Letters to the Editor

 

Forward Article to a Friend

Print Article

 

A Touch of Political Correctness

I notice in your article about the Bahai faith, (“The Rise of Bahai: A Protestant Islam”, pg. 12, 9/22/06 edition) you use the term “C.E.” for Common Era. I have supported the Review for many years because I thought the paper opposed political correctness; and now I see the Review bowing to political correctness with the term “C.E.” instead of “A.D.”. “AD” has served as the common term to describe the years after the birth of Jesus Christ for two millennia; why change now to C.E.?

Jerry Mungai
Class of ‘59

P.S. “Fiat Lux” was the motto for UC Berkeley before it was changed to the English translation, mainly because fewer people study Latin. Why copy Berkeley’s motto? Surely, the Review can come up with something original and unique.

 

Baha’i Faith is as Closely Linked to Other World Religions as it is to Islam

I recently had the pleasure of reading an article from your paper titled “The Rise of Bahá’í: A Protestant Islam” by John Komkov. The article raised many good points, and gave a great summation of the history of the Baha’i Faith. It was great to see this kind of exposure for the faith, and see it in such a positive light.

However, the article made several references to the Baha’i Faith, and its links to Islam. And while both religions do share many of the same beliefs, it has just as many commonalities with Islam as it does with any other world religion. In fact the Baha’i’s believe in progressive revelation, that the source of all religions is the same, God, and that each religion is brought about to guide the evolving social needs of man at that time. For example, the Baha’i’s believe in the existence of one God, much like Islam, but on the other hand, the faith strongly emphasizes the equality of men and women, and even greater, a belief that women will be the ones who bring peace to the world.

Therefore, while the Baha’i’s share many beliefs with all the worlds religions, they are recognized as an independent religion, and it would be wrong to link them exclusively with Islam, or any other faith for that matter.
Thanks for your time and understanding on this matter.

With love,

Nabil Samadani
Student, University of California at Santa Cruz

 

 

Intrigued readers can submit letters to the editor by sending them through e-mail to editor@stanfordreview.org or through regular mail to P.O. Box 20222, Stanford, CA 94309.