the baha'i faith & religious freedom of conscience

7/27/2019 The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience

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The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of

Conscience

Scholarship worthy of the name cannot be done without confronting the

Bahai history to which Ruth White,ulie Chanler, and !ir"a #hmad

Sohrabtestify$

Ruth White, %cerpts, Bibliography

http((www$fglaysher$com(bahaicensorship(Ruth)*+White$htm

r$ C$ -Charles. #insworth !itchell / Certified Copy from the 0ibrary

of Congress

Report on the Writing Shown on the Photographs of the Alleged Will of

Abdul-Baha. 1930.

http((www$fglaysher$com(bahaicensorship(C#!itchell1Report$htm

Ruth White Collection, 0ibrary of Congress, 234+

http((www$fglaysher$com(bahaicensorship(RWhite0ibC$htm

ownload #ll ocuments eposited by Ruth White at the 0ibrary of Congress in

one 5Fhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/WhiteLCDocs.pdf

"That is to say, the writing does not agree with the hypothesis that it was all written by

one person."

! minte comparison of the athenticated writing with the writing on every page of the

alleged will . . . has failed to detect in any part of the will the characteristics of the writingof !bd#l$%aha, as shown in the athenticated specimens.&

Dr. C. 'Charles( !insworth )itchellwas the handwriting e*pert at the %ritish )sem

who +dged the prported will of !bdl$%aha to be a frad. th White placed Dr.)itchell-s signedReport on the Writing Shown on the Photographs of the Alleged Will of

Abdul-Baha with the Library of Congress in 01. Clic2 to view a certified copy.

Li2e other athors of dissident boo2s by early %aha-is on 3$45T %ahai, th White is

also slandered to discredit her views, while other 2ey pages are sppressed by the 6tateand 7ederally fnded website. %ibliography of her boo2s at the bottom of this page.
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/http://www.reformbahai.org/Julie_Chanler.htmlhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/SohrabEx.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/SohrabEx.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Ruth%20White.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/RWhiteLibC.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/WhiteLCDocs.pdfhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htmhttp://www.reformbahai.org/Julie_Chanler.htmlhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/SohrabEx.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/SohrabEx.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Ruth%20White.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/RWhiteLibC.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/WhiteLCDocs.pdfhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/


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'White and 6ohrab-s boo2s were entirely deleted from 3$4et %ahai on apparently 8ne ,

911.(

%ibliography

White, th. !bdl %aha and the ;romised !ge. *v, 99


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"?ne of these actions is the trade mar2ing of the name "%aha-i" in 9E. This is the same

as if one sect within Christianity had tried to trade mar2 the name "Christian." >n their

application for the trade mar2 they described themselves as the" "4ational 6pirital!ssembly of %aha-is of the nited 6tates and Canada, a common$law corporation,

organi@ed and operated nder declaration of trst and doing bsiness at . . . " This

trademar2 was later prononced invalid by the cort when the !ssembly institted twolaw$sits, dring


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D5L5T5D from 3$%ahai version Hemphasi@es the spirital impact of !bdl$%aha on

White:


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"7or in the hands of 6hoghi 5ffendi, and The 4ational 6pirital !ssembly of the %aha-is

of the nited 6tates and Canada, the great niversal %ahai Case has been changed into a

narrow bigoted sect and many of the tactics of the dar2 ages have been revived. This iswhat has happened to the religion that many leading thin2ers of the day believe is the

remedy for this age" '9G(.

"4either H!bdl$%ahaI nor %aha--llah had given the slightest intimation that theyintended to appoint an hereditary gardianship. >n fact everything that they had said or

spo2en indicated the opposite intention.

"> also did a great deal of recollecting of events that had happened dring or two visits

to the home of !bdl$%aha, where > had an opportnity to see him in relation to his

family and his "in$laws." The dedctions that > made confirmed what !bdl$%aha had sooften said$$that the spirital relationship was the real 2inship, and not the physical. 7or

his family, with the e*ception of his wife and sister, were the average types with a strong

bent toward organi@ed religion, whereas !bdl$%aha was niversal, "sper$racial andndogmatic." The world was his family. 3is loving care for his niversal family was

evident throghot his life, bt at no time was it more evident than dring the first worldwar and directly after it. 3e personally spervised vast agricltral pro+ects at Tiberias

and !dassieh, and he rationed and distribted the prodcts that he cltivated, therebysaving thosands from starvation" '9E$9(.

">t is important for those who are interested in the %ahai eligion to free themselves fromthe idea that the family of !bdl$%aha is a "3oly 7amily." >n fact his family, and "in$

laws," with the e*ception of his wife and sister, were somewhat materialistic, and viewed

the religion more or less as a little family affair with a strong bent toward organi@ation.

7or years they have indoctrinated, more or less, the pilgrims who visited the home of!bdl$%aha, myself inclded, with this conception of religion. This partly nllified the

great niversal teachings. The reslt was that when !bdl$%aha passed from this world in

4ovember, 9, some of his family, who had laid the grond$wor2 for organi@ationthrogh these pilgrims while he was alive, hastened to establish it more firmly when he

died. !ll this reslted in ma2ing the %ahai )ovement, nder the dictatorship of 6hoghi

5ffendi, an organi@ation which for narrowness and bigotry has no parallel in historye*cept in the dar2 ages" '0(.

D5L5T5D from 3$%ahai version H !bdl$%aha emphasi@es that "3ands of the Case" "is

only a verbal e*pression" and that 3e definitely did not intend to "!ppoint" anyoneverss a theocracy:


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"4ot ntil three years had elapsed after the alleged will had been read in 99, were

copies of it finally distribted, and then only to "old and recogni@ed believers." > was

among those who received a copy. %t my stand contined to be one of "watchflwaiting." This stand on my part cased me no embarrassment, inasmch as > had never

been a member of the %ahai organi@ation, '6pirital !ssemblies of the %ahais(. > 2new

that belonging to them meant conforming to the grop repression and being shorn of theniversal attitde which !bdl$%aha said is the essence of the %ahai Case" '


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"Dr. )itchell not only spent months e*amining the enlarged specimens sbmitted to him,

bt he e*amined mintely every line of the ten photographs of the alleged will, and his

conclsion is that it is not written throghot by the same person. This fact, in addition toothers, indicates that the will is sprios, especially if we bear in mind that 6hoghi

5ffendi, and the 6pirital !ssembly of %ahai-s, assert that every word of it is written in

the hand of !bdl$%aha. !lso if we bear in mind that it is ndated and nwitnessed, andthat it contradicts the teachings that both %aha--llah and !bdl$%aha gave dring their

lifetimes$$that the %ahai Case is a spirital democracy and not a theocracy. The

appointment of an hereditary gardianship contradicts this" 'G(.

"Dr. )itchell-s report also shows that none of the handwriting of the alleged will is the

same as the athentic specimens of !bdl$%aha-s handwriting that were sbmitted to

him" 'G(.

")ost persons are naware of the fact that handwriting e*perts se modern inventions

that measre the slants, the spaces, and the tremors of writing so accrately that it ma2es

the difference between two specimens of different writing overwhelmingly apparent,when these are enlarged, even thogh one of the specimens may be so clever a forgery of

the other as to appear identical to the na2ed eye" 'G$1(.

"Those %ahais who assert that they are familiar with the handwriting of !bdl$%aha, andhave compared it with the writing of the will, and have fond them identical, reveal the

fact that they are either totally naware of the science sed by the best handwriting

e*perts, or else fear has prompted them to assert their belief in the athenticity of thewill$$fear of being e*commnicated if they so mch as Kestion the docment. This

science that the best handwriting e*perts se is so mathematically accrate that any

nmber of e*perts sing these modern inventions will arrive at the same reslts" '1(.

"> have already referred to the e*treme care that !bdl$%aha showed in regard to letters

prporting to be from him, sent or broght to this contry. The following instance shows

that he was even more carefl to ma2e certain that any Tablet or docment of his relatingto important pblic matters was properly translated and athenticated before it was sent

ot. 3e wrote a Tablet to the 6ecretary of the Cort for Drable ;eace, at the 3age, on

December , , and he considered it necessary to have for men translate it. Thesefor men were 6hoghi 5ffendi 'abbani(, Dr. ia ). %agdadi, )ir@a Lotfllah 3a2im,

and Dr. 8. 5. 5sselmont. This Tablet was signed !bdl$%aha !bbas, and was pblished in

the 6tar of the West '%ahai )aga@ine(, !gst , 91, with the for names of the

translators and witnesses."

"The Kadrple witnessing of this Tablet, written two years before !bdl$%aha passed

from this world, ma2e it evident that he did not consider 6hoghi 5ffendi carefl enogh,or efficient enogh, to translate the Table to the Cort of Drable ;eace withot the help

of three other men. >s it li2ely, then, that at this very time and athentic will of !bdl$%aha-s, of infinitely greater importance than this Tablet to the 3age, shold lay hidden

in the earth, ndated and nwitnessed, in which this same 6hoghi 5ffendi was appointedsole gardian of the %ahai Case, with more potential power and wealth than as2ing and

pope combinedB !nd that later this same will was translated by the one person only, the

beneficiary himself$$6hogi 5ffendi. >s this in accordance with !bdl$%aha-s sper$careflnessB" '1$(.


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"!bdl %aha said that if an angel from heaven comes down and tries to change the

teachings of %aha--llah, do not believe him. 6hoghi 5ffendi has changed them by

prononcements and actions which are in direct contradiction to %ahai teachings$$aboveall he has changed the very character and fndamental principle of the Case by ptting a

theocracy, which the fonders said it was not Hboldface in originalI, in place of the

spirital democracy which they said, over and over again, it is. The following instancesshow what acceptance of the alleged will has done to the blind followers of its rles."

")r. 3orace 3olley, as spo2esman for 6hoghi 5ffendi, made this statement in 9: -The

indi6idual conscience must be subordinated to the decisions of the elected Spiritual

#ssembly$-" Hboldface in originalI

"This statement stri2es at the very fondation of the %ahai Case, as one of its cardinal

teachings is that man mst have freedom of conscience. !mong do@ens of instances thatcold be given of !bdl$%aha-s statements on this sb+ect is the following: -... the

conscience of man is sacred and to be respected . . . -" '0$


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with man-s sing that free$will in matters of faith and the inner relationship between the

sol and Jod. This is the meaning of the spirital democracy of which !bdl$%aha so

often spea2s$$religion percolating throgh all the affairs of or daily life, and an idealpolitical government coming into e*istence as the reslt of the change of man-s natre

and belief."

"This is +st the twist that the present leaders of the %ahai organi@ation have tried to giveto the niversal )essage of %aha--llah."

"There are many other wholly n$%ahai edicts that 6hoghi 5ffendi and the 4ational6pirital !ssembly of %ahais have issed beside these two that follow: ". . . the

individal conscience mst be sbordinated to the decisions of the 6pirital !ssembly, ...

and: -. . . individal %ahai effort withot de consltation is foredoomed to failre" 'E$

EE(.

"5veryone of these edicts are inversions of the %ahai Teachings, as given to the world by

the 7onders of the Case."

">n saying that recogni@ed %ahais mst not vote in any election based on a party system

6hoghi 5ffendi and his hierarchy have set p what might be considered a governmentwithin each government in every contry where there are enogh of his followers. ?verthat government he is spreme dictator. 3is sb+ects mst pay ta*es to him 'tithes( and he

forbids his followers to vote on national and civic affairs. !ll his edicts no matter how

n$patriotic, or how mch in violation of the niversal principles of the %ahai eligion,mst be obeyed nder threat of e*commnication."

"This revival of e*commnication is a horrible inversion of the %ahai teachings$$the

evelation for which %aha--llah sffered imprisonment for twenty$five years, and!db-l$%aha for forty years$$the Case for which twenty thosand martyrs sacrificed

their lives to establish freedom of conscience and to nite all man2ind regardless of

religion, race or contry. The idea of e*commnication is impossible in the world

envisaged by %aha--llah" 'E$1(.

7Whether the alleged will of #bdul Baha is authentic or spurious, the results of the

administration of Shoghi %ffendi and the 8ational Spiritual #ssembly of Baha'is

stand as an historical indictment against them$ 9Boldface in original: They no more

represent the %ahai eligion than the bigots of the dar2 ages of Christianity.

"We had the dar2 ages becase the bigots of that era got control of Christ-s teachings andtortred all those who did not comply with their interpretation. 6hoghi 5ffendi, and the

4ational 6pirital !ssembly of %aha-is, cannot in this day resort to physical tortre to

enforce their will, bt they have resorted to mental tortre by blac2mailing with

e*commnication all those who do not comply with their inverted teachings" '11(.

D?W4L?!D in one file the images on this page:

http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/White, ?5%.pdf

'%ibliography at bottom(
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/White,%20OEBR.pdfhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/White,%20OEBR.pdf


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Bibliography

Ruth White. Abdul Baha and the Promised Age. xv, 224. New or!" Ruth

White #Also New or!" $. $. %ittle and &ves', ()2*.

Ruth White. +he Bahai Religion and &ts nemy, the Bahai -rganiation. 2//.Rutland, 0t." +he +uttle 1o., ()2).

Ruth White. &s the Bahai -rganiation the nemy o the Bahai Religion3" AnAppendix to Abdul Baha and the Promised Age. 22. New or!" White, ()2).-WN%-A in one ile the images on this page"http"55www.glaysher.6om5bahai6ensorship5ar6hives5White-BR.pd

Ruth White. Abdul Baha7s Alleged Will is 8raudulent" An Appendix to +he

Bahai Religion and &ts nemy, the Bahai -rganiation. 2(. Rutland, 0t." +he+uttle 1o., ()/9.

Ruth White. 1orresponden6e Between the :igh 1ommissioner o Palestineand Ruth White, 1on6erning the Alleged Will and +estament o ;ir AbdulBaha Abbas. ((. %os Angeles, 1ali." White, ()/2. #;ee Ruth White1olle6tion, %ibrary o 1ongress, ()/9'http"55www.glaysher.6om5bahai6ensorship5RWhite%ib1.htm

Ruth White. Bahai %eads -ut o the %abyrinth. 2


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:Bahai"

Ruth White. Abdul Baha7s ?uestioned Will and +estament. Beverly :ills"Ruth White, ()4@. #Pages (>,29, /2,

#mici curiae, Reform Bahai Faith

http((www$fglaysher$com(bahaicensorship(;SistrictCourt+?$htm
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/SohrabEx.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/USDistrictCourt07.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/SohrabEx.htmhttp://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/USDistrictCourt07.htm

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