Mainstream Shia Islam (Twelver)
Mainstream Twelver Shia Islam (Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain) is a low-CLCI reference point with rich scholarly and devotional tradition. The marja' al-taqlid system creates structured religious authority but adherence is voluntary.
CLCI radar
BITE breakdown
0 — global tradition with strong scholarly tradition (marja taqlid system) but voluntary lay participation.
In context
Twelver Shia Islam, the dominant tradition in Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Azerbaijan and large parts of Lebanon, Syria and Saudi Arabia's Eastern Province, follows a structured scholarly hierarchy of marja' al-taqlid (sources of emulation). Devotional life centres on the twelve Imams and the rituals of Muharram. Iranian state religious enforcement is a separate political phenomenon, not core theology.
Key control doctrines
- Twelve Imams as guides
- Marja' al-taqlid system
- Mahdi expectation
- Muharram commemorations
Legal cases & controversies
- Iranian state religious enforcement (political, not internal-religious)
Timeline
- 680Battle of Karbala — Imam Husayn martyred; founding event of Shia identity
- 874Twelfth Imam goes into Occultation
- 1501Safavid dynasty establishes Twelver Shia as Iranian state religion
- 1979Iranian Revolution under Ayatollah Khomeini
Sources
- Moojan Momen, 'An Introduction to Shi'i Islam' (1985)
- Vali Nasr, 'The Shia Revival' (2006)
We cite sources by name and outlet rather than fabricating links. Search the source title plus the group name to find the original.