Free Republic

Among the world’s present-day religions, Zoroastrianism, founded more than 3,000 years ago, is one of the most ancient and historically influential. Yet even though its adherents maintain vibrant communities on four continents, they acknowledge their numbers are dauntingly small — perhaps 125,000 worldwide. Starting Friday, about 1,200 attendees from 16 countries will be assessing their faith’s prospects during the four-day World Zoroastrian Congress in New York City, the first one held in the United States since 2000. The agenda reflects a keen awareness of the challenges facing their religion. Prospects for growth are limited, given that Zoroastrians don’t seek to...

(CNN)With only a few days left in February, court watchers are trying to read tea leaves as to the identity of President Joe Biden's pick for the Supreme Court before his end-of-the-month deadline -- and a federal court on Thursday increased the buzz around DC Circuit Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit deviated from its typical procedure by issuing an opinion on a Thursday -- breaking with its usual schedule of Tuesday and Friday release days. Notably, Jackson -- who has interviewed with Biden for the Supreme Court nomination -- was...

According to Yasna, an association that promotes Zoroastrianism in Kurdistan, since 2014 about 15,000 people have registered with the organization, most of them Kurds converting from Islam.Aram Mehdi, an Iraqi Kurd who recently converted from Islam to Zoroastriansim, poses for camera as he holds a pendant representing Zoroaster, in Dohuk, Iraq Carefully tucking his Farvahar pendant under his shirt, Aram Mehdi reminds himself of the core Zoroastrian principles it represents: good words, good thoughts and good deeds.Born and raised in a conservative Muslim family, the 31-year-old Iraqi Kurd from the city of Dohuk, in the north of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan...

Among the many stories of encounters between different cultures, the meeting of Zoroastrianism and Islam may be one of the most dramatic. After many centuries in which it was the dominant religion of the ancient Iranian states and after having achieved the status of official religion in the Sassanid Empire (224-651 AD), Zoroastrian teaching was practically driven from its homeland and replaced by the religion of Muhammad. The number of Zoroastrians in modern Iran today does not exceed forty thousand..... and total number worldwide is reckoned to be less than 120,000. It is difficult to describe the fate of Zoroastrianism...

A Turkish man has been sentenced to prison on charges of membership of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on the basis of his identity card showed his religion as Zoroastrian, Turkish newspaper Evrensel said. The case began in 2006, at which time Yücel Delek was a student at Niğde University. He was taken into custody on suspicion of having attended a PKK-linked protest, but was acquitted the following year after the university provided evidence he had been attending a class at the time. The case was re-opened in 2013. This time he was not so lucky. The evidence against him...

Seeps from which gas and oil escape were formative to many ancient cultures and societies. They gave rise to legends surrounding the Delphi Oracle, Chimaera fires and "eternal flames" that were central to ancient religious practices - from Indonesia and Iran to Italy and Azerbaijan. Modern geologists and oil and gas explorers can learn much by delving into the geomythological stories about the religious and social practices of the Ancient World, writes Guiseppe Etiope of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology in Italy. His research is published in the new Springer book Natural Gas Seepage. "Knowing present-day gas fluxes...

Over a phone conversation with one of the Saudi Arabian newspapers, he said: “there were not many Zoroastrians in history, but they have been well-known (so what! who has assigned you to be historian without documentation and authenticity, let's see what you have to say and what are your proves to the lies this time!!!). History knows them as a nation full of hate and oppression (lie, if you meant history of Iran, for you ignorant mind, it is good to say and let you know that Iran has been known as cradle of civilization, just check this link, if...

Ruins of a fire temple dating back to the Sassanid era have recently been discovered during a series of archaeological excavations in the Vigol region near Kashan in central Iran. The discovery was made during the latest season of excavations, which are being carried out by a team of archaeologists led by Mohsen Javeri and began in mid-June, the Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization announced in a press release on Monday. The cruciform temple has four entrances leading to the ruins of a fireplace embellished with unique stucco designs, Javeri said. The team has also unearthed pieces of ornate...

Median era ring discovered in Iran Sat, 10 Nov 2007 09:56:15 A Faravahar, a symbol of Zoroastrianism A unique ring belonging to the Median era adorned with a carved Farvahar, a symbol of Zoroastrianism, has been found in western Iran. Archeological excavations in Iran's western province of Lorestan resulted in the discovery of a ring which dates back to the Bronze Age and is decorated with a symbol of Zoroastrianism. The figure in the Farvahar is wearing Mede attire and a hat. The long-bearded man is facing the left as he emerges from the Sun. Wide open wings are seen...

Russian archaeologist says Merv was origin of Zoroastrianism TEHRAN, June 10 (MNA) – Russian archaeologist Victor Sarianidi believes that Merv, a province in southern Turkmenistan, was the cradle of Zoroastrianism, the Persian service of Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported here Saturday. According to Sarianidi, his archeological team has recently discovered some Zoroastrians’ temples in the region. Each has two fire temples -- one was presumably used for religious ceremonies and one for cooking, he added. The temples date back to some 3,000 years BC, estimated the archaeologist. Sarianidi had already named the legendary land of Margush as the origin...

The Indian city of Bombay is home to the Parsi community - descendants of Persians who fled to India centuries ago. Now, their numbers are dwindling, giving rise to fears that the group, with its distinctive religion, is dying out. VOA's Patricia Nunan was recently in Bombay, where she spoke to two well-known Parsi personalities to hear their ideas of what the future may hold for the community. One is an 88-year-old retired business magnate, a leader of India's Parsi community for the past 60 years, the other is a 34-year-old television host and "video jockey" on the Indian outlet...

Archeologist says Central Asia was cradle of ancient Persian religion Fri Mar 18, 6:24 PM ET Science - AFP ATHENS (AFP) - The mysterious Margianan civilisation which flowered in the desert of what is now Turkmenistan some 4,000 years ago was the cradle of the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism, Greco-Russian archeologist Victor Sarigiannidis claimed here. He said the theory would provoke controversy amongst his fellow archeologists, but said his excavations around the site of Gonur Tepe have uncovered temples and evidence of sacrifices that would consistent with a Zoroastrian cult. The religion was founded by Zarathustra, a Persian prophet...

Zarin Havewala doesn't call herself a professional matchmaker, but her track record suggests otherwise. "So far, 55 couples have found their partners through my efforts — 53 couples are already married, and two more couples are engaged to be married soon," says Ms Havewala, a Mumbai-based mother-of-two. Ms Havewala is a Zoroastrian — or 'Parsi' (meaning 'Persian') as they're known in India — a member of an ancient monotheistic faith that pre-dates Islam and Christianity. Zoroastrianism was the official religion of Persia, its birthplace, for more than a millennium, but today the community is a fraction of its former size,...

The social makeup of Iran's population is very complex, because there is actually no such thing as the Iranian people. There are, instead, Iranian citizens divided into many ethnic groups: Persians make up about 60% of the population, while the rest are Azars, Kurds, Blouchis, Arabs, Turkmen and tens of smaller ethnic groups. The main religion in Iran is Shia Islam, adhered to by 90% of the country's people, while Sunnis - mainly Kurds and Blouchis - make up about 10%. The country recognizes Judaism, Christianity and Zoroastrianism and reserves a parliamentary seat for each religion. Zoroastrianism is based on...

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...

When Parsi Zoroastrians, having fled Persian persecution, arrived on Indian soil sometime between the 8th and 10th centuries, the story goes, an Indian ruler sent a cup full of milk. The intention, clearly, was to convey that India was filled to the brim. The Zoroastrian king inserted either sugar—or in some tellings, a ring—and sent the cup back to suggest that not only was there room for his people, but they would also enrich Indian society if permitted to settle. Certain restrictions curbed the private and communal lives of the Zoroastrian asylum seekers, but they were largely allowed to thrive...

Continuing on the theme of what Muslims did - or more likely did not do - for the world, there is a widespread misconception that they "invented algebra". Maybe this fallacy is due to the fact that "algebra" is a word of Arabic origin, but historical questions are not solved by etymological answers. Yes, the English word "algebra" derives from the Arabic. So does "sugar" (from the Arabic "sukkar") but that doesn't mean that Muslims invented sugar. The word "algebra" stems from the Arabic word "al-jabr", from the name of the treatise Book on Addition and Subtraction after the Method...

How the Jihad ravaged Christian Byzantium for 800 years, and how valiantly the Byzantine Christians held back the Arab and Turkish hordes, saving Europe from Islam. [ Full title ]. While the Zoroastrian Persians were defeated and were being subjugated, the Muslim hordes turned on their other neighbor the Christian Byzantines. The two armies met at the battlefield of Heiromyak. Lessons from the Battle of Heiromyak (Al Yarmuk). At the Battle of the Yarmuk (river), between the Muslim Arabs and the Byzantines, the Muslim Arabs were losing the battle in the initial stages. When the victory seemed certain for the...

The Shir o Khorshid, a popular Iranian symbol since at least the 12th century, has since the revolution become associated with the deposed monarch Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and his dynasty. ..I bought a Shah-era five-rial coin, engraved with the lion and sun, and I wear it on a silver chain around my neck. It constantly draws comments from people e. “God bless his soul,” he said, pointing to my necklace, “I was 11, I remember. The first 11 years of my life were great, the rest have been terrible. I ate good food for the first 11 years and...

Zoroastrianism is one of the most ancient religions of the world. At one time it was the dominant religion of Iran and adjoining regions. Its popularity declined when the Islamic invaders occupied Iran and introduced Islam. A handful few who fled from Iran,after the fall of the Sassanid Empire, to escape persecution in the hands of the new rules took shelter in India. They are known today in India as Parsis, a small community that has been persistently striving ever since to keep the tenets of the religion alive, despite hardship and lack of following. Apart from them a few...