American Interests in 1939 and the mention of Baha'i faith

On the eve of World War II , American interests in Iran were not sizable. There were slightly more than two hundred American citizens residing in Iran, more than half of whom were native-born Americans. About twenty American citizens reportedly worked with the Anglo- Iranian Oil Company at Abadan, but the consulate at Teheran did not even have them on the register. Most of the American citizens were connected with the work of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America in six mission stations at Tabriz, Kermanshah, Hamadan, Resht, Meshed, and Teheran. Each station had a hospital, and seven schools in all were still operating. Total capital invested in missionary properties was estimated at $2,577,000, about two-thirds of it in Teheran. Other small enterprises were the Farman Industrial School and Orphanage of Kermanshah, owned and operated by the former missionary, the Reverend F. M. Stead, with a staff of two Americans and twenty-five students. Virtually inoperative by this time were the Seventh-Day Adventist Mission at Teheran, the Sultanabad mission of the General Council of the Assemblies of God, and the Bahai School for Girls (Tarbiat-ol-Banat).

American University of Beirut

The best indicator of the university’s impact is the role of its graduates and former students. Demands throughout the Midde East for trained men and women far exceeded the supply and taxed the university beyond its capacity. A.U.B. men and women were requested by mandate officials, foreign and local business, and native governments and firms. In 1939 the government of Iraq needed thirty more graduates for teaching positions than it was possible to supply. Urgent need for doctors, pharmacists, dentists, nurses, chemists, secretaries, and accountants could not be met fully. In 1928 President Dodge reported that 721 graduates were physicians either in government service or private practice, with 151 physicians, pharmacists, dentists, and nurses employed by the governments of Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Trans-Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, and Sudan. Others were in educational, religious, journalistic, or legal work. One graduate headed the Bahai religion in Haifa; two were leading judges in Palestine and Khartoum; another was a leading newspaper editor in Cairo; one served as inspector of education in Iraq. Others were in comparable positions of responsibility. Between the wars, graduates at Jaffa initiated the export of oranges which, with Jewish help, proved to be a principal source of wealth for Palestine. Graduates also contributed to introducing fruit preserving and dairy enterprise in Lebanon, an up-to-date water supply and large cement factory for Damascus, ten cent stores, soda fountains, and talking movies. Some were agents for American auto firms or employees of Shell, Socony-Vacuum, or the Iraq Petroleum Company.

(John A. DeNovo, American Interests and Policies in the Middle East 1900-1939, The University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis)