{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_36585/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_36585","id":"gutenberg_36585","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/36585","summary":null,"tags":["Bahai Faith -- Controversial literature","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"</pre>\n\n\n\nProduced by David Edwards, Matthew Wheaton and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n                         Bahaism and Its Claims\n\n\n                                 _By_\n                     SAMUEL G. WILSON, M.A., D.D.\n\n\n                     _Bahaism and Its Claims._\n\n    A Study of the Religions Promulgated by Baha Ullah and Abdul\n    Baha. 8vo, cloth, net $1.50.\n\n    Bahaism is a revolt from the fold of Islam which in recent years\n    has been bidding vigorously for the support of Occidental minds.\n    Many of its principles are culled from the Christian religion\n    which it insidiously seeks to supplant. What this Oriental cult\n    is, what it stands for, and what it aims at, is told in a volume\n    which forms a notable addition to the History of Comparative\n    Religions.\n\n\n                     _Persian Life and Customs._\n\n    With Incidents of Residence and Travel in the Land of the Lion\n    and the Sun. With a map and other illustrations, and an index.\n    8vo, cloth, net, $1.25.\n\n    \"Not only a valuable contribution to the missionary literature\n    of modern times, but is, in addition, a volume rich in the facts\n    it contains in regard to that historic country. The American\n    people generally should read this book, and thereby acquire much\n    needed information about the Persians.\"--_Religious Telescope._\n\n\n\n\n                         Bahaism and Its Claims\n\n\n  _A Study of the Religion Promulgated by Baha Ullah and Abdul Baha_\n\n                                   By\n                      SAMUEL GRAHAM WILSON, D. D.\n                  _Thirty-two Years Resident in Persia\n              Author of \"Persian Life and Customs,\" etc._\n\n                   NEW YORK     CHICAGO     TORONTO\n\n                        Fleming H. Revell Company\n\n                         LONDON AND EDINBURGH\n\n\n                          Copyright, 1915, by\n                       FLEMING H. REVELL COMPANY\n\n                      New York: 158 Fifth Avenue\n                    Chicago: 125 North Wabash Ave.\n                    Toronto: 25 Richmond Street, W.\n                     London: 21 Paternoster Square\n                     Edinburgh: 100 Princes Street\n\n\n                            _To my Wife_\n\n              _whose love and appreciation are a constant\n                   inspiration in our far-away home_\n\n\n\n\n  Contents\n\n\n     INTRODUCTION                                                     11\n\n     I. HISTORICAL SKETCH                                             17\n\n        The East productive of religions--Imamat--Shiahism, its\n        sects--Sheikhiism--The Bab-Subh i Azal--Baha Ullah--His\n        policy--His haram--Abdul Baha--Journey to\n        Occident--Education--Number of Bahais.\n\n    II. THE GENERAL CLAIMS OF BAHAISM                                 29\n\n        (I) New religion needed--(II) Bahaism that new religion--To\n        supersede Christianity--Doctrines--Baha God--His\n        Revelation--The Akdas--Conditions of discipleship--Position\n        of Abdul Baha--(III) Claims superiority to former\n        religions--In founder, books and doctrines--Not\n        superlative--(IV) To be a universal religion--Defects in\n        rites, regulations, calendar, civil government--House of\n        Justice--Alphabet--Universal language.\n\n   III. ITS SPECIFIC CLAIMS                                           61\n\n        Unification of Mankind--Divisions in Persia--Of\n        Bahais--Compulsory uniformity--One Language--Peace\n        Movement--History of--Abdul Baha on war--Bahaism dogmatic\n        and boastful.\n\n    IV. BAHAISM AND CHRISTIANITY                                      81\n\n        Antagonistic--Makes Christianity one among many--Abrogates\n        it--Dethrones Christ--Presumes to be Christ's Second\n        Coming--And the fulfillment of prophecy--Bahai meeting in\n        Chicago--Method of interpretation--The \"Ikan\"--Dishonours\n        and belittles the historic Christ.\n\n     V. BAHAISM AND CHRISTIANITY (_Continued_)                       109\n\n        Immortality and sin--Faith in Baha--Bahai Scriptures--Its\n        worship--Hierarchy--Substitutes for Baptism and Lord's\n        Supper--Christ's words\n        imitated--Rites--Ablution--Fast--Prayer--Pilgrimage--Acca\n        Shrines--Festivals--Era--Propaganda anti-Christian.\n\n    VI.  BAHAISM AND THE STATE                                       131\n\n        Babism political Mahdiism--Hostile to\n        Shah--Insurrections--Bahaism opportunism--Sought\n        reconciliation--Tolerated--Indifferent to Constitutional\n        struggle--Aided reactionary Shah--Rewarded by him Its\n        political scheme--Houses of Justice--Dangerous to liberty.\n\n   VII.  BAHAISM AND WOMAN                                           149\n\n        Abdul Baha teaches equality of sexes--Baha does\n        not--Education of girls neglected--Marriage\n        enjoined--Bigamyallowed--And practiced--Polygamy of\n        Baha--His family--Loose divorce--Intermarriage of\n        races--Aims at amelioration of woman--Moslem efforts--Babi\n        Kurrat ul Ayn--No successor to--Baha's haram--Men only to be\n        rulers--Women secluded.\n\n  VIII. ITS RECORD AS TO MORALS                                      177\n\n        Claim superior conduct--Falsification of religious\n        history--Suppression of facts--Changing sacred\n        Writings--Surat ul Maluk--Lawh i Basharat--Forging\n        quotations--Perversion of political history--Of Shahs--Of\n        plot to assassinate--False claim to Martyrs--Double view of\n        Abdul Hamid--Fact about imprisonment of\n        Baha--_Tagiya_--Dissimulation--Orient Occident\n        Unity--Pretense regarding Azal's succession--Maskin Kalam.\n\n    IX. ITS RECORD AS TO MORALS (_Continued_)                        207\n\n        Boast of Love--Hatred for Shiahs--For Persecutors--For\n        Mullahs--Abusive language--Vindictiveness--Addiction to\n        alcohol and opium--Testimonies.\n\n     X. RELIGIOUS ASSASSINATION                                      219\n\n        Strife between Baha and Azal in Bagdad--Baha goes to\n        Kurdistan--Dissension at Adrianople--Testimony of an\n        eye-witness--Attempted assassinations--Plots and counter\n        plots--Bahais assassinate Azalis at Acca--Other\n        assassinations--In Bagdad, in Persia--Attitude towards\n        taking of life--Suicide commended--Psychological\n        attestation--Traditional custom--Assassination practiced in\n        Islam--Testimonies--Azali hatred.\n\n    XI. THE QUARREL OVER THE SUCCESSION                              247\n\n        Claim to love refuted--Death of Baha--Titles of\n        sons--Quarrel over will--Abbas assumes Pontiffship--Brothers\n        protest--Bitter schism--Boycott, anathema--Appeal to Turkish\n        government--Results in restriction of liberty--Quarrel and\n        schism in Persia--In America.\n\n   XII. BAHAISM IN AMERICA                                           263\n\n        First notices of--Kheiralla--His converts--Writings--An\n        American Azali--Pilgrims to Acca--Quarrel and schism--Abdul\n        Karim--Abul Fazl--Methods of\n        propaganda--Publications--Orient Occident Unity--Abdul Baha\n        visits America--Press agents--Photographs,\n        movies--Addresses--Attitude of public--Communion service of\n        Bahais--Bahai Temple, Mashrak ul Azkar--Memorial\n        vase--Influence in America--Chicago congregation--Number in\n        U. S. A. exaggerated--Statistics of other religious\n        fads--Christian liberalism excessive.\n\n  BIBLIOGRAPHY                                                       287\n\n  INDEX                                                              291\n\n\n\n\nIntroduction\n\n\nAmong movements in the Mohammedan world in modern times Babi-Bahaism is\none of the most interesting. It is a definite revolt from Islam within\nits own fold. It has won its way in Persia amid considerable persecution\nto a position as a separate religion. It has added another to the\npermanent sects of the Near East. There Christian missions, inspired to\nlong-postponed effort to convert Mohammedanism, have come face to face\nwith Bahaism as a new and aggressive force. It has laid out a program as\na universal religion, has crossed the seas and aspires to convert\nChristendom. Interest in it has been increased by this propaganda in the\nWest and by the visits to Europe for this purpose of its present head,\nAbdul Baha Abbas, in 1911 and 1912.\n\nBesides those who are interested in Bahaism as students of history and\ncomparative religions, there are several classes who have shown marked\nfavour to Bahaism.\n\n(1) One class are simply bent on seeking some novelty. They are well\ndescribed by the _Egyptian Gazette_, of Alexandria, in speaking of the\nreception of Abdul Baha in London: \"About the London meetings there was\na certain air of gush and self-advertisement on the part of Baha's\nfriends, which was quite patent to all who are familiar with that kind\nof religion which will listen to anything so long as it is unorthodox,\nnew, and sensational.\"[1]\n\n(2) Another class are believers in the truth of all great religions,\nand, with a vague pantheistic notion, recognize all great men as\nGod-inspired. They are willing to put Baha Ullah and Abdul Baha on the\nlist of true religious leaders. Such is Rev. R.J. Campbell, who, in\nreceiving Abdul Baha in London, spoke of the \"diverse religious faiths\nthat are all aspects of the one religion,\" and of the services as \"a\nwonderful manifestation of the Spirit of God.\" He said to the\ncongregation: \"We as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is to us\nand always will be the Light of the World, give greeting to Abdul Baha.\"\n\nMr. Campbell gives opportunity to the Bahai propaganda in the _Christian\nCommonwealth_, and has enlisted Abdul Baha as a contributor.\n\n(3) Another class look on Bahaism as an ethical system, and Baha and\nAbdul Baha as world teachers. Their relation to Christ has been only\nthat of a disciple to a teacher of morals. They recognize in Baha a new\nschoolmaster. Being Bahais to them consists in admiration of certain\nprinciples on which Abdul Baha is in the habit of dilating. But these\nare not Bahaism any more than Romans xii.-xv. are Pauline Christianity.\nPaul's gospel is Romans i.-viii. In its moral precepts and social\nprinciples, Bahaism is a borrower from Christ's teaching, and sometimes\nfrom Mohammed. However, Bahaism is a religion, not a system of morals.\n\n(4) Some adherents regard Bahaism as Christianity continued or renewed\nby the Second Coming of Christ, whom they recognize in Abdul Baha. Most\nAmerican Bahais are of this class, with faith in Baha Ullah as God the\nFather.\n\nHow can I classify the late Prof. T. K. Cheyne of Oxford? This widely\nknown critic in his last work (1914), \"The Reconciliation of Races and\nReligions,\" bewilders me by his credulity. It is only charitable to\nexcuse it as the product of his dotage. How otherwise could an Oxford\nscholar take pride in adopting the \"new name\" and titles given to him by\nAbdul Baha, sign his preface \"Ruhani,\" Spiritual, and have pleasure in\nbeing called the \"divine philosopher,\" \"priest of the Prince of Peace\n(Baha),\" and being compared to St. Paul as a herald of the Kingdom, and\nwrite himself a \"member of the Bahai community.\" At the same time Doctor\nCheyne wrote himself down as a \"member of the Nava Vidhan, Lahore\"\n(Brahma-Samaj).\n\nAt present there are Bahai congregations in sixteen of the United\nStates, in Canada, Hawaii, South Africa, England, Germany and Russia, as\nwell as in India and Burmah. The future of its propaganda in Christendom\nlacks promise. Yet its measure of success makes it desirable to examine\nits claims and the facts regarding them.\n\nFortunately besides the older Babi books, there is an abundance of Bahai\nliterature. There are (1) Treatises of Baha Ullah, (2) Tablets\n(Letters) and Addresses of Abdul Baha, (3) Persian Narratives, (4)\nEvidential books and tracts by its propagators, (5) Narratives of\npilgrimages to Acca. From an independent point of view, little has been\nwritten. Nearly all of the many articles which have appeared in\nperiodical literature have been from the pens of Bahais, though often\nnot so ostensibly. Prof. E. G. Browne of Cambridge University, England,\nhas translated and edited important Babi-Bahai works. His Introductions,\nNotes and Appendices to these books are storehouses of erudition and\nenable the reader to correct the biased information of the text. They\npertain for the most part to the Babi period. So do the able\ncontributions of Mr. A. L. M. Nicolas, the Consul of France, with whom,\nas my neighbour at Tabriz, I have had the pleasure of valuable\nconversations on this subject on which he is such an authority. I have\nhad as sources of information also a manuscript \"Life of Baha Ullah\" by\nMohammed Javad Kasvini, the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" Most Holy Book, translated\nby Dr. I. G. Kheiralla, in manuscript, and various unpublished letters\nand documents. Besides all this, I have been in personal contact with\nBahais in Persia for a generation. My language teachers were Bahais, one\nof them a convert to Christianity. I have found their journal, the _Star\nof the West_, a prolific source of information. I may claim not to be of\nthe class referred to by Abdul Baha when he says, \"Baha Ullah will be\nassailed by those who are not informed of his principles.\"\n\nAfter sketching, in brief, the history of Bahaism I will examine its\nreligious, moral, political and social doctrine and life. In doing this\nI shall quote for the most part from the words of the \"Revelation\" and\nits adherents, in order to insure fairness and justice. In the course of\nthe investigation, the history and character of the founders will be\nconsidered. Finally I shall describe its propaganda in the Occident.\n\nBahais declare that Babism is abrogated and superseded. In reality it is\ndead and I do not treat of it, except as it throws light on the history\nor doctrines of Bahaism. To all intents and purposes, the Bab is as much\nan obsolete prophet as Mani or Babak.\n\nI am to deal with Bahaism in its latest phases. The term Babi is not\nappropriate to the religion of Baha nor to his followers. Of the\n\"revelation,\" it may be said as Jacob said of his wages, they \"have\nchanged them ten times.\" The Bab altered his declarations regarding\nhimself and his statements of doctrine. Subh-i-Azal made further\nchanges. Baha's standpoint in the \"Ikan,\" at Bagdad, differs greatly\nfrom that in the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" at Acca. Abbas gave the kaleidoscope\nanother whirl and added his interpretations and emendations. Besides all\nthese, it has been given a Western aspect for Christians. The Rev. H. H.\nJessup, D. D., compares it very aptly to the town clock in Beirut, which\nhas two kinds of dial plates. The face turned towards the Moslem quarter\nhas the hands set to tell the hour according to Oriental reckoning; the\nface towards the Christian quarter, according to the European day. It\nis the face towards the Christians that I shall look at specially in the\npresent investigation. However historical facts are the same and the\nmain doctrines taught in the West have no essential difference from\nthose of Persian Bahaism.\n\nAcknowledgment and thanks are hereby tendered to _The Bibliotheca\nSacra_, _The Bible Magazine_, _The East and the West_, _The Church\nMissionary Review_, _The Missionary Review of the World_, _The Moslem\nWorld_, _The Union Seminary Review_, and The _Princeton Theological\nReview_ for the use of materials which I have previously published in\ntheir pages.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] Nov. 16, 1911, quoted in _Star of the West_, Dec. 11, 1911.\n\n\n\n\nI\n\nHistorical Sketch\n\n  Does it often happen that the earliest records of a religious\n  movement...pass, within a short time after their completion, into the\n  hands of strangers who, while interested in their preservation, have\n  no desire to alter them for better or worse. So far as my knowledge\n  goes, it has never happened save in the case of the Babi\n  religion.--_\"The New History of the Bab,\" p. xi, by E. G. Browne._\n\n  Persia is, and always has been, a very hotbed of systems from the time\n  of Manes and Mazdak in the old Sassanian days, down to the present\n  age, which has brought into being the Babis and the Sheikhis.--_\"A\n  Year Among the Persians,\" p. 122._\n\n  Outside of a certain mixture of Occidental science and philanthropy,\n  introduced largely for foreign consumption and in order to give an\n  up-to-date stamp or colouring to the movement, there is scarcely\n  anything that distinguishes Babism from its predecessors. The\n  materials are inextricably interwoven with the whole course of Persian\n  history in all its departments, political, religious, social, and\n  philosophical. Time has pronounced its verdict again and again in the\n  most unmistakable manner. So deep a hold have the ideas, which lie at\n  the foundation of Babism and similar sects, taken of the minds and\n  hearts of the people, that it may be said that as every American is a\n  possible president, so every Persian is a possible murshid. For every\n  sect that makes its appearance on the page of history, there are\n  hundreds of embryo sects, of whose existence no one knows outside of a\n  very limited circle.--_P. Z. Easton, quoted in Speer's \"Missions and\n  Modern History,\" Vol. I, p. 121._\n\n\nFor the Bahais, the Bab became a sort of John the Baptist, sent to\nannounce to the world the coming of Mirza Husain Ali, Baha Ullah, and\nperhaps of Abbas Effendi--a pitiable result of martyrdom. This thesis is\nessentially false. Reading of the book (the \"Bayan\") will convince every\none of this.--_A. L. M. Nicolas, \"Beyan Persan,\" Vol. I, p. 11._\n\nThe soil of the East has been fertile of religions. Montanus, Manes,\nMazdak, Babak, Mukanna--familiarized in Lalla Rookh as the Veiled\nprophet of Khorasan,--Hasan Sabah chief of the Assassins, Hakim the\ncruel God of the Druses, each of these propagated his doctrines, exerted\na wide influence, and left his mark on the people of the Orient.\nSaad-i-Doulah the Jew, Argoon Khan the Mongol, Ala-i-Din al Khalig, king\nof Delhi, and many others attempted to found new religions. In our own\nday the Mahdi of the Sudan, Ahmad Quadiani of India and Sheikh Ali\nNur-i-Din of Tunis entered the lists. In the West, too, in America a\nland unbridled by traditions, Mormonism, Dowieism and Christian Science\nhave flourished. To all these must be added Babism and Bahaism.\n\nAs an introduction to a discussion of Bahaism and its claims, I will\nsketch briefly and simply its origin and history. Bahaism is derived\nfrom Babism. Babism has its roots in Shiahism, a soil impregnated with\nthe doctrines of the Imamate and Mahdiism. The atmosphere is filled with\nmillennial hopes and dreamy mysticism, with Sufi philosophies and\nallegorical fancies of its poets. This soil has been fruitful of many\nsects. The Shiahism of Persia is called the \"Religion of the Twelve\"\nbecause its fundamental doctrine is that the twelve Imams, the lineal\ndescendants of Ali and Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed, were the\nrightful Caliphs of Islam, in succession to Mohammed. In the tenth\ncentury (329 A. H. or 940 A. D.) the Twelfth Imam disappeared into a\nwell, and still lives in Jabulka or Jabulsa whence he is expected to\nreappear as the Mahdi or Kaim. After his concealment, four persons in\nsuccession were channels of communication between him and the faithful.\nThe title given to these was Bab or the Gate.\n\nAmong the sects which sprang up among the Shiahs or were related to them\nwere the Ismielis, Carmathians, Druses, Hurufis, Ali-Allahis or\nNusairiyeh, Assassins, Batinis and many others. A group of these were\ncalled Ghulat, because they rendered excessive honour to the Imams,\nbelieving them to be incarnations of the attributes or essence of God.\nThose holding this view anticipated that the Imam Mahdi would be a\ndivine Manifestation.[2] At the beginning of the nineteenth century, a\nsect arose in Persia, called Sheikhis. It received its name from its\nfounder, Sheikh Ahmad of Ahsa, 1752-1827. He taught that there was\nalways in the world a \"perfect Shiah,\" who held communication with the\nabsent Imam and revealed his will. Sheikh Ahmad was that \"perfect one.\"\nHe was favoured by the Kajar Shahs and had a considerable following. His\nsuccessor, Haji Kazim of Resht, near the time of his death, announced to\nhis disciples at Kerbela that the Manifestation was at hand. One of his\ndisciples was Mirza Ali Mohammed of Shiraz. When twenty-four years of\nage in 1844, he laid claim to be the \"promised one.\" He took the title\nof \"Bab,\" the Gate or Door of communication of the knowledge of God. His\nfollowers were called Babis. He soon advanced his station and claimed to\nbe the Kaim or Mahdi. Still advancing he took the title of _Nukta_ or\nPoint of Divine Unity and announced his \"Revelation\" or \"Bayan\" as the\nabrogation of Islam and the Koran. From Shiraz he went to Mecca and\nproclaimed his manifestation. On his return he was imprisoned. Many of\nthe Sheikhis became his zealous followers and by their active propaganda\ncaused great agitation throughout Persia. The Bab was transferred to the\nextreme northwest of Persia and confined in prison at Maku and Chirik.\nHis sectaries, oppressed and persecuted, rose in arms against Mohammed\nShah, anticipating victory through divine interposition. The Bab was\nexecuted at Tabriz in 1850. The insurrections were put down and many of\nthe brave captives were treacherously slaughtered. A few Babis, seeking\nrevenge, attempted to assassinate the new Shah, Nasr-ud-Din. This led to\ncruel reprisals. Four score Babis were executed at Teheran. Others fled\ninto exile, especially to Bagdad. Among these was Mirza Yahya whom the\nBab had appointed his successor. His title was Subh-i-Azal, the Dawn of\nthe Eternal, or His Holiness the Eternal.\n\nA special point of the Bab's teaching was the announcement of the coming\nof \"Him whom God should manifest.\" After his death a number of the Babis\nclaimed to be the promised incarnation. There was a \"chaos of divine\nmanifestations,\" including Hazret Zahib, Janab-i-Azim, Nabil and others.\nAmong these claimants was Mirza Husain Ali, a son of Mirza Abbas,\nsurnamed Buzurk, and his concubine. The father was steward or \"vizier\"\nof the household of Imam Werdi Mirza, Governor of Teheran. He was half\nbrother to Mirza Yahya and thirteen years his senior. His title was Baha\nUllah, the splendour or glory of God. For many years Baha acted in\nBagdad (1852-67) as factotum for Azal, and acknowledged him as supreme.\nThen he announced that he himself was \"He whom God should manifest,\" and\ntook active measures to supplant Azal. About this time the Turkish\nGovernment transferred them to Adrianople. Here developed bitter\njealousies, quarrels and foul play. The Sultan intervened and sent\nSubh-i-Azal to Famagusta, Cyprus, and Baha Ullah to Acca[3] (Acre),\nSyria, August 1868. Both were granted pensions and kept under police\nsurveillance as parties dangerous to religion and the state. Azal\ncontinued to be the head of the Babis, called henceforth also Azalis.\nBaha attracted most of the Babis to himself, and they became known as\nBahais. Baha relegated the Bab to the position of a forerunner, and\ndeclared the \"Bayan\" and other books of the Bab to be superseded by his\nown \"Revelations.\" He changed in a measure the doctrines and laws of\nBabism, liberalizing its provisions. He put himself forward as the Lord\nof a new dispensation, the founder of a new religion.\n\nDuring the next quarter of a century Bahaism made little stir in Persia.\nIts advancement was by no means as rapid as during the earlier years of\nthe Bab. The zeal and devotion of the followers sensibly slackened.\n_Tagiya_ (dissimulation regarding one's religion) was allowed and\npracticed. The fierce warriors turned to professing the doctrines of\nexpediency, condemning as unwise zealots the fighting Babis of the\nprevious generation. During these years they escaped bloody persecutions\nexcept in rare instances. They tried to make their peace with the Shah,\nconstantly emphasizing their loyalty, expurgating their books to\nsuppress condemnation of the dynasty, and inducing the Sadr-Azam, the\nPrime Minister of Nasr-i-Din Shah, to tolerate and befriend them.\n\nIn Acca, too, Baha soon acquired considerable freedom, built a palace,\ncalled Bahja, in a delightful garden and freely received the pilgrims.\nHe sent out many tablets, composed his Books of Revelation and had them\npublished in Bombay. He died at Acca in May, 1892, in his seventy-fifth\nyear. His temple tomb is near the Bahja.\n\nBaha's haram consisted of two wives and a concubine. After his death,\nthe sons of the different wives quarrelled regarding the succession.\nAbbas Effendi, the only son of the oldest wife, proclaimed himself the\nsuccessor, the Interpreter, the Centre of the Covenant, the Source of\nAuthority. Mohammed Ali and his brothers strenuously opposed Abbas and\nintense animosity was engendered which divided the followers in Acca and\nPersia. Abbas drew the greater number with him. He assumed the title of\nAbdul Baha (Servant of Baha). He has the ambition to make the faith a\nworld religion and has inaugurated a propaganda in the West. After the\nproclamation of constitutional liberty in Turkey, he resided in Egypt.\nLater he made several journeys to Europe and one to North America. His\nvisit to the Occident brought him into the lime-light. He was given good\nopportunity to present his cause.\n\nThe addresses of this \"Infallible Interpreter\" of the cult did not\nreveal clearly the real doctrines and aim of the movement. Abdul Baha\nconfined himself mainly to the utterance of popular platitudes such as\nare stock-in-trade for a multitude of social and religious reformers,\nand most of which are original and accepted principles and precepts of\nChristianity. The real claims of Bahaism are set forth in the Books and\nTablets (Epistles) of Baha Ullah and Abdul Baha, and in a considerable\nliterature by Persian and American Bahais.\n\nAbdul Baha is an intelligent, well informed man, of fair sagacity. He\nwas educated at home after the custom of Persia. He says of himself, \"I\nhave studied Arabic profoundly and know the Arabic better than the\nArabians themselves. I have studied the Persian and Turkish in my native\nland, besides other languages of the East. But when I visit the West I\nneed an interpreter.\"[4] He said to Doctor Jessup, \"Yes, I know your\nBeirut Press and your books.\" His references to ancient and modern\nphilosophers, to historical events and to European writers, quoting from\nthe same, show some familiarity with literature.[5] He repudiates the\nclaims of some of his disciples that he has no literary culture, as that\nof Abul Fazl[6] or of M. A. Lucas who says:[7] \"He has had no access to\nbooks, yet his knowledge is unbounded.\" On this point Professor Cheyne\nremarks:[8] \"His public addresses prove that through this and that\nchannel he has imbibed something of humanistic and even scientific\nculture. He must have had some one to guide him in the tracks of modern\ninquiry. I venture to hope that his expounding may not, in the future,\nextend to philosophic, philological, scientific, and exegetical details.\nAbdul Baha may fall into error on secular problems, among which it is\nobvious to include Biblical and Koranic exegesis.\" \"I am bound to say\nthat Baha Ullah has made mistakes and the almost equally venerated\nAbdul Baha has made many slips.\"[9]\n\nA word should be said about the number of Bahais. I have many data on\nthis point, but can here give only a summary. Regarding their numbers,\nthe Bahais have indulged in gross exaggeration. \"Millions\" is the usual\nfigure used by American Bahais. Thus Phelps[10] speaks of \"the millions\nof Bahais in Persia.\" MacNutt, in \"Unity through Love,\" declares that\n\"His followers number millions from all the religious systems of the\nworld.\" Kheiralla[11] says: \"Abdul Karim, 1896, assured me that the\nbelievers in Baha were fifty millions. I wrote to Syria to ask. Sayid\nMohammed, secretary of Abbas Effendi, said that the number was\nfifty-five million souls.\" Kheiralla afterwards denounces it as a gross\ndeceit. As to Persia, they place the proportion at one-third or\none-half. Dreyfus writes,[12] \"Probably half the population of Persia is\nBahai.\" Some judicious non-Bahai writers allow them half a million or\nless in Persia on a basis of ten millions of population. American\nmissionaries, as Jordan at Teheran, Frame at Resht and Shedd at Urumia,\ncalculate that the number in Persia does not exceed 100,000 to 200,000.\nAfter careful inquiry I agree with this estimate.\n\nAs to other races and countries, let us see. Abul Fazl claims[13] that\n\"Jews, Zoroastrians, and Nusaireyah by thousands\" are Bahais. M. Haidar\nAli[14] says: \"The majority of Zoroastrians are recognized as Bahais in\nall sincerity.\" On the contrary Professor Browne writes:[15] \"I had been\ninformed that Zoroastrians were accepting Bahaism. However after much\nintercourse with the Zoroastrians of Yezd and Kerman for the space of\nthree and a half months, I came to the conclusion that few, if any, had\nadopted the Bahai creed.\" In India the proportion of Parsee-Bahais is\nvery small.\n\nAs to Jews:--Remey says: \"In Hamadan there is a large Israelitish\nfollowing of Baha.\" A census made by a European Jew showed exactly 59\nparents and with their children 194 persons out of a population of 6,000\nJews. As to the United States, I give some particulars in the closing\nchapter. The census of 1906 reported 1,280 Bahais, which may have\nincreased to two or three thousand. In the Turkish empire they are few,\nfor Sunni Moslems are utterly indifferent to Bahaism. The Egyptian\n_Gazette_ says of Egypt where Abdul Baha resided for two years, \"The new\nreligion has made little perceptible progress; Islam remained\nindifferent, and the Christian community was ignorant of his presence.\"\nOf Syria, Mr. Phelps wrote:[16] \"All the Bahais in Acca are Persians. No\nother nationalities are among them.\" The inference is plain that no\nnative of Acca had become Bahai through forty years of contact with Baha\nand his seventy followers. Bahais outside of Persia are probably all\ntold not more than 15,000 and one-third of these are Persians in Russia.\nAbdul Baha gave the impression that many of the Christians of Persia are\nconverts to Baha. Dr. J. H. Shedd wrote, 1894, \"I have heard of no case\nof a Christian conversion to Bahaism.\" Dr. G. W. Holmes wrote, 1903, \"I\ndo not know of a single Christian in Persia, who has been converted to\nBahaism. Some Bahais who made a profession of Christianity turned back\nto Baha.\" Rev. J. W. Hawkes declares that in his observation none of the\nmembers of the Syrian (Nestorian) or Armenian churches in Persia have\nbecome Bahais.[17] I have known of one Armenian family in Resht and two\nmen in Maraga, one of whom was a notorious ne'er-do-well, who kept up\nhis opium using as before.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[2] Prof. E. G. Browne says (\"A Literary History of Persia,\" p. 311),\n\"The resemblance between these numerous sects, whose history can be\ntraced through the last eleven centuries and a half, is most remarkable\nand extends even to the minute details of terminology.\" \"The doctrines\nappear to be endemic in Persia, and in our own days appeared again in\nthe Babi movement.\"\n\n[3] At that very time the chief of the Vashratis, who held that Sheikh\nAli Nur-i-Din, of Tunis, was a Manifestation of Mohammed, and his\nessence divine, was in exile in Acca. He was in friendly relations with\nBaha.\n\n[4] _Star of the West_, April 9, 1913, p. 35.\n\n[5] Phelps' \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p. 227.\n\n[6] \"Bahai Proofs,\" pp. 94, 109.\n\n[7] \"My Visit to Acca.\"\n\n[8] \"The Reconciliation of Races and Religions,\" pp. 155, 159.\n\n[9] \"The Reconciliation of Races and Religions,\" p. 181.\n\n[10] \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p. 100.\n\n[11] \"Three Questions,\" p. 22.\n\n[12] Page 42.\n\n[13] Page 64.\n\n[14] \"Martyrdoms in 1903.\"\n\n[15] _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, p. 501, 1889.\n\n[16] Page 109.\n\n[17] R. E. Speer's \"Missions and Modern Hist.,\" pp. 157, 181.\n\n\n\n\nII\n\nThe General Claims of Bahaism\n\n  The conception on which Bahaism bases its claim is false. Truth does\n  not grow old, nor is it possible to change the religion with the\n  growth of the race. A universal religion must present truth in a form\n  that will reach men in every stage of civilization, for the reason\n  that in every period of the world since the dawn of history there have\n  been simultaneously men in every stage of intellectual\n  development.--_W. A. Shedd in \"Miss. Review of the World.\"_\n\n  It (Bahaism) has not enough assurance of personal immortality to\n  satisfy such Western minds as are repelled by the barren and jejune\n  ethical systems of agnostics, positivists, and humanitarians who would\n  give us rules to regulate a life which they have rendered\n  meaningless.--_Professor Browne in Phelps' \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p.\n  xviii._\n\n  The essence of being a Bahai is a boundless devotion to the person of\n  the Manifestation and a profound belief that he is divine and of a\n  different order from all other beings.--_Professor Browne, Art. \"Bab\"\n  in Ency. of Religion and Ethics._\n\n\nThe claims of Bahaism are many and varied. They cover a wide range. I\nwill first consider its general claims and of these the most\nsignificant.\n\nI. First of all, Bahais claim that a new religion is needed. All the\ngreat religions, they say, were true in their day; not only Moses,\nChrist, and Mohammed, but Zoroaster, Confucius, and Buddha were Divine\nManifestations, and revealed God's truth. But now the old religions are\ndead. Abdul Baha[18] says: \"The Spirit has passed away from the bodies\nof the old religions. While the forms of their doctrines remain, the\nSpirit has fled.\" \"The principles of the religion[19] of Christ have\nbeen forgotten. It is then clear and evident that in the passage of time\nreligions become entirely changed. Therefore they are renewed.\" \"There\nis to-day[20] nothing more than traditions to feed upon.... The world of\nhumanity is in the dark.\" One chapter in Thornton Chase's \"The Bahai\nRevelation\" is headed \"The Bahai Revelation is needed.\" This he argues,\nstating (1) that Christianity is condemned because after 1900 years it\nhas not been accepted by all people; (2) because it refuses to reject\nmiracles and the blood atonement and will not confine itself to the\n\"principles of Jesus,\" as the Brahma Samaj; (3) because it tends to\nseparate peoples, holding itself to be the only religion authorized by\nGod; (4) because people are dwelling in bondage and are no longer\nsatisfied. Tares are many and Baha Ullah must come and uproot them.[21]\n\n\"The old order of things is passing away,\" says Sprague;[22] \"people are\nbeing tossed about with every wind of doctrine.\" \"True religion is\nforgotten,\" says Phelps,[23] \"or has become a hollow name; faith has\nwaned, men are wandering in the dark.\" This decay, they teach, is\ninevitable and in accord with divine arrangement. They deny the belief\nof Christians that Christianity is the permanent religion of humanity;\nand that of Moslems, that Mohammed was the \"seal of the prophets,\" and\nhold that Christianity was succeeded by Islam, Islam by Babism, and\nBabism by Bahaism. Abdul Baha says: \"Time changes all things.\nTransmutation and change are requirements of life. All religions of God\nare subject to the same law. They are founded in order to blossom out\nand develop and fulfill their mission. They reach their zenith and then\ndecline and come to an end.\" \"A new cycle must begin, for the world\nneeds a new luminary.\"\n\nIt is not necessary to refute the fundamental fallacy of this first\nclaim, for it is patent that Christianity is alive and growing. Its\nmanifold spiritual activities, its varied and progressive efforts for\nrighteousness and peace among men, for social and moral reforms, its\nzeal for Missions and their marvellous success, show that Christianity\nis neither stagnant nor dead. It has a forward triumphant movement. The\nChurch renews its strength from its divine Head; He, alive forevermore,\nis its Light and its Life.\n\nII. Bahaism claims to be the divine Revelation in this new cycle--a new\nDispensation or Covenant. It disclaims being a new religion, affirming\nrather that it is a renewal of religion or religion renewed. One writes:\n\"The Revelation is not a new religion, but the very essence of God's\nword as taught by Christ (and Moses and Mohammed), but not perceived by\nChristians at large\" (nor by Jews nor Mohammedans). Baha Ullah[24] says:\n\"Of the utterances of the prophets of the past we have taken the\nessence, and in the garment of brevity clothed it.\" Abdul Baha says:\n\"The same basis, which was laid by Christ and later on forgotten, has\nbeen renewed by Baha Ullah.\" \"All that is true in all religions will\nstand; by the new Dispensation, new spirit is infused into these\nteachings.\"[25] Phelps[26] says: \"The body of doctrine which Bahaism\nteaches is not put forward in any sense or particular as new, but as a\nunification and synthesis of all other religions.\" Of its system of\nmorals the same is true. It is a restatement in unsystematic form of\ncommon ethics. It reiterates the second table of the Mosaic Law, and the\nNew Testament principles of brotherly love and unity. Yet in some of his\naddresses Abdul Baha names certain principles as new in the Bahai faith,\nsuch as universal peace, the unity of humanity, arbitration, compulsory\neducation of both sexes, the harmony of science and religion, the evil\nof prejudice and fanaticism, need of investigating the truth, etc. Not\none of these is new; not one owes its position in the world of thought\nor activity to the Bahai propaganda.\n\nBut whether Bahaism claims to be new in its principles or disclaims it,\nin fact it is a new religion. The disavowals are, no doubt, made for the\nsake of obtaining easier access to the followers of the old religions,\nand are only a temporary expediency. In this they are simply following\nthe example of Mohammed, who proclaimed his message to the people of\nArabia as the religion of Abraham, and as the same as that of the Law\nand the Gospels. But it is evident that Bahaism is inconsistent with\nChristianity, as indeed with Islam. Bahais' claims, if admitted, would\nlead to the superseding of Christianity. This will appear when I state\nits doctrines. The present attitude of Bahais in maintaining connection\nwith Christian Churches and at the same time worshipping Baha and\npropagating Bahaism is one of intellectual stultification or of moral\nblindness.\n\nIn the same way, in Moslem lands, Bahais conform to the externals of\nIslam. In the case of the latter the cause of this is often moral\nobliquity or fear; with deceived Christian brethren it is probably\nignorance; by the Bahai propagandist it is allowed from astute policy.\nIt is an intellectual impossibility for one to accept the teachings of\nBaha Ullah and to be his disciple and at the same time to be an\nintelligent disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one excludes the\nother. Bahaism is a distinct religion. It is not even a sect of Islam.\nIt abrogates and annuls it. Professor Browne says: \"As Christianity is a\ndifferent religion from Judaism, and as Islam is distinct from\nChristianity, so Bahaism is a separate religion, distinct from\nChristianity or Islam.\" It even superseded and abrogated Babism. The Bab\nhas been relegated to the background, and put into the position of a\nJohn the Baptist. His book, the \"Bayan,\" is long ago neglected to such\nan extent that Professor Browne had difficulty in obtaining a copy in\nPersia. Remey[27] says: \"Babism fulfilled its purpose, and when this was\naccomplished in the appearance of Baha Ullah, it, as such, ceased to\nexist.\" Mirza Abul Fazl[28] says: Babism \"is not the same religion or\ncreed as Bahaism.\"\n\nA statement of the fundamental doctrines of Bahaism will suffice to show\nthat it is a distinct religion.\n\n(1) The fundamental assertion of Bahaism is that Baha Ullah is the\nManifestation or Incarnation of God the Father. Baha Ullah says of\nhimself in his letter to the Pope: \"O Pope! This is indeed the Father\nof whom Isaiah gave you tidings and the Comforter whom Christ promised.\"\nAbdul Baha affirms: \"The Father, foretold by Christ, has come amongst\nus.\" \"The Father of Christ is come among you.\"[29] \"The manifested God\nHimself has come.\"[30] He is called the \"Lord of Hosts,\" \"the Lord God\nAlmighty,\" \"Creator of whomsoever is in the world,\" also \"the Ruler.\"\nAbdul Baha cabled back to America after his voyage: \"Thanks to Baha\nUllah, we arrived safely at Liverpool.\"[31] Instead of beginning a book,\nas the Moslems do, \"In the name of God,\" the Bahais begin, \"In the Name\nof our Lord El Baha.\"\n\nThe Persian Bahais accept this teaching. One of them in Tabriz declared\nto me: \"Baha is very God of very God.\" M. Abdul Karim delivered the\ndoctrine in this form to the disciples in America[32] and said: \"Upon\nthe Day, when God Almighty, in the form of man known as Baha Ullah\ndeclared Himself and said, 'I am God and there is no God but Me,' the\nold heavens and old earth passed away, all things became new.\" So it\ncontinues to be preached.\n\nMr. Remey[33] says in the Bahai monthly (the capitals are his): \"This\none is THE FATHER Himself, The Manifested GOD _Himself_ BAHAULLAH.\"\n\n(2) The Revelation of Baha is contained in his Books and Tablets\n(Epistles). Some of these are the \"Ikan,\" the \"Surat ul-Haykal,\" the\n\"Hidden Words,\" the \"Seven Valleys,\" and the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas.\" Remey[34]\npronounces them \"The latest and greatest of God's revelations to the\nworld.\" \"They contain knowledge which was sealed and closed up by the\nprophets of bygone cycles, so that the minds of the wisest of men were\nunable to comprehend it.\" Thornton Chase, exceeding the others in his\nextravagant language, declares that \"were all the books of former days\nlost and forgotten, the whole of true religious teaching could be found\nin the 'Bahai Revelation.'\"\n\nThe \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" \"The Most Holy Book,\" is called by M. Abul Fazl\nthe \"greatest\" and \"most important.\" It consists of 146 pages of\nmanuscript, about 10,000 words. It was written at Acca in Persian and\nArabic. It has been translated into Russian, and a synopsis of it is\ngiven by Professor Browne,[35] of Cambridge University, in the _Journal\nof the Royal Asiatic Society_, 1892, of which I make use. The\n\"Kitab-ul-Akdas\" warns the learned against criticizing it, and in\nimitation of Mohammed challenges them to produce the like of it. It is\nsimilar in its teachings to the \"Bayan\" of the Bab, though less\nfantastic and mystical. Its contents are confused and unsystematic. It\nhas laws--ceremonial, moral, civil, criminal--mingled with rhapsodies,\nexhortations, addresses, and various digressions. After an introduction\nand some laws, follow addresses to the Emperor of Germany and to the\nSultan of Turkey, to the cities of Teheran and Kirman, and to the\nprovince of Khorasan. After more laws there is a digression about\nrevelation; then more laws and a digression about the Bab; again sundry\nlaws, followed by a denunciation of Subh-i-Azal, and this by various\ncivil laws, ending with a command to select a universal language.\n\nThe book is a medley, and bears internal evidence of the truth of the\ntradition that it was written piecemeal in answer to various questions\nfrom believers. The fragments were jumbled together without order. The\nlearned are reminded by Baha that he never studied the sciences, and\nthere is too abundant evidence in the book itself to confirm the\nstatement. It ranks far below Deuteronomy as a system of laws or a\nliterary composition.\n\nThe opening words of the Book of Akdas state the conditions of entrance\ninto the religion of Baha: (1) \"Verily the first thing which God hath\nordained unto His servants is the knowledge of the Dawning-Place of the\nRevelation [_i. e._, of Baha]. Whosoever hath attained thereunto hath\nattained unto all good; and he who is deprived thereof is indeed of the\npeople of error--even though he bringeth all good actions.\" (2) \"It\nbehoveth every one to follow that whereunto he is commanded. These two\nthings are inseparable.\" Acceptance of Baha as the Manifestation of God\nand following Him in obedience are the two conditions of discipleship.\n(3) A third condition has been added since the death of Baha--namely,\nadherence to Abdul Baha Abbas as supreme Head, \"the centre of the\ncovenant.\" This assumption of authority by Abbas caused a bitter and\nangry schism at Acca.\n\nRemey[36] says: \"He [Baha] has pointed to the one who should be looked\nupon as authority by all, and has closed the doors to outside\ninterpretation. Therefore obedience and submission must be shown\ncompletely to him.\" Mirza Asad Ullah[37] says: \"Whosoever turns away\nfrom Abdul Baha is one of the companions of the left hand [a goat], and\none of the letters of hell-fire.\" The rejectors of Abdul Baha are termed\nNakazeen--\"the violators.\" They are \"cut off,\" are \"no longer of the\nKingdom.\" They are \"spiritual corpses,\" from them \"goes forth a\npoisonous infection,\" \"they have a vile odour,\" says Abdul Baha,[38] the\npreacher of brotherly love and unity. In this way they fulfill their\nboast of consorting with all men in \"harmony and fragrance.\"\n\nThe minority seem to have the best of the argument,[39] but Abbas has\nestablished himself as Supreme Pontiff. His most honoured agents call\nhim by titles which imply his divinity. American pilgrims worship him as\n\"Christ, the Master.\"[40] Sprague[41] declares him to be \"the third of\nthe great Trinity of Revelators.\" M. Abul Karim[42] writes: \"God\nappeared in the Bab as the Holy Ghost, in Baha as the Father, in Abbas\nas His Son.\" Mrs. Grundy[43] says: \"Within Abdul Baha is the\ninexhaustible fountain of knowledge.\" Remey[44] says: \"Through Abdul\nBaha and through him only can believers receive the spiritual power and\nsustenance necessary for their growth.\" Among Abbas's titles are the\n\"Greatest Branch of God,\" the \"Mystery of God.\"[45]\n\nThese are a few of the salient points of the \"new revelation.\"\n\nIII. Another claim of Bahaism is that of superiority to former\nreligions.\n\n(_a_) Its founder is declared to be superior in his personality, in his\ndivine knowledge, in his power of revealing. In what has already been\nquoted, this is evident. The great cycle which began in Adam is said to\nhave reached its culmination in Baha Ullah. \"The Manifestations are\nended by the appearance of this, which is the greatest of all\nManifestations,\" which \"manifests itself only once in 500,000 years.\"\n\"He is exalted above all those who are upon earth and in the heaven.\"\nAbdul Baha[46] says: \"Consider the time of Jesus. This is greater than\nthat for as much as it is the calling of the Lord of Hosts.\" \"All the\ngreat prophets were perfect mirrors of God--manifestations of the\n'Primal Will' of God--and sinless, but in Baha[47] in some sense the\nDivine Essence is manifested.\" Phelps[48] says: \"He is greater than his\npredecessors.\" \"Baha,\" says Kheiralla,[49] \"is the Everlasting Father,\nwho spoke in Abraham, Moses, and Jesus Christ, who were His ministers,\nand at these latter days He came Himself in the flesh to judge the quick\nand the dead.\" Abbas said to Mrs. Grundy: \"Baha is the consummation of\nall degrees. He is the Revelation of all truth and light.\" \"Christ is\nthe vine, Baha is the husbandman--the Lord of the vineyard.\" A poem says\nof Baha:\n\n    By His life-fostering lip live a hundred such as Jesus;\n    By the Sinai of His aspect sit a thousand such as Moses;\n    Thou, on the night of ascent, didst entertain the prophet as Thy\n         guest.\n\nRefrain:--\n\n      The Temple of God's glory is none other than Baha;\n      If one seeks God, let him seek Him in Baha.\n    Thou art the King of the Realm of the everlasting,\n    Thou art the Manifestation of the essence of the Lord of Glory,\n                      The Creator of Creation.\n\nSuch are some of the \"great swelling words\" with which his followers\nexalt Baha. Yet when we examine his life we find nothing to justify such\nextravagance. He was simply a man of like passions as others. It may\nseem invidious to refer to scandalous stories of Baha's youth in\nTeheran. But does not truth demand that it be stated that his reputation\nin Persia is sullied by definite accusations of vice and immorality? I\nhave heard such narratives with statements of the time, place, and\nassociates who were partakers of his guilt. His family in riper years\nexhibits no higher example than a bigamous household. According to the\nnarrative of Abdul Baha in the \"Traveller's Narrative,\"[50] he planned\nin duplicity to reach the headship of the Babis; for while purposing all\nthe while to set forth a claim for himself, he put forward his\nhalf-brother, Subh-i-Azal, as the successor of the Bab--to protect\nhimself and to insure his own safety during times of danger. He\noutwardly supported Azal for many years, while secretly planning to\nsupplant him. While acting as Azal's trusted minister, he was drawing\nthe people to himself. We pass over the attempts of these brothers to\npoison each other. Each accuses[51] the other, and, as the Persians\nsay, \"God knows\" whether both speak the truth. We pass over, at present,\nthe definite accusations against the Bahais of assassinating the\nAzalis.[52] In the notorious case where Azalis were foully murdered[53]\nby Bahais at Acca, and the latter were brought to trial before the\nTurkish authorities, they were defended and kept in favour by Baha. He\nhad near Subh-i-Azal a spy named Maskin Kalam,[54] who by guile and\ndeceit kept away any who wished to visit Azal. He received this disciple\nto his intimate circle after years of such active deception. Azal, who\nis called by Bahais \"the point of Satan,\" and is likened to Cain and\nJudas, has a character gentler, more lovable, and more sincere than Baha\nas the two are depicted in the writings of Professor Browne; albeit,\nBaha is abler, more astute, more a leader of men. Professor Browne, in\nhis interviews at Famagusta and at Acca, did obeisance to each of them.\nHis bow to Azal may have been one of respect for his character or\ndisposition; his bow to Baha must rather have been out of regard for his\ninfluence and leadership. But after all we need not wonder so much at\nthe delusion of the Bahais in exalting Baha, for we are familiar with\nDowie and Zion City, and with Joseph Smith and the Mormons. And we are\nsurely led to expect the appearance of such a deceiver who \"as God\nsitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God.\" Bahais\ncertainly, in the words of the Apostle,[55] \"have strong delusion, that\nthey should believe a lie.\"\n\n(_b_) The Bahais claim superiority for the books and writings of Baha\nUllah.\n\n(1) As to the rapidity of their composition, their style, and their\nquantity. One of the proofs of the Bab was the rapidity with which he\ncomposed verses,[56] \"with amazing rapidity, without any reflection.\"\nSayid Yahya of Darab, one of his first converts,[57] was gained by such\na \"sign,\" implying, as was supposed, divine inspiration. He propounded\ncertain questions. The messenger brought the answer, of which he says:\n\"I beheld a marvel a hundred thousandfold beyond what I sought for. Over\ntwo thousand verses and illustrations of eloquence and beauty of style\nrevealed and written down during five or six hours.\" So also in Ispahan,\nin answer to the Imam-Juma[58]: \"The Bab began to write, and in three\nhours wrote 1,000 verses. Then the Imam-Juma was convinced that such\npower was from God, being beyond the capacity of man.\" In his trial at\nTabriz[59] the Bab cited as a proof of his divine mission: \"I can write\nin one day 2,000 verses. Who else can do this?\"\n\nIn like manner the claim was made for Baha Ullah that he could compose\nwith miraculous rapidity. \"The maximum speed of Baha's revelation is\nsaid to be 1,500 verses in one hour.\" These were \"written without\npremeditation or reflection,\"[60] and often dictated to his amanuensis.\nTo Baha is attributed the marvellous feat of composing and writing the\n\"Ikan\" in a single night. This book in its English translation consists\nof 184 printed pages. The translator, Mirza Ali Kuli Khan, Persian\nCharge des Affaires at Washington, a zealous Bahai, says in his\npreface:[61] \"According to the prevailing opinion of Bahais, the 'Ikan'\nwas written in one night by the supreme pen.\" He argues (faint-heartedly\napparently) for the truth of the statement, and cites Abul Fazl as\ncorroborating the tradition. It is altogether probable that Baha\nprepared the \"Ikan\" during his retirement for two years to Kurdistan, in\nthe region of Suleimaniyeh. It is curious to note how the Bahais have\noutdone Mohammed. He made his verses (ayat = signs), and their eloquence\nand beauty the signs of his mission. But Babis and Bahais add rapidity\nof composition as an additional sign or miracle.\n\nThe quantity of the writings is also emphasized as proving their divine\nsource and power. It was a matter of boasting that the Bab's writings\nwere from 100,000 to 500,000 verses, and he was executed at twenty-five\nyears of age. Of Baha's Abdul Baha says: \"The Books of his Holiness\nnumber more than 100; each one sufficient for mankind.\" Abul Fazl[62]\nwrites: \"His Holy Tablets exceed in quantity the Heavenly Books and\nDivine Writings possessed by all the different nations of the earth.\"\nThe number of these tablets is stated to be over 1,000. By way of\ncontrast, Christ's teachings are said by Abdul Baha to consist of only a\ndozen pages scattered in the Gospels.\n\nWhen they speak of the style, the eloquence, the enlightening power of\nBaha's writings, it is with similar superlative adjectives of high-flown\nPersian rhetoric.\n\nIt is hardly necessary to call attention to the fact that this so-called\nproof is simply a matter of assertion and opinion. As to rapidity, we\ncould wish Baha had taken more time and made such books as the\n\"Kitab-ul-Akdas\" more systematic, for, as we have pointed out, it is\nsadly lacking in plan. The veriest tyro could improve on it by\nrewriting.\n\nIf quantity were an argument, the product of Baha's pen has been\nexceeded by many Christian and Moslem divines. Besides, what advantage\nis it for a religion to be set forth in 100 volumes? Will God be heard\nfor His much speaking any more than man would be? The story of\nredemption and God's revelation through 4,000 years makes but one goodly\nvolume.\n\nAs to style, the Persians would scorn to have the beauty of their great\npoets or of such writings as the \"Masnavi\" put into comparison with the\n\"Ikan\" or \"Akdas.\" The Bab's writings were not even grammatical. Baha's\nare more intelligible than the Bab's, but lack his originality and\ndepth. Baha's style is rhetorical, verbose, prolix, but with a certain\nstrength. But Mirza Abul Fazl holds a more forceful and sagacious pen.\nIn some things Baha's writings remind one of the Church Fathers in\ncontrast to the Gospel narratives. The quantity of his writings, his\nsystem of quotations from former Holy Books, his allegorical\ninterpretations, recall Irenaeus or Origen.\n\nAs to \"verses\" in general, and their rhetorical quality as a proof of\ndivine inspiration and revelation, it would be well for Bahais to\nremember that the Bab recognized divine quality in the verses of\nSubh-i-Azal, which the Bahais reject with disdain. When the \"verses\" of\nAzal came to the Bab, he \"rejoiced exceedingly,\"[63] nominated him as\nhis successor, and left to him the completion of the \"Bayan.\" Was he\nmistaken in so important a matter? However that may be, the Bahais\ncontradict him and pronounce the \"verses\" of Azal good for nothing. M.\nAhmad Zohrab,[64] the interpreter of Abdul Baha, avers that \"the\nwritings of Azal are most childish. They are jumbled, confused,\nmeaningless composition.\" Another Bahai, Nabil the poet, at one time\nwrote \"revealed verses,\" and Azal approved of them and sealed their\ninspiration. Afterwards Nabil repudiated his own \"divinity.\" Evidently,\nthen, the \"proof from verses\" is a very uncertain and unreliable one.\n\n(2) They claim superiority for the contents of the Revelation. In\ndescribing the substance and variety of it, their \"great swelling\nwords\" know no bounds. Abdul Baha says: \"They are universal, covering\nevery subject. He has revealed scientific explanations ranging\nthroughout all the realms of human inquiry--astronomy, biology,\nmedicine, etc. He wrote lengthy tablets upon civilization, sociology,\nand government.\" \"One book of the Blessed Perfection is more\ncomprehensive than fifty volumes of the world's greatest wisdom.\" Empty\nboasting!\n\nProfessor Browne[65] says: \"The countless tablets are for the most part\nrhapsodies interspersed with ethical maxims.\" Let us give a few of\nBaha's \"revelations\" on morals, philosophy, and science. His ethics\npermit bigamy and _tagiya_, dissimulation regarding one's faith; his Law\npunishes habitual theft by branding, and arson by burning, and compounds\nadultery with a small fine; his philosophy affirms the eternity of\nmatter and the emanation theory of divine Manifestations; his science\ndecides the purity of water by three points--\"colour, taste, and\nsmell\"--but knows nothing of analysis, and affirms that \"the food of the\nfuture will be fruits and grains\"; it abolished the weeks and months and\nsubstitutes nineteen months of nineteen days each, and a system of\nnineteen units for the decimal or metric system; it creates a new\nalphabet to bother childhood; its ritual for prayer, fasting, and\npilgrimage somewhat resembles the Moslem, with times and places changed.\nThese are samples of its new and superior (?) laws and precepts, which\nare mingled with a mass of ordinary moral teaching. There is far too\nmuch of it for a religious system, but it is entirely inadequate as a\njudicial and criminal code. Abul Fazl[66] grossly exaggerates when he\nwrites that \"Baha has enacted laws and regulations concerning every\npoint or subject.\"\n\nAs a system Bahaism is not superlative. \"It is,\" says Professor\nBrowne,[67] \"at most a new synthesis of old ideas; ideas with which the\nEastern mind has for centuries been familiar, and which have ere now\nbeen more clearly and more logically systematized by older schools of\nthought, though perhaps they were without a certain tincture of modern\nWestern terminology which is perceptible in Bahaism.\" \"Of the doctrines\nof the Bab\"--and the same is true of Bahaism--\"taken separately, there\nwas hardly one of which he could claim to be the author, and not many\nwhich did not remount to a remote antiquity.\"[68] \"The theories of\nsymbolism,[69] incarnation, and other doctrines differ in no essential\nparticular from those held by the Ismielis.\" If desirable, the doctrines\nand laws could be traced severally, as has been done by Doctor Tisdall\nin his \"Yanab-ul-Islam\" regarding the Koran, and the source of each\nshown. Borrowing so much from the Shiah sects, its fundamental basis in\nphilosophic thought is inferior even to Islam. But because it borrows so\nmuch from the enlightened principles and practices of advanced Christian\npeoples, its moral system is an advance on Islam. Christianity may\nboldly assert its unique superiority to this \"half-cooked\" system, to\nuse a Persian idiom. Professor Browne[70] vetoes its claim to\nsuperiority, saying: \"I do not admit that the Bahai or any other\nreligion can supply a rule of life higher than that which Christ has\ngiven us.\" Discussing with the Bahais in Shiraz,[71] he said: \"The\nreligion of Mohammed was certainly not a higher development of the\nreligion of Christ. It is impossible for any one who has understood the\nteachings of Christ to prefer the teachings of Mohammed. As you say each\nManifestation must be fuller, completer, and more perfect than the last,\nyou must prove that the doctrines taught by Baha are superior to those\nof Christ--a thing that I confess seems to be almost impossible, for I\ncannot imagine a doctrine purer and more elevated than that of Christ.\"\n\nIV. Bahaism claims to be the Universal Religion. Dreyfus called his book\non Bahaism \"The Universal Religion.\" Remey[72] says: \"The Universal\nReligion is what the Bahai movement offers to the world.\" Phelps[73]\nsays: \"It is divinely inspired world-religion in its first youth. Baha\nUllah is a world-teacher in a broader sense than they\"--_i. e._, the\nfounders of other religions. This claim is not only that it is intended\n\"for all people, under all conditions,\" and is adapted to all, but that\nit is so all-inclusive and latitudinarian that it can[74] \"unite all\nthose now following many systems into one universal faith,\" and that\n\"each religious sect[75] will hear in the words of Baha its own\noft-repeated message, which has been dulled and distorted.\"\n\nThe latter phase of this claim we may dismiss in a word. It is simply a\ngloss. It is an imagination of enthusiastic Bahais. Neither Christians,\nMoslems, nor others will be thus included, except some few before they\nunderstand Bahaism. The only inclusion it offers is by accepting the\ndivine character and mission of Baha and Abbas;[76] in other words, by\nbecoming Bahais. When they address the Hindu, saying, \"We are one with\nyou,\" \"We teach the original Hinduism of your fathers,\" it is simply to\nadd: \"Baha is the fulfillment of your books, follow him.\" When they\nallow the Jewish Bahai of Hamadan still to consort with the Jews as a\nJew, and to be baptized and pass as a Christian at the same time, it is\nan inclusiveness which is unjustifiable and deceitful. It is teaching\n_tagiya_ or religious dissimulation to other races after the manner of\nthe Persian Shiahs. It is, at most, merely a temporary subterfuge.\n\nLet such double-faced Bahais read Remey's article in the _Star of the\nWest_,[77] entitled \"Let the New follow the New,\" and they will see how\nuntenable is their position. He says: \"The Bahai Cause is not merely one\nof many phases of universal truth (as some say), but is the only living\ntruth to-day; the only source of divine knowledge to mankind. The\nrevelation of Jesus was for His own dispensation--that of 'the Son.' Now\nit is no longer the point of guidance to the world. We are in total\ndarkness if we are refusing the revelation of the present dispensation.\nBahais must be severed from all and everything that is past--things both\ngood and bad--everything. Now all is changed. All the teachings of the\npast are past. Abdul Baha is now supplying all the world.\" We read this,\nwith amazement at such pretensions, such groundless assumptions, yet are\npleased with the ring of sincerity. We, too, say, \"Let a Bahai stand for\nBahaism.\" Even so, let a Christian stand for Christianity, and not\nstultify his intellect by professing to hold to both religions. But such\nteachings as Remey's absolutely negative the claim of Bahaism to be able\nto include the professors of all religions. In conclusion, Bahaism aims\nat being universal just as every other \"ism,\" even as Mormonism, by\npersuading the world to forsake its old faiths and adopt its new dogmas.\nBaha[78] states in a tablet: \"Blessed is the brave one, who, with a firm\nstep, walks out of the corridors of intimacy [the old religious\nrestrictions] and takes a place in the ranks.\"\n\nIs Bahaism fitted to be a universal religion? It has copied much from\nChristianity and Islam; it would not be strange if it has caught\nsomething of the same impetus towards universality. This is specially to\nbe looked for in Bahaism, since it is historically a revision of\nBabism--revised with an aim to broadening it. Babism was notoriously\nunfitted to be universal. Dreyfus[79] confesses: \"Looking at the Bab's\nwork, we cannot fail to notice in it a certain sectarian particularism\nwhich would have confined to Shiah Islam its benefits.\" Similarly\nProfessor Browne pronounced it[80] \"utterly unfitted for the bulk of\nmankind,\" and refers to[81] \"the useless, impractical, and irksome\nregulations and restrictions\" which Baha abolished in order to make it\nmore capable of becoming what he intended it to be--\"a universal system\nsuitable to all mankind.\" The question arises, Where was the Bab's power\nof supernatural revelation if he promulgated a system and regulations of\nsuch inferiority and destined to be superseded in less than a score of\nyears? Among these regulations[82] were the prohibition of the learning\nof foreign languages, logic, philosophy, and jurisprudence, discouraging\nforeign travel, enjoining the expulsion of all unbelievers from the five\nchief provinces of Persia, together with the confiscation of their\nproperty, the destruction of all books more than 202 years old, etc.\n\nBaha, like a tailor trying to change a misfitting garment, ripped up the\nseams, cut a piece out here and there, added some patches imported from\nChristian civilization, until he had a coat of many colours, which he\nadvertised as the latest style of religion, fitted to humanity in\ngeneral. But he should have heeded the precept not to put new cloth on\nan old garment. No wonder they have never yet published the\n\"Kitab-ul-Akdas\" in English. It would tax their ingenuity to adapt all\nits regulations and laws to the world-life.\n\nAgain I return to the question, \"Is Bahaism specially adapted to be\nuniversal?\" By no means. It is unfitted in the most essential\nparticular. It is a religion of laws, not of principles. Mirza Abul\nFazl, in \"The Brilliant Proof,\"[83] emphasizes the fact that Bahaism\nenjoins, commands, has imperative ordinances, laws, and enactments. But\nthe Gospels enunciate principles. These principles of the New Testament\nare conscience-educating and life-directing. They are applicable to all\nconditions the world over, and to every stage of human development.\nChristianity implants in the heart great ruling motives. Its laws and\nregulations are few. Hence it does not find itself butting against a\nwall of unforeseen circumstances. Bahaism, on the contrary, is full of\nthe \"beggarly elements.\" It has regulations, as we have noticed, in\nregard to personal habits, hygiene, sociology, languages, the calendar,\ncivil government, penology, etc. It is like an omnibus with its top\noverloaded with all sorts of baggage, which will delay and finally\nwreck the vehicle. It has made itself a \"judge and divider of\ninheritances.\"[84] It gives directions as to the barber and the\nundertaker; how you must bathe and wash your face, and what prayers you\nshall say during each process. It directs as to the use of knives and\nforks, of chairs, of perfumes. It graciously permits one to shave his\nbeard, but \"the hair must not be allowed to grow below the level of the\near.\" It tells us that \"the nails are to be cut at least once a week,\"\nthat \"every one should wash his feet daily in summer, and at least every\nthree days in winter.\" And alas! for antique furniture and old Persian\nrugs! For house furnishings must be changed every nineteen years. In\nobedience to this command my old teacher in Persia got rid of his rugs,\nwhose sheen was polished and colours were mellowed with age, and\nrefurnished his house with gaudy modern rugs. In prescribing the Moslem\nfast and namaz (prayer-rite), with some modifications, Bahaism limits\nthe spirit of liberty, which is the essence of universality.\n\nCopying from the Bab, Baha has seen fit to regulate the calendar.\nFollowing the Zoroastrian custom, Baha ordains that the year begin at\nthe vernal equinox--March 21--because that is the spring-time, the time\nof the renewal of vegetable life. Good! But in Australia it is the time\nof death--of the approach of winter. The reason assigned is not\nuniversal, and is not adapted to all climes. As has been said above, the\nmonths are ordained to be nineteen of nineteen days each, with four or\nfive intercalary days in March. The week is abolished, that primitive\ndivision of time which has such a definite place in nature, in the\nphases of the moon, and is established in the three great monotheistic\nreligions with their weekly Sabbaths. Instead of the latter is\nsubstituted the nineteenth day Unity feast. How do such changes aid\nuniversality or unification? Coinage, fines, taxes, and tithes are\narranged on the number 19. Remey's book has nineteen chapters, as the\n\"Bayan\" has. _The Star of the West_, a magazine of the American Bahais,\nis published every nineteen days, and bears the Bahai calendar on its\neditorial page. Instances might be indefinitely extended. But later the\nnumber nine, the number of Baha, has come more into use. Abbas has set\napart the ninth day of the month as well as the nineteenth for certain\nreligious purposes. The Bahai era is sometimes dated from the\ndeclaration of the Bab in 1844, and sometimes from the birth of Baha in\n1817. Are these innovations more an aid to universality than adherence\nto the established calendar and era, or than the decimal system or the\nmetric system which the civilized world has been striving to extend?\nProfessor Browne says: \"What could be more impractical than the adoption\nof the number nineteen as the basis of measures or calculations?\" It\nbears the mark of Oriental fancy rather than of divine revelation.\n\nAnother illustration of this point--namely, that Bahaism enjoins and\nregulates specifically, and does not, like Christianity, inculcate\nguiding principles, is seen in the law regarding civil government. In\n\"Glad Tidings\"[85] Baha teaches, as from God, that \"although a\nrepublican form of government profits, yet the majesty of kingship is\none of the signs of God. We do not wish that the countries of the world\nshould be deprived thereof.\" \"Statesmen should combine the two,\" and[86]\n\"At present the form of government followed by the British nation seems\ngood, for that nation is illuminated both with the light of kingship and\nconsultation--_i. e._, parliament.\" \"In the principal Laws [of Bahaism]\naffairs have been placed in the hands of just kings and chiefs, and the\nHouse of Justice.\" As a matter of opinion, I can join with Baha in\nexpressing my admiration for the British Constitution, but prescribing\nit as a law of revelation is a different matter. A \"universal religion\"\nshould be adapted to all conditions. It is a fact of history that when\nthe tablet \"Glad Tidings\" was sent to Russia, section 15 was omitted.\nThe Bahais suppressed this portion from expediency, and it appears thus\nmutilated in Baron Rosen's translation.[87] Is not this a high-handed\nway to deal with God's Word, as they profess to regard it? Is it not\nalso conceivable that republics might take offense against Bahaism\nbecause it maintains monarchy, even as autocracies because it approves\nof parliamentary government? Had not a \"universal religion\" better let\npolitics alone? Christianity could adapt itself even to the government\nof a Nero.\n\nAnother institution of Bahaism, ill-adapted to all races and conditions,\nand certain to bring the very conflict and strife against which it is\nsupposed to guard, is the House of Justice. This is a religious court,\nwith civil and political functions, to be set up in every town and\ncountry. It is to be composed of nine or more Bahai men. \"They are\ndivine agents, representatives of God.\" Much is said of this House of\nJustice in the Books of Revelation.[88] Dreyfus devotes a chapter to\nit.[89] It is to have legislative, judicial, and administrative\nfunctions. It will regulate estates, taxes, tithes, fines, capital and\nlabour, marriage, divorce, inheritances, minors, servants, charities,\nreforms, houses of correction, schools, besides all matters of religion\nand morals. They will rule \"absolutely,\" and be \"infallible,\" \"guided by\nGod.\" It is the old dream of theocratic rule. I must leave it to the\nimagination of the student of history to picture the dire confusion\nwhich would ensue if this politico-religious hierarchy should begin its\nsway. Those who are familiar with the perpetual conflict between the\nurfi and the shari, the civil and the religious law in Persia, know how\nthis proposed organization would work confusion worse confounded.\n\nSimilar to these invasions of the province of science and Caesar is the\nattempt to improve philology by \"revelation.\" Following the Bab again,\nBaha Ullah promulgated a new alphabet. The Babi alphabet, unlike the\nArabic and Persian, was written from left to right. \"Each letter\nconsists of thick, oblique straight lines, parallel and equidistant\nfrom each other, running down to the left, to which thin hooks and\ncurves are appended to make separate letters.\" It is called the\nKhatti-Badi. There were nineteen kinds of it; one kind was called the\nKhatti-Baha. It was intended for the time when Babism would be\nprevalent. It appears that Bahais have a new alphabet, different from\nthat of the Babis.\n\nIn the Akdas and in the sixth Ishrak[90] it is commanded that the \"House\nof Justice\" must select one tongue out of the present languages, or a\nnew language, to teach the children in the schools of the world. Let us\nsuppose they decide on Persian or Arabic. The Anglo-Saxon children must\nall begin to learn Arabic. Suppose they decide on English. Then Germans,\nFrench, and Russians will have an additional reason for opposing the\nreligion. Suppose that Abdul Baha decides on Esperanto, as he seems\ninclined to do, then will it be heresy for some one to invent a language\nas much superior to Esperanto as it is to Volapuk? Had not a \"universal\nreligion\" better let linguistics alone? The spirit of Christianity gives\na free field to all tongues--this is the essence of liberty, of\nuniversality. After this brief review of some of the provisions of the\n\"New Revelation,\" we can deny the claim that \"its statutes meet the\nnecessity of every land,\" and that they can serve the world well for\n1,000 years.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[18] Phelps' \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p. 144.\n\n[19] \"Some Answered Questions,\" by Barney, p. 19.\n\n[20] _Star of the West_, May 17, 1913, p. 68. Abbreviated hereafter as\n_S. W._\n\n[21] Page 158 f.\n\n[22] \"Story of the Bahai Movement,\" p. 23.\n\n[23] Phelps, _ibid._, p. 256.\n\n[24] Phelps, \"Jewels of Wisdom,\" p. 237.\n\n[25] _Ibid._, p. 145.\n\n[26] _Ibid._, p. 144.\n\n[27] \"The Bahai Movement,\" p. 20.\n\n[28] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 78.\n\n[29] Chase, \"The Bahai Revelation,\" p. 178.\n\n[30] _S. W._, March 2, 1913, p. 10.\n\n[31] See _S. W._\n\n[32] Addresses in New York and Chicago, 1900.\n\n[33] _S. W._, p. 10, March 2, 1913.\n\n[34] _S. W._, 1913, p. 267.\n\n[35] Prof. E. G. Browne has translated various books of the Bahais;\namong them are \"The Episode of the Bab,\" or the \"Traveller's Narrative,\"\nand the \"New History.\" His investigations and comments have given\noffense to the Bahais, while his praises of them often wound the\nChristian reader. I have been kindly permitted by Doctor Kheiralla to\nexamine his English translation of the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas\" in manuscript.\n\n[36] _S. W._, July, 1912. See Chapter X.\n\n[37] See \"Sacred Mysteries,\" p. 100.\n\n[38] _S. W._, Sept. 8, 1913, pp. 170-174.\n\n[39] See \"Facts for Behaists.\"\n\n[40] Dr. H. H. Jessup in N. Y. _Outlook_, June, 1901.\n\n[41] \"A Year in India and Burmah,\" p. 10. Compare the Trinities of the\nNusaireyah, as given in \"The Asian Mystery,\" p. 111. The first is Abel,\nAdam and Gabriel: after others, comes Simon Peter, Jesus and Rozabah;\nAli, Mohammed and Salman the Persian. The first of each group, for\nexample Peter and Ali, is the supreme manifestation, the _maana_,\nmeaning or essence of God; the second of each group, Mohammed and Jesus\nrepresent the _ism-azim_, the Greatest Name: while the third, that is,\nSalman is termed the Bab. Baha is the Greatest Name. The place of Peter\nremains for Abbas.\n\n[42] \"Facts for Behaists.\"\n\n[43] \"Ten Days in the Light of Acca,\" p. 105.\n\n[44] _S. W._, Nov. 23, 1913, p. 242.\n\n[45] See Chapter IV.\n\n[46] \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I, p. 10.\n\n[47] \"Some Answered Questions,\" pp. 129-131.\n\n[48] _Ibid._, p. 148.\n\n[49] \"Beha' Ullah,\" by Kheiralla.\n\n[50] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. xlv, 62-63.\n\n[51] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 359, 368-369.\n\n[52] See _Ibid._, Index word \"Assassination\"; \"New Hist.,\" pp.\nxxiii.-iv.\n\n[53] _Ibid._, pp. 82, 278; \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 361, 371.\n\n[54] _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1889, p. 516; 1892, pp. 994-995.\n\n[55] 2 Thess. ii. 4 and 11.\n\n[56] \"Bahai Proofs,\" by Abul Fazl, p. 42.\n\n[57] \"New Hist.,\" p. 112.\n\n[58] _Ibid._, p. 209.\n\n[59] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 289.\n\n[60] \"Bahai Proofs,\" pp. 67-68, 72.\n\n[61] \"Ighan,\" Chicago Edition, pp. vii-viii.\n\n[62] \"Proofs,\" pp. 258-259.\n\n[63] \"New Hist.,\" p. 381; \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 353-354.\n\n[64] _S. W._, Nov. 4, 1913, p. 224.\n\n[65] \"Life of Abbas,\" by Phelps, p. xxii.\n\n[66] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 93.\n\n[67] Phelps, p. xvii.\n\n[68] \"New Hist.,\" p. xiii.\n\n[69] _Ibid._\n\n[70] Phelps, p. xviii.\n\n[71] \"A Year Among the Persians,\" p. 307.\n\n[72] \"Bahai Movement,\" p. 1.\n\n[73] \"Life of Abbas,\" p. 148.\n\n[74] Remey, _Ibid._, p. 39.\n\n[75] Phelps' \"Abbas,\" p. 254.\n\n[76] _Ibid._, p. xxi.\n\n[77] December 13, 1913.\n\n[78] _S. W._, Jan. 10, 1914, p. 282.\n\n[79] \"The Universal Religion,\" p. 43.\n\n[80] \"New Hist.,\" p. xiii.\n\n[81] _Ibid._, p. xxv.\n\n[82] _Ibid._, p. xxvi.\n\n[83] Pages 31-32.\n\n[84] Luke xii. 14.\n\n[85] Section 15, p. 91, Chicago Edition.\n\n[86] \"Tablet of the World,\" p. 33.\n\n[87] \"New Hist.,\" p. xxv.\n\n[88] See \"Glad Tidings,\" pp. 39, 90; \"Words of Paradise,\" p. 53; \"Tablet\nof the World,\" p. 33; \"Israket,\" p. 37; and \"Kitab-ul-Akdas.\"\n\n[89] \"Universal Religion,\" pp. 131-144.\n\n[90] \"Ishrakat,\" p. 36.\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nIts Specific Claims\n\n  Bahaism is a Persian delusion, whose headman Baha Ullah in Acre\n  claimed to be an incarnation of God. Abbas Effendi succeeded him and\n  is running the \"incarnation\" fraud for all it is worth, and it is\n  worth a good deal, as pilgrims constantly come from Persia and bring\n  their offerings in money with great liberality. Such men ... as the\n  Babites of Persia turn up now and then in the East, \"go up like a\n  rocket and down like a stick.\"--_H. H. Jessup, \"Fifty-three Tears in\n  Syria,\" p. 637._\n\n  I cannot understand how a Christian can possibly exchange the clear\n  consistent plan of salvation through Christ for the misty and mystical\n  platitudes of Bahaism.--_Ibid., p. 687._\n\n\nBahaism makes various claims of a practical nature. Some of these will\nrequire detailed treatment. Several of them I will group in this\nchapter. Additional light is thrown on the question of their validity by\nfacts subsequently brought forward, for many facts have a bearing on\nseveral subjects.\n\nAmong the specific claims put forth by Bahaism is that of being\n_specially adapted to promote the unification of mankind_, and of\naccomplishing that end. Bahaism reiterates the Christian ideas that God\nhath made of one blood all nations and that all shall be united in God's\nspiritual kingdom. It repeats as a slogan, \"the brotherhood of man.\" C.\nM. Remey[91] says: \"The Bahai cause stands for the unity of all\nreligions, political unity of nations, the social unity of all classes,\npeoples and races.\" \"Its aim,\" says Harold Johnson, \"is to knit all the\nfaiths and all the peoples into one.\"[92] \"The essential principle of\nthe teachings of Bahaism is the unification of the religious systems of\nthe world,\" says MacNutt.[93] This is a high ideal, which interpreted in\ntheir several ways is the aim of Christianity, Islam, Socialism, etc.\nAnd Bahai writers mean what all the other systems have meant, namely,\nunity by all accepting their beliefs, for Remey[94] says: \"Baha Ullah's\nmission is to unite those now following many systems into one\nbrotherhood and one universal faith.... May God speed the day when all\nof us may become true _Bahais_.\"\n\nBut the claim of Bahaism is presented in another form. It asserts that\nit is actually bringing about this unification. \"Abdul Baha is\nharmonizing Christians, Jews, Mohammedans, Zoroastrians, Buddhists,\nHindus in the one and true faith.\"[95] Dreyfus says: \"It is uniting all\nmen in the great universal religion of the future.\" At Oakland,\nCal.,[96] Abdul Baha said, \"The revelation of Baha Ullah is the cause of\nthe oneness of the world of humanity. It is a unity which welds together\nall the races.\" In illustration of this alleged result, the pilgrims to\nAcca express their gratification and amazement that at Acca several\nraces meet together in love and unity. So in Rangoon, says Mr.\nSprague,[97] \"I attended a Bahai meeting at which six of the great world\nreligions were represented united in the wonderful bond of friendship\nand unity.\" In like manner Mr. Harold Johnson says, \"What Christianity\nhas failed to accomplish, Bahaism has accomplished in uniting men of\ndifferent races and religions.\" If these assertions mean external\nassociation, it may be said that Christians have had their Parliaments\nof Religions and Congresses of all faiths, examples of polite toleration\nand laboratories of the science of religion. If it means that\nChristianity refuses to put itself on a level with other religions and\nconsort with them as equals, this is true, for Christianity is an\nexclusive religion. It has entered the world, as it entered the Roman\nempire, to displace all others. It refuses to have Christ occupy a niche\nin the Pantheon. But Bahai writers mean rather that Bahaism is to be the\nbond of unity by all races and religions accepting Baha. In this sense\ntheir claim is based on very meagre premises. A few thousand only,\noutside of Persia, have embraced Bahaism. Harold Johnson says: \"The\nNon-Mohammedans do not number probably very many thousands.\" But do we\nnot see myriads gathering into the Christian brotherhood out of every\nrace and religion of Asia, including even thousands from Islam. Thirty\nthousand Moslems have become Christians in Malayasia in Abdul Baha's\nlifetime. In Asia how many races and religions, forgetting their former\nantagonisms, are united in the faith and baptism of the Lord Jesus\nChrist. As an example of the living power of the Christian faith to\nunite the races of men, take the Conference of the International\nChristian Students' Federation, held at Lake Mohonk, N. Y. There Hindus\nand British, Japanese and Koreans, Russians and Chinese, Greeks and\nArmenians, French and Germans, Canadians and Brazilians, Americans and\nMexicans represented the wide world. Mutual esteem, love and spiritual\nfellowship united members of the various Protestant Churches with\nrepresentatives of the Oriental Churches. The unity in Bahai Assemblies\nis on so small a scale as to be not worthy of mention. How little Abdul\nBaha knows of or appreciates the reality and power of Christian\nspiritual fellowship is shown in his remarks at West Englewood, N.\nY.[98] \"This gathering (of Bahais) has no peer or likeness upon the\nsurface of the earth, for all other gatherings and assemblages are due\nto some physical basis or material interests. Bahai meetings are mirrors\nof the kingdom.\" When Abdul Baha speaks about the results of Bahaism in\nbringing about unification in Persia, his claims seem utterly\nextravagant. To one who knows that country from long residence they are\nexplicable only on the supposition that he has been misinformed or\ndeceived by his own followers, for it must be borne in mind that Abdul\nBaha left Persia when a child of six or eight and has never returned.\nHear these words which Abdul Baha addressed to Rev. J. T. Bixley, who\nwas writing on the Sect in the _North American Review_: \"The fundamental\nquestion is the unification of religious belief. In Persia, during the\nlast fifty years[99] ... the various religionists have united in the\nutmost love and fellowship. No traces of discord or difference remain:\nthe utmost love, kindness and unity are apparent. They live together\nlike a single family in harmony and accord. Discord and strife have\npassed away. Love and fellowship now prevail instead. Whether they be\nMoslems, Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians, Buddhists, Nestorians, Shiites,\nSunnis or others--no discord exists among them.\" In an address at New\nYork,[100] he said:\n\n\"In the Orient different races were at constant warfare until about\nsixty years ago Baha Ullah appeared and caused love and unity to exist\namong these various peoples. Their former animosities have passed away\nentirely. It was a dark world, it became radiant.... You now see the\nsame people who were formerly at enmity and strife in far-off Persia,\npeople of various religions and denominations living in the utmost\npeace.\" \"His Highness, Baha Ullah, established such unity and peace\nbetween the various communities.\" What does such language mean? At their\nface value these words are erroneous in a high degree. All know indeed\nthat in Persia bigotry and religious and racial hatred have been\nmodified. In bringing this result about, Bahaism has had a share along\nwith Western civilization and education, the Nationalist movement,\nmedical missions, and even Pan-Islamism, for the latter has tended to\nbring Shiahs and Sunnis nearer to each other. But it is notorious how\ngreat the enmity and hatred is yet; how the Kurds have raided the Shiahs\nand massacred or plundered the Nestorians and the Armenians: how the\nMoslems oppress the Armenians in Karadagh: how Sheikhis have suffered\nfrom Mutasharis; and Ali Allahis continued the practice of tagiya for\nfear of them both. If Parsees enjoy more ease, it is through the efforts\nof their co-religionists in India; if Christians are safer, it is\nthrough the favour of the Shahs and the power of Christian governments:\nin neither case is it due to Bahaism. The union with the Bahais of\npossibly a dozen Armenians, a few score Zoroastrians and several hundred\nJews cannot be the basis for such extravagance of language: neither can\nthe rejection by Baha of the Shiah notion that other religions are\n\"unclean,\" for Sunnis all along held the \"peoples of the Book\" to be\n\"clean\" and Christians of old learned to \"call no man common or\nunclean.\"\n\nAs to unification, how is it? Babis were divided off from Sheikhis, and\nBahais from Babis, and Behais from Bahais and the flames of hate and\nvindictiveness burn hotter between them than between the older sects and\nraces, while the Shiahs curse and at times persecute Babis and Bahais.\nInstead of unity the Babi-Bahais have brought a greater division of\nsects: instead of love renewed fires of animosity and fanatical hate. In\nview of these conditions, how unreasonable for Abdul Baha to say that\n\"through the power of Baha Ullah, such affection and love is produced\namong the various religions of Persia that they now associate[101] with\neach other in the utmost love and concord.\"\n\nPassing now to another phase of this subject, let us inquire what means\nare prescribed for religious unification. The chief means seems to be\nthe forbidding of the right of private interpretation or opinion. Abdul\nBaha writes[102] that he is \"the Interpreter of all the works and books\nof the Blessed Perfection. Were this not the case, every one would give\nan interpretation according to his own inclination--this would lead to\ngreat differences.\" This point is more plainly stated by M. Abul\nFazl:[103] \"One of the explicit commands of Baha Ullah is the ordinance\nabrogating differences which separate men.... If those having two points\nof view, engage in strife in expressing their views, both will be\ndelivered to the fire.... Bahai law prohibits the interpretation of\nGod's word and exposition of personal opinion ... lest different sects\narise.\" \"You must ask him (Abdul Baha) regarding the meaning of the\ntexts of the verses. Whatsoever he says is correct. Without his will,\nnot a word shall any one utter.\"[104] Baha Ullah \"made provision against\nall kinds of differences, so that no man shall be able to create a new\nsect ... indicating the Interpreter so that no man should be able to say\nthat he explains a certain teaching in this way and thus create a new\nsect.\"[105] After Abdul Baha whenever the House of Justice is organized,\nit will ward off differences. But though the right of private judgment\nwas denied, yet a new sect arose and bitter disunion occurred over the\nquestion of the Infallible Interpreter.\n\nAnother Bahai scheme to promote unity is the adoption of one language to\nbe a universal language; another is the amalgamation of all the races by\nthe marriage of blacks and whites, and all indiscriminately; another is\nthe discouragement of patriotism or any special love for one's country\nor people, teaching an internationalism in the words, \"Let not him glory\nwho loves his country, but let him glory who loves his kind.\" These\npoints need not detain us, nor need we stop to enlarge on the fact that\nthe new calendar, feasts, rites, laws, weights and measures, etc., tend\nto disunion.\n\n_The claims of Bahaism in regard to its relation to the movement for\npeace and arbitration_ require consideration. Abdul Baha at Boston[106]\nsaid: \"Baha Ullah spread the teaching of Universal Peace sixty years\nago, when it was _not even thought of_ by the people. He sent tablets to\nkings advising this.\" He wrote to Mr. Smiley of Lake Mohonk, \"The matter\nof International Peace was instituted by His Highness, Baha Ullah, sixty\nyears ago in Persia.\" Dreyfus[107] says: \"Long before these ideas, i.\ne., peace, brotherhood and arbitration, had taken form among us, at a\ntime when the Bab himself had sometimes excused the use of arms for the\npropagation of religion, Baha Ullah had made these high principles the\none basis of his religion.\" Remey[108] states this claim yet more\nstrongly, saying: \"Peace, arbitration, in fact universal civilization\n_were unthought of_, when over half a century ago these teachers (Baha\nUllah and Abdul Baha) announced their message.\" Again, \"Christ states\nthat His dispensation is to be a militant one, which would be followed\nby another of peace. Baha Ullah has now brought that peace to the world.\nHe is the Prince of Peace who has established the foundations of peace\non earth.\"[109]\n\nNow as to the facts. Bahaism certainly does advocate peace and\narbitration, in common with Tolstoism, socialism and many schools of\nthought. Baha said to Professor Browne at Acca, in 1886: \"This fruitless\nstrife, these ruinous wars shall pass away and the Most Great Peace\nshall come. These strifes and this bloodshed and discord must cease and\nall men be as one kindred and one family.\" In accordance with this,\nAbdul Baha declares[110] universal peace and an international Court of\nArbitration to be fundamental principles of Bahaism. The Court will be\ncalled the House of Justice and will be composed entirely of Bahais.\n\"Disputes will find a final sentence of absolute justice ... before the\nBahai House of Justice. War will be suppressed.\"[111]\n\nIt is good to have such a programme approved by one raised in a Moslem\nenvironment. Yet it is evident that the claim to priority and\noriginality regarding it, constitute a grave anachronism and betray\nignorance of or perversion of history. Both the ideals and the programme\nwere in existence and in partial operation long before the time of Baha\nUllah. In the first place, Bahai teachings on peace are but an echo of\nChristian hopes and doctrines of \"peace on earth: good will to men.\"\nBaha has but thrown on the screen again the vision of the seers of\nIsrael who foretold the age when \"men shall learn war no more.\" The\nhopes of the prophets, the longings of saints, the anthems of the\nworshipping church found voice through the Christian centuries, with a\nfaith never dimmed, a desire never quenched, anticipating that\n\n    \"Then shall wars and tumults cease,\n      Then be banished grief and pain,\n    Righteousness and joy and peace\n      Undisturbed shall ever reign.\"\n\nBaha's teaching, though growing up in Islam, is transplanted from\nChristian soil. He repudiates the teaching of Mohammed regarding \"holy\nwars.\" \"The first Glad Tidings is the abolition of religious warfare\nfrom the Book,\" _i. e._, the Koran. What Bahais would do in case of\nprovocation, accompanied by reasonable opportunity of success, is not\nevident. The Babis were fierce warriors (1848-1850) and the Bab\nexpected that wars would continue. In the \"Bayan\" he makes provision for\nthe distribution of the spoils.[112] Baha, together with Azal, started\nfor and tried to join the army at Tabarsi,[113] and was absent from\nparticipation in its sanguinary conflict, solely because his arrest by\nthe Persian authorities at Amul prevented him from reaching the fort.\nAfter his release he fell under suspicion because[114] he \"not\nimprobably harboured designs of setting up a standard of revolt on his\nown account.\" He was, therefore, rearrested and sent to the capital. But\nduring his exile in Turkey, he tried to be reconciled to the Shah of\nPersia. Following this change of policy, he was able to claim later[115]\nthat \"for nigh upon thirty-five years no action opposed to the\ngovernment or prejudicial to the nation has emanated from this sect.\"\nThe Bahais did not join in the effort to establish constitutional\ngovernment in 1908-1911.[116] They have never had an even chance to\nfight for their own cause and it remains to be seen what they would do\nin such a case. There is no assurance that they would act like Quakers\nor Dukhobors, for even Abdul Baha at times identifies himself and his\ncause with the fighting Babis and appropriates their martial glory. He\nsaid to Mr. Anton Hadad:[117] \"When in Persia we were very few but owing\nto animosity we stood before our numerous enemies, fought and defeated\nthem and gained the victory.\" He wrote a prayer on behalf of the\nAmerican army for the use of Bahais: \"O God! Strengthen its soldiers and\nits flag.\"[118] In his teachings, he leaves several pretexts for the\nprosecution of war. He says:[119] \"War is sometimes the foundation of\npeace. If, for example, a sovereign should wage war against a\nthreatening foe or for the unification of the people, this war may be\nattuned to peace: this fury is kindness; this war is a source of\nreconciliation.\" In his scheme for arbitration, one is reminded of the\nold saw, \"we must have peace even if we have to fight for it.\" For he\nsays: \"If any nation dares to refuse to abide by the decision of the\ninternational court, all the other nations must arise and put down this\nrebellion, ... they must rise up and _destroy it_, ... band together and\n_exterminate it_.\"[120]\n\nAs to the claim that Baha _originated_ the movement for universal peace\nand international arbitration, it only deserves consideration because it\nis apparently put forth in sincerity. It absolutely contradicts history.\nIn fact the movement for \"peace on earth\" has long been an active one in\nChristian lands, and arbitration has long been recognized and employed\nas a method for promoting peace.\" \"Under the influence of religious and\nfeudal ideas,\" says Professor Moore,[121] \"arbitrations were very\nfrequent in the Middle Ages, which offered the remarkable spectacle of\nconciliation and peace making way.\" Treaties were made which provided\nfor arbitration. In Italy there were one hundred arbitrations in the\nthirteenth century. In the following centuries they were frequent in\nEurope. Sometimes a king acted as arbitrator between kings or between\nking and people. At other times a city, as for example the Republic of\nHamburg, or a great juristconsult or a Professor of a University acted\nin this capacity. More often \"the predominance of the popes constituted\nthem natural judges of international cases.\" Projects for universal\npeace were put forward. One of the most celebrated was formed by Sully,\nthe minister of Henry IV. The Abbe de St. Pierre in 1713 published a\nscheme for the federation of Christian States, with a central council to\ndecide all disputes. Grotius strongly advocated arbitration as a means\nof avoiding war and the placing of nations under obligations to settle\ndisputes peaceably. Bentham in the eighteenth century proposed a plan\nfor a common tribunal to maintain universal and permanent peace.[122]\nFox, Penn and the Quakers, from Christian principles, strenuously\nopposed war. There were nine principal arbitrations between the United\nStates and Great Britain, France and Spain from 1794 to 1863.\n\nIn 1815, before Baha's day, the Massachusetts Peace Society was formed\nand in the following year the American Peace Society \"to promote\nuniversal permanent peace through arbitration and disarmament.\"[123]\nFor this purpose World Congresses were held at London 1843, Brussels\n1848, Paris 1849, Frankfort 1850, London 1851, etc., and with great\nenthusiasm. Men like Elihu Burritt, Victor Hugo, Richard Cobden, John\nBright and Charles Sumner led in advocacy of the cause. Tennyson, too,\nsaw the vision of peace,\n\n    \"In the Parliament of men, the Federation of the World,\"\n\nand the Scottish bard declared,\n\n    \"It's coming yet for a' that\n    When man to man, the world o'er,\n    Shall brothers be and a' that.\"\n\nWe can easily conceive how these ideas would penetrate the Near East and\nhow Baha Ullah in Turkey caught an echo of them and was happily\ninfluenced to become himself an advocate of peace.\n\nBut what becomes of the claims of Abdul Baha and other Bahais, mentioned\nabove, that Baha, in 1863-1867, \"_instituted_ the movement for peace and\narbitration\" that he advised it to kings \"when it had not even been\nthought of,\" \"before the attention of Western thinkers had to any degree\nbeen directed towards universal peace.\" They are like so many claims\nmade by Bahaists, utterly groundless. Such statements, when made by\nAbdul Baha, we may attribute to ignorance of the history of the\nOccident, but this does not excuse American advocates of Bahaism for\nendorsing such errors.\n\nI need not discuss the assertion of Bahais that the Millennium began in\n1844[124] or at latest in 1892, nor the announcement that the Most Great\nPeace will be inaugurated in 1917, which they declare to be the end of\nthe 1335 days of Dan. xii. 12.[125]\n\n_Another claim made for Bahaism is that it is a rational and undogmatic\nreligion._ Remey[126] says: \"It does not put forth doctrine or dogma....\nIt is a religion free from dogma.\" It is \"logical and reasonable.\"\nDreyfus denounces \"dogmatic religions,\" and claims that Bahaism has\npaved the way for the harmony of religion with free thought.\"[127] With\nthese accord the words of Abdul Baha to Pastor Monnier in Paris.[128]\n\"Our aim is to free religion from dogmas. Dogmas are the cause of\nstrife. We must give up dogmas.\" Now it is evident that Bahaism has not\na fixed body of doctrines: that it has not a definite and clear system\nof theology. But it is very dogmatic in the common usages of that word.\nWebster defines it as (1) positive, authoritative, and (2) as asserting\nor disposed to assert with authority or with overbearing and arrogance.\nIs not Bahaism a mass of assertions? For example, Baha declares that\n\"the universe hath neither beginning nor ending.\" Abdul Baha adds the\ncomment:[129] \"_By this simple statement_ he has set aside elaborate\ntheories and exhaustive labours of scientists and philosophers.\"\nSimilarly he is said to have settled by a single word all discussions\nabout divine sovereignty and free agency. Abdul Baha might be called the\nLord of dogmas, for from his dicta none must vary by a hair's breadth.\nRemey himself dogmatizes as follows: \"The religion of Baha is the cause\nof God, outside of which there is no truth in the world.\" Much in\nBahaism must be taken on faith, without logical proof. Professor\nBrowne[130] puts it mildly when he says: \"The system appears to me to\ncontain enough of the mysterious and the transcendental to make its\nintellectual acceptance at least as difficult as the theology of most\nChristian churches to the sceptic.\" Elsewhere he says:[131] \"It must be\nclearly understood that Babism (or Bahaism) is in no sense\nlatitudinarian or eclectic, and stands therefore in the sharpest\nantagonism to Sufism. However vague Babi doctrine may be on certain\npoints, it is essentially _dogmatic_, and every utterance or command\nuttered by the Manifestation of the Period, _i. e._, Bab or Baha Ullah\nor Abbas Effendi must be accepted without reserve.\"[132] Similarly Dr.\nG. W. Holmes[133] writes: \"Baha's appeal is only to his own word and to\nhis own arbitrary and forced interpretation of the Word of God, which\ninterpretations, as he states, find their sanction solely in his own\nauthority.\"\n\nThere are other claims of Bahaism of a specific nature which might be\nconsidered. They would be found equally assertive and equally\ngroundless. Bahaism reminds me of a horse which was offered for sale in\nPersia. It appeared like a fat and well fed animal. But the would-be\npurchaser was warned that its skin had been puffed up with air which\nwould soon leak out, and he would have on his hands a lean, lank, bony\n_yabi_ scrub. Bahaism does not even stop short of claiming that the\ncivilization of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries is due to it. Its\nbraggart attitude may be fittingly symbolized by Rostand's \"Chanticler,\"\nstanding in the barnyard, flapping its wings in vain exultation,\nimagining that it, by its crowing, has caused the sun to rise.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[91] \"The Bahai Movement,\" p. 73.\n\n[92] _Contemporary Review_, March, 1912.\n\n[93] In \"Unity Through Love.\"\n\n[94] \"The Bahai Movement,\" p. 39.\n\n[95] _Ibid._, p. 27.\n\n[96] _S. W._, Oct. 1912, p. 190.\n\n[97] \"Story of the Bahai Movement,\" p. 4.\n\n[98] June 29, 1912.\n\n[99] _S. W._, Sept. 27, 1912.\n\n[100] _S. W._, Sept. 8, 1912.\n\n[101] Professor Browne, in the Ency. of Ethics and Religion, article\n\"Bab,\" writes: \"The Bahais are strongly antagonistic alike to the Sufis\nand the Mohammedans, but for quite different reasons. In the case of the\nSufis they object to their latitudinarianism, their Pantheism, their\nindividualism and their doctrine of the inner light. With the Mohammedan\nthey resent the persecutions they have suffered. The Bahais detest the\nAzalis, the followers of Abbas Effendi dislike and despise the followers\nof his brother Mehemet Ali.\"\n\n[102] _S. W._, Aug. 20, 1914.\n\n[103] \"Brilliant Proof,\" pp. 26-28.\n\n[104] _S. W._, Nov. 23, 1913, p. 238.\n\n[105] _S. W._, April 9, 1914.\n\n[106] _S. W._, July 13, 1913, p. 122.\n\n[107] \"The Universal Religion.\"\n\n[108] \"Bahai Movement,\" p. 75.\n\n[109] Page 54. In Dealy's \"Dawn of Knowledge,\" the chapter on Baha Ullah\nis entitled \"Prince of Peace.\"\n\n[110] _S. W._, Vol. IV, pp. 6, 8 and 254.\n\n[111] \"Answered Questions,\" p. 74; \"Tablet of the World,\" p. 28.\n\n[112] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 287.\n\n[113] \"New Hist.,\" pp. 378, 379.\n\n[114] _Ibid._, p. 380.\n\n[115] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 65-67.\n\n[116] See Chapter VI.\n\n[117] \"A Message from Acca,\" p. 9.\n\n[118] Tablet \"9,\" p. 8, published by the New York Bahai Council.\n\n[119] \"Principles of the Bahai Movement,\" pp. 43, 47, Washington, 1912.\n\n[120] _Ibid._, pp. 43, 45.\n\n[121] \"International Arbitrations,\" pp. 4826-4833.\n\n[122] New International Ency., Art. \"Arbitration,\" p. 713.\n\n[123] _Atlantic Monthly_, Vol. XCIV, p. 358.\n\n[124] _S. W._, March 21, 1914, p. 8.\n\n[125] Dealy's \"Dawn of Knowledge,\" p. 44; Kheiralla's \"Beha Ullah,\" pp.\n480, 483.\n\n[126] Tract \"Peace,\" pp. 8 and 14; \"Bahai Movement,\" p. 89.\n\n[127] \"The Universal Religion,\" pp. 21, 44.\n\n[128] _S. W._, April 28, 1913, p. 55.\n\n[129] _S. W._, June 5, 1913, p. 90.\n\n[130] Phelps, p. xviii.\n\n[131] Ency. of Religion and Ethics, Art. \"Bab.\"\n\n[132] See also his \"Literary History of Persia,\" p. 422.\n\n[133] \"Missions and Modern History,\" by Robert E. Speer, p. 171.\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nBahaism and Christianity\n\n  The whole Bahai movement is in fact, whatever it may have been in the\n  mind of its originator the Bab, a counterfeit of the Messiahship of\n  Christ. At least this is the side of it that is turned towards both\n  Christians and Jews. All that relates to the second coming of Christ\n  in the Old Testament or the New is bodily appropriated by Baha to\n  himself and everything in them relating to God is boldly applied to\n  himself.... It will bring a few of the Persians nearer to Christ. By\n  far the greater number of its adherents will be brought into more\n  active antagonism to Christianity than before.--_G. W. Holmes, M. D.,\n  in Speer's \"Missions and Modern History,\" Vol. I, p. 169._\n\n  Can Bahaism make good its claim to be the fulfillment of and\n  substitute for Christianity? It has no place for Christ except as one\n  of a series, one, moreover, whose brief day of authority closed when\n  Mohammed began to preach in Mecca.... If the claim be admitted that\n  Bahaism is a republication of Christianity, the whole interpretation\n  of the death of Christ contained in the Epistles must first be\n  rejected.--_W. A. Shedd, in \"Miss. Rev. of World,\" 1911._\n\n\nAbdul Baha says: \"Some say Abdul Baha is Antichrist. They are not\ninformed of Bahai principles. Baha Ullah[134] established Christ in the\nEast. He has praised Christ, honoured Christ, exalted Him, called Him\nthe Word of God, the Spirit of God, and spread His mention.\"[135] These\nwords could be written with the name Mohammed substituted for Baha\nUllah. But in the case of both of them it is the kiss of betrayal. Judas\nalso made known Jesus. Both Mohammed and Baha write \"ex\" before His\ntitle \"King of Kings.\" To accept Baha and Abdul Baha is to deny and\nforsake Christ.\n\nI hear some Christian say: \"Of course. What you say is self-evident.\nBahaism is a new religion whose aim is to supplant Christianity.\" This\nis true. Yet _the claim_ is put forth by Bahais, and, more strangely, it\nis accepted by some Christians, _that the two religions are not\nantagonistic, and may be held at one time by the same person_. To an\nesteemed Christian lady I expressed my regret that a certain doctor,\nforsaking Christ, had gone as a Bahai missionary to Persia. The reply\nstartled me: \"Doctor----is very much a Christian.\" Yet why was I\nstartled? It was simply hearing an idea with which I was familiar in the\nwritings of the Bahais. Sydney Sprague says: \"The true Bahai is also the\ntruest Christian.\"[136] Charles M. Remey says: \"To be a real Christian\nin spirit is to be a Bahai, and to be a real Bahai is to be a\nChristian,\" for \"Bahai teaching is only the perfection of\nChristianity.\"[137] A report of an interview of Rev. R. J. Campbell, of\nCity Temple, London, with Abdul Baha, states the claim of Bahaism as\nfollows: \"It does not seek to proselyte. One can be a Bahai without\nceasing to be a Christian, a Jew, or a Mohammedan.\"[138] In accordance\nwith this idea, Thornton Chase and some Bahais in America continued to\nworship and teach in Christian churches, and to have their dead buried\nby pastors. Some in London, in connection with the City Temple and St.\nJohn's Church (Canon Wilberforce's), profess both Christianity and\nBahaism. Of Southern India, Dr. A. L. Wylie said: \"It is said that there\nare thirty-five Bahais in our city [Ratnagiri]. Some of these are\nChristian converts. They continue to be Christians, saying that they can\nremain such and are instructed to do so.\" Such an erroneous idea, when\nnot due to the misrepresentations of the leaders and Oriental _tagiya_\n(\"dissimulation\"), must arise from ignorance of or dislike to true\nChristianity or ignorance of what Bahaism is.\n\nI. Bahaism assigns Christianity a place as but one among the true\nreligions. Bahaism indorses and accepts in the same category with\nJudaism and Christianity, as true and divinely revealed religions,\nZoroastrianism, Confucianism, Brahmanism, Buddhism, Mohammedanism,\nBabism, and Bahaism. Abdul Baha says: \"The reality of the religions is\none, the difference is one of imitation.\"[139] Remey says: \"Bahais\nconsider all religions to be, from a spiritual standpoint, one\nreligion.\"[140] \"Every religion has had its birth in the advent of its\ndivine founder.\"[141] \"The founders of the world religions have been\nseers as well as channels of truth to the people.\"[142] It tries to\nbuild on all the other religions by professing to be the fulfillment of\neach one. \"The Bahai propaganda in India,\" says Sprague, \"has not the\ndifficulty that besets a Christian missionary, that of pulling down: his\nduty is only to build on what is already there. He sees the Hindu,\nBuddhist, and Mohammedan with the same eye, acknowledges their truth and\nshows that a further revelation has come through Baha Ullah.\"[143] It\nsays to each one, Baha fulfills your traditions and prophecies.[144]\n\nBut this liberality is only apparent. Only original Buddhism,\nChristianity, etc., was God-given and true. Now all are corrupted. \"The\nkey-note of Bahai teaching is identical with the Christian, but in\nChristianity it was so forgotten that it came almost as a fresh, new\nillumination from Baha.\"[145]\n\nChristianity refuses to be classed with the ethnic religions. In its\nnature it is exclusive. It admits that there is a measure of truth in\nall religions, but Christ's gospel is the truth \"once for all\" delivered\nto men.\n\nII. Bahaism claims to abrogate and supersede Christianity. Bahaism in\nits origin is a Mohammedan sect. It declares that Islam is from God.\nChristianity was a divine revelation, but Islam was a better one. In the\n\"Ikan,\" Baha maintains the validity of Islam, testifies to its truth,\ndefends Mohammed's prophetic mission as the fulfillment of the New\nTestament prophecies, and the Koran as the Book of God.[146] Abdul Baha\nexalts Mohammed, and declares that he \"gave more spiritual education\nthan any of the others,\"[147] _i. e._, than Moses or Jesus. He justifies\nMohammed's life and conduct, and defends his laws and doctrines.\"[148]\nHe declares that \"whatever European and American historians have written\nregarding His Highness Mohammed, the Messenger of God, is mostly\nfalsehood.... The narrators are either ignorant or antagonistic.\"[149]\nChristians have therefore been in the wrong for thirteen centuries. They\nhave sinned against God, and were a stiff-necked and perverse people in\nrejecting Mohammed, as the Jews were in rejecting Jesus the Christ. \"If\nthose who have accepted a revelation refuse to believe a subsequent\nrevelation, their faith becomes null and void.\"\n\nSimilarly Babism abrogated Islam. At the Badasht (Shahrud) Conference\n(1848) the law of the Koran was formally declared to be annulled. Baha\nabrogated Babism in the Rizwan at Bagdad in 1864. Bahaism is the New\nCovenant, \"which confirms and completes all religious teaching which has\ngone before.\"[150]\n\nChristianity is, according to this, a system of the distant past. It was\neffective in its day, for \"the Christian teaching _was_ illumined by the\nSun of Truth: the Christian civilization _was_ the best,\"[151] concedes\nAbdul Baha. But now, says Remey, \"Bahaism is not one of many phases of\nUniversal Truth, but _the Truth_, the only Living Truth to-day, ... the\nonly source of Divine Knowledge to mankind.... Abdul Baha's word is the\nTruth.... There are those who will say, 'Have we not Jesus? We want no\nother.' The Revelation of Jesus is no longer the Point of Guidance to\nthe world. We are in total blindness if we refuse this new Revelation\nwhich is the end of the Revelations of the past.... All the teachings of\nthe past are past.... Only that which is revealed by the Supreme Pen,\nBaha Ullah, and that which issues from the Centre of the Covenant, Abdul\nBaha, is spiritual food.\"[152] Bahaism in proclaiming thus the\nabrogation of Christianity is emphatically antichristian.\n\nIII. Bahaism casts Christ from His throne as the unique manifestation of\nGod. Bahaism recognizes two classes of prophets: (1) The independent\nprophets, who were lawgivers and founders of new cycles. Of this class\nwere Abraham, Moses, Christ, Mohammed, the Bab, and Baha. (2) The others\nare dependent prophets, who are as \"branches.\" Such were Isaiah and\nDaniel. All the greater prophets, of the first class, were\nManifestations of God.[153] So Bahaism continues to honour Christ as the\nIncarnate Word, the Spirit of God, God manifest in the flesh. At the\nsame time it exalts Baha to supreme and unique dignity and glory above\nChrist and all prophets. In order to understand this essential,\nfundamental doctrine of Bahaism, we must know its doctrine concerning\nGod and His Manifestation.\n\nThe teaching of Bahaism regarding God is hard to grasp, because it\noscillates between Theism and Pantheism. Myron Phelps' exposition of it\nis certainly pantheistic.[154] Baha Ullah in many places bears out his\ninterpretation, as, for example, \"God alone is the one Power which\nanimates and dominates all things, which are but manifestations of its\nenergy.\"[155] In subsequent expositions, as in \"Answered Questions,\"\nAbdul Baha repudiates Pantheism, and so does M. Abul Fazl in \"The\nBrilliant Proof.\" Kheiralla, while maintaining that Baha taught Theism,\naccused Abdul Baha of Pantheism. In \"The Epistle to the Shah\" Baha\nsimulates a monotheism almost as rigid as Islam: \"We bear witness that\nthere is no God but Him. He is independent of the worlds. No one hath\nknown Him.... God singly and alone abideth in His own place which is\nholy, above space or time, mention and utterance, sign, description,\ndefinition, height and depth.... The way is closed and seeking is\nforbidden.\" A favourite text is that of the Koran, in which God says: \"I\nwas a hid treasure, I desired to be known, therefore I created the\nworld.\" In this process \"the first thing which emanated from God\n[eternally] was that universal reality which the ancient philosophers\ntermed the 'First Mind,' and which the people of Baha call the 'Primal\nWill.' This is without beginning or end, essentially but not temporally\ncontingent, and without power to become an associate with God.\"[156] The\nPrimal Will, Holy Essence, Word, Spirit, is manifested in perfect men,\nwho are the Great Prophets. They are supreme, holy, sinless souls,\ngodlike in their attributes. They show the perfections of God.[157]\nThis reality does not change, but the garment in which it is clothed is\ndifferent. One day it is the garment of Abraham, who is Zoroaster, then\nMoses, Buddha, Krishna, Christ, Mohammed, the Bab, and Baha Ullah.[158]\nAbul Fazl says: \"All the prophets are respectively the Manifestations of\nthe single Reality and one Essence.\"[159] The \"Ikan\" says: \"All are one,\nas the sun of yesterday and to-day are one. The sun is one, the\ndawning-points of the sun are numerous. One light, many lanterns.\"[160]\n\"Baha is the same light in a new lamp.\"[161] Yet there are differences\nin degree. Of the Bab, Baha says: \"His rank is greater than all the\nprophets, and His Mission loftier and higher.\"[162] But he is merely as\na forerunner in comparison with Baha. Baha is superior to all, greater,\nmore glorious.[163] He is infallible, absolute, universal. \"All the\nprophets were perfect mirrors of God, but _in Baha_, _in some sense_,\n_the Divine Essence is manifested_.\"[164] \"All preceding ones are\ninferior to him: all subsequent ones are to be under his shadow.\"[165]\nBut even the latter are not to come for a \"thousand or thousands of\nyears,\" and perhaps not then, for the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas\" says: \"O Pen,\nwrite and inform mankind that the Manifestations are ended by this\nluminous and effulgent Theophany.\"\n\nThe Manifestation has two stations: \"One is the station of oneness and\nthe rank of absolute Deity, the second station is one of temporal\nconditions and servitude. If the manifestation says, 'Verily I am only a\nman like you,' or 'Verily, I am God,' each is true and without doubt.\"\nThe \"Tajallayat\" quotes the Bab as saying concerning \"Him whom God shall\nmanifest\"; \"Verily he shall utter, 'I am God. There is no God but Me,\nthe Lord of all things, and all besides is created by Me! O ye, my\ncreatures, ye are to worship Me.'\"[166] In Bahai literature such words\nas the following are not uncommon: \"Baha Ullah is the Lord of Hosts, the\nHeavenly Father, the Prince of Peace, the Glory of God.\"[167] \"He is\nthe framer of the whole Universe, the Cause of the life of the world,\nand of the unity and harmony of the creatures.\"[168] \"No one of the\nManifestations had such great power of influence as was with\nEl-Baha.\"[169] In passing, it may be noticed how little ground for such\nboasting they have. How great in comparison was the influence of Moses\nas leader of Israel, emancipator, lawgiver, and prophet! How great even\nwas Mohammed's success and influence, compared with what Baha has\naccomplished! How evidently antichristian is Bahaism in denying that\nChrist's name and glory are above all, and that to Him every knee should\nbow!\n\nIV. Bahaism wrongly assumes that its leader is Christ come again. There\nis confusion about this claim, for some Bahais represent Baha to be\nChrist, and others make Abdul Baha Abbas to be Christ come the second\ntime. Confusion also arises from the fact that Baha is set forth as the\nManifestation of all the \"promised ones.\" He is set forth as the Messiah\nfor the Jews, God the Father, the Word, and the Spirit for the\nChristians, Aurora or Shah Bahram for the Zoroastrians, the fifth Buddha\nfor Buddhists, reincarnated Krishna for Brahmans, the Mahdi or the\ntwelfth Imam or Husain for the Moslems.[170] \"All are realized in the\ncoming of Baha Ullah.\"[171] In accord with this, Baha declared in his\n\"Epistle to the Pope\": \"Consider those who turned away from the Spirit\n[Christ] when He came to them. Verily He hath come from heaven as He\ncame the first time. Beware lest ye oppose Him as the Pharisees opposed\nHim. Verily the Spirit of Truth has come to guide you into all truth. He\nhath come from the Heaven of Preexistence.\" \"Baha,\" says the editor of\nthe _Star of the West_, \"is the fulfillment of the promise of the\n'second coming' _with a new name_ (Rev. iii. 11-13).\"[172]\n\nIt must be remembered that Bahaism, chameleon-like, takes on a different\naspect according to the environment of its adherents. In Persia its\ncreed is different from that of America in regard to the \"return.\" For\nthe most part American Bahais regard Baha as God the Father, and Abdul\nBaha Abbas as the Son of God, Jesus Christ. After the quarrel and schism\nfollowing the death of Baha (1892), Abbas became very wary of assuming\ntitles and dignities, lest he give a handle to his opponents to accuse\nhim of claiming to be a \"Manifestation.\" So he assumed the title\nAbd-ul-Baha, the \"servant of Baha,\" which his followers translate\n\"Servant of God.\" He also calls himself the \"Centre of the Covenant.\"\nBaha had entitled him the \"Greatest Branch of God\" (Zech. vi. 12) and\nthe \"Mystery of God\" (1 Tim. iii. 16). He was commonly called \"Agha,\"\nan equivalent in Persia of Effendi or Mister, but his followers\ntranslate it \"Master,\" and put into it the full New Testament\nsignificance. Undoubtedly Western Bahais worship Abdul Baha as Jesus\nChrist the Master come again. In spite of all disavowals and beclouding\nby words, their faith is plain. Getsinger, a leader and missionary,\nsays: \"Abbas is heir and Master of the Kingdom: he was on earth 1,900\nyears ago as the Nazarene.\" Mrs. Corinne True says: \"If this is not the\nresurrection of the pure Spirit of the Nazarene of 1,900 years ago, then\nwe need not look elsewhere.\"[173] Mr. Anton Hadad says: \"The Master,\nAbbas Effendi, the Lord of the Kingdom, is the one who was to renew and\ndrink the cup with his disciples in the Kingdom of the Father, the one\nwho taught the world to pray, 'Thy kingdom come,'\" _i. e._, Jesus\nChrist.[174] Chase says: \"He has come again in the Kingdom of his\nFather.\"[175] Mrs. Brittingham, on pilgrimage to Acca, writes: \"I have\nseen the King in his beauty, the Master is here and we need not look for\nanother. This is the return of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, of the\nLamb that once was slain;--the Glory of God and the Glory of the\nLamb.\"[176]\n\nEmphasizing the side of his divinity, we have such declarations as\nthese: M. Haydar Ali taught Mrs. Goodall, \"God is not realized except\nthrough His Manifestations. Now you have recognized Him and have come\nto see Him,\"[177] _i. e._, Abdul Baha (1908). M. Asad Ullah gave\ninstructions (1914): \"This world has an owner, and Abdul Baha owns the\nworld and all that is in it.\"[178] \"He is the Son of God\"[179]--the only\nDoor, \"the Lord of Mankind.\"[180] A supplication from Persia, given out\nfor publication, says: \"O! Abdul Baha! Forgiver of sins, merciful,\nbountiful, compassionate! How can a sinner like me reach Thee? Thou art\nthrough all the Forgiver of Sins.\"[181]\n\nBut there is an interpretation to all this for \"those of understanding.\"\nBahais reject metempsychosis, but they have a doctrine of \"Return,\"\nwhich must be borne in mind. This principle is expressed by Phelps as\nfollows: \"When a character with which we are familiar as possessed by\nsome individual of the past, reappears in another individual of the\npresent, we say that the former has returned.\"[182] Baha states it thus:\n\"In every succeeding Manifestation those souls who exceed all in faith,\nassurance, and self-denial can be declared to be the return of the\nformer persons who attained to these states in the preceding\nManifestation. For that which appeared from the former servants became\nmanifest in the subsequent ones.\"[183] Their classic illustration of\nthis is John the Baptist. Abdul Baha says: \"Christ said that John the\nBaptist was Elijah. The same perfections which were in Elijah existed in\nJohn, and were exactly realized in him. Not the essence but the\nqualities are regarded. As the flower of last year has returned, so this\nperson, John, was a manifestation of the bounty, perfections, the\ncharacter, the qualities, and the virtues of Elias. John said, 'I am not\nElias'--not his substance and individuality.\"[184] Remey clearly states\nthe idea: \"The return of a prophet does not refer to the return to this\nworld of a personality. It refers to the return in another personality\nof the impersonal Spirit, the Word or Spirit of God, which spoke through\nthe prophets in the past.... People are mistakenly looking for the\npersonal _individual_ return of their own special prophet.\"[185] In\naccordance with this theory of the \"Return,\" Abdul Baha wrote to the\nBahai Council of New York: \"I am not Christ; I am not eternal.\"[186] To\nMrs. Grundy he said: \"Some call me Christ; it is imagination.\"[187] Yet\nthe final word of his missionary, Mr. Remey, is: \"The same Christ which\nwas in Jesus is again manifest in the Bahai Revelation. The real\nChristians are those who recognize the New Covenant to be the return of\nthe same Christ,--the Word of God.\"[188] In like manner this usurper of\nChrist's name is proclaimed to be \"the expected one,\" the \"desire of\nall nations\" under other names to the various religions.\n\nV. Bahaism deals with the prophecies of the Bible in a manner derogatory\nto the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Kingdom. Bahaism asserts\nthat \"the promises and prophecies given in the Holy Scriptures have been\nfulfilled by the appearance of the Prince of the Universe, the great\nBaha Ullah and of Abdul Baha.\"[189] A volume would be necessary to\nreview their treatment of the prophecies. They quote a multitude of\nverses without proof that their applications are valid. The \"messenger\"\nand \"Elijah\" of the Book of Malachi are declared to be the Bab.[190] He\nis also the Angel with the sound of the trumpet (Rev. iv. 1) and his\ncycle is the \"First Resurrection.\" Baha is declared to be the\nfulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies. Of chapter ix. 1-6, \"unto us a child\nis born, ... the Prince of Peace.\" Dealy says: \"Many misguided people\nhave referred this to Jesus Christ.\"[191] In verse 1, \"Galilee of the\nnations,\" land of Zebulun and Naphtali, is made to mean Acca (Acre in\nSyria) where Baha lived in exile, and not the region of Christ's\nministry, contradicting Matthew iv. 13-16. By a great stretch of\nimagination Acca[192] becomes Jerusalem, \"the city of the great king\"\n(Ps. xlviii. 12), and Mount Carmel becomes Mount Zion, and Isaiah ii. 3\nrefers to them, \"for out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of\nthe Lord from Jerusalem.\" Even \"the root out of Jesse\"[193] and the\nmillennial peace are only partially referred to Christ. They find the\nreal fulfillment in Baha Ullah, whom they imagine to be descended from\nAbraham, through an imaginary descendant of his named Jesse.[194] The\nnew covenant and the law written on the heart is again the Bahai\ndispensation, contrary to Hebrews viii. 8, 10, 16. When Baha as a\nprisoner in chains rode into Acca seated on an ass, he fulfilled\nZechariah ix. 9.[195]\n\nI attended a Bahai meeting in the Masonic Temple in Chicago. The leader\nread the following verses as all fulfilled in Bahaism.[196] The \"son of\nman\" (Dan. vii.) was Abdul Baha, and the \"Ancient of Days,\" Baha. The\nquestion of Proverbs xxx. 3, \"What is his name and what his son's name?\"\nwas answered, Baha and Abdul Baha; similarly in Psalms lxxii. and ii.,\n\"The King\" and the \"King's Son.\" The \"Branch\" (Zech. vi. 12-13) who\nshall build the temple was again Abdul Baha, and the latter is specially\nurgent that the Bahai Temple in Chicago should be built in his day, so\nthat the prophecy may appear to be fulfilled. The dates in Daniel are\njuggled with. For example, Abdul Baha explains Daniel viii. by taking\nthe _solar_ year. He calculates[197] that the 2,300 days were completed\nat the Bab's manifestation in 1844. In Daniel xii. 6 the _lunar_[198]\nyear is resorted to, and the forty-two months (1,260 years) are dated\nfrom the hegira of Mohammed, but Daniel xii. 11 does not come exactly\nright, so the _terminus a quo_ is made to be the proclamation of the\nprophethood of Mohammed, three years after his mission, which was ten\nyears before the hegira. By this means the date of Baha's manifestation\n(1863) is reached. In connection with Daniel xii. and Revelation xi. we\nhave the startling information, so contradictory to history, that \"in\nthe beginning of the seventh century after Christ, when Jerusalem was\nconquered, the Holy of Holies was outwardly preserved, that is to say,\nthe house which Solomon built. The Holy of Holies was preserved,\nguarded, and respected.\"[199] On this alleged fact Abdul Baha founds an\nargument.[200] Prophecies referring to the glory of God or of the Father\nare applied to Baha, because his title means \"glory of God.\" The Bab,\naccording to the custom in Persia, gave many high-sounding titles.\nBaha's rival was called \"The Dawn of the Eternal.\" Voliva, the successor\nof Dowie, might assume some fitting title and claim to fulfill the\nprophecies. He has a good foundation for interpretation, he does really\nlive in Zion City (Illinois). Our Bahais further tell us that the \"New\nJerusalem,\" the new heaven and the new earth, mean the new dispensation,\nthe new laws of Baha. This is now \"the day of God,\" \"the day of\njudgment,\" \"the kingdom of God,\" \"the second resurrection.\"[201] The\nparable of the vineyard is a favourite proof text. It says that the Lord\nof the vineyard will come _himself_ and will utterly destroy the wicked\nhusbandmen. This, they say, is a real coming of the Father, even as the\nSon came. In that case the destroying must be real, and we should expect\nthat Baha would have destroyed the religious leaders of Mecca or\nKerbela, Jerusalem or Rome. \"No,\" says the Bahai, \"the destroying is\nfigurative, and means simply the abrogation of their authority.\" Well,\nif he escapes to a figurative interpretation, we too can interpret the\ncoming of the Lord of the Vineyard as his visitation on Jerusalem in the\ntime of Titus.\n\nBaha Ullah's method of interpretation and adaptation of prophecies is\nbest seen in his \"Ikan.\" In it he interprets at length Matthew\nxxiv.[202] In brief it is as follows: \"After the tribulation of those\ndays\" means times of difficulty in understanding God's word and\nattaining divine knowledge; \"the sun shall be darkened and the moon\ncease to give light,\" that is the teachings and the ordinances of the\npreceding dispensation shall lose their influence and efficiency. \"The\nstars shall fall,\" etc., means the divines shall fall from the knowledge\nof religion, and the powers of science and religion shall be shaken.\nBecause of the absence of the Son of Divine Beauty, the moon of\nknowledge, and the stars of intuitive wisdom, \"all the tribes of the\nearth shall mourn.\" \"They shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds\nof heaven,\" that is Baha Ullah shall appear from the heaven of the\nSupreme Will, outwardly from his mother's womb. \"In the clouds\" means in\ndoubts which are caused by the human limitations of the Manifestation,\neating, drinking, marrying, etc. \"And he shall send his angels,\" the\nspiritual believers sent as preachers of Baha. The separation of the\nsheep from the goats, as we learn subsequently, means the schism at the\ndeath of Baha, when the violators, the brothers of Abdul Baha and their\nadherents, were exscinded.[203] Even granting an allegorical\ninterpretation of Christ's words, only a stretch of imagination can find\nany reference to Baha.\n\nIt should be borne in mind that Oriental Bahai writers have read Keith\non Prophecy in Persian and the publications of the Mission Press at\nBeirut. Abdul Baha said to Dr. H. H. Jessup, \"I am familiar with the\nbooks of your press.\"[204] M. Abul Fazl refers to and quotes them.\nWriters in English (as Kheiralla, Remey, Dealy, and Brittingham) refer\nto Miller, Cummings, Seiss, Guinness, and others. Yet with all their\nfamiliarity with apocalyptic literature, they make an exceedingly weak\npresentation. Their claims are so baseless as to require no refutation.\nThey are a mass of unfounded assertions and assumptions,--vain, bold,\nand brazen. We may admit the declarations of Baha and Abul Fazl, which\nare but trite principles of hermeneutics, that figurative and\nallegorical language abounds in the Scriptures, that many meanings are\n\"sealed\" till after their fulfillment, that the prophecies of the Old\nTestament were only partially fulfilled at Christ's first coming. But\ntheir inference does not follow. There is nothing to prove the\nassertions that the prophecies were fulfilled in the Bab and Baha. They\nfurnish no scintilla of evidence. For example, \"the government shall be\nupon his shoulders.\" Was this fulfilled in Baha? He came and went; the\nnations and their rulers from 1817 to 1892 were neither literally nor\nfiguratively under his sway. He did not nor does he rule over the\nnations. He did not reign in Mount Zion nor in Jerusalem. Jerusalem did\nnot cease to be trodden down of the Gentiles. Abundance of peace did not\nattend him, but great wars. The signs of Christ's Second Advent have not\nbeen fulfilled in Baha, either actually or metaphorically.[205] As well\nmay Ahmad Quadiani or Dowie assert their pretensions. Baha's claim is\nantichristian. The day of Christ's power through the Holy Spirit has not\npassed. It is still His day. The knowledge of Christ is yet more\ncovering the earth. Men of diverse races and religions in Asia, Africa,\nand the isles of the seas are being joined in the common faith and\nfellowship of Jesus Christ as Saviour of Men. There are more Christians\nin Korea than Bahais in Persia. More Jews have become Christian since\nBaha was born than have become Bahais from all races and religions\noutside of Persia. Christ still goes forth conquering and to conquer.\n\nVI. Bahaism, in its treatment of Jesus Christ as a man in His earthly\nlife, belittles Him by both its denials and its affirmations. Of His\ntemptation it says, \"the devil signifies the human nature of Christ,\nthrough which He was tempted.\" His miracles of healing are denied.[206]\nBaha and Abul Fazl admit the possibility of miracles, but deny their\nevidential value,[207] but Abdul Baha denies their reality. He says:\n\"The miracles of Christ were spiritual teachings, not literal\ndeeds.\"[208] The raising of the dead means that the dead (in sin) are\nblessed with spiritual life.[209] By blindness (John ix.) is meant\nignorance and error; by sight, knowledge and guidance.[210] The spittle\ncoming from Christ was the meaning of His words, the clay was the\nexpression He used in accordance with their understanding.[211] At the\ncrucifixion darkness did not prevail, nor the earthquake, nor was the\nvail of the temple rent in twain.[212] The crucifixion was not an\natoning sacrifice; Christ quaffed the cup of martyrdom \"to cultivate and\neducate us.\"[213] The washing away of sins by Christ was not by His\nblood, but was by the practice of His teachings.\"[214] Christ did not\nrise from the dead. \"Resurrection of the body is an unintelligible\nmatter contrary to natural laws.\"[215] The body, which signifies His\nword, arose when faith in His cause revived in the minds of the\ndisciples after three days.[216] Christ's real resurrection was the\ncoming of Mohammed. \"Christ by saying that He would be three days in the\nheart of the earth meant that He would appear in the third cycle. The\nChristian was one, the Mohammedan the second, and that of Baha the\nthird.\" \"The ascension of Christ with an elemental body is contrary to\nscience.\" He ascended in the same sense as Baha ascended, viz., departed\nto the other world. Thus Bahaism denies the miracles,[217] atonement,\nresurrection, and ascension of Christ.\n\nA section of the \"Tarikh-i-Jadid\"[218] is devoted to the denial and\nrefutation of miracles. A blind man in Teheran sent to Baha praying that\nhis eyes might be opened. He received answer that it was for the glory\nof God that he remain blind. The Bab, at his examination in Tabriz, was\nasked to restore the sick Mohammed Shah to health. He replied: \"It is\nnot in my power, but I can write two thousand verses a day. Who else can\ndo that?\" He thus appealed not simply to the quality of his poetry but\nto its quantity as a proof of his manifestation. In like manner, Manes,\nin old times, painted pictures in his \"revelations\" and appealed to them\nas proof of his inspiration. While denying miracles, Bahais lay much\nstress, as we have seen, on minute fulfillments of prophecies.\n\nBahaism belittles the life and work of Jesus in instituting comparisons\nbetween Christ and Baha derogatory to the former. Baha says: \"It is not\nmeet ... to repeat the error of seeking help of ... the Son Jesus. Let\nthy satisfaction be in myself.\" Abdul Baha says: \"The difference between\nBaha and Christ is that between the sun and moon. The light of the sun\n[Baha] subsists in itself while the moon gets light from the Sun.\" \"All\nthe teachings of Christ will not exceed ten pages.[219] Those of the\nBlessed Perfection exceed sixty or seventy volumes. Christ's\ninstructions refer to individuals. Those of the Blessed Perfection are\nfor all nations, although they apply as well to all individuals. The\ninstructions of Christ were heard by but few persons; there were eleven\nwho believed, although Christians say there were one hundred and twenty.\nThe teachings of the Blessed Perfection were spread throughout the world\nduring his lifetime. The reputation of Christ did not extend from\nNazareth to Acca [22 miles]; the reputation of the Blessed Perfection\nextended throughout the world. Jesus Christ did not send a letter even\nto a village chief; the Blessed Perfection sent letters to all the kings\nof the earth.\"[220] Notice how he repeats _ad nauseam_ the title for\nBaha, but uses no title for the Lord Jesus Christ, though the Moslems\ninvariably do use a title in speaking of the latter.\n\nThere is an evident effort on the part of Kheiralla and Abul Fazl to\nminimize the proofs regarding Christ from prophecy, miracles, and\nhistory, with the idea thereby of magnifying the proof for Baha in\ncontrast. For example, \"The Gospels contain only a few pages of the true\nWords of God. Christ's teachings were not written in the original\nlanguage nor written in His day, His power was slow in proving\neffective, and many even denied His existence.\"[221] \"Even Peter denied\nHim, but Baha Ullah has educated thousands of souls, faithful under the\nmenace of the sword.\"[222] In explaining the progress of Bahaism among\nthe Jews and Zoroastrians, Abul Fazl says: \"Christians could not convert\neven one Jew or Zoroastrian except by force or compulsion.\" He ignores\nthe fact that millions of Persians had been converted to Christ from\nZoroaster before the sword of Islam smote Persia. This belittling of\nChrist--His life and work and influence--shows that a spirit\nantagonistic to Christ really animates the Bahai leaders, in spite of\ntheir professions to the contrary.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[134] In an interview with Rev. J. T. Bixby, who wrote on Bahaism in the\n_North American Review_, June, 1912, Abdul Baha says: \"Baha Ullah has\nupraised the standard of Christ in the East in countries and among\npeoples where there was formerly no mention of Christ's name.\" Not true.\nChrist was known in Moslem lands, in India and Burmah.\n\n[135] _S. W._, Sept. 8, 1913, p. 176.\n\n[136] Sprague, \"Story of the Bahai Movement,\" p. 21.\n\n[137] Remey, \"The Bahai Movement,\" p. 45.\n\n[138] _The Christian Commonwealth_ (London), Sept. 13, 1911, p. 850.\n\n[139] \"Wisdom Talks,\" p. 21.\n\n[140] Remey, \"The Bahai Movement,\" p. 54.\n\n[141] _Ibid._, p. 39.\n\n[142] _Ibid._, p. 2.\n\n[143] \"The Story of the Bahai Movement,\" p. 17.\n\n[144] So of Persia, _S. W._, April 28, 1914, p. 42.\n\n[145] C. E. Maud, _Fortnightly Review_, April, 1912.\n\n[146] Pages 68-158.\n\n[147] \"Table Talks with Abdul Baha,\" Dec. 2, 1900.\n\n[148] \"Answered Questions,\" pp. 22-29.\n\n[149] _S. W._, Dec. 12, 1911, p. 7.\n\n[150] Remey, \"Tract on the Bahai Movement,\" p. 8.\n\n[151] \"Talks in Paris,\" p. 20.\n\n[152] Remey, _S. W._, Dec. 31, 1913, pp. 267-271.\n\n[153] In thus regarding the prophets as divine, Bahais are not setters\nforth of strange doctrine in Persia, for the Ali Allahis (Nusaireyeh),\nwho number, possibly, twice as many as the Bahais in Persia, have the\nsame doctrine, and, in addition, regard the Imam Ali and others as\ndivine incarnations.\n\n[154] Phelps, \"Life of Abbas Effendi.\"\n\n[155] Baha's \"Words of Wisdom,\" p. 61. Notwithstanding these\nrepudiations of Pantheism, nearly every investigator finds it at the\nbasis of Bahai teaching.\n\n[156] \"Answered Questions,\" p. 23.\n\n[157] Abdul Baha in Mrs. Grundy's \"Ten Days in Acca.\"\n\n[158] _Ibid._, p. 61: \"The Blessed Perfection said in His Tablets that\nonce He was Abraham, once Moses, once Jesus, once Mohammed and once the\nBab. Baha Ullah is all the prophets, no matter by what name he chooses\nto call himself.\"\n\n[159] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 209.\n\n[160] Pages 14-15.\n\n[161] \"Answered Questions,\" pp. 199-201. Mr. Sprague says: \"The Bahai\nFaith teaches that the Universal Spirit, which is God, has manifested\nitself to every race at some time or other, and that it comes again and\nagain, like the spring, to make all things new\" (\"A Year in India,\" p.\nviii).\n\n[162] \"Ikan,\" p. 175.\n\n[163] \"Bahai Proofs,\" pp. 156-160. At the time of Azal there was a whole\n\"galaxy\" of Manifestations. Baha wishes to stop the claimants, so he\ndeclares that none is to be expected \"for a thousand or thousands of\nyears.\" Persia has had numerous incarnations, so-called. They were found\namong the Ismielis, Assassins, Ali-Allahis and all the _Ghulat_. The\nveiled Prophet Mukanna, Babak and many pretenders have proclaimed\nthemselves God. In truth Persia never lacks for an incarnation or two.\nOne of these, of the Ali-Allahi sect, arrived in Tabriz some years ago,\nand made an appointment to visit me at three o'clock P. M. My somavar\nwas set to boiling and I awaited his arrival. But he failed to keep his\nengagement because the Governor-General, the Amir-i-Nizam, heard of his\npresence in the city, and this God fled, forgetting to send me word not\nto expect him.\n\n[164] \"Answered Questions,\" pp. 129-131, 199-201.\n\n[165] _Ibid._, p. 184.\n\n[166] \"Ikan,\" pp. 123-127.\n\n[167] Asad Ullah, \"The School of the Prophets,\" p. 109.\n\n[168] Mrs. Brittingham, \"The Revelation of Baha Ullah,\" p. 32.\n\n[169] _S. W._, Jan. 19, 1914, p. 283.\n\n[170] \"The Revelation of Baha Ullah,\" p. 24. Similarly Gulam Ahmad\nQuadiani of India claimed to be Christ come again as well as Mohammed\nand the Mahdi and also, for the Hindus, a new avatar or incarnation.\n\n[171] C. M. Remey's tract, \"The Covenant,\" pp. 14-15; Kheiralla's \"Baha\nUllah,\" p. 533, and \"Lawh-ul-Akdas,\" translated in _S. W._, Vol. IV, p.\n15.\n\n[172] _S. W._, March 21, 1913, p. 13.\n\n[173] \"Notes at Acca,\" p. 24.\n\n[174] \"A Message from Acca.\"\n\n[175] \"Before Abraham was, I am,\" p. 46.\n\n[176] \"The Revelation,\" etc., p. 25.\n\n[177] \"Daily Lessons,\" p. 61.\n\n[178] \"Flowers from Rose Garden,\" p. 5; also, Dealy, \"Dawn of\nKnowledge,\" Chap. IV.\n\n[179] Asad Ullah, \"Sacred Mysteries,\" pp. 74, 85.\n\n[180] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 121; _S. W._, Jan. 19, 1914, p. 288.\n\n[181] \"A Heavenly Vista,\" p. 12.\n\n[182] \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p. 197.\n\n[183] \"Ikan,\" p. 113.\n\n[184] \"Answered Questions,\" p. 152.\n\n[185] \"The Bahai Movement,\" p. 39.\n\n[186] Phelps, p. 99.\n\n[187] \"Ten Days in the Light of Acca.\"\n\n[188] _S. W._, Dec. 31, 1913, p. 269.\n\n[189] M. Asad Ullah in M. H. Dreyfus's \"Universal Religion,\" p. 63.\n\n[190] Mal. iii. 1; iv. 5-6. See Dealy, \"The Dawn of Knowledge,\" pp.\n13-15.\n\n[191] _Ibid._, pp. 25, 30.\n\n[192] Dealy says: \"To quote all the passages of Scripture referring to\nAcca would necessitate reading a great portion of the Bible. They\nidentify Accho with Acca (Acre). Even if this were so, Accho was not in\nthe land of Naphtali and Zebulun, but in Asher. Napoleon's siege of Acre\nis called 'the abomination of desolation, standing in the holy place'\"\n(p. 40).\n\n[193] Isa. xi. 1-10.\n\n[194] \"Answered Questions,\" pp. 72-75.\n\n[195] Kheiralla, p. 419.\n\n[196] Dealy, pp. 31-32, 44.\n\n[197] \"Answered Questions,\" pp. 50-52.\n\n[198] Kheiralla (pp. 412, 480-483) also skips from lunar to solar year\nand back, to make the dates tally.\n\n[199] \"Answered Questions,\" pp. 54-55. See Milman's \"Gibbon,\" Vol. II,\np. 433. \"The Emperor Hadrian's plowshare levelled the temple area.\"\n\n[200] \"Answered Questions,\" pp. 54-55.\n\n[201] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 140. \"All in their graves arose spiritually at\nhis call, for service in his cause.\"\n\n[202] Pages 17-67.\n\n[203] Doctor Potter of Teheran says (\"Missions and Modern Hist.,\" by R.\nE. Speer, p. 162): \"Their fanciful interpretations of plain Scripture\ndeclarations renders it difficult to make any impression on them with\nproof texts from the Bible. They reply, 'Yes, but we must break open the\nword and extract its meaning.'\" This, says Doctor Holmes, \"is often\ndirectly at variance with its apparent meaning, but this only displays\nmore clearly the divine insight of their teacher, that he is able to\nrecognize words no one else can understand.\"\n\n[204] _The Outlook_ (New York), 1901, June, p. 451.\n\n[205] In one particular, no doubt, Baha has fulfilled prophecy. At least\nthe Azalis say that he came \"as a thief\" and stole the succession from\nAzal.\n\n[206] \"New Hist.,\" p. 321.\n\n[207] \"Bahai Proofs,\" pp. 190, 204-207.\n\n[208] Mrs. Grundy, p. 13.\n\n[209] \"Answered Questions,\" pp. 115-118.\n\n[210] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 232.\n\n[211] M. L. Lucas, \"My Visit to Acca,\" p. 20.\n\n[212] \"Answered Questions,\" p. 45.\n\n[213] _S. W._, April 9, 1913, p. 40.\n\n[214] Ibn Abhar. Thornton Chase says: \"Christianity stands condemned\nbecause it refuses to reject miracles and the blood atonement and will\nnot confine itself to the precepts of Jesus\" (\"Bahai Revelation,\" p.\n158).\n\n[215] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 155.\n\n[216] \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I, p. 192; \"Answered Questions,\" pp.\n120-121.\n\n[217] Yet Baha informs us that \"copper in seventy years becomes gold in\nits mine if it be protected from a superabundance of moisture\" (\"Ikan,\"\np. 111).\n\n[218] \"New Hist.\"\n\n[219] \"Winterburn's Table Talks,\" pp. 19-20.\n\n[220] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 231.\n\n[221] \"Answered Questions,\" p. 42.\n\n[222] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 265.\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nBahaism and Christianity (_Continued_)\n\n  Mrs. Goodall:--\"Is it necessary to arise to say the midnight prayers\n  and to make ablution before them?\"\n\n  Abdul Baha:--\"Ablution is only for obligatory prayers three times a\n  day.\"--\"_Daily Lessons_,\" p. 74.\n\n  Abdul Baha restores man to his state a little lower than the\n  angels.... On this occasion we newcomers were presented with a Bahai\n  stone marked with Baha Ullah's name. Such objects contain a spiritual\n  influence ... actually retain and set free something of the holy man's\n  personality.... At my request, Abdul Baha graciously took back the\n  stone I had received and returned it with a blessing for my baby girl,\n  who thus, as it were, accompanied us on our pilgrimage and received\n  its benefit.--_Horace Holley at Thonon. His \"The Modern Social\n  Religion,\" p. 216._\n\n\nVII. Bahaism teaches another way of salvation. Man's origin and destiny\nwere formerly points of doubt in Bahai teaching, but the muddy mixture\nhas settled enough to give us a clearer view, at least as regards\nWestern Bahaism, though pantheistic notions still prevail. Abdul Baha\nteaches that matter is eternal, self-existent, and fills all space.[223]\n\"God always had a creation; the universe has neither beginning nor\nend.\"[224] \"Creation out of nothing is unthinkable. Separate entities\ncome into being through the operation of God--are the perceptible\nmanifestations of Him.\" \"There are four degrees of spirit concerned with\nevolutionary growth: The mineral spirit, the vegetable, the animal, and\nthe human. The mineral spirit contains the latent principle of\nlife.\"[225] Yet man's origin is not from the animals.[226] \"Species is\nfixed; man was developed gradually as a distinct species.\"[227] The\nspirit of man emanates from God as an action from an actor, a writing\nfrom a writer--a manifestation of the Divine but not a division from it.\nSin arises from the physical qualities, from the physical nature which\nwe derive from Adam. Evil is really non-existent; it is simply lack of\ngood qualities. There is no Satan.[228] The \"Genii\" (jins) of the Koran\nare evil passions in man; demons are the spirits of bad men.\n\nAs to the doctrine of personal immortality, there has been much\nconfusion of thought. Some have understood the doctrine of \"rijat\" or\n\"Return\" as teaching transmigration of souls. Others have understood\ntheir allegorizing about heaven as a rejection of the future life.\nOthers, as Phelps,[229] affirm the absorption of the soul in the\nInfinite. My language teacher in Persia, a fervent Behai, said: \"We\nbelieve in a future state so unthinkably ecstatic that if its joys were\nnow revealed to men, they would commit suicide to hasten their entrance\ninto it.\" Baha Ullah wrote a \"Tablet of the Spiritual World,\" of which\nit is said:[230] \"All who read it are filled with an anxious desire to\nleave this world and enter the next condition, so wonderful are the\nglories of the spiritual kingdom. In Persia one man who read the tablet\nkilled himself. He could not wait for the happiness it promised him.\nAnother, a youth of Ispahan, could not stand it and lost his reason.\"\n\nMrs. Grundy[231] and Mr. Phelps[232] understood Abdul Baha to teach the\nannihilation of the wicked, but he denied this[233] and affirms their\nconscious existence.[234] Heaven and hell are affirmed in some places,\ndenied in others.\n\nSin is little dwelt upon in Bahai literature, and the word repentance is\nseldom used. In the \"New History\" and \"Traveller's Narrative\" sin,\ntransgression, forgiveness, expiation and such words find no place in\nthe indexes. The Moslem appeal for mercy is rarely made. In the chapter\non prayer, in the \"Sacred Mysteries,\" there are no directions for the\nconfession of sins, no petition like, \"forgive us our trespasses,\" no\ncry of the prodigal--\"Father, I have sinned.\" There is no atonement. The\ndaily sacrifice of the Book of Numbers is explained to mean \"Divine\nbounty.\" \"The blood of Christ cleanses us\" is interpreted \"His spiritual\nteaching and love which saved His disciples from the ruin of ignorance\nand heedlessness.\" The stages of travel to God, the \"Seven Valleys,\" are\n(1) research, (2) love, (3) knowledge, (4) union, (5) content, (6)\nperplexity or astonishment, (7) poverty and annihilation. There is no\nmention of hatred of sin, turning from it and apprehending the mercy of\nGod. The plan of salvation has neither the Christian idea of atonement\nby a mediator, nor the Mohammedan one of expiation by works of merit or\nan equivalent. Its plan of salvation is simple, viz., to believe in and\nfollow Mirza Husain Ali, Baha Ullah, as the supreme and final\nmanifestation in this universal cycle which began in Adam and\nculminated in Baha Ullah, who was God the Father in the flesh. Later\nBahais put Abdul Baha in the place of Christ as Son of God and Divine\nMediator. Remey's chapter on Eternal Life[235] is orthodoxy with Baha as\n\"Word of God.\" The doctrines of faith, regeneration, and sanctification\nare Christian with the historic Christ eliminated. Error has clothed\nitself as in garments of light. Antichrist would steal the livery of\nHeaven and lead Christians to forget that there is no other name under\nHeaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts iv. 12), and that\nif Abdul Baha or an angel from Heaven pervert the Gospel of Christ or\npreach any other Gospel, he is to be rejected (Gal. i. 7-9).\n\nVIII. Bahaism abrogates the New Testament.\n\nIt is indeed honoured, but as the Revelation of a past dispensation.\nAbdul Baha wrote in the Bible in the City Temple, London: \"This book is\nthe Holy Book of God, of celestial inspiration. It is the Bible of\nsalvation, the noble Gospel. It is the mystery of the Kingdom of God and\nits light. It is the Divine bounty, sign of the guidance of God.\" But\nHarold Johnson, a friend of Bahaism, wrote, with true discernment:[236]\n\"In the same spirit he would have written the same words upon the\n_Koran_ or the _Vedas_.\" Baha certifies the _Koran_ times without number\nin the \"Ikan.\" He wrote:[237] \"Whoso hath not acknowledged the _Koran_\nhath not in reality accepted the books which preceded it.\" By the same\nreasoning, whoso does not acknowledge Baha's writings as \"revealed\"\nrejects the former books also.\n\nBahais, even Persian Bahais, are familiar with the Bible. They quote\nlargely from the prophets, the Gospels, and the Book of Revelation. They\nuse them for apologetic purposes, to dispute with Christians and to find\nproofs for their perverted teachings. As the real Scriptures for the\npresent age, they present the writings of Baha Ullah and Abdul Baha.\nThese are read at their meetings and in their devotions and are chanted\nat their shrines. These _only_ are to be read in the _Mashrak-ul-Azhar_,\nthe Bahai Temples.[238] The authority of all other Scriptures is\nabrogated, even the \"Bayan\" of the Bab.[239] The \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" the\nMost Holy Book, consists of laws, exhortations, and warnings. The\n\"Ikan,\" written by Baha before he set up his own claim, is an attempt to\nshow from previous books the truth of the Bab's claims. The \"Hidden\nWords,\" \"Surat al Haykal\" (The human temple), the \"Seven Valleys,\" the\n\"Effulgences,\" the \"Glad Tidings,\" etc., contain principles, precepts,\nand rhapsodies. There are also the Epistles to the Kings and numerous\ntablets (letters) to individual believers. Besides all these, the\ndiscourses and letters of Abdul Baha, containing interpretations and\ncommands, are regarded as revealed and inspired Words of God. These are\ncollected in \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" \"Addresses in Paris,\" \"Addresses\nin London,\" \"Some Answered Questions,\" and in the _Star of the West_,\nnewspaper.\n\nIX. Bahaism abolishes the Christian institutions--the Church, its\nsacraments, and its polity.\n\nThe Church must soon cease to have any meaning for those who look for\ngrace and strength to another than \"the head, even Christ\" (Eph. iv.\n15). Bahais in America have already organized separate meetings for\nworship in all places where they have a score or more members. In\nChicago, which is the chief seat of the sect in America, they have 150\nor more members. I attended their regular Sunday service, in a room\nwhich they have rented in the Masonic Temple. About sixty were present,\none-half of whom were visitors like myself. The service was modelled\nsomewhat after the Protestant week-day meeting, but without any prayer.\nSeveral hymns were sung in praise and worship of Baha, from a book\nspecially written for his adoration. The leader, a woman, read\nselections from the \"Tablets of Abdul Baha\" and gave an exposition of\nBahai teachings and an invitation to faith in Baha and Abdul Baha, as\nspecially the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Bible. Another woman\nread from the \"Hidden Words.\" The editor of the _Star_, one of six Bahai\nmen present, gave the announcements and said that the meetings during\nthe summer would be on the ground, at Wilmette, where they expect to\nbuild the temple (_Mashrak-ul-Azkar_). This temple is a darling project\nof Abdul Baha. He dedicated the ground when he was in America and urges\nall believers to build it quickly. He says: \"The temple is the greatest\nmatter today for the upbuilding of the cause.\"[240] It will fulfill\nprophecy!\n\nThe government of Bahaism is to be by \"Houses of Justice.\" Each will be\ncomposed of nine or more Bahai men elected by the people. Bahaism will\nbe the state religion. Kings will exist, but the politico-religious\nhierarchy will perform many of the functions of the state, even to\nsettling international disputes. Churches, assemblies, and conferences,\nbishops and popes--all will be dispensed with. The Bahai \"houses\" will\nconduct and control religion for the world. The first universal\nvicegerent of God is Abdul Baha. After him the supreme power will be\nvested in the \"house.\" Already signs of Bahai tyranny are manifest.\nAbdul Baha declared that no believer \"must vary one hair's breadth from\nhis word.\" No Bahai may publish anything on religion without first\nsubmitting it to him for censorship. Such a command is made applicable\nto all Bahais.[241] In the good time coming there will be a graduated\nhierarchy--local, national, universal--who will bring \"all secular\naffairs under spiritual guidance.\"\n\nWith the Church and its ministry the \"new revelation\" abolishes also the\nsacraments. Baptism is no longer necessary, for \"baptism by water,\"\nsays Abdul Baha, \"was a symbol of repentance and of seeking forgiveness\nof sins. In the cycle of Baha there is no longer need of this symbol,\nfor its reality, which is to be baptized with the Spirit and love of\nGod, is established.\"[242] Yet a substitute is at hand:[243] \"Thou hast\nasked regarding the naming of children. Prepare a meeting, chant verses,\nsupplicate guidance for the babe; then give the name and enjoy beverages\nand sweetmeats. This is spiritual baptism.\" So Remey did. \"I will make\nmention of a Bahai christening [?] in Ferouzay [Persia]. We were asked\nto name the baby. On the fifth day after the child's birth a feast was\nspread. The baby was brought out. Mr. Sprague gave the name Ruhullah;\nprayers, tablets, and a hymn in praise of Baha Ullah were chanted.\"[244]\nSuch is the substitute for baptism in the name of the Father, Son, and\nHoly Spirit.\n\nThe Lord's Supper as a remembrance of the sacrifice of Christ is\nabolished. Instead of it there is introduced an imitation, called the\nUnity Feast, with traces of the Lord's Supper and of the _Agape_. Of it\nAbdul Baha[245] says: \"It must be inaugurated in such a way as to\nresurrect the feast of the ancients, namely, the Lord's Supper.\" We have\ndescriptions of it as celebrated by Abdul Baha in America and at\nAcca.[246] Sprague says: \"The Master [at Acca] did not sit down with\nus, but served us, going from one to another, heaping rice on our\nplates, bringing home to us the words: 'Let him that is greatest among\nyou be your servant.' The Orientals could hardly bear that their Master\nshould wait on them. They felt as Peter did when Christ washed his feet.\nAfter the supper a tablet of Baha was chanted in Persian. The supper was\ntruly the Lord's Supper in all its spiritual significance.\" Abdul Baha\nsaid that the prophecy was fulfilled which said, \"They shall come from\nthe east and the west and sit down in the kingdom of God.\" In America\nAbdul Baha celebrated the supper with each group of his followers. In\nhis absence a vacant seat is left at the head of the table for the\n\"master\" and passages from the \"Hidden Words\" are read as food is\npassed.\n\nOther imitations of Christ's works and words are repeated to keep up the\npretense that He is the Saviour. In Chicago and other places \"the\nchildren were on hand to receive the spiritual blessing of Abdul Baha.\nHe called each child to him and took him in his lap. He blessed them\nall, laying his hand in blessing on each little head.\" At a Unity Feast\nhe said: \"Abdul Baha is standing and waiting upon you.\" What is this but\na copying of the words: \"I am among you as one that doth serve.\"\nPalpable imitations of Christ's words abound in the so-called\nRevelations. In the \"Lawh-ul-Akdas \"there is a series of beatitudes as:\n\"Blessed is the lowly one who holds to the rope of my might. Blessed is\nthe hungry one who hastens away from desire. Blessed is the thirsty one\nwho seeks the nectar of my benediction. Blessed is the spirit who was\nstirred by my breath. Blessed is he who has suffered tribulation for my\nname's sake,\" etc. Baha Ullah doubles the number of Christ's Beatitudes!\nIn the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" written many years before his death, Baha\nimitates the parting words of Christ:\n\n    Christ in the Gospel says:     Baha Ullah says:\n\n    \"Let not your hearts be        \"Be not troubled.\"\n    troubled.\"\n\n    \"Let not your heart be         \"Let not your trouble take\n    troubled; neither let          possession of you.\"\n    it be afraid.\"\n\n    \"I am with you always.\"        \"We are with you under\n                                   all conditions.\"\n\n    \"If any man love me, he        \"Whoso knoweth me, will\n    will keep my words.\"           rise up to serve me.\"\n\n    \"It is expedient for you       \"Verily there is in my occulation\n    that I go away.\"               a reason.\"\n\n    \"I will see you again.\"        \"We shall see you.\"\n\nWhat palpable imitations of words so dear to the Christian heart! Words\nwhich were in the mouth of Christ Jesus the expression of deep and\nsincere emotion are used for effect!\n\nX. Bahaism is antichristian in its rites and ceremonies.\n\nThese regulations are, for the most part, copied from the Moslem law and\nare prescribed in the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas.\" Ablution is commanded as a\nreligious rite, to be followed by sitting with one's face towards the\n_Kibla_ (Acca) and repeating _Alla hu Abha_ ninety-five times (5x19). As\na Fast, Bahaism substitutes the last month of their year, named Ala for\nRamazan. As Christians have Carnival week before Lent, followed by\nEaster rejoicings, and as Moslems have the Oruj Bayram, so Bahais have\nfive days of feasting before the Fast. This extends through a Bahai\nmonth of nineteen days, March 2-20, and is followed by the Noruz or\nVernal Equinox. Noruz is consecrated and its ceremonies prescribed with\nreligious sanctions as among the Nusaireyah. The ordinance of fasting\nsays: \"Thus ordaineth the Lord of men; abstain from eating and drinking\nfrom dawn to sundown.\" This abstinence includes smoking as among\nMoslems. The same exceptions are made as in the Koran--that the\ntraveller, the sick, and pregnant and nursing women are excused. Fasting\nis obligatory after the age of fifteen. The Bab put the age limit at\nforty-two, but Baha enjoined it as long as strength permits.[247] The\nquestion naturally arises if obligatory fasting is good, why reduce the\ntime from thirty to nineteen days: if reform is the watchword, why not\nhave the liberty of the Gospel?\n\nAs in fasting, so in prayer Bahaism follows the Moslem ceremonial law.\nBaha laid down a ritual on the same lines. There are modifications, but\nno essential difference, from Islam. In Islam devotion is a strong\npoint, formalism is its weakness. Bahaism lessens the amount of\ndevotion, without getting rid of the prescribed formalism. Ablutions are\na necessary preliminary to the obligatory prayers, at least three times\na day, but if one wishes to make other prayers at night, he need not get\nout of bed to perform the ablutions.[248] \"He who doth not find water,\nmust say five times, 'In the name of God,'\" etc. (\"Akdas\"). During the\nablutions certain petitions are prescribed as \"while washing the hands,\nsay,\" etc.; \"while washing the face, say,\" etc. Then the worshipper must\n\"stand facing the Holy Place\" (Acca) and say a portion of the prayers;\nthen \"bowing down with hands on knees,\" say another portion; then\n\"standing with hands outstretched forward and upward,\" another; then\n\"sitting down,\" another portion. Each prayer has three prostrations\n(_rika_). Prayer times are morning, afternoon, and evening.\nCongregational prayer or at funerals was abolished by Baha, but Abdul\nBaha permits it for Americans.[249] Prayer is directed to Baha Ullah.\nWhen the terms \"God,\" \"Lord,\" \"Thy Greatest Name\" are used, Mirza Husain\nAli is intended: \"He, Baha,\" says Abdul Baha[250] \"is the dawning place\nof Divinity and the manifestation of Divinity. He is the ultimate goal,\nthe adored one of all, and the worshipped one of all.\" The editors add\n(the capitals are theirs): \"_Further than this_ MAN HAS NO OTHER POINT\nFOR CONCENTRATION. HE (BAHA) IS GOD, _the worshipped one of all_.\"\nPrayer, therefore, is no longer to be in the name nor for the sake of\nJesus Christ but in the \"Greatest Name,\" _i. e._, Baha Ullah's, \"at the\nmention of which the people before the Houris fall down,\" \"the Name of\nHim who is Ruler over what was and is.\"[251] This name is graven on the\nbreastpins of Bahais, and as a monogram on rings, with two stars\nalongside it, one of which represents the Bab and the other Abdul Baha.\nThis charm is to be buried with the body. A rosary of ninety-five beads\nis used daily by the worshipper in saying the \"Greatest name\" 5x19\ntimes. Allahu Abha is also to be said at the beginning of a meal or of\nany business, or as a greeting, just as the Moslems say, \"Bism ullah\"\n(In the name of God) or \"Peace be to you.\" The figure 9, the sum of the\nletters of Baha, is also a talisman.\n\nPilgrimage is considered meritorious and has been popular among American\nas well as Persian Bahais, though Baha says:[252] \"Visiting the tombs of\nthe dead is not necessary, it is better to give the money to the House\nof Justice.\" The chief shrine is the tomb of Baha Ullah and of the\nBab[253] at Acca. There have been published accounts of a score of\nAmerican women and of some men who have obtained permission and entered,\nas it were, through \"the gate of heaven\" and \"paid their vows unto the\nMost High.\" But not the least attraction was Abdul Baha, \"the king in\nhis beauty.\" The pilgrim first does obeisance to him. This is an\necstatic, hysteric event. Mrs. True, \"perfectly intoxicated with the\nrealization,\" kissed his hand.[254] Another lady sat at his feet with\nher head on his knee. Another, when she entered his presence, held out\nher arms, crying: \"My Lord, my Lord,\"[255] and rushing forward, fell on\nher knees, sobbing.[256] Another narrative says[257] that Abbas greeted\nthem, \"clasped each one in a loving embrace,\" anointed each one with the\nattar of roses. \"Some of the believers kissed his hand.\" Of her good-bye\nthis lady says, \"I held his hand a long time.\" Even Mr. Horace Holley,\nauthor of \"The Modern Social Religion,\" writes,[258] \"This was he. My\nwhole body underwent a shock. My heart leaped, my knees weakened, a\nthrill of acute receptive feeling flowed from head to foot.... From\nsheer happiness I wanted to cry.\" Another man, L. G. Gregory, a negro,\nwrites: \"My knee bent reverently before him.\" When Abdul Baha says: \"I\nam glad to see you,\" the pilgrims thrill at such wondrous words! \"His\nheavenly smile\" gives them happiness! His trite platitudes are written\ndown beside the midnight lamp, for the delectation of similar dupes.\n\nNext the pilgrims visit the Palace of Bahja and the beautiful pleasure\ngrounds where Baha resided during most of his confinement at Acca,\nenjoying much freedom and even luxury as a \"prisoner.\" The tomb of the\nBab draws them, but more sacred do they deem the tomb of Baha Ullah,\n\"the culmination of our pilgrimage.\" This shrine is in the Garden of\nBahja. Its outer court is adorned with beautiful rugs, vases,\nchandeliers, and flowers. Here they chant verses from the Tablets. Each\npilgrim, taking off his shoes, enters the \"holy precincts\" alone. In\nthis \"holy of holies,\" \"the heavenly silence of that centre of peace,\"\nhe \"kneels and prays at the throne of grace for pardon and help,\"\n\"remembering the friends far away before the presence.\" He counts it a\n\"glorious experience at once solemn and joyful.\" Coming out he is\n\"served with tea and given some beautiful roses which are carefully\npreserved.\" Mrs. Grundy says that \"they remained all night at the tomb,\nchanting and praying without intermission, and standing throughout the\nceremonies ... communing with the glorified spirit of Baha Ullah.\" Under\nthe arbour was a chair where Baha Ullah used to sit. No one sits in it\nany longer. She knelt at the foot of the chair whilst one of the\ndaughters of Baha chanted a prayer.[259]\n\nA shrine, deemed even more sacred, yet remains. The pilgrims are\nconducted to it in an inner room of the residence of Abdul Baha. Here\nare the images \"of the Glorious Ones of God.\" \"We were all impelled to\nremove our shoes before crossing the threshold. Approaching in reverent\nawe, we were anointed with a fragrant perfume, and as we knelt before\nthe majestic likeness[260] of the Blessed Perfection, Baha Ullah and\nthat of the Bab, we were unable to speak.\"[261] \"Here is seen the\nexpression of gentleness, meekness, wisdom, light, love, majesty, power,\nholiness, in short, every attribute of God.\"[262]\n\nHow far from the Christian position the Bahais have wandered is seen in\nthe narratives of these pilgrims who take little interest\n\n                        In those holy fields,\n    Over whose acres walked those blessed feet\n    Which, nineteen hundred years ago, were nail'd\n    For our advantage to the blessed cross.\n\nTo them not Jerusalem but Acca is the Holy City. Not Nazareth and the\nSea of Galilee, but Haifa and its bay, not the Garden of Gethsemane but\nthe Rizwan, not Calvary but the Turkish prison barracks, not Mount\nOlivet but Mount Carmel, attract their interest and engage their love.\n\nXI. Bahaism in its festivals abandons the Christian year. In the\n\"Akdas,\" besides _Noruz_, New Year, there are two sacred days: (1) The\nanniversary of the declaration of the Bab, May 23, 1844; and (2) the\nbirthday of Baha Ullah, November 12, 1817. To these have been added: (3)\nThe feast of _Rizwan_, April 21-May 2, commemorating the declaration of\nBaha Ullah in Bagdad; (4) the death of Baha Ullah, May 28, 1892, at\nAcca; and still later (5) the birthday of Abdul Baha, May 24, 1844; and\n(6) his appointment as \"Centre of the Covenant,\" November 26. The four\nor five intercalary days, February 26-March 2, corresponding in a\nmeasure to Carnival, are a feasting time before the annual fast.\n\nThe weekly holy days of the three monotheistic religions are abolished.\nInstead of a Sabbath, every nineteenth day, the first of each month, is\na sacred day; even the week is abolished. The ninth day of each month\nhas been made sacred by Abdul Baha.\n\nThe era is also changed. The world and its events are to be reckoned\nfrom the Bahai cycle. Just what this is seems to be doubtful, for some\ndate from the Declaration of the Bab and write 1914 as the year 70. The\n_Star of the West_ is so dated. Some date from the birth of Baha Ullah\nand count this as the year 97, as on the title page of \"The Bahai\nMovement,\" by Remey. Even the year of Abdul Baha's accession (1892) is\nused as a date.[263] Thus Bahaism has no Christian era, no Christian\nSabbath, no Easter, no Christmas, no Trinitarian formula in benediction,\ndoxology, or sacrament, no symbol of the cross, no hymns to Christ, no\nApostles' Creed, no Lord's Prayer. Yet it claims to be Christian!\n\nXII. In conclusion, Bahaism is antichristian in its aim and propaganda.\nWhenever it comes in contact with Christian missions, in Persia, Syria,\nEgypt, India, or Burmah, it is the opposer of the messenger of Christ\nand His Gospel. A hope cherished thirty years ago, by some missionaries\nand others, that it might be a stepping stone for Moslems to Christ has\nnot been fulfilled; albeit some of the best converts from Islam have\nfirst sought the broken cisterns of Bahaism.[264] Bahaism is plainly\nantichristian. It is a new and a different, an inferior and a false\nreligion. Its claims are contradictory to the claims of Christ. It\nwould draw men's allegiance to another person, to other Scriptures, to a\nsystem of doctrine and way of salvation inconsistent with the Gospel, to\nforms of worship, ceremonies, and festivals at variance with those of\nChristianity. It declares that Christianity is abrogated and superseded.\nIts erroneous dictum is that \"the revelation of Jesus is no longer the\npoint of guidance for the world.\" Why cannot Christian people see that\nits claims annul faith and loyalty to Christ? Surely giving Bahaism\ncountenance, assistance, and encouragement or opportunity for its\npropaganda is to wound Christ in the house of His friends.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[223] Phelps' \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p. 69.\n\n[224] \"Answered Questions,\" pp. 209, 238, 317; _S. W._, June 5, 1913,\np. 90.\n\n[225] Phelps, p. 116.\n\n[226] \"Answered Questions,\" p. 209.\n\n[227] _Ibid._, p. 213.\n\n[228] Phelps, p. 137.\n\n[229] Page 173.\n\n[230] Mrs. Grundy, p. 6.\n\n[231] \"Ten Days in the Light of Acca,\" p. 23.\n\n[232] Pages 121-127, 173.\n\n[233] \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I, p. iv.\n\n[234] _S. W._, March 2, 1914, p. 321.\n\n[235] \"The Bahai Movement,\" p. 80.\n\n[236] _Contemporary Review_, March, 1912.\n\n[237] Page 145, Chicago Edition.\n\n[238] Goodall, \"Daily Lessons,\" p. 17.\n\n[239] Dreyfus, \"The Bahai Revelation,\" p. 59.\n\n[240] \"Table Talks,\" by True, p. 21; \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I,\np. 17.\n\n[241] _Star_, July 13, 1913, p. 121; \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I,\npp. 118, 124.\n\n[242] \"Answered Questions,\" p. 106.\n\n[243] \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I, pp. 149, 150.\n\n[244] \"Observations of a Bahai Traveller,\" p. 40.\n\n[245] \"Tablets,\" p. 149.\n\n[246] \"Daily Lessons,\" Goodall, p. 18; Sprague's \"A Year Among Bahais,\"\np. 8; _Star_, 1913, pp. 121, 159, 203.\n\n[247] _Star_, Feb. 7, 1914, p. 306.\n\n[248] \"Daily Lessons,\" Goodall, p. 74.\n\n[249] \"Tablets,\" Vol. I, p. 15.\n\n[250] _Star_, Feb. 7, 1914, p. 304.\n\n[251] _Star_, Feb. 7, 1914, p. 298.\n\n[252] \"Glad Tidings,\" Tablets, p. 90.\n\n[253] The Bab's body, at the time of his martyrdom at Tabriz, was thrown\nto the dogs. It was rescued, taken to Teheran and interred. After many\nyears it was secretly transferred to Acca. The Bab's house in Shiraz was\nfirst of all a shrine, and pilgrimage to it is enjoined in the \"Akdas.\"\nAnother is the mausoleum over the grave of the martyrs at Teheran.\nSimilarly at Ispahan (\"A Year Among the Persians,\" p. 13). Abdul Baha\nseems to desire to increase reverence for shrines and inculcates such\nhonour for the martyrs as will soon develop into superstition. In the\n\"Visiting Tablets for Martyrs,\" he says (pp. 9-12): \"Blessed is the one\nwho attains to visit thy grave. Blessed is the forehead that is set\nagainst thy tomb. Blessed is the person who lights a lamp at thy\nresting-place.\" \"I beg God to make thy sepulchre a mine of mercy, a\ndepository of gifts, and to encompass it with manifold signs.\" A chant\nfor the pilgrim begins: \"O peerless martyr! Verily I salute thy pure\ndust and thy holy blessed tomb. The everlasting abode is for such as\nvisit thy tomb.\"\n\n[254] \"Table Talks,\" pp. 13, 17.\n\n[255] Rev. H. H. Jessup, D. D., refers to this incident as published in\nthe _Literary Digest_ (_Outlook, Ibid._, and \"Fifty-three Years in\nSyria,\" p. 687). He said to Abbas Effendi, \"An American woman has stated\nthat she came to Haifa and when she entered your room she felt that she\nwas in the presence of the very Son of God, the Christ, and that she\nheld out her arms, crying, 'My Lord, my Lord,' and rushed to you,\nkneeling at your blessed feet sobbing like a child. Can this be right to\naccept worship?\" \"I left Abbas Effendi with the painful feeling that he\nwas accepting divine honour from simple-minded women from America and\nreceiving their gifts of gold without protest or rebuke.\"\n\n[256] New York _Outlook_, June, 1901, pp. 45, 46.\n\n[257] Mrs. Grundy, _Ibid._, p. 73.\n\n[258] Page 212.\n\n[259] See \"Ten Days in the Light at Acca,\" pp. 71-73; \"My Visit to\nAcca,\" p. 21; \"In Galilee,\" p. 69; \"Heavenly Vista,\" p. 22; \"Daily\nLessons,\" p. 80; \"Flowers from Acca,\" p. 36; \"Table Talks,\" p. 14.\n\n[260] Baha, in the \"Akdas,\" forbids women from going on pilgrimage, the\nadoration of pictures and the kissing of hands. Why does Abdul Baha\nencourage them? Ignorant devotion has so soon degenerated into\nsuperstition and iconolatry. Others are trading on the superstitious.\nAbdul Baha writes: \"I have received news that some one in Persia has\nimitated the picture of the Manifestation and sold it for $200 to a\nbeliever. The real picture is not in the possession of any one but me.\"\n\n[261] \"Flowers from Acca,\" p. 34.\n\n[262] \"A Heavenly Vista,\" p. 22; and above references.\n\n[263] _Star_, March 2,1914, p. 321.\n\n[264] Doctor Jessup, _Outlook, Ibid._, says, \"An old Persian Sheikh, in\n1897, came to the American Press in Beirut, with a large sheet of paste\nboard on which was written the motto 'Ya Baha ul Abha' and wished to\nhave a map mounted on the face of it. In reply to inquiry why he thus\nwould use it, he said: 'I have had it hanging on my wall for twelve\nyears and prayed to it, and found it to be vanity and worthless. I now\nprefer to read the Bible.'\"\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\n  Bahaism and the State\n\n  Bahaism certainly does contemplate an earthly dominion which shall\n  eventually subvert all existing governments.--_Doctor Holmes in\n  Speer's \"Missions and Modern History,\" Vol. I, p. 129._\n\n  The supreme manifestation of social morality is always government and\n  in formulating a politic, Baha Ullah most clearly earned our reverence\n  as the prophet of modern society.... Democracy alone tends to\n  vulgarize personal values, as the United States proves. By uniting the\n  aristocratic spirit with the democratic form of Government, he insured\n  a politic at once equable and effective.--_H. Holley, \"The Modern\n  Social Religion\" p. 203._\n\n  In calling Babi-Bahaism a worse cult than Mormonism, I do so\n  deliberately.--_S. K. Vatralsky in \"Amer. Jour. of Theology,\" 1902, p.\n  73._\n\n  There can be little doubt from the intolerance they show to those who\n  recant, that should they gain power enough they would be as ready to\n  persecute Christians as was Mohammed to put to death the Jews of\n  Medina.--_Dr. G. W. Holmes in Speer's ibid., p. 130._\n\n\nBahaism, as a new religion bidding for popular favour, should be\nconsidered in its relation to the State, for this is an important factor\nin forming our judgment of it. As it historically sprang from Babism, it\nis well to review, first of all, the political relations of Babism.\n\nI. Babism in Persia was a form of Mahdiism. Mirza Ali Mohammed, the Bab,\nclaimed to be the Mahdi, the Kaim, the twelfth Imam returned. According\nto Shiah doctrine, the rulership of the State by divine law belongs to\nthe Imam. The Kajar Shahs had the right to kingship only in the absence\nof the Imam. Their authority would cease with his appearance. This is so\nuniversally recognized that the constitution of Persia drawn up by the\nParliament in 1906-1907 contains in the preamble the provision that it\nshall continue only till the manifestation of the Imam.\n\nIn accordance with this principle the Babis looked upon Mohammed Shah\nand Nasr-ud-Din Shah as no longer the rightful rulers. They were, _ipso\nfacto_, supplanted by the Bab, the Sahib-i-Zaman or Lord of the Age. The\nKajars were called by them \"unlawful kings.\" Hazrat-Kuddus says,[265]\n\"We are the rightful rulers; know that Nasr-ud-Din is no true king and\nthat such as support him shall be tormented in hell-fire.\" Disloyalty\nwas an essential corollary of Babism and not a consequence of the\nrepression and persecution which it met. The measures of the Persian\nGovernment were caused by this knowledge. The rebellions of the Babis\nwere justified in their eyes by self-preservation as well as by the\ndesire to remove, if possible, the Shah and make way for the reign of\nthe Bab. Professor Browne's opinion on these points is conclusive. He\nsays:[266]--\n\n\"The Babis looked for their immediate triumph over all existing powers,\nculminating in the universal establishment of the true faith and the\nreign of God's saints on earth.... They intended to inherit the earth;\nthey held those who rejected the Bab as unclean and worthy of death, and\nthey held the Kajar Shahs in a detestation which they were at no pains\nto hide.... They did not make any profession of loyalty to or love for\nthe reigning dynasty.... Unbelievers were flouted with scorn because\nthey supposed that the Promised Deliverer would confirm the authority of\nthe Shahs.\"\n\nThe \"Bayan,\" the chief book of the Bab, anticipates the time when the\nShah's government shall be superseded by a Babi state, which shall\nprevail in Persia. It gives the laws for this Babi state as well as\nregulations for the distribution of the spoils of war and for the\nJahad,[267] showing that the Bab anticipated religious wars. The kings\nof the Bayanic dispensation are directed what they should do. In the\nfive chief provinces of Persia, no unbelievers are to be allowed to\nlive, except some foreign Christian merchants. They are not to be\nkilled, but to be driven out and their property confiscated.[268]\nDirections are given as to the use of their property. The strongly\nintolerant doctrine is set forth[269] that \"unbelievers have no right to\nanything, not even to a believing wife. All that thou seest in the hands\nof unbelievers is not theirs by right. If the manifestation has power,\nhe would even forbid their breathing.\"\n\nBabism, therefore, was a political as well as a religious movement. As\nsuch it fought and with some prospect of success, for, as Browne says,\n\"it seemed at one time to menace the supremacy alike of the Kajar\ndynasty and of the Mohammedan faith in Persia.\"[270]\n\nThe Bab was executed in 1850. The Babi insurrections were suppressed.\nTerrible reprisals followed the attempt on the life of Nasr-ud-Din Shah.\nThe leaders fled into exile to Turkey. Babism, repressed and forced into\nconcealment, entered upon a new phase. It emerged somewhat changed as\nBahaism (1867).\n\nII. Bahaism should be considered in its political aspects in relation to\nthe Government of Persia.\n\n(a) In Persia, the issue of the sword had declared against the Babis.\nBaha Ullah adopted a policy aptly called \"political opportunism.\"[271]\nHe proclaimed the loyalty of himself and his followers to the Shah,\ndenounced the attempted assassinations, wrote prayers to be said for the\nShah,[272] and pleaded for the toleration of the sect as one without\npolitical aspirations. Bahai apologists condemned the Bab and the\nconduct of the Babis, declaring it contrary to the principles of the\nBab.[273] Mirza Abul Fazl, on trial before the Persian Government,\nrepudiated the Babis, denounced their actions as unseemly and bad,[274]\nand declared with emphasis that Bahaism was an entirely different\nreligion. He pronounced the Shah free from blame regarding the death of\nthe Bab[275] and the persecutions of the Babis, casting the\nresponsibility and reproach on the mullahs and the Ministers of\nState.[276] He even made a show of blaming the attendants for the death\nof Badi, the messenger who bore Baha's epistle to the Shah, and made as\nthough the Shah regretted it. The \"New History\" and the \"Traveller's\nNarrative\" are both tendency writings, following out the same purpose,\nglossing over the facts as given in the contemporary narrative of Mirza\nJani, putting the odium on the mullahs and asserting \"that no particular\nblame attaches to His Most Sacred Majesty the Shah\";[277] though other\nwritings of Baha show a spirit of hostility to the Shah.[278] Following\nthe policy of conciliation the Bahais made petition to the Shah stating\nthat[279] \"this sect has no worldly object nor any concern with\npolitical matters, it has nothing to do with affairs of Government\nneither has it any concern with the powers of the throne.\" They stated\nthat[280] \"they have made no disturbance, or rebellions, or any sign of\nsedition.\" So Baha[281] enjoined that \"in every country they must behave\ntowards the Government with faithfulness, trustfulness, and\ntruthfulness.\" The Persian Government responded to this policy and\nceased to persecute as before. During the past fifty years the Bahais\nhave not been much molested. Their persecutions have been few and\ngenerally due to local causes. The number of Bahais who have lost their\nlives in the course of their history (after they cease to be Babis) is\nprobably not more than 300, more than half of whom were killed in riots\nat Ispahan and Yezd in 1903. The Bahai historian[282] states that \"on\nrare occasions certain Ulema, for their own personal and private\nadvantage, molest one or two individuals of the sect.\" But the Shah's\nGovernment has tolerated them.[283] Not counting the present Holy War\nagainst the Christians, more have been killed in Persia in the half\ncentury than Bahais.[284] The Government has shown liberality towards\nBahais by allowing them to occupy positions in the civil service, as\nclerks in the post, telegraph, customs, courts, and consulates, and has\nnot discriminated against them.\n\n(_b_) Coming to the period of the agitation for a constitution and the\nrevolution, it is plain that the Bahais had little to do with the\nstruggle. Neither they nor their teachings were the cause of it. The\ncauses were the same, in general, as those which influenced Turkey and\nChina towards constitutional reform. The occasions in local\ncircumstances and politics had nothing to do with Bahaism. The leaders\nwere enlightened Moslems, and even mullahs of the Shiahs. They were not\nBahais. These held aloof from the propaganda and the struggle for\npopular liberties, took little part in the elections or in parliament,\nand joined neither the army of the constitutionalists nor that of the\nreactionaries. They displayed no love of country by striving for the\ncause of the people, nor any real love or loyalty to the autocratic\nShah. Yet the influence of Abdul-Baha Abbas was thrown in favour of\nMohammed Ali Shah, and after he had scattered parliament at the cannon's\nmouth and annulled the constitution, Bahais were granted appointments in\nthe civil service and rejoiced in the reactionary regime. A tablet of\nAbdul Baha was circulated prophesying a long and prosperous reign for\nMohammed Ali Shah, who before many months was driven from his throne\ninto exile.\n\nMy personal knowledge of these circumstances is supported by abundant\nprinted evidence. First of all there is Abdul Baha's own statement. He\nsaid in America,[285] \"In Persia the Bahais have no part in the\nmovements which have terminated in corruption. They must have nothing to\ndo with seditious movements.\" Excerpts from his letters[286] show that\nthey were constantly enjoined \"from the very beginning of the revolution\nto stand aside from the struggle and war.\" To the same effect are the\nwords of the Bahai Remey,[287] \"The Bahais had remained neutral in the\nstruggle for constitutional liberty and the renewal of Persia.\" So\nDreyfus, another Bahai,[288] \"He (Abdul Baha) dissuaded them from mixing\nthemselves up in the political struggle. This explains the apparently\npassive role played by the Bahais in contemporary events in Persia.\"\nBecause of this attitude, Professor Browne accuses them of lack of\npatriotism and laments their inaction. But this attitude of neutrality\nwas only maintained by them as far as taking up arms and public action\nwere concerned. Their secret influence was on the side of the\nreactionary party. It is plain that the constitutionalists regarded the\nBahais as their opponents, and Mohammed Ali Shah counted them as his\nsupporters. Abdul Baha said in New York,[289] \"The Bahais have taken no\npart whatever in political questions and disturbances. Their clamorous\npersecutors were the revolutionists. These discontents wanted\nconstitutional rights and privileges. They were politicians, not\nreligionists.\" Certainly the hostile animus of these words is\nunmistakable. There is indubitable proof, too, that Abdul Baha carried\non correspondence with Mohammed Ali Shah. M. H. Ford, a Bahai\nwriter,[290] states the fact in detail. Its purport was such that, when\nthe Constitutionalists knew it, Abdul Baha feared violence. This was\ncommonly reported in Persia. In Chicago the first Bahai missionary to\nAmerica confirmed this fact which he had heard from Acca. He said, \"The\nauthorities intercepted Abbas's letter intriguing with Mohammed Ali\nShah, and therefore the revolutionists threatened him.\" Remey shows the\naffiliation of the Bahais with the Shah, and his satisfaction with them.\nHe arrived at Teheran just when the Shah had scattered the parliament\nand hanged the editors. He says, \"We found the Bahais in the utmost\npeace and happiness. They were in good esteem and respect of the\n[reactionary] Government, and were now enjoying _unusual_ privileges....\nSeveral of the Bahais had been appointed to high governmental\npositions.\" In accord with all these facts is the statement of J. D.\nFrame, M. D., of Resht:\n\n\"The political influence of the Bahais has been grossly exaggerated.\nThey were forbidden to accept seats in the first parliament and\nprofessed to maintain strict neutrality, but in the spring of 1908 a\n'tablet' was circulated among them, promising that Mohammed Ali Shah\nwould rule for the remainder of his life; and the writer possesses a\ncopy of another 'tablet' promising him speedy peace and prosperity. The\nsubsequent forced abdication of the king cost the Bahais considerable\nprestige and some followers.\"[291]\n\nWe thus see a double failure on the part of this movement. As Babism it\nfailed in 1848-1852 in its rebellion and wars against the Kajars; as\nBahaism it failed to enter into and assist the modern movement, which,\naiming at reform and progress, inaugurated a constitution. The cause of\nthe latter is not far to seek; Bahaism has a political scheme of its\nown. We will now consider it.\n\nIII. Bahaism has set forth a system of civil government. Claiming to be\na revelation from God, it has enunciated the laws and regulations of the\nfuture State. It approves of constitutional monarchy as the best form of\ngovernment, and permits republics.[292] But this monarchy will be\nlimited not so much by its constitution as by the law of Bahaism and its\nhierarchy. Baha, in the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" the Book of Laws, directs that\nBet-Adl, houses of justice, be established in every place, with nine or\nmore members, all Bahai men, who shall be Trustees of the Merciful,\nAdministrators for God. In the thirteenth of the \"Glad Tidings\"[293] he\nsays:\n\n\"The affairs of the people are placed in charge of the men of the House\nof Justice. They are daysprings of command (divine agents,\nrepresentatives of God). They may execute what they deem advisable. It\nis incumbent upon all to obey them. Their souls will be inspired with\ndivine aspiration. God will inspire them with what He willeth.\"\n\nWith them will lie the interpretation of points of doctrine. They must\ndecree and judge according to Bahai revelation. \"They must gaze day and\nnight towards that which hath been revealed from the horizon of the\nSupreme Pen.\" They shall rule by divine right. Their authority shall be\nabsolute. Abdul Baha restates the words of Baha:[294] \"The House of\nJustice must be obeyed in all things.\" \"It is the centre of true\ngovernment.\" \"The Law of God will be invested in them, and they will\nrender decisions.\" \"All judgment will be from the standpoint of God's\nlaws.\" \"Its decisions and commands will be guarded from mistake. It will\nhave conferred upon it infallibility.\" The House of Justice will have\nlocal councils, national ones, and an international one.[295] Of the\nlatter, Abdul Baha said in an address in New York:\n\n\"A universal or world House of Justice shall be organized. That which it\norders shall be the Truth in explaining the commands of Baha Ullah and\nshall be obeyed by all. _All men shall be under its supervision._\"[296]\n\nIts functions are not confined to matters of faith, for Abdul Baha\ncontinues: \"The House of Justice is endowed with a political as well as\na religious aspect. It embodies both aspects, and is protected by the\npreserving power of Baha Ullah himself.\" _In the political aspect it\nwill be supreme._ \"The separation of the Religion and the State can only\nbe temporary,\" says Dreyfus,[297] \"a momentary stage. For the present\nthe two spheres are separate. When Bahaism triumphs they will be\nunited.\" \"The House of Justice[298] will have under its control almost\nthe whole administration, and naturally will take the place of our\nmunicipal councils. Such has been Baha Ullah's intention. Further he\nclearly aims not only at a municipal House of Justice, but also at a\nlegislative one, sitting as a national parliament and as an\ninternational tribunal.\" Remember that all the members are to be Bahais.\nSo Remey says, \"There will be a union of Religion and the State--the\ngovernments of the nations. The material laws of men will be founded and\nenforced according to Bahaism.\"[299] In this politico-religious regime,\nthe political will be subject to the religious. \"The kings and rulers of\nthe world,\" says Abdul Baha,[300] \"will find their true authority under\nthe rulings of the House of Justice. It will decide between kings and\nkings.\" Baha addressed letters[301] to kings with arrogant assumption of\nauthority to control the civil powers.\n\nThe Houses of Justice will have _large financial powers_. They shall\ninherit all property of those dying without heirs, and one-third of\nthat of those dying childless.[302] One-third of all fines for crimes\nshall go to them. For example, in case of murder, two-thirds of the\nblood money shall go to the family of the murdered and one-third to the\nHouse of Justice. A tithe of nineteen-hundredths shall be given into\ntheir hands. They shall act as trustees for minors and incapables, and\nas a Poor Board.\n\nThey shall have _civil_ jurisdiction, \"to settle material difficulties\nbetween believers,\"[303] for the protection of men, for the preservation\nof human honour.[304] \"If any man refuses to educate his children, the\nHouse of Justice shall do it at his expense,\" and \"shall order all the\nnegligent to pay\" and use police powers to enforce it.\n\nThey must also interpret and administer _criminal_ law, for Baha has\n\"revealed\" a code of laws and regulations concerning material as well as\nspiritual things.[305] Abdul Baha says, \"The revelations of Baha Ullah\ncontain all the great laws of social government.\" \"The laws cover all\npoints and questions of national administration.\"[306] For example, in\nthe \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" the punishment for theft is prescribed: for the\nfirst offense, exile; for the second, imprisonment; for the third,\nbranding \"thief\" on the forehead, \"lest other countries accept him.\" For\nadultery a fine is to be paid to the House of Justice, and for the\nsecond offense, double of the fine. Arson is made punishable by burning,\netc. This fiat legislation of Baha Ullah is to be imposed upon the\nparliaments of all nations. \"All legislative and administrative\nfunctions,\" says Dreyfus,[307] \"shall assume a sacred character\" under\nthe control of the Bahai House of Justice.\n\nIn brief, Bahaism would set up in each town, in every country, ruling\ncouncils, and a central one universal in its sway, composed entirely of\nBahais, clothed with supreme authority, because God-given, over kings,\nparliaments, and peoples; councils infallible and absolute, superior to\nappeal or protest; deciding and exacting obedience in every department\nof the life of humanity--religious, domestic, social, educational,\nfinancial, judicial, and political. It would be not an _imperium in\nimperio_, but an Empire over all. It would be a priestcraft[308] such as\nthe world has not yet seen--a religious-political regime in which kings\nand presidents will go not to Canossa but to Acca, and alike hold the\nstirrups of Bahai justices, and laws of parliaments will be subject to\nrevision and veto by the Bahai House. In it is the certainty of priestly\noppression when fallible men set up their judgment as God's. The Bahais\nclaim to have no priests and no _hierarchy_. It is a question of names.\nTheir system and laws contain the real thing, full-fledged, men\nmediating God's will. We may call it a _bahaiarchy_, if they prefer.\n\nAbdul Baha, recognizing the objections that will be made to the\npolitical functions of the Bahai justices, and foreseeing difficulty\nwith Governments, has, for the time being, directed that in America and\nEurope the name \"House of Spirituality\" or \"House of Consultation\" be\nused.[309] But change of name does not alter the reality or change the\n\"revelation\" of Baha. The House of Justice (central) is to be set up\nwhen Abdul Baha dies, and it will assume its functions gradually as\nopportunity and expediency demand. Already orders have gone forth\nprohibiting the interpretation of the words of Baha or personal\nexpositions of them.[310] Already the fiat has interdicted the\npublication, by a Bahai, of a tract, book, or translation on the Bahai\nreligion without submitting it to the censor at Acca.[311]\n\nThe effect of the working of the Bahai system may be realized by\nimagining it as set up in Persia. Suppose, for example, that the small\nminority of Bahais now in Persia should become a majority, with a Bahai\nShah, Bahaism would become the established religion. \"Houses of Justice\"\nwould come into operation. What of those who remain Moslems and\nChristians? Fortunately Baha has abolished the law of the Bab that\nrequired their expulsion from the chief provinces of Persia and the\nconfiscation of their property. But either the other religions must be\njudged by Bahai courts, or separate courts must be set up for them. This\nwould perpetuate the double system of courts, the _urfi_ or civil and\nthe _shari_ or religio-civil courts. The latter would be entirely Bahai\nand either lording it over or in conflict with the civil administration.\nThis would be a continuation of the present confusion of Persian\nconditions, only with the Bahais in control. What might the minority\nexpect? The oppressions and anathemas received by the old Bahais from\nthe followers of Abdul Baha Abbas give the answer.[312] Fortunately for\nthe world, the universal reign of Bahaism is not to be realized, neither\nis the prophecy of Abdul Baha to be fulfilled which says[313] \"that the\nflag of Baha Ullah will overcome every other flag and all rulers will do\nhomage to it.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[265] \"New Hist.,\" p. 362.\n\n[266] _Ibid._, p. xvi.\n\n[267] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 287.\n\n[268] \"Bayan,\" VI, 4.\n\n[269] \"Beyan Persan,\" Vol. IV, p. 118.\n\n[270] Browne, \"New Hist.,\" p. vii.\n\n[271] Browne, \"New Hist.,\" p. vii.\n\n[272] _Ibid._, p. 316.\n\n[273] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 65.\n\n[274] \"Bahai Proofs,\" pp. 51, 63, 77.\n\n[275] _Ibid._, p. 38.\n\n[276] \"New Hist.,\" pp. 172, 180.\n\n[277] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 189.\n\n[278] See \"Surat-ul-Muluk,\" and _S. W._, Sept. 27, 1913, pp. 9, 10. See\nChap. VIII, p. 186, 191.\n\n[279] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 156.\n\n[280] _Ibid._, p. 160.\n\n[281] \"Words of Paradise.\"\n\n[282] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 166.\n\n[283] Browne, \"A Year Among the Persians,\" p. 101. M. A. Ford in \"The\nOriental Rose,\" p. 74, says, \"For many years before the death of Baha\nUllah, there was no persecution of the friends.\"\n\n[284] See \"Missions and Modern History,\" R. E. Speer, p. 130, Note 2.\n\n[285] _S. W._, July 13, 1913.\n\n[286] Browne's \"Persian Revolution,\" pp. 424-429.\n\n[287] \"Observations of a Bahai Traveller,\" p. 53.\n\n[288] _Ibid._, p. 172.\n\n[289] _S. W._, August 1, 1912.\n\n[290] \"The Oriental Rose,\" pp. 185-186, 197.\n\n[291] _The Moslem World_, 1912, p. 238.\n\n[292] \"Glad Tidings,\" p. 91.\n\n[293] Chicago Edition, p. 89.\n\n[294] Grundy's \"Ten Days in Acca.\"\n\n[295] \"Answered Questions,\" by Abdul Baha, Barney, pp. 198-199.\n\n[296] _S. W._, Dec. 12, 1913; April 9, 1914, p. 21.\n\n[297] \"The Bahai Revelation,\" p. 123.\n\n[298] _Ibid._, p. 144.\n\n[299] \"Bahai Movement,\" p. 69.\n\n[300] Grundy, _Ibid._\n\n[301] Mohammed wrote to the rulers of Constantinople, Persia, Egypt, and\nSyria. That which was a bold and striking act on the part of Mohammed is\na weak imitation on the part of Baha.\n\n[302] They become what they accused the Shiah Mullahs of being; \"Dead\nmen's heirs, consumers of endowments, and collectors of tithes and\n'thirds.'\"\n\n[303] Dreyfus, p. 131.\n\n[304] \"Ishrakat,\" p. 33.\n\n[305] Remey, p. 61.\n\n[306] Kheiralla, p. 433.\n\n[307] \"The Bahai Revelation,\" p. 32.\n\n[308] The word \"priest\" is used loosely for an officer of religion.\nBahais use no special term. Abdul Baha says (\"Universal Principles,\" p.\n38): \"The making of specific laws is apportioned to the House of\nJustice. The members will not form laws and statutes according to their\nown opinions and thoughts, but by the power of inspiration.\"\n\n[309] \"Tablets,\" Vol. I, pp. 1 and 6.\n\n[310] \"Brilliant Proof,\" p. 26.\n\n[311] _S. W._, July 13, 1913, p. 121.\n\n[312] Abdul Baha justified Mohammed's use of the sword, saying,\n\"Mohammed commanded his followers to carry the religion of God by the\nsword. It is right to inflict injury to save a man's life,\" therefore to\nsave his soul by force.\n\n[313] \"Daily Lessons at Acca\" (Goodall and Cooper), p. 72.\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nBahaism and Woman\n\n  Baha Ullah in a letter to one of his wives:--This writing is to the\n  Exalted Leaf, who hath tasted My Most Holy and Wonderful Saliva. We\n  have given thee to drink from My Sweetest Mouth, O thou blessed and\n  sparkling leaf. We have bestowed upon thee such a station as no woman\n  had who preceded thee.--_In Prayers, Tablets and Instructions, 1900._\n\n  There is a touch of oriental luxury of admiration in some estimates of\n  Kurrat-ul-Ayn, who in important moral characteristics did not rise\n  above the level of her time and place. And in its results Babism has\n  not exalted woman.--_R. E. Speer, \"Missions and Modern History\" Vol.\n  I, p. 150._\n\n\nAbdul Baha while in Europe and America had much to say about the\nrelation of man and woman. In New York City, after referring the\naudience to various books of the Bahai religion, he said: \"Similarly all\nthe other tablets of Baha Ullah contain _new_ teachings, which have not\nbeen revealed in any books of the past Prophets. The sixth new teaching\nis the equality between men and women. This is peculiar to the teachings\nof Baha Ullah, for all other religions placed men above women.\"[314] In\nthe exposition of Bahai teachings at Clifton, England, he declared: \"His\nHighness, Baha Ullah, established certain precepts or principles.\"[315]\n\"The sixth principle of Baha Ullah regards the equality of the sexes.\nGod has created the man and the woman equal. In the animal kingdom the\nmale and the female enjoy suffrage [laughter]; in the vegetable kingdom\nthe plants all enjoy equal suffrage [laughter and applause]. The male\nand the female of the human kingdom are equal before God. Divine justice\ndemands that men and women have equal rights.\"\n\nMy first thought on reading these statements was one of surprise, for\nthey contradict my observations during thirty years' residence in\nPersia, in close touch with Bahais. I decided to make a thorough\ninvestigation of the teachings and practice of Baha Ullah bearing on the\nrelation of the sexes, to determine definitely whether these claims of\nthe \"inspired interpreter\" were valid or not. A considerable body of\nBahai literature and \"revelation\" is accessible. Examination of the\nchief books, the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" the \"Ikan\" and the \"Surat-ul-Haykal\"\ndisclose no such teaching. Neither the 155 paragraphs of the \"Hidden\nWords,\" nor the \"Seven Valleys\" have any such delectable thoughts for\nOriental women. Neither the six \"Ornaments\"[316] of the faith nor the\nfour \"Rays,\"[317] nor the nine \"Effulgences,\"[318] nor the eleven\n\"Leaves of the Words of Paradise,\" nor the nine precepts of the \"Tablet\nof the World,\" nor the fifteen \"Glad Tidings\"--though they announce many\nblessings, from freedom to cut the beard as you please to constitutional\nmonarchy as the best form of government--give the teaching of the\nequality of woman with man. Neither Mirza Abul Fazl in his \"Bahai\nProofs,\" representing the new Bahais of Abdul Baha, nor Doctor Kheiralla\nin his ponderous volume on Beha Ullah, representing the old Behais, in\nthis bitter and rancorous schism; nor Myron Phelps in his \"Life of Abbas\nEffendi,\" nor Professor Browne of Cambridge University in his learned\nand impartial investigations regarding the religion makes the statement\nthat Baha Ullah teaches the equality of man and woman. On the contrary,\ninvestigation confirmed my previous conviction that the position of\nwoman under Bahai laws and customs is inferior to that she holds in\nWestern lands and that her lot is far less desirable and less blest than\nin Christian civilization. I reached the conclusion that this doctrine\nas enunciated by the \"Interpreter\" is a late addition to Bahaism,\nintended to attract the attention and tickle the ears of audiences in\nEurope and America.\n\nOf the two or three thousand Americans who are following the cult of\nBahaism, most are women. Concerning this Abdul Baha says in a tablet:\n\"Today the women of the West lead the men in the service of the cause\n(Bahaism) and loosen their tongues in eloquent lectures.\"[319] The\neditor adds, \"Nine-tenths of the active workers in the cause are\nwomen.\"[320] Hence it is timely to consider the teaching and practice of\nBaha Ullah with regard to women.\n\nI. I will first take up the _subject of education_, for in regard to it\nthe law of Bahaism justifies, theoretically, their boast of maintaining\nthe equality of the sexes. In this it is, however, simply imitating the\nlaw of enlightened Christian lands, nor does their practice at all keep\npace with their precepts. In the seventh Ishrak (Effulgence) it is\n\"enjoined upon all to instruct and educate their children.\"[321] The\n\"Kitab-ul-Akdas\" decrees \"that every father must educate his sons and\ndaughters in learning and in writing\" and also in the Bahai religion.\nEducation is to be compulsory and if neglected by the parents must be\nattended to by the \"House of Justice.\" But, notwithstanding this law,\nmost Persian Bahais have allowed their girls to grow up in ignorance,\nwhile educating many of their boys. Even at Acca,[322] Syria, the\nheadquarters of the sect, where Baha had a school for boys, no like\nopportunity was furnished to the girls for an education. The fact that\nmodern schools for girls could not be opened in Persia is no adequate\nexcuse, for private tutors could have been employed, as is the custom in\nmany Persian Shiah families, or the fathers could at least have taught\ntheir daughters to read. Lately American Bahais have begun to stir them\nup. They have organized the Persian-American or Orient-Occident\nEducational Society. It raises funds in America for Bahai schools and\nhospitals. With exceeding lack of candour, it poses as simply a\nphilanthropic enterprise and conceals its primary and ulterior object,\nwhich is the propagation of Bahaism. Its missionaries make their reports\nof their work in the _Bahai News_ or _Star of the West_, of Chicago.\nThey have one or more schools for girls in Persia and several scores of\ngirls in attendance. The American Bahai missionaries are residing in\nTeheran and Tabriz,[323] directing the propaganda and working for the\nelevation of the girls and women through the Bahai religion.\n\nII. I pass to the consideration of _the civil and domestic rights of\nwoman under Bahaism_, and will review the customs and regulations\nregarding marriage--so fundamental in the constitution of human society.\n\n(_a_) Marriage seems to be obligatory, according to the\n\"Kitab-ul-Akdas.\" It says: \"A solitary life does not meet God's\napproval; adhere unto what the trustworthy Counsellor commands. Deprive\nnot yourselves of that which is created for you.\"[324] Monks and nuns\nare called upon to marry that they may have children \"to celebrate the\npraise of God.\" A tablet says: \"Nor must they refrain from marriage\nwhich causes procreation and multiplication of the servants of\nGod.\"[325] Mirza Abul Fazl, the learned philosopher of the dispensation,\ninterprets the law to mean: \"He has enjoined upon the people of Baha\nabstinence from monkhood as well as from ascetic discipline. He has\ncommanded them to marry.\"[326] Professor Browne says: \"Marriage is\nenjoined upon all.\" In like manner the \"Bayan\" of the Bab previously\nmade marriage obligatory, but unlawful with an unbeliever.\n\n(_b_) Marriage is declared to be conditioned on the consent of both\nparties and of the parents. But in practice the matter of consent is\nstill one-sided. Take, for example, an incident in the life of Abbas\nEffendi.[327] The mother and sister were very desirous that he should\nmarry and looked about and found a girl of whom they approved. The\nsister narrates that \"without consulting my brother, I invited the girl\nto visit us. After a wearisome journey, she and her brother reached\nHaifa. We commenced quietly to make preparations for the marriage\nwithout making known to my brother the arrival of the girl. My brother\nsaw that there was something unusual afoot, so he demanded of us with\nconsiderable energy, 'What is this? What are all the people smiling\nabout? Are you again planning to get me a wife? If you are, give it up;\nI will not marry.' We pleaded and reasoned with him. At length we said,\n'She has come, what shall we do?' He hesitated and finally said: 'Well,\nsince you have brought her here, she belongs to me, and I will give her\nin marriage to some one else.' At length my brother brought about her\nmarriage to a husband of his own selection.\" The \"consent\" of the girl\nin this case seems to have been considered about as much as in ordinary\nOriental usage.\n\n(_c_) Baha Ullah advised against child-marriages, yet, strange to say,\nseems to have tolerated child-betrothals. Among Persians it is a common\ncustom to betroth children. Abbas was after this manner betrothed to his\ncousin in infancy. When the household of Baha thought the time had come\nfor the marriage, Abbas thought differently and refused to agree to it.\nThis incident[328] occurred before the one narrated above and is\nconcerning a different girl. Curiously it was a girl named Moneera, who\nhad been betrothed to another in infancy who finally became the wife of\nAbbas Effendi. She had been promised to her cousin Mohammed Tagi, and\nafter she had reached the age of maturity, the youth urged on the\nmarriage. The wedding was celebrated and the bride brought to the\ngroom's house. Then, so the story goes, the husband refused to see his\nbride and continued in stubborn neglect and denial of marital rights\ntill his death--six months afterwards. Later Baha Ullah persuaded Abbas\nto take the \"sweet and amiable\" virgin-widow for his wife and he is said\nto have attained to \"a warm affection and regard\" for the woman he was\nasked to marry.[329] Did I wish to assume the role of higher critic, I\nmight suggest that the latter incident, like that in \"When Knighthood\nwas in Flower,\" is apocryphal, and intended to create a legend of her\nvirginity up to the time she became the \"leaf\" of the \"Greatest Branch\nof God.\"\n\nAnother account I have gathered from a Syrian disciple of Baha. He\nreports that Abbas Effendi would not marry the girl his parents had\nbetrothed him to, because he had a love affair with Moneera, the wife of\nMohammed Tagi. The speedy demise of the husband was attributed to poison\nadministered by his wife, who thereupon became the wife of Abbas\nEffendi. Her title among Bahais is \"Holy Mother.\"\n\n(_d_) Another part of the marriage law gives directions as to the number\nof wives a man may take. The \"Kitab-ul-Akdas\" says: \"God hath decreed\nyou to marry. Beware of marrying more than two, and whosoever is content\nwith one, attaineth peace for himself and her.\"[330]\n\nMr. Phelps[331] calls attention to this fact that the Book of Laws\npermits of taking two wives. This limitation of the man to bigamy is\ndeemed an improvement on the law of Islam allowing polygamy.\n\nBut Bahai law does not permit a wife to have two husbands. This\nabsolutely invalidates the claim and declaration of Bahaism concerning\nthe equality of the sexes. It proclaims the woman the inferior, not the\nequal. No equality can exist in a household under such a license. Where\nis the boast of progress and superiority, when the most essential unit\nof human society is nullified? \"Twain shall be one,\" says the Gospel of\nChrist. Can we believe that the \"Incarnated Father of all\" has revealed\na new \"Most Holy Book\" in which bigamy is permitted? _Akstag fur Allah!_\nGod forbid!\n\nI will now give some details from the history of the Babi and Bahai\n\"Manifestations\" to show their practice in regard to marriage.\n\nAfter the execution of the Bab, 1850, the rival claimants to prophethood\nwere Mirza Yahya, surnamed Subh-i-Azal, and Mirza Husain Ali, surnamed\nBaha Ullah. They were sons of Mirza Abbas of Nur,[332] called Mirza\nBuzurk. He had a wife and a concubine. Yahya was the son of the wife and\nHusain Ali of the concubine. This was under the law of Islam. The\nsubsequent enmity of the half-brothers exhibits one of the evil results\nof polygamy.\n\nSubh-i-Azal was the \"Lord of two wives,\" whose names and condition are\nrecorded in the pension records[333] of the Turkish and British\nGovernments in Cyprus. The first was named Fatima and her companion wife\nwas Rukayya. They had fourteen children. Besides the two, who were with\nAzal in Cyprus, it seems there were two others. Of the third wife he\nsays[334] in his personal narrative: \"My wife, who was taken captive and\nwas released, has now grown old in Persia without an interview being\npossible.\" The fourth quarrelled with her lord and accompanied the\nBahais to Acca.[335] After several of the Azalis, with whom she was\nliving, were murdered by the Bahais,[336] she was sent on to\nConstantinople with a surviving Azali.[337]\n\nBaha Ullah, like Mohammed, surpassed his own law. He had three wives, or\ntwo wives and a concubine. Bahai writers generally omit this information\nin describing his life and character. Kheiralla has a chapter on his\nhousehold and gives the names and titles of his children, twelve in\nall, but fails to mention the fact that he had two wives, though he\nsays: \"Like Abraham, by establishing his household, Baha Ullah perfected\nthe laws of man, and fulfilled the prophecies of scripture.\"[338] C. M.\nRemey passes over the subject with the remark: \"As a man he lived a life\nin harmony with his Oriental environment.\"[339] Abbas Effendi in his\n\"Traveller's Narrative,\" Abul Fazl, Dreyfus, Sprague, Thornton and\nothers fail to inform their readers of the truth and this omission is\nevidently with definite purpose. Phelps is more candid. He says that\n\"Baha Ullah had two wives; that the Book of Laws permits it.\"[340]\nProfessor Browne refers to the three, giving the honorary titles\nconferred upon two of them. He makes a quotation[341] from Hasht Behasht\nwhich reads: \"Among the titles conferred by Baha Ullah are the\nfollowing:--on his wives, Madh-i-Ulya, 'the Supreme Cradle,' and\nVaraka-i-Ulya, 'the Supreme Leaf.'\" And in the \"New History,\" he says:\n\"The title of Varaka-i-Ulya was conferred by Baha Ullah on one of his\nwives.\"[342] The name of the first wife was Aseyeh or Nowab. She was the\nmother of Abbas Effendi and six other children.[343] According to\nSubh-i-Azal's narrative[344] she was a niece of the Shah's vizier. She\nsurvived Baha and suffered much from the children of the other wife,\naccording to Abbas Effendi.[345] The first marriage was in Teheran in\n1835. He took a \"companion for her\" in 1850. Her title was Madh-Ulya.\nShe was the mother of Mirza Mohammed Ali, Mirza Badi Ullah and other\nsons and daughters. The manuscript, \"Life of Baha Ullah,\" continues: \"In\nthe last year at Bagdad (1867-68) before the exiling of our Lord to\nConstantinople, the sister of Mirza Mahdi of Kashan was honoured to be\nHis wife.\" It appears that she was sent by a rich believer from Persia\nto be a maid-servant in Baha's household. The Persian Consul in Bagdad,\nMirza Buzurk Khan Kasvini[346] desired to take her as his wife or\nconcubine. Baha himself took her as a concubine. Because he was\nthwarted, the Consul showed special enmity to Baha and his followers.\nThe only child of this wife, a girl, was born at Acca in 1873. The three\nwives survived Baha. After his death one of them suffered gross\nindignities at the hands of Abbas Effendi, being furiously attacked by\nhim in his own house, so that she fled precipitately. This, at least, is\nthe report of Khadim Ullah, the lifelong amanuensis of Baha Ullah.[347]\n\nIt should be noted that all of Baha's wives[348] had children, and that\nthe first wife had a living son (Abbas) when he took the second wife, so\nthat the usual excuses cannot be pleaded in palliation. For it is common\nfor Bahais in Persia to quote their law, in speaking to a Christian, as\nmeaning that a man may take an additional wife if the first one is\nchildless. Mr. Phelps pleads[349] in extenuation for Baha Ullah that\n\"his second marriage occurred early in his life and under peculiar\ncircumstances, the exact nature of which I do not know.\" Such an excuse\nmight be accepted for a man like Mullah Mohammed Ali, the Babi leader of\nthe Zenjan insurrection, for, as far as is known, he entered upon his\npolygamous life while he was a Mohammedan. Two of his wives[350] were\nshot by a cannon ball and were buried with him in a room of his house,\nwhile his third wife, with children, escaped and lived at Shiraz. But\nfor Baha Ullah the excuse of Mr. Phelps is inadmissible, for he was no\nlonger a Moslem when he took the second wife, and was thirty-three years\nold, and he was fifty when he took the third wife in Bagdad, having been\nborn in 1817. At that time Baha had been for many years a leader in the\nBabi religion, had written the \"Ikan,\" and announced his mission. Nor\nwas this polygamous union a passing phase of his life, but one continued\nthrough thirty or forty years. It would have concerned us little to know\nthe private life of Baha Ullah so long as the religion presented itself\nmerely as aiming at a reformation of Islam, for it may readily be\nadmitted that it is somewhat less of an evil to have two wives and one\nconcubine than the four wives and unlimited concubines that the Koran\nallows, or the nine to thirteen wives that Mohammed took, and that if\nBahaism should cut off the temporary concubines, which disgrace Islam,\nit would be doing a good thing--so far forth--but when the \"Interpreter,\nthe centre of the Covenant,\" Abdul Baha, comes and stands in Christian\nchurches in London and New York and proclaims Bahaism as a new and\nsuperior gospel, it is expedient that Baha's real life should be made\nknown to the women of Christian lands.\n\nIt is well to note the sentiment of Oriental Bahais with regard to\nplural marriage. The opinion of those at Acca can be understood from Mr.\nPhelps' narrative.[351] Abbas Effendi (Abdul Baha) had two sons and six\ndaughters. The sons died. After this, as his sister Behiah Khanum\nnarrates, \"Many influences and those of the very strongest character\nhave been brought to induce my brother (Abdul Baha) to take another\nwife. Believers have urged it strongly for several reasons. _Very many\nof them wish to take a second wife_ themselves. Then there is a general\nwish that the Master might have a son to succeed him. The pressure\nbrought to bear upon him has been very great, greater than you can\nimagine.\" Baha desired that Abbas should take a second wife, but he\nrefused to do so unless Baha should command it. There is deep pathos in\nthe words of Abbas[352] welling from his sorrow-stricken heart. \"If it\nhad been God's will that I should have a son, the two that were born to\nme would not have been taken away.\" Albeit he was forgetful of his\ntheology which proclaims Baha as \"God the Father incarnate.\" Why did not\nBaha preserve alive one of the sons rather than wish him to marry a\ncompanion-wife in order to have another? Mr. Phelps[353] attributes\nAbbas Effendi's refusal to adopt polygamy, notwithstanding these \"very\npowerful influences which have urged him to do so\" to \"his appreciation\nof the sufferings and discontent which it causes among women.\"[354]\nCertainly the animosity and bitter quarrellings between the wives of\nBaha and their respective children, resulting in a permanent split in\nthe family and a schism[355] in the Bahai community, were sufficient to\nimpress Abbas and his followers with the evil effects of plural\nmarriage. The narrative shows, however, that public sentiment among the\nbelievers at Acca strongly favoured taking more than one wife. They\nevidently had no desire to give up the license granted to them by the\n\"Kitab-ul-Akdas.\" They inclined to follow it and the example of Baha\nUllah rather than the example of Abdul Baha.\n\nIn conclusion, it is evident that the law and example of Baha Ullah both\nsanction polygamy. By this the social _inequality_ of the sexes is\nfixed. Any claim that Bahaism teaches and establishes equal rights for\nman and woman is vain and groundless boasting.\n\nIII. _The regulation of divorce_ is another matter that vitally affects\nthe relation of man and woman. The divorce law of Baha, as prescribed in\nthe \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" is a loose one. I again quote from Professor\nBrowne's translation.[356] It will be noticed that the conditions of the\nlaw are set forth from the standpoint of the man. \"If quarrels arise\nbetween a man and his wife, he may put her away. He may not give her\nabsolute divorce at once, but must wait a year that perhaps he may\nbecome reconciled to her. At the end of this period, if he still wishes\nto put her away, he is at liberty to do so. Even after this he may take\nher back at the end of any month so long as she has not become the wife\nof another man.\" \"The practice of requiring a divorced woman to cohabit\nwith another man before her former husband can take her back is\nprohibited.\" (This abolishes one of the vile laws of Mohammedanism.) \"If\na man is travelling with his wife and they quarrel, he must give her a\nsufficient sum of money to take her back to the place they started from\nand send her with a trustworthy escort.\" From these quotations it is\nevident that the wife is dependent on the good pleasure and whim[357] of\nthe man. He may put away; he may take back. The law says nothing of her\nright to divorce him. It does not appear that she has the right to\ndivorce her husband even in case he is guilty of adultery. The penalty\nfor adultery is slight. A fine of nineteen miscals of gold, equal to\nfifty to sixty dollars, is imposed for the first offense and this is\ndoubled for the second offense. The fines are to be paid to the \"House\nof Justice.\" According to the \"Bayan\" of the Bab the husband must pay\nthe divorced wife a dowry of ninety-five miscals of gold ($300) if they\nare city folks, and ninety-five miscals of silver ($10) if they are\nvillagers. These are paltry sums even on the basis of Persian poverty. I\nmay say, in passing, that the Laws of Inheritance give to the father a\ngreater portion than to a mother, to a brother greater than to a\nsister, and gives the family residence to a male heir.\n\nFreedom from the marriage bond is made easy by desertion. \"Married men\nwho travel must fix a definite time for their return and endeavour to\nreturn at that time. If their wives have no news from them for nine\nmonths, after the fixed period, they can go to another husband. But if\nthey are patient it is better, since God _loves those_ who are patient.\"\n\nHow the husband who is away from his wife can act, we may judge by the\nexample of a celebrated Bahai,[358] Maskin Kalam, who was agent for Baha\nto watch over and spy upon Azal and the Azalis in Cyprus. His wife was\nin Persia; he simply took another in Cyprus.\n\nThe ease with which desertion may be practiced under Bahai law is seen\nin the conduct of Doctor Kheiralla, one of the first apostles of Bahaism\nto America, and founder of the Chicago Assembly. Dr. H. H. Jessup wrote:\n\"A cousin of Doctor Kheiralla, who is clerk in the American Press in\nBeirut, gave me the following statement: 'Doctor Kheiralla, after the\ndeath of his first wife in Egypt, in 1882, married first a Coptic widow\nin El Fayum, whom he abandoned, and then married a Greek girl, whom he\nalso abandoned, and who was still living in 1897 in Cairo. He then\nmarried an English wife, who abandoned him when his matrimonial\nrelations became known to her.'\"[359]\n\nAccording to the claims of Bahais these loose and imperfect divorce and\nmarriage laws are to be accepted and administered universally under the\nfuture kingdom of Baha in its world-wide triumph!\n\nIt may be remarked in passing that Bahaism encourages the mixture of\nraces by marriage. Already several American Bahais have married Persian\nwomen, and Persian men American women. One American Bahai woman has\nmarried a Japanese. Abdul Baha illustrates the relation of the races by\na reference to animals. \"Consider the kingdom of the animals. A pigeon\nof white plumage would not shun one of black or brown.\" In a tablet sent\nto America, he directs: \"Gather together these two races, black and\nwhite, into one assembly and put such love into their hearts that they\nshall even _intermarry_.\"[360] Again he says:[361] \"The coloured people\nmust attend all the unity meetings. There must be no distinctions. All\nare equal. If you have any influence to get the races to intermarry, it\nwill be very valuable. Such unions will beget very strong and beautiful\nchildren.\" Mr. Gregory, an American negro, followed this advice by\nmarrying an English woman, Miss L. A. M. Mathew.\n\nIV. _The social position of women under Bahaism._ Professor Browne says:\n\"Their (the Bahais) efforts to improve the social position of women have\nbeen much exaggerated.\"[362] It may be added that the success of their\nefforts has been small. It is plain that the Bab recognized the\ndeplorable condition of women under Islam and desired to improve it. His\nlaws gave woman some liberties. She was permitted to put off the veil.\nThe Bab interpreted the prohibition of the Koran to mean that \"only the\nwives of the prophet had received the order to hide the face,\"[363] so\n\"he relieved believers from the painful restraint of the veil.\" Women\nmight appear in society, hold conversation with men,[364] and go to the\nmosques at night. Baha renewed these rules of the Bab. Still he seems to\nhave some distrust, for the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas\" says that \"men are\nforbidden to enter any man's house without his permission or in his\nabsence.\" Thus Bahai precepts tend in some degree to the liberation of\nwoman, though they fall much behind high Christian ideals and customs.\n\nThere is observable a wide-spread and influential movement among Moslems\nfor the amelioration of the condition of woman. This movement does not\nhave its source and inspiration in, nor is it peculiar to nor confined\nto Bahaism. On the contrary, an oriental writer in a review of this\nremarkable tendency says: \"Its birth in Moslem lands undoubtedly is due\nto the impact of the Occident upon the Orient, the missionary influence\nplaying a large part in it.\"[365] The new Moslems of India, under the\nleadership of Justice Sayid Ali, as well as the Young Turks, Egyptians\nand others, advocate freedom and education for women and have gone much\nbeyond the Bahais in practice. The Turkish women in Constantinople, who\naided in the establishment of the constitution and are aspiring to\nenlarged liberty under its aegis, know Bahaism, if at all, simply as a\nPersian heretical sect. The Persian women, described so graphically by\nMr. Shuster in \"The Strangling of Persia,\"[366] who formed clubs and\ntook such an active and heroic part in the constitutional agitation,\nwere not Bahai women. The Bahai women, as well as the men, were\nforbidden by Abdul Baha to take part in the struggle for constitutional\nliberty.[367] Professor Browne laments the lack of patriotism shown in\ntheir conduct. Still the Bahais deserve some credit for the movement for\nthe uplift of Persian womanhood. They might have done much more,\nnotwithstanding the limitations to their liberty of action, had they\nfollowed out the first ideals of the Bab. These were exemplified in the\ncelebrated Kurrat-ul-Ayn. This beautiful woman of genius--poet, scholar\nand theologian, was a pupil at Kerbela, of Haji Kazim, the chief of the\nSheikhis. On his death she accepted the Bab, so that though a product of\nthe Sheikhi sect, her fame accrues to the honour of the Babis. At\nKerbela, she gave lectures on theology to the people from behind a\ncurtain, and at times, borne away by her enthusiasm and eloquence, would\nallow her veil to slip off in the presence of men. Her preaching and\nfreedom of conduct was objected to even by Babis, but the Bab answered\nthem, commending her and giving her the title of Janab-i-Tahira, \"Her\nExcellency the Pure,\" and made her one of his nineteen \"Letters of the\nLiving,\" or apostles. She is said to have claimed to be a\nremanifestation of Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed. The Turkish\ngovernment at Bagdad began prosecution against her. She returned to\nPersia and taught Babism even from the pulpit, at Kasvin, and also by\nmeans of poetry. What were the social results of her breaking through\nthe restrictions of Islam? Her husband was Mullah Mohammed of Kasvin,\nwho was opposed to the Bab. On account of this she refused to live with\nhim. \"In reply to all proposals of reconciliation, she answered: 'He, in\nthat he rejects God's religion is unclean, while I am 'Pure'; between us\nthere can be nothing in common.' So she refused to be reconciled to her\nhusband,\"[368] and regarded herself as divorced.[369] Afterwards \"she\nset out secretly to join herself to Hazret-i-Kuddus (Lord, the Most\nHoly),\" that is, Mullah Mohammed Ali of Barfurush. Together they\nattended, with Baha Ullah also, the celebrated conference at Badasht, at\nwhich \"the abrogation of the laws of the previous dispensation was\nannounced.\" There a sermon was preached by Hazret-i-Kuddus, which, says\nProfessor Browne, lends some colour to the accusation that the Babis\nadvocated communism and community of wives.\"[370] This learned\ninvestigator further says: \"The extraordinary proceedings at Badasht\nseem to have scandalized not only the Mohammedans but even a section of\nthe Babis.\"[371] Mirza Jani, their first historian and a martyr, avers\nthat not all \"have understood the secret of what passed between\nHazret-i-Kuddus and Kurrat-ul-Ayn at Badasht, and their real nature and\nwhat they meant.\"[372] The Mohammedan historians openly accuse them of\nimmorality. The Sheikh of Kum, a Bahai, told Professor Browne, \"After\nthe Bab had declared the law of Islam abrogated and before he had\npromulgated new ordinances, there ensued a period of transition which we\ncall _fitrat_ (the interval), during which all things were lawful. So\nlong as this continued, Kurrat-ul-Ayn may very possibly have consorted,\nfor example, with Hazret-i-Kuddus, as though he had been her\nhusband.\"[373]\n\nIt may be that the scandals that followed Kurrat-ul-Ayn's venture into\npublic life and her tragic death in the cruel reprisals that followed\nthe attempt of several Babis to assassinate the Shah, gave a backset to\nthe efforts to liberate women in Persia. Certain it is that during the\nsixty years succeeding she has had no imitator or successor. Bahai women\nhave continued to wear the veil and have remained secluded from the\nsociety of men, not only in Persia but at Acca, the headquarters of\nBahaism. The force of the new faith was not strong enough to free the\nwomen. Rather they have compromised with their environment. Only in the\nCaucasus and Trans-Caspia under Russian protection, have they partly\nunveiled. Not even their women of the second and third generation have\nbeen trained to act up to their precepts, but in Acca, as in Persia,\nthey are secluded from the society of even brethren in the faith. They\nare more backward than some other sects and races of Moslems. I have\nbeen entertained in the households of Kurds and Ali Allahis and have\ndined and conversed with the host and his wife. I have, of course,\nconversed with the families of Christian converts from Islam, but the\nwife of a Bahai has never been introduced to me, even though I have\nknown the husband intimately and visited him in his home a score of\ntimes in the course of as many years. In a few instances I have heard of\nBahai women, in company of their husbands, receiving gentleman visitors,\nbut these wives had resided in Russia. An Osmanli official, at times,\nreceives and makes visits in company with his wife.[374] But the ladies\nof the household of Baha Ullah and Abdul Baha at Acca do not receive\ngentlemen as visitors even when they are faithful and honoured American\nbelievers. Mr. Myron Phelps, when preparing materials for his \"Life of\nAbbas Effendi,\" spent a month at Acca. He wished to embody in his book\nthe interesting narrative of Bahiah Khanum, the sister of Abbas. She,\nthough more than half a century had passed over her head, did not grant\nhim personal interviews.[375] Instead she told her narrative in\ninstallments day by day to Madame Canavarro, who then came out and\nrepeated what she had heard to Mr. Phelps, who recorded it. He says:\n\"Social custom prevented me from meeting this lady,\" and again, \"Social\ncustom prevented me from meeting the women.\"[376]\n\nNow that the way is opened by the Revolution and by the\nConstitutionalists (who were not Bahais), liberal-minded men of all\nsects in Persia, Sufis, Sheikhis, Arifs, and even Mutasharis, as well as\nBahais, are showing considerable zeal for the elevation of women, and\nfor female education.\n\nV. What does Bahaism teach as to the _political equality of man and\nwoman_? The future Bahai State and community is to be under the\nadministration of Boards--called Houses of Justice, local, national, and\nuniversal. These are to be \"divine agents,\" \"representatives of God.\"\nThey are to have absolute authority and to be infallible in their\ndecisions. They will adjudicate questions of property, tithes,\ninheritance, divorce, and of war and peace. They will have charge of\nschools and of wives, children and servants as well as of religion. The\nnumber of members in each Board is to be at least nine, \"according to\nthe number of Baha.\"[377] The members are to be all _men_. No women are\nto be admitted to these Boards or \"Houses of Justice.\" This law\nevidently did not suit the notion of some of the American Bahai sisters,\nso they made bold to inquire about it. The \"Infallible Interpreter,\"\nAbdul Baha, laid down the law plainly--which cannot be altered for 1,000\nyears at least. \"From a _spiritual_ point of view, there is no\ndifference between women and men. The House of Justice, however,\naccording to the positive commandments of the Doctrine of God, has been\nspecialized to the _men_ for a specific reason or exercise of wisdom on\nthe part of God.\"[378] \"As to you other maid-servants, give up your will\nand choose that of God.\" \"The maid-servants of the merciful should not\ninterfere with the affairs which have regard to the Board of\nConsultation, or House of Justice.\"[379]\n\nTo sum up, it has been demonstrated that Bahaism does not, by its laws,\ngive woman equality with the man, either in the family or the state,\neither as to domestic rights or political rights; that in the matter of\neducation it has not tried to give equal opportunities to girls; that it\nconforms to the social life of its environment without transforming it;\nthat the claims of Abdul Baha before his audiences in Europe and America\nwere without foundation, disproved both by the teaching and by the\npractice by Baha Ullah.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[314] _S. W._ (Bahai), Dec. 12, 1913, p. 254.\n\n[315] _S. W._ (Bahai), March 21, 1913, p. 5.\n\n[316] Tablet of Tarazat.\n\n[317] Tablet of Tajalliyat.\n\n[318] Ishrakat.\n\n[319] _Bahai News_, Aug. 20, 1911.\n\n[320] Mr. Remey writes: \"In most places the work is carried on by the\nwomen almost entirely. There is an absence of many men.... Men are most\nin need of being reached.... To-day I had a letter from a good\nmaid-servant, saying that the only man in _her_ assembly had refused to\ncome to meetings, because he was the only man present. I mention this\nbecause it is typical of most assemblies in America.... In most places\nthe men are doing but little.\" (_Bahai News_, Aug. 20, 1910, p. 3).\n\n[321] \"Tablet of Ishrakat,\" p. 36.\n\n[322] Phelps, pp. 110, 229.\n\n[323] Afterwards withdrawn from Tabriz.\n\n[324] \"Principles of the Bahai Movement,\" p. 16.\n\n[325] Mirza Abul Fazl's \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 105.\n\n[326] _Ibid._, pp. 95-96.\n\n[327] Phelps, _Ibid._, pp. 86-87.\n\n[328] Phelps, _Ibid._, p. 85.\n\n[329] _Ibid._, pp. 88-90.\n\n[330] See also Professor Browne in the _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1892.\n\n[331] \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p. 139.\n\n[332] \"New Hist.,\" pp. 374-375.\n\n[333] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 384.\n\n[334] \"New Hist.,\" p. 415.\n\n[335] Phelps, p. 73.\n\n[336] \"New Hist.,\" p. xxiii; \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 361. Compare \"A Year\nAmong the Persians.\"\n\n[337] Phelps, p. 79.\n\n[338] \"Baha Ullah,\" by Kheiralla, pp. 491-492.\n\n[339] \"The Bahai Movement,\" by C. M. Remey, p. 24.\n\n[340] Phelps, p. 139.\n\n[341] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 361.\n\n[342] \"New Hist.,\" p. 273, Note 2.\n\n[343] \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I, pp. 209, 218.\n\n[344] \"New Hist.,\" p. 415 and Note 1.\n\n[345] \"Tablets,\" Vol. I, p. 107.\n\n[346] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 84.\n\n[347] \"Facts for Behaists,\" p. 59.\n\n[348] _The Family of Baha Ullah (1817-1892)_\n\nFirst wife, named Nawab, or Aseyeh, entitled Veraka-ulya, \"the Supreme\nLeaf,\" married at Teheran, 1251 A. H., _i. e._, 1835 A. D.\n\nHer children, (1) Aga Mirza Sadik, born at Teheran, died at 4 years. (2)\nAbbas Effendi, born at Teheran, 1841. (3) Bahiah Khanum, born at\nTeheran, 1844. N. B.: Some reverse the order of (2) and (3). (4) Ali\nMohammed, born at Teheran, died at 7 years. (5) Aga Mahdi, born at\nTeheran, died at Acca, 1871. (6) Ali Mohammed, born at Bagdad, died at 2\nyears.\n\nCompanion wife, Ayesha, title Mahd Ulya, \"the Supreme Cradle,\" married\nA. H. 1266, 1850 A. D.\n\nHer children, (1) Mohammed Ali, born at Bagdad, 1854. (2) Samadiah,\nBagdad, 1857, died Acca, 1904. (3) Ali Mohammed, Bagdad, died at 2\nyears. (4) Saz-Habbieh, Bagdad, died Constantinople. (5) Zia Ullah,\nAdrianople, 1867, Haifa, 1898. (6) Badi Ullah, Adrianople.\n\nConcubine, a sister of Mirza Mahdi Kashani, taken at Bagdad.\n\nHer child, (1) One daughter, born 1873, at Acca, name Shuruk.\n\nThe wives and concubine of Baha Ullah all survived him.\n\n[349] Phelps, p. 139.\n\n[350] \"New Hist.,\" pp. 160-162, 164.\n\n[351] \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p. 92.\n\n[352] Phelps, p. 94.\n\n[353] Phelps, p. 105.\n\n[354] A Chicago Bahai told me that Baha took several wives, that his\nexperience of the evils of polygamy, the quarrels of his wives and\nchildren might be a warning to us not to follow his example!\n\n[355] See Professor Browne's Introduction to Mirza Jani's \"History.\"\nAlso Abul Fazl's \"Bahai Proofs,\" pp. 113-119, and Kheiralla's \"Facts for\nBehaists.\"\n\n[356] _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1892.\n\n[357] \"The wife is still in a helpless state; her fate remains entirely\nin the power of her husband's caprice \"(Vatralsky in _Amer. Jour. of\nTheology_, 1902, p. 72).\n\n[358] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 378-379.\n\n[359] _Outlook_, of New York, quoted in _The Missionary Review_,\nOctober, 1901, p. 773.\n\n[360] \"A Heavenly Vista,\" by L. G. Gregory, p. 31.\n\n[361] Page 15.\n\n[362] \"Encyc. Britt.,\" article, \"Babism.\"\n\n[363] Dreyfus, _Ibid._, p. 128.\n\n[364] But if they limit themselves to twenty-eight words, it was better\nfor them, says the \"Bayan.\"\n\n[365] _American Rev. of Rev._, 1912, p. 719.\n\n[366] Pages 191-198.\n\n[367] \"Observations of a Bahai Traveller,\" by Remey, pp. 53, 67; also\nDreyfus, _Ibid._, p. 172.\n\n[368] \"New Hist.,\" pp. 274, 441.\n\n[369] Her spirit of intolerance is condemned by Professor Browne.\n\n[370] \"New Hist.,\" p. 357.\n\n[371] Mirza Jani's \"History,\" Introduction, p. xlii.\n\n[372] \"New Hist.,\" p. 365.\n\n[373] \"A Year Among the Persians,\" p. 523.\n\n[374] \"Mohammedan young men will no longer consent to marry girls they\nhave not seen, but now in Beirut visit them and drive out with them on\nthe public highways with the mothers as chaperones\" (Jessup's\n\"Fifty-three Years in Syria,\" p. 640).\n\n[375] Phelps, p. xxxix.\n\n[376] _Ibid._, p. 109; Chase, \"In Galilee,\" p. 63; Goodall, \"Daily\nLessons,\" p. 19. Abdul Baha did not break through oriental custom nor\nserve the lady guests before himself. The lady pilgrim writes, \"The\nfirst day at lunch, after Baha had partaken of the honey, he passed it\nto us\" (\"Daily Lessons,\" p. 16). Like the ordinary Moslem he was well\npleased to sit down to eat with the foreign ladies but never arranged\nthat the American Bahai men should sit down to meals with his ladies.\nMr. C. M. Remey tells, in \"Observations of a Bahai Traveller,\" of\nmeeting Persian Bahai women but rarely in Persia (pp. 75-76). In Kasvin,\nin the garden of Kurrat-ul-Ayn, one woman partly raised her veil and\ngave him a greeting of welcome. In Teheran a lady, unveiled, and her\nhusband entertained the Bahais. The husband and wife received the twenty\nmen in one room and the wife received the dozen women in another room.\nThey were separated by a curtain, through which Sprague and Remey spoke,\ntelling of the liberty of women in the West. The lady of the house used\nher best persuasion to induce the other women to mix with the men.\nFinally \"the women arose and drawing aside their veils with one accord\nentered the room. The men made place for the ladies by retreating to the\nother side of the room, while the newcomers found seats. When the women\nhad arisen to the situation, they were quite equal to it. Then it was\nthe men who were ill at ease. In fact their embarrassment was\ncontagious, for even I began to be uneasy and scarcely dared to take a\nlook at the faces opposite. Sherbets and other refreshments were served\nand chanting continued. Bit by bit the men gained their ease, but, as\ntheir embarrassment passed, the women seemed to lose courage. Little by\nlittle the veils were drawn over their faces. Then one moved as if to\nleave, where upon all arose and like a flock of affrighted birds\nfluttered from the room.\" This incident shows how little change has been\naffected in the social habits of Bahai women in sixty years after\nKurrat-ul-Ayn.\n\n[377] B = 2, a = 1, h = 5, a = 1, total 9 in Persian Abjad counting.\n\n[378] \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I, p. 50.\n\n[379] _Ibid._, p. 27.\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nIts Record as to Morals\n\n  The Bahais are ignorant of the dogmas of Babism and of its history and\n  its book. The \"Traveller's Narrative,\" a work of Abbas Effendi, is a\n  bad romance, composed solely for the purpose of proving that the Bab\n  is simply a precursor and announcer of Baha Ullah. With extreme bias,\n  he misconceives in every instance the true history, and the author has\n  not even searched, as I have, in the immense works of the Bab for the\n  autobiographical notes which are so plentiful. He is satisfied with\n  the legends which fall in best with the end he is pursuing. It is\n  regrettable that a man like Abbas Effendi should show himself ignorant\n  of the life of the Bab.--_\"Beyan Persan,\" A. L. M. Nicolas, Vol. I, p.\n  xvi._\n\n  To represent him (the Bab) as simply the forerunner of Baha is an\n  historic falsehood. It is another to pretend that the religion of the\n  Bab was universalized by Baha Ullah.--_Ibid., Vol. III, p. v._\n\n  The Bab did not consider himself as the herald or forerunner of\n  another dispensation, as a John the Baptist to Christ. This is devoid\n  of historic foundation. In his own eyes as in those of his followers,\n  M. Ali Mohammed inaugurated a new prophetic cycle and brought a new\n  revelation which abrogated the Koran. He declared that he is not the\n  last Manifestation. There would be a greater, whom he calls \"Him whom\n  God would manifest,\" but the Bab expected that the next manifestation\n  would be separated from his own by an interval such as had separated\n  previous dispensations. Possibly the \"Bayan\" indicates 1511 or 2001\n  years as the interval.--_Professor Browne, \"Introduction to Mirza\n  Jani's History.\"_\n\n\nThe moral conduct of the founders of a religion, especially one that\nrequires trust in the person of its author, is a necessary subject of\ninvestigation. The conduct of the immediate followers is not to the same\ndegree a subject of criticism. From one point of view it is no argument\nagainst the truth of Bahaism that Bahais fail to live up to its precepts\nand principles, for this can be said of all religions. But the claims of\nBahai writers make it necessary to consider their conduct. They boast of\nsuperior exemplary character and make this a proof of Bahaism. Hence it\nis necessary to show the groundlessness of their assertions. In the\nfollowing review, which covers several chapters, the conduct of Baha,\nAbdul Baha and their early followers is treated together. The claim made\nfor the founders is nothing short of blessed perfection. For the\ndisciples, it is one of superlative excellence. Myron Phelps says:[380]\n\"This faith does not expend itself on beautiful and unfruitful theories,\nbut has a vital and effective power to mould life towards the very\nhighest ideals of human character--as exemplified in the life of Abbas\nand the salient characteristics of his followers.\" The Bahai historians\nsay:[381] \"They are remarkable only for their charity, kindliness,\npurity, godliness, rectitude, sincerity, integrity, generosity, chastity\nand strict avoidance of all forbidden things.\" \"In their conduct,\naction, morality and demeanour was no place for objection.... People\nhave confidence in their trustworthiness, faithfulness and godliness.\"\nAbul Fazl[382] speaks of the supernatural character and morals of the\nfollowers of Baha, who became universally celebrated for their just\ncharacters, good conduct and excellent morals. So Remey:[383] \"The\neffect of this cause upon the lives of the peoples of every race and\nreligion leaves no doubt as to the divine source of its teachings.\"\nMirza Jani, speaking of the proofs the Babis gave to the Moslems,\nsays:[384] \"We say, 'We have witnessed miracles on the part of this\nman.' They retort, 'He is a sorcerer.' We say, 'Come, let us invoke\nGod's curse on whomsoever is in error, leaving to Him the decision.'\nThey reply, 'This is not permitted by our law.' We say, 'Let us kindle a\nfire and enter into the midst together.' They answer, 'You are mad.' We\nfurther say, 'Consider the godliness, piety and self-renunciation of\nthose who believe.' They return us no answer.\" I propose to return the\nanswer.\n\n1. One characteristic of the Bahai leaders is _dishonesty in dealing\nwith their history_. This sometimes takes the form of the suppression\nand concealment of documents, sometimes of the omission or perversion of\nessential facts or their presentation in such a way as to falsify\nhistory. In the writing of political history and in scheming for the\ntriumph of a political party, we may expect crookedness in dealing with\nfacts, but in the propagating of a new religion designed to supersede\nChristianity and Islam, and purporting to be an improvement on them, we\ndo not expect to find dishonesty and misrepresentation. Yet this is\nexactly what we find, namely, \"a readiness to ignore or suppress facts,\nwritings or views (undoubtedly historical), which they regard as useless\nor hurtful to their aims.\"[385]\n\nWhen Mirza Husain Ali (Baha Ullah) started out as a \"Manifestation,\" it\nwas necessary to get rid of certain facts and beliefs held by Babis. He\nmust reduce the Bab from his position as the Point of Divinity--the Lord\nof a new Dispensation, as well as supplant and supersede the Bab's\nsuccessor, Subh-i-Azal.[386] Thoroughly to accomplish this object (after\nthe Babis leaders had been put out of the way), the history was\nrewritten. While claiming that the Bab gave testimony to Baha and taking\nto themselves the glory of Babi heroism and martyrdoms, the Bahais\nrelegated the \"Bayan\" and other \"revelations\" of the Bab, not yet a\nscore of years old, to dust-covered oblivion.[387] Subh-i-Azal avers\nthat they wilfully destroyed them. He writes[388] that thirty or more\nbound books of the Bab were given in trust by him to his relatives (Baha\nand his family) as trustees. \"They carried off the trust,\" and \"making\nstrenuous efforts, got into their hands such of the books of the Point\nas were obtainable, with the idea of destroying them and rendering their\nown works attractive.\" Professor Browne[389] informs us that it was very\ndifficult to obtain a Babi book from Persian Bahais and next to\nimpossible to get a glimpse of one at Acca, where the Bahais had them\nconcealed. The \"holy, divine books\" were shelved from motives of policy.\n\nA primitive Babi work of first importance was the \"History,\" by Mirza\nJani. This was an original narrative of events, at first hand, prepared\nin sincerity by one who shortly suffered martyrdom for the cause (1852).\nBut its facts did not suit the Bahais. So it was superseded, first by\nthe \"New History\"[390] (1880), and secondly by the \"Traveller's\nNarrative\" (1886). Both these histories purport to be written by\nEuropean travellers. We might excuse their being anonymous, to avoid\npossible persecution, but to make pretense that the authors are\ntravellers who have come from afar ostensibly to investigate, and into\nwhose mouths are put praises of the religion, is but part of the\ninsincerity noticeable in other things.[391] Mirza Jani's \"History\"\npassed out of sight, and it was only because a copy had been deposited\nby Count Gobineau in the Bibliotheque Nationale at Paris that it has\nreached our hands.[392]\n\nOf the \"New History\" little need be said, except that it perverted\nthe history and \"carefully omitted every fact, doctrine and\nexpression,\"[393] not in accord with the policy of Baha.\n\nLet us examine somewhat in detail how Abbas Abdul Baha treats facts in\nhis \"Traveller's Narrative.\" He is undoubtedly the principal author of\nthis work.[394] The Persian Bahai, who sent Professor Browne the\nlithographed (Bombay) copy of it, wrote, \"It contains the observations\nof His Holiness, the Lord, Mystery of God (May my personality be his\nsacrifice).\" Professor Browne was also presented with a copy of it at\nAcca, which he published in Persian with an English translation. Of it\nhe says,[395] \"It was written to discredit the perfectly legitimate\nclaims and to disparage the blameless character of his less successful\nrival\" (Azal). \"There is good ground for suspecting a _deliberate\nmisstatement_[396] of facts and dates.\" He specifies[397] various points\nin which Abbas Effendi perverted the facts. Undoubtedly one of the aims\nof Abbas was to eliminate Azal. The latter had been regularly appointed\nby the Bab as his successor,[398] but he refused to make way for Baha.\nThe Bahais tried to get rid of the question by suppressing all mention\nof him, even of his name, and \"of all documents tending to prove the\nposition which he undoubtedly held.\"[399] They would have consigned him\nto oblivion.[400] The \"New History\" makes but one doubtful reference to\nAzal.[401] Professor Browne says, \"Abbas Effendi,[402] in order to\ncurtail the duration and extent of Subh-i-Azal's authority and to give\ncolour to their assertion that it was but temporary and nominal,\n_deliberately and purposely antedated_ the Manifestation of Baha.\" And\nhe continues to the present to misrepresent the facts. In \"Answered\nQuestions\"[403] Baha is presented as the chief influence in Persia\nimmediately after the Bab. Other Bahai writers repeat this error.[404]\n\n2. Another practice of the founders of Bahaism is _falsifying and\nchanging the documents and texts of their Sacred Writings_, namely,\nthose of the Bab and Baha, according to the exigency of circumstances.\nSubh-i-Azal made the accusation \"that the Bahais had tampered with the\nBab's writings to give colour to their own doctrines and views.\"[405] I\npass this by, to notice how they have tampered with their own\n\"Revelations.\" For example, take Baha's \"Epistle to the Shah of Persia.\"\nIts original text was published by Baron Rosen.[406] It is embodied by\nAbbas Effendi in the \"Traveller's Narrative.\"[407] The two do not agree.\n\"Very considerable alterations and suppressions were made in the text by\nthe author of 'Traveller's Narrative.'\"[408] \"The text has evidently\nbeen toned down to suit a wider audience and to avoid giving offense to\nnon-believers.\"[409]\n\nThere is also another \"Epistle to the Shah\" which is contained in the\n\"Surat-ul-Maluk.\" Its tone is strikingly different. The first is a\ncareful diplomatic document which acknowledges the faults of the Babis,\npleads pardon for the past and for religious toleration. It is\nmonotheistic, representing Baha as a humble suffering servant, with no\npretense to Divinity. The other \"adopts a tone of fierce recrimination\ntowards the Shah, and upbraids him for the Bab's death, saying, 'Would\nyou had slain him as men slay one another, but ye slew him in such a way\nas the eyes of men have not seen the like thereof and heaven wept over\nhim, and by God, the eye of existence hath not beheld the like of you;\nyou slay the son of your prophet and then are of those who are joyful.'\"\nHe excuses the attempt on the life of the Shah, and threatens\nvengeance[410] on him. These two Epistles to the Shah have been a\npuzzle to the critics. This threatening, fierce letter seems so contrary\nto the policy of Baha. An adequate and not improbable explanation[411]\nwould be that one letter was prepared for the perusal of his Majesty and\nthe other for the Bahais, to impress them with the boldness of their\nprophet.\n\nAnother example of this is seen in the suppression[412] of part of the\n\"Lawh-i-Basharat\" (\"Glad Tidings\"). Its fifteenth section commands\nConstitutional Government. When the Tablet was sent to Russia, this\nsection was suppressed by Bahais. The Tablet was published in its\nmutilated form by Baron Rosen. Expediency, which rules Bahai practice,\nrequired that an incomplete \"Divine Revelation\" should reach Russia.\n\nPlaying fast and loose with the \"Revelations\" prevailed still more at\nthe time of the bitter quarrel and schism on the death of Baha. Though\nBaha's Tablets are regarded as \"Holy Books\" in the highest sense, yet\nthe Bahais commit the grave offense of changing them so as to\nmisrepresent facts. Mirza Mohammed Ali and Badi Ullah, younger sons of\nBaha, in refuting the claim of Abbas Effendi to be Baha's successor,\nsay, \"Has Abbas dared to change the texts uttered by Baha Ullah? Most\ncertainly, Yes. We have in our possession _many_ texts of Baha Ullah\nwhich have been changed[413] by Abbas Effendi.\" Further, \"he and his\nparty have stolen the first paragraph of a sacred Tablet and have\nperverted its meaning, with deception.\"\n\nKhadim-Ullah,[414] the lifelong amanuensis of Baha, asserts that Abbas\nactually rejected a \"Sacred Tablet,\" written in the handwriting of Baha\nUllah. Other Tablets are repudiated. For in \"Hidden Words\"[415] Baha\nUllah refers to the \"Fifth Tablet of Paradise\" and the \"Ruby Tablet.\"\nAbbas Effendi warns against accepting any such Tablets if they should be\nbrought to light. What other reason for this can we imagine than fear\nthat their contents would be against his claim. Enough has been said to\nshow the truth of the charge that the Bahais deal dishonestly with the\ndocuments of their alleged revelation.\n\nA peculiar instance of forgery occurs in the writings of Baha Ullah. In\nhis Epistle to the Shah Baha quotes certain verses as from the \"Hidden\nBook of Fatima.\" This book, the Shiahs believe, was revealed by Gabriel\nto Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed, disappeared with the twelfth Imam,\nand will be brought back by the Mahdi at his coming. Professor\nBrowne[416] wrote to Acca making inquiry about this \"Book of Fatima\" and\nthe quotations from it. The authoritative reply which he received was,\n\"That naught is known of such a book but the name, but Baha Ullah\nmentioned it in this manner to make known the appearance of the Kaim\"\n(Mahdi). In other words, Baha was making a false pretense of quoting\nfrom the \"Book of Fatima,\" as if he, as Mahdi, had brought it with him.\n\n3. Bahais make _false representation of facts in political history_. The\n\"Traveller's Narrative\" perverts the truth for \"political\nopportunism.\"[417] Contrary to the contemporary historian, Mirza Jani,\nand the European chroniclers, the Shah is represented as ignorant and\ninnocent of and averse to the repressive measures taken by his\ngovernment against the Babis. Let me give specific proofs of this.\n\nAt the first trial of the Bab, at Tabriz, according to Mirza Jani,[418]\nNasr-ud-Din, then Crown Prince, whom he dubs \"bastard,\" treated the Bab\ndisrespectfully by rolling a globe towards him and taunting him with\nignorance of it and by ordering him to be bastinadoed. The \"Traveller's\nNarrative,\"[419] per contra, says, \"The heavenly-cradled Crown Prince\npronounced no sentence with regard to the Bab, but the Mullahs ordered a\nbastinado.\" The former history states that the Prime Minister consulted,\nabout the execution of the Bab, with the Shah,[420] who gave him full\nauthority to act in the matter,\" and that he then communicated with\nPrince Hamza Mirza, Governor of Azerbaijan, who proceeded to make plans\nfor it. Abbas' Narrative[421] states that \"the Minister, without the\nRoyal command and without his cognizance and entirely on his own\nauthority, issued commands to put the Bab to death\"; \"that Prince Hamza\nutterly refused to have part in the trial and execution.\" Gobineau[422]\nconfirms the original account, and states that Prince Hamza \"took a\nleading part in the condemnation of the Bab.\" It is certain that\ncontemporary Babis[423] held the Shah responsible for their persecution\nand were bitter against him. Mirza Jani records the death of Mohammed\nShah, by saying that \"he went to hell\"; the \"New History\" affirms \"that\nhe passed to the mansions of Paradise.\" Nasr-ud-Din was no puppet king,\nhe was fully cognizant of the affairs of state. Regarding the\nimprisonment of Baha, the \"Traveller's Narrative\"[424] says, \"His\nMajesty, moved by his own kindly spirit, ordered investigation and the\nrelease of Baha Ullah.\" He had just ordered the execution of\ntwenty-eight Babis, with horrid cruelties, after the attempt on his\nlife. Regarding the torture and execution of Badi, who bore the Epistle\nto the Shah, it says:[425] \"It was contrary to the desire of the Shah,\nand he manifested regret for it.\" This and much in that Epistle is\nwritten with the idea of conciliating the Shah and obtaining toleration.\nIt is a sensible attitude, did they not maintain it with so much\nmisrepresentation and hypocrisy. The real spirit of Bahais towards\nNasr-ud-Din is seen in Baha's \"Surat-ul-Maluk,\" and is one of \"fierce\nrecrimination.\" Confirmation of this comes from conversations with\nBahais.\n\nAnother misrepresentation of history, which is universal among Bahais,\nis in belittling the plot to assassinate Nasr-ud-Din Shah in 1852. Abbas\nEffendi says,[426] \"It was done by a certain Babi, by sheer madness, one\nother person being his accomplice.\" His sister, Bahiah Khanum,\nsays,[427] It was \"by a young Babi who had lost his reason.\"\nKheiralla,[428] says, It was \"by a weak-minded, insane believer.\"\nSimilarly all their writers propagate a tradition that one irresponsible\nman made the attempt. It is permitted to doubt the Shiah historian, who\ngives a circumstantial account of how twelve Babis, including one high\nleader, laid the plot. But Count Gobineau[429] is entitled to credence\nwhen he says that there were a number of Babis in the plot and three\ntook part in the attempt. A nephew of one of the accomplices told\nProfessor Browne[430] that there were seven in the plot and three of\nthem went out to commit the act. Why will not Bahai writers give the\nfacts straight?\n\nAnother misrepresentation fostered by them is that of calling the Babi\nmartyrs Bahais. Thus Abdul Baha says,[431] \"When they brought\nKurrat-ul-Ayn the terrible news of the martyrdom of the Bahais, she did\nnot waver.\" Again he says,[432] \"Thousands of His (_i. e._, Baha\nUllah's) followers have given their lives, and while under the sword\nshedding their blood they have proclaimed, 'Ya Baha-ul-Abha.'\" He\nsaid[433] in Doctor Cadman's church, \"The King of Persia killed 20,000\nBahais.\" Again,[434] \"In all parts of Persia his enemies rose against\nBaha Ullah, imprisoning and killing _his_ converts, razing thousands of\ndwellings.\" These are gross misstatements. In Kurrat-ul-Ayn's time there\nwere no Bahais, only Babis. No such efforts as those described were ever\nmade to crush Bahaism. The thousands who gave their lives were Babis.\nPerhaps some one remarks, \"What's the difference?\" Foreign writers may\nnot know the difference, and an American audience certainly does not.\nBut Abdul Baha, from whom I have quoted, makes a great difference. It\narouses one's indignation to read Bahai literature, in which they claim\ncredit for all that is noble in Babi annals, such as the martyrdoms, and\nyet they disparage and deny the Babis.\n\nRead Abul Fazl's \"Bahai Proofs.\" He said[435] to Prince Naibus-Sultaneh,\n\"The unseemly actions of the Babis cannot be denied nor excused, but to\narrest Bahais for them is oppression, for these unfortunates have _no\nconnection with the Babis_, who took up arms, _nor are they of the same\nreligion or creed_.\" In another place he writes[436] repudiating the\nwars and disorders of the Babis, and affirming that they were guilty of\nmany censurable actions, such as taking men's property and pillaging the\ndead, and engaging in conflict and bloodshed. If then the Bahais\nrepudiate them, they must not appropriate their glory, for the old\nBabis, with all their faults, were at least heroic. Bahaism has, on the\ncontrary, the spirit of _tagiya_.\n\nI pass on to consider Abdul Baha's representations regarding Sultan\nAbdul Hamid. I present two quotations from Tablets addressed to American\nbelievers. The first says,[437] \"Here one witnesses the fairness and\nimpartiality of H. I. Majesty the Padishah of the Ottomans, who has\ndealt with the utmost justice and equity. In reality to-day, in the\nAsiatic world, the Padishah of the Ottoman Empire and the Shah of\nPersia, Muzaffar-ud-Din, are peerless and have no equals. These two\nkings have treated us with mildness--both are just. Therefore, pray ye\nand beseech for their confirmation in the threshold of the Almighty,\nespecially for Abdul Hamid, who has dealt at all times in justice with\nthese exiled ones.\" Abdul Hamid--a peerless, just one! Surely this would\nhave remained among the _hidden things_ had not one \"Servant of God\"\n(Abd-ul-Baha) revealed it to us about that other \"Servant of God\"\n(Abd-ul-Hamid). This \"revelation\" is dated 1906. After Abdul Hamid was\ndeposed, Abdul Baha speaks[438] of \"his oppression and tyranny,\" for the\nSultan sent \"an oppressive, august commission, that with all kinds of\nwiles, simulations, slander and fabrication of false stories, they might\nfasten guilt upon Abdul Baha. But soon fetters and manacles were placed\naround the _unblessed_ neck of Abdul Hamid.\" Did the \"Infallible Pen\"\nerr in the former character sketch? No, but Abdul Baha's oppression[439]\nof his brothers, in retaining their patrimony, resulted in a bitter\nquarrel and complaints, followed by an investigating Commission and\nAbdul Baha's imprisonment. On this account the whitewash scaled off from\nAbdul Hamid.\n\nAnother form of misstatement is their habitual way of speaking of the\nimprisonment of Baha and Abdul Baha. Abdul Baha says of Baha,[440] \"His\nblessed days ended in the cruel prison and _dark dungeon_.\" \"He passed\nhis days in the Most Great Prison.\"[441] Abdul Baha continually speaks\nof himself in such words as the following, \"Forty years I was a\nprisoner; I was young when I was put in prison, and my hair was white\nwhen the prison doors opened.\"[442] \"After all these long years of\nprison life.\" \"My body can endure anything; my body has endured forty\nyears of imprisonment.\"[443] Now, what are the facts?\n\nIn Phelps' Life, Bahiah Khanum[444] says, \"We were imprisoned in the\nbarracks at Acca two years (1868-70).\" Then[445] \"we were given a\ncomfortable house[446] with three rooms and a court.\" After nine years\nof such restriction Baha Ullah moved to a beautiful garden outside the\ncity and built there a Palace, called Bahja. He had the freedom of the\nsurrounding country, visited Mount Carmel, and later spent a part of\neach year at Haifa.[447] Baha Ullah died in this Palace, not in a\n_dungeon_.[448]\n\nAs to Abbas Effendi, during the first brief period only he was\nrestricted to the barracks. He was even temporarily put in chains in the\ndungeon[449] when accused of participation in the assassination of the\nAzalis. After that, for a period of _thirty years_, \"he was permitted to\ngo about at his pleasure, beyond the walls of Acca.\"[450] He built a\nfine residence[451] at Haifa, which I have seen. He journeyed to\nTiberias and as far as Beirut. Only after his quarrel with his brothers\nand on their accusation was he ordered back to Acca, and even then he\nhad the freedom of the city (1905).[452] Such are the facts about Abbas\nEffendi, whom Canon Wilberforce introduced in his church as \"for forty\nyears _a prisoner for_ the cause of _brotherhood and love_.\" In truth it\nwas the quarrelling of the brothers, Azal and Baha, that led to the\nbanishment from Adrianople to Acca, the murder of Azalis by Bahais\nincreased its severity, the bitter hatred of the younger generation\nagainst each other brought back the restraint.\n\n4. Another immoral practice of Bahais is _tagiya_ or _ketman_, religious\ndissimulation. This is taught and practiced by Shiah Moslems,[453] and\nit is continued with all its offensiveness against good morals by\nBahais. In it concealment, denial or misrepresentation by word or act is\nallowed for self-protection or for the good of the faith. It was\nformally permitted by Baha Ullah. In accordance with this practice Abdul\nBaha and his followers at Acca keep the Fast of Ramazan[454] in addition\nto the Bahai Fast at Noruz. Dr. H. H. Jessup[455] wrote, \"He is now\nacting what seems to be a double part--a Moslem in the Mosque, and a\nChrist in his own house. He prays with the Moslems, 'there is no God but\nGod,' and expounds the Gospels as the incarnate Son of God.\" Mirza Abul\nFazl, a Bahai missionary, lately died in Egypt. At his public\nfuneral[456] the Moslem _taziah_, with reading of the Koran, was held,\nthough he was a strenuous worker for the abrogation of Islam. Most\nBahais in Persia live in habitual _tagiya_. Fear of persecution is some\npalliation for this, but it is a great defect. Very far from the truth\nis the statement of Lord Curzon[457] that \"No Babi (or Bahai) has ever\nrecanted under pressure.\" Mr. Nicolas,[458] the French Consul at Tabriz,\nshows from the Bab's own writings that he himself denied his\nManifestation at his examination at Shiraz and signed a recantation. At\nthe execution[459] of the Bab in Tabriz (1850) two of his intimate\ndisciples denied the faith. The explanation of the fact is remarkable\nand instructive. They were enjoined to do so by the Bab in order that\nthey might convey certain documents to a safe place. In other words,\nthey were to lie for the faith, by divine injunction. In another notable\ninstance,[460] seven Babis stood firm and were executed at Teheran,\nwhile thirty recanted, being told by their leader to judge whether they\nwere justified by family ties, etc., in renouncing the faith. \"They\ndetermined to adopt a course of concealment, _tagiya_.\" Some years ago a\nBahai was called before the Governor of Tabriz and questioned, \"Are you\na Bahai?\" \"I am a Mussulman.\" \"Will you curse Baha?\" \"It is written in\nthe Koran not to curse, I am not a Bahai.\" By payment of a peshkesk this\nanswer was made acceptable. And no offense was recognized in conscience,\nfor Baha had said, \"If your heart is right with me, nothing matters.\"\nIt were scarcely necessary to note that some Babis and Bahais have\ndenied their faith, except to correct the mistake of travellers, but the\nfact that denial is permitted and approved is important. For _tagiya_ is\na deeply-rooted seed which bears evil fruits in their characters and\nconduct.\n\nEven their propaganda is carried on in the same deceitful spirit. The\nBahai conceals from the one he approaches his status and beliefs,\ninsinuates himself into his confidence, suits the substance of his\nmessage to the preconceptions and prejudices of his hearer and leads him\non, perhaps omitting to mention the real essentials of Bahaism.[461] One\nof their methods is to worm themselves into the employ of Christian\nMissions and clandestinely carry on their propaganda while they\nundermine the work of the Mission. Perhaps the Mission wishes a language\nteacher or a mirza. A Bahai presents himself. He talks well. In the\ncourse of conversation the missionary inquires his religious views. He\nappears liberal minded. Direct inquiry is made, \"Are you a Bahai?\" He\nreplies, \"No, _I am not_, but I am tired of Islam; I am a truth-seeker.\"\nThe missionary employs him. After a time, maybe, he professes to be a\nChristian, and is baptized. Such were a certain Mirza Hasan and a Mirza\nHusain, who deceived the Swedish Mission and received salaries as\nChristian evangelists, but had been and continued to be Bahais and\npropagandists. I have heard that in a certain Station (not American)\nBahais, without revealing their faith, accepted positions as cook,\nlanguage-teacher, financial agent, etc., and so surrounded the new\nMission that it was a Bahai more than a Christian establishment. Doctor\nShedd[462] tells of an assistant he had with him in school work--a\nPersian, with whom he discussed religious topics freely. For years the\nman disavowed belief in Bahaism, but finally threw off the mask and\nbecame an active propagandist. After his dismissal he instigated the\nPersian pupils, whom he had previously secretly beguiled, and they\ncomplained to the Persian Government that \"they, as good (?)\nMohammedans, were offended by having to study the Christian Scriptures.\"\nGreat is _tagiya_!\n\nWhat else can we expect, since Abdul Baha instructs his disciples in\npretense. A certain Madame Canavarro,[463] staying at Acca, expressed\nher desire to assist in spreading Bahaism among the Buddhists, and spoke\nof the difficulty of introducing it as a new religion. Abdul Baha\nreplied, \"At first teach it as truths of their own religion, afterwards\ntell them of me.\" She replied that she herself was imbued with the\nspirit of Buddhism. He answered, \"What you call yourself is of no\nconsequence.\" To a certain American lady who was afraid her friends\nwould be repelled by the idea of a new religion, Abdul Baha advised,\n\"Remain in the Church and teach Bahaism as the true teaching of Christ.\"\n\nA striking instance of this religious dissimulation is seen in\nHamadan.[464] There about two-and-a-half per cent. of the Jews have\naccepted Baha as the Messiah. But many of these continue in the outward\nforms and associations of the Jews.[465] Others professed to be\nChristians, and were protected as such by the Shah's government. After a\ndecade or two it became evident that they were hypocrites, cloaking\ntheir Bahaism under the Christian name.\n\nThis Oriental dissimulation takes on a different phase in Western\nBahaism. The principle of the latter is stated thus, \"Adhere to any\nreligious faith with which you are associated.\"[466] \"No religious\nrelation[467] should be severed, but these relations should become as\navenues for giving forth the message of the Bahai faith.\" This idea is\ndelusive; it is self-deception, ignorance, or worse. No Christian can\ngive allegiance to Baha as incarnate God and accept, as he then must,\nIslam,[468] Babism and Bahaism as successively true, and as higher\nrevelations abrogating Christianity, and still be loyal to Christ.\nBahaism is not a philosophy like Tolstoism, nor a theory of economics\nlike the \"single tax\"; it is a religion as much as Mormonism is.\n\nA plain example of Bahai _tagiya_ is in connection with the organization\nknown as the \"Persian-American Educational Society.\" This was organized\nat Washington, D. C., under the patronage of Mirza Ali Kuli Khan,\nPersian Charge d' Affaires. Its organizing body, committee to draft its\nconstitution, its executive, are Bahais, yet its circular sets forth\nseventeen purposes for its existence without naming the propagation of\nBahaism as one of them. It appealed for funds on general philanthropic\nand educational grounds, never mentioning its religious motive. It\nintroduced the names of President Taft, Secretary Root, and other\nprominent men in such a way as to lead the public to understand that the\nmovement had their intelligent endorsement. To its real purpose, viz.:\naiding existing and establishing new Bahai schools in Persia and the\nOrient,[469] I am making no objection. It is the _concealment_ of this\npurpose which is objectionable when contributions are asked from the\ngeneral public. It claims to be _unsectarian_, because its schools take\nin pupils of all sects and religions. So do the schools of Christian\nMissions, but they are none the less Christian schools, and the\n\"Orient-Occident\" schools are distinctively Bahai. They _disclaim\nproselytizing_. The claim is simply false. Bahai schools are hotbeds of\nproselytizing, and must be so by their nature. Their law[470] says,\n\"Schools must first train the children in the principles of the\nreligion.\" Dreyfus[471] adds, \"There is no fear of a prescription,\nemanating from such authority, ever being disregarded.\" The Bahai school\nin Teheran worked under cover for some years. Remey says,[472] \"This\ninstitution is not generally known as a Bahai School. However, it is in\nthe hands of the Bahais. From the directors down through the teachers\nand students, the majority were of our faith.\" Similarly in Bombay,[473]\nthe Bahai teacher concealed his faith. \"The Zoroastrian parents of his\npupils suspected him of Bahaism and so took their children out.\"\n\nBut to find the supreme example of Bahai _tagiya_ we have to go to the\nfountainhead. Abdul Baha himself, oblivious to its moral obliquity, lays\nbare the fact in his \"Traveller's Narrative.\"[474] We have seen that\nSubh-i-Azal, the half-brother of Baha Ullah, was appointed by the Bab as\nhis successor. According to Abdul Baha, this appointment was a dishonest\nsubterfuge on the part of Baha, arranged by him through secret\ncorrespondence with the Bab, in order that Baha might be relieved of\ndanger and persecution and be protected from interference. So \"out of\nregard for certain considerations and as a matter of expediency, Azal's\nname was made notorious on the tongues of friends and foes even to\njeopardizing his life, while Baha remained safe and secure, and no one\nfathomed the matter.\" Abul Fazl[475] states the position of the\n\"Traveller's Narrative\" as follows, \"The Bab and Baha Ullah, after\nconsulting together, made Azal _appear_ as the Bab's successor. In this\nmanner they preserved Baha Ullah from interference.\" This account shows\nthe low ideas of honour and truthfulness in the minds of Baha and Abdul\nBaha. And although their explanation is not true (but an invention of\ntheir _tagiya_--_corrupted_ minds), it shows to what straits[476] they\nwere put to explain away the succession of Azal, the legitimacy of\nwhich Azal still, in his ripe old age, maintains. Abdul Baha published\nto the world Baha's deceitfulness, but only made the matter worse for\nhim.\n\nOf a piece with this was the action of Baha's trusted agent, Maskin\nKalam, in Cyprus. This Bahai was sent by the Turkish Government with\nAzal. \"He set up a coffee-house at the port where travellers must\narrive, and when he saw a Persian land he would invite him in, give him\ntea or coffee and a pipe, and gradually worm out of him the business\nthat had brought him there. If his object were to see Subh-i-Azal, off\nwent Maskin Kalam[477] to the authorities, and the pilgrim soon found\nhimself packed out of the Island.\" This account is given by a faithful\nBahai. Afterwards Maskin Kalam retired to Acca and spent his old age as\nan honoured guest of Baha.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[380] \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p. xxxvii.\n\n[381] \"New Hist.,\" p. 236; \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 82.\n\n[382] \"Bahai Proofs,\" pp. 63, 77.\n\n[383] \"The Bahai Religion,\" p. 111.\n\n[384] Quoted in \"New Hist.,\" p. 373; comp. p. 61.\n\n[385] Professor Browne's Introduction to Phelps, p. xxi.\n\n[386] \"New Hist.,\" p. 426.\n\n[387] _Ibid._, p. xxvii.\n\n[388] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 342-343.\n\n[389] Browne's \"A Year Among the Persians,\" p. 530. \"If, instead of\ntalking in this violent and unreasonable manner, you would produce the\n'Bayan,' of which ever since I came to Persia I have been vainly\nendeavouring to obtain a copy.\"\n\n[390] Its authors were Mirza Husain of Hamadan, M. Abul Fazl, and\nManakji.\n\n[391] Numerous magazine articles, and even the \"Life of Abbas Effendi\"\nhave been written by Bahais, as if they were outsiders making\nobservations.\n\n[392] In his Introduction (pp. xxxii.-v.) to Mirza Jani, which he has\nhad printed in Persian, Professor Browne says, \"But for Count Gobineau\nit would have perished utterly. This fact is very instructive, that so\nimportant a work could be successfully suppressed,\" and \"that the\nadherents of a religion could connive at such an act of suppression and\nfalsification of evidence.\" \"This fact is established by the clearest\nevidence.\"\n\n[393] \"New Hist.,\" p. xxix.\n\n[394] _Ibid._, pp. xiv., xxxi.\n\n[395] _Ibid._, p. xiv.\n\n[396] \"Encyc. Brit.,\" article, Babism.\n\n[397] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. xlv. It (1) belittles the Bab and glorifies\nBaha--making the former simply a forerunner; (2) belittles the\nsufferings and deeds of Babis, passing over remarkable events almost\nunnoticed and magnifies inferior deeds of Bahais; (3) debases Azal,\ndisregards his position as successor, disparages and scorns him as\nlacking in courage and wisdom; (4) tries to curry the favour of the Shah\nof Persia and excuses his persecutions, putting the blame on Mullahs and\nViziers, deprecating the resistance and wars of the early Babis.\n\n[398] Count Gobineau (p. 277) says, \"There was some little hesitation\nabout the successor of the Bab, but finally he was recognized as\ndivinely designated, a young man of sixteen, named M. Yahya (Azal). The\nelection was recognized by all the Babis.\"\n\n[399] \"Mirza Jani,\" p. xxxii.\n\n[400] _Ibid._, p. xxxv. Professor Browne says, \"When I was in Persia in\n1887-1888, the Babis (Bahais) whom I met _feigned_ complete ignorance of\nthe very name and existence of Subh-i-Azal.\"\n\n[401] Page 64, note.\n\n[402] \"Abbas Effendi _suppressed_ all incidents and expressions not in\naccordance with later Bahai sentiment.\" \"Of this I am certain that the\nmore the Bahai doctrine spreads, especially outside of Persia, the more\nthe true history is obscured and distorted\" (Professor Browne in his\nintroduction to \"Mirza Jani,\" p. xxxvi.).\n\n[403] Pages 36-38.\n\n[404] One need not be surprised at this falsifying of claims and\nhistorical facts, for it is the testimony of the Bahai historian himself\n(\"New Hist.,\" p. 5) that \"the principal vice of the Persians is\nfalsehood--so universal and customary and so familiar that truthfulness\nis entirely abandoned and ignored.\" \"In matters relating to religion the\nMullahs have shown themselves to be ready liars and shameless forgers.\"\nThe degree of reliability of this History may be judged from the\nfollowing sentence, \"When the people of Italy had proved the extent of\nthe Pope's hypocrisy, guile and deceit, they so effectually deposed him\nand his children and his grandchildren that naught remained of him but\nthe appearance\" (referring to 1870-1871). I have received a pamphlet by\nA. J. Stenstrand, of Chicago, called \"Third Call to Behaists.\" He writes\n(p. 27), \"The Babi history as well as their sacred scriptures prove that\na terrible corruption, changing and transposing of its meanings, has\nbeen going on in the hands of the Behaists.\" Again (p. 28), \"We have\nplenty of proofs that there has been continual corruption,\ninterpolation, changing, transposing and stealing away the sacred\nscriptures of the Babi religion in the hands of the Bahais.\"\n\n[405] Cf. _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1892, p. 447.\n\n[406] \"The Alwah-i-Salatin,\" in Collections Scientifiques, St.\nPetersburg, 1877.\n\n[407] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 108-164.\n\n[408] _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1892, p. 313.\n\n[409] _Ibid._, p. 286.\n\n[410] _S. W._, Sept. 27, 1913, pp. 9, 10, \"If thou dost not obey God,\nthe foundations of thy government shall be razed, and thou shalt become\nevanescent--become as nothing. If no attention is paid to this book,\nthou shalt become non-existent.\"\n\n[411] The same explanation will account for the opposite narratives of\nthe trial of Baha before the Turkish Court at Acca. Mr. Laurence\nOliphant reports that the Court put the question to Baha, \"Will you tell\nthe Court who and what you are?\" \"I will begin,\" he replied, \"by telling\nyou who I am not. I am not a camel-driver (alluding to Mohammed), nor am\nI a carpenter.\"\n\n[412] \"New Hist.,\" p. xxv.\n\n[413] \"Facts for Behaists,\" p. 27. We mention a few of the important\nones. (1) The so-called Tablet of Beirut, which confirmed the claim of\nAbbas, and was said to be transcribed by Khadim Ullah. The latter\ndeclared it to be a forgery by Abbas Effendi. (2) Abbas omitted the\nmiddle part of the \"Tablet of Command\" to make it certify his claims. A\ncomplete copy in Baha's own handwriting showed the subterfuge. (3) He\ncombined parts of two different Tablets, called it the \"Treasure\nTablet,\" and claimed that it certified his succession. The two Tablets\nwere produced and proved the falsity of the claim.\n\n[414] \"Facts for Behaists,\" p. 55. Afterwards Badi Ullah, who had\naccused the party of Abbas of making additions to the writings, with a\npurpose changed sides in the quarrel and accused Mohammed Ali of the\nsame things--\"interpolating,\" \"erasing,\" \"transposing,\" \"replacing,\"\n\"clipping and joining fragments,\" of the Tablets of Baha Ullah, besides\nissuing \"a false writing in his name.\" Mohammed Ali is also accused of\n\"carrying away by way of the window\" two trunks full of the \"blessed\nwritings.\" See \"Epistle to the Bahai World,\" by Mirza Badi Ullah, pp. 3,\n5, 12-17.\n\n[415] \"Hidden Words,\" numbers 20, 37, 48.\n\n[416] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 123.\n\n[417] \"New Hist.,\" p. vii.\n\n[418] _Ibid._, p. 353.\n\n[419] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 20.\n\n[420] \"New Hist.,\" p. 292.\n\n[421] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 40, 41. Abul Fazl also is apologetic for the\nShah, and says (\"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 38), \"Without seeking permission from\nthe Shah, the Minister issued the order for his death.\"\n\n[422] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 259.\n\n[423] In \"New Hist.,\" p. xvii., Professor Browne says, \"The Babis made\nno profession of loyalty, nor did they attempt to exonerate the Shah\nfrom the responsibility of the persecutions. To the Shahs, such terms as\ntyrant, scoundrel, unrightful king, are freely applied. The battle cry,\n'Ya Nasr-ud-Din Shah,' is described as 'a foul watchword.'\"\n\n[424] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 52.\n\n[425] _Ibid._, pp. 104-106.\n\n[426] _Ibid._, pp. 49, 50.\n\n[427] Phelps, p. 13.\n\n[428] \"Beha Ullah,\" p. 411.\n\n[429] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 53.\n\n[430] _Ibid._, p. 323.\n\n[431] _S. W._, Oct. 16, 1913, p. 210.\n\n[432] _Ibid._, July 13, 1913, p. 118.\n\n[433] _Ibid._, Sept. 18, 1912.\n\n[434] \"Some Answered Questions,\" p. 37.\n\n[435] Pages 77, 78.\n\n[436] Page 63.\n\n[437] \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I, p. 46.\n\n[438] _S. W._, May 17, 1911, p. 6.\n\n[439] Mrs. Templeton (previously Mrs. Laurence Oliphant), in \"Facts for\nBehaists,\" tells of the unrighteousness of Abbas Effendi (Abdul Baha) in\nkeeping from his brothers and stepmothers the pension money of the\nTurkish Government and the revenue of Baha's villages, and of his\nostentatious charity in giving away part of these funds by distributing\ncoins to a mixed crowd of beggars every Friday.\n\n[440] _S. W._, May 17, 1913, p. 74.\n\n[441] \"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I, p. 44.\n\n[442] _S. W._, _Ibid._, p. 67.\n\n[443] _Ibid._, Sept. 8, 1912, p. 5.\n\n[444] Phelps, p. 66.\n\n[445] _Ibid._, p. 70.\n\n[446] This house was purchased by an American Bahai lady, that it might\nremain in Bahai hands.\n\n[447] \"Bahai Proofs,\" by Abul Fazl, p. 66. Remey, p. 23.\n\n[448] Mrs. Grundy, p. 73 ff., \"Ten Days,\" etc., speaks of the Palace of\nJoy as a very large white mansion. Professor Browne was received here\n(1890). He was conducted through a spacious hall, paved with a mosaic of\nmarble, into a great antechamber, and entered through a lifted curtain\ninto a large Audience Room.\n\nOf the Garden of Baha, Sprague (\"A Year in India,\" etc., p. 1) says, \"It\nis a veritable garden of Eden, with luxuriant foliage and every fruit.\nBaha Ullah used to sit under the large spreading tree and teach his\ndisciples.\" Mrs. Grundy says, \"The Rizwan is filled with palm trees,\noranges, lemons and wonderful flowers. A river, the Nahr Naaman, runs\nthrough it, in two streams, on which ducks and other fowls swim. On an\nisland is an arbour under two large mulberry trees. A fountain plays in\nthe midst. Under the arbour is a chair where Baha used to sit. No one\nsits in it any more. (Mrs. Grundy knelt at the foot of the chair.) The\ngarden has a cottage, where Baha spent his summers.\" A Palace and a\nluxurious summer place were Baha's \"Most Great Prison\" during most of\nhis years at Acca. Compare Laurence Oliphant's \"Haifa,\" etc., p. 103,\nfor a fine description of his \"pleasure ground.\" How unfounded are such\nstatements as Bernard Temple's (_S. W._, p. 39, April 28, 1914). \"All\nthis while the founders were behind prison walls.\"\n\n[449] Phelps, p. 75.\n\n[450] _Ibid._, p. 80.\n\n[451] Dr. H. H. Jessup, who visited him in 1900, writes (New York\n_Outlook_, June, 1901), \"Abbas Effendi has two houses in Haifa, one for\nhis family, in which he entertains the American lady pilgrims, and one\ndown town where his Persian followers meet him.\"\n\n[452] Abbas Effendi in Acca at this time visited Mr. Remey (\"Bahai\nMovement,\" p. 108). He received American pilgrims. Mrs. Goodall (\"Daily\nLessons,\" p. 6) speaks of \"His bountifully spread table,\" the laughter\nand good cheer, and (p. 13) remarks, \"One would never realize he was\nvisiting a Turkish prison.\"\n\n[453] Doctor Shedd says, \"Concealment of religious faith is a common\npractice in Persia, and it is approved and recommended by Bahais.\"\n\n[454] Phelps, p. 101.\n\n[455] New York _Outlook_.\n\n[456] _S. W._, March 2, 1914.\n\n[457] Phelps, p. xxxi.\n\n[458] \"Le Beyan Persan\" (Paris), Introduction xvi.-xxiv., by A. L. M.\nNicolas.\n\n[459] \"New Hist.,\" p. 252.\n\n[460] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 252.\n\n[461] S. M. Jordan, of Teheran, says (\"The Mohammedan World,\" Cairo, p.\n130), \"We are honestly open in our methods, while they are the reverse.\"\nDoctor Shedd says, \"Christian Mission work is openly Christian, that of\nPersian Bahais is professedly Mohammedan.\" \"Bahaism, as offered to a\nJew, a Christian or a Mohammedan, varies greatly.\"\n\n[462] _Missionary Review_, October, 1911.\n\n[463] Phelps, p. 154.\n\n[464] Miss A. Montgomery, in _Woman's Work_, 1913, p. 270, says of these\nBahais, \"This sect of Moslems, thirty years ago, were afraid to appear\nto be what they really were, they exercised the privilege of falsehood\ntheir deceitful faith grants them, and called themselves Christians.\"\n\n[465] A European Jew reports as follows (1914), \"The Jewish Bahais in\nHamadan are few in number (exactly fifty-nine besides children). They\nhave not yet broken with Judaism. They go to the Synagogue and follow\noutwardly our religious practices. They deny _in public_ that they are\nBahais from fear of the Mussulmans, who detest the new religion. But the\ncontinual attacks of the Bahais against the Jews will exasperate our\nco-religionists, who will cast them out finally. At present the\npractical result is hatred and disdain, and bitter dissensions between\nfathers and sons, sisters and brothers, husband and wife.\"\n\n[466] Phelps, p. 96. The Report of the Bahais to the United States\nCensus Board says, \"One may be a Bahai and still retain active\nmembership in another religious body.\"\n\n[467] Remey's \"The Bahai Movement,\" p. 97.\n\n[468] Bahaism says, \"Christians who do not believe in the Koran have not\nbelieved Christ.\"\n\n[469] The name of the Society has been changed to the \"Orient Occident\nUnity,\" and a commercial department added. Its contributions are\nacknowledged, and its work reported through the _Star of the West_ as\nBahai work. An American, who imported a machine flour-mill to Persia,\nunder its auspices, told the Consul that the object of his coming was\nnot the mill but propagating Bahaism. In the _Jam-i-Jamsied_, Calcutta,\nMarch 28, 1914, Dr. E. C. Getsinger boasts to the Parsees, \"The American\nBahais have established schools in Persia, and have sent American\nteachers to those schools.\"\n\n[470] \"Words of Paradise,\" p. 53.\n\n[471] \"The Universal Religion,\" p. 139.\n\n[472] \"Observations of a Bahai Traveller,\" 1908, p. 77.\n\n[473] Sprague's \"A Year in India,\" p. 16.\n\n[474] Pages 62, 63, 95, 96.\n\n[475] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 52. See also Browne's \"Mirza Jani's History,\"\npp. xxxiii.-vi.\n\n[476] The Bahais are impaled on the other horn of the dilemma also, for,\nas Professor Browne says (\"Mirza Jani,\" p. xxxiii.), \"The difficulty\nlies in the fact that Subh-i-Azal consistently refused to recognize\nBaha's claim, so that the Bahai is driven to make the assumption that\nthe Bab, who is acknowledged to be divinely inspired and gifted with\ndivine knowledge and prescience, deliberately chose to succeed him one\nwho was destined to be the 'Point of darkness,' or chief opponent, of\n'Him whom God should manifest.'\"\n\n[477] \"A Year Among the Persians,\" p. 517.\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nIts Record as to Morals (_Continued_)\n\n  In their teachings they speak constantly of knowing the truth, but\n  never of speaking the truth. In his book Kheiralla never mentions\n  veracity among the virtues nor lying among the vices. Religious\n  duplicity, _tagiya_, is a Persian peculiarity and some Mohammedan\n  sects among which are our \"truth-knowing\" Bahais have raised _tagiya_\n  to a pious privilege. Baha, the crafty chief, requires policy in\n  consideration of expediency, often at the expense of good faith. Until\n  the final triumph of the religion he has sanctioned feigned\n  conformity. They have divine authority for duplicity. This is to them\n  a pious means to a pious end. Since Baha's influence has become\n  paramount, they have adopted the plan of secret propaganda which does\n  not hesitate, in case of need, at denying their faith under oath.\n  Among Mohammedans they are primitive Islamites, among Christians they\n  claim to be primitive Christians. If I had not taken their \"private\n  lessons,\" the supposition of such astounding duplicity would have\n  appeared incredible or beyond even the Oriental proverbial\n  duplicity.--_S. K. Vatralsky, \"Amer. Jour. of Theology,\" 1902, pp. 73,\n  74, 76._\n\n\nBahais particularly boast of love as one of their characteristics. They\noften quote the words of Baha \"to consort with all religions with\nspirituality and fragrance.\" Phelps claims for them[478] \"a peculiar\nspirit, which marks them off from other men,--whose essence is expressed\nin one word, Love. These men are Lovers; lovers of God, of their Master\nand teachers, of all mankind.\" Dreyfus, with a forgetfulness or ignoring\nof facts that is astounding, says, \"Their conduct is so perfect, their\nharmony so complete that although they have been there at Acca for forty\nyears, no judge had yet to intervene for them in any dispute.\" Chase\nsays \"Bahaism removes religious rancour.\"[479] Let facts speak. Let me\narray them first by showing the relation of the Bahais to the Moslems,\nand then to the Azalis (see chapter on \"Religious Assassination\") and\nfinally to each other (see chapter on \"The Quarrel over the\nSuccession\").\n\nThe Babis and Bahais show great hatred and animosity against the Shiahs\nof Persia, abuse and revile them and heap maledictions and curses upon\nthem. These evil feelings are shown specially against the Mullahs and\nthe rulers. The Babi and Bahai historians indulge so much in diatribes\nand maledictions that Professor Browne wearies of translating them and\nomits pages of abuse.[480] More than enough is at hand to show the\nrancorous spirit of the new religion.\n\nFirst take a short backward glance at the Babis. Professor Browne\nsays:[481] \"The Babis entertained for the Kajar rulers a hatred equal to\nthat for the Mullahs.\" Mohammed Shah and Nasr-ud-Din Shah are called\n\"bastard\" and \"scoundrel\" and Mohammed Shah is consigned to hell at his\ndeath. The Shiahs are called \"foul Guebres\" and the Mullahs heaped with\nabuse. \"They hated the Mohammedan clergy with an intense and bitter\nhatred\" and anticipated the fulfillment of the prophecy \"when the Kaim\nor Mahdi should behead 70,000 mullahs like dogs.\" The Bab called Haji\nKazim Khan, chief of the Sheikhis, \"the Quintessence of Hell Fire and\nthe infernal tree of Zakkum.\" He even at times emphasized his words with\nblows.[482] \"When a prisoner in the household of Anti-Christ--that\naccursed one (_i. e._, the Shah), the Mullah of Maku showed him some\ndiscourtesy, whereupon the Ocean of Divine Wrath was stirred and He (the\nBab) brought down his staff with such vigour on the unclean form of\nthat foul creature that the august staff broke in two. He then ordered\nAga Sayid Hasan (his scribe) to drive out that dog from the room, though\nthe accursed fellow was a person of great consideration.\" \"The Bab took\nleave of his jailer, Ali Khan, with the words, 'Ay maalun' ('Accursed\nOne').\"[483] It is unnecessary further to enlarge on the feelings of the\nBabis towards the Shiahs, for the sanguinary wars and persecutions\nexplain them and they made no secret of their feelings of hatred.\n\nI pass on to the Bahais, whom Abul Fazl claims were reformed and\ntransformed by Baha. Baha himself it is, who in the \"Ikan\" calls the\nShiahs \"a foul, erring sect,\" who said of his Turkish guards, \"Shame\nupon them! God shall consume their livers with fire, and verily he is\nthe fiercest of avengers\" (Lawh-i-Rais) and who exultingly celebrated,\nin a hymn of triumph, the death of Fuad Pasha,[484] the vizier who had\nexiled him, and consigned him to hell \"where the heart boils and the\ntormenting angel melts him.\" Baha's winsome words about the mullahs are,\nin the \"Ikan,\" \"1278 years have passed and all these worthless wretches\nhave read the Koran every morning and have not yet attained to a single\nletter of the purport of it.\"\n\nThe spirit of _love_ (?) is shown by Mirza Abul Fazl, the preacher and\napologist for Bahaism, in his discussion (1873) as recorded in the \"New\nHistory.\"[485] His abusive language runs on page after page. The\nmullahs of Persia are called mischief-makers, dolts, a pack of\nscoundrels, tyrants, fools, plunderers of men's properties and wives,\nsectarian zealots steeped in prejudice and thinly disguising their greed\nof worldly lucre under a veil of sanctity, sprung from the rustic\npopulation and the scum of the towns, ignorant of the decencies of\nsociety and neglectful of good breeding, with wickedness, worldliness,\nrapacity and selfishness which are incurable and folly that exceeds all\nbounds and surpasses all conception, with stupidity, overweening\narrogance and presumption absolutely unparallelled, hiding the truth in\nfalsehood, circulating false reports, possessing malignant hatred,\nmalice, spite and great injustice, and notoriously eager to shed blood,\nyet with cowardice like a timid girl.\n\nHe avers further that they are lacking in patriotism, nullify sovereign\nauthority, encroach upon and usurp the power of kings, dismiss viziers,\ninvite the people to rebel, cause national decay, set their feet upon\nthe necks of all mankind, menace the order and well-being of the\ngovernment, devour public wealth and substitute treason for service.\n\"Perish their homes of folly whose learning is all pretense, their\ncolleges which never yielded a man of sense.\" This is a condensation of\nthe Bahai philosopher's amiable (!) description of the chiefs of his\nnational religion. The author of the \"New History\" almost surpasses him\nin abuse.[486] He compares the mullahs to a \"host of foul reptiles who\nbefoul and pollute the pure water of life so that it waxeth loathsome\nand abominable.... They are fraudulent and sophistical hypocrites ...\ninwardly reprobate and outwardly devout, clothing themselves in the garb\nof spurious asceticism and simulated piety: fabricators of 'authentic'\ntraditions.\" Later Haji M. Haidar Ali,[487] writing by command of Abdul\nBaha, says of Persia, \"The old religious sects ... degenerated into\nferocious wolves and mad dogs, even surpassing the ravenous man-eating\nbeasts.\" Apropos of the martyrdom of Aga Sayid Jafar of Abargoo, \"Our\nGreat Lord and Master Abdul Baha revealed the following in a Visiting\nTablet\" to be _chanted at the tomb_: \"Hell is for such as rejected thee,\nfire for such as sentenced thee to death, infernal flame for such as\nbetrayed thee, and the hellish gulf for such as shed thy blood.\"[488]\nThese quotations show the vindictive spirit of the Bahai leaders. Any\none who is acquainted with Bahais in Persia knows that this is the\nspirit that animates them, that they revile the Mutasharis and Sheikhis\nand especially their mullahs. They are brotherly and helpful to their\nown particular sect of Bahais, vindictive to all who have opposed them.\nDoctor Frame quotes a Persian as saying this of the attitude of Abdul\nBaha, \"He is very kind towards his friends and bitter towards his\nenemies.\" In view of all that has been brought forward, how can Mr.\nPhelps aver \"that they have no trace of bitterness or resentment for\ntheir sufferings.\" The habit of Bahais in denying that they have\nanimosity against other religions reminds me of one of their own\nstories. A certain mullah said to his friend, \"If you notice in me any\nobjectionable habit please inform me.\" \"I perceive no fault in you,\"\nanswered his friend, \"save a habit of using abusive language.\" \"Abusive\nlanguage!\" cried the mullah. \"What rascally knave calls me abusive? What\nshameless ruffian have I abused that he should dare accuse me?\"\n\nIn the statements of Bahais which I quoted above, they laid claim to\nsuperior chastity and sobriety. In the chapter on \"Bahaism and Woman\" I\nhave noticed their defects in regard to the treatment of women. In\nregard to sexual immorality, they are neither better nor worse than\nPersians of the middle class to which they mostly belong. Bahai law\nfollows the Moslem law in prohibiting the use of alcohol as a beverage,\nas did the law of the Bab. The Bab prohibited opium and tobacco. Azal\nfollows the Bab in these restrictions, while Baha exempts tobacco from\nthe prohibition. A good many Moslems, especially of the cities and upper\nclasses, are addicted to alcohol, and have been through the centuries of\nIslam. My observation leads me to believe that Bahais are more addicted\nto the use of intoxicants than Moslems are. Regarding the relation of\nBahais to wine and opium, we have an impartial witness who writes his\nexperience without prejudice or motive. Professor Browne, in his \"A Year\nAmong the Persians,\" tells of his social intercourse with the Babis,\nAzalis and Bahais. His prolonged stay in Kirman was largely spent among\nthe Bahais. He became so intimate with them as to be considered one of\nthem by many in the city. He joined in their convivialities and he gives\nus a simple narrative of everyday events and experiences. Read the\nvolume from page 475 to 540 and see how many of the Bahais lived in the\nhabitual use of wine and opium. It is shocking and shows what goes on\nbehind their doors. No other one has had opportunity to see and reveal\ntheir hidden life. One and another and another of the Bahais is referred\nto by name and occupation as addicted to intoxicants.[489] Sheikh\nIbrahim \"is a drunkard and a libertine\"; Usta Akbar, the pea-parcher,\n\"returned in a state of boastful intoxication, talking blasphemous\nnonsense\"; the son of the Bahai postmaster \"wants money to get drunk and\nplay the libertine\"; Haji Shirazi is \"a drinker and a libertine\" and a\nreviler; another is a victim of copious libations of beer; another a\ndrunkard and blasphemous in his cups.\n\nRegarding the use of opium they appear to be worse. It seems to be a\ncommon habit among them. See pages 499, 500, 505, 520, 524, 525, 540. Of\ncertain dinners Professor Browne says, \"All present were Babis (Bahais)\nand we sat sipping our tea and whiffing opium.\" \"We sat talking late and\nsmoking opium.\" \"The wildest ascriptions of Deity to Baha were made when\nintoxicated with wine and opium: then they praised the 'Beloved.'\" \"The\npoor lad, the son of the telegrapher whom I had seen smoking opium, was\ndead.\" \"A Bahai dervish was engaged in smoking an opium pipe.\" The\nPrince secretary, an Azali Babi, \"was a confirmed opium smoker.\" Browne\neven joined the Bahais in the use of opium and almost became a victim of\nthe habit. On one occasion[490] they secretly filled his pipe with\nhashish (Bhang). He recognized the taste and refused it. Why did they do\nso? Would they possibly have shown him visions with the hope of\npersuading him of the truth of Bahaism? Maybe some such incidents are\nthe basis of the Moslem accusations against the Bahais of using hashish\non neophytes. The point of the above citations is plain. Bahaism does\nnot exercise the transforming power that is claimed for it. The Persian\nBahais are yet in the bonds of iniquity. The boasts of Bahais are\nungrounded. What of Abul Fazl's question,[491] \"Have you ever heard of a\nBahai accused[492] of drinking wine?[493] None are accused of evil\ndeeds or bad morals.\" Again Sprague says, \"The conditions of the\nMillennium are already visible among these people,\" and Thornton Chase\ndeclares, \"It brings men to a higher conception of duty and life than\nhas been the heritage of the churches.\" How blind to facts is such\nfaith!\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[478] Page 112.\n\n[479] Yet Phelps, p. 158, and Chase themselves inveigh against orthodox\nChristianity with bitterness and scorn.\n\n[480] \"New Hist.,\" pp. 320 f, 281, 289.\n\n[481] \"_Ibid._, pp. xvii. and 354.\n\n[482] \"Mirza Jani,\" pp. 131-132.\n\n[483] \"New Hist.,\" p. 352.\n\n[484] _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1892, p. 271.\n\n[485] Pages 173-190.\n\n[486] Pages 4-5, written 1880.\n\n[487] \"Martyrs of 1903,\" p. 3.\n\n[488] \"Visiting Tablets,\" p. 12, N. Y. Bahai Board of Counsel.\n\n[489] Pages 436, 517, 524, 540.\n\n[490] Pages 520-521.\n\n[491] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 79.\n\n[492] The testimony of Mr. Getsinger that he saw the son of Baha Ullah\nunder the influence of liquor is given in Chapter XI.\n\nThe testimony of Professor Browne as to their habits is borne out, in a\ngeneral way, without his personal experience, by others who have had\nlong residence in Persia. Rev. W. A. Shedd, D. D., of Urumia writes,\n\"Does the religion bring about a change of life and character? The\nreports given by Bahai travellers are glowing, but long residents in\nPersia have no such a tale to tell. The Bahais are not noticeably more\nhonest, more truthful, more sober nor more reliable than others\"\n(_Missionary Review_, Oct. 1911). J. D. Frame, M. D., of Resht says\n(_Moslem World_, July, 1912), \"The real test of a religion is its\ninfluence upon life. Repeatedly we have challenged the Bahais, 'Show us\nfrom your personal lives a power to regenerate the lives of men.'\" Rev.\nS. M. Jordan of Teheran writes (\"The Mohammedan World,\" p. 179), \"By\nneither Moslems, Jews, nor Christians are they considered morally\nsuperior to the Moslems, while in some respects they rightly are judged\nless so.\" The Rev. J. H. Shedd, D. D., writes, \"The Bahai freedom runs\nto license, and hence as a reform leaves men worse rather than better.\nMr. Browne found himself in the meshes of the opium habit in Kirman by\nyielding too freely to their influence. There is undoubtedly a generous\nfellowship in the Bahai community, but there is no moral principle....\nThere are no high and strong characters developed to lead the world in\ntrue reform, no high motives to virtue are developed. The seeds of its\nown destruction are in the system and the best argument against it will\nsoon be its fruits\" (R. E. Speer's \"Missions and Modern History,\" p.\n182).\n\n[493] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 82.\n\n\n\n\nX\n\nReligious Assassination\n\n  The religion now entered upon the phase of intestinal dissensions,\n  bitter animosities, schisms, and internecine strife. The pages of its\n  history are henceforth filled with tales of dissension and disruption;\n  of anathemas and accusations; of heresy and apostacy reiterated and\n  reciprocated with increasing bitterness; of fratricidal assassinations\n  and persecutions.--_Professor Browne in \"New History,\" p. x._\n\n  Subh-i-Azal is the Khalifa of the Bab and the Bahais are in bad faith\n  when they deny it.--_Nicolas, p. 20._\n\n  When inspiration and revelation failed, Baha did not disdain to\n  benefit by the pointed argument of the dagger and the subtle\n  persuasion of poison.--_Vatralsky in \"Amer. Jour. of Theology.\"_\n\n  We cannot tolerate iniquity in God nor in one claiming to be God and\n  we cannot conceive of God incarnate subject to the limitations of\n  racial moral ideals.--_R. E. Speer, p. 146._\n\n\nIn general Bahais claim that they and their leaders have been exemplars\nof love and harmony. Specific declarations of their excellence in this\nregard have been quoted. M. Abul Fazl[494] writes: \"During the long\nyears from the arrival of Baha Ullah in Bagdad to the present day they\nhave not committed that which would disturb a single soul. They have\nbeen killed but they have killed no one.\" Mr. Horace Holley[495] says:\n\"For forty years no judge has had to settle a dispute between them.\" It\nbehooves us to inquire how the conduct of Baha and his adherents shows\nup in this regard during the first period of their exile. It is evident\nthat in Persia Baha had no sincere love for his brother Azal, for he\nplanned to secure safety for himself by putting Azal's life in\njeopardy. (See Chapter VIII.) It is further plain that early in the exile\njealousy, envy and hate manifested themselves, even while\nBaha was outwardly obedient to Azal. In Bagdad, says Bahiah\nKhanum, \"disharmony and misunderstanding arose among the\nbelievers--discord--strife--contention.\"[496] Therefore Baha went off to\nKurdistan. He refers in the \"Ikan\" to the dissensions,[497] \"Such an\nodour of jealousy was diffused, banners of discord hoisted, enemies\nendeavoured to destroy this servant,--hardships, calamities and\nsufferings inflicted by Moslems were as nothing compared with what hath\nbeen inflicted by the believers.\" His opponents say that he wished to\nintroduce innovations, relax the law and put forward on his own account\na claim to be a Manifestation and being resisted in this, he \"got\nangry.\"[498] After they were removed to Adrianople the quarrel waxed\nhotter. Abul Fazl describes it as one of \"interior fires of dissension\nand jealousy between the rival leaders, far exceeding the jealousy of\noutsiders.[499] Mohammed Jawad Kasvini says[500] there were \"all manner\nof intrigues, falsehoods and untruths.\" I have received from a Moslem\nconvert to Christianity an interesting account of conditions then and\nthere. He was at that time a _peesh-khidmat_ to the Persian Minister at\nConstantinople. He was at Samsun when Azal and Baha and their parties\nembarked and was introduced to them by Haji Rajab Ali Khan,\nbrother-in-law of my informant. He saw them day by day and became a\nserious inquirer. Afterwards he went to Adrianople bearing presents to\nBaha. He found Baha and Azal living in separate rooms of the same house\nunder guards. The two brothers were in dispute over the supremacy, and\nthe _murids_ had been won over by Baha. He narrates, \"I entered one day.\nI heard words of angry disputation and revilings. Yahya said, \"Ay!\nHusain Ali, you are vile! Do you not remember your sodomies? You are\ndefiled. Your wife is a bad one!\" Husain Ali answered, \"Ay, cursed one!\nYour son Nur Ullah is not your son but son of Sayid----. You yourself\nare a sodomite, an adulterer.\" Such like revilings they hurled at each\nother. I called Maskin Kalam and said to him, \"What are these words and\ndoings? If Baha is true why does he talk so? Why do these brothers\nrevile each other? What a fool I am to come so many miles to hear such\nrevilings from a divinity!\" We then went to the room of Ishan. My\ncompanion said to Ishan, \"Why do they curse so?\" I said, \"I wish to ask\na question.\" He said, \"What is it?\" I said, \"You say they do not work\nmiracles, but must there not be personal power and influence in\nwords?\"\"[501]\n\nThe condition at Adrianople culminated in a series of crimes, which now\ncome before us for examination.\n\nCharges have been made, in detail, against the companions of Baha Ullah\nof assassinating the Azalis, the followers of his rival Subh-i-Azal.\nMost of the information regarding the matter is to be found in the\nbooks and translations of Professor Browne, the great authority on\nBahaism in the Anglo-Saxon world. I wish to present and weigh the\nevidence in hand regarding these accusations.\n\n1. The first charge is _that Baha Ullah attempted to poison Subh-i-Azal,\nhis half-brother_ and predecessor. This charge is found in the \"Hasht\nBehesht,\" a history of Babism, by Aga Sayid Javad,[502] a prominent\nMullah of Kirman and a leading disciple of the Bab. The occurrence took\nplace when Azal and Baha were both at Adrianople under surveillance of\nthe Turkish authorities. Baha, so it narrates,[503] ordered that there\nshould be placed before him and \"Azal a dish of plain food, with one\nside of which he had mixed some poison, intending to poison Azal. For\nhitherto the apportioned breakfast and supper had been from the house of\nMirza Husain Ali (Baha Ullah). When that poisoned dish was placed before\nthem, Baha pressed Azal to take of it. By a fortunate chance, the smell\nof onions was perceptible in the food, and Azal, being averse to onions,\nrefused to taste it. Though urgently pressed, he refused, saying: 'It\nsmells of onions.' Baha, supposing his evil design was suspected, and to\ndisguise the truth, ate a little from the other (unpoisoned) side in\norder that Azal's suspicions might be dispelled and that he might eat of\nthe poisoned side. Now, inasmuch as the poison had to some extent\ndiffused itself to the other side, it produced some slight effect on\nBaha, causing him sickness and vomiting, so that he summoned his\nphysician.\" This account was confirmed by Mirza Abdul Ali, the son of\nSubh-i-Azal, to Professor Browne, when he visited him in Cyprus in\n1888.[504]\n\nThe daughter of Baha, Bahiah Khanum, gives a contradictory account of\nthe same affair.[505] She says that the feast was at Azal's house and\nthat rice for both was served on the same plate, having been prepared in\nAzal's house. \"The portion of rice intended for my father was flavoured\nwith onions, of which he was very fond. The servant, by direction of\nAzal, placed this portion towards my father. He ate some of it, but\nfortunately not very much. He preferred the rice prepared for Azal, and\nate of it. Soon after eating he became ill. The physician declared that\nhe had been poisoned. He was so desperately ill for twenty-two days that\nthe physician said he could not live.\" Mirza Abul Fazl, a Bahai writer,\nsays,[506] \"Azal sought to poison Baha Ullah, and attempted to do so\ntwice, but failed to accomplish his design.\" \"He repeatedly planned to\nmurder Baha.\" Baha himself alludes to these events in the\n\"Sura-i-Haykal.\"[507] \"My brother warred with me. He desired to drink my\nblood. He took counsel with one of my attendants tempting him unto\nthis. We went out from among them and dwelt in another house. Neither\ndid we see him afterwards.\"\n\nThus we have brother against brother, each accusing the other of\nattempting fratricide. How shall we settle the question of veracity? Mr.\nPhelps makes a plea for Baha, but his words lack foundation. He says\nthat Azal's story \"is a _transparent_ fabrication because it assumes an\nimpossible ignorance on the part of Baha Ullah that Azal disliked\nonions, as well as the impossible hypothesis that Baha Ullah would\nknowingly partake of food in which poison had been placed.\" But neither\nof these \"impossible\" things are a part of the story. The first\nobjection can only be taken, if at all, to Professor Browne's abridged\naccount in the \"Traveller's Narrative,\" and not to the original in\n\"Hasht Behesht,\" which distinctly states that onions had communicated\ntheir flavour to the other side of the platter, contrary to intention;\nand, secondly, Baha supposed when he ate (according to the \"Hasht\nBehesht\" account) that the poison had not communicated itself to his\nside of the platter of rice. Those familiar with Persian _pillau_, or\nboiled rice, in which each grain is separate and dry, will see that it\nwould ordinarily be quite possible to put onions and poison on opposite\nsides of the platter without either reaching the other side. Each man\nwould help himself, according to Persian custom, from the side of the\ndish next to him. Moreover, it was customary to prepare the food for\nAzal in the kitchen of Baha.'[508] Up to the time of the incident they\nhad both continued to live in the same house. This is evident from\nBaha's words in the \"Sura-i-Haykal,\" where he says, \"We went out, dwelt\nin _another house, neither did we see him afterwards_.\" This agrees with\nthe \"Hasht Behesht.\" In this and several other particulars the narrative\nof Bahiah Khanum is defective or misleading. Mr. Phelps' plea, on\naccount of the character of the Bahais, begs the question. This charge\nand subsequent ones to be discussed, involve the integrity of Baha's\ncharacter and that of his immediate disciples. The history shows no more\nreason to believe Baha than to believe Azal, but rather less.\n\n2. The next charge of the Azalis is as follows:[509] \"Shortly after\nthis, another plot was laid against Subh-i-Azal's life, and it was\narranged that _Mohammed Ali, the barber, should cut his (Azal's) throat\nwhile_ shaving him in the bath. On the approach of the barber, however,\nSubh-i-Azal divined his design, refused to allow him to come near, and,\non leaving the bath, instantly took another lodging, and separated\nhimself entirely from Mirza Husain Ali and his followers.\"\n\nOn the Bahai side, Bahiah Khanum says,[510] \"One day in the bath Azal\nasked the servant (of Baha) 'whether it would not be easy for an\nattendant who was not faithful to Baha to make away with him while\nshaving him.' The servant replied that this was certainly the case. Azal\nthen asked whether, if God should lay upon him the command to do this,\nhe would obey it? The servant understood this to be the suggestion of\nsuch a command, and was so terrified by it that he rushed screaming from\nthe room. This occurrence was ignored by my father, and our relations\nwith Azal continued to be cordial.\"\n\nHere we have two stories in direct contradiction to each other. It may\nbe observed that the attendant or barber, who was that day serving Azal\nin the bath, as is agreed by both parties, was a partisan of Baha,[511]\nwithout doubt the same barber, Mohammed Ali, who subsequently murdered\nthe Azalis,[512] and who was decorated by Baha with the title\nDallak-i-Hakikat,[513] \"The Barber of the Truth.\" It was much more\nnatural that Azal should be suspicious of him than try to tempt him to\nkill Baha.\n\nIn either case, what do we see? Behold, these two \"Manifestations of\nGod\" accusing each other of attempting assassination. They were\nbrothers, both eminent disciples of the Bab, the \"Point of Divinity\" of\nthe \"new Revelation,\" both \"revealers of inspired verses.\" The heart of\neach was full of hatred and envy and of desire to overreach the other.\nNeither is worthy of credence, both being steeped in Persian deception\nfrom childhood. Possibly, at that time, each was ready to compass the\ndeath of the other. The subsequent history, however, casts back its\nreflection upon the murder-plots at Adrianople, and in its lurid light\nthe character of the Bahais grows darker. As a consequence, the charges\nof the Azalis against the Bahais become probable and are easily\naccepted.\n\n3. The _proved assassination of Azalis by Bahais at Acca_. The quarrels\nand plots at Adrianople led to complaints of each party against the\nother before the Osmanli Government. For the sake of peace and safety\nthey were separated. Azal was sent as a prisoner-pensioner to Famagusta,\nCyprus. Baha was removed to Acca, Syria. The \"Hasht Behesht\" says:[514]\n\"With the latter were his family, about eighty of his adherents, and\nfour of Subh-i-Azal's followers, to wit, Haji Sayid Mohammed of Ispahan,\nAga Jan Bey, Mirza Riza Kuli of Tafrish, and his brother Aga Mirza\nNasrullah.\"\n\nThese Azalis were murdered by the Bahais in Acca. Of this crime there\nare many who give testimony, (_a_) The \"Hasht Behesht\" says:[515]\n\"Before the transfer was actually effected, however, Mirza Nasrullah was\npoisoned by Baha, at Adrianople. The other Azalis were assassinated\nshortly after their arrival at Acca, in a house which they occupied near\nthe barracks, the assassins being Abdul Karim, Mohammed the barber,\nHusain the water-carrier, and Mohammed Javad of Kasvin\" (all attaches of\nBaha).\n\n(_b_) Subh-i-Azal independently confirmed this account in conversation\nwith Professor Browne.[516]\n\n(_c_) Bahai testimony also confirms it. Professor Browne heard the story\nat Kirman from Sheikh Ibrahim, a Bahai, who had suffered imprisonment\nand torture for the faith, and who had seen some of the perpetrators\nwhile on a pilgrimage to Acca. He said,[517] \"The Babis were divided\ninto two factions. So high did feeling run that the matter ended in open\nstrife, and two Azalis and one Bahai were killed\" at Adrianople. \"The\nTurkish Government sent seven[518] Azalis to Acca with Baha. They--Aga\nJan, called Kaj-Kulah, Haji Sayid Mohammed of Ispahan, one of the\noriginal companions of the Bab, Mirza Riza, a nephew of the last, Mirza\nHaydar Ali of Ardistan, Haji Sayid Husain of Kashan, and two others\nwhose names I forget--lived all together in a house situated near the\ngate of the city. Well, one night about a month after their arrival at\nAcca, twelve Bahais (nine of whom were still living when I was at Acca)\ndetermined to kill them and so prevent them from doing any mischief. So\nthey went at night, armed with swords and daggers, to the house where\nthe Azalis lodged, and knocked at the door. Aga Jan came down to open to\nthem, and was stabbed before he could cry out or offer the least\nresistance. Then they entered the house and killed the other six.\" In\nconsequence, \"the Turks imprisoned Baha and all his family and followers\nin the caravanserai, but the twelve assassins came forward and\nsurrendered themselves, saying, 'We killed them without the knowledge of\nour Master or of any of the brethren. Punish us, not them.' So they were\nimprisoned for a while; but afterwards, at the intercession of Abbas\nEffendi (Abdul Baha), were suffered to be at large, on condition of\nremaining at Acca and wearing still fetters on their ankles for a time.\"\n\n(_d_) Mr. Laurence Oliphant gives an account of the Bahais at Acca in\nhis \"Haifa, or Life in Modern Palestine.\"[519] He substantiates the\naccount of the assassinations, and narrates how Baha Ullah was called\nbefore the Osmanli Court to answer on the charge of complicity in them.\nHe further states that after one session, Baha \"purchased an exemption\nfrom further attendance at court _with an enormous bribe_.\"\n\n(_e_) The defense, unable to escape the force of the damaging testimony\nor to deny the facts against such testimony, can only offer some excuses\nin extenuation. Bahiah Khanum[520] reduces the number of Bahais who made\nthe attack on the Azalis to three, asserts that their intention was to\nthreaten death and frighten but not to kill them, that but two Azalis\nwere killed and also one of the Bahais, that the provocation was that\nthe Azalis had slandered Baha Ullah, forged letters in his name, which\nincited the Government against him and were threatening to kill him, and\nfurther that Baha was not cognizant of their intention. But Professor\nBrowne shows that Baha regarded the murder with some complacency at\nleast,[521] and refers to it in the \"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" saying, \"God hath\ntaken away him who led you astray,\" viz.: Haji Sayid Mohammed, one of\nthe murdered men, who was Azal's chief supporter. He also confirms the\nfact that Abbas Effendi interceded for the murderers and secured their\nfreedom from adequate punishment. Just as Brigham Young[522] condoned\nand secured immunity from punishment, if he did not justify or instigate\nthe crimes of his sect. Bahiah Khanum herself shows us that the\nmurderers acted for the religion, and not from any private or personal\nmotives; in other words, committed \"religious assassination,\" after the\ntraditional oriental custom.\n\nThe same is shown and more facts brought out in the defense made by\nMohammed Jawad Gasvini.[523] He writes that the three persons mentioned\nabove published tracts which were calculated to excite the populace\nagainst Baha and his adherents. One, Nasir Abbas of Bagdad, came from\nBeirut to kill them but was enjoined by Baha not to do so. Then \"Some\nbelievers organized a secret meeting to put an end to these evil doers.\nThe author was among them and was of their opinion.\" Baha again\nrestrained them, so the author avers. But, he continues, \"The following\nseven persons secretly determined to put out of the way the aforesaid\nintriguers\" (here follow their names and occupations). \"These seven\nbegan to consort with the intriguers very cordially, pretending that\nthey were in accord with them and with their belief, and continued to\ndo so for some time. But one afternoon they entered their residence,\nwhich was situated opposite the residence of the governor of the city of\nAcca, and there they killed the said Sayid Mohammed, and Aga Jan, and\nMirza Riza Kuli. This took place in the year 1288 A. H., _i. e._, 1870\nA. D. When the Government heard of the tragedy it arrested the said\nseven and arrested all the followers of Baha Ullah who were in Acca.\"\nAll, including Baha Ullah, Abbas Effendi and the other brothers were\nimprisoned. Baha was released after three days, after being interrogated\nby the court. Sixteen of the Bahais were confined in prison for six\nmonths and the seven for terms of seven to fifteen years, afterwards\nreduced by one-third. Thus twenty-three out of about forty male\nbelievers were found guilty of the assassinations or of complicity in\nthe plot.\n\n4. Various and _sundry other assassinations for the faith_. According to\nthe Azali historian, these murders were followed by many others. Certain\ndisciples separated themselves from Baha. Of these some fled from\nAcca,[524] \"but the Khayyat Bashi (chief tailor) and Haji Ibrahim were\nassassinated in the caravanserai of the corn-sellers and buried in\nquicklime under the platform. Another, Haji Jaffar, importunately\npressed his claim for a debt of 1,200 pounds which Baha owed him. (I\nwonder whether it was incurred to meet the 'enormous bribe.') Thereupon\nBaha's amanuensis, Mirza Aga Jan Kashani, instructed a disciple, Ali of\nKasvin, to slay the old man and throw his body out of the window of the\nupper room which he occupied in the caravanserai.\" It was then reported\n\"that he had cast himself out and died, yielding up his life to the\nBeloved.\" \"All the prominent supporters of Subh-i-Azal, who withstood\nBaha, were marked out for death,[525] and in Bagdad, Mullah Rajab Ali\nKahir and his brother Haji Mirza Ahmad, Haji Mirza Mohammed Riza and\nseveral others fell one by one by the knife or the bullet of the\nassassin.\" The following others are specified with the place and name of\nthe assassin,[526] \"Aga Sayid Ali the Arab, one of the original 'Letters\nof the Living,' was killed in Tabriz by Mirza Mustapha of Nirak; and Aga\nAli Mohammed by Abdul Karim; Haji Aga of Tabriz met a like fate, as did\nHaji Mirza Ahmad, the brother of the historian Haji Mirza Jani.[527]\nAnother, whose faith had grown cold, was Aga Mohammed Ali of Ispahan,\nwho was residing at Constantinople.[528] Mirza Abul Kasim was sent from\nAcca with instructions to \"bleed that block of heedlessness whose blood\nis in excess.\" He robbed his victim of L350, with part of which he\nbought and sent goods to Acca. Another instance was Mirza Asad Ullah\n\"Deyyan,\" who claimed to be a \"Manifestation.\"[529] \"Mirza Husain Ali\n(Baha), after a protracted discussion with him, instructed his servant,\nMirza Mohammed of Mezanderan, to slay him, which was accordingly done.\"\nCount Gobineau confirms this account.[530] Concerning these crimes we\nhave also the independent testimony of Subh-i-Azal, who mentioned most\nof these instances by name and added several others. Azal said to\nCaptain Young, a British officer in Cyprus,[531] \"About twenty of my\nfollowers were killed by the Bahais.\" He confirmed it in an autograph\nletter to Professor Browne, saying, \"They (_i. e._, the Bahais)\nunsheathed the sword of hatred and wrought what they would. They cruelly\nput to death the remnant of my friends who stood firm.\" In the \"New\nHistory\"[532] Professor Browne names over the list of those\nassassinated, and adds, \"Of the more prominent Azalis, Sayid Javad, of\nKerbela (or Kirman), seems to have been almost the only one who long\nsurvived what the Azalis call 'The direful Disorder.'\" In Kirman,\nProfessor Browne said to the Bahais,[533] \"From a statement of one of\nyour own party, it appears that your friends at Acca, who complain so\nmuch of the bigotry, intolerance and ferocious antagonism of the\nMohammedans, and who are always talking about 'consorting with men of\nevery faith with spirituality and fragrance,' could find no better\nargument than the dagger of the assassin wherewith to convince the\nunfortunate Azalis.\"\n\n5. The conduct of the primitive Babis and their leaders, and _their\nattitude towards the taking of life_,[534] has a bearing on the question\nof the conduct of the Bahais, for up to the time of the residence at\nAdrianople they were identical. The history of the Babis is a bloody\none. The \"first bloodshed which took place in Persia (in connection with\nthe Babi movement) was the murder of a Shiah Mujtihid by one or more\nBabis.\" It was a \"religious assassination.\" The circumstances were as\nfollows,[535] When the Bab, as captive, passed through Kasvin, _en\nroute_ for Maku, he wrote a letter asking succour from Haji Mohammed\nTaki, an orthodox Mujtihid, who was the father-in-law of the celebrated\nKurrat-ul-Ayn. \"The Haji tore the letter into fragments, and made some\nunseemly remarks.\" When this was reported to the Bab, he said, \"Was\nthere no one to smite him on the mouth?\" The Bahai historian (1880)\ncontinues, \"Wherefore the Lord brought it to pass that he was smitten in\nthe mouth with a spear head that he might no more speak insolently.\"\nShortly afterwards a certain Babi,[536] named Salih, hearing the\nMujtihid curse and revile Sheikh Ahmad, the teacher of the Bab, entered\nthe mosque and slew him at the pulpit. The Bahai historian continues,\n\"This was the consequence of the Haji's conduct to the Bab, and\nagreeable to the tradition of the Imams, 'whosoever curseth us ... is\nan infidel,' and so he deemed it incumbent on himself to slay him.\"\n\nA variation of this story is found in a work by an American Bahai, Mary\nH. Ford, called \"The Oriental Rose.\"[537] She narrates that\nKurrat-ul-Ayn heard the Mujtihid cursing the Bab, and gazing upon him\nshe exclaimed, \"How unfortunate you are! For I see your mouth filled\nwith blood!\" \"The following morning, as he was crossing the threshold of\nthe mosque, he was struck upon the mouth by the lance of a hidden\nassailant. The attack was followed up by five or six other assassins,\nwho beat the life out of his mangled body.\" \"The strange insight of\nKurrat-ul-Ayn had foreseen it.\" \"The assassination removed a serious\nobstacle from her pathway.\"\n\nFrom these narratives, both from the pens of \"Friends,\" it is evident\nthat the Bab and Kurrat-ul-Ayn each spoke words which were direct\ninstigations and incitements to their fanatical followers to commit\nmurder. The chief murderer fled and \"joined himself to the people of\nGod\" at Sheikh Tabarsi. Disregarding his crime, they welcomed him to\ntheir ranks as a \"follower of God, and he attained to martyrdom.\"[538]\n\nWe can admire the courage and devotion of the Babis, but certainly their\nhatred and fanaticism carry them on to retaliation and revenge which are\nfar from pure religion. Witness their deeds! Farrukh Khan, a prisoner of\nwar, was first skinned alive and then roasted,[539] and twenty-two\nprisoners of war were put to death at the same time, at Zanjan. At\nSheikh Tabarsi, by order of Janab-i-Kuddus, His Excellency the Holy, the\nenemies slain in battle were decapitated and their heads set on posts\naround the ramparts.[540]\n\nThe attempt to assassinate Nasr-i-Din Shah (1852) shows also the\nmurderous spirit of the Babis. From seven to twelve[541] Babis were\nengaged in the plot, and four of them started out to take part in the\nassault. It was not, as is commonly represented by Bahais, the act of an\nunbalanced, weak-minded individual, but the revengeful plot of a number.\nThe spirit of vengeance was very strong within them. Of this we have a\nwitness from a very unexpected quarter, namely, the celebrated Bahai\napologist, Mirza Abul Fazl. He writes,[542] \"Numerous historical and\ntangible evidences can be furnished to prove that it was the pen of Baha\nUllah which protected from death his own enemies, such as Subh-i-Azal,\nNasr-i-Din Shah and certain great doctors and divines. Otherwise the\nBabis _would not have allowed a single one of these people to have\nescaped alive_.\" He certainly must include Bahais, for the Babis would\nnot have desired to kill Subh-i-Azal. But the assertion of M. Abul Fazl,\nthat Baha was as the \"Prince of Peace\" among a lot of untrained, untamed\ndisciples, will not stand investigation. For Baha's history shows the\ncontrary.\n\n6. _Baha also commends suicide for his sake._ It is narrated by Abdul\nBaha[543] that rather than be separated in exile from Baha, \"Haji Jafar\nwas moved to lamentation, and with his own hand cut his throat.\" Baha,\nin the Lawh-i-Raiz, alluded to this event, saying, \"One from amongst the\nFriends sacrificed himself for myself and _cut his throat with his own\nhand for the love of God_. This is such that we have not heard from\nformer ages. This is that which God hath set apart for this\ndispensation.\" Another disciple attempted suicide about the same\ntime.[544] This \"old and faithful follower seized a knife and\nexclaiming, 'If I must be separated from my Lord, I will go and join my\nGod,' cut his throat. With the aid of a physician, his life was saved.\nAgain when the ship bearing the exiles reached Haifa, Abdul Ghaffar,\nfinding himself to be separated from his Lord, determined to sacrifice\nhis life, and threw himself into the sea from the steamer, exclaiming,\n'O Baha! O Baha!'\" The sailors rescued him.[545] This tendency to\nsuicide reveals an astonishing degree of fanaticism among the Bahais.\nBut suicide is so rare among the Persian Shiahs that these reports\narouse suspicion and call for further investigation. I was informed of\none person whom the Bahais at Acca reported as a suicide, but who in\nreality had been murdered by them. Of another, named Haji Mirza Riza,\nwho would have written a history favourable to Azal, the latter wrote to\nProfessor Browne that \"they (the Bahais) sought to slay him, and at\nlength gave out that, on the first night of his imprisonment, he had\nbound a cord about his throat and destroyed himself and so became a\nmartyr.\"[546] The celebrated Nabil, Bahai poet and historian, is\nreported to have committed suicide by throwing himself into the sea,\nshortly after the death of Baha Ullah. \"He could stay on earth no\nlonger--he loved and yearned so for Baha Ullah.\"[547] As this same Nabil\nhad himself claimed to be the Manifestation,[548] it was very convenient\nthat he should make away with himself at that time, instead of renewing\nhis pretensions.\n\nThese instances of suicide are cited as proofs of the truth of the\nreligion by M. Mohammed Husain Shirazi, who says,[549] \"More faithful\nand devoted (than the early Christians), some martyrs of our day have\nkilled themselves with their own hands out of devotion to their Lord\nBaha.\" Again Baha sent Badi, the messenger, to the Shah, with the\n\"Epistle\" from Acca, assuring him beforehand that he was going to\ndeath.[550] The letter could easily have been sent through one of the\nforeign consulates without sacrifice of life.\n\nDoctor Jessup says:[551] \"They teach unscrupulous persecution of those\nobnoxious to them. I had a friend, a learned Mohammedan of Bagdad,\ncalled Ibrahim Effendi, of scholarly bearing, refined and courteous--a\nbrother of the wife of Abbas Effendi. His father, a wealthy man, died\nwhen he was young and his uncle determined to bring him up as a Babite\n(Bahai). But the boy refused to accept it. His uncle then robbed him of\nhis property,\" and threatened him. He fled and came to Beirut. He\nprofessed Christianity and was baptized at Alexandria, Egypt. While at\nBeirut, \"he went down to Acca to visit. One night he found that his life\nwas in great danger if he stayed through the night and he escaped to\nBeirut in great terror.\"[552]\n\n7. _Psychological attestation of the accusation_ against the Bahais, of\nassassination, is seen in their doctrine of the power and prerogative of\nthe \"Manifestation,\" and the inference made by the Bahais from that\ndoctrine. This is set forth in the Tablet of Ishrakat,[553] \"Verily He\n(Baha) hath come from the Heaven of the Unseen, and with Him the\nstandard of 'He doeth whatsoever He willeth,' and the hosts of power and\nauthority. As to all else save Him: It is incumbent upon them to cling\nunto that which he hath commanded.\" \"Woe unto those who denied and\nturned away from Him.\" \"The Most Great Infallibility\" is applied only\nto one (the Manifestation), whose station is sanctified above commands\nor prohibitions. He is proof against error. Verily if he declares heaven\nto be earth, right to be left, or south to be north, it is true, and\nthere is no doubt of it.\" \"No one has a right to oppose him, or to say,\n'Why or wherefore'; and he who disputes Him is verily of the opposers.\"\n\"He doeth whatsoever he willeth, and commandeth whatsoever he desireth.\"\n\nIn like manner Abdul Baha states the authority of the\nManifestation,[554] \"He is not under the shadow of the former laws.\nWhatever he performs is an upright action. No believer has any right to\ncriticize.\" \"If some people do not understand the hidden secret of one\nof his commands or actions, they ought not to oppose it.\"\n\nThese principles are boldly interpreted and applied by the Bahais to the\nsubject under discussion. Sayid Kamil, a Bahai of Shiraz, said to\nProfessor Browne[555] with a look of supreme surprise, \"You surely\ncannot pretend to deny that a prophet, who is an incarnation of the\nUniversal Intelligence, has a right to inflict death, openly or\n_secretly_, on those who stubbornly opposed him. A prophet is no more to\nbe blamed for removing an obdurate opponent that a surgeon for an\namputation of a gangrenous limb.\" This opinion prevailed among the\nBahais. At Yezd they said,[556] \"A divine messenger has as much right to\nkill and compel as a surgeon to amputate.\" The Bahai missionaries\nmaintained[557] that, \"A prophet has a right to slay if he knows it\nnecessary; if he sees that the slaughter of a few will prevent many from\ngoing astray, he is justified in commanding such slaughter. No one can\nquestion his right to destroy the bodies of a few that the souls of many\nmay live.\" A Bahai acquaintance of Doctor Frame, of Resht, told him[558]\n\"without any appearance of shame, that he paid so much to have a\npersecutor removed.\"\n\n8. In connection with all the above facts, it must be kept in mind that\n\"_religious assassination has been freely practiced since the beginning\nof Islam_, and that the prophet Mohammed gave it the sanction of his\nexample on numerous occasions.\" Professor Browne,[559] who thus\nemphasizes this fact, and gives instances from the Moslem biographies of\nMohammed, points out its bearing on our judgment regarding the\nassassinations alleged against the Bahais, and concludes, \"In Asia a\ndifferent standard of morality prevails in this matter.\" Certain facts\nregarding the Imams revealed in the dark annals of Islam show what\nhistorical precedents the Babis and Bahais had back of them. Consider\nthe deaths of the twelve Imams. Ali was[560] assassinated with a dagger,\nHusain killed after battle, nine other Imams were _poisoned_, and the\nlast one mysteriously disappeared.\n\nTo sum up. Our investigation has led to the conclusion that the Bahais\nwere guilty of these assassinations as charged. The evidence is both\ndirect and circumstantial, with names and places. Some of the witnesses\nare still living. Some have given their testimony in writing, some in\nconversation with Europeans, who have reported it accurately to the\nworld. The environment in which they lived, and the historical and\ntheological traditions on which they fed, strengthen the direct proofs.\n\nThe answer to these charges by Mirza Abul Fazl in his \"Brilliant\nProof\"[561] is, that we should hear both sides, and that it is not right\nto accept the witness of enemies against the Bahais, which is as that of\nProtestants against the Catholics and _vice-versa_. Our reply is, that\nboth sides have been heard, and examined, and that some of the most\ndamaging testimony is from Bahais themselves. It should be noted that\nthe testimony is altogether from the followers of the Bab, of various\nkinds and not from Moslem writers. Mr. Phelps, like many Bahai writers,\nwould ignore the charges. He says,[562] \"I do not think that it would be\ntime well employed to advert to them in detail.\" He pronounces them\n\"incredible\" and \"flatly in contradiction to the spirit, lives and\nteachings of Baha Ullah and his successor,\" and destined \"quickly to\nfade away and be forgotten, if left to themselves.\" No indeed! Lovers of\ntruth will not overlook and forget such a record. They will judge Bahais\nby their deeds, not by their professions.\n\nThe conclusions of Professor Browne, who was undoubtedly a\nfavourably-inclined judge, who investigated impartially and heard the\ntestimony on both sides, has the greatest weight in determining the\njudgment of the world.[563] In the \"Traveller's Narrative,\" his first\nvolume on Babism and Bahaism, he states that it is only with great\nreluctance and solely in the interest of truth, that he sets down these\ngrave accusations against the Bahais, and adds,[564] \"If they are true,\nof what use are the noblest and most humane utterances, if they are\nassociated with such deeds? If they are false, further investigation\nwill, without doubt, conclusively prove their falsity.\" In the \"New\nHistory,\" which was published two years later, after further\ninvestigation and calm deliberation, he wrote,[565] \"At first not a few\nprominent Babis,[566] including even several 'Letters of the Living'\nand personal friends of the Bab, adhered faithfully to Subh-i-Azal. One\nby one these disappeared, most of them as, I fear, _cannot be doubted,\nby foul play on the part of too zealous Bahais_.\"\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[494] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 12.\n\n[495] \"The Modern Social Religion,\" p. 167.\n\n[496] Phelps, pp. 19-20.\n\n[497] Pages 178-181.\n\n[498] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 356-358.\n\n[499] \"Bahai Proofs,\" p. 51.\n\n[500] Manuscript \"Life of Beha Ullah,\" p. 20.\n\n[501] Professor Browne, afterwards in Persia, found the attitude of the\nBahais towards the Azalis \"unjust and intolerant\" and reprimanded them\nfor \"their violence and unfairness.\" They cursed and reviled in the\npresence of Professor Browne (\"A Year Among the Persians,\" pp. 525-530).\n\n[502] \"New Hist.,\" p. 200, Note 4.\n\n[503] _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1892, p. 296, by Professor Browne. Also\n\"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 359.\n\n[504] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 369.\n\n[505] Phelps, \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" pp. 40-44.\n\n[506] \"Brilliant Proof,\" p. 11.\n\n[507] Chicago Edition, pp. 20-23; and \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 368, 369.\n\n[508] Phelps, _Ibid._, p. 40.\n\n[509] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 359.\n\n[510] Phelps, p. 39.\n\n[511] Phelps, p. 38.\n\n[512] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p, 361.\n\n[513] _Ibid._, p. 362.\n\n[514] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 361.\n\n[515] _Ibid._, p. 361.\n\n[516] _Ibid._, p. 371.\n\n[517] \"A Year Among the Persians,\" pp. 513-517.\n\n[518] Possibly he counts those who afterwards left their allegiance to\nBaha.\n\n[519] \"Haifa, etc.,\" p. 107; \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 370.\n\n[520] Phelps, p. 75.\n\n[521] _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1889, p. 519; \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 94, 370.\n\n[522] \"Brigham Young,\" by Cannon, p. 271. \"Brigham failed to punish or\neven condemn those criminals who served him too well.\"\n\n[523] Manuscript, pp. 41-48.\n\n[524] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 362.\n\n[525] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 359; _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1889, p. 519;\n1892, pp. 995-996.\n\n[526] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 363.\n\n[527] _Ibid._, p. 332. Also \"New Hist.,\" p. 391.\n\n[528] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 363.\n\n[529] _Ibid._, pp. 357, 365.\n\n[530] \"Religions et Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale,\" pp. 277-278.\n\n[531] _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, 1889, p. 996.\n\n[532] Page xxiii.\n\n[533] \"A Year Among the Persians,\" p. 530.\n\n[534] The Bab asked his fellow prisoner to kill him (\"Mirza Jani,\" p.\nxlvii.).\n\n[535] \"New Hist.,\" pp. 274, 275; \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 198, 199, 311.\n\n[536] The \"Kasas-ul-Ulema,\" the Shiah history, says, \"Certain Babis,\nstung by his words, fell upon him early one morning as he was praying in\nthe mosque, and with knives and daggers inflicted on him eight wounds\nfrom which he died two days later\" (\"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 198).\n\n[537] Pages 61, 62.\n\n[538] \"New Hist.,\" pp. 82, 278.\n\n[539] \"New Hist.,\" p. 115 and note, p. 411.\n\n[540] _Ibid._, p. 73; \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 178.\n\n[541] _Ibid._, p. 323.\n\n[542] \"The Brilliant Proof,\" p. 11.\n\n[543] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 100-101.\n\n[544] Phelps, p. 50.\n\n[545] Manuscript Life, p. 36.\n\n[546] Compare \"History by Mirza Jani,\" p. xvi.\n\n[547] \"Notes taken at Acca,\" by Mrs. C. True, p. 27.\n\n[548] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 357-358.\n\n[549] \"Facts for Behaists,\" p. 42.\n\n[550] \"Oriental Rose,\" p. 186.\n\n[551] \"Fifty-three Years in Syria,\" pp. 637, 605.\n\n[552] Doctor Kheiralla believes that assassination is to be feared at\nthe present time. He told me that a prominent follower of M. Mohammed\nAli had been poisoned at Jiddah. Doctor Pease said to me, \"Until now\nDoctor Kheiralla is afraid of assassination. A Bahai told me, 'We want\nonly one thing from Kheiralla, _i. e._, the translation of the\n\"Kitab-ul-Akdas,\" then we will get rid of him.'\" When Hasan Khorasani\ncame to Chicago, Kheiralla was warned from Syria to beware of him and he\nput himself under special police protection.\n\n[553] Chicago Edition, 1908, pp. 11-14.\n\n[554] \"Answered Questions,\" by Barney, pp. 199-201.\n\n[555] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 372; \"A Year in Persia,\" p. 328.\n\n[556] _Ibid._, p. 406.\n\n[557] \"A Year in Persia,\" p. 306.\n\n[558] _Moslem World_, 1912, p. 237.\n\n[559] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" pp. 371-373.\n\n[560] _Ibid._, p. 296.\n\n[561] A Reply to Rev. P. Z. Easton's article in the _Evangelical\nChristendom_.\n\n[562] \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" p. 43.\n\n[563] Mr. A. J. Stenstrand, of Chicago, was convinced by the facts. He\nwrote, \"When I studied the Babi history and read about the terrible\ncruelty and assassinations which the followers of Beha perpetrated upon\nSubh-i-Azal's supporters which made no resistance, this broke the\nbackbone of my Behai faith.\" In conversation he told me that Doctor\nKheiralla had informed the Chicago assembly that the account of the\nassassinations as narrated by Professor Browne was true and that the\nManifestation had a right to slay them.\"\n\n[564] Page 364.\n\n[565] \"New Hist.,\" p. xxiii.\n\n[566] One of these was the author of \"Hasht Behesht.\" If the Bahais had\nthe longer dagger, the Azalis did not lack the bitter pen. Professor\nBrowne translates from this work as follows, \"The misleadings of black\ndarkness brought me into the city of blood (Acca). I met Abbas Effendi,\nthe whisperer of evil thoughts, one of the manifestations of infidelity.\nAfterwards I saw the rest of the Wicked One's followers. Their words and\narguments consist of a farrago of names, baseless stories, calumnies,\nfalsehoods and lies, and not one of them had any knowledge of the first\nprinciples of the religion of the 'Bayan.' They are all devoid of\nknowledge, ignorant, short-sighted, of common capacity, hoodwinked,\npeople of darkness, spurned of nature, hypocrites, corrupters of texts,\nblind imitators. God hath taken away from them His light and hath left\nthem in the darkness of the Wicked One and hath destroyed them in the\nabysses of vain imaginings.\" He was admitted to audience with Baha and\nnarrates, \"When I came there and looked upon the Arch-Idol, that\nGreatest Talisman, that personified Revolt, that rebellious Lucifer, the\nenvious Iblis, I saw a form upon the throne and heard the lowing of the\nCalf (Baha--Golden Calf). Then did I see how the light of the Most Great\nName shone on Ahriman the accursed, and how the fingers of the demon\nwore the ring. (Alluding to the theft of Solomon's ring by the demon.)\nFor they had written the name Baha-ul-Abha on divers writings and called\nit 'the Most Great Name.' Thereat there came to my mind the verse of\nHafiz:\n\n    Efficient is the name divine: be of good cheer, O heart!\n    The div becomes not Solomon by guile and cunning art.\"\n\n\n\n\nXI\n\nThe Quarrel over the Succession\n\n  The confusion, the reaction, and the spiritual division usually\n  attendant upon a prophet's death were in this case happily averted\n  (!?).--_Holley, a Bahai, \"The Modern Social Religion,\" p. 169._\n\n  The last schism and the bitterness to which it gave rise lead me to\n  inquire, where is the compelling and constraining power which they\n  regard as the essential and incontrovertible sign of the divine word\n  as in the text, \"Associate with all religions with spirituality and\n  fragrance,\" when they can show such bitter animosity against those of\n  their own household.--_Professor Browne._\n\n  Whosoever claimeth a mission before the completion of a full thousand\n  years from this manifestation is a lying impostor; whosoever\n  interpreteth or explaineth this text different from what is obviously\n  revealed, is bereft of the Spirit of God and His\n  mercy.--\"_Kitab-ul-Akdas._\"\n\n\nThe claims of Bahais in regard to the conduct of Abdul Baha must be\nfurther considered. Mr. Phelps describes him as a man \"who proves that\nself can be utterly forgotten: that all-embracing love can be\nsubstituted for egotism: the recorded love of Buddha and Christ may\nindeed be realized.\" M. Asad Ullah writes: \"He sees the Moslem, the\nChristian and the Bahai, all with one eye,--he is equally kind to all.\"\nMr. Sprague affirms: \"Abdul Baha manifests universal love in every word\nand act.\" Mr. Chase says: \"Bahaism does bring men into loving unity with\neach other.\" Abdul Baha said in his address at Denver, Col., \"All other\nnations ... inquire as to the character of this love. What love exists\namong the Bahais! What unity obtains among these Bahais! What agreement\nthere is among these Bahais! All envy it.\"[567] Again let the light of\nhistory shine forth and these claims be justified or refuted by the\nfacts.\n\nBaha Ullah died at Acca in May, 1892, in his seventy-fifth year. The\ndeath of the father was the signal for a bitter quarrel among his sons.\nThe occasion was the succession to the leadership. The cause, no doubt,\nlay partly in that jealousy which results from a polygamous household.\nThis polygamy was the occasion of misfortune even at the time, for the\nPersian consul at Bagdad, named Mirza Buzurk Khan Kasvini, had desired\nto wed one of the women and vented his disappointment on the Bahai\ncommunity by making accusation against them before the Persian and\nTurkish Governments.[568]\n\nBaha Ullah had twelve children. The four sons who grew to manhood\nreceived \"great swelling\" titles. Abbas was entitled \"The Greatest\n(Azam) Branch of God\" and regarded as the \"return\" of Jesus; Mohammed\nAli, \"The Mightiest (Akbar) Branch of God\" and the \"return\" of Mohammed;\nZiah Ullah, \"The Purest Branch and as Abraham\" (died 1898); Badi Ullah,\n\"The Most Luminous Branch and as Moses.\"\n\nAbbas Effendi was the son of Aseyeh. The other three were sons of Ayesha\nor Madh Ulya. Abbas Effendi claimed the succession, basing his right and\ntitle on the Will of Baha, called the Kitab-il-Ahd and on previous\ndeclarations. His right was disputed by the other brothers. I have a\nmanuscript by a lifelong Bahai which gives the following account: \"Nine\ndays after the 'ascension' of Baha, Abbas Effendi desired nine of the\nchief men to come to the house of Mohammed Ali Effendi. He opened the\nwill. It was in Baha's own handwriting and two pages long. The nine men\nsaw it. On the second page, over a part of the writing, Abbas had put a\nblue paper that it might not be read, and he refused to have it read. On\nthe same day, the whole congregation (men) gathered to the palace of\nBaha. Mirza Majd-i-Din (Abbas' sister's son) rose and read the will up\nto the blue paper. Later the women were called to the Kasr Bahja and the\nwill was again read, but the concealed portion was not made known. It\nwas evident that it was for his own selfish purposes that Abbas\nconcealed it, because the future authority did not pertain to him. From\nPersia and India many wrote, saying: 'Show the last portion; it is the\nwriting of His Holiness.' He refused. To this day it is concealed.\"\n\nAbbas assumed authority as the Supreme Ruler of the new dispensation,\nthe Centre of the Covenant, and the Infallible Interpreter of its\nteachings. His claim is clearly set forth in a Tablet[569] wherein,\nspeaking in the third person, he declares: \"All Bahais must obey the\nCentre of the Covenant and must not _deviate one hair's breadth_ from\nobedience to Him.\" \"He should be looked upon as authority by all.\"\n\"Obedience and submission must be shown Him and the face turned to Him\ncompletely.\" He was given such titles as[570] \"His Holiness the Master,\"\n\"Our Lord,\" \"The Centre of the Cause of God,\" \"Dawning Place of the\nDivine Light,\" \"Dayspring of the Light of the Covenant.\" Indeed his\nfirst Apostles to Persia bore the message, \"I am the Manifestation of\nGod. My paps are full of the milk of Godhead. Whosoever will, let him\ncome and suck freely.\"\n\nHis claims to headship were strenuously opposed by his brothers and some\nof the nearest disciples. A bitter quarrel began as a consequence and\nhas raged to the present time. Letters were sent by each party to the\nPersian Bahais, involving them in the quarrel. Mohammed Ali composed a\nbook, called the \"Ityan-i-Dallil,\" presenting proofs of the invalidity\nof Abbas' claims, from the writings of Baha. They charge[571] Abbas with\nconcealing and annulling Baha's will, perverting his teachings, changing\nthe writings of Baha, publishing expurgated and interpolated editions of\nthem, and attempting to suppress the authorized Bombay editions.\nSpecifically they accuse him of publishing a Lawh-i-Beirut, a Tablet in\nwhich Abbas is greatly exalted, and attributing it to Baha, though it is\nspurious; that he has inserted verses into letters written in the hand\nof Baha's amanuensis and published them as genuine; has omitted verses\nfrom the \"Tablet of Command\"; made up the \"Treasure Tablet\" from parts\nof several others; appropriated to himself Tablets pertaining to Mirza\nMohammed Ali; and commanded to destroy all Tablets of Baha which have\nnot his (Abbas') seal upon them.[572]\n\nPer contra the party of Abbas accused his brothers of intemperance and\nprofligacy[573] and of heresy, covenant-breaking and fraud. Mr. Hadad\nreported M. Mohammed Ali and Badi Ullah as \"being profligate and\nwanton, frequenting wine shops and being spendthrifts.\" Mr. Getsinger\nsaid he had seen Badi Ullah in the street intoxicated and being helped\nhome by two servants, that he and his brother had taken and pawned the\neffects of Baha, rugs, hand-bags, etc., and a pearl rosary belonging to\nBaha which was valued at $10,000 (!) and had squandered the money.\"\nAbbas said to Mrs. Grundy,[574] \"Mohammed Ali has appropriated many\npapers and tablets written by the Blessed Perfection (Baha). It is\npossible for these writings to be altered, as the meanings in Persian\nare greatly changed by a single dot here and there. Before His\nAscension, the Blessed Perfection said to me, 'I have given you all the\npapers.' He put them in two satchels and sent them to me. After His\nAscension, Mohammed Ali said, 'You had better give me the two satchels\nto take care of.' He took them away and never returned them.\" He said\nthat Mohammed Ali deceives, \"for the Will was also written by Mohammed\nAli's own hand from dictation of the Blessed Perfection. By violating\nthe Covenant (Will) he has become a _fallen_ branch. All the beautiful\nblossoms upon the Tree of Life were destroyed by Mohammed Ali.\"\n\nAbbas proceeded to the use of boycott and anathema. He[575] ordered that\nno one of the Acca community should send any letters anywhere without\nfirst showing them to him, and commanded the Bahais in Persia not to\nreceive any letters that were not sealed by him, but to send them back\nto him, and that in writing to Acca they should send their letters open.\nThese restrictions on freedom gave great offense. Abbas also prohibited\nhis followers from associating with his brothers and their followers,\nstrictly ordering them \"not to sit, meet, speak or correspond with them,\nnot even to trade or associate with them in any profession.\"[576] Khadim\nreports that \"once in his own house, Abbas rose up and furiously\nattacked\" his stepmother, who, in return, reviled him and fled from the\nhouse, wailing. \"At the sacred tomb he used cruelly to treat the\nbrothers and sisters.\"[577] \"On one occasion he repeatedly struck his\nyoungest (half) sister in the presence of her little ones and many\nbelievers,\" scolding her \"with a loud voice, uttering many harsh\nwords.\"[578] On another occasion he \"insulted and beat Khadim (Mirza Aga\nJan, Baha's amanuensis) at the sacred place\" and afterwards \"ordered his\nfollowers to imprison and cruelly beat him, which they did.\"[579] He\nsent adrift Abdul Gaffar Ispahani, called Abdullah, one of the first\nbelievers on Baha, in such destitute condition that he died of hunger\nand was buried in a potter's field at Damascus.[580]\n\n\"Alas! Alas!\" exclaims Mirza Aga Jan, \"Abbas Effendi has caused his\nfollowers to display such vehemence of hatred and rancour, the like of\nwhich has never been shown by barbarous nations, and even by the most\nignorant tribes.\"[581] Of Abbas, Mrs. Templeton[582] writes: \"His pride,\nalas, is great.... He seems to be blinded.... With regard to business\nmatters Abbas Effendi has not been just to his brothers, who have\nsuffered a good deal in consequence.\"[583]\n\nAbbas Effendi cut off the living of his stepmothers, brothers and their\ndependents. Baha Ullah and his household had a stipend from the Turkish\nGovernment, as Azal and the Babis in Cyprus had, and it was not an\nungenerous allowance.[584]\n\n\"The family had an income from the Government, as well as a revenue from\nthree villages.\"[585] \"These funds Abbas Effendi appropriated and with\nthese made his charitable gifts (?) leaving the forty dependents of the\nyounger brothers to live as best they could.\"[586] This excluding the\nprotesters from their share of the income and offerings embittered the\nstrife, at the same time weakening their ability to propagate their\ncontention. Bitterness and enmity increased; recriminations and\naccusations inflamed the passions of both sides.\n\nMirza Abul Fazl, the philosopher of the movement, gives, as a partisan\nof Abbas Effendi, an account of these times in his \"Bahai Proofs.\"[587]\nHe describes the \"ruinous discords and divisions,\" \"the world-consuming\nflame of jealousy and hatred of the people of error,\" \"the hard hearts\nof the men of hostility,\" \"the animosity and groundless pride,\" \"the\nsenseless hatred, degradation and shame of the violators of the\ncovenant.\" He gives the opprobrious title of _Nakhazeen_ to Mohammed\nAli's party. He continues, \"The evil intrigues, calumnies, false\npamphlets and accusations, evil tongues and cursings of the Nakhazeen\ndivided the community and filled it with foul odours.\" Several outside\nparties tried to act as mediators and bring about a reconciliation.\nAmong these were the British Consul at Haifa and Mrs. Templeton. The\nyounger brothers agreed to the terms. Abbas Effendi was formally\nrequested to show the Will before impartial witnesses and all were to\nabide by its word. \"This he resolutely refused to do and he must stand\ncondemned for this before all impartial men.\"[588] After the failure of\nthese efforts at reconciliation, the anger and bitterness waxed hotter.\nTo quote Abul Fazl again: \"The Nakhazeen cursed and insulted the\nvisitors to the tomb of the Blessed Perfection,\" so that there was\ndanger of its desecration. \"Consequently Abbas Effendi asked the local\n(Turkish) Government to supply a guard to accompany and protect\" his\nparty. Abbas also went to Tiberias and made complaint to the Government\nthere.[589] As a result of all these conditions, \"The people of\nhostility and violation,\" says Abul Fazl, \"availed themselves of\npolitical machinations,\" in other words, Mohammed Ali's party, \"those\ndwellers in hellfire,\"[590] appealed to the \"fanatical men of those\nlands,\" _i.e._, those same Turkish Authorities. Mohammed Ali formally\ncomplained to the Governor of Damascus, Nazim Pasha, sending Mirza\nMajd-ud-Din as his special messenger.[591] They accused Abbas of\nretaining their stipends, of confiscating their patrimony, including the\nfather's gold watch which had been donated to Mohammed Ali. Above all,\naccording to the interesting narrative of Abbas' sister, Bahiah\nKhanum,[592] they made accusation that the shrine which was being\nerected on Mount Carmel \"was intended as a fort, in which Abbas and his\nfollowers would intrench themselves, defy the Government, and endeavour\nto gain possession of this part of Syria.\" To use the words of Abbas,\nthey said that \"he had hoisted the banner of independence; upon that he\nhad inscribed 'Ya Baha-ul Abha': that he had summoned all to assemble\nthat he might found a new monarchy.\" Therefore \"an inquisitorial body (a\nCommission) was appointed by the Government. To them the copartners of\nmy brothers confirmed them (the reports) and added to them.\"[593] After\nthe report of the Commission and in consequence of these charges and\ncounter-charges of the \"Greatest Branch of God\" and the \"Mightiest\nBranch of God,\" a telegram was received from the Sultan to the Governor\n\"issuing a firman, decreeing the original order, by which Baha's family\nwere confined within the walls of Acca.\" After _nine_ years of\nquarrelling (_nine_ being the sacred number of Bahais) this order was\nput in force, 1901 A.D. They were still confined to Acca in 1906 when I\nvisited Haifa. I saw the shrine and the fine residence of Baha at Haifa,\njust beside the English Mission. It deserves to be emphasized that the\n_cause of the Bahai leaders being restricted to Acca_ was not religious\npersecution by Moslems but _their own quarrellings_.\n\nSo completely had the suspicions of Abdul Hamid's government been\naroused by their accusations against each other that the death sentence\nwas feared. Pilgrimages were stopped and terror rested on the\nfollowers.[594] Abdul Baha wrote to his American disciples of these\nconditions in the following hyperbolic words: \"Verily, by God, I would\nnot change this prison for the throne nor for all the gardens of the\nearth. Verily I hope to be suspended in the air, and that my breast may\nbecome the target to be pierced by thousands of bullets: or that I may\nbe cast into the bottomless seas or thrown into the wilderness.... If I\ncould taste the cup of the great martyrdom, my greatest desire would be\nfulfilled. This is my utmost aim, the animation of my spirit, the\nhealing of my bosom, the sight of my eyes.\" But when the establishment\nof the Constitution in Turkey gave him freedom, he was quick to take\nadvantage of it. He went to Egypt and took up his residence there.[595]\n\nThe history I have narrated above refutes these various pretensions of\nBahaism, its claims, its \"great swelling words\" more forcibly than logic\nor the judgments and opinions of myself and others. The conduct of Abdul\nBaha and his followers towards the brothers and their followers, as well\nas that of Bahais to the Azalis, contradicts their fine professions of\ntoleration and love to all religions and all men. Well may we exclaim\nwith Professor Browne: \"Where is the restraining power, when they can\nshow such _bitter animosity_ against those of their own household!\" The\nnumbers of Bahais living at Acca then was about ninety,[596] and of them\nthirty[597] or forty[598] were of the opponents of Abbas.\n\nIn Persia, where Bahais number a hundred thousand, a small, but\ninfluential minority rejected the authority of Abbas Effendi. These were\nplaced under the ban, anathematized, and ostracized. For example, one of\nthem, Mirza Jalil of Khoi, was driven out of his house, which was\ndestroyed by Shiahs, instigated by new Bahais. Another adherent of\nMohammed Ali, Mirza Khalil of Tabriz, was completely ostracized,\naccording to command received from Acca. His daughter, who was married\nto a new Bahai, was allowed to visit her parents only once a year,\nthough living in the same city, and when she died they did not give them\nword till six days after the funeral. Another Bahai libelled this man\nto his employers in hope of injuring him.\n\nAnother result in Persia was the permanent estrangement of a\nconsiderable number of Bahais who lapsed into scepticism.\n\nAbbas Effendi, influenced by the opposition, put a veil over his high\nclaims and instructed his followers to speak of him as simply Abdul\nBaha, \"the Servant of Baha,\" which is usually translated by them \"the\nservant of God.\" The protesters replied, \"Rather let the title be\nAbdul-Hawa, 'the servant of air,'\" _i.e._, windy and bombastic. But\nnotwithstanding his disavowals Abdul Baha allows himself to be assigned\na position both inconsistent with his own words and with the teachings\nof Baha. Mr. Phelps, his disciple and biographer, says,[599] \"Abdul\nBaha, styled 'Our Lord,' 'Our Master,' is regarded with a love and a\n_veneration_ second only, _if indeed second_, to that which they bestow\nupon Baha Ullah. He is classed as the third or last of the Divine\nMessengers of the present Dispensation.\" The Bab, Baha and Abbas\nconstitute, as it were, the Bahai trinity. Abdul Baha commended and\napproved for publication an ode written by Thornton Chase in which he is\nglorified with the following epithets among many others.\n\n\"O Thou Enlightener of the Spirits of Men! Thou Heart of the World!\n\n\"Thou Physician of Souls! Thou Prince of Peace!\n\n\"Thou Right Arm of the Almighty! Thou Lord of the Sabbath of Ages!\n\n\"Thou Mystery of God!\"\n\nAnother disciple, Mrs. Grundy,[600] writes, \"Abdul Baha is the Bazaar of\nGod, where everything humanity needs may be found without money and\nwithout price.\" Mr. Remey (a Bahai) writes,[601] \"The Divine Spirit is\nmanifested in Abdul Baha--_the Branch_. He is the unique channel through\nwhich the Power of God is conveyed to each individual believer. He is\nthe intermediary. The spiritual well-being of every Bahai depends on his\nconnection with Abdul Baha.\"\n\nThe outcome of this quarrel in America is told in the following chapter.\nAn interesting sequel is the recantation of Mirza Badi Ullah. Doubtless\nhelped thereto by poverty, he made his submission to Abdul Baha, and\npublished a confession, called \"An Epistle to the Bahai World.\"\nConcerning it Doctor Pease told me that Badi Ullah is not the author of\nthe whole of that which is published in English under his name. The\nEpistle says, I Badi Ullah \"turn my face to the appointed station, Abdul\nBaha--May the life of all existent beings be a sacrifice to Him.\"\nAgainst M. Mohammed Ali, with whom he had associated himself for a\ndecade, he makes accusation of untrustworthiness, of purloining the\npapers and books of Baha and interpolating and falsifying them, of\ncursing and execrating Abdul Baha through jealousy. He turns on his\nformer supporters and says, \"they (the Nakhazeen) have no God save\npassion, no object save personal interest.\"[602] Doctor Jessup\nsays:[603] \"Badi not long ago was threatening to kill Abbas, and\nassassination is an old fashion of Persian fanatics.... He has become\nreconciled but I would not guarantee that his main object is not to gain\nhis share of the money.\" Better had Badi stuck to his former plan when\nhe petitioned the Governor of Damascus and the Sultan to be sent as a\nprisoner to Rhodes. Doubtless then he would have had an independent\npension.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[567] _S. W._, Nov. 4, 1913, p. 230; Phelps, pp. 255, 133.\n\n[568] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 84, note 2.\n\n[569] _S. W._, July 13, 1912.\n\n[570] Abul Fazl's \"Bahai Proofs,\" pp. 109-122.\n\n[571] See \"Facts for Behaists.\"\n\n[572] We can well believe that these accusations are true, in view of\nwhat we know from Professor Browne of the way Abbas Effendi perverted\nfacts of the history of the Bab and Subh-i-Azal, in the \"Traveller's\nNarrative\" of which he was the author (\"New Hist.,\" pp. xiv., xxxi.).\n\n[573] \"Facts for Behaists,\" pp. 8, 9.\n\n[574] \"Ten Days in the Light at Acca,\" p. 63.\n\n[575] Persian Manuscript.\n\n[576] \"Facts, etc.,\" p. 45.\n\n[577] _Ibid._, p. 59.\n\n[578] _Ibid._, p. 60.\n\n[579] _Ibid._, p. 25.\n\n[580] Persian Manuscript.\n\n[581] \"Facts,\" p. 54.\n\n[582] Mrs. Templeton was Mrs. Laurence Oliphant and had resided at Acca\nand in intimate relations with the family of Baha for ten years.\n\n[583] \"Facts,\" pp. 6-7.\n\n[584] \"Trav.'s Narr.,\" p. 378.\n\n[585] Mrs. Templeton's letter to Doctor Pease in \"Facts,\" p. 9.\n\n[586] Mrs. Templeton, p. 9.\n\n[587] Pages 116-118.\n\n[588] Mrs. Templeton.\n\n[589] See \"Facts, etc.,\" Khadim's letter.\n\n[590] Page 136.\n\n[591] \"An Epistle to the Bahai World,\" by M. Badi Ullah, p. 19, and Mr.\nHoward MacNutt's Interview with Badi Ullah, _S. W._, July 13, 1912.\n\n[592] Phelps' \"Life,\" p. 81.\n\n[593] \"Letters to the Friends in Persia,\" pp. 2-3. Comp. \"Tablets of\nAbdul Baha,\" Vol. I, pp. 45-47.\n\n[594] \"Daily Lessons,\" by Goodall, pp. 27-29 and the \"Bahai Movement,\"\npp. 106-108.\n\n[595] \"Tablets,\" Vol. I, pp. 4, 94.\n\n[596] Phelps, p. 109.\n\n[597] Abul Fazl, p. 118.\n\n[598] Mrs. Templeton, \"Facts, etc.,\" p. 9.\n\n[599] Page xxxiv.\n\n[600] \"Ten Days at Acca,\" p. 105.\n\n[601] _Star_, Sept. 8, 1913.\n\n[602] Page 28.\n\n[603] \"Fifty-three Years in Syria,\" p. 687.\n\n\n\n\nXII\n\nBahaism in America\n\n  I speak from the point of view of Persian Bahaism and not from that\n  American fantasy which bears its name.--_Nicolas, \"Beyan Persan,\" Vol.\n  I, p. II._\n\n  Abbas is an elderly and venerable man, very similar to a score of\n  venerable Druse and Moslem Sheikhs I have met.... The Lord deliver\n  them (American Christians) from the delirious blasphemies.... The\n  claim that the Acca Sheikh is God is quite enough to condemn\n  them.--_H. H. Jessup, \"Fifty-three Years in Syria,\" p. 638._\n\n  Pray for my return to America and say: O Baha Ullah! Confirm Him in\n  the servitude of the East; so that He may not spend all his time in\n  the Orient; that He may return to America and occupy His time in the\n  Western world.--_Prayer of Bahais._\n\n  It is doubtless this mystical, allegorical character of Bahaism which\n  attracts a certain type of mind in America, in the main probably, the\n  same type which follows after spiritualism, esoteric Buddhism, Swamis\n  from India, theosophy, and other movements which play around the edges\n  of the occult and magical, and help to dull the edge of present\n  realities with the things which are neither present nor real....\n  Indeed it is probably this soft compliance with anything and the\n  absence of the robustness of definite truth and solid principle which\n  makes Bahaism attractive to many moral softlings in the West.... It\n  will run a brief course and amount to little in America.... The\n  novelty will soon be over and the people who did not have sufficient\n  discernment to discover the truth that will satisfy them in\n  Christianity, will not find it in Baha Ullah or Abbas Effendi.--_R. E.\n  Speer, \"Miss. and Mod. Hist.,\" Vol. I, pp. 143, 162-168._\n\n\nBahaism, as distinguished from Babism, was, to a certain extent,\nintroduced to public notice in America by Christian missionaries, who\nreported about it as a movement likely to break the solidarity of\nShiahism and facilitate the evangelization of Persia. With the same\nthought in mind, Professor Browne's translations of \"The New History\"\nand \"The Traveller's Narrative\" attracted attention. In the Congress of\nReligions, at the Chicago Exposition in 1893, the eminent missionary,\nRev. H. H. Jessup, D. D., described Baha Ullah as \"a famous Persian\nsage,--the Babi saint, named Baha Ullah (the glory of God), the head of\nthat vast reform party of Persian Moslems, who accept the New Testament\nas the word of God and Christ as the deliverer of men; who regard all\nnations as one and all men as brothers.\"[604] Shortly after the\nExposition a Syrian, named Ibrahim G. Kheiralla, began a propaganda in\nfavour of Bahaism. He was of Christian parentage, born in Mount Lebanon,\nand educated in Beirut College. At Cairo, under the tutelage of Mirza\nKarim of Teheran, he accepted the Bahai faith. He was engaged in\nbusiness, to which he joined faith healing and lecturing. He was given a\nfake degree of Doctor of something by a night school in Chicago. This he\nrightly despised, but considered that he was entitled to the degree\nbecause M. Mohammed Ali had addressed him as Doctor! I had several\ninterviews with him. He showed me a trunk full of Bahai manuscripts and\ndocuments, and allowed me to read his translation into English of the\n\"Kitab-ul-Akdas.\" He is a man of strong mind, acute argumentative\nfaculties, fine conversational powers and altogether an interesting\npersonality. He first taught Bahaism in secret lessons, as a religion of\nmysteries, a secret order, a doctrine for truth-seekers only, not for\nthe masses. \"The secret teaching gives us the key to the truth.\"[605]\n\nMr. S. K. Vatralsky was among the private pupils at Kenosha. He did not\nbecome a believer, but learned the esoteric doctrine and published an\ninteresting account of the cult under the title, \"Mohammedan Gnosticism\nin America.\"[606] Of the method used he writes, \"In their secret lessons\nthey allegorize and explain away; in public by means of mental\nreservation and the use of words in a double sense, they appear as they\nwish to appear.\" Doctor Kheiralla published in 1897 a booklet called\n\"Bab-ed-Din, The Door of the True Religion--Revelation from the East.\"\nIt has two parts (1) On the Individuality of God and (2) A Refutation of\nthe Christian doctrine of the atonement. Later (1900), in conjunction\nwith Mr. Howard MacNutt, he published \"Beha Ullah\" in two volumes. It is\nthe theology and apologetics of Bahaism. Its Preface informs us that its\npurpose is to \"demonstrate that the Everlasting Father, the Prince of\nPeace, has appeared in human form and established His kingdom on earth.\"\nThe propaganda met with considerable success in Chicago and its\nvicinity. In 1897 Doctor Kheiralla went to New York City and in a short\ntime \"140 souls\" were persuaded. In this same year two of his pupils\nwere married in his house in Chicago, receiving his blessing. These were\nMr. and Mrs. E. C. Getsinger. They \"taught seekers\" in Ithaca, N. Y.,\nand afterwards in California. There they converted Mrs. H----, a woman\nof great wealth, to the faith. Mr. Vatralsky narrates that Doctor\nKheiralla converted no less than 2,000 Americans during the first two\nyears of his labour. Of these 700 were living in Chicago (Doctor\nKheiralla told me 840), between 250 and 300 in Wisconsin, about 400 in\nNew York, the rest in Boston, etc. In his \"Beha Ullah\" Doctor Kheiralla\nsays, \"Over seven years ago I began to preach the message. Since then\nthousands of people of this country have believed and accepted the glad\ntidings of the appearance of the Lord of Hosts, the Incarnation of\nDeity, and the glorious message is rapidly spreading in the United\nStates.\" Speaking of this period Mr. Vatralsky writes: \"It would not\nhave had its success, had it come flying its own native colours. It has\nsucceeded because, like a counterfeit coin, it has passed for what it is\nnot.\"\n\nA curious incident occurred on May 6, 1906. Mr. August J. Stenstrand was\nexscinded from the \"First Central Church of the Manifestation,\" because\nhe rejected Baha Ullah and accepted Subh-i-Azal. He was led to this step\nby investigating the history as recorded in Professor Browne's\ntranslations. He subsequently published three pamphlets, \"Calls to\nBehaists\" (1907, 1910, 1913) setting forth the claims of Azal. I had\ninteresting interviews with him in 1914.\n\nIn the winter of 1898-99 pilgrimages were organized to visit the shrine\nand leaders at Acca.[607] One party consisted of Mrs. H----, who bore\nthe expenses, Doctor and Mrs. Kheiralla, Mr. and Mrs. Getsinger, Mr.\nHadad and others. The pilgrimage turned out unfortunately. They found\nthe \"holy household\" divided. They saw only Abbas Effendi and one\nsister. They were kept from even a sight of the others. Doctor Kheiralla\nwas bold enough to dispute with Abbas Effendi and he told me that for\nthis reason the latter conceived a grudge against him. Of this Dr. F. O.\nPease writes: \"Doctor Kheiralla had some discussion with Abbas in the\npresence of native guests and teachers at which Abbas took\numbrage.\"[608] The Getsingers accused Kheiralla of immoral conduct and\nAbbas Effendi reported these stories to Mrs. Kheiralla and her\ndaughter, with the result that they repudiated Kheiralla. Certain\nfinancial irregularities of the party further disgusted Mrs. H---- and\nchilled her faith. So animosity and dissension sprang up.\n\nMr. Getsinger, on his return to America, announced that he was to be the\nrepresentative of Abbas Effendi, because Doctor Kheiralla's teachings\nwere erroneous and his conduct immoral. Doctor Kheiralla responded with\ncounter charges against his accuser, of a private and personal nature,\nand declared him qualified for the Ananias club by his accounts of\nhimself in California. The Chicago and Kenosha assemblies were rent\nasunder. In the correspondence, some of which I have in my possession,\nthey hurl at each other such terms as falsehood, lie, malevolence,\ninjustice, maliciousness, deluding, laying traps, etc. Thornton Chase\nwas accused of dishonesty in money matters. Doctor N----, the treasurer\nof the \"Assembly\" in Chicago, was denounced for embezzling its funds.\nMirza Abdul Karim arrived from Acca to quiet matters but he poured oil\non the flames. Kheiralla was first informed that if he would submit and\ncooeperate, \"he would never want anything.\" He writes:[609] \"Abdul Karim\npromised me plenty of money, and when I refused, he denounced me and\nprohibited believers from buying or reading my book.\" He ordered a\nsocial and business boycott against him and his party. Stenstrand\nsays,[610] \"They have ousted, given bad names, and thrown mud at each\nother both in their sermons and in print worse than any Christian or\nheathen religions have done.\" The spirit of Abdul Karim may be seen from\none of his addresses: \"O nakhiz (violator), thou spotted snake, thou\nshalt be seized with a great torture and punishment and thou, O sister\nserpent, who art wagging thy sinuous way and trailing thy deceitful\nslime over another region, know thy fate.\" He declared that he would\ncall to God for vengeance against Kheiralla. Hasan Khorasani, too,\nthreatened him, saying, \"He would be smitten of God in two weeks,\" and\n\"a sword shall cleave the sky and cut his neck.\" He was greatly\nfrightened. Doctor Pease said to him, \"Do not be afraid, you have\nnothing to fear.\" Kheiralla answered him, \"I know these Orientals better\nthan you do. I know what they did to the Azalis.\" Before they came to\nthe next discussion, he had policemen concealed in his house for his\nprotection. The upshot of the whole matter was that protesters\nrepudiated Abbas Effendi, after a conference in Chicago on May 27, 1900,\nfinding \"increasing evidence of falsity and double dealing in him.\"\nIndeed, says Doctor Pease, \"Why should we not inquire whether Abbas is\nnot _a_ son, if not _the_ son of perdition.\" They entered into\ncorrespondence and became one with the party of M. Mohammed Ali. After\nthis the controversy took on a doctrinal aspect and all questions of\nAbbas' supremacy and misconduct were thrashed out between the American\nBehaists and Bahais. This controversy from the side of the Behaists is\ncontained in \"The Three Questions\" and \"Facts for Behaists\" (Chicago,\n1901); from the other side in \"Letters of Abdul Baha Abbas to the\nFriends in Persia\" and \"An Epistle to the Bahai World,\" by M. Badi\nUllah, after his recantation. The details of the schism have been given\nalready. To heal the schism different leaders were sent to America\nsuccessively by Abbas Effendi. Following M. Abdul Karim, came M. Asad\nUllah, 1901. He published, in New York, \"The Sacred Mysteries\" in which\nhe anathematizes the Behaists. He organized a \"House of Justice\" in\nChicago, a step which had been previously taken by the other party. Next\ncame the learned Mirza Abul Fazl, 1901-1902. But their efforts were\nunavailing though each was willing to acknowledge the faults of his\npredecessor. The quarrel gave a great setback to the cause. Doctor Pease\nwrote in 1902:[611] \"About 1,700 have left us because of the dissension\nand false teaching, and because they would not engage in religious\nscandal. The whole number in the country is now 600 or 700. Of these 300\nare Behaists; the others are Abbasites of one sect or another, holding\nbelief that Abbas is Lord and Master.\" Doctor Kheiralla says, \"Many grew\ncold, few remained.\" With this agrees the word of Thornton Chase:[612]\n\"We have seen too many, when the first winds of testing blew, show faith\nof shallow depth.\" Abdul Baha says:[613] \"Chicago, in comparison with\nthe cities of America, was in advance and numerically contained more\nBahais, but when the stench or vile odour of the Nakhazeen was spread\nin that city there was stagnation.\" In Chicago Bahaism never recovered\nfrom these quarrels. In 1914 Mr. F. A. Slack, \"Spiritual Guide of the\nBehaist Assembly of Kenosha,\" wrote to me \"of the bitter invectives and\nfalse accusations and persecutions we are subjected to\" by the followers\nof Abbas Effendi. The Behaists had dwindled to 40, according to their\nown report to the U. S. Census in 1906, while the Bahais reported 1,280\nin U. S. A. of whom 492 were in Illinois, 23 in two Assemblies in New\nYork State, 58 in New Jersey, 52 in Pennsylvania. One of the largest\nAssemblies was in Washington, D. C., with 74 members, white and\ncoloured. These organized local \"spiritual assemblies\" were 27 in 1913,\na very small increase.[614] There are also \"assemblies of teaching\" for\nthe women. There are Annual Conventions with delegates from the\ndifferent groups. These conventions are \"unique and peerless among the\nassemblies of mankind,\" in the mind of their imaginative reporter,\n\"because of the divine favour of Baha Ullah which gathers them\ntogether.... All other meetings in the world are for worldly or selfish\npurposes. These alone are spiritual.\"[615] They also hold a summer\nconference at Eliot, Maine.\n\nThe Bahai propaganda is carried on by means of these assemblies, by\nparlour meetings, by personal intercourse and by letters (tablets) from\nAbdul Baha. Their publicity bureau is most active and supplies many\narticles to magazines and newspapers. They make use of the Chautauquas,\nPeace Congresses, etc., to promulgate their peculiar tenets. Their press\nat Chicago publishes the _Star of the West_, formerly the _Bahai News_.\nIt is issued monthly, that is, every nineteen days, according to the\nBahai calendar. For example, the issue of September 27, 1914, is dated\nMasheyat 1, Year 70. It is printed in English and Persian, the latter\nbeing lithographed. It is confined to Bahai subjects, giving many of\nAbdul Baha's \"revelations.\" Their literature, so far issued, is (1) The\nWorks of Baha Ullah, in six or more books. (2) The Tablets and Addresses\nof Abdul Baha. (3) The Apologetics of Bahai writers, American or\ntranslations from the Persian. (4) Journals of pilgrims to Acca. (5)\nTracts and reports. Of his own Tablets, Abdul Baha says:[616] \"In course\nof time, the light of these Tablets will dawn, the greatness, the\nimportance will be known. The truth I say unto thee, that each leaflet\nwill be a wide-spread book, nay rather a glistening Gem on the Glorious\nCrown. Know then its value and hold great its station.\" These Tablets\nare, for the most part, letters to individuals.\n\nBesides the Bahai Publishing Society, another agency is the\nOrient-Occident Unity,--first organized in 1909 as the Persian American\nEducational Society. It has a commercial side, but its main object is to\npromote Bahaism by assisting or opening schools and hospitals in Persia\nand other Oriental countries. It has started mission work in Teheran,\nTabriz, Meshed and other points in Persia and in Burmah. They seek to\nstrengthen Bahaism in Persia where it is small and weak in comparison\nwith other sects. The work of the American Bahais there is of little\nimportance. \"But the presence of American Bahais in Persia or the value\nof an American newspaper is not their direct influence, but the\nimpression they give that America has largely accepted Bahaism.\"[617] In\nthe United States this Unity poses as philanthropical, not revealing in\nits constitution, circulars and appeals for funds its Bahai connection.\nThis concealment is inexcusable and cannot be too strongly condemned.\nChristians and Jews should not be asked to contribute to any cause under\nfalse pretenses, nor should prominent statesmen, educators and\nphilanthropists be thus led to give their quasi endorsement to the\nSociety.[618]\n\nIn 1912 Abdul Baha Abbas, after a sojourn in France and England, visited\nAmerica, arriving April 12 and departing December 5. America has not\nlacked its own prophetic product, as witness Joseph Smith, Mary Eddy,\nJohn Dowie, Crowdy and Indian medicine men. But Abdul Baha, except for\nHindu Swamis, was the first Asiatic revelator America has received. Its\nhospitality showed up well. The public and press neither stoned the\n\"prophet\" nor caricatured him but looked with kindly eye upon the grave\nold man, in flowing oriental robes and white turban, with waving hoary\nhair and long white beard.[619] His visit was noticed, as has been the\ncase with many distinguished foreigners, but did not create any special\nsensation. His own press agents were active and aggressive, furnishing\nmany articles for newspapers and magazines. The reporters took the\nexaggerated statements of the Bahais without sifting. He performed his\npart fairly well and allowed himself to be interviewed and photographed\nwith the patience of an actress. He posed for the \"movies\" man and spoke\nfor the phonograph records. He sat for an oil painting and approved of\nhis bust in marble.[620]\n\nAbdul Baha's tour comprised a number of the chief cities of the\nnortheast, followed by a rest at Green Acre Conference, Eliot, Maine,\nand then a trip to Canada and California. His meetings and addresses\nwere of two kinds: for the public and for the Bahais. He spoke to the\nchurches, liberal and evangelical,[621] Socialists, Theosophists, etc.;\nto Woman's Clubs, Suffragists, Colleges, Historical Societies, Peace\nSocieties and at the Conference on International Arbitration, at Lake\nMohonk.\n\nAbdul Baha's principle in his public addresses was \"to talk about things\nupon which we agree and say nothing about things upon which we\ndiffer.\"[622] Thus he spoke much of the Fatherhood of God, but failed to\nmention that he regarded Baha Ullah as \"the Manifestation of the\nFather.\" He spoke of brotherly love extensively yet never about the\nviolent quarrels that abound in Bahai annals. He said much of religious\nunity[623] but did not state how the movement had increased the number\nof sects in Persia and in America. He spoke much on \"Universal peace,\"\nthough Babi history, which they boast of, has some of the cruelest and\nbloodiest conflicts of arms recorded in history. He dwelt much on the\nprinciple of arbitration, though he had refused to arbitrate his dispute\nwith Mohammed Ali. Even while he was in America, a grandson of Baha\nUllah, who lives near Chicago, sent a request for an interview to lead\nto a reconciliation. Abdul Baha ignored the request. He discoursed at\nlength on woman's rights and equality, but omitted to inform the public\nthat Baha Ullah had three wives and carefully concealed his women in an\noriental haram. Besides all these, he erroneously attributed to Baha\nUllah the origination of teachings which have been the age-long\npossession of Christendom.\n\nThe meetings with the believers were of a different character. To them\nhis message was: \"Teach Bahaism; work for the cause; spread the faith;\nbuild the Temple.\" With them he celebrated the Unity Feast. This has\nsome of the features of the _agape_ of the ancient Church and some of\nthe Lord's Supper. Often a variety of food is partaken, Persian pilau\nbeing a favourite. When all were seated Abdul passed through the rooms,\nspeaking:[624] \"Abdul Baha is now walking among you commemorating Baha\nUllah. Blessed are ye who are the servants of Baha Ullah. In the utmost\nof love I greet each and all of you. This is like the Lord's Supper.\nMaterial food is prepared for you. The manna from heaven is present for\nyou. May your hearts be exhilarated in the kingdom of Abha. The labours\nof Baha Ullah have not been in vain.\" After the Feast, he raised his\nhands and pronounced his blessing upon them. This is called the 19th day\nUnity Feast and is celebrated at the beginning of every Bahai month.\nWhen Abdul Baha is not present the Tablets are read and praises to Baha,\nas to God, are chanted.\n\nOne incident was the establishment of the Day of Thornton Chase as a\nmemorial anniversary. Chase is the first American Bahai to be canonized.\nAbdul Baha visited his grave at Los Angeles, and ordained a saint's day\nin the Bahai calendar, October 19th. He said:[625] \"This revered\npersonage was the first Bahai believer in America. He served the cause\nfaithfully and his services will be ever remembered throughout ages and\ncycles.\"[626] \"He was of the blessed souls.... He witnessed the light of\nthe kingdom of Abha and wrote proofs and evidences of the\nManifestation.\" Thornton Chase certainly had a surprising faith in Abdul\nBaha.\n\nA special event was the dedication of the grounds of the Bahai Temple,\nthe Mashrak-ul-Azkar (the Dawning-place of Praises). This took place in\nthe midst of the Rizwan Feast, on May 1, 1912, in the presence of the\nBahai Temple Unity composed of delegates from all the \"spiritual\nassemblies\" in America, convened in its fourth annual convention. A site\nof five acres has been purchased in the village of Willmette, a suburb\nof Chicago. Abdul Baha, using a golden trowel, broke ground and others\nof the different races, who were present, used picks and shovels and\nprepared a place into which Abdul Baha put a stone. He said: \"The\nmystery of this building is great. It cannot be unveiled yet, but its\nerection is the most important undertaking of this day. This Temple of\nGod in Chicago will be to the spiritual body of the world what the\ninrush of the spirit is to the physical body of man, quickening it to\nits utmost parts and infusing a new light and power.... Its results and\nfruits are endless.\" Of the structure he said: \"The Mashrak-ul-Azkar\nwill be like a beautiful bouquet. The central lofty edifice will have\nnine sides, surrounded by nine avenues interlacing nine gardens where\nnine fountains will play. There will be nine gateways and columns, with\nnine arches and nine arched windows and nine caissons nine feet in\ndiameter. Nine will also be carried out in the galleries and dome.\nFurther, its meetings are to be held on the ninth of each month.\"[627]\nThus the Bahai sacred number will be exhibited everywhere. \"Behold!\"\nexclaims the Bahai reporter. \"What a priceless piece of ground is this\nsite, dedicated by the hands of the Orb of the Covenant and blessed by\nhis holy feet.\"[628] But in another place Abdul Baha urges them to\nhasten the completion of the building, complaining[629] \"America has not\nbeen working enough for it.\" \"Money comes slowly,\" says the treasurer;\n\"pledges were tremendous--as big as our eyes saw at the time and\nafterwards we could collect[630] only a small proportion.\" After six\nyears of strenuous pleading and effort, they have paid for the ground.\nThe ladies evidently preferred to spend their money in jaunts to Acca,\nwith Paris and Cairo en route, rather than to put up an extravagant\ntemple in Chicago for 200 people who are scattered in that city--a\ntemple in which the believers in New York and Los Angeles may never\nworship. The cause for haste is \"to fulfill a great prophecy, that in\nthe day of the Branch shall the temple of the Lord be built\" (Zech. vi.\n12). And Abdul Baha is already more than seventy. When finished, \"It\nwill have an effect on the whole world.\" \"It will be dedicated to the\nworship of Baha Ullah and his words only are to be read in it.\"[631]\n\nAfter a sojourn of about eight months, Abdul Baha returned to England,\nwhence he telegraphed: \"Thanks to Baha Ullah, I arrived safely.\" As a\nsouvenir of the visit, the American Bahais presented a silver vase to\nthe shrine of Abdul Baha Ullah at Acca, \"the Holy City.\" Of this Mr.\nRemey writes:\n\n\"The Holy Tomb in which this vase is to repose (we ardently hope) for\nhundreds, perhaps thousands of years already contains precious\nofferings, vases and many wonderful things placed there by people from\nall over the world. Among this ever-growing collection at the Threshold\nof the remains of the Earthly Tabernacle of Him who manifested forth to\na dying world the very Fatherhood of the Eternal of Him, who for us is\nthe Sublime King of Kings, must stand this silent token, as a measure of\nthe response from the hearts made glad by this ineffable sacrifice of\nHim who, giving up all thoughts of self, came to us (_i. e._, to U. S.\nA.) in our need, The Centre of the Covenant, His Holiness Abdul Baha.\"\n\nThe visit of Abdul Baha did not leave any great impression. His\npersonality had no deep influence. He appeared conspicuous neither for\nintellectuality nor spirituality. Many a distinguished traveller has got\nhold of the public ear and heart to a greater extent. I was in Baltimore\nwhen he was there. He caused scarcely a ripple on the surface. His\naddresses were tame and full of platitudes. It was told me that his\nvisit led to doubt and coldness on the part of some adherents. He was,\nas Canon Wilberforce said, \"not an orator, nor even a preacher,\"\npracticed in public address. One of the distinguished clergymen whose\npulpit he occupied said to me, \"The man has no special message. He is a\nfaker.\" Another liberal thinker, who has given publicity to this\ndoctrine, after an interview, pronounced him a fraud. Some of the\nAmerican disciples, especially the ladies, idolized him, even to the\nextent of bringing down upon them the reprobation of some English\ndisciples. One of the latter wrote:[632] \"There seems to be a tendency\nin America and elsewhere to focus too great attention on Abdul Baha\nrather than upon the Manifistation.\"\n\nWhat of the progress of Bahaism in America? It is making no marked\nprogress. In some sections it seems to have gone forward, as on the\nPacific coast and around New York and Washington. It has decreased in\nthe South and in the headquarters of the movement, Chicago. The\norganization at Atlanta has disappeared from the list. The South will\nnot take kindly to the advocacy by Abdul Baha of the miscegenation of\nthe races. He recommends that efforts be made towards the intermarriage\nof the coloured and white races as the ideal panacea for the present\nestrangement.[633]\n\nI understand that a Washington negro has married an English Bahai woman,\nthe courtship having occurred when both were pilgrims, and under the\nencouragement of Abdul Baha. Of the condition of the cause in Chicago I\ncan speak from personal investigation. I attended the regular Sunday\nservice in St. John's room, eighteenth floor of the Masonic Hall. It was\na pleasant May day. About sixty were present--twenty men and forty\nwomen. I questioned the men and found that six of them were Bahais and\nfourteen, like me, were visitors. The man next to me on the right was a\nmember of an ethical culture society that meets on the twelfth floor. I\nasked the man on my left to what organization he belonged. He replied,\n\"To the kingdom of God.\" I inquired what was his opinion of Abbas\nEffendi. He pulled from his pocket a much used New Testament and\npointed to the verse in Revelation which refers to the beast and said,\n\"That is he.\" I conversed with several of the Bahai ladies, two of whom\nacted as instructors of the meeting. The Sunday-school held at an\nearlier hour, I learned, was a class in Esperanto. To my question as to\nthe number of Bahais in Chicago, she replied \"that Baha Ullah has told\nus that there must be a falling away before the triumph,\" from which I\ninferred that conditions were not prosperous. The next man, a Bahai,\ntold me the number was about one hundred and fifty. The leader, Mrs. C.\nTrue, told me about three hundred. One of the opposing sect told me\nthere are only sixty, while his sect has lost all organization and\nnumbers only forty in the whole country. But if we take the number at\nthe highest estimate given, the number is less than fifteen years ago.\n\nI go into particulars regarding this point, because there is a false\nimpression abroad, in Europe and Asia, an impression that is carefully\nfostered. Take this incident. In Persia a Bahai affirmed before the\ncrowd that one-half of Chicago was Bahai. A Bible colporteur disputed\nthe statement and proposed to telegraph to the Mayor of Chicago and\ninquire, and whichever side was wrong should pay for the telegram. The\nBahai declined. In distant India a similar impression is created for\neffect. Mr. Getsinger wrote in the _Jam-i-Jamseed_ of Bombay:[634] \"The\nBahai faith has spread in America by leaps and bounds, _the number\nbeing beyond computation_.\" Strange exaggeration, if you give it no\nworse name! Some such a one was no doubt interviewed by the \"wayfarer\"\nof the Continent and told him that there were one million in the United\nStates.[635] But that well-informed reporter put the number at 3,000.\n_The Star of the West_ (Feb. 7, 1912) says: \"There are several thousand\nBahais in the United States.\" My own conclusion is that there are 2,000\nin twenty-seven organizations. In 1906 they reported to the Census 1,280\nmembers in twenty-four organizations. Most of the members are women.\n(See Chap. VII.)\n\nThat the Bahai propaganda has nothing special to boast of in the United\nStates is evident when we compare its results with those of other\nreligious fads. The Dowieites of Zion City (followers of John Dowie who\nclaimed to be the prophet Elijah) report seventeen organizations in ten\nstates with 5,865 members; the Crowdyites (Crowdy was a negro cook who\nin 1906 claimed to be a prophet) report forty-eight organizations and\n1,823 members; Theosophists eighty-five and 2,336 members; Vedantists\n(Swamiists) four and 340 members; Spiritualists 455 with 35,056 members;\nChristian Scientists 638 and 85,000 members. Well may the Egyptian\n_Gazette_ say: \"If Bahaism has found favour in the United States, it\ncannot be forgotten that countless other 'religions' have become popular\nthere which would not have been taken seriously in any other country in\nthe world.\" Yet, aside from the Mormons, how few they number altogether.\n\nIs it not marvellous that clergy of various Protestant churches, even of\nthe Church of England, have given the use of their edifices for its\nanti-Christian proselytism? Roman Catholic churches have not been open\nto it. And this happened not only when Abdul Baha was a guest among our\npeople but is continued since. Surely such latitudinarianism must grieve\nthe heart of Christ even as it shocks His faithful followers and gives\nboldness to those who would hurl Him from His mediatorial throne. It is\nunnecessary now to catalogue the various Protestant pulpits and\nplatforms in Great Britain, and in America where, with readings from the\nBahai \"revelations\" and flattering introductions, place was given to the\n\"false Christ.\" But the disloyalty still continues. Lately a missionary\nwas a speaker at a Woman's Foreign Missions Society and was preceded by\na lady advocating Bahaism. In a late number of the _Star of the West_\n(April 9, 1914) is a picture of the St. Mark's-in-the-Bowerie Episcopal\nChurch, New York, with a notice that an audience room had been granted\nin the parish house for Bahai meetings every Sunday. This was followed\nby a letter from Abdul Baha rejoicing in this opportunity \"to promulgate\nthe principles of Baha Ullah,\" and by a request for the prayers of all\nBahais that \"through this opened door many hearts may be turned to the\n'Branch,'\" _i. e._, Abdul Baha. Another issue contains an\nannouncement[636] of the marriage at Montreal of the editor, Doctor\nBagdadi, to Zeenat Khanum, both Persian Bahais of Mohammedan\nantecedents. The narrative declares: \"The minister who officiated\nastonished all [even the Bahais] by reading from the Bahai writings!\"\n\nThe Bahais still continue to proselyte through Ethical Culture and\nTheosophic Societies and on the platform of peace congresses. Is it not\nfull time that Christian people and churches should cease to give\ncountenance to this system which is an enemy of the cross of Christ, and\nwhich has already deceived several thousands of our fellow Christians?\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[604] \"Parliament of Religions,\" p. 640; I. G. Kheiralla, \"Beha Ullah,\"\np. ix.\n\n[605] \"Bab-ed-Din,\" by I. G. Kheiralla, pp. 9, 13, 18.\n\n[606] _American Journal of Theology_, 1902.\n\n[607] \"Bahai Movement,\" p. 101; _S. W._, p. 38, 1914.\n\n[608] An open letter to the Abbab in America, by Doctor Pease.\n\n[609] \"The Three Questions,\" p. 23.\n\n[610] \"Third Call to Behais,\" p. 3.\n\n[611] Letter to M. Badi Ullah.\n\n[612] \"Before Abraham was I am,\" p. 1.\n\n[613] _S. W._, Sept. 8, 1913, p. 174.\n\n[614] _S. W._, Sept. 8, 1913, p. 127.\n\n[615] _S. W._, May 17, 1914, pp. 51-52.\n\n[616] \"Tablets,\" Vol. I, p. ii.\n\n[617] J. D. Frame, M. D., _Moslem World_, 1912, p. 243.\n\n[618] Sec.'s Report, June, 1911; October Bulletin, 1911; _S. W._, May\n17, 1911, July 13, 1913, Nov. 4, 1913, March and June, 1914.\n\n[619] The \"Kitab-ul-Akdas\" commands that the hair should not be allowed\nto grow below the level of the ear: why does not Abdul Baha keep this\nlaw?\n\n[620] Myron Phelps states (p. 97) that Abbas Effendi wishes no\nphotographs of himself taken. This is certainly a mistake as years ago\nthey were circulated in Persia and purchasable in the bazaar. The\naccount of his posing for the motion pictures is amusing. When requested\nto pass before the camera, he at once replied, \"Khaili khob\" (very\ngood). The Bahais present were very much upset and protested that his\npicture would be scattered all over the country in the movies. He\nreplied, \"Busiar khob\" (still better). Later, in June, an extended\nmotion picture was taken. The scenes were somewhat spoiled by Abdul Baha\nnot remaining in focus and disarranging the scenario. These films, with\nwords, are being used in the Sunday services of the Bahais and are to be\nused in the Orient in connection with the voice record on the Edison\ntalking machine.\n\n[621] Mr. Remey said to him: \"We expected an attitude of hostility\ntowards you from the clergy and theologians. We did not expect the\nchurches and religious societies would open their doors\" (_S. W._, March\n21, 1913, p. 18). Doctor Cadman of Brooklyn explained his inviting Abdul\nBaha to preach in his pulpit by saying, \"Christian people can afford to\nbe absolutely free and catholic in their extension of liberty and\ncourtesy to other people.\" Yet most Christians were grieved and consider\nit disloyalty to Christ.\n\n[622] _S. W._, March, 1913, p. 18.\n\n[623] The striking lack of unity among the Bahais is evident from a\nTablet of Abdul Baha written shortly before his visit to America (_S.\nW._, May 17, 1811). \"In view of the differences among the friends and\nthe lack of unity among the maid servants of the Merciful, how can Abdul\nBaha hasten to those parts? Is it possible? No, by God!\" \"Your worthless\nimaginations, backbiting, and faultfinding enable the Nakhazeen to\nspread a noose for you.\" The Americans could reply, \"Physician, heal\nthyself,\" for the worst anger and discord have been between the brothers\nat Acca. And he himself continues to cry out, \"Hold aloof from the\nviolators.\"\n\n[624] _S. W._, Oct. 16, 1913, p. 203.\n\n[625] _S. W._, Sept. 27, 1913, p. 187.\n\n[626] Similar phrases addressed to his living disciples sound like\nflattery and appeals to their vanity, such as, \"Your names will go down\nthrough the ages.\" \"Kings and Queens will never be talked of as you will\nbe\" (_S. W._, Dec. 13, 1913, p. 274, etc.).\n\n[627] _S. W._, June 5, 1914.\n\n[628] _S. W._, Dec. 31, 1913, p. 272.\n\n[629] _S. W._, Aug. 1, 1913, p. 136-138.\n\n[630] \"The Oriental Rose,\" p. 11, says that $5,000 have been sent from\nthe Orient for the Temple.\n\n[631] \"Daily Lessons,\" p. 17.\n\n[632] _S. W._, Dec. 11, 1911.\n\n[633] L. G. Gregory, \"The Heavenly Vista,\" pp. 13, 15, 25, 31.\n\n[634] _S. W._, April 28, 1914.\n\n[635] The _S. W._ of March 2, 1912, reported one organization in\nMontreal, one in Hawaii, one in England, two in Germany, viz., Stuttgart\nand Zuffenhausen, and one in Cape Town.\n\n[636] _Star_, May 17, 1914, p. 57.\n\n\n\n\nBIBLIOGRAPHY\n\n\n_Consulted by the Author_\n\n(_1_) _Non-Bahai Writers_\n\nE. G. Browne: \"The Babis of Persia,\" _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, July,\nOct., 1889.\n\n\"Babi Manuscripts,\" _Jour. Roy. As. Soc._, April, July, Oct.,\n1892.\n\nArt. \"Babism\" in \"Encyclo. Brit.,\" \"Enc. of Religion and\nEthics,\" and \"Enc. of Islam.\"\n\nIntroductions and Appendices to translations of Babi-Bahai\nbooks.\n\n\"A Year Among the Persians.\"\n\n\"Literary History of Persia.\"\n\nA. L. M. Nicolas: \"Sayyid Ali Mohammed dit le Bab\"\n(Biography).\n\nR. E. Speer in \"Missions and Modern History,\" Vol. I, Chap.\nIII, pp. 121-182, \"The Religion of the Bab.\"\n\n\"Haifa or Modern Life in Palestine,\" by Oliphant.\n\nCanon Sell \"Babism\" (Tract 1895), \"Bahaism\" (Tract 1912).\n\nCritical Magazine Articles.\n\n_American Journal of Theology_, Jan., 1902, \"Mohammedan\nGnosticism in America,\" S. K. Vatralsky.\n\n_North Amer. Rev._, June, 1912, J. T. Bixby; April, 1901, Prof.\nE. D. Ross.\n\n_Outlook_, June, 1901, Dr. H. H. Jessup.\n\n_Open Court_, June and July, 1910 and 1904, Dr. P. Carus.\n\n_Moslem World_, July, 1912, Dr. J. D. Frame.\n\n_Mission. Rev. of World_, Oct., 1911, Dr. W. A. Shedd.\n\n_Oxford Magazine_, May, 1892.\n\n(_2_) _Babi or Bahai Writers_\n\nBy the Bab:\n\n\"Beyan Persan\" (Fr.), 4 Vols, trans. by A. Nicolas.\n\nBy Baha Ullah:\n\n\"Akdas,\" MS. Trans., by I. G. Kheiralla.\n\n\"Ikan,\" \"The Seven Valleys,\" \"The Hidden Words,\" \"Surat-ul-Hykl,\" \"Words\nof Paradise,\" \"Glad Tidings,\" Tablets--of the World, of Ishrakat,\nTarazat, Tajallayat (Chicago).\n\nBy Abdul Baha:\n\n\"The Episode of the Bab or the Traveller's Narrative\" (trans. by\nBrowne).\n\n\"Tablets of Abdul Baha,\" Vol. I; Addresses in Paris, London and America;\n\"Some Answered Questions,\" recorded by L. C. Barney; Letter to the\nFriends in Persia, etc.; The Covenant or Will of Baha Ullah.\n\nBy Persian believers:\n\n\"Kitab-ul-Nuktatul Kaf,\" by Mirza Jani, with Introductions by Browne.\n\n\"New Hist. of the Bab,\" trans. by Browne.\n\n\"The Sacred Mysteries,\" Asadullah.\n\n\"School of the Prophets,\" Asadullah.\n\n\"Bahai Proofs,\" Abul Fazl.\n\n\"The Brilliant Proof,\" Abul Fazl.\n\n\"Martyrdoms in Persia in 1903,\" Haider Ali.\n\n\"Epistle to the Bahai World,\" Badi Ullah.\n\nBy Western believers:\n\n\"The Universal Religion,\" M. H. Dreyfus.\n\n\"The Bahai Revelation,\" Thornton Chase.\n\n\"Before Abraham was, I am,\" Thornton Chase.\n\n\"The Bahai Movement,\" C. M. Remey.\n\n\"Universal Principles of the Bahai Movement,\" and \"Peace,\" and \"The\nCovenant,\" C. M. Remey.\n\n\"Observations of a Bahai Traveller,\" C. M. Remey.\n\n\"A Year Among the Bahais of India and Burmah,\" and \"Story of the Bahai\nMovement,\" Sydney Sprague.\n\n\"Dawn of Knowledge and the Most Great Peace,\" P. K. Dealy.\n\n\"The Revelation of Baha Ullah,\" Mrs. S. D. Brittingham.\n\n\"God's Heroes,\" Barney-Dreyfus.\n\n\"Abbas Effendi; His Life and Teaching,\" M. Phelps.\n\n\"The Oriental Rose,\" M. H. Ford.\n\n\"The Modern Social Religion,\" Horace Holley.\n\n\"Bahaism, the Religion of Brotherhood,\" F. K. Skrine.\n\n\"The Reconciliation of Races and Religions,\" T. K. Cheyne.\n\n\"Bahaism in Its Social-Economic Aspects,\" H. Campbell.\n\n\"Prayers and Communes,\" and \"Songs of Prayer and Praise.\"\n\nNarratives of Pilgrims to Acca:\n\n\"In Galilee,\" T. Chase.\n\n\"Unity Through Love,\" H. MacNutt.\n\n\"The Heavenly Vista,\" L. G. Gregory.\n\n\"Ten Days in the Light of Acca,\" Mrs. Grundy.\n\n\"Daily Lessons Received at Acca,\" Mrs. Cooper.\n\n\"My Visit to Abbas Effendi,\" Mrs. Peeke.\n\n\"Table Talks With Abdul Baha,\" G. T. Winterburn.\n\n\"My Visit to Acca,\" Mrs. Lucas.\n\n\"Flowers from the Rose Garden of Acca,\" Mrs. Finch.\n\n\"Notes at Acca,\" Mrs. True.\n\nPeriodicals:\n\n_The Bahai News_, and _The Star of the West_, from 1910 to 1915\n\nReports and Bulletins of the Persian-American Educational Society.\n\nBy Behaists:\n\n\"Beha Ullah,\" 2 Vols, I. G. Kheiralla.\n\n\"Bab-ed-Din,\" \"The Three Questions,\" and \"Facts for Behaists,\" I. G.\nKheiralla.\n\n\"Life of Baha Ullah,\" MS., Mohammed Javad Kasvini.\n\nBy Azalis:\n\n\"Call to Behaists\" (Nos. I, II and III), Stenstrand.\n\n\n\n\nINDEX\n\n\nAbbas Effendi (see Abdul Baha)\n\nAbdul Baha, 48, 68, 76, 86, 87, 98, 138, 147, 175, 191, 204, 239;\n  history of, 24, 66, 127, 128, 161, 164, 194-196 and note 3, 250-259;\n  blesses charms, 110;\n  charities criticized, 255;\n  censorship, 117, 146;\n  education, 25, 163;\n  imprisonment, 195, 197, 258;\n  intercedes for assassins, 231, 232;\n  justifies Mohammed, 86, 147 note 1;\n  marriage, 156-157, 164;\n  position, 39, 40, 51, 62, 69, 88, 93, 117, 250;\n  titles, 40, 93, 250, 251, 260, 261;\n  photographs, 275;\n  quarrel with brothers, 24, 39, 93, 187-188, 197, 248-262;\n  receives pilgrims, 124, 125 (see Pilgrims);\n  characterized, 245, 249, 254, 255, 264, 270;\n  dogmatic, 77;\n  suppresses facts, 184 and note 7;\n  changes documents, 186, 188, 252;\n  perverts facts, 192, 194;\n  acts double part, 197;\n  unjust to brothers, 194 note 2, 255;\n  instructs in pretense, 200;\n  uses boycott, 253;\n  accused of sedition, 257;\n  threatened with death, 262;\n  covets martyrdom, 258;\n  asks government for guard, 256;\n  honoured as Christ, 92, 94, 96, 114, 260;\n  as God, 95, 124, 251, 260, 282;\n  vacant seat left for, 119;\n  teachings, 24, 31, 32, 33, 41, 45, 56, 66, 71, 73, 77, 85, 88, 105,\n    118, 151;\n  advocates peace, 70;\n  allows war, 74;\n  favours Mohammed Ali Shah, 138-140;\n  refuses arbitration, 256, 277;\n  visits Egypt, 27;\n  reception in London, 11, 12, 13, 163;\n  contributor to _Christian Commonwealth_, 12;\n  in Europe and America, 24, 64, 70, 114, 139, 142, 151, 153;\n  reception in U. S. A., 274;\n  addresses, 275-278;\n  canonizes Chase, 278;\n  dedicates temple, 278-279;\n  memorial vase, 280;\n  impression made, 280;\n  aided by Christians, 285;\n  writings, 24, 42, 115, 116, 178, 213, 273, 288\n\nAbdul Karim, 26, 36, 40;\n  visits America, 269, 270\n\nAblutions, 110, 120, 122\n\nAbraham, 34, 41, 88, 90\n\nAbul Fazl, 26, 35, 37, 45, 47, 49, 54, 69, 89, 101, 102, 106, 152, 155,\n  160, 180, 197, 204, 211, 216, 221, 222, 225, 233, 244, 255, 256, 271;\n  tried, 136;\n  repudiates Babism, 136, 193;\n  abuses mullahs, 211;\n  visits America, 271;\n  writings, 288\n\nAcca (Acre), 22, 23, 27, 39, 43, 71, 94, 97 and note 4, 106, 118, 122,\n  123, 125, 127, 140, 145, 146, 154, 159, 161, 165, 173, 182, 183, 187,\n  195, 196, 200, 205, 229, 233, 241, 250-259\n\nAdam, 41, 114\n\nAdrianople, 22, 197, 222, 223, 229\n\nAhmad Ahsai, Sheikh, 20, 21, 236\n\nAhmad Qadiani (see Gulam Ahmad)\n\nAhmad Zohrab, 47\n\nAkdas (see Kitab-ul-Akdas)\n\nAlcohol, prohibited to Babis and Bahais, 214;\n  used, 215\n\nAli Allahis, 20, 40 note 3, 67, 88, 91 note, 173\n\nAli Kuli Khan, 45, 202\n\nAli Mohammed (see Bab)\n\nAmerican Bahais (see Bahais)\n\nAmerican prophets, 274, 284\n\nAnnihilation, 112\n\nArbitration, 70, 71, 74-75\n\nArmenians, 28, 67, 68\n\nAsad Ullah, 39, 249;\n  delegate to America, 271;\n  writings, 271, 288\n\nAssassins, Sect of, 19, 91 note\n\nAssassinations, practiced in Islam, 243-244\n\nAssassinations, by Bahais, 43, 159, 172, 197, 228-235, 241 note 1, 244,\n  245 and note 1, 246, 270;\n  were for the faith, 232, 233;\n  so justified, 242, 243\n\nAzal (see Subh-i-Azal)\n\nAzalis, 23, 43, 69 note, 159, 167, 197, 214, 216, 227, 230, 231, 245,\n  268, 270\n\n\nBab, the title, 20\n\nBab, The, 18, 35, 38, 47, 71, 73, 90, 91, 99, 126, 133-135, 181, 260;\n  his history, 21, 41, 104, 123, 135, 186, 189-190, 198, 210, 211, 236,\n    237;\n  tomb, 123, 125;\n  proof in verses, 44, 46;\n  taught war, 135;\n  not forerunner of Baha, 178;\n  expected his dispensation to be long, 178;\n  books (see Bayan);\n  concealed by Bahais, 182, 183;\n  tampered with, 185\n\nBabis, character, 180;\n  wars, 21, 71, 73;\n  persecuted, 21, 136;\n  martyrs, 192, 193;\n  deny faith, 198;\n  attempt to assassinate Shah, 21, 191, 230;\n  executed, 21, 191;\n  at Bagdad, 22, 221-222;\n  murderous spirit, 236, 237, 238;\n  sects of, 68\n\nBabism, History of, 44, 87, 133, 135, 193, 236;\n  abrogated Islam, 87, 172, 178;\n  laws, 53, 55, 58, 215;\n  make marriage obligatory, 155;\n  practiced polygamy, 157, 159;\n  gave some liberty to women, 169;\n  accused of communism, 171;\n  fast, 121;\n  shrine, 123;\n  records, 18;\n  relation to Sheikhism, 20-21, 170;\n  relation to Christians, 135;\n  a political movement, 135;\n  disloyal, 133, 134, 190 and note 5;\n  intolerant, 135, 146;\n  sectarian, 52-53;\n  dogmatic, 78;\n  superseded, 15, 87\n\nBadasht, 87, 171\n\nBadi, 136, 191, 240\n\nBadi Ullah, 162, 187, 188, 250, 253, 261, 262, 271\n\nBagdad, 22, 87, 161, 171, 221, 234, 250\n\nBaha Ullah, 11, 12, 18, 31, 36, 38, 39, 52, 68, 72, 78, 88, 92, 122,\n  135, 142;\n  history of, 22, 23, 42, 45, 70, 73, 76, 87, 102, 127, 159, 162-163,\n    181, 187 and note 1, 190, 221, 225, 226, 230, 255;\n  family, 162, 250;\n  haram, 24, 150;\n  polygamy, 126, 159-165, 250;\n  wealth, 253, 255;\n  prison, 195;\n  palace, 125, 195 and note 4;\n  picture of, 126 and note 2;\n  quarrels with Azal, 220-228;\n  supplants him, 42, 181, 185, 204;\n  deceitfulness  regarding, 205, 208;\n  alleged attempts to kill, 225, 227;\n  exults over death of enemy, 211;\n  complacency about murder, 231;\n  trial and bribe-giving, 231;\n  death, 24, 93, 104, 195, 250;\n  will of, 250, 251, 256;\n  tomb, 123, 280;\n  will be assailed, 14, 83;\n  exhorts to love, 209;\n  writings: 37, 115;\n  their character, 44, 186, 189;\n  rapidity in composition, 45;\n  quantity, 45, 46, 105, 253; style of, 46, 47, 150 (see Epistle to the\n    Kings, Ikan,  Kitab-ul-Akdas, Seven Valleys, Glad Tidings, Ishrak,\n    Epistle to Shah);\n  Professor Browne on, 48;\n  Abdul Baha on, 48, 68, 242;\n  his beatitudes, 119;\n  teachings:\n    on inspiration, 33;\n    on peace, 70-72;\n    influenced by Peace Movement, 76;\n    on fulfillment of prophecies, 97-98;\n    on \"Return,\" 95;\n    enjoined loyalty, 137;\n    commends suicide, 239-240;\n    on civil government, 56 (see House of Justice);\n  name used as charm, 110;\n    claims: to be God, 36, 40, 42, 62, 90, 91, 122, 215, 267;\n    superior to Christ, 105;\n    a world teacher, 50, 85, 106;\n    all the prophets, 90;\n    infallible, 242;\n    Prince of Peace, 71, 73, 92, 97, 238;\n    is worshipped, 122;\n    claim for, 179;\n    character, 42, 43, 204, 220, 221, 227, 228, 246, 265\n\n_Bahai News_ (see _Star of the West_)\n\nBahais in Acca (see Acca), 229, 230, 233;\n  in Adrianople (see Adrianople);\n  in Persia (see Persia), 23, 26, 28, 36, 50, 162, 175, 259;\n  familiar with Bible, 115;\n  persecutions, 137 and note 5;\n  martyrs few, 192, 240;\n  tolerated, 137, 140;\n  pretend to be Christians, 199, 200, 201;\n  converted to Christianity, 241;\n  intolerant, 240, 241, 255, 259;\n  not patriotic, 139;\n  not supporters of constitution, 73, 133, 138-141;\n  characterized by love of each other, 74;\n  hatred of others, 69 note;\n  lack of candour, 154, 202, 203;\n  boasting, 42, 45, 46, 48, 49, 79, 179, 216, 285;\n  foul play, 246;\n  crimes against Azalis (see Assassinations), 223-235, 239, 245;\n  suicides of, 239, 240;\n  favour education, 144, 154;\n  to be judged by deeds, 244;\n  quarrel over succession in Acca, 251-259;\n  in Persia, 252, 259-260;\n  in America, 269-273, 276;\n  numbers of, 13, 26, 27, 28, 65, 103, 268, 271;\n  census, 273, 282-283\n\nBahais, American, 12, 13, 24, 26, 77, 84, 93, 96, 98, 119, 122, 153,\n  154, 168, 173, 200;\n  American pilgrims, 40, 94, 118, 123-126 and note 1, 174, 268, 269;\n  narrative of, 289\n\nBahaism, History of, 21-24, 152;\n  literature of, 14, 24, 115, 273, 289;\n  a patchwork, 53;\n  changed, 15;\n  relation to Babism, 19, 52, 53, 55, 58, 135, 136, 178, 192, 193;\n  relation to Mohammedanism, 32, 35, 51, 52, 55, 86, 209-213, 222;\n  borrowed from Shiahism, 49;\n  from former religions, 52;\n  relation to Christianity, 31, 32, 34, 51, 54, 56, 65, 82-132, 209 note 2;\n  classes interested in, 11-13;\n  conditions of discipleship, 38, 39, 113, 114;\n  doctrines: of God, 35-41, 49, 78, 88;\n  of the Manifestation, 36, 41, 58, 92, 178, 241;\n  its trinity, 40 and note 3, 260;\n  eternity of matter, 77, 111;\n  pantheistic, 88;\n  of metempsychosis (see \"Return\");\n  its moral system, 34;\n  denied miracles, 103;\n  resurrection, 104;\n  laws: 38, 48, 54, 55, 214;\n    civil, 58, 143;\n    criminal, 144, 146;\n    unalterable for 1,000 years;\n    about woman (see Woman);\n    equality of races, 168;\n  its science, 48, 56, 58, 77, 104 note 6, 111;\n  cycles, 41;\n  era, 128;\n  calendar, 48, 55, 127, 273;\n  new alphabet, 58;\n  advocates universal language, 59;\n  favours education (see Education);\n  its institutions, 116-119;\n  its ceremonies, 118, 120-126;\n  substitute for baptism, 118;\n  for Lord's Supper (see Feasts; see also Fast, Pilgrimage, Prayer,\n   Shrines, Charms, Funerals, Rosary);\n  claims:\n    that a new religion is needed, 31;\n    to be a new dispensation, 33;\n    to supersede all religions, 32;\n    and Christianity, 86, 87;\n    to be universal, 29, 50;\n    contrary shown, 54-59;\n    claims superiority in personality, 40-44;\n    in writings, 44-47;\n    in substance of revelation, 48-50;\n    disproved, 48-50, 54-59;\n    to unify mankind, 63-67;\n    means prescribed for, 67-70;\n    to promote peace, 67, 70;\n    fallacy of claim, 72-76;\n    echo of Christianity, 72;\n    to be undogmatic, 77;\n    to be consistent with Christianity, 83;\n    to be Christ's second coming, 92, 93;\n    refuted, 85-132;\n    to be the state religion, 117, 143, 145-147;\n    to set forth a new government, 141-147;\n    to regulate politics, 117, 132;\n  professed loyalty, 136;\n  pleads for toleration, 136;\n  is intolerant, 132, 147, 191;\n  wishes political power, 132, 135, 141;\n  claim as to morals, 179-180, 209;\n  like Persians, 214;\n  testimony as to morals, 216 note 3;\n  pervert history, 136, 181-185, 183 note 2, 184 note 2, 189-197, 220;\n  falsify sacred writings, 185 and note 2, 185-189;\n  forgery, 189;\n  religious dissimulation (see Tagiya);\n  addiction to alcohol, 214-215;\n  opium, 215-216 and note 3;\n  claim to love, 209, 221;\n  refuted:\n    animosity to Shiahs, 211;\n    abuse of, 211-213;\n    enmity to Azalis, 222, 235;\n    murdering of (see Assassinations and Bahais--quarrels);\n    sects in, 68;\n    sects forbidden, 69;\n    private interpretation forbidden, 69;\n    methods of interpretation, 100, 101 note;\n    exclusive, 52;\n    a delusion, 62\n\nBahaism, American, 15, 16, 41, 94, 201, 264-283;\n  census of, 268, 271, 273, 282, 283;\n  condition of, 282-284;\n  delegates from Acca, 271;\n  literature of, 273;\n  meetings, 272, 277, 282-283;\n  propaganda, 267, 273-274;\n  mission to Persia, 84, 154, 155, 202, 203, 273-274;\n  quarrel and schism, 269-273, 276;\n  visit of Abdul Baha (see Abdul Baha);\n  press agents, 272\n\nBahai proofs (see Abul Fazl)\n\nBahai Temple (see Temple)\n\nBahiah Khanum, 156, 164, 174, 191, 195, 221, 225, 227, 232, 257\n\nBatinis, 20\n\nBayan, 18, 21, 23, 35, 38, 47, 56, 73, 115, 134, 155, 166, 178, 181,\n  183, 246\n\nBeatitudes of Baha, 119\n\nBehais, Behaists, 69, 188 notes, 268, 270, 289;\n  number in America, 271, 272 (see Mirza Mohammed Ali)\n\nBeha Ullah, so spelt by Behais, 267, 289\n\nBeirut press, 25, 101, 167\n\nBibliography, 287-289\n\nBixley, J. T., 66, 83 note\n\nBoycott, 253, 259\n\nBrahma Samaj, 13\n\nBrittingham, Mrs., 94, 289\n\nBrowne, Prof. E. G., 18, 20, 30, 35, 48, 50, 53, 56, 68 note 1, 78, 134,\n  135, 139, 152, 155, 160, 165, 169, 171-172, 178, 190, 210, 216, 220,\n  226, 239, 243, 248;\n  writings of, 14, 37, 245, 265, 287-288;\n  in Persia, 27, 215-216, 223 note, 229, 235;\n  in Acca, 43, 71, 182, 183, 184 note 5;\n  in Cyprus, 43, 225\n\nBuddha, 31, 90, 92\n\nBuddhist, 64, 67, 85, 86, 200\n\nBurial (see Funerals)\n\nBurmah, 13, 64, 83, 274\n\n\nCampbell, R. J., 12, 84\n\nCarmel, Mt., 127, 195, 257\n\nCelibacy disapproved, 155\n\nChanging documents, 57, 185-189\n\nCharms, 110, 123\n\nChase, Thornton, 31, 37, 94, 104, 209, 217, 249, 269, 271;\n  canonized, 278\n\nCheyne, T. K., 13\n\nChicago, 98, 116, 119, 154, 265, 267, 269, 270, 271, 279\n\nChrist, Jesus, His teaching superior, 50;\n  on peace, 72;\n  Bahais concerning Him, 31, 32, 33, 35, 41, 46, 52, 71, 82-84, 86, 87,\n    88, 93-107, 104 note 3, 113, 114, 122, 127, 128\n\nChristians, attitude of to Bahaism, 52, 65, 67, 68;\n  in Persia, 28;\n  in Egypt, 27;\n  in India, 84;\n  in Occident, 12-13, 83-84, 274-275, 285-286\n\nChristianity exclusive, 86;\n  triumphant, 33, 50, 65, 103\n\n_Christian Commonwealth_, 12, 84\n\nClaims of Bahaism (see Baha Ullah and Bahaism)\n\nConstantinople, 159, 161, 170, 235\n\nConstitutional Movement, 133, 138-140, 170, 175, 187\n\nCyprus, 22, 43, 159, 167, 205, 225, 229, 235\n\n\nDaniel, 88, 98, 99\n\nDealy, P. K., 71 note 2, 97\n\nDivorce (see Woman)\n\nDowie, Alexander, 43, 99, 102, 284\n\nDreyfus, M. H., 26, 50, 53, 58, 64, 70, 77, 139, 143, 160, 203, 209, 288\n\n\nEaston, P. Z., 18\n\nEducation to be compulsory, 144, 154;\n  of girls, 154, 155;\n  Bahai schools, 154, 202, 203;\n  Educational Society (see Persian-American)\n\nEgypt, Bahaism in, 27, 267;\n  Abdul Baha in, 24, 197\n\n_Egyptian Gazette_ on Bahaism, 11, 27, 284\n\nElijah, 96, 97\n\nEmanations, 41, 89\n\nEpisode of the Bab (see Traveller's Narrative)\n\nEpistle to Kings, 106, 115, 143 and note 5, 186-187\n\nEpistle to Shah, 89, 136, 189, 191, 240;\n  tampered with, 186\n\nEpistle to the Bahai World, 188 note 2, 261, 271, 288\n\nEra--Bahai, 56\n\nEsperanto, 59, 283\n\n\nFamily (see Woman)\n\nFast, 120, 121, 197\n\nFatima, Book of, 189\n\nFeasts, 55, 56, 121, 127;\n  Unity Feast or Lord's Supper, 55, 118, 119, 276 (see Rizwan)\n\nFord, M. H., 137, 140, 237\n\nFrame, J. D., 26, 140, 213, 216 243\n\nFunerals, 122-123\n\n\nGermany, Emperor of, addressed, 38\n\nGetsinger, E. C., 94, 203, 253, 267, 268, 269, 283\n\nGlad Tidings, 56, 57, 72, 115, 141, 152, 187\n\nGobineau, Count, 183 and note 2, 190, 191, 235\n\nGoodall, Mrs., 94, 110\n\nGregory, L. G., 125, 168, 289\n\nGrundy, Mrs., 40, 96, 112, 124, 125, 253, 261\n\nGulam, Ahmad, 19, 92 note, 102\n\n\nHadad, Anton, 73, 94, 253, 268\n\nHaidar, Ali, 27, 94, 213\n\nHaifa, 124, 127, 156, 195, 196, 256, 257\n\nHasht Behesht, 160, 224, 226, 227, 229, 245\n\nHawkes, J. W., 28\n\nHidden Words, 37, 115, 116, 119, 152, 188\n\nHindus, 51, 64, 65\n\nHolley, Horace, 110, 124, 132, 221, 248\n\nHolmes, G. W., 28, 78, 82, 101 note, 133\n\nHouris, 123\n\nHouse of Justice, 57, 58, 70-72, 117, 123, 141-147;\n  supreme, 142;\n  infallible, 145;\n  inspired, 142;\n  has political power, 143, 175;\n  financial, 143, 146\n\nHouse of Spirituality, 146\n\n\nIkan, 37, 45, 86, 90, 114, 115, 152, 163, 211, 222\n\nImams, 20, 88, 92, 133, 189, 236, 243\n\nImmortality, 30, 112\n\nIncarnations, 22, 88 note, 90 note 7\n\nIndia, Bahaism in, 13, 27, 68, 83 note, 84, 85, 169, 203, 283\n\nInheritance, Law of, 166\n\nIntolerance of Shiahs, 21, 136 (see Martyrs);\n  of Babis, 135;\n  of Bahais, 132 (see Tolerance)\n\nIsaiah, 88, 97\n\nIshrak-Ishrakat (\"Effulgences\"), 59, 152, 154, 241\n\nIslam (see Mohammedanism)\n\nIsmielis, 20, 91 note\n\n\nJani, Mirza, 172, 180, 183 note 2;\n  his \"History,\" 182, 189, 190\n\nJerusalem, 97, 98, 99, 100, 127\n\nJessup, H. H., 15, 25, 62, 101, 124, 167, 196 note 3, 197, 240, 261,\n  264, 265\n\nJewish Bahais, 26, 27, 51, 106, 201 and notes\n\nJews, 33, 51, 64, 67, 82, 84, 87, 92, 103;\n  in Hamadan, 201\n\nJohn Baptist, 18, 35, 96, 178\n\nJohnson, H., 63, 64, 65, 114\n\nJordan, S. M., 26, 200, 216\n\nJudaism, 33, 35, 41, 85\n\n\nKazim, Haji, 21, 170\n\nKhadim, Ullah (Mirza Aga Jan), 161, 188, 233, 254\n\nKheiralla, 14, 26, 37, 41, 89, 106, 140, 152, 159, 191, 241, 245 note;\n  history of, 167, 265, 271\n\nKirman, 27, 38\n\nKitab-ul-Akdas, 14, 37-39, 54, 59, 91, 115, 120, 121, 127, 141, 144,\n  152, 154, 155, 158, 165, 169, 231, 241, 248\n\nKoran, 49, 72, 86, 87, 89, 112, 114, 121, 197, 198, 211\n\nKrishna, 90, 92\n\nKurrat-ul Ayn, 150, 170-172, 174 192, 236, 237\n\n\nLaws (see Babism and Bahaism)\n\n\"Letters,\" 171\n\nLucas, M. A., 25, 289\n\n\nMacNutt, H., 25, 63\n\nMahdi, 19, 20, 21, 92, 189, 210\n\nMahdiism, 19\n\nMaku, 21, 210, 236\n\nManifestation (see Baha Ullah--Claims; Bahaisms--Doctrines)\n\nMarriage obligatory, 155 (see Woman)\n\nMartyrs, 123 note 3, 137, 192, 193, 213, 258\n\nMashrak-ul-Askar (see Temple)\n\nMaskin Kalam, 43, 167, 205, 223\n\nMetempsychosis, 95\n\nMillennium, 77, 98, 217\n\nMissions, Christian, 26, 30, 85, 199, 200, 203;\n converts from Islam, 65, 222, 241\n\nMohammed, 31, 33, 34, 45, 50, 82, 83, 86, 88, 92, 99, 159, 162, 243\n\nMohammedans, 64, 67, 68, 84, 92, 123, 138, 146, 166, 169, 172-174, 197,\n  214, 243;\n  Sunnis indifferent to Bahaism, 27;\n  converted to Christianity, 65, 222, 241\n\nMohammedanism, 11, 48, 85, 113, 121, 123\n\nMohammed Ali, Mirza, son of Baha, 24, 69 note, 161, 187-188, 250, 252,\n  253-261, 277;\n  adherents of, 259, 270 (see Behais)\n\nMohammed Ali Shah, 138-140;\n  rewarded Bahais, 138\n\nMohammed Ali, Mullah, of Zenjan, 162\n\nMohammed Ali, Mullah, of Barfurush, 171, 237\n\nMohammed Javad Kasvini, 14, 222, 229, 232\n\nMohammed Shah, 105, 133, 210 (see Shah)\n\nMohammed Taki, Haji, 172, 236\n\nMohonk, Lake, Conference, 65, 70\n\nMorals (see Bahaism--Claims), 179-216\n\nMormons, 43, 52\n\nMoses, 31, 41, 86, 88, 92\n\nMullahs, 137, 138, 144 note 1, 190, 210-212, 213\n\n\nNabil, 22, 47, 240\n\nNakhazeen (violators), 39, 256, 261, 270, 273\n\nNasr-ud-Din Shah, 133, 134, 135, 189-191, 210 (see Shah);\n  attempt to assassinate, 21, 23, 238 (see Epistle to Shah)\n\nNegro Bahais, 168, 282 (see Gregory)\n\nNestorians, 28, 67\n\nNew History, 37, 104, 113, 136, 160, 182, 184, 191, 211, 212, 245, 265\n\nNew Testament, 46, 47, 82, 86, 94, 106;\n  declared abrogated, 114\n\nNicolas, A. L. M., 14, 18, 178, 198, 220\n\nNoruz, 121, 127, 187\n\nNumber of Bahais (see Bahais)\n\nNumbers, Sacred, nineteen, 56, 59, 121, 127;\n  nine, 56, 117, 123, 127, 141, 175 note, 237, 258, 279\n\nNur-i-Din, Sheikh, 22\n\nNusairiyah (see Ali Allahi)\n\n\nOliphant, Laurence, 187 note 1, 194, 196 note, 231\n\nOpium, use prohibited, 214;\n  used by Bahais, 215\n\nOrient-Occident Educational Society (see Persian-American Educational\n  Society)\n\n\nPantheism (in Bahaism), 88, 89 note\n\nParsees (see Zoroastrians)\n\nPeace, 67, 70-76, 135, 276 (see Baha Ullah--Claims, Peace)\n\nPersia, Babism in, 18, 53, 135, 146, 171, 236 (see Constitutional\n  Movement);\n  customs of, 25, 79, 94, 147, 185 note 2;\n  religions of, 19, 66, 67, 88 note, 91, 107;\n  religious law of, 58;\n  mullahs, 212;\n  Baha Ullah in, 22, 70, 161, 185, 221;\n  Bahais in, 14, 23, 26, 58, 88 note, 93, 95, 103, 112, 118, 126 note 2,\n    135, 139, 140, 154, 161, 192, 213-216, 259-260, 273, 274, 283\n\nPersian-American Educational Society, 154, 202, 273\n\nPhelps, Myron, 26, 32, 33, 50, 88, 95, 112, 158, 160, 164, 174, 179,\n  195, 209, 213, 226, 244, 249, 260, 275;\n  \"Life of Abbas Effendi,\" 153, 173, 289\n\nPilgrimage, 123-126 (see Shrines and Bahai-American-Pilgrims)\n\nPolygamy (see Woman, Babism, Bahaism)\n\nPope, Epistle to, 36, 93, 185 note 2\n\nPotter, J. L., 101 note\n\nPrayer, 74, 110, 113, 121, 164\n\nPrimal Will, 41, 89\n\nProphecies, 97, 102, 105, 106, 118\n\nProphets, 31, 41, 88, 89, 90, 98\n\n\nQuarrel over succession, 247-262\n\n\nReligious Assassinations, 219-246 (see Assassinations)\n\nRemey, C. M., 27, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 50, 51, 56, 63, 64, 71, 77, 78,\n  84, 85, 87, 96, 114, 118, 128, 138, 140, 143, 160, 174, 180, 203, 261,\n  276, 280, 288\n\n\"Return,\" _rijat_, 95, 96, 110\n\nRizwan, 87, 127, 279\n\nRosary, 123, 253\n\nRosen, Baron, 57, 186, 187\n\nRussia, 57, 173, 187\n\n\nSatan denied, 112\n\nSchools (see Education)\n\nSchuster, Morgan, 170\n\nSects, Moslem, 19, 20, 91 note, 208 (see Persia--Religions of);\n  Oriental in America, 264, 284\n\nSeven Valleys, 37, 113, 115, 152\n\nShahs of Persia, 21, 73, 133, 134, 136, 137, 186, 192 (see under names)\n\nShedd, J. H., 28, 217\n\nShedd, W. A., 26, 30, 82, 197, 199, 200, 216\n\nSheikhis, 21, 67, 68, 170, 175, 213\n\nShiahs, 19, 20, 49, 51, 53, 67, 189, 191, 197, 210, 236, 239, 259\n  (see Sects)\n\nShrines, 123 and note 3, 125, 126, 213\n\nSprague, Sydney, 32, 40, 64, 84, 85, 90, 118, 160, 217, 249, 289\n\nSpeer, R. E., \"Missions and Modern History,\" 18, 28, 78, 82, 101, 133,\n  150, 217, 220, 264\n\n_Star of the West_, 14, 51, 56, 93, 116, 128, 154, 202, 273, 284, 285\n\nState, Bahaism and the, 131-149\n\nStenstrand, A. J., 185 note 2, 245 note 1, 268, 269\n\nSubh-i-Azal, 15, 38, 160, 185, 233, 238, 246, 268;\n  history of, 22, 23, 43, 167, 197, 205, 221-228;\n  polygamy, 159;\n  attempt to poison, 224;\n  attempt to murder, 227;\n  witness to murder of Azalis, 229, 235;\n  successor to Bab, 22, 42, 181, 183, 184 and note 3, 204, 220;\n  writings, 74\n\nSufis, 68 note, 78, 175\n\nSuicide, 112, 239, 240\n\nSultan of Turkey, 22, 38, 193-194, 257, 262\n\nSurat-ul-Haykal, 37, 117, 152\n\nSurat-ul-Muluk, 186, 191\n\n\nTabriz, 21, 44, 91 note, 105, 123, 155, 189, 198, 234, 259, 274\n\nTagiya (dissimulation), 23, 48, 51, 85, 193, 197-205, 208\n\nTajallayat, 91\n\nTeheran, 21, 123, 140, 155, 161, 174, 198, 203, 274\n\nTemples, Bahai, 98, 115, 116, 117, 278-280\n\nTempleton, Mrs., 194, 255 note 2, 256\n\nTisdall, W. StC., 49\n\nToleration, 136, 137, 140;\n  lack of, 21, 132, 135, 147, 191, 240, 241, 255, 259 (see Intolerance)\n\nTraveller's Narrative, 37, 42, 113, 136, 182, 184 note 2, 186, 189, 190,\n  204, 265;\n  its author Abdul Baha, 159, 178, 183, 226, 245\n\nTrinities, 40 note 3, 260\n\nTrue, C., 94, 124, 283, 289\n\nTurkey, Bahais in, 27, 76, 135 (see Bagdad, Adrianople, Acca)\n\n\nUniversal language, 59, 70\n\nUniversal religion, 29, 50-59\n\n\nVatralsky, S. K., 133, 208, 220, 266, 267\n\n\nWars of Babis, 21, 71, 73, 135;\n  Baha starts to war, 73;\n  condemns war, 67, 70, 71;\n  Abdul Baha on war, 74\n\nWilberforce, Canon, 84, 197, 281\n\nWoman, in Bahaism, 151-175;\n  education of, 154 (see Education);\n  equality with man taught, 151, 272;\n  not taught by Baha, 152;\n  position inferior under Bahaism, 153, 158, 163, 165, 166 note 1, 176;\n  woman Bahais in America, 153, 163, 175, 277;\n  civil rights of, 155-167;\n  inheritance unequal, 166;\n  marriage:\n    enjoined, 155;\n    with consent, 156;\n    child betrothals, 157;\n    bigamy allowed and practiced, 158, 164 note 3;\n    wives of Baha, 160-162;\n    Bahais favour plural marriage, 159, 164, 165;\n    intermarriage with negroes, 168;\n  divorce:\n    loose law, 165;\n    causes of, 166-167;\n    alimony small, 166;\n    desertion, 167;\n    social rights, 169;\n    continues veiled, 173;\n    not receive men visitors, 173, 174 and note 2;\n    no political equality, 175-176;\n  no women in government, 176;\n  movement to ameliorate among Moslems, 169-170, 173 and note 1\n   (see Kurrat-ul-Ayn)\n\nWriting of, 288-289 (see Bab--Books, Bayan, Baha Ullah)\n\nWylie, A. L., 84\n\n\nYahya, Mirza (see Subh-i-Azal)\n\nYahya, Sayid, 44\n\n\nZoroaster, 31, 107\n\nZoroastrians, 26, 27, 55, 64, 67, 68, 85, 92, 106, 203\n\n\nPRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n\n\n  CONCERNING FOREIGN LANDS\n\n\n  _EDWARD WARREN CAPEN, Ph.D._\n\n  _Organizing Secretary of the Hartford School of Missions_\n\n  SOCIOLOGICAL PROGRESS IN MISSION LANDS\n  8vo, cloth, net $1.50.\n\n      The material for this able sociological survey Dr. Capen\n      gathered during a visitation of the missionary fields of the\n      world. Dr. James Dennis says: \"Dr. Capen's grasp of a very large\n      and complex subject is adequate and well balanced.\"\n\n\n  _JEREMIAH ZIMMERMAN, D.D._\n\n  THE GOD JUGGERNAUT AND HINDUISM IN INDIA\n  Illustrated, 8vo, cloth, net $1.50.\n\n      \"A careful study of the religious rites and gods of Hinduism,\n      based on its observation during a 5,000 mile journey in the\n      East, Dr. Zimmerman writes entertainingly and instructively of\n      the life of these millions of our fellow human-beings of whom we\n      have known so little\"--_Syracuse Herald._\n\n\n  _RENA L. HOGG_\n\n  A MASTER BUILDER ON THE NILE\n\n  Being the Record of the Life and Labors of John\n  Hogg, D.D. Illustrated, 8vo, cloth, net $1.50.\n\n      Dr. Samuel M. Zwemer says: \"It is bound to interest people as\n      fully as the life story of any missionary published in recent\n      years.\"\n\n\n  _CARL LEROY HOWLAND, Ph.B._\n\n  MANUAL OF MISSIONS\n\n  Introduction by Bishop W. T. Hogue, cloth, net 75c.\n\n      \"An authoritative statement of just what those interested in\n      world-wide evangelization desire to know regarding the occupied\n      and unoccupied fields of missionary enterprise. The writer knows\n      of no other work which presents so many and such varied facts\n      regarding foreign missionary work within so small a\n      compass.\"--_Bishop Wilson T. Hogue._\n\n\n  _J. J. MULLOWNEY, D.D. and His Chinese Friend_\n\n  A REVELATION OF THE CHINESE REVOLUTION\n  12mo, cloth, net 75c.\n\n      An authentic and intimate record of the Chinese Revolution. The\n      author's data, inspired by men behind the scenes, shows how the\n      extravagance and inefficiency of the Manchus brought about the\n      ruin of their dynasty, and ushered in the first Republic of the\n      East. There is, in addition, a closely-written and illuminating\n      review of the social and political conditions which now obtain\n      in the Flowery Kingdom.\n\n\n\n\n  FOREIGN MISSIONS\n\n\n  _M. WILMA STUBBS_\n\n  HOW EUROPE WAS WON FOR CHRISTIANITY\n  Illustrated. 12mo, cloth, net $1.50.\n\n      The story of the first seventeen centuries of Christianity is\n      here told in the lives of the great missionaries of the church\n      beginning with St. Paul. So far as we are aware no single volume\n      containing so complete a collection of the lives of these\n      pioneers in missionary work has before been published. Miss\n      Stubbs has done a very real and important service to the cause\n      of missions in making the lives of these great men live for the\n      inspiration of younger generations of to-day.\n\n\n  _R. FLETCHER MOORSHEAD, M.B., F.R.C.S._\n\n  THE APPEAL OF MEDICAL MISSIONS\n  12mo, cloth, net $1.00.\n\n      The author is Secretary of the Medical Mission Auxiliary of the\n      British Baptist Mission Society and Baptist Zenana Mission. He\n      gives a general survey of the main considerations upon which the\n      Medical Mission enterprise is based, presenting a true\n      conception of the need, value and importance of this great work\n      in the spread of the Gospel. Dr. Moorshead knows his subject\n      well and he gives a wealth of interesting facts regarding The\n      Character and Purpose of Medical Missions--The Origin and\n      Authority, Justification, Need, Value--The Practice of Medical\n      Missions, Woman's Sphere in Them, Training for, Home Base,\n      Failure, Appeal, etc.\n\n\n  _JAMES S. DENNIS, D. D._\n\n  THE MODERN CALL OF MISSIONS:\n\n  Studies In Some of the Larger Aspects of a Great\n  Enterprise. 8vo, cloth, net $1.50.\n\n      \"This is a magnificent presentation of the call of missions,\n      showing their great and sweeping influence on human life and\n      social progress. It is a logical and searching study of the\n      power of the Gospel as it goes into other lands and there meets\n      the facts and elements that make up the life of the people. Dr.\n      Dennis has had the personal experiences and knowledge which\n      enable him to speak with authority. An exceedingly valuable\n      contribution to the missionary literature of the day.\"--_Herald\n      and Presbyter._\n\n\n  _ARCHIBALD McLEAN_\n\n  EPOCH MAKERS OF MODERN MISSIONS\n  Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, net $1.00.\n\n      The author of \"Where the Book Speaks,\" has given in these\n      \"College of Missions Lectures\" a series of sketches of modern\n      missionary leaders which for clearness, brevity, directness of\n      style and inspirational value, have rarely been surpassed. Each\n      characterization is truly \"much in little,\" and the book is a\n      distinct and most acceptable addition to missionary biography.\n\n\n  _ROBERT E. SPEER The Cole Lectures for 1911._\n\n  SOME GREAT LEADERS IN THE WORLD MOVEMENT 12mo, cloth, net $1.25.\n\n      Mr. Speer in his characteristic inspiring way has presented the\n      key note of the lives of six of the World's greatest\n      missionaries: Raymond Lull, the crusading spirit in missions;\n      William Carey, the problems of the pioneer; Alexander Duff,\n      Missions and Education; George Bowen, the ascetic ideal in\n      missions; John Lawrence, politics and missions; and Charles G.\n      Gordon, modern missionary knight-errancy.\n\n\n  _S. M. ZWEMER, F.R.G.S., and Others_\n\n  ISLAM AND MISSIONS\n  12mo, cloth, net $1.50.\n\n      This volume presents the papers read at the Second Conference on\n      Missions to Moslems, recently held in Lucknow, India. The\n      contributors are all experts of large experience in such mission\n      effort.\n\n\n  _VAN SOMMER, ANNIE, and Others_\n\n  DAYLIGHT IN THE HAREM\n\n  A New Era for Moslem Women. _In Press._\n\n      Woman's work for Woman is nowhere more needed than on the part\n      of Christian women for their sisters of Islam. It is a most\n      difficult field of service, but this volume by authors long and\n      practically interested in this important Christian ministry,\n      demonstrates how effectually this work has opened and is being\n      carried forward with promising results.\n\n\n  _ROBERT A. HUME, D. D._\n\n  AN INTERPRETATION OF INDIA'S RELIGIOUS HISTORY\n  _Introduction by President King, LL.D. of Oberlin College_\n\n  12mo, cloth, net $1.25.\n\n      The author of this careful, though popular, study, is eminently\n      qualified to deal with the subject of his thoughtful volume.\n      Equipped for this purpose through long residence in India and\n      intimate study of India's religious history, what he says will\n      be accepted as the estimate and interpretation of an authority.\n\n\n  _MARGARET E. BURTON_\n\n  THE EDUCATION OF WOMEN IN CHINA\n  Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, net $1.25.\n\n      The author of this scholarly study of the Chinese woman and\n      education is the daughter of Prof. Ernest E. Burton, of the\n      University of Chicago.... The work is probably the most thorough\n      study of an important phase of the economic development of the\n      world's most populous country that has appeared.\n\n\n  _GEORGE F. HERRICK, D.D._\n\n  _Fifty Years Missionary of the American Board in Turkey_\n\n  CHRISTIAN AND MOHAMMEDAN\n\n  A Plea for Bridging the Chasm. Illustrated, net $1.25.\n\n      \"Dr. Herrick has given his life to missionary work among the\n      Mohammedans. Opinions from leading missionaries to Mohammedans,\n      in all parts of the world have been brought together in the book\n      for the elucidation of essential points of the problem and form\n      an immensely practical feature of the discussion.\"--_Henry Otis\n      Dwight, LL.D._\n\n\n  _JAMES L. BARTON, D. D._\n\n  HUMAN PROGRESS THROUGH MISSIONS\n  12mo, cloth, net 50c.\n\n      By the Foreign Secretary of the American Board. The book is a\n      notable addition to the apologetics of Missions and will carry a\n      message of conviction to many a reader who may not be fully\n      persuaded of the value and necessity of Christian work in\n      foreign lands.\n\n\n  _ALICE M. GUERNSEY_\n\n  A QUEEN ESTHER ROUND ROBIN\n  Decorated Paper, in Envelope, net 25c.\n\n      \"It was a pretty conceit to have a disbanding mission circle\n      keep up their mutual connection by writing a \"round robin.\" It\n      is just the thing for girls' mission bands.\"--_S. S. Times._\n\n\n  _S. M. ZWEMER, F.R.G.S._\n\n  ARABIA: THE CRADLE OF ISLAM\n\n  Studies in the Geography, People and Politics of\n  the Peninsula; with an account of Islam and Missionary\n  Work. _New Edition._ Illustrated. 8vo,\n  Cloth, net $2.00.\n\n\n  _ANSTICE ABBOTT_\n\n  THE STOLEN BRIDEGROOM AND OTHER EAST INDIAN IDYLLS\n  Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, net 75c.\n\n      The author has vividly portrayed some of the ways in which\n      Christ enters the Hindu heart; Just the book to read in the\n      auxiliary society or to bring into the reading club.\"--_Mission\n      Studies._\n\n\n  CHILDREN'S MISSIONARY SERIES\n  Cloth, decorated, each, net 60c.\n\n  _New Volumes._\n\n  CHILDREN OF PERSIA. Mrs. Napier Malcolm.\n  CHILDREN OF BORNEO. Edwin H. Gomes.\n\n      Each volume is written by an authority on the countries\n      represented as well as by a writer who knows how to tell a story\n      that will both entertain and instruct children.\n\n\n\n\n  MISSIONARY\n\n\n  _JAMES S. DENNIS, D.D._\n\n  THE MODERN CALL OF MISSIONS:\n\n  Studies In Some of the Larger Aspects of a Great\n  Enterprise. 8vo, cloth, net $1.50.\n\n      Doctor Dennis has brought together in this, his latest volume on\n      Foreign Missions, eighteen very suggestive and informing\n      studies. The author might very properly be called the Dean of\n      the School of the Philosophy of Modern Missions. He is both\n      keenly analytical as well as broad in his outlook. This\n      intensity and assurance can hardly fail to deeply impress and\n      influence the reader. It is preeminently a dynamic book.\n\n\n  _MISS MINNA G. COWAN_\n\n  THE EDUCATION OF THE WOMEN OF INDIA\n  Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, net $1.25.\n\n      The subject is treated historically, philosophically and\n      suggestively. The contributions made by the government, the East\n      Indians themselves and the missionaries, to solving the\n      educational problems of the country are clearly shown. The book\n      is an important and suggestive addition to the literature of\n      education in foreign lands, being a worthy companion volume to\n      Miss Burton's \"The Education of Women in China.\"\n\n\n  _ARCHIBALD McLEAN_\n\n  EPOCH MAKERS OF MODERN MISSIONS\n  Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, net $1.00.\n\n      The author of \"Where the Book Speaks,\" has given in these\n      \"College of Missions Lectures\" a series of sketches of modern\n      missionary leaders which for clearness, brevity, directness of\n      style and inspirational value, have rarely been surpassed. Each\n      characterization is truly \"much in little,\" and the book is a\n      distinct and most acceptable addition to missionary biography.\n\n\n  _REV. W. MUNN_\n\n  THREE MEN ON A CHINESE HOUSEBOAT\n\n  The Story of a River Voyage Told for Young\n  Folks. Illustrated, 12mo, cloth, net 75c.\n\n      The story of an actual trip up the Yang-tse river taken by three\n      missionaries on the way to their stations. In breezy,\n      easy-flowing narrative one of the three tells the very\n      interesting story of their fifteen hundred mile journey. The\n      book should be a very acceptable addition to missionary stories\n      and side-light reading.\n\n\n  _ROBERT E. SPEER_\n\n  CHRISTIANITY AND THE NATIONS\n  The Duff Lectures for 1910.\n  8vo, cloth, net $2.00.\n\n      Among the many notable volumes that have resulted from the\n      well-known Duff foundation Lectureship this new work embodying\n      the series given by Mr. Robert E. Speer in Edinburgh, Glasgow\n      and Aberdeen, will rank among the most important. The general\n      theme, \"The Reflex Influence of Missions upon the Nations,\"\n      suggests a large, important, and most interesting work. The name\n      of the lecturer is sufficient guarantee of the method of\n      treatment.\n\n\n  _HENRY H. JESSUP_\n\n  FIFTY-THREE YEARS IN SYRIA\n  Introduction by James S. Dennis. Two volumes, illustrated,\n  8vo, cloth, boxed, net $5.00.\n\n      This autobiographical record of half a century's experience in\n      the mission field of Syria, is rich in color, narrative and\n      insight. It is also incidentally a history of the mission work\n      for the period but told with a personal touch and from the\n      innermost standpoint. It is a pioneer's story, and as such never\n      lacks in interest.\n\n\n  _JULIUS RICHTER_\n\n  A HISTORY OF PROTESTANT MISSIONS IN THE NEAR EAST\n  8vo, cloth, net $2.50.\n\n      A companion volume to \"A History of Missions in India\" by this\n      great authority. The progress of the gospel is traced in Asia\n      Minor, Persia, Arabia, Syria and Egypt. Non-sectarian in spirit\n      and thoroughly comprehensive in scope. \"It is truly a notable\n      work and can be endorsed in unqualified terms.\"--_John R. Mott._\n\n\n  _WILLIAM EDWARD GARDNER_\n\n  WINNERS OF THE WORLD DURING TWENTY CENTURIES\n  Adapted for Boys and Girls.\n\n  A Story and a Study of Missionary Effort from the Time of Paul to the\n  Present Day. Cloth, net 60c; paper, net 30c.\n\n      Brief sketches of great missionaries in chronological order,\n      extending down through Augustine and Boniface the apostles to\n      England and Germany, Xavier in Japan, and Brainerd among the\n      Indians, to Carey, Moffat and Livingstone and Missionaries of\n      our own day. Intensely stimulating and suggestive.\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber's Notes:\n\n\nItalics indicated by underscores _like this_\n\nBold and small caps indicated by upper-case LIKE THIS\n\nMinor punction errors corrected without notice\n\np. 97 \"Baba\" changed to \"Baha\"\n\np 178. \"percursor\" changed to \"precursor\"","title":"Bahaism and Its Claims: A Study of the Religion Promulgated by Baha Ullah and Abdul Baha","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":72497}