For Persian Jews, America Means 'Religious Pluralism At Its Best'
by Davar Ardalan
January 26, 2014 7:00 AM
Code Switch has been writing about some overlooked cultural interactions that have helped shape what Jewish identity is today, and we continue the series with a post by Tell Me More Senior Producer Davar Ardalan on Iranian Jews.
Judaism has a rich and millennial history in Iran including the era 2,500 years ago when the first Persian ruler declared religious freedom. But during the Islamic Revolution, as the last Persian monarch left Iran — 35 years ago this month — thousands fled to the United States in search of a new home.
Roben Farzad and his family fled Iran for America at the end of 1978. The Farzads hailed from Shiraz, the city of poets and gardens. In the 1950s, Roben Farzad's uncle changed the family's last name from the Persian Jewish surname Sarahkhatoon, meaning "Lady Sarah," to the more common surname Farzad. The last name Sarahkhatoon had gotten his sons beaten up in grade school.
After leaving Iran, they settled in Miami, where Roben's aunt was in medical school. The cultural transition wasn't easy.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/codeswitch/2014/01/26/260779898/for-persian-jews-america-means-religious-pluralism-at-its-best
