Bahá'í Faith in Liberia
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in Liberia begins with the entrance of the first member of the religion in 1952 and the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly
in 1958 in Monrovia
. By the end of 1963 there were five assemblies and Liberian Bahá'ís elected their first National Spiritual Assembly in 1975. Hosting various conferences through the '70's the community was somewhat disrupted by the First Liberian Civil War with some refugees going to Côte d'Ivoire
in 1990 and the re-establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1998. Third parties invited the modern Bahá'í community into their dialogues in the country while Bahá'ís have continued their work supporting a private Bahá'í school
, the Bahá'í Academy and a private radio station. The Association of Religion Data Archives
(relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated some 11,691 Bahá'ís in 2005.
and Canada
asking the followers of the religion to travel to regions of Africa
; these letters were compiled together in the book titled Tablets of the Divine Plan
. The publication was delayed until 1919 in Star of the West magazine on December 12, 1919 after the end of World War I
and the Spanish flu
.
Particular plans to bring the religion to Uganda began in 1950 involving the cooperation of American, British, Egyptian, and Persian Bahá'í communities and reached a level of coordination and detail that materials were translated into languages widely used in Africa before pioneers reached Africa. Wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa was observed to begin in 1950s and extend in the 1960s. In 1952, American William Fosterpioneered
to Liberia as the first presence of the religion in the country and began a Bahá'í school
named the Bahá'í Academy. Granadan Hermione Vera Keens-Douglas Edwards and Jamaican Julius Edwards (Knight of Bahá'u'lláh
for Ghana in 1953) moved to Liberia and Foster and others helped form the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in 1958 in Monrovia
. Mrs. Edwards served for many years under the Continental Board of Counsellors
for Africa. In 1959 Muhammad Mustafa traveled to Liberia and was commissioned to explain some Muslim concerns about the Bahá'í Faith. This was ultimately published as There was a second assembly in Bomi Hills (see Tubmanburg
) before 1963.
, Gboweta, and Monrovia. There were smaller groups of Bahá'ís in the a district of Gbarnga
, Mano River
Camp and Totota
. Individual Bahá'ís lived in Belefania, Gbarma, another district of Gbarnga
, Harbel
, Kakata
, Knowoke, Lazamai, Soboreke, Suakoko, and districts of Webbo. In 1967, the Bahá'í marriage ceremony was accepted in Liberia. And Enoch Olinga
also had a large influence on growth of the community including witnessing the first election of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1975.
In 1971, the Bahá'ís of Liberia hosted one of the Continental Conferences called for by the Universal House of Justice
. The Bahá'í Faith was a recognized part of the intellectual milieu at the University of Liberia
in the early 1970s. The community hosted a West African Bahá'í Women's Conference held at the University of Liberia in December 1978. However, between the First and Second Liberian Civil War
stretching from 1989 to 2003, some 200 Liberian Bahá'í refuguees fled to Côte d'Ivoire
in 1990 and there re-elected Local Assemblies, established regular Bahá'í meetings, invested the equivalent of $20 in order to buy tools for gardens and fish ponds and by ??? about 1,000 Bahá'ís and 25 Local Assemblies in the area. The use of folk art was mentioned as one reason for growth in the community - Liberian Bahá'ís had established a Light of Unity Project for promoting the arts. and Bahá'í radio
stations of which Liberia has one.
In 1994 the first national youth conference held at which 75 youth came. By 1998, the National Spiritual Assembly was re-elected.
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. While Liberia was still in civil war Bahá'ís continued to be active in and near Liberia. In 2000 a Bahá'í was among the volunteers that gave relief to refugees in Ghana. In 2002, Kathleen and Brannon Underwood pioneered in Liberia for a short time. Brannon had just retired in 2002 from a 30-year career as a professor of rehabilitation counseling in the master's program at South Carolina State University
. In 2005 the United States Embassy in Liberia supported a panel discussion among religious leaders from the Islamic, Christian, and Bahá'í faiths. In 2007, the Liberian Better Future Foundation (BFF), in collaboration with the United Nations Refugee Agency, invited Bahá'í youth to be among the participants in a two-day interfaith leadership workshop in Jacob Town and Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly in 2007, James Peabody spoke to the assemblage.
) which is administered by the West African Examinations Council. Each day the students participate in Formation, which includes the raising of the Liberian Flag, morning prayer and the recitation of the pledge to their flag.
, Sikh
, Buddhist, or atheist. The Association of Religion Data Archives
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated some 11,691 Bahá'ís in 2005.
Spiritual Assembly
Spiritual Assembly is a term given by `Abdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Bahá'í Faith. Because the Bahá'í Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community...
in 1958 in Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
. By the end of 1963 there were five assemblies and Liberian Bahá'ís elected their first National Spiritual Assembly in 1975. Hosting various conferences through the '70's the community was somewhat disrupted by the First Liberian Civil War with some refugees going to Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
in 1990 and the re-establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1998. Third parties invited the modern Bahá'í community into their dialogues in the country while Bahá'ís have continued their work supporting a private Bahá'í school
Bahá'í school
A Bahá'í school at its simplest would be a school run officially by the Bahá'í institutions in its jurisdiction and may be a local class or set of classes, normally run weekly where children get together to study about Bahá'í teachings, Bahá'í central figures, or Bahá'í administration...
, the Bahá'í Academy and a private radio station. The Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying mostly on the World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated some 11,691 Bahá'ís in 2005.
Early phase
In 1916-1917 `Abdu'l-Bahá, then head of the religion, wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
asking the followers of the religion to travel to regions of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
; these letters were compiled together in the book titled Tablets of the Divine Plan
Tablets of the Divine Plan
The Tablets of the Divine Plan collectively refers to 14 letters written between September 1916 and March 1917 by `Abdu'l-Bahá to Bahá'ís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were printed in America in Star of the West - Vol. VII, No. 10, September 8,...
. The publication was delayed until 1919 in Star of the West magazine on December 12, 1919 after the end of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and the Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
.
Particular plans to bring the religion to Uganda began in 1950 involving the cooperation of American, British, Egyptian, and Persian Bahá'í communities and reached a level of coordination and detail that materials were translated into languages widely used in Africa before pioneers reached Africa. Wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa was observed to begin in 1950s and extend in the 1960s. In 1952, American William Fosterpioneered
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
to Liberia as the first presence of the religion in the country and began a Bahá'í school
Bahá'í school
A Bahá'í school at its simplest would be a school run officially by the Bahá'í institutions in its jurisdiction and may be a local class or set of classes, normally run weekly where children get together to study about Bahá'í teachings, Bahá'í central figures, or Bahá'í administration...
named the Bahá'í Academy. Granadan Hermione Vera Keens-Douglas Edwards and Jamaican Julius Edwards (Knight of Bahá'u'lláh
Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
The title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh was given by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade....
for Ghana in 1953) moved to Liberia and Foster and others helped form the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in 1958 in Monrovia
Monrovia
Monrovia is the capital city of the West African nation of Liberia. Located on the Atlantic Coast at Cape Mesurado, it lies geographically within Montserrado County, but is administered separately...
. Mrs. Edwards served for many years under the Continental Board of Counsellors
Institution of the Counsellors
The Counsellors are part of the administrative order of the Bahá'í Faith, and are part of a greater administrative branch called the Institution of the Counsellors, established by the Universal House of Justice in 1968....
for Africa. In 1959 Muhammad Mustafa traveled to Liberia and was commissioned to explain some Muslim concerns about the Bahá'í Faith. This was ultimately published as There was a second assembly in Bomi Hills (see Tubmanburg
Tubmanburg
Tubmanburg, also known as Bomi and formerly known as Vaitown, is the capital of Bomi County in Liberia. It lies in the Bomi Hills northwest of Monrovia and was an iron ore and diamond mining centre until is was largely destroyed in the Liberian Civil War...
) before 1963.
Growth
In 1956, the western African region with about 1000 Bahá'ís was organized into the regional National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of North-West Africa including Tunisia, Algeria, the various Moroccos and Cameroons, Togolands, the Gold Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Madeira, the Canary Island, Cape Verde Islands, and St. Thomas Island. At this time the Bahá'ís in Liberia had an endowment or a national center in Bomi Hills By the end of 1963 there were assemblies in Bomi Hills, Harper City, PleeboPleebo
Pleebo is a town located in Maryland County, Liberia....
, Gboweta, and Monrovia. There were smaller groups of Bahá'ís in the a district of Gbarnga
Gbarnga
Gbarnga is the capital city of Bong County, Liberia, lying north east of Monrovia. Bong County is one of the over 13 political subdivisions of Liberia known as counties. During the First Liberian Civil War, it was the base for Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia...
, Mano River
Mano River
The Mano River is a river in west Africa, it originates in the Guinea Highlands in Liberia and forms part of the Liberia – Sierra Leone border....
Camp and Totota
Totota
Totota is a small town in Bong County, Liberia with a population between 5,000 and 8,000 depending upon the season. The main paved road from Monrovia to Gbarnga passes through Totota keeping Totota alive with activity day and night. Totota has several high schools, orphanages and clinics that...
. Individual Bahá'ís lived in Belefania, Gbarma, another district of Gbarnga
Gbarnga
Gbarnga is the capital city of Bong County, Liberia, lying north east of Monrovia. Bong County is one of the over 13 political subdivisions of Liberia known as counties. During the First Liberian Civil War, it was the base for Charles Taylor's National Patriotic Front of Liberia...
, Harbel
Harbel
Harbel is a town in Margibi County, Liberia. It lies along the Farmington River, about 15 miles upstream from the Atlantic Ocean. It was named for the founder of The Firestone Tire & Rubber Company, Harvey S. Firestone, and his wife, Idabelle...
, Kakata
Kakata
Kakata is the capital city of Liberia's Margibi County and is located in Kakata District.As of the 2008 census, Kakata has a population of 33945. Of this, 16501 were male and 17444 female; it is the fifth most populous urban area in Liberia....
, Knowoke, Lazamai, Soboreke, Suakoko, and districts of Webbo. In 1967, the Bahá'í marriage ceremony was accepted in Liberia. And Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga was born to an Anglican family of the Iteso ethnic group in Uganda. He became a Bahá'í, earned the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh and was appointed as the youngest Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the religion. He served the interests of the religion widely and...
also had a large influence on growth of the community including witnessing the first election of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1975.
In 1971, the Bahá'ís of Liberia hosted one of the Continental Conferences called for by the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
. The Bahá'í Faith was a recognized part of the intellectual milieu at the University of Liberia
University of Liberia
The University of Liberia is a publicly funded institution of higher learning located in Monrovia, Liberia. Authorized by the national government in 1851, the school opened in 1863 as Liberia College and became a university in 1951. The school is one of the oldest institutions of higher learning...
in the early 1970s. The community hosted a West African Bahá'í Women's Conference held at the University of Liberia in December 1978. However, between the First and Second Liberian Civil War
Second Liberian Civil War
The Second Liberian Civil War began in 1999 when a rebel group backed by the government of neighbouring Guinea, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy , emerged in northern Liberia. In early 2003, a second rebel group, the Movement for Democracy in Liberia, emerged in the south, and...
stretching from 1989 to 2003, some 200 Liberian Bahá'í refuguees fled to Côte d'Ivoire
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
in 1990 and there re-elected Local Assemblies, established regular Bahá'í meetings, invested the equivalent of $20 in order to buy tools for gardens and fish ponds and by ??? about 1,000 Bahá'ís and 25 Local Assemblies in the area. The use of folk art was mentioned as one reason for growth in the community - Liberian Bahá'ís had established a Light of Unity Project for promoting the arts. and Bahá'í radio
Bahá'í radio
Since 1977 the international Bahá'í community has established several radio stations worldwide, particularly in the Americas. Programmes may include local news, music, topics related to socio-economic and community development, educational programmes focusing on indigenous language and culture,...
stations of which Liberia has one.
In 1994 the first national youth conference held at which 75 youth came. By 1998, the National Spiritual Assembly was re-elected.
Modern community
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of JusticeUniversal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings
Bahá'í teachings
The Bahá'í teachings represent a considerable number of theological, social, and spiritual ideas that were established in the Bahá'í Faith by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the religion, and clarified by successive leaders including `Abdu'l-Bahá, Bahá'u'lláh's son, and Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá's...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Bahá'í socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. While Liberia was still in civil war Bahá'ís continued to be active in and near Liberia. In 2000 a Bahá'í was among the volunteers that gave relief to refugees in Ghana. In 2002, Kathleen and Brannon Underwood pioneered in Liberia for a short time. Brannon had just retired in 2002 from a 30-year career as a professor of rehabilitation counseling in the master's program at South Carolina State University
South Carolina State University
South Carolina State University is a historically black university located in Orangeburg, South Carolina, United States. It is the only state funded, historically black land-grant institution in South Carolina and is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund.- Colleges, departments,...
. In 2005 the United States Embassy in Liberia supported a panel discussion among religious leaders from the Islamic, Christian, and Bahá'í faiths. In 2007, the Liberian Better Future Foundation (BFF), in collaboration with the United Nations Refugee Agency, invited Bahá'í youth to be among the participants in a two-day interfaith leadership workshop in Jacob Town and Chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly in 2007, James Peabody spoke to the assemblage.
Bahá'í Academy
In 2004, Kathleen Underwood returned to serve as principal of the K-12 Bahá'í Academy, which was on the verge of closing. It was broke, needed to repair the roof and didn't have the means necessary to secure a license from the ministry of education have no textbooks relying solely on their instructors for information. Near the end of their studies, students must pass the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCEWASSCE
The West African Senior School Certificate Examination is a type of standardized test in West Africa. It is administered by the West African Examinations Council...
) which is administered by the West African Examinations Council. Each day the students participate in Formation, which includes the raising of the Liberian Flag, morning prayer and the recitation of the pledge to their flag.
Demographics
A small percentage of the Liberian population is Bahá'í, HinduHindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
, Sikh
Sikh
A Sikh is a follower of Sikhism. It primarily originated in the 15th century in the Punjab region of South Asia. The term "Sikh" has its origin in Sanskrit term शिष्य , meaning "disciple, student" or शिक्ष , meaning "instruction"...
, Buddhist, or atheist. The Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated some 11,691 Bahá'ís in 2005.