Urges Religious Unity

‘Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas, Leader of the Bahá’í Movement, Arrives in New York to Propagate the Cult.

[BY A.P. NIGHT WIRE TO THE TIMES.]

NEW YORK, April 11. — ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Abbas, the leader of the Bahia movement for world-wide religious unity, arrived here early today on the steamer 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 by his official title, 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 steamer with Abbas Effendi.