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Abstract

One of the essential questions arising from the plurality of ethnic and religious groups in the Middle East, and specifically Iran, concerns the relationship between “diaspora” and “homeland.” What do these two concepts signify? What criteria define these terms? Do these concepts have permanent, uniform criteria? Who determines these criteria? Furthermore, can religious, ethnic, linguistic, and/or national criteria define the identity of one group for the geographic region considered that group’s “homeland” or “diaspora”?

Keywords: Jewish, Iran, Diaspora, Homeland, other, identity, ethnicity