…in the past ages a common language shared by various
nations created a spirit of solidarity among them. For instance, 1300 years
ago, there were many divergent nationalities in the Orient. There were Copts in
Egypt, Syrians in Syria, Assyrians and Babylonians in Bagdad and along the
River Mesopotamia. There existed among these peoples rank hatred, but as they
were gradually brought nearer through common protection and common interests,
the Arabic language grew to be the means of intercommunication, and they became
as one nation. They all speak the Arabic language to this day. In Syria if you
ask any one of them he will say, "I am an Arab," though in reality he
is not -- some are Greeks, others Jews, etc.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk given
at Esperanto group, Paris, France, February 12, 1913; Star of the West, vol. 4,
no. 2, April 9, 1913)
