Otoman Zar-Adusht Ha'nish

Otoman Zar-Adusht Ha'nish (1856? – February 29, 1936) was the founder of the religious movement known as Mazdaznan. His origin is not verified, and differing birth dates are mentioned in various documents. According to some sources, he was born Otto Hanisch, a German immigrant from Poznań. He adopted the name Otoman Zar-Adusht Ha'nish in 1902, and his European follower David Ammann claimed that he was born in 1844 to a Russian diplomat in Teheran and to have been sent as a child to a secret society of Zarathustrians in the Iran mountains due to his serious congenital heart defect, where he was trained to master his hypoxic condition with control of breathing.

According to Upton Sinclair, Hanisch lived in Mendota, Illinois, and his career included such varied pursuits as sheep herding, typesetting, mesmerism, and spiritualism. He is also reported to have joined the LDS Church, the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church and to have been a member of James Brighouse's Mormon splinter movement.

From 1900 Hanisch lived in Chicago. In 1908 Hanisch and his follower David Ammann published a magazine entitled Mazdaznan in Germany, which dealt with philosophy, physical education and dietary practices. Following the publication of the magazine Hanisch adopted the name Otoman (Zar-Adusht) Ha'nish. From 1917 he was resident in Los Angeles.

Hanisch published several books including Health and Breath Culture and Inner Studies.

For many years Hanisch maintained a temple at 3016 Lake Park Avenue, Chicago. He first achieved notoriety in January 1912 through the so-called Billy Lindsay case. Billy's mother Elizabeth had become a member of Hanisch's movement and had sent Billy to travel across the country with Ha'nish. The boy's relatives became worried about the boy's welfare and after a coast-to-coast search Billy was discovered living in the Lake Park temple. His uncle filed a dependent petition on Billy's behalf and he was taken into custody, but he and his mother fled before the hearing.

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