Recently Koroush Niknam, a Zoroastrian MP in Iran in an interview with Fredrik Dahl (Reuters) said "Iran's Zoroastrian community has shrunk by half to 45,000 people since the country's 1979 Islamic revolution. I'm personally worried and I would want the community to return." he added, "Iran is our birth place ... our prophet was born in this country".
Although he rejected that minorities face discrimination in the predominantly Shiite Muslim state of 70 million people but honesty everybody knows that religious minorities are struggling with Islamic regime discrimination. for instance, minorities can't hold senior government or military positions, with the exception that 5 of a total 270 seats in the Parliament are reserved for religious minorities. I think Mr. Niknam twists facts with lies to secure his seat in the Parliament.
Niknam represents the pre-Islamic religion in Iran's 290-seat legislature and has registered to stand for re-election in a March 14 parliamentary poll, so if he would say the truth behind the immigration of minorities he would be rejected by Guardian Council.
Niknam said "poor job prospects in Iran were the main factor of immigrating Jews, Armenians and Zoroastrian in the last three decades". "If there are any problems we are trying to resolve them through the Islamic establishment and there is no need to have a third party step in," Niknam said in his office, adorned with images of Zoroaster and Islamic Republic's founding father Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.
But Niknam also said there were problems with Iranian legislation under which a member of a minority religion who converts to Islam gets all the family inheritance. "What do you think will happen to the family? It will be undermined," he said. Niknam said he had petitioned Khomeini's successor, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, about the issue and suggested he was hopeful for a change of the rules.
Frankly, I don't know how he can justify these dishonest answers but also I know he is part of minority and perhaps his voice won't count at all in Iran. If he had a choice he wouldn't mount Khomeini's image in his office. Like all other Iranian businesses, even in small convenience stores, every business should mount Khomeini's image on the wall!
And look at the Iranian legislation?!! isn't it discrimination?! I think so it is all the way. it's against human rights and it's called religious segregation.
Monday, February 25, 2008
Iran's Zoroastrian community has shrunk
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If you actually knew something about Iran before mouthing off about minorities in Iran, you'd know that Zoroastrians are unlike other minorities in iran and are highly respected. You'd also know that Zoroastrianism doesn't accept converts and that's the main reason they're dying out not just in Iran.
ReplyDeleteThe official numbers of Zoroastrians in Iran may be shrinking, because large chunks of religious minorities have been leaving Iran to find greener pastures to live life more freely away from a fundamentalist theocracy. As long as Iran remains an ISLAMIC republic, non-Muslims will not be able to live a completely happy life in Iran.
ReplyDeleteBut, although the official numbers have been shrinking, there is an exodus of Iranians back into the religion of their forefathers by converting, yes CONVERTING, into Zoroastrianism. Conversion IS allowed in Zoroastrianism, with the blessing of Zoroastrian officials, and much to the annoyance and dismay of the mullahs. As a result, although the official figures may be dwindling, the real numbers of Zoroastrian converts and empathisers has been on a huge increase for several years. Due to this phenomenon, the worldwide numbers of Zoroastrians have been estimated to be around 2-3 million, ie 10 times the figure of 250,000 given for all the world's Zoroastrians. None of the converts in Iran dare speak up as their conversion is punishable by execution.
First Anonymous;
ReplyDeleteYou're talking about respect; will you let me know what does respect means to you? I think so you can't call this government's action respectful while they segregated religions and discriminate minorities including Zoroastrians.
as second Anonymous explained throughly "minorities have been leaving Iran .... to live life more freely away from a fundamentalist theocracy. As long as Iran remains an ISLAMIC republic, non-Muslims will not be able to live a completely happy life in Iran."
I am a Parsi Zoroastrian living in India. We left Iran about 1,300 years ago for India so that we could practice our religion without any fear. Zoroastrians do not accept conversion. We do not accept any converts come what may.
ReplyDeleteI do not have any interest in what Zoroastrians accept or not but for the sake of argument, I should make two points:
ReplyDelete1. Iranians before convert to Zoroastrian and acknowledge Zoroaster as a prophet (or priest) and accept the divine authority of Ahura Mazda, they have had the religion of the Bronze Age Iranians with lots of gods in it. It means Iranians converted (from their religion) to Zoroastrianism and became a Zoroastrian believer and this conversion ocntinued in history of Iran rather Persia till Islamic conquest of Persia.
Even it didnt't stop here, Zoroastrians fight back and so on but at the end, they couldn't resist more because Islamic barbaric laws would execute anybody who wouldn't convert to Islam and etc.
So you can't say "Zoroastrians do not accept conversion" it's just a big lie but you can say we haven't accepted any conversion since ...(a date)!
2. Shrinking a community is nothing to be proud of, it's a shame! and specially it would be based on absurd and total false ideology.
Good luck
Lookin to present scenario in the world, we can say that ancient Iran's faith has something unique and great substance. Zoroastrians in India enjoys great respect among all communities because ... they are not fanatics, they do not convert, they do not say our's faith is great and all should accept it, they also respect other people's faith and their rights, they are not too much staunch, they are not blood thirsty, they do not agree to killing of innocent people on one or other political or social reasons, they give charity to one and all, with the time-they also adopt modernism.
ReplyDeleteNow compare these with other so called great faiths of the world and judge what these great faith followers are doing today, in 21st century.
A true zoroastrian from India
Zoroastrians in Iran have high respect among people, there is no question there.
ReplyDeleteNow Zoroastrians don't say "faith is great and all should accept it" because they are powerless. Zoroastrianism like other religious ideologies when reached to power, have done their fair share of crimes in history, just look at Persian history. What you have right now is a tamed version of Zoroastrianism without power and still like all other religions have its own problems...(just let me not go there).
Now when you don't have power, you would respect everyone's opinion and you wouldn't kill them or convert them by force to your own ideology.
This state that Zoroastrians (worldwide) are, I would call "before disappearance" or "almost dying" state.
And I have always said that I can deal with tamed version of religions as long as they stay private.
I'm not Iranian, I am European but Zoroastrianism IS a great religion. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism and most others are all full of superstitions and wrong ideas about the reality of the world and god. Zoroastrianism does not though, it's a true religion and it is better than most others!
ReplyDeleteI am a Zoroastrian and I believe that we SHOULD have conversions into our religion but we should do so based on individuals' spiritual belief. Remember, before the cursed Arabs invaded Persia, almost everyone in the Persian Empire was a Zoroastrian. Our religion, by far, is the first and truly pure monotheistic religion. We cannot let it diminish. People of Persian descent definitely should be allowed to convert.
ReplyDeleteSome people like Mr. Shamshiri might say that we Zoroastrians have done crimes in the past like what the mullah's are doing so now. It is true but only to a certain extent. Our Zoroastrian Kings of the past like Cyrus the Great formed the FIRST OFFICIAL human charter of rights. We freed thousands of Jewish slaves, and we tolerated other religions in our domain. It was only the Sassanians that to a certain extent did some harm, but nonetheless compared to others, we are much more liberal.
To Anonymous, remember, a true Zoroastrian has no right in criticizing other religions. Let other people believe in what they want to, but we cannot say that "our religion is the best". I personally believe in this, but then again, a muslim believes in the same manner, same with a Christian, Jew, etc. The difference between us and many people of other religions is that we forget about the differences and look for the similarities.
To all Zoroastrians, push for conversions in ALL Persian regions. We cannot be crushed. As of now, we are destroying our own religion. If we continue as we do so now, not converting true believers, then one hundred years from now, we will not be able to take pride in our religion because there will be nothing left. If we do not allow conversions then we will continue to destroy our community, our culture, and our religion. Not allowing for conversions was NEVER an ideology of the Great Shah's of the past, of our prophet Zarathushtra.
Seanmico.
ReplyDeleteParsis are really no longer Persian or Iranian, they have mixed with Indians and look completly Indian all the ones I have met so far and seen.
Parsis that moved to India, moved in the condition that they are forbidden to convert anyone, this does not mean you cannot convert to Zoroastrian, and as an Iranian you have the right to accept Zoroaster & our true religion as your faith.
Parsis are full of it and some I have heard accept a satanic book called Dasatir as their holy book.
If you are Parsis and accept these nonsense then you are just an Indian with a corrupt version of Zoroastrianism in you, you are neither Persian or a real Zoroastrian.
"I'm not Iranian, I am European but Zoroastrianism IS a great religion. Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sikhism, Hinduism and most others are all full of superstitions and wrong ideas about the reality of the world and god. Zoroastrianism does not though, it's a true religion and it is better than most others!"
ReplyDeleteZoroastrianism is a "Good Religion" and people should have the right to leave Islam for this ancient faith and other faiths. But it absolutely has supersititions in it, how about that menstral purification ritual that lasts 9 days? It had so many rituals people actually rather be Muslim, which is saying something. If Zoroastrians reform their faith and allow converts, they really should have alot more converts than those dreadful mormons and JW's, they should number in the 10's of millions. I think Zoroaster is right under Jesus in terms of holy men in history.
Yes, Zoroastrianism is the Way,
ReplyDeleteAccept Jesus as a Lutheran/Mormon and
Zoroastrianism as a guiding priniciple...
Best of all worlds...
please do not forget Zoroastrianism is an idea, is not related to any race, so don't be raciest, and don't related the great idea to any group of people, Ahoura Mazda is for everybody not only for a group of people.
ReplyDeleteI am a Parsi Zoroastrian....i do not believe in conversion....but i do believe that every Iranian and the people of greater Iran where Zoroastrianism once flourished, have a right to Revert back ro the religion of their forefathers.
ReplyDeleteWe Parsis should help show them the way and guide them back for the glory of Iran n the fulfillment of Zoroastrian prophecies that oneday Iran will be Zoroastrian again.
Yes, the Iranaina people are born of the Zoroastrian creed n DNA n have every right n reason to revert back to the teaching n way of life of the great Persian Zarathushtrian creed.
Long live The Zarathushtirian Daena !
Pash Jehan