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Persian Attitudes to Jews in Perspective
Leslie Rübner
[Written in 2007]
In October 539 BCE, the Persian King, Cyrus, took Babylon, the ancient capital of the Babylonian empire, covering modern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Israel. After the conquest Cyrus unexpectedly let the Jews return to their homeland. While he was probably motivated primarily by the desire to have someone else rebuild Eretz Israel and to make it profitable for the Persian Empire, the impact on the Jews was to further strengthen their adherence to the Faith and encourage them to reconstruct the Temple in Jerusalem.
The Second Temple was completed on the very site of the first Temple in 516 BCE.
For religious reasons, Cyrus set out to conquer the entire world. Before the Persian conquest empire building was largely to guarantee territorial safety by conquering potential enemies. Barely a century before, the Persians were just a collection of a few tribes living north of Mesopotamia. Their language, an Indo-European language, was related to the Europeans. In Babylonian eyes, they were just a bunch of Barbarians and were not taken notice of. But in the middle of the seventh century BCE, Zarathustra, their prophet, appeared among them and preached a new religion, called Zoroastrianism.
The Zoroastrians believed that the universe was made up of two opposite parts. One was good and light and the other evil and dark. Life was a constant battle between these two divine forces; at the end of time, a mother of all battles would decide which of the two would dominate the universe. Human beings, in everything they do, participated in this struggle; other religions were part of this epic struggle too. Although Zoroastrianism involved two gods, a good one called Ahura Mazda, “the one uncreated Creator of all” and an evil one. Zoroastrianism was once the dominant religion of much of Greater Iran. As of 2007, the faith has dwindled to small numbers; some sources suggest that it is practised by fewer than 200,000 worldwide, with its largest centres in India and Iran.
By this time, Jews had already suffered the first two exiles:
The first captivity began in approximately 740 BCE, when the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and eastern half-tribe of Manasseh were carried away by one of the first Assyrian invasions. In approximately 721 BCE, nearly twenty years after the initial deportations, the Capital city of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, Samaria, met its end.
The second is after the destruction of the Temple when in 586 BCE Nebuchadnezzar carried the remnants of the Judeans off to Babylon.
The famous “Cyrus Declaration” allowed the Jews who were living in exile by the rivers of Babylon to return to their homeland. But some who had established themselves economically and socially preferred to remain on Babylonian / Persian soil. The tolerant attitude of the rulers at the time allowed personalities such as Ezra, Daniel, Esther and Mordecai to play an important role in the Persian court.
Growing Jewish communities were scattered from Babylonia to the Persian provinces and cities such as Hamadan and Shushan (Susa).
When Alexander the Great of Macedonia established his empire over Persia, the Jews under him enjoyed complete freedom.
The Sassanid dynasty (226-642 C.E.) ruled, at its peak, over the area covering modern Iran, Iraq, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and a large part of Pakistan. Because of the size of this empire, the title of the king was “King of Kings of Persia and non-Persia”. During the rule of this dynasty, the Jewish population in Persia grew further and spread throughout the region; nevertheless, Jews suffered, from time to time, persecution.
The invasion by Arab Muslims in 642, meant the end of Persia as an independent entity; Islam was installed as the state religion, making a fundamental change for the Jews. Persia became part of a Greater Muslim Empire, putting an end to freedom of religion. All polytheistic and pagan religions were banned all together. All major and minor deities worshipped at that time, were eliminated as false gods. The House of Kaba itself contained 110 such deities all were banished.
The followers of all these religions became ‘kofar’ and were given the choice to either convert or die. Muslim males were made superior to all others including Muslim females. Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Judaism were accepted as inferior religions and their holy books were accepted as such too, but the followers of these religions were assigned to the status of dhimmis, inferiors to the Muslims of this Islamic Empire. Dhimmis were allowed to practise their religion, but were forced to pay extra taxes to the Arab Muslim conquerors. Dhimmis were also prohibited from bearing arms, riding horses, testifying in courts in cases involving a Muslim, and were frequently required to wear clothing distinguishing them from the Muslims. Although some of these restrictions were sometimes relaxed, the overall condition of inequality remained in force until the Mongol invasion.
The overwhelming population of the area in the eighth century was Jewish, Zoroastrian and Christian. Their houses of worship were destroyed, they could not build any new ones and the jizya (a kind of poll tax) was constantly increased. Payment of the jizya was furthermore to be accompanied by signs of humility and recognition of personal inferiority.
Different caliphs had different policies toward their minorities. While the Umayyad governor of Persia Hajjaj (Administration) was ruthless and extremely biased, others were more lenient and did not follow all the discriminatory rules.
There were many Jewish, Christian and Zoroastrian philosophers, physicians, scientists, engineers, musicians and court administrators in the first century of the Muslim Empire. Later on, they gradually converted or were forced out of government services.
The coming of Abbasid (dynastic name generally given to the caliph of Baghdad, the second of the two great Sunni dynasties of the Arab Empire, which overthrew the Umayyad caliphs from all but Spain) improved the position of dhimmi for a while especially during the reign of Al Mansur (the second Abbasid Caliph 712–775). He was a devoted follower of the sciences and supported the great translation movement of the 8th century.
By the ninth century, non-Muslims were all excluded from employment in government sectors, banned from Muslim schools, had to live in ghettos and were forced to wear coloured ribbons to indicate they were non-Muslims. Jews had to wear yellow ribbons a practise that persisted until the end of the 19th century in Persia.
The Jewish people were largely occupied in trade and commerce. Benjamin of Tuleda reports large Jewish and Christian communities in many of the larger cities. He paid a visit to the area after the death of Sultan Sanjar (1157) and mentions Jewish communities in Hamadan, Isfahan, Nihavand, Shiraz, Nishapur and Baghdad.
In 1255, the Mongols led by Hulagu Khan, the grandson of Genghis Khan, attacked and in 1257 they captured Baghdad. Hulagu’s descendants ruled Persia for the next eighty years, beginning as shamanists (a healing rite), then Buddhists and ultimately converting to Islam. Persia and its surrounds became the Mongol division of Ilkhanate. Since in Ilkhanate all religions were equal, Mongol rulers abolished the unequal status of the dhimmi. One of the Ilkhanate rulers, Arghun Khan, even preferred Jews and Christians for the administrative positions and appointed Sa’d al-Daula, a Jew, as his vizier. But the appointment caused resentment in Muslim quarters, and after Arghun’s death, al-Daula was executed in 1291 and the Jewish areas were ransacked in Tabriz and Baghdad.
The Persian Jews suffered a period of violent Muslim-instigated persecutions from the populace, but not before the emergence of for the first time a substantial Jewish-Persian literature.
The next major change came in 16th century, from the Safavid Dynasty. The founder, Ismail Safavi, won enough support from a fanatical sect of Turkish tribesmen, to crown himself shah of Azerbaijan in 1501.
In the next ten years he subjugated Persia (Iran and Iraq); despite the Sunni character of this territory, he proclaimed Shi'ism the state religion. A religious hierarchy was established with unlimited powers and influence on all spheres of life. The concept of “ritual pollution” (najes) of the non-Muslims was introduced. Religious persecution became the norm. Persian Jewish writings bear testament of massacres, forced conversion and mistreatment. A Nasi had been appointed by the authorities to be the head of the Jewish community assisted by a Rabbi or a Dayan. The Nasi was made responsible for the payment of jizya. All relations between Persian Jews and the outside world were completely cut off. Forced segregation for all minorities was reintroduced, and as in Europe, compulsory ghettos were created. Reports by travellers described the tragic situation the Jews had found themselves. Jews were forced to return to wearing both a yellow badge and a distinguishing headgear, to stand out. A Jew who converted to Islam could claim to be the sole inheritor of the family property. If one Jew committed a crime or an illegal act, the whole community would be punished. This carried on till the 19th century.
In 1839, Mohammad Shah Qajar ordered a whole Jewish community in a city to convert to Islam. Yielding to foreign intervention, the decree was reversed. Despite this rabid anti-Semitism, the first modern Jewish school, Alliance, was opened in 1891, by order of the next Shah, Nassereddin, after a long debate and heavy pressure from Europe and the International Jewish Alliance. After it had opened, the students and the teachers had to be escorted by the police to stop the mob from attacking them!
The end of the 19th century saw the beginning of a Constitutional Revolution in Persia. Jews with other minorities were instrumental in forming a multi-ethnic Secret Society in 1905, which began the debate on political change.
Jews, Christians, Bahai and Zoroastrians fought hard with the constitutionalists to form a National Consultative Majlis (parliament) instead of an Islamic Majlis as demanded by the religious hierarchy. Along with other religious minorities they succeeded in their efforts to ratify laws that gave equality with Muslims and non-Muslims (only males!) in 1907 and defined a new concept of Nationality not based on religious origins (with the exception of Bahai who were not recognized). According to the new constitution Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians had the right to elect a single delegate each to the Majlis to represent them, but they were not allowed to participate in general elections. The constitution also prohibited non-Shiite Muslims from becoming a member of the Government. This was ignored by the Phahlavi regime.
In 1921, Reza Khan (later Reza Shah Pahlavi), an officer in Iran’s only military force (Cossack Brigade), used his troops to support a coup against the government of Qajar Dynasty. Within four years he had established himself as the most powerful person in the country by suppressing rebellions and establishing order.
In 1925 a specially convened assembly deposed Ahmad Shah, the last ruler of the Qajar dynasty, and named Reza Khan, who earlier had adopted the surname Pahlavi, as the new Shah.
In 1931, Persia was renamed 'Iran' by the Shah.
Despite all these advancements, Jewish quarters were still attacked and looted in the towns of Mashad, Tabriz and Tehran at the beginning of the 20th century by religious Fatwas. Though the constitution of 1907 put an end to the segregation of religious minorities and Jewish Ghettos, it was at the time of Reza Shah that they were able to integrate in the larger Iranian society without fear from Fatwas.
In 1963, the Shah began a series of social, economic, and political reforms known as the White Revolution. The revolution gave freedom to women and increased secular education at the expense of the religious one. These changes threatened the dominant role of Iran’s mullahs, most of whom feared losing power and moral authority under the White Revolution.
Throughout the 1970s, the Shah continued to anger the Shias who made up the largest part of the population. Intellectuals were frustrated by his autocratic rule and by the corruption of the royal family, who had become wealthy from their five decades in power. Most of these dissidents favoured democracy as and a more equitable distribution of wealth. The middle classes, or bazaaris, were also angry, they felt they had received little benefit from either the White Revolution’s development schemes or from the country’s oil revenues in the ‘70s. These factors contributed to the rise of Ruhollah Khomeini, who in the early 1960s was a relatively unknown ayatollah (holy man).
Firstly, Khomeini was fearless: in 1963, he was the only cleric who dared to attack the Shah’s White Revolution. Secondly, he spoke the language of the people, condemning the Shah’s “injustices” in the name of the “downtrodden” masses. Thirdly, and most importantly, Khomeini was able to transform Shia Islam into a mass ideology that appealed to many groups. Shia clerics were awaiting the return of the 12th Imam, the messianic figure of Shiism whose presence was needed for the establishment of an Islamic state. Khomeini wanted an Islamic state here and now! In 1964 the Shah exiled Khomeini from Iran.
The first of the major demonstrations against the Shah, led by Islamic groups, came in January 1978. Students and religious leaders in Qom demonstrated against a libellous story attacking Khomeini that was printed in the official press. The army was sent in, dispersing the demonstrations and killing several students (two according to the government, 70 according to the opposition). According to Shiite custom, memorial services were held for forty days after these deaths. In mosques calls were made to honour the dead students.
On the 18th of February, groups of people in a number of cities marched in protest against the rule of the Shah. This time, in Tabriz, over a hundred demonstrators were killed. On 29th of March, a new round of protests began. Luxury hotels, cinemas, banks, government offices were destroyed; again security forces intervened, killing many. On 10th of May, the same occurred.
The Shah appealed to the United States for support, but the Carter Administration followed no clear policy on Iran. High-level officials in the State Department believed the revolution was unstoppable. After visiting the Shah in summer of 1978, Secretary of the Treasury Blumenthal complained of the Shah's emotional collapse, reporting, “You've got a zombie out there”.
On the 10th of October 1978, the Ayatollah took up residence in Paris. On 2nd of December, over two million people filled the streets of Tehran to demand the removal of the Shah and the return of Khomeini. On January 1979, the Shah and the Empress left Iran. On 1st of February 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini returned to Tehran to rapturous welcome by several million Iranians.
Fearing for the future, some of the Jews decided to emigrate, signalling the end of the most ancient Jewish community outside of Israel. Some went to the West and some to Israel. Wherever they chose to settle, they made an invaluable contribution. Those who remained lived in fear of pogroms, or massacres.
Iran is still home to some 25,000 Jews. What they lack in numbers, they compensate for with a religious fervour. A worshipper said:
“The funny thing is that before the Islamic revolution, you would see maybe twenty old men in the synagogue. Now the place is full. You can barely find a seat.”
Just as it radically transformed Muslim society, the revolution changed the Jews too.
Families that had been secular in the 1970s started keeping kosher and strictly observing the rules of Shabbat. They stopped going to restaurants, cafes and cinemas (just as well since most such establishments were closed down) and the synagogue became the focal point of their social lives. But testimonies from Jews who have left Iran well after the revolution, suggests serious problems. In written testimony to a congressional subcommittee in February 1996, an Iranian Jew complained of being imprisoned for two years on trumped-up charges of spying for Israel. He also said his arrest was preceded by harassment at work and pressure to convert to Islam.
One cannot complete this essay without referring to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the son of a blacksmith (born 28th October 1956, he is the 6th and current president of the Islamic Republic of Iran). He became President on 6th August 2005, after winning the 2005 presidential election. Ahmadinejad, a rabid enemy of the Jewish people and of Israel, described Israel as a “fake regime” that “must be wiped off the map”. This Holocaust denier, along with other Iranian leaders of the same view, organised conferences and pseudo-academic lectures and exhibits questioning the fact of the Holocaust.
Here are some of his quotes:
“With God's help, the countdown button for the destruction of the Zionist regime has been pushed by the hands of the children of Lebanon and Palestine . . . By God's will, we will witness the destruction of this regime in the near future.”
Speech, as quoted by the Fars News Agency
3rd June 2007
“Israel is destined for destruction and will soon disappear. Israel is a contradiction to nature; we foresee its rapid disappearance and destruction.”
13th November 2006
“I think we have sufficiently talked about this matter and these Holocaust events need to be further investigated by independent and impartial parties.”
16th June 2006
This man may, in the near future, have his finger on the nuclear button aiming the destruction of Israel and creating a second Holocaust. The World and we must do everything possible to stop this latter-day Haman.
31/01/2021 Update: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad served as President of Iran from 2005 to 2013. Hassan Rouhani has been the president since 2013, yet his views on Israel are sadly no different from his predecessor's.
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