Amber Henderhan
In Iran, most of the people living there are Muslims of the Shi’i branch. Kurds and Turkmen are Muslims that fall under the Sunni branch with Arabs falling under either branch of religion. Small portions in certain areas of Iran follow Christianity, Jewish, or Zoroastrian beliefs. With the end of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, the three smaller religions in Iran, Christianity, Jewish, and Zoroastrians beliefs were “recognized in the constitution of 1979 as official minorities” (Mostofi & Afary). In the book, we see how Marji and females in the school system had to wear a veil (hijab) and separated from their guy friends in a result of the revolution. This was to make sure that the Islamic path didn’t stray away from the people.
Shi’i is the most influential in Iran since the revolution. But if you look at the numbers “85 to 90 percent…1.6 billion Muslims are Sunnis” while Shi’i are roughly “10 to 15 percent” (Chuck). Shi’i branch gives the status of prophets to human beings, while Sunnis believe the only prophets are from the Quran. Both also have very different opinions when it comes to school.
Marji says that she was born religious and was her “destiny” to be the last prophet. Marji said that she unsure about wearing the veil, as she thought of herself has a very religious person compared to her family who were mutual about religion. In the beginning of the book we can see how the girls react to wearing the veil, they are playing around with them, and Marji has her own personal religion- she wrote down ideas about what everyone should have, she also had conversations with God when she was younger.
Iran became more and more religious as time went on and forced the religious practices on the people, which caused them to lose sight of their own personal religious beliefs. As the book gets closer to the end, we can see how women are pushing back their veils little by little. This shows that they are still true to their Islamic faith/culture but also be able to show who they are as individuals.
As Marji grew up she stayed in Austria, and at her time there she didn’t wear the veil. As Marji traveled back home, she had to wear the veil when she was in public. Marji met Reza at a party and they got talking bout moving out of Iran and applying to get their visas, and that starts with studying for the National Exam. The exam was separated between males and females (females having to wear their veils). They were both accepted but, now she had to study for the ideology test, which involves the Arabic culture, praying and knowing the history of the religion. When asked questions during the interview Marji was honest about her not wearing the veil in Austria, not knowing how to speak Arabic, and most importantly how she is going to pray in the languare she knows and speaks. She was accepted due to her honesty. It’s important to know that you can follow your religion/culture beliefs but still be yourself and show who you are.
Works Cited
Chuck, Elizabeth. “What Are the Differences Between Sunni and Shiite Muslims?” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 5 Jan. 2016, www.nbcnews.com/news/mideast/what-are-differences-between-sunni-shiite-muslims-n489951.
Mostofi, Khosrow, and Janet Afary. “Religion.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 23 Sept. 2020, www.britannica.com/place/Iran/Religion.
Satrapi, Marjane. The Complete Persepolis. Pantheon Books, 2007.
I really enjoyed your brief synopsis of the novel and the background on Marji’s eventful life. I think this novel is going to be very interesting in explaining the battle between identifying oneself based on religion and also on individualism. The fact that Marji is a minority in both her religion and gender paints an even more in-depth representation of the concept of “other” or subaltern that we have been learning about throughout this class. I will definitely keep your interpretation in mind as I begin reading the novel.
Thank you for this well-written presentation! I was not very educated on the branches of Islam, the theological differences between the two, and how the followers of each are distributed geographically. It adds a lot of context to consider that Islam has different denominations like Christianity does, another major worldwide monotheistic religion we are obviously more acquainted with living in western culture. I think many “Westerners” think of Islam through one single story, whereas there are actually many different interpretations of the same overarching religion. This is especially important for people to realize when we see extremist interpretations of Islam in the news that are of course horrendous, but also blatantly in conflict with what nearly all muslims actually believe and value.
Hi Amber, I learned a lot from your Context Research Presentation. I don’t know a lot about the religion or culture of the area, so your presentation really gave me a basis for understanding of the story. I think being able to understand Islam from an inside perspective as is given in the story, is especially important in light of the often-rampant Islamophobia here in the United States. I especially liked your analysis at the end, comparing the importance of staying true to your religion, and to yourself as well.
Thank you so much for this context presentation. I previously had not known much about the islamic religion, and this was very educational. I feel as though in America it can be very easy to find yourself tunnel visioned and unaware of the cultures you don’t witness on a day to day basis. Educating ourselves on the cultures, religions, practices, and people we know little about can do wonders for our own selves and those around us. Thanks for helping to educate us!
This was a very insightful presentation. Learning about the various religious groups that are prevalent in Iran gave me a better understanding while reading Persepolis and all of the characters that are introduced. I was surprised to learn that the Shi’i group has been the most influential since the revolution, but only makes up about 10-15% compared to other groups. This low percentage to amount of influence seems very contradictory.
I enjoyed your telling of Marji’s evolving religious beliefs, while also including the wearing a of veil, as this served to be a major theme in the story.
Amber, Thank you so much for this background knowledge on religion in Iran, specifically the difference between Shi’i and Sunnis. I believe understanding what the people of Iran believe will help me get why people act the way they do and why the society is split in a certain way. This background information provides insight into the reasoning for problems in the government and the causes for the war.
Hi Amber,
Great post this week. You did a great job providing good educational details. Along with this informative post, you connected everything within the reading very well. I do not have a lot of knowledge on different religions, in this case specifically the religions present in Iran. I really enjoyed reading the aspects of the religions you described. Religion can be a large portion of a society, so understanding the religion can help understand more within the society and people.
Hi Amber,
I really enjoyed your presentation. You did an amazing job at providing details that are helpful for better understanding the story. Before this post, I had no knowledge on the religion in Iran but you do a great job of breaking it down. Being able to understand how the people in Iran feel about different things will help me better understand where the characters in the story are coming from. I am able to use this new information and make the story more personal to me. I really like being able to do that because it allows me to learn the concepts better.
Hi Amber,
Thank you for all your work researching this back ground information on the Islamic faith in Iran for us. I think it is always good to reflect on not only how different other parts of the world are but to also remind ourselves that the situation is different than we see from the outside. While I knew a decent amount about the Sunni and Shi’i branches of the Islamic faith and the disparity between them. I didn’t know the influence that the Shi’i ranch still held in the nation nor the fact that it is seemingly growing. Additionally, I think the story about Marji is helpful to show how these beliefs and policies are actually put into practice.
Hello! I liked all the information telling us about Marji’s live and how she became who she is. I especially found the part about the veil to be interesting because they were forced to wear them, but beyond that being seperated from the males is very interesting and something that is uncommon to relate to in the United States nowadays. Overall I liked all the information you provided!
Amber
Thank you for your breakdown of the graphic novel Persepolis. Having very little knowledge of the Islam culture I was excited to read this book to get first hand knowledge about the culture. I feel as if learning and educating yourself by someone who is directly related to a culture is the best way to learn. I feel as if the character Marji did a great job of showing all of the different rules and values of the Islam culture by expressing her love for God and by breaking some of the rules. You did a great job at providing the nitty gritty details of this story.
Hi Amber,
Thank you for researching and presenting the history off Iran and how it relates to Marji. Before reading this I really didn’t know to much about the history of Iran and the different religions inside of Iran. I did however know that in Iran women have little rights and the examples of Marji’s story that you use highlight just how difficult Marji’s journey was. I really liked how you stated that it was shown that women started to move their veil slightly farther and farther back, showing themselves and there personalities. Again Thank you.
Thank you for this background on the different sects of Islam and how they are represented in Iran. I have never fully understood the differences between those women who do wear the hijab and those who don’t, and whether that is a choice. This lack of understanding is likely why Marji chose to write this novel. The general lack of understanding about Islam in the West has created a single story about those who practice Islam, and as Persepolis and this summary highlight, that is simply not true.
I also appreciate learning more about how Marji handles this part of her identity. Her childhood in Iran is undeniably a part of her, but her time abroad has allowed to broadening her horizons and better learn who she is, and that includes her connection to the veil and when she decides to wear it.
Hi Amber, really nice job this week on your blog post. I personally found reading this to be very beneficial going into the readings this week. Just as in past weeks, these blogs have made the big reading of the week way more understandable and that is exactly what this did for me as well. What did I appreciate the most? I most appreciated your breakdown of the religious life in Iran. I had no information on that topic prior to reading this post. You did a great job outlining everything!
Hi, Amber! Thank you for providing a good presentation. I think you did a good job in present the background of Marji and the culture and religions of Iran. I am unfamiliar with the culture and religion in Iran that may make me confuse about Marji’s story. Some stories I heard about Iran is not the same as what Marji’s writing. From your presentation, I learn that Marji is within minority in the public no matter religion or gender. Also, you mentioned the difference in Shi’i and Sunnis, which is helpful to understand the split in social norm.
Hi Amber,
Thank you for the background information you gave. It is great for me to understand better about what Marji was trying to express. I have changed much of my stereotype thinking about Iran after reading some parts of this book.
I really admire how Marji being honest about not wearing veil when she was in Australia. She definitely needs courage to say that. It was also stunning to see the numbers she provided. And the number was way larger than I thought before I did the calculation like you did. I was also impressed how she stucked to her religious so hard that he parents were only mutual about it. And the part when she was talking to God really shows how important she sees God.
Hi Amber,
I really enjoyed reading your context research post this week. Getting the background information on Marji is definitely essential to understanding her writing. Understanding what message she was trying to send when she detailed how the women began to push back their veils. Although it is surface level, deep down we can understand that she was trying to portray the fact that the women were trying to have a sense of individualism while staying true to their faith.
Hi Amber, after reading your context presentation, I have a better understanding of the contemporary religious background of Iran. I can realize some problems that I encountered in the reading with your supplement of the complicated religious composition of Iran. I also understand that the reason why Marji always imagined herself as a prophet to save this country was influenced by Iran’s religions.