Brief history of the Baha'i Faith

[smkolins]

Since most of this oppression happens in Iran there are precious few western accounts of any detail. One of the most prominant is the biographical elements of a scholarly book by a recent participant who ultimately fled Iran and recanted his deeds.

The book as a whole may be bought - it is Debating Muslims. This specific reference curiously skips by the topic of oppressing Baha'is but this review mentions the chapter reviewing the issue - chapter 4. Some of that material has been excerpted online here. Please note "This autobiography includes descriptions and language that some might find offensive.
This excerpt of Debating Muslims presents Abedi's recollections of his involvement in organized opposition to the Baha'i Faith in Iran. The other section of this book that deals with the Baha'is is Fischer's 30-page essay "Social Change and the Mirrors of Yazd: Baha'is of Yazd." That essay was later reprinted in the book The Baha'i Faith and Islam, published by the Association for Baha'i Studies (Ottawa: Baha'i Studies Publications, 1990). It is not yet online. -J.W."

[smkolins]

I also note bahaiawareness relies on quotes from Nuqtatul Qaf, aka Nuqtat al-Kaf .

This "book" has a pedigree, and books aught to have only an author. It seems that some element of truth might be in the text but it has certainly been altered and amended. Some scholars are trying to sift through the work to find relevant parts hoping to find meaningful information. Baha'is generally don't trust such materials - you can never be sure about what to exclude. For those familiar with the "Q" theory of the Gospels, this is a quantum leap in confusion.

Another example of being mislead I fear.

[BruceDLimber]

Greetings.

Originally Posted by imranshaykh

At the outset, I find it quite interesting that while the Bahais do not permit interpretation of their own books, yet they do not hesitate to interpret the books of others to suit their purpose.

the Bahais have used the culture as a mask to hide the fact that the Bab was not a Sayyed.

I also find it quite interesting that the Bahais are now trying their best to remove the Bab from public memory.

1. This is simply incorrect: every Baha'i is quite free to interpret the books! What is forbidden is one's interpretation as "THE ONLY TRUTH" and expecting others to obey it.

2. Nonsense. As others have already quoted, He most certainly was a Siyyid!

3. More nonsense! The Shrine of the Bab is the CENTRAL ORNAMENT of the Baha'i World Center as well as that of Mount Carmel. And it's an extremely significant landmark in the City of Haifa overall, please note (others' assertions, not the Baha'is'). So your accuation is simply silly.

Just the facts.

Bruce

[Popeyesays]

Shi'ih opposition is well-entrenched and admantine, of course. Imran Shaykh is only following a well-worn rut of argument.

This is from The Baha`i Faith and its relationship to Islam, Christianity and Judaism; the Brief History by Adam Berry. The original article appeared in: International Social Science Review 2004-09-22

"Without doubt, acceptance of the Bahá'í faith by many Babis greatly displeased the ulama who had hoped to see the movement die with the Bab. This was most evident in villages which previously had large concentrations of Babis, which now had equally sizable Bahá'í populations. Combined with "effective missionary activity [which] ... broadened the network of rural Bahá'í communities," the popularity of the Bahá'í faith among rural Iranians presented a dire threat to the ulama as the Bahá'ís encroached on one of their more reliable sources of religious and political support, the villages. (13) The conversion of many urban, well-educated, and well-off Iranians also represented an encroachment on the ulama's critical urban power base, the bazaaris. (14) This diverse (though certainly not exclusive) makeup of Bahá'í converts suggests that, in addition to directly absorbing some of the clergy's most reliable political supporters, the Bahá'ís, because of their successes in converting Jews and Zoroastrians, directly challenged the primacy of the hierocracy within Iran. The Shi'i ulama likely viewed the religious minorities in Iran as prospective converts to Islam; these were effectively "their" religious minorities. The Bahá'ís' success among these groups was a feat the ulama had been unable to achieve despite enjoying several centuries of religious monopoly in Iran. Regardless of the relatively small numbers of converts involved (especially as a portion of Iran's total population), the ulama saw this development as undermining their authority and support."


You may view the article in its entirety at: http://bahai-library.com/?file=berry...m_christianity


Regards,

Scott

[smkolins]

And such oppression as has been documented even in more recent times and has been eulogized even as the annivesary of that suffering also approaches. These are faces worthy of note.

Mona: Angel of Shiraz
http://bahaiworld.com/content/video/..._of_shiraz.wmv

http://bahaiworld.com/content/video/..._of_shiraz.mov