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Facing hardship, enduring pain, losing all – such things are a bitter pill to swallow for anyone. For those devoted to the life of the spirit, cruel misfortune – even violent opposition – are familiar stages of the journey of life. Walking a spiritual path in a material world is rarely an easy expedition. But, obedience to the object of her devotion certainly provided Keith Ransom-Kehler with her greatest human challenge and spiritual victory.

Keith was an early American believer in the Bahá'í Faith, the latest of the world's global religions. She was elevated posthumously to the high rank of 'Hand of the Cause of God', and became North America's first martyr for the Faith. Her courageous, albeit largely unknown, contribution to history is the subject of Forget-Me-Not, Iran.

A letter to Keith (another song, another season)

Roger White

Preface

Robert Weinberg

Introduction

Sarah Munro

‘Forget-me-not, Iran’: The story of Keith Ransom-Kehler

Sarah Munro

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Arts visuels

Histoire des Arts

Histoire des arts visuels

Christian theology

History of art

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Theology

Christianity

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Publié par	Intellect Books Ltd
Date de parution	01 mai 2011
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781841505374
Langue	English

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Forget-Me-Not, Iran
Forget-Me-Not, Iran
The Story of Keith Ransom-Kehler
Sarah Munro
First published in the UK in 2011 by Intellect, The Mill, Parnall Road, Fishponds, Bristol, BS16 3JG, UK
Copyright 2011 Intellect Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Cover designer: Holly Rose Copy-editor: Ed Hatton Typesetting: Mac Style, Beverley, E. Yorkshire
ISBN 978-1-84150-411-7
Printed and bound by 4Edge, Hockley, Essex, UK.
Contents
A Letter to Keith
Preface
Introduction
Forget-Me-Not, Iran : The Story of Keith Ransom-Kehler
A Letter to Keith
by Roger White
Why did you do it, Keith,
And you a looker?
Not your usual religious dame
in need of a good dentist
and a fitted bra.
Not one of those skinny ones
who make it their painful duty to love mankind
and purse their lips a lot
to let you know it isn t easy.
Not one of those.
Sharp dresser, too.
And brainy.
Not every man s kind of woman
but a looker.
And a real good talker, too.
It makes no sense, Keith.
You could have put your passion to another use.
We grow them odd here in Michigan,
but you were an odd one, even for us -
why, just your name, for starters.
And all your mooning about the library,
reading too much,
making little notes in little books. And your preaching.
I suppose your life was full enough
but your interest in God - was that normal?
We always said you could pray the paint off a barn door
at twenty paces, but we meant no harm.
It was as though you were always looking for something
you hadn t found.
And gallivanting around the world like you did,
visiting the Maoris and savages like that,
which we had only ever seen in National Geographic .
In those days we thought we were doing pretty good
if we made a trip to Chicago.
Nobody faulted you for going to the Holy Land,
you always were the studious kind
and they ve got a helluva lot of religion there.
We heard you were sent on a special mission
to fight for a good cause.
Well, you d be just the girl for that;
but why Persia, Keith?
Life still isn t worth a nickel there
and what do they know about plumbing?
With a tongue like yours, I ll bet you told
those folks a thing or two.
And when word got back that you had died
there s some as said
you d found what you wanted at last.
I m one who thinks you did, Keith,
who thinks you did.
All these years later
standing at the marker they put up for you here at home
and reading those words
and listening to what these decent people are saying
about you being a glorious martyr and all -
I m bawling,
me a grown man,
three sons and a wife in the grave
and not what you call sentimental.
Why did you do it, Keith,
and you a looker?
(From Another Song, Another Season )
Preface
Robert Weinberg
I n a small, well-loved collection of spiritual aphorisms entitled The Hidden Words , an intriguing verse inverts what might be our obvious human perception of, and response to, the occurrence of events contrary to our wishes. My calamity is My providence, writes Bah u ll h (1817-1892), the Prophet-Founder of the Bah Faith, outwardly it is fire and vengeance, but inwardly it is light and mercy.
Facing hardship, enduring pain, losing all - such things are a bitter pill to swallow for anyone. For those devoted to the life of the spirit, cruel misfortune - even violent opposition - are familiar stages of the journey of life. Walking a spiritual path in a material world is rarely an easy expedition. But, obedience to the object of her devotion certainly provided Keith Ransom-Kehler with her greatest human challenge and spiritual victory. Her courageous, albeit largely unknown, contribution to history is the subject of this play.
Those who knew Keith as a person of refinement, of exquisite taste for the beautiful things of this world, could never imagine that she would die alone, thousands of miles away from home, disappointed. She had gone to Persia to present an appeal to the Shah to alleviate the increasing measures being taken to suppress the Bah Faith there, including a ban on Bah literature entering the country and being printed and distributed.
To outward seeming, her mission - like that of Persia s B b and Bah martyrs and heroes who had gone before her - was a failure. Yet, seeing the providence in the calamity of her untimely demise, Shoghi Effendi hailed her as an intrepid defender and illustrious herald of God s Cause and extolled her magnificent deeds .
Whatsoever occurreth in the world of being is light for His loved ones and fire for the people of sedition and strife, wrote Bah u ll h. Even if all the losses of the world were to be sustained by one of the friends of God, he would still profit thereby, whereas true loss would be borne by such as are wayward, ignorant and contemptuous. Although the author of the following saying had intended it otherwise, yet we find it pertinent to the operation of God s immutable Will: Even or odd, thou shalt win the wager. The friends of God shall win and profit under all conditions, and shall attain true wealth. In fire they remain cold, and from water they emerge dry. Their affairs are at variance with the affairs of men. Gain is their lot, whatever the deal. To this testifieth every wise one with a discerning eye, and every fair-minded one with a hearing ear.
In the same verse from The Hidden Words quoted at the outset, Bah u ll h instructs the loved ones of God to rush towards such calamity: Hasten thereunto that thou mayest become an eternal light and an immortal spirit. In this mystery lies the impetus that has motivated countless souls throughout the spiritual history of humanity to undertake magnificent and significant sacrificial deeds.
Keith Ransom-Kehler may have been reluctant in her haste towards calamity. Her efforts in worldly terms may have been in vain. But there is no doubt that her light and spirit will shine eternally, inspiring countless future generations, and that her story has fresh relevance today as the Bah s of Iran continue to face virulent persecution and oppression.
Introduction
F orget-Me-Not, Iran was first performed at the UK Bah Arts Academy in August 2008, brought into being through a team of actors, technicians and production hands, working voluntarily over many months. This play text is dedicated not only to Keith Ransom-Kehler herself, but also to those who first helped to bring her story alive, and those whom it has touched.
During Abdu l-Bah s 1 historic visit to London in 1911, he met an actor who asked Him to speak about the drama . Abdu l-Bah replied, The drama is of the utmost importance. It has been a great educational power in the past and will be so again . He went on to recount that, as a child, He had seen a passion play that affected Him so deeply He could not sleep for many nights. This is perhaps the power He was referring to - the feeling of awe at witnessing, as if first-hand, the spirit of an experience, of seeing the effects of a great soul in action. And when this spirit moves the heart of those who witness it, it can have a profound effect.
It is heartening to learn that imagination is, in fact, one of the essential properties of our souls. Abdu l-Bah , in His Tablet to Dr Auguste Forel (a prominent psychiatrist of the late 19th and early 20th centuries) describes the relationship between this faculty of mind and the soul: