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| Articles on Islam in Iran |
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ISLAM IN IRAN. Although a large number of articles in this Encyclopaedia are devoted to specific aspects of Sunnite Islam in general and Shiite Islam in particular, the following series of articles provide an overview of some historical, contemporary, and especially political aspects of the topic that are of special interest and relevance to the world today. The series consists of the following three broad sections:
I. The Advent and Spread of Islam in Iran.
A General survey of historical geography covering the advent and spread of Islam in the lands of Iran and related territories from the early period to the present time, including the Iranian plateau, Central Asia and Afghanistan, and Mesopotamia:
i. The advent of Islam in Iran. See IRAN ix/2.1.
ii. Conversion to Islam. See CONVERSION iii.
iii. Late medieval period. See IRAN ix/2.2.iv. Shiite states since the Safavids. See IRAN ix/2.3.
II. Messianism and Millenarianism in Islam.
With the rise of political Islamic movements in the latter half of the 20th century, and the increasing politicization of theological conceptions of messianism and millenarianism in Islam, the concept and significance of the Mahdi in Islam in general, and in Shiism in particular, needs to be examined and understood in order to contextualize the central themes of militant Islamic movements, both Sunni and Shiite. These issues are discussed in the following sub-entries:
v. Messianic Islam in Iran: A general survey.
vi. The concept of Mahdi in Sunni Islam.
vii. The concept Mahdi in Twelver Shiism.
viii. The occultation of Mahdi. See GHAYBA.
ix. The deputies of Mahdi.
III. Islamic Political Movements.
A series of articles on Political Islam in Iran can be viewed in two categories: One, consisting of “Political Roots of Shiism,” “Jihad in Sunni and Shiite Islam,” and “Martyrdom in Sunni and Shiite Islam,” examine the historical and theological antecedents of modern Islamic political ideas. The above entries thus serve to facilitate a deeper understanding of contemporary Islamic political movements, which are then discussed in detail in the following six entries:
x. The roots of political Shiism in Iran.
xi. Jihad in Islam.
xii. Martyrdom in Islam. Forthcoming online.
xii. Martyrdom in Islam. Forthcoming online.
xiii. Islamic political movements in 20th-century Iran.
xiv. Islam and democracy. Forthcoming online.
xv. Islam and socialism. Forthcoming online.
xvi. Islam and fundamentalism. Forthcoming online.
xvii. Islamic Revolution of 1977–79. Forthcoming online.
xviii. Islamic Republic of Iran. Forthcoming online.
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