Bahá'í Faith in Equatorial Guinea
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in Equatorial Guinea begins after `Abdu'l-Bahá
wrote letters encouraging taking the religion to Africa in 1916. The first pioneer
to Spanish Guinea was Elise Lynelle (then Elise Schreiber) who arrived in Bata
, Spanish Guinea (as it was called then), on 17 May 1954, and was recognized as a Knight of Baha'u'llah. In 1968 the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Equatorial Guinea was elected in Santa Isabel, (later renamed Malabo
). The community has elected a National Spiritual Assembly since 1984. The community celebrated its golden jubilee in 2004. The Association of Religion Data Archives
estimated nearly 2500 Bahá'ís in 2005.
wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United States
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan
. The eighth and twelfth of the tablets mentionedAfrica
and were written on April 19, 1916 and February 15, 1917, respectively. Publication however was delayed in the United States until 1919—after the end of the First World War
and the Spanish flu
. The tablets were translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West
magazine on December 12, 1919. `Abdu'l-Bahá mentions Bahá'ís traveling "…especially from America to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, and travel through Japan and China. Likewise, from Germany teachers and believers may travel to the continents of America, Africa, Japan and China; in brief, they may travel through all the continents and islands of the globe" and " …the anthem of the oneness of the world of humanity may confer a new life upon all the children of men, and the tabernacle of universal peace be pitched on the apex of America; thus Europe and Africa may become vivified with the breaths of the Holy Spirit, this world may become another world, the body politic may attain to a new exhilaration…."
, initiated by Shoghi Effendi
, head of the religion after the death of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, coordinated efforts to expand the religion across Africa. The first pioneer
to Spanish Guinea was Elise Lynelle (then Elise Schreiber) who arrived in Bata
, Spanish Guinea (as it was called then), on 17 May 1954, and was recognized as a Knight of Baha'u'llah. Because of legal segregation she was unable to meet black Africans. Instead she was able to introduce the teachings of the religion, to a Spaniard, Jose Ramos Espinosa, who accepted the religion. With his assistance she was able to stay in the country longer and in June she sailed to the island of Corisco
as part of her new job. Here she met the elderly King of the island, Santiago Uganda Mdelo and his nephew, Edward Robinson, both of whom readily accepted the religion. King Uganda told Lynelle that he had had a premonition about someone who would come to him with a message.
The Bahá'í Community in Equatorial Guinea came under the responsibility of the regional National Spiritual Assembly of North West Africa in 1956. In 1964 the constituent Bahá'í communities were reorganized as the regional assembly of the Bahá'ís of West Central Africa, with its seat in Victoria, comprising the Bahá'ís in the countries and places of Cameroon, Spanish Guinea, St. Thomas Island, Fernando Po Island, Corisco Island, Nigeria, Niger, Dahomey, Togo, and Ghana. Then in 1967 the National Spiritual Assembly of Cameroon Republic was elected with its seat in Victoria and oversaw the neighboring regions of Spanish Guinea, Fernando Po, Corisco, and São Tomé and Príncipe Islands. This was during a period of wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa
near the end of the period of Colonisation of Africa
. Pioneers
continued to arrive like Joseph Enonguene and Johanna Ngompex, who came from the Bahá'í community in Cameroon
in the 1960s.
In 1967 in Santa Isabel (later renamed Malabo
), pioneer Hassey Ime lived and helped a community in Fernando Poo island (later renamedBioko
) and reported an estimated community of at least twenty there. In 1968 the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Equatorial Guinea was elected there. American pioneers Mr. and Mrs. George Karch were also members of the community. In June 1969 a local pioneer, Hans Ayukangu, moved to Biapa on Fernando Poo island where there was a group of four Bahá'ís.
The first citizen on Annabon a tiny island of Equatorial Guinea, joined the religion in early 1982. Jose Maria Fierro Cueto (also known as Dr. Pepe), came from Mexico to Equatorial Guinea in the 1980s to assist the Baha'i community. Following a change in government the national assembly was reformed in 1984. That same year it was invited to participate as an observer at the first "International Hispanic Congress of Culture" in Bata sponsored by UNESCO
. The Bahá'í community also contributed a statement on topics of the congress like of the role of women in society and the importance of education and unity. The congress was designed to define a cultural aim for Equatorial Guinea and to help make that country better known around the world. Joseph Sheppherd was a pioneer to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, whose circumstances were woven into a book he later wrote which presents the Bahá'í Faith in a context of global change (see Bahá'í Faith in fiction
) and delves into the dynamics of pioneering as a method to gain understanding of spiritual issues compared to social issues, to struggle with a cultural naivete. He served for two years as anthropological adviser to the government and curator of the National Ethnological and Archaeological Museum in Malabo.
beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern. That involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics even then. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. The modern Bahá'í community of Equatorial Guinea has multiplied its interests internally and externally along these lines. It sponsored a functional literacy course for women in Malabo and Bata starting in November 1996. Working with the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, the community used Bahá'í Centers in Malabo, Baney
, Luba
, and Bata
for the courses, which taught literacy as well as reproductive health, nutrition, and basic mathematics.
In 2004 the community celebrates it's golden jubilee celebrations. The national television channel, Radio Television Malabo, covered the event. A monthly magazine, La Gazzetta
, later published an article about the celebrations.
Bahá'í citizens of Equatorial Guinea were among those to gather in Yaounde, Cameroon, in a conference called for by the Universal House of Justice
in 2008.
estimated 0.38%, or 1,720 people were Bahá'ís - and growing at an annual rate of +4.2%. In 2004 there were four local assemblies in Equatorial Guinea. The Association of Religion Data Archives
(relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated nearly 2,500, or 0.5% of the national population, Bahá'ís in 2005.
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
wrote letters encouraging taking the religion to Africa in 1916. The first pioneer
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
to Spanish Guinea was Elise Lynelle (then Elise Schreiber) who arrived in Bata
Bata, Equatorial Guinea
Bata is a port city in the Litoral Province of Equatorial Guinea. With a 2005 estimated population of 173,046, it is the largest city in Equatorial Guinea. It lies on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Río Muni....
, Spanish Guinea (as it was called then), on 17 May 1954, and was recognized as a Knight of Baha'u'llah. In 1968 the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Equatorial Guinea was elected in Santa Isabel, (later renamed Malabo
Malabo
Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island on the rim of a sunken volcano....
). The community has elected a National Spiritual Assembly since 1984. The community celebrated its golden jubilee in 2004. The Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
estimated nearly 2500 Bahá'ís in 2005.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan
`Abdu'l-Bahá`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan
Tablets of the Divine Plan
The Tablets of the Divine Plan collectively refers to 14 letters written between September 1916 and March 1917 by `Abdu'l-Bahá to Bahá'ís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were printed in America in Star of the West - Vol. VII, No. 10, September 8,...
. The eighth and twelfth of the tablets mentionedAfrica
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and were written on April 19, 1916 and February 15, 1917, respectively. Publication however was delayed in the United States until 1919—after the end of the First World War
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
. The tablets were translated and presented by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb was a Persian-American author and Bahá'í who co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York, and was excommunicated from the Bahá'í Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi.-Early life:...
on April 4, 1919, and published in Star of the West
Star of the West (Bahá'í magazine)
The Star of the West was a Bahá'í periodical which began publication on March 21, 1910 and ended publication under this title in March of 1935....
magazine on December 12, 1919. `Abdu'l-Bahá mentions Bahá'ís traveling "…especially from America to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, and travel through Japan and China. Likewise, from Germany teachers and believers may travel to the continents of America, Africa, Japan and China; in brief, they may travel through all the continents and islands of the globe" and " …the anthem of the oneness of the world of humanity may confer a new life upon all the children of men, and the tabernacle of universal peace be pitched on the apex of America; thus Europe and Africa may become vivified with the breaths of the Holy Spirit, this world may become another world, the body politic may attain to a new exhilaration…."
Establishment of the community
After the initiation of the Ten Year CrusadeTen Year Crusade
The Ten Year World Crusade was launched by Shoghi Effendi in an effort to facilitate an organized expansion of the Bahá'í Faith....
, initiated by Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, head of the religion after the death of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, coordinated efforts to expand the religion across Africa. The first pioneer
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
to Spanish Guinea was Elise Lynelle (then Elise Schreiber) who arrived in Bata
Bata, Equatorial Guinea
Bata is a port city in the Litoral Province of Equatorial Guinea. With a 2005 estimated population of 173,046, it is the largest city in Equatorial Guinea. It lies on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Río Muni....
, Spanish Guinea (as it was called then), on 17 May 1954, and was recognized as a Knight of Baha'u'llah. Because of legal segregation she was unable to meet black Africans. Instead she was able to introduce the teachings of the religion, to a Spaniard, Jose Ramos Espinosa, who accepted the religion. With his assistance she was able to stay in the country longer and in June she sailed to the island of Corisco
Corisco
Corisco, or Mandj, is a small island of Equatorial Guinea, located 29 km southwest of the Rio Muni estuary that defines the border with Gabon...
as part of her new job. Here she met the elderly King of the island, Santiago Uganda Mdelo and his nephew, Edward Robinson, both of whom readily accepted the religion. King Uganda told Lynelle that he had had a premonition about someone who would come to him with a message.
The Bahá'í Community in Equatorial Guinea came under the responsibility of the regional National Spiritual Assembly of North West Africa in 1956. In 1964 the constituent Bahá'í communities were reorganized as the regional assembly of the Bahá'ís of West Central Africa, with its seat in Victoria, comprising the Bahá'ís in the countries and places of Cameroon, Spanish Guinea, St. Thomas Island, Fernando Po Island, Corisco Island, Nigeria, Niger, Dahomey, Togo, and Ghana. Then in 1967 the National Spiritual Assembly of Cameroon Republic was elected with its seat in Victoria and oversaw the neighboring regions of Spanish Guinea, Fernando Po, Corisco, and São Tomé and Príncipe Islands. This was during a period of wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
near the end of the period of Colonisation of Africa
Colonisation of Africa
The colonisation of Africa has a long history, the most famous phase being the European Scramble for Africa during the late 19th and early 20th century.- Ancient colonialism :...
. Pioneers
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
continued to arrive like Joseph Enonguene and Johanna Ngompex, who came from the Bahá'í community in Cameroon
Bahá'í Faith in Cameroon
The Bahá'í Faith in Cameroon was established when the country was separated into two colonies - British and French Cameroon. The first Bahá'í in Cameroon was Enoch Olinga, who had left his homeland of Uganda to bring the religion to British Cameroon in 1953...
in the 1960s.
In 1967 in Santa Isabel (later renamed Malabo
Malabo
Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea, located on the northern coast of Bioko Island on the rim of a sunken volcano....
), pioneer Hassey Ime lived and helped a community in Fernando Poo island (later renamedBioko
Bioko
Bioko is an island 32 km off the west coast of Africa, specifically Cameroon, in the Gulf of Guinea. It is the northernmost part of Equatorial Guinea with a population of 124,000 and an area of . It is volcanic with its highest peak the Pico Basile at .-Geography:Bioko has a total area of...
) and reported an estimated community of at least twenty there. In 1968 the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Equatorial Guinea was elected there. American pioneers Mr. and Mrs. George Karch were also members of the community. In June 1969 a local pioneer, Hans Ayukangu, moved to Biapa on Fernando Poo island where there was a group of four Bahá'ís.
Growth
Formation of the National Spiritual Assembly of Equatorial Guinea 18 July 1973. However, between 1972 and 1979 civil society in the country was under duress and religion was repressed (especially progressively from 1975 to 1979). The national assembly was dissolved in 1975-6 by government action.The first citizen on Annabon a tiny island of Equatorial Guinea, joined the religion in early 1982. Jose Maria Fierro Cueto (also known as Dr. Pepe), came from Mexico to Equatorial Guinea in the 1980s to assist the Baha'i community. Following a change in government the national assembly was reformed in 1984. That same year it was invited to participate as an observer at the first "International Hispanic Congress of Culture" in Bata sponsored by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
. The Bahá'í community also contributed a statement on topics of the congress like of the role of women in society and the importance of education and unity. The congress was designed to define a cultural aim for Equatorial Guinea and to help make that country better known around the world. Joseph Sheppherd was a pioneer to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, whose circumstances were woven into a book he later wrote which presents the Bahá'í Faith in a context of global change (see Bahá'í Faith in fiction
Bahá'í Faith in fiction
The Bahá'í Faith has appeared in fiction in multiple forms. The mention of the Bahá'í Faith, prominent members, or even individual believers have appeared in a variety of fictional forms including science fiction, and fantasy, as well as styles of short stories, novelettes, and novels, and even...
) and delves into the dynamics of pioneering as a method to gain understanding of spiritual issues compared to social issues, to struggle with a cultural naivete. He served for two years as anthropological adviser to the government and curator of the National Ethnological and Archaeological Museum in Malabo.
Modern community
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic developmentSocio-economic development (Bahá'í)
Since its inception the Bahá'í Faith has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and...
beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern. That involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics even then. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. The modern Bahá'í community of Equatorial Guinea has multiplied its interests internally and externally along these lines. It sponsored a functional literacy course for women in Malabo and Bata starting in November 1996. Working with the Ministry of Women and Social Affairs, the community used Bahá'í Centers in Malabo, Baney
Baney
Baney is a town in Equatorial Guinea. It is located in Bioko Norte Province and has a population of 2365....
, Luba
Luba, Equatorial Guinea
Luba is the second largest town of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea, having a population of around 7,000 people. It lies on the west coast beneath volcanic peaks and is a port for the logging industry...
, and Bata
Bata, Equatorial Guinea
Bata is a port city in the Litoral Province of Equatorial Guinea. With a 2005 estimated population of 173,046, it is the largest city in Equatorial Guinea. It lies on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Río Muni....
for the courses, which taught literacy as well as reproductive health, nutrition, and basic mathematics.
In 2004 the community celebrates it's golden jubilee celebrations. The national television channel, Radio Television Malabo, covered the event. A monthly magazine, La Gazzetta
La Gazzetta
La gazzetta, ossia Il matrimonio per concorso is an opera buffa by Gioachino Rossini. The libretto was by Giuseppe Palomba after Carlo Goldoni's play Il matrimonio per concorso of 1763....
, later published an article about the celebrations.
Bahá'í citizens of Equatorial Guinea were among those to gather in Yaounde, Cameroon, in a conference called for by the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
in 2008.
Demographics
In 2001 Operation WorldOperation World
Operation World is a reference book and prayer guide, begun by Patrick Johnstone and continued by Jason Mandryk, both from WEC International. Operation World is published by , and produced by...
estimated 0.38%, or 1,720 people were Bahá'ís - and growing at an annual rate of +4.2%. In 2004 there were four local assemblies in Equatorial Guinea. The Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated nearly 2,500, or 0.5% of the national population, Bahá'ís in 2005.
See also
- Religion in Equatorial Guinea
- History of Equatorial GuineaHistory of Equatorial Guinea-Pre-colonial history:The first inhabitants of the region that is now Equatorial Guinea are believed to have been Pygmies, of whom only isolated pockets remain in northern Rio Muni. Bantu migrations between the 17th and 19th centuries brought the coastal tribes and later the Fang...