/* */

PDA

View Full Version : Iran's proud but discreet Jews



Pure
04-04-2007, 02:33 PM
Iran's proud but discreet Jews

By Frances Harrison
BBC News, Tehran


The Jewish presence dates back nearly 3,000 years.

Although Iran and Israel are bitter enemies, few know that Iran is home to the largest number of Jews anywhere in the Middle East outside Israel.

About 25,000 Jews live in Iran and most are determined to remain no matter what the pressures - as proud of their Iranian culture as of their Jewish roots.


It is dawn in the Yusufabad synagogue in Tehran and Iranian Jews bring out the Torah and read the ancient text before making their way to work.

It is not a sight you would expect in a revolutionary Islamic state, but there are synagogues dotted all over Iran where Jews discreetly practise their religion.

"Because of our long history here we are tolerated," says Jewish community leader Unees Hammami, who organised the prayers.

He says the father of Iran's revolution, Imam Khomeini, recognised Jews as a religious minority that should be protected.

As a result Jews have one representative in the Iranian parliament.

"Imam Khomeini made a distinction between Jews and Zionists and he supported us," says Mr Hammami.

Click to read more
Reply

Login/Register to hide ads. Scroll down for more posts
FatimaAsSideqah
04-04-2007, 02:36 PM
:sl:

It surprised me! I didn't know about that..:rollseyes

:w:

Sister of Islam
Reply

Pure
04-05-2007, 11:51 PM
alhumdullilah you now know :)
Reply

Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
04-05-2007, 11:54 PM
Mashallah. how unfortunate we dont get these types of news a lot. at least then will ppl realize.
Reply

Welcome, Guest!
Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up
lavikor201
04-05-2007, 11:55 PM
Yes I knew about it. Although the Iranian goverment is good to the Jews most of the time, I wish the Iranian people were as tolerant. I have a friend who escaped after a riot when Israel was in a war with Arabs then went from Israel to LA and lives in the huge Iranian Jewish community in LA now.

The Gov is to be comended for protecting Jews though, and I hope they will allow Jewish orginazations to send more prayer books and Torahs to the community.

I wish less of this would happen:


In the Yusufabad synagogue the announcements are made in Persian - most Iranian Jews don't really speak Hebrew well.

Jews have lived in Persia for nearly 3,000 years - the descendants of slaves from Babylon saved by Cyrus the Great.

Over the centuries there have been sporadic purges, pogroms and forced conversions to Islam as well as periods of peaceful co-existence.
These days anti-Jewish feeling is periodically stirred by the media.


Mr Hammami says state-run television confuses Zionism and Judaism so that "ordinary people may think that whatever the Israelis do is supported by all Jews".

During the fighting in Lebanon a hardline weekly newspaper, Yalesarat, published two photographs of synagogues on its front page full of people waving Israeli flags celebrating Israeli independence day.
The paper falsely said the synagogues were in Iran - even describing one as the Yusufabad synagogue in Tehran and locating another in Shiraz.

"This provoked a number of opportunists in Shiraz," explains Iran's Jewish MP, Maurice Mohtamed, "and there was an assault on two synagogues."

Mr Mohtamed says the incident was defused by the Iranian security forces, who explained to people that the news was not true.
And with the coming to power of an ultra-conservative like President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, there has been increased concern internationally about the fate of Iranian Jews.

But Iran has still been a place of relative freedom for Jews. So they are to be comended.
Reply

akulion
04-05-2007, 11:55 PM
we have many jews in pakiland too
Reply

Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
04-05-2007, 11:57 PM
I met a Jewish girl from Iran in my Calculus class 2 semesters ago. Nice girl too lol.
Reply

wilberhum
04-06-2007, 12:10 AM
Jews discreetly practise their religion.
It is sad that hey have to be discreet.

Because of our long history here we are tolerated
Tolerated! That is even sader.
What is wrong with welcome acceptance?
Reply

Philosopher
04-06-2007, 01:18 AM
The Persian Empire was the first to form a kind of Bill of Rights to protect the rights of Jews.
Reply

snakelegs
04-06-2007, 05:57 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by akulion
we have many jews in pakiland too
how many jews do you think there are in pakistan?
i hope non-muslim minorities in pakistan fare better than muslim minorities.
Reply

north_malaysian
04-06-2007, 06:38 AM
I wonder what happen to Malaysian Jews.......:cry:
Reply

Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
04-06-2007, 06:39 AM
^^u tell us..:? lol
Reply

north_malaysian
04-06-2007, 06:44 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Jazzy
^^u tell us..:? lol
All Penangites know that there are Penangite Jews... but they are not really openly practicing their religion....maybe they're scared of anti-semitism remarks given by Malaysian leaders..... it's so sad...

Imagine... even the hardline Muslims in Iran have no problems with Jews practicing their religion.... but the moderate Muslims in Malaysia.....?
Reply

AmarFaisal
04-06-2007, 07:10 AM
My husband has a colleague from Iran who told him that in Iran the jews r mostly goldsmiths n they r such fair traders that Muslims in Iran prefer to go to the Jews to buy gold than to go too Muslims.
Reply

Pure
04-06-2007, 07:08 PM
thats so interesting...
Reply

Philosopher
04-06-2007, 07:09 PM
Dont the Jews have Israel and America to control? What are they doing in Iran?
Reply

wilberhum
04-06-2007, 07:57 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Philosopher
Dont the Jews have Israel and America to control? What are they doing in Iran?
What are Muslims doing in the West?
Every one knows we need to seperate the world by religion.
It is unthinkable to ask people who have different views to tollorate others. :raging:
Reply

Philosopher
04-06-2007, 08:00 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by wilberhum
What are Muslims doing in the West?
Every one knows we need to seperate the world by religion.
It is unthinkable to ask people who have different views to tollorate others. :raging:
Jew is both a nationality and religion. I was referring to the nationality aspect.

Under your reasoning, people like you belong in North Korea,
Reply

wilberhum
04-06-2007, 08:03 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Philosopher
Jew is both a nationality and religion. I was referring to the nationality aspect.

Under your reasoning, people like you belong in North Korea,
Well then we would never want to mix nationalities. What is also unspeakable. Living to gether smaks of tollorance. No one wants that. :?
Reply

Philosopher
04-06-2007, 08:04 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by wilberhum
Well then we would never want to mix nationalities. What is also unspeakable. Living to gether smaks of tollorance. No one wants that. :?
No, long live white nationalism.
Reply

wilberhum
04-06-2007, 08:08 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Philosopher
No, long live white nationalism.
What am I gona do, I'm white, my wife is not. I don't understand how we can love each other. I guess I need to be more intollorant. :D
Reply

north_malaysian
04-07-2007, 02:17 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Philosopher
Dont the Jews have Israel and America to control? What are they doing in Iran?
Because they are Iranians who are loyal to their country... something that Muslims should do in the west.
Reply

Muezzin
04-07-2007, 03:02 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by wilberhum
It is sad that hey have to be discreet.
What makes you think they have to be discreet? I live in a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood, and I've only very rarely seen certain men in the whole traditional attire, but it doesn't automatically follow that Jews in my neighbourhood in the UK are forced to be discreet, does it?

Tolerated! That is even sader.
What is wrong with welcome acceptance?
I think you're reading too much into it. 'Tolerated' and 'accepted' mean the same thing in the context of that sentence.
Reply

wilberhum
04-07-2007, 05:45 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Muezzin
What makes you think they have to be discreet?
Da! Did you notice the title of the thread? :D
Reply

Talha777
04-07-2007, 06:38 PM
Orthodox Jews love Iran. www.nkuk.org

Zionism is a perversion and blasphemy against Judaism. Muslims will do Jews a favor by destroying the state of israel, insha Allah.
Reply

Nσσя'υℓ Jαииαн
04-07-2007, 06:42 PM
Ahh bro, no need to make comments like that :X
Reply

wilberhum
04-07-2007, 07:37 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by Jazzy
Ahh bro, no need to make comments like that :X
You just need to try to ignore him. He lives for hate. He has no purpose in life bet to spread it.
Reply

Muezzin
04-07-2007, 08:02 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by wilberhum
Da! Did you notice the title of the thread? :D
Yes. Or 'da', for my Russian mateys. Discretion is the better part of valour.

Or something.

But I genuinely didn't interpret it as meaning Jews are forced to keep a low profile, the opposite of your interpretation. In my experience, Jews tend to keep a low profile in general - no shame in that. I myself tend to keep myself to myself, but nobody would say I'm forced to be that way.
Reply

Pure
04-09-2007, 02:17 AM
Yeah, I'm pretty discrete in practicing Islam as well.

The middle east has always been rich in diversity of religions and cultures. There were larger populations of Jewish people living across the middle east, including India and China, until Israel was created.
Reply

Hey there! Looks like you're enjoying the discussion, but you're not signed up for an account.

When you create an account, you can participate in the discussions and share your thoughts. You also get notifications, here and via email, whenever new posts are made. And you can like posts and make new friends.
Sign Up

Similar Threads

  1. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 10-03-2015, 06:20 PM
  2. Replies: 2
    Last Post: 04-17-2011, 07:27 AM
  3. Replies: 1
    Last Post: 03-11-2011, 12:47 AM
  4. Replies: 3
    Last Post: 04-02-2008, 10:01 AM
  5. Replies: 3
    Last Post: 10-02-2006, 09:22 PM
British Wholesales - Certified Wholesale Linen & Towels | Holiday in the Maldives

IslamicBoard

Experience a richer experience on our mobile app!