The worldwide Bahá’í community lost its most distinguished member with the death of Dr. Ali-Muhammad Varqa, the last remaining Hand of the Cause of God. He passed away on the evening of 22 September 2007 at his home in Haifa.
He came from a well-known Iranian family that has served the Bahá’í Faith with distinction for generations. After obtaining a doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris in 1950, he taught in Iran at the universities of Tabriz and Tehran and served the Bahá’í community there in various administrative capacities. In 1979 he moved to Canada, and later established his residence in Haifa to serve at the Bahá’í World Centre.
Dr Varqa was born in 1911 in Tehran, Iran, and received his name from 'Abdu'l-Bahá in memory of his grandfather, who had been killed for being a follower of Bahá'u'lláh. Dr. Varqa travelled to many countries as a representative first of Shoghi Effendi, then of the Universal House of Justice. In that capacity, he attended the first national conventions held in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Congo, Mauritania, Central African Republic, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Czechoslovakia and Greenland.
Edited from Bahá'í World News
BACK TO CONTENTS PAGE