Imbrie Murder Laid to Religious Hate
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: unknown, Imbrie Murder Laid to Religious Hate, bahai-library.com.
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Imbrie Murder Laid to Religious Hate

[author name unknown]

published in New York Times

1924-07-24

IMBRIE MURDER LAID TO RELIGIOUS HATE

Blindness of a Moslem and Poisoning of Sacred Well Ascribed to Bahá'ís.

AMERICAN LINKED WITH SECT

Vice Consul Beaten to Death in Hospital Operating Room, Had Forty Wounds.

Copyright 1924, by the New
York Times Company.
Special Cable to THE NEW YORK TIMES. -
TEHERAN,
July 23. - The following are the events which led up to the murder of
Major Imbrie, American Vice Consul here. About a month ago a native was
rumored to have lost his sight at a well immediately after having uttered
the name of Abbas Effendi, the late spiritual leader of the Bahá'ís. The
well thereupon became a shrine and was visited by crowds of Moslems, who
started anti-Bahá'í demonstrations without any attempt by the authorities
to stop them.

A few days ago the well was said to have been poisoned
and Bahá'ís were reported to have done it. Attempts were made to find the
alleged culprits and the place became still more crowded.
On Friday morning Major Imbrie and Seymour, his companion, visited the
place to take photographs. They were warned not to approach the well, as
women were present.

Accordingly, they desisted and entered their
carriage. Then shouts were raised that they were the Bahá'ís who had
poisoned the well. Stones were thrown, and the carriage was followed by a
crowd. Finally it was stopped and the two Americans were dragged out and
attacked by the mob with sticks and stones. Soldiers were seen in the
crowd and the police made only feeble efforts to rescue the
Americans.

Major Imbrie, who was unarmed, did his best to defend
himself until he became unconscious from a blow on the skull, evidently
delivered with a sabre. While he was lying on the ground a stone broke his
jaw. He was finally carried to the police hospital, but the mob forced its
way into the operating room and continued to attack him. He received more
than forty wounds.

While this disgraceful outburst on the part of a
fanatical mob and the total inadequacy of the measures taken by the
police have proved the existence of a danger to foreigners against which
the Diplomatic Corps has strongly protested and demanded the enactment of
proper measures for the security of foreigners and members of religious
minorities, the steps already taken by the Persian Government have, it is
hoped, removed for the present any reason for fearing a general outbreak
of violence against foreigners.

The existence of martial law gives to
the government power to prevent the publication of any more anti-
foreign, particularly anti-British, articles in the press. Many of these,
notwithstanding continued protests by the legation, have been published of
late and have inflamed the excitement of the ignorant masses. It is
difficult to absolve the government from all blame, as it has full control
over the army, yet presumably from reasons of internal politics it has
done nothing to check the effervescence.

It is hoped that the
Government has now received a salutary lesson in this outrage and has
learned that if it desires to gain the sympathy of the civilized powers it
must govern in a civilized manner and cease to resort to appeals to the
fanatical instincts which permeate not only the mob but also a large
proportion of the intelligentsia. Eulogies in the Persian press about the courageous
conduct of the police and soldiers are seriously discounted by the fact,
according to various witnesses, that soldiers took part in attacking Major
Imbrie and that the wound on his
skull could have been made only by a sabre such as the soldiers
carry.

WASHINGTON, July 23. - State Department advises from Teheran
indicate an absence of premeditation in the killing of Vice Consul Imbrie
and, it was announced today, the department
will await further data before any official action is taken. Latest
reports from Minister Hornfeld said there appeared to be no cause for
anxiety regarding the welfare of foreigners in Persia and that
tranquillity prevailed. the message added, that Teheran was under martial
law and no reports of disturbances in the provinces had been
received.

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previous at archive.org.../nyt_imbrie_religious_hate;
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Scanned 1998 by Robert Stauffer.
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Shortlink: bahai-library.com/395
Citation: ris/395

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-- Imbrie Murder Laid to Religious Hate (Used by permission of the curator)