Interview: Sousan & Farid Manshadi by Linda Coulter-Jones

Linda Coulter-Jones interviewed the couple on September 2, 2024, via Zoom. Sousan and Farid Manshadi have actively served the Cedar Falls Bahá’í community since 1990.

Sousan and Farid kindly agreed to supplement their video interview with some additional information. Here are their responses to interview prompts, submitted November 11, 2024:

• How did you become a Bahá’í? Did you participate in religious life growing up? Who taught you the Faith? We both have been raised in Bahá’í families and declared at the age of 15. We grew up in Tehran, Iran (we did not know each other then) and participated in Bahá’í activities such as Bahá’í Children’s classes, Bahá’í youth activities and Feasts and Holy Days until we left Iran at the age of 17 (Farid in 1976 and Sousan in 1978).

• Who were the “elders”—mentors or leaders you remember from your early Bahá’í life? Mainly our parents and our Teachers at the Bahá’í Children’s classes.

 • What memories do you have of your Bahá’í community or communities and their members? The Bahá’í communities in Tehran were large and there were lots of activities such as Children’s classes, Youth programs, summer schools, Feasts and Holy Days.

 • What are some ways you’ve served the Faith over the years? We have both served as members of LSAs in various communities in the US. Also, we have both served as assistants to the Auxiliary Board Members. In addition, we have served on Bahá’í Summer School committees.

 • What favorite stories or memories do you have of living, serving, and teaching the Faith as a Bahá’í in Iowa? Elsewhere as a homefront or international pioneer? We have enjoyed our small Bahá’í community in Cedar Falls. We enjoyed the Iowa Bahá’í Summer Schools and the Regional Conferences like the Green Lake Bahá’í Conferences.

• What opportunities did your professional work, especially Farid’s career in medicine, offer for you to teach and serve the Faith, that you might not otherwise have had? Whenever there was a Bahá’í student at UNI or Wartburg College, we took the opportunity to have firesides and devotionals with the students. Farid served as the Medical Director for Summer Schools for several years.

• Have you had the bounty of pilgrimage to the Holy Land? Any favorite stories or memories from that experience? Our whole family went on Pilgrimage in June of 2001 as the first group on pilgrims after the opening of the Terraces. It was a great bounty. Our group leader was Mrs. Teherzadeh, who made the experience that much more special.

• What has Bahá’í life and the Bahá’í community meant to you and your family? How has it impacted your parenting or family life? We live and breathe with the Bahá’í teachings in every aspect of our lives.

• Any thoughts on how the Faith has sustained you through life’s challenges and difficulties?  The Bahá’í Faith is the foundation of our lives and has sustained us through life’s challenges.

 • Do you have any advice for new or young Bahá’ís, based on your experiences? Rely Upon Bahá’u’lláh and his healing message and submit to HIs will.

• Do you have a Bahá’í prayer, a passage from the Writings, or a song you’d like to share in closing? “Create in me a pure heart…” Sung by Luke Slot. NOTE: Here’s a link to that song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=priSx7SvZ5Q