EKurd Daily reports upsurge in interest in Zoroastrianism in the Kurdish regions of Iraq. Some chalk this up to nationalism and some as a response to Islamic extremism.
Zoroastrianism has experienced some extraordinary persecution in it LONG history. During the military campaigns of Alexander of Macedon, a policy of religious tolerance of conquered peoples was practiced WITH THE ONE EXCEPTION of the Zoroastrians whose clergy were killed, temples, destroyed and scriptures burnt when found – revenge for the damage done to Greece during the Persian invasion under Xerxes, roughly a century before Alexander’s time (talk about holding a grudge!) Zoroastrian ranks were decisively thinned again a millenium later with the rise of Islam in the Mediterranean and Near East.
The religion, founded by Zoroaster aka Zarathustra was notable for its monotheism and view of manifest reality being the stage for a cosmic battle between the forces of good and evil.
Read the article here:
http://ekurd.net/iraqi-kurds-revive-ancient-kurdish-zoroastrianism-religion-2015-05-29
