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Edinburgh Studies in Classical Islamic History and Culture

Zoroastrians in Early Islamic HistoryAccommodation and Memory

By Andrew D. Magnusson

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£95.00

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About this book

Examines debates about the inclusion or exclusion of Zoroastrians in Islamic society circa 600-1000 C.E.
  • Makes a significant contribution to the literature on interfaith relations in Islamic history
  • Demonstrates the role of advocacy in shaping early Islamic policy
  • Argues against the assumption that Zoroastrians were People of the Book
  • Engages theories of accommodation and of memory, from North America, the Middle East and Europe
  • Utilises archival material from Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States

The second Muslim caliph, Umar ibn al-Khattab, once reportedly exclaimed, ‘I do not know how to treat Zoroastrians!’ He and other Muslims encountered Zoroastrians during the conquest of Arabia but struggled to formulate a consistent policy toward the adherents of a religion that was neither biblical nor polytheistic. Some Muslims saw Zoroastrians as pagans and sought to limit interaction with them. Others found ways to incorporate them within the empire of Islamic law. Andrew D. Magnusson describes the struggle between advocates of inclusion and exclusion, the ultimate accommodation of Zoroastrians, and the reasons that Muslim historians have subsequently buried the memory of this relationship.

Reviews

Andrew Magnusson provides an insightful narrative of the relationship between the Zoroastrian population of the former Sasanian Empire and that of the new Muslim Caliphate who became their master in the seventh century CE. He wonderfully demonstrates that the early Muslims position toward the Zoroastrians was much more nuanced and moves beyond the old binary of "tolerance" and "intolerance," in describing their relationship. Magnusson suggests that the early Muslims by necessity accommodated the Zoroastrian community by giving them their own space and privileges.

Table of contents

Introduction: Zoroastrianism, Islam, and Accommodation

  1. Myth and Countermyth in Zoroastrian Historiography
  2. Umar’s Dilemma: The Taxation of People without a Book
  3. Marriage, Meat, and the Limits of Accommodation
  4. Salman’s Charter as a Site of Memory
  5. Fire Temple Desecration and Triumphal Tales of Violence
  6. Rhetorical Zoroastrians in Early Islamic Discourse

Conclusion: An Ambivalent Accommodation

Appendix A—Translation of an Iranian Recension of Salman’s Charter

Appendix B—Translation of an Indian Recension of Salman’s Charter

Bibliography

About the author

Andrew D. Magnusson

Andrew D. Magnusson is Assistant Professor of History at the University of Central Oklahoma.

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