Most of Chicago Baha'is were the students of Kheiralla

By 1898, the Chicago Baháís had grown to 225 members, most of them having taken Kheiralla's spiritual healing classes in his offices at the Masonic Temple.

(Baha'i Temple by Candace Moore Hill)

https://play.google.com/books/reader?id=Yt5eIEnzfYMC&pg=GBS.PT17.w.1.0.0_188&hl=en

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Grand secretary of the Masonic lodges of Tasmania was a Baha'i for 6 years.

Mr H. A. Wilkinson, grand secretary of the Masonic lodges of Tasmania, had chaired a world religion day observance organized by the Baha’is in 1950, and had joined the community in 1952. When a 1954 article in the U.S. publication Baha’i News stated that Baha’is could not be Freemasons, the Hobart Assembly asked the National Spiritual Assembly for clarification. In its March 1956 Baha’i Bulletin the National Spiritual Assembly noted Shoghi Effendi’s directive that Baha’is not be involved in such secret societies as the Freemasons and in November 1957 reported its concern that some Australian Baha’is continued their adherence to Freemasonry, International Co-Freemasonry, and the Rosicrucian Order. Despite the clear instruction that Baha’is could not participate in secret societies, Wilkinson chose to remain a member of his Masonic lodge and in 1958 was deprived of his voting rights.

(Graham Hassall, The Baha’i Faith in Australia 1947–1963)

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Petition of Baha'is of Shushtar, Iran, March, 1867, to U.S. Government

"An extraordinary document reached Beirut April 3rd, addressed to the United States consul, from fifty-three Persians in Bagdad [actually from Shushtar, Iran, via Baghdad], petitioning the United States Congress for the release of their leader, Beha Allah, the Babite Persian reformer, who appeared in 1843,* and was followed by thousands, 30,000 of whom were killed by the Shah of Persia. He was arrested in Bagdad by the Turkish government, and is now (1867) in prison in Adrianople, European Turkey. His particular doctrine is 'the universal brotherhood of man.' The petitioners claim that they number 40,000. A German traveller writes from Bagdad enclosing the petition and speaks admiringly of the reformer, and asks for his release on the grounds of religious liberty which is now granted by the Sultan to all his subjects. One of the documents appended to the petition is signed with a Free Masonic Seal.**"

--Rev. Henry Harris Jessup, Fifty-three Years in Syria. New York and Chicago: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1910, Volume I, p. 329.

https://web.archive.org/web/20160403060044/http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/arabic/vol1/ardhal.htm

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You must not dissociate yourself from Church

During his visit to London in 1911, 'Abdu’l-Bahá had the following interaction with a Christian...

A student of the modern methods of the higher criticism asked ‘Abdu’l-Bahá if he would do well to continue in the church with which he had been associated all his life, and whose language was full of meaning to him. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá answered: “You must not dissociate yourself from it. Know this; the Kingdom of God is not in any Society; some seekers go through many Societies as a traveller goes through many cities till he reach his destination. If you belong to a Society already do not forsake your brothers. You can be a Bahá’í-Christian, a Bahá’í-Freemason, a Bahá’í-Jew, a Bahá’í-Muḥammadán. The number nine contains eight, and seven, and all the other numbers, and does not deny any of them. Do not distress or deny anyone by saying ‘He is not a Bahá’í!’

http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/ABL/abl-53.html#pg98

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You cannot organize the Baha'i Movement!

“The Bahai Movement is not an organization. You cannot organize the Bahai Movement. The Bahai Movement is the spirit of the age. It is the essence of all the highest ideals of this century. The Bahai Cause is an inclusive movement. The teachings of all religions and societies are found here. Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Mohammadans, Zoroastrians, Theosophists, Freemasons, Spiritualists, etc., find their highest aims in this Cause. Socialists and philosophers find their theories fully developed in this movement”

— Quote attributed to Abdul-Baha

Baha'i Year Book, Vol. 1, 1925-1926, p. 146

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'Abdu'l-Bahá regularly attended prayers at mosques and presented himself and his followers as Muslims.

'Abdu'l-Bahá regularly attended prayers at mosques and presented himself and his followers as Muslims. You might want to read "The Young Turks and the Bahá'ís in Palestine" by Necati Alkan, an instructor at the Wilmette Institute. Here is a quote from page 264: "Throughout their stay in Ottoman domains – until the death of 'Abdu'l-Baha in 1921 – the Baha’is presented themselves to outsiders in the Middle East as followers of Islam...'Abdu'l-Baha consequently states that the Americans were guided to Islam (ihtida) through the teachings of Baha’u’llah. Initially, American Protestant missionaries in Iran engaged in religious conversations with the Baha’is and joined the Baha’i tarikat. The new converts returned to America, propagated the Baha’i teachings and won over many Americans in a short time. Later, some Americans who travelled to Palestine met ‛Abdu’l-Baha, and this resulted in their belief in the ‛manifest religion of Muhammad’ and they recognized ‛the unity of God, approved and confirmed the prophethood (nübüvvet) of His Holiness, the glory of the Messengers [Muhammad], and believed in the greatness (ulviyet) of my late father Baha’u’llah’

Regarding dissimulation, in October 1921, 'Abdu'l-Baha encouraged the Bahá’ís of Manchester to emulate the freemasons...

October 1921
In the Name of God! O Sincere Servant of the Blessed Beauty!
Your detailed letter has been received, and has been the cause of the utmost joy and gladness. Praise be to God! The loved ones are all astir and active, but prudence is necessary. You have rent the veil too widely asunder. Explain to the loved ones that the rending of the veil to such an extent will be the cause of great agitation, and the harm thereof will reach to the Holy Land. Great caution is necessary. Discourses in churches and great public gatherings are in no wise permitted as in this place enemies, within and without, are lying in wait and are bent on aggression. Prudence requires that activity should, for the present, be concealed and carried on with the utmost moderation. Convey to the loved ones, one and all, on my behalf, the greatest longing, love and kindness. Give a spiritual message from me to Mr. Healds and say unto him: “Peruse the Gospel, how His Holiness Christ – may my life be a sacrifice to Him – says, ‘Conceal it, that the Pharisees may not be informed thereof.’ Now the same condition prevails.”
This matter is of the greatest importance. On no account let them contribute articles to the newspapers, and so long as they are not sure of any soul, let them breath no word to him. Consider how the Freemasons have for two hundred years carried on their work, and unto this day they have not openly declared it to any soul. Not until they find a hearing ear will they speak. The loved ones too must proceed with the greatest prudence, lest serious difficulties be created. If any one should travel to the Holy Land, he must on no account declare to anyone by the way that his purpose is to visit us. The loved ones must, in the presence of strangers, speak forth simply the teachings of the Blessed Beauty and mention no word of the belief concerning Him. Should anyone inquire, “What is your belief regarding the Blessed Beauty?” let them answer: “We regard Him as the foremost teacher and educator of these later ages and Abdu’l-Baha as the Centre of His Covenant.”

The original scanned document can be found at http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/docs/vol13/Barstow_600-623.pdf , where it is labeled BC#608.
It was published through H-Net's Documents on the Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Movements.

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