Baha’is actively engage in proselytizing missions that are utterly against the investigation of truth. In these campaigns— that continue with great force today—illiterate masses in third world countries that have no means of investigating the truth whatsoever, are converted to Baha’ism under the disguise of education and humanitarian relief. Moojan Momen, the prominent Baha’i author, explains this by writing:

Missionary endeavour on the part of Middle Eastern and Western Bahā’īs had led to the establishment of Bahā’ī communities in several parts of the non-Muslim ‘Third World’, initially among the Western-oriented urban minority. Conversions of larger numbers began in a few isolated areas in the 1950s and spread during the 1960s to most parts of the ‘Third World’. The results were dramatic. As Bahā’ī teachers learned to adapt their message and missionary techniques to the situation of the unschooled masses of Third World peasants and urban workers, they completely transformed their religion’s social base. Now, the great majority of Bahā’īs in the world are drawn from the popular classes of the non-Islamic Third World. Even in the well-established Bahā’ī communities of North America, recent infusions of minority group members (Blacks and Amerindians) has led to a significant change in the social base of the membership . . . By the late 1960s, a great increase in the number of Bahā’īs had occurred. Conversions of large numbers of tribal or peasant peoples in various parts of the Third World had begun . . . Most of the flood of new Bahā’īs were poorly educated, and many lived in rural and tribal areas with which effective communication was difficult to sustain.[1]

Baha’i missionaries would convert people from undeveloped countries who lacked the tools and means of investigating the truth to Baha’ism. This resulted in the twenty-fold increase of the Baha’i population in about 30 years.[2] Is there any pride in this attitude, especially from a creed that claims all people must be given the chance to independently investigate the truth?

[1] P. Smith, M. Momen, The Baha’i faith 1957–1988: A survey of contemporary developments, Religion 19 (1989), pp. 63–91: http://bahai-library.com/momen_smith_developments_1957-1988 (retrieved 28/2/2014)

[2] See the table in the same article.