Islamic Revolution of 1979 in Iran changed many things in the country. Iran under Mohammad Reza Shah was a secular country accepting all kinds of religious activities and even the irreligious and sacriligious ones too. However, Islamic Republic founded by Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini better known as Imam Khomeini has its own specific rules and laws of religious activities. The Article 12 of Iranian Constitution reads as follows: "The official religion of Iran is Islam and the Twelver Ja‘fari school of [Shia] religion. This principle shall remain eternally unchangeable. Other Islamic schools of thought, such as the Hanafi, Shafi‘i, Maliki, Hanbali, and Zaydi, are deserving of total respect and their followers are free to perform their own religious practices, religious education, and personal matters. They may practice their religious education, personal status, (marriage, divorce, inheritance, and bequest), in accordance with their own jurisprudence. The dispute over these matters is recognized in the courts. In any area where followers of these schools of thought are in the majority, local regulations, within the domain of the council’s jurisdictions, are set according to that school of thought so long as the rights of the followers of other schools of religion are maintained". Accordingly, Shia Islam is the Official Religion of the Islamic Republic of Iran and all sacred truths related to the Shia should be respected. The Article 13 stipulates the rights of the minorities: "Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian Iranians are considered the only recognized religious minorities. They may exercise their religious ceremonies within the limits of the law.They are free to exercise matters of personal status and religious education and they follow their own rituals."
The Warrior of Battlefield and the God-fearing Pious of Night
