

The growing popularity of the Báb aroused the resentment and jealousy of the ‘ulamá [the learned clergy, the mullás] of the city of Isfáhán. They realized that this steady rise in the popularity of the Báb and His Message among high and low alike, would undermine their power, and in fact threatened their very existence. As they discussed this and schemed their next steps, they fell into two main groups: those who did not want a direct confrontation with the Báb and His Message, and those who did. Regardless, of which group they fell into, several of the ‘ulamá began a
