Bahai

The Bahá'í Faith is the newest of the world's major religions. In 1844 the Persian prophet The Báb (Bab--"Gate" in Arabic) established a new religion, Babism?, distinct from Islam. One of the Báb's primary teachings was that he was merely preparing the way for "Him whom God shall manifest", a prophet greater than himself whom would come to Persia in only a few years time. This prophet was Bahá'u'lláh, who formally announced his revelation to his family and a small number of followers in 1863, in Baghdad, Iraq.

Bahá'u'lláh's primary teachings are these: that there is but one supreme deity (God), that there is but one humanity--the distinctions of race, gender, etc. are but distinctions of facade, not innate character or ability, and all are equal in the sight of God; and that all the world's great religions receive their inspiration from the same divine source.

Today, there are more than six million Bahá'ís spread throughout nearly every country, island, and territory in the world. Bahá'ís actively promote issues of social justice and spirituality wherever they are found, holding the concept of the unity of mankind as the standard for their actions.

Usage note: The correct orthographies are "Bahá'í", "Bahá'ís", "Báb", and "Bahá'u'lláh". Because of typographic limitations, the forms "Bahai", "Bahais", "Bab", and "Bahaullah" are often used (for example on Wikipedia).

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