Bahá'í divisions
Encyclopedia
The Bahá'í Faith
has had challenges to leadership, usually, at the death of every head of the religion. The vast majority of Bahá'ís have followed a line of authority from Bahá'u'lláh
to `Abdu'l-Bahá
to Shoghi Effendi
to the Custodians
to the Universal House of Justice
. Sect
s diverging from this line of leadership have failed to attract a sizeable following. In this sense, there is only one major branch of the Bahá'í Faith, represented by at least 5 million adherents, whereas the groups that have broken away have either become extinct with time, or have remained very small in numbers, representing far less than 2% of all Baha'is. Globally the Bahá'í community has maintained its unity.
Bahá'í scriptures
define a Lesser Covenant regarding succession which is intended to keep the Bahá'ís unified. Claimants challenging the widely accepted successions of leadership are shunned by the majority group as Covenant-Breakers.
A separate entry discusses the Bahá'í/Bábí split
.
was named the centre of authority; Mírzá Muhammad `Alí
, the eldest son from Bahá'u'lláh's second wife was assigned an inferior position.
Pursuant to his role as Centre of the Covenant, `Abdu'l-Bahá asserted absolute leadership. Soon Muhammad `Ali complained that `Abdu'l-Bahá was not sharing authority and started working against his elder brother. Most members of the families of Bahá'u'lláh's second and third wives supported Muhammad `Alí but there were very few outside of Haifa who followed him.
Muhammad `Alí's machinations with the Ottoman authorities resulted in `Abdu'l-Bahá's re-arrest and confinement in Acre
. They also caused the appointment of two official commissions of inquiry, which was to further exile `Abdu'l-Baha to North Africa, but the Young Turk revolution led to the freeing of Ottoman prisoners, and ending the danger to `Abdu'l-Baha. Meanwhile Ibrahim George Kheiralla, a Syrian Christian convert to the Bahá'í Faith, emigrated to the United States and founded the first American Bahá'í community. Initially he was loyal to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, but he taught that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was the return of Christ, and when 'Abdu'l-Bahá learned this was becoming the widespread understanding of the Bahá'ís in America he took pains to correct the mistake. Later on, Kheiralla switched sides in the conflict between Bahá'u'lláh's sons and supported Mirza Muhammad Ali. He formed the Society of Behaists, a religious denomination promoting Unitarian Bahaism in the U.S., which was led after his death by Shuaullah Behai, son of Mirza Muhammad Ali, after he emigrated to the United States in June 1904 at the behest of his father. Muhammad `Alí's supporters either called themselves Behaists or "Unitarian Bahá'ís". He published a Unitarian Bahai magazine called Quarterly for three years, 1934 to 1937, in the English language, which featured the writings of Muhammad Ali and various other Unitarian Bahais.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's response to determined opposition during his tenure was patterned on Bahá'u'lláh's and evolved across three stages. Initially, like Bahá'u'lláh, he made no public statements but communicated with his brother Muhammad `Alí and his associates directly, or through intermediaries, to attempt reconciliation. When it became clear that reconciliation was not possible, and fearing damage to the community, he wrote to the Bahá'ís explaining the situation, identifying the individuals concerned, and instructing the believers to sever all ties with those involved. Finally, he sent representatives to those areas most affected by the problem.
The function of these representatives was to explain matters to the Bahá'ís and to encourage them to persevere in cutting all contacts. Often these individuals would have `Abdu'l-Bahá's authority to open up communications with those involved to try to persuade them to return. In Iran, such envoys were principally the four Hands of the Cause appointed by Bahá'u'lláh.
went into great detail about how Muhammad `Alí had been unfaithful to the Covenant, labelling him a Covenant-breaker
, and appointing Shoghi Effendi
as leader of the Faith instead, with the title of Guardian. Whole books within Bahá'í literature have been printed to refute the claims of Muhammad `Alí. (Balyuzi, Taherzadeh, etc.) This represented what is often described as the most testing time for the Bahá'í Faith
. The Behaists rejected the authority of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
, remaining loyal to the leadership succession written by Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Ahd.
The schism caused by Muhammad `Alí has had very little effect. In the `Akká area, the followers of Muhammad `Alí have been reduced to at most six families who have no common organized religious activities, and have been almost wholly assimilated into Muslim society. A modern academic observer has reported an attempt to revive the claims of Muhammad Ali in order to lend legitimacy to a newly-established sect avowing loyalty to Bahá'u'lláh but rejecting the authority that Bahá'u'lláh gave to 'Abdu’l-Bahá and the Universal House of Justice. In addition, Nigar Bahai Amsalem, the great-granddaughter of Bahá'u'lláh and granddaughter of both Mirza Muhammad Ali and Bahá'u'lláh's youngest son Badiullah was interviewed in the 2006 Israeli mockumentary
film Baha'is In My Backyard. It mentions that she has built a shrine at the tomb of Mirza Muhammad Ali and opposes the Universal House of Justice. She also withheld information on the extent of her opposition during her interview for the film.
At 24, Shoghi Effendi
was particularly young when he assumed leadership of the religion in 1921, as provided for by `Abdu'l-Bahá in his Will and Testament. He had received a Western education at the Syrian Protestant College
and later at Balliol College, Oxford
.
Muhammad-`Alí took the opportunity to revive his claim to leadership of the Bahá'í community. He forcibly seized the keys of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh at the mansion of Bahjí
, expelled its keeper, and demanded that he be recognized by the authorities as the legal custodian of that property. But the Palestine authorities, after investigations, instructed the British officer in `Akká to deliver the keys into the hands of the keeper loyal to Shoghi Effendi.
Another division occurred primarily within the American Bahá'í community, which increasingly consisted of non-Persians with an interest in alternative spiritual pursuits. Many had been strongly attracted to the personality of `Abdu'l-Bahá and the spiritual teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. Some regarded it as an ecumenical society to which all persons of goodwill—regardless of religion—might join. When Shoghi Effendi made clear his position that the Bahá'í Faith was an independent religion with its own distinct administration through local and national spiritual assemblies, a few felt that he had overstepped the bounds of his authority. Most prominent among them was a New York group including Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
, Lewis
and Julia Chanler
, which founded the "New History Society," and its youth section, the Caravan of East and West
. Sohrab and the Chanlers refused to be overseen by the New York Spiritual Assembly, and were expelled by Shoghi Effendi as Covenant-breaker
s. They argued that the expulsion was meaningless because they believed the faith could not be institutionalized. The New History Society published several works by Sohrab and Chanler and others. Sohrab accepted the legitmacy of Shoghi Effendi as Guardian, but critical of the manner of his leadership and the methods of organizing the Bahá'í administration. The New History Society attracted fewer than a dozen Bahá'ís, however its membership swelled to several thousand for a time. The New History Society was active until 1959 and is now defunct. The Caravan House, aka Caravan Institute, later disassociated itself from the Bahá'í Faith, and remained as an unrelated non-profit educational organization.
All of the division of this period were short-lived and restricted in their influence.
, died. She was greatly respected and had instructed all to follow Shoghi Effendi through several telegrams she had sent around the world announcing the basics of the provisions of `Abdu'l-Bahá's will and was witness to the actions relatives took in violation of provisions of the will. Bahíyyih Khánum had devoted much of her life towards protecting the accepted leadership of the Bahá'í Faith and after Shoghi Effendi's appointment there was little internal opposition until after her death when nephews began to openly oppose Shoghi Effendi over Bahá'u'lláh's house in Baghdad.
Some family members disapproved of his marriage to a Westerner, Mary Maxwell
— daughter of one of the foremost disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá — in 1937. They claimed that Shoghi Effendi introduced innovations beyond the Iranian roots of the Faith. This gradually resulted in his siblings and cousins disobeying his instructions and marrying into the families of Covenant-breaker
s, many of whom were expelled as Covenant-breakers themselves. However, these disagreements within Shoghi Effendi's family resulted in no attempts to create a schism around an alternative leader. At the time of his death in 1957, he was the only remaining male member of the family of Bahá'u'lláh who had not been expelled. Even his own parents had openly fought against him.
as Covenant-breaker
s. He left no will. Shoghi Effendi's appointed Hands of the Cause
unanimously voted it was impossible to legitimately recognize and assent to a successor. The Bahá'í community was in a situation not dealt with explicitly in the provisions of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. Furthermore, the Universal House of Justice
had not yet been elected, which represented the only Bahá'í institution authorized to adjudicate on matters not covered by the religion's three central figures. To understand the transition following the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, an explanation of the roles of the Guardian, the Hands of the Cause, and the Universal House of Justice is useful.
Other than allusions in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh to the importance of the Aghsán
, the role of the Guardian was not mentioned until the reading of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. Shoghi Effendi later expressed to his wife and others that he had no foreknowledge of the existence of the Institution of Guardianship, least of all that he was appointed as Guardian.
`Abdu'l-Bahá warned the Bahá'ís to avoid the problems caused by his half-brother Muhammad `Alí
. He stipulated the criteria and form for selecting future Guardians, which was to be clear and unambiguous. His will required that the Guardian appoint his successor "in his own life-time ... that differences may not arise after his [the Guardian's] passing." The appointee was required to be either the first-born son of the Guardian, or one of the Aghsán
(literally: Branches; male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh). Finally, `Abdu'l-Bahá left a responsibility to nine Hands of the Cause
, elected from all of the Hands, who "whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor."
The will also vested authority in the Guardian's appointed assistants, known as the Hands of the Cause
, giving them the right to "cast out from the congregation of the people of Bahá" anyone they deem in opposition to the Guardian.
On November 25, 1957, the Hands signed a unanimous proclamation stating that he had died "without having appointed his successor"; that "it is now fallen upon us... to preserve the unity, the security and the development of the Bahá'í World Community and all its institutions"; and that they would elect from among themselves nine Hands who would "exercise ... all such functions, rights and powers in succession to the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith... as are necessary to serve the interests of the Bahá'í World Faith, and this until such time as the Universal House of Justice... may otherwise determine." This body of nine Hands became known as the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land, sometimes referred to as the Custodians
.
That same day the Hands passed a unanimous resolution that clarified who would have authority over various executive areas. Among these were:
In their deliberations following Shoghi Effendi's passing they determined that they were not in a position to appoint a successor, only to ratify one, so they advised the Bahá'í community that the Universal House of Justice
would consider the matter after it was established.
In deciding when and how the International Bahá'í Council
would develop into the Universal House of Justice, the Hands agreed to carry out Shoghi Effendi's plans for moving it from the appointed council, to an officially recognized Bahá'í Court, to a duly elected body, and then to the elected Universal House of Justice. In November 1959, referring to the goal of becoming recognized as a non-Jewish religious court in Israel, they said: "this goal, due to the strong trend towards the secularization of Religious Courts in this part of the world, might not be achieved." The recognition as a religious court was never achieved, and the International Bahá'í Council was reformed in 1961 as an elected body in preparation for forming the Universal House of Justice. The Hands of the Cause made themselves ineligible for election to both the council and the Universal House of Justice.
Upon the election of the Universal House of Justice at the culmination of the Ten Year Crusade
in 1963, the nine Hands acting as interim head of the religion closed their office.
initially elected to serve in the Holy Land as interim head of the religion.
On 8 April 1960, Remey made a written announcement that he was the second Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith and explained his "status for life as commander in chief of Bahá’í affairs of the world" in this proclamation which he requested to be read in front of the annual US convention in Wilmette
.
He based his claim on his having been appointed President of the first International Bahá'í Council
by Shoghi Effendi in 1951. The appointed council represented the first international Bahá'í body. Remey believed that his appointment as the council's president meant that he was the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
Regarding the authority of the Hands of the Cause, Remey wrote in his letter that the Hands "have no authority vested in themselves... save under the direction of the living Guardian of the Faith." He further commanded the Bahá'ís to abandon plans for establishing the Universal House of Justice.
Remey never addressed the requirement that Guardians should be male-descendants of Bahá'u'lláh, of whom Remey was not. His followers later referred to letters and public statements of `Abdu'l-Bahá calling him "my son" as evidence that he had been implicitly adopted but these claims were almost universally rejected by the body of the Bahá'ís.
In response, and after having made many prior efforts to convince Remey to withdraw his claim, the Custodians took action and sent a cablegram to the National Spiritual Assemblies on 26 July 1960. Two days later the Custodians sent Mason Remey a letter informing him of their unanimous decision to declare him a Covenant-breaker. They cited the Will and Testament of `Abdul-Bahá, the unanimous joint resolutions of November 25, 1957, and their authority in carrying out the work of the Guardian as their justification. Anyone who accepted Remey's claim to the Guardianship was also expelled.
Remey maintained his claim to Guardianship, and with a small group of followers went on to establish what came to be known as the Orthodox Bahá'ís Under the Hereditary Guardianship, which later broke into several other divisions based on succession disputes within the groups that followed Remey.
The Bahá'í institutions and believers around the world pledged their loyalty to the Hands of the Cause
, who dedicated the next few years to completing Shoghi Effendi's
Ten Year Crusade
, culminating with the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. It was at this time the Custodians
officially passed their authority as the head of the Faith to the Universal House of Justice, which soon announced that it could not appoint or legislate to make possible the appointment of a second Guardian to succeed Shoghi Effendi.
A short time later it elaborated on the situation in which the Guardian would die without being able to appoint a successor, saying that it was an obscure question not covered by Bahá'í scriptures, that no institution or individual at the time could have known the answer, and that it therefore had to be referred to the Universal House of Justice, whose election was confirmed by references in Shoghi Effendi's letters that after 1963 the Bahá'í world would be led by international plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice.
The House commented that its own authority was not dependent on the presence of a Guardian, and that its legislative functioning was unaffected by the absence of a Guardian. It stated that in its legislation it would be able to turn to the mass of interpretation left by Shoghi Effendi. The Universal House of Justice addressed this issue further early after its election clarifying that "there is nowhere any promise or guarantee that the line of Guardians would endure forever; on the contrary there are clear indications that the line could be broken."
established in 1963.
Among the Bahá'ís who accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian, several further divisions have occurred based on conflicting opinions of legitimacy and succession of authority. They began to split into smaller groups even before his death in 1974. Small Remeyite groups are now largely confined to the United States. Some of these divisions are described below.
The Encyclopædia Iranica reports the following:
Remey died at the age of 100 living many of his last years in Florence, Italy.
In 1964 the NSAUHG filed a lawsuit against the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) of the Bahá'ís of the United States to receive the legal title to the Bahá'í House of Worship in Illinois, and all other property owned by the NSA. The NSA counter-sued and won. Later that year, Remey asked the NSAUHG to dissolve, as well as the second International Bahá'í Council that he had appointed with Joel Marangella as president, residing in France. Marangella, Donald Harvey, and Jacques Soghomonian previously served on the National Spiritual Assembly of France in 1961, and had been declared Covenant-breakers when they accepted Mason Remey as the next Guardian.
Over the years following 1966 the followers of Mason Remey were not organized; several of the individuals involved began forming their own groups based on different understandings of succession.
.
was one of the believers who accepted Remey's claim to the Guardianship. In 1969 he was convicted of "a lewd and lascivious act" for sexually molesting a 15-year-old female patient, and served four years of a twenty year sentence in the Montana State Prison. It was in prison that Jensen converted several inmates to his ideas of being what he called the "Establisher" of the Bahá'í Faith, stemming from his belief that the Bahá'í administrative order became corrupted following the death of Shoghi Effendi, and that he was chosen by God to re-establish the administration. After being paroled in 1973, and before Remey's death, Jensen formed a group called the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant.
Since the 1970s, Jensen believed Remey's adopted son Joseph Pepe was the Guardian, an idea that Pepe rejected several times. In 1991 Jensen appointed followers to a second International Bahá'í Council (sIBC), intending that it would grow into an elected Universal House of Justice after a nuclear holocaust
. Jensen died in 1996.
A researcher has noted that since 1980 BUPC membership has never exceeded 200 nationwide, and declined in size significantly by 1990 and beyond. Adherents were mostly concentrated in Montana
.
priest and left the Bahá'í religion altogether. The Remey Society is now extinct.
. He gained a few dozen Iranian Bahá'í followers. John Carré heard of Jamshid, and wrote a book about him; trying to get other Bahá'ís to accept him as a new Manifestation. Carré even invited "The Man" to live in his home in California, but soon concluded, after living with "The Man" for four months, that "The Man" was not at all godly or spiritual and certainly not a Manifestation of God. "The Man" went back to Iran, and Carré ended all association with him.
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
has had challenges to leadership, usually, at the death of every head of the religion. The vast majority of Bahá'ís have followed a line of authority from Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh
Bahá'u'lláh , born ' , was the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He claimed to be the prophetic fulfilment of Bábism, a 19th-century outgrowth of Shí‘ism, but in a broader sense claimed to be a messenger from God referring to the fulfilment of the eschatological expectations of Islam, Christianity, and...
to `Abdu'l-Bahá
`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
to Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
to the Custodians
Custodians
The Custodians is terminology in the Bahá'í Faith, which refers to nine Hands of the Cause assigned specifically to work at the Bahá'í World Centre in attendance to the Guardian of the Faith...
to the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
. Sect
Sect
A sect is a group with distinctive religious, political or philosophical beliefs. Although in past it was mostly used to refer to religious groups, it has since expanded and in modern culture can refer to any organization that breaks away from a larger one to follow a different set of rules and...
s diverging from this line of leadership have failed to attract a sizeable following. In this sense, there is only one major branch of the Bahá'í Faith, represented by at least 5 million adherents, whereas the groups that have broken away have either become extinct with time, or have remained very small in numbers, representing far less than 2% of all Baha'is. Globally the Bahá'í community has maintained its unity.
Bahá'í scriptures
Bahá'í literature
Bahá'í literature, like much religious text, covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia...
define a Lesser Covenant regarding succession which is intended to keep the Bahá'ís unified. Claimants challenging the widely accepted successions of leadership are shunned by the majority group as Covenant-Breakers.
A separate entry discusses the Bahá'í/Bábí split
Bahá'í/Bábí split
The Bahá'í/Bábí split occurred when most Bábís accepted Bahá'u'lláh as the messiah of the Báb's writings, leading them to become Bahá'ís, and leaving a remnant of Bábís who became known as Azalis...
.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's ministry
Bahá'u'lláh remained in the Akka-Haifa area under house arrest until his death in 1892. According to the terms of his will, his eldest son `Abdu'l-Bahá`Abdu'l-Bahá
‘Abdu’l-Bahá , born ‘Abbás Effendí, was the eldest son of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. In 1892, `Abdu'l-Bahá was appointed in his father's will to be his successor and head of the Bahá'í Faith. `Abdu'l-Bahá was born in Tehran to an aristocratic family of the realm...
was named the centre of authority; Mírzá Muhammad `Alí
Mírzá Muhammad `Alí
Mírzá Muhammad `Alí was one of the sons of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He was born from his father's second wife, Fatimih Khanum, whom Bahá'u'lláh married in Tehran in 1849, and she was later known as Mahd-i-'Ulya....
, the eldest son from Bahá'u'lláh's second wife was assigned an inferior position.
Pursuant to his role as Centre of the Covenant, `Abdu'l-Bahá asserted absolute leadership. Soon Muhammad `Ali complained that `Abdu'l-Bahá was not sharing authority and started working against his elder brother. Most members of the families of Bahá'u'lláh's second and third wives supported Muhammad `Alí but there were very few outside of Haifa who followed him.
Muhammad `Alí's machinations with the Ottoman authorities resulted in `Abdu'l-Bahá's re-arrest and confinement in Acre
Acre, Israel
Acre , is a city in the Western Galilee region of northern Israel at the northern extremity of Haifa Bay. Acre is one of the oldest continuously inhabited sites in the country....
. They also caused the appointment of two official commissions of inquiry, which was to further exile `Abdu'l-Baha to North Africa, but the Young Turk revolution led to the freeing of Ottoman prisoners, and ending the danger to `Abdu'l-Baha. Meanwhile Ibrahim George Kheiralla, a Syrian Christian convert to the Bahá'í Faith, emigrated to the United States and founded the first American Bahá'í community. Initially he was loyal to 'Abdu'l-Bahá, but he taught that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was the return of Christ, and when 'Abdu'l-Bahá learned this was becoming the widespread understanding of the Bahá'ís in America he took pains to correct the mistake. Later on, Kheiralla switched sides in the conflict between Bahá'u'lláh's sons and supported Mirza Muhammad Ali. He formed the Society of Behaists, a religious denomination promoting Unitarian Bahaism in the U.S., which was led after his death by Shuaullah Behai, son of Mirza Muhammad Ali, after he emigrated to the United States in June 1904 at the behest of his father. Muhammad `Alí's supporters either called themselves Behaists or "Unitarian Bahá'ís". He published a Unitarian Bahai magazine called Quarterly for three years, 1934 to 1937, in the English language, which featured the writings of Muhammad Ali and various other Unitarian Bahais.
`Abdu'l-Bahá's response to determined opposition during his tenure was patterned on Bahá'u'lláh's and evolved across three stages. Initially, like Bahá'u'lláh, he made no public statements but communicated with his brother Muhammad `Alí and his associates directly, or through intermediaries, to attempt reconciliation. When it became clear that reconciliation was not possible, and fearing damage to the community, he wrote to the Bahá'ís explaining the situation, identifying the individuals concerned, and instructing the believers to sever all ties with those involved. Finally, he sent representatives to those areas most affected by the problem.
The function of these representatives was to explain matters to the Bahá'ís and to encourage them to persevere in cutting all contacts. Often these individuals would have `Abdu'l-Bahá's authority to open up communications with those involved to try to persuade them to return. In Iran, such envoys were principally the four Hands of the Cause appointed by Bahá'u'lláh.
Aftermath
When `Abdu'l-Bahá died, his willWill and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
A seminal document, written in three stages by `Abdu'l-Bahá. Several sections were written under imminent threat of harm. The first section was probably written in 1906....
went into great detail about how Muhammad `Alí had been unfaithful to the Covenant, labelling him a Covenant-breaker
Covenant-breaker
A Covenant-breaker or the act of Covenant-breaking is a term used by Bahá'ís to refer to a particular form of heresy. Being declared a Covenant-breaker by the head of the Faith — which since 1963 refers to the elected nine-member Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Bahá'ís....
, and appointing Shoghi Effendi
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
as leader of the Faith instead, with the title of Guardian. Whole books within Bahá'í literature have been printed to refute the claims of Muhammad `Alí. (Balyuzi, Taherzadeh, etc.) This represented what is often described as the most testing time for the Bahá'í Faith
Bahá'í Faith
The Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in 19th-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories....
. The Behaists rejected the authority of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá
A seminal document, written in three stages by `Abdu'l-Bahá. Several sections were written under imminent threat of harm. The first section was probably written in 1906....
, remaining loyal to the leadership succession written by Baha'u'llah in the Kitab-i-Ahd.
The schism caused by Muhammad `Alí has had very little effect. In the `Akká area, the followers of Muhammad `Alí have been reduced to at most six families who have no common organized religious activities, and have been almost wholly assimilated into Muslim society. A modern academic observer has reported an attempt to revive the claims of Muhammad Ali in order to lend legitimacy to a newly-established sect avowing loyalty to Bahá'u'lláh but rejecting the authority that Bahá'u'lláh gave to 'Abdu’l-Bahá and the Universal House of Justice. In addition, Nigar Bahai Amsalem, the great-granddaughter of Bahá'u'lláh and granddaughter of both Mirza Muhammad Ali and Bahá'u'lláh's youngest son Badiullah was interviewed in the 2006 Israeli mockumentary
Mockumentary
A mockumentary , is a type of film or television show in which fictitious events are presented in documentary format. These productions are often used to analyze or comment on current events and issues by using a fictitious setting, or to parody the documentary form itself...
film Baha'is In My Backyard. It mentions that she has built a shrine at the tomb of Mirza Muhammad Ali and opposes the Universal House of Justice. She also withheld information on the extent of her opposition during her interview for the film.
Appointment
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
was particularly young when he assumed leadership of the religion in 1921, as provided for by `Abdu'l-Bahá in his Will and Testament. He had received a Western education at the Syrian Protestant College
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
and later at Balliol College, Oxford
Oxford
The city of Oxford is the county town of Oxfordshire, England. The city, made prominent by its medieval university, has a population of just under 165,000, with 153,900 living within the district boundary. It lies about 50 miles north-west of London. The rivers Cherwell and Thames run through...
.
Muhammad-`Alí took the opportunity to revive his claim to leadership of the Bahá'í community. He forcibly seized the keys of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh at the mansion of Bahjí
Mansion of Bahjí
The Mansion of Bahjí is a term used to describe a summer house in Acre, Israel, where Bahá'u'lláh, founder of the Bahá'í Faith died in 1892. His shrine is located next to this house...
, expelled its keeper, and demanded that he be recognized by the authorities as the legal custodian of that property. But the Palestine authorities, after investigations, instructed the British officer in `Akká to deliver the keys into the hands of the keeper loyal to Shoghi Effendi.
American disputes
After the death of `Abdu'l-Bahá, Ruth White questioned the Will's authenticity as early as 1926, and openly opposed Shoghi Effendi's Guardianship, publishing several books on the subject. She wrote a letter to the United States Postmaster General and asked him, among other things, to prohibit the National Spiritual Assembly from "using the United States Mails to spread the falsehood that Shoghi Effendi is the successor of `Abdu'l-Bahá and the Guardian of the Cause." She also wrote a letter to the High Commissioner for Palestine; both of these letters were ignored.Another division occurred primarily within the American Bahá'í community, which increasingly consisted of non-Persians with an interest in alternative spiritual pursuits. Many had been strongly attracted to the personality of `Abdu'l-Bahá and the spiritual teachings of the Bahá'í Faith. Some regarded it as an ecumenical society to which all persons of goodwill—regardless of religion—might join. When Shoghi Effendi made clear his position that the Bahá'í Faith was an independent religion with its own distinct administration through local and national spiritual assemblies, a few felt that he had overstepped the bounds of his authority. Most prominent among them was a New York group including Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mirza Ahmad Sohrab
Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb was a Persian-American author and Bahá'í who co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York, and was excommunicated from the Bahá'í Faith in 1939 by Shoghi Effendi.-Early life:...
, Lewis
Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler
Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler was a New York lawyer and politician.- Early life :He was the son of John Winthrop Chanler and Margaret Astor Ward. Chanler had nine brothers and sisters, including the artist Robert Winthrop Chanler and the soldier and explorer William Astor Chanler...
and Julia Chanler
Julia Lynch Olin
Julia Lynch Olin , also writing as Julie Chanler, was an American author and Bahá'í who co-founded the New History Society in New York City, and was later expelled from the religion by Shoghi Effendi around 1939....
, which founded the "New History Society," and its youth section, the Caravan of East and West
Caravan of East and West
The Caravan of East and West is a tax-exempt, educational foundation for brotherhood, established in 1929 by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler and his wife Julie and located at 132 East 65th Street in New York City, at Caravan House, the former Chanler town residence.The Caravan was a...
. Sohrab and the Chanlers refused to be overseen by the New York Spiritual Assembly, and were expelled by Shoghi Effendi as Covenant-breaker
Covenant-breaker
A Covenant-breaker or the act of Covenant-breaking is a term used by Bahá'ís to refer to a particular form of heresy. Being declared a Covenant-breaker by the head of the Faith — which since 1963 refers to the elected nine-member Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Bahá'ís....
s. They argued that the expulsion was meaningless because they believed the faith could not be institutionalized. The New History Society published several works by Sohrab and Chanler and others. Sohrab accepted the legitmacy of Shoghi Effendi as Guardian, but critical of the manner of his leadership and the methods of organizing the Bahá'í administration. The New History Society attracted fewer than a dozen Bahá'ís, however its membership swelled to several thousand for a time. The New History Society was active until 1959 and is now defunct. The Caravan House, aka Caravan Institute, later disassociated itself from the Bahá'í Faith, and remained as an unrelated non-profit educational organization.
All of the division of this period were short-lived and restricted in their influence.
Family members expelled
In 1932 Shoghi Effendi's great aunt, Bahiyyih KhanumBahiyyih Khánum
Bahíyyih Khánum the only daughter of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and Ásíyih Khánum. She was born in 1846 with the given name Fatimih Sultan, and was entitled "Varaqiy-i-'Ulyá" or "Greatest Holy Leaf"...
, died. She was greatly respected and had instructed all to follow Shoghi Effendi through several telegrams she had sent around the world announcing the basics of the provisions of `Abdu'l-Bahá's will and was witness to the actions relatives took in violation of provisions of the will. Bahíyyih Khánum had devoted much of her life towards protecting the accepted leadership of the Bahá'í Faith and after Shoghi Effendi's appointment there was little internal opposition until after her death when nephews began to openly oppose Shoghi Effendi over Bahá'u'lláh's house in Baghdad.
Some family members disapproved of his marriage to a Westerner, Mary Maxwell
Rúhíyyih Khanum
Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum , born Mary Sutherland Maxwell was the wife of Shoghi Effendi, the head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921–1957. She was appointed by him as a Hand of the Cause, and served an important role in the transfer of authority from 1957–1963...
— daughter of one of the foremost disciples of `Abdu'l-Bahá — in 1937. They claimed that Shoghi Effendi introduced innovations beyond the Iranian roots of the Faith. This gradually resulted in his siblings and cousins disobeying his instructions and marrying into the families of Covenant-breaker
Covenant-breaker
A Covenant-breaker or the act of Covenant-breaking is a term used by Bahá'ís to refer to a particular form of heresy. Being declared a Covenant-breaker by the head of the Faith — which since 1963 refers to the elected nine-member Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Bahá'ís....
s, many of whom were expelled as Covenant-breakers themselves. However, these disagreements within Shoghi Effendi's family resulted in no attempts to create a schism around an alternative leader. At the time of his death in 1957, he was the only remaining male member of the family of Bahá'u'lláh who had not been expelled. Even his own parents had openly fought against him.
The founding of the Universal House of Justice
When Shoghi Effendi died in 1957, he died without explicitly appointing a successor Guardian. He had no children, and during his lifetime all remaining male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh had been excommunicatedExcommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
as Covenant-breaker
Covenant-breaker
A Covenant-breaker or the act of Covenant-breaking is a term used by Bahá'ís to refer to a particular form of heresy. Being declared a Covenant-breaker by the head of the Faith — which since 1963 refers to the elected nine-member Universal House of Justice, the governing body of the Bahá'ís....
s. He left no will. Shoghi Effendi's appointed Hands of the Cause
Hands of the Cause
The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...
unanimously voted it was impossible to legitimately recognize and assent to a successor. The Bahá'í community was in a situation not dealt with explicitly in the provisions of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. Furthermore, the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
had not yet been elected, which represented the only Bahá'í institution authorized to adjudicate on matters not covered by the religion's three central figures. To understand the transition following the death of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, an explanation of the roles of the Guardian, the Hands of the Cause, and the Universal House of Justice is useful.
Guardianship
Other than allusions in the writings of Bahá'u'lláh to the importance of the Aghsán
Aghsán
Aghṣán , is a term in literature of the Bahá'í Faith referring to male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh.It has particular implications not only for the disposition of endowments but also for the succession of authority following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh and of his son `Abdu'l-Bahá....
, the role of the Guardian was not mentioned until the reading of the Will and Testament of `Abdu'l-Bahá. Shoghi Effendi later expressed to his wife and others that he had no foreknowledge of the existence of the Institution of Guardianship, least of all that he was appointed as Guardian.
`Abdu'l-Bahá warned the Bahá'ís to avoid the problems caused by his half-brother Muhammad `Alí
Mírzá Muhammad `Alí
Mírzá Muhammad `Alí was one of the sons of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith. He was born from his father's second wife, Fatimih Khanum, whom Bahá'u'lláh married in Tehran in 1849, and she was later known as Mahd-i-'Ulya....
. He stipulated the criteria and form for selecting future Guardians, which was to be clear and unambiguous. His will required that the Guardian appoint his successor "in his own life-time ... that differences may not arise after his [the Guardian's] passing." The appointee was required to be either the first-born son of the Guardian, or one of the Aghsán
Aghsán
Aghṣán , is a term in literature of the Bahá'í Faith referring to male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh.It has particular implications not only for the disposition of endowments but also for the succession of authority following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh and of his son `Abdu'l-Bahá....
(literally: Branches; male descendants of Bahá'u'lláh). Finally, `Abdu'l-Bahá left a responsibility to nine Hands of the Cause
Custodians
The Custodians is terminology in the Bahá'í Faith, which refers to nine Hands of the Cause assigned specifically to work at the Bahá'í World Centre in attendance to the Guardian of the Faith...
, elected from all of the Hands, who "whether unanimously or by a majority vote, must give their assent to the choice of the one whom the Guardian of the Cause of God hath chosen as his successor."
The will also vested authority in the Guardian's appointed assistants, known as the Hands of the Cause
Hands of the Cause
The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...
, giving them the right to "cast out from the congregation of the people of Bahá" anyone they deem in opposition to the Guardian.
Relationship between the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice
The roles of the Guardianship and the Universal House of Justice are complementary, the former providing authoritative interpretation, and the latter providing flexibility and the authority to adjudicate on "questions that are obscure and matters that are not expressly recorded in the Book." The authority of the two institutions was elucidated by `Abdu'l-Bahá in his will, saying that rebellion and disobedience towards either the Guardian or the Universal House of Justice, is rebellion and disobedience towards God. Shoghi Effendi went into further detail explaining this relationship in The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, indicating that the institutions are interdependent.Role of the Hands of the Cause
Shortly after Shoghi Effendi's death, the 27 then-living Hands of the Cause (Hands) deliberated over whether or not they could legitimately consent to any successor. Following these events Time Magazine reported that there were debates about two possible candidates for Guardian.On November 25, 1957, the Hands signed a unanimous proclamation stating that he had died "without having appointed his successor"; that "it is now fallen upon us... to preserve the unity, the security and the development of the Bahá'í World Community and all its institutions"; and that they would elect from among themselves nine Hands who would "exercise ... all such functions, rights and powers in succession to the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith... as are necessary to serve the interests of the Bahá'í World Faith, and this until such time as the Universal House of Justice... may otherwise determine." This body of nine Hands became known as the Hands of the Cause in the Holy Land, sometimes referred to as the Custodians
Custodians
The Custodians is terminology in the Bahá'í Faith, which refers to nine Hands of the Cause assigned specifically to work at the Bahá'í World Centre in attendance to the Guardian of the Faith...
.
That same day the Hands passed a unanimous resolution that clarified who would have authority over various executive areas. Among these were:
- "That the entire body of the Hands of the Cause, ... shall determine when and how the International Bahá'í Council shall pass through the successive stages outlined by Shoghi Effendi culminating in the election of the Universal House of Justice"
- "That the authority to expel violators from the Faith shall be vested in the body of nine Hands [The Custodians.], acting on reports and recommendations submitted by Hands from their respective continents."
In their deliberations following Shoghi Effendi's passing they determined that they were not in a position to appoint a successor, only to ratify one, so they advised the Bahá'í community that the Universal House of Justice
Universal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
would consider the matter after it was established.
In deciding when and how the International Bahá'í Council
International Bahá'í Council
The International Bahá'í Council was an administrative institution of the Bahá'í Faith, first created in 1951 as a precursor to the Universal House of Justice, which replaced it in 1963.-Formation:...
would develop into the Universal House of Justice, the Hands agreed to carry out Shoghi Effendi's plans for moving it from the appointed council, to an officially recognized Bahá'í Court, to a duly elected body, and then to the elected Universal House of Justice. In November 1959, referring to the goal of becoming recognized as a non-Jewish religious court in Israel, they said: "this goal, due to the strong trend towards the secularization of Religious Courts in this part of the world, might not be achieved." The recognition as a religious court was never achieved, and the International Bahá'í Council was reformed in 1961 as an elected body in preparation for forming the Universal House of Justice. The Hands of the Cause made themselves ineligible for election to both the council and the Universal House of Justice.
Upon the election of the Universal House of Justice at the culmination of the Ten Year Crusade
Ten Year Crusade
The Ten Year World Crusade was launched by Shoghi Effendi in an effort to facilitate an organized expansion of the Bahá'í Faith....
in 1963, the nine Hands acting as interim head of the religion closed their office.
Charles Mason Remey
Charles Mason Remey was among the Hands who signed the unanimous proclamations in 1957, acknowledging that Shoghi Effendi had died without having appointed his successor. He was also among the nine CustodiansCustodians
The Custodians is terminology in the Bahá'í Faith, which refers to nine Hands of the Cause assigned specifically to work at the Bahá'í World Centre in attendance to the Guardian of the Faith...
initially elected to serve in the Holy Land as interim head of the religion.
On 8 April 1960, Remey made a written announcement that he was the second Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith and explained his "status for life as commander in chief of Bahá’í affairs of the world" in this proclamation which he requested to be read in front of the annual US convention in Wilmette
Wilmette, Illinois
Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located north of Chicago's downtown district and has a population of 27,651. Wilmette is considered a bedroom community in the North Shore district...
.
He based his claim on his having been appointed President of the first International Bahá'í Council
International Bahá'í Council
The International Bahá'í Council was an administrative institution of the Bahá'í Faith, first created in 1951 as a precursor to the Universal House of Justice, which replaced it in 1963.-Formation:...
by Shoghi Effendi in 1951. The appointed council represented the first international Bahá'í body. Remey believed that his appointment as the council's president meant that he was the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
Regarding the authority of the Hands of the Cause, Remey wrote in his letter that the Hands "have no authority vested in themselves... save under the direction of the living Guardian of the Faith." He further commanded the Bahá'ís to abandon plans for establishing the Universal House of Justice.
Remey never addressed the requirement that Guardians should be male-descendants of Bahá'u'lláh, of whom Remey was not. His followers later referred to letters and public statements of `Abdu'l-Bahá calling him "my son" as evidence that he had been implicitly adopted but these claims were almost universally rejected by the body of the Bahá'ís.
In response, and after having made many prior efforts to convince Remey to withdraw his claim, the Custodians took action and sent a cablegram to the National Spiritual Assemblies on 26 July 1960. Two days later the Custodians sent Mason Remey a letter informing him of their unanimous decision to declare him a Covenant-breaker. They cited the Will and Testament of `Abdul-Bahá, the unanimous joint resolutions of November 25, 1957, and their authority in carrying out the work of the Guardian as their justification. Anyone who accepted Remey's claim to the Guardianship was also expelled.
Remey maintained his claim to Guardianship, and with a small group of followers went on to establish what came to be known as the Orthodox Bahá'ís Under the Hereditary Guardianship, which later broke into several other divisions based on succession disputes within the groups that followed Remey.
Decision of the Universal House of Justice
The Bahá'í institutions and believers around the world pledged their loyalty to the Hands of the Cause
Hands of the Cause
The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands were a select group of Bahá'ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá'í Faith...
, who dedicated the next few years to completing Shoghi Effendi's
Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendí Rabbání , better known as Shoghi Effendi, was the Guardian and appointed head of the Bahá'í Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957...
Ten Year Crusade
Ten Year Crusade
The Ten Year World Crusade was launched by Shoghi Effendi in an effort to facilitate an organized expansion of the Bahá'í Faith....
, culminating with the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. It was at this time the Custodians
Custodians
The Custodians is terminology in the Bahá'í Faith, which refers to nine Hands of the Cause assigned specifically to work at the Bahá'í World Centre in attendance to the Guardian of the Faith...
officially passed their authority as the head of the Faith to the Universal House of Justice, which soon announced that it could not appoint or legislate to make possible the appointment of a second Guardian to succeed Shoghi Effendi.
A short time later it elaborated on the situation in which the Guardian would die without being able to appoint a successor, saying that it was an obscure question not covered by Bahá'í scriptures, that no institution or individual at the time could have known the answer, and that it therefore had to be referred to the Universal House of Justice, whose election was confirmed by references in Shoghi Effendi's letters that after 1963 the Bahá'í world would be led by international plans under the direction of the Universal House of Justice.
A break in the line of Guardians
Mason Remey and his successors asserted that a living Guardian is essential for the Bahá'í community, and that the Bahá'í writings required it. The basis of these claims were almost universally rejected by the body of the Bahá'ís, for whom the restoration of scripturally sanctioned leadership of the Universal House of Justice proved more attractive than the claims of Mason Remey.The House commented that its own authority was not dependent on the presence of a Guardian, and that its legislative functioning was unaffected by the absence of a Guardian. It stated that in its legislation it would be able to turn to the mass of interpretation left by Shoghi Effendi. The Universal House of Justice addressed this issue further early after its election clarifying that "there is nowhere any promise or guarantee that the line of Guardians would endure forever; on the contrary there are clear indications that the line could be broken."
Further development of Remey's followers
All those that professed belief in Mason Remey as the second Guardian did not accept the Universal House of JusticeUniversal House of Justice
The Universal House of Justice is the supreme governing institution of the Bahá'í Faith. It is a legislative institution with the authority to supplement and apply the laws of Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of the Bahá'í Faith, and exercises a judicial function as the highest appellate institution in the...
established in 1963.
Among the Bahá'ís who accepted Mason Remey as the second Guardian, several further divisions have occurred based on conflicting opinions of legitimacy and succession of authority. They began to split into smaller groups even before his death in 1974. Small Remeyite groups are now largely confined to the United States. Some of these divisions are described below.
The Encyclopædia Iranica reports the following:
- Remey died in 1974, having appointed a third Guardian, but the number of adherents to the Orthodox faction remains extremely small. Although successful in Pakistan, the Remeyites seem to have attracted no followers in Iran. Other small groups have broken away from the main body from time to time, but none of these has attracted a sizeable following.
Remey died at the age of 100 living many of his last years in Florence, Italy.
Under the Hereditary Guardianship
In 1962 Mason Remey asked his supporters in the United States to organize themselves and elect a "National Spiritual Assembly Under the Hereditary Guardianship" (NSAUHG). The Assembly was incorporated in New Mexico in 1964.In 1964 the NSAUHG filed a lawsuit against the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) of the Bahá'ís of the United States to receive the legal title to the Bahá'í House of Worship in Illinois, and all other property owned by the NSA. The NSA counter-sued and won. Later that year, Remey asked the NSAUHG to dissolve, as well as the second International Bahá'í Council that he had appointed with Joel Marangella as president, residing in France. Marangella, Donald Harvey, and Jacques Soghomonian previously served on the National Spiritual Assembly of France in 1961, and had been declared Covenant-breakers when they accepted Mason Remey as the next Guardian.
Over the years following 1966 the followers of Mason Remey were not organized; several of the individuals involved began forming their own groups based on different understandings of succession.
Orthodox Bahá'í Faith
Joel Marangella was president of Remey's "Second International Bahá'í Council", and claimed in 1969 to have been secretly appointed by Remey as Guardian several years earlier. His supporters came to be known as Orthodox Bahá'ís. Membership data is scarce. One source estimated them at no more than 100 members in 1988, and the group claimed a United States membership of about 40 in a 2007 court case. Websites claiming to represent the Orthodox community indicate followers in the United States and India. Messages from Joel Marangella indicate that he resides in Perth, AustraliaPerth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
Rex King
Rex King rejected all claimants to the Guardianship after Shoghi Effendi including Remey, but rather claimed that he, Rex King, was a "regent" pending the emergence of the second Guardian who was in "occultation". His group called themselves the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith under the Regency. King died in 1977, and appointed four of his family as a council of regents. This group today calls itself the "Tarbiyat Baha'i Community".Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant
Leland JensenLeland Jensen
Leland Jensen was the founder of a Bahá'í sect called the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant . Jensen initially supported the claim of Mason Remey to be the successor to Shoghi Effendi in 1960, resulting in his excommunication from the mainstream Bahá'í community...
was one of the believers who accepted Remey's claim to the Guardianship. In 1969 he was convicted of "a lewd and lascivious act" for sexually molesting a 15-year-old female patient, and served four years of a twenty year sentence in the Montana State Prison. It was in prison that Jensen converted several inmates to his ideas of being what he called the "Establisher" of the Bahá'í Faith, stemming from his belief that the Bahá'í administrative order became corrupted following the death of Shoghi Effendi, and that he was chosen by God to re-establish the administration. After being paroled in 1973, and before Remey's death, Jensen formed a group called the Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant.
Since the 1970s, Jensen believed Remey's adopted son Joseph Pepe was the Guardian, an idea that Pepe rejected several times. In 1991 Jensen appointed followers to a second International Bahá'í Council (sIBC), intending that it would grow into an elected Universal House of Justice after a nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust
Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of the near complete annihilation of human civilization by nuclear warfare. Under such a scenario, all or most of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear weapons in future world wars....
. Jensen died in 1996.
A researcher has noted that since 1980 BUPC membership has never exceeded 200 nationwide, and declined in size significantly by 1990 and beyond. Adherents were mostly concentrated in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
.
Baha'is Loyal to Jacques Soghomonian
Donald Harvey (d.1991), was appointed by Remey as "Third Guardian" in 1967. After Harvey's death in 1991, leadership of this group went to Jacques Soghomonian, a resident of Marseilles, Frances.The Remey Society
Francis Spataro of New York City, who supported Donald Harvey's claim as Remey's successor, independently organized "The Remey Society" after losing favor with Harvey. Spataro published books about Charles Mason Remey, and at one time had a newsletter with about 400 recipients. When Spataro began to preach that Charles Mason Remey was a "Prophet" Harvey cut all ties to Spataro. He then continued to promote the life and works of Charles Mason Remey. In 1995 Francis Spataro became an Old CatholicOld Catholic Church
The term Old Catholic Church is commonly used to describe a number of Ultrajectine Christian churches that originated with groups that split from the Roman Catholic Church over certain doctrines, most importantly that of Papal Infallibility...
priest and left the Bahá'í religion altogether. The Remey Society is now extinct.
The Man
"The House of Mankind and the Universal Palace of Order" followed Jamshid Ma'ani and John Carré, but appears now to be defunct. In the early 1970s a Persian man named Jamshid Ma'ani claimed he was "The Man"; or a new Manifestation of GodManifestation of God
The Manifestation of God is a concept in the Bahá'í Faith that refers to what are commonly called prophets. The Manifestations of God are a series of personages who reflect the attributes of the divine into the human world for the progress and advancement of human morals and civilization...
. He gained a few dozen Iranian Bahá'í followers. John Carré heard of Jamshid, and wrote a book about him; trying to get other Bahá'ís to accept him as a new Manifestation. Carré even invited "The Man" to live in his home in California, but soon concluded, after living with "The Man" for four months, that "The Man" was not at all godly or spiritual and certainly not a Manifestation of God. "The Man" went back to Iran, and Carré ended all association with him.
External links
- Mirza Ahmad Sohrab. The Will and Testament of Abdul Baha, An Analysis.
- Living Schools of Religion Vergilius Ferm, ed. Ames, Iowa: Littlefield, Adams & Co., 1956. Chapter 19, "The Bahá'í Cause," by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab (pages 309-14)
- Official Page of the Unitarian Baha'is
- Proclamation of Mason Remey – Remey's public declaration in 1960
- Orthodox Bahá'í Guardian – Official website
- Tarbiyat Bahá'í Community – Official website
- Bahá'ís Under the Provisions of the Covenant – Official website
- Guardianship of the Bahá'í Faith – Jacques Soghomonian – Official website
- Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him – Published by the Universal House of Justice, along with introductory statements.
- Issues Related to the Study of the Bahá'í Faith – Extracts from letters written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice
- From Gaslight to Dawn by Julie Chanler New History Foundation, NY 1956.