This year the Association for Bahá’í Studies (English-Speaking Europe) Annual Conference joined with the fifty-fourth session of the ‘Irfán Colloquium in what was a weekend of exceptional scholarship and research at the frontier of Baha’i studies. Held at the University of London’s Institute of Commonwealth Studies from Friday 2 July through to Sunday 4 July, the Conference and Colloquium marked a landmark event on the Bahá’í Studies calendar and the first time these annual events have been combined in one weekend.

Whilst the central theme of the ABS conference, “Power and Responsibility”, was addressed in one keynote presentation and in a Panel Discussion, the spectrum of topics covered over the weekend included within its orbit aspects of theology, social and political philosophy, political science, history, economics, mysticism, the arts, Islamic studies, translation of Scripture and sociology, of concern to the study of the Bahá’í Faith. Bringing together diverse participants of varying age, nationality and experience – both within and outside the academy - the Conference witnessed a series of presentations by high-capacity and renowned scholars from across the globe and specializing in various disciplines and sub-disciplines. The ABS AGM was also conducted on the Sunday afternoon.

Of special note was the collaborative, intimate and dynamic atmosphere of the conference that lent itself to stimulating discussions, vital networking and the nurturing of future potential scholars present among the participants. Roundtable lunchtime discussions on the Saturday provided the opportunity for an interactive look at various subjects of contemporary relevance including the future of Bahá’í studies, dialogue, Shoghi Effendi’s writings, social dynamics of the Five Year Plan and the Lesser Peace. An overall feature of the three days was the vibrant interaction between conference participants on a social level. Some barriers to “inclusive” Bahá’í scholarship remained, however, in the lack of female participants as part of the formal program. The wider issues surrounding this concern was addressed spontaneously by conference participants as part of an open discussion on the first day.

On a personal note I found the conference to be an enriching experience and a unique chance to mingle and discuss issues of concern with both experienced and renowned scholars, as well as outstanding young scholars who are establishing themselves through their devotion to the in-depth study of the Bahá’í Faith.

Despite a few last-minute changes to the program, the conference proceedings were a significant representation of the diversity and quality of scholarly research being undertaken around the world in various aspects of Bahá’í studies.

Oliver Scharbrodt, who is currently completing his PhD thesis at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, presented a paper on ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s The Secret of Divine Civilisation entitled Role-models and anti-models: Islam and ‘the West’ in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s ‘Treatise on Civilisation’. This paper was particularly illuminating insofar as it presented this crucial work in Bahá’í literature within its wider reformist context of the nineteenth century Middle East – an aspect that has hitherto largely been overlooked.

Bahá’í writer Jack McLean presented on Shoghi Effendi’s Concept of History. The extensive account given at the conference on this theme was only one picked from a series of themes that have been addressed by J.A. McLean in his theological and literary critical analysis on the Guardian’s writings, A Celestial Burning: The Writings of Shoghi Effendi (publication forthcoming).

Moshe Sharon, distinguished scholar of religion and currently holding the Chair for Bahá’í Studies at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, gave a presentation on the issues and challenges faced in the translation of Scripture, particularly as they relate to the framework he used for the translation of the Kitab-i-Aqdas from its original Arabic into Hebrew. His presentation, The Translation of al-Kitab al-Aqdas into Hebrew: Some notes on contents and style, provoked some interesting questions and discussion about the translation of the Bahá’í Sacred Writings into other languages generally.

Erfan Sabeti, outstanding English-Persian translator and soon-to-be student of religion at the University of Lancaster, gave a stimulating account on Secularization: A Bahá’í Perspective. Drawing on the work of social and political theorists on secularization, the paper went on to tackle the possible responses the Bahá’í Faith offers to the absence of meaning in the secular world and its resultant deficiencies.

Augusto Lopez-Claros, Chief Economist at the World Economic Forum, spoke about the process of globalization and its implications for human institutions. His penetrating analysis Coping with the Challenges of Globalization: Five Key Lessons lead him to conclude that the only viable solution in the short term for the urgent and immediate crises faced in our increasingly globalized world is a shift in human institutions to overcome the governance gap that has arisen as a consequence of the increasing complexities of the problems faced.

Moojan Momen, renowned and widely published scholar of religious studies and the Bahá’í Faith, presented two different papers. The first was an interesting example of studying the Bahá’í community to assess the capacity of its World Order to “re-create society.” It signalled an important step in attempting to methodically study the Bahá’í community as a working model to overcome problems facing society at large. Specifically it looked at the nature and dynamics of “power” that are prevalent in current social systems. In respect to two inter-related problems, the widespread exclusion from important social processes felt by many people and the unresolved question over the appropriate balance between individual freedom and central authority, the workings of the Bahá’í community were presented as offering possible solutions.

The issue of power and responsibility was discussed in a panel convened by Nazila Ghanea- Hercock. Wendi Momen, Nahal Mavadat and Samira Manaseki-Holland approached the question of power and its resulting responsibility from their professional perspectives.

Moojan Momen’s second paper, Millennialism and Violence: The Attempted Assassination of Nasir al-Din Shah in 1852, examined the factors that led to the attempt on the life of the shah in the context of the study of millennialist groups and violence. This study brought to the fore a previously unused document that sheds new light on the events directly preceding the attempted assassination.

Dr. Stephen Lambden, research scholar at Ohio University, presented on the Báb’s hitherto un-translated (into any European language), and largely understudied, Arabic recension of His Persian “Seven Proofs” or Dalá’il al-Sab`ah.

Bruce Wannell from the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London presented A Preliminary Account of Shi’i Esoteric Commentary on the Hadith-e Haqiqat.

Roger Prentice, completing his PhD at the University of Sunderland, gave an insightful look at cinema from the perspective of the spiritual teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. His paper entitled The Spirituality of Cinematic Experience left his audience with no choice but to have a critical appreciation of cinema they previously may not have felt inclined to consider!

Daniel Grolin, author of Jesus and Early Christianity in the Gospels, presented a study on Scholarship and A Conflict of Frameworks that looked at the employment of “agnostic” and “creedal” frameworks that have led Bahá’í scholars to differing assessments of what is poor and what is good scholarship.

Overall this event must have come close to the hoped for result as “Europe’s most exciting scholarship weekend of the decade”.

VAFA GHAZAVI