As you are aware, many of the laws of the Kitabi-Aqdas were
applied in Iran and the neighbouring lands of the Middle East from very early
days, and others were progressively enforced by Shoghi Effendi. He used to
comment to pilgrims that he was raising the pillar of the administration of the
Cause in the West and the pillar of the laws in the East.
As the Faith spread in Europe and the Western Hemisphere,
certain laws were applied there also, but fewer than were already current in
Iran. The Faith continued to spread around the world, and the terms
"east" and "west" in this context acquired specialized
meanings. While the "east" continued to designate Iran, Iraq and
other countries of the older Baha'i communities of the Middle East, the term
"west" came to include the rest of the world. Thus, Persian pilgrims
in the time ofShoghi Effendi would stay in the "Eastern" Pilgrim
House, while Australian and Chinese pilgrims would stay in the
"Western" Pilgrim House.
- The Universal House of Justice (From a letter dated 4 July 1993 written on
behalf of the Universal House of Justice; Baha’i Canada September/October 1993,
vol.6, no.3)
