Rajen-da, Glad you like it. Last night I was given a book on Iran's religions by themother of my classmate who had converted to Bahai faith which originated in Iran in 19th century. She is of Jewish origins but brought up in a secular household and had been a muslim before she became Bahai. My classmate's husband is an Iranian refugee who fled with hs elder brother and mother when he was six -in 1984-across the border on horseback -for 12 hours-sitting behind a smuggler -into Turkey where they stayed for one year as refugees and then got permission to come to Canada. Hismother died ten years later.
I learnt that Zoroasterians had an uneven relationship with Christians who came in later in 42 Ad/CE . Some Kings and nobles had been quite strict and even killed thousands of them but most were tolerant and Christianity slowly became a major religion in Iran --till the advent of the Arab muslim warriors who drove away Buddhists, and others --but allowed Jews and Christians to remain. Those Zoroasterians who did not convert had to flee to India. Crhistians became high officials under the muslim rule but proletyzation was banned and they had tobe extra tax -dhimmi -as in Indian Muslim rule - the Zazia tax. Later many Christians were forced to convert to Islam else leave lucrative posts. Later Mongols kicked the Muslims in 1200 CE/AD killing the Khalifa of Baghdad (like that of Suddam Hussein perhaps) and Christians came back inpowerful posts and some got the earlier converts to Islam -killed in large numbers. Butthen in 1400 Ce or so the Mongol's king Khan became a muslim and Musims were back in power-and retribution by Tamoorlane . So the game went on. British govt in 1880s forced Iranian govt to give preferential treatment to those muslims who convetred to Christinaity. The lwas were changed to : those who became Christians would be given all the property of their relatives!! That law was in in place in 1930s. Amazing how the religious game was played by the imperial powers then. What about the Anglican Church now? The book is called " Spirituality in the Land of the Noble: How Iran shaped the World's religions" by Richard C. Foltz , 2004 , OneWorld Publications, Oxford, England --- Rajen & Ajanta Barua <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Thanks > Umesh > ----- Original Message ----- > From: umesh sharma > To: [email protected] > Sent: Thursday, September 07, 2006 7:11 PM > Subject: [Assam] NYTimes: Zoroastrians Keep the > Faith, and Keep Dwindling > > > Zoroastrians Keep the Faith, and Keep Dwindling > By LAURIE GOODSTEIN > > > http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/06/us/06faith.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5087%0A&en=8004858826643eaf&ex=1157774400 > > Published: September 6, 2006 > BURR RIDGE, Ill. - In his day job, Kersey H. Antia > is a psychologist who specializes in panic > disorders. In his private life, Mr. Antia dons a > long white robe, slips a veil over his face and goes > to work as a Zoroastrian priest, performing rituals > passed down through a patrilineal chain of priests > stretching back to ancient Persia. > > After a service for the dead in which priests fed > sticks of sandalwood and pinches of frankincense > into a blazing urn, Mr. Antia surveyed the > Zoroastrian faithful of the Midwest - about 80 > people in saris, suits and blue jeans. > "We were once at least 40, 50 million - can you > imagine?" said Mr. Antia, senior priest at the fire > temple here in suburban Chicago. "At one point we > had reached the pinnacle of glory of the Persian > Empire and had a beautiful religious philosophy that > governed the Persian kings. > "Where are we now? Completely wiped out," he said. > "It pains me to say, in 100 years we won't have many > Zoroastrians." > There is a palpable panic among Zoroastrians today > - not only in the United States, but also around the > world - that they are fighting the extinction of > their faith, a monotheistic religion that most > scholars say is at least 3,000 years old. > Zoroastrianism predates Christianity and Islam, > and many historians say it influenced those faiths > and cross-fertilized Judaism as well, with its > doctrines of one God, a dualistic universe of good > and evil and a final day of judgment. > While Zoroastrians once dominated an area > stretching from what is now Rome and Greece to India > and Russia, their global population has dwindled to > 190,000 at most, and perhaps as few as 124,000, > according to a survey in 2004 by Fezana Journal, > published quarterly by the Federation of Zoroastrian > Associations of North America. The number is > imprecise because of wildly diverging counts in > Iran, once known as Persia - the incubator of the > faith. > "Survival has become a community obsession," said > Dina McIntyre, an Indian-American lawyer in > Chesapeake, Va., who has written and lectured widely > on her religion. > The Zoroastrians' mobility and adaptability has > contributed to their demographic crisis. They > assimilate and intermarry, virtually disappearing > into their adopted cultures. And since the faith > encourages opportunities for women, many Zoroastrian > women are working professionals who, like many other > professional women, have few children or none. > Despite their shrinking numbers, Zoroastrians - > who follow the Prophet Zarathustra (Zoroaster in > Greek) - are divided over whether to accept > intermarried families and converts and what defines > a Zoroastrian. An effort to create a global > organizing body fell apart two years ago after some > priests accused the organizers of embracing "fake > converts" and diluting traditions. > "They feel that the religion is not universal and > is ethnic in nature, and that it should be kept > within the tribe," said Jehan Bagli, a retired > chemist in Toronto who is a priest, or mobed, and > president of the North American Mobed Council, which > includes about 100 priests. "This is a tendency that > to me sometimes appears suicidal. And they are > prepared to make that sacrifice." > In South Africa, the last Zoroastrian priest > recently died, and there is no one left to officiate > at ceremonies, said Rohinton Rivetna, a Zoroastrian > leader in Chicago who, with his wife, Roshan, was a > principal mover behind the failed effort to organize > a global body. But they have not given up. > "We have to be working together if we are going to > survive," Mr. Rivetna said. > Although the collective picture is bleak, most > individual Zoroastrians appear to be thriving. They > are well-educated and well-traveled professionals, > earning incomes that place them in the middle and > upper classes of the countries where they or their > families settled after leaving their homelands in > Iran and India. About 11,000 Zoroastrians live in > the United States, 6,000 in Canada, 5,000 in > England, 2,700 in Australia and 2,200 in the Persian > Gulf nations, according to the Fezana Journal > survey. > > This is the second major exodus in Zoroastrian > history. In Iran, after Muslims rose to power in the > seventh century A.D., historians say the Zoroastrian > population was decimated by massacres, persecution > and conversions to Islam. Seven boatloads of > Zoroastrian refugees fled Iran and landed on the > coast of India in 936. Their descendants, known as > Parsis, built Mumbai, formerly Bombay, into the > world capital of Zoroastrianism. > > The Zoroastrian magazine Parsiana publishes charts > each month tracking births, deaths and marriages. > Leaders fret over the reports from Mumbai, where > deaths outnumber births six to one. The > intermarriage rate there has risen to about one in > three. The picture in North America is more hopeful: > about 1.5 births for one death. But the > intermarriage rate in North America is now nearly 50 > percent. > Soli Dastur, an exuberant priest who lives in > Florida, is among the first generation of immigrants > who started the trend. Mr. Dastur grew up in a > village outside Mumbai, where his father was a > priest, the fire temple was the center of town and > his whole world was Zoroastrian. > He arrived in Evanston, Ill., in 1960, where he > knew of no other Zoroastrians, to attend college on > a scholarship provided by one of the Parsi > endowments in Mumbai, which have since provided > scholarships to many others. He earned a Ph.D., > worked as a chemical engineer and married an > American Roman Catholic he met on a blind date 40 > years ago. > Mr. Dastur is a priest in much demand to perform > ceremonies because of his melodic chanting of the > prayers. He and his wife, Jo Ann, have two grown > daughters. Neither married a Zoroastrian. > "They're good human beings," Mr. Dastur said. > "That's more important to me." > The very tenets of Zoroastrianism could be feeding > its demise, many adherents said in interviews. > Zoroastrians believe in free will, so in matters of > religion they do not believe in compulsion. They do > not proselytize. They can pray at home instead of > going to a temple. While there are priests, there is > no hierarchy to set policy. And their basic doctrine > is a universal ethical precept: "good thoughts, good > words, good deeds." > "That's what I take away from Zoroastrianism," > said Tenaz Dubash, a filmmaker in New York City who > is making a documentary about the future of her > faith, "that I'm a cerebral, thinking human being, > and I need to think for myself." > Ferzin Patel, who runs a support group for 20 > intermarried couples in New York, said that while > the Zoroastrians in the group adored their faith and > wanted to teach it to their children, they in no way > wanted to compel their spouses to convert. > "In the intermarriage group, I don't think anyone > feels that someone should forfeit their religion > just for Zoroastrianism," Ms. Patel said. > Despite, or because of, the high intermarriage > rate, some Zoroastrian priests refuse to accept > converts or to perform initiation ceremonies for > adopted children or the children of intermarried > couples, especially when the father is not > Zoroastrian. The ban on these practices is far > stronger in India and Iran than in North America. > "As soon as you do it, you start diluting your > ethnicity, and one generation has an intermarriage, > and the next generation has more dilution and the > customs become all fuzzy and they eventually > disappear," said Jal N. Birdy, a priest in Corona, > Calif., who will not perform weddings of mixed > couples. "That would destroy my community, which is > why I won't do it." > The North American Mobed Council is so divided on > the issue of accepting intermarried spouses and > children that it has been unable to take a position, > said Mr. Bagli, the council's president. He supports > accepting converts because he said he can find no > ban in Zoroastrian texts, but he estimated that as > many as 40 percent of the priests in his group were > opposed. > The peril and the hope for Zoroastrianism are > embodied in a child of the diaspora, Rohena Elavia > Ullal, 27, a physical therapist in suburban Chicago. > Ms. Ullal knew from an early age that her parents > wanted her to marry another Zoroastrian. Her mother, > a former board president of the Chicago temple, > helped organize Sunday school classes once a month > there, enticing teenagers with weekend sleepovers > and roller-skating trips. > The result was a core group of close friends who > felt more like cousins, Ms. Ullal said recently over > breakfast. > Both of her brothers found mates at Zoroastrian > youth congresses, and one is already married. Ms. > Ullal stayed on the lookout. > "There were so few," she said. "I guess you're > lucky if you find somebody. That would be the > ideal." > Ms. Ullal's college boyfriend is also the child of > Indian immigrants to the United States, but he is > Hindu. [They married on Saturday and had two > ceremonies - one Hindu, one Zoroastrian.] But Ms. > Ullal says that before they even became engaged, > they talked about her desire to raise their children > as Zoroastrians. > "It's scary; we're dipping down in numbers," she > said. "I don't want to hurt his parents, but he > doesn't have the kind of responsibility, whereas I > do." > > > Umesh Sharma > 5121 Lackawanna ST > College Park, MD 20740 USA > > Current temp. address: 5649 Yalta Place , > Vancouver, Canada > > 1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone] > Canada # (607) 221-9433 > > Ed.M. - International Education Policy > Harvard Graduate School of Education, > Harvard University, > Class of 2005 > > weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > All new Yahoo! Mail "The new Interface is stunning > in its simplicity and ease of use." - PC Magazine > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ > > > _______________________________________________ > assam mailing list > [email protected] > > http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org > Umesh Sharma 5121 Lackawanna ST College Park, MD 20740 USA Current temp. address: 5649 Yalta Place , Vancouver, Canada 1-202-215-4328 [Cell Phone] Canada # (607) 221-9433 Ed.M. - International Education Policy Harvard Graduate School of Education, Harvard University, Class of 2005 weblog: http://jaipurschool.bihu.in/ ___________________________________________________________ NEW Yahoo! Cars - sell your car and browse thousands of new and used cars online! http://uk.cars.yahoo.com/ _______________________________________________ assam mailing list [email protected] http://assamnet.org/mailman/listinfo/assam_assamnet.org
