User:Jeff3000/Sandbox6

Changes made to version which has copyright problems

Note that the apparent offending reference is reference [19]

Change 1

Original:

Iranian conspiracy theorists have also accused the Bahá'í Faith of having ties to Freemasonry.[19] Freemasonry had been introduced to Iran by Iranians who first encountered it in India and Europe. Contrary to anti-Bahá'í claims, the earliest lodges, such as Malkom Khan's faramush-khanih (founded in 1858), were not officially tied to European lodges.[62][63] The nature of Freemasonry as a secretive organization and its origin in Europe made it a target of conspiracy theories in Iran in helping introducing Western ideas and subverting Islam in Iran.[19] Thus it was linked with the Bahá'í Faith and Judaism into a grand conspiracy to undermine Iran and Islam.[19]

In a book publishing documents relating to Freemasonry in Iran, the only substantive document that relates to the Bahá'í Faith is the record of a discussion between a number of prominent masons, including the Grand Master of the Great Lodge (Luj-i Buzurg), Dr. Ahmad `Aliyabadi. In that document, Dr. `Aliyabadi states that "no Bahá'ís have become masons and this is repeated by others present with no-one disagreeing."[19]

Iranian conspiracy theorists have also asserted that Dr. Dhabih Qurban was a well-known Bahá'í and Freemason.[19] The proponents of the claim refer to Fazel Mazandarani's Zuhur al-Haqq, vol. 8, part 1 pp. 585–89.[19] However, the indicated pages fail to mention Dr. Qurban's name or anything pertinent to the subject.[19]

The teachings of the Baha'i Faith expressly forbid membership in secret societies. A letter written on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer, dated February 17, 1956, states, "Therefore, all the Baha'is everywhere have been urged to give up their old affiliations and withdraw from membership in the Masonic and other secret Societies in order to be entirely free to serve the Faith of Baha'u'llah as a united body. Such groups as Masonry, however high the local standard may be, are in other countries gradually being influenced by the issues sundering the nations at present. The Guardian wants the Baha'is to disentangle themselves from anything that may in any way, now or in the future, compromise their independent status as Baha'is and the supra-national nature of their Faith."

New:

Iranian conspiracy theorists have also accused the Bahá'í Faith of having ties to Freemasonry.[19] As Freemasonry was a secretive society originating from the West, many in Iran connected the movement with conspiracy theories relating to the introduction of foreign ideas into the country.[19] As many of the Bahá'í principles were world-embracing, the Freemasons were connected with the Bahá'í Faith as movements involved in a conspiracy to undermine Iranian values.[19] As seminal part of the conspiracy theory connecting the Bahá'í Faith to Freemasonry and to the introduction of foreign ideas into the country was the claim that many of the earliest Freemason lodges, such as Malkom Khan's faramush-khanih, which were founded in 1858, were linked to European lodges.[62][63] However, Freemasonry was brought to Iran by Iranians who had seen the movement in other parts of the world.[19]

The specific accusation that connects the Bahá'í Faith to Freemasonry and continues the conspiracy theory that there are Bahá'í ties to Freemasonry normally come from the assertion that Dr. Dhabih Qurban, who was a well-known Bahá'í, was also a freemason.[19] This assertion is based on a Iranian book publishing documents related to Freemasonry in the country; that book states that in specific pages of Fazel Mazandarani's book on the Bahá'í Faith there are statements that Dr. Dhabih Qurban is a Freemason, but the pages of that referenced Bahá'í book do not speak about the subject of Freemasonry.[19] Furthermore, the Iranian book that is the source of the conspiracy theories includes a discussion between a the Grand Master of the Great Lodge in Iran, and the Grand Master notes that "no Bahá'ís have become masons and this is repeated by others present with no-one disagreeing."[19]

The teachings of the Baha'i Faith expressly forbid membership in secret societies. Shoghi Effendi, the guardian of the Bahá'í Faith, asked all Bahá'ís to remove their memberships from all secret societies, including the Freemasons, such that they can serve the teachings of the Bahá'í Faith without compromising their independence.[64]

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While accusations against the Bahá'ís in the early history of the religion were based on religious doctrine, non-religious accusations started to increase and dominated in the 20th century due to the propensity of Iranian society to "believe and endorse conspiracy theories".[19][20]

New:

Originally, as the Bahá'í religion spread through Iran, many of the Islamic clergy tried to discredit the religion through the use of religious axioms. However, the methods of attacking and persecuting the Bahá'í Faith changed during the 1900s, and moved away from religious discussions.[19][20] Since Bahá'ís did not belong to any specific ethnic group, could not be identified with any geographical location, and spoke the same language, they became "the enemy within",[13] and figure prominently in Iranian conspiracy theories.[21] This type of non-religious accusation worked well within Iranian society, because a large percentage of the Iranian population believe in conspiracy theories.[19][20]

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The Russian and British governments had a formidable presence in the 19th-century Persia and competed for political, economic and territorial influence.[39] The support of the United Kingdom during the Constitutional Revolution, the Anglo-Russian convention which Russia and the UK divided Persia into spheres of influence, the occupation of Iranian territory during the First World War by the UK, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, as well as the coup d'état of 1921 which was backed by the British, all encouraged the development of conspiracy theories related to foreign powers.[40] Opponents of the Bahá'í Faith, particularly Muslim clerics, used this atmosphere to allege that the Bábí and Bahá'í religions were also products of Russian and British governments who were striving to weaken Islam and create divisions in the Iranian nation.[21][40]

New:

The Russian and British governments had a formidable presence in the 19th-century Persia and competed for political, economic and territorial influence.[39] The support of the United Kingdom during the Constitutional Revolution, the Anglo-Russian convention which solidified boundaries that identified control between Britain and Russia in Persia, Afghanistan, and Tibet (taken from the Wikipedia article), the occupation of Iranian territory during the First World War by the UK, Russia and the Ottoman Empire, as well as the coup d'état of 1921 which was backed by the British, all encouraged the development of conspiracy theories related to foreign powers.[40] Opponents of the Bahá'í Faith, particularly Muslim clerics, used this atmosphere to allege that the Bábí and Bahá'í religions were also products of Russian and British governments who were striving to weaken Islam and create divisions in the Iranian nation.[21][40]

Change 4

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The fictional memoir was first published in 1943 in Persian in Mashhad, and shortly thereafter published again in Tehran with some of the most glaring historical errors corrected. The book still, however, contains many historical errors and it is inconceivable that it is real.[19]

The memoir states that Dolgorukov used to attend gatherings of Hakím Ahmad Gílání, where he would meet Bahá'u'lláh. However, Gílání had died in 1835, which was three years before Dolgorukov's arrival in the country. There are numerous other errors relating to the dates and times of events that the memoir describes; the memoir describes events after the death of personages, or when the people involved were young children, or when they were in different parts of the world.[19]

Dolgorukov actually only became aware of the Bábí movement three years after in started in 1847, and his dispatches show that he was afraid of the movement spreading into the Caucasus, and asked that the Báb being moved away from the Russian border.[19][41]

New:

The fictional memoir has been published twice, both in 1943. The main difference between the two versions is that some of the historical errors in the first publication have been corrected in the second publication, though given the remaining issues with the book it is unconvincing in it's authenticity.[19]

The memoir states that Dolgorukov used to attend gatherings of Hakím Ahmad Gílání, where he would meet Bahá'u'lláh. However, Gílání had died in 1835, before Dolgorukov's arrival in the country. There are numerous other errors relating to the dates and times of events that the memoir describes; the memoir describes events after the death of personages, or when the people involved were young children, or when they were in different parts of the world.[19]

Dolgorukov actually only became aware of the Bábí movement several years after its foundation, and his letters show that he was afraid of the movement spreading into Russian controlled areas, and asked the Iranian authorities to move the Báb further away from those areas.[19][41]

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Original:

The memoirs, however, extend this assistance to all facets of Bahá'u'lláh's life. In one edition of the faked memories, Dolgorukov is said to have provided money for Bahá'u'lláh to build a house in Acre, but Dolgorukov died in 1867, before Bahá'u'lláh arrived in Acre. Thus newer editions of the memoir state that Dolgorukov sent money for a house to be built in Edirne.[19] As Dolgorukov left the Russian diplomatic service in 1854 and died in 1867, he was unable to interact with Bahá'u'lláh in ways which the memoir states.[19]

New:

The memoirs, however, extend this assistance to all facets of Bahá'u'lláh's life. As Dolgorukov left the Russian diplomatic service in 1854 and died in 1867, he was unable to interact with Bahá'u'lláh in ways which the memoir states.[19]

Change 6

Original:

There have also been claims that the Bábí movement was started by the British, and that the Bahá'í Faith has ties to British imperialism; the connection to the British, however, has also been supported by false evidence.[19] Firaydun Adamiyyat, in a biography on Nasser-al-Din Shah's first Prime Minister Amir Kabir, stated that Mulla Husayn, the Báb's first disciple, was really a British agent that was recruited by Arthur Conolly, a British intelligence officer, explorer and writer. Adamiyyat states that the evidence of such an accusation appears in Conolly's book Journey to the North of India Overland from England through Russia, Persia, and Affghaunistaun, but no mention of Mulla Husayn or the Báb appears in the book. In later editions of Adamiyyat's biography on Amir Kabir, the fabrication has been removed.[19]

New:

There have also been claims that the Bábí movement was started by the British, and that the Bahá'í Faith has ties to British imperialism; the connection to the British, however, has also been spread due to conspiracy theories that are not based on the historical record.[19] Firaydun Adamiyyat, in a biography on Iranian Prime Minister Amir Kabir, stated that one of the Báb's first disciples was chosen by Arthur Conolly, a British intelligence officer, explorer and writer, to help spread the movement. Adamiyyat stated that he made the accusation because Conolly's book about his travels through Iran includes details about the connection, but there is actually no reference to the Báb's disciple in the book. In later editions of Adamiyyat's biography on Amir Kabir, the made-up accusation is no longer present.[19]