In this book, Julia Berger examines internal meaning-making structures and processes driving NGO behavior, identifying constructs from within a religious tradition that forge new ways of pursuing social change. She evaluates the operation of a distinct rationality, arguing that action is guided not simply by beliefs and values, but also by a combination of elements so intrinsic as to constitute an "organizational DNA." These hidden structures and rationalities manifest themselves in new modes of engagement and agency; they help us to see the pivotal role of religion in shaping notions of peace, progress, and modernity. To demonstrate the operation and salience of such a rationality, Berger draws on the example of the worldwide Baha'i community. Emerging in 19th century Iran, the community's theological engagement with questions of justice, the unity of humankind, and the emerging global order, constitute one of the most distinct and compelling, yet least-researched examples of religious engagement with the pressing questions of our time. Analyzing events spanning a 75-year period from 1945-2020, this book provides a unique historical and contemporary perspective on the evolving role of religion and civil society in the modern world.

Poetry for children based on "Blessed is the spot ..." by Baha'u'llah

The nineteenth century was a time of significant global socioeconomic change, and Persian Jews, like other Iranians, were deeply affected by its challenges. For minority faith groups living in nineteenth-century Iran, religious conversion to Islam - both voluntary and involuntary - was the primary means of social integration and assimilation. However, why was it that some Persian Jews, who had for centuries resisted the relative security of Islam, instead embraced the Baha'i Faith - which was subject to harsher persecution that Judaism? Baha'ism emerged from the messianic Babi movement in the mid-nineteenth century and attracted large numbers of mostly Muslim converts, and its ecumenical message appealed to many Iranian Jews. Many converts adopted fluid, multiple religious identities, revealing an alternative to the widely accepted notion of religious experience as an oppressive, rigidly dogmatic and consistently divisive social force. Mehrdad Amanat explores the conversion experiences of Jewish families during this time. Many converted sporadically to Islam, although not always voluntarily. The most notorious case of forced mass-conversion in modern times occurred in Mashhad in 1839 when, in response to an organized attack, the entire Jewish community converted to Shi'i Islam. A contrast is offered by a Tehran Jewish family of court physicians who nominally converted to Islam and yet continued to openly observe Jewish rituals while also remaining intellectually sympathetic to Baha'ism. Many petty merchants and pedlars, in a position to benefit from Iran's expanding market, migrated from ancient communities to thriving trade centres which proved fertile grounds for the spread of new ideas and, often, conversion to Christianity or Baha'ism. This is an important scholarly contribution which also provides a fascinating insight into the personal experiences of Jewish families living in nineteenth-century Iran.

Illumination Responses to three representative books printed in Iran attacking the Baha'i Faith Since its inception in 1979, the Islamic Republic of Iran has announced the suppression of the Baha'i community in Iran to be one of its official policies. In addition to summary executions, arbitrary arrests, confiscation of property, and denial of basic human rights to the members of the Baha'i Faith, the Islamic Republic's state apparatus has been mobilized to produce defamatory propaganda and fabrications in order to justify the persecution of the peaceful Baha'i community for the Iranian public and to an increasingly alarmed international community. Dr. Tavangar's book is a comprehensive and thoughtful work that addresses the numerous misrepresentations and baseless attacks that are continuously published and promoted by the authorities in Iran against the Baha'i community - its largest religious minority. Being a respected Islamic and Baha'i scholar, Dr. Tavangar has gone beyond mere rebuttals by laying out in this book clear historical as well as scriptural and philosophical notions that explain and expose the roots of the arguments put forth against the Baha'i Faith by the typical publications and so-called research centers in Iran.

Dawnbreakers is the most comprehensive and authoritative eyewitness account of the beginnings of the Baha'i era. A reprint of the 1932 original, and full of wonderful features, this book is a necessity for any serious scholar of Baha'i history. If you desire fullest details, then read this sourcebook on the dramatic events which inaugurated the promised dawn, foretold in all the Sacred Scriptures. Central is the Figure of the Blessed Bb, '...matchless in His meekness, imperturbable in His serenity, magnetic in His utterance...', as it documents the tragic and triumphal events, fueled by a visionary and sacrificial heroism which He alone inspired. Words and events were related first hand, Nabl-i-Azm by many eye-witnesses and participants in this Divinely inspired and short-lived period, which cleaved the clouds of entrenched tradition, and prepared nothing less than the long awaited dawning of the Ancient of Days.