Dear Bahá'í Friend,
- The Universal House of Justice has received your letter of May 19, 1996.
It appreciates the clarity with which you have expressed your
profoundly felt concern, and has asked us to send you the following
reply.
- The purpose of this letter is not to enter into a detailed examination
of the activities and statements of the friends to whom you refer, or to
discuss the responses they have received over the years from
institutions of the Faith. Rather, the House of Justice wishes to
relate this situation to certain aspects of Bahá'í belief, in the hope
that thereby it may enable you to find answers to some of the questions
which preoccupy your mind.
- At the very core of the aims of the Faith are the establishment of
justice and unity in the world, the removal of prejudice and enmity from
among all people, the awakening of compassion and understanding in the
hearts of all men and women, and the raising of all souls to a new level
of spirituality and behavior through the vitalizing influence of divine
Revelation. The course set forth by Bahá'u'lláh for the attainment of
these aims is the double task of simultaneously building an ideal
society and perfecting the behavior of individuals. For this dual and
reciprocal transformation He has not only revealed laws, principles and
truths attuned to the needs of this age, but has established the very
nucleus and pattern of those institutions which are to evolve into the
structure of the divinely purposed world society.
- Central to your perception of the statements made by the believers about
whom you are concerned are their assertions that they are entirely
obedient to the spirit of the Covenant and the institutions of the
Faith; that they are merely voicing their disagreement with certain
decisions and policies made by these institutions; are protesting
against what they perceive to be unjust or improper actions by some
people who occupy prominent administrative positions; and are suggesting
modifications to Bahá'í procedures to prevent such perceived abuses of
authority. These assertions, however, overlook certain important Bahá'í
principles which provide the methods and channels for the voicing of
such grievances or disagreements, and which are designed to lead to
resolution of problems while preserving the unity of the community.
- Over many years, a few believers in the United States, instead of
confining their protests against what they saw as abuses of authority by
Bahá'í bodies to the channels and agencies which are plentifully
provided for such a purpose, have been publicly and privily assailing
the institutions of the Cause and generalizing specific accusations of
injustice to such an extent as to accuse the entire system of
corruption, not only in practice, but also in form and theory. One
outcome of this continuing stream of negative criticism has been the
gradual conversion of unverified accusations into accepted "facts" in
the minds of some of their hearers.
- Through such activities, and the mutual support that they give to one
another, these friends have increasingly assumed the appearance of a
dissident group of Bahá'ís who are attempting to arouse widespread
dissatisfaction in the community and thereby to bring about changes in
the structure and principles of Bahá'í administration, making it accord
more closely with their personal notions. Such an activity is closely
analogous to the pursuit of a partisan political program, an activity
which is accepted and even admired in most societies, but is entirely
antithetical to the spirit of the Bahá'í Faith. It promotes an
atmosphere of contention, and Bahá'u'lláh has expressly stated:
"Conflict and contention are categorically forbidden in His Book."
- The laws, commandments, injunctions and exhortations we have all agreed
to obey and follow as Bahá'ís include a clearly defined approach to
decision-making and to the implementation of decisions. You are,
undoubtedly, well familiar with the various aspects of this approach,
which is built on the conviction that the path of unity is the only path
that can lead to the civilization envisioned by Bahá'u'lláh. So strong
is the emphasis on unity that, for example, once a decision has been
made by an Assembly, everyone is expected to support that decision
wholeheartedly, relying confidently on `Abdu'l-Bahá's assurance that,
even if the decision is wrong, "as it is in unity the truth will be
revealed and the wrong made right." This principle of unity is
supplemented by other, related guidelines covering such issues as how
criticism can be expressed, how the wrongdoing of members of the
community is to be corrected, how the principle of justice is to be
applied and appeals admitted, and how the integrity of individuals, the
institutions and the Cause is to be upheld.
- In adhering to such teachings Bahá'ís recognize that individuals do not
become wholly virtuous on accepting the Faith. It takes time for them
to grow spiritually out of their personal imperfections and out of the
structural and behavioral assumptions of the societies in which they
have been raised, which color their view of the world. The institutions
of the Cause, which the believers have been raising in obedience to the
law of Bahá'u'lláh, in accordance with the pattern set forth by
`Abdu'l-Bahá and the expositions of Shoghi Effendi, and under the
guidance of the Universal House of Justice, are still in their embryonic
stage and not infrequently fall short of the ideal for which they are
striving. There is also the possibility of certain individuals'
misusing the positions of authority to which they are elected or
appointed within the structure of the Administrative Order. Again and
again Shoghi Effendi, in his letters, called upon the Bahá'ís to be
patient and forbearing, both with one another and with their Assemblies,
but in serious cases of malfunctioning by either institutions or
individuals, neither the Guardian nor the Universal House of Justice has
hesitated to take remedial action. Bahá'í administration has provisions
to cope with such human frailties and is designed to enable the
believers to build Bahá'u'lláh's new World Order in the midst of their
imperfections, but without conflicts which would destroy the entire
edifice.
- One of the tasks of the Universal House of Justice, in addition to
enacting legislation, resolving difficult problems, elucidating obscure
matters, settling differences, administering the worldwide affairs of
the Cause and directing the course of the implementation of the Divine
Plan is to protect the individual believers and the body of the Cause
from the deleterious effects of malfunctioning institutions and unwise
or malicious individuals. Most of the time these defects, whether in
the behavior of individuals or institutions, are of a relatively minor
nature and can be dealt with by the local or National Assemblies or by
the Counsellors with the members of the Auxiliary Boards and their
assistants. However, at times the situation becomes far more grave and
the World Center is compelled to intervene.
- You are most directly concerned with the situation in the United States.
The letter of May 19, 1994 does, indeed, address certain aspects of the
functioning of your National Spiritual Assembly — it was, after all,
written in response to the National Assembly's request for guidance — but
that is merely one of the issues before the American Bahá'í community.
If you study that letter carefully you will see that it calls for a
range of improvements in the actions of the individual believers and the
entire community. Indeed it develops points touched on in the letter of
December 29, 1988, which urges the believers to rethink accepted
theories of the functioning of society. [The letter in question is the "Individual Rights and Freedoms" statement.]
- Sadly, efforts made by the institutions and some of their fellow
believers to explain these issues seem to have been dismissed by the
friends previously referred to. A few politely acknowledged the
communications of the House of Justice, but then continued on their way,
ignoring the fundamental points which have been made. A few have openly
opposed the House of Justice's guidance. The rhetoric has become far
removed from a pure concern to uphold justice and the rights of
individuals within the community; it has developed into the fomentation
of contention about some of the most fundamental beliefs of the Faith
and an attack on the basis of the Covenant which, alone, is the ultimate
guarantee that the Faith will remain true to its divine origin
throughout the centuries.
- The point at issue has thus become that of whether believers should be
permitted to continue indefinitely to undermine the faith of their
fellow Bahá'ís, stir up agitation within the community, and publicly
assail the theory as well as the practice of Bahá'u'lláh's
Administrative Order.
- In the Kitab-i-Aqdas Bahá'u'lláh states: "We approve of liberty in
certain circumstances, and refuse to sanction it in others." One area
in which liberty is limited in the Bahá'í community is that governing
methods and channels for the expression of criticism. In this
connection, we enclose a brief compilation of excerpts from letters
written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to individual believers [see Compilation on Criticism: Extracts from letters written on behalf of the Guardian to individual believers]. From this
guidance, the following principles can be clearly derived:
- * The importance of unity as both the goal of Bahá'u'lláh's Message and
the means for its establishment. Bahá'u'lláh "has not only advocated
certain principles, but has also provided a mechanism where by that
ideal can be established and perpetuated," adherence to both of which by
the friends is essential for "the realization of His goal of world
unity."
- Bahá'ís are "fully entitled to address criticisms to their Assemblies"
and offer their recommendations. When Bahá'ís have addressed their
criticisms, suggestions and advice to their Assemblies, including their
views "about policies or individual members of elected bodies," they
must "wholeheartedly accept the advice or decision of the Assembly."
- There is a clear distinction between, on the one hand, the prohibition
of backbiting, which would include adverse comments about individuals or
institutions made to other individuals privately or publicly, and, on
the other hand, the encouragement to unburden oneself of one's concerns
to a Spiritual Assembly, local or National (or now, also, to confide in
a Counsellor or Auxiliary Board member). Thus, although one of the
principal functions of the Nineteen Day Feast is to provide a forum for
"open and constructive criticism and deliberation regarding the state of
affairs within the local Bahá'í community," complaints about the actions
of an individual member of an Assembly should be made directly and
confidentially to the Assembly itself, not made to other individuals or
even raised at the Nineteen Day Feast.
- While constructive criticism is encouraged, destructive criticism, such
as the pattern of "continually challenging and criticizing the
decisions" of the Assemblies, prevents the rapid growth of the Faith and
repels those who are yet outside the community. Indeed "all criticisms
and discussions of a negative character which may result in undermining
the authority of the Assembly as a body should be strictly avoided. For
otherwise the order of the Cause itself will be endangered, and
confusion and discord will reign in the community." "Vicious criticism
is indeed a calamity," the root of which is "lack of faith in the system
of Bahá'u'lláh" and failure to follow the "Bahá'í laws in voting, in
electing, in serving, and in abiding by Assembly decisions."
- The questions of how criticism is expressed and acted upon in the Bahá'í
community, and how the spiritual Assemblies administer justice in regard
to individual believers are but elements of far greater concepts and
should become second nature in the social discourse of Bahá'ís. The
Bahá'í community is an association of individuals who have voluntarily
come together, on recognizing Bahá'u'lláh's claim to be the
Manifestation of God for this age, to establish certain patterns of
personal and social behavior and to build the institutions that are to
promote these patterns. There are numerous individuals who share the
ideals of the Faith and draw inspiration from its Teachings, while
disagreeing with certain of its features, but those who actually enter
the Bahá'í community have accepted, by their own free will, to follow
the Teachings in their entirety, understanding that, if doubts and
disagreements arise in the process of translating the Teachings into
practice, the final arbiter is, by the explicit authority of the
Revealed Text, the Universal House of Justice.
- It is the ardent prayer of the Universal House of Justice that any
friends who find themselves at odds in this endeavor will have
confidence in the guidance it provides for them, will renew their study
of the Teachings and, for the sake of Bahá'u'lláh, strengthen their love
for one another. As the beloved Guardian's secretary wrote on his
behalf to an individual believer on October 25, 1949: "Without the
spirit of real love for Bahá'u'lláh, for His Faith and its Institutions,
and the believers for each other, the Cause can never really bring in
large numbers of people. For it is not preaching and rules the world
wants, but love and action." The worldwide undertakings on which the
Cause of God is embarked are far too significant, the need of the
peoples of the world for the Message of Bahá'u'lláh far too urgent, the
perils facing mankind far too grave, the progress of events far too
swift, to permit His followers to squander their time and efforts in
fruitless contention. Now, if ever, is the time for love among the
friends, for unity of understanding and endeavor, for self-sacrifice and
service by Bahá'ís in every part of the world.
- The House of Justice understands and appreciates your concern for the
proper functioning of the Bahá'í community. It urges you to contemplate
the issues you raised in the light of the Teachings themselves, and not
to weigh them with the standards of other philosophies or of any civil
system, the fundamental assumptions of which differ in many respects
from those of Bahá'u'lláh's divinely conceived Order.
With loving Bahá'í greetings,
The Universal House of Justice
Department of the Secretariat
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