was a prominent fourth generation Bahá’í, born on April 4, 1923, in Iran. In 1954 he married Írán Furútan, the daughter of Hand of the Cause of God and Iran National Spiritual Assembly Member 'Alí-Akbar Furútan, who is known for his censorship of (devout Bahá’í scholar) Jinab-i Fadil's academic works. The newlyweds pioneered to the Mentawai Islands for which they were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh by Shoghi Effendi in 1954. In 1958, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi. He died of a heart attack at the age of 56 in Ecuador.

The 25th anniversary of Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir's death was marked in Ecuador by a Growth and Victories conference and graveside ceremony, including a talk by his daughter, Gisu. His daughter Gisu Mohadjer Cookworks at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and lives in Potomac, Maryland. In 2012 she and her husband purchased the historic Dublin Inn in Dublin, New Hampshire where 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed for three weeks in 1912, and donated it to the national Baha’i community. Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir's other daughter, Shabnam Rahnema, works as an attorney in London.

World Centre: PROFOUNDLY LAMENT UNTIMELY PASSING IN QUITO ECUADOR BELOVED HAND CAUSE RAHMATULLAH MUHAJIR FOLLOWING HEART ATTACK COURSE HIS LATEST SOUTH AMERICAN TOUR. UNSTINTED UNRESTRAINED OUTPOURING OF PHYSICAL SPIRITUAL ENERGIES BY ONE WHO OFFERED HIS ALL PATH SERVICE HAS NOW CEASED. POSTERITY WILL RECORD HIS DEVOTED SERVICES YOUTHFUL YEARS CRADLE FAITH HIS SUBSEQUENT UNIQUE EXPLOITS PIONEERING FIELD SOUTHEAST ASIA WHERE HE WON ACCOLADE KNIGHTHOOD BAHAULLAH HIS CEASELESS EFFORTS OVER TWO DECADES SINCE HIS APPOINTMENT HAND CAUSE STIMULATING IN MANY LANDS EAST WEST PROCESS ENTRY BY TROOPS. FRIENDS ALL CONTINENTS WHO MOURN THIS TRAGIC LOSS NOW SUDDENLY DEPRIVED COLLABORATION ONE WHO ENDEARED HIMSELF TO THEM THROUGH HIS GENTLENESS HIS LUMINOUS PERSONALITY HIS EXEMPLARY UNFLAGGING ZEAL HIS CREATIVE ENTHUSIASTIC APPROACH TO FULFILMENT ASSIGNED GOALS. URGE FRIENDS EVERYWHERE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS BEFITTING HIS HIGH STATION UNIQUE ACHIEVEMENTS. MAY HIS RADIANT SOUL ABHA KINGDOM REAP RICH HARVEST HIS DEDICATED SELF-SACRIFICING SERVICES CAUSE GOD. (Cablegram from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies 30 December 1979)

December 30. On this date in 1945, Shoghi Effendi wrote German Bahá'ís his "feelings of great pride and deep sorrow that he read of the sufferings of the German believers." In 1934 he wrote the Nazis would respect "individual conscience in all matters pertaining to religion." In 1938, one month after the Anschluss of Austria, he wrote a letter stating "it made him immensely happy to realize that the friends in Germany and Austria have been again drawn together.

 

December 30. On this date in 1945, Shoghi Effendi wrote German Bahá'ís his "feelings of great pride and deep sorrow that he read of the sufferings of the German believers." In 1934 he wrote the Nazis would respect "individual conscience in all matters pertaining to religion." In 1938, one month after the Anschluss of Austria, he wrote a letter stating "it made him immensely happy to realize that the friends in Germany and Austria have been again drawn together.

On February 11, 1934, Shoghi Effendi addressed a letter to a German Bahá'í stating about the Nazi governmentthat "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."

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."

30 December 1945 Beloved Bahá'í Friends:

Your letter of April 4th has just been received by our beloved Guardian, and he has instructed me to answer it at once on his behalf.

It was with feelings of great pride and deep sorrow that he read of the sufferings of the German believers for their Faith and the persecutions they underwent so heroically, and with such unflinching loyalty, for our Holy Cause.

All during these long and tragic years of war his thoughts have been with the Community of the German believers, and his prayers have constantly been offered for their protection and the lightening of their heavy burden. Other Bahá'í Communities, like France and England, have also suffered, but not to the extent of the German and Burmese friends who have been in lands ravaged by war and invasion, and in the hands, at the same time, of political parties who persecuted them.

The loss of all the records of the National and Local Assemblies is indeed very great, and he hopes that your family, Dr. Muhlschlegel, Dr. Schmidt, Herr Jorn, Anna &Kostlin, Frau Schweizer, Frau Schwarz--, in fact, all the old believers, will try and reconstruct from memory, and write down, as much of the history of the Cause in Germany as they can remember, so that some accurate records for the future will remain. He would also like you to write a comprehensive account of what the Bahá'ís have endured in Germany since 1937 for the "Bahá'í World", vol. X, and send it to him as soon as possible. The news of the German believers' activities has been sadly missed in the last two volumes, and he is anxious to have them take their place again as soon as possible.

He has just written to N.S.A. of America urging them to help, and do all they can to protect the German Bahá'ís; he has also urged them to make every effort to get German Bahá'í books published, and sent to Germany as soon as possible.

You all have a tremendous task before you. He knows how great is the suffering for just ordinary German citizens at present as an aftermath of the war--but in spite of these physical hardships the German believers are called upon to establish again the institutions of their Faith, teach its life-giving message to the masses, and help their country to obtain the spiritual destiny 'Abdu'l-Bahá foresaw for it. You may be sure the Guardian and the Bahá'ís everywhere will do all in their power to help the German believers accomplish their tasks.

Please assure all the friends--especially those who have lost dear ones in the war--of his most loving and ardent prayers on their behalf, and of his feelings of pride and gratitude for their devotion and loyalty to the Faith.

To you all he sends his loving greetings, his deep appreciation of your spirit, and the assurance of his constant prayers....

In the Guardian's own handwriting:

Dearly-beloved friends:

My heart is filled with joy, pride and gratitude as I witness, thru the receipt of your most welcome letter, the evidences of the protection of the Almighty and of the vitality of the faith of the long-suffering German believers, who have laboured so devotedly and valiantly during so long and crucial a period and who as a community have survived the greatest ordeal in the history of their Faith in that land. My prayers during these years of danger, of stress, of suspense and anxiety have ever surrounded them, and I rejoice to learn of their safety, their unity, their zeal, and their determination to arise and resume the great and historic work they are destined to carry to a triumphant conclusion in the years that lie ahead. The organization of spiritual assemblies, the reestablishment of the national assembly, the formation of national committees are the immediate objectives, and should, if possible be carried out with the utmost speed and vigour, for upon them will rest the expansion and consolidation of the activities of a sorely-tried Faith. I am appealing to various Bahá'í communities in East and West to lend their assistance in whatever manner possible to the arduous task of reconstruction that now faces the German believers. I long to hear of the news of the friends in other parts of that land and will do my utmost to aid them to resume their activity and services to our beloved Faith. Please assure them all of my great love, of my profound admiration, of my bright hopes for their future, of my heartfelt gratitude for their perseverance and of my fervent prayers for their future success.

Your true brother,

Shoghi Dec. 30th, 1945

Dear Bahá'í Friends:

It was with great joy that the beloved Guardian received your letter of Aug. 1st, and he has instructed me to answer it on his behalf.

During these long, sad, years of separation his thoughts have constantly been with the well-loved German Bahá'ís, and his ardent prayers have been offered in the Holy Shrines for their protection and the protection of the Faith there.

Now that the friends are once again free to profess their beliefs, hold their meetings, teach the Cause, and uphold its institutions, he hopes they will exert their utmost to reestablish, as speedily as possible, the Bahá'í Communities of Germany. The Faith in that land had, before it was suppressed and banned, just began to enjoy the fruits of many long years of labour to promulgate it, and create its administrative bodies; he hopes that all the German Bahá'ís will unite to bring it to the former level of prosperity it enjoyed.

He wishes to assure you all, and through you, all your Bahá'í brothers and sisters in Germany, that he will do all in his power to assist you in your labours, and that your &fellow-Baha'is the world over will likewise aid you as much as they can.

The beloved Master cherished very bright hopes for the future of the German Bahá'ís. His promises and prophecies will surely be fulfilled, and the Holy Faith not only be reestablished in Germany but grow and expand as never before.

The Guardian has urged the American N.S.A. to supply the German Bahá'ís with literature as soon as possible; this will enable you to bring the teachings to your sore-stricken countrymen, and enlist them under the banner of Bahá'u'lláh.

You may be sure the Guardian's loving prayers surround you all and sustain you in your labours for the Cause....

December 31. On this date in 2005, an individual wrote the NSA of the U.S. regarding "its decision to cease to distribute books and other materials published, produced or marketed by Kalimát Press" which it said was "in light of the pattern and motives of Kalimát Press in promoting books over the years that include material that is harmful to the interests of the Bahá'í Faith."

 

December 31. On this date in 2005, an individual wrote the NSA of the U.S. regarding "its decision to cease to distribute books and other materials published, produced or marketed by Kalimát Press" which it said was "in light of the pattern and motives of Kalimát Press in promoting books over the years that include material that is harmful to the interests of the Bahá'í Faith."

Letter from the National Spiritual Assembly to an individual, January 2006

January 30, 2006

Dear Bahá'í Friend,

The National Spiritual Assembly has received your email messages of December 31, 2005 and January 10, 2006 and appreciates the concerns you have shared in response to its decision to cease to distribute books and other materials published, produced or marketed by Kalimát Press. First, we wish to assure you that the National Assembly has no issues with your titles ___. As you state, the manuscripts for these books were properly submitted to the National Assembly for literature review and subsequently passed.

Our decision to cease to distribute books and other items handled by Kalimát Press was reached, as indicated in our December 29, 2005 letter to all Local Spiritual Assemblies, not so much because of any specific titles but rather in light of the pattern and motives of Kalimát Press in promoting books over the years that include material that is harmful to the interests of the Bahá'í Faith. You have, in your own letter, given a good assessment of the problems inherent in such action. However, continued support of Kalimát Press under these circumstances, through distribution of its products, would be illogical and contradictory to the principles and purposes of a Bahá'í institution.

Regarding your suggestion that the National Assembly identify for the friends those titles that it finds inimical to the interests of the Faith, we are sure you will appreciate upon reflection that we are not interested in creating a list of banned books. As to the distribution of those titles of which the Assembly approves, this has been the approach for a number of years and has only emboldened and enabled Kalimát Press to carry more harmful titles. Individuals are entirely free to purchase any books and other items they choose through Kalimát Press or any other publisher or distributor. The National Assembly has simply taken the step of terminating institutional support of a company that has for many years exhibited a disregard for the repeated guidance and admonishments of Bahá'í institutions to disengage itself from affiliation with and promotion of material that harms the Faith to which it professes allegiance.

The National Assembly appreciates the seriousness of its decision and assures you that it was not taken precipitously. We regret the distress this action has caused you and your family, but we are confident that the steps you have already initiated to ameliorate this immediate challenge and your steadfast allegiance to the institutions of the Faith will in the end provide resolution and attract the confirmations of the Blessed Beauty.

You and your family are lovingly remembered in our prayers. May your every devoted endeavor on behalf of the glorious Cause of the Blessed Beauty be divinely assisted and abundantly confirmed.

With loving Bahá'í greetings,

[National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States]

December 29. On this date in 2008, an email to the Universal House of Justice asked "why such terms as “Alláh-u-Abhá” and “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá” are used by Bahá’ís rather than being translated into their native tongues."

 

December 29. On this date in 2008, an email to the Universal House of Justice asked "why such terms as “Alláh-u-Abhá” and “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá” are used by Bahá’ís rather than being translated into their native tongues."

19 May 2015

Dear Bahá’í Friend,

Your email letter of 10 March 2015, asking on behalf of a fellow believer whether it is appropriate to translate the phrase “Alláh-u-Abhá” into another language for purposes of its recitation 95 times a day, has been received at the Bahá’í World Centre and forwarded to our Office for reply. The following has been provided in response to a similar query posed to the Universal House of Justice on a previous occasion:

The Universal House of Justice has received your email letter of 29 December 2008, asking why such terms as “Alláh-u-Abhá” and “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá” are used by Bahá’ís rather than being translated into their native tongues, and has asked us to respond as follows.

The House of Justice on another occasion has clarified that the Greatest Name is to be used in its original language for the recitation of “Alláh-u-Abhá” 95 times a day, as well as for its use in the Long Obligatory Prayer and the Prayer for the Dead. It has also clarified that to translate words such as “Alláh-u-Abhá”, “Yá Bahá’u’l-Abhá”, “Mashriqu’l-Adhkár” and “Ḥazíratu’l-Quds” into one’s native language is not acceptable. One exception to this is the alternative use of the words “Right of God” or their equivalent into other languages while the term “Huqúqu’lláh” gradually becomes a part of Bahá’í vocabulary.

In general, one should bear in mind that all translations are, to some degree, inadequate. For instance, the beloved Guardian has pointed out in ... God Passes By that the word “Bahá” signifies at once the “Glory”, the “Splendour” and the “Light” of God; there is no single word in English which can express all these. It is, of course, desirable that there be no loss of meaning through translation; thus, it is preferable that certain terms directly related to the Manifestation of God remain in their original form.

(From a letter dated 22 February 2009 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Office of Correspondence

On July 17, 1951, Shoghi Effendi wrote "The Bahá'ís are free to greet each other with Allah-u-Abha when they meet, if they want to, but they should avoid anything which to outsiders, in a western country, might seem like some strange oriental password. We must be very firm on principles and laws, but very normal and natural in our ways, so as to attract strangers!"

893. Bahá'ís May Greet Each Other with "Allah-u-Abha"

"The Bahá'ís are free to greet each other with Allah-u-Abha when they meet, if they want to, but they should avoid anything which to outsiders, in a western country, might seem like some strange oriental password. We must be very firm on principles and laws, but very normal and natural in our ways, so as to attract strangers!"

(From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, July 17, 1951)

December 29. On this date in 1979, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir, a Hand of the Cause of God and Knight of Bahá'u'lláh, died of a heart attack at the age of 56 in Ecuador.

 

December 29. On this date in 1979, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir, a Hand of the Cause of God and Knight of Bahá'u'lláh, died of a heart attack at the age of 56 in Ecuador.

Rahmatu'llah Muhájir was a prominent fourth generation Bahá’í , born on April 4, 1923, in Iran. On October 15, 1951, he married Írán Furútan, the daughter of Hand of the Cause of God and Iran National Spiritual Assembly Member 'Alí-Akbar Furútan, who is known for his censorship of (devout Bahá’í scholar) Jinab-i Fadil's academic works. The newlyweds pioneered to the Mentawai Islands for which they were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh by Shoghi Effendi in 1954. In 1958, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi. He died of a heart attack at the age of 56 in Ecuador.

The 25th anniversary of Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir's death was marked in Ecuador by a Growth and Victories conference and graveside ceremony, including a talk by his daughter, Gisu. His daughter Gisu Mohadjer Cook works at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and lives in Potomac, Maryland. In 2012 she and her husband purchased the historic Dublin Inn in Dublin, New Hampshire where 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed for three weeks in 1912, and donated it to the national Baha’i community. Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir's other daughter, Shabnam Rahnema, works as an attorney in London.

On December 30, 1979, the Universal House of Justice sent a cablegram announcing the death of Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir who had passed away one day previous, on December 29, 1979.

World Centre: PROFOUNDLY LAMENT UNTIMELY PASSING IN QUITO ECUADOR BELOVED HAND CAUSE RAHMATULLAH MUHAJIR FOLLOWING HEART ATTACK COURSE HIS LATEST SOUTH AMERICAN TOUR. UNSTINTED UNRESTRAINED OUTPOURING OF PHYSICAL SPIRITUAL ENERGIES BY ONE WHO OFFERED HIS ALL PATH SERVICE HAS NOW CEASED. POSTERITY WILL RECORD HIS DEVOTED SERVICES YOUTHFUL YEARS CRADLE FAITH HIS SUBSEQUENT UNIQUE EXPLOITS PIONEERING FIELD SOUTHEAST ASIA WHERE HE WON ACCOLADE KNIGHTHOOD BAHAULLAH HIS CEASELESS EFFORTS OVER TWO DECADES SINCE HIS APPOINTMENT HAND CAUSE STIMULATING IN MANY LANDS EAST WEST PROCESS ENTRY BY TROOPS. FRIENDS ALL CONTINENTS WHO MOURN THIS TRAGIC LOSS NOW SUDDENLY DEPRIVED COLLABORATION ONE WHO ENDEARED HIMSELF TO THEM THROUGH HIS GENTLENESS HIS LUMINOUS PERSONALITY HIS EXEMPLARY UNFLAGGING ZEAL HIS CREATIVE ENTHUSIASTIC APPROACH TO FULFILMENT ASSIGNED GOALS. URGE FRIENDS EVERYWHERE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS BEFITTING HIS HIGH STATION UNIQUE ACHIEVEMENTS. MAY HIS RADIANT SOUL ABHA KINGDOM REAP RICH HARVEST HIS DEDICATED SELF-SACRIFICING SERVICES CAUSE GOD. (Cablegram from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies 30 December 1979)

December 29. On this date in 1921, subsequent to 'Abdu'l-Bahá's death in Acre on November 28, 1921, Shoghi Effendi arrived in Palestine accompanied by Lady Blomfield and his eldest sister, Ruhangiz, who he would later declare a Covenant-breaker.

 

December 29. On this date in 1921, subsequent to 'Abdu'l-Bahá's death in Acre on November 28, 1921, Shoghi Effendi arrived in Palestine accompanied by Lady Blomfield and his eldest sister, Ruhangiz, who he would later declare a Covenant-breaker.

On November 28, 1921, 'Abdu'l-Bahá died in Acre, Palestine. Although in the Kitáb-i-'Ahd Bahá'u'lláh [designates 'Abdu'l-Bahá's brother Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí as 'Abdu'l-Bahá's successor, in his Will 'Abdu'l-Bahá reprimands his brother as "The Center of Sedition, the Prime Mover of mischief" and establishes the institution of the Guardianship, appointing Shoghi Effendi to this newly-created office.

Although in the Kitáb-i-'Ahd Bahá'u'lláh designates 'Abdu'l-Bahá's brother Mírzá Muhammad 'Alí as 'Abdu'l-Bahá's successor in his Will, 'Abdu'l-Bahá reprimands his brother as "The Center of Sedition, the Prime Mover of mischief" and establishes the institution of the Guardianship, appointing Shoghi Effendi to this newly-created office.

At the time of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's death in Acre on November 28, 1921, Shoghi Effendi was a twenty-four-year-old student enrolled at Balliol College, Oxford. Upon reading the telegram announcing 'Abdu'l-Bahá's death, in the home of Wellesley Tudor Pole who was Secretary of the London Local Spiritual Assembly, Shoghi Effendi passed out. Only after spending a few days with John Esslemont did Shoghi Effendi leave England, on December 16, 1921, accompanied by Lady Blomfield and his eldest sister, Ruhangiz, who he would later declare a Covenant-breaker. They arrived in Haifa on December 29.

'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament, addressed to Shoghi Effendi, was read on January 7, 1922, a few days after Shoghi Effendi's arrival in Haifa.  The Passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and its Immediate Consequences

While the Guardianship was to be a perpetual institution of the Administrative Order, it ceased to exist after the death of Shoghi Effendi because he died having violated Bahá'u'lláh's command in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas that "Unto everyone hath been enjoined the writing of a will." Having no children of his own and having declared every living male descendant of Bahá'u'lláh a Covenant-breaker, Shoghi Effendi left no eligible candidates for the office of Guardian, posing a serious problem given his assertion that "In this Dispensation, divine guidance flows on to us in this world after the Prophet’s ascension, through first the Master, and then the Guardians." He had furthermore stated in The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh that...

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. “In all the Divine Dispensations,” He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, “the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.” Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.

So fundamental was the office of the Guardianship, that Bahá’í literature was significantly alteredsubsequent to Shoghi Effendi's death, with the notable removal of references to "The First Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith," the "first and present Guardian," and "the lineage of succeeding Guardians." In some cases, references to the Guardian have been replaced or amended with "the Universal House of Justice" and in other instances references to the duties of the Guardian that were in the present tense have been changed to the past tense, indicating that the Guardianship has ceased.

From 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament...

O ye beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor, that differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first-born of the Guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words:—“The child is the secret essence of its sire,” that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the Guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he, (the Guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him."