Bahá’ísm’s Leader Here to Expound Creed

Abbas Effendi Comes From East to Promote Religious Unity.

New York, April 11. — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the leader of a movement for world-wide religious unity, arrived yesterday on the steamship Cedric from the Mediterranean. Preparations for his welcome at the pier were made yesterday by the Persian-American Educational Society and a number of local followers.

Abbas Effendi, as he is known officially, is the third of the leaders of Bahá’ísm. He has been repeatedly imprisoned by the Moslems, who regard his liberal tendencies with the greatest distrust. The Bahá’í belief is that universal peace is possible only through the harmony of all religions and that all religions are basicly one. It is estimated that about a third of the Persians are now members of the cult.

The Rev. Dr. Francis E. Clark, founder of the Christian Endeavor Society, and Dr. John E. Robinson, Bishop of Bombay, were passengers on the same steamship with Abbas Effendi.