Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 110
Religion,30(2), 109-125. Electronic version retrieved January 9, 2002 from Juan R.I. Cole
website: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bahai/2000/dialala2.htm
23 Rogers, Dennis (2001). My experience as a member of the Baha’i Faith. Retrieved from Bahai
Faith &Religious Freedom of Conscience: http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/bahai/Ex16.htm
24 New Mexico lawsuit against Baha’i institutions for fraud and libel. While this lawsuit was
dismissed, the complaint paints a vivid portrait of a dysfunctional Baha‘i community. The attitude
of this chairman, and his claim to be the ―Voice of God‖ was also confirmed by a former Baha‘i
who lived in that community during the 1980s. See Hazini, Nima (2001) My memories of the
Albuquerque Baha’i community. Retrieved January 9, 2002 from talk.religion.bahai archives:
http://groups.google.com
25 Conkin, Paul K.(1997). American originals: Homemade varieties of Christianity. Chapel Hill,
NC: University of North Carolina Press pp.157-159.
26 Talk given by Firuz Kazemzadeh in March 1988 in Los Angeles, quoted in Cole‘s Race, Immorality,
and Money.
27 Universal House Justice. (1988). June 21 letter to Steven Scholl.
28 Cole. (1998) The Baha’i Faith as panopticon.
29 Culhane, Terry. (1999).My Case -A letter to my friends. Retrieved January 9, 2002 from Baha‘i
Faith &Religious Freedom of Conscience:
http://members.fortunecity.com/bahaicensorship/Culhane.htm
30 Universal House of Justice. (2001). Institution of the Counsellors.
31 Universal House of Justice. (1988). Individual Rights and Freedoms in the world order of
Baha’u’llah. Universal House of Justice. (1982). December 2 Letter to Juan Cole. Retrieved
January 8, 2002 from the Baha‘i Academics Resource Library: http://bahai-
library.org/uhj/salmani.letters.html
32 Some Baha‘i academics have quietly declined to cooperate with review, something which seems to
be tacitly tolerated, at least in some cases. However, one who openly announced to the NSA that
he was not going to submit his work to review got a stern warning letter back that threatened to
take his administrative rights away if he did not.
33 Universal House of Justice. (1992) December10 letter to an individual Baha’i. Issues related to
the study of the Baha’i Faith.
34 Universal House of Justice. (1988). Individual rights and freedoms in the world order of
Baha’u’llah.
35 Maneck, Susan (1992) September 21 letter to the Universal House of Justice. Retrieved
January 9, 2002 from Susan Maneck‘s Site:
http://bahaistudies.net/susanmaneck/House_letter_academic_methodologies.html
36 Universal House of Justice. (1982). December 2 letter to Juan Cole. This letter describes the
UHJ‘s motivation in ordering the deletion of passages in the published version of the memoirs of a
close companion of Baha‘u‘llah, saying ―. ..certain of Salmani‘s accounts are misleading and
unworthy and, apart from distorting the Faith for the average reader, can provide material for the
enemies of the Faith who at the present time are seizing every opportunity to attack the Cause
and blacken its reputation.‖
37 Universal House of Justice.(1999). April 7 letter to National Spiritual Assemblies.
38 Letter of Douglas Martin via the Secretariat of the Baha’i World Center concerning Juan
R.I. Cole’s book Modernity and the Millennium. (2000). Retrieved January 9, 2002 from
Juan R.I. Cole website: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/1999/modernit.htm This web
page contains excerpts from the Baha‘i World Center, dated August 3, 2000 to an individual
Baha‘i, interspersed with Cole‘s commentary. For further examples of criticisms of academic
examinations of Baha‘i history see The new role of the scholar in Baha’i society mentioned
above.
39 Universal House o f Justice. (2001). Five Year Plan.
40 Stockman, Robert.(1995) The American Baha’i Community in the Nineties Electronic version
retrieved January 9, 2002 from Baha‘i Academics Resource Library: http://bahai-
library.org/articles/american.community.html. Originally published in Dr. Timothy Miller
(Ed.).(1995). America’s alternative religions. Albany: SUNY Press.
41 dialogue editors. (1988) A modest proposal: Nine recommendations for the revitalization of the
Baha’i community. Retrieved January 9, 2002 from H-Bahai Discussion Network: http://www2.h-
net.msu.edu/~bahai/docs/vol2/modest.htm
42 Scholl, Steven. (1988). April 3 letter to the Universal House of Justice.
43 Universal House of Justice. (1988). June 21 letter to Steven Scholl.

Cultic Studies Journal, Vol. 18, 2001, Page 111
44 Los Angeles Study Class on the Baha‘i Faith. Newsletter. (1976-1983). Retrieved January 9, 2000
from H-Bahai Discussion Network: http://www2.h-
net.msu.edu/~bahai/docs/vol2/lastudy/laclass.htm
45 Cole, Juan R.I.(1999) Press censorship in the Baha’i Faith and the dialogue affair.
Unpublished typescript.
46 Langness, David. (1996). March 12 letter to the Universal House of Justice.
47 dialogue editors. (1988.) A Modest Proposal.
48 Scholl, Steven. (1997) Re: Dialogue thread on SRB. Retrieved January 8, 2002 from Soc.
Religion. Bahai. archives: http://www.bcca.org/services/srb/srchive/970101-970228/0992.html
49 Universal House of Justice. (1988). June 21 letter to Steven Scholl.
50 Scholl. Re: Dialogue thread on SRB. There has been some debate on whether the charge that A
Modest Proposal was circulated among the delegates was based on misinformation, or whether it
was a deliberate deception.
51 Universal House of Justice. (1988). June 21 letter to Steven Scholl.
52 Since Shoghi Effendi‘s ministry the Baha‘i Faith has put great importance on building shrines and
administrative buildings on Mt. Carmel, and in building temples in various parts of the world. The
big push in the 1990s was the completion of the administrative buildings and creating terraced
gardens around the Shrine of the Bab, which were officially opened on May 22, 2001. Disillusioned
and former Baha‘is frequently refer with resentment to the continual appeals to support these
projects financially.
53 Partial archives to the Talisman@indiana.edu email forum can be found on Juan R.I. Cole website:
http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/tarc1196.htm. John Walbridge closed this forum down in
May 1996, in the wake of the investigation, but the list was re-established a month later by Juan
Cole as Talisman@umich.edu. The list moved to Yahoo! Groups in December 1999. The list‘s
home page is http://groups.yahoo.com/group/talisman9. Archives are available through
subscription only. The archives to Talisman@umich.edu are not yet available online.
54 Langness, David. (1995) Subject: Publicly confronting injustice. October 1 email posting to
Talisman@indiana.edu.
55 National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha‘is of the United States. (1995). November 8 letter to
David Langness.
56 Universal House of Justice. (1996).April 10 letter to the Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of
the United States.
57 Majnun post. (1996). Retrieved January 9, 2002 from Baha‘i Faith &Religious Freedom of
Conscience: http://members.fortunecity.com/bahaicensorship/Majnunpost.htm. This misdirected
email post was sent to Talisman@indiana.edu on 7 February 1996.
58 Birkland, Stephen. (1996). Letter of Stephen Birkland to a Baha’i academic. Retrieved January
9, 2002 from Juan R.I. Cole website: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bahai/bhcouns.htm
59 Online defenders of the administration consistently deny that the Talisman posters were threatened.
However, two letters by Birkland to Talisman participants are posted on the World Wide Web on
the Juan R.I. Cole website: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bhdocs.htm Both letters
contain the warning that the recipients would be ―in direct conflict with the Covenant‖ if they
continued with their cyberspace activities. The only public statement by the UHJ alluding to the
crackdown said ―Early in 1996, the deliberate nature of the plan was revealed in an accidental
posting to an Internet list which Baha‘i subscribers believed was dedicated to scholarly exploration
of the Cause. Some of the people responsible resigned from the Faith when Counsellors pointed
out to them the direction their activities were taking. A small number of others continue to
promote the campaign within the Baha‘i community.‖ From Universal House of Justice. (1999).
April 7 letter to National Spiritual Assemblies.
60 Scholl, Steven. (2000). April 26 post to talisman9@yahoogroups.com.
61 Langness, David .(1996). May 17 post to Talisman@indiana.edu
62 Juan R.I. Cole website, Baha‘i Studies page http://www-personal.umich.edu/~jrcole/bahai.htm
63 Universal House of Justice. (1999). April 7 letter to National Spiritual Assemblies.
64 Documents related to the expulsion by the Universal House of Justice of Michael McKenny
from the Baha’i Faith. (1997). Explanation given by the House of Justice for Alison’s
expulsion. (2000).
65 McKenny, Michael. (1999). Re: One area in which liberty is limited in the Baha’i community.
Retrieved January 9, 2002 from Baha‘i Faith &Religious Freedom of Conscience:
http://members.fortunecity.com/bahaicensorship/Mckenny17.htm Alison Marshall Home Page:
http://home.clear.net.nz/pages/alisonz/ Alison Marshall has filed a lawsuit with the New Zealand