Mathew Kaszab

Mathew Kaszab
Born	Mate Istvan Kaszab September 28, 1905 Budapest, Hungary
Died	January 13, 1943 Brownsville, Texas, USA
Parent(s)	Miklós Kaszab and Ilona Telkes
Works •  Media

Mate Istvan (Mathew) Kaszab (September 28, 1905 - January 13, 1943) was a Hungarian-American Bahá'í pioneer. He is notable for being the first Bahá'í to settle in two different countries: Panama and Nicaragua. He was later imprisoned by Nicaraguan authorities and died just two weeks after returning to the United States.

Biography

Early Years

Mathew Kaszab was the eldest child born to Miklós (later Nicholas) Kaszab and Ilona Telkes de Kelenföld in Budapest, Hungary. He had one brother, Tibor Kaszab (b. 1907), and one half-sister, Judith Silvia Lara Telkes (1922-2011). His father was a prominent Hungarian architect, artist, and inventor. On his mother's side, he was a grandson of the notable Hungarian author Simon Telkes. Other notable relatives include artist and photographer Nóra Dumas (maternal aunt) and biophysicist Dr. Mária Telkes (first cousin).

In 1912, Mathew and his brother accompanied their mother for an extended stay on her family's banana plantation in Bluefields, Nicaragua. He was later sent to live with his aunt and uncle in America. Due to the upheaval of World War I, Mathew would not see his father again until 1921. He attended Boys' High School in New Orleans, Louisiana and The Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee; then joined his father in New York City.

He became a U.S. citizen in 1937.

Becoming a Bahá’í

He first encountered the Bahá’í Faith through a nurse named Louise Biggar Talbott, whom he met in 1932 while studying at New York University. He formally declared his faith about two years later. His good friend, prominent American Bahá'í Loulie Mathews wrote:

"From that moment, Mathew's real life began. The heroic age of the Bab and the martyrs absorbed his mind and The Dawn-Breakers became his constant companion. He never spoke of his childhood or youth or of anything prior to his contact with the Revelation. He was utterly without personal ambition. He worked at anything that would allow him time to study the Bahá’í writing. At one time, he motored to Washington with a friend, and Mrs. Preston (then Miss Vail), who offered him a room in her house. He went to work in a restaurant, happy and content to be under the roof of a Baha'i..."

Mathew was a passionate advocate for the ethical treatment of animals. On September 29, 1934, he wrote a letter to the editor of The Long Island Press in which he highlighted the activities of the New York City ASPCA and quoted the Writings of ‘Abdu'l‑Bahá, calling Him "the greatest Persian of all times".

In 1938, he wrote an article for World Order magazine on the concepts of pain, suffering, and sacrifice in the Baha'i Writings. He believed that experiencing these conditions is key to an individual's progress.

Pioneering in Panama

Mathew was inspired to pioneer after reading the following passage in Shoghi Effendi's Advent of Divine Justice, published at the end of 1938:

"Let some, at this very moment, gird up the loins of endeavor, flee their native towns, cities and states, forsake their country, and putting their whole trust in God, as the best provision for their journey, set their faces and direct their steps towards distant climes, those virgin fields, those unsurrendered cities, and bend their energies to capture the citadels of men's hearts - hearts, which, as Bahá’u’lláh has written, 'the hosts of Revelation and of utterance can subdue.'"

The Guardian also called upon the American Bahá'ís to "give special attention" to the Republic of Panama, "both in view of its relative proximity to the heart and center of the Faith in North America, and of its geographical position as the link between two continents". On March 19, 1939, Mathew wrote to the Inter-America Committee informing them of his intention to move to Panama. He arrived there about a month later, on April 22, 1939.

Mathew spent about six months in Panama, conducting radio lectures on the Bahá’í Faith and writing letters to all of the major newspapers. On May 19, 1939, he wrote to the National Spiritual Assembly of the United States and Canada to inform them that he had "established friendly relations with the press" and to ask for monetary support for some of his activities as well as Bahá’í literature in both English and Spanish. Other letters to both Loulie Mathews and Virgie Vale Preston expressed his belief that there would be a "flourishing Bahá’í community" by the time that Louise Caswell and Cora Oliver, two Bahá'ís chosen by the Inter-America Committee to pioneer to Panama, arrived later in the year. The tone of his letters soon turned to frustration at the lack of interest from the wider Panamanian community.

In August 1939, Joseph Wantuck became the first person living in Panama to embrace the Bahá'í Faith. Mathew wrote: "Today Mr. Joseph Wantuk has declared himself as an inhabitant of the New World Order and I have accepted him as my coworker in the Divine Vineyards..."

Pioneering in Nicaragua

Mathew Kaszab (2nd from right, top row) with Bahá’í study group in Managua, Nicaragua.

On July 22, 1939, Mathew received a letter from Loulie Mathews relaying that the National Spiritual Assembly suggested he pioneer to Nicaragua instead. Mathew expressed initial reservations about leaving Panama, but ultimately welcomed the opportunity to check up on his grandmother's banana plantation in Bluefields as well as establish Bahá’í activities in Managua.

Loulie Mathews later wrote:

"I was, at the this time, Chairman of the Inter-America Committee, and was obliged to write to Mathew that the post of Panama had been already assigned to two pioneers, Louise Caswell and Cora Oliver, who would arrive in about six months' time. I sensed his immense disappointment at the news contained in the letter, but like the good soldier of Bahá’u’lláh that he was, he accepted our suggestion that he go to Nicaragua. We knew he had some family connections there and we hoped this would make it easier for him."

Mathew also received a personal note from Shoghi Effendi, which gave him great joy:

"Dear and precious co-worker: I have just heard of your transfer to Nicaragua and hasten to assure you of my special and loving prayers wherever you may labor and whatever circumstances under which you serve. You should feel proud, grateful and happy. The rising generation will be stimulated and inspired by the example you and your fellow-workers are setting. May the Beloved achieve your heart's dearest wish.

Perservere and rest assured. Your true and grateful brother,

Shoghi."

The National Spiritual Assembly appropriated funds for Mathew to travel to Nicaragua on a cabin steam ship. However, he advised them that he could travel on the deck of a cattle ship for around $25. He left Panama City on November 1 and arrived in the Nicaraguan port town of Corinto four days later, on November 5, 1939.

Over the next six weeks, Mathew obtained official permission to enter Nicaragua, then made his way to Bluefields. There, he discovered that his grandmother's banana plantation had been sold off many years ago and there were no jobs in the area. Eventually, he obtained employment maintaining vehicles and equipment at the La Luz Gold Mine in the town of Siuna. His letters to the Inter-America Committee described hard work, a shortage of food and money, illness, and loneliness.

"If you send any additional pioneers to Nicaragua they should have special training. Make the applicants sleep on a board without mattress and feed them rice and beans three times a day also coffee and shoeleather steak. Give them the worst coffee they ever tasted and pick out the toughest meat in the butcher shop. They may not be able to cut it with a knife but they can use their fingers and tear it apart with their teeth. The natives seem to relish the food even more if it is sprinkled with ants and cockroaches. If they go through with the sleepless nights and do not lose their appetites, and after being knocked dizzy by doses of quinine, if after these tests they are still enthusiastic about pioneering here they probably will make good pioneers if they possess all the other requirements of a Bahá’í pioneer."

At one point, he became so distressed by the ignorance of the other miners' children that he began teaching school during the day after working in the mines at night.

In October 1940, he relocated to the capital city of Managua. The following December, he let the Inter-America Committee know that he had visited Gayle Woolson and Amalia Ford in Costa Rica and spoke at a meeting of the Theosophical Society there, as well as at a Masonic Temple in Managua. All of this was later reported in Bahá’í News during 1941.

At the beginning of 1941, the Inter-America Committee asked Mrs. Frances Benedict Stewart to assist Mathew with his activities in Managua. She arrived in March and stayed until the end of April. Her letters to the Inter-America Committee reported that Mathew struggled to speak the language and make meaningful connections with local people. Nevertheless, by June, two Nicaraguans had embraced the Bahá’í Faith: Blanca Victoria Mejia Arauz and Henry Wheelock. Later in the year, Louise Caswell and John Eichenauer visited Mathew and assisted him with some of his teaching efforts.

Arrest and Imprisonment

Mathew was first detained at his workplace on March 5, 1942, after a suspicious fire which destroyed part of the factory several days earlier. In his own words:

"..two officials of the Guardia Nacional and one who was evidently an American asked me all kinds of questions and wanted to know why I was in Nicaragua so I told them that I was a pioneer for the Bahá’í Faith. They wanted all my papers so we went to my room and they took all my Bahá’í books, letters, passport etc. and wanted to find out about the pioneers who had written me and said that John Eichenauer’s name was German. Also they got hold of the bulletin with the questionnaire concerning climate, health, business and general conditions in the country which made them very suspicious! I told them that was not extraordinary as the committee wants to send more pioneers into the Latin American countries. They asked me if I heard any rumors. I answered that I had not and that if I would have I would have reported it as I have a special interest in the highways; when the Inter-America Highway will be completed more Bahá’ís will be coming down for visits and Bahá’í activities will be increased and when the highway to the Atlantic coast will be completed maybe my plantation will augment in value. I thought that after the interrogation they would let me go but they unceremoniously dumped me into a cell where some black gunpowder was stored and there was only a bench to sleep on."

He was released just over three weeks later, on March 27.

During April, he visited Blanca Mejia and her family in the city of Jinotega, distributing pamphlets and teaching some of the interested inhabitants.

In May, he wrote to Nellie French that he felt he was still in danger as his case was still pending and the authorities had not yet released his passport.

Between June and October, Mathew negotiated with National Spiritual Assembly to help secure his passage back to America. During this time, he continued to distribute copies of Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era in both English and Spanish, and nurtured the growing core group of Bahá’ís in Managua. On August 2, 1942, he reported that they were nearly ready to form a Local Spiritual Assembly.

His last communication to the National Spiritual Assembly was dated September 26, 1942. He told them that his passport was finally secured and acknowledged receipt of travel tickets and funds. Three days later, he was arrested at the airport just before boarding his flight.

Mathew was incarcerated for the next three months, during which few people knew his whereabouts. Blanca Mejia wrote:

"...Mr. Kaszab was to travel to the U.S. on September 28. He was very well but he did not wish us to see him off because of certain conditions... But 18 days later... we learned that he was still here and that he was being held in prison in solitary confinement. You can imagine how great was our sorrow... we went to the American Minister but nothing was done for [Mathew]. We spoke to several influential persons and only one dared to talk with the President and he found him very ill disposed, so everything continued. When we learned that he was seriously ill, and we went to the Military Hospital, the impact was terrible, to see him almost dead and so thin as if he were a Christ. There... they gave him some remedies which helped him but before he was completely healthy, they took him again to the prison.

We took to him what we could, money and fruit, but since he was held in solitary confinement we could not see him...

So that was all... until the 28th of December, almost in a state of agony, they shipped him by plane to the United States, and this through the efforts of a friend, and all of this just now became known. They told us he had been moved to another jail and this was a lie. They say that he left me a note saying goodbye to all of us but they did not give it to me...

Mr. Kaszab suffered greatly in prison! It is a frightening place and the food is very bad. He was an innocent martyr and his only crime, they say, was certain misinformation that he gave concerning Nicaragua and which was published in The Bahá’í World..."

Death

On December 28, 1942, the Nicaraguan government released Mathew on the condition that he leave the country immediately. He flew to Mexico City, then travelled to Brownsville, Texas, where he became too ill to go further.

He first visited Mercy Hospital and told them he was suffering from malaria. However, he did not stay long enough for treatment. Instead, he checked himself into a room at the local Plaza Hotel and remained there until January 12. On that date, the hotel manager broke down his door and found him close to death. Mathew passed away the following day, on January 13, 1943.

He was buried in the Old City Cemetery, Brownsville, Texas. His gravestone was erected "through the initiative and generous donation of Mrs. Loulie Mathews".

Shoghi Effendi wrote:"Assure relatives of Mathew Kaszab of my heartfelt condolences and profound sympathy for the loss of this heroic pioneer. His services are unforgettable and abundantly rewarded, Loving prayers."

Legacy

Grave of Mathew Kaszab, Old City Cemetery, Brownsville, Texas

After Mathew's departure, pioneer teachers from Costa Rica volunteered to replace him. However, the Inter-America Committee decided not to send another pioneer to Nicaragua for several years.

In 1944, Blanca Mejia attended the historic Centenary Bahá’í Convention in Wilmette, Illinois and reported that there were now thirty-two Bahá’ís living in Nicaragua. That same year, Dr. Malcom King arrived in Managua and worked to gain official government recognition of the Bahá’í Faith.

In October 1945, Elizabeth Cheney relocated to Nicaragua from Paraguay and reported that there were eleven Bahá’ís living in that city. Managua elected its first Local Spiritual Assembly during Ridvan the following year (April 1946)

Twelve years after Mathew's arrival in Panama, the first National Spiritual Assembly of Central America was elected in Panama City in April 1951. Ten years after that, both Panama and Nicaragua elected their first National Assemblies.

On November 12, 1972, the Mathew Kaszab Bahá’í Institute was established by the community of Anchorage, Alaska.

On September 28, 2021, the Local Spiritual Assembly of Brownsville, Texas erected a new marble slab on his resting place. It contains a prayer by The Báb written in English and Spanish:

"O MY God! There is no one but Thee to allay the anguish of my soul, and Thou art my highest aspiration, O my God. My heart is wedded to none save Thee and such as Thou dost love. I solemnly declare that my life and death are both for Thee. Verily Thou art incomparable and hast no partner. Baha'i Faith."
"¡Oh mi Dios! No hay quien alivie la pena de mi alma sino Tú, y Tú eres mi más elevada aspiración, oh mi Dios. Mi corazón está unido solo a Ti y a aquellos a quienes Tú amas. Declaro solemnemente que mi vida y mi muerte están dedicadas a Ti. En verdad, Tú eres incomparable y no tienes igual. La Fe Bahá’í."

References

• "In Memoriam; Mathew Kaszab: Pioneer Bahá'í Teacher in Nicaragua". Bahá'í World. Vol. 9. Bahá'í Publishing Committee. 1945. pp. 614–16.
• Effendi, Shoghi (1938). The Advent of Divine Justice. Wilmette, Illinois, USA: Bahá’í Publishing Trust. ISBN 0-87743-195-7.
• Anne King Sadeghpour (2019). "The Gloriously Tragic Life of Mathew Kaszab: Letters from a Pioneer 1939-1942". bahai-library.com. Retrieved 2020-01-08.

External Links

• Mathew Kaszab on WikiTree - family tree