Bahá'í Faith in Rwanda
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in Rwanda begins after 1916 with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá
, then head of the religion, that Bahá'ís should take the religion to the regions of Africa. The first specific mention of Rwanda was in May 1953 suggesting the expanding community of the Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
look at sending pioneers
to neighboring areas like Ruanda. The first settlers of the religion arrived in the region by July 1953 when Bahá'ís from the United States and Malawi
arrived. By 1963 there were three Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in Burundi-Ruanda. Through succeeding organizations of the countries in the region, the National Spiritual Assembly of Rwanda was formed in 1972. Bahá'ís, perhaps in the thousands, were among those who perished in the Rwandan Genocide
Following the disruption of the Rwandan Civil War
the national assembly was reformed in 1997. The Bahá'ís of Rwanda have continued to strive for inter-racial harmony, a teaching which Denyse Umutoni, an assistant director of Shake Hands with the Devil, mentions as among the reasons for her conversion to the religion. 2001 estimates place the Bahá'í population around 15,000 while 2005 estimates from the same source shows just over 17,000.
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book titled Tablets of the Divine Plan
. Three of the tablets mentioned taking the Bahá'í Faith to Africa, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 — after the end of World War I
and the Spanish flu
. These 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. One tablet says in part:
The first specific mention of Rwanda was from a telegram of Shoghi Effendi
in May 1953, while he was head of the religion, in which he is suggesting the expanding community of the Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
and other areas look at sending pioneers
to neighboring areas like Ruanda.
. The first settlers of the religion arrived in the region by July 1953 when Mary and Reginald (Rex) Collison from the United States and Dunduzu Chisiza, a young Bahá'í from Malawi
(then Nyasaland), arrived in Ruanda-Urundi (now the independent countries of Rwanda and Burundi) thus earning the title Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
. The first local Bahá'í in Rwanda was Alphonse Semanyenzi. By 1963 there were three Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in Burundi-Ruanda, though the host cities were not specified owing to difficulties of communication with Bahá'í administration
. Prominent early pioneers were Dr. Ataollah Taaid and his wife Zahereh came in 1966.
, Tanganyika, Kenya
, Belgian Congo, Ruanda-Urundi, and other areas. Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga
represented the Universal House of Justice
for the 1969 election of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Burundi and Rwanda with its seat in Bujumbura
. With the independence of Burundi and Rwanda, the National Assembly was reformed in 1972 for each country. Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khanum
visited Rwanda in 1972 and 1973 about when the community was officially recognized by the national government.
Bahá'ís, perhaps in the thousands, were among the 800,000 who perished in the Rwandan Genocide
as well as at least one Bahá'í American-Rwandan family that helped rescue refugees. The National Spiritual Assembly of Rwanda lapsed in 1996 following the Rwandan Civil War
and was reformed in 1997.
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. Since the genocide and war, the religion has been involved in resolving tribal tensions based on its teachings of principle of the oneness of humanity
. In March 2000, the national assembly of Rwanda released a statement addressed to the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation, in which the Bahá'ís urged that consideration be given to making the principle of the oneness of humanity the basis for reconciliation in the country. Some Bahá'ís from the United States have set up a non-profit organization, Orien Aid, to finding, empowering, and training youth for service, and also made a five year commitment to work in Rwanda starting in 2003. Among the recent conversions is Denyse Umutoni, an assistant director of Shake Hands with the Devil, national coordinator of a public awareness program on social issues called Cineduc (Youth Education Through Cinema), a project funded by DED and UNICEF, she setup after she organized the retrieval of 3000 bodies including her parents from a mass grave in 2004. Umutoni was raised Catholic but experienced a crisis of faith but her study of the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith renewed her spirit. Rwandan Bahá'í youth were among those gathered for a five day conference in 2006 in Bujumbura
to discuss how youth can provide the means for peaceful social action and transformation.
(WCD) 2001. In 2005 there were 28 local spiritual assemblies. The 2005 WCD estimate was of just over 17,000 Bahá'ís.
`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...
, then head of the religion, that Bahá'ís should take the religion to the regions of Africa. The first specific mention of Rwanda was in May 1953 suggesting the expanding community of the Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
The Bahá'í Faith in Uganda started to grow in 1951 and in four years time there were 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations...
look at sending 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"...
to neighboring areas like Ruanda. The first settlers of the religion arrived in the region by July 1953 when Bahá'ís from the United States and Malawi
Bahá'í Faith in Malawi
The Bahá'í Faith in Malawi begins before the country achieved independence. Before World War I the area of modern Malawi was part of Nyasaland and `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, asked the followers of the Bahá'í Faith to travel to the regions of Africa...
arrived. By 1963 there were three Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in Burundi-Ruanda. Through succeeding organizations of the countries in the region, the National Spiritual Assembly of Rwanda was formed in 1972. Bahá'ís, perhaps in the thousands, were among those who perished in the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
Following the disruption of the Rwandan Civil War
Rwandan Civil War
The Rwandan Civil War was a conflict within the Central African nation of Rwanda between the government of President Juvénal Habyarimana and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front...
the national assembly was reformed in 1997. The Bahá'ís of Rwanda have continued to strive for inter-racial harmony, a teaching which Denyse Umutoni, an assistant director of Shake Hands with the Devil, mentions as among the reasons for her conversion to the religion. 2001 estimates place the Bahá'í population around 15,000 while 2005 estimates from the same source shows just over 17,000.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan
`Abdu'l-Bahá wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United StatesUnited 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 titled 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,...
. Three of the tablets mentioned taking the Bahá'í Faith to Africa, but was delayed in being presented in the United States until 1919 — after the end of World War I
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...
. These 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 magazine on December 12, 1919. One tablet says in part:
The intention of the teacher must be pure, his heart independent, his spirit attracted, his thought at peace, his resolution firm, his magnanimity exalted and in the love of God a shining torch.… Consequently, a number of souls may arise … and hasten to all parts of the world, especially from America to Europe, Africa, Asia ….
(and also offers a prayer that begins)
O God, my God! Thou seest how black darkness is enshrouding all regions, how all countries are burning with the flame of dissension, and the fire of war and carnage is blazing throughout the East and the West. Blood is flowing, corpses bestrew the ground, and severed heads are fallen on the dust of the battlefield.
O Lord! Have pity…
The first specific mention of Rwanda was from a telegram of 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...
in May 1953, while he was head of the religion, in which he is suggesting the expanding community of the Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
The Bahá'í Faith in Uganda started to grow in 1951 and in four years time there were 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations...
and other areas look at sending 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"...
to neighboring areas like Ruanda.
Beginnings
The first Bahá'í to travel through Rwanda may have been Marthe Molitor c. 1947 after joining the religion in Belgium though she moved on to the Belgian CongoBelgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
. The first settlers of the religion arrived in the region by July 1953 when Mary and Reginald (Rex) Collison from the United States and Dunduzu Chisiza, a young Bahá'í from Malawi
Bahá'í Faith in Malawi
The Bahá'í Faith in Malawi begins before the country achieved independence. Before World War I the area of modern Malawi was part of Nyasaland and `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, asked the followers of the Bahá'í Faith to travel to the regions of Africa...
(then Nyasaland), arrived in Ruanda-Urundi (now the independent countries of Rwanda and Burundi) thus earning the title Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
The title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh was given by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade....
. The first local Bahá'í in Rwanda was Alphonse Semanyenzi. By 1963 there were three Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in Burundi-Ruanda, though the host cities were not specified owing to difficulties of communication with Bahá'í administration
Bahá'í administration
The Bahá'í administration or Bahá'í administrative order refers to the administrative system of the Bahá'í Faith.It is split into two parts, the elected and the appointed...
. Prominent early pioneers were Dr. Ataollah Taaid and his wife Zahereh came in 1966.
Growth
The regional National Spiritual Assembly of Central and East Africa was established in 1956, with its seat in Kampala, and embraced UgandaBahá'í Faith in Uganda
The Bahá'í Faith in Uganda started to grow in 1951 and in four years time there were 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations...
, Tanganyika, Kenya
Bahá'í Faith in Kenya
The Bahá'í Faith in Kenya begins with three individuals. First Richard St. Barbe Baker took a constructive engagement with the indigenous religion of Kenyans to a United Kingdom conference on religions where in sympathy with his efforts he was presented with the Bahá'í Faith and became a convert...
, Belgian Congo, Ruanda-Urundi, and other areas. Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga was born to an Anglican family of the Iteso ethnic group in Uganda. He became a Bahá'í, earned the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh and was appointed as the youngest Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the religion. He served the interests of the religion widely and...
represented 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...
for the 1969 election of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Burundi and Rwanda with its seat in Bujumbura
Bujumbura
-Education:The University of Burundi is located in Bujumbura.Hope Africa University is located in BujumburaUniversité du Lac Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura-External links:**...
. With the independence of Burundi and Rwanda, the National Assembly was reformed in 1972 for each country. Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khanum
Rúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
visited Rwanda in 1972 and 1973 about when the community was officially recognized by the national government.
Bahá'ís, perhaps in the thousands, were among the 800,000 who perished in the Rwandan Genocide
Rwandan Genocide
The Rwandan Genocide was the 1994 mass murder of an estimated 800,000 people in the small East African nation of Rwanda. Over the course of approximately 100 days through mid-July, over 500,000 people were killed, according to a Human Rights Watch estimate...
as well as at least one Bahá'í American-Rwandan family that helped rescue refugees. The National Spiritual Assembly of Rwanda lapsed in 1996 following the Rwandan Civil War
Rwandan Civil War
The Rwandan Civil War was a conflict within the Central African nation of Rwanda between the government of President Juvénal Habyarimana and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front...
and was reformed in 1997.
Modern community
Since its inception the religion 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 clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of JusticeUniversal 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. Since the genocide and war, the religion has been involved in resolving tribal tensions based on its teachings of principle of the oneness of humanity
Bahá'í Faith and the unity of humanity
The Bahá'í Faith and the unity of humanity is one of the central teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. The Bahá'í teachings state that since all humans have been created in the image of God, God does not make any distinction between people regardless of race or colour. Thus, because all humans have been...
. In March 2000, the national assembly of Rwanda released a statement addressed to the National Commission for Unity and Reconciliation, in which the Bahá'ís urged that consideration be given to making the principle of the oneness of humanity the basis for reconciliation in the country. Some Bahá'ís from the United States have set up a non-profit organization, Orien Aid, to finding, empowering, and training youth for service, and also made a five year commitment to work in Rwanda starting in 2003. Among the recent conversions is Denyse Umutoni, an assistant director of Shake Hands with the Devil, national coordinator of a public awareness program on social issues called Cineduc (Youth Education Through Cinema), a project funded by DED and UNICEF, she setup after she organized the retrieval of 3000 bodies including her parents from a mass grave in 2004. Umutoni was raised Catholic but experienced a crisis of faith but her study of the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith renewed her spirit. Rwandan Bahá'í youth were among those gathered for a five day conference in 2006 in Bujumbura
Bujumbura
-Education:The University of Burundi is located in Bujumbura.Hope Africa University is located in BujumburaUniversité du Lac Tanganyika is located in Bujumbura-External links:**...
to discuss how youth can provide the means for peaceful social action and transformation.
Demographics
There is an estimate the Bahá'í community was 40,000 before the genocide but more recently there appear to be about 10,000. The World Christian DatabaseWorld 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,...
(WCD) 2001. In 2005 there were 28 local spiritual assemblies. The 2005 WCD estimate was of just over 17,000 Bahá'ís.