Baha'u'llah and swearing

 

Anyone else pressured by Bahais that they should not swear? The irony is that Bahaullah swore himself:

قل أفّ لك يا خنزير وبما اكتسبت أيداك بحيث جرّبت سيف نفسك على وجه الله واستكبرت على الله المهيمن العزيز القدّوس.

Say: Shame on you, pig, and what your hands have done, as you tested the sword of your self on the face of God and became arrogant towards God, the bestower of faith, the powerful, the holy. (Surat an-Nus'h)

So Baha'u'llah swore himself. It doesn't surprise me, and I don't necessarily think that swearing is bad. But it is just one more example of how the current, Westernized, Bahai faith, is completely different from its historical roots.

Some of the letters of Bahaullah are really vile, and I would get angry if a person talked to me like that. This seems to be the modus operandi of Bahaullah. He sends a letter to a king or influential person, complaining and attacking them, and then complain more when they won't respond. And so the victimization cycle continues.

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/rebp45/bahai_faith_and_swearing/

Another translation here :

From Suratu’l Nus’h: Provisional Translation

Say: Woe to you, O swine! For what your hands have wrought to the extent that you have drawn the sword from its sheath towards the Countenance of God, and waxed arrogantly against God, the Help in Peril, the Mighty and Most Holy.

https://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_stevens_surih_nush

The UHJ's genius technique !

 

The UHJ's genius technique is instead of having Baha'is teach non-Bahais, they have Baha'is teach non-Bahais to teach.

The great thing is about teaching to teach is that you don't have to teach the original subject matter. Instead of teaching the subject matter, you just teach the teaching strategies, and then you can throw away Baha'u'llah's writings. The Kitab I Aqdas, the Kitab I Iqan, and the Hidden Words are the old ways. Clusters, milestones, cycles, and expansion phases are the new ways. And if you don't worship Farzam Arbab's holy invention of the cluster, then you are not a real Baha'i and therefore will be denied Baha'i service opportunities. But if some recent convert studies clusters and milestones in depth, and memorizes all the cluster terminology, then he is a true Baha'i even though he has never cracked open the Kitab I Aqdas.

https://old.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/rgrjsq/teaching_people_to_teach/

Among the most ridiculous statements made by the founder of Bahaism

 Verily there is no god but I, the Unique Prisoner!

أنه لا إله إلا أنا المسجون الفريد

Interview with Baha'u'llah's great-great-great granddaughter, Soumaya Keynes

Baha'is meet Meher Baba, Yazd, 1929

On the third day of his stay at Yazd, “his name was by now a subject of conversation all over the city” (Shepherd 2005:117). His companions had feared that local Bahais and Babis would resent him as a rival religious figure. However, the forebodings were proven wrong. Bahais were instead seen to display a marked veneration for the visitor from India.

From Mubaraka, Meher Baba moved on to his ancestral village of Khorramshah. He is reported to have been in a very good mood when he arrived. A crowd assembled, eager to see the visitor. Several Bahais appeared with their local figurehead.

They came from mere curiosity, their leader being determined not to acknowledge the visiting celebrity in any way. Yet when he [the Bahai leader] came into the presence of Meher Baba, he gradually lost his reservations. To the surprise of his retinue, the Bahai leader first bowed before Baba, then asked his group to follow suit, then asked them to kiss the visitor’s hand (a sign of esteem), and finally to prostrate themselves at the visitor’s feet. Meher Baba undoubtedly possessed a strong charisma, and the fact that he was silent and did not lecture anyone appears to have left a good impression with Iranians. (Shepherd 2005:118)

When the visitor returned to Yazd that evening, another Bahai appeared. This man is not named; he is described as being leader of the Bahai community in Shiraz. He arrived by aeroplane, his sole intention being to challenge Meher Baba with theological questions. At the moment of encounter, however, the Bahai leader fell at Baba’s feet and exclaimed: “You are God!” Afterwards, this man moved through the crowd, saying: “I have seen God!” Onlookers were surprised to see a Bahai preacher acting in this manner. Subsequently, that same preacher delivered an unusual sermon to a large gathering, commending Meher Baba.

“Bahais found that he [Meher Baba] did not fit the stereotype of religious teachers in Iran” (ibid:119). The Islamic mullas typically sought to persuade and admonish, promoting their religious perspective at every turn. The preachers might assume irate facial expressions of disapproval, and loudly invoke the name of God while threatening divine retribution. In contrast, the benign Meher Baba was not interested in conversion, and did not mention his own views during this sojourn.

He had gained more adulation at Yazd than in any other city on his travels to date. Yet Meher Baba would not stay; he insisted upon leaving on the morning of the fourth day, October 28. He did not view Yazd as being suitable for purposes of seclusion. Hundreds of people appeared at his bungalow to bid farewell. Meher Baba evaded their attention by departing quickly (Kalchuri et al 1989:1239). Some Yazdis pleaded for photographs of him to keep in fond memory. His companions gave away what photos they had. “Even orthodox Shi’i Muslims were asking for photos of a Zoroastrian” (Shepherd 2005:119). -Source: Kevin Shepherd, 'Meher Baba and Yazd' online article.

https://www.reveddit.com/v/bahai/comments/rm0ga6/bhais_meet_meher_baba_yazd_1929/

Why did 'Abdu'l-Baha have such a low opinion of Africa and Africans?

It is interesting that Africa is the only place the Faith is really succeeding in light of 'Abdu'l-Baha's extremely disparaging comments about Africa. Even most people who have left the Faith like myself do not seem to really ever comment on the fact 'Abdu'l-Baha's comments are really quite shocking.

To his credit he doesn't attribute the inferiority of Africans he describes to genetics but he really comes across very much of his time, and even those who would spin his comments in the best positive light (viewing them as encouragement to "civilize" the ignorant Africans) seem ignorant as to how advanced much of African civilization was even dating back to prehistory.

Here are some of his comments regarding Africa:

“The inhabitants of a country like Africa are all as wandering savages and wild animals; they lack intelligence and knowledge; all are uncivilized; not one civilized and wise man is to be found among them. On the contrary, consider the civilized countries, the inhabitants of which are living in the highest state of culture and ethics, solidarity and inter-dependence; possessing, with few exceptions, acute power of comprehensions and sound mind. Therefore, it is made clear and evident that the superiority and inferiority of minds and comprehensions arises from education and cultivation, or from their lack and absence. A bent branch is straightened by training and the wild fruit of the jungle is made the product of the orchard. An ignorant man by learning becomes knowing, and the world of savagery, through the bounty of a wise educator, is changed into a civilized kingdom. The sick is healed by medication, and the poor man, by learning the arts of commerce, is made rich. The follower, by attaining the virtues of the leader, becomes great, and the lowly man, by the education of the teacher, rises from the nadir of oblivion to the zenith of celebrity.” These are the proofs of the wise men.

The prophets also acknowledge this opinion . . .

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TAB/tab-625.html

One may claim 'Abdu'l-Baha is merely giving a speculative comment and not his own views when he goes on about not one civilized African existing here, but he attributes these comments to the "republic of wise men" clearly showing he is viewing this comment about Africans acting like wild animals in a positive light. His comments in Some Answered Questions and elsewhere strongly support the view that the view of Africans as wandering savage animals is very much a view he shares and endorses:

Consider how often murder occurs among the barbarians of Africa; they even kill one another in order to eat each other’s flesh and blood! Why do not such savageries occur in Switzerland? The reason is evident: it is because education and virtues prevent them.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAQ/saq-78.html.utf8

All these brutal qualities exist in the nature of man. A man who has not had a spiritual education is a brute. Like the savages of Africa, whose actions, habits and morals are purely sensual, they act according to the demands of nature to such a degree that they rend and eat one another.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAQ/saq-29.html.utf8

If we study human beings such as the aboriginal tribes of central Africa, who have been reared in complete subjection to nature’s rule, we will find them deficient indeed. They are without religious education; neither do they give evidences of any advance whatever toward civilization. They have simply grown and developed in the natural plane of barbarism. We find them bloodthirsty, immoral and animalistic in type to such an extent that they even kill and devour each other. It is evident, therefore, that the world of nature unassisted is imperfect because it is a plane upon which the struggle for physical existence expresses itself.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-119.html.utf8

If man himself is left in his natural state, he will become lower than the animal and continue to grow more ignorant and imperfect. The savage tribes of central Africa are evidences of this. Left in their natural condition, they have sunk to the lowest depths and degrees of barbarism, dimly groping in a world of mental and moral obscurity.

...

But left in his natural condition without education and training, it is certain that he will become more depraved and vicious than the animal, even to the extreme degree witnessed among African tribes who practice cannibalism.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-101.html.utf8

If you should leave a man uneducated and barbarous in the wilds of Africa, would there be any doubt about his remaining ignorant?

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-97.html.utf8

What is the difference between the people of America and the inhabitants of central Africa?

All are human beings. Why have the people of America advanced to a high degree of civilization while the tribes of central Africa remain in extreme ignorance and barbarism? The difference and distinction between them is the degree of education. This is unquestioned. The people of Europe and America have been uplifted by education and training from the world of defects and have ascended toward the realm of perfection, whereas the people of Africa, denied educational development, remain in a natural condition of illiteracy and deprivation, for nature is incomplete and defective.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-105.html.utf8

Therefore, his race should everywhere be grateful, for no greater evidence of humanism and courageous devotion could be shown than the white man has displayed. If the blacks of the United States forget this sacrifice, zeal and manhood on the part of the whites, no ingratitude could be greater or more censurable. If they could see the wretched conditions and surroundings of the black people of Africa today, the contrast would be apparent and the fact clearly evident that the black race in America enjoys incomparable advantages.

https://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/PUP/pup-45.html.utf8

How do Baha'is reconcile this? Other than the standard religious line of "Beloved Leader knows best, accept his thoughts and shut up or excommunication for you".

If one respects 'Abdu'l-Baha as a philosopher then his comments are quite progressive for the time and reflect a big improvement on the view of full eugenicists but by modern standards his comments are very ignorant.

The Baha'i community paints its efforts in Africa as being about empowerment and empowering locals to take charge of their own spiritual development. How is this is any way reconcilable with 'Abdu'l-Baha's firm "White Man's Burden" view that Africans have no morals and must be civilized through education being given to them?

https://www.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/pi2z6o/why_did_abdulbaha_have_such_a_low_opinion_of/

Finding out it is a big lie that the Baha'i Faith ever taught religious tolerance

The only people Baha'is practice tolerance towards are religions more powerful than themselves. If it is a religious minority who has no power, true Baha'is will be intolerant of them.

Think of how Baha'is treated splinter groups such as Muhammad Ali's sect, or the Caravan of the East and West. For a while I thought maybe this was just a case of Baha'i's acting contrary to Baha'i principles, until I found out that this intolerance even existed in Baha'u'llah's time.

When I read the Baha'i history, it seems like Baha'is persecuted Azalis just because Azalis disagreed with Baha'u'llah's religion and because Azalis were too small and insignificant of a sect for anyone to care about them. Even though Baha'is control the narrative, I don't see evidence of Azalis persecuting or killing Baha'is like the Baha'is did to Azalis.

So the theme I see in the Baha'i Faith is that it is a religion that gains power by "maintaining unity". And the way it "maintains unity" is by eliminating those different from themselves, who don't have enough power to defend themselves. This seems to be the core teaching that Baha'is have been practicing from the time of Baha'u'llah.

https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/pjnxx8/finding_out_it_is_a_big_lie_that_the_bahai_faith/

First sentence of Baha'i Faith article on Wikipedia vs. first sentence of Kitab i Aqdas

First sentence of Baha'i Faith article on Wikipedia:

The Baháʼí Faith (/bəˈhɑːʔiː, bəˈhaɪ/; Persian: بهائی‎ Bahāʼi) is a relatively new religion[a] teaching the essential worth of all religions

First sentence of Kitab i Aqdas:

The first duty prescribed by God for His servants is the recognition of Him Who is the Dayspring of His Revelation and the Fountain of His laws, Who representeth the Godhead in both the Kingdom of His Cause and the world of creation. Whoso achieveth this duty hath attained unto all good; and whoso is deprived thereof hath gone astray, though he be the author of every righteous deed.

If everything you do is worthless if you are not a Baha'i, this means all religions other than the Baha'i Faith are completely worthless. Therefore, the first sentence from the Wikipedia article and the first sentence from the Aqdas are completely contradictory.

https://old.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/pi48bf/first_sentence_of_bahai_faith_article_on/

Baha'u'llah's polygamy: Excuse of following customs of Islam invalid according to reasoning of Shoghi Effendi

The Baha'i justification for Baha'u'llah marrying his first cousin and a woman given to him by a Babi in addition to the teenager he first married has always been "It was a different time" or "He was following the rules of Islam".

The first issue with this justification is that the Bab reduced the number of wives allowed to two, and since Baha'u'llah was a Babi when he married Gawhar doing so violated the law of the Bab he should have been adhering too.

The second issue is that while most Baha'is don't know this 'Abdu'l-Baha's explanation that when Baha'u'llah said two wives in the Aqdas he secretly meant one is an explanation which was also retroactively applied to Islam's four wife limit by Shoghi Effendi:

"Concerning the question of plurality of wives among the Muslims: This practice current in all Islamic countries does not conform with the explicit teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. For the Qur'an, while permitting the marriage of more than one wife, positively states that this is conditioned upon absolute justice. And since absolute justice is impossible to enforce, it follows, therefore, that polygamy cannot and should not be practised. The Qur'an, therefore, enjoins monogamy and not polygamy as has hitherto been understood."

(From a letter written on behalf of the Guardian to an individual believer, January 29, 1939, in Lights of Guidance, no. 1672)

In light of this the justification of following the customs of his time even in regards to Islam is not true, since Shoghi Effendi argues Islam advocated for monogamy.

As such Baha'u'llah, according to Shoghi Effendi's commentary, did not understand the Qur'an or was disobeying it. Furthermore Baha'u'llah is meant to be the Almighty. The argument he HAD to follow custom and marry his first cousin certainly is not in keeping with the view he has command over all creation. Maybe one could argue as Baha'u'llah was superhuman he could uphold absolute justice this doesn't fit the facts, which are that in Israel Baha'u'llah lived with his cousin in an opulent Mansion while his first wife was kept in the city, and his third wife he abandoned in the Ottoman Empire for years before summoning her to join him in Israel.

As such the only REAL justification for Baha'u'llah having three wives is that he felt he could do whatever he wanted and that no rules applied to him. Not a trait one would expect in the source of all good in the world and a sign of hypocrisy given he was telling others to do as he said but not as he did. "God works in mysterious ways" indeed.

https://www.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/pi7w4h/bahaullahs_polygamy_excuse_of_following_customs/

Prediction Attempt for Universal House of Justice election 2023

Everyone knows the UHJ is stocked by the ITC but I think there are a few additional factors which allow for the elections to be even more closely predicted.

The first is what dictates when UHJ members resign (no incumbent has ever been unseated). In politics "pressures of age" or "wanting to spend time with family" is a euphemism for secret scandal but I think the internal House politics are much more mundane than that. If one looks at the ages of outgoing House members before 2005 all House members resigned at the next International Convention after turning 80 (with the exception of Fatheazam who retired at 78 presumably as he would have passed 80 by serving another term).

Where this takes a turn into internal politics is with the 2005 by-election. This was the first time UHJ members resigned during a term and was basically unprecedented. Both Borrah Kavelin and Lutfullah Hakim were on the brink of death and were still asked to serve out their terms to avoid having to serve a by-election, so one wonders why the sudden urgency?

This is purely my speculation but I believe that the retirement age of the House was lowered to 70 in 2005. Furthermore I believe this was done to allow Farzam Arbab to seize control over the decision making process. Ian Semple was an inaugural member of the House giving him seniority over Arbab and a special place in the hearts of the Baha'is and Douglas Martin was likewise notable as he ruled Baha'i studies in North America with an iron fist and had headed the Office of Public Information which meant he liaised with NSA's regularly for years before getting elected giving him considerable influence in the community (such was his influence he managed to achieve the impossible and get voted onto the House without serving on the ITC).

I believe both Semple and Martin would have adamantly opposed the Ruhiization of the Faith in light of the fact Martin wanted to academicize the Faith (see the uni textbook he authored) and Ian Semple was radically liberal (by the standards of Baha'is in the hierarchy) in his outlook on the Faith. Both had also been elected without serving on the ITC and being inundated with statistical propaganda and molded by the pressure of the multi-level marketing mentality and corporate ladder climbing required to make ones way up the ranks of the "Appointed Arm". However as true believers once being expelled from the consultation chamber they would not have ever disclosed their misgivings.

Think I'm crazy? In December 2005, immediately after Martin and Semple were 'retired' Ruhi was made mandatory: https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/20051228_001/1#069472713

Glenford Mitchell retired after reaching 70 in 2008, however Hooper Dunbar and Peter Khan stayed on only to suddenly retire in 2010 again in the middle of a term. These three were extremely well beloved by the community for various reasons, had considerable influence, and strong opinions and interests in Baha'i development outside of the "institute process" and were also legitimately competent in their fields outside of the Faith. Khan did pass away in 2011 so health reasons are plausible, but Dunbar is still going strong and regularly criticizes the Institute Process and laments the decline in the community in talks which are shared on his youtube channel.

Obviously cannot prove it, but I believe the 2010 by-election confirms that through "loving consultation" Arbab lowered the retirement age to 70 forcing everyone off the House who was not a diehard true believer in his crusade to Mormonize the Faith.

With all that waffle out of the way, on to predicting!

Of the current House members Stephen Birkland and Stephen Hall will be 70 in 2023 and will almost certainly retire. I do not know the ages of the others but based on pictures I think Lample is the only other member who might be reaching 70 so there may be three vacancies on the House. How many male members of the ITC are there you ask? Four.

So my speculation is in 2023 Birkland, Hall, and Lample will retire and Dinesh Kumar, Albert Nshisu Nsunga, and Navid Serrano will be elected.

Hall and Birkland are both US Baha'is but will be being replaced by an African Baha'i and a Central American Baha'i. Kumar is also Australian so will be a like for like replacement of Hall. Andrej Donoval is also a male on the ITC, but he is European so I don't think he will make the grade as my impression is the Faith isn't really doing anything in Europe.

As a bonus prediction I hazard a guess that in 2023 at least two male Counselors from North America will be put on the ITC with Payman Mohajer perhaps retiring in 2028 to allow one of them to be elected to make sure there is a North American on the House to babysit USA and Canada.

DISCLAIMER: With Arbab now passed on there is a power vacuum in the Faith and the functioning of Haifa may radically change so this may not come to pass!!

https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/phca6t/prediction_attempt_for_universal_house_of_justice/

Shua Ullah Behai on the lack of progress of the Baha'i Faith in America

 

It is nearly half a century since [the Baha’i] principles were introduced in the United States of America, but with all the efforts that have been made we have not progressed as we should.... The time has come that we should arise from our slumber and pull the wool off our eyes and see the defect which is causing our stagnation. Avoiding questioners, and excommunications, are signs of weakness and anti-Baha’i principles. Independent investigation of truth should replace these flaws. -Shua Ullah Behai

Proof the House of Justice is not infallible

There is only one God and he is infallible, he is perfect, he is unknowable, he is all-powerful, and he is the vassal of none.

This effectively means that no statement can be taken to be absolutely true. Not even the laws of physics. Because if God wished to change the laws of physics, then they would change.

God has power over all things, which means that everything is uncertain. We cannot be 100% certain of anything, because if a law were 100% certain to be true, this implies that God cannot break this law, which violates the omnipotence of God.

If an institution is infallible, this also violates the omnipotence of God. If you are 100% certain that every decision the UHJ makes is divinely guided by God, this means that you believe that God does not have the freedom to stop guiding them. Because how else could you be 100% certain? If you think God guides the UHJ because you are 100% certain God wants to guide the UHJ, this implies you know God, which you don't, because God is unknowable.

If I saw that gravity stopped working tomorrow, I would have to believe that God has repealed this law physics, not dogmatically cling to gravity as being a fact. Similarly, if the UHJ clearly does not work, I would have to acknowledge that God is not guiding it.

Source : https://old.reddit.com/r/FreeSpeechBahai/comments/phl849/proof_the_house_of_justice_is_not_infallible/

Mainstream Baha'i Faith is heading for a vertical split.

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 existential crisis. Already divided into many fractions and sects, the Faith is now faced with its existential threat of a power struggle between the Persian Baha'is and the rest. This crisis may lead to the already decimated Faith into 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 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 are taking part in Ruhi curriculum. The non-Persian Baha'is used to take this new-found interest of the Iranians in the Faith as an attempt of penetration rather than acceptance. As 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 who 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 is engulfing the whole of Baha'i Community. The Persian Baha'is are being persecuted in which ever land they pioneered and surprisingly the Universal House of Justice is mock spectator to this persecution.

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

Let us one by one see such incidences to conclude whether it is co-incidence 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 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 cloud in countries like India. 

2. Another high ranking Persian Baha'i, a counselor, 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 counselor 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 into ignorant Baha'is daring to ask him that why he gave such 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 counselors 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 choses 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 counselor 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 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 in line 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 NSA

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

14. Shahryar Nooreyazdan - He has such a wide experience about 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 was made 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 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 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 entity.

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 of 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 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 soft corner for the Persian fourth Guardian Nosratullah Bahremand of the Orthodox Baha’i Faith, who is calling his shots from Australia. Such a 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 background is increasing. Whether it is happening with connivance of Jewish state, is a question that then comes to mind.

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

A GROUP OF PERSIANS Baha'is

Beberapa fakta yang tidak banyak diketahui tentang agama Baha'i

Baha'u'llah

1) Wanita tidak diperbolehkan untuk melayani Badan Administratif Tertinggi, Rumah Keadilan Universal. Jadi tidak ada Kesetaraan Pria dan Wanita.

2) Baha'i bekerja untuk mendirikan Tata Dunia Baru yang diilhami Baha'i, sebuah negara super Baha'i, yang bermarkas di Haifa, Israel.

3) Baha'i menghindari (bekas berkomunikasi) Pelanggar Perjanjian dan mengutuk mereka.

4) Baha'i menganiaya yang disebut pelanggar perjanjian, mereka telah menodai makam Diya'u'llah yang dimakamkan di sebelah ayahnya Baha'u'llah.

5) Baha'i memiliki sebanyak 15 kelompok sempalan, sekte.

6) Baha'i memiliki hak cipta teks-teks agama dan simbol-simbol agama Merek Dagang.

7) Baha'i mengajarkan 'iman' mereka di mana-mana kecuali di Israel untuk alasan yang tidak diketahui!

8) Baha'i berbohong tentang populasi mereka, mereka mengklaim populasi mereka di India lebih dari 1,8 Juta, sedangkan sensus pemerintah 2011 mengungkapkan angka mereka menjadi 4.572.

9) Baha'i secara selektif menerjemahkan tulisan mereka untuk anggota berbahasa Inggris dan ada sensor Baha'i yang sangat berat.

10) Tidak ada Beasiswa Baha'i independen, semua teks Baha'i harus disetujui sebelum dipublikasikan.

11) Baha'i melihat semua agama lain sebagai korup dan mati. Mereka percaya bahwa setiap agama memiliki kehidupan 1000 tahun. Tidak ada yang seperti "kesatuan agama" - mereka percaya agama mereka lebih unggul dari semua agama lain.

12) Baha'i percaya bahwa Baha'u'llah adalah pengirim semua nabi, penyingkap semua kitab suci dan Tuhan dari semua Dewa!

13) Babi (pendahulu Baha'i) telah membunuh banyak Muslim di Iran. Baha'i juga telah membunuh beberapa Azalis.

14) Baha'i percaya bahwa tubuh tertinggi mereka (UHJ) sempurna, mereka menyebutnya 'Arsy Allah'!

15) Baha'i Wali Shoghi Effendi adalah seorang Homoseksual yang tertutup, ia biasa menghabiskan waktu berbulan-bulan di Swiss dengan uang Baha'i.

A closer look at some of the individuals serving the UHJ shows that it is prone to corruption as any other organization.

The Universal House of Justice is a position of "service" in the Baha'i Faith which women are excluded from. A closer look at some of the individuals serving on this body show that it is not really that holy and is just as "fallibly" prone to corruption as any other organization.

It is obvious to even the most casual observer that the body is not really elected, with the International Teaching Center being a means of controlling the elections to ensure that they are carefully selected by the Universal House of Justice itself to ensure no new ideas "infect" the body. Counsellors are appointed to the International Teaching Center based on their statistics, and this of course opens the entire process up to people falsifying data in order to secure a promotion.

An example of this is Firaydoun Javaheri. He was appointed a Counselor in 1995 and in 1996 he opened a private girls school in Zambia which resulted in such great statistics that he was appointed to the International Teaching Centre in 1998 due to his astronomical success in under five years. Unfortunately the way he did this made the news and it was anything but "divine confirmations":

Lusaka (Times of Zambia, April 2, 1998) - There are mounting allegations that authorities at the Baha'i-run Banani girls international school in Kabwe Rural are forcing pupils to undergo compulsory indoctrination in the Baha'i faith.

Some parents have voiced concern that if the situation was not stopped, fanaticism would creep in and the result to those who believed in other religions would be disastrous. Leading the onslaught on the alleged parochial worshipping imposed by school authorities, Malawian high commissioner to Zambia Emmanuel Chinkwita-Phiri told an annual Parents Teachers Association (PTA) meeting held at the school, that it was a breach of universal human rights to impose a pattern of worship which barred pupils from pursuing their faith. Reverend Phiri, who was elected to serve on the school advisory council, charged that pupils were subjected to Baha'i rituals against their will, and those who resisted were allegedly punished.

https://bahai-library.com/newspapers/1998/040298.html

Another issue is that because the Universal House of Justice controls the appointment of the International Teaching Center they are entirely capable of appointing people for nepotistic reasons. Gustavo Correa was appointed to the International Teaching Center in 2005 likely by his brother-in-law Farzam Arbab and his daughter was appointed salaried director of the for-profit ISGP programme endorsed by the Universal House of Justice (if one looks into FUNDAEC and ISGP it is very easy to see that Arbab has abused his position on the Universal House of Justice to funnel customers into these "educational" business ventures presented as Baha'i initiatives but staffed by his family members).

Another matter is poorly founded fundamentalism of members of the body. Stephen Birkland and Douglas Martin's witch-hunts have been written about enough on the internet and don't need to be recounted here but illustrate the issue.

Yet another matter is simply good old fashioned greed. In this report on page 6 one can see that Stephen Hall received a very cushy position as CEO of "childcare services" for a property development company run by a Baha'i billionare in 2004 one year after becoming a Counselor: https://ir.miraqle.com/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/wlXIH31saE-DVTrWz5tb2Q/file/AR2004.pdf

Unfortunately in 2006 the tactics the Baha'i company was using to have the funds to employ Baha'is 'off the books' to preserve the "Unpaid Volunteers" line were revealed:

Of course, Sunland are no strangers to controversy in their dealings with government. Soheil Abedian, David Brown and Sunland were all named in a 2006 Queensland Crime and Misconduct Commission report entitled Independence, influence and integrity in local government: a CMC inquiry into the 2004 Gold Coast City Council election. In that report, there were findings that Sunland improperly made a hidden donation directly to Quadrant Advertising disguised as 'general marketing advice', when in reality it was a backhanded attempt to curry political favour for their Gold Coast property developments.

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;db=CHAMBER;id=chamber%2Fhansards%2F2e9571fe-03fd-411b-9e11-6c9629474f79%2F0080;query=Id%3A%22chamber%2Fhansards%2F2e9571fe-03fd-411b-9e11-6c9629474f79%2F0096%22

Hall had already been appointed to the International Teaching Center in 2005 insulating him from the reports release the following year.

Source : https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/nre962/the_heart_of_the_bahai_faith/

The Cult-like Obsession with "Internal Enemies"

The number one reason the Baha'i Faith functions exactly like a cult is the fact that its institutions are obsessed with rooting out "internal enemies" to expel and threaten. This obsession with pitting the Baha'is against their own is absolutely a control mechanism designed to deter people from asking questions and "independently investigating the truth". From the Faith's own scripture:

"The International Teaching Centre is invested with the mandate to watch over the security and ensure the protection of the Faith of God. It must investigate all cases of incipient Covenant-breaking—employing, as necessary, the services of the Continental Counsellors and their auxiliaries and evaluating their reports—and decide whether the offender should be expelled from the Cause, submitting the decision to the Universal House of Justice for its consideration. It follows a similar procedure for the reinstatement of a contrite Covenant-breaker. More broadly, it needs to be attentive to the spiritual health of the Bahá’í community, urging the Counsellors and their auxiliaries to strengthen the believers to resist the influence of both external and internal sources of opposition to the Cause, and to assist National and Local Spiritual Assemblies in resolving questions that could raise doubt about the integrity of the Faith and its Teachings."

"The need to protect the Faith from the attacks of its enemies may not be generally appreciated by the friends, particularly in places where attacks have been infrequent. However, it is certain that such opposition will increase, become concerted, and eventually universal. The writings clearly foreshadow not only an intensification of the machinations of internal enemies, but a rise in the hostility and opposition of its external enemies, whether religious or secular, as the Cause pursues its onward march towards ultimate victory. Therefore, in the light of the warnings of the Guardian, the Auxiliary Boards for Protection should keep “constantly” a “watchful eye” on those “who are known to be enemies, or to have been put out of the Faith”, discreetly investigate their activities, alert intelligently the friends to the opposition inevitably to come, explain how each crisis in God’s Faith has always proved to be a blessing in disguise, and prepare them for the “dire contest which is destined to range the Army of Light against the forces of darkness”."

https://www.bahai.org/documents/bwc/institution-counsellors

"To be attentive to the spiritual health of the Bahá’í community, strengthening the believers to resist the influence of both internal and external enemies and ensuring, to this end, that the Continental Counselors assist National and Local Spiritual Assemblies in dealing with questions that cast doubt on the integrity of the Faith and its teachings."

https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19980610_001/1#954995191

"Spiritual health" is a euphemism for blind submission to the Baha'i clergies absolute hold over a Baha'is time and finances.

A particularly insightful message about the cult-like nature of the Faith is this one:

"The individual’s relation to society is explained by Shoghi Effendi in the statement that “The Bahá’í conception of social life is essentially based on the principle of the subordination of the individual will to that of society. It neither suppresses the individual nor does it exalt him to the point of making him an anti-social creature, a menace to society. As in everything, it follows the ‘golden mean.’”"

https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19881229_001/1#940150263

"A Bahá’í will understand that an upright life is based upon observance of certain principles which stem from Divine Revelation and which he recognizes as essential for the well-being of both the individual and society. In order to uphold such principles, he knows that, in certain cases, the voluntary submission of the promptings of his own personal conscience to the decision of the majority is a conscientious requirement, as in wholeheartedly accepting the majority decision of an Assembly at the outcome of consultation."

https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/compilations/issues-related-study-bahai-faith/12#024995601

Quite literally the Faith does not allow for individuality or freedom of speech by its very design. In response to accusations of restricting freedom of speech the Universal House of Justice has basically just said that restriction is good with an emotive appeal to imagery of hate speech borrowed from the partisan politics Baha'is pour so much derision onto:

"With regard to the accusation that to make such distinctions borders on restriction of the freedom of speech, one should accept that civil society has long recognized that utterance can metamorphose into behaviour, and has taken steps to protect itself and its citizens against such behaviour when it becomes socially destructive. Laws against sedition and hate-mongering are examples that come readily to mind."

https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/compilations/issues-related-study-bahai-faith/12#280040721

In the same message we read:

"It will surely be clear to you from the above comments that the categories of “issues of doctrinal heresy which must therefore be suppressed” and “the imposition of orthodoxy on the Bahá’í community”, to which you refer, are concepts essentially drawn from the study of Christianity and are inapplicable to the far more complex interrelationships and principles established by the Bahá’í Faith."

There is no justification whatsoever offered to support the idea that religious suppression is only a Christian issue, alas as the Universal House of Justice must not be questioned on pain of excommunication the logical gaps in this conclusion must simply be swept under the rug by Baha'is.

Another defense of the modern day witch-hunting of the Faith is hilariously as follow:

"Typically, when misrepresentations of the kind described are challenged, the reaction of those behind the campaign has been to claim that their civil rights are being threatened, an assertion that is of course meaningless in the light of the purely voluntary nature of Bahá’í membership."

https://www.bahai.org/library/authoritative-texts/the-universal-house-of-justice/messages/19990407_001/1#850909137

An extremely slippery tactic, actually utilizing the Faith's irrelevancy as a defense of its cult like attempt at absolute control over its followers. Considering the goal of the Faith is to establish an Absolute Theocracy with the Universal House of Justice as unchallengeable dictator this defense of the Faith's cult-like tendencies as being a "choice" is a very temporary one if one accepts the Faith ever has a chance of its goal of world domination.

Source : https://www.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/np341r/the_cultlike_obsession_with_internal_enemies/

Meet Benjamin Perkins, another full-time "volunteer" of the notorious Baha'i Internet Agency

Benjamin Perkins

 

Photographer Kamal Anthony Delchad from San Diego, California is a descendant of Mishkin Qalam

Click to enlarge

 

Baha'i Haircut Law: Why Create a Law if you're going to break it yourself?

According to Baha'i law, shaving one's head and allowing hair to grow longer than the lobe of the ear is forbidden:

"Shave not your heads; God hath adorned them with hair, and in this there are signs from the Lord of creation to those who reflect upon the requirements of nature. He, verily, is the God of strength and wisdom. Notwithstanding, it is not seemly to let the hair pass beyond the limit of the ears. Thus hath it been decreed by Him Who is the Lord of all worlds." (Baha'u'llah, The Kitab-i Aqdas)​

Of course the second law only applies to men (what happened to equality of men and women?!!):

"Shoghi Effendi has made clear that, unlike the prohibition on shaving the head, this law forbidding the growing of the hair beyond the lobe of the ear pertains only to men." (The Kitab-i Aqdas, notes)

However, Baha'u'llah, Abdu'l-Baha, and even Baha'u'llah's scribe (Mishkin Qalam) completely ignored this law:

What's the use of a law that the Prophet, His successor, and his closest companions aren't willing to implement themselves, then expect their followers to implement them?! If you can't abide by your own rules then why do expect others to do so?

Source : https://www.religiousforums.com/threads/bahai-haircut-law-why-create-a-law-if-your-going-to-break-it-youself.216112/

Former-Baha'i scholar Francesco Ficicchia

Former-Baha'i Francesco Ficicchia

Born in 1946 in Switzerland, he is a German scholar. He became the member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of Switzerland in 1970s. In 1974, he left the Baha'i Faith and wrote a book criticizing the Baha'i faith. The massive 450 page book Der Bahá'ismus — Weltreligion der Zukunft? Geschichte, Lehre, Organisation in kritischer Anfrage (Bahá'ísm — World Religion of the Future? History, Teachings and Organisation: A Critical Inquiry) was "refuted" by Baha'i scholars Udo Schaefer, Nicola Towfiqh and Ulrich Gollmer, all loyal to the Universal House of Justice.

Ficicchia has also written a couple of articles exposing the Baha'i faith.

He is one of the "Baha'i apostate" named by Moojan Momen in his article "Marginality and Apostasy in the Bahá'í Community."

Moojan Momen says:

Despite the fact that Bahá'ís considered the work as a "distorting mirror" of their religion with "almost everything" being "twisted and disfigured beyond recognition" (Schaefer et al., 2000, p.1), the work was warmly welcomed in the German academic world, reviewed approvingly by scholars such as Joseph Henninger (1983), Hans-Joachim Klimkeit (1984) and Olaf Schumann (1985). Ficicchia came to be regard as the "proven expert" (Schaefer et al., 2000, p. 3 n.7) and the book as a "standard work in the field of religious studies" (Henniger, 1983). Ficicchia's work was soon finding its way into encyclopaedias (Lexikon der Religionen, 1987) and general academic works (Jäggi, 1987). Ficicchia himself launched on an apostate career that continues to the present day and has seen him publish several more papers and his own website (2001; see bibliography on that site).

Many German Baha'is left the faith after reading Ficicchia's book. He stated that the Baha'i Administration was overbearingly authoritarian and the Baha'i faith was a "cult". 

German Baha'is loyal to the UHJ, began to see the effects of this book, particularly in their interactions with German officials. The book was largely responsible for the German courts refusing the registration of the byelaws of a local Baha'i council because it was deemed to contravene German law. It was only in 1991, that the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany overturned this decision and declared the Baha'i community legal.

The main theory of Ficicchia's book was that the entire "divinely-appointed" Baha'i Administrative Order is an ugly creation of Shoghi Effendi who used it as an instrument to direct and control his followers and satisfy his lust for power. To accomplish these aims, the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha was forged under the direction of Shoghi Effendi. Ficicchia claimed that under Shoghi Effendi's dictatorship, the entire Baha'i Administrative Order was remoulded into a fascist, spirit-denying, rigid machinery designed to execute his despotic whims. According to Ficicchia, the Baha'i institutions suppress any reasonable criticisms and free expressions of opinion, and dissenters are threatened with sanctions or excommunication.

Ficicchia claims that the Baha'i administration is hiding a missionary agenda. The Baha'is are engaging in a large, hypocritical experiment in dissimulation and religious opportunism. He believed that in order to successfully complete its mission of world domination, the leadership of the Baha'i faith has deliberately concealed certain archaic, despotic, oriental teachings, particularly those of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, in order to make its appeal to modern westerners living in democracies. Other teachings have been brought to the fore in order to remake the image of the Baha'i faith so as to appeal the moderns. 

Not just Shoghi Effendi's, but the entire corpus of Bahá'u'lláh's and 'Abdu'l-Baha's writings are driven by political pragmatism and opportunism, Ficicchia claims.

Ficicchia believes that the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá were cult leaders, the Báb was an indecisive waverer who lost control of his own "reform movement" at the hands of his fanatical followers, Bahá'u'lláh was a Machiavellian usurper who cheated the Báb's true successor, Mirza Yahyá, out of his rightful position. He wrote that Bahá'u'lláh committed multiple-murders to achieve his aims. 'Abdu'l-Bahá claimed divinity for himself and justified by the law of taqiya (dissimulation), deliberately suppressed the laws of the Kitab-i-Aqdas, knowing that their publication would hinder the ambitious missionary designs he had devised for the conversion of westerners.

Baha'is loyal to the UHJ allege that Ficicchia had some enmity with the UHJ!! One Baha'i writer claims:

Ficicchia's threat made to the Universal House of Justice that he would fight "with all possible means" suggests that he was willing to go beyond the norms of intellectual and moral honesty. His book provided ample evidence that he did in fact execute his threat.

Baha'i faith and the State of Israel

May 14. On this date in 1948, according to Ruth Moffett, "a most remarkable bloodless revolution occurred, when 4,000,000 Moslems fled and 1,000,000 Jews marched in and began tilling their ancestral soil, and a new nation was born. Today the blue and white flag with the star of Bethlehem flutters.."

And also...

May 14. On this date in 1948, the Arab village of al-Nuqayb, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had owned land and grown grain, was depopulated in the fighting which broke out after the U.N. General Assembly's adoption on November 29, 1947 of the Partition Plan for Palestine.

Al-Nuqayb (transliterated as Nughayb in the Bahá'í orthography) is mentioned in Lady Blomfield's The Chosen Highway, in the sectioned titled Bahá'í Villages.

The Master bought from time to time some land in various villages. Asfiya and Daliya, near Haifa--these two properties He bestowed upon Diya'u'llah and Badi'u'llah, the two younger half-brothers, at the request of Bahá'u'lláh.

Land was also acquired in the villages of Samrih, Nughayb, and 'Adasiyyih, situated near the Jordan.

In his book All That Remains: The Palestinian Villages Occupied and Depopulated by Israel in 1948, the historian Walid Khalidi details the history of many of these Palestinian villages and how they were depopulated. For example, he notes that in the 1880s most of the village land of al-Samra was purchased by the Bahá'u'lláh, with the villagers continuing to farm as tenant farmers. In the 1920s, this land was sold by Shoghi Effendi to the Jewish National Fund.

Bahá'í Villages in The Chosen Highway chronicles in some detail how 'Abdu'l-Bahá used the grain he had grown in these villages to supply the British Army during World War I.

We learned that when the British marched into Haifa there was some difficulty about the commissariat. The officer in command went to consult the Master.

"I have corn," was the reply.

"But for the army?" said the astonished soldier.

"I have corn for the British Army," said 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

He truly walked the Mystic way with practical feet. [footnote: Lady Blomfield often recounted how the corn pits proved a safe hiding-place for the corn, during the occupation of the Turkish army. -Ed.]

According to Harry Charles Luke, an official in the British Colonial Office who served as assistant Governor of Jerusalem,

Sir 'Abbas Effendi 'Abdu'l Baha had travelled extensively in Europe and America to expound his doctrines, and on the 4th December, 1919, was created by King George V a K.B.E. for valuable services rendered to the British Government in the early days of the Occupation.

On April 27, 1920, 'Abdu’l-Bahá was ceremonially knighted, an event which was prominently reported in the Bahá'í periodical Star of the West.

THE following beautiful description of this event was written by Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi who was at that time in Haifa: "Among the kings and governments of the world who have become convinced that Abdul Bahá was the well-wisher and the lover of mankind are King George and his government. The King sent a medal to Abdul Bahá with the title, "Sir", thus making him a member of his household. On the 27th of April, 1920, the Governor and high officials of Haifa, Palestine presented in a beautiful garden a most wonderful celebration for the knighting of Abdul Baha. Bahai pilgrims from Persia, America and all parts of the world were present. Mohammedan, Christian, Jewish leaders, clergymen, notables and local officials from Haifa, Acca and other towns attended. A tent was pitched in the center of the garden. English troops stood on both sides, from the gate of the garden to the center where Abdul Bahá was seated. The military music added wonderful melody to the rustling leaves of the beautiful trees. The breezes of the spring on that sunny afternoon imparted a remarkable vigor to the physical body just as the presence of Abdul Baha strengthened the souls. The Governor stood behind Abdul Bahá and, after a short speech, interpreted by Mr. Wadie Bistani, presented the medal. Then Abdul Baha, rising from his seat, gave a brief talk and a prayer for the British government.

On February 23, 1914, at the eve of World War I, 'Abdu'l-Bahá had hosted Baron Edmond James de Rothschild, a member of the Rothschild banking family who was a leading advocate and financier of the Zionist movement, during one of his early trips to Palestine.

On September 8, 1919, subsequent to the British occupation of Palestine, at a time when tens of thousands of Jewish settlers were arriving under the auspices of the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association, an article in the "Star of the West" quoted 'Abdu'l-Bahá praising the Zionist movement, proclaiming that "There is too much talk today of what the Zionists are going to do here. There is no need of it. Let them come and do more and say less" and that "A Jewish government might come later."

At the time of 'Abdu'l-Bahá 's death, Shoghi Effendi was matriculated at Balliol College. In a letter to Marzieh Gail, Shoghi Effendi outlined his educational ambitions at Balliol College, specifically to study with eminent professors and Orientalists, noting alumni who were all Imperialists.

After 'Abdu'l-Bahá 's death, Shoghi Effendi would continue to have close relations with the leading political administrators and prominent Zionist leaders. For example, on January 24, 1922, Shoghi Effendi received a letter from Herbert Samuel, the British High Commissioner for Palestine. The receipt of the letter is mentioned in Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum's The Priceless Pearl. As High Commissioner, Herbert Samuel was the first Jew to govern the historic land of Israel in 2,000 years, and his appointment was regarded by the Muslim-Christian Associations as the "first step in formation of Zionist national home in the midst of Arab people." Herbert Samuel welcomed the arrival of Jewish settlers under the auspices of the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association and recognised Hebrew as one of the three official languages of the Mandate territory.

While Shoghi Effendi was thus occupied and was gathering his powers and beginning to write letters such as these to the Bahá'ís in different countries, he received the following letter from the High Commissioner for Palestine, Sir Herbert Samuel, dated 24 January 1922:

Dear Mr. Rabbani,

I have to acknowledge receipt of your letter of Jan. 16., and to thank you for the kind expression it contains. It would be unfortunate if the ever to be lamented death of Sir 'Abdu'l-Bahá were to interfere with the completion of your Oxford career, and I hope that may not be the case. I am much interested to learn of the measures that have been taken to provide for the stable organization of the Bahá'í Movement. Should you be at any time in Jerusalem in would be a pleasure to me to see you here.

Yours sincerely,

Herbert Samuel

https://old.reddit.com/r/exbahai/comments/nbtbc4/may_14_on_this_date_in_1948_according_to_ruth/