‘Abdu’l-Karim Khan Ayadi

Dr. ‘Abdu’l-Karím Khán Ayádí (1907 - 1980) was a Persian Bahá’í who served as the personal physician to Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, the Head of State of Iran, in his professional career.

Biography

Ayadi was born into a Bahá’í family in Tehran in 1907. His father was Ibn-i-Abhar and his mother was Munírih Khánum, the daughter of Hají Ákhúnd, and his father and maternal grandfather were both Hands of the Cause.

Ayadi joined the army and became a physician. In December 1935 he was ordered to change his religion from Bahá’í to Muslim in his personnel records or he would be demoted, arrested, and forced to reimburse the government the cost of his medical studies. He stated that he could leave the religion section blank but would not declare himself a Muslim and he was stripped of his rank and imprisoned. After fifteen days he was reinstated and granted his rank and was able to leave his religion undeclard in his personnel records.

Ayadi was assigned as chief medical officer of the Imperial Guard Division at some point and became a close associate of the Shah, and in September 1941 he was appointed the Shah's personal physician serving in the role for almost four decades. He became a trusted advisor of the Shah, however he was also a controversial figure being the means by which the Shah engaged in commercial pursuits including fronting the Southern Iran Fishing Company which was regarded as inefficient and corrupt. By 1975 he held eighty positions bolstering his financial resources and had also become a conduit for communication with the Shah relaying messages between the Shah and prominent figures including the Prime Minister of Iran. His activities were used to denigrate the Bahá’í community by opponents of the Faith.

In 1978 Ayadi attempted to appoint fellow Bahá’í army physician Husayn Nají as his successor in the role of personal physician to the Shah prompting Nají to resign from the army as he did not want to serve in the role. In February 1979 Ayadi ceased serving the Shah and left Iran due to the Iranian Revolution breaking out. In October 1979 the Universal House of Justice issued a letter referring to accusations levelled against the Bahá’í community by the Iranian Revolutionary government which included the following:

DR AYADI, HOWEVER, IS A BAHÁ’Í HE HELD TWO POSITIONS: ONE AS DIRECTOR OF THE ARMY MEDICAL SERVICE; THE OTHER AS PRIVATE PHYSICIAN OF THE COURT. NEITHER OF THESE TWO POSITIONS WAS REGARDED BY THE BAHÁ’Í COMMUNITY AS POLITICAL IN NATURE.

Ayadi passed away in Switzerland in 1980.