Issue No. 6 July-August 1925:
General letters received from the Spiritual Assembly of
Haifa dated January 19th, February 7th, March 2nd and March 21st, bring a
necessarily brief but most interesting survey of Baha’i activities throughout
the Orient.
“The Baha’i ladies in Ishqabad have arranged a special
course of study for young women, and marked progress has been achieved. The
number of students is increasing and the prospect is very bright.
“As the result of the visit of one of the teachers to Cairo,
a new spirit has been infused into the assembly of the friends and new
committees and associations have been formed. The ignorant and fanatical
element in one of the towns in lower Egypt have recently lodged a complaint
against the Baha’i Movement in the Moslem Religious Court in Cairo, claiming
that those who embrace this new movement have thereby deprived themselves of the
privilege of the Moslem Faith. The case has been heard several times but no
decision has as yet been rendered.
“From Merv, Russian Turkistan, we learn that the two local
Baha’i schools are rendering excellent service. A special committee interested
in the progress and advancement of women has been established and an increasing
group of young women are taking advantage of these new educational facilities.
“A report from Amritsar, India, contains most encouraging
news about the progress of the Cause in India. The fame of the Baha’i Movement
has spread so widely that the head of the Quadin Community has issued a
circular letter to all his followers telling them to avoid contact with Baha’i
teachers.
“On the occasion of the anniversary of the Declaration of
the Bab, held by the friends at Karachi, the Message was given to a professor
of one of the important colleges who became so much interested in the Baha’i
principles that he informed his students about them.
“We regret to announce the death of Agha Husayn-i-Kashani,
the cook of Baha’u’llah, who accompanied Him from Baghdad to the prison of
Acca.
“A letter from Bombay, India, informs us that Mirza Mahmud
Zarqani is traveling throughout the entire country and that two public meetings
were recently arranged in Lahore. A Rajah who attended these meetings declared
that India is now in need of the Baha’i principles.
“The friends at Bandar Abbas and Bushire, two ports on the
Persian Gulf, are arranging regular meetings which are being attended by many
interested seekers. The Persian Government has issued a circular letter to all
the Customs Officials along the Persian frontiers informing them that
photographs of Abdu’l Baha should not be allowed to enter Persia and are to be
confiscated whenever found.
“The friends in Cairo are preparing to establish a National
Spiritual Assembly for Egypt. Delegates from Cairo, Alexandria, Port Said,
Isma’iliyyih, Assiut and Koumu’s-Sa’ayidih have met to deliberate and it is
hoped that during the days of Ridvan a National Spiritual Assembly for Egypt
will come into being.
“The circular letter from the Bombay Spiritual Assembly
dated February, 1925, contains a detailed account of the All-India and Burma
Baha’i Convention. The five different committees functioning under the
direction of the Spiritual Assembly meet regularly in the Mashriqu’l-Adhkar
buildings. The Convention this year was larger and better attended than ever
before. The following subjects were presented at the public meetings from
December 29th to 31st: History and Teaching of the Baha’i Movement,
International Aspect of the Baha’i Movement, The Social Program of the Baha’i
Movement, the Station of Women in the Baha’i Movement, Unity of Mankind, and
The Promised One of all Nations. An interesting activity of the National
Spiritual Assembly of India has been the founding of a Baha’i National Library
in Delhi.
“From Rasht we learn that three well-known young men of that
city, one of them the son of the religious leader, have recently accepted the
teachings. Their zeal in acquainting others with the truth brought upon them so
much public criticism that they were compelled to leave the city and depart to
India.
“On March 2nd, at our 19-day Feast, we had the pleasure of
hearing from Mrs. Stannard about the progress of the Cause in India. That vast
country, with its teeming population, is eagerly awaiting a Saviour to bring
about peace and unity amongst the contending sects and religions.
“The Spiritual Assembly of Haifa is unable to correspond
with every individual local Assembly, but heartily welcome letters and reports
of progress from the friends throughout the world.”
The corresponding secretary of the Assembly at Melbourne,
Australia, sends loving greetings to the American friends, and requests that
the following addresses be noted by Assembly secretaries in this country for
their general letters: Mr. P.M. Almond, Box 420, G.P.O. Adelaide, South
Australia; Mr. O.O. Whittaker, 5 Dahl Flats, 2 Stanley St., Sidney, N.S.W.;
Miss Stevenson, 3 Cowie Road, Parnell, Auckland, New Zealand; Miss Greta
Lamprill, “Newlands” Toorak Roads, Hobart, Tasmania; and Mr. W.M. Miller, 26
Kent St., Victoria Park, Perth, West Australia.
It is a matter of extreme interest to recall that the first
group of Baha’i pilgrims from Australia to visit Haifa were the guests of
Shoghi Effendi early this year.
The secretary of the Orient-Occident Unity Board, Teheran,
beautifully expresses the heartfelt fervor of the Persian friends who are
arising with renewed determination to spread the Message of unity and love
throughout that distracted land. The Persian Baha’is desire the American
friends to appreciate their feeling of gratitude for the assistance rendered
the believers in Nayriz.
The Baha’i Spiritual Assembly of London writes that it will
encourage the Baha’is everywhere to know of the great interest shown in the
Mashriqu’l-Adhkar at Wilmette, by those who visited the Conference on Living
Religions last year. The pictures of the Bourgeois model were carefully studied
and gave rise to many questions which led to a realization of its significance
in relation to the Baha’i Movement.
On Jan. 21st, Lady Blomfield gave an address on “The World
Teacher, Abdu’l Baha”, by invitation of the Eastern and Western Culture
society. Her characteristic fervor aroused keen interest, denoted by the
intelligent questions and interesting general discussion which followed her
address.
Baha’i correspondence for the London friends should now be
addressed in care of Mr. George P. Simpson, 58 North End Road, London, N.W. 11,
England.
A signal contribution to the spreading of the universal
teachings in Italy has recently been inaugurated by Mrs. E.R. Mathews, of the
New York Assembly. Mrs. Mathews has founded a Universal Circulating Library,
with headquarters at Villa San Martino, Portofino (Mare), Italy.
From the charmingly printed catalog of the Universal
Circulating Library we learn that books will be dispatched to any part of
Europe, Asia or Africa, at a subscription cost of only ten cents a month per
book, plus postage and insurance. Consultation is invited with reference to
subjects which will best serve the needs of individual students, and letters
will be answered in English, French, Italian and Russian. The Library contains
books under the heading of Religions, Special Religious Thought, History,
Essays, Philosophy, Symbolic Fiction, Science, Mystical Books and the Baha’i
Writings.
The teaching work which Mrs. Imogene Hoagg has been carrying
on so successfully in Florence, Italy, has found great reinforcement through
the visit of Mr. Mason Remey, who recently sailed for Italy after completing
revisions for a new edition of his book, “The Baha’i Movement”. Copies of this
new edition will soon be available through the Baha’i Publishing Committee,
P.O. Box 348, Grand Central Station, New York City.
A photograph of the delegates and friends attending the
Convention may be obtained for fifty cents from Baha’i Publishing Committee,
P.O. Box 348, Grand Central Station, New York City.