Quran Gate, Shiraz

( دروازه قرآن‎‎ Darvāzeh Qur’an)

Allah’u’Akbar Gorge. We are in route to Shiraz to begin pilgrimage to the House of the Bab. This is where Siyyid ‘Ali-Muhammad, surname the ‘Báb’, meaning ‘Gate’ or ‘Door’ in Arabic, declared His mission. The central theme of the Báb’s major work, the Bayán, was the advent of a second Messenger from God, now known as Baha’u’llah, Whose mission would be to usher in the age of unity, peace and justice promised by all other major world religions. The Báb’s declaration marks the start of the Baha’i Era, and for Baha’is the place where it was made is a Holy site designated for pilgrimage.

Reunion

Abulqasim Afnan, Caretaker, House of the Bab, Shiraz, Iran with Terry Randolph.

Baha'i Pilgrimage Details

Provided by the link below find photographs and information that detail the author’s pilgrimage to the House of the Bab in December 1970.

Travels in Iran (Persia)

The following link provides photographs and additional information about that the author’s travels in Iran (Persia) from December 1970 into January 1971.

*Note – Hassan Afnan, Abulqasim Afnan’s brother, whom I had not previously met, departed Iran after the 1979 Revolution and took up residence in the United States. During 2003, through a mutual friend, I was able to contact him at his home in San Diego, California. We corresponded briefly until his death 27 May 2004.

Brief Background.
Born 17 April 1923 in Shiraz, Iran (Father: Habibollah A. Afnan/Mother: Aghabigom A Afnan), named Seyed Hassan Afnan Alaei at birth, and underwent the following name changes after immigrating to the United States in 1981 – 20 Mar 1981: Name listed as Seyed Hassan Afnan Alaei; 03 Oct 1985: Name listed as S. Hassan Alaei Afnan; 07 Jun 1989: Name listed as Hassan Assan Alaei Afnan; and 30 Jun 2004: Name listed as Hassan Afnan.

Follow this link to read his response to my inquiry concerning his brother, Abulqasim Afnan:

Letters received from Hassan Afnan (2003)

Note: 4 Oct 2018 – I’m still trying to determine the date of death of Abulqasim Afnan, and exactly where each of the brothers are buried.

Baha’i Pilgrimage

We first met when I arrived in Sharaz during December 1970, along with Zhila Maboobi and her brother, for my pilgrimage to the House of the Bab, the ‘Holy Threshold’, where the Babi Dispensation had its beginnings, and foundation for the subsequent Baha’i Revelation. Mr. Afnan, a descendant of the Bab, would be our guide. Fast forward to 1993 and my attendance at the Friends of Persian Culture Conference being held in Evanston, Illinois (United States). I learned that Mr. Abulqasim Afnan* was also attending, and immediately went in search of him. This picture documents our meeting after a twenty-three year period and under totally different circumstances.

“I am the Primal Point from which have been generated all created things. I am the Countenance of God Whose splendor can never be obscured, the Light of God Whose radiance can never fade.” -Epistle to Muhammad Shah, Selections from the Writings of the Báb.

Baha’i Experience

Member, Baha’i Faith, since 26 May 1965
Board Member, Baha’i Administrative Body, Washington, DC, 1966-81 (non-concurrent)

~Chairman, 6 yrs.
~Vice-Chairman, 1 yr.
~Treasurer/Financial Manager, 6 yrs.

· Baha’i District Convention Planner/Organizer, Washington DC/Maryland Region, 1967-75
· Baha’i State Goals Committee, Washington DC/Maryland Region, (Treasurer, 3yrs) 1968-75
· Delivered Welcome from LSA to Shah of Iran, Blair House, Washington, DC 1967
· Liaison, Baha’i Administrative Board to United Nations Association, Washington, DC, 1967-71
· Officiated Baha’i Marriages, Washington, DC/Northern Virginia, (12 officiated), 1967-80
· Delegate, Baha’i National Convention for Washington, DC/Maryland District, 1968 & 1969
· National Assembly Special Projects (South Carolina), 1969
· Local Spiritual Assembly Trainer (Maryland/Virginia), 1970-74
· Observer, US Congressional Hearings, Plight of Baha’is in Iran, 1970 & 1972
· Project Manager, Restoration of fire ravaged Baha’i Center, Washington, DC, 1977-79
· Board Member, LSA/Treasurer, Seoul, South Korea, 1986
· Assistant, Auxiliary Board for Protection, Michigan, 1992-96
· Board Member, LSA, Taipei, Taiwan, 1997

· Baha’i International Pioneer:

~West Germany, 1980-85
~South Korea, 1985-91
~Taiwan, 1996-97
~Philippines, 1997-2000
~Kenya, 2001-02
~South Africa, 2002-04
~Malaysia, 2004-06

· Baha’i Travel Teacher, 1968-78

~United States: Maryland, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, Kentucky,
Appalachia, California, Pennsylvania, New York, Colorado, Arizona
~Mexico, 1976
~United Soviet Socialist Republic (Russia), 1983
~Malaysia, 1987
~Singapore, 1987
~Myanmar (Burma), 1988
~Philippines, 1986 & 1997
~Hungary, 1981
~Australia, 1992 (Social & Economic Development Project: Aborigine Education and Teacher Funding)
~Africa: Eritrea, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, and Mauritius, 2000-04

· Baha’i Home Front/Committees/Projects/Special Events

~Librarian, Baha’i Community, Washington, DC, 1965-70
~Archivist, Baha’i Community, Washington, DC, 1967-69
~Local Spiritual Assembly Trainer, 1967-70
~Baha’i National Special Projects Committee, South Carolina, 1968
~Official Photographer, local/national/international Baha’i meetings/conferences/events, 1966-76
~Public Speaker, International forums, conferences, meetings, schools, colleges, universities, 1966-Current
~Attendee: US Congressional Hearings on Religious Persecution of Baha’is in Iran, 1974 & 1975
~Home-Front Pioneer, Michigan, 1991-1996

· Interviewed by

~NBC News, Washington, DC, Religious Persecution of Baha’is in Iran, 1974
~NGO News, Taipei, Taiwan, Baha’i Office of the Environment for Taiwan, 1996
~Radio Talk Show, Taipei, Taiwan, Environmental Assessment of Taiwan, 1996

· Major Baha’i Events Attended

~Laying of Cornerstone, Baha’i House of Worship, Panama, 1967
~Dedication, Baha’i House of Worship, India, 1985
~Baha’i World Congress, New York City, 1992

· Baha’i Pilgrimage

~House of the Bab, Shiraz, Iran, 1970

· Baha’i World Centre

~Baha’i Holy Places, Haifa/Acre, Israel, 1973
~Baha’i Holy Places, Haifa/Acre, Israel, 1976
~Baha’i Holy Places, Haifa/Acre, Israel, 1996

· Other Visits

~House of the Two Martyrs, Isfahan, 1970
~House of Baha’u’llah, Tehran, 1970.
~Shoghi Effendi, Grave Site, London, England, 1973
~‘Abdu’l-Baha’s Village’, Myanmar (Burma), 1986

Baha’i Temples Visited

~Panama Temple Site, 1967; Germany 1981-85; United States numerous 1965-96
~India 1985 & 1987; Australia, 1992; Uganda, 2001

Conferences Attended

~Baha’i Youth Conference, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, 1973
~Esperanto Conference, Budapest, Hungary, 1983 (UHJ encouraged Baha’i participation)
~Black Mens Conference, Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute, South Carolina, 1992
~Social & Economic Development Conference, Miami, Florida, USA, 1993 & 1994

Baha’i Schools Attended

~First Baha’i Winter School, Green Acre, Maine, 1965
~Louis Gregory Baha’i Institute, South Carolina, 1969
~Baha’i Summer School, Massanetta Springs, Harrisonburg, Virginia, 1978
~Landegg Baha’i Academy, Switzerland, 1982
~Baha’i Winter School, South Korea, 1985
~Louhelen Baha’i School, Michigan, numerous occasions, 1992-1996

Zagros Mountains

The Zagros Mountains form the largest mountain range in Iran, Iraqi Kurdistan and southeastern Turkey. This view is from the Fars Province, one of the thirty-one provinces of Iran. Fars is known as the cultural capital of Iran and its administrative center is Shiraz.