The Iranian Christian Diaspora : Religion and Nationhood in Exile / Benedikt Römer.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Römer, Benedikt, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nationalism--Religious aspects--Christianity.

Nationalism.

Iranians--Foreign countries--Religion.

Iranians.

Iranian diaspora.

Christians--Iran.

Christians.

Christianity--Iran.

Christianity.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (247 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Distribution:

London : Bloomsbury Publishing (UK), 2024.

Place of Publication:

London : I.B. Tauris, 2024.

System Details:

text file HTML

Summary:

Over the past few decades, whilst evading severe governmental restrictions in Iran, the Iranian Evangelical diaspora has grown across Turkey, Germany, the Netherlands, the US and the UK. Far from the censorship of the Islamic Republic, Iranian Evangelical pastors and ministers publish Persian-language Christian magazines and online videos with the aim to reach the transnational Iranian Christian community, as well as potential converts in Iran. This book explores notions of nationhood and diasporic dwelling in the religious narratives and practices of Iranian Christian exilic communities, showing how claims to the authenticity of a distinct Iranian-Christian identity are constructed. Examining abundant source material available in the Iranian Christian exilic milieu, the book draws extensively upon five unstudied series of Persian-language Christian exile magazines published between the early 1990s and the 2020s, Persian-language video material and a number of interviews with Iranian Christian pastors with leadership positions in the Iranian Christian diaspora. These sources demonstrate the significance of exile and religious affiliation as key factors shaping diasporic images of the homeland and visions of a future return. Benedikt Römer weaves the history and contemporary story of the Iranian Christian community together, placing it in the context of a wider ongoing religious transformation in Iranian society.

Contents:

List of Figures Acknowledgements Notes on Transliteration Notes on Citation Introduction CHAPTER ONE Historical Overview: Iranian Christians and their Journey into Exile CHAPTER TWO Theoretical Perspectives on Religion, the Nation and Diaspora CHAPTER THREE Naturalizing Christianity (I): Introduction and the Festivals of Nowruz and Yalda¯ CHAPTER FOUR Naturalizing Christianity (II): Persian Poets and Poetry, Iranians in the Bible and the Iranian Christian Martyrs CHAPTER FIVE Critical Engagement with Islam between Expatriation, Non-Islamiosity and Islamophobia CHAPTER SIX Diasporic Religion among Iranian Christians: Meanings of Exile, Visions of Return and the Elam Prophecy Conclusion Bibliography

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780755651696

0755651693

9780755651702

0755651707

9780755651719

0755651715

OCLC:

1419289985