Covenant-breaking

Covenant-breaking is violating the Bahá’í Covenant, which encompasses the concept that someone who has declared themselves to be a Bahá’í accepts the authority of Bahá’u’lláh and His appointed successors: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of Justice. Breaking the Covenant consists of actively opposing the authorized head of the Bahá’í Faith or attempting to establish a sect with an alternative authoritative head while presenting oneself as a member of the Bahá’í community.

Breaking the Covenant results in expulsion from the Bahá’í community and Bahá’ís are not to associate with someone who has been declared a Covenant-breaker, however it is possible for a Covenant-breaker to be reinstated as a member of the Bahá’í community. People who are not Bahá’ís, have resigned from the Bahá’í Faith, or who have broken Bahá’í law and been deprived of administrative rights, are not Covenant-breakers. Also if one is opposed to the Head of the Faith due to ignorance they are not to be considered a Covenant-breaker, with Shoghi Effendi writing:

"Whenever we find a person who opposes some fundamental of our Faith, such as the Institution of the Guardianship, we must first be sure this is not due to ignorance or lack of proper training, before we take action. We must not suppose immediately that that person is necessarily tainted by the spirit of Covenant-breakers."

In an article by Moojan Momen reviewing the history of Covenant-breaking he describes four classifications of declared Covenant-breakers:

• Leadership challenge: People who reject the legitimacy and authority of the Head of the Bahá’í Faith and advanced or supported a claim as the Head of the Bahá’í community.
• Dissidence: People who oppose policies and actions of the Head of the Faith without advancing or supporting a claim to be an alternate Head of the Bahá’í community.
• Disobedience: People who disobey a direct instruction from the Head of the Bahá’í Faith, such as continuing to associate with a Covenant-breaker.
• Maliciousness: People who leave the Bahá’í Faith but actively engage in maliciously attacking it.

Procedures

Investigation of Covenant-breaking is the responsibility of the International Teaching Center which utilizes the Continental Boards of Counsellors and Auxiliary Boards to determine if an individual should be expelled from the Faith. The Center then submits the decision to the Universal House of Justice who make the final determination. A similar procedure is followed in order to reinstate a Covenant-breaker. The Universal House of Justice has stated that the children of immediate family members of Shoghi Effendi are automatically considered Covenant-breakers unless actively reinstated.

Once an individual is declared a Covenant-breaker Bahá’ís must not have personal relationships or engage in correspondence with them, and are not permitted to meet with them without the permission of a National Spiritual Assembly, and the Covenant-breaker is not permitted to attend Bahá’í meetings. Bahá’ís can however participate in other meetings at which Covenant-breakers are present and engage in correspondence and contact in order to conclude business relationships.

The Universal House of Justice has advised that reading works written by Covenant-breakers is not forbidden but is discouraged:

"To read the writings of Covenant-breakers is not forbidden to the believers and does not constitute in itself an act of Covenant-breaking. Indeed, some of the Bahá’ís have the unpleasant duty to read such literature as part of their responsibilities for protecting the Cause of Bahá’u’lláh. However, the friends are warned in the strongest terms against reading such literature because Covenant-breaking is a spiritual poison and the calumnies and distortions of the truth which the Covenant-breakers give out are such that they can undermine the faith of the believer and plant the seeds of doubt unless he is forearmed with an unshakable belief in Bahá’u’lláh and His Covenant and a knowledge of the true facts."

Bahá’ís are forbidden to violate the civil rights of a Covenant-breaker with Shoghi Effendi writing the following in a letter to the Bahá’ís of Iran in a letter regarding a Covenant-breaker:

"...the mere fact of disaffection, estrangement, or recantation of belief, can in no wise detract from, or otherwise impinge upon, the legitimate civil rights of individuals in a free society, be it to the most insignificant degree. Were the friends to follow other than this course, it would be tantamount to a reversion on their part, in this century of radiance and light, to the ways and standards of a former age: they would reignite in men's breasts the fire of bigotry and blind fanaticism, cut themselves off from the glorious bestowals of this promised Day of God, and impede the full flow of divine assistance in this wondrous age."

The Universal House of Justice has also written:

". . . the civil rights of Covenant-breakers must be scrupulously upheld. For example, if a Bahá’í owes a debt to a person who breaks the Covenant he must be sure that it is repaid and that his obligations are met."