By: Kiara Kavangah, David Gay, Ian Burke, Crystal Howell, Jose Avila BAHA’I

FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS 1. What is the human condition? Baha’is believe that each child is born pure and holy. God created humans with immortal souls and a dual nature: an animalistic and a selfish (evil) side, and a spiritual side (soul) with reason to develop their divine attributes and pursue God’s plan for humanity. 2. Where are we going? To paradise (not a place but a state of perfection and in harmony with God’s will) To hell (a state of imperfection, far removed from God and in conflict with his will), by denying God and his plan, and performing evil acts 3. How do we get there? We achieve salvation by: acknowledging the oneness of God and the unity of the manifestations of God (prophets) developing our divine attributes (reason) and being involved in God’s plan for the whole of humanity aligning our lives with the teachings, laws and obligations as revealed by Baha’ullah.

RITUALS The Baha’i Faith places great importance on the relationship with God, but not on religious ritual. Baha’is have no priesthood or clergy, no initiation ceremonies, sacraments, and no worship rituals. The practices that are required of Baha’is are related more to everyday life than to rituals at the temple. Every Baha’i is to pray daily, abstain from alcohol and other mind-affecting substances. Marriage Marriage is a very strict practice in Baha’i, and is strongly watched. Couples are not permitted to get married without the consent of both parents. Unlike Islam, where men are able to have several wives, marriage is monogamy between mutually consenting adults. Divorce isn’t encouraged, but is permitted in extreme cases where both couples are incompatible to continue. Gender Bahaullah explicitly said in his writings that women and men were created equal in the sight of God Instead of gender, the spiritual station of each person is depended on their devotion to God All positions are open to men and women in the Universal House of Justice Festivals Holy days commemorate significant event in the history of the Babi and Baha’i faiths. Feast of Ridvan – means “paradise”, and is named for the Garden of Ridvan, the feast commemorates Bahaullah’s declaration that he was the promised one. It is the most holy Baha’i festival.

RITUALS CONT. Bahaullah’s Birthday – November 12 New Years – Baha’is begin to fast for one month (19 days) on March 21st. people avoid food during daylight, thus symbolizing their abstinence from lust Individual rituals Baha’is have many required practices, and deeds that should be done in full devotion. Each day, they must recite three obligatory prayers o Obligatory prayer is a primary religious obligation starting at the age of 15 and it is the most important kind of prayer. The purpose of the obligatory prayer is for the development of humility and devotion, and Baha’i writings strongly warn against neglecting the prayers or minimizing their importance. These prayers are a personal spiritual obligation, and failure to observe the law is seen to have a spiritual penalty Baha’i stresses community worship, so there is no for sermons and offerings In addition to prescribing daily prayer, Bahaullah also urged his followers to spend each day in meditation; specifically, to reflect at the end of each day on their deeds and their worth. Other than this suggestion, followers are not specified a particular approach to meditation. Instead, each Baha’i is free to choose his or her own meditational form.

SACRED TEXTS The Most Holy Book (Kitab-i-Aqdas), the chief repository of the laws and institutions that Baha’u’llah prescribed for a future orld civilization It is part of a large body of scriptures authored by Him. Comprising an estimated 100 volumes, these writings cover topics of a wide range, including laws and principles for personal conduct and the governance of society, as well as mystical writings dealing with the progress of the soul and its journey towards God. The Summons of the Lord of Hosts is a collection of the tablets of Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith, that were written to the kings and rulers of the world during his exile in Adrianople and in the early years of his exile to the fortress town of `Akká in Bahá'u'lláh claimed to be the Promised One of all religions and all ages and summoned the leaders of East and West to recognize him as the promised one, a collection of weighty letters that Baha’u’llah wrote to the world leaders of His time, including Emperor Napoleon III, Queen Victoria, Czar Alexander II, Pope Pius IX, and Sultan Abdul-Aziz, in which He openly proclaimed His station, announced the dawn of a new age, and warned of catastrophic upheavals if they failed to act collectively to establish a just world order.

SACRED TEXTS CONT. Gleanings from the Writings of Baha’u’llah, is a compilation of selected tablets and extracts from tablets by Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. Shoghi Effendi, head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 to 1957, made the selection and performed the translation, which was first published Prayers and Meditations, a compilation of prayers and meditations The Hidden Words, a collection of ethical aphorisms The Book of Certitude (Kitab-i-Iqan), Bahá'u'lláh's principal doctrinal work, which explains the concept of the oneness of religion, the symbolic use of language in the sacred books, and Divine purpose in human history. The Seven Valleys and The Four Valleys the best known of Baha’u’llah's mystical writings Christian, Jewish scriptures, and all sacred writings from other religions, count as Baha’i sacred scripture

DOCTRINES/BELIEFS In 1844, a Shi’ite Muslim Ali Muhammad declared that he was the promised twelfth imam and called himself Bab-ud-Din(the gate of faith). He advocated for sweeping religious and social reforms. His disciples called themselves Babis. Husayn Ali, one of the Babs exiled disciples, assumed the name Bahaullah (the glory of God), and those Babis who accepted him became known as the Baha’is. It then passed on to his son Abbas Effendi, who became known as Abdul Baha( the servant of Baha) The basic belief of Baha’i is that all religions come from the same source. Bahaullah taught that divine revelation is continuous and progressive process and that the missions of the Messengers of God (including Moses, Zoroaster, Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, the Bab, and Bahaullah) represent successive stages in the spiritual growth of humanity They believe that Bahaullah is the most recent messenger of God, with God’s message for humankind today Bahaullah taught that other messengers would appear in the future. they believe that Bahaullah fulfills prophecies of the past manifestations of God and this his coming ushers in the age of fulfillment

DOCTRINES/BELIEFS CONT. Bahaullah’s greatest message was the oneness of the human race. All of humankind, all races, sexes, and all religious truths are the world of the one God. They believe in the unity of humankind, not only in this life but the unity of the living and the dead as well. It is therefore possible for the living and the dead to commune with other. Belief in angels and evil spirits has been discarded by Baha’i, whereas heaven and hell are considered symbolic They believe in the total unity of God, there can be no such thing as positive evil. If God is one and all, there can be no Satan figure in the universe; that which appears evil is only the absence of good

RELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE Daily Prayer must pray daily all of ones work, thoughts, and deeds should be done in the spirit of prayer Marriage Divorce permitted in extreme cases of incompatibility there can be no marriage without the consent of both parents Practicies Alcohol and narcotics are forbidden no special houses of worship, takes place in homes or other buildings worship is simple without much form or ritual there are scriptural readings,prayers communal worship is important, rejects sermons and offerings

ETHICS AND MORAL CONDUCT: PERSECUTION IN IRAN The lines between politics and religion are often blurred in Iran. While its president is democratically elected, its supreme leader is a Muslim cleric. Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity officially are recognized as minority religions The Baha'i Faith is considered an Islamic heresy in Iran. While Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity all predate Islam and thus can be seen as providing a foundation for the more perfected religion of Islam, the Baha'is developed in the 19th century out of Shi'a Islam. Thus, it is seen as an fallacious deviation from the true faith. Particularly heretical to Muslims is the Baha'i belief that Mohammad, along with Moses, Jesus, Zoroaster and others, is one of many Manifestations of God and that others have come after Mohammad and will continue to appear in eternity. According to Islam, Mohammad was a mortal man called by God to be the greatest and last of his prophets

PERSECUTION IN IRAN CONT. Iran's leaders have repeatedly stated that they consider Baha'is to be part of a political group rather than a religious one and thus they are under no obligation to grant religious tolerance toward them. The Baha'i Faith is today headquartered in Haifa, Israel and generally has good relations with the Israelis. As such, Iran opinion of Baha'is can ebb and flow alongside their opinion of Israel. Baha'is have even been arrested as or suspected of being spies (for Israel, the United States, Great Britain and other countries). Because Baha'is have no priests and place the responsibility for spiritual interpretation entirely in the hands of individuals and there fore are a threat to Muslim clerical power. Many of their historical texts are critical of traditional Muslim clerics and the power they hold over the populace.