Sabri Elias

Sabrí Elias
Born	c. 1906
Died	October 22, 1995
Spouse(s)	Fahima Elias
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Sabrí Ilyás Elias ‘Abdu’l-Masíh Badawí (c. 1906 - October 22, 1995) was an Egyptian Bahá'í who served the Faith across Africa establishing the religion in Ethiopia and pioneering to French Somaliland, now Djibouti, for which he was named a Knight of Bahá’u’lláh. He also wrote some books on the Faith and its history in Egypt.

Biography

Sabrí was introduced to the Faith while living in Alexandria when he was fourteen by his brother Subhí and uncle Ibrahim ‘Abdu’l-Masíh and became an active member of his local community. He also visited other Egyptian Bahá'í communities to help consolidate teaching work. He later met Shoghi Effendi, the Guardian of the Bahá'í Faith.

In 1933 he pioneered from Alexandria to Addis-Ababa in Abyssinia, now Ethiopia, via Cairo and began teaching the Faith. He also had Bahá'í literature translated into Amharic, a local language, and during 1934 Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era was translated with Elias planning to have the translation published. By late 1934 other Bahá'í families from Alexandria and Isma'ilyyih had made arrangements to join Elias in Abyssinia to assist his teaching work. In 1934 the Local Spiritual Assembly of Addis Ababa was established and Elias was elected as Secretary. The following year Italy occupied Abyssinia and the Assembly was banned from meeting and Elias returned to Alexandria in Egypt and went on pilgrimage. In 1941 while in Alexandria Sabrí married a Bahá'í named Fahima and they had two children, Husayn and Safa.

The Elias's, 1977.

In 1944 the Elias family went on pilgrimage to the Holy Land at the request of the Guardian who advised them to pioneer to Ethiopia, predicting that they would be successful in teaching the Faith. In May 1944 the family pioneered to Addis-Ababa. After arriving they found that the community had dispersed with only one Bahá'í remaining in Addis-Ababa, and he expressed that the conditions were not favorable for the formation of an Assembly. However in 1947 a Local Spiritual Assembly was established, and the Bahá'í community of Addis-Ababa became a strong community.

Sabrí and Fahima remained in Ethiopia until May 1954 when they pioneered to French Somaliland, now Djibouti, a goal territory to be opened to the Faith during the Ten Year Crusade, with some of their children remaining in Addis Ababa to continue their education. Fred Schechter had opened the country to the Faith the previous year, but was unable to secure a visa and had to depart, meaning that Sabrí and Fahima reopened the country to the Faith for which they were both named Knights of Bahá’u’lláh. They remained in French Somaliland until 1959 when they returned to Alexandria. In 1968 the Elias's pioneered to Tripoli, Libya, until returning to Alexandria in 1971.

In May 1977 Sabrí and Fahima briefly returned to Ethiopia, meeting with the National Spiritual Assembly and other Bahá'ís in Addis-Ababa, while en route to Djibouti, arriving at their pioneer post in Djibouti later the same month. In 1988 they returned to Egypt, and throughout the 1980s Sabrí and Fahima traveled from Egypt across Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria to assist the Bahá'í communities of the Middle East.

Sabrí passed away in 1995 after a prolonged illness. The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following telegram:

HEARTS GRIEVED KNIGHT BAHA'U'LLAH, DEVOTED SPIRITUAL CONQUEROR ETHIOPIA, CONSECRATED INDEFATIGABLE PROMOTER PIONEER HIS CAUSE SABRI ELIAS. EXTEND LOVING SYMPATHY HIS DEAR WIFE MEMBERS FAMILY. ASSURE FERVENT PRAYERS PROGRESS HIS RADIANT SOUL ABHA KINGDOM

References

• Obituary published in The Bahá'í World, In Memoriam: 1992-1997, Bahá'í World Centre, ed. Paul Vreeland, pp 255-257.
• Reaping the Harvest, article profiling Sabri Elias published in Baha'i News, No. 557, United States: National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. pp 2-3.