The Unfolding Destiny of the British Bahai Community Part 9

However, I have sent you the price for the so called region rather than the individual plots, the latter being due to many reasons quite impossible.

Shoghi Effendi is quite well though as usual very busy with an overwhelmingly vast correspondence. The family are all well and send you their love and best wishes....

[From the Guardian:]

My esteemed and valued friend:

I understand from your recent cable to me that Miss ... has at last complied with my request and written the London a.s.sembly acknowledging their authority. I have immediately cabled you my heartfelt appreciation of her act. If that is the case I wish to urge you and the London Council to exercise the utmost care, consideration and vigilance that this new step taken in the right direction may gradually lead to a definite solution of this painful problem. I am as usual terribly overwhelmed with my unceasing work and this cable of yours has been a most welcome relief.

I have received your letter dated Feb. 7. I am returning one of the leaflets for future publication in London. I wish to remind you of the necessity of close co-operation on the part of the English National Spiritual a.s.sembly with 'La nova Tago' published in Hamburg.

Shoghi

Letter of 11 April 1926

11 April 1926

My dear Baha'i Brother,

I thank you very much indeed on behalf of our dear Guardian for your kind letters of March 29th and 31st.

The news of the reconciliation of ... with the National a.s.sembly 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.

Shoghi Effendi has gladly received the names of the elected body for the London a.s.sembly 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 Baha'i 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.

As I write you these lines we are all sorely distressed with the ghastly news of the martyrdom of twelve Baha'is in one of the towns of southern Persia....

[From the Guardian:]

My dear and valued friend:

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 a.s.sembly, I have already communicated with America to the effect that the members who are ent.i.tled 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 a.s.semblies.

Lovingly, Shoghi

Letter of 11 April 1926

11 April 1926(8)

I gratefully acknowledge the receipt of the sum of seventeen pounds from my dear friends the Baha'is of England as their much appreciated contribution for the purchase of land around the Holy Shrines on Mt.

Carmel.

Shoghi

Letter of 22 April 1926

22 April 1926(9)

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the West.

Fellow-labourers in the Divine Vineyard:

In the midst of the many vicissitudes which the creative Word of G.o.d 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 enn.o.bling memories of Ridvan have failed to dispel.

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.

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 a.s.sembly of the Baha'is of Persia a special message addressed in the name of the Baha'is 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 Baha'i residents in Persia, I have specially requested all local a.s.semblies 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 Baha'i representatives in every land to take in cooperation with all local a.s.semblies such measures as will effectually conduce to a fuller recognition of the dynamic force latent in the Baha'i Faith and ensure the betterment of the lot of the heroic supporters of our Cause.

Pending the opening of official and direct communication with recognised authorities whether in Persia or elsewhere, I strongly feel that the time has a.s.suredly come when it is inc.u.mbent 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.

I would specially request all National a.s.semblies 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 Baha'i Cause.

It is to you, dearly beloved friends of the West, who are the standard-bearers of the emanc.i.p.ation and triumph of the Baha'i 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-Baha's explicit utterance, the West will "seize the Cause" from Persia's fettered hands and lead it to glorious victory.

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?

Ours is this supreme opportunity; may we fulfil our trust.

Your true brother, Shoghi

Letter of 11 May 1926

11 May 1926(10)

To the beloved of the Lord and the handmaids of the Merciful throughout the West.

Dearly beloved brothers and sisters in 'Abdu'l-Baha!

Grave and manifold as are the problems confronting the struggling Faith of Baha'u'llah, 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 a_dh_irbayjan, in the town of Mara_gh_ih, 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 a.s.sociation and dealing with them denounced as a direct violation of the precepts and principles of Islam. 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 hara.s.sed Baha'is 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 chastis.e.m.e.nt.

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.