Bibliography: #BIB01005

web link	bahai-library.com/bibliography/BIB01005
reference type	Book
title	The veil : a romance of Tunisia
author	Stevens, E. S.
Authority control 1	E. S. Stevens
authority control	E. S. Stevens
year	1909
publisher	Macmillan
place published	Toronto
issue	10.
abstract	“It takes a new religion to do that It is possible that Babism may in time reach Africa, and supplant Mohammedanism. Babism may yet reconstruct the East. It is spreading rapidly. Persia will soon be permeated by it ; it has converts all over Syria.” “Babism ? What is that?” “It is the newest of old religions,”Giovanni said, with a smile. “A new religion?” “Yes, and one of the most romantic. You know that Bab means a gate. Well, during the last century, a youth, saintly, semi-divine, gave himself out as the Bab ; the Gate through which a new revelation was to flow to all nations. 'I am the Bab' he said. His religion was tolerant, spintual, philosophical. His adherents increased, the Babi sect became numerous. The Government began to suspect it of political designs ; fanatics cursed it as heretical. The Bab gave out that one should come after him who should be mightier than himself. He claimed no divinity; only divine inspiration. He was taken at last by the Government, condemned to death, stripped, humiliated, exposed to the people. His youth and beauty were remarkable ; in his nakedness he looked divine. There was tumult among the people; some thought that a god was about to be sacrificed; others, a dangerous heretic. He was suspended by the wrists ; a line of soldiers was ordered to fire. They fired. When the smoke had cleared, there was nobody riddled with shots. The Bab had disappeared. The crowd was breathless. There were shouts of 'A miracle, a miracle' But the Bab was human after all, and what had happened was that by some strange chance the cords which bound his wrists had been shot through, and he had fallen unscathed. The crowd parted to let him escape, and the end of the drama was pitiful enough ; they found him hiding in a shop in the city, and despatched him with their knives.” "Well?” "Well, after that the sect was subjected to a virulent persecution. They were chased out of house and home. Like the early Christians, they counted loss as gain, and seemed possessed by a spirit of exaltation. The question then arose as to upon whom the mantle of the Bab had fallen. There were rival factions. The sordid always follows pretty quickly at the heels of the divine. However, one of the rival Babs ceded to the other eventually, and the present Bab, Abbas Effendi, is a most curious personality. His magnetism is marvellous ; his gentleness and charity are undenied even by his enemies. He is the author of one of the most extraordinary religious philosophies which have ever come from East or West.” ''You met him, then?” “Yes; I saw him once only, A dignified old dreamer, a person who impressed me uncannily. There is only one other person who has ever given me the same odd feeling of magnetism, and that, funnily enough, is a man with whom I was discussing Babism only a day or two ago, Si Ismael."
notes	Bahá'í Faith: pp. 169-170. by E.S. Stevens. color illustrations
language	English
keywords	NOVEL
number of pages	vii, 407 pages, [2] leaves of plates
call number	823/.912
accession number	ocn1007819611

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