Guest Author - Lisa Schaffer-Harris
The Online Journal for Baha’i Studies launched on December 28, 2007. Openly accessed and peer reviewed, it is also international in scope and accessibility. A natural evolution for the electronic age is to have online journals so that scholars whose subject matter is the Baha’i and Babi revelations have a place publish their works in a more accessible form.
The original Association of Baha’i Studies (ABS) North America was founded in 1975 in Canada, later it expanded to include the United States and all of North America, including Alaska. Currently there are 18 other ABS worldwide, providing scholarly publication in many languages about topics related to the Baha’i Faith.
The two editors of the online journal are in different continents. Dr. Christopher Buck of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, is a lawyer, author, and professor. He has taught Islamic and religious studies, as well as American and African-American studies. Ismael Velasco of Tenerife, Canary Islands, has published scholarly articles on various Baha’i topics.
The format for the journal includes research articles, essays, opinions and translations, research notes and bibliographia, art and literary pieces. The initial issue includes articles in three out of the four sections. The art and literary section did not have any submissions. Absent from the online journal is a discussion forum, such as chat rooms, or a place to post discussion questions and respond to them.
Represented in the online articles is a diverse group of authors from many countries. Equally diverse are some of the topics covered. In the research section, there is an article on international relations theory, as well as translation and analysis of lesser known, and in some cases, never before published Baha’i documents. In the section entitled “Essays, Opinions and Translations” there are articles about a newly translated tablet of Baha’u’llah as well as the tablet itself. The last section represented in the maiden journal is research notes and bibliographia, there are important references to research methods, and how to find documents via electronic media.
Overall, it looks very promising and the quality of the writing appears to be outstanding. The Baha’i community has matured enough to produce some top-notch scholars. These dedicated souls are contributing to the Faith in an important capacity, one that increases the respect and prominence of the Baha’i Faith in the scholarly and academic communities.
The website for the Online Baha’i Journal is http://www.ojbs.org/
