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Resumen
Este artículo discute el entendimiento
bahá’í sobre la naturaleza de la opresión.
La primera sección identifica y discute
cuatro principales tipos contemporáneos
de opresión involucrando el orden
político internacional, formas del Estado,
estructuras económicas y formas de
identidad cultural. La segunda sección
explora la respuestapersonal deBahá’u’lláh
a la opresión en la forma de Sus tres
declaraciones históricas. La sección final
extrae implicaciones de las discusiones
previas para identificar características de
un enfoque bahá’í al empoderamiento y a
la liberación de la opresión.
In the millenarian promises of all the
religions, it is commonly expected that
the coming of the Promised One will
take place at a time when oppression,
tyranny, and darkness have overtaken
the world, and that through the Sav-
ior, the world will be filled with jus-
tice and enlightenment.
1
Bahá’u’lláh
asserted that His Faith was the fulfill-
ment of those promises. The question
of oppression and empowerment is
1 The Arabic word
zulm
, meaning
“oppression” and “injustice,” comes from
the same root as the word
zulma
, meaning
“darkness.” Bahá’u’lláh frequently uses the
ambiguity of these terms to characterize
true knowledge and enlightenment as the
polar opposite of oppression. The themes
of darkness and light are also central to
Zoroastrianism, in which the world is
viewed as a battleground between good
and evil, light and darkness, God and
Ahriman, and it is with the coming of the
Promised One that oppression is to be de-
feated and enlightenment rule the world.
From Oppression
to Empowerment
NADER SAIEDI
Abstract
This article discusses the Bahá’í under-
standing of the nature of oppression. The
first section identifies and discusses four
main contemporary types of oppression
involving the international political order,
forms of the state, economic structures,
and forms of cultural identity. The second
section explores Bahá’u’lláh’s personal re-
sponse to oppression in the form of His
three historic declarations. The final sec-
tion draws implications from the previous
discussions in order to identify features of
a Bahá’í approach to empowerment and
liberation from oppression.
Resumé
Le présent article porte sur la
compréhension, d’un point de vue bahá’í,
de la nature de l’oppression. Dans la
première partie, l’auteur relève quatre
grands types d’oppression dans le monde
d’aujourd’hui, qui mettent en cause l’ordre
politique international, les types d’État,
les structures économiques et les formes
d’identité culturelle. Dans la deuxième
partie, il explore la réponse personnelle
de Bahá’u’lláh à l’oppression, à la lumière
de ses trois déclarations historiques.
Enfin, l’auteur tire des implications
des discussions abordées dans les deux
premières parties dans le but de définir
les caractéristiques d’une approche bahá’íe
de l’autonomisation et de la libération à
l’égard de l’oppression.