Bahá'í Faith in South Africa
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in South Africa began with the holding of Bahá'í
meetings in the country in 1911. A small population of Bahá'ís remained until 1950 when large numbers of international Bahá'í pioneers
settled in South Africa
. In 1956, after members of various tribes in South Africa became Bahá'ís, a regional Bahá'í Assembly
which included South Africa was elected. Later each of the constituent countries successively formed their own independent Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly. Then in 1995, after a prolonged period of growth and oppression during Apartheid and the homelands
reuniting with South Africa, the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of South Africa was formed. In 2005 Bahá'ís were estimated at about 213,700 adherents.
. Mr. and Mrs. William Fraetas from Muizenberg
who had met `Abdu'l-Bahá
, the son of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh
, in New York, in 1912 came back to South Africa.
in 1916-1917; these letters were compiled together in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan
. The eighth and twelfth of the tablets mentioned Africa
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…."
After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá Bahá'ís began to move to South Africa. By 1929 there were 6 small groups of Bahá'ís mainly due to pioneers
and travelling Bahá'ís, notably Martha Root
, in the Western Cape and near Johannesburg
. The very first local Bahá'í Assembly formed in Pretoria
in 1925 but was dissolved in 1931, and by about 1937 only one Bahá'í remained from that period, Mrs. Agnes Carey. Carey was a social worker for women prisoners who had been released from the Pretoria prison, and because of her staunchness in the religion she was later honoured with the title of "The Mother of the Bahá'ís of South Africa" by Shoghi Effendi
, who was appointed the leader of the religion after `Abdu'l-Bahá's death. Shoghi Effendi had travelled through South Africa in 1929 and 1940. In 1949 the painter Reginald Turvey returned to South Africa from England
as a Bahá'í since 1936 through his association with the well-known painter Mark Tobey
and life-long friend Bernard Leach
. Turvey was unaware of the existence of other Bahá'ís in South Africa including Agnes Carey. As a result Turvey spent thirteen years believing he was the sole Bahá'í in South Africa. For his patience, devotion and subsequent services to the African Bahá'ís in his latter years, he was given the title of "The Father of the Bahá'ís of South Africa".
. During the plan 65 pioneers from the United States
, Canada
, Germany
, New Zealand
and England
settled in South Africa. Many of the pioneers settled permanently in the country; William Sears
and his family, Harry and Margaret Ford, and Robert Miller and his family settled in Johannesburg; Ruth and Bishop Brown, who were Margaret Ford's mother and stepfather, settled in Durban
. Lowell and Edith Johnson settled in Cape Town while Eleanor and Lyall Hadden settled in Pretoria.
In 1954 in Pretoria, Klaas Mtsweni, a Zulu, became the first indigenous South African to become a Bahá'í. In the succeeding years members of other South African ethnic groups including the Tswana, the Xhosa, the southern and Northern Sotho peoples, the Coloured
ethnic group, the Cape Coloureds
, the Cape Malays
, and White
, Afrikaner
s became Bahá'ís. In 1959, after years of political involvement in ANC
related organizations in the 1950s, Bertha Mkize became a Bahá'í and withdrew from political involvements and instead pioneered
to KwaZulu
where she helped found 28 Bahá'í communities.
In April 1956 the Bahá'í Faith was present in small numbers across 15 countries of Southern Africa including islands off Southern Africa. To administer these Bahá'í communities a regional governing body was elected in South Africa to cover them. Following the death of Shoghi Effendi and the election of the Universal House of Justice
, the islands of the Indian Ocean and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland each formed their own National Spiritual Assembly in 1964. Starting in 1967 the number of Bahá'ís in the region was growing and it was necessary for new independent National Assemblies to be formed in those countries: 1967 - Zambia
; 1970 - Botswana
, Malawi
, Zimbabwe
; 1971 - Lesotho
; 1972 - Madagascar
, Mauritius
, Reunion Island; 1977 - Swaziland
; 1981 - Namibia
; 1985 - Mozambique
; 1991 - Angola
; and in 1995 a re-united South Africa which included Bophuthatswana
, Ciskei
and Transkei
.
to black adherents, and placed the entire Bahá'í community under the leadership of its black population. In 1997 the National Spiritual Assembly presented a Statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa which said in part:
The three adults and one youth Bahá'ís murdered were Houshmand Anvari, Dr Shama Bakhshandegi, Vincent and Rias Razavi. at the Bahá'í Faith Centre, Mdantsane
, Ciskei, on 13 March 1994.
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 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. Following the end of Apartheid the South African Bahá'í community in South Africa has also been involved in a variety of projects around the country. The Parliament of the World's Religions
held its 1999 session in South Africa and the Bahá'ís helped in its organization and operation; Dr. Marks, the South African co-chair, is a Bahá'í. In 2001 the Bahá'í International Community
released two statements with regard to issues in South Africa. The first, on HIV/AIDS and gender equality issues particular to South Africa underscored the "[f]allacious notions about the naturally voracious sexual appetites of men" and "how culturally accepted social inequalities conspire with economic vulnerability to leave women and girls with little or no power to reject unwanted or unsafe sex. Yet, once infected with HIV/AIDS, women are often stigmatised as the source of the disease and persecuted, sometimes violently." The second statement was on the issue of racism
. Bahá'ís also participated in the follow-up to the 1992 Rio Conference on the Environment - Earth Summit 2002
held in South Africa in 2002. Some 30 representatives of six Bahá'í and Bahá'í-inspired organizations took part in the Summit including a statement entitled "Religion and Development at the Crossroads: Convergence or Divergence?". Delegations from the Bahá'í International Community, as well as the official Bahá'í communities of South Africa, Brazil
, and Canada
were accredited to the Summit as well as numerous sessions of Commissions of the United Nations
on Sustainable Development. During the Summit the experience of South African Bahá'í community with dealing with racism, education and gender inequality was offered.
In 2004 Bahá'ís Mark Bamford
and wife, co-writer and producer Suzanne Kay, and their two children, who had moved from the United States
to live in Cape Town, South Africa made the movie Cape of Good Hope
. In 2007 two professional filmmakers finished an hourlong documentary about three Bahá'ís and how they practice their faith, and the film is being aired on television in South Africa and neighbouring countries. "Baha'i Faith: A Way Forward" was produced by Ryan and Leyla Haidarian at the request of the South African Broadcasting Corporation
, which has licensed rights to the documentary for two years.
In addition to a variety if singular events the Bahá'ís engaged in a number of annual events. The perennial youth service and arts project "Beyond Words" has toured South African Bahá'í communities since 2000. The Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa held its seventh annual conference in 2006 at Bloemfontein, South Africa, including talks by John Grayzel, Chair, Bahá’í Studies, University of Maryland
and Continental Counsellor
Enos Makhele.
which was followed by satellite festivities in eight cities:Bloemfontein
, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Sabie
, Umtata, and Mafikeng
. The National Spiritual Assembly's own Golden Jubilee included a 2006 commemoration by Thabo Mbeki
on behalf of the Government and people of South Africa to say congratulations and best wishes to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South Africa.
20 October 2008 to celebrate recent achievements in grassroots community-building and to plan their next steps in organizing in their home areas. Just two weeks later twin conferences were held - one in South Africa and the other in Kenya
. One regional conference was hosted by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís off South Africa in Johannesburg in November 2008 and attracted over 1000 Bahá'ís from Angola, Botswana, La Reunion, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, and Swaziland.
.
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
meetings in the country in 1911. A small population of Bahá'ís remained until 1950 when large numbers of international Bahá'í 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"...
settled in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
. In 1956, after members of various tribes in South Africa became Bahá'ís, a regional Bahá'í Assembly
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...
which included South Africa was elected. Later each of the constituent countries successively formed their own independent Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly. Then in 1995, after a prolonged period of growth and oppression during Apartheid and the homelands
Bantustan
A bantustan was a territory set aside for black inhabitants of South Africa and South West Africa , as part of the policy of apartheid...
reuniting with South Africa, the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of South Africa was formed. In 2005 Bahá'ís were estimated at about 213,700 adherents.
Early history
1911 marks the beginning of a presence of the Bahá'í Faith in South Africa at the home of Agnes Cook in Sea Point, Cape TownCape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. Mr. and Mrs. William Fraetas from Muizenberg
Muizenberg
Muizenberg is a beach-side suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. It is situated where the shore of the Cape Peninsula curves round to the east on the False Bay coast...
who had met `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...
, the son of the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
, in New York, in 1912 came back to South Africa.
`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 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 mentioned Africa
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 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…."
After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá Bahá'ís began to move to South Africa. By 1929 there were 6 small groups of Bahá'ís mainly due to 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"...
and travelling Bahá'ís, notably Martha Root
Martha Root
Martha Louise Root was a prominent traveling teacher of the Bahá'í Faith in the late 19th and early 20th century. Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith called her "the foremost travel teacher in the first Bahá'í Century", and named her a Hand of the Cause posthumously...
, in the Western Cape and near Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
. The very first local Bahá'í Assembly formed in Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
in 1925 but was dissolved in 1931, and by about 1937 only one Bahá'í remained from that period, Mrs. Agnes Carey. Carey was a social worker for women prisoners who had been released from the Pretoria prison, and because of her staunchness in the religion she was later honoured with the title of "The Mother of the Bahá'ís of South Africa" 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...
, who was appointed the leader of the religion after `Abdu'l-Bahá's death. Shoghi Effendi had travelled through South Africa in 1929 and 1940. In 1949 the painter Reginald Turvey returned to South Africa from England
Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom
The Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom started in 1898 when Mrs. Mary Thornburgh-Cropper , an American by birth, become the first Bahá'í in England. Through the 1930s, the number of Bahá'ís in the United Kingdom grew, leading to a pioneer movement beginning after the Second World War with sixty...
as a Bahá'í since 1936 through his association with the well-known painter Mark Tobey
Mark Tobey
Mark George Tobey was an American abstract expressionist painter, born in Centerville, Wisconsin. Widely recognized throughout the United States and Europe, Tobey is the most noted among the "mystical painters of the Northwest." Senior in age and experience, Tobey had a strong influence on the...
and life-long friend Bernard Leach
Bernard Leach
Bernard Howell Leach, CBE, CH , was a British studio potter and art teacher. He is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery"-Biography:...
. Turvey was unaware of the existence of other Bahá'ís in South Africa including Agnes Carey. As a result Turvey spent thirteen years believing he was the sole Bahá'í in South Africa. For his patience, devotion and subsequent services to the African Bahá'ís in his latter years, he was given the title of "The Father of the Bahá'ís of South Africa".
Ten-Year Crusade
In 1953 Shoghi Effendi planned an international teaching plan termed 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....
. During the plan 65 pioneers from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
settled in South Africa. Many of the pioneers settled permanently in the country; William Sears
William Sears (Bahá'í)
William Sears was a Hand of the Cause of God, writer and a popular television and radio personality. In 2010, he was honored at the Dawn Breakers International Film Festival for achieving excellence as a professional media personality.-Personal life:Sears was married twice and had two children...
and his family, Harry and Margaret Ford, and Robert Miller and his family settled in Johannesburg; Ruth and Bishop Brown, who were Margaret Ford's mother and stepfather, settled in Durban
Durban
Durban is the largest city in the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal and the third largest city in South Africa. It forms part of the eThekwini metropolitan municipality. Durban is famous for being the busiest port in South Africa. It is also seen as one of the major centres of tourism...
. Lowell and Edith Johnson settled in Cape Town while Eleanor and Lyall Hadden settled in Pretoria.
In 1954 in Pretoria, Klaas Mtsweni, a Zulu, became the first indigenous South African to become a Bahá'í. In the succeeding years members of other South African ethnic groups including the Tswana, the Xhosa, the southern and Northern Sotho peoples, the Coloured
Coloured
In the South African, Namibian, Zambian, Botswana and Zimbabwean context, the term Coloured refers to an heterogenous ethnic group who possess ancestry from Europe, various Khoisan and Bantu tribes of Southern Africa, West Africa, Indonesia, Madagascar, Malaya, India, Mozambique,...
ethnic group, the Cape Coloureds
Cape Coloureds
The Cape Coloureds form a minority group within South Africa, however they are the predominant population group in the Western Cape. They are generally bilingual, however subsets within the group can be exclusively Afrikaans speakers, whereas others primarily speak English...
, the Cape Malays
Cape Malays
The Cape Malay community is an ethnic group or community in South Africa. It derives its name from the present-day Western Cape of South Africa and the people originally from Maritime Southeast Asia, mostly Javanese from modern-day Indonesia, a Dutch colony for several centuries, and Dutch...
, and White
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
, Afrikaner
Afrikaner
Afrikaners are an ethnic group in Southern Africa descended from almost equal numbers of Dutch, French and German settlers whose native tongue is Afrikaans: a Germanic language which derives primarily from 17th century Dutch, and a variety of other languages.-Related ethno-linguistic groups:The...
s became Bahá'ís. In 1959, after years of political involvement in ANC
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...
related organizations in the 1950s, Bertha Mkize became a Bahá'í and withdrew from political involvements and instead pioneered
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 KwaZulu
KwaZulu
KwaZulu was a bantustan in South Africa, intended by the apartheid government as a semi-independent homeland for the Zulu people. The capital, formerly at Nongoma, was moved in 1980 to Ulundi....
where she helped found 28 Bahá'í communities.
In April 1956 the Bahá'í Faith was present in small numbers across 15 countries of Southern Africa including islands off Southern Africa. To administer these Bahá'í communities a regional governing body was elected in South Africa to cover them. Following the death of Shoghi Effendi and the election 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...
, the islands of the Indian Ocean and the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland each formed their own National Spiritual Assembly in 1964. Starting in 1967 the number of Bahá'ís in the region was growing and it was necessary for new independent National Assemblies to be formed in those countries: 1967 - Zambia
Zambia
Zambia , officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. The neighbouring countries are the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, Tanzania to the north-east, Malawi to the east, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia to the south, and Angola to the west....
; 1970 - Botswana
Botswana
Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana , is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" . Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966...
, Malawi
Malawi
The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...
, Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
; 1971 - Lesotho
Lesotho
Lesotho , officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a landlocked country and enclave, surrounded by the Republic of South Africa. It is just over in size with a population of approximately 2,067,000. Its capital and largest city is Maseru. Lesotho is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. The name...
; 1972 - Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Reunion Island; 1977 - Swaziland
Swaziland
Swaziland, officially the Kingdom of Swaziland , and sometimes called Ngwane or Swatini, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered to the north, south and west by South Africa, and to the east by Mozambique...
; 1981 - Namibia
Namibia
Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia , is a country in southern Africa whose western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and east. It gained independence from South Africa on 21 March...
; 1985 - Mozambique
Mozambique
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest...
; 1991 - Angola
Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean with Luanda as its capital city...
; and in 1995 a re-united South Africa which included Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana
Bophuthatswana , officially the Republic of Bophuthatswana was a Bantustan – an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity – and nominal parliamentary democracy in the northwestern region of South Africa...
, Ciskei
Ciskei
Ciskei was a Bantustan in the south east of South Africa. It covered an area of 2,970 square miles , almost entirely surrounded by what was then the Cape Province, and possessed a small coastline along the shore of the Indian Ocean....
and Transkei
Transkei
The Transkei , officially the Republic of Transkei , was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the southeastern region of South Africa...
.
Apartheid
Faced with the segregated social pattern and laws of Apartheid in South Africa, the integrated population of Bahá'ís had to decide how to be composed in their administrative structures – whether the National Spiritual Assembly would be all black or all white. The Bahá'í community decided that instead of dividing the South African Bahá'í community into two population groups, one black and one white, they instead limited membership in the Bahá'í administrationBahá'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...
to black adherents, and placed the entire Bahá'í community under the leadership of its black population. In 1997 the National Spiritual Assembly presented a Statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa which said in part:
Abhorring all forms of prejudicePrejudicePrejudice is making a judgment or assumption about someone or something before having enough knowledge to be able to do so with guaranteed accuracy, or "judging a book by its cover"...
and rejecting any system of segregationRacial segregationRacial segregation is the separation of humans into racial groups in daily life. It may apply to activities such as eating in a restaurant, drinking from a water fountain, using a public toilet, attending school, going to the movies, or in the rental or purchase of a home...
, the Bahá'í Faith was introduced on a one to one basis and the community quietly grew during the apartheid years, without publicity. Despite the nature of the politics of that time, we presented our teachingsBahá'í teachingsThe 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...
on unity and the oneness of humankind to prominent individuals in politics, commerce and academia and leaders of thought including State Presidents.... [b]oth individual Bahá'ís and our administrative institutions were continually watched by the security police.... Our activities did not include opposition to the previous Government for involvement in partisan politics and opposition to government are explicitly prohibited by the sacred Texts of our Faith.... During the time when the previous Government prohibited integration within our communities, rather than divide into separate administrative structures for each population group, we opted to limit membership of the Bahá'í Administration to the black adherents who were and remain in the majority of our membership and thereby placed the entire Bahá'í community under the stewardship of its black membership.... The pursuit of our objectives of unity and equality has not been without costs. The "white" Bahá'ís were often ostracized by their white neighbours for their association with "non-whites". The Black Bahá'ís were subjected to scorn by their black compatriots for their lack of political action and their complete integration with their white Bahá'í brethren. The most tragic loss to our community was the brutal execution of four of our adherents, at our places of worship, three in MdantsaneMdantsaneMdantsane is a South African township situated between East London and King William's Town in the Eastern Cape province. It is reputed to be the second largest township in South Africa after Soweto and houses the second biggest shopping mall in the Eastern Cape Province...
and one in Umtata.
The three adults and one youth Bahá'ís murdered were Houshmand Anvari, Dr Shama Bakhshandegi, Vincent and Rias Razavi. at the Bahá'í Faith Centre, Mdantsane
Mdantsane
Mdantsane is a South African township situated between East London and King William's Town in the Eastern Cape province. It is reputed to be the second largest township in South Africa after Soweto and houses the second biggest shopping mall in the Eastern Cape Province...
, Ciskei, on 13 March 1994.
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, 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 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. Following the end of Apartheid the South African Bahá'í community in South Africa has also been involved in a variety of projects around the country. The Parliament of the World's Religions
Parliament of the World's Religions
There have been several meetings referred to as a Parliament of the World’s Religions, most notably the World's Parliament of Religions of 1893, the first attempt to create a global dialogue of faiths. The event was celebrated by another conference on its centenary in 1993...
held its 1999 session in South Africa and the Bahá'ís helped in its organization and operation; Dr. Marks, the South African co-chair, is a Bahá'í. In 2001 the Bahá'í International Community
Bahá'í International Community
The Bahá'í International Community, or the BIC, is an international non-governmental organization representing the members of the Bahá'í Faith; it was first chartered in March 1948 with the United Nations, and currently has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories.The BIC seeks to "promote...
released two statements with regard to issues in South Africa. The first, on HIV/AIDS and gender equality issues particular to South Africa underscored the "[f]allacious notions about the naturally voracious sexual appetites of men" and "how culturally accepted social inequalities conspire with economic vulnerability to leave women and girls with little or no power to reject unwanted or unsafe sex. Yet, once infected with HIV/AIDS, women are often stigmatised as the source of the disease and persecuted, sometimes violently." The second statement was on the issue of racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. Bahá'ís also participated in the follow-up to the 1992 Rio Conference on the Environment - Earth Summit 2002
Earth Summit 2002
The World Summit on Sustainable Development, WSSD or Earth Summit 2002 took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 26 August to 4 September 2002. It was convened to discuss sustainable development by the United Nations. WSSD gathered a number of leaders from business and non-governmental...
held in South Africa in 2002. Some 30 representatives of six Bahá'í and Bahá'í-inspired organizations took part in the Summit including a statement entitled "Religion and Development at the Crossroads: Convergence or Divergence?". Delegations from the Bahá'í International Community, as well as the official Bahá'í communities of South Africa, Brazil
Bahá'í Faith in Brazil
The Bahá'í Faith in Brazil started in 1919 with Bahá'ís first visiting the country that year, and the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in Brazil was established in 1928. There followed a period of growth with the arrival of coordinated pioneers from the United States finding national Brazilian...
, and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
were accredited to the Summit as well as numerous sessions of Commissions of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
on Sustainable Development. During the Summit the experience of South African Bahá'í community with dealing with racism, education and gender inequality was offered.
In 2004 Bahá'ís Mark Bamford
Mark Bamford
Mark Bamford was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but raised mostly in New York. He graduated from New York University in 1989 with a double major in French Literature and Linguistics and a minor in Anthropology...
and wife, co-writer and producer Suzanne Kay, and their two children, who had moved from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to live in Cape Town, South Africa made the movie Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope (film)
The Cape of Good Hope is a 2004 South African comedy drama film written and produced by Suzanne Kay Bamford and her husband Mark Bamford under the direction of Mark Bamford...
. In 2007 two professional filmmakers finished an hourlong documentary about three Bahá'ís and how they practice their faith, and the film is being aired on television in South Africa and neighbouring countries. "Baha'i Faith: A Way Forward" was produced by Ryan and Leyla Haidarian at the request of the South African Broadcasting Corporation
South African Broadcasting Corporation
The South African Broadcasting Corporation is the state-owned broadcaster in South Africa and provides 18 radio stations as well as 3 television broadcasts to the general public.-Early years:Radio broadcasting began in South Africa in 1923...
, which has licensed rights to the documentary for two years.
In addition to a variety if singular events the Bahá'ís engaged in a number of annual events. The perennial youth service and arts project "Beyond Words" has toured South African Bahá'í communities since 2000. The Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa held its seventh annual conference in 2006 at Bloemfontein, South Africa, including talks by John Grayzel, Chair, Bahá’í Studies, University of Maryland
University of Maryland, College Park
The University of Maryland, College Park is a top-ranked public research university located in the city of College Park in Prince George's County, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C...
and Continental Counsellor
Institution of the Counsellors
The Counsellors are part of the administrative order of the Bahá'í Faith, and are part of a greater administrative branch called the Institution of the Counsellors, established by the Universal House of Justice in 1968....
Enos Makhele.
Jubiliee
In 2003 the Bahá'í community of South Africa celebrated their Golden Jubilee (50 year anniversary of the community) in PhokengPhokeng
Phokeng is a town in the North West province of South Africa. It is the capital of the Royal Bafokeng Nation and lies near Rustenburg.-Etymology:Phokeng gained its name from the Setswana word for dew, Phoka, hence Place of dew...
which was followed by satellite festivities in eight cities:Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein
Bloemfontein is the capital city of the Free State Province of South Africa; and, as the judicial capital of the nation, one of South Africa's three national capitals – the other two being Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Pretoria, the administrative capital.Bloemfontein is popularly and...
, Cape Town, Durban, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Sabie
Sabie
Sabie is a forestry town situated on the banks of the Sabie River in Mpumalanga, South Africa. Once the Sabie River was teeming with crocodiles and the local Shangaan people dubbed it uluSaba or ...
, Umtata, and Mafikeng
Mafikeng
Mahikeng – formerly legally, but still commonly known as Mafikeng – is the capital city of the North-West Province of South Africa. It is best known internationally for the Siege of Mafeking, the most famous engagement of the Second Boer War.Located on South Africa's border with Botswana, it is ...
. The National Spiritual Assembly's own Golden Jubilee included a 2006 commemoration by Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mbeki
Thabo Mvuyelwa Mbeki is a South African politician who served two terms as the second post-apartheid President of South Africa from 14 June 1999 to 24 September 2008. He is also the brother of Moeletsi Mbeki...
on behalf of the Government and people of South Africa to say congratulations and best wishes to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South Africa.
South African regional conference
Regional conferences were called for by 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...
20 October 2008 to celebrate recent achievements in grassroots community-building and to plan their next steps in organizing in their home areas. Just two weeks later twin conferences were held - one in South Africa and the other in 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...
. One regional conference was hosted by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís off South Africa in Johannesburg in November 2008 and attracted over 1000 Bahá'ís from Angola, Botswana, La Reunion, Lesotho, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, and Swaziland.
Demographics
Estimates of the Bahá'ís in South Africa range from around 201,000 to about 213,700 adherents by the World Christian EncyclopediaWorld 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,...
.
Publications
- My African Heart by Bonnie Fitzpatrick-Moore, Paperback, 196 pages, ISBN 9781874801863, December 1999, published by Baha'i Publishing Trust of South Africa. About an African-American Baha'f author who moved to South Africa and lived there for a quarter century.
- Lights of the Spirit: Historical Portraits of Black Bahá'ís in North America By Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis, Richard Walter Thomas, 338 pages, ISBN 1931847266, 2006, published by United States Baha'i Publishing Trust, includes several individuals who moved or made special trips to South Africa.
See also
- Religion in South AfricaReligion in South AfricaSouth Africa has a wide mix of religions. Many religions are represented in the ethnic and regional diversity of South Africa's population. The traditional spiritualities of the Khoisan and Bantu speakers were succeeded in predominance by the Christianity introduced by the Dutch and, later,...
- History of South AfricaHistory of South AfricaSouth African history has been dominated by the interaction and conflict of several diverse ethnic groups. The aboriginal Khoisan people have lived in the region for millennia. Most of the population, however, trace their history to immigration since...
- World Conference against Racism 2001
External links
- Bahá'ís of South Africa Official Website
- Official Webpage of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís oF South Africa maintained by the Bahá'í International Community
- Bahá'í Club at University of the WitwatersrandUniversity of the WitwatersrandThe University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg is a South African university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University...
. - Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa
- Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith in AfrikaansAfrikaansAfrikaans is a West Germanic language, spoken natively in South Africa and Namibia. It is a daughter language of Dutch, originating in its 17th century dialects, collectively referred to as Cape Dutch .Afrikaans is a daughter language of Dutch; see , , , , , .Afrikaans was historically called Cape...
. - Baha'i Youth of South Africa