Why this is not Creationism
A refutation of the universal tree-like structure of evolution should not be confused with anti-Darwinism. In fact, Darwin’s contribution is astonishing for just how accurate he was on such a wide array of topics, far ahead of his time. Not to mention what he was up against. Biblical creationism was a powerful force in the nineteenth century and much of Darwin’s scientific evidence was framed as a refutation of supernatural origin, as is evident from reading his work.
The modern debate is not so different. There are a number of popular authors (Dawkins, Coyne) that continue writing about evolution as if the only options are natural selection and intelligent design. Unfortunately, attempts to falsify the doctrine of universal common descent are viewed as contrary to natural selection and supportive of young-earth creationism. Creationists, for their part, have written persuasively about evolution by arguing against a set of misunderstandings about evolution. Within this dichotomy, a superficial understanding of the issue would lump Baha'i beliefs together with those of creationists. But a spectrum with fundamentalist Christian creationism on one end, and scientific consensus on the other, would show Baha'i belief almost totally aligned with the consensus. Yet not perfectly aligned.
Baha’i belief differs in the details of speciation, providing a model that might be called parallel evolution, polygenesis, or independent descent. This conflicts with the principle of universal common ancestry, a major pillar of Darwinism, but does not conflict with natural selection, competition, or adaptation. The idea of numerous genealogical trees growing in parallel from unique starting points through entirely natural processes, as opposed to descent exclusively by divergence, has never been investigated in earnest by the mainstream. It’s not on their radar. In this context, `Abdu’l-Baha’s view is an unresolved question. If the theory were correct and proven, it would rank among the greatest revolutions in evolutionary science.
`Abdu'l-Baha acknowledged the conflict and believed it would be reconciled. He said that, "in the future it will become evident and clear, and the European philosophers will themselves realize" the truth of his statements. There is no need to invoke a supernatural event, so the model of species forming from unique starting points is entirely within the realm of testable science, where creationism (a.k.a. intelligent design) is not.
