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Ali-Kuli Khan

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Mirzá Ali-Kuli Khan
Born1879
Kashan, Persia
DiedApril 7, 1966
Washington D.C., U.S.A.
NSA memberBahá’í Temple Unity,
1913 - 1914
1917 - 1918
U.S. & Canada,
1925 - 1927
Spouse(s)Florence Breed
ChildrenRahim, Marzieh, Hamideh
 Works •  Media

Mirzá Ali-Kuli Khan (1879 - April 7, 1966) was a Persian Bahá'í who served as an amanuensis for ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and as an interpreter for Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl when he visited America. He lived in the United States where he served on the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada and produced some of the earliest English translations of the Bahá'í Writings. In his career he was a Diplomat.

Biography[edit]

Early Life[edit]

Khan was born in Kashan, Persia, around 1879, the ninth of ten children, although only he and three of his siblings survived to maturity.[1] His father was Mirzá 'Abdu'r-Rahim Khán Zarrábi, a descendant of King Nawshirván the Just, nephew of the Chief Court Minister of Persia, a poet, and eldest of five brothers. His mother was Khadija, a cousin of his father.[2]

Khan's father became a Bábi in 1847 after meeting the Báb Himself when He was in Kashán, en route to Mah-Ku. He became the Kalántar, or Mayor, of Tehrán in 1880 through the influence of his Uncle. He corresponded with Bahá'u'lláh via pilgrims to the Holy Land, and secured the safety of imprisoned Bahá'ís, including Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl.[2] Despite this, Khan was raised as a Shia Muslim by his eldest sister, Marzieh, in accordance with his mothers wishes.[3] Khan moved residence from Kashán to Tehran to live with his father, meeting him for the first time, when he was four years old.

Khan was educated at the Shah's Royal College, established by the Shah after a visit to Europe with a student body selected from the nobility, enrolling at the age of nine after impressing the Minister of Education and he attended the College for six years.[4] He specialized in studying English and French at the College, and his excellence in studies led to him being bullied by his brother and fellow students at times. He met the Shah when he was twelve, being presented as the best student of English at the College.[5] Khan's father passed when he was fourteen, and his brother Husayn succeeded him as Kalántar of Tehran.[6]

After finishing his studies Khan lived with an uncle, and tutored his nephews in French and managed the household affairs.[6] He began working as an interpreter for a British tobacco corporation which was to be granted a monopoly on Persian tobacco through his uncle, however these plans were cancelled when there were riots protesting the decision, leaving Khan unemployed.[7] He began interpreting for an American Doctor treating a teenage noble who was an invalid, and befriended the young noble, named Qulam-Ali Mirza, whose father gave Khan a room at their estate. The father was oppressive towards his staff which led to conflict between him and Khan.[8] Khan became disillusioned with religion during this time, and began engaging in gambling, drinking, and smoking hashish.[9]

Becoming a Bahá'í[edit]

Khan's brother Husayn, a devote Shia Muslim, became a Bahá’í and many of Khan's friends were converted to the religion by him and stopped attending parties which Khan attended. Khan resisted efforts from them to have him investigate the religion, but eventually began attending meetings, although at first he did not pay attention to what was said. After several months he accepted the Faith, in approximately 1895. Khan's uncle secured a position for him as translator of foreign documents for the Persian Prime Minister around this time. Khan accompanied Qulam-Ali Mirza's family on a Shia pilgrimage to Baghdad shortly after declaring, but departed the group mid-pilgrimage, although he did accompany it back to Tehran.[10]

In 1897 Khan went to Kirmanshah, where was summoned by the Prince Governor and appointed as his French tutor. He secured his freedom from this position through befriending another Prince, named Ihtisham, and entered his service in Hamadan and eventually introduced him to the Faith.[11] Khan returned to Tehran from Hamadan and began openly teaching the Faith, which alienated him from the community, and he relocated to Sultanabad as French tutor to a newly appointed Province Governor's sons. He was targeted for assassination there due to his religion, and the Governor advised him to depart for the Holy Land, where he could translate for the new American Bahá'í community. He departed Sultanabad on foot dressed as a dervish and living off the land.[12] He secured a passport in Rasht, against his families wishes, who felt the journey was too difficult, and traveled to Enzeli where he crossed the Caspian Sea to Baku. He made his way to Constantinople, and then set sail for Beirut, where he and other pilgrims stayed with Mírzá Muhammad Mustafá Baghdádí, and then finally he sailed to Holy Land.[13]

Service to ‘Abdu’l-Bahá[edit]

‘Abdu’l-Bahá with Khan's children.

Khan arrived in Haifa in Spring 1899. When he first met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá he mistook him for Bahá'u'lláh, as he had only seen a photograph of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá taken decades before, and he collapsed. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá lifted him up and had him taken to a room where he was given tea and waited for a few minutes before having an audience with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, who gave him a collection of Arabic Tablets addressed to American believers to translate.[14] Khan served as ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's amanuensis until 1901 when ‘Abdu’l-Bahá instructed him to accompany Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl and Mírzá Asadu’llah Isfahani to America in order to serve as interpreter. They visited France and England en route, and Khan arrived in Chicago ahead of Fadl where he was greeted by Thornton Chase.[15]

Khan initially translated for Asadu'lláh, and they deepened the community and corrected confusion brought about by Kheiralla, the teacher who had brought the Faith to America, but tried to usurp control of the religion. Fadl arrived in America a few months after Khan, and Khan translated for him after his arrival.[16] Khan became concerned that Asadu'llah was teaching in a very different manner to Fadl, and requested that Asadu'llah's son be sent to translate for him to allow Khan to dedicate himself to translating for Fadl, however after Asadu'llah's son arrived Khan became concerned that they were emphasizing occultism and teachings not based in the Faith in the same manner as Kherailla had. Fadl did not wish to burden ‘Abdu’l-Bahá with the concern, but Khan did request that Asadu'llah be sent to teach away from Chicago. In 1902 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá recalled Asadu'llah to the Holy Land, and Asadu'llah later broke the Covenant.[17] In 1902 Khan found employment as secretary to the Persian Minister in Washington D.C. allowing him to remain in the U.S..

Khan began translating Bahá'í literature into English while in America, beginning with a work of Fadl's in 1902 which he translated as it was being written by Fadl. He translated the Kitáb-i-Íqán into English with the assistance of Howard MacNutt in 1904. He translated the Seven Valleys in 1906, and a collection of Tablets in 1913.

In 1904 Khan married Florence Breed, which was one of the earliest inter-racial marriages in the American Bahá'í community, and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá said the following regarding their marriage:

"This marriage is the first fruit of the prophecy of Bahá'u'lláh that the East and the West shall be united like unto two beloved ones."[18]

In 1906 he returned to the Holy Land on pilgrimage with his wife and infant son, Rahim. They visited Persia before returning to America.

Service in America[edit]

Ali Kuli Khan and Florence in New York City, 1914.

In 1907 Khan secured American financial and technical assistance for Persia, which was in a crisis. In 1909 he visited Robert Turner, the first African-American Bahá'í, who was ill and he informed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá that Robert was close to passing. Khan donated a Bahá’í burial ring-stone which Robert was buried with that year.[19]

In 1910 he was appointed Chief Diplomatic Representative and Charge d'Affaires of Persia in Washington while in Persia. He was in Iran for much of the year, and while in Tehran he had six young men in his care who he was to take to Europe and America to be educated.[20] By the end of 1910 he had arrived back in the United States where he presented his new credentials as Charge d'Affaires to the State Department in Washington D.C., then went to California where his family was living so that they could move to Washington together.[21] Three of the young men who had been in his care in Iran joined him Washington to further their education.[22]

In 1911 Ahmad Sháh Qajar granted Khan the title Nabilu'd-Dawlih, and he adopted Nabil as his family name. Also in 1911 Khan sent a communication and address to the first Conference of the Persian-American Educational Society, a group founded by Bahá’í's to facilitate Americans funding scholarships for Persian children to receive education.[23] He was offered honorary Presidency of the body, but deferred acceptance of the position as he was unsure if the Persian Government would permit him to serve in the role.[24]

When ‘Abdu’l-Bahá visited America in 1912 Khan and his family greeted him in Washington when he arrived via the Pennsylvania Railroad on April 20,[25] and received him at the Persian Legation on April 23, at a luncheon arranged for prominent Americans, at which ‘Abdu’l-Bahá seated Louis Gregory at a seat of honor.[26] Khan also translated some of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's talks while he was in America.

In 1913 Khan was elected to the Bahá’í Temple Unity, a precursor to the National Spiritual Assembly which administrated the Faith in America, specifically in its efforts to construct a House of Worship, and he served for one year. In 1915 he gave an address on Universal Peace at the International Bahá’í Congress in San Francisco.[27] In 1916 he spoke to 1800 people at the Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, and also spoke at a Church and at other meetings, and he noted that Indinapolis had potential to become a center for the Faith.[28] He was re-elected to the Bahá’í Temple Unity in 1917 and served for another year.

Khan was a member of a Persian Peace Delegation sent to the Versailles Conference in 1919. Khan served as head of the Persian Embassy in Istanbul for a time, and was named Head of the Imperial Court by the Crown Prince of Iran while in the position.[29] In 1921 he was appointed as Chief Minister of the Crown Prince Regent's Court in Tehran, and later as a Minister Plenipotentiary to the Five Republics of the Caucasus. He served in the position until retiring in 1923, and in 1924 he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land again. He then returned to the United States.

In 1925 Khan was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada, and he served on the body until 1927. In 1927 he was a guest of honor at a Naw-Ruz celebration in San Francisco.[30] In 1928 Khan and his wife Florence visited Portland, Oregon, for three weeks to teach the Faith, with both of them giving talks at public meetings.[31]

In June 1931 Khan and his family visited Laguna Beach where he spoke on the Faith at many social gatherings, and was guest of honor at a banquet of the Art Association.[32] In 1932 Khan was cleared of any dishonesty by the National Spiritual Assembly in a complicated case in which he had traded stock in exchange for goods which he was to sell, but which were then donated to the Assembly after the trade by the individual who had traded them in 1927. Khan informed the Assembly that he was happy to provide the items upon the return of the stock which was traded. The Assembly resolved the issue and stated that backbiting in the community regarding the case had caused disunity.[33]

The New York Assembly sponsored a series of talks by Khan in 1933.[34] The same year he spoke on the Faith as a solution to world problems at a Conference attended by a few hundred people in West Englewood.[35] In 1934 Khan spoke at public meetings in Milwaukee, Chicago and Urbana,[36] and lead a study of Tablets at the Green Acre Summer School.[37] Khan retranslated the Seven Valleys, and translated the Four Valleys, in 1934 at the request of Shoghi Effendi.[38] He returned to Urbana to teach the Faith in 1935.[39] In 1937 Khan lectured on Islam at Green Acre.[40]

In 1940 Khan spoke at an Inter-Racial Unity program in New York.[41] Later that year he chanted the Victory Tablet at a memorial for May Maxwell.[42] In 1941 Khan began preparing a glossary of Bahá’í terms required to study the Writings for the National Spiritual Assembly.[43] In 1942 he spoke at a Ridvan celebration in Milwaukee on the meaning of the festival.[44] The same year he spoke at a Race Unity Banquet.[45] In 1943 Khan taught on the Islamic background of the Faith at Green Acre.[46] He assisted in a teaching campaign in Brattleboro, Vermont, in 1943.[47] In 1945 Khan conducted a teaching tour of four Southern States, including South Carolina,[48] and he spoke at a Race Unity Conference at Green Acre.[49] In 1948 he attended the Thirty-Sixth Annual Gathering to commemorate the Master's visit to America.[50] He also taught at the Lautentian Bahá’í School held in Beaulac, Quebec, Canada in 1948.[51] His wife Florence passed in 1949 while he was in Iran on business.[52]

Khan lived in Washington D.C. towards the end of his life, and continued to speak regularly at public meetings. In 1965 he was honored with a surprise party held by the local community, which he expressed his appreciation for. He fell ill and was hospitalized in 1966, and passed.[53] He was laid to rest in Rock Creek cemetery following his passing. The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:

"Grieved learn passing 'Ali Kuli Khan. His long life distinguished services through his translation work worthy participation administrative teaching field extending over both Heroic Formative ages unforgettable. Please convey loving sympathy family and assure prayers progress his soul."[54]

Publications[edit]

Bahai.works has a related page: Author:Ali-Kuli Khan
Bahai.media has a related page: Category:Mirza Ali Kuli Khan
  • 1902 - The Behai Proofs, English Translation of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl's Hujajul Beheyyeh.
  • 1904 - The Book of Ighan, English Translation of the Kitáb-i-Íqán.
  • 1906 - The Seven Valleys, English Translation.
  • 1913 - Tablet of Tarazat, English Translation of several Tablets of Bahá'u'lláh.
  • 1939 - Islam, article published in World Order Magazine.[55]
  • 1941 - On 'The Epistle to the Son of the Wolf': Notes and Brief Interpretations on the Course of Lectures Given at Green Acre Summer School at Eliot, Maine in August 1941[56]

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ Gail 1987, p. 1.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Gail 1987, p. 6.
  3. ↑ Gail 1987, p. 7.
  4. ↑ Gail 1987, p. 26.
  5. ↑ Gail 1987, p. 32.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Gail 1987, p. 43.
  7. ↑ Gail 1987, pp. 45–46.
  8. ↑ Gail 1987, pp. 51–52.
  9. ↑ Gail 1987, pp. 60–62.
  10. ↑ Gail 1987, pp. 64–67.
  11. ↑ Gail 1987, pp. 80–82.
  12. ↑ Gail 1987, pp. 84–85.
  13. ↑ Gail 1987, pp. 93–105.
  14. ↑ Gail 1987, pp. 108–109.
  15. ↑ Gail 1987, p. 158.
  16. ↑ Gail 1987, p. 162.
  17. ↑ Gail 1987, p. 165.
  18. ↑ Baha'i News (1931). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 49, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ Baha'i News (1973). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 505, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  20. ↑ Star of the West (August 20, 1910). Bahai News Service. Volume 1, Issue 9. Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  21. ↑ Star of the West (September 8, 1910). Bahai News Service. Volume 1, Issue 10. Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  22. ↑ Star of the West (October 16, 1910). Bahai News Service. Volume 1, Issue 12. Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  23. ↑ Star of the West (August 1, 1911). Bahai News Service. Volume 2, Issue 7. Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  24. ↑ Star of the West (November 4, 1911). Bahai News Service. Volume 2, Issue 13. Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  25. ↑ Star of the West (April 28, 1912). Bahai News Service. Volume 3, Issue 3. Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  26. ↑ https://centenary.bahai.us/photo/ali-kuli-khan-c1879-1966
  27. ↑ Star of the West (January 19, 1915). Bahai News Service. Volume 5, Issue 17. Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
  28. ↑ Star of the West (December 31, 1916). Bahai News Service. Volume 7, Issue 16. Pg(s) 159. View as PDF.
  29. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 423, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  30. ↑ Baha'i News Letter (1927). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 19, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  31. ↑ Baha'i News Letter (1928). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 22, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
  32. ↑ Baha'i News (1932). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 58, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  33. ↑ Baha'i News (1933). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 73, Pg(s) 3-4. View as PDF.
  34. ↑ Baha'i News (1933). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 74, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  35. ↑ Baha'i News (1933). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 78, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
  36. ↑ Baha'i News (1934). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 81, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  37. ↑ Baha'i News (1934). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 82, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  38. ↑ Baha'i News (1934). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 83, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  39. ↑ Baha'i News (1935). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 92, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  40. ↑ Baha'i News (1938). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 115, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  41. ↑ Baha'i News (1940). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 134, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  42. ↑ Baha'i News (1940). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 136, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  43. ↑ Baha'i News (1941). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 141, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  44. ↑ Baha'i News (1942). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 153, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
  45. ↑ Baha'i News (July, 1942). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 154, Pg(s) 8-9. View as PDF.
  46. ↑ Baha'i News (1943). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 163, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  47. ↑ Baha'i News (1945). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 173, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  48. ↑ Baha'i News (1945). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 178, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
  49. ↑ Baha'i News (1946). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 182, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  50. ↑ Baha'i News (1949). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 218, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  51. ↑ Baha'i News (1948). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 210, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  52. ↑ http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/nabil-al-dawla
  53. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 419, Pg(s) 13. View as PDF.
  54. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 423, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  55. ↑ Ali-Kuli Khan (June, 1939). "Islam: IX.". World Order. Vol. 5, no. 3. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. p. 100.
  56. ↑ Collins, W. P. (1990). Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Babi and Baha'i Faiths 1844-1985. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-315-1., p 43

References[edit]

External Links[edit]

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