Bahá'í statistics

Statistical estimates of the worldwide Bahá'í population are difficult to judge. The religion is almost entirely contained in a single, organized, hierarchical community, but the Bahá'í population is spread out into almost every country and ethnicity in the world, being recognized as the second-most geographically widespread religion after Christianity.cite book |chapter=Worldwide Adherents of All Religions by Six Continental Areas, Mid-2002 |title = Encyclopædia Britannica |author= Encyclopædia Britannica | publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica |date = 2002] [cite book |first = Denis | last = MacEoin |chapter = Baha'i Faith |editor=Hinnells, John R. |title=The New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions: Second Edition|publisher=Penguin |year=2000 |id=ISBN 0140514805] The World Christian Database (WCD), and it's predecessor the World Christian Encyclopedia, has reviewed religious populations around the world and released results of their investigations at various times. The Bahá'í Faith has consistently placed high in the statistics of growth over these various releases of data - 1970 to 1985Citation | last = International Community | first = Bahá'í | author-link = Bahá'í International Community | title = How many Bahá'ís are there? | magazine = The Bahá'ís | pages = pg. 14 | year = 1992 | url = http://www.bahai.com/thebahais/pg14.htm .] , 1990 to 2000,cite book | url = http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm | first = David A. |last = Barrett | year = 2001 | title = World Christian Encyclopedia | pages = p. 4] [cite web | title = Global adherents of the World's 19 distinct major religions| year = 2001 |publisher = William Carey Library | first = David |last = Barrett |coauthors = Johnson, Todd | accessdate = 2006-10-12 | url = http://www.gordonconwell.edu/ockenga/globalchristianity/gd/wct-1-2.pdf ] and most recently from 2000 to 2005.cite news | last = Staff | first = | coauthors = | title = The List: The World’s Fastest-Growing Religions | work = Foreign Policy | pages = | language = | publisher = Carnegie Endowment for International Peace | date = May 2007 | url = http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=3835 | accessdate = ] A review examining the reliability and bias of the WCD found it "highly correlated with other sources of data" but "consistently gave a higher estimate for percent Christian." In conclusion they found that "on the whole we find that the WCD is reliable." [Citation | last = Hsu | first = Becky | last2 = Reynolds | first2 = Amy | last3 = Hackett | first3 = Conrad | last4 = Gibbon | first4 = James | title = Estimating the Religious Composition of All Nations | journal = Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion | year = (accepted for publication) December 2008 | url = http://www.princeton.edu/~bhsu/Hsu%20et%20al%20JSSR%202008.pdf | doi = | id = ] In countries where Bahá'ís endure some degree of persecution, membership and organizational data is not made public.

Official estimates of the worldwide Bahá'í population come from the Bahá'í World Centre, which claims "more than five million Bahá’ís" as early as 1995 [Citation
last = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States
first =
author-link =
last2 =
first2 =
author2-link =
title = Addendum
magazine = The Vision Of Race Unity
pages =
year = rev 1994
url = http://bahai-library.com/nsa/race.unity.html] [Citation
last = International Community
first = Bahá'í
author-link = Bahá'í International Community
title = Women and Peace
periodical = One Country
volume=7
issue=1
pages =
year = April - June 1995
url = http://www.onecountry.org/oc71/oc7102as.html ] "in some 100,000 localities." The official agencies of the religion often publish data on numbers of local and national spiritual assemblies, Counselors and their auxiliaries, countries of representation, languages, and publishing trusts. [http://bahai-library.com/?file=bolhuis_bahai_statistics_2001] Less often, they publish membership statistics. In recent years, the United States Bahá'í community has been releasing detailed membership statistics. [See, for example, county-by-county information on numbers of Bahá'ís in Dale E. Jones et al., "Religious Congregations and Membership in the United States, 2000" (Nashville, Tenn.: Glenmary Research Center, 2002) or Edwin Scott Gaustadd and Philip L. Barlow, "New Historical Atlas of Religion in America" (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2001, 279-81.)]

Definition of membership

In the 1930s the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada began requiring new adherents to sign a declaration of faith, stating their belief in Bahá'u'lláh, the Báb, and `Abdu'l-Bahá, and an understanding that there are laws and institutions to obey (the card does not specify them). The purpose of signing a declaration card was to allow followers to apply for lawful exemption from active military service. [cite book |first = Shoghi |last = Effendi |authorlink = Shoghi Effendi |year = 1971 reprint |title = Letters from the Guardian to Australia and New Zealand |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust |location = Australia |id = ISBN | pages=140 |url = http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/LANZ/lanz-51.html ] The signature of a card later became optional in Canada, but in the US is still used for records and administrative requirements. [cite book |author = Compilations |editor = Hornby, Helen (Ed.) |year = 1983 |title = Lights of Guidance: A Bahá'í Reference File |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust, New Delhi, India |id = ISBN 8185091463 | pages=76 | url = http://bahai-library.com/?file=hornby_lights_guidance ] Many countries follow the pattern of the US and Canada.

Other than signing a card and being acknowledged by a Spiritual Assembly, there is no initiation or requirement of attendance to remain on the official roll sheets. Members receive regular mailings unless they request not to be contacted.

Difficulties in enumeration

The fact that the religion is diffuse rather than concentrated is the major barrier to demographic research by outsiders. Surveys and censuses (except government census, which ask individuals their religion in many countries) simply cannot yet be conducted with such a scope, especially not at the level required to accurately gauge religious minorities. In some countries the Bahá'í Faith is illegal, making it difficult for even Bahá'ís to maintain a count.

The large growth of the religion in the 20th century means that most Bahá'í's were not born into the religion of their grandparents, or of the society around them, combined with the Bahá'í principle of independent investigation, makes it difficult to compare Bahá'í statistics with religions in which people are automatically assigned to statistics at birth. Some would say that this results in an overcount for major religions; others point out that as a sociological reality, Baha'i membership is often more transient than say, Catholic identity.

Rapid growth and a spotty retention rate also make membership statistics difficult to maintain, because a certain number of Bahá'ís move on to other religions without asking to be removed from the Bahá'í membership rolls. From the mid 1960's until 2000, the US Baha'i population went from 10,000 to 140,000 on official rolls, but the percent of members with known addresses dropped to fifty percent.

On the other hand, most denominations make no effort at all to maintain a national membership database and must rely on local churches or surveys of the general population. Local church membership rolls are often maintained poorly because there may be no need for an official membership list (Bahá'ís at least must maintain accurate voting lists) and local congregations sometimes do not provide their denomination's membership data even when asked. Counting American Jews, half of whom are married to non-Jews and the majority of whom do not attend a synagogue, is immensely difficult. Estimates for the numbers of American Muslims and Eastern Orthodox often vary by a factor of two.

Worldwide figures

The following table was provided by the Bahá'í World Center Department of Statistics to view growth and basic statistics. [http://bahai-library.com/?file=bolhuis_bahai_statistics_2001]

	1968	± 1986	2001
National Spiritual Assemblies	81	165	182
Local Spiritual Assemblies	6,840	18,232	11,740
Countries where the Bahá'í Faith is established: independent countries		187	190
Countries where the Bahá'í Faith is established: - dependent territories/overseas departments		45	46
Localities where Bahá'ís reside	31,572	>116,000	127,381
Indigenous tribes, races, and ethnic groups	1,179	>2,100	2,112
Languages into which Bahá'í literature is translated	417	800	802
Bahá'í Publishing Trusts	9	26	33

Bahá’í sources

*The official [http://www.bahai.org/faq/facts/how_many international] website claims to have "more than five million Bahá’ís resident in some 100,000 localities in every part of the world."
*The current [http://www.bahai.us/system/files/Statistics.pdf US national] website states that there are: "more than 5 million" Bahá'ís in the world.
*The introduction to a 1995 printing of "The Promise of World Peace" (Special Ideas, Heltonville, IN) claims: "more than five million members… in over 120,000 localities… in over 230 countries or significant territories."
*A [http://www.bahaibookstore.com/productdetails.cfm?PC=2860 pamphlet] currently published by the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia estimates: "At present there are over 6 million Bahá'ís who live in more than 118,000 localities in over 200 countries and territories."
*A 1997 [http://www.bahai.org/article-1-9-1-7.html statement] by the NSA of South Africa wrote: "…the Bahá'í Faith enjoys a world-wide following in excess of six million people."
*The Department of Statistics, Bahá'í World Centre, does not provide an estimated total, but claims that in 2001 there were 11,740 local Spiritual Assemblies, and 127,381 localities in 236 countries and territories. [http://bahai-library.com/?file=bolhuis_bahai_statistics_2001]

Other sources

*Encyclopædia Britannica in mid-2004 estimated a total of 7.5 million Bahá’ís residing in 218 countries. [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9399686/Worldwide-Adherents-of-All-Religions-Mid-2004] Its statistics are derived from the World Christian Encyclopedia.
*The "World Christian Encyclopedia", 2001, [http://www.bible.ca/global-religion-statistics-world-christian-encyclopedia.htm p 4] estimated 7.1 million Bahá'ís in the world in 2000, representing 218 countries. The same source estimated 5.7 million in 1990. [http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_63.html] Its definition of membership is broader than the official Bahá'í definition and would include people who attend Bahá'í gatherings regularly even if they have not declared their faith or persons who state they are Bahá'ís in government censuses as a result of reading about the religion or hearing about it on the radio.
*In 2005, the "Encyclopedia of Religion, second edition", vol 2, pg. 739, (ISBN 0-02-865733-0) records that::"In the early twenty-first century the Bahá’ís number close to six million in more than two hundred countries. The number of adherents rose significantly in the late twentieth century from a little more than one million at the end of the 1960's."
* [http://www.Adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html#Baha'i adherents.com] estimates 7 million Bahá’ís in 2000 based on research from David Barrett, "World Christian Encyclopedia, 2000", and the Population Reference Bureau [http://www.prb.org www.prb.org] .
*In 2003, The World Book Encyclopedia reports that "there are about 5,500,000 Bahá’ís worldwide." [http://www.worldbook.com/wb/Article?id=ar042020] (registration required)
*In 2001, Paul Oliver wrote in "World Faiths" that there were "approximately five million Bahá’ís" in 1963.
*In 2004, the "Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa" vol 1, reports that "By 1900, the community… had reached 50,000-100,000… Bahá’ís worldwide [are] estimated in 2001 at 5 million."
*In 2000, Denis MacEoin wrote in the "Handbook of Living Religions" that::"the movement has had remarkable success in establishing itself as a vigorous contender in the mission fields of Africa, India, parts of South America, and the Pacific, thus outstripping other new religions in a world-wide membership of perhaps 4 million and an international spread recently described as second only to that of Christianity. The place of Baha'ism among world religions now seems assured."
*In 1997, "Dictionary of World Religions" estimated "five million Bahá’ís" in the world.
*In 1997, "Religions of the World" published: "today there are about 5 million" Bahá’ís.
*In 1993, the Columbia Encyclopedia published: "There are about 5 million Bahá’ís in the world."
*In 1998, the "Academic American Encyclopedia" said that the Bahá’ís "are estimated to number about 2 million."
*In 1995 the HarperCollins "Dictionary of Religion" states: "In 1985, it was estimated that there were between 1.5 to 2 million Baha'is, with the greatest areas of recent growth in Africa, India, and Vietnam."

The Americas

The Bahá'í Faith has a long history in the Americas, particularly in the United States and Canada, where it was established in 1894 by a Lebanese Bahá'í immigrant to the United States, Ibrahim Kheiralla.

North America

The United States

In the United States, hosting one of the most prominent Bahá'í communities, the [http://www.bahai.us/system/files/Statistics.pdf official estimate] in Feb 2008 was 159,692 members on record, excluding Alaska and Hawai'i.

In 1894 Thornton Chase became the first American Bahá'í. By the end of 1894 four other Americans had also become Bahá’ís. In 1909, the first National Convention was held with 39 delegates from 36 cities. In 1944 every state in the nation had at least one local Bahá’í administrative body. [http://www.bahai.us/us-bahai-history] The list of Bahá'ís from the 1890s to the present is a composite from various sources. The figures before 1934 are the best estimates possible, based on the US Religious Census (information collected by the Bahá'ís based on various definitions of membership). The figures from 1940 to the 1960s or 1970s come from Bahá'í News, where the figures were occasionally published. From the 1970s and on, the staff at the National Teaching Committee compiled the data from national membership records.

In an [http://bahai-library.com/essays/membership.stats.html informal letter] in 1998, Dr. Robert Stockman, the coordinator of the Research Office of the US Bahá'í National Center wrote:

:"The National Center, obviously, is not in the position to decide which cards were signed in good faith and which were not. The National Spiritual Assembly instituted a two-tier process about 1974, of (1) declaration, and (2) enrollment, the latter involving a meeting with the declarant to ascertain that the person understands what s/he is doing. The two-stage process was inaugurated because of abuses in mass-teaching campaigns during 1968-72."

In December, 1999, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States stated that out of the 140,000 adult (15 and over) members on the rolls, only 70,000 had known addresses [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bahai/1999/growth23.htm] . It is reasonable to assume that some of the remaining 70,000 unlocatable adults would not identify as Baha'i. The American Religious Identity Survey (ARIS) conducted in 2001, with a sample size of 50,000, estimated that there were 84,000 self identifying adult (21 and over) Baha'is in the United States. [http://www.adherents.com/rel_USA.html#religions]

The US National Teaching Committee states that anyone requesting to leave the religion is taken off membership lists, and that effort is made to remove the names of deceased members from the rolls. Because Bahá'ís must maintain accurate voting lists in order to elect their local spiritual assemblies (the local Bahá'í governing councils), considerable effort is made to maintain accurate membership data on Bahá'ís aged 21 and older. Compounding the problem of bookkeeping is a retention rate of approximately 50% within two years of enrollment, a statistic shared by most churches in the US (Wade Clark Roof).

Alaska

Alaska is unusual in that it is not an independent nation, recognized by the United Nations, and yet has a National Spiritual Assembly. Its specific statistics are not published, and are often not broken out in non-Bahá'í statistics of the USA in general. One source puts the 1992 combined membership in Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico combined at approximately 6000.Fact|date=July 2007

Hawai'i

The Hawaiian Bahá'í community began when Agnes Alexander became a Bahá'í in Paris in 1900 and returned to the islands in 1901. Similar to Alaska, the Bahá'ís of Hawai'i have an independent National Spiritual Assembly from that of the USA, though it is itself one of the 50 United States. Independent statistics have not been published.

Canada

The Canadian Bahá'í Community, according to its official website [http://www.ca.bahai.org/main.cfm?SID=39] consists of some 30,000 members across approximately 1200 communities throughout the 13 Canadian Provinces and Territories. According to the same source, the Canadian community is quite diverse: "There are French-speaking and English-speaking Bahá'ís, and more than 18% of Canadian Bahá'ís come from First Nations and Inuit backgrounds; another 30% are recent immigrants or refugees."

The Canadian community is one of the earliest western communities, at one point sharing a joint National Spiritual Assembly with the United States, and is a co-recipient of `Abdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan. The first North American woman to declare herself a Bahá'í was Mrs. Kate C. Ives, of Canadian ancestry, though not living in Canada at the time. Moojan Momen, in reviewing "The Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, 1898-1948" notes that "the Magee family... are credited with bringing the Bahá'í Faith to Canada. Edith Magee became a Bahá'í in 1898 in Chicago and returned to her home in London, Ontario, where four other female members of her family became Bahá'ís. This predominance of women converts became a feature of the Canadian Bahá'í community..." [http://bahai-library.com/reviews/hoonaard.review.html]

Statistics Canada reports 14,730 Bahá'ís from 1991 census data and 18,020 in those of 2001. [http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census01/products/standard/themes/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?Temporal=2001&PID=55822&APATH=3&GID=431515&METH=1&PTYPE=55440&THEME=56&FOCUS=0&AID=0&PLACENAME=0&PROVINCE=0&SEARCH=0&GC=99&GK=NA&VID=0&FL=0&RL=0&FREE=0]

outh America

The Bahá'í Faith was introduced into South America in 1919 when Martha Root made an extended trip to Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru. She introduced the Bahá'í Faith to Esperantists and Theosophical groups and visited local newspapers to ask them to publish articles about the Bahá'í Faith. The first Bahá'í permanently resident in South America was Leonora Holstaple Armstrong, who arrived in Brazil in 1921. The first Seven Year Plan (1937-44), an international plan organized by the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, Shoghi Effendi, gave the American Bahá'ís the goal of establishing the Bahá'í Faith in every country in Latin America (that is, settling at least one Bahá'í or converting at least one native). In 1950, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South America was first elected, and then in 1957 this Assembly was split into two - basically northern/eastern South America with the Republics of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela, in Lima, Peru and one of the western/southern South America with the Republics of Argentina, Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia in Buenos Aires, Argentina. [cite book | title = The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963 | publisher = Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land | year = 1963 | location = Haifa, Israel | pages = pp. 22 and 46 | url = http://bahai-library.com/?file=handscause_statistics_1953-63&chapter=1#22 | isbn = ] By 1963, most countries in South America had their own National Spiritual Assembly.

Bolivia

In Bolivia the religion was introduced to rural Quechua and Aymara Indians starting in 1956. Large numbers of rural people became Bahá'ís. The Bolivian Bahá'ís launched a radio station around 1980 that broadcasts educational programs and Bahá'í information in native languages, as well as traditional music. The "World Christian Encyclopedia," drawing on the Bolivian government census, reports 269,246 Bahá'ís in 2000. Official Bahá'í membership figures are much lower, reflecting the impact the radio station has had on the religious identity of many rural people who have never encountered local Bahá'í communities. [David B. Barrett, George T. Kurian, and Todd M. Johnson, "World Christian Encycleopdia: A comparative survey of churches and religions in the modern world," Vol. 1, "The world by countries: religionists, churches, ministries" (Oxford: Oxford univ. Press, 2001), 120.]

Chile

The Bahá'í Faith was first mentioned the Chile in Bahá'í sources as early as 1916, with Bahá'ís visiting as early as 1919 but the community wasn't founded in Chile until 1940 with the beginning of the arrival of coordinated pioneers from the United States finding national Chilean converts and achieved an independent national community in 1963. In 2002 this community was picked for the establishment of the first Bahá'í Temple of South America which the community is still prosecuting.cite book | last = Lamb | first = Artemus | title = The Beginnings of the Bahá'í Faith in Latin America:Some Remembrances, English Revised and Amplified Edition | publisher = M L VanOrman Enterprises | year = 1995 | month = November | location = 1405 Killarney Drive, West Linn OR, 97068, United States of America | url = http://bahai-library.com/books/latinamerica.lamb.html]

The permanent Chilean Bahá'í community dates from the arrival of Marcia Stewart Atwater, born in 1904 in Pasadena, California, who arrived in Chile on December 7 1940.Citation | first = Janet | last = Ruhe-Schoen | title = An Enchantment of the Heart - A Portrait of Marcia Steward, Knight of Bahá’u’lláh, First Bahá’í Pioneer to Chile and the Marshall Islands | work = The Chilean Temple Initiative | year = 2007 | publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States | url = http://www.chilean-temple.org/images/stories/Early%20Baha/%27is/an_enchantment_of_the_heart.pdf] The first Chilean to accept the Bahá'í Faith was 12 year old Paul Bravo, which was followed by his family becoming Bahá'ís. Then in 1943, Chile's first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly was elected. Following the election of the Regional Bahá'í Spiritual Assembly of South America in 1950, Chile established it's independent Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly in 1961.

Panama

The Bahá'í Faith in Panama begins with a mention by then head of the religion, `Abdu'l-Bahá, in the book Tablets of the Divine Plan published in 1919 and the same year Martha Root's made a trip around South America and included Panama on the return leg of the trip up the west coast.cite paper
first = Jiling
last = Yang
author = Jiing Yang
authorlink =
coauthors = Under the direction of Ian Fletcher
title = In Search of Martha Root: An American Bahá'í Feminist and Peace Advocate in the early Twentieth Century
version = Electronic Version Approved
publisher = Office of Graduate Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, Georgia State University
year = December 2005
url = http://etd.gsu.edu/theses/available/etd-11282005-004146/unrestricted/yang_jiling_200512_master.pdf
format = pdf
accessdate = 2008-06-30] The first pioneers began to settle in Panama in 1940.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Comunidad Bahá'í de Panamá
work = Official Website of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Panama
publisher = [http://www.panamabahai.net/ Comunidad Nacional Bahá'í de Panamá]
date =
url = http://www.torrezcomputer.com/panamabahai/p1.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-06-30] The first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of Panama, in Panama City, was elected in 1946,cite book | last = Lamb | first = Artemus | title = The Beginnings of the Bahá'í Faith in Latin America:Some Remembrances, English Revised and Amplified Edition | publisher = M L VanOrman Enterprises | year = 1995 | month = November | location = 1405 Killarney Drive, West Linn OR, 97068, United States of America | url = http://bahai-library.com/books/latinamerica.lamb.html] and National Spiritual Assembly was first elected in 1961.cite web | last = Hassall | first = Graham | coauthors = Universal House of Justice | title = National Spiritual Assemblies statistics 1923-1999 | work = Assorted Resource Tools | publisher = Bahá'í Academics Resource Library | url = http://bahai-library.org/asia-pacific/Notes%20on%20Research/national_spiritual_assemblies.htm | accessdate = 2008-04-02] The Bahá'ís of Panama raised a Bahá'í House of Worship in 1972.Citation
last = House of Justice
first = Universal
author-link = Universal House of Justice
last2 = compiled by W. Marks
first2 = Geoffry
title = Messaged from the Universal House of Justice: 1963-1986: The Third Epoch of the Formative Age
publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust
year = 1996
location = Wilmette, Illinois 60091
pages = 212
url = http://bahai-library.com/published.uhj/messages.1963-86.txt
doi =
id =
isbn = 0877432392] In 1983 and again in 1992 some commemorative stamps were produced in Panamacite web
last = maintained by Tooraj
first = Enayat
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Bahá'í Stamps
work = Bahá'í Philately
publisher = Bahá'í Library Online
date =
url = http://bahai-library.com/stamps/BahaiStamps.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-06-30] cite web
last = maintained by Tooraj
first = Enayat
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Bahá'í Stamps
work = Bahá'í Philately
publisher = Bahá'í Library Online
date =
url = http://bahai-library.com/stamps/BahaiStationery.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-06-30] while the community turned its interests to the San Miguelito and Chiriqui regions of Panama with schools and a radio station.Citation
last = International Community
first = Bahá'í
author-link = Bahá'í International Community
title = In Panama, some Guaymis blaze a new path
journal = One Country
volume = 1994
issue = October-December
year = October-December 1994
url = http://info.bahai.org/article-1-8-1-18.html
doi =
id = ] One recent estimation of the Bahá'í community of Panama was of 2.00% of the national population, or about 60000, in 2006.cite web
title = Panama
work = WCC > Member churches > Regions > Latin America > Panama
publisher = World Council of Churches
date = 2006-01-01
url = http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/latin-america/panama.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-07-01]

Asia

The Bahá'í Faith originated in Asia, in Iran (Persia), and spread from there to the Ottoman Empire, Central Asia, India, and Burma during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh. Since the middle of the 20th Century, growth has particularly occurred in other Asian countries, because the Bahá'í Faith's activities in many Muslim countries has been severely suppressed by authorities. Exceptions have been Pakistan, Bangla Desh, Malaysia, and Indonesia, where the Bahá'í Faith is legal and largely unrestricted.

Afghanistan

The Bahá'í Faith was introduced in Afghanistan around 1919 and has since had a presence in the country. The First Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1969 in Kabul and the first National Spiritual Assembly in 1972.cite web | url = http://www.afghanbahais.org/afghanbahais.htm#ENg | title = Bahá'í Faith in Afghanistan | accessdate = 2007-07-25]

The World Christian Encyclopedia records about 19,500 Afghan Bahá'ís in 1990 and 23,075 in 2000. [cite web | url = http://www.adherents.com/Na/Na_52.html | publisher = Adherents.com | title = Azerbaijani, continued... | accessdate = 2007-07-25] A 2007 report from the US State Department indicated that there are around 400 Bahá'ís in Afghanistan, mostly concentrated in Kabul. [http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90225.htm International Religious Freedom Report 2007] Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor. US State Department.]

In May 2007 a directorate under the Supreme Court issued a ruling on the status of the Bahá'í Faith, declaring it to be distinct from Islam and a form of blasphemy. The ruling also declared all Muslims who convert to the religion to be apostates and all followers of the Bahá'í Faith to be infidels. On April 9 2007, police arrested an Afghan Bahá'í citizen after his religious beliefs were exposed to authorities by his wife. After inquiries from the international community, authorities released the man on May 11 2007, and he fled the country.

India

The largest Bahá'í community in the world is said to be in India, with an official Bahá'í population of 2.2 million, [http://www.bahaindia.org/] and roots that go back to the first days of the religion in 1844. A researcher, William Garlington, characterized the 1960s until present as a time of "Mass Teaching". [ [http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/bhpapers/india1.htm The Baha'i Faith in India ] ] He suggests that the mentality of the believers in India changed during the later years of Shoghi Effendi's ministry, when they were instructed to accept converts who were illiterate and uneducated. The change brought teaching efforts into the rural areas of India, where the teachings of the unity of humanity attracted many of the lower caste.

The growth of the Bahá'í Faith in India has been greatly assisted by the recognition of Krishna as a Messenger or Manifestation of God, alongside Jesus, Muhammad, and others. Bahá'ís have thus been able to reach out to Hindus, as well as to some extent Muslims, Adivasis (or tribal people), and others.

Iran

Iran has what is perhaps the second- or third-largest Bahá'í population. Estimates for the early twenty-first century vary between 150,000 and 500,000. During the Iranian Revolution of 1979 and the subsequent few years, a significant number of Bahá'ís fled the country during intensive persecution. Estimates before and after the revolution vary greatly.

*Eliz Sanasarian writes in "Religious Minorities in Iran" (Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 53) that "Estimating the number of Bahá'ís in Iran has always been difficult due to their persecution and strict adherence to secrecy. The reported number of Bahá'ís in Iran has ranged anywhere from the outrageously high figure of 500,000 to the low number of 150,000. The number 300,000 has been mentioned most frequently, especially for the mid- to late- 1970's, but it is not reliable. Roger Cooper gives an estimate of between 150,000 and 300,000."
*"The Encyclopedia of the Modern Middle East and North Africa" (2004) states that "In Iran, by 1978, the Bahá'í community numbered around 300,000."
*"The Columbia Encyclopedia" (5th edition, 1993) reports that "Prior to the Iranian Revolution there were about 1 million Iranian Bahá'ís."
*"The Encyclopedia of Islam" (new edition, 1960) reports that "In Persia, where different estimates of their number vary from more than a million down to about 500,000. [in 1958] "

At times the authorities in Iran have claimed that there are no Bahá'ís in their country, and that the persecutions were made up by the CIA. The first claim apparently represents a legal rather than anthropological determination, as Bahá'ís are regarded as Muslims under Iranian law. For the latter, see Persecution of Bahá'ís.

Malaysia

A large concentration of Bahá'ís is also found in Malaysia, made up of Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans, Aslis and other indigenous groups. The Bahá'í community of Malaysia claims that "about 1%" of the population are Bahá'ís. [ [http://bahai.org.my/main/content/view/42/46/ National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Malaysia] ] Given the 2006 population of Malaysia, such a claim represents about 268,000 Bahá'ís.

Nepal

The Bahá'í Faith in Nepal begins after a Nepalese leader encountered the religion in his travels before World War II.Citation
last = Effendi
first = Shoghi
authorlink = Shoghi Effendi
title = Appreciations of the Bahá'ís Faith
journal = The Bahá'í World of the Bahá'í Era 94-96
volume = VIII
publisher = Bahá'í World Centre
pages = pp. 63-65
year = 1938-1940
url = http://bahai-library.com/books/appreciations.html
isbn = ] Following World War II, the first known Bahá'í to entire Nepal was about 1952cite web | url = http://bahai-library.com/index.php5?file=handscause_statistics_1953-63&chapter=all | title = The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963| author = Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land | pages = pp. 9, 104] cite web
last = Sarwal
first = Anil
title = Bahá'í Faith In Nepal
work = Bahá'í Articles
publisher = Prof. Anil Sarwal
date =
url = http://www.sarwal.org/BahArt/Bahai%20Index.htm
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-09-04] and the first Nepalese Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly elected in 1961, and its National Assembly in 1972.cite book
author= Marks, Geoffry W., (Ed.)
year= 1996
title= Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986: The Third Epoch of the Formative Age
publisher= Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette, Illinois, US
id= ISBN 0-87743-239-2
url= http://bahai-library.com/?file=uhj_messages_1963_1986 ] For a period of time, between 1976 and 1981, all assemblies were dissolved due to legal restrictions.cite web
last = Universal House of Justice
first =
authorlink = Universal House of Justice
title = To the Followers of Bahá'u'lláh in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka, Bahá'í Era 153
work = Ridván 1996 (Four Year Plan)
publisher = Bahá'í Library Online
year = 1966
url = http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=uhj_ridvan_1996_southasia&language=All
accessdate = 2008-05-04] The 2001 census reported 1211 Bahá'ís,Citation
first = Central Bureau of Statistics
last =
author-link =
contribution = Table 17: Populations by Religion, five year age group and sex for regions
contribution-url = http://www.cbs.gov.np/Population/National%20Report%202001/tab17.htm
title = 2001 Census
year = 2001
pages =
place = Nepal
publisher = National Planning Commission Secretariat
url = http://www.cbs.gov.np/
doi =
id = ] and since the 1990's the Bahá'í community of Nepal has been involved in a number of interfaith organizations including the Inter-religious Council of Nepal promoting peace in the country.cite web
coauthors = U.S. State Department
title = Nepal - International Religious Freedom Report 2007
publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair
date = 2007-09-14
url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90232.htm
accessdate = 2008-09-05]

The Philippines

The Bahá'í Faith in the Philippines started in 1921 with the first Bahá'í first visiting the Philippines that year,cite web | last =Hassall | first = Graham | last2 = Austria | first2 = Orwin | title = Mirza Hossein R. Touty: First Bahá'í known to have lived in the Philippines | work = Essays in Biography | publisher = Asia Pacific Bahá'í Studies | year = January 2000 | url = http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/mirzahossaintuti.htm | accessdate = 2008-06-01] and by 1944 a Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly was established.cite book |first=Shoghi |last=Effendi |authorlink=Shoghi Effendi |year=1944 |title=God Passes By |publisher=Bahá'í Publishing Trust |location=Wilmette, Illinois, USA |id=ISBN 0-87743-020-9 |url=http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/GPB/] In the early 1960s, during a period of accelerated growth, the community grew from 200 in 1960 to 1000 by 1962 and 2000 by 1963. In 1964 the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the Philippines was elected and by 1980 there were 64,000 Bahá'ís and 45 local assemblies.Citation
last = International Community
first = Bahá'í
authorlink = Bahá'í International Community
title = In Memorium
journal = The Bahá'í World of the Bahá'í Era 136-140 (1979-1983)
volume = XVIII
publisher = Bahá'í World Centre
pages = Table of Contents and pp.513, 652–9
year = 1986
url = http://bahai-library.com/books/bw18/636-665.html
isbn = 0853982341
author = Universal House of Justice] The Bahá'ís have been active in multi/inter-faith developments. No recent numbers are available on the size of the community.

Taiwan

巴哈伊教, The Bahá'í Faith in Taiwan began after the religion entered areas of Chinacite web
last = Hassall
first = Graham
title = The Bahá'í Faith in Hong Kong
work = Official Website of the Bahá'ís of Hong Kong
publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Hong Kong
date = January 2000
url = http://www.hk.bahai.org/The_Faith_in_Hong_Kong.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 208-08-16] and nearby Japan.Citation
last = Baldwin Alexander
first = Agnes
authorlink = Agnes Baldwin Alexander
last2 = R. Sims
first2 = Barbara (ed.)
title = History of the Bahá'í Faith in Japan 1914-1938
publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Osaka, Japan
year = 1977
location = Japan
pages =
url = http://bahai-library.com/east-asia/history.japan/index.html
doi =
id =
isbn = ] The first Bahá'ís arrived in Taiwan in 1949cite book
last = R. Sims
first = Barbara
title = The Taiwan Bahá'í Chronicle: A Historical Record of the Early Days of the Bahá'í Faith in Taiwan
publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust of Japan
date = 1994
location = Tokyo
pages =
url = http://bahai-library.com/east-asia/taiwan/
doi =
id =
isbn = ] and the first of these to have become a Bahá'í was Mr. Jerome Chu (Chu Yao-lung) in 1945 while visiting the United States. By May 1955 there were eighteen Bahá'ís in six localities across Taiwan. The first Local Spiritual Assembly in Taiwan was elected in Tainan in 1956. The National Spiritual Assembly was first elected in 1967 when there were local assemblies in Taipei, Tainan, Hualien, and Pingtung. Circa 2006 the Bahá'ís showed up in the national census with 16,000 members and 13 assemblies.cite web | title = Taiwan Yearbook 2006 | publisher = Government of Information Office | date= 2006 | url = http://www.gio.gov.tw/taiwan-website/5-gp/yearbook/22Religion.htm | accessdate = 2007-09-01 ]

Turkmenistan

The Bahá'í Faith in Turkmenistan begins before Russian advances into the region when the area was under the influence of Persia.cite web | last = Momen | first = Moojan | title = Turkmenistan | work = Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith" | publisher = Bahá'í Academics Resource Library | date = | url = http://www.bahai-library.org/encyclopedia/turkmnst.html | accessdate = 2008-05-23] By 1887 a community of Bahá'í refugees from religious violence in Persia had made a religious center in Ashgabat. Shortly afterwards — by 1894 — Russia made Turkmenistan part of the Russian Empire.cite web | last = Momen | first = Moojan | title = Russia | work = Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith" | publisher = Bahá'í Academics Resource Library | date = | url = http://bahai-library.com/encyclopedia/russia.html | accessdate = 2008-04-14] While the Bahá'í Faith spread across the Russian Empirecite web | coauthors = Local Spiritual Assembly of Kyiv | title = Statement on the history of the Bahá'í Faith in Soviet Union | work = Official Website of the Bahá'ís of Kyiv | publisher = Local Spiritual Assembly of Kyiv | year = 2007-8 | url = http://bahai.kiev.ua/history9.html | accessdate = 2008-04-19] cite web | last = Momen | first = Moojan | title = Russia | work = Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith" | publisher = Bahá'í Academics Resource Library | date = | url = http://bahai-library.com/encyclopedia/russia.html | accessdate = 2008-04-14] and attracted the attention of scholars and artists,cite encyclopedia |last= Smith |first= Peter |encyclopedia= A concise encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith |title= Tolstoy, Leo |year= 2000 |publisher=Oneworld Publications |location= Oxford |id= ISBN 1851681841 |pages= p. 340] the Bahá'í community in Ashgabat built the first Bahá'í House of Worship, elected one of the first Bahá'í local administrative institutions and was a center of scholarship. However during the Soviet period religious persecution made the Bahá'í community almost disappear - however Bahá'ís who moved into the regions in the 1950s did identify individuals still adhering to the religion. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, Bahá'í communities and their administrative bodies started to develop across the nations of the former Soviet Union;Citation | last = Hassall | first = Graham | last2 = Fazel | first2 = Seena | title = 100 Years of the Bahá'í Faith in Europe | periodical = Bahá’í Studies Review | issue = 8 | pages = pp. 35–44 | volume = 1998 | url = http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/Europe.htm] In 1994 Turkmenistan elected its own National Spiritual Assemblycite web | last = Hassall | first = Graham | coauthors = Universal House of Justice | title = National Spiritual Assemblies statistics 1923-1999 | work = Assorted Resource Tools | publisher = Bahá'í Academics Resource Library | url = http://bahai-library.org/asia-pacific/Notes%20on%20Research/national_spiritual_assemblies.htm | accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] however laws passed in 1995 in Turkmenistan required 500 adult religious adherents in each locality for registration and no Bahá'í community in Turkmenistan could meet this requirement.cite web
last = compiled by Wagner
first = Ralph D.
title = Turkmenistan
work = Synopsis of References to the Bahá'í Faith, in the US State Department's Reports on Human Rights 1991-2000
publisher = Bahá'í Academics Resource Library
url = http://bahai-library.com/documents/hr/hr-turkmenistan.htm
accessdate = 2008-05-25] As of 2007 the religion had still failed to reach the minimum number of adherents to registercite web
coauthors = U.S. State Department
title = Turkmenistan - International Religious Freedom Report 2007
publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair
date = 2007-09-14
url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90236.htm
accessdate = 2008-05-21] and individuals have had their homes raided for Bahá'í literature.Citation
last = Corley
first = Felix
author-link = Felix Corley
title = TURKMENISTAN: Religious communities theoretically permitted, but attacked in practice?
newspaper = F18News
date = 2004-04-01
url = http://www.forum18.org/Archive.php?article_id=293 ]

United Arab Emirates

The Bahá'í Faith in the United Arab Emirates begins before the specific country gained independence in 1971. The first Bahá'ís arrived in Dubai by 1950, [http://bahai-library.com/?file=handscause_statistics_1953-63&chapter=1#22 The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963] , Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land, pages 4, 25, 28, 118.] and by 1957 there were four Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in the region of the UAE and a regional National Spiritual Assembly of the Arabian Peninsula. Recent estimates count some 75,000 Bahá'ís or 1.6% of the national population - second only to Iran in number of Bahá'ís in the nations of the Middle East.Citation
contribution = Baha'i
year = 2008
title = Looklex Encyclopeadia, an expansion of Encyclopaedia of the Orient
editor-last = Kjeilen
editor-first = Tore
volume = Online
url = http://i-cias.com/e.o/bahai.htm
pages =
place =
publisher = Looklex Encyclopeadia
id = ]

Vietnam

On March 21 2007, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, about 280 people attended a reception where the government Committee for Religious Affairs presented a certificate giving recognition to Bahá'í activities. [http://www.bahaiworldnews.org/story/514] Vietnamese government authorities at the time stated that Vietnam had 7,000 Bahá'ís, a number that may reflect thirty years of government restrictions. ["Small Breakthrough in Freedom of Religion," Agence France Press, March 22, 2007] There is an estimate of 300,000 Bahá'ís in Vietnam [http://www.geocities.com/bahaisvietnam] is based on "World Christian Encyclopedia", by David Barrett, 2000. [http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_bahai.html] In March 2008, with permission of the government, the Bahá'í Community of Vietnam held their National Convention and elected their first National Spiritual Assembly since 1975. [http://news.bahai.org/story/617]

Africa

African Bahá'í Community statistics are also hard to come by. However, Africans have a long history with the Bahá'í Faith; several of the earliest followers of both the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh were reportedly African. From 1924 to 1960 the religion was declared one of the legally sanctioned faiths in Egypt, but has since then been subject to restrictions and outright persecution by authorities and others.

Cameroon

The Bahá'í Faith in Cameroon was established when the country was separated into two colonies - British and French Cameroon. The first Bahá'í in Cameroon was Enoch Olinga, who had left his homeland of Uganda to bring the religion to British Cameroon in 1953. Meherangiz Munsiff, a young Indian woman who had moved from Britain, arrived in French Cameroon April 1954 - both Olinga and Munsiff were honoured with the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh.Citation | last = Mughrab | first = Jan | title = Jubilee Celebration in Cameroon | periodical = Journal of the Bahá'í Community of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | volume=20 | issue=5 | year = 2004| url = http://www.bahaijournal.org.uk/cameroon.htm ] Currently there are 40,000 adherents of the religion in the country.Citation | coauthors = Bahá'í International Community| title = Cameroon celebrates golden time | newspaper = Bahá'í World News Service| date = 2003-09-23 | url = http://news.bahai.org/story/249 ]

Niger

The Bahá'í Faith in Niger began during a period of wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa near the end of its colonial period.cite web
title = Overview Of World Religions
work = General Essay on the Religions of Sub-Saharan Africa
publisher = Division of Religion and Philosophy, University of Cumbria
url = http://philtar.ucsm.ac.uk/encyclopedia/sub/geness.html
accessdate = 2008-04-16 ] The first Bahá'ís arrive in Niger in 1966cite web
last = House of Justice
first = Universal
authorlink = Universal House of Justice
title = Ridván Letter, 1966
work = Ridvan Messages from the Universal House of Justice
publisher = Bahá'í Library Online
year = 1966
url = http://bahai-library.com/published.uhj/ridvan/66.html
accessdate = 2008-05-04] and the growth of the religion reached a point of electing its National Spiritual Assembly in 1975.cite web
last = Hassall
first = Graham
title = Notes on Research on National Spiritual Assemblies
work = Asia Pacific Bahá'í Studies
publisher = Bahá'í Library Online
url = http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/Notes%20on%20Research/national_spiritual_assemblies.htm
accessdate = 2008-05-04] Following a period of oppression, making the institutions of the religion illegal in the late 1970s and 80's, the National Assembly was re-elected starting in 1992. The Bahá'í community in Niger has grown mostly in the south-west of the country where they number in the low thousands.

Nigeria

After an isolated presence in the late 1920s,Citation
title = In Memorium
journal = The Bahá'í World of the Bahá'í Era 136-140 (1979-1983)
volume = XVIII
publisher = Bahá'í World Centre
pages = Table of Contents and pp.619, 632, 802–4
year = 1986
url = http://bahai-library.org/books/bw18/800-825.html
isbn = 0853982341
author = Universal House of Justice] the Bahá'í Faith in Nigeria begins with pioneering Bahá'ís coming to Sub-Saharan West Africa in the 1950s especially following the efforts of Enoch Olinga who directly and indirectly affected the growth of the religion in Nigeria.Citation
last = Mughrab
first = Jan
title = Jubilee Celebration in Cameroon
periodical = Journal of the Bahá'í Community of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
volume=20
issue=5
year = 2004
url = http://www.bahaijournal.org.uk/cameroon.htm ] Following growth across West Africa a regional National Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1956.cite web | url = http://bahai-library.com/?file=handscause_statistics_1953-63&chapter=1#22 | title = The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963| author = Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land | pages = p. 22, 46] As the community multiplied across cities and became diverse in its engagements it elected its own National Spiritual Assembly by 1979cite web | last = MacEoin | first = Denis | coauthors = William Collins | title = Children/education (Listings) | work = The Babi and Baha'i Religions: An Annotated Bibliography | publisher = Greenwood Press's ongoing series of Bibliographies and Indexes in Religious Studies | url = http://bahai-library.com/books/biblio/children.education.html | pp. see entries 60-63, 80, 139 | accessdate = 2008-03-26] and had 1000 Bahá'ís in 2001.cite web
title = Republic of Niger for August 29
work = Operation World
publisher = Paternoster Lifestyle
year = 2001
url = http://www.operationworld.org/country/nige/owtext.html
accessdate = 2008-05-18]

outh Africa

The Bahá'í Faith in South Africa began with the holding of Bahá'í meetings in the country in 1911.cite web | coauthors = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South Africa | title = Bahá'ís in South Africa - Progress of the Bahá'í Faith in South Africa since 1911 | work = Official Website | publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of South Africa | year = 1997 | url = http://www.bahai.org.za/cm/node/19| accessdate = 2008-03-19] A small population of Bahá'ís remained until 1950 when large numbers of international Bahá'í pioneers settled in South Africa. In 1956, after members of various tribes in South Africa became Bahá'ís, a regional Bahá'í Assembly which included South Africa was elected. Later each of the constituent countries successively formed their own independent Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly. Then in 1995, after a prolonged period of growth and oppression during Apartheid and the homelands reuniting with South Africa, the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of South Africa was formed. Following the end of Apartheid the South African Bahá'í community continued to grow; currently there are around of 201,000 Bahá'is in South Africa. [Citation | contribution-url = http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/country/?CountryID=158 | year = 2007-8 | title = Religious Intelligence | contribution = Country Profile: South Africa (Republic of South Africa) | place = Republic of South Africa | publisher = Religious Intelligence ]

Uganda

The Bahá'í Faith in Uganda started to grow in 1951 and in four years time there were 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations.cite web | last =Hassall | first = Graham | title = References to Africa in the Bahá'í Writings | work = Asian/Pacific Collection | publisher = Asia Pacific Bahá'í Studies | date = 2003-08-26 | url = http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=hassall_africa_bahai_writings&language= | accessdate = 2008-06-21] Following the reign of Idi Amin when the Bahá'í Faith was banned and the murder of Bahá'í Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga and his family,Citation | first = N. Richard | last = Francis | contribution = Enoch Olinga -Hand of the Cause of God, Father of Victories | year = 1998 | publisher = Bahá'í Faith Website of Reno, Nevada | url = http://bahai-library.com/index.php5?file=francis_olinga_biography ] the community continues to grow though estimates of the population range widely from 19,000 to 105,000 and the community's involvements have included diverse efforts to promote the welfare of the Ugandan people.

Europe

Denmark

The Bahá'í Faith in Denmark began in 1925 but it was more than 20 years before the Bahá'í community in Denmark began to grow after the arrival of American Bahá'í pioneers in 1946. Following that period of growth, the community established its Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly in 1962. With Iranian Bahá'í refugees and convert Danes the modern community was about 300 Bahá'ís as of 2002.cite book | last = Warburg | first = Margit | editor = Peter Smith | title = Bahá'ís in the West | publisher = Kalimat Press | year = 2004 | pages = pp. 228-63 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=x7wyJdyE60oC&pg=PA228&source=gbs_search_s&sig=hlmFDBtqxOwDtX3by7wn6EYCqec#PPA233,M1 | isbn = 1890688118 ]

Germany

Though mentioned in the Bahá'í literature in the 1800s, the Bahá'í Faith in Germany begins in the early 1900s when two emigrants to the United States returned on prolonged visits to Germany bringing their newfound religion. The first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly was established following the conversion of enough individuals to elect one in 1908.cite book | last = Mooman | first = Moojan | editor = Peter Smith | title = Bahá'ís in the West | publisher = Kalimat Press | year = 2004 | pages = pp. 63-109 | url = http://books.google.com/books?id=x7wyJdyE60oC&pg=PA88&vq=german&source=gbs_search_s&sig=ACfU3U3qKat232TFk1eGQpo523IUJX_G0Q | isbn = 1890688118 ] After the visit of `Abdu'l-Bahá,cite book
last = Balyuzi
first = H.M.
authorlink = Hasan M. Balyuzi
year = 2001
title = `Abdu'l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh
edition = Paperback
publisher = George Ronald
pages = p. 159-397
location = Oxford, UK
id = ISBN 0853980438 ] then head of the religion, and the establishing of many further assemblies across Germany despite the difficulties of World War I, elections were called for the first Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly in 1923.cite book
first=Shoghi
last=Effendi
authorlink=Shoghi Effendi
year=1974
title=Bahá'í Administration
publisher=Bahá'í Publishing Trust
location=Wilmette, Illinois, USA
id=ISBN 0877431663
url=http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/BA/ba-29.html.iso8859-1?#gr1 ] Banned for a time by the Nazi government and then in Eastern Germany the religion re-organized and was soon given the task of building the first Bahá'í House of Worship for Europe.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Geschichte (100 Jahre)
work = Official Website of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany
publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Germany
date =
url = http://www.bahai.de/deutsche-gemeinde/geschichte-100-jahre/
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-07-16] After German reunification the community multiplied it's interests across a wide range of concerns earning the praise of German politicians. There are an estimated 5000-6000 Bahá'ís in Germany.cite web | last = | first = | authorlink = | coauthors = | title = Verschiedene Gemeinschaften / neuere religiöse Bewegungen | work = Religionen in Deutschland: Mitgliederzahlen (Membership of religions in Germany) | publisher = REMID - the "Religious Studies Media and Information Service" in Germany | date = 2007-8 | url = http://www.remid.de/remid_info_zahlen.htm | format = | doi = | accessdate = 2008-07-17]

Moldova

The Bahá'í Faith in Moldova began during the policy of oppression of religion in the former Soviet Union. Before that time, Moldova, as part of the Russian Empire, would have had indirect contact with the Bahá'í Faith as far back as 1847.cite web | last = Momen | first = Moojan | title = Russia | work = Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith" | publisher = Bahá'í Academics Resource Library | date = | url = http://bahai-library.com/encyclopedia/russia.html | accessdate = 2008-04-14] cite web | coauthors = Local Spiritual Assembly of Kyiv | title = Statement on the history of the Bahá'í Faith in Soviet Union | work = Official Website of the Bahá'ís of Kyiv | publisher = Local Spiritual Assembly of Kyiv | year = 2007-8 | url = http://bahai.kiev.ua/history9.html | accessdate = 2008-04-19] In 1974 the first Bahá'í arrived in Moldova.cite web
last = Ahmadi
first = Dr.
title = Major events of the Century of Light
work = homepage for an online course on the book “Century of Light”
publisher = Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa
year = 2003
url = http://www.bci.org/bahaistudies/courses/light/time-line-bahai.htm
accessdate = 2008-05-24] and following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in late 1991, communities of Bahá'ís, and respective National Spiritual Assemblies, developed across the nations of the former Soviet Union.Citation | last = Hassall | first = Graham | last2 = Fazel | first2 = Seena | title = 100 Years of the Bahá'í Faith in Europe | periodical = Bahá’í Studies Review | issue = 8 | pages = pp. 35–44 | volume = 1998 | url = http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/Europe.htm] In 1996 Moldova elected its own National Spiritual Assembly.cite web | last = Hassall | first = Graham | coauthors = Universal House of Justice | title = National Spiritual Assemblies statistics 1923-1999 | work = Assorted Resource Tools | publisher = Bahá'í Academics Resource Library | url = http://bahai-library.org/asia-pacific/Notes%20on%20Research/national_spiritual_assemblies.htm | accessdate = 2008-04-02 ] There were about 400 Bahá'ís in Moldova in 2004.Citation
last =
first = Irina, member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Chisinau
author-link =
title = Activities in Moldova
journal = European Bahá'í Women's Network
volume = 02
issue = 02
year = April-July, 2004
url = http://www.ebwn.net/archivio/vol_02_num_02/moldova_study_circles.htm]

Norway

The Bahá'í Faith in Norway began with contact between traveling Scandinavians with early Persian believers of the Bahá'í Faith in the mid-to-late 1800s.cite web
coauthors = National Spiritual Assembly of Norway
title = Skandinavisk bahá'í historie
work = Official Website of the Bahá'ís of Norway
publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of Norway
year = 2007-8
url = http://www.bahai.no/index.php?id=52&type=98
accessdate = 2008-04-27] Bahá'ís first visited Scandinavia in the 1920s following `Abdu'l-Bahá's, then head of the religion, request outlining Norway among the countries Bahá'ís should pioneer tocite book |author = `Abdu'l-Bahá |authorlink = `Abdu'l-Bahá |origdate = 1916-17 |year = 1991 |title = Tablets of the Divine Plan |edition = Paperback |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust |location = Wilmette, Illinois, USA |id = ISBN 0877432333 |url =http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TDP/tdp-6.html | pages = p. 43] and the first Bahá'í to settle in Norway was Johanna Schubartt.cite web
coauthors = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Norway
title = Johanna Schubarth
work = Official Website of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Norway
publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Norway
date = 2008-03-25
url = http://www.bahai.no/329.0.html
accessdate = 2008-04-27 ] Following a period of more Bahá'í pioneers coming to the country, Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies spread across Norway while the national community eventually formed a Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly in 1962. [http://bahai-library.com/?file=handscause_statistics_1953-63&chapter=1#22 The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963] , Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land, pages 22 and 46.] There are currently around 1000 Bahá'ís in the country.cite web
coauthors = Statistics Norway
title = Members of religious and life stance communities outside the Church of Norway, by religion/life stance
work = Church of Norway and other religious and life stance communities
publisher = Statistics Norway
year = 2008
url = http://www.ssb.no/english/subjects/07/02/10/trosamf_en/tab-2008-01-07-01-en.html
accessdate = 2008-04-26]

Ukraine

The Bahá'í Faith in Ukraine began during the policy of oppression of religion in the former Soviet Union. Before that time, Ukraine, as part of Russia, would have had indirect contact with the Bahá'í Faith as far back as 1847.cite web | last = Momen | first = Moojan | title = Russia | work = Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Bahá'í Faith" | publisher = Bahá'í Academics Resource Library | date = | url = http://bahai-library.com/encyclopedia/russia.html | accessdate = 2008-04-14] Following the Ukrainian diasporas, succeeding generations of ethnic Ukrainians became Bahá'ís and some have interacted with Ukraine previous to development of the religion in the country. There are currently around 1000 Bahá'ís in Ukraine in 13 communities.cite web | coauthors = Local Spiritual Assembly of Kyiv | title = Statement on the history of the Bahá'í Faith in Soviet Union | work = Official Website of the Bahá'ís of Kyiv | publisher = Local Spiritual Assembly of Kyiv | year = 2007-8 | url = http://bahai.kiev.ua/history9.html | accessdate = 2008-04-19] cite web | url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2004/35491.htm Ukraine | title = International Religious Freedom Report | year = 2004 | date = 2004-09-15 | accessdate = 2008-04-19 | author = Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor | publisher = United States State Department]

United Kingdom

The Bahá'í Faith in the United Kingdom started with the earliest mentions of the predecessor of the Bahá'í Faith, the Báb, in British newspapers. Some of the first British people who became members of the Bahá'í Faith include George Townshend and John Esslemont. Through the 1930s, the number of Bahá'í in the United Kingdom grew, leading to a pioneer movement beginning after the Second World War with sixty percent of the British Bahá'í community eventually relocating. In 2004 there were about 5000 Bahá'ís in the UK.cite journal | url = http://www.onecountry.org/e162/e16204as_UK_ISC_story.htm | title = In the United Kingdom, Bahá'ís promote a dialogue on diversity | journal = One Country | volume = 16 | issue = 2 | date = July-September 2004]

Oceania

Australia

The Bahá'í Faith in Australia has a long history beginning with a mention by `Abdu'l-Bahá, the son of the founder of the religion, in 1916cite book |author = `Abdu'l-Bahá |authorlink = `Abdu'l-Bahá |origdate = 1916-17 |year = 1991 |title = Tablets of the Divine Plan |edition = Paperback |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust |location = Wilmette, Illinois, USA |id = ISBN 0877432333 |url =http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TDP/tdp-12.html.iso8859-1 | pages = p. 40/42] following which United Kingdom/American emigrants John and Clara Dunn came to Australia in 1920.cite web
last =
first =
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Australian Bahá'í History
work = Official Website of the Bahá'ís of Australia
publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Australia
date =
url = http://www.bahai.org.au/scripts/WebObjects.exe/BNO.woa/wa/pages?page=who_we_are/australian_bahai_history.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-07-20] The found people willing to convert to the Bahá'í Faith in several cities while further immigrant Bahá'ís also arrived. [http://www.breacais.demon.co.uk/sbn/sbn33/sab3.htm 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] The first Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in MelbourneCitation
first = Graham
last = Hassall
contribution = Seventy Five Years of the Bahá'í Faith in Victoria
contribution-url = http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/seventy.htm
title = presented at a dinner marking 75 years of the Bahá'í Faith in Victoria
year = December 1998
pages =
place =
publisher = Association for Bahá'í Studies, Australia
url = http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/seventy.htm
doi =
id = ] followed by the first election of the National Spiritual Assembly in 1934. [http://bahai-library.com/?file=handscause_statistics_1953-63&chapter=1#22 The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963] , Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land, pages 22 and 46.] Though at first denied in 1948, Iranian Bahá'ís arrived in number after 1973 following the persecution of Bahá'ís in Iran.Citation
last = Hassall
first = Graham
author-link =
last2 = (ed.) Ata
first2 = Abe
author2-link =
title = Religion and Ethnic Identity, An Australian Study
place = Melbourne
publisher = Victoria College & Spectrum
year = 1989
pages = Chapter "Persian Bahá'ís in Australia"
volume =
edition =
url = http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=hassall_persian_bahais_australia&language=All
doi =
id =
isbn = ] Since the 1980s the Bahá'ís of Australia have become involved and spoken out on a number of civic issues - from interfaith initiative such as "Soul Food"Citation
first = Richard
last = Coker
first2 = Jan
last2 = Coker, University of South Australia
contribution = Soul Food: collaborative development of an ongoing nondenominational, devotional event
contribution-url = http://www.cpe.uts.edu.au/pdfs/2004Handbook.pdf
title = Education and Social Action Conference
date = 2004-12-09
pages = pp. 65-7
place = Building 10, 235 Jones St, Broadway 2007
publisher = Centre for Popular Education, University of Technology, Sydney
url = http://www.cpe.uts.edu.au/
doi =
id = ] to conferences on indigenous issuescite web
title = Social and Economic Development and the Environment
work = International Conference "Indigenous Knowledge and Bioprospecting"
publisher = Australian Association for Baha'i Studies
date = 2004-04-28
url = http://www.ocs.mq.edu.au/~cjone005/ABS.htm
accessdate = 2008-07-20] and national policies of equal rights and pay for work.Citation
contribution = Submission in response to selected questions from the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission discussion paper, Striking the Balance: Women, men, work and family
contribution-url = http://www.hreoc.gov.au/sex_discrimination/publication/strikingbalance/submissions/91.doc
title = Striking the Balance - Women, men, work and family
year = June 2005
publisher = Australian Bahá'í Community
url = http://www.hreoc.gov.au/sex_discrimination/publication/strikingbalance/
doi =
id = ] The community was counted by census in 2001 to be about 11000 individuals [http://web.archive.org/web/20050619070219/www.apmab.gov.au/guide/religious2/religious_guide.pdf A Practical Reference to Religious Diversity for Operational Police and Emergency Services "2nd" edition] ] and includes some well known people (see - Bahá'í Faith in Australia - National exposure.)

New Caledonia

The Bahá'í Faith in New Caledonia was first mentioned by `Abdu'l-Bahá in 1916,cite book |author = `Abdu'l-Bahá |authorlink = `Abdu'l-Bahá |origdate = 1916-17 |year = 1991 |title = Tablets of the Divine Plan |edition = Paperback |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust |location = Wilmette, Illinois, USA |id = ISBN 0877432333 |url =http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TDP/tdp-7.html.iso8859-1?#gr5 | pages = p. 40] though the first Bahá'í arrived in 1952cite book
last = Effendi
first = Shoghi
authorlink = Shoghi Effendi
title = Messages to the Antipodes:Communications from Shoghi Effendi to the Bahá'í Communities of Australasia
publisher = Mona Vale: Bahá'í Publications Australia
year = 1997
location =
pages =
url = http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=shoghieffendi_messages_antipodes&language=All
doi =
id =
isbn = 9780909991982] during a temporary visit because of restrictive policies on English-speaking visitors.Citation
first = Hassall
last = Graham
author2-link =
editor-last = Rubinstein
editor-first = Donald H. (ed)
contribution = Pacific Baha'i Communities 1950-1964
contribution-url = http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=hassall_bahai_pacific&language=All
title = Pacific History: Papers from the 8th Pacific History Association Conference
year = 1992
pages = pp.73-95
place =
publisher = University of Guam Press & Micronesian Area Research Center, Guam
url =
doi =
id = ] In 1961 Jeannette Outhey was the first New Caledonian to join the religion and with other converts and pioneers elected the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly of Nouméa.Citation
authors = Universal House of Justice
title = In Memorium
journal = The Bahá'í World of the Bahá'í Era 136-140 (1979-1983)
volume = XVIII
publisher = Bahá'í World Centre
pages = pp. 721-2.
year = 1986
url = http://bahai-library.com/books/bw18/720-748.html p.721-2
isbn = 0853982341] The Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of New Caledonia was elected in 1977. Multiplying it's involvements through to today, the 2001 population was reported at 1,070 and growing.cite web
title = Territory of New Caledonia and Dependencies
work = Operation World - Pacific
publisher = Patrick J. St. G. Johnstone
year = 2001
url = http://www.operationworld.org/country/newc/owtext.html
format =
doi =
accessdate = 2008-07-26]

Tonga

The Bahá'í Faith in Tonga started after being set as a goal to introduce the religion in 1953,Citation
first = Graham
last = Hassall
editor-last = H. Rubinstein
editor-first = Donald
contribution = Pacific Baha'i Communities 1950-1964
contribution-url = http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=hassall_bahai_pacific&language=All
title = Pacific History: Papers from the 8th Pacific History Association Conference
year = 1992
pages = pp.73-95
place =
publisher = University of Guam Press & Micronesian Area Research Center, Guam
url =
doi =
id = ] and Bahá'ís arrived in 1954.Citation
last = Tuitahi
first = Sione
last2 = Bolouri
first2 = Sohrab
title = Tongan Baha'is parade to the palace
newspaper = Bahá'í World News Service
date = 2004-01-28
url = http://www.bahaiworldnews.org/story/286 ] With conversions and pioneers the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1958.Citation
last = Hassall
first = Graham
author-link =
title = Baha'i Faith in the Asia Pacific Issues and Prospects
periodical = Bahá'í Studies Review
volume=6
pages = pp. 1-10
year = 1996
url = http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=hassall_bahai_asia-pacific_issues&language= ] From 1959 the Bahá'ís of Tonga and their local institutions were members of a Regional Spiritual Assembly of the South Pacific. By 1963 there were five local assemblies.cite web | url = http://bahai-library.com/index.php5?file=handscause_statistics_1953-63&chapter=1#19 | title = The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963| author = Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land | pages = pp. 19-20, 52] Less than forty years later, in 1996, the Bahá'ís of Tonga established their paramount Bahá'í school in the form of the Ocean of Light International School. [Citation
last = Bahá'í International Community
first =
author-link = Bahá'í International Community
title = Ocean of Light School celebrates 10th anniversary
newspaper = Bahá'í World News Service
date = 2006-07-17
url = http://news.bahai.org/story/461 ] Around 2004 there were 29 local spiritual assemblies and about 5% of the national population were members of the Bahá'í Faith though the Tonga Broadcasting Commission maintained a policy that does not allow discussions by members of the Baha'i Faith of its founder, Bahá'u'lláh on its radio broadcasts.cite web | url = http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2006/71356.htm | title = International Religious Freedom Report - Tonga | year = 2006 | date = 2006-09-15 | accessdate = 2008-09-15 | author = Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor | publisher = United States State Department]

amoa

The Bahá'í Faith in Samoa and American Samoa begins with the then head of the religion, `Abdu'l-Bahá, mentioning the islands in 1916,cite book |author = `Abdu'l-Bahá |authorlink = `Abdu'l-Bahá |origdate = 1916-17 |year = 1991 |title = Tablets of the Divine Plan |edition = Paperback |publisher = Bahá'í Publishing Trust |location = Wilmette, Illinois, USA |id = ISBN 0877432333 |url =http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TDP/tdp-7.html.iso8859-1?#gr5 | pages = p. 40] inspiring Bahá'ís on their way to Australia to stop in Samoa in 1920.cite conference | last = Hassall | first = Graham | title = Clara and Hyde Dunn | booktitle = draft of "A Short Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith" | publisher = Bahá'í Library Online | date = 1994-03-09 | url = http://bahai-library.com/asia-pacific/Dunns.html | accessdate = 2008-06-15] Thirty four years later another Bahá'í from Australia pioneered to Samoa in 1954.cite web
coauthors = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Samoa
title = 50th Anniversary of the Bahá'í Faith in Samoa
work = Waves of One Ocean, Official Bahá'í website
publisher = National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Samoa
year = February, 2004
url = http://bci.org/bahaisamoa/information.html
accessdate = 2008-06-15] With the first converts the first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly was elected in 1961,Citation
last = International Community
first = Bahá'í
author-link = Bahá'í International Community
title = Timeline of significant evens in the history of the Bahá'í Faith in Samoa and American Samoa (1954 -2004.)
newspaper = Bahá'í World News Service
date = 2004-11-30
url = http://news.bahai.org/multimedia/slideshow.php?storyid=337 ] and the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly was first elected in 1970. Following the conversion of the then Head of State of Samoa, King Malietoa Tanumafili II,cite book
last = International Community
first = Bahá'í
author-link = Bahá'í International Community
title = Century of Light
publisher = Bahá'í International Community
year = September 2006
location = Project Gutenberg
pages = p. 122
url = http://www.gutenberg.org/files/19267/19267-h/19267-h.html
doi =
id =
isbn = ] the first Bahá'í House of Worship of the Pacific Islands was finished in 1984 and the Bahá'í community reached a population of over 3000 in about the year 2000.cite encyclopedia
title = Samoa Facts and Figures from Encarta - People
encyclopedia = Encarta
volume = Online
pages =
publisher = Microsoft
year = 2008
id =
url = http://encarta.msn.com/fact_631504895/samoa_facts_and_figures.html
accessdate = 2008-06-15]

ee also

*
*Statistics on National Spiritual Assemblies
*Religions by country
*Islam by country
*Judaism by country
*Hinduism by country
*Christianity by country
*Sikhism by country
*No Faith by Country

External links

* [http://home.wanadoo.nl/arjen.nandita2/bahai-world-statistics-2001.htm Bahá'í World Statistics]
* [http://www.adherents.com/ A comprehensive website about religious adherents of numerous faiths]
* [http://adherents.com/largecom/com_bahai.html Specific compiled stats on percentages and sizes of Bahá'í communities]
* [http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bahai/1999/growth23.htm Issues Pertaining to Growth, Retention and Consolidation in the United States]

References

*cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Religion: Second Edition |publisher=MacMillan Reference Books |year=2005 |editor=Jones, Lindsay |id=ISBN 0028657330

*cite book |author=Hinnells, John R. |title=The New Penguin Handbook of Living Religions: Second Edition|publisher=Penguin |year=2000 |id=ISBN 0140514805

*cite book | author= Wade Clark Roof | title=A Generation of Seekers: Spiritual Journeys of the Baby Boom Gen | publisher=HarperCollins | year=1993 | editor= | id=ISBN 0060669640

*cite book | author= | title=The World Book Encyclopedia: 2003 ed edition | publisher=World Book Inc | year=2002 | editor=World Book editors | id=ISBN 0716601036

*cite book | author=Paul Oliver | title=Teach Yourself World Faiths, New Edition | publisher=McGraw-Hill | year=2002 | id=ISBN 0071384480

*cite book | title=Encyclopedia of Modern Middle East & North Africa | publisher=Thomson/Gale | year=2004 | editor=Mattar, Philip | id=ISBN 0028657691

*cite book | title=The Oxford Dictionary of World Religions | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=1997 | editor=John Westerdale Bowker | id=ISBN 0192139657

*cite book | author=Martin Palmer; Joanne O'Brien | title= Religions Of The World | publisher=Facts on File | year=2005 | id=ISBN 0816062587

*cite book | author= Columbia University; Barbara Ann Chernow; George A. Vallasi | title=The Columbia Encyclopedia | publisher=Houghton Mifflin | year=1993 | id=ISBN 039562438x

*cite book | title= Academic American Encyclopedia | publisher=Grolier Academic Reference | year=1998 | id=ISBN 0717220680

*cite book | author=Jonathan Z. Smith; American Academy of Religion | title=The Harpercollins Dictionary of Religion | publisher=HarperCollins | year=1995 | id=ISBN 0060675152

*cite book | title=The Encyclopedia of Islam, New Edition. | publisher=Brill | year=1960 | id=Ref DS37.E523

*cite book | title=Religious Minorities in Iran | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2000 | editor=Tripp, Clancy-Smith, Gershoni, Owen, Sayigh, Tucker | id=ISBN 0521770734