• Three years prior she had spent 3 or 4 months (possibly 6 months) in 'Akka and Haifa gathering material for a book. During her stay she had the opportunity to observe both 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Bahá'í community at close quarters. The book, called Mountain of God, was published in 1911. World Order excerpted this book in a two-part serial in 1970. [Collins7.2476}
• She also wrote an article for the magazine Fortnightly Review. Excerpts from the article, impressions of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. can be found at the US Bahá'í site.

The publication in 1865 of the Comte de Gobineau's (1816-1882),Les Religions et Les Philosophies dans l'Asie Centrale created an interest in Europe. A scholar that was inspired by Gobineau was E.G.Browne. He travelled to Iran and also visited Bahá'u'lláh in Akka in the latter days of His life. He translated two histories of the new religion and published two other books as well as a number of articles. He also made an important collection of manuscripts that he gave to Cambridge University Library. Bahá'ís have criticized Browne's work for being too sympathetic to Azal, Baha'u'llah's half-brother and implacable enemy. One of the books that Cobineau for Les Religions... was Násikhu't-Taváríkh (the 'history to abrogate all previous historiies') by Lisánu'l-Mulk. This book had been condemned by Bahá'u'lláh as a falsification of history one which even an infidel would not have had the effrontery to produce. [SUR36-37]      

A.L.M. Nicolas (1864-1939) was a French consular official in Iran who researched and wrote a biography of the Báb as well as translating three of the Báb's major works into French.

     Just as the Báb was the centre of the scholarly interests of Gobineau, Browne and Nicolas, some Russian scholars who were more interested in Bahá'u'lláh. Baron Viktor Rosen (1849-1908), the director of the Oriental Department of the University of St. Petersburg was assisted by Aleksandr Tumanski (1861-1920). He spent a great deal of time with the Bahá'í community of Ashkhabad and with Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani. Although he did not write as much as Browne or Nicolas, what he did write was derived from a very deep and thorough investigation. [L&E43-83]

See An Officer and an Orientalist: Alexander Grigorevich Tumanskii and His Contribution to Russian Historiography on and Policy towards the Babi-Baha'i Religion by Soli Shahvar, Bahá'í Studies Review 20 (1), 3-19

     There was much interest in scholarship in the early days of the Faith because almost all of the most important disciples of the Báb were Islamic religious scholars, as were many of the leading converts to the Bahá'í Faith in later years. The most important of these was the above mentioned Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpaygani (1844-1914). He was learned in the Zoroastrian and Jewish scriptures and spent some time in the Christian West at the request of 'Abdu'l-Bahá prior to His visit.

     During the 1930s to 1960s, a second generation of Iranian Bahá'í scholars, such as Fadil Mazandarani (1881-1957), 'Abdul-Hamid Ishraq-Khavari (1902-1972), and 'Azizu'llah Sulaymani (1901-1985) systematized Bahá'í theology and law, developed aids for scholars such as dictionaries of Bahá'í terminology, and wrote histories and biographies. This was of course a more traditional style of scholarship than is current in the West, but it continues to be useful to all present scholars.

     The above-described initial flurry of interest in the Bábí and Bahá'í religions in the West was not sustained and from the 1920s to the 1970s, there were no Western scholars who were as deeply engaged as the above-named ones and only a handful of studies that can be said to have done much to advance knowledge. From the 1970s onward, there gradually emerged a new stream of scholars who can be said to be a fusion of the above two groups, the Western and the Bahá'í scholars. This new generation of scholars mostly began as Bahá'ís, although some have subsequently left the religion. They use Western academic methodology and most operate from within Western universities but they have access to insider information and resources. Apart from these individuals, the Bahá'í Faith has been very little studied by Western scholars of religion.

Early Bahá’í Scholarship in North America

   The study of the Bahá’í Faith in the United States and Canada began almost as soon as the religion arrived on the continent in the late‑19th century. Early scholars were a mix of missionaries, journalists, university professors, and curious laypeople who sought to understand a new religious movement that was still largely unknown in the West.

    In 1901 the British orientalist student of E G Browne, Edward Denison Ross, wrote a concise overview of “Babism” for The North American Review. The article was later reproduced in the 1912 volume Great Religions of the World, where Ross added a brief pre‑face describing ʻAbdu’l‑Bahá’s recent travels in the United States. Ross’s piece is one of the earliest academic treatments of the movement in a mainstream American periodical. [USMERCED]

   During the early twentieth century, a number of America's religious thinkers were in touch with Sarah Farmer or visited Green Acre and participated in the dynamic exchange of ideas that took place there. Among them were the Harvard scholars William James and W.E.B. Du Bois, two of the most prominent and influential American writers and philosophers of the time. William James, in turn, invited Ali Kuli Khan, an Iranian diplomat and prominent member of the Bahá'í community, to give presentations on the Bahá'í Faith at Harvard University.

   Du Bois, who had been a student of James, received his doctorate from Harvard and was the first African American to do so, graduating in 1895. His work as the founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) brought him into contact with 'Abdu'l-Bahá, who gave a speech at its fourth conference in 1912. Du Bois, as pointed out by Guy Mount in his research, later published the speech in the official magazine of the NAACP, along with a photograph of 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

   A contemporary and close colleague of Du Bois, Alain Locke was also among the most eminent thinkers of the time. Locke was the first African American Rhodes Scholar, and he is often remembered as the "Dean" of the Harlem Renaissance. In a biography on Locke, Christopher Buck suggested that Du Bois may have been the one who introduced Locke to the Bahá'í Faith. He received his PhD from Harvard in 1918, the same year he became a Bahá'í. Du Bois and Locke's profound contributions to philosophy were recognized widely—the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. compared their influence to that of Plato and Aristotle.

   The early American Bahá'í community also included Albert Vail and Stanwood Cobb, graduates of the Harvard Divinity School and prior Unitarian ministers. Vail published an impressive article on the Bahá'í Faith emphasizing its principle of unity in the Harvard Theological Review in 1914. While the Harvard University and Green Acre represented significant meeting points for leading writers and philosophers of the time, Dehghani's lecture also noted that the influence of the emerging discourse on unity reached other prominent thinkers in the northeastern United States.

   A word must also be said about what passes for scholarship on the Bahá'í Faith in Iran and to a lesser extent in the rest of the Middle East. Bahá'ís have been persecuted in many Middle Eastern countries and rejected by Islamic leaders, and one form of this discrimination has involved the manipulation of information. For most of the last 100 years, deliberately distorted or falsified information and documents have been created mostly by some within the Islamic religious establishment and then distributed as though these were facts about the Bahá'í Faith. Since the Bahá'ís have had no ability to respond to this material in the Middle East, these distortions have gradually become accepted in the Middle East as the truth. One example is the forged memoirs of Count Dolgorukov, the Russian ambassador to Iran in the 1840s to 1850s.

   This and other contradictions were so clearly spurious that even some Iranian scholars debunked them when they were first published in the 1940s. But despite this, they are often regularly cited by Middle Eastern writers up to the present day as though they are a reliable source for the history of the religion.

   Since the Islamic Revolution of 1979, this manufacturing of disinformation and forged material has increased greatly with programs in the media, articles, and books appearing on a frequent basis, especially in the government-run media. The result is that there is almost nothing published in the Middle East that has reliable information about the Bahá'í Faith in it. A little of this sort of scholarship has also appeared in the West; some Christian missionaries, notably Reverend William McElwee Miller(1892-1993)(Also see WOB83) have written anti-Bahá'í material and ex-Bahá'ís have published academic work that is calculated to make the Bahá'í community resemble a cult as portrayed in the anti-cult campaigns that were carried out in the Western media in the 1980s. [The above was copied from the website Patheos and has been edited for brevity. It was contributed by Dr. Natalie Mobini]

'Abdul'-Bahá and His party embarked from Alexandria on the White Star Line Liner RMS Cedric for New York via Naples. They departed Naples on the 30th of March and made a call at Gibraltar. Three of His party were forced to leave the ship for supposed "medical' reasons. Among them was His grandson, Shoghi Effendi. [AB171; GPB281; ABF274; ABITM50-52; SYH50-51]

By this time, Bahá'í students from Haifa and 'Akká, as well as Persia, Egypt, and Beirut, had attended SPC (later called the American University at Beirut) for about a decade, in increasing numbers over the previous few years. There were no comparable institutions in their own countries, and attending universities in Europe or America was not yet practical for most. As SPC became a popular choice, the prospect of joining an existing group of Bahá'í students was an additional attraction. A sizable group of students as well attended the Université Saint-Joseph (USJ), also in Beirut. Together, they constituted a single coherent group, meeting together, visiting each other, and collaborating, for example, in the activities of the "Society of the Bahá'í Students of Beirut," which had been formed in 1906. ['Abdu'l-Bahá and the Bahá'í Students]

See a provisional translation of a talk Àbdu'l-Bahá gave in Port Said on the 23rd of Jun 1913 on His meeting with the Cardinal.

In the afternoon He gave a public talk at the home of Mrs Sidney Roberts and in the evening He spoke at the Church of the Messiah. [MD357; 239Days175]

`Abdu'l-Bahá gave His customary noontime talk on the subject of the religion of the future. In the afternoon He visited Versailles with Hoppolyte Dreyfus. [AB376]

He met with Professor Inayat Khan (1882-1927) in His apartment at 30 rue Saint-Didier and later attended his musical recital of Sufi poetry accompanied by the vines (guitar) and the tabla. [AP2p117-119]

Inayat Khan Rehmat Khan was an Indian professor of musicology, singer, exponent of the saraswati vina, poet, philosopher, and pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West. [Wikipedia; The Reconciliation of Races and Religions by Thomas Kelly Cheyne]

At a Feast held in the home of Mr and Mrs Leo Perron in Chicago it was decided to write a supplication to 'Abdu'l-Bahá asking Him to come to America. The idea was approved by the Spiritual Assembly and a letter was sent to all other assemblies to solicit signatures for the petition. In the early part of January all the signatures were received and sent to Akka along with the supplication. [SoW Vol 10 No 3 August 1, 1919 p168; p156; BTSG20]

'Abdu'l-Bahá's response, translated by Shoghi Effendi, can be found on p154-155.

"Each one of you should have a copy. Read, memorize and reflect upon it. Then, when accusations and criticisms are advanced . . . you will be well armed."[The Brilliant Proof]

The Brilliant Proof was first translated by Ali Kuli Khan and published by the Bahá'í News Service in Chicago in 1912 in which it said: "Written in response to published attacks on the Bahá'í Religion by the British clergyman Peter Z Easton" (1846-1915). [Collins7.15 p41]

Peter Easton (1846-1915) was a Presbyterian in the Synod of the Northeast in New York who had been stationed in Tabriz from 1873 to 1880. While 'Abdul'Bahá was in England Easton attempted to meet and challenge him. He made those around him uncomfortable and 'Abdu'l-Bahá withdrew him to a private conversation and then after which he left. Later he was able to have printed a polemic attack on the religion, Bahaism — A Warning, in the Evangelical Christendom newspaper of London (Sept.-Oct. 1911 edition.) It was published in the Appendix of The Brilliant Proof (p70-80) [Bahaipedia]

For more on Peter Easton see 'Abdu'l-Bahá (p149-152).

Lady Blomfield in her book The Chosen Highway (p183) described such a visit and the affect it had on 'Abdu'l-Bahá.

"If the Zionists will mingle with the other races and live in unity with them, they will succeed. If not, they will meet certain resistance. For the present I think a neutral government like the British administration would be best. A Jewish government might come later.

"There is too much talk today of what the Zionists are going to do here. There is no need of it. Let them come and do more and say less.

"The Zionists should make it clear that their principle is to elevate all the people here and to develop the country for all its inhabitants. This land must be developed, according to the promises of the prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zachariah. If they come in such a spirit they will not fail. [SoW Vol 10 Issue 10 September 8, 1919 p194-195]

She was an extremely educated woman for the time, she studied piano, pipe organ, and voice culture at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and in 1889. Marshall was the first African American to complete the program and earn a Mus.B. degree (Bachelor of Music degree). In 1903 she founded the Washington Conservatory of Music. According to blackpast.org "Marshall's conservatory was a landmark in the history of black education. The Centre sponsored regular concerts for the black community, trained many prominent musical professionals and attracted the nation's most talented musicians as teachers. It remained in operation until 1960." [blackpast.org; Bahá'í Chronicles]

These individuals were accused of collaborating with the British and the French and were seen as leaders of the Arab nationalist movement. The day has become to be known as "Syrian Martyrs Day". [Wikipedia]

'Abdu'l-Bahá visited the home of Miss Ethel Jenner Rosenberg for a Unity meeting at White Lodge, 8 Sunnyside, Wimbledon (since demolished). [ABL44-45, In the Footsteps of the Master p.9, SYH40]

• Juan Cole has suggested this talk took place at the Dreyfus residence on the evening of Saturday the 18th of November. [`Abdu'l-Baha on Democracy and the Separation of Religion and State]
• Another translation of the talk can be found in Sen McGlinn's book, Church and State: A Post Modern Political Theology p223-226; 404-409.

As a child he accepted and assimilated all the principles and dogma of the Orthodox Church. Even though he did not understand them he accepted them blindly. Tormented by the fact that he could not reconcile the beliefs of the religion of his fathers with reason, he became a nihilist as a young adult but never abandoned his search for God and true religion.

In his book, The True LIfe published in 1878, in a chapter entitled The Gospel in Brief, he openly attacked the church and demonstrated that it was the main obstacle preventing man from practicing the ideals of Christ's teachings. Through his investigations of other religions, of Buddha, of Lao-Tse, Zoroaster and Muhammad, he concluded that all of the major religions had deviated from the original teaching of their Founders.

On 5 September 1894 he received a notebook sent to him by his Turkish Translator Olga Sergeyevna Lebedova which contained a translation of an article about the Bábí Faith. His reply to her indicated that he had already heard of it but there is no evidence of when or from where. In 1852 two newspapers, La Revue de Genève (4 November) and the Journal de Genève had given accounts of the martyrdom of the Báb, perhaps he had seen these articles. He asked her for additional information.

In April 1898 he was visited by three people well-known in European literary circles. These three writers noted his interest in the Bábí Faith and sent him a book on the subject. [LTBF18]

By 1901 he was excommunicated and so in the same year he published A reply to the Synod's Edict of Excommunication and to Letters Concerning it that was a succinct expression of his religious ideas. [LTBF11]

Gabriel Sacy, a Frenchman of Syrian origin, living in Cairo, who had been born a Jew, converted to Islam, then to Christianity and then embraced the Bahá'í Faith, wrote to him 13 May 1901 to share his beliefs. This would have been the first time that Tolstoy heard of the Bahá'í Faith from a believer. At this time he considered that the Bábí Faith was a religious movement limited to the East, an attitude prevalent at the time. [LFBF22-23]

Tolstoy was in Gaspra in the Crimea recovering after a serious illness when on 27 May 1902 he was approached by a merchant named Kasím Basiravov, a Bahá'í who had decided to contact him. This was the first time that he had met with a believer. [LFBF26]

A few months later, on 14 September, he was visited by a Persian merchant named Mirza Azizu'lláh Jadhdháb Khurasáni. He left a full account of the five days he spent with Tolstoy. They discussed the fulfillment of prophecy, the Kitáb-i-Aqdas, the principles of the Faith, the administration, the example of Bahá'í life functioning in Isahqábád, and the station of 'Abdu'l-Bahá from whom he brought this message, "Act that your name may leave a good memory in the world of religion." Tolstoy asked for more writings and Mirza Azizu'lláh offered to contact Mirza Alí-Akbar Nakhjavani in Bákú who was capable of corresponding with him in Russian. [LTBF26-31; EB185-190]

The nineteenth century saw a flowering of anarchist thought broadly characterized by a “rejection of the familiar norms and structures, especially the political ones, of their age” and a belief that humanity ought to live free of government structures and in accord with nature. His writings were the basis for what has been called Christian socialism. In her work among the poor, Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper came in contact with John Kenworthy, an influential person in this area and someone who had visited Tolstoy twice. 'Abdu'l-Bahá wrote to her in 1901 with advice for Mr. Kenworthy on how to approach Tolstoy. [BCBI226; LTBF53]

The drama “Báb” by Isabella Grinevskaya was published in May, 1903, and was mounted in one of the principal theaters in St. Petersburg in January, 1904. It was this drama that brought to Count Leo Tolstoy a knowledge of the Bahá’í teachings. He read the book and at once wrote to Mrs. Grinevskaya expressing his appreciation for her great drama and his sympathy with the Bahá’í Movement. The letter was subsequently printed in the Russian press. [BW6p707].
See as well Count Leo Tolstoy and the Bahá'í Movement by Martha Root in Bahá'í World Vol 5 p642.

See Lev Tolstoi and the Bábí and Bahá’í Faiths A Bibliography by William P. Collins and Jan T. Jasion first published in the Journal of Bahá’í Studies Vol. 3, number 3 (1991). The authors state that Tolstoy corresponded with the following Bahá'ís: Hippolyte Dreyfus, Izabella Grinevskaia, Dr. Yúnis Khán-i-Afrúkhtih, ‘A1i-Akbar Nakhjavání, Gabriel Sacy, and Mrs. Thornburgh-Cropper. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá mentioned Tolstoy in correspondence to Nakhjavání, Sacy, Thornburgh-Cropper, Dreyfus, and Laura Clifford-Barney.

On 4 April 1904 Hippolyte Dreyfus sent Tolstoy his newly published French translation of the Kitáb-i-Iqán (Le Livre de Certitude). He replied to Dreyfus that the book "put him off Bahá'u'lláh's teachings". It contradicted his belief that Abraham, Moses, Christ, Mohammad had all been ordinary men and not divine Messenger. Notwithstanding this, he continued to recommend the study of the Faith to his correspondents, nor did he stop investigating the Faith himself. [LTBF33-34]

By December of 1908 Tolstoy's opinion of the Bahá'í Faith had somewhat evolved, he said, in part, "Baháism...is one of the highest and purest of religious teachings." He had a particular respect for the Bahá'í Faith because of its acceptance of all of the former religions, but did not appear to have grasped the concept of progressive revelation. Within a year's time he had a clearer idea about the three central figures of the Faith and their functions and roles. [LTBF40, 43, 52]

There is no evidence of any communication from 'Abdu'l-Bahá to Tolstoy, however he did refer to his work in many tablets and offered advice to those who wanted to meet or correspond with him. Mirza 'Alí-Akbar Nakhjavani, a resident of Baku, wrote to 'Abdu'l-Bahá for such council. He advised him to treat him with the utmost courtesy and fair-mindedness and suggested he give him a copy of a letter He had addressed to the believers in the East and the West that had been translated into Russian. (This tablet can be found in Selections from the Writings of 'Abdu'l-Bahá #225 p283-295; Tablet of the Two Calls; Russian translation here) Tolstoy replied to Nakhjavani's correspondence on 22 September 1909 stating that he had the intention of writing a book about the Bahá'í Faith but It appeared that he had some reservations that prevented him from complete acceptance of the Faith. In all likelihood he could not accept the idea of a manifestation from God. The promised book was not finished at the time of his passing. [LTBF49-50, 55; ABBAS88-89]

Tolstoy died on 20 November 1910 at the age of 82. Two thousand people attended his funeral. Three choirs sang. There were no eulogies, as per the family's request, although 100 students had asked to speak. According to some sources, Tolstoy spent the last hours of his life preaching love, non-violence, and Georgism. A 2009 film about Tolstoy's final year, The Last Station based on the 1990 novel by Jay Parini, was made by director Michael Hoffman with Christopher Plummer as Tolstoy and Helen Mirren as Sofya Tolstoya. Both performers were nominated for Oscars for their roles. [Wikipedia]

The Tolstoy bibliography.

The book Leo Tolstoy and the Bahá'í Faith was written by Luigi Standard and translated from Russian, Persian and French to English by Jeremy Fox. It was published by George Ronald in 1985.

In an interview in 1979 with Gol Aidun, Hand of the Cause Mr. ‘AbduT-Qasim Faizi recounted the story of Mishkin-Qalam’s acceptance of the BaháT Faith: . . . before Mishkin Qalam accepted the Bahá'í Faith, he was a “dervish” with long, flowing hair, detached from the world and attached only to his calligraphy. One day, while he was breaking his journey, he was given a room to share with a stranger. When Mishkin-Qalam entered the room, he greeted the stranger with the invocation "Yá Alláh!” (O God!). The stranger who happened to be a Bahá'í, asked him whether he knew God since he had mentioned His name. Mishkin-Qalam replied, “Of course.” The stranger replied, “No, for you must know the Prophet of your time to know God.” The stranger then told Mishkin-Qalam all about Bahâ’u’llâh, and by dawn the latter accepted the Bahá'í Faith and the next day accompanied the stranger on his journey towards Baghdad and eventually came into the presence of Bahá'u'lláh in Adrianople. (Aidun, “Mishkin-Qalam” 25) [The Calligraphy of Mishkin-Qalam p4 by Julie Oeming Badiee and Heshmatollah Badiee]

... learned apologist . .. (one of the) successive messengers despatched by 'Abdu'l-Bahá (who) succeeded in rapidly dispelling the doubts, and in deepening the understanding of the believers, in holding the community together, and in forming the nucleus of those administrative insitutions which, two decades later, were to be formally inaugurated through the explicit provisions of'Abdu'l-Bahá'ís Will and Testament. Shoghi Effendi
• He became a believer in 1876. [RoB3p91-107]
• He was named as an Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh.
• For biographical information see EM263–5; SDH113; RoB3p433-441; SBNB208-225
• See BW17p625 for Highlights in the life of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl based on an article by R Mehrabkani
• His resting place is now next to that of Lua Getsinger in the Bahá'í cemetery in Cairo. [BW9p87]
• His numerous works include Fará'id (The Peerless Gems) 1898; The Brilliant Proof; 1912; Bahá'í Proofs, 1902; and Al-Duraru'l-Bahíyih (The Shining Pearls, published in English as Miracles and Metaphors), 1900. [BBD7]
• Find a grave.
• See AY103, Star of the West, vol. IV, no. 19, pp. 316–7 and Bahá'í Proofs p17-18 for the story of how Ameen Fareed entered and secretly remained in Mírzá's house, between the time of Mírzá's death and his burial, and removed precious manuscripts which, slightly changed, he would spread among the believers in an attempt to undermine their unity at a later time.
• 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl in His home in Haifa on 21 and 22 January, 1914 as reported in SoW Vol 9 No 3 April 28, 1918.

• Borhān-e lāmeʿ, translated and published as The Brilliant Proof (1912),
• al-Ḥojaj al-bahīya, translated and published as Miracles and Metaphors (1981).
• A selection of his shorter works, entitled Letters and Essays (1985), is also available in English.
• His other works such as al-Farāʾed, Šarḥ-e Āyāt-e Mowarraḵa, Kašf al-ḡeṭāʾ, and a few collections of his shorter works exist in Arabic and Persian.

• He was the younger half-brother of Bahá'u'lláh and a follower of the Báb who conferred on him a high station and leading role in the Bábí community. Later he became an opponent of Bahá'u'lláh. Shoghi Effendi described him as "the arch-breaker of the Covenant of the Báb." GPB165
• He was known as Azal (Eternity or Pre-eternity) and Subh-i-Azal (Morning of Eternity) and his followers become known as Azalís.
• He had been deserted by most of his followers and was given a Muslim funeral. [BKG426; GPB233]
• Years later the sons of Mírzá Yahya and their relatives reconciled themselves to the authority of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [CH237-238]