Baháʼí Faith in Turkey: Difference between revisions
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The [[ |
The [[Baháʼí Faith]] bears a strong bond to the nation of [[Turkey]] as [[Baháʼu'lláh]], the founder of the religion, was exiled to [[Constantinople]], current-day [[Istanbul]], by the [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman authorities]] during the formative days of the religion. Since the establishment of the Baháʼí Faith in Turkey's predecessor state, the [[Ottoman Empire]], and in Turkey, the legal standing of the religion has been contested as progressively wider scales of organization of the religion have been attempted by the community. In the 21st century, many of the obstacles to the religion remain in place, as Baháʼís cannot register with the government officially.<ref name="regulation">{{cite web |
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| author = U.S. State Department |
| author = U.S. State Department |
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| title = International Religious Freedom Report 2008 - Turkey |
| title = International Religious Freedom Report 2008 - Turkey |
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| publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair |
| publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair |
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| date = 2008-09-19 |
| date = 2008-09-19 |
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| url = |
| url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108476.htm |
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| |
| access-date = 2008-12-15}}</ref> Despite this, members do not face significant persecution due to the [[Secularism in Turkey|separation of religion and state]] in Turkey, and there are estimated to be 10,000<ref name="10k">{{cite web| title = For the first time, Turkish Bahaʼi appointed as dean | publisher = The Muslim Network for Bahaʼi Rights | date = 2008-12-13 | url =http://www.bahairights.org/2008/11/13/for-the-first-time-turkish-bahai-appointed-as-dean/ |
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| access-date = 2008-12-15| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081227213205/http://www.bahairights.org/2008/11/13/for-the-first-time-turkish-bahai-appointed-as-dean/| archive-date= 27 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> to 20,000<ref name="20k">{{cite encyclopedia| title = Turkey /Religions & Peoples | encyclopedia = LookLex Encyclopedia | publisher = LookLex Ltd | url = http://www.looklex.com/e.o/turkey_4.htm |
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| year = 2008| |
| year = 2008| access-date = 2008-12-15| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081211024256/http://www.looklex.com/e.o/turkey_4.htm| archive-date= 11 December 2008 | url-status= live}}</ref> Baháʼís and around one hundred Baháʼí [[Local Spiritual Assembly|Local Spiritual Assemblies]] in Turkey.<ref name="Walbridge">{{Cite journal| last = Walbridge | first = John | title = Chapter Four - The Bahaʼi Faith in Turkey | journal = Occasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies | volume = 06 | issue = 1 | date = March 2002 | url = http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/bhpapers/vol6/waless/chap4.htm }}</ref> |
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==Early phase== |
==Early phase== |
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{{main| |
{{main|Baháʼí Faith in the Ottoman Empire}} |
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Many of the important geographic areas of the early period of the |
Many of the important geographic areas of the early period of the Baháʼí Faith were historically controlled by the [[Ottoman Empire]], from which [[Turkey]] came about after the Empire's dissolution in the 1920s. The first interaction between the history of the religion and what is present-day Turkey occurred when [[Mullá 'Alíy-i-Bastámí]], who was a [[Bábism|Bábi]]—the immediate predecessor religion associated with the [[Baháʼí Faith]]—was arrested in Ottoman-controlled [[Baghdad]] for teaching the religion and sent as a prisoner to [[Istanbul]] in 1846.<ref name="Walbridge"/> |
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[[File:House-Bahaullah-Edirne.jpg|thumb|left|The house where |
[[File:House-Bahaullah-Edirne.jpg|thumb|left|The house where Baháʼu'lláh stayed in [[Edirne]]]] |
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In 1863, when [[ |
In 1863, when [[Baháʼu'lláh]], the founder of the religion, was in [[Baghdad]] due to his banishment from [[Persia]], he was further exiled by the Ottoman government from Baghdad to Istanbul.<ref name="britannica">{{cite encyclopedia | year = 1988 | title = The Baháʼí Faith | encyclopedia = Britannica Book of the Year | publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica | location = Chicago | isbn = 0-85229-486-7 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/1988britannicabo0000daum }}</ref> He was later exiled to [[Edirne]]<ref>{{Cite book | last = Anthony A. Reitmayer | first = Anthony A. (compiler) | year = 1992 | title = Adrianople - Land of Mystery | publisher = Bahai Publishing Trust | place = Istanbul, Turkey | url = https://openlibrary.org/b/OL1071606M | id=ASIN: B0006F2TSA}}</ref> in the western part of Turkey, and ultimately to [[Acre, Israel|Acre]] in current-day Israel. While in Istanbul and Edirne the followers of the religion started to become known as ''Baháʼís'', and a significant portion of [[List of writings of Baháʼu'lláh|Baháʼu'lláh's writings]] were written while he was in current-day Turkey.<ref name="Smith23">{{cite book | last = Smith | first = Peter | year = 2008 | title = An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith | publisher = Cambridge University Press | isbn= 978-0-521-86251-6 | location = Cambridge | pages = 24–26}}</ref> While much of the writings were written in [[Arabic]] or [[Persian language|Persian]], the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith have written in [[Turkish language|Turkish]], though most of the early [[Baháʼí literature]] in Turkish was printed by the large Baháʼí communities in Baku [[Azerbaijan]] and [[Baháʼí Faith in Turkmenistan|Ashkhabad]].<ref name="Walbridge"/> |
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==Growth== |
==Growth== |
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===Developments along Western Turkey=== |
===Developments along Western Turkey=== |
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Baháʼís have lived in the territory of modern Turkey since Baháʼu'lláh's time.<ref name="Walbridge"/> Other Baháʼís have come from other places to be in Constantinople in this period around 1910. After joining the religion in 1906 in the United States [[Stanwood Cobb]]<ref name="world">[http://bahai-library.com/books/bw18/800-825.html ''The Baháʼí World'', Vol 18, Part 5, "In Memoriam: Stanwood Cobb, 1881-1982"]</ref> taught history and Latin at [[Robert College]] in Constantinople in the period 1907–1910 and undertook travels to see ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.<ref name="oates">[https://books.google.com/books?id=Z5YNz-kNZgsC&dq=stanwood+cobb+dartmouth&pg=PA275 Oates, John F. 1975?. ''Biographical Dictionary of American Educators'', Vol. 1, pp. 275]</ref><ref>[http://iamanaref.blogspot.com/2007/08/corrections-to-blog-on-stanwood-cobb-no.html McLean, J.A.,''Pilgrim's Notes'' (blog), "Corrections to Blog on Stanwood Cobb...," Sunday, August 12, 2007]</ref> In succeeding years, Cobb wrote several works dealing with Turkey - ''The Real Turk'', ISBN B000NUP6SI, 1914,<ref>(Summarized in ''The Bookman: A Review of Books and Life'' [https://books.google.com/books?id=BHibw9f2dq8C&pg=RA1-PA429] p. 429)</ref> Ayesha of the Bosphorus, 1915, and Islamic Contributions to Civilization in 1963. [[Wellesley Tudor Pole]] had been pursuing investigations in the Middle East and visited Constantinople where he heard of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in 1908<ref>{{Cite news| last = Tudor Pole | first = Wellesley | title = A Wonderful movement in the East, A visit to Abdul-Baha at Alexandria | periodical = Star of the West | volume = 01 | issue = 18 | year = 1911 | url = http://bahai-library.com/abdulbaha_star_west_1&chapter=18 }}</ref> and soon became a Baháʼí.<ref name="abdul1910">{{cite web | url =http://bahai-library.com/hassall_egypt | title = Egypt: Baha'i history | author = Graham Hassall | access-date=2006-10-01 | date=2006-10-01}}</ref> The woman known as [[Isabella Grinevskaya]] moved from [[Odesa]] Ukraine<ref name="berta">{{cite web|title=A.S.Fridberg , 6 Nov. 1838 - 21 March 1902 |url=http://holocaust.cheeb.com/photo6.html |access-date=2009-03-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081215123824/http://holocaust.cheeb.com/photo6.html |archive-date=15 December 2008 }}</ref> after gaining some notability as a playwright<ref name="russia">{{cite encyclopedia | last = Momen | first = Moojan | title = Russia | encyclopedia = Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith" | publisher = Baháʼí Library Online | url =http://bahai-library.com/momen_encyclopedia_russia | access-date = 2008-04-14}}</ref> to Constantinople and after meeting ʻAbdu'l-Bahá on a trip to Egypt became a member of the Baháʼí Faith.<ref name="notes-ii">{{cite journal | last = Hassall | first = Graham | title = Notes on the Babi and Baha'i Religions in Russia and its territories | journal = Journal of Baháʼí Studies | volume = 5 | issue = 3 | pages =41–80, 86 | year = 1993 | url =http://bahai-library.com/hassall_babi_bahai_russia | doi = 10.31581/JBS-5.3.3(1993)| access-date = 2009-03-20| doi-access = free }}</ref> In 1913, [[ʻAbdu'l-Bahá]], Baháʼu'lláh's son and successor, commented that the religion was spreading into the interior of Turkey.<ref>{{cite book| last = ʻAbdu'l-Bahá | author-link = ʻAbdu'l-Bahá |author2=Mírzá Ahmad Sohrab | title = Abdul Baha in Egypt | publisher = J. H. Sears & Co. Inc. for New History Foundation | year = 1929 | url = http://bahai-library.com/sohrab_abdulbaha_egypt }}</ref> [[Süleyman Nazif]] is a prominent poet and thinker from Turkey at the turn of the 20th century who was challenged to learn more of the religion while in Paris, by the poet [[Catulle Mendès]].<ref name="hnet">{{cite journal |url=http://www.h-net.org/~bahai/notes/vol4/nazif.htm |publisher=h-net |title=Süleyman Nazif's Nasiruddin Shah ve Babiler: an Ottoman Source on Babi-Bahaʼi History. (With a Translation of Passages on Tahirih*) |author=Necati Alkan |journal=Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies |volume=4| issue=2 |date=November 2000 |access-date=2008-11-13 }}</ref> Investigating the religion, including meeting with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá a number of times and becoming an admirer of [[Tahirih]], Nazif wrote about various facets of these encounters and history in several books - though they contain errors they can be considered an important alternative source on early views of Baháʼí history.<ref name="hnet"/> [[Martha Root]], a Baháʼí teacher, visited Turkey in 1927, 1929, and 1932.<ref name="Walbridge"/> Following the rise of [[Secularism in Turkey]], the Turkish government, around 1928, decided to order the police in the town of [[Smyrna]] to conduct a close investigation into the purpose, the character and the effects of Baháʼí activity in that town. Mentioned in the morning papers the next day, the chairman of the Baháʼí [[Local Spiritual Assembly]] of Constantinople travelled to offer the necessary explanations to the authorities concerned but he and the rest of the assembly were all arrested, and Baháʼí literature in their homes was seized. However their books were returned and there was widespread publicity in leading newspapers of Turkey leading to the government lifting the ban on the Baháʼís.<ref name="Walbridge"/><ref>{{cite book | last = Effendi | first = Shoghi | author-link = Shoghi Effendi | title = Baháʼí Administration | publisher = US Baháʼí Publishing Trust | date = 1974 | location = Wilmette, Illinois, USA | page = [https://archive.org/details/bahaiadministrat0000shog/page/152 152] | url = https://archive.org/details/bahaiadministrat0000shog/page/152 | isbn = 0-87743-166-3 | url-access = registration }}</ref> |
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===Developments spread east=== |
===Developments spread east=== |
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Sometime before 1930, Sami Doktoroglu came in contact with the religion, and became a |
Sometime before 1930, Sami Doktoroglu came in contact with the religion, and became a Baháʼí.<ref name="xviii">{{cite book | chapter-url =http://bahai-library.com/books/bw18/666-693.html | chapter = In Memoriam | title = Baháʼí World, Vol. XVIII: 1979-1983 | first = Hugh C. | last = Locke | year = 1983|pages= 683–685, 767–8, 777}}</ref> He would later become an important member of the religion in Turkey, and as part of the community of [[Birecik]]. Despite the earlier situation where the ban on the religion was removed, further waves of arrests of Baháʼís spread through [[Urfa]], [[Adana]] and [[Gaziantep]]. In the winter of 1951, the visit to Istanbul of [[Amelia Collins]], a Baháʼí teacher, was facilitated by Doktoroglu. He made hotel reservations and greeted her at the airport with a large group of Baháʼís. Several meetings were arranged at which she could meet groups of Baháʼís and a large banquet was given in her honour. Doktoroglu then went on [[Baháʼí pilgrimage]] and on his return a letter dated 14 December 1951 written on behalf of the head of the religion reached the believers in Istanbul encouraging the friends to establish a Local Spiritual Assembly and to pursue other tasks concerning which he had given instructions to Doktoroglu. In April 1952 the Local Spiritual Assembly of (now renamed) Istanbul was formed with Doktoroglu as one of its members. Years later Doktoroglu was successful in obtaining permission to search the government archives. Among his findings was an indication that Mulla ʻAláy-i-Bastámí had in his travels reached the city of [[Bolu]], east of Istanbul.<ref name="xviii"/> |
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===Further developments and problems=== |
===Further developments and problems=== |
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By the late 1950s |
By the late 1950s Baháʼí communities existed across many of the cities and towns Baháʼu'lláh passed through on his passage in Turkey.<ref name="custodians">{{cite book |editor = Rabbani, R. |year = 1992 |title = The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963 |publisher = Baháʼí World Centre |pages= 85, 124, 148–151, 306–9, 403, 413|url = http://bahai-library.com/uhj_ministry_custodians |isbn = 0-85398-350-X}}</ref> In 1959 the Baháʼí [[National Spiritual Assembly]] of Turkey was formed with the help of [[ʻAlí-Akbar Furútan]], a [[Hand of the Cause]] — an individual considered to have achieved a distinguished rank in service to the religion. Among the members of the National Spiritual Assembly was Masíh Farhangí who had previously served on the Baháʼí National Spiritual Assembly of Iran; he had his family had [[Pioneering (Baháʼí)|pioneered]] from Iran to Turkey around 1959 and both he and his wife were registered as graduate students in a medical college. Even though Farhangí was elected secretary of the body, he was ejected from Turkey at the end of that year.<ref name="Walbridge"/><ref name="xviii"/> |
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Repeating the pattern of arrests in the |
Repeating the pattern of arrests in the 1920s and 30s, in 1959 during [[Baháʼí Naw-Rúz|Naw Ruz]] mass arrests of the Baháʼí local assembly of [[Ankara]] resulted in the religion being accused of being a forbidden [[Tariqah]], or sect of Islam.<ref name="custodians"/> The court requested three experts in comparative religion to give their opinion: two of the three experts supported viewing the Baháʼí Faith as an independent religion, and one claimed that it was a sect of Islam. After this report, the court appointed three respected religious scholars to review all aspects of the question and advise the court of their views. All three of these scholars agreed that the religion was independent on January 17, 1961. However the judges chose to disregard these findings and on July 15, 1961 declared that the Baháʼí Faith was a forbidden sect but this decision was appealed to the [[Legal system of the Republic of Turkey|Turkish Supreme Court]].<ref name="custodians"/> |
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Starting in 1960 until 1990, however, |
Starting in 1960 until 1990, however, Baháʼís could register with the government when the Interior Ministry issued instructions introducing a new standardized code system that did not include the religion,<ref>{{Cite news|last=Güngör |first=Îzgî |title=Bahaʼi community wants to be recognized and heard in Turkey |newspaper=Turkish Daily News |date=2007-08-12 |url=http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=-619960 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120710190106/http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=-619960 |url-status=dead |archive-date=2012-07-10 }}</ref> a situation similar to the current [[Egyptian identification card controversy]]. |
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===Re-establishment of the National Assembly and further issues=== |
===Re-establishment of the National Assembly and further issues=== |
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By 1963, there were 12 |
By 1963, there were 12 Baháʼí local assemblies in the country, and the number grew to 22 assemblies by the end of 1973.<ref name="Walbridge"/> The National Assembly was able to be reestablished in 1974,<ref>{{cite book |first = Abu'l-Qasim |last = Faizi |author-link= Abu'l-Qásim Faizi |editor = Shirley Macias |year = 2002 |title = Conqueror of Hearts: Excerpts from Letters, Talks and Writings of Hand of the Cause of God Abu'l-Qásim Faizí |publisher = Baháʼí Library Online| url = http://bahai-library.com/macias_faizi_biography#3}}</ref> and by 1986 there were 50 local assemblies.<ref name="Walbridge"/> But turmoil continued when on August 6, 1996, 21 Iranians (8 men, 4 women and 9 children, the youngest of whom is 4 years old), approached the [[United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees]] (UNHCR) in Ankara to request asylum from Iran. UNHCR officials registered their names and informed them of new regulations which require asylum seekers to apply within five days to the police in the city where they entered the country. The asylum seekers were issued documents by the UNHCR indicating their intention for requesting asylum from the local Turkish police. They boarded a chartered bus and arrived in [[Ağrı|Agri]], the city of their entrance, the next morning. However the group disappeared — with various reports suggesting they were returned to Iranian authorities.<ref>{{cite web| title = Iranian Baha'i Refugees Denied Asylum in Turkey | publisher = Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc. | date = 1996-09-17 | url = http://bahai-library.com/newspapers/1996/091796.html | access-date = 2008-12-16}}</ref> |
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==Modern community== |
==Modern community== |
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[[File:Gardens of the House of Baha'u'llah in Edirne.jpg|thumb|Gardens of the House of Baha'u'llah in Edirne]] |
[[File:Gardens of the House of Baha'u'llah in Edirne.jpg|thumb|Gardens of the House of Baha'u'llah in Edirne]] |
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Since its inception the religion has had involvement in [[Socio-economic development ( |
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in [[Socio-economic development (Baháʼí)|socio-economic development]] beginning by giving greater freedom to women,<ref name="iranhistory">{{cite encyclopedia | last = Momen | first = Moojan | title = History of the Baha'i Faith in Iran | encyclopedia = draft "A Short Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith" | publisher = Bahai-library.com | url = http://bahai-library.com/momen_encyclopedia_iran#9.%20Social%20and%20economic%20development | access-date = 2009-10-16}}</ref> promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern,<ref>{{cite journal | last = Kingdon | first = Geeta Gandhi | title = Education of women and socio-economic development | journal = Baháʼí Studies Review | volume = 7 | issue = 1 | year = 1997 | url =http://bahai-library.com/kingdon_education_women_development }}</ref> and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics.<ref name="iranhistory"/> The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the [[Universal House of Justice]] dated 20 October 1983 was released.<ref>{{cite journal |title= The Baha'i Faith 1957–1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments | first = Moojan | last = Momen |author2=Smith, Peter | year = 1989 | url = http://bahai-library.com/momen_smith_developments_1957-1988 |volume = 19 | journal = Religion | pages=63–91 |doi= 10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8}}</ref> Baháʼís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the [[Baháʼí teachings]], in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Baháʼí socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. However, in Turkey things are complicated. Baháʼís still arrive in Turkey as refugees from the [[Persecution of Baháʼís]] in Iran.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Winston |first=Jaime |title=Baha'i faithful find refuge at U |newspaper=The Daily Utah Chronicle |date=2007-10-19 |url=http://www.dailyutahchronicle.com/news/1.344985 }}{{dead link|date=October 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news| last = Shahir | first = Asha | title = Iran's Baha'is Leave Persecution Behind On Train To Istanbul | newspaper = Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty | date = 2008-10-20| url =http://www.rferl.org/content/Irans_Bahais_Leave_Persecution_Behind_On_Train_To_Istanbul_/1331275.html }}</ref> But matters in Turkey are hardly supportive. Despite a 2006 regulation allowing persons to leave the religion section of their identity cards blank or change the religious designation by written application, the government continued to restrict applicants' choice of religion. Despite the regulation, applicants must choose Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist, Religionless, Other, or Unknown as their religious affiliation so individuals can't be registered as Baháʼís.<ref name="regulation"/> Additionally there are still instances of harassment and property has been confiscated. In February 2001 the Baháʼí community lost a legal appeal against government expropriation of a sacred site near Edirne; the Ministry of Culture had previously granted heritage status to the site in 1993. In January 2001 two Baháʼís were detained for proselytizing in [[Sivas]] while a local imam commenting on the arrest made a public rebuke alluding to those "whose killing is necessary."<ref name="freedom">{{cite web | author = U.S. State Department |
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| title = Turkey International Religious Freedom Report, 2001 |
| title = Turkey International Religious Freedom Report, 2001 |
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| publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair |
| publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair |
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| date = 2001-10-26 |
| date = 2001-10-26 |
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| url = |
| url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2001/5694.htm |
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| |
| access-date = 2008-12-15 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref> Still in 2001, two Baháʼí university professors at Sivas' [[Cumhuriyet University]] faced expulsion.<ref>{{cite web |
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| author = U.S. State Department |
| author = U.S. State Department |
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| title = Turkey Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2001 |
| title = Turkey Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2001 |
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| publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair |
| publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair |
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| date = 2001-10-26 |
| date = 2001-10-26 |
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| url = |
| url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/eur/8358.htm |
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| |
| access-date = 2008-12-15 <!--DASHBot-->}}</ref> in 2008, a Baháʼí was appointed dean of the Science and Letters Faculty of the [[Middle East Technical University]].<ref name="metu">{{Cite news| last = Güngör | first = Îzgî | title = METU picks Bahaʼi as a faculty's dean | newspaper = Turkish Daily News | date = 2008-11-13| url =http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=10344762}}</ref> The Turkish government supported the declaration of the Presidency of the [[European Union]] when he "denounced" the trial of Iranian Baháʼís announced in February 2009.<ref>{{cite press release | title = Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the trial with seven Baha'i leaders in Iran | publisher = Council of the European Union | date = 2009-02-17 | url =http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/cfsp/106134.pdf | access-date = 2009-03-01| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090305162239/http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/cfsp/106134.pdf| archive-date= 5 March 2009 | url-status= live}}</ref> |
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===Demographics=== |
===Demographics=== |
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Because the religion is proscribed there can be no official counts of membership. Estimates by others range from 10,000<ref name="10k"/> to 20,000.<ref name="20k"/> The [[Association of Religion Data Archives]] (relying on [[World Christian Encyclopedia]]) estimated some 21,000 |
Because the religion is proscribed there can be no official counts of membership. Estimates by others range from 10,000<ref name="10k"/> to 20,000.<ref name="20k"/> The [[Association of Religion Data Archives]] (relying on [[World Christian Encyclopedia]]) estimated some 21,000 Baháʼís in Turkey - and some 880 in Cyprus.<ref name="WCE-05">{{cite web | title = Most Baha'i Nations (2005) | work = QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions > | publisher = The Association of Religion Data Archives | year = 2005 | url = http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp | access-date = 2009-07-04 | archive-date = 2010-04-14 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100414021730/http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp | url-status = dead }}</ref> The US State Department estimated the Turkish Cypriot Baháʼí community of approximately 200 in 2008.<ref>{{cite web |
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| author = U.S. State Department |
| author = U.S. State Department |
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| title = Cyprus International Religious Freedom Report 2008 |
| title = Cyprus International Religious Freedom Report 2008 |
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| publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair |
| publisher = The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair |
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| date = 2008-09-19 |
| date = 2008-09-19 |
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| url = |
| url = https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2008/108441.htm |
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| |
| access-date = 2008-12-15}}</ref> There are about a hundred local spiritual assemblies in modern Turkey.<ref name="Walbridge"/> |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
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*[[ |
*[[Baháʼí Faith by country]] |
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*[[Religion in Turkey]] |
*[[Religion in Turkey]] |
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*[[History of Turkey]] |
*[[History of Turkey]] |
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*[[ |
*[[Baháʼí timeline]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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==External links== |
==External links== |
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*[http://www.tr.bahai.org/ |
*[http://www.tr.bahai.org/ Baháʼí Faith in Turkey] official webpage |
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*[http://hp.bahaitr.org |
*[http://hp.bahaitr.org Baháʼí Holy Places in Turkey] |
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{{Demographics of Turkey}} |
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{{Asia topic|Baháʼí Faith in}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Baha'i Faith In Turkey}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baha'i Faith In Turkey}} |
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[[Category:Religion in Turkey]] |
[[Category:Religion in Turkey]] |
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[[Category:Bahá'í Faith |
[[Category:Bahá'í Faith by country|Turkey]] |
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[[Category:Bahá'í Faith in |
[[Category:Bahá'í Faith in West Asia|Turkey]] |
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[[Category:Bahá'í Faith in Europe|Turkey]] |
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[[Category:Bahá'í Faith in the Middle East|Turkey]] |
[[Category:Bahá'í Faith in the Middle East|Turkey]] |
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Latest revision as of 13:20, 7 August 2024
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The Baháʼí Faith bears a strong bond to the nation of Turkey as Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, was exiled to Constantinople, current-day Istanbul, by the Ottoman authorities during the formative days of the religion. Since the establishment of the Baháʼí Faith in Turkey's predecessor state, the Ottoman Empire, and in Turkey, the legal standing of the religion has been contested as progressively wider scales of organization of the religion have been attempted by the community. In the 21st century, many of the obstacles to the religion remain in place, as Baháʼís cannot register with the government officially.[1] Despite this, members do not face significant persecution due to the separation of religion and state in Turkey, and there are estimated to be 10,000[2] to 20,000[3] Baháʼís and around one hundred Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assemblies in Turkey.[4]
Early phase
[edit]Many of the important geographic areas of the early period of the Baháʼí Faith were historically controlled by the Ottoman Empire, from which Turkey came about after the Empire's dissolution in the 1920s. The first interaction between the history of the religion and what is present-day Turkey occurred when Mullá 'Alíy-i-Bastámí, who was a Bábi—the immediate predecessor religion associated with the Baháʼí Faith—was arrested in Ottoman-controlled Baghdad for teaching the religion and sent as a prisoner to Istanbul in 1846.[4]
In 1863, when Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the religion, was in Baghdad due to his banishment from Persia, he was further exiled by the Ottoman government from Baghdad to Istanbul.[5] He was later exiled to Edirne[6] in the western part of Turkey, and ultimately to Acre in current-day Israel. While in Istanbul and Edirne the followers of the religion started to become known as Baháʼís, and a significant portion of Baháʼu'lláh's writings were written while he was in current-day Turkey.[7] While much of the writings were written in Arabic or Persian, the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith have written in Turkish, though most of the early Baháʼí literature in Turkish was printed by the large Baháʼí communities in Baku Azerbaijan and Ashkhabad.[4]
Growth
[edit]Developments along Western Turkey
[edit]Baháʼís have lived in the territory of modern Turkey since Baháʼu'lláh's time.[4] Other Baháʼís have come from other places to be in Constantinople in this period around 1910. After joining the religion in 1906 in the United States Stanwood Cobb[8] taught history and Latin at Robert College in Constantinople in the period 1907–1910 and undertook travels to see ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.[9][10] In succeeding years, Cobb wrote several works dealing with Turkey - The Real Turk, ISBN B000NUP6SI, 1914,[11] Ayesha of the Bosphorus, 1915, and Islamic Contributions to Civilization in 1963. Wellesley Tudor Pole had been pursuing investigations in the Middle East and visited Constantinople where he heard of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in 1908[12] and soon became a Baháʼí.[13] The woman known as Isabella Grinevskaya moved from Odesa Ukraine[14] after gaining some notability as a playwright[15] to Constantinople and after meeting ʻAbdu'l-Bahá on a trip to Egypt became a member of the Baháʼí Faith.[16] In 1913, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Baháʼu'lláh's son and successor, commented that the religion was spreading into the interior of Turkey.[17] Süleyman Nazif is a prominent poet and thinker from Turkey at the turn of the 20th century who was challenged to learn more of the religion while in Paris, by the poet Catulle Mendès.[18] Investigating the religion, including meeting with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá a number of times and becoming an admirer of Tahirih, Nazif wrote about various facets of these encounters and history in several books - though they contain errors they can be considered an important alternative source on early views of Baháʼí history.[18] Martha Root, a Baháʼí teacher, visited Turkey in 1927, 1929, and 1932.[4] Following the rise of Secularism in Turkey, the Turkish government, around 1928, decided to order the police in the town of Smyrna to conduct a close investigation into the purpose, the character and the effects of Baháʼí activity in that town. Mentioned in the morning papers the next day, the chairman of the Baháʼí Local Spiritual Assembly of Constantinople travelled to offer the necessary explanations to the authorities concerned but he and the rest of the assembly were all arrested, and Baháʼí literature in their homes was seized. However their books were returned and there was widespread publicity in leading newspapers of Turkey leading to the government lifting the ban on the Baháʼís.[4][19]
Developments spread east
[edit]Sometime before 1930, Sami Doktoroglu came in contact with the religion, and became a Baháʼí.[20] He would later become an important member of the religion in Turkey, and as part of the community of Birecik. Despite the earlier situation where the ban on the religion was removed, further waves of arrests of Baháʼís spread through Urfa, Adana and Gaziantep. In the winter of 1951, the visit to Istanbul of Amelia Collins, a Baháʼí teacher, was facilitated by Doktoroglu. He made hotel reservations and greeted her at the airport with a large group of Baháʼís. Several meetings were arranged at which she could meet groups of Baháʼís and a large banquet was given in her honour. Doktoroglu then went on Baháʼí pilgrimage and on his return a letter dated 14 December 1951 written on behalf of the head of the religion reached the believers in Istanbul encouraging the friends to establish a Local Spiritual Assembly and to pursue other tasks concerning which he had given instructions to Doktoroglu. In April 1952 the Local Spiritual Assembly of (now renamed) Istanbul was formed with Doktoroglu as one of its members. Years later Doktoroglu was successful in obtaining permission to search the government archives. Among his findings was an indication that Mulla ʻAláy-i-Bastámí had in his travels reached the city of Bolu, east of Istanbul.[20]
Further developments and problems
[edit]By the late 1950s Baháʼí communities existed across many of the cities and towns Baháʼu'lláh passed through on his passage in Turkey.[21] In 1959 the Baháʼí National Spiritual Assembly of Turkey was formed with the help of ʻAlí-Akbar Furútan, a Hand of the Cause — an individual considered to have achieved a distinguished rank in service to the religion. Among the members of the National Spiritual Assembly was Masíh Farhangí who had previously served on the Baháʼí National Spiritual Assembly of Iran; he had his family had pioneered from Iran to Turkey around 1959 and both he and his wife were registered as graduate students in a medical college. Even though Farhangí was elected secretary of the body, he was ejected from Turkey at the end of that year.[4][20]
Repeating the pattern of arrests in the 1920s and 30s, in 1959 during Naw Ruz mass arrests of the Baháʼí local assembly of Ankara resulted in the religion being accused of being a forbidden Tariqah, or sect of Islam.[21] The court requested three experts in comparative religion to give their opinion: two of the three experts supported viewing the Baháʼí Faith as an independent religion, and one claimed that it was a sect of Islam. After this report, the court appointed three respected religious scholars to review all aspects of the question and advise the court of their views. All three of these scholars agreed that the religion was independent on January 17, 1961. However the judges chose to disregard these findings and on July 15, 1961 declared that the Baháʼí Faith was a forbidden sect but this decision was appealed to the Turkish Supreme Court.[21]
Starting in 1960 until 1990, however, Baháʼís could register with the government when the Interior Ministry issued instructions introducing a new standardized code system that did not include the religion,[22] a situation similar to the current Egyptian identification card controversy.
Re-establishment of the National Assembly and further issues
[edit]By 1963, there were 12 Baháʼí local assemblies in the country, and the number grew to 22 assemblies by the end of 1973.[4] The National Assembly was able to be reestablished in 1974,[23] and by 1986 there were 50 local assemblies.[4] But turmoil continued when on August 6, 1996, 21 Iranians (8 men, 4 women and 9 children, the youngest of whom is 4 years old), approached the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Ankara to request asylum from Iran. UNHCR officials registered their names and informed them of new regulations which require asylum seekers to apply within five days to the police in the city where they entered the country. The asylum seekers were issued documents by the UNHCR indicating their intention for requesting asylum from the local Turkish police. They boarded a chartered bus and arrived in Agri, the city of their entrance, the next morning. However the group disappeared — with various reports suggesting they were returned to Iranian authorities.[24]
Modern community
[edit]
Since its inception the religion has had involvement in socio-economic development beginning by giving greater freedom to women,[25] promulgating the promotion of female education as a priority concern,[26] and that involvement was given practical expression by creating schools, agricultural coops, and clinics.[25] The religion entered a new phase of activity when a message of the Universal House of Justice dated 20 October 1983 was released.[27] Baháʼís were urged to seek out ways, compatible with the Baháʼí teachings, in which they could become involved in the social and economic development of the communities in which they lived. Worldwide in 1979 there were 129 officially recognized Baháʼí socio-economic development projects. By 1987, the number of officially recognized development projects had increased to 1482. However, in Turkey things are complicated. Baháʼís still arrive in Turkey as refugees from the Persecution of Baháʼís in Iran.[28][29] But matters in Turkey are hardly supportive. Despite a 2006 regulation allowing persons to leave the religion section of their identity cards blank or change the religious designation by written application, the government continued to restrict applicants' choice of religion. Despite the regulation, applicants must choose Muslim, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Zoroastrian, Confucian, Taoist, Buddhist, Religionless, Other, or Unknown as their religious affiliation so individuals can't be registered as Baháʼís.[1] Additionally there are still instances of harassment and property has been confiscated. In February 2001 the Baháʼí community lost a legal appeal against government expropriation of a sacred site near Edirne; the Ministry of Culture had previously granted heritage status to the site in 1993. In January 2001 two Baháʼís were detained for proselytizing in Sivas while a local imam commenting on the arrest made a public rebuke alluding to those "whose killing is necessary."[30] Still in 2001, two Baháʼí university professors at Sivas' Cumhuriyet University faced expulsion.[31] in 2008, a Baháʼí was appointed dean of the Science and Letters Faculty of the Middle East Technical University.[32] The Turkish government supported the declaration of the Presidency of the European Union when he "denounced" the trial of Iranian Baháʼís announced in February 2009.[33]
Demographics
[edit]Because the religion is proscribed there can be no official counts of membership. Estimates by others range from 10,000[2] to 20,000.[3] The Association of Religion Data Archives (relying on World Christian Encyclopedia) estimated some 21,000 Baháʼís in Turkey - and some 880 in Cyprus.[34] The US State Department estimated the Turkish Cypriot Baháʼí community of approximately 200 in 2008.[35] There are about a hundred local spiritual assemblies in modern Turkey.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b U.S. State Department (2008-09-19). "International Religious Freedom Report 2008 - Turkey". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b "For the first time, Turkish Bahaʼi appointed as dean". The Muslim Network for Bahaʼi Rights. 2008-12-13. Archived from the original on 27 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b "Turkey /Religions & Peoples". LookLex Encyclopedia. LookLex Ltd. 2008. Archived from the original on 11 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Walbridge, John (March 2002). "Chapter Four - The Bahaʼi Faith in Turkey". Occasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies. 06 (1).
- ^ "The Baháʼí Faith". Britannica Book of the Year. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica. 1988. ISBN 0-85229-486-7.
- ^ Anthony A. Reitmayer, Anthony A. (compiler) (1992). Adrianople - Land of Mystery. Istanbul, Turkey: Bahai Publishing Trust. ASIN: B0006F2TSA.
- ^ Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 24–26. ISBN 978-0-521-86251-6.
- ^ The Baháʼí World, Vol 18, Part 5, "In Memoriam: Stanwood Cobb, 1881-1982"
- ^ Oates, John F. 1975?. Biographical Dictionary of American Educators, Vol. 1, pp. 275
- ^ McLean, J.A.,Pilgrim's Notes (blog), "Corrections to Blog on Stanwood Cobb...," Sunday, August 12, 2007
- ^ (Summarized in The Bookman: A Review of Books and Life [1] p. 429)
- ^ Tudor Pole, Wellesley (1911). "A Wonderful movement in the East, A visit to Abdul-Baha at Alexandria". Star of the West. Vol. 01, no. 18.
- ^ Graham Hassall (2006-10-01). "Egypt: Baha'i history". Retrieved 2006-10-01.
- ^ "A.S.Fridberg , 6 Nov. 1838 - 21 March 1902". Archived from the original on 15 December 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-22.
- ^ Momen, Moojan. "Russia". Draft for "A Short Encyclopedia of the Baháʼí Faith". Baháʼí Library Online. Retrieved 2008-04-14.
- ^ Hassall, Graham (1993). "Notes on the Babi and Baha'i Religions in Russia and its territories". Journal of Baháʼí Studies. 5 (3): 41–80, 86. doi:10.31581/JBS-5.3.3(1993). Retrieved 2009-03-20.
- ^ ʻAbdu'l-Bahá; Mírzá Ahmad Sohrab (1929). Abdul Baha in Egypt. J. H. Sears & Co. Inc. for New History Foundation.
- ^ a b Necati Alkan (November 2000). "Süleyman Nazif's Nasiruddin Shah ve Babiler: an Ottoman Source on Babi-Bahaʼi History. (With a Translation of Passages on Tahirih*)". Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies. 4 (2). h-net. Retrieved 2008-11-13.
- ^ Effendi, Shoghi (1974). Baháʼí Administration. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: US Baháʼí Publishing Trust. p. 152. ISBN 0-87743-166-3.
- ^ a b c Locke, Hugh C. (1983). "In Memoriam". Baháʼí World, Vol. XVIII: 1979-1983. pp. 683–685, 767–8, 777.
- ^ a b c Rabbani, R., ed. (1992). The Ministry of the Custodians 1957-1963. Baháʼí World Centre. pp. 85, 124, 148–151, 306–9, 403, 413. ISBN 0-85398-350-X.
- ^ Güngör, Îzgî (2007-08-12). "Bahaʼi community wants to be recognized and heard in Turkey". Turkish Daily News. Archived from the original on 2012-07-10.
- ^ Faizi, Abu'l-Qasim (2002). Shirley Macias (ed.). Conqueror of Hearts: Excerpts from Letters, Talks and Writings of Hand of the Cause of God Abu'l-Qásim Faizí. Baháʼí Library Online.
- ^ "Iranian Baha'i Refugees Denied Asylum in Turkey". Iranian Refugees' Alliance, Inc. 1996-09-17. Retrieved 2008-12-16.
- ^ a b Momen, Moojan. "History of the Baha'i Faith in Iran". draft "A Short Encyclopedia of the Baha'i Faith". Bahai-library.com. Retrieved 2009-10-16.
- ^ Kingdon, Geeta Gandhi (1997). "Education of women and socio-economic development". Baháʼí Studies Review. 7 (1).
- ^ Momen, Moojan; Smith, Peter (1989). "The Baha'i Faith 1957–1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments". Religion. 19: 63–91. doi:10.1016/0048-721X(89)90077-8.
- ^ Winston, Jaime (2007-10-19). "Baha'i faithful find refuge at U". The Daily Utah Chronicle.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Shahir, Asha (2008-10-20). "Iran's Baha'is Leave Persecution Behind On Train To Istanbul". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
- ^ U.S. State Department (2001-10-26). "Turkey International Religious Freedom Report, 2001". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ U.S. State Department (2001-10-26). "Turkey Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, 2001". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ^ Güngör, Îzgî (2008-11-13). "METU picks Bahaʼi as a faculty's dean". Turkish Daily News.
- ^ "Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union on the trial with seven Baha'i leaders in Iran" (PDF) (Press release). Council of the European Union. 2009-02-17. Archived (PDF) from the original on 5 March 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
- ^ "Most Baha'i Nations (2005)". QuickLists > Compare Nations > Religions >. The Association of Religion Data Archives. 2005. Archived from the original on 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2009-07-04.
- ^ U.S. State Department (2008-09-19). "Cyprus International Religious Freedom Report 2008". The Office of Electronic Information, Bureau of Public Affair. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
External links
[edit]- Baháʼí Faith in Turkey official webpage
- Baháʼí Holy Places in Turkey
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