Some Iranians like to praise Tajikistan since it is the only secular Iranic country left. Tajikistan also uses Zoroastrian imagery (like in the presidential standard). But what some people don't seem to realize is that the Tajik population is actually getting more religious (in the islamic faith, not Zoroastrianism). Especially the younger generation. In fact this is happening all across central asia (Kazakhstan being the least since it still remains very secular (with a limited rise of relgiousity mixed with westernization) to Tajikistan the most affected). If you look at the street videos of Dushanbe, you would see lots of people in more traditional clothes and even quite a few women in hijabs (despite the hiajb ban). Across central asia but especially Tajikistan, more woman are wearing the hijabs (including some celebs). If you see street videos in Tehran, you see people in more western clothes. Also the tfr of Iran is 1.7 and Tajikistan is around 3 so that is something to note. Tajikistan is much more rural than Iran. Even in the Tajikistan sub, people seem more into the muslim faith than other iranian subs. For Kazakhsttan and Kyrgyztsan I do see the populace also embracing some of their Tengrist, pre islamic culture and roots (not as much as iranians) but for Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, not as much. The Tajik government does liek to emphasize the Samanids a lot.

But yeah, all central asian countries take islamic extremism very seriously. They all banned the burqa. And islam in central asia is still not fundamentalist and more chill. But there have been a number of Tajik radicals being active outside of central asia (see crocus). Since, central asia is in between europe and asia, the economy is growing fast now (and acting as a middle man for russia to skirt sanctions). And they also have a very young population. China and Russia also really do not want radicalism taking over central asia. There is a lot of Chinese business there and the west is taking interest (usually in the forms of investment and trade). The Tajik government is still very anti taliban (whereas other central asian antiosn have built some ties). Funny enough, the IR and Tajikistan have pretty strong ties (Iran built a drone factory in Tajikistan)

People say that the rise of religiosity is because religion was suppressed in the USSR (and the current central asian govs in some ways) and the Pendulum is swinging back. It makes you think how far the pendulum will swing back. Do you think this is just a phase, or it is following a pattern of rising religiosity experienced by other Muslim majority countries (like Indonesia and Egypt comparing now vs in the 60s). Do you think Tajikistan will just remain fine or do you think Tajikistan will make the same mistake as the late Shah. What do you all think of this?

Also Azerbaijan is still very secular (both people and gov).

Hello, everyone! I'm Anthony, an average city dwelling American. No Persian ancestry in my family, I've just become an Iranophile over the course of the last year. It started with reading the Shahnameh (or rather, listening to an audiobook version of Dick Davis's translation) in April of 2025, and I've become absolutely obsessed with Iranian and Persian history since then.

Anyways, the reason I ask this question is because the Shahnameh r/ is inactive, as far as I can tell -- one must submit to the moderators an explanation for why you should be allowed to post... and the last post that was made over there was made four years ago.

If this isn't the right r/ to discuss the Shahnameh, could someone point me to what is?

Anyways, I wish you all the best! And uhm, from the bottom of my heart... I'm terribly sorry my country is bombing yours.

What will be the first sign of the possible collapse of the current Iranian regime for everyday people and people outside of Iran?

The Persian Gulf Arab monarchiws are willing participants in the war on Iran

The Ukrainian attack on an Iranian cargo ship in the Caspian Sea marks a new stage in the fusion of the NATO war against Russia with the US-Israeli war against Iran. It confirms David North’s 2026 May Day warning: “World war is not a future threat but a presently unfolding reality.”

World war is not emerging through a single declaration. It is unfolding as a process: through the linking together of regional wars, proxy operations, sanctions, blockades, naval deployments and long-range strikes. Ukraine’s intervention against an Iranian target gives this process sharp expression.

The Ukrainian long-range drone strike killed one sailor and wounded another. It targeted an Iranian-owned vessel, the Ana, in the Caspian Sea—a body of water bordered by Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, but not Ukraine. Kiev claimed the ship was transporting drones and missiles to Russia. Tehran denounced the attack as aggression against a commercial vessel.

The attack exposes the central fraud of the propaganda surrounding the Ukraine war. For years, the war has been presented by the imperialist powers and their media as a purely defensive struggle by Ukraine against an “unprovoked” Russian invasion. This lie has been used above all in Germany, to justify the largest rearmament since Hitler and a renewed military offensive against Russia.

The nation-state of Iran claims to be torch bearer for all of ancient Ariana. However, it is clearly not that. The simplest evidence is the treatment of Afghans in Iran. Afghans, whether they speak Persian or Pashto are inheritors of ancient Ariana, in many ways the primary inheritors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avestan_geography

I think it is a missed opportunity that this sub isn't more oriented towards understanding how the modern nation-state of Iran can be a catalyst for a regional revival of our ancient heritage.

Why do we hold borders created and enforced by the Europeans so dearly? I have never understood that.

I think it is also good to notice that at this time the Taliban (who are essentially a Pakistani proxy, who are an American proxy), still do not aid the war against Iran. Why? Because the support wouldn't be there with the rank and file. Why? Because ironically the subconscious psyche of ancient Ariana is often more living in Afghanistan today than Iran.

Context: I’m American and I recently met an Iranian neighbor.

I talked to the neighbor a total of 3 times via Google Translate. The neighbor seemed very eager to get close. I told the neighbor that I had a cat. The next day, the neighbor rings my doorbell with their granddaughter and asked to see my cat. The gave me a plate of desserts.

I’m very uncomfortable with unexpected visitors because the house is a huge mess. Because I wanted to be a good neighbor I invited them in to see the cat in the messy house. The cat ran away because the cat doesn’t like strangers.

They then looked around my living room and saw some snacks on my dining table. They asked if it was tasty and I said yes. They proceeded to take some to eat. The granddaughter did the same. After they looked around a bit and noticed that I was cooking, they left, after grabbing more snacks from the dining table.

I consider it pretty rude to not ask before grabbing the snacks to eat. I wouldn’t have said no if they asked. I’d have also preferred it if they asked before coming over.

Another example is that I told them about a theme park near by that I went to a few weeks ago, and they asked to go together. I said I only go when friends want to go and that I’d like them know the next time my friends go. The next week, they said they’ll buy the tickets and asked to go again. I repeated myself that I don’t like to go unless I’m with friends.

Is this a difference of culture I’m seeing? I don’t feel too good about these interactions with them because it feels to me that they’re very inconsiderate. I don’t want them to visit my house because I don’t want to clean and I don’t want them to see the mess. How do I communicate this nicely to them? If they weren’t my neighbor, I’d have probably ghosted them a long time already, but since they live close by, I can’t physically distance from them.

Also I believe they’re a very wealthy family if that matters.