Baha'i Rants » Administrative Order

Baha’is Elect New National Spiritual Assembly Members

Baquia — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 22:22:14 +0000

With Ridvan comes the National Baha’i Conventions as Baha’is everywhere around the world elect their new National Spiritual Members. Due to a systematic incumbency bias, the “new” NSA’s are more than likely exactly the same as the “old” NSA. That certainly is the case in North America.

In the US, the delegates at the 14th Baha’i National Convention elected the following members (in descending order of votes):

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

These were the same 9 individuals who were on the NSA previously. To illustrate just how much incumbency controls these elections, the first 5 members received the same order of magnitude of votes as last year (Kenneth E. Bowers the most, Jacqueline Left Hand Bull next, and so forth).

In Canada, the “new” National Spiritual Assembly is:

Mehran Anvari (Vice-Chairperson)
Deloria Bighorn (Chairperson)
Judy Filson
Lisa Flynn
Karen McKye (Secretary)
Gordon Naylor
Enayat Rawhani (Treasurer)
Susanne Tamas
Elizabeth Wright

These individuals have been elected to the NSA for many years. Judy Filson and Enayat Rohani have been serving for more than 17 years consecutively. For the NSA as a whole, the average consecutive membership is between 9-10 years. This means that on average each person has been an NSA member for about 10 years continuously.

Lisa Flynn, the youngest and newest member of the NSA replaces Simon Grandy who was in turn also the youngest and newest member at the time of his election in 2010. Flynn was previously on the appointed arm of the administration serving as an assistant ABM.

One interesting note is from the official US Baha’i Unit Convention site which tells us that less than 25% of eligible voters participate in these important elections:

This low participation rate certainly exacerbates the existing incumbency bias and further reinforces it. As the same nine people are elected again and again, individual Baha’is feel an increasing sense of apathy which keeps the participation rate low.

For a more in-depth discussion of the current challenges of Baha’i elections, see last year’s article about the Canadian NSA and the US NSA elections.

Is Your Baha’i Community Growing?

Baquia — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 23:37:46 +0000

For a very long time the official estimate of the size of the Baha’i worldwide community has been 5-6 million. This is the figure often cited in media, as was the case in the recent CBS religion special: “What They Believe: Hindus, Zoroastrians, Baha’is”.

Reputable sources more recently have cited anywhere between 7.9 and 5.5 million. Unfortunately, official figures are not released by the Baha’i World Center. The various national statistics are aggregated but for reasons unexplained these figures are not shared publicly.

Estimating the size of any religious organization accurately is challenging. The Baha’i Faith is by comparison easier to measure because of the requirement to officially declare membership. As well, Baha’i administrations within every community keep accurate voting records which can be used to approximate community membership very closely.

Perhaps more importantly, the growth rate of the Baha’i Faith is also murky. Several decade old sources put the growth rate at the top of fastest growing religions. However, more recent data seems to show a stagnation or at least a slow down in the growth rate. As well, had this growth rate continued, the 20 year old statistic of “5-6 million” would now be 8 million instead.

The explosive growth that occurred between 1950-1980 seems to have slowed down significantly. The recent attempts at expansion through Ruhi related strategies do not seem to be bearing fruit. One explanation may be that while Ruhi fits with Columbian culture, it does not with North American or Western European cultures. For more see, “Time for Ruhi to Show Us the Money”

The simplest way to measure a community’s growth is to look at a few statistics that are kept by all Local Spiritual Assemblies. Below is the table for these statistics from the largest Baha’i community in Canada:

	April 2010	April 2011	April 2012
Enrollments	26	26	17
Deaths	9	9	15
Resignations	5	4	3
Net Growth/Decline	+12	+13	-1
Adult Population	1527	1605	1663
Rate of Growth	+0.79%	+0.80%	-0.06%

It must be noted that this city not only is home to the largest Baha’i community, it is also a very dynamic and active one with multiple teaching events and campaigns throughout the year, otherwise known as ‘cycles of growth’. The explanation of the growth in the adult population from 1527 in 2010 to 1663 in 2012 is inter-city migration.

As with the average Baha’i community, a significant portion of this Baha’i community’s resources are marshaled towards teaching efforts. Traditionally that fell on the shoulders of the local teaching committee which planned and coordinated various events and programs. But with the advent of new ideas originating from FUNDAEC that role has been supplemented with a whole host of other activities: study circles, Ruhi courses, door-to-door direct teaching, and cycles of growth, IPG, CGC, and an alphabet soup of other acronyms.

What has this frenzy of activity accomplished? Not much.

In the past two years the growth has been anemic and this year, nonexistent. In fact, the growth rate may very well be overestimated by these figures because generally, when people choose to withdraw from a religion they rarely submit a formal resignation. More often they simply withdraw from activities and stop participating within the community. It is impossible to measure the true number of persons who have decided to leave the community for this reason. The most helpful measure to remedy this is to look at active members of the community. But this would severely restrict the number further because active participation in feasts, voting in elections, donations to funds, etc. are between 25-30% on average for communities.

The alarming thing is that the juxtaposition of this frenzy of activity and “busyness” with the lack of results is not mentioned nor discussed within the community. The annual report of the LSA certainly does not make mention of it.

Personally, I do not believe that quantitative growth is as important as improvements in the quality of community life. These are more challenging to measure by their very nature, however they are prerequisites for quantitative growth.

But as long as we are embarking on a massive mobilization of resources to produce a result, don’t you think it might be a good idea to consult about why the result isn’t being achieved?

One of the buzzwords thrown around is “systematization”. What could be more systematic than measuring the effectiveness of your actions and correcting course as deemed necessary?

While one of the fundamental pillars of Baha’i life is consultation. Sadly, when it comes to addressing the ‘elephant in the room’, few Baha’is are informed about the results of their community’s teaching efforts and fewer still are ready to bring it up as a topic of discussion.

If you are interested in discussing this within your community, talk to your local LSA and get some feedback from them on the number of enrollments, resignations, deaths and map out the trend for your locality for the past few years. With this information you can then embark on a more fruitful consultation about the activities within your community that have or have not provided the results that you want.

Hossain B. Danesh Seminar on Baha’i Marriage and Family

Baquia — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 07:59:29 +0000

It is deeply troubling to see the National Assembly of Canada continue to promote Hossain B. Danesh. He is provided with official Baha’i venues, promoted through official channels and presented as a leading figure to the community in the very field from which he was expelled because of sexual misconduct towards his patients.

To those unfamiliar with the history, Hossain Danesh was a psychiatrist practicing in Canada as well as a long time member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of Canada from the 1980′s to early 1990′s. He was Secretary General of the NSA for many of those years.

Multiple patients brought charges of sexual misconduct against Hossain Banadaki Danesh. The result of the investigation and procedure was that in 1994 the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons along with Hossain Danesh and the victims came to an out of court agreement. This agreement resulted in Danesh being stripped of his membership in that organization as well as losing his legal rights to practice as a psychiatrist and the forfeiting of any future application for re-entry into same. As well, Danesh agreed to pay $10,000 towards the costs of therapy for the three former patients. Danesh did not admit to any of the charges as part of the out of court settlement, which is normal for these sorts of things.

Throughout the process Danesh was allowed to maintain his membership in the NSA and he only resigned his membership because he had been gifted a new cushy job as head of the newly established Baha’i university, Landegg Academy, in Switzerland. Danesh was shipped off across the ocean, away from the scandal and safely nestled into this new job. Unfortunately the gig didn’t last long as Danesh’s management and leadership sank Landegg into a sea of debt.

Now that Hossein Danesh is back in Canada, the ‘old boy’ network, of which he was a ranking member, has continued to promote him in the very field in which he disgraced himself. In the past few years he has been repeatedly promoted by the institutions for seminars such as “Healthy Marriage and Family Life” and “Shaping our Destiny: An Open Forum for Youth and Young Adults”. The latest will be April 15th at the Toronto Baha’i Center:

Reflections on the Baha’i Concept of Suffering

The talk will address suffering as often encountered in marriages and families these days and is suitable for both Baha’is and any interested friends. There will be time for questions and answers that permit exploring the many dimensions and experiences that frequently come up in relation to this topic. We are looking into making arrangements for simultaneous translation into Persian.

For those who may not know him, Dr. Danesh is an author, international lecturer and consultant, with more than thirty five years of academic and clinical experience as a psychiatrist and peace educator.

If someone is going to give a seminar on weight loss, you would balk if they waddled onto the stage, wheezing from the exertion of having to cart their massively obese form around. It is as ludicrous to have a man who was disgraced and thrown out of his profession for sexual misconduct to give a seminar on relationships.

Why is Danesh given the star treatment? why are seminars arranged for him? why are these community events promoted heavily by the NSA in Baha’i communities through official Baha’i channels? why is the truth about his past hidden? why is he referred to as a “psychiatrist” when he does not have the legal right to use that title?

To be clear this issue is not a personal one with Hossain Danesh. Rather it is about the nature of the community that we wish to develop and the values which we want to uphold and present to the world at large. It is wrong for the NSA of Canada to promote Danesh to a position of trust within the community for topics like family, relationships, and marriage simply because he was the quintessential insider. By doing so they are communicating that they are more aligned with personal ‘network’ connections and less so with the animating spirit and values of the Baha’i Faith. They are demonstrating that they value “Danesh’s” prestige more than they value the community itself.

Hossain Danesh Heavily Promoted By NSA

Peter Khan Passes Away

Baquia — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 00:30:59 +0000

Previous member of the Universal House of Justice Peter Khan has passed away today. Over the years we’ve discussed Khan’s extremist viewpoints more than a few times. He was also a key player in Alison Marshall’s expulsion as well as the UHJ member with the portfolio of Asia sent to pummel into submission the New Zealand Baha’i community when they balked at her treatment by the institutions.

Below is the message from the UHJ:

We grieve at the sudden passing of our dearly loved former colleague Peter J. Khan, whose many years of service in the Holy Land, concluded so recently, are still fresh in our memories. By any measure, his was a remarkable life, one of earnest striving, of unbending resolve, of unflinching dedication to principle, and of constancy of effort. Discovering the Faith in his early youth, he had an unbroken record of outstanding service that included membership of the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia, of the Auxiliary Board for Propagation in North America, of the Continental Board of Counsellors in Australasia, and of the International Teaching Centre and that culminated in his election to the Universal House of Justice on which body he served for twenty-three years. His considerable intellectual gifts manifested themselves in every aspect of his service to the Cause of God: in his stalwart defence of the Covenant, in the exemplary manner in which he discharged his manifold administrative duties, in his acquainting generations of youth with the transforming vision of Shoghi Effendi, in his championing the advancement of women, in his diligent attention to the stewardship of the Faith’s material resources, and in his presentations of the verities of the Cause with uncommon eloquence and endearing humour to unnumbered audiences–lifting hearts, stimulating minds, galvanizing spirits. The Faith of God has lost a distinguished servant.

Our condolences are extended to his beloved wife Janet, his collaborator and devoted companion. We shall offer ardent prayers at the Sacred Threshold that his illumined soul may be joyously received in the Abha Kingdom and immersed in the ocean of divine grace. We call upon the friends to hold befitting memorial gatherings in his honour throughout the Baha’i community, including in all the Houses of Worship.

The Universal House of Justice

Peter Khan was a member of the UHJ from 1987 to 2009 (when he retired):

Canadian NSA Election – 2011

Baquia — Thu, 05 May 2011 21:12:35 +0000

The delegates at the National Convention in Canada re-elected every single previous member of their National Spiritual Assembly. These included the two new members that were the result of the 20 December 2010 by-election (Simon Grandy and Dr. Mehran Anvari).

The members of the Canadian NSA are:

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

So once again, yet another confirmation of the death-grip that incumbency has on Baha’i elections. The longest continuous members are: Judy Filson (+16 years), Enayat Rohani (+16 years), Karen McKye (+14 years) and Susanne Tamas (+14 years). The average consecutive years in office is 9 – meaning that the average member of the NSA of Canada has been a member for 9 years non-stop.

A few weeks before the National Convention and the Canadian federal elections, the Canadian Baha’i News agency (a body of the Canadian NSA) featured a commentary comparing the Baha’i elections and the upcoming secular ones in Canada titled “Innovative electoral model employed by Baha’is“.

The article contrasted the Baha’i election process (devoid of campaigning) with the partisan nature of the political election taking place with its usual mud-slinging. But the article also had an unmistakeable whiff of self-aggrandizement:

Although the Canadian political system reflects well fundamental democratic reforms that have served to advance humanity’s ability to govern itself, it is not without its challenges. Cynicism and apathy about the Canadian electoral system seem to have reached a new high, especially among younger voters. Some political scientists have attributed this apathy to a general decline in interest in institutional democracy.

What happened to humility being the watchword?

Of course, there are very real differences between Baha’i elections and the federal elections. Each one is different in nature and for a different purpose. This does not mean that one is inherently “better” than the other or that one method or process should be adopted in lieu of the other.

The difference that I see between the two goes beyond the superficial ones that the Canadian Baha’i News article mentioned. Whereas Baha’is never discuss or question their own election process or how to improve it, the federal election process is very much discussed. Especially since the recent one resulted in a majority government that did not gain the popular vote. Many Canadians are rightfully asking if they need electoral reform to align the democratic will of the citizenry more precisely with the outcome of elections.

This is open engagement and willingness to both acknowledge shortcomings and to address them is completely lacking in the Baha’i community right now. Instead we are complacent and unwilling to acknowledge the real challenges and deficiencies of Baha’i elections.

The problem of incumbency is probably the most glaring. The very thing which Baha’is are proud of is in fact a cause of this weakness. Because Baha’i elections do not allow campaigning, the current members of the NSA gain a defacto advantage because they are known to the community and their names are often marked with an asterisk or other identifier on the document sent along with ballots that lists the community members eligible for election. The result of the phenomena is evident at all levels of Baha’i election, from the local to the international.

So before we start throwing stones around, let’s first be cognizant that our own dwelling is primarily built out of glass. And let’s start to have a serious and intelligent discussion about how we can improve Baha’i elections. Exhortations of the kind that we’ve seen from the Universal House of Justice simply are not enough to solve deep structural deficiencies. One idea is both simple and effective: term limits. There are others of course. The important thing is to engage in an open and honest dialogue.

Did someone mention cynicism and apathy?

The other challenge facing Baha’i elections is extremely low participation rates. Baha’is may be surprised to learn that the participation rates at this federal election far outnumber the participation rates of Baha’i elections. This has also been the case historically. Talk about cynicism and apathy! Baha’is are not engaged with the election process because they do not believe that their vote counts. The same people are re-elected year in and year out.

So again, before you throw stones…

A brilliant example of the dichotomy between the two approaches is that today, UK voters are going to the polls to vote on a referendum about their voting system. Say what you will about “partisan politics”. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, the fact that it was held shows an admirable willingness to be flexible and attempt to change and improve. As a Baha’i, I wish these were characteristics that were evident from Baha’i communities with regards to elections (and other community matters).

It is also important to note that the Baha’i election, in contrast to the myth believed by most Baha’is, is not “set in stone” but can be adapted and improved upon. The current election process that we employ at Baha’i communities around the world is markedly different from that first put in practice at the time of Baha’u'lah or Abdu’l-Baha. They of course share certain principles, such as secret ballot and no campaigning, but many other things are different.

So it is not true to argue that we are unable to make modifications (such as term limits or changes like the UK proposed AV+ voting system). Personally, I don’t have a single solution that I’m advocating per se. The more important idea is that we should consider these ideas seriously and once informing ourselves, begin to engage in a meaningful conversation about it in true Baha’i consultation.

In case you’re curious, there are literally dozens of method we can use for elections. Here is a simple list and description, each with advantages and disadvantages. For more information on the proposed AV+ system being voted on today in the UK, see this.

Here’s a video that explains it quite concisely:

United States NSA Election – 2011

Baquia — Sun, 01 May 2011 04:02:21 +0000

The delegates of the 103rd Baha’i National Convention in the United States have elected the new members of the National Spiritual Assembly (in descending order of votes):

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

The new member is Dr. Fariba Aghdasi (elected with the least number of votes among the nine) who replaced William L.H. Roberts (acting as Treasurer last year) who also had the lowest votes among the previous NSA members. All other members of the NSA were re-elected as we’ve come to expect from the effect of incumbency.

For why such tiny incremental changes in membership really amount to no changes at all, please see the “Fable of the 5 Monkeys”.

I couldn’t find much information about the new NSA member except this short biography from a Baha’i site:

Dr. Fariba Aghdasi has served as the Deputy Secretary of the Regional Bahá’í Council of the Southwestern States since the formation of that institution. She is also the Director of the Regional Teaching Office, an office of the Regional Bahá’í Council serving the advancement of the clusters in the region. She has been a long term pioneer to South Africa and to Zimbabwe and has served on its National Spiritual Assembly. She has also served as the Regional Coordinator for the Regional Training Institute in the Western States in its formative years. She is a professional engineer holding a doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering and was previously professor and head of the Department of Mechanical Engineering in Zimbabwe. She is married with two children and currently lives in Central California.

Here is a short video of Dr. Fariba Aghdasi speaking at the Grand Canyon conference held during the Christmas holidays last year in Arizona. Taking part in such a high profile event just months before voting couldn’t have hurt her chances to be elected to the NSA.

Universal House of Justice: Ridvan Message 2011

Baquia — Sat, 30 Apr 2011 02:35:20 +0000

Here is this year’s Ridvan message from the Universal House of Justice.

The House starts by acknowledging the culmination of the renovation of the Shrine of the Bab and the centenary of Abdu’l-Baha’is visit to the United States. The recent political turmoil in the Middle East is cast as the expression of the twin processes at play on the world stage; the first, the disintegration of the old order and the second, the constructive maturation of the Baha’i Faith. The UHJ asks Baha’is to be inspired by the example of Abdu’l-Baha as they share their Faith with others.

The Watchword in All Cases is Humility

Baquia — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 15:38:42 +0000

I was visiting Priscilla’s blog and noticed that she hadn’t updated in a while. Her last entry is an interesting one.

From the Ridvan 167 (2010) message, the Universal House of Justice writes:

…we feel compelled to raise a warning: It will be important for all to recognize that the value of engaging in social action and public discourse is not to be judged by the ability to bring enrolments. Though endeavours in these two areas of activity may well effect an increase in the size of the Baha’i community, they are not undertaken for this purpose. Sincerity in this respect is an imperative. Moreover, care should be exercised to avoid overstating the Baha’i experience or drawing undue attention to fledging efforts, such as the junior youth spiritual empowerment programme, which are best left to mature at their own pace. The watchword in all cases is humility. While conveying enthusiasm about their beliefs, the friends should guard against projecting an air of triumphalism, hardly appropriate among themselves, much less in other circumstances.

The bold is my own emphasis. Priscilla’s commentary on this is interesting and difficult to refute. She points out that if the community at large erred on the part of pride, triumphalism or ‘overstated’ the Baha’i experience, then they were only following the tone and words of the Universal House of Justice in their previous letters and messages.

Specifically she points out a triumphant mention of the spectacular growth of the Baha’i community in Guyana in the 1990′s as it reached 6% of the country’s population. Subsequently, it declined to 0.1% and it isn’t clear if the 6% was accurate to begin with or if it was, what exactly accounted for the sudden implosion (which – in contrast to the growth – was never brought up or explained by the UHJ).

The commentary is in audio form ~~but there is a technical issue which prevents the file from playing. Hopefully this will be resolved soon and you’ll be able to hear her views~~ (technical issue is fixed now):

The above excerpt from the Ridvan message is written within the context of teaching efforts. But it is also true in a general sense as well.

Recently the US NSA had taken the Orthodox Baha’is to court. They lost the original case and then the appeal of that ruling. Last year they were then denied again when they filed for a re-hearing of the trial. The only avenue remaining was to petition the Supreme Court.

The 90 day filing period for such a petition ended last week without it being filed. So it seems that finally, the UHJ and the ITC (and by proxy, the US NSA) is letting this matter rest.

The initial case was without merit and pursuing it was foolish. But listening to Priscilla’s commentary made me think. Was the Universal House of Justice being ‘humble’ when it took a tiny splinter group to court for using the name Baha’i?

Or was it conceited and vain to get so tangled up within the Kingdom of Names? to busy oneself with this trivial earthly detritus and lose sight of the spiritual principles animating the Cause?

How much time and resources were devoted to this petty legal misadventure? how much ego was involved to pursue the matter over 3 years when it was clear as day that there was no basis for it? how much money was devoted to this? what worthy and noble projects were sacrificed in its place?

And why is this not communicated to the community at large? to what end are the legal setbacks and the final failure of the case held from the community? would such secrecy and opacity continue had the result been different and the NSA had won?

These are the questions I ponder.

As well, there is clearly a contradiction at work here. On the one hand, officially, the Baha’i Faith is presented as a united religion; as the only religion which, thanks to the Covenant, has been able to withstand the devastating schisms that afflict other religions. On the other hand, if we for a moment occupy an objective and neutral perch, this legal action is obviously taken by one ‘version’ of the Baha’i Faith against another.

To be fair, the Baha’i Faith has not shattered into thousands of splinter groups like other religions. There is one main group (usually referred to in academic circles as the Haifan Baha’i Faith) which contains the vast majority of the adherents. Other than this there are only a handful of other groups, each with extremely small adherents (40 or less). But to say, as many Baha’is do, that the Baha’i Faith is unique and united is a falsehood, as this court case and many other facts clearly demonstrate.

No related posts.

Election Participation Rates: How Low is Too Low?

Baquia — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 23:32:35 +0000

Last week Baha’i communities held their electoral unit conventions to pick who would represent them in the election of the National Spiritual Assembly. These chosen delegates will represent their communities at Ridvan when they will in turn elect 9 members from all of the eligible Baha’is in their country to the NSA.

The unit convention and the national convention are not only important components of the Baha’i election system but also play a vital role in Baha’i administration. It is here that Baha’is have a chance to come together as a locality and as a nation to discuss and consult on important matters.

It is also here that much drama has unfolded in the past. For example, it was at a national convention when the Dialogue magazine and its editors were denounced:

Although the editors and staff cooperated with the often cumbersome review process, the magazine was viewed with great suspicion by the National Spiritual Assembly. At the 1988 National Convention, when delegates from around the country gathered to elect the next year’s Assembly, External Affairs Secretary Firuz Kazemzadeh denounced a particular article slated for publication called A Modest Proposal and described those involved with the magazine as “dissidents”. Faced with such hostility, and with their reputation thus ruined in the eyes of the community, the editors stopped publication. Several of those involved in the L.A. study group and Dialogue magazine were later active participants on the Talisman forum.

What should be of concern is the anemic participation in the unit conventions. Looking around at the numbers, the percentage of votes cast in each unit convention is shockingly low. I realize that all Baha’i communities, especially large ones, are beset by this same problem. Participation in the fund, feast, Ruhi, etc. is but a fraction of the complete membership on the rolls. Such non-interaction and non-involvement with the community is a major sign of something terribly wrong.

So participation in elections can be argued to be just another symptoms along with the rest. But I would argue that elections are vital as they can be pivotal to the course the community takes. First, we must wake up to the fact that low participation rates is dangerous. Not surprisingly, with such a low turnout, the same handful of candidates are almost always chosen. Second, we must begin to take serious action to remedy the root causes of this.

I’m curious what your community’s participation rate was. It is clearly reported, along with all detailed statistics such as number of votes, spoilt ballots, etc. in the unit convention report. Usually it is reported immediately after the convention so if you haven’t received it, ask around. And drop a comment below to let us know if your community is having better luck at this and also if it is a small, medium or large size.

So far, from the data I’m seeing, participation rates are averaging 34-18%. This is inline with participation rates for fund contributions and LSA elections.

Let us know what you think. Do you think this is a serious problem that must be addressed? or do you think that there is nothing wrong with such a rate?