A Prophet from the East

During the past few months there has appeared at peace conferences, in fashionable pulpits and at seleсt meetings of devotees, a venerable Oriental with benign eyes and a patriarchal beard, who is heralded as the head of a new world religion. To his personal name, Abbas Effendi, or Sir Abbas, has been appended the magnificent Arabic title ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, “The Slave of the Glory,” a parallel to the equally splendid designations Abd ur Rahman. “The Slave of the Merciful,” and Abd ur Rahim “The Slave of the Compassionate,” by which pious Moslems expressed their whole-hearted subjection to the will of Allah, the most high.

“Inasmuch,” says ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas, “as the reality of religions is one, and the difference is one of imitations, but religion essentially is one, the existing religions must give up the imitations in order that the reality may enlighten them all, may unite humanity. When people hold fast to that reality, that reality being one, all should be united and agreed; all the religions then shall summon people to the oneness of the world of humanity, all the divine religions will proclaim the equality of rights, all the divine religions will summon people to the mercy of God, all the divine religions will admonish people to virtue. The foundation is one, there is no difference therein.

“And now let us consider the various people of the world. They all belong to one kind, and let us recall the fact that the nations of the world, the American, the English, the French, the German, all the Continental nations, even the Turks and Persians, belong to the same Adam, belong to the same household. Why should they have dissensions? God has created all humanity, he has provided for all, he preserves all and all are submerged in the ocean of his mercy. Inasmuch as we have a kind God, why should we be at war with one another? — Charles Johnston in Harper’s Weekly.