Mission of Kurdistan: Investigating the Activities of American Lutheran Missionaries in Saujblag Mukri (from 1911 AD/1290 SH to 1937 AD/1316 SH) (Based on the contents of Kurdistan jornal )

The settlement of Christian and Jewish religious minorities in Kurdistan, as well as the necessity of missionary activities among the Kurds and efforts to promote Christianity among them, made the missionary associations pay a special attention to Kurdish areas from the very beginning. Mukri province, located in the city of Savojbalag (the present Mahabad), one of the Kurdish-inhabited provinces of Iran, located in the south of Lake Urmia, was one of the areas that was the focus of various missionary groups during the Qajar era. The American Lutheran Christian Mission known as the "Kurdistan Mission" was one of the most active missionary groups that started extensive activities in the city of Savojblag during the Qajar and early Pahlavi periods. The current study aims to provide an answer in a descriptive-analytical way to this question: What actions and for what purpose did the Kurdistan Mission carry out in Savojbalag during its different periods of activity and what was the reaction of the residents towards their presence and activities? The findings of this study show that the city of Savojblag because of its border situation, commercial location and the residence of religious minorities and foreigners there was very important for the American missionaries, and during the three periods of their presence in that city, they carried out cultural, medical and service activities in that city in order to pave the way for their missionary activities.