Dearly loved friends,
One of the greatest sources of consolation for the Universal
House of Justice amid the tribulations of the past twelve years, has been the
establishment and growth of the Continental Boards of Counsellors, and the
assistance that this institution has been rendering, in ever-increasing
measure, to the sound development of the world-wide Bahá'í community. We cannot
pay too high a tribute to the indefatigable labours of the devoted souls who
have been called upon to shoulder this onerous responsibility, and who have
followed with such fidelity the path of self-sacrificing service that has been
blazed for them by the beloved Hands of the Cause of God.
In June 1979 we were moved to announce that the duration of
the terms of office of Continental Counsellors would be five years, to start on
the Day of the Covenant of this year. As this date approaches, we have decided
that the time is ripe for a further step in the development of the institution
itself that will, at one and the same time, accord greater discretion and
freedom of action to the Continental Boards of Counsellors in the carrying out
of their duties, and widen the scope of each Board to embrace an entire
continent. In accordance with this decision, the zones of the Continental
Boards of Counsellors will, from the Day of the Covenant of the year 137 (26
November 1980), be as follows:
1. Africa, comprising the areas of the four present zones of
that continent.
2. The Americas, comprising the present zones of North,
Central and South America.
3. Asia, comprising the present zones of Western, South
Central and South-eastern Asia, together with the present zone of North-eastern
Asia without the Hawaiian Islands and Micronesia.
4. Australasia, comprising the present zone of Australasia
plus the Hawaiian Islands and Micronesia.
5. Europe.
Those who are now appointed as Counsellors to serve on these
Continental Boards for the next five years are:
Africa: Dr Hushang Ahdieh (Trustee of the Continental Fund),
Mr Husayn Ardikani, Mr Friday Ekpe, Mr Oloro Epyeru, Mr Shidan Fat'he-Aazam, Mr
Zekrullah Kazemi, Mr Muhammad Kebdani, Mrs Thelma Khelghati, Mr William
Masehla, Mr Muhammad Mustafa, Mr Kolonario Oule, Mrs Isobel Sabri, Dr Mihdi
Samandari, Mr Peter Vuyiya, Mrs Bahiyyih Winckler.
The Americas: Dr Hidayatu'llah Ahmadiyyih, Dr Farzam Arbab,
Mrs Carmen de Burafato, Mr Athos Costas, Mr Angus Cowan, Mr Lloyd Gardner
(Trustee of the Continental Fund), Mr Mas'ud Khamsi, Mrs Lauretta King, Mr
Artemus Lamb, Mr Peter McLaren, Mr Raul Pavon, Dr Sarah Pereira, Mrs Ruth
Pringle, Mr Fred Schechter, Mrs Velma Sherrill, Mr Donald Witzel.
Asia: Mr Burhani'd-Din Afshin, Mrs Shirin Boman, Dr Masih
Farhangi, Dr John Fozdar, Mr Zabihu'llah Gulmuhammadi, Mr Aydin Gueney, Mr
Dipchand Khianra, Mr Ruhu'llah Mumtazi, Mr S. Nagaratnam, Mr Khudarahm Payman
(Trustee of the Continental Fund), Mr Manuchihr Salmanpur, Mr Vicente
Samaniego, Mrs Zena Sorabjee, Dr Chellie Sundram, Mr Hideya Suzuki, Mr Yan Kee
Leong.
Australasia: Mr Suhayl 'Ala'i, Mr Ben Ayala, Mr Owen
Battrick (Trustee of the Continental Fund), Mr Richard Benson, Mrs Tinai
Hancock, Dr Peter Khan, Mr Lisiate Maka.
Europe: Mr Erik Blumenthal, Mrs Dorothy Ferraby, Dr Agnes
Ghaznavi, Mr Hartmut Grossmann, Mr Louis Henuzet (Trustee of the Continental
Fund), Mrs Ursula Muehlschlegel, Dr Leo Niederreiter, Mrs Betty Reed, Mr Adib
Taherzadeh.
A number of friends who have rendered highly valued services
as Counsellors are not being re-appointed for the coming term, and we wish to
express here our profound gratitude for the devoted labours they have rendered
and are rendering in the path of the Cause. These dearly loved believers are:
Mr Seewoosumbur-Jeehoba Appa, Dr Iraj Ayman, Mr Rowland
Estall, Mr Howard Harwood, Miss Violet Hoehnke, Mrs Salisa Kermani, Mr Paul
Lucas, Miss Elena Marsella, Mr Alfred Osborne, Miss Thelma Perks, Mr Hadi
Rahmani, Mr 'Imad Sabiran, Miss Edna True.
Henceforth the Board of Counsellors in each continent will
have wider discretion to decide such matters as whether to divide its area into
zones, and what the boundaries of such zones should be, the number and location
of the Board's offices, and the manner in which the members of the Auxiliary
Boards will report to and operate under the Counsellors. The principles and
policies governing the operation of the Continental Boards of Counsellors,
however, and their relationships with the National and Local Spiritual
Assemblies and the individual believers will remain unchanged. As the Bahá'í
world experiences the manifold interactions of these two vital and
complementary arms of the Administrative Order of Bahá'u'lláh, the unique
benefits of this divinely ordained System become ever more apparent. The
harmonious interaction and the proper discharge of the duties of these
institutions representing the rulers and the learned among the people of Baha
is the essential basis at this time for the protection of the Cause of
Bahá'u'lláh and the fulfilment of its God-given mandate.
Events of the most profound significance are taking place in
the world. The river of human history is flowing at a bewildering speed.
Age-old institutions are collapsing. Traditional ways are being forgotten, and
newly born ideologies which were fondly expected to take their place, are
withering and decaying before the eyes of their disillusioned adherents. Amidst
this decay and disruption, assailed from every side by the turmoil of the age,
the Order of Bahá'u'lláh, unshakeably founded on the Word of God, protected by
the shield of the Covenant and assisted by the hosts of the Concourse on High,
is rising in every part of the world.
Every institution of this divinely created Order is one more
refuge for a distraught populace; every soul illumined by the light of the
sacred Message is one more link in the oneness of mankind, one more servant
ministering to the needs of an ailing world. Even should the Bahá'í
communities, in the years immediately ahead, be cut off from the World Centre
or from one another -- as some already have been -- the Bahá'ís will neither
halt nor hesitate; they will continue to pursue their objectives, guided by
their Spiritual Assemblies and led by the Counsellors, the members of the
Auxiliary Boards and their assistants. It is our prayer at the Sacred Threshold
that the new and challenging development now taking place in the evolution of
the institution of the Counsellors will release great energies for the
advancement of the Cause of God in every land.
The Universal House of Justice
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963 to
1986’)
