10 April 1998
To National Spiritual Assemblies in the Americas
Further to our message to all National Spiritual Assemblies about the passing of Mrs. Florence Mayberry, we request you to arrange befitting memorial meetings across your communities to honor her memory. Special meetings should be held in the Houses of Worship in Wilmette and Panama City for the same purpose.
The Universal House of Justice
(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)
9 April 1998
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
DEEPLY SADDENED LOSS OUTSTANDING STAUNCH PROMOTER FAITH FLORENCE MAYBERRY. HER TIRELESS INSPIRED SERVICES, LOCAL, NATIONAL, AND INTERNATIONAL, IN BOTH TEACHING AND ADMINISTRATIVE FIELDS, SPANNING OVER FORTY YEARS, CROWNED BY UNFORGETTABLE DECADE AS COUNSELOR MEMBER INTERNATIONAL TEACHING CENTER. VALIANT DEFENSE COVENANT, UNFLAGGING EFFORTS BLAZON NAME CAUSE, INTREPID FARFLUNG TRAVELS DISTINGUISH HER SPLENDID RECORD ACHIEVEMENTS. ASSURE FERVENT PRAYERS PROGRESS HER LUMINOUS SPIRIT CONFIDENT BOUNTIFUL REWARDS ABHÁ KINGDOM.
THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001’)
26 March 1998
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
HEARTS HEAVY WITH SORROW AT PROFOUND LOSS TO BAHÁ Í WORLD OF HUGH E. CHANCE, OUR DEARLY LOVED FORMER COLLEAGUE, STAUNCH, FAR-SIGHTED SUPPORTER CAUSE BAHÁ’ULLÁH. CONSTANT OPTIMISM, ADAMANTINE FAITH, INDOMITABLE WILL CHARACTERIZED HIS NOTABLE THREE-DECADE-LONG SERVICES AS MEMBER UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE SUBSEQUENT TO HIS MEMBERSHIP NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY UNITED STATES. HIS MANIFOLD CONTRIBUTIONS ORGANIZATION WORLD CENTER FAITH, HIS UNTIRING EFFORTS PROMOTE INTERESTS CAUSE ESPECIALLY FAR EAST ASIAN AND PACIFIC REGIONS, HIS VIGOROUS ASSISTANCE DEVELOPMENT EXTERNAL AFFAIRS ACTIVITIES BAHÁÍ INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY HAVE LEFT IMPERISHABLE RECORD ACHIEVEMENTS. SUPPLICATING ARDENTLY HOLY THRESHOLD THAT HIS NOBLE SOUL MAY REAP RICH REWARDS ABHÁ KINGDOM, THAT HE MAY BE JOYOUSLY REUNITED HIS BELOVED WIFE MARGARET, THAT HEARTS HIS DEAR DAUGHTER AND OTHER MEMBERS FAMILY MAY BE SOLACED.
ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS IN HIS HONOR ALL HOUSES WORSHIP AND THROUGHOUT BAHÁÍ COMMUNITY.
THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)
4 March 1998
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United
States
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
The Universal House of Justice has received your letter . . . inquiring about your review of music and special materials. ... . We are to convey the following reply.
The memorandum on Bahá’í publishing dated Ridván 1971, which the House of Justice sent to National Spiritual Assemblies, states that
“At this early stage of the Cause all works by Baha’is which
deal with the Faith, whether in the form of books, pamphlets, translations,
poems, songs, radio and television scripts, films, recordings, etc. must be
approved before submission for publication, whether to a Bahá’í or non-Bahá’í
publisher. In the case of material for purely local consumption the competent
authority is the Local Spiritual Assembly, otherwise the National Spiritual
Assembly (through its Reviewing Committee) is the approving authority.”
The obligation, as indicated in this statement, of Spiritual Assemblies to ensure the appropriateness of books, music and other items intended for dissemination in the interests of the Faith remains unchanged for the time being; but it will have to be carried out with flexibility in the light of changing circumstances. The House of Justice recognizes that the volume and variety of materials being created have greatly increased with the growth in size of the Baha’i community and the rapid advance and ease of use of communication and other technologies.
20 February 1998
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
Since the commencement of the Four Year Plan we have been greatly encouraged by the steady expansion of the Faith in many regions of the world and by the ongoing maturation of Bahá’í communities everywhere, and it is with joyful hearts that we announce the establishment next May of three new National Spiritual Assemblies and the reestablishment of another National Assembly:
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Sabah with its seat in Kota Kinabalu, whose inaugural National Convention is being organized by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Malaysia.
The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Sarawak with its seat in Kuching, whose inaugural National Convention is being organized by the Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Malaysia.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Slovakia with its seat in Bratislava, whose inaugural National Convention is being organized by the Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Czech and Slovak Republics.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Liberia, which circumstances have prevented from being reestablished since 1992, with its seat in Monrovia and its National Convention being organized by the Bahá’í Administrative Committee of Liberia.
The Regional Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Czech and Slovak Republics, with its seat in Prague, will become the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the Czech Republic.
At this critical stage in human history, it is our hope that Baha’is everywhere will be inspired by the continuing development of the Administrative Order in these countries and territories. May the friends in every land recognize the opportunities that lie before them, and may they arise to teach the Cause of God with enthusiasm and love.
With loving Baha’i greetings,
The Universal House of Justice
(Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1986-2001)
17 February 1998
To a Local Spiritual Assembly
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
The Universal House of Justice has received your email of 8 January 1998 in which you forwarded a question from one of the members of your Bahá’í community . . . regarding the recourse of the friends when they believe an Assembly has made an error. We are to reply as follows.
First, it is important to consider the unique nature of the Bahá'í Administrative Order, and the responsibilities of the individuals and the institutions within it. As...is no doubt aware, in the Bahá'í system, the individual votes for the members of the Spiritual Assembly with the understanding that she or he is free to choose without any interference whomever his conscience prompts him to select, and freely accepts the authority of the outcome. Submission of the believers to the decisions of the Assembly is essential to the achievement and maintenance of unity within the community. In the act of voting, the individual subscribes to a covenant by which the orderliness of society is upheld. The Assembly has the responsibility to guide, direct and decide on community affairs and the right to be obeyed and supported by members of the community. The individual has the responsibility to establish and maintain the Assembly through election, the offering of advice, moral support and material assistance; and he has the right to be heard by it, to receive its guidance and assistance, and to appeal any Assembly decision which he conscientiously feels is unjust or detrimental to the community.
Concerning the accountability of the Spiritual Assemblies, the Guardian in ‘God Passes By’ (p. 331) wrote that the Assemblies are "invested with an authority rendering them unanswerable for their acts and decisions to those who elect them," and that they are "solemnly pledged to follow, under all conditions, the dictates of the ‘Most Great Justice' that can alone usher in the reign of the ‘Most Great Peace' which Bahá'u'lláh has proclaimed and must ultimately establish." The Assemblies are therefore responsible to God rather than to those who elect them.
18 August 1997
To all National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
It is with much sadness that the Universal House of Justice has received the disturbing news that two more believers in Iran have been killed because of their Faith. While you may share this information with your community, no action should be taken at this time to publicize it in the media.
Mr. Masha’llah Enayati (Mashá’lláh ‘Ináyatí), a 63-year-old Bahá’í resident of Tihrán, who was well known for having constantly taught the Faith in a bold and zealous manner, died on 4 July 1997 after being severely beaten while in custody. During a visit to his native village of Ardistán to attend the meeting held to commemorate the anniversary of the Ascension of Bahá’u’lláh, Mr. Enayati was arrested in circumstances which are not clear. He was taken to prison in Isfahán, where he was severely beaten on all parts of the body. It appears that he was held in prison for about a week before being taken to a hospital. His daughter, who lives in Australia, was in Iran at the time and visited her father in the hospital, where he was still under armed guard, though it was only a minor matter for which he had been arrested. She witnessed the effects of the beating, including visible bruising all over his body and especially on his hands, which were black from his injuries. She reports that he was in good health before his arrest. Mr. Enayati passed away in the hospital. The Friends in Iran have added that Mr. Enayati’s death certificate is worded in a most unusual way, suggesting that the doctor may himself have been under threat and thereby pressured to falsify the certificate. Under "cause of death" is entered, "Will be known later," in the handwriting of the doctor.
11 August 1997
To National Spiritual Assemblies
Dear Bahá’í Friends,
In our letter of 10 October 1994 conveying a paper on the external affairs strategy approved by the Universal House of Justice, we were instructed to say that the coordination of the external affairs work would be effected through close collaboration between National Spiritual Assemblies and the Bahá’í International Community’s United Nations Office and Office of Public Information, and we also indicated that it would take some time before these Offices would be prepared to initiate communications with you concerning the details of the plans to be pursued. Our purpose in writing to you now is to say that the United Nations Office will shortly launch its first coordinated program of diplomatic work in accordance with the strategy. The program will be concerned with human rights education. In anticipation of this initial effort, the House of Justice wishes us to convey the following.
As you know, the external affairs work falls into two main categories: diplomatic and public information. The emphasis of the United Nations Office, as distinct from that of the Office of Public Information, will be on the plans to be executed by your Assemblies towards building effective relations with your governments and influencing official attitudes and policies on matters of global, rather than of strictly national, importance. The efforts thus required necessitate the exercise of skills and approaches similar to those employed in the campaign to defend our persecuted coreligionists in Iran and other countries. The obvious difference with the external affairs strategy is that your concentration will be on promoting the interests of society as a whole and not on calling attention to a need to assist the Bahá'í community.