|
|
| <<previous |
next>> |
|
| |
Unfolding Destiny
|
Pages 48-53
|
| |
Letter of 11 April 1926
My dear Bahá'í Brother,
| |
| 1 |
I thank you very much indeed on behalf of our dear Guardian
for your kind letters of March 29th and 31st.
| |
| 2 |
The news of the reconciliation of ... with the National
Assembly has been the source of immeasurable joy to the heart
of Shoghi Effendi and he appreciates the spirit of both parties in
trying to forget all past misunderstandings and in starting anew
with genuine love and goodwill. This has relieved Shoghi
Effendi of a very heavy weight of thought and distress and this
itself gives you as much satisfaction as it does to us all.
| |
| 3 |
Shoghi Effendi has gladly received the names of the elected
body for the London Assembly and he wishes them all success
from the bottom of his heart. That they may all help to vindicate
still more strongly the great claim of our dear Cause in England,
that they may succeed to increase daily the numbers of earnest
Bahá'í workers and that they may mirror forth the great spirit
of our beloved Master, is the fondest hope and the fervent prayer
of our dear Guardian.
| |
| 4 |
As I write you these lines we are all sorely distressed with the
ghastly news of the martyrdom of twelve Bahá'ís in one of the
towns of southern Persia....
| |
| 5 |
[From the Guardian:]
My dear and valued friend:
| |
| 6 |
I have received with feelings of deep satisfaction the welcome news
of ... compliance with my request. I wish to impress upon all those
who come in contact with her the necessity of exercising forbearance,
kindness and loving consideration while adhering closely to the
established principles of the Cause. I will inform you if any action is
necessary regarding the martyrdom in Jahrum in Southern Persia--
a monstrous crime that has deeply afflicted us all. Concerning the
membership of the Spiritual Assembly, I have already communicated
with America to the effect that the members who are entitled to vote
must be strictly limited to nine. Additional members may attend only
in a consultative capacity. I realise fully the delicacy and difficulty of
your position but it must be made clear to all that nine and only nine
can vote. All other subsidiary matters are left to the Assemblies.
| |
| 7 |
Lovingly,
| |
| 8 |
Shoghi
Letter of 11 April 1926
[1]
| |
| 9 |
I gratefully acknowledge the receipt of the sum of seventeen pounds
from my dear friends the Bahá'ís of England as their much appreciated
contribution for the purchase of land around the Holy Shrines on Mt.
Carmel.
| |
| 10 |
Shoghi
Letter of 22 April 1926
[2]
To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful
throughout the West.
Fellow-labourers in the Divine Vineyard:
| |
| 11 |
In the midst of the many vicissitudes which the creative Word of
God is destined to encounter in the course of its onward march towards
the redemption of the world, there breaks upon us the news of still
another loss, more bewildering in its character, yet more inspiring in
its challenge, than any of the gravest happenings of recent times. Once
again the woeful tale of unabated persecution, involving this time the
martyrdom of twelve of our long-suffering brethren in Jahrum,
southern Persia, has reached our ears, and filled us with a gloom which
all the joys and ennobling memories of Ridván have failed to dispel.
| |
| 12 |
From the meagre reports which have thus far been received from
that distracted country it appears that this shameful and atrocious act,
though the outcome of a number of obscure and complex causes, has
been chiefly instigated by that ever-present factor of fierce and relentless
impulse of religious hostility. Persia--long-neglected and sorely-tried--
continues, despite the revival of recent hopes, to be the down-trodden
victim of unscrupulous personal rivalries and factious intrigue,
of tribal revolt, political dissensions and religious animosities--all of
which have in times past brought in their wake the shedding of the
blood of so many of its innocent and choicest sons.
| |
| 13 |
Fully alive to the gravity of the occasion, and realising the urgency
of my sacred duty, I have, upon the receipt of the news, transmitted
telegraphically through the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís
of Persia a special message addressed in the name of the Bahá'ís in
every land to the supreme Authority in the State, expressing our
profound horror at this outrageous act as well as our earnest entreaty
to inflict immediate punishment on the perpetrators of so abominable
a crime. And as this sad event involved chiefly the welfare and security
of the Bahá'í residents in Persia, I have specially requested all local
Assemblies in that land to address a similar message to the highest
authorities concerned appealing for full protection and justice. Should
future developments necessitate direct and foreign intervention, I shall
acquaint the national Bahá'í representatives in every land to take in
cooperation with all local Assemblies such measures as will effectually
conduce to a fuller recognition of the dynamic force latent in the Bahá'í
Faith and ensure the betterment of the lot of the heroic supporters of
our Cause.
| |
| 14 |
Pending the opening of official and direct communication with
recognised authorities whether in Persia or elsewhere, I strongly feel
that the time has assuredly come when it is incumbent upon every
conscientious promoter of the Cause to bestir himself and undertake in
consultation with the friends in his locality such measures of publicity
as will lead to the gradual awakening of the conscience of the civilised
world to what is admittedly an ignominious manifestation of a
decadent age.
| |
| 15 |
I would specially request all National Assemblies to give their
anxious and immediate consideration to this grave matter, and to
devise ways and means that will secure the fullest publicity to our
grievances. I would remind them that whatever is published should be
couched in terms that are at once correct, forceful and inoffensive. I
would particularly stress the importance of making every effort to
secure the sympathy and hospitality of the leading journals and
periodicals of the Western world, and of sending to the Holy Land any
such references in papers that will arise to champion the cause of
Righteousness and Justice. I greatly deplore the fact that owing to the
remoteness and the unstable conditions in Persia, details and particulars
regarding this ugly incident are not as yet available, but will be duly
communicated to the various centres immediately upon their receipt.
I would however ask the believers throughout the West to arise
without any further delay and supplement the publication of the news
conveyed in this message with an account of previous happenings of
a similar character, combined with an adequate survey of the aim, the
principles, and history of the Bahá'í Cause.
| |
| 16 |
It is to you, dearly beloved friends of the West, who are the
standard-bearers of the emancipation and triumph of the Bahá'í Faith,
that our afflicted brethren of the East have turned their expectant eyes,
confident that the day cannot be far-distant when, in accordance with
`Abdu'l-Bahá's explicit utterance, the West will "seize the Cause"
from Persia's fettered hands and lead it to glorious victory.
| |
| 17 |
Though grief-stricken and horrified at this cruel blow, let us be on
our guard lest we give way to despair, lest we forget that in the
Almighty's inscrutable Wisdom this sudden calamity may prove to be
but a blessing in disguise. For what else can it do but to stir the inmost
depths of our souls, set our faith ablaze, galvanise our efforts, dissolve
our differences, and provide one of the chief instruments which the
unhampered promoters of the Faith can utilise to attract the attention,
enlist the sympathy, and eventually win the allegiance of all mankind?
| |
| 18 |
Ours is this supreme opportunity; may we fulfil our trust.
| |
| 19 |
Your true brother,
Shoghi
Letter of 11 May 1926
[3]
To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful
throughout the West.
Dearly beloved brothers and sisters in `Abdu'l-Bahá!
| |
| 20 |
Grave and manifold as are the problems confronting the struggling
Faith of Bahá'u'lláh, none appear more significant nor seem more
compelling in their urgency than the incredible sufferings borne so
heroically by our down-trodden brethren of the East. Recent reports
confirming the news which I have lately communicated to you have all
emphasised the barbarous severity practised on the innocent followers
of our Cause. They reveal the possibility of the extension of this
agitation, partly instigated for political purposes and selfish motives,
to neighbouring towns and provinces, and dwell upon the traditional
slackness of the local authorities to inflict prompt and severe punishment
upon all the perpetrators of such abominable crimes. It has been
ascertained that in the town of Jahrum women have suffered
martyrdom in a most atrocious manner, that the knife of the criminal
has mercilessly cut to pieces the body of a child, that a number have
been severely beaten and injured, their bodies mutilated, their homes
pillaged, their property confiscated, and the homeless remnants of their
family abandoned to the mercy of a shameless and tyrannical people.
In other parts of Persia, and particularly in the province of
Ádhirbayján, in the town of Marághih, the friends have been pitilessly
denied the civic rights and privileges extended to every citizen of the
land. They have been refused the use of the public bath, and been
denied access to such shops as provide the necessities of life. They have
been declared deprived of the benefit and protection of the law, and all
association and dealing with them denounced as a direct violation of
the precepts and principles of Islám. It has even been authoritatively
stated that the decencies of public interment have been refused to their
dead, and that in a particular case every effort to induce the Moslem
undertaker to provide the wood for the construction of the coffin failed
to secure the official support of the authorities concerned. Every appeal
made by these harassed Bahá'ís on behalf of their brethren, whether
living or dead, has been met with cold indifference, with vague
promises, and not infrequently with severe rebuke and undeserved
chastisement.
| |
| 21 |
The tale of such outrageous conduct, such widespread suffering and
loss, if properly expressed and broadcast, cannot fail in the end to
arouse the conscience of civilised mankind, and thereby secure the
much-needed relief for a long-suffering people. I would, therefore,
renew my plea, and request you most earnestly to redouble your efforts
in the wide field of publicity, to devise every possible means that will
alleviate the fears and sorrows of the silent sufferers in that distracted
country.
| |
| 22 |
Surely these vile wrong-doers cannot long remain unpunished for
their ferocious atrocities, and the day may not be far distant when we
shall witness, as we have observed elsewhere, the promised signs of
Divine Retribution avenging the blood of the slaughtered servants of
Bahá'u'lláh.
| |
| 23 |
Your true brother,
| |
| 24 |
Shoghi
| |
| |
Notes
1. [This is the first example of a receipt from the Guardian. A few such receipts appear in this book as they illustrate his meticulous attention to detail. They do not, however, represent the total contributions made by members of the British Bahá'í community during the thirty-five years covered by the book.]
2. [Printed also in "Bahá'í Administration."]
3. [Printed also in "Bahá'í Administration".]
|
|
|
|