page_title: Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam
section_title: Muhammad Baqir Majlisi
hierarchical_section_title: Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam / Significant figures during the conversion process / Muhammad Baqir Majlisi
caption_attribution_description: Portrait of Allamah al-Majlisi Opaque watercolor on paper H: 16.3 W: 10.2 cm Iran
context_page_description: The Safavid conversion of Iran to Shia Islam was a process that took place roughly over the 16th through 18th centuries and turned Iran, which previously had a Sunni majority, into the spiritual bastion of Shia Islam. It was a process that involved forced conversion and resulted in hostility with Iran's Sunni neighbours. The conversion also ensured the dominance of the Twelver sect within Shiism over the Zaidiyyah and sects of Isma'ilism – each of whom had previously experienced their own eras of dominance within Shiism. Through their actions, the Safavids reunified Iran as an independent state in 1501 and established Twelver Shiism as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam.
  As a direct result, the population of the territory of present-day Iran and neighbouring Azerbaijan were converted to Shia Islam at the same time in history. Both nations still have large Shia majorities, and the Shia percentage of Azerbaijan's population is second only to that in Iran.
context_section_description: Under the guidance of Muhammad Baqir Majlisi (1616–98, one of the most important Shiite clerics of all time), who devoted himself to (among other things) the eradication of Sunnism in Iran, the Safavid state made major efforts, in the 17th century to Persianize Shiite practice and culture in order to facilitate its spread in Iran among its Sunni populace. It was only under Majlisi that Shi'a Islam truly took hold among the masses.
caption: Portrait of Allamah Muhammad Baqir Majlesi.
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