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Edict Of Toleration (1844)
On 21 March 1844, the Sublime Porte of the Ottoman Empire submitted a note to the British and French embassies promising to cease the executions of apostates from Islam. In the Baháʼí Faith, this is known as the Edict of Toleration and has a prophetic significance. Background The edict took place during the process referred to as the Eastern Question in relations between European powers, Britain in particular, and the Ottoman Empire in its development at a time referred to as Tanzimat internally which included other initiatives like ending the Ottoman slave trade. It was largely a result of pressure from the British government to stop to the persecutions of the Christians. Tanzimat was an Ottoman reform process that sought equal protections under the law in Ottoman lands for all people; however, it did not address matters of religious freedom. A particular incident in 1843 with an Armenian Ottoman subject sparked an incident in August which gained international entanglements and ...
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Sublime Porte
The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire. History The name has its origins in the old practice in which the ruler announced his official decisions and judgements at the gate of his palace. This was the practice in the Byzantine Empire and it was also adopted by Ottoman Turk sultans since Orhan I, and therefore the palace of the sultan, or the gate leading to it, became known as the "High Gate". This name referred first to a palace in Bursa, Turkey. After the Ottomans had conquered Constantinople, now Istanbul, the gate now known as the Imperial Gate ( tr, Bâb-ı Hümâyûn), leading to the outermost courtyard of the Topkapı Palace, first became known as the "High Gate", or the "Sublime Porte". When Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent sealed an alliance with King Francis I of France in 1536, the ...
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70 Weeks Prophecy
The Prophecy of Seventy Weeks is the narrative in chapter 9 of the Book of Daniel in which Daniel prays to God to act on behalf of his people and city (Judeans and Jerusalem), and receives a detailed but cryptic prophecy of "seventy weeks" by the angel Gabriel. The prophecy has been the subject of "intense exegetical activity" since the Second Temple period. James Alan Montgomery referred to the history of this prophecy's interpretation as the "dismal swamp" of critical exegesis. Summary Daniel reads in the "books" that the desolation of Jerusalem must last for seventy years according to the prophetic words of Jeremiah (verse 2), and prays for God to act on behalf of his people and city (verses 3–19). The angel Gabriel appears and tells Daniel that he has come to give wisdom and understanding, for at the beginning of Daniel's prayer a "word" went out and Gabriel has come to declare this revelation (verses 20–23): Composition and structure Chapter outline The cons ...
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Massacres Of Badr Khan
A series of massacres in Hakkari in the years 1843 and 1846 of Assyrians were carried out by the Kurdish emirs of Bohtan and Hakkari, Bedr Khan Bey, Nurullah. The massacres resulted in the killing of more than 10,000 Assyrians and the captivity of thousands of others. Background Ottoman affairs By the 19th century, the weakened Ottoman Empire had started losing control over Upper Mesopotamia and Kurdistan. The empire seemed on the brink of collapse when Muhammad Ali revolted in Egypt and took control of Syria. It was then that Kurdish Emirs found an opportunity to assert their independence. Among them was Ibrahim Pasha, a Kurdish Emir whose dominion included a region extending from Diyarbakır to Aleppo, and who fought alongside Muhammad Ali against the Ottomans and their allies from the Shammar tribe in Jazira. Despite the failure of Muhammad Pasha in his Syrian campaign, the events showed the vulnerability of the Ottomans and encouraged Kurdish aghas to try and increase the ...
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Hands Of The Cause
Hand of the Cause was a title given to prominent early members of the Baháʼí Faith, appointed for life by the religion's founders. Of the fifty individuals given the title, the last living was ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá who died in 2007. Hands of the Cause played a significant role in propagating the religion, and protecting it from schism. With the passing of Shoghi Effendi in 1957, the twenty-seven living Hands of the Cause at the time would be the last appointed. The Universal House of Justice, the governing body first elected in 1963, created the Institution of the Counsellors in 1968 and the appointed Continental Counsellors over time took on the role that the Hands of the Cause were filling. The announcement in 1968 also changed the role of the Hand of the Cause, changing them from continental appointments to worldwide, and nine Counsellors working at the International Teaching Centre took on the role of the nine Hands of the Cause who worked in the Baháʼí World Centre. ...
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William Sears (Baháʼí)
William Bernard Sears (March 28, 1911 – March 25, 1992) was an American writer and a popular television and radio personality in various shows culminating in the 1950s with ''In the Park'' but left television popularity to promote the Baháʼí Faith in Africa and embarked on a lifelong service to the religion, for some 35 years as Hand of the Cause, the highest institution of the religion he could be appointed to. He wrote many books about the religion, with ''Thief in the Night'' and ''God Loves Laughter'' being his most popular. Biography Earliest life William Bernard Sears was born March 28, 1911 in Aitkin, (near Duluth) Minnesota,* * youngest of Frank and Ethel Sears' four children, and the only male. Sears was from an Irish Catholic background. Sears suffered from a bout of jaundice which was to affect his health later in life. Grown during the period of the Great Depression in the United States, he worked under the name Bernard Sears as a playwright winning some a ...
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God Passes By
''God Passes By'', written by Shoghi Effendi, head of the Baháʼí Faith in the first half of the 20th century, is a book which provides a historical summary of the first century of the Baháʼí Faith, from 1844 to 1944. While historical episodes are recounted in some detail, "God Passes By" is particularly notable for the significance Shoghi Effendi assigns to events in the history of the Baháʼí Faith, and the interpretation he gives to various episodes. Contents ''God Passes By'' is organized into four periods representing different periods in the history of the Bábí and Baháʼí Faiths. The Ministry of the Báb (1844-1853) This section of the book recounts the life of the Báb, details his most significant and outstanding religious writings, describes the rise and development of the Babi Faith, and the turbulence and persecution which the followers of that faith experienced. The Ministry of Baháʼu'lláh (1853-1892) This section of the book describes the major ep ...
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Shoghi Effendi
Shoghí Effendi (; 1 March 1897 – 4 November 1957) was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. He created a series of teaching plans that oversaw the expansion of the faith to many new countries, and also translated many of the writings of the Baháʼí central figures. He was succeeded by an interim arrangement of the Hands of the Cause until the election of the Universal House of Justice in 1963. Shoghi Effendi spent his early life in ʻAkká, but went on to study in Haifa and Beirut, gaining an arts degree from the Syrian Protestant College in 1918, then serving as secretary and translator to ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. In 1920 he attended Balliol College, Oxford, where he studied political science and economics, but his second year was interrupted by the death of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and his appointment as Guardian at the age of 24. Shoghi Effendi was the leader and head of the Baháʼí F ...
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Wilmette, Illinois
Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. Bordering Lake Michigan and Evanston, Illinois, it is located north of Chicago's downtown district. Wilmette had a population of 27,087 at the 2010 census. The first and only Baháʼí House of Worship in North America is located here. Wilmette is also home to Central Elementary School and Romona Elementary School, both recent recipients of the National Blue Ribbon award bestowed by the U.S. Department of Education. Geography Wilmette is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan and is a near northern suburb of Chicago, immediately North of Evanston at (42.077178, -87.723736). The North Shore Channel drainage canal is supplied with water from Lake Michigan at Wilmette Harbor. According to the 2010 census, Wilmette has a total area of , of which (or 99.83%) is land and (or 0.17%) is water. Wilmette has a well-developed urban forest and since 1983 has enjoyed " Tree City" status. As of ...
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Baháʼí Literature
Baháʼí literature covers a variety of topics and forms, including scripture and inspiration, interpretation, history and biography, introduction and study materials, and apologia. Sometimes considerable overlap between these forms can be observed in a particular text. The "canonical texts" are the writings of the Báb, Baháʼu'lláh, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi and the Universal House of Justice, and the authenticated talks of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. The writings of the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh are regarded as divine revelation, the writings and talks of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá and the writings of Shoghi Effendi as authoritative interpretation, and those of the Universal House of Justice as authoritative legislation and elucidation. Some measure of divine guidance is assumed for all of these texts. The Baháʼí Faith relies extensively on its literature. Literacy is strongly encouraged so that believers may read the texts for themselves. In addition, doctrinal questions are routinely addr ...
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George Townshend (Bahá'í)
George Townshend may refer to: *George Townshend (Royal Navy officer) (1715–1769), British naval commander *George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend (1724–1807), British field marshal, his nephew *George Townshend, 2nd Marquess Townshend (1753–1811), British peer and politician, his son *George Townshend, 3rd Marquess Townshend (1778–1855), his son *George Townshend (Baháʼí) (1876–1957), author, promoter of the Bahá'í Faith *George Townshend (priest) (fl. 1906–1947), Archdeacon of Clonfert and Kilmacduagh in the Church of Ireland *George Townshend, 7th Marquess Townshend George John Patrick Dominic Townshend, 7th Marquess Townshend (13 May 1916 – 23 April 2010), styled Viscount Raynham until 1921, was a British peer and businessman. Background Townshend was the only son of John Townshend, 6th Marquess Townshen ... (1916–2010), great-great-great grandson of the 1st Marquess See also * George Townsend (other) {{Hndis, name=Townshend, George ...
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Thornton Chase
Thornton Chase (February 22, 1847 – September 30, 1912) was a distinguished officer of the United States Colored Troops during the American Civil War, and the first western convert to the Baháʼí Faith. Chase was born in Springfield, Massachusetts to parents of English background and Baptist religion. After being schooled for college by Rev. Samuel Francis Smith he instead enrolled as an officer in the American Civil War serving with two regiments of United States Colored Troops, mostly in South Carolina, where he was wounded. For his service Chase was included on the Wall of Honor of the African-American Civil War Memorial completed in 1997. After the war he worked as a businessman, performed as a singer, and was published as a writer of prose and poetry while living in several states after leaving Massachusetts. He married twice and fathered three children. Long a seeker in religion, when he was nearly 50 he joined the Baháʼí Faith in 1894–1895—almost as soon as pos ...
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Henry Grattan Guinness
Henry Grattan Guinness (11 August 1835 – 21 June 1910) was an Irish Protestant Christian preacher, evangelist and author. He was the great evangelist of the Third Evangelical awakening and preached during the Ulster Revival of 1859 which drew thousands to hear him. He was responsible for training and sending hundreds of " faith missionaries" all over the world. Earlier life Guinness was born in Montpelier House, Kingstown in Taney, Dublin, Ireland. He was homeschooled by his parents and later at Cheltenham and Exeter under Rev. Dr. Mills and Rev. C. Worthy. He was the grandson of Arthur Guinness and Olivia Whitmore. His father was John Grattan Guinness (1783–1850), Arthur's youngest son, who was an officer in the Madras Army of the East India Company. His mother was Jane Lucretia D'Esterre, whose first husband Captain John Norcot D'Esterre had been killed in a duel in 1815 by Daniel O'Connell, who remorsefully paid her an annuity. In 1853 at 17 years old, and somewhat b ...
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