May 17. On this date in 1953, Shoghi Effendi addressed a cablegram to the Bahá'ís of the word, condemning his one-time close companion, secretary, and first cousin as "treacherous Ruhi Afnan."

May 17. On this date in 1953, Shoghi Effendi addressed a cablegram to the Bahá'ís of the word, condemning his one-time close companion, secretary, and first cousin as "treacherous Ruhi Afnan."

Treacherous Ruhi Afnan
Treacherous Ruhi Afnan, not content with previous disobedience, correspondence with Ahmad Sohrab, contact with old Covenant-breakers, sale, in conjunction with other members of family, of sacred property purchased by Founder of Faith, and allowing his sister to marry son of 'Abdu'l-Bahá's enemy, is now openly lecturing on Bahá'í movement, claiming to be its exponent and is misrepresenting the teachings and deliberately causing confusion in minds of authorities and the local population. Inform National Assemblies.
--Shoghi
[Cablegram, May 17, 1953]

April 5. On this date in 1922, some four months after returning to Haifa subsequent to the death of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Shoghi Effendi left Haifa with his eldest cousin and close friend, Ruhi Afnan who he would later declare a Covenant-breaker, for rest and relaxation in the Bernese Oberland in the Swiss Alps. In his absence, Shoghi Effendi placed Bahíyyih Khánum as Head of the Cause, and later that month the "Star of the West" magazine would publish letters from Shoghi Effendi and Bahíyyih Khánum explaining the situation. Ruhi Afnan would be declared a Covenant-breaker in a series of cablegrams in the 1950's.

The cablegrams concerning the declaration of Ruhi Afnan a Covenant-breaker include one from December 13, 1951 titled "Old and New Covenant-Breakers" where Shoghi Effendi says, "Evidences multiplying attesting Ruhi's increasing rebelliousness, efforts exerted my eldest sister pave way fourth alliance members family Siyyid 'Alí involving marriage his granddaughter with Ruha's son and personal contact recently established my own treacherous, despicable brother Riaz with Majdi'd-Din, redoubtable enemy Faith, former henchman Muhammad-'Ali, Archbreaker Bahá'u'lláh's Covenant.