Bahá'í World Centre

The Bahá'í World Centre is the name given to the administrative centre of the Bahá'í Faith. Based in Haifa, Israel, the Bahá'í World Centre is recognizable by the gardens that dominate the area of Mount Carmel directly above the sea port. The Bahá'í World Centre is also the current destination for Bahá'í pilgrimage.

Many of the locations at the Bahá'í World Centre, including the terraces and the Shrine of the Báb which constitute the north slope of Mount Carmel were inscribed on the World Heritage List in July 2008. [cite web | url = http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/452 | accessdate = 2008-07-08 | date = 2008-07-08 | title = Three new sites inscribed on UNESCO’s World Heritage List | author = UNESCO World Heritage Centre] [cite web | url = http://whc.unesco.org/archive/2007/whc07-31com-8be.pdf | title = Convention concerning the protection of the world cultural and natural heritage | pages = p. 34 | author = World Heritage Committee | date = 2007-07-02 | accessdate = 2008-07-08]

History

The location of the administrative centre was a result of the banishment and imprisonment of Bahá'u'lláh, when he was sent to the penal colony of `Akká in 1868. He lived out the rest of his life and died in that area, passing away in 1892. The location of the Shrine of the Báb was indicated by Bahá'u'lláh to his son `Abdu'l-Bahá during a visit to Haifa. The establishing of the administrative centre on Mount Carmel was indicated also by Bahá'u'lláh in his Tablet of Carmel, which is considered one of the charter documents of the Bahá'í administration.

During Shoghi Effendi's time as the head of the Bahá'í Faith, the British Mandate of Palestine was dealing with a growing conflict between Zionists and Arabs in the region of Palestine. With the failure of the mandate in 1948, and the resulting 1948 Arab-Israeli War, the majority of the Bahá'ís in Palestine left the country and only Shoghi Effendi and a few others remained behind. In 1963 the first Universal House of Justice was elected, with its seat in Haifa, and was recognized by the Israeli government as the legal head of the Bahá'í Faith.

Uniquely, despite the presence of several hundred volunteer staff in Haifa and `Akká, there is no formal community of Bahá'ís in Israel in the sense that there are no Nineteen Day Feasts, assemblies, etc. Additionally, since the days of Bahá'u'lláh, Bahá'ís have observed a self-imposed ban on teaching their religion to the local population of Israel. Formal declarations of faith by Israelis are not accepted. In a letter dated 1995, the Universal House of Justice wrote:

Administration

Everything that is done in the Bahá'í Faith on an international level is coordinated at the Bahá'í World Centre. These include decisions that affect the faith on a global level, the channeling of funds and the study and translation of the Bahá'í Holy Writings.

The Universal House of Justice resides in Haifa, representing the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, along with the International Teaching Centre, which coordinates the activities between the Continental Counsellors and works as a liaison between them and the House of Justice.

Notes

References

*Citation
last = Braun
first = E.
last2 = Chance
first2 = H.
title = A Crown of Beauty, The Bahá'í Faith and the Holy Land
publisher = George Ronald
location = Oxford, UK
year = 1982
id = ISBN 0853981396

External links

* [http://www.bahai.org www.bahai.org] - Official website
* [http://www.bahaipictures.com www.bahaipictures.com] - Photos of the Bahá'í World Centre.
* [http://home-and-garden.webshots.com/album/505319785IBUBFK Photos - The Bahá'í Gardens in Haifa: the Shrine of the Bab Terraces & Gardens]
* [http://www.infolive.tv/en/infolive.tv-27711-israelnews-haifas-majestic-bahai-gardens-unesco-world-heritage-site Haifa's Majestic Bahai Gardens - A UNESCO World Heritage Site]