April 2. On this date in 1998, the Times of Zambia reported "There are mounting allegations that authorities at the Baha'i-run Banani girls international school in Kabwe Rural are forcing pupils to undergo compulsory indoctrination in the Baha'i faith...A number of girls interviewed at the school claimed that they were made to embrace the Baha'i faith and engage in Baha'i activities against their will. They said some were recently punished for refusing to watch a film to do with the Baha'i faith. The girls were also admonished for not taking part in a Baha'i festival. Some teachers who declined to be named confirmed the development and suggested parents should meet the principal as the issue was too sensitive to be exhausted in one meeting."

April 2. On this date in 1998, the Times of Zambia reported "There are mounting allegations that authorities at the Baha'i-run Banani girls international school in Kabwe Rural are forcing pupils to undergo compulsory indoctrination in the Baha'i faith...A number of girls interviewed at the school claimed that they were made to embrace the Baha'i faith and engage in Baha'i activities against their will. They said some were recently punished for refusing to watch a film to do with the Baha'i faith. The girls were also admonished for not taking part in a Baha'i festival. Some teachers who declined to be named confirmed the development and suggested parents should meet the principal as the issue was too sensitive to be exhausted in one meeting."

Banani School Accused of Forcing Indoctrination of Students

Times of Zambia

April 2, 1998

(taken from Compuserve's "Executive News Service")


Lusaka (Times of Zambia, April 2, 1998) - There are mounting allegations that authorities at the Baha'i-run Banani girls international school in Kabwe Rural are forcing pupils to undergo compulsory indoctrination in the Baha'i faith. Some parents have voiced concern that if the situation was not stopped, fanaticism would creep in and the result to those who believed in other religions would be disastrous. Leading the onslaught on the alleged parochial worshipping imposed by school authorities, Malawian high commissioner to Zambia Emmanuel Chinkwita-Phiri told an annual Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meeting held at the school, that it was a breach of universal human rights to impose a pattern of worship which barred pupils from pursuing their faith. Reverend Phiri, who was elected to serve on the school advisory council, charged that pupils were subjected to Baha'i rituals against their will, and those who resisted were allegedly punished.
The diplomat has a Grade 12 daughter at the school. But principal of the school Michael Richmond countered that he was not aware of any restricted worship on campus. He said what was practised was inter-faith emphasising unity as paramount for justice in the world to prevail. He dispelled reports of emotional insecurity and imagined forces of terror. One camp of parents accused fellow parents of being over-sensitive over the issue because they did not see anything wrong themselves. As the debate was getting heated, one parent, Colonel Cuthbert Sakala, warned that the issue should not be glossed over as the allegations were real. A number of girls interviewed at the school claimed that they were made to embrace the Baha'i faith and engage in Baha'i activities against their will. They said some were recently punished for refusing to watch a film to do with the Baha'i faith. The girls were also admonished for not taking part in a Baha'i festival. Some teachers who declined to be named confirmed the development and suggested parents should meet the principal as the issue was too sensitive to be exhausted in one meeting.
By Bwalya Nondo

November 1. On this date in 2008, the first of the 41 Regional Conferences of the Five Year Plan is held in Lusaka, Zambia.

November 1. On this date in 2008, the first of the 41 Regional Conferences of the Five Year Plan is held in Lusaka, Zambia.

How does membership in the International Teaching Centre lead to election to the Universal House of Justice?

How is it that with its nine members elected every five years from the male membership in good standing of the worldwide Bahá'í community by an electoral college consisting of all the members of each Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly throughout the world, the membership of the Universal House of Justice consists exclusively of men who have previously been appointed to the International Teaching Centre by the Universal House of Justice?

With no overt campaigning or politicking permitted, upon what does the electoral college base its election of new members to the Universal House of Justice?

In the Bahá'í electoral system, the exposure of potential candidates to electors is a premium. Members of the International Teaching Centre routinely travel throughout the world, giving them vital face-time with members of the National Spiritual Assemblies who serve as electors for the Universal House of Justice.

Consider the cases of Stephen Birkland and Stephen Hall. Stephen Birkland was appointed to the International Teaching Centre in 2008 and elected to the Universal House of Justice in 2010. Stephen Hall was appointed to the International Teaching Centre in 2005 and elected to the Universal House of Justice in 2010.

In a letter dated October 20, 2008, the Universal House of Justice called for a series of 41 Regional Conferences intended to mark the mid-point of the Five Year Plan and motivate participants to re-dedicate themselves to the goals of the Plan upon returning home. The Regional Conferences were held from November 1, 2008 through March 1, 2009.
 
In that period, Stephen Birkland attended the following Bahá'í Regional Conferences...

Date	Location of Bahá'í Regional Conference
November 1-2, 2008	Lusaka, Zambia
November 8-9, 2008	Johannesburg, South Africa
November 29-30, 2008	Antofagasta, Chile
December 6-7, 2008	Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
January 17-18, 2009	Vancouver, Canada
February 7-8, 2009	Frankfurt, Germany
February 21-22, 2009	Accra, Ghana

Source: Bahá'í World News Service search for "Stephen Birkland"

In that period, Stephen Hall attended the following Bahá'í Regional Conferences...

Date	Location of Bahá'í Regional Conference
November 15-16, 2008	Bangui, Central African Republic
November 22-23, 2008	Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
November 29-30, 2008	Yaoundé, Cameroon
December 6-7, 2008	Portland, Oregon, United States of America
December 13-14, 2008	Stamford, Connecticut, United States of America
January 3-4, 2009	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
January 17-18, 2009	Lae, Papua New Guinea
January 24-25, 2009	Sydney, Australia
January 31-February 1, 2009	Auckland, New Zealand
February 7-8, 2009	Frankfurt, Germany

Source: Bahá'í World News Service search for "Stephen Hall"

No other Bahá'ís receive as much exposure to electors of the Universal House of Justice as do members of the International Teaching Centre.

With the turnover of the Universal House of Justice's nine members and with the International Teaching Centre's being composed of nine members, some of whom are women and therefore ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice, a man's appointment to the International Teaching Centre serves as a presumption to eventual election to the Universal House of Justice.

When the Universal House of Justice appoints members to the International Teaching Centre, they are in fact selecting their own replacements.

In the Bahá'í electoral system, with no overt campaigning and politicking permitted, the exposure of potential candidates to electors is a premium. The nine members of the International Teaching Centre routinely travel throughout the world, giving them vital face-time with members of the National Spiritual Assemblies who serve as electors for the Universal House of Justice. In fact, every single one of the current members of the Universal House of Justice previously served as a Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre.

With the turnover of the Universal House of Justice's nine members and with the International Teaching Centre's being composed of nine members, some of whom are women and therefore ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice, a man's appointment to the International Teaching Centre serves as a presumption to eventual election to the Universal House of Justice.
To illustrate further, in a letter dated October 20, 2008, the Universal House of Justice called for a series of 41 Regional Conferences intended to mark the mid-point of the Five Year Plan and motivate participants to re-dedicate themselves to the goals of the Plan upon returning home. The Regional Conferences were held from November 1, 2008 through March 1, 2009.

Each of the 41 Regional Conferences was attended by two Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre with the exception of the Conference held at Uvira, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had only one representative. The Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre at the time of the Regional Conferences were Juan Francisco Mora, Ayman Rouhani, Stephen Hall, Stephen Birkland, Zenaida Ramirez, Joan Lincoln, Rachel Ndegwa, Uransaikhan Baatar, and Penelope Walker.
  
Of this cohort of Counsellors, the five lady members (Zenaida Ramirez, Joan Lincoln, Rachel Ndegwa, Uransaikhan Baatar, and Penelope Walker) were ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice.

Of the four male members at the time of the 41 Regional Conferences (Juan Francisco Mora, Ayman Rouhani, Stephen Hall, and Stephen Birkland), all have been elected to the Universal House of Justice.

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. In the people's democracies of the Eastern Bloc, these career bureaucrats were known as the nomenklatura.

The next member elected to the Universal House of Justice will be Andrej Donoval, who is the longest tenured male member of the International Teaching Centre, having been appointed to that body in 2013.

April 2. On this date in 1998, the Times of Zambia reported "There are mounting allegations that authorities at the Baha'i-run Banani girls international school in Kabwe Rural are forcing pupils to undergo compulsory indoctrination in the Baha'i faith...A number of girls interviewed at the school claimed that they were made to embrace the Baha'i faith and engage in Baha'i activities against their will. They said some were recently punished for refusing to watch a film to do with the Baha'i faith. The girls were also admonished for not taking part in a Baha'i festival. Some teachers who declined to be named confirmed the development and suggested parents should meet the principal as the issue was too sensitive to be exhausted in one meeting."

April 2. On this date in 1998, the Times of Zambia reported "There are mounting allegations that authorities at the Baha'i-run Banani girls international school in Kabwe Rural are forcing pupils to undergo compulsory indoctrination in the Baha'i faith...A number of girls interviewed at the school claimed that they were made to embrace the Baha'i faith and engage in Baha'i activities against their will. They said some were recently punished for refusing to watch a film to do with the Baha'i faith. The girls were also admonished for not taking part in a Baha'i festival. Some teachers who declined to be named confirmed the development and suggested parents should meet the principal as the issue was too sensitive to be exhausted in one meeting."

Banani School Accused of Forcing Indoctrination of Students

Times of Zambia

April 2, 1998

(taken from Compuserve's "Executive News Service")

Lusaka (Times of Zambia, April 2, 1998) - There are mounting allegations that authorities at the Baha'i-run Banani girls international school in Kabwe Rural are forcing pupils to undergo compulsory indoctrination in the Baha'i faith.
Some parents have voiced concern that if the situation was not stopped, fanaticism would creep in and the result to those who believed in other religions would be disastrous. Leading the onslaught on the alleged parochial worshipping imposed by school authorities, Malawian high commissioner to Zambia Emmanuel Chinkwita-Phiri told an annual Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meeting held at the school, that it was a breach of universal human rights to impose a pattern of worship which barred pupils from pursuing their faith. Reverend Phiri, who was elected to serve on the school advisory council, charged that pupils were subjected to Baha'i rituals against their will, and those who resisted were allegedly punished. The diplomat has a Grade 12 daughter at the school. But principal of the school Michael Richmond countered that he was not aware of any restricted worship on campus. He said what was practised was inter-faith emphasising unity as paramount for justice in the world to prevail. He dispelled reports of emotional insecurity and imagined forces of terror. One camp of parents accused fellow parents of being over-sensitive over the issue because they did not see anything wrong themselves. As the debate was getting heated, one parent, Colonel Cuthbert Sakala, warned that the issue should not be glossed over as the allegations were real. A number of girls interviewed at the school claimed that they were made to embrace the Baha'i faith and engage in Baha'i activities against their will. They said some were recently punished for refusing to watch a film to do with the Baha'i faith. The girls were also admonished for not taking part in a Baha'i festival. Some teachers who declined to be named confirmed the development and suggested parents should meet the principal as the issue was too sensitive to be exhausted in one meeting. By Bwalya Nondo

November 1. On this date in 2008, the first of the 41 Regional Conferences of the Five Year Plan is held in Lusaka, Zambia. How does membership in the International Teaching Centre lead to election to the Universal House of Justice?

November 1. On this date in 2008, the first of the 41 Regional Conferences of the Five Year Plan is held in Lusaka, Zambia. 

How does membership in the International Teaching Centre lead to election to the Universal House of Justice?

How is it that with its nine members elected every five years from the male membership in good standing of the worldwide Bahá'í community by an electoral college consisting of all the members of each Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly throughout the world, the membership of the Universal House of Justice consists exclusively of men who have previously been appointed to the International Teaching Centre by the Universal House of Justice?

With no overt campaigning or politicking permitted, upon what does the electoral college base its election of new members to the Universal House of Justice?

In the Bahá'í electoral system, the exposure of potential candidates to electors is a premium. Members of the International Teaching Centre routinely travel throughout the world, giving them vital face-time with members of the National Spiritual Assemblies who serve as electors for the Universal House of Justice.

Consider the cases of Stephen Birkland and Stephen Hall. Stephen Birkland was appointed to the International Teaching Centre in 2008 and elected to the Universal House of Justice in 2010. Stephen Hall was appointed to the International Teaching Centre in 2005 and elected to the Universal House of Justice in 2010.

In a letter dated October 20, 2008, the Universal House of Justice called for a series of 41 Regional Conferences intended to mark the mid-point of the Five Year Plan and motivate participants to re-dedicate themselves to the goals of the Plan upon returning home. The Regional Conferences were held from November 1, 2008 through March 1, 2009.

In that period, Stephen Birkland attended the following Bahá'í Regional Conferences...

Date	Location of Bahá'í Regional Conference
November 1-2, 2008	Lusaka, Zambia
November 8-9, 2008	Johannesburg, South Africa
November 29-30, 2008	Antofagasta, Chile
December 6-7, 2008	Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America
January 17-18, 2009	Vancouver, Canada
February 7-8, 2009	Frankfurt, Germany
February 21-22, 2009	Accra, Ghana

Source: Bahá'í World News Service search for "Stephen Birkland"


In that period, Stephen Hall attended the following Bahá'í Regional Conferences...

Date	Location of Bahá'í Regional Conference
November 15-16, 2008	Bangui, Central African Republic
November 22-23, 2008	Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo
November 29-30, 2008	Yaoundé, Cameroon
December 6-7, 2008	Portland, Oregon, United States of America
December 13-14, 2008	Stamford, Connecticut, United States of America
January 3-4, 2009	Abidjan, Ivory Coast
January 17-18, 2009	Lae, Papua New Guinea
January 24-25, 2009	Sydney, Australia
January 31-February 1, 2009	Auckland, New Zealand
February 7-8, 2009	Frankfurt, Germany

Source: Bahá'í World News Service search for "Stephen Hall"


No other Bahá'ís receive as much exposure to electors of the Universal House of Justice as do members of the International Teaching Centre.

With the turnover of the Universal House of Justice's nine members and with the International Teaching Centre's being composed of nine members, some of whom are women and therefore ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice, a man's appointment to the International Teaching Centre serves as a presumption to eventual election to the Universal House of Justice.

When the Universal House of Justice appoints members to the International Teaching Centre, they are in fact selecting their own replacements.

In the Bahá'í electoral system, with no overt campaigning and politicking permitted, the exposure of potential candidates to electors is a premium. The nine members of the International Teaching Centre routinely travel throughout the world, giving them vital face-time with members of the National Spiritual Assemblies who serve as electors for the Universal House of Justice. In fact, every single one of the current members of the Universal House of Justice previously served as a Counsellor member of the International Teaching Centre.

With the turnover of the Universal House of Justice's nine members and with the International Teaching Centre's being composed of nine members, some of whom are women and therefore ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice, a man's appointment to the International Teaching Centre serves as a presumption to eventual election to the Universal House of Justice.

To illustrate further, in a letter dated October 20, 2008, the Universal House of Justice called for a series of 41 Regional Conferences intended to mark the mid-point of the Five Year Plan and motivate participants to re-dedicate themselves to the goals of the Plan upon returning home. The Regional Conferences were held from November 1, 2008 through March 1, 2009.

Each of the 41 Regional Conferences was attended by two Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre with the exception of the Conference held at Uvira, the Democratic Republic of Congo, which had only one representative. The Counsellor members of the International Teaching Centre at the time of the Regional Conferences were Juan Francisco Mora, Ayman Rouhani, Stephen Hall, Stephen Birkland, Zenaida Ramirez, Joan Lincoln, Rachel Ndegwa, Uransaikhan Baatar, and Penelope Walker.

Of this cohort of Counsellors, the five lady members (Zenaida Ramirez, Joan Lincoln, Rachel Ndegwa, Uransaikhan Baatar, and Penelope Walker) were ineligible for election to the Universal House of Justice.

Of the four male members at the time of the 41 Regional Conferences (Juan Francisco Mora, Ayman Rouhani, Stephen Hall, and Stephen Birkland), all have been elected to the Universal House of Justice.

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. In the people's democracies of the Eastern Bloc, these career bureaucrats were known as the nomenklatura.

The next member elected to the Universal House of Justice will be Andrej Donoval, who is the longest tenured male member of the International Teaching Centre, having been appointed to that body in 2013.