– Just as all
the world’s major religion have dawned in the east, the Bahá’í Faith had its roots in Iran, which once was known as Persia. As Bahá’u’lláh’s followers multiplied, Ottomon and Persian
authorities sought ways to suppress his influence. After unsuccessful attempts on his life, they mounted campaigns to
harass and discredit him. Eventually, he received an invitation to meet with the Grand Vizier of the Ottomon empire in Istanbul, and thus began the next
stage of his exile. He was exiled first to Istanbul, then to Adrianople. Finally, they condemned him
to perpetual imprisonment in the ancient city of Akká, located in present day Israel. Akká was the harshest prison
colony in the Ottomon empire. The foul climate and
vermin infested buildings, made life in Akká one of the most severe punishments possible. Arriving in 1868, Bahá’u’lláh was confined in the citadel, along with some 70
followers and family members who had been exiled with him. While in the prison city of Akká, Bahá’u’lláh wrote many
of his important works, addressing the kings
and rulers of his day, and explaining the laws and
principles of his religion. From one who spent most of
his life in prison and exile, he revealed a profound global perspective when he wrote. – “It is not
for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but rather for him who
loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens.” – Impressed by
Bahá’u’lláh’s character, the local authorities eventually relaxed the conditions of his imprisonment, and he moved a short
distance north to Bahjí where he spent the remaining
12 years of his life. During this time, he made
several to Mount Carmel which is in Haifa, Israel. In 1891, from a spot marked
by a distinctive circle of Cyprus trees, he chose a permanent
resting place for the Báb on Mount Carmel. Bahá’u’lláh passed away in 1892. His remains were laid to
rest in a small building next to his home in Bahjí. This shrine of Bahá’u’lláh and the shrine of the Báb on Mount Carmel, are places of pilgrimage for
Bahá’ís around the world.