Murder of Azalis (Bayanis) by Baha'u'llah's men (From A Year Amongs The Persians (Prof. Browne))

Edward Granville Browne
in Persian Dress

Professor Browne in his 'A Year Amongst the Persians' queries a Baha'i in the town of Yazd on the murder of the Bayanis by Baha's men in Acre who describes the killings and Abbas Effendi's efforts to release the murderers from prison which he succeeds:

I said, when we were alone, "will you tell me more fully about the murder of the seven Ezelis who were sent with Beha and his followers to Acre? You mentioned the fact a few days ago, and added that you had seen the assassins yourself during your stay there, and that they still received their prison allowance, though at large, and wore gyves on their ankles."

"Yes," replied the Sheykh, who had drunk enough 'arak' to render him communicative, and not enough to make him incoherent, "they were twelve in number who slew the Ezelis, and nine of them were still living when I was at Acre. This was the way of it. When Beha advanced his claim at Adrianople, and his half-brother, Subh-i-Ezel, refused to admit it, the Babis were divided into two factions, some going with the former, and some holding fast to the latter. So high did the feeling run that the matter ended in open strife, and two Ezelis and one Beha'i were killed. So the Turkish Government determined to separate the two, and arranged to banish Mirza Yahya (Subh-i- Ezel) and his followers to a town in Cyprus near the sea-shore, of which I cannot now remember the name, and Mirza Huseyn 'Ali (Beha'u'llah), with his family and adherents, to Acre. But, knowing the two factions to be on the worst possible terms, it occurred to them that it would be advantageous to themselves to keep a few of each in the stronghold of the other, so that, should any Persian or other traveller come to Acre or Cyprus with the intention of visiting Beha or Ezel, these adherents of the rival claimant to supreme power might co-operate with the governrnent in throwing obstacles in his way. So they sent three of Beha's followers (one of whom, Mushkin-Kalam, so-called from his extraordinary skill in calligraphy, is still [1892] alive) to Cyprus with Ezel, and seven Ezelis with Beha to Acre.

Azali Community of Iran

"Now as far as concerned Ezel this plan worked well enough, for Mushkin-Kalam set up a little coffee-house at the port where travellers must needs arrive, and whenever he saw a Persian land, he would invite him in, give him tea or coffee and a pipe, and gradually worm out of him the business which had brought him thither. And if his object were to see Subh-i-Ezel, off went Mushkin-Kalam to the authorities, and the pilgrim soon found himself packed out of the island. But at Acre it was different. The seven Ezelis: Aka Jan, called 'Kaj-Kulah' ('Skew-Cap') who had served with distinction in the Turkish artilley; Haji Seyyid Muhammad of Isfahan, one of the original companions of the Bab; Mirza Riza, nephew of the last, and a scion of the same royal race of the Safavis (for both were descended from Shah 'Abbas the Great); Mirza Haydar 'Ali of Ardistan, a wonderful fire-brand (atashi gharib), beside whom our mutual friend Mirza Muhammad Bakir of Bawanat was no more than a spark; Haji Seyyid Huseyn of Kashan; and two others, whose names I forget--lived all together in a house situated near the gate of the city. Well, one night, about a month after their arrival at Acre, the twelve Beha'is of whom I have spoken determined to kill them, and so prevent them from doing any mischief. So they went at night, armed with swords and daggers, to the house where the Ezelis lodged, and knocked at the door. Aka Jan came down to open to them, and was stabbed before he could cry out or offer the least resistance. He was a young man, but very strong, so that once in the Russian war he had without aid picked up a cannon-ball and thrown it into the mouth of the gun. Then they entered the house and killed the other six.


"When the Turks heard what had been done, they imprisoned Beha and all his family and followers in the Caravansaray, but the twelve assassins came forward and surrendered themselves, saying, 'We killed them without the knowledge of our Master or any of our brethren; punish us, then, not them.' So they were imprisoned for a while; but afterwards, at the intercession of 'Abbas Effendi, Beha's eldest son, were suffered to be at large, on condition only of remaining in Acre, and wearing steel fetters on their ankles for a time."

"It was a horrible deed," I remarked.

How Baha'u'llah referred to his household?

Baha'u'llah !

The term Aghsan (Branches) signifies Baha’s son and Afnan (Twigs) the Bab’s kinsmen according to Baha’s terminology. Baha considered himself to be Asl-i Qadim (the Ancient Stock). Hence the term Branches for his sons to distinguish which from the Bab’s kinsmen, since he regarded him as his precursor or harbinger, he used the term twigs in respect of the latter although both terms are synonymous.

Baha conferred high-sounding letters on the members of his own family and chief followers.
For titles bestowed on his wife and daughter see supra. For titles bestowed on Mirza Aqa Jan of Kashan.

Specimens of his honours list in respect of his entourage and chief followers are quoted below:

- Mushkin-i-Ilahi (Divine Fragrance);
- Zaynul-Muqarrabin (The Ornament of the Favourable);
- Jabrail-i Amin (Gabriel the Trusty);
- Qannad-al-Samadaniyya (The Confectioner of Divine Eternity);
- Khabbaz-al-Wلhidiyya (The Baker of Divine Unity);
- Dallak-al-Haqiqat (The Barber of the Truth);
- Mallah-al-Quds (The Sailor of Sanctity)

The Hasht-Bihisht P. 307.

Baha'is deceiving innocent children in Iran - دستگيري عناصر فرقه بهائيت در مهد کودک‌

Illegal Baha'i Children Class, Shiraz Iran

Illegal Baha'i Children Class, Bam Iran

سوءاستفاده تشکيلات بهائيت از فضاي بعد از زلزله سال 82 شهرستان بم که نيازمند انجام اقدامات فرهنگي، اجتماعي و آموزشي مختلفي بود، کاملاً محرز است و مسئولين بايد با نظارت و حساسيت بيشتر امورات فوق را هدايت و راهبري کنند.
دادستان عمومي وانقلاب بم با اشاره به دستگيري تعدادي از عناصر فرقه ضالّه بهائيت که در پوشش کارهاي آموزشي فرهنگي در تعدادي از مهد کودک‌هاي بم، کرمان و تهران به ترويج وگسترش برنامه هاي خود مي‌پرداختند،گفت: قريب به 9 ماه کار اطلاعاتي توسط سربازان گمنام امام زمان (عج) تا مرحله دستگيري انجام شده است.

«محمدرضا سنجري» افزود: بررسي‌هاي انجام شده حاکي از وجود شبکه گسترده و اقدامات پيچيده‌اي است که اين افراد با دستور از مرکز برنامه هاي گوناگون خود را در قالب آن پيگيري و پياده مي کردند.

وي از نفوذ اين گروه در يکي از نشريات محلي استان کرمان خبرداد و گفت: القاء مطالب و ديدگاه‌هاي فرقه بهائيت در قالب داستان و قصه هاي کودکانه از اقدامات اين افراد در نشريه مذکور بوده است.

سنجري تصريح کرد: سوءاستفاده تشکيلات بهائيت از فضاي بعد از زلزله سال 82 شهرستان بم که نيازمند انجام اقدامات فرهنگي، اجتماعي و آموزشي مختلفي بود، کاملاً محرز است و مسئولين بايد با نظارت و حساسيت بيشتر امورات فوق را هدايت و راهبري کنند.

What they Teach?

הוארך בחמש שנים הסדר הטבות המס למרכז הבהאי העולמי בישראל, חצי יובל לאחר שנחתם לראשונה

הוארך בחמש שנים הסדר הטבות המס למרכז הבהאי העולמי בישראל, חצי יובל   לאחר שנחתם לראשונה

לקראת ראש השנה של העדה הבהאית אשר חל מחרתיים - נחתם היום בלשכת מנכ"ל משרד המשפטים פרוטוקול להארכה בחמש שנים נוספות של ההסדר להטבת החזר המסים העקיפים בגין פעילות המרכז הבהאי העולמי בישראל , זאת בהתאם להסכם הבין לאומי שנחתם בשנת 1987 בין ממשלת ישראל לבין המרכז הבהאי העולמי.

יישום ההסכם נמצא בפיקוחה של ועדה בין-משרדית בראשותו של מנכ"ל משרד המשפטים, ד"ר גיא רוטקופף, אשר אישרה ביום שני האחרון (19.3.12) את המשך ההסדר, לאור עמידת המרכז בתוכנית השנים הקודמות ובהתאם לתוכנית ההשקעות שהציג לחמש השנים הבאות על סך של 182 מיליון דולר.   בני האמונה הבהאית מוכרים בישראל כעדה דתית מוכרת משנת 1971.   עיקרה של הפעילות הינה פיתוח האתרים הקדושים לעדה בצפון הארץ – וחיזוק התיירות וההשקעות באתרים הקדושים לבני העדה בגליל ובחיפה.   הגנים הבהאים ואתרים נוספים שבכוונת המרכז הבהאי העולמי לפתח הם אתרים חשובים בהם מבקרים מידי שנה מאות אלפי עולי רגל בהאים, תיירים מחו"ל והציבור הרחב. ממשלת ישראל רואה בהם אטרקציה תיירותית מן המעלה הראשונה.   הממשלה תעביר למרכז הבהאי העולמי סכומים, אשר יהיו שווי ערך לנטל המסים העקיפים שישולמו ע"י המרכז הבהאי העולמי או אגודות ללא מטרת רווח הקשורות למרכז הבהאי העולמי,   עבור פעילות הפיתוח והתפעול של המרכז הבהאי העולמי בישראל, בהתאם למסגרת ההוצאות המפורטת בהסכם.   מנכ"ל משרד המשפטים ד"ר גיא רוטקופף, ציין את החשיבות הרבה שהוא רואה בקשר עם המרכז הבהאי העולמי ובפרט בפעילותו המבורכת לפיתוח הגליל, והודה לנציגי משרדי הממשלה השותפים על השלמת עבודת המטה שאפשרה את החתימה על ההסכם במועד.   נציגי העדה הבהאית ובראשם מר אלברט לינקולן, מזכ"ל המרכז הבהאי העולמי , ברכו על חתימת הפרוטוקול התקופתי להסכם אשר לחתימתו מציינים 25 שנים בימים אלה,   ואשר מרבה תועלת הן למדינת ישראל והן לעדה הבהאית.   בתמונה: מימין - מר לינקולן; משמאל -מר רוטקופף  http://www.justice.gov.il/MOJHeb/News/Bahayim.htm

Baha'is demand change in their electoral system!

Newly "elected" NSA of United States with 'Same Members'

The NSA of United States - 2010

Kenneth E. Bowers, Jacqueline Left Hand Bull, David F. Young, Muin Afnani, Juana C. Conrad, S. Valerie Dana, Fariba Aghdasi, Erica Toussaint-Brock, Robert C. Henderson - 2012

Kenneth E. Bowers, Jacqueline Left Hand Bull, David F. Young, Muin Afnani, S. Valerie Dana, Erica Toussaint-Brock, Robert C. Henderson, Juana C. Conrad, Fariba Aghdasi. - 2011

Jacqueline Left Hand Bull, Chair (standing at the podium), David F. Young (Vice-Chair), Juana C. Conrad (Deputy Secretary-General), Kenneth E. Bowers (Secretary-General), Erica Toussaint, Muin Afnani, Valerie Dana (Deputy Secretary-General), Robert C. Henderson, William L.H. Roberts (Treasurer). - 2010

Except for one new member, the same 8 incumbents were re-elected and not surprisingly, in almost the same order of votes: Jacqueline Left Hand Bull, David F. Young, Kenneth E. Bowers, Juana C. Conrad, William Roberts, Muin Afnani, Erica Toussaint, Robert C. Henderson. - 2009

In the United States, all 9 previous members were re-elected. The only difference being that long time (and yes, we mean loooong time) member and Secretary General Robert C. Henderson is now merely a member. The new Secretary General is Kenneth E. Bowers. - 2007

The following presents a specific hypothetical scenario to illustrate how incumbency can not only occur but be the default within Baha’i elections.


by Alison Marshall & Baquia

First the assumptions:

1. No spoilt ballots/votes – in other words, all votes and ballots are accepted and correct
2. Each voter uses 3 of their votes on existing Assembly members
3. Among the Assembly members there is no clear voter preference, that is to say, the voter randomly uses 3 votes on any 3 current Assembly members
4. The remaining 6 votes are randomly cast for non-Assembly members

In our scenario there are 100 community members, 100 ballots and 900 total votes. Of these, following the assumptions above, 300 go towards incumbents and the remaining 600 to non-incumbents.

The catch comes when we realize that those 300 votes have been randomly distributed within 9 people, while the 600 votes were distributed within 91 people.

• Average # Votes for Incumbent: 300 ÷ 9 = 33.3
• Average # Votes for Non-Incumbent: 600 ÷ 91 = 6.6

With these types of odds its quite clear that the Assembly will most likely remain the same unless:

• Voters are adverse to particular Assembly members
• Voters are extremly keen on one non-incumbent

Paradoxically, the problem gets worse the larger the community is and much less in smaller communities. The key is the ratio of the non-incumbents to the ratio of incumbents. Where the LSA members are a significant share of the community (small localities) the ratio is much more even than in larger communities.

For example, in a 20 member community, holding all above assumptions the same, we have a total of 180 votes:

• Avg. Votes per Incumbent: 60 ÷ 9 = 6.7
• Avg. Votes per non-Incumbent: 120 ÷ 11 = 10.9

Interestingly enough, in the small community, with the same parameters there is actually an anti-incumbency bias.

However if we extend the size of the community to say 1000, under our stated assumptions, incumbency is virtually guaranteed. We would have 3000 votes distributed among 9 people and the remaining 6000 within the other 991.

Anecdotal evidence of the Assembly voting dynamic is that almost everyone who is eligible to receive votes, does. Most everyone expends 3-4 votes on existing LSA members, however there is rarely a strong preference for one LSA member over another. This type of voting behaviour is similar to that implied by the above assumptions.

So how can we address the inherent incumbency bias within medium and large Baha’i communities? What adjustments and changes can we make to the Baha’i election process?

By the way, before I go further, let me address what some Baha’is fallaciously believe: that no changes, whatsoever, can be made to Baha’i elections. Shoghi Effendi and Abdu’l-Baha outlined principles and elements of Baha’i Administration. They did not create a straight-jacket. In fact, they both left things to be determined and tweaked in the fullness of time.

Just because “we don’t do things that way” doesn’t mean that we can’t. Change is tough. We all hate change. But guess what? That’s what life is all about.

So please, be aware that the changes and ideas that I am suggesting are in keeping with the principles of the Faith. Whether they are ultimately implemented or not is up to the House of Justice as the administrative and legislative authority within the Faith. But there is no question that such adaptations are necessary and vital.

Especially when we can see clear signs that the current situation is causing stagnation, ossification and group think, dragging the community down.

PART II

First, a bit of news from the Baha’i community of the United States


NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE
BAHÁ’ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES

May 18, 2007

To the American Baha’i community

Dear Baha’i Friends,

With feelings of deep loss, profound admiration, and enduring gratitude, we announce the retirement of Mr. William E. Davis after 21 years of distinguished service as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly. Mr. Davis requested to retire at this time due to family and health concerns. His sterling record during his tenure on the Assembly, as its Treasurer and, later, as its Chairman, was characterized by devotion to principle, clarity of vision, and a true attitude of service.

Our dear brother Bill retires with our love and prayers that the blessings of Baha’u'llah will forever surround him and his precious
family.

The National Assembly will soon issue a call for a by-election.

With loving Baha’i greetings,

NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY
OF THE BAHÁ’ÍS OF THE UNITED STATES

Kenneth E. Bowers
Secretary-General

*********

So it seems that there will be a change in the membership of the NSA – by force of the fact that an incumbent is retiring after 21 years!! I have nothing against Mr. Davis personally but I do question the sanity of any individual who would occupy a Baha’i institution for more than 2 decades and also the Baha’i community that would put them there year after year.

Which brings me to the exploration of Baha’i elections and why there is this tendency for incumbents to be elected year in and year out. That this is a fact of life for Baha’i communities all around the world is not up for debate. Anyone can verify it with the smallest amount of observation and research. In fact, the incumbency is evident not only globally, but at all levels: local (LSA), national (NSA) and international (House of Justice).

I’ll get to how we can hope to get out of this rut but first, why does it exist? Perhaps in understanding the current situation, we will come to some insight.

There are several reasons why this manner of ossification is afflicting the Bahai community. One is that simply being a member of the National Assembly acts as a defacto nomination. The current members are more visible to the community because of their elected role. They travel, visiting outlying communities as well as Haifa when them come back to give talks. In these talks they are introduced as ‘NSA member’ so and so. Their decisions, either collectively or individually (through an narrow portfolio) gives them a certain cachet other Baha’i individuals do not possess.

In local assembly elections there is similar dynamics at play. Albeit perhaps more implicit. For example, several communities that I have lived in mark the current assembly members names (with an asterisk) on the list of Baha’is eligible for election. Why this is done, I never understood. But it is undeniable that doing so makes those nine persons stand out from among the names on the list and can influence the outcome.

But I think the most important reason is the nature of Baha’i elections. Because there is no campaigning involved (well, some say the NSA members going around just before Ridvan visiting communities may be seen as a sort of quasi campaigning) and since there are no nominations of candidates, it is very difficult to give a platform to others to simply make them visible to the community. Also, it is mathematically difficult, to the point of impossibility, to ‘vote a person’ out of office.

Let me explain. You can’t vote against a person, only for another person. And when you vote for someone other than the current members of the assembly, your vote is in all probability diluted to the point of becoming meaningless. This is because more than not, the other members of the community who are voting with you, will not necessarily vote for the same other person as you. So what happens is that the same people still get elected but with far fewer votes. Since we do not have a condition where you must be elected by having a certain portion of the votes, theoretically the same 9 people can win with only a tiny fraction of the votes each.

In fact this isn’t simply a theory but what is happening right now. I’ll use the actual results for the recent LSA election of one of the largest Baha’i communities in North America. There were 1430 eligible voters and 385 ballots cast. While the top person received 205 votes, 3 elected members of the new LSA received less than 85 votes.

If we were to draw a graph to illustrate all the votes it would look something like this:

The leftmost part of the graph (in red) would be those 9 persons who received the most votes. The green part of the graph would be the other members of the community. In fact, the drop off would be much steeper than is shown on this graph.

Sure, part of the problem lies in the small fraction of people who are voting: less than 30% of the community in the example used above. But is this a cause of the problem or a consequence of deeper issues? are people not participating because they feel powerless to have their voice heard? or is it simply apathy? should we blame them or the way the election is organized and administered?

The ways that we can hope to improve Baha’i elections would deal with the dynamic that this graph illustrates. I’ll explore specific suggestions and changes that will act to bring other candidates to the fore and “fatten” the tail.

http://www.bahairants.com