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Bahá'í Faith in Scotland

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The Bahá'í Faith in Scotland begins circa 1905 when Scot and European visitors met `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, in Ottoman Palestine.[1] One of the first and most prominent Scots who became a Bahá'í was John Esslemont. In 2004 there were about 5000 Bahá'ís in the United Kingdom[2] and in 2001 there were about 400 Bahá'ís counted in the Scotland Census.[3]

Contents

[edit] Early days

[edit] Pre-WWI

In 1908, the Young Turks revolution freed all political prisoners in the Ottoman Empire, and `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the Bahá'í Faith, was freed from imprisonment. With the freedom to leave the country, in 1910 he embarked on a three year journey to Egypt, Europe, and North America, spreading the Bahá'í message.[4] `Abdu'l-Bahá returned to the British Isles and, recalling an invitation in 1905 by Jane Whyte, wife of Alexander Whyte, and others who visited him in Ottoman Palestine,[1] visited in Edinburgh in 1913.[5] There exists a timeline of events[6] and a diary[7] kept during while he was in Edinburgh.

[edit] John Esslemont

In 1955, John Esslemont was posthumously described by Shoghi Effendi, then head of the Bahá'í Faith, as one of "three luminaries of the Irish, English and Scottish Bahá'í communities"[8] Born in Aberdeen in 1874, Esslemont had become a Baha'i in early 1915 after hearing of it in December 1914 from a co-worker's wife.[9] News of Esslemont's declaration of faith, and his forthcoming book, played a role in establishing the beginning of the Bahá'í Faith in Australia.[10] Esslemont was the author of the well-known introductory book on the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era,[11] which was originally published in 1923 and has been translated into numerous languages and remains a key introduction to the Bahá'í religion.[12] He was named posthumously by Shoghi Effendi as the first of the Hand of the Cause he appointed, and as one of the Disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá.[13] He was also an accomplished medical doctor and linguist becoming proficient in western and eastern languages. In 1925, the first Bahá'í of New Zealand, Margaret Stevenson, had gone on pilgrimage and the group she was in spent time in the UK afterwards - Esslemont specifically urged her to visit his family in Scotland.[14]

[edit] Post World War II

Through the 1930s, the number of Bahá'ís in the UK grew, leading to a pioneer movement beginning after the Second World War with sixty percent of the British Bahá'í community eventually relocating.[5] In 1946 first of these to Scotland was Dr. M. Said of Egypt in 1946, who was joined in 1947, by Isobel Locke (later Sabri) and John Marshall, a native Scot who had met `Abdu'l-Baha in 1911. The first to become a Baha'i in this period (in March 1948) was Dr. William Johnston, who had met `Abdu'l-Baha in Edinburgh in 1913. The first local spiritual assembly of Scotland was formed in Edinburgh in 1948. Then in 1953 a number of Bahá'ís spread out across Scotland[5] - Brigitte Hasselblatt being the first to the Shetland Islands.[15] Charles Dunning moved to Orkney followed by Daryoush Mehrabi.[16] The first Bahá'í convert outside the mainland of Scotland then joined the religion - Lilaian McKay in September 1956 and in 1963 she attended the first Bahá'í World Congress.[17] There have been Bahá'ís in Inverness since 1959[18] when Harold and Betty Shepherd pioneered there.[19] Hasselblatt moved to Finland, where she married, in 1959.[20]

[edit] Growth of the community

The first Spiritual Assembly of Inverness was elected in April 1962.[18] Gloria Faizi, wife of Abu'l-Qásim Faizi, was the first Bahá'í to visit the outlying islands of Fetlar, Unst, Yell, Whalsay and the Skerries in 1964.[17] The first Spiritual Assembly of Orkney was elected in 1969.[16] Harold and Betty Shepherds moved from Inverness to Uganda in 1972 where they helped run an elementary school and renovate the Bahá'í House of Worship there. Following that service the Shepherds moved back to Scotland, eventually to the Orkney Islands in 1976, where Harold died in 1980.[19] In 1972 the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Lerwick was first elected.[21] Alexe Cookson was born on the Isle of Harris, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, about 1918 moved to New Zeland where she became a Bahá'í in 1964. She also went on pilgrimage and on return trip went to Scotland where she actually died in Fort William.[19] In 1981, Ruhiyyih Khanum visited Edinburgh and the Shetland Islands.[22] While in Edinburgh she expounded on some matters of interest to the Baha'is - that the eagle marker for Shoghi Effendi's grave was bought in Edinburgh, that she was half Scottish, how she and Shoghi Effendi had visited the area twice after World War II - seeing Loch Lomond, Gleneagles, Stirling, Edinburgh,and Glasgow.[23] In 1989 was the first adult convert from Skye and in 1991 was the first election of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Skye and Lochaish.[24]

Despite the growth of the Bahá'í Faith in Scotland, no separate National Spiritual Assembly has yet been established.

[edit] Modern Community

Association of Baha'i Women (Scotland) held its inaugural meeting in Glasgow on 3 November, 1999, with UK - National Spiritual Assembly chairman, Wendi Momen, and director of the Office for the Advancement of Women, Zarin Hainsworth-Fadaei, travelling from London for the occasion.[25] The Scottish Parliament opened its 18 January 2006 14:30 meeting with a Time for Reflection presented by Carrie Varjavandi for the Bahá'í Council for Scotland at which she reviewed elements of the history and teachings of the religion.[26] The Scottish community of Bahá'ís showed about 400 people, 0.008%, and in the 2001 Scotland Census in the "write in" section as it was not listed as an available choice[3] and was also shown to be the only religion in the Glasgow giving a high priority to inter/multifaith work in the community by a government survey.[27] Robert Ghillies is a Bahá'í composer that has had works performed nationally.


[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Weinberg, Robert; Bahá'í International Community (2005-01-27), "History springs to life on Scottish stage", Bahá'í World News Service, http://news.bahai.org/story.cfm?storyid=347 
  2. ^ "In the United Kingdom, Bahá'ís promote a dialogue on diversity". One Country 16 (2). July-September 2004. http://www.onecountry.org/e162/e16204as_UK_ISC_story.htm. 
  3. ^ a b ANALYSIS OF RELIGION IN THE 2001 CENSUS: Summary Report. Scotland: Office of the Chief Statistician, Scotland Government. 2006-05-17. pp. Annex, A.2 Write-in responses for 'Another Religion', Table A.2: Top 10 answers for those responding 'Another Religion' - All People who listed their current religion as 'Another Religion'. ISBN 0755939123. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/02/20757/53576#a2. 
  4. ^ Bausani, Alessandro and Dennis MacEoin (1989). "‘Abd-al-Bahā’". Encyclopædia Iranica. 
  5. ^ a b c U.K. Bahá'í Heritage Site. "The Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom - A Brief History". http://www.btinternet.com/%7Eiain.s.palin/heritage/ukhist.htm. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  6. ^ "Abdu'l-Bahá's Visit to Edinburgh 1913" (pdf). Official Website of the Bahá'ís of Edinburgh. Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Edinburgh. 2007-06-22. http://bci.org/edinburgh/history/HistoryVisit.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-12-25. 
  7. ^ "The Diary of Ahmad Sohrab" (pdf). Official Website of the Bahá'ís of Edinburgh. Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Edinburgh. 2008-06-16. http://bci.org/edinburgh/history/SohrabDiary.pdf. Retrieved on 2008-12-25. 
  8. ^ Effendi, Shoghi (1971). Messages to the Bahá'í World, 1950-1957. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. pp. p. 174. ISBN 0877430365. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/MBW/mbw-81.html. 
  9. ^ Esslemont, John (1874-1925) by Moojan Momen, London: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1975. Baha'i World 1:133-6.
  10. ^ William Miller (b. Glasgow 1875) and Annie Miller (b. Aberdeen 1877) - The First Believers in Western Australia The Scottish Bahá'í No.33 – Autumn, 2003
  11. ^ Esslemont, J.E. (1980). Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era (5th ed. ed.). Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877431604. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/je/BNE/. 
  12. ^ Fazel, Seena; Danes, John (1995). "Bahá'í scholarship: an examination using citation analysis". Bahá'í Studies Review 5 (1). http://www.breacais.demon.co.uk/abs/bsr05/52_fazel_citations.htm. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. , Table 4: Most cited Bahá'í books, 1988-1993.
  13. ^ "Early British Bahá'í History (1898-1930)". http://www.northill.demon.co.uk/relstud/uk.htm#early. Retrieved on 2008-02-18. 
  14. ^ Shoghi Effendi (1982). Arohanui - Letters to New Zealand (1982 ed.). Suva, Fiji Islands: Bahá’í Publishing Trust of Suva, Fiji Islands. pp. 8-9. http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/ARO/aro-4.html.iso8859-1#gr3. 
  15. ^ The Shetland Bahá'í Community. "A History of the Shetland Bahá'í Community: 1950s". http://bci.org/shetland/history1.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-28. 
  16. ^ a b "The Bahá'í Faith in Orkney". Official Website of the Bahá'í Community of Orkney. Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Orkney. 2008. http://bci.org/orkney/page4.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-28. 
  17. ^ a b The Shetland Bahá'í Community. "A History of the Shetland Bahá'í Community: 1950s". http://bci.org/shetland/history2.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-28. 
  18. ^ a b "The Bahá'ís of Inverness". Official Website of the Bahá'í Community of Orkney. Local Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is of Inverness. 2008. http://www.spanglefish.com/InvernessBahai/index.asp?pageid=6381. Retrieved on 2008-12-28. 
  19. ^ a b c Universal House of Justice (1986), "In Memorium", The Bahá'í World of the Bahá'í Era 136-140 (1979-1983) (Bahá'í World Centre) XVIII: pp. 730-1, 740-1, ISBN 0853982341, http://bahai-library.com/books/bw18/720-748.html 
  20. ^ "1960-1984". Biography of Brigitte Hasselblatt-Lundblade. Laurence Lundblade and Luise Morris. 2008. http://www.brigittelundblade.com/Biography_1960-1984.html. Retrieved on 2008-12-20. 
  21. ^ The Shetland Bahá'í Community. "A History of the Shetland Bahá'í Community: 1970s". http://bci.org/shetland/history3.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-28. 
  22. ^ The Shetland Bahá'í Community. "A History of the Shetland Bahá'í Community: 1980s". http://bci.org/shetland/history4.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-28. 
  23. ^ Khanum, Ruhiyyih; Transcriber : David Merrick (2008-09-19). "Transcribed from Tape of Ruhiyyih Khanum speaking in Edinburgh Bahá'í Centre in 1981". Pilgrim notes. Bahá'í Library Online. http://bahai-library.com/?id=3711. Retrieved on 2008-12-29. 
  24. ^ Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Skye. "The Baha'i Communities of Skye - Milestones". http://www.breacais.demon.co.uk/skyecomm/milestones.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-28. 
  25. ^ "newly formed Association of Baha'i Women (Scotland)". The Scottish Bahá'í (Bahá'í Council for Scotland) Winter 1999 (18). 1999. http://bahai-faith.manvell.org.uk/abw/news-old.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-28. 
  26. ^ "Official Report 18 January 2006". Parliamentary Business. The Scottish Parliament. 2006-01-18. http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-06/sor0118-02.htm. Retrieved on 2008-12-29. 
  27. ^ Dr Clegg, Cecelia; Dr Rosie, Michael (2005-11-08). Faith Communities and Local Government in Glasgow. Scotland: Centre for Theology and Public Issues, University of Edinburgh & Scottish Executive Social Research. pp. 5.4 Implications for faith communities;5.4.1 Finding appropriate frameworks of relationship; section 5.4.1.2 and note 70. ISBN 0755927737. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/11/08142443/24462. 

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