10 Jun IHC Pre-Doctoral Fellow: Andrew Magnusson
Andrew Magnusson is a Doctoral Candidate in History. His dissertation is titled Muslism-Zoroastrion Relations and Religious Violence in Early Islamic Iran.
My dissertation examines Muslim-Zoroastion relations in Iran between the seventh and eleventh centuries. It challenges the lachrymose narrative of Zoroastion history which blames Muslim prosecution for the slow decline of Zoroastrianism. I first consider the practical implications of the Zoroastrians’ ambiguous legal status as well as a charter of religious freedom (ahd-nama) supposedly granted to them by the prophet Mohammed. Then, incorporating insights from South Asian Studies, I reassess the scale and significance of religious violence between Muslims and Zoroastrians, including instances of fire temple desecration, the flight of Zoroastians to India, and the destruction of the Cypress of Zoroaster.