By: Siyyid Muhammad Tabib-i Manshadi
The upheaval of Manshad which resulted in the persecution of the Baha'i community there and in the surrounding areas started on Saturday, June 26, 1903, or 61 BE.
During that year, the renowned and much-esteemed Baha'i teacher, Jinab-i Ibn-i Abhar, traveled from Tihran to Yazd for the purpose of visiting and encouraging the believers. The Baha'is of Manshad, learning of his sojourn to Yazd, invited this beloved soul to their town so that he may teach the Faith and meet the friends. Ibn-Abhar readily accepted this invitation and during the Ridvan festivities journeyed to Manshad. The news of his arrival brought much joy to the believers and cheered their spirit, all the while flaming the jealousy and hatred of the fanatical populous of town.
Ibn-Abhar remained in Manshad for four days and on the fifth day, via the village of Taft, he returned back to Yazd, where he stayed for a few more days before going back to Tihran.
During this time, Mirza Ibrahim, the Imam-Jum`ih, returned to Yazd from a brief trip to Isfahan on Saturday, 16 Rabi'u'l-Avval, 1321 H, (June 12, 1903). The people of Yazd wasted no time informing him of the activities of Baha'is, their new vigor and enthusiasm and gatherings for the dawn- prayers. His overgrown ego and lust for leadership inflamed, he issued an order for unprecedented pogrom against the Baha'is. The town's people, having now received the Imam Jum`ih's blessings to eliminate the Baha'is, set out to implement their accursed and evil plot.
The next morning, some of these mischievous people, gathered around the shop of Aqa Muhammad Attar (son of Hajji `Aziz Khan) and stoned the front entrance. Then they captured this shopkeeper and took him to the Imam, requesting permission to kill him. A few individuals who were acquainted with Aqa Muhammad's goodly character, however, intervened and assisted with his release.
On the third day, June 14, three hours after sunrise, in the middle of Yazd's bazaar, one of the Baha'is, Hajji Mirza-yi Halabisaz, was stabbed and killed by the axe of Hasan Ibn-i Rasul, a great enemy of the Faith. Prince Husayn Mirza, the Jallalu-d-Dawlih, (son of Prince Mas'ud, the Zillu's-Sultan) who was the governor of Yazd, quickly dispatched his aides on the receipt of this news to calm the people and stop further rioting and killings.
When the tragic news of Hajji Mirza's martyrdom reached the Baha'is of Manshad, they mourn his death and held a memorial service for that much-loved believer. The entire Baha'i community was present in that assemblage, engaged in prayer and supplications. The news of this gathering and the apparent sorrow of the friends further flamed the hatred and jealousy of the people, who took every opportunity to threaten the friends and pour salt in the wounds of a broken-hearted community.
The believers of Manshad, apprehensive of their lives, informed the governor of their dire condition. In response, he dispatched ten soldiers headed by a man named `Isa Khan to Manshad with orders to protect the believers and prevent further upheavel. When `Isa Khan and his men arrived in Manshad, they stayed in the house of Muhammad-i Kalantar, where ther remained for four days.
On Friday June 25, the last day of his stay, a Governor's messenger arrived late in the afternoon and presented a sealed package to `Isa Khan. This servant was present in that gathering when the official papers were handed to him. On reading the letter, he was much perturbed. I asked him about the contents of the papers, which had visibly disturbed him, but he did not reply, so deep was he in contemplation. Later that same night `Isa Khan asked my opinion: "Without a guide, would I be able to go to Yazd, via the village of Mihrijard, this very night?" I advised him, since it was quite dark and having never traveled through those country hills before, it would be an arduous journey. I also suggested he should take a guide with him. Accepting this, `Isa Khan, accompanied by a Manshadi guide and two of his soldiers, headed for Yazd.
The following morning, three hours after sunrise, I was home when Shattir Hasan, the baker, and Aqa `Ali-Akbar (sons of the late Aqa Mirza Ibrahim), came to me in state of bewilderment. I asked them what was troubling them. They replied: "News is circulating in Manshad that people of Yazd have caused much disturbance and have put to death several of the believers." I inquired if they know who had brought this news and if there was any validity to it. They responded that this news was brought by one Muhammad-Sadiq Na'im-Abady and assured me that they would ascertain its truth.
When they left my house Aqa Ali-Akbar returned to his shop and Shattir Hasan set out to investigate the matter. On his way, at the Manshad cemetery, he came upon the source of the news, Muhammad-Sadiq Na'im-Abady, who he asked about the events in Yazd and reported killings of Baha'is. The wicked Muhammad-Sadiq, overcome with anger, severely struck Shattir-Hasan in head, opening a wound from which a fountain of blood poured forth. Muhammad-Sadiq, not satisfied with this treaturous act, then cried out for the people to gather about the baker. When a large group was formed, he told them of the events in Yazd and incited his listeners to perpetuate the same in Manshad. Shattir-Hasan, with his bloody head and face, left the crowd and returned to the company of his brother Aqa Ali-Akbar, to whom he recounted the events which has passed -- including the report of the inflammatory cries of Muhammad-Sadiq to the populous. No sooner had the news reached the Baha'is of the town that, in fear for their lives, a number retreated into hiding in neighboring villages and mountains.
(to be continued)
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Translated by, and reprinted with permission of Ahang Rabbani.
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