Mírzá Yáhyá's behaviour could no longer be tolerated or concealed. Bahá'u'lláh revealed the Súriy-i-Amr (Súrih of Command) as a direct order to him. [CH60, 83, CB84; GBP166; BKG223-245]

It is not certain which "Morocco".

It was neither her first nor her last pioneer experience. Between 1942 and 1946 she pioneered to Chile, Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. After World War II she went to Madrid, Spain where she helped raise the first local spiritual assembly and she did the same thing in Barcelona the following year.

In July of 1953 she went to the Stockholm Intercontinental Teaching Conference where she offered to pioneer to Mallorca in one of the Balearic Islands, She stayed about one year before returning to Barcelona in August of 1954 where she attended the Iberian Teaching Conference that was attended by 60 people. Late that nine, she and nine others were arrested by the police and interrogated for 18 hours. They had thought that the Bahá'í were Communists.

In 1956 she moved to Portugal where she was elected to the first Iberian Regional Spiritual Assembly. After three years she was forced to leave by the authorities because of her Bahá'í activities, holding property and owning a telephone.

She was asked to go to Luxembourg where she spent nine years but made little progress in establishing the Faith. She was then asked to got to Malaga, Spain and by 1972 Malaga had a local spiritual assembly so she pioneered to Margella in 1979.

The National Spiritual Assembly asked her to write a history of the Faith in Spain which was completed in 1980.

As was her wish, she passed to the Abha Kingdom in 1985, still a pioneer. [KoB346-347; Wikipedia]

See also Also see Bahá'í World 19 pages 715-721 or 692-697 in the print version and Bahá'í News #586 January 1980 p2-5.

See Remembering Dr John Fozdar.

See Bruce Matthews, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh Goose Bay, Labrador by Lynn Wright and Susan Gammage.

Ridvaniyyih Suleimani served on the Auxiliary Board and the National Spiritual Assembly. She passed away in Taiwan on the 18th of March 1981. [BW18p752-754]

Suleiman Suleimani served on the National Spiritual Assembly of Taiwan from its formation in 1967 until 1978. He also served as a deputy of the institution of the Huqúqu'lláh for about two decades. [BW20p889-891]

The Suleimanis, originally from Iran, had lived for about 28 years in Shanghai where Mrs Ridvaniyyih Suleimani's father, Mr Husayn Ouskouli Uskuli (or Uskui) had long resided and conducted a business. Mr and Mrs Suleimani had left Shanghai permanently in 1950 because of the difficult situations for foreigners in China but Mr Ouskouli decided to stay on and won the admiration of the Guardian. He died in Shanghai at the age of 86. [The Taiwan Bahá'í Chronicle by Barbara R. Sims p3; PH39; Video Early history of the Bahá'í Faith in China 7 min 57 sec]

He was the first Indian Parsi to accept the Faith of Bahá'u'lláh. In 1950 he and his wife Shirin moved to Singapore. He pioneered to the Andaman Islands and became a Knight of Baha'u'lláh in response to the Indian seven-year plan. [BW13p892]

Haik had learned of the Faith from his father who had embraced the Faith in his birthplace, Gaziantep Aintab, Turkey. In 1937 the family emigrated from Aleppo, Syria to Argentina and they stopped on the way to visit the Holy Land where they spoke with the Guardian about pioneering. They arrived in Buenos Aires on the 29th of March after a another stop in Bahia to visit Leonora Holsapple.

On February 29th, 1940 May Maxwell, accompanied by her niece Jeanne Bolles arrived in Buenos Aires and it was from Haik that she received the a telephone call to welcome her. The following morning when the Kevorkian family called at the City Hotel they learned that May Maxwell had passed during the night. Haik and Wilfrid Barton searched for a befitting spot for her interment and Haik spent the rest of his life honouring and caring for her resting place.

Haik taught the Faith in the interior of Argentina and make international trips to Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Chile Brazil and Ecuador. He assisted in the formation of the first spiritual assembly in Guayaquil and won the honour of being named a Knight of Bahá'u'lláh when he settled in the Galapolos Islands in May 1954. A record of his service there can be found in Heroes of God: History of the Bahá'í Faith in Ecuador, 1940-1979 by Helen Bassett Hornby.

Upon his return from the Galapolos to Buenos Aires he married Aurora de Eyto and they had one surviving son, Daniel Claudio (b.1960). [BW15p483-485]

The follow cable was received from the Universal House of Justice:

15th AUGUST 1981. DEEPLY GRIEVED PASSING EMINENT DISTINGUISHED SERVANT BLESSED BEAUTY MEMBER BOARD COUNSELLORS AFRICA KNIGHT BAHA'ULLAH DEARLY LOVED MUḤAMMAD MUSṬAFÁ HIS LONG RECORD DEDICATED SERVICES IN ADMINISTRATIVE TEACHING FIELDS HIS SELF-SACRIFICING AUDACIOUS EFFORTS IN PROMOTION DEFENSE BELOVED FAITH UNFORGETTABLE CONVEY BEREAVED FAMILY FRIENDS LOVING SYMPATHY PRAYING HOLY SHRINES FURTHER UNFOLDMENT PROGRESS HIS NOBLE SOUL ABHA KINGDOM UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE. [BW18p768-771]

He studied law and started his legal practice in Iran at the age of 24. The National Spiritual Assembly asked him to defend the oppressed Bahá’ís of Sháhrúd, where, on 8 August 1944, three friends had been martyred and 17 Bahá’í homes had been plundered and set on fire. ‘Aziz defended them with great eloquence and undaunted courage, braving the vicious opposition of the clergy. Later he was asked to defend the Bahá'ís of Shiraz and still later those in Yazd. His unceasing endeavours won him the praise of the beloved Guardian who later designated him the “Shield of the Cause of God” and predicted that future historians would study his achievements.

In 1953 he and his wife Shamsi pioneered to Monte Carlo in Monaco to replace Mrs French who had passed away. While at this post he studied international law at the University of Paris-Sorbonne. In 1955 the Guardian appointed him to the Commission that appealed to the United Nations in Geneva and New York about the Iranian attempt to exterminate the Bahá'í community. In 1962 he became involved with the imprisoned Bahá'ís in Algeria and Morocco.

In 1968 Dr. Navidi became a representative of the Iranian Oil Company for its operations in the Indian Ocean and the family made their new home in Mauritius from where he worked to secure legal recognition of several of the new National Assemblies in the Indian Ocean region as he did with various African states. He fearlessly visited countries hostile to the Bahá'ís with no protection except his faith and his credentials as official lawyer to the Universal House of Justice with special status at the United Nations. His missions took him to Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Congo, Gabon, the Gambia, Kenya, Madagascar, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Zaire, and many, many other countries throughout the world. He was successful time and again in persuading democratic governments and dictators alike to alter their laws and constitutions and to officially recognize the Bahá'í Faith. [BW20p866; Navidi, Dr. Aziz (1913-1987): Intrepid Pioneer, Knight of Bahá'u'lláh by Graham Walker; KoB341-344]

On the 27th (or 28th) of May...the gathering of one hundred thirteen Knights of Bahá'u'lláh along with 19 representatives of every National Spiritual Assembly (165) and 9 representatives of every territory without a National Spiritual Assembly (40-50) at Bahjí in commemoration of the ascension of Bahá'u'lláh (some 3,000 persons). The original scroll bearing the Roll of Honour of the Knights of Bahá'u'lláh was placed by Hand of the Cause Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhíyyih Khánum in a chamber at the entrance door of the inner sanctuary of the Most Holy Shrine. [AWH90, 105; VV128; BW92-3p98; BINS271:1; Message 7 June 1992]

The main focus of the evening was a theatrical performance entitled A Life So Noble, which had been inspired by Ruhiyyih Khanum's life. Written by Canadian-born actress/writer Beverley Evans and directed by Annabel Knight, the show took four major aspects of Khanum's life and character and personified them in four women actresses, Maria Friedman, Beverley Evans, Sarah Clive and Kerry-Ann Smith, who told her story using words taken from Ruhiyyih Khanum's own lectures and writings.[BWNS124]

Born in the USA to Muslim, Arab-speaking parents of Syrian origin she learned of the Faith through her father. Mr Abas had been introduced to the Bahá'í Faith by a Syrian friend. As a youth she taught children's classes and was one of the very first youth travelling teachers in the US accompanying Marguerite Reimer (later Sears) and Mable Ives. She had already been pioneering in Latin America for fourteen years when in early 1954 she opened the Galápagos Islands to the Bahá’í Faith, thus earning the title ‘Knight of Bahá’u’lláh’. Although her time there was brief, the story of her rich and varied life, dedicated to building up Bahá’í communities throughout Latin America, serving and empowering others, makes fascinating and inspiring reading. Her work with children’s education, particularly through the Children’s Public Speaking Project where she taught children to memorize passages from the Bahá’í Writings, to present them in public, and to express what they learned in service, was a precursor of the process of learning and practice now finding systematized expression in the worldwide Bahá’í community.

She was appointed to the Auxillary Board and served for 14 years in Ecuador. In 1961 sh was elected to the National Assembly.

From 1970 she served for five years at the World Centre where she did translation work. ‘Future generations will extol your labours, follow in your footsteps, and derive inspiration from your pioneer activities.’ Shoghi Effendi to Gayle Woolson in Costa Rica, 1942 [KoG224-225]

In 1971 her book, Divine Symphony was published by the Bahá'í Publishing Trust of New Delhi. The book was reprinted in 1976 and 1977. [Collins7.2771; p156]

For her biography see The Art of Empowering Others – A Biography of Knight of Baha’u’llah Gayle Woolson by Juliet Gentzkow and published by George Ronald.

Because she was not able to find employment she departed on the 22nd of December and was replaced by Kay Zinky in February 1954. She was an American from Colorado Spring, Colorado, whose husband, a non-Bahá'í, supported her during her stay of one year, until February 1954. Margaret and Larry Rowdon with their daughter Ayn arrived in the summer of 1954. They stayed until 1969. During this time the rest of their children, Leslie, Ruth, Devin, Karen and Bret were born. [CBN No 49 Feb 1954 p2; CBN No 54Jul 1954 p2] [CBN Vol 18 No 1 May 2005 p24-26; HB25; BW13:453; KoB278-280]

The first person to declare on the Magdalens was Carole Bates, originally from Nova Scotia. [HB116]

Other pioneers to Yellowknife were Ted Blencowe (1954 September) and later his wife, Helen, and Don and Midge Ulery, as well as Arthur and Lily Anne Irwin. [CBN No57 Oct 1954 p1; CBN No 207 Apr 1967 p8]

Stanley Bolton was conscripted into the Canadian Armed Forces at the beginning of World War I and was wounded in France. After the war and upon release from service he found work with the Fuller Brush Company and met Mariette Germain Roy in 1922. They were married in 1923 and the couple moved to Australia in 1924, arriving in Sydney on September 24. Stanley was still employed by the Fuller Brush Company and worked to establish the business in Australia, travelling across several states in the process.

The Bolton's first heard of the Bahá'í Faith when they met Hyde and Clara Dunn in 1925, but they did not become Bahá'ís until they met Keith Ransom-Kehler when she visited Australia in 1931. The Fuller Brush Company had closed down in 1929 due to Australian import restrictions and the Boltons moved to the United States in 1931, settling in Detroit where they assisted the local Bahá'í community.

They were introduced to chiropractic because of the illness of their son. Both Stanley and Mariette became qualified chiropractors and established a practice in Sydney when they returned to Australia in 1934.

In 1936 the Bolton’s bought three acres of land in Yerrinbool to be used to host Bahá'í Summer Schools. Hyde Dunn laid the cornerstone of the first building on the site on the 11th of October 1936. Siegfried Schopflocher visited the property shortly after the first building was completed and suggested that it be named Bolton Place. The property was officially opened at a ceremony chaired by Stanley during the second Australian and New Zealand National Convention on May 2nd, 1937. The Bolton's did not live on the property, but Stanley or Mariette traveled from Sydney to Yerrinbool every Wednesday from 1940 to 1943.

The first Australian Bahá'í Summer School was held on the property from the 8th to the 23rd of January 1938, and has been held there every year since. Stanley served as Chairman of the Summer School and both he and his wife delivered talks during sessions. Stanley and Mariette personally managed all of the affairs of the Summer School until 1945 when they transferred the responsibilities of management to the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia and New Zealand. Stanley continued to serve as Secretary of the Summer School after the transfer, and he and Mariette were caretakers of the property until they left Yerrinbool, moving to Orange, in 1963. In 1949 the Bolton's began proceedings to legally transfer ownership of the Yerrinbool property to the National Spiritual Assembly, which were completed in March 1963.

In August 1943 the Bolton's moved to Yerrinbool, and began hosting Summer School attendees in their home. They served as inaugural members of the Local Spiritual Assembly of Yerrinbool when it was established in 1948. In 1947 the Bolton's invited Frank Khan, a prominent member of the Australian Muslim community, to give a talk on Islam at the Summer School. Frank's family became the first Australian Muslims to become Bahá'í's in December 1948.

His service included the Local Teaching Committee, the Summer School Committee, Temple Construction Committee or as a member of the National Spiritual Assembly, he was forthright and definite in both thought and deed. Of the twenty years, 1937 - 1958, he served on the National Spiritual Assembly for seventeen, frequently as chairman.

He and Mariette attended the dedication of the Wilmette Temple in 1953 as representatives of Australia and New Zealand and had the bounty of going on pilgrimage to Haifa. They returned to Australia with a gift from the Guardian —a cream fez of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá [BW14p323-325; Find a grave]

She married Ken McCulloh in 1958 and they settled in Baker Lake in 1958 where Ken had been pioneering. They stayed until 1979 [BWIM277]

This autobiographical account by this extraordinary lady spans from the early days of World War II as the wife of a diplomat in Portugal, to her later years as a Bahá'í pioneer in Brazil, Martinque, and Canada. Of Hungarian origin and education, she brings a unique view of her life, and of the Bahá'í Faith.

The main focus of the evening was a theatrical performance entitled A Life So Noble, which had been inspired by Ruhiyyih Khanum's life. Written by Canadian-born actress/writer Beverley Evans and directed by Annabel Knight, the show took four major aspects of Khanum's life and character and personified them in four women actresses, Maria Friedman, Beverley Evans, Sarah Clive and Kerry-Ann Smith, who told her story using words taken from Ruhiyyih Khanum's own lectures and writings.[BWNS124]

She first learned of the Faith from Val (Mrs Hayden Nichols neé Valeria Lamb in Lisbon in 1948. Val had been taught by Beulah Storrs Lewis in 1936 in Los Angeles. [DRDA157]

She pioneered to her native Hungary, Säo Paulo, Brazil, various place in Canada and spent three and a half years in Martinique.

In 1995 she published her first autobiography, it was in Hungarian. Her English autobiography was called Dreams, Nightmares, and Dreams Again and it was published in 2000 by White Mountain Publications. [DNDA76]

Her Master's thesis at Laval University was A proposed world order: Baha'i teachings and Institutions 1968. [DRDA120,144]

He earned his BA and two master's degrees in Oregon and Chicago where he became a Bahá’í. Ted met his wife Joan Storie at the Bahá'í House of Worship in Chicago. They married in 1951 and pioneered to Whitehorse in 1953 where they earned the title, Knights of Bahá'u'lláh. During their time in the Yukon they were adopted by the Tlingit First Nations of Carcross-Tagish. In 1965 Ted was appointed as an Auxiliary Board Member for Alaska by Zikrullah Khadem and served in that capacity along with Howard Brown.

Ted and Joanie relocated to Red Deer, Alberta in 1972 and Joanie passed away in 2000. [Bahaipedia; CBN 410 p5; Find a grave]