An Examination of Suppression and Distortion in 20th-Century Baha'i Literature Part 1

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An Examination of Suppression and Distortion in 20th-Century Baha'i Literature Part 1

An Examination of Suppression and Distortion in 20th-Century Baha\'i Literature

Part 1

IMRAN SHAYKH

This article has been compiled by Vance Salisbury and reproduced here without any changes. The reason I have chosen to carry it on my website is because I find it well-written, well-researched and more importantly, very relevant in the context of my site and its objectives. Most of the references provided in this article have been verified. A link will be provided to as many references as possible.

IntroductionÂ
While searching for information about the Sufis during the latter part of the 19th century, British orientalist Edward Granville Browne came upon an account of Sayyid Ali Muhammad Shirazi, the Bab (Gate), an obscure Persian prophet who had been martyred in 1850. He was immediately captivated by the stories of dedication and heroism displayed by the Bab and his disciples. Browne had hoped to visit Persia (Iran) for years, but from that point, it was to become a pilgrimage for the young scholar as he began his quest for the Babis, the followers of the young prophet. (1)

During his visit to Persia in 1887, Browne discovered that a considerable amount of change had taken place within the sect and the vast majority of the Babis had become Baha\'is, the disciples of Baha\'u\'llah, an early Babi leader who claimed to be the fulfillment of the Bab\'s prophecies of a future manifestation of God. A much smaller rival faction, the Azalis, followed the conservative leadership of Baha\'u\'llah\'s half-brother, Subh-i Azal.

Browne\'s intensive study of the Babi and Baha\'i religions resulted in the production of a number of extremely important works, as well as a significant collection of manuscripts from early Babi, Baha\'i, Azali, Islamic, and other contemporary sources. But, after more than two decades of research, Browne was to conclude that: \"...the more the Baha\'i doctrine spreads, especially outside of Persia, and most of all in Europe and America, the more the true history and nature of the original Babi movement is obscured and distorted\" (2) at the hands of the historians of the movement. His scholarly interest in Babi and Baha\'i history remained, nonetheless, very sympathetic. To Browne, it seemed that the study of the movement was invaluable to students of new religions \"because of the light it throws on the genesis and evolution of other religions.\" (3)

Following Browne\'s death in 1926, western scholars virtually ignored the Babi and Baha\'i religions, so the question of suppression and manipulation of historical materials on the part of the Baha\'is was not pursued. Browne\'s writings on the subject surfaced occasionally in the works of Christian polemicists, (4) but no fresh research in this vein has been carried on until recently. (5) During this period of silence, Baha\'i apologists denied any sort of historical rewriting and sought to discredit Browne\'s work by questioning his objectivity and his motives. (6)

The controversy surrounding Professor Browne and early Baha\'i historians has yet to be resolved and, in fact, can only be approached by those who are familiar with the history and literature of that period. (7) During the past fifteen years, a handful of young Baha\'i scholars have examined some of the questions raised by Browne and other controversial aspects of Babi-Baha\'i history, resulting in studies which are vital to a correct understanding of the subject and which will undoubtedly contribute a great deal to any future research. (8) However, at the close of the 20th century, a study of more recent histories and introductions to the faith by popular Baha\'i writers demonstrates that there are still valid reasons for questioning Baha\'i explanations of Babi doctrines and practices, as well as their portrayals of early historical events. These modern apologists, faced with the problem of reconciling the militant messianic nature of their Babi precursors and the pacifist ideals of modern Baha\'ism, continue to distort the character of the Babi religion in order to make it more palatable to the modern truth-seeker. But, beyond this reconstruction of Babism to fit into a contemporary Baha\'i historical framework, a survey of a number of books reveals that the Baha\'i Administration has, during this century, pursued a course of revision, suppression, and censorship of writings which do not conform to current standards of orthodoxy. Therefore, an examination is in order to determine the nature and the scope of this tendency within the Baha\'i Faith, which Browne brought to light nearly a century ago.

The Redefinition of BabismÂ
According to Baha\'i authors, the Bab is considered to have been a prophet or major manifestation of God and the author of his own distinct religion. But, he is also portrayed as the one who was to prepare the way for the fuller and more recent manifestation of God in Baha\'u\'llah, as John the Baptist heralded the revelation of Jesus Christ. (9) In his chronicle, God Passes By, Shoghi Effendi, the grandson of Baha\'u\'llah and first Guardian of the Faith, merged the religion of the Bab with that of Baha\'u\'llah in such a way that the Babis are no longer perceived as a distinct religious movement, but as participants in the \"Heroic\" stage of \"the first century of the Baha\'i era.\" (10) Because of this tendency to synthesize or conflate the two religions into one, (11) Baha\'i authors often ignore or distort Babi concepts and conduct which are at odds with the teachings of Baha\'u\'llah or the practice of the modern Baha\'i community. One example of this problem is the treatment of the Bab\'s doctrine of Holy War or jihad and the Babi involvement in armed conflicts with civilians and state troops in Persia (Iran) between the years 1848 and 1850.

Holy War and the Babi Uprising at Shaykh TabarsiÂ
The Baha\'i attitude towards Holy War, whether offensive or defensive, is best summed up by Baha\'u\'llah\'s son, Abdu\'l-Baha, who attributed this declaration to his father:\"...that the promulgation of the truth by such means [the sword] must on no account be allowed, even for the purposes of self-defense. He abrogated the rule of the sword and annulled the ordinance of \'Holy War.\'\" (12) This stands in contrast to the writings of the Bab which outline in some detail the waging of Holy War in order to promulgate the cause of his religion and which, toward the end of his life, took on a very hostile tone towards anyone who would not recognize his messianic claims . (13) This incongruity on the part of the \"Co Founders\" of the Baha\'i religion (14) has caused apologists considerable difficulty in relating modern Baha\'i beliefs to the writings of the Bab on the subject of Holy War, as well as providing their readers with objective accounts of the violent clashes involving the Babis and government soldiers.

In their bookÂ The Baha\'i Faith: The Emerging Global Religion, Baha\'i authors William Hatcher and J. Douglas Martin display this tendency to redefine the Bab\'s concept of Holy War and to minimize the role of armed conflict in advancing his religious claims. In spite of the fact that their book is promoted as \"the most balanced and detailed examination of Baha\'i belief to date\" and as a textbook for undergraduate studies, (15) their treatment of Babism demonstrates that the authors have not supplied the reader with any original research on the subject, but are essentially paraphrasing traditional Baha\'i histories. (16)

Concerning the Bab and Holy War, Hatcher and Martin write:

Raised in this Muslim value system, the Babis felt fully justified in defending themselves and their families against the attacks of the mullas. Some may have expected the Bab would reveal his own doctrine of jihad. If so, they were disappointed. In the Qayyumu\'l-Asma the Bab reviewed in detail the basic principles of the Quranic concept of jihad and called upon his followers to observe this governing order of the society in which they lived. Attacks on Muslims, as one of the peoples of the book, were therefore prohibited to them. (17)

In this brief quotation Hatcher and Martin state that the Bab did not develop his own unique doctrine of jihad and infer that Babis only resorted to defending themselves in the context of unprovoked religious persecution. While it is true that the Bab\'s treatment of Holy War in the Qayyumu\'l-Asma reflects an orthodox Islamic understanding of the doctrine, it should be noted that this was the Bab\'s first major work. (18) He did, in later works, abrogate Islamic law and expound his own doctrine of jihad , which allowed the waging of Holy War on any non-Babi. Denis MacEoin explains:

....the Haykal al-din , [is] an extremely late work which effectively represents the Bab\'s final thoughts on these matters... Jihad it would seem, could be waged against any group who did not believe in the Bayan [the Bab\'s crowning revelation]; the questions of unbelief, Islam, faith, dissidence, and so forth no longer apply here since the entire non-Babi world is now the \"realm of unbelief.\" In the Haykal al-din , the Babi monarch of the future is exhorted \"not to leave upon the earth, if possible, anyone save the Babis,\" while in the Dala\'il-i saba , written in Maku, the Bab states with regard to the Jews and Christians that \"unless a powerful king shall cause them to enter the faith of God, there shall be no way for their salvation.\" The Shi\'i population of Iran was now regarded as subject to the decree of holy war...We see, then, that the Bab had, by the end of his short life, moved beyond even the harshest Islamic measures against unbelievers. (19)

Hatcher and Martin seek to minimize the presence of the jihad doctrine within the Bab\'s writings, concluding their discussion of the subject by stating that, \"When the Bayan ... was subsequently revealed, no jihad doctrine was included.\" (20) While the Bayan does not treat the doctrine in detail, there are a number of passages which assume that Holy War will be fought. (21) In fact, Abdu\'l-Baha recognized that \"\'the decree of the Bayan was the striking of necks, the burning of books and papers, the destruction of shrines, and the universal slaughter of all save those who believed and were faithful.\'\" (22) Baha\'i sociologist Peter Smith affirms that, \"...the Bab detailed [in the Bayan ] specific Babi forms of ritual prayer (salat ), pilgrimage (hajj ), and holy war (jihad ).\" (23) Hatcher and Martin\'s distorted picture of the Babi notion of jihad sets the stage for their account of the clash between an armed Babi force and government troops during 1848 and 1849, at the shrine of Shaykh Tabarsi.

By playing down Babi militancy on one hand and, on the other hand, describing a \"period of political upheaval\" in which members of the Muslim clergy were free to incite persecution against the Babis, they prepare the reader for their version of the siege at Shaykh Tabarsi. (24) But, before considering their account in detail, it would be helpful at this point to outline some basic, non-controversial facts.

On July 21, 1848, a group of about 300 Babis under the leadership of Mulla Husayn Bushrui left the Persian province of Khurasan and headed west into the province of Mazandaran. On the outskirts of the town of Barfurush, the Babis were attacked by a mob, with several Babis being killed or wounded. The Babis responded to the attack and killed over one hundred of the townspeople. The Babi force continued their march through the forests of Mazandaran until they reached the shrine of Shaykh Tabarsi, where they immediately built fortifications and prepared for a siege. Within months, state troops were sent to subdue the Babis and several battles were fought over a period of about seven months, with the Babis inflicting heavy losses. After suffering many casualties by constant bombardment and skirmishes with the government army, and with supplies of food and water cut off, the Babis were forced to accept a truce which was immediately broken, resulting in the massacre or enslavement of all the Babi participants.

This was one of the most critical events in the brief history of the Babi movement, but because of Baha\'i emphasis on the unification of humankind and the promotion of world peace, (25) it is not surprising that introductions to the faith by such modern Baha\'i writers as Esselmont, Faizi, and Gaver fail to even mention the incident at Shaykh Tabarsi. (26) Other writers briefly refer to the event as an example of unprovoked persecution. (27) Hatcher and Martin devote only two paragraphs to the event in their introduction, but their account is useful because it reflects popular Baha\'i notions concerning this and other instances of Babi militancy. Hatcher and Martin describe the incident in these words:

In the province of Mazindaran, a group of some three hundred Babis, under the leadership of Mulla Husayn and the Bab\'s leading disciple, a young man named Quddus ( who had accompanied the Bab on his pilgrimage to Mecca ), found themselves besieged in a small fortress which they had hastily erected at the isolated shrine dedicated to a Muslim saint, Shaykh Tabarsi. They had enthusiastically swept through the province proclaiming that the promised Qaim had appeared, and called upon all who heard them to arise and follow...The siege at the fort turned, however, into an occasion of humiliation for the opponents of the Babis. Over the following year, one army after another, numbering finally thousands of men, was sent to overcome the few hundred defenders of the fort, and all in turn suffered decisive defeat. Eventually, the small garrison...was enticed to surrender under a solemn promise...However, no sooner did they leave the protection of the fortress than they were set upon by their besiegers. (28)

To the uniformed reader, this account would appear to represent a case of religious persecution. The authors would have us believe that the Babis were merely an enthusiastic group of evangelists, travelling throughout the countryside proclaiming the advent of the Bab as the the Promised One (Qa\'im). It is also inferred that the Babis had not considered the possibility of a violent altercation and were surprised when attacked by a hostile force and \"found themselves besieged in a small fortress which they had hastily erected...\" (29) This carefully worded recital paints a superficial and simplistic picture of an incident which can only be understood within the context of the messianic Shi\'i Islam of 19th century Persia . A closer examination indicates that the Babi participants in the actions at Shaykh Tabarsi did not perceive themselves as peace-loving missionaries, being persecuted for their faith, but as actors in a grand eschatological drama, ushering in a new dispensation. Peter Smith explains:

At their [the Babis] centre was a large group of highly motivated clerics and theological students. For such men as these, schooled in the subtleties of Shaykhi esotericism and steeped in the Shi\'i traditions of martyrdom and sacrifice, armed struggle appears to have assumed a complex symbolic role, beside the attainment of any more \'realistic\' objectives. The ideal of the Imam Husayn\'s struggle and martyrdom at Karbala provided a paradigm for their actions. Fighting a defensive jihad against the forces of unbelief, the defenders gave testimony to God\'s truth, both by the dispatch of their opponents \'to hell\' and by their own martyrdoms. (30)

As pointed out earlier, the Bab did develop his own doctrine of jihad, but it was certainly not one of his most prominent teachings. At this time there is no conclusive evidence that he gave his followers an explicit command to wage Holy War in Mazandaran and it is unlikely that such was the case. Throughout the Bab\'s brief career, he had consistently taken a course of prudence and moderation, while some of his most influential disciples continued to move in a more radical and confrontational direction. However, by 1848 the Bab recognized the inevitability of the fitna or the final conflagration in which he and his followers would suffer martyrdom. His increasingly bitter attitude toward the State, his angry denunciations of the political and religious authorities, his explicit claims to Mahdihood, and his dire predictions of the events which would accompany the Day of Resurrection encouraged the mobilization of Babi forces in the province. (31) The moment the Bab instructed Mulla Husayn to unfurl the Black Standard and move westward out of Khurasan, he made a messianic claim which challenged the legitimacy of both the religious and secular rulers of Persia and he gave his followers an unmistakable call to arms. (32) In Shi\'i tradition, the Black Standard is the symbol of the advent of the Imam Mahdi or the Guided One, who will lead his chosen ones in the final jihad before the Day of Judgement. At that time, the Imam Mahdi is to take control of all ecclesiastical authority and to call upon the secular rulers to assist him in ushering in a Golden Age which would witness the return of the Imam Husayn, Christ, and other Imams. (33) There was no doubt in the mind of Mulla Husayn that this action would provoke a violent response. As the Babi force travelled toward Mazandaran, he spoke of their destination as \"Karbala,\" the site of the martyrdom of Imam Husayn, and proclaimed, \"I, together with my seventy-two companions, shall suffer death for the sake of the Well Beloved [the Bab]. Whoso is unable to renounce the world, let him now, at this very moment, depart, for later on he will be unable to escape.\" (34) Beyond making provocative claims, the Babi force was also armed which, according to the Bayan, was only lawful during jihad and at the Bab\'s command. (35) Faced with the presence of a large group of armed men approaching under the Black Standard, it is not surprising that the people of Mazandaran would react in a violent fashion.

After the initial clash with the people of Barfurush, the Babis did not withdraw or disband to avoid further bloodshed, but continued to the shrine of Shaykh Tabarsi, calling on people to join them under the banner of the Imam Mahdi. (36) Months later, when hostilities with the Shah\'s troops commenced, the Babi defenders fought heroically, attacking and routing one army after another with the shout \"O Master of the Age.\" But, contrary to the representations of Baha\'i writers, the Babis went beyond a purely defensive action, often attacking the royalist troops, sacking neighboring villages and committing numerous atrocities against both soldiers and non-combatants. At one point, the Babis severed the heads of their enemies and mounted them on poles around the fort. (37) During the siege, Babi leaders continually cited Shi\'i traditions concerning the coming of the Mahdi, infusing the fighters with the idea that they were participants in the final battle which would wipe unbelief off of the face of the earth and usher in the New Day . (38) The Babis, at least one third of whom were religious leaders or theological students, (39) certainly understood the significance of these eschatological references and they demonstrated by their actions during this episode that they were, in fact, engaged in Holy War.

In spite of the Bab\'s relatively moderate behavior, the political and religious climate in Persia; the nature of his claims; and the radical ideals of some his leading disciples, set the Babis on an irreversible course to armed conflict and, as many of them surely understood, martyrdom for the Cause of God. Although the Bab did not call for a Holy War, the doctrinal confusion which permeated the Babi ranks coupled with the pervasive ideals of jihad and martyrdom were major factors in the events which culminated at Shaykh Tabarsi.

It seems clear that, in the case of jihad and Babi militancy, modern Baha\'i writers have sought to suppress or distort historical facts in an attempt to portray the Babi religion in a way which is more acceptable to the Western mind. Although we may see the Babis as misguided and perhaps even fanatical in their zeal for martyrdom, the Bab and his followers, in their time and place, were in fact, men and women who were alarmed by the material and moral corruption which had come to characterize Persia in the mid-nineteenth century. Devotion to their God and their determination to overcome the evil which surrounded them is a story of courage and dedication which is seldom told. But, as long as Baha\'i writers continue to view Babi history as the earliest stage of the Baha\'i revelation, rather than as a distinct religious movement, they will be unable to present an accurate historical account to their readers.

Revision, Censorship, and Suppression in Modern Baha\'i LiteratureÂ
While Babi-Baha\'i history suffers a kind of distortion at the hands of Baha\'i authors which is rather subtle, a more direct approach is taken by the Baha\'i Administration and publishers, through revision of previously printed materials and by a review process of future publications. This ongoing policy of updating earlier writings and regulating works by Baha\'is, whether for publication in Baha\'i organs or otherwise, is intended to preserve doctrinal purity and to \"\'present a true picture of the Faith to the general public...\'\" (40) Justification for such practices have generally centered on the need to correct minor errors and update statistics. (41) Or, in the case of the review process, to ensure some standard of academic quality. (42) However, the evidence suggests that the the primary concerns are the promotion of a consistent picture of Baha\'i history and dogma, the blotting out of references to failed predictions and promises, and the diversion of readers from differing or hostile points of view.

FootnotesÂ
1 Edward G. Browne, trans., A Traveller\'s Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Bab (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1891) x-xi.

2 Edward G. Browne, ed., Kitab-i Nuqtatu\'l-Kaf being the Earliest History of the Babis compiled by Hajji Mirza Jani of Kashan between the years A.D. 1850 and 1852, edited from the unique Paris ms. suppl. Persan 1071 (London: Luzac and Co., 1910) xxxv.

3 Edward G. Browne, Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion, 2nd ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1961) xxii-xxiv.

4 William M. Miller, The Baha\'i Faith: Its History and Teachings, 2nd ed. (Pasadena: William Carey Library, 1984); Samuel G. Wilson, Bahai\'sm and Its Claims: A Study of the Religion Promulgated by Baha\'u\'llah and Abdu\'l-Baha (New York: Fleming H. Revell Company,1915).

5 Denis MacEoin, \"From Babism to Baha\'ism: Problems of Militancy, Quietism, and Conflation in the Construction of a Religion,\" Religion 13 (1983). In response to MacEoin\'s views on this issue see, Muhammad Afnan and William S. Hatcher,\"Note on MacEoin\'s \'Baha\'i Fundamentalism,\'\" Religion 16 (1986) 187-92 and The Baha\'i Faith and Its Critics, unpublished manuscript. Baha\'i scholar Stephen Lambden has referred to Afnan and Hatcher\'s works as \"interesting though academically inadequate responses\" in his article \"Some Thoughts on the Establishment of a Permanent Baha\'i Studies Center and Research Institute,\" dialogue vol. II, no. 2/3 (1988) 34.

6 Hasan M. Balyuzi, Edward Granville Browne and the Baha\'i Faith (Oxford: George Ronald , 1970); William S. Hatcher and J. Douglas Martin, The Baha\'i Faith:The Emerging Global Religion (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1985) 207-11; Douglas Martin, \"The Missionary as Historian: William Miller and the Baha\'i Faith,\" World Order Volume 10, Number 3 (1976) 46-8.

7 For an appreciation of the issues, the obstacles and the scope of this problem see, Hasan M. Balyuzi, Edward Granville Browne ; Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran, 1844-1850 (Ithica: Cornell University Press, 1989) 422-40; Peter Smith, The Babi and Baha\'i Religions: From Messianic Shi\'ism to a World Religion (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1987) 225-9; Dennis MacEoin, \"Baha\'ism\", A Handbook of Living Religions edited by John R. Hinnells, (New York: Viking, 1984) 476-8 & 483-5; Denis MacEoin, \"Baha\'i Fundamentalism and the Academic Study of the Babi Movement,\" Religion 16 (1986), 59, 60. William S. Hatcher and J. Douglas Martin, The Baha\'i Faith 207-11; Muhammad Afnan and William S. Hatcher, \"Western Islamic Scholarship and Baha\'i Origins,\" Religion 15 (1985) 29 & 30; Muhammad Afnan and William S. Hatcher, \"Note on MacEoin\'s \'Baha\'i Fundamentalism\'\" Religion 16 (1986) 191; Denis MacEoin, \"Afnan, Hatcher and an Old Bone,\" Religion 16 (1986) 195.

8 Many of these books and articles have been cited throughout this paper. Mention should also be made of the commendable efforts of dialogue magazine and Kalimat Press of Los Angeles to encourage sound Baha\'i scholarship.

9 John E. Esselmont, Baha\'u\'llah and the New Era, 5th rev. ed. (Wilmette: Baha\'i Publishing Trust,1980) 20; Jessyca R. Gaver, The Baha\'i Faith (New York: Award Books, 1967) 49-50; H.M. Balyuzi, The Bab:The Herald of the Day of Days (Oxford: George Ronald, 1973) 191; John Ferraby, All Things Made New, 2nd. rev. ed. (London: Baha\'i Publishing Trust, 1987) 20; Phillip Smith, \"What Was A Baha\'i? Concerns of British Baha\'is, 1900-1920,\" ed. Moojan Momen , Studies In the Babi and Baha\'i Religions: Studies in Honor of the Late Hasan M. Balyuzi (Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 1988) 224-5 & 228.

10 Shoghi Effendi, God Passes By, 5th ed. (Wilmette: Baha\'i Publishing Trust, 1965) xiii-xiv; Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal 414-5; Peter Smith, The Babi and Baha\'i Religions 115.

11 Denis MacEoin, \"Babism to Baha\'ism\".

12 John E. Esselmont, Baha\'u\'llah and the New Era, 170.

13 Denis MacEoin, \"The Babi Concept of Holy War\", Religion 12 (1982) 101-9; Mangol Bayat, Mysticism and Dissent: Socioreligious Thought in Qajar Iran (Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1982) 94-7; Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal 377-83.

14 John E. Esselmont, Baha\'u\'llah and the New Era 20.

15 William S. Hatcher and J. Douglas Martin, The Baha\'i Faith dust jacket notes and Preface.

16 William S. Hatcher and J. Douglas Martin, The Baha\'i Faith 7 & 8.

17 William S. Hatcher and J. Douglas Martin, The Baha\'i Faith 13. See also, Muhammad Afnan and William S. Hatcher, \"Western Islamic Scholarship\" 40-1.

18 Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal 172-3; John Ferraby, All Things Made New 202-3.

19 Denis MacEoin, \"Holy War\" 107-9; See also Abbas Amanat, Resurrection and Renewal 377-83.

20 William S. Hatcher and J. Douglas Martin, The Baha\'i Faith 13, 14.

21 Denis MacEoin, \"Holy War\" 107-8.

22 Denis MacEoin, \"Baha\'i Fundamentalism\" 72.