Palestinian Baha'is

Palestinian Baha'is are Palestinians who practise the Bahá'í Faith. The Palestinian Baha'is constitute one of the earliest Baha'i Faith practitioners due to the fact that two of the holiest Baha'i cities, Haifa and Acre are located in places where Palestinians previously constituted a significant proportion of those cities prior to the 1948 Palestinian exodus. The contemporary ban on seeking proselytizing to Israelis was originally conceived of as a ban on proselytizing to Palestinians.[1] During the Mandatory Palestine period, Palestinians Baha'is were one of eight categories as options on the censuses carried out by the former British protectorate.[2]

According to Naim Ateek, in the modern era, there are Palestinian Baha'is who live alongside Palestinians of other religious persuasions.[3] Author Alan Bryson has reported the existence of Palestinian Baha'is in the West Bank.[4] On occasion, there are Palestinian Baha'is who were raised in another Abrahamic religion, but thereafter converted to the Baha'i Faith.[4]