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Bahai pilgrims come from all over the world to visit the Shrine of the Bab
on the slopes of Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. The site overlooking the
Mediterranean, is the spiritual and administrative centre of the Baha`i
faith which was founded by Mirza Husayn 'Ali Nuri, later called Baha`u`llah.
Born in 1817 to a Persian family of royal descent, he rejected luxury in
order to care for the poor. Bahá'u'lláh lived during a period of Messianic
expectation - Christians awaiting the return of Christ, Muslims desirous of
the fulfilment of Islamic prophecies and seizing the moment, in 1863, he
declared that He was the One entrusted by God with a revelation addressing
humanity's needs. Thousands rose in support, but others, notably Muslim
clergy and the Persian government, reacted to suppress what they perceived
as a heretic covenant. His followers were persecuted and Bahá'u'lláh was
sent into forty years of exile and suffering which climaxed with his
banishment to the Turkish prison city of Acre in the Holy Land. More than
five million adherents of Bahai`sm consider Baha`u`llah the most recent in
an line of illustrious `messengers of God` which includes Buddha,
Zarathustra, Jesus, Abraham, and the Prophet Muhammed. Baha`i doctrine
espouses the belief that humanity is a single race and that the day has come
for its unification. Baha`ullah expressed the wish to be buried in the Haifa
area on his death which occurred in 1892. The gold-domed Bab and his shrine
across the bay provide a perfect background to reflect on his wisdom and
prophesies. The old fortified town of Acre was inscribed on the World
Heritage List in 2001.
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