“Theater is a great...”

Tanaaz Currim ("Theater is a great medium,” Parsiana, May 2004) is upset that Parsi law does not allow a person to convert to the Zoroastrian faith. She believes that a Parsi was not born from a fruit; he was converted and that Zara­thush­tra himself converted the first human being into a Parsi. May I ask from which religion did Zarathushtra convert? Does she know of any religion that predated Zoroastrianism? Initiation into the faith does not mean conversion.

HORMAZ SHETHNA

Ahmedabad

The Editor replies

Parsi law does not prohibit conversion. As a matter of fact as per the High Court Judgement of Justices Dinshaw Daver and Frank Beaman Zoroastrianism not only permits but enjoins conversion. It is contended that prior to Zoroastrianism there was the Mazdayasni faith.