The Fallacy of Gender Equality in The Bahai Faith

The Fallacy of Gender Equality in The Bahai Faith



The Baha'i Faith claims to regard the equality of men and women as one of its fundamental tenets, [1] yet one does not need to dig very deep before coming across major inconsistencies that clearly contradict Bahai proponents' claim of gender equality. While official statements from the Baha'i administration seemingly promote gender equality and the ideal of justice and equity in the world at large, Baha'i women themselves are treated with injustice.

Let's examine some of Baha'ism's "divine and balanced" gender laws that in contrary to Islamic gender regulations and jurisprudence, are "impartial and objective."[2]

No Baha'i Women Allowed in The Faith's Highest Governing Body
Bahai women are not allowed to serve on the sect's highest governing body, the Universal House of Justice (UHJ). This ruling is based upon authoritative interpretations of Bahaullah's words and scriptures by Abdul-Baha.[3]

This exclusion and discrimination has naturally upset many Baha'i women who have formed their own separate councils and committees, causing tension between the segregated bodies.[4]

Many attempts have been made by Baha'i women, to repeal such discriminative laws and in one such attempt- in a letter to Abdul-Baha in 1902- Corinne True, one of the most prominent Bahai women's rights advocates, called for Abdul-Baha's approval of female service in the governing board in Chicago. [5] The answer she received however did not satisfy her and remains the key to today's practice:
"Know thou, O handmaid, that in the sight of Baha, women are accounted the same as men, and God hath created all humankind in His own image, and after His own likeness. That is, men and women alike are the revealers of His names and attributes, and from the spiritual viewpoint there is no difference between them. Whosoever draweth nearer to God, that one is the most favoured, whether man or woman. How many a handmaid, ardent and devoted, hath, within the sheltering shade of Baha, proved superior to the men, and surpassed the famous of the earth.

The House of Justice, however, according to the explicit text of the Law of God, is confined to men; this for a wisdom of the Lord God's, which will erelong be made manifest as clearly as the sun at high noon." [6]

Such obvious discriminations and injustices are of course downplayed in public presentations, so that it is not uncommon for converts to discover these gender inequalities only after joining the community.

Women Inherit Less than Men and Are Not Allowed to Inherit Property
Another interesting contradiction to Baha'ism's claim of gender equality is the fact that this equity and justice does not embrace the economic sphere.

According to Bahaullah's directives, every inheritance must be divided into 2520 parts and distributed to the heirs according to the inheritance law through which fathers receive more than mothers, brothers more than sisters, and if the deceased owned personal residence or properties, such will pass to male heirs only, leaving the female heirs dependent on them for roof over their head.

Here is Bahaullah's instructions regarding division of inheritance:
"Inheritances We have divided according to the number al-za' (seven). Of them we have apportioned to your seed from the book al-ta' (nine), according to the number al-maqt (540); to husbands or wives from the book al-ha' (eight), according to the number of al-ta' and al-fa' (480); to fathers from the book al-za' (seven), according to the number of al-ta' and al-kaf (420); and to mothers from the book al-waw (Six), according to the number of al-rafi' (360); and to brothers from the book al-ha' (five), the number of al-shin (300); and to sisters from the book (9) al-dal (four), the number of al-ra' and al-mim (240); and to teachers from the book al-jim (three), the number of al-qaf and al-fa' (180). Thus commanded He who gave Good News of Me and who made mention of Me at nights and at daybreaks (al-ashar)...We have assigned the residence and personal clothing of the deceased to the male, not female, offspring, nor to the other heirs. He, verily, is the Munificent, the All-Bountiful."[7]


Baha'i proponents often try to cover up and conceal this obvious inequality by stating that the law of inheritance applies in case a Bahai dies without leaving a will. However, the important question here is why the Bahai teachings with all their "brilliance and gender equality", in essence favor men? Why should there exist an individual will in every single case in order to avoid the gender inequalities taught by Bahaullah and emphasized on in Bahaism's most central and authentic book? [8]


Bigamy allowed for Men only
Bigamy- for men only- is 'legitimate and allowed- according to Baha'i law.
Let me quote Abdul-Baha's guidelines:
"You asked about polygamy. According to the text (nass) of the Divine Book the right of having two wives is lawful and legal (ja'iz). This was never (abadan) prohibited, but it is legitimate and allowed (halal wa mubah). You should therefore not be unhappy, but take justice into your consideration so that you may be as just as possible. What has been said was that since justice is very difficult (to achieve), therefore tranquility (calls for) one wife. But in your case, you should not be unhappy." [9]


And the confirmation of bigamy is yet even more clearly formulated by Abdul-Baha in the following passage:
"Concerning a third wife, under no condition whatsoever is this lawful. It is prohibited completely, even if the two wives should prove to be unacceptable, and leaving [or divorcing] be impossible. (This is also true) in case they should have no children and no reason may be found (to leave or divorce them)." [10]


Why is Abdul-Baha only allowing men to have two wives? Why can't women have two husbands? Isn't that gender discrimination and injustice?
Contradictions and disagreements are of course existing and expected features of man-made religious cults and Baha'ism- being just another one of those minor cults that has arisen in the past two hundred years- naturally shares these characteristics. While Abdul-Baha (Infallible Bahaullah's infallible son and successor) regards bigamy (for men only) as "legitimate and allowed", Bahaullah forbids it since "justice and equity towards two wives is utterly impossible".

Let me quote Bahaullah:
"Know thou that polygamy is not permitted under the law of God, for contentment with one wife hath been clearly stipulated. Taking a second wife is made dependent upon equity and justice being upheld between the two wives, under all conditions. However, observance of justice and equity towards two wives is utterly impossible. The fact that bigamy has been made dependent upon an impossible condition is clear proof of its absolute prohibition. Therefore it is not permissible for a man to have more than one wife." [11]


Now the question is if bigamy according to Bahaullah's own words is forbidden in the honorable faith of Baha'ism, why did Bahaullah himself have three concurrent wives?[12] Some may argue that "Bahaullah had three concurrent wives because Bahai marriage laws were written by Bahaullah in the Kita-i-Aqdas after Bahaullah's last marriage.". However this reply is not satisfactory, because since Bahaullah was an infallible God*, he must have known his own laws before he wrote them down. He must have known about gender equality and justice. He must have known right from wrong. He must have known what is morally permissible and impermissible. Why then didn't he practice what he preached? Why did he himself have three concurrent wives while he strictly forbade it for other men?
Bahai Men Must Pay Dowry
Bahai Men Are The 'Head of The Family'
Bahai Men Alone Have the Financial Responsibility
According to Bahai teachings no marriage may be contracted without payment of a dowry. [13] The dowry for city-dwellers has been fixed at nineteen mithghals (2.22 troy ounces) of pure gold, and for village-dwellers at the same amount though in silver.

Now, where in the concept of "gender equality and women empowerment", does the payment of a bride-price fit in? Some may argue that the dowry is a gift, however if it is merely regarded as a gift, why are men forced to pay it? Shouldn't they have a choice?

Another interesting issue here is that the dowry fixed for a city-dweller differs from that of a village-dweller. As mentioned earlier the dowry of city-dwellers is paid in pure gold, while village-dwellers get the same amount though in silver and the dowry is dependent on the permanent residence of the bridegroom. Baha'i proponents try to defend this hypocrisy by arguing that city-dwellers are wealthier than village-dwellers thus the huge difference in the fixed dowry. However this is a huge generalization and an ignorant stereotype of village dwellers. If the objective of such a directive was to consider the bridegroom's financial capabilities, his permanent residence would be insignificant, since most of us know that there are many village-dwellers that are wealthier than city-dwellers and poor city-dwellers are not uncommon. The important question here is whether the Baha'i teachings regard city-dwellers as superior to village-dwellers? Are village-dwellers considered inferior? Are they not worth gold? Why then is there a difference in the fixed dowry? Further according to the 'superior and just' teachings of the Bahai Faith the father is the "head" of the household [14] and must alone provide for the family.[15] That's two gender-inequalities in one law and so much for the Baha'ism's true and full gender equality!


Despite loud pronouncements of gender equality, while looking into the Bahai faith, one will very soon realizes that the Bahai teachings in essence give preference to men.

Indeed, such teachings demonstrate Baha'ism's clear lack of human equality and the evident presence of gender inequality, thus once again revealing Baha'is' hypocrisy and corruption regarding their promotion of gender equality and human rights.
Examining Baha'i gender laws, one will very soon realize that they originate from Islamic values and principles, though altered so as to completely lose their meaning, function and spirit; reflecting the corrupt mindset of the Baha'is whose sole objective is to deceive and misguide the Muslim community and destroy the pure and perfect message and teachings of Islam. * Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957 and the successor of Abdulbaha claims
in his book "God passes by", page 90, that:
"To Israel He (Bahaullah) was neither more nor less than the incarnation of the "Everlasting Father", the "Lord of Hosts" come down "with ten thousands of saints"; to Christendom Christ returned "in the glory of the Father," to Shiah Islam the return of the Imam Husayn; to Sunni Islam the descent of the "Spirit of God" (Jesus Christ); to the Zoroastrians the promised Shah-Bahram; to the Hindus the reincarnation of Krishna; to the Buddhists the fifth Buddha.". The "everlasting father" in Christianity, as we all know, is God.

Further Bahaullah claims :

"Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: "I am God", He verily, speaks the truth, and no doubt attached thereto. For ... through their Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation of God, His names and His attributes, are made manifest in the world. ...." (Gleanings From the Writings of Bahaullah, p. 54) and Abdul-Baha claims: "Further than this (Bahaullah) man has no other point for concentration. He is god." (Star of the West Feb.7,1914)


References

1. Bahai Faith and Gender Equality
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1'%C3%AD_Faith_and_gender_equality
2. THE BAHA'IS OF IRAN, Juan Cole, History Today, Mar90, Vol. 40 Issue 3
http://www.sullivan-county.com/id3/bahai_iran.htm
3. TABLET REVEALED BY ABDULBAHA, August 28th, 1913, p.181-184
http://www.ibiblio.org/Bahai/Texts/EN/PT/PT-59.html
please see point nr. 7
4 . Robert H. Stockman, The Baha'i Faith in America: Early Expansion 1900-1912, (Oxford: George Ronald, 1995), 46-63.
5a. Karen Bacquet,"When Principle and Authority Collide: Baha'i Responses to the Exclusion of Women from the Universal House of Justice" Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions Volume 9, Number 4, May 2006:34-52 ©2006 by the Regents of the University of California
http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/bigquestions/exclusion.html
Please see the part 'Historical Context for Women's Exclusion'
5b. WOMEN IN THE BAHAI FAITH , excerpted from Religion and Women (Albany: SUNY Press, 1994) Dr. Susan S. Maneck
http://www.bahai-library.org/articles/women.faith.html
please see the part 'from East to West'
6. Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha,
( Haifa: Baha'i World Center, 1978), 79-80
7. Kitab-i-Aqdas, see paragraph 20 and 25
http://www.ishwar.com/bahai/holy_kitab_i_aqdas/texts02.html
8. Regarding the Kitab-i-Aqdas being the most central book in Baha'i Faith, please see
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit%C3%A1b-i-Aqdas
9. 'Amr wa Khalq', Abdul-Baha, 4: 174
10. 'Amr wa Khalq', Abdul-Baha, 4: 173
11. Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 206
http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/KA/ka-106.html
12. Life of Bahaullah, Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bah%C3%A1%27u%27ll%C3%A1h
13. Kitab-i-Aqdas, see paragraph # 66
http://www.ishwar.com/bahai/holy_kitab_i_aqdas/texts04.html
14. Letter from House of Justice, 28 Dec. 1980, 'Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986': The Third Epoch of the Formative Age, compiled by Geoffrey W. Marks (Wilmette, Ill.: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1996), 470-73.
http://bahai-library.org/uhj/husband.wife.html
15. Letter of Universal House of Justice in Compilation of Compilations, vol. 1, p. 414

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Source : http://www.bahaiawareness.com/bahai12.html

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The Unreasonableness of the Baha'i Faith

The Unreasonableness of the Baha'i Faith



Listening to Baha'i proponents, one is constantly led to believe that the Baha'i Faith is the latest Universal religion with superior omnipresent laws that replace all other teachings in order to establish a universal religion with universally applicable regulations and guidelines suitable for our time and place.
The Baha'i Faith is also claimed to be just, rational and consistent -the only faith in perfect harmony with other Divine faiths like Islam, Judaism and Christianity- able to unite all religions and people.[1]

Before looking into some of these highly rational and truly universal regulations, it might be interesting to know that The Universal House of Justice (UHJ), the supreme governing institution of the Baha'i Faith, has forbidden Baha'is to share the holy message of Baha'ism with Israelis. [2]

According to an edict issued by UHJ it is not permissible to teach the Baha'i Faith to Israelites, and if an Israeli insists on asking questions about the Baha'i Faith, the answer provided by the Baha'i must be delivered in a manner that does not "stimulate further interest".

Let me quote part of this edict:
"For your information, the people in Israel have access to factual information about the Faith, its history and general principles. Books concerning the Faith are available in libraries throughout Israel, and Israelis are welcome to visit the Shrines and the surrounding gardens. However, in keeping with a policy that has been strictly followed since the days of Bahaullah, Baha'is do not teach the Faith in Israel. Likewise, the Faith is not taught to Israelis abroad if they intend to return to Israel. When Israelis ask about the Faith, their questions are answered, but this is done in a manner which provides factual information without stimulating further interest." [3]

"Whenever an Israeli citizen living in the West, irrespective of his background and religious affiliation, declares his belief and interest in becoming a member of the Baha'i community, he should be informed that the Faith is not taught in Israel and that there is no Baha'i community there apart from those who are associated with the Baha'i World Center. He cannot be accepted into the Baha'i community if he is planning to return to Israel to reside there. If he plans to continue to reside outside Israel, his enrollment can be accepted, but he will then be subject to the same restrictions about travel to Israel as any other Baha'i, in that he could do so only with the express permission of the Universal House of Justice. In any event, the Universal House of Justice should be informed of any such declaration." [4]

The natural question that arises after taking part of this edict, that still exists today, is why the Jews of Israel are rejected from taking part of this "universal" faith? Wasn't Baha'ism supposed to abrogate all other religions and unite all humanity, including the Jews of Israel? Then why discriminate and exclude Jews from the eternal happiness and peace that converting to the Baha'i Faith brings? Or perhaps Jews, according to the Baha'is are not worth being saved?
Now, before looking into some of these rational and universal directives, let us read some of Bahaullah's words of wisdom.
Bahaullah's lessons in Astronomy

"Thou hast, moreover, asked Me concerning the nature of the celestial spheres...Know thou that every fixed star hath its own planets, and every planet its own creatures, whose number no man can compute."[5]

The SETI Institute (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), whose mission is to explore the nature and prevalence of life in the universe, and spends billions of dollars on research for extraterrestrial life, is yet to find any trace of extra-terrestrial intelligence.[6] Further he uses the phrase 'fixed star', which is also erroneous as we today know that all stars are rotating as well as revolving around some point in their respective galaxies. The phrase "fixed star" was invented by ancient astronomers and natural philosophers who lacked access to precise astronomical instruments and measurements over long periods of time [7], however Bahaullah being God himself should have known this simple fact about his own creation?


I say 'God' because that's what Bahaullah himself claimed to be when he wrote: "Were any of the all-embracing Manifestations of God to declare: "I am God", He verily, speaks the truth, and no doubt attached thereto. For ... through their Revelation, their attributes and names, the Revelation of God, His names and His attributes, are made manifest in the world. ...."[8] And in the words of Abdul-Baha: "Further than this (Bahaullah), man has no other point for concentration. He is God."[9]

Yet another confirmation for Bahaullah being God is found in Shoghi Effendi's works.
In his book "God passes by", Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Baha'i Faith- from 1921 until his death in 1957 and the successor of Abdulbaha- claims that: "To Israel He (Bahaullah) was neither more nor less than the incarnation of the "Everlasting Father", the "Lord of Hosts" come down "with ten thousands of saints"; to Christendom Christ returned "in the glory of the Father," to Shiah Islam the return of the Imam Husayn; to Sunni Islám the descent of the "Spirit of God" (Jesus Christ); to the Zoroastrians the promised Shah-Bahram; to the Hindus the reincarnation of Krishna; to the Buddhists the fifth Buddha.".[10]


Actually, if I may correct the 'infallible' Mr. Effendi [11], the phrase 'no more' serves no purpose here as none still knows a position higher than God! The words 'no less' here though means that Bahaullah was not less than God! Not less than God, means Bahaullah was at least God! Very interesting claims indeed!

Now let's read another scientific wisdom:
Copper converted to gold
In Kitab-i-Iqan or the Book of Certitude, Bahaullah claims that copper, in a span of 70 years would be converted to gold.
"For instance, consider the substance of copper. Were it to be protected in its own mine from becoming solidified, it would, within the space of seventy years, attain to the state of gold. There are some, however, who maintain that copper itself is gold, which by becoming solidified is in a diseased condition, and hath not therefore reached its own state.

Be that as it may, the real elixir will, in one instant, cause the substance of copper to attain the state of gold, and will traverse the seventy-year stages in a single moment. Could this gold be called copper? Could it be claimed that it hath not attained the state of gold, whilst the touch-stone is at hand to assay it and distinguish it from copper?" [12]

Certainly interesting for Alchemists who have turned into Biochemists!
Regarding Bahaullah's scientific wisdom, I can only add that such ignorant and incorrect statements, presented by Bahaullah as solid and clear facts, naturally questions his credibility and mental sanity.
Now let's look into some of Bahaullah's and Baha'ism's universal and superior directives.
The punishment of theft

In the Kitab-i-Aqdas, Bahaullah instructs his followers to punish thieves [13].
On the first offence the thief is exiled, on the second, imprisonment is prescribed and on the third offence a mark is placed on the thief's forehead. This means that if a thief is caught for the first time, he is to be exiled. In the new city he continues to steal and when caught people will not know of his past, so he will be exiled to another city and will keep on stealing.
Let's though assume that a thief is recognized and caught on the third offence, will the mark on his forehead now prevent him from stealing if exile and imprisonment did not? Is the mark on the thief's forehead a license to continue his crimes? What about those caught for the fourth time? How will they be punished?
The punishment for adultery
Adultery and fornication according to Bahaullah is punishable by a fine paid to the Universal House of Justice, (UHJ). On page 15 of Kitab-i-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), he writes, "It is a must for every adulterer and adulteress that they must pay to the Universal House of Justice and give 9 mithqals of gold. And should they repeat the act, the atonement will be doubled."[14] However if the adulterer/adulteress cannot afford it, then "the poor are the trust of God in your midst"[15] This means that the rich will easily commit adultery and the poor who can't afford the adultery penalty, will still very easily commit adultery as they are "in the protection of God"!
Further, I am very curious to know why adultery and fornication have the same punishment- are both crimes considered equally destructive and injurious to the society and the individuals involved?

Also what an honorable way for the men of Universal House of Justice to fill their coffers and 'fulfill their responsibilities'! (The UHJ consists only of Baha'i men since Bahai women are not allowed to participate in the law making process in their faith's supreme governing institution…Now, that's called gender equality!)
Although Baha'i proponents seem to preach 'unity, peace and equality among mankind' their history, marred by violence, and their teachings, which are in fact twisted and changed Islamic laws, contradict their averred concept of world peace and gender equality.

Looking into Baha'i laws, one will very soon realize that they originate from Islamic values and principles, though altered so as to completely lose their meaning, function and spirit; reflecting the corrupt mindset of the Baha'is whose sole objective is to deceive and misguide the Muslim community and destroy the pure and perfect message and teachings of Islam.
"They wish to put out Allah's light with their mouths. But Allah will continue with His light, even if the rejecters dislike it. He it is Who has sent His Messenger with the guidance and the Religion of truth, that He may cause it to prevail over all religions, however much those who associate partners with Allah may dislike it." The Holy Quran (61:8-9)


References:

[1] Baha'i propaganda sites
http://www.bahai.us/
http://www.bahai.com/Bahaullah/principles.htm#THE%20ONENESS%20OF%20MANKIND
[2] Teaching the Faith in Israel
By Universal House of Justice, 1995-06-23
http://bahai-library.com/index.php5?file=uhj_teaching_in_israel
[3] Teaching the Faith in Israel
By Universal House of Justice, 1995-06-23
http://bahai-library.com/index.php5?file=uhj_teaching_in_israel
[4] Letter from the Universal House of Justice, dated October 20, 1994, to several National Spiritual Assemblies.
[5] 'Gleanings From the Writings of Bahaullah' page 161
http://www.ibiblio.org/Bahai/Texts/EN/GWB/GWB-82-printable.html
see point nr.11 .
[6] Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence Institute (SETI), Please see FAQ nr. 1
http://www.seti.org/about-us/faq.php#a1
[7a] Wikipedia, Proper motion
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proper_motion
[7b] Wikipedia, Fixed Star
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fixed_star
[8] Gleanings From the Writings of Bahaullah, p. 54.
http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/b/GWB/gwb-22.html
[9] Star of the West Feb.7,1914
[10] 'God Passes By', Shoghi Effendi, p. 90
http://www.ibiblio.org/Bahai/Texts/EN/GPB/GPB-7.html
[11] PROCLAMATION TO THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF THE WORLD THROUGH THE ANNUAL CONVENTION OF THE BAHÁ'ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ASSEMBLED AT WILMETTE, ILLINOIS, RIDVÁN 117 BAHÁ'Í ERA
http://bahai-guardian.com/Mason.proc.html
[12] Kitab-i-Iqan, 'The Book of Certitude', Bahaullah, page 43
http://www.bahai-library.org/compilations/bahai.scriptures/1.html
[13] Kitab-i-Aqdas, text nr. 45
http://www.ishwar.com/bahai/holy_kitab_i_aqdas/texts03.html
[14] Kitab-i-Aqdas, text nr 49
http://www.ishwar.com/bahai/holy_kitab_i_aqdas/texts03.html
[15] Kitab-i-Aqdas: its place in Baha'i literature
Published in The Baha'i World 1992-93 pages 105-117 Baha'i World Centre, 1993, ISBN 0-85398-996-6, Original written in English. Haifa: 1993
http://bahai-library.com/file.php5?file=aqdas_bahai_literature&language=
See the part on 'Government'


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Source :
http://www.bahaiawareness.com/bahai13.html

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Muslims converting to Bahai

Muslims converting to Bahai



The island of Sulawesi is located just east of Indonesias middle point.
Indonesia is a huge country consisting of about 17 000 islands.
Islam is the majority religion in Sulawesi. Most Muslims are Sunnis. Muslims can be found in all parts of Sulawesi.

Thirty-one Muslims in the Donggala area of Central Sulawesi have become apostates and converted to the Bahá’í religion, it is said, inviting the anger of their neighbours who are sticking firm to Islam, and the displeasure of the local bureaucracy.
The head of the Religious Affairs Office in Palolo sub-district said that the Bahai faith, led by one Mulahi, a former marriage counsellor, entered Banpers village in the 1990s, and Mulahi had persuaded 31 local people to convert.

But some Muslims in the village are not taking it lying down:
The homes of the Bahai followers in Banpers are often pelted with stones.
Nor is the local government, which held a meeting between concerned Muslims and the Bahaists in September, 2007, wherein the Bahai adherents were warned to have a think about which religion they wanted to belong to, either Islam, like before, or another religion which was recognised by the government, because Bahai is not. Another meeting will be held soon, to find out whether the Bahaists have had enough thinking time. [1]

The Department of Religion (Depag) has also sent down an investigative team, says Muhammad Ramli in Palu, and they will have to decide whether Bahai is a sect within Islam. If so, then the converts, or their leaders, can likely be prosecuted for blasphemy. Depag also wants to find out how Bahai has been spread in the area, because if it is being preached at people who already hold a religion, then that may also constitute a crime, he said. [2]


November 8th. Two out of the seven households that converted to Bahai are said to have returned to Islam, after the two heads of the households, Mulahi (70) and Muslimin (40), met with local leaders. Four others refused to change back to Islam, while the seventh did not turn up. [3]

1. ↑1 antara
2. ↑2 antara
3. ↑3 antara
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Source :

1. http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1465/bahai/

2. http://www.antara.co.id/arc/2007/10/28/31-muslim-beralih-ke-agama-bahai-di-donggala/
http://www.antara.co.id/arc/2007/11/7/pengikut-bahai-di-donggala-kembali-yakini-islam/
http://www.antara.co.id/arc/2007/10/31/depag-teliti-agama-bahai-di-donggala/

3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulawesi

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House of Justice: Mirage of Leadership in Bahaism

House of Justice: Mirage of Leadership in Bahaism




The House of Justice is an organization for establishing leadership of the Bahais and is based in the city of Haifa in Israel. Bahaullah founded it and its architect was Abdul Baha and Shogi Effendi implemented it.
The House of Justice is the last hope of the Bahais as it establishes the leadership (Wali Amr) of the Bahais. It constitutes the nine member committee of the world Bahais. It is also an interpreter of the religious laws. Let us see the importance of the House of Justice in the words of the Bahai leaders.

Bahaullah writes on page 26 of in his book, 'Aqdas', published in Tehran and in Ganjene Hudud-e-Ahkam , chapter 27, page 213:
"Indeed it is obligatory that in each city a House of Justice is established comprising nine persons. There is no problem if the numbers of persons are more."
Bahaullah recommended an English legislative system after his death. He propounded a council of nine members under the nomenclature 'Wali Amr Ilah' as his successor. The Council would reform and reorganize the rights and leadership of the Bahais.
In the said system, two separate organizations were set up viz.

1. Organization for Religious Laws
2. Organization for Explanation (of Laws)


The source of the organization for religious laws is its legislations while the organization for explanation refers to explanation of rights, exegesis of the writings and the sayings of the Bahai leaders.

The sources of the religious legislations are

i. The book of Aqdas of Bahaullah and his other writings.

ii. The House of Justice.
Perusal of the book Aqdas and the other writings of Bahaullah indicate that the Text of the rights of Bahais comprises of three parts. Firstly, some of the laws advocated by Mirza Ali Mohammad Bab in his book 'Bayan' with few appropriations.
Secondly, abrogation or additions to the laws of Bayan which were not feasible or were against the human rights.
Thirdly, some new laws about worship, punishments of crime given by Bahaullah in his book Aqdas and in his other writings.

A glance at the above indicates that generally laws are ambiguous and irrational and cannot be implemented and executed. (For instance punishment of stealing, inheritance, punishment of adultery etc.).
The House of Justice is the only hope for the Bahais for legislating and explaining the laws in absence of Bahaullah and his successors Abdul Baha and Shogi Effendi.
The important sources pertaining to the House of Justice are the book of Aqdas, Ishraqat Auh Baital Adl of Bahaullah, Alwah was Wiasaya of Abdu Baha, Daur Bahai of Shogi Effendi. The book Ganjeene Hudud Ahkam is also one of the sources.

It is written in the book Alwah was Wisaya, page 15 & 16, printed in Egypt and the book Nazr Ijmaali dar Diyat Bahai, page 68 and in Ganjeene Hudude Ahkam, chapter 28:
"As for the House of Justice, God has made it a source of all goodness and safe from all evil. It is a must for the selection of the public that it is established with believers who should be manifestation of piety, a place of knowledge and knowing, steadfastness on religion and altruistic to humanity. The aim of the House of Justice generally is to establish the house of justice in all cities and they in turn form the House of Justice. It is a source of all affairs and foundation for laws and religious edict. It will stipulate the words of God and solve all the problems. Wali Amr Ilah will be the head of this and cannot be removed from the position."


Organization for Explanation (of Bahai scriptures)
Anyone who wishes to interpret the Bahai text/scriptures will find these words of Abdul Baha and through him the Awliya-e-Amr-e-Ilahi (Kitabe Aqdas and Lauhe Ahadi) very relevant:
'O beloved friends after the loss of Bahaullah the Agasaan (branches) and Afnaan and the Hands of Amre Ilahi and the lovers of Bahaullah must refer to the two sources which are from the two blessed trees. One is Shoghi Effendi as he is the sign of Allah and the chosen branch and Wali-e-Amr-e-Ilahi and referee of all the Agasaan (branches) and Afnaan and the Hands of Amr-e-Ilahi and the Wali-e-Amr-e-Ilahi and the interpreter of Allah's signs. After him, will be the Bikr and after the Bikr will be established the House of Justice. This will be founded and legislated under the protection of Bahaullah and the guardianship and security of Hazrat Aalaa (Bab) may my soul be sacrificed for both of them. This has been decreed by Allah. A firm protection from Allah is for the one who is obedient to the Wali-e-Amr-e-Ilaah. And the organs of the House of Justice and all the Agsaan and Afnaan and the Hands of Amre Ilaahi must necessarily obey the Wali-e-Amre Ilaahi with utmost submission, attention and humility. …..O lovers of God it is necessary that we select the successor of the Wali-e-Amr-e-Ilaahi in his lifetime so that there are no differences after him. The Wali-e-Amr-e-Ilaahi is the blessed chief of this assembly and its biggest organ, he cannot be removed. And if he cannot make himself present then it is necessary that he appoints a representative so that there is no wrongdoing and the rights of the general people are observed. Because the Wali-e-Amr certainly has the capacity to resolve the issues. He must appoint someone after him….and the rights of Allah return in the Wali-e-Amr till the scattering of the winds of Allah and the raising of the word of Allah and the good actions and the common social benefit are effected.'
(Ref: Alwah-e-Wasaya pg. 11-16 by Abdul Baha quoted from Nazre Ijmaali pg. 66-68)
On pg.75 in Nazre Ijmaali it is quoted from chain 105 of Badee written by Shoghi Effendi:
'This new order rests on two pillars. The first and greatest pillar is the guardianship of God which is the centre of interpretation. The second pillar is the House of Justice of God which must be referred to for interpretation. In this divine regulation is the interpretation of the laws of the Shariat. This is the foundation of the covenant and the pledge which is not possible without taking both pillars together as one cannot exist without the other.'


In pg. 77 in Daure Bahai it is written:
'Although the Wilayate Amr (Guardianship of the divine affair) is the new regulation instituted by none other than Hazrat Bahaullah the foundation of this regulation is shaky and is forever deprived of the original inheritance that according to Abdul Baha is present in every divine Shariat.'

It was a matter of great misfortune for the Bahai Faith that in the year 1336 Shoghi Effendi passed away. And even more unfortunate that he failed to leave behind a son in line with his grandfather's prophesy; rather being childless, he failed to leave behind any successor male or female. The elaborate plan for the successorship of the Bahai Faith was buried along with Shoghi Effendi. This was the best possible evidence for the falsity and deceptiveness of the Bahai Faith depriving it of all divine links and exposing it for what it is - a manmade invention.


Finally the leadership of the Bahai Faith came to rest, of all people, in an American woman. She was Ruhiyya Maxwell, the wife of Shoghi Effendi. The Bahais realised that the leadership of a woman was not the best way to proceed and at best could be a very short-term measure. Eventually, a conference was organised in London wherein 9 men were chosen as members of the Universal House of Justice. The Universal House of Justice was headquartered in Haifa, Israel. The members of the Universal House of Justice were re-elected at regular intervals. However, since the Universal House of Justice was deprived of its greatest support and pillar - Wali-e-Amr, it was deprived of any legitimacy and sanctity. Consider the following reasons:


1) On page 76 of Daur-e-Bahai, there is mention of Wali-e-Amr and the Universal House of Justice:
'…since both these pillars (Wali-e-Amr and the Universal House of Justice) are necessary for the fulfillment of responsibilities and other comprehensive issues and the rectification of the divine affair (i.e. both are necessary and one cannot do without the other).

2) It is likewise mentioned on the 77th page of Daur-e-Bahai:
'The power, command, rights and selection of both these pillars (Wali-e-Amr and the Universal House of Justice) cannot be separated from one another. Neither of them is lower than the other in terms of importance and significance.'


3) At times of being questioned about the Wali-e-Amr (rather the lack of one), the Bahais respond that the Universal House of Justice is fulfilling the role of the Wali-e-Amr thereby making his existence needless. The falsity of this claim is more evident than the mid day Sun in the light of the following excerpt of Daue-e-Bahai pg. 80:

'It is not possible for either of them (Wali-e-Amr and the Universal House of Justice) to encroach upon the responsibilities of the other. They cannot exceed their own mandates and overstep their own limits. Both have to abide by the responsibilities and duties assigned to them by God.
Shoghi Effendi's infertility was indeed unforeseen and he himself never expected it as is evident from his comment on the 82nd page of Daur-e-Bahai:
'The Wali-e-Amr is present (at all times) and even in the future they will be present. With their sayings and actions they will testify to this reality.'
Also he writes on page 31 of Nazr-e-Ijmaali:
'The instituting of Shoghi Rabbani to the position of Wali-e-Amr by Abdul Baha and the laws to appoint the subsequent leaders (Wali-e-Amr) point towards the permanent existence of a Wali-e-Amr (in every era) and his continuous leadership of the Universal House of Justice.'

Shoghi Effendi's death and the instituting of the Universal House of Justice was a major catastrophe that left an indelible mark on the Bahai Faith. It led to the first full-fledged split in the Bahai Faith giving rise to the Orthodox sect under the leadership of Remy/Remi. Charles Mason Remy/Remi, one of the Hands of the Cause, was the chief of the House of the Nations (Baitul Milali). He split up from the mainstream Bahai Faith after Shoghi Effendi's death as the Wali-e-Amr of the Orthodox Order. At present he is residing in a distant corner of the world in Iran. His successor is Joel Marinjala. There are many books/literature that have been published that on one hand reject the status of the Universal House of Justice headquartered in Israel and on the other hand establish the credentials of Charles Remy/Remi and Joel Marinjala. The Orthodox Sect functions out of Australia. Its centre of propagation is in the USA. Over here it is appropriate to mention a comment from Abdul Baha on these groups of the Bahai Faith.


In the first volume of Badiul Aasaar pg. 119 Abdul Baha writes:
'If the Bahais split into two groups and each of them institutes a Universal House of Justice then they are both false.'
Briefly, it is evident from the Bahai Faith scriptures that the Universal House of Justice lacks the requisite standing and legitimacy devoid as it is of a Wali-e-Amr as prophesied and envisaged by Bahaullah.
The Universal House of Justice in its current state is devoid of the requisite authority because it was not formed according to the right provision since Shoghi Effendi died childless and could not leave behind a successor who could assume the title of Wali-e-Amr. In the event of a worthy successor not assuming the title of Wali-e-Amr another branch (Wali-e-Amr) was to be selected. Shoghi Effendi failed to act on this provision thereby depriving the Universal House of Justice of any validity.

It is apparent that the Universal House of Justice is far from what was dreamt of by Bahaullah. It is equally intriguing that it is headquartered in Haifa, Isreal. Strangely, an Englishman or an American is selected to lead it and not someone from the progeny of Bahaullah. In fact, the nine members of the Universal House of Justice are mainly from these two countries.

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Source : http://www.bahaiawareness.com/bahai11.html

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Trademarks or religious symbol !

Trademarks or religious symbol !




Wilmette Bahá'í Organization Threatens Minority Bahá'ís ThroughCourt Action


The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (NSA), located in Wilmette, Illinois, has called upon the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division to hold in contempt members of minority Bahá'í organizations (the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith and the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant--two separate and distinct entities) who, the NSA claims, are in violation of an injunction its predecessor obtained some 40 years ago against a rival Bahá'í body.

In legal documents provided to the court on December 6, 2006, the NSA claimed that members of the current minority Bahá'í groups are bound by the 1966 Judgment. While not providing any specifics with regard to how the minority bodies have harmed the majority body, the NSA contends that the websites of the smaller organizations are doing irreparable damage to the NSA.

The basic contention of the NSA is that the members of the minority groups are violating the NSA's alleged trademarks on the name "Bahá'í" and the religious symbol of the "Greatest Name", and it seeks from the court a ruling which would prohibit the minority members from using the alleged trademarks to the detriment of the NSA.

The NSA seeks to restrain both those individuals who at one time were even remotely associated with the enjoined rival Bahá'í body and any 'nonparty' members who have since developed different Bahá'í organizations.

Those members of the minority group who call themselves Orthodox Bahá'ís, to distinguish themselves from the members of the majority organization, state that the trademark by the Wilmette NSA on the "Greatest Name" is the equivalent of a Christian denomination trademarking the Cross and then saying that no other Christian congregation can use that symbol in their activities or in their contacts with others.

Additionally, Orthodox Bahá'ís maintain that the name "Bahá'í" is in the public domain and cannot be the exclusive property of one organization. They say that like the name "Christian" and "Muhammadan", which refer to followers of Christ and Muhammad respectively, the name "Bahá'í" refers to a follower of Bahá'u'lláh, who all Bahá'ís acknowledge as the latest Prophet from God.

For some 35 years the Orthodox Bahá'ís have been employing the name "Bahá'í" in their newspaper and magazine publicity and in the telephone Yellow Pages, and during that time the NSA has made no move to implement the provisions of the injunction that the majority organization is now using to seek contempt citations against members of the minority groups. Should the NSA be successful in its efforts to curtail their activities, Orthodox Bahá'ís contend that, for them, the First Amendment of the Constitution is no longer valid.

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Ref. : http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html

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World peace and ex-communication of the first relative of bahaullah !

Baha’s Household

1. Baha’s Family Chart

Mirza Husayn Ali Commonly called Baha or Bahaullah married:

i Asiya surnamed Nawwaba (Highness) who bore him:

1. Abbas

2. Bahiyya or Sultan surnamed the Supreme Leaf (Waraqa-i-Ulya). She died a spinster.


Asiya is stated to have been surnamed the mother of the Universe ( ام الکائنات). This is denied by the followers of Mirza Muhammad Ali and dismissed as devoid of historical foundation.
To his first wife (Asiya) he gave the title Nawwaba, because she was the daughter of Nawwab of Tehran (Al-Kawakib-al-Durriyya by Awara, vol. II., p. 4; Materials, p. 62).

ii BiBi Fatima surnamed the Supreme Cradle (Mahd-i-Ulya), who bore him:

3) Muhammad Ali
4) Samadiyya, married 37
5) Ziyaullah
6) Badiullah

BiBi Fatima and her four children were excommunicated by Sir Abbas Effendi.
To his second wife (BiBi Fatima) he gave the title ‘The Supreme Cradle’ [a title reserved for the Queen-Mother in Iran, T.A p. 361] (al-Kawakib, ibid, p.8; Materials, p.63).

iii Gawhar, who bore him:

7) Furughiyya

To his third wife (Gawhar) he gave no title. Furughiyya was excommunicated by Sir Abbas Effendi.

1. Abbas Married Munira, who bore him:

8) Ziyaiyya
9) Tuba
10) Ruha
11) Munawwar.
Hadi Afnan married Ziyaiyya who bore him:
12) Shoghi
13) Ruh-Angiz married 24
14) Mihr-Angiz married 28
15) Husayn
16) Riyadh

12 to 14 were surnamed Rabbani. Mirza Hadi Afnan and their children (13-16) were excommunicated by Shoghi Effendi (12), on whom the title of Effendi was conferred by Sir Abbas Effendi.

Muhsin Afnan married Tuba (9), who bore him:
17) Ruhi married 22
18) Suhayl
19) Thuraiyya married 26

Muhsin Afnan, Tuba and their children were excommunicated by Shoghi.

Jalal Shahid married Ruha (10) who bore him:
20) Munir
21) Hasan
22) Zahra married 17.

Jalal Shahid, Ruha and their children were excommunicated by Shoghi. Ahmad Yazdi married Munawwar (11). No issue.

Note: Ahmad Yazdi and Munawwar were excommunicated by Shoghi.

Sayyid Ali Afnan married Furughiyya who bore him:
23) Husayn
24) Nayyir married 13
25) Hasan married 14
26) Fawzi married 19

Sayyid Ali Afnan, and Furughiyya were excommunicated by Sir Abbas Effendi. Their children were excommunicated by Shoghi and Husayn posthumously.

3. Muhammad Ali married:

i) Masuma, who bore him:

27) Shuaullah
28) Aminullah

ii) Hizariyya who bore him:

29) Musa married 34.

Mirza Muhammad Ali, his wives and children were excommunicated by Sir Abbas Effendi.
Majd-al-Din Musa married Samadiyya (4) who bore him:

30) Maryam
31) Zar-Azngiz

Majd-al-Din Musa, Samadiyya and their children were excommunicated by Sir Abbas Effendi.

5. Ziyaullah married Thuraiyya Samandar. No issue.

Note: Ziyaullah and his wife were excommunicated by Sir Abbas Effendi.

6. Badiullah married Aliya, who bore him:

32) Sazitch
33) Salah
34) Ghamar married
35) Iffat
36) Ismat married Jalal Azal

Note: Badiullah, Aliya and their children were excommunicated by Sir Abbas Effendi.

Baha’s full brother Musa surnamed Kalim (Interlocutor) because he talked with god, Baha. His children:

37) Majd-al Din married 4
38) Jamil
39) Jalal / Jaleh
40) Hizaiyya married 3

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reference : www.bayanic.com

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Baha'i followers pay tribute to Kelly

Baha'i followers pay tribute to Kelly


Elements of the Baha'i faith will feature in the funeral service
The funeral of weapons expert Dr David Kelly is likely to feature elements of the Baha'i faith to which he converted four years ago.
The religion follows the teachings of Baha'u'llah - an Iranian nobleman whose name translates as "the Glory of God" - and seeks to eliminate conflicts between faiths.



Barney Leith, secretary of the UK National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is, described Dr Kelly as a friend who was a "warm and witty man".

The Baha'i community, which has 6,000 followers across the UK, was greatly saddened by Dr Kelly's death and has been praying for the progress of his soul, Mr Leith said.

He was a very warm person, an honourable man and a witty man

Barney Leith National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the UK
Mr Leith said: "I very much liked him. He was a very warm person, an honourable man and a witty man.

"Conversations with Dr Kelly were always fun and interesting."

Dr Kelly is believed to have adopted the 159-year-old Baha'i faith during his travels in connection with his work.


Soul

While its followers are not pacifists, they take no sides in the political controversies of the day and believe that there will be lasting world peace only when major injustices such as racism, gender inequality and poverty are resolved.


"We see the life after death as continuing the process that begins in this life, that the soul develops qualities and values which it needs in the next life on its journey to come ever closer to God," said Mr Leith.

"What life is about here is about developing those spiritual qualities which then become part of us and which we take over into the next life.

"We don't believe in heaven and hell as places - we believe in life after death. Like an athlete training for a race, if we take care of our spiritual bodies in this life, we have a better start in the next life."

The faith, which has five million followers worldwide, has no clergy or leaders and Baha'i services can be led by any believer, said Mr Leith.

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Source : http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/3128109.stm

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Where is Abbas Effendi's certificate of British knighthood??

Where is Abbas Effendi's certificate of British knighthood ?

"Sir" Abbas Effendi being knighted on April 20, 1920, in the presence
of the British High Commissioner for Palestine Sir Herbet Samuel :



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Samuel




and asorted British
mandate, military and local dignitaries:

http://povodebaha.blogs.sapo.pt/arquivo/AB-cavaleiro-thumb.jpg




As those who know about modern knighthoods by the British crown, every
knighthood is for a specific reason; such reasons always being
explicitly spelled out in the Certificate of Knighthood. Over the past
87 years we have been repeatedly shown the picture of Abbas Effendi's
knighting ceremony in April 1920, but never have we been shown the
actual certificate of Knighthood itself which explicitly spells out
the reasons for the knighting.
Among other things, over the past several years, through various
contacts, I have been deliberating over facsimiles of local archival
material related to the Acre-Haifa areas of the Ottoman period of the
Young Turks, the British Palestinian mandate years of 1917-1948 and
Israeli material for the years 1948-57, all relating to the activities
of the Nuri family in that area. Thankfully, I have been paid for this
job by certain unamed private and well endowed employers/independent
contractors, which has allowed me time to write and publish a book
(work on 8 more) as well as conduct a war against the haifan bahaim
organization. Specifically I have looked at deeds of property (sales,
notaries, taxes etc) and what have you in the Acre-Haifa areas. But
especially I have looked at zeroing in on material specifically
relating to the contention in bahaim histories regarding the nature of
Abbas Effendi's so-called humanitarian activities during the
Palestinian war years of 1915-1917 in order to determine the precise
nature of such activities. Over 50,000+ pages alone of archival
documentation and sources has been looked at specifically for the
years 1910-1917 (i.e. the years of the Young Turk Ottoman period). To
date, whether they be files by public notary or police files, there is
not a single leaf of evidence (whether circumstantial or otherwise)
remotely establishing the bahaim claim that Abbas Effendi was engaging
in humanitarian activities during the Palestinain war years of
1915-1917. Nada!
Add to that the fact that the actual certificate of Abbas Effendi's
Knighthood has not been publicly seen since 1920 nor has it been
published, and the issue of Abbas Effendi's knighthood becomes another
suspicious enigma much like his purported (and largely fictitious)
will and testament. As stated, the reason for this is obvious: all
Certificate of Knighthood spell out the reasons for the knighthood. It
appears that the bahaim establishment is somewhat uneasy to disclose
the true nature of Abbas Effendi's knighthood and so have hidden this
document from public scrutiny. But, that stated, the Knighthood had
absolutely nothing to do in fact with any so-called humanitarian
activities on his part. Had it been, plenty of local archival material
would have corroborated it, and the certificate of knighthood would
have been released for display and public scrutiny long ago.
Another bahaim myth busted!
w


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Reference : http://groups.google.com/group/alt.religion.bahai/msg/abf1414272e93155


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The Baha’i Faith in America as Panopticon

The Baha’i Faith in America as Panopticon, 1963-1997

Juan R. I. Cole

( Professor of History at the University of Michigan )

Originally published in The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Volume 37, No. 2 (June 1998): 234-248. Digitally republished here with additional notations, May, 1999.

Despite the large literature on American religious bodies, some groups remain curiously off-limits to careful investigation. In many instances, these largely unstudied contemporary faiths carefully cultivate public images that hide important facets of their outlook and internal workings. Thus, the collapse of Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh’s Oregon commune surprised many observers. Some of these groups have developed control mechanisms that discourage adherents and often even apostates from writing about these workings. Scientology, for instance, employs techniques of harassment against critics. Others employ shunning which can be an extremely powerful deterrent, endangering a lifetime of friendships and even family relationships. The problem with strict internal controls for missionary religions, however, is that they are most often incompatible in Western societies with significant growth. One solution to this difficulty is to attempt to control what are thought of as key pressure points—vocal intellectuals, media, prominent institutions—and to give greater leeway to ordinary believers. This solution has the further advantage of making charges of repression less plausible to the rank and file, who have not personally experienced such constraints.

Here I wish to examine social control mechanisms in the American Baha’i community. These include mandatory prepublication censorship of everything Baha'is publish about their religion, administrative expulsion, blackballing, shunning and threats of shunning. What are the ideological bases of these control mechanisms? How is power attained and managed in a lay community without a clergy? I wish to stress here that this article is not concerned with the essence or scriptures or theology of the religion, but with the actualities of its day-to-day technologies of control. Many of my remarks cannot be generalized to other national communities, and concern mainly the U.S.

Anyone familiar with the public relations literature produced by the movement will be surprised at the description of control mechanisms given above, since Baha’is are often grouped in the media with Unitarian-Universalists. Why should the Baha’i authorities wish to project an image more liberal than the reality? First, the movement’s scriptures are liberal in their orientation, and as a result even administratively conservative Baha'i leaders support the U.N. and race unity, and pay lip service to the rule of law. But when it comes to the internal governance of the religion, the same leaders wield these control mechanisms to enforce on prominent believers what might be thought of as “party discipline” in the Marxist sense. Second, Baha’i leaders are aware that if the U.S. press understood how their administration actually operates, journalists might be far less favorable to them than is now the case. Third, the Baha'i leadership and intellectual class includes some powerful liberals, and some of the contradictions between self-presentation and policy derive from conflicts among the leadership. Fourth, since the 1960s this non-Christian Iranian religion has not attracted many white evangelicals or working-class Catholics, whereas more pluralist college-educated persons have been much more open to it. Thus, an open insistence on a fundamentalist orthodoxy and a clear condemnation of human rights principles might deprive the religion of an important recruiting ground. Although antiliberals have captured the key posts, they shape the community’s ideology subtly, by controlling media and silencing liberals who begin to become prominent. Because of these techniques of dissimulation, power can remain in the hands of conservatives, while liberals can continue to be recruited at the local level, and often remain unaware of how marginalized they really are.

In the past, the paucity of anything but official literature formed a difficulty in studying the approximately 60,000 adult American Baha’is, but the emergence of Baha’i electronic mail forums in the 1990s has led to the airing of Baha’i individual opinions in public. I will outline some key control mechanisms employed in the U.S., based on published literature, following email debates, and participant observation. The author has been studying the Baha’i religion for a quarter of a century, and spent much of that time as an adherent. This movement originated as a messianic offshoot of Twelver Shi`ite Islam in nineteenth-century Iran. By the time it came to the United States, in the 1890s, it was already an established religion in Iran and elsewhere in the Middle East (Smith 1987). It is now among the more widely-spread religious bodies in the world, and since the mid-1980s has officially claimed about five million adherents (Smith and Momen 1989)--a number that has remained stagnant since then and which was probably somewhat exaggerated even at the time. Let us begin with a brief historical overview.

For complete text click here

Reference :

http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bahai/1999/jssr/bhjssr.htm

Financial Scandal Rocks Italian Baha’i Community

Recently the small Italian Baha’i community was shocked to learn that one of its most prominent, long-serving and active members, the former General Secretary of the NSA: Franco Ceccherini, had been ousted from the NSA and formally charged for embezzlement and fraud in the amount of 360,000 Euros.

Ceccherini allegedly stole the money over the lengthy period of time that he served at the highest levels of the Baha’i community in Italy. It appears that he embezzled funds from 1992 until 2006 by fraudulently producing invoices, letters and documents and then pocketing the funds he received for them. Throughout the more than 14 years that Ceccherini served in the institutions, he alternated between high level positions: sometimes he served as the General Secretary of the NSA of Italy, while other times he served as the Head of the Office of the Secretariat - which included several other individuals employed by the NSA. And at times Ceccherini served as both General Secretary and as Head of the Office of the Secretariat.

Through the uninterrupted access granted to him by these positions, Ceccherini was able to allegedly perpetrate this scheme for almost 15 years. It is still a mystery how the Treasurer could not detect such a large and prolonged fraud. Nor is it known what, if any, control measures were circumvented by italian NSA euros3.pngCeccherini. As it stands now, neither the Treasurer, any of the other NSA members nor any employees of the NSA have been charged.

The scheme began to unravelled when the Italian equivalent of the IRS contacted the NSA of Italy and filed a charge of tax evasion against it. Through the ensuing audit and investigations it came to light that all these years Ceccherini had been pocketing the funds that should have been going to the INPS and the INAIL (state pension and worker’s compensation/insurance plans).

My suspicion is that since most continental European Baha’i communities (France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, etc.) do not have the privilege of incorporation enjoyed elsewhere, the actual banking was in the name of an individual. And my guess is that individual was Ceccherini; because of his tenure within the Baha’i community or simply because he was trusted. After all, when you are unincorporated, you must trust an individual to administer the finances in their name. There is no other option. If my suspicions are correct it explains why the Treasurer or other person were not caught up in the fraud and how one person alone could perpetrate it.

Consequences of this tragedy are many. For one, the NSA of Italy has been thrown into total chaos. It has had to deal with an extensive internal investigation and financial audit. Theis is a serious financial blow to the community as funds which should have been paid to the government for more than a decade now need to be paid in lump sum. Thankfully the government has agreed that the NSA as an institution was not perpetrating the fraud and agreed to dismiss 90,000 Euros in interest and fines they had levied. Which means that the NSA has to pay back 275,000 Euros. The House of Justice has loaned the Italian NSA 200,000 Euros to buffer the blow to their annual budget. This loan will have to be repaid to the House in installments over time but the NSA will still have to make a lump sum payment of 75,000 Euros. A significant chunk of change for a community the size of Italy.

Other consequences are more intangible. The spouse of Ceccherini, also a prominent Baha’i was removed from her position as an Auxiliary Board Member (Propagation). The news has left the Italian community shell-shocked since Ceccherini was seen as a pillar of the community. nsa franco ceccherini.pngOn top of this, several projects such as the office of public information have had to be closed or curtailled sharply due to lack of funds.

No matter how extensively one creates control measures, nor how draconian in nature, they can be circumvented by another person. Ultimately, nothing short of personal transformation can prevent such criminal acts. As Baha’u'llah says in the Hidden Words:

“Busy not thyself with this world, for with fire We test the gold and with gold We test Our servants.”

But this does not mean that there aren’t lessons to be learned from such a sad state of affairs. Nor that common sense should not be used. What we have in the institutions of the Baha’i Faith basically relies on the good character of those within it. If they falter, then there are no measures to protect the community. This has to change.

We have no transparency, no control measures, no accountability and no term limits. Combine these and you have a potentially explosive situation. Add the spark of human shortcoming and you have a bomb that can devastate whole communities and lay waste to decades of painstaking growth and development.

TRANSPARENCY
The Baha’i community has gradients of financial transparency. At the local level, things are quite clear with regular reports by the local treasurer and detailed reports of budgets and expenses. At the national level, things get decidedly more murky. Less detail is divulged: only income and expenses are shared (not assets and liabilities) , while the delegates to the national convention are the only ones who get to see and look at the full accounts - but they can’t share them with their communities and they have a very tight schedule with limited time to look over them. At the international level, the picture gets pitch dark with absolutely no information divulged except for the estimates of large scale projects (recent examples are for the Arc and the Chile temple). Beyond that, trying to pry financial information at this level is like trying to shuck an oyster with jello.

Financial reporting is most detailed and most transparent at the local level, where ironically the least amount of money is involved. The Italian incident involving 360,000 Euros may seem like a lot of money but it is a rounding error in international budgets. This culture of opacity and secrecy is fertile ground for the nastier attributes of human nature and must be blotted out from the Baha’i community.

CONTROL MEASURES
If due to an inability to incorporate, the affairs of a whole community have to be placed in the hands of a person, a simple control measure is to open a shared or joint account. This way two people must be aware of and make authorization for any transactions. Second, I for one am still not convinced how the Italian national treasurer can not be atleast found to be culpable of gross negligence in this case. Pleading ignorance is no defense for them. If anything they should be fully investigated and asked to resign, if for nothing more than their incompetence in recognizing and preventing such a long lived scheme. Similarly simple and easy control measures are left unimplemented in Baha’i instititutions. Blame incompetence, ignorance or a childish innocence. Whatever the reason, it is plain stupid to not have them.

ACCOUNTABILITY
My fellow Baha’is usually bristle at that word since we believe that the institutions are not to be held accountable to their community. But this only extends to decisions. I’m speaking of management. An NSA should be held accountable to its community for mis-management, as this case clearly illustrates. If you are incompetent, you have to answer to the community. Period. The principle of non-accountability is not a free pass for negligence and idiocy.

TERM LIMITS
This is a much broader concept than I can do justice to here but put plainly it means that individuals have a limit to the number of years they serve in Baha’i institutions. In almost all Baha’i communities, large and small, we find that a small group of individuals dominate the elected and appointed institutions year in and year out. This has sadly become the norm. The consequence is that these individuals start to create little fiefdoms and get quite comfortable. Even getting a sense of entitlement. Can anyone doubt that Franco Ciccherini could have perpetrated such a massive (both in length and in quantity) fraud had we had term limits which limited his access to the highest levels of administration? There are many, many other benefits to term limits beyond the prevention of fraud and crime within the administration. I will explore this topic in more detail at a later time and hope to do justice to it.

It is my hope that the Baha’i community in Italy will learn from this tragedy, rebuild, move on and continue to grow. And that Baha’is elsewhere will use this opportunity to avoid similar painful learning experiences by beginning to consult on how to increase transparency and accountability with the institutions; how to implement common sense control measures and how term limits can benefit the community.

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reference : http://bahairants.com/financial-scandal-rocks-italian-bahai-community-209.html

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Bahais in India - Espionage and Embezzlement

Recent developments in India regarding the Bahai Faith may come as an eye-opener for many. For long, I have maintained that the Bahai Faith is nothing but a front for Zionist activities, directed against Muslims. Ordinary Bahais and the populace at large may not be aware of the happenings behind the Faith. For them the apparent external good behaviour of Bahais is probably a sufficient cause to believe that Bahais are good in general and the Bahai Faith is progressive in nature. Hence this article will be unpalatable for many. However facts are unbiased and unprejudiced. They speak the truth and spare no person. Is the Bahai Faith really about peace and brotherhood? Or is it about embezzlement, illegal money movement and most importantly, espionage? Let us find out.

In July 2006, Hindustan Times, a leading national daily in India reported that a few trustees of the Bahai Faith were involved in espionage by none other than their own colleagues. Taking cognizance of the complaint, a case has been filed against the trustees with the Economic Offences Wing (EoW) of the Delhi Police.
As per the documents of the case, N K Buddhiraja, general manager finance with the National Spiritual Assembly of India forged documents with the purpose of entering defence establishments. He also managed to secure documents which were passed on to Israel and Iran in exchange of foreign currency. In addition, up to 80 false passports were also made, some in the name of Iranian nationals.
One of the trustees, Payam Shoghi, named as an accused in the case was caught by the New Delhi police while trying to flee the country.
Since the story broke out there have been two follow ups - one in The Hindu (another leading Indian daily) and the other on the Internet. The links to all the three stories are provided here for the reference of my readers.
One of the stories mentions that Zena Sorabjee, the wife of the former attorney general of India, Soli Sorabjee, is one of the trustees of the Bahai organization. Needless to say, the Bahais in India seem to be well connected. This explains that despite the court proceedings, there seems to be a complete ban on the coverage of the story in all media.
Not too long ago, the Bahais were all over the media all over the world harping that their colleagues were being persecuted in Iran. Why are the Bahais keeping quiet now? There seems to be no update on this story even on the Bahai web site despite India being an important country for their propagation (remember, India is one of seven countries where the Bahais have a prayer house.)
As mentioned earlier, while this story may be unpalatable to many, for a student of the Bahai Faith for a long time, it did not come as a surprise to me.
The Bahai Faith actually espouses espionage and fraud. Pay attention to how the Bab and his followers practiced deception and dissimulation. Even Bahai missionaries followed this practice (they prayed namaz along with Muslims to deceive them) and more recently, Abdul Baha encouraged his followers to hide their true beliefs. The trustees of the National Spiritual Assembly of India have simply followed the tenets of the Bahai Faith which encourages deception and employs devious methods to achieve its aim.
Nevertheless, Bahais will do what they need to do. It is really up to ordinary Muslims like us and the general populace to recognize this deception and raise our voices against it. I sincerely hope that the Government of India and other independent agencies take note of this case and ensure that the trustees of the Bahai Faith are brought to book. This will ensure justice for the citizens of the country and also bring to front the true nature of the Bahai Faith for all to see.
Authored by Mohammed Reza Isfahani, October 2006

reference : http://www.bahaiawareness.com/bahai10.html