History

The Bahá'í Faith is an independent world religion, which was founded in Persia (Iran) during the mid-19 th Century.

1n 1844 the Báb taught that a Divine Messenger was about to be sent into the world and he proclaimed himself to be the forerunner of this new Messiah.  Within a few years the Báb had attracted many followers, however His followers suffered great persecution – many thousands were martyred in a short space of time and in 1850 the Báb was executed in Tabriz for heresy.

Before His execution the Báb had identified Bahá'u'lláh as the Promised One foretold by all the world's religions. His followers became known as Bahá'ís. Bahá'u'lláh suffered greatly and spent the remainder of His life in imprisonment and exile. He was finally exiled to Palestine (Israel) and His remains are buried near Mount Carmel. Mount Carmel has become a place of pilgrimage for Bahá'ís from all over the world.

The Bahá'í Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions. Over the past 150 years the Bahá'í community has spread across the globe to become the second most widespread religion. It has over 5 million followers' worldwide.
Northern Ireland

There is a vibrant community of Bahá'ís in Northern Ireland, which has grown since 1908. There are Spiritual Assemblies established in 8 towns. There are approximately 300 Bahá'ís in Northern Ireland. The community comes under the jurisdiction of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United Kingdom and there is an elected Bahá'í Council in Northern Ireland that has responsibility for the affairs of the community in the region.