Necati Alkan, 150 Years The Secret of Divine Civilization: “‘Abdu’l-Baha’s outstanding contribution to the future reorganization of the world,” Dec. 14, 2 p.m. Eastern

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This webinar examines the important treatise, more relevant than ever,  composed by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá anonymously in 1875, exactly 150 years ago. Addressed to the rulers and the people of Persia, it discusses the need for reform and progress in Iranian society and offers solutions to improve the degraded condition of the country. Commissioned by Baha’u’llah in order to examine “the causes of the world’s destruction and the means for its reconstruction”, it analyses various general aspects of social, economic, and political development, emphasizing the importance of education, justice, and the pursuit of knowledge. Shoghi Effendi called it “‘Abdu’l-Baha’s outstanding contribution to the future reorganization of the world.”

I have been fascinated with Bahá’í Studies, especially history, since my youth. Studying Islamic Studies and History, then, at the university, opened new vistas for me. By learning Arabic, Persian and in particular Ottoman Turkish, beside my native Turkish and almost native (education) language German and English, I felt equipped to delve into Bahá’í Studies. I have been publishing since 2001 about various topics but I consider as my main and pathbreaking achievement my MA Thesis about the relationship of the Bahá’í Faith to Islamic reform movements in the 19th century (1998) and in a more deepened and extended fashion my PhD Thesis (2004) about the Bábís and Bahá’ís in the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, 1844-1920s. The latter was published in 2008 revised and with the title “Dissent and Heterodoxy in the late Ottoman Empire: Reformers, Babis and Bahá’ís” (ISIS Press: Istanbul, 2008). I regard my postgraduate research up to my current research as crucial because the genesis of the Bábí and Bahá’í Religions in the Ottoman context had been rather not researched.