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Islam in Iran
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The Arab conquest of Iran, which culminated in the fall of the Sasanian Empire to the nascent Rashidun Caliphate, brought about a monumental change in Iranian society by purging Zoroastrianism, which had been the Iranian nation's official and majority religion since the time of the Achaemenid Empire. Since the Rashidun invasion, Islam (in any form) has consistently held the status of Iran's official religion except for during a short period in the 13th century, when the Mongol invasions and conquests destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate and smaller Islamic realms before resulting in the establishment of the Ilkhanate. The process by which Iranian society became integrated into the Muslim world took place over many centuries, with nobility and city-dwellers being among the first to convert, in spite of notable periods of resistance, while the peasantry and the dehqans (land-owning magnates) took longer to do so. Around the 10th century, most Persians had become Muslims.
Between the 7th century and the 15th century, Sunni Islam was the dominant sect in Iran, and Iranian academics of this period contributed greatly to the Islamic Golden Age. In the 16th century, the newly enthroned Safavid dynasty initiated a massive campaign to install Shia Islam as Iran's official sect,[1][2][3][4] aggressively proselytizing the faith and forcibly converting the Iranian populace. The Safavids' actions triggered tensions with the neighbouring Sunni-majority Ottoman Empire, in part due to the flight of non-Shia refugees from Iran.[5][6][7] It is estimated that by the mid-17th century, Iran had become a Shia-majority nation.[8] Over the following centuries, with the state-fostered rise of an Iran-based Shia clergy, a synthesis was formed between Iranian culture and Shia Islam that marked each indelibly with the tincture of the other.[9][10][1][2][3][4] Later, under the Pahlavi dynasty, Islamic influence on Iranian society was rolled back in order to assert a new Iranian national identity—one that focused on pre-Islamic Iran by shedding more light on Zoroastrian tradition and other aspects of ancient Iranian society, particularly during the Achaemenid era. However, in 1979, the Islamic Revolution brought about yet another monumental change by ending the historic Iranian monarchy and replacing it with an Islamic republic.
Shia and Sunni Islam in Iran. Statistics from the CIA. Actual values reported by the 2011 source are Shia, 90-95% and Sunni, 5-10%.[11] Later reports from the same site do not report this breakdown.[12] The two sources indicate the total percentage of all Muslims to have been [i] 99.4% (2011 estimate, the remaining 0.6% being other religious groups—including 0.3% Zoroastrian, Jewish, or Christian, and 0.4% unspecified),[11] or 98.5% (2020 estimate, the remaining 1.5% being other religious groups—including 0.7% Christian, 0.3% Baha'i, combined numbers for Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Hindu adherents totaling 0.2%, and agnostics at 0.3%, in both cases, numbers not summing to 100% because of rounding).[12]
- ^ a b Arshin Adib-Moghaddam (2017), Psycho-nationalism, Cambridge University Press, p. 40, ISBN 9781108423076,
Shah Ismail pursued a relentless campaign of forced conversion of the majority Sunni population in Iran to (Twelver) Shia Islam...
- ^ a b Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other, Routledge, 2017, p. 92, ISBN 9781317159780
- ^ a b Islam: Art and Architecture, Könemann, 2004, p. 501, ISBN 9783833111785,
Shah persecuted the philosophers, mystics, and Sufis who had been promoted by his grandfather, and unleashed fanatical campaigns of forcible conversion on Sunnis, Jews, Christians and other religious minorities
- ^ a b Melissa L. Rossi (2008), What Every American Should Know about the Middle East, Penguin, ISBN 9780452289598,
Forced conversion in the Safavid Empire made Persia for the first time dominantly Shia and left a lasting mark: Persia, now Iran, has been dominantly Shia ever since, and for centuries the only country to have a ruling Shia majority.
- ^ Arshin Adib-Moghaddam (2017), Psycho-nationalism, Cambridge University Press, p. 40, ISBN 9781108423076,
Shah Ismail pursued a relentless campaign of forced conversion of the majority Sunni population in Iran to (Twelver) Shia Islam...
- ^ Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other, Routledge, 2017, p. 92, ISBN 9781317159780
- ^ Islam: Art and Architecture, Könemann, 2004, p. 501, ISBN 9783833111785,
Shah persecuted the philosophers, mystics, and Sufis who had been promoted by his grandfather, and unleashed fanatical campaigns of forcible conversion on Sunnis, Jews, Christians and other religious minorities
- ^ Akiner, Shirin (5 July 2004). The Caspian: politics, energy and security, By Shirin Akiner, pg.158. Taylor & Francis. ISBN 9780203641675. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
- ^ "The Origins Of The Shiite-Sunni Split". NPR.org. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
- ^ John Obert Voll (1994). Islam, continuity and change in the modern world. Internet Archive. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-2639-8.
- ^ a b CIA Staff (July 29, 2021) [2011]. "Explore All Countries—Iran [§ People and Society: Religions]". CIA.gov/the-world-factbook /. Archived from the original on 2021-08-12. Retrieved 2021-08-14.
Muslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.)
Note, the MENA religious affiliation graphic linked to by this source also reports the 99.4% total, etc., but indicates distinct dates: "Data in graphic compiled in June 2014; updated September 2015." - ^ a b CIA Staff (October 15, 2024) [2020]. "Explore All Countries—Iran [§ People and Society: Religions]". CIA.gov/the-world-factbook /. Retrieved 17 October 2024.
Muslim (official) 98.5%, Christian 0.7%, Baha'i 0.3%, agnostic 0.3%, other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Hindu) 0.2% (2020 est.)
Note, this site also links to the "MENA religious affiliation" graphic with its distinct dates (i.e., "Data in graphic compiled in June 2014; updated September 2015."). Hence, the data at the 2024 website appear to be drawn from 2020 sources distinct from the MENA graphic.
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