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Letter of 11 February 1934
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Dear Bahá'í Brother,
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I am charged by the Guardian to thank you for your letter
of Jan. 30th as well as for the enclosed pamphlet containing
the address delivered by Herr Hitler on Oct. 14th, 1933, on
the subject of Germany's attitude towards peace, all of
which he read with deepest care and sustained interest. He
wishes me to convey to you and to all the members of your
German National Assembly and through them to all the
followers of the Faith in Germany his views on the present
conditions in that land, and particularly in their relation to
the nature and scope of the Bahá'í activities of our German
believers.
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At the outset it should be made indubitably clear that the
Bahá'í Cause being essentially a religious movement of a
spiritual character stands above every political party or
group, and thus cannot and should not act in contravention
to the principles, laws, and doctrines of any government.
Obedience to the regulations and orders of the state is
indeed, the sacred obligation of every true and loyal Bahá'í.
Both Bahá'u'lláh and `Abdu'l-Bahá have urged us all to be
submissive and loyal to the political authorities of our
respective countries. It follows, therefore, that our German
friends are under the sacred obligation to whole-heartedly
obey the existing political regime, whatever be their
personal views and criticisms of its actual working. There is
nothing more contrary to the spirit of the Cause than open
rebellion against the governmental authorities of a country,
specially if they do not interfere in and do not oppose the
inner and sacred beliefs and religious convictions of the
individual. And there is every reason to believe that the
present regime in Germany which has thus far refused to
trample upon the domain of individual conscience in all
matters pertaining to religion will never encroach upon it in
the near future, unless some unforeseen and unexpected
changes take place. And this seems to be doubtful at present.
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For whereas the friends should obey the government
under which they live, even at the risk of sacrificing all their
administrative affairs and interests, they should under no
circumstances suffer their inner religious beliefs and
convictions to be violated and transgressed by any authority
whatever. A distinction of a fundamental importance must,
therefore, be made between spiritual and administrative
matters. Whereas the former are sacred and inviolable, and
hence cannot be subject to compromise, the latter are
secondary and can consequently be given up and even
sacrificed for the sake of obedience to the laws and
regulations of the government. Obedience to the state is so
vital a principle of the Cause that should the authorities in
Germany decide to-day to prevent the Bahá'ís from holding
any meeting or publishing any literature they should obey
and be as submissive as our Russian believers have thus far
been under the Soviet regime. But, as already pointed out,
such an allegiance is confined merely to administrative
matters which if checked can only retard the progress of the
Faith for some time. In matters of belief, however, no
compromise whatever should be allowed, even though the
outcome of it be death or expulsion.
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There is one more point to be emphasized in this
connection. The principle of obedience to government does
not place any Bahá'í under the obligation of identifying the
teachings of his Faith with the political program enforced by
the government. For such an identification, besides being
erroneous and contrary to both the spirit as well as the form
of the Bahá'í message, would necessarily create a conflict
within the conscience of every loyal believer.
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For reasons which are only too obvious the Bahá'í
philosophy of social and political organization cannot be
fully reconciled with the political doctrines and conceptions
that are current and much in vogue to-day. The wave of
nationalism, so aggressive and so contagious in its effects,
which has swept not only over Europe but over a large part
of mankind is, indeed, the very negation of the gospel of
peace and of brotherhood proclaimed by Bahá'u'lláh. The
actual trend in the political world is, indeed, far from being
in the direction of the Bahá'í teachings. The world is
drawing nearer and nearer to a universal catastrophe which
will mark the end of a bankrupt and of a fundamentally
defective civilization.
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From such considerations we can well conclude that we as
Bahá'ís can in no wise identify the teachings of Bahá'u'lláh
with man-made creeds and conceptions, which by their very
nature are impotent to save the world from the dangers with
which it is being so fiercely and so increasingly assailed.
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The Guardian hopes that these brief explanations will be
sufficient to guide our German National Assembly in their
efforts to safeguard and promote the interests of the Faith,
and that through them they will be given a new vision of the
Cause and a fresh determination to carry forward its
message to the world at large.
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With greetings and best wishes to you and to all the
friends in Germany,...
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[From the Guardian:]
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Dear and valued co-worker:
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I wish to add a few words in loving appreciation of your
strenuous, your intelligent and devoted efforts for the
spread and consolidation of our beloved Faith. May the
Almighty bless your endeavours, deepen your understanding
of the essentials and requirements of our beloved
Cause, and enable you in these difficult and challenging
days to promote its interests and consolidate its institutions,
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Your true brother,
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Shoghi
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