The confusion and contradictions faced by the conscious and conscientious God’s sheep after Abdul Baha’s death (which rejected the origin of Baha’ism legitimacy) were to such an extent that according to Abdul Hussein Ayati (former Baha’ism proselytizer) the conscious and insightful people turned against Baha’ism and from that time on the followers of Baha’ism were called bigoted or ignorant.
After Abdul Baha’s death and the lack of fulfillment of the self-proclaimed Baha’i prophet’s prediction in the method of succession after him and ruling a seditious person like Shoqi Effendi as his succession created basic questions for the informed and conscious Baha’is and caused the survival of Baha’ism difficult for the truth seekers.
Because not only Shoqi Effendi’s succession put the Baha’is in a two-way of being Baha’ism as non-divine (Because his prediction about his succession wasn’t fulfilled) and in adversity from explicit order by Baha in Ali Muhammad’s succession after Abdul Baha[1]; but also Shoqi Effendi’s financial and sexual sedition added to this confusion. Before his death, Abdul Baha didn’t consider anyone to be merited for his succession. According to Sobhi’s confess: “He (Abdul Baha) wrote to the Baha’is several years before his death when Abdul Hamid, the Ottoman king had been suspicious about him and wanted to exile him t Khizan: Nobody can call the follower to himself after me…[۲]”
Sobhi who was considered as Abdul Baha’s relatives describes him observations about the shameful sedition of Shoqi Effendi: “I knew Shoqi well. Among the grandchildren of Abdul Baha; in the early days (of my arrival at Heyfa) I got to know Shoqi. He possessed a special nature that I can’t explain about it, well. He had a low manly temperament and constantly wanted to make friend with strong young men and to have sexual intercourse with them! One night, we got together with Dr. Zia Baqdadi (the offspring of one of the famous Baha’is who was a physician in America and had come to Heyfa to meet Abdul Baha) in Acre. We were joking like the youth. Amid dialogue, I went out to do an action. When I returned, I saw Dr. Zia had done an improper action with him… I was upset and said: Doctor! What are you doing?! Shoqi turned to me and said: Shoqi me if you have penis! I had heard and seen such speech and actions several times and I found out that I realized that Shoqi must have had a deficiency[3]”
[۱] Ishraq Khawari, the tablets after the Aqdas, Bija: Bina, Bita, p. 135.
[۲] A group of authors, when I was a Baha’I, p. 15.
[۳] Fadhlullah Sobhi Mohtadi, Father’s message, p. 367.
