LAHORE At least 200 followers of Bahá’í faith currently reside here in Lahore. Whilst banned from practising their religion and studying in Iran’s educational institutions, Pakistan’s Bahá’í population is grateful for the equal status and freedom provided to them by the government of Pakistan. This correspondent paid a visit to Lahore’s only Bahá’í centre, situated in a quiet corner on Goulding Road near Sir Ganga Ram Hospital Sunday. Every Sunday, a Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA) of Bahá’í people meet to discuss new activities in fields regarding social welfare and education. Bahá’í assemblies are also functioning in Quetta and Karachi, with the Bahá’í Grand National Assembly located in Islamabad. According to their founder Bahá’u’lláh’s book of laws called Kitáb-i-Aqdas, wherever nine or more Bahá’í followers are found; an elected council or an LSA must be set up to serve the community. As Bahá’í faith has no ordained clergy or priestly institutions, the LSA organises religious activities and holidays. Talking to The News, a female gynecologist and member of the LSA traced her family’s journey to Pakistan in the 1980s. Both her parents belong to Iran and are of Persian descent. Though faced with persecution under the Shah Pahlavi regime, new laws passed under the 1979 revolutionary government of Ayatollah Khomeini banned Bahá’í people from attending universities, working in government jobs, and burying their dead. Incidents of illegal police raids, ransacking of homes, graveyard desecration and destruction of Bahá’í centres became popular in post-1979 Iran. According to a female member, her Iranian father was a university professor before he was dismissed from his job. Due to the security concerns, they decided to shift to Pakistan soon after the laws were passed and were granted political asylum under General Ziaul Haq government in 1980. Settled in Lahore and working as a gynecologist, the female LSA member said she was invited to participate in interfaith meetings in Lahore and never faced religious discrimination in her daily life. According to a male representative, a cemetery for Bahá’í people in Lahore was allotted to them by the District City Government Lahore and was situated here near University of Education Township campus. As the Faith is open to conversion and welcomes people of all faiths to acquire knowledge through its impressive libraries, conversion to Bahá’í faith in Pakistan can be traced to the years and decades before the arrival of Iranian Bahá’í people in the country. Talking to The News, a female member narrated her conversion from Islam to Bahá’ísm. Her father, a Muslim in pre-partition Lahore, was fond of reading the scriptures of other religions and encouraged his children to follow in his path. The female LSA member, a Bahá’í convert accompanied her father on a trip to a Bahá’í centre in the city and soon became interested in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh. Thereafter, she joined the community and now serves as an elected member of the Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA). Though the Bahá’í faith has no institutional clergy, there are laws and social customs which regulate the lives of Bahá’í people. As per the International Bahá’í Council and consensus within the community, followers of Bahá’u’lláh are restricted from entering politics and filling leadership positions. Speaking on this subject, a male LSA member said the purpose behind this was to prevent disunity within the faith on account of rival political alliances and desire of power. Despite voting in Pakistan’s numerous elections, Bahá’í people are not encouraged to disclose their choice of political parties. Worldwide voting for all Bahá’í assemblies takes place through secret ballots and campaigning for seats in the assemblies is strictly prohibited as per Bahá’í scripture, according to LSA members in Lahore. The Bahá’í Gardens in Haifa, Israel bear special importance for Bahá’í people as they surround the Shrine of Bab where the remains of their prophet Bab was buried after his execution in modern-day Iran. Yet, members of the Bahá’í Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA) in Lahore have accepted without reservations the travel ban placed on all Pakistanis by the Government of Pakistan to Israel. A female LSA member present said it was in the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh to respect the laws of the countries where they reside and to be patriotic citizens. She regretted the discriminatory treatment of Bahá’í people in Iran but said violence should not be met with violence and prayers are regularly offered for the welfare of their Iranian brethren.
