The establishment of the first important Bahá’í propaganda center in the Middle East (as Mashreq al-Azkar) in Ashgabat, Russia, under the open support of the Russians, is one of the clear signs of the existence of a link between the tsarist government and the leaders of this sect. According to Anga Badi magazine, a Baha’i organ: “The first Mashriq al-Adhkar that was established in the world was Ashgabat, which was built in 1902 AD and was built by the efforts of Mr. Haj Mirza Mohammad Taghi Afnan, Vakil al-Dawlah. Its plan was drawn by engineer Volkov and it was taken care of by Hazrat Abdu’l-Bahá. [1] It should be seen what factors caused the Russians to open the field for the gathering and activity of the Baha’is in the Ashgabat region and despite the strong sensitivity and opposition of the Iranian nation and government, as well as the Muslims of the region, to openly support the Baha’is? The solution of this puzzle depends on understanding the sensitive military, political, and commercial situation of Ashgabat, and its important position in the imperial imperial strategy (based on swallowing Iran). Lord Curzon (a famous English writer and politician) in his book: Iran and the Iranian Case, mentioned Ashgabat as the “military and administrative capital of Russia in the north of Iran” [2] and its important political, economic and military importance for The Russians have opened the curtain. [3] Wilhelm Litten, the German consul in Tabriz during the First World War, states that the Ashgabat-Qochan-Mashhad road “was of great value to the Russians”. [4] The statements of these two Western experts are also confirmed by a confidential booklet that Colonel Zalataref wrote in 1306 AH regarding the details of Iran’s military structure and military situation, and the appropriate methods and ways to attack and occupy this country. He read it in the presence of the emperor’s brother and fully approves. [5] The American ambassador in Iran at that time also stated that the Russians had drawn the best plans from the north of Iran. [6] 30 years before Zalatarov wrote his report, Melkunov, a famous Russian spy, came to the north of Iran on behalf of the Russian Geographical Institute and made a detailed study of the northern provinces (Gilan, Mazandaran and Estrabad) and the economic, military and He explained the number of inhabitants and the distances of the cities from each other and even made it clear how long it would take a steam ship to travel from Rasht to Estrabad! [7] During the time of Naseruddin Shah, the Russians put a lot of pressure on the Iranian government to build a road from Quchan and Mashhad to Ashgabat in Russia. [8] In this context, it should be mentioned that when in 1306 AD, on the eve of Naseruddin Shah’s last trip to Europe, the then Russian ambassador to Iran, Prince Nikolai Dalgoruki (not to be confused with Prince Dalguruki, the Iranian ambassador during the time of Amir Kabir), with all violence, the government of Iran put under great pressure to fulfill some of Russia’s colonial demands, and the Shah of Iran, despite being very dissatisfied with this [9], was finally forced to respond to the Russians’ request, one of these demands was the completion of the highway between Mashhad and Ashgabat, Russia. It was the gathering and propagation center of the Baha’is. [10] The importance of Ashgabat for the Russians and their investment in it was undoubtedly due to the sensitive position of this land in the circle of the “aggressive strategy” of the Tsarist court based on the occupation of Trans-Netherlands and domination over the north of Iran. Jamshid Kianfar, a contemporary researcher, by describing the step-by-step military aggression of the Tsarist Russians to the northern states of Great Khorasan of Iran (Turkestan, Merv, Bukhara, etc.) in the Qajar era, has well outlined their occupation policy in the region. [11] Based on what we have said, it can be understood that the construction of Ashgabat was, in fact, a part of Russia’s aggressive strategy during the 19th century (based on swallowing up the north of Iran), which was achieved by successively capturing and conquering the states of the north and west of the ancient Great Khorasan (Mro , Ferkhs, Bukhara, etc.), and issues such as the gathering of Baha’is and the formation of their Mashreq al-Azkar in that city with the serious and obvious support of Russia, should be understood and evaluated within the framework of the aforementioned strategy.
Kaseravi writes:
What we know is that [Hossein Ali] Baha was associated with Russian political workers in Tehran, and this is because when he was imprisoned, the Russians tried to free him and brought a slave from the consulate with him from Tehran to Baghdad. After that, the government of the Russian Empire secretly and openly showed support for Baha and his group. This is why they were given freedom in Ashgabat and other places. [12]
Ismail Rayen also has a similar view to Kaseravi and assigns the same role to the Baha’is in Ashgabat under Russian rule as to the Azalians in Cyprus under British rule. [13]
The statements of Baha’is themselves confirm the above point. The history of Mashreq al-Azkar building in Ashgabat, and the support and assistance provided by the Russians during the construction of this building, is detailed in the book Zahor al-Haq (Volume 8, Part II), written by Fazel Mazandarani (a famous Baha’i writer and missionary). Ashgabat was a border city and Navabad. Asadollah Alizad (one of the Bahá’ís living in Ashgabat) writes in his memoirs: the history of encouraging and motivating the Bahá’ís under the pressure of Iran (by the Bahá’í leaders) to migrate from different parts of Iran (especially Yazd and Khorasan) to Ashgabat, and to publish and propagate the Maslak. Bahá’íism in that country dates back to the end of Husayn Ali Bahá’s life. According to him: “When the pilgrims from Yazd and other cities of Iran returned to their homelands and brought the blessed message… [Bahá’s] to the ears of the Baha’is of Iran, from all over Iran, especially from Yazd and then from Khorasan, which is a neighbor of wall-to-wall love.” It was Abad, the caravans of immigrants left for Ashgabat, and since the tsarist government at that time had just begun building and settling this border city, every new arrival was soon employed and received a good salary”… among the Baha’is There were so many excellent buildings and architects that they soon became famous and Russian engineers who were busy with the construction and settlement of the city used them. The Bahá’í community of Ashgabat soon reached its saturation point due to the successive arrival of immigrants, which consisted of small and large groups, and migration from Ashgabat to other parts of Turkestan, first to big cities such as Marv, Chargovi, Bukhara, Samarkand. And Tashkand and later it started in smaller places…” [14] This advice and encouragement caused a considerable number of Baha’is of Iran to gather in Ashgabat and sometimes go from there to other parts of Russian Turkestan (Mero, Chargoi, Bukhara, Samarkand, Tashkent and the surrounding villages). [15] Fazlullah Sobhi Mohtadi is the secretary and writer of Abbas Effendi, who later returned to Islam from Bahaism and wrote two books exposing their nature and atrocities. He, who saw Ashgabat and the Bahá’í center there during the Bahá’í days, wrote: “In this city [Ashgabat] and other Muslim cities, all Bahá’ís were free, and the rule of the Russian tsar allowed them to do everything. He had left it as they had built a prayer hall in the name of Mashreq al-Azkar… and the kings and rulers of Russia paid tribute to the Bahá’ís of Kumak… [16] . The details of the building of Mashreq Al-Azkar written by Fazel Mazandarani are as follows: Haji Mira Muhammad Ali Afnan Shirazi (son of Ali Muhammad Bab’s uncle) in 1304 AH, according to the instructions of Baha, bought the land known as the Great Land from its owner and added a mansion to its building until 16 For years, the Baha’is used it as a temple and held their meetings there. In 1317, Haji Mirza Muhammad Taqi Afnan (trade representative and deputy of the Russian government [17] and brother of the aforementioned Mirza Muhammad Ali) was commissioned by Abbas Effendi to build Mashreq al-Azkar. Wakil al-Dawlah came to Ashgabat in 1319 and with the help of the Baha’i community in that city, he started the work of demolishing the existing building in Zemin-e-Azam for the construction of Mashreq al-Azkar on 28 Rajab 1320. “At that time, all the Baha’is in Ashgabat and the surrounding area did not reach a thousand.” [18] In Ramadan 1320, General Subutij, the governor of Balad, who had the love of Abrar [= Baha’is] in his heart, came with a large group of government members and a large group of Baha’is, and in the middle of the building, which is higher than anywhere else The tent was set up, decorated, exquisite carpets were spread and tables and chairs [19] were arranged, and fruits and sweets suitable for the presence of the mentioned general were prepared, and the general wrote the building’s history documents in both Russian and Persian script. The silver box [20] was located in the place designated for burial under the first stone, and while Haji Vakil al-Dawlah had the emblems of the Russian government and the Emir of Bukhara on his clothes, and he was standing next to General Subotich. They took it collectively. At that time, they built the surrounding area with solid cement and laid the first stone of the building. So, tea and sweets were served with the officials sitting in the veil, and they expressed their love, kindness and satisfaction towards the Bahá’ís, and they all expressed their happiness for the construction of the temple, and some of the Bahá’ís gave a speech containing the praise and praise of God and the mention of goodness. The just sultans and the perfect ministers composed and recited, and the Bahá’ís were moved to praise and pray for the just government [of Russia]…” [21]. After that, the Baha’is got to work with urgency and completed the construction of Mashreq al-Azkar within 5 years. “In the first year when Mashreq al-Azkar was founded, the Baha’is asked the [Russian] government for an associate engineer.
Akhnaf, who was a perfect engineer, was appointed and the National Church was also built in Ashgabat, parallel to the Mashreq Al-Azkar building, and Akhnaf was the engineer of both of these buildings, and he worked with full activity and seriousness. It was built in two years…” [22] In Shawwal 1328, Vakil al-Dawlah left Ashgabat with the warm welcome of the Baha’is to meet with Abbas Effendi, and after his departure, the work of buying lands around Mashreq al-Azkar and developing its building on them continued. [23] According to Fazlullah Sobhi: Above the Mashreq Al-Azkar Hall, there was a tablet of Abbas Effendi who said “Afarin” to the Tsar of Russia and asked God to raise his flag and spread his shadow over the East and the West, and every morning, the Baha’i preacher of that tablet He used to sing with a beautiful song to the Baha’i disciples who came there and said to say “Afarin” to the king from the bottom of his heart and ask God to bring him under his shadow… [24] . In addition to what happened, in 1335 AH (1917 AD), the Baha’i magazine “Eastern Sun” was established in Ashgabat under the management of Seyyed Mehdi Golpaygani (a famous Baha’i preacher). This magazine, while propagating the Baha’i faith, responded to Mashhad’s anti-Baha’i articles, and this caused its entry into Khorasan to be banned by religious people. Therefore, its entry and distribution in Iran was done through Gilan. After the October revolution, the magazine was shut down several times, but it was allowed to be published again with the help of the Baha’is. [25] . Fazlullah Sobhi, while describing the memories of his preaching days in favor of Baha’ism in Merv and Ashgabat, has revealed the nature of the publications of this sect in Russia:
“From Bukhara, we came to Marv once again. When we reached Marv, Mirza Munir Nabilzadeh, Sayyid Asadullah Qomi, Sayyid Mehdi Golpaigani and a few other missionaries were there and they held meetings every night. Seyyed Mahdi Qasim Ef was a relative of Mirza Abulfazl Golpaygani and he was ahead of all missionaries in knowledge, intelligence and humility. On the first day, he went to Ashgabat under the name of Bazargani and accompanied Seyyed Mustafa Sadegh Esfahani. He openly traded green tea and secretly was a missionary, and he also got along with a Russian man named Konstantin Mikhailovich Fedorov. This Russian man received ten thousand manats a year from the tsar’s court and printed and distributed a newspaper called “The Trans-Caspian Collection” in Persian and sent it to Iran. This Seyyed Mahdi worked in that newspaper and received a monthly salary and wrote and translated words for their benefit and against Iran. [26]
Awarah (Bahá’í proselyte), who later returned from Bahá’íism and wrote the book “Kashf al-Hil” against them under the title “Aiti”, notes:
“During the days I was in Ashgabat, I fully felt that the Tsarist Russians inwardly look down on the Baha’is, but outwardly they protect them, and the Baha’is are so confident in the Russians that they think that the Russian emperor will rule over them forever. It remains, and Russia’s policy is also unchangeable, and with the power of Russian authority (and some people in Tehran said with the power of British authority), they will [rule] the Baha’i religion in Iran in the name of religion, but without their knowledge, they have carried everyone into spirituality. And going a step further, they said that all the sultans of the world will promote this religion in the country and implement it by force of will! [27]
It is clear from the historical documents that the government of Iran considered the gathering of Baha’is in Ashgabat (under the umbrella of Russian support) as a political and hostile movement against Iran and was very complaining about it. This, combined with the inclusion of the news of the request of “political obedience” by some Baha’is from the Russian government in the newspapers, made Naseruddin Shah extremely angry and worried about the danger of a sharp reaction by the Iranian ulama and the nation. Following this, he wrote in his handwritten instructions to Amin al-Sultan (at the end of 1307 AH) about the dispute between Muslim Iranians and Babi living in Ashgabat: Dear Amin al-Sultan, I read the paragraph of Babiyyah Ashgabat. The work is very, very bad. Immediately write to the minister of Russia and ask him. Let him come to you this evening or tomorrow morning or evening and talk to him in this paragraph as per the order and the newspaper
Give him the Kafkazia where the speech of Babi Pdersokhte was written and tell him clearly that first of all you know this group to be enemies of Iran’s religion and government, why did they gather in Ashgabat? The king’s request is to drive them out of there and not let anyone with this name come and settle there. These are like your nursery rhymes, but worse.
If we bring a non-native person to Iran and treat them kindly and look after them and make them our citizens, will you be satisfied and will you like it? Especially what they wrote in this newspaper that they asked for your obedience and submission, if this paragraph is accepted, there will be a big riot in Iran among all the scholars and people of Iran, which cannot be imagined higher than that. In the same way, tell the Mukhtar Minister very hard, and send a code telegram to Mirza Mahmud Khan [Ala al-Malik, the Mukhtar Minister of Iran at the Tsar’s Court], to speak in Peter [Zeburg]… [28] Alaa al-Malik’s answer to Amin al-Sultan (dated late 1307 AH) strengthens the guess that the Russians’ support of the Baha’is in the case of the murder of Mohammad Reza Esfahani was not without some kind of political trickery to force Iran to accept the Russians’ colonialism at that time. While describing his talks with Zinaviev (a prominent official of the Russian Foreign Ministry) about Ashgabat and the issue of Mohammad Reza’s murder, and Zinaviev’s answers, he adds: “But the main thing that he said in this regard and the meaning of it is that He said, “We are waiting for the evidence of friendship with the Russian government from His Holiness Homayoni [Naseruddin Shah].” Then, he quotes Russia’s colonial and interventionist demands from Iran (which were raised with all intensity and severity in those days) from the words of Zinaviev. [29]
[1] Badi Song, year 21 (1345), vol. 11 and 12, pp. 308-309.
[2] Iran and the Case of Iran, George Nathaniel Curzon, translated by Gholam Ali Vahid Mazandarani, Volume 4: Scientific and Cultural Publishing Company, Tehran 1373, 1/83.
[3] The same: 1/139 onwards.
[4] Iran from peaceful influence to protection (1919-1860), translated by Maryam Mirahmadi, Moin Publishing House, Tehran 1367, p. 107.
[5] The above-mentioned booklet was found by the Vizier Mukhtar of Iran in Petersburg (Mirza Mahmood Khan Alaa al-Malik) by his secret spies, and he sent its translation along with a letter explaining the story to Amin al-Sultan (Prime Minister Nasir al-Din Shah) in Jumadi II 1306 AH. For the text of Alaa al-Malik’s booklet and letter, refer to Alaa al-Malik’s political reports, compiled by Ibrahim Safai, vol. 2: Abad Publishing Group, Tehran, 2012, pp. 74-36. A chapter of this booklet is dedicated to Ashgabat – Khorasan highway and the strategic position of that region. R.K., ibid.: p. 68 onwards.
[6] Iran and Iranians, Mr. Benjamin, p. 98.
[7] R.K., Iran and Russia travel book, Melkonov, to the efforts of Mohammad Golban, and Faramz Talebi, Dunyai Kitab Publications, Tehran 2013, pp. 83-92 and 195-199.
[8] C.K., Iran and the Iranian Case, Lord Curzon, translated by Gholam Ali Vahid Mazandarani, 1/139 and 142.
[9] Russian and English in Iran, Firoz Kazemzadeh, 1/182.
[10] C.K., political reports of Alaa al-Mulk, compiled by Ibrahim Safai, pp. 169-176; Russian and English in Iran, Firouz