Posts on Zoroastrianism by our compatriot "Spenta" on ActivistChat.com :
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Sedreh-pooshi Report!: Conversions Galore
On the 1st of August 2004 (Dei be Mehr, Amordaad 3742), we organized a conversion ceremony for a group of Iranians who desired for years to convert to Zoroastrianism (Zartoshti). The initiation took place at Radisson SAS Hotel in Norway and was performed traditionally by Zoroastrian Mobed. Participants (Nozoodan) were crying of happiness while reading the promise and the Avesta of Koshti. Relatives and friends were also gathered to celebrate their return to roots and share their joy and happiness.
Due to high desire of many Iranians to convert, we have decided to hold another initiation ceremony in Norway. The next initiation will take place in soon future in Oslo, the capital city of Norway. There are many other Iranians and non-Iranian people worldwide who have contacted us for conversion. We welcome anyone who feel Zoroastrian in their hearts to participate in this initiation and become formally Zaratushti. If you live in Sweden, Denmark, Germany, England, etc. you may travel to Oslo and fulfill your wish; there are daily flights directly to Oslo. Please contact us for more details. After Oslo, in future we will have other ceremony projects in central Europe and Central Asia and other big cities where new Mazda worshippers are waiting for initiation into the faith.
For the memory of Nahaavand battle where 100,000 brave Iranians were killed by invaders.
Those souls were defending their homeland and faith. Your Kaviani Derafsh will always "wave high" in our hearts.
"Many were those who turned away from Zartosht
Only to find no other viable choice but to come back to Zartosht"
Iranian Poet Daqiqi - 10th century
"For us there is no regrets about the old religion
As there is none better than the religion of Zartosht
It is all about justices and righteousness
It is all about logic and unraveling the secrets of the universe"
Great Iranian poet Ferdowsi - The Shahnameh, 10th century
"For years my conscious was yearning for the secret of Jam(shid)
What it had always had within, it was looking to strangers for"
Great Iranian Poet Hafez, 15th century
Ushta,
Anjoman e Bozorg Bazgasht,
Oslo, Norway
http://www.bozorgbazgasht.com/
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http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/002684.html
Reversion to Zoroastrianism? [fingers crossed]
Dogs and cats living together! A mainstream Western paper has published an article that acknowledges the Islamic record of ethnic cleansing! (hat tip: Mirabilis.ca)
Zoroastrianism flourished in Persia, now Iran, for more than two millennia, greatly influencing Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. But it was decimated by the Arab invasion of Persia in 651.
....
Iran's Islamic leaders ''have tried for centuries to sweep away all trace of Zoroastrianism," said Sohrab Yazdi, a community leader in Yazd, where most of Iran's estimated 30,000 Zoroastrians live.
Pointing to the bright dome of the Jame mosque in the city's center, Yazdi said it was built over a destroyed ''fire" temple[Hagia Sophia or Masjid al-Babri, anyone?], as Zoroastrian places of worship are called because of the sacred fire that burns perpetually within.
But from outside the shattered splendor of Persepolis, the ancient capital of Persia, Bahram Agaheri, a Muslim teacher, talked in elegiac rhythms about the desire of many Iranians to rediscover the faith of their forefathers.
''People are tired of the mullahs," Agaheri said, referring to the country's religious leaders. ''If we were allowed to convert, millions would convert to Zoroastrianism. I challenge the government to allow conversion out of Islam for even one day."
But he is unlikely to see that day. Islam bans its adherents from converting, and a Muslim who renounces his faith can face a death sentence.
Caught between a religion that will not allow them out and one that will not let them in, many Iranians are thought to practice Zoroastrianism in secret.
There is also evidence that people in Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and some Kurdish regions are rediscovering their Zoroastrian and Persian roots.
A secularized version of Nowruz, the traditional Zoroastrian New Year, is increasingly being celebrated across the region.
These tremors of change excite many Zoroastrians, who despite their demographers' troubling estimates, think their religion is poised to witness a renaissance. But such change also makes many uncomfortable.
Mistri and Yazdi agreed that Zoroastrians do not have the wherewithal to deal with any political backlash from Iran's radical Islamists or India's Hindu nationalists, who also oppose religious conversions.
''You must understand our apprehension," Yazdi said. ''We are like a small, colorful fish in a big pond. One wrong move and we will be eaten."
From
http://secularislam.org/jihad/subjects.htm
Tarikh-i Bukhara, c. 944.
The residents of Bukhara became Muslims. But they renounced [Islam] each time the Arabs turned back. Qutayba b. Muslim made them Muslim three times, [but] they renounced [Islam ] again and became nonbelievers. The fourth time, Qutayba waged war, seized the city, and established Islam after considerable strife....They espoused Islam overtly but practiced idolatry in secret.
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http://www.bostonreview.net/BR28.3/pocha.html
Iran's Other Religion
Jehangir Pocha
In Search of Zarathustra
Paul Kriwaczek
Alfred A. Knopf, $25 (cloth)
"Americans might be surprised to learn that the seven-pointed halo which guilds the Statue of Liberty is linked to Mithra, a Zarathusti archangel of good governance."
The broad swath of modern history generally sees the collapse of the Persian Empire as the classical demise of one civilization at the hands of another, more powerful aggressor. Yet, as Kriwaczek suggests, a more nuanced reading of history and the reality of modern Iran reveals something else—something that my friend the sculptor was acting out as he crafted a Zarathusti Farohar in that narrow alley. “In our hearts we are still Zarathusti,â€