Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri was converted as a young man to the teachings of the Bab. In 1852 he was thrown into Tehran prison during the first wave of persecution against the Babis for their plot to kill the Shah of Iran, Nasiruddin Shah. On his release, in January 1853, he went to Baghdad where he became the de facto head of the Babi community there. In 1863 he proclaimed himself to be the messiah foretold by the Bab. Such was his influence that the Ottoman authorities decided to move him from Baghdad to Istanbul, and from there to Edirne (in Turkey). Those who followed his claim became known as Bahai’s, while those who rejected it remained Babis. In 1868 Nuri and many followers were exiled to Acre in Palestine where he was imprisoned for nine years in the fortress in Acre. Shortly after his release he went to live in Bahji, near Haifa, now in Israel, where he remained until his death in 1892. On the death of Baha’ullah, the movement came under the leadership of his eldest son ‘Abbas Effendi (1844-1921), who acquired the title ‘Abd al-Baha (“servant of the glory of God”). After a spell in prison under the Ottoman Turks, he undertook three missionary journeys: to Egypt (1910), to Europe (1911), and to the United States and Europe (1912-1913). Lecturing to large audiences, he both consolidated Bahaism in these parts of the world and systematized his father’s teachings. ‘Abbas Effendi was succeeded by his grandson, Shoghi Effendi (1897-1957), who directed his energies into developing the Bahai communities in Europe and North America. Under his leadership, the Bahai community came to be organized within a system based on local and national assemblies. When he died in 1957, he left no heirs, and the movement’s organization was placed under the jurisdiction of a body known as the Council of the Hands of the Cause. In 1962, the International House of Justice was established in Haifa as their headquarters.. This body is reelected every five years. Today, there are Bahai communities in most countries of the world. It is estimated that there are between 3 and 4 million Bahai’s in the world today. The largest Bahai community is in India with about 1 million members. In Iran, the Bahai’s remain the largest minority group with about 300,000 adherents. Bahai’s believe that God’s greatest name is Baha (glory, splendor). The name is used by Bahai’s when they are addressing one another, and is often found on rings or wall hangings. A second expression, Ya Baha’ul–-Abha (O Thou the Glory of the All-Glorious), is represented in the form of calligraphy. The number ‘9’ is regarded as possessing important mystical properties and is sometimes used as a motif in decoration. The Bahai place of worship is called in Arabic the mashriq al-adhkar (which means the “place where the uttering of the name of God arises at dawn”). The mashriq is a nine sided building in keeping with the mystical qualities of the number ‘9’.
Posted on: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 03:45:25 +0000
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