Flora Teckie
A Bahaí Perspective
The International Day for Tolerance, observed annually on November 16, reminds us of the need to promote greater understanding, respect, and cooperation among people of different races and religions.
The Bahá’í International Community, in one of its statements, says: “The coming together of the peoples of the world in a harmonious and creative relationship is the crucial need of the present hour.
“In the wake of advances in human knowledge which have deepened bonds of interdependence and contracted the planet, the central task now before all its inhabitants is laying the foundations of a global society that can reflect the oneness of human nature”.
Tolerance towards people of different races or religions requires a new mindset and orientation. It requires giving up prejudice and discrimination that continue to divide communities and undermine social cohesion.
Prejudice, mistrust, and suspicion created exclusiveness, and violence toward those who are outside one’s own social group. We will not be able to build tolerant and unified societies without overcoming prejudice.
Promotion of tolerance cannot be a passive exercise
According to the Bahá’í International Community, “Clearly, the promotion of tolerance and mutual understanding among the diverse segments of the human race cannot be a passive or rhetorical exercise. All forms of provincialism, all insularities and prejudices must be directly confronted”.
Promoting racial and religious tolerance, and love for everyone, are requirements for the establishment of unity. The unity that must be at the basis of building a peaceful and just social order is a unity which honours, and in fact embraces diversity.
Oneness and diversity are complementary and inseparable. It is not by suppression of differences that one will arrive at unity, but rather, by an increased awareness of, and respect for, the values of each individual, from whatever race or religion they may be.
Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í Faith, urges, “regard ye not one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one branch”.
There is, Bahá’u’lláh said, no possibility of achieving world peace until the fundamental principle of unity has been accepted and given practical effect in the organisation of society: “The well-being of mankind, its peace and security, are unattainable unless and until its unity is firmly established”.
And: “Deal ye one with another with the utmost love and harmony, with friendliness and fellowship. So powerful is the light of unity that it can illuminate the whole earth”.
Race and religious unity, an urgent necessity
Religion has served throughout history as the ultimate authority in giving meaning to life. It has also been a primary force in binding diverse peoples together in ever larger and more complex societies.
The universal spiritual principles which lie at the heart of religion – tolerance, compassion, love, justice, humility, sacrifice, trustworthiness, dedication to the well-being of others, and unity — are the foundations of a progressive civilisation.
While religion is a vital force for creating tolerant and united communities, at the same time religious fanaticism has a great destructive impact on the stability and progress of society.
“Religion,” Bahá’u’lláh states, “is the greatest of all means for the establishment of order in the world and for the peaceful contentment of all that dwell therein”.
And referring to the eclipse or corruption of religion, He wrote: “Should the lamp of religion be obscured, chaos and confusion will ensue, and the lights of fairness and justice, of tranquillity and peace cease to shine”.
One other reason for discrimination and intolerance has been the erroneous idea that we are somehow made of separate and distinct races, and that these different groups have varying intellectual, moral, or physical capacities, which in turn justify different forms of treatment.
According to the Bahá’í International Community, “Racism originates not in the skin but in the human mind. Remedies to racial prejudice, xenophobia and intolerance must accordingly address first and foremost those mental illusions that have for so many thousands of years given rise to false concepts of superiority and inferiority among human populations”.
In the Bahá’í view, racism and religious intolerance will be eliminated only when we are convinced of the oneness of humanity, and proceed to reconstruct our lives and our communities on that basis.
The principle of the oneness of humankind is not a vague hope or slogan. It reflects an eternal spiritual, moral and physical reality. If we wish to eliminate racism and religious intolerance, we should wholeheartedly embrace the concept of oneness of the human family.
The concept of the oneness of humanity goes beyond mere tolerance, and advocates a change in our attitudes, requiring an active effort be made towards establishing genuine unity among all races and religions.
“The principle of the oneness of humankind,” in the Bahá’í view, “lies at the heart of the exhortation that we should treat others as we ourselves would wish to be treated. To establish justice, peace and order in an interdependent world, this principle must guide all interactions…”
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