Compiled by: Mouhebat Sobhani
Review: Bayoumi Andil
The initial question, I put forward for myself after reading this booklet and just before I started reviewing it here was simply: Is there any real necessity for a new Ibrahimite religion to come into existence nowadays, more precisely about only a century and half ago? By "new" I mean a fourth one called Bahaism, after Mosaism,Christianity and Mohammedanism (=Islam).
Apart from its cosmology which basically does not differ from that of his elder milk brothers, Bahaism widens its scope of recognition with the intention neither to exclude Zoroastrians, Buddhists nor even the infidels themselves. The Bahai logic behind that broad-minded attitude is that the foundation of all the divine religions is one.
The first and foremost tenet of Bahaism is the oneness of God and Mankind. The founder of the faith resembles Mankind to the leaves of one tree and the fruits of one branch. He proceeds to designate Earth as being but one country, and human beings as its citizens. It is true that in former different creeds, this issue received some consideration, but now it has become the paramount question. History, he goes on to say, shows that throughout the past there have been continual warfare and bloody strife among the various nations, peoples and sects, but now in this century of illumination, hearts are inclined toward agreement and fellowship, and minds are thoughtful upon the question of unification of Mankind.
Bahaism calls also for the comformity of religion to science and reason; otherwise it is superstition. Moreover it adheres to the equality of rights between man& woman, elimination of prejudice of all kinds – be they religious, racial, patriotic, or political as it judges them to be destructive of the divine essence of humanity- , and a spiritual solution to economic problems, through which rich attain eternal happiness which they are deprived from at present as long as happiness is contingent upon giving, rather than taking.
An essential teaching of Bahai's, is the adoption of a universal language. A language shall be agreed upon by which unity will be established in the world. Each person will require training in two languages: his native tongue and the universal auxiliary form of speech. This will facilitate inter-communication and dispel the misunderstandings which the barriers of language have occasioned in the world.
Is Bahai, rather the Supreme Manifestation of God, as he was convinced to be, ushering in a new dawn of Tolerance? I, together with many, hope so.But human experience in this world teaches that all hopes do look wonderful dreams, until they touch reality. Am I passing a priori judgment? Maybe. However perhaps all religions were tolerant until they take power.Christianity was more than tolerant before it was made the state religion through a long process which was started by the Edict of Milan issued by Constantine the Great in 313 A.D. and ended by the close of the 4th century. Mohammedanism kept preaching that even the infidels(Kuffar) have their own religion to practise and Mohammedans, rather Moslems, have theirs as well. The moment the Mohammedans established their own power in Medina(=Athrib) all previous teachings were annulled and a new epoch of unequivocal intolerance began.
As far as the necessity of a new Ibrahimite religion is concerned, what am I dead sure of is: all those religions, creeds, codes of ethics, in other words all those "isms" should have a Spiritual Bath in an unsacred lake to get rid of their, Absolutism, self-righteousness and intolerance right now and it would have been better if that bathing occurred yesterday.
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