Bahá'í Faith in Vietnam

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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 it's founding in Persia. The first Bahá'í in Vietnam was Shirin Fozdar,[1] who arrived in February 1954, which was followed by periods of large growth for the religion in the 1950s and 1960s. With the arrival of communism the practice of the religion was proscribed, but since 2007 the religion has once again been recognized.

Contents

[edit] Early mentions

The first mention of the religion in Vietnam is likely to have come from the Bahá'í teacher Martha Root who visited Vietnam around 1924.[2] The country's next Bahá'í visitor was likely Shirin Fozdar; Shirin Fozdar was born in the Bahá'í community of India during the early 1900s and rose to prominence and served as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of India from 1936 to 1951. Her main area of work from 1925 to 1950 was in a large community of Untouchables or Harijans in Ahmedabad.[1]

In 1950 Fozdar and her husband volunteered, to go to Singapore (then a part of the Federation of Malaya) to fulfill the desire of Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, to expand the religion to South East Asia. The first Local Spiritual Assembly in South East Asia was formed in Singapore in 1952, exactly two years after their arrival. In February 1954, Fozdar went to Saigon, now Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and then to Cambodia to establish the religion in those two countries; there she received a gold medal from Prince Sihanouk of Cambodia for her inspiring lectures.[1]

[edit] Period of growth

During the 1950s and 1960s the Bahá'í Faith spread rapidly in Vietnam, and the surrounding countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.[3] From 1957 to 1963 the Bahá'í community in Vietnam had more than tripled (including among the Koho, Thổ, Annamese, and Cham peoples) and several schools were established.[4] In 1957 the Bahá'í marriage certificate was recognized in Vietnam.[5] In 1962 16 Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies formed, and by 1963 there were more than 40 (and perhaps over 100) Spiritual Assemblies in South Vietnam.[6] By 1963 there were also 6 local Bahá'í Centers or Haziratu'l-Quds, including in Saigon and Da Nang, and more lands had been bought for future centers.

In 1958 African Americans Dempsey and Adrienne Morgan came to Vietnam after becoming Bahá'ís in September 1955 and over succeeding years helped establish administrative procedures among the Local Spiritual Assemblies of Vietnam.[7] During their stay in Vietnam, the Morgans also identified Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'ís Faith, with the Maitreya Buddha, who in the Buddhist tradition is the successor to Gautama Buddha and who is to appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure dharma.[7][8] During this period of growth a number of Buddhist monks also become Baha'is.[8] After this time there was a divergence in the fortunes of Bahá'í communities in South East Asia. In some countries, such as Indonesia and Vietnam, the Bahá'ís came under persecution, while in other countries expansion continued.[3] For example in 1959 the South Vietnam government arrested the entire Saigon Local Spiritual Assembly and forced the Morgan family to leave. They were able to visit Saigon when Rúhíyyih Khanum visited in 1961 and were able to move back to Saigon before the end of the year. There was also a local newsletter the Baha'i News in publication by then.

[edit] Period of the Vietnam War

As the number of Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in Vietnam increased, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Vietnam was established in 1964.[9] As the Vietnam war continued in Vietnam, there were a number of American Bahá'ís who were stationed in Vietnam, but following the Bahá'í teaching of the sacredness of all life and of obedience to one's government, Bahá'ís would request to avoid being placed in a position to take the life of another, and thus American Bahá'ís served as clerks and medics.[10][11][12][13] At the end of the war in 1975, the community continued to grow and there were an estimated 200,000 Bahá'ís in South Vietnam.[14]

[edit] Legal proscription

As communist rule spread in Vietnam after the Vietnam war, open practice of the Bahá'í Faith was banned from 1975 to 1992. As late as 2000 some localities of Bahá'ís have been able to practice their religion quietly with local permission while in Da Nang the Bahá'ís were unable to obtain approval of an application for registration of official religious activities.[15] The number of believers dropped sharply during this time of proscription until in 2007 there were but 6880 known Bahá'ís.[14][16] Thousands of Bahá'ís moved as refugees from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia to the United States during the 1970's.[17] Other counts by World Christian Encyclopedia estimated 300,000 Bahá'ís in Vietnam in 2000.[18]

While Vietnam had ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR) which has provisions for religions freedom (Article 18),[19] and the Vietnamese Constitution codes this kind of freedom in Article 70:

"The citizen shall enjoy freedom of belief or religion; he can follow any religion or none. All religions are equal before the law. The places of worship of all faiths and religions are protected by the law. No one can violate freedom of belief and of religion; nor can anyone misuse belief and religion to contravene the law and State policies."

an analyst notes:[19]

"Only religions that have been officially recognised have legal rights. To be authorised, the group must obtain Government approval of its leadership and overall scope of its activities. Failure to comply leads to persecution. The Government retains supervisory control of authorised religions. All religious organisations have to be affiliated with the Communist Party of Vietnam and an organisation called the Patriotic Front. Government permission is required for many religious practices, including general meetings, charitable activities, operation of schools and ordination and promotion of clergy and travel outside the country. Religious training must be approved by the State and must promote the policy of “socialism”. State approved churches are also required to promote Government policies on a wide range of issues."

[edit] End of proscription

The first signs of the end of the legal proscription ending came in November 2006 when the US State Department reported that restrictions were being eased though issues remained.[20] The Bahá'í community of Vietnam held a ceremony in February 2007 to celebrate the awarding of its certificate of operation from the government’s Committee for Religious Affairs in January 2007. The community had six places of worship and more than 6,880 followers in five provinces in the central and southern regions of the country. Ngo Yen Thi, head of the Committee for Religious Affairs, stated: "The State policy on religion respects and ensures freedom of belief and religion for all Vietnamese citizens as stipulated in the country’s first constitution in 1946 and in revised versions," as he was granting certificates of operation simultaneously for the Bahá'ís, and two Buddhist sects.[21]

[edit] Recent developments

The Bahá'í Faith was registered nationally in 2007 and would be eligible to apply for national recognition in 2008. Individual congregations must be registered as well.[14] There are some signs of large scale growth from the 50's-60's resuming.[8] On March 21, 2008, the National Spiritual Assembly was elected and it's charter was adopted at a national congress in Ho Chi Min City on the anniversary of the Government’s recognition of the religion’s legal status and a Bahá'í holy day of Bahá'í Naw-Rúz. The event was attended by attended by over 250 delegates and visitors.[22]

[edit] External links

[edit] References

  1. ^ a b c Sarwal, Anil (1989). "Shirin Fozdar: An Outstanding Pioneer". Bahá'í Digest. 
  2. ^ Hassall, Graham (2000-01). The Bahá'í Faith in Hong Kong. Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of Hong Kong. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  3. ^ a b Momen, Moojan (1996). "The Bahá'í Today", A Short Introduction to the Bahá'í Faith. 
  4. ^ Rabbani, R. (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá'í World Centre, p. 138, 140, 360. ISBN 085398350X. 
  5. ^ Effendi, Shoghi (1971). Messages to the Bahá'í World, 1950-1957. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, p. 107. ISBN 0877430365. 
  6. ^ Ccompiled by the Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land (1964). The Bahá'í Faith 1844-1963, p.91. 
  7. ^ a b Etter-Lewis, Gwendolyn; Thomas, Richard Walter (2006). Lights of the Spirit: Historical Portraits of Black Bahá'ís in North America 1898-2000. Baha'i Publishing Trust, p. 113-119. ISBN 1931847266. 
  8. ^ a b c Momen, Moojan (2002-03-02). Buddhism and the Baha'i Faith. bahai-library.org. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  9. ^ Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land. The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963 p. 22, 46.
  10. ^ Hatcher, John (1996). "Child and Family in Baha'i Religion", in Coward, Harold G.: Religious Dimensions of Child and Family Life: Reflections on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. Victoria, B.C.: University of Victoria, p. 141-160. ISBN 155058104X. 
  11. ^ Selected profiles of African-American Baha'is, William H. “Smitty” Smith (2006-06-28). Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  12. ^ Smith, Frank Barry. About Veterans for Peace: Remembrance of Nikko Schoch. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  13. ^ Morrison,, Sidney (1987). "Becoming a Man", in Caton, Peggy: Equal Circles: Women and Men in the Baha'i Community. Kalimat Press, p. 199. ISBN 0933770286. 
  14. ^ a b c Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2007-09-14). Vietnam International Religious Freedom Report. United States State Department. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  15. ^ compiled by Wagner, Ralph D.. VIETNAM. Synopsis of References to the Bahá'í Faith, in the US State Department's Reports on Human Rights 1991-2000. Bahá'í Academics Resource Library. Retrieved on 2008-05-04.
  16. ^ Momen, Moojan; Smith, Peter (1989). "The Baha'i Faith 1957–1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments". Religion 19: pp. 63–91. doi:10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8. 
  17. ^ Carroll, Bret E. (2000). The Routledge Historical Atlas of Religion in America. Routledge, p. 127. ISBN 0415921317. 
  18. ^ The Largest Baha'i Communities. Adherents.com (2005-09-30). Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  19. ^ a b Stoyles, Lyndall J.. View on Vietnam. Uniya Jesuit Social Justice Centre. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  20. ^ Terhune, Lea (2006-11-14). Vietnam Praised, Uzbekistan Faulted on Religious Freedom. Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  21. ^ Nation's Baha'i community gets religious recognition. Viet Nam News, Vietnam News Agency (2007-03-22). Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
  22. ^ "Baha’i sect receives legal recognition", VietNamNet Bridge, VietNamNet Bridge, 2008-03-22. Retrieved on 2008-03-24. (English) 

[edit] See also

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