Iran - religion

About 98.4% of the population are Muslims, of these, 90.4% Shia Muslims and 8% Sunni Muslims. Muslim means "one who submits (to God)". They believe that there is only one God, translated in Arabic as Allah, and they are adherents of Islam.

Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam, comprising at least 85% of the world's 1.2 billion Muslims. They consider the Quran to be the literal word of God; it is the central religious text of Islam. Islam holds that the Quran was revealed to Muhammed by the angel Jibrīl (Gabriel) over a period of approximately 23 years. Sunni Muslims believe that everybody that is fit for leadership can be Caliph.

Shia Islam
Shia Islam is the second largest denomination of Islam, after Sunni Islam. The followers of Shia Islam are called Shi'as. Shia Muslims believe that only direct descendants of the Prophet Mohammed may be Caliphs, or imam as they call it.

Quran
Most Muslims treat paper copies of the Quran with veneration, ritually washing before reading the Quran. Respect for the written text of the Quran is an important element of religious faith by many Muslims. They believe that insulting the Quran on purpose is a form of blasphemy.

-Victor