The Baghdád believers are also taking steps to secure photographs of the cave in the Sargul Mountain near Sulimaniyye where Bahá’u’lláh spent two years in solitude during the time He and His followers were banished by the Persian Government to Baghdád. It was this period of voluntary seclusion, following shortly after the execution of the Báb in 1850, which bequeathed to history irrevocable proof that Bahá’u’lláh and not His half-brother, Subhi-Ezel, was in reality the one celebrated by the Báb and for whom the Bábí Movement was the spiritual preparation. For by this act of voluntary retirement, Bahá’u’lláh gave Subhi-Ezel unhampered opportunity to exercise the spiritual leadership over the Bábís which the latter claimed as his right. The result, however, demonstrated Subhi-Ezel’s utter incapacity to maintain unity among the Bábís, inspire them with faith and confidence sufficient to meet their many difficulties and guide them along lines of true future progress. Nothing but the return of Bahá’u’lláh could re-quicken the flames of their ardor or supply them with the more universal principles of conduct and faith required to transform the Bábí Movement into a world religion.
At Baghdád, as in Egypt, an incident of utmost importance to all Bahá’ís has taken place. A house occupied by Bahá’u’lláh during His exile at Baghdád and indicated by Him to be a permanent Bahá’í Shrine and a center of pilgrimage commemorating the gloomiest days and bitterest experiences of the Cause, some years ago was seized from its Bahá’í custodians by the local mullas and placed under Muslim jurisdiction. In connection with this episode, the American National Spiritual Assembly received the following statement written by the Guardian of the Cause on November 6, 1925:
“The sad and sudden crisis that has arisen in connection with the ownership of Bahá’u’lláh’s sacred house in Baghdád has sent a thrill of indignation and dismay throughout the whole of the Bahá’í world. Houses that have been occupied by Baha'u'llah for well-nigh the whole period of His exile in ‘Iráq; ordained by Him as the chosen and sanctified object of Bahá’í pilgrimage in future; magnified and extolled in countless Tablets and Epistles as the sacred center round which shall circle all peoples and kindreds of the earth—lie now, due to fierce intrigue and ceaseless fanatical opposition, at the mercy of the declared enemies of the Cause .. . .
“Conscious of the fact that this property has been occupied by Bahá’í authorized representatives for an uninterrupted period of not less than thirty years, and having successfully won their case at the Justice of Peace and the Court of First Instance, the Bahá’ís the world over cannot believe that the high sense of honor and fairness which inspires the British Administration of ‘Iráq will ever tolerate such grave miscarriage of justice. They confidently appeal to the public opinion of the world for the defense and protection of their legitimate rights now sorely trampled under the feet of relentless enemies.”
Aroused by this unjustifiable seizure, the National and Local Spiritual Assemblies of all countries instantly communicated an appeal to the local authorities at Baghdád and also to the British Colonial Office. It may be of interest here to quote a few passages from the letter addressed to King Feisal by the American National Spiritual Assembly:
“We are prepared to recognize that the case must, for the present at least, be considered from the point of view of public policy rather than of simple equity, since the fanatical minority hostile to the Bahá’í Religion—those responsible for the seizure—have so little title to the property that their action can only be regarded as one more evidence of their desire to persecute the Bahá’ís. And where this spirit of religious intolerance is fanned to flame, matters of simple equity are all too frequently lost sight of in the graver public issues involved.
“Therefore we urge your Majesty to appreciate our feeling of special rever-
