The Bahá’í Community of Malta is made of people from various backgrounds that are representative of Malta’s diversity.
The Bahá’í Faith, founded in Iran in 1844 and adhered to today by more than six million members worldwide, was introduced to Malta in 1953. The Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Malta, the governing council of the Bahá’í Community of Malta, was formed in 1973. The Maltese Bahá’í National Centre is located in Valletta.
Bahá’ís feel at home in Malta in large part because so many of their central Bahá’í values are shared by their fellow Maltese citizens. Unity in diversity is the Bahá’í watchword. World-mindedness, the importance of justice, the rule of law, human rights and responsibility for others, fairness and equity, consideration for minorities, and the value of freedom and world citizenship are values that Bahá’ís share with Maltese.
Though Bahá’ís in nearly 200 countries are devoted to the task of contributing to a global community that upholds these values, still, local community life, the importance of the family, the dignity of the individual, and the elimination of prejudices of all kinds animate Bahá’ís in their daily life. They see service to others as the touchstone of what genuine spirituality and religious faith is all about.
Loyal to government, devoted to the common good, free of superstition and exclusivity, Bahá’ís strive to eliminate injustice, suffering, and human deprivation. The equality of women and men, education for all, the training of the mind, cultivation of the arts, and the creation of a moral culture in which everyone has the opportunity to give expression to the gifts of her or his particular spirit, these are the hallmarks of the Bahá’í ethos.
Maltese Bahá’ís are guided by the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. Central Bahá’í principles include the oneness of humanity and the oneness of God. Bahá’u’lláh taught that all the great religions of the world are divine in origin and one in their essential message of love. Each of the revealed religions provides fundamental spiritual and moral guidance as well as social teachings appropriate to successive stages in the history and spiritual evolution of humanity.