The Declaration of the Báb, is one of nine Holy Days in the Bahá’í Faith, marking the beginning of the Faith. The Báb made his impactful proclamation on the evening of May 23, 1844 that He was the forerunner, the herald, the “Gate” to a new religion.

Queen Victoria was born on May 24, 1819. On Friday, May 24, 1844, the first electronic telegraph was sent by Samuel Morse, from Washington DC to Baltimore in the United States, 180 years ago from now, as we here in Bermuda celebrate our Heritage Month of May. What coincidences!

And that first message, selected by Annie Ellsworth on the advice of her mother was “What hath God wrought?” taken from a prophecy of the ancient mystic Balaam.

The Israelites, having come not long before from Egypt, were encamped in the Jordan valley. On a mountain above them, standing beside a smoking offering, an enemy king was attempting to force Balaam to pronounce a curse on his own people. Balaam refused. In doing so he spoke his prophecy: “Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, Neither is there an divination against Israel; according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel: What hath God wrought!”

On May 24, 1844, Morse invited a number of his friends and colleagues to join him in the chamber of the Supreme Court, then situated in the US Capitol Building. His instruments were ready. Annie gave him her chosen words; and in Morse Code, as it has come to be known today, Morse sent the dispatch that indicated to the world that the Morse telegraph was now a reality.

At the same time, thousands of miles away in Shiraz, Persia, now Iran, a young man known as the Báb, meaning ‘Gate’ in Persian, announced His Mission as a Prophet of God, heralding the beginning of a new universal dispensation and a new age for humanity. He also asserted that the coming of a greater Prophet from God was at hand, whose coming would fulfil the prophecies of all the great religions of the world.

Because of His teachings, the Báb and His followers were persecuted by the Muslim clergy. These persecutions during the Báb’s imprisonment and banishment culminated in His public martyrdom in July 1850 at Tabriz, Iran. Some 20,000 of the Báb’s followers were also martyred during the early history of the faith.

The Báb’s earthly remains were eventually interred on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel in a structure that would eventually become a beautiful golden-domed shrine overlooking the city and the Bay of Haifa.

Still today, although the Bahá’ís are the largest religious minority in Iran, they are deprived of their basic human rights; they are deprived of education, of jobs, of running their own businesses, of owning their own homes or farmland, and their graves are desecrated. Many Bahá’ís are incarcerated on fabricated, flimsy and trumped-up charges, simply because they are Bahá’ís.

Since its beginning in1844, the Bahá’í Faith has spread to over 400 countries and territories around the world. Bahá’ís believe that all religions hail from the same Divine Source and that all religions are a progressive unfoldment of God’s Word for humankind.

May 23 is also the birthday of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh. He was born on May 23, 1844 the day the Bahá’í Faith began. He too shared the persecution, exile, and imprisonment with His Prophet-Father, Baháʼu'lláh.

Bahá’ís believe that the spiritual energies they (the Báb and Baháʼu'lláh) released into the world infused a new life into every sphere of endeavour, the results of which are evident in the transformation that has occurred over the past 180 years.

Material civilisation has advanced immeasurably; astounding breakthroughs in science and technology have been achieved; the gates to accumulated knowledge of humanity have been flung open, and principles set out by Baháʼu’lláh for the upliftment and progress of society and for ending systems of domination and exclusion have come to be widely accepted.

Some of Baháʼu'lláh’s teachings are that humanity is one people, that women are equal with men, that education must be universal, and that rational investigation of the truth must prevail over fanciful theories and prejudices. Across all nations, a large segment of the world’s people now agree with these fundamental values, which rest on a foundation of justice.

Throughout the Bermudian Bahá’í community, families, friends and neighbours will gather together and celebrate this Bahá’í holy day, the Declaration of the Báb, in a variety of ways, reflecting the diversity of the faith even in our 21-square mile cluster of islands. As we all continue the Heritage Month festivities, we must pause to ponder the blessings bestowed on Bermuda.