January 22. On this date in 1984, the Universal House of Justice reiterated that the figure of 20,000 for the number of early Babi/Bahá'í martyrs is "clearly recorded" in "the official government historical record of events in Iran" and as 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi mentioned numerous times. Some historians estimate the number of early Babi/Bahá'í martyrs was not 20,000, but 2,000 to 3,000.

January 22. On this date in 1984, the Universal House of Justice reiterated (also here) that the figure of 20,000 for the number of early Babi/Bahá'í martyrs is "clearly recorded" in "the official government historical record of events in Iran" and as 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi mentioned numerous times. Some historians estimate the number of early Babi/Bahá'í martyrs was not 20,000, but 2,000 to 3,000.


Department of the Secretariat

22 January 1984

Dr. Iain S. Palin

“Esslemont”
13 Summerhill
Prehen
Londonderry
BT47 2PL
United Kingdom
Dear Bahá'í Friend,
Your letter of 20 December 1983 has been received by the Universal House of Justice which instructs us to send you the following reply.
Enlisteent in Armed Forces
The attached “Summary of the Guardian’s Instructions on the Obligations of Bahá'ís in Connection with Military Service”, with the added amplification of the Universal House of Justice about voluntary enlistment, will answer your queries on this subject. The Ulster Defence Regiment and the police force in Northern Ireland are, as you state, armed forces.
20,000 Martyrs
We are to inform you that the well-known Bahá'í scholar, Fáḍil-i-Mázandarání, in his “Ẓuhúru’l-Ḥaq”, states that the number of 20,000 is clearly recorded in the “Násikhu’t-Taváríkh”, which is the official government historical record of events in Iran, written by Muḥammad Taqí, Lisánu'l-Mulk-i-Sipihr.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
For Department of the Secretariat
Enclosure
cc: International Teaching Centre
Board of Counsellors in Europe
National Spiritual Assembly of the
United Kingdom