Page Text: Chronology of the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths and related history
This chronology is an updated, expanded version of A Basic Baha'i Chronology by
Glenn Cameron and Wendi Momen. To help add or correct entries, contact Glenn .
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2022 Ridván - 2031 Ridván
In a letter dated 25 November 2020 the Universal House of Justice announced a Nine Year Plan to begin at Ridván 2022.
It will be heralded by the convocation of a series of conferences held over a span of months across the globe. [ 25 November 2020 ] [key]
Teaching Plans ; Nine Year Plan (2022-2031) ; * Institute process ; Conferences
2022 25 Mar
In a statement was delivered by the Bahá'í International Community’s representative, Simin Fahandej, by video to the 49th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva it was announced that more than 1,000 Bahá'ís are in a “limbo” between their initial arrests, their legal hearings and their final summons to prison. A “rising trend” in the confiscation of Bahá'í-owned properties was also of “particular concern”, Fahandej told the Human Rights Council. And while the appropriation of assets was not new, she added, it did seem that the Iranian authorities were “increasingly using the legal system” for such seizures. The concern is that confiscations of Bahá'í properties enrich the Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order, also known as Setad, which is controlled by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. [ Iran Press Watch 25 March 2022 ] [key]
Baha'i International Community ; Persecution, Iran
2022 21 Mar
The World Centre released a progress report on the construction of the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. They reported that the meticulous work of assembling the formwork for the trellis spanning the Shrine’s central plaza was nearing completion and showed an animated sequence of design rendering showing the process of building the trellis, including the placement of polystyrene (EPS) formwork, the placement of rebar, the pouring of concrete, and finally, the removal of formwork. They also showed photos of the work being done in the quarry in Carrara, Italy for the marble company, Margraf, was sourcing the marble for the project. The groundwork for a visitor's centre had begun. [ BWNS1588 ] [key]
Abdul-Baha, Shrine of ; BWNS
2022 Jan
Representatives of all religious sects in Tunisia signed the National Charter for Peaceful Coexistence, the first of its kind in Tunisia, which calls for guaranteeing the right of religious minorities to differ and to show their beliefs in public. Representative to this conference came from the Jewish Synagogue in La Goulette, the Evangelical Church in Tunisia, the Union of Sufi Ways; the Ahl al-Bayt Shiite Centre in Tunis and Mohamed Ben Moussa, the Bahá'í representative in Tunisia.
Notwithstanding the fact that Tunisian citizens have the right, according to the constitution, international charters and treaties, to establish their religious rites some religious communities, notably the Jews, Christians, Shites, and Bahá'ís still experience difficulty in practicing their faith. The Bahá'í representative, Mohamed ben Moussa acknowledged that adherents of the Bahá'í faith in Tunisia are subjected to violations, as fatwas of infidelity were issued against them by the grand mufti of Tunisia in December 2020. Additionally, the presidency of the Tunisian government accused them of apostasy.
This charter aroused a great uproar among Tunisian society, which responded with an extensive campaign of insults and threats of violence, reaching the point of calling for murder. Although the official authorities were silent, the Ministry of Religious Affairs sent a representative to attend the signing. The organizers said that the strong reaction was expected but did not anticipate the many messages of threats and insults from the general public, radical Muslim sheikhs, intellectuals and others. All negative comments were unanimous; that Tunisia is a Muslim country and will remain so. This strong reaction was evidence of the extent of extremist ideology and hatred in the community and their lack of acceptance of those who differ from them. [ The Christian Post 6Feb2022 ] [key]
Mohamed Ben Moussa ; Persecution, Tunisia
2022 26 Jan
The BWC released a progress report on the construction of the national Bahá'í House of Worship in Kinshasa, DRC. [ BWNS1579 ] [key]
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, Kinshasa ; Mashriqu’l-Adhkar ; House of Worship ; Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, national ; BWNS
2022 7 Jan
The conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members will coincide with the lapse of one hundred years since the first public reading of the Will and Testament of the Master. [ 25 November 2020 ]
The Counsellors in all continents will be called to the Bahá’í World Centre in December 2021 to take part in deliberations on the general features of the Plan to be launched the following Riḍván. At the conclusion of that gathering, they are to be joined by members of the Auxiliary Boards for Protection and Propagation to consult on the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead and on the decisive role that the Counsellors and their auxiliaries are to play in meeting them.
[From a message from the Universal House of Justice to the Bahá'ís of the World dated 29 October 2020] [key]
Abdul-Baha, Will and Testament of ; Conferences, Counsellors ; Centenaries ; Teaching Plans ; Nine Year Plan (2022-2031)
2022 5 Jan
The film, Glimpses of a Hundred Years of Endeavour , commissioned by the Universal House of Justice, was released on this day.
The film provided insight into a hundred years of endeavor and learning since the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1921, carried out by a burgeoning Bahá’í community, and outlined the journey that has led to the community’s current efforts to contribute to the emergence of a world organized around the principle of the oneness of humanity.
The 66-minute film was made available in Arabic, English, French, Persian, Russian, Spanish, and Swahili. The original version with English subtitles was placed on YouTube . [ BWNS1574 ] [key]
Glimpses of a Hundred Years of Endeavour (film) ; Film ; Documentaries ; Documentaries, BWC
2022 1 Jan
The Universal House of Justice announced that the courses of the Ruhi Institute would continue to be a prominent feature of the educational endeavours of all training institutes during this new series of global Plans. The Ruhi Institute will, during the Nine Year Plan, complete the preparation of all the materials it has outlined for use in children’s classes, junior youth groups, and study circles, and the revision of published editions as necessary in light of experience. However, beyond what it has already delineated, it is not expected to develop new materials to be used worldwide. [Message 1 January 1922 ] [key]
Nine Year Plan (2022-2031) ; * Institute process ; Childrens classes ; Youth empowerment program ; Ruhi Institute
2021 30 Dec - 4 Jan
The conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors was held at the Bahá'í World Centre. The discussions of the Counsellors over the six days explored how the worldwide Bahá’í community could intensify its efforts to contribute to social progress predicated on the spiritual principle of oneness. In their analysis, the Counsellors concluded that achieving this aim is dependent on significantly extending the reach of Bahá’í educational programs that build capacity for service, at the heart of which is faith in the ability of a population to become the protagonists of its own development. [ BWNS1573 ; BWNS1575 ; BWNS1571 ] [key]
Continental Boards of Counsellors ; Conference
2021 30 Dec
As per the 30 December 2021 message o the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, 22 Local Spiritual Assemblies spread over eight countries were elected using a two-stage electoral process. This follows the same instructions that 'Abdu'l-Bahá gave to the Spiritual Assembly of Ṭihrán. It involved the division of a locality into units from each of which one or more delegates were elected, after which the delegates elected the members of the Local Assembly. [ Paragraph 32 ]
Local Spiritual Assembly, formation ; Local Spiritual Assembly, election ; Local Spiritual Assembly ; Statistics
2021 30 Dec - 4 Jan
In a message to the Conference of the Continental Boards of Counsellors the Universal House of Justice announced a series of global Plans to carry the Faith into the third century of the Bahá'í Era and conclude at Ridván 2026. [ 30 December 2021 ] [key]
Nine Year Plan (2022-2031)
2021 19 Dec
Journalists from over 55 media outlets across Italy attended the press conference in Milan and had the opportunity to learn about and the sacred nature of the project to prepare the marble for the Shrine of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the complexities of its construction. The fabrication of the marble has required newly developed machinery that can cut the stone directly from 3D models with extreme precision—a requirement of the project given the curved surfaces of the domed trellis.
Attendees at the press conference included Hossein Amanat, who was selected by the Universal House of Justice as the architect for the project, Sohrab Youssefian, liaison between the project and Margraf, and two members of Italy’s Bahá’í National Spiritual Assembly. The Italian marble company that will cut and chiseled the marble was represented by Silvio Xompero, president of Margraf, and by Alessandro Peotta, head of the Margraf Technical Office. This firm has a long record of service to the Faith [ BWNS1569 ] [key]
Abdul-Baha, Shrine of ; Margraf ; Silvio Xompero ; Alessandro Peotta ; Hossein Amanat ; Sohrab Youssefian
2021 16 Dec
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has called on the Iranian government to end its discrimination of minorities in Iran, including of the Bahá'í community. The vote confirms a Third Committee resolution passed in November. The resolution was endorsed by the General Assembly’s 76th session and introduced by Canada and 47 co-sponsors from all regions, passed by 78 votes in favour, with 31 against and 69 abstentions. [ BIC News ; BWNS1568 ; Iran Press Watch/a>]
The Resolution .
One of the latest incidents occurred in Kata where thirteen irrigated farmland plots belonging to Bahá'ís in the village in Iran’s southwest was targeted by authorities seeking to further expropriate the assets of Baha’is in the country. The organization “Execution of Imam Khomeini’s Order” – a parastatal agency controlled by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which holds and sells assets seized from proscribed groups and individuals and has done so since the 1979 Islamic Revolution – advertised the 13 land parcels on an auction website in mid-October. Each property has been listed for sale at a price estimated to be only 15% of its fair market value. [ BIC News ]
Farm lands in Semnan, Roshankouh, and Ivel have also been confiscated recently. [ BWNS1568 ] [key]