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TAGS: Crypto believers; Iran (documents); Qajar dynasty; Royalty
Abstract:
The nature of multiple religious identities in a traditional society; five criteria by which many individuals can be identified as having secretly been Bahá'ís in the ruling society and administration of Qájár Iran. Link to article (offsite).
Notes:
Published in the Religions special issue "The Bahá'í Faith: Doctrinal and Historical Explorations," online at mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/469, where it is also available in HTML, XML, and epub formats.

Who Was a Bahá'í in the Upper Echelons of Qájár Iran?

Moojan Momen

published in Religions, 14:4

2023

Abstract: This paper addresses two questions: first, that of the nature of multiple religious identities in a traditional society; second, that of who can be identified as Bahā’īs in the upper echelons of Qājār Iran. The paper identifies five criteria by which individuals can be identified as having been Bahā’īs and suggests that, since none of these are usually conclusive by themselves, more than one of the criteria should be fulfilled before we label someone as a Bahā’ī. The various grades of being a Bahā’ī are also examined. The paper lists a number of examples of people from the Qājār royal family and from among the highest echelons of the Qājār administration who fulfill these criteria. It also looks at two individuals who have not been claimed to be Bahā’īs in the usual Iranian and Bahā’ī histories, and yet, if a close study of their lives is made, considerable evidence can be accumulated that they may have been crypto-Bahā’īs. In all, this paper indicates that there may have been many Bahā’īs in the upper strata of Qājār society, that this is a factor that has not previously been sufficiently recognized and needs to be examined for the light that it may shed on other matters.
See all details online at mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/469, or use one of the direct links below:
  1. Direct link to download PDF: mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/469/pdf.
  2. Direct link to download ePub: mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/4/469/epub.
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