Analysis of the Contents
of the 26-page Packet
What would you as a reader expect to see in <<A
Global Protest compiled by Zoroastrians Worldwide February 4th, 2000>>?
Obviously, letters of protests from all over the Globe of "The Seven Climes
-- Haft Keshvar Zamin"!
Let us open the envelope!
The "Contents List" lists eleven "Selected
Protest Letters" by:
(1) Bombay Parsi Punchayet (signed by Mr. Jamshed N. Guzder, the President).
(2) North American Mobeds Council (signed by Ervad Jal Birdy, the President)
(3) Bombay Zoroastrian Jashan Committee, (signed by Mr. Cowasjee N. Dinshaw, President)
(4) Dastur Nadirshah P. Unvalla, High Priest, Bangalore (no signature but typed name)
(5) Ervad K.N. Dastoor, Bombay (no signature but typed name, e-mailed by H.M. Mistry)
(6) Traditional Zarathushtri Mailing List (TMZL) (typed: Membership of the TMZL)
(7) A letter carrying the name "His Worshipful the Mayor, Councillor Filly K. Maravala" of London.
(8) Traditional Mazdayasni Zoroastrian Anjuman (typed: Members, Office Bearers and Trustees, TMZA)
(9) Noshir Dadrawala (name typed as Associate Editor, Jame-Jamshed Weekly and Editor, Deenparast)
(10) Dini Avaz Committee, Parsi Pukar Committee & Dadar Jashan Trust (typed, e-mailed by H.M. Mistry)
(11) Mr. Khojeste Mistree, Zoroastrian Studies (typed,
e-mailed by Khojeste Mistree)
My packet does not contain:
<<B. Protest Letters from Individuals Worldwide>> reportedly e-mailed by <<over 190 protestors.>>
<<C. Signatures Collected From Protesting Zarathushtis>> reportedly mailed by << over 400 signatures.>>
<<D. Sample Offending Letters posted by Mr. Ali A.
Jafarey.>> Reportedly made of <<13 sample fragments, which Mr.
Jafarey has posted on the Internet over the years.>>
However, the letter by TMZA has the three and not thirteen
"letters," attached earlier by Ervad Jal Birdy as a proof of his
accusations. If it means the 13 "instances" given in phrases and
sentences e-mailed by Mr. H.M. Mistry on behalf of Dini Avaz Committee, Parsi
Pukar Committee and Dadar Jashan Trust of Mumbai, India, then I have dealt with
them both in the Introduction and the detailed Analysis.
The distortion and twisting of these three
cut-to-serve-the-purpose pieces and not "letters" have been proven on
the Internet with a Challenge yet to be responded by the President of the North
American Mobeds Council and the Vice-President of the Traditional Mazdayasni
Zoroastrian Anjuman. The letters and their relevant responses are given on Pages
16-41.
A mere glance at the list shows that:
(a) Out of the eleven "Selected Protest Letters,"
six are from Bombay, one from Banglore [that makes seven from western India],
one from London, and two from North America sharing a common high official, and
one from a dubious location -- Sydney-rigged-to-Los Angeles? -- by a well-known
rumor-cum-uproar-monger better seen and judged on his www.zoroastrianism.com of
hundreds of pages.
(b) All are dated 30 January to 5 February 2000, just on
the eve of the Executive Committee meetings on 6 and 7 February. That appears to
be more magic than logic, in fact, an extraordinary frantic trick that did not
leave any time for the "accused" to respond in defense. Traditionalist
chivalry!
(c) No "Introduction" as to what the
"Zoroastrians Worldwide" is, a registered organization with an
approachable postal address, an Ad Hoc committee formed by a number of known
persons for this particular protest, or simply a devised name to make the cover
page of the package and evidently meant to mislead the reader!
(d) The Introduction of the 26-page collection does not
carry any name, address or signature of the person/organization, which has
compiled the collection. It only carries the date <<February 4th,
2000.>>
(e) With the exception of two -- the fax dated 2 February
by the Parsi Panchayet and the Bombay Zoroastrian Jashan Committee -- none show
the "scribed" signatures of the senders. All are typed. One
paradoxically carries the typed signature as: His Worshipful The Mayor
Councillor Filly K. Maravala. Another simply as "Membership of the TMZL"
with no explanation as what the initials stand for and as to where it is
located. Yet another as "Members, Office Bearers and Trustees, TMZA."
The fourth is an e-mail sent by one "H.M. Mistry" with "Dini Avaz
Committee, Parsi Pukar Committee, Dadar Jashan Trust" as the senders at the
bottom with no address. Yet another, also e-mailed by "H.M. Mistry,"
has the name "Ervad K N Dastoor" at the bottom and without an address.
Addressed to Mr. Homi M. Davier, Mrs. Dolly Dastoor, and/or
Mr. Framroze Patel; Ervad Jal Birdy is the person who has received most of the
copies of the packet. With the exception of the faxed copies of the Punjayat,
the Bombay Zoroastrian Jashan Committee, the letter by Dastur Nadirshah Unvalla
of Banglore, TZML, and Mr. Maravala; the rest share a common font type and size
-- a clear indication that only one person, who used his/her computer, is the
downloader and compiler of the collection. My good guess is Ervad Birdy. His
letter/s, added by his e-mail postings to a large number of persons, show him in
the forefront.
It may be noted that Ervad Birdy, President of the North
American Mobeds Council and the Vice-President of TMZA, has his name and does
not, like others, do it in the name of the Board, Committee/s, Membership, or
Trustees. Does this show that he had the consensus of all his Council colleagues
-- particularly Ervad Yezdi Antia, Ervad Dr. Kersey Antia, and Ervad Dr. Jehan
Bagli, or he did it as his own pet organization? Most of the letters have no
postal addresses. All point to a fine formal way of protest: They have been
motivated by and channeled through and sent from a single source!
(f) The contents and the style of protest letters are, with
the exception of Mr. Khojeste Mistree's, either copies or paraphrases of what
appears in the allegations made on the Traditional Mazdayasni Homepage --
www.zoroastrianism.com. Its "operator" has been monotonously harping
on the Internet for the last five years. He is strangely a person who is hardly
known among his co-religionists in Sydney but is well-publicized, well-supported
and well-fed on the Internet and the Parsi press by the North American
Traditionalist leaders.
I am attaching herewith my replies to each of the above and
more. As to what I have stated in my postings, let me make it clear that
whatever I have said, has been published in my books and research articles. They
are in black and white on paper. They are not up in the air on Internet,
postings which can "easily and actually" be manipulated by any vested
interest to suit his/her ulterior motive. My books and research articles provide
all the references to what I state in them.
The books have been published by the Zartoshti Women's
Organization and the Zartoshti Youth Organization, Tehran. They have been
reprinted in Los Angeles. In addition, I have a number of more books in English
and Persian. All can be obtained from the Zarathushtrian Assembly, 1814 Bayless
Street, Anaheim, CA 92802 or Books N Bits, 18500 Pioneer Blvd., Artesia, CA
90701. Here is a list:
1.Yasna Haptahati, an attempt at restoration of meter and
translation of re-versified text, Tehran, 1975.
2. Good Conscience, The Rational Religion of Zarathushtra, Rawalpindi
(Pakistan), 1976.
3. The Passing Away of Asho Zarathushtra, a treatise based on sources in Avesta,
Pahlavi, Arabic, and Persian Scriptures, Karachi (Pakistan), 1980.
4. Fravarane, I Choose for Myself the Zoroastrian Religion, a guide for the
initiation ceremony, Westminster, California (U.S.A.), 1988
5. The Gathas, Our Guide, the thought-provoking divine songs of Zarathushtra,
translation and annotation, Cypress, 1989.
6. The Zarathushtrian Religion, a chronological perspectives, Cypress,
California (U.S.A.), 1992.
7. Zarathushtrian Ceremonies based on the Gathas, Cypress, California (U.S.A.),
1992.
8. An Outline of the Zarathushtrian Religion and Zoroastrianism, Cypress,
California (U.S.A.), 1992.
9. The Avesta At A Glance, Cypress,
California (U.S.A.), 1999.
10. The Zarathushtrian Religion, A Chronological Perspective, Vol.1, The Avestan
Period, Cypress, California (U.S.A.), 2000.
The author has the following books in Persian on the Good
Religion and the Institutionalized Zoroastrianism:
1. Payām Zartosht (The Message of Zarathushtra), published
by the Zartoshti Women's Organization, Tehran, 1967; 2nd edition by the
Zoroastrian Youth Organization, Tehran, 1974.
2. Haft Hāt (The Haptanhaiti), published by the Ancient Iran Cultural Society,
Tehran, 1974.
3. Zartosht va Dīn-e Behi (The Good Conscience), by the Tehran Zoroastrians
Anjoman, Tehran, 1976.
4. Golchini az Khordeh Avesta (Gems from Khordeh Avesta), by the Zoroastrian
Youth Organization, Tehran, 1979.
5. Sotut Yasn, published by the
Zoroastrian Youth Organization, Tehran, 1980; 2nd edition, Cypress, 1993.
6. Khordeh Avesta, (co-author Dr. Mehraban Khodavandi), by California
Zoroastrian Center, 1983.
7. Payāmi ze Zartosht Espantamān, Cypress, 1985.
8. Ashenayi bā Zartosht, Ushta Publications, Cypress, 1989.
9. Dīn-e Behi-ye Zartoshti va Zartoshtigari, Cypress, 1997.
The research articles on the Good Religion and the
Institutionalized Zoroastrianism have been published in:
(1) The bulletin of the Ancient Iranian Cultural Society,
Tehran (founded and run at that time by the late Dr. Fereidun Varjavand, the
late Mehraban Mehr [the father], Ms. Farangis Shahrokh, Dr. Farhang Mehr [the
son], and a few other Iranian dignitaries).
(2) The monthly "Hūkht" of Tehran with the late Dr. Rostam Sarfeh and
the late Mr. Ardeshir Jahanian on the Editorial Board, both outstanding
Zartoshti leaders.
(3) Monthly Chistā, Tehran with Mr. Parviz Malekpour (at that time, the
Zartoshti Represenative in the Iranian Parliament) and Parviz Shahriari, an
outstanding Zartoshti journalist (for those who Shervin Shahriari, his father).
(4) The California Zoroastrian Center bulletin "Mahnameh."
(5) Zarathushtrian Assembly bulletin "SPENTA."
Note: This does not include my essays on the Good Religion
and Ancient Iranian Culture and History published in top Persian periodicals of
Tehran and Los Angeles.
Further to the above ready references, all my essays, which treat the subjects picked out by the 11 "Protest Letters," are available in full at the Zarathushtrian Assembly Homepage <www.zoroastrian.org>. All one has to do is to visit the site and click each of the articles under their respective titles.
A number of questions obviously arise by scrutinizing the
26-page packet:
(1) Do these eleven organizations-cum-individuals represent
the entire Globe?!!?
(2) Why the Vada Dasturjis -- Dr. Hormazdiar Mirza, Dr.
Feroze Kotwal and Dr. Kaikhushroo JamaspAsa -- are left out? They have been
always quick in alerting the community of the slightest "heretical"
move and in condemning it. They know me and my writings since 1964.
(3) What about dozens of other Zoroastrian and Parsi
Anjumans in India, particularly in Delhi, Bombay, and Pune (the "home
town" of some the Traditionalists on or behind the list)? Do they count or
not?
(4) Why does this Globe of the "Protestors" not
have Iran, the Home (Māder-e Vatan) of Zoroastrianism and the second
concentration of the majority of the so-called "born" Zoroastrians in
the world in its list? No Zartoshtis living in Iran, whose very life, according
to the "protestors," hangs on the danger posed by Jafarey, has ever
questioned my "misleading and damaging" essays!
(5) Why is there no Iranian Zartoshti residing abroad recorded on the protest list? This, however, exceptionally excludes one family and half of the "Iranis" born and brought up in Pune and Bombay (India) and now residing in Los Angeles, who have become the champions of Traditionalism.
(6) Why the Council of Iranian Mobeds of North America, far
more active than its counter-part of the North American [Parsi} Mobeds Council,
did not join in this Global "Holy War?" Was it approached to be
awakened to the looming danger? If yes, why did it not respond? If no, why was
it put away alongside scores of other Zoroastrian organizations?
(7) Does it mean that the Iranian Zartoshtis in Iran and abroad are afraid, unaware and soundly asleep, or dumb, deaf, drugged and blind to the danger looming large over their heads at least for the last ten years? Does it imply that the Parsis of the Traditionalist camp had to wait for ten years to suddenly rise and point the danger out to the Zoroastrian world on the eve of WZC Executive Board meeting? One would naturally expect the Iranians to shout first and fast against Jafarey whom they know better than any of the Parsi Traditionalists for the last 50 years. Is this very excuse not a grave insult to the Iranian Zartoshtis for their taken-for-granted ignorance and inactivity about a matter, which if true, should be of vital importance for their safety?
I need not point out that it was the only two Iranian dignitaries on the Congress Executive Body who proposed my name. One stood to the very last by casting his positive vote and the other is not reported to have opposed it. What does this show? The very very lame excuse by the Traditionalists, which I repeat, is a grave insult to the dignity of the Iranian Zartoshtis.
(8) Why most of my books and articles have been published
by Iranian Zoroastrian organizations in Iran and the United States and are still
being sold by them? Does it mean that they are so naļve as not to know what I
have written in them? The Parsis may muse themselves by calling Iranian
Zoroastrians as Junglies but the facts prove them to be far learned and advanced
by the very Parsis who think them so or raise false alarms on their behalf.
(9) Why of the 20 plus member associations of FEZANA, all dominated by Parsis (with the exception of three which are formed by Iranians), only one association, the Traditional Mazdayasni Zoroastrian Anjuman, is playing a lone, leading part in the protest?
(10) Why are the Zoroastrian House in London and the
Zoroastrian Associations in Gothenburg (Sweden), Berlin and Hamburg (Germany),
Paris (France), Sydney and Perth (Australia), Wellington (New Zealand),
Singapore and other parts of the "Globe" -- all administrated by the
Traditionalists term "born" Zoroastrians -- absent in the List?
(11) Why the supposed 5000 <<signatures collected from protesting Zarathushtis>> are not available for verification? Were they signed (?) by independent individuals? Do most of them, the way the London-Lord-Mayor has done, belong to a far less number of families all of whose members were made to sign(!) the paper? Were they all from one town -- Bombay or the "worldwide?"
(12) Why none of the persons who mention the
"alleging" letters support their statements by producing "in full
contexts" and not in cut, distorted, and twisted pieces from my writings to
prove their truth? Why some simply copy from what they see in unquoted
allegations by others? Does it not prove that they are all false accusations and
are solely aimed at misleading the simple Parsi laity who have no access to the
originals?
(13) What made Mr. Khojeste Mistree of the Zoroastrian
Studies to suddenly remember <<the North American Houston Congress, when
instead of focussing on his topic of Islam and Zoroastrianism, he digressed and
went into the merits of the conversion, way beyond the scope of his talk.
>> after ten years? He himself was a participant and his brother, Prof.
Farrokh Mistree, was in charge of the papers.
(14) Why are the officials trying so hard to include Prof.
Kaikhosrov D. Irani? Every person knows that he and his loving wife are two of
the original seven founders of the Zarathushtrian Assembly, and that both are
active members of it! I do not ever remember him differing from any of my
viewpoints on the Good Religion. Why him? Is it because some of the high
officials want to mend a little of what has been forcibly torn by certain
extremists?
(15) The same is true about Mrs. Dina McIntyre, Dr. Farhang
Mehr and Mr. Adi Davar. They belong to the original founders and continued
supporters of the Assembly. All the above four persons are shown in <<The
Preliminary Program>>as prominent participants of the Congress.
(16) The most important Question: Why were the Youth forced into neutrality? Is this the way the aging old generation gives importance to its own future generation? Are they being treated as young and mature adults or merely entertained as children who have to be told a hundred "no, no, don't" before one "yes, you may have it"?
Perhaps a befitting reply to all the above notes and
questions was supplied by Mr. Kaizad Anklesaria in his e-mail of 23 February on
the Zoroastrian Alias (zoroastrians@listbot.com). He let the cat out:
<<The executive committee of World Parsi Congress 2000 (WPC2000) met, and
under extreme pressures from T. & G. Aresh, they voted to ban Dr. Jafarey
from the congress. The vote was 5 negative to 1 positive with 3 abstentions.
Thanks to Dr. Anoushirvani for fighting alone.>>
If the report is correct, it means that only a husband and
wife are behind the entire move. With the names of Ervad Jal Birdy, Ervad K.N
Dastoor, and Mr. Khojeste Mistree on the list, one can well understand why only
ONE association of all the North American organizations, only one Mobeds Council
of the two councils, only one "scholar" (?) of scores of recognized
"born Zarathushti" scholars; and why none of the Zoroastrian
organizations in Iran, North America, Europe and Australia are present on the
List. Their Globe with only four geographical dots is but a small ornament on a
corner table in a living room of a dream house!
And the positive vote cast by Dr. Ardeshir Anoshiravan, who
was also authorized to represent the second Iranian on the Board, Dr. Mehrborzin
Soroushian (who could not attend the meeting), unless denied by a formal Iranian
body, represents the vote by all Iranian Zartoshtis.
The same was the case in Kansas City in 1995. The couple,
with only one vote against the entire gathering of the FEZANA members,
successfully insisted that I be barred from attending the Seminar or else FEZANA
would withdraw its sponsorship of the Seminar. The couple never expected that
the Kansas City Association with Dr. Daryush Jahanian as a top member, and the
Zoroastrian Association of Greater New York (ZAGNY), with Prof. Irani as its
President, would come forward to sponsor it. FEZANA withdrew. The two
associations came forward. The seminar was attended by all those present at the
FEZANA AGM and more. The allotted
hall was full with many standing. The exception: The couple who were seen
outside the Seminar hall in the hotel lobby. The seminar was a great success and
a backlash to those who opposed it. And according to Mr. Rustom Kevala, the
Treasurer of FEZANA, <<As far as I remember, there was never any
resolution specifically to not invite Dr Jafarey to FEZANA-sponsored events.
The resolution stated that "in matters of great importance to the
community, the vote of even one Member Association of FEZANA would be
binding". I think this was rammed through by TMZA.
Later, it was declared unconstitutional and has been rescinded.
The seminar led by Dr Jafarey did take place in Kansas city, just prior
to the 1995 FEZANA AGM. I don't
blame Dr Jafarey for being bitter about the way it was handled.
I was present there.>> (posted on zoroastrians@listbot.com on
<<1/13/00 12:24:54 PM Pacific Standard Time>> and a copy e-mailed to
me)
The letter by the Traditional Mazdayasni Zoroastrian
Anjuman has first lamented in its "Protest Letter" that <<We do
not how many times our lives will have to be disrupted exerting our battle this
issue again and again.>> It has then declared its resolution that
<<One thing is certain, however, that TMZA will spare no pains to
safeguard our community from destruction by outside forces, what ever the
cost.>> A threat to a certain person or a challenge to a movement that is
gaining momentum at an uncontrollable speed?
The whole affair has not been a "game of chance"
in which the dice is cast. It has been a part of the last ditch battle by the
Traditionalists. The cat is out: it is wealth and not the never-proven and
can-never-be-proven accusations that have made the Congress Executive Board meet
in a hush-hush meeting to bar me from participating in the Congress.
That makes one wonder. Had some one promised a substantial
amount of donation for holding the Congress and then threatened to withdraw if
Jafarey is allowed to participate? This makes one also pity the future of the
Institutionalized Zoroastrianism, which hangs by a thin string that could snap
any time.
The Traditionalist leaders have not learned a lesson from
the Kansas Congress. FEZANA, pressured by them, withdrew its sponsorship but it
could not stop the Seminar. Two associations came forward and made a success of
it. The World Congress may have the same fate. The withdrawal by a couple and
the colleagues, and the support by hundreds of donors from all over the world
would make the Congress a true Congress of World Zoroastrians. All, whether born
in a Zoroastrian family to be brought up by them as Zoroastrians or those who
have chosen the Good Religion with their sound knowledge and by their free will,
would participate in it. It would accommodate those who follow the Pristine
Purity of the Message of Zarathushtra, the Reformists of various shades, and the
Traditionalists of the Ilm-e Khshnum, the Pandole Group, and the Mary-Boyce
school. It would be the World Zoroastrian Congress and not as Mr. Kaizad
Anklesaria unintentionally wrote, the "World Parsi Congress (WPZ)" to
which I would add "Traditional" to make it read the "World
Traditional Parsi Congress"! If held the way it stands at present, it will
definitely be WTPC and not WZC!
The last but not the least question: If they are telling
the truth, why not have me on the stage so that they prove to every person what
I am alleged to have stated? <<Indisciplined in thought,>> as called
by Mr. Khojeste Mistree, I would easily falter and provide a living proof to
them and the representatives of the Zoroastrian world (not the tiny
"table" globe of Bombay, London and Los Angeles) of my
<<misleading, mischievous, etc. etc.>> motives. It will really be an
exposure! It will be my fall never to rise!
Then why am I been barred from being so easily exposed?
The answer is very easy. They are afraid that my presence
will expose their distortions and false accusations. It is fear and only FEAR
from exposure of all the falsities they have spread about me that they do not
want to see me on the stage. My true position would be known and understood by
the entire Zoroastrian community all over the world. That would prove too costly
for each and every one of the persons who have made the allegations over the
past 18 years, particularly the last 10 years. Their sandcastle will collapse.
It will also expose the depth of the knowledge paraded by
some "scholars" who see their statures only by clinging to certain
towering Western scholars. They know for sure that they will be overshadowed in
a Congress where persons of my stature attend. Their sandcastle will also
collapse.
The second cat is out! Fear from truth makes them bar
Jafarey who stands behind what he has stated during the last 60 plus years and
has nothing to hide. His appearance will make them hide their faces forever.
And I have a gut feeling that whether the FEZANA and WZC
officials continue with their dead silence or come forward to enlighten the
Zoroastrian public of what has been going on behind the scenes, a third cat will
be out after some months. It will throw light on the position taken by each of
these officials and for what purposes. That will determine the course of the
Congress, if not this one, then definitely the future Congresses.
My question posed to the Congress Executive Board: Are the
persons whose distortion, blasphemy, and falsity have been proved here still
qualified to participate in the congress?
* * * * * *
LINKS:
TABLE OF CONTENTS and Their Links
Introduction & the Gist of "The Plain Reality Behind The Intricate Falsity"