Ethnic Religious Minorities in Iran

295 Pages·2023·7.831 MB·English

by  S. Behnaz Hosseini

Ethnic Religious
Minorities in Iran
Edited by
S. Behnaz Hosseini
Ethnic Religious Minorities in Iran
S. Behnaz Hosseini
Editor
Ethnic Religious
Minorities in Iran
Editor
S. Behnaz Hosseini
Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology
University of Oxford
London, UK
ISBN 978-981-19-1632-8 ISBN 978-981-19-1633-5 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-1633-5
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onceptual ap
IntroductIon
In a country such as Iran, with the declared Shi’ite Islamic political system
and with the majority of Muslims (99%), religion is a major element in
social orientation. Islam’s arrival in Iran in the seventh century is a turning
point in the country’s history. Since then, a complex combination of pre-
Islamic and Islamic elements has been the salient character of Iranian iden-
tity. Furthermore, the strict distinction between in-group and out-group
in Islamic doctrine made religious affiliation an essential foundation of
social grouping. Safavid Shi’ization (1500s–1700s ce) replaced Islam as a
broad concept with the sectarian Shi’ite denomination. The Shi’ite prin-
ciple of Iranian identity became even more prominent after Iran’s Islamic
Revolution (1979). Even though the Islamic Republic of Iran does not
renounce the pre-Islamic principles of Iranian identity, it furthers the sepa-
ration between pre-Islamic and Islamic principles in favor of the Islamic
(Shi’ite) one. This process is represented tangibly in the building of the
National Museum of Iran.1 The museum opened in 1937 and included
mainly pre-Islamic objects. Later, in 1972, Islamic artifacts were added to
the collection. However, fourteen years after the Islamic Revolution, in
1993, the museum was divided into two separate buildings: the Museum
of Ancient Iran and, next to it, the Museum of Islamic Archeology and Art
of Iran. The intrinsic antagonism of the two roots of Iranian identity, as is
1 See: Barry (2018, pp. 31–32).
v
vi FOREWORD: THE UNACKNOWLEDGED RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN IRAN…
considered by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s official discourse, is repre-
sented in this divided National Museum.
Correspondingly, the definition of the minority in the Islamic Republic
of Iran’s constitution is based on a Shi’ite perspective. In the constitution,
Islam is the official religion of the country, and nowhere is Shi’ism named.
Nonetheless, the Shi’ite tone of the text is easily recognized through the
reiteration of Shi’ite concepts. Article 2 mentions imam̄ ah (leadership) as
the basis of the Islamic Republic system, and Article 5 assigns walı ̄faqıh̄
(just and pious jurist) to the society’s leadership during the occultation
period of the twelfth Imam.2 The mentioned parts of the constitution plus
other parts imply that a specific version of Islam—that of juridical Shi’ism—
is meant. Article 13 restricts the recognized religions to Zoroastrians, Jews,
and Christians, who are protected and are free to perform their rites and
educate their people about their religion. Therefore, the constitution has
a clear-cut definition of endorsed religious minorities considered the fol-
lowers of authentic religions, ahl-e Kitab̄ (the people of the book), accord-
ing to Sharia law. Thus, the acknowledged minorities of the country
altogether comprise only 0.2% of Iran’s population, while the country’s
actual ethnic and religious profile is considerably more complex and more
numerous.3 As a result, based on their legal position, the religious minori-
ties are divided into two categories: the legal minorities who are protected
and their identity is acknowledged, and those whose identity is denied,
and their legal position is ambiguous.
In this short piece of writing, I aim to portray an overview of Iran’s
main religious and ethno-religious minorities in their relationship to the
dominant political discourse of the country that can be served as a general
conceptual map of the minorities.
the acknowledged MInorItIes
The Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians enjoy the liberty of practicing their
religion and having representatives in the Islamic Parliament.4 Nonetheless,
their identification with the country falls in various paradigms.
2 Islamic Parliament of Iran (2021).
3 According to the 2016 census, the total population of the country is 79,926,270 that
includes 130,138 Christians, 23,109 Zoroastrians, and 9826 Jews.
4 Zoroastrians and Jews each has a representative, Assyrians and Chaldeans jointly one
representative, and Armenians of south and north, each have one representative.
FOREWORD: THE UNACKNOWLEDGED RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN IRAN… vii
Zoroastrianism is the indigenous and dominant pre-Islamic religion of the
country. Consequently, the Zoroastrians show a strong identification with
pre-Islamic elements. As it is expected, they consider themselves the bear-
ers of authentic Iranian heritage. The Zoroastrian language—behdın̄ an̄
dialect—is an endangered language of central Iranian dialects, which now-
adays is barely spoken, and the people practically speak the local vernacular
of Persian.5
Despite the same legal position of Christians6 and Zoroastrians,
Christian identification, particularly the Armenians, who are most Iranian
Christians, follow different trends. Armenian Christians of Iran are backed
by an Armenian cultural heritage that is not directly linked to the two
main resources of Iranian identity. Their heritage is based on neither pre-
Islamic Iran—like Zoroastrians—nor the Islamic era. They are originally a
scattered diasporic community whose centuries-old presence has made
them an integrated, yet distinguished, part of Iran’s ethnic bricolage. The
distinct language, their names, and specific Armenian institutions
strengthen the boundaries of the community and create a symbolically and
physically private ethnic sphere.7
Considering their historical presence, Jews are standing somewhere
between the Zoroastrian indigenous community and the Armenian dia-
sporic community. The Jew’s residence in Iran dates to the postexilic era
when after they were released from Babylonian captivity (536 bce), many
stayed in the region under the Achaemenid sovereignty. Since then, the
Iranian Jews have known no other actual homeland than Iran for more
than two millennia. However, it is conceivable that the memory of a pri-
mordial homeland and the idea of the promised land have always been
present in the collective memory of the people and may have affected their
identification.8 Although the realization of the Jewish state of Israel (1948)
is quite recent compared to the long history of Jews in Iran, it brings
about some complexities in Iranian Jews identification, something that
requires further studies. The official discourse of the Islamic Republic dis-
tinguished between the Jewish religion, and Zionism as the political ideol-
ogy of Israel, a country that the Islamic Republic does not recognize.
5 Windfuhr (1989).
6 Muslims’ conversion to other religions is forbidden in Iran. Therefore, the number of
Christian neophytes is not available and they are not considered Christian minorities.
7 Such as Ararat sport and culture complex and Armenian publishers, publications, and
churches.
8 See: Loeb (2012, p. 173).
viii FOREWORD: THE UNACKNOWLEDGED RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN IRAN…
Iranian Jews speak standard Persian or other Iranian dialects with some
Hebrew loanwords; however, Hebrew is almost completely liturgical.
Having no obvious markers or symbolic means of separation such as dis-
tinct language makes them almost indistinguishable in the public and able
to mingle with the majority in public.
the outcasts
Categorizing the religions according to the strict Islamic-Shia Sharia is the
foundation of the constitutional definition of the minorities; however, it
doesn’t cover the actual religious diversity of the country. Certain reli-
gious groups, more or less, fall out of the constitutional definition and
consequently are derived into the realm of ambiguity and oblivion.
Nonetheless, each of these religions has its own position in relation to the
dominant political discourse, which has led their followers to be denied,
suspected, or tolerated as second-class citizens.
those who Must not be naMed
Khat̄imiyyat is a common belief among Muslims, which simply means that
Islam is the last religion and the prophet of Islam is the last messenger of
God. The Baha’̄ullah̄ ’s challenged this conviction by claiming prophecy
and declaring a new religion in nineteenth-century Iran. Bahaism emerged
from the Iranian messianic movement of Babism that itself is rooted in the
Shia belief of the hidden Imam. Expectedly, the emergence of a new reli-
gion sparked heated reactions among Shia orthodoxy and the clergies.9
After early persecutions that occurred in the Qajar era, during the Pahlavi
era, anti-Baha’i moves assumed a subtle and pseudo-legal nature, and after
the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Baha’is’ situation deteriorated.10
There is no information about the number and distribution of Baha’is
in Iran. Talking and writing about them is taboo, and the authorities do
not mention or pronounce their name. Their name also never appears in
the news, newspapers, and magazines. Their identity is denied in the dom-
inant discourse, and their existence is barely tolerated; therefore, they live
a secret, bare life and prefer not to reveal their identity in public.
9 For a comprehensive overview of Bahaism, see: Cole (2012).
10 MacEoin (2011).
FOREWORD: THE UNACKNOWLEDGED RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN IRAN… ix
the people oF the book who are not a MInorIty
Khuz̄ istan̄ province in the southeast of Iran is the homeland of the
Mandaeans, or as they are locally known the Ṣobbıs̄ or Ṣab̄ i’ın̄ . These peo-
ple, probably the last living Gnostic religion followers, are a scattered
community in Khuz̄ istan̄ of about 5000–20,000 numbers.11 The name
Ṣab̄ i’ın̄ is mentioned in Quran alongside Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians,
and majus̄ (people of the book). However, despite the supreme leader’s
fatwa in 2009 that declared them as ahl-e Kitab̄ —whether because of their
esoteric tendency or obscurity, or the controversy over the true identity—
they were not included in the constitutionally protected religions.12 Since
then, this fatwa has been the reference for their claim to rights they are
deprived of. They are allowed to practice their rites and festivals; but they
face barriers in obtaining jobs and education and suffer from social and
legal discrimination.
no land For heretIcs
It seems that deviation from the orthodoxy—that is, heresy—is less toler-
ated than the totally different belief systems that their difference is already
recognized. The heretics, through their alternative exegeses and practices,
challenge the boundaries of religious identity. Therefore, in a country in
which the state defines the religious identity, every heresy would be the
subject of rejection. Freud calls this aggression against the otherwise simi-
lar groups in the adjoining territories “the narcissism of minor differ-
ences,” which stages a concern for the community’s cohesion and
conformity.13
Dervish sects are among the suspicious minorities whose beliefs and
practices are considered heterodox, if not heresy. While the state overlooks
the Sufi sects in most cases, in a few cases, the dervishes, particularly one
of the most popular Shi’ite dervish sects, faced widespread persecution
after their protest against their leader’s restriction.
Yarsan or ahl-i haqq, an esoteric religion with a substantial number of
followers who mostly live in the western parts of Iran, is perhaps the larg-
est unrecognized group that falls at the threshold of heterodoxy. As a folk
11 Arabestani (2016).
12 Khamenei (2009).
13 Freud (1930/1961, p. 4506).
x FOREWORD: THE UNACKNOWLEDGED RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN IRAN…
religion with no defined canon and loose organization, these people iden-
tify themselves as the followers of Yari, which literally means friendship,
help, and cooperation. At the same time, their beliefs and practices might
be somewhat varied among different circles of followers in various places.
Some ahl-i haqq groups tend to identify with the country’s mainstream
Shia; some groups do not identify themselves with Islam.14 As a result, the
dominant political discourse regards them either as Shia extremists, which
is a heterodoxy, or as heretics. This ambiguous situation reflects the peo-
ple’s ambiguous position as an unrecognized, yet de facto, minority.
a MInorIty that Is not a MInorIty
As mentioned, Islam is the official religion of the country. Nonetheless,
Islam’s definition in the constitution has a clear Shi’ite tenor, so Article 5
defines the Islamic Republic as a political system for the occultation era.15
As a result, a marginal position is assigned to Sunni Muslims of Iran. In
practice, Sunnis developed a minority identity that associates with a feeling
of being subject to discrimination, deprived, and ignored in the dominant
political discourse. The Sunni identity in Iran is a social fact, and the
Sunnis perceive political propaganda’s insistence on the unity of Muslim
society in the country as a denial of their identity.
Reliable statistics about the number of Iranian Sunnis are not available;
however, considering the provinces with the majority of the Sunni popula-
tion, they can be regarded as the biggest religious group in Iran after the
Shia majority. Furthermore, the provinces with the majority of Sunnis are
located at the western and eastern political borders of the country that
makes the Sunni community even more important geopolitically.
conclusIon
Except for Islam, which is the country’s official religion, only three other
religions—Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism—are legally recog-
nized and enjoy the constitutional rights of minorities. This limited defini-
tion of minority is an ideological straitjacket that doesn’t fit the real
diversity of the country. In the Shiite state of Iran, the very definition of
14 For more information about Yarsanism, see: Hosseini (2020); Mir-Hosseini (1994,
1996); Mir-Hosseini (1994).
15 Gheybat, or the absence period the twelfth imam, according to Twelver Shia beliefs.