Baháʼí Faith in Asia
The Baháʼí Faith was founded by Baháʼu'lláh, in Iran who faced a series of exiles and imprisonment that moved him to Baghdad, Istanbul, and Palestine.
[6] By 1994 the National Spiritual Assembly of Kazakhstan was elected[7] Following the entrance of pioneers the community grew by 2001 to be the religion with the third-most registered religious organizations in the country, after Islam and Christianity.
[14] As of 2007 the religion had still failed to reach the minimum number of adherents to register[15] and individuals have had their homes raided for Baháʼí literature.
As a result of the lack of formal registration and structure, it is difficult to ascertain with some degree of certainty, the number of Baháʼís in China.
The number of active followers of Baháʼu'lláh's Teachings in China has spread beyond the scope of knowledge of the existing administrative structures.
According to Albert Cheung, many aspects of Baháʼu'lláh's teachings correspond closely to traditional Chinese religious and philosophical beliefs, such as: 1) the Great Unity (world peace); 2) unity of the human family; 3) service to others; 4) moral education; 5) extended family values; 6) the investigation of truth; 7) the Highest Reality (God); 8) the common foundation of religions; 9) harmony in Nature; 10) the purpose of tests and suffering; and 11) moderation in all things.
In 2005 the Association of Religion Data Archives (relying mostly on World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated the Baháʼí population of Hong Kong at about 1,100.
[24] Japanese contact with the religion came from the West when Kanichi Yamamoto (山本寛一) was living in Honolulu, Hawaii in 1902 converted; the second being Saichiro Fujita (藤田左弌郎).
[25] Alexander would live some 31 years off and on in Japan until 1967 when she left for the last time[26] The first Baháʼí convert on Japanese soil was Kikutaro Fukuta (福田菊太郎) in 1915.
[27] ʻAbdu'l-Bahá undertook several trips in 1911-1912 and met Japanese travelers in Western cities, in Paris,[28] London,[29] and New York.
[23] On 31 March 2021, Qatari authorities blacklisted and deported a prominent Qatar-born Baháʼí, Omid Seioshansian, on "unspecified criminal and national security charges."
[77] Though the population had perhaps reached thousands, under the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and the harsh rule of the Taliban the Baháʼís lost the right to have any institutions and many fled.
[82] He suggests that the mentality of the believers in India changed during the later years of Shoghi Effendi's ministry, when they were instructed to accept converts who were illiterate and uneducated.
[85] The Bahá'í House of Worship in Bahapur, New Delhi, India[86] was designed by Iranian-American architect Fariborz Sahba and is commonly known as the Lotus Temple.
[95] Inspired by the sacred lotus flower, the temple's design is composed of 27 free-standing, marble-clad "petals" grouped into clusters of three and thus forming nine sides.
[97] The Baháʼí Faith in Nepal begins after a Nepalese leader encountered the religion in his travels before World War II.
The roots of the Baháʼí Faith in the region go back to the first days of the Bábí religion in 1844[79] especially with Shaykh Sa'id Hindi – one of the Letters of the Living who was from Multan.
[104] National coordinated activities across India began and reached a peak by the December 1920, first All-India Baháʼí Convention, held in Mumbai for three days.
In Pakistan the Baháʼís have had the right to hold public meetings, establish academic centers, teach their faith, and elect their administrative councils.
[118] The efforts of Baháʼí teachers working in Cambodian refugee camps in Thailand led to the establishment of Local Spiritual Assemblies among the survivors of the Khmer Rouge's campaign of genocide.
[123] A dedication ceremony and official opening conference took place on 1–2 September 2017, attended by Cambodian dignitaries, locals, and representatives of Baháʼí communities throughout southeast Asia.
[126] The Mentawai Islands were one of the first areas outside the Middle East and the Western world where significant numbers of conversions to the religion took place, beginning in 1957.
[134] A large concentration of Baháʼís is also found in Malaysia, made up of Chinese, Indians, Ibans, Kadazans, Aslis and other indigenous groups.
If, however, these services extend to include non-Baháʼís also, e.g. education for children's classes or adult literacy, then sometimes the community does accept assistance.
The Baháʼís should study the community and seek those members who display mature experience, loyalty, and are knowledgeable in the religion's beliefs.
In a public lecture at the Singapore Rotary Club, then the most prestigious and male-dominated club in Singapore, Mrs. Shirin Fozdar mentioned Baháʼí principles such as universal brotherhood, unity of mankind, gender equality, universal language and peace, building a spiritual civilization and the establishment of world government.
The Baháʼí community continues to participate and collaborate in interfaith events, actively promoting understanding, dialogue and interaction between different religions.
The 1950s and 1960s were marked by periods of rapid growth, mainly in South Vietnam; despite the war then affecting the country, the Baháʼí population surged to around 200,000 adherents by 1975.
After the end of the war, Vietnam was reunified under a communist government, who proscribed the practice of the religion from 1975 to 1992, leading to a sharp drop in community numbers.
Relations with the government gradually improved, however, and in 2007 the Baháʼí Faith was officially registered, followed by its full legal recognition a year later.
