History

This book turns a searchlight on the services and sacrifices of one of the Hands of the Cause of God who is less known in the West, but whose life story is unique. From a young age he had the honor of serving on Bahá’í administrative organizations in Iran, including the National Spiritual Assembly from its inception in 1934. He travelled internationally on several continents, particularly in Asia, presenting the essential contribution of the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh to universal peace, justice, education, and development. Shu‘a‘u’lláh ‘Alá’í’s many gifts of intellect and spirit, his candour and simplicity, as well as his sunny disposition, endeared him to many during his lifetime and will be newly appreciated by present-day readers.

This book examines the intersection of African American history with that of the Bahá’í Faith in the United States. Since the turn of the twentieth century, Bahá’ís in America have actively worked to establish interracial harmony within its own ranks and to contribute to social justice in the wider community, becoming in the process one of the country’s most diverse religious bodies. Spanning from the start of the twentieth century to the early twenty-first, the essays in this volume examine aspects of the phenomenon of this religion confronting America’s original sin of racism and the significant roles African Americans came to play in the development of the Bahá’í Faith’s culture, identity, administrative structures, and aspirations.

Includes essays by Loni Bramson, Christopher Buck, Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis, Louis Venters, Mike McMullen, and June Manning Thomas

On November 28, 1921, the head of the Bahá’í Faith, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, passed away. There were six Western believers in Haifa on the night of the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: Mr. John Bosch and Mrs. Louise Stapfer Bosch from Geyserville, California; Dr. Florian Krug and Mrs. Grace Krug from New York, and Fraulein Johanna Hauff from Stuttgart. All of them were there as pilgrims. The only other Western believer present in Haifa was Mr. Curtis Kelsey from New York, who was in Haifa to install electrical power plants to light the shrines of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. This book tells the story of these believers, how they became Bahá’ís, the circumstances that led them to Haifa, and how their experience at the time of the ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá shaped their path of service to the Cause of God. The intent is to give the reader the feeling of being in the holy land, one hundred years ago, when the moon of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá set over Haifa.

A beautifully written account of 'Abdu'l-Baha's journey in North America in the early part of the twentieth century. For eight months, He traveled across the United States and into Canada, speaking about the Bahá’í teachings. He covered more than five thousand miles and touched the hearts of everyone with whom He came in contact.

This special edition of Voyage of Love, published to commemorate the centenary of the passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, includes a new preface from author Amy Renshaw and a selection of discussion questions designed to help junior youth and readers of all ages reflect on ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s approach to the promotion of race unity and other topics.

Readers' Favorite® 5 Star Award Winner

Hazel Scott was a champion for civil and women’s rights. Born in Trinidad in 1920, she moved with her family to the United States in 1924. She was a musical wonder— studying and performing on the piano from the time she was a child. She became an accomplished singer as well, and appeared in Broadway musicals, films, and recorded her own albums. She also made headlines by standing up for the rights of women and African Americans, and she refused to play for segregated audiences. When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. led the March on Washington, Hazel led a march in Paris, where she was living, in front of the American Embassy. She learned about the Bahá’í Faith from Dizzy Gillespie and became a Bahá’í on December 1, 1968. She passed away in 1981.

We invite you to learn more about this “Change Maker” and the enduring impact she had on race relations through her performing arts.

See other books in the Change Maker Series

As people around the world mark the centenary of Abdu'l-Baha's passing and the completion of the first century of the Formative Age of the Bahá’í Faith, this anthology is designed to increase devotion to Abdu'l-Baha and aid profound reflection on His life, His mission and His unique qualities. Preserved in the testimonials and tributes collected here are the exemplary actions of that single soul out of all humankind who offered a pattern of right living to all people, for all time.

On a December day in 1973, Anisa Abdul-Razzaq Abbas heard a knock at the door of the Baghdad home she was visiting. She opened the door to greet two men from the Iraqi Al-Amn security force, who immediately placed her under arrest. Her crime: being a member of the Bahá’í Faith, a religious minority in her native Iraq.

Over the next six years, Anisa—along with other members of the Bahá’í community who were arrested at that time—would spend three years in Iraq’s infamous Abu Ghraib prison and a further three years in Al-Rashaad prison before her release in 1979. During her years of incarceration, Anisa would rely on her faith to meet the myriad challenges of prison life. Day after day, she and her fellow-prisoners experienced levels of cruelty and injustice that most would find unthinkable. Separated from her husband, who was being held in the men’s prison, and from her children who were without both parents, Anisa was sustained through her darkest days by the steadfast devotion and sacrificial love of her family, and by the strength and solidarity offered by her fellow Bahá’í prisoners.

Anisa’s story is one of patience, courage, and steadfastness in the face of religious prejudice and state-sponsored oppression, and it is a reminder to us all of the resilient strength of the human spirit.