History of Zoroastrians after Arab Invasion
The History of Zoroastrians after Arab Invasion; Alien in Their Homeland
By: Dr. Daryoush Jahanian
Presented at the North American Zoroastrian Congress in San Francisco 1996
and the World Zoroastrian congress in Houston 2000-2001
Abstract: This is only a fraction of what actually happened to the Zoroastrians after the Arab invasion. The purpose of the presentation is not to generate hard feeling toward any people. Because no generation is responsible for the actions of past generations, although almost always they are unfairly blamed for. However, denial of historical facts is not an option either. The real goal in addition to presentation of an untold history is to make our community aware of their past history and the suffering and indignities that their ancestors received to preserve their religion, culture and identity. Once it is realized that nothing that we have inherited is to be taken as granted, our responsibility toward the young generation, the generation of the 21st century is better realized.
Due to continuous persecution, discrimination and massacre the population of Zoroastrians of Iran from an estimated five million at the turn of the fifteenth century dwindled to only seven thousand at the middle of the nineteenth century. At this time the French ambassador to Iran wrote “only a miracle can save them from total extinction”. By the support of their Parsi brethren and their own faith, the Zoroastrian community in Iran revived and their fate turned around. Today they are well educated and enjoy the respect and trust of the general population for their reputation of “scrupulous honesty”.
The history of Zoroastrians of Iran after the Arab conquest can be summarized in three words: oppression, misery and massacre.
What about the attack on Zoroastrianism from the likes of Neha Gupta and the coterie in India….Was she a minor when she married or did not know the donor’s will. Was she not aware when she changed her name from goolrukh to Neha…on one hand change ones name to eat the cake and then on the other hand demand rights whilst shirking responsibility that every Zoroastrian has and then to act emotional whilst negating , nullifying the wishes of the makers and givers of agiary and Zoroastrian foundations.
Then again isn’t Zoroastrianism under attack from those who want to make it a personal workshop. Just to suit their spouse and their personal palate…don’t like the dakhma,–dish out misinformation, bad propaganda, demand a closure of same….
ego hurt whilst told to follow agiary rules–thrive to break down the agiary….all this whilst bowing down to the wishes of the spouses faith….marry a catholic..convert…married the gupta..changed even the basics..like name…will she fight the jaganath temples to change their views…whilst not even being able to maintain her own name…
But then a neha can become a goolrukh and a goolrikh , a neha depending which side and when the side is buttered well!!
Then the same coterie talks of conversion…and contradicts itself my wanting to change Zoroastrianism first…ha…in this, they even play Sherlock. That too in their 1 generation without touching the gathas nor heard of the dennkard , but ridicule what the the saviours of Zoroastrianism said and make the dakhmas as wrong and it being non Zoroastrian,,,-ha
Then these same guys de link rituals and the whys, hows, from Zoroastrianism just like segmented between Zoroastrians and Parsis..who not only saved Zoroastrianism in India but also aided the Iranians over a century….this same coterie looks away from the writing of Prof Boyce, Hinnels, Russels whilst promoting their verdict based on armchair philosophy ..they say the agiary and dakhmas have nothing to do with religion!!!…they mock Prof n doctors like Kotwal, Jamasasa, Karanjia etc who are acclaimed in their fields and known in universities of repute…
Next is a neha –sheikm, gupta or a dcosta will want to incorporate the gita, the Koran or the bible to suit their spouse and the lawyers of these will sustain that the dakhmas, agiaries, and avesta has nothing to do with religion and Zoroastrianism is just moral science taught in school..like saying hello to elders…( read one of the suporters of neha or shud I say goolruokh…(or maybe hasina or anne–depending on future buttered plate)
Just like those who have kept their maiden surnames whilst raising a hindu , muslim or Christian family in a parsi colony…the money for such is meted and demand to a parsi colony is meted out by these yet none of these want to carry the responsibility of maintaining it as one..They ofcourse shut their eyes to laws across the globe to sustain demography of those in lesser nos…in india too we have laws wherein one cannot buy land in many states to maintain the demography from shifting..Japan, UAE and many other countries have that law…U.S,, Australia amongst has laws protecting demography of the indigenous who have become demographically weak..
Oh we are under attack from within…from those who think it morally wrong to do the same to their spouses faith what they do to Zoroastrianism…These make Zoroastrianism their personal workshop and in some time due to these ,what was not attainable by hoardes of Macedonians, byzantines and arabs over millennia’s will be attained by these in a generation, sadly from within…
Sir,
I totally agree with your views. Add to that the reverse discriminations done by our Industrialists (Tatas )who want to grab the Trust properties (Iranian Anjuman Trust at Palghar) for a pittance and discriminate against Parsis in jobs. When it suits the Tatas they become Parsis when the middle class needs the Tatas they become secular and pamper the majority community.