Challenge: Decuple Baha'ism

Make the religion be at least 10 times its OTL size (some 75 million members or more).
 
From what I know about Bahaism, it is a wonderful monothesitic faith which practices love and tolerance, preaches that God is behind all religion (although the particular Bahai revelations are, of course, the most accurate), includes many of the Islamic dietary and sobriety rules, tends to frown on its members for being politically active - or at least running for election in secular governments. I know a number of Bahai's and they are all wonderful people.

A much more influential Bahai Faith would be a great thing. If it were a globally important faith, Bahais could can serve as a wonderful bridge between Christians, Jews, and, particularly, Moslems. I'm not sure only a 10-fold increase in Bahai followers is big enough to create major change...unless the majority of them had remained in Iran and formed a significant counterweight to Islam - especially it's militant variety.
 
Phoebe Hearst/Anne Besant

The mother of the famous WR Hearst was an early American Ba'hai. She organzied a pilgrimage of Western converts to Haifa. The pilgrimage had problems with some of the relgion's high mucky mucks ripping her off (looks like it's not a perfect religion either). This cooled her ardor somewhat but she remained within the faith. As a POD the pilgrimage goes smoothly and she comes back radiant and converts her son to the faith. Together they get some other prominent conversions--I am thinking Anne Besant could become a Ba'hai instead of a Theosophist. Some other Theophists who convert to Bahaism instead might include Nehru's tutor which gets him involved. It would also be helpful if the nasty internal squablles of the early years were avoided.

Did you know that one of Ba'hai concepts is the "World of the Matrix"?
 
One slight correction to Tom's post. Dr. Fareed, who took advantage of Mrs. Hearst's kindness and generosity, cheating her out of money more than once, was a nobody in Baha'i history. At least, that's the version of history that I have heard.

Actress Carole Lombard was a Baha'i. However, she kept quiet about it mostly. The movie "Gable and Lombard" portrayed her at her moral worst. It is embarrassing for me to admit she probably did behave like that. But suppose she was more outspoken. Suppose (one of my favorite AH fantasies) she had converted Clark Gable. Would that have helped boost membership?

The oldest son of the founder of the Baha'i Faith visited the United States in 1912. At one point, he attempted to contact William Jennings Bryan, but was unsuccessful. Any thoughts on what the outcome of that meeting might have been?

The nasty internal squabbles have (I think) helped identify potential troublemakers before they do any real harm. I'm in favor of them.

Being new here, I don't want to talk too much, and in particular I don't want to monopolize this thread. Thanks for starting it Tom, and for your comments zoomar.

Alois
member of the Baha'i Faith
 
St. Paul, Abu Bakr, or Brigham Young?

What kind of successor should the Bab have?
A theologician, a general, or a civil leader?
Should he escape instead of being martyred? Should he found a college to teach technology? Should he convert the Kuwaitis and then they find the Burgan field, an example of the favor of god? They find 70,000,000,000 barrels of oil at a time when most oil wells flowed at 10 barrels a day and a barrel of oil was worth a month's wages, and you will convince many, many, many, people that he is the favored of god.
They wind up taking over the whole of the gulf and expanding as a flood of teachers funded by unlimited oil funds, and strictly non offensive (except they will be attacked and will promptly annex the attackers lands), will be capable of subverting the ruler's control of the ruled.
They pay for the Suez canal after taking over Egypt, and become a central trading depot to rival the wealth of the oil? Hydroelectric facilities at Aswan and more food from more irrigation. Maybe a conversion mission to Madagascar and another up the Nile to eliminate slavery give them access to minerals?
 
One of the biggest problems with Islam in the 20th century is that, unlike Christianity, it never went through a Reformation. Just as Luther eventually helped develop a western Christianity which escaped is original roots in structures and social assumptions of the heirarchical the Roman Empire, perhaps, Baha'i is, or should have been, the reformation of Islam.
 
wkwillis said:
What kind of successor should the Bab have?
A theologician, a general, or a civil leader?
Should he escape instead of being martyred? Should he found a college to teach technology? Should he convert the Kuwaitis and then they find the Burgan field, an example of the favor of god? They find 70,000,000,000 barrels of oil at a time when most oil wells flowed at 10 barrels a day and a barrel of oil was worth a month's wages, and you will convince many, many, many, people that he is the favored of god.
They wind up taking over the whole of the gulf and expanding as a flood of teachers funded by unlimited oil funds, and strictly non offensive (except they will be attacked and will promptly annex the attackers lands), will be capable of subverting the ruler's control of the ruled.
They pay for the Suez canal after taking over Egypt, and become a central trading depot to rival the wealth of the oil? Hydroelectric facilities at Aswan and more food from more irrigation. Maybe a conversion mission to Madagascar and another up the Nile to eliminate slavery give them access to minerals?

All of the leading Babis were theologians, even Baha'u'llah who, although not trained for a career as a priest, impreessed others with his knowledge and speaking ability.
The Bab outlined the structure of a Babi State, which treated non-believers harshly. Military conquest might not be out of the question in the early days, and would be likely under the Bab's successors. They did, after all, come out of Shi'i Islam. (It took a lot of work on the part of Baha'u'llah and 'Abdu'l-Baha to change those attitudes).
India had several religions - Hinduism, Islam, Sikhism, Zoroastrianism, and in the second half of the nineteent century Ahmadi Islam, living side-by-side. A Babi community could have lived in India in safety while it developed. The predominantly Islamic countries tended to behead first and ask questions later.
 
Tom_B said:
I am thinking Anne Besant could become a Ba'hai instead of a Theosophist. Some other Theophists who convert to Bahaism instead might include Nehru's tutor which gets him involved.

Perhaps William Miller's Adventist movement of the 1830s and 40s could get involved.
OTL The first hint of a new religious movement came in November 1845 when the London Times reported three Babis were punished in Shiraz, Persia. A Belgian army officer was an eyewitness to mass executions in the streets of Teheran in 1852. He was appalled by the brutality of the methods used and wrote home about it.
ATL Now suppose a small group of people in the United States who had expected Jesus to return to Earth in 1843-44 visited Persia in order to contact the Babis for more information- and were open-minded enough to convert.
 
zoomar said:
One of the biggest problems with Islam in the 20th century is that, unlike Christianity, it never went through a Reformation. Just as Luther eventually helped develop a western Christianity which escaped is original roots in structures and social assumptions of the heirarchical the Roman Empire, perhaps, Baha'i is, or should have been, the reformation of Islam.

The difference here is that Luther did not claim to be the Second Coming of Christ. The Babi faith, in a conference as early as 1848, decided to completely do away with Islamic Sharia law and replace it with scriptures written by the Bab. Baha'u'llah continued along this line, establishing a separate religious system with himself, instead of Muhammad, as the ultimate authority. Luther was still Christian and based his ideas on the Bible.
 
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