Babi- ja Baha'i-liikkeiden imago suomessa Gobineausta teinoseen

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This study examines the formation of the image of the Babi-Baha’i Faith in Finland. The study material consists of articles about the Babi-Baha’i movement published in the Finnish press and literature during 1889 to 1971. With the help of extensive citations the study attempts to relate the references in the literary media to both the Baha’i movement’s own development and currents in the Finnish religious field. All references from the period preceding the Second World War have been mentioned, as well as the principal ones from the 1950’s. Because the study Bahaismi -synty, kehitys ja nykyinen oppi (Baha’ism: its birth, development and modern doctrines), 1962, by Seppo A. Teinonen appears to indicate a turning point with regard to the formation of the image of the Baha’i movement in Finland, his method of research and the use of sources is studied in a particularly critical way. The oldest tradition is represented by an article which appeared in four parts in Oulu in 1889. The article is based on the book of 1865 by Gobineau about the religions of Central Asia. Among the educated classes in many countries in Europe the book aroused admiration towards the Babi religion and the spirit of martyrdom, and at the same time it strengthened the interest of researchers in the history of the movement. The newspaper article published on Oulu manifests this admiration. The works of Edward G. Browne were regarded as classics in the study of the Babi and Baha’i movements. Due to the emphasis he gave to various aspects of these two movements, similar in some ways, different in others, they were considered as one and the same religion. His influence can already be clearly seen in the references of the 1890’s in Finland, but particularly apparent in the articles written for encyclopedias by Knut Tallqvist in 1909 and 1913. In the years 1910-1914, in connection with the travels of ‘Abdu’l-Baha in the West, the Baha’i Faith had a lot of publicity in the spiritualistic and theosophical periodicals in Finland, as well as in the columns of the Hufvudstadsbladet. At this time its image was very inclusive. The increase in publicity of the movement was, however, interrupted when the war broke out. Since 1927 Americans, particularly Finnish-Americans, visited Finland, and in 1938 the movement gained a permanent foothold in our country. Each one of them laid emphasis on different aspects with regard to the image of the movement, such as the beginning of a new age of the return of Christ in the person of Baha’u’llah. Significant outside views were given by the Finnish researchers on Palestine - Aapeli Saarisalo and Hilma Granqvist. But the interpretations of Finnish orientalists Armas Salonen and Henri Broms are strangely erroneous. The wrong conclusions presented by Teinonen in his studies are partly attributable to his missiological viewpoint, and partly to the paradigmatic choices made by Browne. In further studies the influence exerted by the work of Teinonen on the more recent Finnish characterizations of the Baha’i Religion ought to be clarified