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BahĂĄâĂ History, Beliefs, Outreach, and Administration
Like all world religious movements, the religious history of the BahĂĄâĂ Faith is complex. While many book-length volumes have been written about BahĂĄâĂ history (e.g., Smith 1987, 1996; Momen 1996; Stockman 1985, 1995; Garlington 2005; and even Shoghi Effendi (Rabbani 2010) wrote a history of the BahĂĄâĂ Faith commemorating its centenary), this chapter will present a brief overview of this little-known and rarely analyzed world religion to help us understand its sociological uniqueness.
BahĂĄâĂ History in Iran and the Middle East
Shiâite Expectations and the BĂĄbĂ Religion
BahĂĄâĂ history begins with messianic movements in the Islamic as well as Christian world.1 The BahĂĄâĂ Faith grew out of Shiâite Islam, specifically Twelver Shiâism, the largest of Shiâite sectarian groups (Momen 1985). Shiâites believe that the correct line of successors to the Prophet Muáž„ammad began with his cousin and son-in-law, âAlĂ ibn AbĂ TĂĄlib (who is recognized as the fourth Imam or successor by the Sunni community). âAlĂ begins a line of twelve Imams who lead the Shiâite faithful, until the disappearance in 874 A.D. of the Twelfth Imam, Muáž„ammad al-Maáž„di, who it is believed will return from hiding (or âoccultationâ) at the end of the age. Thus, since the late ninth century, Shiâite Islam has developed a strong messianic motif (see Smith 1987) waiting for the return of the Twelfth Imam to lead the Muslim faithful (see also Armstrong 2000).
This history becomes further complicated by the Twelver Shiâite doctrine of the bĂĄb (which means âdoorâ or âgateâ in Arabic). After the disappearance of the Twelfth Imam, the Shiâite community was led by a series of four bĂĄbs who were gates to the Hidden Imam, who also predicted the return of the Maáž„di or Twelfth Imam (also called the QĂĄâim in Shiâism). Both Sunni and Shiâite theology state that the Maáž„di would rule the world for seven, nine, or nineteen years before Jesus returned (Momen 1985).
In 1844, as Shiâite expectations were at their peak, a Persian merchant named Sayyid âAlĂ-Muáž„ammad revealed himself to be the QĂĄâim (âHe Who Arisethâ) and took the title of the BĂĄb (eventually, BahĂĄâĂs came to recognize the BĂĄb as an independent âManifestation of Godâ with the same rank as Moses, Jesus, or Muáž„ammad). The assertions of the BĂĄb were a challenge to the âulama and Shiâite political authority of Iran. Bolstering the BĂĄbâs popular claims was the fact that in 1844 (1260 A.H. in the Islamic calendar), when he made his declaration, a full thousand years had passed, as prophesied since the original disappearance of the Twelfth Imam in 260 A.H. (Smith 1996). From a BahĂĄâĂ point of view, the crux of the BĂĄbâs message was the heralding of the coming of the âOne Whom God Will Make Manifest,â a prophet of greater importance who would lead humankind into a new era of peace. After amassing a following (known as BĂĄbĂs), the BĂĄb was arrested and put in prison. On July 9, 1850, the BĂĄb, along with one of his followers, was executed by gunfire in Tabriz (Smith 1996). With many of the most devout BĂĄbĂs killed, and now their leader assassinated, the BĂĄbĂ movement was in tatters, and what was left of it was driven underground. Only the most faithful BĂĄbĂs continued to believe that the BĂĄb indeed had been the promised return of the Twelfth Imam, and clung to his prophetic vision.
The Rise of the BahĂĄâĂ Faith
The second great figure of early BahĂĄâĂ history was MĂrzĂĄ Husayn-âAlĂ, a Persian whose family was part of the governing class of the country. Upon hearing of the religion of the BĂĄb, he converted and began teaching its message. His growing leadership role within the BĂĄbĂ movement revitalized and invigorated the new religion in the wake of the BĂĄbâs execution. MĂrzĂĄ Husayn-âAlĂâs social position protected him at first from the persecutions of the Persian authorities, but as fervor increased, he too was imprisoned (Hatcher and Martin 1985). While in prison in Tehran in 1852â53, MĂrzĂĄ Husayn-âAlĂ himself said that God had revealed that he was the âOne Whom God Will Make Manifestâ prophesied by the BĂĄb, whose teachings would usher in the Kingdom of God. Rather than execute a member of Persiaâs upper class, Persian authorities exiled MĂrzĂĄ Husayn-âAlĂ, his family, and fellow BĂĄbĂs to Baghdad, thus beginning a lifetime of imprisonment. While in Baghdad, MĂrzĂĄ Husayn-âAlĂ took the title BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh (âThe Glory of Godâ in Arabic), and announced that he was the one promised by the BĂĄb, whereupon the vast majority of BĂĄbĂs pledged allegiance to BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh (formerly MĂrzĂĄ Husayn-âAlĂ) and accepted his authority as a new religious prophet (for a more detailed history, see Rabbani 2010). The lifelong imprisonment of BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh, and even the modern-day persecution of BahĂĄâĂs in Islamic countries, follows from BahĂĄâĂ claims that the BĂĄb and BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh are divine prophets who were sent by God after Muáž„ammad revealed Islam. Thus, BahĂĄâĂs are considered heretics by Islamic clerics because they have reinterpreted the dogma that Muáž„ammad is the âseal of the prophetsâ to mean the last prophet of a participuar cycle of Godâs revelation, not the final prophet ever to be sent by God.
In 1863, the group of BahĂĄâĂs (the new name given to the followers of BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh) were banished from Baghdad and sent to Constantinople (now Istanbul) and then to Adrianople (now Edirne) in Turkey. Finally, in 1868 the group was exiled permanently to âAkkĂĄ, Palestine, the prison-city of the Ottoman Empire (âAkkĂĄ is near present-day Haifa, Israel, the location of the current BahĂĄâĂ World Centre). Here, as in the other cities of his banishment, BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh carried on his ministry, writing nearly one hundred volumes that partially comprise BahĂĄâĂ scripture, and met with pilgrims who traveled to âAkkĂĄ to see the man whose message was spreading throughout Persia and the Middle East.
When BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh died in 1892, he left behind a growing movement, and a will and testament that named his eldest son, âAbduâl-BahĂĄ (âServant of Gloryâ in Arabic, also known by BahĂĄâĂs as âthe Masterâ) his successor and the authoritative interpreter of BahĂĄâĂ writings (although BahĂĄâĂs do not consider âAbduâl-BahĂĄ a Manifestation of God, as is BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh). After the Young Turk revolution in 1908, all political and religious prisoners of the Ottoman Empire were released, thus freeing âAbduâl-BahĂĄ to travel and to begin establishing his fatherâs Covenant: the institutionalization of the BahĂĄâĂ Administrative Order as communicated through BahĂĄâuâllĂĄhâs writings (Hatcher and Martin 1985).
In implementing BahĂĄâĂ teachings, âAbduâl-BahĂĄ helped to define two major institutions: the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice. The Guardianship imparted sole authority of the religion to âAbduâl-BahĂĄâs eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, who would continue to erect the religionâs Administrative Order. Upon âAbduâl-BahĂĄâs death in 1921, Shoghi Effendi led the BahĂĄâĂ Faith as its âGuardianâ until his death in 1957. From 1957 until the first election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963 by the members of all the National Spiritual Assemblies, the âHands of the Cause of God,â a temporary administrative institution of charismatic, faithful BahĂĄâĂs (first inaugurated by BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh), governed the BahĂĄâĂ Faith. Since 1963, the Universal House of Justice has led the worldâs approximately six million BahĂĄâĂs.
Toward the end of his life, BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh appointed four persons as âHands of the Cause of Godâ to promote the interests of the BahĂĄâĂ Faith, and âAbduâl-BahĂĄ conferred this rank on a few individuals posthumously. However, it was Shoghi Effendi who most utilized these individuals in the erection of BahĂĄâĂ institutions. In âAbduâl-BahĂĄâs Will and Testament (1990), Shoghi Effendi was given the authority to appoint Hands of the Cause in his role as Guardian, as well as the authority to appoint the succeeding Guardian of the BahĂĄâĂ Faith. The successor to the Guardian was either to be the âfirst-bornâ of his lineal descendants or, if the first-born lacked the necessary spiritual qualifications, then Shoghi Effendi was to appoint one of the male descendants of BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh as the Guardian (Taherzadeh 1992).
During his tenure as Guardian, Shoghi Effendi appointed thirty-two Hands of the Cause of God (Taherzadeh 1992) to be his personal deputies in the protection and propagation of the BahĂĄâĂ Faith. However, Shoghi Effendi and his wife never had any children, and all of BahĂĄâuâllĂĄhâs descendants at the time of Shoghi Effendiâs death had been excommunicated because of their opposition to the BahĂĄâĂ Faith and their âviolation of the Covenant.â Since there was no provision in âAbduâl-BahĂĄâs Will and Testament for these circumstances, there have been no additional Guardians in the BahĂĄâĂ Faith since Shoghi Effendiâs death in 1957. However, BahĂĄâĂs say that the âinstitution of Guardianshipâ continues through the guidance given to the BahĂĄâĂ world through Shoghi Effendiâs voluminous writings and personal correspondence. Since âAbduâl-BahĂĄ conferred authority only on the Guardian to appoint Hands of the Cause, and since all remaining Hands of the Cause have passed away, this institution of the Administrative Order remains vacant (and the authority to excommunicate therefore falls solely to the Universal House of Justice).
BahĂĄâĂ Administrative Order
BahĂĄâĂs consider their Administrative Order to be unique among the worldâs religions because BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh provided the blueprints for the Administrative Order in his Writings. A BahĂĄâĂ author said about the BahĂĄâĂsâ unique organizational system: âNot until the advent of the BahĂĄâĂ Dispensation did a Manifestation of God include administrative principles among His spiritual teachings. This is an entirely new dimension which BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh has introduced; He has placed the spiritual and administrative principles on a par with each other. A violation of an administrative principle . . . is as grave a betrayal of the Cause of BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh as breaking a spiritual lawâ (Taherzadeh 1992, p. 395).
The BahĂĄâĂ Administrative Order (as outlined in BahĂĄâĂ Writings or holy scripture) consists of two pillars, or functional branches. These two branches evolved, to use sociologist Max Weberâs (1946) terminology, to routinize the charismatic authority of the Central Figures (the BĂĄb, BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh, and âAbduâl-BahĂĄ) of the early history of the BahĂĄâĂ Faith. This is significant for BahĂĄâĂs, because BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh strictly forbade the formation of clergy in the BahĂĄâĂ Faith (BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh 1992; Esslemont 1970). As we will see, as part of the BahĂĄâĂ ideology of âprogressive revelation,â BahĂĄâĂs believe that humanity has developed beyond the need for a special class which monopolizes religious knowledge. BahĂĄâĂs claim that the lack of clergy protects their faith from being corrupted by the power which accrues to any individual. In the BahĂĄâĂ Faith, no one BahĂĄâĂ has any formal authority over anyone else. Instead, all religious authority lies in councils or assemblies which operate at all levels of society. These two branches (or pillars) of the Administrative Order consist of: 1) elected assemblies (the âRulersâ) and 2) appointed boards (the âLearnedâ) operating at the local, national, and international levels of societyâsee Figure 1.1.
The Rulers. The first of the two branches of BahĂĄâĂ administration is a series of democratically elected âspiritual assembliesâ at the local, national, and international levels of social life (referred to as the âinstitution of the Rulersâ since they are that branch of the Administrative Order that governs or has authority over the BahĂĄâĂ community). Each year, wherever there are at least nine adult BahĂĄâĂsâage twenty-one and olderâwithin a recognized municipal boundary, an election is held to form a Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA), which constitutes the bedrock authority of local BahĂĄâĂ community life. Every adult community member is on the ballot and entitled to vote for nine individuals, and the nine receiving the most votes become LSA membersâthis is true of BahĂĄâĂ elections at all three levels of the structure.2 Local elections take place on the first day of the twelve-day Festival of RiážvĂĄn held April 21âMay 2 each year. The RiážvĂĄn festival (meaning âparadiseâ in Arabic) commemorates the public declaration in 1863 of BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh as a Manifestation of God in a garden outside Baghdad, Iraq, during his exile. There are approximately 1,100 LSA jurisdictions in the United States. None of the individuals who are elected to the assemblies have any authorityâonly the decisions arrived at through consultation by the institution are authoritative. If there is a tie for the ninth spot, BahĂĄâĂ administrative law dictates that the position go to the individual who is a âminorityâ in the community (a form of electoral âaffirmative actionâ to promote unity in diversityâthe most important BahĂĄâĂ social principle). BahĂĄâĂs are not allowed to ârunâ for office, since BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh strictly forbade campaigning in his Writings. Instead, BahĂĄâĂs are instructed to vote for any BahĂĄâĂ who is eligible based on his or her spiritual character. Shoghi Effendi (Rabbani 1974) instructs BahĂĄâĂs in all elections to vote only for those âwho can best combine the necessary qualities of unquestioned loyalty, of selfless devotion, of a well-trained mind, of recognized ability and mature experienceâ (p. 88).
Usually during the first weekend in October, BahĂĄâĂs in the United States attend their Unit Convention, an administrative meeting where a National Delegate is electedâthe first step in the formation of the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA), the next level up in this branch of the Administrative Order. Units are composed of groupings of several LSA jurisdictions and BahĂĄâĂ Groups (a âgroupâ numbers between two and eight BahĂĄâĂs in a municipality) of roughly equal BahĂĄâĂ population. There are 158 districts or units in the United States. These two electionsâthe April RiážvĂĄn festival, and the October Unit Conventionâare the two democratic ceremonies in which all BahĂĄâĂs have a chance to participate; indeed, voting in them is viewed as a spiritual obligation for members, and part of the way all BahĂĄâĂs can participate actively in the building of a global civilization.
The elected National Delegates then go to the National Convention (held in Wilmette, Illinoisâsite of the American BahĂĄâĂ National Center) in May to elect the National Spiritual Assemblyâagain, a nine-member body that oversees BahĂĄâĂ activity within a nation or region. Often, the National Delegates will return to their Unit jurisdiction and hold a meeting to report on the consultation from the National Convention (the proceedings are also summarized in the periodical publication of the NSA, The American BahĂĄâĂ, sent to every BahĂĄâĂ household in the United States). Unlike officials or representatives in many electoral systems, BahĂĄâĂ delegates or assembly members are not bound to ârepresentâ the choices of their âconstituentsâârather, they are elected based on their spiritual character to vote their own conscience for the good of the BahĂĄâĂ community in their jurisdiction.
The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States has various departments and agencies. These include the National Archives, the Office of Education and Schools (there are three permanently staffed BahĂĄâĂ schools that sponsor conferences and retreats for both BahĂĄâĂs and non-BahĂĄâĂs: Bosch BahĂĄâĂ School in Santa Cruz, California; Louhelen BahĂĄâĂ School in Davison, Michigan; and Green Acre BahĂĄâĂ School in Eliot, Maine), the Persian-American Affairs Office (to ease the transition of transplanted Iranians to American culture), the U.S. BahĂĄâĂ Media Services Office, the Office of Assembly Development, the BahĂĄâĂ Publishing Trust, the Office of International Pioneering, and the Office of Public Affairs. The latter has lobbied the U.S. Congress to pass resolutions condemning the persecution of BahĂĄâĂs in Iran.
Finally, once every five years, beginning in 1963, the members of all the NSAs in the world gather at the BahĂĄâĂ World Centre in Haifa, Israel, to elect the nine-member Universal House of Justice, the highest authority in the BahĂĄâĂ world. Unlike the LSAs and NSAs, BahĂĄâuâllĂĄhâs Writings exempt women from serving on the Universal House of Justice. BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh promised BahĂĄâĂs that decisions made by the Universal House of Justice are divinely guided and infallible. Although the Universal House of Justice cannot change any law revealed in BahĂĄâuâllĂĄhâs scriptures, it is empowered to legislate on all matters âwhich have not outwardly been revealed in the Bookâ (BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh 1992, p. 3), and it can also modify its own laws as historical circumstances demand. It can thus repeal or change its own legislation (but not laws revealed by BahĂĄâuâllĂĄh). This administrative flexibility prevents the religious laws and organization of the BahĂĄâĂ Faith from becoming obsolete, which often resulted in sectarian divisions throughout history. Consequently, BahĂĄâĂs believe that through the collective decisions of the institution of the Universal House of Justice (again, not based on any individual charismatic authority), the BahĂĄâĂ world, and eventually the global civilization which will be generated from BahĂĄâĂ institutions and laws, is as...