CULT 007A
            Baha'i World Faith
     The Baha'i World Faith claims to be 
a  religion of unique relevance  to  the 
modern  world.   Few  cults  are  better 
adapted  to   the mentality of the  20th 
century than this one. Its emphasis upon 
rationalism, human rights, international 
peace,   education,   equality  of   the 
sexes,and  the eradication of all  forms 
of  prejudice  gives the Baha'i Faith  a 
very  broad base of appeal.  The  Baha'i 
cry  for one world religion  appeals  to 
the   ecumenical  spirit  of  the   age, 
especially  in  light of the  continuing 
insistence  that Baha'is are in  perfect 
harmony  with the  Christian  Faith.  We 
will  look  into several areas  of  this 
cult.
              ORGANIZATION
     The  Baha'i World Faith has had its 
headquarters  on Mt.  Carmel  in  Haifa, 
Israel,   since  1949.  In  America  the 
center  for the Baha'is is in  Wilmette, 
Illinois,   where  a  3  million  dollar 
temple draws over 100,00 visitors a year 
according to their spokesmen. Additional 
temples   are   located  in   Frankfurt, 
Germany;  Kampala,  Uganda;  and Sidney, 
Australia. Though each one is different, 
they   are  all  nine-sided  (Nine   has 
religious  significance to Baha'is)  and 
each is covered with a dome.
     Since they are convinced they  have 
a  message the entire world should hear, 
Baha'is   have   a   strong   missionary 
emphasis.  They are active in more  than 
250  countries,  and  through  worldwide 
missionary  work has been limited to the 
20th  century,  total membership  totals 
over  5 million.  The 60's and the  70's 
witnessed very strong growth, especially 
in  the United States (special  emphasis 
in California), where a large percentage 
of the membership consist of  minorities 
and    youth.    California   membership 
constitutes  over 25% of the  membership 
of Baha'i.
     The  Baha'is have three  levels  of 
administration.   A   minimum  of   nine 
believers  is sufficient to constitute a 
local spiritual assembly, which elects a 
nine  member  administrative  body  each 
year.  These  centers have no clergy  or 
house  of  worship.   They  employ  only 
teachers  who  conduct  "Firesides"   or 
discussion  groups  in homes  or  Baha'i 
centers.  The  second level of Baha'i is 
the National Spiritual Assembly of  nine 
members   elected   each  year  by   the 
delegates   to  the   faith's   national 
conventions.  The  very top level is the 
UNIVERSAL  HOUSE OF  JUSTICE,  which  is 
another  nine member body elected  every 
FIVE  years  by the  national  spiritual 
assemblies    throughout   the    world. 
Although  the  House of  Justice  serves 
presently  as  the governing body for  a 
"world" religion, its ultimate intention 
is  to  serve  as  the  FINAL  GOVERNING 
AUTHORITY  for  ALL THE NATIONS  OF  THE 
WORLD.
             BAHA'I HISTORY
     We  at CFC have been amazed at  the 
various  text found on this  faith  that 
are  duplicates of the media handed  out 
by  BAHA'I themselves!  You will note on 
this BBS,  CFC makes careful examination 
of   the  HISTORICAL  record   and   the 
BIBLICAL  record (if existent) to arrive 
at  our  text  files.   We  can  do   no 
different,   so   we   stay  away   from 
Encyclopedia Brittainica,  etc and  look 
to History for the history of this cult.
     Iran,  the birthplace of the Baha'i 
Faith,  has  long been a Muslim  nation. 
The Persians (present day Iran) embraced 
the  Shi'ite  sect of Islam rather  than 
the larger,  more democratic Sunni sect, 
which  is the more traditional  form  of 
Islam.  The  Shi'ites believe that  Ali, 
the  son-in-law of Muhammad and the last 
of   the  four  universally   recognized 
caliphs (rulers of the faith in temporal 
matters), was succeeded to the caliphate 
by  twelve of  his  descendants,  called 
Imams.    The   Shi'ite   sect,   alone, 
recognizes   these  twelve  as  divinely 
appointed  leaders of  Islam,  and  they 
came   to   be  regarded   as   sinless, 
supernatural  beings.  The twelfth  Imam 
mysteriously disappeared without leaving 
an  heir,  and  the belief began in  the 
Shi'ites  that  he was still  alive  and 
would one day return as the Messiah,  or 
Mahdi.  In addition,  some schools among 
the  Shi'ites  began to teach  that  the 
Imams  were manifestations of  deity,  a 
belief  against  orthodox  Islam,  which 
denies  even the possibility  of  divine 
incarnation.
     Periodically,   especially   during 
times  of  oppression,  men would  arise 
claiming  to be the Hidden Imam  or  his 
appointed  channel  of grace.  This  was 
especially true in the early  nineteenth 
century  when  political  and  religious 
reform  was  badly needed in Persia  and 
when   the  1,000  years  that   Shi'ite 
tradition  affirmed would  pass  between 
the  disappearance  and  return  of  the 
Hidden  Imam was nearly  completed.  One 
such man was Shaykh Amad al-Ahsa,  whose 
followers were called "Shaykhis." He and 
his successor,  Sayyid Kazim,  were both 
called  Bab (The gate between the Hidden 
Imam and mankind). They claimed to be in 
contact   with  the  Hidden   Imam   and 
proclaimed  that  he would  soon  become 
manifest.
     After the death of Kazim,  the sect 
became   divided   between   those   who 
believed  that  the  new  successor  was 
Hajji  Karim  Khan of Kirman and a  much 
larger faction which followed Sayyid Ali 
Muhannad   of   Shiraz.    The    latter 
proclaimed  in 1844 that he was the Bab, 
a  manifestation of God,  the Mahdi  for 
whom  all had waited.  The  first  group 
continued  under  the name of  Shaykhis; 
the latter were called Babis.
     Sayyid  Ali Muhammad of Shiraz  was 
born in 1820,  descendant of the  family 
of  Muhammad.  He  was quite and  modest 
and,  as he grew older,  became studious 
and pious.  He made a pilgrimage to  the 
shrine  of the Imams near Bagdad,  where 
he met Sayyid Kazim and became  strongly 
influenced  by  Shaykhi  doctrine.  When 
Kazim  died,  the  movement  temporarily 
lacked  a leader.  Becoming convinced of 
his own divine mission, the Bab gathered 
eighteen "apostles," whom he called  the 
"Letters  of the Living." They began  to 
proclaim    vigorously   his    "divine" 
identity  and  mission,  which met  with 
varying  response in  different  cities. 
Some  eagerly accepted the "good  news," 
while others reacted with hostility And, 
in some cases, violence.
     "...in   the   History  of   Islam, 
putting forward a claim to be the Hidden 
Imam  has  always  been  connected  with 
political uprising." In order to prevent 
this, the Persian authorities imprisoned 
the  Bab.  However;  because the  people 
were  looking  for  a   deliverer,   the 
movement  spread.  While in prison,  the 
Bab  wrote  a number of  books  and  had 
visits from his disciples.
     In  the spring of 1848,  while  the 
Bab was still alive in prison,  the babi 
leaders  met  in conference  where  they 
declared   the   laws  of  the   Islamic 
dispensation  had now been abrogated  in 
the  same way that Muslims believe  that 
the  Islamic dispensation  replaced  the 
Christian  revelation.  The decided that 
rather than being the twelfth Imam,  the 
Bab   was   the  prophet  of   the   new 
dispensation in place of Muhammad.  This 
declaration   placed  the  Bab   clearly 
outside of the Islamic fold and  invited 
the    utmost    hostility   from    the 
traditional Muslims.
     After  the Babis sought  forcefully 
to  gain  control  of  the  province  of 
Mazanderan,  a  succession of  conflicts 
with  the  Persian  government  resulted 
that led to the mass defeat of the Babis 
and in 1850, the execution of Bab.
     Those  writings  of the  Bab  which 
have been preserved are called the Bayan 
(translated  =utterance or  exposition). 
The  Bab  was convinced that  his  works 
were superior TO ALL OTHERS,  that  they 
were inimitable,  and that they replaced 
Muhammad's    Quran   (KORAN)   as   the 
scripture  relevant to the present  age. 
He cited the supposedly superior quality 
of  his writings as proof of his  divine 
mission,  just as Muhammad had  compared 
his  writings  to the Bible.  The  Bayan 
includes  religious and social laws  for 
the universal theocracy of this new age.
     As  Baha'is claim,  the Bab  taught 
that one would come after him who  would 
be  greater than he.  In the Bayan there 
are  seventy references to "He whom  God 
will manifest."
          SUBH-I-AZAL and BAHA
     In keeping with the Shi'ite  belief 
that  Muhammad appointed his  son-in-law 
to  the caliphate before his death,  the 
Bab  appointed  the viceregency  of  his 
movement  to  Mizra  Yahya  Subh-i-Azal, 
Subh-I-Azal  continued as the  ruler  of 
the  Babi  community for  about  sixteen 
years.  This appointment is noted in the 
book NUQ tatu 'L-kaf, which is a history 
of  the babi movement written in 1851 by 
an "authorized" Babi,  Mizra Jani. There 
is   no  historical  evidence   to   the 
contrary,  though  Baha'i histories omit 
mention  of this appointment of  Subh-i-
Azal.
     Subh-i-Azal     instructed      his 
followers  to lay aside the  sword,  and 
under   his  leadership,   the  movement 
continued    to   grow    with    little 
opposition.   He  was  assisted  in  the 
leadership  of the movement by his older 
half-brother, Mizra Husayn Ali, who took 
for his name, BAHA (Glory).
     Turmoil  began  when  a  number  of 
claimants    to   the   coming    divine 
manifestation  arose,   citing   certain 
verses  in  the Bayan and  ignoring  the 
required time span of 1,500 years.  Then 
Azim,  a  devoted  disciple of the  Bab, 
devised  a  plot to assinate  the  Shah, 
which  failed and resulted in  a  search 
for  Babi  leaders and the execution  of 
many.  The Mizra brothers fled Bagdad to 
escape.
     In Bagdad, Baha became increasingly 
active   in   the  leadership   of   the 
movement,  while his brother retired  to 
seclusion  in  order to contemplate  and 
write. Baha saw that the movement needed 
stronger leadership than his brother was 
supplying,  but he recognized that since 
he  had not been appointed by  the  Bab, 
the only way he could attain it would be 
to convince the faithful that he was "He 
whom God will manifest." However; strong 
opposition  from other leaders prevented 
Baha from making any such claim at  that 
time.  in spite of these thoughts,  Baha 
wrote during that period in his "Book of 
Certitudes"  (alleged  to have  been  a 
response  to others who were claiming to 
be  the  "HE") that  the  time  interval 
between  the  Bab and He whom  God  will 
manifest "is about 1000 years."
     After    ten   years   in   Bagdad, 
outbreaks  of violence  between  Muslims 
and  Babis forced the Turkish government 
to banish the Babi leaders to Adrianople 
on the extreme western border of Turkey. 
There, with no one nearby to oppose him, 
Baha  declared that he was the  one  who 
should   come.   He  assumed  the   name 
Baha'u'llah  (Glory  of  God),  a  title 
applied  to the Divine Manifestations in 
the Bayan.  Baha'u'llah called upon  his 
brother  and all the Babis to submit  to 
him  without question,  since this would 
be  the only appropriate response to  one 
who is GOD,  and the Bab had  instructed 
in  the  Bayan that "HE" be received  in 
that manner.
     While  most of the  Babis  accepted 
Baha'u'llah's   claim  and  thus  became 
known as Baha'is,  Subh-i-Azal and  some 
of his followers refused.  They strongly 
believed  that the Bab's revelation  was 
all  sufficient for the age.  They  held 
that it was unreasonable to suggest that 
the elaborate system revealed by the Bab 
was  only to last twenty-two years,  but 
rather  that  it must  be  accepted  and 
instituted  for multitudes of people for 
many     centuries    before     another 
manifestation would appear.  After  all, 
the Bab had indicated that it would be a 
minimum of 1,511 years before "HE" would 
appear. They reasoned that (1) since the 
Bab  was infallible and (2) that he  had 
appointed Subh-i-Azal to succeed him, if 
Baha  was truly "He," Subh-i-Azal  would 
have to recognize him. Thus the minority 
that   remained  loyal  to   Subh-i-Azal 
continued  to be called Babis (sometimes 
Azalis).
     Baha'u'llah sought to force Subh-i-
Azal to recognize him by withholding his 
share of the allowance that the  Turkish 
government  had  been supplying  to  the 
exiles.   As  a  result,   Subh-i-Azal's 
children  fell sick due to lack of food, 
and  his wife complained to the wife  of 
the  Turkish governor.  This  "betrayal" 
incurred   even   greater   wrath   from 
Baha'u'llah.  The  Baha'is responded  to 
Babis resistance by rewriting many  Babi 
writings and records,  degrading the Bab 
to a forerunner of Baha'u'llah, the REAL 
prophet for the age, and MURDERING about 
twenty Babis in Bagdad,  Adrianople, and 
Akka.  Two  of these Babis were brothers 
of Fatima, widow of the Bab; another one 
was  her current husband;  and two  were 
"Letters   of  the  Living"  that   were 
appointed by the Bab. The murderers were 
never    punished   nor   disowned    by 
Baha'u'llah.  The  conflict between  the 
two  parties became so fierce  that  the 
Turkish   government   separated   them, 
sending Babis to Cypress and the Baha'is 
to Akka in Palestine.
     Baha'is     often    claim     that 
Baha'u'llah  was imprisoned most of  his 
life.  He  was in exile and was not free 
to leave Akka,  but for the most of  his 
stay  in Akka he was free to move  about 
and  owned palaces and gardens that were 
purchased  with  funds supplied  by  his 
followers in Iran and other countries.
     Baha'u'llah's  claim to be God  put 
him  under  the  difficult  pressure  of 
having to play and live up to that  role 
during  the twenty-six years of his life 
that followed.  Contrary to his previous 
custom,  in  Akka  he lived  largely  in 
seclusion.  No One was allowed to  visit 
him except by special permission.
     One write of this time wrote:
 "each  visitor  was carefully  prepared 
for his audience with the  Manifestation 
of  God.  He  was told that what he  saw 
when  he came into the  Divine  Presence 
would  depend on what he was  himself-If 
he  was  a material person he would  see 
only  a man,  but if he was a  spiritual 
being  he  would  see  God.   When   his 
expectations   had   been   sufficiently 
aroused,  the  pilgrim was led into  the 
presence of Baha'u'llah as was permitted 
to  gaze a few moments upon the "Blessed 
Perfection,"  care being taken that  the 
visitation  should end before the  spell 
was broken...Baha'u'llah,  however,  did 
not encourage the Bah'is in their desire 
to  visit him..  there was too  great  a 
risk  of their seeing and hearing things 
in Akka which might weaken their  faith. 
There  was a saying among the Baha'is of 
Iran  that 'whosoever went to Akka  lost 
his faith.'"
     In Akka Baha'u'llah recognized that 
the  Bab had designed his religion in  a 
manner suitable only to Persia.  He also 
saw that the Bab's vision of world  wide 
theocracy  was  unrealistic.   Thus,  in 
order    to   promote   the    universal 
aspirations of the Babi/Baha'i religion, 
Baha'u'llah  ignored many of the Bayan's 
injunctions and sought to make the faith 
appealing to the Christians and  Muslims 
in the lands the religion had spread to. 
Baha'u'llah appealed to members of these 
faiths  out  of  their  own  scriptures, 
claiming not only to be the one whom the 
Bab foretold, but also the return of the 
Shi'ite  Hidden  Imam,   the  return  of 
Christ,  AND  the  Comforter whom  Jesus 
said would come.
     Baha'u'llah wrote numerous epistles 
called "tablets" to  believers,  rulers, 
the  Pope  in Rome and  other  religious 
leaders. He also wrote longer treatises. 
All  are  considered to be the  word  of 
God.  In  all,  these works number  over 
100.  Bah'is  have no definite Canon  of 
scripture. A small book called the AQDAS 
is  considered  the  most  important  of 
--NEXT SECTION IS CULT 007B
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