| One of the laws of Bahá'u'lláh is that Bahá'ís must obey the laws of the government of the land in which they live. They are forbidden to take part in subversive movements. |
| In His Will and Testament 'Abdu'l-Bahá has stated: 'According to the direct and sacred command of God . . . we must obey and be the well-wishers of the governments of the land, regard disloyalty unto a just king as disloyalty to God Himself and wishing evil to the government a transgression of the Cause of God.'6 |
| 'Abdu'l-Bahá has further written, '. . . each and every one is required to show obedience, submission and loyalty to his own government . . . the Bahá'ís are the well-wishers of the government, obedient to its laws and bearing love towards all peoples.'7 And, 'Let them willingly subject themselves to every just king, and to every generous ruler be good citizens. Let them obey the government and not meddle in political affairs '8 |
| Shoghi Effendi, in a letter written on his behalf, has explained that, 'What the Master's statement really means is obedience to a duly constituted government, whatever that government may be in form. We are not the ones, as individual Bahá'ís, to judge our government as just or unjust — for each believer would be sure to hold a different viewpoint, and within our own Bahá'í fold a hotbed of dissension would spring up and destroy our unity.'9 |
| However, Shoghi Effendi stated in a letter to the Bahá'ís of Germany and Austria in 1934 written on his behalf: '. . . 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 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 . . . In matters of belief, however, no compromise whatever should be allowed, even though the outcome of it be death or expulsion.'10 |
| [BD 88-89] |
 |
| See also: |
|
|
