Zoroastrianism in Westminster

Zoroastrians form a long-established community in the UK. The first Zoroastrian is known to have visited the UK in 1723. The UK's first non-white MP, Dadabhai Naoroji, elected to represent Finsbury Central in 1892, was a Zoroastrian.

Prophet Zarathushtra, founder of Zoroastrianism, known as Zoroaster by the ancient Greeks, lived in Eastern Iran and Afghanistan around 1500BCE. Zarathushtra's message the Gathas are poetic hymns, composed orally in Avestan the sister language to the Hindu Rig Vedas.

Zoroastrians worship the creator Ahura Mazda, the Wise Lord, the Creator of truth, wisdom, light and all things good and responsible for evil! The purpose of creation in Zoroastrianism is to defeat evil. Zoroastrians in their scriptures, Avesta, are constantly urged to perform good thoughts, good words and good deeds as the only way of defeating evil.

Zoroastrians worship in Fire Temples. A consecrated fire burns continually inside them. The oldest Zoroastrian consecrated fire in Iran is over 2500 years old, while in India the oldest fire has been burning for over 1000 years, consecrated by the first Zoroastrian religious refugees to flee Iran.