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Friday
May 11, 2001

Bahais easily separate national ties

Mansuri states that Bahais do care about their Persian ethnicity and suggests that I have chosen a narrow interpretation of his quotation ["Bahais care..."]. While I understand that regardless of one's beliefs they will always be attached to where they come from (as an example although I have chosen to immigrate to Australia, been naturalised as an Australian and at the present can not imagine that I will be returning to Iran under any circumstances yet I keep in touch with whatever is related to Iran and can not divorce myself from following the news and what is going on there).

However, my point about Bahais ["Not Persians"] was that they have this overall connotation that (as Mansuri introduces himself in his letter as a 'jahan koodak) they are working towards a global community and which I believe is exactly what Bozorgmehr ["No Solidarity"] has said in his article about solidarity with other Iranians in his article. Since Bahais claim to have a much broader and expanded view of the community and do not limit themselves to the national borders they would be more inclined to easily separate themselves from the rest of Iranians.

As I have noticed in the city I am living in this is what they are doing e.g. promoting Norouz as a Bahai religious festival and not as an Iranian feast. I am thereby suggesting that this is what Bozorgmehr is on about. I must also add that if, as Mansuri implies, I have chosen a narrow interpretation of the quotations that Mansuri also had selected a narrow interpretation of Bozorgmehr's article. Bozorgmehr is not discussing what the Bahais advocate but rather he is analysing the Iranian people in diaspora based on their general beliefs and this is where Mansuri reduces all this into a very limited treatment of Bahai's beliefs.

Of course one's love for its neighbours does not mean that they will not love their own family. But this is a totally different matter. Bozorgmehr is not saying this is the case but rather Bahais have a different outlook and this reduces their interest about their ethnicity as they seemingly (according to their teachings) are more interested in the globalisation. And last but not least, while I don't wish to discuss his beliefs or "faith" he is preaching his "faith".

In particular his statement that Bahais call Iran as the "HOLY LAND OF IRAN". By this I suppose he is trying to tell me that Bahais have have built a temple in Jerusalem because they believe Iran is "Holy". And to close, what supposedly Bahaullah has done for "Glory" of Iran is glory in Bahais eyes as hijacking the idea of Iranian New Year feast which has a very ancient history behind it and transforming it into a celebration for the followers of a "faith", who claim their "prophet's" teaching is for the current era and yet admit that they themselves "can not perceive his teachings" and his "monumental teachings... can not be fully understood", is not a glorification of Persian traditions and does not promote the Iranian cause in the world.

Jim Entessari

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