Comprehensive History of the Jews of Iran: The Outset of the Diaspora

Format: HardcoverThis is a fascinating history of the oldest Jewish community in the Diaspora. In an initial chapter,the author makes a credible case that the ten lost tribes of Israel are really the Jews of Kurdistan and other northern provinces of ancient Persia. Since Babylon was a Persian province for a thousamd years, the Babylonia talmud was really a product of Persia's Jewish community and Persia was the center of Jewish thought for a thousand years. The book also chronicles what life was really like for Jews under Islam and completely undercuts the myth that Jews were protected from persecution, mass murder and forced conversions in Islamic countries. The Jewish experience in Persia is put in the context of general Persian history in each chapter. The role of the clerics in state rule is amply illustrated and makes understandable the current Islamic regime in Iran and why the populace has accepted the rule of the Islamicists. This is an important book for those who want to understand Jewish history and for those who want to know how religious minorities are treated in Islamic countries.tp