Ibrahim George Kheirollah and Abdu’l-Baha
Ibrahim George Kheirollah (November 11, 1849 – March 6, 1926) was the first Baha’i teacher sent to the United States who made the first Americans to convert to the Baha’i Faith and formed the first Baha’i community in the United States. After confronting and arguing with Abdu’l-Baha over ideological matters and leadership style, his positions as the main and prominent spokesman and organizer of the Baha’i Faith in the United States were taken from him. He then tended to the unificationist Baha’i group of Muhammad Ali Baha’i and took hundreds of American Baha’is to that group at least temporarily.
Some of criticisms of Kheirallah and his group against Abdu’l-Baha
Dr. Kheiralla and his group, the Unitarian Baha’is (supporters of Mirza Mohammad Ali), criticized Abdu’l-Baha in the book “Facts for Baha’is” published in 1901. The criticisms are as follows:
آنچه در ادامه می خوانید
Ostracism
Bahaullah has clearly stated that the distinguishing feature of his teachings is the prohibition of dissension, strife, and hatred, and the creation of unity and love. He instructed his followers to treat followers of other religions with spirit, but Abdu’l-Baha strictly forbade his followers from associating, talking, and corresponding with those Baha’is who were criticizing him, even not allowing them to make the slightest trade deal with the critics. All residents and citizens of Acre witnessed this hostile behavior.
Abdu’l-Baha ‘s exaggerated claims
Bahaullah said, “Whoever claims to be a manifestation is a deceiver and a usurper.” Abbas Effendi in his treatises, of course, not explicitly and openly, but with allusion and irony, with vague and ambiguous expressions, claimed to be a manifestation. The missionaries who were sent by him to preach in different countries explained these vague allusions and ironies in such a way that it was understood that “father” and “son” are one and Abbas Effendi is a new “manifestation” and his words should be considered as words of inspiration and enlightenment. These missionaries have written several treatises to justify this claim and have even claimed that his position is superior to that of his father! We have several handwritten treatises from his top missionaries, which are evidence of this claim. Abbas Effendi has always welcomed these missionaries with respect, honor and gifts. In all of his works and writings, he has praised and honored them and sent them to different countries to present and spread his wrong opinions, thoughts and ideas.
Disrespecting the Bahaullah’s family
Bahaullah ordered all to respect his family, thus causing to strengthen and boost Baha’ism. He explicitly stated that this ruling should be enforced now and in the future. He also ordered that all Baha’is respect his family and relatives, but Abbas Effendi disobeyed this order.
Abdu’l-Baha’s disrespect to the Bahaullah’s secretary and servant
Bahaullah in his testament has emphasized the special position of Mirza Aqajan Kashani – Khademollah or the servant of God – who served Bahaullah and was his special secretary for more than 40 years, but surprisingly, Abdu’l-Baha rejected and excommunicated Khademollah! In Bahji, when Khademollah said things that he did not like, he insulted and beat him. Although he was later affected, he ordered those around him and his supporters to imprison Khademollah and beat him cruelly. They did so, and if they did not fear the government punishment, they would certainly have killed him. To this day, the Baha’is who support Abdu’l-Baha, curse Khademollah and fabricate and publish false and inaccurate information about him.
Publishing and distributing his writings and not publishing those of Bahaullah
Bahaullah commanded the Baha’is to publish his “Holy Words and Texts,” but Abdu’l-Baha did everything in his power to prevent the Bahaullah’s command from being carried out. Abdu’l-Baha’s followers and supporters were allowed to read only parts of Bahaullah’s writings and works which confirm the views of Abdu’l-Baha according to his opinion and interpretation. Today, more attention is paid to Abbas Effendi and his writings in the Baha’is’ meetings and their official released pamphlets.
Closing the Publication Institute of Bahaullah
By order of Bahaullah and his handwriting, a publishing house in Mumbai, India, was established by Mirza Mohammad Ali and the investment of the Afnan brothers to publish his works and books and to distribute them throughout the world. Abdu’l-Baha did his utmost to shut down the publishing house, forbidding his followers from owning and using the books published by the publishing house. To illustrate the issue, what follows is how the publication institute was founded by the order of Bahaullah from the language of Mohammad Ali Effendi:
I traveled to Mumbai in 1889. This time, my son Shoa’ullah and Haji Khavar accompanied me. The purpose of this important journey was to establish a publishing house to publish some of Bahaullah’s speeches and writings and to release them abroad, so that the ears of the seekers might hear the voice of the topmost pen. It was difficult to do this here (Palestine), so I suggested to Bahaullah to allow me to do this important task while traveling to India. Mashiyat-e A’ala or the Supreme Volition ordered it, and after arriving in Mumbai, I had a meeting with the late Haji Seyyed Mohammad Afnan, against Abhi. He showed great enthusiasm. Of course, he thought that at that time, he would have financial problems for this work, but he made arrangements for the work and founded the Nasseri Publishing Institute. I wrote a letter to Bahaullah, explaining the situation. The answer was that the printing house should be under the supervision of Mr. Afnan and I have no benefit in it. When the project was underway and the publishing house had a good activity, the Most Holy Book and the Book of the Heykal were written and transcribed by Haji Mirza Hossein Shirazi, known as Khorasani, and Molla Ahmad Ali Neirizi. I carefully matched them to the original version and then sent them to the publisher. When the first edition of the books got ready, I sent them to Bahaullah, and he agreed with the final edition. Then, other holy books (Bahaullah) went under printing, namely the book “Eshraqat” in the handwriting of Mishkin-Qalam, the Most Holy Book with new typesetting, the book “Monajat” in the handwriting of Mirza Hasan Khartoomi, and the book “Doay-e Koochaki” with new typesetting. All the above mentioned books were published by Nasseri Publishing Institute. The owner of the publishing house was Haji Seyed Mohammad Afnan and its director was his cousin, Mr. Mirza Ibrahim Afnan. Bahaullah undoubtedly considered this to be one of the most important events of his service, and Haji Sayyid Muhammad Afnan was delighted to take the lead. In fact, he did everything in his power, whether in terms of physical strength or financial strength, to start publishing. Since after the death of Bahaullah, they (Abdu’l-Baha and his followers) did not allow Seyed Muhammad Afnan to profit from his printing and press work, so he suffered losses and had to sell his printing equipment below cost and return to his hometown Shiraz in Iran. His heart was broken and he became ill as a result of grief and left this world. Hope that he will be blessed and forgiven by God. (The book “Hidden History”, Eric Stetson, Gooy Publications, p. 152)
Dissolution of Egypt’s Spiritual Assembly
Upon the order of Bahaullah and in a decree written and signed by him, a company was established in Cairo and was named as “”Spiritual Institute” whose aim was to propagate and serve the Baha’ism. Abbas Effendi made a great effort to dissolve it and finally succeeded in this way. Thus, he destroyed the most important actions and efforts made in the time of Bahaullah, so that no trace and signs of the actions carried out at the time of his father would remain in the memory. About the assembly established in Egypt, Mirza Mohammad Ali says, “Some of the Baha’is in Egypt including Haji Khorasani wrote a letter to Bahaullah, asking him to choose a name for the existing Baha’i organization in Egypt and he chose “Spiritual Assembly”. Haji wanted me to be a member of that assembly, which I did not accept and informed him that the collected money is also the property of the assembly and they can use it in any way they see fit to serve the Amr or cause. When I was in Mumbai on my second trip to India, I advised my friends to provide a place for their meetings, as is the custom of Indian religious groups. They warmly accepted the offer and named their meeting place “Consultation House.” Haji Mirza Hossein Khartoomi served there and prepared the house for regular weekly meetings. The number of Baha’is increased soon, and people of other nationalities joined them, especially Iranian-born Zoroastrians who had immigrated and settled in India (Hidden History, Eric Stanson, p. 155).
Forgery and distortion in Bahaullah’s works
In response to the question, “Did Abdu’l-Baha dare to change and distort the text of Bahaullah’s speech?” It is safe to say “yes” and we have no doubt that if it is necessary to change the Bahaullah’s texts in the future, he and his followers will do so again, because if one ever dares to change and distort textual words for one time, there is this talent and readiness in him to naturally repeat this work again! We have many documents and texts of Bahaullah which were changed and distorted by Abdu’l-Baha. Some of the most important ones are listed here:
A-Tablet known as Beirut
Some of Abdu’l-Baha’s relatives released a letter claiming that it had been written by Bahaullah’s secretary (Mirza Aqajan Kashi, Khademollah) and had been sent to The Most Great Brach (Abbas Effendi) while he was in Beirut. It was later claimed that it was one of Bahaullah’s discourses and was named as the “Beirut Tablet.” Khaemollah, the servant and agent of Bahaullah denied that he had written this text and stated that it was not written by Bahaullah. Abbas Effendi made a great effort to convince his fans that the text of the tablet is correct.
B-Tablet of Judgment
They took one of the tablets, called the Tablet of Judgment, and removed the phrases from the middle part of it, then claimed that it was a special tablet and was issued in honor of Abdu’l-Baha. They have included this tablet in their collection of letters. We accidentally observed these tablets and rejected their claim; because we have the exact text of this tablet, in Bahaullah’s own handwriting. It was after this enlightenment that they became silent. However, they still secretly read this text to those who do not know enough about Bahaullah’s works and consider it a special tablet about Abbas Effendi.
C-Tablet of Treasurer
They took texts from two different tablets and put them together to produce a new tablet called the tablet of “Treasurer”, claiming that it was issued in honor of Abbas Effendi. When we received a copy of the new tablet, after reviewing and matching for some time, we found the first two tablets and explained the subject explicitly in our treatise. Then, Abbas Effendi denied the production and arrangement of such a tablet and blamed the Unitarian Baha’is for writing it! But even today, some of the fans and missionaries sent to India by him offer this tablet to the beginners and consider it as one of the reasons and proofs of his merit.
D-Changing the Arabic word of attention
Abdu’l-Baha has misinterpreted the Arabic word “to pay attention” which means “to look” and has interpreted it as looking at him (Abbas Effendi) in every way. He says that just as we should look to God and pay attention to God, we should also pay attention to Abdu’l-Baha in the same way. This interpretation has always been used in the same way by him and his followers. The Baha’is now forbid having a photograph or portrait of Bahaullah, but have the portrait of Abdu’l-Baha in their homes to replace that of Bahaullah during prayers in accordance with the Most Holy Book.
E-Attributing the Holy Tablet to himself
Abbas Effendi attributed to himself phrases from the “Holy Tablet” which belonged entirely to the Most Great Branch (Muhammad Ali) and was about him, and his followers considered those phrases as proof of the truth of Abdu’l-Baha’s claims, but when we duplicated the copy of the image of the original tablet distributed among the Baha’is, they questioned Abbas Effendi. He had to admit the truth and then said that the contents of this tablet refer to both me and Mohammad Ali Effendi, but his answer was not true! Because no knowledgeable Baha’i, by reading the original tablet can claim that none of the words on the tablet refer to Abbas Effendi. A translation of this tablet has come in the book “Hidden History” which is quoted here:
He is the great; he is the best, my God! It is true that this branch has grown from the tree of your unity and the cradle of your unity. My God, you see him how he loves you, and clinging to your rope of goodness. So protect him in the shelter of your grace. God, you know that the reason for my love for him is because of your love and affection for him, and the reason for my choice by him is only that you have chosen him. Help him with your forces on earth and in the heavens! Help whoever helps him, and whoever denies him, deny him. My God, you witness that the ink of this pen and the power of this muscle is declining! I ask you, by the right of my astonishment in your love, and my endeavor to express your command, do whatever you have prescribed for the prophets and the believers in your heavenly messages! It is truly right that you determine the same for him, that you are omnipotent and able to do everything.
He is great, my God! Help the Branch of Allah-o Akbar with recitation and supplications, and establish in a way that your knowledge and secrets may flow from his pen. My God! He is eager for your satisfaction, and is attached to your love and obedient to your command. Whatever good you have said in your book, destine for him. It is true that you are capable of anything. Blessed is he who puts himself under the protection of the divine branch, his patron, and the patron of the world. O my branch! Be like the cloud of my rain of spring mercy; So rain on everything in my name. O my branch! I have chosen you because that original choice has chosen you; Say: O God of the worlds, all praise and thanks be to you. O the Great Branch! We truly chose you to help our cause; so, stand up and serve! Conquer Shahr al-Asma or the city of names in my name; You dominate what “he” wants! O sea! In my name, roaring and big, move and roar! It is true that every action is dependent on love and affection for you; Blessed is he for whom the destiny and success are destined by God, the God of the universe. Blessed is he who hears your call and goes to you for the love of God, the Lord of the worlds. (The Hidden History of the Baha’is, pp. 115 and 116)
F- Deviant interpretation of the word covenant
Bahaullah said “the book of my covenant” and did not say the book of covenant of another person. Abbas Effendi claimed that this book is the book of his covenant. Abdu’l-Baha taught his followers that Kalimollah (Moses) took the covenant of Ruhollah (Jesus Christ); Ruhollah (Jesus Christ) took the covenant of the Furqan point of Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny); the Furqan Point took the covenant of the Point of Bayan (Bab)! The Point of Bayan (Bab) took the covenant of Man Yazharollah (He whom God shall make manifest) (the Eternal Father) and Man Yazharollah, the father, Bahaullah got the covenant of the “God’s Selection” (Abbas). With such an argument, Abbas Effendi somehow claimed to be among the prophets and to be a divine manifestation, even greater than Bahaullah.
G- Attributing the Tablet of Hardships to himself
When Bahaullah was in exile in Edirne, Khademollah wrote a treatise addressing the problems and hardships of the time. These days are referred to in Bahaullah’s books and tablets as the “Days of Hardships” and that year was called the “Year of Hardships”. In some of these tablets, Bahaullah has explicitly stated that the “days or years of hardships” have passed, but Abdu’l-Baha, after the death of his father, claimed that the “Year of Hardships” belonged to his time, and considered it as a tablet by citing the writings of Khademollah. He asserted that the tablet was written upon the order of Bahaullah and that he was using it to advance his purposes.
Conclusion
Because of his liberal views and critical stances, Dr. Ibrahim Kheirallah after ten years of activity and the propagation of Bahaism, refused to cooperate with Abdu’l-Baha and strongly opposed him. Then, he accepted the leadership Mohammad Ali Effendi replaced by his brother and founded the Association of the Unitarian Baha’is under the supervision of Mohammad Ali Effendi. Seeing that Kheirallah had left him empty-handed, Abdu’l-Baha tried to bring him back to Bahaism through bribery and intimidation, but when he was disappointed with his conversion, he rejected and expelled him from the Bahaism. Kheirallah had fundamental criticisms of Abdu’l-Baha’s thought, behavior, and character, and did not consider him worthy of leading the Baha’i community, and he believed that after the death of his father Bahaullah, Abdu’l-Baha had arrogantly ignored the Bahaullah’s achievements and advice.
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