Persian Exceptionalism
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In this article, Persian exceptionalism" comes as a recurring belief among some Iranians and Iranian-Americans that positions Iranians as racially and culturally distinct and superior, particularly through the myth of Aryan heritage and there’s mostly an emphasis on “our 7000-year-history”. This ideology roots itself in the idea that Iranians belong to a pure, ancient Aryan lineage that associates them with European and Caucasian identity, while distancing them from Arabs and other neighboring groups in the Middle East. For first-generation Iranian immigrants, this "Persian exceptionalism" often provides a sense of pride and a way to align with whiteness in the U.S. context, portraying Iran as a historically dominant, culturally rich civilization with ties to the ancient Persian Empire. And this is something that is “exceptionally” seen a lot among the immigrants and statically, we have fewer people with such beliefs in Iran based on my own experience and observations.
However, Maghbouleh's ethnographic study reveals that this belief creates tensions within second-generation Iranian-Americans. Many young Iranians find the concept problematic, as it contrasts with the discrimination and racialization they face in the U.S., where they are often perceived as non-white or foreign. This disconnect highlights a clash between the idealized racial identity promoted by parents and the reality of racial stigmatization experienced by their children