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Religion • Society • Polity • Arts

WORLD
ORDER

What Does Community Mean?

In this issue. . .

Civility, Society,
and Individual Freedom
Editorial

Beyond Legal Reforms:
Culture and Capacity
in the Eradication
of Violence against
Women and Girls
a statement of the
Bahá’í International Community

The Bahá’ís as a
Mystic Community
Moojan Momen

Matters of Opinion
A Review by
Alexandra Humphrey of
Building Sustainable Peace,
ed. Tom Keating and W. Andy Knight

Poems by:
Bret Breneman, Larry Gates,
Diane Lotfi, and Julio Savi

Volume 37, No. 4

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Religion • Society • Polity • Arts

WORLD
ORDER

2006 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 4

WORLD ORDER AIMS TO
STIMULATE, INSPIRE, AND SERVE
ITS READERS IN THEIR SEARCH
TO UNDERSTAND THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN
CONTEMPORARY LIFE AND
CONTEMPORARY RELIGIOUS TEACHINGS
AND PHILOSOPHY.

EDITORIAL BOARD

Betty J. Fisher

Arash Abizadeh

Monireh Kazemzadeh

Diane Lotfi

Kevin Morrison

Robert H. Stockman

Jim Stokes

CONSULTANT IN POETRY

Herbert Woodward Martin

INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

World Order is published quarterly by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States, 536 Sheridan Road, Wilmette, IL 60091-1811. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the publisher or of the Editorial Board.

Peer review: Submissions to the journal will be subject to external blind peer review if they fall outside the expertise of the Editorial Board or upon request by the author.

Submissions and other editorial correspondence should be addressed to the Editor, World Order, 7311 Quail Springs Place NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113-1780 or emailed to <worldorder@usbnc.org>. Detailed information for contributors may be requested in writing or by e-mail.

Manuscripts may be typewritten or computer generated; manuscripts accepted for publication are requested on computer disk (Microsoft Word or WordPerfect preferred) or by electronic submission. Article and review manuscripts must be double-spaced throughout and prepared in a 12-point Courier font; the footnotes must be at the end of the text and not attached electronically to the text. Each manuscript should list on the first page the article title, the author(s), and addresses, including telephone, fax, and e-mail.

Articles may range in length from some 3,750 to 6,250 words.

Reviews vary in length. Review Notes run from some 500 words; Mini-Reviews run from some 1,000 to 2,500 words, and Review Essays, from some 3,750 to 6,250 words.

Poems should be single spaced with clearly marked stanza breaks.

World Order is indexed in the Index of American Periodical Verse, the ATLA Religion Database, and The American Humanities Index and is a member of the Council of Editors of Learned Journals.

INFORMATION FOR SUBSCRIBERS

Subscription Rates: U.S.A. and surface to all other countries, 1 year, US $25; 2 years, US $48. Airmail to all other countries, 1 year, US $30, 2 years, US $58. Single copies US $7 plus shipping and handling. Make checks or money orders payable to Bahá’í Distribution Service. Send address changes to and order subscriptions from the Bahá’í Distribution Service, 4703 Fulton Industrial Boulevard, Atlanta, GA 30336-2017. Telephone: 1-800-999-9019, United States and Canada; 404-472-9019, all other countries. Or, please e-mail :<subscription@usbnc.org>.

Back issues still in print may be obtained from the Bahá’í Distribution Service at the mailing address above or by e-mail at <bds@usbnc.org>. Orders for back issues on microfilm or microfiche can be obtained from National Archive Publishing Company, 300 North Zeeb Road, P.O. Box 998, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-0998 USA. Telephone: 1-800-420-6272. E-mail: <info@napubco.com>.

COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

Copyright © 2007 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States; all rights reserved. World Order is protected through trademark registration in the U.S. Patent Office. Printed in the U.S.A. ISSN 0043—8804.

ART CREDITS

Cover design by Ric Doering; cover photograph, © Doug Nelson; pp. 6, 14, photographs, courtesy Shari Meyer; p. 42, photograph, courtesy Steve Garrigues; p. 47, photograph, courtesy Melanie Smith.

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2006 VOLUME 37, NUMBER 4

CONTENTS

2   Civility, Society, and Individual Freedom

Editorial

4   Interchange: Letters from and to the Editor

7   Beyond Legal Reforms:

Culture and Capacity in the Eradication

of Violence against Women and Girls

a statement of the Bahá’í International Community

13   Chains of Love

a poem by Julio Savi

15   The Bahá’ís as a Mystic Community

Moojan Momen

40   Decorous Fraud

a poem by Larry Gates

40   Festal Hermeneutics

a poem by Bret Breneman

43   Matters of Opinion: A Review of

Building Sustainable Peace,

ed. Tom Keating and W. Andy Knight

by Alexandra Humphrey

48   the activist mind

a poem by Diane Lotfi

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Editorial

Civility, Society, and Individual Freedom

The word civility is often used as a synonym for courtesy, which, according to the Bahá’í writings, is both estimable and necessary. Bahá’u’lláh unequivocally commands us to “observe courtesy, for above all else it is the prince of virtues.” He states that “Courtesy is, in truth, a raiment which fitteth all men” and warns: “woe unto him who is deprived of this great bounty.”

But civility is both broader and deeper than courtesy, implying not only respectful words, gestures, and tone but also participation in a social order. The notion of civility developed in Western culture in the ancient republics of Athens and Rome. The word civility derives from the Latin civilis (from the Latin civis or citizen) meaning “of or relating to citizens and their interrelations with one another or with the state.” The concept of civility is thus rooted in the concept of citizenship, of belonging to a political community.

In both Athens and Rome, the philosophers defined civic virtues as those essential to successful governance. Civic virtue meant serving the interests of the political community above one’s own. Thus civility today, as in ancient Athens and Rome, requires that we think beyond the personal, that we serve not only ourselves but our community. It has to do with the person as a part of the social and political world, the public person. To be civil, individuals have to perceive themselves as part of a commonweal—something greater than themselves.

One reason that we are so resistant to civility today—in newspapers, on television, in public debates, in daily life—may be that for many people civility embodies an inherent conflict with freedom, which is understood to mean the absence of external interference by the community in the life of the individual. Subsuming individual freedom, in this sense—such as freedom of speech—to an overarching common goal strikes many as distasteful. But in the civic republican tradition, by contrast, freedom was often understood to mean living under laws that one had participated in creating, jointly with one’s fellow citizens. Freedom meant being allowed to take part in civil life, being considered a citizen, being on the same footing as other humans within one’s society. Freedom involved the individual’s participation in a political community and not the individual’s separation from it.

In the Bahá’í writings Shoghi Effendi explains the individual’s relation to society thus:

The Bahá’í conception of social life is essentially based on the principle of the subordination of the individual will to that of society. It neither suppresses the individual nor does it exalt him to the point of making him an anti-social creature, a menace to society. As in everything, it follows the “golden mean.”

[Page 3] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá explains that

the honor and distinction of the individual consist in this, that he among all the world’s multitudes should become a source of social good. Is any larger bounty conceivable than this, that an individual, looking within himself, should find that by the confirming grace of God he has become the cause of peace and well-being, of happiness and advantage to his fellowmen? No, by the one true God, there is no greater bliss, no more complete delight.

We may, then, be able to accept that civility—placing the well-being of the community above ourselves—is a worthy goal. But for all its worthiness, the Athenian and Roman concept of civility did not extend to noncitizens, and there were noncitizens—women, slaves, foreigners—within cities as well as abroad. The type of civility that means inclusion in a civil community in which personal freedom is best expressed through civil liberty seems promising. But it also breaks down in our fragmented, ideologically driven age. Many people tend to see themselves as isolated individuals under existential threat living in societies that lack the moral power to provide a larger order: “egotists in chaos,” as the poet Yeats has observed. The lack of civility in Western society is the expression of a kind of anarchy of the spirit.

As long as people continue to divide the world into “us” and them,” as long as they feel threatened or excluded, civility will not be extended beyond “our” world. In fact, rather than making us more tolerant of others or more courteous toward those who are different from ourselves, increasing diversity of thought, ethnicity, language, or culture often seems to augment the problem. As Professors Guy Burgess and Heidi Burgess of the University of Colorado have noted,

our increasingly diverse society will produce an endless series of confrontations over difficult moral and distributional issues. . . . While continuing confrontation is inevitable, the enormous destructiveness which commonly accompanies these confrontations is not.

Continuing confrontation is perhaps inevitable as long as we see others as unworthy of respect and as long as we continue to exclude others from our community (be it religious, political, cultural, ethnic, or national) because we see others as different. The only solution, then, is to expand our definition of who is a “citizen,” of who belongs to our community. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá exhorts us to

Consort with all the peoples, kindreds and religions of the world with the utmost truthfulness, uprightness, faithfulness, kindliness, good-will and friendliness, that . . . ignorance, enmity, hate and rancor may vanish from the world and the darkness of estrangement amidst the peoples and kindreds of the world may give way to the Light of Unity.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá also exhorts us to

behold no man as different from yourselves. See ye no strangers; rather see all men as friends, for love and unity come hard when ye fix your gaze on otherness. And in this new and wondrous age, the Holy Writings say that we must be at one with every people.

Should we accomplish that change in our thinking, should we see every human being as part of our community and not as an outsider, we would find civility far easier to practice.

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Interchange

Letters from and to the Editor

Community is the theme running through this issue of World Order. The editorial—“Civility, Society, and Individual Freedom”—challenges us to consider the root meaning of the word civility in this era in which we are confronted with incivility at every turn. The word civility derives from the Latin civilis and means “of or relating to citizens and their interrelations with one another or with the state.” Civility, then, entails far more than being nice to a clerk in a store, far more than the spitting and swearing, for example, that the Chinese are aiming to correct in order to present the Chinese as a civilized society at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. It involves a commitment to being part of and making better the entirety of the commonweal.

“Beyond Legal Reforms: Culture and Capacity in the Eradication of Violence against Women and Girls,” a statement by the Bahá’í International Community, shows how, worldwide, women and girls are generally not full-fledged members of human society. Despite advances during the past half century, despite the adoption of norms of conduct such as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, the need remains for proactive approaches at every level (from the individual to the international) and in every sector of life (from the religious and the economic to the political). Moreover, with the “protective web of community life” appearing to be “irreparably torn,” the need is central to repairing the outer dimensions of human life and to transforming the “inner, ethical, and moral dimension” to provide the “surest foundation for values and behavior which raise up women and girls, and in turn promote the advancement of humankind.”

Moojan Momen’s “The Bahá’ís as a Mystic Community” provides a different perspective on what constitutes community. Momen invites us to consider the characteristics of mystic communities that have developed in several Eastern and Western religions and then to examine how Bahá’u’lláh has annulled most of the premises of mystic religious traditions. For the new era He has created a mystic community of the whole in which the mystic “quest for personal spiritual development . . . is the central concern of religion.” Rather than allowing for a separate mystic community catering to a minority, “in the Bahá’í Faith the entire community is engaged in the mystical quest, making the Bahá’í community itself the mystic community.” Bahá’u’lláh provides the Bahá’í administrative order as the organizing principle of His mystic community “in which leadership and hierarchy, oral transmission of gnostic knowledge, asceticism, and altered states of consciousness are either abolished or provided for in new ways.” Obedience in the Bahá’í Faith is not to an individual but to the Bahá’í Covenant and to local, national, and international governing [Page 5] bodies. Consultation, diversity, and service to humanity and “service to the cause of universal peace” aid in spiritual development.

Finally, Alexandra Humphrey’s review of Building Sustainable Peace, a collection of essays edited by Tom Keating and W. Andy Knight, professors of political science at the University of Alberta in Canada, adds another dimension to the discussion of community. The volume aims to “demystify peacebuilding and to understand the many technical problems that plague this increasingly complex and multidimensional field.”

A touchstone for achieving civility, protecting women and girls, developing a mystic community, and building world peace can be found in the words of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who outlines the process by which we may advance the goals of community building:

Note ye how easily, where unity existeth in a given family, the affairs of that family are conducted; what progress the members of that family make, how they prosper in the world. Their concerns are in order, they enjoy comfort and tranquillity, they are secure, their position is assured, they come to be envied by all. . . . And if we widen out the sphere of unity a little to include the inhabitants of a village who seek to be loving and united, who associate with and are kind to one another, what great advances they will be seen to make, how secure and protected they will be. Then let us widen out the sphere a little more, let us take the inhabitants of a city, all of them together: if they establish the strongest bonds of unity among themselves, how far they will progress, even in a brief period, and what power they will exert. And if the sphere of unity be still further widened out, that is, if the inhabitants of a whole country develop peaceable hearts, and if with all their hearts and souls they yearn to cooperate with one another and to live in unity, and if they become kind and loving to one another, that country will achieve undying joy and lasting glory. . . .

. . . if every clan, tribe, community, every nation, country, territory on earth should come together under the single-hued pavilion of the oneness of mankind . . . what would happen then? . . .

Wherefore, O ye beloved of the Lord, bestir yourselves, do all in your power to be as one, to live in peace, each with the others: for ye are all the drops from but one ocean, the foliage of one tree, the pearls from a single shell, the flowers and sweet herbs from the same one garden.

* * *

The late Robert Hayden (1913-80), World Order’s first poetry editor and the first African American to serve as Consultant in Poetry to the U.S. Library of Congress, was a participant of sorts in the November 13, 2006, groundbreaking ceremony for the Martin Luther King, Jr., Memorial to be erected on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.— the first monument of its status dedicated to an American citizen and the first to pay homage to an African American. Among the many dignitaries at the ceremony was poet Maya Angelou, who chose not to read one of her own poems but Hayden’s “Frederick Douglass,” a work about the famous nineteenth-century abolitionist leader.

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A STATEMENT OF THE BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY, JULY 2006

Beyond Legal Reforms:
Culture and Capacity in The Eradication
of Violence against Women and Girls

Copyright © 2006 by the Bahá’í International Community.

THE BAHÁ’Í INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
through its United Nations Office, represents the vision and concerns of the worldwide Bahá’í community at the United Nations. An international nongovernmental organization with affiliates (Bahá’í National Spiritual Assemblies) in more Than 180 countries and territories, it represents over 5 million members of The Bahá’í Faith. The Bahá’í International Community (BIC) interacts and cooperates with the United Nations, with governments, and with intergovernmental and nongovernmental organizations, seeking to promote and apply Bahá’í principles to the resolution of challenges facing humanity and to the development of a peaceful, just and sustainable civilization. At the current time, the BIC focuses on promoting a universal standard for human rights, the advancement of women, and the promotion of a just and equitable means of global prosperity.

By many measures, the status of women and girls has improved significantly over the last fifty years. They have achieved higher rates of literacy and education, increased their per capita income, and risen to prominent roles in professional and political spheres. Moreover, extensive local, national, and global networks of women have succeeded in putting women’s concerns on the global agenda and catalyzed the creation of legal and institutional mechanisms to address these concerns. Notwithstanding the positive developments, a relentless epidemic of violence against women and girls—perpetuated by social norms, religious fanaticism, and exploitative economic and political conditions—continues to wreak havoc in every corner of the world. As the international community struggles to implement laws to protect women and girls, it is evident that a massive divide still separates the legal apparatus and the culture— embodied in our values, behaviors and institutions—required to stem the epidemic.

The alarming violence against women and girls takes place against the backdrop of two simultaneous processes that characterize the present global condition. The first is a process of disintegration, which in every continent and every arena of human life reveals the impotence of outworn institutions, obsolescent doctrines, and discredited traditions and leads to chaos and decline in the social order. The deterioration of the ability of religions to exercise a moral influence has left in its wake a moral vacuum filled by extremist voices and material conceptions of reality [Page 8] that deny the dignity of human life. An exploitative economic order, fueling the extremes of wealth and poverty, has pushed millions of women into positions of economic slavery and denied their rights to property, inheritance, physical security, and equal participation in the productive enterprise. Ethnic conflicts and failing states have swelled the number of women migrants and refugees, forcing them into positions of yet greater physical and economic insecurity. Within the home and community, the high incidence of violence within the family, the increase in degrading treatment of women and children, and the spread of sexual abuse have accelerated this decline.

---

ROOTED IN THE ETHIC OF THE
UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS
AND FUELED BY A GROWING SOLIDARITY
OF WOMEN’S EFFORTS AROUND THE WORLD,
THE LAST FIFTEEN YEARS HAVE SUCCEEDED IN PUTHNG
THE ISSUE OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
AND GIRLS ON THE GLOBAL AGENDA.

---

Alongside a pattern of deterioration, a second constructive and unifying process can be discerned. Rooted in the ethic of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and fueled by a growing solidarity of women’s efforts around the world, the last fifteen years have succeeded in putting the issue of violence against women and girls on the global agenda. The extensive legal and normative framework developed during this time has brought to the attention of a distracted international community the culture of impunity within which such abuse was tolerated and even condoned. In 1993, the landmark UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women defined violence as

Any act of gender-based violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether occurring in public or in private life.

This definition challenged the fallacious notion that violence against women and girls was a private matter. The home, the family, one’s culture and tradition were no longer to be the final arbiters of just action where Violence against girls or women was concerned. The subsequent appointment of a Special Rapporteur on violence against women provided yet another mechanism for investigating and bringing the many dimensions of this crisis to the attention of the international community.

Despite major advances in the last fifteen years, the failure of nations to decrease the violence has laid bare the shortcomings of a primarily “reactive” approach, and many nations have gradually come to embrace the broader goal of prevention of violence in the first place. Framed differently, the challenge now before the international community is how to create the social, material, and structural conditions in which women and girls can develop to their full potential. The creation of such conditions will involve not only deliberate attempts to change the legal, political, [Page 9] and economic structures of society, but, equally importantly, will require the transformation of individuals—men and women, boys and girls—whose values, in different ways, sustain exploitative patterns of behavior. From the Bahá’í perspective, the essence of any program of social change is the understanding that the individual has a spiritual or moral dimension. This shapes their understanding of their life’s purpose, their responsibilities towards the family, the community, and the world. Alongside critical changes in the legal, political, and economic architecture slowly taking shape, the development of individuals’ moral and spiritual capabilities is an essential element in the as yet elusive quest to prevent the abuse of women and girls around the world.

The idea of promoting specific morals or values may be a controversial one; too often in the past such efforts have been associated with repressive religious practices, oppressive political ideologies, and narrowly defined visions of the common good. However, moral capabilities, when articulated in a manner consistent with the ideals of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and aimed at fostering the spiritual, social, and intellectual development of all persons, represent a key element of the kind of transformation required for a nonviolent society to take shape. Moreover, such capabilities must be anchored in the central social and spiritual principle of our time—namely the interdependence and interconnectedness of humanity as a whole. The goal of moral development, then, is shifted from individualistic notions of “salvation” to embrace the collective progress of the entire human race. As our understanding of the world’s social and physical systems has evolved to embrace this paradigm, so too must we develop the moral capabilities required to function ethically in the age in which we live.

---

A NUMBER OF BAHÁ’Í SCHOOLS AND INSTITUTIONS
OF HIGHER EDUCATION HAVE IDENTIFIED
SPECIFIC MORAL CAPABILITIES WHICH HELP TO EQUIP
CHILDREN AND YOUTH TO DEVELOP SKILLS OF
MORAL REASONING AND TO ASSUME THE
RESPONSIBILITY OF CONTRIBUTING
TO THE BETFERMENT OF THEIR COMMUNITIES.

---

How does this translate into educational objectives? A number of Bahá’í schools and institutions of higher education have identified specific moral capabilities which help to equip children and youth to develop skills of moral reasoning and to assume the responsibility of contributing to the betterment of their communities. The basis for such curricula is the belief that every person is a spiritual being with limitless potential for noble action but that potential, in order to be manifest, must be consciously cultivated through a curriculum attuned to this fundamental human dimension. Among the moral capabilities identified by Bahá’í educational institutions include the ability to participate effectively in nonadversarial collective decision-making (this includes the transformation of exploitative patterns of behavior based on the use of force and falsely rooted in the idea of conflict as a mainstay of human interaction); to act with rectitude of conduct based on ethical and moral principles; to cultivate one’s sense of dignity and self-worth; to take initiative in a creative, disciplined form; to commit to empowering educational activities; to create a vision of a desired future based on shared values and principles, and to inspire others to work for its fulfillment; [Page 10] to understand relationships based on dominance and to contribute towards their transformation into relationships based on reciprocity and service. In this way, the curriculum seeks to develop the individual as a whole—integrating the spiritual and the material, the theoretical and the practical, and the sense of individual progress with service to the community.

While such values can be taught in schools, it is the family environment in which children grow and form views about themselves, the world, and the purpose of life. To the degree that a family fails to meet the fundamental needs of the children, to that same degree will society be burdened with the consequences of neglect and abuse and will suffer greatly from the resulting conditions of apathy and violence. In the family, the child learns about the nature of power and its expression in interpersonal relationships; it is here that she first learns to accept or reject authoritarian rule and violence as a means of expression and conflict resolution. In this environment, the widespread violence committed by men against women and girls constitutes an assault on the foundational unit of the community and the nation.

---

TO THE DEGREE THAT A FAMILY FAILS TO MEET
THE FUNDAMENTAL NEEDS OF THE CHILDREN,
TO THAT SAME DEGREE WILL SOCIETY
BE BURDENED WITH THE CONSEQUENCES
OF NEGLECT AND ABUSE.

---

The state of equality in the family and in the marriage requires an ever-increasing ability to integrate and unite rather than to separate and individualize. In a rapidly changing world, where families find themselves unbearably strained under the pressures of shifting environmental, economic, and political upheavals, the ability to maintain the integrity of the family bond and to prepare children for citizenship in a complex and shrinking world takes on paramount importance. It is imperative, then, to help men as fathers understand their responsibilities in a family beyond economic well-being to include setting an example of healthy male-female relations, of self-discipline and equal respect for the male and female members of the family. This is a complementary role to that of the mother, who is the first educator of her children and whose happiness, sense of security and self-worth is essential to her capacity to parent effectively.

What children learn in the family is either confirmed or contradicted by the social interactions and values that shape their community life. All adults in the community —educators, health workers, entrepreneurs, political representatives, religious leaders, police officers, media professionals, and the like—share a responsibility for the protection of children. In so many cases, however, the protective web of community life appears irreparably torn: millions of women and girls are trafficked every year and subjected to forced prostitution and slavery-like conditions; migrant workers face a double marginalization as females and as migrants, suffering mental, physical, and economic abuse at the hands of their employers in an informal economy; violence against older women, whose numbers have risen and who often lack the means for self-protection, has greatly increased; child pornography has spread like a virus feeding the appetite of a seamless, unregulated global market; in many countries, even the act of getting to and attending school has put girls at [Page 11] a tremendous risk for physical and sexual abuse. Exacerbating the conditions brought on by weak states and the failure of law enforcement is the profoundly moral dilemma that forces the community to ask: What moves an individual to exploit the life and dignity of another human being? What fundamental moral capacity has the family and community failed to cultivate?

Across the world, religions have traditionally played a defining role in cultivating the values of a community. Yet today, many voices raised in the name of religion constitute the most formidable obstacle to eradicating violent and exploitative behaviors perpetrated against women and girls. Using religious appeals as a vehicle for their own power, proponents of extremist religious interpretations have sought to “tame” women and girls by limiting their mobility outside of the home, limiting their access to education, subjecting their bodies to harmful traditional practices, controlling attire and even killing to punish acts which were claimed to abase the family honor. It is religion itself that stands in desperate need of renewal. A core element of such renewal is the need for religious leaders to state unequivocally and become the standard bearers of the principle of equality of men and women—a moral and practical principle urgently needed to realize progress in the social, political, and economic spheres of society. Today, religious practices and doctrines in flagrant violation of international human rights standards must be subject to deeper examination and scrutiny, bearing in mind that all religions contain the voices of women, which have often been absent from the evolving definition of what religion is and what it requires.

---

TODAY, MANY VOICES RAISED IN THE NAME OF RELIGION
CONSTITUTE THE MOST FORMIDABLE OBSTACLE
TO ERADICATING VIOLENT AND
EXPLOITATIVE BEHAVIORS PERPETRATED AGAINST
WOMEN AND GIRLS.

---

The individual, her family, and community environment are ultimately under the protection of the state; it is at this level that enlightened and responsible leadership is desperately required. Most governments, however, continue to abdicate their international obligations to punish and prevent the violence and exploitation of women and girls; many lack the political will; some fail to allocate adequate resources to implement the laws; in many countries specialized services addressing violence against women and girls do not exist; and work on prevention has in almost all contexts been limited to local short-term measures. In fact, few states can claim even the smallest reduction in overall prevalence. Many states continue to hide behind cultural and religious reservations to international treaties condemning this [Page 12] violence—further perpetuating a climate of legal and moral impunity rendering the violence and its victims largely invisible.

The era of developing legal frameworks must now be followed by an emphasis on implementation and prevention. The foundation of such measures is a strategy rooted in the education and training of children in a way that enables them to grow intellectually as well as morally, cultivating in them a sense of dignity as well as a responsibility for the well-being of their family, community, and the world. From a budgetary perspective, prevention involves the deliberate adoption of gender-specific measures to ensure that an adequate proportion of resources is allocated towards the provision of accessible social services and law enforcement. Such efforts must be reinforced by clear definitions of violence, as well as comprehensive data collection methods in order to evaluate national efforts in this area and to raise awareness among men and women of the gravity and prevalence of violence occurring in their community.

The international community, despite its important leadership on this issue through the 1993 Declaration, its acknowledgment of violence against women and girls as “an obstacle to the achievement of equality, development and peace,” and the work of the Special Rapporteur, has been divided and sluggish in putting its words into practice. In 2003, the failure to act was highlighted at the meetings of the 47th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which, for the first time in the history of the Commission, proved unable to arrive at a set of agreed conclusions regarding violence against women. In this case, cultural and religiously based arguments were used in an attempt to circumvent countries’ obligations as outlined in the 1993 Declaration. It is imperative, therefore, at future meetings of the Commission that decisive language with regards to the elimination of violence against women and girls be adopted as agreed conclusions, setting out not only the legal but moral tone befitting of this global epidemic.

In order to deliver on its many commitments, the international community needs to dramatically increase the power, authority, and resources dedicated to women’s human rights, gender equality, and women’s empowerment. The Bahá’í International Community is part of discussions that suggest creating an autonomous United Nations agency with a comprehensive mandate dedicated to the full range of women’s rights and concerns. These derive from the Beijing Platform for Action, the Cairo Programme of Work, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and ensure that the human rights perspective is fully integrated into all aspects of UN work. To guarantee a voice for women at the highest levels of decision-making at the UN, such an agency should be led by a director with the status of Under Secretary-General. To effectively carry out its mandate, the institution requires a sufficient national presence as well as independent women’s rights experts as part of its governing body.

Efforts to eradicate the epidemic of violence against women and girls must proceed from and be reinforced by every level of society—from the individual to the international community. However, they must not be limited to legal and institutional reforms, for these address only the manifest crime and are incapable of generating the deep-rooted changes needed to create a culture where justice and [Page 13] equality prevail over the impetuousness of authoritarian power and physical force. Indeed the inner and outer dimensions of human life are reciprocal—one cannot be reformed without the other. It is this inner, ethical, and moral dimension which now stands in need of transformation and, ultimately, provides the surest foundation for values and behavior which raise up women and girls and, in turn, promote the advancement of all of humankind.

Chains of Love
Bologna, 11 May 1962

For the Beloved

Dark is the sky

where light

shines no longer.

Cold is the earth

when prejudices

becloud the sun.

Sad is the time

spent without

smiles; empty

the day passed

without remembrance.

Unlock our hearts,

bind our necks

with Thy chains.

How sweet are

Thy chains of love.

—JULIO SAVI

Copyright © 2007 by Julio Savi.

JULIO SAVI, a medical doctor practicing in Bologna, Italy, is a prolific author of poems, articles, and books, including The Eternal Quest for God (1998), For the Sake of God: Notes on Philosophy of Religion (2000), and A Nest on the Highest Branch: Reflections on Human Success, Prosperity, and Happiness (2003). His interests include theology, interfaith dialogue, poetry, and music.

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[Page 15]

MOOJAN MOMEN

The Bahá’ís as a Mystic Community

Copyright © 2007 by Moojan Momen. This article is based on an earlier one, “Mysticism and the Bahá’í Community,” delivered at the ‘Irfán Colloquium, no. 36, London, 2001, and published in Lights of ‘Irfán 3 (2002): 107-20.

MOOJAN MOMEN
a medical doctor specializing in family medicine, was born in Iran but was raised and educated in England, where he attended the University of Cambridge. He has a special interest in the history and doctrines of the Bahá’í Faith and Shia Islam. In recent years his interests have extended to the study of the phenomenon of religion. His principal publications in this field include An Introduction to Shi‘i Islam: The History and Doctrines of Twelver Shi‘ism (Oxford: George Ronald, 1985); The Bábí and Bahá’í Religions 1844-1944: Some Contemporary Western Accounts (Oxford: George Ronald, 1981); and The Phenomenon of Religion (Oxford: OneWorld, 1999). He has contributed articles to Encyclopedia Iranica and Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World and papers to academic journals such as Interntional Journal of Middle East Studies, Past and Present, Iran, Iranian Studies, and Religion. He is a Fellow of The Royal Asiatic Society.

The words mystic and mysticism have been used and defined in many different ways over the centuries. Some equate them to experience or knowledge of the supernatural and associate them with fortune-telling and other occult practices. Many religious people see them as a direct intuitive apprehension or experience of God (in Western theistic religions) or of the Ultimate Reality (Brahman, Dharma, or Tao in Eastern religions). The words have also been defined as a unitive experience of God or the Ultimate Reality (in that consciousness of self disappears and the subjective self and the object of desire become one). However, the definition of mysticism that I use is that of progress along a pathway that leads to the spiritual development of the individual, resulting in a higher, better relationship with the Ultimate Reality.

In human history it has mainly been religion that has helped people in their travel along the mystic path. But religion has also played many other roles, including those of legitimator of the social order, power broker, judicial and legal authority, and the source for a society’s values and ethics. Indeed, these other roles have been so important historically that the mystical role of religion has tended to be sidelined and has become the concern of a minority of the members of each religion who have organized themselves into groups for the specific pursuit of individual spiritual development. This has resulted in the emergence of Christian, Buddhist, and Hindu monasteries and of the Sufi orders in Islam.

[Page 16] In the Bahá’í Faith, in contrast to other religions where mysticism is the primary concern of a minority group, Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, has brought mysticism forward to a central role. He states that the purpose of every religion is to bring about a transformation in the spiritual and social life of humanity and that, if it does not do this, religion is futile:

And yet, is not the object of every Revelation to effect a transformation in the whole character of mankind, a transformation that shall manifest itself, both outwardly and inwardly, that shall affect both its inner life and external conditions? For if the character of mankind be not changed, the futility of God’s universal Manifestations would be apparent.

The “transformation . . . outwardly” and the “external conditions” to which Bahá’u’lláh refers relate to the social teachings and social organization that the founder of each religion brings. The “transformation . . . inwardly” and the “inner life” refer to the mystical path that each religion lays out to enable its followers to develop spiritually. With each religion the fundamental spiritual truths and principles remain the same, but the way of attaining the required social and spiritual transformation changes in accordance with humanity’s changing condition.

Shoghi Effendi, Bahá’u’lláh’s great-grandson, who was appointed the Guardian of the Faith by Bahá’u’lláh’s son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, has emphasized the centrality of the “mystical feeling which unites man with God” by stating that it is “the core of religious faith.” Thus in the Bahá’í Faith the primary concern with one’s own spiritual development is no longer the concern of only a minority; it is given a central position and is the concern of all Bahá’ís. The form and content of personal spirituality and mysticism in the Bahá’í Faith (including such matters as the use of prayer, fasting, and meditation that play an important part in the individual Bahá’í’s spiritual life) is presaged in the writings of the prophets and mystics of the past. The laws of Bahá’u’lláh about such practices are only new in their particulars, not in the institution of any new practices. However, the communal aspect of mysticism, the organization of the Bahá’ís as a mystic community, is where Bahá’u’lláh sets a direction that is radically different from existing mystical systems.

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SHOGHI EFFENDI HAS EMPHASIZED THE CENTRALITY
OF THE “MYSTICAL FEELING WHICH UNITES
MAN WITH GOD” BY STATING THAT IT IS
“THE CORE OF RELIGIOUS FAITH.”

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Bahá’u’lláh and Mystics

During His lifetime (1817-92), Bahá’u’lláh was sympathetic to and had close relations with many Muslim mystics, Sufis (Sufism being the name given to Islamic [Page 17] mysticism, the practice of which is channeled through a large number of Sufi orders, whose leaders claim to be in chains of transmission of esoteric knowledge that go back to the Prophet Muhammad). The clearest evidence comes from the period of His exile in Baghdad (1853-63). When Bahá’u’lláh left Baghdad because of disunity among the Bábís (the followers of the Báb, the forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh), He took up the life-style of a wandering dervish in the Sulaymáníyyih mountains. He soon became regarded as a Sufi shaykh (leader or guide on the mystic path) and was invited by the head of the main Sufi order in the Kurdish town of Sulaymáníyyih, the Naqshbandí-Khálidí Order, to stay in their retreat in the town. While there, Bahá’u’lláh expounded on the Futúḥát Makkíyyah of Ibn al-‘Arabí, one of the most well-known yet abstruse works of mysticism in the Islamic tradition. He also composed a poem, the Qaṣídiy-i-Varqá’íyyih (Ode of the Dove), in the style of the Naẓm us-Sulúk (Poem of the Mystic Path), a famous poem of the Egyptian Sufi master Ibn al-Fáriḍ that is often known as the Tá’íyyih. Although the Bábís of Baghdad managed to persuade Bahá’u’lláh to return to the city, He continued His ties with the Kurdish Sufis, who visited Him from time to time in Baghdad. He was in touch not only with the Naqshbandí Order but also with the Qádirí Order, since, during His years in Baghdad, He wrote the Four Valleys for a Kurdish Sufi leader whom He had met in Sulaymáníyyih, Shaykh ‘Abdu’r-Raḥmán Tálabání of Kirkuk, the head of the Tálabánís, a prominent Kurdish family, and a shaykh of the Qádirí Sufi Order in Kurdistan. Bahá’u’lláh also wrote the Seven Valleys for Shaykh Muḥyi’d-Dín, a Sufi of the Qádirí Order, who was to succeed his father as a Sufi shaykh in Gilzarda. In these texts Bahá’u’lláh showed Himself to be perfectly at home with Sufi terminology and concepts.

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MANY OTTOMAN OFFICIALS WERE INCLINED TO SUFISM,
AND SEVERAL OF THESE CAME TO REGARD
BAHÁ’U’LLÁH VERY HIGHLY
BECAUSE OF THE SPIRITUALITY
THEY OBSERVED IN HIM.

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During the rest of Bahá’u’lláh’s sojourns (in Istanbul, Edirne, and Acre), He remained in touch with many Sufis. A number of well-known Iranian Sufis (including Ḥájí Mírzá Riḍá Qulí Ṣafá, Ḥájí Muḥammad ‘Alí Pírzádih, and Ḥájí Muḥammad ‘Alí Sayyáḥ) visited Bahá’u’lláh. Many Ottoman officials were inclined to Sufism, and several of these came to regard Bahá’u’lláh very highly because of the spirituality they observed in Him. Among these was Sulaymán Páshá, a Sufi of the Qádirí Order, who was governor of Edirne, where Bahá’u’lláh was exiled from 1863 to 1868. Bahá’u’lláh instructed His son ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, then in His teens, [Page 18] to respond to a request from ‘Alí Shawkat Páshá for a commentary on the Islamic Tradition “‘I was a Hidden Treasure. . . . ,’” which is much favored by Sufis.

Among those who became Bahá’ís during Bahá’u’lláh’s lifetime were many who were either Sufis or who were inclined toward Sufism. Among these was the famous calligrapher Mírzá Muḥammad Ḥusayn Mishkín-Qalam, who was a Sufi of the Shia Ni‘matu’lláhí Order; Sulaymán Khán, later known as Jamál Effendi, who used Sufism as a medium to spread the Bahá’í Faith in India; Aḥmad Yazdí, to whom the Arabic Tablet of Aḥmad was addressed; and several of the companions of Bahá’u’lláh during the stages of His exile, including Mírzá Muḥammad-‘Alí Iṣfahání, Darvísh Ṣidq ‘Alí, and Ḥájí Muḥammad Khán Balúch; A number of Iranian Sufi dervishes converted to the Bahá’í Faith and, even after conversion, continued to live as wandering dervishes, converting other Sufi dervishes. The most well-known of these were Ḥájí Mu’nis, Ḥájí Ṭayfúr, Ḥájí Tavángar, and Ḥájí Qalandar.

The Social Organization of Mystical Orders

A survey of the features of the organization of mystical orders and communities in the various religions of the world together with Bahá’u’lláh’s criticism of them clarifies the uniqueness of His organizing the Bahá’í community to produce a new type of mystical community. Mystical orders and communities have a number of common features, four of which can be summarized as follows:

1. A hierarchical structure with a leader who is regarded as being farthest along the spiritual path and who is thought capable of guiding others along that path. One of the main features of mystic communities in the religions of the world is the fact that they usually result in some form of hierarchical organization.

In Theravada Buddhism (the Buddhism of Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and surrounding areas) and most forms of Mahayana Buddhism (the Buddhism of Tibet, [Page 19] China, Mongolia, Japan, and surrounding areas), the spiritual path can only be successfully trod by those who are initiated in a monastery (vihara) and come under the guidance and authority of an abbot or senior monk.

Hinduism also has monasteries (mathas). Many streams of Hinduism consider that spiritual progress can only be achieved under the tutelage of a guru. Those who follow a guru often become ascetics (sadhus) and often undertake extreme forms of austerity and feats of endurance. The right practice for any male from one of the three upper traditional castes (varnas) entering the last part of his life is to become an ascetic (sannyasin), usually entering into a monastic order under a guru (although Hindu monasteries tend to have few residents and are more centers for instruction with most of the followers of the guru being wandering ascetics).

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MANY STREAMS OF HINDUISM
CONSIDER THAT SPIRITUAL PROGRESS
CAN ONLY BE ACHIEVED UNDER THE TUTELAGE
OF A GURU.

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In Orthodox Christianity, the monastery (lavra) is a place for seclusion and prayer. In Western Christianity, the traditional path for mystics was to join one of the more mystical monastic orders, such as the Cistercians or the Carmelites. These orders often stressed discipline and obedience to the hierarchy of the order.

Islamic mysticism, Sufism, is organized into orders, each of which has a shaykh (pír or murshid) or leader who claims to possess a teaching that has passed to him orally through a chain of transmission from the Prophet Muhammad. Different chains of transmission led to the present large number of orders (for example, the Naqshbandí and Qádirí, which belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, and the Ni‘matu’lláhí, which is Shia. The fact that progress along the mystical path can only be attained under the authority and guidance of a shaykh is emphasized by such sayings as “He who has no shaykh has the Devil as his shaykh.”

One of the aspects of the master-initiate relationship is that of confession, laying oneself emotionally and psychologically bare before the master. This practice forms an important part of Christian mystical and monastic orders, but it is also to be found in Sufi orders. Another aspect is the complete submission and obedience shown by the initiate toward the master. It is not unusual, for example, for initiates to prostrate themselves before the master. Rules about how initiates are to behave, especially toward the master, are part of Christian, Sufi, and Buddhist orders. A typical text explaining the relationship of master to initiate is found in a discussion of Sufism:

This relationship draws the novice from the turmoil of the world into the refuge provided by the master’s spiritual presence and protection. This result demands, however, that two conditions be fulfilled: (1) confession and (2) compliance with the master’s guidance.

[Page 20] 2. The insistence that only by personal, oral transmission of the teaching and experience of the community can one make progress along the spiritual path. Another main feature of mysticism in the world’s religions is that the teaching and experience of the community are not things that can be learned from books. This principle is held by mystics and mystical orders from Buddhism and Hinduism to Islam and Christianity. Hence, for example, Honen, the Japanese Buddhist Master and founder of the Jodo school, the mostly widely practiced school of Buddhism in Japan, said that “A man who reads about the doctrines of the Jodo without receiving oral instruction will miss the thing really necessary to the attainment of Ojo (enlightenment).” All mystical orders are to some extent gnostic in that they believe in a secret knowledge or wisdom that is only transmitted through their orders. Indeed, even within the order there is sometimes an elite inner circle that has full access to the esoteric knowledge, while the outer circle merely benefits and obtains a grace and blessing through being associated with the inner circle. The result is usually a distinct elitism associated with such mystical orders. Frithjof Schuon, a prominent writer on Sufism and esoteric religion, describes the elitism and hierarchical arrangement when he observes that,

although esotericism is reserved, by definition and because of its very nature, for an intellectual elite necessarily restricted in numbers, one cannot help observing that initiatory organizations have at all times included in their ranks a relatively large number of members. . . . this leads to a distinction, within the brotherhoods, between inner and outer circles, the members of the latter being scarcely aware of the real nature of the organization to which they belong. . . .

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ALL MYSTICAL ORDERS ARE TO SOME EXTENT GNOSTIC
IN THAT THEY BELIEVE IN A SECRET KNOWLEDGE
OR WISDOM THAT IS ONLY TRANSMITTED
THROUGH THEIR ORDER.

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Such mystical orders usually attribute the secret or esoteric knowledge to the founder of their religion, sometimes saying that it is a secret teaching that the founder transmitted to those who were ready to hear it (this is the claim of many Sufi orders) or else saying that the founder of the religion transmitted it to the founder of the order in a dream or vision (some Mahayana Buddhist schools make such claims).

3. An inclination toward monasticism or asceticism. Yet another main feature of mystic orders is that they try to isolate themselves from the world, for they perceive the world and its distractions to be a hindrance to their quest. In the traditional monastic setting, initiates are often expected to follow elaborate rules of behavior, commonly involving periods of isolation, a reduction or absence of speech, sexual abstinence, and a general reduction in ordinary human interactions. The negative attitude toward the body and toward sexual relations, even within marriage, formed a basis for the negative attitude toward women characteristic of many of the mystics [Page 21] of the Middle Ages and later. Even in Islam, where monasticism is prohibited, the Sufi orders developed retreats (khánigás, tikyihs, or zawíyá) that shared many similarities with monasteries. Since Bahá’u’lláh’s time, some Western Christian monastic orders have moved toward a more active social role, but many Christian (especially orthodox) and Buddhist monasteries retain the traditional pattern of isolationism and asceticism, and ascetic practices among Hindu sadhus continue.

4. Practices that lead to altered states of consciousness. A fourth main feature of mystic orders includes practices leading to altered states of consciousness. The most common form is the repeated rhythmic chanting of a formula (which is called mantra in Buddhism, dhikr in Sufism, and hesychasm in orthodox Christianity), usually accompanied by rhythmic breathing leading to hyperventilation and resulting in ecstatic and trance experiences. The physiology of these ecstatic and trance states, the altered states of consciousness, cause experiences that are often interpreted by mystic practitioners as becoming one with the universe. This latter interpretation then reinforces the view of reality of those mystical orders that subscribe to the aim of achieving a unitive state with God or the Ultimate Reality.

Bahá’u’lláh’s Critique of Existing Mystical Pathways

In Bahá’u’lláh’s solution for the spiritual problems of humanity, He gives some degree of attention to the ancient question of how to organize a community that sets out to promote spiritual development. In so doing, He points out the weaknesses of the existing systematizations of the mystic path in the world’s religions and also critiques all four of the characteristic features of mystical orders: leadership and hierarchy, oral transmission of knowledge, asceticism, and practices leading to altered states of consciousness. As He surveys the various religious hierarchies and organizational frameworks that existed in His day, He finds none of them satisfactory for His purpose of creating a mystical religious community.

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BAHÁ’U’LLÁH POINTS OUT THE WEAKNESSES
OF THE EXISTING SYSTEMATIZATIONS OF THE
MYSTIC PATH IN THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS
AND ALSO CRITIQUES ALL FOUR OF THE
CHARACTERISTIC FEATURES OF MVSTICAL ORDERS.

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1. Leadership and a hierarchical structure. Bahá’u’lláh’s criticism of all forms of religious leadership can be found in many places in His works. For example, He says that

Leaders of religion, in every age, have hindered their people from attaining the shores of eternal salvation, inasmuch as they held the reins of authority in their mighty grasp. Some for the lust of leadership, others through want of knowledge and understanding, have been the cause of the deprivation of the people. By their sanction and authority, every Prophet of God hath drunk from the chalice of sacrifice, and winged His flight unto the heights of glory. . . . [Page 22] Content with a transitory dominion, they have deprived themselves of an everlasting sovereignty.

Bahá’u’lláh allows that in past ages, when the majority of people were illiterate, and when there were no social support systems in society, religious leaders and religious professionals may have been necessary However, He states that that stage in human history is now past. With the increasing ability of all human beings to obtain an education and read the scriptures for themselves, the balance has now shifted so that the negative aspects of traditional religious leadership outweigh the positive.

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BAHÁ’U’LLÁH ALLOWS THAT IN PAST AGES,
WHEN THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WERE ILLITERATE,
AND WHEN THERE WERE NO SOCIAL
SUPPORT SYSTEMS IN SOCIETY, RELIGIOUS LEADERS
AND RELIGIOUS PROFESSIONALS
MAY HAVE BEEN NECESSARY.

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Bahá’u’lláh also comments on some specific practices that are part of the master-initiate relationship. In addition to abolishing the religious leadership of the mystical master and the obedience due to him, Bahá’u’lláh prohibits the confessing by one individual of his or her sins before any individual or even in a group setting: “Moreover such confession before people results in one’s humiliation and abasement, and God—exalted be His glory—wisheth not the humiliation of His servants.”

2. Oral transmission and gnostic knowledge. Bahá’u’lláh deals with the oral transmission of scripture and knowledge, which is considered to be of primary importance in most mystical traditions, as an aspect of His criticism of religious leadership as a whole. For, according to Bahá’u’lláh, the insistence on oral transmission is often a pretext for elevating and strengthening the position of the leader of a mystical order. But Bahá’u’lláh also condemns the tradition of oral transmission and master-initiate relationships because it leads to taqlíd, the blind imitation and following of the master, and thus to spiritual stagnation. It negates the spirit of search and investigation that is essential on the mystic path: “O My Brother, journey upon these planes in the spirit of search, not in blind imitation.” He also attributes the corruption of Islam to its attribution of binding authority to the orally transmitted reports of the sayings of Muhammad.

Bahá’u’lláh condemns the gnostic knowledge implicit in most mystical orders when He states that in this day all the spiritual knowledge and guidance that is necessary for the mystic quest is freely and openly available to all. All claims to a [Page 23] secret spiritual knowledge that is above what ordinary people can understand are to be treated with great suspicion:

And among the people is he who layeth claim to inner knowledge, and still deeper knowledge concealed within this knowledge. Say: Thou speakest false! By God! What thou dost possess is naught but husks which We have left to thee as bones are left to dogs.

Bahá’u’lláh reproves even more strongly those who claim that certain specific abstruse knowledge is necessary for spiritual understanding. For example, Bahá’u’lláh censured Karím Khán Kirmání, the Shaykhí leader who taught mystical philosophy to his circle of disciples, stating that He had perused Kirmání’s book Irshádu’l ‘Avám (Guidance to the Ignorant), and “From this title We perceived the odor of conceit and vainglory, inasmuch as he hath imagined himself a learned man and regarded the rest of the people ignorant.” More specifically, Bahá’u’lláh condemns Kirmání for claiming that some twenty obscure and abstruse branches of learning were necessary for understanding Muhammad’s Mi‘ráj, His Night Ascent to heaven, one of the key events in His life, that has always been understood by mystics in Islam to be a symbol of the mystic’s ascent toward God:

We noticed that he had enumerated some twenty or more sciences, the knowledge of which he considered to be essential for the comprehension of the mystery of the “Mi‘ráj.” We gathered from his statements that unless a man be deeply versed in them all, he can never attain to a proper understanding of this transcendent and exalted theme. Among the specified sciences were the science of metaphysical abstractions, of alchemy, and natural magic. Such vain and discarded learnings, this man hath regarded as the prerequisites of the understanding of the sacred and abiding mysteries of divine Knowledge.

Gracious God! Such is the measure of his understanding. . . . how clear and evident it is to every discerning heart that this so-called learning is and hath ever been rejected by Him Who is the one true God. How can the knowledge of these sciences, which are so contemptible in the eyes of the truly learned, be regarded as essential to the apprehension of the mysteries of the “Mi‘ráj,” whilst the Lord of the “Mi‘ráj” Himself [the Prophet Muhammad] was never burdened with a single letter of these limited and obscure learnings, and never defiled His radiant heart with any of these fanciful illusions? . . . By the righteousness of God! Whoso desireth to fathom the mystery of this “Mi‘ráj,” and craveth a drop from this ocean, if the mirror of his heart be already obscured by the dust of these learnings, he must needs cleanse and purify it ere the light of this mystery can be reflected therein.

[Page 24] Bahá’u’lláh emphasizes in His writings that true spiritual knowledge is not dependent on book learning or instruction in abstruse and esoteric matters. It is purely dependent on one’s spiritual qualities and capacities:

Heed not the idle contention of those who maintain that the Book and verses thereof can never be a testimony unto the common people, inasmuch as they neither grasp their meaning nor appreciate their value. And yet, the unfailing testimony of God to both the East and the West is none other than the Qur’án. Were it beyond the comprehension of men, how could it have been declared as a universal testimony unto all people? . . .

Such contention is utterly fallacious and inadmissible. It is actuated solely by arrogance and pride. Its motive is to lead the people astray from the Riḍván of divine good-pleasure and to tighten the reins of their authority over the people. And yet, in the sight of God, these common people are infinitely superior and exalted above their religious leaders who have turned away from the one true God. The understanding of His words and the comprehension of the utterances of the Birds of Heaven are in no wise dependent upon human learning. They depend solely upon purity of heart, chastity of soul, and freedom of spirit.

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BAHÁ’U’LLÁH EMPHASIZES IN HIS WRITINGS
THAT TRUE SPIRITUAL KNOWLEDGE IS NOT
DEPENDENT ON BOOK LEARNING OR INSTRUCTION
IN ABSTRUSE AND ESOTERIC MATTERS.

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3. Monasticism or asceticism. Bahá’u’lláh states that monasticism and withdrawal from the world are no longer an acceptable means for individuals to try to achieve spiritual progress. He instructs monks and others who seclude themselves to go out into the world and occupy themselves with what will benefit humanity:

Say: O concourse of monks! Seclude not yourselves in your churches and cloisters. Come ye out of them by My leave, and busy, then, yourselves with what will profit you and others. Thus commandeth you He Who is the Lord of the Day of Reckoning. Seclude yourselves in the stronghold of My love. This, truly, is the seclusion that befitteth you, could ye but know it. He that secludeth himself in his house is indeed as one dead. It behooveth man to show forth that which will benefit mankind. He that bringeth forth no fruit is fit for the fire.

Bahá’u’lláh also admonishes monks and spiritual ascetics that the concept of celibacy as an assistance to spiritual progress is erroneous. In Christianity, for example, Bahá’u’lláh states that it was born out of a misguided idea that all sexual intercourse is evil and out of an ill-conceived desire to emulate Christ’s celibacy. Bahá’u’lláh states that lechery is forbidden, not legitimate marital relations, and that Christ’s celibacy was not intended to indicate that this was a desirable state but rather was born out of the necessity of the circumstances of His life. Addressing monks in general, He states:

[Page 25]

Enter ye into wedlock, that after you another may arise in your stead. We, verily, have forbidden you lechery, and not that which is conducive to fidelity. . . . He that married not (Jesus Christ) could find no place wherein to abide, nor where to lay His head, by reason of what the hands of the treacherous had wrought. His holiness consisted not in the things ye have believed and imagined, but rather in the things which belong unto Us.

Bahá’u’lláh also condemns asceticism and the severe practices of self-denial and self-punishment that often accompany ascetism. He implies that these actions are often done only to attract the adulation of the masses:

How many a man hath secluded himself in the climes of India, denied himself the things that God hath decreed as lawful, imposed upon himself austerities and mortifications, and hath not been remembered by God, the Revealer of Verses. Make not your deeds as snares wherewith to entrap the object of your aspiration. . . .

4. Practices that lead to altered states of consciousness. Among the laws given by Bahá’u’lláh is one that commands the chanting of the phrase “Alláh-u-Abhá” (God is Most Glorious) ninety-five times daily. There is some question as to whether this can be considered the same as Sufi dhikr or a mantra. The fact that one must count the number of times that one is saying the formula militates against the loss of consciousness of one’s surroundings that usually accompanies the states of trance and ecstasy associated with reciting dhikrs and mantras.

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BAHÁ’U’LLÁH CONDEMNS ASCETICISM
AND THE SEVERE PRACTICES OF SELF-DENIAL
AND SELF-PUNISHMENT
THAT OFTEN ACCOMPANY ASCETISM.

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What can confidently be asserted is that, although Bahá’u’lláh made the spiritual development of the individual a central concern of His religion, He did not raise any of the practices leading to altered states of consciousness to the level of a law. Hence He evidently did not think these practices were essential for spiritual development. Moreover, Bahá’u’lláh warns against excessive recitation to the point that causes weariness and dejection:

Pride not yourselves on much reading of the verses or on a multitude of pious acts by night and day; for were a man to read a single verse with joy and radiance it would be better for him than to read with lassitude all the Holy Books of God, the Help in Peril, the Self-Subsisting. Read ye the sacred verses in such measure that ye be not overcome by languor and despondency. Lay not upon your souls that which will weary them and weigh them down, but rather what will lighten and uplift them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses towards the Dawning-place of His manifest signs; this will draw you nearer to God, did ye but comprehend.

[Page 26] Another mystical activity that some traditions recommend is the practice of visualization. In Mahayana Buddhism, for example, one of the recommended spiritual practices is that of visualizing, under the instruction of a master, the Western Paradise (Sukhavati) of Amitabha. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá speaks of a similar process of visualizing but, rather than visualizing a heavenly place, the process to which He refers is visualizing, intellectually, with the inner eye, a spiritual truth. Moreover, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá does not imply that a master is required for this process to occur:

Day and night you must strive that you may attain to the significances of the heavenly Kingdom, perceive the signs of Divinity, acquire certainty of knowledge and realize that this world has a Creator, a Vivifier, a Provider, an Architect—knowing this through proofs and evidences and not through susceptibilities, nay, rather, through decisive arguments and real vision—that is to say, visualizing it as clearly as the outer eye beholds the sun. In this way may you behold the presence of God and attain to the knowledge of the holy, divine Manifestations.

In several places in His writings Bahá’u’lláh strongly criticizes certain developments in Sufism. In the Seven Valleys He specifically refutes those Sufis who have asserted that, once a mystic has attained a certain level or stage on the mystic path, religious laws, which are intended for the uninitiated masses, are no longer incumbent upon him:

In all these journeys the traveler must stray not the breadth of a hair from the “Law,” for this is indeed the secret of the “Path” and the fruit of the Tree of “Truth”; and in all these stages he must cling to the robe of obedience to the commandments, and hold fast to the cord of shunning all forbidden things, that he may be nourished from the cup of the Law and informed of the mysteries of Truth.

In general, during Bahá’u’lláh’s time, the behavior and morals of some Sufis had sunk to a low point. Some were intoxicated and unruly; others were unprincipled charlatans who performed sleights of hand and trickery to fool the uneducated masses into thinking that they had supernatural powers. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states that Bahá’u’lláh has defined who is meant by a true dervish:

He went on to say that “dervish” does not denote those persons who wander about, spending their nights and days in fighting and folly; rather, He said, the term designates those who are completely severed from all but God, who cleave to His laws, are firm in His Faith, loyal to His Covenant, and constant in worship. It is not a name for those who, as the Persians say, tramp about like vagrants, are confused, unsettled in mind, a burden to others, and of all mankind the most coarse and rude.

[Page 27] In addition, Bahá’u’lláh condemns some mystics for allowing themselves to be fed and supported by the generality of the people, while they seclude themselves and do nothing that contributes to the general good:

Among them are mystics who bear allegiance to the Faith of Islám, some of whom indulge in that which leadeth to idleness and seclusion. I swear by God! It lowereth man’s station and maketh him swell with pride. Man must bring forth fruit. One who yieldeth no fruit is, in the words of the Spirit [Jesus], like unto a fruitless tree, and a fruitless tree is fit but for the fire.

---

BAHÁ’U’LLÁH CRITICIZES ANY MOVEMENT
THAT CREATES A SPLIT OR DISUNITY
IN A RELIGION.

---

Bahá’u’lláh also criticizes any movement that creates a split or disunity in a religion. Mystics often created such disunity by being at odds with the majority of their fellow believers, although it must be admitted that it has usually been the believers and their leaders who have initiated the conflict and have persecuted the mystics. In the Tablet of Unity Bahá’u’lláh condemns, in particular, the creation of separate sects based on different rituals and public acts of worship. He singles out different ways of saying the ritual obligatory prayer. He laments the fact that Islam has become weakened because it has become divided into numerous religious communities, each with its own public rituals and practices. Bahá’u’lláh considers that the Sufi orders have played a major role in this process of dividing and weakening Islam. In the following provisional translation of a passage from the Tablet of Unity, Bahá’u’lláh specifically refers to a number of Sufi orders as examples of this process:

The holy law (sharí‘ah) of the Messenger of God may be likened to an ocean from which innumerable gulfs branch out. And this is the cause of the weakness of the sharí‘ah of God among the peoples. Until now no one, not kings nor subjects nor the indigent have understood the reason for this, nor have they appreciated how to regain that power that has vanished and the learning that has fallen away. Thus one gulf is Shia, one gulf is Sunni, one Shaykhi, another Sháh Ni‘matu’lláhí, one Naqshbandí, another Malámatí, one Jalálí, another Rifá‘í, and yet another Khárábátí. Thus are multiplied the innumerable pathways to hell. Thus do the stones weep, and the Pen of the All-High laments. Seest thou what has befallen a sharí‘ah whose light illumined the world and whose fire, that is to say the fire of its love, was the guide of its peoples. Well is it with those who ponder upon these matters and investigate them and are fair in their judgment. Thus did this difference in public rituals become the cause of the shaking of the foundations of the Cause of God.

[Page 28] Bahá’u’lláh’s Formula for a Mystic Community

One of the most important things that Bahá’u’lláh did was to make it clear that the quest for personal spiritual development (the mystical quest) is the central concern of religion. This is something that has not always been clear in other religions. In the majority orthodox interpretation of Judaism and both Sunni and Shia Islam, for example, the central concerns of the religion are following the holy law, performing rituals correctly, and observing the correct pattern of life. Bahá’u’lláh annuls most of the provisions of the previous holy law, saying, in effect, that such rigid frameworks were necessary in the childhood of humanity but, now that humanity has reached maturity, decisions on the pattern of one’s life should be left to the ethical judgment and sense of dignity and moderation of the individual. He refocuses the energies of the followers of His religion on the spiritual development of the individual. From now on, the mystic quest is to be everyone’s concern. Using the term that in Sufism signifies the mystical union of the lover and the Beloved (wiṣál), Bahá’u’lláh calls this day “the Day whereon the Finger of majesty and power hath opened the seal of the Wine of Reunion [wiṣál], and called all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth.”

Hence, while the mystical quest is generally a religious interest of a minority in other religions (the members of Sufi orders, the ascetics in Hinduism, the monks in Christianity, and so on), in the Bahá’í Faith the quest has become a central concern of the entire community. While in other religions, separate communities were set up to cater to the minority who wished to pursue the mystical quest (Sufi orders and Christian and Buddhist monastic communities), in the Bahá’í Faith the entire community is engaged in the mystical quest, making the Bahá’í community itself the mystic community. Hence the Bahá’í administrative order becomes the organization of a mystic community in which leadership and hierarchy, oral transmission of gnostic knowledge, asceticism, and altered states of consciousness are either abolished or provided for in new ways.

1. Leadership and a hierarchical structure. In the religious community that He is creating, Bahá’u’lláh does not want individuals to claim authority. He does not want any Bahá’í to see himself or herself as being of a higher rank than other Bahá’ís. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá emphasizes this when He states that, despite Bahá’u’lláh’s having appointed Him to be the leader of the community and the Center of His Covenant, He wishes His rank to be merely that of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the servant or slave of Bahá’u’lláh. Shoghi Effendi similarly refused all attempts by Bahá’ís to elevate his position, and he often signed his English letters to Bahá’ís “your true brother” and his Persian letters “the servant at His [Bahá’u’lláh’s] threshold.” Bahá’u’lláh discusses the theme of rank in the Tablet of Unity, of which the following is a provisional translation of the relevant part:

[Page 29]

Another type is the unity of rank or station. This results in the raising up of the Cause and its elevation among the peoples. But if ranking and preference of one over another comes into its midst, the world falls into ruin, and desolation may be witnessed. Those souls who have drunk from the sea of the utterance of the All-Merciful and are turning toward the All-High Horizon should see themselves as being of one rank and one station. Should this injunction be firmly established and be realized through the power and might of God, the world would be seen as the All-Glorious Paradise. Verily, human beings are exalted, as can be found in every Divine scripture; but to consider oneself as more learned, more favored, more accomplished, more righteous, or more exalted is a mighty error and sin. Well is it with those souls who are adorned with the ornament of this unity and are accepted before God. Look at the religiously learned of Iran. If they had not considered themselves the most exalted and most accomplished of all beings, they would not have caused those wretched followers of theirs to curse and blaspheme against the Desire of the Worlds. All humanity is dismayed, nay the entire world is bewildered, at these false and neglectful souls. The fire of pride and vainglory has burnt them all, but they are not aware of it and do not understand. They have not drunk a drop of the ocean of knowledge and understanding. Woe unto them and unto what their tongues have uttered and unto what their hands have wrought on the day of retribution and on this day when the people have arisen for the Lord of the Worlds.

Having established the principle of individuals not claiming authority over others, Bahá’u’lláh was then left with the question of what, if the Bahá’ís were a mystic community, and if there were to be no religious leaders in the community, would replace the role of the spiritual guide or master to that mystic community? What would replace the Sufi shaykh, the guru, the abbot, or the senior monk of the monastery?

The role of the spiritual guide or master is replaced in several ways in the Bahá’í community. First, Bahá’u’lláh instructs every Bahá’í to read and meditate upon a passage of the Bahá’í scriptures every day: “Peruse ye every day the verses revealed by God. Blessed is the man who reciteth them and reflecteth upon them.” Through this process, spiritual secrets will be revealed to the mystic: “Meditate profoundly, that the secret of things unseen may be revealed unto you, that you may inhale the sweetness of a spiritual and imperishable fragrance.” This process will in itself lead to progress along the mystic path:

They who recite the verses of the All-Merciful in the most melodious of tones will perceive in them that with which the sovereignty of earth and heaven can never be compared. From them they will inhale the divine fragrance of My [Page 30] worlds—worlds which today none can discern save those who have been endowed with vision through this sublime, this beauteous Revelation. Say: These verses draw hearts that are pure unto those spiritual worlds that can neither be expressed in words nor intimated by allusion. Blessed be those who hearken.

In the Bahá’í scriptures there are numerous prayers, supplications, and meditations from Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that assist in the process of spiritual enlightenment and progress. For example:

Turn to God, supplicate humbly at His threshold, seeking assistance and confirmation, that God may rend asunder the veils that obscure your vision. Then will your eyes be filled with illumination, face to face you will behold the reality of God and your heart become completely purified from the dross of ignorance, reflecting the glories and bounties Of the Kingdom.

In addition to personal meditation, the Bahá’í teachings also have provision for obtaining spiritual guidance through tapping the spiritual wisdom of the community. The process of consultation is applied to all aspects of Bahá’í community life. It is central to the administrative affairs of the community, but Bahá’ís are also encouraged to gather together, read the Bahá’í scriptures, and consult about the meaning and spiritual significance of the passages. Bahá’u’lláh says that the process of consultation leads to “awareness” and “awakening” and is “the lamp of guidance which leadeth the way, and the bestower of understanding.”

---

THE PROCESS OF CONSULTATION
IS APPLIED TO ALL ASPECTS
OF BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY LIFE.

---

The Bahá’í writings contain a great deal of information about the way in which consultation should take place, and, if it is carried out in the proper manner, Bahá’ís believe that it is superior to the master-initiate relationship as a source of spiritual guidance because it taps the collective wisdom of the group. As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá states, “the views of several individuals are assuredly preferable to one man, even as the power of a number of men is of course greater than the power of one man. Thus consultation is acceptable in the presence of the Almighty, and hath been enjoined upon the believers. . . .” In recent years there has been a great emphasis on the creation of study circles in which groups of Bahá’ís and those interested in studying the Bahá’í Faith come together to study and consult about their scriptures.

In the Bahá’í community, moreover, as it was developed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and by Shoghi Effendi after ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s passing, individuals do not have authority. But some individuals have special designations, such as Hands of the Cause of God, Counselors, and the Afnán. However, these designations are only honorific or [Page 31] confer opportunities for service to the Bahá’í community. Such roles as these individuals may have in the Bahá’í community are advisory and exhortatory. They have no authority. Authority belongs only to elected institutions—Local Spiritual Assemblies, National Spiritual Assemblies, and the Universal House of Justice.

2. Oral transmission and gnostic knowledge. The Bahá’í teachings about the authoritative transmission of the scriptures of the Bahá’í Faith is almost the exact opposite of what is to be found in most mystical orders. In the Bahá’í Faith all are encouraged to read the scriptures for themselves and to gain their own understanding of them. The scriptures and authoritative texts consist only of material that was written down either by one of the Central Figures of the Bahá’í Faith (Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Faith; the Báb, the forerunner of Bahá’u’lláh; and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, appointed by Bahá’u’lláh to be His successor) or was seen and approved by them. Material that has been orally transmitted, even through only one transmitter, has no binding authority:

Shoghi Effendi has laid down the principle that the Bahá’ís should not attribute much importance to talks, reported to have been given by the Master [‘Abdu’l-Bahá], if these have not in one form or other obtained His sanction.

Bahá’u’lláh has made it clear enough that only those things that have been revealed in the form of Tablets have a binding power over the friends. Hearsays may be matters of interest but can in no way claim authority. This basic teaching of Bahá’u’lláh was to preserve the Faith from being corrupted like Islám which attributes binding authority to all reported sayings of Muḥammad.

This being a basic principle of the Faith we should not confuse Tablets that were actually revealed and mere talks attributed to the founders of the Cause. The first have absolute binding authority while the latter can in no way claim our obedience. The highest thing this can achieve is to influence the activities of the one who has heard the saying in person.

Bahá’u’lláh regards the traditions of oral transmission of a teaching through master-initiate relationships as not merely perpetuating the phenomenon of religious leadership, which He condemns, but also leading to spiritual stagnation in that each generation merely continues the insights and guidance that it has inherited and does not push forward the boundaries of human spiritual achievement. Bahá’u’lláh calls upon His followers to “Tear asunder, in My Name, the veils that have grievously blinded your vision, and, through the power born of your belief in the unity of [Page 32] God, scatter the idols of vain imitation.” Each Bahá’í is instructed to know of his or her own knowledge, to investigate reality and judge matters independently for himself or herself:

The best beloved of all things in My sight is Justice; turn not away therefrom if thou desirest Me, and neglect it not that I may confide in thee. By its aid thou shalt see with thine own eyes and not through the eyes of others, and shalt know of thine own knowledge and not through the knowledge of thy neighbor.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá also stresses the need for human beings to free themselves from blind imitation of religious leaders and spiritual masters and to investigate reality for themselves:

God has given man the eye of investigation by which he may see and recognize truth. He has endowed man with ears that he may hear the message of reality and conferred upon him the gift of reason by which he may discover things for himself. This is his endowment and equipment for the investigation of reality. Man is not intended to see through the eyes of another, hear through another’s ears, nor comprehend with another’s brain. Each human creature has individual endowment, power and responsibility in the creative plan of God. Therefore, depend upon your own reason and judgment and adhere to the outcome of your own investigation; otherwise, you will be utterly submerged in the sea of ignorance and deprived of all the bounties of God. Turn to God, supplicate humbly at His threshold, seeking assistance and confirmation, that God may rend asunder the veils that obscure your vision. Then will your eyes be filled with illumination, face to face you will behold the reality of God and your heart become completely purified from the dross of ignorance, reflecting the glories and bounties of the Kingdom.

---

EACH BAHÁ’Í IS INSTRUCTED TO KNOW OF
HIS OR HER OWN KNOWLEDGE,
TO INVESTIGATE REALITY AND JUDGE MATTERS
INDEPENDENTLY FOR HIMSELF OR HERSELF.

---

3. Monasticism or asceticism. Bahá’u’lláh is very clear about forbidding monastic seclusion and about calling on monks to emerge from their monasteries and to take an active role in society. Having criticized and dismissed many aspects of traditional mystical communities, Bahá’u’lláh was faced with the task of creating an alternative structure that would replace the role of the monastery, that would give the guidance and support on the mystical path that the traditional monastic setting had provided. Of course, Bahá’u’lláh had to operate within the historical reality of His time. The Bahá’í community was a persecuted minority with much of its energy and efforts being spent in merely surviving. Therefore, Bahá’u’lláh was compelled to delay much of the implementation of His ideas. He laid down the principles but left it to his successors, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi, to bring these ideas to fruition. Thus, [Page 33] in considering the creation of the Bahá’í community as a mystical order, we must look across the whole of the history of the Bahá’í Faith to discern the features of Bahá’í community life that allow it to function as a supportive environment for spiritual development and the mystical life.

First, most community activity is carried out in an environment of prayer and devotion. Second, the individual members of the community are encouraged to interact with each other in a way that promotes love and unity. Third, Bahá’u’lláh prohibits backbiting in the community, stating that it “quencheth the light of the heart, and extinguisheth the life of the soul.” In brief, Shoghi Effendi and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have tried to replace a monastic community with a religious community that is sufficiently supportive to allow the individuals in it to develop themselves spiritually within a “safe” environment.

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BAHÁ’U’LLÁH PROHIBITS BACKBITING
IN THE COMMUNITY, STATING THAT IT
“QUENCHETH THE LIGHT OF THE HEART,
AND EXTINGUISHETH THE LIFE OF THE SOUL.”

---

4. Mystical practices. Bahá’u’lláh did give His qualified assent to a number of practices used by mystics. Certain mystical systems believe that the very vibrations of the chanting of holy verses themselves have an effect. Thus, for example, in Yoga, mantras should be said in a voice that is “alive and resonant” so that it may “utilize the power of sound vibrations to influence modalities of consciousness.” Similarly, Bahá’u’lláh instructs that his words be chanted “in the most melodious of tones.” He further instructs that the Bahá’ís should:

Gather ye together with the utmost joy and fellowship and recite the verses revealed by the merciful Lord. By so doing the doors to true knowledge will be opened to your inner beings, and ye will then feel your souls endowed with steadfastness and your hearts filled With radiant joy.

Moreover, the Bahá’í scriptures refer to Bahá’u’lláh’s having ordained a certain night for those who wish to carry out repetitive chanting (dhikr) activities:

While in the barracks, Bahá’u’lláh set apart a special night and He dedicated it to Darvísh Ṣidq ‘Alí. He wrote that every year on that night the dervishes should bedeck a meeting place, which should be in a flower garden, and gather there to make mention of God [dhikr].

In the main, however, Bahá’u’lláh turns the attention of the Bahá’ís toward practices of individual devotion such as prayer and meditation upon the Bahá’í scriptures and away from specific techniques that lead to states of trance or ecstasy.

[Page 34] Process and Progress

In addition to establishing the Bahá’í community as an alternative to the traditional mystical communities, Bahá’u’lláh has ensured that the workings of the Bahá’í community facilitate and enhance the process of mystical progress and spiritual advancement. In mystical orders the emphasis is on the willing obedience of the individual to the master or spiritual guide—obedience necessary not only to ensure compliance with the master’s instructions but also to enable the initiate to develop spiritual qualities such as humility and detachment. In the Bahá’í community the same result is achieved through the concept of the Covenant. This concept means that each generation of Bahá’ís agrees to obey the instructions of the Center of the Covenant (initially this was ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and then after His death in 1921, Shoghi Effendi, and after 1963, the Universal House of Justice). In day-to-day terms, Bahá’ís currently obey the local and national institution of the Bahá’í community in the place in which they live. Although full discussion and consultation is encouraged in the process leading up to a decision, once these institutions have made a decision, it is expected that all Bahá’ís will obey the decision, whether or not they agree with it.

When pupils go to a shaykh or guru, one side of the implicit or explicit agreement is that the guru will provide spiritually transforming guidance, and the other side is that the pupils will submit and obey, suppressing the ego and allowing themselves to be transformed. Similarly, in embracing the Bahá’í Covenant, a Bahá’í is entering a spiritually transforming community, but this transformation can again only take place if the person submits, obeys, and participates in the community in order to receive the guidance and be transformed. Thus the Bahá’í community allows the same spiritual processes to take place that occur in other mystical systems through obedience to a religious leader (receipt of spiritual guidance, suppression of the ego, the development of humility, and detachment from one’s own misguided notions and preconceived ideas).

In addition to the fact that consultation produces spiritual guidance, as described above, carrying out the process of consultation itself generates spiritual qualities and assists in the individual’s spiritual advancement. The qualities that need to be cultivated for good consultation to take place, whether this be consultation over the meaning of the text or over an administrative matter, are also qualities that are needed for the spiritual progress of the individual:

The prime requisites for them that take counsel together are purity of motive, radiance of spirit, detachment from all else save God, attraction to His Divine Fragrances, humility and lowliness amongst His loved ones, patience and longsuffering in difficulties and servitude to His exalted Threshold.

[Page 35] ‘Abdu’l-Bahá also writes about the need for “courtesy, dignity, care and moderation” as a precondition for consultation. In short, the development of many of the virtues that enable human beings to progress along the mystical path are facilitated by engagement in the process of consultation. Hence it is understandable that Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá have encouraged the use of the consultative process in all aspects of personal and community life:

Settle all things, both great and small, by consultation. Without prior consultation, take no important step in your own personal affairs. Concern yourselves with one another. Help along one another’s projects and plans. Grieve over one another. Let none in the whole country go in need. Befriend one another until ye become as a single body, one and all . . .

In this way, the whole of one’s life as a Bahá’í becomes a continuous chance to consult and thus to improve these qualities and progress along the mystic path.

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THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANY OF THE VIRTUES
THAT ENABLE HUMAN BEINGS TO PROGRESS
ALONG THE MVSTICAL PATH ARE FACILITATED BY
ENGAGEMENT IN THE PROCESS OF
CONSULTATION.

---

Bahá’u’lláh prohibits the isolation of the monastic community and instructs the monks to emerge from their monasteries, creating instead the Bahá’í community, in which He encourages as much diversity as possible. Bahá’u’lláh, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, and Shoghi Effendi always encouraged Bahá’ís to seek out new and diverse groups to bring into the Bahá’í community. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, for example, asked the American Bahá’ís to bring African Americans into the Bahá’í community, even though He knew that this would be a test for the white Bahá’ís. Shoghi Effendi encouraged and reported as a great success the enrollment of new races and tribes into the Bahá’í community. The Universal House of Justice continues to urge Bahá’ís to seek to enroll members of all classes and strata of society. Hence, while in a monastic community, the monks interact with others who are from much the same cultural and social background as themselves, in the Bahá’í community one is exposed to every type of person and to types of cultural and social outlooks that clash with one’s own. This creates a situation in which tests arise due to conflicting outlooks of the individual Bahá’ís. Thus, commonly, the greatest tests and difficulties for Bahá’ís arise from their interactions with other Bahá’ís.

Because of the variety of people interacting within the Bahá’í community, there will always tend to be meaningful differences of opinion. The important factor in allowing this potentially unstable mixture to continue without exploding and splitting into sects is the concept of the Covenant. The source of the unity of the Bahá’í Faith is not a uniformity of doctrine and thought or the strict regimentation of a holy law; it is loyalty to the Covenant. As long as Bahá’ís maintain this loyalty, they are free to have widely differing ideas about the Bahá’í Faith. But it is inevitable [Page 36] that this very freedom will be a source of irritation and tests to their fellow believers, who think differently from them: Western ways of doing things will clash with Eastern ways; conservatives will be offended by radicals; liberals will be frustrated by fundamentalists. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá says that it is through meeting and overcoming tests that human beings grow spiritually. In the dynamics of the social interactions of the Bahá’í community and under the umbrella of the unity brought about by the Covenant, therefore, one’s spiritual qualities of love, patience, forbearance, and empathy are put to the test and refined. In addition, although the interactions in a close monastic community may produce irritation and require the acquisition of spiritual qualities to overcome the irritation, the conditions of ethnic, racial, and national diversity in a Bahá’í community produce problems that, when transcended, contribute to the coming together of the human race and the development of a global consciousness that Bahá’u’lláh regards as the critical need of our age.

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IN THE DYNAMICS OF THE SOCIAL INTERACTIONS
OF THE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY AND UNDER THE
UMBRELLA OF THE UNITY BROUGHT ABOUT
BY THE COVENANT, ONE’S SPIRITUAL
QUALITIES OF LOVE, PATIENCE,
FORBEARANCE, AND EMPATHY
ARE PUT TO THE TEST AND REFINED.

---

The social dynamics of the Bahá’í community and the resultant development of spiritual qualities have been discussed by Daniel C. Jordan, a professor of education:

When one joins a Bahá’í Community, he joins a family of extremely diverse human beings with whom he will have to work and establish meaningful relationships. The first thing he finds out, [sic] is that his old repertoire of responses is no longer adequate. So many different human beings represent a great many unknowns, and trying to relate to those unknowns creates energy (anxiety) Which sets that reciprocal process of knowing and loving though faith and courage in motion. Defining a legitimate goal which will constructively utilize the energy from that anxiety will call forth a new repertoire of responses. Each new response is a bit of one’s latent capacity made manifest—a release of human potential. Another way of saying it is that the Bahá’í Community offers more opportunities for knowing and loving under growth-fostering circumstances than can be found anywhere else.

. . . Thus the Bahá’í Community, because of its diversity, provides many of those tests which are essential to our spiritual development. At the same time, guidance from Bahá’í institutions and the commitment of the members of the community to accept each other for what they can become provides the courage to turn those tests into vehicles for spiritual development—for the release of human potential.

[Page 37] One function of the spiritual master or guide in traditional mystical communities has been to act as a corrective to delusions and self-deceptions to which all are prone. The processes of consultation and community interactions provide the corrective mechanism in the Bahá’í community. It is easy to think that one has achieved such qualities as patience and love if one isolates oneself or only interacts with others of similar cultural background. It is much more difficult to be self-deluded when one is interacting in a diverse community and trying to consult with individuals of a widely differing social, cultural, and educational background to oneself.

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IN THE PROCESSES OF THE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY
THAT LEAD TO SPIRITUAL DEVELOPMENT
AND PROGRESS, GREAT EMPHASIS IS GIVEN
TO THE CONCEPT OF SERVICE.

---

Last, in the processes of the Bahá’í community that lead to spiritual development and progress, great emphasis is given to the concept of service. For example, when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is enumerating what will lead to the mystic’s goal of nearness to the Divine, He includes service to humanity and service in the cause of universal peace among these prerequisites:

Bahá’u’lláh proclaims in the Hidden Words that God inspires His servants and is revealed through them. He says, “Thy heart is My home; sanctify it for My descent. Thy spirit is My place of revelation; cleanse it for My manifestation.” Therefore, we learn that nearness to God is possible through devotion to Him, through entrance into the Kingdom and service to humanity; it is attained by unity with mankind and through loving-kindness to all; it is dependent upon investigation of truth, acquisition of praiseworthy virtues, service in the cause of universal peace and personal sanctification. In a word, nearness to God necessitates sacrifice of self, severance and the giving up of all to Him. Nearness is likeness.

The Bahá’í teaching about service is intended as a corrective to the tendency for some to think that, because they feel they have reached a certain spiritual station, they can indulge in a life of idleness and seclusion. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá declares that, on the contrary, the closer one becomes to the Divine, the higher one’s mystical ascent, the more one engages in service to other human beings. The more one engages in service, the more interactions one has with individuals who are unlike oneself, and, therefore, the more tests come one’s way. Hence it is also through service that one’s spiritual qualities are extended and refined.

An important aspect of the study circles in which Bahá’ís are being encouraged to participate is the fact that, in addition to studying and consulting upon the text, they are also being encouraged to move their spirituality from the arena of “inner life” into the arena of service. The concept of “walking a path of service” has moved into the center of Bahá’í community life. Its role in Bahá’í community life will only come to fruition, however, with the development of the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár [Page 38] (literally, “Dawning Place of the Mention of God,” denotes the House of Worship to be built at the heart of every Bahá’í community) around which are to be built dependencies intended to “afford relief to the suffering, sustenance to the poor, shelter to the wayfarer, solace to the bereaved, and education to the ignorant.” As the institution of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár develops, the Bahá’í community will increasingly adopt a service ethos, thus enhancing an avenue for the spiritual development of the individual.

It is important, of course, not to forget that this examination has focused on the communal aspects of the mystical pathway in the Bahá’í Faith. The highly significant individual activities of prayer, fasting, reading and meditating on the scriptures, the recitation of “Alláh-u-Abhá” ninety-five times a day, the sacrifice of giving to the Bahá’í Fund, and the practice of bringing oneself to account each day, have scarcely been considered, despite their great importance for the individual on the pathway of spirituality.

Conclusion

Historically, mysticism has been an esoteric activity carried out by a minority in each of the major religions of the world. It has usually been either a highly esoteric and intellectual gnostic activity or an experiential, ecstatic one, the aim being the achievement of a direct apprehension of or a unitive state with the Ultimate Reality. In the Bahá’í view mysticism is not so much a state to be achieved as a process of acquiring divine attributes that aids one in the process of becoming more God-like. Bahá’u’lláh, moreover, states that human beings cannot ever actually achieve any direct apprehension of or union with the Ultimate Reality.

Historically, most of those in each of the major religious traditions who have been interested in mysticism have banded together to form orders that have certain common characteristics: There is a spiritual leader or head of the order who is thought to have achieved the goal of mysticism and thus to be in a position to teach the path to others; there is, therefore, a hierarchical structure to the order with the leader or head of the order at the top and his senior disciple next in rank; there is a direct oral transmission, not from books or other means, of the teachings of the order; there is a negative view of the physical world and, therefore, a tendency toward monasticism and asceticism; there is, in most of the practices of mystical orders, an emphasis on achieving altered states of consciousness.

Bahá’u’lláh rejects most of the characteristics of mystical communities as being no longer necessary and even detrimental to individual and community progress along the mystic path. He condemns most of these characteristics as creating and maintaining hierarchies of power that, in the present stage of humanity’s development, hold back those who wish to progress along the mystic path rather than assisting them.

[Page 39] Since every Bahá’í is exhorted to pursue the mystic path, the entire Bahá’í community becomes, in effect, a mystic community, and there is no need for the creation of separate mystical orders. The administration of the Bahá’í community becomes, in turn, the administration of a mystic community. Moreover, the features of this administrative order can be seen to be enhancing progress along the mystic path. The functions of the leader of a mystic order in acting as an authority to which obedience is required and in providing guidance along the mystic path are provided in different ways in the Bahá’í community: Collective consultative study of the scriptures and consultation about personal difficulties provide spiritual guidance; obedience to the institutions of the Bahá’í community and to the Center of the Covenant replace the obedience given to the leader of an order and thus avoid some of the problems associated With giving too much authority and power to individuals.

---

SINCE EVERY BAHÁ’Í IS EXHORTED TO PURSUE
THE MYSTIC PATH, THE ENTIRE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY
BECOMES, IN EFFECT, A MYSTIC COMMUNITY,
AND THERE IS NO NEED FOR THE CREATION OF
SEPARATE MYSTICAL ORDERS.

---

In addition to the structural features of the Bahá’í community, the processes that occur within the community assist in progress along the mystic path. In particular, the consultation that occurs at every level of the Bahá’í administration and is even used for solving personal problems and for understanding the sacred texts, if carried out according to the directions given in the Bahá’í texts, can itself be a source of progress, as the qualities necessary for good consultation are also the qualities needed for progress along the mystic path. In addition, the diversity of the Bahá’í community and the interactions that take place in the consultative process give the individual an opportunity to assess his or her progress and to avoid self-deception. Last, service to others is of great importance in this mystical progress.

The recent focus in Bahá’í communities has been on the activity of coming together in study circles to consult about the meaning of scripture; on each individual defining for himself or herself a path of service; and on each individual taking up the responsibilities for the activities of the community. These activities can also be seen as contributing to the individual’s mystical progress. In summary, then, Bahá’í administration is not merely the organization of a mystical community but has been set up precisely so that its very functioning is itself the promotion of the spiritual development of the individual.

[Page 40]

Decorous Fraud

The curtained windows, the brightly painted facade,

Invite me to pass through the well-made doors.

So, why am I thinking as I enter, well dressed, well shod,

Of termites and roaches, of vermin beneath these floors?

The smiles are gracious, the sincere greeting restores

One’s thoughts to matters both suitable and kind,

Yet, here with friends good and true, in pours

A sense of death and decay, as if to grind

Away dignity and decorum, all peace of mind

But the sun shines on, light comes to these eyes

Contemplating the surface and imagining what’s behind

Seeing both marble and dust, flowers and flies.

Who could countenance such a fraud

But an all-seeing, all-forgiving, loving God?

—LARRY GATES

Copyright © 2007 by Larry Gates.

LARRY GATES is the author of a children’s book entitled The Sad, Glad Story of Johnny B. Gull and three collections of poems. His interests include hiking, history, and mental-health issues.

Festal Hermeneutics

Daniel’s “time and times and a half,”

Such mixed wonder overhead

As a sun-garbed woman and a red

Dragon, a boy with an iron staff,

And the dragon’s tail casting to earth

A third of all the stars of heaven—

What truths, for God’s sake, are we given

That might prove of uplifting worth

In such violent and lurid tales,

Such quaint arithmetic? The best

Of churchly minds, the miter-blessed,

The well-believed within the pales

[Page 41]

Of authority—all have clashed

About divine apocalypse,

Have darkened in a full eclipse

That heaven of prophetic past.

What amazing hermeneutic feat

Could shape this lofty imagery

To such a fine calligraphy

As would befit the Paraclete?

What sweet reading could bring light

To that dark and dismal Gospel sky

We stare at with our blinded eye—

And show a sun there full and bright?

Read, if you will, where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

Explains these odd sublimities

Like a doctor giving remedies

Or a judge defending honored law.

Sense the West of Christ and the East

Of Islam, as divided now as night

And day, united in one Light

And preparing for one global feast.

—BRET BRENEMAN

Copyright © 2007 Bret Breneman

BRET BRENEMAN, an adjunct professor of English at Thomas Nelson Community College in Virginia, has published Fly Away Home, a book for children, and a number of poems and has completed a novel called “Watchman’s Son.”

[Page 42]

[Page 43]

Matters of Opinion
Reviews of Books

BOOK REVIEW BY ALEXANDRA HUMPHREY

BUILDING SUSTAINABLE PEACE
EDITED BY TOM KEATING AND W. ANDY KNIGHT
(TOKYO: UNITED NATIONS UNIVERSITY PRESS, 2004, AND EDMONTON, CAN:
THE UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA PRESS, 2004, lxii + 435 PAGES)

Copyright © 2007 by Alexandra Humphrey.

ALEXANDRA HUMPHREY
holds civil-law and common-law degrees from McGill University’s Faculty of Law in Montreal and is an Associate at a national Canadian law firm. She spent three months as a researcher at the Center for Conflict Management of the National University of Rwanda and also served as a legal researcher for The Sierra Leone Special Court Legal Clinic of McGill Univetsity. Her interests include gender and conflict issues, moral political theory, and the role of legal and social institutions in fostering reconciliation.

Building Sustainable Peace is a collection of fifteen essays edited by Tom Keating and W. Andy Knight, professors of political science at the University of Alberta in Canada, that emanated from a symposium held at the University of Alberta to discuss the changing dimensions of peacebuilding and postconflict reconciliation. The essays aim to bridge the gap between the theoretical, the practical, and the policy implications of peacebuilding processes. To achieve this objective, the collection incorporates both theoretical and practical elements. The contributions of Jean Daudelin, Kenneth Bush, Melissa Labonte, Carolyn Elizabeth Lloyd, Howard Adelman, and Joseph Masciulli are primarily theoretical, while the pieces by Christopher P. Ankersen, David Beer, Jarat Chopra and Tania Hohe, and Adekeye Adebajo focus on practical experience. The chapters by Francis Kofi Abiew and Tom Keating, Sumie Nakaya, Kassu Gebremariam, Saun Narine, and Satya Brata Das do a particularly impressive job of weaving together practical and theoretical approaches.

The essays in the collection are written by, and for, people of various professional stripes: academics, field workers, policy advisers, and international donors. But the collection is sufficiently readable to be accessible to interested members of the public.

[Page 44] One of the central objectives of Building Sustainable Peace is to demystify peacebuilding and to understand the many technical problems that plague this increasingly complex and multidimensional field. This is done by presenting a series of essays that, while not organized according to themes, speak to one another in an attempt to address a number of growing concerns. Of such concerns, the collection makes a particularly valuable contribution to two: first, the role of “the local” in crafting and conducting truly effective peacebuilding operations and, second, the role of the national interest and the military in the future of peacebuilding.

With respect to the first issue—the role of the local in peacebuilding— conflict studies professor Kenneth Bush, in “Commodification, Compartmentalization, and Militarization of Peacebuilding,” laments the lack of methodology for determining whether a particular peacebuilding activity does, or is likely to, work. He notes that the “conventional programming logic of efficiency-over-process, linearity, and ‘results-based management’ inherent in Northern-controlled projects is at odds with what is often required for sustainable, effective humanitarian/developmental peacebuilding initiatives. . . .” Consequently, Bush argues, policymakers need to ask whether a proposed activity will, in a particular instance, promote sustainable structures that strengthen the prospects for peaceful coexistence and decrease the likelihood of continued violent conflict. In short, the impact of the peacebuilding activity should be the foremost consideration, and the recent tendency toward effecting “cookie-cutter development” must be set aside.

In “Defining a Role for Civil Society: Humanitarian NGOs and Peacebuilding Operations,” Kofi Abiew, an author on humanitarian issues and an instructor in political science, and Keating echo Bush’s sentiment in their examination of the unintended, and often negative, consequences of peacebuilding efforts that fail to consider sufficiently the local context. These consequences have become all too familiar over the past decade and include supplementing the war economy with aid, conferring legitimacy on warlords, and creating false economies with the massive influx of Western operational presence. Royal Canadian Mounted Police Superintendent David Beer, in “Peacebuilding on the Ground: Reforming the Judicial Sector in Haiti,” and doctoral candidate at the City University of New York and former Program Specialist at the United Nations Development Fund for Women Sumie Nakaya, in “Women and Gender Equality in Peacebuilding: Somalia and Mozambique,” offer concrete examples. Beer’s case study of judicial sector reform in Haiti shows how the local government, with a less-than-genuine commitment, led a multinational effort to construct an impartial civilian police force and justice system but instead fostered and supported a bureaucratic system that continued to engage in human-rights abuses. Nakaya’s comparative examination of two efforts to promote the participation of women in peace processes demonstrates how a deeper understanding of the ingrained power structures in Somalia and Mozambique explains why similar efforts succeeded in one context but not in the other. Another example of how considering the local context aids peacebuilding efforts is found in “Participatory Peacebuilding,” by Jarat Chopra, Chief Monitor of the Palestinian [Page 45] Monitoring Group and former Head of the Office of District Administration for the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, and Tanja Hohe, a social anthropologist who served in East Timor as a District Electoral Officer for the United Nations Mission in East Timor and a Political Affairs Officer for the UN Transitional Administration in East Timor. The article uses East Timor and Rwanda to illustrate how sustainable public participation can be more readily achieved when indigenous structures are incorporated into institution-building strategies.

Making the local context the starting point for the design of peacebuilding activities is essential to achieving sustainable peace. However, it can also pose a challenge to those who seek a theoretical underpinning to what has, to date, been a largely practical discipline. The editors of Building Sustainable Peace, by combining case studies with theoretical articles on, for example, the need to undertake peacebuilding activities at various levels of civilian identity (see author and political scientist Kassu Gebremariam’s “Peacebuilding in the Horn of Africa: The Role of Africa’s Regional Organization”) have encouraged a critical dialogue between two important constituencies that often talk past one another. That being said, the informal organization of the collection (the essays have not been presented in any particular order) does leave it to the reader to make many of these connections. Furthermore, some pieces fit more naturally into this dialogue than others.

A second issue to which Building Sustainable Peace makes a solid contribution is the two-pronged question of the role in peacebuilding of the national interest and its historically close associate, the military. This discussion is particularly poignant, given the struggle of the United States and the United Kingdom to shift from invasion-mode to peacebuilding-mode in Iraq. Again, the combination of the theoretical and the practical in this collection proves fruitful in confronting long-standing and always heated debates.

In “Humanitarian Actors and the Politics of Preventive Action,” an article on the politics of preventive action, Melissa Labonte, a researcher, instructor, and doctoral candidate at Brown University, argues that the military has a role in humanitarian intervention: It is their job to settle a situation quickly and to create space for humanitarian projects. This view is not without controversy, as many humanitarian actors insist that their work must remain entirely separate from any coercive action whatsoever. However, in “Praxis versus Policy: Peacebuilding and the Military,” Christopher P. Ankerson, a former Canadian Forces infantry officer who served in Croatia and Kosovo, demonstrates in his discussion of the experience of NATO forces in Kosovo that it is often difficult to draw clear-cut lines when military personnel find themselves obliged, even well-equipped, to perform nontraditional tasks such as arbitrating property disputes among residents, demobilizing soldiers, and temporarily serving as “jurist, judge, and jailer” where regular structures have broken down. Ankerson offers a thoughtful consideration of the extent to which soldiers are well equipped to help in peacebuilding efforts and the dangers associated With the “militarization of peacebuilding” that can arise where the nonmiiitary humanitarian roles of soldiers become permanent or semipermanent.

[Page 46] Bush, in “Commodification, Compartmentalization, and Militarization of Peacebuilding,” discusses thoroughly the phenomenon of national interest and the military, emphasizing that dangers also flow from the fact that a “militatized logic and approach” often runs contrary to a sustainable development approach to peacebuilding. For exajnple, while militaries strive for self-sufficiency by bringing their own tools and minimizing local inputs, sustainable-development approaches tend to maximize local inputs by building on local resources and supporting indigenous capacities. The extent to which these points ring true in the context of current attempts to rebuild Iraq is remarkable.

There has also been much discussion over the past ten years about the need to develop an international system that is more responsive to emerging humanitarian and human-rights emergencies. It is widely agreed that the current system has consistently fallen short in terms of both the (in)frequency and (in)adequacy of its response. This issue is addressed from a number of angles in Building Sustainable Peace. Of particular interest is the practical approach taken by policy adviser and analyst Satya Brada Das. In “Sustainable Peace: Who Pays the Price,” Das builds on calls for a standing UN rapid-reaction force by offering an ambitious policy framework for a UN peacebuilding fund financed by a tax on member states’ defense and military spending and on their arms manufacturers’ exports. However, as international affairs professor Jean Daudelin’s survey of the world community’s recent track record in the area of humanitarian interventions (“Rethinking Humanitarian Intervention”) points out, there are dangers associated with simply passing the buck to the United Nations. The organization is and will remain as proactive as its members, and it is likely naive to think that the UN could do the job on its own if it only had enough resources. As Daudelin argues, and Executive Director of the Centre for Conflict Resolution at the University of Cape Town Adekeye Adebajo’s discussion of recent peace-enforcement efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone demonstrates (“West Africa’s Tragic Twins: Building Peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone”), peacebuilding often works best when it has a motivated international or regional power behind it.

Few would question the value in political scientist Joseph Masciulli’s formidable and more theoretical discussion of the need for an underlying cosmopolitan ethic (“From a Culture of Violence to a Culture of Peace: Evolving Cosmopolitan Politics and Ethics”). However, Daudelin may be correct that, at least in the interim, the national interest has a useful role to play in getting contemporary peacebuilding efforts off the ground. This is particularly the case where the national interest is increasingly informed by cosmopolitan sensibilities regarding our common humanity, dignity, and entitlement to sustainable peace.

In Building Sustainable Peace Tom Keating and W. Andy Knight have assembled a thoughtful and varied collection of essays that touch on many more issues than have been discussed here. Those by Kenneth Bush and Christopher P. Ankersen on the militarization of peacebuilding, by Sumie Nakaya on gender equality in peacebuilding, and by Joseph Masciulli on cosmopolitan politics and ethics are must-reads. The chapters by Melissa Labonte on the role of international nongovernmental humanitarian actors, by Satya Brata Das [Page 47] on a UN rapid reaction force, and by University of Montreal doctoral candidate Carolyn Elizabeth Lloyd on small arms (“Prospects for the Emergence of a Global Small Arms Regime”) are informative but are primarily useful for readers who want background on “the state of the debate” in these areas. Political scientist Shaun Narine, in “Peacebuilding in Southeast Asia: An Assessment of ASEAN,” presents a strong case on the limits of ASEAN (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) as a prospective peacebuilding institution, but stops short of explaining the relevance of his analysis beyond this context.

Each reader is likely to draw something different from the collection when read as a whole. Published in 2004, Building Sustainable Peace is still cutting edge in that it encapsulates ongoing debates in the peacebuilding community, though critical recent developments (such as the work of the Special Court for Sierra Leone) are regrettably (and perhaps, naturally) not reflected. Finally: the issue of peace education, central to the introduction written by Canadian Senator Douglas Roche, an expert in peace and human-security issues, could have been more firmly woven into the collection. While there is some discussion of the need for a “culture of peace,” peace education is rarely raised in the various chapters, and the reader is left without a comprehensive explanation of how peace education fits with the many other issues addressed in the collection.

[Page 48]

the activist mind

you have that metaphysical look in your eye today

and me,

i am thinking the world needs

more 4-way stop signs.

in my practical, midwestern way

i am thinking about going out

and picketing for them in front of

the mayor’s office.

it’s the kind of thing that lends itself to direct action

and has an easily measured outcome.

people will slow down, maybe even

wave to each other.

and you, with your cosmological eyebrows bent

over some epistemologically appropriate text,

will perhaps find the words the world needs to express what it is like,

if it is ever saved.

—DIANE LOTFI

Copyright © 2003 by Diane Lotfi.

DIANE LOTFI, a publishing director at CTB/McGraw-Hill, holds an MBA degree from Golden Gate University. A Midwesterner by birth, she lived for twenty years in Venezuela and now resides in California. Most of her journeys are internal. Her interests include understanding how unity makes people and things work better and how curriculum is deepened when inquiry and investigation are added to it.

[Page 49]

CALL FOR PAPERS

WANTED—SHORT ARTICLES ON THE DESTINY OF AMERICA
AND ACHIEVING WORLD PEACE
DEADLINE FOR ABSTRACTS: JULY 1, 2007

World Order is seeking short articles (circa 1,000-1,500 words) on the topics of the destiny of America and achieving world peace. This is your chance to write on a topic close to your heart without writing a long article that seems like a chapter for a book. Think short, tight, and focused. The topic could be poverty, education, global warming. Or terrorism, religious tolerance, health issues, freedom from prejudice, some aspect of the advancement of women, the maturation of humankind.

To get your juices flowing, you may want to revisit Shoghi Effendi’s Advent of Divine Justice. The seations on the acquisition of qualities North American Bahá’ís need for fulfilling their destiny (pp. 16-43 in the 1990 pocket-size edition) and on “The Destiny of America” (pp. 85-90 in the same edition) are bound to give you ideas. For issues related to world peace, you may want to reread The Promise of World Peace.

In short, we invite you to write about an issue that you feel needs urgent attention—and that will contribute to the health of the nation and of the world.

Manuscript Submission Information:

For a copy of the World Order style sheet for preparing a manuscript (and other tips), send an e-mail to <worldorder@usbnc.org>, or write to the address below.

Submissions to the journal will be subject to external blind peer review if they fall outside the expertise of the Editorial Board or upon request by the author.

Manuscripts (in Word or WordPerfect) should be sent to World Order, Dr. Betty J. Fisher, Managing Editor, 7311 Quail Springs Place NE, Albuquerque, NM 87113-1780, USA or to <worldorder@usbnc.org>.

World Order has been published quarterly since 1966 by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States.

[Page 50]

Forthcoming...

An Interview with John Grayzel, holder of the Bahá’í Chair
for World Peace at the University of Maryland

John Danesh discusses a Bahá’í perspective on world order in
“Hegemony 0nd Revelation”

Christopher Buck introduces four talks by Alaine Locke

Peter E. Murphy reviews The Modern Elegioc Temper
by John B. Vickery

Anne Gordon Perry reviews The Russo-Joponese War in
Cultural Perspective, 1904-05, edited by David Wells and
Sandra Wilson