It is obvious that education for all people is preferred and valuable. What is more important than education itself, is the curriculum and content by which the goals of education must be achieved. Although Abdul Baha insists on compulsory education and an identical curriculum and method of education for all people, neither the curriculum and nor the subjects that must be taught have been specified in detail.

The only thing that Abdul Baha has explicitly expressed his opinion on are a few of the subjects that must be taught in children’s classes:
The subjects to be taught in children’s schools are many, and for lack of time We can touch on only a few: First and most important is training in behaviour and good character; the rectification of qualities; arousing the desire to become accomplished and acquire perfections, and to cleave unto the religion of God and stand firm in His Laws; to accord total obedience to every just government, to show forth loyalty and trustworthiness to the ruler of the time, to be well wishers of mankind, to be kind to all.

And further, as well as in the ideals of character, instruction in such arts and sciences as are of benefit, and in foreign tongues. Also, the repeating of prayers for the well-being of ruler and ruled; and the avoidance of materialistic works that are current among those who see only natural causation, and tales of love, and books that arouse the passions.

To sum up, let all the lessons be entirely devoted to the acquisition of human perfections.
Helen Bassett Hornby, Lights of Guidance: A Bahai Reference File, chap. VIII, no. 49

Apparently, what Bahais have been ordered to teach in their schools are based on Baha’i teachings that Abdul Baha sums up as, "entirely devoted to the acquisition of human perfections." We already showed the results of these human perfections in Baha’u’llah and Abdul Baha’s attitudes which were a mixture of name-calling, insults, and rude manners to their opponents, and all kinds of defamatory statements regarding non-Bahais.

Furthermore, Abdul Baha’s order to teach children foreign tongues contradicts his father’s order for languages to be reduced to only one, and for only that language to be taught in schools:
Languages must be reduced to one common language to be taught in all the schools of the world.
Baha’u’llah, Tablets of Baha’u’llah Revealed After the Kitab-i-Aqdas, p. 90

As we previously said, Abdul Baha had prohibited his followers from sending their children to non-Baha’i schools. This order has been widely ignored by Bahais:
It is absolutely prohibited for the children of the friends to go to the schools of others (meaning non-Bahais) for this is [a cause of] humiliation for the Cause of God and they will be completely deprived of the Blessed Beauty’s graces. Because they will be educated/nurtured elsewise and they will disgrace the Bahais.
Abdu’l-Baha, Makatib (probably Tehran), vol. 5, p. 170

What is extraordinary are the words used by Abdul Baha to describe the result of Bahais studying in non-Baha’i schools: humiliation (dhillat) of the Cause of God and disgrace (ruswa’i) of Bahais and being completely deprived of the Blessed Beauty’s graces!

One wonders why these words have been uttered. Does Abdul Baha regard all forms of education other than what the Bahais preach invalid to such an extent that when Bahais are educated and nurtured using those methods they will become a disgrace and cause of humiliation for this creed? Or is he afraid that Baha’i children will expose the true face of Bahaism amongst non-Bahais which will result in their disgrace and humiliation?

It is up to you to draw your own conclusions!

• Universal Compulsory Education
• Is This A New Concept?
• Did the Founders Follow This Principle?
• Is This Principle Logical?
• Conclusions of the Eighth Principle

The articles have been based on the book "Avaze Dohol" - the Beating of the Drum by Masoud Basiti, Zahra Moradi.