crescent of islam. this may sound like a new age fad but it s actually a global religion that took root in america more than a century ago. abdual traveled to the u.s. to spread division of uppity. abdual baha was proclaiming race unity. we have to come together. we have to figure this out. race is a human cononstruct. it s not spiritual. we re all equal in the side of god. he even encouraged a black man to marry a white woman in new york in 1912 as a way of eliminating racial barriers. at a time when different races didn t mix, this interracial marriage was ground breaking. while the faith doesn t require interracial unions, it does encourage them as a way for followers to understand each other s cultural differences.