By keeping a low profile, the members of most of Iran's religious minorities can practice their faiths. Among them, it is the Jews who must be most careful. Discriminatory regulations concerning "blood money" – that is, compensation payments in cases of violent death – are soon to be lifted.
A grim Khomeini looks down on the Cathedral of St. Sergius in Teheran, seat of Bishop Sebouh Sarkissian, head of the Armenian Orthodox church in Iran. The gigantic mural is in no way connected to his church, says the cleric; it happens to be there because the neighboring high-rise building belongs to the Ministry of Propaganda – but one should draw no false conclusions from the juxtaposition. "Iran is not hell," he insists. "We're in heaven here compared to Saudi Arabia or Kuwait." The prelate emphasizes that his religious community is free enough to operate 23 schools of its own, five kindergartens and 27 charitable organizations. The Armenians are also permitted to follow their own laws governing family and inheritance.
The two Armenian deputies are on the verge of a breakthrough which they claim to have won not only for the sake of the generally prosperous Armenians, but for all non-Muslim minorities. Though Iran's constitution guarantees the equality of all believers, in practice that is not really the case. The greatest stumbling block is the different standard for so-called blood money, the compensation which must be paid when someone is killed – in an automobile accident, for example. While the blood money for a Muslim victim is generally about 15,000 dollars, the family members of a Christian victim receive only half that, or less (the same is true when the victim is a female, regardless of her religious affiliation). Bishop Sarkissian is optimistic that the law revoking this injustice will be approved, since in his view it would never have gotten as far as it has without the prior approval of the country's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
Isfahan has been the heart of the Armenian presence in Iran since Shah Abbas I had about 100,000 artisans brought here from their Armenian homeland in 1604. The Safavid ruler needed the workers to build his capital with that splendor which the buildings dating from the period still radiate today. Abbas settled the Armenian artisans far off on the other side of the Sayandeh River, in Jolfa. Here, in 1638, they issued the very first book ever printed in the Middle East, according to the proud librarian Minassian, who points to 800 additional volumes which have since been published here in the Armenian language. Isfahan's modern sections have long since grown to surround the old Armenian quarter.
In order to maintain better control of their political messages, Iran's ruling ayatollahs have decreed that the Friday sermon may be delivered only in one single mosque in each city. But Isfahan's Friday preacher, Ayatollah Taheri, has turned out to be not a willing mouthpiece of the conservatives but a reformer. And because he enjoys great prestige as the oldest Friday preacher in the country, the conservatives cannot simply remove him. But the mullahs are spending a huge amount of money to have a gigantic new mosque built across the river, where the Friday sermons are to be delivered in future. In speaking of religious problems, says one follower of the reform-minded ayatollah, it should not be forgotten that many Muslims also found themselves facing difficulties after Khomeini came to power.
The synagogue stands completely unguarded. An old man with a bushy beard opens the door to us. Inside, a few members of the 1,500-member Jewish community are engaged in reading Scripture. Among them are some young men and children. One young man comments that those who wanted to emigrate to Israel have long since done so. To which a wrinkled old woman adds: "This is our country. We are Iranians!" Her words appear to accord with those of the governor of Isfahan Province, who remarked during an interview: "Life here is much more comfortable than in Israel." But the truth is that all is not pure delight behind the scenes. This was made clear two years ago in Shiraz, when a group of Jews were put on trial for allegedly spying on the nearby Bushehr nuclear station on behalf of Israel. After an appeal, the charges were reduced to "collaboration with Israel," but even that was enough for ten Jews (and two Muslims) to receive prison sentences of up to nine years. The intimidation of Shiraz's Jewish community is still palpable today. The administrator of the Rabbi Zadeh synagogue, the only one of 13 Jewish places of worship to remain open on a daily basis, refuses to comment on the trial without approval from the Ministry of Information. The only remark he lets slip is that the defendants were not guilty.
Local Jewish sources reveal that the four prisoners with the lowest sentences have already been released, and the last of the convicted men will be out in five more years at most. The prisoners are permitted one three-hour visit from their families per month, under the supervision of three guards. About 4,000 Jews live in Shiraz today, and emigration has reportedly increased since the trial. When you ask local Jews directly about their lives, you are likely to receive only the stereotypical reply that they feel comfortable in Iran and are not subjected to any difficulties.
All missionary activity is strictly forbidden in Iran. The religious authorities here react most sensitively to the Bahai, who are regarded as heretics and were horribly persecuted after Khomeini came to power. No one here wants to talk about this. Those Bahai who were born into that faith are reportedly now left in peace. But anyone openly converting to that religion – or any other except Islam – will feel the full retributive weight of the Sharia, Muslim religious law.
May 30, 2002 / First published in German, May 25, 2002
©Copyright 2002, Neue Zürcher Zeitung AG
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