Iran is seen as the heartland
of Shi’ism in today’s world. But it wasn’t always like that. The country’s
conversion from Sunni to Shia took place in the 16th & 17th centuries during the rule
of the Safavid dynasty, who sought to create a distinct political identity for their
state. Under Shah Ismail I and his successors, the Safavids made an active effort to enforce
the Twelver Shia creed on their citizens. Through a host of different policies, including
violence, the religious demographics of Persia changed slowly but surely to the point
that by the end of the dynasty in 1722, Persia had become predominantly Shia.
[Music] For hundreds of years after Islam’s arrival,
Persia had been a majority-Sunni territory. Centres of learning such as Isfahan were sought
after destinations by Ulama throughout the Islamic world to receive training in orthodox Sunni
knowledge. In the aftermath of the Timurid Empire’s decline in the middle of the 15th
century, control of Persia was up for grabs. This is where the Safavids come in. Having
started out as a Sufi order that was likely of Kurdish origins, they became politicised and
militarised during the course of the 15th century. The leader of the Safavid order in the second
half of the 15th century, Sheikh Haydar set up the Qizilbash, a largely Turkic militant
group of followers whose name came from the distinctive red hats they wore. In this time the
order also gained an increasingly Shia character, as it gradually incorporated Twelver Shia
elements such as ghulat, the messianic belief that saw the Safavid leader’s followers
regard him as a figure of divine incarnation. It was in this context that Sheikh Hayder’s
son Ismail, the founder of the Safavid Empire, proclaimed himself the Twelfth Imam or the
Mahdi, a figure who was said to have stayed in Occultation until the time was right to
reappear and bring justice to the world. To give us more insight into Twelver Shi'ism
we now go to Filip from Let's Talk Religion. When it comes to Shi'ism it all basically revolves
around the figure of the Imam. After the death of the prophet Muhammad there were disagreements
about who should succeed him as the authority and the so-called Shi'as believed that that authority
rests in his family the so-called Ahl ul-Bayt and in particular with the so-called Imams. These
Imams begin with Ali his son-in-law and cousin and then continue in a patrilineal succession
from Ali and down through the generations. So to speak there is always one Imam present in
the world according to majority Shi'a opinion and the Imamate is always passed down from
father to son and the role of the Imam is all-encompassing. In Shi'ism the Imam has the
role to lead the community; he has been taught the secrets the esoteric secrets of the Quran and the
Sunnah of the Prophet so he is the sole authority who can interpret and give a true interpretation
of the Quran and the Sunnah and thus stands as the absolute authority on all matters
of religion within Shi'ism. Now later in history, Shi'ism also divided into various different
branches and all these branches are based on the fact they follow different lines of
Imams so they believe that the different Imams were the correct ones essentially. There
are the Zaidi Shi'a which was the first ones to branch off. Then there was a major split
after the sixth Imam Jaffar al-Sadiq some believe that his older son Ismail ibn-Jafar was
the correct imam the successor and they became known as the Ismailis and then there was others
who believed that his younger son Musa al-Kazim was the correct imam and they became known
as the Ithna Ashari or Twelver Shi'a is sometimes also the Imami Shi'a and this later
group the Twelver Shi'a is the majority community today. They make up about I think 80 percent of
Shi'as around the world. They are called the Ithna Ashari or Twelver Shi'as because they believe that
there were 12 Imams so after Jaffar al-Sadiq there were six more Imams ending with Muhammad al-Mahdi
who they believe went into occultation or hiding and will return before Judgment Day to set the
world right again. The second largest group of Shi'as today the Ismailis are in themselves
divided into various branches and one of those branches, the largest today, the Nizari Ismailis
actually claim to have a living Imam still in the world. They believe that they have an Imam that
is the descendant of all of those previous Imams and that is the figure of the Aga Khan. There
are various other branches and technicalities and complexities within the world of Shi'ism but
that is a general overview of the importance of the Imam and then the reason for the different
splits and branches in Shi'ism so back to you. The Qizilbash are central to our story because
they were the foundation of Safavid military power, at least in the early days. But
more importantly they give us an insight into the political geography of the region. The
Qizilbash were primarily recruited from Anatolia; in fact, the Safavids had been able
to generate much more enthusiasm for their cause in the Ottoman heartland
than they had in Persia. This helps to explain why the Safavids took such extreme
religious measures when they came to power; because at the heart of their state’s
identity was a desire to be seen as different to the Ottomans whose ethnic
foundation was also built on Turkic support. Upon his enthronement as the Shah of Iran in
1501, Ismail announced Shi’ism as the official state religion of the Safavids - a move that was
violently enforced upon the major cities of his realm. When he captured the city of Tabriz,
Shah Ismail threatened to kill anybody who wouldn’t follow the Shia rituals of prayer and
had Qizilbash soldiers patrol the congregation to ensure no one raised their voice against
the cursing of the first 3 Rashidun Caliphs; who were viewed by the Safavids
as the enemies of the Ahlul Bayt, the Prophet’s family for the way they apparently
deprived Ali, a central figure in Shia Islam, of the Khilafa. It’s important to note that those
3 figures are held in very high esteem by Sunnis; this point was so important that during the course
of their countless wars, the Ottomans would often call for an end to this ritual cursing during the
subsequent peace negotiations with the Safavids. Even though they started out as a Sufi
order, the Safavids would suppress Sufi tariqas to further their aim of converting
Persia into a Shi’a realm. Most of the Sufi tariqas were Sunni in their orientation
and were consequently viewed as a threat. Whilst this suppression would take time, it
was nonetheless a key step in disrupting the way Persians experienced religion because for many
of them Sufism represented the spiritual compass through which they practised and understood Islam.
Another key element of the Safavid imposition of Shi’ism was through the migration of Shi’a and
Sunni scholars in and out of Persia. Because of the repressive policies of the Safavids
against Sunni Ulema and their institutions, many Sunni’s decided to leave for India,
Central Asia or the Ottoman Empire. Prior to their arrival, Persia was not really
known for its Shi’a scholars. That’s why they invited prominent Shi’a Ulema from Iraq and Jabel
Amel in modern-day Lebanon. Given the opportunity to propagate their creed, many Shi’a scholars
flocked to Persian cities such as Kashan and Qom. The Safavids gained a lot from the imported
Ulema: firstly, they were an element outside of the established military and bureaucratic
factions that were already present at the royal court. Throughout Islamic history, outside forces
are sought by rulers intent on introducing new players that have no association with established
factions within their polity. And secondly, most of these Shi’a Ulema emigrated
from Sunni lands, meaning that they had intimate knowledge of the Sunni creed. This was
clearly an advantage in the sectarian polemics that accompanied the recurrent wars between
the Safavids and their Sunni neighbours. It was really with the Ameli scholars from what
was then Syria that the Safavid conversion of Iran started to take a different shape. The
Qizilbash-enforced approach that required wanton violence was replaced by the softer approach
advocated by the Ameli’s. Through learning and debate, they thought they had a better chance at
converting Sunni’s to Twelver Shi’ism. This is not to say that persecution of religion stopped,
but it was greatly lessened from its early days. Nevertheless the softer approach of focusing
on enriching the intellectual foundations of Safavid Twelver beliefs allowed Shia
scholarly activity to thrive and prosper. This was accompanied by a general flourishing
of the Safavid’s political and cultural might. During the reign of Shah Abbas the Great, Isfahan
became a metropolis fit for an imperial power. The city became the site of a philosophical
institution known as the School of Isfahan, which produced prominent scholars
such as Muhammad Baqer Majlesi, who in turn played a key role in disseminating a
Shi’a theological outlook throughout the realm. In an attempt to merge the new Twelver beliefs
with Persian culture, the Safavids encouraged making Ziarat or pilgrimage to the various
Imamzadehs, the shrine-tombs of descendents of the Shia Imams. Many of these, such as the Imam Ali
Reza Shrine in Mashhad, had already been popular with the people, Shia and Sunni alike, so it was
a helpful resource for the Safavids to tap into. Shia beliefs were also assimilated through the
calendar. The martyrdom of Imam Hussein, son of Ali, at Karbala was commemorated as the most
important religious occasion of the year. It was marked by ceremonies that became more elaborate
over time, until it culminated in the dramatic performance of the Ta’ziya we see today. The Eid
al-Ghadir, which according to Shi’a beliefs was the day the Prophet Muhammad nominated Ali to
be his successor, was also widely celebrated. In keeping with their disdain for the first 3
Rashidun Khalifs, the Safavids hosted an annual festival known as the Omar Kushan, celebrating
the assassination of the second Khalif Omar. All these factors combined to ensure Persia became
a Shi’a realm by the end of the 17th century. Sunni Islam retained its dominant status in
the far flung provinces of the empire; where the Afghans in the east and the Kurds in the west
stubbornly clung on to their religious identities. In fact, the Safavid downfall was brought about in
the early 18th century partly as a result of the Shah’s persecution of the Sunni Afghans. The
Hotak tribe of Kandahar spearheaded a revolt that pushed the Persians out of Afghanistan and
then subsequently invaded Persia in the 1720s. Thank you guys for watching. Make sure
you guys check out Let’s Talk Religion’s video on Twelver Shi’ism, where he’ll be
giving a general overview of the subject. Also, if you don’t know by now
I have a second YouTube channel, called Street Food Bites where I make content
on, you guessed it, street food. So check that out if you’re interested in the preparation
of delicious food from around the world. And last but not least, thank you to
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Until next time, Peace!
