All interviews were taped and documented. They are available through the Reference Department of the Teaneck Public Library. The Library is not responsible for the accuracy of the statements nor does it necessarily endorse the opinions expressed.

John Anderson

(Interviewed by Vivian Thompson on 2/29/1984. Transcription: 16 pages)

Summary:
Mr. Anderson moved to Teaneck with his wife in 1966. They are members of the Teaneck Baha'i Center located at 126 Evergreen Place. The narrator, who declared himself a Baha'i in 1917, briefly explains the principles of the Baha'i religion, which is the primary focus of this interview (p.1-6).

Mr. Anderson, who owns an extensive library regarding the history of the faith in this country, state that the Baha'i faith first reached the shores of North America in 1898 at the Chicago World Fair. Influential people such as Mrs. Hurst, mother of William Randolph Hurst, took groups over to Heifa to meet Abdul Baha, who later visited this country in 1912.

Mr. Anderson discusses the roots of the faith in Persia and the persecutions of its followers; in particular, the current persecution of followers by the official government of the Ayotollah Khomeini (p. 7-11).

According to the narrator, the Teaneck Center consists of three buildings and membership totals thirty at the time of the interview. The log cabin, started by the Wilhelms in 1916, took ten years to complete. Headquarters of the Baha'i World Faith is on Mt. Carmel, Haifa, Israel (p.10, 13-14)

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