Persian-American Educational Society
Persian-American Educational Society |
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 Attendees of the First Annual Conference of the Persian-American Educational Society, 1911.
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| Established | 1909 | |
| - | Disbanded | 1934 |
The Persian-American Educational Society was a Bahá'í founded organization which aimed to improve education in Persia by funding scholarships for children to attend the Bahá'í run Tarbiyat School in Tehran.
History[edit]
The Society was founded in 1909 by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab as a result of a visit of Sydney Sprague to America that year during which he lectured on the situation of education in Persia, expressing that modern education was needed and that one body which offered it, the Tarbiyat School, was in danger of closing down.[1]
On January 8, 1910 the group held its first meeting, funded by Laura Barney,[2] at which it adopted a constitution and by-laws and elected officers. William Hoar was elected president, Louise Shuman was elected recording secretary, Joseph Hannen was elected corresponding secretary with Juliette Zimmerman being elected assistant corresponding secretary, C. M. Coles was elected librarian and M. A. Schrab was elected treasurer. There were five vice presidents elected who were Howard Reeside, Henry Thompson, Clifford Barney, Mason Remey, Henry Finkelstian, and Louise Shuma.[3] This meeting was open to the public and an appeal for donations was made.[4]
Later in 1910 the group received a Tablet from ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, an excerpt:
"The believers of God must give great importance to this Society and arise to perform its fundamental principles and essential duties with heart and soul. I send my congratulation and felicitation to this blessed Society and ask from the bounty of His Highness the Incomparable, confirmation and assistance, supplicate and entreat at the Threshold of Onenesss and beg from the Kingdom of ABHA preservation and protection, providence and safety. If this Society acts with independence and exerts itself in bringing about relations between the East and the West, it will become the foundation of the oneness of the world of humanity. Firmness is essential, for if small affairs can not be accomplished without firmness and steadfastness, how much more are these qualities needed for the undertaking of great matters! The friends of God must encourage each other to be firm and steadfast, to reason and consult with each other so that day by day this Society will progress." - translated by Mirza Ahmad Sohrab[5]
In another Tablet ‘Abdu’l-Bahá suggested that the Society change its name, encouraging it to also work towards improving the standard of commerce and industry in Persia, in addition to education, and it was the consensus that the group would eventually be renamed the Oriental-Occidental Interdependence Society,[6] however it appears the name change ultimately did not take place, and the Society did not expand its focus beyond funding scholarships. By May 1910 the Society had forwarded funds to Persia and sixty-three boys were enrolled in the Tarbiyat School on scholarships.[7][8]
On June 16, 1911, the Society held its First Annual Conference in Washington Public Library which ran for two days. The cost of the conference was covered by donors, with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá donating the largest sum.[9] Ghodsia Ashraf Khanum, a Bahá'í woman who was the first Persian woman to study in America, attended and was interviewed by several newspapers during the conference.[10]
The sessions of the conference consisted of talks on the situation in Persia and the nations relations with America. Speakers included several Bahá'ís, such as Ali Kuli Khan, Howard MacNutt, Mirza Ahmad Sohrab, Hooper Harris, and Edward Getsinger, but also representatives of other groups, including C. S. Donaldson of the US Bureau of Manufacturers, Professor Hermann Schoenfeld of George Washington University, Henry C. Finkelstein the Legal Attache of the Persian Legation, Professor Arnauld Belmont of the Friend's Select School.[11] At the close of the conference the Society resolved to commit itself to co-operate with other groups to promote friendly relations between East and West, and to promote the peaceful resolution of international disputes, endorsing the efforts of President Taft and Sir Edward Grey towards a treaty between the United States and Great Britain providing for unlimited arbitration.[12]
In 1912 ‘Abdu’l-Bahá was able to visit the second Annual Conference of the Society at Carnegie Library during his tour of America.[13] He gave a talk on Peace and Arbitration which was translated by Dr. Fareed.[14] In 1913 the Society contributed to a famine fund in addition to providing funds for scholarships to Tarbiyat School.[15]
In 1920 Mirza Ahmad Sohrab spoke on the Society at the Bahá'í National Convention, requesting that the community take action to reinvigorate and reorganize the Society.[16] Following the Ascension of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in 1921 Sohráb increasingly clashed with the Faith's administrative bodies, and was eventually declared a Covenant-breaker in 1939, by which time the Tarbiyat School had already been closed as the Persian government shut down all Bahá’í schools in 1934.[17]
References[edit]
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol 1., No. 5, pp 2
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol 1., No. 1, pp 13
- ↑ The Washington Herald, January 9, 1910, p 8
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol 1., No. 5, pp 2
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol 1., No. 5, pp 4
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol 1., No. 5, pp 4-6
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol 1., No. 6, pp 6
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol. 2, No. 1, p 4
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol 2., No. 8, pp 6
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol. 2, No. 7/8, p 3
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol 2., No. 8, pp 3-5
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol 2., No. 8, pp 3-6
- ↑ https://centenary.bahai.us/news/persian-american-educational-meet-begins-tomorrow
- ↑ Parsons, A. S., ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in America: Agnes Parsons' Diary, Kalimat Press, p 11
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol. 4, No. 19, p 322
- ↑ Star of the West, Vol. 11, p 11, p 194
- ↑ Tehran (Tihrán), Iran, article by Moojan Momen, p 6: PDF link, accessed 4.4.2019
