…evidences of the growing ascendancy exercised by an
unlearned Youth [the Báb] on the governor and the people of a city rightly
regarded as one of the strongholds of Shí’ah Islám, alarmed the ecclesiastical
authorities. Refraining from any act of open hostility which they knew full
well would defeat their purpose, they sought, by encouraging the circulation of
the wildest rumors, to induce the Grand Vizir of the Sháh to save a situation
that was growing hourly more acute and menacing. The popularity enjoyed by the
Báb, His personal prestige, and the honors accorded Him by His countrymen, had
now reached their high watermark. The shadows of an impending doom began to
fast gather about Him. A series of tragedies from then on followed in rapid
sequence destined to culminate in His own death and the apparent extinction of
the influence of His Faith.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘God Passes By’)
