Persia was at one time the center of religious difference,
antagonism and oppression, to such an extent that pen is unable to describe.
The adherents of different nations and religions considered it their religious
duty to shed the blood of their opponents; they pillaged and ransacked each
other’s property and did not fall short of oppressing their own flesh and
blood. The hatred between the various religions attained to such a height that
they considered each other unclean. Should a Jew enter a Mohammedan home, he
would be made to sit upon the ground; if he drank water from a cup, that cup
was destroyed or washed again and again; for the Jew was considered unclean.
Such was the hatred and rancor among the different religions and nations in
Persia.
About sixty years ago His Highness Baha’u’llah through the
Heavenly Power proclaimed the oneness of the Kingdom of man in that country and
addressing the concourse of humanity said: "O ye people! Ye are all the
fruits of one tree and the leaves of one branch!"
- 'Abdu'l-Baha (From a Tablet; Star of the West,
vol.2, no. 15, December 12, 1911)
