Conversions to Zoroastrianism in Iran on the rise

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Conversions to Zoroastrianism in Iran on the rise

Postby Liberator » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:17 pm

Posts on Zoroastrianism by our compatriot "Spenta" on ActivistChat.com :



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Sedreh-pooshi Report!: Conversions Galore

On the 1st of August 2004 (Dei be Mehr, Amordaad 3742), we organized a conversion ceremony for a group of Iranians who desired for years to convert to Zoroastrianism (Zartoshti). The initiation took place at Radisson SAS Hotel in Norway and was performed traditionally by Zoroastrian Mobed. Participants (Nozoodan) were crying of happiness while reading the promise and the Avesta of Koshti. Relatives and friends were also gathered to celebrate their return to roots and share their joy and happiness.

Due to high desire of many Iranians to convert, we have decided to hold another initiation ceremony in Norway. The next initiation will take place in soon future in Oslo, the capital city of Norway. There are many other Iranians and non-Iranian people worldwide who have contacted us for conversion. We welcome anyone who feel Zoroastrian in their hearts to participate in this initiation and become formally Zaratushti. If you live in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, etc. you may travel to Oslo and fulfill your wish; there are daily flights directly to Oslo. Please contact us for more details. After Oslo, in future we will have other ceremony projects in central Europe and Central Asia and other big cities where new Mazda worshippers are waiting for initiation into the faith.

For the memory of Nahaavand battle where 100,000 brave Iranians were killed by invaders.

Those souls were defending their homeland and faith. Your Kaviani Derafsh will always "wave high" in our hearts.

"Many were those who turned away from Zartosht

Only to find no other viable choice but to come back to Zartosht"

Iranian Poet Daqiqi - 10th century

"For us there is no regrets about the old religion

As there is none better than the religion of Zartosht

It is all about justices and righteousness

It is all about logic and unraveling the secrets of the universe"

Great Iranian poet Ferdowsi - The Shahnameh, 10th century

"For years my conscious was yearning for the secret of Jam(shid)

What it had always had within, it was looking to strangers for"

Great Iranian Poet Hafez, 15th century


Ushta,

Anjoman e Bozorg Bazgasht,
Oslo, Norway

http://www.bozorgbazgasht.com/

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http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/002684.html

Reversion to Zoroastrianism? [fingers crossed]

Dogs and cats living together! A mainstream Western paper has published an article that acknowledges the Islamic record of ethnic cleansing! (hat tip: Mirabilis.ca)

Zoroastrianism flourished in Persia, now Iran, for more than two millennia, greatly influencing Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But it was decimated by the Arab invasion of Persia in 651.

....

Iran's Islamic leaders ''have tried for centuries to sweep away all trace of Zoroastrianism," said Sohrab Yazdi, a community leader in Yazd, where most of Iran's estimated 30,000 Zoroastrians live.

Pointing to the bright dome of the Jame mosque in the city's center, Yazdi said it was built over a destroyed ''fire" temple[Hagia Sophia or Masjid al-Babri, anyone?], as Zoroastrian places of worship are called because of the sacred fire that burns perpetually within.

But from outside the shattered splendor of Persepolis, the ancient capital of Persia, Bahram Agaheri, a Muslim teacher, talked in elegiac rhythms about the desire of many Iranians to rediscover the faith of their forefathers.

''People are tired of the mullahs," Agaheri said, referring to the country's religious leaders. ''If we were allowed to convert, millions would convert to Zoroastrianism. I challenge the government to allow conversion out of Islam for even one day."

But he is unlikely to see that day. Islam bans its adherents from converting, and a Muslim who renounces his faith can face a death sentence.

Caught between a religion that will not allow them out and one that will not let them in, many Iranians are thought to practice Zoroastrianism in secret.

There is also evidence that people in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and some Kurdish regions are rediscovering their Zoroastrian and Persian roots.

A secularized version of Nowruz, the traditional Zoroastrian New Year, is increasingly being celebrated across the region.

These tremors of change excite many Zoroastrians, who despite their demographers' troubling estimates, think their religion is poised to witness a renaissance. But such change also makes many uncomfortable.

Mistri and Yazdi agreed that Zoroastrians do not have the wherewithal to deal with any political backlash from Iran's radical Islamists or India's Hindu nationalists, who also oppose religious conversions.

''You must understand our apprehension," Yazdi said. ''We are like a small, colorful fish in a big pond. One wrong move and we will be eaten."


From http://secularislam.org/jihad/subjects.htm

Tarikh-i Bukhara, c. 944.
The residents of Bukhara became Muslims. But they renounced [Islam] each time the Arabs turned back. Qutayba b. Muslim made them Muslim three times, [but] they renounced [Islam ] again and became nonbelievers. The fourth time, Qutayba waged war, seized the city, and established Islam after considerable strife....They espoused Islam overtly but practiced idolatry in secret.


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http://www.bostonreview.net/BR28.3/pocha.html

Iran's Other Religion
Jehangir Pocha

In Search of Zarathustra
Paul Kriwaczek
Alfred A. Knopf, $25 (cloth)



"Americans might be surprised to learn that the seven-pointed halo which guilds the Statue of Liberty is linked to Mithra, a Zarathusti archangel of good governance."

The broad swath of modern history generally sees the collapse of the Persian Empire as the classical demise of one civilization at the hands of another, more powerful aggressor. Yet, as Kriwaczek suggests, a more nuanced reading of history and the reality of modern Iran reveals something else—something that my friend the sculptor was acting out as he crafted a Zarathusti Farohar in that narrow alley. “In our hearts we are still Zarathusti,â€
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable" -J.F.K
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Postby Liberator » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:18 pm

Post-Islamic History of Zoroastrians of Iran through Political Analysis and Historical Letters

Series:
Zoroastrian Genocide

Author:
Jahanian, Dr. Daryoush



The Arab invasion of Iran in 630 A.D. and its consequences have never been researched impartially, because they always carry religious sentiments. It is taught and popularized that the Arabs brought Islam to Iran, and the Iranians being frustrated by their

government, the strict religious code interfering with their daily life and the established Sasanian's cast system embraced Islam's message of equality and brotherhood. This view however is not only far from the historical evidences but contradicts the basic human instincts. The fact is that people on the whole do not give up their original tenets and traditions easily to adhere to the new one. Even the primitive Arabs did not abandon their old religion that simple, as there were several religious wars (Ghazvah) in which many of the nonbelievers were massacred. The Arab conquest not only did not eliminate the cast system, but soon Iranians found themselves part of the two new casts, slaves and Mavali. The mass of Iranian women, children and captured men were sold in the Arabian markets and even those who converted to Islam did not receive freedom. They were called Mavali or the liberated slaves, who were mostly deprived of basic rights, could not ride horses or carry weapons and at times being part of the asset were given away as gifts. The mass enslavement of Iranians was so rampant that in a story that Shiites made to relate the family of Imam Ali to the Sassanians, even the daughter of Yazdgard, Shahrbanou was sold as slave in Medina market to Imam Ali who gave her to his son, Imam Hussain to marry. By this narrative the Shiites believe that Imam Hussein's descendants are blood related to the Sassanians.



The cultural calamity was disastrous. Books were burned, scholars slain and schools and libraries were destroyed because the invaders regarded the Koran as the last book that nullified the existing ones. Iran in a short period of time fell from a global power and world's center of science to an illiterate and backward country that could never stand on her feet. For centuries afterwards until the time of Safavid dynasty at the turn of the fifteenth century it was not even a country under one flag.

Safavid Dynasty
The ancestor of the Safavids, Sheikh Saffi Ardbili was a Sunni Moslem. The founder of the dynasty, Shah Ismail embraced Shiism to unify the nation and encourage them to fight against the Ottoman Turks who were Sunnis. This policy was favored by the major European powers that faced the threat of the Ottaman Turks from the east. Turks were invading Europe and Islamizing the eastern parts; the goal was to keep them engaged in the south. The conversion of Iranians however was not an easy task. The majority were Sunnis and 0/040 of the nation or four million had preserved the old religion and remained Zoroastrian. The other problem was the absence of Shiite clergy to educate the public. Furthermore the existing large Zoroastrian sector raised concern for reversion to the old religion.

The shortage of clergy was resolved by bringing them from other areas such as Lebanon and Bahrain. Conversion of the Sunni majority to Shiism was carried out by force and bloodshed. In the turmoil many Zoroastrians lost their lives, and to eliminate the threat of reversion, many inhumane acts were implemented against them. Jews and Christians were regarded as the owners of the book because Moses and Jesus are named in the Koran and several Suras are specified to them but Zarathushtra is not mentioned. Although at this era non-Moslems in general were not treated with dignity, but no community and religion suffered as much as the Zoroastrians. A law enacted that if a member of a family converted to Islam, he was entitled to all the inheritance. The religious tax or Jizya was imposed and those who could not afford were subject to torture, loss of life and confiscation of property or had to convert. Zoroastrians even had to wear a yellow patch to be distinguished in public, by that they were subjected to insults and persecution. They were despised as Gabre or Gavre, which in public mind was equal to

(Kafir) or faithless, and the Zoroastrian ghettos were called “Gavrestan" which in Persian is reminiscent of 'Goorestan’ or cemetery. The Moslem clergy was particularly active in instigating hatred against the Zoroastrian population causing them more persecution and even massacres.

Zoroastrians Condition in Iran during the reign of Shah Abbas Safavid:
Suffering of the Zoroastrians during the rule of Shah Abbas the Great ( 1587 -1628A.D .) in particular was intensified. The eastern and Pahlavi philosophy had been revived and gained momentum. He was determined to crash the movement at root. The followers of Darvish Mahmood Passikhani who were called Ajamiyoun (Persians) and believed that the Arab era is over and the new Persian period is to begin were massacred. Shah Abbas personally executed several of their leaders. His serious concern about the Pahlavi philosophy and reversion caused him to carry a harsh anti Zoroastrian policy. In a letter dated Bahman Rooz, Ardibehesht Mah,1 005 Yazdgardi (1015 Hijri), the Zarthushtis of Sharifabad, Yazd wrote to the Parsis of India: "In the year 977 Yazdgardi (987 Hijri) the agents of Shah Abbas came to Yazd to confiscate our religious books. They murdered two Mobeds who refused to surrender them. In Turkabad many Mobeds who refused to surrender the books were killed. The agents plundered and destroyed many scriptures here.â€
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable" -J.F.K
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Postby Liberator » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:18 pm

Comments by our compatriot "Spenta":

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Dear Azadeh thank-you for posting this essay.

Islam was forced on Iranains atleast 5 times.

1. Arab Islamic invasion, bloody invasion and occupation

2. The Mongul Forced Conversion to Islam. Hollakoo & Ilkhanid dynasty forced conversion to Islam. Holakoo in a bid to unify his empire converted to Islam and froced everyone to convert. During the Ilkhanid before Holakoo, only 50% of Iran was muslim, the rest were Zoroastrian, Christian, Buddhist and Jewish.

Holakoo needed a way of unifying his empire, his religious choices were Christianity, Islam or Buddhism. I can see that a Mongol warrior was perhpas not too keen on the reglion of Jesus who was crucified, the Buddha who preached compassion or Zarthustra who preached good thoughts, words and deeds. However Islam, the relgion of a warrior prophet who brutally murdered his enemies and was gloriously victorious and preached total surrender, was Holakoo's ideal religion for a Mongul warrior and an empire in which all had to surrender to him. So thus we had another bloody forced mass conversion.

As for Holakoo's own personal conversion to Islam and how real it was, well he was buried in the way and manner of Mongolian Shamanism, all of which is taboo and sinful in Islam, thats how real his faith in Islam was. For Holakoo, Islam was just another tool of empire building.

3. The next forced conversion came with the Saffavids, who were mostly Sufi Shiites (who went off the deep end with paranoia during their reign, kind of like gnostic lunacy) and they needed Shiite Islam to fight 2 Sunni enemies actually, the Turks to the west which the article mentioned, and the dreaded Sunni Timurids to the Northeast Much of Safavid art borrowed from the Timurid, they had a sort of hangup about that.

4. The decadent Qajars, massacred and killed many Zoroastrians, and forced many to convert in the 19th century, especially in Khorassan. I will look for another scholarly essay on this subject and post it here.

5. The 1979 Islamic Revolution of Iran paid for by the Soviet Union, Moamar Qaddaffi of Libya, and fought by mercenaries and guns of Arafat and the Palastinians, another foreign invasion using Islam and forced Islam resulting in wholesale destruction of Iran, Iranians and Iranianism!

So as everyone can see, Islam has always been a tool of political invasion, occupation, repression and looting of Iran by its foreign enemies.

Everytime Iranians would start to raise their heads above the indentured servitude that Islam had imposed on them and start to rediscover their roots and reclaim their rights and identity, there would be another crushing blow and forced Islamic Toosari (slap on the head). Like the Pahlavi dynasty and its Rennaissance of Iranianism, which was brutally crushed with the Islamic revolution that targetted all Iranian and Persian cultural identity as the greatest sin. There is a reason why the Mullah$, the Leftist Islamists and their intellectaul collaborators all named the Shah's greated sin as the 2500 year celebrations.

Personallly, I can't imagine anyone reading Iranian history not realising that Islam has been used as a political tool for invasion, occupation and repression of Iran and Iranians in the last 1400 years. And I can't personally understand why any Iranian would not rise up and throw off these schackles in recognition of the vast suffering of all their ancestors, but heck everyone has their own path, so I figure for some Islam is their path, but it sure ain't mine.
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Postby Liberator » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:18 pm

"Zardosht the magus and fire worshipper by some dishonorable knaves has been called holy and God worshipper. If this fire of dirt that has arisen from the temples of Fars are not extinguished, soon the trash will spread and they invite all to join them"

By Ayatollah Ruhollah Mousavi Khomeini [Hindi].
"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable" -J.F.K
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Postby Liberator » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:22 pm

SADEH CEREMONY (January 2004, Iran)

About 16 Kilometers outside Tehran in Karaj Special Road there is an area called "bolvare kerman " where most of heavy industry units are located. Between the crowd of the factories there is a wide piece of ground in which the Sadde celebration is held yearly: "Koushke Varjavand".

Whilst there is no existing security especially on weekends or even many of human being around, an obvious movement was going around that evening. Excited crowd appeared hours before sunset and new comers had to park their cars in the few left empty spaces in 500 meters wide streets around.

At the entrance to the celebration ground two ladies -one holding a bowl of water and a mirror and the other welcoming the crowd with nougats- were the first eye-catching people around. People were chattering and visiting the stands that were selling various types of religious dishes and internet cards while live music had prepared a lovely atmosphere for every one.

The crowd gathered around a hill made of wood and straw before the sun set awaiting the moment, the great flame. While the red light of sun was disappearing little by little, a group of Moubeds accompanied by ladies in beautiful white clothes playing Daffs, followed by men with braziers in hand entered the area and went straight to the hill.\par \par After the special ceremony they lit up the fire collectively and that was the moment every one was waiting for. While the flames were kissing the sky the crowd started clapping and singing with the rhythm of Daffs. The players moved round the fire this time with a group of young girls wearing Arian traditional clothes in white and green. There was such exciting atmosphere that made every one orbit the fire and sing the song "Ey Iran" till the flames went low and lower.

However the celebration did not take more than 45 minutes, hundreds of people stayed close to the fire even after the ceremony finished. It was overlay a great unforgettable night for all attendees, especially for non-Zoroastrians who had come to take a closer look at the scene and seize the opportunity to be once again near the spirits of their fathers, hands in hands of their true brothers and sisters.


Honey Sedghi

30.Jan.2004

Tehran- Iran


http://www.oshihan.org/Pages/SadehReport3741-HS.htm

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Postby Liberator » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:28 pm

Photos taken from Late Kaykhosrov Khsoraviani (Rasti) Death Anniversary Jashan,
Markar Complex, Tehran Pars, November 2003


Pictures:

http://www.oshihan.org/Pages/Saal.htm


Zoroastrian graveyard (ARAMGAH) in Tehran, Iran:

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Postby Liberator » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:28 pm

Celebration of 3000th Anniversary of Zoroastrian Culture announced by UNESCO
Tehran, Iran

Date: 11-12th Decemeber 2003
Venue: Ferdowsi Hall, University of Tehran and Firooz Bahram High School


http://www.oshihan.org/Pages/TehranZCulture.htm


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Postby Liberator » Wed Jan 12, 2005 6:30 pm

This is our culture. This is who we are. We are people who like to be happy, who like to dance, who like to listen to music, who like life and enjoy it to the fullest! to enjoy the fruits of life! We are not a people constantly in mourning, restrained by religious laws, who believe in segregation and self-mutilation etc! We are not people who worship filthy arabs are we?!?!?!!!!!

The Zoroastrian philosophy practiced by our ancestors is who we are. This is the way of life that is identical to the Iranian identity. I'm not campaigning for a religion, i'm campaigning for the true IRANIAN way of life, the true IRANIAN culture. I am NOT saying convert and label yourself Zoroastrian i'm saying ACT LIKE AN IRANIAN, LIVE LIKE AN IRANIAN, TALK LIKE AN IRANIAN! DIE LIKE AN IRANIAN!

I am positive about news that more and more Iranians are leaving the TAZI culture and adopting an IRANIAN way of life. More power to those Iranians and more power to the rest of our compatriots in choosing the right path for them, their compatriots, and their nation.
Last edited by Liberator on Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:30 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Postby Irani » Sat Jan 15, 2005 12:08 pm

Thx, i really enjoyed the pictures.
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Postby Liberator » Sat Jan 15, 2005 8:41 pm

Irani wrote:Thx, i really enjoyed the pictures.




I bet you did :D


Ba Sepaas
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Postby erajdarafshi » Wed Feb 23, 2005 1:55 pm

ZRI - Zoroastrian Republic of Iran ?
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Postby Liberator » Wed Feb 23, 2005 2:52 pm

erajdarafshi wrote:ZRI - Zoroastrian Republic of Iran ?



Hello erajdarafshi,

That was a good joke to begin with :badgrin: , don't worry the filthy Islamic Republic will be defeated and theocracy shall never again find itself a safehaven in Iran!


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