Ruth (Berkeley) White was an early American Baháʼí who became known for challenging the '' Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá'', one of the founding documents behind the

Baháʼí administration The Baháʼí administration or Baháʼí administrative order is the administrative system of the Baháʼí Faith. It has two arms, the elected and the appointed. The supreme governing institution of the Baháʼí Faith is the Universal Ho ...

. She was designated a

Covenant-breaker Covenant-breaker is a term used by Baháʼís to refer to a person who has been excommunicated from the Baháʼí community for breaking the ' Covenant': actively promoting schism in the religion or otherwise opposing the legitimacy of the chai ...

by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's successor,

Shoghi Effendi Shoghí Effendi (; 1 March 1897 – 4 November 1957) was the grandson and successor of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá, appointed to the role of Guardian of the Baháʼí Faith from 1921 until his death in 1957. He created a series of teaching plans that over ...

. White met ʻAbdu'l-Bahá in 1912 in America, and again in 1920 when she went on pilgrimage to Haifa. When ʻAbdu'l-Bahá passed away in 1921, he left a will that designated Shoghi Effendi as the one that Baháʼís should turn to for guidance. It was this appointment that she opposed, and she went on to claim that the will was forged. Her claim was based in part on her belief that

ʻAbdu'l-Bahá ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (; Persian: ‎, 23 May 1844 – 28 November 1921), born ʻAbbás ( fa, عباس), was the eldest son of Baháʼu'lláh and served as head of the Baháʼí Faith from 1892 until 1921. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was later canonized as the la ...

would never advocate for a hierarchy, much less the establishment of a "papacy". During her time of opposition, White wrote several letters to the National Spiritual Assembly of the Baháʼís of the United States and Canada objecting to Shoghi Effendi and the idea of Spiritual Assemblies. She wrote a letter to the

United States Postmaster General The United States Postmaster General (PMG) is the chief executive officer of the United States Postal Service (USPS). The PMG is responsible for managing and directing the day-to-day operations of the agency. The PMG is selected and appointed by ...

requesting that the National Spiritual Assembly not be allowed to use the mail system, and she also wrote to the High Commissioners for Palestine with complaints about Shoghi Effendi. White hired a criminologist Charles Ainsworth Mitchell to review photocopies of the original '' Will and Testament of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá'' in an attempt to prove it was a forgery. Neither White nor Mitchell could read Persian, and her claims of a forgery were not taken up by many other Baháʼís opposed to Shoghi Effendi, such as

Ahmad Sohrab Mírzá Aḥmad Sohráb (March 21, 1890 – April 20, 1958) was a Persian- American author and Baháʼí who served as ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's secretary and interpreter from 1912 to 1919. He co-founded the New History Society and the Caravan of East and ...

. White was designated a

by Shoghi Effendi, and was excommunicated sometime after 1926 when the extent of her opposition became clear.

Works

* *''ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's Alleged Will is Fraudulent'', 1930. *''Correspondence Between the High Commissioner of Palestine and Ruth White, Concerning the Alleged Will and Testament of Sir ʻAbdul-Bahá ʻAbbas'' . 11. Los Angeles, Calif. : White, 1932.
''Baháʼí Leads out of the Labyrinth''
New York: Universal Publishing Company, 132 E 65th Street, New York, 1944. Digitally republished, East Lansing, Mi.: H-Bahai, 2004. *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, Ruth 19th-century Bahá'ís 20th-century Bahá'ís 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American women writers Bahá'í divisions Place of birth missing American religious writers Women religious writers American women non-fiction writers 1867 births 20th-century deaths Year of death missing

Works

Further reading

See also

References