Dimensions of Baha'i Law

Roshan Danesh has devoted his career to the study of law and religion with a particular focus on the Baha’i Faith and its central legal text, the Kitab-i-Aqdas. In this collection of essays—previously published in a variety of academic journals, including the prestigious Journal of Law and Religion—Danesh invites the reader into an exploration of largely unchartered waters. As he states in the introduction to this collection, “understanding Baha’i law challenges us to question, and ultimately abandon, our taken-for-granted ways of thinking, talking about, and using law.” Organized around four distinct areas—Baha’u’llah’s conception of law itself, the constitutional dimensions of the Baha’i Faith, Baha’u’llah’s theory of social change and the role of law in social change, and existing scholarship and discourse concerning Baha’i law—the essays collected here are expansive and illuminating, and they provide an invaluable contribution to discourse on the subject.

Dr. Roshan Danesh is a lawyer, conflict resolution innovator, and educator whose areas of work, teaching, and writing include law and religion, constitutional law, Indigenous rights, international peace-building, and leadership and organizational change. Roshan completed his S.J.D. at Harvard Law School and L.L.B at the University of Victoria, and he has taught at many academic institutions around the world. For the last fifteen years Roshan has also worked extensively on advancing Indigenous rights and reconciliation, including advising Indigenous nations and political organizations, acting as a special counsel to the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, and acting as a special advisor to the Government of British Columbia. He currently lives in Victoria, Canada with his family.