Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Archie Bell, Meeting a Prophet, bahai-library.com.
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First Impression, July, 1915
THa COLONIAL PRIISS
C. H. SIMONDS COMPANY, BOSTON, U. S. A.
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CONTENTS
FODWOBD. • •
•
.... v
I. TowDD THB PROKIDD L£ND • 1
II. J.u..., JUDEA. .&NO JONAH. • 11
Ill. AauuTHU'S lKKOBTAL lrlucIuNT 31
IV. Up TO JDUIU.Ll:K 63
V. JDUIU.Ll:K THB "GoLou" .65
VI. TIm Cl'l'Y 01' D.VID. • • 76
VII. TlO VALB 01' 1UB S.a.u • • 107
VIII. JIlBICJlO AND THK JORD.&N • • • 119
IX. IN THK HOLY Cl'l'Y. • á 148
X. TIm MOUNT 01' OLIVU • • 170
XI. To DEP.lItTBJ) KINGOOK • • 191
XII. To MOSQUE 01' OlWl • • 200
XIII. To HILLS 01' S.UURI.. • • .212
XIV. A PaoPBBCY FuLI'ILLJ:I) á 232
XV. To SLOPJ:8 01' MOUNT CUlOL • 254
XVI. To HOKJ: 01' JESUS .267
XVII. To SHORES 01' GALILU • 278
XVIII. :MuTING. PaoPBBT • 304
XIX. ANCIJ:NT AND MODDN • 322
xx. THE OLDEST Cl'l'Y • • • 339
BIBLlOOB&PHY • 363
INDn . . . .. . .365
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The Slopes of :Mount Oarmel 257
colony he said he was so delighted that he
would grant them an annual subsidy of four
thousand marks. Verily, here was an emperor
worthy of the name, and all Palestine rang with
his praises. We found but one place where his
impressive dignity seemed to have received a
check. At the tomb of Saladin he signified a
desire to honour the hero by placing a wreath
of flowers at his head. And, afterwards, he
sent back a wreath that would not wither, to
take the place of his flowers. The Moham-
medan authorities would not permit flowers
from a Christian to defile this tomb perpetually,
so a little alcove was built on one side of the
tomb, and the Emperor's tribute was placed be-
hind glass where it could be seen by visitors to
the tomb and yet not be within the tomb itself.
But a more important result of the Emperor's
visit was that since he came and went, the Turk-
ish officials have given the German colonists less
trouble, they have been less extortionate in the
collection of "taxes" and have taken fewer ex-
ceptions to the improvements of "infidels" who
are considered their most natural prey.
But Haifa has nothing to hold pilgrims and
travellers long, although a German hotel-keeper
assured me that the time would come when Eu-
ropean people would hold its advantages over
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258 The Spell of the Holy Land
those of Mediterranean cities like Algiers and
make of it a fashionable winter resort. Per-
haps if some of the travellers, those seeking
climate and novelty instead of holy places, knew
what they were going into, when they plunge
into the interior of Palestine, they would stay
looger beneath the protecting shadow of the
German eagle in 1lhe hospitable German hotels.
But it lacks historical interest, so people who
land here from the boats that cruise along the
Syrian shore from Port Sald, Alexandria and
European ports, hurry off to Mount Carmel or
inland, after perhaps making the excursion to
the very interesting city of Acre, which lies
about six miles across the bay.
I went to Acre chiefly because I thought I
would find there a prisoner of Turkey whom I
wished very much to see, Abbas Effendi, the
Persian head of the Bahia Movement, or the
Babists and Babites, as they are called in Amer-
ica. Chance favoured me, and I found him
elsewhere, but in Acre I was informed that he
had been released, after a confinement of some-
thing like forty years, and, being a free man,
he had immediately left Acre, which seems to
be a city at the end of the world, an unhealthful
city, owing to its position by a big marsh from
which malarial odours constantly rise, and a city
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The Slopes of :Mount Carmel 259
to which the former Sultan of Turkey, Abdul
Hamid, condemned all his politicaJ suspects,
religious leaders and the men of action whom
he wanted to be watched day and nignl
St. Paul once spent a day at Acre (Acts
xxi : 7) but the biblical account may mean thatá
he merely called within the city gates. It would
be difficult to imagine a Christian spending an
entire day there unless he was obliged to do so.
Along with Nablus, it is one of the most fanati-
cal cities in Syria. Most of the inhabitants
seem either to be political prisoners, the de-
scendants of prisoners, or soldiers guarding
prisoners. And they are practically all ram-
pant Mohammedans. They spit at Christians
and hurl vile epithets at them. After enduring
a morning of it, I asked the dragoman how it
was that such apparently ignorant people could
ten that we were Christians.
"Neither of you have a moustache or chin
whiskers," he replied. "You observe they
all have hair on their faces, as they are com-
manded to have. People who do not have, are
dogs."
It is possible to sail across the bay in less than
two hours, but we preferred the unique journey
by land, because the road between Haifa and
Acre is merely the broad beach of the bay, and
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CHAPTER xvm
MEETING A PROPHET
R NE morning as I was walking along the
WI beach of the Sea of Galilee, just beyond
Tiberias, thinking of the important
events in history that had transpired on those
sands, and of the fishermen who had been called
from their nets to carry a new gospel to the
world about two thousand years ago, I met a
man whose appearance was more striking than
any man I have ever seen in my life. He was a
comparatively short old gentleman with long
white beard. He wore a long white robe that
reached to his ankles and a white turban covered
the top of his head. Doubtless I stared at him
in amazement; he was so different from any
human being I had ever seen. He was walking
slowly, his head slightly bowed, and evidently
in deep thought. But he looked up, saw me
looking at him, and then raised his hand to his
forehead in Oriental salutation as he passed. I
was alone, and, believing him to be some per-
sonage of Tiberias, I admit walking slowly be-
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ABBAS EFFENDI (ABDUL BAHA).
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Keeting a Prophet 305
hind him until we reached the city, and, as I con-
veniently met a dragoman, I inquired as to the
identity of the old gentleman who attracted me.
ce That's Abbas Effendi," he replied, " Abdul
Baha." .
Here then, on the sands of Galilee, I had come
face to face with the Persian prophet, one who
during his lifetime has millions of zealous fol-
lowers, and one whom his followers believe has
fully as much scriptural prophecy to fortify his
claims to leadership among men as did the Man
of Nazareth. Like Jesus Christ, he has been
persecuted and has suffered on account of his
preaching. Like Jesus Christ, he had come to
the Sea of Galilee to walk up and down its holy
shores, preaching and teaching his disciples,
who follow him as he walks and talks. Already
much myth and legend is springing up around
him, for he is the holiest man of the East, de-
spised by many, cursed by the fanatical fol-
lowers of other religions, and loved by believers
in him with a love that becomes devotion itself.
Abbas Effendi, as he is lmown in the East,
or Abdul Baha, as he is better known in
America, is the recognized head of the Bahai
Movement, as he said he preferred to have his
religion called, although it may be more familiar
in some quarters when spoken of as the cult of
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á 306 The Spell of the Holy Land
the Babists. He is a person of tremendous
magnetism. One" feels" him when in his pres-
ence. Irrespective of his religious teachings,
the wise men of the earth, who have met him,
have considered him one of the wisest who lives.
And he has met the distinguished men of all
nations. They have visited him in his prison
home at Acre, as they visited Tolstoi at his farm
in Russia. Men like William .J. Bryan have
made it a part of their pilgrimage of Palestine
to call upon him and pay their respects. Wise
doctors from Europe have called upon him to
discuss philosophy, as it is taught in the East,
and they have found that he has absorbed all the
philosophies of the European continent, knows
practically all about all the religions of the
world, and is able to discuss each with its lead-
ers, while to every one who meets him he speaks,
not of the error of other men's ways, but graphi-
cally and poignantly to every man how
his religion is but a part. of that great universal
religion which he himself preaches and believes
is soon to cover the world.
But the dragoman who disclosed the interest-
ing identity admitted that he was powerless
when I told him that I desired to be presented,
owing to the fact that Abbas Effendi speaks only
the Persian language. Then, unwilling to let
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Keeting a Prophet 307
'What I considered an opportunity to pass, I ad-
dressed one of his followers in English, as
chance would have it, I spoke to his interpreter,
a Persian gentleman who had been for ten years
attached to the Persian legation at Washington.
Certainly he would present me. There was no
hesitation as he quickly took me to the side of his
master, bowed profoundly and introduced me.
The old man held out his hand and touched
"I am pleased," he said, "very pleased to meet
one from far away America. I am very glad
that you have come to these foreign countries to
learn and observe, that you may go back to your
own country knowing more of the world than
you could know if you remained in one country.
I am glad that I have met you in this hallowed
and beautiful place, the Sea of Galilee's shores.
I trust that your visit here will be pleasant, and
that you will continue your journey and return
to your home in safety."
There seemed to be finality to his words. It
seemed that my "interview," which I craved,
was over, for the old man started along, after
raising his hand to his forehead as a sign of
farewell. So I pressed the interpreter to re-
quest another interview for me, at a more con-
venient time, perhaps, when I could talk to the
wise man and learn something of his teachings.
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308 The Spell of the Holy Land
"Abbas Effendi will be pleased if you will
call upon him at his home up there at three
o'clock this afternoon," said the interpreter, as
he pointed to a little white house near the lake,
with an overhanging balcony that had a view
over the whole extent of the sea. Thus ended
my first meeting. Fortunately for me there
were three others. Together we walked slowly
along the sands and together we sat on his little
balcony near sunset and I heard of that great
new religion which is to reconcile the whole
world. He told me of his millions of followers
in Persia (the English officials fifteen years
ago estimated the number as between three and
four millions in Persia alone) and he told me
of the thousands who are flocking to his banner
in India, but he seemed to me even more inter-
ested in his message to Europe and America.
"Particularly America," he said, "for there is
the new country, one that is not weighed down
by superstitions and prejudices which are so
difficult to overcome. America is a receptive
country, capable of seeing and hearing and be-
lieving."
And while Abbas Effendi, himself, did not care
to give any figures, because he said that there
was no way of knowing the exact truth, his in-
terpreter told me that they were of the opinion
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Keeting a Prophet 309
: that there were about fifty thousand converts
! "to the Bahai Movement in America, their strong-
holds being in Chicago, Boston and Washington.
At Chicago he had heard the Bahais had pur-
chased a large tract of land just outside of the
city and would soon erect a church. In Europe
many churches had been built, and Abbas Ef-
fendi was recently pleased to learn that in the
Caucasus a million-dollar structure had been
completed by his people, and had naturally be-
come the finest structure devoted to the cult in
the world, because in Persia, where numbers are
greater, the people are poor and up until this
time are obliged to meet in central halls and
rooms.
It was not known at the time of his birth that
Abbas Effendi would be the leader of the Bahais,
nor was it known at the time of his birth that his
father, Baha O'llah, would be later hailed as the
Light of the World, but, strangely enough, Ab-
bas Effendi was born in the year that the Bab,
or Herald of the new religion, appeared in Per-
sia and proclaimed his message to the world.
As usual in such cases considerable misinforma-
tion has circulated around the world in regard
to Bahaism, its founder, Baha O'llah, and his
SOD, Abbas Effendi, and their relative positions
in the religion, so I questioned Abdul Baha
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910 The Spen of the Holy Land
carefully in the matter during our walks alMi
talks and learned from the best source of an
just exactly what is believed in regard to tbf
Bab, from whom the cult takes its name. And.
strangely enough, as it seemed to m.e p I was told
that the Bab did not claim to have founded the
religion, although he suffered martyrdom for
his declarations, and is held in holy esteem by
all believers, but merely announced that he WIS
the "gate," which is the translation of "Bab,"
a sort of John the Baptist, who proclaimed to
the world that the "One whom God would mani-
fest," etc., was at that time upon the earth, but
unknown. The Bab said that the coming Great
One would in time announce himself to the
world, and he believed that the Christ would de-
clare His mission in not more than nineteeD
years.
The Bab was hanged and shot. The father
of Abbas Effendi-the ' , Great One," as he is
known-never saw him, and perhaps knew little
concerning him. But in nineteen years he called
his family together, when they were upon a jour-
ney, and announced who he was. Soon after-
ward he was sent into exile and there remained
the rest of his life. But, before he died, this
man who is known as Baha 0 'Uah (Light of
God), called his son to him, stretched forth his
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Meeting a Prophet 311
hands and declared that Abbas Effendi should
be considered the Servant of God, indeed one
I 'With himself. To his followers he quoted: "I
l will make him, my first born, greater than the
kings of the earth," using the Hebrew Bible,
strangely enough, because he thought no more
of it than of the words of Buddha, the creed of
the Zoroastrians, of the words of Mahomet and
Jesus Christ. Thus Abbas Effendi, unsuspect-
ing that such was to be the case, became the head
of the movement, and he has been considered so
until this day. He has been freed by the Young
Turks after having been held as a political pris-
oner for forty years. He was particularly de-
spised by Abdul Hamid; but, now that the
Sultan has found his reward, Abbas Effendi may
go where he pleases. Thus I found him on the
shores of the Sea of Galilee, where he believes
that he is completing his mission, and where,
owing to his years, he must soon end his earthly
life.
Before I saw Abbas Effendi the second time
I had quite a lengthy interview with his secre-
tary and close friend, Mirza Ahmad Sohrab,
the brilliant young Persian who is devoted to
the head of the Bahaists and spends his entire
life in his company. He admitted to me that a
close record is being kept of everything of im-
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312 The Spell of the Holy Land
porlance that is uttered by the "Renovator of
the Worlds," as he is known to his followers.
Abbas Effendi has written much, but it is not
from his writings so much as from what he
says that his disciples gain that faith which is
prompting them to undergo persecutions and
sufferings for the sake of the new movement.
Abbas Effendi is a dynamo of energy. He
was bom in 1844, and is therefore an old man.
His life as a prisoner might have left him a
physical wreck, but instead of that heá seems to
have undergone an almost superhuman recu-
peration. He rises early in the morning, re-
ceives visitors of all nationalities and creeds
during the day, often attends the services of the
Jews in the synagogues, goes to prayer with the
Moslems in their mosques, and attends Christian
churches. He carries on a correspondence with
his followers in all parts of the world, and di-
rects any number of momentous affairs; but his
secretary tells me that after the affairs of his
busy day are over he will often call him, assure
him that he is not weary, and will either read,
dictate or talk until far into the hours of the
night. He knows not fatigue, but attendance
upon him often wearies the younger men, who
carefully record his sayings and habits, day and
night.
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JleetiDg a Prophet 313
The first time I called upon him in his tem-
porary home, overlooking the Sea of Galilee,
he arose to greet me, and then motioned me to
be seated as he called to a servant to bring me a
glass of tea. "Perhaps you do not like tea,"
he said, "but this is Persian tea and there is a
difference. I assure you that this is worth
drinking. " When I inquired as to his health,
he assured me that he had not felt so strong
for many years. Instead of undermining his
constitution, his long imprisonment at Acre
seems to have had the opposite effect. All of the
latent energy of his young manhood seems to
have been stored up for the present. He said he
had no complaints to make. His life had been
nothing but one succession of troubles. He had
been an exile, as his father had been before him.
But he spoke of these things in a soft and gentle
voice.
"Why," he asked, "why is it that you come
to see me' You say you write for American
readers. People of the world care to hear more
about the successful an,d beloved men of the
world, so why do you not speak to them' I am
an outcast among men, for I have been until
now a political prisoner-and I am the son of a
prisoner. "
But he did not exactly mean what he said,
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314 The Spell of the Holy Land
because he willingly talked of himself and of his
religion, and replied to questions, many of which
he must have answered many times. Over and
again he said that his was not a new reli-
gion. "Bahaism is simply a message," he
would repeat, "its prophecies are readily el-
plained by all religions. We strongly forbid all
leadership, hence the Bahais remain unorgan-
ized and make no proselytes, but teach that each
person shall live among his neighbours, until his
life tells silently that he is a Bahai. "
Briefly summed up, however, and robbed of
the beautiful rhetoric in which Abbas Effendi is
able to clothe his sentences-I wished afterward
that I had received his permission to jot down
what he said in shorthand-he is preaching a
universal religion which includes about every
known creed of the well-known religions. His
aim seems to reconcile everything. He preaches
equal suffrage for men and women. He would
have a universal language, and told me that he
believed Esperanto would do, after a few
changes had been made in the present system.
He has lectured one evening before a m.eeting of
Socialists and agreed with them in many essen-
tials. The next night it happened that he lec-
tured before a large audience in a room next to
their cathedral. He agrees with the Moslems,
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Jleetlug a Prophet 315
and discusses at length with them the teachings
of their prophets in whom he believes. He ac-
cepts Jesus Christ as the Son of God and an in-
spired Prophet. He believes in almost every-
thing that is taught by orthodox Jews. He be-
lieves that Buddha was an inspired prophet.
The same honour is given to Confucius, while
he has a strong leaning toward Zoroaster.
Oh, this man can discourse learnedly upon the
philosophy of Herbert Spencer, Kant and Scho-
penhauer. Also he can speak learnedly of those
Eastern philosophers of whom we of the West
have never even heard the names.
I asked him if he included Christian Science
in his apparently all-reaching and all-embracing
religion.
"I find gems of truth in what Mrs. Eddy
said, " he replied, "and these things I include
and accept. But there are many exaggerations
in what she taught. . I say to you, if you have a
mental ailment, it can be cured by thought. If
you have a physical ailment or a broken bone,
I would say to you, 'quickly send for a doctor.'
Earthly trouble can be cured only by earthly
means and has not to do with God. "
"Is the day of miracles over, or will other
miracles occur in the future'"
"You mean, I take it, things which'we believe
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316 The Spell of the Holy Land
at present to be contrary to natural law'" I
replied in the affirmative.
"To that question, I shall only reply, I be-
lieve that everything is possible with God at any
time."
Then, as if wishing to turn the conversation
to other subjects, he said in polite Oriental fash-
ion: "It is beautiful to be young and free, so
you may travel around the world and see the
beautiful things of the earth. "
And I recalled on that last day, when I saw
him, that he said the same thing. As I came
do:wn to the beach to take a little boat that car-
ried me across the Sea of Galilee where I took a
train, he came to bid me farewell and repeated
the same words, as he raised his hands in bene-
diction and added: "You will have a safe voy-
age across the great sea that takes you to your
home. It is beautiful to be young and free, to
go where you will." And, lifting up his white
robe, he turned and walked along the sand,
which seems to have a fascination for him, fol-
lowed by three or fOllr of his disciples.
"There may be a light in a room, but it merely
sheds light in that room," he said. "There
may be many lights, with coloured bulbs of vari-
ous hues and shades. But the source of all those
lights is the same-and there must be sources; it
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JleeUng a 317
is the dynamo that is hidden from sight. So it
is with all the religions. They sparkle here and
there in various colours--but there is but one
source for them all, just one Light, and that is
God. Self-seeking preachers and teachers have
wandered far from that Real Light. And it is
the Light that we now seek in the real truth.
Men have wandered far from the teachings of
Christ, Buddha, the Jewish prophets and all of
the others. Ours is not a new religion, it is the
very old one; we desire to unite all forms in
their original purity. "
Then I spoke of his persecutions.
"What is it for one man to suffer'" he
asked. "It is as nothing. If one man may en-
joy little comfort on earth and at the same time
be leading many men to see the Light-ah, that
is the thing!"
He said that his religion should have no paid
ministers. He teaches, and he expects those
whom he teaches to do likewise, without money.
They should perform this service in addition to
whatever else they do in life.
Mizra Ali Mohmed, who was bom in 1819 in a
little city in Persia, at the age of twenty-four de-
clared himself to be the "Bab" or door. His
first declaration was made before a concourse of
one hundred thousand pilgrims in Mecca, and
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318 "The Spell of the Holy Land
when he returned to his native home his cause
spread so rapidly that he gave great alarm to the
officials. But he persistently declared that it
was merely through him that the announcement
was made to the world that a "Messiah" was
already on earth and would manifest himself in
nineteen years. The Bab was condemned to
death by hanging and shooting. He was hung
up with one of his secretaries and soldiers were
ordered to fire. The secretary was killed, but
a bullet hit the rope by which the Bab was hang.
ing and let the body fall to the earth, whereupon
the soldiers, who were Armenians, believed that
a miracle had happened and ran away. When
the Bab was again arrested he" was dictating
letters to another secretary, and such was the
superstition that it was difficult to obtain 80];
diers who would again attempt to perform the
deed. But he was executed, and his body was
removed by stealth from Persia, brought all the
way on camel-back and interred on Mount Cará
mel, where Abbas Effendi has erected a suitable
monument and placed the body of his father.
He attempted to erect a church over the two
graves, but the Turkish government would not
permit him to do so.
Mirza Hussian Ali, now known as Bah O'l1ah,
was born in 1817 of a family that belonged to the
I
I
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Keeting a Prophet 319
ruling class at Teheran. At the age of twenty-
seven he heard of the teaChings of the Bab and
began to preach his gospel. His property was
confiscated and he was thrown into a dungeon,
where he remained for four months. But the
"cause" continued to spread, and the authorities
banished him from Teheran to Bagdad, where
great numbers of pilgrims came to hear him.
It was while on the trip between the two cities
that he called his family to him and announced
that he was the promised Messiah and for that
he was being persecuted. Abbas Effendi told
me feelingly how his father made this announce-
ment to his mother and himself as they were
seated in an orchard at their midday meal.
The report spread, and the authorities of
Arabia became aroused and had him banished
to Constantinople, thinking that his cause would
die. Instead, it- grew, and spread so rapidly
that the Sultan banished him to Acre, the penal
colony in Syria. There he died in 1892, after
having announced to the world that Abbas Ef-
fendi was the Coming One of whom the Bab had
prophesied, the one to come in the latter days
and establish God's Kingdom on earth. Then
the son was thrust into prison and remained in
the military barracks for three years with in-
sufficient food. Finally, he was permitted to
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320 The Spell of the Holy Land
live outside the walls, but always under the mili-
tary guard. Thus he lived for forty years,
until he was released by the Young Turks. He
went to prison a young man, and he was released
an old man. He was thrust into a Turkish jail
before he had the rudiments of education, but he
came out so learned that the sages of civilized
nations were astonished at his grasp of affairs
and knowledge of the world and its life, religion,
science, history and practical reforms which
were needed at once.
He says that many of his followers are yet
corifined within prison walls and are being per-
secuted,' having only secret communication with
the outside world. When a party of Americans
visited him in 1900, the Bahai movement began
to spread throughout the Western world and it
has made rapid strides in that time, although
numerically his following is greatest in Persia,
where religious beliefs mean more than they do
in the Wesl Several of the government officials
have advocated encouraging the movement
among the Persians and Indians, as its tendency
is to make all classes less fanatical and to bring
all religious sects and creeds into a closer fel-
lowship and completely break down caste, which
is such an important factor in Oriental life.
And that, in a nutshell, was what I gained
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:Meeting a Prophet 321
from my interviews with Abbas Effendi himself.
He believes that Christ taught" love thy neigh-
bour as thyself." He believes that Moham-
medans, Jews, Buddhists and Zoroastrians were
taught the same thing, and that not one of them
is doing as they were taught. Thus he would
become the great "renovator" or conciliator.
He would bring all men together in a spirit of
brotherly love-and he would raise the status
of women-particularly in the East, so that they
might have. an equal standing with males. And
8S Queen Victoria wrote to his father in 1869:
"If this is of God, it will stand; and if not, there
is no harm done. "
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INDEX
•
A. .AeceDaiOD, chapel of, 184,
185; Mahomet'.. 205.
AarouBOD, Aaron, 24H63. .AakaIOD, 24.
Abana, 349, 360-361.
Abbe.e Eftendi (1188 Abdul B
Baha). Baalbek, 322, 324, 32W29,
Abdul Baha (Abbu UeDdI) , 331-332,334,337-338,340;
268, 304-321. colOlll&I .tones of, 3315-336;
Abel, 329. Temple of Jupiter, 333-335;
Abelyno, 329. Nimrod, ruler of, 332;
Abraham, 205, 226, 231, 333, Tower of Babel, 333; Tem-
346. ple of Bacchus, 338-337 ;
Abe&lom, 185; tomb of, 195. Temple of VeDus, 336; Vill&
AbY88inian (church), 73, 98, Kaouam, 329, 330.
188. Bab, 309-310, 317.
Acre, 268, 259, 260, 262. B.biata (see Bahia Move-
Adam, 340; burial place of, ment).
188; home of, 329. Bah O'llah, 309-310, 318-319.
Adnahm, 124. Bahia Movement, 258, 306-
Ahab,234. 320; in America, 308-309.
American Colony, Baptiste, 103.
American College, Beirut, 2, 322-326; Ameri-
Apostles' Pool, 127. can college at, 325-328.
Armithea, 45-58; (Ramleh) , Bethany, 126, 176.
24; JOIIeJIh of, 24, 31, 42- Bethlehem, 78, 81-89, 94-98,
44, 165, 169; road to, 32- 290, 361; antiquity of, 77-
34; rival of Jerusalem, 78; city of David, 77 ;
48. Church of Nativity, 98-
Ark of CoveDant, 203. 106; household of, 90-92;
ArmeDi&D (church), 45, 75, road to, 8G-82, 86; abep-
"100, llMi, 184, 188. herda' field, 85 ; .tar of,
Digitized by Google
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I THE HOLY LAND i
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duogravures from photograph! by
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:os 107
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GIFT OF
A r. "'o.ete. So P
CoPYrir"I, 1915,
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THa COLONIAL PRIISS
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Digitized by
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CONTENTS
FODWOBD. • •
•
.... v
I. TowDD THB PROKIDD L£ND • 1
II. J.u..., JUDEA. .&NO JONAH. • 11
Ill. AauuTHU'S lKKOBTAL lrlucIuNT 31
IV. Up TO JDUIU.Ll:K 63
V. JDUIU.Ll:K THB "GoLou" .65
VI. TIm Cl'l'Y 01' D.VID. • • 76
VII. TlO VALB 01' 1UB S.a.u • • 107
VIII. JIlBICJlO AND THK JORD.&N • • • 119
IX. IN THK HOLY Cl'l'Y. • á 148
X. TIm MOUNT 01' OLIVU • • 170
XI. To DEP.lItTBJ) KINGOOK • • 191
XII. To MOSQUE 01' OlWl • • 200
XIII. To HILLS 01' S.UURI.. • • .212
XIV. A PaoPBBCY FuLI'ILLJ:I) á 232
XV. To SLOPJ:8 01' MOUNT CUlOL • 254
XVI. To HOKJ: 01' JESUS .267
XVII. To SHORES 01' GALILU • 278
XVIII. :MuTING. PaoPBBT • 304
XIX. ANCIJ:NT AND MODDN • 322
xx. THE OLDEST Cl'l'Y • • • 339
BIBLlOOB&PHY • 363
INDn . . . .. . .365
Digitized by Google
The Slopes of :Mount Oarmel 257
colony he said he was so delighted that he
would grant them an annual subsidy of four
thousand marks. Verily, here was an emperor
worthy of the name, and all Palestine rang with
his praises. We found but one place where his
impressive dignity seemed to have received a
check. At the tomb of Saladin he signified a
desire to honour the hero by placing a wreath
of flowers at his head. And, afterwards, he
sent back a wreath that would not wither, to
take the place of his flowers. The Moham-
medan authorities would not permit flowers
from a Christian to defile this tomb perpetually,
so a little alcove was built on one side of the
tomb, and the Emperor's tribute was placed be-
hind glass where it could be seen by visitors to
the tomb and yet not be within the tomb itself.
But a more important result of the Emperor's
visit was that since he came and went, the Turk-
ish officials have given the German colonists less
trouble, they have been less extortionate in the
collection of "taxes" and have taken fewer ex-
ceptions to the improvements of "infidels" who
are considered their most natural prey.
But Haifa has nothing to hold pilgrims and
travellers long, although a German hotel-keeper
assured me that the time would come when Eu-
ropean people would hold its advantages over
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258 The Spell of the Holy Land
those of Mediterranean cities like Algiers and
make of it a fashionable winter resort. Per-
haps if some of the travellers, those seeking
climate and novelty instead of holy places, knew
what they were going into, when they plunge
into the interior of Palestine, they would stay
looger beneath the protecting shadow of the
German eagle in 1lhe hospitable German hotels.
But it lacks historical interest, so people who
land here from the boats that cruise along the
Syrian shore from Port Sald, Alexandria and
European ports, hurry off to Mount Carmel or
inland, after perhaps making the excursion to
the very interesting city of Acre, which lies
about six miles across the bay.
I went to Acre chiefly because I thought I
would find there a prisoner of Turkey whom I
wished very much to see, Abbas Effendi, the
Persian head of the Bahia Movement, or the
Babists and Babites, as they are called in Amer-
ica. Chance favoured me, and I found him
elsewhere, but in Acre I was informed that he
had been released, after a confinement of some-
thing like forty years, and, being a free man,
he had immediately left Acre, which seems to
be a city at the end of the world, an unhealthful
city, owing to its position by a big marsh from
which malarial odours constantly rise, and a city
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The Slopes of :Mount Carmel 259
to which the former Sultan of Turkey, Abdul
Hamid, condemned all his politicaJ suspects,
religious leaders and the men of action whom
he wanted to be watched day and nignl
St. Paul once spent a day at Acre (Acts
xxi : 7) but the biblical account may mean thatá
he merely called within the city gates. It would
be difficult to imagine a Christian spending an
entire day there unless he was obliged to do so.
Along with Nablus, it is one of the most fanati-
cal cities in Syria. Most of the inhabitants
seem either to be political prisoners, the de-
scendants of prisoners, or soldiers guarding
prisoners. And they are practically all ram-
pant Mohammedans. They spit at Christians
and hurl vile epithets at them. After enduring
a morning of it, I asked the dragoman how it
was that such apparently ignorant people could
ten that we were Christians.
"Neither of you have a moustache or chin
whiskers," he replied. "You observe they
all have hair on their faces, as they are com-
manded to have. People who do not have, are
dogs."
It is possible to sail across the bay in less than
two hours, but we preferred the unique journey
by land, because the road between Haifa and
Acre is merely the broad beach of the bay, and
Digitized by Google
CHAPTER xvm
MEETING A PROPHET
R NE morning as I was walking along the
WI beach of the Sea of Galilee, just beyond
Tiberias, thinking of the important
events in history that had transpired on those
sands, and of the fishermen who had been called
from their nets to carry a new gospel to the
world about two thousand years ago, I met a
man whose appearance was more striking than
any man I have ever seen in my life. He was a
comparatively short old gentleman with long
white beard. He wore a long white robe that
reached to his ankles and a white turban covered
the top of his head. Doubtless I stared at him
in amazement; he was so different from any
human being I had ever seen. He was walking
slowly, his head slightly bowed, and evidently
in deep thought. But he looked up, saw me
looking at him, and then raised his hand to his
forehead in Oriental salutation as he passed. I
was alone, and, believing him to be some per-
sonage of Tiberias, I admit walking slowly be-
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ABBAS EFFENDI (ABDUL BAHA).
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Keeting a Prophet 305
hind him until we reached the city, and, as I con-
veniently met a dragoman, I inquired as to the
identity of the old gentleman who attracted me.
ce That's Abbas Effendi," he replied, " Abdul
Baha." .
Here then, on the sands of Galilee, I had come
face to face with the Persian prophet, one who
during his lifetime has millions of zealous fol-
lowers, and one whom his followers believe has
fully as much scriptural prophecy to fortify his
claims to leadership among men as did the Man
of Nazareth. Like Jesus Christ, he has been
persecuted and has suffered on account of his
preaching. Like Jesus Christ, he had come to
the Sea of Galilee to walk up and down its holy
shores, preaching and teaching his disciples,
who follow him as he walks and talks. Already
much myth and legend is springing up around
him, for he is the holiest man of the East, de-
spised by many, cursed by the fanatical fol-
lowers of other religions, and loved by believers
in him with a love that becomes devotion itself.
Abbas Effendi, as he is lmown in the East,
or Abdul Baha, as he is better known in
America, is the recognized head of the Bahai
Movement, as he said he preferred to have his
religion called, although it may be more familiar
in some quarters when spoken of as the cult of
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á 306 The Spell of the Holy Land
the Babists. He is a person of tremendous
magnetism. One" feels" him when in his pres-
ence. Irrespective of his religious teachings,
the wise men of the earth, who have met him,
have considered him one of the wisest who lives.
And he has met the distinguished men of all
nations. They have visited him in his prison
home at Acre, as they visited Tolstoi at his farm
in Russia. Men like William .J. Bryan have
made it a part of their pilgrimage of Palestine
to call upon him and pay their respects. Wise
doctors from Europe have called upon him to
discuss philosophy, as it is taught in the East,
and they have found that he has absorbed all the
philosophies of the European continent, knows
practically all about all the religions of the
world, and is able to discuss each with its lead-
ers, while to every one who meets him he speaks,
not of the error of other men's ways, but graphi-
cally and poignantly to every man how
his religion is but a part. of that great universal
religion which he himself preaches and believes
is soon to cover the world.
But the dragoman who disclosed the interest-
ing identity admitted that he was powerless
when I told him that I desired to be presented,
owing to the fact that Abbas Effendi speaks only
the Persian language. Then, unwilling to let
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Keeting a Prophet 307
'What I considered an opportunity to pass, I ad-
dressed one of his followers in English, as
chance would have it, I spoke to his interpreter,
a Persian gentleman who had been for ten years
attached to the Persian legation at Washington.
Certainly he would present me. There was no
hesitation as he quickly took me to the side of his
master, bowed profoundly and introduced me.
The old man held out his hand and touched
"I am pleased," he said, "very pleased to meet
one from far away America. I am very glad
that you have come to these foreign countries to
learn and observe, that you may go back to your
own country knowing more of the world than
you could know if you remained in one country.
I am glad that I have met you in this hallowed
and beautiful place, the Sea of Galilee's shores.
I trust that your visit here will be pleasant, and
that you will continue your journey and return
to your home in safety."
There seemed to be finality to his words. It
seemed that my "interview," which I craved,
was over, for the old man started along, after
raising his hand to his forehead as a sign of
farewell. So I pressed the interpreter to re-
quest another interview for me, at a more con-
venient time, perhaps, when I could talk to the
wise man and learn something of his teachings.
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308 The Spell of the Holy Land
"Abbas Effendi will be pleased if you will
call upon him at his home up there at three
o'clock this afternoon," said the interpreter, as
he pointed to a little white house near the lake,
with an overhanging balcony that had a view
over the whole extent of the sea. Thus ended
my first meeting. Fortunately for me there
were three others. Together we walked slowly
along the sands and together we sat on his little
balcony near sunset and I heard of that great
new religion which is to reconcile the whole
world. He told me of his millions of followers
in Persia (the English officials fifteen years
ago estimated the number as between three and
four millions in Persia alone) and he told me
of the thousands who are flocking to his banner
in India, but he seemed to me even more inter-
ested in his message to Europe and America.
"Particularly America," he said, "for there is
the new country, one that is not weighed down
by superstitions and prejudices which are so
difficult to overcome. America is a receptive
country, capable of seeing and hearing and be-
lieving."
And while Abbas Effendi, himself, did not care
to give any figures, because he said that there
was no way of knowing the exact truth, his in-
terpreter told me that they were of the opinion
Digitized by Google .
Keeting a Prophet 309
: that there were about fifty thousand converts
! "to the Bahai Movement in America, their strong-
holds being in Chicago, Boston and Washington.
At Chicago he had heard the Bahais had pur-
chased a large tract of land just outside of the
city and would soon erect a church. In Europe
many churches had been built, and Abbas Ef-
fendi was recently pleased to learn that in the
Caucasus a million-dollar structure had been
completed by his people, and had naturally be-
come the finest structure devoted to the cult in
the world, because in Persia, where numbers are
greater, the people are poor and up until this
time are obliged to meet in central halls and
rooms.
It was not known at the time of his birth that
Abbas Effendi would be the leader of the Bahais,
nor was it known at the time of his birth that his
father, Baha O'llah, would be later hailed as the
Light of the World, but, strangely enough, Ab-
bas Effendi was born in the year that the Bab,
or Herald of the new religion, appeared in Per-
sia and proclaimed his message to the world.
As usual in such cases considerable misinforma-
tion has circulated around the world in regard
to Bahaism, its founder, Baha O'llah, and his
SOD, Abbas Effendi, and their relative positions
in the religion, so I questioned Abdul Baha
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910 The Spen of the Holy Land
carefully in the matter during our walks alMi
talks and learned from the best source of an
just exactly what is believed in regard to tbf
Bab, from whom the cult takes its name. And.
strangely enough, as it seemed to m.e p I was told
that the Bab did not claim to have founded the
religion, although he suffered martyrdom for
his declarations, and is held in holy esteem by
all believers, but merely announced that he WIS
the "gate," which is the translation of "Bab,"
a sort of John the Baptist, who proclaimed to
the world that the "One whom God would mani-
fest," etc., was at that time upon the earth, but
unknown. The Bab said that the coming Great
One would in time announce himself to the
world, and he believed that the Christ would de-
clare His mission in not more than nineteeD
years.
The Bab was hanged and shot. The father
of Abbas Effendi-the ' , Great One," as he is
known-never saw him, and perhaps knew little
concerning him. But in nineteen years he called
his family together, when they were upon a jour-
ney, and announced who he was. Soon after-
ward he was sent into exile and there remained
the rest of his life. But, before he died, this
man who is known as Baha 0 'Uah (Light of
God), called his son to him, stretched forth his
Digitized by Google
Meeting a Prophet 311
hands and declared that Abbas Effendi should
be considered the Servant of God, indeed one
I 'With himself. To his followers he quoted: "I
l will make him, my first born, greater than the
kings of the earth," using the Hebrew Bible,
strangely enough, because he thought no more
of it than of the words of Buddha, the creed of
the Zoroastrians, of the words of Mahomet and
Jesus Christ. Thus Abbas Effendi, unsuspect-
ing that such was to be the case, became the head
of the movement, and he has been considered so
until this day. He has been freed by the Young
Turks after having been held as a political pris-
oner for forty years. He was particularly de-
spised by Abdul Hamid; but, now that the
Sultan has found his reward, Abbas Effendi may
go where he pleases. Thus I found him on the
shores of the Sea of Galilee, where he believes
that he is completing his mission, and where,
owing to his years, he must soon end his earthly
life.
Before I saw Abbas Effendi the second time
I had quite a lengthy interview with his secre-
tary and close friend, Mirza Ahmad Sohrab,
the brilliant young Persian who is devoted to
the head of the Bahaists and spends his entire
life in his company. He admitted to me that a
close record is being kept of everything of im-
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312 The Spell of the Holy Land
porlance that is uttered by the "Renovator of
the Worlds," as he is known to his followers.
Abbas Effendi has written much, but it is not
from his writings so much as from what he
says that his disciples gain that faith which is
prompting them to undergo persecutions and
sufferings for the sake of the new movement.
Abbas Effendi is a dynamo of energy. He
was bom in 1844, and is therefore an old man.
His life as a prisoner might have left him a
physical wreck, but instead of that heá seems to
have undergone an almost superhuman recu-
peration. He rises early in the morning, re-
ceives visitors of all nationalities and creeds
during the day, often attends the services of the
Jews in the synagogues, goes to prayer with the
Moslems in their mosques, and attends Christian
churches. He carries on a correspondence with
his followers in all parts of the world, and di-
rects any number of momentous affairs; but his
secretary tells me that after the affairs of his
busy day are over he will often call him, assure
him that he is not weary, and will either read,
dictate or talk until far into the hours of the
night. He knows not fatigue, but attendance
upon him often wearies the younger men, who
carefully record his sayings and habits, day and
night.
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JleetiDg a Prophet 313
The first time I called upon him in his tem-
porary home, overlooking the Sea of Galilee,
he arose to greet me, and then motioned me to
be seated as he called to a servant to bring me a
glass of tea. "Perhaps you do not like tea,"
he said, "but this is Persian tea and there is a
difference. I assure you that this is worth
drinking. " When I inquired as to his health,
he assured me that he had not felt so strong
for many years. Instead of undermining his
constitution, his long imprisonment at Acre
seems to have had the opposite effect. All of the
latent energy of his young manhood seems to
have been stored up for the present. He said he
had no complaints to make. His life had been
nothing but one succession of troubles. He had
been an exile, as his father had been before him.
But he spoke of these things in a soft and gentle
voice.
"Why," he asked, "why is it that you come
to see me' You say you write for American
readers. People of the world care to hear more
about the successful an,d beloved men of the
world, so why do you not speak to them' I am
an outcast among men, for I have been until
now a political prisoner-and I am the son of a
prisoner. "
But he did not exactly mean what he said,
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314 The Spell of the Holy Land
because he willingly talked of himself and of his
religion, and replied to questions, many of which
he must have answered many times. Over and
again he said that his was not a new reli-
gion. "Bahaism is simply a message," he
would repeat, "its prophecies are readily el-
plained by all religions. We strongly forbid all
leadership, hence the Bahais remain unorgan-
ized and make no proselytes, but teach that each
person shall live among his neighbours, until his
life tells silently that he is a Bahai. "
Briefly summed up, however, and robbed of
the beautiful rhetoric in which Abbas Effendi is
able to clothe his sentences-I wished afterward
that I had received his permission to jot down
what he said in shorthand-he is preaching a
universal religion which includes about every
known creed of the well-known religions. His
aim seems to reconcile everything. He preaches
equal suffrage for men and women. He would
have a universal language, and told me that he
believed Esperanto would do, after a few
changes had been made in the present system.
He has lectured one evening before a m.eeting of
Socialists and agreed with them in many essen-
tials. The next night it happened that he lec-
tured before a large audience in a room next to
their cathedral. He agrees with the Moslems,
Digitized __
-- -
Jleetlug a Prophet 315
and discusses at length with them the teachings
of their prophets in whom he believes. He ac-
cepts Jesus Christ as the Son of God and an in-
spired Prophet. He believes in almost every-
thing that is taught by orthodox Jews. He be-
lieves that Buddha was an inspired prophet.
The same honour is given to Confucius, while
he has a strong leaning toward Zoroaster.
Oh, this man can discourse learnedly upon the
philosophy of Herbert Spencer, Kant and Scho-
penhauer. Also he can speak learnedly of those
Eastern philosophers of whom we of the West
have never even heard the names.
I asked him if he included Christian Science
in his apparently all-reaching and all-embracing
religion.
"I find gems of truth in what Mrs. Eddy
said, " he replied, "and these things I include
and accept. But there are many exaggerations
in what she taught. . I say to you, if you have a
mental ailment, it can be cured by thought. If
you have a physical ailment or a broken bone,
I would say to you, 'quickly send for a doctor.'
Earthly trouble can be cured only by earthly
means and has not to do with God. "
"Is the day of miracles over, or will other
miracles occur in the future'"
"You mean, I take it, things which'we believe
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316 The Spell of the Holy Land
at present to be contrary to natural law'" I
replied in the affirmative.
"To that question, I shall only reply, I be-
lieve that everything is possible with God at any
time."
Then, as if wishing to turn the conversation
to other subjects, he said in polite Oriental fash-
ion: "It is beautiful to be young and free, so
you may travel around the world and see the
beautiful things of the earth. "
And I recalled on that last day, when I saw
him, that he said the same thing. As I came
do:wn to the beach to take a little boat that car-
ried me across the Sea of Galilee where I took a
train, he came to bid me farewell and repeated
the same words, as he raised his hands in bene-
diction and added: "You will have a safe voy-
age across the great sea that takes you to your
home. It is beautiful to be young and free, to
go where you will." And, lifting up his white
robe, he turned and walked along the sand,
which seems to have a fascination for him, fol-
lowed by three or fOllr of his disciples.
"There may be a light in a room, but it merely
sheds light in that room," he said. "There
may be many lights, with coloured bulbs of vari-
ous hues and shades. But the source of all those
lights is the same-and there must be sources; it
Digitized by Google
JleeUng a 317
is the dynamo that is hidden from sight. So it
is with all the religions. They sparkle here and
there in various colours--but there is but one
source for them all, just one Light, and that is
God. Self-seeking preachers and teachers have
wandered far from that Real Light. And it is
the Light that we now seek in the real truth.
Men have wandered far from the teachings of
Christ, Buddha, the Jewish prophets and all of
the others. Ours is not a new religion, it is the
very old one; we desire to unite all forms in
their original purity. "
Then I spoke of his persecutions.
"What is it for one man to suffer'" he
asked. "It is as nothing. If one man may en-
joy little comfort on earth and at the same time
be leading many men to see the Light-ah, that
is the thing!"
He said that his religion should have no paid
ministers. He teaches, and he expects those
whom he teaches to do likewise, without money.
They should perform this service in addition to
whatever else they do in life.
Mizra Ali Mohmed, who was bom in 1819 in a
little city in Persia, at the age of twenty-four de-
clared himself to be the "Bab" or door. His
first declaration was made before a concourse of
one hundred thousand pilgrims in Mecca, and
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318 "The Spell of the Holy Land
when he returned to his native home his cause
spread so rapidly that he gave great alarm to the
officials. But he persistently declared that it
was merely through him that the announcement
was made to the world that a "Messiah" was
already on earth and would manifest himself in
nineteen years. The Bab was condemned to
death by hanging and shooting. He was hung
up with one of his secretaries and soldiers were
ordered to fire. The secretary was killed, but
a bullet hit the rope by which the Bab was hang.
ing and let the body fall to the earth, whereupon
the soldiers, who were Armenians, believed that
a miracle had happened and ran away. When
the Bab was again arrested he" was dictating
letters to another secretary, and such was the
superstition that it was difficult to obtain 80];
diers who would again attempt to perform the
deed. But he was executed, and his body was
removed by stealth from Persia, brought all the
way on camel-back and interred on Mount Cará
mel, where Abbas Effendi has erected a suitable
monument and placed the body of his father.
He attempted to erect a church over the two
graves, but the Turkish government would not
permit him to do so.
Mirza Hussian Ali, now known as Bah O'l1ah,
was born in 1817 of a family that belonged to the
I
I
Digitized
Keeting a Prophet 319
ruling class at Teheran. At the age of twenty-
seven he heard of the teaChings of the Bab and
began to preach his gospel. His property was
confiscated and he was thrown into a dungeon,
where he remained for four months. But the
"cause" continued to spread, and the authorities
banished him from Teheran to Bagdad, where
great numbers of pilgrims came to hear him.
It was while on the trip between the two cities
that he called his family to him and announced
that he was the promised Messiah and for that
he was being persecuted. Abbas Effendi told
me feelingly how his father made this announce-
ment to his mother and himself as they were
seated in an orchard at their midday meal.
The report spread, and the authorities of
Arabia became aroused and had him banished
to Constantinople, thinking that his cause would
die. Instead, it- grew, and spread so rapidly
that the Sultan banished him to Acre, the penal
colony in Syria. There he died in 1892, after
having announced to the world that Abbas Ef-
fendi was the Coming One of whom the Bab had
prophesied, the one to come in the latter days
and establish God's Kingdom on earth. Then
the son was thrust into prison and remained in
the military barracks for three years with in-
sufficient food. Finally, he was permitted to
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320 The Spell of the Holy Land
live outside the walls, but always under the mili-
tary guard. Thus he lived for forty years,
until he was released by the Young Turks. He
went to prison a young man, and he was released
an old man. He was thrust into a Turkish jail
before he had the rudiments of education, but he
came out so learned that the sages of civilized
nations were astonished at his grasp of affairs
and knowledge of the world and its life, religion,
science, history and practical reforms which
were needed at once.
He says that many of his followers are yet
corifined within prison walls and are being per-
secuted,' having only secret communication with
the outside world. When a party of Americans
visited him in 1900, the Bahai movement began
to spread throughout the Western world and it
has made rapid strides in that time, although
numerically his following is greatest in Persia,
where religious beliefs mean more than they do
in the Wesl Several of the government officials
have advocated encouraging the movement
among the Persians and Indians, as its tendency
is to make all classes less fanatical and to bring
all religious sects and creeds into a closer fel-
lowship and completely break down caste, which
is such an important factor in Oriental life.
And that, in a nutshell, was what I gained
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:Meeting a Prophet 321
from my interviews with Abbas Effendi himself.
He believes that Christ taught" love thy neigh-
bour as thyself." He believes that Moham-
medans, Jews, Buddhists and Zoroastrians were
taught the same thing, and that not one of them
is doing as they were taught. Thus he would
become the great "renovator" or conciliator.
He would bring all men together in a spirit of
brotherly love-and he would raise the status
of women-particularly in the East, so that they
might have. an equal standing with males. And
8S Queen Victoria wrote to his father in 1869:
"If this is of God, it will stand; and if not, there
is no harm done. "
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INDEX
•
A. .AeceDaiOD, chapel of, 184,
185; Mahomet'.. 205.
AarouBOD, Aaron, 24H63. .AakaIOD, 24.
Abana, 349, 360-361.
Abbe.e Eftendi (1188 Abdul B
Baha). Baalbek, 322, 324, 32W29,
Abdul Baha (Abbu UeDdI) , 331-332,334,337-338,340;
268, 304-321. colOlll&I .tones of, 3315-336;
Abel, 329. Temple of Jupiter, 333-335;
Abelyno, 329. Nimrod, ruler of, 332;
Abraham, 205, 226, 231, 333, Tower of Babel, 333; Tem-
346. ple of Bacchus, 338-337 ;
Abe&lom, 185; tomb of, 195. Temple of VeDus, 336; Vill&
AbY88inian (church), 73, 98, Kaouam, 329, 330.
188. Bab, 309-310, 317.
Acre, 268, 259, 260, 262. B.biata (see Bahia Move-
Adam, 340; burial place of, ment).
188; home of, 329. Bah O'llah, 309-310, 318-319.
Adnahm, 124. Bahia Movement, 258, 306-
Ahab,234. 320; in America, 308-309.
American Colony, Baptiste, 103.
American College, Beirut, 2, 322-326; Ameri-
Apostles' Pool, 127. can college at, 325-328.
Armithea, 45-58; (Ramleh) , Bethany, 126, 176.
24; JOIIeJIh of, 24, 31, 42- Bethlehem, 78, 81-89, 94-98,
44, 165, 169; road to, 32- 290, 361; antiquity of, 77-
34; rival of Jerusalem, 78; city of David, 77 ;
48. Church of Nativity, 98-
Ark of CoveDant, 203. 106; household of, 90-92;
ArmeDi&D (church), 45, 75, road to, 8G-82, 86; abep-
"100, llMi, 184, 188. herda' field, 85 ; .tar of,
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