Subhí Eliás
Subhí Eliás | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 17, 1902 Nile Delta, Egypt |
| Died | January 26, 1981 Alexandria, Egypt |
| NSA member | Egypt & Sudan ???? - ???? North East Africa 1959 - 1960 |
Subhí Eliás (May 17, 1902 - January 26, 1981) was an Egyptian Bahá’í who served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Egypt and Sudan.
Biography[edit]
Eliás was born into a Coptic Christian family in a rural village of the Nile delta in 1902. His father passed away in 1906 and due to the actions of his paternal uncle his mother had to leave the village so he was raised by his grandfather. He went to live with his mother in 1911 and met his brother Sabri for the first time, who his mother had been pregnant with at the time of her husband's passing. When their grandfather passed away their paternal uncle had them denied of their inheritance and they were forced to leave their village and they received support from another uncle, Ibrahim ‘Abdu’l-Masíh.[1]
In March, 1921, Eliás became a Bahá’í. He asked his brother, Sabri, to deliver Bahá’í literature to friends and Sabri read the books and became a Bahá’í shortly after Subhí. Eliás was elected to the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Alexandria when the body was established in 1924 and served on it until 1960 and he also served on the National Spiritual Assembly. At some point he married and he had seven children. One of his children passed in infancy in 1945 and he attempted to establish a Bahá’í cemetery in Alexandria and although he was unsuccessful he secured permission for Bahá’ís to be buried in civil cemeteries.[2]
The Egyptian government issued a decree outlawing all organized Bahá’í activity in the country in 1960 and the community faced increased persecution. Eliás was arrested alongside several Bahá’ís in waves of arrests across the country in 1965, 1967, and 1972. He compiled material to assist in the legal defense of the Bahá’í community while released on bail during this period.[3]
In 1977 Eliás made a five hour tape recording his recollections of the history of the Bahá’í Faith in Egypt and Alexandria. He passed away in 1981 and the Universal House of Justice conveyed the following message after his passing:
DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING VALIANT PROMOTER DEFENDER CAUSE SUBHI ELIAS. HIS DEDICATED SERVICES OVER SEVERAL DECADES LOVINGLY REMEMBERED. ASSURE RELATIVES FRIENDS FERVENT PRAYERS HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS SOUL.[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 746. View as PDF.
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 747. View as PDF.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1986). Bahá’í World Centre. Haifa. Volume 18 (1979-1983), Pg(s) 748. View as PDF.
