Bahá'í divisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Series on the Bahá'í Faith

Central figures

Bahá'u'lláh The Báb · Abdu'l-Bahá

Key scripture

Kitáb-i-Aqdas · Kitáb-i-Íqán The Hidden Words Some Answered Questions

Institutions

Administrative Order The Guardian Universal House of Justice Spiritual Assemblies

History

Bahá'í history · Timeline Bábís · Shaykh Ahmad

Notable individuals

Shoghi Effendi Martha Root · Táhirih Badí‘ · Apostles Hands of the Cause

Selected teachings

Unity of humanity Unity of religion Gender equality Universal education Science and religion Auxilliary language

See also

Symbols · Laws Teachings · Literature Calendar · Divisions Index of Bahá'í Articles This box: view • talk • edit

The Bahá'í Faith has had challenges to leadership at the death of every head of the religion. The vast majority of Bahá'ís have followed a line of authority from Bahá'u'lláh to `Abdu'l-Bahá to Shoghi Effendi to the Custodians to the Universal House of Justice. Divergences from this line of leadership have had relatively little success and have failed to attract a sizeable following.^[1] In this sense, there is only one major branch of the Bahá'í Faith,^[2] represented by at least 5 million adherents, whereas the groups that have broken away have either become extinct with time, or have remained in very small numbers.

Because the Bahá'í scriptures define a Covenant regarding succession which is intended to keep the Bahá'ís unified, challenges to legitimate succession are seen as very harmful. Claimants challenging the widely accepted succession have been expelled as Covenant-Breakers, though such claimants likewise regard the others in the same way.

A separate entry discusses the Bahá'í/Bábí split.

Contents 1 `Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry 2 Shoghi Effendi as Guardian 2.1 Appointment 2.2 Family Members Expelled 2.3 American Disputes 3 The founding of the Universal House of Justice 3.1 Passing of Shoghi Effendi 3.2 Criteria for Guardianship 3.3 Relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice 3.4 Role of the Hands of the Cause 3.5 Charles Mason Remey 3.6 Decision of the Universal House of Justice 3.7 A break in the line of Guardians 4 Further development of Remey's followers 4.1 Orthodox Bahá'í Faith 4.2 Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant 4.3 Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community 4.4 The Remey Society 4.5 The Man 4.6 Bahá'í Loyal to the Fourth Guardian 5 Conclusion 6 Other disputes 6.1 Internet based conflict 6.2 Talisman 6.3 Expulsions 7 Notes 8 References 9 External links

[edit] `Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry

Bahá'u'lláh remained in the Akka-Haifa area house arrest until his death in 1892. According to the terms of his Will, his eldest son `Abdu'l-Bahá was named the centre of authority; Mírzá Muhammad `Alí, the eldest son from Bahá'u'lláh's second marriage was assigned an inferior position.

The Will of the divine Testator is this: It is incumbent upon the Aghsán, the Afnán and My Kindred to turn, one and all, their faces towards the Most Mighty Branch [`Abdu'l-Bahá].[3]

Pursuant to his role as Centre of the Covenant, `Abdu'l-Bahá asserted absolute leadership. Soon Muhammad `Ali complained that `Abdu'l-Bahá was not sharing authority and started working against his elder brother. Most members of the families of Bahá'u'lláh's second and third wives supported Muhammad `Alí but there were very few outside of Haifa who followed him. Muhammad `Alí's supporters called themselves "Unitarian Bahá'ís".<sup>[4]</sup> In Browne's "Materials" he translates Mirza Jawad's claims that the authoritities began investigating `Abdu'l-Bahá more strictly, because he was acting in an overly superior fashion. Sometime later it was said that Muhammad `Alí was plotting to have `Abdu'l-Bahá hanged for treason against the Ottoman authorities in 1918. According to Shoghi Effendi, `Abdu'l-Bahá was due to be hung on Mount Carmel near Haifa, but upon hearing of his death warrant, Lord Curzon pressured the British Cabinet to quickly capture the Haifa region from the Ottomans, and thereby rescued `Abdu'l-Bahá.

When `Abdu'l-Bahá died, his will went into great detail about how Muhammad `Alí had been unfaithful to the Covenant, labelling him a Covenant-breaker, and appointing Shoghi Effendi as leader of the Faith instead, with the title of Guardian. Much of `Abdu'l-Bahá's argument centred around Muhammad `Alí's apparently jealous nature and inability to remain submissive to `Abdu'l-Bahá, the designated leader of the religion. Here he first used the term Covenant-breaker and excommunicated members of Bahá'u'lláh's second and third wives' families. Whole books within Bahá'í literature have been printed to refute the claims of Muhammad `Alí. (Baluzi, Taherzadeh, etc.) This represented what is often described as the most testing time for the Bahá'í Faith.

The schism caused by Muhammad `Alí does not exist anymore. In the `Akká area, the followers of Muhammad `Alí have been reduced to at most six families who have no common organized religious activities.^[5]

[edit] Shoghi Effendi as Guardian

[edit] Appointment

At 24, Shoghi Effendi was particularly young when he assumed leadership of the religion in 1921, as provided for by `Abdu'l-Bahá in his Will and Testament. He had received a Western education at the American University of Beirut and later at Balliol College, Oxford.

Muhammad-`Alí took the opportunity to revive his claim to leadership of the Bahá'í community. He forcibly seized the keys of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh at the mansion of Bahjí, expelled its keeper, and demanded that he be recognized by the authorities as the legal custodian of that property. But the Palestine authorities, after investigations, instructed the British officer in `Akká to deliver the keys into the hands of the keeper loyal to Shoghi Effendi. ^[6]

[edit] Family Members Expelled

Main article: Covenant-breaking in Shoghi Effendi's immediate family

In 1932 Shoghi Effendi's great aunt, Bahiyyih Khanum, died. She was greatly respected and had instructed all to follow Shoghi Effendi, referring to `Abdu'l-Bahá's Will where it states: "For he is, after `Abdu'l-Bahá, the Guardian of the Cause of God, the Afnán, the Hands (pillars) of the Cause and the beloved of the Lord must obey him and turn unto him...." After her death the other family members began to oppose and disobey Shoghi Effendi openly.

Some family members disapproved of his marriage to a Westerner, Mary Maxwell - daughter of one of the foremost disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá, in 1937. They claimed that Shoghi Effendi introduced innovations beyond the Iranian roots of the Faith. This gradually resulted in his siblings and cousins disobeying his instructions and marrying into the families of Covenant-breakers, many of whom were expelled as Covenant-breakers themselves. However, these disagreements within Shoghi Effendi's family resulted in no attempts to create a schism around an alternative leader. At the time of his death in 1957, he was the only remaining male member of the family of Bahá'u'lláh who had not been expelled. Even his own parents had openly fought against him.

[edit] American Disputes

After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá, Ruth White questioned the Will's authenticity as early as 1926,<sup>[7]</sup> and openly opposed Shoghi Effendi's Guardianship, publishing several books on the subject. She wrote a letter to the United States Postmaster General and asked him, among other things, to prohibit the National Spiritual Assembly from "using the United States Mails to spread the falsehood that Shoghi Effendi is the successor of `Abdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian of the Cause."^[8] She also wrote a letter to the High Commissioner for Palestine; both of these letters were ignored. No permanent schism or alternative leader came of her ideas.

Another division occurred primarily within the American Bahá'í community, which increasingly consisted of non-Persians with an interest in alternative spiritual pursuits. Many had been strongly attracted to the personality of `Abdu'l-Bahá and the spiritual teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. Some regarded it as an ecumenical society to which all persons of goodwill — regardless of religion — might join. When Shoghi Effendi made clear his position that the Bahá'í Faith was an independent religion with its own distinct administration through local and national spiritual assemblies, a few felt that he had overstepped the bounds of his authority. Most prominent among them was a New York group including Mirza Ahmad Sohrab and Lewis and Julia Chanler, which founded the "New History Society," and it's youth section, the Caravan of East and West.^[9] Sohrab and the Chanlers refused to be overseen by the New York Spiritual Assembly, and were expelled by Shoghi Effendi as Covenant-breakers. They argued that the expulsion was meaningless because they believed the faith could not be institutionalized. The New History Society published several works by Sohrab and Chanler and others. The New History Society attracted less than a dozen Bahá'ís, however its membership swelled to several thousand for a time. It is now defunct.^[10] The Caravan House, aka Caravan Institute, later disassociated itself from the Bahá'í Faith, and now remains as an unrelated non-profit organization.^[11]

[edit] The founding of the Universal House of Justice

[edit] Passing of Shoghi Effendi

Main article: Shoghi Effendi

When Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, he died without explicitly appointing a successor Guardian.^[12] He had no children, and during his lifetime all remaining male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh had been excommunicated as Covenant-breakers.

Shoghi Effendi's appointed Hands of the Cause unanimously voted it was impossible to legitimately recognize and assent to a successor.^[13] The Bahá'í community was in a situation not dealt with in the provisions of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. Furthermore, the Universal House of Justice had not yet been elected, which represented the only Bahá'í institution authorized to adjudicate on matters not covered by the sacred text.

To understand the transition following the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, an explanation of the roles of the Guardian, the Hands of the Cause, and the Universal House of Justice are useful.

[edit] Criteria for Guardianship

Main article: Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá

Other than allusions in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh to the importance of the Aghsán, the role of the Guardian was not mentioned until the reading of Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. Shoghi Effendi later expressed to his wife and others that he had no foreknowledge of the existence of the Institution of Guardianship, least of all that he was appointed as Guardian.

`Abdu'l-Bahá warned the Bahá'ís to avoid the problems caused by his half-brother Muhammad `Alí. He stipulated the criteria and form for selecting future Guardians, which was to be clear and unambiguous. His Will required that the Guardian appoint his successor "in his own life-time ... that differences may not arise after his [the Guardian's] passing." (p. 12) The appointee was required to be one of the Aghsán (literally: Branches; refers to male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh). Finally, `Abdu'l-Bahá left a responsibility to nine Hands of the Cause, elected from all of the Hands, who "whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor."(p. 12)

The Will also invested authority to the Guardian's appointed assistants, known as the Hands of the Cause, giving them the right to "cast out from the congregation of the people of Bahá" anyone they deem in opposition to the Guardian.(pp. 12 and 21) `Abdu'l-Bahá then adds: "Should any, within or without the company of the Hands of the Cause of God disobey and seek division, the wrath of God and His vengeance will be upon him, for he will have caused a breach in the true Faith of God." (p. 13)

[edit] Relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice

The Will established the institution of the Guardianship, making it an appointed hereditary executive position, in conjunction with the Universal House of Justice, mentioned by Bahá'u'lláh as an elected legislative body. Their roles are complimentary, the former providing authoritative interpretation,^[14] and the latter providing flexibility and the authority to adjudicate on "questions that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book."^[15] The authority of the two institutions was elucidated by `Abdu'l-Bahá:

...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... 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.[16]

Shoghi Effendi went into further detail explaining this relationship in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh:

...Their common, their fundamental object is to insure the continuity of that divinely-appointed authority which flows from the Source of our Faith, to safeguard the unity of its followers and to maintain the integrity and flexibility of its teachings. Acting in conjunction with each other these two inseparable institutions administer its affairs, coordinate its activities, promote its interests, execute its laws and defend its subsidiary institutions. Severally, each operates within a clearly defined sphere of jurisdiction; each is equipped with its own attendant institutions -- instruments designed for the effective discharge of its particular responsibilities and duties. Each exercises, within the limitations imposed upon it, its powers, its authority, its rights and prerogatives... Divorced from the institution of the Guardianship the World Order of Bahá'u'lláh would be mutilated and permanently deprived of that hereditary principle which, as `Abdu'l-Bahá has written, has been invariably upheld by the Law of God. 'In all the Divine Dispensations,' He states, in a Tablet addressed to a follower of the Faith in Persia, 'the eldest son hath been given extraordinary distinctions. Even the station of prophethood hath been his birthright.' 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. Severed from the no less essential institution of the Universal House of Justice this same System of the Will of `Abdu'l-Bahá would be paralyzed in its action and would be powerless to fill in those gaps which the Author of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas has deliberately left in the body of His legislative and administrative ordinances.[17]

[edit] Role of the Hands of the Cause

Main article: Hands of the Cause

The 27 living Hands of the Cause (Hands), appointed for life by Shoghi Effendi and referred to by him as "the Chief Stewards of Bahá'u'lláh's embryonic World Commonwealth"^[18] signed a unanimous proclamation on November 25, 1957, shortly after the passing of Shoghi Effendi, stating that he had died "without having appointed his successor"; that "it is now fallen upon us as Chief Stewards of the Bahá'í World Faith to preserve the unity, the security and the development of the Bahá'í World Community and all its institutions"; and that they would elect from among themselves nine Hands who would "exercise ... all such functions, rights and powers in succession to the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith... as are necessary to serve the interests of the Bahá'í World Faith, and this until such time as the Universal House of Justice... may otherwise determine." This body of nine Hands became known as the Custodians.^[13][19]

For their authority, they referred to the Will and Testament of `Abdul-Bahá where it says "the Hands of the Cause of God must elect from their own number nine persons that shall at all times be occupied in the important services in the work of the Guardian of the Cause of God."(p. 12)

That same day the Hands passed a unanimous resolution that clarified who would have authority over various executive areas. Among these were:

• "That the entire body of the Hands of the Cause, ... shall determine when and how the International Bahá'í Council shall pass through the successive stages outlined by Shoghi Effendi culminating in the election of the Universal House of Justice"
• "That the authority to expel violators from the Faith shall be vested in the body of nine Hands [The Custodians.], acting on reports and recommendations submitted by Hands from their respective continents."^[20]

In the Custodians' deliberations following Shoghi Effendi's passing they determined that they were not in a position to appoint a successor, only to ratify one, so they advised the Bahá'í community that the Universal House of Justice would consider the matter after it was established per the goals of the Ten Year Crusade.

In deciding when and how the International Bahá'í Council would develop into the Universal House of Justice, the Hands agreed to carry out Shoghi Effendi's plans for moving it from the appointed council, to an officially recognized Bahá'í Court, to a duly elected body, and then to the elected Universal House of Justice.^[21] In November 1959, referring to the goal of becoming recognized as a non-Jewish religious court in Israel, they said: "this goal, due to the strong trend towards the secularization of Religious Courts in this part of the world, might not be achieved." ^[22] The recognition as a religious court was never achieved, and the International Bahá'í Council was established in 1961 as an elected body, with all adult male and female Bahá'ís eligible for election except for the Hands of the Cause.

Upon the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963 (the ending point of Shoghi Effendi's ten-year plan) the Custodians closed their office and turned to the House. ^[23]

[edit] Charles Mason Remey

Main article: Mason Remey

Charles Mason Remey was among the Hands who signed the unanimous proclamations in 1957, acknowledging that Shoghi Effendi had died without having appointed his successor. He was among the nine Custodians elected to serve in the Holy Land as interim head of the Faith.^[13]

On 8 April, 1960, Remey made a written announcement that he was the second Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith and explained his "status for life as commander in chief of Bahá’í affairs of the world" in this proclamation which he requested to be read in front of the annual US convention in Wilmette.

His claim was based on his having been appointed President of the first International Bahá'í Council by Shoghi Effendi in 1951.^[24] The appointed council represented the first international Bahá'í body. It was to gain recognition as a religious court, be transformed into an elected body, and further effloresce into the Universal House of Justice, with the Guardian as its head. Remey believed that his appointment as the council's president meant he was the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith:

The Beloved Guardian chose me to be the President of the Bahá'í International Council that is according to his explanation the President of the Embrionic Universal House of Justice. (p. 6) This is the only position suggestive of authority that Shoghi Effendi ever bestowed upon anyone, the only special and specific appointment of authority to any man ever made by him. (p. 2) … I expect them to accept me without question as their Commander-in-Chief in all Bahá'í matters and to follow me so long as I live for I am the Guardian of the Faith — the Infallible Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. (p. 8)[25]

The Hands of the Cause wrote regarding his reasoning, "If the President of the International Bahá'í Council is ipso facto the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, then the beloved Guardian, himself, Shoghi Effendi would have had to be the President of this first International Bahá'í Council."^[26]

Regarding the authority of the Hands of the Cause, Remey wrote in his letter to the convention that the Hands "have no authority vested in themselves... save under the direction of the living Guardian of the Faith."^[27] He further ordered the Bahá'ís to abandon the plans for establishing the Universal House of Justice:

…All these plans of the Hands of the Faith for 1963 that are so absorbing and confusing to the people of the Faith must be dropped and stopped immediately. I am the only one who can command this situation so I have arisen to do so for I alone in all this world have been given the authority and the power to accomplish this. (p. 6) …I now command the Hands of the Faith to stop all of their preparations for 1963 and furthermore I command all believers both as individual Bahá'ís and as assemblies of Bahá'ís to immediately cease cooperating with and giving support to this fallacious program for 1963. (p. 7) [28]

In his proclamation, Remey never addressed the requirement that Guardians should be male-descendants of Bahá'u'lláh, of which Remey was not biologically. His followers later referred to letters and public statements of `Abdu'l-Bahá calling him "my son" as evidence that he had been implicitly adopted.^[29]

After having made many prior efforts to convince Remey to withdraw his claim; and citing the Will and Testament of `Abdul-Bahá and the unanimous joint resolutions of November 25, 1957, as their authority, the Hands of the Cause expelled Remey and his small group of followers for Covenant-breaking. Two days after sending a Cablegram to the National Spiritual Assemblies the Custodians sent Mason Remey the following letter:

To the Hand of the Cause Mason Remey

April 30,1960

Dear Mason:

For your information we quote below the text of a cable sent by the Hands in the Holy Land to the Continental Hands and to all National Assemblies on April 28:

Deeply regret necessity inform Bahá'í world Hand Cause Mason Remey now asserting he is Guardian Faith Stop This preposterous claim clearly contrary Sacred Texts can only be regarded as evidence condition profound emotional disturbance Stop Call upon believers everywhere join Hands Holy Land complete repudiation this misguided action Stop Share this message friends.

Before their departure for Canada and the United States, Ruhiyyih KHANUM and Mrs. Collins participated in the decision to take this action, making it unanimous.

With heartfelt regret,

Faithfully yours,

HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND ^[30]

Remey went on to establish what came to be known as the Orthodox Bahá'ís Under the Hereditary Guardianship, which later broke into several other divisions based on succession within the group that followed Remey.

[edit] Decision of the Universal House of Justice

Main article: Universal House of Justice

With the exception of Remey's followers, the Bahá'í institutions and believers around the world pledged their loyalty to the Hands of the Cause, who dedicated the next few years to completing Shoghi Effendi's Ten Year Crusade, culminating with the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. It was at this time the Custodians officially passed their authority as the head of the Faith to the Universal House of Justice,^[31] which soon announced that it could not legislate to make possible the appointment of a successor to Shoghi Effendi.

After prayerful and careful study of the Holy Texts... and after prolonged consideration of the views of the Hands of the Cause of God residing in the Holy Land, the Universal House of Justice finds that there is no way to appoint or to legislate to make it possible to appoint a second Guardian to succeed Shoghi Effendi.[32]

A short time later it elaborated on the situation:

... This situation, in which the Guardian died without being able to appoint a successor, presented an obscure question not covered by the explicit Holy Text, and had to be referred to the Universal House of Justice. The friends should clearly understand that before the election of the Universal House of Justice there was no knowledge that there would be no Guardian. There could not have been any such foreknowledge, whatever opinions individual believers may have held. Neither the Hands of the Cause of God, nor the International Bahá'í Council, nor any other existing body could make a decision upon this all-important matter. Only the House of Justice had authority to pronounce upon it. ... The Guardian had given the Bahá'í world explicit and detailed plans covering the period until Ridvan 1963, the end of the Ten Year Crusade. From that point onward, unless the Faith were to be endangered, further divine guidance was essential. This was the second pressing reason for the calling of the election of the Universal House of Justice. The rightness of the time was further confirmed by references in Shoghi Effendi's letters to the Ten Year Crusade's being followed by other plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice.[33]

[edit] A break in the line of Guardians

Mason Remey and his successors asserted that a living Guardian is essential for the Bahá'í community, and that the Bahá'í Writings required it. The Universal House of Justice addressed this issue early after its election.

Future Guardians are clearly envisaged and referred to in the Writings. But there is nowhere any promise or guarantee that the line of Guardians would endure forever; on the contrary there are clear indications that the line could be broken. Yet, in spite of this, there is a repeated insistence in the Writings on the indestructibility of the Covenant and the immutability of God's Purpose for this Day.[34]

The Universal House of Justice specifically refers to paragraph 42 of the Kitáb-i-Aqdas as evidence that Bahá'u'lláh anticipated that the line of Guardians was not guaranteed forever by providing for the disposition of the religion's endowments in the absence of the Aghsán. (See also Notes 66 and 67 of the The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, pp. 196-197.)

[edit] Further development of Remey's followers

Among the Bahá'ís who accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian, several further divisions have occurred. All those that profess belief in Mason Remey as the second Guardian do not accept the Universal House of Justice established in 1963, but amongst themselves have a variety of opinions on legitimacy and the proper succession of authority.^[13] Remey's followers began to split even before his death in 1974.^[35] Some of these divisions are described below. In 1997 the Universal House of Justice issued this document to all the National Spiritual Assemblies regarding these groups.

The Encyclopædia Iranica reports the following:

Remey died in 1974, having appointed a third Guardian, but the number of adherents to the Orthodox faction remains extremely small. Although successful in Pakistan, the Remeyites seem to have attracted no followers in Iran. Other small groups have broken away from the main body from time to time, but none of these has attracted a sizeable following.[1]

After declaring himself to be the Guardian, Remey began making published comments that he was in fact the first Guardian rather than Shoghi Effendi, and referring to "violations of the Faith that were made unwittingly by Shoghi Effendi". In 1966 he declared that "the only thing for the second Guardian to do, to set matters aright, is to discard all which Shoghi Effendi did and to institute a New Faith which shall be the Orthodox Faith... [for] the establishment of the TRUE Bahá'í Faith which has not yet been established in the world."^[36]

Some of his supporters, particularly Marangella, declared him to be senile in old age.^[37] He was largely abandoned by the time of his death, at the age of 100, and was buried without religious rites.^[13]

[edit] Orthodox Bahá'í Faith

Main article: Orthodox Bahá'í Faith

Orthodox Bahá'ís accept Joel Bray Marangella as the Third Guardian; and believe he was the successor of Charles Mason Remey.

Marangella had been President of the National Spiritual Assembly of France in 1961, which was the only NSA to accept Remey as the Second Guardian. When this happened, the Custodians declared certain members of the NSA of France to be covenant-breakers, and sent one of the Hands to change the locks on the French National Bahá'í Center. The Custodians were able to gain control of the National Bahá'í Center; including the funds and mailing lists, and the great majority of French Bahá'ís sided with the Custodians. Donald Harvey and Jacques Soghomonian were amongst the members of the NSA of France declared as covenant-breakers by the Hands of the Cause.

After Mason Remey made his proclamation he appointed a second International Bahá'í Council; with Marangella as President, and 8 vice presidents. Remey insisted that these members not meet in the same city, nor be on the same airplane, at the same time; for fear that if something happened the line of Guardians would cease. In 1962 Remey gave Marangella a sealed envelope, with instructions to open it when the time was right. In 1965 Mason Remey called for the Council to become active. Marangella then opened the sealed letter, which was a hand-written note by Mason appointing Marangella as his successor. Marangella looks upon that time as the time of his official appointment. Remey then changed his mind and deactivated the International Bahá'í Council. Remey's behavior became very disjointed after that time; with some of his followers (including Marangella) concluding that Remey had gone senile. In 1967 Remey appointed Donald Harvey as his successor without excommunicating Marangella. Marangella proclaimed himself the Third Guardian in 1969; saying that Remey was no longer mentally able to function as Guardian. He also claimed that when Remey activated the Council he ceased to be the Guardian at that moment, since, Marangella claimed, there couldn't be two Guardians alive at the same time. Remey did not relinquish his title as Guardian, but he did not "declare" Marangella a covenant-breaker either.

The Orthodox Bahá'í Community under the leadership of Marangella continued into the 21st century. Although no membership data has ever been made public by Orthodox sources, at least one source estimates them at no more than 100 members.^[38] Websites claiming to represent the Orthodox community indicate followers in the United States and India, and messages from Joel Marangella indicate that he resides in Perth, Australia.^[39]

[edit] Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant

Main article: Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant

In 1963 Remey set up a National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States of America, which lost a legal battle for naming rights^[40] and therefore changed its name to the "National Spiritual Assembly... under the Hereditary Guardianship." Among the members elected to the National Assembly were Leland Jensen and Reginald King, who both went on to develop groups of their own based on their individual beliefs regarding succession of leadership. After the dissolving of their National Assembly in 1964, Jensen moved to Missoula, Montana. In 1969 he was convicted of "a lewd and lascivious act" upon a 15-year-old female patient ^[41], and served four years of a 20 year sentence in the Montana State Prison.

It was in prison that Jensen claimed to be visited by an angel, and converted several inmates to his ideas of being the "Establisher" of the Bahá'í Faith. According to Jensen, this title signified a status higher than that of the Guardian, but lower than a Manifestation of God. After the death of Remey he founded the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant (BUPC), with an emphasis on natural and manmade disasters predicted in the Bible, prophecies he believed were encoded in the Great Pyramid of Giza, and that the Guardians could only be from Bahá'u'lláh's lineage of King David.

Jensen received national media coverage for apocalyptic predictions he was making in the early 80's which included giving specific dates (see predictions). In 1991 he set up the Second International Bahá'í Council (sIBC), which he intended would go on to become a world court, followed by an elected council, then the elected Universal House of Justice with the Guardian as its president and executive.^[42] He believed the guardian is the sign to recognize the true Universal House of Justice, and that the Universal House of Justice in Haifa is flawed and fallible, as it is without a living guardian/executive, and by his intrepretations not elected per Shoghi Effendi's instructions. Jensen claimed that Remey's adopted son Joseph Pepe Remey (Pepe) was the only valid appointment of Remey's, since neither of his other two appointees were sons. Believing Pepe was the third Guardian, Jensen invited him to be the council's president, which Pepe declined, and a long series of debates ensued. Pepe died in 1994. After the death of Jensen in 1996 the leadership of the BUPC passed to the sIBC, who remained believing that there was a Guardian who would make himself known.

A controversy broke the BUPC into schism in 2001 when Neal Chase, a council member and close companion of Jensen, announced that he was the fourth Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, and president of the sIBC. The majority members of the sIBC opposed Chase's claim, while Chase asserted that the sIBC members' failure to recognize him as the Guardian of the Faith amounted to Covenant-breaking. The resulting court case and other various criticisms are elaborated upon in BUPC disputes.

Membership data is not made available by the BUPC. According to community websites, some reside in Montana and Alaska. The headquarters in Missoula, Montana hosts a center with approximately 30 members.^[43] The highest estimate of the entire group is "1,000 or so" before the division in 2001.^[44]

[edit] Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community

The Orthodox Bahá'í Faith Under the Regency was founded by Reginald King, who was a very successful Bahá'í teacher who had converted hundreds to the Faith. When Remey declared himself the Second Guardian in 1960, King accepted him, and was elected to become the first Secretary of the National Assembly set up by Remey in 1963.

After conflicts with several of Remey's followers, including Marangella, King decided that "neither Mason Remey nor Joel Marangella had in truth ever been guardians... because of the lack of lineal descendancy". What Remey had actually been, King said, was "a regent", and King came to the realization that he himself "was in actuality the Second Regent...." King's argument was that Remey was senile in old age and didn't know what he was doing. Following his death in 1977, King left leadership of the community to a Council of Regents, who reorganized as the Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community.

The Regency Bahá'ís do not claim the authority to declare Covenant-breakers, so they try to freely associate with other Bahá'ís. The Council of Regents, which consists of King's family, tries to "maintain the integrity of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh until such time as the Second Guardian makes himself known and claims his rightful office."^[45] They also still maintain that "the Faith will never be permanently split into factions or denominations as has happened in all previous religions", with an emphasis on permanently. Membership figures are not published for the Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community. They appear to be restricted to a single group in Las Vegas, New Mexico.

[edit] The Remey Society

Francis Spataro of New York City, a supporter of Harvey, independently organized "The Remey Society". Spataro published books about Charles Mason Remey, and at one time had a newsletter with about 400 recipients. But Spataro began to preach that Charles Mason Remey was a "Prophet"; this was blasphemous to Bahá'ís, and Harvey then cut all ties to Spataro, who continued to promote the life and works of Charles Mason Remey. In 1995 Francis Spataro became an Old Catholic priest and left the Bahá'í religion altogether. The Remey Society is now extinct.

[edit] The Man

The House of Mankind and the Universal Palace of Order followed Jamshid Ma'ani and John Carré, but appear now to be defunct. In the early 1970s a Persian man named Jamshid Ma'ani claimed he was "The Man"; or a new Manifestation of God. He gained a few dozen Iranian Bahá'í followers. John Carré heard of Jamshid, and wrote a book about him; trying to get other Bahá'ís to accept him as a new Manifestation. Carré even invited "The Man" to live in his home in California, but soon concluded, after living with "The Man" for four months, that "The Man" was not at all godly or spiritual and certainly not a Manifestation of God. "The Man" went back to Iran, and Carré ended all association with him. Carré then continued as an "independent Bahá'í" and eventually wrote a book that proclaimed a new Bahá'í Prophet (minor prophet but not a Manifestation) would arise in the year 2001. A Bahá'í from North Carolina named Eric Stetsen wrote an online book in the same style of Bahá'u'lláh; proclaiming (in 2001) that he was that "Prophet". However, Stetson concluded about a year or so later that he was not a "Prophet" and that he had been mistaken about the Bahá'í Faith. Stetson lost faith in Bahá'u'lláh, and became a born-again Christian. A copy of Carré's book outlining his beliefs is maintained online by an ex-Bahá'í.^[46]

[edit] Bahá'í Loyal to the Fourth Guardian

After Harvey's death in 1991, leadership devolved to Jacques Soghomonian of France. There are several dozen followers of Jacques Soghomonian throughout the world; mostly in the U.S., who believed he is the Fourth Guardian; since he was the chosen successor of Donald Harvey. However, Soghomonian has resisted efforts by his small band of followers to organize or to actively proselytize. Soghomonian apparently believes that the mainstream Bahá'í Faith will one day "see the light" and reinstate the Guardianship with himself or (more likely) one of his successors as Guardian; and thus there is no need for two competing organizations. Soghomonian believes that organization is not important, but what is important is to assure that the Guardianship continues, and thus the living Guardian needs only one follower (to act as successor) to continue the line of Guardians who shall one day, perhaps far in the future, return to Head the Bahá'í Faith worldwide. Soghomonian's most active and prolific follower seems to be Brent Reed; a former member of first the mainstream Bahá'í Faith, and later the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith who now follows Soghomonian. Reed manages the Heart of the Bahá'í Faith newsgroup online. Although the followers of Jacques Soghomonian have no formal organization, Brent Reed has coined the name "Bahá'ís Loyal to the Fourth Guardian, Jacques Soghomonian".

[edit] Conclusion

One key Bahá'í doctrine is that the Faith cannot break into sects, Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá having gone to some trouble to guard against the possibility. An obvious question then arises concerning the divisions described on this page. Outright opponents of the Bahá'í Faith have latched on to the divisions described on this page as evidence of the falsehood of Bahá'í claims and beliefs.

However, the Bahá'í Writings do in fact envision that challenges to the authority of its successorship will occur but indicate that any divisions would not be permanent nor affect the "vast body of adherents".^[47] The fact that there is even a process for expelling Covenant-breakers is seen as further evidence for the eventuality of some challenges to its leadership occurring.

The generality of Bahá'ís tend to point out that, while small groups or individuals have left the Faith, or been told to leave, these have not been as successful attracting followers nor had as widespread an effect, as the mainstream Bahá'í community. Indeed, they assert, the vast majority of such schismatic groups are already extinct and those remaining have very few followers, especially when contrasted with the Bahá'í Faith's population, now numbering about six million.^[48] Members of many of the smaller groups described here have a similar view, claiming the Faith is experiencing a temporary division which will certainly be healed, though their beliefs on the manner of its resolution vary.

The views listed above notwithstanding, the activity of the various smaller Bahá'í sects causes no apparent change to the internal or external activities of the larger group. By contrast, the external activities of the smaller groups seem strongly oriented (with some recent exceptions) around the fact and meaning of the schisms that defined the separate community. This is understandable and is often the case in communities with a large majority and several smaller minorities. The secure majority simply pays no attention, since the division is not present or relevant in their own community context. Given the Bahá'í doctrine on avoiding contact with Covenant-Breakers, mainstream Bahá'ís simply ignore the minority groups.

Very few statistics of the smaller groups are available, and the Encyclopædia Iranica reports that the smaller groups that have broken away from the main body have not attracted a sizeable following.^[1] Adherents.com reports that the Bahá'í Faith is "almost entirely contained within one very organized, hierarchical denomination", led by the Universal House of Justice in Haifa.^[2] That community and its institutions are recognized by most nations and the United Nations, and other churches. While such a fact does not resolve the actual question of which opinion is legitimate, it provides the mainstream Bahá'í community with an external perception of credibility. In short, the Bahá'í community is widely seen by the wider non-Bahá'í community to be intact despite the divisions described here.

[edit] Other disputes

Besides leadership disputes, there have been a number of episodes of opposition to the Bahá'í administration. In Germany, Hermann Zimmer resurrected the claims of Ruth White in a small book published in 1971 (English translation in 1973), A Fraudulent Testament devalues the Bahá'í Religion into Political Shogism. Zimmer had been planning to form an Association of Free Bahá'ís (or the World Union of Universal Religion and Universal Peace), but this apparently never come into being. Charles Seeburger set up a similar group in Philadelphia in about 1967, but this is apparently defunct. In Switzerland, Francesco Ficicchia wrote a comprehensive pseudo-academic attack, Der Baha'ismus – Weltreligion der Zunkunft? (Evangelische Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen, Quell Verlag, Stuttgart, 1981). His work was financed and distributed by the Protestant Church in Germany. A book by Bahá'í scholar Udo Schaefer, et. al., originally titled Desinformation als Methode (English title: Making the Crooked Straight (2000)), was written to answer Ficicchia's accusations.^[49] Since the publication of Schaefer's refutation, the German Protestant Church has repudiated both Ficicchia and its own earlier anti-Bahá'í attacks, and indeed has held cordial meetings with Schaefer and other Bahá'ís.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Internet based conflict

During the late 1980's and early 1990's, with the advent of the internet, came some disputes between administrative institutions and individual Bahá'ís wishing to voice criticism. In 1980 a British academic, Denis MacEoin, who had recently completed a PhD thesis on Bábism, left the movement after fifteen years as a member. He claimed bias and inaccuracy in Bahá'í historical texts, and lack of freedom of speech and publication in the Bahá'í Faith. He later published several articles, and two books, on Bábí and Bahá'í history and texts, many of them critical of the standard of scholarship among Bahá'ís. MacEoin has maintained a wholly secular identity since departing the Faith, but from time to time contributes articles to historical and other debates.

Some later activists argued for various reforms including:

1. allowing women to serve on the Universal House of Justice;
2. allowing candidates to be nominated for election;
3. hastening an end to the requirement of publication review for Bahá'ís.

The first two are explicitly ruled-out by the religion's founders while the third was initiated by `Abdu'l-Bahá as a protection against corruption of the teachings while the religion was in its infancy, and will be revoked when the Universal House of Justice decides that conditions no longer require it.

[edit] Talisman

An internet mailing list, Talisman, came about in the mid-90s as a forum that became highly critical of Bahá'í institutions. Some participants suggested reforms in the structure and principles of the Bahá'í administration that were defined in the Bahá'í writings. In spring 1996, the House of Justice launched an investigation into six of the most prominent of these posters, including Juan Cole, Professor of History at the University of Michigan. In the course of the investigation, they were warned that if they did not cease promoting their ideas, they would be "in direct conflict with the Covenant."^[50] Four of them resigned their membership in the Bahá'í Faith, and Cole, in particular, became an outspoken critic of the Bahá'í administration and of individuals that were involved in the investigation. Some sympathizers also resigned.

[edit] Expulsions

Several individuals have resigned or removed themselves from the rolls as a result of these conflicts, while others were removed by Bahá'í institutions. However, some have retained their Bahá'í identity as "unenrolled Bahá'ís", outside of formal membership. The Universal House of Justice does not recognize them as being either Bahá'ís or covenant-breakers, regarding them simply as non-Bahá'ís. As such they are not subject to shunning.

As one example, in 2000 Alison Marshall was expelled from the New Zealand Bahá'í community. She wrote about the situation relating to her expulsion on her webpage.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Denis MacEoin, Encyclopædia Iranica , p. 448
2. ^ ^{a b} Major Branches of Religions Ranked by Number of Adherents, Adherents.com
3. ^ Bahá'u'lláh, Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, p. 221
4. ^ Browne, p. 82
5. ^ Baha'i: Studies in Contemporary Religion, (Schisms Since the Bab, p64) by Margit Warburg ISBN 1-56085-169-4
6. ^ God Passes By, p. 355
7. ^ http://freebahais.com
8. ^ Taherzadeh, 1972, p. 347
9. ^ Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, The Baha'i Cause pp. 309-14
10. ^ The Basis of the Bahá'í Community: A Statement Concerning the New History Society [1]
11. ^ Moojan Momen, The Covenant, and Covenant-breaker, G. See also New York Tax Exempt and NonProfit Organizations [2]
12. ^ Ministry of the Custodians, pp. 28-30
13. ^ ^{a b c d e} The Universal House of Justice, Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him, [3]
14. ^ Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baháu'lláh, pp. 148-149
15. ^ `Abdu'l-Bahá, The Will and Testament, p. 20
16. ^ `Abdu'l-Bahá, The Will and Testament, p. 11
17. ^ Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, pp. 147-148
18. ^ Shoghi Effendi, Messages to the Bahá’í World: 1950–1957, p. 127
19. ^ Ministry of the Custodians, pp. 28-30
20. ^ Ministry of the Custodians, p. 34.
21. ^ Ministry of the Custodians, p. 37 and Messages to the Bahá'í World - 1950-1957, pp. 7-8
22. ^ Ministry of the Custodians, p. 169
23. ^ Ministry of the Custodians, p. 433
24. ^ Messages to the Bahá'í World - 1950-1957, pp. 8-9
25. ^ Charles Mason Remey, Proclamation to the Bahá'ís of the World, [4]
26. ^ Ministry of the Custodians, p. 234
27. ^ Charles Mason Remey, Proclamation to the Bahá'ís of the World, p. 5
28. ^ Charles Mason Remey, Proclamation to the Bahá'ís of the World, [5]
29. ^ Brent Mathieu, Biography of Charles Mason Remey, [6]
30. ^ Ministry of the Custodians, p. 192
31. ^ Ministry of the Custodians, p. 433
32. ^ The Universal House of Justice, Letter of 6 October, 1963, Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986, p. 14
33. ^ The Universal House of Justice, Letter of 9 March, 1965, Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986, p. 50
34. ^ The Universal House of Justice, Letter of 7 December 1969, Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986, p. 158
35. ^ Warburg, Margit (2004). Bahá'í, Studies in Contemporary Religion. Signature Books. ISBN 1560851694.
36. ^ The Universal House of Justice, letter of 4 June 1997, [7]
37. ^ Moojan Momen, The Covenant, and Covenant-breaker, G. See also Brent Mathieu, Biography of Charles Mason Remey [8]
38. ^ THE COVENANT, Moojan Momen. Quoting Chicago Tribune, 10 June 1988, section 1, p. 9
39. ^ See this message posted 30 July, 2006
40. ^ United States Patent Quarterly, Volume 150, pp. 346-356
41. ^ State v. Jensen, 153 Mont. 233, 455 P.2d 631 (Montana, 1969). [9]
42. ^ See sIBC by-laws on p. 49
43. ^ Baha'i Faith Center. Harvard University, Committee on the Study of Religion. Retrieved on 2006-12-11.
44. ^ See statistical information from bahai-library.com
45. ^ Position Paper of the Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community
46. ^ John Carré, The Alif of the Greatest Name BHA’ [10]
47. ^ "A schism, a permanent cleavage in the vast body of its adherents, they could never create." [11]
48. ^ See Bahá'í statistics
49. ^ Bahá'í Studies Review, Volume 8, (1998) [12]
50. ^ From a letter by Counselor Stephen Birkland, maintained online by Juan Cole [13]

[edit] References

• `Abdu'l-Bahá (1901-08). The Will And Testament of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust.

• Bahá'u'lláh (1873). The Kitáb-i-Aqdas: The Most Holy Book. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0853989990.

• Bahá'u'lláh (1873-92). Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh Revealed After the Kitáb-i-Aqdas. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877431744.

• Balyuzi, Hasan (2001). `Abdu'l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, Paperback, Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853980438.

• Browne, E.G. (1918), "Materials for the Study of the Bábí Religion"

• Cohen, Erik (1972). "The Bahá'í Community of Acre". Folklore Research Center Studies 3: pp. 119–141.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1974). Bahá'í Administration. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877431663.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1944). God Passes By. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430209.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1971). Messages to the Bahá'í World, 1950-1957. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877430365.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1976). Principles of Bahá'í Administration, 4th ed., London, UK: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0900125136.

• Effendi, Shoghi (1938). The World Order of Bahá’u’lláh. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877432317.

• "Bahá'í Faith: Bahá'í and Babi schisms". Encyclopædia Iranica. (1989).
• Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (Ed.) (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Bahá'í World Centre. ISBN 085398350X.

• Rabbani, Ruhiyyih (1969). The Priceless Pearl, Hardcover, London, UK: Bahá'í Publishing Trust: 2000. ISBN 1870989910.

• Schaefer, U., Towfigh, N.; Gollmer, U. (2000). Making the Crooked Straight: A Contribution to Bahá'í Apologetics. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853984433.

• Taherzadeh, Adib (1972). The Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853983445.

• Taherzadeh, Adib (2000). The Child of the Covenant. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0853984395.

• Universal House of Justice (1996). Marks, Geoffry W., (Ed.): Messages from the Universal House of Justice, 1963-1986: The Third Epoch of the Formative Age. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá'í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0877432392.

• Warburg, Margit (2004). Bahá'í, Studies in Contemporary Religion. Signature Books. ISBN 1560851694.

[edit] External links

• Orthodox Bahá'í Faith - Official website

• Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant - Official website

• Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community - Official website

• The Covenant and Covenant-breaker - Article by Moojan Momen on the history, purpose, and power of the Covenant.

• Issues Related to the Study of the Bahá'í Faith - Extracts from letters written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice

• Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him - Published by the Universal House of Justice, along with introductory statements.

• Proclamation of Mason Remey - Remey's public declaration in 1960

• Bahá'í Studies - Juan Cole's website

• Living Schools of Religion Vergilius Ferm, ed. Ames, Iowa: Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1956. Chapter 19, "The Bahá'í Cause," by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab (pages 309-14)

• Summary of Julie Chanler's From Gaslight to Dawn New History Foundation, NY 1956; Introduced by Robert Stauffer

• Reform Bahá'ís