I left the Baha'i Faith after learning that Baha'is shunned her for choosing Motherhood over Martyrdom!

Inhumane Baha'i Sanctions
 

I left the Baha’i faith because they shunned a former member. The reason for the shunning was that she had lied when she was trying to leave an oppressive regime. She told the officer at the airport that she was Muslim like her eight-year-old son and husband. Baha’i leaders said she should have told the truth about being Baha’i, even though she would have become a martyr. Yes, she knew for sure that they would have killed her. She should have endured this for her faith. She should have left her son motherless in order to be an example to the world.

https://www.theatlantic.com/notes/2016/04/choosing-motherhood-over-martyrdom/478641/

Bahá'ís have always held to the principle that when challenged they should 'stand up and be counted', as the modern expression is, and not purchase their safety by denying that which is most important to them in this world and the next. The principle is well known to the Iranian Bahá'ís and is upheld by the overwhelming majority of them when the penalty is martyrdom.

Those Bahá'ís who have left Iran by official routes since the governmental regulations changed have made a conscious choice. While the majority of their fellow-believers have preferred to face all manner of difficulties, rather than deny their faith, these people have chosen to make this denial rather than face whatever problems were before them. They have left Iran freely, with the permission of the authorities as Muslims. They have chosen freedom and comparative ease at the cost of giving away their faith, and have got what they wanted. Some, however, once they are free, want to have their membership in the Bahá'í community back again. The attitude of the Bahá'í institutions in refusing to immediately readmit them should not be regarded as a vindictive punishment. These institutions are simply saying: 'You have shown the insincerity of your belief by denying it for your personal advantage, we are not going to readmit you to the Bahá'í community until we have some confidence that you are sincerely repentant of such an act. In the meantime you can abide by the choice you yourself have made.'

https://bahai-library.com/uhj_dissimulation_iran_emmigrants

Once again, inflated Baha'i Statistics Exposed!

Inflated Baha'i Statistics Exposed

by komorikomori

Inspired by this old post but with more countries and not exclusively reliant on census numbers. I have statistics for more countries, but I only included ones where the ARDA/WCE numbers are notably higher. These numbers are of course tentative.

CountryRealistic estimateWorld Christian Encyclopedia[1]
India4,572[2]1,897,651
United States77,290[3]512,864
Uganda29,601[4]95,098
Canada18,945[5]46,826
Australia13,989[6]19,365
Mauritius639[7]23,742
United Kingdom5,021[8]47,554
Germany5,000-6,000[9]12,356
Zambia3,891[10]241,112
Costa Rica4,000[11]13,457
El Salvador1,500[12]27,345
Egypt1,000-2,000[13]6,946
Sweden>1,000[14]6,814
Israel650[15]11,705
Morocco350-400[16]32,598
Afghanistan>400[17]16,541
Bahamas65[18]1,375
Barbados178[19]3,337
Belize202[20]7,742
Botswana2,074[21]16,464
Finland568[22]1,674
Ghana>3,000[23]14,106
Guyana500[24]11,787
Norway1,015[25]2,737

Sources

  1. Most Baha'i Nations (2010)

  2. 2011 Indian Census. See C-01 Appendix : Details of Religious Community Shown Under 'Other Religions And Persuasions' In Main Table C-1- 2011 (India & States/UTs).

  3. US NSA, 2020 Ridvan Report. See total # of Baha'is with good addresses. See also the 2001 American Religious Identification Survey which recorded 84,000 Baha'is in the United States.

  4. 2014 Ugandan census.

  5. 2011 Canadian census.

  6. 2016 Australian census.

  7. 2011 Mauritian census.

  8. "Census 2011 data on religion reveals Jedi Knights are in decline," in The Guardian, 2012.

  9. "Verschiedene Gemeinschaften / neuere religiöse Bewegungen (Weltanschauungen / alternative Religiosität & Spiritualität)," Religious Studies Media and Information Service. (German).

  10. UN Data (2010 Zambian census). Filter to Zambia. Note that this census has received serious criticism.

  11. NSA of Costa Rica (Spanish).

  12. NSA of El Salvador (Spanish).

  13. 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Egypt, U.S. Department of State. Statistic comes from "Baha'i representatives."

  14. NSA of Sweden (2012). See also NSA of Sweden (2016) (Swedish).

  15. https://www.ganbahai.org.il/en/learn-more/bahai-community/worldwide-community (No permanent residents).

  16. 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom: Morocco, U.S. Department of State. Statistic from "leaders of the Baha'i community."

  17. 2007 Report on International Religious Freedom: Afghanistan, U.S. Department of State.

  18. UN Data (2010). Filter to the Bahamas.

  19. 2010 Barbados census.

  20. 2010 Belize census.

  21. UN Data (2011). Filter to Botswana.

  22. UN Data (2010). Filter to Finland.

  23. Baha'i Community in Ghana to Honour Their FounderNews Ghana, 2017.

  24. 2002 Guyana census.

  25. 2007 Norwegian census.


How the "institution of Guardianship" was treated after the passing of Shoghi Effendi?


On February 8, 1934, Shoghi Effendi penned a work that would become the chapter titled "
The Administrative Order" in his book World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, referring to "the deeds of its present and future Guardians" and noting "Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be mutilated..."

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá’u’lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as 'Abdu’l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. “In all the Divine Dispensations,” He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, “the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.” Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperiled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. Its prestige would suffer, the means required to enable it to take a long, an uninterrupted view over a series of generations would be completely lacking, and the necessary guidance to define the sphere of the legislative action of its elected representatives would be totally withdrawn.

Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice this same System of the Will of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.

“He is the Interpreter of the Word of God,” 'Abdu’l-Bahá, referring to the functions of the Guardian of the Faith, asserts, using in His Will the very term which He Himself had chosen when refuting the argument of the Covenant-breakers who had challenged His right to interpret the utterances of Bahá’u’lláh. “After him,” He adds, “will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants.” “The mighty stronghold,” He further explains, “shall remain impregnable and safe through obedience to him who is the Guardian of the Cause of God.” “It is incumbent upon the members of the House of Justice, upon all the Aghsán, the Afnán, the Hands of the Cause of God, to show their obedience, submissiveness and subordination unto the Guardian of the Cause of God.”

Referring to both the Guardian and the Universal House of Justice we read these emphatic words: “The sacred and youthful Branch, the Guardian of the Cause of God, as well as the Universal House of Justice to be universally elected and established, are both under the care and protection of the Abhá Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of the Exalted One (the Báb) (may my life be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is of God.”

From these statements it is made indubitably clear and evident that the Guardian of the Faith has been made the Interpreter of the Word and that the Universal House of Justice has been invested with the function of legislating on matters not expressly revealed in the teachings. The interpretation of the Guardian, functioning within his own sphere, is as authoritative and binding as the enactments of the International House of Justice, whose exclusive right and prerogative is to pronounce upon and deliver the final judgment on such laws and ordinances as Bahá’u’lláh has not expressly revealed. Neither can, nor will ever, infringe upon the sacred and prescribed domain of the other. Neither will seek to curtail the specific and undoubted authority with which both have been divinely invested.

Though the Guardian of the Faith has been made the permanent head of so august a body he can never, even temporarily, assume the right of exclusive legislation. He cannot override the decision of the majority of his fellow-members, but is bound to insist upon a reconsideration by them of any enactment he conscientiously believes to conflict with the meaning and to depart from the spirit of Bahá’u’lláh’s revealed utterances. He interprets what has been specifically revealed, and cannot legislate except in his capacity as member of the Universal House of Justice. He is debarred from laying down independently the constitution that must govern the organized activities of his fellow-members, and from exercising his influence in a manner that would encroach upon the liberty of those whose sacred right is to elect the body of his collaborators.

It should be borne in mind that the institution of the Guardianship has been anticipated by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in an allusion He made in a Tablet addressed, long before His own ascension, to three of His friends in Persia. To their question as to whether there would be any person to whom all the Bahá’ís would be called upon to turn after His ascension He made the following reply: “As to the question ye have asked me, know verily that this is a well-guarded secret. It is even as a gem concealed within its shell. That it will be revealed is predestined. The time will come when its light will appear, when its evidences will be made manifest, and its secrets unraveled.” 

Vance Salisbury has chronicled a few of examples of Bahá'í books that have been edited after their authors' deaths...

John Ferraby served as the Secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the British Isles and was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God in 1957. Later that year he authored All Things Made New. From 1959 to 1963, he served as one of the nine Custodians at the Baháʼí World Centre in Haifa, Israel. Comparing the original 1957 edition of All Things Made New to the 1987 edition, among the numerous alterations, is the replacement of his dedication of the book to "The First Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith" to simply "The Guardian." Other references to "the Guardian" have been replaced with "the Universal House of Justice."

George Townshend) was an Irish Anglican clergyman who became a Baháʼí and in 1947, at the age of 70, renounced his orders to the Anglican Church. Townshend was one of the founding members of the Dublin Local Spiritual Assembly and in 1951 was designated by Shoghi Effendi as a Hand of the Cause of God. Townshend completed his own book, Christ and Baháʼu'lláh, which Shoghi Effendi called 'his crowning achievement' shortly before dying of Parkinson's disease in 1957, at the age of 81. Christ and Baháʼu'lláh is notable for the changes made from the original publication to subsequent editions published after the passing of Shoghi Effendi. For example, a statement about the "first and present Guardian" has been removed and a section discussing "the lineage of succeeding Guardians" has been replaced with a section discussing "divinely guided institutions" in general.

The original edition of Shoghi Effendi's The Selected Writings of Shoghi Effendi, published in 1942, included numerous references to the institution of the Guardianship and its inspired origin, its perpetual nature, and its absolute centrality to the Covenant. This collection of his writings opened with a large extract from the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Bahá which could best be summed up as an appeal to the believers to be "firm in the Covenant" and follow the divine guidance which can only be found in the Cause of God. In the 1975 edition, most of the text of this appeal has been removed, except for two paragraphs which promised that the Twin Pillars of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice are under the guidance and protection of Bahá'u'lláh and the Bab. However, the phrase "...and after him will succeed the first-born of his lineal descendants" no longer appears at the end of the paragraph concerning the Guardian. Two complete pages have been removed from the original edition without notation, including this explicit statement:

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as Abdu'l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. 'In all Divine Dispensations,' He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, 'the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophet hood hath been his birthright.' Without such an institution the integrity of the Faith would be imperilled, and the stability of the entire fabric would be gravely endangered. (78)

Source : https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/isnq3v/in_the_future_when_the_next_manifestation_appears/ 

"The world is in turmoil because it has rejected the Baha'i Faith" -Farzam Kamalabadi

1:03:56 - "Humanity has encountered the revelation of Baha'u'llah. A good part of people have responded, such as Martha Root, who in the 20s and 30s went around the world four times and met fifty, sixty heads of states and met, if not millions, hundreds of thousands of people and did her part, whereas many others didn't. The world to some degree listened and to some degree didn't. The world is in turmoil because, collectively, it has either had the act of negative commission - that means he has rejected the Baha'i Faith because of their, what we call it, commitments to the old, fidelities to the old religions, and their own dogmas, and their own misunderstandings and superstitions, or just brushed it aside, so we call, act of omission. Or, we either went against it, persecuted it, or ignored it, very simply speaking. And the suffering of the world is only, only is because of that."

Francesco Ficicchia on the Baha'i Faith

Baha'i New World Order

"Like a restrictive, fundamentalist Islām, Bahā'ism is based on a theocratic doctrine of state and society (dīn wa daula) and aims to integrate all of humanity into a single state structure in which sovereignty rests solely with God. Religion thus becomes the sole guideline for all areas of life, such that there can only be a God-willed order to which individual, religious, ethical, political, social, economic and legal decisions must be oriented.

"If Islām as a political order is equated with Islamism, then this also applies to Bahā'ism, although a corresponding Bahā'ī equivalent to the word "Islamism" has yet to be invented. Like the Islamists, the Bahā'īs also aim to establish a God-state (theocracy) with a globally valid, religiously constituted legal and social order. Nevertheless, they emphatically deny any involvement in worldly affairs and prohibit any political activity, at least on the part of the faithful base. They emphasize their peacefulness and oblige their followers to obey the ruling authorities — by which prospectively also, and above all, their own is meant. However, a secular (non-religious) order is rejected and the goal is to elevate Bahā'ism to the status of a "state religion" in a "Bahā'ī State" or "Bahā'ī World Government" that is to be created. The supreme authority of this universal faith-based dictatorship is the "Universal House of Justice," which is endowed with infallible authority. Per this premise, Bahā'ism is also a political and ideological religion, although its marginalized position in society means that it must exercise due restraint in achieving its goals.

"In contrast to a militant Islāmic fundamentalism, uncompromising in appearance, Bahā'ism succeeds in giving the impression of a progressive, modern religion with external reference to modernity. With its principle of the indivisible unity and equality of the human race, Bahā'ism — and this is the real attraction of this faith — represents an insight that is increasingly permeating collective thinking in the face of global challenges. However, that a changing world consciousness is also necessarily heading towards a religion of world unity does not seem very realistic. There is a tendency for traditional belief systems, in recognition of religious pluralism, mutual tolerance, and the preservation of cultural diversity, to come closer to one another in a broader dialogue, but at the same time to seek to preserve their own identity. The days of the predominance of only one religion are over and cannot be restored even by a new universal religion, all the more so if the latter includes a religious law that claims secular validity for a period of at least a thousand years beyond the sphere of belief.

"A religious system rooted in 19th Century oriental thinking, largely prefabricated from the outset, dogmatically and ideologically cast in concrete forms, and therefore essentially stagnant at its core, is not compatible with the dynamic zeitgeist of an open and pluralistic society. Even if one may be inclined to assign the phenomenon of Bahā'ism to the other world religions as their youngest member, the global implementation of its goals and the urge to grow up to become an outstanding world culture will probably be forever denied to it in view of these self-erected barriers."

-Bahā'ī: Einheitsreligion und global Theokratie. Ein kritischer Einblick in die Universalreligion der Zukunft [Bahā'ī: Religion of Unity and Global Theocracy. A Critical Insight into the Universal Religion of the Future], (Monsenstein und Vannerdat, 2009), pp. 131–132

Bad lies and reporting exaggerated & fake numbers.


There has always been confusion in the Population of the Baha'i Faith followers in every country, since its ORIGIN. Regarding their numbers, "Millions" is the usual figure claimed by them.

Very recently Baha’is are also interested in giving Fake ‘percentage Baha’i population’ for every country. Thanks to the internet – their lie is getting exposed. The number of countries and localities varies with each web site. There is ‘no consensus’ regarding the actual number of countries, the actual number of localities, and the actual number of Baha’i. This trouble in the Baha’i population is not generated by the Baha’i Administration themselves but it is just the continuation of what Abdul Baha and Shoghi Effendi have done.

As a result Baha’is and Baha’i Administration have gone on defensive. They are quick to blame the Christians for this exaggeration and inconsistency. Where did the Christians get their data? It is only from the National spiritual Assembly of the various countries especially the NSA of USA. It is only the Baha'is and their officials who are to blame for the false-misleading reports on the wildly exaggerated Baha'i census. It is not the fault of the editors of Christian World Encyclopedia and Encyclopedia Britannica who relied on information given to them by the Baha’is.

One may ask, why didn't the NSAs , UHJ-ITC-ABM-CBC ever contact the Christian World Encyclopedia Editors, and request a correction? This is because the Baha’is wants to jack-up their numbers- for "public image".

100 YEARS AGO:

Lacking the linguistic means to investigate the truth, non-Farsi speaking audiences are usually presented with distorted facts about the Baha’i creed. This is not peculiar to ordinary Baha’is but is an act that was also performed by 'Abdu'l-Baha.

The current estimate of the number of Baha’is in the world is at most 5 - 7.5 million adherents. These numbers have been dismissed by a number of academics and it is believed that the actual worldwide Baha’i population is much lower. As we will show, the exaggeration in the Baha’i population was first initiated by 'Abdu’l-Bahā when presenting wrong statistics to non-Farsi speaking audiences.

In 2012 the Official Website of “the Baha’is of the United States” published the Daily Centenarian (https://centenary.bahai.us/daily-archive), an archive of hundreds of American newspaper articles (and their images which we have provided below) from 1912 that were related to `Abdu’l-Bahā’s journey to America and his speeches therein. Based on the worldwide Baha’i population mentioned in these articles, we have constructed a table in reverse chronological order that shows the name of the newspaper, the date published, and the population statistic cited:

World Baha'i population according to newspapers in 1912

No

Newspaper Name

Date

Mentioned Population

Reference

1

Troy NY Press

16/12/1912

over 10,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/head-new-religious-cult-has-thousands-followers

2

The Christian Commonwealth

8/12/1912

3,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/return-england-abdul-baha

3

The New York Times

6/12/1912

Thousands in America

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-sails-away-0

4

The New York Times (Palo Alto,CA)

10/11/1912

Several million

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/leland-stanford

5

San Francisco Call

12/10/1912

7,000,000 Persian

followers

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/charitable-woman-may-aid-bahaism

6

San Francisco California

Chronicle

8/10/1912

3,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-abbas-says-object-mission-unify-all-creeds

7

unnamed (Seattle)

6/10/1912

No less than 20,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-abbas-will-visit-seattle

8

San Francisco California

Examiner

6/10/1912

No less than 3,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-brings-gospel-peace

9

San Francisco California

Bulletin

4/10/1912

Several million

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-give-lecture-oakland

10

The SFO Call (San Francisco,

CA)

4/10/1912

Several million

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/persian-lecture-universal-peace

11

Oakland Tribune (San

Francisco, CA)

4/10/1912

Several million

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/persian-prophet-lecture-here-0

12

The Sacramento Bee (San

Francisco, CA)

4/10/1912

Several million

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/women-should-have-rights-men-he-says

13

San Jose California Herald

3/10/1912

Several million

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-talk-stanford

14

San Francisco Chronicle

3/10/1912

Several million

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/apostle-bahaism-speak-stanford

15

The Oakland Enquirer

(Oakland, CA)

2/10/1912

Several million

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/bahai-prophet-will-speak-here

16

The Evening Standard (Salt Lake, UT)

30/9/1912

10,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-abbas-comes-lecture-bahai-religion

17

Rocky Mountain News (New

York, NY)

22/9/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-coming-persian-prophet-teaches-new-faith

18

Spokane Washington Daily

Chronicle

17/9/1912

3,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-prophet-god-asked-come-spokane

19

Harbor Grace Standard

(Montreal, QC)

7/9/1912

3,000,000 in Persia

Alone

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/persian-peace-prophet-gives-message-canada-through-standard

20

Biddeford Maine Weekly

Journal

6/9/1912

3,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-greenacre-conferences

21

London Ontario paper

3/9/1912

8000 in America

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/bahai-revelation-comes-city

22

Portland Oregon Oregonian

1/9/1912

3,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-coming-tour-interest-his-religion

23

The Montreal Gazette

(Montreal, QC)

29/8/1912

3,000,000 in Persia alone

 

24

The Montreal Daily Star

(Montreal, QC)

24/8/1912

0ver 3,000,000 in Persia alone

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/famous-teacher-coming

25

Oakland Cal Enquirer

(Berkeley, CA)

8/8/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/local-artist-wins-fame-portrait

26

The Evening Post (New York)

23/7/1912

14,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-speak-1

27

The Pittsburgh Pennsylvania

Press

15/7/1912

20,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/aged-head-new-religion-gives-views

28

The Brooklyn Daily Eagle

(New York)

13/7/1912

14,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/unitarian-persian-prophet

29

New York Sun

7/7/1912

Several Hundred Thousand

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-gives-his-impressions-new-york

30

The Van Nuys News (Van Nuys,CA)

5/7/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/leader-bahaism-here-1

31

The Agitator Wellsboro

Pennsylvania

3/7/1912

14,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-make-his-home-montclair

32

unnamed (New York)

26/6/1912

14,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-will-stay-america

33

Grand Rapids Minnesota Press

24/6/1912

3,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/church-and-its-work

34

Brooklyn Daily Eagle NY

17/6/1912

Many millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-abbas-pulpit

35

The Anaconda Standard

(Montclair, NJ)

16/6/1912

14,000,000

 

36

The Evening News (San Jose)

15/6/1912

2,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-head-new-religion-brotherhood

37

The Evening Bulletin

Philadelphia

10/6/1912

250,000 in America

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/old-persian-mystic-stirs-teachings

38

Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Public Ledger

10/6/1912

More than 3,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/persian-sage-pays-visit-city

39

Middletown Time-Press

(Montclair, NJ)

3/6/1912

14,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/jerseys-new-resident

40

unnamed paper in New York

26/5/1912

14,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-will-stay-america

41

Worcester Telegram 2nd

Edition

24/5/1912

Millions in near east and hundreds of thousands in the US

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/new-faith-head-heard

42

Worcester Evening Post

24/5/1912

Millions in near east and

hundreds of thousands in the US

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/head-new-religion-clark-college-speaker

43

Worchester Massachusetts Post

23/5/1912

Millions in near east and

hundreds of thousands in

the US

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/head-new-religion-clark-college-speaker-0

44

Worcester Telegram 2nd

edition

22/5/1912

Millions and 100,000 in the

US

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-speak-0

45

Worcester Evening Gazette

21/5/1912

Millions and several

hundred thousand in the

US

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abbas-effendi-coming-give-talk-clark

46

The Syracuse Herald

11/5/1912

20,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/prophet-may-come

47

Grand Valley Times (Moab, UT)

10/5/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/leader-bahaism-here-3

48

The Oelwein Daily Register (Oelwein, IA)

10/5/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/leader-bahaism-here-4

49

Manitoba Free Press

9/5/1912

3,000,000 in the Orient

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/readers-notes

50

Marble Rock Journal (Floyd, IA)

9/5/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/leader-bahaism-here-2

51

The Palo Alto Tribune

(Emmetsburg, IA)

8/5/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/leader-bahaism-here-0

52

Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Post

6/5/1912

15,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-speak

53

New York Tribune

5/5/1912

20,000,000 in the world. 5000 in America

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-talks-kate-carew-things-spiritual-and-mundane

54

unnamed (chicago)

1/5/1912

40,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/bahaist-leader-opens-oriental-court-here

55

Chicago Illinois News

29/4/1912

40,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/bahaist-chief-missing

56

The Hutchinson News (Chicago)

27/4/1912

14,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/bahaists-honor-leader

57

Houston Texas Chronicle

24/4/1912

15,000,000 with several hundred thousand in the US and Canada

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/people-worth-while

58

Cleveland Ohio Leader

22/4/1912

2,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/persian-hailed-new-messiah-comes-teach-unity-world

59

The New York Times

21/4/1912

Tens of thousands

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/message-abdul-baha-head-bahais-0

60

New York Tribune

18/4/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/letters-editor-abdul-baha

61

Pittsburg PA Times

17/4/1912

20,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/head-new-cult

62

Albany New York Press

15/4/1912

Many millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/persian-explains-plan-unite-all-religions

63

Buffalo New York Courier

15/4/1912

Many millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/western-world-behind-spiritual-civilization

64

The Lexington Herald

14/4/1912

Hundreds of thousands when Bahā’u’llāh was alive

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/servant-god-headed-america-0

65

Chicago Illinois Post

13/4/1912

2,000,000 with 5,000 in the US

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-and-chicago

66

New York Herald

13/4/1912

20,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-dazed-citys-rush-calls-new-york-beehive-0

67

The Chicago Illinois Defender

13/4/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-abbas-coming-lewis-g-gregory

68

New York Tribune

12/4/1912

20,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/persian-prophet-here

69

New York Sun

12/4/1912

2,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/disciples-here-hail-abdul-baha

70

unnamed (Washington DC)

27/3/1912

Thousands in America

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/persian-brings-gospel-love-0

71

The New York Times

4/3/1912

One third of Persians

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/bahai-leader-due-here

72

SFO Daily News (San Francisco, CA)

28/2/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/after-40-years-prison

73

The Montreal Daily Star

(Montreal, QC)

10/2/1912

2,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/eastern-sage-coming-city-new-message-0

74

Sault Ste. Marie Ontario

Evening News

5/2/1912

Millions

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/after-forty-years-prison-bahai-leader-plans-visit-followersunited-states-0

75

Boston Massachusetts Evening Transcript

27/1/1912

Thousands

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/coming-abdul-baha-abbas

76

unnamed (Chicago)

7/1/1912

2,000,000

http://centenary.bahai.us/news/dedicate-temple-bahai-chicagos-north-shore

 

These exaggerations are totally outrageous and go up to numbers like 40 million! Although, the source of many of these numbers has not been mentioned in the newspapers, in the case of a few of these articles, it has been stated that the numbers have been provided by `Abdu’l-Bahā himself.

Upon arriving in the United States, `Abdu’l-Bahā is quoted by the New York Times as saying that he has no way of estimating the number of his followers but that they are overall about two million:

(https://centenary.bahai.us/news/disciples-here-hail-abdul-baha)

Figure 1: Image of newspaper that quotes `Abdu'l-Bahā as saying the world Baha'i population is about 2 million



The same number is repeated in another paper the next day:

He estimates the number of his followers at about 2,000,000, about 5,000 of these being in this country. (Leader of New Cult [rest of title is missing], Chicago Illinois Post, 13 April 1912)
(http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-and-chicago)

Figure 2: Image of another newspaper that quotes `Abdu'l-Bahā as saying the world Baha'i population is about 2 million



Matters become even more interesting. Six months into his stay these numbers dramatically change. He is quoted as saying he has ten million followers:

`Abdu’l-Bahā Abbas, leader of the Bahā’ī movement, which he says has 10,000,000 followers in the world, is in Salt Lake City.He is making a tour of the United States and plans to lecture on his religion here. (Comes [sic] to Lecture on Bahal [sic] Religion, The Evening Standard [Salt Lake], 30 September 1912)

(http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-abbas-comes-lecture-bahai-religion )

Figure 3: Image of newspaper that quotes `Abdu'l-Bahā as saying the world Baha'i population is about 10 million

 



This high number is further strengthened by a quote from another newspaper several days later in which `Abdu’l-Bahā claims he has converted several million people to Baha’ism himself:

The disciple is a martyr to religion and claims to have converted several million people, including Christian,Mohammedans and Jews to the Baha’ism faith. (Women Should Have Rights of Men, The Sacramento Bee [San Francisco] 4 October 1912)
(http://centenary.bahai.us/news/women-should-have-rights-men-he-says )

Figure 4: Image of newspaper that quotes `Abdu'l-Bahā as saying he has converted several million people to Baha’ism himself



The number of American Baha’is can also be found in `Abdu’l-Bahā’s words. As we previously quoted, upon arriving in the US, he had mentioned his American followers to be around 5000:

He estimates the number of his followers at about 2,000,000, about 5,000 of these being in this country. (Leader of New Cult [rest of title is missing], Chicago Illinois Post, 13 April 1912)

(http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-and-chicago )

Furthermore, in his farewell speech he had claimed that he had converted thousands of Americans during his eight month stay in America:

About 100 members of the New York Bahā’ī Society, 80 percent. of whom are women, went to the pier to see `Abdu’lBahā off and were deeply moved as he delivered his final address to them in the lounge. He said that during his tour of the United States he had converted thousands of men and women and that they would work among their churches after he had gone for the furtherance of the movement for universal peace. (Abdul Baha Sails Away, The New York Times, 6 December 1912) (
http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-sails-away-0 )

Figure 5: Image of newspaper that quotes `Abdu'l-Bahā as saying he has converted thousands of Americans to Baha’ism during his stay in America.




If we conservatively assume that `Abdu’l-Bahā had converted another five thousand people to the Baha’i faith during his stay in America based on the thousands that he had claimed—then we can estimate the total number of American Baha’is to be around ten thousand.

Subsequently, based on what the papers quoted from `Abdu’l-Bahā,there must have been two or ten million Baha’is worldwide (millions of which he had converted) and ten thousand in America at the end of 1912. According to a survey by two prominent Baha’i authors (P. Smith, M. Momen, The Baha'i faith 1957–1988: A survey of contemporary developments,Religion 19 (1989), pp. 63–91: http://bahai-library.com/momen_smith_developments_1957-1988(retrieved 28/2/2014)) the number of Baha’is 42 years later—in 1954—were only 213,000 worldwide and only 10,000 in North America, Europe, and Anglo-Pacific combined!

Even if we assume a large margin of error for all numbers, the estimated population of 1912 is still very large and greatly exaggerated.Ignoring the population growth, `Abdu’l-Bahā’s statistics are respectively about 9.4 times and 46 times the Baha’i population of 42 years later! These are the words of the Mystery of God who possesses superhuman knowledge (Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 134.) and is the Unerring Pen (Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahā’u’llāh, p. 75.)

There is another point in these exaggerations that is worth mentioning. `Abdu’l-Bahā apparently didn’t mind these large numbers being published in these papers although he protested other facts that he deemed needed to be corrected. For instance:

`Abdul-Bahā, “Servant of Ineffable Splendor,” has arrived in Chicago from Persia to establish a world-wide peace betweenreligion and science, but feels a little doubtful of our newspapers because a reporter wrote that he wore a robe and turban of red and white stripes — which he never did;so there! ([title missing], Inter Ocean [Chicago] 2 May 1912) (http://centenary.bahai.us/news/abdul-baha-servant-splendor )


The paper that `Abdu’l-Bahā was referring to was published a day earlier:

`Abdul-Bahā, “Servant of Ineffable Splendor,” Adviser to 40,000,000 Through World . . . The high priest sat in a big plush chair during the brief reception. He wore a long, flowing robe, striped with red and white. His beard reached almost to his waist. A turban of the same material as the robe was wound about his head. (Bahaist Leader Opens Oriental Court Here, unnamed [Chicago] 1 May 1912)

 (http://centenary.bahai.us/news/bahaist-leader-opens-oriental-court-here )


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