Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
OTHER RELIGIONS
Throughout history Iranians have shown tolerance towards other people's religious beliefs
(with the exception of Baha'is), and since the adoption of Islam they have been particularly
tolerant of Christians and Jews, who are 'People of the Book'. Christians, Jews and
Zoroastrians are all officially recognised, are exempt from military service and have guar-
anteed seats in the
majlis
(parliament). However, they are not encouraged; conversion from
Islam is punishable by death.
Baha'ism
Baha'ism originated in Iran during the 1840s as
a Shia reform movement. Baha'i doctrines are
egalitarian, teaching the complete equality of
men and women and the unity of all humanity.
They didn't, however, impress Iran's authorities,
who tried to suppress the movement by massac-
ring followers and executing the founding prophet, The Bab, in Tabriz in 1850.
Today they remain the most persecuted religious minority in Iran. It is illegal to practise
the religion in public and followers are routinely discriminated against when it comes to
jobs and education. Of the world's five million Baha'is, around 300,000 remain in Iran -
the country's largest religious minority. Most are urban, but there are some Baha'i villages,
especially in Fars and Mazandaran provinces.
www.bahai.org
is a comprehensive site for and
about the Baha'i religion and community.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrians, the followers of Iran's pre-Islamic
religion, are based mainly around Yazd, with its
fire temple and nearby desert pilgrimage site at
Chak Chak (
Click here
). Sizeable communities
also live in Tehran. Estimates of Iran's
Zoroastrian population vary between 30,000 and
100,000. Several traditions and ceremonies dat-
ing from Zoroastrian times are important in modern Iranian culture, including No Ruz (the
Iranian New Year), Chaharshanbe-soori on the Wednesday before No Ruz, and Shab-e
yalda, celebrated on the winter solstice. For more,
Click here
.
About 10,000 Aramaic-speaking Mandaeans live
around the Shatt al Arab in Khuzestan. Mandaeism
is a Gnostic religion some believe descends from
John the Baptist.
