La comunità Bahá'i e il dialogo interreligioso a Palermo: tra dottrina dell’unità cosmopolita e criticità strutturali del riconoscimento nel sistema italiano

This essay analyzes the complex legitimation trajectory of the Baháʼí faith community within the context of interreligious dialogue in Palermo and Italian institutional rigidity. The research, based on in-depth interviews, reveals a multi-level legitimation strategy: the community mobilizes its universalist doctrine and global authority (derived from BIC accreditation at the United Nations) as a resource of soft power. This persuasive force is translated into local civic credibility, strategically utilized to demonstrate institutional relevance on themes of justice and legality. Although this strategy has secured significant symbolic and moral recognition, the community's full legal parity is still hampered by the persistent institutional deadlock in the process of granting the Intesa (Agreement) with the State.