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Slovakia

From Bahaipedia
 Slovakia
Bahá’í National Convention of Slovakia, 2005.
Location of Slovakia
National AssemblySlovakia
Statistics:
Total Population
 -  UN 2021[2] 5,447,622
Bahá'í pop.
 -  Bahá'í source 200[1] 
 -  Non-Bahá'í source 1,153
History:
Firsts
 -  Local Assembly 1991, Bratislava 
 -  National Assembly 1998 
Official Website http://www.bahai.sk
Related media
Categories: Slovakia • People

The Slovak Republic, generally referred to as Slovakia, is a country in Central Europe. Slovak is the official language and Christianity is the predominant religion.

In recent history the region was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918 when it became part of the independent Czechoslovakia. It became the first Slovak Republic in 1939 but was reincorporated into Czechoslovakia in 1945 and became aligned with the Soviet Union in 1948. The region became independent as Slovakia again in 1993.

A Bahá’í community was firmly established in Slovakia in the 1990s, was officially recognised by the government of Slovakia in 2007, and remains active to the present day.

History[edit]

Due to governmental restriction the Bahá’í Faith was unable to firmly establish a community in Czechoslovakia while it was aligned with the Soviet Union.[3] When the National Spiritual Assembly of Austria was established in 1959 it was assigned responsibility for overseeing efforts to expand the Faith in Czechoslovakia,[4] and as of 1963 there were two small Bahá’í communities in the country although neither were large enough to form a Local Spiritual Assembly.[5]

Governmental restrictions began to relax as the 1990s began and in 1990 the European Bahá’í Youth Council organized teaching projects in Czechoslovakia,[6] with the countries first national Bahá’í teaching conference being held in 1991,[7] and the Local Spiritual Assembly of Bratislava being established the same year.[8] The National Spiritual Assembly of Czechoslovakia was established in 1992,[9] and renamed the National Spiritual Assembly of the Czech and Slovak Republics in 1993 to reflect the dissolution of Czechoslovakia.[10]

In 1998 Slovakia established an independent National Spiritual Assembly with its seat in Bratislava,[11][12] and Hand of the Cause ‘Alí-Muḥammad Varqá representing the Universal House of Justice at the countries inaugural National Convention.[13] In 1999 the official website of the Slovak Bahá’í community was launched.[13] By the 2000's Bahá’í summer schools were being held in Slovakia.[14]

In 2007 the government of Slovakia officially recognised the Bahá’í Faith as a religious community of Slovakia as a result of an application signed by 28,000 people,[15] and in 2012 the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Slovakian parliament issued a condemnation of the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran.[16] As of 2021 the Slovak Bahá’í community was participating in discussions about migration and minorities in Slovakia collaborating with the Human Rights League of Slovakia.[17]

References[edit]

  1. ↑ "Freedom in the World - Slovakia (2008)". Freedom House. 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-19.
  2. ↑ "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  3. ↑ Paul Vreeland (Ed.), The Baha'i World, In Memoriam 1992-1997, Baha'i World Centre, 2010, p 115
  4. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 198. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 163. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 203. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 205. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ Dr. Ahmadi (2003). "Major events of the Century of Light". webpage for an online course on the book “Century of Light”. Association for Bahá’í Studies in Southern Africa. Retrieved 2008-05-24.
  9. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 217. View as PDF.
  10. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1999). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 26 (1997-1998), Pg(s) 34. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1999). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 26 (1997-1998), Pg(s) 34. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1999). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 26 (1997-1998), Pg(s) 34. View as PDF.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2000). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 27 (1998-1999), Pg(s) 56. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2006). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 33 (2004-2005), Pg(s) 109. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/531/
  16. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/882/
  17. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1500/
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