According to Dr. Esfandiar Ekhtiari, the Iranian culture is ethics-oriented rather than religion-oriented. The top things that matter in the Iranian culture are humanity and ethics.
Former Zoroastrian member of the Iranian Majlis (parliament), Esfandiar Ekhtiari, in his recent interview with Pars Today, has touched upon the roots of successful and peaceful coexistence of followers of various faiths in Iran. Here is his analysis on the issue:
We are speaking about Iran and the Iranian culture. The Iranian culture has not been shaped in the past 40 years. It was not shaped in the past one thousand years, either. We have a several-thousand-year old culture.
Dr. Esfandiar Ekhtiari
When we speak of several thousand years of the Iranian culture, we reach a person like “Kourosh”. Once, he conquers Babylon, he announces that everyone can adhere to their own religion. Therefore, when we are living in Iran, even before 1400 years ago, we see that Christians and Jews have been living in Iran. Even in their history, the oldest church has been in Iran after the Christian-populated regions. This shows that the Iranian culture is ethics-oriented rather than ideology-oriented. The top things that matter in the Iranian culture are humanity and ethics; and then we go to ideology. It means that all of us are first humans then Iranians and so on. These have been internalized in the Iranian culture. For instance, in one side of Mirza Kouchak Khan street of Tehran, there is Adrian (fire temple of Tehran) and on the opposite side there is a church of Christians. A little down in the same street, there is a synagogue of Jews and a little up there is a mosque of Muslims. This street has not been constructed recently. It was not constructed 50 years ago, either. This shows the culture of coexistence and peace in our country.
It is very hard to understand this for the countries which generate DAESH and decapitate, because inside those countries, everything is done only on the basis of ideology. In my opinion, Iran is never and will never be like other countries, even if a group wants to stop this trend. It is impossible because culture does not emerge overnight. Culture is not created with an announcement so that it is changed with an announcement, too. Anyone who intends to do this, is a loser and has burnt himself. But this happens for other countries because they don’t have a strong cultural support. In other words, it is in Iran where I, as a Zoroastrian, respect a Muslim, a Jew and a Christian, and vice versa. This has not been created just now to perish just now. As coexistence has its roots for thousands of years, it will last forever.
Key phrases: Iranian Zoroastrians, Religious minority in Iran, Different religions in Iran, Life in Iran
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