Baha’i 101 – A New Video Series

It’s no secret that I’m passionate about the need for Baha’i-inspired content. One of the initiatives I’ve had the pleasure of being a part of is an awesome new project by my dear friends Naysawn Naji, Ian Oliver, Nabil Burias and a team of others, who have launched a great YouTube channel called Baha’i 101!

The channel shares videos with bright, attractive graphics and animations and Ian brings his characteristic warmth, charm and eloquence as its host. Each video aims to explore a principle of the Baha’i Faith and the end results are polished and personable, articulate and relatable. It’s a really exciting initiative. Naysawn, Ian and Nabil tell us about what goes on behind-the-scenes and more about Baha’i 101:

Can you tell me a little bit about the series and its aim?

Naysawn: Baha’i 101 is a YouTube Series to make it easier to learn about the Baha’i Faith in video format. 

We release weekly videos covering information about Baha’i principles, history and some suggestions on applying the principles to daily living. 

Our team has been working on the project for over a year (Ian Oliver, Nabil Burias, Aaron Hooper, Julian Turner, Mina Naji, Naysawn Naji) and it’s just awesome to get it out in the world. 

Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and why this was important for you, personally, to create?

Naysawn: Baha’u’llah has created a Revelation for the whole world. Increasingly people are feeling jaded about the world, religion, politics and are uncertain where to turn to for guidance–this is the ultimate form of oppression.

Baha’u’llah says, “What ‘oppression’ is more grievous than that a soul seeking the truth, and wishing to attain unto the knowledge of God, should know not where to go for it and from whom to seek it?”

I believe we should make it as easy as possible for people who are looking for answers to the chaos in the world to find those answers in the Baha’i Revelation. 

Video is increasingly becoming the language of the internet. YouTube is the #2 search engine in the world and most AI search tools are also consuming popular videos on YouTube to create their responses. 

While video has become increasingly important online, information for new-comers to the Faith is still not the best online. The vast majority of the Baha’i content on YouTube is created for people who are seasoned Baha’is, not new-comers. Most videos are an hour long recording of a talk or Zoom by relatively famous Baha’is and are not easy to digest for newcomers. 

Internet research is also a given for most people in the US and Canada. When people hear of the Faith, their first instincts are to look it up online. We need to ensure that the materials that people see represent the Faith properly and give good suggestions for how to navigate the ocean of Baha’i guidance.

Ian: This project was important to me because teaching the Faith is one of the passions of my life and the opportunity to work with a cool group to make content that teaches the Faith was too much to pass up. 

Nabil: I’ve always been drawn to animation as a way to make complex ideas more accessible and engaging. One of the main reasons I got into animation in the first place was because I saw it as a powerful visual medium to communicate concepts in a way that resonates with people. So when I was introduced to this project and had to think of ways to illustrate concepts from the Baha’i Faith I was so happy to join.

What were some of the challenges and/or learnings in making the series?

Naysawn: We found it surprisingly hard to write scripts covering the basics of the Faith. We thought that we would be able to repurpose a lot of content that had been written but quickly discovered that there wasn’t enough, written in the way that we needed, that we could be repurposed. So scripting took a while. We routinely would go through seven iterations on a script before feeling comfortable with it.  

This was also the first time for me producing a video series. It was probably about a year of learning through doing and iteration on everything. I thought that we could just record a video of Ian explaining a topic and it would be helpful. When watching it, I quickly realized that I was bored watching it. So we needed to learn to add music, graphics, text and lots of video editing to keep the videos engaging. 

Ian: I think we also under-estimated the amount of time it takes to do justice to explain Baha’i topics. We’re not talking about sports or the weather but we want to do justice to the Baha’i Revelation. For example, if you were to create a video covering 16 facts about the Baha’i Faith, which ones would you pick?

We both feel incredibly fortunate to have gotten to work with a team that I had never worked with before who embraced iterating on this service project together. 

Nabil: One of the biggest challenges in working on this series was finding the right balance between making the animations visually engaging and easy to understand while also making sure the depth and sacredness of some of the teachings are maintained. On one hand, I wanted the animations to be approachable, clear, and constantly made sure they’re all part of the same visual universe. But at the same time, I had to be mindful not to oversimplify or illustrate things in a way that might feel irreverent or trivial. It was a constant process of refining the visuals and I feel like I’m still learning how to achieve this balance.

What do you hope viewers will walk away with after watching the episodes? 

Naysawn: I hope that newcomers will get a positive impression of the Faith and some good suggestions for how to navigate the Baha’i Revelation. 

I also hope that we have created solid modern teaching tools for Baha’is to share with their contacts. 

What advice/suggestions do you have to others who want to create similar (or Baha’i-inspired) content?

Naysawn: Five things come to mind

1. Invest in scripting: We learned that writing a script required about two full days of research, followed by another two full days of iteration on scripts. Invest in it. 

2. Invest in motion graphics: Nabil really transformed the videos from just a talking head to something that you want to pay attention to.  

3. Create a diverse team: Find other people who are passionate about the Faith and sharing it with others and have a diverse set of skills. People are much more likely to want to serve when they have an expertise in the matter they are serving in. To find such a team: you have to go find them. Need help in design? Reach out to Baha’is in your network, if not on social media. Need help in music composition? There’s also Baha’is and other well wishers that are experts in those spaces. Find them and ask them to serve. 

4. Leverage Baha’i well wishers, not just Baha’is: We got all kinds of help from people connected to the Baha’i community who do not identify as Baha’is. We got help on music, design, legal, etc all from people who are Baha’i well wishers. The desire to do something to make the world better is universal and we’re all protagonists.

5. Rely upon divine assistance: We’re just hollow reeds for God’s love to flow to others. There’s so many times that we hit an obstacle but it was magically cleared with a bit of perseverance. Just volunteer to act, then persevere and trust that divine assistance will follow. 

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Naysawn: We gotta share these teachings with the world! This Revelation is the choice wine–don’t hog it for yourself!  

Please share the videos liberally with your contacts. Hope they are helpful for your teaching efforts. 

Thank you so much, Naysawn, Ian and Nabil, for taking the time to share this with us!

You can find all the Baha’i 101 videos on YouTube!

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Naysan Naraqi

Naysan is passionate about using the arts and media to explore the teachings of the Baha’i Faith. Back in 2011, Naysan started up the Baha’i Blog project, channeling his experiences in both media and technology companies to help create a hub for Baha’i-inspired content online.