Christopher Buck
Christopher Buck (Ph.D., University of Toronto, 1996; J.D., Western Michigan University Thomas M. Cooley Law School, 2006) is an attorney (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania), independent scholar, faculty instructor at the Wilmette Institute (2001–present, Department of Bahá’í History and Texts, distance education), and former professor at Michigan State University (2000–2004), Quincy University (1999–2000), Millikin University (1997–1999), and Carleton University (1994–1996).
Dr. Buck is the author of several books, including, inter alia:
• The Bahá’í Faith and the Black Intelligentsia: Race, Religion, and Nation. “Introduction” by Richard W. Thomas, Professor Emeritus of History, Michigan State University. Studies in the Bábí and Bahá’í Religions, Vol. 29. Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 2025 (ISBN 978-1-890688-47-9).
• Bahá’í Faith: The Basics (Routledge, 2021).
• God and Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America (2015), with an introduction by J. Gordon Melton (Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Baylor University).
• Religious Myths and Visions of America (2009, “an original contribution to American studies,” Journal of American History, June 2011).
• Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy (2005).
• Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith (1999).
• Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Baha’u’llah’s Kitáb-i Íqán (1995/2004) (“represents the first book-length attempt in the English language to analyse one of the major works of Bahá’u’lláh”—Moojan Momen, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, July 1997).
• Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations (co-author, 2011).
Dr. Buck has published a number of book chapters, academic journal articles and encyclopedia articles as well, many of which are available online: https://psu-us.academia.edu/ChristopherBuck.
Chapters contributed to academic books include, inter alia, the following titles:
• The Bahá’í Faith: Doctrinal and Historical Explorations (2024).
• ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Son of Persia (2023).
• Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (2021).
• Winds of Change (2019).
• The Bahá’í Faith and African American History (2019).
• British Writers (2018, 2015).
• American Writers (2018, 2016, 2010, 2004).
• Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Qur’an (2017).
• ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey West (2013).
• Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice (2012).
• Observing the Observer (2012).
• The Islamic World (2008).
• Religious Texts in Iranian Languages (2007).
• Studies in Modern Religions, Religious Movements and the Bábí-Baháʾí Faiths (2004).
Journal and encyclopedia articles.
Dr. Buck has also contributed “375 articles” to BahaiTeachings.org, by the website’s count (https://bahaiteachings.org/search/Buck), but 450 articles, including co-authored articles, according to his CV (https://psu-us.academia.edu/ChristopherBuck/CurriculumVitae).
Dr. Buck is married to Nahzy Abadi Buck, M.A. They have two sons: Takur Buck, M.D., and Taráz Buck, Ph.D.
Phone: (517) 575-9951
Address: Christopher Buck PhD Esq
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
Dr. Buck is the author of several books, including, inter alia:
• The Bahá’í Faith and the Black Intelligentsia: Race, Religion, and Nation. “Introduction” by Richard W. Thomas, Professor Emeritus of History, Michigan State University. Studies in the Bábí and Bahá’í Religions, Vol. 29. Los Angeles: Kalimát Press, 2025 (ISBN 978-1-890688-47-9).
• Bahá’í Faith: The Basics (Routledge, 2021).
• God and Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America (2015), with an introduction by J. Gordon Melton (Distinguished Professor of American Religious History, Baylor University).
• Religious Myths and Visions of America (2009, “an original contribution to American studies,” Journal of American History, June 2011).
• Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy (2005).
• Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith (1999).
• Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Baha’u’llah’s Kitáb-i Íqán (1995/2004) (“represents the first book-length attempt in the English language to analyse one of the major works of Bahá’u’lláh”—Moojan Momen, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, July 1997).
• Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations (co-author, 2011).
Dr. Buck has published a number of book chapters, academic journal articles and encyclopedia articles as well, many of which are available online: https://psu-us.academia.edu/ChristopherBuck.
Chapters contributed to academic books include, inter alia, the following titles:
• The Bahá’í Faith: Doctrinal and Historical Explorations (2024).
• ʻAbdu’l-Bahá, Son of Persia (2023).
• Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran (2021).
• Winds of Change (2019).
• The Bahá’í Faith and African American History (2019).
• British Writers (2018, 2015).
• American Writers (2018, 2016, 2010, 2004).
• Wiley-Blackwell Companion to the Qur’an (2017).
• ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey West (2013).
• Wiley-Blackwell Companion to Religion and Social Justice (2012).
• Observing the Observer (2012).
• The Islamic World (2008).
• Religious Texts in Iranian Languages (2007).
• Studies in Modern Religions, Religious Movements and the Bábí-Baháʾí Faiths (2004).
Journal and encyclopedia articles.
Dr. Buck has also contributed “375 articles” to BahaiTeachings.org, by the website’s count (https://bahaiteachings.org/search/Buck), but 450 articles, including co-authored articles, according to his CV (https://psu-us.academia.edu/ChristopherBuck/CurriculumVitae).
Dr. Buck is married to Nahzy Abadi Buck, M.A. They have two sons: Takur Buck, M.D., and Taráz Buck, Ph.D.
Phone: (517) 575-9951
Address: Christopher Buck PhD Esq
Pittsburgh, PA 15217
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Videos by Christopher Buck
• For an academic journal article on this historic, official apology, see: Christopher Buck, “‘Never Again’: Kevin Gover’s Apology for the Bureau of Indian Affairs.” Wicazo Sa Review: A Journal of Native American Studies 21.1 (2006): 97–126, https://www.academia.edu/20339709/_Never_Again_Kevin_Gover_s_Apology_for_the_Bureau_of_Indian_Affairs_.
• View video online: https://vimeo.com/404428918 (posted on Vimeo
See "Laying a Great Man to Rest—the Final Interment of Alain Locke" | Christopher Buck | Oct 7, 2014, https://bahaiteachings.org/laying-a-great-man-to-rest-final-interment-of-alain-locke/. Also: Sing the Ballad of Alain Locke—Burying the Black Plato | Christopher Buck | Oct 10, 2014, https://bahaiteachings.org/sing-the-ballad-of-alain-locke-burying-the-black-plato/. See also the academic articles I've published on Alain Locke, posted here: https://psu-us.academia.edu/ChristopherBuck/African-American-Studies.
Books by Christopher Buck
Description
At the heart of American studies is the idea of America itself. Here, Buck looks at the religious significance of America by examining those religions that have attached some kind of spiritual meaning to America. The author explores how American Protestantism—and nine minority faiths—have projected America into the mainstream of world history by defining—and by redefining—America’s world role. Surveying the religious myths and visions of America of ten religions, Buck shows how minority faiths have redefined America’s sense of national purpose. This book invites serious reflection on what it means to be an American, particularly from a religious perspective.
Religious myths of America are thought-orienting narratives that serve as vehicles of spiritual and social truths about the United States itself. Religious visions of America are action-oriented agendas that articulate the goals to which America should aspire and the role it should play in the community of nations. Buck examines the distinctive perspectives held by ten religious traditions that inform and expand on the notion of America, and its place in the world. He covers Native American, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Mormon, Christian Identity, Black Muslim, Islamic, Buddhist, and Baha’i beliefs and invites serious reflection on what it means to be an American, particularly from a religious perspective.
Libraries Worldwide: Total (print & eBook editions): 1,050 Libraries (in 3 editions). [WorldCat, June 17, 2023.] “Held by Big Ten Academic Alliance.” See http://www.amazon.com/Religious-Myths-Visions-America-Redefined/dp/0313359598. (Open Access: “Access free” on Internet Archive.)
Reviews
• Journal of American History 98.1 (June 2011): 279–280. Review by Richard Kyle (Tabor College):
“Religious Myths and Visions of America has many strengths. The author has defended his thesis with solid research. He has also made an original contribution to American studies.”
• Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 15.3 (February 2012): 139–141. Review by Irén E. Annus (University of Szeged, Hungary): “This volume may be of interest to readers involved not only in Religious Studies, but also in Political Science, History, Intellectual History, American Studies, and Cultural Studies. … In the course of the detailed and well-documented analysis of individual religions, Buck reveals a highly elaborate and in-depth picture of the various beliefs, which is indeed impressive. … He argues that the original myth and vision of America as a nation was captured by the Protestant notion of manifest destiny. This has been challenged by the other faiths … that have transformed the idea of manifest destiny into America’s common destiny. … The book is overall a fresh and stimulating cultural reading of some of America’s religions and the complex ways in which their followers make sense of and act in the world.” [Electronic Database (full text available): ATLA Religion Database; JSTOR.]
• Multicultural Review 18.4 (Winter 2009): 66. Review by Vladimir F. Wertsman (New York Public Library):
“This interesting, thoroughly researched scholarly study examines how ten minor religions interpreted America’s reality (“nation and notion”) and generated numerous religious myths and visions of America. … [t]his volume is certainly a welcome addition to the topic of racial, cultural, and ethnic studies. … Recommended for comparative ethnic and religion collections.”
eBook Preview PDF (front matter, Chapter 1, and References),
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9780429023088
Baha’i Faith: The Basics
By: Christopher Buck
Edition: 1st Edition
First Published: 2021
eBook Published: 27 November 2020
Pub. location: London
Imprint: Routledge
DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429023088
Pages: 262 pages
eBook: ISBN9780429023088
Subjects: Humanities
Bahá’í Faith: The Basics provides a thorough and accessible introduction to a fascinating, independent world religion. Examining its historical development, current “community-building” efforts and the social contributions of the Bahá’í Faith in the world today, this introduction covers:
• Beliefs: Bahá’í spiritual teachings.
• Principles: Bahá’í social teachings.
• History: Bahá’u’lláh and his covenant.
• Scripture: Bahá’í sacred texts and inspired guidance.
• Institutions: The Bahá’í Administrative Order.
• Building community: What Bahá’ís do.
• Social action: Bahá’í social and economic development projects.
• Public discourse: The Bahá’í International Community.
• Vision: Foundations for a future golden age.
With features including a glossary of terms, and references to the Bahá’í writings throughout, this is the ideal text for students and interested readers wanting to familiarize themselves with the Bahá’í Faith.
Reviews
"This excellent, beautifully organized introduction provides an accurate and unusually rich entré into a relatively new and still somehow frequently misunderstood religion. The author, Christopher Buck, is a leading scholar of the Baha'i religion. His book is richly enhanced with quotations from official translations of the Baha'i sacred writings, insights into the formation of distinctive Baha'i institutions and rare glimpses of key moments in Baha'i intellectual history from an introduction to the influential African-American Baha'i philosopher, Alain Locke (d. 1954) known as 'the father of the Harlem Renaissance', to a discussion of the more recent development of the Ruhi Institute process. This introduction goes beyond existing textbooks in both scope and detail. It will be warmly welcomed by researchers and students of the Baha'i Faith."
Todd Lawson, University of Toronto, Canada
Christopher Buck is an independent scholar and former professor at Michigan State University, USA; Quincy University, USA; Millikin University, USA; and Carleton University, Canada.
SLIDE #37:
Dynamic Bahá’í Principles
— Expressed as Actions —
1. Search for truth.
2. See humankind as one.
3. See religion as one.
4. Religions should unify.
5. Religion respects science.
6. Women and men are equal.
7. Abolish every prejudice.
8. Promote world peace.
9. Provide education for all.
10. Economic problems require spiritual solutions.
11. The Universal House of Justice is unique.
12. The special Bahá’í “Covenant” protects Bahá’í unity.
13. Adopt a universal auxiliary language.
14. Work is worship.
15. The Bahá’í Faith offers other “new principles.”
Source: Buck, Bahá’í Faith: The Basics (2021), Chap. 3.
Endorsement by Todd Lawson, Professor Emeritus of Islamic Thought, University of Toronto, Canada:
“This excellent, beautifully organized introduction provides an accurate and unusually rich entré into a relatively new and still somehow frequently misunderstood religion. The author, Christopher Buck, is a leading scholar of the Bahá’í religion. His book is richly enhanced with quotations from official translations of the Bahá’í sacred writings, insights into the formation of distinctive Bahá’í institutions and rare glimpses of key moments in Bahá’í intellectual history from an introduction to the influential African American Bahá’í philosopher, Alain Locke (d. 1954) known as ‘the father of the Harlem Renaissance’, to a discussion of the more recent development of the Ruhi Institute process. This introduction goes beyond existing textbooks in both scope and detail. It will be warmly welcomed by researchers and students of the Bahá’í Faith.”
Book review by Jack McLean, Independent Scholar, Ottawa, Canada:
“One outstanding feature of this book … is its contemporary relevance. Even well-informed readers could not possibly be fully aware of the overview presented by Buck of all the multifarious activities taking place in the Bahá’í world community. … Buck’s treatment of the material is throughout well-researched, and rich in the detail that an alert reader expects. In sum, despite its unpretentious title, this book is more than the Basics of the Bahá’í Faith. … it presents a complete contemporary picture of the remarkably diverse economic, social, and spiritual activities …by the Bahá’í community in all countries of the world.”
See full review here: http://jack-mclean.com/reviews/review-of-bahai-faith-basics/
The Challenge of Modernity in the Middle East and North Africa
Edited by Cyrus Rohani and Behrooz Sabet,
ADVANCE INFORMATION
978-0-86356-388-1
Release date: November 7, 2019
(Advance publication: July 2019)
Politics/Sociology/Middle East/Islam
PB Royal 352 pp £25
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface by Cyrus Rohani, Behrooz Sabet
Foreword by Christopher Buck (pp. iii–viii)
1. Toward a discursive framework of change, Behrooz Sabet and
Cyrus Rohani
2. Culture for openness and coexistence: How can we create it?
Abdul Hamid Al-Ansari
3. Guiding principles of leadership for the 21st Century: An essay on leadership, Cyrus Rohani
4. Confronting Violence through Policies of Dialogue: Towards
establishing a ‘citizenship that incorporates religious diversity’ in
post-ISIS Era, Saad Salloum
5. Nonviolence and the challenges in the Middle East, Ramin
Jahanbegloo
6. Religion of peace: Islamic principles of good governance,
Christopher Buck (pp. 87–111)
7. Traditionalist and reformist discourses pertaining to Islamic
revival, Armin Eschraghi
8. Defining Islamic social principles: a preamble, Christopher Buck (pp. 125–133)
9. Human rights in the Middle East, Nazila Ghanea
10. Reason in Islam: Taking back their own, Ian Kluge
11. “Be just”: Quranic ethics as benchmarks for Islamic law,
Christopher Buck (pp. 168–181)
12. Education in the Middle East, Behrooz Sabet
13. Globalization and the Middle East: Reflections on a conceptual
reorientation, Shahrzad Sabet
14. Environment and sustainability in the Middle East, Arthur Lyon
Dahl
15. Connecting electronically to the public
About the Contributors
Behrooz Sabet holds a doctorate from the State University of New York at Buffalo. For more than twenty years, Dr Sabet has been intellectually engaged in research and writing on the intersection of religion, science and culture in the Middle East. He has been a university professor, academic dean and consultant on aspects of education and culture in the Middle East, and has translated and written extensively on religious, ethical, educational, philosophical and social themes. Dr Sabet is a renowned scholar of religion, contemporary political thought and movements in Iran, and the conceptual and historical origins of modernity and its impact on Islam and Middle Eastern societies
Cyrus Rohani is an advisor on social and economic development, and a management and education consultant. He studied at the American University of Beirut and later received an MBA from Sacred Heart University, Connecticut, USA. He worked with Shell-Qatar and then with Qatar Petroleum (oil and gas).
https://saqibooks.com/?post_type=product&p=10902
ARABIC EDITION
(Slightly different organization and content.)
Winds of Change in the Middle East and North Africa: Crisis, Catharsis, and Renewal, ed. Behrooz Sabet and Gamal H. M. Hassan. Arabic translation of English original by Gamal Hassan (رياح التغيير: في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا). Beirut: Dar al-Saqi, 2018. Pp. 17–24. (Release date: November 1, 2018.) ISBN: 9786140320994.
Contributions by the present writer:
Christopher Buck, “Introduction.” Arabic translation of English original by Gamal Hassan. Pp. 17–24.
Idem, “Chapter 5: Religion of Peace: Islamic Principles of Good Governance.” Arabic translation of English original by Gamal Hassan. Pp. 133–166.
Idem, “Chapter 6: Defining Islamic Social Principles: A Preamble.” Arabic translation of English original by Gamal Hassan. Pp. 167–180.
Idem, “Chapter 7: ‘Be Just’: Quranic Ethics as Benchmarks for Islamic Law.” Arabic translation of English original by Gamal Hassan. Pp. 181–198.
Creating Racial and Religious Diversity
PREVIEW
This downloadable PDF features Google Books’s “Preview” of pp. 1–41 (as well as front matter and back matter).
Edited by Loni Bramson. Lanham, Boulder, New York, London: Lexington Books, 2019. (Release date: December 3, 2018.) Cloth ISBN: 978-1-4985-7002-2. Paper ISBN: 978-1-4985-7004-6 (delayed). Elec. ISBN: 978-1-4985-7003-9.
1. The Bahá’í “Pupil of the Eye” Metaphor: Promoting Ideal Race Relations in Jim Crow America. [Pp. 1–41.]
• by Christopher Buck
3. Alain Locke on Race, Religion, and the Bahá’í Faith. [Pp. 91–116.]
• by Christopher Buck [Pp. 91–116.]
ORDER INFORMATION:
Lexington Books
Book Details
Pages: 296 • Trim: 6 x 9
978-1-4985-7002-2 • Hardback • December 2018 • $95.00 • (£65.00):
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498570022
978-1-4985-7004-6 • Paperback • September 2021 • $39.99 • (£31.00):
https://rowman.com/ISBN/9781498570046
978-1-4985-7003-9 • eBook • December 2018 • $90.00 • (£60.00)
https://rowman.com/ISBN/97814985-70039
___________________
THE BAHÁ’Í FAITH AND AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY:
Creating Racial and Religious Diversity
Released December 3, 2018
Edited by Loni Bramson;
Introduction by Loni Bramson;
Contributions by:
• Christopher Buck
• Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis
• Louis Venters
• Mike McMullen
• June Manning Thomas
• Loni Bramson
This book examines the intersection of African American history with that of the Bahá’í Faith in the United States. Since the turn of the twentieth century, Bahá’ís in America have actively worked to establish interracial harmony within its own ranks and to contribute to social justice in the wider community, becoming in the process one of the country’s most diverse religious bodies. Spanning from the start of the twentieth century to the early twenty-first, the essays in this volume examine aspects of the phenomenon of this religion confronting America’s original sin of racism and the significant roles African Americans came to play in the development of the Bahá’í Faith’s culture, identity, administrative structures, and aspirations.
Book Details
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction. [Pp. ix–xxv.]
• by Loni Bramson
1. The Bahá’í “Pupil of the Eye” Metaphor: Promoting Ideal Race Relations in Jim Crow America. [Pp. 1–41.]
• by Christopher Buck
2. “The Most Vital and Challenging Issue”: The Bahá’í Faith’s Efforts to Improve Race Relations, 1922 to 1936. [Pp. 43–89.]
• by Loni Bramson
3. Alain Locke on Race, Religion, and the Bahá’í Faith. [Pp. 91–116.]
• by Christopher Buck [Pp. 91–116.]
4. The Most Challenging Issue Revisited: African American Bahá’í Women and the Advancement of Race and Gender Equality, 1899–1943. [Pp. 117–141.]
• by Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis
5. Hand in Hand: Race, Identity, and Community Development among South Carolina’s Bahá’ís, 1973–1979. [Pp. 143–177.]
• by Louis Venters
6. Race Unity Efforts among American Bahá’ís: Institutionalized Tools and Empirical Evidence. [Pp. 179–224.]
• by Mike McMullen
7. Race, Place, and Clusters: Current Vision and Possible Strategies. [Pp. 225–253.]
• by June Manning Thomas
Conclusion. [Pp. 255–258.]
• by Multiple Authors of the Chapters in This Book
About the Contributors
Lexington Books
Pages: 296 • Trim: 6 1/4 x 9
978-1-4985-7002-2 • Hardback • December 2018 • $95.00 • (£65.00)
978-1-4985-7003-9 • eBook • December 2018 • $90.00 • (£60.00)
Subjects: Religion / Baha'i, Religion / General, Social Science / Ethnic Studies / African American Studies
About the Contributors
CHRISTOPHER BUCK, PhD (University of Toronto), JD (Cooley Law School), is an independent scholar, Pittsburgh attorney, and online faculty member at the Wilmette Institute. He previously taught at Michigan State University, Central Michigan University, Quincy University, Millikin University, and Carleton University. Dr. Buck publishes broadly in Bahá’í studies, American studies, African American studies, Native American studies, Islamic studies, religious studies, Syriac Studies, and legal studies (constitutional law). His books include: Baha’i Faith: A Quick Reference; God and Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America; Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy; Paradise and Paradigm: Key Symbols in Persian Christianity and the Bahá’í Faith; Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Íqán; Religious Celebrations (co-author); and Generation Y Speaks Out: A Policy Guide (coeditor).
LONI BRAMSON’s doctorate is in Contemporary History and History of Religion from the Université Catholique de Louvain. She has taught at universities in Africa, Europe, and the United States. Currently she is an associate professor at the American Public University System. She teaches courses in modern United States and European history, history of religion, women’s history, African American history, and American Indian history. Her publications include chapters in books, articles, and encyclopedia entries on the Bahá’í Faith, and a human rights monograph. She is an editor for the Journal of International Women’s Studies.
GWENDOLYN ETTER-LEWIS is Professor of English, black world studies, women’s, gender, and sexuality studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She earned her PhD in Linguistics from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Dr. Etter-Lewis teaches a variety of interdisciplinary courses. Most recently she taught a course on black British writers at the Miami University John E. Dolibois European Center in Luxembourg, which included a five-day study tour in London. In 2007, she founded a college readiness program (Project REACH, now known as Dream Keepers) for underrepresented high school students in the greater Cincinnati area. The program was awarded an internal grant ($150,000) in 2015 and has become a university practicum offered each semester. Dr. Etter-Lewis’ interest in women of color and education has taken her to various countries for research: Zambia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Lesotho, Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya. She is the author of several books and articles including:
• Lights of the Spirit: Historical Portraits of Black Bahá’is in North America. Coedited with Richard Thomas. Wilmette, IL: Bahá’í Publishing Trust, 2006.
• Unrelated Kin: Race and Gender in Women’s Personal Narratives. Coedited with Michele Foster. New York: Routledge, 1996.
• My Soul Is My Own: Oral Narratives of African American Women in the Professions. New York: Routledge, 1993.
LOUIS VENTERS, PhD, teaches African and African diaspora history, southern history, and public history at Francis Marion University and is a consultant in the fields of historic preservation and cultural resource management. He is the author or coauthor of several site studies, public history reports, and exhibits, and is a member of the board of directors of Preservation South Carolina and of the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission. He is currently working on a sequel to his book, No Jim Crow Church: The Origins of South Carolina’s Bahá’í Community. He blogs on issues related to race, religion, history, and culture at www.louisventers.com.
MIKE MCMULLEN is a professor of Sociology and Cross Cultural Studies at the University of Houston-Clear Lake in Houston, Texas. He received his doctorate from Emory University. His first book The Bahá'í: The Religious Construction of a Global Identity. His areas of interest include Bahá’í studies, the sociology of religion, the Middle East, organizational development and change, and conflict resolution and mediation. Recently, he lived for a year in Cairo, Egypt, as a Fulbright Scholar, teaching at the American University in Cairo. He continues to research the American Bahá'í community, and recently published a book entitled The Bahá’ís of America: The Growth and Change of a Religious Movement. He is currently working on a book on the history of conflict resolution in the United States.
JUNE MANNING THOMAS is Mary Frances Berry Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Michigan and specializes in issues related to social equity in city planning and development. Some of her books include Redevelopment and Race: Planning a Finer City in Postwar Detroit (1997, 2013); Planning Progress: Lessons from Shoghi Effendi (1999); and the coedited Mapping Detroit: Evolving Land Use Patterns and Connections (2015). She currently serves on the Regional Baha’i Council of the Midwestern States. Her full biography can be accessed at http://taubmancollege.umi ch.edu/urbanplanning/faculty/directory/june-manning-thomas.
Sample Article posted by "Facts on File"
Excerpt from 2016 "Facts on File" ebook for high school students:
Baha'i Faith: A Quick Reference
Christopher Buck
Copyright 2016 Facts On File. All rights reserved.
BAHA'I CALENDAR
The Baha’i calendar, like all calendrical systems, charts physical time; yet the Baha’i calendar also inspires spiritual progress by associating time with reminders of human nobility. The new year begins on the vernal equinox (which is astronomically determined and falls on March 19, 20, or 21 on the Gregorian calendar); it consists of 19 months, each month of which is comprised of 19 days. The calendar, called the "Wondrous (Badi) Calendar," invests time with spiritual significance by naming weekdays, days of the month, months, years, and cycles of years after godly perfections that can be translated into goodly virtues. In this way the Baha’i calendar transforms time into opportune moments for reflection on matters of the spirit.
For example, Sunday, March 21, 2010, on the Gregorian calendar may be expressed as follows on the Baha’i calendar: the weekday of Beauty (Jamal, i.e., Sunday), the (first) day Splendor (Baha’) in the (first) month of Splendor (Bahá’) in the year (15th) of Affection (Vidad), in the cycle (19 years) of Unity (Vahid) of the first Grand Cycle (361 years) of All Things (Arabic, Kullu Shay’; Persian, Kull-i Shay’).
In the Baha’i calendar, the names represent far more than simple designations of units of time. They connect to the timeless progress of the soul. The calendar was originally created by the Bab, Baha’u’llah's predecessor and herald, who compared the souls of human beings to mirrors. These mirrors, once burnished and polished by spiritual efforts, are potentially reflections of all divine names and attributes of God that are capable of expression in human existence. To the extent that a person is a bearer of one of the names (i.e., qualities or powers) of God, that individual is empowered to express that quality in human action. (Buck and Melton have called this process "theophoric metamorphosis.") Through the progressive spiritualization of all persons—and, indeed, of all things—the Bab wished to transform all of reality into “mirrors” reflecting the perfections represented by these divine names.
In this unique calendric system, each and every unit of time gives pause for spiritual reflection. This is part of the Bab's comprehensive system of precepts and practices, all calculated to keep the believer in a constant spiritual frame of mind. Each of these dynamic names of God highlights a distinctive quality of sterling character and human nobility; they may not only be invoked, but they may be evoked. At every moment, a person, noting the present time, takes time to reflect on a godly perfection that can be translated into a goodly virtue expressed in thought and deed. By doing so, the mirror of the human heart, or soul, may reflect a ray of the spiritual sun.
The Baha’i Nineteen-Day Feast—when the local Baha’i community meets for worship, consultation, and fellowship—takes place at the beginning of each of the 19 Baha’i months. The Feast begins with devotions, is followed by consultation on community affairs, and ends with food and fellowship. The devotional portion has a spiritualizing effect; passages from the Baha’i Writings and prayers are read. Consultation takes place in a forum similar to a town hall meeting, but conducted with civility and respect. The purpose of consultation is to reach consensus. Consensus is not always possible, but a recommendation may be conveyed to the Local Spiritual Assembly (LSA) by way of a majority vote; even individual suggestions may be passed on to the LSA for consideration. Ideally, the LSA's decisions on prior Feast recommendations should be reported back to the community at a later Feast, both as a courtesy and as evidence of the importance the LSA places upon the consultative process. Finally, the community shares food with the goal of refreshing and further uniting the local community.
Further Information
Christopher Buck and J. Gordon Melton, "Baha’i Calendar and Rhythms of Worship," in Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations, ed. J. Gordon Melton (Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2011), Vol. I, pp. 79–86.
Christopher Buck, "Nineteen-Day Feast (Baha’i)," in Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations, ed. J. Gordon Melton (Santa Barbara, Calif.: ABC-CLIO, 2011), Vol. 2, pp. 641–645.
Gerald Keil, Time and the Bahá’í Era: A Study of the Badí‘ Calendar (Oxford: George Ronald, 2008).
Edward M. Reingold, and Nachum Dershowitz, "The Bahá’í Calendar," in Calendrical Calculations: The Millennium Edition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 223–231.
Nader Saiedi, Gate of the Heart: Understanding the Writings of the Báb (Ottawa, Ont.: Association for Baha’i Studies and Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2008).
Entry Author: Buck, Christopher.
________________________________
Excerpt from:
Baha'i Faith: A Quick Reference
Christopher Buck
Copyright 2016 Facts On File. All rights reserved.
Summary
One of the world's youngest and fastest-growing religions, the Baha'i Faith's adherents believe there is one infinite God who sent divine messengers—including the founders of all the major world religions—to teach people about God and to help move humanity toward greater truths. Baha'i Faith: A Quick Reference covers all the basic information about the religion in an accessible A–Z format. This useful guide comes complete with full-color photographs, a timeline, and further readings for each entry to aid research.
About the Author(s)
Christopher Buck, Ph.D., is the author of God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America. An independent scholar, attorney, and former university professor, Dr. Buck has published numerous articles, essays, and books in religious studies, Baha'i studies, Islamic studies, African-American studies, and Native American studies.
Table of Contents
Cover
Copyright
Introduction
Entries
‘Abdu’l-Baha
Bab, The
Baha'i Administrative Order
Baha’i calendar
Baha'i community life
Baha'i eschatology
Baha'i ethics
Baha’i houses of worship
Baha'i laws
Baha'i prayer
Baha'i principles of unity
Baha'i Writings
Baha'u'llah
Table of Contents
Cover
Copyright
Introduction
Entries
‘Abdu’l-Baha
Bab, The
Baha'i Administrative Order
Baha’i calendar
Baha'i community life
Baha'i eschatology
Baha'i ethics
Baha’i houses of worship
Baha'i laws
Baha'i prayer
Baha'i principles of unity
Baha'i Writings
Baha'u'llah
Book of Certitude
Declaration of the Bab, Festival of the
God in Baha'i Faith
Hidden Words, The
Naw-Ruz
persecution of Baha’is in contemporary Iran
Ridvan, Festival of
Shoghi Effendi
Shrine of Baha'u'llah
Shrine of the Bab
Twin Birthdays, Festival of the
Universal House of Justice
Support Materials
Timeline
About the Author
Note: The publisher, Educators International Press, went out of business in 2019. All rights reverted back to the author, Christopher Buck. Since there is little prospect that this title will ever be republished, I am now releasing this book, in full, to the interested public.
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1: America: Nation and Notion
Chapter 2: Native American Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 3: Protestant Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 4: The Christian Right’s Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 5: Catholic Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 6: Jewish Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 7: Mormon Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 8: Christian Identity Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 9: Black Muslim Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 10: Contemporary Muslim Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 11: Buddhist Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 12: Baha’i Myths and Visions of America
Chapter 13: Conclusion: How Minority Faiths Redefined America’s World Role
References
About the Author”
Based on a Michigan State University course, “Religious Myths of America” (IAH-211C) for “Integrated Arts and Humanities” (IAH). This course was designed and taught by Christopher Buck, Ph.D., during the 2003–2004 academic year.
Course syllabus:
http://www.wabashcenter.wabash.edu/syllabi/b/buck/Buck-20040309.pdf
Reviews
• “Interview with Christopher Buck, author of God & Apple Pie.” By Troy Mikanovich, Assistant Editor, and Christopher Buck. Reading Religion: A Publication of the American Academy of Religion. (Published online: September 14, 2018.)
• Reading Religion (“A Publication of the American Academy of Religion). Review of God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America by Emily Goshey (PhD candidate, religious studies, Princeton University): “This overview of religions in America and their relationship with America as both “nation and notion” covers tremendous ground. … God and Apple Pie is a veritable encyclopedia of both primary and secondary sources, but with the benefit of a more digestible presentation and a coherent narrative framework. Although the numerous, lengthy block quotes require some extra work from the reader, the overall effect is to empower the reader to see for themselves exactly how people within a given tradition mythologize and theologize America. That is to say, Buck shows as well as tells. … God and Apple Pie offers a valuable contribution to readers looking to understand why religion matters in America and how different American religious groups have seen their relationship with their country. Any reader, no matter how well versed in religious traditions, would learn a great deal by perusing its pages.” (Published online: August 14, 2017.)
• Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 20.4 (May 2017): pp. 130–131. Review by Donald A. Westbrook (UCLA): “Thus, the volume has clear import for both theological studies and religious studies, and is unique in that it attempts to summarize, systematize, and synthesize the visionary and mythical examples it deftly surveys. … On the whole, this revised and expanded volume is impressive for the breadth and depth it accomplishes and will be of value to researchers, teachers, and especially general readers.” DOI: https://doi.org/10.1525/nr.2017.20.4.130
• Religion: (Published online: October 26, 2016.) Review by Daniel Liechty PhD, DMin, ACSW (Professor of Social Work, Illinois State University): “Fascinating … The chapter on Mormonism … is itself alone worth the price of the book. Other chapters, on Black Muslim and contemporary Islamic views, as well as Buddhist and Bahá’í visions of America … are, to my knowledge, the very best sources available for summarization of this material. … The reading itself is quite accessible. It could easily function not only as an undergraduate textbook, but also as the main reading for any adult education class or discussion group.” DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1080/0048721X.2016.1244636.
"Reading Religion" published by the American Academy of Religion
_______________________________________________
Because of the diversity of religious beliefs that are present in the United States, the prospect of a singular religious vision for America and its role on the world stage is difficult to pin down. In God & Apple Pie: Religious Myths and Visions of America, Christopher Buck eschews any simple generalizations and instead chooses to survey eleven distinct religious traditions and the way that they frame the US in their canon and practices. Rather than landing on comfortable, generalized platitudes, Buck’s work offers a glimpse into the different and often conflicting ways that the subject, shadow, and promise of America factors into these different religious traditions. On July 8, 2018, I met with Dr. Buck on Skype to learn more about his work. – Troy Mikanovich, Assistant Editor
TM: Why don’t you start by telling me a little bit about God & Apple Pie? What are you arguing in the book and how did you get there?
CB: God & Apple Pie is based on a course that I designed and taught at Michigan State University in 2003–2004. At the time there wasn’t an argument or a thesis. After I moved to Pennsylvania and I was studying for the bar exam, a senior editor from Praeger sent me an email out of the blue saying, “We saw your syllabus; how would you like to put together a book proposal?” So I had to develop an argument. The two operative hypotheses I have, which are both quite general and I think fairly common-sense are first, “religions remythologize America,” and further, that “religions re-envision America.”
The book is a survey of eleven different religions, selected from among religions that have religious views of America either officially or popularly. In its original publication, the book was titled Religious Myths and Visions of America: How Minority Faiths Redefined America’s World Role. One of the themes in the book is America’s world role, however that’s defined—or “redefined”—by one of these religious traditions.
TM: In the United States, now as much as ever, some people are interested in having a debate between those who have a particularistic vision of American religion and those who have a pluralistic or inclusive vision of American religion. Was the process of revisiting the first publication of your work in 2009 informed at all by the current religious—or partisan—landscape?
CB: I would say that instead of this debate having informed the writing of God & Apple Pie, the current debate makes it more relevant.
TM: In what ways?
CB: I want to studiously avoid partisan politics, which I see as quite divisive. But on principle, there’s this idea of America’s world role—think of the slogan, “America First”—or, alternatively, “World First”—or some combination of these two catchphrases. President Woodrow Wilson, who was the only US president to have a PhD—a PhD in political science—is often credited by historians for being the first US president to openly define or propose America’s world role. Not that presidents didn’t have an idea of America’s place in world affairs before, but President Woodrow Wilson was arguably the first to articulate this vision of America’s world role so clearly and definitively. But that’s in the secular world. In the religious world, we have this idea of American exceptionalism going all the way back to the origins of America, and the “city upon a hill” idea that Ronald Reagan quoted in three speeches.
TM: He even added “shining”; it was now the “shining city upon a hill.”
CB: Yes—so, is that still the vision of America? And if so, what about America as an exemplar nation, whether religiously or socially? What can America contribute to the world? God & Apple Pie traces the evolution of an increasingly international awareness in the context of America’s world role.
From the "Introduction" (p. xxi):
A review of the Baha’i Faith is particularly edifying. It is the newest of the major world religions and underwent some significant repression during its founding years. Through the twentieth century, it went through a lengthy process of establishing a new Baha’i calendar and designating holy days, including commemorations of the birth and death of the faith’s early founder/leaders. In a century, the Baha’is accomplished what it sometimes took other religions multiple centuries to complete. Meanwhile, a few of the twentieth-century new religions have moved to create an annual cycle of celebration within their first generation of existence.
Articles on Baha’i Holy Days in: Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations:
1. “‘Abdu’l-Baha, Ascension of (November 28).” (Vol. 1, pp. 1–4.)
2. “Ayyam-i-Ha (Baha’i Intercalary Days) (February 25–March 1).” (Vol. 1, pp. 60–63.)
3. “Bab, Festival of the Birth of the (October 20).” (Christopher Buck and J. Gordon Melton.) (Vol. 1, pp. 65–67.)
4. “Bab, Festival of the Declaration of the (May 23).” (Vol. 1, pp. 67–73.)
5. “Bab, Martyrdom of the (July 9).” (Vol. 1, pp. 73–76.)
6. “Baha’i Calendar and Rhythms of Worship.” (Christopher Buck and J. Gordon Melton.) (Vol. 1, pp. 79–86.)
7. “Baha’i Fast (March 2–20).” (Vol. 1, pp. 94–96.)
8. “Baha’u’llah, Ascension of (May 29).” (Vol. 1, pp. 96–99.)
9. “Baha’u’llah, Festival of the Birth of (November 12).” (Christopher Buck and J. Gordon Melton.) (Vol. 1, pp. 99–102.)
10. “Covenant, Day of the (November 26).” (Vol. 1, pp. 225–228.)
11. “Naw-Rúz, Festival of (March 21).” (Vol. 2, pp. 225–228.)
12. “Nineteen-Day Feast (Baha’i).” (Vol. 2, pp. 641–645.)
13. “Race Unity Day.” (Vol. 2, pp. 727–731.)
14. “Ridvan, Festival of (April 20–May 2).” (Vol. 2, pp. 744–747.)
15. “World Religion Day (January).” (Vol. 2, pp. 936–939.)
Libraries Worldwide: Total (print & ebook editions): 1,209. [WorldCat, September 14, 2018.] See http://www.amazon.com/Religious-Myths-Visions-America-Redefined/dp/0313359598.
Reviews
• Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions 15.3 (February 2012): 139–141. Review by Irén E. Annus (University of Szeged, Hungary): “This volume may be of interest to readers involved not only in Religious Studies, but also in Political Science, History, Intellectual History, American Studies, and Cultural Studies. . . . In the course of the detailed and well-documented analysis of individual religions, Buck reveals a highly elaborate and in-depth picture of the various beliefs, which is indeed impressive. . . He argues that the original myth and vision of America as a nation was captured by the Protestant notion of manifest destiny. This has been challenged by the other faiths . . . that have transformed the idea of manifest destiny into America’s common destiny. . . The book is overall a fresh and stimulating cultural reading of some of America’s religions and the complex ways in which their followers make sense of and act in the world.” [Electronic Database (full text available): ATLA Religion Database; JSTOR.]
• Journal of American History 98.1 (June 2011): 279–280. Review by Richard Kyle (Tabor College):
“Religious Myths and Visions of America has many strengths. The author has defended his thesis with solid research. He has also made an original contribution to American studies.”
• Multicultural Review 18.4 (Winter 2009): 66. Review by Vladimir F. Wertsman (New York Public Library):
“This interesting, thoroughly researched scholarly study examines how ten minor religions interpreted America’s reality (“nation and notion”) and generated numerous religious myths and visions of America. … [t]his volume is certainly a welcome addition to the topic of racial, cultural, and ethnic studies. … Recommended for comparative ethnic and religion collections.”
In print. (Order from Kalimat Press: http://www.kalimat.com/Locke.html.)
REVIEWS
• Derik Smith. World Order 38.3 (2006/2007): 42–48. (Published in 2008.): ”Christopher Buck’s recent book, Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy, is a welcome addition to the literature on early twentieth-century American and African American culture. But, perhaps more important, Buck’s study is a significant contribution to scholarship on the history of the Bahá’í Faith in the United States. … Any future study of Locke must necessarily make its way through Christopher Buck’s Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy. The scholar forcefully proves his thesis that, in Locke’s thinking, philosophy and religious belief operated as synergistic terms. He has shown that the Bahá’í Faith was integral to Locke’s life and ideology. … Yet, after reading Buck’s work, it is difficult to imagine Locke the philosopher rapt in prayer. Of course, this is not a shortcoming of the book. Rather it is an indication that, while he may have wanted to portray a more pious figure, Buck maintains the vow he made in his introduction to Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy “to constrain any grandiose claims on Locke as a Bahá’í.”
• M. Anthony Fitchue. Journal of African American History 92.1 (Winter 2007): 131–133: “But the jewels in this book are unmistakable. … Clearly, Buck has given voice to the men and women who not only put the Baha’i faith first in their lives, but also left key documents, personal letters, notes, and memoranda related to the life of philosopher Alain LeRoy Locke for future researchers to ponder and use for years to come.”
• William P. Collins. Insights (Library of Congress Professional Association Newsletter) 38.1–3 (Jan–Oct 2006): 10–12: “Both of these books [Lights of the Spirit and Alain Locke: Faith and Philosophy] go a long way toward correcting the historians’ failure to note the important role played by the Bahá’í Faith and prominent African-American Bahá’ís in the struggle for racial equality in the United States.”
NOTE
This is the first formal (academic) comparison of the Baha’i Faith and Christianity, notwithstanding a wealth of apologetic literature on this topic.
OPENING PARAGRAPH
Religions enshrine symbols, the stained-glass windows of faith. Sacred symbols present an explorable treasury of religious thought—an information-rich, condensed language of spirituality. Symbols are the prisms of ideals and of other religious concerns. Symbols are susceptible of analysis and are proper objects of study. As symbols encode ideas, they require interpretation to be both understood and meaningfully compared. “We can see that an essential ingredient of the modern study of religion,” writes Ninian Smart, “is symbolic analysis, which tries to throw light on the various themes which can be discovered cross-culturally through the exploration of various worldviews” (1985, 33). Symbolic analysis involves not only the exploration of religious worldviews intrinsically, but comparatively as well. – Paradise & Paradigm, p. 1.
CONCLUSION
Symbols ensoul ideas. In the Abrahamic faiths generally, the most important symbol complex is eschatological imagery, the positive focus of which is Paradise. Visions of the empyreal realm have, historically, had an extraordinary power to inspire. Paradise is iconoplastic. The beatific panorama, the symbolic landscape, the ideals and imagery that inform Paradise in the religious imagination are grounded in root metaphors and are animated by key scenarios reflecting a theology of activity, in a dynamic interplay of belief and behavior, myth and ritual, within the religious grasp of totality.
Paradise allegorizes ideals. These ideals are projected onto heaven. There, in the wish-images of the communal dream, ideals are reified and beatified. In a Bergeresque process of paradisical world building, Heaven functions as the impressionistic blueprint of the ideal faith-community. Paradise imagery is then dislocated from the speculative and refocused on Earth. When once the heart is transformed and society reformed, Paradise is realized. In the intersection of eschatology and ethics, in the interplay of ideas and imagery, and as a function of an organizing principle, an overarching paradigm, Paradise becomes utopia. – Paradise & Paradigm, p. 329.
REVIEWS
• Kathleen McVey. International Journal of Middle East Studies 35.3 (Aug. 2003): 494–496.
Will C. van den Hoonaard. Studies in Religion. Sciences Religieuses 31.3–4 (2002): 501–502.
• Brannon Wheeler. Religious Studies Review 28.3 (July 2002): 293:
“Buck’s theoretically innovative analysis of ‘paradigmatic differences’ in East Syrian (or Nestorian) Christianity and the early Baha’i faith is a fascinating and intellectually challenging book. … In all, a forceful and clearly argued book which should be read by scholars interested in questions of religious symbolism and the comparative method.”
• Andrew Rippin. University of Toronto Quarterly 71.1 (Winter 2001/2002): 170–172.
• William Collins. Baha’i Studies Review 10 (2001/2002): 157–160.
• Edward G. Farrugia, S.J. Orientalia Christiana Periodica 66.2 (2000): 480–483.
• John Renard. Middle East Studies Association Bulletin 34.2 (2000): 212–213.
• Daniel Grolin. H-Net Reviews in the Humanities and Social Sciences (July 2000).
Harold Coward. (Unpublished) (2000).
POST-PUBLICATION SCHOLARSHIP
Paola Orsatti, “Syro-Persian Formulas In Poetic Form In Baptism Liturgy,” Persian Origins – Early Judaeo-Persian and the Emergence of New Persian. Collected Papers of the Symposium, Göttingen 1999. Edited by Ludwig Paul (Iranica Vol. 6, Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2003), pp. 147–176.
LIBRARIES WORLDWIDE
Total (print & ebook editions): 1,886. [WorldCat, July 11, 2019.] Also available as a Nook Book.
Posted with permission of author and publisher, Kalimát Press. Thesis topic originally recommended by Todd Lawson. Scanned by Duane Troxel. Proofread by Jonah Winters and Lynn Jaluvka, with additional proofing by Bobbi Lyons. Formatted for the web by Jonah Winters. Corrections by Shahrokh Monjazeb. Critically read, from cover-to-cover, with recommendations, including several emendations, by Sohrab Kourosh. Please support this online re-printing by ordering a copy of the book.
See also the following published, academic reviews of Symbol & Secret:
• Moojan Momen, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (Third Series) 7.2 (July 1997): 290–91. “Christopher Buck’s book represents the first book-length attempt in the English language to analyse one of the major works of Bahā’u’llāh. … One main theme that Buck explores in this book is the question of whether the text of the Īqān contains hints by Bahā’u’llāh of his future claim. Some have expressed doubt as to whether any such hints exist but Buck demonstrates, conclusively I think, that there are many covert and even overt indications of what he calls ‘Bahā’u’llāh’s messianic secret’. … Buck has created a good starting point for what one would anticipate will be a new genre: critical analyses of the writings of Bahā’u’llāh.”
• Frank Lewis, Baha’i Studies Review 6 (1996): 76–91 [16-page extended review]. “Buck’s analysis of Bahaullah’s [sic: Baha’u’llah’s] appeal to Koran 33:44 promising attainment to the divine Presence on the Day of Resurrection (itself allegorically interpreted by Bahaullah as the advent day of a new prophet), as a counter-argument to the nearby verse (33:40) about the ‘Seal of the Prophets’ is simply brilliant.” … “Symbol and Secret is a ground-breaking study, setting a standard for and describing the agenda of the exegesis of Bahai texts for some time to come.”
• John Hatcher, Middle East Studies Association (MESA) Bulletin 30.1 (July 1996): 70–71. “Buck offers insightful analysis of Bahā’u’llāh’s exegetical technique.”
• Jonah Winters, Iranian Studies 32.1 (Winter 1999): 141–145. “Buck has undertaken a project that is to be commended on many fronts. This study is daring in that it is the first extended analysis of the Islamic context and content of Baha’ullah’s thought and writings. The rigor with which Buck has treated his topics is a model for anyone engaging in textual scholarship: his research is broad, his attention to detail thorough, and his coverage of the topics exhaustive. Finally, many of his conclusions, the light he throws on the Íqán and its content, and in places even his methods are frankly brilliant.” DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00210869908701948.
• Jonah Winters, Journal of Bahá’í Studies 9.3 (September 1999): 69–75. “Christopher Buck’s Symbol and Secret: Qur’an Commentary in Bahá’u’lláh’s Kitáb-i Íqán (Studies in the Bábí and Bahá’í Religions, volume 7) can be seen as a work of genius: it is ground-breaking—daring, innovative, and even brilliant. … As Symbol and Secret is the first work written in English to examine Bahá’í scripture and hermeneutics in any analytical depth, Buck’s work can without exaggeration be declared seminal.
[…] First, this study is daring in that it is the first extended analysis of the Islamic context and content of Bahá’u’lláh’s thought and writings. Buck’s tangential self-defense on pages 260–261 indicates that he, too, is well aware of the daringness of the topic and of his academic approach to it. Second, the rigour with which Buck has treated his topics is a model for anyone engaging in textual scholarship: his research is broad, his attention to detail thorough, and his coverage of the topics exhaustive. Finally, many of his conclusions, the light he throws on the Íqán and its content, and in places even his methods are frankly brilliant.” DOI: https://doi.org/10.31581/jbs-9.3(1999).
From the "Introduction":
Michigan State University’s Service Learning Writing Project has become a combination of both service and learning throughout the 2000–2001 academic year, in association with two non-profit advocacy organizations: Michigan Nonprofit Association and Michigan’s Children. Students in Dr. David Stowe’s and Dr. Christopher Buck’s sections of “Writing: Public Life in America” (ATL 135) were given the opportunity to write issue briefs, covering concerns of their generation, Generation Y.
Generation Y Speaks Out: A Policy Guide is the result of hard work and dedication, and is researched and written entirely by MSU students. The following compilation of issue briefs began as an unknown. The final outcome was a mystery to all partners, yet a vision was in mind.
What exactly is an issue brief? What components does it contain? What is the final format? All of these are questions that were asked over and over to make this project’s vision a reality. An issue brief is exactly what its name describes - a brief summary of a current issue relevant to society.
In this particular case, it is an issue that is of concern to Generation Y. Generation Y is the 18–24 age group into which participating students of this project fall. While the views of this generation have been criticized as either being radical, or not having any views at all, the results may be surprising. These results are the end product of numerous focus groups, surveys, and research of the opinions of students and friends of students at Michigan State University.
Book Chapters by Christopher Buck
In: Menschenrechte in der Islamischen Republik Iran (Human Rights in the Islamic Republic of Iran), ed. Anja Pistor-Hatam (Würzburg, Germany: Ergon-Verlag, 2021). Pp. 161–188. (Published on May 5, 2021.)
Description (German, with English translation):
Beschreibung
Die Islamische Republik Iran ist an den gewohnheitsrechtlichen Inhalt der Allgemeinen Erklärung der Menschenrechte gebunden. In der Verfassung Irans gelten Gleichheitsrechte jedoch nur für Musliminnen und Muslime. Auch wird der Schutz durch das Gesetz in der Verfassung den Bürgerinnen und Bürgern der Islamischen Republik ausschließlich im Rahmen der zwölferschiitischen Auslegung des islamischen Rechts gewährt. Demzufolge gibt es unterschiedliche Rechte für unterschiedliche Menschen, je nach Geschlechts- und Religionszugehörigkeit. Wie man in Iran auf dieser Grundlage die universellen Menschenrechten diskutiert und wie man mit diesen umgeht, ist Gegenstand der Beiträge dieses Sammelbandes.
Description
The Islamic Republic of Iran is bound by the customary content of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In Iran's constitution, however, equality rights apply only to Muslims. Also, protection under the law in the constitution is granted to citizens of the Islamic Republic only within the framework of the Twelver Shiite interpretation of Islamic law. Accordingly, there are different rights for different people depending on their gender and religious affiliation. How universal human rights are discussed and dealt with in Iran on this basis is the subject of the contributions to this anthology. Content:
Anja Pistor-Hatam: Einleitung/Introduction /
Kerstin von der Decken: Völkerrechtliche Bindungen des Iran an die Menschenrechte: UN-Menschenrechts-verträge, universelles Völkergewohnheitsrecht und OIC-Menschenrechtsdokumente /
Arash Sarkohi: Islamischer Menschenrechtsdiskurs in Iran - Chance oder Widerspruch /
Constance Arminjon Hachem: Human Rights in Twelver Shiite Islam: Iranian Clerics' Debate on Two Legal Traditions /
Ladan Rahbari: Violence Against Women in Contemporary Iran: Between State, Society and Domestic Sphere /
Arash Guitoo: Sexuelle Minderheiten in der Islamischen Republik Iran /
Christopher Buck: The "Baha'i Question" in Iran: Influence of International Law on "Islamic Law" /
Anja Pistor-Hatam: "Human Dignity/karâmat": On the Question of a Possible Consensus in the Human Rights Debate through the Example of the Islamic Republic of Iran /
Anja Pistor-Hatam: Freedom of Religion in the Islamic Republic of Iran and the "Right to Have Rights" /
Mohsen Kadivar: Plädoyer für die Abschaffung der Bestrafung von Apostasie im Islam
About the Editor:
Anja Prof. Dr. Pistor-Hatam
Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Seminar für Orientalistik
Dr Anja Pistor-Hatam is professor of Islamic Studies at Kiel University. After studying Islamic Studies and History at Freiburg University, where she earned her doctorate in 1992, she habilitated at Heidelberg University in 1999. Prof. Pistor-Hatam has held various positions at Kiel University (Dean of the Department of Philosophy, Speaker of the university's senate and Vice-President for Student Affairs, Internationalization, and Diversity). She is a member of the Academy of Sciences in Hamburg and of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Scientific Advisory Board for the Institute of Iranian Studies.
https://www.nomos-shop.de/ergon/titel/menschenrechte-in-der-islamischen-republik-iran-id-87893/
Arabic translation of: Buck, Christopher. “Kahlil Gibran.” American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. Supplement XX. Edited by Jay Parini. Farmington Hills, MI: Scribner’s Reference/The Gale Group, 2010. Pp. 113–129. Translated from English into Arabic by Mr. Gamal Hassan.
جبران خلیل جبران
( (المولود 1883 ، والمتوفي 1931
مقالة بقلم كریستوفر باك
كان خلیل جبران، الكاتب والفنان العربيّ الأصل والأمریكيّ الجنسیة، صاحب مؤلّفات أوسع
الكتب انتشارا، وھي أعمال لم تنل بعد من ترحیب النقاد ما نالتھ من إعجاب جمھور القرّاء.
ولاشك في أن أعمال جبران العربیة كانت أعمالا محوریّة فیما یتعلّق بتطوّر الأدب العربيّ في
القرن العشرین، من حیث أن الرومانسیة بدأت بجبران، تلك الشخصیّة الرئیسیة في حركة المھجر
التي قام بھا الأدباء الذین ھاجروا إلى الغرب واتخذوا من مدینة نیویورك مركزا لھم. كما أنھ لیس
ھناك من شك في أن رائعة جبران – ألا وھو كتاب "النبيّ" (عام 1923 )، وھو مؤلّف في الحكم
والأمثال صغیر الحجم یقدّم للقارئ أقوالا حكیمة تقارب النبوءات في أسلوبھا – ھو عمل ینتمي
إلى الأدب العالمي نظرا لنیلھ شھرة وشغفا من القراء في جمیع أنحاء المعمورة. أما عن كونھ
أدیبا أمریكیا فإن جبرن لم ینل سوى النذ ر الیسیر من اھتمام نقاد الأدب الأمریكیین. وبما أن كتاب
"النبيّ" ما زال في انتظار الاعتراف بھ كعمل كلاسیكيّ أمریكي، وكاتبھ لم یُقبَل بعد في زمرة
الأدباء الأمریكیین، یكون إدراج جبران في موسوعة المؤلّفین الأمریكیین أمراً یلزمھ ما یبررّه
لدى أوساط النقد الأدبيّ.
This article was highly recommended by the late Suheil Bushrui, BA, PhD, Hon LHD (d. 2015), who wrote: “Not only did Dr. Buck contribute an excellent entry on Gibran, he also provided overwhelming support for Gibran’s inclusion in the American literary canon.” (See Dr. Bushrui’s “Letter of Reference,” CV.)
Shortly before he passed away at the age of 85, Dr. Bushrui planned to have this article translated into Arabic for the Arabic-speaking readers. Dr. Bushrui—as (former) Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace, University of Maryland—was recognized as “the world’s foremost authority on the works of Lebanese poet, artist and writer Kahlil Gibran.”
https://burhaninstitute.org/…/Arabic-Translation-of-Kahlil-…
FRENCH TRANSLATION
Christopher Buck, “Un auteur américain: Khalil Gibran (Bécharré 29, 6 janvier 1883—New York, 10 avril 1931),” trans. Philippe Maryssael, Khalil Gibran—Le Fol: Ses Paraboles et Poèmes. Traduit de l’anglais: The Madman: His Parables and Poems (Arlon, Belgium: DEMDEL Éditions, 2018). Pp. lxv–ciii. ISBN 978-2-87549-265-4. https://www.demdel-editions.com/…/241-87549-265-98728754926…
Available on Academia:
https://www.academia.edu/…/Christopher_Buck_Un_auteur_am%C3…
ENGLISH ORIGINAL:
Christopher Buck, “Kahlil Gibran.” American Writers: A Collection of Literary Biographies. Supplement XX. Edited by Jay Parini. Farmington Hills, MI: Scribner’s Reference/The Gale Group, 2010. Pp. 113–129. (Available in the Gale Virtual Reference Library (GVRL) database.)
Available on Academia:
https://www.academia.edu/…/_Kahlil_Gibran._American_Writers…
ABSTRACT
KAHLIL GIBRAN
(1883–1931)
Christopher Buck
The Arab American author and artist Kahlil Gibran was a best-selling writer whose work has yet to receive critical acclaim equal to his popular appeal. There is no question that Gibran’s work in Arabic was central to the development of twentieth-century Arabic literature—in that Arab Romanticism begins with Gibran, the pivotal figure in the Mahjar movement of émigré Arab writers centered in New York. There is also no question that Kahlil Gibran’s masterpiece, The Prophet (1923)—a small volume of aphorisms (wise sayings) offering pithy wisdom of an almost prophetic quality—belongs to world literature, for it is known and loved the world over. As an American man of letters, however, Gibran has received scant attention by American literary critics. Since The Prophet has yet to be widely recognized as an American classic, and the author yet to be fully accepted as an American writer, Gibran’s inclusion in the American Writers series requires some justification.
Eminent scholars including Irfan Shahid (professor emeritus at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.) and Suheil Bushrui (professor emeritus and current director of the Kahlil Gibran Chair for Values and Peace at the University of Maryland at College Park) have made the case for Gibran’s recognition as an American writer worthy of note. According to Bushrui, America is entitled to claim Gibran as one of its sons (even if not a native son) as fully and as authentically as his native Lebanon can lay such claim: “In his work, he became not only Gibran of Lebanon, but Gibran of America, indeed Gibran the voice of global consciousness” (1996, p. 10). After all, the young Gibran spent only the first twelve years of his life in Bsharri (a village near the famous “Cedars of God”), where he was born in 1883, before emigrating with his family to the United States. Apart from a two-year study in Paris and two brief return visits to Lebanon, Gibran spent his entire adult life—the last two-thirds of his life, in fact—entirely on American soil, dying in New York at the age of forty-eight. In The Prophet, the city of Orphalese is often said to represent America (or New York).
Shahid underscores the fact The Prophet was America’s best-selling book of the twentieth century, not counting the Bible, and that Gibran outsold all other American poets, from Walt Whitman to Robert Frost. According to Gibran’s New York publisher, Alfred A. Knopf, The Prophet has sold more than ten million copies. The book’s success was due entirely to its own appeal, as Knopf never promoted it. Strangely, Gibran is arguably America’s best-loved prose-poet, whose market appeal continues despite critical indifference. It’s true that Gibran had what might be called a double psyche, and inhabited two thought-worlds at once. As an Arab American, Gibran wrote in two languages: English and Arabic. Arabic was his mother tongue, and English his second language. As an accomplished man of letters of considerable influence in the Middle East, Gibran inspired a literary renaissance in the Arab world, such that all modern Arabic poetry bears the marks of Gibran’s. Yet Gibran’s work has had little influence in American letters, despite its enormous popular appeal. Notwithstanding, Shahid thinks that Gibran has not been fairly treated as an American writer. The problem is exacerbated by the fact that, categorically, The Prophet exists in splendid isolation, severed from its Arabic cultural roots. And so The Prophet will have to be evaluated, or reevaluated, on its own literary merits and for its singular contribution to the American literary heritage.
“Chapter 5: Religion of Peace: Islamic Principles of Good Governance.” Winds of Change in the Middle East and North Africa: Crisis, Catharsis, and Renewal, ed. Behrooz Sabet and Gamal Hassan. Arabic translation of English original by Gamal Hassan (رياح التغيير: في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا). Beirut: Dar al-Saqi, 2018. Pp. 133–166. (Release date: November 1, 2018.) ISBN: 9786140320994.
English original: Buck, Christopher. “Chapter 5: Religion of Peace: Islamic Principles of Good Governance.” Winds of Change: The Challenge of Modernity in the Middle East and North Africa, ed. Cyrus Rohani and Behrooz Sabet. London: Saqi Books, 2019. (Forthcoming. Release date: November 4, 2019.)
“Chapter 6: Defining Islamic Social Principles: A Preamble.” Winds of Change in the Middle East and North Africa: Crisis, Catharsis, and Renewal, ed. Behrooz Sabet and Gamal Hassan. Arabic translation of English original by Gamal Hassan (رياح التغيير: في الشرق الأوسط وشمال أفريقيا). Beirut: Dar al-Saqi, 2018. Pp. 167–180. (Release date: November 1, 2018.) ISBN: 9786140320994.
English original: Buck, Christopher. “Chapter 6: Defining Islamic Social Principles: A Preamble.” Winds of Change: The Challenge of Modernity in the Middle East and North Africa, ed. Cyrus Rohani and Behrooz Sabet. London: Saqi Books, 2019. (Forthcoming. Release date: November 4, 2019.)