ABSTRACT

The conservative invention of Iranian identity is found in religious practices, especially Islamic practices since adherence to Islam is in no way inconsistent with a monarchist or secular-nationalist sensibility. The irony of history is that the United States, and the Iranians in California, has started to play a part in this interaction, in the new political and military context created on 11 September 2001. This crossfade between Afghanistan and Iran is evident in the cultural field. Afghan music is gradually acquiring the status of Iranian mahalli music, not least because it partially coincides with Baluch music. The attachment to the Iranian culture of the community is even more tangible when they consider its artistic and linguistic practices. The fact that the resistance and emigration coincides with the founding of the Islamic Republic and the subsequent development of religious schools in Iran.