The scholarly study of theBaháʼí Faith, itsteachings,history andliterature is currently conducted in a variety of venues, including institutes of theBaháʼí administration as well as non-affiliated universities. Some scholars study some aspect of the Baháʼí Faith as part of research on related matters while others engage inBaháʼí studies as a primary focus of their research. Scholars' comments on the religion and its predecessorBábism date back to at least 1845, the year after its founding. Initially, they were oftenOrientalists orChristian missionaries but through time both Baháʼís and non-Baháʼí researchers have addressed the religion especially in tune with thegrowth of the religion, which has been called significant.
Association for Baháʼí Studies[1] − founded in 1975, the ABS operates under the supervision of the NationalSpiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Canada.
Baháʼí Library Online[2] − a private, independent, all-volunteer project created by Jonah Winters and a team of contributors.
H-Bahai − part ofH-Net, an international interdisciplinary organization of scholars, H-Bahai is a website making available a wealth of difficult-to-obtain primary sources on the religion.
Irfan Colloquium
Landegg International University − a now defunct university that operated from 1992 to 2003 under the aegis of the Baháʼí community of Switzerland
Wilmette Institute − founded in 1995 as an educational endeavor of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, the Wilmette Institute provides on-line and on-site summer residential sessions.
Somewhat informal, yet prepared with full scholarly standards, theBaháʼí Studies Bulletin was edited, photocopied and distributed by Stephen Lambden, Professor of Religious Studies atUniversity of Newcastle upon Tyne (said university not itself affiliated with the Bulletin). Contributors were university professors and other scholars, and the early years sawBulletins that were a mixture of handwritten and typed articles (of varying layouts).[4] Many of the contributors later appeared in the later, "more polished" journals listed here.
Baháʼí Studies (a French-English bilingual publication, full name on the journal's cover isÉtudes Baháʼí Studies)
published 19?? to 1987, inOttawa, by the Canadian Association for Studies on the Baháʼí Faith[5]
the Canadian association, and its journal, changed names in 1988 − see next bullet...
The Journal of Baháʼí Studies (a French-English-Spanish trilingual publication)
published since 1988, inOttawa, by the Association for Baháʼí Studies (North America), an agency of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada.[6]
Baháʼí Journal of the Baháʼí Community of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland orBaháʼí Journal UK some issues of which were digitized and is preserved online.[7][8] Then the periodical was redone and called the UK Baha'i Journal.
H-Bahai Digital Publications Series − published by H-Bahai, consisting ofOccasional Papers in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies;Research Notes in Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Studies; Documents on the Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Movements; andTranslations of Shaykhi, Babi and Baha'i Primary Texts
Irfan Colloquia, consisting ofSafini-yi 'Irfán: Papers Presented at the ʻIrfán Colloquia (in Persian);Lights of ʻIrfán: Papers Presented at the ʻIrfán Colloquia and Seminars (in English), andBeiträge des 'Irfán-Kolloquiums: 'Irfán-Studien zum Baháʼí-Schrifttum (in German)
UK Baha'i Review, various issues of which were digitized and is preserved online[9]
World Order Magazine (published 1935–1949 and 1966–2002)[10]
A number of collections of Baháʼí related materials are preserved around the world. Some are maintained at universities; theBaháʼí World Center, especially at the Centre for the Study of the Sacred Texts, the International Archives, and International Baháʼí Library, most National Baháʼí Assemblies and many local Baháʼí assemblies or institutions maintain their own archives.
A number of venues exist for publishing materials related to the Baháʼí Faith.[30] Many national assemblies have their own publishing trust and there are a few publishing houses that run more or less independently. Among them are:
BahaiBookStore.com[31] the Baháʼí Distribution Service acting as an agency of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States
BahaiBooksUK is the publishing trust of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United Kingdom.[32]
BahaiBooks is the publishing trust of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Australia, founded in 1976.[33]
Oneworld Publications[35] founded in 1986 in the UK[36] has published Baha'i books.[37]
Kalimát Press[38] is a small, privately owned Baha'i publishing company.
Baháʼí Encyclopedia Project was also established by the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States for invited scholars to contribute scholarly articles.[39]
Starting in the earliest days ofBábísm, viewed by Baháʼís as the predecessor to their own religion,[40] scholarship on the religion has been produced.[41]
While there were previous Iran or near-Iranian sources of scholarship of the religion in early periods, wide-ranging publications covering mostly western literature include Moojan Momens' 1981The Babi and Baha'i Religions, 1844–1944: Some Contemporary Western Accounts,[41] William Collins' 1992Bibliography of English-language works on the Bábí and Baháʼí faiths, 1844–1985,[42] and MacEoin's annotated bibliography borrowing heavily from Collins' work.[43] There is also theResource Guide for the Scholarly Study of the Baháʼí Faith byRobert Stockman and Jonah Winters published in 1997,[44] focusing more on later works. Mostly these works explicitly ignored newspaper accounts.
A wide variety of accounts, encounters and investigations began to circulate outside of Persia as events began to unfold from the Spring of 1844 with theDeclaration of the Báb. Initially viewed as an Iranian development and often through Christian missionary perspectives, thegrowth of religion[45] would soon far transcend that limited perspective.
Newspaper accounts in the West began November 1, 1845, inThe Times of London.[46] Followed November 15 by theLiterary Gazette[47] which was subsequently echoed widely.[48] This earliest coverage does not mention the Báb − instead it covers an episode related inThe Dawn-Breakers, as first noted in a book byHasan M. Balyuzi.[49][50] Subsequent newspaper accounts occurred across Europe.[51]
A number of articles were printed in 1848–9 inJournal de Constantinople in French near the timeBattle of Fort Tabarsi. Before that in June 1848 a letter from May 1 was summarized.[52][53] A series in March 1849 followed,[54] and another appeared separately in April in theRevue de l'Orient.[55] Momen believes this article inRevue de l'Orient to be from Dr. Ernest Cloquet.[41] These accounts name the Báb. Accounts followed in English and French.[56]
1850 newspaper accounts mention the Báb having a "holy book",[57] and was followed through the Fall of 1850,[58] and as far as Australia and New Zealand late in the year.[59]
The first paper on the religion was as a letter dated February 10, 1851 by Dr. Rev.Austin H. Wright to theAmerican Oriental Society, then holding its meetings inBoston and published by the society June 14, 1851,[60] It was also published in a Vermont newspaper June 26, 1851,[61] and in a German newspaper in 1851 translated by his superior, Rev.Justin Perkins.[41] It was also published in aSouth Carolinian newspaper in June 1865 on the front page.[62]
In 1852 there was a clumsy fringe[63] attempted assassination ofNaser al-Din Shah Qajar. Various aspects of the events that unfolded were reported in newspapers in the West over a period of time and referred to back in time occasionally. Mention occurs in a hard to find very early Persian newspaper,[64] while Western papers begin October 1852.[65] The FrenchJournal des débats politiques et littéraires, 30 October 1852, citing theJournal de Constantinople of 14 Oct had a story mentioning the event.[66] This French entry in late October mentions some 400 Bábís being executed. By December coverage is talking about 20,000 or 30,000 being executed.[67] Comparisons with EmperorNero and theGreat Fire of Rome were made decades later.[68]
A number of articles report Bábís west of Iran, in "Syria", in June 1853.[69]
Henry Aaron Stern (1820–1885) wrote a book that mentions "Baba, the Persian socialist" for a couple pages in 1854.[41][70]
Glimpses of Life and Manners in Modern Persia was published in London in 1856 by Mary Sheil andSir Justin Sheil and on pp. 176–81, 273-82 made mention of events in 1849–1852.[41][71]
De:Julius Heinrich Petermann was in Baghdad 1854–55 and was a professor of oriental literature in Berlin. In 1861 his workReisen im Orient published an article "Achtzehntes Kapital/Aufenthalt in Bagdad" − which mentions Bábís briefly in one paragraph.[41][72]
In 1865 the Dr.Jakob Eduard Polak published his first hand account of the attempted assassination of Shah inDas Land und seine Bewohner. It includes a significant witnessing of the death ofTahirih.[73] In 1865 two more significant works are produced. First, FrenchmanArthur de Gobineau wrote the first widely published and relatively extensive history of the religion. A third edition was printed in 1900 covering approximate pages 141-358 (217 pages) on the Bábí Faith.[74] It was the basis of much follow-up interest and accounts followed by others.[41][75] The work, while not very good did serve to get other scholars to follow along in their interests.[76][77] The second was byAlexander Kasimovich Kazembek who published the first book as such under the pseudonym "Mirza Kazem-Beg" albeit in Russian.[41][78] He joined the American Oriental Society (see above) in 1851.[79] In 1866 a version of his work was then published in French by him −Bab et les Babis − as 219 pages across several editions of theJournal Asiatique.[80] Abbas Amanat notes a correction of Kazembek attempt at a biographical workup of the Báb[81] Additionally the 1865 edition of theAmerican Annual Cyclopedia had an entry on "Persia" and on p. 696 includes a paragraph on Bábís.[82] And Adolphe Franck[83] wrote two papers in French printed in back to back issues ofJournal des Savants − Nov[84] and Dec[85] 1865 − which reviewed Gobineau's works on "Babysm".[41] Lastly, John Ussher published a memoir in 1865 based on notes of his travels in 1861[41] namedA Journey from London to Persepolis with a few pages mentioning Bábí/Baháʼí events.[86]
In 1866 British diplomat Robert Grant Watson published a history of the first 58 years of the 19th century of Persia and included 16 pages on Bábí/Baháʼí events.[87][88] FrenchmanErnst Renan wroteThe Origins of Christianity: The apostles in 1866 of which pages 299–301, 353 examines the Bábís through Gobineau and Kazembek and an attempt a first hand contact in Constantiniople.[89]The Nation published an article "A New Religion" in June.[90] It starts by mention of Renan's work and then focuses on Gobineau's account. A review of Gobineau inThe Methodist Quarterly Review was published in July.[91]
William Hepworth Dixon published a travel book with a history with commentary which mentions the Báb and "Babees" on several pages in 1867.[92] Adolphe Franck wrotePhilosophie et Religion in 1867, a chapter of which − chapter vi, "Une Nouvelle Religion en Perse" − significantly reviews "Babysm", mostly based on Gobineau.[41][93]Oriental Mysticism, byEdward Henry Palmer, mentioned the Báb in a footnote on page 44, following Kazembek.[94]
In 1868 "'Le Babysme'" by Michel Nicolas inLe Temps[95][96] Other mentions that year include "BABYSME" inl'Annuaire encyclopédique of some 15 pages by "Al Bonneau",[97] and in theUniversal History of Catholicism an article on Islam mentions Bábís.[98]
In 1869Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch published followed the work of Renan.[99][100] ThenEdward Payson Evans wrote "Bab and Babism" for the magazineHours at Home[101] Then Rev. Edwin Bliss[102] wrote "Bab and Babism" in theMissionary Herald.[42][103] Leo de Colange's 1869Zell's Popular Encyclopedia included a 2-page entry on the religion named "Babism".[104] It was published in the June 23Daily Evening Telegraph, of Philadelphia, p. 6[105] Another repeat appeared July 17 inGreen Bay, Wisconsin.[106] "A New Religion" was published inAll the Year Round, anonymously,[107] which was echoed in theBrooklyn Eagle, August 3, 1869, page 1.[108]The Hawaiian Gazette, Honolulu Oahu, Hawaii, Sept 8, 1869, p. 4, had a 3 paragraph summary on the religion.[109] Robert Arbuthnot wrote an article for theContemporary Review.[42][110] Meanwhile,Annee Philosophique − Études Critiques Sur Le Mouvement Des Idées Génénerales, published in 1869, by F. Pillon (other parts by Ch. Renouvier) included "Une Nouvelle Religion en Asia" across 35 pages.[111] TheSaturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art, August 21, 1869, carried a story "Reviews: The Philosophical Year and the Bábys"[112] looks at another journal, M. F. Pillon'sPhilosophical Annual.
In about 1870Michele Lessona wrote a bookI Babi which was published in 1881 by Vincenzo Bona in Turin, Italy.[41] Lessona had been a physician serving in Persia circa 1862 for a number of years where he learned of the Babis from a "Dávud Khán" as well as Gobineau. Polish writerpl:Aleksander Walerian Jablonowski had met Baháʼís in Baghdad.[41] Later in the 1870s he wrote several articles covering its early history in Persia[113] − one of these was to defend the Baháʼí Faith against an erroneous article in another publication.[114][115]
In the rest of the 1870s more scattered mentions are made. In 1871 Thomas Chaplin intended to visit Baháʼu'lláh and had a couple-hour interview with ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and sent a letter to the editor printed inThe Times.[116] Momen comments this seems to be the first extended commentary on Baháʼu'lláh in western newspapers.[41] In 1872 "The Bâbys",The Church Missionary Intelligencer was published anonymously.[117]Augustus Henry Mounsey publishedA journey through the Caucasus and the interior of Persia which reviews events related to the Báb and Bábís.[118] In 1873 a couple of Christian missionary journals printed articles:The Colonial Church chronicle, and missionary journal[119] andSunday at Home.[120]A General Sketch of the History of Persia byClements Markham mentioned Bábí events in 1874.[121] A Babism entry was inThe World's Progress; a Dictionary of Dates.[122]The Dublin University Magazine, March 1878, noted of Bábí events contextualizing work byPercy Bysshe Shelley.[123]
Comparative sparse mentions continued in the 1880s though for the first time there is an academic conference called. FirstAdolfo Rivadeneyra traveled through Persia and in 1880 and publishedViaje al Interior de Persia[41][124] Then on 5 and 12 December 1880 two conferences on the Bábí movement were given in Torino Italy byMichele Lessona.[125] Carla Serena traveled in Persia in 1877–78.[41] She published several books and the one wasHommes et Choses en Perse which was published in 1883.[126] An article "Babysm" was then published in the OxfordNational Encyclopedia for 1884.[127] Mary F Wilson (Jan 12, 1861 − June 1895?)[128] wrote a 21-page article "Story of the Bab" which was published in several magazines −Contemporary Review, Dec 1885,[129] and repeated inLittell's Living Age,[130]The Library Magazine,[131] and Eclectic Magazine.[132] Echoes and summaries were also printed in Australia,[133] and other places.[134] "Woman in the Ministry: An Appeal to Fact", by John Tunis, was published inUnity, May 9, 1885.[135]Persia: the land of the imams. A narrative of travel and residence, 1871–1885, published 1886, by American Presbyterian missionaryJames Bassett[41][136][137] which was also reviewed inThe New York Times, 9 May 1886[138] andThe Inter Ocean in Chicago, Illinois.[139]Samuel Greene Wheeler Benjamin publishedPersia and the Persians in 1886[140] in America after being stationed in Persia from 1882 representing the US government. It was reprinted in London in 1887.[141] Reviews were published in various newspapers.[41]Jane Dieulafoy traveled in Persia with her husband in 1880–81[41] and publishes an account visiting Baháʼís in 1887.[142]A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles has an article where "Babism" as here is the second definition.[143] "The Babis of Persia" was published theJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society, July − Oct, 1889.[42][144] The first entry byThe Encyclopædia Britannica on Babi/Baha'i history occurred in 1889[145] which was repeated into 1893[146] and appears to be identical to the one in 1902.[147]
Mentions begin to become more common in the 1890s. The first was by Robert Bruce called "News of the Month: In a Letter from Dr. Bruce of Persia…" byThe Jewish Intelligence in August 1890.[42] A "Babism" entry inBlackie's modern cyclopedia of universal information also appeared that year.[148] However the main development was the interest ofEdward Granville Browne who investigated the Babis in Persia and then the prisoners sent west and began to publish about 1891 many times ultimately through about the 1920s.[41][42] Among these wereA Traveller's Narrative: Written to illustrate the episode of the Bab (1891),[149]A Year Among the Persians (1893).[150] Newspapers and magazines began to widely cover his work.[151][152][153]
But other writers still were independently addressing Bábí and Baháʼí history as well.Isabella Bird briefly describes Bábís being attacked and taking refuge in a bookJourneys in Persia and Kurdistan printed in 1891,[154] andTheodore Bent published "Village life in Persia" inReview.[42]
Thomas Henry Huxley mentions Bábism inEssays upon some Controverted Questions in 1892.[155]George Curzon, 1st Marquess Curzon of Kedleston in hisPersia and the Persian Question comments on Bábí-"Behai" presence in Persia.[41][156] A posthumous work ofGeorge Thomas Bettany was published in 1892. It includes alittle more than a page on "Babism".[157] Anonymously "The Bab" was published inThe Oxford Magazine 1892,[42] and a "Catalogue and Descriptions of 27 Bábí Manuscripts" was published in theJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society, July 1892.[158] BaronRoman Rosen published some articles based on his collection of materials first in "Some Remarks on the Bábí Texts Edited by Baron Victor Rosen" in theJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1892.[42][159][160] This article was also reviewed inThe New York Times, 5 June 1892, which names the author as Coutts Trotter.[161][162]
In 1893 Rev.Henry Harris Jessup delivered a talk at the ChicagoParliament of the World's Religions held atWorld's Columbian Exposition and quoted Browne's meeting with Baháʼu'lláh.[163] TheInter Ocean also published a survey of presentations at the Parliament with Rev. Jessup's presentation is included.[164] A few notable Baháʼís are noted to have been present for or heard of the presentation: Sarah Farmer (seeGreen Acre Baháʼí School) andThornton Chase. The Right RevCharles Stileman, Anglican clergyman, also published an article in 1893.[42][165] Meanwhile, the first Baháʼí to enter the United States was briefly noted in theNew York Tribune.[166] According to Stockman he is the US in the summer of 1892.[167]
Some newspapers lead of coverage of the Faith in 1894 start noting persecution of "Bahis".[168] An account ofFrederic John Goldsmid reading at the Missionary conference of the Anglican Communion in the UK including quoting a translation by Browne from "Behá" was published inthe Guardian.[169] "The Babis of Persia" article by M. Y. De Goeze, inThe Missionary Review of the World followed.[170] "The Babis of Persia" by Rev P Z Easton, inThe Missionary Review of the World appeared in the summer of 1894[171] along with "Wahabiism and Babism − Bibliography" in July.[172] A brief summary in theSacramento Daily Union of religion in Persia mentions the Babis and the punishment they suffer under no protection of rank or standing.[173] JH Shedd also published "Babism: Its Doctrine and Relation to Mission Work" late in 1894.[174]
James Strong, ofConcordance fame, had been continuing work on aCyclopedia begun in 1853. The 1895 edition of Vol 1 had an entry on "Babist".[175] Henry Edward Plantagenet[176] wrote a brief piece of his encounter with Baháʼí's in Haifa in the article "'Babism' in a UK journalThe Academy.[177] Rev Samuel Graham Wilson mentioned the Bab and Babis on a few pages in hisPersian life and customs in 1895.[178] A more general review but with more modern terminology appeared in theDelphos Daily Herald in Ohio.[179] This was followed in 1896 in the October edition ofThe Missionary Review of the World in "The Gospel Work in Persia".[180] ScotsmanThomas Edward Gordon publishedPersia Revisited which mentions the Bab and Bábís.[181]
ReverendJames Thompson Bixby wrote a number of articles related to the Faith with the first being "Babism and the Bab" in theNew World, December 1897,[42][188] Charles William Heckethorn,[189] and Áqá ʻAbdu'l-Ahad Zanjání wrote in "Personal Reminiscences of the Bábí Insurrection at Zanjân in 1850" for theJournal of the Royal Asiatic Society.[190] Then "Some Notes on the Literature and Doctrines of the Hurufi Sect" mentioned Bábísm.[191] entry "Báb-ed-Din" in a dictionary closes out 1898.[192]
1900 Opens with Russian scholar H. Arakelian from his 1900 paper/lecture in French, "Le Bêbisme en Perse", at the September 5, 1900 meeting of the "International Congress of the History of Religions" held in Paris.[193]
1901 HasEdward Denison Ross writing an article forThe North American Review called "Babism".[194] It appeared again in 1912 inGreat Religions of the World in 1912 with a preface about ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's travels.[195]
A.L.M. Nicholas, noted as "No European scholar has contributed so much to our knowledge of the life and teaching of the Báb as Nicolas. His study of the life of the Báb and his translations of several of the most important books of the Báb remain of unsurpassed value."[196]
Stoyan Krystoff Vatralsky made some news circa 1899/1900[197] and wrote a paper in 1902 in theAmerican Journal of Theology.[198] Baha'is have reviewed his work.[199]
"The Missionary Outlook" by Rev. Courtenay H. Penn, followed inThe Missionary Review August 1902[200]
"Babism and the Babites", by Rev. Henry Harris Jessup was published inThe Missionary Review October.[201]
"A visit to the Prophet of Persia" by Philip Sidersky and Rev. S.K. Braun was published inThe Missionary Review also in October.[202]
In 1904 inMissions and Modern History: a study of the missionary aspects of some great movements of the nineteenth century, by Presbyterian ministerRobert Elliott Speer was published.[203] Another couple articles totaling 139 pages by Dr.Paul Carus came out in the summer in the journalOpen Court,[204] (and also had an advertisement by Kheiralla and MacNutt.)[205] There is a reply in the January 1905 edition ofOpen Court led by Carus' commentary adjusting some details and then publishing the rebuttal by Arthur Dodge.[206] An anonymous reprise and summary called "American; Babism in New York" followed inThe Missionary Review in May 1906.[207]A. V. Williams Jackson then publishedPersia, Past and Present which has a couple pages on the Bábí/Baháʼí Faiths including brief mention of "Behaists" near Chicago.[208]Across Persia was then published in 1907 byEliot Crawshay-Williams who travelled Persia in 1903 − chapter XX is about Bábí-Baháʼí history.[209] "Babism" had a section in theOrpheus: A General History of Religions, bySalomon Reinach in 1909.[210]
As early as 1909, but more often since 1911, a column named "The Awaking of the Older Nations", by William T. Ellis, copyrighted to Joseph B. Bowles, began to appear in several newspapers.[211] Ellis was a secular journalist who investigated missionary activity of Christians around the world.[212] Some of the articles of the series covered the Baháʼí Faith. He appears to have encountered the religion in 1910 while ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was in Egypt[213] and his interview was reported inStar of the West, (then calledBaháʼí News,) of January 1911.[214] The series mention of the religion runs into 1912.[215] The article often included a picture of some kind. He reports visiting ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's home in Haifa and not seeing Him there − that He was away. He went to Alexandria to catch ʻAbdu'l-Bahá there and refers to an Englishman serving as translator for the interview − this was Sydney Sprague (who mentionedMary Hanford Ford's "The Oriental Rose" as well.) There is a considerable discussion of the teachings but with various errors as well.[214]
The February 1910 edition ofTwentieth Century Magazine had an article by Baháʼí Helen Campbell profiling the social and economic views of the religion.[216]The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge has entries on Babism and Behaism by associate editor of the encyclopedia, George W. Gilmore, with nothing newer than 1906 in the bibliography.[217] The second, "Behaism", was byMargaret Bloodgood Peeke, "Inspectress-General of the Martinist Order of America" with nothing newer than 1906 in the bibliography.[218] Peeke had gone on to visit ʻAbdu'l-Bahá as a non-Baháʼí in 1899 and judged it to be "living the life" of the teachings of Jesus Christ.[219]
In early 1911 unitarian ministerCelia Parker Woolley advertised a meeting discussing the religion in the African newspaperThe Chicago Defender.[220] In late 1911Ethel Stefana Stevens published two articles in widely circulated magazines −Forthnightly Review,[221] andEverybody's Magazine.[222] a variety of 1911 mentions occur in newspapers − Ghodsea Ashrof emigratig,[223] conditions in Iran,[224] and specifically women's rights,[225][226] Behaists/"TruthKnowers",[227] a large article about the coming of ʻAbdul'-Bahá to the West of his presence in Europe.[228][229] Rev. Peter Z. Easton, a Presbyterian in theSynod of the Northeast in New York who was stationed inTabriz, Iran from 1873 to 1880, did not have an appointment to meet ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in Bristol, UK.[230][231] Easton attempted to meet and challenge ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and in his actions made those around him uncomfortable; ʻAbdu'l-Bahá withdrew him to a private conversation and then he left. Later he printed a polemic attack on the religion,Bahaism — A Warning, in theEvangelical Christendom newspaper of London.[232] and echoed.[233] The polemic was later responded to byMírzá Abu'l-Faḍl in his bookThe Brilliant Proof written in December 1911.[234]
1912 − A significant number of articles reviewed or mentionʻAbdu'l-Bahá's journeys to the West; see that article for significant mentions and reviews. However, separately, some mention the Faith of Abdu'l-Bahá before he came to the US such as byGertrude Atherton[235] or a few mentions were made aside from coverage about ʻAbdu'l-Bahá.Lua Getsinger gave a talk on the religion that was noted inThe Pacific Unitarian.[236]Tahirih was noted more than once.[237] The "Clio Information Club" hosted a talk byHoward MacNutt gave a talk in October as noted in the African AmericanNew York Age.[238] The first mention of the religion so far found in thePittsburgh Courier occur when a "Mrs. Davis" held a meeting at her home for a club and the topic was the religion.[239] And there was mention in Australia.[240]
In 1913Persia, the Land of the Magi... was published by Samuel Kasha Nweeya.[241] Also in 1913 the article "Key to the Heaven of the Beyan or a Third Call of Attention to the Behaists or Babists of America" was published by August J. Stenstrand for the Illinois State Historical Society.[242]
In the July 1914 edition ofThe Harvard Theological Review then Reverend Albert R. Vail published an article surveying the religion.[243] Part 1 of "Bahaism and the Woman Question", by Rev. Samuel G. Wilson, in OctoberMissionary Review of the World.[244] and was followed by part 2 in December.[245] SeeBaháʼí Faith and gender equality.
In 1915 Robert P. Richardson published his first article in theOpen Court.[246] In 1916Mary Bird mentioned the religion in a missionary light.[247] In 1917 Albert Vail, along with his wife Emily McClellan Vail, published a two volume set of books each with a chapter about the religion: "Heroic lives" for sixth grade curriculums with student and teacher notebooks.[248]
ʻAbdu'l-Bahá died in 1921 and was a major event in the region with thousands attending the procession of the casket, and prominent local representatives of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish communities speaking on the occasion.[249][250] Obituaries appeared in the New York,[251] Los Angeles[252] and elsewhere, based out of reports announced in London news.
In 1924, American Ambassador to the Qajar dynasty of Persia, Robert Imbrie waskilled on suspicion of being a Baháʼí.[253]
^"The Journal of Baháʼí Studies".Association for Baháʼí Studies (North America). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada. Retrieved2020-10-11.
^"Moshe Sharon".Hebrew University of Jerusalem, The Faculty of Humanities, Chair in Baha'i Studies. Archived fromthe original on February 2, 2017. RetrievedSeptember 28, 2016.
^English News,The Argus, (Melbourne, Victoria), 4 November 1850, page 2, 3rd column (scroll up and over from the opening of the page)
English Extracts,Launceston Examiner, (Tasmania), 23 November 1850, page 5, near beginning of selection]
Extracts from our own previous files,The Maitland Mercury and Hunter River General Advertiser, (NSW), 30 November 1850, page 4, far right end of selection, last section
^Austin H. Wright (June 26, 1851).Daniel Pierce Thompson (ed.)."A New Prophet"(PDF).Green Mountain Freeman. Montpelier Vermont. p. 1. RetrievedMarch 12, 2015.
^"Bab - A curious history".The Daily Phoenix. Columbia, South Carolina. 16 June 1865. p. 1. RetrievedMarch 9, 2015.
^Momen, Moojan (August 2008). "Millennialism and Violence: The Attempted Assassination of Nasir al-Din Shah of Iran by the Babis in 1852".Nova Religio: The Journal of Alternative and Emergent Religions.12 (1):57–82.doi:10.1525/nr.2008.12.1.57.JSTOR10.1525/nr.2008.12.1.57.S2CID143581508.
^"Persia",Morning Chronicle, p. 14, October 1, 1852
^Des Nouvelles de Perse,Journal des débats politiques et littéraires, 30 October 1852, page 1, 3rd column, halfway down
^"Turkey",London Standard, 20 December 1852, p. 3, 3rd column, section on the Bab above middle,(subscription required) to view original site requires fee unless accessed "in premises owned or operated by the British Library, or within a premises subscribed to The British Newspaper Archive Community Edition"
^"Persia" (latter part of),The American Annual Cyclopædia and Register of Important Events …:Embracing Political, Civil, Military, and Social Affairs; Public Documents; Biography, Statistics, Commerce, Finance, Literature, Science, Agriculture, and Mechanical Industry, published by D. Appleton, 1866, p. 696
^*"'Le Babysme'." by Michel Nicolas,Le Temps (Paris) (14 August 1868), p.3, col.2
"'Le Babysme'." by Michel Nicolas,Le Temps (Paris) (19 August 1868), p.3, col.3
"'Le Babysme'." by Michel Nicolas,Le Temps (Paris) (20 August 1868), p.3, col.2
^MacEoin, Denis."Babi history".The Babi and Baha'i Religions: An Annotated Bibliography. Greenwood Press's ongoing series of Bibliographies and Indexes in Religious Studies. RetrievedOct 2, 2016.
^"BABYSME" inl'Annuaire encyclopédique, 1868, p. 256–271
^"L'Islamisme", of the "Annales Ecclesiastiques", by theHistoire Universaelle de L'Eglise Catholique ed by Abbe Rohrbacher, 1867/1868, pp. 18–20. On page 19-20 there is some discussion of the Bab, etc.
^Studies in the evidences of Christianity (1869) by Stephen Greenleaf Bulfinch out of Boston, pp. 129 – 140.
^Babism, Studies in the evidences of Christianity, 1869, pp. 129 – 140
^"Bab and Babism" (with gap(s)), Evans, E.P.,Hours at Home, Jan 1869, Vol 8 (Nov 1868 to April 1869), published by Charles Scribner & Company, pp. 210–222
^"Une Nouvelle Religion en Asia",Annee Philosophique - Études Critiques Sur Le Mouvement Des Idées Génénerales, published in 1869, by F. Pillon, pp. 181–216
^"History in Poland".Official Webpage of the Baháʼís of Poland. National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of Poland. 2008. Archived fromthe original on 2009-01-24. Retrieved2009-03-20.
^"Babism" inThe World's Progress; a Dictionary of Dates, 21st edition, by George Palmer Putnam, Frederic Beecher Perkins, published by G. P. Putnam, 1877, p. 8
^"Babism",A New English Dictionary on Historical Principles Vol 1, Part 2 by the Philological Society (Great Britain), ed by James Augustus Henry Murray, published by Clarendon Press, 1887, p. 606
^"Babi", by "RG" - RG Watson? -The Encyclopædia Britannica, 9th edition, ed by William Harrison De Puy, published by Werner Company, 1893, vol III, pp. 180–181
^Marquess George Nathaniel Curzon Curzon of Kedleston (1892).Persia and the Persian Question. Longmans, Green & Company. pp. 496–504. Retrieved31 May 2013.
^"A New Religion",The New York Times, 5 June 1892, p. 4, bottom of 4th column, top of 5th.
^The Religious Mission of the English-Speaking Nations, by Rev Henry H. Jessup, published in History of the Parliament of Religions and Religious Congresses of the World's Columbian Exposition, pages 637-641, Chicago: F. Tennyson Neely, 1894
^Vol 17 is available as a free ebook, the google book preview limits what pages you can see, specifically this one page, but the free ebook lets you get them all.
^"The Babis of Persia" by Rev P Z Easton,The Missionary Review of the World, Volume 17, Published by Missionary Review Publishing Company, Incorporated, June 1894, pp. 451–458
^"Wahabiism and Babism - Bibliography" by Rev P Z Easton,The Missionary Review of the World, Vol 17, publisher Missionary Review Publishing Company, Incorporated, July, 1894 pp. 529–530
^Religion of the Persians,Sacramento Daily Union of 14 July 1894, p. 6, bottom of second column, top of third.
^note several source point to a Syracuse version - it is believed this is an error.
Henry Edward Plantagenet (March 9, 1895)."Babism".The Academy: A Weekly Review of Literature, Science, and Art.47 (1192): 220. RetrievedFebruary 9, 2015.
^The Mohammedan Messiah, The Indiana Democrat, (Indiana, Pennsylvania), 16 December 1896 • Page 5
^James T. Bixby (December 1897)."Babism and the Bab".The New World; A Quarterly Review of Religion, Ethics, and Theology.6 (24):722–750. RetrievedMay 22, 2015.
^"The Babis" inThe Secret Societies of All Ages and Countries, Volume 2 by Charles William Heckethorn, published by G. Redway, 1897, pp. 263–269
^"Báb-ed-Din",Chambers's biographical dictionary: the great of all times and nations ed by Francis Hindes Groome, reprint, published by W. & R. Chambers, 1898, p. 55
^Arakélian, H. (September 5, 1900)."Le Bêbisme en Perse".International Congress for the History of Religions; Actes du premier Congrès international d'histoire des religions, réuni à Paris, du 3 au 8 septembre 1900 à l'occasion de l'Exposition universelle. Vol. 1. Paris, FR. pp. 93–104. RetrievedOctober 12, 2016.
^"Babism", by E. Denison Ross,The North American Review, Vol. 172, No. 533, April 1901, pp. 606–622
^Babism, by E. Denison Ross,Great Religions of the World, New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1901/1912, pp. 189-217
^The Work of A.L.M. Nicolas (1864–1937), by Moojan Momen, published inThe Bábí and Baháʼí Religions: Some Contemporary Western Accounts, pages 36-40, Oxford: George Ronald, 1981
^*Mystery of a sect,The Weekly Wisconsin (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) 18 November 1899, Sat • Page 8
^"The Missionary Outlook" by Rev. Courtenay H. Penn, pp. 586–591,The Missionary Review, Vol 25, published, Princeton Press, 1902
^"Babism and the Babites", by Rev Henry Harris Jessup,The Missionary Review, Vol 25, published by Princeton Press, October 1902, pp. 771–775
^"A visit to the Prophet of Persia" by Philip Sidersky and Rev. S.K. Braun,The Missionary Review, Vol 25, published by Princeton Press, October 1902, pp.775-776
^Arthurd Dodge; Paul Carus (January 1905)."The Behaist Movement".The Open Court.19 (1): 54–63 (download only). RetrievedOctober 16, 2013.
^"American; Babism in New York" (no author), under "General Missionary Intelligence" (no editor),The Missionary Review, Vol 29, published by Princeton Press, May 1906, p. 391
^E. Crawshay Williams (1907).Across Persia. Edward Arnold.
^"Chapter VI, The Musulmans" from,Orpheus: A General History of Religions, by Salomon Reinach, translated by Florence Simmonds, revised edition, published by W. Heinemann, 1909, p. 161–169
The Awaking of the Older Nations, by William T. Ellis,Martinsville Democrat, November 24, 1911, p. 4, left three columns and picture
The Awaking of the Older Nations, by William T. Ellis, Tooele Transcript, December 29, 1911, p. 3, left three col (manually click page 3 on the right)
The Awaking of the Older Nations, by William T. Ellis,Duchesne County Newspapers, January 5, 1912, p. 6, left three cols (manually click on page 6 on the right)
The Awaking of the Older Nations, by William T. Ellis,The Mancelona Herald, published by Joseph B. Bowles, November 16, 1911, p. 6, 2nd through 4th columns with picture
^(warning, slow download)George W. Gilmore (1952) [1910–1911?]."Babism"(PDF). In Samuel MacCauley Jackson; Charles Colebrook Sherman; George William Gilmore (eds.).The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 2. republished by Christian Classics Ethereal Library. pp. 935–939. RetrievedOctober 16, 2013.
^(warning, slow download)Margaret Bloodgood Peeke (1952) [1910–1911?]."Behaism"(PDF). In Samuel MacCauley Jackson; Charles Colebrook Sherman; George William Gilmore (eds.).The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Vol. 2. republished by Christian Classics Ethereal Library. pp. 104–105. RetrievedOctober 17, 2016.
^Burhan-i-Lamiʻ (The Brilliant Proof): Published, along with an English translation, in Chicago in 1912, the paper responds to a Christian clergyman's questions. Republished asMírzá Abu'l-Faḍl Gulpáygání (1998) [1912].The Brilliant Proof. Los Angeles: Kalimát Press.
^Love and Fire, Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania)20 April 1912, Sat • Page 13
^"The February meetings…",The Pacific Unitarian - Devoted to Religious Truth and Higher Life, March 1912, page 153, middle left column. Also refers to another publication mention it. - theChristian Register of Feb 18.
^*"Persian was first",The Eufaula Republican, (Eufaula, Oklahoma), 20 September 1912 • Page 4
^Editorial Notes by Jessie Palmer Weber, Edward F. Dunne and Harry Woods, Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society, Vol. 6, No. 3 (October 1913), pp. 455-468 (p. 467)
^"Bahaism and the Woman Question", by Rev. Samuel G. Wilson,Missionary Review of the World, Vol 37, published by Funk & Wagnalls, October 1914, pp. 739–745
^"Bahaism and the Woman Question - II", by Rev Samuel G Wilson,Missionary Review of the World, Vol 37, published by Funk & Wagnalls, December 1914 pp. 915–919
^Todd Lawson, ed. (December 2012). "Journal of Religious History, Special Issue: Baha'i History".Journal of Religious History.36 (4).doi:10.1111/jorh.2012.36.issue-4.
