Coming Soon!
This is the first comprehensive account of the life of Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney, who is generally known as the first French Bahá’í. He was one of the few Western Bahá’ís who had a deep understanding of the tenets of the Faith, thanks to his close, thirty-year association with ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, the son of the Prophet-Founder of the Faith; and Shoghi Effendi, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s grandson who led the Faith after His passing. By virtue of his ability to read Persian and Arabic and his numerous publications, translations, and public talks, Hippolyte was recognized by prominent orientalists as the first Bahá’í scholar in the West. His Essai sur le Béhaisme, published in 1909, was, for a very long time, considered the most comprehensive and accurate presentation of the Faith.
During his life, which alas ended too soon, he was sent all over the world to teach and promote the Cause. Very early on, he became one of the first diplomats of the Bahá’í community and ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s most trusted Western envoy, and he interacted with government officials, princes, diplomats, and leaders of thought from many parts of the world. In 1906, he was chosen by ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to be the first Western Bahá’í to go to Persia and meet the local communities in the cradle of the Faith. In 1911 and 1913, he was constantly attending the Master during His historical visits to Europe, and he acted as His translator and arranged His meetings.
The Guardian, Shoghi Effendi, posthumously named him a Disciple of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá. His personal tribute to Hippolyte Dreyfus-Barney, certainly one of the most emotion-filled and among the lengthiest which Shoghi Effendi has written, testified to the “distinctive and inestimable” services he rendered to the Faith.
