The Bahā’ī Faith, one of the youngest world religions, was established in 1844. That was the year in which Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad Shirazi (1819-1850), later known as the Bāb (‘Gate’), had his first revelation, 1,000 years after the disappearance of the Hidden Imam of Twelver Shi‘ism. The Bahā’ī Faith originated in Shi’a Islam in Persia but completely disengaged from it and developed as a new and distinct religious system. The Bāb, whose writings and teachings laid the foundation of the Bahā’ī Faith, was persecuted and then executed by the Qajar authorities in 1850.

It was Mirza Hussain ‘Ali Nuri (1817-1892), initially one of the Bāb’s disciples, who developed the teachings of the Bāb into a new religious doctrine. After the passing of the Bāb, Nuri became the leader of the Bābi community, gathering a growing number of followers. He was later regarded as the bearer of divine revelation, receiving the title Bahā’u’llāh. He was thus the Prophet-founder of the new religion, which was named after him.

Bahā’u’llāh and his disciples were persecuted by both the Qajar and the Ottoman authorities, which considered them and their messianic messages a threat to public and political order. As a consequence, Bahā’u’llāh and his followers had to move from place to place – first from Tehran to Baghdad, and later to Istanbul and Edirne. In each location, Bahā’u’llāh dedicated himself to spreading his message and teachings, and gathering more followers.

In 1868 Bahā’u’llāh was exiled to Acre, then a somewhat remote city in the Ottoman Empire, and he resided there for the rest of his life. In Acre Bahā’u’llāh composed some of his most important writings, including the Al-Kitāb al-Aqdas (The Most Holy Book), the central scripture of the Bahā’ī Faith. It summarizes Bahā’u’llāh’s doctrines of divinity and morality, as well as the laws to be followed by the ideal society that he envisaged.

Bahā’u’llāh died in 1892 and was buried in Bahji, his estate near Acre. His tomb determines the direction of prayer for Bahā’īs around the world. The remains of the Bāb were interred on Mount Carmel in Haifa, and his tomb became the site of the golden dome and surrounding gardens. Acre and Haifa are thus the two sacred cities of the Bahā’ī Faith.

After his passing, Bahā’u’llāh was succeeded by his son, ‘Abbas Afendi, known as ‘Abd al-Baha’ (1844-1921), and by his great-grandson, Shoghi Effendi (1897-1957). Both took on the role of leader of the Bahā’ī community and played a major part in setting up Bahā’ī institutions, as well as in spreading the Bahā’ī Faith to Europe, North America, East Asia and Australia.

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The Bahā’ī Faith upholds three fundamental principles: the unity of God, the unity of humankind, and the unity of the world. These three unities give rise to the Bahā’ī concept of the complete equality of all human beings, and the vision of the world as one homeland for all people, regardless of sex and race. The Bahā’ī Faith rejects all violence; it calls for world peace, advocating the establishment of global government and a shared global language.

The Bahā’ī Faith shuns any kind of interreligious conflict, advocates harmony between religion and science, and offers consultation and consensus as a means of resolving all problems and disagreements. It emphasizes the fact that no one person and no one religion has exclusive possession of the truth.

Furthermore, the Bahā’ī community prefers to distance itself from politics, instead dedicating itself to social concerns such as education, the environment, and the support for the underprivileged. It promotes the adoption of spiritual values as part of everyday life, seeking to balance different aspects of human existence.

Since the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, no single person has been appointed leader of the Bahā’ī community. This role is assumed by various administrative institutions located in Haifa, with the Universal House of Justice being the supreme Bahā’ī institution representing the community’s leadership. The Universal House of Justice consists of nine members elected in democratic elections every five years. The decisions made by these nine members are considered to be divinely guided and free from error, and are therefore binding on all Bahā’īs.

Today there are more than seven million Bahā’īs all over the world.