The garden, or gardener, in question is Eona, a Papua New Guinea gardener working at the Baha’i World Centre gardens on Mount Carmel, Haifa. And the film is an attempt to introduce to Iranian audiences, who may have only heard half-truths, propaganda or outright lies, to the Baha’i Faith.

Makhmalbaf says: “Many of us Iranians know more about religions and schools of thought from Indian, Chinese, or Japanese origin than religions that have grown out of Iran. Maybe this has been willed by censorship. The Gardener is an attempt to break this censorship.”

But the film, produced in a surreal docu-drama style, goes beyond that. Through the two perspectives offered by the father and son team of Mohsen and Maysan Makhmalbaf the audience is presented with the two starkly contrasting attitudes of Iranians today towards not only the Baha’i Faith specifically but religion in general.

Nor surprisingly, the newer generation is sick and tired of religion, having had their fill of it through the suffocating theocratic Islamic government of Iran. The older generation still cling to the ideal that religion can be a positive force in the world. The dialectic nature of the film succeeds in drawing in the audience and engaging them on a very deep and personal level.

Makhmalbaf hasn’t been very popular with the Islamic regime and this recent work will make him even less so.

Audience reactions at premiere:

IMDB page

UPDATE:
Makhmalbaf has dedicated his prize from the 30th Jerusalem Film Festival to the Baha’i gardener featured in his film, Guillaume Nyagatare from Rwanda.

With shattered hearts, we have received news of the destruction of the Most Great House — the House of Baha’u’llah in Baghdad. While the precise circumstances attending this outrageous violation are as yet unclear, its immediate consequence is without doubt, and must be emphatically stated: The peoples of the world have been robbed of a sanctuary of incalculable sacredness.

So deplorable an act, coming on the eve of the unprecedented worldwide convocation of Baha’u’llah’s young followers and their friends, calls to mind that mysterious interplay of crisis and victory through which His indestructible, irrepressible, inexorable purpose will finally be consummated.

We supplicate the Blessed Beauty to confer upon His faithful followers throughout the world fortitude and resolve in the face of this grievous blow. More information will be provided as it becomes available.

Analysis and Thoughts
The house of Baha’u’llah in Baghdad has a storied past. It is or, rather, was located in the North East section of present day Baghdad. Before the capital grew to reach and envelop it, al-Kadhimiya or Kazmain was a town 5 kilometers outside of Baghdad. It was and remains a pilgrimage site for Shi’ite Muslims due to the location of al-Kadhimiya mosque and shrine complex where the earthly remains of the Seventh and Ninth Imams rest. In fact the small town grew around the mosque and shrine which was named after the Seventh Imam (Musa al-Kadhim). Click for a Google Map view

Due to its proximity to the shrines the House of Baha’u’llah had been used as a hostel for Shi’ite pilgrims coming from Iraq and the surrounding countries. As you can imagine, due to its location to the Shi’ite shrine, the idea of returning the property to the Baha’i authorities is out of the question. Even if the government of Iraq was so inclined (which they obviously were and are not) the political and religious milieu would never allow it. The proximity of Sadr city doesn’t help either.

And yet, since the overthrow of Saddam Hussain and the re-establishment of the Baha’i community (with the election of the new NSA of the Baha’is of Iraq in 2004) the Baha’i World Centre had started the process of attempting to regain ownership of the property. They were able to broach the subject at various times and with different levels of the civil government as well as with the US and other nations undertaking reconstruction operations in Iraq. All avenues of dialogue failed to yield any results.

Although we do not have confirmation of this, it is my opinion that the destruction of the house was a deliberate act to accomplish two major objectives: first, to remove the question of ownership – as there is nothing left standing to own (except of course the land) – and second, to build in its place a larger and more modern pilgrim hostel which will accommodate more Muslims and further remove the possibility of returning the property to Baha’is.

While the destruction of the house is a major blow to the hopes of Baha’is everywhere, the Baha’i World Centre does have the necessary architectural plans and pictures to reconstruct the building. But they will be unable to do so if in its place stands a new, larger Shi’ite pilgrim hostel. Even if the land is now returned to the Baha’i international community, rebuilding the house of Baha’u’llah would entail the destruction of the newly built pilgrim house and that would be simply out of the question for obvious reasons.

Allow me to repeat that this is merely conjecture on my part. But it is based on an understanding of the various stakeholders and their motivations; including the current Iraqi government controlled by Shi’ites, the Iranian government (which is more or less running the show in Iraq today), the high value of real estate in Baghdad and specifically this neighborhood, etc. Needless to say, I hope that I am wrong.

But if the above does come to pass, it will have severe consequences for Baha’is everywhere. Not only because as Baha’is we abhor the destruction and desecration of yet another holy place but also because of the spiritual significance of this particular building.

While most Baha’is are comfortable with the idea of pilgrimage meaning a trip to Haifa, Israel and the surrounding areas (Bahji, Akka, Mazra’ih), this is simply wrong. None of those places are Baha’i sites of pilgrimage. If this ‘little known fact’ surprises you then you’re not alone. Most Baha’is today unfortunately don’t know any better.

This common ignorance is due to two reasons: first, both actual pilgrimage sites are inaccessible and second, the Universal House of Justice incorrectly uses the word pilgrimage (hajj) to refer to the act of visiting the significant Baha’i sites in the Holy Land instead of the correct word: visitation (ziarat).

Upon a superficial investigation you will find that the common answer to this concern is that Abdu’l-Baha designated the Shrine of Baha’u’llah at Bahji (the Point of Adoration) as a place of pilgrimage. The source of this is note 54 of the Aqdas but I have been unable to find the actual supporting source. That is, in which tablet does Abdu’l-Baha write this? What is the exact quote? It is curious that a proper source is not provided anywhere and even more curious that for the average Baha’i this is enough.

Now that the House of Baha’u’llah has been destroyed, and may be replaced by a new Shi’ite pilgrim hostel, removing it permanently from the grasp of Baha’is, what are Baha’is to do? I suppose we can continue to do what we are doing now; pretend that the trip to Israel is actually pilgrimage.

But that is a rather hollow pretense. Baha’i pilgrimage is obligatory and has been enjoined upon all (except those who are unable of course) and so understandably, Baha’is wish to go. But they can’t really.

This presents an interesting thought experiment. What is special about a holy place? is it the brick and mortar and shingles? if it is those things, then through the eventual passage of time the structure will need to be renovated or replaced. And it is reasonable to expect that over enough time it will be renovated and restored to such an extent that it is completely replaced with new material.

Is what makes the holy site ‘special’ the location? That is, we can rebuild the building with new material, as Baha’is hope and plan to for both site of pilgrimage, and it would still be ‘special’? what if we are somehow able to use a very large earth move or other construction machinery to uproot the building whole from the ground it sits upon and re-locate it? is the earth under it now ‘special’? is the building in another location just as special?

These questions may seem facetious to you but I submit that they are not. What are your thoughts? Please share them in the comments below.

Update:
The Universal House of Justice has shared this letter with the Baha’is of the world as an update to the tragic events described above:

Kenneth E. Bowers
Muin Afnani
Juana C. Conrad
David F. Young
Jacqueline Left Hand Bull
S. Valerie Dana
Fariba Aghdasi
Erica Toussaint-Brock
Robert C. Henderson

Likewise, the delegates of the National Convention in Canada re-elected the exact same individuals to serve on the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada (in descending order of votes received):

Karen McKye
Deloria Bighorn
Mehran Anvari
Judy Filson
Elizabeth Wright
Enayat Rawhani
Gordon Naylor
Susanne Tamas
Lisa Flynn

Sadly, this pattern of electing the same people again and again has been going on for some time. The individuals on the NSA of Canada, for example, have on average 10 years of consecutive membership! And if there is any change, it is rare and small with one or perhaps two people changing at a time. In fact, over the past 16 years there has never been one instance of more than two individuals being changed in one year.

The results of this are apathy on the part of the general Baha’i community. The results of the election are a foregone conclusion before they take place and as such they are of no interest to the average Baha’i. And as apathy takes hold and less and less people vote, the effect of incumbency intensifies even further in a vicious cycle.

Apart from this negative effect on the community, the institution itself suffers as cliques form and individuals create and protect fiefdoms within their purview. Old time members naturally are more comfortable with old ideas and hostile to new ones. Even the wisp of fresh air brought in by the election of one new individual is overpowered by the musty stench of incumbency wafting from the other eight. And so, fresh ideas and insights are forfeit as group think takes hold.

Is there a way out of this quagmire? Yes, of course! But while it is simple it is not necessarily easy because many Baha’is today are more concerned with maintaining the status quo than addressing the shortcomings of community. The advice of the Guardian on the importance of “fresh blood” is disregarded in favor of not rocking the boat:

“As elections are by secret ballot only the education of the electorate can bring about changes on assemblies which often stagnate from lack of fresh blood…”
(From a letter on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada – March 31st 1945)

Beyond an educated electorate there are other steps that can be taken. For example, both term limits and a modification to the form of voting can completely eliminate incumbency.

But first, it is important to keep fresh in our minds that Baha’i Administration is an evolving organism. The one we see today in action around the world would not be recognized were we to travel back in time in a DeLorean to 1901. Most Baha’is do not realize that – for example- it took several decades for LSAs to be elected rather than appointed! And that even when they were democratically elected, only men were considered candidates.

Baha’i Administration was designed from the very beginning to be continuously modified and refined – recall that the Baha’i dispensation is for 1000 years and that the contingent needs of a constantly advancing civilization requires flexibility. Only those with closed minds bereft of any sense of history or knowledge about the Faith cling to the only thing they know and the only thing they have experienced so far in their own lives – afraid that anything different is “bad”.

The suggestion of term limits, for example, is but one small idea put forward in the spirit of consultation. The concept by the way is much older than the America government which has popularized the concept in the world today. In fact, the concept of term limits as old as the idea of democracy itself: Athenian citizens could only serve in the boule for two consecutive terms or two maximum terms in a lifetime. The founding fathers of the United States “borrowed” quite a bit from successful governing ideas from around the world and throughout history.

There are other ideas and methods of course – alternative voting methods for example. The important thing is to be open minded and enter into true Baha’i consultation about this issue.

For an interesting discussion of Baha’i elections, check out Sen McGlinn’s recent article: “Without Reference to Particular Individuals”

At first glance the video is quite uplifting because it showcases examples of community development where Baha’is have had a meaningful and positive impact. For example, in India we are shown how the institute process has lead some villagers to soften their deep-seated male chauvinism and to question the cultural norm of ‘castes’. It seems all very wonderful! Apparently the Baha’i community has discovered community development. More than that, it comes across as if the Baha’is have invented community development.

The truth is that the contributions of Baha’is around the world is miniscule compared to everything else out there, both in terms of manpower and in terms of resources; and it comes very late. Nevertheless it is praiseworthy and should be acknowledged as such. At the same time, it is important to maintain perspective and realize that there are other groups doing amazing work out there light years ahead of the Baha’i community and that we can learn much from them. This, I would submit, is the more appropriate tone to strike, rather than one of triumphalism and chest-beating “overstatements of the Baha’i experience”.

As a matter of fact, many would suggest that the Baha’i community in India itself is in more dire need of this program than anyone else in that country. For generations it has been beset by scandals and improprieties. But that is another subject best left for another time.

The success of the community development programs in Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Bihar Sharif in India shown in Frontiers of Learning also speak to another important point. Both these communities are in developing countries and have many specific needs that the Ruhi courses do address to some degree. For example, the position and role of women, the unity of mankind (castes discrimination in India and age discrimination in the Congo). However the same can not be said of other, more developed, countries; for example, Norway or Switzerland. In these countries such issues have been debated and resolved long ago. And while the treatment of gender equality takes place within a continuum and can never be truly finished, speaking about it in such basic terms simply would not resonate to the extent that it does in India and the Congo.

And this is exactly why the Ruhi courses receive scant attention in more developed countries and why they have gained minimal if any traction there. A simplistic and rudimentary treatment of such issues sounds tone-deaf and condescending to a more sophisticated and aware populace. The fact that the Baha’i community has received disproportionate results from the developing world in response to the Ruhi courses is a matter or record. Last year in the annual Ridvan message, the Universal House of Justice announced the plans for the construction of seven local houses of worship to support and augment the achievements of specific Baha’i communities with respect to the core activities.

All of the planned national Mashriqu’l-Adhkar are located in poor, developing countries : Lubumbashi, Democratic Republic of the Congo; Bihar Sharif, India; Battambang, Cambodia; Bihar Sharif, India; Matunda Soy, Kenya; Norte del Cauca, Colombia; and Tanna, Vanuatu. Not a single one is located in a Western, developed country.

This is not at all surprising when one approaches community development with a supercilious “one size fits all” cookie-cutter program focused on the lowest common denominator and demands that the practitioners and participants adapt to the methodology and content instead of adapting the content and program to the contingent needs of each audience. For more on this, see previous treatments of the subject in: Time for Ruhi to “Show Us the Money”.

It isn’t really noteworthy to find four locations around the world where there is a modicum of success. If the Ruhi courses are truly that great, the real question is, why isn’t there more? why don’t Baha’is see the same in their own communities?

The inclusion of the example of Colombia is a great case in point. As mentioned in the previous link, the specific area featured in Columbia is the birthplace of the Ruhi courses some 40+ years ago. The success shown in the video is put in its proper context when we realize that the program has been running continuously for more than two generations. With that in mind, any warm and fuzzy feelings give away to curiosity as to why so little has been achieved in so long a time period. What I wrote previously still applies:

If, after 40 plus years of gestation and maturation, through continuous implementation and iterative development and perfection; with a program structure incredibly attuned to and complementary to the culture of its host environment; with the full financial, moral and administrative support of the Baha’i institutions; if with all these advantages, Ruhi can not provide significant results that prove its efficacy beyond a doubt in its native country of Colombia… then by what rationale should we expect it to suddenly start to succeed now? and especially in other, much more hostile cultures?

The second major issue I have with the video and with the whole sequence of Ruhi courses is that it is beset by muddled thinking. Ask yourself: what is the purpose of all this?

If you have just finished watching the Frontiers of Learning video, you will most probably say community development or serving or contributing to society or similar noble and altruistic notions.

But if you think about it more carefully you’ll realize that that isn’t a full answer. In fact, if you pay particular attention to the video itself, you’ll notice that the purpose of Ruhi is to teach the Baha’i Faith and to grow the community. In the Toronto segment you may recall that the youngest member of the Toronto Local Spiritual Assembly, Alexandre Arjomand, refers to previous (awkward) teaching attempts:

In the early days very very few of us had any experience. I remember in those days we would go into a bookstore and hangout in the religions section and talk to anybody who wandered by there. Or we would sit in a coffee shop with a Baha’i book in our hands hoping somebody would ask us what to talk about.
Frontiers of Learning (46m 30 sec)

And there are many other pieces of evidence if you still doubt that “all this” is about teaching. The Universal House of Justice continuously has referred to the Ruhi courses as “developing the capacities for entry by troops”. The jargon of the institute process also belies its purpose: IPG or “intensive programmes of growth” and “expansion” and “consolidation”.

This term, by the way, was first mentioned by the Universal House of Justice in a message to the Conference of the Continental Board of Counsellors dated January 9th 2001:

The friends who participate in these intensive programmes of growth should bear in mind that the purpose is to ensure that the Revelation of Baha’u’llah reaches the masses of humanity…

Also, one of the key components of the Ruhi courses (Book Six) is “Anna’s Presentation”. Participants are asked to memorize it to teach and more so, to ask an individual to join the Baha’i Faith:

I am sure you are aware that I am inviting you to join a religion and not just accept a collection of nice ideals.

But you may ask, why is this question of purpose even important?

Well, for two reasons. First and very obvious, before embarking on any endeavor it is only intelligent to know why one is doing something. Second, because it is the only way that we can gauge the effectiveness or success of that undertaking.

So is the purpose to do good and to serve our fellow man? to teach the Faith (numerical growth)? to build capacity (qualitative growth)?

You see, this is what I mean by muddled thinking. Ask 5 Baha’is and you’ll get 8 answers.

The statement of purpose taken directly from the officlal Ruhi website makes no mention of the purposes outlined above but instead focuses on the community building aspect:

The Ruhi Institute is an educational institution, operating under the guidance of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bah??’?�s of Colombia, which dedicates its efforts to the development of human resources for the spiritual, social, and cultural development of the Colombian people.

In the recent document Insights from the Frontiers of Learning, the Universal House of Justice refers to these initiatives as “advancing the process of entry by troops”:

It represents the latest in a series of documents that have been issued, beginning in 1998, to provide a broad overview of the progress being made across the globe in advancing the process of entry by troops.

If we don’t know the purpose, how then will we ever know if what we are doing is effective? how will we ever measure our efforts either qualitatively or quantitatively? how do we measure success or that it has been achieved? or if we are on the right track? if it turns out that we are off the mark, then what?

While it is superficially presented for the most part as a ‘community development’ exercise, it really isn’t about that. It is, when we get down to it, about growing enrollments into the Baha’i community. Whatever answer we settle on, the truth of the matter is that it has crowded out all other activities in Baha’i communities around the world. In fact, all other teaching efforts are ignored in lieu of Ruhi.

Addressing such concerns, the Secretariat responded on October 31st 2002:

Dear Baha’i Friend,

In reply to your email of 23 October 2002 to the Universal House of Justice, we have been asked to convey the following. It is not possible, given all of the instructions and exhortations addressed to the believers by Baha’u’llah, Abdu’l-Baha and Shoghi Effendi, that the House of Justice would ever advise communities that are free to pursue teaching plans that it was not timely to talk about such efforts and enrol new Baha’is. Nor could it, contrary to Baha’u’llah’s explicit command, allow any other activity in the Baha’i community to diminish the responsibility of individuals to teach the Cause. Precisely the opposite is true. A major object of the recent emphasis on establishing training institutes is to increase the capacity of individuals to teach the Cause effectively. Study circles, which are local extensions of an institute, are intended to serve this purpose. While it is highly desirable to include seekers in study circles wherever possible, the individual believer retains the inescapable duty to teach the Faith on his or her own initiative. Anyone who carefully reads the messages of the House of Justice will find that it has consistently exhorted and encouraged individuals to teach the Faith, pointing to the many possibilities of exploiting the opportunities that the turmoil of the present age provides. In this regard, there is abundant evidence from countries around the world, including the United States, that the institutions of the Faith at all levels and institutes through their courses focus attention on the importance of teaching.

The friends should not allow discussions that go on in the community to confuse or divert them from what has always been a clear understanding of their individual responsibility for teaching the Cause of God. The unfortunate consequence of so much discussion about teaching is that the friends often talk themselves out of taking action, when this is clearly a matter in which action speaks louder than words. Indeed, it is always time to teach the Faith and enrol new believers.

We are to assure you of the prayers of the House of Justice in the Holy Shrines on your behalf that your individual efforts to teach the Faith may be divinely confirmed.

With loving Baha’i greetings,

Department of the Secretariat

This reminds me of the exhortation to humility that Priscilla wrote about before.

It strikes me as rather odd and perhaps a bit disingenuous to say that the individual teaching methods and initiatives are valid and should be respected when in actuality the very opposite is being implemented by the institutions all over the world.

In reality the video, Frontiers of Learning, which showcases the experience and success of four example communities has been set as the focal point of reflection and consultation for the world-wide Baha’i community and the most important item on the agenda of the National Spiritual Assembly members at the international Baha’i convention in Haifa; it is referred to in the annual NawRuz statement: “A vibrant training institute functions as the mainstay of the community’s efforts to advance the Plan”. As well, the release of the supplementary document, Insights from the Frontiers of Learning; not to mention the plethora of letters over the years outlining Ruhi and placing it as the highest priority of all Baha’i communities. And that this has even seeped into the social action efforts directed by the Office of Social and Economic Development at the Baha’i World Centre.

The real message is clear, “Keep calm and Ruhi on”.

More on this and the recently released video, Frontiers of Learning, in the coming days. Until then, you’ll find the complete Ridvan message below:

The new members of the Universal House of Justice are (in order of votes):

Paul Lample, Firaydoun Javaheri, Payman Mohajer, Gustavo Correa, Shahriar Razavi, Stephen Birkland, Stephen Hall, Chuungu Malitonga, and Ayman Rouhani.

The two vacancies made available due to the retirement of Dr. Farzam Arbab and Kiser Barnes were filled by Chuungu Malitonga and Ayman Rouhani. Not surprisingly, the new kids on the block were International Teaching Center Counsellors and they got the least votes. The other seven incumbents were easily re-elected as has been the trend since the creation of the institution.

See below for an updated historical membership infographic for the Universal House of Justice.

Chuungu Malitonga Previously Mr. Malitonga was a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Zambia. He served on the NSA until November 2008 when he was appointed a Continental Counsellor and subsequently promoted on March 2010 to the ITC. He was appointed to the International Teaching Center (along with Praveen Mallik from India) to replace the vacancies created in that institution by the election of Stephan Birkland and Stephen Hall to the UHJ in the 2010 by-election.

Ayman Rouhani Previously Dr. Ayman Rouhani was a Continental Counsellor for Asia (since 2005). In 2008 he was appointed to the ITC along with eight other Bahai’s – see full list below.

Due to several factors, the Universal House of Justice that we have today is one which we haven’t seen before. It is both young and blindered.

I say a ‘young’ Universal House of Justice both in the sense of age as well as in the degree of seniority in membership. The member with the most seniority is Javaheri with 10 years (having been elected in 2003). In aggregate, the current membership of the Universal House of Justice has been in that post for only 3.4 years.

Compare this incarnation to the 1983 one. Back then the membership of the Universal House of Justice was not only much older in age but they also had on average been members of the institution for 17.9 years.

And I say blindered because they are an extremely homogeneous bunch. The nine men are the second iteration ITC members. That is to say, the nine members were appointed by a Universal House of Justice which (for the most part) itself was comprised of members who were themselves appointed to the ITC. The trend began in 1987 with Peter Khan and has only accelerated since.

To those fellow Baha’is new to this realization allow me to explain. The appointment of male Counsellors to the International Teaching Center has come to act as a de facto nomination. Since Baha’is elections are devoid of campaigning or official nominations, such tacit nudges have an asymmetrical effect. As a result, the highest institution of the Baha’i Faith is now populated by a tiny subset rather than being drawn from the wider population. Whereas before they were elected from the large membership pool comprised of the worldwide National Assembly members, it is now exclusively drawn from the ITC. When these individuals are elected to the UHJ, they in turn appoint a fresh batch of nominees for the next round in 5 years time. And we go around in a closed loop once more.

To see this closed loop take shape before our eyes we need not look further than the other two newest members of the UHJ: Stephan Birkland and Stephen Hall who were elected in a by-election in 2010 when two other members retired.

It was only 5 years ago, in 2008, that a new batch of ITC members were appointed by the UHJ: Uransaikhan Baatar, Stephen Birkland, Stephen Hall, Joan Lincoln, Juan Francisco Mora, Rachel Ndegwa, Zenaida Ramirez, Ayman Rouhani, and Penelope Walker. To fellow Baha’is who have not awakened to this phenomena this is not the only shocking element. It is the speed of this process that one marvels at.

Of the nine, four were men (and therefore eligible for membership to the UHJ) and five were women (ineligible for membership to the UHJ). Of the four eligible, only Juan Francisco Mora has not been elected.

And that isn’t due to any fault of Juan’s. There has simply not been an opportunity for a third member to be elected! But he’s an obvious choice for the next opening and would perhaps had beaten out his peers had he combed some talcum powder into that youthful and thick crop of hair.

The consequence is a self-reinforcing process which is only gaining speed. Only those who have bought in to the Ruhi program and are ready to double-down have a prayer of being appointed/nominated. Anyone else who does not share this viewpoint is marginalized. This is the essence of the group-think strangling the current Baha’i Administration.

The sad part of all this is that the current structure of the Baha’i Administrative order in no way resembles that which was laid down by Abdu’l-Baha. Instead of twin, parallel but distinct institutions at the top we have a melding of the two under the aegis of the Universal House of Justice.

What are your thoughts on this? I’m eager to hear the views of others, especially if they differ from mine.

Below you will find the updated historical membership infographic for the Universal House of Justice. Click on the square button on the bottom right hand corner to see a full screen version of the infographic:

Christianity, while by far the largest religious affiliation, continues to decline:

The number of residents who stated that their religion was Christian in 2011 was fewer than in 2001. The size of this group decreased 13 percentage points to 59 per cent (33.2 million) in 2011 from 72 per cent (37.3 million) in 2001.

In contrast, the Muslim population has been growing at an annual rate of 5.75% and reached a total of 2,706,066 – approaching 5% of the total population of UK and Wales.

Also increasing are those who identify as ‘no religion’ or atheist. Only 29,267 self-identified as atheist but a much larger group had no religious affiliation:

The size of the group who stated that they had no religious affiliation increased by 10 percentage points from 15 per cent (7.7 million) in 2001 to 25 per cent (14.1 million) in 2011.

Adherents of the Baha’i Faith increased to 5,021 from 4,645 in the 2001 census. If my math is correct, that is an annual 0.78% growth per year. Put more simply, between 37-38 new Baha’is have been added per year since 2001. I’m not sure that you can call that ‘growth’ but it is slightly higher than the general population growth of 0.70% per year.

Within the ‘alternative religion’ category, the Baha’i Faith is eclipsed by two satirical entries: Jedi and Heavy Metal. Jedis are a fictional religious group within the Star Wars universe but they number in the hundreds of thousand. Heavy Metal (music) religion adherents were 6,242.

For more information, see the 2011 interactive religion data map for the UK.

Omid Djalili talking with, John Danesh and Seena Fazel, the authors of the new book, “The Baha’i Faith in Words and Images”.

In his seminal work, “God Passes By” Shoghi Effendi summarized the Baha’i Faith into approximately a dozen principles which are “the essential elements of that Divine polity”. Among these is “the adoption of a universal auxiliary language”.

This idea was proposed by Baha’u’llah as a practical method to increase unity in a linguistically fragmented world. In the Tablet of Ishraqat (Splendours) Baha’u’llah writes:

The sixth Ishr??q is union and concord amongst the children of men. From the beginning of time the light of unity hath shed its divine radiance upon the world, and the greatest means for the promotion of that unity is for the peoples of the world to understand one another’s writing and speech. In former Epistles We have enjoined upon the Trustees of the House of Justice either to choose one language from among those now existing or to adopt a new one, and in like manner to select a common script, both of which should be taught in all the schools of the world. Thus will the earth be regarded as one country and one home. The most glorious fruit of the tree of knowledge is this exalted word: Of one tree are all ye the fruit, and of one bough the leaves. Let not man glory in this that he loveth his country, let him rather glory in this that he loveth his kind. Concerning this We have previously revealed that which is the means of the reconstruction of the world and the unity of nations. Blessed are they that attain thereunto. Blessed are they that act accordingly.

And in the Tablet of Maqsud:

Among the things which are conducive to unity and concord and will cause the whole earth to be regarded as one country is that the divers languages be reduced to one language and in like manner the scripts used in the world be confined to a single script. It is incumbent upon all nations to appoint some men of understanding and erudition to convene a gathering and through joint consultation choose one language from among the varied existing languages, or create a new one, to be taught to the children in all the schools of the world.

But language is not merely a passive tool for communication. No, it is much more complex than that because it in return shapes our manner of thinking. It is difficult to realize this if one only knows one language, just as it is impossible for a goldfish to contemplate existing outside of its watery home.

We know, for example, that children benefit greatly from speaking more than one language. Even more remarkable the benefits of multiple language competence has been show to retard cognitive diseases such as dementia.

And a recent study shows that those who speak two languages have better critical thinking and decision making skills (“The Foreign-Language Effect: Thinking in a Foreign Tongue Reduces Decision Biases”). The authors write:

Using a foreign language reduces decision-making biases. Four experiments show that the framing effect disappears when choices are presented in a foreign tongue. Whereas people were risk averse for gains and risk seeking for losses when choices were presented in their native tongue, they were not influenced by this framing manipulation in a foreign language.

Two additional experiments show that using a foreign language reduces loss aversion, increasing the acceptance of both hypothetical and real bets with positive expected value. We propose that these effects arise because a foreign language provides greater cognitive and emotional distance than a native tongue does.

We all recognize that there are two modes in which we think: conscious, analytical and rational and the other, subconscious, fast, emotional. Or “right brain” vs. “left brain”. It appears that simply by ‘thinking’ in a different language people are less prone to making emotionally charged decisions based on fear and more likely to accurately weigh the options and make rational analytical choices.

Getting back to the issue of an auxiliary language, the Baha’i Faith has not taken any steps towards issuing a decision or lobbying for any specific language. But other groups are active in this discussion. Among the first was the “Delegation for the Adoption of an International Auxiliary Language” who in 1901 decided to choose Esperanto with a few modifications (known as “Ido”). That decision yielded no real results because the group did not have any political or social clout.

The discussion on a world auxiliary language has continued off and on since then, mostly within academic circles. Because of the gargantuan effort needed to mandate an official international auxiliary language, we may never have such an artificially imposed decision. Instead we may see a naturally evolving acceptance of one candidate as it becomes the dominant language. English would seem to be an organic candidate because of its adoption as the official language of aviation, maritime travel, and other major fields.

While the selection process is ongoing this is a beautiful example of yet another Baha’i principle: the harmony of science and religion.

Image credit: Megan Eaves (flickr)