Anton Haddad
Anton F. Haddad (1862 - 1924) was a Lebanese Bahá'í who was the first Bahá'í in America, emigrating to the United States in 1892. He produced some of the earliest Bahá'í material to be published in English, including translations of the Writings.[1] He reportedly did not remain a member of the Bahá'í community, becoming a Protestant minister before his passing.[2]
Biography[edit]
Anton was born into a Lebanese Christian family in Oin Zahatta, a village on Mount Lebanon, and studied at the Syrian Protestant College and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1882.[3] In 1885 he was employed as English language Secretary of the War Office in Lebanon.[4] In 1886 he moved from Syria to Cairo and began working as an English translator for the Egyptian Ministry of War. He met Ibrahim Kheiralla in Egypt, another Lebanese Christian who he befriended.[5] Kheiralla was introduced to the Faith by a teacher named Abdul Karim invited Anton to learn about the Faith from Karim.[6] In 1890 Haddad married and went on to have a son and daughter.[7]
At some point Haddad assisted Kheiralla, who had begun inventing, in obtaining a patent for a ticket design from America in both their names.[8] In early June 1892 Haddad traveled to America to attempt to have Kheiralla's ticket design used at the World's Fair in Chicago, first departing for Alexandria then leaving for America on June 19. He was unsuccessful, nevertheless Kheiralla joined him in early 1893. They were unable to promote the ticket design and went their separate ways with Haddad residing in New York and Kheiralla settling in Chicago.[9]
In 1894 Haddad moved to Antwerp, Belgium, and then to Syria. While living in Syria he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá and then returned to New York. After arriving in America he conveyed a description of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Kheiralla at his request so he could share it with the American Bahá'ís.[10] Haddad translated the first Tablet of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá sent to an American, Arthur P. Dodge, into English.[11] He also began assisting Dodge in translating some of the Writings into English.[12]
When Kheiralla asked the American Bahá'ís to sign a petition asking ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to appoint him head of the religion in the West Haddad refused to to sign, and after talking with Kheiralla felt that he was going to denounce ‘Abdu’l-Bahá publicly. He was appointed by some of the Bahá'ís to travel to the Holy Land and inform ‘Abdu’l-Bahá of the situation. He remained in the Holy Land for a fortnight and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá gave him some instructions on how to organize the community and some Tablets for Kheiralla which he brought back to America. He conveyed what ‘Abdu’l-Bahá had told him first to the New York Bahá'í community, then to the communities in Baltimore, Chicago and Ithaca and had notes on his time in the Holy Land published as Message from Acca in 1900.[13] He lived in Paris, France, for a brief period in 1901 during the time Mírzá Abu’l-Faḍl was in the city and served as his translator.[14]
Haddad taught the Faith in America at the direction of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá after returning from the Holy Land.[15] When Abdul Karim was sent to America by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to deepen the community Haddad served as his translator.[16] He also served as one of Mírzá Abu'l-Fadl's translators when he visited America at the direction of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1901 to deepen the community on the Covenant.[17] In 1901 Haddad translated the Kitáb-i-Aqdas into English. His translation was not published, but was circulated in typescript form.[18] In a letter written on behalf of the Guardian it is stated that this translation was misleading and resulted in ‘Abdu’l-Bahá forbidding translation of the Aqdas by individuals and directing that a group of competent translators would have to undertake the task.[19] Haddad assisted in translating Tablets for the compilation Tablets of Abdul-Baha Abbas published in 1909.[20]
Haddad returned to Lebanon in later life where he reportedly became a Protestant Minister.[21] He passed away in 'Ayn-Zhalta in 1924.[22]
Publications[edit]
Written[edit]
- 1900 - Message from Acca[23]
- 1901 - The Station of the Manifestation and the Greatness of the Day[24]
- 1902 - An Outline of the Bahá'í Movement in the United States[25]
- 1902 - Divine Revelation: The Basis of All Civilization[26]
Translated[edit]
- 1900 - Tablet of the Temple by Bahá’u’lláh.[27]
- 1900 - Addresses Delivered before the New York and Chicago Assemblies by Abdul Karim Effendi Teherani.[28]
- 1901 - Kitáb-i-Aqdas by Bahá’u’lláh (unpublished).[29]
- 1902 - Oath of the Prophet Mohammed to the Followers of the Nazerene[30]
- 1904 - Tablet of Joseph by Bahá’u’lláh.[31]
References[edit]
- ↑ William Collins (Winter, 1998-99). "Bahá’í Interpretation of Biblical Time Prophecy". World Order. Vol. 30, no. 2. National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá'ís of the United States. p. 12.
- ↑ Houchang Chehabi, Rula Jurdi Abisaab, Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years, p 97
- ↑ Houchang Chehabi, Rula Jurdi Abisaab, Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years, p 97
- ↑ Anton Haddad and the Convent of Muhammad to the Christians by Dr. Muhammed al-Ahari at academia.edu
- ↑ Anton Haddad, An Outline of the Bahá'í Movement in the United States, 1902, p 2
- ↑ Anton Haddad, An Outline of the Bahá'í Movement in the United States, 1902, pp 3-5
- ↑ Anton Haddad and the Convent of Muhammad to the Christians by Dr. Muhammed al-Ahari at academia.edu
- ↑ Anton Haddad, An Outline of the Bahá'í Movement in the United States, 1902, p 5
- ↑ Anton Haddad, An Outline of the Bahá'í Movement in the United States, 1902, pp 7
- ↑ Anton Haddad, An Outline of the Bahá'í Movement in the United States, 1902, pp 8-9
- ↑ https://bahai.works/Star_of_the_West/Volume_6/Issue_19/Text#pg167
- ↑ https://bahai.works/Star_of_the_West/Volume_6/Issue_19/Text#pg165
- ↑ Anton Haddad, An Outline of the Bahá'í Movement in the United States, 1902, pp 11-14
- ↑ Moojan Momen, Mirza Abu'l-Fadl Gulpáygání, published at Bahá’í Library Online, 1995, accessed 28 November 2022
- ↑ Baha'i News (1965). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 407, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
- ↑ Bahá'í Centenary Book, p 143
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1942). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 8 (1938-1940), Pg(s) 634. View as PDF.
- ↑ Bahá’í Faith in America, The, Early Expansion, 1900–1912, Vol. 2. Robert Stockman, GR, Oxford, 1995., p 27
- ↑ http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/se/LDG2/ldg2-5.html
- ↑ http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/TAB/tab-5.html
- ↑ Houchang Chehabi, Rula Jurdi Abisaab, Distant Relations: Iran and Lebanon in the Last 500 Years, p 97
- ↑ Anton Haddad and the Convent of Muhammad to the Christians by Dr. Muhammed al-Ahari at academia.edu
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/haddad_message_acca
- ↑ https://www.worldcat.org/title/station-of-the-manifestation-and-the-greatness-of-the-day/oclc/46070949
- ↑ http://bahai-library.com/haddad_outline_bahai_movement
- ↑ http://bahai-library.com/haddad_divine_revelation_civilization
- ↑ http://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_surih_haykal_haddad
- ↑ https://bahai-library.com/teherani_addresses_new-york_chicago
- ↑ http://bahai-library.com/bahaullah_kitab_aqdas_parallel
- ↑ https://www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/books/K-O/M/mohammed/Oath.htm
- ↑ https://www.h-net.org/~bahai/diglib/books/A-E/B/Baha/Joseph.htm
