Tuesday, December 16, 2008

FYI - Zoroastrianism Growing (Slowly) in Illinois


Years ago I studied Persian dualism, aka Zoroastrianism. The Chicago Tribune reports that in the last 50 years their local Zoroastrian community has grown from 50 to 600. The growth is due to immigration of Z-ians from countries like India and Iran.

The Tribune article says: "Founded by the prophet Zoroaster in what probably was about 1400 B.C., Zoroastrianism teaches that God, the good Ahura Mazda, is opposed by the evil Angra Mainyu, but that good will ultimately vanquish its foe.Beginning in 549 B.C., the belief flourished for more than 1,000 years as the state religion of three empires centered in what is now Iran, and scholars cite its importance in influencing three monotheistic religions: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.There are 125,000 to 200,000 Zoroastrians worldwide, most of them in Iran and India, where they fled persecution in Islamic Iran and during the Mongol invasions."

For an explanation of the symbol go here.