Federal appeals court rules in favor of splinter Baha'i group

[Freedom of Conscience]

Federal appeals court rules in favor of splinter Baha'i group
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-25/news/ct-met-bahai-decision-20101125_1_baha-u-llah-baha-i-community-shoghi-effendi

Federal appeals court rules in favor of splinter Baha'i group
Orthodox believers can keep calling themselves Baha'i, court says

November 25, 2010|By Manya A. Brachear, Tribune reporter

A federal court in Chicago has ruled a group of self-proclaimed orthodox Baha'i believers can keep calling themselves
Baha'i despite a 1966 court decision that said an earlier breakaway group could not.

On Tuesday, the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 1966 decision, which barred a splinter Baha'i group
from using the same Baha'i label and sharing the Greatest Name, a sacred and trademarked symbol, does not apply to a
modern offshoot known as the Orthodox Baha'i Faith.

Though the judges criticized the ruling from more than four decades ago as wrongfully trying to resolve an internal
religious dispute, they determined it was a moot point since the 1966 defendants' denomination is now dissolved.



Chicago Tribune. Baha'i rift. Baha'is upset with Orthodox Baha'i Faith
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-05-18/news/0905170216_1_orthodox-community-rift-jesus-and-muhammad

Comments posted to The Chicago Tribune Forum on one page:
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Chicago_Tribune.html

Yahoo Group - ReformBahai
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Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship

[Freedom of Conscience]

FULL article:


http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-25/news/ct-met-bahai-decision-20101125_1_baha-u-llah-baha-i-community-shoghi-effendi

Federal appeals court rules in favor of splinter Baha'i group
Orthodox believers can keep calling themselves Baha'i, court says
November 25, 2010|By Manya A. Brachear, Tribune reporter

A federal court in Chicago has ruled a group of self-proclaimed orthodox Baha'i believers can keep calling themselves
Baha'i despite a 1966 court decision that said an earlier breakaway group could not.

On Tuesday, the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 1966 decision, which barred a splinter Baha'i group
from using the same Baha'i label and sharing the Greatest Name, a sacred and trademarked symbol, does not apply to a
modern offshoot known as the Orthodox Baha'i Faith.

Though the judges criticized the ruling from more than four decades ago as wrongfully trying to resolve an internal
religious dispute, they determined it was a moot point since the 1966 defendants' denomination is now dissolved.

Tuesday's ruling sidestepped questions about whether a religious organization can trademark its name or icons.

Jeffrey Goldberg, a lawyer and member of the Orthodox Baha'i Faith who left Chicago years ago to be closer to an
orthodox community in New Mexico, said the ruling does not prevent the mainstream Baha'i denomination from suing his
orthodox faction on different grounds. But he hopes it ends a tumultuous chapter for his group.

The mainstream Baha'i Faith expressed disappointment in the court's ruling.

"This is a complex issue to decide, particularly given the passage of time," a spokesman for the Baha'i Faith said in a
statement. "Of course, we are disappointed that the court still failed to find the respondents in contempt of the
injunction."

North American Baha'is have been based in the Chicago area ever since believers came to the U.S. about 90 years ago.
Baha'u'llah, who founded the faith in Iran in the mid-19th century, is regarded by Baha'is as the most recent messenger
of God in a long line including Abraham, Buddha, Krishna, Jesus and Muhammad. Baha'is believe Baha'u'llah revealed God's
plan by which humanity one day would unite to become a single race.

Adherents of the Orthodox Baha'i Faith — about 50 strong in the U.S. — believe the mainstream Baha'i Faith — with about
5 million members worldwide — has strayed from the religion's original teachings.

The mainstream Baha'is first took a group of breakaway believers to court in 1966 after a turbulent period in their
history. Nine years earlier, Shoghi Effendi, guardian of the faith and direct descendant of the founding prophet, had
died unexpectedly and allegedly without naming a successor. Naturally, a dispute arose.

Post by Freedom of Conscience
Federal appeals court rules in favor of splinter Baha'i group
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-25/news/ct-met-bahai-decision-20101125_1_baha-u-llah-baha-i-community-shoghi-effendi
Federal appeals court rules in favor of splinter Baha'i group
Orthodox believers can keep calling themselves Baha'i, court says
November 25, 2010|By Manya A. Brachear, Tribune reporter
A federal court in Chicago has ruled a group of self-proclaimed orthodox
Baha'i believers can keep calling themselves Baha'i despite a 1966 court
decision that said an earlier breakaway group could not.
On Tuesday, the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 1966
decision, which barred a splinter Baha'i group from using the same
Baha'i label and sharing the Greatest Name, a sacred and trademarked
symbol, does not apply to a modern offshoot known as the Orthodox Baha'i
Faith.
Though the judges criticized the ruling from more than four decades ago
as wrongfully trying to resolve an internal religious dispute, they
determined it was a moot point since the 1966 defendants' denomination
is now dissolved.
Chicago Tribune. Baha'i rift. Baha'is upset with Orthodox Baha'i Faith
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-05-18/news/0905170216_1_orthodox-community-rift-jesus-and-muhammad
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Chicago_Tribune.html
Yahoo Group - ReformBahai
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReformBahai
Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship

Chicago Tribune. Baha'i rift. Baha'is upset with Orthodox Baha'i Faith
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-05-18/news/0905170216_1_orthodox-community-rift-jesus-and-muhammad

Comments posted to The Chicago Tribune Forum on one page:
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Chicago_Tribune.html

Yahoo Group - ReformBahai
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReformBahai

Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship

[Freedom of Conscience]

(The article is divided up by a lot of ads...)

(Page 2 of 2)
The National Assembly of France and about 100 others followed a man named Charles Mason Remey. But the rest of the
Baha'i community expelled Remey and sued his followers. The court then barred the splinter group from claiming the
Baha'i name and using the sacred symbol. Remey's group later disbanded, but orthodox believers reorganized and continued
to maintain the guardianship.

On a Web site called truebahai.com, the new orthodox group faults the mainstream denomination for corrupting God's plan
for the world.

In 2006, the mainstream Baha'is again responded with a lawsuit that tried to hold the orthodox group to the 1966 ruling.
They lost on the trial level. On Tuesday, the federal appeals court affirmed that verdict.

"The facts showed that we were not in relation to the other organization," Goldberg said. "The judgment stands. The
problem for them is ... we're not bound by that judgment."

Tuesday's verdict does not prevent the mainstream Baha'is from suing again on different grounds such as violation of
trademark law. But Goldberg maintains that a religious symbol cannot be trademarked and religious authority is not a
matter for the courts to decide.

"We're the true faith. That's what we would say," he said during a 2009 Tribune interview. "That has to be decided in
the hearts and minds of the Baha'i, not by a secular court order."

Post by Freedom of Conscience
Federal appeals court rules in favor of splinter Baha'i group
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-25/news/ct-met-bahai-decision-20101125_1_baha-u-llah-baha-i-community-shoghi-effendi
Federal appeals court rules in favor of splinter Baha'i group
Orthodox believers can keep calling themselves Baha'i, court says
November 25, 2010|By Manya A. Brachear, Tribune reporter
A federal court in Chicago has ruled a group of self-proclaimed orthodox
Baha'i believers can keep calling themselves Baha'i despite a 1966 court
decision that said an earlier breakaway group could not.
On Tuesday, the federal 7th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the 1966
decision, which barred a splinter Baha'i group from using the same
Baha'i label and sharing the Greatest Name, a sacred and trademarked
symbol, does not apply to a modern offshoot known as the Orthodox Baha'i
Faith.
Though the judges criticized the ruling from more than four decades ago
as wrongfully trying to resolve an internal religious dispute, they
determined it was a moot point since the 1966 defendants' denomination
is now dissolved.
Chicago Tribune. Baha'i rift. Baha'is upset with Orthodox Baha'i Faith
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-05-18/news/0905170216_1_orthodox-community-rift-jesus-and-muhammad
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Chicago_Tribune.html
Yahoo Group - ReformBahai
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReformBahai
Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship

--
Reform Bahai Faith
Rochester, Michigan USA
http://www.ReformBahai.org

About the Reform Bahai Faith
http://www.reformbahai.org/about.html

Abdu'l-Baha's 1912 Authentic Covenant
http://www.reformbahai.org/Covenant.html

An Analysis of Abdul-Baha's 1912 Authentic Covenant
http://www.reformbahai.org/Covenant_comments.html

Chicago Tribune. Baha'i rift. Baha'is upset with Orthodox Baha'i Faith
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2009-05-18/news/0905170216_1_orthodox-community-rift-jesus-and-muhammad

Comments posted to The Chicago Tribune Forum on one page:
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship/Chicago_Tribune.html

Yahoo Group - ReformBahai
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ReformBahai

Baha'i Faith & Religious Freedom of Conscience
http://www.fglaysher.com/bahaicensorship