When you stand in the gardens at Mazra'ih near 'Akka, you can see the mountains that hold the Druze village
of Abu-Sinan, where the Baha'is of the Holy Land lived during the most
dangerous times of World War I.
During this war, the British and the Turks were fighting to
control the Holy Land. Because the enemies of the Faith had spread lies about
the Baha'is to the Turkish military leader, Jamal Pasha, he had sworn to crucify
'Abdu'l-Baha and His family upon his return to Haifa. So 'Abdu'l-Baha moved the
Baha’is and His family to the village of Abu-Sinan.
But He Himself had work to do. So, with Haji MIrza Haydar
'AIi, a courageous soul who feared nothing but the displeasure of God, He
returned to Haifa. As it was impossible for 'Abdu'l-Baha to continue his
correspondence with Baha'i's all over the world - there was no mail in or out
of Haifa, and no pilgrims could travel to the war zone - He returned His
energies to trying to ease the sufferings of the people of Haifa and 'Akka.
The oppression of the Turks and a plague of locusts had
caused local famine, so in the tremendous heat of the season (which was enough
to take one's breath away!), 'Abdu'l-Baha traveled to Tiberias [about 30 miles
to Haifa] and supervised the raising of wheat on the fertile land around the
Sea of Galilee. He maintained a system of distributing the wheat to the people
of Haifa and 'Akka, arranged for its transport by camel, and devoted His time to
caring for the victims of the war.
