THE BAHA'I PRINCIPLE
OF GRADUALISM.
Nonetheless, the service
of women on the elected institutions of
the Baha'i Faith has
emerged only gradually. Although a few
exceptional Baha'i
women have always set the example for their sex,
the role of women on
Baha'i institutions in the community as a
whole has not been
comparable to that of men. Traditional notions
of inequality, as well
as the restrictions of a hostile
environment, have caused
the participation of women to lag behind.
Even to the present
day, the participation of women on National
Spiritual Assemblies,
Boards of Counsellors, and Auxiliary Boards
is not equal to that
of men, as the charts show. A long road has
yet to be travelled.
Participation of Women
in Baha'i Institutions
"The equality of men
and women is not, at the present time,
universally applied.
In those areas where traditional inequality
still hampers its progress
we must take the lead in practicing this
Baha'i principle. Baha'i
women and girls must be encouraged to take
part in the social,
spiritual and administrative activities of
their communities."
The Universal House of Justice, Ridvan 1984.
Numbers of women members
on National Spiritual Assemblies
Country | 1953 | 1963 | 1973 | 1979 | 1985 |
Africa | 0 | 4 | 58 | 53 | 103 |
Americas | 18 | 82 | 86 | 106 | 131 |
Asia | 0 | 11 | 35 | 33 | 39 |
Australasia | 5 | 8 | 26 | 24 | 33 |
Europe | 11 | 44 | 40 | 44 | 48 |
World | 34 | 149 | 245 | 260 | 354 |
The following table
shows, by continent, the numbers of National
Assemblies with their
corresponding numbers of women members
indicated by the column
headings. For example, column 1, line 1,
there are 4 Assemblies
in Africa with no women members.
Number of women on a National Spiritual Assembly | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
Africa | 4 | 9 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Americas | 1 | 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Asia | 5 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Australasia | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Europe | 1 | 4 | 6 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
World | 13 | 37 | 34 | 28 | 21 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
(Information provided
by the Department of Statistics at the Baha'i
World Centre, and reprinted
from dialogue, volume 1, no. 3
(Summer/Fall 1986),
p 31.)
The gradual emergence
of women on the institutions of the
Faith should not come
as a surprise, however. Virtually all Baha'i
laws and practices
have gone through a gradual evolution in Baha'i
history. The recognition
of the principle of the equality of men
and women, and its
gradual application in the development of Baha'i
Administration is no
exception.
The principle
of progressive revelation, the concept of the
gradual emergence of
divine purpose, is a universal principle which
applies within the
dispensation of each Manifestation, as well as
between dispensations.
Baha'u'llah Himself has explained:
Know of a certainty
that in every Dispensation the light of
Divine Revelation
hath been vouchsafed to men in direct
proportion to their
spiritual capacity. Consider the sun. How
feeble its rays
the moment it appeareth above the horizon. How
gradually its warmth
and potency increase as it approacheth its
zenith, enabling
meanwhile all created things to adapt
themselves to the
growing intensity of its light. How steadily
it declineth until
it reacheth its setting point. Were it all
of a sudden to
manifest the energies latent within it, it would
no doubt cause
injury to all created things....
In like manner,
if the Sun of Truth were suddenly to reveal,
at the earliest
stages of its manifestation, the full measure
of the potencies
which the providence of the Almighty hath
bestowed upon
it, the earth of human understanding would waste
away and be consumed;
for men's hearts would neither sustain
the intensity
of its revelation, nor be able to mirror forth
the radiance of
its light. Dismayed and overpowered, they
would cease to
exist. [3]
The Universal
House of Justice has demonstrated how this
principle of progressive
revelation has applied, and continues to
apply, to the implementation
of Baha'i law, particularly to the
laws of the Kitab-i
Aqdas. The Central Figures of the Faith have
promulgated these laws
only gradually as the condition of the
Baha'i community would
allow. [4]
Similarly, 'Abdu'l-Baha
recognised that women could not take
their rightful place
in the affairs of the world all at once.
Throughout history
women have been deprived of education and
opportunity. Therefore,
it was impossible that they would be able
to immediately play
an equal role in Baha'i life. But 'Abdu'l-Baha
has insisted that all
distinctions of sex will be erased once
women attain proper
education and experience. He says:
Woman's lack
of progress and proficiency has been due to her
need for equal
education and opportunity. Had she been
allowed this
equality, there is no doubt she would be the
counterpart of
man in ability and capacity. [5]
In a talk given
in New York, 'Abdu'l-Baha again pinpoints
education as the key
to women's equality:
...if woman be
fully educated and granted her rights, she will
attain the capacity
for wonderful accomplishments and prove
herself the
equal of man. She is the coadjutor of man; his
complement and
helpmeet. Both are human, both are endowed
with potentialities
of intelligence and embody the virtues
of humanity.
In all human powers and functions they are
partners and
co-equals. At present in spheres of human
activity woman
does not manifest her natal prerogatives
owing to lack
of education and opportunity.[6]
In Paris He said:
...the female
sex is treated as though inferior, and is not
allowed equal
rights and privileges. This condition is not
due to nature,
but to education. In the Divine Creation
there is no such
distinction. Neither sex is superior to the
other in the
sight of God. Why then should one sex assert the
inferiority of
the other...If women received the same
educational advantages
as those of men, the result would
demonstrate the
equality of capacity of both for scholarship.
[7]
On another occasion
he made the same point:
The only difference
between them [ie: men and women] now is
due to lack of education
and training. If woman is given equal
opportunity of education,
distinction and estimate of inferiority
will disappear. [8]
And again:
Therefore, woman
must receive the same education as man and
all inequality be adjusted.
Thus, imbued with the same virtues as
man, rising through
all the degrees of human attainment, women will
become the peers of
men, and until this equality is established,
true progress and attainment
for the human race will not be
facilitated. [9]
It was clearly
'Abdu'l-Baha's position that lack of education
and opportunity had
relegated woman to an inferior position in
society, and that through
education and experience all inequalities
of sex would be gradually
removed. His own policies and actions
concerning the service
of women on the institutions of the Faith
reflected this belief
in gradualism.
THE FIRST BAHA'I INSTITUTIONS
Any investigation
of the history of the development of the
Baha'i Administrative
Order will reveal that Baha'i women only
gradually took their
place beside the men in this area of service
- and not without struggle.
This has been especially true in the
East, where women were
most heavily restricted. But lack of
education and other
cultural circumstances have affected the
participation of women
on Baha'i institutions all over the world.
The first Hands
of the Cause appointed by Baha'u'llah were,
for example, all males.
'Abdu'l-Baha appointed no additional Hands,
and it was only during
the ministry of Shoghi Effendi that women
were appointed to this
rank. Even so, it has been only Western
Baha'i women who have
been found qualified for this distinction.
At later times,
when the first Auxiliary Boards to the Hands
of the Cause were appointed,
and then the first contingents of
Boards of Counsellors,
women were included. But circumstances
dictated that it be
mostly Western women who were appointed, and
that their numbers
were far fewer than those of men. As the above
chart shows, that situation
remains the same today. This is not due
to any policy of discrimination
on the part of the institutions of
the Faith, but simply
due to historical circumstances. As the
position of women improves
- especially in Asia and Africa - with
respect to education
and experience, we can expect that the current
situation will change
in favour of more participation of women.
The House of Justice
of Tehran
The struggle for the
equal participation of women in Baha'i
Administration has
been played out most dramatically, however, in
the arena of the development
of local institutions. The first of
these bodies was formed
in Tehran, Iran, at the initiative of
individual believers.
In 1873, Baha'u'llah
revealed the Kitab-i-Aqdas, the Most
Holy Book, His book
of laws. Here He established the institution of
the House of Justice
(bayt al-'adl). The Kitab-i-Aqdas states:
The Lord hath
ordained that in every city a House of Justice
(bayt al-'adl)
be established wherein shall gather
counsellors to
the number of Baha [i.e., nine], and should it
exceed this number
it does not matter ... It behoveth them to
be the trusted
ones of the Merciful among men and to regard
themselves as
the guardians appointed of God for all that
dwell on earth.
It is incumbent on them to take counsel
together and
to have regard for the interests of the servants
of God, for His
sake, even as they regard their own interests,
and to choose
that which is meet and seemly.[10]
In the same book it
is written:
O ye Men of Justice!
(rijal al-'adl) Be ye in the realm of
God shepherds
unto His sheep and guard them from the ravening
wolves that have
appeared in disguise, even as ye would guard
your own sons.
Thus exhorteth you the Counsellor, the
Faithful.[11]
There are other references
in the Kitab-i-Aqdas to the House of
Justice (bayt al-'adl)
or the Place of Justice (maqarr al-'adl)
which define its function
and fix some of its revenues. In most
cases, these references
are not specific but refer to the general
concept of a House
of Justice rather than a particular institution.
The Universal House
of Justice has explained:
In the Kitab-i-Aqdas
Baha'u'llah ordains both the Universal
House of Justice
and the Local Houses of Justice. In many of
His laws He refers
simply to "the House of Justice" leaving
open for later
decision which level or levels of the whole
institution each
law would apply to.[12]
Although the
Kitab-i-Aqdas was revealed in 'Akka in 1873, it
was withheld for some
time by Baha'u'llah before it was distributed
to the Baha'is of Iran.[13]
It appears that it was not until around
1878 that the Baha'is
of Tehran received copies of the book and began
to implement some of
its laws in their personal lives.
Upon reading
the Kitab-i Aqdas, Mirza Asadu'llah Isfahani, a
prominent Baha'i teacher
living in Tehran, was particularly struck
by the command of Baha'u'llah
that a House of Justice should be
established by the
Baha'is in every city. Mirza Asadu'llah is an
important figure in
Baha'i history: he eventually married the
sister of 'Abdu'l-Baha's
wife; he was (as we shall see) one of the
earliest Baha'i teachers
sent to America by 'Abdu'l-Baha to
instruct the new Western
believers and he later accompanied
'Abdu'l-Baha on his
travels in Europe. In any case, in 1878 he was
the first to undertake
the organization of a local House of Justice
in Iran. He took the
initiative to invite eight other prominent
believers to form a
body, responding to the laws of the Kitab-i
Aqdas, which they referred
to as bayt al-'adl (House of Justice) or
bayt al-a'zam ( the
Most Great House).
The organization
of this first House of Justice was kept a
secret, even from the
believers. However, it met sporadically in
the home of Mirza Asadu'llah
for a couple of years. After consulting
with this body, the
prominent Baha'i men who had been invited to
attend its meetings
would seek to take action as individual Baha'i
teachers that would
implement its decisions.
Around 1881,
the Tehran House of Justice was reorganized and
more members were added.
The House adopted a written constitution
and pursued its activities
with more organization and vigour than
before. The constitution
mandated, however, that the meetings
remain strictly confidential,
hidden from the body of the believers.
This constitution also
assumes that the members of the House would
all be men (aqayan).
Naturally, considering the social conditions
in Iran at the time,
no other arrangement was possible.
Some of the minutes
of this early House of Justice survive
today. It was a gathering
of the older and more prominent Baha'i
men of Tehran. Meetings
were attended by invitation only, and at
times included fourteen
members or more. Eventually, this meeting
came to be called the
Consultative Gathering (majlis-i shur),
while the house where
the body met was referred to as the House of
Justice (bayt al-'adl).
These meetings sought to assist and
protect the Baha'is
through consultation on various problems.
The House in Tehran
sent Baha'i teachers to other cities in Iran
to organize Houses
of Justice there. Again, the decisions of the
House were always carried
out by individuals, and the consultations
remained secret.
The organization
of this body eventually met with some
controversy. One important
Baha'i teacher, Jamal-i Burujurdi, who
later - in the time
of 'Abdu'l-Baha - would become a notorious
Covenant-breaker, objected
strongly to the organization of a House
of Justice in Tehran.
Because of these objections, the Baha'is
involved on the House
appealed to Baha'u'llah for guidance.
Baha'u'llah replied
with a Tablet in which He approved of the
House of Justice and
strongly upheld the principle of
consultation in the
Baha'i Faith. [14]
Early Organisation
in America
When the first
rudimentary local Baha'i institutions were
organized in the United
States, their membership was also confined
to men. Later, as various
forms of Baha'i organization at the local
level became more common,
men and women served together. But it was
the understanding of
the Baha'is at the turn of the century that
consultative bodies
in the Baha'i community should be composed of
men. This understanding
became firmly institutionalized in the
largest Baha'i communities
of New York, Chicago, and Kenosha,
Wisconsin, and was
sanctioned by 'Abdu'l-Baha.
A scholarly history
of the beginnings of Baha'i organization
in America has yet
to be written. Many of the details of these
events have yet to
be uncovered. However, it appears that the
early American Baha'is
were moved to form local councils for the
first time in 1900,
as a consequence of the defection of Ibrahim
Kheiralla from the
community. Kheiralla, a Lebanese Christian who
had been converted
to the Baha'i Faith in Egypt by a Persian
Baha'i, 'Abdu'l-Karim
Tihrani, had brought the Baha'i teachings to
America and had acted
as the head of the Faith in the West until
that point. His repudiation
of 'Abdu'l-Baha as the rightful leader
of the Faith and chosen
successor to his Father caused a temporary
rift among the Baha'is.
In the fall of
1899, Edward Getsinger, a leading American
Baha'i, appointed five
men as a "Board of Counsel" for the Baha'is
of northern New Jersey.[15]
Isabella Brittingham was made the
honorary corresponding
secretary, but was not a member of the body.
Later, in a letter
dated March 21, 1900, Thornton Chase wrote from
Chicago: "We have formed
a 'Board of Council' with 10 members." In
this letter, Chase
lists the names of nine of these members, all of
whom were men. [16]
In June of 1900,
however, it appears that the Chicago Board
was reorganized. 'Abdu'l-Karim
Tihrani had travelled to America at
the request of 'Abdu'l-Baha
and had arrived in Chicago at the end
of May. The Baha'is
of Chicago immediately asked him to draw up
rules and regulations
that would govern the affairs of their
Board. As a result,
the Board of Counsel was expanded to nineteen
members, some of whom
were women. In a statement to the press the
Baha'is indicated that
this Board was being organized to replace
Ibrahim Kheiralla,
whom they repudiated as the leader of the Faith.
[18]
Although 'Abdu'l-Karim
remained in Chicago for only a short
time, his nineteen-member
Board appears to have functioned for
about a year. However,
on May 15, 1901, a nine-member, all-male
House of Justice was
elected in Chicago to replace it. This was
done at the direction
of Mirza Asadu'llah Isfahani, who had been
sent to America by
'Abdu'l-Baha. Writing to the House of Justice
in New York that had
already been established, the Chicago House
wrote:
Recently His
Honor, Mirza Assad'Ullah, received a Tablet from
the Master, Abdul-Baha,
in which He has positively declared
to be necessary
the establishment here of the House of
Justice by election
by the believers with order and just
dealing. According
to this blessed Announcement, our
believers have
elected those whom they deemed best fitted,
and thus The
House of Justice was established. [19]
It was Mirza
Asadu'llah who instructed the Baha'is of Chicago
that the new House
of Justice should be composed only of men. He and
his company appear
to have regarded the nineteen-member Board as
illegitimate, possibly
because women served as members.
The change to
an all-male institution was not accomplished
without anguish. Writing
years later, Fannie Lesch, who had served
on the Board of Counsel,
wrote:
We had a Council
Board of men and women after Dr. Kheiralla
left us... Mirza
Assad'Ullah ignored us, although they were
all invited to
meet with us, and he established a House of
Justice of men
only...[20]
Only days after the
election of the Chicago House of Justice, a
Ladies' Auxilliary
Board was organized at the suggestion of Mrs.
Ella Nash and Mrs.
Corinne True. This Board was later to be known
as the Women's Assembly
of Teaching. It appears that the Ladies'
Auxilliary was able
to maintain control of the funds of the Chicago
Baha'i community despite
the election of the House of Justice.[21]
Men of Justice
The belief that
women were not eligible for service on local
Baha'i institutions
was based on the language of certain passages
of the Kitab-i Aqdas
which refer to the House of Justice. Of course,
as we have noted above,
these passages do not make a distinction
between local, national,
and international bodies. The institution
as a whole is addressed.
Baha'u'llah twice uses the Arabic word
rijal (gentlemen) to
refer to the members of the Houses of Justice.
He says:
O ye Men (rijal)
of Justice! Be ye in the realm of God
shepherds unto
His sheep... [22]
And:
We have designated
a third of all fines for the Place of
Justice (maqarr
al-'adl), and exhort its members (rijal) to
show forth perfect
equity...[23]
The word rijal
(plural; singular is rajul) is exclusively
masculine in Arabic.
A dictionary would render an English
definition of rajul
as: man, gentleman; important man, statesman,
nobleman. (A related
form of the word, rujula or rujuliyya, would
be translated as: masculinity;
virility.) Since Baha'u'llah
addressed the members
of the Houses of Justice using this term,
it appears that it
was universally assumed that only men were
eligible for service
on such institutions.
The word rijal,
meaning men, is used in the Qur'an and is
part of an important
passage which establishes the relationship
between men and women
in Islam (Qur'an 4:34):
Men (rijal) are
superior to women (nisa') on account of the
qualities with which
God hath gifted the one above the other, and
on account of the outlay
they make from their substance for them.
However, Baha'u'llah
has in His Writings clearly established
the principle of the
equality of men and women. It is therefore
possible that when
He used the word rijal He did not intend its
normal meaning.
Although rijal
is the normal Arabic word for men (as opposed
to women), there are
passages in the Writings of Baha'u'llah that
indicate that He may
have used the term in a special sense. Such
passages suggest that,
in a Baha'i context, the word may be
understood to include
women. Baha'u'llah has stated that women in
His Cause are all to
be accorded the same station as men - and He
has used the very term
rijal to make this point. For example, He
writes:
Today the Baha'i
women (lit., the leaves of the Holy Tree)
must guide the
handmaidens of the earth to the Lofty Horizon
with the utmost
purity and sanctity. Today the handmaidens of
God are regarded
as gentlemen (rijal). Blessed are they!
Blessed are they!
[24]
And in another passage:
Today whoever
among the handmaidens attains the knowledge of
the Desire of
the World [i.e., Baha'u'llah] is considered a
gentleman (rajul)
in the Divine Book. [25]
And in another place:
...many a man
(rajul) hath waited expectant for God's
Revelation, and
yet when the Light shone forth from the
horizon of the
world, all but a few turned their faces away
from it. Whosoever
from amongst the handmaidens hath
recognized the
Lord of all Names is recorded in the Book as
one of those
men (rijal) by the Pen of the Most High. [26]
Likewise, 'Abdu'l-Baha
in one of his Tablets has made the same
point:
Verily, according
to Baha'u'llah, women are judged as
gentlemen (rijal).
[27]
However, such
passages were not raised as an issue at the
time, either because
the believers were not aware of them, or
because they did not
find them applicable. Certainly, the
American Baha'is had
no access to these texts and had to rely on
the understandings
of the Persian teachers who were sent by
'Abdu'l-Baha to guide
them.
Names and Terminology
In any case, it was
the goal of Mirza Asadu'llah to establish a
House of Justice among
the believers in Chicago, as he indicated
to the Baha'is that
'Abdu'l-Baha had instructed him to do. He had
been at the centre
of the organization of the first House of
Justice in Tehran,
and he assumed a similar role in Chicago. At
his direction, the
Baha'is in Chicago elected nine men by ballot
to a new institution.
Those elected were: George Lesch, Charles H.
Greenleaf, John A.
Guilford, Dr. Rufus H. Bartlett, Thornton
Chase, Charles Hessler,
Arthur S. Agnew, Byron S. Lane and Henry L.
Goodall. [28]
At its first
meeting, the House of Justice decided to raise
the number of its members
to twelve. The body appointed three
additional Baha'i men
to serve. The minutes of the meeting read:
Motion made and
seconded that Messrs. Ioas, Pursels and
Doney be selected
as add'n [additional] members of this Board
of Council. Said
motion approved by Board. Secretary
instructed to
notify said members. [29]
This action was taken,
no doubt, in accordance with the statement
of Baha'u'llah in the
Kitab-i Aqdas that the minimum number of
members for a House
of Justice is nine, "and should it exceed this
number it does not
matter." It is instructive to note that, in its
first minutes, the
secretary of the House of Justice refers to it
as a "Board of Council."
This illustrates the fluidity of
terminology that was
used for Baha'i meetings and institutions at
the time. Standard
terms for the Baha'i institutions did not
become fixed and universal
until well after the passing of
'Abdu'l-Baha. Today,
the elected local and national Baha'i
institutions are known
as "Spiritual Assemblies," while the term
"House of Justice"
is reserved exclusively for the supreme,
international institution.
In the early years of this century,
however, though these
same terms were in use among the Baha'is,
they were not used
in the same ways.
'Abdu'l-Baha
himself confirmed the legitimacy of the
election of the first
Chicago House of Justice. A Tablet,
probably received in
September 1901, is addressed from
'Abdu'l-Baha "To the
members of the House of Justice, the
servants of the Covenant,
the faithful worshippers of the Holy
Threshold of the Beauty
of El-Abha." Two such Tablets addressed to
the House of Justice
of Chicago are translated in the compilation
Tablets of Abdul-Baha
Abbas. [31]
Shoghi Effendi,
writing much later in 1929, has discussed the
significance of these
Tablets. He says:
That the Spiritual
Assemblies of today will be replaced in
time by Houses
of Justice, and are to all intents and purposes
identical and
not separate bodies, is abundantly confirmed by
'Abdu'l-Baha
Himself. He has in fact in a Tablet addressed to
the members of
the first Chicago Spiritual Assembly, the first
elected Baha'i
body instituted in the United States, referred
to them as members
of the "House of Justice" for that city,
and has thus
with His own pen established beyond any doubt the
identity of the
present Baha'i Spiritual Assemblies with the
House of Justice
referred to by Baha'u'llah. For reasons which
are not difficult
to discover, it has been found advisable to
bestow upon the
elected representatives of Baha'i communities
throughout the
world the temporary appellation of Spiritual
Assemblies, a
term which, as the position and aims of the
Baha'i Faith
are better understood and more fully recognised,
will gradually
be superseded by the permanent and more
appropriate designation
of House of Justice. [32]
This "temporary appellation"
was assumed at the instruction of
'Abdu'l-Baha about
a year after the election of the Chicago House
of Justice. The minutes
of the House of Justice for May 10, 1902,
read:
Mr/ Greenleaf
stated that he was instructed by Mirza Assad
Ullah to inform
this Body that here after and until otherwise
informed it shall
be known as the "House of Spirituality," in
accordance with
a Tablet recently received from our Master.
Motion made
and seconded that the command of Master changing
name of this
Body as transmitted by Mirza Assad Ullah be entered
upon our records.
Approved by
House.
Motion made
and seconded that a copy (translation) of that
portion of tablet
setting forth the change as above mentioned
be procured and
placed on file.
Approved by
House. [33]
Extracts from this
Tablet were indeed translated for the House of
Justice, now the House
of Spirituality. The heading to the
translation indicates
that the Tablet was received in Chicago by
Mirza Assadu'llah on
May 3, 1902. One extract reads:
The House of
Justice of Chicago should be called "the House
of Spirituality"
(or the Spiritual House).
In short,
no one must hurt the weak ones, there, but must
treat them in
kindness. Because now is the cycle of kindness
and forgiveness
to all people. [34]
In what is apparently
a second Tablet on the subject,
'Abdu'l-Baha explained
the reasons for the change. This Tablet was,
some time later, translated
and published:
The signature
of that meeting should be the Spiritual
Gathering (House
of Spirituality) and the wisdom therein is
that hereafter
the government should not infer from the term
"House of Justice"
that a court is signified, that it is
connected with
political affairs, or that at any time it will
interfere with
governmental affairs.
Hereafter,
enemies will be many. They would use this
subject as a
cause for disturbing the mind of the government
and confusing
the thoughts of the public. The intention was
to make known
that by the term Spiritual Gathering (House of
Spirituality),
that Gathering has not the least connection
with material
matters, and that its whole aim and
consultation
is confined to matters connected with spiritual
affairs. This
was also instructed (performed) in all Persia.
[35]
At the same time, and
in the original Tablet received on May 3,
'Abdu'l-Baha had instructed
that the name of the Women's Assembly
of Teaching be changed
to the "Spiritual Assembly." He instructed
that "Spiritual Assemblies"
should be organized in every place.
However, although the
change of name for the House of Justice was
effected immediately,
the instruction to change the name of the
women's institution
was ignored. This is probably because the
translation of this
command into English was so poor as to render
it incomprehensible.
And so we read
the following in the minutes of the House of
Spirituality three
years later (July 29, 1905):
Mr. Windust read
portions of the Tablet received from the
Master in May,
1902 authorizing change of name of this body
from "House of
Justice" to "House of Spirituality"; as it
also stated in
said Tablet that the name of the Women's
"Assembly of
Teaching" be changed to "Spiritual Assembly."
It was decided
that this matter be spoken of at some future
joint meeting
[with the women's group], as it had evidently
been overlooked.
[37]
As we have seen in
the Tablets quoted above, in the first year
after the election
of the Chicago House of Justice, 'Abdu'l-Baha
Himself used various
terms to refer to that body. (Of course, we
have quoted His Tablets
in translation - the translations available
to the Baha'is at the
time.) These Tablets reflect the use of at
least three different
designations during this period: House of
Justice (bayt al-'adl)
in the earliest Tablets, House of
Spirituality (probably,
bayt-i rawhani) in one Tablet, and
Spiritual Gathering
(mahfil-i rawhani) in another.
This last term,
mahfil-i rawhani, can also be translated as
"Spiritual Assembly."
However, it was usually translated as "House
of Spirituality" in
the publications and translations made at this
time, even though this
translation was in error. The Chicago body
came to be known as
the House of Spirituality from 1902, and so the
translators rendered
'Abdu'l-Baha's references to it in these
words, even if the
original Persian did not warrant such a
designation. This was
because the term "Spiritual Assembly" had no
fixed meaning in the
early community and could refer to a number of
different Baha'i meetings.
'Abdu'l-Baha had asked, for example,
that the term be used
for the Ladies' Auxiliary. It was also used
by the Baha'is of this
time to refer to any Baha'i community as a
whole, some weekly
teaching meetings, any consultative body, or
any gathering of believers.
Terms used to
designate the local administrative body were
also fluid in 'Abdu'l-Baha's
writings. In addition to the three
designations above,
the following additional names can be found:
mahfil-i shur (Assembly
of Consultation), mahfil-i shur rawhani
(Spiritual Assembly
of Consultation), bayt al-'adl rawhani
(Spiritual House of
Justice), anjuman (Council), anjuman-i adl
(Council of Justice),
and marakiz-i 'adl (Centres of Justice).
[38]
The Women's Struggle
The election
of an all-male House of Justice in Chicago was
a development to which
some of the women in the Baha'i community
were never reconciled.
It is Corinne True in particular who stands
out in the struggle
to overturn the exclusion of women from that
body. After the election,
she immediately helped to organize the
Women's Assembly of
Teaching which worked side by side with the
House - and not always
harmoniously - for over a decade. Beyond
this, she appealed
directly to 'Abdu'l-Baha, asking that women be
elected to the House
of Justice.
Mrs. True's letter,
which has recently come to light,
indicates clearly that
the change to an all-male body was the cause
of some dispute. She
writes to 'Abdu'l-Baha:
There has
existed a difference of opinion in our Assembly
[that is, the
Chicago community] as to how it should be
governed. Every
believer desires to carry out the Commands of
the Blessed Perfection
[Baha'u'llah] but we want to know from
our Lord himself
[that is, 'Abdu'l-Baha] what these Commands
are, as they
are written in Arabic and we do not know Arabic.
Will Our Lord
write me direct from Acca and not have it go
through any Interpretor
[sic] in America and thus grant me
the Authority
to say the Master says thus & so, for he has
written it to
me...
Many in our
Assembly feel that the Governing Board in
Chicago should
be a mixed Board of both men & women. Woman
in America stands
so conspicuously for all that is highest &
best in every
department and for that reason it is contended
the affairs should
be in the hands of both sexes. [39]
She was, however,
disappointed when the Master would not
support her point of
view. He confirmed the practise of electing
only males to the Baha'i
governing board of Chicago, admonishing
her to be patient.
She appears to have received her reply from
'Abdu'l-Baha in June
of 1902, but refrained from sharing this
Tablet with the Chicago
House until the fall of that year.
The Tablet is
a famous one and reads in part (in modern
translation):
Know thou, O
handmaid, that in the sight of Baha, women are
accounted the
same as men, and God hath created all humankind
in His own image,
and after His own likeness. That is, men
and women alike
are the revealers of His names and attributes,
and from the
spiritual viewpoint there is no difference
between them.
Whosoever draweth nearer to God, that one is the
most favoured,
whether man or woman. How many a handmaid,
ardent and devoted,
hath, within the sheltering shade of Baha,
proved superior
to the men, and surpassed the famous of the
earth.
The House
of Justice, however, according to the explicit
text of the Law
of God, is confined to men; this for a wisdom
of the Lord God's,
which will ere long be made manifest as
clearly as the
sun at high noon.
As to you,
O ye other handmaids who are enamoured of the
heavenly fragrances,
arrange ye holy gatherings, and found
ye Spiritual
Assemblies, for these are the basis for
spreading the
sweet savours of God, exalting His Word,
uplifting the
lamp of His grace, promulgating His religion
and promoting
His Teachings, and what bounty is there
greater than
this? [40]
Since 'Abdu'l-Baha
had confirmed that women should be excluded
from the Chicago House
of Justice (later, House of Spirituality),
this practice continued
for some time, in Chicago and elsewhere. We
might assume that the
belief that women were to be permanently
excluded from local
Baha'i executive bodies was widespread, at
least amongst the men.
Women were to be involved in forming women's
groups, which 'Abdu'l-Baha
had named "Spiritual Assemblies" in one
Tablet.
That did not
end the issue, of course. It appears that
American Baha'i women
continued to discuss the possibility of
membership on governing
boards, with Corinne True being prominent
among them. In 1909,
Mrs. True received a Tablet from 'Abdu'l-Baha
in response to her
insistent questioning. It reads, in part:
According to
the ordinances of the Faith of God, women are
the equals of
men in all rights save only that of membership
on the Universal
House of Justice [bayt al-'adl 'umumi], for,
as hath been
stated in the text of the Book, both the head and
the members of
the House of Justice are men. However, in all
other bodies,
such as the Temple Construction Committee, the
Teaching Committee,
the Spiritual Assembly, and in charitable
and scientific
associations, women share equally in all rights
with men. [41]
This new Tablet
from 'Abdu'l-Baha to Corinne True appears to
have opened up a nationwide
controversy over the rights of women to
serve on Baha'i institutions.
The use of the term "Universal House
of Justice" in this
Tablet caused some confusion. Corinne True and
others assumed that
'Abdu'l-Baha intended by this Tablet that
women were now to be
admitted to membership on local Baha'i bodies,
and more particularly
to membership on the Chicago House of
Spirituality.
Thornton Chase
related the controversy which erupted in
Chicago in a letter
written a few months later (January 19, 1910):
Several years
ago, soon after the forming of the "House of
Justice" (name
afterward changed by Abdul-Baha to House of
Spirituality
on account of political reasons - as stated by
Him - and because
also of certain jealousies) Mrs. True wrote
to Abdul-Baha
and asked if women should not be members of
that House. He
replied distinctly, that the House should be
composed of men
only, and told her that there was a wisdom in
this. It was
a difficult command for her to accept, and ever
since (confidentially)
there has been in that quarter and in
those influenced
by her a feeling of antagonism to the House
of Spirituality,
which has manifested itself in various
forms... ...Mrs
True received a Tablet, in which it was stated
(in reply to
her solicitation) that it was right for women to
be members of
all "Spiritual Gatherings" except the "Universal
House of Justice",
and she at once construed this to mean,
that women were
to be members of the House of Spirituality and
the Council Boards,
because in some of the Tablets for the
House, it had
been addressed as the "Spiritual Assembly" or
"Spiritual Gathering".
But the House
of Spirituality could not so interpret the
Master's meaning...
[42]
The difference
of opinion was deep and serious. It took
place within a wider
context of gender tensions within the American
Baha'i community at
the time. The Chicago House of Spirituality
consulted on the new
Tablet to Corinne True at its meetings on
August 31, 1909, and
September 7, 1909. While it seemed clear to
them that the Tablet
did not admit women to membership on the House
of Spirituality, they
decided to write to 'Abdu'l-Baha for a
clarification of His
meaning. [43]
It appears that
no record of a reply to the House on this
point has survived.
But, in the event, the practice of excluding
women from membership
did not change. The men of Chicago assumed
that 'Abdu'l-Baha's
reference to the "Universal House of Justice"
intended the local
Chicago institution. This is a reasonable
assumption, given the
lack of fixed terminology at the time.
The word 'umumi,
with which 'Abdu'l-Baha qualified His
reference to the House
of Justice in Arabic, means public, general,
or universal. Since
it was known that Corinne True had asked about
women's service on
the Chicago House - which was understood to be a
House of Justice, even
if designated a House of Spirituality for
various reasons - His
reply seemed to indicate that only men could
serve on the general
(or universal) body, while women could serve on
all subordinate bodies,
such as the Assembly of Teaching, the
Philanthropic Association,
and so forth. And this is the
interpretation of the
Tablet that would stand for some years to
come.
In May of 1910,
Thornton Chase wrote to a believer about this
question, which was
still being debated:
As to women being
members of the House, there is no question
at all. Abdul-Baha's
reply to Mrs True years ago, settled
that, viz, that
the members of the House should be men, and
that the time
would come when she would see the wisdom of
that. This was
in direct answer to her question to Him as to
this matter.
He has never changed that command, and He cannot,
because it is
the command of Baha'o'llah also, as applied to
such bodies of
business controllers.
But, in a
Tablet to me, 'Abdu'l-Baha said "The House of
Spirituality
must encourage the women as much as possible".
There is the
whole procedure. "Encourage the women as much
as possible".
That is what He does: that is what we should
do. Not to be
members of the H. of S., but to all good
works in the
Cause, which they can possibly accomplish. It
seems to me that
the matter of membership in H. of S. should
be simply ignored,
not talked about, but if it obtrudes
itself too strongly,
just get out that Tablet to Mrs. True
and the one to
me (just mentioned) and offer them as the
full and sufficient
answer. [44]
Chase's views
are undoubtedly representative of the
understandings of the
majority of Baha'is at the time. It was the
common understanding
that the Chicago House of Spirituality was
properly composed of
men only, and that ultimately all local
Baha'i boards should
be similarly composed. This was a position
which was repeatedly
sustained by 'Abdu'l-Baha, but which was
never fully accepted
by some Baha'i women.
In Kenosha, which
had had an all-male "Board of Consultation"
for some years, the
issue of women's service on the Board became a
matter of dispute in
1910, as a result of Corinne True's 1909
"Universal House of
Justice" Tablet. On July 4, 1910, the Kenosha
Board wrote to the
House of Spirituality in Chicago asking if they
had any Tablets from
'Abdu'l-Baha which instructed that women
should be elected to
local institutions. They explained that two of
the Baha'i ladies in
their community had insisted that such Tablets
existed. [45]
The reply from
the House of Spirituality, dated July 23, 1910,
is very instructive.
[46] The House was able to find three Tablets
from 'Abdu'l-Baha which
had bearing on the subject. One was the
1909 Tablet to Corinne
True which had opened the controversy. Two
others had been received
from 'Abdu'l-Baha in 1910, in reply to
more inquiries.
In a Tablet to
Louise Waite (April 20, 1910), 'Abdu'l-Baha had
instructed:
The Spiritual
Assemblies which are organized for the sake
of teaching the
Truth, whether assemblies for men,
assemblies for
women or mixed assemblies, are all accepted
and are conducive
to the spreading of the Fragrances of God.
This is essential.
[47]
'Abdu'l-Baha goes on
to state that the time had not come for the
establishment of the
House of Justice, and he exhorts the men and
the women to produce
harmony and conduct their affairs in unity.
[48]
In another Tablet
directed to the Baha'is of Cincinnati,
where the question
of women's participation in local organization
had also become an
issue, 'Abdu'l-Baha wrote something similar:
It is impossible
to organize the House of Justice in these
days; it will
be formed after the establishment of the Cause
of God. Now the
Spiritual Assemblies are organized in most of
the cities, you
must also organize a Spiritual Assembly in
Cincinnati. It
is permissible to elect the members of the
Spiritual Assembly
from among the men and women; nay, rather,
it is better,
so that perfect union may result. [49]
The House of Spirituality
concluded from these Tablets that:
...in organizing
Spiritual Assemblies of Consultation now, it
is deemed advisable
by Abdul-Baha to have them composed of
both men and
women. The wisdom of this will become evident in
due time, no
doubt. [50]
By this time, Baha'is
in different parts of the United States had
established a variety
of boards and committees as a means of local
organization. Women
had served on the Washington, D.C., "Working
Committee" since its
formation in 1907. They had been a part of the
Boston "Executive Committee"
from its beginning in 1908. Women also
acted as officers of
communities in places where Baha'is had elected
no corporate body.
But these were regarded, for the most part, as
temporary, ad-hoc organizations
not official Baha'i institutions,
which were thought
to be properly all male.
'Abdu'l-Baha's
Tablets recognized all of these local bodies as
"Spiritual Assemblies"
(or Spiritual Gatherings, mahfil-i rawhani)
and by 1910, He was
urging that these Assemblies consist of both men
and women. The House
of Spirituality in Chicago was obviously
puzzled by this command,
though it expressed confidence that the
wisdom of mixed Assemblies
would "become evident in due time."
However, since it knew
that the Kenosha Board of Consultation had
been established as
an all-male body in accordance with earlier
instructions from 'Abdu'l-Baha,
the House of Spirituality suggested
that the Kenosha Baha'is
might wish to take a vote to determine
whether a majority
of believers would be in favour of a change. [51]
Rather than do
this, however, the Kenosha Board of
Consultation submitted
the question to 'Abdu'l-Baha. The
"supplication" (as
they termed it) was signed by all of the men of
the Board. It asked
if the Board should be dissolved, to be
reelected with women
as members. The Board members pledged to the
Master that if it was
His wish they would dissolve, but they
stated that their intentions
had been pure at the founding of the
Board and that it had
been established in accordance with a Tablet
that had been revealed
for the House of Spirituality some years
before. [52]
'Abdu'l-Baha,
however, would not support the idea of
dissolving the all-male
Board. His reply, received March 4, 1911,
explains:
Now Spiritual
Assemblies must be organized and that is for
teaching the
Cause of God. In that city you have a spiritual
Assembly of men
and you can establish a spiritual Assembly for
women. Both Assemblies
must be engaged in diffusing the
fragrances of
God and be occupied with the service of the
Kingdom.
The above
is the best solution for this problem... [53]
As in other Tablets,
He stated that conditions for the
establishment of the
House of Justice did not yet exist, and He
urged unity between
the men and women of the Baha'i community.
And so, through
1911, the status quo that had been
established by Mirza
Assadu'llah in Chicago in 1901, with the
election of the first
American House of Justice, held firm.
All-male institutions
continued to function in the most important
Baha'i communities.
These were supplemented by parallel women's
groups. A variety of
committees and boards had been established in
smaller Baha'i communities
that included women as members, but
these were regarded
by most Baha'is as only informal groups. While
'Abdu'l-Baha was urging
that new "Spiritual Assemblies" include
both men and women,
He would not sanction the reorganization of the
longer-established
male bodies. Baha'i women in various parts of
the country continued
to discuss the need for change.
The Change Comes
It was not until
1912, during the visit of 'Abdu'l-Baha to
America, that a decisive
change was finally made. While
'Abdu'l-Baha was in
New York, He sent word to the Baha'is of
Chicago that the House
of Spirituality should be reorganized and a
new election held.
He chose Howard MacNutt, a prominent Baha'i from
Brooklyn, to travel
to Chicago as His personal representative.
MacNutt was instructed
to hold a new election for a "Spiritual
Meeting" (probably
mahfil-i rawhani) of the Baha'is of Chicago. For
the first time, women
were eligible for election to this body.
MacNutt arrived
in Chicago on August 8, 1912. At
'Abdu'l-Baha's instructions,
a feast was held on August 10, at the
home of Mr. and Mrs.
George Lesch, where the entire Chicago Baha'i
community was invited
to be the guests of 'Abdu'l-Baha. MacNutt
delivered to the community
'Abdu'l-Baha's message of unity and love.
The election was held
the following day on August 11.
The Baha'i magazine,
Star of the West, carried this account of
that historic election:
On Sunday evening,
the 11th, the Chicago Assembly [meaning
here, the whole
Baha'i community] selected a "Spiritual
Meeting" of nine,
composed of men and women, whose service -
according to
the wish of Abdul-Baha - is, first, to
promulgate the
teachings of the Revelation, and, second, to
attend to other
matters necessary to the welfare of the
assembly. Mr.
MacNutt was present and gave an inspiring
address.
A long struggle had
ended.
Baha'i Institutions
in the East
From the time
of the dissolution of the Chicago House of
Spirituality and its
reelection, service on local Baha'i
institutions has always
remained open to women in America.
'Abdu'l-Baha had made
it perfectly clear that the restrictions
placed on women in
this regard were intended to be only temporary
ones. From that point
forward, women were fully integrated into the
emerging Baha'i Administration
erected in the West.
The same was
not true in the East, however. In Iran and in
the rest of the Muslim
world, social conditions made it impossible
for the restriction
on women's participation on local institutions
to be lifted for some
time. Local and National Spiritual Assemblies
in Iran were limited
to male membership during the entire period of
the ministry of 'Abdu'l-Baha,
and for most of the ministry of
Shoghi Effendi. Again,
the principle of gradualism was at play.
Of course, there
were Baha'i women in Iran, as well in the
United States, who
campaigned for a greater role for women in the
Baha'i community. Their
concerns were not only with participation
on local Houses of
Justice, but also with the elimination of other
social restrictions,
such as the use of the veil in public. In a
Tablet to one such
woman activist, 'Abdu'l-Baha urged restraint
and recommended a gradual
approach:
The establishment
of a women's assemblage (mahfil) for the
promotion of
knowledge is entirely acceptable, but
discussions must
be confined to educational matters. It
should be done
in such a way that differences will, day by
day, be entirely
wiped out, not that, God forbid, it will
end in argumentation
between man and women. As in the
question of the
veil, nothing should be done contrary to
wisdom....
Now the world
of women should be a spiritual world, not a
political one,
so that it will be radiant. The women of other
nations are all
immersed in political matters. Of what benefit
is this, and
what fruit doth it yield? To the extent that ye
can, ye should
busy yourself with spiritual matters which will
be conducive
to the exaltation of the Word of God and of the
diffusion of
His fragrances. Your demeanour should lead to
harmony amongst
all and to coalescence and the good-pleasure
of all...
I am endeavouring,
with Baha'u'llah's confirmations and
assistance, so
to improve the world of the handmaidens [that
is, the world
of women] that all will be astonished. This
progress is intended
to be in spirituality, in virtues, in
human perfections
and in divine knowledge. In America, the
cradle of women's
liberation, women are still debarred from
political institutions
because they squabble. (Also, the
Blessed Beauty
has said, "O ye Men [rijal] of the House of
Justice.") Ye
need to be calm and composed, so that the work
will proceed
with wisdom, otherwise there will be such chaos
that ye will
leave everything and run away. "This newly born
babe is traversing
in one night the path that needeth a
hundred years
to tread." In brief, ye should now engage
in matters of
pure spirituality and not contend with men.
'Abdu'l-Baha
will tactfully take appropriate steps. Be
assured. In the
end thou wilt thyself exclaim, "This was
indeed supreme
wisdom!" [55]
Baha'i women
were not admitted to service on the institutions
of the Faith in Iran
until 1954. But this restriction was understood
to be temporary, to
be removed as soon as circumstances would
permit. As Iranian
society allowed a greater role for women in
general, and as Baha'i
women became more educated and more prepared
for administrative
service, this restriction was lifted. The
Guardian eventually
made women's participation on Baha'i
institutions in the
East one of the goals of the Ten Year World
Crusade (1953-1963).
His hopes were rewarded by the signal
distinction which some
Baha'i women have achieved as administrators
on local Assemblies
and on the National Assembly of Iran.
The International House
of Justice
The only remaining
body within the Baha'i Faith whose
membership continues
to be limited to men is its supreme
institution, the Universal
House of Justice. First established in
1963, the Universal
House of Justice is elected by the members of
the National Spiritual
Assemblies of the world. Naturally, the
electors include many
women. But the members of the House of
Justice itself, from
its inception, have all been male.
Shoghi Effendi
anticipated that the Universal House of
Justice would be established
as an all-male body, even though he
passed away before
he could see this implemented. He did not
comment generally on
the subject, and he does not seem to have
devoted a great deal
of time to the issue. But in answer to
questions from individual
Baha'is, some letters were written on
the Guardian's behalf
by his secretaries which comment on the
composition of the
yet-to-be-formed House of Justice. For example,
his secretary writes:
As regards
your question concerning the membership of the
Universal House
of Justice, there is a Tablet from
'Abdu'l-Baha
in which He definitely states that the membership
of the Universal
House of Justice is confined to men, and that
the wisdom of
it will be fully revealed and appreciated in the
future. In the
local, as well as national Houses of Justice,
however, women
have the full right of membership. It is,
however, only
to the International House that they cannot be
elected. [56]
And in another letter:
As regards the
membership of the International House of
Justice, 'Abdu'l-Baha
states in a Tablet that it is confined
to men, and that
the wisdom of it will be revealed as manifest
as the sun in
the future. [57]
Again:
Regarding your
question, the Master said the wisdom of having
no women on the
International House of Justice, would become
manifest in the
future. We have no indication other than
this... [58]
Again:
People must just
accept the fact that women are not eligible
to the International
House of Justice. As the Master says the
wisdom of this
will be known in the future, we can only accept,
believing it
is right...[59]
The remarkable
similarity of these letters to individual
believers should be
noted. In each case, the Guardian directed his
secretary to refer
to the Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha to Corinne True
which was written in
reply to her petition that women be elected to
the Chicago House of
Justice. This Tablet explains that the reason
for the exclusion of
women will become manifest in the future.
Subsequent events demonstrated
that 'Abdu'l-Baha had intended that
this exclusion be only
temporary - an exclusion that would be
followed by the full
participation of women on this body.
The exclusion
of women from the Universal House of Justice
today is observed by
the Baha'i community primarily in obedience to
these letters of the
Guardian. Most Baha'is assume that this
exclusion was intended
to be a permanent one. However, since this
instruction of the
Guardian is tied so closely to the meaning of the
one Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha
which promises that the wisdom of the
exclusion of women
will become manifest in the future, and since it
is known that the meaning
of the Tablet was that women should be
excluded only temporarily
from the Chicago House, the assumption
that women will be
permanently excluded from the current Universal
House of Justice may
be a faulty one. A temporary exclusion may
be intended.
The answer to
this question, as with all other questions in
the Baha'i community,
will have to be worked out over time. The
elements of dialogue,
struggle, persistence and anguish which are
so evident in the history
of the gradual participation of women on
local Baha'i administrative
bodies will, no doubt, all attend the
working out of that
answer in the future. These elements are all
present today.
A Tablet of Assurance
'Abdu'l-Baha repeatedly
assured Baha'i women in His writings that
the women of the future
would achieve full and complete equality
with men. In one of
these Tablets He refers to the composition of
the House of Justice.
The Tablet is dated August 28, 1913, and it
appears to have been
written to a Baha'i woman in the East. In it,
'Abdu'l-Baha repeats
His promise:
In this Revelation
of Baha'u'llah, the women go neck and neck
with the men.
In no movement will they be left behind. Their
rights with men
are equal in degree. They will enter all the
administrative
branches of politics. They will attain in all
such a degree
as will be considered the very highest station
of the world
of humanity and will take part in all affairs.
Rest ye assured.
Do ye not look upon the present conditions;
in the not far
distant future the world of women will become
all-refulgent
and all-glorious, FOR HIS HOLINESS BAHA'U'LLAH
HATH WILLED IT
SO! At the time of the elections the right to
vote is the inalienable
right of women, and the entrance of
women into all
human departments is an irrefutable and
incontravertible
question. No soul can retard or prevent it...
As regards
the constitution of the House of Justice,
Baha'u'llah addresses
the men. He says: "O ye men of the
House of Justice!"
But when its
members are to be elected, the right which
belongs to women,
so far as their voting and their voice is
concerned, is
indisputable. WHEN THE WOMEN ATTAIN TO THE
ULTIMATE DEGREE
OF PROGRESS, THEN, ACCORDING TO THE EXIGENCY
OF THE TIME AND
PLACE AND THEIR GREAT CAPACITY, THEY SHALL
OBTAIN EXTRAORDINARY
PRIVILEGES. Be ye confident on these
accounts. His
Holiness Baha'u'llah has greatly strengthened
the cause of
women, and the rights and privileges of women is
one of the greatest
principles of 'Abdu'l-Baha. Rest ye
assured! [60]
(Final emphasis added.)
Notes
1. Nabil-i A'zam, The
Dawn-Breakers, Wilmette, Ill.: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1932,
pp 80-81, 270-71.
2. See, for example,
Ruhiyyih Rabbani, The Priceless Pearl,
London: Baha'i Publishing
Trust, 1969, pp 39-42 and 57-58; Baha'i
Administration, Wilmette,
Ill.: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1928,
pp 25-26.
3. The Universal House
of Justice, A Synopsis and Codification of
the Kitab-i-Aqdas,
the Most Holy Book of Baha'u'llah, Haifa: Baha'i
World Centre, 1973,
p 5.
4. Ibid., pp 3-7.
5. 'Abdu'l-Baha, The
Promulgation of Universal Peace, Wilmette,
Ill.: Baha'i Publishing
Trust, 1922-25 (1982), pp 136-37.
6. Ibid., pp 136-37.
7. 'Abdu'l-Baha, Paris
Talks, London: Baha'i Publishing Trust,
1912, p 161.
8. Promulgation, p
174.
9. Ibid., p 375.
10. Synopsis, p 13.
11. Ibid., p 16.
12. Ibid., p 57.
13. Ibid., pp 5-6.
14. All information
in this section concerning the first House of
Justice of Tehran is
based on Ruhu'llah Mihrabkhani, Mahafil-i shur
dar 'ahd-i Jamal-i
Aqdas-i Abha, (Assemblies of consultation at the
time of Baha'u'llah)
in Payam-i Baha'i, nos. 28 and 29, pp 9-11 and
pp 8-9 respectively.
15. Minutes of the
North Hudson, N.J., Board of Counsel, National
Baha'i Archives, Wilmette,
Ill.
16. Chase to Blake,
21/3/00, Chase Papers, National Baha'i Archives.
17. Regulations relating
to the Chicago Board of Council (Abdel
Karim Effendi), Albert
Windust Papers, National Baha'i Archives.
18. Kenosha Evening
News, 29/6//00, p 1.
19. House of Justice
in Chicago to House of Justice in New York,
23/5/01, House of Spirituality
Papers, National Baha'i Archives.
20. Fannie Lesch, "Dr.
C. I. Thatcher, Chicago, Illinois", (an
obituary), Albert Windust
Papers, National Baha'i Archives.
21. Minutes of the
House of Justice (Chicago), 26/1/02 and 28/6/01.
House of Spirituality
Papers, National Baha'i Archives.
22. Marzieh Gail and
Fadil-i Mazandarani (trans.), typescript
translation of the
Kitab-i Aqdas.
23. Ibid.
24. Quoted in Ahmad
Yazdani, Mabadiy-i Ruhani, Tehran: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 104
Badi', p 109.
25. Ibid
26. Women: Extracts
from the Writings of Baha'u'llah, 'Abdu'l-Baha,
Shoghi Effendi, and
the Universal House of Justice, comp. by The
Research Department
of the Universal House of Justice, Thornhill,
Ont.: Baha'i Canada
Publications, 1986, #7, p 3.
27. Quoted in Ahmad
Yazdani, Maqam va Huquq-i Zan dar Diyanat-i
Baha'i, vol. 1, Tehran:
Baha'i Publishing Trust, 107 Badi'.
28. Minutes of the
House of Spirituality, 24/5/01, House of
Spirituality Papers,
National Baha'i Archives.
29. Ibid., 20/5/01.
30. Synopsis, p 13.
31. Tablets of Abdul-Baha
Abbas, Chicago: Baha'i Publishing
Society, 1909, vol
1, p 3.
32. Shoghi Effendi,
World Order of Baha'u'llah, Wilmette, Ill.:
Baha'i Publishing Trust,
1938, p 6.
33. Minutes of 10/5/02,
House of Spirituality Papers, National Baha'i
Archives.
34. Extract from the
Tablet of the Master, 'Abdu'l-Baha, to Mirza
AssadUllah, received
in Chicago on the 3rd of May, 1902. House of
Spirituality Papers.
National Baha'i Archives.
35. Tablets of Abdul
Baha Abbas, p 6.
36. The translation
reads "We named the assemblies of teaching in
Chicago the Spiritual
Assemblies; you should organize spiritual
assemblies in every
place"; ( extract from the Tablet from the
Master, se note 35
above).
37. Minutes, 29/7/05,
House of Spirituality Papers, National Baha'i
Archives.
38. See various published
Tablets and public talks of 'Abdu'l-Baha,
including: Kitab-i
baday 'u'l-athar, Bombay, 1921, vol.1, pp 65,
119, 120, 251; and
39. True to 'Abdu'l-Baha,
25/2/02, Document 11137, International
Baha'i Archives, Haifa,
Israel.
40. Selections from
the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha, Haifa: Baha'i
World Centre, 1978,
pp 79-80.
41. 'Abdu'l-Baha to
Corinne True, 24/7/09, microfilm, National
Baha'i Archives.
42. Chase to Remey,
19/1/10, Chase Papers, National Baha'i Archives.
43. Minutes, 31/8/09
and 7/9/09, House of Spirituality Papers,
National Baha'i Archives.
44. Chase to Scheffler,
10/5/10, Chase papers, National Baha'i
Archives.
45. Bahai Assembly
of Kenosha to House of Spirituality, 4/7/10,
House of Spirituality
Papers, National Baha'i Archives.
46. House of Spirituality
(Albert R. Windust, LIbrarian) to Board
of Consultation, Kenosha,
Wis., 23/7/10, House of Spirituality
Papers, National Baha'i
Archives.
47. Ibid.
48. Ibid.
49. Ibid.
50. Ibid.
51. Ibid.
52. Kenosha Assembly
to Albert Windust, 16/5/11, House of
Spirituality Papers,
National Baha'i Archives.
53. 'Abdu'l-Baha to
the members of the Spiritual Assembly and Mr.
Bernard M. Jacobsen,
Kenosha, Wis., 4/5/11, House of Spirituality
Papers, National Baha'i
Archives.
54. Star of the West,
vol. 3, no. 10 (August 20, 1912) p 16. See
also, 'Abdu'l-Baha's
instructions to Howard MacNutt, August 6, 1912,
microfilm collection,
National Baha'i Archives.
55. Women, #11, pp
6-7.
56. Letter written
on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated July 28, 1936,
Baha'i News, No. 105
(February 1937) p 2.
57. Letter written
on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated December 14,
1940, quoted in Dawn
of a New Day (New Delhi: Baha'i Publishing
Trust, n.d.) p 86.
58. Letter written
on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated September 17,
1952, Baha'i News,
No 267 (May 1953) p 10.
59. Letter written
on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated July 15, 1947,
quoted in "Extracts
on Membership of the Universal House of Justice"
(an unpublished compilation
of the Universal House of Justice).
60. Quoted in Paris
Talks (London: Baha'i Publishing Trust, 1912) pp
182-83.