IN 1924 the suggestion made to Shoghi Effendi, Guardian of the Bahá’í Cause, that an annual reference book be published on Bahá’í activities, found acceptance and fulfillment in the publication of Volume I of the Bahá’í Year Book.
It was believed that if the record of all the work of the Bahá’ís could be gathered together each year and the vital parts of such a record published, the result would be to assist the adherents of the Faith to more unified thought and action as well as disclose to others something of the significance of the world-wide Movement called into being by the Forerunner the Báb, the Founder Bahá’u’lláh, and the Exemplar and Interpreter ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.
The editors of Volume I expressed regret for the unavoidable emphasis placed upon the activities of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Likewise, the editors of Volume II feel that unavoidable emphasis is placed upon the activities of the Bahá’ís of the West in comparison with those of other countries.
Since the publication of Volume I in 1926, the name of the book has been changed according to the wish of Shoghi Effendi. Volume II bears the title: “
The Bahá’í World: A Biennial International Record,” and is dated April 1926-April 1928.
The articles and illustrations appearing in Volume II were passed upon by Shoghi Effendi, with the exception of the Survey of Current Activities and the Green Acre articles which were written at his request. In addition to the unique advantage of his Editorship, the manuscript was arranged by him in the order published. This means a book prepared under the personal supervision of the Guardian and Head of the Bahá’í Cause, who is a scholar of both Persian and English, having attended Oxford University.
Volume II should therefore prove of inestimable value to students of the Bahá’í Movement. Shoghi Effendi says of it: “I trust it will serve to awaken widespread and unprecedented interest in our beloved Cause . . . and that nothing will interfere with the speedy publication of a Book which the friends in many lands await eagerly.” The following excerpt from a letter from the Guardian to the Editorial Committee, through his secretary, emphasizes the importance he attaches to this publication:
Haifa, January 8, 1928.
. . . I feel I must express the true value which Shoghi Effendi has always attached to your deeply and generally appreciated labors in connection with the compilation and publication of the Bahá’í Year Book. Your work has been difficult and delicate, . . . but your resourcefulness, your industry and your devotion to the work you had taken up, has helped you in the past to produce a work which the Bahá’í world can very well be proud of and which has helped to encourage and sustain our beloved Guardian in the mighty task he shoulders. What you will do in future and how far-reaching the product of your labors will be in its influence and effect it is impossible to estimate. The field is endlessly wide, the opportunities incalculable, and the material promising and inexhaustible, but he feels sure that the strengthening power of faith, the unending activity of thoughtful enthusiasm and the unfailing blessings of His Grace will make you equal to the task and will crown your efforts with success.
Soheil Afnan.
