The trial of Mullá `Alí Bastámí was one of the most important episodes of 1844-45, being both the first occasion on which the new Bábí movement encountered the opposition of the ulama, and a crucial turning point in the development of the movement.
Notes
Also presented at the Bahá'í Studies Seminar at the University of Lancaster, April 1980. Mirrored with permission from www.momen.org/contents.htm.