Archive

"How do we as a community tap into the wisdom and lessons of our founding generation here in North America while at the same time empower youth to take their rightful place in leading the community in the next decade?” This issue was explored by the panelists participating in the session "Our Tomorrow Starts Today: A path forward for the next decade for the Zoroastrian community in North America” on the final day of deliberations at the 18th North American Zoroastrian Congress (NAZC) in Houston last December. 

By fostering community engagement, promoting cultural preservation, securing financial stability and leveraging technology for education, the Zoroastrian community can navigate the challenges of today to build a vibrant and resilient future. Moderator Arzan Wadia who runs an architecture and technology practice in New York and is immediate past president of the Federation of Zoroastrian Associations of North America (FEZANA) summed up the recommendations of the panelists. 

North America being considered the hub for innovation and expertise, Persis Driver, co-chair of FEZANA’s Religion Education Committee, recommended that religion, history and culture be taught in an engaging way with collaboration between the older and younger generations. Associate professor of developmental psychology, Driver stated that children have an innate ability to be open-minded so skills to manage conflict should be instilled from a young age while teaching them that the voice must be resolute, the language understood and the tone humble.

Co-founder of the Sacramento Zoroastrian Association, Khodadad Pashutanizadeh who lectures on Zoroastrianism in academic and religious institutions in Northern California introduced himself as "a beneficiary of philanthropy of Zoroastrians in Iran and India.” He said he was "obligated to give back to the community” and has taken it upon himself to bridge Zarathushtis from India and Iran. 

  Photos: Jasmine D. Driver

Additionally paving the path ahead were three youngsters: Ervad Bahrom Firozgary, Kayras Irani and Kimiya Shahzadi. "Community/social interaction prolongs and adds inherent value to your life, is a way to better yourself,” confirmed Firozgary, a sports medicine physician at Scripps Clinic in San Diego, California who has been active as a mobed and volunteer for his community. Those joining in community prayers or attending a congress do so in response to a call to action from the local association promoting inclusivity, productivity and a resilient community, he said.

Having recently completed his presidency and directorship of the Zoroastrian Society of British Columbia where for over 15 years he has been teaching religion to children and organizing social gatherings, Irani spoke of the importance of "mentors who help to ground you and sponsors who serve as catalysts.” A full-time paramedic with the British Columbia Emergency Health Services, he has also been serving as a director of the Zoroastrian Return to Roots where he provides logistical and medical support. 

 "The Zarathushti mindset emphasizes abundance in every aspect of your life. If you want something to happen, be the change,” has been the learning for Shahzadi, co-chair of the Zoroastrian Youth of North America (ZYNA, the youth wing of FEZANA) and chief social media officer for the North American Mobeds Council. Owner of Shahzadi Capital LLC, dealing in real estate, and Love Story LLC, a Zoroastrian matchmaking service, she acknowledged the $ 50,000 (Rs 42.8 lakhs) loan from the Zarathushti Entrepreneurship Development Foundation that propelled her real estate business. 

Shrines need funds

Zoroastrians in present day Iran may not face active persecution although discrimination in employment or business options exist, stated Dr Sarah Stewart in her presentation, "The Path to Modernity: Zoroastrians in Iran speak about their Religious Lives.” Reader emeritus in Zoroastrianism at the School of Oriental and African Studies, she is honorary secretary of the British Institute of Persian Studies. Her fieldwork and research on Zoroastrians living in Tehran, Kerman, Ahwaz and Yazd and some of the rural communities in the vicinity have shown how they have adapted to changes since the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Since the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s when Zoroastrian youth were compulsorily conscripted for defence service, many chose to emigrate leaving behind the older generation who felt an obligation to stay back. "Martyrdom has no resonance in Zoroastrian eschatological belief,” mentioned Stewart. Few Zoroastrians would choose a marriage partner from another faith.

There is not a single Zoroastrian remaining in Zeinabad. Although they do maintain their house, anything of value has been stolen. The cemetery in Zeinabad appears to be a no man’s land. In Hosseinabad, all 12 Zoroastrian houses were boarded up after the water in the canals dried up resulting in fertile lands becoming fallow and farming unsustainable. 

She showed photos of fire temples in Zeinabad and Rahamatabad. The atash behram in Kerman has a double storey ethnographic museum displaying Zoroastrian culture and lifestyle. Zoroastrian shrines need funds for refurbishment. With dakhmas having been reduced to dust, it appears to be a graveside cult on Fravardin mah and roz prayers.

Potent panels

In the post lunch sessions on the third day, there were two panel discussions that Parsiana was unable to attend. The largest number of panelists, 10, participated in the session on "Make your voices heard;” as compared to three in "Empowering Zarathushti Communities with AI (Artificial Intelligence).”

In the session "Make your voices heard,” the speakers delved into dynamic topics that resonate with the challenges and aspirations of today’s Zarathushti community. Led by moderator Zubin Mistry, a senior project manager at Texas Children’s Hospital and executive committee member of the Zoroastrian Association of Houston (ZAH), they focused on contributing towards building a stronger, more connected future for Zarathushtis across generations. 

"One of the biggest challenges facing the Zarathushti faith today is the risk of losing our connection to our roots,” stated Artina Belivan, founder president of the Zoroastrian Association of North Texas Youth Group and FEZANA’s social media influencer. Born of a Zoroastrian father and Hindu mother, Tahsheen Daruwala who is the chair of the Youth Committee at the Zoroastrian Society of Ontario sought to inspire others to embrace the richness and resilience that interfaith families bring.

Past president of FEZANA and co-chair of its Interfaith Activities Committee, Homi Gandhi observed that each immigrant community in North America has created social and physical infrastructure to meet its needs and those of succeeding generations. Since a generation normally spans 28 years (the average time for children to grow up and have children of their own — Wikipedia) he articulated aspects of Zarathushti renaissance the community could expect  to witness two generations hence in 2080. Co-chair of the FEZANA Religion Education Committee, Artemis Javanshir who is a strong advocate for the universal message of Zarathushtra regretted that the community has become insular instead of encouraging all to embrace Daena Vanguhi, the religion of good conscience. With digital information bringing a wider audience for Zarathushtra’s Teachings, she emphasized the importance of moral values over rituals and practices. 

Shared religion rather than national heritage should help bridge the gap between Indians, Pakistanis, Iranians and other cultural groups, believes Jeh Mory who works in finance for an asset management firm and has served as co-chair of ZYNA’s Finance and Fundraising Committee. According to him, "North American societies are unique in their ability to assimilate newcomers, united in their shared thirst for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Greater acceptance of conversion will create more opportunities for growth, believed Darius Tamboli who was co-chair of the social media team and a member of the entertainment committee at the 18NAZC.

An author and illustrator for three books on Zoroastrianism for children, Ashton Zadeh of San Francisco has noticed that many Iranian, Parsi and Kurdish Americans know very little about the Zoroastrian religion and history of Iran. To address this lacuna, he plans to create content to appeal to different generations. Sharmeen Mehri who has collected oral histories and migration stories of South Asian Zoroastrians to the US aims to prepare a community resource whereby important objects of our loved ones can be preserved at home while the background story can be shared with the larger community and interested researchers. An advocate for equity in learning environments, Shirin Mehri elaborated on how "human-centered design principles… can foster inclusivity and community resilience.” 

Addressing attendees of all ages and technical literacy, "Empowering Zarathushti Communities with AI” covered key concepts, tips and tools on using AI in personal and professional life as also how Zoroastrian communities can leverage AI to educate children, run associations locally and globally, foster community engagement and support cultural preservation. The knowledgeable panel included moderator Farzad Sunavala who is principal product manager at Microsoft, Cyrus Jamula who is principal software engineering manager at Microsoft while in his fifth year as president of the Zoroastrian Society of Washington State, and Eric Engineer who had served as the youth director on the global board of the World Zarathushti Chamber of Commerce and is now a partner at S3 Venture, a venture capital firm investing in technology startups. 

The final report on the 18NAZC will appear in the June 21 issue of Parsiana.