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São Tomé and Príncipe

From Bahaipedia
 São Tomé and Príncipe
Bahá’í World Conference in Santa Rita, São Tomé and Príncipe, 2023.
Location of São Tomé and Príncipe
National AssemblySão Tomé and Príncipe
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[1] 223,107
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source  
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 5,031
History:
Firsts
 -  Local Bahá'í 1954, Carlos da Silva 
 -  Pioneers 1954, Elise Schreiber 
 -  National Assembly 1996 
Official Website https://www.bahai.org/national-communities/sao-tome-and-principe
Related media
Categories: São Tomé and Príncipe • People

The Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe is a country consisting of two island groups off the west coast of Central Africa. The official language is Portuguese with Forro, Angolar, and Principense also being recognised.

The islands were uninhabited until being settled by Portugal in the 15th century and they became central to the slave trade. Multiple slave rebellions occurred throughout the 16th century, and although slavery was abolished by Portugal in 1876 forced labour continued in São Tomé and Príncipe with tension over unfair conditions continuing into the 20th century. In the 1950s and 1960s an independence movement grew and the islands gained independence in 1975, shortly after a change in the Portuguese government.

The Bahá’í Faith was first present in the country in the 1950s, however the community dissolved and was not re-established until the 1980s.

History[edit]

In February, 1954, Elise Schreiber pioneered to São Tomé and Príncipe from the United States. Just two days after arriving she was interviewed by Carlos da Silva for a local newspaper and Silva became interested in the religion and assisted Schreiber in proclaiming the religion to several of his contacts with seven people, including Silva, declaring.[2] Due to Schreiber associating with black people the Commandant of Sao Tomé regarded her as suspicious and interrogated her several times, with his police force harassing the Bahá’ís, and Schreiber was deported in April, 1954, with the Commandant advising her the Bahá’í community would suffer.[3]

A Local Spiritual Assembly had been formed before Schreiber's departure, however intimidation and imprisonment of Bahá’ís resulted in the community folding and no Bahá’ís were able to visit the islands for an extended period.[4]

When the National Spiritual Assembly of Cameroon was formed in 1967 it was assigned responsibility for São Tomé and Príncipe,[5] and in 1971 Cameroonian Joseph Ashurock Guru pioneered to São Tomé, however he did not remain in the country nor was he able to re-establish the community.[6]

In 1984 the National Spiritual Assembly of Nigeria sponsored successful efforts to re-open the country to the Faith and many travel teachers were able to visit the country,[7] and in 1986 a copy of the Promise of World Peace written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice was presented to the Permanent Representative of São Tomé and Príncipe to the United Nations.[8] In 1988 Auxiliary Board member Kobina Fynn made a six week teaching trip to the country which resulted in many becoming Bahá’ís and a Local Spiritual Assembly of São Tomé being established, with new declarations coming from all three major tribal groups of the islands; Foro, Angolar, and Nonkor.[9][10]

Kobina Fynn revisited the islands frequently and during one of his visits in 1994 eighty people declared and a National Teaching and Administrative Committee was formed. By 1995 there were seventeen Local Spiritual Assemblies in the country which lead to a National Spiritual Assembly for the country being formed in 1996.[11]

At some point the National Spiritual Assembly lapsed however in 2021 the Universal House of Justice announced in its Ridván message that it was being reformed that year.[12]

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 Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 87
  3. ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Baha'u'llah, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 88
  4. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 25 (1996-1997), Pg(s) 44. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ Baha'i News (1967). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 434, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ Baha'i News (1971). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 479, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 25 (1996-1997), Pg(s) 44. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ Baha'i News (1988). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 683, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ Baha'i News (1989). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 701, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 25 (1996-1997), Pg(s) 44. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1997). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 24 (1995-1996), Pg(s) 34. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ 2021 Ridvan Message, Universal House of Justice


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