Throughout the history of the Baha'i Faith from 1844, individual writers have performed as "reporters" or "journalists". They produced news items of upcoming events to books recording the history and teachings of the new religion. In the last 50 years, Baha'i think tanks have emerged, encouraged by the highest Baha'i administrative unit -- the Universal House of Justice (UHJ). A think tank may be defined as an organization of multiple persons collaborating to conduct investigative journalism including news reporting, analysis of events, research and editorial opinion. To start conversations about the rise of Baha'i think tanks, a selected list of these efforts is presented chronologically. Interesting features of this phenomenon are discussed.
The following brief selected list includes entries known to the author and is not presented as being exhaustive or complete:
1975 Association for Baha'i Studies (ABS) ranks as perhaps the earliest and largest "Baha'i think tank" effort. Its Facebook "Baha'i Studies" group has over 18 thousand members. ABS organizes conferences, annual conferences, publications, seminars and resources available to researchers. There is also an Association for Baha'i Studies UK.
1978 Kalimat Press "was founded in 1978 by Anthony A. Lee and Payam Afsharian ... during the Baha'i month of Kalimat (words). It is a small, privately owned publishing company which is exclusively oriented towards the publication of books and other materials on the Baha'i Faith.".
Approaching and moving into the 21st century, the internet provided new opportunities for Baha'i journalists and think tanks.
1997 Baha'i Library Online presented by Jonah Winters and his collaborators is a massive source of Baha'i-related literature and materials serving as an indispensable resource for serious researchers.
2010 Independent Investigation of Truth is an independent investigative journalism project started by the author. Readers may participate in article comment sections.
2016 BahaiTeachings.org, with Payam Zamani as Editor-in-Chief, promotes independent investigation of Baha'i Teachings with an ample library of original videos, podcasts, music and events, distributed on internet platforms.
2020 Center on Modernity in Transition (COMIT) may be of interest for those who might enjoy a movie titled "Invasion of the liberal social scientists". Co-directed by Shahrzad Sabet and Benjamin Schewel, COMIT's research focuses on arcane topics like "post-war liberalism", "liberal imagery" and "cosmopolitanism". Interesting features include (a) its "partners" with seven other organizations, (b) emphasis on "oneness" and a global perspective, (c) the word "Baha'i" is rarely seen in its web site or x.com posts and (d) its solicitation of donations on its "giving" page, where we find: "Interested in mailing a check, or making larger or planned gifts? We are able to receive bequests, donations of real estate or securities, and more."
2021 Baha'i Faith Modern Perspectives, created by the Parhami family, consists of talks on topics related to the teachings of the Baha'i Faith that anyone can attend on Zoom, which are recorded and later available on their YouTube channel. A wide scope of diverse topics covered has elicited interest by Baha'is and others.
2021 BahaiThemes, moderated by the author, may exemplify independent journalism, short of think tank status. Its small membership thus far may suggest a sort of market saturation, namely internet sites for viewing and participation may be surpassing the supply of interested participants.
2021 BahaiPerspectives, moderated by Sen McGlinn, features topics ranging from translation of Baha'i literature, Baha'i teachings and social issues.
Discussion
Baha'i Administration. Most if not all of the persons involved in the brief chronology above are Baha'is, although some interesting twists and turns might be noticed. The Association of Baha'i Studies appears to be the only one which is officially an "agency" of the Baha'i administration, which has three levels -- international (UHJ), national and local. BahaiPerspectives is moderated by a person with Baha'i beliefs, but not official membership.
In the think tanks that are not officially affiliated with the Baha'i administration, there is more coverage of controversial news and issues within Baha'i communities. The Baha'i administration may rightly aim to foster unity and present to the public an image of a highly united group. At the same time, given the great diversity in Baha'i communities, more controversial content receives thousands of page views by individual Baha'is.
Internet. Most readers are already familiar with the great potential of internet technology. Most of the Baha'i entities in the chronology above have a presence on multiple internet platforms. And every Baha'i in the world with a smart phone or computer might also be listed in this article. My x.com and Facebook feeds present dozens of different parties posting Baha'i teachings, new ones every day, mostly featuring quotes from Baha'i writings. Just the mere mention of the word "Baha'i" in any context by an internet user will trigger most platforms to add every Baha'i-related content provider to that user's feed. Thus, the business model of social media platforms that profile their users may act to "amplify" the reach of Baha'i-related posts. An amazing phenomenon.
A second highlight is that the internet allows Baha'i think tanks to rapidly expand from written journalism into nascent media organizations including live conferences, videos, podcasts, music and you name it. Do you see it coming? Some of today's Baha'i think tanks might be on the road to becoming influential media companies.
Diversity. The Baha'i Faith promotes unity of diversity in its central principle of the oneness of mankind. Unity of people of diverse races, nationalities or cultures is usually cited. This concept might also include unity of diverse opinions and perspectives. It appears that the Baha'i administration generally supports the diversity of approaches seen in the selected list presented.
Each of these budding Baha'i think tanks may have been crafted to reach specific audiences. For example, COMIT appears to focus on reaching people with "liberal" political ideas. Perhaps other efforts target people with more "conservative" views. BahaiThemes includes some editorial material that some may see as controversial, but its moderator (the author) has never received any complaint from the Baha'i administration. Further, probably without exception, all of the efforts listed in our brief chronology have presented some wacky ideas, some downright wrong information. Thus, one might imagine that Baha'i administrative units might be receiving complaints about this or that think tank. One might conclude that the Baha'i administration prefers to be a patient, loving parent as "toddler" think tanks learn to walk and then run.
Perks. The personnel pages for BahaiTeachings.org and COMIT show that collaborating participants get rewarded with impressive titles like "consultant", "co-founder", "co-director", "editor", "director of operations", "product manager", "research fellow", "board member", "operations manager", etc. No problem. These people are no doubt smart and competent. These hefty titles could be included in curriculum vitae, perhaps leading to future employment opportunities. Possible perks like this are not criticized. Indeed, if collaboration in Baha'i think tanks leads to increased wealth and prosperity, it is all good. This phenomenon relates to the next discussion topic -- money.
Money. For readers who may not know, the Baha'i writings encourage Baha'is to spread the message of the oneness of God, religion and mankind as a sort of spiritual responsibility. And this is done for free; no payment required. But now we see that spreading the message of the Baha'i Faith can make money in a great many ways. You name it -- book sales; conference registration fees; deals for a cut of travel, hotel and restaurant payments made by conference participants; podcast and music fees; content creators may get a cut of funds paid to platforms by advertisers; etc. It may be ironic that as Baha'i think tanks utilize internet and other technology to spread the Baha'i message, they can make money from their content and organizational skills, just like everybody else does. At present, any revenue earned by Baha'i think tanks is probably less than their expenses in creating the content. By the way, Baha'is see work as "worship", so it's all good.
COMIT is the only group listed herein explicitly soliciting donations from viewers of its content.
Disclaimer. This presentation represents the views and opinions of the author. You might look at the same information or other information and come to different conclusions. Nothing in this article should be construed as a criticism of anybody about anything. Write to the author or add a comment if you find errors or omissions.
© James J Keene 2024
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