Minorities in Qajar Iran: A View from Within and Without

In the 19th century Iranians became more mobile and traveling, at least for the upper classes, became easier. This interest in travel was partly due to the education of some in Europe and partly by teachings of European teachers in Iran. Following the tradition of the westerners, many Iranians, from the shah on down, wrote journals of their travels. These travelogues, however, differ from those of the westerners in many ways. While the Europeans were interested in smaller communities, particularly the religious minorities, the Iranians in most cases looked at these communities from a different perspective.

This paper will review the Europeans’ descriptions of the religious minorities of Iran with the way their compatriots write about them, the nature of their contacts and how much understanding of them they demonstrate.

On the European side the journals looked at will include:
a) those of the envoys or special representatives of some countries (e.g. Sir Justin Sheil’s “Notes of a Journey from Kurdistan to Suleimaniyeh in 1836”,
b) those of private citizens, whose curiosity had taken them to new lands (e.g. Arthur Arnold’s Through Persia by Caravan),
c) those of the missionaries, who had specific agendas, (e.g. Justin Perkins’ Missionary Life in Persia).

On the Iranian side the journals studied will include:
a) those of the members of the royal family, including the shahs (e.g. سفر نامۀ ناصرالدین شاه ),
b) those of special envoys, officials, etc. (e.g. خاطرات ظهیرالدوله ),
c) those of private citizens (e.g. سفرنامۀ نایب الصدر شیرازی ).

A comparison of the accounts of Iranian religious minorities in the 19th century by the insiders, as well as outsiders, has not been done before. This paper help elucidate the confused situation of these communities and majority-minority relations of the time and how these viewpoints may have affected these communities.