In Memoriam: Muhammad Afnan (1930-2017)
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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Anonymous, In Memoriam: Muhammad Afnan (1930-2017), bahai-library.com.
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In Memoriam

Dr. Muhammad Afnan

1930 – 2017

Dr Muhammad Afnan was an ardent supporter, active
collaborator and much-appreciated adviser for the Irfan Colloquium
and its publications. After a very fruitful life spent in the various
fields of service, he took his flight to the Abha Kingdom in August
2017 and Irfan Colloquium missed a most valuable collaborator. He
and his wife, Dr Mehry Kiani-Afnan, were regularly participating in
the annual sessions of the Irfan Colloquium held in Louhelen Bahá’í
School in Michigan and both of them making presentations on
scholarly studies in the Bahá’í Writings, particularly Writings of the
340                                               Lights of Irfán vol. 19

Bab. Dr Afnan was deeply loved and highly respected by the
participants in the Irfan Colloquium gatherings as a gentle, wise,
loving and richly informed of the Bábí and Bahá’í literature. He was a
direct descendant, fifth generation, from Khál-i-Akbar, the oldest
maternal uncle of the Báb, who was honoured to be the recipient of
the Kitáb-i-ˆqán from the pen of Bahá’u’lláh. Dr Afnan was born in
Yazd, Iran, in 1930 and lived there until he moved to Tehran as a
young man to receive his university education, getting a doctorate
degree in veterinary medicine and bacteriology.

Dr Afnan served as a professor at the Department of Veterinary
Medicine in the Tehran University. He also served on the Local
Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Tehran for some 15 years,
serving as its secretary for 10 years. In 1978, he and his family moved
to Norway to settle there as Bahá’í pioneers. Shortly after the
outbreak of the Islamic Revolution in January 1979, they were denied
residency permit in Norway. At the same time, he was advised not to
return to Iran because of his prominence in the Bahá’í
administration. In the ensuing persecutions, seven of the eight other
members of the Assembly on which he had served were arrested and
executed. Afnan family moved to Canada, settling in the town of
Dundas, where they helped form the Local Spiritual Assembly and
became active and much-loved members of the community. Dr Afnan
worked as a researcher at the cancer clinic at McMaster University
for 8 years, gaining the respect of his colleagues through his unique
combination of great knowledge and great humility.

Dr Afnan through extensive personal study and research, which he
started in his youth, became a distinguished scholar of the Bahá’í
writings and one of the handful of experts in the area of the Writings
of the Báb. He authored numerous articles and essays on a wide range
of Bahá’í subjects over the years that were recently published in two
volumes

Dr Afnan was one of the main faculty members of the Institute
of Advanced Baha’i Studies in Iran. Since Bahá’í institutions were
banned by the order of Islamic government authorities in Iran, Dr
Afnan, assisted by his dear wife, established the Institute for Baha’i
Studies in the Persian language in Dundas. This Institute, over the
years, published a large volume of books and booklets on various
Bahá’í subjects and encouraged and assisted Persian Baha'i scholars.
In Memoriam                                                         341

In 1989, Dr Muhammad and Dr Mehry Afnan were invited to move
to Haifa, Israel, where they both served in the Research Department
at the Bahá’í World Centre for the next thirteen years.

Upon returning to Canada in 2002, they settled in Mississauga and
once again became enthusiastically involved in Bahá’ activities. They
had the opportunity to serve at the World Centre once more when
they were invited to work on a special project for three months in
2013.

Dr Afnan made a number of valuable presentations at the annual
sessions of Irfan Colloquium based on his vast knowledge and
studies. His research-based articles and commentaries are published in
various volumes of Safini-yi Irfan.

The Universal House of Justice expressed recognition and
appreciation for lifelong services of Dr Afnan in the following
message e-mailed to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baha’is of
Canada:

We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of dearly
loved Muhammad Afnan, devoted servant of the Ancient
Beauty and an esteemed scion of the noble family of the
Blessed Báb. His exemplary services to the Cause over many
decades—in the administration of the Faith in Iran, in the
enrichment of Bahá’í scholarship, and, in particular, in the
study of the Writings of the Báb—were distinguished by
diligence, wisdom, and surpassing humility. Serving at the
Bahá’í World Centre, he made invaluable and lasting
contributions to the work of the Research Department.

We offer our loving sympathy to his dear wife, Mehri, their
children, and other family members and assure them of our
ardent supplications at the Sacred Threshold for the progress
of his illumined soul in all the worlds of God and for the
consolation of their hearts.

— The Universal House of Justice
-- In Memoriam: Muhammad Afnan (1930-2017) (Used by permission of the curator)