Mashhad is the second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about 900 kilometres from Tehran. In the Central District of Mashhad County, it serves as the capital of Razavi Khorasan province, the county, and the district. It has a population of about 3,400,000, which includes the areas of Mashhad Taman and Torqabeh.
ʿAlī Ḥusaynī Sīstānī is an Iranian Islamic scholar. A Grand Ayatollah and marja, Sistani is considered the leading religious leader of Twelver Shia Muslims.
Jannat al-Baqī is the oldest and first Islamic cemetery of Medina located in the Hejazi region of present-day Saudi Arabia. It is also known as Baqi al-Gharqad.
The vast majority of people in Kyrgyzstan are Muslims; as of 2020, 90% of the country's population were followers of Islam. Muslims in Kyrgyzstan are generally of the Sunni branch, mostly of the Hanafi school, which entered the region during the eighth century. Most Kyrgyz Muslims practice their religion in a specific way influenced by shamanic tribal customs. There has been a revival of Islamic practices since independence in Kyrgyzstan. For the most part religious leaders deal only with issues of religion and do not reach out to communities, but rather offer services to those who come to the mosque. There are regional differences, with the southern part of the country being more religious. Kyrgyzstan remained a secular state after the fall of communism, which had only superficial influence on religious practice when Kyrgyzstan was a Soviet republic, despite the policy of state atheism. Most of the Russian population of Kyrgyzstan is Russian Orthodox. The Uzbeks, who make up 14.9 percent of the population, are generally Sunni Muslims.
Islam is the majority religion in Azerbaijan, but the country is considered to be the most secular in the Muslim world. Various reports have estimated 97.3% or 99.2% of the population identifying as Muslim; with the majority being adherents of the Shia branch (55-65%), while a significant minority (35-45%) are Sunnis. Traditionally, the differences between these two branches of Islam have not been sharply defined in Azerbaijan.
The Arab conquest of Iran, which culminated in the fall of the Sasanian Empire to the nascent Rashidun Caliphate, brought about a monumental change in Iranian society by purging Zoroastrianism, which had been the Iranian nation's official and majority religion since the time of the Achaemenid Empire. Since the Rashidun invasion, Islam has consistently held the status of Iran's official religion except for during a short period in the 13th century, when the Mongol invasions and conquests destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate and smaller Islamic realms before resulting in the establishment of the Ilkhanate. The process by which Iranian society became integrated into the Muslim world took place over many centuries, with nobility and city-dwellers being among the first to convert, in spite of notable periods of resistance, while the peasantry and the dehqans took longer to do so. Around the 10th century, most Persians had become Muslims.
North Khorasan province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located in the northeast of the country. Its capital is the city of Bojnord.
Razavi Khorasan province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located in northeastern Iran. Its capital is the city of Mashhad, the second-most-populous city in Iran.
Kashan is a city in the Central District of Kashan County, in the northern part of Isfahan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
Boshruyeh is a city in the Central District of Boshruyeh County, South Khorasan province, Iran, and serves as capital of the county.
Torbat-e Jam is a city in the Central District of Torbat-e Jam County, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district. It is one of the ancient cities of Greater Khorasan.
Taybad is a city in the Central District of Taybad County, Razavi Khorasan province, Iran, serving as capital of both the county and the district.
The Imam Reza shrine, located in Mashhad, Iran, is an Islamic shrine containing the remains of Ali al-Rida, the eighth Imam of Shia Islam. It is the largest mosque in the world by area. Also contained within the complex are the Goharshad Mosque, a museum, a library, four seminaries, a cemetery, the Razavi University of Islamic Sciences, and other buildings.
Religion in Iran has been shaped by multiple religions and sects over the course of the country's history. Zoroastrianism was the main followed religion during the Achaemenid Empire, Parthian Empire, and Sasanian Empire. Another Iranian religion known as Manichaeanism was present in Iran during this period. Jewish and Christian communities thrived, especially in the territories of northwestern, western, and southern Iran—mainly Caucasian Albania, Asoristan, Persian Armenia, and Caucasian Iberia. A significant number of Iranian peoples also adhered to Buddhism in what was then eastern Iran, such as the regions of Bactria and Sogdia.
The Constitution of Bahrain states that Islam is the official religion and that Shari'a is a principal source for legislation. Article 22 of the Constitution provides for freedom of conscience, the inviolability of worship, and the freedom to perform religious rites and hold religious parades and meetings, in accordance with the customs observed in the country; however, the Government has placed some limitations on the exercise of this right.
The destruction of heritage sites associated with early Islam is an ongoing phenomenon that has occurred mainly in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia, particularly around the two holiest cities of Islam, Mecca and Medina. The demolition has focused on mosques, burial sites, homes and historical locations associated with the Islamic prophet Muhammad, his companions, and many of the founding personalities of early Islamic history by the Saudi government. In Saudi Arabia, many of the demolitions have officially been part of the continued expansion of the Masjid al-Haram at Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medina and their auxiliary service facilities in order to accommodate the ever-increasing number of Muslims performing the pilgrimage (hajj).
Anti-Shi'ism or Shiaphobia is hatred of, prejudice against, discrimination against, persecution of, and violence against Shia Muslims because of their religious beliefs, traditions, and cultural heritage. The term was first used by Shia Rights Watch in 2011, but it has been used in informal research and written in scholarly articles for decades.
During the 2011 Bahraini uprising, as many as 43 Shia mosques and tens of other religious structures including graves, shrines and hussainiyas were intentionally destroyed or damaged by the ruling Sunni Bahraini authorities in the country. The widespread action in Shiite villages across this island was seen as part of a government crackdown on Shiite dissidents, although Bahrain's Minister of Justice and Islamic Affairs, Sheikh Khalid bin Ali bin Abdulla al Khalifa, claimed that only mosques illegally built without permission had been targeted.
The Grand Makki Mosque of Zahedan is one of the world's largest Hanafism mosques, and the largest Sunni Islamic mosque in Iran, located in the center of Zahedan, the capital of the Sistan and Baluchestan province.
The Shah Cheragh attack was a terrorist attack that occurred on 26 October 2022 at Shah Cheragh mosque, a Shia pilgrimage site in Shiraz in southern Iran, in which at least 13 people were killed.
