3,200 Baha’is came together in 2009 to attend The London Regional Conference at the Business Design Centre in London. This was one of 41 such conferences held during a five month period which mobilised the Baha’is of the world behind a global programme of education and training designed to build capacity in individuals, groups and communities to contribute to the betterment of society.
The UK Bahá'is are part of a vibrant international community
From its beginnings in 19th Century Persia, the Bahá’í Faith has spread to every corner of the planet.
In fact, it is the second most geographically widespread religion on Earth, with more than five million members in over 200 countries representing over 2,000 ethnic, linguistic and cultural groups. Today, Bahá’ís can be found in every kind of location, from major cities to rural villages.
Diverse backgrounds
Those who declare themselves as Bahá’ís should become enchanted with the beauty of the Teachings, and touched by the love of Bahá’u’lláh. The declarants need not know all the proofs, history, laws, and principles of the Faith, but in the process of declaring themselves they must, in addition to catching the spark of faith, become basically informed about the Central Figures of the Faith, as well as the existence of laws they must follow and an administration they must obey.
People become Bahá’ís from widely diverse religious and non-religious backgrounds and are united in understanding that the Manifestations of God are the chief educators of humanity and that all the great religious systems come from one divine Source.
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These principles and laws, these firmly-established and mighty systems, have proceeded from one Source and are the rays of one Light. That they differ one from another is to be attributed to the varying requirements of the ages in which they were promulgated.
— BAHÁ’U’LLÁH
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In reality, there is only one religion, the religion of God. This one religion is continually evolving, and each particular religious system represents a stage in the evolution of the whole. The Bahá'í Faith represents the current stage in the evolution of religion.
Unity in diversity
The Bahá’í worldwide community may well be the most diverse gathering of humanity under a single purpose and vision, distinguished by the principle of unity in diversity.
There are Bahá’ís of every social class, educational and professional background, working with friends, neighbours and colleagues for the betterment of the world through service to humanity and a willingness to learn.
You can find links to the websites of national Bahá’í communities worldwide here.
Community governance
The community is also among the world’s most unified organisations, governing itself through a series of elected councils. Each year in localities where there are nine or more Bahá’ís, the adult Bahá’ís form or elect their nine-member local governing council, the Local Spiritual Assembly. Each year, too, the adult Bahá’ís elect delegates to attend the annual National Convention. It is the delegates who elect the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly.
Once every five years the members of the National Spiritual Assembly join their colleagues from across the world at the International Bahá’í Convention to take part in the election of the Bahá’í community’s world-level governing council, the Universal House of Justice. This has its seat at the community’s world spiritual and administrative centre, surrounded by beautiful gardens in Haifa in Israel.
The Bahá'í electoral system is unique in that there are no nominations and canvassing is forbidden. Voting is carried out in a prayerful atmosphere by secret ballot.
Bahá’ís at the United Nations
The Bahá’í community has been actively engaged in the work at the United Nations since 1948 through the Bahá’í International Community (BIC), an international non-governmental organization. It has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories, which together represent over 5 million members of the Bahá’í Faith. As an international NGO, the BIC interacts and cooperates with the United Nations, its specialized agencies, with governments, as well as with inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations. The BIC seeks to promote and apply principles — derived from the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith — which contribute to the resolution of current day challenges facing humanity and the development of a united, peaceful, just, and sustainable civilization.
Over the decades, the BIC has made substantial contributions to international discourses on human rights, eradication of poverty, gender equality and the education of the girl child, sustainable development, human rights, and on climate change and the environment.
Bahá’í World Centre
The spiritual and administrative heart of the worldwide Bahá’í community – the Bahá’í World Centre – is located in the cities of Acre and Haifa in northern Israel.
It comprises the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, other holy sites of the Bahá’í Faith in the area, the Seat of the Universal House of Justice, the International Teaching Centre, and the administrative buildings on Mount Carmel.
There is no Bahá’í community in Israel. The Bahá’ís who live there are either members of one of the two Bahá’í institutions – the Universal House of Justice or the International Teaching Centre – or they serve there as volunteers in the various offices and gardens.
Bahá’ís from the UK and around the world visit the Bahá’í World Centre for pilgrimage to the Holy Shrines.
You can find out more about the Bahá’í World Centre here and about the Bahá’í gardens in Haifa and Acre here.
Pilgrimage to the Shrines of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Haifa
Bahá’í pilgrims travel to the Bahá’í World Centre in Haifa, Israel, to pray in the golden-domed Shrine of the Báb. They also visit sites in Haifa and Acre associated with the history of the Bahá’í Faith, and walk in beautiful gardens surrounding the Shrines.
Saba shares his thoughts on a pilgrimage he took with his family:
‘Pilgrimage, for me, is about the common human experience of taking a journey. There is both physical and spiritual movement. For Bahá’ís, the physical act entails visiting places that are historically significant to the Bahá’í Faith, where the central figures of the Faith lived extraordinary lives of suffering and service to humanity.
‘The Bahá’í Shrines are a physical manifestation of Bahá’u’lláh’s vision of the potential greatness of human nature and society. For Bahá’ís, everything in these gardens and buildings is sacred.
‘The physical interacts with the spiritual, as prayer, reflection and contemplation in these places – animated by the words and deeds of Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá – allow for movement in the hearts of pilgrims, helping us understanding our own lives, our conditions, our sources of motivation.
‘Pilgrimage galvanises and regenerates the pilgrim. It affects one’s individual development and how we manifest this motivation to serve our communities and build friendships on a spiritual foundation.’
Volunteering at Bahá’í World Centre
Sam served as a volunteer for nearly three years at the Bahá’í World Centre, working in the offices that support the Universal House of Justice.
‘My period of service at the World Centre was a unique, life-changing experience,’ says Sam. ‘The spirit of devotion that permeated every area of work; the inestimable privilege of ready access to the Bahá’í Shrines; the inspiration of being surrounded by so many sites intimately connected with the history of the Faith; the blessing of being able to directly serve the Universal House of Justice – these are among my most precious memories of the World Centre.
‘Having worked alongside volunteers from every social, racial, cultural, and economic background, I returned to the UK with a powerful conviction in the ability of people everywhere to operate as one human family and to work harmoniously for a common purpose.’