Baha’i Perspectives

shadi February 23rd, 2008

While the crisis continues, the calls for unity and fellowship struggle to overcome the rising tribal tensions and ongoing migration of people to their tribal homes. A political solution to a crisis that has sparked from decades of tribal disparities in opportunities and resources alone will not foster a true and lasting peace that Kenyans are yearning for nor guarantee that tribal rifts will be prevented in the future. A spirit of love and unity must be resolutely and persistently pursued by all walks of Kenyan society in order to achieve a truly united Kenya.

Unification of the whole of mankind is the hall-mark of the stage which human society is now approaching. Unity of family, of tribe, of city-state, and nation have been successively attempted and fully established. World unity is the goal towards which a harassed humanity is striving. Nation-building has come to an end. The anarchy inherent in state sovereignty is moving towards a climax. A world, growing to maturity, must abandon this fetish, recognize the oneness and wholeness of human relationships, and establish once for all the machinery that can best incarnate this fundamental principle of its life.

(Shoghi Effendi, The World Order of Baha’u'llah, p. 202)

While the process of disintegration is occurring within the current world society, the simultaneous process of the creation of a new world order is also taking place. In Kenya, despite all the horrors experienced in the past 2 months, there are voices from various civil society organizations, prominent individuals, international governments, and religious institutions who are calling for peace and reconciliation among Kenyans.

In the Nairobi Baha’i Center, for example, Brooks and I attended a gathering to pray for peace followed by a group discussion around the recent crisis. Despite all the tribal tensions that are currently in play all across the country, it was absolutely incredible to see Kenyan Baha’is of many different tribes coming together under one roof to talk about the need for unity, love, and understanding. Among the various discussions that took place, the one that struck me the most was a gentleman’s suggestion to go into primary and secondary schools and sensitize the teachers and the students about the importance of unity and the consequences of tribal prejudices. Children are the leaders of tomorrow, and we must ensure that they do not continue to carry on the same harmful tribal stereotypes that are currently afflicting Kenya while also emphasizing the beauty and learning that can be reaped from diversity among peoples. Indeed, in every culture, there are wonderful characteristics and traits intermixed with harmful behaviors. The international governing council of the Baha’i community states:

Let it be understood, too, that Africans are not alone in the struggle to change certain age-old practices. People everywhere have customs which must be abandoned so as to clear the path along which their societies must evolve towards that glorious, new civilization which is to be the fruit of Baha’u'llah’s stupendous Revelation.

In the midst of all this, Brooks and I fervently hope that this current crisis will bear witness to a new Kenyan society rising victoriously out of the shackles of past tribal grievances and extreme disparities to herald in a glorious nation composed of a unified peoples.

Tags: Kenya

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