The Baha'i Hezbollah (pt.1)

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The Baha'i Hezbollah (pt.1)
by NUR
14-Apr-2009
 

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." (Edmund Burke)

All prominent supporters of Subh-i-Azal who withstood Mirza Husayn Ali [Baha'u'llah]'s claims were marked out for death, and in Baghdad Mulla Rajab Ali "Kahir" and his brother, Hajji Mirza Ahmad, Hajji Mirza Muhammad Reza, and several others fell one by one by the knife or bullet of the assassin...As to the assassination of the three Ezelis, Aka Jan Bey, Hajji Seyyed Muhammad of Isfahan, and Mirza Riza-Kulli of Tafrish, by some of Beha's followers at Acre, there can, I fear, be but little doubt...the passage in the Kitab-i-Aqdas alluding (apparently) to Hajji Seyyed Muhammad's death...proves Beha'u'llah regarded this event with some complaisance...On the murder of one Aqa Muhammad Ali of Isfahan in Istanbul by one Mirza Abu'l-Qasim the Bakhtiyari  [Browne quoting the words of Mirza Husayn Ali Nuri Baha'u'llah addressed to the latter, states] "O phlebotomist of the Divine Unity! Throb like the artery in the body of the Contingent World, and drink of the blood of the Block of Heedlessness for that he turned aside from the aspect of thy Lord the Merciful!"

E.G. Browne A Travellers Narrative Written to Illustrate the Episode of the Bab, volume 2, Note W  (Cambridge: 1891), p.359, 370 & 363.

At first not a few prominent Babis, including even several "Letters of the Living" and personal friends of the Bab, adhered faithfully to Subh-e Azal. One by one these disappeared, most of them, as I fear cannot be doubted, by the foul play on the part of too zealous Baha'is. "Companions" (as-hab), Mirza Riza Kulli and Mirza Nasr'ullah of Tafrish, were stabbed or poisoned in Adrianople and Acre. Two of the "Letters of the Living," Aka Siyyid `Ali the Arab, and Mulla Rajab `Ali Kahir, were assassinated, the one at Tabriz, the other at Kerbela. The brother of the latter, Aka Ali Muhammad, was also murdered in Baghdad....

E.G. Browne. Tarikh-i-Jadid or New History of Mirza `Ali Muhammad, the Bab, (Cambridge: 1893), reprint: Amsterdam, 1975, pp.xxiii- xxiv.

See also,

Baha'i Assassinations Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 5, Pt. 6, Pt. 7, Pt. 8, Pt.9, Pt. 10 & Pt.11 

&

S.G. Wilson BAHAISM AND RELIGIOUS ASSASSINATION

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NUR

To believer/sheep

by NUR on

Poor sheep, poor blind, imprisoned sheep! Believer, what have you achieved inside the covenant of your cult? Where's the promised Lessor Peace by 2000? Or Iran's imminent days of glory Husayn 'Ali prophesied in the Kitab-i-Aqdas in 1870?

Reflect yourself. Single handedly I have managed to shed light on the nature of the perversion which is your Haifan Baha'i organization, removing the masks and veils of deceit and lies you people have woven and shown to the world. Since your covenant doesn't seem to be able to withstand such pressure I am putting on it, perhaps you need to reappraise the power of this covenant of yours that has become veritable putty (or, rather, 'smashed') in my hands!

It is claimed that Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi once exclaimed to a throng of greedy, hypocritical, stupid and fear-ridden sanctimonious pietists inside a mosque in Damascus that "The God whom you worship is under my feet!" (meaning: that the limited notion of the Divine that these people had was truly beneath contempt)! With him I say, your Baha'i Covenant is under my feet

Wahid Azal 


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and who is your defense

by Jim (not verified) on

and who is your defense attorney israel?


alborz

Oh yes, Jim !

by alborz on

Let me introduce everyone to Jim, NUR's defence attorney.

Alborz


default

Why should NUR answer Bahai questions?

by Jim (not verified) on

why should he have to answer any of your questions he has already proven there is a lot of fishy things going on with bahai


alborz

You have to RUN NUR? Just when you had to...

by alborz on

...  explain your irrational responses?

If you are not an Azali but a Bayani, how come we don't hear of any Bayanis, who also believe that the Qaim has returned, being persecuted in under the IRI?  Did they not find any in Iran or is it that they conveniently go by the name Azali?

I am familiar with the concept of a Manifestation God being a mirror of God, just as The Blessed Bab was, but what is this new twist on Azal being a mirror of the Bayan? Do you claim to be a mirror of Azal or another mirror of the Bayan?  Did you assume this distinction in a well established tradition?  Explain the tradition if you did not self appoint yourself.

Now we'll see if having to answer these and many more questions is the real reason that you had to RUN NUR.

Alborz


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Reflect, Contumacious One

by Believer (not verified) on

Poor soul, poor disturbed soul. Nur, what equanimity will do you hope to achieve outside God's covenant?

Reflect sir, that even if you dislike Baha'is, that God was never served by hatred and falsehood.


default

Appologise to all of us before you RUN,

by Theosophia (not verified) on

You made a lot of allegations against individuals and governments. Now you just have to prove them with REAL ESPIONAGE documents not your rudimentary opinions and fake prayers.
Tell me why your parents have not withdrawn yet.


NUR

RelaxObserver

by NUR on

Dear friend,

You (and anybody else who wishes) are welcome to contact me at hurakhsh@gmail.com for replies to this and any other related questions. I am out of here!

Wahid Azal/NUR


default

Mr.Nur!

by RelaxObserver (not verified) on

"The whole conflict in our family started when I formally left the Bahai religion in 1996 . It all escalated in 2000 when I was physically assaulted and nearly killed by ..."

Nur, may a ask you why did you leave the the Bahai religion?You dont need to answer if you dont want.


NUR

Silly silly bahaim al-boz

by NUR on

And the answers are there for everybody, but you!

Just take your head out or my conclusion will be confirmed. And while you're at it, get over your consensus reality and appeal to numbers. You are committing a well-known argumentative fallacy.

PS - I've already explained that the Bayanis are followers of the Bayan, not just Subh-i-Azal, and Subh-i-Azal is the Mirror of the Bayan. You Baha'is pejoratively applied that term to us to make it appear deceptively as if we were a separate sect when the fact of the matter is that Subh-i-Azal is the duly and legitimately appointed successor of the Bab's whereas you Bahaim are the schismatics or covenant breakers!  


alborz

RUN NUR RUN

by alborz on

...the questions are there for everyone here to see, but you !

Just answer them or their conclusions will be confirmed.

Alborz

PS - I am particularly interested in knowing why you're so offended by being called an Azali, meaning a follower of Azal, I presume.  Is it a derogartory term to you?


NUR

Al-Boz's bahaim song and dance

by NUR on

I've already posted on the Bayani community, al-boz. It was my first blog here. Your Bahai tactic of deceit is transparent for what it is. Could it be that you people are presently so plagued with internal problems and lack of enrollments due to the RUHIzation of your cult that in order to deflect from such problems you are deliberately exagerrating the situation of your community in Iran, or otherwise making up HR violations, and then aggressively bullying schismatic groups in US courts?

Why can't I call you a Bahaim (Hebrew plural for 'beasts', 'animals')? Does it offend you to be called Bahaim?

You have heard wrong about our site. The only reason you would say such a thing is because you wish to ward off people and don't want the record against you over there to speak for itself. On the other hand, I know for a fact that your www.bahai.org site infects with cookies and trojan viruses all computers who visit it and that the Baha'i Internet Agency regularly hacks into the private accounts and computers of people it considers to be enemies!


alborz

RUN NUR RUN...

by alborz on

One of these days you will have to start posting something on Azal and the Azalis. 

Could it be that there is nothing there worthy of sharing with the readership here?  I wonder how brief or relevant it will be.

Could it be that the field is so open amongst the Azalis that even he can claim prophethood?  I suggest that you take a look behind you and do a quick headcount of your fellow Azalis.

Why can't I call you an Azali?  Does it offend you to be called an Azali?

Alborz

PS. I have heard that visiting your site can infect the user's computer.  Your obsession is already evident, the question is now to what extent you have taken it.


NUR

Bray Bray Bray....

by NUR on

Misdrection alert! Alborz attempting to misdirect from Faryarm's patent lie below.

Again, we call ourselves Bayanis not Azalis. You Baha'is call us Azalis. And your questions have already been answered. Stop the braying and look. Moreover if humble www.bayanic.com can do this to you cultists, imagine what a few other sites might do. No wonder you are forced to resort to manufacturing evidence and interpolating texts because you really have nothing for real! Tu-Khali!

 

Start HERE (Sourcewatch): //www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Baha%27i_Faith

 

See as well, BAHA'I INTERNET AGENCY,  //www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Baha%E2%80%99i_Internet_Agency

SECTS OF BAHAIS: A Taxonomy of Baha'i Sects, //www.sectsofbahais.com/

&

Documentary film by independent Israeli film maker Naama Pyritz:
BAHA'IS IN MY BACKYARD
//video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2877478116441126906&hl=en-AU

-
US NSA (US BAHA'I NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY) vs OBF (Orthodox Baha'i Faith)

Recent court victory by the Orthodox Baha'is, and the suit brought by the Haifan Bahai organization against them:
//trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html

Judge's decision
//www.truebahai.info/court/139-opinion.pdf

**Appellate hearing (Feb 2009)***
//www.ca7.uscourts.gov/tmp/LF1FFZY0.mp3

-
BAHAI Tactics & Techniques - CAUTION NON-BAHAIS

"Slanderous Vilification" = The Baha'i Technique - Ad Hominem, Libel, Slander, Demonize, Scapegoat, Ostracize, Shun, Banish, Backbite, Defame, Vilify, Discredit, Smear, Revile, Suppress, Attack, Bully, Intimidate, Threaten, Malign, Blackball, Deceive, Coerce, Silence, Harass... etc., etc....  CAUTION NON-BAHAIS

1. As far as possible they hold back from responding
2. Then they claim no knowledge of the given issue by feigning
ignorance
3. After the exposer has exposed they will try to divert to secondary
and totally peripheral and irrelevent side-issues
4. The exposer is then painted as someone with an axe to grind,
biased, deluded (while they, the bahaim, still have not responded to
the main issue exposed)
5. Next they relate mental instability and insanity to the exposer,
i.e. shoot the messenger
6. Then, the last tactic, is to wheel out several dubious personas on
the scene who claim to be neutral non-bahai observers who then begin attacking the exposer as well as the issue exposed while supporting the bahais and their issues as so-called non-bahais

-

THEORY OF BAHA’I LYING & EQUIVOCATION

See Susan Stiles Maneck,
//bahai-library.com/bsr/bsr06/62_maneck_hikmat.htm
WISDOM AND DISSIMULATION IN THE BAHA’I WRITINGS: The Use and meaning of Hikmat in the Baha’i Writings

Quote
"In many cases hikmat calls for the apparent suspension of a Bahá'í principle in order to ensure the protection of the Faith."

-

BAHA'I ADMINISTRATIVE IDOLATRY & STALINISM

QUOTE
"We don't want to be like those people who want to see God with their own eyes, or hear His melody with their own ears, because we have been given the gift of being able to see through the eyes of the House of Justice and listen through the ears of the House of Justice." - Bahai Counselor Rebeque Murphy

To hear this section of her talk go to:
//media1.bahai.us/tab/Highlights/Sunday/30_Counselor_Murphy_Rema...

-

BAHAI NOTIONS of FREEDOM of CONSCIENCE according to EX-UHJ member DOUGLAS MARTIN --  Monday, September 23, 2001

//www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/DMartin.htm

Quote 

"We have inherited a dangerous delusion from Christianity that our
individual conscience is supreme. This is not a Baha'i belief. In the
end, in the context of both our role in the community and our role in
the  greater world, we must be prepared to sacrifice our personal
convictions or opinions. The belief that individual conscience is
supreme is equivalent to "taking partners with God" which is abhorrent to the Teachings of the Faith
."
//www.bahai-library.org/talks/martin.watson.html

NOTE especially, S.G. Wilson,
BAHAISM AND RELIGIOUS ASSASSINATION The Muslim World vol. 4, issue 4, 1914
&
BAHAISM AND RELIGIOUS DECEPTION The Muslim World, Volume 5, Issue 2, 1914-1915.
at,
//wahidazal66.googlepages.com/babidocuments%28westernsources%29

See as well, BAHAISM AND THE BRITISH
//bahaisandbritannia.googlepages.com/home

BAHA’I CONTROL ON THEIR ELECTORAL SYSTEM – EXPOSED (Structural
features of Bahai Stalinism)
//groups.google.com.au/group/talk.religion.bahai/browse_thread/t...

-

In
Ma'idih-i-Asmani, vol. 4, page 355
//reference.bahai.org/fa/t/b/MAS4/mas4-355.html

Translation by Wahid Azal (Jan. 7, 2009)
Chapter 11


The Critics of the Cause of God (munkirin-i-amru'llah)

The Ancient Beauty in the Tablet of Habib from Maragha, which begins with "H B hear the call of God from the direction of the throne by the protective signs/verses (bi-ayati muhayyimin)..etc." they [i.e. Husayn 'Ali Nuri] enunciate the command (mi-farmayand) [i.e. state],

 

By God, the Truth, whomsoever criticizes it [i.e. Baha'ism], [which is] possessed of the manifest, the brilliant, the high and the perspicuous excellence, it behoveth him to ask his mother [yanbaghi lahu bi-an yas'al min ummihi] about his origins [or 'state', i.e.'hal', meaning he should inquire his mother about his legitimate conception – trans.], for he shall return to the nethermost hell [asfal al-jahim]"…

In Promulgation of Universal Peace p. 322 the following is quoted by 'Abbas Effendi from a prayer by his father, cf. THE BAHA'I FAITH AND ISLAM (ed.) Heshmat Moayyad (The Association for Baha'i Studies: Ottawa, 1990), p.23


O God! Whomsoever violates My Covenant, O God, humiliate him. Verily whosoever violates My Covenant, erase and efface him.

See as well,
//www.bayanic.com [CLICK tab BAHAISM]

 

CAUTION NON-BAHAIS


 


alborz

RUN NUR RUN ...

by alborz on

... if the Azalis are counting on an all in one webmaster and prophet, it may explain why it is so painful for you to answer two simple questions.

Do you care to RUN again NUR?

Alborz


NUR

The braying of a donkey named alborz

by NUR on

I've already posted on the Bayanis twice as a blog and over a dozen times in the comments! Don't change the subject...

I have caught you people in a patent lie of your own manufacturing  right here and you are now sent here to misdirect and do mas-mali given the fact that Faryarm's blatant lie is see-through, transparent and irrefutable. He interpolated an entire passage and claimed it was from the introduction of New History (p.xx-xxiii). That passage attributed by Faryarm to New History does not exist in the original and I have linked to the original pages of the original book. He has lied and you are here trying to cover for him - simple as that.

Let's see how you respond now or whether you even have anything to respond to.  You Haifan Baha'is are LIARS bar none, and you yourselves have now proven it!

And again,

From Mission Problems in New Persia, 1926, p. 83, 87 & 89 quoted by William McElwee Miller in The Baha'i Faith: It's History and
Teachings, 1973, p. 289.

 "...There is no conscience with them [ i.e. the Baha'is], they keep to no principle, they tell you what is untrue, ignoring or denying undoubted historical facts, and this is the character of both the leader and the led...As to morality and honesty, the whole system has proved disappointing...I have been in contact with many Baha'is, and have had dealings with many and have tested many, and unfortunately I have met not a single one who could be called honest or faithful in the full sense of these words..."

Dr Sa'eed Khan [was] a highly-respected physician...who had as a
doctor treated the second widow of the Bab, and had for a lifetime
known intimately both Babis [i.e. Bayanis] and Baha'is in Tehran and Hamadan.


alborz

Looks like NUR is on the RUN (NUR spelled backwards!)

by alborz on

One of these days he will have to start posting something on Azal and the Azalis.

Could it be that there is nothing there worthy of sharing with the readership here?  I wonder how brief or relevant it will be.

Could it be that the field is so open amongst the Azalis that even he can claim prophethood?  I suggest he looks behind him and do a quick headcount of his followers.

Could it be that .... oh well, I will hold off on this last one and save it for another post.  Let's see how he responds.

Alborz


NUR

Faryarm caught in a PATENT LIE

by NUR on

Although Browne acknowledged that Baha'u'llah's claim to be "He Whom God shall manifest" meant that the Babi dispensation was abrogated and Azal's position superseded (New History xxii-xxiii)...

This is NOT what pages xxii-xxiii of New History (Tarikh-i-Jadid) states. Here are those pages,

p. xxii

//www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/books/K-O/M/MirzaHuseyn/TJ000xxxii.gif

p. xxiii

//www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/books/K-O/M/MirzaHuseyn/TJ000xxxiii.gif

This is see-through deception by Faryarm and testimony to the kind of systematic deceit practiced by Baha'is. No such passage as the one Faryarm attributes to the introduction of New History exists. The passage he attributes to New History was fabricated and interpolated by them. 

One more time,

From Mission Problems in New Persia, 1926, p. 83, 87 & 89 quoted by William McElwee Miller in The Baha'i Faith: It's History and
Teachings, 1973, p. 289.

 "...There is no conscience with them [ i.e. the Baha'is], they keep to no principle, they tell you what is untrue, ignoring or denying undoubted historical facts, and this is the character of both the leader and the led...As to morality and honesty, the whole system has proved disappointing...I have been in contact with many Baha'is, and have had dealings with many and have tested many, and unfortunately I have met not a single one who could be called honest or faithful in the full sense of these words..."

Dr Sa'eed Khan [was] a highly-respected physician...who had as a
doctor treated the second widow of the Bab, and had for a lifetime
known intimately both Babis [i.e. Bayanis] and Baha'is in Tehran and Hamadan.


faryarm

Browne's Sources Were Azalis..

by faryarm on


Browne, Edward Granville (1862-1926). British orientalist who published many books and articles on the Babi and Baha'i religions. He is best known to modern Baha'is for his description of his meeting with Baha'u'llah. 
 

1. Early life. Browne was born in Uley near Dursley in Gloucestershire on 7 February 1862 and educated at Eton College but did not do well academically. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 first aroused Browne's interest in the East. During his medical studies at the University of Cambridge, he pursued his interest in the Orient and studied oriental languages, especially Persian and Arabic as well as some Sanskrit.

He completed his medical studies at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in 1887, and was contemplating what to do next when he was elected a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. This gave him the opportunity to devote himself to oriental studies. He obtained permission to visit Iran for a year in order to extend his knowledge of the language and culture of the Orient. 
 

2. Discovery of the Babi religion and visit to Iran. On 30 July 1886 while looking for material on Sufism in the University Library at Cambridge, Browne came across Gobineau's (q.v.) Religions et philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale. His attention was drawn to the section on the Babis, which he found to be "a narrative of thrilling and sustained interest" (TN x). He was

immediately enthralled and gathered whatever he could find on the subject from various sources. Part of the reason that Browne chose to go to Iran rather than another part of the Middle East was his fascination with the Babi movement.

When Browne reached Iran in October 1887, he made every effort to find out as much as he could about the Babis, despite the fact that the persecutions that they had suffered made even the mention of their name provoke fear in the Iranians whom he met. Eventually, he succeeded in contacting the Baha'is in Isfahan on 28 February 1888. From then on, he was able to meet the Baha'is at every place that he visited and to collect much valuable information and materials. His classic account of his travels, A Year amongst the Persians, vividly describes his adventures, including his encounters with the Baha'is and Azalis (q.v.). 
 

3. Browne's Babi publications. On his return to Britain, Browne set about organizing the material that he had collected. He gave a number of lectures on the new religion: at the Essay Society in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in March 1889; at the South Place Institute in London on 15 February 1891 (this may count as the first public lecture on the Baha'i Faith in the West); and at the Pembroke College Literary Society (the "Martlets") in Cambridge on 23 February 1891. He presented two papers to the Royal Asiatic Society in April and June 1889 on the new religion, which he persisted in referring to as the Babi movement, even though he was aware that the majority now regarded themselves as Baha'is.

 

Browne had been so overwhelming impressed by Gobineau's book that he was somewhat disconcerted to find that in the period between the publication of the book and his arrival in Iran, there had been a vast change in the affairs of the new religion. Mirza Yah@ya Azal (q.v.), who at the end of Gobineau's account was the head of the Babi movement, had been completely superseded by Baha'u'llah. The latter claimed to be the Messianic figure "He Whom God shall manifest" (q.v.) who was frequently referred to in the writings of the Bab. Indeed, the Babis were now calling themselves Baha'is. Browne could never quite reconcile himself to this change. While he acknowledged that, according to the specific text of the Bab's writings, Baha'u'llah's claims and authority were almost irrefutable (see Nuqtatu'l-Kaf xxxiii) and also bore personal witness to the enormous personal magnetism and authority of Baha'u'llah (TN xxxix-xl), Browne could nevertheless not bring himself to recognize the legitimacy of the new state of affairs. When he found a small number in Kirman who rejected Baha'u'llah and still looked to Azal, he enthusiastically entered their company and sought to extend his contacts among them. They, for their part, proved to be eager correspondents and a prolific source of material.

 

In 1890 Browne traveled to Cyprus and Akka. That his sympathies were already tending towards the Azali view can be surmised by the fact that he chose to spend some two weeks in Cyprus with Mirza Yah@ya and only one week in Akka. While in Akka, Browne had four interviews with Baha'u'llah, the first being the famous one at which Baha'u'llah spoke of the advent of world peace.

Browne went on to write several more works of importance on the Baha'i Faith. He translated and extensively annotated a history by `Abdu'l-Baha, which was published in 1891 under the title A Traveller's Narrative written to illustrate the Episode of the Bab (q.v.). He translated Mirza H@usayn Hamadani'sThe Tarikh-i-Jadid or New History of Mirza `Ali Muh@ammad the Bab (1893). He also wrote a number of papers on this subject. In 1896 Browne visited Cyprus again to spend more time with Azal. In 1903 he visited Egypt and met some of the Baha'is there.

In about 1893 Browne's scholarly interests moved to other areas, such as Persian literature and later to the Constitutional movement. It may be that criticism of his concentration on what was considered an obscure Iranian sect was at least partially responsible for this change, as well as his disappointment at the non-partisan attitude that the Baha'is took in the Constitutional Revolution.

In 1910 he did return to the Babi-Baha'i religions when he published the text of theKitab-i-Nuqt@atu'l-Kaf. This was, however, work that he had done at an earlier date. It was published at the instigation of Mirza Muh@ammad Qazvini, a well-known Iranian literary critic and Azali sympathizer, who wrote the Persian Introduction to this volume. After the publication of this work, `Abdu'l-Baha wrote to a number of Iranian Baha'is, urging them to compile material to refute its contents. In 1918 Browne published Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion. Again the book represented no great amount of original work on Browne's part since it was mainly documents that he had collected. 

4. Browne's later life and scholarship. In 1902 Browne became the Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic at Cambridge University. In 1906 he married Alice Blackburn-Daniell and moved from his rooms in Pembroke College to Firwood, a house on the outskirts of Cambridge. He had two sons, both of whom distinguished themselves in legal careers.

Browne's scholarly reputation is largely based on his books and articles on Persian literature and related topics, particularly his four-volume Literary History of Persia (1902-24). His other works included several books and tracts on the Persian Constitutional Revolution, of which Browne was an ardent supporter.

In 1912-13, while `Abdu'l-Baha was in Europe, Browne visited him in London and Paris. These visits were supplemented by some correspondence between the two. Other Baha'is, including Montford Mills, also visited and corresponded with Browne from time to time. When `Abdu'l-Baha passed away in 1921, Browne penned a sympathetic obituary.

In November 1924 Browne suffered a heart attack from which he never fully recovered. In June 1925 his wife died, and his own health continued to deteriorate until his passing on 25 January 1926. He was buried at Elswick Cemetery in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.

Browne's scholarly reputation has endured until the present. His mastery of Iranian culture and thought has been equaled by few Westerners before or since, and his scholarship, as well as the eloquence and grace of his literary style, have given his works permanent value, even after great changes in scholarly methodology. The Iranians, despite their early suspicion about his interest in the Babis, accepted him as a loyal friend for his scholarship, his political support, and his sympathetic understanding of their culture and literature. 
 

5. Browne's contribution to Baha'i studies. Any assessment of Browne's contribution to Babi and Baha'i studies must include both positive and negative elements. On the negative side, one must mention the partisan attitude that Browne adopted in the split between Baha'u'llah and Azal. With each successive publication, he appeared less and less sympathetic to the Baha'i position. In A Traveller's Narrative, for example, he repeats numerous Azali accusations against Baha'u'llah (despite acknowledging that there was no evidence for them, pp. 356-64), while in the Introduction to New History, he accuses the Baha'is of fabricating historical accounts (pp. xxvi- xxxii). All of this material came to him from the Azalis who were in constant correspondence with him.

In all, Browne launched what amounted to a campaign to resurrect the claims of Azal. To this end, he elevated Azal's position beyond what it had, in fact, been (by claiming that he had been the fourth Letter of the Living, q.v.); he claimed that Azal's leadership had at first been undisputed (when all the histories recorded numerous alternative claimants); he published unsubstantiated allegations about Baha'u'llah and `Abdu'l-Baha; and he raised to prominence theNuqt@atu'l-Kaf, claiming it to be the most important history of the Babis despite the obvious deficiencies of the text (see "Azal.2").

Although Browne acknowledged that Baha'u'llah's claim to be "He Whom God shall manifest" meant that the Babi dispensation was abrogated and Azal's position superseded (New History xxii-xxiii), he nevertheless continued to write as though the split that occurred was over the leadership of the Babi community. Further, although he frankly admitted that without the changes introduced by Baha'u'llah, the Babi movement could not have survived (New History xxiv-xxvi), Browne nevertheless allowed himself to become in effect the spokesperson for the party that the overwhelming majority of Babis had already rejected. (Some of the possible reasons for Browne's partisan attitude are discussed in BBR 33-36.)

On the positive side, we must note that Browne took the trouble to search out and record much detailed information about the new religion, some of which would undoubtedly otherwise have been lost. His are some of the few independent reports extant of the state and ambiance of the Baha'i community in Iran in the late nineteenth century. His observations are a rich storehouse of information about the history of the religion. Finally, his record of his interview with Baha'u'llah remains one of the few pen-portraits ever made (TN xxxix-xl).

Moojan Momen 
 

Bibliography. For a general account of Browne's life and career, see EIr "Browne, Edward Granville." On the relationship between Browne and the Baha'i Faith, see H. M. Balyuzi, Edward Granville Browne and the Baha'i Faith, Oxford: George Ronald, 1970; BBR 29-36; SEB 1-12. The latter two works also contain a full bibliography of the writings of Browne on the Babi and Baha'i Faiths. A bibliography of all of his books and major articles is found in E. G. Browne, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Oriental MSS. Belonging to the Late E. G. Browne (ed. R. A. Nicholson), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1932, pp. xii-xiii.

Browne's main works on the Babi and Baha'i Faiths are listed in section 3 above (details in the General Bibliography). H@ajji Mirza Jani Kashani, Kitab-i-Nuqt@atu'l-Kaf Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1910. Additional materials are collected in Momen, Selections from the Writings of E. G. Browne, including a catalog of his Babi MSS, a previously unpublished abridged translation of the Persian Bayan, and annotated passages that relate to the Baha'is from A Year amongst the Persians. See also Derek Cockshut, "On retrieving our spiritual heritage," Baha'i Journal Apr. 1993, 10/1:12. 
 


faryarm

Professor Brown's Visit to Baha'u'llah

by faryarm on

The distinguished orientalist, the late Professor Edward G. Browne, of the University of Cambridge, visited Baha'u'llah at Bahjí in the year 1890, and recorded his impressions as follows: -
  

"... my conductor paused for a moment while I removed my shoes. Then, with a quick movement of the hand, he withdrew, and, as I passed, replaced the curtain; and I found myself in a large apartment, along the upper end of which ran a low divan, while on the side opposite to the door were placed two or three chairs. Though I dimly suspected whither I was going and whom I was to behold (for no distinct intimation had been given to me), a second or two elapsed ere, with a throb of wonder and awe, I became definitely conscious that the room was not untenanted. In the corner where the divan met the wall sat a wondrous and venerable figure, crowned with a felt head-dress of the kind called 1taj1 by dervishes (but of unusual height and make), round the base of which was wound a small white turban. The face of him on whom I gazed I can never forget, though I cannot describe it. Those piercing eyes seemed to read one's very soul; power and authority sat on that ample brow; while the deep lines on the forehead and face implied an age which the jet-black hair and beard flowing down in indistinguishable luxuriance almost to the waist seemed to belie. No need to ask in whose presence I stood, as I bowed myself before one who is the object of a devotion and love which kings might envy and emperors sigh for in vain!   

A mild dignified voice bade me be seated, and then continued: -- "Praise be to God that thou has attained! ... Thou has come to see a prisoner and an exile. ... We desire but the good of the world and happiness of the nations; yet they deem us a stirrer up of strife and sedition worthy of bondage and banishment. ... That all nations should become one in faith and all men as brothers; that the bonds of affection and unity between the sons of men should be strengthened; that diversity of religion should cease, and differences of race be annulled -- what harm is there in this? ... Yet so it shall be; these fruitless strifes, these ruinous wars shall pass away, and the `Most Great Peace' shall come. ... Do not you in Europe need this also? Is not this that which Christ foretold? ... Yet do we see your kings and rulers lavishing their treasures more freely on means for the destruction of the human race than on that which would conduce to the happiness of mankind. ... These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must cease, and all men be as one kindred and one family. ... Let not a man glory in this, that he loves his country; let him rather glory in this, that he loves his kind. ..."   

Such, so far as I can recall them, were the words which, besides many others, I heard from Beha. Let those who read them consider well with themselves whether such doctrines merit death and bonds, and whether the world is more likely gain or lose by their diffusion."

 Edward G. Browne, 1890 


NUR

Bollocks, E.G. Browne DID NOT acknowledge Husayn 'Ali Nari!

by NUR on

E.G. Browne's lifelong, personal convictions was as a Christian. And none of that material you have selectively quoted remotely supports your claim that Browne adhered to your cult or acknowledged your founder. Why do you people LIE and LIE and LIE and LIE such much?Or to quote Dr Sa'eed Khan,

From Mission Problems in New Persia, 1926, p. 83, 87 & 89 quoted by William McElwee Miller in The Baha'i Faith: It's History and
Teachings, 1973, p. 289.

 "...There is no conscience with them [ i.e. the Baha'is], they keep to no principle, they tell you what is untrue, ignoring or denying undoubted historical facts, and this is the character of both the leader and the led...As to morality and honesty, the whole system has proved disappointing...I have been in contact with many Baha'is, and have had dealings with many and have tested many, and unfortunately I have met not a single one who could be called honest or faithful in the full sense of these words..."

Dr Sa'eed Khan [was] a highly-respected physician...who had as a
doctor treated the second widow of the Bab, and had for a lifetime
known intimately both Babis [i.e. Bayanis] and Baha'is in Tehran and Hamadan.


NUR

Mistaken identity?

by NUR on

Sen McGlinn and I are two different people. I (Wahid Azal) "OCR-ed" S.G. Wilson's articles on one of my googlepages, not Sen. Here is the link,

//wahidazal66.googlepages.com/babidocuments%28westernsources%29

Sen McGlinn actually disagrees with such material. And Sen is not a Bahai In Good Standing (BIGS for short). He was disenrolled two-three years ago by the UHJ itself after publishing his book without having it censored and vetted by the Baha'i administration.  Sen was claimed not to meet the membership requirements for being a Bahai by them and so thrown out of their community. In other words, he was disfellowshiped, i.e. excommunicated, from the Haifan Bahai organization. He is, however, one of the leading figures of the Unenrolled/Liberal Bahai sect which characterizes itself as the UHJ's loyal opposition.  FYI


faryarm

Browne acknowledged Baha'u'llah's claim....

by faryarm on

Browne, Edward Granville (1862-1926). British orientalist who published many books and articles on the Babi and Baha'i religions. He is best known to modern Baha'is for his description of his meeting with Baha'u'llah. 
 

1. Early life. Browne was born in Uley near Dursley in Gloucestershire on 7 February 1862 and educated at Eton College but did not do well academically. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 first aroused Browne's interest in the East. During his medical studies at the University of Cambridge, he pursued his interest in the Orient and studied oriental languages, especially Persian and Arabic as well as some Sanskrit.

He completed his medical studies at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in 1887, and was contemplating what to do next when he was elected a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge. This gave him the opportunity to devote himself to oriental studies. He obtained permission to visit Iran for a year in order to extend his knowledge of the language and culture of the Orient. 
 

2. Discovery of the Babi religion and visit to Iran. On 30 July 1886 while looking for material on Sufism in the University Library at Cambridge, Browne came across Gobineau's (q.v.) Religions et philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale. His attention was drawn to the section on the Babis, which he found to be "a narrative of thrilling and sustained interest" (TN x). He was

immediately enthralled and gathered whatever he could find on the subject from various sources. Part of the reason that Browne chose to go to Iran rather than another part of the Middle East was his fascination with the Babi movement.

When Browne reached Iran in October 1887, he made every effort to find out as much as he could about the Babis, despite the fact that the persecutions that they had suffered made even the mention of their name provoke fear in the Iranians whom he met. Eventually, he succeeded in contacting the Baha'is in Isfahan on 28 February 1888. From then on, he was able to meet the Baha'is at every place that he visited and to collect much valuable information and materials. His classic account of his travels, A Year amongst the Persians, vividly describes his adventures, including his encounters with the Baha'is and Azalis (q.v.). 
 

3. Browne's Babi publications. On his return to Britain, Browne set about organizing the material that he had collected. He gave a number of lectures on the new religion: at the Essay Society in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in March 1889; at the South Place Institute in London on 15 February 1891 (this may count as the first public lecture on the Baha'i Faith in the West); and at the Pembroke College Literary Society (the "Martlets") in Cambridge on 23 February 1891. He presented two papers to the Royal Asiatic Society in April and June 1889 on the new religion, which he persisted in referring to as the Babi movement, even though he was aware that the majority now regarded themselves as Baha'is.

Browne had been so overwhelming impressed by Gobineau's book that he was somewhat disconcerted to find that in the period between the publication of the book and his arrival in Iran, there had been a vast change in the affairs of the new religion. Mirza Yah@ya Azal (q.v.), who at the end of Gobineau's account was the head of the Babi movement, had been completely superseded by Baha'u'llah. The latter claimed to be the Messianic figure "He Whom God shall manifest" (q.v.) who was frequently referred to in the writings of the Bab. Indeed, the Babis were now calling themselves Baha'is. Browne could never quite reconcile himself to this change. While he acknowledged that, according to the specific text of the Bab's writings, Baha'u'llah's claims and authority were almost irrefutable (see Nuqtatu'l-Kaf xxxiii) and also bore personal witness to the enormous personal magnetism and authority of Baha'u'llah (TN xxxix-xl), Browne could nevertheless not bring himself to recognize the legitimacy of the new state of affairs. When he found a small number in Kirman who rejected Baha'u'llah and still looked to Azal, he enthusiastically entered their company and sought to extend his contacts among them. They, for their part, proved to be eager correspondents and a prolific source of material.

In 1890 Browne traveled to Cyprus and Akka. That his sympathies were already tending towards the Azali view can be surmised by the fact that he chose to spend some two weeks in Cyprus with Mirza Yah@ya and only one week in Akka. While in Akka, Browne had four interviews with Baha'u'llah, the first being the famous one at which Baha'u'llah spoke of the advent of world peace.

Browne went on to write several more works of importance on the Baha'i Faith. He translated and extensively annotated a history by `Abdu'l-Baha, which was published in 1891 under the title A Traveller's Narrative written to illustrate the Episode of the Bab (q.v.). He translated Mirza H@usayn Hamadani'sThe Tarikh-i-Jadid or New History of Mirza `Ali Muh@ammad the Bab (1893). He also wrote a number of papers on this subject. In 1896 Browne visited Cyprus again to spend more time with Azal. In 1903 he visited Egypt and met some of the Baha'is there.

In about 1893 Browne's scholarly interests moved to other areas, such as Persian literature and later to the Constitutional movement. It may be that criticism of his concentration on what was considered an obscure Iranian sect was at least partially responsible for this change, as well as his disappointment at the non-partisan attitude that the Baha'is took in the Constitutional Revolution. In 1910 he did return to the Babi-Baha'i religions when he published the text of theKitab-i-Nuqt@atu'l-Kaf. This was, however, work that he had done at an earlier date. It was published at the instigation of Mirza Muh@ammad Qazvini, a well-known Iranian literary critic and Azali sympathizer, who wrote the Persian Introduction to this volume. After the publication of this work, `Abdu'l-Baha wrote to a number of Iranian Baha'is, urging them to compile material to refute its contents. In 1918 Browne published Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion. Again the book represented no great amount of original work on Browne's part since it was mainly documents that he had collected. 
 

4. Browne's later life and scholarship. In 1902 Browne became the Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic at Cambridge University. In 1906 he married Alice Blackburn-Daniell and moved from his rooms in Pembroke College to Firwood, a house on the outskirts of Cambridge. He had two sons, both of whom distinguished themselves in legal careers.

Browne's scholarly reputation is largely based on his books and articles on Persian literature and related topics, particularly his four-volume Literary History of Persia (1902-24). His other works included several books and tracts on the Persian Constitutional Revolution, of which Browne was an ardent supporter.

In 1912-13, while `Abdu'l-Baha was in Europe, Browne visited him in London and Paris. These visits were supplemented by some correspondence between the two. Other Baha'is, including Montford Mills, also visited and corresponded with Browne from time to time. When `Abdu'l-Baha passed away in 1921, Browne penned a sympathetic obituary.

In November 1924 Browne suffered a heart attack from which he never fully recovered. In June 1925 his wife died, and his own health continued to deteriorate until his passing on 25 January 1926. He was buried at Elswick Cemetery in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England.

Browne's scholarly reputation has endured until the present. His mastery of Iranian culture and thought has been equaled by few Westerners before or since, and his scholarship, as well as the eloquence and grace of his literary style, have given his works permanent value, even after great changes in scholarly methodology. The Iranians, despite their early suspicion about his interest in the Babis, accepted him as a loyal friend for his scholarship, his political support, and his sympathetic understanding of their culture and literature. 
 

5. Browne's contribution to Baha'i studies. Any assessment of Browne's contribution to Babi and Baha'i studies must include both positive and negative elements. On the negative side, one must mention the partisan attitude that Browne adopted in the split between Baha'u'llah and Azal. With each successive publication, he appeared less and less sympathetic to the Baha'i position. In A Traveller's Narrative, for example, he repeats numerous Azali accusations against Baha'u'llah (despite acknowledging that there was no evidence for them, pp. 356-64), while in the Introduction to New History, he accuses the Baha'is of fabricating historical accounts (pp. xxvi- xxxii). All of this material came to him from the Azalis who were in constant correspondence with him.

In all, Browne launched what amounted to a campaign to resurrect the claims of Azal. To this end, he elevated Azal's position beyond what it had, in fact, been (by claiming that he had been the fourth Letter of the Living, q.v.); he claimed that Azal's leadership had at first been undisputed (when all the histories recorded numerous alternative claimants); he published unsubstantiated allegations about Baha'u'llah and `Abdu'l-Baha; and he raised to prominence theNuqt@atu'l-Kaf, claiming it to be the most important history of the Babis despite the obvious deficiencies of the text (see "Azal.2").

Although Browne acknowledged that Baha'u'llah's claim to be "He Whom God shall manifest" meant that the Babi dispensation was abrogated and Azal's position superseded (New History xxii-xxiii), he nevertheless continued to write as though the split that occurred was over the leadership of the Babi community. Further, although he frankly admitted that without the changes introduced by Baha'u'llah, the Babi movement could not have survived (New History xxiv-xxvi), Browne nevertheless allowed himself to become in effect the spokesperson for the party that the overwhelming majority of Babis had already rejected. (Some of the possible reasons for Browne's partisan attitude are discussed in BBR 33-36.)

On the positive side, we must note that Browne took the trouble to search out and record much detailed information about the new religion, some of which would undoubtedly otherwise have been lost. His are some of the few independent reports extant of the state and ambiance of the Baha'i community in Iran in the late nineteenth century. His observations are a rich storehouse of information about the history of the religion. Finally, his record of his interview with Baha'u'llah remains one of the few pen-portraits ever made (TN xxxix-xl).

Moojan Momen 
 

Bibliography. For a general account of Browne's life and career, see EIr "Browne, Edward Granville." On the relationship between Browne and the Baha'i Faith, see H. M. Balyuzi, Edward Granville Browne and the Baha'i Faith, Oxford: George Ronald, 1970; BBR 29-36; SEB 1-12. The latter two works also contain a full bibliography of the writings of Browne on the Babi and Baha'i Faiths. A bibliography of all of his books and major articles is found in E. G. Browne, A Descriptive Catalogue of the Oriental MSS. Belonging to the Late E. G. Browne (ed. R. A. Nicholson), Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1932, pp. xii-xiii.

Browne's main works on the Babi and Baha'i Faiths are listed in section 3 above (details in the General Bibliography). H@ajji Mirza Jani Kashani, Kitab-i-Nuqt@atu'l-Kaf Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1910. Additional materials are collected in Momen, Selections from the Writings of E. G. Browne, including a catalog of his Babi MSS, a previously unpublished abridged translation of the Persian Bayan, and annotated passages that relate to the Baha'is from A Year amongst the Persians. See also Derek Cockshut, "On retrieving our spiritual heritage," Baha'i Journal Apr. 1993, 10/1:12. 
 


default

Thank you Sen McGlinn

by Djalili (not verified) on

Some of this kind of other works are translated by a bahai of good standing, Sen McGlinn. He has so many good works to his credit. I have read "Bahaism and its Claims" by Wilson, which Sen has OCR-ed and Presented on the internet. It is a Wonderful work by Wilson and I thank Sen for his efforts. May the 'blessed beauty' give him more opportunities of serving the faith in this way.

Readers are encouraged to read the works by 'Wilson' on baha'i faith.