Awakening: A History of the Babi and Baha'i Faiths in Nayriz Paperback – January 1, 2013

First, let me say I found this book fascinating. I would have given it 5 stars except on further thought, I discovered it glided over certain crucial aspects of the founding of Babism and Baha'i. It is a very moving discussion of the development and ultimate martyrdom of the Babi religion in a town in Persia. The dedication of the Bab's followers and their willingness to die rather than reject their belief that the Bab was a manifestation of God was deeply inspiring. The detail was exceptional, especially since it is not easy to find well-sourced and documented accounts of the origin of even Baha'i, much less Babism. I am fascinated by religion and I could not help but think that future followers of Baha'i would be very grateful to have such an account of the founding of their religion. The book is so moving and easy to read that I read 3/4ths of it in one day.BUT! On reflection I found certain omissions very curious. For a book focused on martyrdom, the account of the Bab's execution was virtually non-existent; barely a couple of sentences with almost no detail. I was surprised, though not alarmed, by this. What I really found difficult to understand or accept was the total lack of analysis of how Baha'u'llah became the head of first the remaining Babis, and then of Baha'i. Succession after the death of a religious founder is often difficult, contentious and can lead to schism or outright "religious civil war" within the remaining followers. (For instance, few people know there are actually two religions that evolved from the LDS movement after the death of Joseph Smith: the famous one led by Brigham Young, and the less known reorganized LDS church led by Joseph Smith's son.)Awakening was published by Baha'i Publishing. Generally, to its credit, it is careful to include even material that could shed a negative light on its founding, but it has virtually no discussion of how Baha'u'llah took over the Babi movement after the death of the Bab. Other sources claim that the Bab left Subh-i-Azal "head of the Babis" but subject to the authority of the Prophet the Bab was proclaiming would come after him. When Baha'u'llah revealed himself as that Manifestation, this created a terrible dilemma: who was really the successor of the Bab? Even worse, Subh-i-Azal (founder of a small religion that is concentrated in Iran today, called the Azalis) was Baha'u'llah's younger brother, and according to some sources, 3 times tried to have his older brother murdered. (The last attempt was by poisoning, and left Baha'u'llah with a lifelong tremor in his hands.)Not to discuss this, and gloss it over with a description which sounds as if Baha'u'llah just naturally filled a vacuum, is misleading at best and almost dishonest at worst.On the bright side, about 60% of this book is devoted to the early history of the Babis, which is very difficult to obtain any reliable information on. The spotlight is usually on Baha'u'llah, because Baha'i is a big religion (7.3 million followers in 2010) and the remaining Babis--now called Azalis-- number less than 3,000, perhaps much less. (In 1908 there were 100 Babis compared to over half a million Baha'is).The book does leave the impression that there are no Babis left today, just as most Christians would be astounded to learn that there are still today followers of John the Baptist who do not recognize Jesus. (Not many of course.)The story of the Bab and of the founding of Baha'i is a dramatic, exciting, important historical series of events, and this book is well worth reading. I just can't help wondering about why Baha'u'llah's Ascension to leadership is elided over.

Awakening is a history of the Bábí and Bahá'í Faiths in Nayriz. Written by Dr. Hussein Ahdieh and Hillary Chapman, the book's purpose is to bring to life, in words and images, the heroism and suffering of the early believers who resided there and to show the ultimate victories that grew from their sacrifices.Epic histories like the Dawn-Breakers by Nabíl and God Passes By by Shoghi Effendi give a summary description of the persecution of the Nayriz Bábís. Awakening puts the reader in the middle of the events and highlights the heroes and villains.Nayriz had three major conflicts. In 1850, Vahíd declared the Báb's mission from the pulpit of the Júmih Mosque in Nayriz. Many of the people responded to the Announcement by swearing allegiance to the Báb and Vahíd. The rest of the town considered them infidels and attacked them. The Bábís under Vahíd's leadership took refuge in Fort Khájih and valiantly defended themselves for four weeks with inadequate arms against the overwhelming forces of the Persian Empire.Like many Nayriz Bahá'ís, Dr. Ahdieh's ancestors embraced the Bábí Faith and fought alongside Vahíd and ultimately experienced martyrdom. The author grew up hearing stories of their heroism and sacrifice. His reason for writing Awakening was to make sure that the suffering of the brave Bábí and Bahá'í men and women of Nayriz is not forgotten.In 1853, a new wave of persecutions was unleashed on the surviving Bábís. They took refuge in the mountains and again heroically defended themselves against overpowering forces. And this time the women participated, serving as lookouts and defending water supplies. The Bábís were eventually defeated. Those taken prisoner, mostly women, children, and old men, were death-marched from Nayriz or Shiraz along with the decapitated heads of their menfolk and thrown into prison.One of Dr. Ahdieh's ancestors, named Shafí, was on that march. He was a young boy but remembered vividly the horrific events and later recorded them at the request of Bahá'u'lláh. As a part of the research for the book, Dr. Ahdieh had the diary translated. The diary can be found on the Website Nayriz.org.Again in 1909, during a period of chaos in Iran, another deadly campaign targeted the Nayriz Bahá'í community. 18 people were martyred.The early believers in Nayriz knew their share of suffering. But they also experienced advances and victories. The surviving Bábís and their children and grandchildren went on to build a flourishing Bahá'í community in Nayriz. Three men from Nayriz were present in the Holy Land when the remains of the Báb were put to rest. Nayriz has sent forth many Bahá'í teachers and produced great Bahá'í scholars--among them Adib Taherzadeh and Ali Nakhjavani. The descendants of the Nayriz Bahá'ís have transplanted themselves on six continents. Against all odds, they have prevailed and prospered.Awakening allows the reader to experience the pivotal moments in Nayriz Bahá'í history. The book is written in a style accessible to a general audience. However it is also a historical record containing maps, photos, tablets, and over 700 references for future researchers.

I don't usually think to rate stuff unless it is 5 stars worthy-- or really bad and 1 star worthy. So, this was 5-stat worthy, but I only gave it four because of all the suffering! Of course, that is all a part of the history, and there is no getting around that! I enjoyed the history lesson, but I put it down more saddened and depressed than inspired. So, it is not among the books that I would reread, or particularly recommend to friends-- unless they were embarking on some serious study.

This book gives a history of the Babi/Baha'i Faith in a city iin Iran (then it was Persia). If we had a history like this and detailed as this is for the early Christian martyrs, the stories would be similar. It is incredible what the Iranian Baha'is suffered, and still suffer to this day.

This is a well written book and it is a historical gem. I am very grateful to the authors who really worked hard to get accurate account of what exactly happened in Nayriz and have left a historical account for posterity and future scholars and historians.

This is the earliest history of my Faith, the Bahá'í Faith. We believe there will be Universal Peace. The equality of Women and Men. An unfolding of new Revelations through history, forever.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Well written and obviously well researched, it's also a great read whether or not you are a Baha'i. 5 Stars.

A lovely mix of historical facts and narrative for this important and not very well known period of Babi's history.

Added to the early history of the Babis and the persecution they endured.

Amazing book that gives an insight in to the historical events of Neyriz in 19th century Iran, I wish you had it in the Persian language too

Informative and a good read!