We Bahá'ís are one the world over; we are seeking to build
up a new world order, divine in origin. How can we do this if every Bahá'í is a
member of a different political party--some of them diametrically opposite to
each other? Where is our unity then? We would be divided because of politics,
against ourselves and this is the opposite of our purpose. Obviously if one
Bahá'í in Austria is given freedom to choose a political party and join it,
however good its aims may be, another Bahá'í in Japan or America, or India, has
the right to do the same thing and he might belong to a party the very opposite
in principle to that which the Austrian Bahá'í belongs to. Where would be the
unity of the Faith then? These two spiritual brothers would be working against
each other because of their political affiliations (as the Christians of Europe
have been doing in so many fratricidal wars). The best way for a Bahá'í to
serve his country and the world is to work for the establishment of
Bahá`u'lláh's World Order, which will gradually unite all men and do away with
divisive political systems and religious creeds …
- Shoghi Effendi (From a letter dated written
on behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; U.S. Bahá'í News, April
1949; ‘The Non-Political Character of the Bahá'í Faith: Excerpts from the
Writings of Shoghi Effendi’ published in Bahá'í World, Vol. 18, 1979-1983)
