From the early days of the Baha’i Faith, the rigid-minded ecclesiastical order in Iran has attacked the community about the evolutionary character of the Bab’s claims. [The Bab was founder of Babi Faith and a central figure in the Baha’i Faith.] And since the coming to power of the Islamic regime some 30 years ago, a whole cottage industry has developed to write attacks against the Faith – a well-financed industry supported by the central government with people’s taxes and oil revenue (see http://www.bahaiawareness.com/bab04.html for one such example).
Recently, one of the staff of Iran Press Watch had an opportunity to address this issue. We enclose a copy for the benefit of those interested in an exploration of this theme.
Download: The Claims of the Bab (PDF)
April 24, 2009 12:28 pm
Thank you IPW and Mr. Rabbani for the posting of this excellent PDF.
Only the most deluded of mindsets could at this place in time work so malignantly against the facts of history . . . all that The Bab foretold has come to pass. His followers encircle the globe.
As world society careens toward economic and environment crisis, itis more than timely to readdress the spiritual underpinnings of human existence so that lasting solutions can be proposed and enacted for the betterment of all.
April 24, 2009 3:36 pm
Goood, it’s good to see Baha’is addressing the organized attacks and criticisms of http://www.bahaiawareness.com, this website is the most prominent anti bahai website and has very powerful articles attacking the history of the Faith, its figures, and its history. Baha’is need to arrise and address these issues raised by bahaiawareness among others.
April 24, 2009 4:16 pm
Slander is a sign of those who disbelieve in God. Wouldn’t the best approach to this patently false website be . . . .to ignore it?
The Baha’i Faith has enemies, this we know.
The Teachings of the Baha’i Faith call us to the kind of actions that effectively cancel out the hostile words of those who are threatened by the success of this peace-loving Faith.
Fortunately, The Baha’i Faith has many friends, evidenced by the massive support issued in defense of the Baha’i prisoners of Iran formerly known as the Yaran, including:
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The U.S. Congress and U. S. State Department
The President of the Human Rights Commission of Brazil
The Canadian Parliment
The European Union
Austrialian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
German Chancellor Angela Merkel
Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Kurdish Journalists
Amnesty International
Human Rights Watch
The Institute for Religion and Public Policy, USA
Freedom House, USA
Simon Wiesenthal Center
Sharin Ebadi
Hundreds of Expatriate Iranian Scholars
Truth shines . . .freedom is a universal cause, whereas confabulated lies have no light, no lasting power.
April 24, 2009 4:35 pm
Dear “sb”,
You wrote: “Slander is a sign of those who disbelieve in God. Wouldn’t the best approach to this patently false website be . . . .to ignore it?”
While I don’t understand your comment, “Slander is a sign of those who disbelieve in God”, I for one strongly believe ignoring anti-Baha’is sites is a serious mistake. History has taught us that when a lie is repeated enough times, it is accepted as truth. The very reason we started this project, namely, IPW, is to deal with lies and misinformation coming out of Iran. Not only we won’t ignore them, we intend to confront them head on in every instant.
April 24, 2009 9:24 pm
Dr. Ahang Rabbani is correct. Baha’u’llah and Abd’ul Baha themselves in so many different ways have said that with words and reason, one must refute what is false, and defend the truth, and the Baha’i faith.
The book “Proofs and Miracles” by Mirza Ab’ul Fada’il was itself written as a work of apologetics. More recently, the famous “Making the Crooked Straight,” by Schaefer, Gollmer and Towfiq, is another. Incidentally, in the latter book, the introduction spends some time describing what happened when the slander and outrageous lies of one person alone in Germany were not countered by the Baha’is, with negative consequences for the Baha’i faith in Germany for some time.
April 24, 2009 11:30 pm
Mr Ahang, Your website is mightier than all the mollahs’ swords and sites combined. Keep on confronting and exposing them!
April 26, 2009 1:11 pm
I agree a response is necessary – but it has to be a virtuous response. Simply falling into character assassination isn’t the kind of response we can be proud of (not that anyone has perse, just making a point.) Bringing to light the nobel, wherever it is to be found, is the goal we should be striving for. For the uniformed or immature to engage in dispute and confusion is not what any of us want. To become aware of the truth, to learn the history and sacrifices others have made, to learn of the choices and methods of the Prophets, these are among the praiseworthy efforts. Facing accusations with honesty and sincerity, without becoming bogged down in simple opposition, and not diverting energy from continuing the progress of the enervation of the community, the raising of awareness in the general population of our hopes and ideals and contributions to the general welfare, and the refutation of what is vain and false are all part of what we must be about. Let those that wish to speak out learn first, and gain that rectitude of conduct that will contribute sincerity and refinement to their argument. We will only have more need of these virtues in coming days and years.