According to Thomas Walker Arnold, for the Persian, he would meet Ahura Mazda and Ahriman under the names of Allah and Iblis. But he must speak with care. Iran had been dominated mostly by Sunni, non-Persian rulers since the Arab conquests of 637. For example in school: There are some obligatory religion books like Quran or Essential knowledge of Din. The Shi’a/Sunni divergence in Islam dates back to the death of Muhammad in 632. There are also important secondary shrines for other relatives of the Eighth Imam in Tehran and Shiraz. The power play of these two countries causes constant friction within the Middle East. Politics Senior Sunni cleric condemns Kabul terrorist attack. The Safavids thus set in train a struggle for power between the urban and the crown that is to say, between the proponents of secular government and the proponents of a theocratic government; third, they laid the foundation of alliance between the religious classes ('Ulama') and the bazaar which played an important role both in the Persian Constitutional Revolution of 1905–1906, and again in the Islamic Revolution of 1979; fourth the policies introduced by Shah Abbas I conduced to a more centralized administrative system. [55], The vaqf is a traditional source of financial support for all religious institutions. Written by Secretariat of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) 2nd January 2021. Changes in the religious make-up of nowadays both nations changed drastically from that time and on. Persians remained Persians. Iran remained under Sunni rule for over 800 years until the Safavid Dynasty arose and overturned its leadership in the year 1501. Among the most important of these overlapping dynasties were the Tahirids in Khorasan (820-72); the Saffarids in Sistan (867-903); and the Samanids (875-1005), originally at Bokhara. Gunes Murat Tezcur, Taghi Azadarmaki, and Bahar Mehri, ", Abbas William Samii, "The Iranian nuclear issue and informal networks" in, یافته های طرح آمارگیری جامع فرهنگی کشور، فضاهای فرهنگی ایران، آمارنامه اماکن مذهبی، 2003، وزارت فرهنگ و ارشاد اسلامی، ص 39, یافته های طرح آمارگیری جامع فرهنگی کشور، فضاهای فرهنگی ایران، آمارنامه اماکن مذهبی، 2003، وزارت فرهنگ و ارشاد اسلامی، ص 154, یافته های طرح آمارگیری جامع فرهنگی کشور، فضاهای فرهنگی ایران، آمارنامه اماکن مذهبی، 2003، وزارت فرهنگ و ارشاد اسلامی، ص 263, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, If learning were suspended in the highest parts of heaven the Persians would attain it, Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran, International Rankings of Iran in Religion, "Iranians' Views Mixed on Political Role for Religious Figures", "IRANIANS' ATTITUDES TOWARD RELIGION: A 2020 SURVEY REPORT", "Iran's secular shift: new survey reveals huge changes in religious beliefs", "IRANIANS HAVE LOST FAITH ACCORDING TO SURVEY", "CONVERSION ii. [19] Islam was readily accepted by Zoroastrians who were employed in industrial and artisan positions because, according to Zoroastrian dogma, such occupations that involved defiling fire made them impure. With the later erosion of Safavid central political authority in the mid-17th century, the power of the Shia scholars in civil affairs such as judges, administrators, and court functionaries, began to grow, in a way unprecedented in Shi'ite history. Pilgrims serve as major sources of information about conditions in different parts of the country and thus help to mitigate the Firstly, Baluch nationalistic movements in Sistan & Baluchistan Province created serious social and political problems for the governments of Iran and Pakistan since before the 1979 Iranian Revolution. There are no official statistics in Iran for the number of Sunnis and Shia and the last known survey on this question was conducted in 1949, when the Sunni population was put at about eight percent. As for the numbers of seminaries, Qom alone had 60. Scholars posit that Sunni Islam in Iran was able to survive due to the flight of some Sunnis from urban centers to rural parts of country outside of the government’s reach. Institutions providing religious education include madrassas, or seminaries, and maktabs, or primary schools run by the clergy. "We live together nicely," he insists. Iran became an Islamic republic after the Islamic Revolution of 1979 which ended the Persian monarchy. On the other hand, Iranian Shi’as generally see Sunnis as Muslim, but as practioncers of a flawed form of Islam. Arabs and Turks also participated in this attempt.[27][28][29]. [57], Another major religious institution in Iran is the shrine. Today, Sunni Islam in Iran is still concentrated primarily in regions with large populations of ethnic Kurds, Balochs and Turkmen. [56] In particular, politicization of Friday prayers under the Islamic Republic has had the paradoxical consequence of discouraging religious people from attending Friday prayers. Imam Reza's shrine is considered the holiest. The most important scholars of almost all of the Islamic sects and schools of thought were Persian or live in Iran including most notable and reliable Hadith collectors of Shia and Sunni like Shaikh Saduq, Shaikh Kulainy, Imam Bukhari, Imam Muslim and Hakim al-Nishaburi, the greatest theologians of Shia and Sunni like Shaykh Tusi, Imam Ghazali, Imam Fakhr al-Razi and Al-Zamakhshari, the greatest physicians, astronomers, logicians, mathematicians, metaphysicians, philosophers and scientists like Al-Farabi, Avicenna, and Nasīr al-Dīn al-Tūsī, the greatest Shaykh of Sufism like Rumi, Abdul-Qadir Gilani. [53], Citizens of the Islamic Republic of Iran are officially divided into four categories: Muslims, Zoroastrians, Jews and Christians. Their leader, Tughril Beg, turned his warriors against the Ghaznavids in Khorasan. Other Sunni leaders also face travel restrictions and have been barred from visiting Abdulhamid in Zahedan. It is a remarkable fact that, with few exceptions, most Muslim scholars… in the intellectual sciences have been non-Arabs, thus the founders of grammar were Sibawaih and after him, al-Farsi and Az-Zajjaj. As Sunnis monopolized political power, Shi’as looked to their own Imams, the first 12 of whom were directly descended from Ali, for religious leadership. 311-15, 271-4 [Arabic]; R.N. Shi’as from other parts of the Middle East were invited to settle in Iran. The oppression and forced conversion of Sunnis would continue, mostly unabated, for the greater part of next two centuries until Iran as well as what is now Azerbaijan became predominantly Shi’ite countries. Pilgrimages to these shrines and the hundreds of local mamzadehs are undertaken to petition the saints to grant special favors or to help one through a period of troubles. The word Shi’a, comes from the Arabic term Shiaat Ali, which literally means “followers of Ali.”. In the 9th and 10th centuries, non-Arab subjects of the Ummah, especially Persians created a movement called Shu'ubiyya in response to the privileged status of Arabs. Savory, "Rise of a Shi'i State in Iran and New Orientation in Islamic Thought and Culture" in UNESCO: History of Humanity, Volume 5: From the Sixteenth to the Eighteenth Century, London ; New York : Routledge ; Paris. These leaders established the Isfahan Observatory where Omar Khayyám did much of his experimentation for a new calendar, and they built religious schools in all the major towns. The majority of Sunnis are ethnic Kurds, Baluch, and Turkmen, whose ethnic brethren extend be-yond Iran’s borders. Sunni and Shiite Countries Saudi Arabia. Jome mosque; Jameh Mosque of Germi; Jameh Mosque of Namin; Blue Mosque, Tabriz. Sunni states have long feared that Iran might stir up unrest among regional Shia minority populations, especially in Bahrain. The 2017 ISIS attack on Tehran proves they have already had a measure of success, as it has been discovered that five of the attackers were Iranian Kurds. Shaykh Abdol Hamid, Iranian Sunni leader, criticizes the Iranian regime for their dirty (safavid like) policies towards the Ahlus-Sunnah of Iran. It is a religious endowment by which land and other income-producing property is given in perpetuity for the maintenance of a shrine, mosque, madrassa, or charitable institution such as a hospital, library, or orphanage. Inheriting a heritage of thousands of years of civilization, and being at the "crossroads of the major cultural highways",[23] contributed to Persia emerging as what culminated into the "Islamic Golden Age". The mullahs in Iran have increased their persecution of Sunni Muslims in southwestern and southeast Iran, where many Iranian Sunnis live. [18] Accordingly, the Muslim population of Iran rose from approx. This page was last edited on 28 April 2021, at 20:24. Following the Iranian Revolution, the 1979 Constitution of Islamic Republic of Iran made the "guardian" the Supreme Leader of Iran[52] The author of Velayat-e faqih doctrine, Ayatollah Khomeini, as the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic. Per a report from West Point’s Countering Terrorism Center, ISIS has released online videos specifically geared towards ethnic Arab and Baloch Iranian Sunnis. Culturally, politically, and most remarkable of all even religiously, the Iranian contribution to this new Islamic civilization is of immense importance. The criminal justice system is another sector in which many of Iran’s Sunnis face abuses instigated and compounded both by their religious and ethnic identities. Kermanshah, May 11, IRNA – The office of Supreme Leader’s representative in Sunnis affairs in Kermanshah province issued a statement to condemn the terrorist attack that took place in Kabul on Saturday. Moreover, homegrown Sunni extremist groups already have a presence in Iran, primarily Iranian Kurdistan and in Sistan-Balochistan, where Sunni militant groups such as the Jaish al-Adl have waged an aggressive terror campaign against Iranian security forces. Iran and Azerbaijan were predominantly Sunni until the 16th century. Great jurists were Persians. Iranian intelligence officials have also taken aim at specific Sunni religious leaders, most notably Molavi Abdulhamid, the leader of the Sunni community in the city of Zahedan in Sistan-Balochistan, and Iran’s most prominent Sunni cleric. [30] By the early 10th century, the Abbasids almost lost control to the growing Persian faction known as the Buwayhid dynasty (934-1055). In Iraq the shrines at Karbala and An Najaf also are revered by Iranian Shias. Kermanshah, May 11, IRNA ... Tehran, May 10, IRNA –Head of Iran’s Islamic Seminaries, Ayatollah Alireza Arafi, in a message… Qalibaf: Cowardly terrorist act ineffective on Afghan nation’s resolute will. Despite constitutional protections and guarantees, for Iran’s Sunnis, many of these challenges and injustices persist, oftentimes in the name of national security. Over 80 million people live in Iran and the vast majority are Shia Muslims. In 1501, Shah Ismail I took control of the country and established the Safavid Dynasty, Iran’s first native ruling dynasty in nine centuries. Although it affirms Shi’a Islam as the state religion, Article 12 of Iran’s modern constitution insists that other schools of Islam be afforded “full respect” and “official status.” Despite this, Iranian Sunnis are by law and by practice barred from many key sectors of Iranian politics. Sunni and Shia Muslims share the most fundamental Islamic beliefs and articles of faith and are the two main sub-groups in Islam. Today perhaps 98 percent of ethnic Iranians, including the population of Persia, are at least nominal Muslims. Iran wants to maintain good relation with Russia, which supports Armenia and is worried that a prolonged conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh will encourage Sunni extremism in the Caucuses and central Asia. They have sought to fight one another on Sunni-Shia lines not out of religious hatred but rather because they see sectarianism as a tool they can use — thus making that religious division much more violent and fraught. Even in areas of government where no law exists banning Sunnis, they often face consistent and systematic exclusion. What is the main religion in Iran? [12], As in the case of the early caliphate, Safavid rule had been based originally on both political and religious legitimacy, with the shah being both king and divine representative. The development of the ta'ziah—a passion play commemorating the martyrdom of Imam Husayn and his family — and Ziarat of the shrines and tombs of local Shi'ite leaders began during this period, largely at the prompting of the Shi'ite clergy. [17], Following the Abbasid revolution of 749–51, in which Iranian converts played a major role, the Caliphate's center of gravity moved to Mesopotamia and underwent significant Iranian influences. "We live together nicely," he insists. [20] Moreover, Muslim missionaries did not encounter difficulty in explaining Islamic tenets to Zoroastrians, as there were many similarities between the faiths. Others however, argued that Ali, Muhammad’s cousin, was the rightful successor. Despite the constitution’s demand that all of Iran’s provinces be treated equally by the state, areas with majority or sizable Sunni populations such as Sistan-Balochistan and Iranian Kurdistan have suffered decades of economic and infrastructural neglect. The Ottoman Turks brought a form of Iranian civilization to the walls of Vienna..."[22], The Islamization of Iran was to yield deep transformations within the cultural, scientific, and political structure of Iran's society: The blossoming of Persian literature, philosophy, medicine and art became major elements of the newly forming Muslim civilization. Islam has been the official religion of Iran since then, except for a short duration after the Mongol raids and establishment of Ilkhanate. (Supplied) By Behnam Gholipour. Although Iranian Sunni community leaders have been quick to denounce extremism, terror analysts have noted that groups such as ISIS, al-Qaeda and smaller affiliates have been actively working to influence and recruit disaffected Iranian Sunnis. Finally, in 1979, the Islamic Revolution in Iran produced a radical brand of Shia Islam that would clash violently with Sunni conservatives in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere in the decades to follow. Pre-Safavid Iran. Nevertheless, apart from this domination there existed, firstly, throughout these nine centuries, Shia inclinations among many Sunnis of this land and, secondly, original Imami Shiism as well as Zaydī Shiism had prevalence in some parts of Iran. In the 1970s, hoseiniyehs such as the Hoseiniyeh Irshad in Tehran became politicized as prominent clerical and lay preachers helped to lay the groundwork for the Revolution by referring to the symbolic deaths as martyrs of Hussein and the other imams in veiled but obvious criticism of Mohammad Reza Shah's regime. Since much of the Abbasid administration had been Persian anyway, the Buwayhid, who were Zaidi Shia, were quietly able to assume real power in Baghdad. In addition to the usual shrine accoutrements, it comprises hospitals, dispensaries, a museum, and several mosques located in a series of courtyards surrounding the imam's tomb. Indeed, the continued underdevelopment of these regions is leaving the door open to radical Islam. The Samanids also revived many ancient Persian festivals. According to scholar Roy Mottahedeh, one significant change to Islam in Iran during the first half of the 20th century was that the class of ulema lost its informality that allowed it to include everyone from the highly trained jurist to the "shopkeeper who spent one afternoon a week memorizing and transmitting a few traditions." Only 10% of the population is Sunni. Ulugh Beg, grandson of Timur, built an observatory of his own, and a grand madrassah at Samarkand. functioned like religious universities at which several scholars taught diverse religious and secular subjects. Raising awareness for Sunni prisoners facing persecution, torture and execution in Iran. Ibn Khaldun narrates in his Muqaddimah:[25]. Abdulhamid was forbidden to leave Iran for over a decade, and was even denied leave to visit relatives in nearby Qatar. When Islam was introduced to Iranians, the nobility and city-dwellers were the first to convert; Islam spread more slowly among the peasantry and the dehqans, or landed gentry. This movement led to resurgence of Persian national identity. Sunni- Shi’ite tensions, whilst entrenched for centuries, certainly came to a head following the pro- Shi’ite revolution in Iran that sought to spread its message across the Arab world, threatening the domestic security of the Sunni Baath party. [13] By 674, Muslims had conquered Greater Khorasan (which included modern Iranian Khorasan province and modern Afghanistan, Transoxania). [1] However, according to the 2020 Online Survey by GAMAAN institution, there has been a sharp decline in religiosity in Iran, and only 32% of Iranians now identify as Shia Muslims. Statistics of religious buildings according to آمارنامه اماکن مذهبی (Statistics of Religious Places) which has been gathered in 2003. Aside from being a clear violation of their human and constitutional rights, Iran’s mistreatment of its Sunni population undermines the very security Iranian hardliners believe restriction and exclusion of Sunnis would preserve. According to government estimates, Sunnis make up between 7% and 10% of Iran’s population. However, Shia Muslims are the majority in some other countries such as Iran, Iraq, and more recently, Lebanon. The political rift over time became spiritual after the assassinations of Ali in 661 and his son in 680. Abdulhamid vehemently denies this, stressing that he and other Iranian Sunni leaders “are not the opposition,” and “have always stressed unity between Shias and Sunnis.” He concludes that authorities’ restrictions on Sunni leadership “all comes down to intolerance.”. Second, the influence of the Shī‘ī tradition of Baghdad and Najaf on Iran during the fifth/eleventh and sixth/twelfth centuries.
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