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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Iran
Index
Iran's indigenous Christians include an estimated 250,000
Armenians, some 32,000 Assyrians, and a small number of Roman
Catholic, Anglican, and Protestant Iranians converted by
missionaries in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The
Armenians are predominantly urban and are concentrated in Tehran
and Esfahan; smaller communities exist in Tabriz, Arak, and other
cities. A majority of the Assyrians are also urban, although there
are still several Assyrian villages in the Lake Urmia region.
Armenians and Assyrians were recognized as official religious
minorities under the 1906 constitution. Although Armenians and
Assyrians have encountered individual prejudice, they have not been
subjected to persecution. During the twentieth century, Christians
in general have participated in the economic and social life of
Tehran. The Armenians, especially, achieved a relatively high
standard of living and maintained a large number of parochial
primary and secondary schools.
The new, republican Constitution of 1979 also recognized the
Armenians and Assyrians as official religious minorities
(see Constitutional Framework
, ch. 4). They are entitled to elect their
own representatives to the Majlis and are permitted to follow their
own religious laws in matters of marriage, divorce, and
inheritance. Other Christians have not received any special
recognition, and there have been a number of incidents of
persecution of Iranian Anglicans. All Christians are required to
observe the new laws relating to attire, prohibition of alcohol,
and segregation by sex at public gatherings. Christians have
resented these laws because they have infringed on their
traditional religious practices. In addition, the administration of
the Armenian schools has been a source of tension between
Christians and the government. The Ministry of Education has
insisted that the principals of such schools be Muslims, that all
religion courses be taught in Persian, that any Armenian literature
classes have government approval, and that all female students
observe hejab inside the schools.
Data as of December 1987
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