In case you wondered why I care so much about Iran, the reason is my father is Iranian and I have a large Iranian family whom I've never met, yet. My father left Iran when he was 18 just before the revolution.
Something I should add is that Iranians are not from the same ethnic group as the Arabs despite having the same religion. Iran's form of Islam is different from the Arab countries. They don't speak the same language either. The Persians first came from southern Russia and the Arabs from Saudi Arabia.
Islamic republic of Iran
Former name
Persia until 1935
Official religion
Shia Islam
Population
68 million
Language
Persian(farsi)
Currency
Rial
Capital
Tehran
Other major cities
Abadan, Esfahan, Mashad, Qom, Shiraz, Tabriz, Yazd
Elected ruler
Mohammed Khatami
Religious leader
Ayatollah Khamenei
Iran was known as Persia up until 1935. Persia has a grand history, fought many wars with Greece and often lost. They tried to invade Greece many times. The ruins of the ancient Persian capital Persepolis still stand today.
Iran used to be ruled by a monarchy with the ruler being known as the Shah. The last Shah of Iran was overthrown in the infamous 1979 Islamic revolution which was lead by Ayatollah Khomeini. What followed was a extreme Islamic rule where Ayatollah Khomeini managed to eliminate almost all of his opposition. There was a mass exodus and general bloodshed. Iran was thrown into a bloody and long war with Iraq in 1980 which lasted until 1988. The casualties were high, Tehran and Baghdad suffered missile attacks and both countries economies were left in ruins.
Islam
Islam promotes tolerance and a system of brotherhood. However I have not encountered any sura in the qu'ran where it says women must all wear the veil regardless of whether they are Muslim or not. The qu'ran states that both women and men should dress modestly. The Ayatollahs claim to be supreme leaders on earth. However many of them live in luxury while the rest of Iran has to endure a economic crisis. I am not saying all Mullahs are bad I am just saying if their Islamic rule is so great then why is Iran in an economic crisis? There is no point in isolating Iran from the rest of the world. The fact that millions of Iranians left Iran both before and after the revolution proves that their system is not as good and righteous as they claim. They use Islam to condemn people who disagree with them.
When you see people shouting 'death to America and the west' it doesn't give you a good impression of the people of that country does it? I think not. However I would encourage you to think again before you write off all Iranians are screaming religious maniacs. They are simply not like that. The people you saw on television were most probably paid to shout slogans which they may or may not actually believe in. Money is a powerful incentive in a country which has economic difficulties.
Cyber Iran
Iran Mania
Pars Video
Payvand news
Persian Society
Persian web
