29 June 2006: To the believers in the Cradle of the Faith through the Friends in Iran

Faithful and chosen friends of God,

The community of the Most Great Name the world over is filled with excitement and joy as a result of the launching of the new Five Year Plan. The loving messages of the delegates of the various National Conventions to the Bahá’í World Centre speak of the determination of the Bahá’ís everywhere to accelerate the process of entry by troops through the launching of intensive programmes of growth in no less than 1,500 clusters around the world. Many of these messages contained the joyful and soul-stirring news that the account of the steadfastness of the believers in Iran in the face of the current oppression and their faithfulness to the divine Teachings have assisted in creating a spiritual atmosphere in those gatherings. The messages received also indicate that your self-sacrifices in promoting the interests of the Faith under the current difficult conditions are a shining example of sacrifice, a source of spiritual strength and an effective means of encouragement for other lovers of Bahá’u’lláh in the uttermost corners of the world, making them more determined in their efforts to teach the Faith and serve the Cause. Note how the forces emanating from the forbearance of the dear Bahá’ís in Iran in these calamitous days have further clarified the meaning of the statement “Should they attempt to conceal its light on the continent it will assuredly rear its head in the midmost heart of the ocean and, raising its voice, proclaim: “I am the life-giver of the world!” and prepared the means for its material advancement. In this regard, recalling the divine promise made by the pen of the Blessed Beauty in reference to the persecutions inflicted on the Manifestation of God Himself is a source of upliftment to the soul. He states,

For now, however, they have hidden Me behind a veil of darkness, whose fabric they have woven with the hands of idle fancy and vain imagination. Erelong shall the snow-white hand of God rend an opening through the darkness of this night and unlock a mighty portal unto His City. On that Day shall the people enter therein by troops, uttering what the blamers aforetime exclaimed, that there shall be made manifest in the end that which appeared in the beginning. 

The House of Justice assures you that your steadfastness, courage and perseverance are continually called to mind with love and appreciation. 

“These woes, afflictions, sufferings, imprisonment and toil are recorded in the divine court, and their recompense is abundant and irrevocable decreed. He, verily, rewardest without measure those who are patient”.  [provisional translation] 

Ridván 2006: To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

Ridván 2006 is a moment charged with a spirit of triumph and anticipation. The followers of Bahá’u’lláh everywhere can take rightful pride in the magnitude of their accomplishments during the Five Year Plan now drawing to a close. And towards the future they can look with a confidence that is conferred only on those whose resolve is steeled through experience. The entire Bahá’í world is stirred at contemplating the scope of the five-year enterprise that lies ahead, the depth of consecration it will demand, and the results it is destined to achieve. Our prayers join yours as you turn in gratitude to Bahá’u’lláh for the privilege of witnessing the unfoldment of His purpose for humanity.

In our message of 27 December 2005 to the Counsellors gathered in the Holy Land, transmitted on that same day to all National Spiritual Assemblies, we delineated the features of the Five Year Plan that will stretch from 2006 to 2011. The friends and their institutions were urged to study the message thoroughly, and its content is no doubt well familiar to you. We now call upon each and every one of you to bend your energies towards ensuring that the goal of establishing over the next five years intensive programs of growth in no less than 1,500 clusters worldwide is successfully met. That in the months following the Counsellors’ departure from the World Centre the groundwork for the Plan’s launch was laid so rapidly and systematically in country after country is an indication of the eagerness with which the Bahá’í community is taking up the challenge presented to it. While there is no need for us to elaborate further on the requirements of the Plan here, we feel compelled to offer for your reflection a few comments on the global context in which your individual and collective efforts will be pursued.

More than seventy years ago Shoghi Effendi penned his World Order letters in which he provided a penetrating analysis of the forces operating in the world. With an eloquence that was his alone, he described two great processes that have been set in motion by Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, one destructive and the other integrative, both of which are propelling humanity towards the World Order He conceived. We were cautioned by the Guardian not to be “misled by the painful slowness characterizing the unfoldment of the civilization” being laboriously established or to be “deluded by the ephemeral manifestations of returning prosperity which at times appear to be capable of checking the disruptive influence of the chronic ills afflicting the institutions of a decaying age.” No review of the course of events in recent decades can fail to acknowledge the gathering momentum of the processes he analyzed then with such precision.

22 March 2006: To the Iranian believers living outside Iran

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

As you may be aware, the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief has recently issued a statement raising grave apprehension regarding government actions being taken against the believers in the Cradle of the Faith, which she characterizes as “impermissible and unacceptable”. There can be no doubt that the Blessed Beauty watches over His oppressed followers in Iran and enfolds them in His tender embrace. For our part, we are directing systematic action at the international and national levels to place before the world our concern over this heightened threat to that much-cherished Bahá’í community. As a result of the swift efforts of those who have been assigned responsibility for this work, the plight of the Bahá’ís in Iran is receiving attention from United Nations agencies, national governments, non-governmental organizations, and the media in many countries around the world. May a mighty outcry be raised everywhere to stay the hands of the aggressors.

These current developments mark another moment of intensity in the persecution besetting the Bahá’ís of Iran, an unending adversity that has ebbed and surged ever since the inception of the Faith in that land more than a century and a half ago. The Islamic Revolution in 1979 opened a new phase of this oppression. When in recent years the pressures on the friends seemed to lessen, they decided to join with their fellow believers throughout the rest of the world in establishing the institute process in their country. In November 2003, we addressed a message to the Bahá’ís of Iran in which we expressed our admiration and that of the Bahá’í world for their steadfastness in the face of continuous persecution and focused their attention on the spiritual enterprise Bahá’u’lláh Himself has assigned to them. A year later, they addressed a letter to the former president seeking redress for the long-standing infringement of their human and civil rights. The response of the authorities to all of this was to instigate a spate of arbitrary arrests and detentions.

31 December 2005: To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

As the gathering of the Continental Counsellors in the Holy Land draws to a close, we are moved to share with you the feelings of joy, triumph and confidence which have characterized several days of focused deliberation on the present Five Year Plan and on the global enterprise that will succeed it.

The Hand of the Cause of God ‘Alí-Muhammad Varqá opened the conference with a stirring appeal for resolute action, infusing the proceedings with a spirit of unwavering determination. Stories poured forth of the inspiring activities of the friends and the longing and responsiveness of the peoples of the world, conveying assurances that the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh is blossoming more abundantly in all parts of the globe. Persistent questions of how to sustain the process of growth, of how to achieve a balance between expansion and consolidation, that have engaged the Bahá’í community for nearly half a century found clear answers in the experiences shared from diverse clusters on all continents. Accounts of obstacles surmounted, fresh learning acquired, and creative insights discovered made it evident that the Army of Light is prepared to advance towards new horizons.

There can be no doubt that the Plan soon to end marks an upturn in the fortunes of the Faith. We look to the next decade and a half, the final years of the first century of the Formative Age, with great expectations of what will be accomplished. From this vantage point, the Bahá’í world can readily appreciate the significant extent to which the International Teaching Centre provided the impetus so indispensable to blazing the course set over these past few years and can, as well, discern the rich possibilities that its consecrated endeavors portend for the future.

Our message of 27 December addressed to the conference, which has already been transmitted to National Spiritual Assemblies, summarizes the learning about growth to date and delineates the priorities for the next Plan. Careful study of the message by all believers and institutions will be an essential requisite for the upcoming consultations that will take place at every level of the community upon the return home of the Counsellors.

The Universal House of Justice

(Online Baha’i Reference Library of the Baha’i World Center)

Ridván 2005: To the Bahá’ís of the World

Dearly loved Friends,

The breakthroughs that have occurred in the Bahá’í world since the beginning of the fifth epoch of the Formative Age have brought us immeasurable joy. The past twelve months have been no exception. The Bahá’í community has continued its systematic advance and now, as it enters the final year of the Five Year Plan, finds itself in a position of remarkable strength—a strength acquired through strenuous, deliberate exertion by the friends everywhere to promote the process of entry by troops.

While inadequate to express the full significance of the developments taking place, the statistics suggest something of the scope of what is being achieved. The human resources of the Faith have steadily multiplied. Altogether, more than 200,000 worldwide have completed Book 1 of the Ruhi Institute, and many thousands have reached the level where they can effectively act as tutors of the study circles that, with increasing frequency, are held in every part of the globe, over 10,000 at the last count. The number of seekers engaged in the core activities has continued to climb, crossing the 100,000 mark several months ago. Meanwhile, some 150 clusters have developed to the point that intensive programs of growth either have been launched or stand ready to be initiated. There is every indication that this number will be substantially surpassed by the end of the Plan.