Javidukht Khadem, Auxiliary Board Member

by Diane Findlay, submitted September, 2023, note to Des Moines Bahá’ís from the Des Moines Bahá’í Archives entered December, 2025

Javidukht Khadem (1913–2007) served as an Auxiliary Board Member for Iowa for a number of years, including the mid-late 1970s. She visited Iowa often and actively nurtured the Bahá’ís of Cedar Rapids, where we lived at the time, as well as many others across the state. I remember her as deeply knowledgeable, quick-witted, outspoken, warm, energetic, and always, always gracious. Occasionally, her husband Zikrullah Kahdem, a Hand of the Cause of God for the Americas, would accompany her on her visits. The couple lived in Evanston, Illinois. Here are some other “glimpses” of Mrs. Khadem. Please add yours in the comments below or by sending longer pieces to ibh@iowabahaihistory.org.

Chris Johnson: Who has memories of Mrs. Khadem in Iowa? I met her in graduate school at Iowa State and we had some lovely chats. One thing she told me really stood out. She said about me taking the job in Louisiana that I would be pioneering to a Third World Country. It was truly spot on. The entire experience in north Louisiana—which carried David Duke, ex Klan leader, in a Governor’s race—was shocking, with an interracial family. As a Professor in Sociology I was amazed by the prejudices and lack of tolerance of people of differing religions. My daughter was once told in class, she belonged to a “dead man’s religion.” As bi-racial, she got prejudice remarks from both blacks and whites. I can say Ms, Khadem was truly a visionary, it was indeed a third world country!

Kathleen McClendon: She was an honored guest at an Iowa Bahá’í school held at Briar Cliff college in the mid 1980’s. It was before I became a Bahá’í. Our family was asked to pick her up at the airport and we also had lunch with her at a local restaurant. She spoke to us about the importance of strong families. She was so warm and wonderful and when she spoke at the school she sat in an armchair next to a table with a lamp on it, a very relaxed setting. Like a fireside but I had no idea what that was at the time. She was my first exposure to a Bahá’í outside of my home community and I was wowed!

Margene Nelson Willis: I remember a day-long deepening on the Covenant she gave (as a new Bahá’í I still wasn’t clear about it except how important it is) and the importance of reverence for the Word of God.

Hannah Rishel: Brad and I weren’t yet Bahá’ís when Mrs. Khadem led LSA training in Johnson County (1975). Brad and I asked if we could attend. She said yes. Not long after, we embraced the Faith, becoming LSA members 8 & 9. The new LSA formed by joint declaration.