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‘ ABDU ’ L-BAHAS JOURNEY TO CANADA AUGUST 30 TO SEPTEMBER 9, 1912. On his tour of North America ‘ Abdu ’ l-Baha travelled to Canada for nine days. He only stayed in Montreal though he passed through Toronto and Oakville.
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‘ABDU’L-BAHAS JOURNEY TO CANADAAUGUST 30 TO SEPTEMBER 9, 1912
On his tour of North America ‘Abdu’l-Baha travelled to Canada for nine days. He only stayed in Montreal though he passed through Toronto and Oakville
Montreal was a prosperous city where the gap between the wealthy and the poor was increasing. There was entrenched discrimination owing to colour and ethnic background
The weather was also especially inclement this year. People were very concerned about the growing tensions and threat of war in Europe
‘Abdu’l-Baha stayed with May and William Sunderland Maxwell (a renowned architect) for three days in their home in Montreal
The Maxwells’ home The room where ‘Abdu’l-Baha slept
From the night that he arrived, ‘Abdu’l-Baha had a steady stream of visitors from all walks of life and was plagued with questions and enquiries
‘Abdu’l-Baha moved from the Maxwells’ to Hotel Windsor, Montreal
In St. James Methodist Church , Montreal, ‘Abdu’l-Baha gave a talk to the 1200 strong congregation about the principles of the Baha’i Faith
Reverend Charles Este Negro United Church Montreal Young People’s Baha’i Group 1929 Top row left: Eddie Elliott First row second from left: Mary, daughter of May Maxwell
Arhbishop Msgr L. J.P. Bruchesi Archbishop of Montreal W. Peterson, Principal McGill University
French and English newspapers reported on his talks, most praised him but a few criticized him. Each newspaper seemed to focus on one aspect of his talks
The Montreal Gazette Reported his talk on the need to abolish racism and it quoted him: “God the Almighty has created all humanity from earth, from the same element”.
“There was wonderful breadth and depth of feeling in that sermon at the Unitarian church in Montreal. It was not the message of a fanatic or a hermit, or a man unconversant with modern thought and modern life. It was Eastern, yet it was Western…” (Journalist, Toronto Star )
Paris 1901 or 02; May Maxwell (then Bolles) sits next to Thomas Breakwell, wearing head scarf
Of His visit to Canada ‘Abdu’l-Baha said, “The time of the sojourn was limited to a number of days, but the results in the future are inexhaustible”
References Ward, Allan L. (1979). 239 Days: ‘Abdu’l-Baha’is journey in America. Wilmette: Baha’i Publishing Trust, pgs 131-137. Church, Hugh (2009) as quoted in The Badi Blog. http://badiblog.blogspot.com/2009/08/abdul-bahas-visit-to-canada.html. Correct on August 23, 2011. Van den Hoonard, Will; Echevarria-Howe, Lynn. (1994). Black roses in Canada’s mosaic: Four decades of black history. http://bahai-library.com/unpubl.articles/black.roses.html. Correct on July 30, 2009. Nakhjavani, Violette. (2011). The Maxwells of Montreal: Early years 1870-1922. Oxford, George Ronald Publisher, pgs. 275-285.