Shoghi Effendi

Shoghi Effendi as a young man

Shoghi Effendi 1921

Burial place of Shoghi Effendi in London

Shoghi Effendi's signature

Shoghi Effendi ( Persian شوقی افندی Schoghi Efendi , DMG Šoqī Effendī , Bahai transcription Sh oghí Effendí , born March 1, 1897 in Akkon , Ottoman Empire ; † November 4, 1957 in London , United Kingdom ) is the religious honorary title of Shoghi Rabbani (شوقي رباني Shoghi Rabbani , DMG Šoqī Rabbānī , Bahai transcription Sh oghí Rabbání ), the guardian ( Arabic ولي, DMG walī , Bahai-Transkription Valí ) of the Bahai community from 1921 to 1957.

Life

Shoghi Effendi was the eldest grandson of ʿAbdul-Baha ' , the head of the Bahai community from 1892 to 1921 and the eldest son of the founder of the religion Baha'ullah . ʿAbdul-Baha 'named him “Guardian of the Cause of God” (Valiy-i-Amru'llah) in his will . This Arabic term, which means something like defender or leader of the faith or commander-in-chief, was translated into English by Shoghi Effendi with Guardian of the Cause of God (“ Guardian of the Cause of God ”). Shoghi Effendi has learned the English language since early childhood and was able to continue his studies at the American University in Beirut and finally finish at Balliol College in Oxford , where he stayed until ʿAbdul-Baha's death in 1921.

The Guardian translated the most important works of Baha'ullah and ʿAbdul-Baha 'as well as “Nabil's Report from the Early Days of the Bahai Revelation” from Arabic or Persian into English. Between 1930 and the Second World War he brought the historical significance of Baha'u'llah's claim closer to the occidental part of the Baha'i world community in particular. This was done through messages that are summarized in the book The World Order of Baha'u'llah . This and the following works were written in English and were first published in that language. In 1941 the promised day has come , in which he interprets the two world wars as a judgment over a civilization whose leaders have lost sight of the most important goal, the unity of the human race. His presentation and interpretation of Baha'i history was published in 1944 on the occasion of the first centenary of the declaration of the Bab under the title God is passing .

Shoghi Effendi also acquired land, planned and supervised the layout of the gardens in the Baha'i World Center in Haifa , the Shrine of Baha'u'llah near Acre and the construction of the shrine for the Bab and the International Archives Building, which were completed in 1953 and 1957.

In parallel to his translation and interpretation activities and the development of the world center of faith, Shoghi Effendi devoted himself intensively to the formation of administrative institutions. Any location with nine or more adult believers was encouraged to elect a " local spiritual council " to direct local matters of faith. As soon as there were sufficient "Local Spiritual Councils" in a particular country, the Guardian pushed for the election of a " National Spiritual Council ". A steady stream of correspondence from Haifa provided these nascent institutions with guidance on the application of the Baha'i scriptures in community life. Numerous collections of Shoghi Effendi's letters have been published in book form.

These administrative institutions of faith represented the necessary instruments for the implementation of the "Divine Plan" of ʿAbdul-Baha 'in order to open up the entire globe for the teachings of Baha'u'llah. Before the dispersed community could carry out such a grand scheme, it was necessary to create decision-making administrative structures that could mobilize the necessary manpower and resources. Again, this required that these institutions have adequate time to learn the basics of Baha'i administration and counseling. Therefore, Shoghi Effendi did not get the first seven-year plan in motion until April 1937, after a break of two years he initiated a second seven-year plan in 1946, with Europe as its focus , and finally a ten-year plan .

From 1951 to 1957 Shoghi Effendi appointed 31 Baha'i in " hands of the cause of God " to assist him in spreading and protecting the faith. Since Shoghi Effendi, who had been married to the Canadian Baha'i Mary Maxwell (Amatu'l-Bahá Rúhiyyih Khánum) since 1937 , left no successor and no will, this body of "hands" initially took over the leadership of the Baha'i world community. In the aforementioned ten-year plan, the number of national spiritual councils could be increased as planned, so that their members elect the first Universal House of Justice that he had already planned on April 21, 1963, the centenary of the Baha'u'llah declaration in Baghdad could.

Before the planned end of the ten-year plan in 1963, however, he died unexpectedly of the Asian flu in London in 1957 . Shoghi Effendi was there to buy furniture for the archive building. He was buried in New Southgate North Cemetery.

Works

German

• God is passing . With an introduction by George Townshend. Baháʼí-Verlag, Hofheim 2001 (English: God Passes By .).
• The world order Bahá ʼ u ʼ lláhs . Letters from Shoghi Effendi. Baháʼí-Verlag, Hofheim 1977, ISBN 3-87037-088-2 (English: The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh; contains The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh, The World Order of Bahá'u'lláh: Further Considerations, The Goal of a New World Order, The Golden Age of the Cause of Bahá'u'lláh, America and the Most Great Peace, The Dispensation of Bahá'u'lláh, The Unfoldment of World Civilization .).
• The coming of divine justice . Baháʼí-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1969 (English: The Advent of Divine Justice .).
• The promised day has come . Baháʼí-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 1967 (English: The Promised Day Is Come .).

English

• Shoghi Effendi: Citadel of Faith. Messages to America 1947-1957 . Bahá'í Publishing Trust, Wilmette 1965, ISBN 0-87743-011-X .
• Shoghi Effendi: The Light of Divine Guidance. The messages from the Guardian of the Bahai Faith to the Bahais of Germany and Austria . Bahai-Verlag, Hofheim-Langenhain 1982, ISBN 3-87037-145-5 .

literature

• Ugo Giachery : Shoghi Effendi. Recollections . George Ronald Publisher, Oxford 1973, ISBN 0-85398-050-0 .
• Rúḥíyyih Rabbani: The priceless pearl. Shoghi Effendi's life and work . Bahá'í-Verlag, Hofheim 1982, ISBN 3-87037-137-4 (Original title: The Priceless Pearl .).
• Riaz Khadem: Shoghi Effendi in Oxford . George Ronald Publisher, Oxford 1999, ISBN 0-85398-423-9 .

Web links

Commons : Shoghi Effendi  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Shoghi Effendi in the catalog of the German National Library
• Some of his writings in English, from the official reference of the Bahai International Community