Editing Islam in Iran (section)

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[[File:RezaShrine.jpg|thumb|''[[Imam Reza]]'' shrine, the holiest religious site in Iran, [[Mashhad]]]]
The [[Muslim conquest of Persia|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 ''[[dehqan]]s'' (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,<ref name="Arshin Adib-Moghaddam 2017 40">{{citation |author=Arshin Adib-Moghaddam |title=Psycho-nationalism |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UOk7DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA40 |page=40 |year=2017 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108423076 |quote=Shah Ismail pursued a relentless campaign of forced conversion of the majority Sunni population in Iran to (Twelver) Shia Islam...}}</ref><ref name="Routledge">{{citation |title=Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-84NDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT92 |page=92 |year=2017 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781317159780}}</ref><ref name="Islam: Art and Architecture">{{citation |title=Islam: Art and Architecture |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=huOBwihhwyQC |page=501 |year=2004 |publisher=Könemann |isbn=9783833111785 |quote=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}}</ref><ref name="Melissa L. Rossi 2008">{{citation |author=Melissa L. Rossi |title=What Every American Should Know about the Middle East |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1CLD3-paPYQC&pg=PA61 |year=2008 |publisher=Penguin |isbn=9780452289598 |quote=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.}}</ref> aggressively proselytizing the faith and [[Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam|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.<ref>Arshin Adib-Moghaddam (2017), ''Psycho-nationalism'', Cambridge University Press, p. 40, {{ISBN|9781108423076}}, <q>Shah Ismail pursued a relentless campaign of forced conversion of the majority Sunni population in Iran to (Twelver) Shia Islam...</q></ref><ref>''Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other'', Routledge, 2017, p. 92, {{ISBN|9781317159780}}</ref><ref>''Islam: Art and Architecture'', Könemann, 2004, p. 501, {{ISBN|9783833111785}}, <q>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</q></ref> It is estimated that by the mid-17th century, Iran had become a Shia-majority nation.<ref name="books.google.com.au">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=N8IKR0oqdRkC&q=safavid+persia+conversion&pg=PA158|title=The Caspian: politics, energy and security, By Shirin Akiner, pg.158|isbn=9780203641675|access-date=17 December 2014|last1=Akiner|first1=Shirin|date=5 July 2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis }}</ref> Over the following centuries, with the state-fostered rise of an Iran-based Shia clergy, a synthesis was formed between [[Culture of Iran|Iranian culture]] and Shia Islam that marked each indelibly with the tincture of the other.<ref>"The Origins Of The Shiite-Sunni Split". ''NPR.org''. Retrieved 14 February 2021.</ref><ref>John Obert Voll (1994). ''Islam, continuity and change in the modern world''. Internet Archive. Syracuse University Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8156-2639-8}}.</ref><ref name="Arshin Adib-Moghaddam 2017 40" /><ref name="Routledge" /><ref name="Islam: Art and Architecture" /><ref name="Melissa L. Rossi 2008" /> 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 [[Iranian Revolution|Islamic Revolution]] brought about yet another monumental change by ending the [[List of monarchs of Persia|historic Iranian monarchy]] and replacing it with an [[Islamic republic]].

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{{Pie chart|thumb=right|caption='''Shia and Sunni Islam in Iran.''' Statistics from the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]]. Actual values reported by the 2011 source are '''Shia, 90-95%''' and '''Sunni, 5-10%'''.<ref name = CIA_202107>{{Cite web | author = CIA Staff | date = July 29, 2021 | orig-date = 2011 | title = Explore All Countries—Iran [§ People and Society: Religions] | work = CIA.gov/the-world-factbook / | url=http://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iran/ | access-date = 2021-08-14 | archive-date= 2021-08-12 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210812152037/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iran/ | url-status= dead | quote = 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 [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/static/7d32d01febbf043f3142d920da02366e/Middle_East_Religion_graphic_FINAL_WFB_2015-5.pdf 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."</ref> Later reports from the same site do not report this breakdown.<ref name = CIA_202410>{{Cite web | author = CIA Staff | date = October 15, 2024 | orig-date = 2020 | title = Explore All Countries—Iran [§ People and Society: Religions] | work = CIA.gov/the-world-factbook / | url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iran/#people-and-society | access-date = 17 October 2024 | quote = 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 [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/static/7d32d01febbf043f3142d920da02366e/Middle_East_Religion_graphic_FINAL_WFB_2015-5.pdf "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.</ref> <small>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),<ref name = CIA_202107/> ''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).<ref name = CIA_202410/></small>
| label1 = [[Shia Islam]]
| color1 = DarkGreen
| value1 = 92.5
| label2 = [[Sunni Islam]]
| color2 = LightGreen
| value2 = 7.5
}}