The Bahāʾī community in the Holy Land

The Bahāʾī faith traces its roots in ʿAkko (Acre) and Ḥaifa (Haifa), in northern Israel, back to the late-Nineteenth Century, with the arrival of its prophet-founder Bahāʾ-Ollāh to a prison fortress in the then-backwater town of ʿAkkō. Since then, the faith has grown into a world-wide movement with headquarters in Ḥaifa. However, little research exists concerning the history of the local Bahāʾī community or on its relationship with the governing authorities. The interactions between the Bahāʾī administration and the British Mandatory authorities, the Zionist movement, and the Israeli government represent an interesting case of political-diplomatic relations between a religious movement and a political entity. Here, I present resources and primary materials on the history and development of the Bahāʾī community in the Holy Land.

Born in Iran during the mid-Nineteenth Century, the Bahāʾī faith has grown quickly into a universal religion with a presence in virtually every country of the world. With well over five million adherents, it is the fastest-growing religion per capita—a remarkable feat given its young age. The headquarters of the Bahāʾī administration are located in Ḥaifa, where a body of nine democratically-elected representatives make up the Universal House of Justice, which directs the faith and sees itself as a future global government. The Bahāʾī connexion to Israel results from an unwitting action by the Ottoman Empire. In 1868, it tied inextricably the Bahāʾī faith with the land, when it exiled and imprisoned Bahāʾ-Ollāh at the undeveloped town of ʿAkkō. Bahāʾ-Ollāh selected nearby Mt Carmel (Karmel) in Ḥaifa as the location for the world centre of the Bahāʾī faith, and his son ʿAbd ol-Bahāʾ, and great-grandson Shoghi Effendi Rabbani, established firmly the Bahāʾī presence in Ḥaifa, partic¬ularly through the building of the Shrine of the Bāb on Mt Carmel. Today, the complex of the Baháʾí World Centre, which includes the Shrine, the Universal House of Justice, and several other build¬ings, serves not only the worldwide Bahāʾī following, but a community of a thousand ‘temporary’ residents. The BWC at Ḥaifa and properties in ʿAkkō attract a large number of foreign visitors, both pilgrims and tourists, resulting in economic benefits for both cities, as well as the State of Israel. Given the importance of the twin shrine cities of Ḥaifa and ʿAkkō to the Bahāʾī faith, the lack of a scholarly history of the religion and its community in Israel represents an important lacuna in the field of Bahāʾī studies, and religious history in general. Most Bahāʾī histories focus either on the lives of its central figures or its growth as a worldwide movement. I believe that a study of the development of the Bahāʾī faith in present-day Israel would generate better understanding of the faith’s progress as a whole. This situation also represents a study in political-diplomatic relations—between the Bahāʾīs and both the British authorities during the Mandate period (1917–1948) and the Israeli government (1948–present). Furthermore, Bahāʾī doctrine forbids involvement in political affairs; thus, its position vis-à-vis the colonial rulers, between Palestinians and Israelis leading up to and during the 1948 War, and then with respect to the Israeli state subsequently, presents intriguing situations for analysis. I will also address the fact that the Bahāʾī faith prohibits its adherents from settling in the State of Israel, which may stem from its diplomatic relationship to the latter. Finally, the status of the Bahāʾī community of ʿAkkō and Ḥaifa as a neutral party between Arabs and Jews in pre-1948 Ḥaifa also merits further enquiry.

1. The Shrine of Bahāʾ-Ollāh at Bahjī, in ʿAkko, Israel. D Gershon Lewental (DGLnotes).
2. Descendants of Āsiyyeh Khānom. Source: Source: Wikipedia.
3. Descendants of Fāṭemeh Khānom. Source: D Gershon Lewental (DGLnotes).
4. Descendants of Gowhar Khānom. Source: D Gershon Lewental (DGLnotes).
5. Descendants of ʿAbd ol-Bahāʾ. D Gershon Lewental (DGLnotes).