Re: Persians
most of the persians you meet in America are Iranians who fled Iran when the Shah was deposed----they are the elite who weren't really into islam anyways...that is why they call themselves Persians NOT iranaians b/c they want to identify with their cultural heritage and not the current iranian country.
If you meet Iranians who are from iran you'll meet more religiously observant ones or rather ones who celebrate the holidays though how religious they are or are not is as varied as everyone else.