September 6. On this date in 2005, David Ruhe, a member of the Universal House of Justice from 1968 to 1993, died. According to one source, the Ruhi Institute was named after him as well as after the father of Farzam Arbab, who founded the Ruhi Institute and served on the Universal House of Justice from 1993 to 2013, when he retired.

 

September 6. On this date in 2005, David Ruhe, a member of the Universal House of Justice from 1968 to 1993, died. According to one source, the Ruhi Institute was named after him as well as after the father of Farzam Arbab, who founded the Ruhi Institute and served on the Universal House of Justice from 1993 to 2013, when he retired.

David S. Ruhe (January 3, 1913 - September 6, 2005) was a medical doctor, filmmaker, and author who served in various positions within the hierarchy of the [Bahá’í Administrative Order](, including as a member of the Universal House of Justice from 1968 to 1993.

Having graduated from the Temple University School of Medicine in 1941, David Ruhe would go on to conduct malaria research at the United States Public Health Service where he would eventually become medical director. In l954 he would go to the University of Kansas School of Medicine where became the first professor of Medical Communications.

He made scores of medical films, winning awards for his productions from the Golden Reel, the Venice Film Festival, and the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain. In the course of his work in medical education, he was appointed director of the Medical Film Institute for the Association of American Medical Colleges.

After his conversion to the Bahá'í Faith, in 1941, Ruhe became an active member of the Bahá'í community, serving on numerous Local Spiritual Assemblies and national Bahá'í committees. Elected to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha'is of the United States in 1959, he served as its secretary from 1963 until 1968, when he was elected to the Universal House of Justice. He would serve on that body until retiring in 1993.

Upon his retirement from the Universal House of Justice in 1993, Ruhe and his wife, Margaret, returned to New York State. They have two sons, Christopher, who is a musician, and Douglas, who at one time co-owned United Press International with fellow Bahá'í William Geissler.

Writings

Ruhe, David (1983). Door of Hope: The Bahá'í Faith in the Holy Land. Oxford, England: George Ronald Publisher Ltd.

Ruhe, David (1997). Robe of Light: The Persian Years of the Supreme Prophet, Bahá'u'lláh. Oxford, England: George Ronald Publisher Ltd.