The foundations of the divine religions are one. If we
investigate these foundations, we discover much ground for agreement, but if we
consider the imitations of forms and ancestral beliefs, we find points of
disagreement and division; for these imitations differ, while the sources and
foundations are one and the same. That is to say, the fundamentals are
conducive to unity, but imitations are the cause of disunion and dismemberment.
Whosoever is lacking in love for humanity or manifests hatred and bigotry
toward any part of it violates the foundation and source of his own belief and
is holding to forms and imitations.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (From a talk, 21 April 1912,
Washington, DC; ‘The Promulgation of Universal Peace: Talks Delivered by
‘Abdu’l-Bahá during His Visit to the United States and Canada in 1912’)
