World Savvy Monitor

For much of their history, Persians were not Muslims, but practiced Zoroastrianism, an ancient monotheistic faith that is thought to have informed all modern religions with its concepts of good and evil and a final judgment day.  In the 600s AD, the Arab conquest of the Persian Empire brought a new religion: Islam. 

Islam was founded by the Prophet Mohammad, who is said to have received divine revelations from God, known as Allah, through the angel Gabriel.  

• These revelations or commandments were collected in the Koran, and served as the foundation of Mohammad’s teachings, which he spread in his journeys between Mecca and Medina in present-day Saudi Arabia.

• Upon the Prophet’s death, a succession battle ensued within Islam, leading to a schism between Shia and Sunni sects.  
  

Next:  Inside Iran - Religion:  Shia-Sunni Split