Shahbazi provides a concise history of Navruz from the Islamic conquest of Persia to the present day. While he discusses the tension with observing ancient Iranian traditions in strictly Muslim societies, he also mentions that some Muslims associate Islamic traditions with the holiday. For example, some believe that Navruz was the day when the following events occurred:
God made the Sun rise, the wind blow, and the earth flourish; the occasion when He made a covenant with the pre-existing souls of mankind to worship none but Him, brought Noah’s ark ashore safely, and the day when He will resurrect the dead by ordering the living to pour water on them (hence the auspiciousness of sprinkling water on each other at Nowruz). It was on that day that God sent Gabriel with His message to Moḥammad, that the Prophet shattered the idols of Mecca and nominated ʿAli at the Ḡadir-e ḵomm as his legatee (on the date see Taqizāda, p. 154, n. 310), as well as the day when ʿAli defeated the heretics at Nahravān, and when the Mahdi, the Lord of Time, will appear.As for Central Asia, Shahbazi cites Tajiks in Tajikistan as follows : "In Tajikistan, particularly in the province of Badaḵšān, Nowruz is 'the Great Festival' and 'the inherited national festival,' symbolizing friendship and renovation of all beings (Sulaqāni, p. 245)." The article continues by describing how some Tajiks celebrate Navruz.
Sections: Introduction, History up to the Safavid period, Religious views on Nowruz, Later History, In Contemporary Persia, In other lands, Bibliography. Descriptors: 2000s, archeology, bibliographic, description, e-article, holidays, Navruz, post-Soviet, S, Soviet, Tajikistan, Tajiks, Tsarist.
