B

BAHA’I FAITH The Baha’i religion – or the Baha’i Faith

as the Baha’is call their religion – has its

background in a schism in Shi’a Islam in

nineteenth-century Iran. This schism

gave rise to an important millenarian

movement, Babism, which, however,

collapsed after a few years. After some

further years, the remnants of the

movement eventually developed into the

Baha’i religion under the founding pro-

phet Mirza Husayn-Ali Nuri (1817-92),

called Baha’u’llah. The Baha’is believe

that by following the revelations of

Baha’u’llah humankind will become

religiously and politically unified into

one future world civilisation, based on

world peace and the enforcement of

international law. In line with this vision

the Baha’is advocate a number of social

and ethical principles which emphasise

universalism, cultural diversity and equal

opportunities for all.