The Baháʼí Faith in Senegal begins after

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: , ;, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás (, ), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh, founder of the Bahá’í Faith, who designated him to be his successor and head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 un ...

, the son of the founder of the religion, mentioned Africa as a place the religion should be more broadly visited by Baháʼís. The first to set foot in the territory of

French West Africa French West Africa (, ) was a federation of eight French colonial empires#Second French colonial empire, French colonial territories in West Africa: Colonial Mauritania, Mauritania, French Senegal, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guin ...

that would become

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

arrived in 1953. The first 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 ...

of Senegal was elected in 1966 in

Dakar Dakar ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Senegal, largest city of Senegal. The Departments of Senegal, department of Dakar has a population of 1,278,469, and the population of the Dakar metropolitan area was at 4.0 mill ...

. In 1975 the Baháʼí community elected the first

National 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 ...

of Senegal. Baháʼís claimed there are 34 local assemblies in 2003. The most recent estimate, by 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 ...

in a 2005 report estimates the population of Senegalese Baháʼís at 24700.

Early Phase

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Tablets of the Divine Plan

, the son of the founder of the religion, wrote a series of letters, or tablets, to the followers of the religion in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1916–1917; these letters were compiled together in the book ''

Tablets of the Divine Plan The ''Tablets of the Divine Plan'' collectively refers to 14 letters ( tablets) written between March 1916 and March 1917 by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá to Baháʼís in the United States and Canada. Included in multiple books, the first five tablets were pr ...

''. The eighth and twelfth of the tablets mentioned

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

and were written on April 19, 1916, and February 15, 1917, respectively. Publication however was delayed in the United States until 1919—after the end of the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...

. The tablets were translated and presented by

Mirza Ahmad Sohrab Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb (March 21, 1890 – April 20, 1958) was a Persian- American author and Baháʼí who served as 'Abdu'l-Bahá's secretary and interpreter from 1912 to 1919. He co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and ...

on April 4, 1919, and published in ''

Star of the West ''Star of the West'' was an American merchant steamship that was launched in 1852 and scuttled by Confederate forces in 1863. In January 1861, the ship was hired by the government of the United States to transport military supplies and reinforc ...

'' magazine on December 12, 1919. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá mentions Baháʼís traveling "…especially from America to Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia, and travel through Japan and China. Likewise, from Germany teachers and believers may travel to the continents of America, Africa, Japan and China; in brief, they may travel through all the continents and islands of the globe" and " …the anthem of the oneness of the world of humanity may confer a new life upon all the children of men, and the tabernacle of universal peace be pitched on the apex of America; thus Europe and Africa may become vivified with the breaths of the Holy Spirit, this world may become another world, the body politic may attain to a new exhilaration…."

Establishment and growth

During the late colonial period of the region the

Baháʼí Faith The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the Baháʼí Faith and the unity of religion, essential worth of all religions and Baháʼí Faith and the unity of humanity, the unity of all people. Established by ...

first arrived. Wide scale growth in the religion across Sub-Saharan Africa was observed to begin in 1950s. The first Baháʼís to enter French West Africa came in 1953 and dispersed to several regions - Labib Isfahani was the first Baháʼí to settle in what became Senegal and named a Knight of Baháʼu'lláh. He come from the community of Baháʼís in Egypt. Isfahani's brother Habib came to join him in April 1954. There were over 1000 Baháʼís across North-West Africa which was organized into a regional National Spiritual Assembly including French West Africa in 1956. In 1959

Baháʼí marriage Baháʼí marriage is a physical and spiritual union between a man and a woman, primarily intended for spiritual purposes and to promote harmony, fellowship, and unity between the partners. The Baháʼí teachings describe marriage as "a fortres ...

ceremonies were legalized and the first such marriage had

Hand of the Cause Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá, who died in 2007. Hands of ...

Enoch Olinga Enoch Olinga (June 24, 1926 – September 16, 1979) was born to a Ugandan family of the Teso people, Iteso ethnic group. He became a Baháʼí Faith, Baháʼí, earned the title Knights of Baháʼu'lláh, Knight of Baháʼu'lláh and was appointed ...

in attendance. Growth in the Senegalese community came partly by pioneers and partly from converts. In early 1962 the family of Rouhani Ardekani stayed for six-months in Senegal and in 1966 returned to settle permanently. The first Baháʼí of Senegalese origin converted in March 1962. In 1963 the communities of French West Africa, then included a small group of Baháʼís in

. With the help of Baháʼís originally from

Gambia The Gambia, officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. Geographically, The Gambia is the List of African countries by area, smallest country in continental Africa; it is surrounded by Senegal on all sides except for ...

in Dakar the community formed the first Local Spiritual Assembly in Dakar on 21 April 1966. During much of the 1960s-1970s Hermione Vera Keens-Douglas Edwards composed letters for the communities of the former French West Africa for their

Nineteen Day Feast Nineteen Day Feasts are regular community gatherings, occurring on the first day of each month of the Baháʼí calendar (and are often nineteen days apart from each other). Each gathering consists of a Devotional, Administrative, and Social pa ...

s. Additional one well known Baháʼí made an impact in Senegal and beyond -

Robert Hayden Robert Hayden (August 4, 1913February 25, 1980) was an American poet, essayist, and educator. He served as Consultant in Poetry to the Library of Congress from 1976 to 1978, a role today known as US Poet Laureate. He was the first African-Americ ...

, who had become a Baháʼí in 1943, was named Poet Laurette of Senegal in 1966 after winning the 1965 first

World Festival of Negro Arts The World Festival of Black Arts (French: ''Festival Mondial des Arts Nègres''), also known as FESMAN or FMAN, has been a series of month-long culture and arts festivals taking place in various parts of Africa. The festival features participant ...

festival ''Grand Prix de la Poesie'' with over ten thousand people from thirty-seven nations in attendance on April 7, 1962 and went on to further acclaim. In 1975 the Baháʼí community elected the first

of Senegal and by the beginning of 1978 there were 30 local assemblies. The first regional Baháʼí conference of the

Casamance Casamance is the area of Senegal south of the Gambia, including the Casamance River. It consists of the Lower Casamance (, —i.e. Ziguinchor Region) and the Upper Casamance (, —i.e. Kolda and Sédhiou Regions). The largest city of Casamance ...

region happened in 1979 with participants from Gambia and Senégal in December 1978, and at the end of that year there were 35 assemblies.

Modern community

Since its inception the religion has had involvement in

socio-economic development Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analys ...

(SED) 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 ‘Abdu� ...

, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide 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. Representatives of the national assemblies of Gambia, Mauritania and Senegal gathered in 1983 at a regional conference in

along with other Baháʼís and heard talks ranging from opposition to the religion to the role of women in the community. Meanwhile, Baháʼís of Senegal assisted the neighboring community in the

Cape Verde Islands Cape Verde or Cabo Verde, officially the Republic of Cabo Verde, is an island country and archipelagic state of West Africa in the central Atlantic Ocean, consisting of ten volcanic islands with a combined land area of about . These islands ...

with promulgating the religion. In 1983-4 some Baháʼís visiting from Switzerland toured several countries of western Africa - in Senegal they were able to meet with government officials, women's civic groups and were interviewed for local television. In 1984 several activities took place - a Spring school was held, the Baháʼí women's committee held a children's conference, and a regional youth conference was held. In 1985 tutorial schools were opened in two villages. In 1989 a Baháʼí professional traveled the country offering dental care as a service. The community celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2003 and the community has ongoing prayer meetings,

Study circles A study circle is a small group of people who meet multiple times to discuss an issue. Study circles may be formed to discuss anything from politics to religion to hobbies with a minimum of 7 people to a maximum of 15. These study circles are formed ...

, and classes for children open to the public. There are also SED projects looking at marketable skill development. Baháʼís from Senegal were among those at the regional conference at

Abidjan Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N'ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the largest city and the former capital of Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of the overall population ...

called for by the

in 2008.

Demographics

In 2003 the Baháʼís reported the Baháʼí community of Senegal is composed mainly of Senegalese scattered in about 300 locations across the country of whom the vast majority are native Senegalese. Baháʼís reside in 382 localities in Senegal, and there are 34 local Spiritual Assemblies. Social and economic development projects include classes for young teenagers. In 2001

Operation World ''Operation World'' is a reference book and prayer guide, begun by Patrick Johnstone and continued by Jason Mandryk, both from WEC International, a Christian mission agency. The first edition was published by Dorothea Mission, later editions by ...

estimated the Baha'i population at almost 19,000, growing at over 8% per year. The

estimated the 2005 population of Senegalese Baháʼís at 24,700.

References

External links

Official Website of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Senegal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baha'i Faith In Senegal Religion in Senegal