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Farzam Arbab

From Bahaipedia
Farzam Arbab
Keynote speaker, Dr. Farzam Arbab, at the 2004 Portals to Growth conference in Australia
BornOctober 27, 1941
Tehran, Iran
DiedSeptember 25, 2020
San Diego, United States
NSA memberColombia
1970 - 1980
CounsellorAmericas
1980 - 1988
ITC member1988 - 1993
UHJ member1993 - 2013
Spouse(s)Laurie (1941 - 2000) m. 1966
Sona m. 2002
ChildrenPaul
 Works •  Media

Dr. Farzam Arbab (October 27, 1941 - September 25, 2020) was a Persian Bahá’í who pioneered to Colombia where he served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Colombia and contributed significantly to methodologies of teaching and consolidating the growth of the Bahá’í Faith. He later served on the Universal House of Justice, the supreme governing body of the Bahá’í Faith, from 1993 to 2013.

Biography[edit]

Arbab was born into a Bahá’í family in Tehran, Iran, and his father Ruhi Arbab served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran.[1] In his youth he studied at the Alborz School in Tehran and after graduating he moved to the United States to further his education.[2]

In America Arbab studied at Amherst College in Massachusetts and he completed an honors degree in physics in 1964 and he was later awarded an honorary doctorate in science by the College in 1989. He then moved to Berkley, California, where he completed his PhD in elementary particle physics at the University of California in 1968.[3] While living in Berkley he married Laurie Elmlund on June 25, 1966, and served on the Local Spiritual Assembly of Berkeley as Chairman.[4]

Arbab's professional career allowed him to pioneer to Colombia as he was able to secure a position at the Universidad del Valle to strengthen its Physics Department as part of the Rockefeller Foundations University Development Program.[5] In 1970 he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of Colombia. In 1972 he spoke at the Dedication of the Panama Temple.[6]

In 1974 Arbab helped found the Bahá’í inspired non-profit educational institution FUNDAEC and he was appointed the bodies inaugural president serving until 1988.[3] By 1975 he was serving on the National Teaching Committee of Colombia in addition to serving on the National Spiritual Assembly,[7] and he was involved in the development of the Ruhi Institute, founded in 1976,[8] which aimed to consolidate the teaching work in Colombia.[9]

In 1980 the Universal House of Justice appointed Arbab to the newly established Continental Board for the Americas as a Counselor for a five year term,[10] and he was appointed for a second term in 1985.[11] He did not complete his second term as in 1988 he was appointed to the International Teaching Center and he moved to Haifa, Israel, to serve on the body for a five year term.[12] In 1991 he represented the Faith at a meeting with the President of Albania,[13] and in 1992 he represented the Universal House of Justice at the establishment of the National Spiritual Assembly of Central Asia.[14]

In 1993 Arbab was elected to the Universal House of Justice and he was subsequently re-elected in 1998, 2003, and 2008.[15] In 2000 his wife, Laurie passed away.[16] He remarried in 2002 to Sona Farid.[2]

In November 2012 Arbab announced his retirement from the Universal House of Justice at the end of his term the following year.[17] In 2013 he completed his service on the Universal House of Justice and he and Sona moved to San Diego in the United States from Haifa. While their home was in San Diego they frequently traveled particularly to Colombia.[2]

On September 25, 2020, Arbab passed away in San Diego. The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:

"With grief-stricken hearts we mourn the sudden passing of our former colleague, our dearly loved brother Farzam Arbab, news of which has brought us fresh sorrow. His brilliant mind, loving heart, and vibrant spirit were ever turned towards the Revelation of Bahá’u’lláh, seeking to draw from it insights that, through the process of education, could build spiritual and intellectual capacity within entire populations. Born in Iran, he studied in the United States before settling in Colombia as a pioneer. His outstanding gifts fitted him, it seemed, for a distinguished career in the physical sciences—but Providence had determined otherwise. His rigorous scientific training was instead applied to the work of the Faith. He recognized that the verities contained in the Bahá’í writings concerning spiritual and social transformation and the entry into the Faith of the masses of humanity demanded persistent effort to learn how to bring them about; the investment of his whole being in this great enterprise was complete and constant. Throughout his time as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Colombia, as a Continental Counsellor, as a member of the International Teaching Centre, and finally as a member of the Universal House of Justice for two decades, his unshakeable belief in the capacity of all of God’s children, especially of young people, was the hallmark of his service to the Cause. Always insightful, always discerning, always attuned to spiritual reality, this man of exceptional vision lived a life shaped by the harmony between scientific truth and true religion.
To Sona, his beloved wife, and to Paul, his cherished son, as well as to other family members, we extend our heartfelt condolences at this unexpected loss. We supplicate in the Sacred Shrines for the progress of his illumined soul as it commences its journey into the eternal realms of God. May it be lovingly welcomed to its heavenly home. All Bahá’í communities are urged to arrange memorials, as circumstances permit, including in all Houses of Worship, to mark the passing of much-loved, illustrious Farzam Arbab."[18]

Publications[edit]

Articles[edit]

Forewords[edit]

Talks[edit]

References[edit]

  • "Members of the Universal House of Justice". Beliefnet. 2002-09-13. Retrieved 2008-09-11.
  • "Bahá'í World Centre". UK Bahá’í Journal. 2003-05-7. Retrieved 2008-09-11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)

Notes[edit]

  1. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/216183824/farzam-arbab
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 https://www.amherst.edu/amherst-story/magazine/in_memory/1964/farzamarbab
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 https://web.archive.org/web/20090713230136/http://www.beliefnet.com/boards/message_list.asp?boardID=35421&discussionID=182130
  4. ↑ U.S. Supplement, No. 103, p 4
  5. ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20060924080036/http://www.idrc.ca/en/ev-88056-201-1-DO_TOPIC.html
  6. ↑ Baha'i News (1972). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 496, Pg(s) 13. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ Baha'i News (1975). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 533, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1993). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 21 (1992-1993), Pg(s) 237. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ https://bahai-library.com/pdf/a/arbab_learning_about_growth.pdf
  10. ↑ Baha'i News (February 1981). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 599, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ Baha'i News (December 1985). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 657, Pg(s) 3. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ 19 May 1988 message from the Universal House of Justice to all National Spiritual Assemblies
  13. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 206. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ https://bahai.works/Ri%E1%B8%8Dv%C3%A1n_messages/1992
  15. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1994). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 22 (1993-1994), Pg(s) 57. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/138656081/laurie-arbab
  17. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/948/
  18. ↑ https://news.bahai.org/story/1453/
  19. ↑ Collins, W. P. (1990). Bibliography of English-Language Works on the Babi and Bahá'í Faiths 1844-1985. Oxford, UK: George Ronald. ISBN 0-85398-315-1., p 44
  20. ↑ https://www.worldcat.org/title/religion-and-public-discourse-in-an-age-of-transition-reflections-on-bahai-practice-and-thought/oclc/988887881
  21. ↑ Baha'i Canada, Vol. 14, No. 6, p 17

External links[edit]

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