Baháʼí Faith In Cameroon
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Baháʼí Faith in Cameroon was established when the country was separated into two
colonies A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...
-
British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...
and
French Cameroon French Cameroon, also known as the French Cameroons (), was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon. Eastern part of the former German colony of Cameroon (). Its status, from ...
. The first Baháʼí in
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
was Enoch Olinga, who had left his homeland of
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
to bring the religion to British Cameroon in 1953. Meherangiz Munsiff, a young Indian woman who had moved from
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
, arrived in French Cameroon April 1954 - both Olinga and Munsiff were honoured with the title Knight of Baháʼu'lláh. In 2003 Baháʼís estimated there were 40,000 adherents of the religion in the country. The
Association of Religion Data Archives The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making t ...
(relying on
World Christian Encyclopedia ''World Christian Encyclopedia'' is a reference work, with its third edition published by Edinburgh University Press in November 2019. The ''WCE'' is known for providing membership statistics for major world religions and Christian denomination ...
) estimated about 50800 Baháʼís in 2005.


Early history

In 1953,
Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; ;1896 or 1897 – 4 November 1957) was Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1922 until his death in 1957. As the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, he was charged with guiding the development of the Baháʼí Faith, in ...
, the head of the Baháʼí Faith, planned an international teaching plan termed the Ten Year Crusade. This was during a period of wide scale growth in the religion across
Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...
near the end of the period of the
Colonisation of Africa External colonies were first founded in Africa Colonies in antiquity, during antiquity. Ancient Greece, Ancient Greeks and Ancient Rome, Romans established colonies on the African continent in North Africa, similar to how they established settl ...
. During the plan Ali Nakhjavani and his wife drove by car with two African pioneers from
Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...
where the religion was growing very quickly to open new countries to the religion. The first pioneer in the region was Max Kinyerezi October 6 who settled in what was then
French Equatorial Africa French Equatorial Africa (, or AEF) was a federation of French colonial territories in Equatorial Africa which consisted of Gabon, French Congo, Ubangi-Shari, and Chad. It existed from 1910 to 1958 and its administration was based in Brazzav ...
, and then Enoch Olinga to British Cameroon on October 15. In Limbe (then called Victoria), through the efforts of Olinga, Jacob Tabot Awo converted to the religion becoming the first Cameroonian Baháʼí. During the following year there were many converts to the religion, many of whom were from the
Basel Mission The Basel Mission is a Christianity, Christian missionary society based in Switzerland. It was active from 1815 to 2001, when it transferred the operative work to , the successor organization of ''Kooperation Evangelischer Kirchen und Missione'' ...
system of Protestant Christians. Meherangiz Munsiff, a young Indian woman, arrived in
French Cameroon French Cameroon, also known as the French Cameroons (), was a French mandate territory in Central Africa. It now forms part of the independent country of Cameroon. Eastern part of the former German colony of Cameroon (). Its status, from ...
in April 1954 in
Douala Douala is the largest city in Cameroon and its economic capital. It is also the capital of Cameroon's Littoral Region (Cameroon), Littoral Region. It was home to Central Africa's largest port, now being replaced by Kribi port. It has the country ...
after helping to found the Baháʼí Faith in
Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...
. A letter from Olinga describes the advancement of the religion into 6 towns and translation work into the Duala language had begun of a pamphlet. As the number of Baháʼís was growing rapidly, Shoghi Effendi asked if members of the religion could pioneer to neighboring areas where there were still no Baháʼís. On April 21, 1954 a Baháʼí
Local Spiritual Assembly Spiritual Assembly is a term given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to refer to elected councils that govern the Baháʼí Faith. Because the Baháʼí Faith has no clergy, they carry out the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level ...
was formed and five young Cameroonians left during the Ridván period, each becoming a Knight of Baháʼu'lláh; the various protectorates they arrived in merged into the modern countries of Cameroon,
Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...
, and
Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...
. It was emphasized that western pioneers be self-effacing and focus their efforts not on the colonial leadership but on the native Africans - and that the pioneers must show by actions the sincerity of their sense of service to the Africans in bringing the religion and then the Africans who understand their new religion are to be given freedom to rise up and spread the religion according to their own sensibilities and the pioneers to disperse or step into the background. Enoch Olinga is specifically mentioned as an example of this process unfolding as he arose out of Uganda and repeated the quick growth of the religion. Because of the successive waves of people becoming Knights of Baháʼu'lláh, Enoch Olinga was entitled "Abd'l-Futuh", a Persian name meaning "the father of victories" by Shoghi Effendi. In very early 1955, Valerie Wilson, an Auxiliary Board member for Africa stationed in Monrovia, Liberia, embarked on what was considered a bold trip for a woman alone by car to travel on a trip across some to visit the Baháʼí groups functioning in the Gold Coast, Togoland and the British Cameroons. In April 1955 British Cameroon had eight assemblies.


Growth

In 1956 a regional Baháʼí National Spiritual Assembly of North West Africa was elected with Olinga as the chairman with its seat in
Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...
, comprising areas from the Cameroons north to
Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...
and parts west including Islands like the
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...
. Early in 1957 the Baháʼís in British Cameroon acquired a center and the population was noted at some 300 Baháʼís while the younger community of French Cameroon had between 10 and 20 Baháʼís and there was a Baháʼí conference on the progress of the religion held in Mutengene, near Tiko. In 1958 the Baháʼís of Cameroon sent another pioneer, Willie Enang, to Ghana while multiple communities held local conferences on the progress of the religion in their area. Baháʼís sometimes walked through dense forests to people who had not heard of Jesus Christ. By 1960 the entire Baháʼí population across North West Africa was 3000 and 1800 were in British Cameroon. Limbe, (then called Victoria), British Cameroon, hosted the convention for the election of the regional national assembly for north west Africa in 1960 and there were 45 delegates, including local chiefs and women, as well as Enoch Olinga. Enoch Olinga could not attend the dedication of the
Baháʼí House of Worship A Baháʼí House of Worship or Baháʼí temple is a place of worship of the Baháʼí Faith. It is also referred to by the name ''Mashriqu'l-Adhkár'', which is Arabic for "Dawning-place of the remembrance of God". All Baháʼí Houses of Wo ...
in his native Uganda because of political turmoil in Cameroon after independence. While over 1500 people and Baháʼís from many places in Africa went, Olinga preferred to stay in Cameroon to help guide the Baháʼís through times of civil unrest. By 1963 the following cities in Cameroon had Baháʼí communities: ; Local Spiritual Assemblies in Cameroon: ; Baháʼí groups (between 1 and 9 individuals): ; Isolated individuals: Later October 1963 at a large public meeting in Belgium the ambassador to Belgium from the Republic of Cameroons was a guest at a Baháʼí observance of
United Nations Day United Nations Day is an annual commemorative day, reflecting the official creation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, ...
.


Regionalization issues

And in 1963 the Cameroons were re-organized under the regional national assembly system to be with the West-Central African National Assembly. The second convention was held in Limbe - and that year its members were Stephen Tabe, Sampson Forchnk, Janet Mughrabi, Moses Akombi, Lillie Rosenberg, Oscar Njang, Jawad Mughrabi and Solomon Tanyi and Sherman Rosenberg. The convention of 1966 for the west central regional national assembly was held in Mamfe. Following the death of Shoghi Effendi, the elected
Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate on issues not already addressed in the ...
was head of the religion and began to re-organized the Baháʼí communities of Africa by splitting off national communities to form their own National Assemblies from 1967 though the 1990s. In the presence of Hand of the Cause William Sears in 1967 the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) of the Baháʼís of Cameroon was elected for the first time thus splitting the country off from the regional National Assembly established in 1956 and had jurisdiction over neighboring areas of Spanish Guinea, Fernando Po, Cariseo and São Tomé and Príncipe Islands while the rest of the west central regional assembly continued over other countries. In 1967 the Bahá´ís of Cameroon initiated a proclamation project in Spanish territories of Fernando Poo and Rio Muni. In December 1971 Cameroon hosted the first regional African youth conference in Yaounde. Bus loads and cars of youth came from Chad and the Central African Republic, including youth visiting from the Philippines, Malaysia, India, Iran, Canada and the United States then in Chad and Cameroon for a period of service to the community came - during the conference two radio interviews were given. Book exhibits were held in 1974 in the University in Yaounde and a classroom in the Pan-African Institute of the Buea which also attracted radio coverage. In 1978 an international Baháʼí youth Conference was held in Cameroon with 380 attendees from some 19 countries. Though he had recently toured Cameroonian in 1975 in December 1979 a full account of the circumstances under which Knight of Baháʼu'lláh for Cameroon, Hand of the Cause, Enoch Olinga had been murdered September 16, 1977 in Uganda during political and social turmoil. Final answers may never be known why he and most of his family were murdered with confidence. A biography published in 1984 examined his impact in Cameroon and beyond. The first person in Cameroon to join the religion withstood beatings to persevere in his choice. The first woman to become a Baháʼí in Cameroon did so from his impact on her life though she had been an active Christian before - both she and her husband converted and were among the first to move to Togo and then Ghana. Another early Baháʼí, the first of the Bamiliki tribe, moved to what was then French Cameroon to help there. Another early contact joined the religion later but his wife was the first Baháʼí of Nigeria. The researcher again found that there was an emphasis not on rooting out cultural traditions among the peoples but instead focusing on awareness of the religion and awareness of scientific knowledge should not relate to social class. There were accusations of political intrigue of which Olinga was acquitted. It was judged that Olinga was always sincere and never belittled. In 1982 the first Baháʼí under the assigned region to Cameroon of Fernando Po joined the religion. Joseph Sheppherd was a pioneer to Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, circumstances woven into a book he later wrote which presents the Baháʼí Faith in a context of global change (see
Baháʼí Faith in fiction The Baháʼí Faith and related topics have appeared in multiple forms of fiction. The mention of this religion can be seen in science fiction, fantasy, short stories, novelettes, novels, and TV series. In 2005, an estimated value of 30 refere ...
) and delves into the dynamics of pioneering as a method to gain understanding of spiritual issues compared to social issues, to struggle with a cultural naivete, which was published in ''Baháʼí News'' in December 1988.


Intranational developments

In 1967 local assemblies began to acquire or build local centers as one of many activities of the community some of which continued into 1968. Informational packets and interviews were granted to major print and radio news outlets and coverage of events continued. In October 1967 the Baháʼís of Cameroon were included in efforts, and multiplied instances of, observances of
United Nations Day United Nations Day is an annual commemorative day, reflecting the official creation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, ...
across Cameroon including talks given by Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khanum. In November Rúhíyyih Khanum dedicated the first school in the Cameroons which was dedicated first to classes studying the religion, (the first classes were held in December 1968.) The convention of 1968 had 45 delegates and an observer from Fernando Po island. The NSA of the country wrote a document, ''Declaration of Loyalty to Government'', possibly dated from 1968, which declares the loyalty of the institution to the government of the country. But in 1969 large regions of Cameroon were still sparely populated, while the first school in eastern, formerly French, Cameroon had its first meeting in spring 1969. In 1977 a mobile school was established run from a van which toured for several months in 1977 visiting villages and farms. In 1978 three regional conferences were held. A conference on the progress of the religion at which it was announced there was an estimated 166 assemblies, 27 of which and established permanent centers, and beyond that some 832 towns and places Baháʼís lived in Cameroon. A women's regional conference gathered 30 women at the national center and eighty Baháʼí gathered for a regional conference Mankon to discuss the progress of the religion. Meanwhile, two individuals toured Cameroon in January; Hand of the Cause Rahmatu'llah Muhajir and Frenchman Armir Farhang-Imani each of whom who spoke to Baháʼí and public audiences. Rahmatu'llah Muhajir again visited Cameroon as part of a broader trip through west Africa summer 1979. Hand of the Cause Collis Featherstone visited Cameroon in February 1979. In 1980 simultaneous regional Baháʼí schools were held in March in English and French with about 25 people attending each. A follow-up school was held in September at the end of which there was a wedding. In 1980 100 people including several national assembly members attended a national youth conference Yaounde. In 1982 a Baháʼí reached a remote region with pygmies and in three months was able convince 24 people to join the religion and another pioneer was moving to help him. A pair of academic researchers toured west Africa from Switzerland speaking to the public and Baháʼís in 1985. They offered public talks "Women and Development" "How can woman assume her role in society?" and "Women and the Future of Mankind." and talks to Baháʼís on "Excellence in All Things" and "Happiness in Marriage".


Tour of Hand of the Cause Rúhíyyih Khanum

From January to March 1970 Rúhíyyih Khanum crossed Africa from east to west visiting many country's communities including Cameroon, meeting with individuals and institutions both Baháʼí and civic. In October 1971 Rúhíyyih Khanum returned from western Africa. She stopped for a time in Mamfe and spoke to the Baháʼís there and emphasized the role of women in the growth of the religion. From Mamfe she traveled more widely seeing villages and regional chiefs, attending weddings and giving talks at schools. In many places she took note of women in prominent positions in the community and sometimes spoke to about the Baháʼí law of monogamy to contrast with the traditional cultural practice of polygamy and other traditional forms. A prominent meeting was of the regional conference calling for the progress of the religion in the region. She took part in the program of observances of United Nations Day sharing the stage with members of the staff of the Secretary-General of the UN as well as the staff of the Prime Minister of Cameroon. Reaching Buea she met with the Prime Minister and mentioned her wide travels in relative safety with kind assistance of villagers and truck drivers. From there she continued her travels through Douala and Yaounde and in each case also neighboring villages while also making time for radio interviews and at the University of Cameroon before moving on to Zaire.


International Year of the Child

Cameroon was one of the countries Baháʼí organized a series of events in honor of the
International Year of the Child UNESCO proclaimed 1979 as the International Year of the Child. The proclamation was signed on January 1, 1979, by United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim. A follow-up to the 1959 Declaration of the Rights of the Child, the proclamation ...
, 1979. Among the effort were articles in newspapers, tutorial schools in three cities, a women's conference in Liberia at which Cameroonians attended and radio interviews about the schools. There were women's and children's committees operating at a national level to sustain the teachers of the schools. A Baháʼí consultant traveled western Africa including Cameroon assisting communities in their efforts who was joined by volunteer from Canada who also traveled western Africa including Cameroon. And a Cameroonian woman, a headmistress of a nursery school volunteered to travel Cameroon encouraging projects and schools in the country.


Commemorating pioneers

Among those elected to the NSA was Ursula Samandari, who was elected to the institution in the years of 1972-74 and 1975–80, after being elected to the same institution in North East Africa and the British Isles. She had learned of the Baháʼí Faith from
Richard St. Barbe Baker Richard St. Barbe Baker (9 October 1889 â€“ 9 June 1982) was an English biologist and botanist, environmental activist and author, who contributed greatly to worldwide reforestation efforts. As a leader, he founded an organisation, Men of ...
and Hasan M. Balyuzi in 1936. Among the comments at her 2003 funeral were these from the paramount chief of
Buea Buea is the capital of the Southwest Region (Cameroon), Southwest Region of Cameroon. The city is located in Fako (department), Fako Division, on the eastern slopes of Mount Cameroon, and has a population of about 800.000 inhabitants as of 2 ...
, HRH Samuel L. Endeley:
"My dear Sister, You lived with us like one of us, you served faithfully and lovingly to win souls into God's redeeming grace. You loved us and our country, Cameroon, and you have demonstrated this in dying here like the good soldier of God you have lived to be. You died with your boots on. We thank God for all you were to us. May your soul rest with the good God, our creator, in perfect peace."
Another member of the NSA who died unexpectedly was Karen Bare who had come from Hawaii in 1969. She was known for offering hospitality and also walking to villages for classes she taught and was elected as Secretary to the NSA for a time. She died in a car accident in 1974 while visiting family in the United States.


Modern community

By 2001 the National Spiritual Assembly was registered with the Government of Cameroon as one of the few non-Christian religions. Also in 2003 a project had begun to move the seat of the National Spiritual Assembly from Limbe, in the west, to the central capital,
Yaoundé Yaoundé (; , ) is the Capital city, capital city of Cameroon. It has a population of more than 2.8 million which makes it the second-largest city in the country after the port city Douala. It lies in the Centre Region (Cameroon), Centre Region o ...
, together with the responsibility to acquire a new National Baháʼí Centres for which the Baháʼí community of the United Kingdom has been asked to help.


Jubiliee

Over 600 Baháʼís and their friends gathered at the Palais des congrès in Yaoundé to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the founding of the Baháʼí community in Cameroon. Mr. and Mrs. Nakhjavani and other guests of honour, went to Limbe to visit the Baháʼí s of the southwest province, and Buea where they were received by the paramount chief, and travelled to Douala.


Demographics

In 2003 the Baháʼí community claimed 40,000 adherents and 58 Local Spiritual Assemblies, (there is another estimate from 2007-8 of more than 130,000 Baháʼís in Cameroon and another of members of the religion in 1744 localities in Cameroon.) However the
Association of Religion Data Archives The Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) is a free source of online information related to American and international religion. One of the primary goals of the archive is to democratize access to academic information on religion by making t ...
estimated there were some 50799 Baháʼís in 2005.


Multiplying interests

Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern, and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics. The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the
Universal House of Justice The Universal House of Justice is the nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baháʼí Faith. It was envisioned by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, as an institution that could legislate on issues not already addressed in the ...
dated 20 October 1983 was released. Baháʼís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the
Baháʼí teachings The teachings of the Baháʼí Faith are derived from the writings of Baháʼu'lláh, its founder. A corpus of Baháʼí literature include books and writings of the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh, along with the public talks and writings of ‘Abduâ ...
, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. World-wide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Baháʼí socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. The Cameroonian community also became involved in a number of initiatives. In 1985 Baháʼís established a tutorial school among the pygmies and the building infrastructure was to be expanded by the government now that a site had been developed. In 1990 the Cameroonian community held a nationwide campaign on the growth of the religion named in honor of Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga with teams named after other Hands of the Cause.


Involvement in advocacy for women

The Cameroonian Baháʼí community has initiated and cooperated with a number of projects attempting to equalize the position of women, a primary
principle A principle may relate to a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of beliefs or behavior or a chain of reasoning. They provide a guide for behavior or evaluation. A principle can make values explicit, so t ...
of the religion. In 1985 a National Women's Committee of the Baha'is of Cameroon produced a statement "Equal Rights for Women and Men". The rate at which women participated in December school of 1986 increased. The Baháʼís of Cameroon cooperated with an initiative of the Baháʼí International Community in cooperation with
UNIFEM The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM, , ) was established in December 1976 originally as the Voluntary Fund for the United Nations Decade for Women in the International Women's Year. Its first director was Margaret C. Snyder. U ...
on a project to effect a change in the social status of women in village communities in eastern Cameroon and other countries. The changes in the community focused on the role of women but aimed strongly at educating the men. According to Tiati Zock, the national coordinator of the project in Cameroon, a survey done in early 1992 among some 45 families in each of the seven villages reported that the men made virtually all of the financial decisions alone. A follow-up survey, taken in 1993, indicated more than 80 percent of the families now make such decisions in consultation between husband and wife. The number of girls being sent to one village school had increased by 82 percent by 1993.


Academic and civic forums

The Baháʼí community of Cameroon has been involved in forums for wrestling with social issues in Cameroon in both academic and civic forums. In 1987 Cameroonian university students gathered in a conference from multiple tribes along with international students to facilitate an exchange of ideas on issues they all faced in society. This theme evolved in Yaoundé into the theme "African Youth Facing the Challenges of Modern Society" in 1988 and "The Role of Youth in a World in Search of Peace" in 1989. Annual youth conferences in the northwest evolved and continued through 1990 and echoed many of these themes while also making efforts on other themes. In 2002 the second Cameroon Baháʼí Academy took place at the Regional Baháʼí Centre at Yaoundé with 28 scholars from Buea, Douala, Dschang, Soa, and Yaoundé. The key research paper, "Cameroonian Tribal and Family Meetings and the Baháʼí Teachings," was presented by Chongwain Nkuo, a teacher at the Post and Telecommunication School. It was published in the December 2002 volume of the Cameroon Baháʼí Studies journal. After his presentation there was an evaluation of his work by the members of a jury including David Nkwenti, Head of the Department of Anthropology of the University of Yaoundé. Nkwenti indicated he was going to expand academic interests in studying Baháʼí teachings and anthropological issues. Also in 2002, for
United Nations Day United Nations Day is an annual commemorative day, reflecting the official creation of the United Nations on 24 October 1945. In 1947, the United Nations General Assembly declared 24 October, the anniversary of the Charter of the United Nations, ...
on October 24, members of the Buea religious community gathered for an interfaith panel discussion led by the Secretary General of the South West Province; the group included members or spokesmen of the Baháʼí Faith, the Muslim Imam, a representative of the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese, and a representative of the Hindu community. A January 20, 2007 service in Buea at the Baháʼí Centre of Learning commemorated
World Religion Day World Religion Day is an observance that was initiated in 1950 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States, which is celebrated worldwide on the third Sunday in January each year. Though initiated in the United Sta ...
among a similar breadth of representation.


See also

*
History of Cameroon At the crossroads of West Africa and Central Africa, the territory of what is now Cameroon has seen human habitation since some time in the Middle Paleolithic, likely no later than 130,000 years ago. The earliest discovered archaeological evidence ...
* Freedom of religion in Cameroon *
Bamileke The Bamiléké people are an ethnic group of Central Africa that inhabits the Western High Plateau colloquially known as the ''grassfields'' of Cameroon. According to Dr John Feyou de Hapy, Bamiléké means "people of faith". Languages The B ...


Further reading


References


External links


Cameroon Baháʼí National Community

Cameroonian Baháʼí Newsletter Synopsis Blog

Cameroonian Baháʼí Musician Myspace page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baha'i Faith in Cameroon Religion in Cameroon
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...