Robyn Lebron recognize and follow him The Báb exhorted them to see with the “ ” rather than through their “ .” To be worthy of “ ” required entirely new standards of conduct, a nobility of character that human beings had been unable to achieve The boldness of the Báb’s call for the spiritual and moral reformation of Persian society inspired intense fear within the religious and secular establishments Initially, the Islamic clergy hoped to stop the Bábí movement from spreading, by denouncing its followers as apostates and enemies of God These denouncements resulted in mob attacks, public executions and torture of early Bábís The Báb himself was imprisoned from 1846 until 1850 and eventually publicly executed by order of the Grand Vizier who was acting in collaboration with the traditional Islamic clergy who considered the movement a threat In some respects, the Báb’s role can be compared to that of John the Baptist in the founding of Christianity The Báb was Bahá’u’lláh’s herald: His principal mission was to prepare the way for Bahá’u’lláh’s coming His purpose was fulfilled when Bahá’u’lláh, one of the Báb’s leading advocates, announced in 1863 that he was the Promised One foretold by the Báb Bahá’u’lláh was exiled from his homeland in Persia and imprisoned in Akka, Palestine (now Israel), where he died in 1892 In his will, Bahá’u’lláh named his son, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, as his successor and authorized interpreter of the teachings ‘Abdu’l-Bahá led the Bahá’í community until he died in 1921 He appointed in writing his eldest grandson, Shoghi Effendi, “ Ǥ” In his role as Guardian, Shoghi Effendi was the authorized interpreter of the sacred writings of the faith which are the writings of the Báb, Bahá’u’lláh, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá Together, these constitute hundreds of volumes of books, some of which were painstakingly translated into English by Shoghi Effendi and have since been translated into more than 800 languages.1 They teach that religious history is seen to have unfolded through the influence of a series of divinely sent messengers, who include Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ, and Muhammad Each of them established a religion that was suited to the needs of the time