# The Baha'i Faith in Libya

*Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-18 — 1 clipping.*

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> Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Rowshan Mustapha, The Baha'i Faith in Libya, bahai-library.com.
> ──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
> 
> The Bahá'í Faith in Libya
> 
> Rowshan Mustapha
> I wish to thank Hala Jarraḥ for the information
> she gave me that helped me complete my paragraphs regarding
> her parents Yusuf and Hayat Jarraḥ as well as details
> of the death of Riadh Gollestaneh and
> his wife Maheen Abrechami
> 
> To Tayseer and Samir Rushdy, I beg to present my
> thanks for their help
> in providing information that was of
> importance to this history.
> 
> CONTENTS
> Page
> Historical Time-line of events                     7
> Fore Word                                 9
> Introduction                               11
> Chapter One
> First announcement of the NSA of Egypt and Sudan       13
> regarding Libya
> Another announcement regarding Libya – Revival of Spirit
> of Pioneering                        13
> The Bahá’ís who pioneered to Libya             14
> Chapter Two
> Benghazi - Cyrenaica
> The Local Spiritual Assembly of Benghazi                 19
> The role of Yusuf Jarraḥ                        20
> The role of Dr. Munib ‘Abdu’l-Ḥusayn Gollestaneh             22
> The case of Riadh Gollestaneh and his wife Maheen
> Abreshami                                  23
> Chapter Three
> The Expulsion of the Egyptian Bahá'ís from                   25
> Libya
> What happened in Benghazi                        25
> Signs of opposition                        25
> Dr. Ḥussayn Gollestaneh targeted                  26
> The King of Libya takes action against the unjust officials   26
> A further grave incident that played in the hands of the
> opponents of the Faith                        26
> Other factors added leverage to the opposition against the
> Bahá'ís                                27
> A Prince of Libya sought meeting a Bahá'í                27
> Chapter Four
> Sabha – Fezzan
> In Sabha – Fezzan                            29
> The beloved Guardian extremely delighted                 29
> The story of Fezzan                           30
> The story of Moḥsen ‘Enayát and Fezzan                  31
> Note regarding Moḥsen 'Enayát                    32
> The Role of Fouad Rushdy in Fezzan and Tripoli             33
> Chapter Five                               35
> In Tripoli – Tripolitania
> Chapter Six
> Reflection
> Chapter Seven
> THE COMMUNITIES              41
> Benghazi Community and LSA     41
> Tripoli Community and LSA     43
> Ella Bailey           44
> Sabha Bahá’ís and friends    45
> Hayat in Mursuq          46
> Foad Rushdy             48
> My house a rest house      50
> Chapter Eight            53
> Stories in Memory
> 
> The Bahá’í Faith in Libya
> Historical Time-line of events
> 
> 1948   -First announcement to open Libya to the Faith
> 1951   -Second announcement to open Libya to the Faith.
> -King Idris accedes to the Throne of Libya – Dec. 24, 1951
> 1952   -First arrival in Libya, Dr. Munib 'Abdu'l-Ḥusayn Gollestaneh arrives in
> Benghazi February 21, 1952.
> 1953   -Formation of the Local Spiritual Assembly in Benghazi in Riḍván 1953.
> -Arrival in Tripoli, Libya of Dr. Robert Gulick and Bahiyyih Faraju’lláh and
> Ella Bailey as well as Bahiyyih’s mother Shawket ‘Alí Faraju’lláh – July 20,
> 1956.
> -Passing Away of Ella Bailey August 26, 1953.
> -Moḥsen ‘Enayát opens Fezzan arriving Sabha September 26, 1953.
> - Circa October 1953, Dr. 'Abdu'l-Ḥusayn Gollestaneh was assaulted at his
> work premises that caused breaking of 3 ribs.
> - Áḥmad Al Ghadamsi, accepts the Faith and thus becomes the first Berber
> Bahá’í, sometime towards the end of 1953.
> -Circa December 1953, Mustapha El Beji, Tunisian graduate of Zaytouna of
> Tunis and teacher in El Marj town in Cyrenaica accepts the Faith.
> 1954   - Circa January 1954; Dr. 'Abdu'l-Ḥusayn Gollestaneh struck by severe
> depression.
> - Circa mid-June 1954, the situation changed very rapidly in Cyrenaica (letter
> of Muḥammad Muṣṭafá dated June 26, 1954 to Mr Banání)
> -Arrival of Bashir Hosni ‘Abdalláh circa January 1954 – a former associate of
> the Mufti of Palestine bearing a letter of introduction from the NSA of Egypt
> and expelled from the Faith (Letter LSA Benghazi to NSA Egypt dated July
> 18, 1954)
> -July 8, 1954, El Zaman newspaper of Benghazi published an article under the
> title – ‫“ – انهاء إقامة الطائفة البهائية في البالد‬Termination of residence of the Bahá’ís
> in the country”
> - July 10, 1954, a letter on behalf of the Bahá’ís refuting the false information
> and accusations of El Zaman was sent to the Governor of Cyrenaica requesting
> his intervention.
> - July 14, 1954, the answer to the above letter came from the Office
> Publications and Distribution of the Governorate that El Zaman is a private
> publication and is not under the jurisdiction of the Government.
> -Between July and August 1954, Muḥammad Muṣṭafá, Ámin Battaḥ, Moḥsen
> ‘Enayát, Hebat’ulláh ‘Abdu’l-Ṣamad and his wife Tahirih Gollestaneh,
> Rowshan Mustapha and Mustapha El Beji were forced to leave Libya.
> -August 26, 1954, Selim Jarrah and his wife Parvine left Benghazi.
> -August 1954, the Local Spiritual Assembly of Benghazi was dismantled
> because of departure of members.
> 1974   -Yusuf Jarrah is appointed Auxiliary Board Member for Libya.
> 1983   -Yusuf Jarrah family return to Tripoli from the United States (Membership
> transfer slip NSA of the USA dated November 7, 1983)
> 1985   Yusuf Jarrah family are obliged to leave Libya to the United States.
> 1987   -There is no one besides us in Tripoli, rather in Libya except Riaz Gollestaneh
> and his wife in Benghazi (Letter of Fouad Rushdy dated May 19, 1987)
> 
> The Bahá’í Faith in Libya
> 
> Foreword
> 
> It was my privilege to be one of the early Bahá’ís who pioneered to Libya in 1952,
> the fourth actually, and although destiny allowed me only two years there at the end
> of which I had to leave Libya with three other Egyptian Bahá’ís and one Tunisian
> Bahá’í expelled from the country because of our Faith, I continued to be connected
> with that country for more than fifty years after.
> A sudden rise of hostility against the Bahá'ís by Muslim Shaykhs only two years
> after the first pioneer entered Libya disrupted the Administration and barred progress
> in teaching the Faith at a time when the Libyan had just woken from the slumber of
> a long period of foreign occupation.
> During the twelve years that followed my departure, I did not feel it wise to go to
> Libya and visit the friends there. During that time, the friends of Libya, who had
> concentrated in Tripoli, which is near to Tunis, Tunisia, where I lived, came to Tunis
> as often as possible, while they continued a correspondence with me also.
> During the years 1968 and 1969, I intermittently spent fortnights and even months
> in Libya in my work and was able to see the friends there. During the seventies and
> early eighties, my wife, Ulfet, and I visited the friends in the whole of Libya a few
> times while travelling to Egypt and back in our effort to help the friends in Egypt. In
> the nineties I went often to Libya in my work and was able to associate with the
> friends there.
> The few documents and memories that I gathered from that long period of
> association with the affairs of the Faith in Libya are probably the only ones available
> worldwide. Hence the importance of recording them in this history.
> Libya had been, and still is, a difficult country for teaching the Faith. Many
> pioneers have sacrificed effort, time and money in their endeavours to teach in Libya
> over, now, a period of more than seventy years. Yet Libya has not seen any durable
> success.
> Why is that? I have no convincing answer.
> In this history of the Bahá’í Faith in Libya, a trace of an answer may be found.
> 
> This book, The Bahá’í Faith in Libya will be the third in the series of history of
> the Faith in North Africa, following The Bahá’í Faith in Egypt and The Bahá’í
> Faith in Tunisia.
> 
> Because the Bahá’í Administration in Libya was short lived, recording the history
> of the Faith tends more towards recording individual achievements and their effect
> on the relation of the Bahá’í Community with the local population.
> 
> Introduction
> Libya
> For the Baha’is of Egypt, Libya seemed a faraway country. Both countries share an
> almost straight border line North/South of some 1000 km from the Mediterranean in the
> north, yet it is unlike Súdán in that there is a wide area of desert that separates the Egyptians
> and the Libyans. Added to this, the population of Libya in 1951, the year of its independence,
> was no more than 1.25 million including foreigners, spread thinly along the 1500 km plus
> Mediterranean coast in the north and in the desert oasis in the south of Tripolitania and in
> the Fezzan. The country covers 1.76 million km2 some 95%1 of which is pure desert. It is
> divided into 3 provinces; Tripolitania in the North West with Tripoli as capital with a
> population of some 700,000, Cyrenaica in the East with its capital Benghazi and a population
> of 300,000 and Fezzan South of Tripolitania with its capital Sabha and some 30,000
> inhabitants. The country was poor when the Bahá’ís went there. Petroleum had not been
> discovered yet. It was the Italians who had constructed most of the infrastructure and towns
> during the period of their occupation between 1911 and 1942, and much of it that was in
> Cyrenaica, was destroyed during the Second World War.
> 
> However, it was to the most desolate Fezzan in Libya that the Sultan ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamíd had
> threatened to exile 'Abdu'l-Bahá in the year 1907.
> 
> This historic particularity of Libya is of importance to the Bahá’ís.
> 
> Estimate of the writer.
> Socially, the inhabitants are divided in a number of tribes. Only a few Libyans had
> medium education at the time the first pioneers went there. During the Italian occupation,
> many Libyan families migrated to Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Iraq. With independence, many
> of the immigrants returned to their country amongst whom were highly educated young
> generation members.
> 
> On December 24, 1951, King Idris declared Libya independent. Political parties were
> prohibited, and the king’s authority was sovereign. Tripolitania and Cyrenaica were
> administered by Britain with a pronounced American presence in Tripoli, while Fezzan was
> administered by France. Idris Sanūsī, Emir of Tripolitania and Cyrenaica was crowned king.
> The Constitution of new Libya had a Federal Government with three States or Provinces.
> 
> The reader is kindly reminded, that at this stage in the history of this book we are
> in the mid-20th Century, we are in North Africa and we are precisely in Libya – the
> second largest, most sparsely inhabited and one of the poorest countries in the expanse
> of the Great Western Sahara at that time.
> 
> Chapter One
> First announcement of the NSA of Egypt and Sudan regarding Libya
> Following the launching of the second Seven Year Plan in 1946 for the National Spiritual
> Assembly of the United States and Canada, Shoghi Effendi asked the other National
> Assemblies to adopt plans that take them to the year 1953. These plans were known as
> accessory plans. 2
> In the year 1948, The Egyptian National Spiritual Assembly announced a 5 year plan,
> 1948 – 1953, item 3 of which reads as follows:
> 3 – Send pioneers to Tunisia, Algeria and Libya.
> I have no memory of any action being taken to implement that goal of the plan.
> There was no call for pioneers to these three countries in the 19 day Feasts that I, in
> the end of my second university year, heard of.
> It is true that Egypt was in a turmoil during that period. The war between Egypt
> and Israel broke out that year with the resounding defeat of the Egyptian army in
> Sinai. To leave the country, an exit visa was necessary from the Army Intelligence.
> 
> Another announcement regarding Libya – Revival of Spirit of Pioneering
> 
> In April 1951, a United Nations Non-Governmental Organisations Conference for the
> Middle East was held in Istanbul, Turkey April 9 – 13, 1951 to which Bahá'í Delegates and
> Observers were present. Muḥammad Muṣṭafá was the delegate from Egypt and the Súdán.
> That was the first International event to which the Bahá'ís in Egypt were invited to
> participate by sending a representative. The situation in the Middle East was turbulent
> because of the Arab – Israeli conflict and communication with the Guardian was badly
> hampered.
> Upon return from this trip to Turkey, Muḥammad Muṣṭafá informed the National
> Assembly of the Guardian’s wish for Egyptian Bahá’ís to pioneer to Libya and Algeria, both
> countries being virgin territories, to use the terminology of the Ten year Plan not yet
> announced at that date.
> 
> During the 19 Day Feast of Nour 1951, I remember clearly when Ṣobḥi Elias, member
> of the LSA of Alexandria and probably also NSA member at the time, made the following
> announcement: “Muḥammad Muṣṭafá returned from Turkey and said that the beloved
> Guardian wants pioneers from Egypt to open Libya and Algeria”.3
> The feast ended and Fouad Rushdy and I walked home. We were both decided to
> pioneer to Libya. We did, as the following paragraphs show.
> 
> See “Shoghi Effendi: Author of Teaching Plans” by ‘Alí Nakhjavání p. 93.
> Because Egypt was at war with Israel, correspondence between the Guardian and the NSA was
> difficult.
> A couple of months later when I transferred from Alexandria to my home in Zaytún,
> Cairo, I found Moḥsen ‘Enayát, my junior of 2 years, already decided to pioneer to Libya.
> Elder Bahá'ís eventually pioneered to Libya, but I mention these two youths: Moḥsen
> ‘Enayát and Fouad Rushdy for the imprint they made in the troubled history of the Faith in
> Libya.
> 
> The National Spiritual Assembly appointed a Pioneering Committee to channel the offers
> and the pioneering to these two territories. What was fascinating was the enthusiasm that
> was there. More than I have ever seen in any time before. The youth struggled to think how
> they could answer Shoghi Effendi's request. Pioneering spirit was revived.
> 
> The Bahá’ís who pioneered to Libya:
> 
> Benghazi, Cyrenaica
> Dr. Munib ‘Abdu’l-Ḥusayn Gollestaneh (MD) of Cairo, Egypt, was the first pioneer
> to Libya. He arrived in February 1952 and took up work in Ajedabia hospital – 170 kms
> westwards from Benghazi along the road to Tripoli. He taught the Faith to Áḥmad El-
> Ghedamsi, the first Libyan to accept the Faith in the spring of 1954. Dr. Gollestaneh
> remained in Libya until 1964 and then left to the United States.
> 
> Eng. Yusuf Jarrah and his wife Hayat and two children Hala and Nabíl and child Badi’
> came to Benghazi around mid-August 1952. Yusuf and Hayat came from Lebanon, but they
> are originally from ‘Akká. Yusuf was the mainstay of the Bahá’í community and with Hayat
> brought the Faith to many Libyan families.
> 
> Moḥsen ‘Enayát, of Zaytún, Egypt, the youngest Bahá’í among the pioneers to Libya,
> arrived Benghazi end of August 1952. He took a job of teacher in Ajedabia, 170 km west of
> Benghazi along the coast, where he remained until July 10, 1953, when he left for Sabha in
> Fezzan.
> 
> Eng. Rowshan Muṣṭapha of Zaytún, Egypt, arrived Benghazi early September 1952.
> He remained in Benghazi until the Government terminated his work and residence permit in
> 1954. He continued his pioneering by going to Tunisia.
> 
> Muṣṭafá Salem of Alexandria, Egypt, who was a member of the NSA in Egypt came to
> Benghazi probably in September 1952 also, and went to Tripoli on July 16,1953, where he
> was joined by his wife Ra’úth Gabriel. Muṣṭafá Salem passed away on the 23rd November
> 1962 and was buried in Tripoli. 4
> 
> Saleem Jarrah and his wife Parvin Khusraw both originally of Acca, came from
> Jordan in March 1953. They both transferred to Tripoli and remained there until 1986 when
> age and health problems forced them to return to Jordan, their country of origin.
> 
> Áḥmad El Meissi of Lebanon came to Benghazi sometime in 1952. He ceased to contact
> the friends two years later when the Government terminated the residence permit of a
> number of Bahá’ís.
> 
> Riadh Gollestaneh of Cairo, Egypt, arrived in Benghazi mid-1953. He was joined later
> with his wife Maheen (née Abreshami). They both remained in Benghazi after the exodus
> of all other Bahá'í. They lived and died like martyrs.
> 
> Feridún Zeinu’l-‘Abidín and his wife Assia Rúḥí of Cairo, Egypt, came to Benghazi
> around mid-1953. Later, they transferred to Tripoli.
> 
> The Local Spiritual Assembly of Benghazi was established in Riḍván 1953, but was
> disbanded in 1954 following the termination of residence for the Egyptian Bahá’ís.
> 
> Tripoli, Tripolitania
> 
> Dr. Robert Gulick and his wife Bahiyyih Faraj’ulláh and Robert jr. arrived from
> the
> United States to Tripoli July 20, 1953. They arranged for Miss Ella Bailey to pioneer
> with them.
> Mrs. Shawkat ‘Alí Faraju’lláh née Khanum, mother of Bahiyyih arrived with the
> Gulicks. She passed away February 15, 1954.5
> 
> Miss Ella Bailey arrived with the Gulicks also. She passed away a few weeks after
> arrival.6 The beloved Guardian signalled her pioneering to Libya and her death there. She
> had met ‘Abdu’l-Bahá in Chicago in 1912 and was blessed by Him.
> 
> The Bahá’í World xiii p.931
> The Bahá’í World xii p.915
> The Bahá’í World xii p. 685
> Miss Laura Allen arrived Tripoli September 3, 1953, from the United States.
> 
> Feridún Shahrokh and his wife, first pioneers to Libya from Iran, arrived September 6,
> 1953, went to Tripoli with intention of settling there as merchants.
> 
> Mrs Katayún arrived with the Shahrokhs to settle in Tripoli.
> 
> Ne’ímat ‘Abdel-Waḥid and his wife Nosrat from Iraq, arrived in Benghazi the 17th of
> September 1953 and proceeded to Tripoli on the 20th. They remained for some years. They
> had their firstborn, a son, in December 1953.
> 
> Miss ‘Esmat Wakil of Iraq came with the ‘Abdel-Waḥids and went with them to Tripoli.
> Miss ‘Esmat is the sister of Mrs ‘Abdel-Waḥid.
> 
> Miss Rizvanieh Ighrari came from Iran to Benghazi on the 17th of September 1953. The
> LSA directed her to Tripoli, but later she returned to Benghazi and married with Dr. Munib
> Gollestaneh and the couple remained and maintained the Benghazi centre for many years
> after most of the other pioneers had left.
> 
> The Local Spiritual Assembly of Tripoli was established in Riḍván 1954.
> 
> Sabha, Fezzan
> 
> Moḥsen ‘Enayát (1931 - 2024) went to Sabha in Fezzan in answer to the request of
> Shoghi Effendi, arriving there on the 26th of September 1953. He was forced to leave Sabha
> ten months later during which a Provincial Minister accepted the Faith and the Faith was
> introduced to the representative to the parliament of the Tuaregs.
> 
> Fouad Rushdy of Alexandria, Egypt arrived in Sabha before the departure of Moḥsen
> in order to keep the locality open to the Faith. He was later joined in marriage with Siham
> Jarrah of ‘Akká and they remained in Fezzan for 3 years after which Fouad’s employer, the
> Ministry of Finance, transferred him to Tripoli. Fouad and Siham remained in Tripoli until
> their death in August 1996 and June 2000.
> 
> Derna, Cyrenaica
> 
> Eng. Hebat’ulláh ‘Abdu’l-Ṣamad and his wife Tahireh Gollestaneh arrived from Cairo,
> Egypt, to Derna in Cyrenaica in April 1954 and were obliged to leave in August 1954
> because the government terminated his services because the couple were Bahá’ís.
> 
> Later the following pioneers came to Libya: 7
>  Isḥaq Ghabrial & Salwa Iskandar with their three children Ra’úf, Baha’a and
> Sameḥ. Lived in Zliten and Gharian.
> 
> List provided by Riadh ‘Alí 25.02.2023.
>  Sabri & Ra’issa Elias accompanied by their daughters Carmel and
> Malakút. Lived in Tripoli. Arrived late 1969).
>  Abdul-Karim Isfahání (of Syria). Lived in Tripoli and Benghazi. Arrived
> late 1968 or early 1969.
>  Fouad Abdu’l Razzaq Abbas & Salwa Sabri (both of Iraq) accompanied by
> their two children. Lived in Baidha.
>  Enayat Rushdy and Ragaa’ Rúḥí (and their children Hassan and Rania).
> Lived in Tripoli.
>  Abbas Rushdy and Mariam Rúhí. Lived in Tripoli.
>  Muḥammad ‘Abdu’l-Mageed Ahmad, a Baha’i from Sudan.              Arrived in
> Tripoli early 1970’s but didn’t stay for too long to my knowledge.
>  Rif’át and Fatima Shirazi (Egypt) accompanied by their three daughters
> Malakút, Iman and Hala. Lived in Zuwarah.
>  Riadh ‘Alí of Iraq and his wife Rose (née Roumani), pioneered to Libya and
> lived in Gharian, Tripoli and Sirte (June 1969 to June 1976).
> 
> Chapter Two
> Benghazi - Cyrenaica
> Libya was opened to the Bahá’í Faith by the arrival from Egypt of Dr. Munib ‘Abdu’l-
> Ḥusayn Gollestaneh on February 21, 1952 and settled in Benghazi, the capital city of the
> eastern province of Cyrenaica.
> He was joined in August 1952, by Eng. Yusuf Jarraḥ and his wife Ḥayat Jarraḥ and their
> daughter Hala (4 yrs.) and their son Nabíl (2yrs.) and baby Badi’.
> Moḥsen ‘Enayát must have arrived in Benghazi end of August 1952 followed three days
> later by Eng. Rowshan Mustapha in Benghazi also.
> Other early arrivals in Benghazi were Muṣṭafá Salem, around end September 1952 and
> Salim Jarrah and his wife Parvin, in March 1953.
> Áḥmad El Meissi of Lebanon was already in Benghazi sometime after the arrival of the
> first pioneer - Dr. Munib ‘Abdu’l-Ḥusayn Gollestaneh and thus it was possible to establish
> the first local Spiritual Assembly of Benghazi during Riḍván 1953.
> The Bahá'í Centre of Benghazi began with the autumn of 1952. The Centre quickly
> became a stopover for pioneers or visitors to Libya or on their way to other destinations.
> Boarding, transport and help of all sorts was provided by the Bahá’ís of Benghazi to
> Bahá'ís going through the town or trying to settle there.
> 
> The Local Spiritual Assembly of Benghazi
> 
> The establishment of the Local Spiritual Assembly in Benghazi was a source of happiness
> to the beloved Guardian. This was confirmed by a letter from Dr. El-Sayyid Muḥammad Al-
> 'Azzawí8 dated July 1st, 1953 to the Local Assembly of Benghazi wherein Mr Al-’Azzawí
> wrote:
> 
> ‫ والتوجه بالقلب والوجدان إلى غصن‬،‫العلي األبهى‬
> ّ   ‫بعد الخشوع والخضوع لساحة ربنا‬
> ‫ أقدم إلى محفلكم كمنفذا تعليمات‬،‫الله الممتاز ربّان السفينة الحمراء وقائد جند البهاء‬
> ‫ولي أمر الله المحبوب التي أصدرها لهذا العبدالفاني لدى تشرفه بالمحضر األنور‬ ّ ‫حضرة‬
> ‫لقد أبدى حضرة المولى المحبوب سرور خاطره المبارك من تشكيل المحفل ببنغازي بهذه‬
> ‫السرعة وتلك الكيفية التي تدل على أن اليد الغيبية تعمل من وراء الحجب الغيبية وتفضل‬
> ،‫ أولهما ه ّمة األحباء وعداوة األعداء‬:‫وقال أن انتشار األمر المبارك معتمد على أمرين‬
> ... .‫وثانيهما يد الغيب والتأييد اإللهي‬
> ‫اتصل بمحفل بنغازي وأكد لهم على لساني ضرورة تأسيس مركز أمري في الغرب‬
> ‫(فزان) ويجب عليهم أن يرسلوا من بينهم شخصا واحدا كافتتاح‬  ّ ‫(طرابلس) وفي الجنوب‬
> ‫في هذه السنة وبعد ذلك يصل العدد حتى تستحكم أسس هذين المركزين فيتطوران بسرعة‬
> ،‫ فإنه من أهم األمور أن يتأسس محفالن في هذين البلدين بأسرع ما يمكن‬.‫إلى محفلين‬
> ‫وهذا العمل خاص بأحباء بنغازي وليس لمصر أن ترسل مهاجرين لمساعدتهم فإن مصر‬
> 
> Dr. El-Sayyid Muḥammad Al-'Azzawí, a believer of Egypt, was visiting in Ḥaifa with special
> permission from the Guardian at a time when believers from most of the middle eastern countries
> were not permitted to visit the Holy Land because of the ongoing war with Israel.
> ‫ لقد حان الوقت ألحباء بنغازي أن يستقلوا بفعالياتهم الخاصة ولو‬.‫مشغولة بأمور أخرى‬
> .‫اقتضى األمر أال يبقى في بنغازي إال أعضاء المحفل فقط‬
> ّ ‫وقد أكد حضرته عن ضرورة الهجرة إلى طرابلس‬
> ‫وفزان استعدادا لتأسيس محفلين فيهما‬
> ‫مرة كان حضرته‬ّ ‫بأسرع ما يمكن – في مرتين مختلفين وفي يومين مختلفين وفي كل‬
> "‫يقول "أكد لهم على لساني‬
> Further instructions from the Guardian arrived to the Assembly in Benghazi through Mr.
> ‘Abdu’l-Raḥman Jarraḥ of ‘Akká, father of Yusuf Jarraḥ, the Chairman of the Local
> Assembly in Benghazi, confirmed in an attachment to a Message to the Assembly in
> Benghazi from Mr. Leroy Ioas dated July 1953:
> 
> “The beloved Guardian wishes ‘Abdu’l-Raḥman Jarraḥ to write his son and the
> Assembly in Benghazi of his happiness over the establishment of the new Assembly
> and to assure them of his prayers in their behalf.
> He feels if they can do any extension teaching work, he would like them to teach in
> Tripoli, and also in Feisan (sic), Tripoli, in Libya however, takes precedence over
> Feisan (sic). Both are very important, so if they have any ones wishing to pioneer,
> or can do some teaching works in either of these two areas of Libya, the Guardian
> would appreciate it”
> 
> The above two quotes were confirmed in a letter from Mr Leroy Ioas dated 16th July
> 1953 where we read:
> 
> “The Guardian has instructed me to write to your Assembly, calling your attention
> to the very great responsibility that rests upon you as the only Assembly in Benghazi,
> and perhaps the strongest in North Africa outside of Egypt.
> He knows how diligently you have worked to establish your Assembly, but at the
> same time he knows you appreciate the great spiritual gifts that come to the
> individuals who continuously move to new areas to establish the Faith when it has
> become strongly established in a central point.
> “The beloved Guardian attaches the greatest importance to the Cities of Tripoli and
> Feezan (sic). He would certainly be most happy if any of the friends in Benghazi
> could establish themselves in either of these cities, so that the Faith might become
> established there. Feezan (sic) as you know, is the place where the Turkish
> Government had in mind imprisoning the Master, and for this reason the Guardian
> feels it extremely important that an Assembly be formed there. Likewise Tripoli is
> the most important city in Tripolitania, and if your Assembly could establish the
> Faith in those cities, it would add to the eternal glory of Benghazi, as well as the
> beloved Friends who settle there”
> 
> The role of Yusuf Jarraḥ
> 
> It was Yusuf Jarraḥ who was instrumental in building up rapidly the Community of
> Benghazi to a Local Assembly status. He was the mainstay of the Community in Benghazi,
> and later in Tripoli.
> He helped in finding jobs for a number of friends allowing them to pioneer to Libya. He
> and his wife Ḥayat Jarraḥ, a capable speaker and capable of sustained valuable speech,
> quickly endeared themselves to many a Libyan family, especially when they transferred to
> Tripoli in September 1954.
> When the threat to expel the Bahá’ís from Libya loomed in mid-June of 1954, he was
> one of the Bahá’ís targeted for expulsion. His case was more serious in consequences. He
> was stateless and his expulsion from Libya to Lebanon would have been disastrous for him
> and his family. Fortunately, the Prime Minister of Libya, who knew Yusuf Jarraḥ’s value,
> intervened and transferred Yusuf to Tripoli and to the Federal Government, as opposed to
> the Provincial Government of Cyrenaica.
> Hala Jarraḥ9 added the following information regarding that critical period of their life in
> Libya:
> I was young at the time and went to the Amira School for girls in Benghazi. At the
> head of the school was Mme Ḥamida El-‘Anizi10, of the well-known ‘Anizi family, one
> of the big tribes in Cyrenaica. Mme Ḥamida was also the President of the Women
> Charity Association in which my mother, Ḥayat Jarraḥ, was a member as well as
> Mme Yosra Canaan wife of the Prime Minister of Libya, Eng. Muṣṭafá Ben Ḥalim.
> Yosra was Palestinian and a close friendship developed between my mother and her.
> 
> When the Libyan Government decided to expel the Bahá'ís from Libya, Mme ‘Anizi
> went to the King at his palace and with courage confidence told the King said to him,
> “Yusuf Jarraḥ used to send a lamb eve35
> 
> ry Aid El Aḍḥa to feast the orphans in Orphanage while your ministers filled their
> stomachs with lamb meat. If the Bahá'ís are like Yusuf Jarraḥ then I am one of them!”
> Mother informed Mme Yosra that we were being expelled from the country and she
> informed her husband Muṣṭafá Ben Ḥalim. Ben Halim immediately contacted my
> father and told him to go quickly to Tripoli with the family where he was to take up
> the function of Director of roads in the Federation Ministry of Public Works. The
> family transferred too transferred to Tripoli and I remember we travelled by night
> for a long time and we settled in a stricken by war hotel for a few months until a
> Libyan employee with my father offered us a two room house adjoining his house free
> until the Government allocates us a house or apartment. We were most grateful to
> this kind and generous Libyan whom we called Uncle ‘Abdu’lláh El Hammaly. My
> mother taught his wife to read and write.
> The government allocated for us a beautiful house in the town’s best residence area,
> overlooking the sea – a real beauty.
> 
> I remember that my father contacted my grandfather ‘Abdu’l-Raḥman Jarraḥ in Akka
> when we were notified to be expelled asking him to consult the beloved Guardian
> regarding our situation. The answer of the beloved Guardian was that my father
> 
> Hala Jarraḥ, born circa 1948, is the eldest daughter of Yusuf and Ḥayat Jarraḥ. She was 4 years old
> when she came with her pioneer parents to Benghazi in Libya.
> The first Libyan women who went to Turkey for education.
> should persevere and remain in Libya. My father persevered and obeyed and God
> rewarded him with all good.
> 
> During the early 60s, Yusuf brought his brother, Jamal Jarraḥ, a medical doctor in Syria,
> over to Libya and helped him build a hospital which was a pride of the people of Tripoli.
> In 1974, Yusuf Jarraḥ was appointed Member of the Auxiliary Board and he was able to
> communicate through the friends of Tunis, mainly, and send the news of the friends in Libya
> to the Counsellors in Africa.
> In 1976, Yusuf purchased a Ḥaẓiratu’l-Quds in Malta and he extended important help to
> the friends in Egypt where the Administration was banned.
> In 1978, Yusuf had a stroke while on business in London. He had to spend a year in Malta
> for convalescence and returned to Tripoli in 1979. He insisted in sticking to his post of
> pioneering in spite of his deteriorating health. However, he was obliged to leave Libya with
> whole family and reside in the United States in 1985 where he passed away in 1989.
> The Universal House of Justice wrote to Mrs Ḥayat at the passing of her dear Husband
> Yusuf Jarraḥ:
> 
> March 13, 1989
> 
> DEEPLY SADDENED PASSING STAUNCH SERVANT CAUSE YUSUF JARRAḤ.
> HIS DEDICATED SERVICES UNFORGETTABLE. CONVEY YOU AND ENTIRE
> FAMILY HEARTFELT CONDOLENCES. PRAYING FERVENTLY HOLY SHRINES
> PROGRESS HIS SOUL ABHA KINGDOM.
> 
> During June 1998, Hayat Jarraḥ passed away while in Jordan. The Universal House of
> Justice addressed the following Message to the National Assembly of Jordan:
> 
> 26 June 1998
> Deeply grieved passing Mrs Hayat Jarraḥ. Her sacrificial pioneering services, her
> wholehearted support teaching activities in various fields, exemplify the spirit of
> radiant dedication which motivated all her endeavours. Assure her dear children
> and other relatives loving sympathy and fervent prayers Holy Shrines progress her
> soul Abha Kingdom.
> The Universal House of Justice.
> 
> The role of Dr. Munib ‘Abdu’l-Ḥusayn Gollestaneh
> 
> Dr. Gollestaneh was the first to pioneer to Libya arriving in Benghazi in February 1952.
> He had pioneered to the south of the Sudan one year before. He was posted to the hospital
> of Agedabia which is 170 kms by road west of Benghazi. His was the merit to respond to
> the call of the Guardian to teach the Faith to the Berbers. Sometime towards the end of 1953,
> Dr. Gollestaneh taught the Faith to one of the employees of the hospital, Aḥmad El-
> Ghedamsi, a Berber originally from Fezzan.
> Dr. Gollestaneh’s optimistic character and full of hope was a source of happiness to the
> friends of Benghazi on the weekends when he joined them from Agedabia.
> 
> Dr. Gollestaneh and Rizvanieh remained in Benghazi well after the forced exodus of most
> of the friends imposed by the Government of Cyrenaica as of June 1954. They left around
> the year 1964 to the United States.
> 
> The case of Riadh Gollestaneh and his wife Maheen Abreshami
> 
> Riadh came to Benghazi sometime in 1953 well after the establishment of the Benghazi
> Assembly. His brother, Dr. Munib Gollestaneh managed to obtain a job for him with the
> hospital accountancy. He did not mix with people of the country and remained attached to
> his brother and some of the friends in Benghazi. Later after I had left Libya he married with
> Maheen Abreshami in Iran and they both lived in Benghazi. I visited them in the 70s during
> one of my journeys from Tunis to Egypt by road. 11 They seemed to be confined to live alone.
> Maheen seemed more open to the exterior of home, but Riadh had not changed.
> Around the mid-90s we in Tunis heard that both Riadh and Maheen passed away and
> were buried in an unknown cemetery by their neighbours. There were no Baha’is in
> Benghazi except the daughter of Salim Jarrah, Maha who is married to a wonderful
> Palestinian (non Bahá'í) named Fouad.
> In April 2025 I received through Hala Jarrah the following from Maha regarding the last
> days of Riadh and Maheen:
> Maha heard about the death of uncle Riadh much later and when she and Fouad tried to
> find out how and when this happened, they were not able to get any information. Maha and
> Fouad had tried to keep in touch with Riadh and Maheen before their death but that was
> impossible because Riadh entered into isolation. They did not open the door of their home
> to anybody, Riadh seemed frightened of everyone. Their neighbours said that they had not
> heard any sound from their home and after a while they understood that they must be dead
> inside. The neighbours contacted the police who broke into the house to find both Riadh and
> Maheen dead. It seemed that Maheen died before Riadh.
> 
> I feel moved to record that in my opinion Maheen died a martyr.
> 
> Between 1970 and 1984, I made many visits to Egypt, average 3 visits per year usually with my
> wife, Ulfet, and some of these trips were by car. These car trips allowed us to visit the friends in
> Libya.
> Chapter Three
> The Expulsion of the Egyptian Bahá'ís from Libya
> 
> Then came the expulsion of the Egyptian Bahá’ís from Libya and Muḥammad Muṣṭafá
> went to Cairo in July 1954.
> 
> The Benghazi, Libya, Community had, initially in 1952, three Egyptian nationals, I being
> one of them. A few other Egyptians, not Bahá’ís, were also there employed in the
> Government. Early in 1954, Muḥammad Muṣṭafá, who had returned from the Spanish
> Sahara, and I, found it necessary to meet with the Egyptian Ambassador, Yahiya Ḥaqi who
> seemed very positive towards us and the other Egyptian Bahá’ís who were now five
> including my father and I.
> Later in that year, Egyptian Sheikhs from Al-Azhar who had come to Libya, incited the
> government to send the Egyptian Bahá’ís, indeed all Bahá’ís, away from Libya. The
> Egyptian Ambassador added his blessings to the efforts of the Sheikhs.
> The result was that Muḥammad Muṣṭafá, Moḥsen 'Enayát12, Ámin Battaḥ and I were
> notified to leave the country within 8 days. For me, the 8 days were after termination of my
> work with the Public Works Ministry which gave me some 30 days to go. Muḥammad
> Muṣṭafá and Ámin Battaḥ were interrogated by the Egyptian State Security Investigation
> upon their return in Egypt.
> My guess was that the Ambassador must have reported to Cairo his negative opinion
> about the Bahá’ís and what took place in Libya. In turn, the State Security Department would
> have been informed and I would not be able to come out of Egypt again should I return to
> Egypt. I did not want to return to Egypt following the notice of termination of service by the
> Libyan Government, but without any significant amount of money I saw very little
> possibility to pioneer anywhere, and the return to Egypt became the only alternative. 13
> 
> What happened in Benghazi?14
> 
> The friends of Benghazi generally understood that the local government of Cyrenaica had
> confidence in them. Not only were the friends some of the most sincere employees in the
> government but also their life collected respect and love from all those who knew them. We
> understood that the authorities knew of our activity and, at least, have heard enough about
> the Bahá'í Faith to realise that the Bahá'ís are peace-making and sincere followers of God.
> This was more than once ascertained during interviews made by friends with Governor
> (Waly) and other responsible officials.
> 
> Signs of opposition
> 
> There were, however, three prominent figures who showed open animosity to the friends;
> these were the Director of Interior of Interior for the Province, the local Minister (Nazir) of
> the Province and another Nazir called Wanis El Qaddafi. This later was the Nazir who
> 
> Moḥsen, originally Persian, was of Egyptian nationality and had an Egyptian passport.
> Destiny, however, decided otherwise because I landed in Tunis, Tunisia a couple of months later.
> This whole chapter refers is the summary of the report Rowshan Mustapha sent to Mr Leroy Ioas
> at the World Centre, on behalf of the Spiritual Assembly of Benghazi dated 7th August 1954.
> expelled Moḥsen Enayat from his work with the Education Department prior to his
> pioneering to Fezzan at a time when the Nazir of Public Works (now the Prime Minister of
> Libya) refused to expel the many Bahá’ís in his departments because of their religious belief.
> 
> Dr. Ḥussayn Gollestaneh targeted.
> 
> The Nazir of Interior and the Director of Interior, both had for some time purposely ill-
> treated some friends. Amongst these was Dr. Ḥussayn Gollestaneh in Agedabia. This ill-
> treatment led some officials of the hospital to quarrel with Dr. Gollestaneh and cause him
> bodily harm. The Nazir and Director who should have investigated the matter, purposely
> closed the case, Dr. Gollestaneh’s forgiveness to his assailants helped them to sign it off and
> in spite of a contrary advice of a medical board, Dr. Gollestaneh was returned to work in the
> same hospital where he had met with this attack. As a result a severe nervous breakdown
> befell Dr. Gollestaneh during early March 1954, some 5 months after the incident.
> 
> The King of Libya takes action against the unjust officials.
> 
> Upon hearing about this incident the King of Libya investigated the matter and finding
> that the case was unjustly ruled out, decreed the expulsion of the Nazirs of Public Health and
> of the Interior as well as the Director of Interior and two other officials. In the meantime Dr.
> Gollestaneh was being treated in Cairo at the Libyan Government expense and returned to
> Benghazi fully recovered. The expelled Nazirs and officials, joined hands in arousing their
> respective and other tribes to threaten the court and, in revenge, against the Bahá'ís too.
> The Waly of Cyrenaica, being a close friend of the Director of Interior, together with
> some other prestigious personalities, urged both by revenge and hope to calm down the
> uprising tribes, managed to get the approval of the King to terminate the residence of all
> foreign Bahá'ís and expel from Government service any Libyan who is Bahá'í in the whole
> country. Fortunately, however, the Baha’is in Tripoli and those of Benghazi who went there
> at the outbreak of the attack, were spared this last measure.
> Shaykh Shaheen, who had attacked the Faith in the local papers, was allowed during an
> interview with the King to speak about the Bahá'í Faith and what he said was naturally not
> the truth.
> 
> A further grave incident that played in the hands of the opponents of the Faith
> 
> Around early January 1954, the friends in Benghazi received a Palestinian national by
> the name of Bashir Ḥosni ‘Abdu’llah who came from Egypt with credentials that he is Bahá'í.
> As usual the friends extended to him sincere help and even an employment with the
> Government. It turned out that this Bashir had a disastrous political background and was an
> active follower of the Mufti of Palestine. He mixed with the friends and disclosed our activity
> to the Authorities who did not find difficulty to misinterpret them. Thereafter our
> correspondence was opened and the home and telephone of Yusuf Jarrah and Rowshan
> Mustapha were watched. Within a short period of a few weeks, this Bashir stole some
> government property, including a motorcycle and fled leaving debts he owed the friends as
> well as others.
> The Assembly in Benghazi immediately expelled him from the Community and advised
> the National Assembly in Egypt, but that did not attenuate the terrible damage he caused the
> Community in Benghazi with the Government.
> Other factors added leverage to the opposition against the Bahá'ís
> 
> 1) The Egyptian Legation to Libya seemed to have impressed the opinion that the Bahá'í
> principles are detrimental to the required spirit of animosity to Israel and to Islamic and Arab
> unity. This notion has greatly enhanced and empowered the opponents.
> 2) The opponents of the Faith also managed to convince the King and the Royal family
> that the Bahá'í movement is dangerous to the Sanūsíyyah15 Order.
> 3) The acceptance of the Faith by the Tunisian graduate of the well-known Tunisian
> Zeytuna Mosque, Mustapha Al-Beji, who was a teacher as well as Imam of a Mosque in
> Benghazi and in El Marj was looked upon as an indication that the Bahá'í Faith is a menace
> to the Sanūsíyyah Order.
> 
> A Prince of Libya sought meeting a Bahá'í
> In August 1954, as I was preparing to leave Benghazi following termination of my
> services, I received notification that Prince Al-Ridha would like to see me. This was great
> news and I went to the Palace to see him. He was dark skin well built, probably in his mid-
> thirties.
> The Prince received me cordially and seemingly with pleasure. He immediately asked me
> to brief him on the Bahá'í Faith. I did not record the meeting after, unfortunately, but I
> remember that he listened carefully, did not ask many questions and finally asked for books
> or a book introducing the Faith. I remember I took to the palace the next day two books in
> Arabic. One was Bahá’u’lláh and the New Era.
> 
> The King of Libya Idriss Al Sanūsī is the spiritual leader of the Sanūsíyyah Order.
> 
> .
> Chapter Four
> Sabha - Fezzan
> 
> In Sabha – Fezzan
> The development towards establishing a Community in Sabha, the capital of Fezzan was
> different to the two other Communities of Libya – Benghazi and Tripoli. Sabha was no more
> than an oasis in the great Sahara and situated some 700 km south of Tripoli. The pioneer
> going there had to have a job with the government which was much more difficult than
> Benghazi and Tripoli.
> Following the establishment of the Local Spiritual Assembly in Benghazi in Riḍván of
> the year 1953, the beloved Guardian asked for a pioneer to go to Fezzan, where the Sultan
> of Turkey had threatened to exile 'Abdu'l-Bahá, in the year 1907.
> Mohsen ‘Enayát of Benghazi, the youngest among the pioneers, offered to take up that
> task. Indeed he was the only one among the Bahá’ís of Libya who could have settled this
> most difficult goal.
> Moḥsen went to Tripoli where Robert Gulick tried to obtain a job for him with one of the
> Unites States development programs. Finding that the efforts of Gulick had delayed, Moḥsen
> went to Sabha in Fezzan arriving there on September 26, 1953 without work and with a small
> amount of money.
> 
> The beloved Guardian extremely delighted
> 
> In the message from Ḥaifa dated September 30, 1953, Mr Leroy Ioas wrote:
> 
> Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Benghazi,
> 
> The beloved Guardian was extremely delighted when I presented to him your
> cablegram of September 28th, advising that Moḥsen ‘Enayát had reached Fezzan on
> September 26th.
> 
> The Guardian feels this is a very historic event. It represents a unique victory for the
> Faith, that the light of divine guidance should now be illuminating the area where
> 'Abdu'l Ḥamid intended to incarcerate the Master.
> 
> The Guardian assures Mr ‘Enayát of his great appreciation of his sacrificial service,
> and assures him of his prayers on his behalf. He will pray that the doors may be
> opened, and that souls may become attracted to the teachings of Bahá’u’lláh; that
> the cohorts of the Supreme Concourse may be with Mr ‘Enayát, and the blessings of
> the Holy Spirit confirm him at all times.
> 
> The Guardian sends his deep appreciation to all the members of your assembly, he
> assures you of his prayers in your behalf.
> 
> Faithfully yours,
> Leroy Ioas.
> Secretary – General.
> 
> In Sabha, Moḥsen immediately started to teach and was successful in introducing the
> Faith to the Governor of Fezzan, the Naẓir of Finance of Fezzan and the representative to
> the parliament of the Tuaregs of the region as well as to two Algerians employed by the
> Libyan Government.
> Moḥsen, again finding that he was without work and his residence in Libya could be
> terminated any time, had to reinforce the presence of pioneers in Sabha, and he approached
> the Naẓir of Finance who accepted the application of Fouad Rushdy of Egypt, an accredited
> accountant, and offered Fouad a job in Sabha. Fouad arrived in Sabha on the same day
> Moḥsen departed.
> 
> Letter of Mr Músá Banání dated July 3, 1954:
> Please give the assurance of my most fervent prayers to the dear friends in Benghazi.
> Their steadfastness and perseverance in these historic days shall go down in Bahá’í
> history as a shining example of courage and merit. Unity of the friends, prayer and
> wisdom will assuredly enable the devoted community of Benghazi to overcome this
> present wave of persecution.
> 
> The story of Fezzan
> “As a consequence of their16 intrigues, a Commission of four, under the
> chairmanship of ‘Arif Bey, arrived in the winter of 1907 post-haste from the seat of
> the (Ottoman) Empire.”17 This was the second and last Commission sent by order of
> the Ottoman Sultan to incriminate 'Abdu'l-Bahá and get rid of Him by death or exile.
> “Rumours were rife that 'Abdu'l-Bahá would be forcibly removed to Fízán
> (Fezzan)…, a vast expanse of desert totally cut off from the rest of the world”18
> Shoghi Effendi told a number of pilgrims that he had encouraged the Americans
> to pioneer to Cyprus and Fezzan in Libya, because Mírzá Yahyá had been sent to the
> former and 'Abdu'l-Bahá had been threatened with exile in the later in 1905 and
> 1907. The threats of exile to Tripoli were not exaggerated. In 1914, the former
> Governor of Tripoli visited 'Abdu'l-Bahá and said that in 1907 he had received a
> telegram from Sultan ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamid informing him that 'Abdu'l-Bahá would be
> arriving in just a few days on His to exile in Fezzan, deep in the Sahara desert. The
> Sultan told him to be ready to take Him to Fezzan with a large escort of horsemen.
> The Governor waited, but 'Abdu'l-Bahá never arrived.19
> Immediately following the establishment of the Local Spiritual Assembly in
> Benghazi in Riḍván of 1953, the Guardian asked the Assembly to send a pioneer to
> Fezzan.
> 
> The violators of the Covenant in ‘Akká.
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá – by H.M. Balyuzi p.118
> ‘Abdu’l-Bahá – by H.M. Balyuzi p.118
> Áḥmad Sohrab Diary 14 March 1914 p.791 also quoted in Earl Redman’s “Shoghi Effendi
> through the pilgrim’s eye” vol. 2 pp. 63-65
> The story of Moḥsen ‘Enayát and Fezzan20
> Among the Bahá’ís in Libya, there was no one with the necessary qualifications or
> possibilities to pioneer to Fezzan other than Moḥsen ‘Enayát, the youngest pioneer. He
> volunteered for this goal. The only way to go to Fezzan was through Tripoli. A fortnightly
> air connection Tripoli – Sabha, the capital of Fezzan Province, was in schedule at the time
> besides a desert road from Tripoli to Sabha which was extremely difficult and could only be
> undertaken with a guide.
> 
> Moḥsen left Benghazi around mid-July 1953, with the intension of attending the
> International Teaching Conference in Stockholm, representing the Bahá’ís of Egypt and then
> to Tripoli where he will look for a job in Sabha. In his cabled message to the Conference,
> the Guardian announced: “A pioneer is en route to Fezzan, Libya, chosen scene of ‘Abdul-
> Bahá’s banishment by 'Abdu'l-Ḥamid.” This rendered Moḥsen restless. He rapidly went to
> Tripoli and met with the friends there and asked for their help to obtain a job in Sabha. Dr.
> Robert Gulick, pioneer in Tripoli, took up the responsibility of helping find a job for Moḥsen.
> A United States Point Four Program established in 1947 to help third world countries was
> under consideration for Libya and it was hoped that Moḥsen could obtain a teacher’s job
> under that program. The program delayed and instructions from the Guardian were received
> that as soon the pioneer arrives in Fezzan, the Guardian should be informed immediately.
> 
> Moḥsen could not delay his departure any longer. In spite of the difficulties of life in
> Sabha that he was told, Moḥsen decided to go there and took the first available Tunis Air
> flight Tripoli – Sabha, arriving there around mid-August 1953.
> 
> Moḥsen writes:
> 
> First shock, there was no airport or any kind of buildings around, just a vast space of
> endless sand. A few private cars came to pick up those who had arrived on the plane
> –friends or relatives, and quickly left. Nobody paid any attention to him except a
> police officer who got out of Jeep and walked towards him. “Who are you?” he
> asked. “I have been sent by the office of the European Recovery Plan in Tripoli to
> expedite the process of signing an agreement with it so that they can proceed with
> appointments of teachers for the schools here.” He put my suitcase at the back of his
> jeep and we drove for about ten minutes.
> On our way I remembered the name of a cousin of one of our contacts in Cyrenaica
> who told me he could be helpful as he holds a high position in the administration of
> Fezzan. So I asked about him. The answer was: “Yes, he is now in prison. What is
> your relation with him?” “Nothing, just his cousin asked me to convey his greetings.”
> But that was enough to give me a second shock with no break in between. 21
> 
> The officer took this newly arrived pioneer to a square white building with many
> arches that was to be the government rest house. At that point, it had just been
> finished, but was empty and Moḥsen was its first guest. His room had a bed with
> mattress filed with palm leaves and a chair. Being alone gave him plenty of time for
> 
> Quoted from Earl Redman’s “Shoghi Effendi through the pilgrim’s eye” vol. 2 pp. 63 -65.
> Moḥsen ‘Enayát’s letter report of 11 December 2014 to Earl Redman.
> prayer and reading the Writings. His isolation and worries about teaching vanished
> when the Governor General of the province called the first meeting of the provincial
> parliament.
> 
> Invitations went to the heads and notables of different tribes scattered over Fezzan
> to come to Sabha where they would be roomed in the government guest house. All
> of a sudden the abandoned building became like a beehive: so crowded, full of
> movement and the sound of various tribal languages: Bedouin Arabic, Amazigh,
> Tuareg as well as the local dialect. The previously silent building became overnight
> a Babel-like city.
> There was no need for means of transportation or giving a good reason for mixing
> with the population, their leaders are all there at my doorstep, so eager to talk to me
> and find out new stories to tell their people when they go back. The younger ones
> wanted to seize the occasion to learn mathematics, which was not taught in the
> traditional Qur’ánic schools. Others wanted to deepen their knowledge in the
> meaning of passages of the Qurán. It was a relatively busy time.
> During these simple gatherings strong ties of friendship were developed and many
> of individuals present hear of the Bahá’í religion for the first time, with a big shock
> of course, but they got over it through the signs of true love and friendship. A few
> began reading Bahá’í literature, especially the book “Bahá’í Proofs” by ‘Ábu’l-
> Faḍl.22
> 
> Moḥsen was able to teach the Faith to two provincial ministers one of them being
> the Minister of Finance. Moḥsen lost no time to ask the Minister of Finance to recruit
> Fouad Rushdy, another young Bahá’í from Egypt, who wanted very much to pioneer
> to Libya. Fouad arrived in Sabha the day Moḥsen was to leave. The Sabha Bahá’í
> Centre remained open. Moḥsen’s efforts proved the truth of the Writings which say
> that those who arise and put their Faith in God will be assisted.
> Indeed, Moḥsen ‘Enayát is the conqueror of Fezzan.
> 
> Note regarding Moḥsen 'Enayát
> 
> After leaving Libya, Moḥsen returned to Egypt and resumed his higher studies and
> became a lawyer. When in 1962, a crisis took the Baha’is of Spanish Morocco, he did not
> hesitate to go and add his talented knowledge of Islamic countries, to the defence of the
> imprisoned Moroccan Bahá'ís of Nador. The Egyptian Security Intelligence were waiting
> for his return to seize and imprison him. He, therefore, went to France and obtained his
> doctorate degree in International Law. His life then after was dedicated to the service of the
> Faith in Africa, in the Holy Land, in Egypt, in the North African countries and generally in
> the Arab countries. He mastered the translation of the Guardian’s Writings as well as the
> Arabic, Persian, English and French languages.
> Moḥsen 'Enayát passed away in his home in Edmonton, Canada, on November 26, 2024
> at the age of 93 years. The Universal House of Justice wrote:
> 
> Idem.
> Dear Bahá’í Friends,
> The Universal House of Justice was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of dearly
> loved Mohsen Enayat, consecrated follower of the Ancient Beauty. His long life of
> service to the Cause of God, including as a Chief Legal Officer at the Bahá’í World
> Centre, is recalled with warm admiration. Notable among his many endeavours
> were his vigorous and effective defence of the Faith in the Arab region as well as his
> contribution to Arabic translations of Bahá’í literature.
> Kindly convey to his dear wife, Felicity, as well as other family members and loved
> ones the heartfelt condolences of the House of Justice for the loss they have suffered
> and assure them of its supplications at the Sacred Threshold for the progress of his
> radiant soul in the heavenly kingdom. Prayers will also be offered for their comfort
> and solace at this time of parting. With loving Bahá’í greetings,
> Department of the Secretariat
> 
> The Role of Fouad Rushdy in Fezzan and Tripoli
> 
> Fouad Rushdy (1924 - 1996) had decided to pioneer to Libya the moment he heard the
> Guardian’s instructions to the National Assembly of Egypt asking for pioneers from Egypt
> to go there. That was in the summer of the year 1951. He was an accredited accountant with
> the Alexandria branch of the Ford Motor Company, a post that was an envy to his mates of
> similar career status.
> Moḥsen’s efforts to get a job offer for Fouad were successful, and Fouad went as quickly
> as possible to Sabha, arriving on 28th July 1954 and immediately took up his function as the
> principle accountant of the provincial ministry of Finance of Fezzan.
> In 1956, Fouad married Siham Jarraḥ of ‘Akká and remained in Fezzan until 1964 when
> he was transferred to the Ministry of Finance of the Government of Libya.
> During the lapse of that decade, 1954 – 1964, great changes happened in Libya –
> petroleum was discovered and production began in 1954. Construction and public works
> projects were conducted all over the country and education was greatly enhanced.
> Fouad was quickly promoted to the position of consultant in the Ministry of Finance in
> Tripoli. A most delicate position under the circumstances which the country was
> experiencing at that time. He walked on glowing embers. His dedication to his work, his
> uprightness and his most joyful character gained the appreciation and recognition of the
> various ministers of finance he worked for during 30 years, at the close of which he went on
> pension.
> In the year 1985, what seemed to be a concerted effort of the authorities of all the North
> African countries23 to oppose the Bahá’í expansion in these countries took place. Fouad,
> well known as a Bahá’í, was subject to various questionings by the “Mukhabarat” – or
> Secret Intelligence Services of Libya, preparing to terminate his services with the Ministry
> of Finance because he is Bahá’í. Termination of service with the government would entail
> the termination of residence in Libya. His long good standing reference with the Ministry
> 
> Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.
> allowed him to confront the matter of his expulsion from the country with the Minister of
> Finance personally. He told the Minister: “…if you want to terminate my service in the
> ministry, I can only understand and accept. However, I would beg that you delay that action
> for three months until my son Tayseer24 terminates the final exams of his University in
> Agricultural Engineering, otherwise such a break in his career would be very harmful”.
> The Minister answered: “Mr Fouad, as long as I am in this Ministry, you will not move
> from here!”
> During the year 1993, the Rushdy family bought a house in the Ramleh area of
> Alexandria that 'Abdu'l-Bahá had occupied for some time during His visit to Egypt. In a
> message dated January 3, 1994 through Moḥsen ‘Enayát stating: “Regarding the Rushdys,
> kindly inform this dear family that the Universal House of Justice deeply appreciates their
> services over the past several decades. Silently, steadfastly and with self-sacrifice, they have
> persevered and endured with high fortitude the challenges of that difficult problem”.
> For the later period of his work with the Ministry, Fouad was the only Egyptian foreign
> employee. When he passed away on August 15, 1996, he was deeply mourned by all who
> knew him. The then Minister of Finance, Dr. Muḥammad ‘Abdalláh Beit Elmal, wrote a
> touching letter of condolence to “The family of the regretted Mr Fouad ‘Abdu’l-Raḥman
> Rushdy” that was delivered by a delegation of two high persons of the Ministry who
> travelled from Tripoli to Alexandria in Egypt to personally present the letter to the family.
> A never heard of gesture on behalf of a high officer in Libya.25 A further proof of the
> wonderful reputation Fouad left in Libya.
> Fouad Rushdy passed away on the 15th August 1996, the Universal House of Justice sent
> this message:
> 
> DEEPLY SADDENED PASSING DEARLY LOVED CONSECRATED
> PROMOTER FAITH FOUAD RUSHDY HIS SELFLESS STEADFAST
> SERVICES PIONEERING FIELD LOVINGLY REMEMBERED.    EXTEND
> HEARTFELT SYPATHY BEREAVED FAMILY ASSURE FERVENT PRAYERS
> HOLY SHRINES PROGRESS HIS NOBLE SOUL.
> UNIVERSAL HOUSE OF JUSTICE
> 
> Fouad’s younger son Tayseer, continued to live in Tripoli after the passing of both Fouad
> and Siham and during a period Tayseer was the only Bahá’í in Libya and later their daughter
> Abeer returned to Libya with her husband Ihab Muḥammad.
> Fouad Rushdy, indeed, had conquered Libya to the Faith.
> 
> Tayseer is Fouad’s youngest son.
> Curiously, I received the same letter of condolence signed by the Minister of Finance of Libya, Dr.
> Muḥammad ‘Abdu’lláh Beit Elmal, by mail in Tunis, Tunisia. I am not a member of the Rushdy
> family. The Libyan Intelligence Services in Libya had probably surveyed the exchange of
> correspondence between Fouad and me, as well as his visits to Tunis and concluded that I must be
> related to the Rushdy family.
> Chapter Five
> In Tripoli – Tripolitania
> 
> The arrival in Tripoli of Dr. Robert Gulick and Mrs Bahiyyih Faraju’lláh Gulick together
> with Ella Bailey and Mrs Shawkat ‘Alí Faraj’ulláh in July 1953 established the Bahá’í
> Community in Tripoli. They were joined with Laura Allen in September of the same year.
> The arrival of Feridún Shahrokh and his wife who had first pioneered to Libya from
> Iran, arrived September 6, 1953, went to Tripoli with intention of settling there as merchants.
> Mrs Katayún accompanied the Shahrokhs. With the transfer of Muṣṭafá Salem from
> Benghazi to Tripoli, the Local spiritual Assembly of Tripoli was established in Riḍván of
> 1954.
> The Local Spiritual Assembly of Tripoli continued through the period of crisis of the
> Egyptian Bahá'ís in Benghazi, rather the Arab Bahá'ís in order to include the Jarraḥs (Yusuf
> Jarraḥ family and Salim Jarraḥ family). With the departure of Robert and Bahiyyih Gulick
> in 1964, the LSA was dissolved.
> Unfortunately, I do not have any information regarding the activity of The Gulicks during
> their decade in Libya. Both have a glorious history of service to the Faith and they must have
> contributed amply besides opening their home to the friends, counselling them and
> encouraging them. They helped pioneers in North Africa and extended their service to the
> friends in Egypt. They visited the friends in Egypt and Tunisia many times.
> The highlight of their pioneering is, of course, having accomplished the desire of Miss
> Ella Bailey to pioneer and the blessings she brought to Libya and the whole of Africa.
> The petroleum discovery changed the peoples of Libya – which is normal. The quest of
> money occupied all minds and thought – which is usually the case.
> Then came the Revolution of 1st September 1969 and the rapid rise of Colonel Ma’ámmar
> Al-Gadhafi. Spies were everywhere and stories of disappearances abounded. Sons were
> encouraged to keep an eye on the activities of fathers and vice versa.
> Many pioneers came to Tripoli during the period after 1954 and until 1975, but the
> formation of Local Assemblies was not possible. A local assembly would have been
> considered an “illegal organisation” by the Authorities and may give rise to another crisis of
> expelling the Bahá'ís.
> However, it was the centre of Tripoli that endured, mainly by the sons and daughter of
> Fouad and Siham Rushdy.
> At the present, as I close this history in mid-2025, there are no Bahá'ís in Libya as far as
> my knowledge goes. What the future holds for the Faith in that devastated country is not
> known.
> 
> A document showing the Community in Libya
> at the time when the expulsion of the Egyptian Bahá'ís became evident
> mid-1954, by Board member Muhammad Muṣṭafá
> 
> A document by Board member Yusuf Jarraḥ
> Showing the Community in Libya in 1974.
> 
> Chapter Six
> Reflection
> 
> It took me some time and much quiet reflection to write this chapter. I was expelled from
> Libya because I am Bahá'í. In that is the consolation that it was for the Faith and not because
> of a fault of mine. Is this correct: not because of a fault of mine?
> When I was to leave Benghazi, I apparently had no choice but to return to my country -
> Egypt. I had a small amount of money, my financial responsibility towards the family in
> Egypt was urgent I had to find work and fast. I wanted to continue pioneering all the time,
> but my situation persuaded me that it would be impossible. Fortunately, one of the pioneers
> with us, Feridún Zein, a Persian and therefore was not one of those threatened to be expelled,
> suggested that I may try to go to Tunisia or Algeria – both countries being goals of the NSA
> of Egypt for consolidation. This is how, I embarked on a new trail of pioneering and landed
> two months later in Tunisia – always a pioneer after passing through Rome and Paris to
> obtain a visa for Tunisia or Algeria.
> The Local Assembly in Benghazi asked me, once in Rome, to send a full report to the
> beloved Guardian on what happened in Benghazi and the expulsion of the Egyptian Bahá'ís.
> Both in Egypt and in Libya, correspondence with Israel was prohibited and correspondence
> in general was being censored and sending reports to Haifa from Libya was out of question.
> In answer to my report, I received the following in a message from Leroy Ioas – Assistant
> Secretary:
> 
> Dear Bahá'í Brother:
> Your loving letter of August 9th came duly to hand, likewise the letter which you
> wrote, giving the details of the problems in Libya.
> I have just received word that the Bahá'ís in Tripoli are now having difficulty. It is
> apparent the religious authorities have been able to influence the Government
> against the Faith.
> All of this of course goes back to the original instructions of the beloved Guardian
> that no contacts were to be made with Government officials and religious leaders,
> from the standpoint of propagating the Faith. The Bahá'ís were enjoined to work
> quietly, and teach the natives.
> Of course there must be a divine wisdom in the present situation. The only bad thing
> is that so many of the Bahá'ís have left Libya, rather than remaining there until they
> were literally forced out.
> ……
> Faithfully Yours
> Signed Leroy Ioas
> Assistant Secretary
> 
> My report did not have any reference to “contacts were made with Government officials
> and religious leaders…” To my knowledge, the Bahá'ís of Benghazi did not contact
> Government Officials and religious leaders. Other reports must have been sent to Haifa.
> I was one of three Bahá'ís who “left Libya rather than remaining there until they were
> literally forced out”. This was my mistake although I did not know that I should remain until
> I am literally forced out.
> I think that the truth of the situation we went through in Libya is that “Of course there
> must be a divine wisdom in the present situation.”
> Three of the four Egyptians that were obliged to leave have all fared well in service to
> the Faith during lives. The writer of this history is the one still alive. 26 Muḥammad Muṣṭafá
> passed away 15 August 1981, Ámin Battaḥ December 30, 2010 and Moḥsen 'Enayát
> September 26, 2024.
> Had it been necessary for the Faith that all or any of these four Egyptian Bahá'ís remain
> in Libya, then, I feel, Providence would have arranged their situation otherwise. I cannot see
> any one of them had done anything wrong or had been implicated in the incident of Dr Munib
> Gollestaneh, which seems to be at the origin of the movement to expel these four Egyptian
> Bahá'ís.
> 
> “MAY…. THY FORGIVENESS AND MERCY BE VOUCHSAVED WITH EVERY
> BREATH, UNTIL, BENEATH THE SHELTERING SHADOW OF THINE
> UPRAISED STANDARD I MAY AT LAST REPAIR TO THE KINGDOM OF THE
> ALLPRAISED” Abdu’l-Bahá.
> 
> I am almost 96 years old at present.
> Chapter Seven
> THE COMMUNITIES
> 
> Benghazi Community and LSA
> 
> Picture dated May 1953
> 
> Front row – left to right
> Yusuf Jarrah, Hayat Jarrah, Parvine Khosrow, Selim Jarrah
> Standing – left to right
> Moḥsen ‘Enayát, Riaḍh Gollestaneh, Ḥusayn Gollestaneh, Rowshan Mustapha, Muṣṭafá
> Salem,
> Feridún Zein, Aḥmad El-Meissi
> 
> Riḍván 1953
> The Local Assembly of Benghazi, being the first achievement in the plan of extending the
> Faith into Libya and Algeria, it was highly welcome. The Guardian was happy to see this
> Assembly. Muṣṭafá Salem and Feridún Zein alone had Administrative experience as
> Assembly members. In fact Muṣṭafá Salem was member of the NSA of Egypt and the LSA
> of Alexandria, when he pioneered to Benghazi.
> The Guardian then asked the Assembly to send a pioneer to Fezzan where the Sultan
> ‘Abdu’l-Ḥamid intended to exile ‘Abdu’l Bahá in 1907.
> 
> Tripoli Community and LSA
> 
> Seated – from left to right
> Ra’úth Salem, Feridún Shahrokh, Robert Gulick, Bahiyyih Gulick
> Rear row – from left to right
> Muṣṭafá Salem, Laura Allen, Shawkat Faraju’lláh, Katayún Shahrokh, ‘Osman
> Ismail
> 
> Muṣṭafá Salem who had pioneered to Benghazi in 1952, re-pioneered to Tripoli. He was
> joined by Robert and Bahiyyih Gulick and their 2 yr. old son, Shawket Farajullah Zaki Al-
> Kurdi and the blessed Ella Bailey.
> The Shahrokhs did not remain long in Libya. They came to Tunisia for a while and again
> pioneered elsewhere.
> Needless to say, the Gulicks were very confirmed in bringing the Faith to the attention of
> many Libyans. The fact that an American was so versed in Islám and had such respect for
> Islám attracted the attention of many persons amongst whom were those of the News Papers.
> 
> Ella Bailey
> 
> 'Oh, Ella Bailey, Ella Bailey! Oh, Ella Bailey, Ella Bailey! Oh, Ella Bailey!'. . . He kept
> repeating my name as He looked off into space. But He put into my name every possible
> emotion. That was the wonder of it."
> Ella Martha Bailey was born in Houston, Texas, on December 18, 1864.
> 
> On learning that Shoghi Effendi had expressed the hope that Mr and Mrs Gulick would
> pioneer in Africa, Miss Bailey secretly aspired to go with them. She … beamed gratefully
> when she was told that they would enjoy having her with them. Death came toward twilight,
> at eight o'clock on August 26, 1953.
> 
> In the cabled Message of Shoghi Effendi at the close of the Holy Year
> 1952 – 1953 we read:
> 
> Irresistible unfolding Crusade sanctified death heroic
> eighty-eight year-old Ella Bailey elevating her
> rank martyrs Faith shedding
> Further lustre American Bahá'í Community consecrating
> Soil fast awakening African Continent.
> Sabha Bahá’ís and friends
> 
> From left to right
> An Algerian working in Sabha, Foad Rushdy, Moḥsen ‘Enayát in Libyan traditional dress,
> Zhafir Barkan – Nazhir of Finance of Fezzan, Oukeed an
> Algerian Berber working in Sabha.
> 
> This picture was taken at the end of Moḥsen’s stay in Sabha. He was joined by Fouad
> Rushdy in time to talk with Moḥsen about the situation. It was Moḥsen’s friendship
> with the Naẓir of Finance of Fezzan that gave Foad a job and entry in Libya. The
> Naẓir and Oukeed had accepted the Faith. The Governor of Fezzan, not in the picture,
> was friendly towards the Faith and received Foad most cordially.
> 
> Hayat in Mursuq
> 
> Mursuq – March 11, 1955
> From left to right
> Maid standing, Hala 7, Nabil 5 and Ḥayat Jarraḥ.
> 
> Fort and Mosque of Mursuq
> Under Ottoman rule (1578–1912) Murzuk or Mursuq was at times the capital
> of Fezzan, and enjoyed a long period of prosperity. The town had a major fort. The
> Ottoman army usually maintained a garrison there, but local control remained in the
> hands of the Sultan of Fezzan.
> 
> Hayat Jarrah must have had a tiring journey from Sabha, where she probably came
> from Tripoli by plane and then by desert road to Mursuq. I think she wanted to visit
> the place the Master would have been imprisoned rather than Sabha. She was good
> speaker and must have attracted the attention of Libyan women in Tripoli.
> 
> Moḥsen at Agedabia bus station December 1952
> 
> Moḥsen ‘Enayát and Felicity circa 1970
> 
> Foad Rushdy
> 
> Foad Rushdy
> October 5, 1924 – August 15, 1996
> In my humble opinion, Foad is the conqueror of Libya.
> 
> Foad is the third of 6 sons of the ‘Abdel-Rahman Rushdy family. All
> three were pioneers. The second son Gamal would probably be
> considered the one who had the most difficult experiences amongst the
> three in his pioneer services, while Foad had the longest and the most
> frustrating experience of all. When the call for pioneers for Libya was
> announced, Foad had a good position with the Ford Motor Company in
> Alexandria, he was serving in the youth activity, making friends and a
> reasonably bright future. He decided to pioneer when he first heard the
> call. It took too years to get him a job in Fezzan, thanks to the efforts of
> Moḥsen 'Enayát. The Egyptians could go to Libya at the time, just walk
> in so to say. But to remain for over a month of time, one had to have a
> job. That was the cause of the two year delay of Foad.
> To him, like all pioneers who go to difficult places, Sabha of the desert
> of Fezzan was more beautiful to his heart than Alexandria the gem of the
> Mediterranean. He married Siham Jarrah, sister of Hayat Jarrah, who
> also went from ‘Akká to Sabha happy to be, amongst other things, a
> pioneer.
> Shoghi Effendi blessed their marriage.
> She had her third birth, a son Tayseer, in Sabha – which was a risk.
> Foad’s professionalism and Bahá’í conduct brought him to the
> Ministry of Finance in Tripoli, which became the capital of not
> Tripolitania only but a defacto capital of Libya, and he gained the full
> confidence and appreciation of the various ministers he worked for.
> During no less than 40 years he supported the whims of the population
> including the murky period when Gadhafi took power in 1969.
> The problem we all felt in Libya was the uncertainty of our staying
> there and the refusal of the Libyan to accept us or any stranger. With no
> apparent reason a stranger working in Libya could find his job
> terminated and the residence permit cancelled any day. We felt we were
> watched and any movement or conversation scrutinised and doubted.
> In the delicate position Foad held in the Ministry of Finance with all
> pit holes around him, it is historic that when he passed away in Cairo a
> special envoy from the Minister of Finance went to Cairo and presented
> a letter of condolences of the Minister to the family. A step that was
> never heard of anything similar to in the history of Libya.
> Astonishing enough, I, in Tunis, received the same letter of
> condolences from the Minister of Finance of Libya? Every move and
> step Foad took was watched. His letters and communications censored
> both in Libya and in Tunis when he visited us. Probably when in Egypt
> too. They concluded that I must be a near cousin or a brother of Foad.
> Foad during his lifetime, and Siham and Taysir after him “stuck to
> their post” as the Guardian asked the pioneers in the Ten Year Crusade
> to do. Taysir experienced most dangerous menace by brigands in the
> turmoil after Gaddafi’s assassination. He was the only Bahá’í in Libya
> for a long time. Today Foad’s daughter ‘Abeer is alone and the only
> Bahá’í in Libya, hoping her husband to re-join her soon.
> 
> My house a rest house
> 
> From left to right
> Mr Ámin Battaḥ, Mr ‘Emad Ṣabírán, Mr Muḥammad Muṣṭafá,
> Rowshan Mustapha.
> 
> Photo on occasion of departure of Mr ‘Emad Ṣabírán to Tunis via Tripoli.
> 
> Photo taken in front of my house in Benghazi on the road towards Fowayhat
> This house which I rent soon after arrival in Benghazi in 1952, quickly became the resting
> house of Bahá'ís on arrival or in transit in the town.
> 
> From left to right
> Miss ‘Esmat Kamal (Mrs Ne’imat’s sister), Mrs Nosrat ‘Abdel-Waḥid,
> (behind Mrs Nosrat) the bus driver, Mr Ne’imat ‘Abdel-Waḥid,
> Muṣṭafá El-Beji, Rowshan Mustapha holding baby of the
> ‘Abdel- Waḥids, Moḥsen 'Enayát.
> 
> The picture shows the departure of the Ne’imat ‘Abdel-Waḥid family towards Egypt in
> June 1954. They arrived from Tripoli a day or two before.
> 
> The Bahá'í Centre of Benghazi began with the autumn of 1952 and the Local
> Assembly was established in Riḍván 1953. The Centre quickly became a stopover
> for pioneers or visitors to Libya or on their way to other destinations. Boarding,
> transport and help of all sorts was provided by the Assembly of Benghazi to Bahá'ís
> going through the town or trying to settle there.
> 
> Letter of condolences of The Minister of Finance of the Libyan
> Government to the family of Fouad Rushdy
> 
> Chapter Eight
> 
> Stories in Memory
> 
> My trip to Sabha27
> 
> In December 1953, I was in Benghazi, Libya, working with the Government and
> responsible for the power station and electricity in Benghazi. I had pioneered to Libya in
> 1952.
> Moḥsen ‘Enayát, was in Sabha, South of Tripoli and I decided to go and see him during
> my annual holidays. He had been there a few months and he was complaining of the rough
> life there. In my estimate he needed someone to visit him. The Assembly was happy with
> this initiative.
> With the exception of a green strip of green land along the sea coast, Libya is a wide and
> deep desert with an oases here and there. At the time of my story there were no paved roads
> except along the coast.
> I went to Tripoli, 1050 kms with an Italian in an advanced age who had an old truck with
> which he transported merchandise between Benghazi and Tripoli. Why I chose that means
> rather than the bus service, I do not remember. Maybe there was some problem with the bus
> service. The trip took 24 hours of continuous driving at an average speed of 50 kms per hour
> with stops for food and short rest along the way. I found out later that the bus took the same
> time 24 hrs. There was a plane service, but it was costly. I was hoping to take a plane in
> Tripoli to Sabha. Tunis Air had a two weekly service Tripoli-Sabha-Tripoli on the same day.
> I missed that plane service and could not wait 15 days for the next plane, so I went and asked
> if there is any bus service. I was told that there is no bus service, but there was a merchant
> of Sabha who had a truck leaving for Sabha and I was directed to a certain Mr. Ibrahim who
> was somewhere in the souks. I went to the souks and found Mr. Ibrahim sitting in front of a
> shop, probably his, and asked him if I can find a place with him to Sabha. He said that he
> had a place and he will take me to Sabha and we were to leave in an hour or so. I thought I
> was in luck.
> I had had a look at a map of Libya and saw some points with names of towns or villages
> between Tripoli and Sabha. I expected we would rest in them on the way and find some
> food, nevertheless, I took some sandwiches with me. At the fall of the evening we
> embarked in a truck loaded 4m (approx. 13ft) high with merchandise. There was the driver
> in the cab with Ibrahim next and me at the right window. I actually took the place of a
> helper hand who travelled on top of the merchandise heap, the poor fellow.
> We struck south into the desert and at 10 at night, the truck stopped for supper. So I
> took my sandwiches out and offered one to Ibrahim. Courteous as I am!
> Ibrahim looked at me and went into a fit of laughter: “Where do you think you are
> going Mr. Mustapha?” he exclaimed…. Little did I know that we had three nights in the
> desert ahead?
> 
> This story is of no historical value included as a break for the reader.
> Supper was composed of potato stew with tomato and a few hot peppers and bread. No
> meat, thank God, because it would have probably been camel meat. But the stew was
> extremely hot though I did eat reasonably hot food at the time. Waiting for the stew to be
> ready Ibrahim helped himself to an appetizer – three hot peppers he crunched one after the
> other in apparent pleasure, the smell of the peppers as he ate them almost made me sneeze!
> After supper there was tea –little glasses of very strong tea with some sugar.
> A further drive in the night until about midnight and we stopped for a night’s sleep: The
> driver slept in the cab, while the boy helper slept on top of the merchandize. Ibrahim
> covered himself in his woollen burnouse from head to shoes and slept on the sand. I was
> given a thin cover to lie on, on the sand. It was freezing cold at night in the desert in
> December. I could not sleep, but in the absence of the moon, the stars had a most brilliant
> crystal appearance in a clear black sky – a wonderful sight that attenuated a little the
> suffering from the cold.
> In the early morning the driving starts in nowhere – but the driver who is a desert guide
> knows his bearings. At midday there is a stop for lunch: same stew, same appetizer for
> Ibrahim, same tea and same start to trek through the desert.
> On the third night we perceived lights at a couple of kilometres away. That was the
> bivouac for the night of the French army convoy that came from Tunis with supplies to the
> French Army camp in Sabha and further in Fort Lamy in Chad. Libya was, and still is,
> composed of three provinces: Cyrenaica, with capital Benghazi; Tripolitania, with its
> capital Tripoli and Fezzan with its capital Sabha. Cyrenaica and Tripolitania were under a
> British mandate, while Fezzan was under a French mandate. To note that Tunisia and Chad
> were under French occupation. Hence the supply convoy of the French Army starting from
> Tunis.
> In the early morning after the third night in the desert overcast with a tapestry of
> diamond stars we arrive in Sabha.
> Moḥsen was asleep in an open room in a newly constructed flat building. He was the
> only person around. I called him to wake up. He turned and looked at me and went back to
> sleep. I had to call him again to convince him that I was truly there.
> I returned to Tripoli by plane. There was no airport nor customs nor police. The Tunis
> Air plane transformed into an army soldier’s transfer plane had two long benches on each
> side with no belts. For a flight attendant there was a French military person who spent all
> the time with the pilot in the cockpit.
> The plane took off leaving a storm of dust and turned around and I could see what
> Sabha looked like as well as the sand runway of an airport. That was not bad.
> But then the plane went round again and I could see the same panorama from the
> opposite windows. I thought that was funny: is there something wrong? My fears were
> confirmed when the plane took a dive down to earth. I thought, that’s it for me, I shall be a
> martyr!
> The plane steadied and returned to climbing and I could see the few individuals who
> saw the plane take off waving good-by to the pilot. The whole operation was for the pilot
> to say good-by to the ground persons.
> I felt my heart start beating again.
> That was my first and last trip to Sabha.
> 
> Shoghi Riaz Rohani 28
> Muḥammad Muṣṭafá had arrived in Benghazi and left on his way to the Spanish Sahara
> a few days into September 1953 when the Public Works Department I worked for, assigned
> me to the town of El-Marj, 100 km east of Benghazi on the highway connecting Benghazi
> with the Egyptian frontier. This was to be for a limited period of about three months, to
> undertake a particular task. I, therefore, transferred to El-Marj, staying at the Government
> rest house, fully content that I had seen my father happily on his way to his pioneering post.
> El-Marj, like all towns and villages in Libya at the time, could not be called a town. There
> was practically no tarmac surfaced roads and no facilities or even a café, and very few
> individuals to associate with. My pastime was to take walks along the highway. Traffic was
> rare and the passing of a car or truck on the highway was a curiosity and a diversion from
> monotony.
> One day in October a truck came trotting along from the east towards Benghazi and, as
> usual, I stopped to see the truck go by and maybe even exchange a hand wave with the
> travellers. The passenger next to the driver looked at me and I thought the face was familiar
> although it was covered with a large fashion sunglasses and a woollen headdress. But the
> passenger recognized me and asked the driver to stop and came over to me. There was
> Shoghi Riaz Rohani dressed up as though he was going to the Himalaya rather than facing
> the climate of North Africa. Of course, we were very happy to see each other.
> - God bless you Riaz, where are you going dressed up like that?
> - To the Spanish Sahara…
> - To the Spanish Sahara? My father is already on his way to the Spanish Sahara! (Wrongly
> thinking that one pioneer was all that was necessary for a goal territory)
> -I am going to the Spanish Sahara… (He said in what I felt was a defiant tone!)
> -Well, my dear Riaz, the road is all yours, you only have 6000 kms plus ahead… My
> prayers!
> At that point, Riaz had already made 2000 kms on rail and road!
> We talked a few minutes and then he resumed his journey. Of all the young Bahá'ís I
> knew in Alexandria, Riaz was the last one I thought would pioneer to such a desolate area
> like the Spanish Sahara. He was some 7 years older than I am, and I saw him always very
> well dressed, owning a number of suits, shirts, while the rest of us were content with much
> less. He sported a pointed chin beard as seen on philosophers and artists. He had some
> capability in music and painting. I never thought he would give up all this easily.
> Yet here was a typical case of what sacrifice could mean. Riaz eventually became a
> Knight of Bahá’u’lláh for the Canary Islands, arduously for years trying to go into the
> Spanish Sahara but his efforts were not rewarded. He rendered, however, wonderful services
> in Morocco and later in France and at an advanced age for some months in Cyprus.
> 
> Heart-breaking it was sometimes
> 
> Muftaḥ29 the house helper: One day a Libyan knocked at my door. A tall man, probably
> in his early 30s. He appeared to be very poor and looked very tired. He asked if he could
> work. I asked him to come in and finally he came every day just to do a bit of cleaning the
> 
> This story is not of historical value. I added it to amuse the reader.
> Not the real name.
> floor, the patio and kitchen etc. He was no professional at all, but that was all I needed. No
> Libyan girl or women was allowed to go out of home, let alone work for a stranger who is
> single with other singles in the house.
> Muftaḥ continued for some three or four weeks and then suddenly stopped. That was no
> surprise for me. Such unforeseen attitudes were common.
> Three or four weeks later, Muftaḥ appeared at my door. He simply said, “I am hungry”
> Of course I gave him food and after he rested a while he left. I gave him some money.
> Today, 70 + years later, my heart still aches as I remember Muftaḥ and the thousands of
> Muftaḥs at the time who were there.
> 
> The poor and haggard couple:
> 
> On the first morning in my trip to from Tripoli to Sabha, the sun had risen and it had
> become warm in the truck cab. We were in the desert, nothing in view but sand and pebbles
> and small rock. A slowing down of the truck from its already slow movement, woke me up
> from a snooze. There in front of the truck coming from the right across the trail of the truck
> were a couple. They looked poor and haggard, their clothes barely covering their frail and
> skinny bodies. They had lost many of their teeth. They had waved the truck to stop. All they
> asked for was “water”. Just looking at them broke my heart and as the story sank in my
> conscience I felt even worse. Here we are in a desert with nothing in the horizon but sand
> and gravel and a trace of a trail. And here are a couple of human beings asking for some
> water to drink.
> Here again, the 70 + years have not erased my heart aching every time I remember that
> scene.
> 
> The Egyptian Magazines
> 
> In 1972 Ulfet and I visited the friends in Egypt by car for the first time. Between the end
> of 1970 and the end of 1984, we visited Egypt regularly at the rate of two or three visits per
> year mainly by air, but with four visits by car. The car allows us to visit the friends in Libya
> and also to take books to the friends in Egypt. The Egyptian airport custom authorities search
> the luggage of travellers like us thoroughly and Bahá'í books or literature would be the cause
> of trouble. The Egyptian customs at the frontier with Libya do not care so much. But the
> Libyans do and they search the luggage of travellers both in the car and in the luggage
> compartment in the rear. But, I noticed from many trips between Tunis and Tripoli by car,
> the Libyan customs do not look at what is on the back window, which is on the shelf between
> the back seats and the back window. We, therefore would pack the rear rack, so to say,
> haphazardly with books and papers of all sorts and nobody cares for them through the two
> frontiers: Tunisia/Libya and Libya/Egypt.
> During that trip this time I took 12 weekly magazines of Akhbar Al Yom because the
> edition had a three page report on the subject of the figure 19 in the Qurán. A certain Rashad
> Khelifa, an Egyptian Engineer in the States had discovered wonderful values of 19 and
> multiples of 19 in the Qurán. I intended to give these magazines to the friends in Tunisia to
> help conversation with non Bahá'ís. The 12 editions were spread on the rear window in a
> disorderly manner as usual.
> Well we crossed the Egyptian frontier control and happily the Libyan control and the
> magazines were there. 50 metres later, we were waved to stop by a young Libyan customs
> officer. He looked at us and into the back and asked to see one of the magazines. Relations
> were not good between Libya and Egypt at the time and I could expect the worse. The young
> officer flipped slowly the pages, too slow for my rising heart beats and said, “Can I keep this
> magazine?” Of course I give my whole hearted consent and we were waved to go with the
> broad smile of the Officer.
> Sometime later, maybe 300 kilometres later I was on a stretch of the road that was straight
> and desolate with no cars in either direction or inhabitants in view. Suddenly a motorcycles
> officer appeared and waved us to stop. He asked for our passports, looked in the car and
> spotted the magazines. This was no young officer this time. He put his hand inside the car
> and pulled one magazine out and started to slowly flip the pages. Of course I explained the
> subject of the figure 19 and the Qurán hoping to sooth his humour in case he intends to cause
> us problems. After a minute or two that seemed much longer, the officer asked, “Can I keep
> this magazine?” With a deep breath I said he was welcome and we were on our way again.
> After we left, it dawned on me that the Libyan Government had decreed the interdiction
> of any publications from Egypt, which are very appreciated by the people of Libya who do
> not have any national periodicals or magazines of interest compared to the ones the ones of
> Egypt.
> To make sure the remaining magazines get to Tunisia safely, I hid them in the boot of the
> car and got through with the 10 remaining editions for the friends in Tunisia.
> 
> °°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°°
>
> — *The Baha'i Faith in Libya (Used by permission of the curator)*