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A new version of the Bahá’í Reference Library is now available. This ‘old version’ of the Bahá’í Reference Library will be replaced at a later date.
The new version of the Bahá’i Reference Library can be accessed here »
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Keynote of the Crusade |
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They have evoked his awe-inspiring, and soul-stirring cablegram
of May 28th, calling for the immediate settlement of all
the 131 virgin areas of the Plan, just as quickly as possible. He
is convinced, that the friends will arise and translate their enthusiasm
into Action, because the Keynote of the Crusade, must
be Action, Action, Action!
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The settlement of these virgin areas is of such an emergency
nature, that he feels pioneering in one of them takes precedence
over every other type of Baha’i service—whether it be in the
teaching or administrative fields of the Faith. So important is
it that the National Assembly may delay initiation of steps to
fulfill other phases of the Plan, until all these areas are conquered
for the Faith. Nothing, absolutely nothing, must be
allowed to interfere with the placing of pioneers in each of the
131 goal countries.
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Because of it being the Chief Executor of the Divine Plan,
and having so many pioneers available, the Guardian has given
permission to the United States to send pioneers into any area
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of the globe regardless of whom it may be assigned to. Thus
pioneers from the United States may ask permission to settle in
one of the areas assigned to your Assembly. If this is done, you
should assist them in every way possible.
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4. The National Assembly should make it their first
order of business to follow up actively this most important
task. They must make it the first order of business
at each Assembly meeting, to see that each application
is being progressed rapidly. This does not mean
the special committees should not handle the details; but
it does mean the Assembly itself, must review each application
at each meeting; and see that the pioneer gets into
the field as soon as possible.
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5. A large number of pioneers should not be sent to any
one country. One, or even two, will be sufficient for the
time being. Later on, if supplementary assistance is
needed, that of course can be taken care of. The all important
thing now, is to get at least one pioneer in each
of the 131 virgin areas.
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6. The National Assembly may exercise its prerogatives and
suggest to applicants where their services are most needed.
This, of course, applies particularly to pioneers,
where a large number wish to go to the same place.
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This does not mean that any administrative matters in
connection with the settlement of pioneers should be
handled with the council. These should continue to be
handled with the Guardian direct. The Council is simply
to coordinate reports, consolidate them, keep maps up
to date, etc. for the Guardian, and your reports will enable
them to do this.
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As his dramatic cable indicates, the Guardian will have prepared
an illuminated “Roll of Honor” on which will be inscribed
the names of the “Knights of Baha’u’llah” who first enter
these 131 virgin areas. This “Roll of Honor” will be placed
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inside the entrance door of The Inner Sanctuary of the Tomb of
Baha’u’llah.
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Now is the time for the Baha’is of the World to demonstrate
the spiritual vitality of the Faith, and to arise as one soul to
spread the Glory of the Lord, over the face of the Earth. The
Guardian is sure, that the Baha’is of India, Pakistan and
Burma who have served and sacrificed so long for the Faith,
will continue their glorious record by winning many new victories
for the Faith.
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On this historic occasion, when the members of the National
Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha’is of the United States of
America, of the Dominion of Canada, of Central and of
South America, of Persia, of the Indian subcontinent and of
Burma, of Iraq and of Australasia, as well as representatives
of the sovereign states and dependencies of the Asiatic
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continent, of the Republics of North, Central and South
America, and of Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania are
assembled, and are to deliberate on the needs and requirements
of the recently launched triple Campaign embracing
the Asiatic mainland, the Australian continent and the
islands of the Pacific Ocean—a campaign which may well
be regarded as the most extensive, the most arduous and
the most momentous of all the campaigns of a world-girdling
Crusade, and which, in its scope, is unparalleled in the
history of the Faith in the entire eastern Hemisphere—my
thoughts, on such an occasion, go back to the early dawn
of our Faith, to those unforgettable scenes of matchless
heroism, of dark tragedy, of imperishable glory which
heralded its birth, and accompanied the spread, of its infant
Light, in the heart of the Asiatic continent.
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I vividly recall the meteoric rise of the Faith of the Bab in
the provinces of Persia and the stirring episodes associated
with His cruel incarceration in the mountain-fastnesses of
Adhirbayjan, with the revelation of the laws of His Dispensation,
with the proclamation of the independence of His
Faith, with the peerless heroism of His disciples, with the
fiendish cruelty of His foes—the Chief Magistrate, the civil
authorities, the ecclesiastical dignitaries and the masses of the
people, of His native land—with the humiliation, the spoliation,
the dispersal, the eventual massacre of a vast number
of His followers, and, above all, with His own execution in
the City of Tabriz.
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I am reminded, moreover, of the initial spread of the light
of this Revelation, in consequence of the banishment of
Baha’u’llah, to the adjoining territories of Iraq, and, as far as
the western fringes of that continent, to Turkey and the
neighbouring territories of Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, and,
at a later stage, to the Indian sub-continent and China,
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situated on the southern and eastern extremities of that continent
as well as to the Caucasus and Russian Turkistan.
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Nor can I fail to remember the series of alternating crises
and victories—each constituting a landmark in the evolution
of the Faith—which it has experienced in some of these
territories, associated with the distressful withdrawal of its
Author to the mountains of Sulaymaniyyih; with the
glorious Declaration of His Mission in Baghdad; with His
second and third banishments to Constantinople and
Adrianople; with the grievous rebellion of His half-brother;
with the proclamation of His own Mission; with His fourth
banishment to the desolate and far-off penal colony of
Akka in Syria; with the revelation of the Kitab-i-Aqdas,
His Most Holy Book; with His ascension in the Holy
Land; with the establishment of His Covenant and the inauguration
of the Ministry of Abdu’l-Baha, His son and the
Exemplar and authorized interpreter of His teachings.
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These opening stages in the evolution of His Faith in the
Asiatic continent were followed, while the first and Apostolic
Age of His Dispensation was drawing to a close, by the
opening of the Islands situated in the Pacific Ocean, Japan in
the north, and the Australian continent in the South. To
these memorable chapters of Asian Baha’i history another
was soon added, on the morrow of the ascension of the
Centre of Baha’u’llah’s Covenant, and during the initial
epoch of the Formative Age of the Faith, distinguished
by the rise of the Administrative Order and the erection of
its pillars in the cradle of that Faith, in Iraq, in India,
Pakistan and Burma and in the Antipodes. This memorable
episode in its development in that vast continent was
succeeded by the initiation, during the second Epoch of
that same Age, of a series of Plans in those same territories
in support of Abdu’l-Baha’s Divine Plan and as a prelude
to the opening of the recently launched world-embracing
Spiritual Crusade.
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The hour has now struck for this continent, on whose soil,
more than a century ago, so much sacred blood was shed,
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in whose very heart deeds of such tragic heroism were performed,
and in many of whose territories such brilliant
victories have been won, to contribute, in association with
its sister continents, to the progress and ultimate triumph of
this global Crusade, in a manner befitting its unrivalled
position in the entire Baha’i world.
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The various Baha’i Communities dwelling within the borders
of this continent and those situated to the south of its shores
in the Antipodes, which include the oldest and most venerable
among all the communities of the Baha’i world, and
whose members in their aggregate constitute the overwhelming
majority of the followers of Baha’u’llah, are called upon,
in close association with four other Baha’i communities in
the Western Hemisphere, to undertake in the course of the
coming decade: First, the construction of the first
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar in Baha’u’llah’s native land, in the
City of Tihran, surnamed by Baha’u’llah “Mother of the
World”. Second, the purchase of land for the future construction
of three Mashriqu’l-Adhkars, one in the city of
Baghdad, enshrining the “Most Great House”, the third
holiest city of the Baha’i world, one in New Delhi, the leading
city of the Indian sub-continent, and the third in Sydney,
the oldest and foremost Baha’i Centre in the Antipodes.
Third, the formation of no less than eleven National Spiritual
Assemblies, one each in Pakistan, Burma and Ceylon, under
the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is
of India, Pakistan and Burma; one in Turkey and one
in Afghanistan, under the aegis of the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha’is of Persia; one in Japan, under the
aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the
United States of America; one in New Zealand, under the
aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is
of Australia and New Zealand, as well as four regional
National Spiritual Assemblies, one in the Arabian Peninsula,
under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Baha’is of Persia; one in South-East Asia, under the aegis
of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of India,
Pakistan and Burma; a third in the South Pacific, under the
aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of
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the United States of America; and a fourth in the Near
East, under the aegis of the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Baha’is in Iraq. Fourth, the opening of the following
forty-one virgin territories and islands: Andaman Islands,
Bhutan, Daman, Diu, Goa, Karikal, Mahe, Mariana Islands,
Nicobar Islands, Pondicherry, Sikkim, assigned to the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of India, Pakistan
and Burma; Caroline Islands, Dutch New Guinea,
Hainan Island, Kazakhstan, Macao Island, Sakhalin Island,
Tibet, Tonga Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha’is of the United States of America;
Brunei, Chagos Archipelago, Krigizia, Mongolia, Solomon
Islands, Tadzhikistan, Uzbekistan, assigned to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Persia; Admiralty
Islands, Cocos Island, Loyalty Islands, Mentawei Islands,
New Hebrides Islands, Portuguese Timor, Society Islands,
assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is
of Australia and New Zealand; Gilbert and Ellice Islands,
Marshall Islands, Tuamotu Archipelago, assigned to the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Central
America; Hadhramaut, Kuria-Muria Islands, assigned to
the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Iraq;
Marquesas Islands, Samoa Islands, assigned to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada; Cook
Islands, assigned to the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Baha’is of South America. Fifth, the translation and publication
of Baha’i literature in the following forty languages,
to be undertaken by the National Spiritual Assembly of
the Baha’is of India, Pakistan and Burma, in association
with the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of
Australia and New Zealand: Abor Miri, Aneityum, Annamese,
Balochi, Bentuni, Binandere, Cheremiss, Chungchia,
Georgian, Houailou, Javanese, Kado, Kaili, Kopu, Kusaie,
Lepcha, Lifu, Manchu, Manipuri, Manus Island, Marquesas,
Mentawei, Mongolian, Mordoff, Mwala, Na-Hsi, Nicobarese,
Niue, Ossete, Ostiak, Pali, Panjabi, Pashto, Perm, Petats,
Samoan, Tho, Tibetan, Tonga, Vogul. Sixth, the consolidation
of Aden Protectorate, Adhirbayjan, Afghanistan, Ahsa,
Armenia, Bahrayn Island, Georgia, Hijaz, Saudi-Arabia,
Turkey, Turkmenistan, Yemen, allocated to the National
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Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Persia; of Baluchistan,
Borneo, Burma, Ceylon, Indo-China, Indonesia, Malaya,
Nepal, Pakistan, Sarawak, Siam, allocated to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of India, Pakistan and
Burma; of China, Formosa, Japan, Korea, Manchuria,
Philippine Islands, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly
of the Baha’is of the United States of America; of
Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria, Trucial Sheikhs,
Umman, allocated to the National Spiritual Assembly of
the Baha’is of Iraq; of Bismarck Archipelago, Fiji, New
Caledonia, Australian New Guinea, allocated to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Australia and
New Zealand; of Hong Kong, allocated to the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of the British Isles.
Seventh, the incorporation of the eleven above-mentioned
National Spiritual Assemblies, as well as those of Persia and
Iraq. Eighth, the establishment by these above-mentioned
eleven National Spiritual Assemblies of national Baha’i endowments.
Ninth, the establishment of a national Haziratu’l-Quds
in the capital cities of each of the countries where
National Spiritual Assemblies are to be established, as well
as one in Suva, one in Jakarta, one in Bahrayn and one
in Beirut. Tenth, the establishment of a national Baha’i
Court in the capital cities of Persia, of Iraq, of Pakistan and
of Afghanistan—the leading Muslim centres in the Asiatic
continent. Eleventh, the establishment of two National
Baha’i Publishing Trusts, one in Tihran and one in New
Delhi. Twelfth, the formation of Israel Branches of the
National Spiritual Assemblies of the Baha’is of Persia, of
Iraq and Australia; authorized to hold on behalf of their
parent institutions property dedicated to the holy Shrines at
the World Centre of the Faith in the State of Israel. Thirteenth,
the appointment, during Ridvan 1954, by the Hands
of the Cause in Asia and in Australia of an auxiliary Board
of nine members who will, in conjunction with the eight
National Spiritual Assemblies participating in the Asiatic
and Australian campaigns, assist, through periodic and
systematic visits to Baha’i centres, in the efficient and
prompt execution of the Plans formulated for the prosecution
of the teaching campaigns in the continent of Asia
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The Asiatic continent, the cradle of the principal religions
of mankind; the home of so many of the oldest and
mightiest civilizations which have flourished on this planet;
the crossways of so many kindreds and races; the battleground
of so many peoples and nations; above whose
horizon, in modern times, the suns of two independent Revelations—the promise and consummation of a six thousand-year-old
religious Cycle—have successively arisen; where
the Authors of both of these Revelations suffered banishment
and died; within whose confines the Centre of a
divinely-appointed Covenant was born, endured a forty-year
incarceration and passed away; on whose Western extremity
the Qiblih of the Baha’i world has been definitely established;
in whose heart the City proclaimed by Baha’u’llah as the
“Mother of the World” is enshrined; within whose borders
another City regarded as the “cynosure of an adoring world”
and the scene of the greatest and most glorious Revelation
the world has witnessed is embosomed; on whose soil so
many saints, heroes and martyrs, associated with both of
these Revelations, have lived, struggled and died—such a
continent, so privileged among its sister continents and yet
so long and so sadly tormented, now stands, at the hour of
the launching of a world-encompassing Crusade, on the
threshold of an era that may well recall, in its glory and
ultimate repercussions, the great periods of spiritual revival
which, from the dawn of recorded history have, at various
stages in the revelation of God’s purpose for mankind,
illuminated the path of the human race.
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May this Crusade, launched simultaneously on the Asiatic
mainland, its neighbouring islands and the Antipodes, under
the direction of eight National Spiritual Assemblies, and
through the operation of eight systematic Teaching Plans,
and the concerted efforts of Baha’i communities in both
the East and the West, provide, as it unfolds, an effective
antidote to the baneful forces of atheism, nationalism, secularism
and materialism that are tearing at the vitals of this
turbulent continent, and may it re-enact those scenes of
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spiritual heroism which, more than any of the secular revolutions
which have agitated its face, have left their everlasting
imprint on the fortunes of the peoples and nations
dwelling within its borders.—SHOGHI
October, 1953
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