Pahlavi period of time is different from the previous one in some ways:
I) Bahaism leadership changes and after Abbas Effendi’s death, his grandson Shoghi Effendi from his daughter’s side becomes the leader of the deviant cult of Bahaism. As shogi Effendi has written:
“The Excellency Abdul Baha [1]‘s death, ended the first era of the Baha’i creed entitled “the missionary era” and started another era called “the genesis era”. The genesis era is the elevation of the Baha’i administrative discipline.[1] [2]
While Abbas Effendi resembled his father in appearance and education and had a charismatic position among the Baha’is, Shoghi Effendi was completely different from those two ones; because he had studied in two American universities of Beirut and Oxford. Most of the time, he was living in Europe; he set the traditional appearance aside and got married with a western woman. He was seriously weak in leadership and management.
This issue caused differences and made known people like Fadhlullah Mohtadi, Abdul Hussein Ayati and Hassan Nikou who were of the famous proselytizers of Bahaism turn against Bahaism and become Muslims and revealed Shoghi Effendi and this cult.
II) A government gains power on which this cult influences to be emerged and considers itself to be its partner. Contrary to Qajar [3] government, their government founds its policy on deleting religion and open campaign against Islam, so it acts in the direction of the cult. On the other hand, “the secularism Reza Shah regime provided an opportunity to expand administrative departments as well as the important matter of religious advertisements particularly after the repression of Qajar era…”[۲] [4]
III) Both Pahlavi government and Bahaism cult were supported by England; that is, in addition to having common enemies they had common lord under whom they were doing their activities.
IV) In international dimension, after ending World War I and the British keeping on Palestine, Bahaism possessed extensive political, advertising and material atmosphere than before.
In this suitable atmosphere, the Baha’is established the formal organization and assemblies. The establishment of “national spiritual assembly” of the Baha’is and “the assembly of the Baha’I intensiveness were of the first formal organization of the Baha’is in Iran which the first one was established when Seyyed Ziauddin Tabatabaee was the prime minister and the second one was Reza Khan’s kingdom.
The Baha’is claim that they were limited during Reza Shah’s period of time. An author writes:
“The absolute structure of the regime and his emphasis on the Iranian nationalism eventually influenced on lives of the religious minorities.”[۳] [5]
To answer to this respectful author, it should be said that Bahaism is not a religious minority; but it is an anti-religion minority and the absolute regime of Pahlavi was just confronting against Islam and the majority Muslim community of Iran despotically; otherwise it was surrendered in the presence of aliens and opponents of Islam proved by the influence of the Baha’is in this government,
Consequently, the first Pahlavi period of time must be considered as the flowering period of Bahaism in Iran; since for the first time this cult after passage of nearly half a century of its emergence could reveal its activities in Iran to some extent to be changed from a forbidden cult into a semi-formal one.
The presence of people related to the cult in government and army was to such an extent that major Saniee, the prince’s adjutant was a Baha’i and the prince and Ashraf were educating at Baha’i schools for a while. Major general Shoaullah Alaee, one of the dignitaries of the Baha’is of Tehran city and the member of the national spiritual assembly became in charge of the office for Cossack computations. “Alaee”, was the colonel during Reza Khan’s periods of time and the major general during Muhammad Reza’s periods time.[4] [6]
Of course; during this period of time, the Baha’i activity didn’t have the same trend and in special cases it confronted some limitations by the regime because:
I) Reza Khan had abolished Qajar kingdom pretending to be Muslim and attracting views of several scholars. At first, he couldn’t deal himself with this movement which was backed by people. This method was obvious during the first decade of his government.
II) Reza Khan was worried about the Baha’is to be in touch with the English as a parallel power with him and tried for all relationships to be through his route. The proof of this issue is the omission of some key elements of the government such as Tymourtash and Davar. Consequently, he was exerting some restrictions about Bahaism, too.
III) Reza Khan was dictator and totalitarian and his government was a quite totalitarian one which couldn’t tolerate any different voice. He tried to gather all political, religious, cultural and economic movement under his cover.
Consequently, the first Pahlavi era can be considered as the mutation era of Bahaism after nearly half a century of boycott and isolation from the Iranian community which was fructified during the second Pahlavi and the Baha’is monopolized all affairs.
Source: the cultural and intellectual study of Baha’ism movement in the contemporary Iran, pp. 175-177.
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[۱] [8] Shoghi Effendi, calling the world people, Houshmand Fath A’zam, 1993 A.D. pp. 7-8.
[۲] [9] Leila Chaman Khah, Bahaism and Pahlavi regime, Tehran, Negah-e Moa’ser, 1391 S. H., P. 118.
[۳] [10] Ibid.
[۴] [11] Asadullah Fadhel Mazandarani, Zohourul Haghgh, Ibid, p. 8.