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Gabon

From Bahaipedia
 Gabon
Views of the 40th National Convention of the Bahá’ís of Gabon, 2023.
Location of Gabon
National AssemblyGabon
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 2,341,179
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source  
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 759
History:
Firsts
 -  Pioneers 1964, Isaac Eziukwu 
 -  Local Assembly 1966, Libreville 
 -  National Assembly 1972, with Republic of Congo
1984, independently 
Official Website https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/gabon
Related media
Categories: Gabon • People

The Gabonese Republic is a coastal country in Central Africa. Its official language is French, and Fang, Myene, Punu, and Nzebi are also widely spoken.

The region has been inhabited since ancient times by the Pygmy and later the Bantu people. In the 18th century the Kingdom of Orungu was founded in the region. In 1885 France occupied the region and in 1910 it was incorporated into what became French Equatorial Africa. In 1960 Gabon became independent of France.

The Bahá’í Faith was established in Gabon in the 1960's, and the community developed administratively throughout the 1970's and 1980's. By the late 1980's the Bahá’í community was making efforts to provide services to the wider community which have continued to develop.

History[edit]

At the start of the Ten Year Crusade in 1953 French Equatorial Africa as a whole was set as a goal territory to be opened to the Baháʼí Faith, as such Gabon itself was not a goal territory, although in late 1953 Enoch Olinga, and Alí and Violette Nakhjavani passed through what is now Gabon while travelling to the French Cameroons from Uganda.[2] At the start of the Nine Year Plan in 1964 the goal of opening Gabon by 1973 was assigned to the National Assembly of the United States.[3]

Gabon was opened to the Faith in June, 1964,[4] by Isaac Eziukwu, a Nigerian Bahá’í who pioneered to Libreville from the Central African Republic,[5] and in 1966 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Libreville was formed.[6] At the start of 1970 Gabon had two Local Spiritual Assemblies and another two were established that year,[7] and in 1971 Isaac Eziukwu began working to have the Bahá’í Faith officially recognized in Gabon by submitting the Local Spiritual Assembly by-laws to the relevant authorities, but unfortunately his health deteriorated and he returned to Nigeria in October 1973 before receiving a reply.[8] When Hand of the Cause Ruhiyyih Khanum visited Africa in 1971 she initially planned to visit Gabon but was unable to secure a visa to Congo-Brazzaville which made it impossible to travel to Gabon, however she was able to meet with a French pioneer, the only European Bahá’í in Gabon, while visiting Cameroon.[9]

In 1972 a joint National Spiritual Assembly for Congo and Gabon was formed,[10] however it was disbanded in 1978 when the Republic of Congo outlawed religious minorities.[11] In April 1978 the government of Gabon officially recognized the Bahá’í Faith due to the efforts of Dr. Aziz Navidi,[12] and in 1979 the Universal House of Justice made establishing a National Spiritual Assembly in Gabon a goal of the Seven Year Plan.[13] In 1981 a national Haziratu'l-Quds was purchased in Libreville with the assistance of the Bahá’í community of Qatar.[14][15]

As of Ridvan 1983 Gabon has surpassed its Seven Year Plan goal for community growth with all four of its Local Spiritual Assemblies overseeing active teaching campaigns, and in July 1983 the Universal House of Justice announced that the National Assembly of Gabon was to be established in 1984.[16] In December 1983 a National Teaching Conference was held at the national Haziratu'l-Quds at which there were presentations on the fund, living a Bahá’í life, the Central figures, and the structure of a National Convention and election of a National Assembly.[17] The National Assembly of Gabon was formed at Ridvan 1984 with Counsellor Hushang Ahdieh representing the Universal House of Justice at the National Convention,[18] and incorporated in February 1985.[19]

In December 1985 Auxiliary Board member George Allen accompanied four Bahá’í youth from Port Gentil to Libreville and they assisted with a five-day open house at the national Haziratu'l-Quds which was attended by about 130 people, and friendships were formed with the Libreville Bahá’í community. The same month a three-week travel teaching campaign in Oyem resulted in four declarations.[20] In March 1986 the Peace message from the Universal House of Justice was presented to a representative of the Gabon Head of State by a Bahá’í delegation,[21] and in May 1987 a government official issued a letter officially granting the National Assembly permission to carry out any activities in the country.[22]

In December 1988 a national youth conference was held at which all talks and workshops were facilitated by the youth themselves,[23] and as of 1991 regular deepening classes for youth were being held in four cities of Gabon.[24] The Gabon Bahá’í community began efforts to promote women's literacy in the early 1990's,[25] and also facilitated courses on sewing, cooking, child-care and English for women in the city of Franceville.[26] Also in the early 1990's the National Spiritual Assembly organised the construction of classrooms for a school in Benguis II.[27]

In 1994 the Muhajir Teaching Project was organized in Gabon with five teaching teams forming which resulted in 200 people joining the Faith.[28] In 1996 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Libreville organized a public conference on the equality of men and women for International Women's Day.[29] In the late 1990's Counsellor George Allen held a weekend conference in Gabon on the importance of developing training institutes,[30] and the National Spiritual Assembly began renovating the national center and work on expanding it through the construction of an upper level.[31] In 2017 Bahá’í representatives participated in a meeting on the environment convened by the United Nations held in Libreville.[32]

See also[edit]


References

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ Baha'i News Letter (1927). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 18, Pg(s) 642. View as PDF.
  3. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 117. View as PDF.
  4. ↑ Baha'i News (1964). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 405, Pg(s) 1. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1978). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 16 (1973-1976), Pg(s) 544. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 425, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ Baha'i News (1970). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 473, Pg(s) 20. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1978). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 16 (1973-1976), Pg(s) 544. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ Baha'i News (1972). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 499, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 148. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 78. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 167. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ Baha'i News (1979). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 580, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 638, Pg(s) 18. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 114. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ Baha'i News (1983). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 630, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 638, Pg(s) 18. View as PDF.
  18. ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 644, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 19 (1983-1986), Pg(s) 118. View as PDF.
  20. ↑ Baha'i News (1986). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 664, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  21. ↑ Baha'i News (1988). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 683, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  22. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 593. View as PDF.
  23. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 300. View as PDF.
  24. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 302. View as PDF.
  25. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 300. View as PDF.
  26. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 450. View as PDF.
  27. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 22 (1993-1994), Pg(s) 110. View as PDF.
  28. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1996). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 23 (1994-1995), Pg(s) 91. View as PDF.
  29. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1997). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 24 (1995-1996), Pg(s) 89. View as PDF.
  30. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2000). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 27 (1998-1999), Pg(s) 85. View as PDF.
  31. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2001). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 28 (1999-2000), Pg(s) 52. View as PDF.
  32. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1177/
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