References in the Bahá'í Writings to anti-Semitism and the Holocaust

Memorandum

To: The Universal House of Justice

Date: 24 September 1998

From: Research Department

In an email message of 8 July 1998, Mr. xxx asks for "any and all available references to anti-Semitism" in the Bahá'í Writings, especially in the correspondence of Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice. Furthermore, he asks if there are any references to the Holocaust in the Bahá'í Writings. We reply as follows.

We have been able to find very few references specifically dealing with anti-Semitism and the Holocaust. However, we share with Mr. xxx the attached compilation entitled "The Holocaust and the Greater Plan of God", which was prepared in response to a question as to whether the Holocaust was part of the Greater Plan of God. In a letter on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual believer dated 3 February 1988, we read that the "Bahá'í attitude to the Holocaust and the massive sufferings inflicted on mankind by the World Wars is clearly set forth by Shoghi Effendi in The Promised Day is Come...." Extracts 3 and 8 of the attached compilation are such references taken from The Promised Day is Come.

Further, Mr. xxx may be interested in the following two extracts from letters written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice regarding the Jewish people:

"It would be impossible for any community, much less the Bahá'í community, to forget the suffering of the Jewish people throughout a long period of history. As you know, Bahá'u'lláh, like the Prophets before Him, stated in His Writings that the Jews would return to their homeland, and this fulfillment of their heart's desire has taken place. Moreover, 'Abdu'l-Bahá has confirmed that the travail of the Jewish people is now to be ended. He wrote in a Tablet:

Mark of the beast and implanted computer chips

Memorandum

To: The Universal House of Justice

Date: 12 August 1998

From: The Research Department

Implantation of computer chip and mark of the beast

The Research Department has studied the questions on the above-mentioned subjects raised by Mr. … in his letter of 16 June 1998 to the Universal House of Justice. Mr. … refers to media reports which claim that each human being will one day be “identified by the use of a computer chip inserted under the skin”. According to Mr. …, “the proposed chip will be inserted into the hand or wrist of each individual”, and all information pertinent to the individual will be stored on the chip, thereby facilitating such things as financial transactions and the retrieval of medical records. Mr. … states that “many people are drawing parallels between this development and ‘the mark of the Beast’” referred to in the following verses from the Book of Revelation, chapter 13:

16. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads;

17. And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.

18. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred three score and six.[1]

He poses a number of questions about the Bahá’í understanding of the Biblical verses quoted above, the relationship between the computer chip and the “mark of the beast”, and what a believer should do if “governments or other authorities require citizens to be implanted with a computer chip”. We provide the following response.

Was Fadil-i-Mazandarani declared a Hand of the Cause of God, and on determining if there were other Hands

Memorandum

11 August 1998

From: Bahá'í World Centre

To: ----

Subject: Enclosure to letter dated 11 August 1998

Fadil Mazandarani

The Research Department has considered the question about the rank of Fadil Mazandarani raised by Dr. ---  in his email message of 7 June 1998 to the Universal House of Justice. Specifically, Dr. --- seeks information about whether or not Shoghi Effendi named Fadil Mazandarani a Hand of the Cause of God. We provide the following comment.

By way of introduction we wish to note that the list of Hands of the Cause of God in "The Bahá'í World", volume XIV, contains the names of those believers whose appointment as Hands of the Cause is clearly supported by the evidence that was available at the time of the compilation of the list.[1] In the case of the Hands nominated by Shoghi Effendi, for example, the list includes only those whose appointment was accompanied by an official and public announcement to the Bahá'í world.

Additional detailed research will be required to determine whether other individuals might be identified as Hands of the Cause. In this regard it is interesting to reflect on the following statement from a letter dated 19 April 1947 written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi in response to a question about the references to the Hands of the Cause contained in "God Passes By", page 195 and pages 328-329:[2]

Biblical questions, interpretation of: Ezekiel 10:19, Jeremiah 49:38 and Micah 7:12

Memorandum

To: Universal House of Justice

12 May 1998

From: Research Department

The Research Department has considered the questions raised by Mr. ______ in his email message of 3 April 1998.  Mr. ______ cites three passages from the Old Testament, specifically, Ezekiel 10:19, Jeremiah 49:38 and Micah 7:12, and states that these passages have been interpreted in the "work of William Sears and a number of other Bahá'í authors" as "references to the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths".  He further states that he has "studied these passages using the historical-critical method" and "concluded that the traditional Bahá'í interpretations are foreign to the contexts and, in the case of the passage from Micah, based on errors of translation".  As he has not found any authoritative Bahá'í Writings on the passages, Mr. ______ would like to consider the interpretations as "purely personal" and "not binding on Bahá'ís in general".  Finally, Mr. ______ requests any information "that would confirm or invalidate" his conclusion.

The Research Department has not been able to find in the Bahá'í Writings any statements regarding the passages cited by Mr. ______.  He is free to arrive at his own conclusions as to the meaning of the passages.

However, Mr. ______ may be interested to note that in God Passes By (Wilmette: Bahá'í Publishing Trust, 1987), the Guardian identified a verse from Ezekiel, which appears to have some similarity to Ezekiel 10:19, as describing 'Akká. The passage from God Passes By (page 184) is reproduced below.

Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Baha Concerning Arius

Memorandum

17 March 1998

To: The Universal House of Justice

From: Research Department

Tablet of 'Abdu'l-Bahá Concerning Arius

In its letter of 17 December 1997 to the Universal House of Justice, the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States seeks guidance concerning how to respond to a question raised by Mr. ____, whose letter of 24 November 1997 is enclosed by the National Assembly.

In his letter, Mr. ____ cites the following passage from a Tablet by 'Abdu'l-Bahá, which is translated by Shoghi Effendi and published in "Star of the West":

“Consider thou, at the time of Christ and after Him, how many childish attempts have been made by different persons! What claims they have advanced and what a multitude have they gathered around themselves! Even Arius attracted to himself a million and a half followers and strove and endeavoured to sow the seeds of sedition in the Cause of Christ. But eventually the sea of Christ surged and cast out all the gathering froth and nothing was left behind save the everlasting malediction.” [*Star of the West, vol. 10, no. 5, p. 96]

Mr. ____ expresses his understanding, drawn from available non-Bahá'í reference material, concerning the reason for Arius's excommunication from the early Christian Church. He states that Arius was a supporter of the unity of God and opposed to the Church's idea of the Trinity, and that his position on this issue appears to be "precisely in accordance with Bahá'í teachings". This being the case, Mr. ____ enquires about the validity of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's statement, about the accuracy of the report in "Star of the West" and about Shoghi Effendi's translation.