Saturday, April 18, 1998

Baha'i gaining adherents locally

By LORETTA FULTON / Abilene Reporter-News

Its teachings include the oneness of God, unity within the family, high moral standards, and a belief in life after death.

Sound familiar? It probably isn't.

Baha'i Faith includes many teachings that would be familiar to Christians, as well as people of other faiths, but its Persian heritage makes it unfamiliar to many Westerners.

"We believe all religions are united," said local follower Sammie Garza. "It's like pieces of a puzzle to put together."

A small band of followers meets at 209 S. Danville in a rented office space for informal discussions. They also meet in each other's homes and invite interested people from the community to join them.

From April 21-May 2 followers worldwide will celebrate the Festival of Ridvan, marking the declaration of Baha'u'llah, founder of the faith in the 19th century.

Garza has lived in the United States for 21 of her 40 years and earned a nursing degree from Texas Woman's University in Denton. While in school she met her future husband, Peter Garza, who is now an Abilene anesthesiologist.

"I came here to get a degree, but then the revolution occurred and things changed," Garza said of the 1979 Islamic fundamentalist take over of the government of Iran. "since the revolution occurred, things have not been very favorable."

Although most people in the United States might be unfamiliar with the teachings of Baha'i, once they learn about it, they would find much in common with their own religion.

Garza said each individual is encouraged to "search for the truth and not just take the word of our forefathers before us."

That truth includes belief in a common foundation of all religions, elimination of prejudice, equality of men and women and "consorting with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness."

If anyone is an ambassador of that last tenet, it's Garza. One of her two children attends St. John's Episcopal School and the other is a middle-schooler in the Abilene Christian schools.

Because Baha'i believes Jesus was one of a series of divine manifestations, Garza has no problems with what her children learn at school. A teacher at the Abilene Christian middle school "is very careful to ask, 'is this OK?' " when talking about Christianity, Garza said.

n return, Garza said she teaches her children "they need to respect the beliefs of their friends."

Baha'i is accepting of all religions and writings considered sacred by those religious groups.

"We consider all of these the words of God," she said. "I believe a lot of things in all the holy books."

A typical meeting of the Baha'i followers includes prayers, readings from the "Book of Certitude" and "The Most Holy Book" and questions and answers about the beliefs of the religion.

Central to Bahai' teaching is "the unity of mankind, peace, tranquility and brotherhood in the world," Garza said.

Worldwide, Baha'i has 5 million followers with headquarters in Haifa, Israel. Its headquarters in the United States is in Wilmette, Ill.

The Festival of Ridvan, which begins Tuesday, marks the day that the founder of the faith, Baha'u'llah, proclaimed himself as "him whom God should manifest."

The religion was founded as the fulfillment of the prophecy of Mirza Ali Muhammad of Shiraz, known as the Bab or "Gate." Baha'u'llah became a follower of the Bab in 1850.

Upon establishing the Babi faith in 1844, the Bab foretold that in 19 years, a divine figure would appear. In 1863, in Baghdad, Baha'u'llah proclaimed himself to be that manifestation.

His followers of the Baha'i Faith believe he was the latest in a series of divine manifestations that include Zoroaster, the Buddha, Jesus and Muhammad and that he brought a new revelation to the world.

Followers believe God sends new messengers with each age to reveal his word, "to add to it or to complement it, not to negate the other teachings," Garza said.