Mumbai, India - A group of Russians and a Ukrainian was recently initiated into the faith in Moscow.
The new members were initiated on May 22 by two members of Anjuman-e-Bozorg Bazgasht (the Zarathushtrian Association of Norway) in Moscow and Mobed Kamran Jamshidi from the Zoroastrian Community of Sweden.
In recent times, several people in Latin America and Eastern Europe have converted to the Zoroastrian faith. Orthodox Parsis are worried about these conversions.
Most of them feel that this is detrimental to the interests of the Parsi community, as conversion conflicts with the basic beliefs of the religion.
Despite dwindling numbers, this section of the community is not ready to compromise on the issue of conversions or inter-religious marriages.
They believe that one can be a Zoroastrian or Parsi only by birth. Their predominant fear from the influx of converts is dilution in the faith’s race and religious heritage.
In response to conversions in the West, Ahmedabad based architect Shehzad Irani says, “We are an ethnic community and you have to be a Parsi by birth. There is no historical evidence of the Parsis going after conversions anywhere.
Those who have converted now are spiritual destitutes. They need new routes to spirituality. We are battling this issue.”
Australia based Shirin Mistry says, “There is nothing like an initiation ceremony (into the faith), for people who aren’t Zoroastrian by birth. The religion does not allow conversions.
It is bad to tell others to leave their religion and shift their beliefs to some other religion. Basically, it is the duty of Zoroastrians to stop anybody from converting to their religion.”
According to Feruza Mistree in Bombay, the initiation ceremony is done at an age between seven and 15 years.
The ceremony is conducted presuming that the child is born to Zoroastrian parents. “Why should there be conversions at all? This is the rape of my religion,” adds Shirin.