Raised by Closet Muslims

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Raised by Closet Muslims
by Igneous1
01-Aug-2010
 

I was born a Bahá'í, raised a Bahá'í, and lived my first adult years as a Bahá'í. At age 22, I decided that the Bahá'í religion is not for me. Though I have had many weak moments of wishing I could have fit into the Bahá'í universe somehow, I have never managed to step back into that world.

The Bahá'í religion regards itself as an "independent world religion," a phrase that in itself ought to give one pause. "Methinks they doth protest too much," one might remark. They claim to have grown out of their Shí'a heritage, and in many particulars they certainly have abandoned it, but I have long maintained that the Bahá'í religion is essentially Shí'a in character. It may have chosen new leaders, conceived new terms, and changed a few rules, but it remains a very Shí'a sect in terms of its metareligious properties.

I don't wish to belabor the point at present, but I do intend to go into depth and detail in the near future. Suffice it to say that I see parallels to the Ayatollahs and Imams in the Bahá'í religion. I see the same need for a continuing line of infallible guides in both religions, a similar view toward politics, remarkably similar mystical imagery, the same idolatrous tendency to deify men, and the same reverence for immaculate saints. The Bahá'í religion is very Shí'a.

Given all this, I feel very much like I was raised in a Shí'a Muslim religious paradigm. A Shí'a may question this, thinking perhaps that the Bahá'ís are far too heretical to be regarded as Muslims. Bahá'ís, on the other hand, claim to have left the old "Islam" behind. But I contend that from 30,000 feet, Shi'a and Bahá'í are siblings. One is the younger, rebellious progial son who may have rebelled and been disowned, but he is a son nonetheless. He may claim to be an "independent world" man, but he cannot help but betray his Shí'a character.

I am, however, no Shi'a, for I am no Bahá'í, yet I do feel a bit Iranian. My religious sensibilities find their identity in something more ancient: the religion of Zoroaster. It was my "Iranian upbringing," so to speak, that introduced me to Zoroaster, and I have long felt a kinship with the Iranian prophet that I have never felt for Muhammad and his heirs. I hope to go into further detail in the near future. For now, let us simply say that what I like about Zoroaster is that he rejected the Gods (Daevas) in favor of the Good. He was the first prophet, one might say, to "speak truth to power."

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Igneous1

Touche!

by Igneous1 on

You got me there, Raoul! I stand corrected. Let's scratch the whole "born a" lingo and stick with "indoctrinated." :-)


Dale_Husband

Looks like sarcasm

by Dale_Husband on

Yes, Raoul, you cannot be born with any beliefs, but parents who are strongly religious naturally want their children to be like them, so they will sometimes start calling their kids "Christians", "Muslims", or whatever their faith is from infancy to make sure the kids know what is expected of them.

Ironic that Baha'is claim to beleive in Independent Investigation of Truth. They really don't. See here for an explanation:

//iranian.com/main/blog/dale-husband/independent-investigation-truth-baha-i-case-hypocrisy

Dale Husband, the Honorable Skeptic


Raoul1955

Born as a ...?

by Raoul1955 on

How is it possible for you or anyone else to have been born as a bahai, muslim, jew, or fill-in-the-blank?
Your opening statement implies that your parents [somehow] instilled in you, while a fetus, the tenets of the bahai ideology!
:-)