Bibliography: #BIB23090

web link	bahai-library.com/bibliography/BIB23090
reference type	Journal Article
title	Collective Baha'i Identity through Embodied Persecution : 'Be ye the fingers of one hand, the members of one body'
journal	Anthropology of Consciousness (Washington, DC)
author	Humes, Curtis and Clark, Katherine Ann
year	2000
date	March–June 2000
issue	1-2
volume	11
abstract	Members of the Baha'i Faith have been subject to persecution in Iran since the mid-nineteenth century. Our investigation considers how collective identity among a Pacific Northwest Community has been constructed through the contexts of continued persecution in Iran and the development of religious texts, which helped to define the religious community. The texts found within the Baha'i Faith utilize metaphors of the body to construct religious identity. Many anthropologists have theorized on the usefulness of the body as a unit of study; in addition, recent attention by scholars has illustrated the intersection of the body and religion. A model is developed linking identity, consciousness, the body and experience that explains how collective identity is constructed. When considering the situation of the Baha'i community, this model has proven particularly useful in understanding how geographically disassociated people manage to construct social kinship within the context of religious persecution. In particular, American Baha'is describe the persecution of Baha'is in Iran as a collective experience, especially since the direct experience of persecution is far removed from their everyday living. Preliminary analysis of interviews with an American Baha'i, and an ex-patriot Iranian Baha'i reveal differences in constructions of identity.
language	English
keywords	PERSECUTION; IRAN; IDENTITY; AMERICANS; IRANIANS
pages	24–33
Legal note	11.

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