'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York

The City of the Covenant

'Abdu'l-Bah , also known as the Master, was the eldest son of Bah 'u'll h, the Prophet Founder of the Bah ' Faith. The Master, who was nine years old when he accompanied his father into years of exile and imprisonment from their native Persia, was freed by the Young Turk Rebellion of 1908. Though weakened by this 55-year debilitating ordeal, 'Abdu'l-Bah made several trips to the West to share Bah 'u'll h's message of world peace.

He visited New York where he was invited as the featured speaker at the National Conference on Peace and International Arbitration. Deliberately, 'Abdu'l-Bah had chosen New York City as the hub of His journey to Canada and across America, patiently nurturing the Bah ' Community in a web of love and unity, while, at times, demonstrating his majestic spiritual power as the Center of the Covenant of his Father. It was in these days that 'Abdu'l-Bah declared New York to be "The City of the Covenant".