19 September 1985: To all National Spiritual Assemblies

AFTER FEW MONTHS' CESSATION OF EXECUTIONS OF BAHA'IS IN IRAN, GRIEVED ANNOUNCE TWO FURTHER EXECUTIONS. VALIANT SOULS ARE MR 'ABBAS AYDIL-KHANI AND MR RAHMATU'LLAH VUJDANI. FORMER WAS EXECUTED ON 1 AUGUST IN PRISON WITHOUT ANY NOTIFICATION HIS FAMILY. HIS GRAVE WAS ACCIDENTALLY DISCOVERED NEAR TIHRAN. HE HAD BEEN IMPRISONED ON 26 APRIL 1982 IN ZANJAN WHERE HE REMAINED UNTIL APRIL 1985 WHEN HE WAS TAKEN TO TIHRAN. HE WAS 45 YEARS OLD AND WAS AN AIR-CONDITIONING TECHNICIAN. MANNER HIS EXECUTION STILL UNKNOWN. HIS WIFE IS ALSO IN PRISON IN ZANJAN.

MR RAHMATU'LLAH VUJDANI WAS ARRESTED IN JULY 1984 IN BANDAR-'ABBAS, WHERE HE WAS EXECUTED BY FIRING SQUAD ON 28 AUGUST 1985. HE WAS 57 YEARS OLD. HIS BODY WAS DELIVERED, AND HIS FUNERAL TOOK PLACE IN PRESENCE HIS FAMILY AND FRIENDS. HE WAS A TEACHER BY PROFESSION.

FROM THE END JANUARY TO SEPTEMBER 1985, 63 BAHA'IS WERE ARRESTED AND 39 RELEASED. TOTAL NUMBER PRISONERS NOW 741. THIS FIGURE INCLUDES 39 PRISONERS RELEASED DURING PERIOD. BAHA'I STUDENTS OF ALL LEVELS HAVE TO COMPLETE ADMISSION FORMS WHICH INCLUDE SPACE FOR ONLY FOUR OFFICIALLY RECOGNIZED RELIGIONS. BAHA'I STUDENTS WHO STATE THEY ARE BAHA'IS ARE DENIED SCHOOLING OR IF ADMITTED FACE TREMENDOUS PRESSURE AND HARASSMENT. OTHER FORMS PERSECUTION INNOCENT BAHA'IS PERSIST. ...

UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)

9 August 1985: To National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Baha'i friends,

The Universal House of Justice has asked us to send you the enclosed copy of a compilation on Peace prepared from the Baha'i Writings and the letters of the House of Justice by the Research Department.

As indicated in our letter of 2 July 1985, it is intended that the compilation be used to aid study by the friends of the Baha'i concepts on peace and to facilitate their understanding of the House of Justice's statement on peace recently mailed to you.  The House of Justice requests you to disseminate the compilation to the friends along with any advice you may have for its use. It should become a regular reference at summer schools and at other gatherings in which Baha'i adults and youth study the Teachings. Moreover, the compilation should become a ready resource for those preparing summaries and commentaries on the statement addressed by the House of Justice to the peoples of the world.

[The letter contained "additional information and advice" to facilitate preparing for activities in observance of the International Year of Peace.]

With loving Baha'i greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

(‘Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986’)

7 August 1985: To National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Baha'i friends,

This letter and the annexed memorandum of comments are addressed primarily to those National Spiritual Assemblies whose communities include large numbers of materially poor people but inasmuch as the principles expressed, as distinct from some of the procedures suggested, are of universal application, they are being sent to all National Assemblies.

There is a profound aspect to the relationship between a believer and the Fund, which holds true irrespective of his or her economic condition. When a human soul accepts Baha'u'llah as the Manifestation of God for this age and enters into the divine Covenant, that soul should progressively bring his or her whole life into harmony with the divine purpose -- he becomes a co-worker in the Cause of God and receives the bounty of being permitted to devote his material possessions, no matter how meagre, to the work of the Faith.

Giving to the Fund, therefore, is a spiritual privilege not open to those who have not accepted Baha'u'llah, of which no believer should deny himself. It is both a responsibility and a source of bounty. This is an aspect of the Cause which, we feel, is an essential part of the basic teaching and deepening of new believers. The importance of contributing resides in the degree of sacrifice of the giver, the spirit of devotion with which the contribution is made and the unity of the friends in this service; these attract the confirmations of God and enhance the dignity and self-respect of the individuals and the community.

To re-emphasize the spiritual significance of contributing to the Faith by all members of the Baha'i community, we quote the following extract from a letter of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Central and East Africa dated 8 August 1957:

5 August 1985: To National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Baha'i friends,

In its letter of 23 January 1985 concerning the International Year of Peace, the Universal House of Justice urged Baha'i communities to reach out to the non-Baha'i public by finding ways of discussing the important issues of peace with others. One way to make such discussions relevant and effective is for the friends to know and acknowledge and pay just tribute to persons whose lives were dedicated to peaceful means of bettering social conditions.

One such person was the black American Martin Luther King, Jr., whose promotion of non-violent means of achieving racial equality in the United States cost him his life. The positive effects of his heroic efforts brought encouragement to downtrodden peoples throughout the world and earned him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Four years later he was assassinated. His aspirations for a society in which the races can live in harmony are perhaps best expressed in the famous speech he delivered at a gathering of Some 250,000 people in the capital of the United States in 1963. A copy is enclosed.

21 July 1985: To all National Spiritual Assemblies

Dear Baha'i friends,

As you are aware, some national communities elect their delegates to the National Convention on the basis of areas which have Local Spiritual Assemblies, while in other, larger, national communities delegates are elected on the basis of electoral units in which all adult believers have the vote.

In view of the growth of the Faith and the developing life of the Baha'i communities, the Universal House of Justice has decided that, notwithstanding that in some countries the number of believers and of Local Spiritual Assemblies is still small, the time has come for delegates to National Conventions everywhere to be elected on the basis of electoral units, but with the option of introducing certain differences from the procedures followed to date.  These differences are explained below and are designed to make the system adaptable to the variations in the make-up of the many Baha'i communities and in the geography of the lands in which they are situated.

The House of Justice has decided that the number of delegates to each National Convention will remain unchanged for the present. However, if a National Assembly finds that under the new system a change would be advisable, it should feel free to write to the World Centre stating the reasons for its view.

When establishing the electoral unit basis for the election of delegates, a National Spiritual Assembly should divide the territory under its jurisdiction into electoral units, based on the number of adult Baha'is in each area, in such a way that each unit will be responsible for electing preferably one delegate only.

In addition to the voting, the opportunity for consultation with the delegates is important. Hitherto this has been achieved by calling a convention in each unit to which all the believers in that electoral unit are invited. The voting for delegates has then taken place at the unit conventions with provision for voting by mail for those who do not attend. In some areas these meetings have been very fruitful and have helped to foster collaboration among the believers in the unit. However, in other areas, no doubt for a number of reasons, attendance at unit conventions has been very low, as has been the voting by mail, and this has meant that the delegates have been elected by a relatively small proportion of the electorate. National Assemblies are free to call unit conventions if they find they are successful, but if they find problems of attendance they may follow the alternative method described below.