EXCERPTS - Ruth White. Abdul Baha's Questioned Will and Testament.
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/archives/WhiteABQWT.pdf
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White, Ruth. Abdul Baha's Questioned Will and Testament. Beverly Hills:
White, 1946:
"The scientific indications are that the will of Abdu'l-Baha is not
genuine. Also, from the
spiritual viewpoint, there are overwhelming indications that it is not
genuine, as it contradicts
the teachings of both Baha'u'llah and of Abdu'l-Baha. But whether the
alleged will of Abdu'l-Baha is
authentic or spurious, the results of the administration of Shoghi Effendi
and the National
Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is stand as an historical indictment against
them. They no more represent
the Bahai Religion than the bigots of the dark ages of Christianity"
(11-12).
"One of these actions is the trade marking of the name "Baha'i" in 1928.
This is the same as if one
sect within Christianity had tried to trade mark the name "Christian." In
their application for the
trade mark they described themselves as the" "National Spiritual Assembly
of Baha'is of the United
States and Canada, a common-law corporation, organized and operated under
declaration of trust and
doing business at . . . " This trademark was later pronounced invalid by
the court when the Assembly
instituted two law-suits, during 1941, against two well-known Bahais, to
prevent them, or anyone
else, from spreading the Bahai teachings except through their
organization. Of course the Assembly
lost both suits and they were severely reprimanded by Judge Valente, who
reminded them of the Bill
of Rights, and pointed out that each one has a right to practice his
religion unmolested by others.
"The Assembly of Baha'is use the assets that Baha'u'llah and Abdu'l-Baha
built up by preaching some
of their principles from the platform. But in private, after a person has
joined the Assembly, that
person is faced with the alternative of complying with the narrow, bigoted
edicts of Shoghi Effendi
and the Assembly, or of being excommunicated.
"This book is a challenge to them to prove, if they can, not only whether
the will of Abdu'l-Baha is
genuine, and the authority which they claim to derive from it is
legitimate, but also whether their
administration of their assumed authority is in the spirit of the
teachings of Baha'u'llah and
Abdu'l-Baha" (12-13).
"For in the hands of Shoghi Effendi, and The National Spiritual Assembly
of the Baha'is of the
United States and Canada, the great universal Bahai Cause has been changed
into a narrow bigoted
sect and many of the tactics of the dark ages have been revived. This is
what has happened to the
religion that many leading thinkers of the day believe is the remedy for
this age" (26).
"Neither [Abdu'l-Baha] nor Baha'u'llah had given the slightest intimation
that they intended to
appoint an hereditary guardianship. In fact everything that they had said
or spoken indicated the
opposite intention.
"I also did a great deal of recollecting of events that had happened
during our two visits to the
home of Abdu'l-Baha, where I had an opportunity to see him in relation to
his family and his
"in-laws." The deductions that I made confirmed what Abdul-Baha had so
often said--that the
spiritual relationship was the real kinship, and not the physical. For his
family, with the
exception of his wife and sister, were the average types with a strong
bent toward organized
religion, whereas Abdu'l-Baha was universal, "super-racial and
undogmatic." The world was his
family. His loving care for his universal family was evident throughout
his life, but at no time was
it more evident than during the first world war and directly after it. He
personally supervised vast
agricultural projects at Tiberias and Adassieh, and he rationed and
distributed the products that he
cultivated, thereby saving thousands from starvation" (28-29).
"It is important for those who are interested in the Bahai Religion to
free themselves from the idea
that the family of Abdu'l-Baha is a "Holy Family." In fact his family, and
"in-laws," with the
exception of his wife and sister, were somewhat materialistic, and viewed
the religion more or less
as a little family affair with a strong bent toward organization. For
years they have indoctrinated,
more or less, the pilgrims who visited the home of Abdul-Baha, myself
included, with this conception
of religion. This partly nullified the great universal teachings. The
result was that when
Abdul-Baha passed from this world in November, 1921, some of his family,
who had laid the
ground-work for organization through these pilgrims while he was alive,
hastened to establish it
more firmly when he died. All this resulted in making the Bahai Movement,
under the dictatorship of
Shoghi Effendi, an organization which for narrowness and bigotry has no
parallel in history except
in the dark ages" (31).
"Not until three years had elapsed after the alleged will had been read in
1922, were copies of it
finally distributed, and then only to "old and recognized believers." I
was among those who received
a copy. But my stand continued to be one of "watchful waiting." This stand
on my part caused me no
embarrassment, inasmuch as I had never been a member of the Bahai
organization, (Spiritual
Assemblies of the Bahais). I knew that belonging to them meant conforming
to the group repression
and being shorn of the universal attitude which Abdu'l-Baha said is the
essence of the Bahai Cause"
(40).
"In May 1926 the National Spiritual Assembly of Bahais incorporated the
Bahai Cause, made the
alleged will part of the by-laws, and proclaimed it an article of faith
that Shoghi Effendi as the
Guardian of the Bahai Cause must be obeyed in all things. The alleged will
had never been examined
by handwriting experts. by the powers granted in the alleged will, the
Guardian collected large sums
of money, and sent out various pleas for this purpose" (40).
"As Mr. Mountford Mills was one of the "well known Baha'is" who had gone
to Palestine shortly after
the passing of Abdu'l-Baha, I wrote to him asking him to give me what
information he could
concerning the alleged will. Mr. Mills, by the way, drew up the by-laws of
the Bahai Cause, than
which nothing could be more un-Bahai. although he is an exceptionally fine
man, that did not
interfere with his blindness. Just after he had drawn these by -laws, my
husband and I had an
interview with him, in which he said that the had recently finished
reading 'Christianity Past and
Present' by Charles Guignebert, and that if he had read it before drafting
those by-laws the history
of the Bahai Cause would have been different. In other words Mr. Mills
deeply regretted his action"
(45).
"Dr. Mitchell not only spent months examining the enlarged specimens
submitted to him, but he
examined minutely every line of the ten photographs of the alleged will,
and his conclusion is that
it is not written throughout by the same person. This fact, in addition to
others, indicates that
the will is spurious, especially if we bear in mind that Shoghi Effendi,
and the Spiritual Assembly
of Bahai's, assert that every word of it is written in the hand of
Abdu'l-Baha. Also if we bear in
mind that it is undated and unwitnessed, and that it contradicts the
teachings that both Baha'u'llah
and Abdu'l-Baha gave during their lifetimes--that the Bahai Cause is a
spiritual democracy and not a
theocracy. The appointment of an hereditary guardianship contradicts this"
(69).
"Dr. Mitchell's report also shows that none of the handwriting of the
alleged will is the same as
the authentic specimens of Abdu'l-Baha's handwriting that were submitted
to him" (69).
"Most persons are unaware of the fact that handwriting experts use modern
inventions that measure
the slants, the spaces, and the tremors of writing so accurately that it
makes the difference
between two specimens of different writing overwhelmingly apparent, when
these are enlarged, even
though one of the specimens may be so clever a forgery of the other as to
appear identical to the
naked eye" (69-70).
"Those Bahais who assert that they are familiar with the handwriting of
Abdu'l-Baha, and have
compared it with the writing of the will, and have found them identical,
reveal the fact that they
are either totally unaware of the science used by the best handwriting
experts, or else fear has
prompted them to assert their belief in the authenticity of the will--fear
of being excommunicated
if they so much as question the document. This science that the best
handwriting experts use is so
mathematically accurate that any number of experts using these modern
inventions will arrive at the
same results" (70).
"I have already referred to the extreme care that Abdu'l-Baha showed in
regard to letters purporting
to be from him, sent or brought to this country. The following instance
shows that he was even more
careful to make certain that any Tablet or document of his relating to
important public matters was
properly translated and authenticated before it was sent out. He wrote a
Tablet to the Secretary of
the Court for Durable Peace, at the Hague, on December 17, 1919, and he
considered it necessary to
have four men translate it. These four men were Shoghi Effendi (Rabbani),
Dr. Zia M. Bagdadi, Mirza
Lotfullah Hakim, and Dr. J. E. Esselmont. This Tablet was signed
Abdu'l-Baha Abbas, and was
published in the Star of the West (Bahai Magazine), August 1, 1920, with
the four names of the
translators and witnesses."
"The quadruple witnessing of this Tablet, written two years before
Abdu'l-Baha passed from this
world, make it evident that he did not consider Shoghi Effendi careful
enough, or efficient enough,
to translate the Table to the Court of Durable Peace without the help of
three other men. Is it
likely, then, that at this very time and authentic will of Abdu'l-Baha's,
of infinitely greater
importance than this Tablet to the Hague, should lay hidden in the earth,
undated and unwitnessed,
in which this same Shoghi Effendi was appointed sole guardian of the Bahai
Cause, with more
potential power and wealth than asking and pope combined? And that later
this same will was
translated by the one person only, the beneficiary himself--Shogi Effendi.
Is this in accordance
with Abdu'l-Baha's super-carefulness?" (70-71).
"Abdul Baha said that if an angel from heaven comes down and tries to
change the teachings of
Baha'u'llah, do not believe him. Shoghi Effendi has changed them by
pronouncements and actions which
are in direct contradiction to Bahai teachings--above all he has changed
the very character and
fundamental principle of the Cause by putting a theocracy, which the
founders said it was not
[boldface in original], in place of the spiritual democracy which they
said, over and over again, it
is. The following instances show what acceptance of the alleged will has
done to the blind followers
of its rules."
"Mr. Horace Holley, as spokesman for Shoghi Effendi, made this statement
in 1925: 'The individual
conscience must be subordinated to the decisions of the elected Spiritual
Assembly.'" [boldface in
original]
"This statement strikes at the very foundation of the Bahai Cause, as one
of its cardinal teachings
is that man must have freedom of conscience. Among dozens of instances
that could be given of
Abdu'l-Baha's statements on this subject is the following: '... the
conscience of man is sacred and
to be respected . . . '" (73-74).
"We can see from the foregoing that Abdu'l-BAha emphasized the necessity
of man's being able to
exercise freedom of conscience, as Baha'u'llah did" (75).
"During the lifetime of Abdu'l Baha the attempts of the National Spiritual
Assembly of Baha'is to
organize the Bahai Religion were held in abeyance, but after he passed
from this world, under the
dictates of Shoghi Effendi, they swung it into an organization the like of
which has not been seen
since the dark ages. They tried to exercise the power over the Bahai world
that Baha'u'llah said
would be vested in the SUPREME TRIBUNAL of the future world governments.
In order to enforce this
power they excommunicated those who would not accept their pronouncements,
and twice the members of
the National Assembly sued at law in order to try and prevent other
Bahaies from promulgating the
religion which they held in common; but, fortunately, they lost both these
suits. Judge Valente,
reprimanding them, reminded them of the Bill of Rights, which grants
freedom to every man to
practice his religion unmolested. All of this the reader can learn in the
ensuing pages" (76).
[Ruth White quotes Abdu'l-Baha]: "The worst enemies of the Cause are in
the Cause and mention the
Name of God. We need not fear the enemies on the outside for such can be
easily dealt with. But the
enemies who call themselves Friends and who persistently violate every
fundamental law of Love and
Unity are difficult to deal with in this Day. . . ."
"This last paragraph applies overwhelmingly to the activities of Shoghi
Effendi, and the National
Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is. They have violated the principles of
brotherhood and unity because of
their inversions of the Bahai teachings. These inversions are all the more
tragic of this particular
time when the world has been made receptive, through much suffering, to
the great universal
principles of the Bahai Religion. Two prophecies of Baha'u'llah have been
so accurately
fulfilled--the discovery of Atomic Power, and the embryonic Supreme
Tribunal as manifested in the
United Nations Organization that we would do well to consider the
third--the possible destruction of
our planet unless we circumvent this threatened fate by a balanced
spiritual civilization" (84-85).
"This matter of freedom of conscience is the most important part of the
Bahai Teachings. God has
given man free-will, and no earthly priestcraft nor dictatorship must
interfere with man's using
that free-will in matters of faith and the inner relationship between the
soul and God. This is the
meaning of the spiritual democracy of which Abdu'l-Baha so often
speaks--religion percolating
through all the affairs of our daily life, and an ideal political
government coming into existence
as the result of the change of man's nature and belief."
"This is just the twist that the present leaders of the Bahai organization
have tried to give to the
Universal Message of Baha'u'llah."
"There are many other wholly un-Bahai edicts that Shoghi Effendi and the
National Spiritual Assembly
of Bahais have issued beside these two that follow: ". . . the individual
conscience must be
subordinated to the decisions of the Spiritual Assembly, ... and: '. . .
individual Bahai effort
without due consultation is foredoomed to failure" (87-88).
"Everyone of these edicts are inversions of the Bahai Teachings, as given
to the world by the
Founders of the Cause."
"In saying that recognized Bahais must not vote in any election based on a
party system Shoghi
Effendi and his hierarchy have set up what might be considered a
government within each government
in every country where there are enough of his followers. Over that
government he is supreme
dictator. His subjects must pay taxes to him (tithes) and he forbids his
followers to vote on
national and civic affairs. All his edicts no matter how un-patriotic, or
how much in violation of
the universal principles of the Bahai Religion, must be obeyed under
threat of excommunication."
"This revival of excommunication is a horrible inversion of the Bahai
teachings--the Revelation for
which Baha'u'llah suffered imprisonment for twenty-five years, and
Adbu'l-Baha for forty years--the
Cause for which twenty thousand martyrs sacrificed their lives to
establish freedom of conscience
and to unite all mankind regardless of religion, race or country. The idea
of excommunication is
impossible in the world envisaged by Baha'u'llah" (89-90).
"Whether the alleged will of Abdul Baha is authentic or spurious, the
results of the administration
of Shoghi Effendi and the National Spiritual Assembly of Baha'is stand as
an historical indictment
against them. [Boldface in original] They no more represent the Bahai
Religion than the bigots of
the dark ages of Christianity.
"We had the dark ages because the bigots of that era got control of
Christ's teachings and tortured
all those who did not comply with their interpretation. Shoghi Effendi,
and the National Spiritual
Assembly of Baha'is, cannot in this day resort to physical torture to
enforce their will, but they
have resorted to mental torture by blackmailing with excommunication all
those who do not comply
with their inverted teachings" (100).
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Ruth%20White.htm
--
The Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/
See 2007 - Lawsuit by Wilmette NSA Against Other Denominations
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/
Ruth White Collection, Library of Congress, 1930
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/RWhiteLibC.htm
Ruth White, Excerpts, Bibliography
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Ruth%20White.htm
Dr. C. (Charles) Ainsworth Mitchell - Certified Copy from the Library of
Congress
Report on the Writing Shown on the Photographs of the Alleged Will of
Abdu'l-Baha. 1930.
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/CAMitchell_Report.htm
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