The Báb was a merchant who began preaching in 1844 that he was the bearer of a new revelation from God, but was rejected by the generality of Islamic clergy in Iran, ending in his public execution for the crime of heresy.
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death in 1921 marks the end of what Baháʼís call the "heroic age" of the religion. ===The Báb=== On the evening of 22 May 1844, Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad of Shiraz gained his first convert and took on the title of "the Báb" (الباب "the Gate"), referring to his later claim to the status of Mahdi of Shiʻa Islam.
The Báb himself was imprisoned and eventually executed in 1850. Baháʼís see the Báb as the forerunner of the Baháʼí Faith, because the Báb's writings introduced the concept of "He whom God shall make manifest", a Messianic figure whose coming, according to Baháʼís, was announced in the scriptures of all of the world's great religions, and whom Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, claimed to be.
Bábís faced a period of persecution that peaked in 1852–53 after a few individual Bábis made a failed attempt to assassinate the Shah.
In 1863, at the time of his removal from Baghdad, Baháʼu'lláh first announced his claim of prophethood to his family and followers, which he said came to him years earlier while in a dungeon of Tehran.
After receiving chastising letters from Baháʼu'lláh, Ottoman authorities turned against him and put him under house arrest in Adrianople (now Edirne), where he remained for four years, until a royal decree of 1868 banished all Bábís to either Cyprus or ʻAkká. It was in or near the Ottoman penal colony of ʻAkká, in present-day Israel, that Baháʼu'lláh spent the remainder of his life.
He died there in 1892.
In one case in Yazd in 1903 more than 100 Baháʼís were killed.
It was first translated into English in 1906, becoming one of the earliest available books of Baháʼu'lláh to the West.
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá had shared his father's long exile and imprisonment, which continued until ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's own release as a result of the Young Turk Revolution in 1908.
They are derived from transcripts of speeches given by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá during his tour of Europe and North America in 1912.
National identity card applications in Iran no longer include the “other religions” option effectively making the Baha'i Faith unrecognized by the state. ===Egypt=== During the 1920s Egypt's religious Tribunal recognized the Baha'i Faith as a new, independent religion, totally separate from Islam, due to the nature of the 'laws, principles and beliefs' of the Baha'is.
After ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death in 1921, leadership of the religion fell to his grandson Shoghi Effendi (1897–1957).
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death in 1921 marks the end of what Baháʼís call the "heroic age" of the religion. ===The Báb=== On the evening of 22 May 1844, Siyyid ʻAlí-Muhammad of Shiraz gained his first convert and took on the title of "the Báb" (الباب "the Gate"), referring to his later claim to the status of Mahdi of Shiʻa Islam.
Baháʼí schools, such as the Tarbiyat boys' and girls' schools in Tehran, were closed in the 1930s and 1940s, Baháʼí marriages were not recognized and Baháʼí texts were censored. During the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to divert attention from economic difficulties in Iran and from a growing nationalist movement, a campaign of persecution against the Baháʼís was instituted.
He unexpectedly died after a brief illness on 4 November 1957, in London, England, under conditions that did not allow for a successor to be appointed. In 1937, Shoghi Effendi launched a seven-year plan for the Baháʼís of North America, followed by another in 1946.
Baháʼí schools, such as the Tarbiyat boys' and girls' schools in Tehran, were closed in the 1930s and 1940s, Baháʼí marriages were not recognized and Baháʼí texts were censored. During the reign of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, to divert attention from economic difficulties in Iran and from a growing nationalist movement, a campaign of persecution against the Baháʼís was instituted.
He unexpectedly died after a brief illness on 4 November 1957, in London, England, under conditions that did not allow for a successor to be appointed. In 1937, Shoghi Effendi launched a seven-year plan for the Baháʼís of North America, followed by another in 1946.
In 1953, he launched the first international plan, the Ten Year World Crusade.
An approved and coordinated anti-Baháʼí campaign (to incite public passion against the Baháʼís) started in 1955 and it included the spreading of anti-Baháʼí propaganda on national radio stations and in official newspapers.
He unexpectedly died after a brief illness on 4 November 1957, in London, England, under conditions that did not allow for a successor to be appointed. In 1937, Shoghi Effendi launched a seven-year plan for the Baháʼís of North America, followed by another in 1946.
At the same time the Tribunal condemned "in most unequivocal and emphatic language the followers of Baha'u'llah as the believers in heresy, offensive and injurious to Islam, and wholly incompatible with the accepted doctrines and practice of its orthodox adherents." Baháʼí institutions and community activities have been illegal under Egyptian law since 1960.
He announced in letters during the Ten Year Crusade that it would be followed by other plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice, which was elected in 1963 at the culmination of the Crusade.
The House of Justice then launched a nine-year plan in 1964, and a series of subsequent multi-year plans of varying length and goals followed, guiding the direction of the international Baháʼí community. ===Universal House of Justice=== Since 1963, the Universal House of Justice has been the elected head of the Baháʼí Faith.
The House of Justice then launched a nine-year plan in 1964, and a series of subsequent multi-year plans of varying length and goals followed, guiding the direction of the international Baháʼí community. ===Universal House of Justice=== Since 1963, the Universal House of Justice has been the elected head of the Baháʼí Faith.
These functions include teaching and education, implementing Baháʼí laws, addressing social issues, and caring for the weak and the poor. The House of Justice directs the work of the Baháʼí community through a series of multi-year international plans that began with a nine-year plan in 1964.
In the late 1970s the Shah's regime consistently lost legitimacy due to criticism that it was pro-Western.
The most severe persecutions have occurred in Iran, where more than 200 Baháʼís were executed between 1978 and 1998.
Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Baháʼí socio-economic development projects.
Baháʼís were portrayed as economic threats, and as supporters of Israel and the West, and societal hostility against the Baháʼís increased. Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979 Iranian Baháʼís have regularly had their homes ransacked or have been banned from attending university or from holding government jobs, and several hundred have received prison sentences for their religious beliefs, most recently for participating in study circles.
Any male Baháʼí, 21 years or older, is eligible to be elected to the Universal House of Justice; all other positions are open to male and female Baháʼís. ==Demographics== A Baháʼí-published document reported 4.74 million Baháʼís in 1986 growing at an annual rate of 4.4%.
By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. Current initiatives of social action include activities in areas like health, sanitation, education, gender equality, arts and media, agriculture, and the environment.
Baháʼí sources since 1991 usually estimate the worldwide Baháʼí population to be above 5 million.
The most severe persecutions have occurred in Iran, where more than 200 Baháʼís were executed between 1978 and 1998.
The World Christian Encyclopedia estimated 7.1 million Baháʼís in the world in 2000, representing 218 countries, and 7.3 million in 2010 with the same source.
In the 2000 Millennium Forum of the United Nations a Baháʼí was invited as the only non-governmental speaker during the summit. ==Persecution== Baháʼís continue to be persecuted in some majority-Islamic countries, whose leaders do not recognize the Baháʼí Faith as an independent religion, but rather as apostasy from Islam.
The years from 2001 until 2021 represent four successive five-year plans, culminating in the centennial anniversary of the passing of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.
The United Nations Commission on Human Rights revealed an October 2005 confidential letter from Command Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Iran ordering its members to identify Baháʼís and to monitor their activities.
Due to these actions, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights stated on 20 March 2006, that she "also expresses concern that the information gained as a result of such monitoring will be used as a basis for the increased persecution of, and discrimination against, members of the Baháʼí faith, in violation of international standards.
The Special Rapporteur is concerned that this latest development indicates that the situation with regard to religious minorities in Iran is, in fact, deteriorating." On 14 May 2008, members of an informal body known as the "Friends" that oversaw the needs of the Baháʼí community in Iran were arrested and taken to Evin prison.
On 3 January 2010, Iranian authorities detained ten more members of the Baha'i minority, reportedly including Leva Khanjani, granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of seven Baha'i leaders jailed since 2008 and in February, they arrested his son, Niki Khanjani. The Iranian government claims that the Baháʼí Faith is not a religion, but is instead a political organization, and hence refuses to recognize it as a minority religion.
Following a protracted legal process culminating in a court ruling favorable to the Baháʼís, the interior minister of Egypt released a decree on 14 April 2009, amending the law to allow Egyptians who are not Muslim, Christian, or Jewish to obtain identification documents that list a dash in place of one of the three recognized religions.
The first identification cards were issued to two Baháʼís under the new decree on 8 August 2009. ==See also== Baháʼí Faith in fiction Criticism of the Baháʼí Faith List of Baháʼís List of former Baháʼís Baháʼí Faith by country Terraces (Baháʼí), the Hanging Gardens of Haifa ==Notes== ==Citations== ==References== ===Books=== ===Encyclopedias=== Britannica * * * Iranica * * * * ===Journals=== ===News media=== ===Other=== ==Further reading== Bahá'í International Community (2017).
The World Christian Encyclopedia estimated 7.1 million Baháʼís in the world in 2000, representing 218 countries, and 7.3 million in 2010 with the same source.
According to Britannica, the Baháʼí Faith (as of 2010) is established in 221 countries and territories and has an estimated seven million adherents worldwide.
The Friends court case has been postponed several times, but was finally underway on 12 January 2010.
Further sessions were held on 7 February 2010, 12 April 2010 and 12 June 2010.
On 11 August 2010 it became known that the court sentence was 20 years imprisonment for each of the seven prisoners which was later reduced to ten years.
On 3 January 2010, Iranian authorities detained ten more members of the Baha'i minority, reportedly including Leva Khanjani, granddaughter of Jamaloddin Khanjani, one of seven Baha'i leaders jailed since 2008 and in February, they arrested his son, Niki Khanjani. The Iranian government claims that the Baháʼí Faith is not a religion, but is instead a political organization, and hence refuses to recognize it as a minority religion.
In March 2011 the sentences were reinstated to the original 20 years.
By 2017 there were an estimated 40,000 small scale projects, 1,400 sustained projects, and 135 Baháʼí inspired organizations. ===United Nations=== Baháʼu'lláh wrote of the need for world government in this age of humanity's collective life.
Worldwide, as of 2018, ten Baháʼí Houses of Worship, including eight Mother Temples and two local Houses of Worship have been built and a further five are planned for construction.
The House of the Báb in Shiraz, one of three sites to which Baháʼís perform pilgrimage, has been destroyed twice. In May 2018, the Iranian authorities expelled a young woman student from university of Isfahan because she was Baháʼí.
In March 2018, two more Baháʼí students were expelled from universities in the cities of Zanjan and Gilan because of their religion. According to a US panel, attacks on Baháʼís in Iran increased under Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's presidency.
In fact it was the Iranian leader Naser al-Din Shah Qajar who banished Baháʼu'lláh from Iran to the Ottoman Empire and Baháʼu'lláh was later exiled by the Ottoman Sultan, at the behest of the Iranian Shah, to territories further away from Iran and finally to Acre in Syria, which only a century later was incorporated into the state of Israel. In 2019, the Iranian government made it impossible for the Baha’is to legally register with the Iranian state.
The years from 2001 until 2021 represent four successive five-year plans, culminating in the centennial anniversary of the passing of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.
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