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Citadel of Faith
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Pages 16-18
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IMPORTANCE OF THE AMERICAN INDIANS
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Particular attention, I feel, should, at this juncture, be directed to
the various Indian tribes, the aboriginal inhabitants of the Latin
republics, whom the Author of the Tablets of the Divine Plan has
compared to the "ancient inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula."
"Attach great importance," is His admonition to the entire body of the
believers in the United States and the Dominion of Canada, "to the
indigenous population of America. For these souls may be likened unto
the ancient inhabitants of the Arabian Peninsula, who, prior to the
Mission of Muhammad, were like unto savages. When the light of
Muhammad shone forth in their midst, however, they became so
radiant as to illumine the world. Likewise, these Indians, should they
be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that they will become so
illumined as to enlighten the whole world." The initial contact already
established, in the concluding years of the first Bahá'í century, in
obedience to `Abdu'l-Bahá's Mandate, with the Cherokee and Oneida
Indians in North Carolina and Wisconsin, with the Patagonian, the
Mexican and the Inca Indians, and the Mayans in Argentina, Mexico,
Peru and Yucatan, respectively, should, as the Latin American Bahá'í
communities gain in stature and strength, be consolidated and extended.
A special effort should be exerted to secure the unqualified
adherence of members of some of these tribes to the Faith, their
subsequent election to its councils, and their unreserved support of the
organized attempts that will have to be made in the future by the
projected national assemblies for the large-scale conversion of Indian
races to the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh.
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Nor should the peculiar position of the Republic of Panama be
overlooked at the present stage in the development of the Faith in Latin
America. "All the above countries," `Abdu'l-Bahá, referring to the
Central American republics in one of the Tablets of His Divine Plan,
has affirmed, "have importance, but especially the Republic of Panama,
wherein the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans come together through the
Panama Canal. It is a center for travel and passage from America to
other continents of the world, and in the future it will gain most great
importance." "Likewise," He moreover has written, "ye must give great
attention to the Republic of Panama, for in that point the Occident and
the Orient find each other united through the Panama Canal, and it is
also situated between the two great oceans. That place will become very
important in the future. The teachings, once established there, will
unite the East and the West, the North and the South."
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The manifold activities initiated since the launching of the first
Seven Year Plan should, under no circumstances, be neglected or
allowed to stagnate. The excellent publicity accorded the Faith, and the
contact established with several leaders in that republic should be
followed up, systematically and with the greatest care, by the growing
community within its confines. The initial contact with the Indians
should be developed with assiduous care and unfailing patience. Furthermore,
the strengthening of the bonds now being forged between
the North American communities and their sister communities in
Latin America must constitute, owing to the unique and central position
occupied by that republic, one of the chief objectives of the
Panamanian believers, the progress of whose activities deserves to rank
as one of the most notable chapters of recent Latin American Bahá'í
history.
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Nor should the valuable and meritorious labors accomplished since
the inception of the first Seven Year Plan in Punta Arenas de Magallanes,
that far-off center situated not only on the southern extremity of
the Western Hemisphere, but constituting the southernmost outpost of
the Faith in the whole world, be for a moment neglected in the course
of the second stage in the development of the Divine Plan. The assembly
already constituted in that city, the remarkable radio publicity
secured by the believers there, the assistance extended by them to the
teaching work in other parts of Chile, should be regarded only as a
prelude to the work of consolidation which must be indefatigably
pursued. This work, if properly carried out, in conjunction with the
activities associated with the assemblies of Santiago, Valparaìso and
Viná del Mar, and the groups of Puerto Montt, Valdivia, Quilpue,
Temuco, Sewell, Chorrillos, Mülchen and other smaller ones, as well
as several isolated localities in that republic, may well hasten the advent
of the day when the Chilean followers of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh will
have established the first independent national spiritual assembly to be
formed by any single nation of Latin America.
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