(Bulwark) Shay Khatiri - GAMAAN, a Netherlands-based center run by two Iranian political scientists that tracks public attitudes in Iran, reports that 67% of Iranians reject the idea of theocracy, and 72% reject having a religious figure as the head of the state. A 2020 report by the same organization found that only 32% identify as Shi'ite Muslims. (Contrast that with the CIA World Factbook, which reports that 90-95% of the country is Shi'ite.) Nearly half identified as some form of irreligious - none, agnostic, spiritual, or atheist. 7.7% called themselves Zoroastrian. Iranians used to respect the clerical class. Nowadays, stories in the news are about how pedestrians physically assault random mullahs on the street. Before the Islamic Revolution, Iran had a religious population. Now, it has a theocracy and a population increasingly embracing the non-religious components of its national heritage.
2022-09-01 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive