From Oppression to Empowerment
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Nader Saiedi, From Oppression to Empowerment, bahai-library.com.
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From Oppression                                Resumen
Este artículo discute el entendimiento
to Empowerment                                 bahá’í sobre la naturaleza de la opresión.
La primera sección identifica y discute
cuatro principales tipos contemporáneos
NADER SAIEDI                                   de opresión involucrando el orden
político internacional, formas del Estado,
estructuras económicas y formas de
Abstract                                       identidad cultural. La segunda sección
This article discusses the Bahá’í under-       explora la respuesta personal de Bahá’u’lláh
standing of the nature of oppression. The      a la opresión en la forma de Sus tres
first section identifies and discusses four    declaraciones históricas. La sección final
main contemporary types of oppression          extrae implicaciones de las discusiones
involving the international political order,   previas para identificar características de
forms of the state, economic structures,       un enfoque bahá’í al empoderamiento y a
and forms of cultural identity. The second     la liberación de la opresión.
section explores Bahá’u’lláh’s personal re-
sponse to oppression in the form of His        In the millenarian promises of all the
three historic declarations. The final sec-    religions, it is commonly expected that
tion draws implications from the previous      the coming of the Promised One will
discussions in order to identify features of   take place at a time when oppression,
a Bahá’í approach to empowerment and           tyranny, and darkness have overtaken
liberation from oppression.                    the world, and that through the Sav-
ior, the world will be filled with jus-
Resumé
tice and enlightenment.1 Bahá’u’lláh
Le présent article porte sur la
compréhension, d’un point de vue bahá’í,
asserted that His Faith was the fulfill-
de la nature de l’oppression. Dans la          ment of those promises. The question
première partie, l’auteur relève quatre        of oppression and empowerment is
grands types d’oppression dans le monde           1 The Arabic word zulm, meaning
d’aujourd’hui, qui mettent en cause l’ordre    “oppression” and “injustice,” comes from
politique international, les types d’État,     the same root as the word zulma, meaning
les structures économiques et les formes       “darkness.” Bahá’u’lláh frequently uses the
d’identité culturelle. Dans la deuxième        ambiguity of these terms to characterize
partie, il explore la réponse personnelle
true knowledge and enlightenment as the
de Bahá’u’lláh à l’oppression, à la lumière
polar opposite of oppression. The themes
de ses trois déclarations historiques.
of darkness and light are also central to
Enfin, l’auteur tire des implications
des discussions abordées dans les deux         Zoroastrianism, in which the world is
premières parties dans le but de définir       viewed as a battleground between good
les caractéristiques d’une approche bahá’íe    and evil, light and darkness, God and
de l’autonomisation et de la libération à      Ahriman, and it is with the coming of the
l’égard de l’oppression.                       Promised One that oppression is to be de-
feated and enlightenment rule the world.
28                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

in fact central to the identity of the      yet paradoxically condemns practices
Bahá’í Faith and a frequent theme in        like racism, colonialism, patriarchy,
the Writings of its Central Figures,        and cultural intolerance as univer-
which analyze the root causes of op-        sally immoral. The end of the Cold
pression and provide a comprehensive        War brought a temporary optimism,
approach to its elimination.                which was subsequently shattered by
During the nineteenth century, hu-       the events of the last twenty years,
manity became intensely conscious of        and we are now witnessing a growing
the issue of oppression. In the past,       attitude of pessimism, cynicism, and
most people considered their own fate       hopelessness.
to be a consequence of the natural or          It is useful at the outset to review
divinely ordained order of things, but      the meaning of the concept of oppres-
nineteenth-century social and polit-        sion. Oppression refers to the exercise
ical philosophers began to view the         of power to keep others in a state of
existing order of things as arbitrary,      subjection and to treat them unjustly
unjust, and morally indefensible. A         by denying what is due them as their
search for the causes of oppression en-     right by virtue of their humanity.
sued and has continued into the twen-       Oppression therefore, by definition,
tieth and twenty-first centuries. But       is the essence of injustice. Although
none of those efforts actually identi-      it encompasses material deprivations
fied the root cause of oppression. The      of every kind, it also includes forms
dominant discourse on oppression and        of psychological and spiritual oppres-
injustice, while offering great insights,   sion. The act of oppressing others—
accepts—and thus at times reproduc-         denying them their rights as human
es—some of the tacit premises of            beings—presupposes the dehuman-
the very culture of oppression that it      ization of the oppressed. Historically,
criticizes.                                 attempts to justify oppression as mor-
Hopeful and optimistic rational-         ally acceptable have relied on defining
ists of the eighteenth and nineteenth       the oppressed group as outside the
centuries were convinced that atheism       boundaries of the moral community
would replace religion; reason would        and therefore as subject to exclusion,
rule; and peace, freedom, and pros-         exploitation, degradation, abuse, and
perity would reign. In the twentieth        deprivation of the rights due to those
century, oppression, rather than re-        to whom we owe moral duties.
ceding, reached unprecedented levels
of intensity, culminating in the geno-      THE LAW OF NATURE AS ROOT CAUSE
cide of millions. As a result, the con-
fident rationalism of modernity was         In recent times, the most prominent
replaced by an inconsistent postmod-        and influential theoretical approach to
ernism that simultaneously rejects          the problem of oppression and injus-
the possibility of universal values and     tice has been Marxism. Marxian theory
From Oppression to Empowerment                             29

rejects the causal primacy of both in-      the short-term and immediate causes
dividuals and human consciousness           of strikes—namely, the greedy atti-
in favor of social structures. In this      tude of both capitalists and workers.
view, the only thing that truly exists      But then He identifies the real cause
is material reality, defined as the eco-    of the problem and devotes His entire
nomic structure of society; oppression      discussion to an elaboration of that
is manifested in inequalities of class.     structural analysis. The 1908 transla-
Thus, according to Marxist theory, the      tion of Some Answered Questions does
root cause of all varieties of oppres-      not capture the main point made by
sion in the present world is capitalism.    ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The new translation,
According to this logic, the solution to    however, accurately conveys the mean-
the problem is communism.                   ing of His words: “Now, the root cause
Despite the good intentions of           of these difficulties lies in the law of
Marxist theory, its analysis of oppres-     nature that governs present-day civi-
sion is incomplete and inadequate and,      lization, for it results in a handful of
as a result, its implementation only        people accumulating vast fortunes that
created new forms of oppression. This       far exceed their needs, while the great-
fact is exemplified in the language of      er number remain naked, destitute,
Karl Marx himself, who in his own           and helpless” (78.2).
writings degrades, dehumanizes, and            While ‘Abdu’l-Bahá is address-
humiliates anyone who dares to dis-         ing the underlying social structure
agree with him. Furthermore, his            that leads to extremes of inequality,
theory creates and justifies extreme        He criticizes both the inequality in
forms of hatred and violence against        capitalist society and the forced and
the “enemies of the people.” Individ-       artificial equality imposed under com-
ual autonomy and human rights are           munism because He finds both to be
rejected, and despite Marxism’s claim       merely different expressions of the
to offer emancipation, it instead would     same root cause of injustice. That root
institutionalize what is in effect a col-   cause is “the law of nature that gov-
lective slavery.                            erns present-day civilization.” In an
Marxist theory could not offer a         article entitled “On the Importance of
complete theory of emancipation be-         Divine Civilization,” published in 1913
cause it did not address the root causes    in The Asiatic Quarterly,2 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
of oppression. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s words         explains further what is meant by this
concerning the issue of econom-             “law of nature”: “In the world of na-
ic injustice, in one of His table talks     ture the dominant note is the struggle
recorded in Some Answered Questions,        for existence—the result of which is
go directly to the heart of the matter.
Chapter 78 of that book is devoted             2 A revised version of this article is
to the question of industrial strikes.      quoted in J.E. Esslemont’s Bahá’u’lláh and
‘Abdu’l-Bahá deals very briefly with        the New Era.
30                 The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

the survival of the fittest. The law of         ‘Abdu’l-Bahá frequently discusses
the survival of the fittest is the origin     what happens when human beings act
of all difficulties. It is the cause of war   according to the law of nature—their
and strife, hatred and animosity, be-         natural instincts—without the re-
tween human beings” (174).                    straint provided by education, specif-
In His letter to the Executive Com-        ically moral education grounded in a
mittee of the Central Organization for        spiritual worldview. In Paris Talks, He
a Durable Peace, known as the Tablet          says that when human beings turn “to-
to The Hague, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá further            wards the material side, towards the
states that “as long as man is captive to     bodily part of [their] nature,” they
nature he is a ferocious animal, as the       become “inferior to the inhabitants of
struggle for existence is one of the ex-      the lower animal kingdom.” They be-
igencies of the world of nature. This         come worse than animals because they
matter of the struggle for existence          are “more savage, more unjust, more
is the fountain-head of all calamities        vile, more cruel, more malevolent than
and is the supreme affliction” (Selec-        the lower animals themselves. All
tions 227). The “law of nature” thus is       [their] aspirations and desires being
the Darwinian struggle for existence.         strengthened by the lower side of the
In this model, progress is the result         soul’s nature,” and they become “more
of constant struggle and predatory            brutal. . . . Men such as this plan to
competition between, but also within,         work evil, to hurt and to destroy; they
species. When the model is applied            are entirely without the spirit of Di-
to human beings, society is viewed            vine compassion, for the celestial qual-
essentially as a jungle in which the          ity of the soul has been dominated by
regulating principle is the pursuit, by       that of the material” (31.6).3
any means necessary, of particularistic          3 Ironically, when humans forget their
self- or group interests against those        spiritual reality and reduce themselves to
of other individuals and groups. Ac-          the level of animals, they also oppress the
cording to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, when human           realm of nature. Since humans are not con-
beings reduce themselves to the realm         strained by instinctual limits, both their de-
of beasts and apply the law of animal         sires and their destructive power transcend
nature to the realm of human social           all bounds. When intelligence becomes a
relations, the result is not progress but     blind tool of material desires, in the con-
oppression. From this perspective, it is      text of a worldview glorifying selfishness,
consumerism, and struggle for existence,
not capitalism itself that is the prob-
human beings shatter the balance of na-
lem; the issue is not whether individ-
ture, pollute the earth, and destroy other
uals or the collectivity own the means        species. For a summary of the discussion,
of production, because both types of          in the Writings of the Báb, about the re-
structures lead to oppression when            sponsibility of human beings to assist all
they operate according to the law of          creatures to attain their “paradise”; see
nature, which is itself the root cause.       Saiedi, Gate of the Heart, 315–17.
From Oppression to Empowerment                          31

FOUR FORMS OF OPPRESSION              slogans about the equality of all hu-
man beings sufficient if the interna-
Oppression takes four main forms, all      tional order does not embody those
of which are ultimately rooted in a        ideas (World Order 42–43). It is no-
materialist worldview that sees human      table that Marxist theory has never
beings in terms of the law of nature       proposed a global approach to social
and the logic of the jungle. They          problems. While Marxism advocates
pertain to the international political     the international solidarity of the
structure, the economic structure of       workers of the world, its actual ap-
various societies, forms of the state,     proach to globalism is the demolition
and forms of cultural identity. Most       of all the states in the world—in other
discussions of oppression focus on         words, the extension of anarchy to the
forms related to the economy and the       global level of social reality.
state, while neglecting the other two         Organic theories of state and soci-
types.                                     ety were prevalent in the nineteenth
century, but Bahá’u’lláh found them
INTERNATIONAL ANARCHY                      inadequate because they centered on
the nation, and it was not merely the
The first form of oppression is related    nation but all of humanity which had
to the current political structure of      now assumed an objective organic and
the world. Although it is increasingly     interconnected character. As He wrote
recognized that humanity has arrived       in His Tablet to Queen Victoria, ad-
at the global stage of its development,    dressing the elected representatives
contemporary globalization has been        of governments,
characterized by anarchy and the
law of the jungle at the level of in-           Regard the world as the human
ternational relations. It is ironic that     body which, though at its creation
although both Marxist theory and             whole and perfect, hath been af-
political science realism emphasize          flicted, through various causes,
the causal primacy of structures over        with grave disorders and mala-
individual units, both theories ignore       dies. Not for one day did it gain
the fact that the existence of anarchy       ease, nay its sickness waxed more
in international relations constitutes       severe, as it fell under the treat-
one of the most important reasons            ment of ignorant physicians, who
for inequality, tyranny, and oppression      gave full rein to their personal
in the world. Because of the oneness         desires and have erred grievously.
and interconnectedness of the world          And if, at one time, through the
today, most of humanity’s problems           care of an able physician, a mem-
cannot be solved through a national-         ber of that body was healed, the
istic political approach. Nor, as noted      rest remained afflicted as before.
by Shoghi Effendi, are merely pious          (Súriy-i-Haykal, ¶174 )
32                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

The key implication of this met-       territory, was not the main determi-
aphor is that the component parts of        nant of human destiny, in compari-
an organic entity are not alien others      son to other accidents of birth, such
to be repulsed, exploited, suppressed,      as class. But we now live in a global
or annihilated. Just as all parts of the    world, yet one without recognized
body operate to their mutual benefit        global rights and one whose peoples
and for the good of the whole, so too       suffer from extremes of inequality.
must all the different parts of humani-     Although ‘Abdu’l-Bahá wrote The Se-
ty recognize their essential connection     cret of Divine Civilization to address
and dependence on one another, as           the issue of the development and
well as the responsibility inherent in      modernization of nineteenth-century
partaking of that reciprocal relation-      Iran, He includes in that treatise a call
ship and the shared identity it confers.    for universal peace through collective
However, such recognition is impossi-       security; indeed, His discourse on the
ble if human beings regard themselves       liberation and development of the na-
as merely creatures of nature—that          tion of Iran is itself inseparable from
is, as solely material beings without       His critique of international anarchy.
obligation to those outside their own          Paradoxically, there is one kind of
narrowly defined group.                     international oppression that is now
One of the ironic features of moder-    universally condemned: colonialism
nity is that it proclaims the inalienable   and imperialism. Yet colonialism is
rights of all and yet accepts as natural    condemned without questioning the
and moral the injustice and inequality      structural reality behind it, namely,
associated with the status of citizen-      international anarchy. Some scholars
ship. For today the most important          try to evade this theoretical contradic-
determinant of the destiny of indi-         tion by defining colonialism, or impe-
viduals—that is, of the rights, oppor-      rialism, as a mere effect of capitalism.
tunities, and life chances they will en-    However, colonialism and imperialism
joy—is national citizenship. By virtue      have always existed. Under capitalism
of being born in a particular country,      they took a capitalistic form, but they
multitudes of children are condemned        did not come into existence as a con-
to an uncertain future of poverty and       sequence of that system. In the writ-
lack of access to resources. The same       ings of Marx himself, the slave mode
accident of birth, in a different nation,   of production was the essence of the
provides other children with opportu-       colonial economic logic of the Roman
nities that are guaranteed by the right     Empire. Colonialism is the product of
of citizenship.                             applying the law of the jungle in the
In the past, various parts of the       realm of human relations.
world were relatively similar in terms         In modern capitalism, the structure
of their level of development, so citi-     of economic relations within the col-
zenship, or membership in a political       onizing country (capitalist relations)
From Oppression to Empowerment                            33

is entirely different from the economic     can be traced to the dominance of the
structure that was allowed in colo-         law of nature in international rela-
nized territories (slavery and feudal-      tions. International anarchy therefore
ism) because not only the principles        provides the clearest example of the
of capitalism but also those of nation-     application of the logic of the jungle
alism contribute to defining the way        applied to the world of humanity.
the colonized alien people are treated.
Furthermore, as realists have correct-      ECONOMIC STRUCTURES
ly pointed out, the relation of states to
one another is partly autonomous from       The second form of oppression is
the internal economic structures of         related to economic structures. In
those units. International relations are    the past, both feudal serfdom and
not mere expressions of an economic         slavery played a fundamental role in
system; rather, they are significantly      economic structures. Both those in-
affected by the anarchic structure of       stitutions were based on an explicit
the international system.                   and literal dehumanization of people.
In His Writings, Bahá’u’lláh fre-        Modern societies are faced with the
quently and explicitly condemned            two polar opposites of capitalism and
colonialism, linking colonial wars          communism. However, both these
with the anarchic logic of nature. Fol-     systems in their pure forms are also
lowing the British invasion of Egypt        defined by dehumanization and the
in 1882, which began the formal col-        application of the law of the jungle
onization of the Middle East by the         to human society. Pure capitalism is
British, Bahá’u’lláh denounced British      based on the reduction of individu-
colonial aggression. Referring to wars,     als to selfish, isolated, profit-seeking,
including the British colonial invasion,    and utilitarian entities. From such a
He noted: “The vast majority of wars        perspective, humans are defined as
in the world are waged out of mere          bundles of infinite desires, for whom
corrupt desires, yet they are falsely at-   reason is simply an efficient means for
tributed to religion, honor, and coun-      the pursuit of self-interest. Extremes
try. Religion and country bear witness      of inequality, unequal opportunities,
to the falsehood of these people. Say:      the exploitation of the weak, the
The world is but one country, and all       destruction of the environment, the
are created by the same Word. Where-        commodification of values, consum-
fore wage ye wars, and whom do ye           erism, the cold logic of monetary
regard as your enemy?”4                     calculation, and lack of sensitivity to
All the various forms of oppression      the plight of others are prominent
associated with international anarchy       features of this system. Like the an-
archy of international relations, pure
4 From a previously untranslated Tab-    capitalism is impersonal anarchy at
let; provisional translation.               the level of economic relations.
34                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

Equally dehumanizing is the sys-        FORMS OF THE STATE
tem of communism. Although com-
munist ideology uses lofty slogans to      The third form of oppression deals
criticize the cruelties of capitalism,     with the political characteristics of
in practice communism itself is no         the individual units within the overall
less cruel or dehumanizing. All ex-        anarchic structure of international
periments in implementing commu-           relations—the form of the state and
nism so far have only produced the         authority within the society. The form
crudest forms of totalitarianism and       taken by the state is determined in
state tyranny. The positive aspects of     response to two main questions. The
a capitalist system—namely, the for-       first concerns who should rule. Two
mal freedom of individuals, property       main answers to this question are the
rights, political democracy, and the       polar opposites of democracy and des-
autonomy of civil society from the         potism. The second question involves
state—are all obliterated in this sys-     the limit of the legitimate interference
tem. Although Marx conceived of the        of the state in the life of the people.
communist utopia as a society where        The polar answers to this question are
the state would wither away, in reality    anarchism and totalitarianism. Both
all communist experiments have wit-        questions have significant implications
nessed the predatory expansion of          for whether the state fosters justice or
the state as the sole regulator of all     oppression.
aspects of life.                              For most of human history, var-
Like religious fundamentalism,          ious forms of despotism prevailed.
communist totalitarianism dictates         The despotic state makes a distinction
the details of the individual’s life and   between the naturally superior rulers
suppresses human freedom. Contrary         and the inferior masses. Rulers were
to the prevalent views of Marxists,        defined as the representatives of God
these features of communist societ-        on earth, figures whose relation to the
ies are not a result of misapplying        masses replicated the relation of God
Marxist ideas. Rather, the very logic      to His creatures. Whether theocratic
of forced equalization creates a sit-      or secular, such despotism reduces the
uation in which the detailed aspects       masses of the people to the level of
of life in society must be regulated       animals and natural objects, suppress-
and controlled by the state. In other      ing consciousness, participation in
words, both pure capitalism and com-       decision-making, individual freedom,
munism exemplify the application of        human rights, and self-determination.
a naturalistic logic of materialism           However, even democracy—with-
that imposes the law of the jungle at      out a framework of spiritual values
the level of human society.                and employed in the service of the
divisive struggle for dominance—can
become the vehicle of oppression
From Oppression to Empowerment                               35

and the “tyranny of the majority.”           other words, must protect the freedom
The divisiveness, electioneering, and        of individuals to pursue their private
obsession with winning power at the          interests. One of the main contradic-
expense of other groups that char-           tions of Marxist thought is that the
acterize the existing democracies re-        theory actually maintains an extreme
flect a more civilly ritualized, but still   negative conception of the state, find-
dysfunctional and ultimately destruc-        ing the state to be a product of class
tive, expression of the struggle for         inequality, as the state promotes the
existence.                                   interests of the dominant economic
The second question also directly         class; yet Marxists in all capitalist so-
relates to issues of oppression and          cieties continually call for the expan-
freedom. Regardless of the identity          sion of the state and higher levels of
of the rulers, states can be defined         interference and regulation of society.
in terms of the limits and extent of
their interference in society. In the        CULTURAL IDENTITY
totalitarian state, whether secular or
religious, the state determines all as-      While the three types of oppression
pects of the institutions of society         discussed thus far are related to social
and regulates the lives of individuals.      structures, the next to be considered
Obviously such a type of state also          is related to moral orientation, values,
negates the freedom and autonomy of          and the identity of individuals. Ma-
individual human beings and degrades         terialistic philosophy is blind to this
them to the level of natural objects.        form of oppression because it is a nec-
It is partly in reaction to these forms      essary consequence of that same ma-
of dehumanization that the anarchic          terialistic orientation; in reality, how-
theory of the state defines freedom as       ever, it is one of the most important
the elimination of all impediments to        root causes of injustice. From a Bahá’í
individual liberty, and thus perceives       perspective, materialist assumptions
the state itself as a major obstacle         about human nature are the source of
to human rights. For this theory, the        prejudice: the presumption of a pure-
solution to the problem of oppression        ly material identity for human beings
is the abolition of the state so that        leads to viewing them as members of
its interference eliminated altogether.      groups defined by material and social
But this theory also reduces society         characteristics, and all those who are
to a jungle—although a jungle that is        different are thereby perceived to be
imagined to be paradise.                     the “other.”
Liberal theory recognizes the ne-            In the Bahá’í view, human differ-
cessity of the state yet perceives it as a   ences must be understood in light of
necessary evil and attempts, therefore,      the following ontological framework,
to reduce its interference in the life of    set out in the Writings of the Báb. All
individuals to a minimum. The state, in      things consist of the two aspects of
36                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

divinity and servitude, or existence       and needs of one set of people become
and essence. They are as mirrors           moral imperatives, whereas those of
which consist of two parts: a glass        others are ignored or suppressed. The
that has the property of reflection        determining logic of social relations
and an image that shows in the glass.      becomes the struggle for existence,
Our particularistic essences are what      coercion, and the politics of deception
differentiate us from each other. But      and conquest.
in those diverse mirrors, one and the         In His Tablet to The Hague,
same image of God is reflected.            ‘Abdu’l-Bahá draws a direct connection
This second part is our aspect of       between the natural law of struggle
“divinity.” The difference in our es-      for existence and various forms of
sences creates the illusion of separate-   prejudice:
ness and ego identity. Our existence,
or our divine aspect, however, affirms       In every period war has been
our unity in that we are all reflections     waged in one country or anoth-
of the attributes of God, Who is one.        er and that war was due to reli-
Although the Bible affirms this con-         gious prejudice, racial prejudice,
cept in the imago dei, “Let us make man      political prejudice or patriotic
in our image, after our likeness” (Gen.      prejudice. It has therefore been
1:26), nevertheless throughout histo-        ascertained and proved that all
ry, human cultures have defined iden-        prejudices are destructive of the
tity by material characteristics that        human edifice. As long as these
differentiate people from one another.       prejudices persist, the struggle
The Báb reaffirms that our true re-       for existence must remain dom-
ality as human beings is our common          inant, and bloodthirstiness and
spiritual unity, as mirrors and signs of     rapacity continue. Therefore,
God. If we define ourselves in this way,     even as was the case in the past,
we see the oneness of God reflected in       the world of humanity cannot
the oneness of humanity—a unity that         be saved from the darkness of
is diverse in its reflections of the di-     nature and cannot attain illumi-
vine attributes. But if we define iden-      nation except through the aban-
tity in terms of difference—focusing         donment of prejudices and the
on distinctions of race, gender, social      acquisition of the morals of the
class, nationality, language, religion,      Kingdom. (Selections 313)
and other particularistic aspects—we
can easily perceive others as strangers,   In other words, for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, prej-
enemies, or even as sub-humans. Vio-       udice is the same as the dehumaniza-
lence, conflict, and oppression then be-   tion of the self and others—or per-
come easy to justify. As Durkheim not-     ceiving and treating humans as if they
ed, the limits of morality are defined     were animals.
by group boundaries. The interests
From Oppression to Empowerment                              37

In one way or another, all forms          determined by economic status but
of oppression relate to some kind of          also (at least partly) by their personal
prejudice and thus to some form of            characteristics as members of those
denying the spiritual essence of hu-          specific categories.
man beings. However, the word “prej-
udice” is inadequate to fully describe          A PARADOXICAL UNDERSTANDING
the meaning of the original Persian                  OF HUMAN NATURE
term used by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. The origi-
nal word is ta‘as. s.ub, which refers to an   To some extent, Some Answered Ques-
excessive particularistic identification      tions is the elaboration of a spiritual
with a group. Such a one-dimensional          logic as the alternative to a materialist
social identity becomes the source of         and naturalistic orientation. In the fi-
partiality, prejudicial judgment, and         nal chapter of the book, which deals
an attitude toward other groups that          with the relevance of spiritual orienta-
views them as strangers, enemies,             tion to ethical behavior, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá
and, consequently, as threats. Ta‘as. s.ub,   proposes a general rule: knowledge of
therefore, easily leads to “social death,”    God is love of God. Love of God nec-
or avoidance of other groups and a            essarily leads to love of all creatures,
readiness to act toward them in ways          including all human beings. This uni-
that would be immoral if directed at          versal love leads to good will. Good
those who are regarded as belonging           will leads to ethical behavior. In other
to one’s own moral community—for              words, spiritual culture is a culture
those who are by definition outside the       of the unity and interconnectedness
moral community can be treated like           of all things. Love is the supreme law
beasts.                                       of this spiritual consciousness, and it
Ta‘as.s. ub, or particularistic identi-   leads to a free, united, and just society.
ty, in reducing human identity and               We can immediately distinguish
rationality to the narrow vision and          two alternative responses to this uni-
sentiments of a group, denies indi-           versal love. The first is the materialist
vidual autonomy, independence of              doctrine that rejects God and degrades
mind, objectivity, and independent in-        humans to the level of beasts. The sec-
vestigation of truth. In other words,         ond is religious fanaticism, which also
it is the process by which one reduces        rejects universal love for all human
oneself to the level of a natural ob-         beings and, instead, fosters extremes
ject, renouncing one’s spiritual reality.     of hatred, prejudice, and violence
Frequently these forms of prejudice           against other religions and cultures
interact with each other. For example,        and against women. For ‘Abdu’l-Bahá,
the persistence of discrimination on          love of God must lead to universal
the basis of religion, ethnicity, or gen-     love; when it does not, as in the case
der in a society implies that the class       of religious fanaticism, it is really
position of individuals is not only           just another form of that naturalistic
38                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

logic that degrades human society to        the structure of society and in social
the level of the jungle. In both cases,     institutions. True liberation, therefore,
lack of spiritual orientation leads to      is dependent on the realization of a so-
oppression.                                 cial order that affirms both individual
In this context, a spiritual defini-     autonomy and the oneness of humani-
tion of the human being requires a          ty. The first teaching of Bahá’u’lláh is
paradoxical understanding of human          the affirmation of individual freedom
nature. On the one hand, the human          and independence from all others, in
soul is a mirror of divine attributes       the principle of the independent in-
including divine oneness: thus human        vestigation of truth, which requires
beings are defined by individuality,        seeing with one’s own eyes and not
uniqueness, autonomy, freedom, and          through the eyes of others.5 Yet His
personal responsibility. On the other       ultimate teaching is the oneness of
hand, the human being is one with all       humanity. These two aspects of hu-
other humans and is expressive of the       man reality are interdependent: one
unity, interconnectedness, and solidar-     cannot be realized without the other.
ity of all beings. To ignore either of      A just society is one that institutional-
these features of spiritual conscious-      izes both the autonomy of individuals
ness would reduce the human being           and the unity of humanity.
to the level of an object. When the             Thus it is logical that unity in di-
individual is reduced to the collectiv-     versity is the principle that must regu-
ity, humans are deprived of their hu-       late a just global order as well. In this
manity, namely their uniqueness, free-      model, nations are both autonomous
dom, self-determination, and personal       and united. The anarchy of interna-
autonomy, as well as their capacity for     tional relations is replaced by a feder-
independent thinking. Conversely,           ated structure characterized by decen-
when individuals are reduced to atom-       tralization; people see themselves both
istic selves who are isolated, self-seek-   as citizens of the world and as citizens
ing, narcissist, and violent beings who     of their own country. Similarly, the
perceive life as a competitive arena for    economic order is defined by unity in
maximizing egotistic pleasures and          diversity, safeguarding both individual
manufactured commercial needs, soci-        autonomy and freedom while main-
ety becomes a jungle inhabited by wild      taining opportunity and prosperity for
beasts.                                     all human beings.
Although oppression is rooted in
humanity’s forgetfulness of its spir-          5 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, when presenting the
itual truth, this does not mean that        Bahá’í principles in His talks, frequently
abstract ideas determine social reality.    began with independent investigation of
In fact, a distinguishing feature of the    truth as the “first teaching of Bahá’u’lláh.”
Bahá’í worldview is that ideas are in-      See, for example, Promulgation of Univer-
separable from their crystallization in     sal Peace, 180.
From Oppression to Empowerment                             39

OPPRESSION OF THE HEART              law of nature and instinct, we are
oppressing our own hearts. Hence,
So far we have discussed external          in reality, all acts of oppression im-
forms of oppression, but the worst         ply an act of self-oppression as well.
is oppression of the heart and soul.       If we oppress others because we see
Here, the oppressor is truly success-      the world as a jungle, we are also de-
ful in tyranny if the victim becomes       fining ourselves merely as beasts. For
a participant. As various sociologists     example, by acting in a racist manner
and philosophers have noted, the           against others, we are indicating that
highest form of domination takes           we define our own reality, worth, or
place when the victim internalizes the     identity in terms of skin color or oth-
viewpoint of the oppressor and thus        er material characteristics. Thus, even
willingly contributes to the victim’s      before dehumanizing others, we must
own degradation and corruption. In         first dehumanize ourselves.
such situations, we are accomplices to        It is in this connection that the
tyranny against our own selves.            Bahá’í Writings frequently talk of
The internalization of the culture      the “self-oppressor” (z. álim li-nafsih),
of the oppressor manifests itself in       or one who commits tyranny against
different ways. In its most elementary     oneself. In self-oppression, the oppres-
expression, the victim comes to believe    sor and the oppressed become one and
that he or she is indeed inferior to the   the same. Based on a Qur’anic phrase,6
oppressor and accepts the legitimacy       the central figures of the Bahá’í Faith
of an unjust system of inequality and      have distinguished between three
oppression. In a more subtle form of       types of people: self-oppressors, mod-
internal oppression, the oppressed in-     erates, and those who precede others
ternalizes the fabricated ideology of      in doing good deeds.7 The Báb defines
the oppressor that defines the victim      the self-oppressor as one who re-
as immoral, irrational, violent, or pre-   volves around his essence and forgets
occupied with immediate gratification.     his true reality, namely his aspect of
Hopelessness, another form of dehu-        divinity. The moderate is a practical
manization, is a frequent outcome of       person who balances the two. Those
such internalization.                      who precede others in good deeds
There is yet another way in which
the culture of the oppressor is inter-        6 See Qur’án 35:32.
nalized. Here, the victim comes to            7 The Báb discusses this in several of
share the philosophical worldview of       His works, including Risálah fi’l-Ghiná
the oppressor, including the oppres-       (Iran National Bahá’í Archives [henceforth,
sor’s own self-definition. In this way,    INBA] 14:444). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá mentions it,
both parties are engaged in self-op-       in a number of places, in regard to His
pression, for if we forget our spiritual   brother’s self-oppression. For example, see
reality and act only according to the      Ishráq Khávarí, Rahíq-i-Makhtúm
.              1:295.
40                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

revolve around their true spiritual re-     not pose a major threat to the survival
ality, which is their aspect of divinity.   of the human race or the planet. At
Overcoming oppression is not possible       the present stage of human history,
without addressing both external and        however, we have become capable of
internal forms of oppression.               instantly exterminating millions of
We have seen that oppression,           people, destroying the natural envi-
whatever its form, is ultimately rooted     ronment, and in the process eliminat-
in the materialist denial of the spiri-     ing ourselves as well. Yet, materialist
tual reality of human beings, who are       philosophies have only extended the
defined instead as creatures of nature.     implications of their main premise, de-
This principle reflects itself in the       fining human beings as nothing more
most important structural contradic-        than sophisticated animals and thus
tion of our contemporary civilization.      maintaining various forms of particu-
In nature itself, the struggle for exis-    laristic identities that breed prejudice,
tence is not a destructive or harmful       ignorance, and conflict. Materialist
principle. Animals are ruled by in-         doctrines, however well intentioned
stinct, but their instincts have limits:    they may be, are an intrinsic part of
they kill for food but they do not set      this destructive contradiction.
out to exterminate other species. They
live in patterns of interdependence         BAHÁ’U’LLÁH’S RESPONSE TO OPPRESSION:
with other creatures, and nature oper-           THE THREE DECLARATIONS
ates as an interconnected and integrat-
ed whole. Therefore, when animals act       Bahá’u’lláh’s own life and words were
according to the law of the jungle, the     centered on rejecting various forms of
result is overall ecological balance and    oppression. Years before His Ridván.
flourishing of life on the planet. The      declaration, He condemned slavery by
principle of struggle for existence be-     affirming that all people are servants
comes a problem only when it is ap-         of God and therefore no human be-
plied to the realm of human society,        ing can own another. He denounced
for humans are not merely natural en-       both the spiritual despotism of the
tities. Because they are spiritual beings   clerics and the political despotism
who possess reason and free will, they      of monarchs. He condemned British
are not constrained by instinctive lim-
colonialism and rejected the anti-Se-
its but are able to discover the laws of
mitic policies of European states. He
nature and, through science and tech-
abolished jihad and rejected all types
nology, overcome them.
of prejudice, fanaticism, and violence.
However, until the nineteenth
His repeated exhortations to spiritual-
century, scientific and technological
ize every aspect of life are essentially
advancement was relatively modest.
Even when humans acted on the basis         a call to extirpate the root cause of
of the law of the jungle, they could        oppression.
From Oppression to Empowerment                            41

In order to understand more fully       spiritual culture of hope in order to
the Bahá’í attitude toward oppres-         render justice and love victorious over
sion, it is instructive to examine how     tyranny and hatred. In other words,
Bahá’u’lláh Himself responded when         the declarations of Bahá’u’lláh repre-
He personally faced injustice and          sent a dialectic of crisis and victory:
tyranny. To examine this question          they are all systematic responses to op-
we shall concentrate on the most im-       pression and victimization through the
portant defining moments of His            affirmation of the power of the spirit.
Revelation, namely His declarations.           In Hindu and Buddhist scriptures,
The Bahá’í Faith was born through          the lotus is the symbol of the heart,
Bahá’u’lláh’s concealed revelation in      spirit, and enlightenment. Among its
late 1852 in the Síyáh-Chál dungeon        various meanings, the lotus represents
of Tehran. This event was followed         the dialectic of light and darkness:
eleven years later by His manifest         out of the impure mud of ignorance,
declaration in the Garden of Rid. ván,     tyranny, and darkness, the pure and
near Baghdad, on the eve of His exile      exquisite flower of knowledge, justice,
to Constantinople (Istanbul). His uni-     and enlightenment emerges. It rep-
versal declaration took place in 1868      resents the triumph of love over preju-
when He was banished to ‘Akká. These       dice and hatred, the transformation of
three declarations are characterized       captivity to nature into emancipation
by progressive levels of disclosure of     through the spirit. In circumstances of
His mission and station. But why did       oppression and tyranny, chained in the
Bahá’u’lláh choose these occasions to      darkness of the subterranean prison,
unveil His mission, and why did He         Bahá’u’lláh refuses to accept the role
choose the particular themes? These        of victim, to remain silent and surren-
two questions are in fact integrally re-   der to tyranny. Instead, He transforms
lated to each other.                       the darkness of ignorance and oppres-
A consistent logic underlies the        sion into the light of wisdom and love.
three declarations and their timing.           This fact is central in Bahá’u’lláh’s
Bahá’u’lláh Himself has frequently         life and Revelation, and for that reason
and clearly explained His main rea-        in at least twenty tablets He discusses
son for choosing these specific times      it explicitly. The following are a few
as the occasion for His proclamations.     examples:
In general, when oppression reach-
es its maximum point, and it appears         Prison is the revealer of the
that the tyrants have succeeded in de-       Cause of God. By reason of that
feating the Cause of God, Bahá’u’lláh        which the hands of the people of
turns this apparent defeat into victo-       mischief have wrought, We have,
ry by infusing a new spiritual energy        through Our word, sounded the
into the world, enkindling the divine        trumpet.8
light of justice and proclaiming a new
8 INBA 26:278, provisional translation.
42                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

Say! Verily this Bird hath winged         message of those three revelations.
His flight from the branches              Obviously, Bahá’u’lláh’s declarations
of Iraq and hath sought other             unveil His fundamental teachings and
branches. This departure is for           worldview. But if these declarations
the sake of the exaltation of the         are also a response to oppression, then
Cause, and is by reason of a hid-         they should also explain the cause of
den wisdom. . . . By God! Verily          oppression, the nature of liberation,
those who rejoice in the departure        and the method of resisting tyranny.
of this Bird are in manifest error.9      That is precisely what we find.

Know that verily We did not wish          THE CONCEALED DECLARATION
to reveal Our face to anyone. .
. . However, inasmuch as those            The inception of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revela-
who associate partners with God           tion took place at the lowest point in
imprisoned Us in this Remote              the fortunes of the Bábí community, as
Prison, We have lifted the veils          it was facing the threat of extermina-
of concealment, and revealed Our          tion after the attempt, by a few Bábís,
face like unto a shining and exalt-       on the life of the shah in revenge for
ed sun.10                                 the martyrdom of the Báb. Bahá’u’lláh
was imprisoned in the vile subterra-
Verily tribulations have not pre-         nean dungeon in Tehran known as
vented Bahá from extolling the            the Síyáh-Chál. As He later recounted,
Source of all things. . . . Upon Our      “One night, in a dream, these exalted
arrival in this prison we trans-          words were heard on every side: “Ver-
mitted to the kings the messages          ily, We shall render Thee victorious
of the Lord, the Sovereign, the           by Thyself and by Thy Pen” (Epistle
Mighty and the Beauteous, that            21). Bahá’u’lláh’s account of the ex-
they might be made aware that             perience implies several fundamental
He doeth whatsoever He willeth,           features of His message. The first is
and that the inhabitants of the           the abolition of the law of the sword,
heavens and the earth cannot pre-         namely, jihad. The Cause of God is to
vail against Him. (Áthár-i-Qalam-         be rendered victorious not through vi-
i-A‘lá 1:125)11                           olence but through the power of love,
as well as through the transforming
The reason for the timing of              and enlightening power of speech and
Bahá’u’lláh’s declarations can help         discourse (the pen). Coercion is there-
us understand the content and the           fore rejected. Bahá’u’lláh consistently
distinguishes between the kingdom of
9 INBA 71:17; provisional translation.    the heart and the kingdom of earth.
10 INBA 36:72; provisional translation.   In the kingdom of the heart coercive
11 Provisional translation.               methods are impermissible. Religion
From Oppression to Empowerment                           43

belongs to the realm of the heart. It is   truth of the prophets of God.12 In this
not a question of biology, tribal iden-    age, it is no longer supernatural events
tity, or race. Freedom of conscience       that are the proof of divine revela-
is the essential attribute of a free and   tion—not because the Manifestation
spiritual dominion.                        of God cannot do miracles, but rather,
A further implication of this mes-      because now it is the liberating Word
sage is expressed in His description of    itself that is the sign of the presence
the truth of His Revelation as a female    of the Holy Spirit. By emphasizing the
entity:                                    Word as the proof, we enter the realm
of spirit, beyond the realm of physical
While engulfed in tribulations        nature. We can see that the very first
I heard a most wondrous, a most          declaration is a call to transcend the
sweet voice, calling above My            logic of violence and the struggle for
head. Turning My face, I beheld a        existence as well as a call to recognize
Maiden—the embodiment of the             the power of the spirit in the Word
remembrance of the name of My            itself rather than in phenomena per-
Lord—suspended in the air before         taining to physical nature.
Me. . . . Betwixt earth and heaven
she was raising a call which cap-        THE RID. VÁN DECLARATION
tivated the hearts and minds of
men. She was imparting to both           As a response to the action of the
My inward and outer being tid-           Iranian and Ottoman states in exiling
ings which rejoiced My soul, and         Bahá’u’lláh from Baghdad, Bahá’u’lláh
the souls of God’s honoured ser-         decided to divulge His inner secret
vants. (Súriy-i-Haykal ¶6)               as He was about to depart from that
city. He announced to the Bábís pres-
Sociologically, the culture of patriar-    ent in the Garden of Rid. ván that
chy is not only a culture of violence      through Him a new and qualitatively
against half of the population of          unique stage of spiritual development
the world; it also perpetuates violent     of humanity had begun. Bahá’u’lláh
forms of character and attitude that       Himself later recounted the three an-
lead to other kinds of oppression. The     nouncements He made on the first day
oneness of the human race and uni-         of Ridván:
.
versal peace are already inseparable
from the equality and unity of men           On the first day of His arrival in
and women.                                   the garden designated the Ridván,
.
Yet another implication of the            the Ancient Beauty established
statement quoted above is the rejec-         Himself upon the Most Great
tion of miracles as the proof of the
12 See also Saiedi, “Concealment and
Revelation.”
44                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

Throne. Thereupon, the Tongue            of all people. Referring to these pro-
of Glory uttered three blessed           nouncements, Bahá’u’lláh affirms in
verses. First, that in this              the Kitáb-i-Aqdas that “all created
Revelation the use of the sword          things were immersed in the sea of
is prohibited. Second, that whoso        purification when, on that first day of
layeth a claim ere the expiration        Ridván,
.     We shed upon the whole of
of a thousand years is assuredly         creation the splendours of Our most
in grievous error. . . . And third,      excellent Names and Our most exalt-
that the one true God, exalted be        ed Attributes” (¶75). Since from this
His Glory, at that very moment           moment all beings are sacred, when
shed the splendours of all His           one looks upon one’s fellow human be-
Names upon the whole creation.13         ings, nothing should be seen in them
except the attributes of God. Thus no
The message of the second dec-          one is impure and untouchable; no one
laration is a more elaborate version       can be denied the dignity inherent in
of the first. It begins by announcing      their human nature; no one can any
the abolition of the law of the sword,     longer be defined as less than human
which is a rejection of the culture of     and consequently treated as a beast.
violence and an affirmation of the         This is the day of the realization of
sanctity of conscience. The second         human potentialities, and all must be
statement reflects the principle of        viewed in terms of their truth, namely
historical consciousness. Not only are     that each is a sacred reality endowed
the various aspects of human and so-       with spirit.
cial existence changing, dynamic, and
progressive, but so is divine revelation   THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION
itself. However, even more than mere-
ly establishing the minimum period of      In 1868 the Ottoman sultan and
time for the duration of Bahá’u’lláh’s     the shah of Iran moved to banish
Dispensation, this statement safe-         Bahá’u’lláh further to a remote lo-
guards the unity of the religion, en-      cation where, they hoped, He would
suring its freedom from the conflict       not survive the hardships of exile. He
generated by divisive authority claims.    was ordered imprisoned in the mili-
The third statement provides the phil-     tary fort in the city of ‘Akká. Instead,
osophical foundation for a culture of      however, once again crisis was turned
unity. On this Day, Bahá’u’lláh says,      into victory. He chose that moment to
God has revealed Himself to all be-        proclaim His cause explicitly and uni-
ings, enshrining the signs of all His      versally to the religious and temporal
names and attributes in the hearts         rulers of the world. It is the Prisoner
Who addresses the kings with au-
13 In Mázandarání 4:22; provisional     thority and majesty and announces
translation.                               the advent of the Lord, the universal
From Oppression to Empowerment                           45

revelation of God, and the inception       of God, a temple that announces the
of the Day of God. The message of          coming of the Day of God, the day of
the universal declaration rejects the      peace, and the universal attainment of
culture of tyranny and oppression and      the presence of God.
summons the world to embrace a new            The Súriy-i-Haykal begins with
culture of justice and unity.              a discussion of “temple” as the body
As we saw earlier, all oppression       of the human being. This new body
stems from the application of the law      is a sacred body which is the throne
of nature and the logic of the jungle      of God, the realization of spiritual
to the realm of human relations. We        values. In other words, the true tem-
also saw that such an objectification of   ple is the reality of the Manifestation
humans takes four main forms, mani-        of God—Bahá’u’lláh Himself. Human
fested in international anarchy, polit-    bodies are a reflection of that Holy
ical tyranny, economic injustice, and      Spirit. Thus He speaks of the eyes,
a culture of prejudice. The message        ears, mouth, hands, feet, breast, and
of the universal declaration rejects       the heart of this human body. For
all these forms of oppression. The         example, addressing the eyes of this
main vehicle of that declaration is the    new spiritual race of humans, He says
Súriy-i-Haykal, or Súrih of the Tem-       that they should “[l]ook not upon the
ple, which also includes Bahá’u’lláh’s     heavens and that which they contain,
messages to the individual rulers.         nor upon the earth and them that
The word haykal means both “tem-        dwell thereon, for We have created
ple” and “human body.” Bahá’u’lláh         you to behold Our own Beauty” (¶19).
uses the semantic ambiguity to create      Likewise, addressing the inmost heart
both a new individual culture and a        of the temple, He says, “We have
new international structure, while em-     made thee the dawning-place of Our
phasizing that both culture and social     knowledge and the dayspring of Our
institutions need to be defined through    wisdom unto all who are in heaven
the spiritualization of consciousness.     and on earth” (¶67). All aspects of the
His message constitutes a divine tem-      body, therefore, are transformed in ac-
ple, the temple of God. However, the       cordance with the principle of spiritu-
seat of the new temple is the heart and    alization and detachment. In this way,
mind of human beings. He discusses         a spiritual universalistic identity will
His vision of a new type of human          replace the materialistic identity that
being and a new type of political, eco-    is based in prejudice.
nomic, and global institutions which          But then the word “body” or “tem-
are necessary to uproot violence and       ple” takes on an entirely new signifi-
oppression from the world. Referring       cance as well. Addressing all humanity
to this new vision, He concludes the       and its leaders, Bahá’u’lláh says that
Súriy-i-Haykal by affirming that He        the world has entered a new stage
has thus constructed the true temple       in its development when not only
46                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

individual societies and nations but          hast done well, for thereby the
humanity as a whole has assumed an            foundations of the edifice of
organic character, like a human body.         thine affairs will be strength-
More than once, the Súriy-i-Haykal            ened, and the hearts of all that
invites the leaders of the world to           are beneath thy shadow, whether
change their policies and attitudes in        high or low, will be tranquillized.
accordance with this new reality. The         It behoveth them, however, to be
direct implication of this principle is a     trustworthy among His servants,
call to end international anarchy and         and to regard themselves as the
to move toward collective security and        representatives of all that dwell
universal peace. Bahá’u’lláh writes: “O       on earth. (¶173)
ye the elected representatives of the
people in every land! Take ye counsel          Addressing the form of oppression
together, and let your concern be only      related to economic justice, in a mov-
for that which profiteth mankind and        ing passage, Bahá’u’lláh states:
bettereth the condition thereof, if ye
be of them that scan heedfully. Regard          O kings of the earth! We see
the world as the human body which,            you increasing every year your
though at its creation whole and per-         expenditures, and laying the
fect, hath been afflicted, through var-       burden thereof on your subjects.
ious causes, with grave disorders and         This, verily, is wholly and grossly
maladies” (¶174); and “O rulers of the        unjust. Fear the sighs and tears
earth! Be reconciled among yourselves,        of this Wronged One, and lay
that ye may need no more armaments            not excessive burdens on your
save in a measure to safeguard your           peoples. Do not rob them to rear
territories and dominions. Beware             palaces for yourselves; nay rath-
lest ye disregard the counsel of the          er choose for them that which ye
All-Knowing, the Faithful” (¶181).            choose for yourselves. Thus We
In addition to addressing the tyr-         unfold to your eyes that which
anny that is international anarchy, the       profiteth you, if ye but perceive.
Súriy-i-Haykal calls for the democ-           Your people are your treasures.
ratization of state authority as well.        Beware lest your rule violate the
Addressing Queen Victoria, after ap-          commandments of God, and ye
provingly noting that she has “forbid-        deliver your wards to the hands
den the trading of slaves,” Bahá’u’lláh       of the robber. By them ye rule,
tells her:                                    by their means ye subsist, by
their aid ye conquer. Yet, how
We have also heard that thou hast           disdainfully ye look upon them!
entrusted the reins of counsel              How strange, how very strange!
into the hands of the representa-           (¶179)
tives of the people. Thou, indeed,
From Oppression to Empowerment                            47

OVERCOMING OPPRESSION                 characteristics and group affiliations
AND ACHIEVING EMPOWERMENT               but by possessing a soul that reflects
divine attributes. From this spiritual
The foregoing discussions of the           consciousness comes the recognition
root cause of oppression and of            that all human beings share in that
Bahá’u’lláh’s own response to tyranny      same nature, and thus an understand-
suggest some implications for defining     ing of the real meaning and the moral
a Bahá’í approach to overcoming op-        implications of the oneness of human-
pression. By now it should be evident      kind—that no one can be excluded
that all of the teachings and princi-      from the moral community, or defined
ples of the Bahá’í Faith, including the    and treated as less than human; no
equality of men and women, a spiri-        material characteristics can place one
tual solution to economic problems,        outside the sphere of those to whom
the abolition of a clerical class, con-    we owe moral duties.
sultative and democratic principles of        The most important implication
governance, and the like, are intrinsic    of this principle, and the necessary
parts of such an approach. To fully de-    outcome of such a transformation of
scribe the Bahá’í approach to overcom-     consciousness, is a universalistic ori-
ing oppression is to describe the Bahá’í   entation. In the Bahá’í Writings it is
Faith itself. Thus, just a few overarch-   explained that whatever is universal is
ing aspects of such an approach will       divine, and whatever is particularistic
be mentioned here in conclusion.           is non-divine (‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Majmú‘iy-
A Bahá’í response to oppression         i-Khi t.ábat 2:7). For humans to act in
would be determined by the under-          accordance with their spiritual truth,
standing that oppression is shaped         they must feel, think, talk, and act
by both individual behavior and in-        in ways that are mindful of this fact
stitutional structures; therefore, an      and reflect such an orientation. In fact
adequate approach to overcoming op-        this is Bahá’u’lláh’s definition of the
pression requires transforming both        human being as one “who, today, ded-
individuals and social structures. As      icateth himself to the service of the
the root cause of these individual and     entire human race” (Gleanings 249).
structural forms of oppression is lo-      The supreme form of Bahá’í activism
cated in the materialist reduction of      thus is a systematic endeavor to bring
human beings to the level of nature        spiritual consciousness to the world.
and the conceptualization of human         The practical manifestation of this
reality as a jungle, the solution is the   approach can be seen in the communi-
spiritualization of human conscious-       ty-building activities that Bahá’ís are
ness. The first step in that process       engaged in throughout the world, as
is recognition of the nature of the        they work to create a “a new kind of
human being as essentially spiritu-        collective life . . . which gives practi-
al—defined not by material and social      cal expression to all that is heavenly
48                The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 26.1-2 2016

in human beings,” one characterized         position but an instinctive reaction and,
by systematic, conscious reflection on      as such, part of the same logic of the
the nature and implications of such a       jungle. True moral achievement be-
spiritual consciousness, as well as “a      longs to those who are subjected to
culture of mutual support, founded on       dehumanization yet refuse to accept
fellowship and humble service.”14           that status or to act like animals. In
Obviously another feature of the         other words, the way to oppose op-
Bahá’í response to injustice is nonvi-      pression is not to become the mirror
olence. The commitment of Bahá’ís           image of the oppressor, and to become
to justice is sometimes misunderstood       as dehumanizing and cruel as the ty-
because they refuse to engage in move-      rant, but rather to efface the culture of
ments that employ violent tactics. But      dehumanization from the heart. Such a
the nonviolent character of the Bahá’í      response can be seen in the attitude of
community’s response to oppression is       the Bahá’ís of Iran, who, although suf-
the logical consequence of its under-       fering unrelenting brutal oppression
standing of oppression. Since oppres-       including the denial of their human
sion in all its forms is ultimately the     rights and their dignity, confiscation
result of the degradation of humans         of their property, imprisonment, mur-
to the level of animals, oppression         der, and continuing efforts to eradicate
can only be eradicated through a cat-       their Faith and culture, have refused
egorical rejection of the logic of the      to adopt the culture of victimhood or
jungle. When one engages in violence,       to respond to their oppressors with
one participates in that same logic and     hatred, but have met opposition with
engages in that same dehumanization,        “constructive resilience.”15
which is itself the very cause of op-          Bahá’u’lláh often expressed His sat-
pression. For the same reason, Bahá’ís      isfaction when the Bahá’í community’s
do not participate in political or social   response to persecution was to contin-
movements that are particularistic or       ue to act like human beings in the face
partisan, and therefore divisive, but       of oppression. In contrast to the dis-
they do support those that are compat-      torted definition of honor in various
ible with the universalistic principle.     tribal forms of consciousness where
In fact, the true test of commitment     “evil” is the murder of a member of
to overcoming oppression is one’s be-       one’s own group by an outsider, and
havior when subjected to cruelty, vio-      “virtue” is the murder of the members
lence, and injustice oneself. Although      of the other group, Bahá’u’lláh not
responding with hatred and violence         only eliminated the difference between
when one is oppressed may be part-
ly understandable, it is not a moral          15 Universal House of Justice, 9 Sep-
tember 2007, to the Bahá’í students de-
14 The Universal House of Justice to      prived of access to higher education in
the Bahá’ís of the World, Ridván
.    2016.      Iran.
From Oppression to Empowerment                            49

insider and outsider, but He also af-        you never to forfeit this most ex-
firmed that it is better for a Bahá’í to     alted station, never to overstep
be killed than to kill. For example, He      the bounds of humaneness, and to
writes:                                      leave the character and manners
of the beasts and brutes to their
This is the exalted station of             like. Hear and say not, give and
those who were killed and refused          wish not to usurp. . . . Through
to kill. They are accounted in the         your pure deeds and saintly char-
sight of God as the loftiest of all        acter the lights of justice, which
creatures. . . . O My friends! Were        are veiled and hidden by the op-
your blood to be shed on the face          pression of the tyrants, will most
of the earth, it would be far more         assuredly shine resplendent in the
beloved in My sight than were ye           name of God.17
to shed the blood of anyone. . . .
We have removed the law to wage             In the writings of Bahá’u’lláh,
holy war in Our Tablets on the           the word “empowerment” when op-
day in which the Ancient Beauty          posed to “oppression” implies that
was established upon the Throne          empowerment is itself the method
of glory and majesty. . . . Quicken      for eradicating oppression. This em-
ye the souls through the reviving        powerment flows from the realization
breath of your Merciful Lord.            and actualization of the inner power
This is what is worthy of those          of the spirit; it cannot be attained by
who are favored by God.16                the sword or any form of coercion but
only through spiritual awakening and
Praise be to God that ye did not         consciousness. Bahá’u’lláh says:
commit oppression whilst ye were
oppressed, that ye wished not to           O thou servant! Be endowed with
injure anyone though ye were               My attributes, for verily We have
afflicted with grievous injury,            removed the law of bloodshed and
that with the utmost compassion            discord, and revealed the Cause
ye beseeched God’s mercy for               with power and might, through
all people though ye witnessed             Our character, and without any-
the onslaught of cruelty, that ye          one turning to strife. For verily
yearned for freedom though ye              power lieth in My will, and not in
were imprisoned. All the trees of          war and discord.18
Paradise exclaim: How great the
blessedness that awaiteth you. . . .       I swear by God, were outward
This Wronged One counselleth               power, which hath never been,

16 From a previously untranslated          17 INBA 8:343; provisional translation.
Tablet; provisional translation.             18 INBA 23:44; provisional translation.
50                  The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 25.3 2015

and shall never be, of estimation         spiritual question, both the powerful
in the sight of God, to be real-          and the powerless groups can con-
ized utterly and completely, and          tribute to oppression if their patterns
a swordsman to stand before Us            of thought, sentiment, and action are
ready to take Our life, We assur-         based on the logic of dehumanization
edly would not interfere with him         of the self and others. Therefore, an
and would leave him free.19               adequate battle against oppression
requires both fighting against the
Thus the Bahá’í approach to over-        tyranny committed by the oppressors
coming oppression is not motivated          and fostering a culture of spiritual
by anger or hatred against the op-          empowerment within the oppressed
pressors but by universal love for all      community.
people and belief in the dignity and           In fact, that was precisely
sacredness of the entire human race.        Bahá’u’lláh’s response when, follow-
From this perspective, one opposes          ing the attempt on the life of the
injustice not to degrade the oppressor      shah, the state mobilized to murder
but rather to help restore the human        all the Bábís and eradicate the Bábí
dignity and rights of the oppressed as      Faith. There were two paths in front
well as to help the oppressor overcome      of the Bábí community: the first was
self-alienation, self-dehumanization,       one of hatred against the Qajar state,
and self-oppression. Such an approach       calling for holy war and inciting vi-
requires rejecting not only physical        olence against the tyrants. This path
violence but also violence of language      was followed by the nominal leader
and sentiments.                             of the Bábí community, Yahyá Azal,
A further feature of this approach       even though he personally followed a
is to maintain vigilance against not        policy of concealment and passivity.
only external but also internal op-         In contrast, Bahá’u’lláh systematical-
pression. When oppression is defined        ly and forcefully denounced the cru-
in purely materialist ways, it is usually   elty and oppression of both the state
understood to be a one-dimension-           officials and the clergy, yet at the
al and external phenomenon. In this         same time He addressed the internal
view, the victim is by definition unable    cultural and moral state of the Bábí
to engage in self-oppression, nor is        community, who, because of their
discourse based on that premise con-        subjection to extremes of oppression,
sidered legitimate: frequently, talk of     had allowed themselves to think and
the need for internal reform of the op-     act like beasts. Discussing His first
pressed group is denounced as blam-         declaration, He explains that while in
ing the victim. In the Bahá’í approach,     prison He was constantly pondering
however, as oppression is ultimately a      the causes of the internal degrada-
tion of the Bábí community:
19 INBA 7:36; provisional translation.
From Oppression to Empowerment                            51

Day and night, while confined           heart and My pen to lament. They
in that dungeon, We meditated              that spread disorder in the land,
upon the deeds, the condition,             and lay hands on the property of
and the conduct of the Bábís,              others, and enter a house without
wondering what could have led              leave of its owner, We, verily, are
a people so high-minded, so no-            clear of them. (23)
ble, and of such intelligence, to
perpetrate such an audacious and            Recall that for Bahá’u’lláh oppres-
outrageous act against the person        sion of the heart and soul is worse
of His Majesty. This Wronged             than oppression of the body. Being
One, thereupon, decided to arise,        deprived of material resources be-
after His release from prison, and       longs to oppression of the body. What
undertake, with the utmost vigor,        was crucial for Him was that His
the task of regenerating this peo-       community should not be oppressed
ple. (Epistle 21)                        in heart and spirit as well. If the op-
pressed forget their spiritual dignity,
Bahá’u’lláh continued this same ap-     internalize their persecutors’ logic of
proach in all His later Writings. His      dehumanization, and allow themselves
stand against external oppression was      to succumb to degrading hatred and
always accompanied by admonishing          particularistic consciousness, they will
His own community not to overstep          become oppressed in both body and
the bounds of human dignity, not to        heart. He writes:
engage in hatred and violence, and
to adhere instead to detachment,             Be not afraid of death in the path
truthfulness, sincerity, kindliness, and     of God, nor affrighted by the
goodly deeds. In fact, for Bahá’u’lláh       manifestations of iniquity and
the worst oppression against Him             rebellion. I swear by the Most
Great Light, no inhabitant of
came not from the tyrants but from
earth can exercise power over the
the immoral acts committed by those
confident believers of God, ex-
who claimed to be His followers. As          cept that it be over their outward
He writes in the Epistle to the Son of       bodies, while they are powerless
the Wolf:                                    to establish ascendancy over the
realms of spirit. Were those who
My imprisonment doeth Me no                associate partners with God to
harm, neither the tribulations I           reflect awhile, they would never
suffer, nor the things that have           assault the divine beings, for the
befallen Me at the hands of My             purpose, of those who oppose the
oppressors. That which harmeth             Faith, of the deeds they commit
Me is the conduct of those who,            is to humiliate those symbols of
though they bear My name, yet              certitude.20
commit that which maketh My                20 INBA 57:65; provisional translation.
52                  The Journal of Bahá’í Studies 25.3 2015

True liberation and empowerment,              lovers of the Most Holy Abhá
therefore, is realized when the op-           Beauty of God. Blessed is the one
pressed refuse to permit the oppressor        who achieves it and attains unto
to succeed in controlling their heart         that which has always been the de-
and spirit.                                   sire of the devoted ones through-
As was seen in Bahá’u’lláh’s re-           out centuries and ages. Therefore,
sponse to oppression in His three dec-        the oppression of the tyrants is a
larations, being subjected to tyranny         bounty from God to His favored
and injustice was not the occasion for        servants. For it is by reason of
despair and surrender to dehuman-             such cruelty that their station is
ization but rather for turning crisis         exalted, they are enabled to draw
into the crucible from which victory          nigh unto His sanctified and lumi-
emerges. Thus, the Bahá’í approach to         nous Threshold, and the tongues
oppression is characterized by hope.          of the righteous greet those who
Such a view of the relationship of            have attained it, gained admit-
oppression and empowerment is only            tance, entered the paradise of His
understandable within the context of          good pleasure, and been counted
a spiritual worldview because, in the         as among the sincere servants.21
end, that relationship is a mystical par-
adox. Even as the delicate and pure lo-
tus rises out of the crude and impure
mud, so too the human spirit, when
it refuses to surrender to the instinc-
tual forces of nature, rises out of its
encounter with oppression liberated
and transcendent. But the emergence
of the lotus is impossible without the
mud:

It is by reason of the cruelty of
the enemies that the fire of divine
love is enkindled within the hearts
and souls, and it is the oppression
of the adversaries that hastens
the souls unto the Faith of God.
It is by reason of the cruelty of
the enemies that the lofty station
of the friends is revealed amongst
the people, and it is the oppres-            21 From a previously untranslated let-
sion of the adversaries that makes        ter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi;
manifest the exalted rank of the          provisional translation.
From Oppression to Empowerment                             53

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-- From Oppression to Empowerment (Used by permission of the curator)