Fu’ad Ashraf

Fu’ad Ashraf
Born	March 21, 1898 Tehran, Iran
Died	January 17, 1997 San Diego, California, USA
NSA member	North East Africa 1961 - 1963
ABM	Africa 1970 - ???? Asia ???? - 1977

Fu’ad Ashraf (March 21, 1898 - January 17, 1997) was a Persian Bahá’í who lived in the United States and pioneered to Africa where he served as a National Spiritual Assembly and Auxiliary Board member.

Biography

Ashraf was born into a Bahá’í family in Tehran, Iran, in 1898. His father, Mirza Fadlullah, was well-known for teaching the Faith and was the son of early Bábí Mirza Ashraf who had two brothers who were martyred at Shaykh Tabarsí.

Ashraf attended the Bahá’í operated Tarbíyat School in Tehran, where he learnt English from Lillian Kappes, graduating in 1914 and he then completed high school at the Darulfunun school. After completing his education in 1918 he became a teacher working at the Tarbíyat school and the Elmiyeh school both in Tehran.

In 1925 Ashraf moved to Marseilles, France, to receive medical care for his eyesight and in 1926 he moved to the United States. He became a U.S. citizen and established himself in Detroit, Michigan, where he began working for the Ford Motor Company in 1927 through arrangements made by the Persian government and Ford representatives. He was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Detroit, was elected as delegate to the National Convention in 1930, and made two pilgrimages to the Holy Land and met Shoghi Effendi while living in America.

Ashraf studied at Detroit College while in America and graduated with a chemistry degree in 1932 and then completed a master's degree in petroleum engineering in 1934. In 1934 he returned to Iran and secured work as a senior engineer for the Anglo-Iran Oil Company at their Abadan refinery in Khuzistan. He was also elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Abadan and served on several local Bahá’í committees. In 1942 he married Maqbouleh Arjomand and they had three children together.

In 1953 Ashraf attended an Intercontinental Conference held to launch the Ten Year Crusade and he decided to pioneer to support the work of the Crusade. He resigned from his job and pioneered to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, in 1956. He was serving on the National Spiritual Assembly of North East Africa as of 1961, and in 1963 he attended the First International Convention in the Holy Land casting a vote in the first election of the Universal House of Justice as a member of the Assembly.

In 1963, at the end of the Crusade, Ashraf returned to Iran settling in Tehran and he became the director of Esso, a motor oil company. He returned to Africa in 1970 pioneering to Nairobi, Kenya, and he was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member serving in the role until returning to Iran. He was appointed as an Auxiliary Board member for Protection after arriving in Iran and prepared a guidebook for Auxiliary Board members and assistants at the request of the Counselors.

In 1977 Ashraf's wife became ill and they moved to San Diego, California, in the United States for her to receive treatment however she passed away in 1982. Ashraf remained in San Diego and began serving as a translator for the U.S. National Spiritual Assemblies Office of Persian-American Affairs. He also began translating Bahá’í literature into Persian including making contributions to the translation of the Synopsis and Codification of the Kitab-i-Aqdas and translating the International Bahá’í News Bulletin.

Ashraf passed away in January, 1997, and the Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:

DEEPLY SADDENED NEWS PASSING DEARLY LOVED HIGHLY DEDICATED PIONEER TEACHER FAITH, FU'AD ASHRAF. HIS DEVOTED SERVICES CRADLE FAITH AND PIONEER FIELD AFRICA FONDLY REMEMBERED. ASSURE LOVING PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS RADIANT SOUL.

CONVEY RELATIVES HEARTFELT SYMPATHY

Publications

• 1932 - Breaking Down the Barriers article published in Star of the West.