Bahá'í Recollections

Farokh Bidanjiri

The year was 1972, I had just finished my studies at the Government Polytechnic College in Belgaum City, Karnataka State, and obtained my diploma in Mechanical Engineering. On the opposite side of this college and across the road my father had started the Alpha Restaurant. The Civil Hospital was also close by, so the restaurant was always a busy hub of doctors, nurses, students and civil servants who came to relax, converse, share a cup of tea and enjoy some snacks or a meal. The manager of the nearby Greenline Garage that catered to truck drivers, their needs for spare parts and repairs was more than willing to hire me as an apprentice because of his friendship with my father. My brothers and I were willing to help our father run his business with help from hired employees. Everything looked bright and there was no doubt that as Alpha Restaurant prospered so would we as a family.

At age 22, I felt my dreams were finally coming true. Around the same time a telegram arrived from the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of India, addressed to the Local Spiritual Assembly of Belgaum which I am paraphrasing  as follows: The NSA would like 9 youth to rise as travel teachers to some countries in Africa to help meet their unfinished goals under the Nine-Year Plan. The Nine-Year Plan (1964-1973) was the first of many international plans to be given to the Bahá’í world by the newly formed Universal House of Justice. It happened that in 1972 some African national communities felt they needed extra manpower to win their own goals. The goals for the African countries would lapse if not for emergency action. This was made known to Dr. Muhájir when he consulted with the Universal House of Justice in early 1972. Dr. Muhájir swung into action and visited Persia, India, Philippines, and Malaysia to raise a core of believers to rush to the assistance of the hard-pressed believers in East African countries in winning the remaining goals of the Nine-Year Plan in Africa.

Not knowing the great significance of the situation, I did not pay attention to this telegram as it did not reconcile with my future plans, and it was easy to come up with excuses as to why I was not a suitable candidate to respond. First, there was no way I could financially afford to go to Africa. Second, I needed to do an apprenticeship and gain sufficient experience in my field of education. Third, I needed to help my father as he had just opened a new business. Fourth, big cities had a larger number of Bahá’í youth, and they would easily arise to fulfill the goals. In my mind I could bring many excuses because at this point the significance of that message had not touched my heart. I went back to my basic routine of daily life totally oblivious of the message in that telegram.

A few days later a second telegram arrived from the National Spiritual Assembly, but this time it was addressed directly to me by name. I can never forget the words they wrote, paraphrasing again, “The National Spiritual Assembly of India wants you to pioneer to Africa.” I was shocked that they would address me directly and realized that this was a serious matter. I now went to my father to inform him of the message I had received from the National Spiritual Assembly not knowing what his reaction would be. He told me to go and see my maternal grandfather, who lived with us and take his advice. My grandfather had gone with his father to the Holy Land as a pilgrim in his teen years and attained the presence of the Master. He was educated, spoke fluent English, Persian and local Indian languages. I showed him the cable from the national institution, and he told me that as a Bahá’í my first duty was complete and unconditional obedience to the National Institution. He said the obedience would bring nothing but blessings and rewards. I communicated to my father the advice of grandfather and he resigned to the fact that I would be leaving. I consoled my father saying that it was only a one-year project and before long he would be seeing me again. My two younger brothers were around to give him a hand with his newly opened restaurant business.

Soon after I informed the National Spiritual Assembly of my acceptance to go travel teaching for a year in Africa. I did not go straight away. It appears that I would get some training locally before venturing into an unknown country. The training came from none other than the beloved Hand of the Cause of God, Dr. Raḥmatu’lláh Muhájir who visited Belgaum.  This was not my first encounter with Dr. Muhájir. In 1968 I moved from Belgaum to Pune to continue my studies there as well as work part time in the Lucky Restaurant Dr. Muhájir had arrived and wanted to meet the Bahá’í youth  of Pune. I attended this meeting, and the Bahá’í Centre was filled to capacity. He asked us if we had read, “God Passes By” written by the beloved Guardian, and if so to raise our hands. None of the youth  gathered had even heard the name, let alone read the book. Then in a sweet gentle voice and with a big radiant smile on his face Dr. Muhájir said, “Read “God Passes By”, everything is in “God Passes By”. The book provides an appraisal of the first 100 years of the birth, growth and spread of the Faith around the world.

He also told us that a learned Hand of the Cause, Mr. ʻAlí-Akbar Furútan who was a renowned child educator and psychologist was going to visit soon and not to miss his talk. Sure enough, after a few weeks Mr. Furútan arrived in Pune, accompanied by Dr. Muhájir himself and the talk took place at the National Hotel. The hall was filled to capacity with many of us standing outside in the compound. Yet we were able to hear the talk by Hand of the Cause Mr. Furútan as it was broadcast through a loudspeaker. He also answered questions from the audience. Now in Belgaum it would be the third time that I would be in the presence of Dr. Muhájir. However, it would be of interest to note that the first Hand of the Cause to visit Belgaum was Dorothy Baker in 1953. I was only three years old at that time and cannot remember the event except through a memorable photograph, and my parents told me she prayed for all of us children.

Visit by Hand of the Cause of God Dorothy Baker to Belgaum, India in 1953. Farokh is sitting at the centre of the first row, when just three years old.

Dr. Muhájir stayed two or three nights at the Milan Hotel in Belgaum which was newly built and adjacent to Alpha Restaurant of my father. My father would cook food for Dr. Muhájir, careful not to make it too spicy for his palate. He enjoyed the food very much and placing the palms of his hands on his stomach, he smiled and jokingly told my father that the Bahá’í friends of Belgaum were feeding him so well and soon he was going to be overweight. In Belgaum he gave a public talk at Jadhav’s Ambika Institute of Commerce. He was introduced as a distinguished Bahá’í who had just come back from Japan. Dr. Muhájir told me he found the audience spiritual and receptive to the message of unity and peace. I told him some in the audience thought he was Japanese as he had come from Japan and he laughed and told me, “Scaredo much the better” and that it did not matter as long as they agreed with the Message of unity and peace. He told me that he would like to go to the Karnataka University, in Dharwad the next day and I was to accompany him. He asked for a taxi to be booked for our trip and the next morning the two of us left for Dharwad, a distance of 77 km from Belgaum.

On the road journey he told me we were going to visit Miss Mahin Mehrasa, an isolated Bahá’í pioneer from Iran, who was studying at that University and was expecting us. She had recently succeeded in enrolling the first local believer in Dharwad who was also a student in the same university. When we arrived at the university, Miss Mehrasa and the local believer were waiting for us. No words of mine can describe the joy of Miss Mehrasa upon beholding Dr. Muhájir. After hugging the new believer and exchanging greetings Dr. Muhájir took out from his briefcase a Bahá’í ring and placed it on the finger of the newly declared believer. He said we would now proceed to present the ‘Teachings’ to the students of the University. He said the best place to start was in the University canteen. So off we went to the University canteen which was busy with students enjoying a cup of tea and some light snacks. We sat at the table and started a conversation asking if they had heard of the Bahá’í Faith. If they showed interest we would present the basic principles of the Faith and give them a pamphlet.

Most were polite, some showed real interest and those who were not sincere would accept the pamphlet but as soon as they were out of the canteen would throw it away. Dr. Muhájir, who was observing all this, would go outside and pick up those precious pamphlets. In one instance a student had torn the pamphlet into many pieces, and I saw Dr. Muhájir pick up those pieces one by one. After nearly an hour of interaction with many students and presenting the Faith, Dr. Muhájir was satisfied that we had our first experience of what I call, canteen teaching. So, the time came to bid goodbye to our two Bahá’ís in Dharwad city, and we headed back to Belgaum.

On the way back Dr. Muhájir told me that some countries in Africa needed extra help to achieve their goals of the Nine-Year Plan. This was the reason why youth from India, Iran, Malaysia and the Philippines were asked to go travel teaching in Africa. He said he was glad that I had accepted to go and promised that he would come and visit me in Africa. He told me to emulate my great grandfather, Aqa Khusraw Biman who had opened the National Hotel located opposite the Pune Central Railway Station and recounted the following story. Aqa Khusraw left the hotel to wish goodbye to some friends who were traveling by train. There he met passengers who were interested in the teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. So focused was he in teaching the Faith that he neither cared about his hotel, his family or the fact that the train had started and had left his hometown. After several hours had elapsed, he returned back to his worried family who were wondering where he had disappeared. Dr. Muhájir told me Aqa Khusraw was a detached soul who put teaching the Cause first before everything else and to follow his example.

He then gave some advice about my upcoming trip to Africa. There should be no trace of prejudice of any kind when teaching the Africans as they have pure and sensitive hearts and can easily sense it if you are sincere in what you say. When visiting civil servants or government officials in towns to present the Faith or when paying a courtesy call, I was to dress in a suit complete with coat and tie as a mark of respect as that was a protocol followed in Africa. The most important point he stressed was about teaching in villages. He said people who live in villages move from one village to another depending on what occupation they are engaged in to make a living. We have to teach in such a manner that the entire village or 90% of its inhabitants become Bahá’ís. This way a village is never lost to the Faith. At the end of our trip, when we reached Belgaum, he opened his briefcase and gave me a Bahá’í ring to wear.

As he was leaving Belgaum the next day Dr. Muhájir asked me to come and visit him in his hotel room later in the evening. I went to see him, and he suggested I get married before leaving for Africa. I almost fell off my chair hearing him make this suggestion. I told him that I was already making a big change in my life going to Africa, I was not thinking of marriage, and I was not ready to take this step. However, I dared to ask him the reason for this suggestion. He said married couples give support to each other and are more likely to settle and become pioneers. Years later, I remembered his words when I was contemplating marriage and the wisdom of what he said. I asked Dr. Muhájir’s advice about choosing my citizenship as there was a possibility that I could apply and get either Indian or Iranian citizenship. Without hesitation he said to get the Iranian passport. Iranians were exempted from obtaining a visa to travel to many countries and it was also easier to get a visa for those countries that needed it. So, on his advice I ended up getting Iranian citizenship. However, no one would have predicted in 1972 that all would change with the revolution in Iran in 1979. The Imperial Iranian passport, which was once a boon, became a bane when we had to replace it with the Islamic Republic of Iran passport, often making it difficult to obtain a visa in a timely manner.

The final conversation with Dr. Muhájir related to war and the Lesser Peace. As a 22-year-old bachelor I wanted him to explain to me the reason why millions of innocent people, especially children and women, who have no say in decision making nor desire for conflicts, should suffer pain, hardships, sorrow or perish due to wars although they were totally innocent of any wrongdoing. I asked this question in the context of a nuclear war as opposed to the conventional weapons used during the two world wars. How could the good Lord bring into being all these souls and then let them perish in such a tragic way? To explain this conundrum, he first told me a story. In a village a loving father told his son that he had to go out of the house to run an errand. As the little boy was alone in the house, he told him not to approach the flame of the candle. He explained to his child that the flame can cause burns and pain. The son assured his father of obedience. When the father left the son became fascinated watching the flame of the candle. As time passed he forgot his father’s advice and out of curiosity poked his finger into the flame. The sudden pain made him withdraw his finger. Dr. Muhájir expounded this metaphor saying that God, like the kind father, sends Prophets and Messengers to teach us how to live in peace, harmony, love and avoid wars.

Man makes the decision to start wars and then blames it on God. It is man’s disobedience to God’s teachings as revealed by His Messengers the cause of all our problems. He said the Lesser Peace will be a time of great suffering and hardships for the peoples of the world. It was a big shock to me to hear this. He said Bahá’u’lláh had written to the rulers and ecclesiastical leaders of His time, explaining to them the means to attain the Most Great Peace but they ignored His message and utterly rejected it. After untold wars, sufferings and calamities the rulers of the world will be forced to come to some kind of agreement to cling to a peace called the Lesser Peace. After this explanation Dr. Muhájir said not to worry as God being just, will recompense everyone according to what is their due. He spoke of the life of a seed in the ground. The seed has to struggle under the ground in darkness trying to find water and nutrients to survive and grow roots. This effort leads to the seed growing into a tree, producing branches, flowers and fruits. However, the seed does not see the reward of its effort in the dark world of the underground. The reward can be seen in the fruit produced above the ground in the heat and light of the sun. He said we are like the seed on this planet and undergo tests and trials to help us rise above our lower nature. The fruit of our efforts will be seen when we pass on to the world of the spirit as there is life after life. He said the best we can do is to teach the Faith to as many people as possible that the Promised Religion has come. The more the people respond to God’s message, the better it will mitigate the sufferings and world leaders will themselves realize that there will be no alternative but forced to establish a Lesser Peace. With these words our conversation came to a close and with a final hug we said our goodbyes.

In a few weeks I was able to get my passport from the Iranian consulate in Bombay. Then I had to get a “No Objection Certificate” stamped in my passport from a government office in Bangalore City in Karnataka State. This certificate would allow me to return to India within a year from the date of my departure without any objection. After this was done, I was informed that my cousin Missaghiah, now residing in the USA and I were to go together. We both arrived at Santa Cruz airport in Mumbai (Bombay) on 21 August 1972 and Mr. Ardeshir Faroodi a believer who owned the airport cafeteria helped us with our departure. He had our tickets, gave us each pocket money of a hundred dollars as that was the maximum limit of foreign currency we could carry out of the country in 1972. He also added to our heavy baggage several boxes of Bahá’í books that we were to deliver to the National Institution in Kenya. We had the phone number of Counsellor Aziz Yazdi and were assured that we would be picked up at the Nairobi Airport. We took the Air India flight to Nairobi with two stops, one in Aden, Yemen and the other in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia before finally landing in Nairobi. We collected our luggage and the boxes of books and came out to the main arrival terminal but there was no one at the airport to receive us. We waited for some time before I decided to make a call to Mr. Yazdi from the public phone booth.

In Belgaum, Dr. Muhájir had told me that the passport was the most important document, that it should be safe from either being lost or stolen, more important than even the cash we carry. So, I had put it in the inside pocket of my jacket, close to my heart. In the phone booth I took my wallet out from my trouser pocket to get Counsellor Yazdi’s phone number. I made a collect-call. Luckily, he came on the line and instructed us to come to the Hilton Hotel and speak to Ms. Najmi who worked as a receptionist at the hotel. In my hurry to come and tell Missaghiah the instructions, I left my wallet in the phone booth, with all my money in it. Instinctively, my hand went towards my heart, and I could feel the passport safe in my jacket pocket. Thank you, Dr. Muhájir, I successfully passed my first test in obedience to your advice. My passport was safe and as for the lost wallet, I accepted the fact that God wanted me to start this adventure in His path without a penny in my pocket.

We waited about two hours for an airport shuttle to pick up the passengers and bring us to Nairobi city center. The driver was very kind to drop us off at the Hilton Hotel, where we met Ms. Najmi, who was able to contact Counsellor Yazdi. Mr. Yazdi was not able to pick us up, but Ms. Najmi’s spouse Mr. Sohaili picked us up and dropped Missaghiah at the YWCA, and dropped me at the Hilltop Hotel where the other youth from the Philippines, India, Iran, and Malaysia were accommodated.

Soon I was in the company of familiar faces and settled down for the night. The next day we were informed that we would all be attending a Bahá’í Conference in Kisumu the day after and to prepare ourselves for this journey. Kisumu is the third largest city of Kenya and about 355 kilometers from Nairobi. We travelled in groups with 14 passenger vans called Matatus along with our baggage and arrived in Kisumu after several hours of road journey. On our way out we saw several giraffes grazing by the roadside in the Nairobi National Park which is a few miles out of the Capital City. During the conference the Counsellors and Auxiliary Board members inspired the gathering with their talks, strategy and planning so that the goals of the Nine-Year Plan would be accomplished. I remember seeing the following Counsellors in the Kisumu Conference; Counsellors Oloro Epyeru, Kolonario Oule, Isobel Sabri, Vasudevan Nair and Aziz Yazdi. Important emphasis was laid on the fact that most of the villages we would visit had people from Christian background and they were bound to ask questions from the Holy Bible and the relation between the Bahá’í Faith and Christianity. This proved to be absolutely true as witnessed later in our travel teaching experiences.

After the conference, teams were formed to travel to different rural areas and teach the Faith. Our team included four youth  from India, Miss Missaghiah Yaganagi from Bangalore, Miss Shanaz Furudi from Mumbai, Mr. Shapoor Yaganagi from Pune and myself. We were to travel with a local believer and devoted Bahá’í teacher, Mr. Sylvester Ouma Adembo. He hailed from the village of Nyatike-Ogongo which was in South Nyanza, a former administrative district in Western Kenya that is now part of Homa Bay and Migori counties. The region is located in the Nyanza Province, which is in the southwestern part of Lake Victoria. Since we were heading towards a rural area, our team boarded a bus filled to capacity and we were on our way to Nyatike-Ogongo, Adembo’s village. The bus was travelling on a laterite road creating a lot of dust in the air and especially when it would pass vehicles coming from the opposite direction. The driver would stop frequently to pick up or drop passengers on the way. This would delay our arrival until it was almost dusk, and we were finally spared the stifling heat of the day.

At a signal from Mr. Adembo the bus stopped, and we all unloaded our baggage and got down. The bus left and there we were with no dwelling or anyone in sight except dear Adembo, the only one to guide us to his village. He told us it was not too far and picked up the suitcases of the two ladies, while they carried their hand bags. Shapoor and I had to carry our own burden with the help from the Realm above as I weighed less than a jockey and the suitcase was almost half of my body weight. So, lifting and dragging and changing the suitcase between the left and right hand, we slowly walked down the path until the sunset and we were now in total darkness. However, Adembo knew his way and guided us with infinite patience. We would ask him how far away his village was and he would give the same answer, “not far away”. He was saying the truth because Kenyans are reputed to run and walk long distances as a normal way of life. As we approached his village, he would speak in his local Luo language to persons we could not see, and the word spread around that we had finally arrived. We reached his home well past 8:00 in the night and were glad to sit down and relax our tired bodies in the shadows of a kerosene lamp. Soon the entire hut was filled with youth of all ages, and after a brief introduction on the Bahá’í Faith and after answering a few questions the beloved mother of Adembo brought us a meal. She had cooked a whole chicken and ugali. Ugali is a traditional East African dish made of maize or cornmeal flour, cooked in water or milk until it’s thick and dough-like. Everyone present shared in this simple meal and because we were very tired the youth left. The ladies went to sleep in separate women’s quarters while Shapoor and I slept where we had the gathering.

Adembo’s dweling place in the Nyanza Province, Kenya. L to R: Farokh, Shanaz, Missaghiah, Adembo with his two brothers

The next morning, we could see in the daylight that family huts were separated quite far from each other and therefore the village was spread out. A few days after our arrival which was in late August 1972, Shanaz and Missaghiah had to leave to carry out activities in other locations while Shapoor and I stayed a little over a month in this area. This was the most intense and most productive period of proclaiming and teaching the Faith of Bahá’u’lláh in my entire life. Shapoor and I would accompany Adembo everyday walking miles to visit villages around Nyatike-Ogongo. We would repeat these visits to deepen the friends on the principles and teachings of the Bahá’í Faith. The villages visited in Kadem location are as follows: Macalder Mines, Mikeyi, Red ford, Masara, Agenda, Amoyo, Wath Ong’er, Kanyarwanda, Kabuto, Aneko and Osiri. I particularly remember Wath Ong’er village as we used a cable raft to ferry across the Kuja river. I remember this place because I asked the meaning of Wath Ong’er and was told the village of monkeys. Ong’er in Luo language means monkey. I don’t remember the name of the village where we were told the chief had over 100 wives. We visited this village, met the chief who was an elderly man and presented the Faith. He was a man of few words but after hearing our message of unity and oneness was pleased with our presentation. It was here that we understood his generosity in helping the young men of his village, who took care of his large herd of cattle. He would pay their dowry with cattle so they could get married. The wives and young children born of their marriages were all considered part of his family. So, in reality he kept the unity of his village through his generosity and also metaphorically considered a chief with over 100 wives.

After every presentation of the Bahá’í Faith the questions we would usually be asked related to the Holy Bible such as, “Do Bahá’ís believe in Jesus Christ, do we baptize, what of sin and confession, Satan and evil, Adam and Eve, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, if we believed Jesus to be Son of God, virgin birth, trinity and salvation…. At the Kisumu conference held on the second day of our arrival, some of the early travel teachers had already given us ideas as to how we could answer these questions satisfactorily and in a positive way. One example comes to mind, the meaning of baptism and how we would explain its meaning. Yes, we do believe in it and more so the spiritual baptism that Christ spoke about. We had a small bottle with a label marked POISON. Then we had another label marked WATER which we placed over the POISON label. Now we asked the audience if drinking what was in the bottle was safe as we had changed the label. They all said no because changing the label without changing the content of the bottle was meaningless. They understood the metaphor that true baptism meant changing our inner character by following the teachings of Christ and with the assistance of the Holy Spirit. We visited the above-mentioned villages several times. From dawn till dusk, we would go on these teaching trips with Adembo. One day we stood by the shores of the mighty and biggest lake in Africa, Lake Victoria. So majestic and so large and with so many people’s lives depending on its resources. The word Nyanza means a large body of water and the area we were in at that time was called South Nyanza province. The names of some of the friends who declared their Faith in Bahá’u’lláh at that time were: Albert Michura, Andrew Osewe, Thomas Obonyo, Andrew Liech, Bernard Ogono, Jack Chuchu and Aticha Ojoundo.

A little over a month had passed when we received word to return to Nairobi. Hand of the Cause of God, Amatu’l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum who was on her Great African Safari trip was going to visit the friends. She arrived in Nairobi on 2 October and left on 10 October 1972. Several hundred Bahá’í friends gathered in a big conference hall where the event lasted all day. Speeches were made by the Counsellors present and the Hand of the Cause of God inspired everyone to arise, teach and pioneer in African countries so the goals of the Nine-Year Plan could be achieved. A reception was held in the evening at the Hilton Hotel where the respect and love shown to her by members of the Bahá’í community, as well as her dignified presence attracted a lot of attention among the patrons and staff of the Hilton Hotel. The conversation here was more informal with individuals and groups attaining her presence. Our last meeting with her was at the National Bahá’í Centre where most of us youth had come.

Rúhíyyih Khánum at the Bahá’í Center in Nairobi in October 1972. Second from left in the white shirt is Dr. Mehdi Dabestani. To the right of Rúhíyyih Khánum is myself and Jaya Putran at the extreme right. Us three were from the India group.

Youth from India, Philippines, Malaysia  and Iran attained her presence. She focused again on the importance of teaching and pioneering to achieve the goals of the Nine Year Plan and answered questions posed by the youth. Giving some practical advice, she said it made sense for a person who had knowledge of a second language such as Portuguese, French or Spanish to go to those African countries where these languages are spoken. After her departure we were informed that the large group of travel teachers would be sent to different countries where they were needed. We were told that the number of travel teachers should not exceed nine in each country. I was invited to a meeting and was told by Counsellor Yazdi that they had decided to send me to Chad. He said it was a French speaking country in Central Africa and if I was ready to go there. I told him I would go wherever they wanted me to go as it was only for another ten months. Joining me were three other youth from the Iran group: Mr. Sharokh Pirmoradi, Miss Simmin Sabet and Miss Ziba Jalali. We got our visa for Chad from the French Embassy in Nairobi on 12 October 1972, took an East African Airlines flight to Douala, Cameroon where we had to stay overnight. Abbas Aqdasi who was a pioneer in Douala was informed of our arrival and met us at our hotel. As none of us knew French he was able to help us when communicating with the hotel staff. The day after, we took a flight that made two stops, one in Garoua and then in Maroua, two cities in the north of Cameroon before finally landing at Fort Lamy, the capital of Chad.

We were welcomed at the airport by the resident pioneers who knew of our flight arrival time. The Counsellors had already dispatched two youth from the Iran group much earlier from Nairobi, Kenya. They landed in Chad on 31 July 1972. One was Miss Mina Jalali the older sister of Miss Ziba and one more was Miss Faridokht Rezvani, whom I married in 1976. We arrived in the afternoon and during our drive from the airport I was struck by the absence of people on the streets and learnt that the day starts at 6:00 am and ends at noon, as it becomes unbearably hot in the afternoon. Most homes were constructed of adobe to keep the interior cool as opposed to concrete buildings that needed air conditioning.

August 1972, in Chad. L-R: Fari Rezvani and Mina Jalali.  The Adobe homes can be seen in the background.

Fort-Lamy, Chad circa  4th week of October 1972.  L to R : Sharokh and  Ziba meeting her sister Mina and Simmin.

In 1972, Chad and several other Sahel countries were suffering from a serious drought, causing widespread famine as well as an insurgency making it insecure to travel in some areas. It took time to adjust and live in a country that was considered one of the poorest in Africa and having very few facilities that we took for granted at home, such as public transport, waste collection, paved roads, food markets, easy access to health care, and the list could go on. However, the most difficult part was not being able to speak or understand what people were saying as everyone spoke French or a local language. Only when we find ourselves in this situation do we realize how important it is to have an international language, being one of the fundamental principles of the Bahá’í Faith. We had to learn French quickly and the book that helped us to do it was, “COURS DE LANGUE ET DE CIVILIZATION FRANÇAISES” by G. Mauger, published under the patronage of L’ALLIANCE FRANCAISE by LIBRAIRIE HACHETTE. This is not a teach yourself book, you need someone knowing French to help you with the lessons and the pronunciation. The book has 65 lessons, but the first 20 lessons are enough to get you to speak conversational French, especially when you live in a francophone zone. Fifty years on, I have still kept my copy because it brought me joy and pulled me out of my solitude.

National Baha’i Convention at the National Bahá’í Center at N’Djamena, Chad, 1974

The doyen of our pioneer group, Mrs. Olive McDonald was like a motherly figure to us. She was also the secretary of the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Chad and also the only one to have a paid job as an executive secretary with an American oil company. I say this because her background gave her the capacity to be an organizer, par excellence. She had prepared an orientation list for the new pioneers. It included the type of dress to be worn, the prophylaxis treatment for malaria, the greeting etiquette in Chadian culture and precautions and preparations when travelling. When greeting people the Chadians would shake hands, say hello, ask if you were in good health, ask if the children were well, the family and everyone else and would praise and thank God. This greeting was done in the Chad Arabic language, and you were expected to respond in kind. Since there was no public transportation and hardly any paved roads, travel was done mostly behind pick-up trucks or if you paid some extra bucks in the front cabin, two passengers only by the side of the chauffeur. It was essential to protect oneself from sunburn, cover the hair and face or it would be covered with laterite road dust or desert sand. That orientation was so helpful to grapple with the reality of life in Chad.

 

Visit of Albert Lincoln to Chad, 1974. He is standing in the back row, third from left. He was sent by the House of Justice to resolve some legal problems for the National Spiritual Assembly of Chad.

Chad is 52 per cent Muslims and conservative with the dress code. We had to take 100mg of Nivaquine (Chloroquine) in tablet form every single day for prevention of malaria. After about 4 years the World Health Organisation changed the protocol as the malaria parasite, plasmodium falciparum became resistant to this drug. Health providers were only allowed to treat with Nivaquine when we actually tested positive for malaria. This pill was very bitter so we would compress it into the crumb of the bread and then swallow it with a drink. Fortunately, from the day I arrived in Kenya till the day I left for Chad I had not taken a single pill as no one had told me about it and yet I did not come down with Malaria. However, when my fellow travel teacher Shapoor returned to India by ship from Mombasa to Mumbai he suffered from a serious attack of Malaria. It was a fellow travel teacher Mr. Ali Suhaliyan who nursed him until they reached Mumbai.

Auxiliary Board members in Chad: L to R: Ernest Ndouba, Thomas Rowan, Moksha Voumsoumna.

My group had arrived in Chad around the third week of October 1972. Sharokh Pirmoradi and I stayed with Mr. Bijan Yazdani and Mr. Nosrat Mossayeb, two Persian pioneers who had arrived in Chad much before we did. They could speak French, English and a little of Chad Arabic language. The girls, Simmin Sabet and Ziba Jalali would move to Olive McDonald’s home where Mina Jalali was already living. Olive McDonald was related to the distinguished Bahá’í, Dr. Stanwood Cobb and in her youth had heard about the Bahá’í Faith through his activities. She recounted to my wife that she had grown up with so much racial prejudice that when a black person would walk on one side of the street, she would move away to the other side. The Bahá’í Faith with its message of unity was of no interest to her. However, in her adult life she faced tests that finally brought her back to find answers in the Sacred Writings of the Bahá’í Faith and she became a firm believer. She was now a senior and volunteered to pioneer and was sent to Chad in Africa. Here she found peace, happiness and love among the simple Chadians who called her Mama Olive.

Fort-Lamy, Chad, 1972. L to R: Nosrat Mossayeb, Mina Jalali, Bijan Yazdani

Bahá’ís of N’Djamena, Chad in 1975. L to R: Fari Bidanjiri, Mahvash Yazdani, Jean-Francois Bourque, Yegue Jacqueline, first Chadian Baha’i woman elected to the National Spiritual Assembly, Neil McHugh pioneer and also Peace Corp Worker. Standing 4th from left is Mrs. Olive McDonald, and 6th from left is Mrs. Fari Bidanjiri.

The reason for telling this story is because her life affected my own. When I saw her struggling at her age to learn a new language to spread the Word of God at this age, to come to a foreign land deprived of so much of the material luxury she was used to but also so happy to serve the very people she was taught to hate, it really got me thinking. If she can do it, why can’t I? I remembered Dr. Muhájir’s story of my great-grandfather Aqa Khusraw Biman asking me to emulate his example. Perhaps my plans to go back to India after a year of service was not the best. The more I thought about it the more I realized I could not leave Mama Olive alone. There was no excuse if she could do it as a senior. I was only twenty two and in good conscience could not abandon my fellow pioneers. I was only twenty-two and in good conscience could not abandon my fellow pioneers.

April 1973, Fort -Lamy, Chad.  L – R: John McDonald, Miss Faridokht Rezvani and Olive McDonaldChad.

Certitude came to me with such force that without hesitation I wrote to my National Spiritual Assembly of my decision to settle and serve as a pioneer in Chad. As a result of this decision, I was able to stay as a pioneer, married Faridokht Rezvani in 1976 in Chad and move to Cameroons in 1977 after consultation with the Continental Pioneering Committee for Africa. It would be beyond the scope of this article to give the details of all the Bahá’í activities we were involved in during the twenty-three years we lived in Africa before emigrating to Canada in September 1996. The great work done by earlier pioneers and travel teachers, Knights of Bahá’u’lláh and the beloved Hand of the Cause of God Mr. Enoch Olinga, who all laid the foundation for the future spread of the Cause in Central and West Africa. We came in their footsteps to continue the work they had already started during the Ten-Year World Crusade. Today there are thousands upon thousands of Bahá’ís in these countries, the fruits of the seeds planted long ago, and a local temple will be built in Batouri, East Cameroon, a testimony to the growth of the Cause in that region.

It would be very remiss of me if I would not conclude this article with some comments of the beloved Hand of the Cause, Dr. Muhájir. His continuous guidance and encouragement sustained many pioneers and travel teachers scattered throughout the world. Dr. Muhájir would assure the parents that he would himself go to Africa and check on our well-being and true to his promise, a few weeks after my group had arrived in Chad, he showed up in the capital city Fort-Lamy. This may be in the month of November 1972. He gave a talk at the Bahá’í Centre and the topic was always about teaching the Faith to the masses. It was very hot inside the hall, although we had fans running and Dr. Muhájir was sweating profusely. As was the custom, whoever arrived late would go to greet and shake hands with everyone in the room. This not only distracted from his talk but took up too much time. So, when the late guests would arrive, Dr. Muhájir would welcome them, shake their hands and bring them to sit on a vacant chair before they had a chance to go around. He did it in such a humble and smiling manner that everyone was pleased with this approach.

In the evening, he invited all the pioneers to join him at the hotel where he stayed, Hotel Le Chari to have a cup of ice cream. That was a real treat in the hot sweaty weather, but the real purpose was to show his appreciation and love for the pioneers of Chad. He said Chad was one of the most difficult places in the world to pioneer and if we succeeded in pioneering here, we would not have difficulty pioneering anywhere else in the world. I remember these words very well because earlier I had told him of my decision to pioneer in Chad and not return back to India. He was really pleased with my decision, and I asked him what to do with my East African Airlines and my Air India return tickets and he told me to send it to Hasan Sabri, member of the Continental Pioneering Committee for Africa, Nairobi by registered mail. Dr. Muhájir also had a good sense of humour. In Fort-Lamy my wife Fari Rezvani owned a moped and it was suggested to drive Dr. Muhájir behind that two-wheeler. This was a common mode of transport in the Sahel countries. Fari was petite in size so when Dr. Muhájir sat behind the little two-wheeler, he jokingly told her to be extra careful because he was a Hand of the Cause and if he met with an accident the Bahá’í World would not be happy. Fari chickened out and told Bijan to drive as she was worried that at road intersections when you halt and put your feet on the ground you need to support a lot of weight.

Another time he told me the story of how he waited a long time and pleaded with a border guard to give him a visa to enter a country, but the guard refused saying it was impossible. He told the guard he would show him how it was possible, told the guard to hold the stamp in his hand and then held the hand of the guard and directed it towards his passport and with a bang stamped his passport. Voila, he told the guard that is how it is done. He enacted the whole thing so well that I could not help but die of laughter. This story also appears in the book, “DR. MUHAJIR” written by his wife, Írán Furután Muhájir. The next day when all the pioneers had gathered to say goodbye Dr. Muhájir pulled me to a corner, told me that the pioneers from Iran had a savings account from which they received a monthly stipend and gave me hundred dollars to cover my food costs until permanent arrangements were made. To me it was astonishing that with all his busy schedules he could think of these small details and be considerate enough to care for every soul. Although Dr. Muhájir did not get an opportunity to visit Chad again, Hands of the Cause of God Enoch Olinga and Dr. ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá came and encouraged the friends in their efforts.Fort-Lamy, Chad, 1972. Bijan Yazdani with Fari Rezvani behind on the moped.

Fort- Lamy, Chad, 1972. Pioneers from L to R: John McDonald, Olive McDonald, Mina Jalali, Hand of the Cause of God Dr. ʻAlí-Muhammad Varqá, Fari Rezvani and Abbas Aqdasi.

Fort-Lamy, Chad, 1973. L to R: Fari Rezvani, Hand of the Cause Mr. Enoch Olinga, Mahvash Yazdani, (Bijan’s wife) Jean-Francois Bourque and Bijan Yazdani. 

After we moved to the Cameroons in 1977, we had the bounty of his presence every year until his untimely passing in 1979. Like Nairobi in the East, the economic capital of Cameroon, Douala was a transit point from which you could connect to flights in many Central and West African countries. Dr. Muhájir would arrive, spend two to three days and sometimes longer depending on which cities he would visit and then proceed to his next destination. We lived in the capital city Yaounde with many active Cameroonian Bahá’ís in our Community. During his talk at the Bahá’í Centre he was deeply moved by the passion with which his words were translated into French by a devoted Bahá’í. Later he asked me if it was not worth pioneering, to find Bahá’ís like the one who translated for him. In the same gathering there were many mothers with little children who were a bit noisy. Some adults tried to send them out with their mothers, but he forbade them doing it. The talk continued, the noise continued and when another attempt was made to get the children out Dr. Muhájir made it very clear that he wanted them there and that they were not disturbing him, in fact he enjoyed their presence. Dr. Muhájir firmly believed in the power of prayer and in gatherings like this he would ask that we recite the “Remover of Difficulties” prayer by the Báb, five hundred times so we would be successful with our teaching plans. This took some hours, and he would patiently sit through the whole period. Our Bahá’í friends of Africa would never tire of such events as they believed prayers were the best way to worship God. So did Dr. Muhájir and in small groups he would ask us to chant the Tablet of Ahmad.

On one occasion when he arrived in 1978, he looked very tired and told me that he had a severe headache and if I could massage his head. I gave him a massage on his forehead and temples where he was experiencing the most pain and after a few minutes he asked me to stop. I could see how tired and exhausted he was, but he knew he had a mission to fulfill and against all odds he would continue to visit friends, make teaching plans with local and National Institutions, go to villages, inspire everyone to rise to greater heights. His last visit to Cameroon was in the summer of 1979 just six months before his passing. My wife had invited him along with counsellor Dr. Mehdi Samandarí for lunch.

Bahá’í Center, Yaounde, Cameroon in 1979. L to R: Fari Bidanjiri, Saturino, Huschang Peseschkian, Dr. Muhájir and Medjo Simon. Peseschkian  visited Africa from Dusselfdorf, Germany as a travel-teacher at the request of Dr. Muhájir.

He sat on a chair near my book shelf and pulled out one of “The Bahá’í World” volumes. He quickly found the “In Memoriam” section and drew the attention of Dr. Samandarí to the pages where there were write-ups for Hands of the Cause that had passed away. He told him that the entire life of service of a Hand of the Cause would be contained in those few pages. He then closed the book and put it back on the shelf. Dr. Mehdi Samandarí who was at one time Dr. Muhájir’s Bahá’í study class teacher stood and placed his hand on his shoulder and kept silent. I did not see this as a premonition because he mentioned it casually with a smile on his face, enjoyed the lunch, praised my wife for the tasty Persian food she had cooked, and I drove them back to the home of Mr. Iraj Yeganeh and Mrs. Naz Yeganeh where he was lodged. Iraj was an Auxiliary Board member, and Naz was a long-time member of the National Spiritual Assembly of Cameroon. In conversation with each other we remarked how tired and exhausted he looked. There was no doubt he needed to take some rest but who would be able to convince him? During this last visit to Cameroons, I asked him about the situation in Iran. He said it was very difficult for the Bahá’ís, was saddened by the loss of lives, and mentioned the warning the beloved Guardian gave to the Bahá’ís to leave Iran and pioneer abroad for the spread of the Faith and if not for the Faith, at least for their own sake. He also said the oil wealth in Iran had contributed to corruption and problems as the wealth was not properly channeled to benefit the masses. He said Iran would be better off without the oil. As always, he would insist that Bahá’ís who had gathered together in large cities should move out to smaller ones. This was a recurring theme that troubled and burdened his heart and every time I saw him, he would mention it.

Those who went travel teaching to Africa won the love and admiration of the Hand of the Cause Dr. Muhájir, the National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís Malaysia and the National Spiritual Assembly of the receiving countries, and the Universal House of Justice itself who paid a great tribute to the indelible services of inestimable value of all involved in the African episode as follows, “Tribute must be paid to the host of Bahá’í youth from many countries whose travels in Africa hastened and ensured the success of the Nine Year Plan in that continent, and in particular to the international “rescue squad” of youth from Persia, India, the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries who in the closing hours of the Plan sealed its triumphant conclusion in Africa.”

The news of his passing shocked us all to the core. My mind kept going back to that day almost six months ago when he was skipping through those pages of “The Bahá’í World”. Now it has become a reality. Years later I read in the book written by his beloved wife Írán Furután Muhájir the following, “Unknown to him the friends in Cameroon had informed the House of Justice that Rahmat was worn out, and that they feared for his health. I had no knowledge of those instructions until Rahmat called me…”

Throughout the 1970’s Dr. Muhájir traveled extensively touring Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe annually to assist in the development of teaching plans and to represent the Universal House of Justice at conferences and the establishment of National Spiritual Assemblies. In 1979 he was in Quito, Ecuador, to attend a teaching conference despite suffering severe fatigue and he had a heart attack on the second day of the conference and passed away. His last words were Yá Bahá’ul-Abhá.

The Universal House of Justice through its letter dated 30 December 1979 to all Hands of the Cause of God and the National Spiritual Assemblies conveyed the following message after his passing:

PROFOUNDLY LAMENT UNTIMELY PASSING IN QUITO ECUADOR BELOVED HAND CAUSE RAḤMATU’LLÁH MUHÁJIR FOLLOWING HEART ATTACK COURSE HIS LATEST SOUTH AMERICAN TOUR UNSTINTED UNRESTRAINED OUTPOURING OF PHYSICAL SPIRITUAL ENERGIES BY ONE WHO OFFERED HIS ALL PATH SERVICE HAS NOW CEASED. POSTERITY WILL RECORD HIS DEVOTED SERVICES YOUTHFUL YEARS CRADLE FAITH HIS SUBSEQUENT UNIQUE EXPLOITS PIONEERING FIELD SOUTHEAST ASIA WHERE HE WON ACCOLADE KNIGHTHOOD BAHÁ’U’LLÁH HIS CEASELESS EFFORTS OVER TWO DECADES SINCE HIS APPOINTMENT HAND CAUSE STIMULATING IN MANY LANDS EAST WEST PROCESS ENTRY BY TROOPS. FRIENDS ALL CONTINENTS WHO MOURN THIS TRAGIC LOSS NOW SUDDENLY DEPRIVED COLLABORATION ONE WHO ENDEARED HIMSELF TO THEM THROUGH HIS GENTLENESS HIS LUMINOUS PERSONALITY HIS EXEMPLARY UNFLAGGING ZEAL HIS CREATIVE ENTHUSIASTIC APPROACH TO FULFILLMENT ASSIGNED GOALS. URGE FRIENDS EVERYWHERE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS BEFITTING HIS HIGH STATION UNIQUE ACHIEVEMENTS. MAY HIS RADIANT SOUL ABHÁ KINGDOM REAP RICH HARVEST HIS DEDICATED SELF-SACRIFICING SERVICES CAUSE GOD. . . .

I owe a debt of gratitude to Hand of the Cause of God Dr. Muhájir whom I shall always consider my guide and mentor in many ways. The tons of advice he gave me in the interest of the Faith and my personal life are forever engraved in the very depth of my heart. This story is very much a tribute to him who had encouraged me to serve in the blessed teaching field on the promising  African continent.

 

Farokh Bidanjiri
Victoria
British Columbia
Canada

31 January 2025