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[ 9 Articles ] |
• 155 B.E.
• A.H.
• 25 March A.D. 1998
• A.M. |
The passing of former Universal
House of Justice member (1963-1993) Mr. Hugh E Chance (b. 28 December,
1911 in Winfield, Kansas d. 25 March,1998 in Tisdale KS.).
[BW97-98p271-272]
- Mr Chance had been a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States from 1961 to 1963.
- He was the co-author of "A Crown of Beauty" with Eunice Braun which was published by George Ronald in 1982.
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Universal
House of Justice election. |
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• 155 B.E.
• A.H.
• 21 July A.D. 1998
• A.M. |
Mr. Ruhu'llah Rawhani, a
52-year-old medical supplies salesman was hanged in Mashhad solely for
religious reasons. Later that morning, Mr. Rawhani's family was summoned
to collect his body and required, despite their protests, to complete
the burial within one hour, under the supervision of Government
intelligence agents.
- In 1984, Mr. Rawhani was arrested and
imprisoned for more than a year. According to an account given by Mr.
Rawhani's relatives in the Australian Bahá'í News, Mr. Rawhani was
tortured during his first imprisonment. He was arrested a second time
about four years ago. The charge was apparently related to his work in
the conduct of purely religious activities, such as prayer meetings and
children's classes. He was released after 24 hours.
- Mr. Rawhani
was arrested for a third time in September 1997 and placed in solitary
confinement in Mashhad. He had been accused of "converting" a woman from
Islam to the Bahá'í Faith. The woman, however, denied that she had
converted; she explained that her mother was a Bahá'í and that she
herself had been raised as a Bahá'í. She was not arrested.
- The
killing of Mr. Rawhani was the first government execution of a Bahá'í in
Iran in six years, and, coupled with the widespread arrest of some 32
Bahá'í educators in fourteen different cities throughout Iran in late
September and early October. From the Daily Telegraph, August 2nd 1998.
[One Country Jul-Sep 1998 Vol 10 Issue 2, One Country Oct-Dec 1998 Vol 10 Issue 3]
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• 155 B.E.
• A.H.
• 29 July A.D. 1998
• A.M. |
The passing of actor and writer O. Z. Whitehead at the age of 87 in Dublin. (b. in New York City on 18 March 1911).
- His
most acclaimed performance and best remembered role remained that of Al
in John Ford's classic 1940 film version of John Steinbeck's The Grapes of Wrath.
- After
the World Congress in 1963 he pioneered to the Irish Republic where,
among other services to the Faith, he served on the National Spiritual
Assembly.
- He published three volumes of pen portraits, Some Early Bahá'ís of the West (1976), Some Bahá'ís to Remember (1983), and Portraits of Some Bahá'í Women (1996).
- Remembered as a champion of the Arts. [Bahá'í Studies Review Vol8, 1998]
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• 155 B.E.
• A.H.
• 29 September A.D. 1998
• A.M. |
In an orchestrated and synchronized
plan the authorities ransacked the homes of many Bahá'ís across Iran.
All religious and nonreligious books were confiscated. Many other
household items such as recording devices, videos and personal effects
such as family pictures were seized. [Iran Press Watch 2008/10/19/
(website no longer available] |
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• 155 B.E.
• A.H.
• 29 September A.D. 1998
• A.M. |
Starting this date until October
2nd, in Iran, government raids on 500 private homes and the arrest of
some 30 faculty members in efforts to close the Bahá'í Institute for
Higher Education, a decentralized university that aimed to give Bahá'í
students access to the education they have been otherwise denied.
- The
Institute offered Bachelor's degrees in ten subject areas: applied
chemistry, biology, dental science, pharmacological science, civil
engineering, computer science, psychology, law, literature and
accounting. Within these subject areas, which were administered by five
"departments," the Institute was able to offer more than 200 distinct
courses each term.
- In the beginning, courses were based on
correspondence lessons developed by Indiana University, which was one of
the first institutions in the West to recognize the Bahá'í Institute
for Higher Education. Later on, course offerings were developed
internally.
- Teaching was done principally via correspondence,
or, for specialized scientific and technical courses and in other
special cases, in small-group classes that were usually held in private
homes. Over time, however, the Institute was able to establish a few
laboratories, operated in privately owned commercial buildings in and
around Teheran, for computer science, physics, dental science,
pharmacology, applied chemistry and language study. The operations of
these laboratories were kept prudently quiet, with students cautioned
not to come and go in large groups that might give the authorities a
reason to object.
- Among other significant human rights
conventions, Iran is a party to the International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights, which was adopted by the United Nations
General Assembly on 16 December 1966. Parties to this Covenant
"recognize the right of everyone to education" and more specifically
that "higher education shall be made equally accessible to all, on the
basis of capacity, by every appropriate means." ["The New York Times"
article dated 29 October, 1998, One Country Oct-Dec 1998 Vol 10 Issue 3]
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• 155 B.E.
• A.H.
• 6 / 8 November A.D. 1998
• A.M. |
The 2nd International Conference of
the Environment Forum was held in the Netherlands with wide electronic
participation on the themes of sustainable consumption and the Earth
Charter. The first theme of the conference, sustainable consumption, was
introduced by a keynote address on "Sustainable Consumption and True
Prosperity" by Arthur Dahl. [ iefworld.org/conf2.htm ] |
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• 155 B.E.
• A.H.
• 23 November A.D. 1998
• A.M. |
The National Spiritual Assembly of
the Bahá'ís of the United States announced the results of the elections
for their first Regional Councils. Four were elected in the regions
corresponding to those mentioned in The Tablets of the Divine Plan.
[Results of the First Regional Bahá'í Council Election
] |
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• 155 B.E.
• A.H.
• A.D. 1999
• A.M. |
The Institute for Studies in Global
Prosperity was established as a non-profit organization in association
with the Bahá'í International Community. One of the purposes of the
Institute was to explore, with others, the complementary roles that
science and religion – as co-evolving systems of knowledge and practice –
must play in the advancement of civilization. [ISPG Web site] |
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• 155 B.E.
• A.H.
• 19 January A.D. 1999
• A.M. |
The National Spiritual Assembly of
the Bahá'ís of Russia formally received its re-registration documents
under the new law on religious organizations that was passed by the
Russian Parliament in the fall of 1997.
- Formal recognition as a
"centralized religious organization" entitled the community to full
rights to teach and proclaim the Faith, publish and import literature,
rent and own property, invite foreign nationals etc. [From "European
Bulletin" Issue 60 February 1999]
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