The Bahā'ī Faith is an independent religion founded in Iran in the nineteenth century by Mīrzā Ḥusayn ʿAli Nūrī, whose religious appellation was Bahā' Allāh (Arabic for glory of God). The word Bahā'ī signifies a follower of Bahā' Allāh.

During the early 1800s there was a messianic expectation among Shi'ite Muslims that the Twelfth Imam, a descendant of the prophet Muhammed, would return to renew the religion of Islam and establish a just society. This belief was central to the teachings of the Shaykhī sect, named after Sheik Ahmad-i-Ahsā'ī.

On May 22, 1844, Mīrzā ʿAli Muhammad announced that he was the promised Twelfth Imam and took the name of the Bāb (Arabic for gate), indicating that he was the forerunner of yet another divine messenger to appear imminently. The Bāb's message spread throughout Persia (now Iran) and provoked the ire of powerful Shi'ite clergy. These clerics convinced...