List of former Bahá’ís
From Bahaipedia
Former Bahá'ís or ex-Bahá'ís are people who have been declared members of the Bahá'í Faith at some time in their lives and later renounced their membership. The following is a list of notable ex-Bahá'ís, who have either converted to another religion or philosophy, or became non-religious. Bahá'ís who are not in good standing, having lost their voting rights for some transgression, are not included in this list unless they are known to have formally renounced their membership in the Bahá'í community.
Converted to an Abrahamic religions[edit]
Converted to Christianity[edit]
- John Ford Coley – American artist and author.[1]
Converted to Islam[edit]
- Abd al-Hosayn Ayati – Also known as Avarih. He spent 18 years as a Bahá'í travelling teacher and reverted to Shia Islam in 1921.[2]
Converted to Unitarian Universalism[edit]
- Juan Cole – Having converted to the Bahá'í Faith in 1972, Juan Cole resigned in 1996 declaring himself a Unitarian Universalist.[3]
Converted to other belief systems[edit]
- Francesco Ficicchia – Author of a pseudo-academic monograph on the Bahá’í Faith that helped shape academic and public opinion against the religion in German-speaking Europe, until its claims were refuted with the publication of Making the Crooked Straight.
- Phoebe Hearst – American philanthropist, feminist and suffragist, she converted to the Bahá'í Faith in 1898 but later in life became estranged from the religion due to the actions of individuals who later broke the Covenant.[4] It is not known whether or not she rejoined the religion at a later date; regardless, she remained in regular, cordial contact with ‘Abdu'l-Bahá.
- Denis MacEoin – British analyst, writer, and lecturer, Bahá'í from about 1966 to about 1980, he departed after clashes with the Bahá'í administration, mostly due to his research works on Babism.[3]
- Alden Penner – Canadian musician, left in 2013 after personal differences with others in the Bahá'í community.[5]
Covenant-breakers[edit]
Covenant-breaker is a term used to refer to a person who has been expelled, or excommunicated, from the Bahá'í community for the act of covenant-breaking, roughly defined as active opposition to the Bahá'í Faith from a current member.
Members of Bahá'u'lláh's family[edit]
- See also: Bahá'u'lláh's family
Among the descendants of Bahá'u'lláh, most were expelled for their opposition to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and later Shoghi Effendi. The extended family were later almost wholly assimilated into Muslim society in Haifa, Israel, with no common religious activities.[6]
- Mírzá Muhammad `Alí – a son of Bahá'u'lláh. Later labeled by Shoghi Effendi as the arch-breaker of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh.
- Shua Ullah Behai – Bahá'u'lláh's eldest grandson, he led the Unitarian Baha'i denomination in the United States.
- Fatimih Khanum – Bahá'u'lláh's second wife, known as Mahd-i-`Ulya.
- Samadiyyih – a daughter of Bahá'u'lláh.
- Díyá'u'lláh – a son of Bahá'u'lláh.
- Gawhar – Bahá'u'lláh's third wife.
- Furughiyyih – a daughter by Bahá'u'lláh.
Shoghi Effendi's immediate family
- Ruhi Afnan – Bahá'u'lláh's granddaughter.
- Munib Shahid – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's grandson.
- Husayn Ali – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's grandson, the brother of Shoghi Effendi.
- Riaz – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's grandson, the brother of Shoghi Effendi.
- Mehrangiz – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's granddaughter, the sister of Shoghi Effendi.
Others[edit]
- Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb – Former secretary and interpreter for ‘Abdu'l-Bahá; founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and West in New York and was expelled with Lewis and Julia. Sohráb was excommunicated following his persistent defiance of Bahá’í institutions and disregard for the counsels of Shoghi Effendi; he eventually joined forces with previous generations of Covenant-breakers in an attempt to challenge Shoghi Effendi's right to carry out construction work in Bahjí.
- Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler and his wife, Julia Lynch Olin – Co-founded the New History Society with Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb in New York City. They were expelled from the Bahá'í community in 1939 along with Sohráb.
See also[edit]
Notes[edit]
- ↑ Bruce 2000.
- ↑ Afshar 2011.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Momen 2007.
- ↑ Balyuzi 2001.
- ↑ Kissel 2015.
- ↑ MacEoin 1998, In Palestine, the followers of Moḥammad-ʿAlī continued as a small group of families opposed to the Bahai leadership in Haifa; they have now been almost wholly re-assimilated into Muslim society.
References[edit]
- Afshar, Iraj (2011), "ĀYATĪ, ʿABD-AL-ḤOSAYN", Encyclopædia Iranica
- Ashraf, Ahmad (2007-04-05). "Official response of the Encyclopaedia Iranica to the Associated Press article of March 25, 2007 entitled "U.S.-funded encyclopedia revels in Iran's greatness"" (PDF). Encyclopedia Iranica. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 2, 2013.
- Balyuzi, H.M. (2001). ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh (Paperback ed.). Oxford, UK: George Ronald. pp. 308–309. ISBN 0-85398-043-8.
- Bruce, Billy (2000), "Born-Again Rock Stars", Charisma Magazine, retrieved September 16, 2016
- Kissel, Chris (2015). "Alden Penner: An Ex-Unicorn Goes It Alone". Diffuser.fm. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
- MacEoin, Denis (1998), "Bahai and Babi Schisms", Encyclopædia Iranica
- Momen, Moojan (2007). "Marginality and Apostasy in the Bahá'í Community". Religion. 37 (3): 187–2009. doi:10.1016/j.religion.2007.06.008. Retrieved May 8, 2016.
- Sohrab, Mirza Ahmad (1959). My Bahai Pilgrimage. Autobiography from Childhood to Middle Age. New York: New History Foundation.
