"Say: Let not your hearts be perturbed, O people, when the glory of My Presence is withdrawn, and the ocean of My utterance is stilled. In My presence amongst you there is a wisdom, and in My absence there is yet another, inscrutable to all but God, the Incomparable, the All-Knowing. Verily, We behold you from Our realm of glory, and shall aid whosoever will arise for the triumph of Our Cause with the hosts of the Concourse on high and a company of Our favoured angels."

"Be not dismayed, O peoples of the world, when the day-star of My beauty is set, and the heaven of My tabernacle is concealed from your eyes. Arise to further My Cause, and to exalt My Word amongst men. We are with you at all times, and shall strengthen you through the power of truth. We are truly almighty. Whoso hath recognized Me will arise and serve Me with such determination that the powers of earth and heaven shall be unable to defeat his purpose." [GWB137]

• One of the documents in these cases was the original Long Obligatory Prayer that had been mentioned in the Kitab-i-Aqdas. Bahá'u'lláh had revealed the text but did not release it in order to avoid provoking conflict with Muslims. [Prayer and Worship by John Walbridge]
• The box also contained a valuable ring and a rosary. "The ring was sold by Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí in the course of his journey in India and spent as travel money. And Mírzá Badi`u'llah wasted the rosary." [MBBA214

• Hájí `Abdu'l-Karím-i-Tihrání, who had taught Kheiralla the Faith, from c. 26 Apr to 5 Aug 1900. [BFA1:173–6; BFA2:17–29]
  See Addressess by Abdel Karim Effendi Tehrani Delivered before the New York & Chicago Assemblies translated by Anton Haddad.

  After négociations with Kheiralla failed and Kheiralla had left the community, Abdu'l-Karím stayed to explain the teachings but because of his own poor understanding of the Writings or his ability to grasp the American situation, he was unable to teach the American community very little. His talks stressed the statements about Àbdu'l-Bahá's authority and high spiritual station and he stressed the concept of the Bahá'í covenant but he spoke very little about the other teachings. When he left the American community was still confused about which of the teaching of Kheiralla were actually true.

  He did however, provide one significant contribution in the reorganization of the Chicago community. They had elected a ten-member Board of Council of men in March 1900, he encouraged them to replace it with a 19-member board of men and women which was elected in May or June of 1900. [TC157-158]

• Hájí Hasan-i-Khurásání, from 29 Nov 1900 to Aug 1901. [BFA2:35, 389]
• Mírzá Asadu'lláh-i-Isfahání, from 29 Nov 1900 to 12 May 1902. [BFA2:VI, 35–43ff]
• Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl, accompanied by the young poet and diplomat, Ali-Kuli Khan, from Aug 1901 to Dec 1904. [BFA2:XV-XVI, 80–7; BW9:855–60]

• Note: GPB259 says that Kheiralla had returned from the Holy Land in December of 1899 but in fact it was in the month of May. [BFA1pxxix] iiiii

At a meeting in Kenosha, Kheiralla publicly announced his doubts about `Abdu'l-Bahá's leadership of the Bahá'í community. He also said that 'Abdu'l-Bahá was not the return of Christ has be had been teaching. [BFA1:XXIX; SBBH1:96; SBBH2:117; SBBH1p96]
• He he had allied himself with Muhammad-`Alí. [SSBH1:96]
• The Bahá'ís effectively divided into two camps. There had been two to three thousand believers in North America in 1900, by 1902, 1,700 had left the Faith leaving six or seven hundred of whom three hundred were "Behaists" and the rest "Abbasites" or "Behais" (followers of 'Abdu'l-Bahá). By 1906 the US Census of Religions reported that the number of Bahá'ís had risen to 1,280 and the "Behaists" numbered on forty. The Kenosha Behaists continued to exist until the early 1950s. [SSBH1:96-97; WOB82; SBBH14p7] To counter the effects of this, Abdu'l-Baha, in 1900 and 1901, sent teachers to America who were completely loyal to the Center of the Covenant and well-informed on the teachings of Baha'u'llah. They were Mirza Abu'l-Fadl and Mirza Asad'u'llah. Mr. Chase wrote, with these teachers came the first opportunity for a correct and intimate knowledge of the true Bahá'í teachings...rather than psychic and occult experiments...Many persons who had conceived views imbued with imaginations and superstitions fell away from the Cause, but those who remained discovered such spiritual light,...and power in the teachings, that they were deeply confirmed in their belief, and clung to it.. ." [from a short paper entitled 'A Brief History of the American Development of the Bahá'í Movement,' printed in Star of the West, Volume V, number 17.]
• For the changes to the Bahá'í community as a result of this schism see SSBH1:96–9 and SSBH2:117–20.

On the instructions of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, Egyptian businessman Hájí `Abdu'l-Karím-i-Tihrání arrived in New York, the first Persian Bahá'í to visit North America. He had taught the Faith to Kheiralla in Egypt. His purpose was to try to bring Kheiralla back into the Faith and to explain the basic teachings of the Faith to the American believers. He was accompanied by Mirza Sinore Raffie, his translator. [BFA173–6; BFA2:17–29]
• Muhammad-'Ali, having obtained Kheiralla's support, sent his son Shu'a'u'lláh to Kenosha to try to spread opposition to 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [SBBH1p240]
• `Abdu'l-Karím and Shu'a'u'lláh apparently met in Kenosha. The point that they disagreed on was Kheiralla's insistence that his teachings be regarded as authoritative. [SBBH!p240]

The Persian teachers Mírzá Asadu'lláh-i-Isfahání (1826-1930) and Hájí Hasan-i-Khurásání, a merchant from Cairo, arrived in America. Their task was to consolidate the American community and to address the effects of Kheiralla's disaffection. [BFA2p35–43]
• 'Abdu'l-Bahá provided them with two translators, Mírzá Husayn Rúhí, a young Persian Bahá'í who had learned English in Egypt, and Mírzá Burzurg.
• They spent three weeks in New York then spent two days in Johnstown, NY then relocated to Chicago where he stayed for eighteen months.
• Mírzá Asadu'lláh did not accompany 'Abdu'l-Bahá to America, however, shortly after His return, Mírzá Asadu'lláh and his son insisted on going to the West and did so against 'Abdu'l-Bahá's wishes. Both he and his son were expelled from the Faith. [APD143; AY119; SoW Vol 5 # 17 19 Jan 1915 pg 263; 265]
• The four stayed in New York and then left for Chicago arriving on the 29th of November. Asadu'lláh stayed in Chicago until 12 May 1902, Khurásání, and Rúhí returned to Egypt in mid-July, 1901. [BFA2p38]

'Aqá Jamál Burújirdí had been a member of the Islamic clergy in Burujerd and was widely known and revered across Iran as a gifted teacher of the Faith. He was a proud and egotistical man but during the lifetime of Bahá'u'lláh, he received much praise and various honorary titles such as Ismu'lláh'u'l-Jamál (The Name of God Jamál) due to his many services. During his visit to 'Akká following the passing of Bahá'u'lláh he made contact with Mírzá Muhammad-Alí with the goal of securing a prominent place in the administration of the faith under his leadership, all the while feigning loyalty to 'Abdu'l-Bahá.
• In God Passes By p247-248 Shoghi Effendi says of Mírzá Muhammad-Alí and those who tried to assist him in his nefarious efforts, "Closely-knit by one common wish and purpose; indefatigable in their efforts; assured of the backing of the powerful and perfidious Jamál-i-Burújirdí and his henchmen, Ḥájí Ḥusayn-i-Káshí, Khalíl-i-Khú'í and Jalíl-i-Tabrízí who had espoused their cause; linked by a vast system of correspondence with every center and individual they could reach; seconded in their labours by emissaries whom they dispatched to Persia, 'Iráq, India and Egypt; emboldened in their designs by the attitude of officials whom they bribed or seduced, these repudiators of a divinely-established Covenant arose, as one man, to launch a campaign of abuse and vilification which compared in virulence with the infamous accusations which Mírzá Yaḥyá and Siyyid Muḥammad had jointly levelled at Bahá'u'lláh."
• He was publically unmasked after the Covenant-breakers printed letters with falsehoods and misleading statements. believed to be about four years after the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh. He became known in the Bahá'í community as "Hyena" or "Old Hyena" (pír-i-kaftár). He died in poverty and disgrace in Iran. The date of his death is not known. [M9YA6-7, 432, RoB2p118-9, 264-267, MMoB104-105, CB165-166, 209-15, Biographies of Jamal-i-Burujirdi]
• Shogi Effendi described 'Aqá Jamál Burújirdí as being "Mírzá Muhammad-'Alí's tablet lieutenant in Persia, "all trey to a fatal an loathsome disease". ]GPB319]
• He was the recipient of many tablets from both Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá, one of which can be found in Gleanings from the Writings of Bahá'u'lláh p5-9 and a more complete provisional translation of the original tablet can be found here.
• See also Tablet to Jamal-i-Burujirdi by Bahá'u'lláh translated by Khazeh Fananapazir.
• See ARG168 for mention of him relation to a refutation he received from Fádil-i-Shirází.

Mírzá Abu'l-Faḍl-i-Gulpáygání arrived in North America. [BFA2:XV]
• Laura Barney financed the visit of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl to the United States in 1901-04 in order to propagate the Faith and to help publish the translation of his Ḥojaj al-bahīya (Cairo, 1342/1925; tr. Ali-Kuli Khan as The Bahá'í Proofs, New York, 1902; 2nd ed., ed. J. R. I. Cole, Wilmette, Ill., 1983) [Wikipedia, Laura Clifford Barney.]
• See BFA2:80–7 and BW9:855–860 for accounts of his visit.
• See Wikipedia, Green Acre and Wikipedia, Mary Hanford Ford for accounts of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl at Green Acre.
• Mirza Ahmad Sohrab was sent to assist him. Sohrab remained and worked at the Iranian Consulate until 1912 and during this time he translated much of the correspondence between 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the Western believers. At the conclusion of the American tour he returned to the Holy Land. After the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá he rejected the authority of Shoghi Effendi and was expelled. [APD155]
• [LDNW17] says he was accompanied by Ali-Kuli Kahn.

Sultán `Abdu'l-Hamíd re-imposed the restrictions confining `Abdu'l-Bahá and His brothers within the walls of `Akká. [AB94; CB226–7; DH67–8; GBP264]
• This was the result of mischief stirred up by Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí. [AB92–5; CB227; GBP264]
• See as well An Epistle to the Bahá'í World by Mirza Badi'u'llah, page 18.
• `Abdu'l-Bahá was subjected to long interviews and detailed questioning. [AB95; GPB2645]
• For the continued mischief and false allegations of the Covenant-breakers see CB227–30 and GBP265–7.
• `Abdu'l-Bahá suspended the visits of the pilgrims for a time. [GBP267]
• He directed that all the Bahá'í writings in the possession of His family and secretaries be transferred to Egypt and has His mail redirected through an agent in Egypt. [GBP267]
• For the work of `Abdu'l-Bahá whilst in confinement 1901–8 see CB231–44 and GBP267–9.

One of the chief promoters of Mírzá Muhammad-'Ali in India was Mírzá Husayn-'Alíy-i-Jahrumí.
• See LGHC57-58 for his encounter with Lua Getsinger.
• Reference is made to this man in Memories of the Báb, Bahá'u'lláh and 'Abdu'l-Bahá: Memoirs of Mírzá Habíbu'lláh Afnán edited and translated by Ahang Rabbani p96.
• Also see CoB185 for more on the role played by Mírzá Husayn-'Alíy-i-Jahrumí in the plot by the Covenant-breakers to have Mírzá Áqá Ján incite an incident at the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh with a view to having those involved arrested and therefore discredited.

Mírzá Badí'u'lláh, the fourth surviving son of Bahá'u'lláh, wrote to the Bahá'ís announcing his break with Muhammad-`Alí and giving his loyalty to `Abdu'l-Bahá. [AB102; GPB264]
• His letter gave details of the plots of Muhammad-`Alí against `Abdu'l-Bahá. [GPB264]
• With him came Covenant-breaker Siyyid 'Alí Afnan.
• His letter entitled An Epistle to the Bahá'í World was translated by Ameen Fareed and published in Chicago by the Bahá'í Publishing Society in 1907. [Collins7.106]
• The document is important because reference was made to it in 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament.

  "What deviation can be greater than breaking the Covenant of God! What deviation can be greater than interpolating and falsifying the words and verses of the Sacred Text, even as testified and declared by Badi'u'llah!"

  "...Ye know well what the hands of the Center of Sedition, Mirza Muhammad `Ali, and his associates have wrought. Among his doings, one of them is the corruption of the Sacred Text whereof ye are all aware, the Lord be praised, and know that it is evident, proven and confirmed by the testimony of his brother, Mirza Badi'u'llah, whose confession is written in his own handwriting, beareth his seal, is printed and spread abroad..."

  This reconciliation was short-lived. Badi'u'llah continued to plot unrepentantly against Abdu'l-Bahá and later, against Shoghi Effendi until his death in Israel 1950. [AB102] Again from the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá...

  "Gracious God! After Mirza Badi'u'llah had declared in his own handwriting that this man (Muhammad `Ali) had broken the Covenant and had proclaimed his falsification of the Holy Text, he realized that to return to the True Faith and pay allegiance to the Covenant and Testament would in no wise promote his selfish desires. He thus repented and regretted the thing he had done and attempted privily to gather in his printed confessions, plotted darkly with the Center of Sedition against me and informed him daily of all the happenings within my household. He has even taken a leading part in the mischievous deeds that have of late been committed. Praise be to God affairs recovered their former stability and the loved ones obtained peace. but ever since the day he entered again into our midst, he began afresh to sow the seeds of sore sedition. Some of his machinations and intrigues will be recorded in a separate leaflet."

Through the year the Covenant-breakers plotted until the friendly governor of `Akká was replaced by one hostile to `Abdu'l-Bahá. Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí stirred up opposition in certain elements of the population. [AB111; CB232]
• Newspapers in Egypt and in Syria wrote false reports about `Abdu'l-Bahá. [AB111; CB232]
• Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí drew up an official indictment against `Abdu'l-Bahá full of false accusations. [AB112; CB232; MBBA82-83]
• These actions resulted in the arrival of the first Commission of Inquiry, sent by Sultán `Abdu'l-Hamíd. [AB112; CB233]
• The Commission summoned `Abdu'l-Bahá to answer the accusations levelled against Him and upon receiving His replies, the inquiry collapsed. [AB113–14; CB233]

Muhammad-'Alí sent his eldest son Shu'á'u'lláh to North America as his representative. It would appear that he did not work with Kheiralla but rather aligned himself with the group of Behaists in Kenosha. [BFA1p180; GPB319]
• He was the editor of the Behai Quarterly, a periodical published seven times from the Spring of 1934 to 1936 published from 7534 Twenty-sixth Ave in Kenosha. [BFA1p180; AB527n60]
• When the Master visited Los Angeles in October of 1912 he was living in Pasadena and became a cause of grief for 'Abdu'l-Bahá through his machinations. [MD340-341]
• It is believed that he stayed in North America until the 1930s or 1940s. [BFA1p180]

Following the dispatch of his eldest son Shu'áu'lláh to North America, Muhammad-'Ali sent Mírzá Ghulámu'lláh, son of Áqá Muhammad-Javád-i-Qazvíní, one of the most inveterate adversaries of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Enroute he Ghlámu'lláh visited Professor E G Browne at Cambridge. [AB86]
• Áqá Muhammad-Javád-i-Qazvíní was with Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdad and went to Adrianople some years later to be of service to Him. He was exiled to Akká and served by transcribing Writings. After the passing of Bahá'u'lláh he became an adversary of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and attacked him in his venomous writings. [CoB165; GPB319]

Mírzá Yahyá died in Famagusta. [BBD243; BBR312]
• He was the younger half-brother of Bahá'u'lláh and a follower of the Báb who conferred on him a high station and leading role in the Bábí community. Later he became an opponent of Bahá'u'lláh. Shoghi Effendi described him as "the arch-breaker of the Covenant of the Báb." GPB165
• He was known as Azal (Eternity or Pre-eternity) and Subh-i-Azal (Morning of Eternity) and his followers become known as Azalís.
• He had been deserted by most of his followers and was given a Muslim funeral. [BKG426; GPB233]
• Years later the sons of Mírzá Yahya and their relatives reconciled themselves to the authority of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [CH237-238]

Talk at 309 West Seventy-eighth Street, New York, the home of Howard MacNutt. [PUP218]
• Talk at 309 West Seventy-eighth Street, New York. [PUP220]
• On this occasion 'Abdu'l-Bahá assigned Howard the task of deepening a group of Chicago Bahá'ís on the importance of the Covenant and instructing them not to associate with Covenant-breakers. Howard failed to complete this task and continued correspondence with associates of Kheiralla. For more information see this date.

Shu'áu'lláh, who had been living in Pasadena at the time, had persuaded a newspaper editor to write two misleading articles in which he tried to show that because of his biological relationship he was bound to inherit the station of the Prophets. At a public meeting a reporter pressed 'Abdu'l-Bahá about him and His reply was to quote Christ when asked about His relationship with His brothers. [MD339-340, 490n325]
• In the evening He gave an address on unity to a large crowd assembled in an auditorium. [MD341]

With his final year of high school over, Shoghi Effendi hastened from Beirut to Ramleh to join the Master. He, the Greatest Holy Leaf and the eldest daughter of `Abdu'l-Bahá arrived in Egypt. [PG9 AB401]
• During this period Tammaddun'ul-Mulk (who had been in London during `Abdu'l-Bahá first visit) attempted to divide the Bahá'ís of Tehran and Dr Amínu'llah Farid's increasingly erratic behaviour brought Him much suffering and sorrow. [AB402]

"Tamaddunu'l-Mulk (Mírzá 'Abdu'l-Husayn Khán Qalátí Shirází) caused mischief amongst the friends and perpetrated such disunity that the foundation of the divine Faith was nearly destroyed. On numerous occasions, he repented. And yet, after each contrition, he would cause further mischief. Eventually, I telegraphed that Tamaddun is expelled and association with him is not permissible." [Tablet Concerning Covenant-Breakers: Excerpt by Abdu'l-Bahá translated by Ahang Rabbani]
• In this Tablet 'Abdu'l-Bahá warned against association with Covenant-breakers because its harm will injure the Cause of God and will enable them to penetrate the community and to completely uproot the Faith from within. Association with Covenant-breakers is the same as a person nurturing a snake in his shirt or giving a home to a scorpion in his sleeve.
• See The Early Years of the British Bahá'í Community (1898-1911) p126-128.

Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl-i-Gulpáygání, Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh, passed away in Cairo. [AB404; BBD67]
... learned apologist . .. (one of the) successive messengers despatched by 'Abdu'l-Bahá (who) succeeded in rapidly dispelling the doubts, and in deepening the understanding of the believers, in holding the community together, and in forming the nucleus of those administrative insitutions which, two decades later, were to be formally inaugurated through the explicit provisions of'Abdu'l-Bahá'ís Will and Testament. Shoghi Effendi
• He became a believer in 1876. [RoB3p91-107]
• He was named as an Apostle of Bahá'u'lláh.
• For biographical information see EM263–5; SDH113; RoB3p433-441; SBNB208-225
• See BW17p625 for Highlights in the life of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl based on an article by R Mehrabkani
• His resting place is now next to that of Lua Getsinger in the Bahá'í cemetery in Cairo. [BW9p87]
• His numerous works include Fará'id (The Peerless Gems) 1898; The Brilliant Proof; 1912; Bahá'í Proofs, 1902; and Al-Duraru'l-Bahíyih (The Shining Pearls, published in English as Miracles and Metaphors), 1900. [BBD7]
• Find a grave.
• See AY103, Star of the West, vol. IV, no. 19, pp. 316–7 and Bahá'í Proofs p17-18 for the story of how Ameen Fareed entered and secretly remained in Mírzá's house, between the time of Mírzá's death and his burial, and removed precious manuscripts which, slightly changed, he would spread among the believers in an attempt to undermine their unity at a later time.
• 'Abdu'l-Bahá spoke of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl in His home in Haifa on 21 and 22 January, 1914 as reported in SoW Vol 9 No 3 April 28, 1918.
• Among his works are:
  • Borhān-e lāmeʿ, translated and published as The Brilliant Proof (1912),
  • al-Ḥojaj al-bahīya, translated and published as Miracles and Metaphors (1981).
  • A selection of his shorter works, entitled Letters and Essays (1985), is also available in English.
  • His other works such as al-Farāʾed, Šarḥ-e Āyāt-e Mowarraḵa, Kašf al-ḡeṭāʾ, and a few collections of his shorter works exist in Arabic and Persian.
• See the Wikipedia page for links to his works.
• See Bahá'í Library for a list of works by or about him.
• 1914-06-22 —
  The defection of Dr Amín Faríd, (b. 1882, d. 1953)`Abdu'l-Bahá's translator while in America, became known publicly. His mother was a sister of Munirih Khanum, wife of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. [CB341, AB407]
  • For his activities against `Abdu'l-Bahá see AB230, 402, 407–9.
  • Dr. Aminu'lláh Faríd travelled to Europe in defiance of the wishes of 'Abdu'l-Bahá. In the absence of Lady Blomfield in London, a meeting at the Kingsway Hall had been arranged for him. Dr Lutfu'lláh prevented Dr Farid from speaking. Mason Remey and George Latimer were in London at the time. 'Abdu'l-Bahá also sent Dr Habibu'lláh Khudákhsh (later called Dr Mu'ayyad) and 'Azíz'lláh Bahádur to go to Europe to counter his activities. They were in Stuttgart when the war broke out. He recalled all four to the Holy Land (Sep-Oct). [AB407-409; Concerning Covenant-breakers: Excerpt by 'Abdu'l-Bahá translated by Ahang Rabbani] iiiii
  • Laura and Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney were dispatched to the United States where Mrs. Chevalier had been acting as Dr. Farid's emissary. [AB408]
  • See the message from Shoghi Effendi in MBW53-54.
  • For a description of his activities as a young man in 'Akká see M9YA108.

    When Aminu'llah Farid (Ameen Ullah Fareed) left the United States in 1913, and settled in Cairo as he had been instructed by 'Abdul'-Bahá. (He had displeased Him during the western journey by appealing to the wealthier American Bahá'ís for money. He had been rebuked and had apologized three times but on the fourth instance he was sent away. 'Abdu'l-Bahá revealed that Fareed had been soliciting funds from visitors to Haifa to build a hospital on Mount Carmel. When built, he lived in it himself and later rented it. While in North America he obtained yet more money claiming that he had to mortgage the hospital.) On the 24th of November 1913 he married a rich American, Gladys Elaine Hoerber of Chicago, whom he had presumably met while he was studying homeopathic medicine in Chicago.

    He travelled from Egypt to Europe and on the 21st of June, 1914 he arrived in London with his wife, his mother Radiyyih Khánum, his sister Farhangíz and her husband, Sydney Sprague and their infant son. The next day a telegram arrived from 'Abdu'l-Bahá expelling Fareed and his family from the Bahá'í community. Mason Ramey and George Latimer were in London at the time en route to Haifa. They assisted the community in understanding the implications. Both families were refused entry to a Unity Feast that had been scheduled. Fareed's father, Mírzá Asadu'lláh and his maternal uncle, Sayyid Yahyá arrived in London with a story that he had consulted with 'Abdu'l-Bahá about Fareed's situation and had come to an agreement, but that he had lost the letters from 'Abdu'l-Bahá that he had brought with him addressed to the Bahá'í community. It was soon evident that Asadu'lláh had sided with his son in the matter. Mírzá Asadu'lláh Isfahaní, his son Fareed, as well as his daughter Farhangíz and her husband, Sydney Spraque, were all prohibited from partaking in the Bahá'í community. They associated with the New Thought and psychic community in London teaching their own version of the Bahá'í faith and spiritual practice. They left Britain for America arriving from Liverpool on the 14th of October, 1915 and finally settled in Los Angeles where Sprague took up a career as writer of musical plays. The Isfahaní began lecturing on religion and Iranian culture. Fareed also had a medical practice.

    [LGHC208; The Bahá'í Community of the British Isles 1844-1963 p288-293]

• 1919-00-00 —
  Ibrahim Kheiralla died, having been abandoned by all of his followers. [CB252]
  • See MD16 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's comment about him.
• 1921-11-29 —
  The funeral of `Abdu'l-Bahá. [BW15:115]
  • For details of the funeral see AB464-74; BW1:23-6; BW15:115-19; GPB312-14; and SW12, 17:259-67.
  • For Western and newspaper accounts see AB474-80; BBR347-9; BW1:26-8; and BW15:119-20.
  • For eulogies to `Abdu'l-Bahá see AB481-2, BW1:28-9 and BW15 120-1.
  • Ten thousand people attend `Abdu'l-Bahá's funeral. [v7]
  • For a number of pictures of the funeral procession see SW12, 91:290, 292-8.
  • Bahíyyih Khánum looked for instructions on where to bury `Abdu'l-Bahá and, finding none, entombed Him in a vault next to the one where the remains of the Báb lay. [AB464; GBF14]
  • Also see Balyuzi, `Abdu'l-Bahá; Blomfield, The Chosen Highway; Honnold, Vignettes from the Life of `Abdu'l-Bahá; SW12, 15:245 and several following issues.
  • Photo.
  • The Greatest Holy Leaf engaged a locksmith to change all the locks in the Master's house. During the funeral procession she remained there and asked that a policeman be assigned to stand outside the door. During the procession Mirza Muhammad-Ali and his brother, feigning sadness, asked the policeman if they could enter the Master's house to express their condolences to the Greatest Holy Leaf. She turned them away at the door saying that this was not the time. He had attempted a kind of a palace coup. The Greatest Holy Leaf had foreseen that he would attempt just that. The House of the Master was more than a residence; it was the visible administrative centre of the Cause. Other than the Shrine of the Báb, it was the only Bahá'í edifice in the Holy Land at that time. [An account of the passing of 'Abdu'l-Bahá p42]
• 1921-11-31 —
  Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí published far and wide that he was the successor to `Abdu'l-Bahá. [CB277]
  • The Egyptian Bahá'ís responded to this by publishing a refutation of his claims. [CB276; SW12, 19:294-5]
• 1923-01-00 —
  The Guardian sent `Abdu'l-Husayn, Ávárih, to Europe to deepen the believers. [CB335; SBR68; EJR223]
  • For his life and eventual Covenant-breaking see CB334-42 and PP120.
• 1927-10-00 —
  Shoghi Effendi announced the defection of 'Abdu'l-Husayn Ávarih (Abd al-Hosayn Ayati). He had been a very successful teacher and the author of a book on the history of the Faith but opposed Shoghi Effendi's efforts to build the Administrative Order. He was insistent that the Universal House of Justice be formed at that time. He was denounced by the believers in Egypt and Iran. [SETPE1p149, BA137-139, Ruhi8.2-20, CoC294-296; MBW53; PP120; ; BKC118-120]
  • After his defection he became a Muslim and an opponent of the Bahá'í Faith. He returned to Tehran and spent the rest of his life as a secondary school teacher. During this period he wrote many works of poetry and prose, including Kashf al-Hial, a three volume work refuting the Bahá'í Faith. [Wikipedia]
  • See message from Shoghi Effendi regarding the civil rights of Avarih.
• 1927-11-00 — "Muḥammad-'Alí and Majdiddin [his cousin] has sent a message requesting us to repair the roof which may collapse at any time. He has been told emphatically that we shall not proceed with any repair unless and until they evacuate the entire building." [PP231]
• 1928-01-17 — A Covenant-breaker, Jamil Irani, tried to stir up trouble by implicating the Bahá'ís with Saláru'd-Dawlih, an ambitious brother of Muhammad-'Ali Sháh who had been deposed by the 1909 Revolution in Iran. The allegation was investigated by Lord Plummer, the British High Commissioner in Palestine who learned the truth of the matter. [SETPE1p151-152]
• 1928-12-31 —
  Ruth White, who had met 'Abdu'l-Bahá in New York in 1912 and who had been on pilgrimage in 1922, wrote to the High Commissioner of Palestine with a charge that the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was a forgery. [SETPE1p157]
  • See AY103 for 'Abdu'l-Bahá's reaction to Ruth White in New York in 1912.
  • See FMH64-65 for the story of how her plans to convince Doris and Willard McKay of her theories were thwarted by the sudden arrival of their two dogs who had had a recent encounter with a skunk.
• 1929-02-27 — The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada forwarded a pamphlet published by Ruth White to Shoghi Effendi. His advice was to abstain from any provocation and to avoid hurting her feelings. [SETPET1p157, Bahá'í News p230, 298]
• In 1929 she published The Bahai Religion and its Enemy, the Bahai Organization and in 1930, an appendix entitled Abdul Baha's Alleged Will is Fraudulent. An appendix to The Bahai Religion and its enemy the Bahai Organization.
• 1929-04-00 — The New History Society was founded in New York by 'Abdu'l-Bahá's former secretary and interpreter Ahmad Sohrab along with Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler and his wife Julie as an indirect way of spreading the teachings of the Baha'i Faith. The New History Society gave rise in 1930 to the Caravan of East and West and the Chanler's New York house was henceforth called "Caravan House". This foundation was designed to prepare children and youth to join the New History Society. This group had a quarterly magazine called The Caravan. [BRRSM124, LDG2p134] iiiii
• 1929-11-27 —
  The Mansion at Bahjí was evacuated by the Covenant-breakers after the occupation by Muhammad-Alí and his relatives for about 40 years. [DH116; GPB355–6; PP231-232, SETPE1p174]
  • During this time they showed no respect for the Holy Site; a blacksmith shop was set up near the entrance to the Shrine. [SE125]
  • For details of how the building was left see GBP356.
  • For pictures of its neglected state see DH116.
  • Covenant-breakers continued to occupy the adjacent house until June 1957. [PP233]
  • See SE126 for Shoghi Effendi's plan for a Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh.
  • See SoW Vol 20 no 4 July 1929 p122 for an account of the observations of Miss Isabel Rives who visited the area at this time.
• 1930-05-30 —
  The New History Society came into conflict with the local Bahá'í Assembly. Sohrab refused to allow the New York Spiritual Assembly, to have oversight of the affairs of the New History Society. The Assembly saw the organization as a threat to the unity of the Bahá'í Faith. [BBRSM124]
  • Shoghi Effendi wrote to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada to make a definitive statement regarding that organization and the Cause.
• 1930-08-00 — The National Spiritual Assembly published a statement in the Bahá'í News entitled The Case of Ahmad Sohrab and the New History Society. Summarized, the article stated that the "New History Society was begun in New York early in 1929 by Sohrab and "one of its avowed purposes being to spread the Bahá'í teachings. Neither the local nor the National Assembly was consulted in the matter, and the meetings and activities of the New History Society have been maintained apart from the principles of consultation which today, under the Will and Testament of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, form the basis of Bahá'í unity and the protection of the Cause."

  "Both the local and National Assembly on several occasions attempted, through oral and written communications, to bring about full and frank consultation with the leaders of the New History Society, but without success.

  "Under these conditions it becomes the obvious responsibility of the National Spiritual Assembly to inform the friends that activities conducted by Ahmad Sohrab through the New History Society are to be considered as entirely independent of the Cause, as outside the jurisdiction of the local and National Assembly, and hence in no wise entitled to the cooperation of Bahá'ís."

  This statement also quoted from a letter written on behalf of the Guardian by his Secretary to the National Spiritual Assembly on May 30, 1930: "To accept the Cause without the administration is like accepting the teachings without acknowledging the divine station of Bahá'u'lláh. To be a Bahá'í is to accept the Cause in its entirety...." "The administration is the social order of Bahá'u'lláh. Without it all the principles of the Cause will remain abortive. To take exception to this, therefore, is to take exception to the fabric that Bahá'u'lláh has prescribed, it is to disobey His law." [Ahmad Sohrab and the New History Society]

• 1930-10-07 —
  Ruth White wrote to the High Commissioner of Palestine stating that she had sent a photograph of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's Will and Testament to Dr Ainsworth Mitchell in England who had declared it a forgery. The High Commissioner requested she send that same evidence to him and he forwarded it to the Governor of Haifa who requested to meet with Shoghi Effendi and allow an expert to examine the original. The expert declared the Will authentic. [SETPET1p157]
  • See Mitchell's Mistake for a discussion of Mitchell's analysis of the handwriting of 'Abdu'l-Bahá by Senn McGlinn.
• 1930-11-00 — The National Assembly published a detailed supplementary statement in the Bahá'í News, quoting passages from the Aqdas, from the Master's Will and Testament, and from the Guardian's letters published in Bahá'í Administration followed by a reprint of the exchange of correspondence and cables with Mrs. Chanler, and with the Guardian, including the Guardian's cable to New York believers: "True unity can only be preserved by maintenance paramount position National Spiritual Assembly," and his cable approving the statement published in August, 1930, Bahá'í News.

  Further, in a letter from Haifa to the Yonkers Assembly, "The Guardian pointed out the difference between the freedom defined by Bahá'u'lláh ("To have liberty is to observe My commandments") and that advocated by Sohrab ("The other kind of freedom which is in defiance of law He (Bahá'u'lláh) considers to be animal, and far from being of any good to man"). [Ahmad Sohrab and the New History Society]

• 1931-07-10 —
  The administration in Palestine wrote to Ruth White advising her that they would take no further action with respect to her claim that the will of 'Abdu'l-Bahá was a forgery.
  • "All Mrs White ever achieved was to stir up a temporary and insignificant cloud of dust". [PP119]
  • Mrs White wrote letters to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada as well as to some believers objecting to the directives of Shoghi Effendi and to the administration of the Cause through local and national assemblies. One of her converts was Dr Wilhelm Herrigel, one of the founding members of the German community. Later, Dr Herrigel became conscious of the mistake he had made. [SETPE1p158]
  • Likewise, Ruth White's husband was repentant, was offered a path back into the Faith but failed to take it. [SETPE1p158] iiiii
  • See WOB4 for Shoghi Effendi's thoughts on such an action as taken by Ruth White.
• 1937-12-00 — The writing of Episodes in the History of the Covenant by Shoghi Effendi originally written as "Waqáy-i-Tárikhiyyih dar 'Ahd wa Mitháq-i-Iláhi" for the friends in Iran. In 1997 it was translated by Khazeh Fananapazir and edited by Mehdi Wolf. [Episodes in the History of the Covenant]
• 1937-12-20 —
  Muhammad-'Alí, half-brother of 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Arch-breaker of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, died. [CB355; GPB320; MA11]

  During Bahá'u'lláh's ministry, Mírzá Muhammad-`Alí was known by the title Ghusn-i-Akbar (the Greater Branch). After he broke the Covenant, believers referred to him as the Naqid-i-Akbar (the Arch-Covenant-breaker).

  "The Hand of Omnipotence has removed the archbreaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, his hopes shattered, his plottings frustrated, the society of his fellow-conspirators extinguished. God's triumphant Faith forges on, its unity unimpaired, its purpose unsullied, its stability unshaken. Such a death calls for neither exultation nor recrimination, but evokes overwhelming pity at so tragic a downfall unparalleled in religious history." [Cablegram December 20, 1937 MA11)

        This perfidious man, consumed by a "soul festering jealousy" toward Abdu'l-Baha, behaved in a way that "…agitated the minds and hearts of a vast proportion of the faithful throughout the East, eclipsed, for a time, the Orb of the Covenant, created an irreparable breach within the ranks of Bahá'u'lláh's own kindred, sealed ultimately the fate of the great majority of the members of His family, and gravely damaged the prestige, though it never succeeded in causing a permanent cleavage in the structure, of the Faith itself." [GPB246]

        He had changed the text of at least one tablet of Bahá'u'lláh to make it appear that Bahá'u'lláh was condemning the wicked deeds of'Abdu'l-Bahá. He plotted to murder 'Abdu'l-Bahá. He made repeated false allegations about 'Abdu'l-Bahá to the Ottoman authorities so that the Master came perilously closed to being exiled to a remote part of the Libyan desert. In addition, from 1892 to 1929, Muhammad Ali and his relatives occupied the mansion of Bahji, where Bahá'u'lláh's tomb was located, and it was not until 1952 that the property surrounding the Shrine was finally owned, without hindrance, by the Bahá'í community. [CoB153; PP231-233]

        He "was stricken with paralysis which crippled half his body; lay bedridden in pain for months before he died; and was buried according to Muslim rites, in the immediate vicinity of a local Muslim shrine, his grave remaining until the present day (1944) devoid of even a tombstone—a pitiful reminder of the hollowness of the claims he had advanced, of the depths of infamy to which he had sunk, and of the severity of the retribution his acts had so richly merited." [GPB319-320]

  • For details of his death and funeral see DH117 and GPB320.
• 1937-12-20 — Mírzá Ḥusayn-'Alíy-i-Jahrumí represented the arch-breaker of the Covenant, Mírzá Muhammad-'Ali, in Persia.

  Mírzá Ḥusayn-i-Shírázíy-i-Khurṭúmí represented the arch-breaker of the Covenant in India.

  Ḥájí Muḥammad-Ḥusayn-i-Káshání represented him in Egypt. [GPB318]

• 1940-07-00 —
  Gerrard Sluter, a German with Canadian citizenship and previously a pioneer in Guatemala, arrived in Colombia, the first Bahá'í to settle in the country.
  • He later became a Covenant-breaker and caused much difficulty to the Bahá'ís in many South American countries.
• 1941-11-02 —
  Shoghi Effendi sent two cables the the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States and Canada. The first was to announce that Thrayyá Afnán, the daughter of 'Abdul-Bahá's fifth daughter, Tubá Khnum, had married Faydí Afnan, a known Covenant-breaker and son of Siyyid 'Alí who had supported Mírzá Muhammad-'Alí.
  • The second concerned the family of Ruhi Afnán, Shoghi Effendi's younger cousin. He had also married into a family of Covenant-breakers and had failed to get the Guardian's approval for his second trip to North America and for a trip to England. Shoghi Effendi had concealed Ruhi's activities for some time prior. [BN No 149 December, 1941 p1-3]
  • In a message to Canada dated 21 May 1953 Shoghi Effendi warned of the nefarious activities of Ruhi Afnan, someone who had been corresponding with Ahmad Sohrab, had had contact with the Covenant-breakers, along with his family had sold some property that had been purchased by Bahá'u'lláh, was now claiming to be an exponent of the Faith and was misrepresenting the Teachings. [CBN No 43 August, 1953 p1] iiiii
  • see his biography at Bahaipedia.
• 1941-11-31 —
  Some members of the National Spiritual Assembly filed suit against Ahmad Sohrab to try to stop him from using the name Bahá'í. He had opened a Bahá'í bookshop in New York in 1939. This suit was filed in the Supreme Court of New York County. The judge granted a motion to dismiss, stating that "the plaintiffs have no right to a monopoly of the name of a religion. The defendants, who purport to be members of the same religion, have an equal right to use the name of the religion..." The judge mentioned that the complaint could be further amended and the NSA appealed but the Appellate Court affirmed the decision of the lower court.
        The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada distributed a mimeographed statement concerning the New History Society entitled The Basis of the Bahá'í Community, which explained the purpose and outcome of the lawsuit entered against the founders of the New History Society to prevent their misuse of the name "Bahá'í" on which the National Spiritual Assembly had obtained a trademark patent. [The Basis of the Bahá'í Community: A Statement Concerning the New History Society]
  • Also see United States National Spiritual Assembly vs. Mirza Ahmad Sohrab.
  • During the second World War the New History Society put forth an alleged passage from 'Abdu'l-Bahá which would justify citizens in refusing to obey their governments when drafted into the military forces. The National Spiritual Assembly was obliged to explain the true Bahá'í position to the federal authorities as set forth by the Guardian.
• 1941-12-00 —
  The excommunication of Shoghi Effendi's sister, Mehrangíz Rabbáni with this message.

  "Sister Mehrangis [Mehrangiz] followed example Ruhi's sister. Justice demands announce believers her expulsion."(UD149)

  • The reason for her being declared a Covenant-breaker was that she followed the example of Ruhi's sister by marrying to one of his cousins (Feyzi) without the Guardian's consent. Mehrangiz married to Hassan Afnan, the son of Furughiyyih Khanum, a daughter of Bahá'u'lláh by his third wife Gawhar. [BN No 149 December 1941 p1]
• 1942-01-01 — Shoghi Effendi announced the expulsion of his sister Mehrangiz. [Baha'i News #150 January 1942 p1]
• 1943-08-16 —
  The passing of Sydney Sprague (b. Oshkosh WI in 1875) in Los Angeles. He was buried in Inglewood Cemetery. His grave is beside that of Tom Collins, husband of Amelia Collins, and lies just across the road from the grave of Thornton Chase, "First Bahá'í of America." [BW9p633-635]
  • During a pilgrimage in late 1904 'Abdu'l-Bahá suggested he visit the Bahá'ís of the East. He toured India and Burma from December 1904 until the summer of 1905 becoming the first Western Bahá'í of go to the far Orient fulfilling Bahá'u'lláh's prophecy the "The East and West shall embrace as lovers". [YBIB6] iiiii
  • See YBIB55-60 For the story of Kai Khosroe, the Zoroastrian Bahá'í from Bombay who gave his life while nursing Sprague in Lahore when he was deathly ill with typhoid fever.
  • In 1908 he became a resident of Tehran, first teaching in the Bahá'í school and, when he returned the following year, he became principal.
  • He married a niece of 'Abdul'-Bahá and became a brother-in-law of Ameen Fareed. When Fareed was expelled from the Faith in 1914 Sprague and his wife as well as his father-in-law followed. Fareed's father was Mírzá Asadu'lláh-i-Isfahání, the emissary who had taken the remains of the Báb from Iran to the Holy Land [Efforts to preserve the remains of the Bab]. Sprague applied to be reinstated in 1931 (or 1937) and was finally accepted in 1941, two years before his passing. [BW9p633-635]
    • He married Farahangiz Khanum on the 20th of July, 1910, a day selected by 'Abdu'l-Bahá so that Stanwood Cobb could attend. The Bahá'í wedding was performed by 'Abdu'l-Bahá and the legal ceremony was conducted by a mullá four days later. [BN Vol 1 No 12 October 1910 p 7]
  • He made a teaching trip to South America and died soon after his return to the United States. [AB409]
  • He was the author of The Story of the Bahai Movement published in London in 1907 and A Year with the Bahá'ís of India and Burma in May of 1908. [YBIBxi] iiiii
• 1944-11-00 — Shoghi Effendi sent the cable below to the Bahá'í world: "Monib Shahid, grandson of both `Abdu'l-Bahá and the King of Martyrs, married according to the Moslem rites the daughter of a political exile who is nephew of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. This treacherous act of alliance with enemies of the Faith merits condemnation of entire Bahá'í world." [Bahá'í News, December, 1944 No. 172]
• 1945-04-15 — Shoghi Effendi sent the following cable to the Bahá'í world: "My faithless brother Husayn, after long period of dishonourable conduct, has abandoned the Master's home to consort with his sister and other Covenant-breakers". [Bahá'í News, No. 174, p.2; This Decisive Hour #141]
• 1946-00-00 — The publication of Abdul Baha's Questioned Will and Testament by Ruth White. The book contains the report of Dr C Ainsworth Mitchell, the handwriting expert for the British Museum.
• 1948-00-13 —
  War broke out in Palestine.
  • Many Covenant-breakers fled the country. [DH118]
• 1948-12-19 — Shoghi Effendi sent a further cable regarding his brother: "Faithless brother Hussein, already abased through dishonorable conduct over period (of) years followed by association with Covenant-breakers (in) Holy Land and efforts (to) undermine Guardian's position, recently further demeaned himself through marriage under obscure circumstances with lowborn Christian girl (in) Europe". [Bahá'í News, No. 229, p.1; Bahá'í News, No. 236, p.4; CoB 362; BN No 229 March 1956 p1]
• 1949-04-24 —
  The passing of Montfort Mills.
  • He had been a believer since 1906 and by 1909 he had made two pilgrimages to 'Akká as well as a third in early 1921.
  • In 1922 he and Roy Wilhelm were invited to Haifa to discuss the possibility of calling for the formation of the Universal House of Justice.
  • He was the first chairman of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada when it first formed in 1922 and was elected to that body seven times between 1922 and 1937 and was responsible for the final draft of the Declaration of Trust and By-Laws adopted in 1927.
  • One of his most outstanding achievements was his role in the case of the appeal for possession of the House of Bahá'u'lláh in Baghdád. He made two trips to Baghdad and had audiences with King Feisal. During one of these trips he was brutally assaulted and suffered the effects for many years.
  • He met with Professor E. G. Browne and, after hearing Mr. Mills explanation of the evolution of the Faith and of the Covenant, Mr. Browne realized he had been veiled by conflicting claims and disturbances following the martyrdom of the Báb and expressed a desire to translate later Bahá'í works but died before this contribution could be made. [BW11p509-511]
• 1950-11-01 —
  Mírzá Badí'u'lláh, the youngest son of Bahá'u'lláh, (b.1867 in Adrianople) described by Shoghi Effendi as the 'chief lieutenant' of the 'archbreaker' of the 'divine Covenant' died. [CB340, 355–6; CF89, BIC162, MSBR63, BBR460, RoB3pg230, CH209, SoB92, CoB340, 355-6, CoF89]
  • A close companion of Mírzá Muhammad-'Alí. [CoB165]
  • All his family became Covenant-breakers. [CoB362]
  • He had a short-lived repentance. [CoB152-3, GPB263, Historical Dictionary of the Bahá'í Faith p321, Interview with Badi'u'llah by Howard MacNutt]
  • He opposed both 'Abdu'l-Bahá and Shoghi Effendi. [CoB165] As an example, in 1939 when Shoghi Effendi proposed to relocate the remains of Mirza Mihdí and Ásíyih Khánum from 'Akka to Haifa, it was Mírzá Badí'u'lláh who led the dissenting faction claiming that as he was more closely related to Mirza Mihdí, it was he, under Moslem law, who had the right to decide as to the disposal of the remains. [BBR460-461]
• 1951-12-13 — Shoghi Effendi's brother Riáz Rabbáni was the last of his siblings to become a Covenant-Breaker. "With feeling profound concern, grief, indignation, am compelled disclose Bahá'í world recent developments Holy Land furnishing further incontestable proof relationship established old and new Covenant-breakers demonstrating increasing boldness, marked, tragic decline in character and spiritual condition grandchildren `Abdu'l-Bahá. Their shameful attitude and conduct receiving approbation their elders. Evidences multiplying attesting Ruhi's increasing rebelliousness, efforts exerted my eldest sister pave way fourth alliance members family Siyyid Ali involving marriage his granddaughter with Ruha's son and personal contact recently established my own treacherous, despicable brother Riaz with Majdi'd-Din, redoubtable enemy Faith, former henchman Muhammad-'Ali, Archbreaker Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant. Convey information all National Assemblies." [MBW16, CoB358, 362, 364]
• 1952-00-00 — Published on the instructions of Shoghi Effendi, Dr Yúnis Afrukhtih's Khatirát-i-Nuh-Saliy-i- Akká, has been described as "pre-eminent among those works dealing with the history of Covenant-breaking".

  The English translation was titled, Memories of Nine Years in Akka) by Riaz Masrour and was published by George Ronald in 2004.

  Over those nine years, 1900 to 1909, Jináb-i-Khán (the title by which Dr. Yúnis Afrukhtih was honoured by 'Abdu'l-Bahá) served the Master in Akká as secretary, translator, envoy and physician. These were difficult years when the Master was imprisoned in the city of Akká, His every move subject to misrepresentation by the Arch-breaker of the Covenant and his associates, and even His life was in danger. At the same time the period saw the victories of the construction of the Shrine of the Báb and the House of Worship in Ishqábád, as well as the rise of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh in the West.

• 1952-05-18 —
  The case brought against Shoghi Effendi by the Covenant-breakers in connection with the demolition of a house adjoining the Shrine and Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh at Bahjí was removed from the civil courts by the government of Israel. [CB330; GBF138–9; PP233–4, 290]
  • For the history of this case and the outcome see BW12:384–7.
• 1952-06-01 — In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian by the Assistant Secretary, the National Spiritual Assembly was informed that Ahmad Sohrab had cabled the Israeli Minister of Religion to influence the court case brought by the Covenant-breakers, against the Guardian, and which resulted in complete vindication of the Guardian's control of the Bahá'í Shrines and properties. Sohrab's cable identified the Caravan with the Covenant-breakers and stated that the organization was not under the authority of Shoghi Effendi. In a letter dated May 25, 1941, the Guardian wrote through his Secretary that Sohrab "is no doubt the most subtle, resourceful and indefatigable enemy the Faith has had in America."
• 1953-10-29 —
  Opal Jensen arrived on Réunion Island from the United States and was named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455]
  • She was later declared a Covenant-breaker.
• 1954-03-26 —
  Leland Jensen arrived on Réunion Island from the United States and ws named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW13:455]
  • He was later declared a Covenant-breaker.
• 1954-11-01 —
  A plot of land of slightly less than half an acre (1,300 metres) owned by Farah Sprague (Farahangiz Khanum), a Covenant-breaker, was purchased (after expropriation by the Finance Minister of the state of Israel on the recommendation of the mayor of Haifa), overcoming the final obstacle to beginning the construction of the International Bahá'í Archives. This concluded a thirty-year struggle in the acquisition of land on the Arc for the Guardian. [LI210-211; DH169; MBW73–4; CBN No 60 January 1955 p1]
  • He said, in a letter dated the 27th of November 1955...
    "The truculence, greed and obstinacy, of this breaker of the Covenant of Bahá'u'lláh, demonstrated by her persistent refusal to sell and by the exorbitant price subsequently demanded, raised, during more than thirty years, an almost insurmountable obstacle to the acquisition of an area, which, however circumscribed, occupies a central position amidst the extensive Baha'i domains in the heart of God's holy Mountain, is situated in the vicinity of the Báb's Sepulchre, overlooks the Tomb of the Greatest Holy Leaf, and adjoins the resting-places of the Brother and the Mother of Abdu'l-Bahá, and which, through deliberate neglect, has. been allowed to become an eyesore to all those who throng the embellished precincts of a Mausoleum rightly regarded as the second holiest Shrine in the Bahá'í world.
    The ownership of this plot will now enable us to locate the site, excavate the foundations, and erect the structure, of the International Bahá'í Archives, designed by the Hand of the Cause, Mason Remey, President of the International Bahá'í Council, which will serve as the permanent and befitting repository for the priceless and numerous relics associated with the Twin Founders of the Faith, with the Perfect Exemplar of its teachings and with its heroes, saints and martyrs, and the building of which constitutes one of the foremost objectives of the Ten-Year Plan. [CBN No 60 January 1955 p1]
• 1954-12-16 —
  Shoghi Effendi announced the death of Avarih in Iran, "CONDEMNED POSTERITY MOST SHAMELESS, VICIOUS, RELENTLESS APOSTATE ANNALS FAITH, WHO THROUGH CEASELESS VITRIOLIC ATTACKS RECORDED VOLUMINOUS WRITINGS CLOSE ALLIANCE ITS TRADITIONAL ENEMIES, ASSIDUOUSLY SCHEMED BLACKEN ITS NAME SUBVERT FOUNDATIONS ITS INSTITUTIONS.
  • In the same message he announced the death of Ameen Fareed in North America; "HISTORY WILL RECOGNIZE ONE MOST PERFIDIOUS AMONG KINSMEN INTERPRETERS CENTER COVENANT, WHO, DRIVEN BY UNGOVERNABLE CUPIDITY COMMITTED ACTS CAUSING AGONIES GRIEF DESTRESS BELOVED MASTER CULMINATING OPEN ASSOCIATION BREAKERS BAHA'U'LLAH'S COVENANT HOLY LAND."
  • Likewise he announced the death of Falah in Turkey; "CHIEFLY REMEMBERED PRIDE, OBSTINACY INSATIABLE AMBITION IMPELLING HIM VIOLATE SPIRITUAL ADMINISTRATIVE PRECEPTS FAITH."
    • Ne'matullah Falah had left Iran at the time of Baha'u'llah's exile and had finally settled in Iskenderun, Turkey, where he had become a successful businessman. He had been appointed Honorary Iranian Consul in that city, a post he had taken upon the explicit encouragement of the Master, 'Abdu'l-Bahá. Upon his accession to the Guardianship Shoghi Effendi had considered that it would serve the Cause better if Baha'is refrained from all political activities. He therefore asked Falah to resign his post. This Falah refused to do, especially as he had a letter from the Master urging him to take the post. This resulted in the expulsion of Falah and his family from the Cause.
    [Bahá'í History]
• 1955-06-03 —
  Shoghi Effendi announced to all National Assemblies that Majdi'd-Din, "the most redoubtable enemy of 'Abdu'l-Baha" and "the incarnation of Satan", someone who played a leading role in the kindling of the hostility of 'Abdu'l-Hamíd and Jamál Páshá and who was the instigator of Covenant-breaking and archbreaker of Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant, died at the age of one hundred after being struck with paralysis affecting his limbs and his tongue. [MBW87-88, 94]
  • He was the son of Bahá'u'lláh's only full brother Mírzá Músá, also know as Áqáy-i-Kalím. He was married to Samadiyyih, Bahá'u'lláh's daughter from his second wife Fatimih Khanum making him brother-in-law to Mírzá Muhammad `Alí.
  • Both Majdi'd-Dín and Samadiyyih were eventually declared Covenant-breakers for supporting Mírzá Muhammad `Alí. Majdi'd-Din was a scribe for Bahá'u'lláh. It was he who on June 6th or 7th, 1892, read the Kitáb-i-'Ahd to a large crowd in front of the Tomb of Bahá'u'lláh in which Bahá'u'lláh appointed 'Abdu'l-Bahá as his successor. [CBN No69 Oct 1955 p2]
• 1956-04-00 —
  Shoghi Effendi announced that the remaining 22 pillars of the International Bahá'í Archives had been erected and that the last half of the 900 tons of marble from Italy had been delivered. Forty-four tons of glazed green tiles from Utrecht had been placed in position. [MBW108]
  He also announced that:
  • the dilapidated house located near the Mansion had been restored,
  • Negotiations were underway with the Development Authority of the State of Israel for the acquisition of two plots to the north and south of the Shrine.
  • the destruction of a row of sheds near the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh,
  • that an expropriation order had been published in the Israel Official Gazette related to the buildings enclosed within the Haram-i-Aqdas regarding the occupancy of these buildings of the Covenant-breakers. [MBW108-109]
• 1956-12-20 — The publication in the Official Gazette of the government of Israel of the issue of an expropriation order against the Covenant-Breakers in possession of the holy Shrines at Bahji. This order was immediately appealed by the Covenant-Breakers to the Supreme Court.
• 1957-04-03 — Shoghi Effendi announced that the Treasury Department of Israel had issued an expropriation order for the remaining property held by Covenant-breakers at Bahjí, mainly the dilapidated building north of the mansion. [MBW109]
• 1957-05-31 — The judgement of the Supreme Court of Israel against the Covenant-Breakers appeal, resulted in their removal from the properties in Bahjí.
• 1957-06-00 — The Covenant-breakers completely abandoned Bahjí. [CB367–9; DH215; MBW120–2; PP233–4]
• 1957-09-06 —
  Shoghi Effendi announced 'the complete evacuation of the remnant of Covenant-breakers and the transfer of all their belongings from the precincts of the Most Holy Shrine'. [MBW124]
  • See VSE166 for Audrey Robarts' observation of the Covenant-breakers at Bahjí during her pilgrimage in 1955.
• 1957-12-02 — The titles to the Shrine of the Báb, the Mansion of Bahjí, and all other buildings and lands which the Covenant-Breakers had owned were transferred to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States.
• 1957-12-25 —
  The Hands of the Cause announced the destruction of the long, two-storey house previously occupied by Covenant-breakers which was located near the garden wall of the Mansion of Bahá'u'lláh and of which Shoghi Effendi had acquired legal possession shortly before his passing. [MC11, 51]
  • The rubble was used to complete the terraces begun by Shoghi Effendi north of the mansion and forcompleting the northern gardens planned by him. iiiii
• 1958-00-00 — In the late 1950s a meeting that was held in Famagusta at which representatives of all three main generations of Bahá'ís were present including: Jalal Azal representing the followers of Mirza Yahya (Bayanic), `Ismat and others represented the followers of Mirza Muhammad `Ali (Unitarian Baha'is), and Ahmad Sohrab represented those opposed to any form of administration. One of the aims of this conference was to build a mausoleum over the grave of Mirza Yahya. [The Cyprus Exiles p102 by Moojan Momen]
• 1958-04-20 —
  Mírzá Ahmad (Esphahani) Sohrab, the Covenant-breaker who rebelled against Shoghi Effendi, died. [MC90; CBN No 102 July 1958 p1]
  • For the story of his defection from the Faith see CB343–7.
  • He was buried in the Saint Paul Episcopal Church Cemetery, Glen Cove, Nassau County, New York.iiiii
  • Bahaipedia.
• 1959-10-23 —
  The third Conclave of the Hands of the Cause of God was convened at Bahjí. [BW13:351; MC127-173]
  • For the agenda of the meeting see MC163–4.
  • Charles Mason Remey unsuccessfully attempted to convince his fellow Hands that the Guardianship should continue. [BBRSM130; MC217]
• 1959-11-04 —
  The Hands of the Cause issued a message from their third Conclave. [MC166–70]
  • The date for the election of the Universal House of Justice was fixed at Ridván 1963. [MC166]
  • They called for the election at Ridván 1961 of 21 national spiritual assemblies in Latin America. [MC167–8]
  • They called for the election at Ridván 1962 of 11 national spiritual assemblies in Europe. [MC168]
  • They called for the election at Ridván 1961 of the International Bahá'í Council by postal ballot of the members of the national and regional spiritual assemblies constituted at Ridván 1960. [MC168]
  • The name of Hand of the Cause Charles Mason Remey was missing from the list of signatories to this letter. [MC170]
• 1960-04-21 —
  Hand of the Cause Charles Mason Remey claimed he was the second, 'hereditary' Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith. [BW13:397; BW16:90; SS49]
  • See MC205–6, 231–6 for details of Remey's claims.
  • Joel Marangella was Mason Remey's "Siyyid Muhammad", that he encouraged Remey to make a claim for the Guardianship with the hope that he might succeed him. [Bahaipedia]
  • See also BBRSM130-1, 138–9; CB386–91; MC196–217, 223–8; SBBH1:220, NOTE 207.
  • At some point in 1960 Mason sent notification of his "appointment" as guardian to the Israeli government. [British Library]
• 1960-04-27 — The International Bahá'í Council by unanimous vote rejected the claim of Charles Mason Remey to be the second Guardian. [MC206–7]
• 1960-04-28 — The Custodians called upon all believers to join the Hands in repudiation of the claims of Charles Mason Remey to be the second Guardian. [MC196–7]
• 1960-04-31 —
  Twenty–four national spiritual assemblies and five national conventions sent messages of support to the Custodians, repudiating the claim made by Charles Mason Remey to be the second Guardian. [MC199–202]
  • The National Spiritual Assembly of France voted to recognize Remey's claim. [MC203]
• 1960-05-05 —
  Hand of the Cause Abu'l-Qásim Faizí was sent by the Custodians to France to meet with the National Spiritual Assembly and Bahá'ís of France. He was accompanied by Auxiliary Board Member Dr Aziz Navidi. [MC197]
  • Initially eight of the nine members of the National Spiritual Assembly accepted the claim of Mason Remey.
  • After consultation, five members of the assembly continued to support Charles Mason Remey in his claim to be the second Guardian and resigned from the assembly. The five members who sided with Remey were: Joel Marangella, Bernard Fillon, Donald Harvey, Monir Derakhchan and Jaques Soghomonian. The four that remained true to the Covenant were A-M Barafroukhteh, Alain Tamenne, Sara Kenny, and Henriette Samimy. Even though some or maybe all of this group had voted to accept Remey they changed their vote after the meeting with Mr. Faizi. The national assembly was dissolved. [MC203]
  • See SETPE2P236-244 for an account of Mason Remey's defection and ultimate end.
• 1960-05-12 — Six national spiritual assemblies sent messages of support to the Custodians, repudiating the claim made by Charles Mason Remey to be the second Guardian. [MC207–8]
• 1960-05-13 — The International Bahá'í Council wrote to the Custodians recording its decision taken on 27 April to reject the claims of Charles Mason Remey to be the second Guardian. [Mc206–7]
• 1960-05-31 —
  In a letter addressed to all National Assemblies in the Western Hemisphere and to the Auxiliary Boards, the Hands of the Faith Corrine True, Hermann Grossmann, and William Sears provided an update on the activities of Charles Mason Remey. Some salient points were:
  • Of all the National Spiritual Assemblies only France failed to reject Remey's claims. Hand of the Cause Faizi made a visit to investigate and, with the co-operation of the European Hands, arranged for a new election.
  • Remey had sent two letters calling for support and in the second he deemed the remaining twenty-six Hands of the Cause "violators".
  • It was made known that for the previous two years Remey had been trying to convince his fellow Hands to appoint a Guardian. Until the previous Ridván he hadn't disclosed that it was he, himself, that he had in mind. Remey was aware and had been shown a letter from the Guardian clearly stating that the Hands did not have the authority to appoint a Guardian, only to ratify the choice. He had made his claim notwithstanding the vow that he had taken along with the other Hands in November, 1957 at Bahjí, and re-affirmed in 1958 with their signatures, to complete the Plan and elect the Universal House of Justice at Ridván, 1963. The question of the Guardianship would be referred to the Universal House of Justice.
  • The Hands had spent two years trying to convince Remey of the impossibility of appointing a Guardian. Up to this point they had taken no action other than to warn the friends of his intentions and to ask them to refrain from associating with him.
  • They urged the friends to concentrate their full energies on completing the Plan. [Statement on Mason Remey from the Western Hands of the Faith] iiiii
• 1960-07-26 — The Hands of the Cause of God declared Charles Mason Remey a Covenant-breaker. [BBRSM221; MC224–5]
• 1960-08-03 — Cable from the Hands of the Cause of God announcing the expulsion as Covenant Breakers of John Carre, Barnard Fillon, Moneer Darakhshan, Joel Marangella, Jaques Soghomonian, Donald Harvey, John Byers and Mary Wilkin. [MoC223]
• 1962-09-00 — Following full investigation and consultation on certain information concerning the activities of Rex (Reginald) King who has resided in various localities in Central California in recent years, it became necessary for the National Spiritual Assembly at its September meeting to deprive Mr. King of his Bahá'í membership and voting rights. Mr. King is not to be invited to Nineteen-Day Feasts or to participate in any other Bahá'í activities. [US Supplement No 57 November 1962 p2]

  Reginald ("Rex") King, who had been elected secretary of the short-lived New Mexico "National Assembly", dissolved by Remey in 1964. Unhappy about Remey's resistance to his leadership role in the United States, King eventually went to Italy where Remey was living, and had an apparently acrimonious meeting with him. Following this encounter, on 13 September 1969 Remey issued a letter denouncing King: "his station to be ever and eternally that of Satan for evermore". King switched his allegiance to Marangella when the latter advanced his own claims two months later.

  This relationship, however, also soon broke down. King decided that Marangella had made "a number of faulty 'interpretations' of the Writings" and declared that Marangella "had ceased to fulfill the requirements of the office of guardian". He argued, indeed, that "neither Mason Remey nor Joel Marangella had in truth ever been guardians … because of the lack of lineal descendancy" (i.e., from Bahá'u'lláh). What Remey had actually been, King said, was "a regent", and King came to the "realization" that he himself "was in actuality the Second Regent…." [Mason Remey and Those Who Followed Him]

• 1964-11-05 —
  Followers of Charles Mason Remey filed suit in the United States District Court for Northern Illinois against the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, claiming they were the rightful owners of all Bahá'í properties and funds in the United States. [BW14:95]
  • The National Spiritual Assembly of the United States filed a counter-claim asking the court to restrain the Covenant-breakers from using Bahá'í names and symbols protected by trademark. [BW14:95]
• 1965-03-23 —
  The case filed by the followers of Charles Mason Remey against the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States was dismissed on technical grounds. [BW14:95]
  • The Covenant-breakers filed a further suit. [BW14:95]
• 1965-11-11 —
  The Universal House of Justice announced that the 'final step' in the 'process' of the 'purification' of the Bahá'í properties in Bahjí had been taken with the removal of the remains of the Covenant-breaker Mírzá Díyá'u'lláh from the immediate precincts of the Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh. [BW14:82–3; Mess63-86p66]
  • Díyá'u'lláh (15 August 1864 - 30 October 1898) was the second son of Bahá'u'lláh's second wife Fatimih (also known as Mahd-i-'Ulya). He was born in Edirne and died on 30 October 1898 in Haifa. See The Child of the Covenant p150-151 for a description of the vacillating behaviour of Díyá'u'lláh.
• 1966-03-08 — The second suit brought against the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States by the followers of Charles Mason Remey, who claimed to he the lawful owners of all Bahá'í properties and funds in the United States, was dismissed. [BW14:95]
• 1966-06-01 — The counter-claim of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States against the followers of Charles Mason Remey restraining them from using Bahá'í names and symbols, was upheld when the Covenant-breakers failed to appear at the trial. [BW14:95]
• 1971-00-00 —
  In Germany, Hermann Zimmer resurrected the claims of Ruth White in a small book published in 1971 (English translation in 1973), A Fraudulent Testament devalues the Bahá'í Religion into Political Shogism.
  • In Switzerland, Francesco Ficicchia wrote a comprehensive attack aimed mainly at the Bahá'í administration,
  • Der Bah'ismus Weltreligion der Zunkunft? (Evangelische Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen, Quell Verlag, Stuttgart, 1981).
    • See The Refutation of Francesco Ficicchia and the Dangers of Silence by Jack McLean.
  • Both of these works were financed and distributed by Evangelical Protestant organizations in Germany. [The Covenant and Covenant-breaker by Moojan Momen]
• 1974-02-04 —
  The death of Charles Mason Remey, Hand of the Cause of God (1951-60) and subsequently a Covenant-breaker. in Florence, Italy. (b.15 May 1874) [Wikipedia]
  • Shoghi Effendi had appointed him among the first contingent on the 24th of December, 1951. [MoCxxiii]
  • He was declared a Covenant-breaker by the Hands of the Cause on the 26th of July, 1960.
• 1997-01-31 —
  The Universal House of Justice wrote all National Spiritual Assemblies, Continental Counsellors, and the International Teaching Centre about "advertisements...placed by the Covenant-breaker Joel Bray Marangella, seeking to revive his claim to be the "third Guardian of the Faith." [Reddit post]
  • Marganella died in 2013. [Bahaipedia]