| |
[ 34 Articles ] |
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 21 March A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The re-election of the National
Spiritual Assembly of Vietnam after a lapse of some 33 years A major
step was taken a year ago when authorities issued a certificate
recognizing Bahá'í activities. The Bahá'í Faith was established in
Vietnam in 1954. In 1957 Bahá'ís there joined with a number of other
countries in southeast Asia to form a Regional Spiritual Assembly, and
in 1964 the first National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam
was formed. [BWNS617] |
 |
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 23 April A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The retirement of Universal House
of Justice members Mr. Hartmut Grossmann and Mr. Glenford E. Mitchell.
Mr. Grossmann served from 2003 and Mr. Mitchell was elected in 1982. [BWNS622] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 30 April A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The election of the Universal House
of Justice at the 10th International Bahá'í' Convention. Those elected
are Farzam Arbab, Kiser Barnes, Peter K̲h̲án, Hooper Dunbar, Firaydoun
Javaheri, Paul Lample, Payman Mohajer, Shahriar Razavi, and Gustavo
Correa.
[BWNS629, BWNS631, BWNS627, BWNS628, BWNS626, BWNS624] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 14 May A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The six men and women, Mr.
Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi, Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz
Tavakkoli, Mr. Vahid Tizfahm. and Mrs. Fariba Kamalabadi, all members of
the national-level group that helped see to the minimum needs of
Bahá'ís in Iran were arrested in their homes in Tehran. Mrs. Kamalabadi,
Mr. Khanjani, and Mr. Tavakkoli have been previously arrested and then
released after periods ranging from five days to four months. [BWNS632, Report] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 14 May A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Iranian Grand Ayatollah Hossein Ali
Montazeri issued a fatwa stating that, since (Bahá'ís) were the
citizens of Iran, they had the rights of a citizen and to live in the
country. Furthermore, they must benefit from the Islamic compassion
which is stressed in Quran and by the religious authorities. [The National (UAE)]
Statement: English Translation |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 3 June A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Mrs. Mahvash Sabet and Mrs. Fariba
Kamalabadi are permitted to make short phone calls to their families.
Later it was confirmed that Mr. Jamaloddin Khanjani, Mr. Afif Naeimi,
Mr. Saeid Rezaie, Mr. Behrouz Tavakkoli, and Mr. Vahid Tizfahm also have
made brief phone calls to their families.
[BIC Report] Tehran; Iran |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 20 June A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The Bahá'is were also persecuted on
account of their faith prior to the armed conflict under the regime of
President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Four Bahá'ís were arrested in Sana'a on the accusation of proselytizing.
The three Bahá'is of Iranian origin who were arrested are Mr.
Zia'u'llah Pourahmari, Mr. Keyvan Qadari, and Mr. Mr. Behrooz Rohani . A
fourth Bahá'i, Mr. Sayfi Ibrahim Sayfi, was also arrested and faces the
possibility of deportation to Iraq. [BWNS651] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• July A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The publication of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the Most Holy Book, in Norwegian for the first time, bringing to about 30 the number of different language editions of the work. [BWNS646] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 8 July A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The Shrine of the Báb and the Resting Place of Baháu'lláh chosen as UNESCO World Heritage sites. [BWNS642, BWNS643] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 25 July A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Vietnam recognizes Bahá'ís as
religious community. This follows the election of the National Spiritual
Assembly some months earlier. The Bahá'í Faith was established in the
country in 1954, and the first National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahá'ís of Vietnam was elected 10 years later. In the mid-1970s, formal
activities of the community were suspended. [BWNS64] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 27 July A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The results of the nationwide
university entrance examination were made available on the National
Organization for Educational Assessment in Iran. Most of the Bahá'í
applicants found that they were rejected and received an incomplete file
message. For the 2007-2008 academic year some 800 of 1000 Bahá'í
students were rejected in the same manner. [Iranian, BWNS657] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 27 September A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The destruction of some 2,500 trees
and an irrigation system in the Bahá'í Cemetery of Iṣfáhán, known as
Gulestan-e Javid (Eternal Garden). Damage was also done to a building on
the site and traffic and other directional signs were pulled up. [Iran Press Watch] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• November A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Ameed Saadat sat Iran's 2008
national university entrance examination. He passed was accepted to
study hotel management at Goldasht College in Kelardasht, Mazandaran,
and began his studies. The college's registration form required students
to identify their religion. Ameed, being honest had identified himself
as a Bahá'í. The day before his first-term examinations were to begin
the college director told Ameed that he was being expelled and would
therefore not be allowed to sit the examinations. The following day, 26
students refused to take the end-of-term exam in protest against Ameed's
expulsion. [Iran Press Watch] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 1 / 2 November A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
The first of 41 Regional
Conferences held over a four month period to mark the mid-point of the
Five Year Plan held in Lusaka, Zambia. [Lusaka, BWNS642] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 8 / 9 November A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Nakuru, Kenya and Johannesburg, South Africa. [BWNS668] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 15 / 16 November A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Bangui, Central African Republic, Bangalore, India and Uvira, Democratic Republic of the Congo, [BWNS669] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 22 / 23 November A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Quito,
Ecuador, New Delhi, India, Kolkata, India, and Lubumbashi, Democratic
Republic of the Congo. [BWNS673] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 29 / 30 November A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Antofagasta, Chile, Manila, Philippines and Yaoundé, Cameroon. [BWNS675] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 6 / 7 December A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Portland, United States, Chicago, United States, Atlanta, United States and Almaty, Kazakhstan. [ Portand, Chicago, Atlanta, Almaty] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 13 / 14 December A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Stamford, United States, Dallas, United States and Los Angeles, United States. [BWNS677] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 20 / 21 December A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Kuching, Malaysia and São Paulo, Brazil. [BWNS683] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 27 / 28 December A.D. 2008
• A.M. |
Regional Conference held in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia. This conference represents the half-way point in the
series of 41 conferences between November 1st and March 1st. [BWNS685] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 3 / 4 January A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in London, United Kingdom and Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. [BWNS686] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 10 / 11 January A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Toronto, Canada and Guadalajara, Mexico. [BWNS687] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 17 / 18 January A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Lae, Papua New Guinea, Vancouver, Canada and Managua, Nicaragua. [BWNS689] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 24 / 25 January A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Sydney, Australia and Madrid, Spain. [BWNS690] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 31 December / 1February A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Auckland, New Zealand and Battambang, Cambodia. [BWNS692] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 3 February A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
The publication of "We are
Ashamed," an open letter from a group of academics, writers, artists,
journalists and Iranian activists throughout the world to the Bahá'í
community. This letter has been signed by a large number of the most
prominent Iranian intellectuals. [Iran Press Watch 998, Text of Letter in pdf] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 7 / 8 February A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Frankfurt, Germany and Padua, Italy. [Padua, Frankfurt] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 14 / 15 February A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
Regional Conference held in Istanbul, Turkey. [BWNS698] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 21 / 22 February A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
Regional Conferences held in Baku, Azerbaijan and Accra, Ghana. [BWNS700] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 28 February / 1 March A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
Regional Conference held in Kyiv, Ukraine. [BWNS701] |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 1 March A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
The purpose of the Regional
Conferences is to celebrate achievements during the first half of the
Five Year Plan and to deliberate on the next phase. Reports from the 41
Regional Conferences can be found at Conference Reports. |
|
|
• 165 B.E.
• A.H.
• 16 March A.D. 2009
• A.M. |
The Supreme Administrative Court
removes any grounds for preventing Baha'is from receiving proper
official identity documents by dismissing an appeal by two Muslim
lawyers thus clearing the way for an end to years of deprivation for
Egyptian Baha'is and opening the door to a new level of respect for
religious privacy in Egypt. The appeal sought to prevent the
implementation of a lower court ruling last year that said Baha'is can
leave blank the religious classification field on official documents,
including all-important identity cards and birth certificates. [BWNS703] |
| |
|
