Abstract
Formerly known as Persia, Iran adopted its current name in 1935. Iran, meaning “the land of Aryans” in Persian, is a relatively large country enjoying a strategic position in the Persian Gulf. It is larger than Alaska and roughly equal to the size of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany combined. Most of the terrain is a plateau consisting of mountains and deserts, making much of the country inhospitable to agriculture. The most important resources are petroleum, natural gas, and mineral deposits. Persians are the largest ethnic group in Iran, while there are more than a dozen different ethnic minorities in Iran, including Azeris, Kurds, Armenians, Assyrians, and Jews. Most Iranians are Muslim; 89 percent belong to the Shia branch of Islam, the official state religion, while about 9 percent belong to the Sunni branch. The remainder includes Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Baha’is.
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© 2013 John Marangos
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Marangos, J. (2013). From the Islamic Revolution to the Islamic Republic of Iran. In: Consistency and Viability of Islamic Economic Systems and the Transition Process. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137327260_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137327260_3
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