# Abdu'l-Baha's Response to American Racism, 1912

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-20 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Anthony Lee, Abdu'l-Baha's Response to American Racism, 1912, bahai-library.com.
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> 
> Abstract: The American Baha’i community has been focused on activism for
> racial unity and civil rights for some 100 years. This paper attempts to locate the
> moment when this teaching became active and important in Baha’i history.
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Response to Racism in the United States, 1912
> draft
> 
> Anthony Lee
> 
> 2025
> 
> The Baha’i Faith has its roots in Islam, originating in Iran as an offshoot of Shi’ism
> in the middle of the 19th-century. It has now developed into a world religion which
> is completely independent of its Islamic origins. Of course, the religion has
> changed and developed from the start. Beginning in 1844, Baha’i history began
> with the claim of a Shirazi merchant, Sayyid ‘Ali Muhammad (1819-1850), known
> as The Bab, to have fulfilled Shi’i prophecies concerning the return of the Imam
> Mehdi, the promised Qa’im. At that time, Babis (and later Baha’is) have been
> labeled as heretics by the orthodox Muslim clergy and expelled from the Islamic
> community. Eventually, the Bab himself was executed in 1850, by order of fatwas
> of Shi’i clerics, in the city of Tabriz. Babis were persecuted and thousands were
> massacred.
> 
> The Babi religion was revived and reinterpreted by Mirza Husayn-‘Ali Nuri
> (1817-1892), a Persian nobleman who became known as Baha’u’llah. From exile
> in Ottoman territories from 1863 until his death in 1892, he reshaped the Babi
> teachings into the Baha’i Faith. He appointed his son, Abbas Effendi, known as
> ‘Abdu’l-Baha (Servant of Baha), as his successor and the interpreter of his
> teachings. ‘Abdu’l-Baha expanded and elucidated the teachings of his father until
> his death in 1921. He visited Europe and America between 1911 and 1913, where
> he spread the Baha’i teachings to the West and adapted them to a European and
> American audience. Finally, he appointed his grandson, Shoghi Effendi Rabbani
> (1898-1957), to be the Guardian of the Baha’i Faith and its head for life. After
> that, the Baha’i community has been governed by elected councils of believers.
> 
> Baha’is now claim some five million adherents worldwide, with about
> 180,000 members in the United States. There are about one million Baha’is in
> Africa, two million Baha’is in India, and somewhere less than 300,000 in Iran, the
> land of its birth. The rest are scattered across the world.
> 
> The teaching of the Baha’i Faith owe a great deal to their Islamic roots. The
> fundamental beliefs in one God, who is unknowable; one humanity; and one
> religion revealed by God are almost identical. Baha’is also accept the Qur’an as a
> holy book inspired by God, and believe in the idea of a succession of Prophets sent
> by God to guide humanity, all of whom received divine revelation. Baha’i
> scripture and theology rely heavily on Sufi mysticism and Sufi poetic forms. Of
> course, there are also profound differences, since Baha’is believe that a new
> revelation has occurred and two Prophets were sent by God after Muhammad,
> namely The Bab and Baha’u’llah. The Baha’i Prophets annulled the Shari’a tout
> court, and Baha’u’llah refused to create a new one, saying that his mission was not
> to establish a Shari’a, but to guide humanity towards its highest goals. Baha’u’llah
> also taught the divine origins of all religions, and the legitimacy and holiness of all
> sacred scriptures—Christian, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, etc.
> 
> In fact, the central Baha’i teaching of the unity of humankind was initially
> articulated by Baha’u’llah in terms of the unity of all religions. Baha’u’llah wrote:
> 
> O well-beloved ones! The tabernacle of unity hath been raised; regard ye not
> one another as strangers. Ye are the fruits of one tree, and the leaves of one
> branch.1
> 
> Referring to Shi’i laws and beliefs that non-believers are unclean (najes),
> Baha’u’llah wrote:
> 
> 'Consort with the followers of all religions in a spirit of friendliness and
> fellowship.' Whatsoever hath led the children of men to shun one another,
> and hath caused dissensions and divisions amongst them, hath, through the
> revelation of these words, been nullified and abolished.2
> 
> Significantly, Baha’u’llah abolished the idea of ritual “uncleanliness” (bajes)
> entirely from his religion. In the Kitab-i Aqdas, his Most Holy Book, he states;
> 
> God hath, . . . as a bounty from His presence, abolished the concept of
> "uncleanness."whereby divers things and peoples have been held to be
> impure. He, of a certainty, is the Ever-Forgiving, theMost Generous. Verily,
> all created things were immersed in the sea of purification . . .3
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Baha continued to promulgate these teachings during his journeys
> to Europe and America. But it was not until his visit to the United States in 1912,
> and specifically to Washington, D.C., that in this context, these teachings were to
> take on the specific character of the urgency of eliminating racial prejudice
> between blacks and whites. Before that, Baha’u’llah’s call for universal fellowship
> had remained just that, a universal call. In the context of Muslim societies, where
> 
> Baha’u’llah, Gleanings, p. 218.
> Ibid., p. 87.
> Baha’u’llah, Kitab-i-Aqdas, K75, p. 47.
> 
> the Baha’i Faith had begun, this was primarily understood as a call to unity among
> nations and the followers of all religions.
> 
> In 1911, for example, before ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s trip to America, and while he
> was staying in Britain, one of the foremost scholars of the Baha’i community,
> Mirza Abu’l-Fadl wrote a short treatise in answer to the attack on the Baha’i
> religion published in Britain by a fundamentalist Christian minister. Abu’l-Fadl’s
> treatise was highly praised by ‘Abdu’l-Baha, who ordered that it should be
> translated and published by Baha’is, and it was in 1912. In it, Abu’l-Fadl lists nine
> basic teachings of the Baha’i Faith:
> 
> 1, the end of divisions based on religious traditions;
> 2. prohibition of disagreements caused by individual interpretation of the holy
> scriptures;
> 3. acceptance of all views and doctrines concerning the station of the
> Manifestation of God;
> 4. abolition of slavery;
> 5. the obligation to engage in some trade or profession;
> 6. universal compulsory education for both sexes;
> 7. the absolute prohibition of cursing and execration;
> 8. outlawing carrying firearms, except in times of necessity; and
> 9. the establishment of the House of Justice and the institution of democratic,
> constitutional government.
> 
> Then, Abu'l-Fadl adds a tenth principle: the broad distribution of wealth throughout
> society.
> 
> There is no reference to racism or to racial prejudice in this list. The first three of the
> principles, plus #7, about cursing, refer to the end of religious disputes and divisions.
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s first public address to a Western audience was given at a
> church in London, City Temple, on September 10, 1911, where he proclaimed the
> Baha’i message. After announcing, in symbolic language, the coming of a new
> Revelation from God. ‘Abdu’l-Baha said:
> 
> The gift of God to this enlightened age is the knowledge of the oneness of mankind
> and of the fundamental oneness of religion. War shall cease between nations, and by
> the will of God the Most Great Peace shall come; the world will be seen as a new
> world, and all men will live as brothers. . . . therefore the East and the West will
> understand each other and reverence each other, and embrace like long-parted lovers
> who have found each other. There is one God; mankind is one; the foundations of
> religion are one. Let us worship Him, and give praise for all His great Prophets and
> Messengers who have manifested His brightness and glory.4
> 
> This general, and universal call was well received in London. But during ‘Abdu’l-
> Baha’s tour of the United States, it would become more focused—not on the
> reconciliation of Eastern and Western civilizations—but on healing the divisions
> between black and white and the elimination of racial prejudices. This anti-racist
> project would occupy center stage in the American Baha’i community for the next
> 100 years.
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Baha, of course, had been aware of the problem of racial prejudice in
> the United States before his American journey. American racial attitudes were
> commonly known. A prominent black Baha’i, Louis Gregory, had visited ‘Abdu’l-
> Baha in 1911, well before the journey to America, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had questioned
> him closely about the racial situation in America.5 He had instructed the Baha’is that
> all of their meetings should be racially integrated and that they should promote
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Londdon, p. 19.
> Morrison, To Move the World, p.
> 
> interracial marriage as a solution to the race problem.6 But it was only upon his
> arrival in America, and specifically during his visit to Washington, D.C., that he
> became aware of the full extent of American racism. Juliet Thompson, a prominent
> New York Baha’i, remarked on ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s impressions of his D.C. trip after his
> return to her city:
> 
> He had been horrified in Washington by the prejudice against the Negroes. “What
> does it matter,” He asked, “if the skin of a man is black, white, yellow, pink, or green?
> In this respect, the animals show more intelligence than man. Black sheep and white
> sheep, white doves and blue do not quarrel because of difference of color.”7
> 
> African American Baha’is had been an integral part of the small Washington,
> D.C., Baha’i circle for some time. At the time of ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s visit, a black
> newspaper noted that: “[The Baha’i] white devotees, even in this prejudice-ridden
> community, refuse to draw the color line. The informal meetings, held in the
> fashionable mansions of the cultured society in Sheridan Circle, Dupont Circle,
> Connecticut and Massachusetts Avenues, have been open to Negroes on terms of
> absolute equality.”8
> 
> In Washington, D.C., the black Baha’is managed to arrange for ‘Abdu’l-Baha
> to speak to a number of Negro audiences, including, an African American literary
> society in an African Methodist Episcopal Church, students and faculty at Howard
> University, the Annual Meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of
> Colored People (NAACP), and various Baha’i gatherings. It was here that ‘Abdu’l-
> 
> Baha’I World Faith, p. 359.
> Thompson, Diary, 284.
> The Washington Bee April 27, 1912. That was not absolutely true. The white Baha’is in Washington remained
> divided on the question of racial integration. Some meetings remained all white. (See Morrison, To Move the
> World, pp.
> 
> Baha’s preaching against racism became explicit. For example, he began his address
> at Howard University with these words:
> 
> Today I am most happy, for I see here a gathering of the servants of God. I see white
> and black sitting together. There are no whites and blacks before God. All colors are
> one, and that is the color of servitude to God. Scent and color are not important. The
> heart is important. If the heart is pure, white or black or any color makes no
> difference. God does not look at colors; He looks at the hearts. He whose heart is pure
> is better. He whose character is better is more pleasing. He who turns more to the
> Abha Kingdom is more advanced.9
> 
> Later, in a talk given in Montreal, ‘Abdu’l-Baha continued with this theme, insisting
> that the idea of race was a misplaced social construct:
> 
> . . . racial assumption and distinction are nothing but superstition. . . . All these in the
> presence of God are equal; they are of one race and creation; God did not make these
> divisions. These distinctions have had their origin in man himself. Therefore, as they
> are against the plan and purpose of reality, they are false and imaginary. We are of
> one physical race, even as we are of one physical plan of material body -- each
> endowed with two eyes, two ears, one head, two feet.10
> 
> During his travels in America, ‘Abdu’l-Baha gave hundreds and addresses and public
> talks. While he continued to preach his father’s universal message, he repeatedly
> focused his attention on the racial problem in America. He even urged Louis
> Gregory, a black Baha’i, and Louisa Matthews, a white English Baha’i, to marry each
> other during his American tour, which they did at ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s insistence. Of
> course, this was an almost unthinkable rupture of social convention in America in
> 
> ‘Abdu'l-Baha, The Promulgation of Universal Peace, 44.
> Ibid., 299.
> 
> 1912. After ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s journey, however, the American Baha’is almost became
> notorious for their advocacy of interracial marriage. From 1912 on, activism for
> racial justice became a regular part of Baha’i activities in the United States.
> 
> Bibliography
> 
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá (Abbas Efrfendi). The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks
> Delivered by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá during his Visit to the United States and Canada in
> 1912. Comp. by Howard MacNutt. Second Edition. Wilmette, IL: Baha’i
> Publishing Trust, 1982 (1922-1925).
> 
> ‘Abdul-Bahá in London: Addresses and Notes of Conversations. London: Baha’i
> Publishing Trust, 1912 (1987).
> 
> Bahá’í World Faith: Selected Writings of Bahá’u’lláh and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Wilmette,
> IL: Baha’i Publishing Trust, 1943.
> 
> Baha’u’llah. Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá’u’lláh. Trans. By Shoghi Effendi.
> Wilmette, IL: Baha’i Publishing Trust, 1939.
> 
> ________. The Kitáb-i-Aqdas, The Most Holy Book. Haifa: English Translation.
> Baha’i World Centre, 1992.
> 
> Balyuzi, H. M. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá: The Centre of the Covenant of Bahá’u’lláh. London:
> George Ronald, 1971.
> 
> Buck, Christopher. Alain Locke Faith and Philosophy. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press,
> 2005.
> 
> Etter-Lewis, Gwendolyn and Richard Thomas. Lights of the Spirit: Historical
> Portraits of Black Baha’is in North America: 1898-2000. Wilmette, IL: Baha’i
> Publishing, 2006.
> 
> Gulpaygani, Abu’l-Fadl, Mirza. The Brilliant Proof. Reprint: Los Angeles: Kalimat
> Press, 1998. Originally published as The Brilliant Proof (Burhäne Lämé),
> Chicago: Bahai News Service, 1912. The first edition notes that it was written
> December 28, 1911.
> 
> Mottahedeh, Negar, ed. ‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Journey West: The Course of Human
> Solidarity. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2013.
> 
> Morrison, Gayle. To Move the World: Louis Gregory and the Advancement of Racial
> Unity in America. Wilmette, IL: Baha’i Publishing Trust, 1982.
> 
> Parsons, Agnes. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America: Agnes Parsons’ Diary, supplemented with
> episodes from Mahmud’s Diary. Ed. And annotated by Richard Hollinger. Los
> Angeles: Kalimat Press, 1996.
> 
> The Power of Unity: Beyond Prejudice and Racism: Selections from the writings of
> Bahá’u’lláh, the Báb, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi, and the Universal House of
> Justice. Comp. by Bonnie J. Taylor, et al. Wilmette, IL: Baha’i Publishing Trust,
> 1986.
> 
> Redman, Earl. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in their Midst. Oxford: George Ronald, 2011.
> 
> Ruhe-Schoen. Champions of Oneness: Louis Gregory and his Shining Circle.
> Wilmette, IL: Baha’i Publishing, 2015.
> 
> Shoghi Effendi (Rabbani). God Passes By. Wilmette, IL: Baha’i Publishing Trust,
> 1944.
> 
> Stockman, Robert H. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in America. Wilmette, IL: Baha’i Publishing,
> 2012.
> 
> Thompson, Juliet. The Diary of Juliet Thompson. Los Angeles: Kalimat Press, 1983.
> 
> Ward, Allen L. 239 Days: ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Journey in America. Wilmette, IL: Baha’i
> Publishing Trust, 1979.
>
> — *Abdu'l-Baha's Response to American Racism, 1912 (Used by permission of the curator)*