Posted on 09/16/2016 7:15:44 PM PDT by odds
There has been a recent surge in conversions to Zoroastrianism among Kurds at home and abroad.
Andaz Hawezi, chief of the Zoroastrian Temple in Sweden says thousands have joined the faith.
In 2011 he was elected to lead the temple. Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest religions to which most Kurds trace their ancestral faith.
Hawezi says not all the new converts or followers are Kurds. There are Arabs, Turks, Persian, Swedish, Polish, British and other nationalities.
“We hope to come back to Kurdistan. That’s why we named the Temple Kurdish Zoroastrian.” Hawezi says.
The Temple in Sweden is now working to gain permission from the Kurdish government to open its temple in the Kurdistan Region.
At the moment its members meet in Sulaimani city.
“As a religion we must be everywhere. If we get permission to work here we would do our works in every part of the Kurdistan Region.” Hawezi told Rudaw in an interview.
“But I recall stories about modern pesticide poisoning of carrion birds that affected their funeral rites negatively.”
You might have read about poisoning in this thread a few years ago & applied to a small community of Zs in India: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/2717607/posts#49
Could it be that they have the equivalent of ‘old order Mennonites’ who still use the old ways in modern times or something?”
That’s a small community of Zoroastrians in India. Some of them tend to still use the old ways. But that’s changing too.
Zoroastrians in India (known as Parsi or Parsees) are descendants of original Persians who escaped to India after Arab-Islam invasion of Iran 1400 years ago. They are typically a closely-knit community. They had to be over the centuries to preserve their Persian and Zoroastrian heritage and ethnic identity in India.
Yes, see previous post.
They hate just about everything, other than themselves, and that includes about 1/2 of the Muslims in the world.
They hate so bad that they will put on a vest and blow themselves up so they can destroy someone they don’t like or agree with.
And I thought ComDems were Insane (they clearly are), but they are pale in comparision to these vermin.
I don’t care if it is changing, they can do it however and I pray that it’s alright for them. They aren’t a problem, and if all the potential violent Islamists converted to this the world would be a less violent place.
Freegards
The way the Kurds have been treated by the other Muslims would make you want to part ways with them too.
Kurds have protected Christians in Iraq & Syria. On numerous occassions. They are also very good solders. Event their women are good a killing ISIS butchers.
There are some Christians among them too.
They evidently get along well with the remaining Armenians.
And with the Jordanians and the Jews.
Re: “The Magi in the Birth of Jesus story were Zoroastrian Priests.”
That is one theory. Possible, but not collaborated in the New Testament gospels.
Matthew chapter 2 says they were “magi” or “wise men” from the east. It does not give a clear indication exactly which country or counties they originated from.
“Matthew chapter 2 says they were “magi” or “wise men” from the east. It does not give a clear indication exactly which country or counties they originated from.”
I agree, it is not specified which country, and it could well be conjecture.
However, I wonder why they were called “wise men from the east”?
Two points:
1. “Magi” in Persian language is “Moghaan” meaning “wise and erudite”; they were not only priests, but also old astronomers.
2. Ahuramazda, the name used for the only deity (the religion is monotheistic) worshipped by Zoroastrians has the main associated quality of “lord or spirit of wisdom, or infinite wisdom”.
So, perhaps, those are the reasons for the connection.
I’m actually quite surprised. From my research, it wasn’t possible to convert to Zoroastrianism or I would have. It was monotheist before monotheism was cool. It influenced the Hebrews during the period of Babylonian Captivity. It also had a major influence on Christianity.
You may also be thinking of “Sky Burials” as was and is still practiced by some Tibetans and in some regions of Mongolia, Bhutan, Nepal and parts of far Northern India among those who practice Vajrayana Buddhism.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sky_burial
I am not sure if the similar Zoroastrian practice which seems to predate it, influenced the Buddhists or not.
It is believed that the practice of Sky Burials in Tibet, especially in the high mountainous regions, areas above the tree line, may have developed because the hard rocky terrain, the permafrost along with the lack of timber, made in ground burials or cremation impracticable.
Also in most traditional forms of Buddhism, there is no need to preserve the body, as they believe that the physical life, the physical body is impermanent and that after death it is now believed to be just an empty vessel, and that allowing the body to decompose naturally or to be give up to carrion is considered an act of generosity on the part of the deceased, since the deceased and his/her surviving relatives are providing food to sustain other living beings. That is not to say that they don’t pray for the dead or intend disrespect.
Interestingly I found this video that shows how some modern Chinese and other tourists who travel to Tibet, gawk, film and laugh and make fun of and show complete disrespect for the ritual as if their (the Tibetan’s) burial rituals are some sort of side show.
Sky Burials: Tradition Becomes Controversial Tourist Attraction
That’s really interesting to know.
” and that allowing the body to decompose naturally or to be give up to carrion is considered an act of generosity on the part of the deceased, since the deceased and his/her surviving relatives are providing food to sustain other living beings.”
The above is fairly consistent with the old Zoroastrian belief in using Towers of Silence for scavenging birds and also exposure to the sun. But the bones are thereafter put in a coffin. When you think about it, scuttle or coffin flies, etc.. will eventually and gradually eat away the flesh too even after in ground burial.
The main consideration for Zoroastrians was “pollution laws”, and the belief that one should take care not to pollute the 4 natural elements. If you ever visit a Zoroastrian cemetery in Yazd province of Iran for example, you’ll see the typical marble coffins are actually above ground.
Cremation is relatively a new practice, maybe last 100 yrs. And, there is still a lot of debate around it with Zoroastrians in India as they tend to be much more traditional.
Freddie Mercury was in fact cremated.
The only Zoroastrian community that does not allow conversion is the Parsi one in India. They are very protective of their community for historical reasons.
The Parsis are descendants of those original Persians who escaped to India after Arab-Islam invasion of Iran centuries ago. India accepted them at the time so long as they didn’t proselytize. Equally, the Parsis wanted to preserve their ethnic and religious identity in a foreign land, so did and still do not welcome converts.
But theologically there is no foundation for not accepting converts to Zoroastrianism. After all, when Zoroaster started preaching, no one was born a Zoroastrian :)
I’m not sure if it was the Avesta community that discouraged conversions but it seemed quite cut and dried. I agree with you on the no original members at the beginning thing!
The Avesta community is headed by a Parsi Zoroastrian and most members are Parsis too. Yes, unfortunately they can be quite dogmatic.
In the U.S. there is the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America. There are other Z associations and communities in U.S. and Canada too. You’ll find their views are much less dogmatic.
ALL whackos [technical term].
My hubby was POSITIVE that somewhere in India someone was worshiping a '56 Chevy. We did visit Indian in the 1980's.
Not that I engage in debates with organizations via e-mail, I thought the same as your earlier point about the first members were converts as well but I didn’t really want that to be my first step. It’s sort of like suing a fraternity for membership.
I would suggest you read some history. They were not more humane, they were probably worse. Just because islam is bad, don’t be a romantic about Zoroastrianism.
I used to debate them about the conversion issue; though I felt I could do that since my mother was born a Zoroastrian. After many discussions, finally came to the conclusion that they often confuse their ethnic identity (being Parsis in India) with being a Zoroastrian. The two are not the same. Whilst no one can become a Parsi, the Parsis do not hold a monopoly over the Zoroastrian faith or religion. They are just one group of Zoroastrians.
That said, I can also perfectly understand some of their sentiments. For example, there are those, past and present, who deliberately wish to bring harm to the community and their faith, by different means - that’s still very real, and one reason one can’t convert unless completes a number of steps to make a true commitment; it isn’t the latest fad or fashionable thing to do.
To be fair not all Parsis are against conversion. In fact there are divisions among them too. Younger generation is much more receptive.
Jews are big on conversion either. They will accept it but don’t evangelize.
“Jews are big on conversion either. “
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???
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