The Apostle of Peace: Vol. 2: 1912-1921

CONTENTS Frontispiece ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Preface Acknowledgments Introduction A Note from the Publisher Abbreviations

ii vii ix xiii xv xxi xxiii PART I

26 Second Visit to England 27 Edinburgh 28 Second and Third Visits to Paris 29 Central Europe 30 Third Visit to Egypt

3 89 113 131 155

PART II 31 Gender Equality and the Suffrage Movement 32 Race Unity 33 An International Language 34 The Theosophical Society 35 Spiritualism and Esotericism 36 Opposition

169 204 218 254 309 339

PART III 37 Return to Haifa 38 The War Years 39 The Passing of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá

367 402 439

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APPENDIXES 1 Writings and Talks of ‘Abdu’l Bahá Published in General

Periodicals 2 Photographs and Illustrations 3 Book Reviews 4 Invitations to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá 5 The Christian Commonwealth 6 Arts and Artists

457 467 471 478 484 489

Bibliography Notes and References Index

493 503 551

vi

26

SECOND VISIT TO ENGLAND ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Return to England Announced After eight days of travel from New York, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived in Liverpool on board the SS Celtic at 7:50 p.m. on 13 December 1912.

His return to England was expected by many. Not only had He already received invitations before leaving New York to speak from various platforms, such as Liverpool’s Pembroke Chapel and Oxford University,1 but His new visit to England had also been anticipated in the British press. This was in part thanks to the efforts of Isabel Fraser, who sent articles about ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to various journals and newspapers. The Manchester Guardian, for instance, pointed out that ‘Timing his arrival with the assembly of the Balkan Peace Conference in London, Abd-ul-Baha, the “Prophet of Peace”, is due to reach this country from America in a few days. This venerable Persian is the leader of the Bahais, a sect of Persian origin, which has gained some millions of adherents, in a few years.’2 On 8 December the London Budget carried on its front page a lengthy article introducing the figure of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá.3 A similar article was published three days later in the Evening Standard and St James Gazette (London) stating that ‘All who know him [‘Abdu’l-Bahá] are impressed with his gentleness, patience and great wisdom.’4 On 13 December the Evening Express (Liverpool) published a picture of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with the title ‘Prophet of Peace’ and reported in its caption that ‘[‘Abdu’l-Bahá] is due to arrive in this country in a few days’.5 The same edition included an article which mentioned the fact that ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘has been invited by wireless to address the undergraduates at Oxford during his stay in England. He will also address the people of Liverpool.’6 Other journals also published different versions of Fraser’s articles.7 On 11 December, two days before the arrival of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Europe, The Christian Commonwealth published a special Christmas 3

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section which carried communications from religious leaders. ‘Abdu’lBahá was among those asked to send a contribution and the following was printed as a message from Him: Convey my greetings to all your readers. I am extremely pleased and grateful for the attitude of The Christian Commonwealth, for its editor is indeed the servant of the world of humanity and the lover of universal peace. This noble editor is free from prejudice. Praise be to God that in America I established spiritual affinity between the hearts of various religions. It is my hope that through the favours of Baha’o’llah contention and strife may be abandoned entirely by the followers of various religions. All of them may be welded together.

In the Synagogue of the Jews I established the validity of his holiness Jesus Christ, and demonstrated the prophethood of his holiness Mohammed. They all listened most attentively. In brief, I said that the Christians did believe in Moses. They believe that Moses was the prophet of God. They believe that the Torah is the Book of God, and they all believe in the Prophets of Israel. Why should you not believe in Christ, acknowledging that Christ was the Word of God? What harm will come to you thereby? The result of this confession will be the entire disappearance of the prejudice which has been existing between the Christians and the Jews for the last two thousand years. When this address, delivered in the synagogue, is read, the reader will be most pleased and most enlightened.8

Arrival in Liverpool When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived in Liverpool, a group of Bahá’ís, including Isabel Fraser, Elizabeth Herrick and Hippolyte Dreyfus, boarded the Celtic to welcome Him.9 Herrick, a Liverpool Bahá’í residing in London, had traveled to the city on the day before in order to arrange public meetings for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. With the party of Bahá’ís there were also four reporters wanting to interview the Master.

The following day, 14 December, the Liverpool Daily Post and Mercury briefly mentioned that ‘The Persian mystic or new “Messiah”, Abdul Baha, arrived in Liverpool last evening on the White Star liner Celtic. He will stay for some little time in this city and then proceed to London and Paris.’10 A representative of the newspaper was among the 4

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reporters who boarded the Celtic to interview ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and the following account was published on a different page of the same edition: A PROPHET OF PEACE Persian Mystic in Liverpool interesting interview Abdul Baha, variously described as the mystic Persian, Prophet of Peace, or the new Messiah, arrived in Liverpool last night from New York on the White Star liner Celtic. He is the leader, son of the founder of his sect, a new religion of humanity and peace, which is credited with 3,000,000 adherents, spread over all parts of the world.

He has a strange, striking, and picturesque personality. Habited in the dress of the Persian learned or cultured class – a white fez on his head, a flowing chocolate under-garment, surmounted by a cloak of blueish tinge – all eyes on the stage were at once rivetted upon him as he peered over the ship’s side into the rain and gloom of Liverpool. A closer view, which a ‘Daily Post and Mercury’ representative was privileged to have on board, revealed an old man, full of subdued fire, quietly resting in a luxurious alcove opposite the companion way. A mass of wrinkles upon his face, a gleam of Oriental enthusiasm in his eye, long grey hair streaming over his shoulders, there was something almost weird and bewitching about the ‘Prophet of Peace’ and the twentieth century ‘Messiah’, whose visit synchronised with the Balkan Peace Conference and the more pacific attitude generally of the European Great Powers towards each other. Round the prophet was gathered a circle of disciples, dressed more or less in the Persian fashion. The immediate retinue consisted of three persons: Ahmed Sohrab, who acts as translator of the speeches or sermons of the ‘Messiah’, Mirza Mahmoud, secretary, and Sayad Assadallah.

The ‘prophet’ speaking to our reporter reeled off the record of his travels. The burden of it was that he had ‘presented’ himself in all the large cities of the United States, delivered sermons, lectures, or speeches to men and women of all kinds of religion or no religion, he had addressed audiences at Church organisation meetings, treating men and everyone alike, Catholics, Protestants, nondescripts, or unbelievers, by all of whom he was well received. The keynote of his addresses was the distress of the world of humanity, and he 5

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summoned all men and all the religious bodies with which they were associated to cast away their prejudices, and unite on one common platform – that of peace and human love. He proclaimed, he went on, universal peace among all nations and religions. The differences which existed to-day, he proceeded, were caused by accretions, by dogmas, by imitations, incomprehensible blindness to the fundamental principle of real religion. There should be one language as a mode of communication to effect all this, which, when realised, the greed, the hurry and scurry of the world would disappear, and the highest form of spiritual and temporal well-being would be evolved.

Asked where his authority came from, he alleged that it was a direct inspiration from heaven.11

The Evening Express (Liverpool) also sent a reporter to interview ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and published the following: PEACE PROPHET says liverpool is ‘a live city’ Abbas Effendi, or Abdul Baha (Servant of God), as he prefers to be called, will address the Theosophical Society to-night at eight o’clock at their headquarters in Colquitt Street, off Bold Street; and to-morrow evening he will address the evening service at Pembroke Chapel, at. 6.30.

Abdul Baha is the Great Peace Prophet, who suffered for 40 years in a Turkish prison that he might teach men how to attain the hitherto unattainable ‘peace which passeth understanding’. He is stopping at the Adelphi Hotel, and when asked about the Liverpool people he said: – ‘Liverpool is a live city. It has the Breath of Reality, and when in this spiritual springtime the Divine truth comes forth with renewed vigour, the people will be like fruitful trees, and the Holy Spirit will enable them to flourish in abundance. Then they will gain not only materially, but in what is of far more importance, spiritual progress.

They realise that this is a brilliant century. Their eyes are open to the great necessity for union, if progress is to be made. Brotherly love will be born unto them. For, verily, you are all leaves of one tree, drops of one ocean. God is at peace with his children; why should they engage in strife among themselves!’12 6

End of this sample.

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