June 29. On this date in 2009, Anupam Premanand gave a presentation on "Dashavatara and Progressive Revelation" at the Irfan Colloquia Session #89, Center for Bahá'í Studies, Acuto, Italy.

 

June 29. On this date in 2009, Anupam Premanand gave a presentation on "Dashavatara and Progressive Revelation" at the Irfan Colloquia Session #89, Center for Bahá'í Studies, Acuto, Italy.

June 29. On this date in 2001, the Gallup Independent newspaper reported on the visit of Australian Aborigine and NSA member Philip Obah, quoting him as saying "it was the Baha'i faith that helped him understand the colonization of his people. He realized it was inevitable, according to what Bahullah, the founder of the Baha'i faith, had written. 'The way it happened I don't agree with,' Obah said of the colonization. 'But it had to happen to bring about the unity of mankind.'"

June 29. On this date in 2001, the Gallup Independent newspaper reported on the visit of Australian Aborigine and NSA member Philip Obah, quoting him as saying "it was the Baha'i faith that helped him understand the colonization of his people. He realized it was inevitable, according to what Bahullah, the founder of the Baha'i faith, had written. 'The way it happened I don't agree with,' Obah said of the colonization. 'But it had to happen to bring about the unity of mankind.'"

June 29. On this date in 1941, Shoghi Effendi wrote "Let them dedicate themselves—young and old, men and women alike—and go forth and settle in new districts, travel, and teach in spite of lack of experience, and be assured that Bahá'u'lláh has promised to aid all those who arise in His Name. His strength will sustain them; their own weakness is unimportant.

June 29. On this date in 1941, Shoghi Effendi wrote "Let them dedicate themselves—young and old, men and women alike—and go forth and settle in new districts, travel, and teach in spite of lack of experience, and be assured that Bahá'u'lláh has promised to aid all those who arise in His Name. His strength will sustain them; their own weakness is unimportant.

Smallness of numbers, lack of skilled teachers, and modesty of means should not discourage or deter them. They must remember the glorious history of the Cause, which ... was established by dedicated souls who, for the most part, were neither rich, famous, nor well educated, but whose devotion, zeal and self-sacrifice overcame every obstacle and won miraculous victories for the Faith of God. Such spiritual victories can now be won for India and Burma by the friends. Let them dedicate themselves—young and old, men and women alike—and go forth and settle in new districts, travel, and teach in spite of lack of experience, and be assured that Bahá'u'lláh has promised to aid all those who arise in His Name. His strength will sustain them; their own weakness is unimportant.
(From a letter dated 29 June 1941 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of India and Burma)

June 29. On this date in 1979, the Universal House of Justice announced the term of service for the members of the Continental Board of Counsellors will be five years as of the November 26, 1980, the Day of the Covenant.

June 29. On this date in 1979, the Universal House of Justice announced the term of service for the members of the Continental Board of Counsellors will be five years as of the November 26, 1980, the Day of the Covenant.

The Universal House of Justice
29 June 1979
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
MOMENT PROPITIOUS ANNOUNCE DURATION TERMS SERVICE MEMBERS CONTINENTAL BOARDS COUNSELORS AS ANTICIPATED IN ANNOUNCEMENT ESTABLISHMENT THAT INSTITUTION AND IN CONSTITUTION UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE. DECISION NOW TAKEN THAT TERMS WILL BE OF FIVE YEARS STARTING DAY COVENANT 26 NOVEMBER 1980. SUPPLICATING ANCIENT BEAUTY DIVINE BLESSINGS DEVELOPMENT THIS ESSENTIAL INSTITUTION BAHÁ’Í ADMINISTRATIVE ORDER.
UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

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 1995, the Universal House of Justice received an email asking whether "the policy of not teaching Israelis applies" to contact with an Israeli via an "interactive relay chat" (IRC) connection."

June 29. On this date in 1995, the Universal House of Justice received an email asking whether "the policy of not teaching Israelis applies" to contact with an Israeli via an "interactive relay chat" (IRC) connection."

The Universal House of Justice has received your email message dated 29 June 1995 and we have been asked to respond.
You have asked how the policy of not teaching Israelis applies in the situation in which you have contact with an Israeli via an "interactive relay chat" (IRC) connection. The House of Justice has not asked the friends to avoid contact with Israelis. When you discover that a person you are in contact with via IRC is an Israeli, you should feel free to maintain friendly contact, but you should not teach the Faith to him. If he has already developed a personal interest in the Faith and seeks more information, you should refer him to the Offices of the Bahá'í World Centre in Haifa.
For your information, the people in Israel have access to factual information about the Faith, its history and general principles. Books concerning the Faith are available in libraries throughout Israel, and Israelis are welcome to visit the Shrines and the surrounding gardens. However, in keeping with a policy that has been strictly followed since the days of Bahá'u'lláh, Bahá'ís do not teach the Faith in Israel. Likewise, the Faith is not taught to Israelis abroad if they intend to return to Israel. When Israelis ask about the Faith, their questions are answered, but this is done in a manner which provides factual information without stimulating further interest.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
Department of the Secretariat

June 29. On this date in 1927, Shoghi Effendi wrote Martha Root "I hope you will succeed in meeting not only the Rumanian Queen but her daughter the Queen of Serbia and King Boris of Bulgaria as well and I trust you will not hesitate to send me all particulars and details regarding your work in such an important field."

June 29. On this date in 1927, Shoghi Effendi wrote Martha Root "I hope you will succeed in meeting not only the Rumanian Queen but her daughter the Queen of Serbia and King Boris of Bulgaria as well and I trust you will not hesitate to send me all particulars and details regarding your work in such an important field."

From Chapter 4 of Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum's book The Priceless Pearl, titled "Martha Root and Queen Marie of Rumania"...

In 1927, on 25 October, Shoghi Effendi wrote to Martha: "I am in receipt of your most welcome letters...and I am thrilled by the news they contained, particularly your remarkable and historic interview with the Queen and princess. I am sending you a number of Bahá'í stones...to be presented by you on my behalf tot he Queen, the princess and any other members of the Royal Family whom you think would appreciate and prize them...Please assure the Queen and princess of our great love for them, of our prayers for their happiness and success and of our warm and cordial invitation to visit the Holy Land and be received in the Beloved's home."
Behind this interview with the Queen, which Shoghi Effendi refers to in the above letter, undoubtedly lay his own influence and the confirmations which flowed from his instruction to Martha in a letter written on 29 June of that same year in which he said: "I hope you will succeed in meeting not only the Rumanian Queen but her daughter the Queen of Serbia and King Boris of Bulgaria as well and I trust you will not hesitate to send me all particulars and details regarding your work in such an important field." That the Queen of Rumania received the gift of the ringstones and the invitation of the Guardian to visit Haifa is evidenced in her cable to him, sent from Sinaia Palace on 27 July 1927:

Shoghi Effendi, Haifa
Grateful thanks you and all yours with whom I feel spiritually so closely in touch.
Marie

Although Bahá'ís frequently refer to Queen Marie of Romania as "the first member of a royal family to embrace the Bahá’í Faith," Queen Marie's daughter, Princess Ileana of Romania, disputes this claim:

"It is perfectly true that my mother, Queen Marie, did receive Miss Martha Root several times.....She came at the moment when we were undergoing very great family and national stress. At such a moment it was natural that we were receptive to any kind of spiritual message, but it is quite incorrect to say that my mother or any of us at any time contemplated becoming a member of the Baha’i faith."

While the Administrative Order publicly eschews involvement in partisan politics, it has no reservations about routinely using its media outlets to proudly tout unelected royal leaders who are Bahá'í.

For example, on February 19, 1968, Malietoa Tanumafili II, one of Samoa's four paramount chiefs, became a Bahá'í.

Also, On April 24, 2017, the Bahá'í World News Service published a story about Djaouga Abdoulaye, who "became a Baha’i in the 1980s when the Faith initially came to Benin." The news report states that he was enthroned High Chief in July of 2016, assuming a "position of moral and customary authority for the approximately 100,000 Fulani living in the area."

While rare and not promoted in the media outlets of the Administrative Order, there have been Bahá'ís who have been elected to office, such as Ted Livingston, who was the first Bahá’í in the United States to be the mayor of a city when he was elected Mayor of Cottonwood Falls, Kansas.

June 29. On this date in 1972, Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum crossed from Botswana into South Africa where she "was eagerly welcomed by the Chairman and Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly and Counsellor Mrs. Bahíyyih Ford, a friend of hers since childhood," as documented in Violette Nakhjavani's The Great Safari of Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum. From Shoghi Effendi's death in 1957 until her own death in 2000, Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum traveled to over 185 countries and territories.

 

 

June 29. On this date in 1972, Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum crossed from Botswana into South Africa where she "was eagerly welcomed by the Chairman and Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly and Counsellor Mrs. Bahíyyih Ford, a friend of hers since childhood," as documented in Violette Nakhjavani's The Great Safari of Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khánum. From Shoghi Effendi's death in 1957 until her own death in 2000, Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum traveled to over 185 countries and territories.