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Onsite storage.
This collection contains five letters that relate to the establishment of the Baha'i faith in the United States. Folder 1 contains the English translations of two letters co-signed by Badi'u'lláh and Muhammad Ali on March 31, 1901, approximately two years prior to the falling out between the two brothers. One is addressed generally to the newly organized Baha'i House of Justice in the United States and contains encouragement for the community. The second is addressed more specifically to the House of Justice president, and praises Dr. Ibrahim George Kheiralla for bringing the "true knowledge" of Bahai to the United States and for setting up an organization there. The authors also respond to queries about the nature of religious divisions in the world. Folder 2 contains three letters: the first from Ruth White to Union Theological Seminary regarding her complaint that the Burke Library had incorrectly categorized her books as being against Baha'i; the second from the librarian in response to Ruth; and a third letter to the librarian, written by Grace Provost Bastedo, which offers an alternative analysis of the various positions put forth in Ruth's letter regarding the Baha'i faith.
This series contains five letters that relate to the establishment of the Baha'i faith in the United States. Folder 1 contains the English translations of two letters co-signed by Badi'u'lláh and Muhammad Ali on March 31, 1901, approximately two years prior to the falling out between the two brothers. One is addressed generally to the newly organized Baha'i House of Justice in the United States and contains encouragement for the community. The second is addressed more specifically to the House of Justice president, and praises Dr. Ibrahim George Kheiralla for bringing the "true knowledge" of Bahai to the United States and for setting up an organization there. The authors also respond to queries about the nature of religious divisions in the world. Folder 2 contains three letters: the first from Ruth White to Union Theological Seminary regarding her complaint that the Burke Library had incorrectly categorized her books as being against Baha'i; the second from the librarian in response to Ruth; and a third letter to the librarian, written by Grace Provost Bastedo, which offers an alternative analysis of the various positions put forth in Ruth's letter regarding the Baha'i faith.
Missionary Research Library Archives: MRL2, Near/Middle East
This collection is arranged in one series in chronological order.
This collection is open for research.
Onsite storage.
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Item description, MRL2: Missionary Research Library collection on the establishment of the Baha'i faith in the United States, 1901-1944, box #, folder #, The Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University in the City of New York.
Formerly part of the independent Missionary Research Library (MRL), these records were accessioned by the Burke Library at the time of the MRL's closure in 1976.
Columbia University Libraries, Burke Library at Union Theological Seminary
Material cataloged by Lynn A. Grove on 1988-07-18. Metal clips and staples were removed from materials and folded items were flattened. Materials were placed in new acid-free folders and boxes. Acidic items were separated from one another by interleaving with acid-free paper as needed. Any items in an advanced state of deterioration were placed in Mylar envelopes. The collection was originally called the Ali, Mohammad and Badiallah Papers by MRL. The finding aid was created by Kristen Leigh Southworth in 2012 with the support of the Henry Luce Foundation, and edited by Leah Edelman in 2024.
2024-01-23 PDF converted to EAD and description updated by Leah Edelman
The Missionary Research Library was created by John R. Mott in 1914 after the World Missionary Conference, held in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1910. It was created to be a resource for missionaries and to document the missionary movement, and was initially funded by John D. Rockefeller. It was located at the Madison Avenue headquarters of the Foreign Missionary Conference of North America. By the 1920s, funding was becoming scarcer; therefore it was moved to the Brown Tower of the Union Theological Seminary, New York City in 1929. The Library was an important center of information and research. Active missionaries would consult the material of the Missionary Research Library while on furlough. Much of the Library's success was due to the director and librarian, Charles H. Fahs. Upon his retirement in 1948, the MRL's financial difficulties continued until it was finally integrated as one with the Burke Library's collections in 1967. In 2004, the Burke Library was fully integrated with the Columbia University Library System.
Baha'i was established in the nineteenth century and came out of the Shi'a Islamic tradition. Baha'i stresses unity of God, religion, and humanity, and teaches that a progressive revelation of God is manifest in all religions. Bahá'u'lláh, the founder of Baha'i, is believed to be a Divine messenger much like Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad. Although Baha'i strives for religious unity, it is not syncretic but is its own distinct religion with doctrines, traditions, moral laws, and organized establishment of leadership and authority. Badi'u'lláh (1867-1950) was the youngest son of Bahá'u'lláh. Early on, he was a supporter of the campaign led by his half-brother, Muhammad Ali (1853-1937), to undermine their oldest brother Abdu'l-Bahá's claim to succession. However, in 1903 Badi'u'lláh rejected Ali's claims and denounced him in a widely circulated letter, Badi'u'llá's Epistle. Ali became known by those who remained loyal to Abdu'l-Bahá as the "Arch-Breaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant." Devotees of Baha'i that follow the tradition as it was handed down to Bahá'u'lláh's successors support the institution of a unified administrative order that they believe to be divinely ordained,with the House of Justice in Israel currently serving as the supreme governing body. The Baha'i faith was brought to the United States in 1893 by Dr. Ibrahim George Kheiralla, who initially set up classes in Chicago. In 1900, a school was established and a board of councils was elected. In 1901 it was organized into the "House of Justice of Baha'is of Chicago, IL," which later became the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States. Mrs. Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler (Julia Lynch Owen, 1882-1961) supported the efforts of Muhammad Ali, and in 1925 co-founded the "New History Society," a reform Baha'i movement in New York City that supported a more broad and universal interpretation of the Baha'i religion, apart from the religious institution of The National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is. She was expelled from the religion in 1939 by Abdu'l-Bahá's successor, Shoghi Effendi. Ruth White authored a number of books on behalf of this new movement, and was a vocal defender of Mrs. Lewis Chanler. She argued that Abdu'l-Baha's will and testament, which identified Shoghi Effendi as the successor and established the Baha'i administrative order, was a forgery.
The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.
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| Subject | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bahai Faith | CLIO Catalog | ArchiveGRID |