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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books The Shiite Apologetics Question Thirty-two Why is the Ja`fari faith considered the official religion in the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran ?

Answer: There is no doubt that the Islamic Republics Constitution treats all branches of the Islamic faith (madhahib) with deference and there is no doubt that the Islamic faiths (such as: the Ja`fari, the Maliki, the Shafi`i, the Hanbali and the Hanafi) are not equal and harmonious in their expression of the individual and social duties of people; there are many great differences among them in this regard.

However, in order to legislate and draw up regulations for a society, it is felt that there is a dire need for the rules and regulations to be harmonious. Hence, in any country, only one of the Islamic faiths can be taken as the source to draw social rules from, for in the case of there being a variety of legislative sources, never can a set of harmonious rules be drawn up.

It is thus befitting to single out on the right criterion from among the Islamic faiths, one as the source of the social laws and regulations in order to avoid any kind of disturbance and disorder in the laws of the country and to pave the way for the legislation of a series of coherent and harmonized rules in legal and social fields.

The Criterion for Choosing the Ja`fari Faith Another question is By what criterion is the Ja`fari faith chosen, from among other Islamic faiths, as the source from which to draw up laws and regulations of Iran? The answer to this question is clear: the majority of Iranians are the Muslims who have pronounced the Ja`fari faith as the basis of their belief and as the expression of their individual and social duties.

Thus, it goes without saying that choosing the Ja`fari faith as the official religion of the country in the Islamic Republics Constitution is a natural phenomenon which is in agreement with all logical and legal criteria. The Status of Other Islamic Faiths Although the Ja`fari faith has been taken as the official religion in the Islamic Republics Constitution, the other Islamic faiths (madhahib) such as the Shafi`i, the Hanbali, the Hanafi, the Maliki and the Zaydi have been recognized as well.