Farkhundih Khusraví
Farkhundih Khusraví (d. December 13, 1967) was a Persian Bahá’í who served the Bahá’í Faith in Iran and pioneered to Kuwait where she helped develop the Bahá’í community of Arabia.
Biography[edit]
Khusraví was born into a Bahá’í family of Zoroastrian descent in Qazvin. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá mentioned her by name in Tablets revealed when she was a child. In her youth she attended a Bahá’í Girls School in Qazvin then a secondary school in Rasht. While in Rasht she suffered tuberculosis and was bedridden for several years while recovering. She studied the Writings during her illness and received a letter from Shoghi Effendi in 1938 in which he noted he was praying for her recovery.[1]
After recovering Khusraví began travel teaching making trips to Qazvin and Zanjan. In 1941 she pioneered to Iraq however she was deported after a short time due to hostility of the Iraqi government towards the Faith. After returning to Iran she pioneered to Arak to assist with Bahá’í youth activities at the request of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran.[1]
In 1951 Khusraví pioneered to Kuwait and married Khusraw Khusraví. Their wedding was the first Bahá’í marriage to take place under the auspices of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Kuwait. They went on to have two daughters. When the National Spiritual Assembly of the Arabian Peninsula was formed in 1957 Khusraví supported the body by contributing to a curriculum for the Summer School of Arabia and teaching at it. She also made several trips across Arabia to visit Bahá’í communities. In 1958 she attended the Intercontinental Teaching Conference in Frankfurt, Germany, held to commemorate the midpoint of the Ten Year Crusade and in 1963 she attended the First Bahá’í World Congress in London, England.[1]
In 1967 Khusraví was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Arabian Peninsula as secretary. That year her family made a trip to Morocco to visit her parents and siblings who had pioneered to the country.[1] The family traveled through Turkey on their return journey and were in a serious car accident while driving near Iskandarun. Khusraví was killed in the accident while her husband and daughters only received minor injuries.[2] The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after her passing:
"Deeply saddened passing distinguished devoted steadfast pioneer Farkhundih Khusraví . . ."[1]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 353. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1974). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 14 (1963-1968), Pg(s) 354. View as PDF.
