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Abstract:
Records from Mirza 'Ali Akbar, a British agent in Shiraz, from 1837, 1839, and 1850, with possible early mentions of the Báb.
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1. About"Bushires' British Residency Records (1837-50) (The appearance of Babism in Persia)" introduces records from the British Agent at Shiraz from the India Office Library and Records of a religious figure from Tabriz in 1837 as a possible early reference to the Bab during a period Amanat places the Bab in Bushire doing mercantile work visible in paperwork of the period. (See Amanat, Abbas (1989), Resurrection and renewal: the making of the Babi movement in Iran, 1844-1850," esp. pp. 121-131.) Ahmed next mentions 1839 reports out of Khorassan about a Torah prophecy for 1840 that, if it failed, would disrupt the Jewish population and that this circumstance provided an opportunity for the Bab to advance His claims. However Ahmed misses the coverage of the British Agents, Diplomatic notes, and newspaper coverage through most of 1845 of events related to the early phases of Babi history following the Bab's commission of the Letters of the Living. (See Moojan Momen (1981) The Bábí and Bahá'í religions 1844-1944: some contemporary western accounts.) Ahmed next focuses on 1850 reports mentioning the Bab or "Babees" (sic). Curiously Ahmed focuses on a report of a "Pomegranate Syrup" used by Babis to make people convert in conflict with forbidding intoxicating drugs. This is followed by trying to associate the Bab and Babis with politics in Isfahan in 1839-40. Though the accounts make no mention of the Bab or Babis, Ahmed claims other unstated/uncited "published material" makes the relationship clear. Ahmed then finishes with a short summary of claims of misdeeds of Babis from other papers, pointedly, from "Arab authors". - Steven Kolins2. TextThe commonly available information about the Bahai faith is that "The Bahá'í Religion was founded by Mirza Husayn 'Ali (1817-1892), known as Baha Allah. The faith was founded in 1844 by Mirza 'All Muhammad of Shiraz — known as the Bab or the Gate."1 The contemporary records of the British Residency at Bushire, however, give some unique information about the Babi faith in Persia. Mirza 'Ali Akbar, the British agent at Shiraz reported to the officiating Resident on 10th July 1837 (6th Rabi' al-Thani 1253 A.H.), the following intelligence:
A similar type of religious heresy occurred in Persia during 1254-55 A.H. (1840 A.D.) when Mirza Raza (Rada) offg. Agent at Shiraz, reported on 26th. October 1839 (17th Sha'biin 1254 A.H.):
The Jewish LinksThe above mentioned disturbances appear to be a repercussion of the stories spread by the Jews regarding the appearance of 'a prophet'. Was there any link between the proclamation of Meer Mohamed and the 'foretelling' said to have been mentioned in the Towrat (Torah)? The religious heresy, which actually had been deeply enshrined in the old Persian tradition and which appeared again in the form of Babism (Bahá'íism at a latter date) related to the coming of the "Saviour" — The "Great King" or "Him Whom God shall make Manifest". Several Christian texts, based on Iranian traditions described the "Saviour's" miraculous birth. Similar influences on the postexilic Jewish religion were also described.4 It is to be noted again that the said heresy was rekindled by the alleged reference to the Towrat. The reports of large scale persecutions of the Jews at Bhushire, Meshed, Khurasan, Tehran and Shiraz between the years 1838-40 indicated that the religious fervour was considerably behind these happenings. Mr. S. Hennell, British Resident of the Persian Gulf at Bushire reported to Mr. L.R. Reid, Acting Chief Secretary to Government of India, Bombay on 24th November 1839:
After much bloodshed, the king of Persia sent his son, the Heir Apparent, Nasiruddin (Nasir al-Din) as the Governor of the province of Fars and his brother Farhad Mirza as the Governor of Shiraz city. Reporting their primary actions to control law and order in the province the British News Writer at Shiraz sent the following report on 7th December 1840:
The countries adjoining the Persian Gulf specially Iraq had a good number of Jews. In the provinces of Baghdad and Basrah only they numbered 61,000 souls in 1905. On the Arabian coast of the Gulf there were 100 to 200 and 50 Jews respectively at Kuwait and Bahrain and a few at Masqat. On the Persian coast the Jews were not numerous, there being only a handful at Muhammareh, about 600 at Bushahr (Bushire) and a few in the Gabandi Valley.7 Several declarations made by the founders of the Babi and Bahá'í religion have been quoted by several learned scholars suggesting a close relationship between the Bahá'í and Jewish religion.7a The Messianic view of the arrival of a 'Saviour' had been tending to develop into enthusiasm, frequently fed by calculations based on the Book of Daniel and other Biblical. passages, in Persia in the 8th and 12th century. In the past the pretenders like Abu 'Isa al-Isfahani, his disciple Yudghan (Yuqdhan?) and David Alroy who had claimed "Prophetic" visions, had appeared. The proclamation by Mirza 'Ali Mohamed in 1844 was actually in tune with these Judaist-Christian versions propagated by the Jews in Persia in the 19th century. It is, however, strange to note that while the religious heresy of the appearance of a "Messiah" or a "Saviour" rocked Persia in 1837-40 as reported by the British Agents at Shiraz, the claimant to the said mission had been mentioned to have proclaimed it in 1844. In all its simplicity the whole thing appeared to be "preplanned", as in 1837 itself a person named Meer Mohamed (Mir Muhammad) was said to have issued forth from Tabriz for the alleged mission but nowhere his appearance found a reference except in the records of the British Residency at Bushire, which has remained untold upto this time. It is believed that since the said "appearance" and "proclamation" coincided with the current controversy between the Jews and Shi'ite theologians in 1837-40, a latter date i.e., 1844, was selected for Mirza 'Ali Mohamed to proclaim himself the Bab or (the Gate). It is more likely that the Meer Mohamed of 1837 and Mirza 'Ali Mohamed of 1844 were the same person. It is yet more strange that there was no mention of any person claiming the "Savior's Mission" in the Records of the Residency in 1844 and till 1850 there were no references to even Mirza 'Ali Mohamed and Babism in the said records. The Persecution of 1850The day to day reports of the occurrences in the Persian province of Fars and its capital city, Shiraz, in 1850 were unusually described, despatched and detailed by the Agent and the Resident of the British Residency of the Persian Gulf at Bushire. The unprecedented coverage was not seen during the massacre of the Jews of Persia in 1837-40. Even the movements of the Isma'ili imam, the Aga Khan, had not found so much coverage and interest in the British Residency in the previous years. It was, however, surprising that, during the whole year of 1850, the British ambassador at Tehran, Mr. Justin Sheil, was busy in settling an issue of a "Golden Watch" said to have been misappropriated by Mirza Mohamed, the British Agent at Shiraz. A chronological statement of the events in 1850 reported by the British Agent at Shiraz regarding the Babees (Babis) is given below:
The details of the executions given above have been minutely recorded but it is conspicuous that on 9th July 1850, the date of the execution of the Bab, Mirza 'Ali Mohamed, nothing was related by the British Agent at Shiraz. The curious "Pomegranate Syrup" which was used as "Nectar" and had the miraculous "effect" is said to be extracted from "a large fruit containing many red seeds."10 Pomegranate: The several celled angular berry of a tropical African and Asiatic tree (Punica Granatum) that is about the size of an orange, contains many seeds in a crimson acid pulp which is eaten raw or made into a beverage and has a thick astringent rind used especially formerly in medicine and tanning. and together with the flowers of the tree as the source of a red dye.11 About the qualities of the beverage it was said: "A dark red that is yellower and slightly darker and less strong than cranberry (Vaccinium Oxyeoccos) and yellower, lighter, and stronger than average garnet or average wine."12 It is strange that a religion, whose founder claimed to have advanced the theory of progressiveness of revelation and forbade the use of intoxicating liquors and drugs, should be associated in its very beginning with intoxicants. Perhaps the progressive derivation of the meaning of revelation was not possible without that usage. Political AffairsSome Arab authors have highlighted the connections between Mirza 'Ali Mohamed and Manuchehr Khan, the Governor of lsfahan.13 The author of the Persian Gulf Gazetteer wrote in 1914 about Manuchehr Khan:
An Englishman who toured the province of Isfahan during Manuchehr Khan's governorship, described him:
A profile of Manuchehr Khan's rule over Isfahan may be glimpsed from the reports of the British News-Writer at Shiraz: For the Year 1839
For the Year 1840
The British Resident at Bushire described in his report, dated 17th March 1840, that the object of the visit of the Shah of Persia to Isfahan was the punishment of the ringleaders concerned in the late riots in Kashan.19 Another report of the British Resident dated 14th April 1840, stated that rumours of putting to death a member of the turbulent characters of Isfahan and exacting a fine of 30,000 Tomans from the individuals connected with the priesthood of the place. It also stated that the Shah's pre-condition for visiting Shiraz, was that Shaikh Abu Turab should at first be sent to Isfahan, but it was not yet complied with.20 The strife at Shiraz, the capital of the largest province of Persia (Fars) and the involvement of the religious personalities was so manifest that the News Agent reported:
The war between Britain and Persia took place in 1856-57, but its preparations were already underway even in 1839. The evacuation of British Residency from Bushire to Khorag in 1839 was caused by the scuffle between the Shroff of the residency (a Jew who had a private business of selling illicit wine at Bushire) and the public of Bushire, but the Resident at a latter date mentioned that the evacuation of the Residency helped in diverting the attention of the Shah of Persia from Herat. The reports of the British News Agent, of the years 1839, 1849 given above nowhere mentioned the involvement of the "Babees" in the affairs but a comparison with the published material, prove otherwise. The report about Taqui Mujtahid was dated 23rd May 1840. The lady named Tahirah, daughter of Mullah Saleh Barkani who was the earliest converts of Babism (later Bahá'í-ism) and about whom Martha Room had written a book entitled Tahirah the pure, Iran's greatest woman and who was called in dedication and love as "Qurratu'l-Ain" (Qurrat al-'Ayn, The Coolness of Eyes) or "Zarrin Taj" (meaning "The Golden Crown") was said to be involved in the murder of her uncle by the orders of the Shah of Persia.22 The said lady played an important role in the spread of Babism and the notorious Qadi of Shiraz about whom the reports cited above spoke so openly, was also playing in the hands of the "Bab". But the name of Shaykh Abu Turab given in the list of the famous disciples of Mirza 'Ali Mohamed was not surprising.23 The perspective reporting of events in 1839-40 also indicated that the appearance of the founder of Babism had an earlier date. He might have gone into "hiding" after his first appearance in 1837 as reported earlier and could have claimed to be the Bab at a later date in 1844. The competition between the Russians and the British to enhance their interests in Persia in the middle of the 19th century is too well known. The appearance of the Aga Khan and Mirza 'Ali Mohamed in those crucial days was not merely a coincidence. Persia might be a controversial issue as reported by J.G. Lorimer, but clearly indicated that a Russian and Jewish connection was surely there behind the Babis of Persia.
2. India Office Library and Records, hence IOR, British Political Residency, Bushire, File No. R/15/l/75 of 1837, pp. 131-133. 3. IOR, British Political Residency, Bushire, File No. R/15/l/85 of 1839-40, pp. 109-114, 111-116. 4. Encyclopedia Britanica, see under "Iranian Religions", p. 872. 5. IOR, Political Residency, Bushire, File No. R/15/l/80 of 1839, pp. 471, 555. File Nos. R/15/l/76, 78, 79, pp. 37, 56, 67, 119 have also reports of cases of assaults on Jewish people. 6. Ibid., File No. R/15/1191 of 1840, p. 80. 7. J.G. Lorimer, Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, vol. 1, Part 2, p. 2381. 7a. Muhsin Abdul Hameed, Haqeequa Al-Babia wa'l Bahaiah, chapter X. pp. 187- 191. 8. Encyclopedia Britanica, see under "Messiah and Messianic movements", pp. 1018-1020. 9. IOR, Records of the British Political Residency at Bushire, File No. R/15/11121 of 1850, pp. 104, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 158, 165, 166, 226, 228, 284. 10. Michael West, The New Method English Dictionary. 11. Webster's third New International Dictionary. 12. Ibid.
13. Abdul Mutaal Al-Suaeedi, Al-Mujaddadun fi'l Islam, p. 500. 14. The Gazetteer of the Persian Gulf, p. 1657. 15. Sir A.H. Layard, Early Adventures, vol. 1, p. 313. 16. IOR, British Residency's file No. R/15/1/105, pp. 429, 430. 16. Ibid., File No. R/15/l/80 of 1839, pp. 249-252. 17. Ibid., File No. R/15/1185 of 1839-40, pp. 62-66, 75·80, 109-114. 18. Ibid., File No. R/15/1/85, 1839, 40, pp. 176-178, 215-217, 227-229. 19. Ibid., File No. R/15/l/87 of 1840, pp. 143, 144. 20. Ibid., File No. R/15/l/84 of 1R40, pp. 229, 230. 21. Ibid., File No. R/15/l/79 of 1839, pp. 245-251. 22. Dairatul Maarif al-Islamia under the title "Bab", p. 501. 23. Mohsin Abdul Hameed, Haqeequa Al-Babia Wa'l Bahaiah, p. 48.
3. Image scans (click for larger images)
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VIEWS | 9310 views since posted 2013-08-27; last edit 2024-09-21 09:00 UTC; previous at archive.org.../ahmed_appearance_babism_persia |
PERMISSION | fair use |
HISTORY | Typed 2013-08-22 by Jonah Winters; Proofread 2013-08-27 by Jonah Winters. |
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