Abdul Baha led the prayers in the mosque.

During the Mandatory period, the Bahá'ís of Acre, though considered a sect, remained firmly within the confines of Islam. 'Abdul Bahá himself, before he left Acre during the last years of the Ottoman rule, had the use of a separate room in the central mosque of Acre and on some occasions led the prayers in the mosque.

(Cohen, Erik. "'The Baha'i Community of Acre'." Folklore Research Center Studies 3 (1972): 119-41.)

Read More

Some of the contradictions in the Baha'i faith

These are some of the contradictions that come to mind:

1) Give impression that support diversity of faiths. True goal, however, is that people of all other faiths become Bahais.

2) Claim that do not proselytize. They do, however, do many things along these lines, such as sending "pioneers" all over the world (similar to missionaries) and host fireside meals and talks in homes to discuss the faith and to attract others.

3) Claim support for the state of Israel. Their long-term goal, however, is to establish a Bahai world order, with its center in Haifa (in other words, to supplant the Jewish state).

4 ) Claim to be steadfastly against antisemitism. The writings, however, contain antisemitic themes, which are reprinted in new books and other communications (e.g., that Jews killed Jesus and continue to suffer as a result).

5) Claim to believe strongly in independent investigation of truth. This, however, only applies if "truth" brings one closer to the Bahai Faith. All truth is avoided and obfuscated, if it is in any way critical of the Faith.

6) Claim that three principal founders (Bahaullah, Abdul Baha, and Effendi) were near perfect human beings, with the first two being close to divine. When one examines their writings and comments, however, one learns that they were not.

7) Give impression that the Faith is very liberal, when in reality, it is quite conservative (anti-abortion rights, anti-homosexuality, alcohol not permitted, and doesn't permit women in highest positions in the Faith - UHJ).

8) Give impression Faith is very modern. It is, however, based on writings and beliefs from mid-19th and early 20th century (hence prohibition against homosexuality and other antiquated notions).

9) Present Faith as the height of democracy, when it is actually quite authoritarian. While members can vote and there is an ostensible democratic process, incumbents generally win, including in the Universal House of Justice, and information is tightly controlled. Ordinary members thus, generally don't have the power or means to object or dissent to leadership.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/udv4v0/contradictions_in_the_bahai_faith/

Read More

History of the Baha'i Faith in 30 seconds

The Báb declared himself the coming of the hidden Mahdi of the Shaykhi branch of Shia Islam. He said that Subh-i-Azal was his successor, but his half-brother Bahá'u'lláh, also one of his followers, quickly declared himself a new Manifestation of God and took over the authority supposedly from Subh-i-Azal.

Bahá'u'lláh appointed his eldest son, 'Abdul-Bahá as his first successor, and his other son, Muhammad Ali as the second one. 'Abdul-Bahá expelled his own brother, Muhammad Ali, and later declared his grandson, Shoghi Effendi, the legitimate successor and 'Guardian' of the Faith.

Shoghi Effendi - the Guardian, according to the Bahá'í law, was supposed to write a Will and appoint an offspring as his successor to the office of the Guardianship. He failed in both and thus Mason Remey, one of "the Hands of the Cause" (title of 'fellows' of the Guardian), interpreted himself that he was the 2nd Guardian and the responsible for the continuity of the Guardianship. The Faith was split into many smaller sects as a result of this move.

The other Hands of the Cause, with the consent of the Bahá'i World, chose to take on the task of establishing the Universal House of Justice (the world administrative center of the Bahá'i Faith), and elected themselves to form this body without a living Guardian, who should have been the Chairman and Head of the Universal House of Justice for life (according to the Will and Testament of 'Abdul-Bahá).
This nine-men body is elected on a regular basis and continues to operate in Haifa, thinking itself infallible and guided by God in all its decisions!

Read More

Short biography of Baha'u'llah

".... Baha'u'llah had by 1873 already been permitted to move out of the Akka prison, and to rent a dwelling in the town. When they arrived in Syria, the Baha'is had been suspected by local Authorities of being nothing but anarchists and criminals. Gradually, Baha'u'llah's uprightness and high ideals changed the minds of officials, and only once, when some of the rougher Baha'is murdered three Azalis who were spying on the Baha'is for the Ottoman state, was this rapprochement interrupted. Baha'u'llah had attempted to instill a Pacifist ethos in the Babi community, and deeply regretted the incident. In 1877, the local Ottoman governor gave him permission to live in a mansion outside Akka, at Mazra'a. In 1879 he moved to another mansion, at Bahji (literally the "small garden," Bagce, in Turkish), where he lived until his passing in 1892. Baha'u'llah married three times, first Asiyih "Nuvvab" Khanum in his youth, then his cousin, Mahd-i 'Ulya, whose family had been martyred; he had a number of children with each of these co-wives, in accordance with Middle Eastern customs of the time. In Baghdad he married Gawhar Khanum (the latter appears to have been a pro forma temporary marriage [mut'ah] of a sort required of Shi'ite law where a man had a live-in maid, and Gawhar Khanum had been brought into the household in the Shi'ite Karkh district in order to serve Asiyih Khanum). He had only one child, a daughter, with Gawhar Khanum). Baha'u'llah's eldest son and vicar, 'Abdu'l-Baha, later Interpreted the Most Holy Book to require monogamy. Baha'u'llah had altogether fourteen children from his three wives, including four daughters. Five of his sons predeceased him. As noted, he appointed his eldest son, 'Abdu'l-Baha, as his successor and the official interpreter of his religion after his death, and he also provided for the election of local houses of justice and a world-wide Universal House of Justice to govern community affairs. Baha'u'llah died of a fever in 'Akka on 29 May 1892, at the age of 74."

"A Brief Biography of Baha'u'llah" Juan R.I. Cole, Department of History, University of Michigan

https://bahai-library.com/wwwboard/messages03/665.html

Read More

They spat in my face and slapping me in the face said 'You are an enemy of the Cause and you give talks about it!

Sometime after I was 'expelled' from the Cause and after the Bab’s shrine on Mount Carmel had been completed, a club of university graduates - chaired by an old friend of my sister's - invited me to talk about the Cause. This I was honoured to do and at the appointed date spoke at that meeting. However, upon leaving the hall, Mr. Mohammad Baha'i and Mr. Mansour, who, at that time worked at the house of Abdul Baha (and were in the service of Shoghi Effendi) came forward, spat in my face and slapping me in the face said 'You are an enemy of the Cause and you give talks about it!?'

http://www.abdulbahasfamily.org/documents/Ruhi-Afnan-1970-letter.pdf

Read More

Denis MacEoin did not withdraw from the faith, he was chased out by powerful Baha'i fundamentalists

Denis MacEoin did not withdraw from the faith, he was chased out by powerful Baha'i fundamentalists who were deeply threatened by the implications of his historical work. Denis became a Baha'i in North Ireland around 1965 and quickly emerged as a Baha'i youth leader. He was chosen to come to Haifa to commemorate the 1968 anniversary of Baha'u'llah's Letters to the Kings.

He then wrote the House saying he did not know whether to serve the Faith by becoming an academic scholar of the Middle East or by going pioneering. They wrote back that either path would be praiseworthy. (They later stabbed him in the back about this). He therefore entered graduate school at Edinburgh in Middle East Studies, then went on to Cambridge University for his Ph.D. He was the first academic to study the Babi movement with all the tools of modern scholarship, and his findings were groundbreaking.

Denis made the mistake of continuing to be an active Baha'i. Since the community is so heavily dominated by aggressive fundamentalist fanatics, if a genuine academic wants to be a Baha'i s/he has to keep a low profile. Denis did not. He gave summer school talks. He was once viciously attacked by Abu al-Qasim Faizi. His new ideas were upsetting the conservative British community. He objected when the Baha'i authorities supported dictators like Pinochet and Bokassa. He corresponded with the Los Angeles Study Class and some of his letters were published in their newsletter (a newsletter that the Baha'i authorities later closed down, for all the world like Tehran ayatollahs pulling a publishing license).

Around 1980, fundamentalist UHJ members Ian Semple and David Hoffman called Denis to a meeting and told him he would have to fall silent (rather as the Vatican did to Leonardo Boff). Hoffman was especially harsh. Denis declined to fall silent, and ultimately withdrew from the Faith. He was pushed out by anti-intellectual bigots who had risen high in the Baha'i hierarchy and become Infallible. Denis's works on the Babi and Baha'i movements are some of the few pieces of solid scholarship that exist. Instead of being grateful to him for sacrificing all those years living in penury as a graduate student, studying Arabic and Persian, traveling to a dangerous Middle East, all for the service of Baha'u'llah, the community could think of nothing better to do than viciously attack him and throw him in the gutter of infamy.

Denis's story is the story of most thinking people who have anything serious to do with the Baha'i faith. Either they adopt a cult-like mindset of true believers and covenant breakers, in which case they gradually cease being thinking persons, or they get chased out by the wild-eyed. A few people manage to avoid either fate by not drawing attention to themselves. The Baha'i Extreme Orthodox are like the Borg in Star Trek. They want to assimilate you, but might leave you alone if you stay quiet.

cheers

Juan Cole

Source : https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/MacEoin.htm

Read More

they do not receive a salary, but...

Most religious organisations are able to mobilise resources of skills and labour by appealing to the solidarity and religious sentiments of their believers, and the Baha’is are no exception to this. The people working at the Baha’i World Centre are all Baha’is (except some of the manual workers, who are paid locals), and they live and work quite isolated from Israeli society at large. The Baha’i group at the Baha’i World Centre constitutes a closed community, which also exhibits some utopian-communal ideals, similar to a convent or other religious commune. For example, the staff members serve a common cause, they do not receive a salary, but only a modest allowance, and the Baha’i World Centre provides them with almost all their necessities: housing, food, laundering, insurance, entertainment, even auto repairs and car washing. While working at the Baha’i World Centre, they do not receive private mail at their home addresses; all mail, even family letters, is sent to: Baha’i World Centre, P.O. Box 155, Haifa.

(Citizens of the World - A History and Sociology of the Baha’is from a Globalisation Perspective by Margit Warburg)

Read More

Abdul Baha and racism

The Baha'i Faith is against "scientific" racism, or the idea that Black skin is associated with biological racism, however 'Abdu'l-Baha had a generally negative opinion of Africa and Africans, essentially perpetuating the 'noble savage' and 'white man's burden' philosophies. Quotes from 'Abdu'l-Baha, head of the Baha'i Faith from 1892 and 1921 and considered an infallible source of Divine knowledge by Baha'is:

“The inhabitants of a country like Africa are all as wandering savages and wild animals; they lack intelligence and knowledge; all are uncivilized; not one civilized and wise man is to be found among them. On the contrary, consider the civilized countries, the inhabitants of which are living in the highest state of culture and ethics, solidarity and inter-dependence; possessing, with few exceptions, acute power of comprehensions and sound mind. Therefore, it is made clear and evident that the superiority and inferiority of minds and comprehensions arises from education and cultivation, or from their lack and absence. A bent branch is straightened by training and the wild fruit of the jungle is made the product of the orchard. An ignorant man by learning becomes knowing, and the world of savagery, through the bounty of a wise educator, is changed into a civilized kingdom. The sick is healed by medication, and the poor man, by learning the arts of commerce, is made rich. The follower, by attaining the virtues of the leader, becomes great, and the lowly man, by the education of the teacher, rises from the nadir of oblivion to the zenith of celebrity.” These are the proofs of the wise men. The prophets also acknowledge this opinion...

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TAB/tab-625.html

Consider how often murder occurs among the barbarians of Africa; they even kill one another in order to eat each other’s flesh and blood! Why do not such savageries occur in Switzerland? The reason is evident: it is because education and virtues prevent them.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAQ/saq-78.html.utf8

All these brutal qualities exist in the nature of man. A man who has not had a spiritual education is a brute. Like the savages of Africa, whose actions, habits and morals are purely sensual, they act according to the demands of nature to such a degree that they rend and eat one another.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAQ/saq-29.html.utf8

If we study human beings such as the aboriginal tribes of central Africa, who have been reared in complete subjection to nature’s rule, we will find them deficient indeed. They are without religious education; neither do they give evidences of any advance whatever toward civilization. They have simply grown and developed in the natural plane of barbarism. We find them bloodthirsty, immoral and animalistic in type to such an extent that they even kill and devour each other. It is evident, therefore, that the world of nature unassisted is imperfect because it is a plane upon which the struggle for physical existence expresses itself.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-119.html.utf8

If man himself is left in his natural state, he will become lower than the animal and continue to grow more ignorant and imperfect. The savage tribes of central Africa are evidences of this. Left in their natural condition, they have sunk to the lowest depths and degrees of barbarism, dimly groping in a world of mental and moral obscurity. ... But left in his natural condition without education and training, it is certain that he will become more depraved and vicious than the animal, even to the extreme degree witnessed among African tribes who practice cannibalism.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-101.html.utf8

If you should leave a man uneducated and barbarous in the wilds of Africa, would there be any doubt about his remaining ignorant?

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-97.html.utf8

What is the difference between the people of America and the inhabitants of central Africa? All are human beings. Why have the people of America advanced to a high degree of civilization while the tribes of central Africa remain in extreme ignorance and barbarism? The difference and distinction between them is the degree of education. This is unquestioned. The people of Europe and America have been uplifted by education and training from the world of defects and have ascended toward the realm of perfection, whereas the people of Africa, denied educational development, remain in a natural condition of illiteracy and deprivation, for nature is incomplete and defective.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-105.html.utf8

Therefore, his race should everywhere be grateful, for no greater evidence of humanism and courageous devotion could be shown than the white man has displayed. If the blacks of the United States forget this sacrifice, zeal and manhood on the part of the whites, no ingratitude could be greater or more censurable. If they could see the wretched conditions and surroundings of the black people of Africa today, the contrast would be apparent and the fact clearly evident that the black race in America enjoys incomparable advantages.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-45.html.utf8

Read More

Continuation of Guardianship

“There are those who pray to you, Shoghi Effendi" to which he replied in the following vein: "This is absolutely heretical. Such things are not permissible. It is wrong to address me as Lord or Master, or Thee or Thine. I had to send a very abrupt cable to the friends in Bombay to prevent them from celebrating my birthday. If this starts now there will be no end to it. The first Guardian's birthday, the first Guardian's death, the tenth Guardian's accession. They would have 400 Guardian's celebrations in 365 days. Nor must they refer to me as His Holiness. These things have no place in our Faith; they savour of popishness.”

(Notes made on Pilgrimage by Lorol Schopflocher, Keith Ransom-Kehler with Clara Dunn and Lyle Loveday.)

19th November 1958. Eugene Schmidt of Germany wrote a two-page letter to the revered Hands stating his belief “that the propagation as well as the protection of the Cause of Baha'u'llah are depended upon the clear and divinely inspired conception of the continuity of the Guardianship." He said: “Personally I am firmly convinced that the successful function of the institution of the Baha‟i Administration is impossible without the continuation of the Guardianship."

(Letter within The Question of the Guardianship of the Baha'i Faith)

14th April 1959. Mason Reme's Observation reads: “This day the Custodian Hands of the Faith met in conference. News very disquieting had come to us that Hermann Grossman in South America had told Baha'is that the Hands of the Faith had had a change of mind, and that undoubtedly there would be a second Guardian of the Cause‟

(From Daily Observations of Mason Remey)

“The Beloved Guardian (Shoghi Effendi) remarked more than once in his talks to us at table, that Haifa, the Center of the Administration of the Baha‟i Faith, was the most difficult place in all the world for a Baha'i to live! I had not been there myself very long before I found this to be most true as each of the other American Baha'is there in our small community was finding it to be. One day several of us Americans were at lunch together, and one of the number, Leroy loas, summed up the situation saying, 'Haifa is the hell hole of this world' and we all present endorsed his observation summing up this situation for we all felt that it was Hell to be there in Haifa. . . But now during these past two years and, more without a Guardian in command, life in Haifa has changed greatly indeed. Now things here are quite the reverse of what they were under the First Guardian. Now we are living there like children out from under the restraints of school with its teachers enjoying the freedom of a vacation. In the days of the Beloved Guardian..., he insisted upon frugality, he kept the expenses of the community down to a minimum- he deplored the ease and comforts of life in America- these he considered to be actually detrimental to the spiritual way of life . . . The luxuries of the American way of life are being indulged in here at the expense of the Baha'i Fund! I dare not mention these in detail for fear of giving personal offence to friends . . . The very fact that we Baha'is living in Haifa now enjoy so much freedom from restraints, both in spending and in living that we will not have, I assure you, under the renewal of the Guardianship when this is re-established, it in itself, if anything, may be a block in your way leading to the re-establishment of the Guardianship ... In other words, the Hands of the Faith are now well and comfortably established in Haifa, but there is no telling what restrictions another Guardian might make in personnel here and in their way of life.”

Sometime in 1959. Excerpt from a letter to the Hands of the Cause by Mason Remey:

Read More

So, the "herald of the Covenant" broke the Covenant?

Tablet from 'Abdul-Baha to Charles Mason Remey:

“O thou herald of the Covenant! Thy letters have been received and an answer has been written. Verily thou art firm in the Covenant, art self-sacrificing, art the son of the Kingdom and dost deserve the confirmations of His Holiness Baha'u'llah. Consequently, Abdul-Baha is highly pleased with thee and begs for thee from His Holiness Baha'u'llah limitless bounties.”

Read More

Baha'i Israel Relations

In some respects, Israel is a non-state to the Baha’is, because Israel is the only country in the world for which the Baha’i leadership has decided that no national Baha’i community must be formed. So, there are no Israeli Baha’is living in Israel, and the Baha’is abstain from proselytising in Israel. The Baha’i staff and their families are also not permitted by the Israeli authorities to do paid work in Israel (according to their visas, the staff are considered to be foreign “priests”).

As part of the agreement, the Baha’i World Centre has submitted a summary of the planned investment programme for the construction of the buildings in the Arc and the terraces of the Shrine of the Bab and for renovations and beautification of other Baha’i property in Haifa and Akko. Including the ongoing costs of the Baha’i World Centre operations, the total sum was estimated to be USD 166 million for the ten-year period 1988–1997. Because of its positive effect on tourism, this investment programme was classified by the Israeli government as an “Approved Project”, which entitled it to be exempt from customs and VAT. These benefits amounted to 18.8% of the money invested. In addition, the Israeli government noted that the Baha’i World Centre pays one third of the normal municipal taxes and found this to be a satisfactory arrangement

The Haifa office of Ministry of Religious Affairs confirmed that they were very satisfied with the Baha’i mission policy in Israel, so this undoubtedly contributes to the smooth relationship with the Israeli government. This positive relationship has also been confirmed when Israeli prime ministers have made official visits to the Baha’i World Centre; for example, Yitzhak Rabin did so on 13 June 1994.

(Citizens of the World - A History and Sociology of the Baha’is from a Globalisation Perspective by Margit Warburg)

Read More

The luxuries of the American way of life are being indulged in here at the expense of the Baha'i Fund!

"The Beloved Guardian (Shoghi Effendi) remarked more than once in his talks to us at table, that Haifa, the Center of the Administration of the Baha‟i Faith, was the most difficult place in all the world for a Baha'i to live! I had not been there myself very long before I found this to be most true as each of the other American Baha'is there in our small community was finding it to be. One day several of us Americans were at lunch together, and one of the number, Leroy loas, summed up the situation saying, 'Haifa is the hell hole of this world' and we all present endorsed his observation summing up this situation for we all felt that it was Hell to be there in Haifa. . . But now during these past two years and, more without a Guardian in command, life in Haifa has changed greatly indeed. Now things here are quite the reverse of what they were under the First Guardian. Now we are living there like children out from under the restraints of school with its teachers enjoying the freedom of a vacation. In the days of the Beloved Guardian..., he insisted upon frugality, he kept the expenses of the community down to a minimum- he deplored the ease and comforts of life in America- these he considered to be actually detrimental to the spiritual way of life . . . The luxuries of the American way of life are being indulged in here at the expense of the Baha'i Fund! I dare not mention these in detail for fear of giving personal offence to friends . . . The very fact that we Baha'is living in Haifa now enjoy so much freedom from restraints, both in spending and in living that we will not have, I assure you, under the renewal of the Guardianship when this is re-established, it in itself, if anything, may be a block in your way leading to the re-establishment of the Guardianship ... In other words, the Hands of the Faith are now well and comfortably established in Haifa, but there is no telling what restrictions another Guardian might make in personnel here and in their way of life."

Sometime in 1959. Excerpt from a letter to the Hands of the Cause by Mason Remey

Read More