Iran - Andrew Burke [35]
The 12 Imams, their commonly understood names in Iran, birth and death years, and where they are buried:
Imam Ali (600–661) Buried in Najaf, Iraq
Imam Hasan (625–669) Medina, Saudi Arabia
Imam Hossein (626–680) Karbala, Iraq
Imam Sajjad (658–713) Medina, Saudi Arabia
Imam Mohammad Bagher (676–743) Medina, Saudi Arabia
Imam Jafar Sadegh (703–765) Medina, Saudi Arabia
Imam Musaye Kazem (745–799) Baghdad, Iraq
Imam Reza (765–818) Mashhad, Iran
Imam Javad (810–835) Baghdad, Iraq
Imam Hadi (827–868) Samarra, Iraq
Imam Hasan Askari (846–874) Samarra, Iraq
Imam Mahdi (868–?) In occultation
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Zoroastrians, the followers of Iran’s pre-Islamic religion, are based mainly around Yazd with its fire temple (where the fire is said to have been burning for 4000 years) and the Chak Chak pilgrimage site in its desert mountain setting. Sizable communities also live in Tehran. Estimates as to the number of Zoroastrians in Iran vary, anywhere from 30,000 to 100,000. Zoroastrianism is the world’s first monotheistic religion and has influenced those who have followed religions such as Judaism, Christianity and Islam.
Several traditions and ceremonies dating from Zoroastrian times are important in modern Iranian culture. The Iranian New Year, No Ruz, is Iran’s main festival celebrated on the spring equinox, and is descended directly from a Zoroastrian festival, as is Chaharshanbe Soori, which takes place on the Wednesday before New Year and involves people jumping over a series of small bonfires. Shab-e yalda, celebrated on the winter solstice, is another Zoroastrian festival still observed by Iranians.
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Religious Minorities in Iran, by Eliz Sanasarian, is drawn from a large number of interviews. This useful book explores the relationship between Iran’s religious minorities and the state from the beginning of the Islamic Republic to the present day.
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CHRISTIANITY
The Christian community in Iran consists mainly of Armenians who settled, historically, at Jolfa, in the north of Iran, and were then moved to New Jolfa in Esfahan in Safavid times. Many also live around the northwestern city of Orumiyeh. Christians were present in Iran before the arrival of Islam and some Christian saints were martyred here.
Today, Iran’s 250,000 Christians also include Roman Catholics, Adventists, Protestants and Chaldeans as well as about 20,000 Assyrians. There are churches in most large towns. Christians are allowed to consume alcohol and hold mixed-sex parties with dancing, just as long as no Muslims can see the revelry, let alone partake. They also have a nonsegregated sports centre in Tehran, where women can play sports unencumbered by hejab.
JUDAISM
Iran has been home to a healthy population of Jews since about the 8th century BC – even before Cyrus the Great famously liberated the Jews who had been enslaved at Babylon. Today Iran is home to about 25,000 Jews, the second-largest Jewish population in the Middle East, after Israel.
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Esther’s Children: A Portrait of Iranian Jews, by Houman Sarshar, is a comprehensive history of Iran’s Jews from the Achaemenid Empire to the community that remains following the revolution of 1979.
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More than 50,000 Jews left Iran when life became more difficult following the revolution – the majority migrating to the USA. In 2007 Israel tried to prompt a mass migration of those remaining in Iran by offering cash incentives of up to US$60,000 per family. However, the Society of Iranian Jews snubbed the offer, saying the ‘identity of Iranian Jews is not tradable for any amount of money’.
Traditionally active in the bazaars and jewellery trade, Iranian Jews tend to live in the large cities such as Tehran, Esfahan and Shiraz. About 30 synagogues remain in Iran, but they are