TY  - BOOK
AU  - Russell,Gerard
TI  - Heirs to forgotten kingdoms: journeys into the disappearing religions of the Middle East 
SN  - 9780465030569
AV  - BL 1060 .R87 2014
PY  - 2014///]
CY  - New York
PB  - Basic Books
KW  - Religious minorities
KW  - Middle East
KW  - Mandaeans
KW  - Yezidis
KW  - Zoroastrians
KW  - Druzes
KW  - Samaritans
KW  - Copts
KW  - Kalasha (Afghanistan people)
KW  - Religion
N1  - Includes bibliographical references (pages 281-300) and index; Mandaeans -- Yazidis -- Zoroastrians -- Druze -- Samaritans -- Copts -- Kalasha -- Epilogue: Detroit
N2  - Despite its reputation for religious intolerance, the Middle East has long sheltered many distinctive and strange faiths: one regards the Greek prophets as incarnations of God, another reveres Lucifer in the form of a peacock, and yet another believes that their followers are reincarnated beings who have existed in various forms for thousands of years. These religions represent the last vestiges of the magnificent civilizations in ancient history: Persia, Babylon, Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs. Their followers have learned how to survive foreign attacks and the perils of assimilation. But today, with the Middle East in turmoil, they face greater challenges than ever before
ER  -