The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience

Here are highlights from both the April 23, 2008 Opinion and Motion. Further comments at bottom:

Original documents at Contempt Motion by Wilmette NSA
& Response by Orthodox Bahá'í Faith
https://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html

139-opinion.pdf

140-judgment.pdf


"[T]he chain of successorship lacks a link," wrote the Honorable Amy J. St Eve, United States District Court Judge, in her Judgment in favor of theChicago_trial_january_7_2008_006 Orthodox Bahai Faith and the Baha'i Publishers Under the Provisions of the Covenant. The Court ruled on April 23, 2008 after holding an evidentiary hearing last January 7, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois on the contempt motion brought by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States (Wilmette NSA).

In her decision, the Court stated that: "the vast weight of the record (including credible testimony) reflects that there was a significant doctrinal rift on a critical tenet of each group's faith, and that the PNBC's membership varied materially from that of the NSA-UHG. The record further reflects a demonstrable lack of intent to violate the injunction, and that the PNBC was not created to avoid the effect of the injunction. Simply put, there is no substantial continuity between the NSA-UHG and the PNBC, and, as a result, Mr. Schlatter, Mr. Marangella, and the PNBC have not violated the injunction."


Excerpts:

p: 12
II. Application To The Court's Findings of Fact Applying the above-stated principles here, none of the Alleged Contemnors is in privity with the bound entity, and thus none has violated the injunction. In rendering this finding, the Court has carefully and deliberately weighed all of the evidence adduced at the hearing and otherwise submitted by the parties. The Court closely assessed the demeanor of each testifying witness, including his or her body language, tone of voice, facial expressions, mannerisms, and other factors indicative of credibility.

p. 27
Rather, the vast weight of the record (including credible testimony) reflects that there was a significant doctrinal rift on a critical tenet of each group's faith, and that the PNBC's membership varied materially from that of the NSA-UHG. The record further reflects a demonstrable lack of intent to violate the injunction, and that the PNBC was not created to avoid the effect of the injunction. Simply put, there is no substantial continuity between the NSA-UHG and the PNBC, and, as a result, Mr. Schlatter, Mr. Marangella, and the PNBC have not violated the injunction.

p. 31
After considering the full record in this case, the Court finds that SIBC and the BPUPC are not in privity with the NSA-UHG....

p. 32
CONCLUSION
For the above reasons, the Court finds that the Alleged Contemnors are not in privity with the NSA-UHG and, in turn, that they are not in contempt of the injunction.

Judge Amy J. St. Eve
April 23, 2008

--

Reform Bahai Faith Letters to Judge Amy J. St. Eve in CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

March 8, 2007

The Honorable Amy J. St. Eve
United States District Court
Northern District of Illinois
Courtroom 1241, Chambers 1260
Everett McKinley Dirksen Federal Building
219 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604

Re: Civil Action No. 64 C 1878

Dear Judge St. Eve:

As amici curiae, members of the Reform Bahai Faith are concerned about the impact of the present lawsuit upon our denomination, though differing in view from all named parties. Religious liberty is not only involved but is the issue before the Court. [nsa-memo.pdf for the lie made before the court that "No question of religious liberty is involved," page 2.]

While all named parties essentially differ over their interpretation of the purported will and testament of Abdul-Baha, members of the Reform Bahai Faith agree with the 1929 opinion of Bahai Ruth White and the 1930 Report of Dr. Charles Ainsworth Mitchell that the will is a fraudulent document.

Dr. Mitchell was a leading forensic researcher of the time at the British Museum and his work is still cited in academic sources. His Report is deposited with the Library of Congress (LC Control No.: mm 81000871) and a recently obtained certified copy is herewith provided to the Court.

The key passage of Dr. Mitchell’s Report, on the last page, second to the last paragraph, reads, “A  minute comparison of the authenticated writing with the writing on every page of the alleged will . . . has failed to detect in any part of the will the characteristics of the writing of Abdu’l-Baha, as shown in the authenticated specimens.”

Respectfully,

FG

The Reform Bahai Faith
95 Theses - On Bahai Liberty
www.ReformBahai.org

[original certified copy enclosed to Judge Amy St. Eve]

A SCANNED COPY of Dr. Mitchell's certified Report may be examined at the link below:

Dr. C. (Charles) Ainsworth Mitchell - Certified Copy from the Library of Congress
Report on the Writing Shown on the Photographs of the Alleged Will of Abdul-Baha. 1930.
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htm

--

--

January 7, 2008

Re: Civil Action No. 64 C 1878

The Honorable Amy J. St. Eve
United States District Court
Northern District of Illinois
Courtroom 1241, Chambers 1260
Everett McKinley Dirksen Federal Building
219 South Dearborn Street
Chicago, Illinois 60604

Dear Judge St. Eve:

The Reform Bahai Faith submits to the Court that the NSA of Wilmette, while publicly hiding behind a facade of liberalism, is essentially practicing Islamic "takfir," in the words of the scholar of Islam Bernard Lewis, "recognizing and denouncing apostasy," labeling people "kafir" or infidels, and issuing "fatwas" or decrees, denying the very existence of other Bahais and denominations, all indicative of the worst in the Shiite Islamic heritage of the Bahai Faith-practices Baha'u'llah specifically rejected, teaching tolerance of different religious views congruent with modern Western custom and practice. Nothing could be more diametrically opposed to the democracy of our civic and legal order. The NSA of Wilmette is essentially seeking to use the Court in a type of jihad.

Although the Reform Bahai Faith is not a party to Civil Action No. 64 C 1878, we have knowledge of what we believe are malicious and slanderous misrepresentations made to the Court on behalf of the NSA of Wilmette in Document 49-2:

"14. The Web site at 'reformbahai.org' is the site of an outspoken critic of NSA named FG. While the Web site gives the impression that an organization is associated with Mr. Glaysher, there is no such organization. On information and belief, Mr. Glaysher's claims are simply not taken seriously by any one. The Web site is merely a stage, in a comer of the Web, for Mr. Glaysher's unusual fixation upon, and animus toward, NSA. This, of course, is not evidence of a Baha'i Faith denomination. The attached affidavit of Tracey Giertz indicates there was no content at this site until September 3, 2004. See id at ¶ 18."

The NSA of Wilmette offers the Court no "information" but ad hominem and slanderous vilification, which it has routinely used against other Bahai denominations since as early as the 1930s. Tracey Giertz, in her affidavit ends with Paragraph 16, making no mention of the Reform Bahai Faith or www.reformbahai.org, only the Free Bahais. Neither I nor the Reform Bahai Faith has ever had any interest in, or ownership of, the Free Bahais and their website. Nor have I or the Reform Bahai Faith ever been involved in any way with the Unitarian Bahais and their website. Our website was available online beginning August 19, 2004. By chance, the Reform Bahai website is registered through the same registration service as the Free Bahais, GoDaddy.com, one of the least expensive, used by over 25 million people, and which protects personal information from identity thieves. The Archive service Tracey Giertz used often takes a week or two to find and document new websites.

With approximately [deleted] members, most of whom are US citizens, Reform Bahais indeed do exist and are actively seeking to grow and develop in accordance with the rights and obligations of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The NSA is seeking to use the ruling of a US Court against Bahai denominations who hold other religious opinions and thereby prohibit the "free exercise"of their and our First Amendment rights.

I also wish to inform the Court that the Reform Bahai Press has just published its first book of Bahai writings, The Universal Principles of the Reform Bahai Faith, available for sale throughout the country and much of the world since December 14, 2007. I have enclosed a copy of the book for the Court as further evidence of our existence as a growing, independent Bahai denomination.

The Reform Bahai Faith does not use either an apostrophe nor diacritical marks in the generic word Bahai, a spelling widely used in the USA since as early as 1900.

The Reform Bahai Faith emphatically presents before the Court the fact that it does not look to other Bahai denominations for its understanding of the Teachings of Baha'u'llah, especially all those denominations who are named parties, all of which we believe are based upon a fraudulent will and testament, purporting to be that of Abdul-Baha, and which document gave birth to the fundamentalist religious organization that has initiated the lawsuit before the Court, pretending to be a mere corporation. We provided the Court with a certified copy from the Library of Congress of Dr. C. Ainsworth Mitchell's Report on the Writing Shown on the Photographs of the Alleged Will of Abdul-Baha on March 8, 2007.

The animus of the NSA of Wilmette against the Reform Bahai Faith stems, among those reasons already alluded to, from the fact that the Reform Bahai Faith does not believe in an eventual Bahai theocracy; but a separation of church and state; rejects the infallibility of any Bahai Universal House of Justice; accepts that women can serve at all elected levels, including someday on a properly elected Bahai Universal House of Justice, unlike the corrupt one now located in Haifa, Israel.

We draw the attention of the Court to twenty-six pages of selections from Mirza Ahmad Sohrab's Broken Silence: The Story of Today's Struggle for Religious Freedom (1942), documenting the attempts by the NSA of Wilmette to trademark and copyright the generic term Bahai in 1928, though Bahais of different belief already existed at that time in Ruth White and others; the 1941 case before Judge Valente of the New York Supreme Court, in New York County; both revealing the unmitigated viciousness that the NSA has directed in the past against American citizens who were Bahais holding different religious convictions. Available via the Internet, Excerpts regarding the 1941 New York Supreme Court Case before Judge Valente:
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/BrokenSilence,CourtCase.pdf

We again appeal to the Court to protect our Constitutional rights to religious freedom and liberty.

Most respectfully yours,

Reform Bahai Faith

Enclosure: The Universal Principles of the Reform Bahai Faith. Reform Bahai Press, 2008. 148 pages.

Further comments:

----- Original Message -----
From: "Baha'i Censorship - See Website" <bahaicensorship@SeeWebsite.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.bahai,talk.religion.bahai
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2008 3:34 PM
Subject: Re: "Conflict and contention are categorically forbidden"

Jeffrey,

I agree with and share your regard for Baha'u'llah's admonition
forbidding contention. To my mind, is it applicable in this case?
Abdul-Baha spoke forcefully about confronting evil doers, not
forgiving them, lest they only continue in their treachery. Further,
you're referring to a Baha'i denomination that has knowingly
based in its claim to authority on a fraudulent will and testament,
while harassing and destroying the lives of countless Baha'is
and families throughout the decades. Baha'u'llah Himself
confronted the Son of the Wolf and others in unequivocal
language and terms. I don't believe the quotation quite fits the
conditions.

Reflecting on how the Wilmette nsa and Haifan uhj have reacted
to and treated such set backs in the past, I highly doubt you'll
see much change in them. They will continue as they have, with
you and other Baha'i denominations. Consider that Judge Valente,
of the Supreme Court of New York in no uncertain terms ruled
against them in their lawsuit against Sohrab and Chanler, pointing
out the word Bahai was a generic term that couldn't not be
copyrighted or monopolized by one denomination. Time went by,
everyone was looking in a different direction. They took out another
bogus copyright with the patent office, adding diacritics and an
apostrophe, but none the less the same game. A Constitutional
lawyer I spoke with about it just laughed, saying it would never
stand up in court and that anyone can copyright anything with the
government clerks, which is utterly meaningless. But the purpose
is to intimidate other Bahais into thinking it means something,
as though they own it....

Their thinking isn't based on the reason and rational constructs
that make sense in a Western court of law. Sohrab understood
quite well that Shoghi Effendi had gone back to the medieval
frame of reference, creating a system more resonant with the
Shiite worldview. I'm afraid that's the case and why so many
of our fellow Bahais are trapped in an iron cage of tyranny and
fanaticism. One more Western judge who's a *kafir* won't make
a difference in Haifa, or, here's the fact difficult to appreciate,
in Wilmette.... They simply aren't going to change as result of
this lawsuit. It's hoping for too much from a pernicious system
that has demonstrated for so long that it's incapable of change.

It's only a matter of time until they trump up some other bogus
lawsuit to justify to themselves their fanaticism. Abdul-Baha
spoke of defending people threatened. All Orthodox Baha'is
are still under threat. As all denominations are. I doubt the Haifan
administration will learn anything from this lawsuit. They've never
learned anything from the past but have only intensified their
fanaticism at ever turn.

As damaged parties you have legal rights. If they appeal
Judge St. Eve's ruling, which they probably will, all the better,
because your damages will be all the more undeniable to
another judge, or, preferably, a jury. I don't believe a jury of
Americans would fail to see through the contemptible tactics
of Haifan "administrators." After hearing the whole story, they
would eagerly award very high punitive damages to the
innocent. Constitutional issues are involved. That puts the
entire matter into a different and higher realm of importance.

It's the Haifans who have dragged the Faith through the mud
in public. A successful lawsuit against them would help Americans,
including people in Chicago, wake up to what kind of
organization they really are. That would help cleanse the Faith
of the mire that now bogs it down in every way. Eventually, it will
happen.

That's my view.

--

The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship


----- Original Message -----
From: "Baha'i Censorship - See Website" <bahaicensorship@SeeWebsite.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.bahai,talk.religion.bahai
Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2008 8:41 AM
Subject: Re: "Conflict and contention are categorically forbidden"

Jeffrey,

Upon further reflection this morning, I would emphasize that
what is of concern is not vengance nor money but justice--
and defending the weak, the vulnerable, the uninformed,
the deceived, the simple, the trusting, the unsuspecting
from such trauma as many thousands, if not tens of thousands,
of American citizens have been subjected to in one way or
another by the spiritually sick and corrupt organization that has
imposed itself upon Baha'u'llah's Faith, subverting it into a fanatical
system of oppression almost beyond what the average person can
imagine, as recounted below in your own words in the court documents:

https://www.truebahai.com/court/obf-goldberg.pdf

"26. On May 27, 1997, my wife and I were declared to be covenant-breakers
and all of my friends in the Faith were instructed to shun me entirely and
never to have any contact with me or face the same expulsion themselves. A
true and correct copy of the NSA's letter of May 27, 1997, and the front page
of The American Bahá'í for June 24, 1997, are attached as Exhibit 5).

27. My wife did not join the OBF at that time but she was also expelled and
shunned because she refused to take my children and divorce me as they had
insisted she must.

28. The NSA organization claims that shunning us as covenant-breakers is
required to maintain the unity of the Faith. The OBF believe, on the other
hand, that unity in the Faith is achieved and maintained by obedience to the
Center of the Cause, the living Guardian, and that a
covenant-breaker is one who rejects the authority of the Guardian.

29. Only one member of my former community, the Bahá'ís of Barrington,
Illinois, was willing to speak with me (Janice Franco). At first, I was
reluctant to tell Ms. Franco what I had learned because I did not want her
to face the same dilemma that I now faced. She insisted,
however, that I explain to her what I discovered. I then carefully explained
the situation using only materials officially accepted by the NSA to show
her my belief that the Hands wrongfully usurped authority and that their
Universal House of Justice should have the Guardian as its head. Ms. Franco
was declared to be a covenant-breaker and shunned after she dared to share
these arguments with the rest of the community. The other community members
rejected these arguments after they were threatened by a representative of
the NSA's organization that they too would be shunned and cut off forever
from many of their friends and family unless they rejected these ideas and
shunned my family and I, and Ms. Franco.

30. Just before I had declared my acceptance of the Guardianship, my
brother, who was not a Bahá'í at all, coincidentally became engaged to marry
a believer under the NSA's organization.

31. I was not permitted to attend my brother's wedding, and my family
thereafter had to hold separate family functions so that I would not be
present at the same time as brother's wife who literally held the belief
that I was satanic and my breath was poisonous so that mere contact with me
would be dangerous.

32. After the birth of my nephew, I was not allowed to see him at all, nor
does he even know of the existence of his uncle and the rest of my family.

33. My story is by no means unique. Many of my fellow believers within the
OBF report similar experiences. Juan Cole, a professor of modern Middle East
and Southeastern Asian history for the History department of the University
of Michigan has written about the fanatical shunning behavior exhibited by the
NSA and its organization, characterizing it as "cultlike." Attached as Exhibit 6
are emails written by Dr. Cole. Attached as Exhibit 7 is an article by Dr Cole
detailing the shunning practices."

https://www.truebahai.com/court/  Related documents regarding nsa lawsuit in
2007 against the Orthodox Baha'i Faith

In a different context, Baha'u'llah wrote "crush the oppressor who flourisheth with
the rod of the commandments of your Lord," addressing the leaders of the
United States. Admittedly referring to international conflict, he nevertheless
allowed and presupposed there are times when force must be used for
the benefit of social order and preservation of the values of a humane
society. There are despots in this world who understand nothing but force.
The perverted organization of the Wilmette nsa and Haifan uhj has beyond
doubt demonstrated for many decades its toxic corruption to the body
politic and its own members for whom it has very little regard.

In my view, it would be a mistake to treat it in a manner better than it deserves,
for it will only continue to malign and persecute other innocents if not brought
to bar of justice under the full force of the law. The heavy burden Baha'u'llah
places on secular and religious leaders is to understand the widsom that
there are times when they must "crush the oppressor who flourisheth," for
the common good.

If you didn't notice the sneering and contempt, I would say you either missed it
or misread it.

--

The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Baha'i Censorship - See Website" <bahaicensorship@SeeWebsite.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.bahai,talk.religion.bahai
Sent: Friday, April 25, 2008 8:13 AM
Subject: Re: Court issues decision in NSA contempt case against Orthodox Baha'is

"Jeffrey" <Jeffreyobf@gmail.com> wrote in message news:d25bdae5-575a-4ed2-b3f3-d8c2cba75453@x41g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Until the Judgment becomes final, I am afraid I cannot comment on
> those questions.
>
> Thank you all for your congratulations. I am of course very happy with
> Judge St Eve's impressive opinion and all of the Orthodox Baha'is look
> forward to the day when we can continue to publicly practice our
> religion without interference from the violating Wilmette NSA.
>
> Jeffrey

--

Jeffrey,

I'd urge you to consider the history of the nsa, whether from your
perspective, the last fifty years, or over eighty years, from view. It has
incessantly harassed and hounded people for matters of conscience,
deeply injured countless individuals and families, schemed and
conspired, coerced and deceived, used the most despicable tactics,
to deprive fellow citizens of their Constitutional right to freedom of
religious belief and conviction.

Such criminals should now be shown no mercy whatsoever, but
prosecuted to the fullest extent of American law. They would have shown
Orthodox Baha'is no mercy or tolerance if they had prevailed in deceiving
the Court. Indeed, the obvious purpose of their lawsuit was to strip you of
your civil rights, while pretending to be a mere corporation. Anything less
than many tens of millions of dollars will fail to penetrate their corrupt
mentality and fail to protect present and future Bahais, of all persuasions,
from their sick, complacent self-righteousness. It is just to expose them for
what they have become and are. "The best of all to Me is Justice." --Baha'u'llah

There's a very long and detailed historical record of their criminal acts,
in numerous books and on the Internet. As you're probably aware,
there also exists a large number of people most likely eager to testify in
court to defend the civilized values that Baha'u'llah and Abdul-Baha taught,
which the corrupt "administration" left behind so many long decades ago.

Congratulations, again. You fought an arduous and noble battle, virtually
alone, out spent, yet won. It must be a gratifying feeling to know you have
successfully defended the most precious values of a civilized society
and of Baha'u'llah's Teachings. You can rightly be proud of that.

My deepest, sincere respect.

--

The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/

----- Original Message -----
From: "Baha'i Censorship - See Website" <bahaicensorship@SeeWebsite.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.bahai,talk.religion.bahai
Sent: Saturday, April 26, 2008 9:07 AM
Subject: Re: Court issues decision in NSA contempt case against Orthodox Baha'is

"Jeffrey" <Jeffreyobf@gmail.com> wrote in message news:3df1e622-dd44-4908-bb39-c74fa12c913b@s50g2000hsb.googlegroups.com...
>
> Thank you for your support. I am not sure what you think the OBF
> should do to the NSA. It would appear that their inability to silence
> us would be enough to punish them.
>
> Jeffrey

--

Jeffrey,

I would think, given their harassment and attempt to deprive
Orthodox Baha'is, and other denominations, of their and our
first admendment rights, you might want to consider suing the
Haifan Baha'is for costs and damages. All of your lives were
severely impacted by their deceptive and fraudulent lawsuit,
forcing many older people to travel long distances and forage
through numerous documents under what had to be extremely
stressful and emotional duress attempting to protect themselves.
It would only be just for you to sue them back in self-defense.
They're not going to be leaving you and others alone otherwise.
The underlings here have already been immediately sneering
at the Judge Amy St. Eve's Opinion. You know they're doing it
elsewhere.

I would suggest punitive damages of $50 to $100 million. The
more the better, given the criminals you're dealing with and
the tactics they've regularly used, which you can easily prove
and document. Many six-hundred-dollar-an-hour lawyers will work
pro-bono for serious settlements in that range, though go for
more if they think you can get it. Issues of first admendment
rights, and intentionally and criminally infringing on them, have
historically proven highly lucrative for lawyers. That's what the
lawyers I've consulted with tell me.

If you don't teach them the lesson they need to learn now, they
will only continue their harassment of Orthodox Baha'is other
Baha'i denominations and their associated criminal activities.
Of course, I'm not so naive as to imagine, though, that they'll
ever fully reform. It's more about self-defense than doing them
a good turn. The fanatics and criminals among the Haifan
Baha'is are beyond redemption, but you would be giving
the more practical heads a reason for considering various
changes of behavior.

They'll never be content with "an inability to silence" you. I am
speaking from over 12 years of dealing with the fanatics online,
since 1996.... I would suggest you need another judgement or
two that further establishes the facts and protects the religious
rights of Orthodox Baha'is in clear and unequivocal terms. That's
what I would think you'd want to do.

That's my view.

--

The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/


----- Original Message -----
From: "Baha'i Censorship - See Website" <bahaicensorship@SeeWebsite.com>
Newsgroups: alt.religion.bahai,talk.religion.bahai
Sent: Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:41 AM
Subject: Re: Court issues decision in NSA contempt case against Orthodox Baha'is

Dear Non-Bahai Observers,

Please consider that after spending over $100,000 trying to destroy
three Baha'i denominations of fewer than a 100 people, and after
Judge Amy St. Eve of the U. S. District Court of Northern Illinois has
ruled against the Wilmette nsa in its frivolous lawsuit, seeking to deprive
U. S. citizens of their Constitutional rights, the usual tactic of ignoring
and changing the issue is now being deployed by members of the
Baha'i denomination based on a fraudulent will and testament.

Such tactics have been used for decades by the Haifan Baha'is, in and
out of courts of law, to slander and smear the individual and other Bahai
denominations. They are the same tactics used by all fanaticis and
fundamentalists, religious or political, to stigmatize or demonize the
person of dissenting opinion. Quotations from numerous individuals
documenting these tactics, spanning decades, may be found below:

"The Bahai Technique":
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/technique.htm

Shunning & Slander > Menu
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Shunning.htm

Fortunately, for the sake of the freedom and liberty of Orthodox
Baha'is and Baha'is of other denominations, Judge Amy St. Eve
was not fooled by such cult techniques. Her name will live forever
in Bahai circles where the principles actually taught by Abdul-Baha,
extolling the conscience of the individual, are honored, revered, and
practiced.

The response of the Haifan apologists is evidence, once again, why
the Orthodox Baha'is should counter-sue the Haifan Baha'is for the
damages they have incurred from the frivolous lawsuit, which have
indeed been wreaked upon individual Orthodox Baha'is and the
denomination as a whole, as I have outlined in previous posts.

--

The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
https://fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/