es at prestigious universities, places of worship, and diverse communities, gaining renown as a herald of peace from the East. Remarkably, throughout these endeavors and despite his all-embracing vision of a world at peace, his profound attachment to his birthplace, Iran, featured prominently. Despite being the target of virulent animosity and antipathy from Iranian Shi‘i clerics, ‘Abdul-Baha stands as the sole Iranian to have endeavored, through his writings and speeches in the West, to speak of the contributions of Islamic civilization, rebutting the aspersions cast by Christian missionaries. At a time of prevalent religious intolerance, he espoused the imperative of interfaith harmony and mutual understanding, espousing the fundamental unity of religions as inspired by the same source. Perhaps most noteworthy in light of today’s discourse on gender equality is ‘Abdul-baha’s distinction as WKH ¿UVW ,UDQLDQ WR YRFLIHURXVO\ DGYRFDWH IRU ZRPHQ¶V ULJKWV an ethos derived from Baha’ullah’s teachings, and a truly revolutionary perspective in the early 20th century, even in the West let alone the East where women’s subordination was deeply entrenched. He expounded extensively on the pivRWDO VLJQL¿FDQFH RI ZRPHQ¶V HGXFDWLRQ LQ KLV ZULWLQJV HYHQ maintaining that world peace could not be achieved until women occupied positions of leadership. He was also a vocal proponent of racial equality, this in a world still characterized by colonialism and racist segregation. He also spoke of the need for a world commonwealth to achieve universal peace, warning of the consequences of militarization and nationalist strife, this just before the outbreak of the First :RUOG :DU %H\RQG WKHVH VSHFL¿F WRSLFV KH SDLG FRQVLGHUable attention to the rights and future potential of children, calling for their education, so they could become a beacon of service to humanity, so that future generations could achieve progress in pursuit of a peaceful and prosperous civilization. The period of ‘Abdul-Baha’s leadership of the Baha’i community, coincided with profound transformations in the Middle East and North Africa in the realms of industry, re-
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