Why Islamists Persecute the Baha’is

As the saying goes, this is the best of times and the worst of times. Humanity is struggling, on one hand, to free itself from the vestiges of its barbaric past while embarking on an exhilarating new way of life. It is the same story: the old is doggedly fighting the latest on many fronts. In this case, the new represents a significant paradigm shift in ideas and beliefs that demands the total eradication of all.  This conflict has kept mankind in a quagmire of wars, injustice, and misery. In this realm of ideas, religions play pivotal roles, and the old and the new clash, often violently. Ideas and beliefs act as our software, determining how we behave. However, the software of the past is no longer functional because it is out of date and has been infected with destructive viruses.

A cursory glance reveals that Islam’s software has been so significantly manipulated over time by numerous sects, subsects, and schools that it can hardly be viewed as a unified belief system. Moreover, people are shaped by their ideas. Any assault on beliefs and ideas incites those attacked to take action.

This clash of beliefs is the reason for Islamists to unleash their power against the upstart. The iconoclastic Baha’i faith reveres Islam and respects all other religions. The Baha’i faith shares many teachings with Islam, so much so that some call it “Islam light” because, while it retains some of Islam’s principles, it also abrogates several outdated and counterproductive Islamic laws and practices. Baha’is assert that their faith is not a wrecking ball aimed at demolishing the schoolhouse of God called religion. In this badly divided schoolhouse, everyone claims to worship the same God, yet continues to oppress, fight, and kill each other in the name of that very God.

Baha’is have a very optimistic and possibly unrealistic view of humanity. They say that their goal is for every human being, irrespective of any considerations, to be granted all their God-given rights and allowed to worship their creator as they see fit. They have an idealistic vision of the world, where everyone lives as a valued human family member. They have resonated with around 6-7 million people worldwide from every ethnic, religious, and national background. This vision may not convert the remaining 6-7 billion people anytime soon. Still, it certainly surpasses the Islamists’ idea of forcing the world under their so-called Ummah with its outdated sharia law.

Baha’is believe that God sends His teachers to His school, occasionally with new lessons, to help people advance to higher levels of humanness. The trouble, they think, is that people cling to the old schoolwork and the old teacher, doggedly resisting the acceptance of the new teacher and His teachings. Baha’is view God’s prophets as renovators who arrive from time to time to tear down walls of separation, bringing God’s children together in an open-air general classroom, away from their own foolishly walled-in dungeons of exclusivity and ignorance.

Below are some of the Baha’i teachings that clash with Islam and provoke Islamists to do everything they can to destroy the new religion.

The people of God. Muslims believe that they are the chosen people of Allah and recognize no other system of belief as legitimate. Baha’is believe that all people are the chosen people of God: that there is only one God, one religion of God, and one people of God, the entire human race.

Pearls on a string. Muslims contend that Muhammad is the seal of the Prophets; that God sent his best and final messenger to mankind, and any other claimant is an impostor worthy of death. Baha’is believe that God has always sent his teachers with new and updated lessons to educate humanity and shall do so in the future. Numerous divine teachers have appeared to various people throughout human history. They say that these teachers are like pearls on a string and that Baha’u’llah is the latest, but not the last pearl.

Independent thinking. Blind imitation is anathema to Baha’is. Baha’is believe that human reason should guide individuals in making decisions. To this end, they value education and independent investigation of the truth.

Baha’is consider women’s education as important as men’s, since women are the primary caregivers of children and can contribute significantly through education. In contrast, Muslims often look to religious authorities for guidance and frequently deprive women of education and independent thought.

Recognizing the importance of independent thinking, no one is born Baha’i. Once a person is born to a Muslim, they are considered Muslim for life. If they decide to leave Islam, they are labeled as apostates, and apostates are automatically condemned to death. By contrast, every child born into a Baha’i family must make their own independent decision regarding whether or not they wish to be a Baha’i. The freedom to choose and independent thinking are cherished values of the Baha’is, in stark contrast to those of closed-minded Islamists.

Religion or science. Baha’is believe that truth transcends all boundaries. Scientific and religious truth emanate from the same universal source. They are like two sides of the same coin. To Baha’is, science and religion are like the two wings of a bird that enable humanity’s flight toward its full potential; they assert that any religious belief that contradicts science is superstition. Muslims believe that their religious scripture and dogma, irrespective of their proven falsehood, are superior to science.

Gender equality. Muslims hold the view, expressly stated in the Qur’an, that men are rulers over women. Baha’is reject this notion and uphold the unconditional equality of rights for both sexes. This Baha’i principle liberates one half of humanity from subservient domestic roles to that of fully participating and self-actualized individuals. It aims to put an end to the heartless exploitation of women and insists that they be treated with all due respect under the law.

Participatory decision-making. Islam, by its very nature, is patriarchal and authoritarian. Baha’is believe in the value of decision-making through consultation, a process where everyone has a voice in making decisions regardless of their background or considerations. This participatory decision-making principle abrogates a paramount prerogative of Islamic clergy, who have been dictating matters to their liking and advantage. Additionally, at all levels of society, including the family, all affected members have the opportunity, even the responsibility, to express their views without fear. Baha’i teachings emphasize this commitment to democratic decision-making in their scripture: “The shining spark of truth cometh forth only after the clash of differing opinions.”

World-embracing outlook. Baha’is love their native countries yet extend that love to the entire planet and its people. Baha’is believe that love has no limit and need not have limits. One can love one’s country and the world at the same time. This love for the world is frequently used as a pretense by Islamists to accuse Baha’is in Iran of being traitors to their homeland. It is for this reason that the present mullahs ruling Iran falsely claim that Baha’is are agents of Zionist Israel and its American sponsor.

Eradicating prejudice. Prejudice of any type is alien to the Baha’i faith and severely undermines its pivotal principle of the oneness of humanity. Muslims are often associated with prejudice. Islamists thoroughly exploit prejudice against others. In contrast, Baha’i scriptures say, “…again, as to religious, racial, national and political bias: all these prejudices strike at the very root of human life; one and all they beget bloodshed, and the ruination of the world. So long as these prejudices survive, there will be continuous and fearsome wars.”

Abolition of priesthood. A significant point of conflict concerns the abolition of the clergy. Baha’is believe that humanity has matured enough to require a caste of professional clergy no longer to fulfill people’s religious needs. By one stroke, this Baha’i teaching puts hundreds of thousands of mullahs and imams out of work. It provokes the powerful caste of the do-nothing clergy to fight for the preservation of their highly privileged, parasitic positions.

The world’s free people must defend freedom of conscience, including freedom of religion, regardless of one’s personal beliefs. For this reason, as someone who is not a Baha’i, I feel it is my solemn duty to speak up on behalf of a peaceful people who savage Islamists severely persecute.

2025 Amil Imani. All rights reserved.