‘ abdu ’ l-bahas journey to canada august 30 to september 9, 1912
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‘ ABDU ’ L-BAHAS JOURNEY TO CANADA AUGUST 30 TO SEPTEMBER 9, 1912. On his tour of North America ‘ Abdu ’ l-Baha travelled to Canada for nine days. He only stayed in Montreal though he passed through Toronto and Oakville. - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
‘ABDU’L-BAHAS JOURNEY TO CANADA
AUGUST 30 TO SEPTEMBER 9, 1912
On his tour of North America ‘Abdu’l-Baha travelled to Canada for nine days. He only
stayed in Montreal though he passed through Toronto and Oakville
Montreal was a prosperous city where the gap between the wealthy and the
poor was increasing. There was entrenched discrimination owing to
colour and ethnic background
The weather was also especially inclement this year.
People were very concerned about the growing tensions and threat of
war in Europe
Union Station , Toronto where ‘Abdu’l-Baha changed trains
‘Abdu’l-Baha stayed with May and William Sunderland Maxwell (a renowned architect) for
three days in their home in Montreal
The Maxwells’ home
The room where ‘Abdu’l-Baha slept
From the night that he arrived, ‘Abdu’l-Baha had a steady stream of visitors
from all walks of life and was plagued with questions and enquiries
‘Abdu’l-Baha moved from the Maxwells’ to Hotel Windsor, Montreal
In St. James Methodist Church , Montreal, ‘Abdu’l-Baha gave a talk to the 1200 strong congregation about the principles of the Baha’i Faith
A tram similar to the one the master took while in Montreal
Reverend Charles EsteNegro United Church Montreal Young People’s Baha’i Group 1929
Top row left: Eddie ElliottFirst row second from left: Mary, daughter of May
Maxwell
W. Peterson, Principal McGill University
Arhbishop Msgr L. J. P. BruchesiArchbishop of Montreal
French and English newspapers reported on his talks, most praised him but a few criticized him. Each newspaper seemed to focus on one
aspect of his talks
“Persian Teacher to Preach Peace”
“Racialism wrong says Eastern Sage”
The Montreal Gazette Reported his talk on the need to abolish racism and it quoted him: “God the Almighty has created all humanity from earth, from
the same element”.
“There was wonderful breadth and depth of feeling in that sermon at the Unitarian church in Montreal. It was not the message of a fanatic or a hermit, or a man unconversant with modern thought and modern life. It was Eastern, yet it was Western…”
(Journalist, Toronto Star )
Paris 1901 or 02; May Maxwell (then Bolles) sits next to Thomas Breakwell, wearing head scarf
Of His visit to Canada ‘Abdu’l-Baha said, “The time of the sojourn was limited to a number of days, but the results in the future are inexhaustible”
ReferencesWard, Allan L. (1979). 239 Days: ‘Abdu’l-Baha’is journey in America. Wilmette: Baha’i Publishing Trust, pgs 131-137. Church, Hugh (2009) as quoted in The Badi Blog. http://badiblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/abdul-bahas-visit-to-canada.html. Correct on August 23, 2011. Van den Hoonard, Will; Echevarria-Howe, Lynn. (1994). Black roses in Canada’s mosaic: Four decades of black history. http://bahai-library.com/unpubl.articles/black.roses.html. Correct on July 30, 2009. Nakhjavani, Violette. (2011). The Maxwells of Montreal: Early years 1870-1922. Oxford, George Ronald Publisher, pgs. 275-285.