A Brief History of the Bahá'í Faith

Fourth Epoch of the Formative Age: 1986 - 2001

• 21 Apr 1986  The Universal House of Justice launches a SixYear Plan.
• 3 Aug 1986  Historic visit to Bahá'í World Centre by Sir Thomas Davis, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands for a consultation with the Universal House of Justice on world peace.
• 24 Dec 1986  Dedication of the House of Worship of the Indian Subcontinent in New Delhi, India.

The Bahá'í House of Worship (Mashriqu'l-Adhkár)  for the Indian subcontinent. Within its walls,  Abdú'l-Bahá has forbidden the display of pictures  or statues, and the use of musical interments.  Only the human voice may be used to sing,  chant or read the Word of God.

• 21 April 1987  By now, more than 1 million copies of "The Promise of World Peace" had been distributed. 200 Iranian Bahá'ís are still in prison in Irán.
• 3 Oct 1987  Bahá'í Faith becomes sixth world religion to join Network On Conservation and Religion of the World Wide Fund for Nature.
• Sep 1988  Opening of the Maxwell International Bahá'í School in British Columbia, Canada.
• July 1989  Sean Hinton, first Bahá'í to reside in Mongolia, was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh, the last name to be entered on the Roll of Honor at the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.
• 24-25 Feb 1990  Soviet Union's first national Bahá'í conference in six decades was held in Moscow.
• 21 March 1990  Bahá'ís in Cluj, Romania, formed the first LSA in Eastern Europe since World War II.
• 21 April 1990  By now, two Knights of Bahá'u'lláh had settled in Sakhalin Island, the last remaining territory named by Shoghi Effendi in his Ten Year Global Plan. A two-year subsidiary teaching plan is introduced by the Universal House of Justice. The United States House of Representatives unanimously adopted a resolution calling for the emancipation of the Iránian Bahá'í Community.
• 18 March 1992  Word of the secret execution of Mr. Bahman Samandari in Irán is made known, the first execution since 1988.
• 21 April 1992 The Holy Year begins, in commemoration of the centenary of the passing of Bahá'u'lláh. The Faith is now represented in every nation on earth. Law of Huququ'llah takes effect. Last known execution of a Bahá'í in Irán took place this month.
• 28 May 1992  The Roll of Honor of the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh (those who opened countries or territories to the Faith) was placed in a chamber at the door of the inner sanctuary of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.
• June 1992 A Bahá'í is murdered by members of Iran's Disciplinary Forces.
• September 1992, two more death sentences were passed in Iran.
• On 27 August 1992 The 44th session of the Sub-Commission of Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities passed a resolution drawing attention to the renewed persecution of religious minorities and summary killings of Bahá'ís.
• 23-26 Nov 1992  Second Bahá'í World Congress held in the City of the Covenant (New York City) - attended by 30,000 Bahá'ís from 180 countries.This was linked through satellite with nine auxiliary conferences held at the same time throughout the world.
• 23 November 1992 The Special Representative's report to the United Nations General Assembly was released and, in relation to the Bahá'ís, was the strongest one to date.
• 18 December 1992, the United Nations General Assembly passed a strong resolution making special reference to the treatment of the Bahá'í community and expressing regret that "the Islamic Republic of Iran has not given adequate follow-up to many of the recommendations contained in the previous reports."
• 10 March 1993 A further strong resolution was passed at the 49th Session of the Commission on Human Rights by a margin of 22 votes to 11, with 14 abstentions, noting "that there was no appreciable progress in the Islamic Republic of Iran towards improved compliance with human rights standards in conformity with international instruments."
• 21 March 1993  The Most Holy Book (Kitáb-i-Aqdás) is published in English for the first time.
• 21 Apr 1993  The Universal House of Justice launches a ThreeYear Plan.
• Summer, 1993 15,000 Bahá'í graves were desecrated in Iran. More than 10,000 have been dismissed from positions in government and public education, pensions have been revoked, and in some cases Bahá'ís have been required to return salaries and pensions received. Bahá'í farmers are prevented from joining farmers' cooperatives, often the only source of credit, seeds, pesticide, and fertilizer. Private companies have often been compelled to discharge members of the Faith, and in some locations Bahá'ís have been prevented from operating their own businesses.
• March 1995  World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen involving 250 Bahá'ís from more than 40 countries. "The Prosperity of Humankind", produced by the Bahá'í International Community's Office of Public Information, was distributed and discussed.
• 21 April 1995  172 National Spiritual Assemblies are existent.
• Sept 1995  The Fourth World Conference on Women was held in Beijing, attended by more than 500 Bahá'ís and an official delegation from BIC. Also in 1995, the Bahá'í International Community's United Nations Office produced and distributed a statement, entitled "Turning Point for All Nations", containing proposals for the development of the United Nations.
• March 1996 In the past seventeen years, 201 Bahá'ís have been killed or executed, fifteen are missing and presumed dead, and hundreds have been imprisoned. Property confiscations (totaling 150 in the city of Yazd last year alone), dismissal from public sector employment, expulsion from institutions of higher learning, discriminatory treatment in the judicial system, arbitrary arrests, and prohibition of all forms of religious community life, including worship meetings, are some of the difficulties experienced by this beleaguered community. In recent years, more than one hundred Bahá'ís throughout the country have been arrested, detained for periods ranging from 48 hours to six months, and then released, in an effort to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and fear in the community. Numerous cases of torture and summary trials have been documented. As of now, eight Bahá'ís were in prison, three under sentence of death. The situation of the Iranian Bahá'í community continued to receive the close attention of the United Nations, particularly in reports issued by the Special Representative on Iran and the Special Rapporteur on Religious Intolerance, and the sentencing of another Bahá'í to death on the charge of "religious apostasy" prompted a number of governments around the world to further action
• 21 Apr 1996  The Universal House of Justice launches a FourYear Plan. "The structural framework of the Centre for the Study of the Texts and the Extension to the International Archives Building has been raised up and the work on these buildings has advanced towards initiation of the exterior and interior finishing work. The erection of the permanent seat of the International Teaching Centre, the third structure currently being built on the Arc, is progressing rapidly. Seven terraces below the Shrine of the Báb are now completed, foreshowing the unfolding splendour from the foot to the ridge of God's Holy Mountain."

View from the 19th terrace of the terraces, Shrine of the Báb, and Haifa harbor.

• July 1996 "The Bahá'í World" website of the International Bahá'í Community is launched. In its first eight months it received over 50,000 hits from more than 90 countries and territories.
• March 1997 Although the executions of Bahá'ís have ceased, harassment continues. Between 1993 and 1997, some 200 Bahá'ís were arrested and detained for periods ranging from 48 hours to 6 months. As of now, fourteen Bahá'ís were still being held in Iranian prisons solely because of their religious beliefs. Four of these are under sentence of death.
• 21 Apr 1997 National Spiritual Assembly of Rwanda is reformed, bringing the number of NSAs to 175. "...the construction projects on Mount Carmel maintained a dazzling momentum highlighted by the completion of the marble colonade of the Centre for the Study of the Texts, by the rise of the International Teaching Centre building towards its seventh level, and by the ongoing emergence of the far-stretching features of the Terraces of the Shrine of the Bab."
• May 1998 Three new National Spiritual Assemblies are formed: Sabah, Sarawak, and Slovakia. The National Spiritual Assembly in Liberia is re-established, for a total of 179 National Spiritual Assemblies.
• 23 May 1998  Four Bahá'í Regional Councils elected for the first time in the United States in regions corresponding to the regions of the Tablets of the Divine Plan.
• July 1998 Execution of a Bahá'í in Mashhad, Iran, Mr. Ruhu'llah Rawhani.
• September 1998  32 faculty members of the Bahá'í Institute of Higher Education are arrested and the Bahá'í Open University is shut down. This was the only source of higher education for Bahá'í youth who are denied educational opportunities by the Iranian authorities. A world-wide outcry is heard from educators in response.
• 21 April 1999  National Spiritual Assemblies formed in Latvia, Lithuania and Macedonia, bringing the total number to 182. Shortly after, the Centre for the Study of the Texts and the Extension to the Archives Building at the World Centre were occupied. The exterior of the International Teaching Centre building is fully clad in marble. The lowering of Hatzionut Avenue, to accommodate the bridge which now connects the Terraces of the Shrine of the Bab on both sides of the road, has been completed and normal traffic restored. The unfolding magnificence of the Terraces has so captured public attention that the nineteenth terrace at the top of the mountain has already been opened to visitors on a daily schedule. As part of a campaign to attract international attention to the city, the Municipality of Haifa has published a pictorial brochure on the Shrine of the Bab and the Terraces, available in five major languages besides Hebrew. 70,000 individuals have already completed at least one national or regional training institute course.

Aerial view of the terraces extending below and above the Shrine of the Báb. From the base to the top of Mount Carmel, the terraces cover a distance of about one kilometer. At the top left are the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Centre for the Study of the Texts, and the International Archives Building.

Aerial view of the terraces extending below and above the Shrine of the Báb. From the base to the top of Mount Carmel, the terraces cover a distance of about one kilometer. At the top left are the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the Centre for the Study of the Texts, and the International Archives Building.

• 26 Nov 1999 The Universal House of Justice announces the advent of the upcoming "One-Year" and "Five-Year" plans.
• 28 Dec 1999 The Universal House of Justice reviews the Kitáb-i-Aqdas and announces that the laws of fasting, obligatory prayers, ablutions and chanting the Greatest Name 95 times per day are now binding on all Bahá'ís.
• 1 Jan 2000 Presentations of the Bahá'í World Center are televised as part of the new millennium celebrations and are viewed by over one-billion persons around the world.
• 19 Jan 2000 The Bahá'í world community receives an announcement from the Universal House of Justice that Amatú'l-Bahá Ruhíyyih Khánum, the wife of Shoghi Effendi and the last link to 'Abdú'l-Bahá and the Holy Family has passed away.

Amatú'l-Bahá Ruhíyyih Khánum Ne Mary Sutherland Maxwell (1910 - 2000)

• 26 Jan 2000  The Bahá'í World community received the announcement that Adib Taherzadeh, author and member of the Universal House of Justice, has passed away after being hospitalized by illness.
• The Government of Irán reaffirms the death sentences of two Bahá'ís, former faculty of the Bahá'í Institute of Higher Education. The United States in a State Department proclamation to the government of Irán: "We urge that the government of Iran protect members of the Baha'i Faith and that it ease restrictions on the practice of religion so that all Iránians might enjoy the fundamental human right to freedom of conscience and belief,"
• 11 Feb 2000: President Clinton said he was deeply troubled that the death sentences had been reaffirmed for Sirus Zabihi-Moghaddam and Hadayet Kashefi-Najafabadi and the same sentence had been imposed on Manucher Khulusi. "Executing people for their religious faith is contrary to the most fundamental human rights principles,'' Clinton said, holding the Iránian government responsible for the safety of the Baha'is of Irán and strongly urged that the executions not be carried out.
• 16 Jan, 2001 The Universal House of Justice announces that, as the Bahá'í Faith has reached a point in its development: the widespread training institutes and the near completion of the construction projects on Mount Carmel, the Bahá'í  Faith now enters the fifth epoch of the Formative Age.

A Brief History of the Bahá'í Faith
The Heroic Age: The first epoch: the Báb  The second epoch: Bahá'u'lláh  The third epoch: 'Abdu'l-Bahá
The Formative Age:  The first epoch: 1921 to 1947  The second epoch: 1947 to 1963  The third epoch: 1963 to 1986  The fourth epoch: 1986 to 2001 The fifth epoch: 2001 to present