"I think either the Baha'i Faith is a true religion or else all religions are false."

I had the same thought and then I thought, "if all religions are false, what would I have to lose by remaining a Baha'i?"

Money. Instead of giving 19% of my surplus (i.e. income after essential expenses) to the UHJ, I could actually help those who are less fortunate with that money. Baha'is have no say on how the UHJ spends huququllah, and there is no financial transparency. But I have an idea as to how they spend it: building and maintaining religious buildings, assisting missionaries ("pioneers"), religious materials, etc. It is all to promote the Baha'i Faith. Is that where you want your money to be spent? To convert your neighbors even though "all religions are one"?

Time. Proselytizing ("teaching") is the greatest deed or service to humanity. Try to convert your neighbors and then pat yourself in the back thinking that you are saving the money. You could use your time to volunteer for organizations that actually help your community. You could argue that you do both, but you are wasting your time if the Baha'i Faith is false.

Integrity. If the Baha'i Faith is false, then it should be rejected. By remaining a Baha'i, you are perpetrating a false ideology that has some regressive teachings. Teachings that are sexist, homophobic and some that simply violate the Golden Rule. Be true to yourself even if it makes you uncomfortable.

Honestly, Abdul-Baha was a douchebag. Definitely, not infallible. He intentionally misquoted a passage from the New Testament to justify shunning his half-brother. Imagine not speaking to your family members because they held different religious beliefs and then, he speaks about religious tolerance. Talk about hypocrisy and not practicing what he preaches. It was easy for him to talk about love and unity and how all Christians should get along, for example, and yet, fail to implement those same teachings in his life. He is a joke and then Baha'is hang his picture in their homes!

https://redd.it/12uiipi

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Bahai is more of a surveillance cult like Scientology and Ahmadiyya.

One exBaha'i claims

Bahai is more of a surveillance cult like Scientology and Ahmadiyya. They spy on, track and harass former members of their community, operating like a quasi-intelligence agency.

https://redd.it/132frdn

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Baha'i laws are inconsistent

Oddly enough, there are occasional inconsistencies between the reformist letters of Bahāʾ Allāh’s later period and the legalist text of the Aqdas. The liberalizing emphasis on the equality of men and women is ill-matched by the law of marriage (which allows a man two wives), or regulations such as that awarding a man’s house and clothing to his male, not female, heirs, even should there be no male offspring; the tolerance towards other religions that is shown in the injunction to mix freely with their followers jars with the law that disallows a teacher from taking his share in an inheritance should he be a non-Bahāʾī; and the general distaste for violence shown in the abolition of jihad and wider exhortations to peaceful behaviour sit a little uneasily with the ruling that arsonists are themselves to be burned.

(The Messiah of Shiraz - Studies in Early and Middle Babism by Denis Martin MacEoin)

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Abdul Baha says about the Babi and Baha'i communities and their teachings

ʿAbd al-Bahāʾ stressed even more than did his father the contrast between the Bābī and Bahāʾī communities and their teachings. In one passage, having referred to the Bahāʾī obligation to associate with all men in a spirit of love, he goes on to say that ‘this is one of the religious duties of the Bahāʾī community, not of the Bayānīs (i.e. Bābīs). The aim of the latter is the opposite of this. For the Bahāʾīs have as their sacred book the Kitāb-i aqdas (sic), which commands us thus, whereas the book of laws of the Bayānīs is the Bayān, which is a direct contrast to the Kitāb-i aqdas in these matters. The Bahāʾīs, however, regard the Kitāb-i aqdas as abrogating the Bayān, and say that in the Qurʾān and the Bayān there is the decree of opposing other religions, whereas the Kitāb-i aqdas abrogates all these laws’. In a letter apparently addressed to the Bahāʾīs of either Baghdad or Shīrāz (madīnat Allāh), he puts forward the view that, in every religious dispensation, a particular teaching was given special emphasis. Thus, in the time of Moses, obedience and submission to God were stressed; in the days of Jesus, moral behaviour, friendship, harmony, and turning the other cheek; and, in the dispensation of Muḥammad, the smashing of idols and the prohibition of the worship of false gods. In the days of the Bāb, he goes on, ‘the decree of the Bayān was the striking of necks, the burning of books and papers, the destruction of shrines, and the universal slaughter of all save those who believed and were faithful’. By way of contrast, he says, the emphasis in the Bahāʾī dispensation is upon compassion, mercy, association with all peoples, trustworthiness towards all men, and the unification of mankind.

(The Messiah of Shiraz - Studies in Early and Middle Babism by Denis Martin MacEoin)

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Dayyan established his own sect

In her well-known risāla written in reply to a letter from ʿAbbās Effendi, ʿIzziyya Khānum (Sultān Khānum), a sister of Subh-i Azal, states that Dayyān “openly and in public apostatized from the faith of the Bayān, and in numerous gatherings spoke without concealment in refutation of his holiness the Primal Point” and says that he even burned a large quantity of the Bāb’s writings. Beginning with his chief representative, Mīrzā Ibrāhīm Tabrīzī, Dayyān acquired a following in Azerbaijan and possibly elsewhere, who came to call themselves, not Bābīs but Asadīs. How large this group was is not clear, but Dayyān’s activities seem to have continued without interruption until about 1856, when he appeared in Baghdad, possibly in response to Azal’s attack on him in the Kitāb al-mustayqiz.̣ How long Dayyān spent in Baghdad is not known, but it would not seem to have been more than a few months. Azal’s refutation of him had contained passages that implied that he wanted both Dayyān and Mīrzā Ibrāhīm (whom he named Abu’l-Shurūr [Father of Evils] and Abu’l-Dawahī [Father of calamities] respectively) put to death.

(The Messiah of Shiraz - Studies in Early and Middle Babism by Denis Martin MacEoin)

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offensive holy war was ordained by the Bab, and the Baha'i representation of the Bab and His message is inaccurate.

In various places MacEoin has argued that an offensive, and not merely a defensive, holy war was ordained by the Báb, and that the Bahá’í representation of the Báb and His message is inaccurate. MacEoin’s views on this issue are summarized in his 1982 article,“The Babi Concept of Holy War.”

(Gate of the Heart by Nader Saiedi)

But Nader Saiedi being a Baha'i scholar loyal to the Haifa based UHJ defends the Baha'i narrative and tries to refute MacEoin.

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Denis MacEoin's sources

I must also express my very deep thanks to my supervisor, Professor Laurence Elwell-Sutton, for so kindly undertaking the supervision of my work at a remove of several hundred miles and for his patient understanding of my aims and methods; to the Northern Ireland Department of Education for their financial support during the first three years of my research; to the trustees of the E. G. Browne Memorial Fund and the Spalding Trusts for research grants relative to my visit to Iran in 1977; to the Universal House of Justice for permitting me to examine materials in the International Bahaʾi Archives in Haifa in 1976; to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahaʾis of Iran for permission to use manuscripts in their archives in Tehran; to Mr. Fuʿād Sānaʾī for his assistance there; to the late Mr. Ḥasan Balyuzi for his advice, encouragement, and generous loan of materials; to Ḥājī ʿAbd al-Riḍā Khān Ibrāhīmī (d. 1979) for his exceptional generosity in providing me with the publications of the Shaykhi community of Kirman and for granting me several interviews; to Mrs. Fakhr-Tāj Dawlatābādī, Mr. Nūrī Naẓarī, and other Azalī Babis in Tehran for supplying me with books and information; to Ḥājī Shaykh ʿAbbūd al-Ṣāliḥī for his information on the Baraghānī family of Qazvīn; to Dr. Moojan Momen for all our discussions over the years and for letting me make use of the fruits of his indefatigable researches in the Public Record Office and elsewhere; to Mr. [now Dr.] Peter Smith for providing ideas and suggestions over many years and for his help with my sociology (the many errors in which remain very much my own); to Mr. [now Professor] Abbas Amanat for invaluable help during the early stages of my work; to Allen Purvis, my wife, and all the other staff of the manuscript reading room of Cambridge University Library for their kindness and assistance in coping with my many requests; to Mr. Wilfred Lockwood of the Oriental Department of Cambridge University Library for his many recommendations and untiring help in locating elusive materials; to King’s College, for providing funds to assist in the preparation of the dissertation; to the Ashraf-Saysānī family of Tehran for their very great kindness and hospitality during my last stay there, and above all, to the memory of ʿAlī Ashraf Saysānī, whose death so soon after my return was a blow to us all.

(The Messiah of Shiraz - Studies in Early and Middle Babism by Denis Martin MacEoin)

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mythologizing Baha'i history and modern Baha'is are not accustomed to see these figures

As a simple example of how mythologizing can harm both the truth and people’s ability to hold to a higher truth, I will mention something that is not in these pages. Elsewhere, I have shown calculations, based on original histories, that demonstrate beyond a shadow of doubt that the number of Babis killed between 1844 and the early 1850s amounted to scarcely more than 3,000 persons. Even recently, the Bahaʾi authorities have re-affirmed the accuracy of their claim that an iconic figure— 20,000—died. This is to fly in the face of all the evidence, including that of their own sources. No historian of any quality or dignity would venture beyond the figures I have given, and some might reduce them. My figures are based on a count of names and rough figures given for the four main incidents in which Babis died, together with extra figures with much smaller death counts. For there to have been a further 17,000 deaths that are unaccounted for in government, diplomatic, Babi, or Bahaʾi sources beggars belief. It is simply not likely that as many as 20,000 Babis even existed in Iran between 1844 and 1852, the period of the main incidents. To give some idea of how vast the discrepancy is, we need only note that 20,000 equals the number of British dead during the Battle of the Somme.

No intelligent historiography can continue where such irrational denials of the obvious occur. There is absolutely nothing to stop Bahaʾis recognizing those 3,000 martyrs, valuing them, or writing about them in a hagiographic fashion. They have a right to do that. What they do not have is a right to falsify or deny explicit evidence. If they ever come up with solid proof that 20,000 died, historians will be the first to welcome the new figure…

Modern Baha’is are not accustomed to see these figures of their founding myth handled without the kid gloves of piety. Unfortunately, the prophetic aura has no place in unbiased historiography. Throughout this book, I have tried to wean pious readers (if there are any) off their diet of romance and mysticism. They are welcome to go back to that diet once they have read, digested, and dealt rationally with my presentation of the facts. But they are not welcome to attack my findings or my presentation on the basis of what their hagiographies tell them. Hagiographies occupy a different mental plane to academic histories, and religious conviction is no substitute for hard fact in a rational context.

(The Messiah of Shiraz - Studies in Early and Middle Babism by Denis Martin MacEoin)

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Most of Qurrat al-'Ayn's considerable output of apologetic writing has been destroyed or lost.

Unfortunately, there is good reason to believe that most of Qurrat al-'Ayn's considerable output of apologetic writing has been destroyed or lost. Something of the extent of this output is indicated by Muḥammad Muṣṭafá al-Baghdádí. He says that, when she was in Kirmánsháh in 1263/1847, letters would arrive for her every day from ulama and other enquirers. She would write rapid replies to all of these. The anonymous Azalí history, Qurrat al-'Ayn: bi-yád-i Şadumín sál-i shahádat, states that, while under house arrest in Tehran, 'Izziyya Khánum, Şubḥ-i Azal's eldest sister, would send her younger sister Fátima to visit her, Fátima then being eight or nine years old. The little girl would bring letters for Qurrat al-'Ayn concealed in her pocket and would take replies away in the same manner. Many prayers, poems, homilies, and other pieces reached the Bábís in this way, and many of the originals are still extant. These copies may be in the possession of 'Izziyya Khánum's family, but it is possible that some are in Bahá'í hands as well.

(The sources for early Bábí doctrine and history A survey by Denis MacEoin)

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/m/maceoin_sources_babi_history_proofed.pdf

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Nabil Zarandi's history (The Dawn-Breakers) is partisan, hagiographic, and frequently mistaken about dates and other vital details.

A further difficulty with Zarandi's text lies in the rather late date of its composition. The author, originally known as Mullá Muḥammad and later as Nabíl-i Zarandí or Nabíl-i A'zam, was born in the village of Zarand on 18 Şafar 1247/29 July 1831. He himself states that he became a Bábí in 1265/1848-49.684 His history of the sect up to 1853 was begun in 1888 and finished in 1890; the sequel was written between then and his death in 1892. This means that there was a time-lag of something between thirty-five and thirty-seven years between the latest events described in the narrative and the time of writing, with as much as ninety-five between then and the earliest events recorded. If we bear in mind that Zarandí was not a professional historian working with a large range of reliable documents and that the normal distortions of hindsight were, in his case, much exacerbated by numerous shifts in doctrine and attitudes towards individuals, this time factor becomes extremely important. And it must not be forgotten that Zarandí's history, like those of Mírzá Jání and Hamadání before him, is partisan, hagiographic, and frequently mistaken about dates and other vital details.

(The sources for early Bábí doctrine and history A survey by Denis MacEoin)

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/m/maceoin_sources_babi_history_proofed.pdf

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Baha'u'llah must have mistaken these words as part of the Bab's original text.

In fact, two sections from the Panj sha'n in INBMC 64 more or less equal what we may presume to have been the text of the Lawḥ-i hurúfát. This, in turn, would explain a passage reading: 'What was sent down for his excellency al-Asad, the single, the unique, illumined with the eternal light, the name of God, ad-Dayyán, quoted by Bahá' Alláh in the letters referred to above. This sentence does not appear in the Panj sha'n text, and it is my assumption that it represents a scribal addition placed at the head of the text as distributed independently. Bahá' Alláh, however, as is evident from his use of the preceding phrase qawluhu ta'álá ('His words, exalted be he'), must have mistaken these words as part of the Báb's original text. It is, of course, plausible that the address was added by the Báb himself when the text was prepared for despatch to Khú'í.

(The sources for early Bábí doctrine and history A survey by Denis MacEoin)

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/m/maceoin_sources_babi_history_proofed.pdf

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Abdul Baha mistakenly describes it as the first book written by the Bab

The Qayyúm al-asmá’ is generally agreed to have been the first work written by Shírází after 22 May 1844. We have already quoted (Abbás Effendi, who mistakenly describes it as ‘the first book (nakhustín kitáb) ever written by the Báb. He may very well have taken the idea from a passage in his father’s Kitáb-i íqán, where the Qayyúm al-asmá’ is described as ‘the first, greatest, and grandest of all books’ (awwal wa a‘zam wa akbar-i jamí‘-i kutub).

(The sources for early Bábí doctrine and history A survey by Denis MacEoin)

https://bahai-library.com/pdf/m/maceoin_sources_babi_history_proofed.pdf

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Baha'i scholar Nader Saiedi about the claims of the Bab

In those texts, written during the first three years of His ministry (May 1844–May 1847), the Báb claims to be the Gate to the hidden Twelfth Imám. He also frequently refers to Himself as the “Remembrance of God” (Dhikru’lláh). However, in His later writings, those set down during the last three years of His life (May 1847–July 1850), the Báb declares His real station to be not only that of the Twelfth Imám—the very Qá’im Himself—but also a new Prophet, a new Manifestation of God, with the authority to promulgate a new Holy Book with new laws.

Reconciling the apparent differences in the claims made by the Báb has been a matter of puzzlement to some scholars. Although some have found continuity in the Báb’s claims, others have assumed that the different stations the Báb attributed to Himself at various times reflect an alteration or evolution of consciousness on His part—indicating, in effect, that over time the Báb changed His mind about what station He actually held.

(Gate of the Heart Understanding the Writings of the Báb by Nader Saiedi)

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It is incumbent upon every one not to take any step without consulting the Spiritual Assembly

‘Abdu’l-Bahá says:

“It is incumbent upon every one not to take any step without consulting the Spiritual Assembly, and they must assuredly obey with heart and soul its bidding and be submissive unto it, that things may be properly ordered and well arranged...”

(Bahá’í Administration by Shoghi Effendi published by US Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 1974 edition)

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/BA/ba-13.html

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What is the difference between a Haifan Baha'i and a Unitarian Baha'i?

If you ask a Haifan Baha'i why they believe the UHJ is infallible, it will not happen that they pull out a single verse or paragraph by Baha'u'llah and say "this is why". No, instead they will say "Let me tell you about The Covenant". They believe the UHJ is infallible not because of some concrete writing by Baha'u'llah, but instead because of the abstraction of "The Covenant". They say that there is a "very clear" concept of "The Covenant" in the Baha'i writings, which is abstracted from several different writings and which if you put them all together point to the UHJ in Haifa as being the infallible authority of all Baha'is in the world. And it is "so clear" that if you deny it then it can only be because you are evil and hate God and are intentionally trying to undermine his religion. This is what Haifan Baha'is believe.

My question is: If "The Covenant" is such an important concept to Baha'u'llah, then why does it only exist in abstract form? Why didn't Baha'u'llah just write a single verse making clear that the UHJ is infallible? Why do you need to show a bunch of bits and pieces of Baha'u'llah's writings from different tablets together, supplemented by additional "context" (e.g. "Muhammad Ali was warned!"), in order to convince people of this alleged "Covenant" concept?

Unitarian Baha'is don't rely on any kind of complex abstraction in order to justify their position. If someone asks a Unitarian Baha'i why they believe Muhammad Ali succeeded Abdul Baha, they just show the verse "Verily, God hath ordained the station of the Greater Branch after the station of the former. Verily, He is the Ordainer, the Wise. We have surely chosen the Greater after the Greatest as a Command from the All-Knowing, the Omniscient!", which is ironically from Baha'u'llah's "Book of my Covenant".

https://www.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/131fx4c/the_abstraction_of_the_covenant/

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One exBaha'i shares his experience.

One God known by many names beyond human understanding - Yes

Unity- By eliminating racial inequality? Yes

By eliminating social inequality? Yes…and No. The presented idea is that, in the future when the world is mostly Baha’i, that there will be social strata, but without the extremes of social injustice.

By equalizing men & women? Yes…and No. Women aren’t allowed on the international governing body. Some Baha’is are very modern in their ideas of men & women and some are not. This depends of what community you are in, who you are talking to, and what writings you cherry pick. Some Baha’i writings that were advanced for their time a century ago seem dated in 2023. Modern Baha’is are supportive of the equality of women in careers, although the station of Motherhood is considered exalted, if not supported by any practical means.

Unity of science & religion - Yes. As long as the Baha’i Faith has the final authority. Evolution is ok, for instance, but humans cannot be descended from a shared primate ancestor according to Abdul-Baha: We were always a separate sentient species from other mammals according to the son of the prophet, for example.

One big happy family- it did seem that way before I became a Baha’i. It May depend on what community you are in also, but there are the usual class distinctions among Baha’is that you will see in other religions. Some Baha’is are very accepting while others are snobs. Opinions are ok as long as they do not conflict with the Baha’i writings or cause disunity. Once you become a Baha’i, you are expected to obey local, National, and international institutions and authorities and not disagree with them.

The Baha’i Faith does want their members to police their thoughts and feelings to live in harmony with Baha’i institutions and be positive.

Baha’is who do these things may have a very strong community experience, and I can understand the attraction. Baha’is who leave may be shunned. Baha’is who openly disagree with institutions are seen as a threat to unity and may be declared ‘Covenant Breakers’, whom other Baha’is are forbidden to talk to including spouses, parents, and siblings. Those who consort with Covenant Breakers are themselves considered Covenant Breakers and lose their community.

I left the Baha’i Faith over 10 years ago and now considered an apostate. Some Baha’is that I run into are kind and will talk to me. Others look daggers at me & then look away, not saying a word. So the unity applies to other Baha’is, but not to everyone. The small Baha’i community I joined was very egalitarian in terms of social class. The larger Baha’i community I later moved to had strong class distinctions.

Like many religions, it varies by community, and there is a difference between the ideal presented to the recruits and the lived reality of members.

I hope this perspective is helpful. Good luck with your essay!

https://www.reddit.com/r/religion/comments/12zqru3/what_exactly_is_bahai/

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Regarding the Baha'is of Iran one Muslim shared his observation.

Regarding the Baha'is of Iran one Muslim wrote the following:

As for Iran, the world is against Iran. I have serious doubts about the veracity of news reports about Iran, especially related to the treatment of Iranian Baha’is. A coworker of mine is an Iranian Baha’i. He is living in Canada for more than 35 years. He has visited his family many times over the years. His mother from Iran visited him a few times. If Iranian Baha’is are indeed persecuted, why would my coworker go to Iran? He is well-off financially. Why would he not rescue his family? He could have them smuggled into a neighbouring country and in to Canada. When his mother visited Canada, he could have had her apply for asylum at the airport.

Another interesting observation: The Baha’is in North America are mostly affluent professionals. My coworker owns at least two houses. Why don’t the Baha’is in the West pool their wealth together and make a deal with the Iranian government? If the Baha’is are to be believed, the Iranian government hates the “murtad”, “unclean” Baha’is. I'm sure that they want them to leave their wonderful country. The wealthy Baha’is in the west could pay the regime a ransom, hire a fleet of aircraft to evacuate the Iranian Baha’is and arrange for their Baha’i brothers and sisters to be resettled in Europe or North America. My coworker did not like my idea!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AhwhqT14rGs&lc=UgxTxb8ojBRTt-ZrBIF4AaABAg 

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Azali Babism and related Sources.

See

https://hurqalya.ucmerced.edu/node/4011

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"he asked the Universal House of Justice for forgiveness"

When Drs. Leland and Opal Jensen accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian and wrote letters to the Mauritian Bahá’ís trying to bring them into the Remey camp, Dan was disappointed that he did not get one of these letters. So he wrote to them and Dr Jensen sent him a stack of literature about Mason Remey’s claim to distribute to the ‘waverers’, which he did by post. Upon investigation in 1961 by the Port Louis Assembly, of which he was treasurer, he confessed to all this activity but insisted it was only so that the Bahá’ís could decide for themselves through ‘independent investigation of truth’. He also insisted that he himself had not sent his adherence to Mr Remey. After prolonged and heart-rending consultation and effort on the part of the National Assembly, visiting teacher Aziz Yazdi, and the staunch local friends and institutions over a period of three years, Dan was eventually declared a Covenant-breaker after the Crusade, in January 1964. However, after 19 years of loneliness and being shunned by the Mauritian Bahá’í community, he asked the Universal House of Justice for forgiveness and was reinstated as a Bahá’í in 1983. He passed away peacefully in 1990.

(Heroes and Heroines of the Ten-Year Crusade in Southern Africa by Lowell Johnson, Edith Johnson)

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"True Religion Means Loving Your Enemy" !

Afterward "The Wolf," whom Bahá’u’lláh condemned in His Lawh-i-Burhán ("Tablet of the Proof") and called "the last trace of sunlight upon the mountain-top," saw the steady decline of his prestige and died miserably, in acute remorse. As for his accomplice Mír Muhammad-Husayn, Bahá’u’lláh stigmatized him as the "She-Serpent," and declared him to be "infinitely more wicked than the oppressor of Karbilá." This man was expelled from Isfáhán, wandered from one village to another, and finally sickened and died of a disease so foul-smelling that his own wife and daughter could not bear to attend him.

(Introduction to the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf by Marzieh Gail)

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Baha'i terminologies

Bahá'ís use terminology in ways that was not intended. Bahá'ís don't have censorship, they have "review." They don't proselytize, they "teach." They don't have missionaries, they have "pioneers." They don't have prophets, they are called "manifestations." And so forth.

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"In this Dispensation, divine guidance flows on to us in this world after the Prophet’s ascension, through first the Master, and then the Guardians."

While the Guardianship was to be a perpetual institution of the Administrative Order, it ceased to exist after the death of Shoghi Effendi because he died having violated Bahá'u'lláh's command in the Kitáb-i-Aqdas that "Unto everyone hath been enjoined the writing of a will." Having no children of his own and having declared every living male descendant of Bahá'u'lláh a Covenant-breaker, Shoghi Effendi left no eligible candidates for the office of Guardian, posing a serious problem given his assertion that "In this Dispensation, divine guidance flows on to us in this world after the Prophet’s ascension, through first the Master, and then the Guardians." He had furthermore stated in The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh that...

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. “In all the Divine Dispensations,” He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, “the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.” Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.

So fundamental was the office of the Guardianship, that Bahá’í literature was significantly altered subsequent to Shoghi Effendi's death, with the notable removal of references to "The First Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith," the "first and present Guardian," and "the lineage of succeeding Guardians." In some cases, references to the Guardian have been replaced or amended with "the Universal House of Justice" and in other instances references to the duties of the Guardian that were in the present tense have been changed to the past tense, indicating that the Guardianship has ceased.

From 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament...

O ye beloved of the Lord! It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor, that differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first-born of the Guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words:—“The child is the secret essence of its sire,” that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the Guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he, (the Guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him." 

https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/129fb9f/biggest_theological_problems_in_bahai_teaching/ 

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Poem on the "Entry by Troops"

Oh Baha'i faithful, hear my tale
Of the "Entry by Troops" that did fail
The year 2000 was meant to be
The time when hordes would flock to thee

But now the year has come and gone
And still, we wait for this grand dawn
The disappointment surely stings
As many Baha'is spread their wings

They leave the faith they once held dear
Their hopes and dreams crushed by fear
For if this prophecy was wrong
What other teachings aren't so strong?

The UHJ, they hold the key
To Baha'i faith and its destiny
But are they leading us astray?
This "Entry by Troops" just a ploy?

Perhaps it's time to take a stand
And question what they have planned
For if this promise is not true
What other lies do they imbue?

So let us not hold our breath
For the "Entry by Troops" is a myth
The UHJ is just duping us
And their leadership we must discuss.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/12jhrnv/a_couple_of_poems/

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only we could not interpret the word "turn towards” as they have done

Where is that freedom of thought which is the cause of the progress of the world, and what became of the commands of the Supreme Pen? He said, “O people of the world! The creed of God is for love and union; make it not the cause of discord and dissension.” Today we hear and observe nothing but malice and hatred, and the condition [of the Baha’i faith] has reached to such a state that the commands are openly violated and the Book of My Covenant is (being) disregarded.

What are our sins? Because we did not accept Ghusn-i-A‘zam (‘Abdu’l-Baha) as a new manifestation? We obeyed all his wishes and desires, only we could not interpret the word "turn towards” as they have done and overlook all the revealed books. The foundation of religion is the confession of the Oneness and Singleness of God, and if we interpret the word “turn towards” as they have done, we would be violating that foundation and those principles. We could not be polytheists and ruin the work of our lifetime. We have lived many years under the blessed shadow of our Great Master Baha’u’llah and have heard the commands from His Ancient Tongue. How could we forget what we have heard and observed in those blessed days, and for the sake of the seekers of earthly possessions and leadership keep silent?

(Mirza Muhammad Ali, Autobiography, taken from A Lost History of the Baha'i Faith)

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Muhammad-‘Ali did not claim special authority or ability

Kheiralla continued to offer his teachings to interested persons. But whereas he had been successful in the 1890s (when he had converted hundreds in a few years), he made few converts as an independent religious teacher. The primary reason for his failure may have been the changes in the “pith” of his teachings: Kheiralla could no longer teach that ‘Abdu’l-Baha was the return of Christ, and because Muhammad-‘Ali did not claim special authority or ability, Kheiralla could not transfer this teaching to him. This deprived his teachings of a living individual who appealed to the seeker. He attempted to make himself the spiritual authority, instead, by providing his  prayers of his own composition, the repetition of which was supposed to aid in the spiritual development of the individual.

(The Bahá'í Faith in America: Origins, 1892-1900 by Robert H. Stockman)

https://books.google.com/books/about/The_Bahá_í_Faith_in_America_Origins_18.html?id=ZmPYAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

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One of the most irritating things about mainstream Baha'is

One of the most irritating things about mainstream Baha'is is the dance they do if you ask them why the UHJ is infallible. First they say the UHJ is infallible because Abdul Baha said so. Then you ask them if Abdul Baha is really infallible then they will post quotes by Shoghi Effendi "explaining the station of Abdul Baha". Then if you say Shoghi Effendi isn't qualified to declare Abdul Baha infallible then they say Abdul Baha's infallibility comes from the Tablet of the Branch. When you point out that the Tablet of the Branch has nothing to do with Abdul Baha, then at this point they will censor or ban you.

https://www.reddit.com/user/trident765/

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Forget unity in diversity... Baha'i faith is itself split into different factions and micro factions

Forget unity in diversity, ever since the Bab died, the entire Baha'i faith has been split into different factions and micro factions, so there isn't even unity within the faith! Baha'u'llah was against Azal, Abdul-Baha was against Muhammad Ali, Shoghi was against his family, Maxwell was against Remey... didn't Jesus, who Baha'u'llah is supposed to be the return of, say "A house divided against itself cannot stand"?

https://www.reddit.com/user/affectionate-Sir99/comments/

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August J. Stenstrand

This was August J. Stenstrand who during the period of Behaist decline became a follower of Subh-i Azal, and having been unanimously voted out of the “First Central Church of the Manifestation” of the “Society of the Behaists of America” in May 1906, proceeded to circulate a series of five ‘Calls of Attention to the Behaists or Babists of America.” Stenstrand like Kheiralla later found the occasional place for his ideas in the columns of the Baha'i periodical Reality, during its period of heterodoxy (1922-29).

Studies in Bábí and Bahá’í History/The American Bahá’í Community, 1894–1917: A Preliminary Survey

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friends should shun & avoid him & ignore him altogether.

My dear and precious co-workers:

Your last two letters dated June 5, 26 have been carefully read, & I hasten to inform you that regarding Stenstrand, he is an Azalí & the friends should shun & avoid him & ignore him altogether. He is after mischief & dissension.

Your true brother, Shoghi

https://bahai.works/Messages_to_the_Antipodes/1927

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In the early years of the American Baha’i community, many Baha’is were occultists

In the early years of the American Baha’i community, many Baha’is were occultists, including those who believed they had acquired special knowledge or instructions through dreams or visions. As the community grew, the number of occultists declined. In 1917-1918, the orthodox Baha’is tried to expunge the esoteric Baha’is from the community. This was the Chicago Reading Room affair. ‘Abdu’l-Baha discouraged esoteric beliefs and warned the Baha'is against tampering with psychic forces.

(Studies in Honor of the Late Hasan M. Balyuzi by Moojan Momen)

https://books.google.com/books/about/Studies_in_Honor_of_the_Late_Hasan_M_Bal.html?id=yWXYAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y

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"Chicago Reading Room Affair"

In the Chicago community, a few Baha’is started their own group called the “Reading Room” against the wishes of the Chicago House of Spirituality. Several letters among the Hannen papers allude to this situation. One of the people involved with the Reading Room was declared a Covenant-breaker by ‘Abdu'l-Baha, and as a result of this person’s disobedience, a series of incidents created quite a stir in the community. I came across information in Nathan Rutstein’s book about Corinne True that offered some clarity: In Chicago, the Bahá’í army’s campaign wasn’t going  well. Ever since 1910 or 1911, undercurrents of disunity had been festering which erupted in 1917-1918. The Master had noted the situation during His visits to Chicago in 1912 and had privately warned both Corinne True and Dr. Bagdadi to be alert to signs of  disobedience to the Covenant of Baha'u'llah, of which He was the appointed Center. The episode became known as the “Chicago  Reading Room Affair,” named after the Reading Room which Luella Kirchner opened in 1913, with the approval of ‘Abdu’l-Baha.

(Aflame with Devotion - The Hannen and Knobloch Families and the Early Days of the Baha'i Faith by Judy Hannen Moe)

https://www.bahaibookstore.com/Aflame-with-Devotion-P9587.aspx

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Baha'u'llah's second and third wives, as well as their children, became the covenant-breakers.

The second wife of Bahá'u'lláh, whom He married in Tihran in 1849, was Fatimih Khanum, usually referred to as Mahd-i-'Ulya. She was a cousin of Bahá'u'lláh and gave birth to six children, of whom four survived. They were one daughter, Samadiyyih, and three sons, Muhammad-'Ali, Diya'u'llah and Badi'u'llah. These four, along with their mother, violated the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. Mahd-i-'Ulya died in 1904.

The third wife, Gawhar Khanum, was not known by any other title. The dates of her birth, marriage and death are not known. Her marriage took place some time in Baghdad before the declaration of Bahá'u'lláh's mission. While Navvab and Mahd-i-'Ulya travelled with Him in all His exiles, Gawhar Khanum remained in Baghdad with her brother, Mirza Mihdiy-i-Kashani. For some years she was among the Bahá'í refugees in Mosul[34] and later went to 'Akka at Bahá'u'lláh's instruction. She gave birth to one daughter, Furughiyyih; mother and daughter both became Covenant-breakers after the passing of Bahá'u'lláh.

(The Child of the Covenant: A Study Guide to the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha by Adib Taherzadeh)

https://bahai-library.com/taherzadeh_child_covenant&chapter=all

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Harrison Gray Dyar

Despite the scientific community’s respect for Dyar’s many achievements while employed by the Smithsonian Institute as a leading researcher in the study of insects, his personal behaviour got him into trouble. His infamy increased when a vehicle travelling on a public street in the vicinity of DuPont Circle fell into one of his tunnels. The authorities were appalled to discover his warren of tunnels running beneath the nation’s capital. All published accounts about him agree that Harrison Gray Dyar was eccentric - brilliant and multi-talented, but exceedingly eccentric. The son and heir of a wealthy family, Dyar had earned a degree in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a doctorate in entomology from Columbia University. Dyar’s second wife, Wellesca Pollock Allen, given the name Asiyeh by ‘Abdul-Baha, became a committed Baha'i in 1901 during the earliest years of the Faith in the West, and had made a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1907. When ‘Abdul-Baha visited Washington DC in 1912, He called on the Dyars. Even though Harrison Dyar could never give his whole-hearted allegiance to any group - wishing to remain a freethinker and free agent - he found the social teachings of ‘Abdu'l-Baha to be in line with his own ideas. He gave lectures on Baha’ topics for the Washington DC Bahai community. Involvement with 'Reality' provided an opportunity to liberally promote his own conceptions to a wider audience. He and Robinson were kindred spirits in their ideals and motives. And Dyar was willing to fund the journal. When he began his work as editor of 'Reality', Dyar’s greatest obstacle quickly became the Baha'i Administrative Order which had been established only months earlier. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Will and Testament was being circulated and studied, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada had been elected for the first time, and in larger cities such as Washington DC and New York, Local Spiritual Assemblies were being established. The Will of ‘Abdu’l-Baha demanded obedience to these nascent institutions as well as total fealty and obedience to Shoghi Effendi. To Dyar’s thinking, organization was a harmful perversion of the Baha'i Movement. He hated the word ‘obedience’. In his mind, Baha'i was not a religion, but a bundle of good ideas that if widely spread and implemented would transform the world into a better place. Organization, especially one demanding unequivocal compliance, was, to his mind, a hindrance that impeded the spread of the ideals which he believed Baha'i stood for. Dyar saw no reason why any governing board should define the Baha’i Faith, for it was his unwavering conviction that each individual attracted to the teachings of ‘Abdu’l-Baha had the right to define the Baha’i Movement for himself. Horace continued as a consulting editor even after Dyar became an owner of 'Reality', though most of his fellow Baha'is who had shared that role were replaced by others who were not Baha’is. But after seeing the August 1922 edition, Horace decided he had to withdraw his support.

(Infinite Horizons: The Life and Times of Horace Holley)

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should they bring sorrow to his holy heart, all their good works and devotions would become as scattered dust.

...during the two last years [of the Bab’s life and mission] all that emanated from the Supreme Pen bore reference to His Highness the Fruit [of the Beyan], whom he [i. e. the Bab] recommended to all the people of the Beyan, saying that should they bring sorrow, even to the extent of the mention of aught, on his holy heart, all their good works and devotions would become as scattered dust. Of the words of His Highness the Point [i. e. the Bab] still extant at the present day, which bears reference to the Fruit [of the Beyan, i. e. Subh-i-Ezel] exceeds 20,000 verses, not counting what has disappeared. And for ten years after [the death of] His Highness the Point all the people of the Beyan were unanimous and agreed as to the bestowal of the successorship on His Highness the Eternal [i. e. Subh-i-Ezel].

-A Call of Attention to the Behaists or Babists of America, by August J. Stenstrand (1907)

https://archive.org/details/callofattentiont00sten_0/page/n1/mode/2up

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Guillermo Sotomayor and Eduardo Gonzalez Expelled from Faith

The following cablegram, dated July 20, from the Hands of the Faith residing in the Holy Land to the National Spiritual Assembly of Ecuador is published here for the information and protection of all Bahá’ís who have had or may in the future have any contact with these two persons:

“Owing (to) continuation (of their) activities (in) undermining (the) institutions (of the) Cause (of) God Sotomayor (arid) Gonzalez (have been) expel led (from the) Faith (and) all association (with them is) forbidden.

—HANDSFAITH

Mr. Guillermo Sotomayor lives in Quito, Ecuador, and Mr. Eduardo Gonzalez in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

—U.S. NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY

https://bahai.works/Baha%27i_News/Issue_366/Text#Guillermo_Sotomayor_and_Eduardo_Gonzalez_Expelled_from_Faith

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A piece of land owned by the sister of Ameen Farid

The second parcel belonged to the wife of Sydney Sprague, who was also the sister of Ameen Farid, ‘Abdul-Baha’s secretary during His travels in the West who defied the Master in 1914 and had become a Covenant-breaker. When Sydney’s wife supported Farid, Sydney had initially remained loyal to her and was expelled from the Faith. Ultimately, he left her and came back to the Faith. His wife, however, remained in opposition to the Faith and refused to sell the land. The issue was finally resolved when the State of Israel took possession of the land as it did with the holdings of many Arabs and some others who fled the country during the War of Independence. Israel then sold the land to the Baha’is.

(Earl Redman, Shoghi Effendi - Through the Pilgrim's Eye Vol. 2)

https://www.grbooks.com/products/shoghi-effendi-vol-2-through-pilgrims-eye_redman?variant=24525720191076

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Husayn Ghani and his son Ruhi

To protect the Faith, the beloved Guardian had instructed the Baha’is of Iran not to go to America even for study or as tourists. The majority of Baha'is obeyed this instruction, but unfortunately a few disobeyed and were expelled from the Faith by the beloved Guardian. One complicated case was that of Husayn Ghani, His son Ruhi, was a registered Baha’i, but despite repeated admonitions of the National Spiritual Assembly, he made several visits to America and finally was expelled from the Faith. His Baha’i relatives, including his mother, cut off all communication with him. Husayn Ghani, however, started to insult the Faith and to instigate divisions among the Baha’is.

(Hand of the Cause of God Furutan by Iran Furutan Muhajir)

https://www.bahaibookstore.com/Hand-of-the-Cause-of-God-Furutan-P8867.aspx

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Red [Marxist] Bahaism

Similarly, with regard to Baha'i theology, Dyar maintained that it was unnecessary to believe in the Manifestations of God, their divinity, or indeed any "cosmic conception."

Increasingly using Reality as a vehicle for the promotion of his own ideas, Dyar was still ready to give space to alternative viewpoints related to the Baha’i movement, no matter how idiosyncratic. Thus, the lone American Azali, August J. Stenstrand was able to find a platform for his views, and Edward J. Irvine was able to promote “Red Bahaism” or “Irvinism.” Seemingly a rather pathetic figure who gained no adherents for his “reformed” religion, Irvine was soundly rejected by both the Baha’is and the communists whose tenets he sought to combine. Space was also given to those whom mainstream Baha’is regarded as violators of the Covenant such as Ameen Fareed, Ibrahim Kheiralla, and the promoters of the Kheirallaite ‘Unitarian Behai’s Movement.’

Few mainstream Baha’is continued contributing to Reality after its evident heterodoxy became established.

(From Iran East and West/Reality Magazine: Editorship and Ownership of an American Bahá’í Periodical)

https://books.google.com/books?id=7xbzoJ5wFG4C&pg=PA147&#v=onepage&q&f=false

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Women will be barred once the NSA are converted to the NHJ

One exBaha'i says:

Women are allowed to serve on Spiritual Assemblies. What Baha'i women may not realize is that the Spiritual Assemblies will eventually end (according to Baha'i theory) and then they will be superseded by National and Local Houses of Justice. Only men are allowed on a House of Justice.

Baha'i women are working hard for the future subjugation of women.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/12evr7f/those_men_who_have_no_women_among_themselves_have/jfdfsxx/

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