Pioneering Over Four Epochs

The spirit of resourcefulness and practicality the Bahais of Iran are displaying brings great comfort to the anguished hearts of their fellow believers in over 200 countries and independent territories of the planet. When the children of Baha'isare expelled from schools because of their Faith, the Baha'is created classrooms in their homes. Graduates of the institution the Baha'is in Iran founded to meet the needs of university students, who were similarly denied education, are today distinguishing themselves in prestigious universities in other countries where their credentials have been gladly accepted. God willing, the day is not far distant when opportunities for the development of their capacities will be opened for the thousands of other Bahá'í youth still cruelly deprived. The sacrificial pooling of modest incomes is proving not only sufficient to ensure that members of the community are not left in want, but to produce funds for general activities. Under the most arduous conditions, a vibrant community life continues, with the far greater intensity that testing alone can produce.

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For over a century this spirit has borne fruit both in Iran and throughout the entire world. There is today no region of the planet where the capacities of Iranian Bahá'ís have not lent a mighty impetus to the expansion of the teaching work and the establishment and consolidation of this new Faith's institutions. Nor has the impact been limited to the spiritual life of the Faith. It would be difficult to think of any profession, any field of science or the arts, where Iranian Bahá'ís--particularly youth--are not powerfully manifesting the ideal of excellence so often reiterated by 'Abdu'l-Bahá(1844-1921). Such qualities do not burst forth in a people overnight, nor are they the product of mere human will. In the lives and work of Persian pioneers and refugees around the world today can be seen the fruit of the culture of learning and self-discipline in which they and their parents were lovingly raised in the land of their birth--some going back five generations.
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To every fair-minded observer, you are the living proof that faith in God and confidence in social progress are in every sense reconcilable; that science and religion are the two inseparable, reciprocal systems of knowledge impelling the advancement of civilization. Already, you begin to see this realization dawning in the eyes of many Muslims of your acquaintance. These friends and neighbours, who can truly lay claim to being "a people summoning unto goodness", have watched with outrage as those whom they know to be innocent of any crime have been slandered and attacked without recourse to legal protection. They are sensitive--perhaps even more than you are yourselves--to the spirit of courage and decency that you have displayed throughout these ordeals. And they are also awakening to the real character of those whose abuse of you defiles the honour of Islam, in whose name such crimes are perpetrated. If you are not yet physically free, you are at last beginning to win acceptance as a respected and valued part of the Iranian people. Ahead lies the day when your fellow citizens will have recognized and come to treasure the contribution you are destined to make to Iran's recovery of her rightful place among the nations of the world. -Ron Price with thanks to the Letter mentioned in the summary above.
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