Abdu'l-Baha Return to Egypt

From December 2nd, 1911 until the end of March 1912, Abdu'l-Baha Stayed in Egypt. On November 16th an article appeared in The Egyptian Gazette describing some tenants of the Faith and announcing Abdu'l-Baha return to Egypt. The following words appeared in a corresponding editorial:

Alexandria in the early 1910's

In the East his religion will find its true home and exercise its beneficent influence upon nations newly awakening to a sense of their unity and power. We can, then, welcome him back to Egypt, fresh from achievements in the Western capitals which have afforded yet another proof of his remarkable personal and intellectual powers.

These words were printed in The Star of the West and distributed amongst the friends. I can’t help but imagine what it would have been like to be one of those early North-American believers, reading about the Master’s travels, and anticipating His upcoming transatlantic voyage.

The opening prayer written by the Master and found at the beginning of The Star of the West, read in retrospect, becomes a tribute to those eager and thrilled souls:

O thou Star of the West!

Be thou happy! Be thou happy! Shouldst thou continue to remain firm and eternal, ere long, thou shalt become the Star of the East and shalt spread in every country and clime. Thou art the first paper of the Bahais which is organized in the country of America. Although for the present thy subscribers are limited, thy form is small and thy voice weak, yet shouldst though stand unshakable, become the object of attention of the friends and the centre of the generosity of the leaders of the faith who are firm in the Covenant, in the future thy subscribers will become hosts after hosts like unto waves of the sea; thy volume will increase, thy arena will become vast and spacious and thy voice and fame will be raised and become world-wide — at at last thou shalt become the first paper of the world of humanity. Yet all these depend unto firmness, firmness, firmness!