George Khairullah; Abdu’l-Baha’s Christopher Columbus; Stepbrother; Peter of Baha
The memories of Dr. Ebrahim George Khairullah from Baha’ism to ex-communication
“When I recall the memories of those years, I thank God a thousand of times that I quickly realized the true nature of him who I imagined to be the “Returned Christ”, and he called me the “Discoverer of America”, and eventually I separated from him.” These are the whispers of me in the last years of my life.
George Khairullah: when he became a Baha’i
I am Dr. Ibrahim George Khairullah, the great Baha’i preacher in America. I was born in 1849 in a Christian family in Mount Lebanon and I became a Baha’i in 1890. I learned missionary works and proselytizing from some Baha’i missionaries, and through a letter, Baha’u’llah (the leader of the Baha’is) gave me permission to preach the Baha’i faith. In 1892, I went to America and got engaged in business activities. Two years later, with Abdu’l-Bahá’s approval, I began to introduce Baha’ism in America and did my utmost in this regard.
The Baha’ism preaching phase of George Khairullah’s life
Due to my great missionary success in America, Abdu’l-Bahá called me the “Discoverer of America” and “the Second Christopher Columbus”. I very much loved to have an opportunity to visit Abdu’l-Bahá. In 1898, I went to Port of Acre and stayed there and also in Haifa for six months. I met Abdu’l-Bahá and his family and as a result I encountered some facts that made me to ponder: “Is this Abdu’l-Bahá the same person I had in mind?! As the time passed, my doubts were getting stronger and that’s why my mind started to change!”.
Knowing Abdu’l-Bahá, the Second Baha’i leader, according to the narration of George Khairullah
The meetings I had with Abdu’l-Baha created the first sparks in my mind. Some of them are in Bahá’í Shenasi Quarterly No. 18, but you can read more in the book “Hidden History of Bahá’ís”.
The arguments between Abdu’l-Bahá and his brother Muhammad Ali on the issue of Bahá’u’lláh’s succession, ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s dishonesty in various cases, his contradictory answers to questions, etc., finally led me to believe that Abdu’l-Bahá is “a wicked politician, a master in playing with emotions, very aggressive and also at the same time a flattering person who tries to keep the power for himself.”
Although Abdu’l-Bahá often made gossips about his brother and advised everyone not to get to meet him, I managed to meet Muhammad Ali. He showed me some important documents (all of which were Baha’u’llah’s handwriting). By looking at those documents, my doubts on the sincerity of Abdu’l-Bahá increased!
George Khairullah; When I finally got to know the real Baha’ism
This is how when in 1899 I returned to America, “God opened my eyes to see the truth.” I announced my separation from Abdu’l-Bahá. But what happened next?!
Abdu’l-Bahá accused me of false teachings and immoral behavior, just like other ex- communicated Baha’is. So, he dismissed me from the work of preaching and gave me other titles like “enemy”, “violator” and “covenant breaker”. He forbade everyone from dealing with me, who was considered once as the “Discoverer of America”, so that I cannot afford to mislead anyone! On the order of Abdu’l-Bahá, the person who had made me a Baha’i, came to America and tried to dissuade me by paying a large sum of money. But I refused to accept and then they sent other people to me and they even threatened me to death. I didn’t give up at all and till the end of my life, I continued to disclose Abdu’l-Bahá’s true picture.
