Religion in Iran

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Most Iranians are Muslims; 90% belong to the Shi'a branch of Islam, the official state religion, and about 8% belong to the Sunni branch of Islam. The remaining 2% are non-Muslim religious minorities, including Bahá'ís, Mandeans, Yezidis, Yarsanis, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians.^[1] The latter three minority religions are officially recognized and protected, and have reserved seats in the Majlis (Iranian Parliament). The Bahá'í Faith, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority, is not officially recognized, and has been persecuted during its existence in Iran. Since the 1979 revolution the persecution of Bahá'ís has increased with executions, the denial of civil rights and liberties, and the denial of access to higher education and employment.^[2][3]

Contents 1 Islam 1.1 Sunni Islam 2 Other faiths 2.1 Contemporary status 2.1.1 Reserved majles seats 2.2 Bahá'í Faith 2.3 Christianity 2.4 Zoroastrianism 2.5 Judaism 2.6 Hinduism 3 Religious freedom 4 References 5 See also

[edit] Islam

This section requires expansion.

Islam has been the official religion of Iran since the Islamic conquest of Iran except short duration after Mongol raid and establishment of the Ilkhanate.^{[citation needed]} Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979.

Islam is the religion of 98% of Iranians of which approximately 90% are Shi'a and 8% are Sunni, mostly Turkomen, a minority of Arabs (mainly in Hormozgan Province), Baluchs, and Kurds living in the southwest, southeast, northeast and northwest.^[4] Almost all of Iranian Shi'as are Twelvers.

In 1501, the Safavid dynasty established Twelver Shi'a Islam as the official state religion of Iran. ^[5] In 1979, Iran became an Islamic Republic based on the principle of rule by Shia Islamic jurists, where Shia Muslim clerics serve as head of state and in many powerful governmental roles.

[edit] Sunni Islam

Sunni Muslims (about 8% of the population - mainly among the Kurds of the north-west, the Balochis of the south-east, and the Turkmens in the north-east), a minority of Arabs (mainly in Hormozgan Province) - are the largest religious minority in Iran.^[6] While no official statistics are available for Sufi groups, there are reports that estimate their population between two and five million.^[6] Some Sufi sects in Iran include the Nimatullahi (the largest Shi'i Sufi order active throughout Iran) and the Naqshbandi (a Sunni order active mostly in the Kurdish and Azeri regions of Iran).

Ayatollah Khomeini also called for unity between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims (Sunni Muslims are the largest religious minority in Iran).^[7]

[edit] Other faiths

There are several major religious minorities in Iran, Bahá'ís (estimated 300,000-350,000) and Christians (estimated 300,000) being the largest. Smaller groups include Jews, Zoroastrians, Mandaeans, Yarsan (Ahl-e Haqq), as well as local religions practiced by tribal minorities.^[6][8]

While Bahá'ís are neither recognized nor protected by the Iranian constitution, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians are officially recognized and protected by the government. For example, shortly after his return from exile in 1979, at a time of great unrest, the revolution's leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini issued a fatwa ordering that Jews and other minorities be treated well. ^{[9] [10]}

[edit] Contemporary status

The constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran recognizes Islam, Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism as official religions. Article 13 of the Iranian Constitution, recognizes them as People of the Book and they are granted the right to exercise religious freedom in Iran.^{[11] [12]} Five of the 270 seats in parliament are reserved for these three religions.

On the other hand, senior government posts are reserved for Muslims. All minority religious groups, including Sunni Muslims, are barred from being elected president. Jewish, Christian and Zoroastrian schools must be run by Muslim principals.^[13] Compensation for death paid to the family of a non-Muslim was (by law) less than if the victim was a Muslim. Conversion to Islam is encouraged by entitling converts to inherit the entire share of their parents (or even uncle's) estate if their siblings (or cousins) remain non-Muslim.^[14] Iran's non-Muslim population has fallen dramatically. For example, the Jewish population in Iran dropped from 80,000 to 30,000 in the first two decades of the revolution.^[15]

[edit] Reserved majles seats

After the Persian Constitutional Revolution, the Constitution of 1906 provided for reserved Parliamentary seats granted to the recognized religious minorities, a provision maintained after the 1979 Iranian Revolution. There are 2 seats for Armenians and one for each other minority: Assyrians, Jews and Zoroastrians.^[11] Given that the Bahá'í Faith is not recognized, they do not have seats in the parliament.^[3] Sunni Muslims have no specific reserved seats, but can take part in the ordinary election process at all constitutional levels.^[6] Sunni members of parliament are mostly from areas with strong Sunni ethnic minorities like Kurdistan and Baluchistan.^[6]

List of minority MPs in the last three Majlis:

	Armenians	Assyrian	Jewish	Zoroastrian
1996	Vartan Vartanian, Artavaz Baghumian	Shamshoon Maqsudpour Sir	Manuchehr Eliasi	Parviz Ziafat
2000	Leon Davidian, Georgik Abrahamian	Younatan Betkolia Googtapeh	Maurice Motamed	Khosro Dabestani
2004	Gevork Vartan, Robert Beglarian	Younatan Betkolia Googtapeh	Maurice Motamed	Kourosh Niknam
2008	Vartan Vartanian, Artavaz Baghumian	Shamshoon Maqsudpour Sir	Siamak Morsadegh	Parviz Ravani

[edit] Bahá'í Faith

The largest non-Muslim minority in Iran is the Bahá'ís. There were an estimated 350,000 Bahá'ís in Iran in 1986. The Bahá'ís are scattered in small communities throughout Iran with a heavy concentration in Tehran. Most Bahá'ís are urban, but there are some Bahá'í villages, especially in Fars and Mazandaran. The majority of Bahá'ís are Persians, but there is a significant minority of Azarbaijani Bahá'ís, and there are even a few among the Kurds.

The Bahá'í Faith originated in Iran during the 1840s as a messianic movement out of Shia Islam. The Shia clergy, as well as many Iranians, have continued to regard Bahá'ís as heretics, and consequently Bahá'ís have encountered much prejudice and have sometimes been the objects of persecution. The situation of the Bahá'ís improved under the Pahlavi shahs when the government actively sought to secularize public life.

Their position was drastically altered after the 1979 revolution. The Islamic Republic does not recognize the Bahá'ís as a religious minority, and the sect has been officially persecuted, "some 200 of whom have been executed and the rest forced to convert or subjected to the most horrendous disabilities." ^[16] Starting in late 1979 the new government systematically targeted the leadership of the Bahá'í community by focusing on the Bahá'í National Spiritual Assembly (NSA) and Local Spiritual Assemblies (LSAs); prominent members of NSAs and LSAs were either killed or disappeared.^[3] Like most conservative Muslims, Khomeini believed them to be apostates, for example issuing a fatwa stating:

It is not acceptable that a tributary [non-Muslim who pays tribute] changes his religion to another religion not recognized by the followers of the previous religion. For example, from the Jews who become Bahai's nothing is accepted except Islam or execution.^[17]

and emphasized that the Bahá'ís would not receive any religious rights, since he believed that the Bahá'ís were a political rather than religious movement.^[18][19]

the Baha'is are not a sect but a party, which was previously supported by Britain and now the United States. The Baha'is are also spies just like the Tudeh [Communist Party]. ^[20]

During the drafting of the new constitution the wording intentionally excluded the Bahá'ís from protection as a religious minority.^[21]

[edit] Christianity

Christianity in Iran has had a long history, dating back to the very early years of the faith. It has always been a minority religion, overshadowed by the majority state religions—Zoroastrianism in the past, and Shia Islam today. Christians of Iran have played a significant part in the history of Christian mission. As of 2004, there are approximately 300,000 Christians, the majority of whom are ethnic Armenians and Assyro-Chaldeans. ^[22]

The small protestant Christian minority in Iran have been subject to Islamic "government suspicion and hostility" according to Human Rights Watch at least in part because of their "readiness to accept and even seek out Muslim converts" as well as their Western origins. In the 1990s, two Muslim converts to Christianity who had become ministers were sentenced to death for apostasy and other charges.^[23]

[edit] Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrians in Iran have had a long history, being the oldest religious community of that nation to survive to the present-day. Prior to the Muslim Arab invasion of Persia (Iran), Zoroastrianism had been the primary religion of the Persian people. Zoroastrians mainly are ethnic Persians and are concentrated in the cities of Tehran, Kerman, and Yazd. The Islamic Republic government estimates the number of Zoroastrian is 35,000, Zoroastrian groups in Iran say their number is approximately 60,000.^[22]

Since the fall of the Sassanid Zoroastrian empire by the Arab conquest of Persia, Zoroastrians in Iran have faced much religious discrimination including forced conversions, harassments, as well as being identified as najis and impure to Muslims, making them unfit to live alongside Muslims therefore forcing them to evacuate from cities and face major sanctions in all senses (See Persecution of Zoroastrians).

[edit] Judaism

Judaism is one of the oldest religions practiced in Iran and dates back to the late biblical times. The biblical books of Isaiah, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Chronicles, and Esther contain references to the life and experiences of Jews in Persia.

Iran supports by far the largest Jewish population of any Muslim country,^[24] with an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 living there. Emmigration has lowered the population of 75,000 to 80,000 Jews living in there prior to the 1979 Islamic revolution.^[22] According to The world Jewish Library, most Jews in Iran live in Tehran, Isfahan (3,000), and Shiraz. BBC reported Yazd is home to ten Jewish families, six of them related by marriage, however some estimate the number is much higher. Historically, Jews maintained a presence in many more Iranian cities.

Today, the largest groups of Jews from Persia are found in Israel, which in 1993 was home to 75,000 people, including second-generation Israelis^[25] and the United States, which is home to a community of some 45,000 people, of first-generation only - especially in the Los Angeles area and Great Neck, New York.

[edit] Hinduism

Hinduism in Iran has a history stretching back to the middle ages. Presently, Hindus are known to travel to Iran, but the vast majority consist of migrant workers from India.^{[citation needed]} This situation is similar across the Middle East, and information in that respect can be found in Hinduism in Arab states.^{[citation needed]}

Out of Iran's population of 68,017,860, there are 68,017 recorded Hindus, making them 0.1% of the total population (The percentage of Hindu population of Iran was taken from the United States Department of State's International Religious Freedom Report 2004^[26]). Hinduism is the fastest growing religion in Iran, spurred mainly by interest in New Age gurus like Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and Mahesh Yogi.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Religious freedom

Iran is an Islamic republic and its constitution mandates that the official religion of Iran is Islam (see: Islam in Iran) and the Twelver Ja'fari school. The constitution also mandates that other Islamic schools be accorded full respect, and that their followers are free to act in accordance with their own jurisprudence in performing their religious rites and recognizes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians as religious minorities.

Complaints about religious freedom in Iran revolve around the persecution of the Bahá'í Faith, unequal rights of non-Muslim religions, and the forbidding of conversion from Islam to other religions.

The Bahá'í Faith, Iran's largest non-Islamic religious minority, is not recognized and is persecuted.^[2] There have been reports of imprisonment, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination based on religious beliefs.^[27]

Hudud statutes grant different punishments to Muslims and non-Muslims for the same crime. In the case of adultery, for example, a Muslim man who is convicted of committing adultery with a Muslim woman receives 100 lashes; the sentence for a non-Muslim man convicted of adultery with a Muslim woman is death.^[28] In 2004, inequality of "blood money" (diyeh) was eliminated, and the amount paid by a perpetrator for the death or wounding a Christian, Jew, or Zoroastrian man, was made the same as that for a Muslim. However, the International Religious Freedom Report reports that Baha'is were not included in the provision and their blood is considered Mobah, (i.e. it can be spilled with impunity).^[29]

Freedom to convert from Islam to another religion (apostasy), is prohibited and may be punishable by death. Article 23 of the constitution states, "the investigation of individuals' beliefs is forbidden, and no one may be molested or taken to task simply for holding a certain belief." But another article, 167, gives judges the discretion "to deliver his judgment on the basis of authoritative Islamic sources and authentic fatwa (rulings issued by qualified clerical jurists)." The founder of the Islamic Republic, Islamic cleric Ruhollah Khomeini, who was a grand Ayatollah, ruled "that the penalty for conversion from Islam, or apostasy, is death."^[30]

At least two Iranians - Hashem Aghajari and Hassan Yousefi Eshkevari - have been arrested and charged with apostasy (though not executed), not for converting to another faith but for statements and/or activities deemed by courts of the Islamic Republic to be in violation of Islam, and that appear to outsiders to be Islamic reformist political expression.^[31] Hashem Aghajari, was found guilty of apostasy for a speech urging Iranians to "not blindly follow" Islamic clerics;^[32] Hassan Youssefi Eshkevari was charged with apostasy for attending the 'Iran After the Elections' Conference in Berlin Germany which was disrupted by anti-regime demonstrators.^[33]

[edit] References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Library of Congress Country Studies.

[edit] See also

• Iranian religions

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