GRAHAM HASSALL 'Outpost of a World Religion': The Baha'i Faith in Australia 1920-47* Whereas Australia's religious tradition consists principally of Catholic, Protestant and secular beliefs, the presence of other traditions, notably Buddhist and Islamic, has been noted in recent years. 1 Of the smaller religious movements in Australia, the Baha'i Faith has only rarely been mentioned in the literature. 2 This paucity of critical evaluation stands in contrast to the fields of Islamic Studies, and its predecessor, Orientalism, which are rich in Baha'i documentation. 3 However, recent studies suggest a growing momentum in the study of Baha'i communities in regional and global historical contexts. 4 The present study reviews the Baha'i Faith's origins in nineteenth-century Iran, and traces its establishment in Australia in 1920-47, a period in which the Baha'is moved to a less individualistic and more organized pattern of administration and activity. The Baha'i Faith emerged from the Shaykhi sect of Shi'i Islam during the last century. The claim made in 1844 by Siyyid Ali Muhammad 1. Recent surveys of religion in Australia include Michael Hogan, The Sectarian Strand: Religion in Australian History, Ringwood 1987; H. R. Jackson, Churches and People in Australia and New Zealand 1860-1930, Wellington 1987. The role of other religious traditions has been noted in Many Faiths One Nation: A Guide to the Major Faiths and Den()minations in Australia, Ian Gillman (ed.), Sydney 1988; and 'Religion in Australia: Responses to Patrick O'Farrell', Australian Religion StudJes Review, Vol. 1, 1988. 2. Tess van Sommers, Religions in Australia, Adelaide 1966; Graham Hassall, 'The Baha'i Faith', in Ian Gillman (ed.); and 'Persian Baha'is in Australia', in Religion and Ethnic Identity: An Australian Study, Abe Ata (ed.), Vol. II, Melbourne 1989. 3. See The Bdbi and Baha'I Religions, 1844-1944: Some Contemporary Western Accounts Moojan Momen (ed.), Oxford 1981; Moojan Momen, 'The Social Basis of the Babi Upheavals in Iran (1848-53): A Preliminary Analysis', International Journal of Middle East Studies Vol. 15, 1983; Roy Mottahedeh, The Mantle of the Prophet: Religion and Politics in Iran, New York 1985; Muhammad Afnan and WilliamS. Hatcher, 'Western Islamic Scholarship and Baha'i Origins', Religion, Vol. 15, 1985; Dilip Hiro, Iran Under the Ayatollahs, London 1985; Vanessa Martin, Islam and Modernism: The Iranian Revolution of 1906, London 1989. 4. See, e.g., Peter Smith and Mbojan Momen, 'The Baha'i Faith 1957-1988: A Survey of Contemporary Developments', Religion, Vol. 19, 1989. For a full description of Baha'i origins and beliefs, see Peter Smith, The Babi and Baha'I Religions: From Messianic Shi'ism to a World Religion, Cambridge 1987; also, WilliamS. Hatcher and Douglas Martin, The Bahd'f Faith: The Emerging .Global Religion New York 1985. *This paper was first presented at the twelfth annual conference of the Australian Association for the Study of Religion, St Hilda's College, University of Melbourne, August 1987. The title comes from Loulie A. Mathews, The Outposts of a World Religion by a Baha'i Traveller: Journeys Taken in 1933-1934-1935, n.p., n.d. Graham Hassall is Research Fellow, Centre fqr Comparative Constitutional Studies, University of Melbourne. 315