IRANITY

What is Iranity?

On one hand, Iranity is the solution against Islamic intolerance, a solution to do without any religion that destroys human spirit of free thinking, and annihilates human dignity. Be aware: most Muslims are not Islamic. They are just born Muslim. 

On the other hand, and simultaneously, yes simultaneously, Iranity has a set of cultural values that works against greedy mercantilism, against a system that has been established during the past 500 years by greedy merchants, unscrupulous merchants thirsty for power and driven by the need to dominate, a system prone to competition, conflicts and war, a system that has been destroying our planet’s environment and depleting our natural resources, without consideration for future generations’ life on Earth.

The cultural values of Iranity have their roots in Zoroastrianism, Mithraism, and later with the teachings of Mâni. That was before Iran was conquered seven centuries after J. C. by the Arabs who imposed Islamic rules. Iranians feel also very much akin to Jesus’ teachings promoting love, peace, compassion, and tolerance. Whether Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Zoroastrian or Atheist, Iranians commonly call him respectfully  Jesus the Messiah (in persian: Isâ Massih). After the Arab-Islamic conquest of the Iranian plateau, the Iranic culture survived in form of Sufism, Dervishism, Pantheism through thinkers, poets, and philosophers such as Omar Khayyam, Mowlânâ (Mowlavi or Rumi), and Hâfez, to just name a few. And, more contemporary, the Bahai Faith. The Shi’a branches of Islam are also various versions of Islam mixed with elements of Iranity. That is why you see pan-arab traditional (sunni) Muslim extremists, like those of Taliban, Al Qaeda,  Wahhabite, Salafi, and so on,  prone to physically eliminate Shi’as, Sufis and Dervishes, throughout history.

Zoroastrianism is an old Iranic religion based on two principles, one on how to behave towards oneself, and the other one how to behave toward one's environment. To personal principle is to behave according to the trilogy of Good Thoughts, Good Words, Good Deeds (in Persian: Pendâr-e Nik, Goftâr-e Nik, Kardâr-e Nik). The other, related to the environment, is to keep clean, the air, the water, and the soil, and to keep alive the flame of fire symbolizing natural resources. One should know that in order to fight Zoroastrianism, Muslim conquerors and those submitted to the Mohammedan religion, called Zoroaster’s  fire worshippers, far from the Truth.

Zoroaster’s cosmology can be summarized as follow: there are two opposite forces in the universe and in social life: light versus darkness, health versus illness, truth versus lies, knowledge versus ignorance, love versus hate, peace versus war, and so on, … in short, goodness versus evil; and individuals  shall side with the forces of goodness (Ahura Mazda or God) against evil (Ahriman or Satan). Being loving, and working towards increasing knowledge, are amongst the main elements of Zoroastrianism. I just summarized the fundamental philosophy of Zoroastrianism, the way I understand it. We do not care about present practice and rituals, which can differ from one community to another, from one person to another, from one zoroastrian sect to another.

Love, warmth, and affection are also the main elements in another Iranic religion: Mitraism (Mithraism). Mitraïsm has the Sun as god figure. A religion that precedes Christianity before becoming contemporary to it, and which was dominant in Minor Asia, where is now Turkey and Greece, before gaining  the whole Europe, including today’s Spain, France and England, as well as Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, was in fact a rival to Christianity, until one of the Roman emperor decided to adopt Christianity as the official religion of the Empire.  The force of Mithraism resided in its knowledge of the Solar system. They have been called pagan and sun worshippers. But sun worshippers might be a biased expression. They’ve just realized and accepted the fact that our life on Earth depends on the Sun. They were extremely advanced and discovered the seven main planets evolving around the Sun. The seven days in a week is a consequence of Iranian Mithraism dominance. A fantastic progressive knowledge for the time, and a fantastic religion based on astronomical knowledge! In the relics found in Mithraid temples excavated throughout Europe, the depiction of the God-Sun Mithra killing the bull is crowned by the seven planets revolving around the Sun. The seven days of the week seems to be a  Mithraist legacy to the world. The name of the days of the weeks illustrate and are witness to it: Moon (Monday/Lundi=Lune), Mars (Mardi / Tuesday), Mercure (Mercredi / Wednesday), Jupiter (Jeudi / Thursday), Venus (Vendredi / Friday), and Saturn (Samedi / Saturday). And Sunday, Sun-day, is obviously a reminiscence of Mithraism and not Christianity. Christianity, as adopted by the Roman Emperor, is a syncretic religion that absorbed many elements of Mithraism, including Christmas, which is the coming back of Light, corresponding to the Winter Solstice. Perhaps, it explains why Iranian Iranics have always felt so close to Christianity, perhaps instinctively and unconsciously.

However, Mithraism and its followers were ferociously fought within the Roman Empire, once the Emperor decided to definitely adopt Christianity as a sole religion of the Empire, and after integrating elements of Mithraism into it. Perhaps it explains why the Roman Christian Church, even centuries later,  even during the Renaissance, was still so ferociously and irrationally punishing whoever would say that the Earth is round and evolving around the Sun. But not always successfully.  Italians' main folkloric song is still today O Sole Mio (O my Sun)! That is also why terms of astrology and astrologists were looked with suspicion in the Christendom.

Be aware:

Iranity is not merely a nationality. It is mainly a spirituality, a way of being in the world. Some Iranian citizen do not adhere to it, or are deprive from it. Those who adhere to that spirituality, we call Iranic, in order to distinguish them from merely Iranian citizens. Iranity is a spirituality that tends to be  synonymous with humanity at its best,  and to be a hope and a positive participant in humanity’s potential infinite love and infinite knowledge, which for Iranics best signifies and represents the idea or notion of God.

Shodja