# Iran: A Country Study *Exported from [Holy-Writings.com](https://www.holy-writings.com/) on 2026-06-22 — 1 clipping.* --- > Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Richard F. Nyrop, Iran: A Country Study, Washington, DC: The American University, 1978, bahai-library.com. > ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── > > Iran > L a country study > ?/ > I > Foreign Area Studies > The American University > Edited by > Richard F. Nyrop > , . Research Completed > iái'fi {'-. January 1978 > á-~ h,_c1./''á .. DA Pam 550-68 > á( {-n, /, --- > 1, > The winged lion on the cover Foreword > is part of a glazed brick This volume is one of a continuing series of books written by > panel from Susa, on display Foreign Area Studies, The American University, under the Area > in the Tehran Archaeological Handbook Program. Its title, format and substance reflect modi- > Museum fications introduced into the series in 1978. The last page of this > book provides a listing of other country studies published. Each > book in the series deals with a particular foreign country, de- > scribing and analyzing its economic, military, political, and social > systems and institutions and examining the interrelationships of > those systems and institutions and the ways that they are shaped > by cultural factors, Each study is written by a multidisciplinary > team of social scientists. The authors seek to provide a basic > insight and understanding of the society under observation, striving > for a dynamic rather than a static portrayal of it. The study focuses > Copyright© The American University, Washington, D.C., 1978 on historical antecedents and on the cultural, political, and so- > Third Edition, First Printing: 1978 cioeconomic characteristics that contribute to cohesion and cleav- > age within the society. Particular attention is given to the origins > and traditions of the people who make up the society, their dom- > inant beliefs and values, their community of interests and the > issues on which they are divided, the nature and extent of their > Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data involvement with the national institutions, and their attifudes > toward each other and toward the social system and political order > American University, Washington, D.C. Foreign Area Studies. within which they live. > Iran, a country study. The contents of the book represent the work of Foreign Area > Studies and are not set forth as the official view of the United > Supersedes the 1971 ed. prepared by H. H. Smith and others, States government. The authors have sought to adhere to accepted > and Issued under title: Area handbook for Iran. standards of scholarly objectivity. Such corrections, additions, and > "Research completed January 1978." suggestions for factual or other changes that readers may have will > "DA pam 550-68." be welcomed for use in future revisions. > Bibliography: p. 455. > Includes index. William Evans-Smith > 1. Iran. I. Nyrop, Richard F. II. Smith, Harvey Henry, Director, Foreign Area Studies > 189i- Area handbook for Iran. III Title. The American University > Washington, D.C. 20016 > DS254.5.A63 1978 955 78-11871 > > For sale by the superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Of!lce > Washington, D.C. 20402 > Stock No. OOS-02o--00761-7 > Iran: A Country Study Religious Life > > living by publicly explaining points of ritual. Funeral rites are elements, it has become strongly Islamicized. The Quran is placed > elaborate. Vows of charity and piety are frequently made for the on a table along with young plants and the haft sin (seven things > fulfillment of a wish. A person who has asked for the granting of a that begin with the letters). Blessings are recited for the Prophet > wish often symbolizes this request by slaughtering a sheep or by and his family, and prayers are offered. Joyous religious festivals > attaching a padlock or a shred of cloth to the door or some other are the feasts at the end of Ramazan; the feast of the sacrifice > part of a shrine, even to holy trees. during the hajj month; the birthdays of Muhammad, Ali, and the > There is virtually a cult of Ali in Iran. Many homes have a Imams; and the Idi Ghadir, which commemorates the day when > painting of him set in an enshrined niche, and gold medals with his Ali was chosen as successor to the Prophet. > portrait are worn by many in all classes. In times of trouble Ali, not Tragic religious events are more numerous than the joyful: the > Allah (God), is exclaimed; and whenever an example is called for, most important is Ashura, the death of Husyan on the tenth of > whether in social discourse or business dealings, anecdotes about Muharram. Mourning begins on the eve of his martyrdom, and the > Ali occur much more often than those of the Prophet. The hadith procession of self-flagellation occurs on the day itself. There is > of Ali are collected in a volume that is regarded with almost the open weeping and exclamations of sorrow on the streets as the > same reverence as the Quran and is probably read more often. procession passes. Taaziehs, highly emotive passion plays, are > Two religious practices, unique to Shia Iran, combine those performed depicting the events of his martyrdom. > elements of cathartic religious tragedy and beauty so beloved by The deaths of the Prophet, Ali's other son, Imam Hassan, and of > Iranians. The rawda (literally, garden) is a series of religious Imam Reza, all occur in Safar. The attack and eventual death of Ali > sessions during which the rawda khwan, a person gifted in the on the twenty-first of Ramazan is understandably a major event. > techniques of sermons and laments who is not necessarily a Other mourning holidays are for the deaths of Ali's wife, Fatima, > mujtahid, delivers powerfully emotional sermons and recites and and of the other Imams. > sings laments on the subject of the deaths of the Prophet o..r the Deviant Religious Movements > Imams. The government sponsors rawdas in mosques during Mu- After the acceptance of Shiite doctrine as the official religion in > harram and Safar. In addition they are given in private homes, the sixteenth century, there were many schismatic movements, > throughout the year, usually as nadhr, the fulfillment of a vow for partly encouraged by the Shiite principle of ijtihad (personal rea- > some special favor asked of God. Anyone may go to a rawda. Black soning, derived from the Arabic word meaning to struggle). The > flags on the door indicate that a rawda will be held. Weather follower of ijtihad is permitted to study rules and regulations and > permitting they are held in a garden. Some of the particularly their sources, draw his own conclusions, and follow his conscience > pious attach loudspeakers outside of their houses so that those who on procedural matters without reference to the authorities. This > cannot fit inside the house may still benefit from the rawda. code of personal responsibility is open to anyone who can make an > The holding of a sufra is similar but is usually strictly confined intelligent judgment. The two most important deviant movements > to women. Sufras are held to fulfill nadhr, and a woman will invite that exist in modern times are Sufi mysticism and Bahaism. > her friends to a lavish feast prepared with meticulous and highly In the ninth century, as the conquering Arabs adopted a way of > ritualistic care. A female rawda khwan will recite and chant during life at variance with the puritanism of the early period of Islam, > the meal. After the performance, the remainder of food is distrib- the Sufi movement was formed by Muslims who felt that worldly > uted among the poor and the participants and is believed to pos- pleasures distracted from the true concern of the believer with the > sess baraka. The success of both the sufra and the rawda is judged salvation of his soul. They also believed that materialism was > by the number of people who are moved to weeping. supporting and perpetuating political tyranny. They prescribed > Despite the Islamic prohibition against magic, it is widely prac- meditation that over the years became formalized. The Sufis be- > ticed in Iran where it is combined with Islamic motifs. The magical lieve love of God is the only real condition; all else is illusion, and > use of Quranic phrases is a traditional science, and certain phrases sense and reason are inadequate to explain these facts. Their name > or formulas are well-known for their specific application. Dua, is generally believed to come from the rough white wool (suj) that > short prayers that include the names of Sufi saints or imams, may they wore as a symbol of their asceticism; some scholars, however, > be carried on the person or inscribed on rings and amulets. The claim the name came from the Greek word sophos (knowledge). > dua niwis, the writer of the correct dua for a specific situation, and By the tenth or eleventh century the Sufis had developed a > the rammal, the practioner of geomancy, enjoy a brisk trade in semiliturgical poetic service with a significant musical content. > urban and rural areas. Influenced by Christianity and pre-Islamic mystery religions, > Iran has major religious holidays throughout the year. New their mystic love of God sought outlet in religious fervor. Some > Year, No Ruz, is the continuation of the Zoroastrian New Year became so preoccupied with the contemplation of divine perfec- > and, although the celebration naturally contains many pre-Islamic tion that they sought ecstatic trances, eventually by prescribed > > 130 131 > Iran: A Co1rntn; Study > > phases, as a means of identifying with God. Mystic poetry and > music were developed to a high degree as aids in achieving their > selfless state. As a result, Sufi poets were among the greatest > contributors to Iranian art. > A [}umber of Sufi brotherhoods were established during the > early centuries of Islam, many of which continue to exist. In the > late 1960s one Kurdish sect had members in nine Middle Eastern > countries. One of the brotherhoods, which came into being in the > thirteenth century, was that of the whirling dervishes (from the > Iranian word meaning poor), mendicant ecstatics known for their > gyrating dances performed while in a trance, a condition height- > ened by the gyrations. Dervishes and other Sufi orders maintain > loose organizations and hold private meetings at which the tradi- > tional ritual chanting of Sufi poetry and invocations are carried on. > A khaniqah, the tomb of a dead Sufi master or the teaching > center of a living one, continues to be a vital religious institution > in contemporary Iran and is actually a complex of centers. It > houses rooms for spiritual training as well as accommodations for > fuqara (disciples) and for visiting Sufis. The ceremonies of the > khaniqah are opened to the public on such special occasions as > birthdays of the Prophet Muhammed and the Imams and on the > mourning holidays. In addition to the fuqara who reside there a!Jd > the public who occasionally visit, there are others from all socio- > economic classes who may go once a week to the khaniqah for > instructions in Sufi spiritual techniques. The meeting of these > people on a frequent basis is socially significant because it is one of > the few Iranian institutions that cuts across all classes and where > there are exchanges among the members of all groups. > The major Sufi orders, most of which have branches in other > countries, wield considerable influence in shaping contemporary > cultural life, particularly in the fields of philosophy, music, litera- > ture, and painting. Because of the Sufi orientation to the esoteric > or mystical truths of Islam, Sufism is attractive to those Iranians > who, while living in the real world, nevertheless seek spiritual > realization. Because the emphasis is on the development of the > inner self and because Sufism may be approached and appreciated > on any intellectual level, it draws, though not necessarily or exclu- > sively, from groups that are not otherwise religious in the tradi- > tional sense of outward practice. In order of their size and influ- > ence, the following Sufi orders are most prominent in Iran today; > the Nematollahi, which has centers throughout the country; the > Gunabadi, chiefly in Khorasan; the Dhahabi in Shiraz; the Qadiri > in the Persian Gulf area and in Kordestan; and the Naqshbandi, > also in Kordestan. > The Bahai movement had its origin in the eighteenth-century > heretical beliefs of the followers of Shaykh Ahmed Ahsai, who > taught that the hidden Imam was a creative force with which > contact could be made through a human intermediary, the Bab Dervish carrying flag ornamented with symbol of Shiite resistance > (door). In 1840 Mirza Ali Muhammad of Shiraz proclaimed himself U.S. Army photograph > > Iran: A Country St[ldy Religious Life > > to be the Bab and gained the following of many tribal leaders. The In mid-1977 there were an estimated 80,000 Jews in Iran, living > Babi movement grew rapidly and assumed the character of a mili- mainly in Tehran, Isfahan, Kashan, Hamadan, and Shiraz. Since > tant new faith at considerable variance with Shiism. The Babis 1948 some 45,000 Jews have migrated to Israel. Iranian Jews form > interpreted the Quran as largely allegorical and represented the one of the oldest Jewish communities in the world, and through > resurrection as a manifestation of divine spirit. Claiming to be more than 1,000 years of living among the Iranians, have become > Muslim nevertheless, they taught that all religions have elements physically and spiritually very close to the majority population. > of truth, peace, brotherhood, and tolerance. The heretics were They have preserved, however, a rather conservative, closed re- > severely persecuted by the Shiite leaders, and many were put to ligious life. They are fully protected by the Constitution. > death, including Ali Muhammad. Jn the twentieth century the Jewish community achieved im- > A number of the Babis escaped, however, and followed Hussein portance in the commercial life of the major cities, particularly > Ali Baha Ollah, a disciple of Ali Muhammad, who declared himself Tehran, and Jews have entered the professions, most notably > the expected manifestation of the divine spirit, the messiah of all pharmacy, medicine, and dentistry. They have their own hospitals > religions, and the promulgator of a new era. The followers of Baha and academic and technical schools and are the only ethnic group > Ollah, known as the Bahais, were pacifists (unlike the Babis) and that is considered 100 percent literate. The Jewish shrine to > preached respect for the law. They advocated universal brother- Esther and Mordecai is at Hamadan; the tomb of Daniel is sup- > hood of man and legal equality between men and women. The posed to be located near Ahvaz. > Bahai movement was spread throughout the world; it has small Native Christians are limited almost entirely to the Semitic > groups active in Western Europe and the United States and claims Assyrians, numbering about 30,000, who live around Lake > a world membership of 500,000. The Bahais have been severely Rezaiyeh and in Tehran, and to the Armenians, totaling approxi- > condemned by the Shiite clergy; the Bahai religion, while not mately 250,000, living mainly in Tehran and Isfahan. Most > under active suppression, is not legally recognized in Iran, Assyrians belong to the Assyrian Church of the East, formerly and > In addition to the Sufis, who may be appreciated as representing mistakenly called the Nestorian Church. As a result of Western > the mystical aspect of Islam, and the Bahais, who are now tot~lly missionary work in the twentieth century, four distinct denomina- > outside the theology oflslam, there are several sects active in Iran tions also exist, including Roman Catholic and Protestant groups. > today that fall somewhere in the middle of these two interpreta- Adherents to these four Christian groups were estimated at ap- > tions. Of these dissident sects, the Ismailis are the oldest and were proximately 30,000 in the mid-1970s. Most Armenians belong to > very numerous in Iran during the medieval period. They were the Gregorian Church under the Catholicos of Cicile at Beirut. > originally part of the larger Shiite movement but split from the This has led to a political split in the Armenian community as many > main body of Shiites during the ninth century over the question of Armenians continue to recognize the leadership of the Catholicos > the rightful successor to the Imamate. They claim only seven of Echmiadzim at Yerevan in Soviet Armenia, who claims to repre- > imams but have a religious leader, Aga (or Agha) Khan, forty-ninth sent the entire community. > descendant of their last imam. The largest number of Ismailis are Armenians have long been free to enter the economic and social > in other countries, but in 1977 several thousand resided in Iran, life of Iran. They have achieved a relatively high standard of > chiefly in the Elburz Mountains. living, have maintained a large number of religious schools, and > Two smaller groups-the Ali Allahi and Ahl i Haqq-are con- are entitled to two seats in the Majlis. An annual feature of their > centrated in Lorestan but have also spread to Mazandaran, worship is a pilgrimage to the ruins of the Church of Saint > Kordestan, and some of the southern provinces. Although still a Thaddeus, founded over 1,500 years ago, in the area that became > part of the Islamic tradition, these two sects emerged from politi- West Azarbaijan. The strong National Armenian Committee re- > cized Sufi orders, and members of these two religious groups presents the interests of the religious community. > ignore the shariah and many Muslim devotional practices. The foreign community of business and diplomatic people make > Minority Religions up the bulk of the remainder of the Christians. They have > The official recognized minority religions are Judaism, Chris- churches in major cities, where services are conducted in Euro- > tianity, and Zoroastrianism. Each of these groups is permitted to pean languages. > sustain an organization, to elect a representative to the Majlis (the > lower house of Parliament), to maintain religious schools, and to * * * > publish periodicals. They are, however, restricted in their politi- > cal activities since non-Muslims cannot occupy command positions One of the best treatments of Shiism in Iran is Sayyid Hossein > in the armed forces and cannot achieve policymaking positions in Nasr's article, "Ithna Ashari Shiism and Iranian Islam." Roger > the government. Savory's article, "Land of the Lion and the Sun," is useful as an > > 134 135 > Iran: A. Country Study Social Systems > > the economic, military, and political sectors, the elite has been Qajar dynasty but powerful enough to hold on to some of their > expanded to include high-level government administrators from former glory, those who through choice or fate have not acquired a > families with a tradition of service to the throne, general officers of foreign education or some other essential of upper-class status, > the military and security forces, highly respected professional and men of unusual ability who could never hope to attain upper- > men, and the wealthiest industrialists and representatives of class status for reasons having to do with their ethnic origins or > commercial interests. Although no longer the ruling dynasty and religious adherence. The Bahais are the most conspicuous exam- > precluded by the Constitution from holding the highest political ple in this category. > positions, members of the Qajar family retain important po.litical, Because political connections are the key to social status, the > economic, and social status. In 1977 the upper class was estimated upper middle stratum continually hopes that some political change > to comprise less than 1 percent of the total population. will bring them as individuals into the upper class. The lower > Members of the elite tend to be involved in numerous complex middle class is made up of small retailers, craftsmen, low-level > interrelationships. Some members of the Senate, which included government employees, mullahs, and related occupations. Gen- > many members of the elite, were also on the boards of several erally they are less well educated and less well paid than members > industrial and commercial enterprises and were owners of a large of the upper middle class. Like the upper middle class they have a > number of villages. Since an important prerequisite for entry into st:ong dislike for manual work, preferring desk jobs, especially > the elite has usually been belonging to a "good family," blood and with the government. The members of this stratum do not how- > marital relationships tend to bring together important segments of ever, have the hope of the upper middle stratum that fate will > the elite. Until the land reform measures most political leaders propel them into the upper class. They are too far away from the > were also large landowners, and many of the Islamic leaders held .a dividing line, and they do not have the economic resources, family > number of lucrative trusteeships over property endowed for reli- background, or political connections to take advantage of a shift in > gious purposes, waqf land. . . .' the political scene. Their main concern appears to be that they do > In spite of all the prestige and power the rulmg ehte did. ~ot not lose their social niche and fall into the lower class. > enjoy real security even before the reform movement. There 1s no The middle class is also divided into modern and traditional > strong group or class cohesion even at the t.op. The members :eact groups. The modern middle class consists of those persons with > individually or by family to the favor or displeasure of the smgle Western education employed in government services, the profes- > individual at the apex of the entire social hierarchy, the shah. One sions, and the universities, whereas the traditional middle class > of the conclusions of Zonis' study was that because of such factors, includes bazaar merchants, mullahs, and wealthy guild members. > the behavior of the political elite emerged from and was based ?n The two groups differ greatly in their origins and outlook. The > four attitudinal characteristics: political cynicism, personal mis- modern middle class stems from the development of a modern > trust manifest insecurity, and interpersonal exploitation. Studies bureaucracy originating in the late nineteenth century. This group > by other observers identified the same or similar characteristics in was significantly expanded in the 1960s and 1970s, largely as a > the society as a whole. . function of the greater access to education and wealth. James A. > The middle class underwent considerable changes dunng the Bill notes that, "One of the most profound unintended conse- > 1960s and 1970s, the most important of which was its rapid expan- quences of the White Revolution is the accelerating growth of the > sion. The class may be divided vertically into upper and lower professional middle class." Bill pays special attention to the > middle-class strata and horizontally into modern and traditional modern middle class that he calls "The Professional-Bureaucratic > Intelligentsia." He views them as an alienated class for the most > groups. > The members of the upper middle stratum are drawn from the part and the class that is most vociferous about the need for system > same occupational sources as the upper class. ~hey are ~o~nd ~n transformation. This group, whose power position comes primarily > lesser positions in the civil service in Tehran or m top pos1h~ns m from talents or skills acquired from a modern formal education, > provincial cities, in positions just bel~w com.~and. level m the increasingly refuses to participate in or is at least intensely frus- > military, in important but not outstandmg positions 1~ commerce trated by the personal maneuvering and manipulation that are > and industry, among professionals who have not ac~1~ved reco~­ necessary for advancement in society. > nition as being at the top of their profession, in positions of reli- The civil service reforms of 1966 strengthened the position of > gious respect, and finally as landowners of local influence but not this group. The reforms introduced competitive examinations and > important enough to be consulted when new policies are being provided that advancement would be based on education and skill > considered for the rural areas. They include latecomers to the rather than on traditional criteria. Once in a position in the civil > cause of the Pahlavi dynasty, younger offshoots of old upper-class service, however, individuals have found that traditional methods > families, members of families too actively associated with the for retaining a position or securing another position have con- > > — *Iran: A Country Study (Used by permission of the curator)*