Fabricated Conspiracy Theories re Bahá'í Faith Refuted (2 articles)

Two articles from iranpresswatch.org.

Baha’is are British Spies!

Posted: 14 Mar 2009 05:54 AM PDT

Editor’s Note: Rasa News Agency continues to share the sentiments of the Iranian clerical establishment towards the Baha’is. In this case, a thoroughly discredited conspiracy theory that the Baha’i Faith was a creation of British intelligence (Baha’u'llah never actually met any Britons until nearly at the end of His life) is the basis of this clergyman’s criticism. The latest in this series is a report published on February 25, 2009.

Hojjato’l-Islam Ali Mu’alimi, representative of the people of Mazandaran in the Assembly of Experts of the Leadership [the highest ranking body of 86 clerical experts responsible for the election of the Supreme Leader - editor] in an interview with the reporter for Rasa in Sari stated, “The enemies of the sacred regime of the Islamic Republic have recognized that belief and obedience to the rule of clerics is the most important cause of firmness and constancy in the Iranian nation and of the certain victory of the Islamic revolution. For this reason, they endeavor to weaken and destroy this foundation.”

He stated that he considers the Baha’i sect to be a political movement and in service to British espionage. He said, “This wayward sect seeks through outwardly spiritual and mystical teachings to cause devoted societies to go astray from their straight path and divine confirmations.”

He emphasized that the enemy [i.e. the Baha'i community] has programs for undermining and weakening the foundation of the belief of Iranian society, “By spreading a series of secondary issues, the enemy is trying to cause Islamic society to grow farther from such fundamental values as are Islamic, or exhibit the spirit of sacrifice, submission and martyrdom-seeking.”

The Imam Jum’ih of Qaemshahr remarked that the Iranian nation would not suffer defeat through their allegiance to moral and Iranian codes, and added, “The policy of colonialists and imperialists in opposing the religious values of our society is to create a new religion [i.e. the Baha'i Faith].” …

[Source: http://www.rasanews.com/Negaresh_site/FullStory/?Id=49196. Translation by Iran Press Watch.]

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Debunking the Myths: Conspiracy Theories

Posted: 14 Mar 2009 06:49 PM PDT

Vladimir Lenin once said that a lie told often enough becomes truth. If one takes a look at the way Bahá'ís have been viewed and treated by their adversaries, particularly Muslim clerics from Shaykh Fazlollah Nuri to Falsafi to Dorri-Najafabadi and other leaders of the current Iranian regime, they will see an unfortunate truth to Lenin's assertion.

Several baseless claims have been put forth as truth in various public forums and media. Over time, these have been accepted as "truth" due to repetition and a general apathy by the Iranian masses towards independent investigation of such claims. Gradually, most of us have simply come to accept a variety of often conflicting claims about the Bahá'ís. For instance, the Bahá'ís were created by the British AND Russians in the 19th-century (while both were actually competing for influence in Persia!). Or that the Baha'is held positions of power in the Pahlavi regime and were also agents of Israel, international Zionism, and American Imperialism. During the Iran-Iraqi war, some Bahá'ís were even labeled as Iraqi agents!

Adib Masumian puts forth a challenge to these theories in his new book "Debunking the Myths: Conspiracy Theories on the Genesis and Mission of the Bahá'í Faith." In 89 pages, this work provides an analysis of the most widespread anti-Bahá'í allegations raised by clerics and Iranian polemicists over the past century or so. These include such myths as Prince Dolgorukov of Russia acting as the prime motivator of the Báb, the British General, Arthur Conolly, as the one who persuaded Mulla Husayn to push the Báb into starting his religion, or considering `Abdu'l-Bahá's knighthood in 1920 as irrefutable evidence of Bahá'í ties to British imperialism.

The book also discusses whether any of the influential members of the Sháh's regime were Baha'is from Amir Abbas Hoveida to General Nassiri or Parviz Sabeti of SAVAK to Farrokhroo Pársá and others. And unlike anti-Baha'i polemicists who hardly ever provide credible sources for their claims, this book offers about 140 citations with a bibliography of over 50 different books and credible websites (both Baha'i and non-Baha'i) to substantiate its assertions.

Iran Press Watch highly recommends this book to their readers. It is available for purchase in two versions:

Black and White ($9.95):
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback_book/debunking_the_myths/6430166

Full-color ($22.30):
http://www.lulu.com/content/paperback_book/debunking_the_myths/5483633

"I hope those who have always wondered about the credibility of claims against the Baha'is take a look at this book and decide for themselves where the truth is. Just as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion has been proven a farce, so must the Dolgorukov Memoirs and other fabrications be exposed, once and for all, for what they are - insults to scholarship. I have attempted to do that, too, in this work."

[Source: Adib Masumian - "Debunking the Myths: Conspiracy Theories on the Genesis and Mission of the Bahá'í Faith."]

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