Shaykh Baha’i Ahdieh and his family fled his hometown of Nayriz, Iran, after experiencing a kidnapping and other threats and moved to the coastal city of Abadan where they lived in the poor section of Karun with Arab, Jewish, and Armenian neighbors. For security, he strung up several pots and pans which clanged if an intruder came in.
The family struggled to make ends meet as their assets were back in Nayriz. They lived crowded together in small rooms with no electricity or running water with all the aunts, uncles, and their blind grandmother together, which led to tensions between them. Everyone was struggling.
Their son, Hussein, had a religion teacher in school who was a fanatic and made him recite Muslim prayers in front of the class to try to break him of his Baha’i faith. Later that teacher became a prominent leader in the Revolution of 1979. He personally carried out executions but was later hanged.
The young Hussein did his homework under the street light in the company of numerous black cockroaches because the house was too dark, small, and crowded. Among his classmates in that public school though was Farzam Arbab, later a member of the Universal House of Justice.
A restless but smart boy, his parents sent Hussein to the Baha’i school in Tihran to improve his behavior—the school’s name was “The House of Good Manners” (Darul-u-Tarbieah). Shaykh Baha’i knew Mr. Furutan, the head of the school, from his visits to Nayriz as a travelling Baha’i teacher.
The school had been created by the National Assembly for Baha’i children whose parents had been martyred or had left to pioneer. It was located near the National Center which had a beautiful dome, extensive gardens, a guest house, and many employees. The upscale neighborhood was home to many wealthy Baha’is.
Boys and girls slept in separate dorms, attending a regular public school during the day and Baha’i classes afterwards. Mrs. Shamsi was the capable school administrator. The hard-working gardener who maintained the grounds was later killed by local fanatics who shook the ladder he was standing on, plunging him to his death, though the official explanation was that the wind had knocked him off.
Luke Sott, One Hundred Thousand Veils
Mr. Furutan went out of his way to try and channel Hussein’s energy. He gave him the job of delivering correspondence around the National Center and this kept me busy. One day, the boy jumped into the fountain in the center’s courtyard. Mr. Furutan came out to try and get a hold of him, but he ran to the other side of the pool. Despite the best efforts of Mr. Furutan and Mrs. Shamsi, Hussein found himself back in Abadan for the next school year.