Although Baha’ism seeks to attract and retain members by pretending and creating special hobbies, those who combine reason and thinking with their innate inclinations find the existing sectarian contradictions in the cult as a wakeup call to save them and seek to exonerate it. Khashayar Nabili is a young man who has been a Baha’i for several generations, yet his parent’s kindness and wisdom led him to break away from the Baha’i organization and become a Muslim. What follows is an exclusive interview with Mr. Nabili:
Please introduce yourself and tell us what you are doing now?
I am Khashayar Nabili, 21, live in Teheran. I am a student in pharmaceutics and currently working in a pharmacy.
How had your family become Baha’i from the beginning?
At first, my grandfather became a Baha’i in Semnan.
In view of your background as a Baha’i, how was your family status in the Baha’i organization?
Our family did not have firm beliefs in Baha’ism, but I as a Baha’i who was a member of the organization, had to take part in the fests every now and then.
Was it mandatory to attend the meetings?
Due to my parents’ reluctance to do organizational work, some individuals constantly came and warn us to attend the meetings. Of course, my parents tried not to go to meetings under various pretexts, but in many cases it did not happen.
At what age did you find out that you are a Baha’i?
As a child, I went to Golshan classes, where I realized that I was different from the rest and that I was a Baha’i.
Explain a little about Golshan classes?
Golshan are the classes where the Baha’i children attend it instead of going to kindergarten. It teaches basic Baha’i teachings, and the educators work with children on texts of the Baha’i leaders as Baha’i prayers, known as “Monajat” or prayer.
Except this, what other programs were held for you by the organization?
Feasts were held in which they had program for the children in order to encourage them to remain as a Baha’i. For example, the poems and prayers they have learnt in Golshan are recited and they are encouraged there. At the beginning and end of each Golshan course (which lasted one year), they also hold celebrations for children.
How is your relationship with other Baha’i families? Were you more in touch with Baha’is or non-Baha’is?
Our relatives are both Baha’is and Muslims. Of course, we were more intimate with Muslims, while Baha’is were usually further away in terms of distance. So we had little contact with the Baha’i families.
What attraction did the Bahaism have for you at that age?
The classes they hold are often fun and funny. They also try a little to raise the kids un-trammeled. They are not sensitive to how the relationship between a girl and a boy goes and what happens. In general, they try to attract children with jokes and laughter. They take them for a walk. They say nice words. Sometimes they do seemingly humane things. For example, they go to a nursing home and give flowers to them as gifts.
Well, one part is having fun, but as a rule, they also taught things and had demands. On what issues did they emphasize in this case?
After the Golshan courses, there were “Adolescent Classes” which are the prelude to the “Spiritual Plan” in which they plan for nurturing people at a young age. The spiritual plan classes had also turned into a circle for revelry. There was a lot of restraint and I myself saw a lot of children coming in their get-together because of these issues.
You mean they had no emphasis on spiritual beliefs in these classes?
Apparently, the classes start and end with monajat or prayers. There is also reading and teaching group dhikrs. However, they use laughter, jokes and entertainment to slowly introduce people to their desired game. That is, they also teach about their goals during the revelry.
Except this, were there any other meetings?
Yes, there was a meeting called “ethics lesson” that is usually held on Fridays. Its atmosphere is completely religious and children are forced to memorize prayers, secret words and so on. These sessions are open from elementary school to the entrance exam for universities.
Are the Baha’i elders also mentioned in such gatherings?
Yes, the Baha’i history is fully taught. In addition to the leaders of the organization, namely Hossein Ali Nouri, Abbas Effendi and so on, they also introduce other figures who have been prominent and played a major role, such as Mulla Hussein Boshrouyehee, … which, of course, since I have been away from them for a long time, I do not remember their names exactly.
What were the duties and responsibilities of the children?
The children are asked mostly to memorize historical issues or prayers. However, they also wanted practical work. For example, they taught us to talk to our friends about being Baha’is and to persuade them, but most children are not in the mood to do so because of their young age. In elementary and middle school, no one really revolves in such an atmosphere, but the organization starts working on people at the same age. Because after all, if you instill something in a child from an early age, he or she will do it on his or her own when he or she grows up.
They said what exactly you should share with others?
They wanted the children to talk to their friends about the Baha’i elders and say that we have such a prophet, prayer, fasting and deeds, and talk to them about some get-togethers and that we always have fun.
Did they expect something that was illegal?
This issue of propaganda was against the law. Of course, the most important thing that seemed illegal to me was to read spiritual books and promote them among the people.
What did they say about other religions in the classes?
They did not talk much about Islam because they wanted to stay away from Islam. In general, they had created an atmosphere in which talking about Islam was considered ugly. They slandered the rules and regulations of Islam and said that there was something wrong with it. Once, on the first day of an ethics class, one of the children recited the Qur’an. This was very ugly and shameless in the eyes of others, why did he recite the Qur’an among us, when everyone recites prayers, no one has the right to do so. Other religions and the prophets are mentioned only in names and what their books were or who their followers were.
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