{"id":159514,"date":"2025-10-12T17:01:58","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T13:31:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=159514"},"modified":"2025-10-12T17:01:58","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T13:31:58","slug":"a-fellow-zoroastrian-i-want-to-help-advance-the-associations-goals-through-questioning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/?p=159514","title":{"rendered":"A Fellow Zoroastrian: \u201cI want to help advance the Association\u2019s goals through questioning.\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

At 4:00 PM on Tuesday, 25 Shahrivar 1404 (September 16, 2025), the Zoroastrian Association of Tehran reserved time for a press meeting with Amordad weekly. The Association\u2019s spokesperson had informed me (Khosrow Behdin) about the session two days in advance.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I had an hour and a half to raise a wide range of questions submitted by fellow Zoroastrians. While I had sent the main discussion points to the spokesperson a few days earlier, I decided to make some last-minute adjustments shortly before the meeting.<\/p>\n

In the days leading up to the session, many community members had contacted me through various channels with their questions. I couldn\u2019t help but recall the previous question-and-answer session, where attendance was so low it could be counted on two hands and two feet. It remains puzzling that, despite the community\u2019s numerous concerns about the Association\u2019s work, so few attend these sessions.<\/p>\n

Only a small number of questions were submitted via the comments section. Most came through Amordad\u2019s WhatsApp or were sent directly to me. Some community members even preferred to voice their concerns in person or over the phone. From both the tone of these conversations and the content of the messages, it was clear that many were dissatisfied\u2014and in some cases, frustrated or angry\u2014with the Zoroastrian Association of Tehran.<\/p>\n

Except for a very few individuals, most community members preferred not to reveal to the Association\u2019s board that they had submitted questions. Instead, they wanted Amordad to pose the questions on their behalf. In other words, some participants chose to remain behind the cover of Amordad or expected the weekly to take the initiative in raising their concerns.<\/p>\n

In the days leading up to the press meeting, Amordad faced sharp criticism from members of the community. Supporters of the Association blamed Amordad one way, while critics of the Association directed a flood of opposing comments at the weekly. Regardless of the angle, the tension was palpable. Amid this, one fellow Zoroastrian remarked that by voicing criticism, they hoped to help advance the Association\u2019s goals\u2014a comment that stood out as the most positive and encouraging reflection I had received in recent days.<\/p>\n

With these thoughts in mind, I arrived at the Association about fifteen minutes early. The head of the Association personally welcomed me. A few minutes later, my friend Homayoun Mehrzad, one of Amordad\u2019s photographers, arrived.<\/p>\n

Farzam Pourrostami, the Association\u2019s spokesperson, and Kambiz Forouzan, the elected representative of term 46, were also present. Shortly afterward, Farshad Farhifar, a member of term 45, joined us.<\/p>\n

It appeared that the head of the Association had informed current and future members about the press meeting and invited them to attend if they wished. I knew that after my allotted hour-and-a-half session, additional members would follow up via the Barsad website to participate in the press meeting.<\/p>\n

Afshin Namiranian: \u201cWe Experienced Inexperience in Organizing Term 46 Elections\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Before I began asking questions from fellow Zoroastrians, I invited Afshin Namiranian, head of the Zoroastrian Association of Tehran, to share any opening remarks. He welcomed the opportunity and said:<\/p>\n

“If we can hold these sessions regularly, we can not only address current questions but also share insights we feel are important, even if no one specifically asks. Honestly, we had a very successful election and wanted to take the chance to thank both the community and the candidates. Initially, we did not expect so many people to run. We owe gratitude to both the organizers and the supervisory board. That said, I must note two points: first, we were inexperienced\u2014perhaps even entirely new to this process. By inexperience, I do not mean it negatively; we had only held one electronic election before, during the COVID period, so we had no prior practice. While we did break the voting record from Term 45, we could have even surpassed Term 44\u2019s record. Unfortunately, some community members could not vote due to crowding, which was disappointing for us.”<\/p>\n

Addressing the supervisory board\u2019s decision to disqualify candidates who held positions in other associations, Namiranian added:<\/p>\n

“The second point, which I feel should be mentioned, is a lingering regret: we wish the supervisory board had interpreted the rules with a bit more flexibility. We even suggested in writing that if their strict interpretation\u2014that no one may hold two positions\u2014was to be applied, the Ministry of Interior should handle it rather than the Association. Yet, for whatever reason, the board proceeded with disqualifications. In my view, this decision was not only unhelpful but also counterproductive.”<\/p>\n

He also acknowledged the broader economic challenges affecting the country, noting that these naturally influence the Association as well:<\/p>\n

“We are navigating a very difficult period at the Association. This is a unique time, and the circumstances have inevitably impacted our work.”<\/p>\n

Afshin Namiranian on Association Projects and Community Responsibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

Referring to the completion of ongoing construction projects, Afshin Namiranian, head of the Zoroastrian Association of Tehran, remarked:<\/p>\n

“The Association has been fortunate that its building projects were completed a few months ago. While we now have some additional income, our expenses remain substantial. For instance, in recent months we faced significant costs for water supply, water tanks, and sewage connections in a very short period, as we needed to fully equip our buildings. These demands have put considerable pressure on us over the past months.”<\/p>\n

He also spoke about the announcement for renting four apartments owned by the Association to community members:<\/p>\n

“I recall that a few years ago, when we advertised apartments for rent, only four or five applicants would come for three units. The last time we made such an announcement, twelve applicants have already applied for four apartments, and there\u2019s still another week for people to submit applications. In the end, we may even feel embarrassed by the high number of applicants.”<\/p>\n

On Personal Commitment to the Association<\/strong><\/p>\n

After finishing his introductory remarks, I asked Namiranian a question submitted by a community member: if the statutory limits on board membership were ever lifted, would he choose to stay on the board? This question had been conveyed to me just half an hour before the press meeting, with the community member expressing frustration and noting that Amordad\u2019s purpose in holding the session was to support the review of the Association\u2019s bylaws.<\/p>\n

Namiranian responded: “The truth is, I follow a personal philosophy. Let me explain briefly: during the previous election between Ms. Barkhordar and Mr. Izadi, I felt ashamed. I realized that I had acted unfairly toward the community.”<\/p>\n

The head of the Zoroastrian Association of Tehran reflected on his experience, noting his two terms as secretary of the Zoroastrian Students\u2019 Association and three terms as a board member of the Tehran Association:<\/p>\n

“I ran for the student association, and the members kindly elected me as secretary. They could have chosen someone else, but they chose me. I was the last person to serve two consecutive terms as secretary, and that is where I began gaining valuable experience. A few years later, I ran for the Association\u2019s board, and once again the community entrusted me with this role. I could have chosen not to take the position\u2014others could have stepped forward\u2014but I accepted it and gained further experience in the Association. Now, I feel I cannot simply step aside. If the community decides I should not serve, I will respectfully comply, but the reality is that the community has invested in people like me. I no longer have the option to say \u2018I won\u2019t serve.\u2019 This is my view, which may or may not be entirely correct, but I speak it honestly and sincerely.”<\/p>\n

When asked how he would continue contributing to the community if the statutory limits on board membership remain in place after his term ends, he replied: “I will need to see where my skills and experience can be most effectively applied.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At 4:00 PM on Tuesday, 25 Shahrivar 1404 (September 16, 2025), the Zoroastrian Association of Tehran reserved time for a press meeting with Amordad weekly. The Association\u2019s spokesperson had informed me (Khosrow Behdin) about the session two days in advance. I had an hour and a half to raise a wide range of questions submitted […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":159515,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1227,854],"class_list":["post-159514","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-zoroastrians","tag-amordad-press","tag-zoroastrian-association-of-tehran"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159514","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=159514"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/159514\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/159515"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=159514"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=159514"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.amordadnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=159514"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}