Audio Glossary: Z

zakah / zakat
The tax of two and one half per cent of wealth that a Muslim is religiously required to distribute to the poor once a year.
Zarathushtra
The prophet (known in the West as Zoroaster) who founded the Zoroastrian religion and whose teaching is preserved in 17 hymns known as the Gathas.
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Zen
Literally 'meditation' (Sanskrit dhyana, Chinese ch'an, Japanese zen). A Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism; one of the best known forms of Buddhism in the West. Zen practices aim to induce direct experience of the inner Buddha nature.
Zionism
Belief in a Jewish homeland in Israel, sometimes linked to religious considerations but sometimes supported for wholly secular reasons.
Zoroastrianism
An ancient religion with roots in Iran where there are still adherents, but now mostly associated with Mumbai (Bombay) in India where adherents are known as Parsis. An essential feature of worship, centred on fire, is physical and moral purity.
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