recognition for his prowess in calligraphy and served as a promLQHQW DGPLQLVWUDWLYH RI¿FLDO LQ WKH FRXUW RI WKH 4DMDU G\QDVW\ The birth of ‘Abdul-Baha on the night of the declaration by the Bab – the forerunner of Baha’ullah – of his mission in Shiraz marked a profound intersection of his life with the momentous events of a nascent faith. At the tender age of nine, ‘Abdul-Baha, together with his father, a prominent leader of the Babi community in Iran, and other family members, was compelled into exile to Baghdad by Naser al-Din Shah (r. 1848-1896) in 1853. Subsequently, due to the relentless efforts of the Iranian government to banish Bahau’llah and his companions away from the Iranian borders, ‘Abdul-Baha was forced to reside in Istanbul, Edirne, and eventually the prison-city of Akka in Palestine in August 1868. During his formative years in exile, ‘Abdul-Baha demonstrated an unwavering commitment to assist his father, Baha’ullah, in establishing the groundwork for the Baha’i Faith and fostering its expansion. This faith, propagated by a Persian prisoner in the dilapidated town of Akka, amidst the upheavals and challenges of the aforementioned era, espoused a message of enlightenment and heralded the promise of global unity among all human beings and the attainment of universal peace. During his early years, ‘Abdul-Baha, known as “Abbas Effendi” in Ottoman society, gained widespread recognition for his erudition and religious acumen among the intellectual circles of Baghdad. His reputation for wisdom, knowledge, and nobility grew steadily, earning him esteem among the reformists and intellectuals of the Ottoman Empire, which encompassed Palestine and Syria at the time. Notably, Khorshid Pasha, the ruler of Edirne, honored ‘Abdul-Baha’s presence at his erudite and literary gatherings, where he engaged with the intellectual elites of the city. Similarly, Midhat Pasha, a prominent Ottoman intellectual and two-time grand vizier of the empire, extended an invitation to ‘AbduL-Baha to visit Beirut, presumably to glean insights from this esteemed prisoner of
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