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Tasjil (Arabic: تسجیل, "Enrollment") is the process by which someone is officially confirmed as a follower of the Baháʼí Faith, under the auspices of Baháʼí administration.[1][2][3] It is not only a matter of holding specific religious beliefs; it also encompasses a formalized administrative aspect of the Baháʼí Faith.[4][5] Without undergoing the process of Tasjil, a person who merely identifies with the faith is technically not considered a Baháʼí.[2] Believers can fully engage in Baháʼí community life and are subject to Baháʼí laws only if they are enrolled members.[4]

History

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Tasjil plays a historically significant role in conversions to the Baháʼí Faith.[1] However, initially identifying as a Bahá'í was a rather informal practice[6] and no rigorous criteria existed until 1927.[7] The process was institutionalized along with other well-defined institutions, influenced by prevailing Western trends, under the leadership of Shoghi Effendi[1] and has been in practice since the 1930s.[3][5]

In 1925, in a letter addressed to the National Spiritual Assemblies in the United States and Canada, Shoghi Effendi noted that defining the qualifications of a "true believer" was a nuanced and intricate matter. However, he outlined what he considered to be the essential elements of membership in the Baháʼí community.[8] These included complete acknowledgment of the roles of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá; wholehearted acceptance of their writings; loyal and consistent commitment to Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá; and active engagement with both the spirit and structure of the contemporary Baháʼí administration.[8] As World War II approached and Shoghi Effendi emphasized that Bahá'ís should seek non-combatant status if drafted, it became essential to provide a registration certificate for those wishing to join the Bahá'í Faith.[9] In fact, many long-time believers were also asked to sign this card, often mistakenly indicating when they officially became Bahá'ís.[9] With the introduction of these new, more formal requirements, it became common for individuals who had previously had a casual association with the Bahá'í community to completely abandon their affiliation.[10]

This process is likely to take place in secret, similar to the conversions that occurred in Africa in the 1950s, particularly in the British Cameroons. During that period, there was an underground movement within the Basel Mission consisting of individuals who had embraced the Baháʼí Faith but were unable to reveal their beliefs publicly due to their connections with the Presbyterian church.[11] The new converts were officially listed as Bahá'ís after Enoch Olinga approved their enrollment applications, yet they professed to be Christians with his permission.[11]

Admission process

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Baháʼís believe that becoming a Baháʼí has three steps.[5] The first step is to accept the Stations of the Central Figures of the Faith, including the Báb, Baháʼu'lláh and ʻAbdu'l-Bahá,[12] as well as the concept of progressive revelation which requires acknowledging all Manifestations of God.[5]

Although Baháʼí administration's decisions play an important role in the next step, there are no documented instances of the administration extending an invitation to someone to join the Bahá'í Faith.[13] To initiate the administrative procedure, which constitutes the second step, the individual who wishes to become a Baháʼí must make a declaration of belief, typically in the form of a document.[12] These documents were at first called "registration card" but eventually came to be commonly referred to as a "Baháʼí Declaration Card" (BRC), reflecting the concept of "declaring one's faith."[9] An aspiring Baháʼí should provide details about themselves, including their address, phone number, and the name of their Bahá'í teacher.[6] A typical BRC would also contain text like this:

In signing this card, I declare my belief in Bahá'u'lláh, the Promised One of God. I also recognize the Báb, His Forerunner, and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, the Center of His Covenant. I request enrollment in the Bahá'í Community with the understanding that Bahá'u'lláh has established sacred principles, laws, and institutions which I must obey.[5]

The application to enroll as a Baháʼí is then reviewed and considered for approval by officials in the hierarchy.[14] The administrative investigation may long even for years.[5] In usual circumstances, the applicant is advised to engage in study before the process goes further and a Spiritual Assembly gets involved.[15] They may then be interviewed by the Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA) to discuss their motivations in front of a grand jury, or, in some cases, be asked to write to the National Spiritual Assembly (NSA).[15] Although membership requests before 1927 were not likely to be ever refused,[10] since then, applicants may be denied the opportunity to join.[13]

Upon approval, an identification number is assigned to the person, signifying their status as a full-fledged member of the Baháʼí Faith[5] and they are given a Baháʼí ID Card.[16] This grants them the right to attend Baháʼí feasts and events, availability for full suffrage, and the responsibility to pay Huqúqu'lláh.[5] The names of admitted individuals are recorded in confidential registers.[17] The subsequent phase following approval is viewed by Baháʼís as the ultimate stage of becoming a Bahá’í, representing a lifelong journey of personal growth and social development in line with Bahá’í teachings.[18] The third and final step includes serving the Local Spiritual Assembly, engaging in both individual and group deepening, and systematically studying Baháʼí literature.[18]

Requirements

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No one is born into the Baháʼí Faith;[19] however, a traditional practice among Iranian Baháʼí community considers children born of Baháʼí parents as Baháʼís, despite the fact they are technically ineligible for immediate membership.[20] The process is open to applicants who have reached the Baháʼí age of maturity, which is fixed at 15.[4][19][20]

According to the announcement made by the Universal House of Justice, "The declarants need not know all the proofs, history, laws and principles of the Faith, but in the process of declaring themselves they must in addition to catching the spark of faith, become basically informed about the Central Figures of the Faith, as well as the existence of laws they must follow and an administration they must obey."[12]

Exclusion

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See also: Covenant-breaker

Individuals in the Baháʼí Faith can choose to leave voluntarily ("unenrolled" Baháʼís) or may be expelled by the Baháʼí administration for various reasons ("disenrolled" Baháʼís).[21] Some enrolled members of the Baháʼí Faith might become inactive or nonpracticing without formally resigning. While they retain their official membership status, they may be unofficially removed from the membership list by the Spiritual Assemblies in certain Baháʼí communities.[22] Additionally, there are those who self-identify as followers of the Baháʼí Faith but are not officially recognized by the Baháʼí administration and have never requested for membership. The latter group are usually adherents to non-mainstream Baháʼí divisions.[23]

Citations

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  1. ^ a b c Amanat 2009.
  2. ^ a b Naficy 2011, p. 33.
  3. ^ a b Pirnazar 2019, p. 120.
  4. ^ a b c Smith 2008, p. 157.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Neusner 2003, p. 262.
  6. ^ a b van den Hoonaard 1996, p. 98.
  7. ^ van den Hoonaard 1996, p. 165.
  8. ^ a b Smith 2008, p. 158.
  9. ^ a b c van den Hoonaard 1996, p. 260.
  10. ^ a b van den Hoonaard 1996, p. 259.
  11. ^ a b Lee 2011, pp. 119–120.
  12. ^ a b c Adamson 2006, p. 140.
  13. ^ a b van den Hoonaard 1996, p. 167.
  14. ^ Lee 2011, p. 119.
  15. ^ a b van den Hoonaard 1996, p. 168.
  16. ^ Johnson 2020, p. 210.
  17. ^ Sanasarian 2000, p. 120.
  18. ^ a b Neusner 2003, p. 263.
  19. ^ a b Doss 2023, p. 96.
  20. ^ a b Warburg 2018, p. 226.
  21. ^ Johnson 2020, p. xxxv.
  22. ^ Warburg 2018, p. 227.
  23. ^ Johnson 2020, pp. 209–210.

References

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  • Amanat, Mehrdad (September 15, 2009). "JUDEO-PERSIAN COMMUNITIES v. QAJAR PERIOD (2)". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica (Online ed.).
  • Naficy, Hamid (2011). A Social History of Iranian Cinema, Vol. 3: The Islamicate Period, 1978–1984. Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0822348771.
  • Sanasarian, Eliz (2000). Religious Minorities in Iran. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-77073-4.
  • Adamson, Hugh C. (2006). Historical Dictionary of the Bahá'í Faith. Metuchen, N.J: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-5096-5.
  • Lee, Anthony (2011). The Baha'i Faith in Africa: Establishing a New Religious Movement, 1952-1962. Studies of Religion in Africa. Brilll. ISBN 978-90-04-20684-7.
  • Neusner, Jacob (2003). World Religions in America. Westminster John Knox Press. ISBN 9781611640472.
  • Warburg, Margit (2018). Citizens of the World: A History and Sociology of the Bahaʹis from a Globalisation Perspective. Brill. ISBN 9789047407461.
  • Pirnazar, Nahid (2019). "Voluntary Conversions of Iranian Jews in the Nineteenth Century" (PDF). Iran Namag. 4 (2). Canadian Society for Iranian and Persian Studies: 94–123.
  • van den Hoonaard, Will C. (1996). The Origins of the Bahá'í Community of Canada, 1898-1948. Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN 9781554584956.
  • Johnson, Vernon (2020). Baha'is in Exile: An Account of followers of Baha'u'llah outside the mainstream Baha'i religion. Pittsburgh, PA: RoseDog Books. ISBN 978-1-6453-0574-3.
  • Doss, Erika (2023). Spiritual Moderns: Twentieth-Century American Artists and Religion. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0226820910.
  • Smith, Peter (2008). An Introduction to the Baha'i Faith. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521862516.
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