The Baha'i Communities Of Iran, 1851-1921
by Moojan Momen
The early history of all the Bahá'í communities of northern Iran, narrated here for the first time and drawn from original sources including manuscript histories, letters, family records and material previously published only in Persian.
Dr Moojan Momen provides a panoramic yet detailed account of the
largest and the smallest Baha’i communities during the period 1851 to 1921.
During this time they acquired characteristics that differentiated them from
the rest of the population – their ethos and outlook, their system of
administration and social institutions – and the persecution they faced as a
result.
The study of the religious minorities in Iran is still
at an early stage. In particular, the Baha’i community has received relatively
little attention, despite being the largest non-Muslim minority in Iran. Moojan
Momen sets out to remedy this situation. Using a narrative style, he presents
an account of the Baha’i communities in the northern half of Iran, province by
province, during the early years of their formation and development. The
starting point is the execution of the Bab in 1850 and the holocaust of 1852
when the shah gave orders for the extermination of the Babi community and
thousands of Babis were killed. Set against the background of the turmoil in
the social and economic conditions in Iran, the book stretches across the
period of the leadership of the Baha’i community by Baha’u’llah and ‘Abdu’l-Baha.
The book traces the developments in the Iranian Baha’i
community as it emerged from the Babi community and, under the guidance of Baha’u’llah
and ‘Abdu’l-Baha, became less parochial and more global in its outlook, seeking
education and raising the position of women in its local communities. By the
period of the leadership of ‘Abdu’l-Baha, these communities were making a
notable difference, with the establishment of modern schools, the promotion of
the education and social role of women, the development of health facilities
and the building of modern public baths. In all these areas the Baha’is were at
the forefront of modernity and development in Iran. However, each upsurge in
the activities of the Baha’i community resulted in an upsurge of persecution.
This book is an important contribution to the
knowledge of the early days of the Baha’i Faith, the development of the largest
non-Muslim minority in Iran and the emergence of modernity in the Middle East.
Dr Moojan Momen was born in Iran but was raised and educated in
England, attending the University of Cambridge. He has a special interest in
the study of Shi‘i Islam and the Baha’i Faith, both from the viewpoint of their
history and their doctrines. In recent years, his interests have extended to
the study of the phenomenon of religion. His principal publications in these
fields include: The Babi and Baha’i Religions, 1844–1944: Some Contemporary
Western Accounts (George Ronald, 1981); Introduction to Shi‘i Islam
(George Ronald and Yale University Press, 1985); and The Phenomenon of
Religion (OneWorld, Oxford, 1999, republished as Understanding Religion,
2008). He has contributed articles to encyclopaedias such as Encyclopaedia
Iranica and The Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Islamic World as
well as papers to academic journals such as International Journal of Middle
East Studies, Past and Present, Religion, Baha’i Studies
Review, and Iranian Studies. He is a Fellow of the Royal Asiatic
Society.
ISBN 978-0-85398-585-3
592 pages including many pictures
23.4 x 15.6 cm (9.25 x 6 in)
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