Kyle is a student at the College of Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. He was a finalist in the Norman E. Alexander Jewish Student Writing competition. In his spare time, he enjoys studying Judeo-Persian and Kurdish Judeo-Aramaic dialects. His informal research on Persian history spans from ancient times to post-revolutionary Iran.In Iranian cities with high Jewish populations like Esfahan, Kashan, Tehran, and Hamedan, Jews were segregated into designated ghettos (mahaleh).
The concept of ethnic identity has come to serve as a tool for rousing political or ideological fervor over time. The potential of such movements to foster unity is often just as strong as their potential to be weaponized, which is more than enough reason to analyze the effects of politicizing ethnic affiliations.
The lives of Mashhadi Jews had been a mystery since the day they were forcibly converted to Islam, a day often referred to as Allahdad, or God’s Justice. These newly converted Muslims were called jadid al-Islam and could be seen observing Ramadan and buying halal meat from the city’s markets. Little did the surrounding Shia Muslim community know what lengths the Mashhadi Jews went to preserve their Jewish faith and identity behind closed doors.