Press coverage during the Ministry of the Custodians

North Carolina Central University (Durham)

Starting in 1961 a few issues of The Campus Echo mentioned the Baha'i Faith.

North Carolina State University at Raleigh

Starting in 1962 the Bahá'í Faith started to appear in the North Carolina State University at Raleigh student newspaper - the "Technician".

Events in Morocco

See Bahá'í Faith in Morocco or

Main article: Bahá'í Faith in Morocco

In Morocco there were episodes of religious persecution in 1962-1963, on the basis of condemnation from Allal El Fassi when 15 Bahá'ís were arrested for their religious convictions; three were given death sentences. On December 7, 1961 an article in Al Alam laments the decline of Islam and attacks the Bahá'ís. During the year Bahá'í homes are entered by police and literature of the religion is taken. On April 12 four Bahá'ís are arrested in Nador. In September the Bahá'ís in the United States contacted Hassan II of Morocco during a visit to the United Nations. On October 31, fourteen Bahá'ís are arrested and are charged with rebellion, disorder, attacks on public security, being an association of criminals, and attacking religious faith. On 10 December the trial begins with charges of sedition. On the 14th the verdict is given—four are acquitted as they claim to be Muslims, one is acquitted through family connections, one is released on 15 years probation, five are committed to life imprisonment and three are sentenced to death. The sentences are appealed to the Moroccan supreme court. Initially Bahá'ís did not publicize the events. On December 17, 1962 news is released among the Bahá'ís and efforts are aimed at asking for the applicability of the UN charter which condemns religious intolerance. On January 31 Roger Nash Baldwin, then Chairman of the International League for the Rights of Man, appeared before a UN sub-commission of Preventing Discrimination and Protection of Minorities and states that, as far as they knew, the Bahá'í prisoners in Morocco are the only example in recent history where members of a religions have been condemned to death solely for holding and expressing religious views regarded as heretical. This appeal through the UN was supported by nearly the entire body of the Harvard Divinity School. There were months of diplomatic efforts; US Senator Kenneth B. Keating stated in the U.S. Senate on February 18, 1963, "How far religious freedom under the Moroccan Constitution really applies, will be revealed in the coming weeks when the appeal before the Supreme Court [of Morocco] is heard." On March 31, 1963 during a visit to the United States and the United Nations, Hassan II of Morocco was interviewed on television on Meet the Press then with Lawrence E. Spivak and was asked about the treatment of Bahá'ís in his own country. He addressed the audience saying that the Bahá'í Faith was not a religion and "against good order and also morals". However on April 2 he makes a public statement that if the Supreme Court confirms the penalty of death that he would grant them a royal pardon. However on November 23 the Supreme Court hears the appeals and reversed the decision of the lower court. On December 13 the prisoners are actually released. Coverage in newspapers of the day included Wisconsin, Winnipeg and Lethbridge, Canada and Elyria Ohio as well as the New York Times. The New Republic January 25, 1964 issue had an article by Roger Nash Baldwin, also founder of the American Civil Liberties Union. Baldwin mentions how the League, by applying public pressure on the King of Morocco helped save the lives of the Bahá'í prisoners who had been sentenced to death. Baldwin was quoted discussing the League, "All this adds up to the very tiny beginnings of a system by which the UN itself would examine and process complaints and ultimately help set up a world court of human rights."

Further reading

"European Language Bibliography: Babi Religion, Chronological, 1844 - current". Babi-Baha'i Bibliographies. Association of Baha'i Studies, New Zealand chapter. May 2011. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

Ghadimi, Riaz (2009) [1984]. The Báb - The King of Messengers (PDF) (3rd ed.). www.juxta.com. ISBN 978­0­9698024­0­2. {{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); soft hyphen character in |isbn= at position 4 (help)

MacEoin, Denis (2009). The Messiah of Shiraz: Studies in Early and Middle Babism. Iran Studies. Vol. 3 (illustrated ed.). BRILL. ISBN 978-90-04-17035-3. - note "In order to distance this work from the thought processes of true believers, I have deliberately written in a style designed to force a dislocation from the sort of pious veneration that closes the mind and leads to knee-jerk responses… the Bab was just a human being…" (from page xx)

Warrick, David (2019-09-08). "Declaration of the Báb" (pdf). Research. self. Retrieved 11-17-2023. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

"Mirza Malkam : L'inspirateur de la République Islamo-Maçonnique en Iran" (in French). iran-resist.org. 3-20-2007. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)(has several citations of works in 1850s.)

Momen, Moojan (9-8-2000). "Premiers récits occidentaux sur les religions Babies et Baha'ies de 1844 à 1944" (in French). Médiathèque - Centre de Resources Baha'ies Francophones. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)CS1 maint: unrecognized language (link)

Momen, Moojan (1999). "Early Western Accounts of the Babi and Baha'i Faiths". Draft for The Baha'i Encyclopedia. bahai-library.com.

MacEoin, Denis. "Babi history". The Babi and Baha'i Religions: An Annotated Bibliography. Greenwood Press's ongoing series of Bibliographies and Indexes in Religious Studies. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help) It noted several early newspaper accounts and other publications to a total of 231 entries to 1995 just on the Babi period. However of the 19th century it noted 9 stories repeated a total of 16 times. As of Feb 2013 new finds documented here raise this total considerably. Just the first story and its echoes now count at least 12 instances. And by March it had perhaps doubled from that.

Amanat, Abbas (1989). Resurrection and renewal: the making of the Babi movement in Iran, 1844-1850. G - Reference, Information and Interdisciplinary Subjects Series. Cornell University Press.

Moojan Momen (1981) [1977]. The Bábí and Bahá'í religions 1844-1944: some contemporary western accounts. G. Ronald. ISBN 978-0-85398-102-2. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |1= (help)

Smith, Peter (1987). The Babi and Bahaʼi Religions: From Messianic Shiʻism to a World Religion (illustrated ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521301282.