Resurrection and Renewal: The Making of the Babi Movement in Iran, 1844-1850.

[resurrection And Renewal] Reflects Extensive Research By The Author In The Numerous Babi And Baha'i Manuscript Histories. From These He Has Succeeded In Extracting Much Useful Information And Presenting It In An Interesting And Informative Manner.--the Middle East Journal in Historical Writing Of Rare Power, Abbas Amanat Conveys The Elation And Terror That Attend The Birth Of A New Religious Faith. Amanat Here Tells The Story Of The Emergence Of Babism, The Forerunner Of The Baha'i Religion, In The Mid-nineteenth Century; Its Rapid Spread Into Various Sectors Of Iranian Society; And Its Fatal Confrontation With The Clerical Establishment And The Qajar State. Ever since the rise of the Penitents' movement of Mukhtr al-Thaqafï (66/685-686) and the subsequent disappearance, circa 700 A.D., of the declared Mahdi (the "rightly guided one"), Muhammad al-Hanafïya, the heterodox milieu of the Islamic world has yearned for a savior whose return will restore true guidance to the community.