Bahá'í Faith in the United Arab Emirates
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The Bahá'í Faith in the United Arab Emirates began before the country gained independence in 1971. The first Bahá'ís arrived in Dubai by 1950,[1] and by 1957 there were four Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in the region of the United Arab Emirates and a regional National Spiritual Assembly of the Arabian Peninsula.[1] Recent estimates count some 75,000 Bahá'ís or 1.6% of the national population - second only to Iran in number of Bahá'ís in the nations of the Middle East.[2]
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[edit] Development
By 1950 Bahá'ís had arrived in Dubai,[1] and by 1957 there were Bahá'í Local Spiritual Assemblies in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Ras Al Khaymah, and Sharjah, and a regional Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly of the Arabian Peninsula.[1] This regional national assembly was re-organized for the Southern and Eastern Arabia in 1967,[3] and of South East Arabia in 1974.[4]
In the 1980s, many anti-Bahá'í polemics were published in local newspapers of the UAE.[5]
[edit] Modern community
The current situation of the Bahá'ís in the UAE, while being better than the situation of the Bahá'ís in Iran, (see Persecution of Bahá'ís) is mixed. Many consider the Bahá'ís kafir (infidels), and they lack many basic rights.[6]
Census figures count Bahá'ís as Muslim and since many Bahá'ís had passports that identify them as Muslims, the Ministry of Education required Bahá'í children to take the prescribed Islamic studies classes.[7] However, 15 percent of the UAE are not Muslim, Christian, or Jewish. Unofficial sources noted by the U.S. Department of State assert that one-third of these are collectively Bahá'í, Parsi, or Sikh. These estimates differ from census figures because census figures do not count "temporary" visitors and workers, and Bahá'ís are counted as Muslim.[7] By some other estimates there were 55,000 Bahá'ís (1.95% of the national population) as of 2000,[8] and 75,000 Bahá'ís or 1.6% circa 2008 - second only to Iran in the number of Bahá'ís in the nations of the Middle East.[2]
Recently, Bahá'ís have been generally able to practise their religion in the country; in 1999 a touring group of youth, a Bahá'í Workshop (see Oscar DeGruy), with members from many countries including the UAE had performed in India and other places.[9] In February 2001 a group of Bahá'ís travelled to the UAE from Iran to attend a Ruhi Institute Bahá'í study circle,[10] and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi donated land for a Bahá'í cemetery (and other cemetery lands for other religions.)[11]
However, as of 2005, the country's long-term Internet service provider at the time, Etisalat, blocked some of the most visible websites related to the Bahá'í Faith. The blocking did not extend to most material concerning the Bahá'í Faith on the internet however.[12]
[edit] See also
- Religion in the United Arab Emirates
- Freedom of religion in the United Arab Emirates
- Human rights in the United Arab Emirates
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d The Bahá'í Faith: 1844-1963: Information Statistical and Comparative, Including the Achievements of the Ten Year International Bahá'í Teaching & Consolidation Plan 1953-1963, Compiled by Hands of the Cause Residing in the Holy Land, pages 4, 25, 28, 118.
- ^ a b Kjeilen, Tore, ed. (2008), “Baha'i”, Looklex Encyclopeadia, an expansion of Encyclopaedia of the Orient, vol. Online, Looklex Encyclopeadia, <http://i-cias.com/e.o/bahai.htm>
- ^ House of Justice, Universal (1976). Wellspring of Guidance, Messages 1963-1968. Wilmette, Illinois: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States, p. 73, Nine New National Assemblies in Ridván 1967. ISBN 0877430322.
- ^ House of Justice, Universal (1974-03-21). Naw-Ruz 1974, BE 131. Ridvan Messages from the Universal House of Justice. Universal House of Justice. Retrieved on 2008-06-07.
- ^ MacEoin, Denis; William Collins. Anti-Baha'i Polemics. The Babi and Baha'i Religions: An Annotated Bibliography entries #1, 5, 26, 29, 108, 116, 122, 151, 204, 219, 227, 238, 272, 289, 330. Greenwood Press's ongoing series of Bibliographies and Indexes in Religious Studies. Retrieved on 2008-04-12.
- ^ (Bahrain), Esra'a (2007-06-15). Interview with an Arab atheist - Does Islam drive its youth away?. Contribitions. Mideast Youth. Retrieved on 2008-06-07.
- ^ a b United Arab Emirates: International Religious Freedom Report 2007. United States Department of State: Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (2007-09-14). Retrieved on 2008-05-02.
- ^ Barrett, David & Kohlman Rabbani, Simeon (2000), Year 2000 Estimated Baha'i statistics, <http://www.adherents.com/largecom/com_bahai.html>. Retrieved on 7 June 2008
- ^ News Service, Express (1999-09-16), “Baha'i followers perform to spread the message of peace”, Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd., <http://www.indianexpress.com/res/web/pIe/ie/daily/19990917/ige17135.html>
- ^ Translated by:, Aminian Behzad (2002-11-14), “Hamshahri Newspaper, New gestures by the Baha'i Cult”, Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies 06 (02), <http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/notes/vol6/ruhi/ruhi.htm>
- ^ M. Bathish, Hani (2004-10-19), “UAE is an oasis of religious tolerance”, Khaleej Times Online, <http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2004/October/theuae_October415.xml§ion=theuae>
- ^ “Internet Filtering in the United Arab Emirates in 2004-2005: A Country Study”, Reports - Case Studies - 2005, OpenNet Initiative, 2005, <http://opennet.net/studies/uae>
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