BAHAI

Bahai: translation

Areligionfounded in Persia in 1862 by Mirza Hussein Ali "Baha'ullah (Glory of God)," who was exiled from Persia in 1853 and subsequently imprisoned by the Ottoman government in Akko (Acre). After his death in Acre in 1892, the leadership of the movement passed to his son, Abdul-Baha. It grew out of Babism, one of the sectarian deviations of Shi'a Islam. Bahai's main holy places are inHaifa(Tomb of the Bab) and in Bahji, near Acre (site of the Tomb of Baha'ullah). The principles of Bahaism stress the "unity of all religions, world peace, and universaleducation." It claims to be an all-embracing world religion. On 8 June 1999, the world's first academic chair in Bahai studies was dedicated at theHebrew University of Jerusalem.