The story of the Baha'i faith and Baha'i shrines in Israel

...there are a few areas of northern Palestine contiguous with Lebanon which historically had a Shiʿa population. In addition to the mainstream Shi‘a adherents, Palestine also has a population of Druze whose beliefs and practices developed out of Shiʿa Islam. Another faith present in Palestine, which amongst other influences has a strong Shiʿa component, is the Bahai religion. Although the Bahais originated in nineteenth-century Iran, historical circumstances meant that they had to relocate to Palestine, which became the world centre of this global religion. Whilst Sunni Muslims might reluctantly accept Shiʿa Islam as a part of the Muslim faith, both Druze and Bahais are usually considered to be outside Islam. Nevertheless, the material culture and the geographical origins of both Druze and Bahais are strongly related to Muslim culture and theology.

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The Bahai faith originated from the teachings of Baha’ulla in nineteenthcentury Iran. Baha’ulla was himself a disciple of Ali Muhammad Shirazi, also known as the Bab (Ar. door), who in 1844 founded the movement known as Babism in expectation of the return of the twelfth Imam predicted in Twelver Shiʿism. ... Baha’ulla was imprisoned by the Qajar rulers but eventually released, choosing exile within the territory neighbouring Ottoman empire. The Ottoman authorities at first treated Baha’ulla as an important guest, but following a series of controversies and court cases, he was sent into internal exile in Acre, where he and his family arrived in 1868. On arrival in Acre, Baha’ulla was kept a prisoner in the citadel but was later allowed to move outside the city, eventually being housed in a large summer house outside Acre known as the Bahji Mansion, where he died in 1892.

There are two major Bahai shrines in Palestine, one is the tomb of Baha’ulla at the Bahji house outside Acre and the second is the tomb of the Bab (‘Ali Muhammad Shirazi) whose remains were removed from Iran in 1909 and are now interred in a specially built mausoleum in Haifa. In addition to these two official Bahai shrines, there are a number of graves of Baha’ulla’s relations and other people connected with the early history of the movement which can be regarded as shrines (Ruhe 1986; Sharon 1997, 66–74). For example, the grave of ‘Awdah, a Christian (Greek Orthodox) merchant who gave a house to Baha’ulla, is located within the house at Bahji. His white marble tomb is located in a room in the southeast corner of the mansion and identified by an Arabic naskhi inscription. It is not clear whether ‘Awdah is to be regarded as a Christian or an early convert although he clearly has a high status within the Bahai faith. On the other hand, Baha’ulla’s son Muhammad ‘Ali Baha’i is not regarded with favour by the Bahai community because he opposed the succession of his half-brother ‘Abd al-Baha to leadership of the faith. Muhammad ‘Ali Baha’i is buried in one of the two private Bahai cemeteries in a square mausoleum covered with a white dome.

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In the case of the Bahais, political considerations meant that Muhammad ‘Ali Baha’i (one of Baha’ulla’s sons) was buried in a private cemetery and despite the shrine-like appearance of his mausoleum, his tomb did not develop as a shrine.

(BONES OF CONTENTION - Muslim Shrines in Palestine by Andrew Petersen)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-6965-9