central asia modern zoroastrians - /u/mazdayan

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Zoroastrianism in Central Asia; a handful (and possibly more) but resilient Foreword When I decided to write this article, I was optimistic that there would be a glut of information available thanks to the wide usage of internet in these countries, however finding any information (especially personal anecdotes) relating to minority religions in Central Asia was quite the feat, even with internet searches in the native languages of respective nations. Despite trying to find and reach out to various names mentioned in this article, my success was limited at best. Overall, this article was disappointing overall, and I sincerely apologize, and hope you will at least find one new thing to learn. Background information to Central Asia After the USSR collapsed and newly independent countries sought to forge an identity for themselves (an ethnogenesis if you will), the post-Soviet Central Asian leaders mobilized archaeologists, historians, and ethnographers to provide “academic historical evidence” for their “legitimate” claims to their the nations they control and live in, and they have specifically south to impose political barriers between their nations and their neighbours, who tend to be both ethnically and religiously closely related peoples. Of these newly constructed historical narratives; both the Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan leaderships have asserted the Genghizid roots of their respective nations with the Uzbekistani elite emphasizing their Timurid origins. Similarly, the Tajikistan leadership asserted the Sogdian/Samanid origins of present- day Tajiks. The Kyrgyz elite has chosen heroes of the sixteenth-century Kyrgyz epic Manas as their ethnic forebears, while the Turkmen elite opted for the heroes of the early seventeenth-century epic Koroghlu. It is significant that all post Soviet Central Asian political elites have derived their historical legitimacy from their pre-Islamic or semi-islamic nomadic, or urbanized ancestors, rather than from major Islamic figures associated with the region’s Islamicization by Arabs in the seventh century ad and its subsequent inclusion within Arab Islamic Caliphates. Uzbekistan Brief History According to the Tarikh-i-Bukhara, a history of Bukhara written about 944 A.D., Islam was enforced upon Khawarzm 4 different times, as the residents of Bukhara would renounce islam each time the Arabs armies would retreat for the season. The arab general Qutayba ibn Muslim forced islam on the region three times, but they renounced islam again and again; the fourth time, Qutayba razed the cities he encountered and went on to massacre all he could capture, namely Zoroastrian priests, notables, and educated people. This left the region bereft of those who knew their faith and of native administration. Many Zoroastrians were forced to convert due economic necessity. Ironically, many of these were later executed for having adopted Islam to avoid paying the poll tax and land tax. One scholar sums up the situation: “Indeed, coexistence between Muslims and Zoroastrians was rarely peaceful, cooperation was fleeting, and conflict remained the prime form of inter-community contact, right from the initial Arab conquest of Transoxiana to the late thirteenth century A.D.” Most Notable name for Zoroastrians in Uzbekistan The most important name for Zoroastrianism in Uzbekistan is a certain Rostam Abdulkamilov is the professor of Avesta & Avestan language in the Institute of Eastern Research and also an Avestan Scholar in the Uzbekistan Science Academy . He has spoken about the teachings of Zarathushtra & Avesta on a number of occasions on Uzbekistan ’s national television & radio network and has gained the attention of the people of Uzbekistan . He has written a number of articles on the teachings of Zarathushtra & Avesta in various publications of Uzbekistan . He has also published an Avestan Dictionary. A number of seminars pertaining to Zarathushtra’s teachings, the Gathas and the Avesta have been organized by him in Uzbekistan . In 2013, the following was published by Chehrennamah (Spring 2013, issue 165) which cited a “recent” ZNA (Zoroastrian News Agency) newsletter; “It was reported by the Amordad Newspaper that The Uzbekistan Zoroastrian Anjuman has been officially registered …The President of the Uzbekistan Zoroastrian Anjuman has officially announced the inauguration of this and has announced that 400 members of this Anjuman are students, 20 of whom know to read, write and speak the Avestan Language. 7000 more people have expressed interest in joining” This seemingly good news has to be taken with a large grain of salt, as not only the picture on the ground is different from what is reported, but it seems grossly outdated. In a FEZANA article published Fall of 2003, Zoroastrian representatives (Rostam Abdulkamilov) in Tashkent claimed they have some 150 adherents in the whole country and would "very much" like to establish a functioning temple. When asked if it was true that there was a large community of Zoroastrians in Uzbekistan ranging anywhere from 400 to 7000? “No”, he said “the figures are perhaps of people who aspire to get back to their roots and the good religion, but at the moment the numbers were just a handful in Tashkent ”. When shown a newspaper article appearing in the Bombay Samachar, March 10th, saying an association had been registered, Rustom candidly mentioned that to the best of his knowledge this was not correct and one day when there are more Zoroastrians this may happen. All in all, it seems that the situation on the ground is largely confusing as documentation and records have not been properly taken, and/or have gone missing. Of other published news we come across; In Hamazor magazine Issue 4, 2006, it was written by Ervad Khushroo Fali Madan that; “In Uzbekistan (Tashkent) we…met many good people rightfully claiming to be Zarathushtis. There, Prof. Rustom Abdukamilov is working zealously to form a Zarathushti Anjuman. He is the government appointed teacher, teaching Avesta and our other ancient languages to over six hundred school-students and students in various institutions as per the Government regulations…We performed 28 navjotes in Tashkent of very prominent and elite Zarathushti persons who sincerely wanted to be properly initiated into the Zoroastrian religion and culture” Also in 2006, it was noted that Anjuman-e Bozorg Bazgasht and the Zoroastrian Community of Sweden joined together in Almaty (Kazakhstan) where a group of Behdins travelled all the way from Tashkent, Uzbekistan to attend a group Sedreh Kushti (Navjote) ceremony, and this to “officially” become followers of Asho Zoroaster. Notably Iranian citizens who yearned to return to their true faith also participated in this ceremony too. Zoroastrianism in the Cultural Sphere Aside from the above excerpts about Zoroastrians in Uzbekistan, it is also important to examine the relationship of the Uzbek state with the Zoroastrian history of the region, and their attempts at adopting this history for nation building purposes. Hence, let us consider for example the “Avesto monument” also known as the Eternal Flame monument. The monument was installed in 2001 to celebrate the Zoroastrian religion. Over 18 meters tall, the monument, as some Zoroastrians may notice, resembles, at an abstract degree, the lower section of the Faravahar. It is located in the Avesta park complex on Sheroziy Street, Urgench, in the Kowerzm region of Uzbekistan. The monument is the crowning piece of the park, and arguably the most beautiful location in the city. A white book sculpture, of the Avesta, is at the base of the monument, behind it a sculpture of a flame. Nearby, and also in cities like Khiva there are monuments, and museums dedicated to Zoroastrianism, but usually focusing on the local variations of it, namely Khawarzmian and Sogdian practices; showing, for example, the influences of Indian art. Perhaps the clearest evidence for Uzbek “appropriation” (whether for good or ill) of Zoroastrianism is voiced by Koregi Zhumayev, director of the Sitorai Mohi Khosa museum in Bukhara. Zhumayev claimed that Zoroastrianism, the “world’s first religion,” was born in Khawarzm, an Uzbek city which was part of the Silk Road. Miscellaneous As the arabs conquered and destroyed Iran, man noble families of the Sassanid state fled north; some to Mazandaran and some to the mountains of modern Uzbekistan. Until this day it is said that “fire- worshippers” still live in some remote mountain villages in the south of Uzbekistan, which are difficult of access and can be reached only by horse. Numbers? According to the ARDA (the Association of Religion Data Archives) there were 1030 Zoroastrians in Uzbekistan as of 2010. According to “Joshua project” the numbers are approx. 2400. According to Rustom Abdulkalimov approx. “just a handful” to 150 in 2003, as noted in this paper. Tajikistan Akin to adoption of Zoroastrianism as a state-building tool in Uzbekistan, Tajikistan as well has largely harkened to her Zoroastrian past, such as Sogdiana, as well as the Samanids, to assert an independent unique identity. Tajikistan, is, however, different from other Central Asian countries as it is essentially the poorest of central Asian countries without many natural resources to benefit from. Most notable name for Zoroastrianism in Tajikistan The biggest proponent of Zoroastrianism is the current head of the state; Emamoli Rakhmon. For Emamoli, not only has Zoroastrianism influenced his own philosophy, but Zoroastrianism has also been an important tool against rising Islamism in the country; such as in 1997 when during the Tajikistan civil war islamists tried to take over the nation. President Rahmon, in his biography says: “Not infrequently in those hard times I recited in my mind Zarathustra’s call for ‘goodness in thoughts, word and deed’. During the authoritarian regime when it became common practice that all the work in the collective farm were ordered by the commanding voice of the chairman, the wisdom of Zarathustra’s precept quite often saved me from acting in a manner which otherwise I would have afterwards deeply regretted. At other moments when I was about to loose my temper and let some rude word escape my lips, the precepts of Zarathustra would always help me regain my composure.” “My thought go back to Zarathustra who created the immortal Avesta, the first prophet of the Tajiks whose trace on earth has not been erased by the dust of millennia and the ashes of the countless wars.” Emomali Rakhmon further dedicated the year 2003 to Zoroastrianism; With UNESCO’s approval, Tajikistan celebrated 3,000 years of the Zoroastrian civilization. In 2005, when declaring 2006 as the “Year of Aryan Culture,” President Rahmon said: “Our ancestral culture [Zoroastrianism] expresses best and vividly the dream of humanity in a philosophical way and this invaluable thought serves not only for development of thoughts and deeds of a single nation but for the entire humanity.” Furthermore, the Tajik government and UNESCO jointly published the book “From Songs of Zaratustra to Melodies of Borbad”, collecting authors from Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, France, Germany, Canada, and the United States. Rakhmon’s chapter “Tajikistan – the Motherland of Zarathustra, As the First Prophet of Justice” was the opening chapter of the book. The Tajik government also has other initiatives promoting the Zoroastrian past. Rakhmon has written many books and elaborated greatly upon his love of Zoroaster. He placed Zoroastrian symbols on the national flag; the government's online news agency is named Avesta. He also demanded that the British Museum surrender the Oxus Treasure, which was found on the territory of (the not yet- extant) Tajikistan in the 19th century. Unsubstantiated rumor has it that Emomali Rakhmon has professed to Zoroastrianism during the USSR era. However, no matter the rumors, it can safely be said that he is, at least, a friend to Zoroastrianism; at least as an ideology. However, the Tajik government has been “fairly unsuccessful” over all in promoting Zoroastrianism; in part because records of the Zoroastrian period are scarce and vague and offered only a loose connection with modern Tajik identity, and also due to the fact that the Zoroastrianism project lacked depiction in visual images that could be associated with the idea. In February of 2020, the Tajik authorities announced the introduction of the celebration of a new holiday, the Zoroastrian rain festival – “Tirgona”. This was reported by Asia Plus with reference to the chairman of the Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan Farhod Rakhimi. Most recently, in 2021 Tajikistan has been seeking UNESCO status for Mehregan Festival. Current Zoroastrians of Tajikistan? Aside from the few Zoroastrians who have survived until the modern date. There are sporadic group conversions in Tajikistan. Such was the case in 2006 where over 45 new adherents were initiated into the faith by Dr. Mehr Master Moos and two other mobeds. Another is the story of a professor of English who had his navjote done years ago, and who, upon seeing the two mobeds in his home town decided to have the navjote ceremony for his whole family, including his grand children. In FEZANA journal of Sumer 2014, Fariborz Rahnamoon, president of the Zoroastrian Society of British Colombia, who visited Tajikistan in 2006, informs that he had met several Tajiks who professed to be Zoroastrians. Rahnamoon feels that Zoroastrianism never completely died out in Tajikistan or for that matter in Central Asia, and that it has survived as an unorganized faith. How modern Zoroastrians lost Tajikistan There were multiple people and groups who, throughout history, wanted to be brought into the Zoroastrian faith, whose conversion into faith would’ve greatly been a boon to the faith. There were, for example, tribes/tribal leaders (of Iraq) who wished for Ervads to visit them to propagate the religion in their lands, entire towns who wanted Zoroastrians of Iran to declare them as Zoroastrians to escape ISIS, to modern “foreign” Zoroastrian movements in Europe and abroad who wish to have their own sanctioned priests to help spread the faith. However, with all the examples above, and with many more through history, Zoroastrianism has continuously dropped the ball; failing to capitalize on heated moments and movements. The story of Tajikistan is no different; During the early days of independence, groups of Tajiks, motivated to establish and propagate the good faith, visited both Iran and India in search of fellow Zoroastrians hoping that they would help them re- establish their ancient faith; both to officially convert the first converts as well as to educate local priests. Sadly, the Tajiks were not treated well in either country; Zoroastrian establishments by and large would not help them, especially harsh was their reprisal by the Parsi, and they returned home heart broken and empty handed. Going forward, for the Zoroastrian faith to take proper roots in this nation, which has been historically one of the most important regions for the Faith, Zoroastrian establishments in Iran and India have to actively reach out to Tajikistan and have a foremost region in working with the government, especially the successor to Emomali Rakhmon. The development of hostility to Zoroastrianism Despite the state, at least at the very top, being friendly to Zoroastrianism, the level of hostility to Zoroastrianism is significant in the nation since the general level of religious prejudice in the country is high, largely due to foreign nations sponsoring imams and religious establishments to preach extremism. According to the press secretary of the Committee of Religion of Tajikistan, there is currently no community in Tajikistan that would officially declare their status as Zoroastrian; and no one has made an official statement to the Committee. Thus, officially, there is no Zoroastrian religious community registered in Tajikistan. In Tajikistan, to register as a legal entity, a religious organization must necessarily indicate the exact location of its organization, ( the building in which it will carry out its activities) which puts to danger any potential Zoroastrian organization. In Tajikistan, unfortunately among the general public who by and large remain muslim (and increasingly swayed by sunni hardliner thought) Zoroastrianism followers fear not just moral disapproval of their communities, but also the physical threats. For the general population it is important to realize that the level of education is much lower in Tajikistan versus the Iranian society; it remains a social taboo to talk about other religions. The eloquent evidence of the reality of such physical threats to Zoroastrians is the murder of a young adherent of Zoroastrianism Rudaki Samadov; Rudaki was one of the supporters of Aryan culture revival, was killed in 2001. His recent work in cinema, theater and the book publishing has been mainly associated with Zoroastrianism. The media reported Samadov’s belonging to this religion as one of the versions of the murder motive. Despite all the danger surrounding the beautiful Faith, it is mainly small groups on social networks conduct propaganda and debate about Zoroastrianism. They do it covertly and do not even advertise their affiliation with this religion. It can easily be summed up; the development of hostilities to Zoroastrianism in Tajikistan is partly the fault of Zoroastrians themselves who failed to move into the country once it gained independence, despite Tajiks themselves initiating contact, and thus leaving the country to foreign influences of Islamic radicalism from countries such as saudi arabia and Pakistan. Numbers? Supposedly, in 1990, there were 20,000 Zoroastrians living in Tajikistan. According to Arda (Asssociation of Religion Data Archives) there were 2476 Zoroastrians in Tajikistan in 2010. Another source gives recent numbers at 2700. Real numbers will probably not be known until an organization is established, and Zoroastrianism etches itself onto the public mind. Bonus; The Tajiks of Tashkurgan (Sarikol), China TASHKURGAN TAJIKS (https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1002287/chasing-the-fire-worshippers-of- tashkurgan) “Most local Tajiks speak Mandarin, Uyghur, and a dialect of Tajik. When I told him in Mandarin that I had gone to the Quxman tombs, his eyes lit up: “I think, even now, our people still venerate fire,” he said, explaining that although most Tajiks in China follow Islam, on Eid al-Adha, those in Tashkurgan sacrifice sheep on the roofs of their homes so that the blood doesn’t spill onto the earth — a practice not observed by most other Muslim peoples. Furthermore he stastes; “We worship fire in our homes once a year” — usually on the 14th or 15th day of the eighth month in the Islamic calendar — “and worship stones that have been passed down through our family or are particularly ancient,” he explained.” Turkmenistan Despite my best efforts, I could not find any information on Zoroastrianism in this country. This is an interesting place. It has a long and interesting history, and a varied and beautiful geography. It also has a lunatic running the whole show. The ex-president, Saparmurat Niyazov, could have easily give Kim Il-Jong a run for his money in the “Biggest Crackpot in Charge of a Country” race. Many of the precedents set by Niyazov continue to be exercised by Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, the current president of Turkmenistan. To name a few, Niyazov has: Renamed cities after himself or his mother; Renamed the days of the week after himself and his mother.; Renamed the months after himself or his mother; Invented a new alphabet for his countrymen to use; Banned recorded music; Ordered the construction of hundreds of monuments to himself, including a huge gold statue of himself in the capital, atop of a tower. The statue rotates to follow the sun. Outlawed gold fillings; Replaced all textbooks in the country with books written by himself; Closed all hospitals outside of the capital city; Required all physicians to swear an oath to him, rather than the Hippocratic Oath Furthermore, the government of Turkmenistan monitors private conversations, and ANY criticism or joke about Niyazov is considered treason. Foreigners have been arrested or deported for very minor infractions of this. To sum it up, if there are Zoroastrians in Turkmenistan they would be in remote mountain villages and we have yet to hear from them Kazakhstan Not much information can be found about the Zoroastrians of Kazakhstan Kazakhstan is at the crossroads of Europe and Asia; historically, the territory of Kazakhstan has been, for centuries, the meeting place of different religions and civilizations. Vedic Hinduism and Zoroastrianism were major faith in Central Asia prior to the arrival of Islam. Its influence is still felt today in such celebrations as Nowruz, held in all five of the “core” Central Asian states. In 2006, at the capital of Kazakhstan, the former President of Kazakhstan Nursultan A. Nazarbayev held the second Congress of Leaders of World and Traditional Religions (CLWTR). Dr. Homi Dhalla from India represented Zoroastrians at that Congress. Since 2006, Kazakhstan Embassy (US) and Kazakhstan UN Mission have invited Zoroastrians to many interfaith, cultural, and other events in Washington DC and New York. In 2013, Homi Dhalla from India and Homi D. Ghandi were invited to participate in the International Research and Practice Conference in Astana on September 25, 2013 commemorating the 10th anniversary of the CLWTR. According to the ARDA, Kazakh Zoroastrian Population is 200 to 2600 as of 2010 Kyrgyzstan About 1% of the population of this country is Tajik and it is thought that the reported 600 to 800 Zoroastrians are almost exclusively Tajik. A higher estimate of Zoroastrian populations; In other countries in the region, such as Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, many people have shown interest in rediscovering their Zoroastrian heritage. The religion is also practiced in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The number of Zoroastrians in the world is relatively small, though how small is difficult to calculate. Until about 2002 most sources gave estimates of the number of Zoroastrians that were as low as 100,000 to 140,000. Some sources declared the religion to be on the verge of extinction. After 2002, though, many sources began to report much higher numbers, as many as 2 million to 3.5 million worldwide, with estimates of the number in North America ranging from 18,000 to 25,000. Many sources, however, continue to report the earlier figures rather than the more recent estimates. These higher estimates can be broken down to; Afghanistan: 304,454 persons in 2000, approx. 1.3% of population at the time Iran: 1,903,182 persons in 2000, appox. 2.8% of pop. Tajikistan: 7,426 persons in 2000 approx. 0.1% of pop. Uzbekistan: 3,042 persons in 2000 0.1% of pop. Total for above select countries: 2,218,104 persons in 2000 Source: World Christian Encyclopedia: A Comparative Survey of Churches and Religions in the Modern World, 2nd Ed. (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2001) In conclusion Central Asia, especially the countries of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan seem most likely candidates for a Central Asian Zoroastrian Anjuman. Such an establishment requires outside help from Behdins in North America or India who have the funds, and hopefully, the goodwill to undertake this holy task. While the initial years of USSR breakup could have been a critical turning point for Zoroastrian history, as this paper at times tried to highlight, the door is not yet fully closed. Our duty to our faith is to protect our fellow brethren and to propagate and to make stronger. Read more; http://www.vcn.bc.ca/oshihan/Pages/UzbakistanClasse.htm https://karakalpak-karakalpakstan.blogspot.com/search?q=zoroastrian https://www.thearda.com/QL2010/QuickList_52.asp https://www.bozorgbazgasht.com/ https://www.the-derafsh-kaviyani.com/english/ https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/top-countries-of-the-world-by-zoroastrian-population.html https://czcjournal.org/CN/165/PDF/CN165.PDF http://www.dinebehi.com/dl/dl/pdf/Pub/Hamazor/Hamazor%2006-4.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20170702042932/https://arastan.com/journey/tashkent-zoroastrians