Persian Baha'is vs the Rest

The Baha'i Faith the youngest of all the Faiths and supposedly the most united is now suffering from an existential crisis. Already divided into many factions and sects, the Faith is now faced with the existential threat of a power struggle between the Persian Baha'is and the rest. This crisis may lead to the already decimated Faith into a vertical split shaking the roots of the faith.

There is no denying the fact that the Baha'i Faith is born in Persia and Persians have had a great sacrifice in spreading the Faith across the globe.

We will have to go back into the history to recollect that the Persian Baha'is pioneered to places far and wide and have devotedly served the faith. The progress of the faith in the golden era from 1970 to 2010 was mainly due to the efforts of Eidelkhanis, Nakhjawanis, Razavis, Afshins, Rouhanis, Mohajers, Azadis and so on. All familiar names to the Baha'i community, known for their selfless services. While these individuals offered their service they also led administrative positions – so we had people who had practical experience for managing the affairs. 

Subsequently the faith saw some unfortunate developments. While the Persian front-runners toiled, a big section of the Persian Baha'is felt that it was their right to govern the affairs. They had a sense of superiority and prided that they were connected to the cradle of the faith. Perhaps as a result of this, resentment crept in amongst other sections. Added to this was the fact that growing tension between Israel and Iran, made Israel suspicious of the Baha'is of Persian background visiting Israel. And the crack widened.

During Chile Temple inauguration in 2016, many Persian Baha'is used to boast that Faith is spreading in Iran and many family members of the former Iranian President Ahmadinejad is taking part in the Ruhi curriculum. The non-Persian Baha'is used to take this newfound interest of the Iranians in the Faith as an attempt of penetration rather than acceptance. Ahmadinejad was seen as the arch-enemy of the Faith.

So today , while superficially Baha'is express perfect harmony, for most of us it is clear that the gap is too large now and cannot be bridged. Administrative responsibilities have started slipping from the hands of Persians and they make no attempt to hide their discontent. After all, they represent a section that has sacrificed most and have had to face severe hardships for the Cause of God. The rest of the community just enjoyed the outcome of their hard work and yet walked away with administrative posts. 

The non-Persian Baha'is feel that the Persian Baha'is have enjoyed enough limelight and it is high time they take a back seat. There have been few cases of disloyalty by some Persian Baha'is which has added to the demand that Persian Baha'is cannot be trusted entirely. 

As this split widens, though ideologically, the mainstream Baha'i Faith will not break, the future will see a risk of Persian Baha'is forming a separate body for governance of their affairs. Much to the dismay of the founding fathers of the faith and to the pleasure of the enemies of the Faith and Covenant-breakers, there is an enemy within. 

The grievances of Persian Baha'is are expressed in this open letter to the UHJ which is being widely circulated amongst Baha'is.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE

Subject: Persecution of the Persian Baha’is at the highest seat of the Baha’i Administration 

Dear esteemed members of The Universal House of Justice

Paul Lample, Payman Mohajer, Shahriar Razavi, Stephen Birkland,

Stephen Hall, Ayman Rouhani, Chuungu Malitonga, Juan Francisco Mora, Praveen Mallik 

It saddens me to write this letter to the esteemed members. Members, who collectively are supposed to be infallible in their decisions. For quite some time, some of the decisions of the members are being viewed as being with a targeted agenda –cleansing the Baha'i Administration of Persian Baha’is’ very silent callous Racism and fanatism are engulfing the whole Baha'i Community. The Persian Baha'is are being persecuted in whichever land they pioneered and surprisingly the Universal House of Justice is a mock spectator to this persecution.

One could argue that these steps are seen with prejudice. However, when the sequence of similar actions has been witnessed the benefit of doubt reduces. 

Let us one by one see such incidences to conclude whether it is coincidence or otherwise:

1. Recently a prominent Heterodox Baha’i, Omid Seioshansian, who was born in Qatar, was blacklisted in Qatar. Government authorities in the country have levelled criminal and national security charges against him. Mr Omid now will face severe penalties in Qatar’s judicial system. And will be denied entry. 

Although Bani Duggal, the BIC’s Principal Representative to the United Nations, said that “The Baha’i International Community is saddened that the State of Qatar has chosen to expel members of a community that has peacefully coexisted in and contributed to the progress of the country”, the silence of UHJ has raised concerns. Many prominent Baha'is are of the opinion that UHJ is behind the expelling of Omid as they are in the cleansing process of Persian Baha'is and Omid a high ranking Persian Baha'i in Baha'i Administration, who has an eye on selection to UHJ. He has a lot of clouds in countries like India. 

2. Another high ranking Persian Baha'i, a counsellor, Dr Jabbar Eidelkhani who had served for many years in Bangladesh was also removed from his post and a very insignificant Indian Baha'i was asked to step in his shoes. Was this part of a strategy?

3.         Another Persian background lady, a former counsellor and member of the NSA of India, Mrs Zeena Sorabjee, was asked to resign/retire from NSA after being elected on NSA. Fate Accompli?

4. A prominent Baha'i of the USA, Bahareh Moghaddam has been accused of trying to deceive and misguide the Baha'is of Iranian descent by sowing seeds of discord. UHJ just watched silently.

5. Mr Ali Nakhjawani was hunted for his misunderstood statement resulting in ignorant Baha'is daring to ask him that why he gave such a statement. UHJ could have defended in this situation.

6. The case of Baha'i Scholar Ahang Rabbani has not been forgotten. After working for 15 years at the World Centre, he was heartbroken. UHJ had no comfort to offer.

7. Jamshed Fozdar and Feroz Anarki were on the brink of being declared Covenant-breakers but some better reasoning prevailed on UHJ and they stopped from doing such an atrocious act. Both these gentlemen have bitterness still.

8. The Late Mr Hasan Sabri along with Isabella Sabri made fun of Persian Baha'is and used to call them KHAR (donkey) and used to say that Persian Baha'is are misguiding other Baha'is. There are several other such incidences of rebuke. UHJ conveniently ignores these. They use to say Panchami is the centre of deviation.

9. The number of Persian Baha'is as counsellors have come down drastically and the story is not different for the ABMs. They were asked to leave their place of pioneer (where they had established themselves, gained respect and involved themselves in Teaching of the Faith) and settle in some other parts of the world. This is nothing but humiliation and harassment. UHJ chooses to look the other way.

10. When a non-Persian Counselor retires from his post, he is immediately offered another post in his own country. But if the counsellor is Persian, and that too a pioneer, never this opportunity of service had been offered to him or his experience used for promotion of the Faith. This happens under the watchful eyes of the UHJ.

11. A sincere Persian Baha'i Mr A.S. Furudi who took care of the Baha'i property the National Hotel at Pune in India was threatened by one of the members of UHJ that he should come inline with UHJ or face severe consequences.

12. A Persian pioneer a devoted Baha'i Dr. Ahmed Ansari was asked to resign after he was elected as a delegate for National convention. It was feared that he was a sure member of the NSA

13. Payam Shoghi - A person of capacity, he served the faith as a counsellor but he was sacked by the UHJ and was asked to resign from all his administrative positions, just because he was "accused" of forging Documents? Which was never proved.

14. Shahryar Nooreyazdan - He has such a wide experience of the faith. Has given years as a pioneer to Mumbai Community. A person instrumental in building the Lotus Temple and donating huge amounts of his savings was never given any hearing by UHJ. All his suggestions are ignored and were made the centre of mockery.

15. Farida Vahedi - She served the Faith with best of her capacity running the External affair department very efficiently but just some Indian NSA members who did not like her success was asked to resign from the NSA of India. In her place, a dumb Ram Sevak Yadav was brought to NSA just to appease the Hindu nationalist Government.

16. Afshin and his son Naim now live a life of loneliness. Afshin gave all of his golden years for the propagation of the faith in India. Today when he is ill and may be in need of financial assistance, the UHJ is wasting sources on inexperienced, and worthless people like Praveen Kumar Mallik, Rajan Sawant etc. All the "soldiers of Baha'u'llah" are being treated like worthless entities.

17. The Baha'i Academy in Panchgani was subjected to pressure because its Director Mr Lesan Azadi was a Persian and son of a Martyr. UHJ made his life and his family miserable. He was sacked as Auxiliary Board Member.

Such examples leave us with a bitter conclusion that those having Persian (Cradle of Faith) background need to be sieved. It is as though the UHJ sees the Persian Baha'is being responsible for the formation of so many sects. A thought is prevailing in the Faith that Persian Baha’is are working in groups and are having a soft corner for the Persian fourth Guardian Nosratullah Bahremand of the Orthodox Baha’i Faith, who is calling his shots from Australia. Such suspicion has been prevailing for many years now. UHJ has so far not taken any steps to reject this idea.

While all this is happening, the clout of Baha'is with Jewish backgrounds is increasing. Whether it is happening with the connivance of the Jewish state, is a question that then comes to mind.

Esteemed members do look into the injustice that has crept in the functioning of the Faith. Else history would not forget UHJ being the cause of moral and population downfall of our beloved Faith.

A GROUP OF PERSIANS Baha'is

The (Lip) Service of the Baha’i Administration at the time of the Covid-19 crises

Today, Humanity is at a critical juncture faced with the unprecedented and unexpected calamity in the form of the Covid-19 Pandemic. In the face of this crisis, Nations, Organisations, communities and even individuals are engaged in selfless service trying to help their fellow human beings’ tide over the devastating effects of this pandemic. Nations are rising over past rivalries and animosities, and people are rising over racism and xenophobia to help each other.

However, in the face of all of this, the “Baha’i Administration” is doing, as usual, NOTHING MEANINGFUL. The “Administration”, as always, in this time of crisis is bent on paying lip service and nothing more. This way of dumb and mute service is the innate nature of the “Baha’i Administration” and is in perfect alignment with the past set precedents of service of the “Administration”.

Allow me to enumerate the various “Powerful” (read: self-serving and futile; Lip Service) steps which the “Administration” will take at this time of crisis

1. The various secretaries of the Local Spiritual Assemblies will write flowery reports, elaborating in detail each small action done by the individual Baha’is (branded as the LSA’s effort) while exaggerating the same to appear as a humungous effort on part of the LSA. This is while in reality the individual Baha’is themselves are encouraged to do good not for humanity but for LSA reports where each activity in counted. One LSA report states about their dilemma where the Baha’is are asking them for guidance as to how they should serve the community during these dire times! As if any sane person needs guidance on that!!!

The Secretaries of the LSA’s know very well that promotion in the Baha’i administrative order is very much tied to one’s capacity at writing attractive reports.

• The National Spiritual Assemblies will then collect all of these puff pieces to assemble a massive report which will be nothing but a whole lot of blarney. All NSA’s are supposed to be masters in exaggerating the already exaggerated. The reality here is that the re-election of all of these “serving” members of LSA and NSAs depends on these rubbish reports and exaggerations. The secretary of the NSAs will then forwards these reports to the world centre which will then generate a very holy sounding poetic statement which would sound something like this: –

“In city after city, village after village, we see that a greater consciousness of our common humanity is emerging among many people. This is spurring them on to help others and to transcend traditional barriers and prejudices that keep them apart. The Baha’i communities together with local organizations and institutions are raising awareness about the corona virus disease (COVID-19).”

• The next step in their self-serving Lip Service at this time of crisis would be to send out correspondences to figures of authority in various countries (like the office of the Prime Minister etc). This work comes under the purview of the External Affairs Committee of the NSA and is the most important assignment for all of the NSAs worldwide. In these letters/correspondences the NSAs will express their sympathies and solidarity with the government in this crisis while emphasising that they are all obeying the respective directives given by the said government but without ever explicitly specifying how “they” are going to help.

Because in reality they have no intention of helping and the purpose of sending such a letter is much more sinister. What they in fact desire is a response (which is usually issued to all organisations which write to these august offices) from these figures in authority thanking them for their sympathies which will then be used by the administration to publicise their “Achievement”  worldwide – That the Bahai’s have received welcoming and appreciating letters from Heads of States – As if the religion of Baha’u’llah needs validation from them.

While not always, often it has also been seen that a whisper campaign is then started to spread malicious news that such and such head of state is now a Baha’i and is hiding his true beliefs fearing public repercussion – proof of which is a polite letter of thanks written by them (simply audacious)

• The NSAs will then start asking for money from the ordinary Baha’is (whom they fondly refer to as sheep) and from other organisations. Of these monies a very small percentage actually makes its way to relief activities (and the NSAs feel no need to publish statistics regarding how many cents to a dollar is actually spent towards relief activities)  but not before the “Administration” will very shamefully make it into a photo-op, usually with Government officials involved , for worldwide circulation, to show acceptance of the Baha’i faith. 

• And Lastly there is section of the “Administration” called as the Kamalabadi Baha’is who will take great pride in labelling this occasion of misfortune as the revenge of Baha’u’llah on Humanity. They will in fact label all that befalls humanity as the revenge of Baha’u’llah since Humanity has not accepted the message of Baha’u’llah, in their sordid thinking, it is then necessary for Baha’u’llah to take revenge from humanity by involving it in harsh punishments.

This kind of thinking originates from a mind which has suffered years of spiritual rot at the hands of the Administration. Such statements of hate and acting like spokespersons for Baha’u’llah comes naturally to them since they have for long left the true teachings of Baha’u’llah and have adopted false ideas, false systems and false “Administrations” as authorities over them.

I believe that it is the moral responsibility of all true Baha’is to condemn these Kamalabadi Baha’is who find solace in the Misfortune of others (including the many Baha’i who have been affected by this).

Alas, But in these times of tribulations and crisis, it seems that the chosen ones of Baha’u’llah, us Baha’is appear to be the most lost all because of this false “Administration” which does service only when it is self-service and helps only when it needs help in return. And all of this grand charade of service (Lip Service) by the “Administration” at the time of crises is only a means of marking their presence and safeguarding their relevance in our society.

Thank you.

A pained Baha’i

...................

Source: https://australiabahais.wordpress.com/2020/06/07/the-lip-service-of-the-bahai-administration-at-the-time-of-the-covid-19-crises/

 

Being a Baha’i means to love and serve all humanity.

DID YOU KNOW? 

As per Abdu’l Baha, being a Baha’i means to love and serve all humanity.

When asked on one occasion: “What is a Baha’i?” Abdu’l Baha replied: “To be a Baha’i simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.” 

On another occasion He defined a Baha’i as “one endowed with all the perfections of man in activity.” In one of His London talks He said that a man may be a Baha’i even if He has never heard the name of Baha’u’llah. He added:—

The man who lives the life according to the teachings of Baha’u’llah is already a Baha’i. On the other hand, a man may call himself a Baha’i for fifty years, and if he does not live the life he is not a Baha’i. An ugly man may call himself handsome, but he deceives no one, and a black man may call himself white, yet he deceives no one, not even himself.

One who does not know God’s Messengers, however, is like a plant growing in the shade. Although it knows not the sun, it is, nevertheless, absolutely dependent on it. The great Prophets are spiritual suns, and Baha’u’llah is the sun of this “day” in which we live. The suns of former days have warmed and vivified the world, and had those suns not shone, the earth would not be cold and dead, but it is the sunshine of today that alone can ripen the fruits which the suns of former days have kissed into life.

In order to attain to the Baha’i life in all its fullness, conscious and direct relations with Baha’u’llah are as necessary as is sunshine for the unfolding of the lily or the rose. The Baha’i worships not the human personality of Baha’u’llah, but the Glory of God manifest through that personality. He reverences Christ and Muḥammad and all God’s former Messengers to mankind, but he recognizes Baha’u’llah as the bearer of God’s Message for the new age in which we live, as the Great World teacher Who has come to carry on and consummate the work of His predecessors.

Intellectual assent to a creed does not make a man a Baha’i, nor does outward rectitude of conduct. Baha’u’llah requires of His followers wholehearted and complete devotion. God alone has the right to make such a demand, but Baha’u’llah speaks as the Manifestation of God, and the Revealer of His Will.

(Extract from Baha’u’llah and the New Era) 

This article was our small contribution to the Caravan Magazine. It was added under the Did you know? section, at the end of the magazine. Do share your views on this.

Rejecting the Authority of Clergy in the Baha’i Faith

 
“In this movement there will never be any paid ministers, no appointed clergy, no bishops, no cardinals, no popes, no ceremonies. A clergyman, assuming that he is ordained to his ministry, may think that he knows more about God than anyone else, whereas the humble man in his congregation may know more about God than he does. The sacerdotal and theological position makes a clergyman proud and haughty.” - Abdu’l Baha

(Reference: Diary of Ahmad Sohrab, March 21, 1913)


Clergy are formal leaders within a religion and their roles and functions may differ as per religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. As per the Jewish tradition, a religious leader is often a rabbi (teacher) or hazzan (cantor). In Christianity, the specific names and roles of the clergy vary by denomination and there is a wide range of formal and informal clergy positions, including deacons, elders, priests, bishops, preachers, pastors, ministers and the Pope. In Islam, a religious leader is often known formally or informally as an imam, qadi, mufti, mullah, or ayatollah. Buddhist clergy are often collectively referred to as the Sangha, and consist of various orders of male and female monks.


When I became a Baha’i, I was told that one major difference between the Baha’i and other world religions is that Baha’is have no clergy. It came to me as a surprise because clergies have some defined roles and responsibilities which they perform to keep the Baha’i connected with his religion. One of their key responsibilities is to teach the doctrines of the religion by way of preaching, conducting study classes, and organizing programs that will help spread their teachings to others. Now, if there are no clergy in the Baha’i religion then the question one might ask would be that who performs the duties and responsibilities on their behalf? The Baha’is would answer that it is an administrative body called Spiritual Assemblies who perform these duties, and on top of them is Universal House of Justice these nine members of UHJ are infallible collectively they have absolute authority on Baha’i faith, there decision cannot and should not be challenged by either individual or by community. To my understanding it is clergy in form of administration, but again I came across a saying of Abdul Baha about no officer and no clergy in Baha’i faith, when I questioned this and asked is there any writing or saying of Baba’u’llah or Abdu’l Baha about NSA LSA at local and national level I was told that by such questions and thought you will become covenant breaker

So, instead of calling them clergy, the Baha’is have called them Spiritual Assemblies?! These Assemblies are a group of people who are in charge of the Baha’i faith, who govern the affairs of the community. In addition to existing at the local level, there are national Spiritual Assemblies which look after the affairs at country level. On top of that, we have the Universal House of Justice, a nine-member supreme ruling body of the Baha’i Faith. They are the one who head the religion and are the final authority over the Spiritual Assemblies. By reading that, aren’t you already thinking how this structure is any different to how the clergy system works in Christianity or say Jews or Moslems? Exactly! It certainly has no difference.

How is a fatwa against a Moslem issued by a Mufti any different from a UHJ excommunicating a Baha’i? If the excommunicated Moslem is not allowed to question the Mufti, where in the world does an excommunicated Baha’i stand a chance to question the UHJ?

I have been a Baha’i since past 22 years and have been actively involved in the community but have got several excommunication warnings from the NSA for all the silly reasons in the world. Once I took my wife, who is not a Baha’i, to a Ridvan celebration and there was election of Local Spiritual Assembly and the next day I got a call from an NSA member saying since Ridvan is an Administrative gathering, non-Baha’is are not allowed. When I tried explaining her the fact that I’m trying to influence my wife to become a Baha’i and since it was a big celebration, I wanted my wife to be a part of it, I was given a final warning of excommunication and was asked to accept my fault and apologies for the same. That’s not it, the LSA members started to look down at me and I was not welcomed by anyone in the community. I still do not consider this a mistake on my part and I’m fine with their behaviour

My only concern is, again, how is the ill-behaviour of the NSA or the UHJ any different from the clergymen of the Christian or Moslems or the Jews? We Baha’is are asked to become open minded, do investigation of truth but when you actually become one and start with your reasonings, you’re warned of being excommunicated and kicked out of the community. Irony isn’t lost on me, yet. I am still puzzled, if Baha’is say that there are no clergy in the Baha’i faith and this statement is supported by the saying of Abdu’l Baha, then who has designed this administrative system and from where have they got this absolute authority over the Baha’is? On one side they reject clergymen, but on the flip side they ask us to have absolute submission and obedience to the UHJ, isn’t this double standard?




Source: http://freebahais.org/ Free Baha'is, The Caravan Magazine, Vol. 3, Edition 3

Why in 1926 did the Baha'i population went down by 50 percent?

During Abdul Baha's lifetime, accordingly to the WORLD ALMANAC for 1916, there were 2884 Baha'is in the United States belonging to the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is. But in 1926, after the first five years of Shoghi Effendi's Administration, there were only 1247 - a decrease of more than 50 percent. In 1936, the figures were still below those of 1916.

The shrinkage was due to two reasons.

1. The alleged Will was produced after the death of Abdul Baha appointing Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian ofthe Cause

2. Shoghi Effendi substituted the teachings of Baha'u'llah with inverted principles

When Baha'is with spiritual insight realised the actions of the so-called Guardian, which contradicted the pristine message of Baha'u'llah and the master, they seceded from the faith. Whether the alleged Will of the Master is authentic or spurious, the results of the Administration of Shoghi Effendi and the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is stand as an historic indictinentagainst them.

[Source: Abdul Baha's Questioned Will and Testament, pgs. 98-99]

To read more such interesting facts from early Baha'i years, download the Caravan Magazine here: The Caravan V2 E5

Free Baha’is official website: http://freebahais.org/

The Caravan, Volume 2, Edition 3

It's an honor to be back with the fourth edition of the Caravan Magazine, which through the last couple of editions has grown from the strength to strength due to efforts of faithful and divine blessings. We find strength in the fact that spreading the pristine message of Baha’u’llah affords to us a blessing so magnanimous that we are propelled to success.

This edition onward, we plan to analyze the Will of the Master piecemeal so that our readers get to know the facts thereby enabling themselves to come to an informed conclusion. We hope that this endeavor will serve its noble purpose of awakening the Baha’is who believe in following the unaltered teachings of Baha’u’llah.

Thank you for being a great support. Keep spread the word far and wide.

To download the magazine, click: The Caravan V2 E3

Free Baha’is official website: http://freebahais.org/

The Caravan, Volume 2, Edition 2

It is an honor for the Free Baha'is of USA that The Caravan Magazine has revived yet again and in full swing ready to spread the pristine message of Baha’u’llah amongst the truthful Baha’is around the world.

This edition of The Caravan contains instances where misguided ones with their evil intentions have tried to manipulate and subordinate the divine decisions. In their lust of power, they have overstepped the limits standing against the divine laws, all under the banner of religion.

We urge our readers to read the articles carefully and relate it such oppressive administrations still exist in the name of religion  but are working against the true teachings and giving a bad name to the faith.

To download the magazine, click: The Caravan V2 E2
Free Baha’is official website: http://freebahais.org/

The Caravan, Volume 2, Edition 1

The publication of the first edition of the Revived “Caravan” magazine has not only led to the revival of the “Caravan”, but it seems that it has also led to the revival of those passions associated with the faith which seemed suppressed by the burden of the Administration.

There are no words to describe the kind of love and support we have received after the publication of the First edition of the Revived magazine. Whether it be messages of support from the Faithful or it be messages conveying the stories of their lives, we have over the past 2 months received plenty.

With over 1400 downloads and increasing we are delighted to proclaim that this endeavor has duly received the blessings of not only mortals but of the divine also. We have received multiple requests from the faithful requesting for permission to print and further distribute copies of this magazine. To them We say this - Mankind is but one family, and to spread the words of the Divine Manifestation amongst them is part of our divine duty. if by further distributing this magazine you can complete even a part of that duty then please do, by all means !!

While initially planned to be a Quarterly publication due to the overwhelming response and demands for early release of future editions we are today humbled to present the “Naw Ruz” Special edition of the Caravan Magazine.

We would hope that you will find this magazine as inspiring as the last one, and show it the same kind of love which the first edition received. And we shall try our best to lovingly work towards spreading the true values of the Divine Manifestation.

Thank you and a very Happy Naw Ruz to you.

To download the magazine, kindly visit Free Baha'is Official Website: http://freebahais.org/the-caravan-magazine/