With the overthrow of the Shah and the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran, religion came to affect all aspects of life. The dominant religion in Iran is Shia Islam, specifically the Twelver (Jafari) Shia branch of Islam. While the Shia sect is a minority of all Muslims (between 10-15% of all Muslims are Shia) it has been the dominant sect in Iran since the Safavid dynasty in the sixteenth century established it as the official religion of the country. It is also the dominant religion in neighboring Iraq, which is also home to two of the sect’s holiest places, the towns of Karbala and Najaf. The establishment of the Islamic Republic, however, brought fundamental innovations to the interpretation of traditional Shia doctrine that are not accepted by many Iranians including leading scholars of Islam; debates continue as to the proper role of religion in government. The young generation of Iranians, born after the revolution of 1979, is increasingly restive and discontent with the restrictions on personal freedoms and with some religious interpretations of the government.
Shia Origins and Doctrine
Islam began, according to Islamic belief, with revelations from Allah to the Prophet Mohammad, who lived from 570 A.D. to 632 A.D. He was a member of a caravan merchant family belonging to the Hashimite branch of the Quraysh tribe living in the prosperous town of Mecca, in what is today Saudi Arabia. After marrying a wealthy widow for whom he had worked as a caravan leader and fathering several children (only one of whom, his daughter Fatima, would grow up and produce children), at the age of 40 he began to receive what he interpreted as a series of revelations from God, transmitted to him by the Angel Gabriel. These revelations continued for the next 22 years. They were written down only after his death and constitute the sacred scripture, the Quran (The Recitation). His first convert was his wife, Khadija, who convinced him that these utterances he was hearing were the divine word of God (Allah) and not a sign of madness. Converts grew slowly but, by 622A.D. they had formed a small but influential community in the town of Mecca.
At this time, Arabia was inhabited by many tribes and was a society centered on trade and war among these tribes. Mecca was one of the central cities and markets in the area. However, it had a special role as the home of the sacred Kaaba (a shrine housing many deities) and hence a great pilgrimage center. Moreover, there was a pilgrimage season during which tribes put aside their enmity and competition and gathered in Mecca for religious and social celebrations. Mohammad, convinced that he was speaking for God, denounced polytheism and the thriving pilgrimage business which accounted for much of Mecca's wealth. He accompanied his denunciations with actions, including the destruction of images. Thus, his messages of religious reform threatened the economy of Mecca as well as the political clout of its rulers. Fearing for his life, in 622 he left Mecca and migrated, with a group of followers, to the town of Yathrib, later named Medina, a town which had invited him to establish his community there. This event, known as the Hijra or Migration, denotes the beginning of a Muslim community-state and the Muslim calendar also dates from this year. The Muslim calendar is based on a 354-day lunar year and is not adjusted for the solar year; thus each year is 11 days shorter than the Western solar calendar and 33 Solar years equal 34 years by the Muslim calendar.
Settling in Medina, Prophet Mohammad soon established a flourishing community, and consolidated the political and religious leadership in his own hands. During this time, he engaged in a series of battles, eventually defeating forces sent from Mecca in 630 and returning there in triumph. His return was celebrated by destroying the images in the Kaaba and sanctifying it as a shrine to Islam. The pilgrimage, always an important part of Arabic tribal life, was reinstated and made one of the five pillars of Islam. It was during this time, as well, that Mohammad made many pronouncements regarding political rule, the relation of the state and the economy to each other, the role of the family and of women, the role of the army and how it should behave. Since he was entrusted with political as well as religious rule, many of his revelations deal with these practical issues. It was also during this time that he married a number of women, his first wife, Khadija, having died after 25 years of marriage. Of all his wives, only one, Aisha, was a virgin when he married her.
The origins of the Shia can be traced back to the death of Mohammad in 632 and a difference of opinion as to who should now lead the Muslim community. Mohammad himself left no instructions as to how his successor should be chosen. Those closest to him nominated one of themselves, Abu Bakr, the Prophet’s father in law and close friend, as the first Caliph (successor) to govern the community in both secular and religious matters. He was succeeded by three other close associates of Mohammad; these four were considered by the majority of Muslims to be the “rightly guided Caliphs” as they had personally known Mohammad. However, a minority opposed the selection of Abu Bakr, instead claiming that Ali, Mohammad’s cousin and son in law, a member of his family, was the proper leader. They called themselves the “Shi’at Ali,” the “Party of Ali” and refused to accept the rule of the first three caliphs. The fourth caliph was Ali and with his selection the two parties were temporarily united. However, a relative of the 3rd Caliph opposed Ali, and, after Ali was assassinated by relatives of the 3rd Caliph, claimed leadership of the Islamic community by founding the first Islamic Dynasty, the Umayyad Dynasty, with its capital in Damascus rather than in Medina. Ali’s sons, Hassan and Husayn continued opposition to this new dynasty, with Husayn eventually leading an army to fight against them, claiming that he was the legitimate interpreter of Islam. With Husayn’s defeat and death in the battle of Karbala, the Shia essentially went into hiding and the Umayyads ruled until they in turn were overthrown by the Abbasid dynasty which established its capital in Baghdad in 750. While the Shia initially supported the Abbasids, who were descended from an uncle of Mohammad and thus in the Prophet’s family, they too were discriminated against by this dynasty and remained a minority group with little power.
The difference between the Shia and the Sunni (the community of Islam) as the majority came to be known, was not simply a disagreement on who should rule the Islamic world but on matters of interpretation of the Qur’an and Islamic law. The Shia developed a distinctive institution called the Imamate. According to this view, the ruler of the Islamic community should not be just a secular ruler but should be able to interpret Divine Law and its esoteric (hidden) meaning. To do this he must be sinless and free from error and must be chosen by Allah through his descent from the Prophet. The Imamate thus began with Ali (the fourth “rightly guided Caliph”) who succeeded Mohammad as the spiritual leader of the Islamic community. Ali is thus the first Imam, with his sons, Hasan and Husayn being the second and third Imams and his descendants continuing the line until the twelfth Imam. This Imam, a child of five, became Imam in 874 and was hidden as his followers feared assassination by the Abbasid dynasty. It is believed that he remained on earth, hidden from view, for seventy years (the lesser occultation) and then disappeared from earth about 939 (the greater occultation) and that he is waiting until the right time to return as the Madhi or Messiah on the Day of Judgment. During the time until the twelfth Imam returns, there is no perfect and faultless interpretation of Islamic law; all interpretations are subject to revision. Shia believe that the twelfth Imam is spiritually present (some believe he is materially present) and he is begged to reappear in prayers; his birthday is a joyous celebration.
The word Imam is confusing as the two sects of Islam use it in different ways. For the Sunni, an imam is a prayer leader and any educated individual can hold this office which can be permanent or temporary. For the Shia, the term Imam has been used only for Ali and his eleven descendants who, along with Mohammad and his daughter Fatima (Ali’s wife) form the fourteen sinless ones of Shia belief. Of the twelve Imams, only Ali ruled the community; while the followers of the other Imams hoped they would rule and considered the real rulers (the Umayyads and the Abbassids) to be usurpers. They realized that they were in danger and thus tried to be unobtrusive and to live as far as was possible from the capital of the Islamic empire.
The Iranian people, in terms of culture and beliefs, can be
divided into three categories: rural, nomadic and urban. More
than 50 percent of the country's population is urban and Teheran,
the nation's capital, is the largest city. Isfahan, Mashad,
Rasht, Shiraz, and Tabriz are some of the other large cities.
The population of these cities is much better educated, wealthier
and more progressive than the peasants and farmers in the rural
areas, many of whom live in traditional villages at a relatively
low economic level. Nomadic herdsmen still roam in Iran and
have their traditional summer and winter pastures for their
flocks, although few of them are true nomads any longer; most
have permanent houses in small villages.
Perhaps the most important of the Imams after Husayn, whose massacre is the occasion for the Muharram celebrations, (see below) is the eighth Imam, Reza (765-816). He was invited by the Caliph Al Mamun, who was favorably disposed towards the Imams, to visit him in the city of Merv (Mary, today) and designated him as his successor in an attempt to heal the breach between the two factions. Reza’s sister, Fatima, traveled from Medina to be with her brother but died en route at Qom, in present day Iran. A shrine developed around her tomb and Qom thus developed into a major Shia pilgrimage and theological center. Reza himself died in Khorasan on a trip with the Caliph; the city of Mashhad and a major shrine grew up around his tomb and Mashhad became the most important pilgrimage site in Iran. Just as pilgrims who make the journey to Mecca are entitled to use the term Hajji with their names, so too those who journey to Mashhad are called Mashti.
The concept of the Imamate developed over the centuries and was fully elaborated in the tenth century. One characteristic of Shia Islam is the continual reinterpretation of doctrine, always recognizing that all interpretations are simply the best that man can do until the reappearance of the twelfth Imam. The most recent example of an reinterpretation or innovation that is not accepted by all Shia, is the idea of political guardianship of the community of believers by scholars trained in religious law (velayat-e-faqih) developed by Khomeini and the basis of the creation of the present Islamic state. In simple terms this doctrine states that the clergy, because of their superior knowledge of the laws of Allah, are the best qualified to rule the society of believers who are preparing themselves to live eternally in heaven. Thus, there is no difference between religious and secular government.
While the Sunni and Shia groups are in agreement with many of the principles of belief and practice there are several differences. Both believe in the five pillars of belief and action: the Shahada (confession of faith); the five ritualized daily prayers; zakat (almsgiving of 2 ½ -3% of ones possessions); fasting during the lunar month of Ramadan; and Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime. The Shia, however, add two others: the jihad-crusade to protect Islamic lands, beliefs, and institutions; and the requirement to do good works and avoid evil thought, words, and deeds. Shia accept the same basic principles of belief as the Sunnis: there is one God; the Prophet Muhammad is the last of a line of prophets beginning with Abraham and including Moses and Jesus; Mohammad was chosen by Allah to present his message to mankind and the Qur’an is the literal word of Allah; there will be a final judgment day with a resurrection of the body and soul. However, they add two others: Allah will reward or punish believers based on actions undertaken through their own free will; the twelve Imams were successors to Muhammad and were infallible.
In addition to the holidays celebrated by both all Muslims such as the Festival of Fast Breaking at the end of Ramadan (Eid –ul-Fitr) and the Festival of Sacrifice (Eid-ul-Adha), Shia Muslims observe a state of mourning and re-enactment of the martyrdom of Husayn at Karbala, during the month of Muharram. This commemorates the death of the Third Imam who was killed in Karbala in 680 AD during a battle with troops supporting the Umayyad caliph. This is the most important event in Shia history and it is celebrated each year with passion plays and mourning on a huge scale. During the ten days leading up to Ashurah, the day on which Husayn was actually killed, people mourn, beat themselves, cry and engage in long passion plays which re-enact every aspect of this event. The Shia take the blame on themselves for the failure of the community to come to Husayn’s aid as he battled the caliph, Yazid (who thus becomes the symbol of evil). It is a time of community mourning, penitence and renewal of commitment to their religious beliefs. Many towns and villages have permanent Husayniyehs—special buildings dedicated to the passion plays commemorating the martyrdom of Husayn. In the 1970’s, some of these husayneyahs, such as the Husayneyah Irshad in Tehran, were used by clerics to connect the death Husayn and other Imams with the policies of the Shah’s regime. This helped set the stage for the revolution of 1979 wit the Shah being considered the “Yazid of our time.”
The Shia are also accustomed to make pilgrimage to the shrines of the Imams, and other important religious figures. Iran and Iraq are dotted with these shrines. The most important shrines in Iran are the one for the eighth Imam in Mashhad and for his sister Fatima in Qom. Imam Reza’s shrine in Mashhad contains hospitals, dispensaries, a museum and several mosques, in a series of courtyards surrounding his tomb. It has the largest endowments of any religious institution in Iran and traditionally provided free meals for up to 1,000 people per day. The most important shrines in the world for Shia are those in Iraq at Karbala (the site of the massacre of Huasyn) and in Najaf (the site of his tomb). Almost every town or village also has a shrine called an imamzadeh, which commemorates descendants of the imams who are reputed to have led saintly lives. Shia pilgrims, especially women, visit these sites because they believe that the imams and their relatives have the power to intercede with Allah on behalf of petitioners. Women particularly visit these shrines as they not only provide religious hope but social benefits, and the chance to travel on sanctioned business (no husband can refuse to allow his wife to fulfill a vow to venerate at a saint’s shrine). While shrines and saint veneration also exist throughout the Sunni Muslim world, it is looked down upon and considered to be heretical by many Sunni Muslim scholars.
The mosque is the center of Shia Islamic life, especially in urban areas where congregational prayers, prayers and rites associated with religious holidays, etc take place. During the 1970’s the role of the mosque expanded and they played a prominent role in organizing people for the large demonstrations that took place in 1978 and 1979. Since the Islamic revolution, their role has continued to expand and they now play important political and social roles as well as religious ones. Traditionally, education has also been associated with the mosque and, prior to the nineteenth century, mosque schools, called maktabs, were the only primary educational institutions available. They continued as private religious schools with the introduction of a secular educational system in the nineteenth century. Since the revolution, they have merged with public schools, all of which now provide religious instruction.
The most important training institutions in Iran for religious training have been the Madrasehs, or seminaries. These are schools, centered around an important religious figure, often endowed by pious individuals which provide training for Shia clergy. The students live on the grounds of the Madrasehs and study for a minimum of seven years before being certified as a mullah, or elementary level cleric. Many more years of study are necessary before reaching the highest levels of clerical rank. In 1979, there were over 11,000 religious scholars in Iran, 60% of whom studied in Madrasehs in Qom, 25% in Mashhad and Esfahan, and the others in different locations. Since the revolution, this number has increased.
The traditional financial support for all religious institutions, the mosque, the shrine, schools, etc has been the religious endowment called a vaqf. These endowments provided land or other income-producing property which is given in perpetuity for the maintenance of the shrine, mosque, etc. The vaqfs were traditionally run by hereditary administrators in accordance with the terms of the bequest. During the Pahlavi’s reign, the government attempted to control the administration of vaqfs which resulted in great conflict with the clergy. As a result, many wealthy Shia gave their financial contributions directly to a leading ayatollah who in turn used these funds for religious and charitable enterprises. This gave the clergy access to a steady source of income and was an important factor in their ability to oppose and ultimately overthrow the Shah.
While the clergy or ulama, have played an important role in the development of Twelver Shia Islam since the ninth century, the development of distinct hierarchy among the clergy began only in the nineteenth century. Since the nineteenth century, the highest religious authority has been vested in mujtahid, scholars whose understanding of religious law and science have given them leadership roles in the community. Lay members and lesser clergy are expected to follow the rulings of mujtahid in all religious questions but may choose to follow any mujtahid they wish. In the twentieth century, a few mujtahids have attracted large followings and been given the title Ayatollah; the title Grand Ayatollah have been given to a very few, such as Ayatollah Khomeini. Many Shia feel that the pronouncements of these Ayatollah have the same value as the pronouncements of an Imam and that people must follow their rulings. To become a mujtahid requires many years of study in one of the madrasehs of Qom, Mashhad or an Najaf (Iraq) and recognition by the laymen and scholars in the Shia community.
For more information on shia religion in Iran, click on the following sites:
http://www.pbs.org/adventuredivas/iran/index.html
http://www.salamiran.org/CT
http://www.irancaravan.com
http://www.iranchamber.com/index.php
Other Islamic Sects in Iran
In addition to the dominant Shia, about 8% of Iranians are Sunni Muslims. A number of Iran’s minorities: the Kurds, the Baluchis, the Turkomans and some Arabs, are Sunni Muslims. They do not recognize the institution of the Imamate. They are accepted by Iranian Shia are legitimate Muslims but the clergy work to convert them; there is some tension between the groups, especially during the Shi’ite ceremonies during the month of Muharram.
Iran also contains small groups of other Shia sects who are considered unorthodox. There are a number of Sufi (mystical Islam) brotherhoods who operate in Iran. While historically, these Sufi groups have had close ties to the Shia, today they are regarded with suspicion and generally keep a low profile. These brotherhoods generally appeal to the middle class, more secularized Iranian,s as they offer a more direct path to Allah and put less emphasis on the strict construction of religious duties.
The Ismaili sect still has several thousand adherents in northeastern Iran. The Ismailis trace their origin to the son of Ismail who died prior to his father, the Sixth Imam. Founded in Iran, they were very active from the eleventh to the thirteenth century. They are known in history as the feared “Assassins” because of their practice of killing political opponents. Their center in Alamut, in the Alborz Mountains, was destroyed by the Mongols in 1256 and their living Imams went into hiding. In the nineteenth century, their leader emerged in public as the Agha Khan and fled to British-controlled India. There are currently over several million Ismailis, most outside of Iran, in India and Pakistan.
Non-Muslim Minorities in Iran
The Non-Muslim minorities in Iran consist of Bahais, Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians. The largest group is (was) the Bahais with an estimated population of 350,000 in 1979 although this is now unknown as they have been subject to persecution and viewed as heretical since the Islamic Revolution. There are an estimated 250,000 Armenian Christians, 32,000 Assyrian Christians and very small numbers of Roman Catholic, Anglican and Protestant Christians. There are about 50,000 Jews left in Iran and about 32,000 Zoroastrians. The Armenian and Assyrian Christians, Jews, and Zoroastrians are recognized as official religious minorities under the Constitution of 1979. They are permitted to elect representatives to the Majlis (Parliament) and may be employed in the government. They enjoy the same civil liberties as Muslims and are free to practice their religion. Thus they follow their own religious laws in matters of marriage, divorce, and inheritance. They must, however, conform to the laws relating to dress, prohibition of alcohol and segregation by sex at public gatherings. Moreover, Armenian and Assyrian schools must have a Muslim as Principal, a law which has caused much dissension.
The Jewish community is one of the oldest in the world, being composed of descendants of the Jews sent to Babylon in the 5th century B.C by the conquerors of Palestine. Most of these Jews are indistinguishable from the Iranians, and speak Persian as their mother tongue; most live in cities. Until the twentieth century they were confined to their own section of the cities where they were an impoverished minority, working with metals, and engaged in small scale trading and money lending. Since World War II, they have had increased opportunities, received funding from International Jewish organizations and have entered the professions, such as pharmacy, medicine, and dentistry. While they are recognized as an official religious minority and have the right to elect a representative to the Majlis, they are viewed with suspicion because of the government hostility toward Israel; most of the Iranian Jews have relatives in Israel as over 45,000 Iranian Jews immigrated to Israel between1948-1977. There is a feeling of insecurity among these Jews regarding their future and many are emigrating.
Zoroastrianism originated in Iran in the 7th century B.C. It became the official religion of the Sassanid Empire, which ruled in Iran for over 400 years before being destroyed by the Arabs in the seventh century A.D. After Iran became part of the Islamic empire, (the Umayyad and the Abbasid Empires) the population gradually converted to Islam. During the 19th century, remaining Zoroastrians were persecuted and many emigrated to India. Today the Parsees, as they are called, form a small but wealthy community of about two million in India. By the twentieth century, their fortunes had changed and the Pahlavi government encouraged them to migrate to larger cities where they entered the professions as well as becoming merchants.
For more information on Zoroastrians in Iran, click on the following site:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religions/zoroastrian/index.shtml
The Bahais have fared the worst of all the religious minorities in Iran as they are not recognized as an official minority; instead, they are seen as heretics. Since 1979, they have been officially persecuted with over 700 religious leaders arrested and several executed for apostasy. Their schools were closed, their communal property confiscated and they were prohibited from holding any government jobs. They were not issued identity cards and security forces failed to protect them from attacks by mobs. As a result of this persecution, many have emigrated and the numbers actually remaining are unknown.
Why have the Bahais been persecuted? This religion originated in Iran in the middle of the nineteenth century as a reformist movement within Shia Islam. It initially attracted a wide following among Shia clergy and lay people who where dissatisfied with the function of religion in society. However, one of the claims of the founders of this religion is that the founder was a prophet who received direct communication from Allah in establishing this religion. According to Islam theology, Mohammad was the final prophet in a long line of prophets sent by Allah; no other prophet will appear after him. Thus, the claim of prophethood made the Bahais heretical in the eyes of mainstream Muslims and the movement has been persecuted in Iran since the beginning. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the persecution was so intense that the Bahai leader fled to Ottoman controlled Palestine (present-day Israel) where the religion continued to evolve by incorporating beliefs from other world religions. By the early twentieth century, Bahaism had evolved into a new religion that stressed the brotherhood of all peoples, equality of the sexes and pacifism.
For more information on the Bahais, please click on the following site:
http://www.habai-religion.org/index.htm
