Can i convert to zoroastrianism

But when she does remember, it calms her. As a Zoroastrian, this three-pillared promise is her only prayer. Three million people are homeless because of them. On a global level, this misrepresentation is part of the reason the hashtag notinmyname has become so prevalent worldwide. Nevertheless, Duya is one of more than Kurdish women who have risked their lives to officially convert to Zoroastrianism over the past 18 months, after reading about the inherently feminist, liberal religion on Facebook.

Once there, it seemed like a semi-utopia, to be suddenly surrounded by women of all ages and backgrounds, wearing long, traditional dresses teamed with bright, spiked heels. Even in Kalar — a city heavily protected from Isis — things are bad. Men are also turning up at the Sulaymaniyah Atashgah. He now visits once every two months for spiritual guidance and reassurance.

He leaves 30 minutes after his arrival, pulling a baseball cap low over his forehead. Leaving Islam is illegal in Iran. But even in Kurdistan — a diverse region harbouring Christian and Yazidi communities — the dangers of converting are terrifying.

Under these accounts, your faith itself is a sort of religious destiny. A Parsis would tell you that the desire to convert to Zoroastrianism, in itself, is a kind of blasphemy against the inherent ever-flowing harmony of the natural process that God laid down for you. Converting would be disobedience against God. A myth that has been handed down. This myth helps Zoroastrians rationalize their position on rejecting converts and it goes like this:.

When Indo-Persian refugees left the oppressive Muslim politics of Iran they went to a kingdom called Gujarat in India. Upon arrival, the ruler asks them to explain their religion to him. After he heard the story of their history he allowed them safe haven. This safe haven, though, would come with certain conditions.

They had to learn the local language of that area and to also adopt the dress and garb of that region as well as participate in local customs and ceremonies. However, they could not attempt to convert the local populations.

In this way and only in this way would they be able to continue to practice their religion and traditions. Zoroastrian traditionalists argue that the longevity of their tradition is tied up with a lot of emotional and psychological reasons. You see, ever since the Muslim revolution in Iran Zoroastrianism has been a minority religion. Even in India, when the Parsis refugees moved there.

Zoroastrians have always been a differentiated minority group. Therefore why change anything? The first question I have for you is, why do you want to be a Zoroastrian? Is it because of the cool branding opportunities that this rare and exclusive religion can get you? Do you think that there is some special otherworldly knowledge hidden away for you behind the holy beard of the ever-cool Zoroastrian messiah Zarathustra?

Technically you already are a Zoroastrian simply because of their brand of monotheism. Ahuramazda is probably not a word you hear thrown around too often but it is incredibly central to the Zoroastrian belief system. Zoroastrianism does not deny other deities.

This type of cross-religious acceptance is called henotheism. Henotheism : the acceptance of one god while at the same time accepting the divinity and existence of God in other deities. These Prophets are called yazatas.

So it is hard for Zoroastrians themselves to convert to Zoroastrians. That may sound a little complicated but let me explain. At least strict traditionalists of the religion abide by this priestly rule. This means that if your mother is Zoroastrian but your father is not you will not be allowed into the faith.

Zoroaster was not a real creative type. So basically the traditions of the Zoroastrians predate Zoroaster himself. Either way, the traditionalist Zoroastrians keep to their strict tradition of intermarriage only with other Zoroastrians.

Ethnicity and religion are being used as a way to preserve living history to be connected to the past. Keep in mind that the ethnic Zoroastrian makes it more than simply religion. Ethnicity becomes integral to the faith and its practices. This all hangs on the balance of the meaning behind the language, ethics, traditional clothes, holidays, food, family, songs, literature, etc. In this way, Zoroastrianism seems to be a utility of social engineering.

It is a precious continuation of tradition, an heirloom. After the Islamic revolution in Iran, many Zoroastrians converted to Islam. By all ethnic guidelines, they were Zoroastrian. Ethnic Zoroastrians wanted to re-enter the community. Spreading as far as India, it was the official religion of three Persian dynasties until the 7th Century CE. It rapidly declined with the rise of Islam and all but disappeared in Iraq. According to Awat Taieb, co-founder of the Yasna association that since has promoted Zoroastrianism in Kurdistan and also representative of the faith at the Kurdistan government, about 15, people registered with the organisation so far.

Most of them were Kurds converting from Islam, but Arabs and Christians joined the movement as well, she said.