Proposals for the Prosperity and Survival of the Zoroastrian Community in the West

Living in Canada as a member of the Zoroastrian diaspora, I have had many thoughts about the future of our community, particularly the Zoroastrian community in North America. I have thought of several suggestions that I consider key for the prosperity and survival of the Zoroastrian community in North America.

• Adopting uniform youth educational standards in each of the Parsi and Irani communities:
• Zoroastrian youth must have a good understanding of their faith, philosophy, history, and culture. All Zoroastrian centers in North America must teach Din Dabireh (Avestan alphabet) to the youth. It is crucial that Avestan is studied and recited in its original script, rather than a roman or Persian transliteration. This way correct pronunciation is attained, and most importantly, a key piece of ancient Zoroastrian identity is being preserved and passed down to the next generation. This knowledge should not just be preserved by mobeds, but by the whole community!
• Unfortunately, there is somewhat of a divide between the Iranian and Parsi Zoroastrian communities. Of course, this is natural when different calendars are followed, different languages are spoken and the outlook and opinions differ between the two communities. Consequently, it is vital that when it comes to religious education, both the Parsi and Irani youth should have set educational standards to bridge this divide. The roots of Parsis and Iranis are the same and the goal of having a set “curriculum” of some sort, will hopefully foster a sense of unity and belonging to a single united Zoroastrian community rather than to a subsection.
• Furthermore, the Persian language should also be taught at Zoroastrian centers across North America. Language is a key part of one's identity and culture. If the children of Persian speaking parents, do not acquire the Persian language, a key part of their heritage and identity is lost. Parsi youth would also greatly benefit from the study of Persian, it would assist greatly in reconnecting them with their ancient roots and heritage. It would enable Parsis to feel more connected not just with the Irani Zoroastrians, but with the whole of the Iranian diaspora in general. Knowledge of the Persian language enables one to tap into vast sources of knowledge on Zoroastrianism and Iranian culture and civilization that is not available in English, or any other language for that matter.  Just like how Jewish children study Hebrew at their Synagogues and Muslims study Arabic at their Mosques, it is vital that Zoroastrian youth must study Avestan and Persian at their Darbe Mehrs/Zoroastrian centers. 

• Encouraging more youth from priestly families to attain mobedship and those from lay families to become mobedyars:
• At least one child from every priestly family should continue the tradition and themselves attain mobedship. This is extremely vital for our survival and development of the community. The ancient wisdom of and knowledge of the mobeds must be passed on to their youth. Moreover, youth from lay families, who are interested in and passionate about their faith, should also be encouraged to become mobedyars.  

• The establishment of scholarships for youth who wish to study Zoroastrian theology and philosophy:
• This would certainly encourage those among the Zoroastrian youth who are interested and passionate in studying the religion academically, to do so. We should aim for the creation of an organization of Zoroastrian Academics, invested in the study and research of Zoroastrianism. 

• Offering religious training courses in North America for Mobeds:
• It is not feasible or practical in the long term, to send individuals to Iran or India to become mobeds/mobedyars. The facilities and resources ought to be developed further in North America for clerical training to occur here. This way, the Zoroastrian communities can become fully developed and self-sufficient. A North American equivalent to a project such as ‘Empowering Mobeds’ would be of great value. Empowering Mobeds is an Indian platform for mobeds to network with each other across India and an interface for behdins to interact mobeds. They frequently organize training sessions, workshops, and events.
• I have since learned that the North American Mobeds Council  (NAMC) does have a program for training and initiating Mobeds and Mobedyars, however it is still in its early stages and could be develloped further to meet the same standards in Iran and India. 

• Adopting uniform standards regarding the acceptance of new Behdins:
• Currently, the California Zoroastrian Center (CZC) is the only Zoroastrian organization in North America that has an official process for accepting converts into the fold. To my knowledge, they must first submit a written request to the CZC board of directors. After reviewing the request the board then refers the candidate to a particular Mobed who then guides and teaches the candidate the fundamental teachings of the Zoroastrian faith. Once this has been completed, the candidate then undergoes the Sedreh Poushi initiation ceremony and receives a certificate. They are then officially a member of the Zoroastrian community. 
• Unfortunately, it seems the CZC is the only Zoroastrian association in North America to have an official process such as this one. It is not feasible in the long term for other Zoroastrian associations to tell those wishing to convert/revert to "go to California". Many Zoroastrian Organizations, if contacted about conversion, will reply stating that they do not perform conversion, however, some of these same organizations, in fact, have initiated people into the faith by performing Sedreh Poushis on them. The reason being is that it depends on the Mobed. Iranian Mobeds generally would not initiate Iranians into the faith here in North America, due to potential political repercussions on them, their families, and the Zoroastrian communities in Iran (It is against the law for a Muslim to leave Islam, it is punishable by death and those who assist them will also be in trouble). However, some of the Iranian Mobeds have no problem with initiating non-Iranians as this is not against Iranian law. At CZC, it is Parsi mobeds who perform the initiations of Iranians, as the Parsi mobeds are not under threat from the Iranian regime and do not travel to Iran nor have family residing there. 
• The majority of those interested in conversion, are of Iranian origins, but unfortunately for whatever reason, even Parsi mobeds in certain places such as Vancouver refuse to initiate them into the faith. 
• Unfortunately many individuals wishing to convert are discouraged by the the responses of Zoroastrian organizations that claim they do not accept converts. For a lot of people as well, they are not able to travel to California to be initiated there.Therefore it is vital that all Zoroastrian Associations in North America are willing and able to initiate new converts into the faith and have a set protocol for doing so, like CZC.