Nearly 100 Zoroastrians from the USA, Canada, India and the UK participated in the convention of the Parliament of the World’s Religions (PoWR) in Chicago from August 14 to 18, 2023. The 130-year-old interfaith movement drew around 7,000 participants from more than 200 diverse religious, indigenous and secular beliefs and more than 80 nations, to advance the theme of "A Call to Conscience: Defending Freedom and Human Rights,” noted a report by Bakhtavar Desai, co-chair of the Interfaith Activities Committee of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) on the website fezana.org.
FEZANA presented over two dozen programs at the Parliament on tracks of Faith and Interfaith Understanding, Climate Action, The Global Ethic, Peace and Justice, The Next Generation, Women and Girls, Science and Religion at Chicago’s McCormick Place Lakeside Center.
Two of the dozen signatories of the Global Ethic Declaration were retired Justice Rohinton Nariman from India and Sousan Abadian from the US who served as a Franklin Fellow at the U.S. State Department’s Office of International Religious Freedom, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor for a two-year period prior to the pandemic. The Global Ethic is a landmark declaration of the PoWR stating the universal values and principles shared by the world’s religious, spiritual and cultural traditions. Enshrined in the Ethic is respect for all living beings and preservation of the earth; responsibility for one’s actions; commitment to a culture of non violence, respect, justice, peace; and understanding of one another for a socially beneficial, peace fostering and nature friendly way of life.
Among the Luminary Speakers invited by the Parliament were Nariman who spoke in the Community Plenary; Abadian, in the Crisis Plenary; and Parisa Khosravi in the Conscience Plenary. Khosravi is senior vice president for CNN Worldwide, in charge of global relations. Other scholars who lent their support were Dr Niaz Kasravi, Dr Rashna Writer, Prof Jamsheed Choksey besides leading Zoroastrian educators, community leaders and next generation influencers.
FEZANA also had an Exhibit Booth with three well received exhibits — Cyrus and the Cyrus Cylinder; a collage of messages on human rights from Zoroastrians around the world, arranged in the shape of a Farohar; and a display on the Swastika symbol. A booth in the PoWR Kids section had for its theme "Birth of Human Rights and Care for Creation.” At the Faith Room "daily talks on Zoroastrian ceremonies and exhibits on our cultural and religious art and artifacts further spread awareness about our heritage,” stated Desai.
Top and above: some of the senior and young Zoroastrians at the
Parliament of the World’s Religions convention in Chicago
Dolly Dastoor and Mahrukh Motafram, the two Zoroastrian board members of the Parliament, Homi Gandhi and Desai who co-chair the Interfaith Activities Committee at FEZANA had involved diverse community voices in the Parliament. The Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Chicago (ZAMC) under the leadership of Jamshed Rivetna helped in significantly recruiting a large team of enthusiastic and willing children, youth and adult volunteers to help out at the booths and the Faith Room plus lead the planning of Zoroastrian participation in the Parade of Faiths a day before the Parliament commenced. "We had a good sized delegation marching in the Parade in FEZANA t-shirts made specially for this Parliament, carrying ZAMC and FEZANA banners, and symbols with Zoroastrian messages,” reported Desai. Additionally Zoroastrian music and dance performers of all ages from the US and Canada participated in the Parliament programs.
"Every four years, the Zoroastrian faith shines brightly at the PoWR thanks to the hard work of our leadership teams and respected speakers who showcase the beauty and majesty of our storied religion,” commented FEZANA president Arzan Wadia.