|
"lighten and uplift
them, so that they may soar on the wings of the Divine verses"
-Baha'u'llah
|
|
|
High-ranking
member of the Baha'i Faith passes away
|
HAIFA,
Israel, 28 November 2003 (BWNS) --
The worldwide Baha'i community has lost one of
its most cherished figures with the death on 26
November of Ali Akbar Furutan.
Mr. Furutan, who carried the rank of Hand of the
Cause of God, was one of the only two surviving
members of this company of senior officers of
the Faith appointed by its late Guardian, Shoghi
Effendi Rabbani, who died in 1957.
Mr.
Furutan was 98 years of age, but had maintained
a demanding schedule of activities at the
Faith's World Centre in Haifa, Israel.
He
died of natural causes.
His
wisdom and gentle sense of humor had contributed
greatly to deepening the understanding of the
Faith's spiritual teachings by the steady stream
of Baha'is from all over the world who come as
pilgrims to the Shrines of their religion. |
Mr. Ali Akbar Furutan.
|
Born in
Sabzivar, Iran, on 29 April 1905, Ali Akbar Furutan
moved with his family to Ashgabat in what was then
Russian Turkestan (now part of Turkmenistan), and,
through his years of school and university, he took an
active part in the work of the Baha'i communities of
Ashgabat, Baku, Moscow, and other parts of Russia.
In 1930 he
was expelled from the Soviet Union during the Stalinist
persecution of religion, and, from that time on, played
an ever more significant role in the work and
administration of the Iranian Baha'i community.
|
Following
the passing of Shoghi Effendi, Mr. Furutan was one
of the nine Hands of the Cause selected, at their
first Conclave, to serve as Custodians in the Holy
Land, pending the election of the Universal House
of Justice, the governing body of the religion
envisioned by its Founder, Baha'u'llah.
As a
young man, Mr. Furutan had won a scholarship to
the University of Moscow, from which he obtained
degrees in education and psychology. |
Mr. Furutan with Baha'i children and their
teachers, June 2003. |
On
returning to Iran, with his wife, Ataieh, he served as
principal at the influential "Tarbiyat School for
Boys" which was eventually closed by the Pahlavi
government as a result of pressure brought by fanatical
Islamic elements in the country.
Despite the
circumstances of his departure from the Soviet Union,
Mr. Furutan retained to the end of his life a deep love
for the people of that region of the world.
A source of
great joy was his return in 1990, as the guest of honor
at the election of the National Spiritual Assembly of
the Baha'is of the Soviet Union.
It seemed a
particularly fitting conclusion for a long life of
service to humankind that his death should have occurred
at the close of a meeting where he had addressed
assembled Baha'i pilgrims from many countries, as was
his practice, concluding his remarks with the exchange
of a few words with some of the Russian-speaking
believers in attendance.
Mr.
Furutan's wife predeceased him. He is survived by his
daughters, Iran Muhajir and Parvin Furutan, and two
granddaughters, Gisu Muhajir-Cook and Shabnam Rahnema.
|
|
| Published in Bahá'í
World News Service |
|
|
|
|
