Iran Local Histories
Azam Foolad-Panah; Javad Arabani
Abstract
A B S T R A C TThe American missionaries of the Congregationalist sect were the first American missionary group to introduce the Iranian community to America in the early 19th century. For some reason, the missionaries of this sect gave way to the Presbyterian missionaries in Iran in 1870 AD/1286 AH, ...
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A B S T R A C TThe American missionaries of the Congregationalist sect were the first American missionary group to introduce the Iranian community to America in the early 19th century. For some reason, the missionaries of this sect gave way to the Presbyterian missionaries in Iran in 1870 AD/1286 AH, and they were able to attract the attention of the Iranian community through educational, cultural, and health measures. The Presbyterian mission activities during the Qajar period faced numerous challenges, including the Kurds, who created obstacles in their way. This paper attempts to answer the question of why and how the Kurds hindered the missionary activities of the American missionaries in Iran. This research, using a descriptive-analytical method and library resources, attempts to address the role of the Kurds in creating obstacles to the activities of the American Mission in Iran during the Qajar era. The hypothesis of the present research is based on the fact that the negative confrontations of the Kurds with the Christians of western Iran led to rebellions, murders, and insecurity in these regions, and in the meantime, the missionaries' support for the Christians faced them with various challenges from the Kurds. The research findings show that the American Mission's efforts to support the Christians of western Iran forced them to interact with the Kurds, but the xenophobia of the Kurds and the efforts that the Mission made to Christianize them after the defeat of the Sheikh Ubeydullah rebellion created numerous challenges for the Mission.
