DID YOU KNOW? The Twin Birthdays Are Also a Reminder to Question Authority

 

The Birthdays of the Bab and Baha'u'llah are among the happiest occasions in the Baha'i calendar. But behind these celebrations is a message that remains deeply relevant today: truth does not require permission from religious authorities.

When the Bab declared His mission in 1844, He challenged the religious establishment of His time. He did not ask people to accept His message simply because the clergy told them to. He called souls to investigate, recognize and decide for themselves.

Mulla Husayn is one of the best examples. He was searching for the Promised One when he encountered the Bab in Shiraz. He had no institution telling him what conclusion to reach. He listened, questioned and recognized the truth for himself.

That same principle lies at the heart of the Baha'i teaching of independent investigation of truth.

So, what happens when an administration begins telling believers what they may question, whom they may read, what interpretations they must accept and which believers they must avoid?

This is where the Free Baha'i position begins.

We believe that standing against the Haifan Administration is not standing against Baha'u'llah. It is standing for the freedom that Baha'u'llah gave to every individual to investigate truth.

The Bab challenged the religious authorities of His day. Baha'u'llah challenged the traditions and assumptions that had imprisoned religion for centuries. Abdu'l Baha repeatedly demonstrated humility, service and freedom from the behaviour of a religious ruler.

Free Baha'is therefore ask a simple question:

If the Bab and Baha'u'llah taught us to investigate truth independently, why should we surrender that right to any modern institution?   

We do not reject the Bab or Baha'u'llah by questioning the Administration. Quite the opposite. 

 We question the Administration because we take Their teachings seriously. 

 The Twin Birthdays are therefore more than celebrations of two historic Figures. They remind us that every generation must make its own journey toward truth.   

The Bab opened the door.   

Baha'u'llah called humanity through it.   

Free Baha'is simply refuse to let any administration close that door again.

A QUESTION TO CONSIDER   “The independent investigation of truth”   We are not asked to accept truth simply because someone else has accepted it for us. The search for truth is personal. It requires us to read, question, reflect, investigate, and follow our conscience.   WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF WE WERE NEVER AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONS?

DID YOU KNOW? The Origins of the Baha'i Administrative Fund System

 

The first organized system of compulsory funds in the Baha'i world did not come from Baha'u'llah or Abdu'l Baha. It began after 1921, under Shoghi Effendi.

On March 12, 1923, Shoghi Effendi issued a call for the establishment of local and national Baha'i Funds, placing them under the exclusive control of Spiritual Assemblies. From that moment onward, financial contribution was framed not simply as generosity, but as a “sacred obligation” tied to loyalty, conscience, and service to the Cause.

This marked a sharp departure from the spirit of the Faith as lived and taught by Baha'u'llah and the Master. Baha'u'llah revealed Huququ'llah as a personal spiritual law, based on inner willingness and detachment, not institutional pressure. Abdu'l Baha repeatedly refused money for himself and redirected offerings to the poor. Neither created a centralized, assembly-controlled funding structure.

Yet here, for the first time, believers were instructed that all donations must flow through administrative bodies, and that assemblies would decide how funds were spent. Teaching, education, service, and even aid to the needy were now filtered through bureaucratic approval.

This 1923 shift laid the foundation for what many Baha'is experience today: constant appeals, multiple funds, subtle pressure, and the merging of faithfulness with financial compliance. What began as a “necessity” has evolved into a system where spirituality is often measured by contribution rather than conduct.

For Free Baha'is, this moment is crucial. It helps explain how the Faith gradually moved away from a religion of the heart toward an institution sustained by control of money—something neither Baha'u'llah nor Abdu'l Baha ever intended.

Stolen Faith: How the Baha’i Message Was Turned into a Corpse

Wake up, people! The pure spiritual vision of the Baha’i Faith - a movement of freedom, conscience, and universal love - was brutally murdered and replaced by a cold, hard corporation! This isn't just history; this is the shocking exposé of how a divine revelation was hijacked by fear-mongers and power-hungry bureaucrats. Mirza Ahmad Sohrab saw the whole horrifying mess unfold right after Abdu’l Baha passed away in 1921, and he screamed the truth for all to hear. The Founders wanted a spirit; the so-called leaders gave us a sect! They choked the life out of the "spirit of the age" and stuffed it into a rigid, icy legal document called the "Declaration of Trust and By-Laws." It’s a tragedy that burns with betrayal. 

The biggest clue that something was rotten. They tried to trademark God's Name! Can you believe the audacity? In 1928, the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) of the U.S. and Canada ran to the U.S. Patent Office to put a commercial seal on the name "Baha’i." They treated the name of a universal religion like a box of soap to be "monopolized and sold under trademark to an unsuspecting public." It’s an insult to the entire concept of a divine message! This madness ended in a courtroom battle, where the NSA - that "full-fledged corporation" obsessed with money and control - was absolutely humiliated. In 1941, the Supreme Court of New York slammed the door in their face, declaring they had "no right to a monopoly of the name of a religion." Justice Valente’s ruling was a knockout punch for religious freedom and exposed the Administration’s greedy, materialistic heart. 

But the corporate takeover wasn't just about money; it was about controlling your mind. The new Administration, with policies sanctioned by the Guardian, went full medieval, instituting a horrifying system of thought-control. They set up "Boards of Censorship - yes, a church-approved police force for your ideas - to suppress free thought and turn sincere believers into "mere automata." They weren't satisfied with silencing your voice; they also wanted to lock you in a cage! They preached "complete RELIGIOUS ISOLATION," forcing people to abandon friendships and other organizations, building "iron-clad frontiers" that turned the community into a "segregated... prison." This is the opposite of the universal love taught by Baha’u’llah! 

And what happens when you dare to point out their hypocrisy? Excommunication and Shunning! They weaponized fear, constantly babbling about unnamed "enemies" to create a "fear complex" and a culture of gossip and heresy-hunting. Their very first major act was to bring back the "black plague in the realm of the mind"— the barbaric act of shunning anyone they personally felt was an "enemy of the Cause." Sohrab himself, a staunch defender of Abdu’l Baha’s Will, was viciously slandered simply because he insisted on his God-given right to "independent investigation of Truth!" He believed he could affirm the Guardian while still critiquing his disastrous policies - just like an American citizen critiques a President! 

Sohrab laid out the evidence, piece by piece, to show how arid administrative legalism replaced the "fresh springs of inspiration." He wrote down this terrifying story - not to convince the enslaved minds of today - but to create a scorching historical record for the future! His message is clear: Don't let any organization steal your conscience! The Baha’i Faith was meant to be a movement of liberty; never let them reduce it to a cage of blind obedience. The time for silent subservience is over!