Dear Baha'i friends,
At this time when our thoughts are so often directed toward our beleaguered brethren in the Cradle of the Faith, where no relenting of the persecutions is in sight, the Universal House of Justice is moved to call on National Spiritual Assemblies to schedule a day of prayer in order to extol the memory of the glorious martyrs, and to invoke the power of God to emancipate the Iranian believers from the fetters of oppression and hardship. Each National Assembly should select a suitable day and request all Baha'i communities under its jurisdiction to hold appropriate gatherings on that specific day.
There is no doubt that the persecutions in Iran have attracted the interest of the public in a number of countries to the Cause of God and many have even expressed deep and genuine sympathy for the plight of the Persian friends. In such countries, if the National Assembly considers it desirable, it will be entirely permissible to invite to the prayer meetings, in the spirit and manner befitting the occasion, members of sympathetic organizations or selected individual non-Baha'is. These meetings could confirm and deepen the love and respect that many already cherish in their hearts for the Cause of God.
The following suggestions may be helpful to you:
If invitations are to be extended to non-Baha'i friends, consideration should be given to those in authority both on national and local levels, leaders of thought, prominent people of all walks of life, and those sympathetic to the Faith. A general invitation to the public could also be issued in some localities, if appropriate and advisable.
Where Baha'i centres are unavailable or inadequate for such meetings, public or community halls could be hired. If all efforts fail to obtain such secular facilities, it would also be permissible, as a last resort, to hold the gatherings in public halls owned by, or places of worship of, other religious communities, if such places are spontaneously offered or easily available, and provided it is absolutely clear that the meetings are to be conducted by, and under the auspices of, the Baha'is.
In each country where a Mashriqu'l-Adhkar is located the national meeting should be held by the National Assembly concerned in the Mother Temple.
It is important that the gatherings be carefully planned well in advance and the meetings be held with utmost dignity.
In countries where it would not be propitious to invite non-Baha'is to the proposed prayer meetings, such gatherings should as usual be confined to Baha'is.
The House of Justice is confident that the power of prayer emanating from these meetings will attract divine blessings, will cause the souls of those who have joined the hosts on high to rejoice, and will assist the endeavours of the believers everywhere in expediting the triumph of the Cause of God.
With loving Baha'i greetings,
Department of the Secretariat
(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)
