Criticism of Zoroastrianism

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Criticism of Zoroastrianism has taken place over many centuries not only from the adherents of other religions but also among Zoroastrians themselves seeking to reform the faith.

Zoroaster

In the early 19th century, a Christian missionary based in British India, John Wilson, claimed that Zoroaster never had a genuine divine commission (or ever claimed such a role), never performed miracles, or uttered prophecies and that the story of his life is "a mere tissue of comparatively modern fables and fiction". Others assert that all the available Zoroastrian sources regarding Zoroaster only provide conflicting images about him, especially between earlier and later sources.

Polytheism

Main article: Yasht

The Yashts are a collection of twenty-one hymns in the Younger Avestan language. Each of these hymns invokes a specific Zoroastrian divinity or concept. Yasht chapter and verse pointers are traditionally abbreviated as Yt.

Critics commonly claim that Zoroastrians are worshipers of other deities and elements of nature, such as of fire, with one prayer, the Litany to the fire (Atesh Niyaesh), stating: "I invite, I perform (the worship) of you, the Fire, O son of Ahura Mazdā together with all fires and Mithra. Some critics have charged Zoroastrians with being followers of dualism, who only claimed to be followers of monotheism in modern times to confront the powerful influence of Christian and Western thought which "hailed monotheism as the highest category of theology". Critics insist that the monotheistic reformist view is seen to contradict the conservative (or traditional) view of a dualistic worldview most evident in the relationship between Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. and arguing that Zoroastrians follow a belief system influenced by henotheism. Other Western scholars such as Martin Haug, however, have dismissed the concept of theological dualism as a corruption of Zoroaster's original teachings, gradually added by later adherents of the faith. Critics add that the fact that such differing views have proliferated is a sign of the enigmatic nature of the Zoroastrian beliefs regarding the divinity.

Continuous variables in religion

Alexander the Great

Encyclopædia Britannica indicates that a Greek religion influenced Zoroastrianism.

In consequence of Alexander's conquest, the Iranian religion was almost totally submerged by the wave of Hellenism. At Susa, for instance, which had been one of the capital cities of the Achaemenids but where the religion of Auramazda was not indigenous, the coinage of the Seleucid and Arsacid periods does not represent a single Iranian deity. Then the Iranian religion gradually emerged again. In Commagene in the middle of the 1st century bce, gods bear combinations of Greek and Iranian names: Zeus Oromazdes, Apollo Mithra, Helios Hermes, Artagnes Herakles Ares. The first proof of the use of a Zoroastrian calendar, implying the official recognition of Zoroastrianism, is found some 40 years earlier at Nisa (near modern Ashgabat in Turkmenistan). By then some form of orthodoxy must have been established in which Auramazda and the entities (powers surrounding him) adjoin other gods such as Mithra, the Sun, and the Moon.

— [1]

Zurvanism

Main article: Zurvanism

Zurvanism is a fatalistic religious movement of Zoroastrianism in which the divinity Zurvan is a first principle (primordial creator deity) who engendered equal-but-opposite twins, Ahura Mazda and Angra Mainyu. Zurvanism is also known as "Zurvanite Zoroastrianism", and may be contrasted with Mazdaism, Zurvan was perceived as the god of infinite time and space and also known as "one" or "alone". Zurvan was portrayed as a transcendental and neutral god without passion; one for whom there was no distinction between good and evil. The name Zurvan is a normalized rendition of the word, which in Middle Persian appears as either Zurvān, Zruvān or Zarvān. The Middle Persian name derives from Avestan (Avestan: 𐬰𐬭𐬎𐬎𐬁𐬥, romanized: zruuān, lit. 'time', a grammatically neuter noun).

Worship of Zurvan

The earliest evidence of the cult of Zurvan is found in the History of Theology, attributed to Eudemus of Rhodes (c. 370-300 B.C.E.). As cited in Damascius's Difficulties and Solutions of First Principles (sixth century CE), Eudemus describes a sect of the Persians that considered Space/Time to be the primordial "father" of the rivals Oromasdes of Light and Arimanius of Darkness

Also, while the Armenian and Syriac sources depict the religion of the Sassanids as having been distinctly Zurvanite, the later native commentaries are primarily Mazdean and with only one exception (10th c. Denkard 9.30) do not mention Zurvan at all. Of the remaining so-called Pahlavi texts only two, the Mēnōg-i Khrad and the "Selections of Zatspram" (both 9th c.) reveal a Zurvanite tendency. The latter is considered to be the latest Zoroastrian text that provides any evidence of the cult of Zurvan. The foreign accounts of the Zurvanite father-of-twins doctrine is substantiated by only a single Persian language source, the Ulema-i Islam ("Doctors of Islam", 13th c.), that, notwithstanding the title, is evidently by a Zoroastrian.

Disappearance.

Internationaal Theologisch Congres toekomst van de religie, religie van de toeko, Bestanddeelnr 925-4729

There is a puzzling question, which is:why the cult of Zurvan vanished, while Mazdaism did not, remains an issue of scholarly debate. Arthur Christensen, one of the first proponents of the theory that Zurvanism was the state religion of the Sasanians, suggested that the rejection of Zurvanism in the post-conquest epoch was a response and reaction to the new authority of Islamic monotheism that brought about a deliberate reform of Zoroastrianism that aimed to establish a stronger orthodoxy.

Robert Charles Zaehner opinion that the Zurvanite priesthood had a "strict orthodoxy which few could tolerate. Moreover, they interpreted the Prophet's message so dualistically that their God was made to appear very much less than all-powerful and all-wise. As reasonable as it might have appeared from a purely intellectual point of view, such an absolute dualism had neither the appeal of a real monotheism nor any mystical element with which to nourish its inner life.

Another possible explanation postulated by Boyce, is that Mazdaism and Zurvanism were divided regionally, that is, with Mazdaism being the predominant tendency in the regions to the north and east ,Bactria, Margiana, and other satrapies closest to Zoroaster's homeland, while Zurvanism was prominent in regions to the south and west ,closer to Babylonian and Greek influence and this is supported by Manichean evidence that indicates that 3rd century Mazdean Zoroastrianism had its stronghold in Parthia, to the northeast. Following the fall of the Persian Empire, the south and west were relatively quickly assimilated under the banner of Islam, while the north and east remained independent for some time before these regions too were absorbed, this could also explain why armenian-syriac observations reveal a distinctly Zurvanite Zoroastrianism, and inversely, could explain the strong Greek and Babylonian influence on Zurvanism.

Darius clearly states in the Biston Inscription that "I am the king by the will of Ahuramazda, and Ahuramazda has entrusted me with power." (Paragraph) This stone inscription does not give us much information about the religious issues of the time. This raises the question: Is the religion mentioned in this stone inscription a type of Zoroastrian religion.

What is common between the Zoroastrian inscriptions and the Achaemenid inscriptions is the name of Ahuramazda, the presence of the Divan, and the principles of falsehood and falsehood. But in these inscriptions other gods are mentioned

Zaradust-e Khuragen

Zaradust-e Khuragen

See also: Zaradust-e Khuragen

In the Sassanid period, Zaradust-e Khuragen founded a new sect called Dar al-Din or Zoroastrianism after himself. He became acquainted with Greek philosophical books, including Plato's Republic, and was influenced by Plato's Utopia. The ideas of Zoroastrian Khuragen, which were mostly economic and social, were introduced to Persian society through his disciple Mazdak. Malalas relates that during the reign of Diocletian, two hundred years earlier, a Manichaean man named Pundus of Mazdak appeared in Rome, with new ideas and opposed to the official Manichaean religion. It is from the words of Bodis: The god of good fought the god of evil and defeated him, so here it is necessary to worship God. Zoroaster Khorgan was in fact a theorist and founder of a tradition that aimed to return to the originality and monotheism ( according to his own understanding of the meaning of monotheism, which was a god of good and a god of evil), the great prophet of ancient Iran, and he encouraged the Sassanid kings to follow this tradition, because in those days when the two principles had different interpretations and explanations of the Zoroastrian religion, the people were disturbed and confused.

Mazdak

Main article: Mazdak

Gold coin of Kavad I, possibly minted at Susa, in 529 or 530

Mazdak was an Iranian Zoroastrian mobad (priest) and religious reformer who gained influence during the reign of the Sasanian emperor Kavadh I. He claimed to be a prophet of Ahura Mazda and instituted social welfare programs.

According to classical sources, not long after Sukhra's execution, a mobad (priest) named Mazdak caught Kavad's attention. Mazdak was the chief representative of a religious and philosophical movement called Mazdakism. Not only did it consist of theological teachings, but it also advocated for political and social reforms that would impact the nobility and clergy.

Coin of the Sasanian king Khosrow I Anushirvan (cropped version), Veh-Andiyōk-Šābuhr (Gundeshapur) mint.

The Mazdak movement was nonviolent and called for the sharing of wealth, women and property, an archaic form of communism. According to modern historians Touraj Daryaee and Matthew Canepa, 'sharing women' was most likely an overstatement and defamation deriving from Mazdak's decree that loosened marriage laws to help the lower classes. Powerful families saw this as a tactic to weaken their lineage and advantages, which was most likely the case. Kavad used the movement as a political tool to curb the power of the nobility and clergy. Royal granaries were distributed, and land was shared among the lower classes.

The historicity of the persona of Mazdak has been questioned. He may have been a fabrication to take the blame away from Kavad. Contemporary historians, including Procopius and Joshua the Stylite make no mention of Mazdak naming Kavad as the figure behind the movement. Mention of Mazdak only emerges in later Middle Persian Zoroastrian documents, namely the Bundahishn, the Denkard, and the Zand-i Wahman yasn. Later Islamic-era sources, particularly al-Tabari, also mention Mazdak. These later writings were perhaps corrupted by Iranian oral folklore, given that blame put on Mazdak for the redistribution of aristocratic properties to the people, is a topic repeated in Iranian oral history.

Muslim conquest of Persia

Main pages: Syncretism and Category:Neo-Zoroastrianism

The orientalist Arthur Christensen in his book ''Iran During The Sassanid Era'', mentioned that the sources dating back to the era of the Sasanian state in ancient Persian that refer to the Zoroastrian doctrine do not match the sources that appeared after the collapse of the state, such as the Pahlavi source and others. The reason is that because of the fall of the Sasanian state, the Zoroastrian clerics tried to save their religion from extinction through modifying it to resemble the religion of Muslims to retain followers in the Zoroastrian religion.

Arthur Emanuel Christensen

Gherardo Gnoli comments that the Islamic conquest of Persia caused a huge impact on the Zoroastrian doctrine.

After the Islamic conquest of Persia and the migration of many Zoroastrians to India and after being exposed to Islamic and Christian propaganda, the Zoroastrians, especially the Parsis in India, went so far as to deny dualism and consider themselves completely monotheists. After several transformations and developments, one of the distinctive features of the Zoroastrian religion gradually faded away and almost disappeared from modern Zoroastrianism

— 

This provides an explanation of why there is numbers of parallels have been drawn between Zoroastrian teachings and Islam. Such parallels include the evident similarities between Amesha Spenta and the archangel Gabriel, praying five times a day, covering one's head during prayer, and the mention of Thamud and Iram of the Pillars in the Quran.

The migration of Parsis to India caused a lack of religious knowledge, which led to doubts in several matters, which made them send men to Iran during the Muslim rule in order to learn the religion from the Zoroastrians in Iran. However, according to the orientalist Arthur Christensen and several Arab historians, the Zoroastrian doctrine changed after the fall of the Sassanid state because the Zoroastrian clerics tried to save their religion from extinction by modifying it to resemble the religion of the Muslims. So that the Zoroastrians would not have a reason to convert to Islam, but this did not succeed in preventing the Zoroastrians from converting to Islam, and it also caused the emergence of a new version of Zoroastrianism that resembled Islam and differed from Zoroastrianism in the Sassanid era.

A map showing Sinbadh's revolt against the Abbasid Caliphate in 137 AH / 755 AD, which ended with the victory of the Abbasids and the elimination of his followers. When Sinbadh fled to Tabaristan, he was killed by a relative of Asbahbadh, the ruler of Tabaristan.

Khurramites

See also: Khurramites

The Khurramites were founded by the Persian Sunpadh al-Majusi - who was a follower of Abu Muslim al-Khurasani - and the Khurramites are a mixture of muslim Shia and Zoroastrianism Mazdakism ; one of the most important reasons for the Khurramite revolt was revenge for the execution of Abu Muslim al-Khurasani, who was killed by Abu Jaafar al-Mansur.

Behafarid

Main article: Behafarid

Behafarid was an 8th-century Persian Zoroastrian heresiarch who started a religious peasant revolt with elements from Zoroastrianism and Islam. He believed in Zoroaster and upheld all Zoroastrian institutions. His followers prayed seven times a day facing the Sun, prohibited intoxicants, and kept their hair long and disallowed sacrifices of cattle except when they were decrepit. His revolt was quelled by the Abbasid general Abu Muslim, and he was executed by hanging. His followers, however, believed that he would descend again. Some of his followers joined the Ustadh Sis movement.

Parsis

Main article: Parsis

In 1860s and 1870s, the linguist Martin Haug interpreted Zoroastrian scripture in Christian terms, and compared the yazatas to the angels of Christianity. In this scheme, the Amesha Spentas are the arch-angel retinue of Ahura Mazda, with the hamkars as the supporting host of lesser angels.

The geographical population distribution of modern and ancient Parsi.

At the time Haug wrote his translations, the Parsi (i.e. Indian Zoroastrian) community was under intense pressure from English and American missionaries, who severely criticized the Zoroastrians for—as John Wilson portrayed it in 1843—"polytheism", which the missionaries argued was much less worth than their own "monotheism". At the time, Zoroastrianism lacked theologians of its own, and so the Zoroastrians were poorly equipped to make their own case. In this situation, Haug's counter-interpretation came as a welcome relief, and was (by-and-large) gratefully accepted as legitimate.

Haug's interpretations were subsequently disseminated as Zoroastrian ones, which then eventually reached the west where they were seen to corroborate Haug. Like most of Haug's interpretations, this comparison is today so well entrenched that a gloss of 'yazata' as 'angel' is almost universally accepted; both in publications intended for a general audience as well as in (non-philological) academic literature.

The migration of Parsis to India caused a lack of religious knowledge, which led to doubts in several matters, which made them send men to Iran during the Muslim rule in order to learn the religion from the Zoroastrians in Iran. However, according to the orientalist Arthur Christensen and several Arab historians, the Zoroastrian doctrine changed after the fall of the Sassanid state because the Zoroastrian clerics tried to save their religion from extinction by modifying it to resemble the religion of the Muslims. So that the Zoroastrians would not have a reason to convert to Islam, but this did not succeed in preventing the Zoroastrians from converting to Islam, and it also caused the emergence of a new version of Zoroastrianism that resembled Islam and differed from Zoroastrianism in the Sassanid era..

The spread of Zoroastrianism

Henrik Samuel Nyberg writes that there is no clear evidence as to when Zoroastrianism began to spread in Ray, the central base of Mughan. He believes that the latest time for this event was when the Achaemenid state was founded. and considered discussions and opinions on Achaemenid Zoroastrianism to be full of partisan prejudice and superstition among scholars of his time and referred to these debates as some of the most painful and misleading. Which did not occur in the human sciences

Diakonov believes that until the middle of the 6th century BC, it was accepted in the eastern part of the Medes, that is, in the ancient Avesta, and from there its teachings spread with changes to western Iran.

According to Arthur Christian Senn, in the time of Darius the Great and Xerxes, the Medes were Zoroastrians, and the Magans were religious and spiritual men of the Achaemenids, but the Achaemenid emperors did not follow the Zoroastrian religion and followed a non-Zoroastrian religion.

Literature

The Encyclopædia Iranica indicates that the stories of Zoroaster's life were distorted by quoting stories from Christianity and Judaism and attributing them to Zoroaster, but the most quotations were from Islam after the entry of Muslims into Persia, as it was a means for the Zoroastrian clergy to strengthen their religion.

The Dasatir-i-Asmani, while being accepted by Zoroastrian communities in Iran and India as genuine, especially by the Kadmi, it is generally believed to be a forgery.

Wilson argued that the Avesta could not be divinely inspired because much of its text was irrevocably lost or unintelligible and Martin Haug, who greatly helped the Parsis of India to defend their religion against the attacks of such Christian missionaries as Wilson, considered the Gathas to be the only texts and only authoritative scriptures that could be attributed to Zoroaster.

Intra-Zoroastrian divisions

Zoroastrian reformers, such as Maneckji Nusserwanji Dhalla, have argued that literary precedence should be given to the Gathas, as a source of authority and textual authenticity. They have also deplored and criticized many Zoroastrian rituals (e.g. excessive ceremonialism and focus on purity, using "bull's urine for ritual cleansing, the attendance of a dog to gaze at the corpse during funerary rites, the exposure of corpses on towers [for consumption by vultures and ravens]") and theological and cosmological doctrines as not befitting of the faith. This orthodox versus reformist controversy rages even on the internet.

Divisions and tensions also exist between Iranian and Indian Zoroastrians and over such issues as the authority of a hereditary priesthood in the transmission and interpretation of the faith, ethnicity and the nature of Ahura Mazda. Historically, differences also existed between the Zoroastrian branches of Zurvanism, Mazdakism and Mazdaism.

Who is a Zoroastrian (Zarathushti)?

Much like the question of who is a Jew?, Zoroastrian identity, especially whether it is adopted through birth or belief (or both), "remains a cause for tension" within the community. Reformers have criticised the orthodox refusal to accept religious converts as one reason for the communities' declining population.

Patriarchy

Zoroastrianism has been criticized for the perception that it promotes a patriarchal system, expressed through such avenues as an all-male priesthood and its historical allowance of polygamy—practiced by Zoroaster himself.

Sources

• Daryaee, Touraj (2014). Sasanian Persia: The Rise and Fall of an Empire. I.B.Tauris. pp. 1–240. ISBN 978-0857716668.
• Daryaee, Touraj; Canepa, Matthew (2018). "Mazdak". In Nicholson, Oliver (ed.). The Oxford Dictionary of Late Antiquity. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-866277-8.
• Dhalla, Maneckji Nusserwanji (1914), Zoroastrian Theology, New York: OUP
• Edwards, E. (1927), "Sacrifice (Iranian)", in Hastings, James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, vol. XI, Edinburgh: T & T Clark
• Frye, R. N. (1983). "The political history of Iran under the Sasanians". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). The Cambridge History of Iran, Volume 3(1): The Seleucid, Parthian and Sasanian Periods. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-20092-X.
• Gray, Louis H. (1927), "Jews in Zoroastrianism", in Hastings, James (ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, vol. VII, Edinburgh: T & T Clark
• Luhrmann, T. M. (2002), "Evil in the Sands of Time: Theology and Identity Politics among the Zoroastrian Parsis", The Journal of Asian Studies, 61 (3): 861–889, doi:10.2307/3096349, JSTOR 3096349
• Shahbazi, A. Shapur (2005). "Sasanian dynasty". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Online Edition. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
• Shayegan, M. Rahim (2017). "Sasanian political ideology". In Potts, Daniel T. (ed.). The Oxford Handbook of Ancient Iran. Oxford University Press. pp. 1–1021. ISBN 9780190668662.