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| Ahmad Sohrab... |
 Posted: Sat Nov 07, 2009 5:47 pm |
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Full excerpts at Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/SohrabEx.htm
Ahmad Sohrab, who was Abdul-Baha's secretary for eight years, mistakenly chose to support an
organizational structure under a "guardian," though he was well aware that, as he subtly
acknowledged, "Abdul Baha had never in speech or writing given the slightest indication that there
would be a successor to himself. On the contrary, a number of addresses delivered by him on various
occasions had made the opposite impression." The Will and Testament of Abdul-Baha (61).
Many of Sohrab's comments and books should be read in the light of his attempting to make amends
with, or influence, Shoghi Effendi, who "excommunicated" him, as Shoghi Effendi had done with his
own entire family. Ruth White and Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell went much deeper into what had gone
wrong after Abdul-Baha's death, but Sohrab throws light upon various Bahai problems of the time,
such as freedom of religious conscience, of which many such problems continue today for other Bahai
denominations based upon the fraudulent will and testament of 1921.
Given subsequent Bahai history, it is clear Sohrab also failed to understand the wisdom and very
profound change in religious form and conduct that Abdul-Baha taught when he repeatedly stated the
Bahai Movement could not be organized. Abdul-Baha's Teaching runs entirely contrary to what people
usually think of as "religion," and is still today a profoundly challenging paradox for many seekers
and Bahais.
Scholarship worthy of the name cannot be done without confronting the Bahai history to which Ruth
White, Julie Chanler, and Mirza Ahmad Sohrab testify.
EXCERPTS: Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. Broken Silence. The Story of Today's Struggle for Religious Freedom.
New York: Universal Publishing, 1942.
Pages 83, 85, 131, and 206 are missing from the scanned H-Net version of Broken Silence:
"The love of religious liberty is a stronger sentiment than an attachment to civil or political
freedom. That freedom which the conscience demands and which men feel bound by their hopes of
salvation to contend for, can hardly fail to be attained. Conscience in the cause of religion, and
the worship of Deity, prepares the mind to act and suffer beyond almost all other causes.... History
instructs us that this love of religious liberty, a compound sentiment in the breast of men, made up
of the dearest sense of right and the highest conviction of duty, is able to look the sternest
despotism in the face" (12). --Daniel Webster
Praise be to God! You are living upon the great continent of the West enjoying perfect liberty,
security and peace of this just government . . . for in this human world there is no greater
blessing than liberty. You do not know. I who for forty years have been a prisoner, do know. I do
know the value and blessing of liberty. For you have been and are now living in freedom and you have
no fear of anybody. Is there a greater blessing than this? Freedom! Liberty! Security! These are the
great bestowals of God. Therefore praise ye God! --Abdul-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace,
Vol. I, page 49. Address before the Metropolitan African Methodist Church, Washington, D.C. April
23, 1912.
"Here, I wish to affirm my conviction that the Will of Abdul Baha is valid and that his appointment
of Shoghi Effendi as the Guardian of the Bahai Cause is unchallengeable. Nevertheless, I take
exception to certain policies and methods initiated by Shoghi Effendi and the Bahai Administration
established under his leadership" (26).
"The teachings of Baha'u'llah and Abdul Baha are liberal to the nth degree, and broad beyond the
outposts of human thought. It was the intention of the Founders to establish an unorganized
movement, so all-inclusive and free as to be immune to the natural proclivities of men to restrict
and limit. The fact that restriction and limitation have already set in and are fast gaining ground,
at this date, only twenty years after the removal from our midst of Abdul Baha, is a matter of
profound concern to all those who, labels apart, believe in promoting Universal Religion" (26-27).
"The Bahai Cause, as founded by Baha'u'llah nearly a century ago and as interpreted by his son Abdul
Baha, was and still is a UNIVERSAL RELIGION. Its principles were intended to safeguard the
conscience of man from interference by any hierarchical organization; to spiritualize society and to
socialize religion; to unify the fundamental ideals of the World Faiths; to bestow upon every child
of God the precious gift of liberty and to harmonize the conflicting interests of nations, races and
peoples of the earth with the power of spirit. However, the present day Bahai Administration under
the title of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the United States and Canada has,
through its dogmas and creeds, frustrated the aims of the Founders of the Bahai Faith."
"The authenticity of this document is beyond the shadow of doubt" (47).
An Old Accusation
"Practically, from the departure of the Master from this life until today, it has been charged
against me by the Bahai Organization and by the members of the Community that I deny the Will of
Abdul Baha and refuse to accept Shoghi Effendi as Guardian. Therefore, I take this opportunity to
make a plain and unequivocal statement: Never in thought, word or writing have I questioned the
authenticity of the Will, nor denied the validity of the appointment of Shoghi Effendi. Let us now
hope that, once and for all time, this fact has been make clear and manifest" (49).
"After the ascension of Abdul Baha in 1921, certain reactionary and dogmatic forces began to make
their appearance in the Cause. Almost unnoticeable at first, they, little by little, gained ground
until at present, this movement, which was the most universal and liberal of all movements, past and
present, has been reduced to a sect, while its spirit is all but extinguished. The principles of
Baha'u'llah are forgotten and in their stead we see nothing but a mass of rules and regulations that
duplicate, to say the least, the ecclesiastical paraphernalia of previous organized religions" (51).
"If, in the course of my writing, I have occasionally disagreed with the policies of Shoghi Effendi,
it is not because I, in the least, contest the genuineness of the Will of Abdul Baha or question the
appointment of Shoghi Effendi to the Guardianship, but because, as a Bahai, I maintain my freedom of
conscience and hold to the injunction of Baha'u'llah: *Independent investigation of Truth.* Citizens
of the United States feel themselves at liberty to freely discuss, to agree or disagree with the
policies of the President. This does not imply that they question his right to occupy the White
House, nor that they are planning to overthrow the government. On the contrary, it is an expression
of their love for this country and of their desire to contribute toward its safety and betterment"
(52-53).
"I will show from the writings of Baha'u'llah and Abdul Baha that the Cause that they envisaged and
for which they suffered is quite different and totally at variance with the one that is being taught
today. One is divine revelation, the other is human authority; one is universal and all-inclusive,
the other is restricted and separative; one is dignity and freedom of conscience, the other is
subserviency and blind loyalty; one is wings outstretched, the other is feet enchained" (53).
"I do not claim to be a leader. I do not seek followers. I have no wish that my name should be even
remembered. I am simply a voice in the wilderness. Lastly, farthest of all from my thoughts is the
idea of being destructive, for my aim is to re-discover the original spiritual teachings of
Baha'u'llah and Abdul Baha, which were and are for the establishment of a divine civilization" (54).
"The Local Assembly of this city wished to supervise our activities. I, on the other hand, owing to
long experience with the Assemblies, was convinced that such supervision implied a complete
domination and would lead to the total destruction of the work itself. We looked upon The New
History Society as an independent effort to teach the principles of the Cause, and we needed freedom
in so doing. Afterwards, when the initial interest had been created, we were ready to guide our new
found friends to the Center, to arrange classes under the direction of its own Bahai teachers and to
strive in every way toward the co-operation of the two groups" (75).
"It was repeatedly required of me that I should appear before the Local Assembly of New York and the
National Spiritual Assembly, but I looked on these bodies as Religious Tribunals . . . and believed
that I would be trapped into making admissions, regarding my opinion of the organization, which
would be used against me. Consequently, while I was at all times willing to discuss any and all
matters with individual members of the Assemblies, I consistently refused to appear before their
official groups (77).
"Now, Mrs. Chanler knew that *co-operation* meant supervision of our programs and of everything that
was said on our platform. It implied endless discussions and certain interruptions of the work. We
felt that we could not risk... (82). [83 missing]
Recruiting Station
"By this time, large numbers of the members of the Bahai organization had actually jointed The New
History Society. This membership with us in no wise affected their loyalty to the Center, for all of
us looked on the new movement as a sort of recruiting station, and we often termed it as such" (93).
Voting season
"The New History Society, from time to time, opening its flood-gages and allowing a stream of
immature Bahais to filter into the precincts of the Assembly. So far so good; but how about the
voting season? Would it not be likely that these fresh, untrammeled minds would pick out some *new*
officers to represent them, and that within a few years a large part of the administrative personnel
would be changed? This supposition brings up a serious point, applying to both National and Local
Assemblies, the former having been functioning since time out of mind with practically no change of
officers" (95).
"I have to thank Ruhi Effendi for so concisely summing up my characteristics in the above statement.
I could not have done it better myself. An almost religious belief in freedom for all men, and a
dislike for the red tape that applies to organizations (especially supposedly spiritual ones) are
strongly developed in my consciousness. On this basis, I have always functioned and always will" (114).
"For ourselves, we shall continue along the path that we have chosen so deliberately; we shall teach
freedom of conscience, respect for the convictions of others and cooperation between men and women
of all systems of thought tending toward a true comradeship of human beings, born and unborn. Then,
shall we teach religious liberty? To ask the question is to answer it. The aspiration toward
religious liberty has always existed in the consciousness of mankind. It lives in Hindu hearts, in
Jewish hearts, in Christian hearts, in Islamic hearts and, after its long leap from the heart of
*The Most Great Prisoner in Acca*, it lives in the hearts of people everywhere. This is a cardinal
principle of the New World Order" (120).
"Let me state that during the last eleven years this body of men and women have set themselves to
oppose the work of The New History Society, to attribute to its founders and members all sorts of
unworthy motives; to publish in *Bahai News* articles of a most crude character and to countenance
stories and rumors that have no foundation in fact and no relation to reality. In taking this
attitude and in systematically following a course of enmity and persecution, the members of the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the United States and Canada have been free and
untrammeled; one may assert that they have used (or in my opinion have abused) their constitutional
right of free press, free speech and free assembly (124-125).
"In 1939, The New History Society exhibited its works and literature in [the] Science and Education
Building at the New York World's Fair, and during these months an idea came to the mind of Mrs.
Frederick Allien, one of the first Bahais in this country, who had been called *Berthalin* by Abdul
Baha and who has used this name ever since. The idea was that it would be a valuable service to the
Cause if, after the closing of the Fair, our exhibit could be transported to the city. After some
consultation, it was decided to take this step as a purely temporary activity, and on November 7th,
1939, *Bahai Bookshop* was opened at 828 Lexington Avenue, a lease having been signed for the
duration of six months. I admit that we were fully conscious that, in all probability, the National
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahais of the United States and Canada would resent this further heralding
of the Bahai name and teachings. However, we were prepared, as in the past, to meet opposition in
silence (126).
"Baha'u'llah and Abdul Baha lived in prison, suffered and gave their teachings *free* for the
religious unification of mankind in order that, in 1928, these spiritual heavenly teachings be
monopolized, and sold under trade-mark to an unsuspecting public as so much *goods*, similar to
*Blue Sunoco, G. Washington coffee, Twenty Mule Team Boraxo* or *the new, blended with Havana,
Whilte Owl Cigar* (it's milder)!" (132).
"The Bahai organization is not a religion, nor a spiritual renaissance, nor the spirit of the age,
but is a full-fledged corporation which, while it engages itself in marketing the principles of
Baha'u'llah for the establishment of Universal Peace, through its various branches in the United
States, Canada and in other parts of the world, has protected these goods by taking out a trade-mark
on the very name which more than twenty thousand Persian men and women claimed at the price of their
lives" (133).
"I will point out one peculiar aspect of *Bahai News*. Every copy, in recent times [1940s], carries
on its front page the inscription: *For Bahais Only.* Why for Bahais only, if the Bahai Cause is
intended for the whole world? Why for Bahais only, if there is nothing to hide? Why for Bahais only,
if this periodical is a credit to those who prepare it? Abdul Baha on many occasions said that in
the Bahai Cause there is no secret doctrine, and that there should be no secret society nor secret
meetings. He never thought of specifying the point that there should be no secret publication: *For
men only, For members of the Klan only, For Bahais Only* (136).
"The insidious adversaries are those who hold office in the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Bahais of the United States and Canada. They are the ones who, through their legalistic verbiage,
have stopped the circulation of the blood of life through the arteries of mankind; they are the ones
who have banished love from their midst and enthroned the Veiled Hatred which is more dreadful than
the unveiled one; they are the ones who have spread the pall of subtle fear and suspicion over the
Bahai Community, exiling confidence and self-respect; they are the ones who, through political
manipulations before and during annual Bahai Conventions, are re-elected to the same offices year
after year--thus, keeping a stranglehold on the activities of the Cause and directing those
activities according to their own good-pleasure" (137).
"The writer of the article in *Bahai News reaches the height of his slanderous vilification when he
likens Mr. and Mrs. Chanler and their Bahai friends *to those enemies that preceded them:
Subhi-Ezel, Mohamet Ali, Kheirella and their like" (138).
"The Bahai Movement is not an organization. You cannot organize the Bahai Movement. The Bahai
Movement is the spirit of the age. It is the essence of all the highest ideals of this century. The
Bahai Cause is an inclusive movement. The teachings of all religions and societies are found here.
Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Mohammadans, Zoroastrians, Theosophists, Freemasons, Spiritualists,
etc., find their highest aims in this Cause, Socialists and philosophers find their theories fully
develped in this movement" --Abdul-Baha (141).
"Registered Aug. 7, 1928 Trade-Mark 254,271 United States Patent Office National Spiritual Assembly
of the Baha'is of the United States and Canada of New York, N. Y. Application filed March 10, 1928.
Serial No. 262,923. BAHA'I STATEMENT To the Commissioner of Patents: National Spiritual Assembly of
the Baha'is of the United States and Canada, a common-law corporation, organized and operated under
the declaration of trust and doing business at...
As we read and re-read the statement, we are lost in a sea of amazement. We rub our eyes, we fidget,
we feel restless; we wonder whether all this is not a nightmare--impossible, incredible. We stagger,
and search in our consciousness for an explanation; then, completely baffled, we look up into the
face of Mr. Horace Holley. Maybe he will tell us what this means! He smiles, triumphantly pointing
to the signature, and we read: National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States and
Canada by Horace Holley, Secretary.... There is a stake on the *source* of the Bahai Cause and its
Mrs. Chanler emphasizes liberty and the universal and non-exclusive nature of Baha'u'llah's Teachings.
Describes the declarations of twenty-eight people to the Bahai Cause.
Mrs. Chanler and Sohrab's lawyers refute the claims of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Baha'is of the United States. The New York Supreme Court later also upheld Mrs. Chanler and Sohrab's
right to use the name Bahai.
Hon. Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler, as Lieutenant-Governor of New York State, in 1906. H-Net, a tax
supported Internet system, for scholarly study, also funded by Michigan State University, a
publicly-funded institution, is being used by fundamentalist Baha'is to suppress the fact that a
former Lieutenant-Governor was the husband of Mrs. Chanler, and supported her and Sohrab, morally
and financially, in their decades-long battle to preserve their human right to freedom of speech and
conscience.
Reform Bahai Faith
Rochester, Michigan USA
www.ReformBahai.org
Chicago Tribune. Baha'i rift. Baha'is upset with Orthodox Baha'i Faith May 18, 2009
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/may/18/local/chi-bahai-18-may18
Comments posted to The Chicago Tribune Forum on one page:
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Chicago_Tribune.html
Yahoo Group - ReformBahai
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReformBahai
Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship
Reform Bahai Faith
Rochester, Michigan USA
www.ReformBahai.org
Chicago Tribune. Baha'i rift. Baha'is upset with Orthodox Baha'i Faith May 18, 2009
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/may/18/local/chi-bahai-18-may18
Comments posted to The Chicago Tribune Forum on one page:
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Chicago_Tribune.html
Yahoo Group - ReformBahai
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReformBahai
Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship
Reform Bahai Faith
Rochester, Michigan USA
www.ReformBahai.org
Chicago Tribune. Baha'i rift. Baha'is upset with Orthodox Baha'i Faith May 18, 2009
http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2009/may/18/local/chi-bahai-18-may18
Comments posted to The Chicago Tribune Forum on one page:
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Chicago_Tribune.html
Yahoo Group - ReformBahai
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReformBahai
Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship |
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