The Duty of Kindness and Sympathy Towards Strangers and Foreigners: As enjoined in `Abdu’l-Bahá’s Paris Talks and as reflected in the Italian “Charter on the Values and Significance of Citizenship and Integration”

Abstract

The abandonment of racial, religious and nationalistic prejudice is one of the central issues in the talks `Abdu'l-Bahá delivered during His travels in the West. A ground-breaking concept in those days when the Western world was still "heaving with the explosive forces of a blind and triumphant nationalism," the idea of integrating immigrants into the culture of the country where they have moved is slowing becoming a part of the policy of a number of Western states. In 2007 the Italian government has issued a "Charter on the Values and Significance of Citizenship and Integration," which upholds many of the concepts expounded by `Abdu'l-Bahá almost a century ago.