‘Abdu'l-Bahá

A Presentation on the Centenary of His Visit to the United Kingdom in 1911

Given on 10th September 2011 in Bourne Hall, Ewell Village, Surrey

by Trevor R. J. Finch

Introduction

Exactly one hundred years ago, to this very day, 10th September, no more than 13 miles NE from this very spot, ‘Abdu'l-Bahá, attired in a robe and turban, speaking very little English, addressed his first public audience ever at the City Temple in Holborn, London.

These are the bare facts, but what lies behind them? Who was He? What kind of life had He led up to that point? What did He do in Britain and what did He say? Why had He come here first, of all places, and what effect did He have? What were Britain and the World like at that time and in what ways has the country and the World changed in the span of a century? What implications arise for us here in Britain now, as a result of His visit?

‘Abdu'l-Bahá's visits to the United Kingdom are episodes that have somehow been buried in the ensuing century, but it is our hope and intention tonight that we can excavate and return to the light those special encounters which so nearly set these islands on fire with spiritual ardour a hundred years ago.

Our purpose here this evening is to commemorate these remarkable and unique events, to celebrate the life of this extraordinary human being, and to attempt, in however inadequate a manner, to answer these questions and to explore the implications and issues they raise.

The Nature of the Man

Let us ask ourselves what sort of person would, at the age of 67, travel across the world, having had no formal education, having been imprisoned or confined under house arrest since the age of 9, speaking barely any English, be invited to present public talks at some of the most prestigious academic, civic and religious venues in the United Kingdom; be attended by leading academics, churchmen, civic officials and distinguished members of British society; be equally accessible and attractive to, as well as at home with, the nobility, middle class and the poor?

‘Abdu'l-Bahá was not a prince, a president, a prime minister, a priest, a prophet, a pope, a poet, a performer or a pop-star. He was, instead, the eldest son and appointed successor of Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder of the Bahá'í Faith. As the centre of His Father’s covenant, He was the World Head of the Bahá'í Community and therefore responsible for its preservation, development and wellbeing. One of His primary duties was to share the divine teachings of His Father, through deeds and words, and this awesome task He discharged with every breath, every step and every fibre of His being.

‘Abdu'l-Bahá is not a name as such, but a title meaning “The Servant of the Glory” – the “Glory” in this case referring to Bahá'u'lláh – the Messenger of God and Founder of the Bahá'í Faith – Whose title, in its turn, means “The Glory of God”. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá possessed, in equally large measure, humility, strength, unbounding love for humanity and an uncanny ability to penetrate the heart of every individual He met.

‘Abdu'l-Bahá had the gifts of divine insight, of revelation and of prophecy, although He was not a Messenger of God. For this reason His Father gave Him another title: Sirr’u’llah – The Mystery of God. These are also reasons why ‘Abdu'l-Bahá is so highly regarded by Bahá'ís and why His writings and public talks are so strongly valued and so regularly referred to.

A Life of Suffering and Service

In order to understand and appreciate ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's visit to the United Kingdom more fully, in order to give it context, it is necessary to say something of His life and of the Bahá'í Faith, which He recognised and accepted while still a boy. It is perhaps not entirely serendipitous that ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's birth on the night of 23rd May 1844 coincides with the public declaration of the Báb in Shiraz, Persia, which marks the moment that the Bahá'í Faith began. The Báb was the Forerunner of the Founder Bahá'u'lláh, rather like John the Baptist to Christ, but, unlike John, the Báb was a Messenger of God in His own right with a revelation, prayers, laws, teachings and prophecies. His ministry of 6 years was cut short by martyrdom – executed in a barrack square in Tabriz in northern Persia, having been charged with blasphemy for claiming to have a revelation from God after the Prophet Muhammad. The incident was witnessed by thousands of onlookers and was reported in “The Times” of London.

Bahá'u'lláh, son of a minister of the Shah, accepted the message of the Báb and became a very active follower. For this He was arrested and thrown into a disused sewer, the Siyah Chal or Black Pit, in Tehran, with 80lb chains around His neck. During those awful months, ankle deep in foetid water and surrounded by murderers and highway robbers, Bahá'u'lláh received a message from God via the Maid of Heaven, telling Him that He was the Promised One foretold by the Báb. On one occasion ‘Abdu'l-Bahá, who was then only 9 years old, wanted to see His Father and a servant carried Him toward the cell indicated by a warder, but they both heard Bahá'u'lláh's voice calling out: “Do not bring him in here.”

It was at this tender age that ‘Abdu'l-Bahá recognised His Father’s exalted station and vowed to be His companion and servant. After the Black Pit, Bahá'u'lláh, ‘Abdu'l-Bahá, their family and a number of Bahá'ís were successively exiled to various locations within the Ottoman Turkish Empire: Baghdad, Constantinople, Adrianople and, finally, the execrable prison fortress of St Jeanne d’Arc – Akka – such a foul and pestilential place that birds which flew over the city reputedly fell senseless or dead to the ground. The punishment for bearing to humanity a new message from God was permanent banishment from Persia and lifelong incarceration. While Bahá'u'lláh revealed the word of God almost ceaselessly over the next 40 years, from prison cell or guarded house, and dealt with the growing community of adherents, it was ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's task to feed and support the family, followers, guests and pilgrims, and to deal with the truculent Turkish civil or military officials as well as the constant machinations of the enemies of the Bahá'í Faith.

When Bahá'u'lláh passed away in 1892, just outside the city of Haifa in the Turkish province of Palestine, now Israel, ‘Abdu'l-Bahá took on the whole responsibility for the running of the expanding world-wide Bahá'í community. During Bahá'u'lláh's lifetime most Bahá'ís were, understandably, of Persian or Middle-Eastern origin. From just after the passing of Bahá'u'lláh, individuals in Europe and North America began to espouse the Bahá'í cause.

It was the Young Turks Revolution in 1908 that overthrew the ruling elite in the Ottoman Empire and this led to the release of all “political” prisoners. Suddenly ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and the other Bahá'ís, in and around the Haifa area, were free to sort out their affairs, to arrange for the building of a mausoleum to house the remains of the Báb and to organise proper pilgrimages for the believers, East and West.

It had long been ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's wish to travel the globe and spread His Father’s divine message of unity, peace and advancement through education and scientific endeavour, of racial and religious harmony, of the equality of men and women, of spiritual and moral solutions to economic and industrial problems. Eventually, after three busy years, ‘Abdu'l-Bahá was able to set sail from Egypt aboard the S.S. Corsica in August 1911.

‘Abdu'l-Bahá's Visits to the United Kingdom

‘Abdu'l-Bahá visited these shores twice, the first time from 4th September – 3rdOctober 1911, and the second from 13th December 1912 – 21st January 1913. In between He travelled to France and other parts of Europe and on to the United States and Canada. As an interesting aside, it was suggested to Him that He should travel on the Titanic, but chose instead to go with the S.S. Cedric.

The reasons for His visits were threefold: to meet with and encourage the small but blossoming Bahá'í communities in the Western world, to disseminate the spiritual, moral, social and economic teachings of the Bahá'í Faith to as wide an audience as possible, and to warn the world against the seemingly inexorable slide toward a catastrophic and disastrous war.

It is interesting to speculate why ‘Abdu'l-Bahá chose the United Kingdom and London to initiate His new campaign of public proclamation. It could be argued that at that time, in 1911, the British Empire was still the leading political and economic power in the world, though it had already passed its apogee and had begun its descent. Nevertheless, London was the pre-eminent city of the day, the home port of the largest naval and merchant fleets that the world had ever seen. English was the dominant language medium of world communication and commerce. Yet there were, perhaps, other underlying reasons. Bahá'u'lláh, addressing a tablet to Queen Victoria, had praised her for presiding over a parliamentary democracy and for supporting and enforcing the abolition of the slave trade. He had also singled out the Times as the only newspaper mentioned by name in His writings. There were clearly characteristics deeply embedded in the psyche of the peoples of these islands that were admirable and that were amenable to nurturing and developing.

So it was that ‘Abdu'l-Bahá, one century ago today, climbed the pulpit of the City Temple in Holborn and addressed the congregation. The invitation to do so had come from the minister of that church, the Reverend R. J. Campbell. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá had never given a public talk or sermon before in His life. He was exhausted and in ill-health from long years in prison and exile, and with the constant harassment of enemies and ill-wishers. Yet, as He spoke His audience were spell-bound by His dignity, His love and His irrepressible joy. What did He say on that occasion so long ago and yet so close? Fortunately, there were plenty of people present to record His words and “The Christian Commonwealth” published the proceedings, printing the text of the address:

“O Noble friends; seekers after God!” ‘Abdu'l-Bahá began, “Praise be to God! Today the light of Truth is shining upon the world in its abundance…”

“This is a new cycle of human power,” He continued. “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.”

During His visit to the City Temple ‘Abdu'l-Bahá wrote three lines in the pulpit Bible which, when translated, read as follows:

“This is the Holy Book of God, of celestial Inspiration. It is the Bible of Salvation, the noble Gospel. It is the mystery of the Kingdom and its light. It is the Divine Bounty, the sign of the guidance of God – ‘Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas.”

Sadly, the City Temple was destroyed by a bomb in 1941 and was not rebuilt until 1958. I visited this church a week ago last Tuesday and was allowed to pray in a side chapel. On the rededication stone by the entrance were the words: “To the Glory of God”, which, if translated into Arabic reads: “Bahá'u'lláh”.

The following week, on 17th September, ‘Abdu'l-Bahá addressed the congregation of the Anglican church of St. John’s Westminster. Archdeacon Wilberforce had the Bishop’s chair placed on the chancel steps for ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and stood beside Him to read the translation.

During His first stay in England, ‘Abdu'l-Bahá received a huge number of visitors, He spoke in various locations in London and visited Byfleet twice, as well as staying in Bristol. He spent some time in Richmond Park and remarked on the beauty of the scenery in contrast to the darkness of the prison in Akka. He spoke at the headquarters of the Theosophical Society at the invitation of their president, Annie Besant, and breakfasted with the Lord Mayor, Sir Thomas Vezey Strong, at the Mansion House in the City of London.

The themes of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's discourses went straight to the spiritual and moral core of individual, social and global concerns. On racial harmony He said: “Behold a beautiful garden full of flowers… Each flower has a different charm, a peculiar beauty, its own delicious perfume and beautiful colour…Yet all these flowers…spring from the self-same earth, the same sun shines upon them and the same clouds give them rain. So it is with humanity. It is made up of many races, and its peoples are of different colour…but they all come from the same God…The diversity in the human family should be the cause of love and harmony, as it is in music where many different notes blend together in the making of a perfect chord.”

On the equality of men and women He explained: “As long as women are prevented from attaining their highest possibilities, so long will men be unable to achieve the greatness which might be theirs.”

On the importance of child education He pronounced: “Every child is potentially the light of the world – and at the same time its darkness; wherefore must the question of education be accounted of primary importance. From his infancy, the child must be nursed at the breast of God’s love, and nurtured in the embrace of His knowledge, that he may radiate light, grow in spirituality, be filled with wisdom and learning, and take on the characteristics of the angelic host.”

On the subject of war He reflected: “I wonder at the human savagery that still exists in the world! How is it possible for men to fight from morning until evening, killing each other, shedding the blood of their fellow-men: and for what object? To gain possession of a part of the earth!...The highest of created beings fighting to obtain the lowest form of matter, earth!”

On spiritual matters He commented: “Material civilization has reached an advanced plane but now there is need of spiritual civilization. Material civilization alone will not satisfy; it cannot meet the conditions and requirements of the present age. Its benefits are limited to the world of matter. There is no limitation to the spirit of man, for spirit in itself is progressive and if the divine civilization be established the spirit of man will advance.”

On His return to England He arrived from America in the port of Liverpool, spending some time there, and later travelled back down to London. On Christmas Day 1912 ‘Abdu'l-Bahá was treated to a traditional meal by His hostess Lady Blomfield at 97 Cadogan Gardens, then visited Lord Lamington, former Governor of the Bombay Presidency, whom He had first met in the Holy Land. He finished the day by visiting a Salvation Army hostel to give money to pay for a good meal for the 500 homeless there and then went on to a children’s home – with His long white beard some of the children thought He was Father Christmas and sang a song to Him.

On New Year’s Eve ‘Abdu'l-Bahá visited Oxford University and addressed a meeting at Manchester College with the Principal, Dr. J. Estlin Carpenter MA, D Litt. presiding. If you visit the College library, you will see there a portrait of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá. He spent some time visiting Edinburgh and was introduced to many prominent figures there. He also returned to Bristol.

Perhaps one of the most delicious moments of the second visit was after a public meeting, which a number of prominent suffragettes attended, when He was visited by Emmeline Goulden Pankhurst. She referred to Him as a prophet and, smiling broadly, He replied: “Oh, no! I am a man, like you!”

Wherever He went He entertained people of all faiths and every stratum of society, from professors to tramps, and sent them away feeling honoured and valued. He came to our country, He even came to our county, and He embraced the generation of our grandparents and great-grandparents. It is all still so close. While my wife and I were courting, she was living in Horsham in Sussex and introduced me there to an elderly Bahá'í, Florence Altas, who had been present in Edinburgh to see and hear ‘Abdu'l-Bahá speak. I remember Florence telling me that she expressed irritation because another man on the stage kept repeating everything ‘Abdu'l-Bahá was saying. She was then informed that ‘Abdu'l-Bahá had been speaking in Persian and was being translated into English. Florence, with her pure heart had had no need of translation – she understood intuitively.

‘Abdu'l-Bahá spent some 71 days in the United Kingdom altogether, but in that short time He exerted a profound effect on leaders of thought, religion and civic institutions, He enlightened public audiences and private groups, He shared what He had with those less fortunate than Himself, and He recharged the handful of followers in the nascent British Bahá'í community, whose first believer, Ethel Jenner Rosenberg, had espoused the Cause in her native land in 1899. She is buried in the Gap Road cemetery in the London Borough of Merton – British Bahá'í history right under our noses. ‘Abdu'l-Bahá planted innumerable seeds and some of them sprouted soon after and grew. How many more lie dormant, waiting for a special rain to moisten the soil of their hearts?

Then and Now: 1911-2011

The words of ’Abdu'l-Bahá were highly relevant to the world of 1911 and resonated deeply with the British audiences who heard them, publicly or privately. Trade unionism was expanding rapidly with over 3 million members in 1911, which represented some 30% of all manual working men. There was severe industrial unrest and many strikes over pay and working conditions. Suffragettes were actively campaigning for the vote and real improvements in the status and freedoms of women.

There was a crisis in the country over the nature of the Empire and southern Ireland, still part of the United Kingdom with MPs in the House of Commons, was agitating, like India, for home rule. The gap between the rich and the poor was huge, and poverty and deprivation were widespread. There was heavy emigration to the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and already in 1911 one in 25 of the UK population of 45.2 million had been born abroad. The profile of religious practice had already begun to shift away from traditional churches and the National Secular Society had been established in 1866. There were substantial communities of Jews, Hindus and Muslims in Britain, and ‘Abdu'l-Bahá visited the mosque at Woking.

Relationships with Germany were souring over territorial ambitions in Africa and an arms race of vast proportions and of monumental expense had been accelerating between Britain and Germany, especially since 1906, with the launch of a new type of battleship – HMS Dreadnought. The steady drift toward war on a scale hitherto unimagined had been intuited and predicted by commentators throughout Europe since the 1880s. So ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's words about world peace upheld by world government, unity of humanity and religion, and equality of race and gender fell on eager ears.

Moving forward a hundred years, some things have clearly changed and others are regrettably still with us. We are in the grip of severe economic problems, and industrial action, along with public protest, has already kicked in as unemployment rises and incomes and pensions are squeezed by draconian cutbacks. The British Empire no longer exists, apart from a scattering of remote or small islands, such as Gibraltar and the Falklands, but nothing has really filled the vacuum, so Britain still seems to be struggling to find a new role and a new identity. New nationalist organisations are sprouting amidst reports that one in 8 people living in Britain today was born abroad. The UK population stands at 61.1 million, the highest in our history – inflated by large scale immigration in recent years. Budget restrictions are hampering the country’s ambition to maintain a military force capable of fulfilling a global security role. Problems in Northern Ireland rumble on and the gap between rich and poor is reported as moving further apart at an accelerating rate. There is widespread material and moral corruption in the banking and financial sector, in parts of the media industry and amongst elected members of our parliament.

The ferocity and wanton violence of the recent summer riots have raised questions about the advance of secularisation, a decline in public morality, absent parenting and a society that seems to be disintegrating under the weight of self-centredness. The sight of security camera footage of young men robbing an injured teenager after rifling through the rucksack on his back, of Reeves furniture store in Croydon consumed by arsonists’ flames, and a new Polish immigrant jumping from her burning apartment, have been truly sickening.

And, of course, we observe the wave of popular revolutionary movements domino-ing across the Muslim world, we find ourselves involved in wars in Afghanistan and Libya, and we live still under the shadow of terrorism, a sharp reminder of which is the commemoration, tomorrow, of the 10th anniversary of the airborne attacks on four key targets in the United States: including the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.

The Bahá'í teachings have much to say about all these things, indeed our country and our world seem more in need of them now than ever before. The celebration of the centenary of ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's visit must therefore prompt us to some profound reflection in this great nation, temporarily laid low by material, moral and spiritual concerns.

‘Abdu'l-Bahá's Final Years

‘Abdu'l-Bahá returned to Haifa in Turkish held Palestine in 1913, with the clouds of war looming over Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The countries He had visited had not heeded His warnings, nor those of His Father before Him. When war broke out between Britain, France and Russia, on the Allied side, and Germany and Austria-Hungary on the side of the Central Powers, Turkey decided to throw its lot in with the latter. Martial law was declared throughout Turkey’s territories. Amidst Turkish bureaucratic incompetence, ‘Abdu'l-Bahá set about planting, harvesting and storing wheat and other crops on Bahá'í owned land against the inevitable shortages that always accompany war. While other Ottoman provinces languished in famine, the area around Haifa benefited from ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's foresight.

Through all this ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and the Bahá'í community in the Holy Land were under constant threat of danger from the Turkish military – the local commander threatened that he would crucify ‘Abdu'l-Bahá on Mount Carmel. Somehow this was communicated to the British Cabinet, and General Allenby, whose army was advancing on Haifa from the south, was cabled to extend every protection to ‘Abdu'l-Bahá and those around Him when he took the city. Arriving earlier than the Turks expected, Allenby secured the city, thus saving ‘Abdu'l-Bahá from the threat of crucifixion, and cabled London saying: “Have today taken Palestine. Notify the world that ‘Abdu'l-Bahá is safe.”

‘Abdu'l-Bahá's organised distribution of food to the local people averted starvation and great suffering. It was for this that He was knighted as Sir ‘Abdu'l-Bahá Abbas after the war. This title He never used.

Three years later, in late November 1921, exhausted and too ill to carry out His wishes to visit India and China, ‘Abdu'l-Bahá lay in a fever in His bed, attended by His daughters. They searched for a clean nightgown to change their father into, but discovered He had given them all away, as He had always given away His clothes to those more needy than Himself, throughout His life. When He passed away, among the very many messages of condolence came one from the Secretary of State for the Colonies, Winston Churchill.

In a final touching tribute to ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's generosity this true story emerged in the 1990s, some 70 years after ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's passing. The Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing Council of the Bahá'í world community, announced a major construction project on Mount Carmel, Haifa, of buildings that would, at last, meet the commands of Bahá'u'lláh, the Founder. Accordingly, a tender was put out for Israeli construction companies to bid for, and a public call for engineers was made by the House of Justice. To everyone’s astonishment, a large number of Arab engineers emerged from the greater Haifa area offering their services. When the bemused Bahá'ís asked them why they had come forward they all said: “The Master, Abbas Effendi (‘Abdu'l-Bahá) gave our grandparents and great-grandparents money to start small businesses. Our family businesses prospered and our families were able to pay for our school and university education. We are here to give something back to Abbas Effendi.”

Conclusion

‘Abdu'l-Bahá gave us the priceless privilege of His presence in these islands, He shared His wisdom, His love and His generosity. He sent His grandson here to study at Balliol College Oxford, to improve his English and act as a secretary to Him. That grandson became ‘Abdu'l-Bahá's appointed successor from 1921-1957 – Shoghi Effendi, who, after a lifetime of service in His turn, passed away and was buried in London in the New Southgate Cemetery.

As a teacher of Religious Studies, I can tell you that, quite rightly, schools teach a great deal about Mahatma Gandhi, who campaigned so tirelessly against social and religious prejudice, Emmeline Goulden Pankhurst who did the same for the equality of women with men, Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr. who led the movement against racial discrimination and segregation in America, and Mother Teresa who dedicated her life to serving the poor. Yet ‘Abdu'l-Bahá did all of these things and more. Is it time for us to include Him in our school syllabuses?

Centenaries are special. They have great potency and all acts and promises made on their occasion are marked with a more powerful blessing.

For someone who gave us so much, what are we prepared to give back? What might we do, even more than we are doing now, for the betterment of the British people? Will we heave a sigh at the end of this presentation, take our refreshment and make our way home, returning to the same life we have been living? Or will we pause to reflect on this wonderful episode and this beautiful person and say to ourselves; “Is there something, anything, that I can do to make this country and this world a better place?”