The Baha’i Faith is an outgrowth of Babism, a religious movement which began
in Persia (now Iran)
in the middle of the 19th century. Its founding leader was Siyyid
`Ali-Muhammed, a descendent of Muhammed who called himself the Bab (Gate).
Babism was itself an outgrowth of the Shayki movement in Persia,
which preached the coming of a Promised One, the Hidden Imam, who would come to
lead the world into the Messianic Age. The Bab preached that he was this
Promised One, but that there would also be another to come after him who would
be greater than him.
The Bab composed his holy book, the Bayan during his ministry, which
was to replace the Quran as the most holy of texts.
For religious as well as political reasons, the Bab was seen as a threat to
the Persian authorities, and he was ultimately put to death by firing squad in
1850. At the time of his death it was wondered who would pick up the reigns of
his fledgeling movement.
The two contenders for control of the Babi movement were two brothers. These
two were Subh-e-Azal and the man who has come to be known as Baha’u’llah (Glory
of God). Each of these claimed that the Bab had chosen them to be heirs of his
movement.
This conflicted resulted in a split in the Babi movement. Those who followed
Azal eventually became known as Azalis, while those who followed Baha’u’llah
eventually became known as Baha’is.
Not long after the death of the Bab, Baha’u’llah was imprisoned for his work
in the new religious movement. He was in and out of prison for several years,
and was finally sentenced in 1863 to exile in the island prison of Acre
in Palestine. Acre
is most known in history for the victory that Richard the Lionheart achieved
there during the 2nd Crusade.
On his way to Acre, Baha’u’llah camped alongside Mount
Carmel in Palestine.
This was the same mountain where the prophet Elijah had once defeated the pagan
priests of his time in a contest of magic, and had also been the center of the
religion of the Samaritans, descendants of the Israelites. It is also the
central location of the Baha’i Faith today. The Shrine of the Bab now sits atop
its crest.