Iranian Jewish Identity
Identities according to Barker" are wholly social constructions and can not exist outside of cultural representation."
Iran is a country of several ethnicities, languages, local cultures, religions which have lived peacefully during a long period. Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, are the main religions in Iran.
Despite the fact that the majority in Iran are Muslims, Jews as a religious minority, are considered as "people of Book", who have been legally benefited by the Constitution. Iran has the largest population of Jews of all the Muslim countries.
Although after the revolution in Iran some of them immigrated to U.S and Israel, those Jews who remained have the full citizenship. They exercise freely their religious practices and festivals. They can participate in political elections and have a seat in Parliament.
With an anti Zionism approach among Iranian administration and people, Jews community in Iran has not been mixed with Zionists or Israelis, only they have been considered as Jewish Iranians.
It seems that Jewish identity in Iran, formed by their nationality and their religion, is very different from the Jewish identity in other parts of the world. They do not consider themselves, as the only chosen nation by God, but as the followers of Moses.
Iranian culture has influenced Iranian Jews and shaped the most part of their identity. The Jewish culture has been adjusted to the Iranian culture so that, apart from the religious attitudes, they don’t separate themselves from other Iranian citizens. But at the same time they represent themselves as a different community and try to pass Jewish values through generations in family unit and educational system.
Identities according to Barker" are wholly social constructions and can not exist outside of cultural representation."
Iran is a country of several ethnicities, languages, local cultures, religions which have lived peacefully during a long period. Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism, are the main religions in Iran.
Despite the fact that the majority in Iran are Muslims, Jews as a religious minority, are considered as "people of Book", who have been legally benefited by the Constitution. Iran has the largest population of Jews of all the Muslim countries.
Although after the revolution in Iran some of them immigrated to U.S and Israel, those Jews who remained have the full citizenship. They exercise freely their religious practices and festivals. They can participate in political elections and have a seat in Parliament.
With an anti Zionism approach among Iranian administration and people, Jews community in Iran has not been mixed with Zionists or Israelis, only they have been considered as Jewish Iranians.
It seems that Jewish identity in Iran, formed by their nationality and their religion, is very different from the Jewish identity in other parts of the world. They do not consider themselves, as the only chosen nation by God, but as the followers of Moses.
Iranian culture has influenced Iranian Jews and shaped the most part of their identity. The Jewish culture has been adjusted to the Iranian culture so that, apart from the religious attitudes, they don’t separate themselves from other Iranian citizens. But at the same time they represent themselves as a different community and try to pass Jewish values through generations in family unit and educational system.
No comments:
Post a Comment