Manúchihr Hizárí
Manúchihr Hizárí (1922 - 2010) was a Persian Bahá’í who pioneered to Morocco and was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh.
Background[edit]
Hizárí was born in 1922 to Rachid and Laal Hezari and at some point he married Hovieh and they had a daughter, Roya.[1] He decided to pioneer to Morocco after the opening of the Ten Year Crusade in 1953 accompanied by his nephew Hurmuz Zindih. They flew from Iran to Rome, Italy, and then to Madrid, Spain, and they then drove to Algericas in Spain.[2]
Hizárí and Zindih entered Africa by catching a ferry from Algericas to Tangier, Morocco, arriving on September 30, 1953. They sent a cable to Shoghi Effendi to announce their successful arrival at their post, however while the Spanish authorities consented to their presence the French authorities in the region had them expelled on October 21.[2] After being expelled from Morocco Hizárí and Zindih returned to Madrid and then went to Barcelona where they secured the relevant travel documents from the French Embassy and they were able to return to Tangier on November 20, 1953.[1]
In Tangier Hizárí rented a property and opened a store where he repaired electronic equipment and began hosting prayer meetings,[1] and by Ridvan 1954 the community of Tangier had grown to the point a Local Spiritual Assembly was established and Hizárí's parents, wife, and daughter moved to Tangier to join him.[1]
Hizárí ultimately secured a position working for the company Voice of America in Morocco and he remained in the country until 1982 when he moved to the United States settling in Austin, Texas, to allow his daughter to further her education. He passed away in 2010.[3]
