Bahá’í World/Volume 18/Sami Doktoroǧlu
SAMI DOKTOROĞLU
1901—1979
GRIEVED LOSS OUTSTANDING SERVANT BAHAULLAH SAMI DOKTOROGLU WHOSE UNINTERRUPTED DEVOTED SERVICES OVER SEVERAL DECADES SHED LUSTRE ANNALS FAITH TURKEY WON HIM ADMIRATION CONFIDENCE BELOVED GUARDIAN AND GRATITUDE ALL BELIEVERS. HIS WORTHY ACHIEVEMENTS ACQUISITION HOLY PLACES TURKEY HIS LEADERSHIP INFANT COMMUNITY TIME NEED HIS SERVICES INSTITUTIONS FAITH IN MANIFOLD FIELDS WILL BE ALWAYS REMEMBERED. WE EXTEND SYMPATHY RELATIVES FRIENDS DEPARTED CO-WORKER AND ASSURE FERVENT PRAYERS PROGRESS SOUL. ADVISE HOLD MEMORIAL GATHERINGS.
Salih-bey, the grandfather of Sami Doktoroğlu, was a distinguished and well—respected medical doctor who was employed at the palace of the Ottoman Sulṭán in Istanbul. He was known for his kindness and help to the poor. His wife was related to the family of the Sulṭán. The family belonged to the Turkish Dervish order Bektáshiyya Taríqat (Baktáshí Taríqat). Their son, Halit-bey, an army officer, was sent to Birecik where he met and married Emine Khánum, a native of the town. In 1901 Sami was born to them. His parents moved back to Istanbul where he attended Robert College—a missionary school—and from his many Greek schoolmates acquired a mastery of their language. His education was interrupted at the outbreak of World War I. Not old enough to serve in the army, Sami was employed by the government as a translator, remaining in Istanbul until the end of the war. When civil unrest swept the country in 1920, the family moved back to Birecik where Sami again found work as a translator in a government office.
The Bahá’ís of Birecik were attracted to Sami’s upright character and sought his assistance in providing translations of Bahá’í newsletters and articles written in English which had been sent to them by friends abroad.
Thus, Sami-bey was introduced to the Faith which he frequently discussed with ‘Abdu’l-Qadir Diriöz and eventually accepted.
In 1930 he married Behiye Khánum, the daughter of a well-known Bahá’í family of Ghazi Antab. Five children were born of the union: Süheyla, Süreyya, Erol Badí’, Halde and Semura. The couple settled in Mardin for two years and then moved to Diyarbakir, engaging in commerce in both places. While they were in Mardin the Bahá’í friends in Urfa, Adana and Ghazi Antab were arrested and put on trial; some were imprisoned and their books were destroyed or confiscated. Sami-bey was also called to the police station but after being detained overnight and interrogated he was set free. In 1938 he returned to Istanbul. Although the Local Spiritual Assembly could not meet because the Faith was under proscription, the friends used to meet among themselves and share news of Bahá’í activities around the world. In Istanbul he started a travel agency and in a short time was loved and admired for his trustworthiness, honesty and good character.
Sami-bey was the sole heir to the Bektáshiyya endowment, as well as other properties belonging to his grandparents, but he refused them all. He loved the Bahá’í Faith and had nothing to do with the administration of the Taríqat, though he would have gained a considerable income.
After the second World War he was invited to be the general representative of Pan American Airways which was extending its service for the first time to Turkey. Soon other airline companies offered him an agency. His was the first and only firm to be given such an offer. In Turkish history books he is mentioned as the founder of travel agencies in Turkey. He was hard—working and determined. Through his business he became well known to the authorities and the general population.
The visit to Istanbul in the winter of 1951 of Mrs. Amelia E. Collins (appointed a Hand of the Cause on 24 December of that year) at the request of Shoghi Effendi marked the turning point in Sami’s Bahá’í life. He had been requested to make the necessary arrangements. He made hotel reservations and greeted her at the airport with a large group of friends. Mrs. Collins’s visit infused new life into the
Sami Doktoroğlu
community. Several meetings were arranged at which she could meet the friends and a large banquet was given in her honour. She conveyed messages from the beloved Guardian and extended his love. While she was in Istanbul Sami received a cablegram from Shoghi Effendi inviting him to visit the Holy Land. Thrilled and astonished, he proceeded to Haifa, and returned filled with renewed spirit and enthusiasm, his devotion to the Faith reinforced by his having been in the presence of the Guardian for whom he had great admiration and love. After his return a letter dated 14 December 1951 written on behalf of the Guardian reached the believers in Istanbul encouraging the friends to establish a Local Spiritual Assembly and to pursue other tasks concerning which he had given instructions to Sami.
In April 1952 the first Local Spiritual Assembly of Istanbul was formed with Sami as one of its members. He began to deepen his knowledge by reading Bahá’í books in English, many of these as yet not available in Turkish, and making a special study of Shoghi Effendi’s
God Passes By. Under the guidance of the Guardian with whom he was in frequent correspondence he implemented the delicate negotiations for the identification and purchase of the Holy Places in Istanbul and Edirne associated with the presence of Bahá’u’lláh. At a later time, writing of his pilgrimage to the Holy Land in 1951, he said of Shoghi Effendi, ‘I never imagined his bestowing upon me so many bounties, even one of which would be sufficient to make me happy throughout eternity. I am still unable to realize the blessings bestowed upon me, none of which I have deserved.’
Many pioneers arose in 1952, settling in all parts of the world, in answer to the call of the Guardian. Sami was of great assistance to the Persian friends, many of whom knew of his travel agency, and he tendered practical help in their relocation. In 1953 he took delight in attending the International Conferences held in Stockholm, Kampala and New Delhi, and was present at the dedication of the Mashriqu’l-Adhkár in Wilmette. At these gatherings he met many believers from all parts of the world and experienced a fuller appreciation of the reality of membership in the Bahá’í world community. Later he was privileged to attend the World Congress in London and to participate in the first International Convention for the election of the Universal House of Justice.
He served as a member of the Auxiliary Board and was the trustee of the Ḥuqúqu’lláh in Turkey. In 1957, not long before the passing of Shoghi Effendi, he conducted the long search which resulted in the acquisition of the site for the future Mashriqu’l-Adhkár. When the friends in Ankara were jailed in 1960 and questioned about their beliefs, and had their books taken from them, Sami contacted high-ranking government officials and addressed a letter to the President of Turkey explaining that the Bahá’í Faith is an independent religion and not a sect of Islám. The friends defended themselves admirably in court and were released. He was the author of Dn̈ya Medeniyetinin doguşu (Dawning of a World Civilization), and of an introductory pamphlet entitled The Bahá’í Religion, and he compiled and translated a book called Beklenen Çag. His works were popular among the friends. He sent copies of his works to the
then Prime Minister, Mr. Nihat Erim, from whom he received a warm letter of acknowledgement, as well as to other high-ranking officials. He was successful in obtaining permission to search the government archives for various documents related to the Ministry of Bahá’u’lláh. Among his findings was an indication, hitherto unknown, that Mulla ‘Alíy-i-Basṭámí, one of the Letters of the Living, the first martyr of the Bábí Dispensation, who was put to death in ‘Iráq, had in his travels reached the city of Bolu, east of Istanbul.
In 1977, despite his age and the condition of his health, he accepted an invitation from the National Spiritual Assembly of Australia to spend two months teaching in that country. In 1978 he visited Cyprus twice as a travelling teacher.
The death of his dearly loved sister, Hayriye Khánum, who had married his Bahá’í teacher, ‘Abdu’l-Qadir Diriöz, affected him deeply, as she was the only member of his family who accepted the Faith. Indeed, the others considered him an infidel. Although not an educated woman she had immersed herself in the teachings, gained a great knowledge of the Faith and was an excellent and valued teacher of the Cause.
The Universal House of Justice had requested Sami to make inquiries about the possibility of shipping lumber from Turkey for the restoration of Holy Places in ‘Akká. The last letter from the House of Justice reached him late in July of 1979. On 31 July, while giving instructions to his daughter, Süheyla, to accomplish the instructions of the Supreme Body, he partially lost consciousness. Three days later he was taken to the hospital and on 4 August he passed to the Abhá Kingdom.
A letter of consolation addressed to the family in October 1979 by the beloved Hand of the Cause Amatu’l-Bahá Rúḥíyyih Khánum brought the sweet solace of these words: ‘Our beloved Guardian esteemed your father very highly and I am sure his reward in the Abhá Kingdom is very great. He will be much missed by the believers in Turkey and indeed in many countries where the friends were a witness to his many services to the Faith.’
(Adapted from a memoir by SÜREYYA GULER)