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Bahá'í Administration
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Pages 120-123
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Letter of February 12, 1927.
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To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful
throughout the West.
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Dearly-beloved brothers and sisters in `Abdu'l-Bahá:
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The trend of various events, affecting directly and indirectly
the interests of the Bahá'í Cause, have of late served to bring into
further prominence the character as well as the significance of a
Faith destined to regenerate the world.
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Of all the diverse issues which today are gradually tending to
consolidate and extend the bounds of the Revelation of Bahá'u'lláh,
the decision of Egypt's religious Tribunal regarding the Bahá'ís
under its jurisdiction appears at the present moment to be the most
powerful in its challenge, the most startling in its character, and
the most perplexing in the consequences it may entail. I have already
alluded in my letter of January 10, 1926, addressed to the
National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and
Canada, to a particular feature of this momentous verdict, which
after mature deliberation has obtained the sanction of Egypt's highest
ecclesiastical authorities, has been communicated and printed,
and is regarded as final and binding. I have stressed in my last
reference to this far-reaching pronouncement the negative aspect of
this document which condemns in most unequivocal and emphatic
language the followers of Bahá'u'lláh as the believers in heresy,
offensive and injurious to Islám, and wholly incompatible with the
accepted doctrines and practice of its orthodox adherents.
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A closer study of the text of the decision will, however, reveal
the fact that coupled with this strong denunciation is the positive
assertion of a truth which the recognized opponents of the Bahá'í
Faith in other Muhammadan countries have up to the present time
either sedulously ignored or maliciously endeavored to disprove.
Not content with this harsh and unjustifiable repudiation of the
so-called menacing and heretical doctrines of the adherents of the
Bahá'í Faith, they proceed in a formal manner to declare in the text
of that very decision their belief, that the Bahá'í Faith is a "new
religion," "entirely independent" and, by reason of the magnitude
of its claim and the character of its "laws, principles and beliefs,"
worthy to be reckoned as one of the established religious systems of
the world. Quoting various passages judiciously gleaned from a
number of Bahá'í sacred Books as an evidence to their splendid
testimony, they proceed in a notable statement to deduce the fact that
henceforth it shall be regarded as impossible for the followers of
such a Faith to be designated as Muslim, just as it would be incorrect
and erroneous to call a Muhammadan either Christian or Jew.
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It cannot be denied that in the course of the inevitable developments
of this present situation the resident Bahá'ís of Egypt, originally
belonging to the Muslim Faith, will be placed in a most humiliating
and embarrassing position. They, however, cannot but
rejoice in the knowledge that whereas in various Muhammadan
countries and particularly in Persia the overwhelming majority of
the leaders of Islám are utterly opposed to any form of declaration
that would facilitate the universal recognition of the Cause, the authorized
heads of their co-religionists in one of the most advanced
communities in the Muhammadan world have, of their own initiative,
published to the world a document that may justly be termed
as the first chapter of liberty emancipating the Bahá'í Faith from the
fetters of orthodox Islám. And in order to insure the complete
rupture of Bahá'í official relations with Muslim Courts they lay
down in unmistakable terms the condition that under no circumstances
can the marriage of those Bahá'ís who have been required
to divorce their Muslim wives be renewed by the Muslim Court unless
and until the husbands formally recant their faith by solemnly
declaring that the Qur'án is the "last" Book of God revealed to
man, that no law can abrogate the Prophet's Law, no faith can
succeed His Faith, no revelation can claim to fulfill His Revelation.
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While unwavering in their belief in the Divine station of the
Author of the Qur'án and profoundly convinced of the necessity and
worldwide influence of His Divine mission, Bahá'ís in every land
stand undeterred and unabashed in the face of the strong condemnation
pronounced against their brethren in Egypt. Indeed, they
together with their fellow-workers in all Muslim countries welcome
with gladness and pride every opportunity for further emancipation
that they may set forth in a truer light the sublime mission of Bahá'u'lláh.
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In the face of such an outspoken and challenging declaration,
the Bahá'í of the West cannot but feel the deepest sympathy with
their Egyptian brethren who, for the sake of our beloved Cause
and its deliverance, have to face all the embarrassments and vexations
which the severance of old-established ties must necessarily
entail. They will, however, most certainly expect every staunch and
loyal believer in the Faith who resides in that land to refrain in view
of the grave warning uttered expressly by our opponents, from any
practice that would in any manner constitute in the eyes of a critical
and vigilant enemy a repudiation of the fundamental beliefs of the
people of Bahá. They will most assuredly, whenever the moment
is opportune, step forth with eager hearts to offer every support
in their power to their fellow-workers who, with stout hearts and
irreproachable loyalty, will continue to hold aloft the standard of
God's struggling Faith. They will not fail to come to the rescue
of those who with joyous confidence will endure to the very end such
vicissitudes as this New Day of God, now in its birth-throes, must
needs suffer and surmount.
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We cannot believe that as the Movement grows in strength, in
authority and in influence, the perplexities and the sufferings it has
had to contend with in the past will correspondingly decrease and
vanish. Nay, as it grows from strength to strength, the fanatical
defendants of the strongholds of orthodoxy, whatever be their denomination,
realizing the penetrating influence of this growing Faith,
will arise and strain every nerve to extinguish its light and discredit
its name. For has not our beloved `Abdu'l-Bahá sent forth His
glowing prophecy from behind the prison walls of the citadel of
Akká--words so significant in their forecast of the coming world
turmoil, yet so rich in their promise of eventual victory:--
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"How great, how very great is the Cause; how very fierce the
onslaught of all the peoples and kindreds of the earth! Erelong
shall the clamor of the multitude throughout Africa, throughout
America, the cry of the European and of the Turk, the groaning of
India and China be heard from far and near. One and all they shall
arise with all their power to resist His Cause. Then shall the Knights
of the Lord, assisted by grace from on high, strengthened by faith,
aided by the power of understanding and reinforced by the legions
of the Covenant, arise and make manifest the truth of the verse:
`Behold the confusion that hath befallen the tribes of the defeated!'"
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Dearly beloved friends, upon us devolves the supreme obligation
to stand by His side, to fight His battles and to win His victory.
May we prove ourselves worthy of this trust.
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Your true brother,
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SHOGHI.
Haifa, Palestine,
February 12, 1927.
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