Bahá’í visitors flock to Edinburgh.

Episodes from the early history of the Bahá’í Faith in the West came to life through dramatic performances in Edinburgh. In the drawing room of an historic house visited by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1913, actor Sarah Munro played a housemaid recounting the experience of meeting the Bahá’í leader.

The performance was part of a weekend of events that set in motion a process to acquire a new Bahá’í centre in the city as a venue for a wide range of activities, including the reception of distinguished visitors. The international governing council of the Bahá’í community has recently called for the establishment of a new centre to replace the existing one, which is no longer suitable for the growing needs of the community.

An open weekend on 8-9 January 2005 attracted more than 250 visitors who journeyed to the Scottish capital for a weekend hosted by the local Bahá’í community. The weekend’s events coincided with the 92nd anniversary of the visit in 1913 by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Who was the leader of the Bahá’í Faith from the death in 1892 of His father, the Faith’s Founder, Bahá’u’lláh, until His own passing in 1921.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá, then 68 years of age, had traveled to Edinburgh at the invitation of Jane Whyte, a prominent society figure in turn-of-the-century Scotland. Her husband, the Reverend Dr. Alexander Whyte was a leading figure in the Free Church of Scotland who had a broad-minded approach to religion and a desire to overcome sectarianism in the church. Mrs. Whyte had visited ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with a Bahá’í friend in 1905, when He was still a prisoner of the Ottoman Empire in the Holy Land.

On her return to Scotland, Mrs. Whyte told many groups and societies about the Bahá’í teachings and hosted the first Bahá’í meetings in Scotland in her own home.

With the Young Turk Revolution in 1908, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was freed after more than 50 years of exile and imprisonment, and so could travel to the West to proclaim His father’s teachings.

‘Abdu’l-Bahá arrived in Edinburgh on 6 January 1913 and stayed at the Whytes’ residence at 7 Charlotte Square. He told a gathering there of prominent women that they must educate and prepare themselves for great responsibility in the years to come. During the anniversary of His stay, visitors were taken in groups to the house that had been the Whytes’ residence. The house is now owned by the National Trust for Scotland and is preserved as a fine example of a family home from the Georgian era. Normally closed to the public during the winter months, the Trust opened the house for the Bahá’í visitors during the weekend – and its own staff was on hand as guides.

Among other highlights of the weekend was a performance by a Bahá’í choir in the High Kirk of St Giles where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had attended a performance of Handel’s oratorio Messiah, held in aid of the city’s poor. For singer Maureen Hunter-Merrick, a Bahá’í from Edinburgh, the performance was the spiritual highpoint of the weekend.

“We were all very moved at being able to sing in the cathedral where ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had been,”

she said. “We chose a selection of traditional songs, prayers in the Gaelic language and modern settings of Bahá’í writings to try to capture the history and special nature of the place and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit.”

Bahá’ís throughout the United Kingdom have been organizing fund-raising events to finance the project. Bahá’ís do not accept financial donations from outside of the community’s own membership.

“There is a strong awareness of the significance of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s visit here,” said John Parris, a member of the Local Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Edinburgh, which will own the new center. “The Bahá’ís here are very enthusiastic about this project, and the possibility of being able to carry forward the train of events which was set in motion during His visit,” Dr. Parris said.

BWNS

Jane Whyte, at whose home ‘Abdu’l-Bahá stayed in Edinburgh, was portrayed in a dramatic presentation by Scottish Bahá’í Carrie Varjavandi.