Immigration and Its Effects on the Zoroastrian Faith and Community
The following was originally published in the 2019 edition of the Chehreh Rama.
Last year, I started a documentary that focused on the future of the Zoroastrian population with a fellowship from my university. Though I am a Zoroastrian, I was unaware of the Iranian Zoroastrian population in California considering I come from a Parsi family originally from Mumbai. As I reached out to the California Zoroastrian Centers across Southern California, I became involved with the Iranian Zoroastrians and had a glimpse into the different culture they promote in comparison to my Parsi background. I learned that from language barriers to food preferences, Parsis and Iranians embrace two different cultures underneath the same religious umbrella. Though Zoroastrians across the world have largely the same foundations, disparate communities differ in their practices as a result of immigration. Our ideologies stem from our travels in the past and it is important to consider our geographical mobility to understand how immigration impacts the Zoroastrian faith and network.
It is worth diving into a bit of history on the Parsis to fully understand immigration’s effect on the Zoroastrian population. Under the Achaemenid Empire in 330 BC, the first to adopt Zoroastrianism, the religion was at its peak of influence and expanded beyond Persia to modern day countries such as Egypt, Greece, and even China. Fast-forward hundreds of years of expansion and the Arab Conquest decimated the Sasanian Empire in Persia in the seventh century with brutal battles, destruction of temples, and burnings of Zoroastrian libraries. As a result of spreading Islam through forced relocation diffusion and strict legal initiatives, many Zoroastrians fled the region and sought refuge in Gujarat, India, who are known as Parsis, while others escaped to nearby countries like Pakistan or stayed in Iran. Over the generations, there has been a gradual, radical shift that split both Parsis and Iranian Zoroastrians as communication between the two groups dwindled. While still keeping true to their Zoroastrian beliefs, Parsis were quick to assimilate into Indian society by speaking the same language, dressing in a similar fashion, following dietary restrictions, and even engaging in other religious practices. By the late 17th century, Parsis had political and commercial ties with their British colonizers and embraced a Western education system, further changing their socioeconomic status in Indian society which was distinct from other from Zoroastrian communities around the world.
Immigration has kept us alive, but, without a doubt, separate on a cultural level. This brief historical account of this immigration movement is the source of the differences we see today between Parsis and Iranian Zoroastrians; it also serves as a case study for why other Zoroastrian groups may feel disconnected from each other. Regrouping Zoroastrians in India and other parts of the Middle East in the early days was necessary to keep Zoroastrianism thriving from conquerors. Immigration led to our survival. As a consequence, different Zoroastrian groups, like the Parsis, had to adapt to the country they related to, creating alternative cultural ideologies and aesthetics that are extremely apparent today. Presently, many Zoroastrians have moved to America, particularly in California and Texas, but also in Canada and Hong Kong. Mobility is inherent in humanity and is a natural effect within a changing world. It would be naive to assume that one of the world’s most ancient religions could survive without adapting. Religions grow in fluid cultural and sociopolitical climates and immigration perpetuates change. Zoroastrians are historically immigrants and we will be future immigrants.
Moreover, immigration has left room for different interpretations of the Avesta and the Gathas, ancient texts that showcase our beliefs. “Good Thoughts, Good Words, and Good Deeds” is a simple and sacred doctrine of ours that has surpassed geography and time through our history. Yet, like other tenets, it is a somewhat vague concept. This is the beauty of the religion in my mind. Its simplicity allows for personal interpretation of our texts that lets individuals sculpt their own understandings of what it means to be a Zoroastrian. Immigration grounds us in our own environments that shape our moral codes. The philosophy of Parsis in Mumbai will likely contrast the beliefs of Parsis in America or Parsis in Hong Kong or Iranian Zoroastrians in Egypt. The religion has developed into smaller and smaller subgroups that align with the sociopolitical setting of their respective home country, and within each country, individuals will have their own definitions of Zoroastrianism.
Immigration creates diversity of opinions, backgrounds, and ideas that keep our Zoroastrian communities in constant conversation with one another. Debates over conversion and interfaith marriage strengthen democratic discourse and maintain our humanity in a world where groups are so politically polarized. Zoroastrian youth are the future of how our religion and culture will evolve. We have a duty to teach the next generation about the value of immigration historically and currently so they have some context into how certain Zoroastrians came to be. Being Zoroastrian is the common ground we all share, but understanding the minute differences between Zoroastrians will help the global community come together. In a time where we are dwindling at staggering rates, unifying diverse Zoroastrians in an open atmosphere can spark a movement that not only better educates us, but also prepares us for future change.
