"If Islām as a political order is equated with Islamism, then this also applies to Bahā'ism, although a corresponding Bahā'ī equivalent to the word "Islamism" has yet to be invented. Like the Islamists, the Bahā'īs also aim to establish a God-state (theocracy) with a globally valid, religiously constituted legal and social order. Nevertheless, they emphatically deny any involvement in worldly affairs and prohibit any political activity, at least on the part of the faithful base. They emphasize their peacefulness and oblige their followers to obey the ruling authorities — by which prospectively also, and above all, their own is meant. However, a secular (non-religious) order is rejected and the goal is to elevate Bahā'ism to the status of a "state religion" in a "Bahā'ī State" or "Bahā'ī World Government" that is to be created. The supreme authority of this universal faith-based dictatorship is the "Universal House of Justice," which is endowed with infallible authority. Per this premise, Bahā'ism is also a political and ideological religion, although its marginalized position in society means that it must exercise due restraint in achieving its goals.
"In contrast to a militant Islāmic fundamentalism, uncompromising in appearance, Bahā'ism succeeds in giving the impression of a progressive, modern religion with external reference to modernity. With its principle of the indivisible unity and equality of the human race, Bahā'ism — and this is the real attraction of this faith — represents an insight that is increasingly permeating collective thinking in the face of global challenges. However, that a changing world consciousness is also necessarily heading towards a religion of world unity does not seem very realistic. There is a tendency for traditional belief systems, in recognition of religious pluralism, mutual tolerance, and the preservation of cultural diversity, to come closer to one another in a broader dialogue, but at the same time to seek to preserve their own identity. The days of the predominance of only one religion are over and cannot be restored even by a new universal religion, all the more so if the latter includes a religious law that claims secular validity for a period of at least a thousand years beyond the sphere of belief.
"A religious system rooted in 19th Century oriental thinking, largely prefabricated from the outset, dogmatically and ideologically cast in concrete forms, and therefore essentially stagnant at its core, is not compatible with the dynamic zeitgeist of an open and pluralistic society. Even if one may be inclined to assign the phenomenon of Bahā'ism to the other world religions as their youngest member, the global implementation of its goals and the urge to grow up to become an outstanding world culture will probably be forever denied to it in view of these self-erected barriers."
— Bahā'ī: Einheitsreligion und global Theokratie. Ein kritischer Einblick in die Universalreligion der Zukunft [Bahā'ī: Religion of Unity and Global Theocracy. A Critical Insight into the Universal Religion of the Future], (Monsenstein und Vannerdat, 2009), pp. 131–132
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