The Roots of Baha’i Conversion in British Cameroons

Abstract

This chapter, in an attempt to answer these questions, will introduce the 'underground movement' and look briefly at the history of the Basel Mission in Cameroon and in Ghana - taking particular note of the dynamics of that mission community at the end of the colonial era. It will then discuss the conversion of large numbers of Africans to the Baha'i faith in Uganda in 1952, as a result of the efforts of Enoch Olinga, then a recent convert, and the impact of these conversions on the Baha'is of the world. Attempts will be made to determine the nature of the Baha'i message in Uganda - both as it was taught and as it was received. By the middle of 1947, the number of Europeans was back up to twenty-nine, though German workers were not allowed to reenter the British Cameroons until 1959. Keywords:Africans; Baha'i; Basel Mission; British Cameroons; colonial era; Enoch Olinga; Ghana; Uganda