Monday, March 1, 2021

March 1. On this date in 1897, Shoghi Effendi was born in in the House of Abdullah Pasha in Acre to Ḍíyá'íyyih Khánum, the eldest daughter of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Mírzá Hádí Shírází, a relative of the the Báb. Shoghi Effendi entered a large extended family in conflict. By the time of his death, Shoghi Effendi had declared all of his relatives, including his siblings, as Covenant-breakers for such offences as marrying or traveling without his permission.

 


March 1. On this date in 1897, Shoghi Effendi was born in in the House of Abdullah Pasha in Acre to Ḍíyá'íyyih Khánum, the eldest daughter of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Mírzá Hádí Shírází, a relative of the the Báb. Shoghi Effendi entered a large extended family in conflict. By the time of his death, Shoghi Effendi had declared all of his relatives, including his siblings, as Covenant-breakers for such offences as marrying or traveling without his permission.

March 1. On this date in 1897, Shoghi Effendi was born in in the House of Abdullah Pasha in Acre to Ḍíyá'íyyih Khánum, the eldest daughter of 'Abdu'l-Bahá, and Mírzá Hádí Shírází, a relative of the the Báb. By the time of his death, Shoghi Effendi had declared all of his relatives, including his siblings and cousins, as Covenant-breakers for such offences as marrying or traveling without his permission or maintaining contact with relatives who had previously been declared Covenant-breakers.

For example, Husayn Ali Rabbani was Shoghi Effendi's brother. In April 1945, Shoghi Effendi sent the following cable to the Bahá'í world: "My faithless brother Husayn, after long period of dishonourable conduct, has abandoned the Master's home to consort with his sister and other Covenant-breakers." In March 1950, Shoghi Effendi would send a further cable: "Faithless brother Hussein, already abased through dishonorable conduct over period (of) years followed by association with Covenant-breakers (in) Holy Land and efforts (to) undermine Guardian's position, recently further demeaned himself through marriage under obscure circumstances with lowborn Christian girl (in) Europe." 

Shoghi Effendi would later defend the use of the term "lowborn Christian girl" as follows: "Regarding his cable concerning Hussein: he has been very surprised to note that the terms 'low-born Christian girl ' and 'disgraceful alliance' should arouse any question; it seems to him that the friends should realize it is not befitting for the Guardian's own brother, the grandchild of the Master, an Afnán and Aghsán mentioned in the Will and Testament of the Master, and of whom so much was expected because of his relation to the family of the Prophet, to marry an unknown girl, according to goodness knows what rite, who is not a believer at all."

Regarding Munib Shahid, his cousin through 'Abdu'l-Bahá's daughter Ruha, Shoghi Effendi sent the following cable to the Bahá'í world in November 1944: "Monib Shahid, grandson of both `Abdu'l-Bahá and the King of Martyrs, married according to the Moslem rites the daughter of a political exile who is nephew of the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. This treacherous act of alliance with enemies of the Faith merits condemnation of entire Bahá'í world."

In a letter titled "Old and New Covenant-Breakers,"Shoghi Effendi called one brother "my own treacherous, despicable brother Riaz."

Shoghi Effendi would similarly declare as Covenant-breakers all of his remaining siblings and first cousins.

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