Chronology: Date 1986

Chronology of the Bahá'í Faith

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Date 1986, descending — sort earliest first

date	event	tags	firsts
1986 24 Dec 198-	The House of Worship in New Delhi, the Mother Temple of the Indian Subcontinent, was dedicated in the presence of Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum and more than 8,000 Bahá'ís from 114 countries. [AWH47; BINS161; BW19:102 BW20p732-733, VV92] On October 1st, 1954 the Guardian announced that a plot lying in the outskirts of New Delhi has been secured at the price of a hundred thousand rupees as the site of the first Mashriqu'l-Adhkar of the Indian subcontinent. [CBN No58 Nov 1954 p1] See VV93–4 for pictures. See the video A Documentary on Lotus Temple, complete with transcript, 3 minutes, 52 seconds. Marble for the House of Worship was cut and chiseled by Margraf, a firm from Chiampo, Italy formerly known as Industria Marmi Vincentini. [BWNS1223] The Universal House of Justice reported that the Bahá'í Temple received more than 120,000 visitors within the first thirty days of its dedication. [Ridván 1987] Specifics Location: New Delhi, India (Bahapur (Abode of Light)) Foundation Stone: 17 October 1977 (Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum) Construction Period: April 1980 - December 1986 Site Dedication:24 December 1986 (Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum placed a silver casket containing Dust from the Shrines of Bahá'u'lláh and the Báb into the crown of the Prayer Hall arch facing 'Akká) Architect/Project Manager: Fariburz Sahbá Seating: 1200 Dimensions:Inner buds are 34.3m high, the outer leaves are 15.4m wide and 22.5m high. Cost: $10m Dependencies: References: BW16p486-487, BW17p368-370, BW18p103-104, 571-584, BW19p559-568, BW20p731-753	* Mashriqu'l-Adhkár (House of Worship); - Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Mother Temples; * Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Quick facts; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Delhi; Lotus temple, New Delhi; Amatul-Bahá Ruhiyyih Khanum; Dedications; Marble; Fariborz Sahba; - Architects; Boxes containing dust, earth or plaster; Gifts; Bahá'u'lláh, Shrine of (Bahjí); Báb, Shrine of (Haifa); Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); - Basic timeline, Expanded; Margraf; New Delhi, India; India; Chiampo, Italy; Italy
1986 23 - 27 Dec 198-	International Teaching Conference was held in New Delhi in conjunction with the opening of the Mashriqu'l-Adhkár. It was attended by 8,000 Bahá'ís from 114 countries. [BW20p731-753]	Conferences, Bahá'í; Conferences, Teaching; - Conferences, International; Teaching; Mashriqu'l-Adhkár, Delhi; Lotus temple, New Delhi; New Delhi, India; India
1986 20 Dec 198-	The official opening of Radio Bahá'í Chile in Labranza, Commune of Temuco. The transmitter operated on 1160 kHz and served principally the indigenous population of Mapuche Indian community. [Bahá'í Historical Facts] iiiii See BWNS1462 for a story on how this radio station served the community during the 2020 pandemic.	Bahá'í Radio; Bahá'í-owned radio; Temuco, Chile; Chile
1986 Dec 198-	The National Spiritual Assembly of Mauritania and all ten local spiritual assemblies in the country were dissolved.	National Spiritual Assembly, dissolved; Local Spiritual Assembly, dissolved; Mauritania
1986 13 Nov 198-	Zikrullah Khadem (Dhikru'lláh Khádem), Hand of the Cause of God, passed away in Skokie, Illinois. (b.1904 in Tehran) [VV123; ZK151] Mr Khadem served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Iran from 1938 to 1960. [LoF362-371] Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the second contingent on the 29th of February, 1952. [MoCxxiii] See also Khadem, Zikrullah Khadem: The Itinerant Hand of the Cause of God. In 1972 the Universal House of Justice asked Khadem to research and document places and people of historical significance to Baháʼís, which he concluded in 1977 with a 134-volume work that was submitted to the Universal House of Justice. He had called the project a Registry of Bahá'í Holy Places. [LoF369] See In Memoriam in BN No 669 December 1986 p2. Find a grave.	Zikrullah Khadem; - Hands of the Cause; Hands of the Cause, Births and deaths; - Births and deaths; - In Memoriam; Hands of the Cause, Second Contingent; Skokie, IL; Illinois, USA; United States (USA)
1986 19 Oct 198-	Lorraine Kahn of Pine Springs, Arizona, is elected a delegate to the United States National Convention, the first Navajo woman to serve in this capacity. [BINS161:19]	Lorraine Kahn; Native Americans; Conventions, National; Firsts, other; United States (USA)	first Navajo woman delegate national convention
1986 6 Aug 198-	The Indo-Chinese Refugee Committee of Thailand estimates that five to six thousand people are Bahá'ís in the refugee camps on the Thai border. [BINS158:17]	Indo-Chinese Refugee Committee; Thailand
1986 6 Aug 198-	The Brazilian Society of Physicians for Peace is formed by Bahá'í physicians in Pôrto Alegre at a ceremony attended by 120 medical professionals. [BINS159:2–3]	Bahá'í associations; Conferences, Health; Porto Alegre, Brazil; Brazil
1986 3 – 4 Aug 198-	The Honourable Sir Thomas David, Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, at his request, consulted with the Universal House of Justice at the Bahá'í World Centre about world peace, 'the most concrete response to date by a political leader to the Peace Statement'. BINS157:1; VV88] For picture see VV86.	Prominent visitors; Universal House of Justice; Haifa, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre; Cook Islands
1986 18 – 24 Jul 198-	The European Bahá'í Youth Movement is launched at the Bahá'í Youth School, Landegg Conference Centre, Switzerland. [BINS157:9–10; BINS158:10]	Youth; Landegg Academy, Switzerland; Landegg, Switzerland; Switzerland; - Europe
1986 Jul 198-	Jack Malardy, 88-year-old tribal leader of the Karradjarrie people of Australia, and his wife Lilly become Bahá'ís in Lagrange, Australia. [BINS156:3; BINS179:1]	Jack Malardy; Lilly Malardy; Australia
1986 23 May 198-	Fourteen State Bahá'í Councils were elected in India by members of local spiritual assemblies. [BW19:162; VV99–100] For a description of the Councils and their responsibilities see BW19:162–4. The State Bahá'í Council was the forerunner for the Regional Bahá'í Council which was announced on the 30th of May, 1997.	State Bahá'í Councils; Regional Bahá'í Councils; India
1986 28 Apr 198-	In 2008, the Bahá'í International Community published the names of 221 Iranian Bahá'ís who had been murdered or executed in the three decades since the Islamic Revolution. (The Bahá'í Question: Cultural Cleansing in Iran) The youngest on this list was Payman Sobhani Ezabadi, a resident of Saravan in the southwestern province of Sistan and Baluchistan, who was only 15 at the time. This story from Iranwire, untold before, is based on his father's written memoirs.	Payman Ezabadi; * Persecution, Iran; Saravan, Iran
1986 - 1992 198-	The Six Year Plan (1986-1992) was launched. [AWH40, 42–4; BBRSM159; VV91] In its message of 2 January 1986 the Universal House of Justice announced a new process whereby the national goals of the new Plan were to be largely formulated by the National Spiritual Assemblies and the Boards of Counsellors. See the message of the 25 February 1986 for the major objectives and national goals of the plan. [Mess63-86p717-723] See BW20p115 for the report on the Six Year Plan.	Six Year Plan (1986-1992); - Teaching Plans; - Bahá'í World Centre
1986 Ridván 198-	The Seven Year Plan was successfully completed. (1979-1986) [BW19:23] For a graph showing the growth of the Bahá'í Faith in this period see BW19:23. For statistics on the Bahá'í Faith at this date see BINS155:13 and BW19:61–98, 112–46. A series of further plans from 1964 to 1986, The Nine Year Plan (1964-19730), The Five Year Plan (1974-1979), and the Seven Year Plan (1979-1986) carried forward the process of establishing the Bahá'í Faith in every country and major territory of the world, such that, once it became possible to spread the Baha'i Faith in the former communist countries in the 1990s, this process was more or less complete. [Patheos website] the restoration and opening to pilgrimage of the southern wing of the House of 'Abdu'llah Pasha; the completion and occupation of the Seat of the Universal House of Justice; the approval of detailed plans for the remaining edifices around the Arc; the expansion of the membership and responsibilities of the International Teaching Centre and the Continental Boards of Counsellors; the establishment of the offices of Social and Economic Development, and of Public Information; the dedication of the Mother Temple of the Pacific, and dramatic progress with the building of the Temple in India; the expansion of the teaching work throughout the world, resulting in the formation of twenty-three new National Spiritual Assemblies, nearly 8,000 new Local Spiritual Assemblies, the opening of more than 16,000 new localities and representation within the Baha'i community of 300 new tribes; the issuing of 2,196 new publications, 898 of which are editions of the Holy Text and the enrichment of Baha'i literature by productions in 114 new languages; the initiation of 737 new social and economic development projects; the addition of three radio stations, with three more soon to be inaugurated-- these stand out as conspicuous achievements in a Plan which will be remembered as having set the seal on the third epoch of the Formative Age. [Ridván Message 1986]	Seven Year Plan (1979-1986); - Teaching Plans; Restoration; - Bahá'í World Centre
1986 Ridván 198-	The heroic steadfastness of the Persian friends has been the mainspring of tremendous international attention focused on the Cause, eventually bringing it to the agenda of the General Assembly of the United Nations, and, together with world-wide publicity in all the media, accomplishing its emergence from the obscurity which characterized and sheltered the first period of its life. [Ridván Message]	Emergence from obscurity; - Bahá'í World Centre
1986 20 Apr 198-	The world population of Bahá'ís was estimated to be 4,335,000. [BW19p67]	Statistics
1986 Apr 198-	The first province-wide gathering of Bahá'í youth in Northern Ireland convenes. [BINS154:15]	Youth; Northern Ireland, UK	first province-wide gathering Bahá’í youth in Northern Ireland
1986 13 Mar 198-	The United Nations Commission on Human Rights adopted a resolution asking its chairman to appoint a new special representative to report to the General Assembly in November 1986 on the human rights situation in Iran, including the situation of the Bahá'ís. [BINS153:12]	United Nations Commission on Human Rights; Iran
1986 9 Mar 198-	The passing of Continental Board of Counsellor member Angus Welldon Cowan (b.12 September 1914 in Bishopton, Quebec) at his home in Invermere, BC. [BW19p703–70; BCNS] The message from the Universal House of Justice Mess63-86p723. See his biography Angus: From the Heart: The Life of Counsellor Angus Cowan by Patricia Verge, Springtide Publishing, Cochrane AB, 1999.	Angus Cowan; - In Memoriam; Bishopton, QC; Quebec, Canada; Invermere, BC; British Columbia, Canada
1986 5 Feb 198-	The publication of Epochs of the Formative Age by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice which explained that the epochs of the Formative Age mark progressive stages in the evolution of the organic Bahá'í community and signal the maturation of its institutions. The timing of each epoch is designated by the Head of the Faith, and given the organic nature of evolutionary development, the transition from one epoch to another may not be abrupt, but may well occur over a period of time. [Messages from the Universal House of Justice 1963-1986 p710-716]	Historical overviews by Central Figures or BWC; - Bahá'í World Centre
1986 5 Feb 198-	The message from the Universal House of Justice addressed to all National Assemblies with the compilation entitled The Epochs of the Formative Age prepared by the Research Department. [Messages63-86p710-716]	Cycles, Eras, Ages and Epochs; Formative Age; - Compilations; - Bahá'í World Centre
1986 31 Jan 198-	The announcement of the inaugural broadcast of Radio Bahá'í Panama. [Mess63-86p710] It was situated in the Chiriqui area of western Panama as part of the Guaymi Educational Centre complex at Soloy. Also see One Country. See BWNS1462 for a story on how this radio station served the community during the 2020 pandemic.	Bahá'í Radio; Teaching institutes; Bahá'í-owned radio; Boca del Monte, Panama; Panama
1986 28 Jan 198-	The death of NASA Astronaut Ronald Erwin McNair (b. 21 October, 1951 in Lake City, SC) when Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated nine miles above the Atlantic Ocean just 73 seconds after liftoff. Prior to this launch he had served 7 days, 23 minutes in space. He was buried in Rest Lawn Memorial Park in Lake City, South Carolina. [BlackPast.org] McNair Crater on the Moon is named for him. [Wikipedia]	Ronald McNair; Space exploration; - Science; African Americans; - Famous Bahá'ís; Cape Canaveral, FL; Florida, USA; Lake City, SC; South Carolina, USA; United States (USA)
1986 21 Jan 198-	The Islamic Research Academy at the Azhar University in Cairo published in a number of newspapers a lengthy opinion about the Bahá'í Faith in advance of the court cases of Bahá'ís due to be heard in February. [BW19:286] "The essence of the statement is that the condemnation of the Bahá'ís should not be only based on charges of the Bahá'ís resuming activities and holding meetings, but rather on their beliefs. Consequently all Bahá'ís should be incriminated and not only those who allegedly have disobeyed a particular law." [Ref Enayat below] For a refutation of this statement by the Bahá'í International Community, see BW19:288–96 and "Far Stretching River". Also see Commentary on the Azhar's Statement regarding Bahá'ís and Bahá'ísm by Moshen Enayat. "It (the commentary) was sent to the main daily Egyptian newspapers, all of which had published the Azhar statement under large headlines. It was also sent to some suitable senior officials, such as the Minister of Information and the Speaker of Parliament. To our knowledge no newspaper has published it. " "The accusations listed in the statement are mostly repetitions of previous allegations, except for its inference that the unanimous opposition of Muslims to the Bahá'í Faith is a proof of its error; an assertion implicitly invoking the tradition attributed to the Prophet Muhammad that the unanimity of the Muslim nation cannot be infallible. The importance of the statement consisted in its attempt to make the condemnation of the Bahá'í Faith a doctrinal assertion, and as a consequence, tremendous pressure was exerted by some religious deputies on the speaker of the Egyptian parliament to pass a bill which stipulated that conversion to the Bahá'í Faith was an act of apostasy punishable by death."	Persecution, Egypt; - Persecution, Court cases; - Persecution; Court cases; Bahá'í International Community; Criticism and apologetics; Moshen Enayat; Egypt
1986 2 Jan 198-	The Universal House of Justice ended the Counsellors' Conference at the Bahá'í World Centre by announcing in a letter that the Bahá'í world has entered the fourth epoch in the Formative Age of the Cause. [AWH39–42; BBD79, 85; BW19:29; VV91] The seven major objectives of the Six Year Plan, to begin at Ridván 1986, were outlined. [AWH40] On the closing day of the Counsellors' Conference, the Universal House of Justice announced certain features of the Six Year Plan and the methods by which the national goals were to be worked out in consultation between the Counsellors and National Spiritual Assemblies. [Mess63-86p717] The year from Ridván 1992 was designated a Holy Year. [AWH40–1]	Formative Age; Cycles, Eras, Ages and Epochs; Holy Years; Six Year Plan (1986-1992); Conferences, Counsellors; Haifa, Israel; - Bahá'í World Centre
1986 1 Jan 198-	The publication of the compilation entitled "Women" by the Universal House of Justice. [Messages63-86p704, Compilation of CompilationsVol 2 p355] Also see a message to an individual from the Universal House of Justice entitled "Women - Their Role in Society and the Establishment of Peace; Membership on the Universal House of Justice". [Messages63-86p707-709]	Women; Peace; - Compilations; * Publications; Universal House of Justice, Membership on
1986 (In the year) 198-	Iran's hugely unsuccessful attempt to convince the international community that Bahá'ís were indeed spies was probably one of the reasons that convinced Iranian officials to review Iran's contemporary history. The aim of this review was in no way to reconsider age-old beliefs and assumptions, but to generate so-called "objective" facts and data which would ultimately serve to justify those assumptions. It was in light of this conviction that, the Institute for Cultural Research and Studies was founded "with a mandate to maintain, organize and catalogue valuable historical documents acquired during and after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. In 1996, it was replaced by the Institute for Iranian Contemporary Historical Studies (IICHS), a professional research centre devoted to the study of contemporary Iranian history. Its objective is to undertake various research projects regarding social, political, economic and cultural aspects of post-eighteenth-century Iran, using its collection of primary sources." Another such organization, the Political Studies and Research Institute, was founded in 1988. [Iran Press Watch 1407; the institute's website]	Conspiracy theories; * Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Other; - Persecution; Iran
1986 (In the year) 198-	The founding of the Ruaha Secondary School in southwestern rural Tanzania near Iringa, about 500 km from Dar-es-salaam. The school was operated under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly. [The Mona Project (information on the Iringa School no longer available on this web site), One Country] By 1988 the school had 300 pupils and taught classes in English, geography, Swahili, history, chemistry, agriculture, physics, political science, mathematics, biology, and religion – Christian, Bahá'i, and Islamic studies were covered by representatives of other religions –all part of the Ministry-determined curriculum. Each student participated in service projects. [BW14p96; History of the Bahá'í Faith in Tanzania] In 2001 the school received a grant to build a girls dormitory. [BWNS145] The Mona Foundation provided funding for the building of a boys' dormitory with the capacity of 120 beds. [History of the Bahá'í Faith in Tanzania]	- Bahá'í inspired schools; Bahá'í World News Service (BWNS); Mona Foundation; Tanzania; Iringa, Tanzania; Dar-es-salaam, Tanzania
1986 (In the year) 198-	The persecution of the Bahá'ís of Iran continued throughout the year. [BW19:177–226] One Bahá'í, 15-year-old Paymán Subhání, was killed. [BW19:225–6, 234] For his picture see BW19:246. For the actions taken by the Bahá'í international Community see BW19:38.	* Persecution, Iran; - Persecution, Deaths; - Persecution; Bahá'í International Community; Human rights; Iran
1986 (In the year) 198-	The Bahá'í Association for Arts (BAFA) was formed with its base in the Netherlands.	Bahá'í Association for Arts (BAFA); Bahá'í associations; * Arts and crafts; Netherlands
1986 (In the year) 198-	The first local spiritual assembly of San Salvador Island, mentioned in the Tablets of the Divine Plan as Watling Island, was formed.	Local Spiritual Assembly; San Salvador Island	first Local Spiritual Assembly San Salvador Island
1986 (In the year) 198-	The Sri Lanka post office issued a commemorative postage stamp featuring the Bahá'í-sponsored World Religion Day. [BINS176:4]	World Religion Day; Stamps (philately); Sri Lanka
1986 (In the year) 198-	Community-based Bahá'í health care programmes were launched in Kenya, Uganda and Swaziland, spearheaded by Dr Ethel Martens of Canada.	Ethel Martens; Kenya; Uganda; Swaziland
1986 (In the year) 198-	Hundreds of members of the Aeta tribe in Tarlac and Pampanga, Philippines, became Bahá'ís. [BINS158:13]	- First believers by background; Philippines
1986 (In the year) 198-	Reynaldo Galindo Pohl, a prominent diplomat, and professor of law from El Salvador served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran from 1986 to 1995. He visited Iran three times between 1990 and 1992, but after his third visit, he was barred from visiting Iran. [Wikipedia] His eight years as Special Representative were particularly significant, principally for a series of reports that authoritatively documented the intense, often brutal, violations committed by Iran against its own citizens. These were critical in calling the world's attention to the brutality of the regime at the time. Prof. Pohl's 1993 report to the Commission was notable for its disclosure of the so-called "Baha'i Question" memorandum, a previously secret 1991 letter issued by the Supreme Revolutionary Cultural Council that established a national policy for dealing with Iran's Bahá'ís, setting limits on their educational, economic and cultural activities. [BWNS879; BBC 1993 Jan]	United Nations; Galindo Pohl; Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Iran; Bahá'í International Community; New York City, NY
1986 (In the year) 198-	The Bayán Association started in Honduras in the mid-1980s by two Bahá'í families - the Smiths and the Sabripours. [Website] History. They offer services in the areas of: education through SAT program, (Tutorial Learning System in Spanish (Sistema de Aprendizaje Tutorial)). [SAT] health care, [Bayán Hospital] and the environment. [Bacalar Lagoon Project]	- Social and Economic Development Organizations; Bayan Association; La Ceiba, Honduras; Honduras
1986 -2001 198-	The end of the Third Epoch and the beginning of The Fourth Epoch of the Formative Age. [Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 5 February 1986; Mess63-86 p710-716] See the attachment for the above-referenced message entitled The Epochs of the Formative Age prepared by the Research Department of the Universal House of Justice. See Message from the Universal House of Justice dated 5 February 1986]	Formative Age; Cycles, Eras, Ages and Epochs


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