. . . and Claiming the Right to Silence Baha'i Scholars
Continental Board of Counsellors
for the
Protection and Propagation of the Baha'i Faith in the Americas
16 July 1996
Dear X:
When I telephoned last May to ask for a second meeting to discuss in
greater depth a number of concerns touched on in our earlier consultation, you
indicated that you would prefer that I put these issues in writing. This letter,
which has benefited from the comments of the International Teaching Center,
seeks to respond to your request.
As I explained, my reason for the proposed meeting was a desire to
assist you in understanding how a number of your postings to the members of
[an] internet forum . . . were in conflict with theTeachings of the
Baha'i Faith, and how their persistent promotion by you was
becoming harmful to its interests. As you know, a special responsibility for the
protection of the Faith is one of the primary functions assigned to
the institution of the Counsellors.
While I have not archived your . . . postings, I retained a handful
of them which seemed to me particularly inappropriate and disquieting in the
context of a discussion ostensibly intended as a serious study of Baha'u'llah's
Message. Copies of some of these which illustrate the issues mentioned here
are enclosed for your reference.
Essentially, your statements convey an image of the Faith in which the
Covenant, although it is fundamental to Baha'u'llah's Message, has little
substance beyond a kind of nominal legitimacy and certain very narrowly
defined functions assigned to its central institutions. The broad and unique
authority explicitly conferred on the Guardianship and the Universal House of
Justice in the Writings of the Founders of the Faith is systematically whittled
down to a point that would, if taken seriously, paralyze the ability of the Cause
to carry out the mission laid on it by its Founder.
The issue is not one of your having views which may be incompatible
with the Teachings. Baha'i life is a continuing endeavor to understand and
implement the truths of the Revelation of God to which we are committed. Nor
would expressions of opinion during discussions among groups of Baha'is,
however misleading or objectionable some of these comments might seem to
many members of the community, normally be matters that the institutions of
the Faith would feel responsible to take up. What has aroused the concern of
the International Teaching Centre with respect to your . . . interventions,
and has disturbed many of your fellow believers, has rather been a pattern of
comment that appears to reflect a calculated and determined effort on your
part, in the name of detached scholarly discussion, to impose on the
presentation of Baha'u'llah's Message a strongly held ideological view that
contradicts the authoritative and explicit interpretation of Baha'i Texts . . .
these comments left me with the impression that you feel no compunction in
disagreeing with Baha'u'llah and `Abdul-Baha themselves when their
statements come into conflict with your strongly held personal convictions . . .
In a statement posted over a year and a half ago--and repeated this past
May . . . you explained with great frankness the beliefs that motivate you.
Please let me be equally candid, then, in expressing my opinion that, if you
were today to advance such views in support of an application for enrollment
in the Baha'i Faith, no Baha'i Assembly would accept your application or
regard you as fulfilling the basic requirements for Baha'i membership set out
by the Guardian:
"Full recognition of the station of the Forerunner, the Author, and the
True Exemplar of the Baha'i Cause, as set forth in Abdul-Baha's
Testament; unreserved acceptance of, and submission to, whatsoever
has been revealed by their Pen; loyal and steadfast adherence to every
clause of our Beloved's sacred Will; and close association with the spirit
as well as the form of the present day Baha'i administration throughout
the world--these I conceive to be the fundamental and primary considerations
that must be fairly, discreetly and thoughtfully ascertained before reaching
such a vital decision."
I regret the bald tone of this necessarily brief and constrained
presentation of my concerns as a Counsellor. As I say, it seemed to me greatly
to be preferred if we could have discussed such important matters face to face,
in an unhurried atmosphere of respect both for your personal convictions and
the integrity of the Faith's Teachings. You are the only one who can know
whether in your heart you do indeed believe in Baha'u'llah as the
Manifestation of God to our age. Baha'i institutions do not have the right
to pry into believers' innermost convictions, but they do have the obligation
to counsel individuals whose dissemination of personal beliefs is doing harm
to the interests of the Faith.
The International Teaching Centre has asked me--with the knowledge of
the Universal House of Justice--to warn you that your promulgation of views
contrary to the Teachings was damaging to the Cause. If you were to resume
in any fashion this course of action, the effect would be to bring you into direct
conflict with the Covenant.
With sincerity and concern,
Stephen Birkland, Member
Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas
cc: The International Teaching Centre
Continental Board of Counsellors in the Americas
National Spiritual Assembly of the United States
Editor's Note: This letter was sent to a Baha'i academic a couple years after electronic mail fora began making a big impact on the Baha'i community. The 'ideology' of which the author stands accused appears to be classical Liberalism, in the sense of devotion to human rights, parliamentary governance and procedure, reason, and academic scholarship. One can only speculate as to what ideology is being urged on the author, but it is not, obviously, one of the Left, and if you subtract both Liberalism and Marxism from the main available ideologies, you are probably left with some form of Fascism. Those not versed in Baha'i technical terminology or practices will need to be informed that the last paragraph contains a threat to have this individual shunned by all Baha'is (i.e. his family, long-time friends and readers) if he does not fall silent.