Navigation
In other projects
Learn more
Core topics
Bahá’í Faith
Central Figures
Teachings
Practices

Côte d'Ivoire

From Bahaipedia
(Redirected from Ivory Coast)
 Côte d'Ivoire
Attendees at Abidjan Regional Conference, 2009.
Location of Côte d'Ivoire
National AssemblyCôte d'Ivoire
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 27,478,249
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source  
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 40,515
History:
Firsts
 -  Pioneers Labíb Isfahání
Habíb Isfahání 
 -  Local Assembly c. 1962, Abidjan 
 -  National Assembly 1971, with Mali & Upper Volta
1985, Independent 
How to contact:
 -  Email asnci@aviso.ci
Official Website https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/cote-divoire
Related media
Categories: Côte d'Ivoire • People

The République de Côte d'Ivoire is a country in the south of West Africa. The official language of the country is French, but seventy-eight native languages are widely spoken including Bété, Dioula, Baoulé, Abron, Agni, Cebaara, Senufo, and others.

The area has been inhabited since the prehistoric era and several nations have existed in the region throughout history including the Kong Empire and Baoulé. France began to establish control over the area in the 1880's and in 1893 the colony of the Ivory Coast was established. In 1958 Ivory Coast was granted autonomy and in 1960 it achieved full independence from France. In 1986 the government of the Country announced that it would not recognize translation of its name into languages other than French, for example to Ivory Coast, in international contexts.

The Bahá'í Faith was established in Côte d'Ivoire in 1960. The community developed its administration through the 1970's, and began making efforts to undertake social action in the wider community in the 1980's. It has continued to develop to this day.

History[edit]

At the opening of the Ten Year Crusade in 1953 the whole of French West Africa was designated as a goal area which was to be opened to the Faith, with opening Côte d'Ivoire itself not being a specific goal. The country was opened to the Faith by Egyptian Bahá'í Labíb Isfahání who moved to Abidjan in 1955 and remained until 1964.[2] In 1960 Habíb Isfahání, Labíb's brother, pioneered to the country and lived in it until his passing in 2001.[3] The Local Spiritual Assembly of Abidjan had been established by 1962.[4]

In 1964 the National Spiritual Assembly of West Africa was established and it was given the responsibility of administrating the Faith in Côte d'Ivoire.[5] In 1965 delegates from Ivory Coast participated in the election of the National Spiritual Assembly of West Africa.[6] In 1968 Moojan Momen visited Côte d'Ivoire during an eight month visit to West Africa to teach the Faith, answering the call from the Universal House of Justice for youth to make teaching trips.[7]

In late 1970 Rúhíyyih Khánum visited Côte d'Ivoire during her tour of Africa spending three weeks in Abidjan. During her visit she was invited by a new Bahá'í to visit his village, Affery, to present the Faith. During her visit to the village she stressed that she did not wish to pressure them to convert, nevertheless by the following year the village had seventy believers.[8] She briefly returned to Abidjan in early 1971 where she exchanged her Land Rover, which had been the mode of transportation for the tour up until that point, for air travel.[9] She visited Abidjan for a third time to attend the Convention at which the National Spiritual Assembly of Ivory Coast, Mali, and Upper Volta was established with its seat in Abidjan. She met with President Felix Houphouet-Boigny of Ivory Coast during this third visit, held a televised press conference and a radio interview, and two public meetings one of which was held in Abidjan the other in Dabou.[10] There were twelve Local Spiritual Assemblies in the country as of 1971.[11]

In August 1973 a representative of the Faith, Dr. Aziz Navidi, spoke at the Sixth World Conference on World Peace Through Law held in Abidjan.[12] At the opening of the Five Year Plan in 1974 Côte d'Ivoire was set the goals of establishing fifty Local Spiritual Assemblies and opening ninety localities to the Faith. These were surpassed by Ridvan 1976, with one hundred and forty seven localities being opened to the Faith and sixty-one Local Spiritual Assemblies being established.[13][14] In July 1976 an International Youth Conference sponsored by the National Assembly of Ivory Coast, Mali, and Upper Volta was held in Abidjan.[15] In September 1976 Hand of the Cause Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir visited the country during a teaching tour leading up to an International Teaching Conference in Nairobi.[16]

In December 1977 a Bahá'í teaching institute was held in Bouake.[17] In late 1977 Amir-Farhang Imani visited Ivory Coast for eight days during a teaching tour of Africa, speaking at the teaching institute and teaching in several villages in the Daloua region.[18] In January 1978 Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone visited Abidjan and a meeting was held at the local Bahá'í Center.[19] As of 1979 there were fifty Local Spiritual Assemblies in Côte d'Ivoire, five of which were incorporated. One hundred and fifty localities had been opened to the Faith and one district and fourteen local Haziratu'l-Quds had been constructed.[20] In mid-1979 Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir visited Côte d'Ivoire visiting several villages to teach the Faith.[21] In December 1979 a Summer School was held in Bouake which had one hundred attendees, the largest of a Summer School held in the country til that date.[22]

In June 1982 Rouhaniyyih Tirandaz visited Côte d'Ivoire visiting Abidjan and then touring the west of the country visiting several villages including Man, Bangolo, and Daloa.[23] By 1983 a National Haziratu'l-Quds had been built.[24] In October 1983 Counselor Kassimi Fofana participated in a United Nations Day conference in Abidjan.[25] In July 1985 a community development plan was developed by the National Spiritual Assembly for the village of Felguessi aiming to provide spiritual education, better health, improve adult literacy, improve agriculture and improve analysis of problems facing the community.[26] In November 1987 Counselor Zekrollah Kazemi spoke at an African Roundtable on Religious Freedom held by the World Council of Religious Freedom in Abidjan.[27] In 1988 the Bahá'í Publishing Trust of the Ivory Coast prepared translations of the compilation Words of God into the native languages Baoule, Bete, Guere, Dioula, and Senoufo.[28] In the summer of 1988 a teaching campaign was held in western Côte d'Ivoire with the Chief of one village accepting the religion along with the majority of the village, and ten other village Chiefs expressing interest. Four Local Spiritual Assemblies were formed during the campaign bringing the total number of Assemblies in the country to seventy-one.[29]

In October 1990 a meeting on the equality of men and women was held in Côte d'Ivoire with attendance from the wider community.[30] In March and April 1992 a six week training institute was held for youth aiming to give them practical and spiritual training to prepare them for service.[31] In 1996 a French and Ukrainian youth group visited Côte d'Ivoire on a teaching trip.[32]

In 2000 the Bahá'ís of Abidjan and Dabou invited members of the Animist , Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim communities to the Cocody Bahá'í Center to pray for peace.[33] In 2009 a Regional Conference was held in Abidjan which had attendees from Côte d'Ivoire itself and also from the Gambia, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. There were over 1,200 attendees at the conference in total, many of whom encountered great difficulty in traveling to Abidjan to attend.[34]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  2. ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 43
  3. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2002). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 29 (2000-2001), Pg(s) 270. View as PDF.
  4. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1970). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 13 (1954-1963), Pg(s) 1014. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ Baha'i News (1963). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 393, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ Baha'i News (1965). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 415, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ Baha'i News (1968). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 446, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ Baha'i News (1971). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 483, Pg(s) 20. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ Baha'i News (1971). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 486, Pg(s) 18. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ Baha'i News (1971). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 487, Pg(s) 16-17. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1976). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 15 (1968-1973), Pg(s) 193. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ Baha'i News (1974). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 514, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1978). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 16 (1973-1976), Pg(s) 169. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ Baha'i News (1976). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 544, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ Baha'i News (1976). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 542, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1981). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 17 (1976-1979), Pg(s) 147. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ Baha'i News (1978). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 569, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  18. ↑ Baha'i News (1978). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 572, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ Baha'i News (1979). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 579, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  20. ↑ Baha'i News (1979). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 581, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  21. ↑ Baha'i News (1980). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 587, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  22. ↑ Baha'i News (1979). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 583, Pg(s) 17. View as PDF.
  23. ↑ Baha'i News (1983). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 633, Pg(s) 13. View as PDF.
  24. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 170. View as PDF.
  25. ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 635, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  26. ↑ Baha'i News (1986). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 660, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
  27. ↑ Baha'i News (1988). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 687, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  28. ↑ Baha'i News (1988). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 683, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  29. ↑ Baha'i News (1989). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 696, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  30. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 177. View as PDF.
  31. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 263. View as PDF.
  32. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 25 (1996-1997), Pg(s) 101. View as PDF.
  33. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2002). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 29 (2000-2001), Pg(s) 67. View as PDF.
  34. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/community-news/regional-conferences/abidjan.html


Retrieved from "https://bahaipedia.org/index.php?title=Côte_d%27Ivoire&oldid=128971"
Powered by MediaWiki