1 - Economic Globalization By Dr. Roger Doost
Economic Globalization
Globalization is a term which was first used during Bretton Woods Agreement in 1944 which led to the formation of International Monetary Fund and the World Bank setting the stage for a harmonious system of global trade and transnational transactions. It later led to the formation of World Trade Foundation and other international organization for promotion and stabilization of global trade. Globalization as a term was first used widely by a Harvard professor by the name of Levitt in early 1980’s.
Globalization was initially used in the economic context, although it has now proliferated into political, environmental, scientific, technical, legal, and cultural domains.
Globalization means interaction among governments, corporations, and individuals all across the globe.
Globalization, the way it is used now, has some negative connotations in terms of imposing a method or a system by a dominant force to others.
From an economic perspective, Adam Smith, author of Wealth of Nations in 1776, is considered to be the father of Capitalism, Free Enterprise, and Free Trade. He suggested that the market forces should be left to themselves to work freely and get rid of inefficient enterprises.
Karl Marx, refuted the idea over one hundred years later due to excesses of Capitalism, exploitation of the workers, and the hedonistic and careless attitude of the super rich class that was existent suggesting in his famous work Das Kapital for workers of the world to unite and take over the means of production.
Charles Darwin’s article on the Origin of Species meant to prove the gradual improvement in species form and adaptation to the environment. A few decades later, Herbert Spencer expanded on this idea from a philosophical vantage point suggesting the notion of survival of the fittest. This mindset led finally to Nazism in mid 20th century suggesting elimination of certain people in order for the mastery of Aryan race over other people after the undesirables have been eliminated. This way of thinking, most unfortunately, is still prevalent in the minds and hearts of some people across the globe believing their tribe or nation or race to be the dominant and most important group who must rule and dominate the rest of mankind.
As a reaction to Karl Marx and particularly after Communism took over the Soviet Union, the West took many serious steps in alleviating the huge suffering of working people including laws forbidding child labor, limiting working hours, seeking better working conditions, etc. early in 20th century (during McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt Administrations) and laws on social security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. by mid 20th century during Franklin D. Roosevelt and Johnson Administrations in particular.
John Maynard Keynes, the renowned British economist, believed, promoted, and succeeded in convincing governments of the necessity of some government intervention to stabilize prices as well as fiscal policies and progressive taxation for wealth management and distribution before during and after WWII. These theories were overridden by the original Smith’s theory of competition and freer hands of business from 1980’s by a new and influential architect of macroeconomics Milton Friedman.
The achievements although substantial at this stage have still worsened the distance between the superrich (some 1% of the world population) and the super poor (some fifty percent of the world population). The staggering increase in world population has made the situation worse. While the world population in early 19th century was a mere one billion, it has now grown to over 6.5 billion and is increasing approximately by some one hundred million each year or one billion each decade. Many scientists consider the carrying capacity of the world to be around 10 billion. Although further advances in science and food production capacities may not have been adequately considered, the United Nations has taken significant and important steps in this regard in recent decades which has slowed down the population explosion of post WWII. The solution, it appears, is a combination of education and economic development and prosperity of nations as it is proven in North America, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand or through government intervention as is the case in China.
Thomas Friedman, a renowned journalist, thinker, and writer has authored many articles and several books including The Lexus and the Olive Tree, and The World is Flat defending Capitalism, Free Trade, and the advances made, giving several examples from India and China, believing that the playing field has been leveled and individuals and entrepreneurs from all across the globe are enjoying the possibilities that global trade of goods, services, and knowledge transfers provide, and we must continue unabatedly on this path. He recognizes the need for minimal intervention so that those who have been left behind do not remain in utter poverty and agony. He also considers the necessity of some consideration for cultural differences in this march forward for more improved economies.
Noreena Hertz, the author of the Silent Takeover, on the other hand, sees economic globalization as having resulted in contributing to elimination and subjugation of many cultures and ways of life, in dehumanization and destruction of the Habitat, in contributing to environmental problems, and in making the super rich wealthier and the masses poorer. He sees the need for a more active role by the United Nations and more vocal protest by the concerned citizens of the world to reverse the excesses of the past few decades.
The Baha’i Faith while accepting the necessary evolution and improvements that have taken place in the last two centuries does not seem to consider either course as totally adequate and acceptable. We seek social and economic equity and justice and elimination of extremes of wealth and poverty. Abdu’l-Baha has dealt with this subject briefly in Some Answered Questions and many of his Tablets and Talks. Baha’i scholars, it seems to me, must be careful in not identifying themselves with one ideology or another but keep referring back to the works of Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of Justice to ascertain that their thoughts, their writings, and their discourse promote the Baha’i ideals and solutions in these realms.
While we must work and encourage the entities that are working to bring global equity and justice to reality, we must never lose sight of the ultimate ideals that are inherent in the teachings of Baha’u’llah for this Age. Let us also not forget that the ultimate solution in bringing unity to our thoughts and to our actions is Consecration to the Cause. Consecration means a deep love for the Cause in aligning our thoughts and our actions in service to the entire human race with devotion, passion, and selflessness which according to Baha’u’llah will bring about the true healing and oneness with the Master of the Universe.
Total equity and global economic justice appears to be impossible in the absence of the functioning global system which will be briefly discussed in the second session on Globalization dealing with Political Globalization.
2- Political Globalization As consecration (becoming one with God) according to the scriptures is the essence of harmony and oneness, we will refer back to this concept and reflect on this issue on a consistent basis. The Hidden Words of Baha’u’llah, the Seven Valleys, and the Four Valleys as well as prayers and meditations are the essential tools in our path toward consecration.
Many of Rumi’s poems deal with the concept of consecration:
Die to the din and the noise/ of mundane concerns/ In the silence of love/ you will find the spark of life…..(Love Poems of Rumi, p. 38).
The renowned philosopher, Jacob Needleman (a Sense of Cosmos, p. 162) states:
All around us, both within and outside of sciences, there is a yearning to heal the fragmentations and divisions that separate man from nature, man from man, and man from God. The search is for new, unifying concepts of the universe and the social order.
Political Globalization deals with efforts and institutions that work above the state level dealing with security, welfare, human rights, health, environment, communication, oceanic, education, and other issues with global rather than purely national implications.
Politics and the Baha’i Faith: the question of non-interference in politics from the Baha’i perspective, it seems to me, must be revisited and better explained. We do not interfere in partisan and destructive politics, but Baha’i Faith starting with Baha’u’llah’s Tablets to the Kings and Rulers, to Abdu’l-Baha’s Secret of Divine Civilizations to Shoghi Effendi’s Advent of Divine Justice, the Promised Day is Come, and the World Order of Baha’u’llah, and Universal House of Justice’s various pronouncements including the Promise of World Peace (1985), the Prosperity of the Humankind (1995), and the Century of Light (1999) have a distinct and very important political dimension, which build on the accomplishments of the past to bring about a New World Order. The Baha’i Studies Association has a prominent section on Politics and the Faith which holds periodic conferences and as an example has produced the important document Processes of the Lesser Peace. The subject of the Bahai Faith and Politics must be addressed in a series of sessions for further discussion and analysis.
History of Empire building: although the term globalization is relatively new, but the effort toward political unity has been with us for at least the last 2,500 years – starting with the Persian Empire of Cyrus the Great from borders of China to North Africa, followed with the Greek Empire of Alexander the Great, and then the Roman Empire, Charlemagne’s Empire, Mongolian Empire, the Holy Roman Empire, and the Ottoman Empire. These Empires were essentially dictatorial and were formed and functioned by force and domination ruling vast areas of the globe for some 2,400 years.
Some of the major philosophers and thinkers in building the current political order:
• Plato (348 bc departure): depicts a “luxurious city” in his famous Republic where life is orderly through proper division of work among laborers, merchants, soldiers, and the philosopher/king aristocrats who rule the city, the nation, or the world providing permanent peace and security.
• Cicero (43 bc) recommends a republican, democratic, consensus building, and aristocratic form of government to maintain peace and order.
• Thomas Hobbes 1679 d.) states that “in the state of nature life is solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” Thus, self-interested cooperation is necessary and will lead to peaceful societies that enter into a social contract under a system of monarchy, aristocracy, or democracy.
• John Locke (1704 d.) concluded that government should be with the consent of the governed. If such consent is not given, the citizens have a right to rebellion.
• Montesquieu (1755 d.) promoted liberalism and division of powers (executive, legislative, and judicial)
• John Stuart Mill (1873) was a strong advocate of free speech and introduced “the harm principle”; i.e., you can do and say anything that you want as long as it is not harmful to others. Free speech leads to better informed citizens and more enduring democracies.
Federalism: there have been three major attempts in federalization and melting of different cultures into one nation in prior centuries: the United States of America (1776), Switzerland (1848), and Canada (1867). All of them have been successful and enduring.
The United States Constitution and the Declaration of Independence are very much influenced by the above thinkers. The Baha’i Faith starting with the Tablets of Baha’u’llah to the American Republic and the British Queen Victoria has been very supportive of the democratic form of government and the American Federalism as an example and a prelude to a lasting peace and an enduring world order.
Efforts toward globalization: serious efforts toward globalization started with the declaration of Baha’u’llah as the spirit of the new age with Red Cross formation in 1863, Telegraphic Union (1865), Universal Postal Union (1874), Institute of International Law (1873), and 450 other international organizations by 1914.
A peace conference was held in 1843 followed by Interparliamentary Union in 1886, Hague Convention of 1899 and 1907. All bets were off when WW1 broke out in 1914.
In Part 2 of this lecture, we will briefly discuss the League of Nations, the United Nations, the European Union, and other efforts including the role of the Faith and the United States in bringing us closer to the long awaited Lesser Peace for unification and harmonization among all nations across the globe for the benefit of all God’s children on earth.
| 3 - Humanity’s Struggles toward the Lesser Peace The Holy Writings inform us that humanity has been taking steps toward unity from an early time. This is the age of mankind’s maturity to bring about the peace foretold by the all the prophets of the past and promised by Baha’u’llah. Among the Writings which deal more specifically with Global issues are Tablets to the Kings, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, Abdu’l-Baha’s the Secret of Divine Civilization, the Tablets of Divine Plan, the Promulgation of Universal Peace, Shoghi Effendi’s Advent of Divine Justice, Promised Day is Come, World Order of Baha’u’llah, and the UHJ’s the Promise of World Peace, the Century of Light, and One Common Faith.
In addition to philosophers, scientists, political scientists, and politicians who have taken steps toward a lasting peace in the past couple of centuries, there have also been poets and writers such as Tennyson, Victor Hugo, and Leo Tolstoy who wrote and talked about the necessity of peace and peaceful living. Tennyson wrote in 1842:
For I dipped into the future, far as the human eye could see.
Saw a vision of the world and all the wonder that would be.
Till the war-drum throbb’d no longer.
And the battle-flags were furled.
In the Parliament of man, the Federation of the World,
There the common sense of most shall hold –
A fretful realm in awe,
And the kindly earth shall slumber,
Lapt in universal law.
The important peace makers of the 20th century outside of politics, it seems to me, are Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein, Bertrand Russell, Mother Theresa, and Nelson Mandela.
There were also those who saw the future of humanity as very dark and troublesome. Among them are George Orwell (Animal Farm, 1984) Adulux Huxley (The Brave New World), and Eric Fromm (psychologist, psychoanalyst, socialist, political activist) whose works appeared shortly after WWII. In many ways, there are similarities among these writings and how Shoghi Effendi sees the future in the short-term. The crisp and clear writings of Orwell are particularly sobering – particularly when he refers to the Ministry of Love instead of Ministry of Defense who are in charge of finding how to perfect the art of mass killing as well as schemes to be created to make people think they are thinking for themselves although they are repeating the commands of the “Big Brother”.
Among contemporary political theorists are
1. Francis Fukuyama who authored the Trust and the End of History and the Last Man. He concludes that by the fall of the Soviet Union, we have come to the point of advancing Western Civilization globally in terms of democracy and capitalism for a better and more harmonious future.
2. Robert Cooper, a well-respected British politician and theorist sees the coming together of humanity with three important events in history: 1648 ad – Westaphalia Agreement which provides a firmer basis for nation-states as points of authority and an end to the brutality of prior centuries culminating in the European 30-year religious wars.
3. Samuel Huntington (Clash of Civilizations) takes issue with the above thinkers, particularly Fukuyama, believing that the fight is not over yet and rather than thinking about a harmonious future, we need to be aware of the fault-lines falling along religious/cultural (and somewhat irreconcilable differences in his estimation) among: Hindus (India), Budhists (SE Asia), Confucians (China), Eastern Orthodox (Russia, Eastern Europe), Catholics (Southern Europe, South America), Africa, the dominant Protestantism of Northern Europe and North America, and the world of Islam (Middle East and North Africa, etc.). His membership to the Academy of Sciences was resisted by professor Serge Lang (Univ. of Chicago, Columbia, Yale) on the grounds that Huntington’s writings are pseudo-science and collection of his prejudices rather than unbiased science. Professor Edward Said wrote him a long response calling his work “the Clash of Ignorance” asking how he puts Persians, Arabs, Kurds, Africans, etc. in one pot and asking for a self-fulfilling prophecy of an impending clash. President Reagan and the Conservative movement are very much influenced by the writings of Huntington.
4. Bernard Lewis (the Middle East, What Went Wrong, etc.) looks at the fall of Islam and the Middle East from a historical perspective and says “the question is not what Islam has done to the ME, but rather what Moslems have done to Islam”. While there is some truth in this statement, it still seems somewhat simplistic and self serving because the demise is due to a combination of factors not the least of which is the tampering of colonial powers (particularly, Russia, France, and England) for some three centuries.
Our beloved Faith wants from us a melting of the cultures and finding the best of each for a better future rather than exclusion or domination of one over the other. The Western culture will be enriched by the works of Confucious, Rumi, Hafiz, Saadi, Attar, Sanai as well as other Eastern philosophers and prophets, and when this merging occurs, we will rise above it all as a better human race. The age of Internet and cross cultural exchanges and travels has brought us closer to such a possibility for our children.
After the demise of the European Peace Conference of 1907 (that was addressed by Abdu’l-Baha) and the League of Nations after WW1, the United Nations (formed in 1945) has finally held on in spite of the many difficulties that it faces. The many organizations of the UN including ECOSOC, WHO, ILO, ITU, WB, IMF, WTO, OECD, ICC, ICJ, and UNESCO work tirelessly on issues such as peace keeping, fair trade, population control, food distribution, human rights, environmental issues, human rights, women’s rights, disarmament, etc. virtually around the clock around the world with offices in New York, Washington, Paris, Vienna, Geneva, Addis Ababa, etc. We, Baha’is, are involved with the UN since 1947 in a non-governmental status and continue to advise the UN authorities in ways that will eventually bring them closer to Baha’u’llah’s vision. In particular, the Baha’i Community issued a statement in 1955 followed with a more comprehensive statement in 1995 (Turning Point for All Nations) suggesting that the UN will become more effective when a) it searches for better financial arrangement, 2) there is a minimum requirement criteria for UN membership, 3) a universal auxiliary language is chosen, 4) a more effective military arrangement for the UN can be worked out, 5) modifications to the Security Council’s working system are implemented, and 6) the World Court’s jurisdiction is expanded and strengthened.
Other stabilizing forces through the world are NATO, G8 Industrial Nations, European Union, and the United States. EU has 27 member states now with two on the waiting list who must pass a series of tests on democratization and human rights issues before their membership is accepted. In addition, EU has become more effective because they have the three branches of legislative, executive, and judicial powers with 23,000 employees working tirelessly for harmonization of issues dealing with human rights, security, welfare, and trade among nations. In many ways, EU has had more successes in implementation of its policies and mandates compared to the UN on a global level. In addition to Baha’is, World Federalist Movement, the Globalists, and many other organizations are working tirelessly to bring about world equity and world peace.
In the last session, we will review Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablet of Seven Candles, Shoghi Effendi’s Unfoldment of World Civilization, and the UHJ’s One Common Faith to see how our vision of Lesser Peace will ultimatel 4 - The Path to the Most Great Peace
In prior sessions, we spoke about the path to economic and political globalization that will eventually lead to the Lesser Peace as envisioned by Baha’u’llah (Tablet to Queen Victoria) and elaborated upon by Abdu’l-Baha (for example in the Tablet of Seven Candles) and Shoghi Effendi (for example in the Promised Day Is Come and The World Order of Baha’u’llah). Universal House of Justice (for example, Letter of 1992) points out that the path may be tortuous and long and it will come about out of necessities of the time and not by any action or plan of the Baha’is.
Abdu’l-Baha explains in the Tablet of Seven Candles, the seven requisites until we reach the goal of the World Order of Baha’u’llah which is the Most Great Peace. The Candles as listed in the Tablet and explained by Mr. Nakhjavani (Towards World Order, p 9-10) include 1) Political Unity (formation of the United Nations), 2) Unity in World Undertakings (Red Cross, Environmental Controls, Population Planning, Fighting Poverty, Fighting disease (AIDS, Cholera, etc.)), global educational planning, economic assistance to the poor regions of the globe, fighting terrorism, etc.), 3) Unity in Freedom (end of colonialism and assessing the regions for some basic level of human rights on a global level with the creation of International Court of Criminal Justice, and the World Court), 4) Unity in Religions, 5) Unity of Nations (a global consciousness through telephone, telegraph, radio, television, fax, tourism, travel, and ultimately internet that we are truly members of the same family and this planet of ours has become a global village where we are all related), 6) Unity of races (accelerated with what was accomplished in the Civil War in 1860’s and one hundred years later by the Civil Rights movement and the efforts of Martin Luther King and other leaders, and up to the present time as well as parallel movements in other parts of the globe), 7) Unity of Language (efforts in developing capabilities for people across the globe to be able to learn at least one other language that they can agree on for smoother global communication).
When major difficulties with regard to these goals (except item 4) are ironed out, humanity reaches the point of implementing the foundation of a truly functioning world federation – perhaps similar in format to the European Union that currently has 27 members and has been able to harmonize many economic, political, judicial, and security issues among those nations. This Union which has legislative, executive, and judicial powers is the largest and most successful regional effort toward globalization.
The major thinkers in the area of globalization such as Milton Friedman (on economic globalization), Fukuyama, Lewis, and Huntington (on political globalization) and Thomas Friedman (on political and economic globalization) point out to the impediments along the way but their thinking appears to be hampered by a myopic western notion of globalization in terms of democracy and capitalism.
The major negative thinkers/writers in this respect (Orwell, Huxley, Fromm, etc.) point out to the impediments to this Lesser Peace of which we must be aware. Shoghi Effendi also agrees with this vision but only for the near future until we reach the age of true maturity. These impediments include racism, materialism, secularism, communism, nationalism, atheism, religious fanaticism, militarism, injustices, wars, disparity in wealth, immorality, and terrorism (as specifically mentioned by Shoghi Effendi in his major works) and perhaps, sexism, isolationism, excessive individualism and selfishness, rampant disease, population explosion, and ecological problems.
Out vision, it seems to me, based on a comprehensive review of the Holy Writings in this regard, is that we want to merge the very best of traditions and systems and build something new which may have elements of the current democratic and capitalistic systems in it but may also introduce elements of autocracy, aristocracy, and democracy which may be quite different from our current understanding of these terms. The current Administrative Order in terms of elections, consultation, and running the affairs of the Faith is a prelude to the projected World Order of Baha’u’llah which will lead to the Baha’i World Civilization as explained by the Guardian in the World Order.
It may be alluded from our reading of the Writings of Baha’u’llah that there may be an intermediary step between the Lesser Peace (political unity and functioning of all nations) and the Most Great Peace (when oneness of religion and religious harmony is understood by the masses of the humankind). That intermediary step is the Greater Peace (when the majority in certain nations have accepted the verities of this Faith and start functioning within the Baha’i framework (Toward World Order, p12 with elucidations from the Advent of Divine Justice).
A series of non-Baha’i scholars/writers/philosophers/thinkers have come to the realization that the old systems are obsolete and we need to think of something new:
• A. N. Wilson who wrote God’s Funeral rightly points out that because of the excesses of the Catholic Church (through 16th Century) and its fanatical pursuits as well as Scientific Revolution (17th Century), the Age of Enlightenment (18th century) leading to French Revolution and then, Industrial Revolution (19th century) by the end of 19th century most if not all thinkers/scientists/philosophers of Europe were either Atheists, Agnostics, Deists, or Theists and had given up on the Church. He concludes (wrongly, it appears) that there is a 20th century revival of the Church to make it right.
• Karen Armstrong author of many books including the Holy War, A History of God, and the Battle for God concludes that a) these warring groups must learn to get along, and b) the major problem in world’s instability comes from the extremists among Christians, Moslems, and Jews whom she calls Fundamentalists. She believes that the rest of humanity should attempt to put a check on the fundamentalists of all stripes everywhere if we are to experience peace, and c) she comes to the realization that in this age of global interaction, we need to learn from all holy scriptures in order to make a new civilization worthy of the 21st Century.
• Jacob Needleman (A Sense of Cosmos) comes to the realization that the vacuum created in the human mind should be healed by a new and universal sense of spirituality and oneness.
• David Freudberg who has authored and distributed hundreds of cassettes via interviews with people of all faiths (Kindred Spirits, Humankind, etc.) wants to show that the basic tenets of all major religions are essentially in harmony and believes that through this method of exposure eventually the differences would be narrowed and human psyche would be healed.
• Fethullah Gulen, a prominent Turkish theologian and author of Sufism, has gone back to the illuminating works of Rumi and adding his own thoughts concludes that the essence of religions is kindness, compassion, love, and unity, and the time has come for humanity at large to understand this major concept about religion in general.
The writings of Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of Justice (as particularly documented and summarized in the booklet, One Common Faith) conclude that unless and until humanity come to the realization of the Progressive Revelations culminated in the works of the Messenger of God for this age, Baha’u’llah, the human psyche would not be totally healed, and when this stage of human progress is reached, we achieve the real oneness of mankind and be able to proclaim boldly and universally that there is one God, there is one Religion, and there is one Human race. This would be the Golden Age of the Baha’i Era.
“The Most Great Peace… as conceived by Baha’u’llah – a peace that must inevitably follow as the practical consequence of the spiritualization of the world and the fusion of all its races, creeds, classes, and nations – can rest on no other basis, and can be preserved through no other agency, except the divinely appointed ordinances that are implicit in the World Order that stands associated with His Holy Name (World Order 162-3).
We will review the Holy Writings and discuss the issue of “America and the Most Great Peace” on Sunday March 25th.
| 5 - The Most Great Peace 1. During the course of the last four sessions, I have attempted to summarize the advances and drawbacks of Globalism: a) Economic Globalism, b) Political Globalism, c) the Lesser Peace, and d) the Most Great Peace.
2. The Most Great Peace… as conceived by Baha’u’llah – a peace that must inevitably follow as the practical consequence of the spiritualization of the world and the fusion of all its races, creeds, classes and nations – can rest on no other basis, and can be preserved through no other agency, except the divinely appointed ordinances that are implicit in the World Order that stands associated with His Holy Name. (World Order 162-63).
3. Tablet of Baha’u’llah to the Presidents is the first call to this nation on the path to the Most Great Peace:
“Hearken ye, O Rulers of America and the Presidents of the Republics therein, unto that which the Dove is warbling on the Branch of Eternity: “There is none other God but Me, the Ever-Abiding, the Forgiving, the All-Bountiful.” Adorn ye the temple of domination with the ornament of justice and of the fear of God, and its head with the crown of remembrance of your Lord, the Creator of the heavens. Thus counselleth you He Who is the Dayspring of Names, as bidden by Him Who is the All-Knowing, the All-Wise.
The promised One hath appeared in this glorified Station, whereat all beings, both seen and unseen, have rejoiced. Take ye advantage of the Day of God. Verily, to meet Him is better for you than all that whereon the sun shineth could ye but know it. O concourse of rulers! Give ear unto that which hath been raised from the Dayspring of Grandeur: “Verily, there is none other God but Me, the Lord of Utterance, the All-Knowing.” Bind ye the broken with the hands of justice, and crush the oppressor who flourisheth with the rod of the commandments of your Lord, the Ordainer, the All-Wise” (World Oder, 88).
4. Abdu’l-Baha reminds us that “From the beginning of time until the present day --- the light of Divine Revelation hath risen in the East and shed its radiance upon the West. The illumination thus shed hath, however, acquired in the West an extraordinary brilliancy. Consider the Faith proclaimed by Jesus. Though it first appeared in the East, yet not until its light had been shed upon the West did the full measure of its potentialities become manifest.
The day is approaching… when ye shall witness how, through the splendor of the Faith of Baha’u’llah, the West will have replaced the East, radiating the light of Divine guidance. (World Order 253-4).
5. Tablets of Divine Plan which were revealed by Abdu’l-Baha during WW1 between 1916-17 addresses the American Baha’is in these words:
Behold the portals which Baha’u’llah hath opened before you! Consider how exalted and lofty is the station you are destined to attain; how unique the favors with which you have been endowed… The full measures of your success… is as yet unrevealed, its significance still unapprehended… The range of your future achievements… still remains undisclosed… The moment this Divine Message is carried forward by the American believers from the shores of America and is propagated through the continents of Europe, of Asia, of Africa, and of Australia, and as far as the islands of the Pacific, this community will find itself securely established upon the throne of an everlasting dominion. Then will all the peoples of the world witness that this community is spiritually illumined and divinely guided. Then will the whole earth resound with the praises of its majesty and greatness. (WO 77-8).
The American people are indeed worthy of being the first to build the Tabernacle of the Great Peace, and proclaim the oneness of mankind…. The American nation is equipped and empowered to accomplish that which will adorn the pages of history…Its future is even more promising, for its influence and illumination are far-reaching. It will lead all nations spiritually. (Abdu’l-Baha – quoted in Advent of Divine Justice 85-6)
“The continent of America… is in the eyes of the one true God the land wherein the splendors of His light shall be revealed, where the mysteries of His Faith shall be unveiled, where the righteous will abide and the free assemble… The American continent gives signs and evidences of very great advancement. Its future is even more promising, for its influence and illumination are far-reaching. It will lead all nations spiritually. (Abdul-Baha quoted in WO 75-6).
It is during this period that the first National Baha’i Convention, the Executive Committee of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar, the Green Acre Fellowship, the publication of the Star of the West, the Baha’i Publishing Trust formation, and establishment of Baha’i communities in England, France, Germany, Baltic states, the Balkan Penninsula, and Scandinavia took place. Abdu’l-Baha also rejoiced in witnessing the first contingent of American pioneers to South Amierca, West Indies, South Africa, China, Japan, India, Tahiti, the Australian continent, and as far as Tasmania and New Zealand. When Abdu’l-Baha passed away, the Faith had reached 35 countries of the world. (TWO p96).
Shoghi Effendi quotes Abdu’l-Baha “Erelong will your brethren from Europe and America journey to Persia. There they will promote to an unprecedented degree the interests of art and industry. There they will rear the institutions of true civilization, promote the development of husbandry and trade, and assist in the spread of education… Assuredly they will come; assuredly they will contribute in making of the land of Iran the envy and the admiration of the peoples and nations of the world (Baha’i Administration, p173 in TWO p101); Helen Kehler, Susan Moody, Martha Root, Adalaide Sharp.
Soon after the passing of Abdu’l-Baha, Shoghi Effendi started laying the foundation of the World Order of Baha’u’llah calling the American Baha’i Community ‘the Cradle of the Administrative Order” as Persia was designated as the Cradle of the Faith.
6. What was Abdu’l-Baha’s suggestion to an American official? Why can’t America afford to be isolationist?
“You can best serve your country…if you strive, in your capacity as a citizen of the world, to assist in the eventual application of the principle of federalism underlying the government of your own country to the relationships now existing between peoples and nations of the world.” (WO 37).”
Shoghi Effendi further elaborates: “For purposes of national security, let alone any humanitarian motive, (America) must assume the obligations imposed by this newly created neighborhood. Paradoxical as it may seem, her only hope of extricating herself from the perils gathering around her is to become entangled in that very web of international association which the Hand of an inscrutable Providence is weaving. (Advent 87-90).
7. America (the good, the bad, and the ugly):
POSITIVES: Declaration of Independence & Thomas Jefferson who fought prejudice and religious bigotry and intolerance (,,, that all men are created equal, endowed by…;) George Washington (American Constitution and the instituted federalism); Monroe Doctrine; Abraham Lincoln (unity of USA, fighting against servitude of the Negro race; gov of the people, by the people, for the people…); Theodore Roosevelt (creating equities; anti-trust laws, workers rights, …); Woodrow Wilson (ending WW1, 14 points, League of Nations, Women’s Suffrage); FDR (ending depression, SEC, social security, ending WW2) Truman (Marshall Plan, Point IV, Keynesian economics), JFK (Peace Corps), Johnson (Civil Rights Legislation, Medicare, Medicaid…); Nixon (dialogue with China); Jimmy Carter (promotion of Human Rights, E/I Peace Accord, Energy conservation); Gerald Ford (end to political assassination); Ronald Reagan (expediting the dismantling of the Soviet Union – aggressively and peacefully); George Bush (kicking Iraq out of Kuwait); Bill Clinton (fight against Serbia, attempt for universal healthcare, maintaining global peace and American global prestige, balancing the federal budget); Freedom and advances in science and higher education, industry, productivity, Bush II (Fall of Talibans, Fall of Saddam Hossein, firmness against Mullas of Iran……), diversity, advances made by the Supreme Court
NEGATIVES: obliterating American Indians, slavery and racism, segregationism leading to Civil War and destruction, MAFIAS and long period of lawlessness, disparity in wealth, materialism, excesses of individualism, excesses of freedom leading to hedonism and immorality on a large scale, breakdown of families and the basic of morality, isolationism, militarism, superiority complex, Attacking Philippines, Hiroshima, McCarthyism, Political Assassinations and overthrow of many legitimate governments across the globe leading to serious bloodshed, dual containment, Vietnam, Unilateralism, Iraq, (preemptive strike), defying the UN and the World Court (condemned in 1986 in case of Nicaragua, brutal invasion and destruction of Iraq). Loss of Trust (social capital according to Fukuyama). Rise of Fundamentalism, Religious Right movement, etc. according to Karen Armstrong, Educational deficiencies according to Thomas Friedman, Militarism and hawkish righteousness according to many others.
8. Shoghi Effendi explains that God had chosen America to be thus distinguished by reason of the patent evils that were rampant in the lives of its people. The evils he enumerated and which would stand in contrast to the virtues and perfections of the builders of God’s Administrative Order, are as follows: 1) immersion “in the sea of materialism”, 2) “a prey to one of the most virulent and long-standing forms of racial prejudice”, and 3) a victim of “political corruption, lawlessness and laxity in moral standards” (Advent 19, TWO 97). Similarly, he explains the 19th century Cradle of the Faith, Persia) as a nation that had “sunk to such ignominious depths, and manifested so great a perversity, as to find no parallel among its contemporaries” (Advent, 10) from such a population, the Revelation of Baha’u’llah was able to raise up heroes, martyrs, and saints who will always be the pride and glory of this Dispensation. (TWO, p97).
9. Administrative order will lead to the World Order of Baha’u’llah, and the WO will lead to the World Baha’i Civilization.
10. (America) will raise its voice in the councils of the nations, itself lay the cornerstone of a universal and enduring peace, proclaim the solidarity, the unity, and maturity of mankind, and assist in the establishment of the promised reign of righteousness on earth. Then, and only then, will the American nation, while the community of the American believers within its heart is consummating its divinely appointed mission, be able to fulfill the unspeakably glorious destiny ordained for it by the Almighty (Shoghi Effendi, Advent, 90-1).
11. Shoghi Effendi (Citadel of Faith 32-33 as quoted in Lesser Peace 152):
“…we cannot fail to perceive the workings of two simultaneous processes… each clearly defined, each distinctly separate, yet closely related and destined to culminate =, in the fullness of time, in a single glorious consummation.
One of these processes is associated with the mission of the American Baha’i Community, the other with the destiny of the American nation. The one … will be consummated through the emergence of the Baha’i World Commonwealth in the Golden Age of the Baha’i Dispensation.
The other … received its initial impetus through the formation of President Wilson’s Fourteen Points, closely associating for the first time that republic with the fortunes of the Old World… It was further reinforced through the declaration embodied in the Atlantic Charter, as voiced by one of its chief progenitors, Franklin D. Roosevelt. It assumed a definite outline through the birth of the United Nations at the San Francisco Conference… It must, however, long and tortuous the way, lead, through a series of victories and reverses, to the political unification of the Eastern and Western Hemispheres, to the emergence of a world government and the establishment of the Lesser Peace, as foretold by Baha’u’llah and foreshadowed by the Prophet Isaiah. It must in the end, culminate in the unfurling of the banner of the Most Great Peace, in the Golden Age of the Dispensation of Baha’u’llah.”
12. Conclusion: the mission and the station of America in general and the American Baha’i community in particular in the eyes of the founders of our beloved Faith are indeed awesome, awe-inspiring, and inspirational. It is primarily this country that through the forces that have brought us so far to this stage will help establish the lesser peace and ultimately the Most Great Peace. We as the Baha’i Community have to redouble our efforts in understanding our position and spend every waking hour in aligning our thoughts and our actions to expedite in bringing to reality the vision and the mission of our beloved Faith.
By:
Iraj Khodadoost
droger@clemson.edu
770-675-3559
Bibliography:
Baha’u’llah, Tablets to the Kings and Rulers
Abdu’l-Baha, Tablets of Divine Plan
Abdu’l-Baha, Promulgation of Universal Peace
Shoghi Effendi, the Advent of Divine Justice
Shoghi Effendi, the Promised Day Is Come
Shoghi Effendi, the World Order of Baha’u’llah
Shoghi Effendi, the Citadel of Faith
Shoghi Effendi, the Administrative Order
Universal House of Justice, the Promise of World Peace
Universal House of Justice, the Century of Light
Universal House of Justice, One Common Faith
Baha’i Studies Association: the Processes of the Lesser Peace
Baha’i International Community, the Turning Point of All Nations
Baha’i International Community, the Prosperity of Humankind
Ali Nakhjavani, “Toward World Order”
Non-Baha’i Sources:
On religious globalization:
Karen Armstrong, “the History of God”
Karen Armstrong, “the Battle for God”
Karen Armstrong, “the Great Transformation”
David Freudberg, “the Humankind and Kindred Spirits,” Audiotapes
Bernard Lewis, “What Went Wrong.”
Rumi, “Love Poems”, translated by Coleman Barks, Deepak Chopra and others
A. N. Wilson, “God’s Funeral”
On Political/cultural Globalization:
Jonathon Clover, “Humanity”
Robert Cooper. “several articles referenced on global issues”
Will Durant, “The Story of Philosophy”
Francis Fukuyama, “the End of History and the Last Man”
Samuel Huntington, “Clash of Civilizations”
Adulous Huxley, “The Brave New World”
Bernard Lewis, “The Middle East”
George Orwell, “The Animal Farm”
George Orwell, “1984”
On Economic Globalization:
Thomas Friedman, “the Lexus and the Olive Tree”
Thomas Friedman, “the World is Flat”
Francis Fukuyama, “Trust”
Noreena Hertz, “the Silent Takeover”
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