The Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, Precedents, and Urban Planning Implications

The Institution of the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
2012 06 10

1. What is the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar?
2. Potential Impact on Human Settlement Design
The Institution of the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar

The Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha, and Shoghi Effendi
refer to the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar as
a gathering of Bahá’ís worshiping and praising God
through use of sacred scripture, especially at dawn.
(Mashriqu’l-Adhkar is Arabic for “The Dawning Place of the Praise of God”.)
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkar includes:
• the central House of Worship, or Temple, itself, and,
• the complex of buildings surrounding the central House of Worship;
buildings ordained by Bahá’u’lláh to be at the heart
of every Bahá’í community,
buildings that include
educational and humanitarian service institutions
open to people of all religions.

The First Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 1912
In its most developed state, this first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár complex included
a travelers’ hospice; a school for boys; a school for girls; two kindergartens;
a medical dispensary; a library; and a public reading room.
At its height, the Bahá’í community of Ashgabat reached a degree of community
development that remains unsurpassed to this day.

General View of Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 1945
In October 1902, the foundation stone of the first Mashriqu’l-Adhkár
was laid in the presence of the governor-general of the province.
In 1948 a major earthquake that devastated large sections of the
city severely damaged the building. After it was further damaged by
heavy rains in the early 1960s, it was demolished.

Chicago, USAKampala, Uganda Sydney, Australia
Frankfurt, Germany
Baha’i Houses of Worship

Panama City, Panama
New Delhi, India Apia, Samoa

Santiago, Chile (under construction)

The Dependencies
These are the complex of buildings surrounding
the central House of Worship. They include:
• hospital
• drug dispensary for the poor,
• travelers’ hospice,
• school for orphans,
• home for the infirm and disabled,
• university for advanced studies, and
• other philanthropic buildings
The dependencies of the Masriqu’l-Adhkar
were described by Shoghi Effendi…
as "institutions of social service"
that relieve suffering, sustain the poor, and
provide shelter, solace, and education.

Mashriqu’l-Adhkar and Haziratu'l-Quds on same site
The term Haziratu'l-Quds (Arabic, “sacred fold”)
or Baha’i Center refers to national,
regional and local Baha’I administrative centers.
…. the Haziratu'l-Quds should include the secretariat,
treasury, archives, library, publishing office, assembly hall,
council chamber and the pilgrims' hostel.
Shoghi Effendi also stated that its functions
would be complementary to those of the
Baha’i House of Worship, and that it would be desirable
if both these buildings would be on the same site.
Bahá'í World Centre (1998-07-02). Functions and Importance of the Haziratu’l-Quds.

The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár land allows for expansion, for the addition of its dependencies.

The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár complex includes the House of Worship
surrounded by its dependencies (an imagened scheme).

The Mashriqu’l-Adhkár, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains,
is a "material structure" that has "a spiritual effect" and, indeed,
"a powerful influence on every phase of life."
Its purpose is not fulfilled by worship alone;
it must inspire the direct actions of those
working to regenerate the life of humanity.
The dependencies surrounding the Temple
link worship to service to humanity;
the prayers and praise of God expressed within the Temple
are translated into deeds of
compassion, care, and education in the world outside.

From the description of the role of
the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar and its dependencies,
mentioned above, we can derive:
the goal of development, and
the roles of the individual, the community and the institutions.
1. The goal of development is
to “regenerate the (spiritual and material) life of humanity”.
2.The role of the individual is service to humanity
through deeds of compassion, care, and education.
3. Society should express itself and be characterized
by compassion, care and education.
4. The role of the institutions is to inspire the direct actions
of those working to regenerate the life of humanity.

The Role of the Individual
“The individual who wishes to exercise self-expression
responsibly participates thoughtfully in consultation devoted to the
common good and spurns the temptation to insist on personal
opinion;
This vision has been unfolding, and its realization slowly
emerging. In the 2012 Ridvan Letter
from the Universal House of Justice, for example, we learn:
The Role of the Community
“the community that is to take charge of its own development
recognizes an invaluable asset in the unity afforded through
whole-hearted engagement in the plans devised by the
institutions.
The Role of the Institutions
“A Baha’i institution, appreciating the need for coordinated
action channeled toward fruitful ends, aims not to control
but to nurture and encourage;
The Goal of Development:
"among the results of the manifestation of spiritual forces will be that
the human world will adapt itself to a new social form," that "the justice
of God will become manifest throughout human affairs"

UHJ Ridvan Message 2012
The Mashriqu'l-Adhkar, described by 'Abdu'l- Baha as "one of the most vital
institutions of the world", weds two essential, inseparable aspects of Baha'i life:
worship and service. The union of these two is also reflected in the coherence
that exists among the community-building features of the Plan, particularly the
burgeoning of a devotional spirit that finds expression in gatherings for prayer
and an educational process that builds capacity for service to humanity. The
correlation of worship and service is especially pronounced in those clusters
around the world where Baha'i communities have significantly grown in size
and vitality, and where engagement in social action is apparent.
In our devotional and educational core
activities we can see the temple, the
dependencies, and the Haziratu’l-Quds, in
embryonic form.

In some parts of the world
the correlation between work and service has advanced to the point
where it is ready to be embodied in the Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
in two countries:
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Papua New Guinea and
the first local Houses of Worship in each of the following clusters:
• Battambang, Cambodia;
• Bihar Sharif, India;
• Matunda Soy, Kenya;
• Norte del Cauca, Colombia; and
• Tanna, Vanuatu.

天
人
合一
The Mashriqu’l-Adhkar concept resonates well with a Chinese philosophical concept
“Tian Ren He Yi”,
“Harmony between heaven and earth (or people), between the spiritual and the material”.

1. What is the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar?
2. Potential Impact on Human Settlement Design
The Institution of the Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adkar

If the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár is the material and spiritual nerve-center of the city,
What is its potential impact on human settlement design?

Promote the Development of Cities
“Promote ye the development of the cities of God and His countries,
and glorify Him therein in the joyous accents of His well-favoured ones.
In truth, the hearts of men are edified through the power of the tongue,
even as houses and cities are built up by the hand and other means.
We have assigned to every end a means for its accomplishment;
avail yourselves thereof, and place your trust and confidence in God,
the Omniscient, the All-Wise.”
(Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 77)

The following images look at a few
historical precedents
where there has been a conscious,
or unconscious, attempt to organize
human settlements around institutions of
authority, worship, and education.

Civic Center in Ancient Athens (Greece), The Agora
Historical Precedents

Civic Center in Ancient Athens (Greece), The Agora

Civic Center in Ancient Rome, The Forum

Gur, Iran. Founded by Ardeshir I ( 224-651 CE), the founder of the Sasanian Dynasty
Gur city is a circle-shaped city with diameter of 2 kilometres. The city is divided into 61 parts by 20 radial
walls and 3 concentric circles. The core circle is 450 meters in diameter. Most probably important
buildings such as ceremonial, religious, and governmental departments were in this area, remains of two
of which can still be seen in the area. One of them is the famous mihrab (altar) which is located just in the
centre of the circle and the other is known as the seat monument which must have been a big Zoroastrian
temple.


City of Al- Mansoor, Baghdad (762)
In 762 AD, construction began on Mansur. The city was designed as a circle about 2.7 km in diameter,
leading it to be known as the "Round City". The original design shows as single ring of residential and
commercial structures along the inside of the city walls, but the final construction added another ring
inside the first. Within the city there were many parks, gardens, villas, and promenades. In the center
of the city lay the mosque, as well as headquarters for guards. The purpose or use of the remaining
space in the center is unknown.

Institutions of
Spiritual and
Temporal Authority
Residential
Commercial
(assumed)

English Medieval Monastery

English Medieval Monastery
Devotion
Education

Ince Madrassah (1260-65)
Devotion
Education

The Süleymaniye
Mosque was built on
the order of Sultan
Suleyman (the
Magnificent) and
designed by Sina
Pasha. Construction
work began in 1550 and
was finished in 1558.
Suleymaniye Mosque, Istanbul, Turkey (1558)

M
ecca

Plan for Sforzinda, an ideal city (c. 1465)
The town center
contained three squares –
one for the prince’s palace,
one for the cathedral,
and one for the market.
Designed by Renaissance
architect Antonio di Pietro
Averlino (c. 1400 - c.
1469),
Market

Attributed to Luciano Laurana (c. 1420 – 1479) or Melozzo da Forlì (c. 1438 – 1494).
The Ideal City

Palmanova, Italy (1593)

Palmanova, Italy (1593) Nine-sided town. Where might they place a House of Worship?

Palmanova, Italy (1593) Nine-sided town. Where might they place dependencies?

Karslruhe, Prince’s Palace (1752-81), center of 32 radiating roads, Germany

Schools are located along the Grand Avenue or in the surrounding countryside.
Social and humanitarian institutions are located in the surrounding countryside.

Schools are located along the Grand Avenue.
The Culturally-oriented Civic center includes:
Town Hall, Museum-Gallery, Hospital, Library, Theater, and Concert Hall

Senior High School
Elementary School
Junior High School
Plan by Jose Sert
A hierarchy of community centers organized around education

Mandala
The word "mandala" is from the classical Indian
language of Sanskrit, loosely translated to mean "circle“.
It represents wholeness, and can be seen as a model for
the organizational structure of life itself--a cosmic
diagram that reminds us of our relation to the infinite,

The Mandala pattern was used by astronomer-King Sawai Jai Singh (1700-1743), India.
In the center are the Palace Complex and Observatory.

The Emperor (the Representative of Heaven) is located at the center of the city.
Old Beijing’s city plan and the Forbidden City are based on this model .

Venice: Institutions of Authority: St. Mark’s Church and the Palace of the Doge
Existing / Potential

Sweden: A hierarchy of community centers organized around education and social centers

Drum Tower
Drum Tower
Drum Tower
Drum Tower
Drum Tower
Drum Tower Community Centers in Guizhou, Dong Minority Village

Community Centers in Guizhou, Dong Minority Village
The drum towers provide venues for the whole
village to discuss and settle important matters,
hold important festivals or entertainments
such as singing and playing wind instruments.
A leather drum is placed in the drum tower.
When there are important things to talk about,
the drum is beaten by a respected village
leader to summon the villagers. There is a fire
on the ground where a fire burns almost all
year round.

Temple
Kindergarten
Center for Elderly
A hutment community in Ganeshnagar, Pune, India, where the residents built there own community center
which includes a temple, administrative offices, a kindergarten and an activity center for the elderly.
Administrative Wards
Administrative Office

Ganeshnagar Community: Local Residents

Nan Mo Fang residential community, Beijing, 1995. Planning law requires community service
buildings, particularly for education.
Kindergarten
Elementary School
Central Green Space

“Civic Buildings should be grouped together…….
‘It has too often been the case, in the history of
cities, that their Cultural Institutes have been
postponed until adequate sites for them are no
longer obtainable. Modern cities (British and
American especially) are thus discovering their
needs when too late adequately to supply them at
great expense, and then in too scattered locations.’
His point is that it was vital to ensure the
‘proximity of these institutes, so as to prevent
their mutual forgetfulness, which in time
hardens into exclusiveness, and thus to failure
of usefulness all round: and just when duly
intelligent and understanding and sympathetic
cooperation are most required. This condition of
proximity, and for mutual interaction, is
fundamentally necessary.’
Helen Meller, Patrick Geddes, Social Evolutionist and City Planner,
Routledge, 1990, p.280.
PROXIMITY of INSTITUTIONS
On January 7, 1913, Abdu’l-Baha
visited the "Outlook Tower”, an
educational institution in Edinburgh,
Scotland, guided by the learned
scholar, Prof Patrick Geddes. Prof.
Geddes gave Abdu’l-Baha a rousing
reception. The Master praised his
energy and patience.

The Institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar stimulates a consciousness
and inspires individual action “to regenerate the life of humanity”;
The proximity of the institutions should allows for positive synergies
between the dependencies.
The following is an example of what could happen:
Kotoen, in Tokyo’s Edogawa district
combines a home for the elderly and a kindergarten.
PROXIMITY of INSTITUTIONS
A Partial Map of Tokyo, Edogawa District

Many elderly choose to live here; they find a new happiness through their association with the children.
The family circle is complete again.
An example of Institutional Synergy:
Kotoen, Tokyo, Edogawa district combines a home for the elderly and a kindergarten.

Exercise together

INSTITUTIONAL SYNERGY
“We found that once the two facilities were joined together,
the children began learning how to care for others
by talking and being with the older co-residents.
We could see that through this experience the children
were growing into warm and compassionate human beings.
For the elderly, we realized that through their association with the children,
they were becoming more alive and their health was improving.
Seeing these aged people, many of whom I thought had forgotten
how to laugh or even express their thoughts,
holding the children and happily talking with them,
brought home how important a touching relationship
can be between two caring people”
Maeda Takumi, Kotoen Director

Grandpa talks to the children about the good old days.

The children draw a picture of Grandma.

The children help take care of Grandma

The following are a few images
that explore the physical design of
villages, towns and cities using
the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar and
its dependencies
as the main organizing principle.

旅馆
Mashriqu’l-Adkar Municipal Level
(an imagined scheme for a city of about 300,000 people)

Mashriqu’l-Adkar: Hierarchy of Sizes, at the municipal, district, and community level
Assumption: Cities will have municipal, district, and community-level Mashiqu’l-Adhkars.
The size of each type will be in proportion to the population.
Imagined schemes

Mashriqu’l-Adhkar District and Community Levels
Imagined schemes

Community Level Mashriqu’l-Adkar at the center of a “Walking” POD community
Assumption: People will walk every day, usually in the morning, to worship at the temple. An
easy 10 minute walk to the center, a distance of about 400 meters, defines a 50 hectare land
area. Using a typical Chinese urban residential density of 200 people per hectare, we get a
population of 10,000 people. The Mashriqu’l-Adhkar can be reached by everyone without the
use of cars or public transport, inside this Pedestrian-Oriented District (POD).
“Walking” POD
Community

Four “Walking” Communities and a District-Level Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
40,000 people
“Walking” POD
Community
District-Level
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar

220,000 people
Five Districts and a Municipal-Level Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
District-Level
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
“Walking”
Community
Municipal-Level
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar

City of 300,000 people organized around the Masriqu’l-Adhkar
Municipal-level
Mashiqu’l-Adhkar
District-level
Mashiqu’l-Adhkar Community-level
Mashiqu’l-Adhkar

城市级市民中心
Conceptual plan of a city for 300,000 people
organized around the Mashriqi’l-Adhkar (about 5x5km).
Municipal
Mashriqu’l-Adkar
POD
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
District
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar

Transportation Plan
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar

Walking-Distance Community
with Mashriqu’l-Adkar
Town
Mashriqu’l-Adkar
Industry
Urban Forest
Existing town
surrounded by villages.

Town
Mashriqu’l-Adkar
Industry
Urban Forest
Add Mashriqu'l-Adhkar
to existing towns and
villages

Town
Mashriqu’l-Adkar
Industry
Urban Forest
Add new POD

Town
Mashriqu’l-Adkar
Industry
Urban Forest

Clusters of Human Settlements organized around the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar

In the Chinese model of an ideal city, there is a coherence of spiritual and material authority.
China did not experience the same early rupture of reason and faith, “church” and state as in the West.

The Baha’i Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, Precedents, and Urban Planning Implications

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