How unique is the Baha'i Architecture ?

The Shrine of the Báb is a structure in Haifa, Israel (Palestine in 1909) where the remains of the Báb. `Abdu'l-Bahá planned the structure, which was designed and completed several years later by his grandson, Shoghi Effendi.

The architect was William Sutherland Maxwell, a Canadian Bahá'í who was a Beaux-Arts architect and the father-in-law of Shoghi Effendi. Shoghi Effendi provided overall guidance, including in the use of Western and Eastern styles, but left the artistic details to Maxwell.


Saint Isaac's Cathedral in Saint Petersburg, Russia is the largest Russian Orthodox cathedral (sobor) in the city.

The church on St Isaac's Square was ordered by Tsar Alexander I, to replace an earlier Rinaldiesque structure. A specially appointed commission examined several designs, including that of the French-born architect Auguste de Montferrand (1786–1858), who had studied in the atelier of Napoleon's designer, Charles Percier.

Historic verdict quashes patent on use of word 'Baha'i'

by Ravian Bilani
13-Dec-2010
http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/ravian-bilani/defeat-haifan-bahais-federal-court-united-states-america

In a historic verdict that will have long standing effect, the Federal Court of the United States of America has quashed the appeal of the majority Baha'i Faith (popularly known as Heterodox Baha'i Faith – HBF) for patent on use of term Baha'i for itself. Although this is not the only time such a verdict has been passed (such verdicts have come twice earlier), this verdict comes at a time when the Baha'i Faith is gripped under sectarian claims.

Never in the past has the Baha'i Faith witnessed such sectarian challenges. It must be noted that minority sects like the Orthodox Baha'i Faith (OBF), Unitarian Baha'is (UB) and Baha'is Under the Provision of Covenant (BUPC), Reform Baha'i Faith have faced discrimination at the hands of the majority HBF for ages. These sects have been gasping for survival and this verdict gives them a new life and sense of hope.

The minority sects have always challenged authority of the Universal House of Justice - UHJ (the centre seat of the HBF) domination and control. The minority sects claim that the appointed guardians' position has been hijacked by the Universal House of Justice through shrewd manipulation and often intimidation about half a century ago.

Faced with discrimination the minority Baha'i sects have experienced difficulty in visiting the Holy Shrines, located predominantly in Haifa, Israel. The verdict opens a window of hope for the minority Baha'i sects in laying claim over visiting and managing the Holy Shrines. A member of the OBF says that the verdict has lifted their spirits and the OBF along with other minority Baha'i sects is actively thinking of filing a suit in the highest court in the United States as well as Israel to stake claim over managing the Holy Shrines. A spokesman of the BUPC said that the day is not far when all Baha'i sects will enjoy the freedom to visit shrines and practice and propagate their beliefs freely.

The verdict has rightly distanced the legislature from matters of belief, thereby putting an end forever to the HBFs dream of having an unchallenged authority over all sects. The HBF is known for publicly claiming its non-involvement in politics but practicing it in all its dealings. The verdict also gives an opportunity for the followers of the HBF to introspect and derive their independent conclusions.

It looks like the Baha'i denominations have succeeded in mounting a significant challenge to the mainstream Haifa-based Baha'i Faith. On the other hand main stream Haifa Based Baha'is are putting more pressure on their UHJ to clarify the concept of Guardianship, rather than asking them to shun the Covenant Breakers. The recent court case victory will further internationalize the issue of Guardianship.

Mr. Joel B. Marangella, Mr. Neal Chase , Mr. Fredrick Glaysher, Mr. Jacques Soghomonian have further consolidated their position amongst the Heterodox Baha'is, joining them is Mr. Eric Stetson and great grand daughter of Baha'u'llah Mrs. Nigar Baha'i Amsalem. It looks like the balance is tilting more towards Guardianists. If current trends of in-fightining continue and if the concept of Guardianship is not fully explained to the Heterodox Baha'is, It is quite possible that The Haifa based Baha'i Faith will suffer from more divisions and mainstream Baha'i Faith will be reduced to minority.

http://groups.google.com/group/talk.religion.bahai/browse_thread/thread/4bd93e4aa69a8565?pli=1


Defeat of Haifan Baha'is

by kps59

Orginally published at :
http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/kps59/bupc-rights-upheld-american-federal-court

25-Nov-2010

http://bupc.org/covenant-in-court/victory-2010.pdf


This is a victory for the Baha'i's Under the Provisions of the Covenant, and a victory for the freedom of speech, the separation of church and state and the core values of the American system as espoused and envisioned by the American founding fathers.

Now at the 390th year anniversary of the Mayflower Compact and the Pilgrims landing on Plymouth Rock both in 1620; and in precise time for both the Day of the Covenant celebration and the memorial ascension of Abdu'l-Baha commemorating the activation of the sacred Charter of the Kingdom (see World Order of Baha'u'llah, p. 144) the Will and Testament (W&T) of Abdu'l-Baha, on the 26th and 28th of November respectively; as well as coinciding with the American Thanksgiving Holiday: once again the Covenant-breakers in Wilmette and Haifa have been thwarted in their attempts to shut down the public teaching effort and close down all the websites and publications of the Baha'i's under the provisions of the Covenant.

In order to get out of the 6-66 injunction Joel Marangella and the other splinter groups fearing that if Abdu'l-Baha's aghsan son, Mason Remey was bound by the 6-66 injunction, this would pass on down to his successors, stood up and publically confessed in the courts of law that in fact they were not the successors toMason Remey at al but his RIVALS!! Thus a legal confession to being a) boldfaced usurpers attacking Mason; and b) to being outside the provisions of the Covenant altogether. Thus, in order to save their own butts, so to speak, they admit they are not the successors to Baha'u'llah, Abdu'l-Baha,Shoghi Effendi and Mason Remey the son of Abdu'l-Baha!!!

In the case of the BUPC, we were able to testify in open court, 1) that Dr. Jensen who left the NSA in New Mexico in 1964 was never bound by the 6-66 injunction at all. We further pointed out that the Publishers and the IBC/UHJ established by him are not the sucessorship to Mason Remey, but are the lineal sucessorship to Baha'u'llah, Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi, and then comes the UHJ set up on January 9, 1951 by Shoghi Effendi as that first IBC that the Hands demolished and which was then re-established on January 9, 1991 by Dr. Leland Jensen. As such, none of the entities, Dr. Jensen, the Publishers or the IBC/UHJ (www.UHJ.net) were in legal succession to Mason Remey, therefore none of them are bound by the 6-66 injunction.

Judge: Baha'i believers can call themselves Baha'i

November 23, 2010 9:11 PM
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/11/judge-bahai-believers-can-call-themselves-bahai.html

A federal court in Chicago has ruled a group of self-proclaimed orthodox Baha'i believers can keep calling themselves Baha'i despite a 1966 court decision that stopped an offshoot organization from using the Baha'I name.

Today, the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 1966 decision does not apply to a different offshoot known as the Orthodox Baha'i Faith.

Though the judges criticized the ruling from more than four decades ago as wrongfully trying to resolve a question of religious authority, they determined it was amoot point since the original defendants led a denomination that no longer exists.

Tuesday's ruling sidestepped any questions about whether a religious organization can trademark its name or icons.

North American Baha'is have been based in Chicago ever since believers came to the U.S. about 90 years ago.

Adherents of the Orthodox Baha'i Faith--about 50 strong in the U.S.--believe the mainstream Baha'i faith -- about 5 million strong in the world -- has strayed from the religion's original teachings.

-- Manya A. Brachear

The US 7th Circuit Court of Appeals sides with OBF & BUPC against Wilmette Haifan Baha'is

by Aryana-Vaeja
on Iranian.com
23-Nov-2010

The United States 7th Circuit Court of Appeals affirms the earlier Illinois Court's (i.e. Judge St. Eve's) opinion on the Wilmette based US Baha'i NSA's (National Spiritual Assembly's) contempt action brought against the Orthodox Bahai faith and Bahais Under the Provisions of the Covenant. The larger Haifan Baha'i organization today officially lost its appeal with the appelate court with the court unanimously finding the arguments put forth by the Haifan US NSA to be completely spurious. Attorney Jeffrey Goldberg has announced on the USENET group talk.religion.bahai that a PDF of the decision will be going up on his site shortly.


http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html

Good day!!!

Javad Larijani Speaks about Baha'ism

What happened after the death of Shoghi Effendi?

From :
http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/kps59/bahai-fireside-videos-now-online

Yes, the organized religion calling itself "Baha'i" with it's HQ in Haifa Israel and administrative nodes around the world is a false and altogether counterfeit organization invented in it's entirety by Mary Maxwell aka Ruhiyyih Khanum the arch violator of Baha'u'llah's Covenant and murderer of Shoghi Effendi!

She, along with her cabal of co-violators the HANDS, concieved and carried out a plan to usurp the administration of the Baha'i Faith prior to 1957 and executed it with the assassination of Shoghi Effendi in that year of 1957.

They told the mass of Baha'i's worldwide the lie that the guardianship had ended and as that generation of Baha'i's was woefully un-deepened in the reality of the Baha'i Covenant and the Will and Testament of Abdu'l-Baha' they were easily duped by the Black Widow Ruhiyyih Khanum and her henchmen the Bloody former HANDS who no longer held their administrative posts as Hands after the murder of Shoghi Effendi but lusted after the power they erroneously thought that position gave them.

They lied outrightly to the Baha'i's of the world saying that the Guardianship had ended, an assertion which is in diametric opposition to the explicit text of the Baha'i Faith as well as that of other dispensations leading up to it which they arrogantly dismiss as being irrelevant!

Yes these avowed enemies of the Covenant (Sans-guardian Haifan "Mainstream" Bahai's) do have spies and they do carry out diabolical acts of persecution and political intrigue but these people are NOT Baha'i though they cloak themselves in the name and co-opt whatever they can control for their purposes of deceit.

Their corrupt Anit-Christ administration's days are numbered and the pure of heart amongst their followers are going to the websites of the BUPC and reading them and watching the Fireside Videos and thereby receiving the only true Baha'i education offered anywhere in the world or on the worldwide web.

This world is in a deep dark place and growing darker by the day because of what the modern day followers of the Black Widow Ruhiyyih Khanum and the Bloody HANDS did back in 1957.

What they call their Universal House of Justice is an unauthorized GOLEM created to intimidate and oppress their "followers" and bears none of the hallmarks of the TRUE Universal House of Justice provided for in the writings of Baha'u'llah and the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Baha'. It disallows the election of women to it's membership, a clear violation of one of the 12 most basic principles of the Baha'i Faith, that being the equality of men and women, it persecutes people for their sexual orientation, another blatant violation of one of the 12 basic Baha'i principles, that being the complete elimination of all forms of prejudice, and by far the most telling and in-your-face violation of all that is Baha'i, it is an organization which has no Executive BRANCH, no Guardian, no direct male line descendant of David through Baha'u'llah chairing any of it's meetings or presiding over any of it's deliberations which is in ABSOLUTE VIOLATION of THE WILL AND TESTAMENT of ABDU'L-BAHA!

The call goes out continually to those pure of heart Baha'i's who've been suffering even unknowingly beneath the brutality of spiritual and psychological oppression as well as physical to come out from under the shroud of the darkness of violation and into the light of the Sun of Reality and be firm and steadfast in the Covenant of God through the Revelation of Baha'u'llah! The entry by troops has been happening as Baha'u'llah foretold and all that was written of in The Tablet of The Holy Mariner is unfolding in these days.

Go to the Baha'i websites provided in this announcement and read them and watch all the videos from anyplace in the world for free and receive the only Baha'i education now being made available at no price for all the world.

In service

kps59

Baha'i Faith in Russia

by Ravian Bilani
29-Oct-2010

Russian Baha’i Census

In Russia, Baha’i Faith is spreading in terms of numbers and decreasing in terms of Followers. It is truly MASTER’S MOSCOW MYSTERY.

For Baha’is decimal places don’t count! Baha’i Faith transacts only in hundreds. Small currencies don’t exist. And now, this has been seen in Russia!

No one would believe that behind the solid iron curtain and fool proof government watch, such manipulations can prosper! Strange but true, the Baha’i Faith official census can fool all systems.

Going by the words (and not spirit) of deceased guardian of Baha’i Faith – Shoghi Effendi - "Bahá'u'lláh has entrusted the sacred duty of every Baha’i to spread the Faith", the Baha’is have found an easier way to spread the faith. SPREAD THE NUMBER!

It is high time world takes a serious note of such dubious claims. Else soon we may find Baha’i population being reported more than the world population! How can one explain the strange classification of world population into ‘Baha’is’ and ‘Not yet Baha’is’ by Baha’i Administration (The Arbabs, Mohajirs and Razavis)? Such publicity should be questioned and the Baha’i Faith office bearers be held accountable.
It is interesting to note that claiming more numbers can give Baha’i Faith (read Baha’i cult) tremendous benefits. To name a few:

1. Help in deceptive conversion.
2. Help in getting grants from various agencies like United Nations and other Governmental agencies.
3. Help in getting appointments with influential personalities.
4. Help in getting privileged status within a country.
5. To make the Faith seem much more successful and influential than it really is, to the new converts.

So while other religions overlook this aspect, sometimes even not bothering to have a census of their followers, the smart Baha’is deceive the world.

So what is the reality? In Russia, the facts are:

1. Teaching Projects:
Over 10 years of teaching in Moscow, the Baha’i community has decreased by 83 persons.

2. Participation in the elections of the Local Spiritual Assembly:
30 people participated in the first election at Moscow in 1990. And 45 people in the elections in 2010. An increase of 0.75 per year for 20 years!

3. Number of Local Assemblies in the past 15 years:
This year they had a record-low number of Local Spiritual Assemblies in Russia in 15 years! And in the last 10 years there has been constant decline in the number of assemblies, which led to the fact that their number decreased by half.

4. Intensive program of growth:
During the three years of intensive program of growth, the increase/decrease in number of people who have undergone training in Baha’i Faith in Moscow, are:

Book 1 - fell by 5
Book 2 - fell by 46
Book 3 - fell by 7
Book 4 - fell by 4
Book 5 - increased by 16
Book 6 - fell by 14
Book 7 - increased by 2

Net fall = 58

But the Baha’is never admit this reality. It’s against Guardian’s advice. They continue to progress on paper, taking every reader for a free ride, including the Russian government.

The Official site of the Baha’is of Russia claims there are 3500 Baha’is and more than 400 localities in Russia - from Kaliningrad to Kamchatka, from the Kola Peninsula to the North Caucasus. It is absolutely a false claim, purposely intended to deceive and misguide its readers.

THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF BAHA’IS IN RUSSIA IS NOT MORE THAN 200.

Falsehood – thy name is Baha’i Faith.

Baha'i Machine, whose sole aim is to gain new converts

by shafagh
26-Oct-2010

I became a Baha'i in 1974, spent six years overseas pioneering in the Falkland Islands and Africa before returning to the U.S. From 1983 I was essentially an isolated believer in Northern Nevada, and it took a long time for fundamentalism, IPG and the "New Culture" in the Baha'i Faith to catch up with me. During all the years since 1974 a number of questions and problems with the Faith and my experience in it and life began to come up but I dealt with them in a way that allowed me to remain a Baha'i. But when I was finally pushed into a corner by fundamentalism in the Faith, all these questions came up demanding to be answered and I realized that there was nowhere in the Baha'i Faith that I could exist any more. In 2007 I began moving out of it and seeking another spiritual path that I could be in harmony with. I found, once I was outside the Faith, that God was a lot bigger, kinder and more accepting than I had ever thought as a Baha'i and that it was the intent of the heart that mattered.

I don't believe this Divine Springtime that is so obviously taking place in the world can be contained in any one Faith, set of beliefs or organization. That includes the Baha'i Faith, even if it does reform itself and become more liberal. In my opinion, a multitude of spiritual paths exist because each of them has something unique to say about the Divine, and provides some insight that the others don't, or don't do as well. People are a diverse bunch; there is no way that everyone will find the Baha'i Faith an attractive avenue to God at any time in the future. To me Unity in Diversity means that we realize that all efforts to reach God will work and contribute something to the spiritual life of the planet.

I agree that the Faith has painted itself into a corner. But it seems to me that in large part this has been a natural consequence of trying to implement what Abdu'l Baha considered important. Teaching was one of these - Tablets of the Divine Plan, "If the teaching work is not carried out, all support will be cut off." Another is the central idea that the Baha'i Faith is the revelation for this Day, and that all other spiritual paths are darkened horizons. This has led to many bad fruits, such as separating the world into Baha'i and non Baha'i, an attitude of arrogance toward non believers, and a parochial, restricted outlook on the world. Because teaching was given such emphasis, it has steadily grown and swallowed up the Faith to where it is not a spiritual path any more, but mainly a machine whose sole aim is to gain new converts.

There are so many things I could say, but I won't here, at least not in this letter. I don't know if the Faith will reform itself or not, but I wouldn't count it out just yet. Christianity has a dismal 2000 year history of making all the mistakes that the Faith is trying out now, and has nevertheless been very successful and shows no sign of going away any time soon.

regards to all,

Robin

First appeared on Iranian.com
http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/shafagh/bahaism

Baha'is Marketing Martyrdom

by jeffryboycott on Iranian.com
13-Sep-2010

Martyrdom has intrigued mankind since ages. The concept of martyrdom has raised levels of courage and sacrifice. While in many cases heroic sacrifice has been for a higher purpose, in certain cases it has been a case of confusion and being deceived.

Take the case of Al-Qaeda inspired volunteering for martyrdom. Here the noble concept of martyrdom is tweaked to serve a political purpose. While such examples are clearly understood, inspiration for martyrdom sometimes comes smartly packed – typical Bahai style!

The Bahai faiths supreme body – Universal House of Justice (UHJ), has strategized the subject of martyrdom for serving its political masters. In the present modern age, any administrative body is interested in protecting lives and interest of its members. But UHJ has discreetly been marketing martyrdom to its members in politically sensitive countries like Iran, Uzbekistan and Egypt. Through camouflaged messages, UHJ instead of advising its members to run to safer havens, encourages and at times even threatens its followers to stay back.

Although the faith publicly propagates that it never gets politically involved and advises its members to comply with laws of the land, through its discreet messages it provokes its members to take propagation activities even in such sensitive countries. Certain of inviting tough action against its members, the UHJs next advice to its members is to be steadfast. UHJ then infuses stories of martyrs of past and concept of martyrdom. While this goes on at level of its members, UHJ starts its global propaganda parallely. It floats stories of severe punishment and suppression to its members in their country of residence. This is the political agenda of their Zionist masters.

Such a dual strategy forces regimes like Iran, Egypt and Uzbekistan to become more reactive. These governments now start viewing members of the faith as spies and become more vigilant towards them. Thus a vicious sequence of event emerges, each complimenting the other.

Such propaganda also helps in drawing sympathy in countries across the globe. Smart Bahai Faith members use this sympathy to get more facilities for their faith in different countries. In India, we can see the Sorabjees, Rowhanis, Wahedis running around meeting Members of Parliament, Members of Legislative Assemblies and Municipal Counselors under the pretext of taking up the cause of the oppressed faith members.

The UHJ thus cleverly scripts a political story (in contrast to its official stand of not being involved ever in politics) serving its masters at the cost of misery to its members.

Martyrdom is marketed nowadays - neatly packed!

Baha'i man arrested for illicit relationships in Iran

(Reuters) - An Iranian Baha'i missionary has been arrested in northern Iran for allegedly having an illicit sexual relationship, the semi-official Fars news agency said on Monday without giving a source.

The man, identified by Fars only as P.P., is accused of seducing women to have illicit sexual relationships with him, the agency said, a punishable offence in Iran which implements strict sharia, Islamic law.

"The man is an active Baha'i missionary ... His case is being investigated by the judiciary," it said. Judicial officials were not available to comment.

The Baha'i faith was founded in Iran in the 19th century and activists say more than 300,000 adherents live in Iran today. Iran's Shi'ite government considers the faith a heretical offshoot of Islam.

http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-51311420100906


Tehran - A man belonging to the Bahai religion was arrested in northern Iran, accused of pushing women into having sex with him, a newspaper said Monday on its website.

The man, identified by the Javan daily only as PP, was arrested in the Caspian Sea province of Golestan, where he was allegedly known for missionary work.

Bahaism, a monotheistic creed promoting the unity of all religions and mankind, is not recognized or allowed to be practiced in Iran, whose official religion is Shia Islam. Bahai missionaries are arrested and detained, unlike Christian, Jewish and Zoroastrian missionaries, whose faiths are recognized and protected by the government.

Javan said PP was accused of seducing women and girls and having sex with them.

Extramarital sex in Iran is forbidden, and if the two people are unmarried, they could face a death sentence of stoning.

No further details were given by the conservative daily, and there had been no official confirmation of the report by the judiciary.


TEHRAN, Sep 06, 2010 (AFP) - A Bahai missionary has been arrested in northern Iran for indulging in "illicit relationships," hardline newspaper Javan's website reported on Monday.

It identified the detainee by only his initials, P.P., saying he was arrested in the Islamic republic's northern province of Golestan.

The newspaper which is close to Iran's Revolutionary Guards did not provide a source, but added that the case was being investigated by the judiciary.

The Bahais, who are barred from higher education and government posts in Iran, are regarded as infidels and have been persecuted both before and after the country's 1979 Islamic revolution.


http://www.zawya.com/story.cfm/sidANA20100906T091206ZNTD12

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_iran-arrests-baha-i-missionary-for-illicit-relations-report_1434350

http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/middleeast/news/article_1582610.php/Report-Bahai-missionary-arrested-for-seducing-women-in-Iran


The Orchestra at the recent National Convention of Bahai’s of India (2010).

More often than not, we see that the National Convention of every country is an orchestra in which the members to be elected are predecided. The recently concluded elections to the NSA of India are a further proof to this principle.

So what exactly happened in this election? Eight members of the previous assembly were reelected. For the ninth member, it was declared a tie amongst Mr. Sohail Mohajir, Mr. Sunil Oliyai and Mrs. Shireen Malahati. It is no coincidence, but selectively all are of Persian background. The delegates were then asked to break the tie and elect the ninth member from these three members only. Finally, as reported, Mrs. Shireen Malahati was elected.

The process by itself was not conducted in a transparent manner and in a fashion befitting a democratic process of election. There was no disclosure of how many votes each members received. How many votes did the 9th member receive? And by how many votes was the tie was broken? This is a complete violation of a democratic election, in which as claimed by the Baha'is, the number of votes polled by each member should be declared too.

By conducting this orchestra the Universal House of Justice has clearly tried to convey to the Baha'is that “The elections are true elections because a member like Mr. Sohail Mohajir who is related to UHJ member, Mr. Payman Mohajir can not be re- elected”. Interestingly last year too, Mr. Sohail Mohajir was not elected and Mr. Ahmed Ansari was made the sacrificial lamb and asked to resign to make a way for Mr. Sohail. Let us see what is the policy of UHJ this year.

The process seems to be one of selection and not election because for the ninth member all the three members were Persians. The two were first timers. In this way, the UHJ has given the indication that who are the tenth and the eleventh member in the waiting list. An indication to the delegates that if any of these nine members fall away from the grace of UHJ then whom they should vote for.

A new policy of UHJ, “preparation of pool of names” a hidden way of nomination of candidates.

The UHJ, through the counselor present in the national convention, has instructed delegates to prepare a pool of names to whom they can vote. These pure souls are then asked to write the names of about 20 to 25 members for whom they have to vote. During this so called spiritual atmosphere the incumbent members keep on moving in front of the delegates to remind them lest they forget. So it does not take much effort to understand the preparation of pool of names is nomination of candidates.

All the NSA members were present during the preparation of pool of names and during the deepening sessions, the delegates commented upon the behavior of the outgoing members but with no result.

It is very true that there are some Baha'is who never worked and will never work for the Faith. What they want is let others work. They can only order for work and be in the position of authority. One cannot go against the prescribe norms because this is what the UHJ wants.

A delegate at the National Convention India (2010)

Name Deleted

from talk.religion.bahai

A Letter of NSA of New Zealand to its members

16 December, 1996

To the Baha'is of New Zealand

Dear Baha'i Friends

Lamentable Situation Calls for Loyal Response

With heavy hearts, the National Spiritual Assembly announces to the Baha'i community that Ms Pauline Smith, of Masterton, has broken the Covenant and been expelled from the Faith by the Universal House of Justice. Ms Smith has unfortunately not heeded the guidance and warnings she has been given over a period of some months, and has decided to maintain contact and association with known Covenant-breakers, who are some of the relatives of Shoghi Effendi, and in particular, Ms Parvine Afnan Shahid.

Ms Smith, who had known about the Faith for some years in New Zealand, went to the United Kingdom where she continued learning about the Faith from believers she met there. While in England she also happened to meet the family of Covenant-breakers and became friends with them. Ms Smith later became a Baha'i in England and, soon afterwards, returned to New Zealand (in 1995). Since then, there have been attempts by the institutions of the Faith to counsel Ms Smith about her association with Ms Shahid, who intends to come to live in Masterton from early 1997. The Universal House of Justice says:

"It has been determined that Parvine Shahid, who is the granddaughter of the notorious Covenant-breaker Nayyir Afnan, is infected with the spirit of Covenant-breaking and should be treated as a Covenant-breaker."(1)

Friends wishing to know more about the history of Ms Shahid's family should refer to a book by Mr Adib Taherzadeh, entitled *The Covenant of Baha'u'llah* which provides full information about this matter. A four page summary of relevant details is being sent to all Local Spiritual Assemblies and groups, and is available from the National Office on request.

A fundamental principle of the Faith is that no believer can have any contact or association with a believer who has been deemed by the Head of the Faith to break the Covenant, whether by correspondence, telephone, or in person. Strict adherence to this rule is obligatory. The essential reason for this is to preserve the unity of the Baha'i Faith. It is because of division within themselves that the religions of the past have not fulfilled their purpose to unify mankind. For a further elaboration of this principle please see the attached extracts from a letter of the Universal House of Justice dated 9 December 1996, to a believer in Masterton [not supplied].

Over the next few months the National Spiritual Assembly will implement, in collaboration with the Arm of the Learned and working through the Local Spiritual Assemblies and assistants, a systematic deepening programme on the Covenant aimed at every believer in New Zealand. In the meantime, the friends are urged to rededicate themselves to study of 'Abdul-Baha's Will and Testament, and to familiarise themselves with guidance regarding firmness in the Covenant, which is found in such publications as *Lights of Guidance*. All communities were recently sent a copy of a publication entitled *The Power of the Covenant* which consists of a set of three booklets. This provides further reference material for any questions you may have about this matter. Audio cassette tapes on the subject of the Covenant are also available from the Audio-Visual Unit. The National Spiritual Assembly urges you to make a concerted effort to study deeply the subject of the Covenant, individually and in groups.

Meeting this challenge represents a new stage in the growth of the Faith in New Zealand. These words of a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi provide reassurance of the progress that comes from a crisis:

"He urges you not to be discouraged or depressed, but rest assured that Baha'u'llah will assist you. Every set-back this Cause receives is invariably a means of ensuring a future victory, for God will never permit His Faith to be put out or uprooted."(2)

As the believers strengthen their understanding of the Covenant and more faithfully adhere to its provisions, such firmness will not only increase their own understanding of Baha'u'llah's Revelation and provide protection for our national community, but will also give additional impetus to deepening our commitment to achieving the purpose and goals of God's plan.

We are fully conscious of the distress and shock that many believers will go through as a result of this severe test and we do not underestimate the severe challenge this poses.

The Universal House of Justice says:

"We are confident that the dearly loved New Zealand believers will not allow this lamentable situation to deflect them from their meritorious endeavours to further develop their Baha'i community and to maintain its unity."(3)

Be assured of the ardent prayers of this institution for your reassurance, comfort and strength of faith.

Warmest Baha'i love
NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY


Suzanne Mahon
Secretary

enc: Extract from a letter of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer, 9 December 1996
______________________________

1. From a letter dated 12 December 1996 from the Department of the Secretariat, Universal House of Justice, to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of New Zealand[.]

2. From a letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi, dated 26 January 1950 to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Panama, quoted in The Compilation of Compilations: Volume l, #323.

3. From a letter of the Universal House of Justice dated 12 December 1996 to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of New Zealand.

My Story - by Robin

I became a Baha'i in 1974, spent six years overseas pioneering in the Falkland Islands and Africa before returning to the U.S. From 1983 I was essentially an isolated believer in Northern Nevada, and it took a long time for fundamentalism, IPG and the "New Culture" in the Baha'i Faith to catch up with me. During all the years since 1974 a number of questions and problems with the Faith and my experience in it and life began to come up but I dealt with them in a way that allowed me to remain a Baha'i. But when I was finally pushed into a corner by fundamentalism in the Faith, all these questions came up demanding to be answered and I realized that there was nowhere in the Baha'i Faith that I could exist any more. In 2007 I began moving out of it and seeking another spiritual path that I could be in harmony with. I found, once I was outside the Faith, that God was a lot bigger, kinder and more accepting than I had ever thought as a Baha'i and that it was the intent of the heart that mattered.

I don't believe this Divine Springtime that is so obviously taking place in the world can be contained in any one Faith, set of beliefs or organization. That includes the Baha'i Faith, even if it does reform itself and become more liberal. In my opinion, a multitude of spiritual paths exist because each of them has something unique to say about the Divine, and provides some insight that the others don't, or don't do as well. People are a diverse bunch; there is no way that everyone will find the Baha'i Faith an attractive avenue to God at any time in the future. To me Unity in Diversity means that we realize that all efforts to reach God will work and contribute something to the spiritual life of the planet.

I agree that the Faith has painted itself into a corner. But it seems to me that in large part this has been a natural consequence of trying to implement what Abdu'l Baha considered important. Teaching was one of these - Tablets of the Divine Plan, "If the teaching work is not carried out, all support will be cut off." Another is the central idea that the Baha'i Faith is the revelation for this Day, and that all other spiritual paths are darkened horizons. This has led to many bad fruits, such as separating the world into Baha'i and non Baha'i, an attitude of arrogance toward non believers, and a parochial, restricted outlook on the world. Because teaching was given such emphasis, it has steadily grown and swallowed up the Faith to where it is not a spiritual path any more, but mainly a machine whose sole aim is to gain new converts.

There are so many things I could say, but I won't here, at least not in this letter. I don't know if the Faith will reform itself or not, but I wouldn't count it out just yet. Christianity has a dismal 2000 year history of making all the mistakes that the Faith is trying out now, and has nevertheless been very successful and shows no sign of going away any time soon.

regards to all,

Robin

The judgment of government of Iran spoilt the Grand Party for the UHJ

The Supreme body of Haifan Baha’is (UHJ) expected death sentence for Yaran. The judgment of government of Iran spoilt the Grand Party for the UHJ.

A Report

The Supreme Authority of the Haifan Baha’is, ‘Universal House of Justice’ (UHJ) has been identified with trying to derive mileage out of sufferings of followers. Unbelievable but true, this news has been leaked out from internal sources! The recent sentence of 20 years imprisonment to the 7 Baha’is, accused of spying in Iran, came as an unpleasant surprise to the UHJ! While the UHJ was preparing to derive global mileage, as there were all indications that the government of Iran would deliver a death sentence, the verdict has spoilt the party for the UHJ.

Inside sources say that the UHJ cannot digest this reality still. With planned publicity success on previous occasion, where a young Baha’i girl (Mona) was sentenced to death in Iran, the UHJ did not expect the events to turn so distasteful. In the death of Mona, the UHJ spotted a unique propagation opportunity. Mona Schools, Mona Teaching Projects, Mona Classes, Mona Funds etc spread in her memory all over the world! It was like celebrations at the death of a small kid.

Such spirit is unique to the teachings of the Baha’i Faith, strictly governed by the UHJ. While other religions and societies would prefer to observe mourning and try to overcome unpleasant memories, the UHJ prefers to campaign for Baha’i beliefs on such occasions.

There are reports that UHJ even steps out and maneuvers situations to worsen the crises. Directions are forwarded to believers under investigation, to challenge authorities, admit and support violations of law of land. The innocent followers, enthused by such messages, continue the course of conflict with the authorities. Little do they realize the repercussions and the fact that they are being used as pawns. Pity the innocent followers!

The UHJ has also been accused on other occasions of dumping-off follower, when it does not see a potential. The UHJ follows the policy of “USE AND THROW”. Take the example of Mr. Timur who is a respectable Baha’i who when deported from Uzbekistan for Proselytizing, was declared an Iranian Agent by the mouth pieces of Universal House of Justice, ‘Muslim Network for Baha’i Rights’.

Insiders say that the entire UHJ is run with secrecy and shrewdness that would put to shame the intelligence of the best of countries! It is not a surprise that insiders fear to speak out against the UHJ or the Faith due to fear of reprisals.

A staff Reporter

http://groups.google.co.uk/group/talk.religion.bahai/browse_thread/thread/e023f78dbc3813d8

Shocking disclosure by “BAHA’I NEWS INDIA”

The recent monthly circulation of Indian Baha'is, The BAHA’I NEWS INDIA, ISSUE VII JULY 2010 has revealed shocking facts, through an article titled “Preparations of Government of India Census 2011”, These are summmarised as under :

1. There have been rigorous conversion activities over the past fifty years by the Baha’i Faith.

2. These conversions was accelerated with the construction of the Lotus Temple at Delhi and with the visits of Hands of the Cause Dr. Rahmatulláh Muhájir, and Amatu'l- Bahá Ruhiyyih Khánum.

3. Though the Baha’i records of the data on Baha’i population shows that one time it had crossed two millions yet the Census of India reports of 1971, 1981, 1991 and 2001 show only a fraction of the total number Baha'is throughout the country. This means that the census department of India fumbled four times to give accurate number of Baha'is. Just to cite an example, Baha’i census figures in 1991 was 5575 and in 2001 it was 11,324 against 2.2 millions claimed by the Baha’i administration.

4. Through the article we understand this is largely due to illiteracy and lack of distinct identifying characteristics of rural Indians. Does it not mean that conversions were done deceptively without an individual ever knowing that he has accepted the Baha’i Faith? Does it
also not indicate that the Baha'is have been targeting rural Indians (mostly in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh) for the past so many years?

5. The article suggests that Baha’i Faith members display Baha’i Faith identification stickers in their houses so that the official GOI census official can enter the religious identity accurately. This is a very big accusation against both the individual being interviewed and the GOI census official! Are both these so gullible that one will forget to declare his allegiance to the Baha’i Faith and the other will record it based on stickers/posters on the wall! Is it not some sort of racist discrimination practiced by the Baha’i Faith governing body, many of them being of Iranian origin. Should we tolerate such an assessment of our fellow countrymen!

6. The article suggests that the Baha’i Faith machinery will attempt to contact government officials from highest level down to Panchayat level. Is this not some sort of influencing the government officials in performance of their duty? Should not serious action be taken against the Baha’i Faith for this?

7. Lastly, the article silently threatens the readers that giving wrong information to the census department is punishable!. Do we need to learn this from scoundrels who have always used deception to inflate numbers, perform conversion activities and get government concessions? In fact the action should be taken against the Baha’i administration for misguiding the world since last so many years.

AT THE END, CAN BAHA’I ADMINISTRATION EXPLAIN WHY THE NUMBER OF LOCAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLIES MENTIONED IN BAHA’I WORLD [VOLUME XVIII (1979-1983)] IN INDIA WERE MORE THAN 10,000 WHILE THE PRESENT NUMBER OF ASSEMBELIES IS ONLY 600 - WHICH IS JUST 6%. WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS GROSS EXAGGERATION - THE CENSUS DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT OF INDIA OR THE BAHA’I ADMINISTRATION THEMSELVES ?

Dear readers, I have worked for Baha'is for many years. Never even in their exaggerated record the Baha’i population reached even the figure of 20,000. Everybody at the top is absolutely convinced that there is gross exaggeration in the Baha’i population in India and elsewhere in the world, but nobody wants to accept publicly because of fear of sanctions from the Universal House of Justice. Moreover the Baha'is claim that 40% of world Baha’is resides in India, which is just 11324. Is it not easy now to assess World Baha’i Population? Let someone also open the can of worms on authentic world Baha’i population!

By
FORMER MEMBER OF NSA OF BAHA’IS OF INDIA

Posted by Ravi Kumar
http://groups.google.com.au/group/talk.religion.bahai/browse_thread/thread/104d402b742e2758?hl=en#

Who forged the Will and Testament of Abdul Baha?

Was Abdul Baha's "Will and Testament" produced to the general public after His death? Or, was it known to have existed before His death?


Answered by Eric S.

I don't think it was known to have existed before his death. If it was, then at least the part appointing Shoghi Effendi as "Guardian" was unknown, because even Shoghi himself wrote that he had no idea before Abdul-Baha died that he would be given any position in the faith except possibly the ceremonial convener of the Universal House of Justice.

Bahiyyih Khanum played a big role in persuading Bahais to accept the will and its appointment of Shoghi Effendi to Guardianship. In fact, for a couple of years after Abdul-Baha died, Bahiyyih was running the faith and seen as its temporary head (at least among those who had rejected Mirza Muhammad Ali). She was the biggest champion of the appointment of Shoghi, and remained highly influential even after he returned to the Holy Land to assume the mantle of Guardianship following his years of vacationing in Switzerland after his nervous breakdown.

If the will was forged, I suppose one would have to consider Bahiyyih Khanum as one of the logical suspects for who might have done the forging -- as shocking as that thought may be -- since she actually was leading the (non-Unitarian) Bahais at the time of Abdul-Baha's death and continued to do so for a long time.

She had the power and thus the opportunity.

Eric S.


Picture Source : http://bahai-library.com/books/bahiyyih.khanum/

The fatal flaw in Baha’i authority

by Dale_Husband
on www.iranian.com
28-Jul-2010

The basic problem of authority in the Baha’i Faith, with its false claim that those authorities are infallible, really becomes obvious when you consider the issue of the Guardianship, which Shoghi Effendi held from 1921 until his death in 1957. He was appointed to that position by his grandfather, Abdu’l-Baha.

O ye the faithful loved ones of Abdu’l-Baha! it is incumbent upon you to take the greatest care of Shoghi Effendi… For he is, after Abdu’l-Baha, the Guardian of the Cause of God… He that obeyeth him not, hath not obeyed God; he that turneth away from him, hath turned away from God and he that denieth him, hath denied the True One… All must seek guidance and turn unto the Center of the Cause and the House of Justice. And he that turneth unto whatsoever else is indeed in grievous error.
(`Abdu’l-Baha: Will and Testament, pages 25-26)

Later, Shoghi Effendi himself wrote:

Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Baha’u'llah would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as Abdu’l-Baha has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. …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.
(Shoghi Effendi: World Order of Baha’u'llah, page 148 )

It stands to reason that if Shoghi Effendi must be obeyed absolutely as the representative of God’s will, then he himself must obey the Baha’i commandments that came before him. If he was disobedient to Baha’i laws, then no one should obey him.

Baha’ullah, the founder of the Baha’i Faith, stated in his book of laws, the Kitab-i-Aqdas, paragraph 109, “Unto everyone hath been enjoined the writing of a will.”

Likewise, Abdul-Baha, son of Baha’u'llah, in the very Will and Testament by which he appointed Shoghi Effendi to the Guardianship, stated: “It is incumbent upon the Guardian of the Cause of God to appoint in his own life-time him that shall become his successor, that differences may not arise after his passing. He that is appointed must manifest in himself detachment from all worldly things, must be the essence of purity, must show in himself the fear of God, knowledge, wisdom and learning. Thus, should the first-born of the Guardian of the Cause of God not manifest in himself the truth of the words:—“The child is the secret essence of its sire,” that is, should he not inherit of the spiritual within him (the Guardian of the Cause of God) and his glorious lineage not be matched with a goodly character, then must he, (the Guardian of the Cause of God) choose another branch to succeed him.” (Abd’ul-Baha. Will and Testament, p. 12.)

Shoghi Effendi did none of these things. He had no children, and in fact he expelled from the Faith as “Covenant-breakers” every other descendant of his own grandfather, thus betraying the Faith. When he died in 1957, he left no will and had appointed no successor, thus failing to obey the very Covenant he was expected to uphold.

With no further guidance from the Guardian, the Hands of the Cause of God that he had appointed to assist him did the only thing they could to keep the Baha’i Faith alive: They took over the Faith and arranged for the eventual election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. But without a Guardian to preside over that body, it would never be in accordance with the very writings that established its authority. And the only ones who could be Guardian were the male descendants of Baha’ullah, all of whom were excluded from the Faith by the first Guardian!

Indeed, the simple fact that Shoghi Effendi disobeyed both Bahau’llah and Abd’ul-Baha by not leaving a will, by expelling all his own relatives from the Faith, and not appointing in his lifetime one of his brothers or male cousins as his sucessor to the Guardianship should be enough to demonstrate that there is NO “true” Baha’i Faith existing today. Its authority is meaningless by the testimony of its own history!

And perhaps this was inevitable, since Baha’ullah himself warned his successors in the Faith not to exceed the proper bounds of their authority. Referring again to the Kitab-i-Aqdas, we find this as paragraph 37:

“Whoso layeth claim to a Revelation direct from God, ere the expiration of a full thousand years, such a man is assuredly a lying impostor. We pray God that He may graciously assist him to retract and repudiate such claim. Should he repent, God will, no doubt, forgive him. If, however, he persisteth in his error, God will, assuredly, send down one who will deal mercilessly with him. Terrible, indeed, is God in punishing! Whosoever interpreteth this verse otherwise than its obvious meaning is deprived of the Spirit of God and of His mercy which encompasseth all created things. Fear God, and follow not your idle fancies. Nay, rather, follow the bidding of your Lord, the Almighty, the All-Wise. Erelong shall clamorous voices be raised in most lands. Shun them, O My people, and follow not the iniquitous and evil-hearted. This is that of which We gave you forewarning when We were dwelling in ‘Iráq, then later while in the Land of Mystery, and now from this Resplendent Spot.” (Emphasis mine)

Since any Baha’i would affirm that Abdu’l-Baha is inferior in rank to Baha’u'llah, we have to apply consistent logic to the Baha’i Writings; and when we do…..

“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 Abha Beauty, under the shelter and unerring guidance of His Holiness, the Exalted One (may my life be offered up for them both). Whatsoever they decide is of God. Whoso obeyeth him not, neither obeyeth them, hath not obeyed God; whoso rebelleth against him and against them hath rebelled against God; whoso opposeth him hath opposed God; whoso contendeth with them hath contended with God; whoso disputeth with him hath disputed with God; whoso denieth him hath denied God; whoso disbelieveth in him hath disbelieved in God; whoso deviateth, separateth himself and turneth aside from him hath in truth deviated, separated himself and turned aside from God. May the wrath, the fierce indignation, the vengeance of God rest upon him!” (Will and Testament of Abdu’l-Baha, Page 11 [Emphasis mine] )

There is no way that passage can be reconciled with the one of Baha’u'llah denying that anyone can recieve direct revelation from God before the passage of 1000 years. And that might explain why Shoghi Effendi died without issue at the relatively young age of 60, in the midst of the Ten Year World Crusade he was leading. He was probably struck down by God himself just as Baha’u'llah would have predicted. And despite the desperate efforts made ever since to teach and proclaim the Baha’i Faith under the Universal House of Justice, it remains to this day a small, cultlike body scattered over the world, with no potential to make any real difference in the world at large.

To all readers, I implore you to be fair in your judgement and search your feelings. The Baha’i Faith is a failure and you need not be bound by laws, authorities, or institutions that are not based on truth. If you belong to the mainstream Baha’i Faith that follows the Guardianship-less Universal House of Justice, or one of the splinter groups that rejected the authority of that body, the fact remains that you follow a spirtually dead faith and are totally wasting your time. The Baha’i Faith in its present form will never become the great religion of the world Baha’ullah and Abdu’l-Baha envisioned it to be, because Shoghi Effendi ruined it with his blind assumption of his own infallibility. His own relatives questioned his decisions and were expelled for doing that. If you cannot question authority, it can destroy you. Or, in this case, the credibility of the authority is destroyed and opposing it becomes a moral obligation. Let it be so!

Picture Source : http://bahaisonline.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1472&Itemid=2

New gestures by the Baha'i Cult

Translated by: Behzad Aminian

Hamshahri Newpaper
Thursday 14 November 2002

Accodring to the website Darichih, fifteen active members of the misguided Baha'i cult (majority picked from the 3-member teams) from district 5 in the Mazandaran province are currently undergoing a training course known as "Ruhi" in the United Arab Emirates. The training is delivered by one of the former "Ruhi" students in this country.

In February 2001 a group of adherents to the misguided Baha'i cult were hand-picked by the National Assembly of Iran and sent to the United Arab Emirates to attend the 20-day course. Accodring to statements from the cult members this training better known as the "Ruhi Institute" has been running in more than 30 countries worldwide. After completing the course, these participants were dispatched to other provinces in order to train selected personnel from across the country.

The person responsible for the training of the fifteen nominated individuals from the Baha'i district 5 of the country (covering eastern and central Mazandaran) is a former member of the Baha'i Administration in Mazandaran who was relocated to Tehran last year.

It is agreed that each person who completes the training with this individual will in turn be responsible for training another fifteen. A number of the administrators and leaders of the Baha'i cult regard the arrangements in line with decision of the Central Administration of the cult (Iranian National Assembly) to decentralise the administration in the provinces and a return to the old administration system (governed by 9-member assemblies).

About this Institute the following has been stated: "training efficient, active, ready and able resources for teaching is high on the agenda of the Administration and one of the Baha'i principles. On the other hand, the situation in Iran will not remain the same. Once the social conditions are improved and the right time for teaching is facilitated, we will have ready personnel at our disposal for teaching."

http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/notes/vol6/ruhi/ruhi.htm

Election Fraud Rocks Baha'i Community of Pakistan

This E-mail is being circulated among the Baha'is of Pakistan



Dear Bahai Friend,

Allahu Abha

Is it fair that the two members of the currently fairly elected National Assembly of Pakistan have been suspended by the Universal House of Justice? These were the members who received maximum number of votes from the delegates. The other seven members are retained.

Not only this but even the office bearers of the NSA has been removed and instead other appointed in their place. This clearly indicates that the so called infallible UHJ has not done justice. In fact they have humiliated and insulted the members of the NSA, the delegates and the Bahais who have elected these delegates.

With this interference of the House, the sanctity of Bahai elections are lost and it is a pointer that the House of Justice is interested in some members to work as Secretary and the Treasurer.

Coincidentally the suspended members are Pakistani it looks that the Universal House of Justice wants only Persian members to serve on the NSA.

In this episode the axis of evil are Prof. Mehrdad, Mr. Farsheed and Mr. Shamsheer. These three are the beneficiaries of this dissolution. Mr. Mehrdad did not get a single vote for the secretaryship and Mr. Farsheed the master manipulator while giving treasurer report was hiding some important facts and he spended beyond the budget. Mr. Shamsheer is expert in destroying the peace and calmness of Bahai families by interfering in their internal affairs. Constructive suggestions by sincere Bahais are considered as criticism.

This is a very serious problem which needs to be known by every Bahai of Pakistan. Ignoring this matter will only increase the courage of this axis of evil. Protection of Bahai institutions and the community at large should be the concern of each and every Bahai.

With loving Bahai greetings

Please forward it to different friends

“Let us recall His explicit and often-repeated assurances that every Assembly elected in that rarefied atmosphere of selflessness and detachment is, in truth, appointed of God, that its verdict is truly inspired, that one and all should submit to its decision unreservedly and with cheerfulness.”

(Shoghi Effendi)

Baha'i Population in Iran

by Ravian Bilani
25-Jun-2010

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".

Baha’i Population in Iran as claimed in the time of Abdul Baha

In case of the Baha’i population in Iran the Baha’is speak lies which puts to shame any lover of justice. Sometimes they say one third of the Iranian population is Baha’i and sometimes they propagate that half of the Iranian population is Baha’i. To my utter surprise during my visit to India in 2002, a Baha’i convert informed me that the whole of Iran has accepted the Baha’i Faith. I politely told him that the Baha’is have made a fool out of him .There are not more than 20,000 Baha’is.

Even the Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians of Iran are not being sparred from this onslaught of lie for which the Baha’is claim that all of them have accepted the Baha’i Faith.

Here are the Excerpts from the writing of Edward Brown,

  1. Ibrahim George Kheiralla says: "Abdul Karim, 1896, assured me that the believers in Baha were fifty millions. I wrote to Syria to ask. Sayid Mohammed, secretary of Abbas Effendi, said that the number was fifty-five million souls." Kheiralla afterwards denounces it as a gross deceit.
  2. As to Persia, they place the proportion at one-third or one-half. Dreyfus writes, "Probably half the population of Persia is Baha’i." Incidentally the Baha’is claim that there are 3,000,000 (three million) Baha’is in Iran.
  3. The majority of Zoroastrians are recognized as Baha’is. On the contrary Professor Browne writes: "I had been informed that Zoroastrians were accepting Baha’ism. However after much discussion with the Zoroastrians of Yezd and Kerman for the space of three and a half months, I came to the conclusion that few, if any, had adopted the Baha’i creed." In India the proportion of Parsee-Baha’is is very small.
  4. As to Jews, Remey says: "In Hamadan there is a large Israelites following of Baha." A census made by a European Jew showed exactly 59 parents and with their children. 194 persons out of a population of 6,000 Jews. As to the United States, I give some particulars in the closing chapter. ." The inference is plain that no native of Israel had become Baha’i through sixty years of contact with Baha and his seventy followers.
  5. Abdul Baha gave the impression that many of the Christians of Persia are converts to Baha. Dr. J. H. Shedd wrote in 1894, "I have heard of no case of a Christian conversion to Baha’ism." Dr. G. W. Holmes wrote, 1903, "I do not know of a single Christian in Persia, who has been converted to Baha’ism. Some Baha’is who made a profession of Christianity turned back to Baha." Rev. J. W. Hawkes declares that in his observation none of the members of the Syrian (Nestorian) or Armenian churches in Persia have become Baha’is. I have known of one Armenian family in Resht and two men in Maraga, one of whom was a notorious, who kept up his opium using as before.

Population in Iran as claimed at the time of UHJ

From 3,00,000 to 4,61,351 followers. The percentage varies from 0.69 to 2%. This is unimaginable lie. The Encyclopedia Britannica and Encyclopedia of Christians have conveyed that the Baha’is have told them. The reporters are none other than Douglas Martin (former member of House of Justice) and Simeon Kohlman Rabbani (a Baha’i), who gave the information to World Christian Encyclopedia is a Baha’i.

There is one silver lining in the Baha’i census of Iran. It exposes the falsehood. Abdul Baha, leader of the faith (of lies), claimed fifty five millions at his time. UHJ is now claiming only 3,00,000 !!!

Presented below are certain eye-openers !!!

No. Year Population % Reference

1 1984 300,000 Ref: Hatcher, William S. & J. Douglas Martin. The Baha'i Faith: The Emerging Global Religion. San Francisco, CA: Harper & Row (1984); pg. 181.

2 1990 410,000 “Data transcribed by Simeon Kohlman Rabbani”
Ref: Barrett, David B. World Christian Encyclopedia (2001)

3 2001 463,151 (0.69%) Data transcribed by Simeon Kohlman Rabbani.
Ref: Barrett, David B. World Christian Encyclopedia (2001)

Present Baha’i Population of Iran

The actual number of Baha’is in Iran is not more than 30,000. That should not make anyone who is a Baha'i very depressed. The Baha’is should know that exaggerating Baha’i census was the policy of Abdul Baha, Shoghi Effendi and now House of Justice.

What the Universal House of Justice should know, is that by making false claim of number of Baha’is or by parroting Anna’s presentation, no one will ever change his/her Faith. They can organize reflection meetings, deceptive children classes, launch fake Intensive program of Growth have useless cluster growth meetings - the Baha’i population will not grow. The Baha’i population will not grow by sending young Iranian Baha’i girls outside Iran for propagation of Baha’i Faith.

Baha’ism is now a failed attempt, a misfired plot to portray a man made religion to be counted amongst major religions of the world. Baha’ism is dying in its infacy. It will never see the light of the day.

http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/ravian-bilani/baha-i-population-iran

Baha’i population now stands at 6 millions minus 2.2 millions

It is indeed a notable act that the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of India deleted the figure “2.2 million Baha’is” from Official website of the Baha’is of India. But it is equally regretted that the actual number of Baha’is which is 11,324 was not put on instead to give the exact number of Baha’is to its viewers and as amark of respect for the dedicated census officials of India who wentdoor to door for carrying out such a huge census.

Well it is hoped that the NSA of India will bring some more corrections like the number of localities which they still insist on being more than 10,000. It is very clear that if there are only 11,324 bahais than how their can be 10,000 localities?

The number of Local Spiritual Assemblies also have been changed from 700 to 600, again in Baha’i Administration official census it 500. It looks like a hundred assembly doesn’t matter much to the NSA. The NSA is well aware that there are not more than 20 LSAs.

Now the Baha’i Administration should not expect that the Government of India will carry out a separate census for the Localities of Baha’is and the number of LSAs in India, so that again they may do that correction.

It should be made clear to the Baha’i officials that the official sites are for providing true and exact information to its loggers and at any point of time it should not be false and misleading.

Ravi kumar
talk.religion.bahai

Hossein Danesh is Back : By Baquia

... The Baha’i Faith has its own, albeit small, share of these sort of public scandals. In the 1990’s Dr. Hossein Danesh, a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada (and a long time secretary of the body – from 1985 to 1989) gave up the right to practice psychiatry as a result of charges of sexual abuse brought forward by a handful of his former patients.

Far from being sanctioned and sent away in shameful seclusion he was soon given a plum job at the new Baha’i Landegg university in Switzerland. He then proceeded to run that institution into the ground. The university closed its doors in 2005.

Recently Danesh’s “old boy” network connections at the NSA got him a heavily promoted gig in Canada. With the full backing of the national Baha’i institution, he conducted a $50/person seminar on “Healthy Marriage and Family Life”. Here is a promotional flyer for one of the many planned seminars:



They key element in this is to ask whether Danesh would be able to slink back to Canada and receive such a warm welcome had he not been a long-standing member of the NSA. Would the NSA have gone out of its way to promote the workshop of a regular Baha’i who had a checkered past?

The other question is why other Baha’is who are infinitely more qualified in this field and have a stainless reputation are not being given the same platform? The only distinction is the personal connections that Danesh made through his many years of membership on the NSA. This is what leaves a bitter taste in my mouth. Rather than being loyal to virtues and principles, the NSA has betrayed itself as being loyal to personal connections.

There was another scandal a few years ago involving a young Baha’i in the developing world who alleged that she was being sexually abused by her father. It turned out that her father was a member of the country’s NSA (and its chairperson). Instead of considering her physical and mental health as the highest priority, the institutions instead focused on how to mitigate any fallout this might have on the Baha’i administration and the image and reputation of the same....

Comments can be made on the blog of Baquia
http://bahairants.com/lessons-of-the-catholic-church-sex-abuse-scandal-460.html

Baha'i sexual abuser Hossein Danesh is back, with the blessings of his NSA



I'm sure most here remember Hossein Danesh, the disgraced Canadian NSA member from a few years back. Now that Landegg is no more, he's back with the full support of the Canadian NSA:

http://bahairants.com/lessons-of-the-catholic-church-sex-abuse-scandal-460.html

As you can see in the poster, Danesh is referred to as Dr. and as a psychiatrist. This is completely untrue. He gave up the right to practice psychiatry and was stripped of that rank by the governing body of that profession as part of his settlement. He was accused of sexual abuse not by one patient, not by two but by three patients.

To shield him, the Baha'i administration moved him away from Canada where his reputation was in tatters to the lakeside resort in Switzerland called Landegg Academy to be the grand-poobah there with a paid salary. Now with about 15 years having gone by and people's memories faded, he returns and is presented thusly:

"Dr. Danesh was an Associate Professor of psychiatry at the University of Ottawa, establishing and directing the Marriage Therapy Centre. He is an author, international lecturer and consultant, with more than 35 years of academic and clinical experience as a phsychiatrist and peace educator. He is also a former member of the National Spiritual Assembly."

If someone is going to give a seminar on weight loss, you would balk if they waddled onto the stage, wheezing from the exertion of having to cart their massively obese form around. I think it is as ludicrous to have a man who was disgraced and thrown out of his profession for sexual misconduct to give a seminar on relationships.

Especially when the Baha'i community has no shortage of excellent and impeccable professionals that have the same or better academic qualifications. Why is Danesh given the star treatment? why are seminars arranged for him? why are the seminars promoted heavily by the NSA in Baha'i communities through the national Baha'i publication and through LSA notices? why is the truth about his past hidden? why is he referred to as "Dr." and a "psychiatrist" when he does not have the right to use those titles by law?

Why indeed. The answer is as clear as it is unpalatable.

Larry Rowe

World Baha'i Statistics

by Ravian Bilani
20-Apr-2010

Recently two articles posted on net effectively analyzed exaggerated Baha’i census. One “Exit by troops”
(http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/bigquestions/troopsex...) and the other “Three types of Baha’i census of India”. (http://bahaicensusindia.blogspot.com/)

The first article is a very moderate view of the author, whereas the second article “The Three Type of Baha’i census of India” is much deeper analysis supported by documents authenticated by figures.

The common point in the two analyzations is the fact that one reason for this huge discrepancy in Baha’i census is that, no one is ever removed from the membership rolls unless they write a letter to the National Center renouncing their belief. So a person who becomes disillusioned and simply drifts away can remain on the rolls indefinitely. Once a Baha’i then always a Baha’i even after his death.

There is another opinion by Mr. Larry Rowe who believes that “The gross exaggeration of world Baha'i membership numbers is meant to placate all those who have been promised entry by troops for the past 80 years. The gross exaggeration of the number of actual Baha'is in India goes hand in hand with the inclusion of tens of thousands of people who signed declaration cards in North America in the past 20 to 40 years and that was it; they never truly became Baha'is they simply put their name on a card like you would on a Zellers card and never followed it up. Also the many others who signed declaration cards but who have become inactive and no long believe in the Baha'i faith or have actually joined other religious communities but have never taken the time to resign and have been addressing unknown for many years.”

Well I feel that the real cause for such a huge exaggeration in Baha’i census is much deeper and that is ‘well planned strategy of Baha’i administration centered at Haifa to show to the world high acceptability and success so as to claim that Baha’i Faith is one of the major religions of the world. It can be considered as the thirteen unwritten principle of Haifa based organization. All the counselors, ABMs assistant and members of LSAs are trained to work towards achieving this goal. The one who is more expert in this exaggeration is promoted much higher in the Baha’i Organization.

The Ruhi book courses are just to collect the addresses and to claim these are Baha’is. False stories are fabricated that the whole world is just dying for doing Ruhi books and to be converted. Whereas the fact is that many countries have deported Baha’is for proselytizing children and Junior youths as young as fifteen years and in many countries the Priests have warned the baha’is not to do any moral classes with Christian children, they may do it only for Baha’i children.

There is virtually no Baha'is in continental Europe. Very few in Holland, similar in Spain, Germany and France, fewer in Italy. From a demographic point of view this may as well be "zero."

The Baha’is claim to be about 5,000 in the UK but who knows what that means, and it is not a lot anyway. Likewise the CIS countries have very few Baha'is. Almost none in China. So, with Europe, Eurasia and China out of the way, where are they?

There are 60,000 adult Baha'is with good addresses in the US, 12,500 in Canada. These are addresses only! It means the aim of Ruhi Books courses are implemented very successfully. Actually they are not more than 500 in US and same number in Canada

The Middle East is likewise very small. Mostly Persians who married deceitfully Arab women’s without giving their Baha’i identity and then claiming their Baha’i children as citizen of that country.

There are 2,000 at most in the Arab world mostly Iranian pioneers. There are less than 30,000 registered Baha’is in Iran. Maybe 200, mostly Iranian refugees, in Turkey.

Not more than 1500 in Pakistan (mainly former Hindus, mainly rural peasants). About 500 in Bangladesh.

There are 300 in Thailand. There were 400 in Vietnam before the revolution, but few are likely to remain. There are very few, then, in all of Southeast Asia. There are only a few hundred in Japan, and a similar number in Korea. East Asia is a wash.

All that is really left is Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and India. 2.2 millions are claimed in India but the official census of Government of India say the exact number of Baha'is are only 11,324. Indians like to 'join' things, but go on being Hindus.

The claim of millions of Baha'is in Latin America is also fake. Mexico appears to have almost none. Columbia and Bolivia may have few hundreds each, to my recollection, but that is not the same as millions.

The biggest community was Uganda. But it has been greatly disrupted in the last 2 decades by war and dictatorship, and one doesn't know how many are left.

The Baha’i movement contains no potential for growth. It has only vertical potential of growth in terms of different sects originating in small time of 160 years. (www.sectsofbahais.com). The 7 million reported to Encyclopedia Britannica by someone in Wilmette or Haifa is.... wish-fulfillment rather than a solid social science statistic. This high exaggeration also points towards a high level of frustration which is developing amongst members of Haifa based organization. At any point of time the Baha’i population in the World is not more than hundred thousand (0.1 million).

Baha’i Faith is essentially Persian dominated organization. It is no where near Christianity. It is not the fastest growing religion, it is not the most widespread religion after Christianity. Yes it may be the most comfortable religion, well then that is not a religion.

http://www.iranian.com/main/blog/ravian-bilani/world-bahai-statistics

Advice for Indian Baha'is

Some advices for Indian Baha'is to be elected on Baha'i Institutions

1) Speak in English even if there is nobody to understand.

2) Greet everybody with a loud Allah'u'abha showing by mistakenly you have been born outside Iran, otherwise you were a Persian before Baha'u'llah declared.

3) Never go on the stage for prayers or reading Holy writings. Leave these things for old persons and persons without capacity. Well if you can memorise any prayers in Persian than nothing like it.

4) If there is a mention of Mona shed some crocodile tears and show you are pained more than the mother of Mona. In short you should have a course in acting, for that "PERSIAN ACADEMY, AT PANCHGANI" is the best institution.

5) Give some feast in NDF and while auction is going on see that your pocket gets emptied.

6) When you see a Baha'i, before he says anything to you, say to him "GO TEACHING, GO TEACHING".

7) Take a fake degree in homeopathic from different sources available in India and then call yourself as Doctor.

8) Always give the indication that "House of Justice" is Infallible. Use always words like Blessed House of Justice, Noble House of Justice. "Beloved" must be repeated so many times that you never use for your own wife and children.

9) Never try to mess up with the NSA, always keep on appreciating it, even if it's members are involved in full fledged corruption, impersonification of delegates, campaigning, ostentations and shamefully indulge in propagation for himself or herself.

10) The moment you see any anti-baha'i activity, be first to call it Covenant breaker activities or activities of enemies of Faith. This will show you as a very faithful Baha'i. Even if you do not know that whether the Kitab-i-Aqdas is written by Baha'u'llah or Abdul Baha.

BY
THE FORMER MEMBERS OF NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY OF BAHA'IS OF INDIA.

http://groups.google.com/group/talk.religion.bahai/browse_thread/thread/efdfa09467cac5f1#

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