From the National Bahá'í Council of the Orthodox Bahá'ís of the United States
Secretary Email: obfcouncilsecty@hotmail.com
May 5, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
In a decision handed down by the United States District Court, the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith was found not guilty of contempt charges levied against it by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States (Wilmette NSA). The injunction that the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith was accused of violating, would have prohibited it from using the name Bahá'í, meaning a follower of Bahá'u'lláh (as the name Christian refers to one who follows Christ.)
The NSA, a national branch of the world organization with over 6 million members, brought the legal action against the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith, whose membership, in contrast, numbers less than 50 in the United States, many of whom are life-long believers.
As a result of the judge's finding, the Orthodox Bahá'í Faith may continue to use the name Bahá'í in identifying itself and may continue to teach its belief in the continuing Guardianship of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, a teaching in direct opposition to that taught by the NSA group. The Orthodox Bahá'í Faith recognizes Joel B. Marangella as the rightful living Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.
The original injunction was issued over forty years ago to a now extinct rival body to the NSA. In her judgment, the Honorable Amy J. St Eve wrote: “[T]he chain of successorship lacks a link” ruling on April 23, 2008 after holding an evidentiary hearing last January 7, 2008 in Chicago, Illinois on the contempt motion brought by the NSA.
Also cited in the case was the Bahá'í Publishers Under the Provision of the Covenant, a completely separate organization from either of the other parties. They too were found not guilty.
The complete opinion of the Court can be found on the internet: http://trueseeker.typepad.com/true_seeker/court_case.html