The others … speak – Part One

Remarks on the article titled “The others” published in the Al-Ahram weekly online by Jihan Shahine

The Egyptian Bahá'ís and their struggle to acquire their civil rights has been the highlight of many articles written recently in the Egyptian and Arab media. After the recent ruling of the Supreme Administrative Court of Egypt allowing them access to what their fellow citizens of other faiths freely enjoy, the Egyptian Parliament met recently and decided not to recognize the Bahá'í faith as an official religion in Egypt. This means the Egyptian Bahá’ís cannot have their religion written in the religion field mandated in many of the official documents of the state such as birth certificates and passports, hence they are not allowed to receive the issue of such significant civil documents and rights.

In an article published May 11, 2006 in the Al-Ahram Weekly issue No. 794, titled “The others”, Ms. Gihan Shahine, presented commentaries about the situation of the Egyptian Bahá’ís and raised good points such as how the Bahá'ís believe that the Will of God is revealed progressively through the ages and she alluded to some historical facts that were accurate for the most part.

Ms. Shahine as a journalist knows how important it is to maintain one’s own integrity and independent investigation of facts to protect her credibility and the authenticity of her information. This is a principle all of us writers aspire to in order to effectively carry out the trust placed on us. We know she carries no exception to that rule in her heart.

Keeping this principle in mind, there were factual errors in the article that we hope to present, in the spirit of protecting the credibility of the profession and provide the readers with what can be considered a more balancing view.

The first of two articles in this series will address the concept of a “cult”, the alleged relationship between the Bahá'ís and Zionism and The position of the Al-Azhar regarding the Egyptian Bahá'í community.

The Concept of a “cult”

The Bahá'í Faith is an independent monotheistic religion with a worldwide population of some 5 million people. They come from more than 2,000 different tribal, racial, and ethnic groups and live in 235 countries and dependent territories.[1] The Britannica Book of the Year (1992) referred to the Bahá'í Faith as the second-most geographically widespread religion in the world, after Christianity.

Ms. Shahine’s article referred to the Bahá’ís as a “cult”. This is a term incorrectly used by some other articles as well. The Cambridge dictionary identifies cults as “a religious group, often living together, whose beliefs are considered extreme or strange by many people”. By a quick look at the core beliefs of the Baha’is it is evident by talking to them or by reading their books available online[2], they follow similar course to Islam and the Judeo-Christian traditions. The Bahá'í doctrine testifies to the “Oneness of God”[3] and the truth of Prophet Muhammad, Jesus Christ and Moses as well as other divine Messengers and Prophets[4]. The Bahá'ís worship God through prayers and fasting. Those who can, go on pilgrimage to visit the Bahá’ís Holy sites and contribute funds to the poor and the needy. This indeed is the very same definitions and practices that Islam has as well as Christianity. It is inaccurate then to use the term “cult” to describe the Egyptian Bahá'í community living in a majority of a Muslim community as it is inaccurate to use it to describe Muslim communities living in western communities where they are the minority.

Please refer to this article by Stephen Vaccaro for a very detailed comparative study of the concept of "cults" and the Bahá'í faith.

The Alledged relationship between the Bahá'ís and Zionism

The Al-Ahram article mentions several time that the Bahá'ís are an Israeli driven group, with an Israeli leadership. This assumption has been erroneously made by several other articles as well. This confusion is probably due to the fact that the Bahá'í World Centre is in the state of Israel.
The establishment of the World Centre of the Bahá'ís in Israel has nothing to do with the state of Israel itself or Zionism. Bahá’u’lláh, the Messenger of the Bahá'í religion, as many historical records indicate, was exiled against His will from Iran to Iraq under the Persian regime at the Time. He was then exiled again to Istanbul, Adrianople and finally reaching the city of Akka in 1869 under the authority of the Turkish Regime that occupied the Arab countries at that time.

The decree signed by Sultan Abdu’l-Aziz to send Bahá’u’lláh to that prison city cannot be considered an act of willingness on Bahá’u’lláh’s part to travel to Palestine. Since he was buried in Akka after his passing, the Bahá'ís consider his shrine a blessed spot regardless of its existence in Israel. It is also worth noting that Bahá’u’lláh passed away 1892, over 50 years before the establishment of the Zionist state in 1948. This is why Bahá'ís have the World Centre of their non-political religion there.

This is no different than the Muslims revering Al-Masjid Al-Aqsa in Israel, since the relationship to that holy site exists before and after the creation of Israel. It is also important to note that Jews, Christians, Muslims and Bahá'ís are united in their views in considering that territory holy. Based on that, the Bahá’ís are not agents of Zionism more than Muslims and Christians who worship there are.

Another claim was made in the article that the Bahá'ís are calling for a global government to be situated in Israel. This is another claim where neither the Bahá'í writings published online and available in bookstores in the free world make, neither Bahá'ís themselves have made such claims.

The Bahá'í faith is a religion not a political movement. It does not degrade itself with the struggle for power and control. Its followers do not debase themselves with chaos of the political enterprise. The politics it involves itself with is what can be described as “divine politics”.

It focuses on the establishment of justice in the human form and in the society, the elimination of the extremes of wealth between rich and poor, the observance of chastity, charity and humility, the equality between man and woman, the education of the children especially the girls due to their essential role in educating the coming generations, the rejection of prejudice in all its forms, calling for kindness and compassion, piety and faith, articulating the fundamental unity in understanding between science and religion, the tools of human understanding. These principles are under the canopy of the main objective of the Bahá'í faith, the unity of mankind with all its races, creeds, tribes, countries and regions since everyone is essentially of God’s creation.

The opinion of the Al-Azhar towards the Bahá'ís faith

Ms. Shahine mentions in her article that the “grand sheikh of Al-Azhar said that Islam recognizes Christianity and Judaism as divine religions and defined Bahaism as a sacrilegious dogma followed by a deviant sect of atheists.” This issue if of particular importance since it is also an argument that gets repeated often in other media.

Al-Azhar was built in the 10th century as a mosque then as a university by the Fatimds, a Shi'i government that ruled in the Middle East from the 10th to the 12th century A.D. Al-Azhar gained its name as an attribute to Fatima Al-Zahraa, the revered daughter of the Prophet. It was erected to propagate the school of Isma'iliya madhhab. Later on and since the Ayyubids ruled Egypt it has become an institution for Sunni jurisprudence.

The Al-Azhar institution is erected as a human response trying to understand God’s message and His laws prescribed in Islam. That institution has never been a divine institution that was created by the Prophet nor is it infallible. It only represents an effort by Muslim clergy to make sense of the blessed verses of the Quran and Hadith and teaching Islam to its Sunni followers. Thus not all factions and sects of the Muslim community follow the efforts of the Al-Azhar.

When a Fatwa is made by the Al-Azhar, it should be viewed in the light of this understanding. It is neither the Word of God nor His Blessed Prophet. It is an Ijtihad, an effort to understand and act. Muslims are not bound by it as they are more severely bound by the Quran and its laws.

There have been many examples in the past where the Al-Azhar had come under serious criticism for its policies and the grand sheikh was attacked personally for his views. I would like to remind the reader with articles written by Ms. Shahine herself in this very same publication where she quotes views such as:

Regarding the unacceptable cartoons made about Prophet Muhammad in a Dutch newspaper:
“Many Egyptians were upset at what they called the "shamefully weak stance" of Al-Azhar, the Sunni world's foremost seat of learning. Al-Azhar's grand imam, often criticised for toeing the government line, had not been one of the first to speak up about the offensive cartoons”[5]

Speaking of the Al-Azhar:
“El-Ghitani said not many people are willing "to listen to an official discourse that lacks depth, and is widely known for its government support." That, according to El-Ghitani, has left "a serious gap for anyone to fill -- including, perhaps, a carpenter issuing a fatwa calling for the killing of innocent civilians."[6]

Refering to the standard of education in that institution:
“The declining standards of an Al-Azhar education, according to Abdel-Fatah, have meant countries like Tunisia and Turkey do not even acknowledge the ancient university's degrees anymore. Many students now opt for alternative Islamic universities in Syria, Jordan, Tunisia and Morocco.”[7]

The internal struggle for control:
“Al-Azhar has been bogged down in a heated controversy over the past few weeks, after its Grand Imam Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi, retracted a fatwa by senior Al-Azhar cleric Sheikh Nabawi Mohamed El-Esh which urged Muslim and Arab states to boycott the Iraqi Governing Council (IGC). El-Esh, who was allegedly dismissed after facing an internal disciplinary hearing, arrived at his edict on the grounds that the IGC was "selected by the occupation forces and thus has no religious legitimacy"[8]

Accusations against its leadership:
“Tantawi has been repeatedly lambasted as a government official willing to compromise the principles of Islam for the sake of state policies. In the run-up to Egypt's 25 May referendum on the amendment of Article 76 of the constitution, Tantawi surprised many by issuing a controversial edict that equated the boycotting of elections with "withholding a testimony.”[9]

Perhaps one of the hardest controversies in the ruling of the Al-Azhar is the fact that it embraces the claim that the Bahá'ís are supporters of Israel and often accuses them of beings agents of Zionism. This misleading fact is often quoted by newspaper articles. However in the same publication, Ms. Shahine points out that the Al-Azhar itself is a supporter of the relationship with Israel. She quotes Mr. Tantawi saying:

“Islam does not prohibit normalisation with other countries, especially Israel, as long as this normalisation is in non- religious domains and serves some worldly interests," Tantawi told a gathering at a festival held to mark the national day of Al-Sharqiya governorate.”[10]
Mr. Tantawi had to face a reaction from “Prominent Palestinian Islamic scholar Sheikh Hamed Al-Beitawi, who is also head of the Palestinian Scholars League (PSL), was quick to denounce the fatwa on the grounds that it "greatly serves the Israeli occupation, which is unacceptable in Islam," and urged the Grand Imam to retract it.”[11]

The previous was but some of the many examples that plagued the Al-Azhar and its leadership in the past few years and weakened its stance. These examples clearly show, as we have indicated above, how human are the attempts of that institution in releasing Fatwas and directing Muslim jurisprudence.

This is not a criticism, but an evaluation of the lack of neutrality of the Al-Azhar and the subjection of its leadership to the politics and social trends of its time.

Keeping all this in mind and knowing that the core belief of the Bahá'ís revolves around the Oneness of God as was indicated earlier, the comment Mr. Tantawi’s made that the Bahá'ís are “atheists” is unfounded. Furthermore Mr. Tantawi should be reminded of the call to those who “have attained to faith” in the Quran to: “do not - out of a desire for the fleeting gains of this worldly life - say unto anyone who offers you the greeting of peace, "Thou art not a believer" for with God there are gains abundant. You, too, were once in the same condition but God has been gracious unto you. Use, therefore, your discernment: verily, God is always aware of what you do.”[12]

This attitude of compassion and love commanded in the Quran, should be extended towards the Bahá'ís in all the 235 countries and dependent territories of the world who wholeheartedly believe in Prophet Muhammad and love Him dearly no matter what their backgrounds may be and hold Him in an incredibly exalted station.

It is also important to remember that in the entire history of religions there has never been an example of a religious leadership of a former religion that recognized the authenticity of a latter religion. The Jewish leadership never recognized Christianity or Islam. The Christian leadership never recognized the authenticity of Islam. Now the Muslim leadership is not recognizing the validity of the Bahá'í faith. The Quran is full of stories about oppositions the Prophet of God always had to face from their own people.

Could it be possible that these stories were written in the holy book to aid Muslims to learn and not to repeat the past? Could it be that these stories serve as an example and guidance from God to help His people to do better the next time He sends a messenger?

Please join us in part two of this series as we discuss some of the legal issues facing the Egyptian Bahá'ís in Egypt today and the alleged connection between the Bahá'ís and imperialism.

[1] Britannica online, Encyclopedia.
[2] Check http://reference.bahai.org/ar for Arabic version of Bahá'í books and http://reference.bahai.org/ for the English translations.
[3] The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, Bahá’u’lláh, p. 60
[4] “The Word of God revealed in every age and dispensation. In the days of Moses it was the Pentateuch; in the days of Jesus, the Gospel; in the days of Muhammad, the Messenger of God, the Qur’án;” Gleanings From the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’u’lláh, p.271
[5] Jihan Shahine, Al-Ahram Weekly Online, Issue No. 780, Feb 2nd, 2006, Titled “Cartoon battle turns uglier”
[6] Jihan Shahine, Al-Ahram Weekly Online, Issue No. 758, Sep 1st , 2005, Titled “Leaving a serious gap”
[7] ibid
[8] Jihan Shahine, Al-Ahram Weekly Online, Issue No. 655, Sep 11th , 2003, Titled “In the eye of the storm.”
[9] Jihan Shahine, Al-Ahram Weekly Online, Issue No. 745, Jun 2nd , 2005, Titled “Anger of Azhar response”
[10] Jihan Shahine, Al-Ahram Weekly Online, Issue No. 761, Sep 22nd , 2005, Titled “Not Normal”
[11] ibid
[12] Quran, Surat Al-Nisaa, verse 94, “وَلاَ تَقُولُواْ لِمَنْ أَلْقَى إِلَيْكُمُ السَّلاَمَ لَسْتَ مُؤْمِنًا تَبْتَغُونَ عَرَضَ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا”

تحري حقائق الرسالة البهائية

تحري حقائق الرسالة البهائية

The others … speak – Part two

In the first part of this series we clarified the inaccuracy of considering the Egyptian Bahá'í community as a “cult”. We also provided some clarifications to correct the invalidity of the alleged relationship between the Bahá'ís and Zionism. We ended part one with a discussion of the position of the Al-Azhar regarding the Egyptian Bahá'í community.

In part two of this series we will be discussing several comments made in the article regarding the constitutional rights of the Egyptian Bahá'í community. We will also address some of the accusations specifically made by the columnist Mr. Ragab El-Banna and the secretary-general of the Bar Association, Mr. Ahmed El-Banna against the Egyptian Bahá'í community.

The Egyptian Bahá'í and his constitutional rights

In the article Ms. Shahine mentions the rejection of the Ministry of Interior to the ruling issued by the Supreme Administrative Court giving the members of the Egyptian Bahá'í community their rights to indicate their religion freely in the official documents issued for them. The argument used was, since Egyptian constitution declares Egypt as a Muslim country and that Islam only recognizes Christianity and Judaism as religions hence the Egyptian Bahá'ís have no constitutional rights, “otherwise it would be the right of devil worshippers, for instance, to get similar recognition”, as Mr. Ahmed El-Banna states later in the article.

We would like to share with the reader some of the articles listed in the Egyptian constitution that protects and guards individual freedom and rights.

In Chapter Two - Part One: Social and Moral Constituents:
Art. 8: The State shall guarantee equality of opportunity to all Egyptians.

In Chapter Three of the constitution under: Public Freedoms, Rights and Duties
Art. 40: All citizens are equal before the law. They have equal public rights and duties without discrimination due to sex, ethnic origin, language, religion or creed.

Art. 46: The State shall guarantee the freedom of belief and the freedom of practicing religious rights.

Art. 47: Freedom of opinion shall be guaranteed. Every individual shall have the right to express his opinion and to publicise it verbally, in writing, by photography or by other means of expression within the limits of the law. Self criticism and constructive criticism shall guarantee the safety of the national structure.

Art. 57: Any assault on individual freedom or on the inviolability of the private life of citizens and any other public rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and the law shall be considered a crime, whose criminal and civil lawsuit is not liable to prescription. The State shall grant a fair compensation to the victim of such an assault.[1]

Without getting into too much of the legal arguments the Egyptian Constitution clearly states the freedom of religion and guarantees the right of the individual of practicing his/her own beliefs.

Furthermore, “at the international level, Egypt was among the few countries that participated, in 1945, in drafting the UN Charter in San Francisco which enhances and promotes respect for human rights. Egypt also takes pride in contributing to drafting many conventions and declarations on human rights.”[2] Also “Egypt proposed the idea of the right to development in the commission on Human Rights in Geneva in 1977”[3] Further more “Due care is given to training and awareness increasing programs on human rights and freedoms. These courses are organized in collaboration with the U.N Center for Human Rights, Geneva.”[4]

Since Egypt is a great supporter of the Declaration of the Universal Human and has ratified its articles, we would like to share the first few articles of the Universal Declaration:

Article 1
All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.

Article 2
Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.

Furthermore, no distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.

Article 18
Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

From all the above it is clear that to deprive the Egyptian Bahá'í community from its national and universal rights is in its own merit an unconstitutional act and hence unlawful.

It was also mentioned that the Ministry followed the argument used by some that Islam only recognizes Christianity and Judaism as religions. This logic carries an uncanny familiarity to the same argument used by an Ostridge burying its head in the sand and refusing to recognize that more than two thirds of the world does not follow any of the three religions mentioned above. Yet, we still rely in our daily lives on goods and products traded from China, India and others countries of different faiths and beliefs.

Surely this understanding needs to become more realistic. It should add a global outlook in its evaluation of the current state of the world. Open dialog and respect are the tools needed to survive peacefully in this ever changing world. There is no room for constant fear and unjustified prejudice. It does nothing but continue to hurt the reputation of those who choose to remain arcane and intolerant in their thinking.

The idea that civil rights granted to all citizens as their birth right be withheld based on faith and belief is a practice no Muslim would tolerate in any western country where the majority of its citizens do not recognize Islam as a religion. If so, then why would the Egyptian Bahá'í community be treated with such harsh and unjust treatment despite their unwavering belief in the station of Prophet Muhammad?

Addressing some of the comments made in the article by Mr. Ragab El-Banna, Mr. Ahmad El-Banna and others:

Mr. Ragab El-Banna considers the Bahá'í faith “a sneaky conspiracy against divine religions, not just Islam”. He continues “Bahaism is headquartered in Israel and chosen Misson, a jewish-american, as its spiritual leader in 1950”

The Bahá'í faith emphasizes publicly and emphatically declares the validity of Islam, the truthfulness of his message and the authenticity of its founder, Prophet Muhammad. The Bahá'ís no matter what their background may be have to believe in all the divine Prophets of God and their messages. The reader can check the Bahá'ís writings available on the internet[5] or have an open discussion with any Bahá'í to realize the truthfulness of their intentions and belief. Bahá’u’lláh, the Messenger of the Bahá'í faith writes:

“Consider and call to mind how when Muhammad, the Apostle of God, appeared, the people denied Him. They ascribed unto Him what caused the Spirit (Jesus) to lament in His Most Sublime Station, and the Faithful Spirit to cry out. Consider, moreover, the things which befell the Apostles and Messengers of God before Him, by reason of what the hands of the unjust have wrought.”[6]

Also regarding the Qur’an, Bahá’u’lláh affirms in one of His most important books tilted “The book of Certitude”, Kitáb-Il-Íqán:

“the Qur’án was an impregnable stronghold unto the people of Muhammad. In His days, whosoever entered therein, was shielded from the devilish assaults, the menacing darts, the soul-devouring doubts, and blasphemous whisperings of the enemy. Upon him was also bestowed a portion of the everlasting and goodly fruits—the fruits of wisdom, from the divine Tree. To him was given to drink the incorruptible waters of the river of knowledge, and to taste the wine of the mysteries of divine Unity.”

Kitáb-Il-Íqán has more than 140 references to the Qur’an. It is read and studied by Bahá'ís all over the world. How could Mr. El-Banna worry from such a practice and consider it a conspiracy against religions? We would urge him to study that book to learn the truth.[7]

It is also worth noting that Mr. El-Banna was incorrect about “Mison”. Mr. Mason Remey followed the Bahá'í faith for a period of his life. Before he was a Bahá'í he was a member of the High Church Episcopalian which is a Christian school in the United States. He was never an American-Jew as Mr. El-Banna attested. Mr. Remey was never considered the spiritual leader of the Bahá'í faith. Again, we do urge the latter to investigate his own claims and not rely on rumors and unfounded information.

The article also quotes Mr. Abdel-Moeti Bayoumi, a prominent IRA member, “explaining how Bahaism contradicts the basic tenets of Islam.” By viewing the Bahá'í faith writings it is quite clear and evident that the Bahá'í faith asserts itself as an independent world religion that carries a message that meets the needs of this age and addressed the current state of mankind.

As such, why would God decided to send another religion with the same teachings as the former religion? The changes that occur in the human mind and the evolutions that takes place in our society since the inception of Islam 1400 years ago, has shown the critical need for teachings that equip society with what addresses its current worldly issues and needs e.g. Globalization, AIDS, new world economy, The serious diversity of the world community, Global warming, advancement of women, Ozone, the new dynamics of family structure are but a few examples that are addressed by the Bahá'í faith.

God chooses to do what He wills. Who amongst us can withstand His will and argue with Him about receiving a new guidance? That’s why it is important and fundamental to learn about the new guidance from its source and have an open dialog with the Bahá'ís. People like Mr. Bayoumi are not protecting Islam in the minds of the believers. The scare tactics they insist on using only serve to show how frail Islam is in their minds.

We continue with the article and see Mr. Ahmad El-Banna claiming that the Bahá'ís were instrumental in helping the British occupation of India.

We are not sure where Mr. El-Banna got his fantastic historical theory from. However it suffices to say that the British presence in India extended as far back as the seventeenth century. Between 1601-13, merchants of the East India Company took twelve voyages to India, and in 1609 William Hawkins arrived at the court of Jahangir to seek permission to establish a British presence in India. There were few later events that Mr. El-Banna needs to familiarize himself with. In 1757, on account of the British victory at Plassey, where a military force led by Robert Clive defeated the forces of the Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah, the East India Company found itself transformed from an association of traders to rulers exercising political sovereignty over a largely unknown land and people.[8]

Since Bahá’u’lláh was not even born until 1817 and the Bahá'ís faith did not come into existence for over a century after the British controlled India, the claim that Mr. El-Banna makes seems quite remarkable and an indication of the level of the quality of his scholarship.

Mr. El-Banna also asserts that “any society is equally free not to acknowledge the belief of a minor sect as an established creed; otherwise it would be the right of devil worshippers, for instance, to get similar recognition.”

We would like to remind Mr. El-Banna that the Bahá'í faith is a recognized faith worldwide. It is a faith that is quite respected almost everywhere except the Middle East. It effectively serves world communities with its principles and efforts.

We would also like to remind him how upset and irate the Muslim community is with the French government for banning the Hijab in its schools. The following excerpt was from an article written in the Al-Ahram weekly online regarding how angry the community with the response of the Al-Azhar to this incidence only serves as a proof of how Muslims wanted their minority rights in France to be respected:

“While conceding that the hijab is a religious obligation for Muslim women Tantawi stressed that it is also the right of a non-Muslim country like France to ban it. Tantawi made the statement during a press conference following a meeting with French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy. Arguing that no country has the right to interfere in French lawmaking, Tantawi said that if the French government forced women to take off their veils, they would not be committing a sin.

Many interpreted Tantawi's statement as giving France the go-ahead to ban the hijab and the Grand Imam was seen to be expressing a political, rather than religious, opinion. Critics argue he should have defended France's veiled Muslims by opposing the ban on the grounds that the hijab is not a symbol, but rather a religious obligation and a human right.

Three days later, on 2 January, crowds of worshippers gathered in front of Al- Azhar mosque to protest Tantawi's edict, and call for his resignation. The outlawed Muslim Brotherhood also held a public rally following Friday prayers on the same day, lambasting Tantawi as "a government official" who "compromises the principles of Islam [for the sake of] state policies".

Should we conclude from Mr. El-Banna statements mentioned above that he agrees with the practice of the French government in Banning the Hijab since the Muslim community in France is a minority?

That seems hardly justified by any modern society. Observing individual and minority rights and freedom are a crucial part of any religion and the religious leaders should act as mentors to the community in preserving and protecting such rights.

We would like to express our gratitude to Ms. Jihan Shahine, for bringing these views together, and compiling different opinions that address this important topic. She had the courage to write about the views of a Bahá'í family living under these unjust conditions as well as publish the views of the Egyptian Organization of Human Rights (EOHR). We look forward to more balanced views in her future articles.

In conclusion, This is an opportunity to put aside fear, prejudice and anger and engage in a fair and open dialog at the local and national level that invites the input of the Egyptian Bahá'í community as loyal citizens of the great country of Egypt and cease to exert pressure on individuals to recant their faith. After all, faith is a relationship between the human soul and its Creator not a tool for oppression and injustice.

Bahá’u’lláh states:
“Religion is, verily, the chief instrument for the establishment of order in the world, and of tranquillity amongst its peoples.”[9]

[1] Egyptian Constitution, http://www.egypt.gov.eg/english/laws/Constitution
[2] http://www.ngolaw.org.eg/human.htm, issues by Ministry of Insurance and Social Affairs, Arab republic of Egypt
[3] Ibid
[4] Ibid
[5] Those writings are available at http://reference.bahai.org/ and http://www.bahai.org
[6] Proclamation of Bahá’u’lláh, Bahá’u’lláh, p. 79
[7] You can find the whole text on http://reference.bahai.org
[8] There are numerous references that would explain the history of the British in India, a quick search on the internet provided the following link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_East_India
[9] Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Bahá’u’lláh, p. 29

التعليق علي مقالة بعنوان "الطائفة البهائية في مصر تطالب بحزب سياسي بوساطة إسرائيلية"

كتب ـ عمر القليوبي : بتاريخ 19 - 11 - 20


ان ما ورج فى المقالة المذكورة يخالف الحقاءق جمولى و تفصيلا. و لا يتماشى مع اصول المهنة التى تستوجب التحري قبل النشر و خاصة فى جريدة اسمها المصريون تمثل كافى الطوائف دون تفرقة و ايضا يخالف صريح الامر الالهى الذى يوجب استبيان ما يأتى به فاسق حتى لا نصيب قوما بجهالة. (الاية 6 سورة الحجارات)

و الحقائق لمن ارادها و بكل بساطة هى كالاتى بنفس ترتيب النقاط المذكورة فى المقالة:

ان الهائيون المصريون يقيمون فى عدد من المدن والقرى المصرية منذ اكثر من 160 عاما من حدود الوطن الجنوبى حتى البحر المتوسط شمالا . و اما التعداد الصحيح فهو مرهون بقبول الدولة تدوين دين المواطن المصرى فى الرقم القومى لدينه الحقيقى و ليس ارغامه علي كتابة دين اخر بحيث يسهل حصر عدد المواطنين المصريين الذين يحرم دينهم التقية البهائية دين و ليست حركة سياسية يقر بذلك مؤسسها حضرة بهاء الله و اتباعها وكل عالم منصف وقد حكم بذلك أيضا القضاء المصرى فى عدد من المناسبات والبهائية كدين ليست لها زعيم . والبهائيون بنص كتابهم محرم عليهم الاشتغال بالسياسة الحزبية بالتالى لا يمكن لبهائى ان ان يطلب تأسيس حزب او الانضمام لحزب سياسى.

لم ولن يقوم اى فرد بهائى في مصر بمقابلة السفير الاسرائيلى او اية دولة اخرى ، انما الهدف ممن ادعته المقالة هو تشويه سمعة المؤمنين بهذه الرسالة السماوية والتى تنص في أحكام دينها علي إطاعة نظام الدولة والوفاء للوطن.

ان السيد نصيف بباوى ليس من اهل المحلة ولا حتى مقيم فى الدلتا ولم ولن يتصل بالسفير المذكور او بغيره طاعة لدينه.

ان ما اورده الكاتب عن اباحة المحارم و تعدد الزوجات يخالف صريح التعاليم البهائية و لا يختلف في هدفه عن ماحاولته احاديث الافك النى يوردها كل معتدى اثيم ضد اهل كل دين جديد . فالزواج فى البهائية مشروط بقبول الطرفين و رضى الوالدين و اشهار و قراءة الايات الخاصة بالزواج. و لا يفضل زواج الاقارب فى الاساس فما بالك بالمحارم و هى صفات الوحوش و ليست من صفات الانسان.

ليس فى البهائية مناسك شاذة و لا يقوم البهائيون بأى شئ يخالف العقل او الفطرة الانسانية السليمة و اليهائى مطالب دائما بالحرص على الحصول علي الأخلاق الانسانية ، ونص الكتاب يقول:

"زينوا رؤسكم باكليل الامانة و الوفاء و قلوبكم برداء التقوى و السنتكم بالصدق الخالص و هياكلكم بطراز الاداب كل ذلك سجية الانسان لو انتك تبصرون. يا أهل البهاء تمسكوا بحبل العبودية لله الحق حتى تظهر مقاستكم و تثبت اسمائكم و ترتفع مراتبكم و اذكاركم" - حضرة بهاء الله

قد فرض الصيام فى البهائية كما فرض فى كل اديان العالم و لكنه ليس فى شهر رمضان لان التقويم البهائى تقويم شمسى و ان صدق الكاتب فى نقطة واحدة و هى ان عدد ايام الصيام 19 يوما

و ننهى هذة الملاحظات بالقول ليس صعب على الكاتب دراسة البهائية. فالكتب الاصلية متوفرة و مواقع العالم البهائى و المكتبات البهائية العربية سهلة الوصول ان كان الهدف بحث الحقيقة. اما ان كان الهدف مجرد اثارة الفتنة، فحسبنا ان نترك الامر بيد الله تعالى.