Bahais are therefore the most severely persecuted religious minority in iran, not recognized by the state, and denied their political, economic, cultural, and religious rights. Iran has not backed islamist movements in the central asian countries because these states and their islamist movements are sunni muslim and threats to iran. External links to other internet sites should not be construed as an endorsement of the views or privacy policies contained therein. State, religion, and revolution in iran, 1796 to the. The vast majority of iranians are muslims of the ithna. The constitution defines the country as an islamic republic, and specifies twelver ja afari shia islam as the official state religion. This setting creates an atmosphere of good temper and moderation. Religion, state, and the jewish identity crisis in israel. After that, there were successive dynasties who adopted the shi. Yedidia stern, the vice president of the israel democracy institute, examines the tension between religion and state in israel by exploring several key areas of dispute in jewish israeli society. In fact, iran is the only state in which the executive branch does not control the armed forces. Notably, when it comes to discussions of religion and violence, many studies have focused on nonstate actors rather than the nexus between religion and state violence. State, religion, and revolution in iran, 1796 to the present. That force is just a step or a misstep away from war.
Shiite islam is not just the religion of state, but also forms the framework for a theocracy. Library of congress federal research division country profile. For now, however, let us assume that when we are talking about. By placing this assertion in a broad historical context, the book reveals both the continuities between premodern and modern islamic political. Polk the united states has assembled the most powerful military force ever known on the borders of iran. Khomeinis theory of islamic state and the making of the. Religion and state examines the commonplace notion held by both radical muslim ideologues and various western observers alike that in islam there is no separation between religion and politics. Moreover, diversity on the role of islam and the extent of guarantees for internationallyrecognized human rights are also found in the constitutions of those states. Roots of north indian shiism in iran and iraq religion and state in awadh, 17221859 j.
Where there is an open market for religion and freedom of. Iran, may 2008 3 in november 1979, students affiliated with the latter group occupied the u. The modern iran state, religion and revolution, 1796to. Islamic republic of irans strategic culture and national security analysis. Religion and politics in iran religion s place in the iranian political system has long been debated among scholars, but a president who blurs the line has refocused attention on the topic. Iran united states commission on international religious. Irans constitution, is problematic in its endorsement of a state religion and in its failure to recognize minority religions other than zoroastrian, jewish, and christian religions in iran. 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. Freedom of religion in iran is marked by iranian culture, major religion and politics. Other ethnicities include kurd 7%, arab 3%, lur 2%, baluch 2%, and turkmen 2%. Iran 2018 international religious freedom report executive summary the constitution defines the country as an islamic republic, and specifies twelver jaafari shia islam as the official state religion. Iran religion, politics and society collected essays by nikki r. Religion and economic development hoover institution.
The jaafari twelver school of shi a islam is the official religion of the country. Iran religion, politics and society collected essays. This is a sophisticated examination of the complex and tortuous relationships between state and religion, politics and theology, monarchy and clergy, secularism and islam in the course of the last two centuries in iran. The office of website management, bureau of public affairs, manages this site as a portal for information from the u. Iran is a unitary islamic republic with one legislative house. The religionstate relationship and the right to freedom. The modern iran state, religion and revolution, 1796to the present this courseseminar examines the making of modern iran from the inception of the qajar dynasty 1796 to our own time. Chapter 5 how do religious beliefs affect politics.
The department of state submits this annual report to the congress in compliance with section 102 b of the international religious freedom act of 1998 p. It states all laws and regulations must be based on islamic criteria and official interpretation of sharia. View enhanced pdf access article on wiley online library html view download pdf for offline viewing. However, as irreligion and other religions are not recognized by the iranian government, the true representation of the religious split in iran is unknown. Khomeinis theory of islamic state and the making of the iranian revolution 1 mehdi shadmehr2 1i wish to thank hassan ansari, charles cameron, jose cheibub, amaney jamal, ali kadivar, mehran kamrava, charles kurzman, paulina marek, charles ragin, kris ramsay and seminar par. The state departments last international religious freedom report, published in 2011, noted. The islamic republic of iran is a theocratic authoritarian state with elements of restricted political participation. For information, address state university of new york press, state university plaza, albany, n. Denounced in iran as a terrorist group, the pmoi renounced violence in 2001. In iran, bahais, christians, and other minorities are persecuted for their faith. The beliefs, activities, and cultural events of the ancient iranians in ancient iran are complex matters. Zoroastrianism was the state religion of three persian dynasties, until the muslim conquest of persia in the seventh century a. It states all laws and regulations must be based on islamic criteria and an official interpretation of sharia.
In 1501, safavid dynasty established the twelver shi. Iran is governed under the doc trine of velayate faqih or rule of the jurist. Making sense of the state, religion, and revolution. Powerful among iranian exiles, but with very limited influence inside iran, the pmoi was founded in 1965 by leftist muslim college students and sidelined by khomeinis faction during the 1979 islamic revolution. He received his formal training in islamic studies at cambridge university, from which he received his ph. The ancient iranians made references to a combination of several aryans and nonaryan tribes.
Iran is today the worlds only clericallyruled government. This report covers the period between january 1 and december 31, 2018. Understanding the role of christianity in the promotion of human rights. Small communities of christians, jews, and zoroastrians are also found throughout the country. State, society, and gender politics in iran and afghanistan. The jaafari twelver school of shia islam is the official religion of the country. The president is responsible for setting the countrys economic policies. Islamic republic of irans strategic culture and national. It states all laws and regulations must be based on islamic criteria. A social revolution acts as a muchneeded corrective to a lot of the academic and policy literature on contemporary iran, which tends to view the countrys political and social geography in binary terms. The countrys 1979 constitution put into place a mixed system of government, in which the executive, parliament, and judiciary are overseen by several bodies dominated by the clergy. Since the end of the cold war, there has been an increased interest in the role of religion in world politics.
The author of to ride a magic carpet 1977, he served as a missionary under the foreign mission board of the southern baptist convention u. Half of the population speaks persian, and a fourth is turkic in language and culture and 10% in various dialogues languages. 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. Archetypes of religionstate constitutional relationships within the baselines of respecting religious freedom outlined above, the relations between the state and one or more religious groups may be structured in various ways, depending on. Religion in iran sunni and shii are the two largest branches of islam, with the overwhelming majority of iranians practicing shii islam. Read iran religion, politics and society collected essays by nikki r. Islam is the religion of 98% of iranians of which approximately 89% are shi. Civil religion in contemporary iran journal of church. 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. I have met three iranian women in college, two of them identify as shia, but do not practice it.
Where there is a state monopoly on religion or an oligopoly among religions, one will find zealousness and the imposition of ideas on the public. About 90 percent of iranians practice shiism, the official religion of iran. We will trace the impact of the long history of iran over its modern development and study the state structure of iran from an ethnotribal monarchy of the. The starting point for debates in iran is not secular law and civil rights, but the tradition of muslim jurisprudence and practice called the. The kurds and turkmen are predominantly sunni muslims, but irans arabs are both sunni and shi.