but their mother, expectant to bring forth her child, and with no hope of
relief from their non-Baha'i relatives in whose eyes they deserve to be
treated only with the meanest contempt.
It appears from the above-mentioned report that the merciless assailant
has been arrested, waiting, however, as has been the case with similar
incidents in southern Persia, to be sooner or later released under the
pressure of bribery and intimidation sedulously exercised by an impenitent
enemy.
Dearest friends! Any measure of publicity the concerted efforts of the
Baha'i Spiritual Assemblies of the West, on whom almighty Providence has
conferred the inestimable benefits of religious toleration and freedom,
can accord to this latest manifestation of unbridled barbarism in Persia
will be most opportune and valuable. It will, I am certain, confer abiding
solace to those disconsolate sufferers who with sublime heroism continue
to uphold the traditions of their beloved Faith. Our one weapon lies in
our prayerful efforts, intelligently and persistently pursued, to arouse
by every means at our disposal the conscience of unheeding humanity, and
to direct the attention of men of vision and authority to these incredibly
odious acts which in their ferocity and frequency cannot but constitute in
the eyes of every fair-minded observer the gravest challenge to all that
is sacred and precious in our present day civilisation.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 29 April 1927
29 April 1927
MAY DELIBERATIONS FIRST BRITISH BAHA'I CONVENTION BE DIVINELY GUIDED AND
BLESSED.
SHOGHI
Letter of 13 May 1927
13 May 1927
My dear Mr. Simpson,
I thank you on behalf of our dear Guardian for your welcome letter of the
2nd.
It was with unbounded joy and great hopes for the future that we learnt of
the success of your first National Convention. May it prove to be the
beginning of a new era of achievement and expansion in the field of
service. Time was when individually we had to drink deep from the
all-satisfying teachings of the Baha'i Faith, and although this is far
from being accomplished yet it is time for us to share with many others
what we firmly believe....
Miss Rosenberg left only a few days ago and I suppose she will arrive back
home earlier than this letter.
As she will have plenty of news to give you I hardly need add any....
[From the Guardian:]
My dear and valued co-worker:
Although I rejoice at your appointment as member of the National and local
Assemblies, I fully sympathise with you in your arduous work and
responsibilities, for all of which you are so distinctly equipped and
qualified. I feel that next year, the number of members should be strictly
confined to nine, and a second ballot is quite proper and justified.(18) I
trust that the choice of Rev. Biggs signifies his unreserved acceptance of
the Faith in its entirety--a condition that we must increasingly stress in
the years that come. Please assure the elected members of my love, my best
wishes and of my ardent prayers for them all individually and collectively
that the Beloved may guide them, and reinforce their efforts for the
spread of our beloved Cause.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 22 May 1927
22 May 1927
My dear Mr. Simpson,
I thank you on behalf of Shoghi Effendi for your short letter of the 8th
giving the name of the occupants of the various offices.
He is glad to see the well chosen members each undertaking his suitable
task with the chairman shining amongst them. However he trusts that the
coming year may be one of renewed activity and greater accomplishment. Let
us not be loiterers in a fast-flying world especially when we know to what
grave and universal ills this Cause is a divine remedy....
[From the Guardian:]
With loving greetings and apologies for inability to write more due to
mental fatigue and strain.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 25 May 1927
25 May 1927
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY AFFECTIONATELY REMEMBERED HOLY SHRINES
SHOGHI
Letters of 8 October 1927 and 17 October 1927
Referred to in Minutes; no text available.
Letter of 15 November 1927
15 November 1927
LOVING APPRECIATION REMEMBRANCE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 28 November 1927
28 November 1927
LOVING APPRECIATION TENDEREST REMEMBRANCE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 5 January 1928
5 January 1928
"...Nothing should be attempted that would, in the least and however
indirectly, interfere with the unqualified freedom of local and national
elections...."
(Quoted in National Spiritual Assembly Minutes)
Letter of 16 January 1928
16 January 1928
My dear Mr. Simpson,
I am instructed by our dear Shoghi Effendi to thank you for your letter of
Dec. 31st with enclosures all of which he was very glad and interested to
read.
With regard to Miss Pinchon's book, Shoghi Effendi feels that if she
herself and the Assembly in London feel that the arrangement with the
London branch of Brentano's is really to her advantage, he would then be
glad to endorse it. The arguments you had brought were really very
favourable and that might help the success of the book in America.
Moreover, he would wish you to thank Asgarzadeh for his commitment in
helping the Assembly to promise a sum of fifty pounds. Shoghi Effendi has
liked the book immensely and trusts that it may render great services and
fulfil all our hopes.
He has taken notice of your solicitor's answer with regard to official
recognition by the Board of Trade and thinks your view of the subject
perfectly sound. Will the answer of the Board of Trade prove a stimulus to
the friends in England and help to multiply their numbers and establish
the Faith?...
[From the Guardian:]
My dear and valued co-worker:
I am so glad to have the opportunity of reaffirming in person my deep
affection for, and unshaken confidence in, you as well as my growing
appreciation of your ability and constancy in service. I am delighted at
the prospect of the joint publication of Miss Pinchon's admirable book in
London and in New York, and I would leave all subsidiary matters in this
connexion to the National Assembly and Miss Pinchon herself. I wish to
order beforehand 50 copies of her book at whatever price the publishers
will fix the rate of its sale, and will gladly send through you the amount
whenever seems to you the most suitable time. Kindly assure the friends of
my continued prayers at the Holy Shrines for their welfare and the success
of their arduous yet noble task.
Affectionately,
Shoghi
Letter of 8 February 1928
8 February 1928
My dear Mr. Simpson,
I am instructed by our dear Guardian to thank you for your letter of Jan.
29th with the minutes of the regular meeting of the English N.S.A.
enclosed.
He has read both your letter and the minutes with interest and pleasure.
He trusts that your next list of electors will show marked progress and
your weekly meetings at Lindsay Hall will attract new and enlightened
people. It is strange that the English Baha'is have really contributed a
great deal to the Cause, and in the form of books and publications given
us works of real and permanent value--perhaps proportionately more than
America, and yet it is such a Herculean affair to bring in new
fellow-workers. Perhaps just that difficulty is a sign of their
merit--staunch and unflinching adherence once they believe in something.
In connection with the form in which new electors are to be admitted into
the Cause, our Guardian will personally append his suggestions if any. You
would do well to see what the American system is.
Shoghi Effendi hopes very much that Miss Pinchon's book will prove a
"good-seller" in England also. Perhaps in being less scholarly it might
prove more popular and widely read....
[From the Guardian:]
My very dear and valued co-worker:
Pressure of cares and anxieties, most of them sudden and unforeseen, has
caused the delay in mailing this letter to you. Although immersed in an
ocean of preoccupations and work, I can always find the time to turn my
heart in prayer at the Holy Shrines and supplicate for you as well as for
your fellow-workers in that land the Beloved's unfailing Guidance,
sustaining strength and imperishable blessings. May He assist you to
persevere in your task, and enable you to achieve in the various fields of
your activity your heart's desire.
Your true brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 22 March 1928
22 March 1928
LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 15 April 1928
15 April 1928
My dear and valued co-worker:
I am glad to learn of your sustained activity, your undiminished
enthusiasm and vigour in the service of our beloved Cause. I will, on my
part, continue to pray for you from the very depths of my heart, that the
Beloved may guide you in every step you take, help you to remove
misunderstandings and difficulties amongst the friends and grant you
strength and long life to consolidate and extend the bounds of the
splendid pioneer work you are engaged in at present.
Your true brother and well-wisher,
Shoghi
Letter of 24 April 1928
24 April 1928
BROTHERLY GREETING LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 24 May 1928
24 May 1928
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY TENDERLY REMEMBERED HOLY SHRINES.
SHOGHI
Letter of 13 November 1928
13 November 1928
CONVEY NATIONAL ASSEMBLY LOVING APPRECIATION.
SHOGHI
Letter of 29 November 1928
29 November 1928
LOVING REMEMBRANCE.
SHOGHI
Letter of 6 December 1928
6 December 1928(19)
To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout
the West.
Dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in 'Abdu'l-Baha,
Events of a startling character and of the utmost significance to the
Faith of Baha'u'llah, have recently transpired throughout the Near and
Middle East in such rapid succession, that I feel moved to write about
them to those who, in distant lands and with eager hearts, are waiting to
witness the fulfilment of the prophecies of Baha'u'llah. You will, I am
certain, rejoice with me to learn that the quickening forces of internal
reform are swiftly awakening from their age-long slumber of negligence
those lands which, trodden by the feet of Baha'u'llah and wherein are
enshrined the memorable scenes of His birth, His ministry, His exiles, His
banishments, His suffering and His ascension, are destined in the fullness
of time to play a pre-eminent role in the regeneration of the East--nay of
all mankind.
From Persia, the cradle of our Faith and the object of our tenderest
affections, there breaks upon us the news of the first stirrings of that
social and political Reformation which, as we firmly believe, is but the
direct and unavoidable consequence of that great spiritual Revival ushered
in by the Revelation of Baha'u'llah. These social and political forces now
released by the Source of such a tremendous Revival are bound in their
turn to demolish one by one the barriers that have so long impeded its
flow, sapped its vitality and obscured its radiance.
From a communication addressed to me recently by the National Spiritual
Assembly of the Baha'is of Persia, as well as from reliable reports
submitted by the local representatives of the Persian believers, and
confirmed by the vivid narrative of visiting pilgrims, it is becoming
increasingly manifest that the glowing promises so many times uttered by
our departed Master are, with extraordinary exactitude and remarkable
swiftness, being successively fulfilled. Reforms of a revolutionary
character are, without bloodshed and with negligible resistance, gradually
transforming the very basis and structure of Persia's primitive society.
The essentials of public security and order are being energetically
provided throughout the length and breadth of the _Sh_ah's domain, and are
hailed with particular gratification by that much harassed section of the
population--our long-suffering brethren of that land. The rapidity, the
incredible ease, with which the enlightened proposals of its government,
in matters of education, trade and finance, means of transportation and
travel, and the development of the country's internal resources, are
receiving the unqualified sanction of a hitherto reactionary Legislature,
and are overcoming the resistance and apathy of the masses, have
undoubtedly tended to hasten the emancipation of our Persian brethren from
the remaining fetters of a once despotic and blood-stained regime. The
severely repressive and humiliating measures undertaken on the initiative
of progressive provincial Governors, and with the connivance of State
officials in the Capital, aiming at the scattering and ultimate extinction
of a rapidly waning clergy, such as degradation, detainment, deportation
and in some cases pitiless execution, are paving the way for the entire
removal of the shackles imposed by an ignorant and fanatical priesthood
upon the administration of State affairs. In matters of dress; in the
obligatory enforcement of a uniform style of national head-gear; in the
strict limitation of the number, the rights and the prerogatives of high
ecclesiastical officials; in the growing unpopularity of the veil among
almost every section of society; in the marked distinction which
unofficially and in various phases of public life is being made by an
enlightened and pressing minority between the tottering forms of a
discredited Ecclesiasticism and the civil rights and duties of civilised
society; in the general laxity in religious observances and ceremonies; in
the slow and hidden process of secularisation invading many a Government
department under the courageous guidance of the Governors of outlying
provinces--in all of these a discerning eye can easily discover the
symptoms that augur well for a future that is sure to witness the formal
and complete separation of Church and State.
To this uplifting movement, various external factors are being added that
are tending to hasten and stimulate this process of internal regeneration
so significant in the life of renascent Persia. The multiplicity and
increasing facilities in the means of transportation and travel; the State
visit of energetic and enlightened reformers to Persia's capital; the
forthcoming and widely-advertised journey of the _Sh_ah himself to the
progressive capitals of Western Europe; the repercussion of Turkey's
astounding reforms among an essentially sensitive and receptive people;
the loud and persistent clamour of a revolting order in Russia against the
evil domination and dark plottings of all forms of religious sectarianism;
the relentless vigour with which Af_gh_anistan's ambitious Ruler,
reinforced by the example of his gracious Consort, is pursuing his
campaign of repression against a similar order of a corrupted clergy at
home--all tend to lend their force in fostering and fashioning that public
opinion which can alone provide an enduring basis for the reform Movement
destined to usher in that golden Era craved for by the followers of the
Faith in Baha'u'llah's native land.
As a direct consequence of the birth of this new consciousness in the life
of the nation, as evidenced by these early stirrings in the minds of the
people, both high and low, meetings of an elaborate character,
unprecedented in the number of their attendants, in the tone of the public
addresses, in the undisturbed atmosphere of their proceedings, and the
general impressiveness of their organisation, have been publicly held in
?ihran, under the auspices of the National Spiritual Assembly of the
Baha'is of Persia. Particularly significant and impressive were those that
were held in the Haziratu'l-Quds, the administrative and spiritual centre
of the Faith in the Capital, on the occasion of the twin Festivals
commemorating the declaration of the Bab and the birth of 'Abdu'l-Baha, at
the chief of which no less than two thousand representative Baha'is and
non-Baha'is, leaders of public opinion, State officials and foreign
representatives were officially invited. The addresses stressing the
universality of the Teachings of the Cause, the formal and ordered
character of the proceedings so unusual a feature to a gathering of such
proportions, the mingling of the Baha'is with the recognised
representatives of progressive thought in the Capital who, by virtue of
their high office and stately appearance, lent colour and weight to the
concourse of attending believers, have all contributed to enhance the
brilliance and spiritual significance of that gathering on that memorable
occasion.
Moreover, reports of a highly encouraging nature are being continually
received from local Assemblies and individual believers, giving the names
and stating the numbers of influential Persians who, hitherto reluctant to
declare openly their faith in Baha'u'llah, are as a result of this
reassuring and promising state of affairs emerging from the obscurity of
their concealment and enlisting under the erected banner of Baha'u'llah.
This has served to embolden the followers of the Faith to take the
necessary steps, under the direction of their local Assemblies, for the
institution of Baha'i schools, for the holding of public gatherings, for
the establishment of Baha'i hostels, libraries and public baths, for the
construction of official headquarters for their administrative work, and
for the gradual execution among themselves, within the limits imposed upon
them by the State, of the laws and ordinances revealed in the
Kitab-i-Aqdas. Words fail me to describe the feelings of those patiently
suffering brethren of ours in that land, who, with eyes dim with tears and
hearts overflowing with thanksgiving and praise, are witnessing on every
side and with increasing force the unfoldment of a Faith which they have
served so well and love so dearly. Accounts pathetic and inspiring in
their tone are being received from that steadfast and cheerful band of
exultant believers, and are being shared with the resident friends in the
Holy Land who, having had the privilege of close and continued association
with the person of 'Abdu'l-Baha, cannot but marvel at the range, the
potency and accuracy of the prophecies of their departed Master.
From Turkey, on whose soil, for well nigh three score years and ten, were
enacted some of the sublimest and most tragic scenes in the annals of the
Cause; Turkey, under whose rule Baha'u'llah twice proclaimed Himself, was
thrice exiled and banished, and finally ascended to the Abha Kingdom, and
where 'Abdu'l-Baha spent more than fifty years of His Life, in
incarceration and suffering; has of late been rudely awakened to a Call
which it has so long obstinately despised and ignored. Following on the
overthrow of that effete theocracy, resting on the twin institutions of
the Caliphate and Sultanate--those two sinister forces that have combined
to inflict the deadliest blows to our beloved Faith in the earliest stages
of its infancy and growth--an uncompromising policy aiming at the
secularisation of the State and the disestablishment of Islam was
initiated and carried out with exemplary vigour. Religious institutions
and monastic orders which under the guise of religious propaganda were
converted into hotbeds of political intrigue and sedition were
peremptorily closed, their adherents scattered and banished, their funds
confiscated, their privileges and prerogatives abolished. None, save the
little band of Baha'u'llah's devoted followers, escaped the trenchant axe
of the pitiless reformer; all, without fear or favour, had to submit to
his searching investigations, his dictatorial edicts, his severe and
irrevocable judgment. Lately, however, the Turkish Government, faithful to
its policy of ceaseless vigilance, and fearful of the growing activities
of the Baha'is under its rule, decided to order the Police in the town of
Smyrna to conduct a close investigation into the purpose, the character
and the effects of Baha'i activity in that town. No sooner were the
representative Baha'is in that locality arrested and conducted to the Law
Courts for purposes of investigation, than the President of the Baha'i
Spiritual Assembly of Constantinople who, having read in the morning
papers the report of the Smyrna incident, had resolved unsummoned to offer
the necessary explanations to the authorities concerned, was in his turn
arrested and taken to the Police Headquarters where he soon afterwards was
joined by the other members of the Assembly. The official searching of
their homes, the seizure of whatever Baha'i literature they had in their
possession, their twenty-four hours' detention at the Police station, the
searching severity of the cross-examination to which they were
subjected--all proved powerless to alarm and shake the faith of those
intrepid champions of the Cause, or to evince anything detrimental to the
best interests of the State. On the contrary, they served to deeply
impress upon the minds and hearts of the officials concerned the
sublimity, the innocence, and the dynamic force of the Faith of
Baha'u'llah. So much so that their books were returned, a genuine desire
to deepen their knowledge of the Cause was expressed by their examiners,
and widespread publicity, as reflected in the articles of about a dozen
leading newspapers of Turkey, was accorded by the Government, proclaiming
the innocence of the Cause and lifting up the ban that now so oppressively
weighs upon religious institutions in Turkey.
From Constantinople in European Turkey to the eastern confines of
Anatolia, on the banks of the river Euphrates, where a small and
flourishing Baha'i Community has been recently established, a wave of
public interest, criticism and inquiry has been sweeping over the surface
of the land, as witnessed by the character and number of the leading
articles, the illustrations and caricatures that have appeared in the most
prominent newspapers of the capital and the provincial towns of Asiatic
Turkey. Not only Turkey, but its neighbouring countries of the East and
the West, have lifted up their voice in the vindication of the Baha'i
truth. From information thus far gathered we learn that in Hungary, in
'Iraq, Egypt and Syria, and as far west as France and England, newspapers
have, of their own accord, with varying degree of accuracy, and in more or
less detail, reported this incident in their columns, and have given,
unasked and unaware, such publicity to our beloved Faith which no campaign
of teaching, however elaborately organised by the believers themselves,
could ever hope to achieve at the present time. Surely the invincible arm
of Baha'u'llah, working through strange and mysterious ways, will continue
to guard and uphold, to steer the course, to consolidate, and eventually
to achieve the world-wide recognition and triumph of His holy Faith.