Baha'i Faith Overview

Baha’i (Persian, “of glory”), religious faith founded in the late 19th century as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Mirza Ali Muhammad of Shīrāz, known as the Bab (see Babism). The founder of the Baha’i faith was Mirza Husayn Ali of Nur, born in Persia and later known as Baha’u’llah (Arabic, “the Glory of God”). He became a follower of the Bab, and in 1850, upon the martyrdom of the Bab, became a prominent Babi leader. The Persian government persecuted the Babis, and as many as 20,000 Babis may have died for their religion in its first two decades. Baha’u’llah, his family, and some of his followers were spared, but Baha’u’llah was imprisoned and tortured and afterward exiled to Baghdād, then part of the Ottoman Empire. A political prisoner for the rest of his life, Baha’u’llah was sent by the Ottoman government, together with his family and a few of his followers, from Baghdād to Constantinople (present-day İstanbul) to Adrianople (now Edirne) and finally to a penal colony in Acre, Palestine (modern-day ‘Akko, Israel), where he remained until his death.

Upon establishing the Babi faith in 1844, the Bab had foretold that in 19 years a divine figure would appear, “him whom God should manifest.” In 1863, in Baghdād, Baha’u’llah proclaimed himself to be that manifestation. His followers, called Baha’is, believe that he was the latest in a series of divine manifestations that includes Zoroaster, the Buddha, Jesus Christ, and Muhammad and that he brought a new revelation to the world.

Baha’u’llah had sought above all to establish a universal religion; his teachings urging moral and social improvement were spread mainly by his eldest son, Abbas, later called Abd ul-Baha (Arabic, “the Servant of the Glory”). Like his father, he was a political prisoner for years. In 1908, with the rise of the Young Turks, he was freed; he subsequently traveled to Europe and North America to introduce his father's teachings. He summarized the Baha’i faith in a set of principles that included among its concrete social aims the abolition of racial and religious prejudice, equality of the sexes, an international auxiliary language, universal education, a universal faith founded on the assumption of the essential identity of the great religions, and a universal representative government. The writings of the Bab, Baha’u’llah, and Abd ul-Baha constitute the scripture of the Baha’is; neither a priesthood nor a body of ritual exists. In his will, Abd ul-Baha named his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, as guardian of the faith.

Under the direction of Shoghi Effendi from 1921 to 1957, the Baha’is in the United States developed an administrative system with headquarters in Wilmette, Illinois. Wherever nine or more Baha’is reside, a “spiritual assembly” may be elected; more than 1,200 assemblies have been organized in the United States. Delegates are sent from the local assemblies to an annual convention at the national headquarters, at which a National Spiritual Assembly is elected. Of an estimated 6 to 7 million Baha’is worldwide in the year 2000, some 142,000 lived in the United States. The largest Baha’i community is in India, where about 2 million Baha’i live. About 300,000 to 350,000 Baha’i live in Iran, although the Islamic fundamentalist government of Iran has persecuted Baha’is in that country since coming to power in 1979.

The Baha’i faith has adherents in more than 300 countries and dependencies, and Baha’i literature has been translated into several hundred languages. The Baha’i faith’s world headquarters is in Israel, on the slopes of Mount Carmel overlooking Haifa and ‘Akko. There, a shrine of the Bab, an archives building, and an administrative center have been constructed.