Mackey – Encyclopedia Of Freemasonry Vol. 1

THE BABIS 267in Cyprus, where Mr . Browne, the translator of the work" A Traveller's Narrative," visited him in i 89o, as he alsovisited Beha, at Acre, shortly after . The Babis are so far inadvance of their Eastern brethren that they wish to raisethe status of woman, maintaining that she is entitled tokthesame civil rights as man ; and one of their first endeavoursto attain that end is that of abolishing the veil . Variouscharges, as against all new sects, are made against them ;they are accused of being communists, of allowing ninehusbands to a woman, of drinking wine, and of other unlawfulpractices ; but proofs are wanting. It is said thatthey have special modes of salutation, and wear a ring ofpeculiar form, by which they recognise one another . Theyarrange their hair in a characteristic manner, and, as a rule,are clothed in white, all which practices, on the part ofpeople who have to conceal their opinions, appears verystrange to outsiders . The Bab forbade the use of tobacco,but the prohibition was withdrawn by Beha . Though onlyhalf a century old, the sect already possesses a mass of controversialwritings on points of faith-for in all ages menhave disputed most on what they understood least . TheBabis may yet become a great power in the East ; in themeantime they afford us an excellent opportunity of watchingwithin our own day the genesis and development of anew religious creed, in which vast power and authority isconferred on the priests, greatly overshadowing that of theking himself, unless he is a member of the sect, which, infact, if the creed becomes paramount, he must be to preservehis dignity ; for, according to the teaching of thefounder, he who is not a Babi has no right to any possession,has no, civil status . To enhance the influence of thepriests, divie service is to be performed with the utmostpomp ; the temples are to be adorned with the costliestproductions of nature and art .But it is certain the doctrines of the Babis suit neitherthe Sunnites nor the Shiites,' the latter of whom are thedominant religious party in Persia, and who particularlyobjected, to the Bab's claim of being the promised Mahdi,whose advent was to be ushered in by prodigious signs,which, however, were not witnessed in the Bab's case . Thelatter also was opposed by the new Sheykhi school . EarlyI According to the doctrine of the Sunnites, the Imamate, or viceregencyof the prophet, is a matter to be determined by the choice andelection of his followers ; according to the Shiites, it is a matter altogetherspiritual, having nothing to do with popular choice or approval .