Adelbert Muhlschlegel and Hasan Balyuzi
May 28, 2011
May 26, 2011
Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga with members of his family
Hand of the Cause Enoch Olinga (second from left) with members of his family; to his left, his daughter, Florence, a student at Tororo Girls' School; to his right, his wife, Elizabeth; and extreme right, his son, George (Baha'i News July 1972)
Enoch Olinga and his wife Elizabeth during a Baha'i conference in Brazil in 1977. (Baha'i News, December 1979)
Enoch Olinga was the first member of the Teso tribe to
declare his faith in Baha’u’llah in Uganda and one of the first three Africans
to become Baha’is. As Mrs. Banani, wife of the Hand of the Cause Musa Banani, in
whose home he declared his faith mentioned that he became a Baha'i through the prayers
of the Guardian. While on pilgrimage the Bananis had asked the Guardian to pray
for the success of a fireside which they were holding on a specific day. The
Guardian had assured them that he would do so, and on that evening in Africa,
Enoch Olinga made his declaration of faith.
Mr. Olinga was one of
the few fortunate Africans of his time to receive a complete education and as a
result was many times offered high positions in government. He refused post
after post in order to consecrate his life to the Cause, and out of respect for
the Baha'i principle of avoidance of involvement in politics.
May 22, 2011
Mustafa Baghdadi
Mustafa Baghdadi
Mustafa Baghdadi lived for many years In Beirut, Syria. He was one of the earliest followers of the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh. He provided countless services for the Faith. Throughout his life he was firm and full of zeal. His house was at the disposal of all pilgrims and his services to them were invaluable. Many of the American friends, passing through Beirut to visit ‘Abdul-Bahá in Akka and Haifa, bear testimony to the nobility of his spirit and the strength of his character. All loved and revered him and looked up to him as one of the spiritual souls of the earlier days. His winsome manner and gentleness of heart attracted all those who came in contact with him and carried away the sweet fragrance of his life. He had three sons, Hussein Ighbal, Ali Ehsan and Zia Baghdadi, who studied sciences and were active servants in the Cause. Zia Baghadi was loved and respected by all the American friends for his earnestness and enthusiasm. He studied medicine in the US and assisted with the Persian section of the Star of the West magazine.
(Adapted from the Stat of the West, vol. 1, no. 17, Jan. 19, 1911)
(Adapted from the Stat of the West, vol. 1, no. 17, Jan. 19, 1911)
May 21, 2011
Martha Root - "Herald of the Kingdom"; “the foremost Hand raised by Bahá'u'lláh since 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing”; “the first, finest fruit which the Formative Age of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has as yet produced”; “that archetype of Bahá'í itinerant teachers”
Martha Root
Martha's unnumbered
admirers throughout Bahá'í world lament with me the earthly extinction of her
heroic life. Concourse on high acclaim her elevation to rightful position in
galaxy of Bahá'í immortals. Posterity will establish her as foremost Hand which
'Abdu'l-Bahá's will has raised up in first Bahá'í century. Present generation
of her fellow-believers recognize her to be the first, finest fruit which the
Formative Age of the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh has as yet produced. Advise hold
befitting memorial gathering in Temple to honor one whose acts shed
imperishable lustre on American Bahá'í community. Impelled share with National
Assembly expenses of erection of monument in symbolic spot,[1] the
meeting-place of East and West, to both of which she unsparingly dedicated the
full force of her mighty energies.
- Shoghi Effendi (Cablegram
October 3, 1939, ‘Messages to America’)
[1 Honolulu]
To Martha Root, that
archetype of Bahá'í itinerant teachers and the foremost Hand raised by
Bahá'u'lláh since 'Abdu'l-Bahá's passing, must be awarded, if her manifold
services and the supreme act of her life are to be correctly appraised, the
title of Leading Ambassadress of His Faith and Pride of Bahá'í teachers,
whether men or women, in both the East and the West.
- Shoghi Effendi (‘God
Passes By’)
