Introduction:
Contrary to divine religious communities, the Baha’i community is a closed one which is organizational. People possess less freedom of thought and action and must act according to organizational plan and supervision.
Since the establishment of Bahaism till now, the functions of members are controlled by foundations like the disciples of God’s faith, Bahaullah‘s knights (in the western countries) and etc. and the committee (board) of protection in order to identify the dissatisfied people or the influential members.
Aiming monitoring the function of Baha’is and avoiding each kind of violating frameworks, these foundations supervise the various aspects of their lives from personal affairs to social interactions.
It is obvious that those who have served the Baha’i faith in these posts so far are servant and loyal to the head of the group and hate those who criticize Baha’is and oppose them.
These foundations have been active in various periods of time of Bahaism having various names; The continental boards of counsellors, assistance board, aids, covenant assemblies, protection assemblies that are busy monitoring and spying in Baha’i communities.
The reports of these foundations are influential in Baha’is fates and cause them to be noted, punished, boycotted, or dismissed. Consequently, the Baha’is who enter into party or political affairs, don’t get married based on the Baha’i commandments, criticize the function of Baha’i leadership and etc. are continually under the supervision of protection foundation and are to be punished or castigated.
During Bahaullah and Abdul Baha’s periods of time, Baha himself and Abdul Baha were using the clergymen’s cloths and using the prefix of mullah in order for the Baha’i protective-security organization to remain unknown and in order for their names not to attract attention for them to do their security and intelligent service missions.
The Baha’i protective-security organization continued its proselytizing and organizational activities secretly and hypocritically being aware of the sensitivity and opposition of the state and governmental officials in Iran and Arabic countries.
An exact glance at the security and protective foundation in the Baha’i organization will reveal that although the Baha’i community heads who were thinking of expanding the iron organization since Shoghi Effendi’s period of time, they were superficially claiming for not having clergyman class in Bahaism, but practically and in many cases they were secretly forming a new class called security-protective salaried class whose main duty is to flatter and to praise the Baha’i official and to boycott the critics of Bahaism and to destroy non-Baha’i critics.
First, this article introduces Abbas completely by his daughter and then it explains protection department of the Baha’i organization and its duties and the necessity for obeying the Baha’is.
The complete biography of Abbas Reza (1911-1980 A.D.) by his daughter:
Since youth, my father served Bahaism as his main aim. After finishing the elementary and high school educations, he started his Baha’i services as a member of the assembly (youth committee) of Bagdad city. He learned Persian, English and German languages and advanced.
He was continually writing letters for Shoghi Effendi. When he was young, he became a member of the local assembly of Bagdad and then he was elected as the member of national assembly of Iraq.
In 1953 A.D. on the onset of the 10-year organizational proselytizing great Jihad plan, he was resided in Sychelles islands in the Indian ocean as immigrant and introduced as Bahaullah’s Knight by Shoghi Effendi for this reason.
He stayed there for nearly three months, but he came back to Iraq due to not being able to pay the rental!
In Iraq, he served Bahaism firmly. Ordered by dear guardian (Shoghi Effendi) he was commissioned several times to Arabic countries in the region particularly Lebanon. He was the representative of the national assembly of Iraq in some Baha’i intercontinental conferences.
Also, he was the representative of the Baha’i organization in some non-political conferences held by the United Nations. He was a patient and exemplary person in the Baha’i community, defended and proselytize for Bahaism.
In 1957 A.D., he was appointed as the assistance board to preserve the Baha’i faith. In 1966 A.D., he lived in Iran for a while and helped Mr. Muhammad Hussein Rowhani to transfer Bahaullah’s father’s dead body to cemetery of the Baha’is.
Ordered by Shoghi Effendi, he did various duties concerning the historical places of the Baha’is in Baghdad city.
My father was really firm in serving Bahaullah and was also loyal to obey the universal house of justice.
In 1352 S.H., he was imprisoned. Several months after being free from prison, he got weak and died on June 5, 1980 A.D.
My father wished to write a book at the end of his lifetime about the Baha’i faith.
Getting aware of my father’s death, the universal house of justice sent a telegraph for us:
“We got really sad about Abbas’s- Bahaullah’s knight- death. He was the firm preacher of Bahaism and capable defender of covenant. He has done various services in the field of immigration and proselytizing. We pray for him.”
The duties of protection department in the Baha’i organization:
In order to proselytize, protective, and intelligent service duties in the international Baha’i community and asked by Bahaism leadership, Abbas Kamal travelled repeatedly to various countries such as Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, the Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar, India, Pakistan and Iran and set protective reports of the above-mentioned countries and also the critical conditions of Iraq during 1960s and 1970s and sent them for Shogi Effendi, the board of disciples residing in Haifa and then to the universal house of justice.
The duties of the employees of protection department:
The members of the board of assistance must continually be alerted and supervise the deeds of those who try to create doubt in disciples’ minds influenced by carnality and to weaken the Blessed faith.
The members of board of assistance must continually be careful about those who are recognized as enemies of the Baha’i faith or those who have been dismissed out of the community.
They have also must provide cases for all Baha’i people who have been boycotted due to the lack of obeying the Baha’i organization and also those who have been boycotted administratively.
They must provide cases for those Baha’is who are supervised due to disobedience and lack of loyalty.
They must take the boycotted people under observation in their residential place.
One of the duties of the Baha’i protective assembly is to prevent the Baha’is having relationships with critics or studying their works and having social intercourses with critics and so the boycotted.
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