TY - ENCYC

T1 - Baha'is

AU - Warburg, Margit

PY - 2024

Y1 - 2024

N2 - The Baha’i religion emerged in the mid-1800s as an offspring of Shi’i Islam in Iran.Baha’is base their religion on the scriptures of two successive founding prophets afterMuhammed, and both Muslims and Baha’is agree that the Baha’i religion is not part ofIslam. Baha’i later spread all over the world, primarily through conversion among themajority populations, and most of the about six million Baha’is worldwide have a nonMuslim background. In general, Baha’is blend into the majority society with few or notensions. However, in many Muslim countries, primarily in Iran, Baha’is are met withsuspicion and hostility, and the legal position of Baha’is is precarious and makes lifedifficult for them. In Iran, Baha’is have repeatedly suffered from bloody persecutions. Ageneral scheme of minority-majority attitudes and behaviour is proposed, and it can alsobe used to view the Baha’is’ minority situation. The second and more important of theBaha’i prophets, Baha’u’llah (1817–1892), was exiled to the Haifa area, and the worldheadquarters of the Baha’i religion were established in Haifa many years before thefounding of the state of Israel. Baha’is have a special minority position in Israel.

AB - The Baha’i religion emerged in the mid-1800s as an offspring of Shi’i Islam in Iran.Baha’is base their religion on the scriptures of two successive founding prophets afterMuhammed, and both Muslims and Baha’is agree that the Baha’i religion is not part ofIslam. Baha’i later spread all over the world, primarily through conversion among themajority populations, and most of the about six million Baha’is worldwide have a nonMuslim background. In general, Baha’is blend into the majority society with few or notensions. However, in many Muslim countries, primarily in Iran, Baha’is are met withsuspicion and hostility, and the legal position of Baha’is is precarious and makes lifedifficult for them. In Iran, Baha’is have repeatedly suffered from bloody persecutions. Ageneral scheme of minority-majority attitudes and behaviour is proposed, and it can alsobe used to view the Baha’is’ minority situation. The second and more important of theBaha’i prophets, Baha’u’llah (1817–1892), was exiled to the Haifa area, and the worldheadquarters of the Baha’i religion were established in Haifa many years before thefounding of the state of Israel. Baha’is have a special minority position in Israel.

U2 - 10.1515/rmo.21009437

DO - 10.1515/rmo.21009437

M3 - Encyclopedia chapter

T3 - Religious Minorities Online

BT - Religious Minorities Online

A2 - Baffelli, Erica

A2 - van der Haven, Alexander

A2 - Stausberg, Michael

PB - De Gruyter

ER -