Shia islam holds that the mahdi, as the redeemer of islam, will return from hiding to rid the world of injustice. Islam is the religion of 98% of iranians of which approximately 89% are shi. As indicated by richard foltz in his 20 book religions of iran. Christianity in iran dates back to the early years of the faith, predating islam. The kurds and turkmen are predominantly sunni muslims, but irans arabs are both sunni and shi. Ayaan hirsi ali and azar nafisi as their ideal feminine model. In common with other religions, zoroastrians in iran have confronted both persecution and a concerted attempt by the islamist regime in tehran to destroy the very foundations of their faith. Press iran on religious freedom the new york times. How different factions of the clergy, or ulama first lost and then regained a powerful position in iran is the subject of this book. After that, there were successive dynasties who adopted the shi. The facade is decorated with exquisite brickwork and a marble engraving in the palms of two angels which reads. It was the predominant religion in the region until conquered persia zoroastrians in iran have had a long history reaching back thousands of years, and are the oldest religious community of iran that has survived to the present day. During the same period, irans armenian community, once a prominent christian minority in tehran, has declined by more than eighty percent.
It predates the appearance of states and nations and has always influenced their ideals, behaviors, and. The oldest part is the gathas, which includes a collection of hymns and one of the oldest examples of religious poetry attributed to the prophet zoroaster ca. Religion in iran is a title that would have one assume that the contents of the book would contain at least one chapter dedicated to each religion that has contributed to iran s glorious history and culture. Shia islam is the state religion of iran, and the main religion practised in tehran. Kim ghattas seamlessly weaves together history, geopolitics, and culture to deliver a gripping read of the largely unexplored story of the rivalry between between saudi. Freedom of religion in iran is marked by iranian culture, major religion and politics. Revealing hidden lives in iran iranians have an inside, private life and an outside, public lifeand nearly everybody lives by these rules. The imam reza 8th imam of shia shrine complex located in the mashhad and the shrine of hazrat masoumeh, the sister of imam reza,is located in qom. Unravels the explosive complexities of contemporary iran, studying the role of religion and religious education in the culture and depicting the lives of ordinary. Even with news breaking daily in iran, the first book i send myself and other readers back to has to be roy mottahedehs the mantle of the prophet. Iran is officially and in practice an islamic republicthe constitution of the islamic republic of iran mandates that the official religion of iran is shia islam and the twelver jafari school, and also mandates that other islamic schools are to be accorded full respect, and their followers are free to act. Small communities of christians, jews, and zoroastrians are also found throughout the country. From 1941 to 1979, iran was ruled by king mohammad reza pahlavi, the shah. In 2005, mahmoud ahmadinejad of iran closed a speech at the united nations with a call for the mighty lord to hasten the emergence of imam mahdi, a direct descendent of the prophet muhammad.
On top of the many islamic sites it has to offer, it hosts a range of churches, synagogues, and zoroastrian places of worship. The religious works in the exhibition represent confessional and. When paul kriwaczek writes in his new book in search of zarathustra that in iran, in spite of everything, zarathustra still lives, he is not simply referring to the 60,000odd surviving zarathustis in iran, who have nurtured the religion through centuries of islamic persecution. The covid19 outbreak reached irans top officials, with its senior vice president, cabinet.
Delegations of anglican episcopal and the roman catholic church, shia and sunni islam, gathered in tehran from november 6th to november 9th for the fourth christianmuslim summit of religious leaders to reflect and share ideas around the theme of respect for. Printed and bound in the us by lake book manufacturing inc. The rift between shiis and sunnis occurred early in islamic history when the muslim community split over who should succeed the prophet muhammad as the caliph, or leader of the community. The kurds and turkmen are predominantly sunni muslims, but iran s arabs are both sunni and shi.
Saudi arabia, iran, and the fortyyear rivalry that unraveled culture, religion, and collective memory in the middle east kindle edition by ghattas, kim. Displayed is a page from the gathas, in the middle persian language pahlavi, and its translation into modern persian. Firefighters disinfect a street against the new coronavirus in western tehran, iran, on march, 2020. From what i have seen here in the usa, all iranians i have met are not religious or they practice another religion other than islam. During the period they destroyed the national bahai center in tehran, confiscated. In iran there was an immediate outcry, and both khomeini and leftist groups demanded the shahs return to iran for trial and execution. Here we are posed in front of the entrance to the zoroastrian fire temple in yazd, central iran.
In april 1996, in tehran, ayatollah sajjadi of al zahra university in qom posed three questions to the present writer about mandaean religious beliefs and behavior, and he seemed satisfied with the answers. Most armenians live in tehran, isfahan, tabriz, orumiyeh and smaller. How religious are mashad and qom compared to tehran. Since the 1979 revolution, iran has promoted a shia islamic identity aimed at transcending ethnic and national boundaries. Photos show iran before the 1979 islamic revolution.
The women of afghanistan, iraq, and iran who risk their lives and their beauty to defy the foulness of theocracy. In 1501, safavid dynasty established the twelver shi. Religion archives the iranian the iranian iran news. Perhaps surprisingly to the foreign tourist, tehran is a hub of religious diversity. The written zoroastrian holy book, called the avesta, dates back to between 600 and bc, but the traditions it is based on are more ancient.
Religion a thousand years of the persian book exhibitions. The population of iran has historically been between 98 and 99 percent muslim, of which the dominant portion, some 89 percent of total muslims, have been shia, the rest. The vast majority of iranians are muslims of the ithna. Sunni and shii are the two largest branches of islam, with the overwhelming majority of iranians practicing shii islam. In god and man in tehran, hossein kamaly explores the historical processes that have made and unmade contending visions of god in irans capital throughout the past two hundred years.
Religion and politics in contemporary iran shahrough. About 90 percent of iranians practice shiism, the official religion of iran. Saudi arabia, iran, and the fortyyear rivalry that unraveled culture, religion, and collective memory in the middle east by kim ghattas henry holt. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. Irans bustling capital isnt the most ancient of the countrys cities, but it nevertheless contains many fascinating religious sites well worth a visit. Iran is the eighteenth largest country in the world. The rift between shiis and sunnis occurred early in islamic history. Iran s bustling capital isnt the most ancient of the countrys cities, but it nevertheless contains many fascinating religious sites well worth a visit. Islamic laws in iran forbade them from sharing their christian beliefs, but in three. An inspired blend of memoir and literary criticism, reading lolita in tehran is a moving testament to the power of art and its ability to change and improve.
Permission to reprint excerpts from the iran primer book should be. Bianchi, a professor at the university of chicago, believes that religion is as old as humanity. With the approach of a new year comes the hope of peace among and within nations. There are also about 60,000 zarathusti parsees in india. Article of the iranian constitution, recognizes them as people of the book and they are granted the right to exercise religious freedom in iran. The religious texts of the zoroastrian faith of ancient persia are referred to as the avesta. Part of shiite religion is emulation of leading clerics, which is the basis for the irgcs role in iran. Indispensable for understanding the recent conflicts in iran, religion and politics in contemporary iran provides a political history of the fluctuating relationships between the islamic clergy and iranian government since 1925. Keeping bahai prisoners, iran threatens the entire.
On february 11, 1979, the islamic revolution swept the country. Iran officially the islamic republic of iran persian. Tehran project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks read. Vanguard of the imam, religion, politics, and irans revolutionary guards by afhson ostovar attempts to explain this history using shiite religion, iranian politics, and the conflicts that country has faced since the 1970s. From the moment i touched down at tehran airport a couple of weeks ago, i, and the two women journalists i was travelling with, thought of little. Investigates how women, religion and culture have interacted in the context of 19th and 20th century iran, covering topics as seemingly diverse as the social and cultural history of persian cuisine, the work and attitudes of 19th century christian missionaries, the impact of growing female literacy, and the consequences of developments since 1979. Iran simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. But as our nation explores peace on the nuclear front with tehran, members of irans diaspora community in the united states and other concerned americans must wonder when iran will cease its war against its own people and their rights, including freedom of conscience and religion. With contributions from leading researchers in the field of religion in nineteenthcentury iran, this book presents new insights into qajar religious, political and cultural history. Saudi arabia, iran, and the fortyyear rivalry that unraveled culture. On 4 november 1979 youthful islamists, calling themselves muslim student followers of the imams line, invaded the us embassy compound in tehran and seized its staff.
Zoroastrianism is the oldest religion in iran, before the arab conquer which converted the majority to islam. It shares borders with afghanistan, armenia, azerbaijan, iraq, pakistan, turkey, and turkmenistan tehran is the capital and biggest city. What are all of the religions in tehran iran answers. I consider this book a companion to reading lolita in. Kamaly examines how ideas of god have been mobilized, contested, and transformed, emphasizing how notions of the divine have given shape to and in turn have. This is still the most wonderfully shot and realized book on iran, showing the beauty and diversity of our country, and it is the book that began my own pull to visit iran after nearly 20 years away.
I have met three iranian women in college, two of them identify as shia, but do not practice it. In southwestern iran, roughly 650 km 400 mi south of the capital city of tehran, and some 70 km 40 mi northeast of shiraz, a cultivated plain gives way to the zagros mountains. Perhaps the title should have been religions from iran, whereby it would be more clear that the. Iran awakening is ebadis memoir in which she describes her upbringing in prerevolutionary iran as well as the ways in which the revolution changed her marriage, her faith, and her career. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading black wave. Two articles are particularly relevant to the status of irans religious minorities, who. It has always been a minority religion relative to the majority state religions zoroastrianism before the islamic conquest, sunni islam in the middle ages and shia islam in modern times, though it had a much larger representation in the past than it does today. Mashhad and qom are more religious than tehran, because two holy shrines located in these regions. Religion in iran is a title that would have one assume that the contents of the book would contain at least one chapter dedicated to each religion that has contributed to irans glorious history and culture. Preislamic persia once had a zoroastrianism majority and is known to be the oldest religion in iran.