Source: The Herald Sun
http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-749318.html
On July 1, 2006 The Herald Sun reported, "Mark Perry of Carrboro was 12 years old, living in New Hampshire, when his stepfather became a member of the Baha'i faith. Raised Christian, Perry was unfamiliar with the books on the shelves. 'At first, I was afraid of it and thought it was a cult. But it answered all my questions about the universe,' he said. The Baha'i faith's message of unity includes Christianity. Some Baha'is see their faith as an outgrowth of the religion in which they were raised. Bahiyyah Abdul-Wakil does. The Durham resident was raised Sunni Muslim. She read a few Baha'i books and made a declaration of faith four years ago. She saw a lot of similarities with Islam, so that helped her believe that Baha'i was essentially the same, she said. Kathy Lee of Durham was raised Christian and grew up in St. Louis. In the 1950s, her maternal grandmother investigated the Baha'i faith, and Lee accompanied her to some meetings. 'It was like suddenly a whole vista opened up before me,' Lee said. 'Bahaullah [founder and prophet of the Baha'i faith] taught me that men and women were equal. I had never been taught that in Christianity.' As a teen, she read the Bible on her own and wondered if Bahaullah was a fulfillment of Christ's prophecies or a false prophet. 'To me, Bahaullah is the return of the spirit of Christ. For me, the resolution was made. All faiths are part of God's plan,' Lee said."