Secularism in Iran

Although criticised by the religious traditionalists and viewed as authoritarian by foreign observers, Reza Shah intended to secularise Iran and eliminate the influence of the Shi'a clergy upon the government and the society.

For example, secularist politicians and writers such as Ahmad Kasravi were assassinated by Muslim extremists, the most notorious of which remains Navvab Safavi, who today is considered a hero by the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

In the late 1960s, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi had forced the Shi'a clerical novitiates to attend public state-run universities in order to gain religious certification and license to preach, similar to Catholic and Christian schools of theology.

Mohammad Reza Shah also began taking steps in the 1970s to exclude Shi'a clergy from participating in the Parliament and to impose restrictions on public displays of religion and religious observance.

Secular opposition to the Islamist government of the Islamic Republic of Iran had been active in the country up until 1984, afterwards they were branded heretics and apostates by the clerical hierarchy, and eventually jailed, executed or exiled.