What type of Muslim is Iran?

What type of Muslim is Iran?

Sunni and Shi’i are the two largest branches of Islam, with the overwhelming majority of Iranians practicing Shi’i Islam. About 90 percent of Iranians practice Shi’ism, the official religion of Iran. [i] By contrast, most Arab states in the Middle East are predominantly Sunni.

What is the population of Sunnis in Iran?

The Sunni Muslim population in Iran is thought to number between seven and eight million, less than ten percent of Iran’s total population. Most of them are concentrated in the provinces of Kurdestan, Golestan, Khorasan Razavi, North Khorasan, South Khorasan and Sistan and Baluchestan.

How many Sunnis are there in Iran?

FACT: Although Sunnis make up a commanding majority (85% to 90%) of the world’s Muslim population, they are a minority in Shi’a dominated Iran. According to government estimates, Sunnis make up between 7% and 10% of Iran’s population. Sunni community leaders, however, say that figure may be as high as 25%.

Do Sunnis face religious persecution in Iran?

(2) Only non-Muslims face religious persecution in Iran. FACT: Although Sunnis make up a commanding majority (85% to 90%) of the world’s Muslim population, they are a minority in Shi’a dominated Iran. According to government estimates, Sunnis make up between 7% and 10% of Iran’s population.

What do Iranians think of Sunnis and Shiites?

On the other hand, Iranian Shi’as generally see Sunnis as Muslim, but as practioncers of a flawed form of Islam. The dominance of Shi’a Islam in Iran is a relatively new development, having only come about in the 16th century.

What is Iran’s strategy for preventing Militant extremism among Sunnis?

The threat of militant extremism among Iran’s Sunnis is being taken very seriously in Tehran. Iranian authorities have been exerting considerable effort to stem the spread of Salafism and Wahhabism into Iran’s mainly Hanafi Sunni majority regions. One strategy that authorities are not pursuing, however, is development.