Salim Nounou
Salim Nounou | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | August 5, 1905 Baghdad, Iraq |
| Died | June 19, 1990 England |
| NSA member | Iran ???? - 1964 France ???? - ???? |
Salim Y. Nounou (August 5, 1905 - June 19, 1990)[1] was an Iraqi Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran and the National Spiritual Assembly of France.
Background[edit]
Nounou was born into a wealthy Jewish family in Baghdad, Iraq, in 1905. In the mid-1920's he was introduced to the Bahá’í Faith by Daoud Toeg who had business dealings with his father and he joined the religion in 1928.[2] He was fluent in English and served as a translator for Martha Root when she visited Baghdad in 1929. He began traveling between Iran and Iraq in the early 1930's and in 1932 he gained Persian citizenship and moved to Iran where he established a business.[3]
Nounou was an active member of the Tehran Bahá’í community throughout the 1930's and 1940's,[4] and served as a translator for Keith Ransom-Kehler during her visit to Tehran in 1932.[3] He visited the village of Saysan to help teach the Faith in 1935,[5] and in December 1937 he went on pilgrimage for the first time and met Shoghi Effendi.[3] He was inspired by the experience and undertook a tour across Iran to share his recollections with Bahá’í communities.[6] He made a second pilgrimage in 1940.[6] He made a teaching trip across Europe with the approval of Shoghi Effendi in 1950 and visited Bahá’í communities across the continent.[6]
As of 1961 Nounou was serving as the Treasurer of the National Spiritual Assembly of Iran and that year he visited the United States where he gave a talk at the Wilmette Temple.[7] He also served as a Deputy Trustee of Ḥuqúqu’lláh in Iran having received training from Valíyu'lláh Varqá.[6] He continued to serve as Treasurer of the National Assembly up until 1964 when he moved to France.[8][3] Throughout 1966 he served as a European correspondent of the international periodical Bahá’í News sharing reports on Bahá’í activity on the continent,[9] and at some point he was elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of France serving for an extended period.[6]
In 1971 Nounou visited Africa to participate in a major Bahá’í Conference held in Liberia and assisted Habib Sabet in launching an appeal for donations to the Bahá’í Fund,[10] and in later years he facilitated communication between the Universal House of Justice and the Bahá’ís of Arabia receiving communications in Nice and relaying them to Arabia.[3] He also served as a Deputy Trustee of Ḥuqúqu’lláh in Europe in later life and attended the Ḥuqúqu’lláh Conference at the Bahá’í World Centre in 1987.[11]
Nounou later settled in England where he passed away in 1990 and he was buried near the grave of Shoghi Effendi.[12] The Universal House of Justice conveyed the following in a message after his passing:
. . . THE SPIRIT OF TOTAL DEDICATION, DEEP HUMILITY AND UNSHAKABLE LOYALTY WHICH HE EVINCED, WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED.[6]
References[edit]
- ↑ Salim Nounou at findagrave.com
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 975. View as PDF.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 976. View as PDF.
- ↑ World Order, Vol. 7(12), p 34
- ↑ A. Q. Faizi, Narcissus to Akka, Baha'i Publishing Trust: New Delhi, p 10
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 6.5 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 977. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1962). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 370, Pg(s) 7. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1964). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 403, Pg(s) 5. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1966). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 429, Pg(s) 13. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i News (1971). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States. No 481, Pg(s) 6. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1998). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 20 (1986-1992), Pg(s) 116. View as PDF.
- ↑ Baha'i World: In Memoriam 1992-1997, p 316
