Iran Religion

In Captive in Iran, Maryam and Marziyeh recount their 259 days in Evin. It’s an amazing story of unyielding faith - when denying God would have meant freedom. Of incredible support from strangers around the world who fought for the women’s release. And of bringing God’s light into one of the world’s darkest places - giving hope to those who had lost everything, and showing love to those in despair.

The conflict between Iran and Israel is not merely a diplomatic dispute or a circumstantial rivalry between two states. It is the contemporary expression of a confrontation in which history, religion, identity, strategic power, and geopolitical competition converge in one of the most sensitive regions on the planet: the Middle East. In a region marked by centuries of imperial transformations, territorial struggles, and cultural fractures, the rivalry between Tehran and Jerusalem has become a structural axis influencing not only regional politics but also the global balance of power. ...

The definitive history of Iran, from the ancient Persian empires to today. “Michael Axworthy’s deft untangling of the country’s history, from the advent of Zoroastrianism to the 1979 revolution, is a stunning achievement.” -Guardian Iran is a land of contradictions. It is an Islamic...

This history of modern Iran is not a survey in the conventional sense but an ambitious exploration of the story of a nation. It offers a revealing look at how events, people, and institutions are shaped by currents that sometimes reach back hundreds of years. The book covers the complex history of the diverse societies and economies of Iran against the background of dynastic changes, revolutions, civil wars, foreign occupation, and the rise of the Islamic Republic.

A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR A hugely ambitious, “delightfully readable, genuinely informative” portrait (The New York Times) of the two-centuries-long entwined histories of Iran and America—two powers who were once allies and now adversaries—by an admired historian and...

With vivid story-telling, extensive historical research, and on-the-ground reporting, Ghattas dispels accepted truths about a region she calls home. She explores how Sunni Saudi Arabia and Shia Iran, once allies and twin pillars of US strategy in the region, became mortal enemies after 1979. She shows how they used and distorted religion in a competition that went well beyond geopolitics. Feeding intolerance, suppressing cultural expression, and encouraging sectarian violence from Egypt to Pakistan, the war for cultural supremacy led to many events.

The Iranian Revolution of 1979 was a defining moment of the modern era. Its success unleashed a wave of Islamist fervor across the Middle East and signaled a sharp decline in the appeal of Western ideologies in the Islamic world. Michael Axworthy takes listeners through the major periods in Iranian history over the last 30 years: the overthrow of the old regime and the creation of the new one; the Iran-Iraq war; the reconstruction era following the war; the reformist wave led by Mohammed Khatami; and the present day, in which reactionaries have re-established control.  

A major new history of revolutionary Iran, from the 1940s to the present Iran’s revolution in 1979 shook the world. The Pahlavi dynasty came crashing down, and the Islamic Republic rose in its place. But what led to this seismic event? How did the revolutionary movement gain such strength? And...

El conflicto entre Irán e Israel no es simplemente una disputa diplomática ni una rivalidad circunstancial entre dos Estados. Es la expresión contemporánea de una confrontación donde convergen historia, religión, identidad, poder estratégico y competencia geopolítica en uno de los espacios más sensibles del planeta: Oriente Medio. En una región marcada por siglos de transformaciones imperiales, luchas territoriales y fracturas culturales, la rivalidad entre Teherán y Jerusalén se ha convertido en un eje estructural que influye no solo en la política regional, sino también en ...

A sweeping global history of Islam, tracing the 1,400-year evolution of a diverse community of faith and its place in the modern world “Anyone who wants to understand not just the past of Islam but its present and future should read Worlds of Islam.”—Reza Aslan, author of No god but God...

A former member of the State Department's Policy Planning Council, Polk describes a country and a history misunderstood by many in the West. While Iranians chafe under the yolk of their current leaders, they also have bitter memories of generations of British, Russian, and American espionage, invasion, and dominance. There are important lessons to be learned from the past, and Polk teases them out of a long and rich history and shows that it is not just now, but for decades to come that an understanding of Iran will be essential to American safety and well-being. 

Phil Moore tells us how a persecuted group of Iranian Christians radically 'rediscovered' Luke 10 as the 'forgotten manifesto' of Jesus.

How did Iran get to where it is today, at the forefront of global affairs? The history of Iran and the theme of Persian conflict with the West stretches back thousands of years, and it is a unique history of empire, culture, art, pride, and religious nationalism. The History of Iran from Ancient Persia to the Ayatollahs comprehensively and descriptively covers this history, progressing through a timeline dating back to antiquity and examining all of the different religious, political, foreign, and military issues that affect Iran and are affected by Iran today.

On November 4, 1979, "student" supporters of the Ayatollah seized the U.S. Embassy with over sixty hostages. Although the Cold War was in full swing, the Iran hostage crisis was a watershed for the United States. Detachment A had been established in Berlin early in the Cold War to harass and...

Forget everything you thought you knew about Iran. Prepare to explore Iran from a Christian missions perspective. It will challenge your perspective and give you new revelation on one of the most dangerous regimes in the world. Contrary to modern discourse, Christianity is not new to Iran. The Christian Bible is not a Western book. It was written in the Middle East, a region that was ruled by Iran for much of history. But what does it mean for Christians around the globe today? What does it mean for the future of Iran?

The Islamic Republic of Iran has been a threat to its people, the Middle East, and America for forty-five years. It’s time for a change. Since 1979, the Khomeinist regime has oppressed its own population while waging wars and terrorism against Arabs, Israel, Middle East minorities, and the United States. It expanded its military power across the region and created an international terror web. American policy toward Tehran since Carter culminated, under Obama, in offering the Islamic Republic a deal of partnership, empowering the Ayatollahs even further. The Iranian people rose several ...

With the first Fulbright grant for research in Iran to be awarded since the Iranian revolution in 1979, Anthropologist and professor Roxanne Varzi returned to the country her family left before the Iran-Iraq war. Drawing on ethnographic research she conducted in Tehran between 1991 and 2000, she provides an eloquent account of the beliefs and experiences of young, middle-class, urban Iranians.

Ancient Iran: Cosmology, Mythology, History presents Iran's pre-Islamic history within the context of both its complex cosmology and rich mythology. The audiobook uses the concept of farr to show how authority, finding guidance in the cosmic realm, organized the lives of Iran's hero-saints in the mythic realm. It also discusses how historical monarchs organized their hierarchical societies according to the dictates of Ahura Mazda.

A timely primer on the conflict between the United States and Iran by scholars of Middle Eastern politics who advocate diplomacy and de-escalation.

US relations with Iran have been fraught for decades, but, under the Trump Administration, tensions are rising to startling levels. Medea Benjamin, one of the best-known 21st century activists, offers the incredible history of how a probable alliance became a bitter antagonism in this accessible and fascinating story.