…the primary cause of oppression and injustice, of
unrighteousness, irregularity and disorder, is the people's lack of religious
faith and the fact that they are uneducated. When, for example, the people are
genuinely religious and are literate and well-schooled, and a difficulty
presents itself, they can apply to the local authorities; if they do not meet
with justice and secure their rights and if they see that the conduct of the
local government is incompatible with the Divine good pleasure and the king's
justice, they can then take their case to higher courts and describe the
deviation of the local administration from the spiritual law. Those courts can
then send for the local records of the case and in this way justice will be
done. At present, however, because of their inadequate schooling, most of the
population lack even that vocabulary to explain what they want.
- ‘Abdu’l-Baha (‘The Secret of Divine Civilization’; The Compilation of Compilations, vol. I,
Baha’i Education)
