About 2000 year ago, Jesus Christ was persecuted for preaching righteousness, love, and the belief in God. His persecutors were King Herod, the Jewish clergy and people, and Pilate Pontius. The story of his persecution continues to be told to this day and is passed on from one generation to the next. To Daheshists, the persecution of our Beloved and Guiding Prophet, is no less significant or severe, for on August 28, 1944, the founder of Daheshism was persecuted by a tyrant Lebanese president—who possessed Sayyals [Spiritual Fluids] from both, King Herod and Pilate Pontius—and the story of this persecution will also be told from one generation to the next.
In his inspired book “Strange Stories and Wonderful Tales,” our Beloved Prophet wrote a story titled “A Dialogue Between Four Candles.” Even though the story may seem to the reader as a work of fiction, however, the storyteller, speaking through a candle, tells the factual details of his own persecution and its consequences for Lebanon and the Lebanese people—consequences that led to an all out civil war that began on April 13, 1975 and the remnants of this civil war continue to be felt and develop up to this day.
A Dialogue Between Four Candles
It was exactly 7 pm on February 4, 1979, when a sudden power outage disrupted a conversation we were having and stark darkness filled the place. Present, were two men, two children, and four women. Chukri [the other man] briefly left us looking for candles and then returned with four that he lit and placed in a row on a table in order to provide us with light. Of course, it was a faint light if compared to the bright light generated from electricity. All of a sudden, I heard a faint voice speaking, so I focused my sight towards the source and to my wonder, I saw the first and the shortest of the lined up candles conversing with its fellow candles. So, I listened carefully to what it had to say and here it is:
First Candle: How miserable is Beirut! How pitiful are its dwellers! For four years the horrific calamities are pouring on top of its residents—just like molten lava—and without leniency or mercy. For the loud rumbling canon sounds had shaken the foundations of this inflicted city; the blasts of bombs deafened the ears and destroyed what it may from the structures; the launched mighty rockets inflicted destruction throughout the cities of Lebanon and transformed its happiness into a great sadness and enduring worry.
Many were orphaned, widowed, amputated, lost extremities, beheaded, and bullets penetrated thousands of bodies. The demons of hell attacked the residents of Beirut and harvested their souls, thereby eradicating them and wiping their traces from existence! It has been four years and the spilled blood is flowing like rivers and without satisfying the hunger felt by the demons of evil to harvest and kill souls. It is the fury of God Almighty that targeted this city and its villages thereby turning them into ruins. Wailing did not spare any home—without exception! All were inflicted with calamity. May God protect us from the havoc caused by the weapons of destruction throughout this beautiful country and transformed it into piles of rubble and ruins. It is a massive calamity that was inflicted on every Lebanese and changed his happiness to sadness.
The second candle inquiring from its short companion by saying:
O sister! What was the reason for this great calamity that destroyed Lebanon and transformed its structures to ruins?
The first candle responded: Didn’t you hear about the persecution of [Dahesh] the founder of the Daheshist religion? He was persecuted on August 28, 1944 by Bechara el-Khoury, the Lebanese president. This traitor, in agreement with his evil followers, dispatched a bunch of foreign street mobsters in order to relieve him from Dahesh—especially after the famous literary writer Marie Hadad, the sister of Bechara’s wife Laure, and her three daughters Magda, André, and Zeina had all believed in the Message of Dahesh and accepted its principles. Since that moment, Bechara channeled his anger on Dahesh and ordered the police and the police intelligence departments to follow Dahesh and to surround his home with undercover agents on a hope of catching him in any illegal act that would give them a probable cause to arrest him and to bring him in to the police station for questioning.
The surveillance lasted for six complete months, however they failed to achieve the intended result. Rather, all the written reports affirmed the decency of Dahesh and his abiding by the laws of the country. As a result of the police investigations and their fact-finding efforts, the detectives could not find any legal justification to use against him. On the contrary, the content of all of their reports was in Dahesh’s favor. When their plan failed, they dispatched a bunch of their evil mobsters in order to assassinate him at the entrance of his home, however, they failed because God saved him from the evil they intended to inflict on him—i.e., from being killed through assassination. Instead, they arrested him and placed him in a police car accompanied by Mr. George Hadad, the brother-in-law of Bechara el-Khoury. The cars of the mobsters were packed with men accustomed to committing crimes and they were following the police car while threatening Dahesh with their fists—despite his presence in a police car under custody.
Dahesh looked at the policemen and said to them: “Is this what you call justice in Lebanon? You arrest the innocent people and release the criminals so that they can follow you and threaten me in clear view of your eyes and yet you fail to act?” The policemen could not answer him.
After hearing this story and speaking with a shaken voice, the third candle asked: What happened then?
The short candle answered: This conversation is lengthy and would require many hours, however, in order for you to learn about the details of these horrific events, you can read the series of “Black Books” [66 Black Books] that Dahesh wrote about Bechara el-Khoury, the tyrant, who committed crimes on a continuous basis.
In a voice full of worries and after hearing all this, the fourth candle said: O God! How is it that they [Lebanese people] say: “Lucky is the one who has a goat’s resting place in Lebanon!”
The short candle answered: The saying is nothing but a fairy tale. The truth enforces the fact and the fact refutes made up sayings. The horrible persecution that Dahesh faced affirms that justice was lost, the truth was buried, and freedom was trampled over by the heel of a cruel ruler. Following the [unconstitutional] stripping of Dr. Dahesh from his nationality and expelling him from Lebanon, a painful series of wrecking horrors took place. Mrs. Marie Hadad was placed in prison and remained there for one year among the criminals and killers—all that because she defended the founder of her faith that was unjustly oppressed in the 20th century and in a city that they describe as the City of knowledge and light. The events that took place refute, obliterate, and wipe out any traces of this saying.
Likewise, Halim Dammous, the remarkable poet who is known as the nightingale of Lebanon, was also imprisoned. This peaceful innocent man was thrown into the depth of prisons unjustly and with brutality, not for any crime he had committed, but rather because he defended an innocent man by raising his voice in protest against this ugly and horrible crime. Through an executive order from the murderous tyrant of Lebanon, he spent one full year behind bars!
The three candles simultaneously said: Was there not a single man that supported the truth, defended the innocent, and protested the stripping of Dr. Dahesh’s nationality?
The short candle responded: With great regret I say, not a single man came forth—whether this man being a journalist, lawyer, member of the parliament, or a government minister. Yes, no one in Lebanon came forth and no one in all of its cities and villages defended a truth that all the rocks and inanimate objects testify to throughout this country—a country inflicted with the plague of oppression by the tyrant and murderous Bechara el-Khoury. All of them went along with him in order to serve their own self-interests. Why would they care if a group of people were oppressed as long as their-interests are safeguarded?
The three candles spoke simultaneously saying: It is a mark of shame that branded Lebanon as a result of this excessive oppression—especially when no man stood up in opposition to this shattering crime. If what transpired in Lebanon transpired in Europe, even at a scale of one-thousandth, such a government would have fallen hard as a result of widespread revolts. That’s because the European people are educated and keen on safeguarding their rights and their governments are even more diligent in safeguarding such rights. Such a horrific crime could never have taken place in any modern country or civilized capital. History had recorded a mark of disgrace on Lebanon and such a mark will remain a heavy burden on its chest for future generations. Just as the inhabitants of earth curse Cain for killing his brother Abel, likewise they will curse day and night Bechare el-Khoury and his evil gangsters.
The short candle continued by saying: Halim Dammous, the poet rolled up his sleeves and hit the streets objecting to this horrific crime committed by Bechara el-Khoury, the tyrant. He assured the people that the price for this crime will be heavy and unless: people raise the flag of disobedience and denounce this crime; individuals or an honorable group volunteer to demand the restoration of citizenship to Dahesh; the press publish the details of this heinous crime and criticize those who committed the crime; and unless they listen to these guidelines derived from the Spiritual World, then he assured them there will come a day when punishment will be inflicted on Lebanon and destroy its infrastructure, demolish its buildings, orphan its children, kill its men, dishonor its women…and just as this criminal [the president] turned Dahesh homeless, so will God turn the people of this country displaced and homeless.
He affirmed to them this scary prospect through repetition and on several occasions, however, his words fell on deaf ears, for no one budged and no man volunteered to take the side of the truth by defending Dahesh, the innocent, and by denouncing the crime of the Lebanese president—a despicable crime that is judging Lebanon and inescapably tarnishing his reputation with severity.
Finally, the people kicked Bechara el-Khoury out of office and consequently he lived an isolated existence at home overwhelmed with disgrace, grief, desperation, and anguish filling his evil soul. The people kicked him out of office after obtaining evidence of his criminality in sucking Lebanon dry. He used Lebanon as a milking cow that he solely enjoyed and deprived all others from it. However, no man or faction came forward to defend Dahesh, rather, the newspapers wrote and published articles ridiculing Halim Dammous, the poet, saying that he had lost his mind and became insane for saying that if no one defends Dahesh and denounces the crime Bechara el-Khoury committed against him, that a horrific punishment will pour down on Lebanon. The newspapers continued their attack by writing that whatever Halim Dammous is saying, it is nothing but trivial fabrications and that he should be locked up in a mental institution, because that’s where he belongs.
The short candle continued by saying: God is patient, but never neglectful, so the days passed and the hour of punishment approached and here we are in 1975. In this year the noise of gunshots is ear-piercing, followed by bombs, Kalashnikovs [assault rifles], rockets, and canons…the instruments of destruction poured over Lebanon in a very horrific way! So many young men were slaughtered based on their identity card [reflecting religious affiliation], were scalped, butchered in scary basements, eyes gouged, noses amputated, and necks cut off! Horror filled the streets, traversed the homes, and searched around the curves. Killing took place on both sides based on the identity card of the holder without pity or mercy not whatsoever. Fear took over, dread prevailed, horror filled the hearts and took shelter in the chests. The buildings began to fall and to disintegrate from the impact of weapons of horror!
Many were the rapes! Many young people were kidnapped and then immediately killed! Many stores were burglarized and many homes were wiped clean of their contents! Tens of thousands of people deserted the country of horror leaving behind their homes and becoming homeless throughout the world! Here you find the citizens of “Al-Damoor,” who left their city, mourn its founders after being taken over… Many were the tragedies that took place! When mentioned, one may think these tragedies are just myths being told and not facts.
The three candles asked their short leader saying: What about Dahesh? What happened to him? She answered: Dahesh was on the heels of his persecutors, for his [66] Black Books broke their back and unveiled their true nature, thereby appearing to the people naked and without cover. His Black Books were filled with the most horrible of deeds that they had committed and the most despicable of behavior that they had immersed themselves into, thus allowing the people to realize their obvious and hidden shortcomings and consequently to curse them day and night.
I assure you that had there been individuals that defended him [Dahesh] as an innocent victim whose rights were violated, God would not have poured his wrath on their cities and turned them upside down. What was inflicted on them was inflicted previously on Sodom and Gomorrah. Many were the times that Lot advised his countrymen, the residents of Sodom and Gomorrah, to refrain from wickedness, however, they did not heed to his lectures and instructions and prompted God Almighty to rain on them fire and brimstone thereby burning their cities and eradicating them forever. When people read about their conduct, they curse over their defiled graves.
Likewise it was with Father Noah, who advised his people many times to refrain from wickedness and to ask for forgiveness, however, they would intensify their ridicule of him and their mockery of his sayings would increase. That’s when God rained on them for 40 days and nights and the Great Deluge killed them. This is what happened to Lebanon! Halim Dammous, the poet, advised the people many times and repeatedly, however, his efforts were like someone playing the trumpet in the middle of the desert. His lot from his countrymen was a quick mockery and ugly talk.
When none of them defended the violated rights of Dahesh; did not attack the horrible and enormous oppression that the tyrant Bechara el-Khoury inflicted on Dahesh; and without a change in behavior things got to a boiling point, the bow of patience run out of arrows, and the specified hour of punishment approached; then the prophecy that Halim Dammous derived from the Spiritual World and relayed to them repeatedly and on many occasions did come true. He was rewarded then with a barrage of ridicule carried in the newspapers—just as Noah and Lot were ridiculed.
I did say that the hour of punishment approached and now the artillery is thundering and pouring its devastation on all the Lebanese people. The rockets are roaring like lions and producing horrific sounds, while the bullets and grenades are harvesting the lives of people. The land is now full of orphans and the wailing from fear is now widespread throughout Lebanon. This calamity is complete and the destruction widespread and did not spare anyone. The horrible crying and loud wailing filled the ears. The looting, theft, and attacks covered everyone and they were all punished without an exception.
Had they listened to Halim Dammous, the poet, and there were people that defended the founder of Daheshism, they would not have reached this horrible end that stormed Lebanon violently.
All of a sudden, the power was restored and the bright electric light overwhelmed the candle and stopped its dialogue.
Dahesh
(Beirut at 7:15 PM on February 4, 1979)