Faríburz Rúzbihíyán
Faríburz Rúzbihíyán | |
|---|---|
 Rúzbihíyán (left) with Mavis Nymon (centre) and Nelson Ethan Thomas. |
Faríburz Rúzbihíyán (c. 1892 - ????) was a Persian-Indian Bahá’í who was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for pioneering to the Gambia.
Biography[edit]
Rúzbihíyán was born in Bombay, India, in the early 1890's and his father, Kaykhusraw, served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of the city. In 1905 American Bahá’í Sydney Sprague visited Bombay and fell seriously ill and Kaykhusraw cared for him ultimately passing himself while Sprague recovered which Sprague interpreted as Kaykhusraw giving his life for him.[1]
In 1907 Rúzbihíyán enrolled in St. Xavier College but fell ill before graduating and he moved to Iran for his health. In 1909 he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. Susan Moody was in the Holy Land preparing to move to Iran and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá instructed Rúzbihíyán to assist her in Iran and he served Moody up until her passing in 1934.[2]
In 1953 Shoghi Effendi announced the opening of the Ten Year Crusade and named several countries as goals to be opened to the Bahá’í Faith. Rúzbihíyán initially volunteered to open Bhutan but was unable to obtain a visa and instead moved to the Gambia in Africa arriving on February 19, 1954.[3] He was severely ill during his first six months in the country and often in hospital where he taught his fellow patients about the Faith with two Christians becoming Bahá’ís with the first being Nelson Ethan Thomas. While in hospital he also spent time studying the relationship between Islam and the Faith to enable him to teach Muslims and during a visit to Birkama in 1955 he was invited to speak at a Mosque. He was highly successful in teaching and by 1955 four Local Spiritual Assemblies and one Bahá’í Group were formed in the country with several hundred people becoming Bahá’ís through his efforts.[2]
In April 1956 Rúzbihíyán left the Gambia due to ill health,[4] however in October 1957 he returned to the country at the request of Shoghi Effendi and purchased a house in Serekunda which became a Bahá’í Center. He was severely ill and hospitalized after returning and departed the Gambia again after a short time.[5][6]
References[edit]
- ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 44-45
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Earl Redman, The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 45
- ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/346/
- ↑ Earl Redman, The Knights of Bahá’u’lláh, George Ronald: Oxford, 2017, p 46
- ↑ Lee, A.A., The Baha'i Faith in Africa: Establishing a New Religious Movement, 1952-1962, 2011 Brill: Boston, p 97
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (2006). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 33 (2004-2005), Pg(s) 53. View as PDF.
