Sulaymán Berjís
Dr. Sulaymán Berjís (1897 - February 3, 1950) was a Persian Bahá’í who was a physician in Káshán who was martyred in 1950.
Biography[edit]
Berjís was born in Káshán in 1897 into a Bahá’í family of Jewish descent. His paternal grandfather was Hakim Ya'qub who was a Jewish physician who settled in Káshán and became a Bahá’í.[1] In his childhood Berjís attended the Vahdat-Bashar School which was a Bahá’í school in Káshán and after graduating he studied medicine in Tehran.[2]
Berjís returned to Káshán after completing his medical studies where he began working for the Ministry of Health and earned a reputation as a competent physician and later opened a pharmacy from which he would dispense free medication to patients who could not afford to buy it. In 1928 he was elected to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Káshán and he often served as chairman of the Assembly and as a delegate to the National Convention of Iran.[2]
In addition to serving on the Assembly Berjís actively taught the Bahá’í Faith and in January 1950 he resigned from his position with the Ministry of Health due to administrative disagreements possibly related to his religion and he went into private practice.[2] On February 3, 1950, two people came and requested that he make a house-call to treat someone who was too ill to come to his clinic and he went with them however they lead him to a house where they attacked him with the help of two other men.[3] Before entering the house they demanded that he recant his belief in the Bahá’í Faith otherwise they would kill him and when he attempted to leave they began beating him and dragged him into the house where they scalped him and stabbed him over eighty times.[4]
After committing the murder the killers went through the city announcing they had killed a murderer and were followed by a crowd to the police station where they presented themselves to the police and confessed to the murder.[5] Upon being questioned they claimed they were carrying out a fatwa and fulfilling their religious duty by killing him.[6] Police protection was required to allow the Bahá’í community to recover Berjís's body for burial and it was taken to the nearby town of Gulastan Javid where a Bahá’í funeral was held.[7]
References[edit]
- ↑ Nasser Mohajer, The Brutal Slashing to Death of Dr Berjis, Baha'i Studies Review, 17:1, p 135
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Nasser Mohajer, The Brutal Slashing to Death of Dr Berjis, Baha'i Studies Review, 17:1, p 136
- ↑ Nasser Mohajer, The Brutal Slashing to Death of Dr Berjis, Baha'i Studies Review, 17:1, p 137
- ↑ Nasser Mohajer, The Brutal Slashing to Death of Dr Berjis, Baha'i Studies Review, 17:1, p 142
- ↑ Nasser Mohajer, The Brutal Slashing to Death of Dr Berjis, Baha'i Studies Review, 17:1, p 143
- ↑ Nasser Mohajer, The Brutal Slashing to Death of Dr Berjis, Baha'i Studies Review, 17:1, p 139
- ↑ The Bahá’í World, An International Record. (1956). National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of the United States and Canada. Wilmette, Ill. Volume 12 (1950-1954), Pg(s) 685. View as PDF.
