UME7-2

Remember the Mongol conquests described in Chapter 5? As the 1400s drew to a close, Iran was still recovering from the devastation and chaos left by these invasions. The country was a whirlwind of competing factions. Various dynasties (many of them descended from the Mongols) competed for control of the country. Meanwhile, the rising Ottoman Empire was carving up pieces of Iran for itself.

Persia vs. Iran

In this chapter, the terms “Persia” and “Iran” are used somewhat interchangeably. Persia now mostly refers to the ancient Persian Empire; but the term was widely used through the early twentieth century---hence its inclusion in this chapter.

The term “Iran” was officially introduced by the Iranian government in 1935. Iran’s ruler at the time, Reza Shah, simultaneously declared that foreigners should also start referring his country by its new name. (For a while, he even ordered the return of any mail from abroad containing “Persia” in the address.)

The modern Islamic Republic of Iran is almost never called Persia, and referring to it as such may cause confusion. Nevertheless, Persia is not completely dead. The word is still heard among overseas Iranian communities; and “Persia” appears frequently on Iranian-American websites on the Internet.

One of the local dynasties, the Safavids, gradually edged out the other clans. The Safavids conquered Tabriz in 1501, and then extended their control throughout the country.

The Safavids belonged to a mystic branch of Shiite Islam. As had always been the pattern, politics and religion were inextricably linked in the Islamic world. The Ottoman Empire belonged to the majority Sunni sect; and the Turks were now the biggest threat to Safavid dynasty. The leader of the Safavids, Shah Ismail, wanted to counter the influence of the Ottomans among his subjects. He therefore implemented a forced national conversion from Sunni Islam to Shiite Islam. The complete conversion of the Persian nation required some two hundred years, and thousands---perhaps millions---of lives.

The Safavids used a variety of methods to replace Sunnism with Shiism. They invited Shiite mullahs from Lebanon and southern Iraq to open schools and mosques in Iran. They also employed more coercive methods. Safavid officials desecrated Sunni mosques and tombs. They replaced the annual hajj to Mecca (one of the primary pillars of the Islamic faith) with a hajj to Karbala. Karbala (in southern Iraq) is where Husayn (the martyred hero of Shiite Islam) and his brother Abbas are buried.

What is a mullah?

A mullah is an Islamic cleric. The term is most common in Shiite Iran, though it is also heard in some other parts of the Muslim world, including the Indian subcontinent. Mullah is originally a Persian word; it is not used often in the Arabic-speaking countries.

When all else failed, the Safavids simply massacred recalcitrant Sunnis. In the name of conversion to Shiite Islam, entire towns and villages were eliminated. The Safavids left mountains of corpses throughout the Iranian countryside; but their drive to make Persia a Shiite land eventually succeeded. By the mid-1700s, Sunni Islam had been virtually eradicated from Iran.




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	UNDERSTANDING THE MIDDLE EAST: History, Religion, and the Clash of Cultures 400 pages Copyright © 2007 by Beechmont Crest Publishing First edition, 2007 0-9748330-6-1 Buy it at Amazon.com Table of Contents C H A P T E R 7: Iran: the Islamic Republic Iran after the Mongols Remember the Mongol conquests described in Chapter 5? As the 1400s drew to a close, Iran was still recovering from the devastation and chaos left by these invasions. The country was a whirlwind of competing factions. Various dynasties (many of them descended from the Mongols) competed for control of the country. Meanwhile, the rising Ottoman Empire was carving up pieces of Iran for itself. Persia vs. Iran In this chapter, the terms “Persia” and “Iran” are used somewhat interchangeably. Persia now mostly refers to the ancient Persian Empire; but the term was widely used through the early twentieth century---hence its inclusion in this chapter. The term “Iran” was officially introduced by the Iranian government in 1935. Iran’s ruler at the time, Reza Shah, simultaneously declared that foreigners should also start referring his country by its new name. (For a while, he even ordered the return of any mail from abroad containing “Persia” in the address.) The modern Islamic Republic of Iran is almost never called Persia, and referring to it as such may cause confusion. Nevertheless, Persia is not completely dead. The word is still heard among overseas Iranian communities; and “Persia” appears frequently on Iranian-American websites on the Internet. One of the local dynasties, the Safavids, gradually edged out the other clans. The Safavids conquered Tabriz in 1501, and then extended their control throughout the country. The Safavids belonged to a mystic branch of Shiite Islam. As had always been the pattern, politics and religion were inextricably linked in the Islamic world. The Ottoman Empire belonged to the majority Sunni sect; and the Turks were now the biggest threat to Safavid dynasty. The leader of the Safavids, Shah Ismail, wanted to counter the influence of the Ottomans among his subjects. He therefore implemented a forced national conversion from Sunni Islam to Shiite Islam. The complete conversion of the Persian nation required some two hundred years, and thousands---perhaps millions---of lives. The Safavids used a variety of methods to replace Sunnism with Shiism. They invited Shiite mullahs from Lebanon and southern Iraq to open schools and mosques in Iran. They also employed more coercive methods. Safavid officials desecrated Sunni mosques and tombs. They replaced the annual hajj to Mecca (one of the primary pillars of the Islamic faith) with a hajj to Karbala. Karbala (in southern Iraq) is where Husayn (the martyred hero of Shiite Islam) and his brother Abbas are buried. What is a mullah? A mullah is an Islamic cleric. The term is most common in Shiite Iran, though it is also heard in some other parts of the Muslim world, including the Indian subcontinent. Mullah is originally a Persian word; it is not used often in the Arabic-speaking countries. When all else failed, the Safavids simply massacred recalcitrant Sunnis. In the name of conversion to Shiite Islam, entire towns and villages were eliminated. The Safavids left mountains of corpses throughout the Iranian countryside; but their drive to make Persia a Shiite land eventually succeeded. By the mid-1700s, Sunni Islam had been virtually eradicated from Iran. Continue reading... Copyright 2005 Beechmont Crest Publishing