March 31. On this date in 1941, the New York Supreme Court dismissed a court case brought by National Spiritual Assembly and Trustees of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada against Mirza Ahmad Sohrabfor the use of the word "Bahá'í." The judge granted a motion to dismiss, stating that "the plaintiffs have no right to a monopoly of the name of a religion. The defendants, who purport to be members of the same religion, have an equal right to use the name of the religion..."
Horace Holley, as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly and the New York Spiritual Assembly, had attempted to gain control of the "New History Society," which Ahmad Sohrab had founded in 1929 with Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler and his wife Julie, in order to propagate the Bahá'í Faith.
Ahmad Sohrab had served as 'Abdu'l-Bahá's secretary and interpreter from 1912 to 1919. For example, aside from accompanying 'Abdu'l-Bahá during his tour of North America in 1912, on December 23, 1918, 'Abdu'l-Bahá sent Ahmad Sohrab to the United States to deliver the Tablets of the Divine Plan, a collection of 14 letters written between September 1916 and March 1917 by 'Abdu’l-Bahá to Bahá’ís in the United States and Canada. These collective letters, along with Bahá’u’lláh’s Tablet of Carmel and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's Will and Testament were described by Shoghi Effendi as three of the "Charters" of the Bahá’í Faith.
The conflict resulted in Ahmad Sohrab and the Chanlers' being declared Covenant-breakers around 1939.
Despite the failed litigation, in 1951, Shoghi Effendi appointed Horace Holley a Hand of the Cause of God.
The Administrative Order has repeatedly brought forth litigation related to issues centering on copyright and trademark. For example, on May 8, 2005, the Orthodox Bahá'ís, listed as the Second International Bahá'í Council, won a legal case brought against them by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States before the World Intellectual Property Organization (see WIPO Case No. D2005-0214) for the use of the domain name uhj.net.
On January 24, 1957, Shoghi Effendi addressed a letter to the National Spiritual Assembly admonishing the Assembly that an unnamed individual "cannot consider himself spiritually a Bahá'í and be associated with the avowed enemies of the Faith such as the New History Society; and that he should discontinue supporting their work or having anything to do with them; otherwise, he will find that he has been deprived wholly of his association with the Bahá'í Cause; in other words, he will not only lose his voting rights, but be outside the Faith."
1394. New History Society--Avowed Enemies of the Faith
"As regards ..., he should be kindly but firmly admonished by your Assembly that he cannot consider himself spiritually a Bahá'í and be associated with the avowed enemies of the Faith such as the New History Society; and that he should discontinue supporting their work or having anything to do with them; otherwise, he will find that he has been deprived wholly of his association with the Bahá'í Cause; in other words, he will not only lose his voting rights, but be outside the Faith."
(From a letter of the Guardian to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, January 24, 1957)
On March 10, 1958, four months after Shoghi Effendi's death, the Hands of the Cause of God resident in Haifa addressed a letter "To the Hand of the Cause, Mr. Horace Holley" feeling "it necessary to urge that the statement 'A New Bahá'í Era' be withdrawn from circulation.
To the Hand of the Cause, Mr. Horace Holley
March 10, 1958
Revered Bahá'í Brother:
The Hands in the Holy Land are sending a detailed answer to the questions raised in the letter of February 24, 1958 addressed to us by the American Hands and the National Spiritual Assembly.
We believe that the points covered in our letter also meet the request made in your separate communication of February 25 to your fellow Hands in Haifa.
Here, as you know, we receive letters from all parts of the world which reflect the approach of the believers of diverse backgrounds to the problems created by the beloved Guardian's passing. As a result, the Custodians have been made very conscious of the necessity to strive for unity in the approach to fundamental matters affecting the structure and future development of the Cause. The Custodians from East and West are aware of the wisdom of avoiding statements or points of view on basic issues which cannot be accepted equally by East and West, and indeed by all of the Bahá'í world, especially in this period, so soon after the ascension of the beloved Guardian, when we are still unable to grasp the full implications of the present situation.
It would have been a great help if you yourself could have served here in these early and critical months, and given us the benefit of your experience and clarity of thought on the many pressing issues with which we have had to cope.
You will now, we feel sure, understand our delicate position and the reasons why we felt it necessary to urge that the statement "A New Bahá'í Era" be withdrawn from circulation. Your fellow-Hands serving here are confident you will place this whole question and its world-wide implications before the members of your National Assembly in such a way that they will fully understand the reasons underlying the actions taken here.
No doubt when the entire body of the Hands gather at our next meeting later this year we will have many things to discuss, and each one win have a greater contribution to make in view of this tragic year's experiences.
We all send you our devoted love and assure you that you are often remembered in our prayers.
Yours in the service of the beloved Guardian,
HANDS OF THE CAUSE IN THE HOLY LAND
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