Chapter 15

I hail with a joyous heart the convocation in the heart of the African continent of the first of the four Intercontinental Teaching Conferences constituting the highlights of the world-wide celebrations of the Holy Year which commemorates the hundredth anniversary of the birth of the Mission of the Founder of our Faith. I welcome with open arms the unexpectedly large number of the representatives of the pure-hearted and the spiritually receptive Negro race, so dearly loved by 'Abdu'l-Baha, for whose conversion to His Father's Faith He so deeply yearned and whose interests He so ardently championed in the course of His memorable visit to the North American continent. I am reminded, on this historic occasion, of the significant words uttered by Baha'u'llah Himself, Who as attested by the Center of the Covenant, in His Writings, "compared the colored people to the black pupil of the eye," through which "the light of the spirit shineth forth." I feel particularly gratified by the substantial participation in this epoch-making conference of the members of a race dwelling in a continent which for the most part has retained its primitive simplicity and remained uncontaminated by the evils of a gross, a rampant and cancerous materialism undermining the fabric of human society alike in the East and in the West, eating into the vitals of the conflicting peoples and races inhabiting the American, the European and the Asiatic continents, and alas threatening to engulf in one common catastrophic convulsion the generality of mankind. I acclaim the preponderance of the members of this same race at so significant a conference, a phenomenon unprecedented in the annals of Baha'i conferences held during over a century, and auguring well for a corresponding multiplication in the number of the representatives of the yellow, the red and brown races of mankind dwelling respectively in the Far East, in the Far West and in the islands of the South Pacific Ocean, a multiplication designed ultimately to bring to a proper equipoise the divers ethnic elements comprised within the highly diversified world-embracing Baha'i fellowship.

TRIBUTE TO PIONEERS IN AFRICAN FIELD

I feel moved, on this auspicious occasion, to pay a warm tribute to the elected representatives, as well as the members, of the British, the Persian, the American, the Egyptian and the Indian Baha'i Communities which have participated, in pursuance of their respective plans, in the opening stage of a colossal teaching campaign, constituting a vital phase of the impending decade-long World Crusade, and aiming at the spiritual conquest of the entire African continent. I desire in particular to express to all those gathered at this conference my feelings of abiding appreciation of the magnificent role played and of the remarkable prizes won, by the small band of Persian, British and American pioneers, in the course of the initial stage of this divinely propelled and mysteriously unfolding collective enterprise, which has overshadowed both the Latin American and European teaching campaigns launched in recent years, which is destined to exert an incalculable influence on the fortunes of the Faith throughout the world, and which may well have far-reaching repercussions among the two chief races dwelling in the North American continent.

FIRST AFRICAN PILLAR OF UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

To the American Baha'i Community, the chief executor of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Divine Plan; to the British Baha'i Community, destined to play in future decades a predominating role in opening to the Faith of Baha'u'llah not only the British territories throughout the African continent, but the divers dependencies of the British Crown scattered on the surface of the globe; to the Persian Baha'i Community, at once the most venerable and most consistently persecuted among its sister communities in both the East and the West; to the Egyptian Baha'i Community that may well boast of having erected in that continent the first pillar of the Universal House of Justice; to the Indian Baha'i Community, fated to contribute, to a marked degree, to the spiritual quickening of the Indians constituting a noble element of the population of Africa--to these communities I feel I must acknowledge my deep sense of thankfulness for the strenuous efforts exerted by their pioneers to raise aloft the standard of the Faith in the territories allocated to them in Liberia, Uganda, Tanganyika, the Gold Coast, Kenya, Somaliland, Nyasaland, Northern Rhodesia, Libya, Algeria, Zanzibar and Madagascar. To others who, though not following the fixed pattern of the plan initiated for the present African campaign, have arisen to introduce the Faith in the territories of Sierra Leone, Angola, Mozambique and Southern Rhodesia I feel, moreover, a debt of gratitude is due for their share in extending the range of Baha'i pioneer activity in that continent.

AFRICAN PROJECTS TO BE LAUNCHED

The hour is indeed propitious, as the climax of the world-wide rejoicings signalizing the Holy Year approaches, for the national spiritual assemblies of these same communities to gird up their loins, in collaboration with the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of 'Iraq, in a supreme effort to launch, on the morrow of this fateful conference, that phase of the Ten-Year Crusade which, God willing, will culminate in the introduction of our glorious Faith in all the remaining territories of that vast continent as well as the chief neighboring islands lying in the Indian and the Atlantic Oceans. The decade on whose threshold they now stand must, circumstances permitting, witness:

First, the erection of three additional pillars within the confines of that continent and its neighboring islands, designed to support, together with no less than forty-five other national spiritual assemblies to be established in other parts of the world, the final unit in the erection of the Administrative Order of the Faith of Baha'u'llah, namely: The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Central and East Africa, to be formed under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the British Isles, with its seat in Kampala; the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of South and West Africa, to be formed under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States of America, with its seat in Johannesburg; the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of North West Africa, to be formed under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Egypt and Sudan, with its seat in Tunis.

Second, the initial purchase of land for the future construction of three Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kars, one in Cairo, one in Kampala and one in Johannesburg, situated respectively in the north, the heart and the south of the African continent.

Third, the opening of the following thirty-three virgin territories and islands: Cape Verde Islands, Canary Islands, French Somaliland, French Togoland, Mauritius, Northern Territories Protectorate, Portuguese Guinea, Reunion Island, Spanish Guinea, St. Helena, and St. Thomas Island, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States of America; Ashanti Protectorate, Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Italian Somaliland, Southern Rhodesia and Swaziland, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Persia; French Equatorial Africa, French West Africa, Morocco (International Zone), Rio de Oro, Spanish Morocco and Spanish Sahara, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Egypt and Sudan; Comoro Islands, French Cameroons, Gambia, Ruanda-Urundi and Socotra Island, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, Pakistan and Burma; the British Cameroons, British Togoland, Madeira and South West Africa, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the British Isles; and Seychelles Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of 'Iraq.

Fourth, the translation and publication of Baha'i literature in the following thirty-one languages to be undertaken by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the British Isles: Accra, Afrikaans, Aladian, Ashanti, Banu, Bemba, Bua, Chuana, Gio, Gu, Jieng, Jolof, Kuanyama, Krongo, Kroo, Luimbi, Malagasy, Nubian, Pedi, Popo, Ronga, Sena, Shilha, Shona, Sobo, Suto, Wongo, Xosa, Yalunka, Yao and Zulu.

Fifth, the consolidation of the twenty-four following territories already opened to the Faith in the African continent: Angola, Belgian Congo, Gold Coast, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanganyika, Uganda and Zululand, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the British Isles; Abyssinia, Algeria, Eritrea, Libya, French Morocco, Somaliland, Sudan and Tunisia, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Egypt and Sudan; Madagascar, Mozambique and Zanzibar, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of India, Pakistan and Burma; Northern Rhodesia and Nyasaland, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Persia; Liberia and South Africa, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States of America.

Sixth, the establishment, circumstances permitting, of a national Baha'i Court in the capital city of Egypt, the recognized center of both the Islamic and Arab worlds, officially empowered to apply, in matters of personal status, the laws and ordinances revealed in the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the Mother-Book of the Baha'i Revelation.

Seventh, the incorporation of the three above-mentioned regional national spiritual assemblies.

Eighth, the establishment by those same national spiritual assemblies of national Baha'i endowments.

Ninth, the establishment of a national Haziratu'l-Quds in Johannesburg and one in Tunis and the conversion into a similar institution of the local Haziratu'l-Quds of Kampala.

Tenth, the formation of a national Baha'i Publishing Trust in Cairo.

Eleventh, the formation of an Israel branch of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Egypt and Sudan, authorized to hold, on behalf of its parent institution, property dedicated to the holy shrines at the World Center of the Faith in the state of Israel.

Twelfth, the appointment, during Ridvan 1954, by the Hand of the Cause in Africa, of an Auxiliary Board of nine members who will, in conjunction with the six national spiritual assemblies participating in the African campaign, assist, through periodic and systematic visits to Baha'i centers, in the efficient and prompt execution of the plans formulated for the prosecution of the teaching campaign in the African continent.

A SPIRITUALLY WELDED UNIT

May the six aforementioned national spiritual assemblies, aided by the Hand of the Cause appointed in that continent, and the Auxiliary Board to be chosen by him, and supported by the national committees and subcommittees to be formed in due course, and reinforced by the constant and energetic efforts of an ever-swelling number of pioneers, whether settlers or itinerant teachers, and assisted by the wholehearted collaboration of the indigenous believers in all localities, be spiritually welded into a unit at once dynamic and coherent, and be suffused with the creative, the directing and propelling forces proceeding from the Source of the Revelation Himself, and be made, as the projected campaign unfolds, the vehicle of His grace from on high, and prove themselves worthy and effective instruments for the execution and ultimate consummation of one of the most thrilling and far-reaching enterprises undertaken in the Formative Age of the Faith and constituting one of the noblest phases of the most glorious Crusade ever launched in the course of Baha'i history for the systematic propagation of the Cause of Baha'u'llah over the surface of the entire planet.

[February 1953]

Fivefold Historic Celebration in America

On the occasion of the fivefold historic celebration--the dedication for public worship of the holiest Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the Baha'i world; the convocation of the Second Intercontinental Teaching Conference of the Holy Year; the anniversary of the Declaration of Baha'u'llah in the Garden of Ridvan; the holding of the Forty-Fifth American Baha'i Convention, and the launching of the epochal, global, spiritual Crusade, marking the climax of the festivities associated with the Centenary of the birth of Baha'u'llah's Mission--announce to His followers of East and West that the final phase of the construction of the Bab's Sepulcher has been ushered in through the erection of scaffolding for the completion of the shuttering of the dome.

Forty-four gilded tiles out of a total of twelve thousand, designed to cover two hundred fifty square meter surface of the dome, were placed in permanent position on the eve of the ninth day of the ninetieth anniversary of the Ridvan Festival. On the afternoon of the same day, during the course of a moving ceremony in the presence of pilgrims and resident believers of Akka and Haifa, I have placed reverently a fragment of the plaster ceiling of the Bab's prison cell in the castle of Mah-Ku beneath the gilded tiles of the crowning unit of the majestic edifice, circumambulated the base of the dome, paid homage to His memory, recalled His afflictive imprisonment and offered prayers on behalf of the friends of East and West on a subsequent visit to the interior of His Shrine.

Preparatory steps are now being taken for the pouring of concrete for the construction of the ribs of the dome, as well as for the placing of ornamental stones surrounding its base.

My hopes are heightened that the termination of the five-year-long, three-quarter million dollar enterprise, undertaken in the heart of Carmel, will coincide with the termination of the world-wide celebrations commemorating the Centenary of the inception of Baha'u'llah's ministry.

Also announce the formation of no less than sixteen new spiritual assemblies in the African continent:--Monrovia, Benghazi, Nairobi, Jinja, Akarukei, Tilling, Mbale, Atoot, Kococwa, Acissa, Opot, Fassy, Ocaka, Osopotoil, Kadoki, Kabuku.

In Uganda alone the number of believers is over two hundred ninety, residing in twenty-five localities, representative of twenty tribes.

Finally share the heart-warming news of the impending establishment of the long-overdue Haziratu'l-Quds in the French capital through the conclusion of an agreement to purchase a nine thousand pound property situated in the best residential quarter of the city.

Kiyani's spontaneous, generous contribution is solely responsible for the achievement of the great victory of the establishment of the institution designed to serve as the administrative headquarters of both the present Paris Assembly and the projected French National Spiritual Assembly.

Advise the American National Assembly to share this message with its sister assemblies throughout the Baha'i world.

[April 30, 1953]

All-America Intercontinental Conference--First Message

[Wilmette--Chicago, May 1953]

With a heart overflowing with joy and thankfulness I acclaim, at this hour marking the climax of the world-wide festivities of this Holy Year, the convocation, in the heart of the North American continent and under the shadow of the newly consecrated Mother Temple of the West, of the second and, without doubt, the most distinguished of the four Intercontinental Teaching Conferences commemorating the Centenary of the inception of the Mission of Baha'u'llah. On the occasion of the opening of this epoch-making conference, at which members of the United States, the Canadian, the Central American and South American National Spiritual Assemblies, as well as representatives of the Baha'i communities in the states of the American Union, in the provinces of the Dominion of Canada, in Alaska, and in the republics of Latin America, are assembled, I recall the unique, the historic, the highly significant and profoundly moving summons issued by the Author of the Baha'i Faith Himself, and enshrined for all time in the Mother-Book of His Revelation and repository of His laws, and addressed collectively to the rulers of the entire Western Hemisphere, conferring upon them an honor such as has not been conferred by Him on the rulers of any other continent of the globe. With a throbbing heart I call to mind, at a distance of more than a century, since the Herald of the Faith bade in His Qayyumu'l-Asma the "peoples of the West" to "issue forth" from their "cities" to aid His Cause, the long series of events which have illuminated the annals of Baha'i history in the course of six memorable decades stretching from the time when the name of Baha'u'llah was first publicly mentioned on the American continent to the present hour when the first Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the West has finally been dedicated to public worship on the occasion of the celebrations signalizing the termination of the first century since the birth of His Mission. I can but, at this juncture, touch upon certain outstanding episodes which, viewed in their proper perspective, may well be regarded as landmarks in the rise and development of the Faith of Baha'u'llah throughout the Americas. I am particularly reminded of the holding of the World Parliament of Religions of Chicago in September 1893; of the arrival of the first American Baha'i pilgrims in the Holy Land in December 1898; of the inception of the Temple enterprise in June 1903; of the opening of the first American Baha'i Convention in March 1909; of 'Abdu'l-Baha's arrival in America in April 1912; of the laying by Him of the cornerstone of the Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar in May 1912; of the unveiling of the Tablets of the Divine Plan in April 1919; of the birth and rise of the Baha'i Administrative Order on the morrow of 'Abdu'l-Baha's ascension; of the official inauguration of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Plan through the launching of the first seven-year teaching enterprise in April 1937; of the completion of the exterior ornamentation of the Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar, on the eve of the centenary celebrations of the Founding of the Faith, in May 1944; of the inception of the Second Seven-Year Plan in April 1946; of the formation of an independent National Spiritual Assembly in the Dominion of Canada in April 1948; of the establishment of the National Spiritual Assemblies of Central and South America in April 1951; and of the completion of the interior ornamentation of the Temple in October 1952.

SIX DECADES OF ACHIEVEMENT

So remarkable a development in the course of the past six decades, spanning the concluding phase of the Heroic and the opening decade of the Formative Age of the Faith, and encompassing the length and breadth of a continent, so greatly blessed, so richly endowed, has resulted in the extension of the ramifications of a nascent Administrative Order to every state of the American Union, to every province of the Dominion of Canada, and to every republic of Central and South America; in the construction, the ornamentation, and the dedication to public worship of the first Ma_sh_riqu'l-A_dh_kar of the western world; in the erection of no less than four pillars destined with others to sustain the weight of the final and crowning unit of the administrative structure of the Faith; in the establishment of over ninety centers in the Dominion of Canada, of over an hundred centers in Latin America, and of over twelve hundred centers in the great republic of the West, covering a range that stretches from the Arctic Circle in the North to the extremity of Chile in the South; in the founding of local and national endowments estimated at over three million dollars; in the incorporation of no less than four national, and of more than fifty local Baha'i spiritual assemblies; in the recognition by eighteen states of the American Union of the Baha'i marriage certificate; in the establishment of two national administrative headquarters, one in the Dominion of Canada and the other in the heart of the North American continent; in the framing of national Baha'i constitutions; in the inauguration of summer schools; and in a notable progress in the translation, the printing and the dissemination of Baha'i literature.

The hour has now struck for the national Baha'i communities dwelling within the confines of the Western Hemisphere--the first region in the western world to be warmed and illuminated by the rays of God's infant Faith shining from its World Center in the Holy Land--to arise and, in thanksgiving for the manifold blessings continually showered upon them from on high during the past six decades and for the inestimable bounties of God's unfailing protection and sustaining grace vouchsafed His Cause ever since its inception more than a century ago, and in anticipation of the Most Great Jubilee which will commemorate the hundredth anniversary of Baha'u'llah's formal assumption of His prophetic office, launch, determinedly and unitedly, the third and last stage of an enterprise inaugurated sixteen years ago, the termination of which will mark the closing of the initial epoch in the evolution of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Divine Plan. Standing on the threshold of a ten-year-long, world-embracing Spiritual Crusade these communities are now called upon, by virtue of the weighty pronouncement recorded in the Most Holy Book, and in direct consequence of the revelation of the Tablets of the Divine Plan, to play a preponderating role in the systematic propagation of the Faith, in the course of the coming decade, which will, God willing, culminate in the spiritual conquest of the entire planet.

It is incumbent upon the members of the American Baha'i Community, the chief executors of 'Abdu'l-Baha's Divine Plan, the members of the Canadian Baha'i Community acting as their allies, and the members of the Latin American Baha'i Communities in their capacity as associates in the execution of this Plan, to brace themselves and initiate, in addition to the responsibilities they have assumed, and will assume, in other continents of the globe, an intercontinental campaign designed to carry a stage further the glorious work already inaugurated throughout the Western Hemisphere.

SPECIAL TASKS OF FOUR NATIONAL ASSEMBLIES