"My imprisonment doeth Me no harm, neither the tribulations I suffer, nor the things that have befallen Me at the hands of My oppressors. That which harmeth Me is the conduct of those who, though they bear My name, yet commit that which maketh My heart and My pen to lament."[1]

"All these things bring joy to the heart, and yet 'Abdu'l-Bahá is sunk deep in an ocean of grief, and pain and anguish have so affected my limbs and members that utter weakness hath overtaken my whole body. ... there hath arisen a dust cloud of ill will amongst the believers themselves. ... this doth lay upon the heart of 'Abdu'l-Bahá a heavy burden of grief, of inconceivable grief. For no tempest more perilous than this could ever assail the Cause of God, nor could anything else so diminish the influence of His Word."[2]

"Does not 'Abdu'l-Bahá wish us, as He looks down upon us with loving expectation from His glorious Station, to obliterate as much as possible all traces of censure, of conflicting discussions, of cooling remarks, of petty unnecessary observations that impede the onward march of the Cause, that damp the zeal of the firm believer and detract from the sublimity of the Bahá'í Cause in the eyes of the inquirer?"[3]

"With every day that passes, danger grows that the rising fires of religious prejudice will ignite a worldwide conflagration the consequences of which are unthinkable."[4]

"... the disease of sectarian hatreds, if not decisively checked, threatens harrowing consequences that will leave few areas of the world unaffected."[5]

For twenty years, from the earliest days of the Internet, the most popular Baha'i Internet forums have been divided into opposing ideological sanctuaries, with Baha'is in every forum continually maligning Baha'is with views opposed to theirs, often using Baha'i writings, and the words of Baha'i institutions and Baha'i celebrities, as excuses and instruments for their maligning. I've seen that same maligning in some of the most popular Baha'i Blogs and Web pages, and in the writings of Baha'i scholars; and I've seen the same division into opposing camps in Baha'i facebook groups.

I see that maligning as a symptom of divisions that have always existed within the Baha'i community, all over the world and at every level, and at the same time I see it threatening to deepen and widen those divisions. I also see it breaking hearts, staining the reputation of the Faith and repelling people away from it, and undermining the zeal and even the faith of some of its members.

I see a need for more individual initiatives to help calm that tempest. I'll be posting some relevant guidance I've found for those initiatives, and some ideas for strategies and lines of action. I would welcome any ideas from anyone, regardless of your ideology!

References:
[1] (Baha'u'llah, Epistle to the Son of the Wolf, p. 23)
[2] (Abdu'l-Baha, Selections from the Writings of Abdu'l-Baha, p. 229)
[3] (Shoghi Effendi, 5 March 1922, to the Baha'is of the British Isles)
[4] (The Universal House of Justice, 2002 April, to the World's Religious Leaders)
[5] (The Universal House of Justice, Naw-Rúz, 2005, One Common Faith)