Mrs. Nahid Vahdat Sho’ar is a truth seeker who reached the truth through continuous research. Despite the deep differences, even the obvious contradiction, between what she had found and what she had seen and learned since childhood, she was willing to accept the truth with open arms.
Perhaps talking about such sentences and writing about such a great work is not so difficult, but the greatness of this work occurs when a person knows that if man wants to accept the truth, he must put aside his prejudice and the environment in which he has been grow up and what he has learned from his family and relatives; They don’t chant slogans, but they act, they tolerate the rejection of their family, relatives and friends, hear tongue-lashing and bad language from them and do not say anything, and in short, face a thousand different problems with courage; yes, according to Hafez, well-known Iranian poet:
As you step through the desert longing for the Ka’aba/ The thorns may reproach you, do not grieve
When Mrs. Nahid Vahdat Sho’ar found the truth, she accepted it and turned away from the Baha’i faith. Then, with firm determination and a lot of effort, in spite of the various limitations she had, she put all her strength in the pursuit of sincerity to introduce others to the true treasure she has found. In this way, she not only endured misbehavior and bad language from far and near, but also preferred to wake up others rather than being comfort and convenient. The following article is an interview with her, which we hope will be interesting for you, the dear reader:
Q: Thank you very much for giving us the opportunity to have this conversation. Mrs. Vahdat Sho’a, at a young age, you started to research from a completely Baha’i family where your father had a special position in the Baha’i organization, and became converted to Islam with knowledge. First, we ask you to introduce yourself and explain your family’s position in the Baha’i organization in your city.
A: Thanks a lot. In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Beneficent, I am Nahid Vahdat Sho’ar; my father was very active in the Baha’i organization of the city of Gonbad Kavoos. He was always a member of the Feast Committee. He was a moderator in all the feasts, and became members of the assembly almost for three periods, and he had many activities and was always busy with the organization. He got many books and his library was full of Amri books. He was very active and at the same time respected the rights of Allah, so that every year, they paid 19% of their income, which is known as the rights of Allah. Apart from all these, they collected money for the Baha’i organizations at the feats; because usually in the meetings, a box is placed in the middle of the table and those who participate in the meeting must put money in the box during reception. He was also very active there and apart from the rights of Allah, he always took money for the organization in his shop which he shared with his brother.
The organization collects money for various purposes; And nowhere did they give an answer as to where this money will be spent and what it will be spent on. Of course, they themselves apparently said that we spend this on people who are in poverty and have no money, but that was the appearance. They may have given a partial contribution, but they withdrew the main money and we understood that they used it for the expenses of the Amr or cause and missionaries who came from this country to that country, from this city to that city, that is, they spent the Baha’i propaganda, and so to speak, this money was mostly spent on the progress of the cause. This was our opinion.
Q: Mrs. Vahdat Sho’ar, What was the issue of lottery?
A: In addition, they also had a lottery program. Four or five days before the month of Baha’i fasting, which is in the month of Esfand, where they had a special feast every night for those four or five days, they would have dinner there and hold a lottery. sometimes, they also played music. I remember that in some cities they gathered there and at the beginning, after reciting prayers, they would give a piece of paper to everyone and say how much money you want to help the cause? Everyone should write the amount they wanted on that sheet. Their dinner was chelokabab or a food that they cooked themselves; or it was a sandwich and after dinner they would hold a lottery program. Many times I was surprised. A man went and stood up. Everyone had been sitting on the floor or on chairs. He said who would buy this carpet for so much. Someone said that I would buy two thousand tomans. Then another said, for example, three thousand tomans. The more … they competed with each other.
This means that they really supervised all the families in terms of money and who owns what? Do they have an heir or not? How is their financial situation? Even after the revolution, they sent people to our house. I was still at my mother and father’s house, which of course I had separated then, but I didn’t know the tragedy to that extent. I realized that the problem is much deeper. Even though they were in the organization themselves, two women came to visit every month. My mother was upset. He told my two sisters, who were staunch Baha’is, what are they coming for? I was wondering what they come for? Then we found out that they usually come and peep inside the houses, to find out what everyone has? Who does what? What is their financial situation? They did the same thing with our family.
Q: Mrs. Vahdat Sho’ar, you mentioned the issue of the rights of Allah. our audience may not be familiar with it. Please explain:
A: It is a religious tax in the Baha’i Faith that everyone has to pay nineteen percent of their income per year to the Baha’i organization, which they call the Rights of Allah. It is a simulation of the discussion of Khoms and Zakat in Islam. They wanted to do it and say that this is also a religion that has a kind of religious tax and all Baha’is are obliged to pay the rights of Allah. In addition, boxes were placed in the meetings and even passed around so that if someone had something extra, they could force people to pay property to the Baha’i organizations through other programs such as collecting donations.
Q: When did the motivation for research start in you to verify the things you were taught in the ethics class and what sparked your mind? What made you decide to do more research and then finally abandon Bahaism?
A: In the ethics class, something that was a question for me since childhood was that they said that it is necessary to leave prejudices and imitations and to suppress the truth and to leave myths and superstitions, but in the books they dealt with superstitions, for example, they said that Bob and Annis tied Bob’s cellmate together to the rope of hanging. They hanged them and shot them seven hundred and fifty bullets, but the bullet hit the rope and they survived!
Q: Just as it was shown in the Bob’s film?
A: Yes, they survived. And they saw them in their room! Then they tied them again. After killing those two, smoke rose and the weather became dark and there was such a wind and storm that everyone lost their way and could not go to their homes. This is what they told us in ethics class! I felt that they were saying superstitions, well this is superstition and they were brainwashing the children. Then I came and referred to history and many things in history became clear to me.
For example, in the ethics lesson, they told us that when Bob was studying in Seyed Kazem Rashti’s classroom, one day he was sitting by the window and the sun was shining on his legs. And you don’t know. They emphasized these things a lot, but didn’t say anything about the fact that that Imam Zaman ordered to buy weapons and attack and kill and they rebelled. They imposed three wars on the government and Amir Kabir really had to fight against them. Of course, in history, it seemed to me that Amir Kabir was killed by these Babis, that is, Nasereddin Shah’s mother, Mahd Olia, was in contact with the British Embassy and she carried out the plot to kill Amir Kabir under the guidance of the British.
If I hadn’t been in Baha’i meetings, I wouldn’t have known these things. I had attended ethics classes and had read their contents. I came to university; my major was history. I saw that these things they told us in the ethics lesson are incorrect. For example, they told us that when Baha’u’llah claimed to be a prophet, they took him to Tehran’s dungeon and chained him for four years. Later, when I referred to history, I saw that Baha’u’llah was one of the accused in the assassination of Nasereddin Shah. That is why he was arrested and imprisoned. Not because of prophetic statements and many other issues, which I will tell you one by one if I get a chance.
Q: Did these issues make you doubt and say that I should do research?
A: Yes, they really didn’t come to tell the truth. They hid the facts. Let me tell you this, at the banquet, they not only hide their religious truth from the Muslims, but also hide their rules and laws from among the Baha’is who are there. I remember when I was a child, we used to go to banquets, they said that you should not interfere in politics, whoever interferes in politics is not one of us. One thing that was very strange for me, I was ten or twelve years old then, before the revolution. They said that if you want to be employed in one of the departments, put a dash in the religion column. Then we found out how many Baha’is worked in the Shah’s apparatus from the prime minister Hoveida to others. They do not come to say these things. Hojabr Yazdaniev, the Shah’s physician, the justice chief, Sabet Pasal, who brought the television. How much influence did Baha’ism have in Iran that they had taken all the important affairs of the country around the Shah?!
Q: You said that I realized that this slogan of suppressing the truth and abandoning prejudices is not a real one. When you yourself researched and discussed with some Baha’is or organizations, what was their reaction when facing this slogan?
A: I did not discuss it with the Baha’i organization, because I was far from them. I have been educated since I was twenty when I went to the boarding school for two years. After that, I was in Tehran University. My parent and sister used to go to the feast, but I didn’t go and I was separated. My parent were in the city. That is, my family situation was such that fortunately I had no contact. The times were like this, then we separated and came here with my sister.
Q: Didn’t they oppose you?
A: Since I had no relationship with them publicly at that time, nothing happened. I cut from them when I realized that they are after power and money. In the first place, I saw that I have read their history and this is a religion that is not true and they told us a false history. At that time, I said that whoever believes has an opinion and likes to worship his God in this way.
Thanks God, my family did not pester me maybe because of my circumstances. A few things happened. Thanks God who wanted this to remain in my mind forever. First, I said that this is a religious belief and it is their religion. Then when I read more, I saw that no, it’s all a lie; as far as I know, Baha’u’llah had the right to be an English citizen at all, he had an English passport, he was seen with the Freemasons in Baghdad. I said that I have nothing to do with them, whatever religion and opinion they have is for themselves; But I realized that they are a security danger at all, and are looking for politics at all. They check all the personal issues of the families; who has how much money? Who has an heir, who doesn’t? They are terribly involved in people’s personal matters.
Q: Mrs. Nahid Vahdat Sho’ar, Can you give us an example?
A: Example: It was after the revolution. My brother was in another town. My mother and father had gone on a trip. Now the truth is, he had taken home the lady who was his friend and they had found out about it and rejected this boy for six months administratively and disgraced him. See, they had the characteristics of his life. This was an example. Character assassination is one of the important works of Baha’ism. They commit character assassination. They would come immediately and call his name. They have administrative and spiritual Tard or rejection, they called his name in all the banquets that this gentleman is like that. They disgraced him.
Or, for example, the father of my mother’s first cousin was abroad. When leaving, He had written Muslim and he was dying and had to leave. He said I had the love of my father and for this reason, he was rejected. Of course, they are still Baha’i and have been brainwashed like this. Or they would say to my aunt, why did you have a relationship with your husband during Tarabbos (The period in which the husband and wife must wait for one year after deciding to separate until the divorce is finalized (? One year before the divorce, they have a Tarabbos that they should not have contact with each other at that time. So, he had been rejected.
We have spiritual rejections that are terrible. I was a child, ten or twelve years old. I heard that a man named Fereydoun Taeedi had gone to study in America. Shoghi had said that no one should go to America, then when they found out that he did not listen to the order and went to America, he was rejected spiritually. Then, they come and announce in the meetings that this person should became spiritual rejection. His family and parents and no one else should talk to him! Accidentally, one day the parent saw their rejected son on the bus, they missed him very much. They cried and wept, but they could not go and talk to their son. Because if someone talks to a rejected person, he will also be rejected. They lamented and suffered but did not speak, and their son walked and left without talking to his parent.
I saw another thing with my own eyes and touched it with my soul. There was an old man whom I knew well. When we were children, we had traveled with this man and his wife. I knew him perfectly. He had come and objected why something like the Bayt al-Adl organization or the House of Justice should be above religion? He had given a comment like this. They rejected this old man who had six daughters and one son and a wife. His family threw him out of the house. They kicked him out. This poor man suffered so much in homelessness here and there that there is no limit. Once, he allegedly came to see his daughter and sent a message saying, “Will you let me come to your house?” His daughters were all staunch Baha’is and were so brainwashed that they did not allow this old father to come to their house.
Q: Mrs. Nahid Vahdat Sho’ar, you mean they didn’t allow their father to see his daughter?
A: Yes, yes, it was terrible. This was spiritual rejection.
Q: Do some of these organizational orders still exist? To go through the families to see who has what, or to ask someone who is dying to donate his property to the organization? If you have a sample, please, tell us.
A: Yes, before I tell you about my story and what happened to my sister, please note that I had read the history, but it became very conscionable to me and I truly and completely understood with all my heart what a dangerous group they are.
Before my sister went to the nursing home, we were at home. An old woman and her three daughters lived two streets down. Two of the girls were unmarried and one was married and had a son who was a bit mentally challenged. They lived by themselves. The Baha’i nursing home kept them for a couple of months. They died after one or two months. I didn’t know what was going on until then, my mother was very smart. She understood these things well. Once my mother said: They died within two months. Then, the organization came and confiscated their house.
We heard that the man and the boy he has, were paid to keep quiet. Because they had no one, they gave him money and confiscated his house. This happened after the revolution. Despite all, we did not pay attention and said that maybe it was an agreement; until the issue of my sister happened and I understood in detail. It was as if God wanted these things to happen to me so that I would really understand what is going on and how dangerous they are. If you are a religion, what do you have to do with people’s issues? What do you do with power and politics? What do you have to do with people’s financial issues? What do you have to do with inheritance? You are religion, sit tight.
We had bought a house. My mother lived separately. My sister also had a separate house. Then she got sick, and was secretly taken to the nursing home without the opinion of me and my mother in order to get more money from us. Because my father backed them. They said that we would give you money and take his house and take money from Nahid. They are after money. I(Nahid) realized that I am very hot-blooded. I(Nahid) am hot-blooded. I(Nahid) asked them, why didn’t you inform me and my mother that you were taking him to the nursing home? He is sick. Of course, my sister was Baha’i and backed them, but after all, she was my sister. It is true that we were very different from each other in terms of morals and ideology, but my conscience and feelings and that sense of sisterhood did not allow me to let her go and my heart was burning. I said this is not normal now. He has problems, he cannot walk. They are taking advantage and want to take his house and take more money from us.
If they are telling the truth, they should keep him in his own house. If he has a house, they should bring a nurse to the house and take care of him, take his money. My father used to say that Baha’ism has favorite and non-favorite people. They differ between Baha’i and Baha’i. Even though my father had given so much money to them, in the end, his child did not become a favorite one. They had come to take him, and I realized that they had no good intentions and intended to abuse him. It seems to me that they abuse. I had a problem with this condition of blindness, my mother was also old. They wanted to annoy and upset us, and to take advantage of the opportunity and confiscate the house. This was from the love and unity of their human world. We completely touched this Baha’i practice with our bottom of heart, being close to them.
In short, I(Nahid) brought my sister home; I(Nahid) used to go with the nurse and help her in any way I could. These Baha’is found out that I kept her in her house, they kept calling me anonymously and introducing themselves as my sister’s neighbor, come and take your sister. Come on, do this. Come on, do it like this. She does not observe cleanliness. I used to go to her house and nobody said anything. So who were calling? We understood that it was the Baha’i’s work so that I could not keep her, that they would achieve their wish and take her to a nursing home and take over her house, and that’s how it happened. Because I fought and got involved with them so much and they called so much that they got on my nerves.
They pitted the guards and neighbors against me. They also do these things. If they are not good with someone, they go around and beat them, as they beat my mother a lot. That they say “love”, this is all an outward thing. In practice, this is not the case. Wherever their interests are, wherever they want to do something, they will do whatever they can for their interests. They even kill people, if they ever get the power; that I hope God does not want it to happen
The end
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