- `Alí-Akbar Furútan
`Alí-Akbar Furútan (
29 April 1905 —26 November 2003 ) was a prominentIran ian Bahá'í activist, author and elder statesman who served in a number of important leadership positions between 1934 and 1963.A native of Sabzivár in what was, at the time,
Iran 's province of Khurásán, `Alí-Akbar Furútan was stiil a child when he witnessed the persecution of his family and others for their beliefs. Seeking safety, the family moved in 1914 from Sabzivár toAshkhabad in Turkestan, which was then a part ofTsarist Russia . In 1926, nine years after the Russian Revolution, 21-year-old Furútan won a scholarship to theUniversity of Moscow , where he studied education and child psychology. Within four years, as a result of his Bahá'í activities, he was expelled from theSoviet Union and, in 1930, returned to Iran.Shortly after his return, `Alí-Akbar Furútan began his lengthy leadership role and, by 1934, was elected to the National
Spiritual Assembly of Iran, serving as its secretary until 1957. In December 1951 he was appointed a Hand of the Cause of God byShoghi Effendi . From 1959 to 1963 he served as one of the nine Custodians at theBahá'í World Centre inHaifa ,Israel .`Ali-Akbar Furútan died in Haifa five months before his 99th birthday.
Works
* "Bahá'í Education for Children" (6 volumes; originally "Kitab-i-Dars-i-Akhlagh" [Books for Moral Education] )
*cite book
last = Furútan
first = `Alí-Akbar
year = 1980
title = Mothers, Fathers and Children: Practical Advice to Parents
publisher = George Ronald
location = Oxford, UK
id = ISBN 978-0-85398-095-0
*cite book
last = Furútan
first = `Alí-Akbar (editor)
year = 1986
title = Stories of Bahá'u'lláh
publisher = George Ronald
location = Oxford, UK
id = ISBN 0853982430
*cite book
last = Furútan
first = `Alí-Akbar
year = 1977, 1984
title = The Story of My Heart
publisher = George Ronald
location = Oxford, UK
id = ISBN 978-0-85398-115-9
*Several books in PersianReferences
* [http://www.furutanacademy.org/mod/resource/view.php?id=24 "Hand of the Cause Mr. `Alí-Akbar Furútan, 1905-2003"] "(bio on the site of the Furútan Academy)"
* [http://news.bahai.org/story/261 High-ranking member of the Baha'i Faith passes away]External links
* [http://www.juxta.com/main.cfm?SID=34 Bahá'í Education for Children series]
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