Bahá'í Faith in Uganda
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith in Uganda started to grow in 1951 and in four years time there were 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers
to other African locations. Following the reign of Idi Amin
when the Bahá'í Faith was banned and the murder of Bahá'í Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga
and his family, the community continues to grow though estimates of the population range widely from 19,000 to 105,000 and the community's involvements have included diverse efforts to promote the welfare of the Ugandan people. The Association of Religion Data Archives
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
) estimated about 78500.
, and Persian Bahá'í communities and reached a level of coordination and detail that materials were translated into languages widely used in Africa before pioneers reached Africa. On August 3, 1951 Mr. and Mrs. Músá Banání, Mrs. Violette and Mr. Ali Nakhjavani
, of Iran
, with their baby daughter Bahiyyih
, and Mr. Philip Hainsworth arrived in Kampala
. Banání was an adult convert to the religion during World War I from a Jewish background. After receiving the news that Hand of the Cause Louis George Gregory
— Hands of the Cause
are a select group of Bahá'ís who achieved a distinguished rank in service to the religion — had died previously on July 31, a commemorative meeting for Gregory was held in Kampala at which the five pioneers and Marguerite Preston (from Kenya
) were joined by twelve Africans. In October an observance of the birth of the Báb
was the first to be held in the home of a Buganda
n citizen of Uganda, with prayers said in Luganda. In December, the first two native Ugandans had converted to the Bahá'í Faith — Fred Bigabwa (Mutoro tribe) and Chrispin Kajubi (Muganda tribe). While Banání was on pilgrimage War War II veteran Enoch Olinga
(of Iteso tribe) who had been attending classes taught by Nakhjavani in Kampala was the third Ugandan to become a Bahá'í and swore off alcohol though his alcoholism
had already cost him his government job.
The first Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assembly in the country was elected in April 1952 in Kampala. The members of the assembly were Fred Bigabwa, Chrispin Kajubi, Peter Musoke, Enoch Olinga, Mr and Mrs Músá Banání, Mr and Mrs Ali Nakhjavani and Philip Hainsworth. These were soon joined by American pioneers, Mary and Reginald (Rex) Collison, in about May. In early 1952, Músá Banání was also appointed as a Hand of the Cause. In the summer of 1952 the Bahá'ís bought the first center for hosting meetings. By October 1952 there were 55 members of the religion including Olinga's father, living in 12 different localities and representing 9 different tribes: Ganda, Gishu, Gwero, Kabarasi, Kakamega, Luo, Sega, Teso, Toro. Six of them were women. Eighteen were in Kampala and 26 in Teso country. Like Olinga other Bahá'ís effected a change in character when converting to the religion and giving up alcoholism. These joined the religion by conversion from Roman Catholic, Protestant and pagan backgrounds and the rural areas were organized into committees until Assemblies could be organized. In February 1953 the first inter-continental conference of four designated by the head of the religion was taking place in Kampala. On the program were Hands of the Cause (already appointed or not yet) Dorothy Beecher Baker, `Alí-Akbar Furútan
, Ugo Giachery
, Hermann Grossman, `Alí-Muhammad Varqá
, George Townshend
, and Dhikru'llah Khadem
giving a wide variety of talks and classes across 7 days opened with a message from Shoghi Effendi read by Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas
. By April nine more assemblies were elected among a community of over two hundred ninety members of the religion, residing in twenty-five localities, and representative of twenty tribes. In June 1953 the American pioneers Mr. and Mrs. Rex Collison moved to Ruanda-Urundi
from Kampala. In October 1953 Olinga went on to Cameroon
and was honoured with the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh.
Wide-scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa was observed to begin in 1950s and extend in the 1960s. After the conference in February 1953 Bill and Marguerite Sears
arrived in September 1953 visiting from Johannesburg for an extended stay into October giving many classes and traveling to many villages. It was also during this time the first pioneer from Uganda went to Mwanza
, Tanganyika. In 1954 Uganda had 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations. In 1955 there were over 800 Bahá'ís having just added seventeen assemblies. In 1956 Olinga was elected as Chairman of the North West regional Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly and the Ugandan Bahá'í community came under the newly formed regional National Spiritual Assembly of Central & Eastern Africa, of which Nakhjavani was the Chairman and the Ugandan community alone topped 1000 members. The other members of the regional assembly over Uganda were Philip Hainsworth, Hassan Sabri, Oloro Epyeruj, Aziz Yazdi, Jalal Nakhjavani, Tito Wanantsusit, Sylvester Okurut, and Max Kenyerezi. In early 1957 Olinga attended the laying of the foundation stone of the first Bahá'í House of Worship
of Africa (which was in Uganda) and in the fall he was appointed a Hand of the Cause and Knight of Bahá'u'lláh
Clare Gung, formerly of Germany, moved from Tanganyika to Uganda where she founded a multi-racial kindergarten nursery. Systems were initiated to deal with the rate of growth of the religion - weekend Bahá'í schools were set up for any Bahá'í who could attend and individuals who were judged to have a substantial understanding of the religion and were able to travel were selected for training as presenters who would then travel locally in their area to make presentations on many of the same themes. By the summer of 1957 13 weekend schools had been held. It was believed these schools lended impetus to the continued growth of the religion in the area by empowering local members of the religion and the schools were repeated in 1958. And the same year regional and local assemblies were registered with the civil government. In 1957 a lone Bahá'í, a member of the Tesa, Yokolamu Okello, reached the relatively remote and pagan region of Moroto in Karamoja
and in 1958 the first spiritual assembly was formed there. Conversions to the Bahá'í Faith in Uganda even reached into the prisons where Shoghi Effendi
, then head of the religion, responded to letters by encouraging the inmates to use their "stumbled" history not to become "embittered or defeated" but "determined to make it a means of purifying your natures, improving your characters, and enabling you to become better citizens in the future." The quick growth of the religion in Uganda was attributed by Bahá'ís to the sincerity of their purpose and to the demonstrated lack of racial prejudice.
in Uganda, named as the Mother Temple of Africa, is situated on Kikaya Hill on the outskirts of Kampala. At the ceremony of the laying of the foundation stone in 1958 Hands of the Cause Ruhiyyih Khanum
and Músá Banání presented material gifts for the building - some soil from the inner-most Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh
and the fortress of Maku
where the Báb
was imprisoned. The building was designed by Mason Remey
and the green dome is made of fixed mosaic tiles from Italy
, the lower roof tiles are from Belgium
, and the colored glass in the wall panels was brought from Germany
. Nine massive columns, each two feet in diameter, support the great dome, itself forty-four feet in diameter at its base; while the two roofs are supported by two sets of twenty seven slightly smaller columns. The overall height is 127 ft., the internal diameter of the building is eighty four feet and the seating capacity is over 600. The inside of the dome is painted a pale blue; the rotunda, into which are set nine enormous windows and fifty-four small windows, all filled with green, amber and pale blue glass, is painted a brilliant white, while the columns and the lower walls are painted a very pale green. All this lends itself to an effect of lightness and airiness which is intensified by the large green and amber glass-filled grilles which stand on either side of the huge mvule doors.
The fifty-acre property includes the House of Worship, extensive gardens, a guest house, and an administrative center. In 1960 the Ugandan government built an access road out to the site of the temple and a Bugandan council of ministers came to see the building. Observances of Bahá'í Holy days are held and regular services are normally held about 4 pm on Sunday afternoons. By the end of 1965 an estimated 50,000 visitors had come to the temple. Both Hands of the Cause Enoch Olinga and Músá Banání are buried near the Temple.
covered the history and description of the temple in the January 1961 issue and interviews and stories ran on the Ugandan Broadcasting service on radio. Events on site began on the 13th with a unity feast with Hands of the Cause Musa Banani, John Robarts, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir and Chairman of the regional assembly Ali Nakhkajvani and vice-chairman O]oro Epyeru giving talks. The temple was dedicated on 14th led by Hand of the Cause Ruhiyyih Khanum where there was a viewing of portraits of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. And the public inaugural service was held on the 15th. Over 1500 people attended. Among the Bahá'ís were some 225 African Bahá'ís from Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika, Ruanda Urundi, Ethiopia, Northern Rhodesia, Swaziland, and South Africa; some 90 Persian Baha'is, sixty-two of whom flew from Tehran; the British national assembly, the mother assembly to that of Central and East Africa, sent one believer from each of its regions - England, Scotland and Wales, as well as one from Ireland; the American national assembly sent one of its members, Amos Gibson, himself a pioneer among the American Indian peoples. Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga was unable to attend due to political turmoil in Cameroon Olinga was attempting to help them with. A choir, especially selected from among Kampala's singers and directed by Peter Wingard of Makerere College sang music and readings offered were from the Old and New Testaments and the Qur'an, plus a number of prayers and readings from the Bahá'í writings in Arabic, Persian, Ateso, Swahili, Acholi, Luganda and English. Following the public meeting a reception was held for representatives of the Governor and the Kabaka of Buganda
, together with the Mayor of Kampala at which Ruhiyyih Khanum shared a story that Shoghi Effendi had traveled through the region in the early 1920s. Following the dedication Ruhiyyih Khanum and chairman Nakhkajvani embarked on 15 days of visiting Bahá'ís through Uganda and Kenya including staying in their homes, dedicating two schools, ate native food, and were honored with traditional songs and dances. Khanum suggested repeatedly that the Ugandan's own folklore, their traditions and their native songs and music should not be discarded, but that in a society of unity in diversity they were to preserve and develop these as their contribution in enriching the spiritual and material life of human society as well as noting the equality of the sexes and that women should take equal part in administration of the religion.
, sixteen Auxiliary Board members, and representatives from eleven national spiritual assemblies (including those from the four African regional assemblies, those from the other national assemblies which had participated in campaign to bring the religion to sub-Saharan Africa - Britain, India, Iraq, Persia, and the United States - and those from Arabia and Japan), 450 African members, over 300 from Persia, two Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
(one from the Pacific and one from the Arctic), and others from rest of the world were present at the formal convening of the conference as well as telegrams received from many other Hands of the Cause and 34 national assemblies arrived. Reportedly every hotel room was booked. Ruhiyyih Khanum anointed most attendees with Attar of rose
before being admitted into a viewing of relics of Bahá'u'lláh as well as a reproduction of a painting of him on the first day of the conference. Viewings were also held of a large map by Shoghi Effendi showing the progress of the religion, films of Shrines and gardens from the Bahá'í World Center, as it existed then, as well as the Monument on the grave of Shoghi Effendi. Some $280,000 was raised at the conference from a segment of the attendees for donation to the progress of the religion. The foundation stone for the Mother Temple of Africa was laid and relics in silk bags made by Bahiyyih Khánum
were set in place (planned to be under the wall on that side of the Temple facing out across a grassy valley towards the Bahá'í Qiblih
.) Ruhiyyih Khanum then spent a day among the Tseo people - speaking to school groups, receiving guests, and visiting homes. She donated money for the reconstruction of a center that had been lost.
on the highly significant occasion commemorating the centennial of Bahá'u'lláh's writing of the Suriy-i-Mulúk (Tablet to the Kings), which Shoghi Effendi
describes as "the most momentous Tablet revealed by Bahá'u'lláh". After a meeting in Edirne (Adrianople), Turkey, the Hands of the Cause
travelled to the conferences, with each carrying a copy of the photograph of Bahá'ú'lláh. Hand of the Cause `Alí-Akbar Furútan conveyed this photograph to the Conference for Africa at Uganda. Ebony magazine
covered the event. Ugandan radio, television and print media covered the events related to the conference as well. Some 400 Bahá'ís from twenty-four African countries gathered. Kolonerio Oule, chairman of the National Assembly for Uganda and Central Africa, opened the conference on the first day and Hands of the Cause `Alí-Akbar Furútan and Enoch Olinga began presentations and discussions about the history of the tablets and the range of who they were made for. The next day the new national center building on the same property as the temple was dedicated - it is a circular building having a round central auditorium surrounded by a group of offices, a library, archives, publishing, guest roams and kitchen. The third day William Masehla and speaker Helen Elsie Austin
focused attention on the role of the individual in the progress of the religion. That evening a public meeting of some 500 people was held followed by a reception for 250 people; efforts had focused invitations to government personnel, clergy, educational institutions and professional communities. Roger White was a representative of the Canadian national Assembly which made a gift to the Bahá'ís of Uganda in the form of an illuminated tablet of the writings of the religion.
. In September 1961, a number of permanent Bahá'í school
s were set up—two Louis Gregory Bahá'í Schools, one in Tilling
, the home town of Olinga, and the other in Dusai. Courses emphasized homecraft and child rearing mixed with presentations on the religion and men supported women taking the courses. News of the openings was covered in Jet Magazine
. The extraordinary number of enrollments in Uganda and Kenya had reached the point in late 1959 that the institution of the Hands of the Cause were noting there were not enough Bahá'ís to keep up with the work of checking the enrollments. 1961 also saw the development of a Ugandan Bahá'í publishing trust. Olinga was able to re-visit Uganda in June, and again in August–September 1962 when he toured widely in Uganda speaking to many groups amounting to thousands of people about the religion before moving on to Kenya and Tanganyika and the Congo. As the monthly rate of growth reached into the hundreds, a goal of the Uganda Teaching Committee was of stimulating the individual assemblies and believers to assume increasing responsibility for weekend schools in their own villages so that traveling teachers could focus in other areas. In September 1962 Milton Obote
, then Prime Minister of Uganda, visited the Shrine of the Bab
. In 1963 Nakhjavani was elected to the Universal House of Justice
, the governing body of the worldwide Bahá'í community, while Olinga chaired the first Bahá'í World Congress
which announced the election to the world. By the end of 1963 there were 554 Local Spiritual Assemblies in various localities, 389 smaller Bahá'í groups, and some 200 isolated individual Bahá'ís spread across Uganda. In 1964 the regional Assemblies were re-assigned and Uganda joined with the Central African Republic
. The July 1964 issue of Uganda Argus
profiled the religion as well as a broad article about the 4 Bahá'í Houses of Worship
then in existence. One hundred thirty-two delegates and visitors assembled in Kampala, Uganda, for the 1966 convention to elect the regional national assembly of Uganda and Central Africa. Olinga was able to visit Uganda again from October to December 1967 for an extended tour of the country. Rapid expansion of the religion in the late 1960s was most particularly true in Uganda, Vietnam
and Indonesia
. The 1968 membership of the regional national assembly of Uganda and Central Africa was: Hassan Sabri, Tito Wanantsrusri, Kolonerio Oule, Elizabeth Olinga, George William Ebetu, Moses Senoga, Sospateri Isimai, Alinote Colleque, and Albert Ocnamodek. During the period of Ayyám-i-Há
1969 the Bahá'ís had a public exhibit on the religion at the Kamapala national theatre. The mayor of Kampala spoke at the opening preceding the showing of the film, "And His Name Shall Be One". The exhibit consisted of books, charts, artifacts, photographs, movies, slides, and recordings. Original Tablets, books, and excerpts written by the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and `Abdu'l-Bahá were displayed along with secondary works. Bahá'í history was illustrated in a chart depicting events from the birth of Bahá'u'lláh to the founding of the Universal House of Justice, plus displays of The Dawn-Breakers in three languages. The arts were shown in oil paintings, photographs, silverwork, and handwoven carpets and the diversity of nationalities and religious backgrounds was illustrated with photographs and slides taken during conventions, Temple dedications, and intercontinental conferences. Later that summer Ruhiyyih Khanum visited Uganda on a ten-day tour. In Kampala she was able to attend several events before driving into the countryside to visit Bahá'ís. In town events included: a reception given in her honor and that of two visiting members of the Universal House of Justice, Hushmand Fatheazam and 'Ali Nahkjavani; to deliver a public lecture in the hall of the national theater; to be interviewed for a full half hour on Radio Uganda on the "Guest of the Week" program; and attend a wedding at the temple along with fellow Hands of the Cause Enoch Olinga and Músá Bánaní before going on to Ethiopia and other countries on a four month tour. She returned at the end of the tour for a few days of low key meetings with Bahá'ís before her final departure.
won an Award of Merit for helping in the establishment of the Tororo
Girls School which was transitioned to administration by the Ugandan government. Enoch Olinga's daughter Florence began attending the Tororo school in 1972 while other youth began making trips to various communities in support of Bahá'í activities. In 1973 Enoch Olinga and his wife both spoke at the Tororo School while the school also had visits from other leaders of the religion. In 1975-6 the Olingas toured parts of Uganda as well as having talks with government officials on the teachings of the religion with some of their travels covered by announcements by radio. Meanwhile a public exhibit on the religion was held at the national museum which was covered by the now renamed Voice of Uganda
national newsletter as well as examine Bahá'í teachings. 1975 was the silver anniversary of the religion in Uganda and a celebration, commemorating it was concluded with a program in observance of United Nations Day
and a reception of high ranking official guests from other Ghana and the UN, and members of the religion who had come from some villages. In 1976 Zylpha Mapp-Robinson, the daughter of the first African-American woman Bahá'í, who had pioneered in many places and who lived in Uganda nine years, was elected to the national spiritual assembly of Uganda in 1976. In June 1977 a small conference of leaders of the religion including the Olingas was held to discuss the progress of the growth of the religion. It was unusual in that even though just 52, 13 of whom were youth, were at the meeting, they received a message from the Universal House of Justice. Enoch Olinga reminded the group that Shoghi Effendi had called the Ugandan community the spiritual heart of Africa. In September the administrative institutions of the religion had been disbanded by the government along with over two dozen other groups. Soon the Uganda-Tanzania War
broke out in 1978 and President Amin was overthrown by early 1979.
, 1974; Mali
1976; Uganda
1977; Congo
, 1978; Niger
, 1978. Uganda had had the largest Bahá'í community in Africa at the time and Olinga had returned and sought the protection of the community during this difficult time when Idi Amin
's regime ruled Uganda. See also Uganda under Idi Amin.
It was a period of violence from 1978. In March 1979 the Olinga home was robbed though the temple was undisturbed and there was a suspicious accident where Olinga's car was rammed and forced down a hill by a troop transport vehicle, where he was robbed and left for dead, and Olinga's son George was disappeared for a week by soldiers of Amin. Death threats perhaps simply because of his prominence came to Olinga from his home town. Meanwhile after President Amin fled in April the religion began to re-organize - there was the re-opening of the Bahá'í House of Worship again, and the beginning of reforming the national assembly in August. Neighbors and a garden servant boy bore witness mostly by hearing events of the execution of the Olinga family. On the evening of Sunday, September 16, 1979, the birthday of one of Olinga's daughters and planned as a day of a family reunion of which a few could not arrive in time, after 8pm local time five soldiers entered Olinga's home while one stood guard at the household gate and killed Olinga, his wife, and three of their five children. Trails of blood went from the kitchen to the back of the house and one of the children had been hurt and roughly bandaged before the family was executed. Enoch himself was killed out in the yard where he had been heard weeping after perhaps witnessing his dead family in the very same house he had joined the religion in. The news was conveyed initially by the garden servant to a member of the national committee that had been appointed and then to a 79 year old pioneer, Claire Gung, who called internationally. Ultimately news reached the Universal House of Justice while it sat in session on the 17th. All the dead were buried in the Bahá'í cemetery on the temple grounds on the 25th while civil war and terrorism continued. The funeral included hundreds of Bahá'ís who could make the trip and several members of the government of Uganda.
After the Uganda-Tanzania War
and when the ban on the religion was rescinded, Ugandan Bahá'ís re-formed their National Spiritual Assembly in 1981, though the Ugandan Bush War
dragged on. In 1982 the two primary schools the Bahá'ís had founded in 1961 were again under Bahá'í administration by February 1982. More than 200 Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís gathered in 1983 to celebrate children and a kindergarten multi-racial nursery school established by Claire Gung and Rex Collison died in June 1983. Instances of hundreds of people joining the religion recurred in 1984. In about February 1985 George Olinga and Benson Kariuki gave a talk at one the primary schools about the religion about the institutions of the religion and Claire Gung died while the nursery she established was assumed by the national assembly and funds were allotted for the renovation of the primary schools. In 1986-7 Dwight W. Allen returned to Uganda and was the project coordinator for the Donors' Conference for the rehabilitation of Makerere University
. In 1988 the community held a children's conference and was visible in a number of public events including a preferential trade exhibition at which various governmental leaders visited.
from Swaziland traveled through six southern and eastern African countries including Uganda training local people in the manufacture of several kinds of fence-making machines and other technologies in building, agriculture and water programs. The 10-day training courses were organized by the National Spiritual Assemblies in each of the six countries. In 1989 a Bahá'í Club was organized for Makerere University
composed of Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís while the national assembly invited members of the Department of Religious Studies at Makerere University to the Bahá'í House of Worship to familiarize staff with the religion, its institutions and how they function to contextualize the interaction between the agencies of the religion and the university while it implemented two new courses designed and taught by a Bahá'í, Dr. Tim Rost, on "Peace and Justice" and another on "Religion and Development." At the same time Bahá'í women of Mbale
took part in events organized by the National Council on Women by a multicultural children's program emphasizing good neighborliness and handicrafts of women - government administrators observed that Bahá'ís had several programs advancing diverse issues in Uganda. In 1990 the Bahá'í Office of Social and Economic Development in Uganda established a project to train healthcare field workers for work in Uganda. In 1993 the national assembly added a project to develop a middle-level management training program for community level primary health care workers. The focus was on prevention of childhood diseases, maternal-infant health care, and community building. Later, the Uganda Bahá'í Institute for Development set up a project introducing use of the latrine, immunization, and nets to fight off malaria-bearing mosquitoes, and people learned the importance of clean water in a Ugandan village. In 2000, the Bahá'ís of Uganda shared their activities in the areas of education, family health, moral training for children, publishing, and collaboration with other non-governmental organizations at a national United Nations Day
celebration held at the Muguluka Primary School near Jinja
. After receiving her Ph.D. at age 78, Zylpha Mapp-Robinson returned to Uganda at age 86 in the year 2000 to create the Ugandan Institution for the advancement of Women. In 2002 a National Conference in Guyana
on "Spiritual Approach to the Challenge of HIV/AIDS" sponsored by the Varqa Foundation, UNICEF, & Bahá'í International Community
highlighted experiences in Uganda dealing with the AIDS
epidemic by including the role of the spiritual training of children on virtues like humility, reverence, kindliness, respect and courtesy, and unity in diversity so that they would lead moral lives and overcome not only AIDS but alcohol and drug abuse, violence, crime, prejudice, hatred, intolerance and poverty. In 2004 the Bahá'í based Uganda Program of Literacy for Transformation helped participants acquire the skills, knowledge, and incentive for a “lifelong self-improvement plan” — coupled with an emphasis on moral education and inter-religious harmony.
The Ugandan Bahá'í community has also encouraged the practice of the arts. Eighteen youth from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia
, and Tanzania
joined together to form Youth in Motion, a Bahá'í Workshop (see Oscar DeGruy
) aimed at expressing the message brought by Bahá'u'lláh
. The group traveled for four months, performing before a total of more than 50,000 people in three countries. In 1998 Bahá'í Margaret Nagawa held a showing at the Ugandan National Museum, and award winning Bahá'í Edel'Akongu Ekodelele Eyperu died in 2002.
In 2001 a week-long celebration featuring a statement by Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, some 2000 of the Ugandan Baha'i community commemorated the 50th anniversary of its founding.
The Bahá'ís of Uganda have continued to be involved in social issues; in 2007 a movie on development issues in Uganda was produced by the Bahá'ís named "Opening a Space - The Discourse on Science, Religion and Development in Uganda" and on 25 November 2007 the Bahá'í House of Worship was a rallying point on for the "Speak out! Stand out!" campaign on preventing violence against women. Bahá'í delegates from Uganda and 14 other countries convened in New York from February 23 – March 7 for the 52nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2008.
Ugandan Bahá'ís have also participated in recent international Bahá'í events. Ugandan youth were among the 149 assembled at the National Bahá’í Center in Burundi
in August 2006. In 2007 Bahá'ís in Entebbe
helped organize World Religion Day commemorations. In 2008 one of the delegates from Uganda was one of the 19 tellers who counted the secret ballots for the election of the Universal House of Justice.
Pioneering (Bahá'í)
A pioneer is a volunteer Bahá'í who leaves his or her home to journey to another place for the purpose of teaching the Bahá'í Faith. The act of so moving is termed pioneering. Bahá'ís refrain from using the term "missionary"...
to other African locations. Following the reign of Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
when the Bahá'í Faith was banned and the murder of Bahá'í Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga was born to an Anglican family of the Iteso ethnic group in Uganda. He became a Bahá'í, earned the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh and was appointed as the youngest Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the religion. He served the interests of the religion widely and...
and his family, the community continues to grow though estimates of the population range widely from 19,000 to 105,000 and the community's involvements have included diverse efforts to promote the welfare of the Ugandan people. The Association of Religion Data Archives
Association of religion data archives
The Association of Religion Data Archives is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. Founded as the American Religion Data Archive in 1997, and online since 1998, the archive was initially targeted at researchers interested in American religion...
(relying on World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia
World Christian Encyclopedia is a reference work published by Oxford University Press, known for providing membership statistics for major and minor world religions in every country of the world, including historical data and projections of future populations.The first edition, by David B. Barrett,...
) estimated about 78500.
Early phase
Particular plans to bring the religion to Uganda began in 1950 involving the cooperation of American, British, EgyptianBahá'í Faith in Egypt
The Bahá'í Faith in Egypt has a history over a century old. Perhaps the first Bahá'ís arrive in 1863. Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the religion, was himself briefly in Egypt in 1868 when on his way to imprisonment in `Akká. The first Egyptians were converts by 1896...
, and Persian Bahá'í communities and reached a level of coordination and detail that materials were translated into languages widely used in Africa before pioneers reached Africa. On August 3, 1951 Mr. and Mrs. Músá Banání, Mrs. Violette and Mr. Ali Nakhjavani
Ali Nakhjavani
Alí-Yulláh Nakhjavání served as a member of the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá'í Faith, between 1963 and 2003....
, of Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, with their baby daughter Bahiyyih
Bahiyyih Nakhjavani
Bahiyyih Nakhjavani is a Persian writer who grew up in Uganda and was educated in the United Kingdom and the United States. She now lives in France where she teaches. She taught European and American literature in Belgium....
, and Mr. Philip Hainsworth arrived in Kampala
Kampala
Kampala is the largest city and capital of Uganda. The city is divided into five boroughs that oversee local planning: Kampala Central Division, Kawempe Division, Makindye Division, Nakawa Division and Lubaga Division. The city is coterminous with Kampala District.-History: of Buganda, had chosen...
. Banání was an adult convert to the religion during World War I from a Jewish background. After receiving the news that Hand of the Cause Louis George Gregory
Louis George Gregory
Louis George Gregory was a prominent member of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1951 he was posthumously appointed a Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith, by Shoghi Effendi.-Early years:He was born on June 6, 1874 to African-American parents liberated during the Civil War...
— Hands of the Cause
Hands of the Cause
The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...
are a select group of Bahá'ís who achieved a distinguished rank in service to the religion — had died previously on July 31, a commemorative meeting for Gregory was held in Kampala at which the five pioneers and Marguerite Preston (from Kenya
Bahá'í Faith in Kenya
The Bahá'í Faith in Kenya begins with three individuals. First Richard St. Barbe Baker took a constructive engagement with the indigenous religion of Kenyans to a United Kingdom conference on religions where in sympathy with his efforts he was presented with the Bahá'í Faith and became a convert...
) were joined by twelve Africans. In October an observance of the birth of the Báb
Báb
Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
was the first to be held in the home of a Buganda
Buganda
Buganda is a subnational kingdom within Uganda. The kingdom of the Ganda people, Buganda is the largest of the traditional kingdoms in present-day Uganda, comprising all of Uganda's Central Region, including the Ugandan capital Kampala, with the exception of the disputed eastern Kayunga District...
n citizen of Uganda, with prayers said in Luganda. In December, the first two native Ugandans had converted to the Bahá'í Faith — Fred Bigabwa (Mutoro tribe) and Chrispin Kajubi (Muganda tribe). While Banání was on pilgrimage War War II veteran Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga
Enoch Olinga was born to an Anglican family of the Iteso ethnic group in Uganda. He became a Bahá'í, earned the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh and was appointed as the youngest Hand of the Cause, the highest appointed position in the religion. He served the interests of the religion widely and...
(of Iteso tribe) who had been attending classes taught by Nakhjavani in Kampala was the third Ugandan to become a Bahá'í and swore off alcohol though his alcoholism
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...
had already cost him his government job.
`Alí-Akbar Furútan
`Alí-Akbar Furútan was a prominent Iranian Bahá'í educator and author who was given the rank of Hand of the Cause in 1951....
, Ugo Giachery
Ugo Giachery
Ugo Giachery was a prominent Italian Bahá'í from an aristocratic family from Palermo. At an anniversary of the founding of the spiritual assembly of Perugia Giachery told the story of how, as a young wounded soldier, still ignorant of the Bahá'í Faith, he was in Perugia in 1916...
, Hermann Grossman, `Alí-Muhammad Varqá
`Alí-Muhammad Varqá
`Alí-Muhammad Varqá was a prominent adherent of the Bahá'í Faith. He was the longest surviving Hand of the Cause of God, an appointed position in the Bahá'í Faith whose main function is to propagate and protect the religion on the international level.Varqá was born in 1911 in Tehran, Iran to a...
, George Townshend
George Townshend (Bahá'í)
George Townshend was born in Ireland and was a well-known writer, clergyman before his conversion to the Bahá'í Faith in which he became a Hand of the Cause.-Early accomplishments:...
, and Dhikru'llah Khadem
Dhikru'llah Khadem
Dhikru'llah Khadem was a prominent follower of the Bahá'í Faith, and was appointed by Shoghi Effendi to be a Hand of the Cause in 1952....
giving a wide variety of talks and classes across 7 days opened with a message from Shoghi Effendi read by Hand of the Cause Leroy Ioas
Leroy Ioas
Leroy C Ioas was a Hand of the Cause of the Bahá'í Faith. His parents declared themselves Bahá'ís in 1898 and took Ioas to meet `Abdu'l-Bahá during the latter’s travels in the United States in 1912...
. By April nine more assemblies were elected among a community of over two hundred ninety members of the religion, residing in twenty-five localities, and representative of twenty tribes. In June 1953 the American pioneers Mr. and Mrs. Rex Collison moved to Ruanda-Urundi
Ruanda-Urundi
Ruanda-Urundi was a Belgian suzerainty from 1916 to 1924, a League of Nations Class B Mandate from 1924 to 1945 and then a United Nations trust territory until 1962, when it became the independent states of Rwanda and Burundi.- Overview :...
from Kampala. In October 1953 Olinga went on to Cameroon
Bahá'í Faith in Cameroon
The Bahá'í Faith in Cameroon was established when the country was separated into two colonies - British and French Cameroon. The first Bahá'í in Cameroon was Enoch Olinga, who had left his homeland of Uganda to bring the religion to British Cameroon in 1953...
and was honoured with the title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh.
Developing community
William Sears (Bahá'í)
William Sears was a Hand of the Cause of God, writer and a popular television and radio personality. In 2010, he was honored at the Dawn Breakers International Film Festival for achieving excellence as a professional media personality.-Personal life:Sears was married twice and had two children...
arrived in September 1953 visiting from Johannesburg for an extended stay into October giving many classes and traveling to many villages. It was also during this time the first pioneer from Uganda went to Mwanza
Mwanza
Mwanza is a mid-sized port city on the southern shores of Lake Victoria in northwestern Tanzania. With an urban population of 1.2 million and a metropolitan population of 2 million, it is Tanzania's second largest city, following Dar es Salaam and ahead of other major Tanzanian cities of Arusha,...
, Tanganyika. In 1954 Uganda had 500 Bahá'ís in 80 localities, including 13 Local Spiritual Assemblies, representing 30 tribes, and had dispatched 9 pioneers to other African locations. In 1955 there were over 800 Bahá'ís having just added seventeen assemblies. In 1956 Olinga was elected as Chairman of the North West regional Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly and the Ugandan Bahá'í community came under the newly formed regional National Spiritual Assembly of Central & Eastern Africa, of which Nakhjavani was the Chairman and the Ugandan community alone topped 1000 members. The other members of the regional assembly over Uganda were Philip Hainsworth, Hassan Sabri, Oloro Epyeruj, Aziz Yazdi, Jalal Nakhjavani, Tito Wanantsusit, Sylvester Okurut, and Max Kenyerezi. In early 1957 Olinga attended the laying of the foundation stone of the first Bahá'í House of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
of Africa (which was in Uganda) and in the fall he was appointed a Hand of the Cause and Knight of Bahá'u'lláh
Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
The title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh was given by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade....
Clare Gung, formerly of Germany, moved from Tanganyika to Uganda where she founded a multi-racial kindergarten nursery. Systems were initiated to deal with the rate of growth of the religion - weekend Bahá'í schools were set up for any Bahá'í who could attend and individuals who were judged to have a substantial understanding of the religion and were able to travel were selected for training as presenters who would then travel locally in their area to make presentations on many of the same themes. By the summer of 1957 13 weekend schools had been held. It was believed these schools lended impetus to the continued growth of the religion in the area by empowering local members of the religion and the schools were repeated in 1958. And the same year regional and local assemblies were registered with the civil government. In 1957 a lone Bahá'í, a member of the Tesa, Yokolamu Okello, reached the relatively remote and pagan region of Moroto in Karamoja
Karamoja
Karamoja sub-region, commonly known as Karamoja, is a region in Northern Uganda.-Location:The subregion, is located in northeastern Uganda and comprises the following seven districts:* Abim District* Amudat District* Kaabong District...
and in 1958 the first spiritual assembly was formed there. Conversions to the Bahá'í Faith in Uganda even reached into the prisons where Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
, then head of the religion, responded to letters by encouraging the inmates to use their "stumbled" history not to become "embittered or defeated" but "determined to make it a means of purifying your natures, improving your characters, and enabling you to become better citizens in the future." The quick growth of the religion in Uganda was attributed by Bahá'ís to the sincerity of their purpose and to the demonstrated lack of racial prejudice.
House of Worship
In 1958 the land for the temple had to be bought in the name of three African Ugandan Bahá'ís rather than an institution directly foreign or domestic. These Bahá'ís were Joseph Mbogo, Erisha Kiwanuka and Max Kanyerezi who held the land in trust. The Bahá'í House of WorshipBahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
in Uganda, named as the Mother Temple of Africa, is situated on Kikaya Hill on the outskirts of Kampala. At the ceremony of the laying of the foundation stone in 1958 Hands of the Cause Ruhiyyih Khanum
Rúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
and Músá Banání presented material gifts for the building - some soil from the inner-most Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh
Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh
The Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, located in Bahjí near Acre, Israel, is the most holy place for Bahá'ís and represents their Qiblih, or direction of prayer...
and the fortress of Maku
Maku, Iran
Maku is a city in the West Azerbaijan Province, Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 41,865, in 10,428 families.It is situated from the Turkish border in a mountain gorge at an altitude of 1634 metres. The Zangmar River cuts through the city. The common languages in Maku are Kurdish and...
where the Báb
Báb
Siyyid `Alí Muḥammad Shírází was the founder of Bábism, and one of three central figures of the Bahá'í Faith. He was a merchant from Shíráz, Persia, who at the age of twenty-four claimed to be the promised Qá'im . After his declaration he took the title of Báb meaning "Gate"...
was imprisoned. The building was designed by Mason Remey
Mason Remey
Charles Mason Remey was a prominent and controversial American Bahá'í who was appointed in 1951 a Hand of the Cause, and president of the International Bahá'í Council...
and the green dome is made of fixed mosaic tiles from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, the lower roof tiles are from Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, and the colored glass in the wall panels was brought from Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Nine massive columns, each two feet in diameter, support the great dome, itself forty-four feet in diameter at its base; while the two roofs are supported by two sets of twenty seven slightly smaller columns. The overall height is 127 ft., the internal diameter of the building is eighty four feet and the seating capacity is over 600. The inside of the dome is painted a pale blue; the rotunda, into which are set nine enormous windows and fifty-four small windows, all filled with green, amber and pale blue glass, is painted a brilliant white, while the columns and the lower walls are painted a very pale green. All this lends itself to an effect of lightness and airiness which is intensified by the large green and amber glass-filled grilles which stand on either side of the huge mvule doors.
The fifty-acre property includes the House of Worship, extensive gardens, a guest house, and an administrative center. In 1960 the Ugandan government built an access road out to the site of the temple and a Bugandan council of ministers came to see the building. Observances of Bahá'í Holy days are held and regular services are normally held about 4 pm on Sunday afternoons. By the end of 1965 an estimated 50,000 visitors had come to the temple. Both Hands of the Cause Enoch Olinga and Músá Banání are buried near the Temple.
Dedication
Festivities associated with the opening of the temple were wide ranging through early 1961. The Ugandan government publication Uganda ArgusNew Vision
New Vision is one of two main national newspapers in Uganda.-History:It was established in its current form in 1986 by the Ugandan Government. New Vision is broadly sympathetic to the government of President Yoweri Museveni. It was founded in 1955 as the Uganda Argus, a British colonial government...
covered the history and description of the temple in the January 1961 issue and interviews and stories ran on the Ugandan Broadcasting service on radio. Events on site began on the 13th with a unity feast with Hands of the Cause Musa Banani, John Robarts, Rahmatu'lláh Muhájir and Chairman of the regional assembly Ali Nakhkajvani and vice-chairman O]oro Epyeru giving talks. The temple was dedicated on 14th led by Hand of the Cause Ruhiyyih Khanum where there was a viewing of portraits of the Báb and Bahá'u'lláh. And the public inaugural service was held on the 15th. Over 1500 people attended. Among the Bahá'ís were some 225 African Bahá'ís from Uganda, Kenya, Tanganyika, Ruanda Urundi, Ethiopia, Northern Rhodesia, Swaziland, and South Africa; some 90 Persian Baha'is, sixty-two of whom flew from Tehran; the British national assembly, the mother assembly to that of Central and East Africa, sent one believer from each of its regions - England, Scotland and Wales, as well as one from Ireland; the American national assembly sent one of its members, Amos Gibson, himself a pioneer among the American Indian peoples. Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga was unable to attend due to political turmoil in Cameroon Olinga was attempting to help them with. A choir, especially selected from among Kampala's singers and directed by Peter Wingard of Makerere College sang music and readings offered were from the Old and New Testaments and the Qur'an, plus a number of prayers and readings from the Bahá'í writings in Arabic, Persian, Ateso, Swahili, Acholi, Luganda and English. Following the public meeting a reception was held for representatives of the Governor and the Kabaka of Buganda
Kabaka of Buganda
Kabaka is the title of the king of the Kingdom of Buganda. According to the traditions of the Baganda they are ruled by two kings, one spiritual and the other material....
, together with the Mayor of Kampala at which Ruhiyyih Khanum shared a story that Shoghi Effendi had traveled through the region in the early 1920s. Following the dedication Ruhiyyih Khanum and chairman Nakhkajvani embarked on 15 days of visiting Bahá'ís through Uganda and Kenya including staying in their homes, dedicating two schools, ate native food, and were honored with traditional songs and dances. Khanum suggested repeatedly that the Ugandan's own folklore, their traditions and their native songs and music should not be discarded, but that in a society of unity in diversity they were to preserve and develop these as their contribution in enriching the spiritual and material life of human society as well as noting the equality of the sexes and that women should take equal part in administration of the religion.
First conference
In January 1958, soon after the death of Shoghi Effendi in November, another intercontinental conference was held in Kampala and attended by his widow Ruhiyyih Khanum. Though sorrowful at his death, there was a call to service in honor of his service. The conference had been initially planned for less than 400 attendees and was overwhelmed as news of over 300 Persians alone were coming. Ultimately some 950 Bahá'ís, six Hands of the Cause, a member of the International Bahá'í CouncilInternational Bahá'í Council
The International Bahá'í Council was an administrative institution of the Bahá'í Faith, first created in 1951 as a precursor to the Universal House of Justice, which replaced it in 1963.-Formation:...
, sixteen Auxiliary Board members, and representatives from eleven national spiritual assemblies (including those from the four African regional assemblies, those from the other national assemblies which had participated in campaign to bring the religion to sub-Saharan Africa - Britain, India, Iraq, Persia, and the United States - and those from Arabia and Japan), 450 African members, over 300 from Persia, two Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
Knights of Bahá'u'lláh
The title Knight of Bahá'u'lláh was given by Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to Bahá'ís who arose to open new territories to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade....
(one from the Pacific and one from the Arctic), and others from rest of the world were present at the formal convening of the conference as well as telegrams received from many other Hands of the Cause and 34 national assemblies arrived. Reportedly every hotel room was booked. Ruhiyyih Khanum anointed most attendees with Attar of rose
Rose oil
Rose oil, meaning either rose otto or rose absolute, is the essential oil extracted from the petals of various types of rose...
before being admitted into a viewing of relics of Bahá'u'lláh as well as a reproduction of a painting of him on the first day of the conference. Viewings were also held of a large map by Shoghi Effendi showing the progress of the religion, films of Shrines and gardens from the Bahá'í World Center, as it existed then, as well as the Monument on the grave of Shoghi Effendi. Some $280,000 was raised at the conference from a segment of the attendees for donation to the progress of the religion. The foundation stone for the Mother Temple of Africa was laid and relics in silk bags made by Bahiyyih Khánum
Bahiyyih Khánum
Bahíyyih Khánum the only daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greatest Holy Leaf"...
were set in place (planned to be under the wall on that side of the Temple facing out across a grassy valley towards the Bahá'í Qiblih
Qiblih
In the Bahá'í Faith the Qiblih is the location that Bahá'ís should face when saying their daily obligatory prayers, and is fixed at the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh, near `Akká, in present day Israel; approximately at ....
.) Ruhiyyih Khanum then spent a day among the Tseo people - speaking to school groups, receiving guests, and visiting homes. She donated money for the reconstruction of a center that had been lost.
Second Conference
Six conferences held in October 1967 around the world presented a viewing of a copy of the photograph of Bahá'u'lláhBahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
on the highly significant occasion commemorating the centennial of Bahá'u'lláh's writing of the Suriy-i-Mulúk (Tablet to the Kings), which Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
describes as "the most momentous Tablet revealed by Bahá'u'lláh". After a meeting in Edirne (Adrianople), Turkey, the Hands of the Cause
Hands of the Cause
The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...
travelled to the conferences, with each carrying a copy of the photograph of Bahá'ú'lláh. Hand of the Cause `Alí-Akbar Furútan conveyed this photograph to the Conference for Africa at Uganda. Ebony magazine
Ebony (magazine)
Ebony, a monthly magazine for the African-American market, was founded by John H. Johnson and has published continuously since the autumn of 1945...
covered the event. Ugandan radio, television and print media covered the events related to the conference as well. Some 400 Bahá'ís from twenty-four African countries gathered. Kolonerio Oule, chairman of the National Assembly for Uganda and Central Africa, opened the conference on the first day and Hands of the Cause `Alí-Akbar Furútan and Enoch Olinga began presentations and discussions about the history of the tablets and the range of who they were made for. The next day the new national center building on the same property as the temple was dedicated - it is a circular building having a round central auditorium surrounded by a group of offices, a library, archives, publishing, guest roams and kitchen. The third day William Masehla and speaker Helen Elsie Austin
Helen Elsie Austin
Helen Elsie Austin was an attorney, US Foreign Service Officer, and member of the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assemblies in the United States and North West Africa. She was among the first African Americans admitted to the practice of law in the United States.-Personal life:Austin was born in Alabama...
focused attention on the role of the individual in the progress of the religion. That evening a public meeting of some 500 people was held followed by a reception for 250 people; efforts had focused invitations to government personnel, clergy, educational institutions and professional communities. Roger White was a representative of the Canadian national Assembly which made a gift to the Bahá'ís of Uganda in the form of an illuminated tablet of the writings of the religion.
Other developments
It was in 1958 that the Bahá'ís of Kampala contracted to reserve a segment of a cemetery for use by Bahá'ís. Weekend schools begun in 1958 continued through 1960 though classes now used chapters from Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era by John EsslemontJohn Esslemont
John Ebenezer Esslemont M.B., Ch.B. , was a prominent British Bahá'í from Scotland. He was the author of the well-known introductory book on the Bahá'í Faith, Bahá'u'lláh and the New Era, which is still in circulation. He was named posthumously by Shoghi Effendi as the first Hand of the Cause he...
. In September 1961, a number of permanent Bahá'í school
Bahá'í school
A Bahá'í school at its simplest would be a school run officially by the Bahá'í institutions in its jurisdiction and may be a local class or set of classes, normally run weekly where children get together to study about Bahá'í teachings, Bahá'í central figures, or Bahá'í administration...
s were set up—two Louis Gregory Bahá'í Schools, one in Tilling
Tilling
Tilling can mean:* Tilling * TILLING * Tilling is a fictional town in the Mapp and Lucia novels of E. F. Benson....
, the home town of Olinga, and the other in Dusai. Courses emphasized homecraft and child rearing mixed with presentations on the religion and men supported women taking the courses. News of the openings was covered in Jet Magazine
Jet (magazine)
Jet is an American weekly marketed toward African-American readers, founded in 1951 by John H. Johnson of Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois...
. The extraordinary number of enrollments in Uganda and Kenya had reached the point in late 1959 that the institution of the Hands of the Cause were noting there were not enough Bahá'ís to keep up with the work of checking the enrollments. 1961 also saw the development of a Ugandan Bahá'í publishing trust. Olinga was able to re-visit Uganda in June, and again in August–September 1962 when he toured widely in Uganda speaking to many groups amounting to thousands of people about the religion before moving on to Kenya and Tanganyika and the Congo. As the monthly rate of growth reached into the hundreds, a goal of the Uganda Teaching Committee was of stimulating the individual assemblies and believers to assume increasing responsibility for weekend schools in their own villages so that traveling teachers could focus in other areas. In September 1962 Milton Obote
Milton Obote
Apolo Milton Obote , Prime Minister of Uganda from 1962 to 1966 and President of Uganda from 1966 to 1971, then again from 1980 to 1985. He was a Ugandan political leader who led Uganda towards independence from the British colonial administration in 1962.He was overthrown by Idi Amin in 1971, but...
, then Prime Minister of Uganda, visited the Shrine of the Bab
Shrine of the Báb
The Shrine of the Báb is a structure in Haifa, Israel where the remains of the Báb, founder of Bábism and forerunner of Bahá'u'lláh in the Bahá'í Faith, have been laid to rest; it is considered to be the second holiest place on Earth for Bahá'ís, after the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh in Acre...
. In 1963 Nakhjavani was elected to the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
, the governing body of the worldwide Bahá'í community, while Olinga chaired the first Bahá'í World Congress
Bahá'í World Congress
The Bahá'í World Congress is a large gathering of Bahá'ís from across the world that is called irregularly by the Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Bahá'ís...
which announced the election to the world. By the end of 1963 there were 554 Local Spiritual Assemblies in various localities, 389 smaller Bahá'í groups, and some 200 isolated individual Bahá'ís spread across Uganda. In 1964 the regional Assemblies were re-assigned and Uganda joined with the Central African Republic
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic , is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It borders Chad in the north, Sudan in the north east, South Sudan in the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo in the south, and Cameroon in the west. The CAR covers a land area of about ,...
. The July 1964 issue of Uganda Argus
New Vision
New Vision is one of two main national newspapers in Uganda.-History:It was established in its current form in 1986 by the Ugandan Government. New Vision is broadly sympathetic to the government of President Yoweri Museveni. It was founded in 1955 as the Uganda Argus, a British colonial government...
profiled the religion as well as a broad article about the 4 Bahá'í Houses of Worship
Bahá'í House of Worship
A Bahá'í House of Worship, sometimes referred to by its Arabic name of Mashriqu'l-Adhkár ,is the designation of a place of worship, or temple, of the Bahá'í Faith...
then in existence. One hundred thirty-two delegates and visitors assembled in Kampala, Uganda, for the 1966 convention to elect the regional national assembly of Uganda and Central Africa. Olinga was able to visit Uganda again from October to December 1967 for an extended tour of the country. Rapid expansion of the religion in the late 1960s was most particularly true in Uganda, Vietnam
Bahá'í Faith in Vietnam
The Bahá'í Faith in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam started in a late phase of the First Indochina War. The history of the development of the Bahá'í Faith in Vietnam would begin with its arrival out of India more than a century after its founding in Persia...
and Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. The 1968 membership of the regional national assembly of Uganda and Central Africa was: Hassan Sabri, Tito Wanantsrusri, Kolonerio Oule, Elizabeth Olinga, George William Ebetu, Moses Senoga, Sospateri Isimai, Alinote Colleque, and Albert Ocnamodek. During the period of Ayyám-i-Há
Ayyám-i-Há
Ayyám-i-Há refers to a period of four or five intercalary days in the Bahá'í calendar, where Bahá'ís celebrate the Festival of Ayyám-i-Há...
1969 the Bahá'ís had a public exhibit on the religion at the Kamapala national theatre. The mayor of Kampala spoke at the opening preceding the showing of the film, "And His Name Shall Be One". The exhibit consisted of books, charts, artifacts, photographs, movies, slides, and recordings. Original Tablets, books, and excerpts written by the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and `Abdu'l-Bahá were displayed along with secondary works. Bahá'í history was illustrated in a chart depicting events from the birth of Bahá'u'lláh to the founding of the Universal House of Justice, plus displays of The Dawn-Breakers in three languages. The arts were shown in oil paintings, photographs, silverwork, and handwoven carpets and the diversity of nationalities and religious backgrounds was illustrated with photographs and slides taken during conventions, Temple dedications, and intercontinental conferences. Later that summer Ruhiyyih Khanum visited Uganda on a ten-day tour. In Kampala she was able to attend several events before driving into the countryside to visit Bahá'ís. In town events included: a reception given in her honor and that of two visiting members of the Universal House of Justice, Hushmand Fatheazam and 'Ali Nahkjavani; to deliver a public lecture in the hall of the national theater; to be interviewed for a full half hour on Radio Uganda on the "Guest of the Week" program; and attend a wedding at the temple along with fellow Hands of the Cause Enoch Olinga and Músá Bánaní before going on to Ethiopia and other countries on a four month tour. She returned at the end of the tour for a few days of low key meetings with Bahá'ís before her final departure.
Momentous changes approaching
In 1970 Mary Collison died - together Mary and Reginald Collison had spent their last years as caretakers of the temple. That summer Ugandan Bahá'ís held their first national youth conference and elected a national assembly just for Uganda - the first members were: Enos Epyeru, Javan Gutosi, S. M. lsimai, Moses Senoga, Julias Nambafu, Augustin Massati, Augustin Naku, and Albert Ocamodek. On the Presidency of Idi Amin in August, the Bahá'ís were among those invited to a meeting with the President. At the meeting the Bahá'ís offered a statement outlining the basic principle of the religion of obedience to government. At a follow-up meeting, Enoch Olinga represented the community at the close of a number of sessions of Religious Conferences that took place across Uganda. Soon afterwards, Músá Banání died in September after suffering a long illness and was buried on grounds of the temple in a new Bahá'í cemetery. The funeral gathered together three Hands of the Cause: Enoch Olinga, A. Q. Faizi, Ruhiyyih Khanum; a member of The Universal House of Justice, Ali Nakbjavani, Violette Nakhjavani and their daughter, Bahiyyih, whose wedding took place two years ago in Kampala to Paul Adams many other Bahá'í leaders from across Africa as well as six members of the National Spiritual Assembly of Uganda; and many other Baha'is from all over Uganda and other parts of Africa. Pioneers like Zylpha Mapp served development interests in Uganda in 1971-2 while working as a director of guidance at the Tororo Girl's School. She was on a leave of absence from the public school system from her work in the States, and was cooperating with the Uganda Ministry of Education in developing a guidance program in other schools of the nation while also began editing the Ugandan National Baha'i Newsletter. Later in 1971 then President Amin attended the celebration of the birth of Bahá'u'lláh and made complimentary remarks about the religion. These and others worked with university researchers on mental health issues as well. Efforts inside the community included noting the importance of Bahá'í elections as part of a world wide initiative called for by the Universal House of Justice. Other projects in 1971-2 for Uganda included beautification of the cemetery, spreading the religion, and multiple youth gatherings. In 1972 Bahá'í Dwight W. AllenDwight W. Allen
Dr. Dwight W. Allen is a professor of education, eminent scholar, and lifelong education reformist. He served as a professor and Director of Teacher Education at his alma mater, the Stanford University School of Education from 1959 to 1967. He was Dean of the College of Education, UMASS, Amherst,...
won an Award of Merit for helping in the establishment of the Tororo
Tororo
Tororo is a town in Eastern Uganda. It is the main municipal, administrative and commercial center of Tororo District. The district was named after the town.-Location:...
Girls School which was transitioned to administration by the Ugandan government. Enoch Olinga's daughter Florence began attending the Tororo school in 1972 while other youth began making trips to various communities in support of Bahá'í activities. In 1973 Enoch Olinga and his wife both spoke at the Tororo School while the school also had visits from other leaders of the religion. In 1975-6 the Olingas toured parts of Uganda as well as having talks with government officials on the teachings of the religion with some of their travels covered by announcements by radio. Meanwhile a public exhibit on the religion was held at the national museum which was covered by the now renamed Voice of Uganda
New Vision
New Vision is one of two main national newspapers in Uganda.-History:It was established in its current form in 1986 by the Ugandan Government. New Vision is broadly sympathetic to the government of President Yoweri Museveni. It was founded in 1955 as the Uganda Argus, a British colonial government...
national newsletter as well as examine Bahá'í teachings. 1975 was the silver anniversary of the religion in Uganda and a celebration, commemorating it was concluded with a program in observance of United Nations Day
United Nations Day
In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, as which "shall be devoted to making known to the peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for" its work.In 1971 the...
and a reception of high ranking official guests from other Ghana and the UN, and members of the religion who had come from some villages. In 1976 Zylpha Mapp-Robinson, the daughter of the first African-American woman Bahá'í, who had pioneered in many places and who lived in Uganda nine years, was elected to the national spiritual assembly of Uganda in 1976. In June 1977 a small conference of leaders of the religion including the Olingas was held to discuss the progress of the growth of the religion. It was unusual in that even though just 52, 13 of whom were youth, were at the meeting, they received a message from the Universal House of Justice. Enoch Olinga reminded the group that Shoghi Effendi had called the Ugandan community the spiritual heart of Africa. In September the administrative institutions of the religion had been disbanded by the government along with over two dozen other groups. Soon the Uganda-Tanzania War
Uganda-Tanzania War
The Uganda–Tanzania War was fought between Uganda and Tanzania in 1978–1979, and led to the overthrow of Idi Amin's regime...
broke out in 1978 and President Amin was overthrown by early 1979.
Oppression, violence, and freedom
As part of a sweep across several Sub-Saharan countries, the Bahá'í Faith was banned in the 1970s in several countries: BurundiBurundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
, 1974; Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
1976; Uganda
Uganda
Uganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
1977; Congo
People's Republic of the Congo
The People's Republic of the Congo was a self-declared Marxist-Leninist socialist state that was established in 1970 in the Republic of the Congo...
, 1978; Niger
Bahá'í Faith in Niger
The Bahá'í Faith in Niger began during a period of wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa near the end of its colonial period. The first Bahá'ís arrive in Niger in 1966 and the growth of the religion reached a point of electing its National Spiritual Assembly in 1975...
, 1978. Uganda had had the largest Bahá'í community in Africa at the time and Olinga had returned and sought the protection of the community during this difficult time when Idi Amin
Idi Amin
Idi Amin Dada was a military leader and President of Uganda from 1971 to 1979. Amin joined the British colonial regiment, the King's African Rifles in 1946. Eventually he held the rank of Major General in the post-colonial Ugandan Army and became its Commander before seizing power in the military...
's regime ruled Uganda. See also Uganda under Idi Amin.
"This was principally the result of a campaign by a number of Arab countries. Since these countries were also by this time providers of development aid, this overt attack on the Baha'is was supported by covert moves such as linking the aid money to a particular country to the action that it took against the Baha'is. This was partially successful and a number of countries did ban the Baha'is for a time. However, the Baha'is were able to demonstrate to these governments that they were not agents of ZionismZionismZionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
nor anti-Islamic and succeeded in having the ban reversed in all of these countries except Niger."
It was a period of violence from 1978. In March 1979 the Olinga home was robbed though the temple was undisturbed and there was a suspicious accident where Olinga's car was rammed and forced down a hill by a troop transport vehicle, where he was robbed and left for dead, and Olinga's son George was disappeared for a week by soldiers of Amin. Death threats perhaps simply because of his prominence came to Olinga from his home town. Meanwhile after President Amin fled in April the religion began to re-organize - there was the re-opening of the Bahá'í House of Worship again, and the beginning of reforming the national assembly in August. Neighbors and a garden servant boy bore witness mostly by hearing events of the execution of the Olinga family. On the evening of Sunday, September 16, 1979, the birthday of one of Olinga's daughters and planned as a day of a family reunion of which a few could not arrive in time, after 8pm local time five soldiers entered Olinga's home while one stood guard at the household gate and killed Olinga, his wife, and three of their five children. Trails of blood went from the kitchen to the back of the house and one of the children had been hurt and roughly bandaged before the family was executed. Enoch himself was killed out in the yard where he had been heard weeping after perhaps witnessing his dead family in the very same house he had joined the religion in. The news was conveyed initially by the garden servant to a member of the national committee that had been appointed and then to a 79 year old pioneer, Claire Gung, who called internationally. Ultimately news reached the Universal House of Justice while it sat in session on the 17th. All the dead were buried in the Bahá'í cemetery on the temple grounds on the 25th while civil war and terrorism continued. The funeral included hundreds of Bahá'ís who could make the trip and several members of the government of Uganda.
After the Uganda-Tanzania War
Uganda-Tanzania War
The Uganda–Tanzania War was fought between Uganda and Tanzania in 1978–1979, and led to the overthrow of Idi Amin's regime...
and when the ban on the religion was rescinded, Ugandan Bahá'ís re-formed their National Spiritual Assembly in 1981, though the Ugandan Bush War
Ugandan Bush War
The Ugandan Bush War refers to the guerrilla war waged between 1981 and 1986 in Uganda by the National Resistance Army against the government of Milton Obote, and later that of Tito Okello.-Events leading to the war:Following the Uganda-Tanzania War that removed Idi Amin in 1979, a...
dragged on. In 1982 the two primary schools the Bahá'ís had founded in 1961 were again under Bahá'í administration by February 1982. More than 200 Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís gathered in 1983 to celebrate children and a kindergarten multi-racial nursery school established by Claire Gung and Rex Collison died in June 1983. Instances of hundreds of people joining the religion recurred in 1984. In about February 1985 George Olinga and Benson Kariuki gave a talk at one the primary schools about the religion about the institutions of the religion and Claire Gung died while the nursery she established was assumed by the national assembly and funds were allotted for the renovation of the primary schools. In 1986-7 Dwight W. Allen returned to Uganda and was the project coordinator for the Donors' Conference for the rehabilitation of Makerere University
Makerere University
Makerere University , Uganda's largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning, , was first established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees from the University of London...
. In 1988 the community held a children's conference and was visible in a number of public events including a preferential trade exhibition at which various governmental leaders visited.
Multiplying involvements
The Ugandan Bahá'í community has been involved in a wide range of projects many of which benefit the nation while also advancing awareness of the religion. In 1989 a Bahá'í expert and businessman in using appropriate technologyAppropriate technology
Appropriate technology is an ideological movement originally articulated as "intermediate technology" by the economist Dr...
from Swaziland traveled through six southern and eastern African countries including Uganda training local people in the manufacture of several kinds of fence-making machines and other technologies in building, agriculture and water programs. The 10-day training courses were organized by the National Spiritual Assemblies in each of the six countries. In 1989 a Bahá'í Club was organized for Makerere University
Makerere University
Makerere University , Uganda's largest and second-oldest higher institution of learning, , was first established as a technical school in 1922. In 1963 it became the University of East Africa, offering courses leading to general degrees from the University of London...
composed of Bahá'ís and non-Bahá'ís while the national assembly invited members of the Department of Religious Studies at Makerere University to the Bahá'í House of Worship to familiarize staff with the religion, its institutions and how they function to contextualize the interaction between the agencies of the religion and the university while it implemented two new courses designed and taught by a Bahá'í, Dr. Tim Rost, on "Peace and Justice" and another on "Religion and Development." At the same time Bahá'í women of Mbale
Mbale
Mbale is a city in Eastern Uganda. It is the main municiplal, administrative and commercial center of Mbale District and the surrounding sub-region. The district is named after the town.-Location:...
took part in events organized by the National Council on Women by a multicultural children's program emphasizing good neighborliness and handicrafts of women - government administrators observed that Bahá'ís had several programs advancing diverse issues in Uganda. In 1990 the Bahá'í Office of Social and Economic Development in Uganda established a project to train healthcare field workers for work in Uganda. In 1993 the national assembly added a project to develop a middle-level management training program for community level primary health care workers. The focus was on prevention of childhood diseases, maternal-infant health care, and community building. Later, the Uganda Bahá'í Institute for Development set up a project introducing use of the latrine, immunization, and nets to fight off malaria-bearing mosquitoes, and people learned the importance of clean water in a Ugandan village. In 2000, the Bahá'ís of Uganda shared their activities in the areas of education, family health, moral training for children, publishing, and collaboration with other non-governmental organizations at a national United Nations Day
United Nations Day
In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, as which "shall be devoted to making known to the peoples of the world the aims and achievements of the United Nations and to gaining their support for" its work.In 1971 the...
celebration held at the Muguluka Primary School near Jinja
Jinja, Uganda
Jinja is the largest town in Uganda, Africa. It is the second busiest commercial center in the country, after Kampala, Uganda's capital and only city. Jinja was established in 1907.-Location:...
. After receiving her Ph.D. at age 78, Zylpha Mapp-Robinson returned to Uganda at age 86 in the year 2000 to create the Ugandan Institution for the advancement of Women. In 2002 a National Conference in Guyana
Guyana
Guyana , officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, previously the colony of British Guiana, is a sovereign state on the northern coast of South America that is culturally part of the Anglophone Caribbean. Guyana was a former colony of the Dutch and of the British...
on "Spiritual Approach to the Challenge of HIV/AIDS" sponsored by the Varqa Foundation, UNICEF, & Bahá'í International Community
Bahá'í International Community
The Bahá'í International Community, or the BIC, is an international non-governmental organization representing the members of the Bahá'í Faith; it was first chartered in March 1948 with the United Nations, and currently has affiliates in over 180 countries and territories.The BIC seeks to "promote...
highlighted experiences in Uganda dealing with the AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
epidemic by including the role of the spiritual training of children on virtues like humility, reverence, kindliness, respect and courtesy, and unity in diversity so that they would lead moral lives and overcome not only AIDS but alcohol and drug abuse, violence, crime, prejudice, hatred, intolerance and poverty. In 2004 the Bahá'í based Uganda Program of Literacy for Transformation helped participants acquire the skills, knowledge, and incentive for a “lifelong self-improvement plan” — coupled with an emphasis on moral education and inter-religious harmony.
The Ugandan Bahá'í community has also encouraged the practice of the arts. Eighteen youth from Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
, and Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
joined together to form Youth in Motion, a Bahá'í Workshop (see Oscar DeGruy
Oscar DeGruy
Oscar DeGruy is an American actor who has appeared in over a dozen films and TV shows over 30 years, started the Bahá'í Youth Workshop performance model in 1974, and has assisted Hip hop artists.-Acting career:...
) aimed at expressing the message brought by Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
. The group traveled for four months, performing before a total of more than 50,000 people in three countries. In 1998 Bahá'í Margaret Nagawa held a showing at the Ugandan National Museum, and award winning Bahá'í Edel'Akongu Ekodelele Eyperu died in 2002.
In 2001 a week-long celebration featuring a statement by Ugandan President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, some 2000 of the Ugandan Baha'i community commemorated the 50th anniversary of its founding.
The Bahá'ís of Uganda have continued to be involved in social issues; in 2007 a movie on development issues in Uganda was produced by the Bahá'ís named "Opening a Space - The Discourse on Science, Religion and Development in Uganda" and on 25 November 2007 the Bahá'í House of Worship was a rallying point on for the "Speak out! Stand out!" campaign on preventing violence against women. Bahá'í delegates from Uganda and 14 other countries convened in New York from February 23 – March 7 for the 52nd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women in 2008.
Ugandan Bahá'ís have also participated in recent international Bahá'í events. Ugandan youth were among the 149 assembled at the National Bahá’í Center in Burundi
Burundi
Burundi , officially the Republic of Burundi , is a landlocked country in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa bordered by Rwanda to the north, Tanzania to the east and south, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west. Its capital is Bujumbura...
in August 2006. In 2007 Bahá'ís in Entebbe
Entebbe
Entebbe is a major town in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, the town was at one time, the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda, prior to Independence in 1962...
helped organize World Religion Day commemorations. In 2008 one of the delegates from Uganda was one of the 19 tellers who counted the secret ballots for the election of the Universal House of Justice.
Demographics
During the years of 2000-2002 estimates of the Ugandan Bahá'í community ranged widely; while the official census counted almost 19,000 Bahá'í, other sources range from 66,000 to 105,000 Bahá'ís in the country. By 2005 US Dept. State statistics estimated Hinduism, the Bahá'í Faith, and Judaism together formed 2% of the national population. About 300 Bahá'í believers were in Kampala.External links
- Ugandan Bahá'í National Community
- Ugandans study approaches to development a film on Ugandan development issues.
- The Louis Gregory Project