July 27. On this date in 1953, Siegried Schopflocher, a Hand of the Cause of God, died. The youngest of 18 children, he was raised an Orthodox Jew in Germany, and later became a Bahá’í at Green Acre after having emigrated to Canada. A 1936 letter by Shoghi Effendi states that "it was mainly due to his unfailing and most generous assistance that the Temple in Wilmette was built."
Here is an article about Siegfried Schopflocher from the Bahá’í Encyclopedia Project.
On September 25, 1936, Shoghi Effendi wrote the following introduction to the National Spiritual Assembly of India...
>Visit of Mr. Schopflocher to India
>I am addressing you these few lines on behalf of our beloved Guardian to ask you to kindly inform your fellow-members in the Indian N.S.A. of the happy news of the projected visit of dear Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher to India, and to request you to take any step that your Assembly deems advisable in order to make his journey as fruitful and abundant in its results as possible.
>Mr. Siegfried Schopflocher is not in need of any introduction, as his long and manifold services to the Cause in America and particularly his generous and unfailing support of the local, national as well as international Baha'i funds, have endeared him to all the friends, whether in the East or in the West.
>For many years he has been a member of the American N.S.A. and he contributed no small part in the steady development and consolidation of the Administration ever since the early days of its establishment in the States. He is indeed an outstanding champion of the Administration not only in America but also in the West, and has proved in deeds his profound attachment and loyalty to all its principles, laws and institutions.
>His name will be ever associated with the beloved Temple in Wilmette. Had it not been for the continued and whole-hearted support, both financial and moral, which he so generously extended to it, that edifice could have never been reared so steadily and efficiently. The friends will always remember with deep gratitude the eminent services he has rendered the Faith in this connection.
>In view of these labours so devotedly accomplished, the Guardian wishes your Assembly to urge the friends to draw full benefit from Mr. Schopflocher's visit to India. He is confident that you will extend to him a most hearty welcome, and will, through association with him, draw fresh strength and inspiration in your arduous labours for the Cause.
>September 25, 1936
July 26. On this date in 1912, 'Abdu'l-Bahá traveled to Dublin, New Hampshire, where he stayed at the Dublin Inn for three weeks. In 2012, the Dublin Inn was purchased and donated to the national Bahá'í community by Gisu Mohadjer Cook, a World Bank executive and daughter of Hand of the Cause of God and Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir.
Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir was a prominent fourth generation Bahá’í, born on April 4, 1923, in Iran. In 1954 he married Írán Furútan, the daughter of Hand of the Cause of God and Iran National Spiritual Assembly Member 'Alí-Akbar Furútan, who is known for his censorship of (devout Bahá’í scholar) Jinab-i Fadil's academic works. The newlyweds pioneered to the Mentawai Islands for which they were named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh by Shoghi Effendi in 1954. In 1958, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God by Shoghi Effendi. He died of a heart attack at the age of 56 in Ecuador.
The 25th anniversary of Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir's death was marked in Ecuador by a Growth and Victories conference and graveside ceremony, including a talk by his daughter, Gisu. His daughter Gisu Mohadjer Cook works at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., and lives in Potomac, Maryland. In 2012 she and her husband purchased the historic Dublin Inn in Dublin, New Hampshire where 'Abdu'l-Bahá stayed for three weeks in 1912, and donated it to the national Baha’i community. Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir's other daughter, Shabnam Rahnema, works as an attorney in London.
> World Centre: PROFOUNDLY LAMENT UNTIMELY PASSING IN QUITO ECUADOR BELOVED HAND CAUSE RAHMATULLAH MUHAJIR FOLLOWING HEART ATTACK COURSE HIS LATEST SOUTH AMERICAN TOUR. UNSTINTED UNRESTRAINED OUTPOURING OF PHYSICAL SPIRITUAL ENERGIES BY ONE WHO OFFERED HIS ALL PATH SERVICE HAS NOW CEASED. POSTERITY WILL RECORD HIS DEVOTED SERVICES YOUTHFUL YEARS CRADLE FAITH HIS SUBSEQUENT UNIQUE EXPLOITS PIONEERING FIELD SOUTHEAST ASIA WHERE HE WON ACCOLADE KNIGHTHOOD BAHAULLAH HIS CEASELESS EFFORTS OVER TWO DECADES SINCE HIS APPOINTMENT HAND CAUSE STIMULATING IN MANY LANDS EAST WEST PROCESS ENTRY BY TROOPS. FRIENDS ALL CONTINENTS WHO MOURN THIS TRAGIC LOSS NOW SUDDENLY DEPRIVED COLLABORATION ONE WHO ENDEARED HIMSELF TO THEM THROUGH HIS GENTLENESS HIS LUMINOUS PERSONALITY HIS EXEMPLARY UNFLAGGING ZEAL HIS CREATIVE ENTHUSIASTIC APPROACH TO FULFILMENT ASSIGNED GOALS. URGE FRIENDS EVERYWHERE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS BEFITTING HIS HIGH STATION UNIQUE ACHIEVEMENTS. MAY HIS RADIANT SOUL ABHA KINGDOM REAP RICH HARVEST HIS DEDICATED SELF-SACRIFICING SERVICES CAUSE GOD. (Cablegram from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies 30 December 1979)
July 26. On this date in 1994, the Universal House of Justice announced the visit of the President of the Seychelles to the BWC with his family, including his father-in-law, Abdul Rahman Zarqani, a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Seychelles islands. "This historic event brings perceptibly closer that future age envisioned by Shoghi Effendi when "embodiments of kingly power" from every part of the world will eagerly visit the World Center of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh."
>Visit to the Bahá’í World Center by the President of the Seychelles
>26 JULY 1994
>To all National Spiritual Assemblies
>Dear Bahá’í Friends,
>We take great pleasure in sharing the news of the visit to the Bahá’í World Center on 22 and 23 July of His Excellency France Albert René, President of the Republic of the Seychelles. President René was welcomed by the members of the Universal House of Justice for consultations in the Council Chamber. These discussions, which he had requested, lasted just under two hours and dealt both with issues affecting global peace and important development challenges facing the Seychelles. They were marked by a spirit of candor and great cordiality.
>Highly gratifying, too, was the presence at the World Center of His Excellency's wife, Sarah, their young daughter, Ella, and Mrs. René's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Abdul Rahman Zarqani. The First Lady and her parents are Bahá’ís, and Mr. Zarqani is a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Seychelles islands.
>During the course of the two days spent at the World Center, the presidential party was able to visit the Shrines of both Bahá’u’lláh and the Báb, as well as several other Bahá’í Holy Places. On the first evening, a formal dinner was offered in His Excellency's honor in the Banquet Hall of the Seat of the House of Justice. In addition to our guests, who included the Mayor of Haifa and his wife, the dinner was graced by the presence of the Hands of the Cause of God Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum and Mr. ‘Alí Akbar Furútan. On this occasion, as throughout the visit, President René expressed a lively appreciation of the relevance of the Bahá’í Teachings and of the contribution that the Seychellois Bahá’í community is making to his country.
>This historic event brings perceptibly closer that future age envisioned by Shoghi Effendi when "embodiments of kingly power" from every part of the world will eagerly visit the World Center of the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh.
>With loving Bahá’í greetings,
>THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
July 25. On this date in 2006, the Universal House of Justice wrote "As you are aware, the obligation of believers to pay Huqúqu’lláh is set out in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and it is offered to the Head of the Faith, now the House of Justice...Such an assurance from the House of Justice is, of course, sufficient for members of the Bahá’í community. At this time the House of Justice sees no need to present information on Huqúqu’lláh accounts to external audiences..."
>As you are aware, the obligation of believers to pay Huqúqu’lláh is set out in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, and it is offered to the Head of the Faith, now the House of Justice. Disbursement of these funds is decided by the House of Justice and is presently directed to the vital task of raising the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh, which is the essential prerequisite for the enduring resolution of the afflictions humanity is now experiencing.
>The House of Justice ensures that detailed accounts of Huqúqu’lláh income and expenditures are maintained by the International Board of Trustees of Huqúqu’lláh and its Office of Huqúqu’lláh in the Holy Land. It monitors the functioning of the Institution of Huqúqu’lláh and is well satisfied that matters are being handled with the highest level of integrity.
>Such an assurance from the House of Justice is, of course, sufficient for members of the Bahá’í community. At this time the House of Justice sees no need to present information on Huqúqu’lláh accounts to external audiences; if a situation arises in the future where there is public controversy over this issue, it will take whatever action it deems appropriate at that time.
>(25 July 2006, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
The lack of transparency and accountability inevitably leads to financial scandal, as happened in the Bahá’í community in Italy in 2007, when Franco Ceccherini, the General Secretary of the NSA, was arrested for embezzlement after an investigation by Italian tax authorities.
On February 16, 1998, a letter written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual Bahá’í about Huqúqu’lláh stated "You have asked as to where and how the House of Justice reports on its uses of the funds received through payment of Huqúqu’lláh. The House of Justice does not issue an accounting of the current expenditure of these funds."
>111. "You have asked as to where and how the House of Justice reports on its…"
>You have asked as to where and how the House of Justice reports on its uses of the funds received through payment of Huqúqu’lláh. The House of Justice does not issue an accounting of the current expenditure of these funds. However, there is no secret as to the uses to which the funds are put. The Sacred Texts affirm that the Huqúqu’lláh is to be paid to the Authority in the Faith to whom all must turn, and indicate that these funds may be "expended for the relief of the poor, the disabled, the needy, and the orphans, and for other vital needs of the Cause of God". Decisions concerning such factors as the timing, the methods of disbursement and the amount rest with the House of Justice.
>In these days, as during the ministry of Shoghi Effendi, all funds received by the Head of the Faith are used to promote the interests of the Faith at the World Centre and worldwide. The Institution of Huqúqu’lláh Newsletter, issue no. 6, mentions that the funds are spent for such purposes as, "promotion of the teaching and proclamation of the Faith worldwide; care, maintenance and restoration of Bahá’í Holy Places; building up of the Bahá’í World Administrative Centre; support of the work of the many Bahá’í institutions and agencies; erection and restoration of Bahá’í Houses of Worship; establishment and support of new institutions; charitable and benevolent undertakings; and support of the worldwide manifold interests of the Faith."
>The effective utilization of Huqúqu’lláh and other funds available to the House of Justice is manifest in the great developments taking place at the World Centre and throughout the Bahá’í world community, many of whose national budgets must be subsidized by the House of Justice, owing to the fact that the vast majority of the world’s Bahá’ís are poor and cannot adequately support their national funds….
>The Huqúqu’lláh, as its name "The Right of God" implies, has a special character which distinguishes it from all other Bahá’í funds. Its nature and purpose, and the blessings with which payment of it has been endowed can be read in the compilation which has been issued on the subject….
>In accordance with Bahá’í principle, contributions to the various Bahá’í funds, as well as payments of the Right of God, are offered confidentially and are receipted…. You may rest assured that at the Bahá’í World Centre a method of financial management has been instituted to keep scrupulous accounts and also to prevent any significant incidence of extravagance or, God forbid, malfeasance from occurring undetected and unchecked. It is a method that maintains both the confidentiality of individual contributions and the integrity of the use of all funds entrusted to the House of Justice.
>(16 February 1998, written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer)
July 24. On this date in 1940, James Francis Brittingham died in New York City. An early American Bahá'í and husband of Disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Isabella D. Brittingham, he converted after attending a course of "Truth Seeker" classes taught by Ibrahim George Kheiralla in New York City in 1898.
Isabella Matilda Davis Brittingham was born on February 21, 1852 in Pennsylvania. She was the daughter of Benjamin Davis, a farmer, lumberman, and teacher. He was in turn a grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence–John Morton–and was a staunch Presbyterian, serving as an elder of local Presbyterian churches for sixty years wherever he lived. Her mother was Elizabeth Nicholson Hamill, also of Pennsylvania Presbyterian descent. Brittingham was the youngest of seven children. On 10 November 1886 she married James Francis Brittingham (1855-1940), a devoted Episcopalian from Princess Anne, Maryland. He was a railroad employee, which resulted in frequent moves for the couple. They resided in Pocomoke, MD, until 1895; greater New York City until 1901; Johnstown, N.Y., until 1904; Seabright and Orange, N. J. until 1909. They never had children.
In the summer of 1897 James’s sister, Charlotte E. Dixon, heard of the Bahá’í Faith in Chicago and accepted it. She immediately wrote James about it, but in an indirect fashion, because she did not want his strong Episcopal beliefs to prejudice him against the new Faith. Isabella was much more receptive and when Ibrahim Kheiralla, who first brought the Bahá’í Faith to the United States, went to New York to teach his Bahá’í lessons there, starting in February 1898, both Brittinghams were members of his first class. They soon became active Bahá’ís and began to teach the Faith to the other members of Grace Episcopal Church in Union, New Jersey. The result was the conversion of several families and the establishment of the Bahá’í community of northern Hudson County, New Jersey. In late 1899 the “North Hudson” Bahá’ís, as they called themselves, organized themselves into a community; Edward Getsinger, who visited the community after his pilgrimage to Akka, appointed a Board of Counsel of five men, including James Brittingham. Even though Isabella was not a member of the Board, she was made its corresponding secretary. When the Brittinghams moved to Johnstown, New York, west of Albany, in late 1900 they started building a Bahá’í community there as well. In November 1900 Mírzá Asadu’lláh and Haji Hassan-i-Khurásání visited the Brittinghams there and deepened their knowledge of the Bahá’í Faith.
In September 1901 Isabella Brittingham went on pilgrimage, visiting ‘Abdu’l-Bahá for several days. The knowledge of the Faith she gained helped her complete a book, The Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh in a Sequence of Four Lessons, published by the Bahá’í Publishing Society of Chicago in 1902 and subsequently issued in at least nine editions through 1920. The lessons were Brittingham’s own expansion of the last four lessons Kheiralla taught, but with some important additions. Brittingham was a theological liberal; she praised new religious movements that Kheiralla condemned, indicated belief in the theory of evolution (which Kheiralla rejected), and accepted higher biblical criticism (which Kheiralla never understood). Much of the book is a compilation of biblical prophecies that Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá claimed to fill; it also offered the American Bahá’ís one of the first accurate summaries of the life of Bahá’u’lláh available in English.
In addition to her book, Brittingham became an early traveling teacher for the Bahá’í Faith, making her perhaps the most prominent American Bahá’í woman in the 1900-12 period, and a prominent and highly respected American Bahá’í teacher right up to her death in 1924. Many of her talks were preserved in typed form; they reveal a consistent focus on the spiritual growth of the individual, and a desire to combat misunderstanding of the Bahá’í teachings, such as psychic interpretations of spirituality. She was also in frequent communication with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá; the Bahá’í National Archives in Wilmette, Ill., contains about fifty-five tablets addressed to her.
In 1905 Brittingham attended the first Nineteen-day Feast held in North America, sponsored by the New York City Bahá’í Board of Counsel. In early 1906 she traveled to every major Bahá’í community in the Midwest to promote the new institution of the Nineteen-day Feast; in early 1907 she traveled over eight thousand miles in four and a half months, visited twenty Bahá’í communities, and as she herself noted, “slept in over forty beds” in order to establish Feast on the Pacific coast and in the Mountain states.
In 1910 Brittingham began to correspond regularly with Bahá’í women in Iran, encouraging them to strive to become equal to Iranian men. Her indirect role in the development of the Iranian Bahá’í community has not previously been recognized. She played a major part in bringing into the Faith three of the four American Bahá’í women who settled in Tehran between 1909 and 1911: Dr. Susan Moody, who became a Bahá’í during Brittingham’s 1903 visit to Chicago; Brittingham’s sister’s daughter, Elizabeth Stewart; and Lillian Kappes, one of the former members of Grace Episcopal Church.
Throughout the ‘teens Brittingham traveled to teach the Faith, especially in the Pacific states and the Southwest. In Douglas, Arizona, she established an active Bahá’í community; there she brought back into the Bahá’í Faith Mrs. Nellie Stevison French, who had become disillusioned with it as a result of the moral conduct of Ibrahim Kheiralla. Mrs. French later became an important writer, editor, administrator, and teacher of the Faith. When Brittingham’s health began to decline she settled in Philadelphia, where the Revell family cared for her; in their home she died of a heart attack on January 28, 1924. Her husband remained an active Bahá’í in the New York City area until his death on July 24, 1940.
July 22. On this date in 2000, "The Jamaica Gleaner" carried an article titled "Female leaders, a must," about the role of women in the Bahá'í Faith, with no mention of their prohibition from the Universal House of Justice.
July 22. On this date in 1965, Hand of the Cause of God Leroy C. Ioas died in Haifa. He had served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, a member of the International Bahá’í Council, and a Custodian. Among other roles, he had accompanied Shoghi Effendi and Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum for their May 26, 1952, visit of Israeli President Yitzhak Ben-Zvi and was the author of a January 18, 1953, letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, later referenced in a Bahai News article in March 1953, defining the terms "Age" and "Epoch."
In the chapter titled The Heart and Nerve Centre in her book The Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum describes this meeting...
> In January 1949 Mr. Ben Gurion, the Prime Minister of the Provisional Government, came to Haifa on his first official visit and the Mayor naturally invited Shoghi Effendi to attend the reception being given in his honour by the Municipality. The dilemma was acute, for if the Guardian did not go, it would, with every reason, be taken as an affront to the new Government, and if he did go he would inevitably be submerged in a sea of people where any pretence at protocol would be swept away (this was indeed the case, as my father, Shoghi Effendi's representative, reported after he returned from this reception). The Guardian therefore decided that as he would not be attending, but was more than willing to show courtesy to the Prime Minister of the new State, he would call upon him in person. With great difficulty this was arranged through the good offices of the Mayor of Haifa, Shabatay Levy, as Mr. Ben Gurion's time in Haifa was very short and it was only two days before the first general election in the new State.
> The interview took place on Friday evening, January 21st, in the private home the Prime Minister was staying in on Mt. Carmel and lasted about fifteen minutes. Ben Gurion enquired about the Faith and Shoghi Effendi's relation to it and asked if there was a book he could read; Shoghi Effendi answered his questions and assured him he would send him a copy of his own book God Passes By — which he later did, and which was acknowledged with thanks. Typical of the whole history of the Cause and the constant problems that beset it was a long article which appeared in the leading English-language newspaper on December 20, 1948, in which, in the most favourable terms, its teachings were set forth and the station of Shoghi Effendi as its World Head mentioned. On January 28, 1949, there appeared in the letter column of this paper a short and extraordinary statement, signed "Bahai U.N. Observer", which flatly refuted the article and asserted, "Mr. Rabbani is not the Guardian of the Bahai faith, nor its World Leader" and gave the New History Society in New York as a source of further information
> As there was no such thing as a "Bahai U.N. Observer" this move was plainly inspired by the once-more hopeful band of old Covenant-breakers, who sought, at the outset of a new regime, to blacken Shoghi Effendi's reputation and divert attention from his station by referring to Ahmad Sohrab's rootless group in America. At a later date, when in 1952 the Covenant-breakers in Bahji brought their case in the local courts against Shoghi Effendi for the demolition of an old building near the Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh, Sohrab sought, unsuccessfully, to bring pressure on the Minister of Religious Affairs to discredit the Bahá'í claims. It was with attacks such as this, both open and covert, that the Guardian, on the threshold of a new phase in the development of the affairs of the Faith at its World Centre, once more had to content.
> It had long been the desire of Shoghi Effendi to obtain control of the Mansion at Mazra'ih, where Bahá'u'lláh had first lived when He quitted once-for-all the walls of the prison-city of 'Akka. This property was a Muslim religious endowment and had now fallen vacant. It was planned by the government to turn it into a rest home for officials. All efforts, through the departments concerned, to procure this property were unavailing until Shoghi Effendi appealed directly to Ben Gurion, explaining its significance to the Bahá'ís and his desire to have it visited by pilgrims as a place so closely associated with Bahá'u'lláh. The Prime Minister himself then intervened in the matter and it was leased to the Bahá'ís as an historic site. Shoghi Effendi proudly informed the Bahá'í world, on December 16, 1950, that its keys had been delivered to us, by the Israeli authorities, after the lapse of more than fifty years.
> The affairs of the Bahá'í Community, in matters concerning its day-to-day dealings with the government in connection with the work at the World Centre, had been placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Religious Affairs and was at first handled by the head of the Department that dealt with Muslim affairs. This Shoghi Effendi violently objected to as it implied the Faith was in some way identified with Islam. After much negotiation a letter was received from the Minister of Religious Affairs, dated December 13, 1953, addressed to "His Eminence, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, World Head of the Bahá'í Faith" in which he said:
>> "...I am pleased to inform you of my decision to establish in our Ministry a separate Department for the Bahá'í Faith. I hope that this department will be of assistance to you in matters concerning the Bahá'í Centre in our State.
>> In the name of the Ministry of Religious Affairs of the State of Israel, I wish to assure Your Eminence that full protection will be given to the Holy Places as well as to the World Centre of the Bahá'í Faith."
> The victory was all the more welcome, following as it did the previously mentioned court case against Shoghi Effendi brought on a technicality by the Covenant-breakers in connection with the demolition of a house adjoining the Shrine and Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh in Bahji. Never tired of seeking to publicly humiliate and discredit the Head of the Faith, be it 'Abdu'l-Bahá or the Guardian, they had had the temerity to summon Shoghi Effendi to appear in court as a witness. Once more, greatly concerned for the honour of the Cause at its World Centre, Shoghi Effendi appealed direct to the Prime Minister, sending as his representatives the President, Secretary-General and Member-at-Large of the International Bahá'í Council (whom he had summoned from Italy for this purpose) to Jerusalem on more than one visit to press the strategy he himself had devised. These representations were successful and on the grounds of its being a purely religious issue it was removed by Government from the jurisdiction of the civil courts. As soon as the plaintiffs found their plan to humiliate Shoghi Effendi had been forestalled, they were willing to settle the case by negotiation. That the authorities and the Bahá'í Community were equally pleased by this conclusion of the matter is shown in these letters written to the Guardian by members of the Prime Minister's staff — two men to whom the Faith owed much for their sympathetic efforts on its behalf at that time:
>> PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE Jerusalem, 19th May, 1952. His Eminence Shoghi Rabbani,
>> World Head of the Bahá'í Faith,
>> Haifa. Your Eminence, I am instructed to acknowledge receipt of your letter of the 16th May addressed to the Prime Minister. As you are no doubt aware, the dispute between yourself as the World head of the Bahá'í Faith and members of the family of the founder of the Faith has found its solution and there is no need, therefore, to take any administrative action in order to solve the problem. May I express to you our gratitude for your wise and benevolent attitude taken in the dispute which enabled us to impose a just and, as we hope, a lasting solution on the dissident group? The Prime Minister assures you of his personal esteem and sends you his best wishes.
>>> Yours sincerely,
>>> S. Eynath
>>> Legal Adviser
> The second letter was from Walter Eytan, Director-General of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, and was written to Shoghi Effendi the following day. In it he says: "...Having done my best throughout to be of assistance to Your Eminence in the solution of these vexing problems, I heard with great satisfaction this morning that complete agreement had been reached. I sincerely trust that this puts an end to a period of anxiety for Your Eminence and the members of the Bahá'í Faith, and that you will now be able to proceed with your plans without further interference from any quarter."
> It is significant to note that they address Shoghi Effendi as "His Eminence", a title which, though still far below what his position merited, was the one that had been introduced in the earliest days of his ministry, but never really used by any officials until the formation of the Jewish State.
> The cordial nature of the relations established between the Guardian and the officials of the State of Israel encouraged Shoghi Effendi to ascertain if the President would care to visit the Bahá'í Shrine in Haifa; when word was received that he would accept such an invitation, Shoghi Effendi formally invited him to do so and arrangements were made for the morning of April 26, 1954, at which time, the Director of the President's Office wrote to Shoghi Effendi, the President would "be pleased to pay you an official visit". Accordingly the President and his wife arrived at the home of the Master, attended by two officials, partook of light refreshment and were presented by the Guardian with a Persian album, painted with miniatures and bound in silver, containing some photographs of the Shrines, as a memento of their visit. The Presidential party, with Shoghi Effendi and those who accompanied him, then proceeded to the gardens on Mt. Carmel. It was the first time in the history of the Cause that the Head of an independent nation had ever made an official visit of this kind and it constituted another milestone in the development of the World Centre of the Faith. The President and his companions showed the greatest respect to the Shrine of the Bab, removing their shoes as we did, before entering it, the men keeping their hats on out of reverence as Jews for a holy place; it was a very moving moment to see President Ben Zvi standing beside Shoghi Effendi, the former with his European hat, the latter with his simple black fez, before the threshold. After a few words of explanation from Shoghi Effendi we all withdrew and walked about he gardens for a few minutes before saying good-bye in front of the Oriental Pilgrim House where the President's car was awaiting him.
> On April 29th the President wrote personally to the Guardian: "I should like to express my thanks for your kind hospitality and for the interesting time I spent with you visiting the beautiful Gardens and remarkable Shrine... I do appreciate the friendship which the Bahá'í Community has for Israel and it is my sincere hope that we may all live to see the strengthening of amity between all peoples on earth." On May 5th the Guardian replied to this letter in equally warm terms: "...It was a great pleasure to meet Your Excellency and Mrs. Ben Zvi, and be able to show you one of our places of Bahá'í pilgrimage in Israel... If it suits your convenience, Mrs. Rabbani and I, accompanied by Mr. Ioas, would like to call upon Your Excellency and Mrs. Ben Zvi in Jerusalem..." The time for this return call was set for the afternoon of May 26th and we had tea and a pleasant conversation with the President and his wife, in her own way as much a personality as her husband and equally nice. In the interim between these two visits Shoghi Effendi had sent to the President some Bahá'í books which he had promised him and these had been acknowledged with the thanks of the President and the assurance that he would read them with great interest. Ever meticulous in all matters, Shoghi Effendi wrote on June 3rd to the President: "I wish to thank you and Mrs. Ben Zvi for your kind hospitality. Mrs. Rabbani and I enjoyed our visit with you very much, and I feel sure that this opportunity we have had of visiting with you our Bahá'í Holy Places and calling upon you in the capital of Israel has served to reinforce the bonds of affection and esteem which unite the Bahá'ís to the people and Government of Israel. With kind regards to you and Mrs. Ben Zvi..." Thus ended another memorable chapter in the process of winning recognition for the Faith at its World Centre.
> DEFINES "AGES"
> AND "EPOCHS"
> In a letter dated January 18, 1953,
> written on behalf of the Guardian by
> Leroy Ioas, Assistant Secretary, the
> terms "age" and "epoch" as used
> by the Guardian are defined.
> "The Faith is divided into three
> Ages, the Heroic. the Formative, the
> Golden Age, as has been outlined in
> his writings. The Heroic Age closed
> with the Ascension of 'Abdu'l-Baha.
> The Formative Age is divided into
> epochs. The first epoch lasted 25
> years. We are now actually in the
> second epoch of the Formative Age.
> How long the Formative Age will
> last is not known - and there will
> probably be a number of epochs in
> it.
> "The Divine Plan of 'Abdu'l-Baha
> is divided into epochs. The first Seven
> Year Plan constituted the first
> stage of the first epoch; the second
> Seven Year Plan constitutes the second
> stage; while the ten year Crusade
> will constitute the third stage
> of the first epoch of the Divine Plan.
> The first epoch of the Divine Plan
> will conclude with the conclusion of
> the ten year Crusade."
> -NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
July 22. On this date in 1943, Shoghi Effendi wrote "Regarding the four and twenty elders: The Master, in a Tablet, stated that they are the Bab, the 18 Letters of the Living and five others who would be known in the future. So far we do not know who these five others are."
>1713. The Four and Twenty Elders
>"Regarding the four and twenty elders: The Master, in a Tablet, stated that they are the Bab, the 18 Letters of the Living and five others who would be known in the future. So far we do not know who these five others are."
>(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, July 22, 1943: Bahá'í News, No. 171, November 1944, p. 2)
July 22. On this date in 1943, Shoghi Effendi wrote "Regarding the four and twenty elders: The Master, in a Tablet, stated that they are the Bab, the 18 Letters of the Living and five others who would be known in the future. So far we do not know who these five others are."
>1713. The Four and Twenty Elders
>"Regarding the four and twenty elders: The Master, in a Tablet, stated that they are the Bab, the 18 Letters of the Living and five others who would be known in the future. So far we do not know who these five others are."
>(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, July 22, 1943: Bahá'í News, No. 171, November 1944, p. 2)
July 21. On this date in 1847, Sarah Farmer, the founder of Green Acre Bahá’í School who was posthumously named by Shoghi Effendi as one of the nineteen Disciples of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, was born.
July 21. On this date in 1848, Mullá Ḥusayn-i-Bushru'i (who in 1844 had become the first person to become a follower of the Báb), under instructions from the Báb, unfurled a Black Standard in Mashhad, fulfilling an Islamic prophecy, and began a march with other Bábis.
On March 20, 1848, Mullá Ḥusayn-i-Bushru'i, who in 1844 had become the first person to become a follower of the Báb, visited the Báb at Maku prison, where the Báb was incarcerated.
Subsequent to his visit, Mullá Ḥusayn-i-Bushru'i became involved in the Bábi uprisings. Under instructions from the Báb, Mullá Ḥusayn-i-Bushru'i unfurled a Black Standard in Mashhad, fulfilling an Islamic prophecy, and began a march with other Bábis. They were rebuffed at Barfurush and therefore made defensive fortifications at the shrine of Shaykh Tabarsí. Mullá Ḥusayn-i-Bushru'i would die at thebattle of Shaykh Tabarsí on February 2, 1849, but siege itself would last until May 10, 1849.
The Báb was later executed on July 9, 1850. Bábi uprisings would continue elsewhere in Iran, notably Neyriz and Zanjan.
July 21. On this date in 1968, the Universal House of Justice wrote "it should never be overlooked that the revelation of the Manifestation of God is the standard for all knowledge, and scientific statements and theories, no matter how close they may come to the eternal principle proclaimed by God's Messenger, are in their very nature ephemeral and limited. Likewise, attempting to make the Bahá'í Faith relevant to modern society is to incur the grave risk of compromising the fundamental verities of our Faith in an effort to make it conform to current theories and practices."
>While it may often be the part of wisdom to approach individuals or an audience from a standpoint of current knowledge, it should never be overlooked that the revelation of the Manifestation of God is the standard for all knowledge, and scientific statements and theories, no matter how close they may come to the eternal principle proclaimed by God's Messenger, are in their very nature ephemeral and limited. Likewise, attempting to make the Bahá'í Faith relevant to modern society is to incur the grave risk of compromising the fundamental verities of our Faith in an effort to make it conform to current theories and practices.
>From a letter on behalf of the Universal House of Justice dated 21 July 1968.
July 20. On this date in 1940, in the midst of World War II, Shoghi Effendi sent a cable to North American Bahá'ís calling it the "essential prerequisite (to) world reunification moving (to its) appointed climax."
> LONG-PREDICTED WORLD-ENCIRCLING CONFLAGRATION, ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITE WORLD UNIFICATION INEXORABLY MOVING APPOINTED CLIMAX. ITS FIRES FIRST LIT FAR EAST SUBSEQUENTLY RAVAGING EUROPE ENVELOPING AFRICA NOW THREATEN DEVASTATION BOTH NEAR EAST FAR WEST RESPECTIVELY ENSHRINING WORLD CENTER AND CHIEF REMAINING CITADEL FAITH BAHA'U'LLAH. DIVINELY APPOINTED PLAN MUST WILL LIKEWISE PURSUE UNDEFLECTED PREDESTINED COURSE. TIME PRESSING. SETTLEMENT TWO REMAINING LATIN REPUBLICS SOUNDER CONSOLIDATION THROUGH FORMATION FIRMLY KNIT GROUPS IN NEWLY OPENED TERRITORIES PROVISION ADEQUATE MEANS ORNAMENTATION LAST SIX FACES FIRST STORY TEMPLE STAND OUT VITAL REQUIREMENTS APPROACHING SUPREMELY CHALLENGING HOUR. EYES HEART ANXIOUSLY LONGINGLY TURNED NEW WORLD WITNESS EVIDENCES NEW STILL MORE HEROIC PHASE ENTERPRISE CONFIDENTLY ENTRUSTED VIGILANT CARE AMERICAN BELIEVERS BY EVER-WATCHFUL POWERFULLY SUSTAINING MASTER. REFUSE BELIEVE COMMUNITY SO RICHLY ENDOWED GREATLY ENVIED REPEATEDLY HONORED WILL SUFFER SLIGHTEST RELAXATION ITS RESOLUTION JEOPARDIZE SPIRITUAL PRIZES PAINSTAKINGLY DESERVEDLY WON THROUGHOUT STATES PROVINCES REPUBLICS WESTERN HEMISPHERE.
July 20. On this date in 1967, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States sent a letter to the Universal House of Justice "asking for clarification of Article VIII, Section 1 of the By-Laws of a Local Spiritual Assembly which appears on Page 19 of the Declaration of Trust" noting that "Assemblies should take into account the last clause of the first sentence of Section 1 of Article VIII."
>"We have your letter of July 20, 1967 asking for clarification of Article VIII, Section 1 of the By-Laws of a Local Spiritual Assembly which appears on Page 19 of the Declaration of Trust.
>"A majority of the members present and constituting a quorum is sufficient to carry a motion. Thus, if only five members of the Assembly are present at a meeting, a majority vote of three is sufficient.
>"However, Assemblies should take into account the last clause of the first sentence of Section 1 of Article VIII reading as follows:
>'...and with due regard to the principle of unity and cordial fellowship involved in the institution of a Spiritual Assembly.'
>"In other words, members of a Spiritual Assembly should not take advantage of a quorum as an expedient to pass a motion which would violate the spirit of the above quoted passage.
>"As your National Assembly has stated, it is desirable that all nine members of a Local Spiritual Assembly be present at every meeting, and we hope that you will be able to educate members of Assemblies to assume their responsibilities in this regard."
>(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, August 6, 1967)
July 20. On this date in 1962, Harlan Foster Ober died. An American Bahá'í, he traveled to India to teach the Bahá'í Faith and later served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada. At the end o f his life he pioneered to South Africa, where he died in Pretoria.
July 19. On this date in 1953, Shoghi Effendi wrote "There is nothing in the teachings of our Faith about the Fourth Dimension, and he feels that with all the practical work the Bahá'ís have to do during the next ten years you should put such abstruse subjects out of your mind entirely. They can do no good and will lead you nowhere."
>"There is nothing in the teachings of our Faith about the Fourth Dimension, and he feels that with all the practical work the Bahá'ís have to do during the next ten years you should put such abstruse subjects out of your mind entirely. They can do no good and will lead you nowhere."
>(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, July 19, 1953: Ibid.)
July 19. On this date in 1964, the Universal House of Justice wrote "Reference is made to your letter of April 8th in which you ask: 'Does a disciplinary action for disobedience to the Guardian carry the same implications as Covenant-breaking of an ideological order?' There is no distinction between the two concepts. All Covenant-breakers, regardless of the nature of their disobedience to the Covenant should be treated in exactly the same manner."
>"Reference is made to your letter of April 8th in which you ask: 'Does a disciplinary action for disobedience to the Guardian carry the same implications as Covenant-breaking of an ideological order?' There is no distinction between the two concepts. All Covenant-breakers, regardless of the nature of their disobedience to the Covenant should be treated in exactly the same manner."
>(From a letter of the Universal House of Justice to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, July 19, 1964)
July 19. On this date in 1986, "the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States formally dissolved the Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA) of the Baha'is of Los Angeles, then a community of some 1200 adult believers and among the larger urban Baha'i communities." Juan Cole's article "Race, Immorality and Money in the American Baha'i Community: Impeaching the Los Angeles Spiritual Assembly", published in the journal Religion, "analyses the dissolution of the Baha'i local assembly of Los Angeles in 1986–88 by the National Assembly. Official explanations for this move focused on lapses in morality and administrative discipline, but local interviewees, as well as some official pronouncements, suggest that the conflict had two roots: the globalisation of the community and resultant ethnic conflict among whites, African–Americans and newly immigrant Iranians; and national/local conflicts over power and money. Low-information elections, the unaccountability of elected officials, censorship and difficulties in acknowledging social conflict were the causes of these episodes in the Baha'i religion."
July 18. On this date in 1960, Charles Wolcott, Secretary of the NSA of the U.S. cabled the Custodians about "numerous believers attracted (to) Remey claim situation fraught confusion doubt danger."
>JULY 18, 1960
>CONSIDERED JUDGEMENT OUR ASSEMBLY ACTIONS TAKEN THUS FAR BY HANDS HOLY LAND INADEQUATE DEAL DECISIVELY SATISFACTORILY NUMEROUS BELIEVERS ATTRACTED REMEY CLAIM STOP SITUATION FRAUGHT CONFUSION DOUBT DANGER STOP RESPECTFULLY URGE DEFINITE DRASTIC IMMEDIATE ACTION HANDS DECLARING REMEY VIOLATOR SAME FATE ALL THOSE CONTINUING SUPPORT HIM DEVOTED LOVE.
>WOLCOTT [SECRETARY]
Born in Flint, Michigan on September 29, 1906, Charles Wolcott was a music composer who had a career in various Holywood film studios. In 1953 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. In 1960, when he was elected secretary of the National Assembly, he resigned from his position at MGM Studios and moved to Wilmette, Illinois. In 1961 he was elected to the International Bahá’í Council and moved to Haifa, Israel. He was elected to serve on the newly formed Universal House of Justice in 1963, a position he held until January 26, 1987 when he died in Haifa.