A Historical and Critical Analysis of the Role of Mirza Musa Javaheri Baghdadi in the Expansion of the Baha’i Faith (Based on Newly Discovered and Unpublished Documents)
Journal of History of Islam and Iran
- Author(s)
- Razavi, Seyyed Miqdad Nabavi; Janahmadi, Fatemeh
- Year
- 2026
- Journal
- Journal of History of Islam and Iran
Description
One of the important factors in the expansion of Bahá’u’lláh’s movement following his exile to Baghdad, despite significant religious and political constraints, was the financial support of Mirza Musa Javaheri, a wealthy Iranian merchant residing in Baghdad. Drawing on historical sources and newly discovered and unpublished documents, this study seeks to present a different and more meaningful account of the prevailing narratives concerning this figure and his role in the expansion of the Bahá’í Faith in Baghdad. The findings of this research, based on a descriptive-analytical historical method, indicate that his role in the expansion of the Bahá’í Faith goes beyond the simplistic and sometimes ideologically shaped portrayals found in later sources. Rather, it should be analyzed within the framework of religious networks of agency, power relations, and discursive conflicts in the Qajar period. By critically examining dominant narratives and comparing them with newly discovered documentary evidence, this article reconsiders the formation and dissemination of the Bahá’í Faith in Baghdad. It demonstrates that a precise understanding of this process requires distancing oneself from intra-religious interpretations and paying attention to the historical, social, and intellectual contexts of the period. On this basis, it can be argued that the considerable wealth of Mirza Musa Javaheri constituted one of the main foundations for the advancement of Bahá’u’lláh, his dominance over Subh-i Azal, and consequently the superiority of the Bahá’ís over the Azalís and the marginalization of the latter in the course of the development of the Bábí movement.