Within Iran we find another group of God’s Other Children. This would be minority people—ethnic groups different from the dominant majority and who suffer because of that inferior status. A corollary is that their suffering and oppression are hidden from view behind the majority people, usually deliberately so.

Iran is dominated by the Persian people—the Persian history, language, leadership, education, and much more. Persians have ruled the land for over 2,500 years!

Alongside the Persian majority, Iran has no less than 50 non-Persian ethnic groups. These come in great variety. One of the larger ones is the Dom, or Gypsy. This group of 1.3 million has not one bone thrown to them by the Persian people. They are not permitted in schools and have menial jobs at best. Their children are Teheran’s street children.

The largest group would be the Azeri, a people in the west of Iran in and around Tabriz. Much of the Christian population of Iran comes from this group. Their roots are Chaldean and Assyrian. Another religious group is the Baha’i, numbering approximately 300,000. The government has harshly persecuted them, affording them no official recognition.

Most of the others would be Turkic in origin. Forced from their homelands by the conquests of Genghis Khan in the 13th century, they were part of a mass migration westward. Some of these would be the Turkmen, Azerbaijani, and Qashqa’i. These are located all over the country. Each has made some assimilation into Persian society but firmly holding to their ancient and distinctive cultures.

It is in the interest of the ruling majority to disenfranchise these people. The Persian government of Iran sees these minorities as aliens who hold potential threats to Persian privilege.

The ways that Iran oppresses its minorities have similarities with other countries and their persecution of minorities. Of particular focus is the ethnic group’s language. It is sacred property, for it is the cradle that holds customs, legends, history, and styles of communication–all native to them and them alone. Until the mid-1900s the government made it mandatory to name children only Persian names. While this is no longer the law, the reminder of it continues to feed bitterness. Most schooling is given in Persian only. Many of the minorities learn Persian for business, but the elimination of their own language in the classroom severely diminishes their potential for better skills and improved jobs.

The only survey that counted non-Persians was conducted in 1976, but the leadership knows who they are and how they are behaving. The movement of any toward autonomy is the government’s greatest fear. Since the takeover by Ayatollah Khomeini, there have been several such efforts by some of the minorities. The Ayatollah was adamant at squashing these, and much blood was shed in these unsuccessful uprisings.

Iran’s minorities have emerged from hiding due to research that focuses on ethnic groups. This discipline yields profiles with incisive accuracy. Measuring selected criteria of culture, they show indicators like literacy, health, arts, segments of population, and religion.

Probably the greatest significance of this research relates to the church–its mission and its planning.  Analyses of ethnic groups reveal the depth of Christianity in any given region or tribe. It tells which tribes have deep evangelization and which have none; which tribes receive widespread attention and support and which are overlooked.

When this research is applied to ethnic minorities of Iran, the results are not surprising. As they are hidden from the country’s power and education systems, they have been mostly hidden from the church’s mission. Several profiles show groups with very little Christian presence, scarce resources like Bible translation, and Christians who number fewer than 100. Measuring these criteria for the Qashqa’i, for example, barely moves the needle. The message is: they have no value, no worth that calls the attention of the church to them.

This research exposes a blind spot in the church’s mission, a blindside that goes well beyond Iran. The evidence comes from profiles of groups like the Qashqa’i, but also from the platform of statistics. The numbers here are approximate, but even if reduced by 10% are still shocking: 27% of the world, or 1.6 billion people, have not heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. As to minority ethnic groups, Bethany Global University lists over 5,000 ethnic groups that are without a viable church of their own. Other sources give higher numbers.

Next week I will describe some of the gospel work among one of these groups.

Just as minorities are hidden in their lands, they are also hidden from us. For that reason, I close this article with some videos of one of Iran’s minorities—the Qashqa’i. This Turkic group are and always have been herders, nomads who travel with their herds in pastures near Shiraz and the Zagros Mountains in western Iran.

These links give videos of the life of these nomads, their goatskin tents, their dress, and food. I encourage you to take a few minutes and move into the life of this tribe.

Iranian traditional Arts and tourism attractions, Qashqai Tribe

Qashqai people

I visited Qashqai people in Iran
Manzar Ana, (Kaşkay Türkleri) Qashqai Nomads, Iran