1863. 27 Mar |
Bahá'u'lláh met the deputy governor in a mosque opposite the Government House where the Farmán which had been sent by the Sultán was announced to Him and advised that He and His family were to be exiled to an unknown destination. Námiq Páshá, the governor of Baghdad, could not bring himself to meet Bahá'u'lláh and give Him this news in person. At first he summoned Him to the courthouse but when He refused to attend he asked Him to meet in the mosque. [CH81-82,BKG154–5; GPB147–8; RB1:229]
See BKG155–6 and GPB148 for the effect of this news on the believers.
Bahá'u'lláh and His family had been given Ottoman citizenship by this time. [BBRSM66]
See BKG156–8 for a list of those chosen by Bahá'u'lláh to migrate with Him.
See TN50–3 for the story of the sedition behind Bahá'u'lláh's removal from Baghdád.
Fearful of Bahá'u'lláh's growing influence in Baghdád, the Persian Consul-General, Mirza Burzurg Khan, had made representation to the Sultan to have Him delivered to the Persian authorities. The Sultan, although the Caliph of Sunni Islam, considered himself a mystical seeker and was no doubt intrigued with Bahá'u'lláh from the reports of the Governor of 'Akká, Námiq Páshá, and his own Prime Minister, 'Alí Páshá. This combination of sympathy and interest led the Ottoman government to invite Him to the capital rather than send Him to a remote location or return Him to Persia to an uncertain fate. [BBD196; BBIC13, 57note 68; RoB1p142-147] |
Baghdad; Iraq; Istanbul (Constantinople); Turkey |
Bahaullah, Life of; Bahaullah, Banishment of; Governors; Namiq Pasha; Ottoman citizenship; Ottoman government; Exile (banishment) |
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