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Firuz Kazemzadeh

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Firuz Kazemzadeh
BornOctober 27, 1924
Moscow, USSR
DiedMay 17, 2017
California, USA
NSA memberUSA
1963 - 1966
1968 - 2000
Spouse(s)Dr. Wilma Ellis Kazemzadeh
Parent(s)Father: Kazem Kazemzadeh
Mother: Tatiana Yevseyeva
 Works •  Media

Dr. Firuz Kazemzadeh (October 27, 1924 - May 17, 2017) was a long serving member of the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, serving as both Chairman and Secretary of the body. In his career he was a historian and worked at Yale University for many years. He is also the author and co-author of a number of books on the history of Russia and Iran, as well as numerous articles and reviews for scholarly publications.

Biography[edit]

Firuz was born in Moscow in 1924 to a Russian mother and Persian father who served in the embassy of Iran. He completed his primary and secondary education in Moscow, and his family moved to Tehran, Iran, when he was sixteen. In 1941 he went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land and met Shoghi Effendi.[1] In 1944 he traveled to Bombay and then China where he found passage to California and enrolled in Stanford University. He graduated with distinction (Phi Beta Kappa) in 1946 and obtaining an MA in 1947. In 1950 he received a PhD in Russian history from Harvard University.

Firuz at the Cathedral of the Pines with Ruth Silva (vocalist) and Juliette Mead (chair), 1959

He was also active in Bahá'í activities during his studies. On April 6 1948 he gave a thirty minute talk to students of Tufts Theological College who had requested a Bahá'í discussion, and on April 25 1948 he spoke about the Faith to the Young People's Fellowship of the Washington St. Baptist Church.[2] On August 28, 1948, he married a fellow immigrant from Tehran, Rakhshandeh Behbehani, in San Francisco.[3] Their marriage was among the earliest Bahá'í marriages in the state of California.[4] In 1949 he spoke at a series of four Bahá'í meetings on Comparative Religion, at which Bahá'ís gave talks on different religions, delivering talks on Islam and the Bahá'í Faith.[5] He also represented the Faith at a class on Comparative Religion at San Francisco State College the same year.[6]

In January 1950 Kazemzadeh assisted Arthur L. Dahl as a guest at a seminar he gave on the Bahá'í perspective to moral responsibility to religious and educational leaders in the San Francisco Bay area.[7] In October 1952 he served as member of a Bahá'í Delegation to the Fifth Conference of International Non-Governmental Organizations on United Nations Information which was held in Manila.[8] He was appointed a member of the Bahá'í World Editorial Committee in 1953.[9] In November 1953 he appeared on a radio program hosted by Barry Gray, a news columnist and reporter, to speak about the Bahá'í point of view. His appearance was arranged by the New York City Public Relations Committee.[10]

Kazemzadeh taught at Harvard from 1954 to 1956, then moved to Yale where he was Professor of History. During his career at Yale he served as chair of the Department of History. He continued to serve the Faith while working at Yale, and as of 1958 he was serving on the Green Acre Institute Program Committee for the Faith.[11] In September 1958 he visited Switzerland to attend the fifth Italo-Swiss Summer School in Bex-les-Bains, Switzerland, at which he taught a course on the Promised Day Has Come.[12] In July, 1959, he gave a talk on the Oneness of Mankind at the Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, New Hampshire, a building which hosts services from all religions.[13] In September 1959 he participated in a Regional Teaching Campaign in Hartford, Connecticut, which consisted of a series of lectures on five living Faiths, with representatives of the Buddhist, Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and Bahá'í communities giving talks. Firuz was the representative for the Faith. Two study classes were formed as a result of the lectures.[14] In 1960 Kazemzadeh wrote a preface for a new edition of The Promised Day Is Come by Shoghi Effendi.[15]

Firuz giving talk in U.S. National Office, 1964.

In 1962 he gave a Bahá'í talk in Rochester, New York, which was the most successful public meeting held by the Rochester Bahá'í community at the time and was reported in local papers.[16] Later in 1962 he gave a talk to over 200 at a commemoration of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's visit to Rankin Chapel in Howard University in Washington D.C.[17] In 1963 he was first elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States, and elected as Chairman of the body.[18] In April 1964 he spoke on the Faith at the Theodor Herzl Institute in New York City as part of a series of lectures on Religion in Israel.[19] In June 1964 he served on the committee for a week long training session at the Davison Bahá'í School in Michigan, which aimed to help Bahá'í youth to engage in teaching the Faith, and helping the underprivileged.[20] In 1966 he spoke at a Human Rights Day program at the Bahá'í House of Worship in Wilmette.[21] When the Bahá'í magazine World Order resumed publication after a seventeen year hiatus in 1966 Kazemzadeh was appointed to the Editorial Board.[22]

Firuz retired from the National Spiritual Assembly after being re-elected in 1966 as he was not going to be in the US for much of the year in order to conduct research on Russian history in Helsinki,[23] which would prevent him from fulfilling his duties. Dwight Allen was elected to replace him.[24] In July 1966 Kazemzadeh taught a class on Bahá'í history at a nine day Summer School in Tampere, Finland.[25] He was also interviewed by a Finnish newspaper in August,[26] and in September he taught at the Italian Summer School.[27] In October 1966 he visited Switzerland.[28] By early 1967 he was back in the US, and he spoke at a Bahá'í meeting in Nashua, New Hampshire, which was attended by the president of a local Roman Catholic College, a local Rabbi, a Senator and others.[29]

He was re-elected to the US National Spiritual Assembly in 1968.[30] In June 1968 he opened a National Bahá'í Youth Conference in Wilmette, Illinois, with a speech on the disintegration of social order in the world, and the role the youth must play in Bahá'í teaching work.[31] He also spoke at sessions at a Regional Conference on Education and Human Rights in Atlanta, Georgia, in June.[32] In 1969 he taught at the Southern California Summer School at Camp Osceola in the San Bernardino mountains.[33] On October 17, 1970, he presented the Louis Gregory Award for Service to Humanity to the Children's Television Workshop at a luncheon at the Statler-Hilton Hotel in New York City.[34] In 1972 he presented the award to Roy Wilkins, the Executive Secretary of the NAACP and opened the Louis G. Gregory Bahá'í Institute.[35][36] In October 1972 he spoke at a Counsellors Deepening Conference at Myrtle Beach in Southern California on the significance of the Institutions.[37] In 1973 he began teaching an accredited course on the Bahá'í Faith at the University of Yale.[38]

Firuz in New York, 1975.

In 1975 Kazemzadeh represented the National Spiritual Assembly at the launch of a teaching program in Washington D.C.[39] In April 1975 he accepted a framed resolution from Wilmette village president Warren Burmeister at a commemoration of the 50th Anniversary of the US National Spiritual Assembly.[40] In 1975 he was appointed to a committee which was to plan Bahá'í participation in the 1976 American Revolution Bicentennial by the National Spiritual Assembly. He said of the task ""Many groups are speaking of the Bicentennial in terms of the history of this country, but for Bahá'ís, the future holds great promise and our program should communicate this to the nation."[41] In October 1975 he gave a talk commemorating ‘Abdu’l-Bahá's visit to Lake Mohonk, New Paltz, New York.[42]

Firuz became head of Davenport College, one of Yale's residential colleges, in 1976 and served in the position until 1981. In August 1976 he attended an International Teaching Conference in Paris at which he gave a talk, and the Austrian Summer School in Kranebitten.[43][44] In December 1976 he gave a talk in Persian at a conference in Wilmette held to discuss the role of the Persian Bahá'ís in the Five Year Plan.[45] In 1981 an article written by Kazemzadeh on the persecution of the Bahá'í community in Iran was published in the New York Times.[46]

On May 25, 1982, Firuz participated in giving testimony on the religious persecution of the Bahá'í community in Iran to the US House Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations, speaking on the history of the Faith in Iran and the beginnings of persecution.[47] This led to the US House of Representatives approving a resolution condemning the persecution on September 30, 1982. Firuz said the following regarding the resolution:

"International protest may not resolve the problem, but it certainly creates an atmosphere in which it is more difficult for the Khomeini regime to justify its systematic persecution of the Bahá'ís."[48]

In October 1982 Firuz spoke at the 10th Anniversay of the Louis G. Gregory Institute in South Carolina.[49] On May 22, 1983, President Ronald Reagan issued a statement condemning the repression of the Iranian Bahá'í community and Firuz responded on behalf of the Natonal Spiritual Assembly, an excerpt:

"The Bahá'ís of the United States welcome President Reagan's statement deploring the persecution of their co-coreligionists in Iran

...

We are especially gratified by the President's appeal to other world leaders to raise their voices in support of the Bahá'ís. The world must continue to focus its attention on the plight of the Bahá'ís in Iran and not acquiesce in the brutalities inflicted upon the innocent."[50]

Firuz Kazemzadeh testifying to the US House Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations, 1982

In June 1983 Firuz spoke on the persecution of Iran's Bahá'í community before a congressional human rights rights caucus in Washington, D.C., detailing further persecution, including executions, that had taken place since the resolution of the House of Representatives and statement of the President.[51] In November 1983 Firuz attended the eighth annual Confrence for the Association for Bahá'í Studies in Chicago, Illinois, at which he gave the annual Hasan Balyuzi Lecture, speaking on the topic of the Soviet official interpretation of Bábí-Bahá'í history.[52] On November 15 Firuz appeared with Senator John Heinz of Pennsylvania and Representatives Tom Lantos of California and John Porter of Iowa at a press conference at the Capitol building in Washington to condemn an edict issued by Iran's Revolutionary Prosecutor General declaring membership of Bahá'í institutions a criminal act. Later that day a second concurrent resolution was introduced to the US Senate and House of Representatives condemning Iran's treatment of the Bahá'í community.[53]

In February 1984 Firuz was interviewed by the national newspaper USA Today on the persecution in Iran.[54] In May 1984 he participated in another hearing of the US House Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations on the Faith in Iran, this time not by personally testifying, but by providing answers to questions from subcommittee members as a historian.[55] In June 1984 he testified on the use of torture against the Bahá'ís of Iran before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in Washington.[56] In December 1984 Firuz was a special guest at a Human Rights Day observance at which President Ronald Reagan spoke.[57] He spoke at the National Press Club in Washington on persecution in Iran the day after the observance.[58]

In March 1985 Kazemzadeh spoke at the opening ceremony of WLGI Radio, the first Bahá'í owned and operated radio station in North America.[59] In April 1985 Firuz was a member of a nine-member Bahá'í delegation to an International Conference on Religious Liberty co-sponsored by the US State Department. He was also appointed to a panel discussing religious freedom during the Conference.[60] In April 1987 Firuz and Robert C. Henderson represented the National Spiritual Assembly at a breakfast briefing sponsored by the US House of Representatives Human Rights Caucus.[61]

In April 1988 Firuz attended the Sixth International Convention in Haifa, and acted as Head Chief Teller for the election of the Universal House of Justice.[62] In June 1988 he again appeared before the Subcommittee on Human Rights and International Organizations to testify on the persecution of Iran's Bahá'í's.[63] In January 1990 Firuz spoke at a luncheon which took place after the National Spiritual Assembly had met with representatives of the University of Maryland to establish a Bahá'í Chair for World Peace at the University.[64] In 1992 he retired from his position at Yale in Professor Emeritus, and in 2000 he retired from the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States.

Between May 15, 1998 and May 14, 2003, Kazemzadeh served as a Commissioner on the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, first appointed to this position in 1998 by President Bill Clinton,[65] and in 2001, reappointed by US Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle.[66] In 2001 he visited Egypt while serving in the position, and was able to meet some Bahá'ís imprisoned in Cairo.[67]

Firuz passed away in 2017 at the age of 92. Thomas J. Reese, Chair of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom said the following after his passing:

"“It was leaders such as Dr. Kazemzadeh who helped forge USCIRF into a strong and vibrant voice for religious freedom throughout the world. As we look to IRFA’s 20th anniversary in 2018, we know the debt of gratitude we owe individuals such as Dr. Kazemzadeh. He spoke loudly and continuously about the importance of the freedom of religion or belief and ensured that it was always on the U.S. foreign policy agenda. We have dedicated ourselves to the same cause and will carry on in his spirit and memory.”[68]

Publications[edit]

  • 1947 - The Struggle for Russian Azerbaijan, 1918-1920[69]
  • 1951 - The Struggle for Transcaucasia, 1917-1921[70]
  • 1956 - The Origin and Early Development of the Persian Cossack Brigade[71]
  • 1968 - Russia and Britain in Persia, 1864-1914: A Study in Imperialism[72]
  • 1974 - Russian Penetration of the Caucasus, chapter published in Russian Imperialism from Ivan the Great to the Revolution,
  • 1977 - The Bahá’í Faith: A Summary Reprinted from the Encyclopedia Britannica
  • 1979 - The Caucasus Region and Relations with the Central Government[73]
  • 1991 - Iranian Relations with Russia and the Soviet Union, chapter published in Cambridge History of Iran, Vol. 7: From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic
  • 1994 - Central Asia's Foreign Relation: A Historical Survey, chapter published in The Legacy of History in Russia and the New States of Eurasia[74]
  • 2009 - ‘Abdu’l-Bahá ‘Abbás (1844–1921), article published online on the Bahá’í Encyclopedia Project[75]

Talks[edit]

References[edit]

Notes[edit]

Bahai.media has a related page: Category:Firuz Kazemzadeh
  1. ↑ https://www.bahai.us/community/news/2017/july-august-2017/a-tribute-to-firuz-kazemzadeh/
  2. ↑ Baha'i News (1948). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 209, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
  3. ↑ Baha'i News (1949). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 215, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  4. ↑ Baha'i News (October 1948). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. No 212, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  5. ↑ Baha'i News (1949). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 223, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  6. ↑ Baha'i News (1949). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 225, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  7. ↑ Baha'i News (1950). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 230, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
  8. ↑ Baha'i News (1953). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 264, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  9. ↑ Bahá'í World, No. 264, p 12
  10. ↑ Baha'i News (1953). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 274, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  11. ↑ Baha'i News (1958). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 323, Pg(s) 20. View as PDF.
  12. ↑ Bahá'í World, No. 335, p 14
  13. ↑ Baha'i News (1959). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 343, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  14. ↑ Baha'i News (1960). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 348, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  15. ↑ Baha'i News (1961). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 368, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  16. ↑ Baha'i News (1962). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 373, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  17. ↑ Baha'i News (1962). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 378, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  18. ↑ Baha'i News (1963). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 388, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  19. ↑ Baha'i News (1964). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 399, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  20. ↑ Baha'i News (1964). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 401, Pg(s) 14. View as PDF.
  21. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 419, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  22. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 420, Pg(s) 16. View as PDF.
  23. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 429, Pg(s) 24. View as PDF.
  24. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 424, Pg(s) 18. View as PDF.
  25. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 429, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  26. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 429, Pg(s) 24. View as PDF.
  27. ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 429, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  28. ↑ Baha'i News (1967). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 430, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  29. ↑ Baha'i News (1967). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 431, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  30. ↑ Baha'i News (1968). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 448, Pg(s) 11. View as PDF.
  31. ↑ Baha'i News (1968). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 450, Pg(s) 12. View as PDF.
  32. ↑ Baha'i News (1968). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 450, Pg(s) 21. View as PDF.
  33. ↑ Baha'i News (1969). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 465, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
  34. ↑ Baha'i News (1970). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 477, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
  35. ↑ Baha'i News (1972). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 497, Pg(s) 21. View as PDF.
  36. ↑ Baha'i News (1972). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 501, Pg(s) 9. View as PDF.
  37. ↑ Baha'i News (1972). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 501, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  38. ↑ Baha'i News (1973). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 504, Pg(s) 18. View as PDF.
  39. ↑ Baha'i News (1975). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 529, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
  40. ↑ Baha'i News (1975). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 530, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  41. ↑ Baha'i News (1975). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 531, Pg(s) 18-19. View as PDF.
  42. ↑ Baha'i News (1975). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 537, Pg(s) 21. View as PDF.
  43. ↑ Baha'i News (1976). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 546, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  44. ↑ Baha'i News (1976). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 547, Pg(s) 15. View as PDF.
  45. ↑ Baha'i News (1977). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 550, Pg(s) 13. View as PDF.
  46. ↑ Baha'i News (1983). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 628, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  47. ↑ Baha'i News (1982). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 617, Pg(s) 1. View as PDF.
  48. ↑ Baha'i News (1982). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 621, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  49. ↑ Baha'i News (1983). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 622, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  50. ↑ Baha'i News (1983). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 628, Pg(s) 8-9. View as PDF.
  51. ↑ Baha'i News (1983). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 630, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  52. ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 634, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
  53. ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 635, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  54. ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 638, Pg(s) 1. View as PDF.
  55. ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 640, Pg(s) 1. View as PDF.
  56. ↑ Baha'i News (1984). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 642, Pg(s) 4. View as PDF.
  57. ↑ Baha'i News (1985). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 647, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
  58. ↑ Baha'i News (1985). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 647, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
  59. ↑ Baha'i News (1985). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 651, Pg(s) 1. View as PDF.
  60. ↑ Baha'i News (1985). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 652, Pg(s) 2. View as PDF.
  61. ↑ Baha'i News (1987). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 676, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  62. ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 618. View as PDF.
  63. ↑ Baha'i News (1988). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 689, Pg(s) 10. View as PDF.
  64. ↑ Baha'i News (1990). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 707, Pg(s) 8. View as PDF.
  65. ↑ University of Haifa, Department of Middle Eastern History (2001-06-11). "Firuz Kazemzadeh" (PDF). Lectures in Baha'i Studies. Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  66. ↑ United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (2001-06-11). "Kazemzadeh, Stith Named to Commission". Retrieved 2008-02-05.
  67. ↑ https://www.cfr.org/blog/firuz-kazemzadeh-life-well-lived
  68. ↑ https://www.uscirf.gov/news-room/press-releases/firuz-kazemzadeh-one-the-first-uscirf-commissioners-dies
  69. ↑ The Struggle for Russian Azerbaijan, 1918-1920 on Google Books
  70. ↑ https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/001234491
  71. ↑ https://www.jstor.org/stable/3001099?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents
  72. ↑ https://www.amazon.com/Russia-Britain-Persia-1864-1914-Imperialism/dp/B001EIWHVW
  73. ↑ https://www.wilsoncenter.org/publication/the-caucasus-region-and-relations-the-central-government-1979
  74. ↑ http://www.questia.com/read/14044289/the-legacy-of-history-in-russia-and-the-new-states
  75. ↑ http://www.bahai-encyclopedia-project.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81:abdul-baha-abbas-1844-1921&catid=36:administrationinstitutions#persona
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