The medium and net behavior of the Bahaism [1] cult which was occurred during the solar month of Day 1404 S.H., will be analyzed and investigated.
Of course, I try not to have or security judgement and in fact my main focus is on a concept which has been mentioned as political sectarianism. A concept which explains that how some religious or sectarian groups exploit their net and identity capital for political action in social crisis conditions without accepting its formal responsibility.
To indicate the objectivity of this pattern, the documented findings of a report about the activity of the Baha’i users in social media during the first 10-day of riots were used.
It is usual that this report which was provided based on availabilities existing in the cyberspace after internet restrictions was limited (in the case of availability), the report could have been richer. However; at that limited interval, there are as serious signs of the organization coordination and really overt net purposeful action and their reason is that it wasn’t sudden.
As a matter of fact, an activity had been planned and they were going to follow an action towards which the intellectual confronting by the government caused them not to achieve their goals; otherwise, they had started an action and in fact they were moving based on a pre-determined plan.
In the first part of the discussion, I am going to explain about the cult as a social structure. One of the so-called western researchers says differentiating between the church and cult [2]: Cults are possessing high interior integrity, severe identity royalty and dominant social discipline.
This characteristic will result in two consequences; 1) High capacity for quick and coordinated group action at the time of crisis and, 2) The ability to reproduce discipline and meaning which is dependent from the government or majority community. Such logic can be seen in our investigated data.
Stressing on sectarian media continually and terms like the oneness of the divine faith, the permanent awareness of the disciples[1] [3] (now the divine faith means Bahaism) and the personal behavior of the Baha’i users are reacting this sectarian integrity.
This integrity is not political; of course, naturally we don’t want to say that this integrity is a political debate, but it provides the opportunity for making political.
However; another part is the informal obedience and meaningful silence which exist inside this cult. We can see that according reports the management of the cult; that is the organization of the universal hove of justice, BIC organization and the Baha’i media don’t do overt activity in this regard, but they confirm them implicitly.
Marx Weber says analyzing the charismatic authority: Obedience is not always overt in the cults from the head. The leaders’ silence or indirect hint can also act as an order.
On the solar month of Day, 1404 S.H., we can exactly see this pattern in the formal foundation of the cult. That is, the formal foundations of Bahaism and international community and BIC are apparently silent. That is, the Bahaism organization says nothing and is silent.
Nevertheless, on the solar month of Day, 7 a day before the so-called oppositions of marketers started, an instruction was issued from the 19-day reception site stressing on preserving the unity of the divine faith; that is, the Baha’is must preserve their unity and integrity and permanent soberness of the disciples must exist.
This Simultaneity is an example of informal obedience and organizational retract ability according to sociology of religion; that is, the cult body is allowed to take action, but the head of the organization does not consider itself to be upbraided and tries to evade this proposition.
One of the other hypothesis concerning cults in the topic of sociology of religion such as Brian Wilson and others who theorized is that cults seek asylum to isolation or active opposition in social tension circumstances.
According to the report provided by us; in the solar month of Day 1404, Bahaism selects the four second course and the Baha’i users overran severely from the limit of religious comment expressing in social atmosphere, social media atmosphere and in various programs including X (ex-Twitter), Instagram, Telegram and etc. That is, we cannot see the Baha’is pose their theological proposition and they pose their religious debates.
Here, they can be seen in the position of active media and political activists. Their behaviors show that the Baha’i organization tries to show the limited class oppositions of marketers as a social political crisis and then it enters into the field and takes action to make meaning and narration engineering.
Such movements enter into influential mobilization between diffusive experiences existing among people and make a huge meaningful narration. Such event can b be presented exactly in the observed data available for us.
The Baha’i users and the media which are in the same direction with Bahaism are methodically joining 1404 appositions with 1396 and 1401 ones and try to show this problem and these riots as a historical trend of campaign against the Islamic Republic of Iran and to make it bold.
On the other hand, a historical crisis continuation is being made not the reflection of reality.
In another part, they make their political action as holy, it will become a bit different. This political tendency towards spirituality shewed by the cult elevates opposition to the level of religious duty while it is a social demand. Also, the opportunity for becoming behavior as radical will be provided.
Eventually, they claim for not meddling with policy and the primary principle in the Bahaism organization is that they accept obeying the government in various countries as a principle and obey the governments’ orders. Even, Abdul Baha says: You must obey the tyrant governments.
Here, the position is suddenly changed and obeying the governments which was previously a holy issue will be replaced by disobedience. This contrast and contradiction show that this movement is untruthful.
In the last part of our discussion which the empirical findings and ethology of the Baha’i users are being studied, the data of field reports will be presented.
In the formal foundation of Bahaism, a formal silence and an informal ambulation can be seen; that is, the formal foundations are silent, but the Baha’i users are active in the networks. On the solar month of Day, 17 messages from informal resources of the cult such as the allowance for participating at riots were published.
As a matter of fact, this is the very silence pattern for rejection and ambulation to influence; that is, it is silent where it is to be accused, but unanswerable parts start presenting data for the Baha’i addresses to reflect and enter into the field.
Keep in touch with us: bahaismiran85@gmail.com [4]
[۱] [5] In sectarian community, the Baha’is call themselves as “disciples.