One night in 1860, Age's roving sight was riveted on a marvelous scene in the tiny village of Khorramshah, Persia (present-day Iran).
The night was dark. In a lonely, desolate area outside of town, a child of seven was lying on the floor of the Tower of Silence, a dead body tied to his feet. Gasping at this bizarre scene, Age pondered, "If a vulture swoops to devour the corpse, what will happen to the child? He, too, will perish. How brave this little boy is! Even several adults huddled together would not dare to stay in such a place!"
Age's eyes remained glued to the child, and when dawn arrived, the child was still safe. Age was then convinced that God was watching over this boy and his future was assured. Who was this child? He was the same one who was to become a dervish – of whom the divine voice had spoken. O Age, the world is eager to hear his story.
In Persia during the 19th century, the plight of the Zoroastrians was terrible. The atmosphere of the holy land of the Magi had changed drastically since the Prophet Zoroaster had sanctified Persia thousands of years before.1 The followers of Zoroaster were considered kafirs (unbelievers) by the Muslims and were systematically mistreated and oppressed. The Star of Islam was held high and those who did not embrace the Mohammedan religion were mercilessly persecuted. The lives of the Zoroastrians were in constant danger, and no one was their protector except for Ahuramazda — their God. The lives of all Zoroastrians were in constant peril in Persia.
Over the centuries, the majority of Zoroastrians had converted to Islam, and most of those who refused had fled to India. Those who did not migrate from Persia had to bow before the Muslims and their laws and tolerate their cruelty and harassments. No one was to blame for this situation; the wheel of time spins circumstances according to Divine Law. From the humanistic point of view, such a condition could well be viewed as unnatural — man persecuting man in the name of religion. But without God's will nothing happens. The spread of Islam, and the Muslims' outrages openly perpetrated against the Zoroastrian community in Persia in the 1800s brought about this natural state of unnaturalness.
In those days, torture and kidnapping of Zoroastrian children was not infrequent.
Footnotes
- 1.The Magi were the ancient holy men and philosophers of Persia who were reformed by Zoroaster and succeeded him. The Magi may have been the original Sufis who preserved Zoroaster's teachings.