Aziz Navidi

Aziz Navidi
Born	September 9, 1913 Hamadán, Iran
Died	July 1, 1987 London, England
ABM	Europe 1957 - 1968
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Dr. ‘Azizu’lláh Navidi (September 9, 1913 - July 1, 1987) was a Persian Bahá’í who was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for pioneering to Monaco. He also traveled extensively internationally to serve the Bahá’í Faith notably assisting communities in Africa in achieving official government recognition.

Biography

Navidi was born into a Bahá’í family in Hamadán, Iran, in 1913 and his parents were Mihdi and Badi‘ih Arjumand Navidi. In his youth he studied law at the University of Tehran and in 1937 he established a private practice. His law practice was highly successful and he would defend innocent parties free of charge.

In 1940 Navidi married Shamsi and they had two daughters, Vida born in 1942 and Guilda born in 1949. In 1944 he was tasked by the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran with legally representing the Bahá’í community of Shahrud which was facing violent persecution. He received praise from Shoghi Effendi for his efforts, became legal adviser to the National Assembly, and was later tasked with defending the Bahá’í communities of Shiraz and Yazd. He was later also appointed as legal adviser to the Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Defense by the government of Iran allowing him to advocate for the Bahá’í community at the direction of the National Assembly of Iran. In the early 1950's he was offered the position of Consul General of Iran in Paris but declined the appointment due to being a Bahá’í.

In early 1953 Navidi and his wife went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and met with Shoghi Effendi. He consulted with Shoghi Effendi privately during their pilgrimage on the situation of the Bahá’í community in Iran and was advised that his legal expertise would be used internationally to defend the Faith. During the pilgrimage Shoghi Effendi announced the Ten Year Crusade and advised that the Persian Bahá’í community should make efforts to pioneer to Africa but advised Navidi that he should remain in Iran so he could continue to provide legal aid to the community.

Throughout 1953 the Navidi's attended Intercontinental Conferences held to launch the Ten Year Crusade in Kampala, Uganda, and Stockholm, Sweden. After attending Shamsi was inspire to pioneer and the Navidi's wrote to Shoghi Effendi who granted permission for them to depart Iran as soon as Navidi completed a legal defense of the Yazd Bahá’í community which was in progress. Initially Shoghi Effendi advised them to pioneer to the Marquesas Islands however shortly before they departed he advised them to instead pioneer to Monaco as Nellie French had passed away leaving the country without any Bahá’í presence. Shamsi and their daughters arrived in Monaco in March 1954 and Navidi pioneered in November after he had completed the Yazd case with the family establishing themselves in Monte Carlo.

After arriving in Monaco Navidi enrolled in the University of Paris-Sorbonne at the direction of Shoghi Effendi and he completed a degree in international law graduating with honours in 1955. Shoghi Effendi then appointed him to a Commission responsible for a Bahá’í appeal to the United Nations against the persecution of the Bahá’ís in Iran. He began efforts to establish a legal practice after arriving in Monaco but initially had to make several trips to Iran to maintain his original practice in order to support his family financially.

In 1957 Navidi was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member for Europe, and in 1960 he accompanied Abu’l-Qásim Faizí to Paris, France, to consult with the National Spiritual Assembly of France after the majority of its membership accepted the claim of Mason Remey to be Guardian of the Faith, contradicting several statements he had previously signed.

In 1962 Navidi visited Africa in order to provide the legal defense for Bahá’ís in Algeria and Morocco who had been arrested and sentenced to death for their religious beliefs, and in 1968 he pioneered to Mauritius at the suggestion of Rúḥíyyih Khánum. After arriving in Africa he was appointed as the African representative of the Bahá’í International Community by the Universal House of Justice in addition to several responsibilities such as serving as their legal adviser in Africa. In his professional career he secured a position representing the Iranian Oil Company in the Indian Ocean in 1968.

While in Africa Navidi was instrumental to the development of Bahá’í Administration on the continent helping achieve legal recognition of Bahá’í Assemblies particularly in the Indian Ocean region. In 1978 he assisted with efforts to have the Bahá’í Faith recognized as a religion by the government of Gabon, and he undertook other missions for the Faith in Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, the Gambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Zaire, and others.

During an assignment in Africa in the late 1980's Navidi became seriously ill but refused to depart until his illness had become extremely severe. In 1987 he passed away while hospitalized in London and the members of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United Kingdom served as his pall-bearers. The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:

GRIEVED PASSING DEVOTED DEDICATED SERVANT CAUSE KNIGHT BAHÁ’U’LLÁH ‘AZÍZ NAVÍDÍ. HIS FEARLESS DEFENSE OPPRESSED BAHÁ’ÍS CRADLE FAITH HIGHLY PRAISED BY BELOVED GUARDIAN. HIS CONTINUOUS SERVICES PIONEERING FIELD CROWNED BY OUTSTANDING SUCCESSES GAIN RECOGNITION FAITH BY MANY AFRICAN COUNTRIES OBTAINED THROUGH HIS UTTER RELIANCE BAHÁ’U’LLÁH AND HIS INDEFATIGABLE RESOURCEFULNESS SACRIFICIAL EFFORTS, ALL SHED LUSTER UPON HIS LOVING MEMORY. REQUESTING NATIONAL SPIRITUAL ASSEMBLY UGANDA HOLD MEMORIAL SERVICE MOTHER TEMPLE AFRICA RECOGNITION UNIQUE SERVICES THAT CONTINENT. ASSURE ARDENT PRAYERS PROGRESS SOUL ABHÁ KINGDOM. ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERING LONDON.