Questions at the Golden Links Club
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When in Bahá'í history
Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání recorded ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s afternoon in Boston on 24 July 1912:
He was invited later to the Golden Links Club where He was asked whether Arabic might become the universal language. He said that it would not. He was then asked about Esperanto. He replied: A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter from New York to one of the promoters of Esperanto telling him that this language could become universal if a council of delegates chosen from among the nations and rulers were established which would discuss Esperanto and consider the means to promote it. He gave a public address on the subject of the relationship between the East and the West. The president of the club and its members were enchanted and reverently and humbly bid Him farewell. Some even continued to listen to His explanations in the automobile as it traveled for one and a half hours through parks, gardens and green fields, all beautifully landscaped.
Source: Mírzá Maḥmúd-i-Zarqání, Maḥmúd’s Diary, 24 July 1912 (Boston); also cited in Earl Redman, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Their Midst, p. 153.
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: universal-language).
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