The Baha’i religion was founded in the 19th century from a Muslim splinter group, Babism, by the Persian mystic Mirza Hoseyn Ali Nuri, later known as Baha’u’llah.(Arabic, "the Splendor of God").
The Persian government, which had been persistently persecuting the Babists, in 1852 carried out a massacre in which an estimated 20,000 died. Baha’u’llah was exiled to Baghdad, then under Turkish control. A political prisoner for the rest of his life, he was sent by the Turks, with his family and followers, on successive marches from Baghdad to Constantinople to Adrianople and finally to a penal colony in Acre, Palestine. He died there in 1893 after 40 years of exile and imprisonment for his beliefs.
Years in the Bahá'í calendar are counted from Thursday, March 21, 1844, the beginning of the Bahá'í Era (abbreviated BE).Year 1 BE thus began at sundown March 20, 1844. It is annually celebrated by members of the Bahá'í Faith as the Bahá'í New Year or Náw-Rúz.
World headquarters is in Israel, on the slopes of Mount Carmel overlooking Haifa and Acre; there, a shrine of the Bab, an archives building, and an administrative center have been built.
Iranian teenager Mona Mahmudnizhad along with nine other women were hanged because of their membership in the Bahá'í Faith on June 18, 1983. The official charges ranged from “misleading children and youth” because she was teaching children who had been expelled from school for their beliefs and serving in an orphanage, to being a "Zionist" because the Bahá'í World Centre is located in Israel.
The message of Baha’u’llah, in essence, was that all great religious leaders are manifestations of the unknowable God and all scriptures are sacred.
There is no priesthood: all Baha'is are expected to teach, and to work towards world unification. Administration is carried out by an elected body, the Universal House of Justice. Any male Bahá'í, 21 years or older, is eligible to be elected to the Universal House of Justice; all other positions are open to male and female Bahá'ís.
Baha'is are expected to pray daily, but there is no set prayer. During 2–20 March, adults under 70 fast from sunrise to sunset.
The World Christian Encyclopedia estimated 7.3 million Bahá'ís in the world in 2010, representing 218 countries.
Iranian teenager Mona Mahmudnizhad along with nine other women were hanged because of their membership in the Bahá'í Faith on June 18, 1983. The official charges ranged from “misleading children and youth” because she was teaching children who had been expelled from school for their beliefs and serving in an orphanage, to being a "Zionist" because the Bahá'í World Centre is located in Israel.
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| Mona Mahmudnizhad |
The message of Baha’u’llah, in essence, was that all great religious leaders are manifestations of the unknowable God and all scriptures are sacred.
There is no priesthood: all Baha'is are expected to teach, and to work towards world unification. Administration is carried out by an elected body, the Universal House of Justice. Any male Bahá'í, 21 years or older, is eligible to be elected to the Universal House of Justice; all other positions are open to male and female Bahá'ís.
Baha'is are expected to pray daily, but there is no set prayer. During 2–20 March, adults under 70 fast from sunrise to sunset.
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| Baha'i temple |
The World Christian Encyclopedia estimated 7.3 million Bahá'ís in the world in 2010, representing 218 countries.
The world's largest Baháʼí population lives in India, which is home to about 1,880,700 Baháʼís.
The Bahá'í religion was ranked by the Foreign Policy magazine as the world's second fastest growing religion by percentage (1.7%) in 2007.
Sources Funk & Wagnells Encyclopedia, Hutchinson Encyclopedia RM 2012. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.
The Bahá'í religion was ranked by the Foreign Policy magazine as the world's second fastest growing religion by percentage (1.7%) in 2007.
Sources Funk & Wagnells Encyclopedia, Hutchinson Encyclopedia RM 2012. Helicon Publishing is division of RM.
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