'Lord Curzon's Notes on Persia' [‎665v] (1332/1386)

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Persian authorities, and they had no special grievances of recent origin, although
some of the long-standing subjects of complaint still remained.
The Nestorians in Persia are all engaged in agricultural pursuits in the villages
adjacent to Oroomiah, which either belong to or are under the control of Mahom-
medan Chiefs, mostly of the Afshar tribe, who as a rule, levy as much as they
can in excess of the authorized taxes, indiscriminately from the Mussulman and
Christian peasants.
The acts of oppression complained of by the latter are the following:—
1. The amount of house tax exacted from the Christians, which is in excess of
that levied from Mahommedans.
2. The exaction of forced labour by the landlords for the cultivation of their
lands; an abuse to which both Mussulmans and Christians are liable.
3. The systematic plunder by subordinate Persian officials of Nestorians return
ing from Russia with the proceeds of their labour in that country during the summer
months.
4. The forcible abduction of Christian girls by Mahommedans ; stated to be
now of less frequent occurrence than formerly, redress being readily afforded by the
provincial authorities when cases are brought to their notice.
5. The injustice of allowing any member of a Christian family who has embraced
Islamism to claim the property of the whole family.
6. The refusal to admit the testimony of a Christian in Courts of Justice against
a Mahommedan.
These grievances are the same for which we have for years endeavoured to obtain
redress from the Persian authorities. It is satisfactory to learn from Mr. Abbott’s
statements, which are borne out by the American missionaries and by the Nestorians
themselves, that if they have not been entirely removed, they have at all events been
mitigated, as it is admitted that the condition of the Nestorians has considerably
improved of late years.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs has, in pursuance of the Shah’s orders, prepared
a project for the further amelioration of the condition of the Christians at Oroomiah,
as soon as order has been restored throughout that province and the authorities are in
a position to give effect to the measures proposed. He has not yet communicated this
paper to me, as his time has been so much occupied of late by other urgent matters
connected with the repression of the Kurdish outbreak. He has promised, however,
to discuss the matter with me during the present week; and I shall endeavour to
have embodied in his scheme measures for the redress of the grievances above
enumerated.
I do not anticipate that difficulty will be made in respect to any of these, with
the exception of the two last, and these I would propose to deal with as individual
cases may arise. I would suggest that the American missionaries should be requested
by Mr. Abbott to report any flagrant cases that may occur where Christians arc being
treated with injustice owing to their property being claimed by converts to Islamism,
or by the testimony of a Christian against a Mahommedan being rejected; and in the
event of redress not being procured from the authorities in Tabreez, the circumstances
could then be represented through Her Majesty’s Legation to the Shah, who is,
I believe, sincerely desirous to afford protection to his Christian subjects against all
acts of oppression.
Mr. Abbott states that the influence of the American missionaries affords the
Nestorians sufficient protection in trivial cases of oppression ; and that when flagrant
cases arise they are reported by the missionaries to Tabreez, and redress is obtained,
either through the authorities in Azerbijan or from those at Tehran. It will be
observed that he also expresses his opinion that the Persian officials are, as a rule,
remarkably tolerant, and that they never molest the Christians in matters of
religion.
I fully concur in the opinion further expressed by Mr. Abbott, that it would not
be expedient to appoint a British Consular officer to reside at Oroomiah.
I have, &c.
(Signed) RONALD F. THOMSON.