Posted on 03/16/2005 2:56:16 PM PST by freedom44
ISFAHAN, Iran, March 16 (Reuters) - Iranian authorities beat up and tear gassed exuberant young revellers as they breathed new life into a pre-Islamic fire festival with a night of dancing, flirting and fireworks.
The Islamic Republic, which has an awkward relationship with its ancient Zoroastrian religion, only gave guarded recognition to the "Chaharshanbe Souri" festival last year.
Hundreds of people poured onto the streets in Tehran and other cities for a rare night of partying. Public revelry is unusual in Iran where the authorities consider it to be at odds with the country's strict moral codes.
The IRNA news agency said police used tear gas in more than four places in Tehran. Vigilantes were also seen beating up a group of boys in the central city of Isfahan.
"Anti-riot forces dispersed hundreds of young girls and boys who had gathered on ... streets neighbouring Mohseni Square," IRNA reported.
"Special police forces on motorbikes attacked the crowd. While escaping, women and children fell and some were injured," it added, in unusually frank language for the state news agency.
Some 50 people were arrested in the capital, according to the semi-official ISNA students' news agency.
But for the most part, Tuesday night's celebrations passed off peacefully in a carnival atmosphere.
Iranian cities crackled and flashed with bangers and fireworks as warring gangs of 10-year-olds terrified pedestrians with exploding pellets.
Flirtatious young men lobbed firecrackers at delighted girls, mimicking their shrieks. Teenagers drew sparkling shapes in the night sky by whirling charcoal burners on chains.
"Hundreds of young people are celebrating and dancing on the streets ... while letting off firecrackers," IRNA reported from Tehran.
ANTI-RIOT POLICE USED
Chaharshanbe Souri is thousands of years old, but was pushed underground after the 1979 Islamic revolution.
The purification festival, which is meant to dispel evil spirits, is celebrated on the last Tuesday night of the Persian year.
But Islamists see the ceremonies as a pagan relic.
In Isfahan, a Reuters witness saw men in black leather jackets seize a group of nine boys and young men playing with firecrackers, ram them against a wall and smash their faces and shoulders with batons.
A woman screamed hysterically as one of the religious vigilantes in a motorcycle-helmet dragged a battered teenager into an unmarked car. A regular policeman drove by without stopping.
Most people in Isfahan chose to celebrate the festivities in the city's maze of backstreets, some lighting fires in old tyres and deep cooking pans.
Blaring pop music wafted from high-walled gardens.
Leaping over the flames, many chanted an ancient prayer invoking the fire -- the Zoroastrians' most sacred element: "Give me your red colour, take away my sickly pallor."
Is this the religion where the "halos" come from in Christianity? I know they deal a lot in fire - this is pure speculation
Let's see, Islamists, who have their origin as worshipers of a pagan moon god, see a festival of Zoroaster's, an enlightened and tolerant religion who sent three of their ancient kings to seek the Christ child, the son of God, as a pagan ceremony? Zoroaster's are a more advanced religion than Islamists can ever hope to be.
At present, it seems, Traditional Zoroastrianism defines all religions as equal (the Righteous of all faiths will enter into heaven) and does not accept converts . On this view, Zoroastrianism is for the "Aryans" (pre-Hitler sense) and Zoroastrians are prohibited from marrying outside their ethnic community.
On the other hand, the Wikipedia article linked above says that "there is a growing interest among Kurdish people of various national backgrounds, as well as peoples in various Central Asian countries such as Tajikistan and Kazakhstan, in their ancient Zoroastrian heritage; many people in these countries now consider themselves Zoroastrian." and other sources suggest that there is a "liberal" wing that accepts or even encourages conversions. So perhaps Iranians would count as suitable adherents to some form of the religion.
As a Christian, I don't believe that all religions are equally true. But at the moral level, Zorastrianism has always seemed to me, on the basis of admittedly superficial knowledge, to be a religion that's at least fit for a gentleman.
Could we hope for a revival of the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism in Iran? Until a bunch of raving maniacs branishing swords came into town, lopping of the heads of all those who did not embrace their fanatical warrior cult, the practice of Zoroaster's prescriptions for a good and decent life had held sway for many centuries in the kingdom of Persia.
The practice of that religion predated Christianity by several hundred years.
Ahura-Madza and Ahrihman constituted the duality of good and evil, and most of the pictures we have of "Satan" are based on Ahrihman. (Cloven hooves, horned, forked tail, twisted scowling face, carrying a trident)
Iran hardliners keep lid on ancient fire festival
16 Mar 2005 15:55:26 GMT
Source: Reuters
By Christian Oliver
ISFAHAN, Iran, March 16 (Reuters) - Iranian authorities beat up and tear gassed exuberant young revellers as they breathed new life into a pre-Islamic fire festival with a night of dancing, flirting and fireworks.
The Islamic Republic, which has an awkward relationship with its ancient Zoroastrian religion, only gave guarded recognition to the "Chaharshanbe Souri" festival last year.
Hundreds of people poured onto the streets in Tehran and other cities for a rare night of partying. Public revelry is unusual in Iran where the authorities consider it to be at odds with the country's strict moral codes.
The IRNA news agency said police used tear gas in more than four places in Tehran. Vigilantes were also seen beating up a group of boys in the central city of Isfahan.
As a Christian, of course, I would like to see them embrace a more complete and perfect religion. As a realist, however, I realize conversions take place over a series of small steps and a bridge religion, such as Bahaiism or a secular form of Islam (as in Turkey), might be the best Iran could hope for at this stage.
Don't make the mistake of assuming that Zoroastrians will become peaceful lovers of everyone. The Zoroastrian Persian Empire stood up and fought the Roman, Byzantine, and various Indian empires to a draw. The reason Islam made such a massive impact on ancient Persia was the exhaustion of the Persian Empire from its perpetual wars with the Roman and then the Byzantine Empires. The arrogance and exhaustion of the Byzantine Empire was also the reason the Islamic Arabs were able to wrest Palestine, Egypt, and North Africa from Byzantium so easily and quickly.
Old empires and old religions don't seem to have much of a history of comebacks.
The three kings who brought gifts to Christ were Persians and Zoasterines.
Excellent post. I learned alot from it and the links. On face value, a revival of this religon could perhaps allow Persians, Kurds and others to distance themselves from Arabs without seemingly accepting Western Christianity. I will need to read much more now, but like you said, it seems civilized as opposed to Islam.
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