Hermann Roemer from Germany, a critic of Baha’ism

Bahaismiran: Hermann Roemer, a protestant clergyman and prolocutor, was born in Stuttgart Germany on July, 1880. Roemer was studying at theology and philosophy colleges of Tubingen and Hall universities during 1898 to 1902 and he was profited by known masters and professor such as Haring, Hegler, Koller, Reichle, Schlatter, Sebold. After finishing his education he became a master of theology there. He was active in protestant seminars about religion recognition in Stuttgart. Suggested by the theology college of Tubingen, he became the chairman of the specialized and searching seminars of the Bible.

Stating his research aims, Roemer reminds: “I was in Stuttgart in 1907 and observing Baha’is association in this city establishing. I felt Germany in need of doing a practical research to answer to Baha’ism proselytizing.” For achieving this aim, Roemer compiled his book entitled “Babism and Baha’ism, a study in Islamic history of religions. His book “Die Babi-Baha’i, Ein studie Zur religionsgeschichte des Islam “I was in fact his PhD thesis which was presented to the Tubingen supreme university of philosophy in 1911. This book wasn’t his first regarding Babism and Baha’ism; in 1908 he wrote an article criticizing Baha’ism and in 1910 following his researches concerning the history of religious proselytizing in Germany, he wrote an article entitled “The proselytizing of Asian religions in occident. In 1912 a similar book entitled “Die Babi-Baha’i- the latest Mohammedan Sect” written by Roemer was published.

Roemer considers Babism and Baha’ism as gnosis having sectary structure and against wisdom which are affected by secret sciences of Ismaeli, Horoufi, and Kabbala and Baktashi dervishes. He believes that Baha’i teachings concerned with God’s recognition, manifestation, the levels of bounty band blessing have been influenced by a kind of Neo-Plato and gnosis beliefs.

According to Roemer, Baha’ism betrayed the national interests and profits of the Iranian using the unreal slogan of realistic unity during the constitutionalism revolution of Iran. In this regard Roemer points out that “Abbas Effendi formed a plot against the Iranian democracy movement and compromised with Russian and English diplomats.

Source: The translation of the book “Die Babi-Bahai, Eine studie zur religionsgeschichte des Islams