Baha’ism from the Viewpoint of the Baha’i Critics and Intellectuals

Hermann Zimmer, a Baha’i teacher, writer, researcher, and theologian, was born in 1904 in Stuttgart, Germany. He was one of the first Baha’is in Germany. He joined the army in 1940 and was considered a military man until 1948, when he applied for early retirement. The Zimmer family were active Baha’is. After his father was killed in the World War I, Abdu’l-Baha expressed his condolences to his family through a tablet dated July 3, 1917. Mrs. Nee Pfud, mother of Hermann Zimmer, was a prominent Baha’i and a relative of Wilhelm Herrigel, a prominent German Baha’I, who later criticized the Baha’ism and left the Baha’i Faith after the dispute escalated. After the death of Abdu’l-Baha and publication of part of his Will & Testament to appoint Shoghi Effendi as Abdu’l-Baha’s successor, Herman Zimmer refused to accept that will, claiming many critics against the administration of Baha’ism and especially Shoghi Effendi himself .He declared that with the beginning of the leadership of Shoghi Effendi and the establishment of the Baha’i organization, the Baha’i Faith had deviated, turning from a spiritual faith to a political party. Zimmer was declared a violator of the Baha’i Covenant in 1964 for protesting and criticizing the Baha’i organization and its leadership, and was forced to resign after 24 years of membership in the Baha’i community of Germany. In this article, we will get acquainted with some of the critical positions of Hermann Zimmer.