1 Shoghi Effendi, _Advent of Divine Justice_ (Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1990), p. 81.
2 Shoghi Effendi, _The Promised Day is Come_ (Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1996), p. 1.
3 Eric Hobsbawm, _Age of Extremes: The Short Twentieth Century,
1914-1991_ (London: Abacus, 1995), p. 584.
4 Leopold II, King of the Belgians, operated the colony as a private
preserve for some three decades (1877-1908). The atrocities carried
out under his misrule aroused international protest, and in 1908 he
was compelled to surrender the territory to the administration of
the Belgian government.
5 The processes that brought about these changes are reviewed in some
detail by A. N. Wilson, et al., _God's Funeral_ (London: John
Murray, 1999). In 1872, a book published by Winwood Reade under the
title _The Martyrdom of Man_ (London: Pemberton Publishing, 1968),
which became something of a secular "Bible" in the early decades of
the twentieth century, expressed the confidence that "finally, men
will master the forces of Nature. They will become themselves
architects of systems, manufacturers of worlds. Man will then be
perfect; he will then be a creator; he will therefore be what the
vulgar worship as a god." Cited by Anne Glyn-Jones, _Holding up a
Mirror: How Civilizations Decline_ (London: Century, 1996), pp.
371-372.
_ 6 Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha_ (Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1997), p. 35, (section 15.6).
7 'Abdu'l-Baha, _The Secret of Divine Civilization_ (Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1990), p. 2.
_ 8 Makatib-i-'Abdu'l-Baha _(Tablets of 'Abdu'l-Baha), vol. 4 (Tehran:
Iran National Publishing Trust, 1965), pp. 132-134, provisional
translation.
_ 9 ibid. _
_ 10 ibid. _
11 The school was closed in 1934, by order of Reza Shah, because it had
observed Baha'i Holy Days as religious holidays. The closing of all
other Baha'i schools in Iran followed.
12 See _The Baha'i World_, vol. XIV (Haifa: Baha'i World Centre, 1975),
pp. 479-481, for history.
13 Shoghi Effendi, _The World Order of Baha'u'llah _ (Wilmette: Baha'i
Publishing Trust, 1991), p. 156.
14 "The outermost circle in this vast system, the visible counterpart
of the pivotal position conferred on the Herald of our Faith, is
none other than the entire planet. Within the heart of this planet
lies the 'Most Holy Land,' acclaimed by 'Abdu'l-Baha as 'the Nest of
the Prophets' and which must be regarded as the center of the world
and the Qiblih of the nations. Within this Most Holy Land rises the
Mountain of God of immemorial sanctity, the Vineyard of the Lord,
the Retreat of Elijah, Whose return the Bab Himself symbolizes.
Reposing on the breast of this holy mountain are the extensive
properties permanently dedicated to, and constituting the sacred
precincts of, the Bab's holy Sepulcher. In the midst of these
properties, recognized as the international endowments of the Faith,
is situated the most holy court, an enclosure comprising gardens and
terraces which at once embellish, and lend a peculiar charm to,
these sacred precincts. Embosomed in these lovely and verdant
surroundings stands in all its exquisite beauty the mausoleum of the
Bab, the shell designed to preserve and adorn the original structure
raised by 'Abdu'l-Baha as the tomb of the Martyr-Herald of our
Faith. Within this shell is enshrined that Pearl of Great Price, the
holy of holies, those chambers which constitute the tomb itself, and
which were constructed by 'Abdu'l-Baha. Within the heart of this
holy of holies is the tabernacle, the vault wherein reposes the most
holy casket. Within this vault rests the alabaster sarcophagus in
which is deposited that inestimable jewel, the Bab's holy dust."
Shoghi Effendi, _Citadel of Faith_ (Wilmette: Baha'i Publishing
Trust, 1995), pp. 95-96.
_ 15 ibid._, p. 95.
16 Shoghi Effendi, _God Passes By_ (Wilmette: Baha'i Publishing Trust,
1995), p. 276.
17 H. M. Balyuzi, _'Abdu'l-Baha: The Centre of the Covenant of
Baha'u'llah_, 2nd ed. (Oxford: George Ronald, 1992), p. 136.
_ 18 Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Baha_, _op. cit._, pp.
254-255, (section 200.3).