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| Spiritual Assembly of Ishqabad 1990 |
Now with reference to your last dear letter in which you had
asked whether the believers have the right to openly express their criticism of
any Assembly action or policy: it is not only the right, but the vital
responsibility of every loyal and intelligent member of the Community to offer
fully and frankly, but with due respect and consideration to the authority of
the Assembly, any suggestion, recommendation or criticism he conscientiously
feels he should in order to improve and remedy certain existing conditions or
trends in his local community, and it is the duty of the Assembly also to give
careful consideration to any such views submitted to them by any one of the
believers. The best occasion chosen for this purpose is the Nineteen Day Feast,
which, besides its social and spiritual aspects, fulfils various administrative
needs and requirements of the Community, chief among them being the need for
open and constructive criticism and deliberation regarding the state of affairs
within the local Bahá'í Community. But again it should be stressed that all criticisms
and discussions of a negative character which result in undermining the
authority of the Assembly as a body should be strictly avoided. For otherwise
the order of the Cause itself will be endangered, and confusion and discord
will reign in the Community.
(From a letter dated 13 December 1939 written on
behalf of Shoghi Effendi to an individual believer; The Compilation of
Compilations, vol. III, Issues Concerning Community Functioning)
