Awakening: A History of the Babi and Bahai Faiths in Nayriz is an inspiring account of the brutal religious persecutions that took place in 1850, 1853, and 1909 in the town of Nayriz, Iran, against its Babi and Bahai residents.
During this time, the town’s citizens, spurred on by a corrupt Muslim clergy and government, launched several waves of bloodshed against the Babis—and later Bahais—who lived there. This type of persecution continues today in present-day Iran toward the Bahai's—on a more subtle level—and the history of the Babi and Bahai Faiths in Nayriz serves as a reminder of what can happen when religious fanaticism and paranoia are allowed to replace rational thinking and tolerance.
The book gives accounts from survivors, attempts to explain the motives of the persecutors, and tries to provide a context—if any can be found—for the level of brutality that occurred. To any unbiased reader, the accounts of betrayals, tortures, and massacres will be shocking, yet sadly similar to other mass killings that have taken place around the globe.
