A World Without War: Abdu’l-Baha & the Discourse for Global Peace – Janet Khan & Hoda Mahmoudi

This is an online interview with Dr. Janet Khan and Professor Hoda Mahmoudi about their new book A World Without War: Abdu’l-Baha and the Discourse for Global Peace.

In this interview, Baha’i Blog’s Naysan Naraqi asks about the book and the many themes presented in the book which are still deeply relevant today.

You can watch the video of this interview here: A World Without War: Abdu’l-Baha & the Discourse for Global Peace – Janet Khan & Hoda Mahmoudi

Dr. Janet Khan joins us from Brisbane, Australia, and she’s a former member of the Research Department at the Baha’i World Center in Haifa, Israel. After completing a doctorate in counseling at the University of Michigan, she held academic positions at the University of Michigan and the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Her research interests include gender issues, the role of women in religion, aspects of social change, and the evolution of the Baha’i system of administration. Her previous books are Prophet’s Daughter: The Life and Legacy of Bahiyyih Khanum, Outstanding Heroine of the Baha’i Faith (Baha’i Publishing, 2005).

Professor Hoda Mahmoudi joins us from Washington DC in the United States. Professor Mahoudi has held The Baha’i Chair for World Peace at the University of Maryland, College Park USA since 2012. As director of this endowed academic program, Professor Mahmoudi collaborates with a wide range of scholars, researchers, and practitioners to advance interdisciplinary analysis and open discourse on global peace. She studies structural racism, women and peace, frontiers of globalization and governance, and challenges in the globalization of the environment.

Book Description:

June 2020 marks one hundred years since the two historic Tablets of Abdu’l-Baha were delivered to the Central Organization for a Durable Peace at The Hague. The Tablets, combined with His public talks that were presented during His travels in the West between 1911 and 1913, offer comprehensive insights about Baha’u’llah’s panoramic vision for the attainment of universal peace. In this volume, the historical circumstances that shaped nineteenth-century peace movements and the catastrophic impact of the First World War are examined. During the time these significant events were unfolding, Abdu’l-Baha was actively engaged in promoting a clear understanding of the Baha’i perspective on peace. Far more than simply focusing His discourse on the means to end wars, Abdu’l-Baha offered the holistic, all-inclusive vision for global peace—the oneness of humanity—outlined in the writings of Baha’u’llah. This book illustrates Abdu’l-Baha’s engagement with intellectuals and leaders of thought on the subject of the implementation of peace. His example has continuing relevance for the state of the world and the discourse on peace in the twenty-first century.

* Read this article about the Tablets to the Hague: Abdu’l-Baha’s Tablets to The Hague: An Introduction

* Get your copy of the book here: A World Without War: Abdu’l-Baha and the Discourse for Global Peace

Posted by

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.