The Babi and Baha'i Religion — Page 18
THE B Ā B Ī AND BAH Ā ’ Ī RELIGION 18 The General State of Affairs in Persia at the Time In the history of Persia this was a period of ex- treme decadence, political as well as religious. Aggressive sectarianism was at its height. Says, ‘Abb a s A fand i : "In Iran different sects and separate groupings exist in large numbers, such as Mutashar i ‘a, Shaikh i yyah, Su f i a, and Na s ir i yyah, etc. , all of which regard the others as K a firs and F a siqs. " 8 About the middle of the 13th century the Shias in general, and the Shaikhiyyah in particular, were waiting for the appearance of the Imam Mahdi with an eagerness which almost bordered on impatience 9. Another Bah a ’ i writes: "All the followers of Shaikh Ahmad and Sayyid K az im in those days were waiting for the appearance of the Promised One with a great deal of eagerness and impatience. " 10 Moreover, like many other Asiatic countries, Iran at that time was preparing to rise against the old system of absolute monarchy, while European statesmen in the leading countries had their fingers on the pulse of the country, waiting for a chance to turn events to their own advantage. In a serious study of the genesis of the B a b i and B a h a ’ i movement, factors 8 Maq a lah Sayy ah , page 113. 9 ‘A s r-e-Jad i d , Arabic Edition, page 22. 10 Ris a latul Tis‘a ‘Asharia , page 20.