Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Just published: official website of the Baha'is of Egypt

A milestone worth noting is the launch of the official website of the Baha'is of Egypt. The site is quite appealing and pleasing to the eye. It consists of five major components: an introduction on the main page, followed by the history of the Baha'i Faith in Egypt, then an open letter from the Egyptian Baha'is to their fellow citizens, succeeded by a section named "we will build Egypt together," and lastly ends with "guiding principles."

The main page shows a photograph of a corn field with scattered date palms and the step pyramid seen in the background. In the history section, it shows a photograph taken in the 1950s of children with their teachers after their classes. Additionally, that section includes photographs of the successors of Bahá'u'lláh (the founder of the Baha'i Faith) showing at first, his son, Abbas Effendi (`Abdu'l-Bahá), and secondly, the grandson of Abbas Effendi, Shoghi Effendi, who was the guardian of the Baha'i Faith until his passing. Currently the Baha'i Faith is headed by an intentionally elected Body of nine men, named the Universal House of Justice. The site also contains the full volume of a book authored by Dr. Suheil Bushrui on the life of Abbas Effendi that was published in 2011, in commemoration of the hundredth anniversary of his frequent visits to Egypt between 1910 and 1913.