Baha'i Faith And Azerbaijan

The Baha’i faith is one of the most political movements around. After all, principles such as the ending of absolute national sovereignty, world government, universal currency, universal language, world tribunal, anti-communism, retention of constitutional monarchism, the abolition of non-Baha’i religious legal systems the retention of a class system, the abolition of tariffs, international police force, and so on are among the hottest political agenda.

The trademark registration, the incorporation of so called spiritual Assemblies, the formation of external Affairs department with the objectives of establishing co-ordial relationship with political leaders and Media etc. are the ways of establishing a Bahai network in any country.

Having lost acceptability in the society the Bahais have indulged themselves into cheap publicity for their so called Faith by writing open letters and having a peace march read political march all over the world. These are indications of extreme depression and frustration enveloping in the Bahai Administration.

Bahá’ís around the world are making attempts to use the media to proclaim the name of the Faith, to attract innocent non Bahai to their fold who are potential converts and to make known the aims and existence of the Bahá’í community. A first step of propagation and conversion

1.The Babi and Baha'i Faiths and Czarist Russia.

Because Russia had a very strong diplomatic presence in Iran in the nineteenth century, the first interactions between the new religion and the Czarist government occurred at an early date. In the early nineteenth century, a certain Mulla Sadiq had been prophesying the near advent of the Mahdi to the people of Urdubad in Russian territory, near the Iranian border (he was exiled to Warsaw where he died). His successor as leader of the movement that he had initiated, Sayyid `Abdu'l-Karim Urdubadi, is reported to have become a Babi and to have been exiled to Smolensk by the Russian authorities, fearful of the possibility of disturbances among their Muslim subjects. He was later freed and lived in Astrakhan (see "Azerbaijan"). Therefore, when the Bab himself was moved in 1847 to his imprisonment at Maku close to the Russian border and close to the area that had been disturbed by Mulla Sadiq's preaching, the Russian minister in Tehran, Prince Dimitri Ivanovich Dolgorukov (d. 1867) insisted that the Bab be moved away from Maku (Kazemzadeh; BBR 72). From 1848 onwards, Dolgorukov referred frequently to the Bab and the Babis in the dispatches that he sent to the Russian Foreign Office. In 1849, Dolgorukov sent several reports of the Shaykh Tabarsi episode (q.v., BBR 92-5; "Excerpts"), and in 1850 he asked the Russian Consul in Tabriz to make inquiries about the doctrines of the Bab (BBR 9), as well as reporting the episodes at Zanjan (q.v., BBR 114-27; "Excerpts") and Nayriz (q.v., BBR 108).

When the attempt on the life of Nasiru'd-Din Shah occurred in 1852, Baha'u'llah was arrested as he left the Russian legation, where his brother-in-law, Mirza Majid Ahi, was a secretary. Dolgorukov exerted himself greatly to obtain Baha'u'llah's release, a fact that is referred to in Baha'u'llah's tablet to the Czar of Russia. On his release, Dolgorukov is reported to have offered to arrange for Baha'u'llah's exile to be in Russian territory; but Baha'u'llah declined, preferring to go to Baghdad.

One further episode in Iran involving the Russian government occurred when the Baha'is of Isfahan were being severely persecuted in 1903 and took sanctuary in the Russian consulate, with the encouragement of the Russian consul Baronovski. However, the Russian consul then lost his nerve and the Baha'is were forced to leave the consulate, many being beaten badly by the mob outside as they did so. There must be many more reports about episodes in Babi and Baha'i history in the Russian Foreign Office Archives but these have not as yet been researched.

Czar Alexander II was the recipient of one of Baha'u'llah's tablets (see "Kings and Leaders, Tablets to"). A number of Russian scholars were particularly active in investigating the Babi and Baha'i religions. N.V. Khanykov, Bernard Dorn, and F.A. Bakulin collected material in Iran, while Alexander Tumanski (q.v.) studied the Baha'i Faith among the Baha'is of Ashkhabad, and Baron Victor Rosen (q.v.) was responsible for publishing several of the writings of Baha'u'llah. Tumanski was responsible for the publication of a translation of the Kitab-i-Aqdas (q.v.) into Russian.

 

2. BAHÁ’Í FAITH AND AZERBAIJAN

A) Bahá’í Faith and USSR

The former USSR always saw The Bahá'í Faith, and the  Bahá'ís as an organization having ties to foreign powers and involved in espionage activities. The USSR knew that the Bahá’í Faith was creation of Czar Government. After the collapse of Czar Government and the British occupation of Palestine the control of the Bahá’í Faith went into the hands of British Imperialism and with Zionist occupation of Palestine the control of Bahá’í Faith was handed by British to American expansionism and International Zionism.

First Ban

From 1922 Soviet officials launched their initial campaigns against the Bahá'ís including deportation of Bahá'í Iranian citizens to Iran and the exile of others to Siberia, publications and schools were banned, as well as collective meetings. Again in 1928 orders were dispersed among the Bahá'í communities suspending all meetings, and suppressing all local and national administration. Prohibitions were placed on the raising of funds, and Bahá'í youth and children's clubs were ordered closed. By about 1937 only the assembly of Baku and Ashgabat were still functioning though the membership of the Baku assembly had be elected three times in two years because the first two set of members were arrested en masse and exiled to Siberia. The third set was mostly women. In 1937, with the NKVD (Soviet secret police) the Soviets began a sweep against the Bahá'ís and in a few days all the members of the spiritual assembly of Baku and dozens of others were arrested. The chairman was executed. The regional National Assembly of the Caucasus and Turkistan were disbanded.

 Second Ban

In November 1982 there were systematic sweeping arrests by the KGB including of S.D. Asadova, I.F. Gasimov, and I.G. Ayyubov who were interrogated for 7 hours continuously and had to write 10-page explanations. All their meetings were declared illegal and every Bahá’í activity was forbidden. THE BAHÁ’ÍS WERE DECLARED AS   THE ENEMY OF STATE BY USSR GOVERNMENT.

B) Bahá’í Faith and Azerbaijan

With the Fall of USSR and emergence of CIS countries, the Bahá’í activities again started flourishing with Messages of Universal House of Justice from Israel. These activities were carried out in the name of socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women, promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics.

The espionage activity of this pseudo religious group entered a new phase of activity around the world when a message of the Universal House of Justice dated 20 October 1983 was released. Bahá'ís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Bahá'í teachings, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. These activities were nothing but having a network of Bahá’í espionage activities and to get more human resources in the name of converts and to escape the eyes of Government’s Secret agencies.

In 1992 during the Annual Bahá’í Convention, which was attended by the representative of the Bahá’í World Centre in Israel  Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum Rabbani — the most high-ranking figure in the Bahá’í World,— as well as guests from Germany, Holland, France, U.S.A. and so on, a crowd of Azerbaijan broke into the place where the meeting was being held.

In 2004 a leading Bahá’í from Bahá'í Nakhichevan community was arrested for secretly Proselytizing his religion amongst the Azeris.The Permission of activity for Bahá’í community was given only on the condition that NO Proselytizing activities will be carried out. The Bahá’ís as usual went back to their promise.

In 2004, Tavachur Aliev, a Bahá'í, claimed to have been arrested for mentioning his religion and was released when he promised not to mention his religion again and carrying out Proselytizing activities secretly.

Foreign Bahá’ís caught Teaching and converting Children’s in Azerbaijan

In 2010 intelligence agents raided the home of Saeed Moghanli’s father. Security agents arrested the journalist from Azerbaijan in a village in Ardebil and transferred him to an undisclosed location.

The two Bahá’ís Ms. Matanat and Mr. Arzu who were residing in Mingechevir were caught secretly proselytizing the Azeris. The Police reprimanded them of breaking the trust of the Government of Azerbaijan  .They accepted that they were teaching the Faith along with the  Bahá’ís from Baku and Ganja. The neighbors also complained about the proselytizing activities of the Bahá’ís.

The police on thorough inspection of the belongings found a number of Bahá’ís books’, Bahá’í CD for teaching the children for propagating Bahá’í Faith

The Bahá’ís tried to use the influence over the Police and tried to misguide them by saying that both of them are Azeris.Which was immediately proved false by seeing their passports. State Committee on Religious Affairs, took a very serious actions against the Bahá’ís.

Bahais of Azerbaijan complain to Forum 18 News Service : THEY  WANT THEIR PROPERTY BACK

By Felix Corley, Forum 18 News Service http://www.forum18.org

Baha'is in Azerbaijan have told Forum 18 News Service of their concerns about buildings, confiscated from them in the Soviet period, which they want returned. The community has received evasive replies from the state. The Baha'is think that a house central to their community's history may be demolished, the State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations, but were told that "there is no law on restitution so it can't be returned." Other places of worship also remain in state hands, but not all the religious communities involved are unhappy with this. Lutherans in Baku, for example, have told Forum 18 that they are happy they can use their church - now a concert hall - for Sunday worship.

The Baha'i community in the capital Baku is pressing for the return of a house in the city confiscated during the Soviet anti-religious campaign which it says has key significance in the history of the Baha'is in Azerbaijan. "This house was bought in 1880 and was confiscated in the 1930s," Ramazan Askarov of the Baha'i community told Forum 18 News Service in Baku on 19 October. "We want it because it is the only building in the world named after Abdul Baba, the son of our prophet." As old buildings are being rapidly demolished in central Baku to make way for high-rise blocks, Askarov fears their house too could be destroyed. "This would wipe out all historical traces of the early Baha'i community here."

The former Baha'i house has long been a kindergarten. "We didn't ask for it back before because of the country's economic difficulties, but now we believe the government has the capacity to move the kindergarten to another location," Askarov told Forum 18. He says the community wants to restore the house and use it as a meeting room and as a museum of the history of the Baha’i faith in the country. "Azerbaijan is the second cradle of the Baha'i faith," he told Forum 18.

Askarov said the community began asking for the return of the house in early 2005. The Education Ministry, Culture Ministry and Presidential Office all declared that they did not own the building. The State Committee for Work with Religious Organizations wrote to the Baha'is to say that without a law on restitution it could do nothing. The community finally learned that the Economic Development Ministry owns the building and wrote to it in August.

The general department of the Economic Development Ministry told Forum 18 on 21 November that it had received the Baha'is letter of 16 August and passed it to the Committee for Privatization of State Property. The privatization committee told Forum 18 the same day that Hikmet Mustafaev had prepared a reply, signed by committee chairman Keram Hasanov, which was sent on 13 September, but did not know what was in the reply. But Mustafaev denied to Forum 18 on 21 November that he had drafted the letter and claimed he had no knowledge of the Baha'i building.

Askarov confirmed to Forum 18 on 21 November that his community has received no reply to its August letter, adding that the community is planning to renew its request to the ministry for the building's return.

This is the policy of the Bahais all over the world to get properties free of cost from the Governments by emotionally blackmailing them. The next step is to purchase other houses surrounding the main property and start objectionable religious activities directed from a foreign soil .

The Questions Baha'is needs to answer: 

1-Why did in the first place the USSR confiscated the property and  declare Bahais as “Enemy of State”?

2-Why the present Government should be obliged to return it ?

3-Why the claimant of ‘Peace Loving’ Baha'is should complain to foreign agencies hostile to their own Government regarding its returning?

4-Isnt their World Centre at Haifa ? Israel asked them to do so?

5-Is it not to put  international pressure on the government to exceed to their unjust demands?