Review of Foreigner by Dr.Duane Troxel, writer

Some time back a noted journalist cited five reasons to read biography.

They allow you to stand on the shoulders of giants.

They remind you that history repeats itself.

They promote self discovery.

They allow you to see the world in new ways.

They give you mentors at a distance.

In the case of Hussein Ahdieh’s new book, Foreigner, knowledge flows liberally forth from each of the five cited reasons.

Here is the autobiography of a man born and reared in the obscure Persian village of Nayriz in southwest province of Fars in the early 1940s. It was his birthright to be born into a family of Bahá’ís; a faith tradition fiercely hated by the Shi’i religious majority of Iran. A Shi’ite follower could insult, injure and even kill a Bahai without fear of reprisal by the government, the clergy or the victim’s family. Indeed, many fanatic and bigoted Shi’i Mullas promised the delights of Paradise to anyone who took the life of a Bahá’í.

For those of us with familiar with Babi-Bahá’í history we are keenly aware of the persecution of Bahá’ís in Iran over the past nearly 200 years. [1] Now Hussein Ahdieh adds considerably to our knowledge of the persecution of our fellow believers in the cradle of its birth during his youth.

What is most compelling about Hussein’s journey is his storytellers’ artifice to conjure the past. For Western readers like myself he not only paints a vivid canvas of those places and times but is able to bring them to life as we experience them — seemingly first-hand — through his eyes.

The whole pattern and rhythm of village life flowed according to Shi’ite rituals. The call to prayer blared daily from loudspeakers attached to the minarets of mosques. Friday morning prayers are led by the village’s principle cleric. Hussein recounts:

“We knew from the Baha’i Writings that this was not the Islam of Muhammad, the Messenger of God and the Qur’an. The real religion of the people of Nayriz was superstition. Malevolent spirits, the evil eye, fatalism, the use of lines from the Qur’an as incantations, the wearing of miniature Qur’ans in pouches as talismans, home rituals to protect the residents from curses — there were the daily religious practice of these townspeople handed down from centuries of tribal and Persian traditions that had degraded into a jumble of rituals and idols.”

As Hussein the boy becomes Hussein the man his keen powers of observation inform him that though he hails from a humble family of a hated faith he is the scion of an illustrious Bahá’í heritage going all the way back to the very dawn of the Bahá’í Revelation. Even his family name — “Ahdieh” — which means ‘to keep the Covenant’ was given by the Prophet-Founder Bahá’u’lláh[2] Himself. The Covenant is a spiritual contract between God’s chosen Mediator and His followers to faithfully keep promises made on God’s behalf.[3]

Hussein Ahdieh had the inestimable good fortune to be born into a family that prized education. His father owned a pharmacy and was a devoted Baha’i. His mother, though possessed of only a “rudimentary education” was a problem-solver possessed of a keen intelligence.

Hussein testifies that he “was nurtured by the women in our household including my mother, my aunts, and my grandmother.” The life of women under fanatical Muslims was extremely restricted (and it still is). No women could be seen in public with a man unless he was a relative. Even then she was reduced to solitary confinement beneath her outer garment, or chador, which covered all but her eyes. She was invisible and mute in public life and had to content herself with her family and domestic duties.

During the 1950s Hussein’s father was forced by the threats by influential and fanatical Shi’ites to move the family out of Nayriz. Time and time again it was the strong bond of family connections that permitted the Ahdieh family to survive as they were driven from pillar to post from village to village.

All during this time Hussein was learning from some of the Bahá’í Faith’s most celebrated figures — Hands of the Cause of God.[4] and other leading intellectuals.

Eventually he immigrated to the America where he went on to earn three university degrees, including a Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts. His struggles in America did much to correct the false impressions gleaned from the American-made movies he watched in his youth in Iran.

He eventually married a childhood friend from his native village of Nayriz. She went on to become an M.D. with a successful practice.

I highly recommend Hussein Ahdieh’s book. I learned much from the experiences of his colorful and adventurous life and you will too.

[1] “Bahá’ís as well as the United Nations, Amnesty International, the European Union, the United States, and peer-reviewed academic literature have stated that the members of the Bahá’í community in Iran have been subjected to unwarranted arrests, false imprisonment, beatings, torture, unjustified executions, confiscation and destruction of property owned by individuals and the Bahá’í community, denial of employment, denial of government benefits, denial of civil rights and liberties, and denial of access to higher education.” Wikipedia.org

[2] Baha’u’llah translated into English means “the Glory of God”.

[3] “In religion, a covenant is a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general. It is central to the Abrahamic religions and derived from the biblical covenants, notably the Abrahamic covenant.” Wikipedia.org.

[4] The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands (informally) were a select group of Bahá’ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá’í Faith. Unlike the members of the elected institutions and other appointed institutions in the Bahá’í Faith, who serve in those offices, Hands are considered to have achieved a distinguished rank in service to the religion. Wikipedia.org

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[1] Baha’u’llah translated into English means “the Glory of God”.

[1] “In religion, a covenant is a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general. It is central to the Abrahamic religions and derived from the biblical covenants, notably the Abrahamic covenant.” Wikipedia.org.

[1] The Hands of the Cause of God, Hands of the Cause, or Hands (informally) were a select group of Bahá’ís, appointed for life, whose main function was to propagate and protect the Bahá’í Faith. Unlike the members of the elected institutions and other appointed institutions in the Bahá’í Faith, who serve in those offices, Hands are considered to have achieved a distinguished rank in service to the religion. Wikipedia.org