Zanzibar 1842: The Persian Dhow That Brought Baháʼí Teachings to East Africa

In 1842, a Persian dhow arrived in Zanzibar carrying a merchant named Mulla Husayn Bushru'i. He was one of the first followers of the Báb, a new religious movement whose teachings would later evolve into the Baháʼí faith. How did this obscure encounter plant a seed on the Swahili coast? Lucas and Luna trace the dhow's journey from Shiraz to Stone Town, the Báb's radical message of unity in a world of empires and slavery, and the quiet but lasting legacy of that single voyage. Along the way, they visit the Mtoni Palace library where Sultan Said bin Busaid's chief librarian copied Persian poetry, and they ask: what does it mean for a faith to arrive not with armies but with a merchant's book? #Bahai #Bab #PersianGulf #ZanzibarHistory #SwahiliCoast #MullaHusayn #StoneTown #IndianOceanTrade #Dhows #SultanSaid #ReligiousHistory #Shiraz #Persia #MtoniPalace #SpiceIslands #19thCentury #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo