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Battle Of Baha'is

2008-01-30T21:40:04Z

Like any other Faith where division amongst their followers is natural, Bahai Faith is no exception to it. How much the Bahai leaders may� claim that there is no division amongst Bahais the fact is that Baha�i Faith does have different denominations all calling them as the TRUE Faith . The fact is that in the small span of 160 years Bahai Faith has seen more divisions than any other religion.

Here is a brief treatise on the history of the division in the� Bahai Faith - right from its inception, the Bab, Subhe' Azal, Bahaullah, Abbas Effendi, Shoghi Effendi� and finally till the present day Universal House of Justice.

The Division amongst the Followers of The Bab

The founder of Baha�I Faith� Mirza Ali Mohammed Shirazi known as Bab, was a disciple of Sayed Kazim Rashti the leader of the Shaikhiya sect.

When Sayed Kazim Rashti died in 1844, Four of his discipiles claimed to be the successor of Sayed Kazim Rashti

1-Mirza Ali Mohammed Shirazi

2-Haji Mohammed Karim Khan

3-Shafee Tabrizi

4-Mirza Tahir Haqaq-e-Ishfahani

On the 23rd of May Mirza Ali Mohammed Shirazi� announced that he was "The Bab" (the Gate) .The first to accept his claim of Babhood was Mulla Hussain Bushroee whom Bab gave the title of Bab-ul-Bab (The gate of the Gate) and "Awwalo Man Amana" (the first to believe). Within a short time Mirza Ali Mohammed gathered 18 followers around himself. He gave them the title of "Huruf-e-Hayy" (The Letters of Life) and sent them to different areas of Iran for propagation while he himself went to Mecca for Hajj. In Mecca, according to one report, he claimed to be "The Mahdi" (The guided one).

Bayanis (Azalis) and Bahai�s

In his lifetime Mirza Ali Mohammed had appointed Mirza Yahya, the son of Mirza Buzurg, and the stepbrother of Mirza Husain Ali as his successor. The same Mirza Husain Ali later came to be known as "Bahaullah." Mirza Ali Mohammed Shirazi (The Bab) had given Mirza Yahya the title of "Subhe' Azal" (Everlasting Dawn). He also gave his ring, his personal effects and also the authority to explain and comment on his (Mirza Ali Mohammed Bab's) writings.

While in exile in constantinopole where Bahaullah stayed� for 4 years and it was from there that he announced that he was the real and true successor of Mirza Ali Mohammed Bab (And not his step brother Mirza Yahya Subh-e-Azal)� and also that Allah, the Most High, had given him a more honored and lofty position than his predecessor.

Despite Mirza Ali Mohammed's clear announcement of the appointment of Mirza Yahya as his successor, a few others also rose up with claims of successorship after his death. Amongst them was a Bahai from Tabriz, Mirza Abdullah, who was thrown in the Arabian rivers by some Bahais on the orders of Mirza Husain Ali. Likewise an Indian Bahai, Aga Bashir Mohammed had also forwarded his claim but he did not receive any response.

Subh-e-Azal along with most of the 18 special companions of Mirza Ali Mohammed Bab severely opposed this claim of Mirza Husain Ali and came to Constantinople to bring back Mirza Husain Ali to the right path. Thus a severe discord broke out amongst the Bahais themselves and they began to kill each other openly. Finally, Mirza Yahya went into a recluse and Mirza Husain Ali became the sovereign leader of Bahais.�

In view of such serious circumstances, the Ottoman government intervened and sent Subh-e-Azal along with his family to Cyprus and Mirza Husain Ali with his family to Palestine. The Bahais thus got divided into two distinct groups, the followers of Subh-e-Azal came to be known as "Azalis" (The Bayanis) and the followers of Mirza Husain Ali became famous as "Baha�is."

Division amongst the followers of Baha�u�llah

The Second major division arose amongst the Followers of Baha'u'llah was after his death. Mirza Husain Ali (Bahaullah) expired in May 1892 leaving behind 4 sons and 3 daughters. A severe dispute of successorship erupted among the brothers. The eldest, Abbas Effendi claimed to be the rightful successor in view of the continuation of divine inspirations. However, his brothers Mirza Mohammed Ali, Mirza Badiullah and Mirza Ziaullah and many other Bahais countered that the Divine inspiration ended since "Baha�u�llah" had himself written in "Al Aqdas" that anyone who claims thus (Divine inspiration) before the completion of 1,000 years of Bahaism, indeed was a liar and that this claim was false. Nevertheless Abbas Effendi was able to tide over these problems very soon. He assumed the title of "Abdul Baha" and called his followers as Sabiteen (Steadfasters) and followers of his younger brother as Naqizeen (Covenant Breakers).

The followers of Mirza Mohammed Ali call themselves as Unitarian Bahais.

Division amongst the followers of Abdul Baha and Shoghi Effendi

One of the biggest controversies in Baha'i history was rapidly fading out of the memory of the mainstream Baha'i community. But thanks to the internet and its vast repository of free-flowing information and the Court case done by the Haifa-based Bahai Faith on two of its denomination, the Haifa-based Baha'i Faith will never be able to cover up what happened in 1957, despite their best efforts to ignore it and minimize its importance. In that year, Baha'ism lost what was supposed to be its unending chain of infallible spiritual authority when the first Guardian of the faith died without clearly designating any successor.

Baha'u'llah had appointed his son Abdu'l-Baha to succeed him as leader of the religion and inspired interpreter of Baha'i scriptures and teachings. Abdu'l-Baha continued this successorship by establishing a position called the Guardian of the Cause of God, to which he appointed his grandson Shoghi Effendi Rabbani in his will and commanded him to appoint his own successor during his lifetime.

Shoghi Effendi developed complex theories of a "world order of Baha'u'llah" and appointed two main institutions of Baha'i leadership, the International Baha'i Council and the Hands of the Cause.

When Shoghi Effendi� suddenly died, childless and without leaving any known will, a power struggle ensued. The Hands of the Cause, led by Shoghi Effendi's widow Ruhiyyih Khanum, asserted a claim to be some form of temporary collective Guardianship.

The Council President, Charles Mason Remey, claimed to be the second Guardian using arguments from the first Guardian's writings on Baha'i religious administration to support his case. The Hands used other arguments from Baha'i sacred texts to repudiate him, and they ended up convincing a majority of Baha'is in the world to follow their own claim of authority rather than Remey's.

In 1963 they established their Universal House of Justice (UHJ) as the international ruling body at the "Baha'i World Center" in Haifa, despite questions about whether this institution could be legitimately constituted without a Guardian as the head member.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of France, Pakistan, India and a couple of more countries followed the claim of Mason Remey to be the second Guardian. All its members were summarily excommunicated by UHJ. In Reaction Mason Remy ex communicated all the Hands of Cause calling the Wife of Shoghi Effendi as ARCH COVENANT BREAKER

A lot of Baha'is simply left the faith in disappointment, realizing that a major leadership dispute ruins the credibility of a religion that prides itself on unity and seeks to rule the world. Among those Baha'is who remained committed to their faith, a schism developed, and the minority of Baha'is who followed Remey and rejected the "Haifan" UHJ persist to this day.They have had limited success attracting new converts, though the advent of the internet has helped their efforts somewhat in recent years. They are commonly known as Guardianists,emphasizing their belief in the continuation of the living Guardianship as an essential part of Baha'i Faith. " Most of them currently follow Joel Bray Marangella, who claims to be the third Guardian. Some others follow Guardian-claimant Jacques Soghomonian instead.

The Haifan Baha'i Faith stigmatizes the Guardianist Baha'is as "Covenant-breakers" and demands that all members of their organization should shun them, Then there is a� pain of shunning if they refuse to shun. Haifan Baha'is can be severely punished just for reading Guardianist literature. Both the Haifans and the Guardianists believe that membership in their group is the only way to be a true Baha'i; both assert that their leaders are infallible, despite the lack of solid evidence from Baha'i scripture to support their claim; and both teach that one day the whole world should be governed by a Baha'i theocracy led by their particular organization, even though their own religion is not unified under one authority.

Some writings of Mason Remey:

a) Daily Observations Made to the Hands of the Faith in the Holy Land

b) Appeals to the Hands of the Faith

c) Announcement to the Hands of the Faith from the Second Guardian

d) Proclamation of Mason Remey to the Baha'is of the World

Joel Marangella runs the Orthodox Baha'i Faith. There are many interesting documents and materials on his website, Bahai-Guardian.com, as well as the site run by the National Baha'i Council of the United States, which leads the Orthodox Baha'is in America. To get a good sense of Orthodox Baha'i doctrine, check out these articles by Marangella:

a) Announcement to the Baha'i World

b) The Essentiality of the Guardianship to the World Order of Baha'u'llah

c) Multiple Failures of the Hands of the Cause after the Passing of Shoghi Effendi

d) If Only They Had Taken the Time

e) An Appeal to the Heterodox Baha'is

f) Proclamation of the Third Guardian. Marangella explains how he assumed this office.�

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Some Guardianist Baha'is believe that Donald Harvey was the person Remey really wanted to succeed him in the Guardianship. Both Marangella and Harvey received an appointment, but Marangella's came first, and he attempted to take over the Remeyite movement claiming that Remey was going senile in his old age and had abdicated his position. Remey later changed his mind and appointed Harvey, but by then Marangella had already consolidated his support and Harvey was unable to gain a significant following. Harvey appointed Jacques Soghomonian of France to be his successor, and Soghomonian is now trying to attract support with the help of Brent Reed, an American who has been excommunicated by both the mainstream Baha'i Faith and the Orthodox Baha'i Faith. Reed runs a discussion group to promote Soghomonian's claim, called Journey to the Heart of the Baha'i Faith. There are files posted there which explain Soghomonian's view that he is the fourth Guardian.

Regency Baha'is belong to an organization called the Tarbiyat Baha'i Community, which was founded by Rex King in 1973. King argued that Mason Remey was not a full-fledged Guardian because, according to the traditional interpretation of Baha'i law, only a hereditary descendent of Baha'u'llah can hold this office. Nevertheless, due to Remey's appointment as President of the International Baha'i Council, King understood Remey's position as that of a "Regent" who should have been obeyed as the legitimate leader of the Baha'is but who should never have gone so far as to claim the Guardianship. King announced himself as the second Regent, and he prophesied that sometime in the future a man descended from the bloodline of Baha'u'llah will arise and restore the Guardianship and usher in the golden age of the Baha'i world order. Regency Baha'is are now led by a Council of Regents appointed by King in his will. It looks that the Regency Baha'is to be somewhat more sensible than other Baha'i sects simply because they admit that there can neither be a Guardian nor a Universal House of Justice currently in existence which satisfies all the requirements for these scripturally defined institutions.

Dr. Leland Jensen is the founder of �Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant. Jensen declared that Pepe Remey (Mason's adopted son) was the Guardian, but Pepe denied this; finally telling Jensen's followers that Jensen was false, corrupt, and a liar. Some of Jensen's followers discovered these letters from Pepe Remey and then left Jensen and followed Jacques Soghomonian. Neal Chase, a firm disciple of Jensen, was in communication with Pepe Remey, and Pepe Remey (being an old man by this time) once referred to Chase as "my son" (or on several occassions). This made Chase to claim that Pepe was his spiritual father; just as 'Abdu'l-Baha was the spiritual father of Charles Remey, calling him "my son". So, while Pepe Remey said "I am NOT the Guardian of the Faith, Jacques Soghomonian is the Guardian", Neal Chase said, "Oh, well, of course Pepe Remey was the Guardian, and he called me 'son' so I'm his successor and the third Guardian of the Baha'i Faith". The current Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant have 5 "Communities"

Bahais who believe that Will and Testament of Abdul Baha is Fraudulent

The only currently existing Baha'i sect that is not based on disputes about the Guardianship or any new claim of spiritual authority is the Reform Bahai Faith, headed by prominent Baha'i Mr. Frederick Glaysher, They believe that the Will and Testament of Abdul Baha is a Fradulent document. This independent Baha'i denomination seeks to promote a more liberal, less authoritarian interpretation of the Baha'i faith. It rejects the absolute, infallible authority of any human institution, including the Universal House of Justice.They call early Bahais like Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Ruth White etc as Reform Bahais. Here are two important texts to read by Glaysher in support of his Baha'i sect:

95 Theses of the Reform Bahai Faith. Like Martin Luther's Ninety-five Theses that is seen as the symbolic beginning of the Christian Reformation, Frederick Glaysher makes his stand against the corruption of today's organized Baha'ism in this founding document of what he hopes to be a Baha'i reformation.

On Bahai Liberty

Free Baha�is, Bah�'�s who believe that Bah�'� authority ended with the passing of `Abdu'l-Bah�, and that the Covenant, as it has come to be known, is a doctrine that was not conceived by `Abdu'l-Bah�, but rather by the author of a fraudulent document.According to them the Will and Testament of Abdul Baha is a fraudulent document. They do not believe in Shoghi Effendi.

In addition to all these division there is another group of Bahais the followers of Jamshed Maani. This group is now being headed by John Carre and calls themselves as Essence of Bahai Faith. They believe in coming of the Third Manifestation after Bab and Bahaullah.

New History Society (Followers of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab)

M�rz� Aḥmad Sohr�b was secretary and interpreter to `Abdu'l-Bah� from 1912 to 1919. He co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York, as an indirect way of spreading the teachings of the Bah�'� Faith.He was excommunicated from the Bah�'� Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi.

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It looks like the� Baha'i denominations will succeed 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 done by the Haifa Based Baha�is on their two other denominations has further internationalize the issue of Guardianship. It looks like the balance is tilting more towards Guardianists. If current trends of infightining continue, it is possible that Baha'ism will suffer from more divisions. It has to be seen.�

Sects In Baha'i Faith

2008-01-31T19:31:37Z

1) Those who believe the true successor of The Bab is Mirza Yahya Subh-e-Azal and not Mirza Hussai Ali Noori (Bahaullah)

People of Bayan or Bayanis

2)Those who believe in the coming of the Third Manifestation after Bab and Baha�u�llah�

Essence Of The Baha'i Faith

3)Those who believe after Baha�u�llah, his younger son Mohammed Ali was his true successor

Unitarian Baha'is

4)Those who believe that Will and Testament of Abdul Baha is a fraudulent document doctored by Shoghi Effendi Rabbani�

Free Baha'is

Reform Baha'is

New History Society

5)Those who believe in continuation of Guardianship

Orthodox Baha'is (followers of Joel B. Marangella)

Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant (followers of Neal Chase)

Baha'is Loyal to the Guardian (followers of Jacques Soghomonian)

Tarbiyat Baha'is (followers of Rex King et al)

6)Those who believe that the Guardianship ended with Shoghi Effendi and at present UHJ is the true leader

Heterodox Baha'is

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People of Bayan or Bayanis

2008-02-01T22:29:31Z

Those who believe the true successor of The Bab is Mirza Yahya Subh-e-Azal and not Mirza Hussai Ali Noori (Bahaullah)

People of Bayan or Bayanis

Generally, historians have referred to those followers of the Primal Point, The Bab who rejected the claims of Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri and followed the Bab�s successor Mirza Yahya Nuri (entitled Subh-i Azal) as Azalis.

This naming was mainly used to make a distinction between what they called two factions of Babis (i.e. Azalis and Bahais).

It also suited the Bahai purpose, as it would hide away the relationship between Bayanis and the Bab. In fact this is how Bahais refer to Bayanis even though Aqdas (the Bahai principal book) uses same term that was used in Persian Bayan i.e. People of Bayan (or Bayanis).

The term Azali may also imply that Subh-i Azal had a claim of his own and that perhaps he was the author of new teachings which is incorrect. In essence, Bayanis need not be re-labelled. The term Bayani fully and uniquely identifies them and qualifies their belief. In summary, there is no such thing as Azali as all Azalis are Bayanis and all Bayanis are Azalis. They have very informative site and looks to be an organized sect.

Web Site:

http://www.bayanic.com

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Essence Of the Baha'i Faith

2008-02-02T13:07:40Z

Those Who believe In The Coming Of The Third Manifestation After Bab and Baha'u'llah

Essence Of the Baha'i Faith

They do not believe in the present UHJ . They believe that the existing UHJ is not in accord with the interpretations of Abdu'l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi but it is a creation of the Hands who did not have the authority they claimed.

Since Abdu'l-Baha is the Interpreter of the Word of God, His interpretation of what the UHJ should be is contained in His Will and Testament. Therein He states clearly that the UHJ intended by Baha'u'llah must have a Guardian as its head for life. Without a Guardian as its permanent head, this UHJ is obviously not the UHJ intended by Baha'u'llah if we accept Abdu'l-Baha as the Appointed Infallible Interpreter of the intent of the Word of God revealed through Baha'u'llah. To be a Baha'i one must accept the station of Abdu'l-Baha and His authority.

E-MAIL ID:-johncarre@yahoo.com�

Websites:

ERRONEOUS CLAIMS OF BAHA'I ORGANIZED GROUPS TODAY

Baha'i Organized Groups

ARTICLE ALIF OF THE GREATEST NAME (MIRROR SITES)

http://alif.resonance.org/

http://www.metavergence.com/john/

Article Alif Site

Manifestation coming soon (Site 1)

Manifestation coming soon (site 2)

COMPILATON OF COMMENTARIES (SAME INFO ON THESE TWO URLS)

Commentaries compiled (Site 1)

Commentaries compiled (Site 2)

INDEX OF THESE URLs w/BACKGROUND INFO

http://www.metavergence.com/john/

http://ca.geocities.com/johncarre/Johns_page.html

SPIRITUAL MEDITATIONS

Spiritual Meditations (Site 1)

Spiritual Meditations (Site 2)

THOUGHTS ABOUT A FUTURE CIVILIZATION (MIRROR SITES)

Future Civilization (Site 1)

Future Civilization (Site 2)

ABOUT A SPIRITUAL LIFE (QUOTATIONS FROM THE WRITINGS)

http://ca.geocities.com/johncarre/tariqat.html

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Unitarian Baha'is

2008-02-02T14:05:21Z

Those Who Believe After Baha'u'llah, His Younger Son Mohammed Ali was his True Successor

Unitarian Baha'is

Followers of `Abdu'l-Bah�'s brother, Mirza Muhammad `Al�, who was named by Bah�'u'll�h to be the leader of the Bah�'�s after `Abdu'l-Bah�'s passing, but was excommunicated by `Abdu'l-Bah�. There is little evidence that this is an organized group. All these sites are posted on the same web hosting service, and most of their material appears to come from a book of the orientalist E.G. Browne.

Websites :�

http://www.unitarianbahai.com/�

Abdu'l-Bah�: The Most Mighty Branch

http://ninetin.tripod.com/abah/abdulbaha.htm

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Presents E.G. Browne's account of the degradation of `Abdu'l-Bah� as leader of the Bah�'�s.

Abdul Baha, Baha'i Faith & E.D. Browne

http://members.tripod.com/%7Eninetin/BB2/index.htm

�

Presents E.G. Browne's account of the degradation of `Abdu'l-Bah� as leader of the Bah�'�s.

The Secret Activities of Abdul Baha

http://members.tripod.com/ninetin/abdulbaha/

Extracts from E.G. Browne's Materials For the Study of the Babi Religion.

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Free Baha'is

2008-02-02T14:06:26Z

Those who believe that will and Testament Of Abdul Baha is a Fraudent Document Doctored By Shoghi Effendi Rabbani

Free Baha'is

Bah�'�s who believe that Bah�'� authority ended with the passing of `Abdu'l-Bah�, and that the Covenant, as it has come to be known, is a doctrine that was not conceived by `Abdu'l-Bah�, but rather by the author of a fraudulent document

"There are no officers in this Cause. I do not and have not 'Appointed' anyone to perform any special service, but I encourage everyone to engage in the service of the Kingdom. The foundation of this Cause is pure spiritual democracy and not a theocracy. "Abdul Baha

A - ShaykAhmad-i-Asai and Siyyid Kazim-i-Rashti

B - The Bab:

C - Baha'u'llah:

D - Abdul-Baha:

E - Ruth White and Zimmer Hermann

COVENANT OF BAHAULLAH

The promised one of Bahaullah will appear after one thousand or thousands of years. This is the Covenant which Bahaullah made...in case of differences, Abdul Baha must be consulted.....After Abdul Baha whenever the Universal House of Justice is organised, it will ward of differences.

�Websites:

http://freebahais.com/freebahai.htm

�

Reform Baha'is

2008-02-03T19:43:02Z

Reform Baha'is

�To be a Bahai simply means to love all the world; to love humanity and try to serve it; to work for universal peace and universal brotherhood.� � Abdu'l-Baha

They claim to be the moderate, spiritual religion of Baha�u�llah and Abdu�l-Baha and clearly set a new course away from the fanatical and fundamentalist Islamist sect of the Haifans, based on their fraudulent will and testament, propagating a manipulative creed intended only to coerce the individual believer and subject him or her to the tyranny of an illegitimate and mutilated organization.

They take their teachings from Ruth White, Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Julie Chanler, etc.

The books and publications of White, Sohrab, and Chanler have kept this vision alive, while the Baha�i upheavals and conflicts of the last three decades have led many thousands of Baha�is to experience for themselves the depth and degree to which the Faith of Baha�u�llah has been traduced and desecrated by people who seek to use and exploit it for their own worldly benefit, power, glory, and material gain. This group of Bahais are led by Fredrick Glaysier.

Reform Baha�i Articles

The Divine Being has created a world of impermanence, evanescence, where nothing lasts forever, and all humanity is subjected to the vicissitudes of life, the fragility of health and constitution, the limits of human existence that He alone knows and sets. With an increasing sense of mortality, I feel it is incumbent upon me to set down, in writing, my own testimony of what I believe to be the truth about the Bahai Faith, having now been a member for over thirty years and having watched or participated in many struggles and debates and studied or watched those of many other souls in their search for truth and understanding.

Thinking of Martin Luther and John Wesley, I feel it especially as a duty and obligation to leave a record of my views for the Reform Bahai Convocation, which, God willing, one day, shall convene to restore and revive the moderate, spiritual religion of Baha�u�llah and Abdu�l-Baha and clearly set a new course away from the fanatical and fundamentalist Islamist sect of the Haifans, based on their fraudulent will and testament, propagating a manipulative creed intended only to coerce the individual believer and subject him or her to the tyranny of an illegitimate and mutilated organization.

Article I

�The Revelation which, from time immemorial, hath been acclaimed as the Purpose and Promise of all the Prophets of God, and the most cherished Desire of His Messengers, hath now, by virtue of the pervasive Will of the Almighty and at His irresistible bidding, been revealed unto men. The advent of such a Revelation hath been heralded in all the sacred Scriptures.� � Baha�u�llah.

Article II

Baha�u�llah�s appointed heir and interpreter is Abdu�l-Baha.

Article III

As scientifically judged by Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell, the purported will and testament of Abdu�l-Baha is a fraudulent document: �That is to say, the writing does not agree with the hypothesis that it was all written by one person.� �A minute comparison of the authenticated writing with the writing on every page of the alleged will... has failed to detect in any part of the will the characteristics of the writing of Abdu�l-Baha, as shown in the authenticated specimens.� � Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell, Report on the Writing Shown on the Photographs of the Alleged Will of Abdu'l-Baha, Library of Congress, 1930.

Article IV

The Baha�i organizations, based upon the fraudulent document, including the writings of Shoghi Effendi, are inescapably defective and deficient: �There is apparent contradiction between this section of the Will and his lifelong teachings.� �Abdul Baha had never in speech or writing given the slightest indication that there would be a successor to himself. On the contrary, a number of addresses delivered by him on various occasions had made the opposite impression� (61). � Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. The Will and Testament of Abdul Baha, An Analysis. New York: Universal Publishing, 1944.�

Article V

The results of the spurious document has reverberated down the generations and decades, as Ruth White rightly perceived: �Whether the alleged will of Abdul Baha is authentic or spurious, the results of the administration of Shoghi Effendi and the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is stand as an historical indictment against them. [Boldface in original] They no more represent the Bahai Religion than the bigots of the dark ages of Christianity� (100). � Ruth White. Abdul Baha's Questioned Will and Testament. Beverly Hills: White, 1946.

Article VI

�The Bahai Movement is not an organization. You cannot organize the Bahai Movement.� � Abdu�l-Baha. The mystery of that paradox calls all Bahais to seek its meaning and return to the universal, liberal Teachings of Baha�u�llah and Abdu�l-Baha and their Writings.

Article VII

Far from creating a theocratic tyranny, the Founders of the Bahai Faith taught a moderate, universal, global religion, grounded in a spiritual democracy, teaching the separation of church and state, with science in its own respected domain, each a profound differentiation of social duty and responsibility, as in Abdu�l-Baha�s �Sermon on the Art of Governance�:

Article VIII

With every passing year, the Writings of Baha�u�llah are being restored to humanity, from those who debased and lowered them to the level of a trademark and copyright.

Article IX

Reform Bahais choose to leave those who choose hatred, shunning, and interminable recrimination over the fraudulent will and testament and over stultifying legalisms, and look to the Spirit of brotherhood and love, knowledge and understanding, prayer and meditation, worship and community, service to one�s country and the world of humanity.

With the assurance of Abdu�l-Baha that humanity has entered the stage of maturity, wherein the individual can independently search for truth, Reform Bahais testify, in this universal, global age, that He reserves for Himself the �hearts of men,� rendering to Caesar what is Caesar�s, as Baha'u'llah taught in the Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, accepting and embracing His multifaceted vision, the mystery that surpasses understanding.

Reform Bahais invite all Bahais, all humanity, to a Convocation of celebration, peace, love, and brotherhood, to seek humbly together His Will and service, for the good of all people and nations of this spinning globe.

�

The Reform Bahai Faith

95 Theses - On Bahai Liberty

Reform Baha�is are found in,

Africa, Ethiopia, Australia,Austria,Canada, British Columbia, Quebec, Cuba,France,Germany�New Zealand, Pakistan,Sweden, USA ,California, Los Angeles, San Diego

Websites :

www.ReformBahai.org

http://www.fglaysher.com/reformbaha�i/

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New History Society

2008-02-03T22:14:29Z

New History Society

(Followers of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab)

M�rz� Aḥmad Sohr�b (1893 - 1958) was secretary and interpreter to `Abdu'l-Bah� from 1912 to 1919. He was a Persian-American author and Bah�'� who co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York, and was excommunicated from the Bah�'� Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi.

New History Society

By 1911, he had founded an organization called the Persian-American Educational Society. He along with Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler and his wife Julie. Together they formed the "New History Society" in 1929 as an indirect way of spreading the teachings of the Bah�'� Faith.

Caravan of East and West

The New History Society gave rise in 1930 to the Caravan of East and West, and the Chanler's New York house was now called Caravan House. This foundation was designed to prepare children and youth to join the New History Society. This group had a quarterly magazine called The Caravan

Split from Shoghi Effendi

The confrontation aroused between� Sohrab and Horace Holley, "one of the chief men in the American Bah�'� Administration". But Sohrab refused to allow the New York Spiritual Assembly, to have oversight of the affairs of the New History Society. Since Holley sat on the National Spiritual Assembly at this time, this led to a confrontation which resulted in Sohrab and the Chanlers being expelled from the Bah�'� community.

NSA of US files Lawsuit against Sohrab

In 1941, Allen McDaniel and others, as members of the National Spiritual Assembly, filed suit against Sohrab to try to stop him from using the name Bah�'�.

This suit was filed in the Supreme Court of New York County. The judge granted a motion to dismiss, stating that "the plaintiffs have no right to a monopoly of the name of a religion. The defendants, who purport to be members of the same religion, have an equal right to use the name of the religion..."

The judge mentioned that the complaint could be further amended� and the NSA appealed but the Appellate Court affirmed the decision of the lower court.

Sohrab Challenges Shoghi Effendi in court

After his excommunication, Sohrab joined forces with other people who opposed Shoghi Effendi. Part of this combination was a court case raised by Qamar Bah�'�, Jalal the grandson of M�rz� M�s� and others in about 1950-1, challenging Shoghi Effendi's right to carry out major construction work around the Shrine of Bah�'u'll�h. One of their key witnesses, Nayyir Afnan, died shortly before the case was due to open, and it all came to nothing.

Three sects of Bahais tries to built a mausoleum over the grave of Mirza Yahya

One of the culminations of this was a meeting that was held in Famagusta in the late 1950s. Representatives of all three main generations of Bahais were present including: Jalal Azal representing the followers of Mirza Yahya (Bayanic), `Ismat and others represented the followers of M�rz� Muhammad `Al� (Unitarian Bahais) , and Ahmad Sohrab represented those opposed to any form of administration. One of the aims of this conference was to build a mausoleum over the grave of M�rz� Yahy�. But the project did not see the light of the day.

�

Sohrab died Apr 20, 1958. In his obituary he is described as "leader of the Reform Bah�'� Movement in the United States and co-director of the Caravan of East and West".

�In 2004, H-Net, a scholarly website supported by Michigan State University and Humanities & Social Sciences Online, reprinted in digital format the works of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, who for over eight years served Abdu�l-Baha as a secretary and translator in the Middle East and on his American and European journeys. In Sohrab�s several books, especially in Broken Silence: The Story of Today�s Struggle for Religious Freedom (1942) and The Will and Testament of Abdu�l-Baha: An Analysis (1944), Sohrab presents his opinion that the Baha�i Faith was already well on the road to becoming an oppressive organization in the 1920s and �30s, exploitative of the individual, and departing further, with every year, from the moderation and predominately democratic liberalism of Baha�u�llah and Abdu�l-Baha. Sohrab located the source of the emerging problems of conscience and religious freedom in the desire of some early American Baha�is for absolute control, modeled on the Roman Catholic Church and other forms of autocratic religious organization, leading to and encouraging Shoghi Effendi�s increasingly fanatical interpretation of Abdu�l-Baha�s Will and Testament:�

Selected works of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab

Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. I Heard Him Say. Words of Abdul Baha as Recorded by his Secretary.

New York: The New History Foundation, 1937.

Mirza Ahmed Sohrab link

�

Ahmad Sohrab's Broken Silence: The Story of Today's Struggle for Religious Freedom.

New York: Universal Publishing, 1942.

Sohrab Broken Silence

�

Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. Abdul Baha's Grandson: Story of a Twentieth Century

Excommunication New York: Universal Publishing for The New History Foundation,

1943.

Click Here for Link

�

Excerpts at bottom: Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. The Will and Testament of Abdul Baha, An Analysis.

New York: Universal Publishing, 1944.

Click Here for Link

�

Sohrab, Mirza Ahmad. The Story of the Divine Plan. Taking Place during, and immediately following World War I. New York: The New History Foundation, 1947. Digitally republished, East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai, 2004.

Click Here for Link

�

Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. My Bahai Pilgrimage. Autobiography from Childhood to Middle Age.

New York: New History Foundation, 1959.

Click Here for Link

�

Mirza Ahmad Sohrab (1893 - 1958) Biography by Will Johnson, Professional Genealogist

Click Here for Link

Works about Mirza Ahmad Sohrab

�� Biographical Sketch of Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Director of the Caravan of East and West, Inc. 3. n.p. [New York?]: n.d. [1954]. Collins 12.10.

�� Light-Bearer Magazine: A Persian Rosary, Winter 2000, pg 50 (reprint from The Theosophist, 1978)

Those who Believe In Continuation Of Guardianship

2008-02-03T22:18:43Z

Those who Believe In Continuation Of Guardianship

�The "Guardian-groups" have a very interesting history! Basically, there are three groups which each believe they have a Guardian, and one group that awaits a Guardian:��

1) Orthodox Baha'is (followers of Joel B. Marangella)�

2) Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant (followers of Neal Chase)

3) Baha'is Loyal to the Guardian (followers of Jacques Soghomonian)

4) Tarbiyat Baha'is (followers of Rex King et al)

��Majority of these groups believe that Charles Mason Remy was the Second Guardian of the Bahai Faith�Mason Remey claimed that he was the Second Guardian of the Baha'I Faith because:�

1)�� Shoghi Effendi appointed him as President of the International Baha'i Council, and called it the "embryonic" International House of Justice.�

2)�� The President of the Universal House of Justice was to be the Guardian.�

3)�� Thus, Shoghi Effendi wanted Charles Mason Remey to be the next Guardian by his appointment as President of the IBC (which would become the UHJ).�

4)�� Mason Remey was the adopted son of 'Abdu'l-Baha (spiritually if not legally), and thus a adopted Aghsan (Branch).�

5)�� 'Abdu'l-Baha prophesied that Mason Remey would be the next Guardian by saying, "Ere long thou shalt be a sign of guidance unto mankind".�

At the death of Shoghi Effendi, while he was in London, his widow put out a telegraph stating that the Guardian was "very ill"; knowing he was in fact deceased.

�

When the Hands later met in Haifa to open the safe, they broke the seal, and they found no Will and Testament. Later that night, one of the Hands (a Persian) later told other Persian Hands that the Guardianship was "BADA" (i.e. God changed His mind on the matter), and that the Guardianship was over for all time. At first the American and British Baha'is were appauled by such a doctrine, but they later recanted, and all (including Remey) signed a document stateing that the Guardian left no successor, so the Hands would now be the HEAD of the Faith.

�

Years before, Remey claimed that he had been approached by a number ofthe Hands who said, "The Guardian wants you to succeed him should he die without a son!" Remey probably believed that these same Hands would come forward and nominate him as 2nd Guardian. This did not happen.

�

Instead, Ruhiyyih Khannum (widow of Shoghi Effendi) and the Persian Hand who came up with the new "BADA" doctrine of the Guardianship, and a few others, DISBANDED the International Baha'i Council, and formed a new institution called the "Custodians". These were be 9 Hands who would run the Faith. This included Ruhiyyih Khannum and some "hand picked" Hands who would support her and her decisions. For all practical purposes, Khannum "ruled" the Baha'i Faith from that point until her death.

�

Mason declared he was the 2nd Guardian, and was declared a Covenant-Breaker by the Custodians. The NSA of France and about 5,000 individual Baha'is followed Mason Remey. For the next few years the Hands went around "declaring" anyone who would not renounce Remey. The Remeyites started their own group called "Baha'is Under the Hereditary Guardianship". Rex King was nominated "Secretary General" in the United States; which at that time had perhaps 1500 to 2000 members.

�

Leland Jensen (a Knight of Baha'u'llah) was elected a Member of the NSA. King and Jensen were at each other all the time. Jensen eventually resigned because of King, and later became a follower of Donald Harvey (Mason's successor). King was excommunicated by Mason Remey for being "satan". What King did to deserve this I don't know. He apparently "pissed off" quite a few Baha'is because during his tenure as Secretary-General of the "Orthodox Baha'i NSA" half of the NSA resigned as MOST of the "Orthodox Baha'is" either resigned, returned to the "Haifan" organization, joined Leland Jensen's group,or went completely inactive.

�

Rex King then formed his own group called "Baha'i: Orthodox Community"in Las Vegas, New Mexico. They said that Remey was not "Guardian" but rather merely a "Regent", and that the IBC was a "Council of Regents"to rule the Faith until a true descendant of Baha'u'llah would come forward and become Guardian (the Regents would declare him such). King appointed himself the next Regent, and his own family members fellow "Regents". This group later named themselves "Baha'i: Tarbiyat Community".

�

The largest of the Guardian groups today are the "Orthodox Baha'is" who support Joel Bray Marangella.

�

Mason appointed Donald Harvey as his successor in 1967; a man not among the 9. Joel B. Marangella said that this appointment (of Harvey) was invalid since, by that time, Remey had "gone senile" and didn't know what he was doing. Marangella also said that since Remey"activated" the IBC (9 men) in 1965, Joel became the "Third Guardian"at that time; since Remey "abdicated" his Guardianship

Dr. Leland Jensen (founder of the Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant) accepted Donald Harvey as Remey's successor until Harvey excommunicated him (for claiming to be Jesus returned and the "Establisher" of the Baha'i Faith...a position actually superior to Guardian). Then Jensen declared that Pepe Remey (Mason's adopted son) was the Guardian, but Pepe denied this; finally telling Jensen's followers that Jensen was false, corrupt, and a liar. Some of Jensen's followers discovered these letters from Pepe Remey and then left Jensen and followed Jacques Soghomonian. Neal Chase, a firm disciple of Jensen, was in communication with Pepe Remey, and Pepe Remey (being an old man by this time) once referred to Chase as "my son" (or on several occassions). This made Chase to claim that Pepe was his spiritual father; just as 'Abdu'l-Baha was the spiritual father of Charles Remey, calling him "my son". So, while Pepe Remey said "I am NOT the Guardian of the Faith, Jacques Soghomonian is the Guardian", Neal Chase said, "Oh, well, of course Pepe Remey was the Guardian, and he called me 'son' so I'm his successor and the third Guardian of the Baha'i Faith". The current Baha'is Under the Provisions of the Covenant have 5 "Communities"

�

Jacques Soghomonian was (like Joel B. Marangella) a member of the NSA of France when Mason Remey declared he was the 2nd Guardian. The NSA of France accepted Mason as the 2nd Guardian. The Custodians (the 9 Hands who ran the Faith after Shoghi Effendi died) declared the NSA of France to be "defunct" and changed the locks on the doors and confescated the H.Q.

�

The current group that follows Jacques Soghomonian (Baha'is Loyal to the Guardian) has about 50 members worldwide.

�

The paper "Charles Mason Remey and Those That Followed Him", written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice, says that Donald Harvey died without appointing a successor. This is not accurate. Harvey appointed Jacques Soghomonian as his successor. This was known by all : Leland Jensen, Pepe Remey, etc.

�

Orthodox Baha'is (followers of Joel B. Marangella)

2008-02-03T22:24:36Z

1-Orthodox Baha'is (followers of Joel B. Marangella)

Name	Orthodox Bahai Faith
Belief	1st Guardian	Shoghi Effendi
�	2nd Guardian	Charles Mason Remey
�	3rd Guardian	Joel B. Marangella (Became Third Guardian in 1991. He Lives in Perth Australia.)