Regarding the
question of slavery, its horrifying aftermath in America and the abetment of
Christians, you are no doubt aware that enslaving other human beings and
otherwise discriminating against them were not unique to members of this
religious community. Centuries before the African slave trade was introduced to
the West, it was practiced by Muslims in the East. In fact this act of
enforced, uncompensated labor and the humiliation it imposed have been a common
part of mankind’s history stretching back to ancient times; Africans have
themselves imposed slavery on different tribes residing among them. It is a
sobering fact that this form of oppression has injured the lives of human
groups across the planet. Erasing the scars so deeply etched on human
consciousness requires a monumental remedy that only a Revelation of the global
magnitude of the Bahá’í Faith can ensure. All so afflicted can now find relief
in Bahá’u’lláh’s assertion that, as the Divine Physician, He has prescribed the
remedy for all that ails the world of humanity.
(From a letter dated 3
June 2007 written on behalf of the Universal House of Justice to an individual
believer)
